Memphis state senator John Ford is up to his usual shenanigans, this time billing taxpayers for $2200 of personal FedEx charges; Mike Hollihan has all the juicy details (permalink bloggered; scroll down).

Steven Taylor has some pretty comprehensive advice on whether or not to pursue the Ph.D. There’s some other advice I’d add:

• Pick up a copy of Getting What You Came For, by Robert L. Peters.
• Research grad schools before you apply. Make sure they offer what you want beforehand; there’s no point in coming to Ole Miss or FSU if you want to study political theory, for example.
• If you’re still an undergrad, try to bum your way into a conference or two. It will give you a flavor of what you’re going to spend the rest of your life doing; better to find out if you like it at 22, when you can still get a J.D. or M.D. instead, rather than once you’ve accumulated sunk costs.
• Don’t just go somewhere just because it’s close to home, or because they’re making you the best assistantship offer. It can be a consideration, but that shouldn’t be the determining one.
• The rankings (particularly in US News) are often outdated, as changes in reputation take time to filter through disciplines. Especially when you consider that #20-25 will be completely different when you’re done, which is when the reputation will really matter.
• Look for schools with faculty—particularly tenured faculty—who publish regularly. That’s a leading indicator of reputation improvement.
• Unless you’re going to a top-tier program, you probably won’t get the “ideal Research I job” straight out of grad school. On the other hand, it may be easier to get a liberal-arts (teaching-focused) job out of a less prominent institution, as they’re less likely to think you’ll jump ship once you have two or three years under your belt.
• If you do want to be in the “Research I” rat-race, look for a postdoc at a top-tier institution to help close the gap between you and the applicants with top-tier Ph.Ds when it comes time to get the “real job.”

All that being said, you can’t beat the job of an academic. Where else can you get paid for doing pretty much whatever you want, whenever you want?

Conrad sees ominous signs in the latest sabre-rattling exercise by the Chinese government toward Taiwan (also noted by InstaPundit). Quoth Conrad:

I do, however, sense a significant change in tone recently in China’s comments regarding Taiwan. China’s bungling of the one country, two systems policy in Hong Kong have virtually eliminated whatever slim chance there was of a peaceful reunification while the CCP remains in power. Taiwan is now taking steps it believes will ensure its permanant independance and Beijing, having deceided to prop up its corrupt and despotic rule with juvenile patriotic appeals, realizes that the loss of Taiwan means the fall of the government.

A year ago, I’d have said that the chances of armed conflict between Taiwan and China were negligable. All the parties have too much to lose. Today, I’d rate the likelyhood at something approaching 50-50. If that happens, US involvement is all but a certainty. The US needs to make that final point crystal clear to Beijing.

Thursday’s China Post has the latest news on the story.

“Hey baby, would you like to help me commit spiritual suicide?”

Just think of it: if she gets it, she’s probably a New York Times reader. Smart and liberal.

Inspired by David Adesnik of OxBlog.

African-American culture has provided a way to greet my black friends: “fo’ shizzle, my nizzle!” But what if I want to get down with my white homeys? Kelley of suburban blight suggests fo’ shizzle, my crizzle!, while Michele recommends alrighty, my whitey!

In related news, Snoop Dogg has a blog (not work-safe). Maybe Dvorak is right?

Both PoliBlog and Xrlq take note of this bizarre AP story that alleges that Bush mispronounced the name of the state of Nevada:

Bush, in Las Vegas on Tuesday, repeatedly said Ne-vah-da. To properly pronounce Nevada, the middle syllable should rhyme with gamble.

There’s only one minor problem with this theory: Merriam-Webster says both pronunciations are acceptable.

I know absolutely no-one who pronounces “Nevada” the way these native Nevadans claim it should be pronounced; it’s like claiming I should pronounce “Mexico” as “Mehico” because that’s how Mexicans say it. This is sheer idiocy masquerading as a critique.

John Cole isn’t impressed either; neither are Nevada residents D.C. Thornton and Sin City Cynic. Xrlq also notes, shall we say, some minor grammatical difficulties with the account as presented in the Las Vegas Sun.