Put Nothing in Writing - Ever

Dead pens tell no tales!

Carol Browner, former Clinton administration EPA head and current Obama White House climate czar, instructed auto industry execs "to put nothing in writing, ever" regarding secret negotiations she orchestrated regarding a deal to increase federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards.

Rep. James Sensenbrenner, R-WI, is demanding a congressional investigation of Browner's conduct in the CAFE talks, saying in a letter to Rep. Henry Waxman, D-CA, that Browner "intended to leave little or no documentation of the deliberations that lead to stringent new CAFE standards."

Federal law requires officials to preserve documents concerning significant policy decisions, so instructing participants in a policy negotiation concerning a major federal policy change could be viewed as a criminal act.

One of the big problems with this "czar" business is that these people owe their allegiance only to the president, and that's sometimes a big maybe. They are not confirmed. They have to pass no public scrutiny.

And then they order people to leave no evidence so that they have total deniability if the you-know-what hits the fan. So much for transparency.

It would be a healthy thing for Carol Browner to be brought up on charges.

What Not to Call Swine Flu?

Homeland Security director Janet Napolitano and Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack today insisted that reporters not call the disease of the day "swine flu" out of deference to pig farmers.

You gotta be freakin' kidding!

"This is not a food-borne illness, virus. It is not correct to refer to it as swine flu because really that's not what this is about," Vilsack said. Israel has already rejected the name swine flu, and opted to call it "Mexico flu." Jewish dietary laws forbid eating pork.

The Paris-based World Organization for Animal Health also objected to the name, saying the virus contains avian and human components and no pig so far has been found ill with the disease. And there is growing sentiment in the farm sector to call it the North American virus -- although disease expert Anthony Fauci told a Senate hearing the "swine flu" designation reflected scientific naming protocol.

Since the virus has snippets of avian (bird) and human flu strains, maybe we should just concoct a new name for it. Using the Anagram finder, I came up with

AMBUSH REWIND

and all I had to do was lose a couple of letters. We could call it the "Ambush Rewind" virus. A little bird, a little swine, a bit of human.

Then maybe we won't offend anyone. That seems to be the highest protocol of our new Dept. of Homeland Security.

Can we have the grown-ups back, please?

A Side Note:

I liked, but rejected, "Barn Undies Whim" as it sounded like something that might be fun to catch. Similarly the phrase "Bra Nudism Whine" virus seems a bit on the risque side. On the other hand, "Unwashed Rim Bin" seemed like a potential keeper.

Final Side Note:

Only a complete dim-wit, or a Russian bureaucrat, would actually believe that eating pork could give you the flu.