Guess the quote...

"Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?"

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Sean Hannity, 1999

No, it's not an Onion headline

Rumsfeld to be honored today at the Pentagon

Bill Frist's proudest moments

Hello from beautiful Greencastle, picking up the college daughter.

I came across Bill Frist's list of the tremendous accomplishments of this disgraceful Congress:

"We passed legislation securing the right to prayer in U.S. military academies.

"We passed legislation protecting the Mount Soledad Memorial Cross.

"We passed the Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act, which allows for the 10- fold increase of FCC fines for indecency violations.

"We passed Cord blood legislation that harnesses the power of stem cells in cord blood to develop new cures for life-threatening diseases.

"We passed the Fetus Farming Prohibition Act, which prohibits the gestation of fetal tissue in order to use it for research.

"We passed the Stem Cell Research Alternatives bill, which provides federal funding for a variety of stem cell research that do not involve destroying human embryos."

Thanks Bill (especially that crackdown on fetus farming!)

From the Pickle Barrel

So who does Pickles Bush blame for her husband's poll numbers, which are hovering just so slightly above the approval rating for compound fractures and open sores? Why, the media, of course. It's because of what we see on the tee vee.


Of course she does.

Happy Anniversary!

Belated, but we just passed the 6th anniversary of Bush v. Gore. I have NEVER been so wrong about anything. I remember thinking that night, "how bad can it be?" I expected crappy judges, tax cupcakes for his friends and some environmental rollbacks. Never did I expect to see the very future of the republic imperiled by a madman who seems like Hitler in his bunker in early 1945, ordering phantom divisions and shrieking about victory as the Russians marched into Berlin.

Kudos to Charlie Rangel

The congressman calls 'em as he sees 'em

“You have a President that’s in deep shit. He got us into the war, and all the reasons he gave have been proven invalid, and the whole electorate was so pissed off that they got rid of anyone they could have, and then they ask, ‘What is the Democrats’ solution?’”

Am not! Am too!

The president is acting like a petulant teenager just after his parents told him that they were getting him a babysitter. His reaction to the ISG report can be neatly summed up as "You're not the boss of me!"

Have you seen my liberal media? I know I left it here somewhere..

I was watching the Today Show this morning, and in their Iraq segment, we saw Byron York from the National Review Online. Then (for "balance"??) they bring in GAMBLIN' BILL BENNETT.

Some liberal media.

Really, why hurry?

Two headlines, one right after the other:

Bush: I won't be rushed on Iraq (AP)
At least 55 die in more Iraqi violence (AP)

We wouldn't want to do anything rash now, would we?

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas the Apocalypse

Washington: The Army and Marine Corps are planning to ask incoming Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and Congress to approve permanent increases in personnel, as senior officials in both services assert that the nation's global military strategy has outstripped their resources. In addition, the Army will press hard for "full access" to the 346,000-strong Army National Guard and the 196,000-strong Army Reserves by asking Gates to take the politically sensitive step of easing the Pentagon restrictions on the frequency and duration of involuntary call-ups for reservists, according to two senior Army officials.

Ho ho ho!

Jabberwocky

There was a book lying near Alice on the table, and while she sat watching the White King (for she was still a little anxious about him, and had the ink all ready to throw over him, in case he fainted again), she turned over the leaves, to find some part that she could read,--for it's all in some language I don't know,' she said to herself. It was like this.

As President Bush weighs new policy options for Iraq, strong support has coalesced in the Pentagon behind a military plan to "double down" in the country with a substantial buildup in American troops, an increase in industrial aid and a major combat offensive against Muqtada Sadr, the radical Shiite leader impeding development of the Iraqi government (link).

She puzzled over this for some time, but at last a bright thought struck her.`Why, it's a Looking-glass book, of course! And if I hold it up to a glass, the words will all go the right way again!"

OK, let me get this straight. We are going to wage a major offensive against a Shi'a cleric in a Shi'a country, and are effectively siding with Abdul Aziz al-Hakim's Badr brigade and the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, which has strong ties with--Iran.

There's one to ponder, but the looking glass isn't helping.

Special Headline

I've got some thoughts finally bubbling their way to the surface after a month or so of post-election burnout, but this isn't them.

Headline of an AP story this morning: "Bush decides direction of Iraq policy"

Well, of course he did. He's the decider.

The Vice Presidential Christmas Card

Merry Christmas and

The White House Christmas Card

The White House
Washington, D.C.

The President and Jeff GannonMrs. Bush wish you and yours a happy holiday.

I bring you good tidings of great fear, which shall be to all Americans.
For unto you this day there is an enemy, terrorists, freedom haters and evildoers
You will find the enemy stripped and lying in a prison, but that's just for starters
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the corporate host praising W, and saying,
Glory to W in the White House, and on earth, fear and corporate profits toward men.

The Butcher, the Baker....

The Iraq study group report delivered a much-deserved public scolding to the White House, and it has been interesting watching the White House spin machine go into overdrive on this one. It is also remarkable to see the critic's role played by such characters as James Baker and Ed Meese.

Despite the pleasure I take from seeing the administration embarrassed, I find that the report is fundamentally and fatally flawed. The study group, while more perceptive than the president (not a particularly high standard), still dwells in a fantasy world, evidenced by statements such as these:

"the Iraqi government needs to show its own citizens—and the citizens of the United States and other countries—that it deserves continued support."

"President Bush and his national security team should remain in close and frequent contact with the Iraqi leadership to convey a clear message: there must be prompt action by the Iraqi government to make substantial progress"

"the United States should make clear its willingness to continue training, assistance, and support for Iraq’s security forces and to continue political, military, and economic support"

"Saddam Hussein has been removed from power and the Iraqi people have a democratically elected government that is broadly representative of Iraq’s population"

I believe the problem is readily apparent.

THERE IS NO IRAQI GOVERNMENT and THERE IS NO IRAQI ARMY! Period, end of story.

Clinging to these pretenses accomplishes nothing positive, either for Iraq or for the United States. The Iraqi "government" controls no territory, commands no loyalty, has no monopoly (anything BUT a monopoly, as the competing militia factions exercise real authority) over coercive force and is unable to perform even low-level governmental functions. "Training" an "Iraqi security force" or military is a non-starter because of the fundamental reality that it is impossible to have an Iraqi military when there is no Iraq. We have spent significant time, manpower and money tilting at this windmill, and in the face of even stronger militia operations and a greatly-diminished regard for both the U.S. role and the Iraqi "government," expecting improvement here is a fool's paradise.

This of course is no secret or any profound observation on my part. It also is not surprising, given the makeup of the study group. While it may be "bipartisan" it is still made up of mainstream Washington insiders who have a vested interest in avoiding the obvious reality. The report clings to the Iraqi government, elections and democracy because this is the last refuge of even the slightest (albeit totally fictitious) whiff of anything resembling legitimacy in the invasion and occupation. They cling to frauds and fictions because they have to do so. Any other course of conduct would force them to do something that they would be organically unable to do. They would have to describe not incompetence, not missed opportunities, not flawed planning, but criminality. They would have to talk not of victory or defeat, progress or setbacks, but rather our nation's criminal conduct, the conduct of a rogue state. That they could not do.

I believe a corner awaits....

This one goes out to Janice Shaw Crouse of the "Concerned Women for America"--you know, one of those winger "think tanks" whose only "concern" for women is that she is "concerned" that they don't dress for dinner with pearls when that man of the house gets home. She has her cast iron panties in a bind over Mary Cheney having a child and raising it with the person she loves. According to this sociopath,

Mary Cheney’s pregnancy poses problems not just for her child, but also for all Americans....Mary’s pregnancy is an “in-your-face” action countering the Bush Administration’s pro-family, pro-marriage and pro-life policies.

First of all, I have a few roblems in my life, and Mary Cheney's family life doesn't make my radar screen. Then, of course, in her view, there are few things worse than a loving couple raising a child in a caring nurturing environment. Oh the humanity!

And in terms of Papa Dick's pro-family, pro-marriage and pro-life policy? How's that workin'?



So Jan, take your "concern" for women back to your permanent residence in the 1950s and

Two for the price of one

We get to combine two of our favorite bits, Mr. Dictionary Man and a certain corner in one post!

Messianic (adj)--of or relating to a messiah promising deliverance; a "messianic cult."

The winger radio station here has a local morning show featuring an ex-country DJ named John Howell. As I've mentioned, I will occasionally stumble onto them because they broadcast the college football and basketball games I listen to in the car. This idiot was criticizing the editor of The Nation magazine, Katrina vanden Heuvel, for saying that the country was ill-served by Bush's "messianic" foreign policy. According to "Big John," she was criticizing Chimpy because he is a "Christian."

Good God. Now we can speculate on "WWJD" with what currently occupies the White House (I'm seeing a celestial shortage of both fire and brimstone), but she was not criticizing him for believing and professing that Jesus of Nazareth is the messiah. She was critical of his conduct based on his quite bizarre belief that God has chosen and is directing HIM, George W. Bush, to do really stupid and horrible things.

So John, wave goodbye to Mr. Dictionary Man and

Ghosts of Endorsements Past

Part II, 2004

I would hope that even the Tribune editorial board would cringe when they look back just two years ago:

Bush has scored a great success in Afghanistan--not only by ousting the Taliban regime and nurturing a new democracy, but also by ignoring the chronic doubters who said a war there would be a quagmire....Bush has kept Americans, and their government, focused--effectively--on this nation's security...he has the steadfastness, and the strength, to execute the one mission no American generation has ever failed.

Misty water-colored memories....

Chicago Tribune
October 2000
Presidential endorsement

[Governor Bush] showed a grasp of detail on both domestic and foreign affairs, and told the public what kind of administration he wanted to run. ..That would be an administration dedicated to Republican principles of limited government, low taxes, free enterprise, personal rights and personal responsibilities. But it would be one shorn of the unfortunate vitriol that accompanied the GOP revolution in 1994. It would be an administration that trusts people to make their own decisions, but would not forget that some people need the government's help.

It would be an administration that recognizes a president doesn't succeed by browbeating, lecturing or intimidating Congress. A president succeeds by setting broad goals, leading by example, and recognizing that the perfect should not be the enemy of the good...Bush has offered solutions to problems. He has, to his credit, not given the impression that he has the last word on every problem to confront government. He would listen....There is, finally, the question of basic honesty…Gore, unlike his boss in the White House, has by all accounts lived a life of probity. There's no doubt that he is a decent man. But his penchant for enhancement has become something of a running joke. Created the Internet? Discovered Love Canal? While he may not have explicitly laid claim to those events, the fact is that Gore has a natural inclination for evasion that is deeply troubling. His explanations of his creative fundraising techniques--'No controlling legal authority'?--suggest that the public will grow disenchanted with yet another White House that can't tell the whole truth…The White House has seen enough of that. The nation has seen enough of that. It's time to move on. This is an election about honesty, about restoring bipartisanship, about fostering government that will nurture a booming economy without getting in the way of American ingenuity. There is one candidate for president who will do all that, and it is George W. Bush.

Comments to come, but chew on that one for a while.

How low can he go?

Dissatisfaction with President Bush's handling of Iraq has climbed to an alltime high of 71 percent (link). The latest AP-Ipsos poll, taken as a bipartisan commission was releasing its recommendations for a new course in Iraq, found that just 27 percent of Americans approved of Bush's handling of Iraq, down from his previous low of 31 percent in November.

Every limbo boy and girl
All around the limbo world
Gonna do limbo Iraq!
All around the limbo clock
George be limbo, George not quick
Polls go unda limbo stick
All around the limbo clock
Hey, let's do limbo Iraq!