Do you see what I see?

The president said he interpreted the Democratic election victories six weeks ago not as a mandate to bring the U.S. involvement in Iraq to an end but as a call to find new ways to make the mission there succeed. (link)

Mr. President, we have the results of your Rorschach test. We showed you and the rest of America a series of inkblots. More than 80% of America thought they looked like this

and this but you thought they looked like this

and this

With extensive therapy, Mr. President, I MIGHT be able to help you improve your condition to that of delusional sociopathy.

By Mark Silva

By Mark Silva

That’s really all you need to know, isn’t it? Any byline by this shameless hack signals another waste of ink and pulp defending the indefensible.

Try this one:

As he attempts to chart a “new way forward’’ in Iraq, President Bush again is striving to frame the conflict there as central to a broader struggle against world terrorism – despite analysis both from inside and outside the administration that worsening sectarian violence inside Iraq is responsible for a greater share of the increasing casualties there than any acts of terrorism.

Pssst, Mark, the casualties in Iraq have not resulted from “terrorism” as that term is generally used. The violence in Iraq results from sectarian clashes and from resistance to the U.S. invasion and the attempted installation of a stooge government.

You keep on tryin’ though, Lil’ Feller, and maybe someday you and your beloved preznit will find that elusive “way forward.”

Rhetoric and Reality

Rhetoric and Reality (link)

Words of wisdom from Fearless leader (the Year 2000 beta test module)

"I just don't think it's the role of the United States to walk into a country and say, we do it this way, so should you ....but I think one way for us to end up being viewed as the ugly American is for us to go around the world saying, we do it this way, so should you…..I think the United States must be humble and must be proud and confident of our values, but humble in how we treat nations that are figuring out how to chart their own course."

"If we don't stop extending our troops all around the world and nation building missions, then we're going to have a serious problem coming down the road, and I'm going to prevent that...."
"Well, if it's in our vital national interest, and that means whether our territory is threatened or people could be harmed, whether or not the alliances are -- our defense alliances are threatened, whether or not our friends in the Middle East are threatened. That would be a time to seriously consider the use of force. Secondly, whether or not the mission was clear. Whether or not it was a clear understanding as to what the mission would be. Thirdly, whether or not we were prepared and trained to win. Whether or not our forces were of high morale and high standing and well-equipped. And finally, whether or not there was an exit strategy. I would take the use of force very seriously. I would be guarded in my approach. I don't think we can be all things to all people in the world. I think we've got to be very careful when we commit our troops. The vice president and I have a disagreement about the use of troops. He believes in nation building. I would be very careful about using our troops as nation builders. I believe the role of the military is to fight and win war and therefore prevent war from happening in the first place."

"..... if we don't stop extending our troops all around the world and nation building missions, then we're going to have a serious problem coming down the road, and I'm going to prevent that."
It really depends upon how our nation conducts itself in foreign policy. If we're an arrogant nation, they'll resent us. If we're a humble nation, but strong, they'll welcome us."

"I'm going to be judicious as to how to use the military. It needs to be in our vital interest, the mission needs to be clear, and the exit strategy obvious."

Maybe the Iraqi government is becoming more like ours...

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Thirteen men convicted of murder, kidnapping and other crimes were hanged in a Baghdad jail on Tuesday, lining up shortly before their execution in hoods and green jumpsuits, their hands bound behind their backs.
Elsewhere in the Iraqi capital, gunmen in military uniforms robbed government accountants as they left a bank with bags of cash, in the second major bank robbery in Baghdad in eight days.

Has anyone seen my (lap)dog?

(London) "We need to recognise that a central element of foreign policy - the intervention in Iraq--has failed in its objectives so badly that the threat to this country is actually greater than it was before it began." (Conservative MP David Cameron)

The article further notes that, according to Mr. Cameron, "the threat to Britain was bigger now than prior to the war, was a statement of fact."

Nice work, guys.

One interesting sidebar in the piece is that the British politicos are becoming a might peeved as being seen as Bush's lapdogs. A Conservative party policy group reported that "British interests would `always be best served in partnership with America,' but the relationship must be put on a `proper footing'. We should recognise that we will find it difficult to serve our interests, or those of America, if we are regarded as their mute partner in every foreign undertaking."

Good luck with that.

Who should I listen to?

Washington The Bush administration is split over the idea of a surge in troops to Iraq, with White House officials aggressively promoting the concept over the unanimous disagreement of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to U.S. officials familiar with the intense debate. Sending 15,000 to 30,000 more troops for a mission of possibly six to eight months is one of the central proposals on the table of the White House policy review to reverse the steady deterioration in Iraq. The option is being discussed as an element in a range of bigger packages, the officials said. But the Joint Chiefs think the White House, after a month of talks, still does not have a defined mission [editor's note--Duh!] and is latching on to the surge idea in part because of limited alternatives, despite warnings about the potential disadvantages for the military, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the White House review is not public.

Definitely go with the White House. They've been spot on so far, and what do those military guys know?

Workin' hard, makin' progress....

WASHINGTON - Attacks on U.S. and Iraqi troops and Iraqi civilians jumped sharply in recent months to the highest level since Iraq regained its sovereignty in June 2004, the Pentagon told Congress on Monday in the latest indication of that country’s spiraling violence. In a report issued the same day Robert Gates took over as defense secretary, the Pentagon said that from mid-August to mid-November, the weekly average number of attacks increased 22 percent from the previous three months.

The story is bad enough as it is, but yet--the spin continues even amidst this tale of woe. Note the reference to "since Iraq regained its sovereignty." Sovereign, huh? Well, it certainly seems to be a particularly explode-y kind of sovereignty!

It's lovely weather for a dumbass together with you

This one is remarkable. Every time I see Bush's plummeting approval ratings, I always ask myself who these dwindling few supporters are. Well, this is one rather pathetic follower [editor's note--look for how the historical reference he makes supports the exact opposite conclusion from what he draws].

Steve Chapman’s assertion ("Iraq report actually fuels hawks," Commentary, Dec. 14) that the liberation of Iraq from the butchery and tyranny of Saddam Hussein "was a doomed enterprise from the start" and that "we could do worse" than talking to Syria and Iran as the Iraq Surrender, uh, Study Group, shows that it is he, not the Bush administration who have "learned nothing" from history.

He says we should "look at…the Americans in Vietnam." Okay, let’s look. We were never defeated on the battlefield. Tet [Offensive] was a military disaster for the Vietcong and North Vietnamese, not an American defeat. And South Vietnam fell two years after we left, not to a popular uprising, but to a conventional armored invasion from the North after the Democratic "Watergate babies" of 1974 cut off the South Vietnamese at the knees.

Now another Democratic Congress, and Steve Chapman, wants to ignore the millions of Iraqis who risked their lives to vote for their leaders and a constitution, proudly displaying their purple fingers. They risk and lose their lives daily, publishing newspapers, joining the police, just going to work.

What do Syria and Iran want? Certainly not stability in Iraq or Lebanon as both have aided the private armies of Muqtada al-Sadr and Hassan Nasrallah, respectively. They want an American defeat in Iraq. Neither want democracy to gain a foothold and spread.

Chapman must have missed the recent revelations of U.S. intelligence officials regarding the ongoing attempts by Syria and Iran to wreak havoc from Beirut to Baghdad. Officials described how Iranian Revolutionary Guards worked in tandem with Syrian military intelligence to facilitate the travel and training of radical Shiite Iraqi militants.

The New York Times reported that "a senior American intelligence official" says that between 1,000 to 2,000 fighters in Muqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army had been trained by Hezbollah in Lebanon. A number of Hezbollah operatives are also said to have entered Iraq to do training on-site.

Chapman’s and the ISG’s naiveté is exceeded perhaps only by the late Sen. William Borah who, upon hearing of the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939, opined, "Lord, if only I could have talked with Hitler, all this might have been avoided."

Daniel John Sobieski

Just one suggestion, Danny Boy---

Quote of the Day

"I had a sense, for the first time, that the Iraqi political leadership realized that this thing was slipping away"

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)

Now there's one quick study!

One bad bet...

Jonah Goldberg wrote this in early February 2005 (in a wager with Juan Cole, with whom is he WAAAY out of his league). He still has six weeks for his happy place to become a reality. I'm confident, aren't you?:

I predict that Iraq won't have a civil war, that it will have a viable constitution, and that a majority of Iraqis and Americans will, in two years time, agree that the war was worth it.

A pop culture observation

Take it out in the back yard and shoot it. It's not--what's the word I'm looking for--oh, funny.

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!

Byline: Mark Silva

The Chicago Tribune's resident Bush apologist has been absent from our pages lately, as he has been content to serve only as Chimpy's stenographer. Apparently this morning, though, he assumed his readers don't watch the news and didn't see the actual video of the miserable man that he attempts to defend..

Marky wrote that we saw a "most blunt characterization of the war" when Bush said, "It's bad in Iraq. . . . Does that help?" Mark, Mark, Mark, that was no "blunt characterization," no plain-spoken statesmanship. Watch the tape. That was the reaction of a petulant child, not a president. It was Corky St. Clair from "Waiting for Guffman" wailing that "I just hate you, and I hate your ass face! (To hear Corky, go here and click on the first one under "Miscellaneous.")

Welcome back to doing what you do best, Mark--the carnival barker at the never-ending Cirque du Clusterfuque.

Insert your own caption here

Dennis Praeger is an idiot

OK, the court has long ago taken judicial notice of the above statement. For those of you unacquainted with Mr. Praeger, he is a right-wing radio host heard on perhaps 3 stations (and lunatic's fillings) and he writes on several wingnut sites. He recently condemned Keith Ellison, a freshman representative from Minnesota (who just happens to be a Muslim) for wanting to place his hand on a Koran in a CEREMONIAL (see below) congressional swearing-in.

The blogosphere has already destroyed his ridiculous statement that "He should not be allowed to do so -- not because of any American hostility to the Koran, but because the act undermines American civilization. " The ammo has come from both left and right. Even the often absurdist FAR RIGHT Eugene Volokh (yes, law profs can be, and often are, vainglorious fools) wrote that

This argument both mistakes the purpose of the oath, and misunderstands the Constitution. In fact, it calls for the violation of some of the Constitution’s multiculturalist provisions...the Constitution thus already expressly authorizes people not to swear at all, but to affirm, without reference to God or to a sacred work. Atheists and agnostics are thus protected, as well as members of certain Christian groups. Why would Muslims and others not be equally protected from having to perform a religious ritual that expressly invokes a religion in which they do not believe?

What made this more remarkable was Praeger's "Who, me?" response. He wrote that

My belief that the Bible should be present at any oath (or affirmation) of office has nothing whatsoever to do with the religion of the office holder....Why wouldn't Ellison bring a Bible along with the Koran? That he chose not to is the narcissism of multiculturalism that I referred to: The individual's culture trumps the national culture.

The "national culture" involves subscribing to a particular religion? "Why wouldn't Ellison bring a Bible along with the Koran?" WHY WOULD HE??? Why bring a religious tract that means nothing to you?

Of course, a leading Jewish source also disagreed with his take on Jewish officials.

Denny adds that

You don't have to be Christian to acknowledge that the Bible is the source of America's values.

Uhhhm, this Sunday School teacher does a HUGE Scooby-Doo moment. How is the "Bible" the source of American values?

Denny idiotically blathers on that

I cannot name any Western European country that does not have a document similar to the American Constitution and something akin to our Bill of Rights.

Ummm, Denny, ever heard of the UNITED KINGDOM? England swing like a pendulum do? You do know that in the English system, there is no equivalent of the 1st Amendment?

Even Denny concedes that the "swearings" with props are photo-ops and are PURELY ceremonial, as the legally effective oath is administered en masse with no "props." Here's the rant:

Obviously, Mr. Ellison will have already been officially sworn in. Therefore, the use of the Koran has absolutely nothing to do with taking an oath on the book he holds sacred. It is used entirely to send a message to the American people.

Yes, Denny, he is sending a message, a message that he cares enough about his congressional duties to affirm that in the presence of the scripture he reveres.

Denny concludes that

It is not I, but Keith Ellison, who has engaged in disuniting the country.

OK Denny. Disuniting the country? How? By not engaging in a sham? By taking the solemn oath on a book that means nothing to you? How?

Mr. Family Values

Ah yes, the Family Values president (here):

In a rare glimpse of his relationship with the former president after recent signs of possible strains between the two men, Bush said he calls his parents every two weeks.

Yup, nothing's more important than family.

Mix one part reality with one part nightmare

From the New York Times, on Rummy's replacement:

Here's the reality:

“Mr. Gates, do you believe that we are currently winning in Iraq?” Mr. Levin asked. “No, sir,” Mr. Gates replied, going on to agree with the senator that a political settlement is needed to end the blood-letting, and that the United States needed to convey “a sense of urgency” to the Iraqis about reaching an accord.

Here's the nightmare:

Mr. Gates said “there clearly were insufficient troops in Iraq after the initial invasion.” While he said that he envisions “a dramatically smaller” number of United States troops there, he said an American presence would be required “for a long time.”

Ho ho ho, a gift list suggestion

For the political junkie in your life, I highly recommend Whistling Past Dixie: How Democrats Can Win Without the South by Thomas F. Schaller (get it here) The author is a frequent Gadflyer contributor, one of our favorite sites. In Whistling Past Dixie, Prof. Schaller (University of Maryland-Baltimore County) urges Democrats to build a non-southern majority rather than engaging in "futile pandering to the nation's most conservative voters."

Rainy days and Mondays always get me down

Reuters reports that Iraqi authorities found 52 bodies in the capital on Monday. Seven bodies showed up in the northern city of Mosul, which also witnessed violence between the Iraqi guerrillas and the new Iraqi military.

From Juan Cole.

Meanwhile, back in Frostbite Falls....

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Nine U.S. troops died in Iraq during the weekend, including five killed by roadside bombs, the U.S. military reported Sunday.

I've been one poor correspondent...

We've been digging out from one heck of a winter storm here-(and a $4600 sewer line break in front of yours truly's humble abode)-I'm too old for this!

Just a couple of quick thoughts today.

Farewell, John Bolton. Good riddance. Tony Snow actually said today that Bolton had done a "great job." Exactly how, Tony, unless alienating us from the whole world is "great?"

Congratulations, Lindsay Lohan, for becoming an alcoholic before being old enough to have alcohol.

I will spend more money this year at stores that say "Happy Holidays!"

and my favorite one. Preeminent historian Eric Foner wrote in the Washington Post that

It is impossible to say with certainty how Bush will be ranked in, say, 2050. But somehow, in his first six years in office he has managed to combine the lapses of leadership, misguided policies and abuse of power of his failed predecessors. I think there is no alternative but to rank him as the worst president in U.S. history.

Good radio news here

If you're in Chicago, starting December 11, catch Stephanie Miller on WCPT 850 AM weekday mornings at 8:00. Great stuff.

A penny for your thoughts..

I have a few ill-formed random thoughts bouncing around in my head, and some are bouncing out:

1) R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me

The Jim Webb incident has generated a lot of talk and I'm wondering what it all means. The right-wing echo chamber is all over Webb's supposed "rudeness" and "boorishness" (they seem to have forgotten how one Sen. Jesse Helms effectively threatened Bill Clinton's life) and his lack of "respect."

If you have read these pages, you know that "respect" for George Walker Bush is a scarce commodity around here, and our contempt is well-justified. This is nothing new of course. Go back and see our 16th president referred to as "the original gorilla" and mercilessly caricatured in the cartoons of the day.

My question though--is there any validity to the old saying, "I don't respect the man, but I respect the office?" Is that possible, and if so, what does it mean?

… I get tired, just a little bit, keep on tryin' (just a little bit), you're runnin' out of foolin' (just a little bit) and I ain't lyin' (just a little bit)

2) Isn't it remarkable that it is the Democrats' responsibility to solve George's mess when they haven't even been sworn in yet?

3) It looks like the much-hyped "Baker Report" will be warmed-over nonsense and people will just keep dying. It will speak in vaguely-defined platitudes and indefinite objectives--and people will keep dying.

4) Speaking of death, remind me to take al-Maliki in next year's dead pool (if he's still eligible, this is a tough month for him).

State Department Press Release

DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Press Release

The Department of State advises that the use of the phrase "civil war" in Iraq is not appropriate. Based on our review of events in Iraq, we have determined the proper terms to use. From now on, the conflict will be referred to as:

1) a "Kerfuffle"
2) Explode-y Tag
3) Iraqi PUNK'D!
4) Hazing
5) Sectarian Slapdown
6) Damned ungrateful A-Rabs!

Some Headlines Don't Even Need a Story

(link)

Police Arrest Two in Shooting of Man Waiting
on Playstation 3 Line in Connecticut

I'd like to buy this man a drink..

The Washington Post: At a recent White House reception for freshman members of Congress, Virginia's newest senator tried to avoid President Bush. Democrat Jim Webb declined to stand in a presidential receiving line or to have his picture taken with the man he had often criticized on the stump this fall. But it wasn't long before Bush found him.

"How's your boy?" Bush asked, referring to Webb's son, a Marine serving in Iraq.

"I'd like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President," Webb responded, echoing a campaign theme.

"That's not what I asked you," Bush said. "How's your boy?"

"That's between me and my boy, Mr. President," Webb said coldly, ending the conversation on the State Floor of the East Wing of the White House.

Sour, Uninformed Grapes

Elizabeth Pearson of Elmhurst, IL worked up some indignation and sent the following message to the Op/Editor at the Chicago Tribune:

"We will work together" is the heady plaudit we now hear from both parties. If this was at all possible, why was this affirmation not forthcoming from the Democrats who never ceased to give the president total uncooperation? What is really meant is, "Now you can do things OUR way-cooperate, or else!" Elephants have great memories and can be stubborn too.

Oh Elizabeth! Clearly, the last time you poked your head out of the sand you heard moderate GOP presidential candidate George W. Bush stating that he was a compassionate conservative and a uniter, rather than a divider. That was a long, long time ago, and since then things have changed somewhat. The GOP gained total control of both houses of congress over two election cycles ago. That's when George and Dick took off the sheep's clothing and revealed themselves to be Drinky McLiar and Darth Cheney. Drinky went on to lose his veto pen for a record period of time, allowing the GOP-controlled congress to spend all of your children's inheritance. In return, congress allowed Drinky and Darth to make a mockery of the constitution while sacrificing life and limb of America's youth (not to mention tens of thousands of Iraqis) to make the world safe for Wall Street, Halliburton and Exxon. During all this time the "uncooperation" of the neutered Democrats amounted to a couple of judicial filibusters in the senate. The GOP response was to threaten to do away with the filibuster!

Fortunately, enough of America had their heads out of the sand and their ears open over the past four years and found that a GOP-controlled government (like a unitary executive) is a really BAD idea. That "Cooperate, or else" that you're hearing is coming from the PEOPLE who voted the criminals and the liars out of office. You see, it turns out that progressives have long memories too.

So Elizabeth, thanks for sharing. Now you can feel free to

Bizarro World

Below I commented on Thomas Friedman's bizarre blame assessment for the Iraq nightmare. Let us not, in our haste, forget the wisdom of the leader of the free world:

(link) The United States will not withdraw its forces from Iraq before its mission of building a stable democracy is complete, President Bush said Tuesday. "There is one thing I’m not going to do. I am not going to pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete."

Oh my God. Could this man possibly be any more detached from reality?

He added that

“There’s a lot of sectarian violence taking place, fomented in my opinion because of the attacks by al-Qaida...

No, George, it's not al-Qaida, it is a home-grown, completely foreseeable civil war that YOU caused. He stumbled on that

“When you see a young democracy beginning to emerge in the Middle East, the extremists try to defeat its emergence,” Bush said. “Extremists attack because they can’t stand the thought of a democracy. And the same thing is happening in Iraq.”

No again, George. This is not a "young democracy." This is a failed occupation decorated with faux "elections" for show. None of the elements of statehood are present, the regime is absolutely devoid of legitimacy and no further sacrifice of blood and treasure on the part of the United States can change those two basic facts.

Friedmania

Thomas Friedman of the New York Times said something remarkable this morning.

For those of you unfamiliar with Mr. Friedman, he is one of the supposed "liberal hawks" on the war. He was a gung ho supporter of U.S. intervention, and believed such action could be justified solely by regime change alone. Imminent threats or UN resolution defiance were unnecessary adornments in Tom's world.

Well, Mr. Friedman has basically spent the last 18 months telling us to ignore what he wrote for the previous 18 months, as regime change has turned into an ever-worsening nightmare. This morning, on the Today show, Tom told us that the blame for this disaster falls squarely on the shoulders of the Sunni Iraqis who have not accepted "the verdict of this war."

Think about that one for a second. We should blame those who have not embraced the invasion and occupation of their country by a foreign power, coupled with the imposition by that alien power of a stooge government where Shi'a death squads operate with impugnity under that government's (at least nominal) authority.

I doubt many would blame them for not accepting that "verdict."

A Missive from Retard America

You folks know how I like to troll the letters to the editor in search of pearls of idiocy. One of the frequent visitors to my special corner is one Terry Nugent. His comment to the online version of the LTE suggests the fundamental problem the administration has with the war--they can't even explain the "mission" to the stupid. Get a load of this reason for "why we're there:"

"We fight to avoid a Sunni victory which may lead to an Al-Qaeda dominated caliphate that will use Iraqi oil revenue to purchase the nuclear bombs that will be used to commit an American Hiroshima. Any questions?"

Just one, Terry--how do you feed yourself?

Ladies and gentlemen, Retard America.

Alex, may I have "Grasping the Obvious" for $1000?

WASHINGTON - NBC News Monday branded the Iraq conflict a civil war—a decision that put it at odds with the White House and that analysts said would increase public disillusionment with the U.S. troop presence there. NBC said the Iraqi government's inability to stop spiraling violence between rival factions fit its definition of civil war.

In a related announcement, NBC News Monday branded the Golden Gate a "bridge" and the Statue of Liberty a "statue."

Stuff you can't make up

OK, guys, get out your checkbooks...

(link) Eager to begin refurbishing his tattered legacy, the President hopes to raise $500 million to build his library and a think tank at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Bush lived in Dallas until he was elected governor of Texas in 1995. Bush sources with direct knowledge of library plans told the Daily News that SMU and Bush fund-raisers hope to get half of the half billion from what they call "megadonations" of $10 million to $20 million a pop...The legacy-polishing centerpiece is an institute, which several Bush insiders called the Institute for Democracy. Patterned after Stanford University's Hoover Institution, Bush's institute will hire conservative scholars and "give them money to write papers and books favorable to the President's policies," one Bush insider said.

That's odd, I thought we already had lasting memorials to the Bush legacy


and

and

'Tis good to be back

Once again, the long holiday weekend showed that ANYONE who says they are retiring from politics, pro sports, corporate management, etc. to "spend more time with their family" IS LYING. NO ONE wants to spend more time with their families!

I have stories, oh, do I have stories, from my sojourn into Red State America, but unfortunately, for the sake of domestic tranquility, I can't share most of them here. But one very quick one--I went with my 15-year old son to see Borat. It is as funny and as grotesquely inappropriate as you have heard. The next morning, the local paper runs a column on said film by the loathsome Jonah Goldberg. A Limbaugh-Hannity listening [unnamed] family member showed it to me and asked if I had read it. I said, politely, "no--considering the source." Unnamed Family Member responds, "Why, because he's CONSERVATIVE?" Again as politely as possible I responded, "no, because he's an IDIOT!"

Happy Thanksgiving.

But some leftovers for a delicious dessert, courtesy of Gadflyer and Tapped:

Total votes

HOUSE

Democrats 39,267,916 (57.7%)
Republicans 28,464,092 (41.8%)

SENATE

Democrats 31,405,754 (53.7%)
Republicans 24,920,212 (42.6%)

"This is presumably the first cycle since the modern party system began that no party (in this case the Dems) lost not a single House, SEN, or GOV seat."

Now THAT'S happy!

Tomorrow

I will be venturing to a computer-free zone for the next few days (beautiful Fort Wayne, Indiana), so have a great Thanksgiving all.

And yes, tomorrow is November 22, the anniversary of the first event I can say that I truly remember:


Hard to imagine a Jack Kennedy pushing 90....

Viet Duh?

"We'll win unless we quit."

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is the lesson learned from Viet Nam by George W. Bush, that great freedom fighter who saved Alabama dental offices from the scourge of communism.

No one ever said he was a quick study. There are of course many obvious lessons to be learned from that painful era (even The Princess Bride gave us "Ha ha.. you fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders. The most famous is: Never get involved in a land war in Asia.")Those lessons tend to revolve around the limits of American military power, the crucial role of nationalism and ethnicity as motivational forces and the inability to impose unpopular western-style regimes on cultures we don't understand. Somehow I don't see winning unless quitting, a simple-minded cousin of "stay the course," on that list of lessons learned.

And then there is Dennis Byrne, one of the dimmer bulbs that for reasons that pass all understanding is allowed to bloviate on the op-ed page of a major newspaper:

The folks who believe the Iraq war looks increasingly like the Vietnam War are right. At least the part where the United States pulls out and leaves millions of people hanging out to dry. That part where the war comes to a dishonorable, murderous end. Like on the day, April 30, 1975, that America broke its promises to millions of South Vietnamese and jumped ship. The day on which hysterical Vietnamese civilians and officials were crowding a ladder to the top of the U.S. Embassy, pleading for a seat on the last American helicopter out. The day that crowds of Vietnamese swarmed the embassy gate, crying for escape or protection, as North Vietnamese tanks approached. The day that uncounted thousands turned into freedom-seeking boat people. We abandoned millions of people to be stripped of their freedoms, imprisoned for their beliefs or slaughtered by a monstrous, tyrannical regime. It was one of the most shameful days in American history. It was our own day of infamy. Blame public opinion for bringing shame on ourselves. Public opinion demanded a Congress that simply decided to choke the life out of the South Vietnamese. Yes, the Iraq war is beginning to look a whole lot like the Vietnam War.

No, Denny, that day was not the day of shame. The shameful days were those of more than a decade past when, like today, we fought an unnecessary, misbegotten war conceived of hubris, deceit and a fatally flawed ideology.

We did not leave "millions of people hanging out to dry" that day, we left Viet Nam to determine its own destiny. No doubt the course of that process was made more painful by generations of western imperialism and war, buty the process was Vietnamese. The "government" of South Viet Nam was horrifically corrupt, and was peopled by holdovers from French imperialism, priviled and Catholic, known as the "whites" in an agrarian, Buddhist nation. No matter how many American bodies were sacrificed on the altar of the domino theory, this regime never commanded the respect and loyalty of the people.

There were many lost opportunities in the Viet Nam saga. Ho Chi Minh was at Versailles in 1919 seeking inclusion of Asian peoples within Woodrow Wilson's vision of self-determination. During World War II, Ho used the words of Jefferson to declare Vietnamese independence, yet FDR returned his people to the French to enlist DeGaulle's help in post-war Europe. Dien Bien Phu in 1954 should have allowed us to see this as a post-colonial contest for the soul of a small, distant nation rather than the central front in the war on terror sorry, the struggle against global communism.

In The March of Folly, popular historian Barbara Tuchman wrote that America "betrayed" itself in Viet Nam, and how right she was. Unfortunately, another lesson, apparently unlearned, of the Viet Nam era is how willing American leaders are to engage in those same acts of betrayal, and how willing the betrayed nation is to allow them to do it.

Fox Gets Bitch-Slapped

Unless you've been living under a rock, you're aware that Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation got into bed with O.J. "I found my ex-wife's murderer in the mirror" Simpson on a commercial venture designed to squeeze profit from a miscarriage of justice. On December 1st, HarperCollins (a wholly owned subsidary of News Corp) was going to release a book (purportedly written by O.J.) describing "hypothetically" how he would have killed his ex-wife and Ron Goldman. In the run-up to publication, there was a TV Special, a "no-holds-barred" interview to be aired over two nights. This tripe was first offered to NBC - which passed without hesitation. Apparently the higher-ups at News Corp didn't even bother to offer it to anyone else. They made an announcement late last week that Fox would carry the interview next week on the 27th and 29th. The disgust was immediate and palpable.

I wondered outloud which company (ies) would even consider sponsoring this program. Apparently the answer was ZERO. Today, Murdoch actually apologized as he cancelled BOTH the book and the TV special:

I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project," said Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman. "We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."

Perhaps Murdoch read this little tidbit from the Fox station manager in Louisville, KY as he explained his reasoning for NOT airing the proposed special:

"I have my own moral compass and this was easy," said Bill Lamb, general manager of WDRB in Louisville.

Make love, not war

Marin couple calls for global orgasm for peace

(AP) SAN FRANCISCO - Two peace activists have planned a massive anti-war demonstration for the first day of winter. But they don't want you marching in the streets. They'd much rather you just stay home. The Global Orgasm for Peace was conceived by Donna Sheehan, 76, and Paul Reffell, 55, who live together on a houseboat along scenic Tomales Bay in Marin County, just north of San Francisco.

Their immodest goal is for everyone in the world to have an orgasm on December 22 while focusing on world peace. "The orgasm gives out an incredible feeling of peace during it and after it," Reffell said on Sunday. "Your mind is like a blank. It's like a meditative state. And mass meditations have been shown to make a change."


Male activists reported feeling sleepy immediately after planning the event, while women were frustrated that the men were unable to bring the plans to a mutual, satisfying conclusion.

John, why the long face?

No, no, no, a thousand times NO

WASHINGTON - Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry said Sunday he is still considering a second run for the White House in 2008, despite public criticism of what he has has called a “botched joke” about the Iraq war.

I hope my wife isn't looking...

As I'm sitting here watching the latest "Game of the Century" between "The" Ohio State University and University of Michigan, who should pop up on the screen but



I've felt an odd attraction to her for a long time and having done a little research, now I understand why. She was an NCAA gymnast AND graduated magna cum laude from the University of Maryland... No mention of marital status!

Run in fear

Headline on CNN.com:

"Liberals' wish list focuses on rights"

Not rights! Please, no, not rights! Anything but rights!

(Actually, an earlier version read "Liberals' wish list focuses on abortion, gay rights", so this is an amazing improvement.)

Rummy's "Accomplishments"

(This is real)

DoD ACCOMPLISHMENTS SINCE 2001

In the last six years, the Department has made great strides in modernizing its forces to address the threats of the 21st century.

I. WAR ON TERROR

Overall: A multinational coalition has liberated more than 50 million people in Afghanistan and Iraq, with formation of representative governments and security forces.

Liberated 31 million Afghans from Taliban control and destroyed Al-Qaeda sanctuary –and stood up a provisional Afghan government eight months after operations began

Liberated 27 million Iraqis from a brutal dictatorship and turned over sovereignty of the country to an Iraqi government in 16 months:

Recruited, Organized, Trained, and Equipped Iraqi and Afghan Security Forces:

131,000 Iraqi Ministry of Defense
180,000 Iraqi Ministry of Interior
33,000 National Army
37,000 Afghan National Police

Conducted safe and secure elections in Afghanistan and Iraq

Elections in Iraq

January 30, 2005 election / roughly 55% of voters turnout
October 15, 2005 constitutional ratification / 63 % of voters turnout
December 15, 2005 election / 78 % of voters turnout
March 16, 2006 – Permanent Iraqi Government seated

Elections in Afghanistan

October 9, 2005 election / roughly 80% of voters turnout
December 7, 2005 – Afghan President inaugurated

Captured or killed much of the extremists’ senior leadership; while others are on the run
Saddam Hussein’s sons, killed July 22, 2003
Saddam Hussein, captured December 13, 2003
Ali Hassan Mahmud al-Tikriti AKA Chemical Ali, captured August 21, 2003
Al Qaeda in Iraq leader, Al Zarqawi, killed June 7, 2006

45 of 55 of Saddam’s top regime (deck of cards) killed or captured
Conducted hundreds of intelligence and tactical operations throughout the world with partner nations against terrorist organizations directly or loosely affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

NATO has expanded its reach in Afghanistan – the first time the Alliance has acted outside of its traditional boundaries.

Suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have revealed information that has helped thwart attacks against our troops, the American people and our allies.

Oh my God.

We're sure you do, Mr. Preznit--we're sure you do

"We hear voices calling for us to retreat from the world and close our doors to its opportunities."

Does anyone doubt that he hears voices?

RIP

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Bo Schembechler, who became one of college football's great coaches in two decades at Michigan, died Friday after taping a TV show on the eve of the Wolverines' No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown with perennial rival Ohio State. He was 77. Schembechler collapsed during the taping of a television show in Southfield and was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. His death at 11:42 a.m. was confirmed by Mike Dowd, chief investigator for the medical examiner's office in Oakland County.

Buh bye

A shout-out to ZinfandelFan

A change of pace...

It's not great wine, but it's great fun..

True colors, revisited

The esteemed Schmidlap wrote, "the recent trend in the Republican Party is refreshing. This new incarnation where they have quit bothering trying to hide their racism works for me."

Case in point:

Talk dope Glenn Beck, in an interview on CNN's Headline News with Minnesota's Representative-elect Keith Ellison, the first Muslim ever elected to Congress, asked "I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies...I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way."

What? Because the man is religious, he is AN ENEMY?? Well, he's obviously a dangerous man, just look at this threatening man:



And of course, the Senate Republicans elected Trent Lott to the all-too-humorous post of "Minority Whip." The genius who gave us "Why do they hate each other? Why do Sunnis kill Shiites? How do they tell the difference? They all look the same to me."

We also all remember how Chimpy told us after Katrina that "Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house--he's lost his entire house--there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch."

Well, the porch is done, here they are!

Separated at birth?

Veteran character actor Len Cariou












New House majority leader Steny Hoyer

Today's visit from Mr. Dictionary Man

DEMENTIA de-men-tia (n) a deterioration of intellectual faculties, such as memory, concentration, and judgment, resulting from an organic disease or a disorder of the brain, often accompanied by emotional disturbance and personality changes; madness; insanity.

1) The Bush administration has appointed a new chief of family-planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services who worked at a Christian pregnancy-counseling organization that regards the distribution of contraceptives as "demeaning to women." (link)

2) According to the president, the lesson of Viet Nam was "We'll succeed unless we quit."

and

3) The Guardian reports that President George Bush has told senior advisers that the US and its allies must make `a last big push' to win the war in Iraq and that instead of beginning a troop withdrawal next year, he may increase US forces by up to 20,000 soldiers, according to sources familiar with the administration's internal deliberations.

A "last push" to "win?" Win what in this grotesque lost cause--and at what cost? This is the most base form of criminality at work here, sacrificing lives for nothing but a vainglorious attempt to subvert the already-written verdict of history.

I am reminded of two quotes concerning the horrific Civil War engagement at Cold Harbor:

Confederate Gen. Evander Law said, "it was not war; it was murder," and Union Capt. T.E. Barker said that he would "not take my regiment in another such charge if Jesus Christ himself should order it!"

Murder? Yes, and I don't see Jesus issuing any orders.

Meanwhile, back in Frostbite Falls...

"We Will not Be Able to Survive Much Longer"

Iraq's health minister, Ali al-Shameri, 44, discusses the effects of the US elections on his country.

The Americans are the reason for the disaster in our country. Rumsfeld made many mistakes, and we are pleased to see him go. The Americans understand nothing about Iraq. They are not protecting us, but just themselves. The Democrats' victory will make things easier for us....About 100 people die every day as a result of violence, and three times as many are wounded. Doctors are being threatened and are fleeing the country. Of a total of 18,000 doctors, the best--close to a thousand--have already left the country. I don't have enough hospitals and far too few beds. We are running out of strength, both financially and otherwise, and we will not be able to survive much longer.

Workin' hard--makin progress--gettin' all freedom-y!

Dumbass Cubed

I am becoming more and more convinced that the "Voice of the People" editor over at the Chicago Tribune uses some kind of weird dartboard methodology in choosing missives for publication... the following triumvirate used up over 80% of the column inches devoted to letters:

Sandra Myers of Bensenville, IL writes:

I smoke. This is a very bold statement to make in this day and age. Do I commit murders? No. Do I rob people? No. So why have I become the criminal? I am a mother, a member of my community and church. Do I deserve to be treated as if I am a criminal? I have rights just like a non-smoker. I understand that some people cannot understand that, but aren't they discriminating against me and other smokers? At what point did smoking become illegal? If it did, then I do not have the right to smoke, but if it did not, then I have the right to smoke as much as anyone over the age of 18.I believe it is time to stop discriminating against smokers. Give us our areas to smoke in and we will go there. Don't treat us worse than animals and shove us out in the bitter cold several feet from the doors. Don't put us on display for people to point and criticize us.

With today's advancements in technology there are plenty of high-quality smoke eaters that can be installed in designated areas of public establishments that will allow us to have a cigarette without offending any non-smoker. Remember we are your neighbors, day-care workers, teachers, priests and friends. It is time to stop stripping us of our rights and dignity.

By God, you're right Sandra!!! I quit smoking 7 1/2 years ago and I decided to use the money that I'd been spending on cigarettes to purchase furry little puppies, which I could then sacrifice in Daley Plaza, right under the Picasso. I figured that it was my right, and as there was no secondhand smoke or alcohol involved there'd be no problem. But I found that there are damned laws against it... It just goes to show how far these butt-ins at the city council will go to kill a guy's buzz...

Ms Myers' letter is followed immediately by this gem from Cincinnati's own Robert Moon:

If members of the Democratic Party want to market themselves as the party of the working middle class, they might want to reconsider their policies like the minimum wage increase, which merely makes everything more expensive for the middle class, makes the poor even less employable and further empowers companies like Wal-Mart by killing off their competition.They might also want to rethink their support for higher taxes on small businesses, which cripples economic growth.They should rethink their ceaseless opposition to any and all measures against frivolous lawsuits, which dramatically increases health-care costs and kills jobs.And they should rethink their undying support for labor unions, which needlessly makes it unaffordable for American companies to keep their work in this country.

You know Robert, Walmart isn't the problem - it's the solution!! We don't need to create a living wage in this country - we need more and more of our working poor working at more and more Walmarts. Of course, they'll need to get a second job, since Walmart intentionally depresses their full-time staff and refuses to offer anything approaching real benefits, but hey, there's nothing like a 60 or 70 hour work week at minimum wage to build character. Besides, parenting time for the working poor is way over-rated, and all those poor minority kids will fend for themselves just fine without affirmative action and college diversity programs (well, at least it's true in Jonah Goldberg's world). And yep, labor unions are the reason that all of the jobs have left this country because as you well know, overseas unorganized labor is treated incredibly well by those multi-national corporations...

and finally Keith Best of Wausesha, Wisconsin shares his deep depth of wisdom:

I feel sorry for all the great people around our nation who don't understand the ramifications of our recent election.

A major change in Congress has just given power to a party that is more worried about the rights of detainees who, when given the chance, would kill as many Americans as possible. This same party opposes the National Security Agency wiretapping program designed to monitor calls from troubled areas around the world to inside these United States without court approval in each case.

This is a party whose leaders were so desperate for power that their every action seemed to embolden our enemies, because our president was doing all he could to protect us. It seems like the American people are more worried about who is next to be eliminated on "Dancing with the Stars" than the fact that Al Qaeda has deemed the war in Iraq as the central front in its war against us. It is imperative that we win. I hope we can forgive these people, for they know not what they have done.

What I love most about Keith's letter is the adaptation of a famous biblical verse to highlight just how wrong-headed all those "great people" are who supported democrats in the election last week. I mean, really, guys like Darth, Rummy and Drinky all knew precisely what they were doing when they declared war on a tactic and commenced to shredding individual clauses and whole amendments in the constitution. And really, who understands all those liberal foreign terms like ex post facto and habeas corpus. Besides, as General Boykin has rightly pointed out: Our God is bigger than their god...


Oh, and Keith, since you've identified the problems and seem to be in possession of all the answers, can you please tell me when we know we've "won" this war? And while you're pondering that, join Sandra and Robert and

Scott Ritter on Iraq

Scott Ritter, former UN weapons inspector, has a thoughtful piece on Iraq, the Democrats and the future here. Unfortunately I think his well-reasoned ideas are little more than a pipe dream because dumping the Iraqi "government" as he suggests is tossing away the last (albeit absolutely fraudulent) claim by war proponents of anything that that had ever been in the same time zone as "legitimacy."

Comments?

And this one is just funny, from Fox "News."

Yet another improvement

Of the myriad things that will be better in January, here's another one: Robert Byrd replaces Ted Stevens as President Pro Tempore of the Senate, placing him just behind Nancy Pelosi in the line of succession. Not a likely occurrence, but still.

This historian's wish list

The "Mad King Ludwig" of Bavaria gave us this...



The "Mad King George" of Crawford gave us this...






We definitely have the wrong mad king!

The [NOT] Liberal Media

Check out this piece about the Washington Post revising articles after the fact so as to avoid telling the president that his pants are on fire... 

On a lighter note

The Chicago Cubs re-signed right-handed pitcher Kerry Wood. Kerry is shown below going through his usual relaxing off-season conditioning program:

Freedom's on the march (unfortunately, it's that explode-y kind of freedom)

BAGHDAD, Iraq - The Shiite prime minister promised Sunday to reshuffle his Cabinet after calling lawmakers disloyal and blaming Sunni Muslims for raging sectarian violence that claimed at least 159 more lives, including 35 men blown apart while waiting to join Iraq’s police force. Among the unusually high number of dead were 50 bodies found behind a regional electrical company in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, and 25 others found scattered throughout the capital. Three U.S. troops were reported killed, as were four British service members.

Congratulations, David J. Van Deusen of Chicago!

Once again proving John Stuart Mill correct when he wrote that he "never meant to say that the Conservatives are generally stupid, I meant to say that stupid people are generally Conservative," David J. Van Deusen of Chicago has won an all-expense paid trip to the Dumbass Corner for this gem!

I am sorry that most Americans elected "cut and run" liberals to control the U.S. House and Senate. I am sorry most Americans believed the lopsided, negative-only stories on Iraq presented by our partisan press. Keep fighting for your country's democracy. Keep fighting to become the beacon of hope of freedom for the Middle East and the other oppressed areas of the world.

David J. Van Deusen
Chicago

That's quite a beacon of hope you've got there, Dave!

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP)- A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a police recruiting center in Baghdad early Sunday, killing at least 33 people and wounding 56, police said. Crowds of recruits were gathering outside the center in western Baghdad’s Nissur Square when the bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body, police Lt. Maitham Abdul-Razaq said. He said the death toll was expected to rise because many of the injuries were extremely serious.

Steve Chapman, in the same paper, stated it well:

The real U.S. strategy at this stage is to hold on and hope for a miracle--which is not good enough to justify our continuing sacrifice of lives and money. Withdrawing now, it's true, may plunge Iraq into even worse turmoil, with terrible consequences for its people and potential dangers for us. But noting the risks of failure doesn't tell us whether there is any way to succeed.

There are no miracles happening in this disaster, and Dave...