Archives for 2005

USA Today: Education Dept. paid commentator to promote law. Seeking to build support among black families for its education reform law, the Bush administration paid a prominent black pundit $240,000 to promote the law on his nationally syndicated television show and to urge other black journalists to do the same.

t: Drug Control Office Faulted For Issuing Fake News Tapes. Shortly before last year’s Super Bowl, local news stations across the country aired a story by Mike Morris describing plans for a new White House ad campaign on the dangers of drug abuse. What viewers did not know was that Morris is not a journalist and his “report” was produced by the government, actions that constituted illegal “covert propaganda,” according to an investigation by the Government Accountability Office.

Given this administration’s fondness for fiscal recklessness, war-inducing lies, torture, attacks on civil-liberties and other misdeeds, these seem like minor matters. But the Bush White House’s contempt for honest journalism is really something to behold. Worse, it’s clear that the adminstration honchos believe the public doesn’t care — and that officials consider professional journalists to be utterly helpless in making anyone care.

…excerpt from: dangillmor.typepad.com…

Cory Doctorow:
CoolGov uncovered this US Highway Administration document that explains the numbering scheme behind the US interstate highway system.

* Major interstates routes have a one or two digit number associated with them. North-south routes have odd numbers (I-5) while east-west roads have even numbers (I-10).

* Connecting interstate routes or beltway loops around urban areas have 3 digit numbers (the 101).

* To prevent duplication within a state, a progression of prefixes is used for the three-digit numbers. For example, if I-80 runs through three cities in a state, circumferential routes around these cities would be numbered as I-280, I-480, and I-680.

* There�s no set standard on exit numbering, but states generally use one of two systems:
1. Milepost numbering. The southern or western-most point on a given interstate begins the odometer at 0. If an exit is 6.5 miles from that point, it�s exit #6 and so forth.

2. Consecutive numbering. Again, starting at the western or southern-most point, each exit is given a number, starting with 1. When they have to shoehorn more exits in, they become #6A, #6B, etc�

ttp://coolgov.com/”>Cool Gov)
…excerpt from: www.boingboing.net…