HOSPIBLOGGING: The Insta-Mother-in-Law had hip surgery this morning; she’s out and doing okay now, though rather groggy.

IN THE MAIL: Choosing the Right College: 2008-2009: The Whole Truth about America’s Top Schools.

It’s discussed here.

YAMMERING ABOUT PRINCESS DIANA, while forgetting a more important anniversary.

LATER: Link was bad before. Fixed now. Sorry!

HMM. I don’t think this is coming from a position of strength: ” Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) said he is now willing to compromise with Republicans to find ways to limit troop deployments in Iraq.”

I wonder if there’s a connection with this.

FINE WITH ME: Gay marriage now legal in Iowa.

HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE AN INVESTOR SCORNED: A look at securities fraud and its punishment, from Joan Heminway.

We talked to her about her book on Martha Stewart’s legal troubles in this podcast.

DEFINING DIPLOMACY DOWN: “Finally, George W. Bush has secured the support of the ‘traditional ally’ most favored among on the American left. You would think the New York Times would be delighted. You would be wrong.”

APPARENTLY, PEOPLE RESPOND TO PRICE CHANGES: With gas more expensive, small cars are coming back.

WE USED TO HAVE A “MISSILE GAP.” Now we have talk of a “corruption gap?”

The “missile gap,” if I recall correctly, turned out to be phony. The corruption gap? Well, the corruption is real. The gap . . . I’m not so sure.

UPDATE: A Bill Moyers angle.

ANOTHER UPDATE: “How do you do?”

STEVE CHAPMAN: “Before the nation undertakes the extravagant project of rebuilding New Orleans and securing it from the elements, we might ask if there isn’t a better option, not only for the nation but for the flood victims.”

Plus, Hurricane Katrina Myths, Part One and Part Two.

Also, here’s Newsday’s Lou Dolinar on what the media got wrong, and here are some Katrina lessons.

MAYBE WE NEED BRADY-STYLE BACKGROUND CHECKS AND WAITING PERIODS before people are allowed to donate to politicians:

From $62,000 for Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York, to $10,000 for the Tennessee Democratic Party, the full extent of fund-raising by Norman Hsu came into focus yesterday, as campaigns across the country began returning his money in light of revelations that he is a fugitive in a fraud case.

Beyond the hundreds of thousands of dollars he raised from others for Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Mr. Hsu personally contributed more than $600,000 to federal, state and municipal candidates in the last three years, a review of campaign finance records shows. It was a startling amount of money for someone whose sources of income remained far from obvious yesterday, as visits to addresses he has provided for his businesses found no trace of Mr. Hsu.

If it saves just one campaign it’s worth it.

SOME GOOD ECONOMIC NEWS: “The economy grew at its strongest pace in more than a year during the spring as solid improvements in international trade and business investment helped offset weakness in housing.” If they hadn’t been writing mortgages to homeless people, it would be even stronger . . . .

WILD PARTIES IN SUDAN: A report from Khartoum.

SALON: JOHN EDWARDS turns on his fellow Democrats. Well, the SUV thing didn’t work out for him. (Roundup on that here.)

ROGER KIMBALL ON the cult of Diana.

FRED THOMPSON’S CAMPAIGN THEME: Security, Unity & Prosperity.

IS ENFORCING A LAW THAT’S NEVER ENFORCED some sort of due process violation?

Of course, if they’d gone after this particular guy for aggravated ptomaine violations, there’d be no room for argument.

HOWARD MORTMAN HAS SOME QUESTIONS about the Larry Craig arrest.

SAN FRANCISCO’S CITYWIDE WI-FI PLAN FIZZLES: That’s too bad, I guess, although the whole thing might have become obsolete in short order anyway.

JUST KEEP SCROLLING: James Lileks continues to blog from the Minnesota State Fair.

ANOTHER ANTI-GUN HEADLINE with no support in the actual story, according to Countertop Chronicles. But at least the WaPo listened to criticism.

THE COUNTERMAJORITARIAN DIFFICULTY, Turkish style.

SHRIMP AND GENDER: Why are we eating more shrimp? Male vs. female explanations.

DANIEL HENNINGER on loss of trust in the media. But it’s worse than that:

All this has gotten the media into high anxiety over the one thing it presumes to value most: the public’s trust. “The defining problem of contemporary television,” the BBC’s Mr. Paxman told the TV professionals last week, “is trust: Can you believe what you see on television, does television treat people fairly, is it healthy for society?”

Fascinating and worthwhile questions to be sure, insofar as most opinion polls of how much the American public “trusts” the press, TV news or even Congress have put their approval ratings in Lindsay Lohanland.

But for the media ponderers there’s a more troubling issue than the restoration of trust. It’s the possibility that too many people now simply don’t much care about the major media anymore.

I expect they find being ignored even worse than being distrusted.

FRED THOMPSON ANNOUNCES that he will announce on September 6. The summer has been rough for him, as his non-campaign has been a bit disorganized. He’ll need to hit the ground running next week.