by Dan Pashman

Morning Meeting

"Morning Meeting" is a recap of our daily editorial meeting. If we had a show today, these are some of the stories you would probably hear.

Well I (Dan) am back from my wedding. But enough about me. I'm pleased to join the gang in New York, across the street from Bryant Park, site of our eponymous project. (That's the first time I've ever used 'eponymous' in a sentence. Did I do it right?)

The Rundown. In attendance: Alison Stewart, Luke Burbank, Matt Martinez and Dan Pashman.

IRAQ CASUALTIES — More U.S. troops have died in Iraq in the last two months than during any other two month span of the Iraq War. We debated whether we'd leave this story for the newscast, or take it on ourselves. After all, stories about these grim milestones have started to sound redundant to our ears, and we wondered how much impact headlines like this one actually have now. I pointed out that they must have some impact, since support for the war continues to decline. We decided that if we covered it, we'd like to talk to a regular Joe or Jane who supported the Iraq War from the start, but who's recently changed his/her mind, to find out how stories like today's played into the decision.

MAKE ME CARE: THE WORLD BANK — If news that the U.S. will nominate Robert Zoellick to be the new head of the World Bank has you reaching for the remote, you're not alone. So this afternoon, we'll going to try to find out why we should care. And we'll find out why Zoellick should not be confused with Zelig.

CHINESE FOOD CHIEF SENTENCED TO DEATH — The former head of China's top food and drug safety agency was sentenced to death Tuesday after pleading guilty to corruption and accepting bribes. Luke's first reaction was, "REALLY?! DEATH?!" Sure, they contaminated our pet food, and they accidentally put antifreeze in a shipment of cough syrup bound for Latin America, but we didn't know an execution was in the realm of possibility. Would this kind of sentencing cut down on bribery and graft in the U.S.? Would it have kept Ken Lay on the straight and narrow? And even if it would have, would it be right, or downright cruel and unusual?

MITT ROMNEY WOULD WORK FOR FREE — Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney says he will not take a salary if elected. This story led Alison to wonder why Romney's incredible wealth ($190-$250 million) has not received more attention, considering we've heard plenty about Rudy Giuliani's business deals and John Edwards' $400 haircut. Matt asked whether the wealth of all the candidates gives lie to the childhood notion that "anyone can grow up to be president." And Dan asked what specific and tangible advantages wealth provides candidates, considering they don't actually pay for their own campaigns. Is it simply that they have more rich friends to hit up for donations? (If the BPP ran for president, we know we could count on all of you high-rolling blog readers to help us out.)

AIRLINE PASSENGERS GETTING THE SHAFT — Luke flew twice in recent days, and nearly lost his seat both times, because overbooking has hit an all-time high. This great article talks about why airlines do it, how they do it, and how the people working at the gate sometimes use their computers to fill up seats with fake names, just to prevent a flight from getting overbooked, just so they don't have to deal with angry passengers. If we had a radio show today, Luke would have entertained you with his travel travails, like getting bumped from cushy first class to a middle seat next to a rather cushy person.

CELEBS BEHAVING BADLY (AND/OR POLITICALLY) — So Lindsay Lohan got drunk again. How do these underage celebs get served at clubs? It's not like people don't know who she is and that she's underage. Of course, a tabloid photo of her stumbling out of your bar might be the best advertising you'll ever get, but that's about to change, thanks to a crackdown by the Alcohol Board of California...Other members of the glitterati will attend an uber-trendy fundraiser for Hillary Clinton at Brett Ratner's house. We all wondered what it will mean if these people actually start using their money and fame to advocate for anything more than a postpartum Brazilian...New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez (a.k.a. A-Rod) was caught on camera returning to a hotel in Toronto with a buxom blonde that looked nothing like his wife. The New York Post went with the cover headline "STRAY-ROD," followed by "He's a Yankee Doodle Randy" inside. Think you could come up with something better? Give it a shot! The best A-Rod-related tabloid style headline pun posted to the blog wins an undetermined prize.

AND MORE — Other stories on our radar today include the guy who got on a plane with the superstrain of tuberculosis, a recall of contact lens solution, and the emerging questions about whether the story of an 11-year-old who killed a 1,000-pound hog is a hoax. What do you think? Do you buy it?