The fireworks show was nice, though it was a little annoying that the Sunsphere was directly between us and it. Made for interesting pictures, though:

The bright “star” at top right is Jupiter, by the way. More photos after the jump.

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Eugene Robinson:

[T]here’s really no way to prevent a bunch of [terrorist] wannabes from shopping at Home Depot [to buy primitive car-bomb components], and that brings me to my second possible reason why the United States isn’t being hit the way Britain is. I think we have far fewer wannabes.

The radical, anti-Western, jihadist ideas that inspire would-be suicide bombers in Britain and elsewhere in Europe have a much harder time finding receptive ears here — even though it’s the United States that many Muslims around the world believe is leading a modern-day crusade against Islam. I know there are Muslims here who are bitterly angry about U.S. foreign policy under George W. Bush but who do not respond by killing themselves and others.

I think that’s because the United States, for all its faults, is still the most inclusive society on Earth. Our nation has a way of making outsiders into participants, a way of convincing people that they are protagonists, not just pawns. The United States can fall short of its promises, but it has a genius for manufacturing possibility. If people have even a glimpse of a better tomorrow, no matter how unbearable today might be, they are less likely to pack a car with explosives and crash it into an airport.

There’s hope for us yet. Have a happy Fourth of July.

(Hat tip: Chops.)

At the World's Fair Park in downtown Knoxville for the city's 4th of July festival. Waiting in line for a funnel cake (a.k.a. fried dough).

Freedom isn’t free.

My previous post about the controversy surrounding NHC Director Bill Proenza paints him as a martyr to reactionary bureaucratic muzzling and the Bush Administration’s demands for blind loyalty. I’m not alone in that regard: the media, blogosphere, and other weather nerds have largely rallied around Proenza as a forward-looking hero, oppressed by The Man and supported by The Good Guys.

Alas, as with most things in life, it turns out it’s not that simple:

Three senior forecasters at the National Hurricane Center called Tuesday for the ouster of recently appointed director Bill Proenza, saying he has damaged public confidence in their forecasts, fractured morale and lost their support.

”I don’t think that Bill can continue here,” said James Franklin, one of five senior forecasters at the center. “I don’t think he can be an effective leader.” …

Since taking the most prominent government job in meteorology, Proenza repeatedly has criticized his bosses at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, saying they have not provided the hurricane center with adequate research funds and failed to plan for the eventual demise of an important weather satellite.

He has been widely viewed as the underdog in a David vs. Goliath battle against the federal bureaucracy, a scenario the forecasters called misleading.

”The public debate has been extremely one-sided,” said Franklin, who has been at the center since 1999 and with NOAA since 1982. “Bill is viewed as a hero in the media for speaking up against NOAA management and he is portrayed as having the support of his staff.

”But the hurricane specialists, by and large, do not agree with much of what he has done,” Franklin said.

In addition to losing the confidence of forecasters Franklin, Pasch and Knabb — and, implicitly, Avila, though (as noted in Colin’s post yesterday) Avila is refusing to say so outright — Proenza has also lost the support of prominent weatherbloggers Dr. Jeff Masters and Margie Kieper, for relying on shoddy science to back his claims regarding QuikSCAT. Money quote:

It greatly troubles me that the most visible and admired member of my profession has failed to use good science in his arguments for funding a replacement of the QuikSCAT satellite. The Director of the National Hurricane Center needs to be an able politician and good communicator, but being truthful with the science is a fundamental requirement of the job as well. Mr. Proenza has misrepresented the science on the QuikSCAT issue, and no longer has my support as director of the National Hurricane Center.

Masters and Kieper hasten to add that they “strongly support many of the valid concerns Proenza has raised,” but they criticize him for focusing so much on QuikSCAT, at the expense of other issues:

Of particular concern are the slashing of critical research funding for the Joint Hurricane Testbed (JHT) from $1.7 million to $1 million, and the lack of adequate yearly increases to the National Hurricane Center budget. Both of these important concerns still remain to be addressed; they were quickly overshadowed by a frantic campaign by lawmakers to fund a new QuikSCAT satellite and by fallout of the remarks concerning the budget for the NOAA 200-year anniversary celebration. The JHT provides the means for promising research to be tested in the NHC operational environment, usually resulting in a successful transition to an operational product at NHC. This program has been extremely successful, and its budget should have been increased, not slashed. As hurricane activity has increased dramatically over the last twelve years, NHC’s budget should have increased accordingly, but it did not.

While wanting to take a neutral stand as to whether to call for Proenza’s dismissal, Senior NHC Hurricane Specialist Lixion Avila clearly shares the concerns that have been put forth by the other senior forecasters Richard Pasch, James Franklin, and Richard Knabb, and former director Max Mayfield. Avila noted, “If I [was] the director of the hurricane center, I would not spend my time fighting for QuikSCAT–I would be fighting to make sure that the reconnaissance planes are always there.”

It sounds to me like Proenza will most likely be replaced soon, and it sounds like that’s probably a good thing, in light of these latest developments. Whatever happens, it needs to happen soon, to prevent this sort of thing from continuing:

[A]s the drama played out [Tuesday], the climate at the hurricane center turned stormy. Some lower-ranking members of the staff support Proenza, and shouting matches between the two camps erupted Tuesday, several people said.

The NHC can’t afford to be bogged down in internecine bureaucratic warfare in the middle of a hurricane season that, climatologically speaking, is likely to get much more active soon.

UPDATE: The revolt widens.

Ok, so well it’s his son, Al Gore III, not the former veep, but I had to do something to get your attention, didn’t I?

Early this morning, the Gore the Younger was arrested while speeding at approximately 100 miles per hour.

He was found in possession of marijuana, Xanax, Vicodin, Valium, and Adderrall, and had no prescription for any of the drugs.

The real story in this is that he was going that fast in a freaking Toyota Prius. “Hey, I was going too fast, and I had a bunch of drugs I wasn’t supposed to have, but I was saving the environment.”

Today, at the annual Independence Day rite of passage known as the Nathan’s World Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest, American Joey Chestnut choked down 66 Nathan’s hot dogs and buns in twelve minutes to wrest the famous Mustard Yellow Belt from Takeru Kobayashi, the previously undefeated competitive eating champion.

Chestnut, who had previously broken the world record of 53 3/4 dogs by taking down 59 1/2 in a qualifying event earlier this year, shattered his own record by downing hot dogs on a pace of one every 10.9 seconds.

When reached for comment afterwards, Chestnut, with a beaming smile on his face (I suppose it could’ve just been gas) said, “Mrmrmsggphthm.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself.

UPDATE: In honor of the day, Rick Moran is liveblogging the Continental Congress. Er, in a manner of speaking. Continued here, and, presumably, eventually here. (Hat tip: Malkin.)

Warning, this is a long video, but well worth watching. He makes great points including the fact that Bush pardoned commuted Libby’s sentence before the normal appeals process had been used up.

All joking aside, it really does seem that the recent terror plot in Britain was the attack of the killer doctors.

If this doesn’t drive a stake into the heart of the oft-repeated, repeatedly disproven mantra that terrorists are all “poor and desperate,” I don’t know what will.

No, this post isn’t about the little boy who can fly — it’s about peanut butter.

As you may know, all Peter Pan peanut butter was recalled in February due to a Salmonella outbreak. Well, if you’ve missed it as much as Becky and I have, you’ll be happy to know that it’s expected to return to store shelves later this month. Wikipedia says “mid-July,” while TheStreet.com says “late July.” The Wall Street Journal says simply “July.”

Regardless, it’ll be not a moment too soon, if you ask me. Skippy and Jif just aren’t as good, darn it.

P.S. Alas, it seems another favorite food product of mine, C2, is well and truly dead. According to Wikipedia, “An inquiry to the Coca-Cola company in February of 2007 revealed that only one bottler in the South Eastern United States still produced the product, and that it had been discontinued.” This comment from June 21 suggests that bottler may have been right here in Tennessee:

Up until just a few weeks ago, C-2 was available only in 12 packs in Smyrna, TN. It was available in all of the major grocery chains only - Kroger, Publix, Food Lion. Then it just disappeared off of everyone’s shelf at the same time with no advance warning. When I contacted the Nashville office, I was informed that Coca Cola stopped making C2.

Dammit.