Just in time for Halloween, it's Frankenstein appears...

... in veto format.

Wisconsin's governor has unique veto powers: the stuff presidents and many other governors can only dream of.

Read here and here.

Investigating stuff

This could be a very interesting - and needed - experiment:

As struggling newspapers across the country cut back on investigative reporting, a new kind of journalism venture is hoping to fill the gap.

Paul E. Steiger, who was the top editor of The Wall Street Journal for 16 years, and a pair of wealthy Californians are assembling a group of investigative journalists who will give away their work to media outlets.

The nonprofit group, called Pro Publica, will pitch each project to a newspaper or magazine (and occasionally to other media) where the group hopes the work will make the strongest impression. The plan is to do long-term projects, uncovering misdeeds in government, business and organizations.

Nothing quite like it has been attempted, and despite having a lot going for it, Pro Publica will be something of an experiment, inventing its practices by trial and error. It remains to be seen how well it can attract talent and win the cooperation of the mainstream media.

Osprey

Thorough article about an interesting weapon system. Lots of controversy.

Getting Ol' Party

The Wall Street Journal has an absolutely fantastic article on the changing dynamics of the Republican Party. Apparently, according to journalist Jackie Calmes, the Party is losing some moderate business folks due to the GOP's inability to balance the budget and the rise of social issues. The article may in fact be free today, or you should be able to find it through NOVA's Library website.

Left of Boom

Rick Atkinson of the Washington Post is about to conclude a fantastic four part series on US efforts to counter IEDs in Iraq. (IEDs are Improvised Explosive Devices and are the major killer of US troops in Iraq.) Atkinson recently won a Pulitzer for his book, An Army at Dawn, which is about the US military's fight in Northern Africa.

S-CHIP

Some helpful and fair information on the S-CHIP program and President Bush's likely veto of Congress's bill to expand coverage.
From the Congressional Research Service: Click HERE.
Another, better, CRS Report on what happens if the President vetoes the legislation: Click HERE.
Information on the inaccuracy of some of the claims President Bush has made regarding SCHIP: Click HERE. Although this one report at FactCheck only focuses on President Bush's inaccuracies, the website appears to level inaccuracy charges at both parties, depending on the issue. Worth visiting: factcheck.org.