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.