RIP

Brown v. Board of Education

Born 1954

Died 2007

Remarkable--even for him

Even for someone as pathetic as George Bush, yesterday's speech was amazing. In a rather short address, he mentioned "al-Qaeda" almost 30 times. I know it is the new stategery to re-frighten the stupid, but I would think that even the mouthbreathers would get it by now. This one is comically absurd:

Now we're in a new and unprecedented war against violent Islamic extremists. This is an ideological conflict we face against murderers and killers who try to impose their will. These are the people that attacked us on September the 11th and killed nearly 3,000 people. The stakes are high, and once again, we have had to change our strategic thinking. The major battleground in this war is Iraq.

I don't expect dittoheads to understand that "al Qaeda in Iraq" and Zarqawi had no operational connection to Osama bin Laden, or to know that Iraqis are different from Saudis, but can something this basic be so hard to grasp?

Or try this one on for size:

Anbar is a largely Sunni province that accounts for nearly a third of Iraqi territory. It's a big place. Anbar stretches from the outskirts of Baghdad to Iraq's borders with Jordan and Syria. It was al Qaeda's chief base of operations in Iraq. Remember, when I mention al Qaeda, they're the ones who attacked the United States of America and killed nearly 3,000 people on September the 11th, 2001.

"See, if I say it enough, maybe they'll believe me!"

Think of great presidential oratory..the better angels of our nature..the only thing we have to fear...ask not what uour country can do for you..nut that all pales in comparison to "According to a captured document -- in other words, according to something that we captured from al Qaeda ." Then we have the clincher, "one reason it is different is that the Iraqis are beginning to understand that al Qaeda is the main enemy for Shia, Sunni, and Kurds alike."

Oh good God.

Congratulations, Wayne!

Below is proof positive that Freepers and Dittoheads should not be allowed to spawn.

Wayne Meyer of Chicago writes

I'm confused. How could "Chemical Ali" have been convicted of killing more than 180,000 Kurds by use of chemical nerve agents and poisonous gases when we all have been told time after time that Iraq never had weapons of mass destruction?

Wayne, who ever said that Iraq NEVER had chemical agents? We GAVE them to him to use against Iran and helped fund purchases from German companies. The Reagan administration looked the other way at the atrocities against the Kurds that happened in 1988.

The Sounds of (Cicada) Silence

I miss them already.

While not totally silenced, the roar of the 17-year cicadas has all but died away around my office.

I will miss them.

These big, ugly, harmless (and some say tasty) bugs reminded me of the wonders of nature. They crawl out of the ground as if on cue, roar and fly and mate and die in a few weeks, and their offspring will do the same, in 2024. The timeless rhythm and the deafening roar shouted the mystery of nature at its finest and noisiest. Farewell, small friends, I hope I will be here to greet your children!

Another Lefty Defeat-o-Crat

In my judgment, the costs and risks of continuing down the current path outweigh the potential benefits that might be achieved. Persisting indefinitely with the surge strategy will delay policy adjustments that have a better chance of protecting our vital interests over the long term.

Just another left-wing terrorist loving liberal? Try Richard Lugar (R-Ind).

Care to be a fly on the wall at an evening news production meeting?

Producer 1: Let's see, we have a Washington Post story saying that the vice president has usurped the president's authority, is running a shadow government, torn up the constitution and was the point man on torture. Killer stuff, huh?

Coiffed Talking Head: Paris is out of jail!

Producer 2: Well, Iraq is going to hell, we've lost almost 20 kids in the last week and the lid is going to blow off Gaza any time.

Coiffed Talking Head: But we've got missing white girls!

Producer 3: The Supreme Court apparently overruled an existing precedent in the campaign finance case and gave a big boost to the faith-based initiatives program.

Coiffed Talking Head: What about the concert for Princess Di? William and Kate are back together!

Producer 4: The more we learn about the US Attorney scandal, the more apparent it becomes that this was designed to suppress the 2008 vote. The attorney general is also up to his eyeballs in the vice president's power grab.

Coiffed Talking Head: The Tiger Woods baby! And maybe a story about puppies! We're done here.

Al Who? (and we live in the world's dumbest country)

Take a look at any news report out of Operation Iraqi Clusterfuck. Odds are, you will see more references to "al Qaeda" than the much-less emotionally charged "insurgents" or the geopolitically-accurate, and beautifully-simple "Iraqis." Looks like the "liberal media" has willingly taken hold of the White House talking points.

First of all, to my friends in the media. GET YOUR FACTS RIGHT. Whatever "al Qaeda in Iraq" IS, what it IS NOT is a "branch" of bin Laden's operations. Oh, OBL sits back and chuckles as he sees us caught in this nightmarish quagmire, but there is no real connection between him and the group of thugs started by Zarqawi, a Jordanian petty criminal and publicity hound. STOP LISTENING TO WHITE HOUSE SPIN. Do your job for a change.

Oh, 41% of Americans still believe that Saddam Hussein was involved in the 9/11 attacks.

God help us.

People who should be thinned from the herd

In church this morning I witnessed the baptism of a baby girl--

Reagan Cheney ****.

Good luck with that.

Heard on the "Street"

It is common knowledge that the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal is collectively nuts. They are such an odd group of bizarre wingers that I've often said that the news division doesn't tell them where the Christmas party is. One of them, Dorothy Rabinowitz (in a byline piece) on Friday took the crazy cake. She, amidst great wailing and gnashing of teeth, decried those two "out of control" prosecutors--Mike Nifong of the infamous Duke case and PATRICK FITZGERALD!

The very idea of Patrick Fitzgerald as a renegade prosecutor is absurd. The man is a button-down Republican who won't let pols or reporters buy him a cup of coffee to avoid any potential conflicts. he did what prosecutors are supposed to do. He investigated through the grand jury process rather than through the media. He did not bring sensationalistic charges that he could not prove (the statute in play is a horribly written mishmash that makes proof of a criminal case almost impossible) and he brought and won a perjury case. Fitzgerald himself was frustrated because all signs of his investigation led to one common source--the vice president--but that inquiry was stonewalled by Libby and others in the administration.

I seem to recall the Wall Street Journal beating the drum for the Clinton impeachment to vindicate the "rule of law." Funny how trivial perjury and obstruction of justice has become since then. They also misspelled the name of the renegade prosecutor acting on an agenda. The correct spelling is K-E-N S-T-A-R-R.