Port Insecurity

Got a suspicious boat with a possible diver near a cruise ship in Long Beach Harbor?

Good security practice, it seems to me, would suggest that security forces be on the scene before the suspect boat leaves the area.

That's not what happened. Story here:

U.S. Coast Guard divers inspected the hull of a cruise ship docked in Long Beach Harbor Sunday after several people reported having seen a small, suspicious boat floating nearby, authorities said.

Cruise ship officials called the Coast Guard at 11:30 a.m., after one of four people in the 18-foot skiff went into the water and pulled himself back out, Coast Guard spokesman Lt. j.g. Andrew Munoz said.

It is illegal for unauthorized people and boats to come within 100 yards of a docked cruise ship, Munoz said.

The regulation was implemented to avoid possible terrorist attacks on cruise ships.

The small boat and its occupants were no longer at the scene by the time police, firefighters, lifeguards and Coast Guard officers arrived.

Eleven divers inspected the hull of the ship with the aid of a remote-controlled, submersible camera as the ship's 2,576 passengers boarded.

A little more here.

If Al Qaeda is running tests, they found a weak spot. A ship with 2,600 passengers and a large crew makes a spectacular target.

UPDATE: Added image

Exit stage Rove

Is this another evil genius Rovian Plot?.

Mr. Rove, who has held senior posts in the White House since President Bush took office in January 2001, told Mr. Gigot he first floated the idea of leaving a year ago. But he delayed his departure as, first, Democrats took Congress, and then as the White House tackled debates on immigration and Iraq, he said. He said he decided to leave after White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten told senior aides that if they stayed past Labor Day they would be obliged to remain through the end of the president's term in January 2009.

"I just think it's time," Mr. Rove said in the interview. "There's always something that can keep you here, and as much as I'd like to be here, I've got to do this for the sake of my family." Mr. Rove and his wife have a home in Ingram, Texas, and a son who attends college in nearby San Antonio

Michelle imagines how things would be if he had resigned a year ago.

Now who does Bush listen to? ... Cheney?

Will this cause a moonbat meltdown? ... Will the media find a conspiracy behind this? ... Will this be the last we see of Karl Rove? ... Some think not.

What say you?

That Sinking Feeling

She partially sank herself to do her job. "Stealthy" for her day.

Cleared the way for President Lincoln to visit Richmond.

And maybe was named for a "spitting devil" or a "spouting meadow."

A unique footnote to naval history as set out here.