Iraq Casualty Count as of 2100 EST, Sunday, 01/30/2005

At least 9 of our Brit allies died today; a total of 19 of our allies have died this month. Two Americans died today. 98 American men and women have died this month; 1291 since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1431 since Bush’s War began. 1,601 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,662 American men and women have been wounded, 120 between 1/19 and 1/25. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

The Iraqi Elections:

The Iraqi people displayed enormous guts today while voting in their first real election in about 50 years. Despite threats, suicide bombers, and bullets, they turned out by the millions. Sadly, many were too frightened or angry to participate. Notheless, Iraqis should be rightfully proud.

Quote for the Day

“The ballot is stronger than bullets.” Joseph A. Schumpeter, Austrian born American economist.

It’s possible that I’m being unfair.

Say it ain’t so Bruce! Yes Dear Reader, you’ve heard the vituperative scorn I regularly heap on the right-wing-fundamentalist-reality-challenged buttheads who seem to have captured the discussion on “moral values.” I am amazed to find that there are some other folks out there who are “evangelical” as opposed to “fundamentalist,” for whom “moral values” means something other than being against gays and abortion and being intolerant generally. From Sunday’s New York Times: [I’ve bolded some text].

One More 'Moral Value': Fighting Poverty
By John Leland, January 30, 2005, The New York Times

During the inaugural festivities in Washington this month, three evangelical Christian groups sponsored a black-tie "Values Victory Dinner," where they celebrated the electoral strength of "moral values" as a factor in the campaign. In the shorthand of post election polls and analysis, that meant opposition to abortion, gay marriage, and stem cell research.

… Evangelical organizations, whose views were often stereotyped after the election, are also seeking a broader definition of moral values. "We've let not evangelicals, but the right wing determine what moral values are," said David J. Frenchak, president of the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education, a nondenominational group that helps develop urban ministry programs at 12 seminaries or divinity schools around the country.

In Chicago last weekend, Dr. Frenchak joined a gathering of 20 Christians, mostly evangelicals, to produce a book defining moral values to include a focus on poverty. At the meeting, one man held up a Bible from which he had cut every verse that addressed poverty. "There was hardly anything left," Dr. Frenchak said. "He said, 'I challenge anyone in the room to take their Bible and cut out every verse about abortion or gay marriage, and we'll compare Bibles.’ "

… "This is the great secret story," said Jim Wallis, a progressive evangelical who runs Sojourners magazine and Call to Renewal, a network of religious groups committed to combating poverty.

"The perception of evangelicals is that all they care about is abortion and gay marriage, but it isn't true," he said. "It hasn't been for years.” [The jury is out on that one].

Mr. Wallis has long tried to assemble a coalition of progressive or moderate evangelicals and Roman Catholics with mainline Protestant organizations on moral issues like poverty. Though his voice has sometimes been a lonely one, his new book, "God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It," enters the New York Times best-seller list this week at No. 11. …

"There's this tendency for liberals to say, 'We don't want anything to do with mixing church and politics,' " Ms. Metcalfe said. As a result, she said, liberal Christians and their concerns have not entered the values debate.

Elizabeth Theoharis, a doctoral student and community activist who was leading the class with Mr. Baptist, challenged the students: "How do we move from the idea of poor people being sinners to poverty being a sin?" …

Good question. Dear Leader’s budget will not have enough money to fully fund many programs for housing for the poor, low income housing, and education aid, not to mention cutting the VA’s budget - as if our military is highly paid. But of course they do want to extend those tax cuts and perhaps add another. That’s mighty Christian of our leaders - or not.

This is not a bad letter, if I say so myself.

It would have had a bit more impact if the Daily Reflector hadn’t sat on it for two weeks.

LETTER: Bush using scare tactics on Social Security
Sunday, January 30, 2005, The Daily Reflector

Liar, liar, pants on fire. That grade school doggerel is appropriate for the administration's push for Social Security privatization.

Like the Iraq war, we are being misled with “facts” created to both mislead and frighten us.

The president and his shills continue to emphasize 2018 as a sort of “doomsyear” when Social Security will go bust. Then it's 2042, or 2052; the story changes – just like the rationales for Bush's tax cuts and his war in Iraq.

Premiums pay all current benefits and then some. The excess is being invested in Treasury bonds. What will actually happen in 2018 is that those T-bonds will begin to share paying benefits along with the premiums from current workers.

These bonds are essentially the same bonds that you bought for your grandkids and the Chinese and Japanese governments buy as investments. According to the Congressional Budget Office, Social Security's bonds run out in 2052. According to Social Security's trustees, the doomsyear is 2042.

After 2042 (or 2052), “only” 75 percent to 80 percent of benefits will be payable – hardly the end of the world. During the next 75 years, its shortfall will amount to just 0.7 percent of national income, according to the trustees, or 0.4 percent, according to the CBO. The long-term cost of Bush's tax cuts is five times the CBO's estimate of Social Security's deficit for the next 75 years. Why not cancel a fat-cat's tax cut or two?

Bush is trying to scare us by suggesting that failure is imminent. What's really happening is the conservative's dream: reversing the New Deal and canceling the little guy's safety net. Tell them no.

BRUCE BERBERICH
Greenville

Now this is a great piece of reporting:

From Sunday’s Washington Post Magazine:

Rich Man, Poor Man
Jack Whittaker's big Powerball win cost him -- and everyone around him -- dearly
By April Witt, Sunday, January 30, 2005

It was coming up on Christmas, and Brenda-the-biscuit-lady was inexplicably happy as she walked to work in the predawn darkness. Brenda didn't just make biscuits over at the C&L Super Serve for $6 an hour. She served up good cheer.

I know people in redneck-land West Virginia. I’ve bought biscuits from happy people like Brenda. All of this rings entirely true. This is one of the best pieces of journalism I’ve read in a while. It’s lengthy. Here’s the link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36338-2005Jan25.html

The Polls are Closed

At 0945, I'm listening to NPR, the polls in Iraq are closed and turnout was reportedly high.

Hooray for the Iraqis, they've literally risked their lives to vote. 40% of Americans didn't give a damn.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 2100 EST, Saturday, 01/29/2005

Sunday is “election” day.

Four Americans died today. 96 American men and women have died this month; 1289 since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1429 since Bush’s War began. 1,590 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,662 American men and women have been wounded, 120 between 1/19 and 1/25. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." Julius Henry (Groucho) Marx, American comedian.

How tolerant are you of “Zero Tolerance?”

This is absolutely ridiculous: two pre-teen special ed students are arrested and hauled off in handcuffs?

Students Arrested Over 'Violent' Stick Figure Drawings
Pictures Show Classmate Being Stabbed, Hung
January 26, 2005, UPDATED, January 27, 2005, WKMG, Local6.Com

OCALA, Fla. -- Two boys, ages 9 and 10, were charged with felonies and taken away from school in handcuffs, accused of making violent drawings of stick figures.

The boys were arrested Monday on charges of making a written threat to kill or harm another person, a second-degree felony. [A felony!]

“… Parents of both of the arrested boys said they thought the boys should be punished by the school and families, not the legal system.

... Ocala police said they stand behind the decision to arrest the children.”

There’s more at the link above. Can you believe this PC crap. You now actually will be arrested for running with scissors at school, presuming you brought your own scissors. At most schools now, those scissors from home are dangerous, prohibited “weapons.” And god help you if you’re a person of the female persuasion and bring in Advil or something else for cramps. Them are dangereous drugs! This has gone way too far.

If you’re not reading Frank Rich’s column weekly in the Times, you’re missing out -

He’s got another winner this week:

Forget Armor. All You Need Is Love
By Frank Rich, January 30, 2005, The New York Times Magazine

JAN. 30 is here at last, and the light is at the end of the tunnel, again. By my estimate, Iraq's election day is the fifth time that American troops have been almost on their way home from an about-to-be pacified Iraq. The four other incipient V-I days were the liberation of Baghdad (April 9, 2003), President Bush's declaration that "major combat operations have ended" (May 1, 2003), the arrest of Saddam Hussein (Dec. 14, 2003) and the handover of sovereignty to our puppet of choice, Ayad Allawi (June 28, 2004). And this isn't even counting the two "decisive" battles for our nouveau Tet, Falluja. Iraq is Vietnam on speed - the false endings of that tragic decade re-enacted and compressed in jump cuts, a quagmire retooled for the MTV attention span.

… This time, paradoxically enough, it is often those who claim to love the troops the most - and who have the political power to help alleviate their sacrifice - who turn out to be the troops' false friends.

There was, for instance, according to the Los Angeles Times, "nary a mention" of the Iraq war or "the prices paid by American soldiers and their families" at the lavish Inauguration bash thrown for the grandees of the Christian right by the Rev. Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition at Washington's Ritz-Carlton. …

In this same vein, television's ceremonial coverage of the Inauguration, much of which resembled the martial pageantry broadcast by state-owned networks in banana republics, made a dutiful show out of the White House's claim that the four-day bacchanal was a salute to the troops. The only commentator to rudely call attention to the disconnect between that fictional pretense and the reality was Judy Bachrach, a writer for Vanity Fair, who dared say on Fox News that the inaugural's military ball and prayer service would not keep troops "safe and warm" in their "flimsy" Humvees in Iraq. She was promptly given the hook. …

Alas, there were no Fox News cameras to capture what may have been the week's most surreal "salute" to the troops, the "Heroes Red, White, and Blue Inaugural Ball" attended by Donald Rumsfeld and Paul Wolfowitz. The event's celebrity stars included the Fox correspondent Geraldo Rivera, who had been booted from Iraq at the start of the war for compromising "operational security" by telling his viewers the position of the American troops he loves so much. He joked to the crowd that his deployment as an "overpaid" reporter was tantamount to that of an "underpaid hero" in battle. The attendees from Walter Reed and Bethesda Naval Hospital, some of whose long-term care must be picked up by private foundations because of government stinginess, responded with "deafening silence," reported Roxanne Roberts of The Washington Post. Ms. Roberts understandably left the party after the night's big act: Nile Rodgers and Chic sang the lyrics "Clap your hands, hoo!" and "Dance to the beat" to "a group of soldiers missing hands and legs."

… A fast growing plurality of the country wants troops withdrawn from Iraq, but being so detached from the war they are unlikely to make a stink about it. The civilian leaders who conceived this adventure are clever at maintaining the false illusion that the end is just around the corner anyway.

They do this by moving the goal posts for "mission accomplished" as frequently as they have changed the rationale for us entering this war in the first place. In the walk-up to the Inauguration, even Iraq's Election Day was quietly downsized in importance so a sixth V-I Day further off in the future could be substituted. Dick Cheney told Don Imus on Inauguration morning that "we can bring our boys home" and that "our mission is complete" once the Iraqis "can defend themselves.” What that means, and when exactly that might be is, shall we say, unclear. President Bush and Prime Minister Allawi told the press in unison last September that there were "nearly 100,000 fully trained and equipped" Iraqi security forces ready to carry out that self-defense. Condoleezza Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this month that there are 120,000. Time magazine says this week that the actual figure of fully trained ground soldiers is 14,000, but hey: in patriotism as it's been redefined for this war, loving the troops means never having to say you're sorry - or even having to say the word Iraq in an Inaugural address.

Read more at the link.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 2100 EST, Friday, 01/28/2005

Sunday is “election” day.

Five Americans died today. That means 92 American men and women have died this month; 1285 since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1425 since Bush’s War began. 1,586 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,662 American men and women have been wounded, 120 between 1/19 and 1/25. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

“Natives who beat drums to drive off evil spirits are objects of scorn to smart Americans who blow horns to break up traffic jams.” Mary Ellen Kelly, amusing person with an Irish name.

About Senator Clinton’s Speech…

I promised yesterday that I would put it up today. Well… it’s seven pages long, it’s a wonderful speech, and I encourage you to hie thyself off and read it at the Senator’s site right here. It’s just too long for the blog. Will Saletan’s article that I cited yesterday “Safe, Legal, and Never” is much shorter, has the proverbial “good parts,” and has Saletan’s pithy comments.

Your choice.

Hey! It’s Friday: Are you ready for the Rapture?

As you all are aware, our loony right-wing-fundamentalist friends at www.raptureready.com publish a weekly “Rapture Index” indicating how likely it is that the Second Coming is, well - coming.

Sorry Rapture fans, the index is unchanged from last week’s value of 153. Remember the record high is at 182 set the week of September 24, 2001 and the record low at 57 was set during the week of December 12, 1993.

I never know whether I’m supposed to root for the index to go up or down. If the rapture comes - what happens? All the people who are fundamentalist-reality-challenged buttheads will disappear and we’ll get their stuff. That’s surely not a bad thing.

The bad news is that a substantial number of fundamentalist-reality-challenged buttheads are running our nation. These people believe that the rapture is going to happen sooner rather than later, so why not rape the earth. It apparently governs policy towards Israel to some extent also. I don’t fully understand it all. If there are any students of “fundie philosophy” reading this, enlighten me and the other reader please.

At any rate, read all about the index and the values that go into the final number here.

Whoa, this is impressive.

I am doing a quick scan of yesterday’s email and read Bill Saletan’s take on Hillary Clinton’s speech on abortion. I don’t like Hillary. I respect her; I think she’s brilliant, but arrogant and divisive - and just her name gets the Right steamed.

But I digress. Here are a few gems from Saletan’s article, titled “Safe, Legal, and Never,” which you should read. She has some terrific ideas, ideas that could literally save the Democrats. Read this. I’m going off to get a transcript of the speech. I’ll post it tomorrow.

”Clinton isn't trying to end the abortion war. She's repositioning her party to win it.”

“… Abortion is "a sad, even tragic choice to many, many women," said Clinton. Then she went further: "There is no reason why government cannot do more to educate and inform and provide assistance so that the choice guaranteed under our constitution either does not ever have to be exercised or only in very rare circumstances."
“Does not ever have to be exercised. I searched Google and Nexis for parts of that sentence tonight and got no hits. Is the press corps asleep? Hillary Clinton just endorsed a goal I've never heard a pro-choice leader endorse. Not safe, legal, and rare. Safe, legal, and never.”
“Once you embrace that truth--that the ideal number of abortions is zero--voters open their ears. …”

“… "Seven percent of American women who do not use contraception account for 53 percent of all unintended pregnancies," Clinton said. That number drew gasps from her pro-choice audience. I bet if she translated it to abortions, it would knock folks in Ohio out of their chairs. How many abortions are you willing to endure for the sake of avoiding the word "condom"? Clinton says we can cut the abortion rate through sex education, money for family planning, and requiring health insurers to cover contraceptives. What's your plan? Ban abortion and monitor everyone's womb like Romania did? Or ban it and look the other way while the pregnancies go on and the quacks take over? … ”

“… [Clinton] blasted the Food and Drug Administration for dragging its feet on approving Plan B, a morning-after pill. Then she demanded that the Justice Department add discussion of such pills to its treatment protocol for rape survivors who "may have had an unwanted pregnancy physically forced upon them.” Aiming at cultural conservatives as well as liberals, she asked, "How is it possible that women who have been so victimized by violence can be victimized again by ideology?"

“… An average woman who wants two children will spend five years pregnant or trying to get pregnant and roughly 30 years trying to prevent pregnancy," she observed. You don't have to be against motherhood to line up behind birth control as the best anti-abortion strategy. You just have to be for it.”

Iraq Casualty Count as of 2100 EST, Thursday, 01/27/2005

Sunday is “election” day.

87 American men and women have died this month; 1280 since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1420 since Bush’s War began. 1,581 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,662 American men and women have been wounded, 120 between 1/19 and 1/25. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

"You're basically killing each other to see who's got the better imaginary friend." Yasir Arafat, late Palestinian president, on going to war over religion.

Is That All?

Yep, I had places to go, errands to run, and stuff to do. I still do, so the pickings may be slim tomorrow too. Trust me, I remain cranky!

Iraq Casualty Count as of 2100 EST, Wednesday, 01/26/2005

Sunday is “election” day.

My God, I hate to type these words - 38 Americans reportedly died today. That gives us a total of 85 American men and women who have died this month; 1278 since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1418 since Bush’s War began. 1,579 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,662 American men and women have been wounded, 120 between 1/19 and 1/25. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

And a thought: Dear Leader, the damned weasel, had a press conference today and didn’t even mention the loss of life until he was asked a direct question. He responded “Anytime we lose life, it’s a sad moment.” The SOB should have thought of that before he and his neocon cronies started this adventure in “spreading democracy.”

Quote for the Day

"Ninety eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hardworking, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then, we elected them." Lily Tomlin, American comedienne.

Senator Byrd fries Rice:

Goodness, it’s a pleasure to read a good speech. Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia excoriated the not-so-charming Ms. Rice yesterday on the floor of the Senate [no, no, that’s not some sort of obscene WV barnyard act!]. His entire speech is right here. Here is an excerpt: [I’ve bolded some text].

Byrd said that Rice’s record “… is one of intimate involvement in a number of Administration foreign policies which I strongly oppose. These policies have fostered enormous opposition -- both at home and abroad -- to the White House's view of America's place in the world.”

“That view of America is one which encourages our Nation to flex its muscles without being bound by any calls for restraint. The most forceful explanation of this idea can be found in "The National Security Strategy of the United States," a report which was issued by the White House in September 2002. Under this strategy, the President lays claim to an expansive power to use our military to strike other nations first, even if we have not been threatened or provoked.”

“There is no question that the President has the inherent authority to repel attacks against our country, but this National Security Strategy is unconstitutional on its face. It takes the checks and balances established in the Constitution that limit the President's ability to use our military at his pleasure, and throws them out the window.”

“This doctrine of preemptive strikes places the sole decision of war and peace in the hands of the President and undermines the Constitutional power of Congress to declare war. The Founding Fathers required that such an important issue of war be debated by the elected representatives of the people in the Legislative Branch precisely because no single man could be trusted with such an awesome power as bringing a nation to war by his decision alone. And yet, that it exactly what the National Security Strategy proposes.”

“Not only does this pernicious doctrine of preemptive war contradict the Constitution, it barely acknowledges its existence. The National Security Strategy makes only one passing reference to the Constitution: it states that "America's constitution" -- that is "constitution" with a small C -- "has served us well." As if the Constitution does not still serve this country well! One might ask if that reference to the Constitution was intended to be a compliment or an obituary?”

“… This doctrine of attacking countries before a threat has "fully materialized" was put into motion as soon as the National Security Strategy was released. Beginning in September 2002, Dr. Rice also took a position on the front lines of the Administration's effort to hype the danger of Saddam's weapons of mass destruction.”

“Dr. Rice is responsible for some of the most overblown rhetoric that the Administration used to scare the American people into believing that there was an imminent threat from Iraq. On September 8, 2002, Dr. Rice conjured visions of American cities being consumed by mushroom clouds. On an appearance on CNN, she warned: "The problem here is that there will always be some uncertainty about how quickly he [Saddam] can acquire nuclear weapons. But we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."

Senator Byrd continues, reminding us the Dr. Rice knew that Iraq had no nuclear capability and was intentionally misrepresenting intelligence to which she had access and was intentionally misleading the nation.

Byrd concludes:

“To confirm Dr. Rice to be the next Secretary of State is to say to the American people, and the world, that the answers to those questions are no longer important. Her confirmation will most certainly be viewed as another endorsement of the Administration's unconstitutional doctrine of preemptive war, its bullying policies of unilateralism, and its callous rejection of our long-standing allies.”

“The stakes for the United States are too high. I cannot endorse higher responsibilities for those who helped set our great country down the path of increasing isolation, enmity in the world, and a war that has no end. For these reasons, I shall cast my vote in opposition to the confirmation of Condoleezza Rice to be the next Secretary of State.”

Now there’s an eloquent guy. The only thing I can possibly add is that you should read the entire speech at the link above.

And before I forget...

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That's just in case you were wondering, eh?

Whoa, Wednesday - Food Section:

I’m not a vodka kinda’ guy, but for those of you who are, this is interesting. Who woulda' thunk it, cheap (well, relatively) is good!

A Humble Old Label Ices Its Rivals
By Eric Asimov, January 26, 2005, The New York Times

It was not exactly a victory for the underdog, but chalk it up as a triumph of the unexpected.

The idea for the Dining section's tasting panel was to sample a range of the new high-end unflavored vodkas that have come on the market in the last few years in their beautifully designed bottles and to compare them with a selection of established super-premium brands. To broaden the comparison, or possibly as a bit of mischief, our tasting coordinator, Bernard Kirsch, added to our blind tasting a bottle of Smirnoff, the single best-selling unflavored vodka in the United States, but a definite step down in status, marketing and bottle design.

After the 21 vodkas were sipped and the results compiled, the Smirnoff was our hands-down favorite.

The top 10 are listed below, read the article at the link above. Skoal!

Tasting Report: In the Best-Selling Category, a Best Seller Stands Out

BEST VALUE
Smirnoff United States Grain
80 proof
$13
***
Pure, clean and ultra smooth, with pleasing texture and classic vodka aroma.

Wyborowa Poland Single Estate Rye
80 proof 1 liter
$30
***
Elegant and intriguing, with mild flavors and great persistence.

Belvedere Poland Rye
80 proof 1 liter
$34
***
Great smoothness and purity, with good texture and body.

Absolut Sweden Level Grain
80 proof
$24
** 1/2
Smooth and substantial, with flavors of flowers, lemon grass or nuts.

Hangar 1 United States Straight Wheat and Grain
80 proof
$30
** 1/2
Pleasing, with complex flavors and a suggestion of sweetness.

Vox Netherlands Wheat
80 proof
$23
** 1/2
Smooth and neutral, with savory flavors and a touch of alcoholic heat.

Olifant Netherlands Grain
80 proof 1 liter
$17
**
Subtle, yet rich and complex.

42 Below New Zealand Wheat
84 proof
$24
**
Straightforward, pure and smooth.

Skyy United States Grain
80 proof 1 liter
$16
**
Unusual flavors of mint and lime.

Teton Glacier United States Potato
80 proof 1 liter
$20
**
Clean and light on the palate; odorless and tasteless.

If you have a little extra time -

Arianna Huffington’s column today is moderately amusing. She’s doing her “2005 Political Oscars”. Worth a visit if you have time to spare.

Bad news from Iraq

1200 01/26/2005: At least 30 Marines were killed in a helicopter accident during the night in Iraq. Reportedly another 4 Marines died in a separate incident and 1 soldier was killed. I’ll accurately report the sad news with the 2100 daily report.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 2100 EST, Tuesday, 01/25/2005

Sunday is “election” day.

A bad day, seven of our men and women died, five in an accident. So, 47 American men and women have died this month; 1240 since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1380 since Bush’s War began. 1,541 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,662 American men and women have been wounded, 120 between 1/19 and 1/25. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

Regarding Johnny Carson: “We, the millions whom you affected, will weep inside when we see the reruns, the clips of you walking out from behind the curtain, the moment in the monologue when a joke bombed; we'll recall your deep appreciation of both genuine and struggling talent.”

“Because you retreated into retirement so completely, let me thank you, in death, for the things I couldn't quite say to you in life. Thank you for the opportunity you gave me and others, and thank you - despite divisive wars and undulating political strife - for the one hour a night across 30 years of American life when we were entertained purely, delightfully, and wisely.” Steve Martin, American comic.

Bible-bangers brutally bash Bush!

Poor Dear Leader, he can’t do anything right, then again, he never could… There was some discussion around election time that he was “just using” the religious right. After all, no one from that far right side of the party got even close to the podium during the convention, whereas, the abortion-tolerant did. Hmmm…

Backers of Gay Marriage Ban Use Social Security as Cudgel
By David D. Kirkpatrick and Sheryl Gay Stolberg, January 25, 2005, The New York Times

WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 - A coalition of major conservative Christian groups is threatening to withhold support for President Bush's plans to remake Social Security unless Mr. Bush

The move came as Senate Republicans vowed on Monday to reintroduce the proposed amendment, which failed in the Senate last year by a substantial margin. Party leaders, who left it off their list of priorities for the legislative year, said they had no immediate plans to bring it to the floor because they still lacked the votes for passage.

But the coalition that wrote the letter, known as the Arlington Group, is increasingly impatient.

In a confidential letter to Karl Rove, Mr. Bush's top political adviser, the group said it was disappointed with the White House's decision to put Social Security and other economic issues ahead of its paramount interest: opposition to same-sex marriage. …

Doesn’t that give you a warm feeling? Spaced out fundamentalists high on Jesus blackmailing the President: ban gay marriage or we won’t support your rape of Social Security. What lovely Americans. There’s more at the link.

And the right-wing-fundie loonies at Agape Press published this bit on January 24th:

...Some conservative Christians are asking questions regarding the faith of President Bush based on his recent actions. Christian social commentator John Lofton is upset over some things the president has done lately, including the chief executive's praise of the Koran during his inauguration speech last week. "It was deeply distressing to hear President Bush mention the Koran, which is a vehemently anti-Christian [and] anti-Jewish document, in the same breath with the Old and the New Testaments," Lofton says. The columnist also notes that in his Christmas address, Bush failed to mention the name of Christ -- yet he honored Ramadan and an Indian holiday that features an eight-legged elephant god. And today's (January 24) March for Life in Washington, DC, follows on the heels of the president's approval of a pro-abortion woman for the number-two spot on the Republican National Committee. Lofton has written a column wondering just what kind of faith President Bush has.

These clowns already own this guy - now they’re complaining because he showed some respect to other religions and picked a pro-abortion woman. Hell, Arnold Swarzenegger and Rudy Giuliani spoke at his nominating convention - didn’t these guys notice?

Jon Stewart of the Daily Show commented last night on the March for Life: Dear Leader phoned his message of support to the “assembled masses” who were all the way across the street from the White House. Perhaps 200 yards away - what a guy!

Iraq Casualty Count as of 2100 EST, 01/24/2005

Five days until the “election.”

40 American men and women have died this month; 1233 since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1373 since Bush’s War began. 1,534 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,502 American men and women have been wounded, 130 between 1/12 and 1/18. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

“Rome had Caesar, a man of remarkable governing talents, although it must be said that a ruler who arouses opponents to resort to assassination is probably not as smart as he ought to be.” Barbara Wertheim Tuchman, American author and historian

The New York Times serves up some fried weasel!

A Bridge to Sell
New York Times Editorial, January 24, 2005

One of the main talking points in the administration's drive to privatize Social Security is that retirees have nothing to fear. "If you're a senior receiving your Social Security check, nothing is going to change," President Bush said recently. Mr. Bush seems to presume that older Americans are indifferent to the future retirement security of their children and grandchildren. But even taken on its face, the argument does not hold up.

The president promises that under a private retirement scheme, anyone age 55 or older would continue to receive full Social Security benefits. What he repeatedly fails to mention is that privatization would require some $2 trillion in new borrowing over the next 10 years and an additional $4.5 trillion in the decade thereafter. That's on top of the trillions that need to be found to cover the costs of Medicare and Medicaid and - if the president gets his way - to make this decade's tax cuts permanent. It's foolhardy to assume that the government could continue to meet all of its obligations, including the payment of Social Security benefits, under such a mountain of debt. [Emphasis added]

All told, by 2030, when today's 55-year-olds turn 80, the national debt would be as big as the economy itself, according to a calculation by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities that uses data from Social Security and the Congressional Budget Office. …

Despite the risks to their own economic well-being in retirement, some older Americans might be willing to support Social Security privatization if it would ensure a stable retirement for their children and grandchildren. But it wouldn't. Privatization would require potentially debilitating borrowing up front, in exchange for a drastically reduced benefit later on, no matter how well, or poorly, private accounts performed. So there's no reason for senior citizens to support it and plenty of reasons to oppose it. Mr. Bush is wily, and wrong, when he tries to dismiss older Americans from the debate.

The “liberal” press is finally backing away from its reluctance to call what Bush is doing what it is. He’s lying! The goddamned, contemptible weasel is doing with Social Security what he’s done with so many things. He’s creating a phony crisis. Oooh! WMD; oooh, evil lawyers trying to lynch “good” doctors whose only crime is amputating the wrong leg; oooh tax-cuts to return the budget surplus, or restart the economy, or payoff his fat-cat friends.

May he rot in hell! I mean that in a good way.

Bush’s Environmental Stewardship Bumps Bottom of Barrel

Well, among “civilized” nations at least. We do much better than, say, North Korea, but we’re behind Botswana. The NY Times presents this for your environmental dismay:

Nations Ranked as Protectors of the Environment
By Felicity Barringer, January 24, 2005, The New York Times

WASHINGTON, Jan. 23 - Countries from Northern and Central Europe and South America dominated the top spots in the 2005 index of environmental sustainability, which ranks nations on their success at such tasks as maintaining or improving air and water quality, maximizing biodiversity and cooperating with other countries on environmental problems.

Finland, Norway, and Uruguay held the top three spots in the ranking, prepared by researchers at Yale and Columbia Universities. The United States ranked 45th of the 146 countries studied, behind such countries as Japan, Botswana and the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, and most of Western Europe.

The lowest-ranking country was North Korea. Among those near the bottom were Haiti, Taiwan, Iraq, and Kuwait. …

The report is based on 75 measures, including the rate at which children die from respiratory diseases, fertility rates, water quality, overfishing, emission of heat-trapping gases and the export of sodium dioxide, a crucial component of acid rain. …

He also said a system that rated Russia, whose populated western regions have undergone extraordinary environmental degradation, as having greater environmental sustainability than the United States had inherent weaknesses.

At [number] 33, Russia's ranking, Mr. Esty said, is in large part a consequence of the country's vast size. While it "has terrible pollution problems" in the western industrial heartland, he said, its millions of unsettled or sparsely settled acres of Asian taiga mean "it has vast, untrammeled resources and more clean water than anywhere in the world.” So, he added, "on average, Russia ends up looking better than it does to someone who lives in western Russia."

Because such differences make many countries inherently difficult to compare, he said, this report also analyzed seven clusters of similar countries; in this analysis, the United States ranked slightly below the halfway point among 24 members of the Organization of American States. …

There’s more at the link above.

Silly me, once upon a time I thought that the major damage that Dear Leader would inflict, given four more years, would be via appointments to the courts. He’s destroying the environment; Reichsfuhrer Rumsfeld has his own private intelligence corps and army, free of any oversight; the New Deal is in real jeopardy; our once respected nation is internationally regarded with contempt. What’s next?

And now for something entirely different:

DUI Listerine
Associated Press Thursday, January 20, 2005

ADRIAN, Mich. -- A woman who admitted drinking three glasses of Listerine mouthwash had a blood-alcohol content more than three times the legal limit when she was arrested for drunken driving, police said Friday.

The woman, identified by police Sgt. Mike Shadbolt as 50-year-old Carol A. Ries, was arrested Sunday night and released on personal bond the next day. She was to be arraigned late next week on a misdemeanor charge of operating under the influence of liquor, Shadbolt said.

Police also found an open bottle of Listerine in Ries' car, and asked Lenawee County prosecutors Friday to authorize a warrant charging her with having an open intoxicant in a motor vehicle, Shadbolt said. Calls to the prosecutor's office were not answered after business hours.

Ries showed signs of intoxication after her car rear-ended another vehicle Sunday, Shadbolt said. She told police she had not consumed any alcohol and also passed a Breathalyzer test, but "there was something not quite right about her," Shadbolt said.

She failed a second test using different equipment and, under further questioning, admitted to drinking three glasses of Listerine earlier in the day, Shadbolt said.

According to Listerine manufacturer Pfizer Inc.'s Web site, original formula Listerine contains 26.9 percent alcohol, more than four times that of many malt liquors. Other varieties contain 21.6 percent alcohol.

I wonder how it is with 7-Up?

Iraq Casualty Count as of 2100 EST, 01/23/2005

Six days until the “election.”

39 American men and women have died this month; 1232 since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1372 since Bush’s War began. 1,533 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,502 American men and women have been wounded, 130 between 1/12 and 1/18. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

"Illegitimacy is something we should talk about in terms of not having it." James Danforth (Dan) Quayle, former Vice-President

From one of the best blogs on the net:

Kevin Drum at Washington Monthly made this observation today:

POLITICAL BUFFOONERY.... George Bush's inaugural speech was fine as far as it went. We're all in favor of freedom and democracy, after all.

But I've now read — what? At least half a dozen stories trotting out Bush confidants and senior aides, both named and unnamed, to assure us that Bush was just talking smack. He didn't really mean anything he said, and friendly dictators around the world don't have a thing to worry about. Poppa Bush is the latest.

Even accepting that rhetorical BS is a politician's stock in trade, this is inexplicable. What's the point in giving a speech like this if you're going to spend the next week telling everyone to ignore it? This is political buffoonery of a high degree.

Even I’ve noticed this… And I don’t read as much as my friend Kevin. The message seems to be “he doesn’t really mean it.” Or perhaps, don’t read my lips? I’d like to think that he’s so stupid that he delivers whatever his handlers put up on the teleprompter. I don’t think so. I think he’s actually deluded.

Dudes doing drugs…

I found this at a blog named Fafblog, where it is in competition for something called “The Koufax Awards: Most Humorous Post,” honoring the blog posting that made the reader laugh out loud during the year.

At any rate, this “essay” dates back to June 14, 2004; is hilarious; and is in the running. Enjoy. BTW, “Giblets,” apparently, is a Bushian sorta’ creature.

One Nation Under McGod

Giblets was gratified to see the Supreme Court shoot down the Pledge Of Allegiance Under God case today. Michael Newdow, the Godless atheist who would have removed our nation's most prized piece of God-branding, had argued that the pledge of allegiance violated the First Amendment by favoring religion over atheism.

What a silly busybody! Doesn't he know all real Americans ARE under God? And not just the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, or Allah or Buddha or whatnot. It is Ceremonial God. It is the same God you invoke when you put your hand on a Bible in court or purchase a nondenominational musical Easter card or when you yell "God damn it" when you stub a toe or when you say "God bless you" after a sneeze or a belch. Yes, God is a ceremonial belch-cleanser.

Everything is better when it is embossed with a vague smattering of God! Money is more trustworthy! Flags are more jingoistic! Supreme court buildings are more Law of Moses-ey! Ceremonial God supersizes life. More importantly Ceremonial God is the American God. How do you know if that dollar or that oath or that national leader is trustworthy and American? It has the God™ seal of approval that is how!

This God is a fitting adornment for oaths and flags and coins. Especially coins! Ceremonial God blesses your divine use of a slot machine with every quarter you feverishly insert. He marks His glory upon every dollar bill you stuff into the g-string of an aging lap dancer. He is the God of Coke and Pepsi, the all-embracing deity of McDonalds and Wal-Mart. All are one in His commercial bounty.

Giblets longs for a day when God will proudly stand out not just on money, monuments, plaques, greeting cards, university mottos, bumper stickers, action figures and gun shows, but on everything from hamburger wrappers to beer to car insurance. Giblets had a Big Mac dripping with special sauce yesterday, and he thought, "Is this special sauce godless, commie special sauce? Or is it All-American, True-Blue, Under God special sauce?” And the sad thing is my friends that Giblets did not know, because it did not say on the box.

Someday we will put an end to all of this and activist advertisers will no longer be able to chase God out of the public sphere and Giblets will be able to proclaim his religious faith in every consumable in the land. But for now our pledge of allegiance is intact and our God is safe. Praise the Lord and pass the French fries. Or better yet Mel Gibson's Passion Fries with Crucifixion Sauce! Now there is a God Giblets can pledge himself to.

Damn, is this guy great or what? He deserves perhaps a Pulitzer or a Nobel, to hell with the Koufax. Bring on the Crucifixion Sauce!

Iraq Casualty Count as of 2100 EST, 01/22/2005

Seven days until the “election.”

38 American men and women have died this month; 1231 since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1371 since Bush’s War began. 1,532 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,502 American men and women have been wounded, 130 between 1/12 and 1/18. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

"It is not necessarily impossible for human beings to fly, but it so happens that God didn't give them the knowledge of how to do it. It follows therefore, that anyone who claims he can fly must have sought the aid of the devil. To attempt to fly is therefore sinful." Roger Bacon, 13th century philosopher monk.

Here’s a Bush Toady who’s slipped under the radar:

Bush's choice for energy secretary was one of Texas' top five worst polluters
By Jason Leopold, January 18, 2005, Online Journal

January 18, 2005—In the bizarro world that George W. Bush lives in, it pays—literally—to be a miserable failure, a criminal, and a corporate con man. Those are just some of the characteristics of the dastardly men and women who were tapped recently to fill the vacancies in Bush's second-term cabinet.

But one of Bush's most outrageous decisions (besides naming Alberto Gonzales, who concocted a legal case for torturing foreign prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, attorney general) has got to be choosing 66-year-old Sam Bodman to serve as secretary of energy. This is a guy who for a dozen years ran a Texas-based chemical company that spent years on the top five lists of the country's worst polluters. [Emphasis added].

Apparently this slimebag’s company is also complicit in supporting the rebels in the war in the Congo. Read about it at the link above.

Leopold concludes: “As energy secretary, Bodman will be looking out for the honchos of the energy behemoths he used to consort with while he was chairman and chief executive of Cabot, Dick Cheney being one of them. Many of those energy corporations have donated millions to fund Bush's inaugural parties. And Cheney wants Bodman to reward their pals by making a convincing case why Bush's controversial energy policy should sail through Congress, the environment be damned.”

Seems to me that there was a horror movie named “The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari.” Dear Leader’s cabinet’s is yet another horror - and its real.

Finally, Echoing Saturday Nite Live from the past:

From “Today’s Papers” a daily summary of the major papers the Slate is kind enough to send, we have their final paragraph:

Dept. of Resurrections: Two weeks ago, the WP (and "Today's Papers") brought you the sad story of Ali Ghalib, an Iraqi government official who was dragged from his car by insurgents as he drove through an area known as the "triangle of death.” His body was reported to have been found later along the road, "riddled with bullets.” Today, the WP reports that Ghalib, alive and unriddled, returned to his hometown of Tikrit "in a hail of celebratory gunfire" Friday after having been released by his kidnappers. No word on the condition of Generalissimo Francisco Franco. [Emphasis added]

You, dear reader, might be too young to remember Saturday Nite Live from the 70’s when they were doing that bit during the news. Oh well.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 2100 EST, 01/21/2005

Eight days until the “election.”

One Italian and one American died on the 21st. 38 American men and women have died this month; 1231 since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1371 since Bush’s War began. 1,532 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,502 American men and women have been wounded, 130 between 1/12 and 1/18. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

The wholesale of slaughter of Iraqis continues, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

George W. Bush makes Reagan look smart, Nixon look honest, and his dad look coherent. Dave-the-Pro at Daily Kos’ blog.

Friday: A new feature - The Rapture Index!

Are you ready for the Rapture?

Our loony right-wing-fundamentalist friends at www.raptureready.com publish a weekly “Rapture Index” indicating how likely it is that the Second Coming is, well - coming.

Well the good news is that the index is at 153, up 1 from last week, with the record high at 182 set the week of September 24, 2001 and the record low at 57 set during the week of December 12, 1993. Then again, perhaps that’s not good news, the fundies may want the Rapture to occur sooner rather than later. If there are any students of “fundie philosophy” reading this, enlighten me and the other reader please. At any rate, read all about the index and the values that go into the final number here

What’s the bad news? Well, if that 12th century Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides is right, the bible is propaganda for ignorant farmers. Should that be the case: Sorry, fundies, no rapture. Bummer, huh?

Yo, nauseated but grossed out about tickling your uvula?

Check out the Rev. Moon’s paper’s lead article: Bush vows to end global tyranny. You’ll be able to throw up with ease.

The lead paragraph: “President Bush was sworn in for his second term yesterday and used his inaugural address to lay out an unapologetically aggressive agenda that amounts to nothing less than "ending tyranny in our world."

Doesn’t that give you a warm feeling? I did learn some stuff from the article. While our Dear Leader didn’t name the monsters he’d like to Saddamize, [isn’t that a gay thing?] the article continues: “National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice listed six "outposts of tyranny" in Senate testimony on Tuesday on her nomination to be secretary of state. They were North Korea, Iran, Cuba, Burma, Belarus, and Zimbabwe. She also decried the "lack of freedom" in unnamed Middle Eastern nations.”

Hmmm, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, famous democratic sorta’ places remain unlisted and unnamed. In jeopardy? Not likely.

I vote we go kick Cuba’s ass. They’ve got some great beaches and they’re really close by, and hey, they’ve got some oil! What’s not to like? Cuba libra, Ole!

Iraq Casualty Count as of 2100 EST, 01/20/2005

Nine days until the “election.”

No members of the coalition died on the 20th. 37 American men and women have died this month; 1230 since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1370 since Bush’s War began. 1,530 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,502 American men and women have been wounded, 130 between 1/12 and 1/18. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

"Our government... teaches the whole people by its example. If the government becomes the lawbreaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy." Louis Dembitz Brandeis, attorney, scholar, and Supreme Court Justice.

Alberto the Dodger does it again:

After forgetting his mother’s name in his confirmation hearing last week, Alberto “Rasputin” Gonzales submitted his written answers to the Senators’ questions left unanswered from those hearings. The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank reports that:

“In written answers to Kennedy, Gonzales used the words "I am not at liberty to disclose" at least 10 times; "I do not recall" or "I have no recollection" six times; I did not "conduct a search" seven times; "I am not at liberty [to discuss certain matters]" 10 times; and "I have no present knowledge" seven times.”

Such candor, honesty, and yes, helpfulness, displayed by the man who will certainly be the chief law enforcement officer of the land is laudatory - or something.

The entire article is here.

I just couldn’t watch…

I tried to be a good citizen and watch Dear Leader’s inaugural address, but his inability to read a teleprompter combined with his pauses for the toadies to applaud turned my stomach. I turned it off and waited for a transcript.

I’ve found several nuggets that I think we should use over the next four years to measure his performance. Here’s one:

"… Sometimes our differences run so deep, it seems we share a continent, but not a country. We do not accept this, and we will not allow it. Our unity, our union, is the serious work of leaders and citizens in every generation. And this is my solemn pledge: I will work to build a single nation of justice and opportunity. I know this is in our reach, because we are guided by a power larger than ourselves, who creates us equal in his image. And we are confident in principles that unite and lead us onward."

He “will work to build a single nation of justice and opportunity” my ass! This is clearly horse hockey. Dear Leader’s agenda will be to take care of his base: the “haves and the have mores,” and the rest of us be damned. His real agenda is concealed among the nuggets here:

“Together, we will reclaim America's schools before ignorance and apathy claim more young lives. We will reform Social Security and Medicare; sparing our children from struggles we have the power to prevent. And we will reduce taxes to recover the momentum of our economy and reward the effort and enterprise of working Americans. We will build our defenses beyond challenge, lest weakness invite challenge. We will confront weapons of mass destruction, so that a new century is spared new horrors.”

“The enemies of liberty and our country should make no mistake, America remains engaged in the world, by history and by choice, shaping a balance of power that favors freedom. We will defend our allies and our interests. We will show purpose without arrogance. We will meet aggression and bad faith with resolve and strength. And to all nations, we will speak for the values that gave our nation birth.”

The real agenda is to dismantle Roosevelt’s New Deal, something that conservatives have hated for all of the 70 years that it’s been around. And they’ve got a real chance to do it. Social Security is really just a red herring; it’s not much of a problem. Medicare/Medicaid is a disaster waiting to happen, and it’s been made even worse by the drug benefit that was added by the Bushistas.

Then we have to wonder who we’re going to attack next? Iran? Syria? North Korea is out; they are too much of a threat to their neighbors, South Korea and Japan, and to us, for that matter. Also, who knows where we would come up with the troops for any of the Neocons’ military adventures. Is it getting drafty?

What fun! Four more years.

Thursday: Time for something entirely different -

From that most credible news source, The Weekly World News, the gang that makes Bill O’Reilly and the Fox News bloviators look dreadful every time you compare the two, we have:

ONE IN 10 DRIVERS YOU PASS ON THE ROAD ARE NAKED FROM THE WAIST DOWN!

By FRED KENNEDY

A whopping one in 10 motorists you pass in traffic is naked from the waist down, a new federal study warns.

And you can pinpoint them with tips from National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which says "seminude driving is just as dangerous as driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol."

"It's important to watch for the warning signs so you can protect yourself by driving defensively when you suspect a seminude motorist is near," NHTSA spokeswoman Jan Kelmer told reporters in Washington, D.C.

According to Kelmer, naked drivers usually are "just regular folks in search of a cheap thrill.” They give themselves away by:

Weaving through traffic like drunks, especially while pleasuring themselves, or after they've scalded their privates with spilled coffee or a dropped cigarette.

Slapping and arguing animatedly with a passenger or passengers, indicating somebody has made an unwelcome advance involving their fully exposed naughty bits.

Flipping off or waving handguns at other drivers at random, as if to say, "I'm naked and there's not a damn thing you can do about it!"

Look REALLY embarrassed during routine traffic stops that end with them wrapping up in a police-issue blanket for the trip downtown.

Motor around town grinning like Cheshire cats for no apparent reason whatsoever.

Yep, the WWN, really lookin’ out for you.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 2100 EST, 01/19/2005

10 days until the “election.”

No members of the coalition died on the 19th. 37 American men and women have died this month; 1230 since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1370 since Bush’s War began. 1,530 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,502 American men and women have been wounded, 130 between 1/12 and 1/18. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be blown to bits and otherwise slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed and the infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

What kind of liar are you?
People lie because they don't remember clear what they saw.
People lie because they can't help making a story better than it was the way it happened.
People tell "white lies" so as to be decent to others.
People lie in a pinch, hating to do it, but lying on because it might be worse.
And people lie just to be liars for crooked personal gain.
What sort of liar are you?
Which of these liars are you?

Carl Sandberg, American author and poet

I am sick at heart.

The thought of that SOB getting crowned; and the thought of his sycophants getting confirmed just depresses the hell out of me. We know what kind of liars they are.

I've no more to say today.

Iraq Casualty Count as of 2100 EST, 01/18/2005

11 days until the “election.”

Three Americans died on the 18th. 37 American men and women have died this month; 1230 since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1370 since Bush’s War began. 1,530 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,372 American men and women have been wounded, 120 between 1/05 and 1/11. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be slaughtered by the score, with tens of thousands of Iraqi men, women, and children killed and the Iraqi infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

“As a matter of fact, by the time today's workers who are in their mid-20s begin to retire, the system will be bankrupt. So if you're 20 years old, in your mid-20s, and you're beginning to work, I want you to think about a Social Security system that will be flat bust, bankrupt, unless the United States Congress has got the willingness to act now. And that's what we're here to talk about, a system that will be bankrupt.” George W. Bush, serial liar, January 11, 2005

From the WashPost on Monday:

Secondhand Smoke and Kids' IQ Exposure to secondhand smoke reduces children's scores on math, reading and spatial skills tests by the equivalent of two to five IQ points, depending on how much smoke a child takes in, a study by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences has found.

The study, the largest and most scientific of its kind, involved 4,399 children and, for the first time, used the level of cotinine in the blood as a biological marker for smoke exposure. Cotinine is a breakdown product of nicotine. The research not only found a general correlation between high cotinine levels and low test scores, but also that the group of children with the highest levels had the lowest test scores. This kind of "dose response" is seen by researchers as strong evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship.

"We estimated that over 21.9 million children are at risk for [secondhand smoke]-related reading deficits," the study concluded. Although calling for more research, the authors said that "this analysis along with other studies provides adequate evidence to support policy to further reduce childhood exposure."

The study, published in this month's issue of Environmental Health Perspectives, relied on data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The children studied were ages 6 to 16. The report does not explain how or why secondhand smoke reduces test scores, but previous research has linked high smoke exposure to ear infections, sudden infant death syndrome, and being held back in school.

What I’ve found sad is that the folks I notice who seem to be using tobacco products - cigarettes, and chewing tobacco, are the people who can least afford to buy the stuff. They’re mostly blue collar types or middle income folks for whom two bucks or two and a half buck is real money - yet they’re spending it on smokes. Also, based on what we read above, really hurting their kids. Nonetheless, I know just how hard it is to quit. It took me several tries over three or four years to finally kick the habit. That was 20 years ago. Gollee, how time flies!

I’m tired, but who can resist: Gummy-bear Hooters!

Women Are Sweet On ‘Gummy Bear Breast Implants’

FREDERICK, Md. (Wireless Flash) – For years, plastic surgeons have been striving to find a breast implant that feels more natural. They may have found the solution in a simple sweet treat: Gummy bears.

The so-called Cohesive Gel, nicknamed the “Gummy Bear Breast Implant,” is made from an inedible, semi-solid silicone and feels almost exactly like a gummy bear, according to Dr. Donald W. Kress, one of a handful of U.S. doctors who have begun offering the implant to patients.

He prefers the “Gummy Bear Implant” to saline or silicone-filled bags, saying there’s less chance of leakage or wrinkling with the more solid implant.

Currently, the “Gummy Bear Implant” comes in 20 sizes and five shapes, including a teardrop style and both high and low projection models.

Dr. Kress has installed the new implants in 160 of his patients so far and says 90 percent of his new clients prefer them to old school implants.

I apologize for my total lack of good taste. Hey, I said I’m tired - lighten up!

Iraq Casualty Count as of 2100 EST, 01/17/2005

13 days until the “election.”

Four Americans died today. 34 American men and women have died this month; 1227 since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1367 since Bush’s War began. 1,527 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,372 American men and women have been wounded, 120 between 1/05 and 1/11. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be slaughtered wholesale, with tens of thousands of Iraqi men, women, and children killed and the Iraqi infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

“The greatest pleasure of a dog is that you may make a fool of yourself with him, and not only will he not scold you, but he will make a fool of himself too.” Samuel Butler, British writer and satirist.

The contemptible, arrogant, little weasel!

Bush Says Election Ratified Iraq Policy
No U.S. Troop Withdrawal Date Is Set
By Jim VandeHei and Michael A. Fletcher, January 16, 2005, The Washington Post

President Bush said the public's decision to reelect him was a ratification of his approach toward Iraq and that there was no reason to hold any administration officials accountable for mistakes or misjudgments in prewar planning or managing the violent aftermath.

"We had an accountability moment, and that's called the 2004 elections," Bush said in an interview with The Washington Post. "The American people listened to different assessments made about what was taking place in Iraq, and they looked at the two candidates, and chose me." …

There’s a lot more at the link. I just couldn’t stand it.

So the same clown that wasn’t able to think of a single thing that he would do differently when asked that at a press conference a while back (except for some personnel choices) still feels the same way. What a guy!

Then again, he’s got that mandate.

Great Letter:

The General's Ethics

Monday, January 17, 2005, The Washington Post

To the Editor:

As the White House and Defense Department staffs tried to define away the Geneva Conventions' strictures on the treatment of prisoners of war ["Gonzales Defends His White House Record; Nominee Questioned on Detainee Policies," front page, Jan. 7] they could have asked themselves what George Washington would have done.

As David Hackett Fischer notes in his fascinating book, "Washington's Crossing," America's initial victories in the American Revolution at Trenton and Princeton presented the army command with serious moral problems concerning the treatment of British prisoners. During the occupation of New Jersey, the countryside had been outraged by the British army's killing and mistreatment of American prisoners and their plundering and raping of noncombatants.

Yet, as Mr. Fischer wrote, Washington "often reminded his men that they were an army of liberty and freedom, and that the rights of humanity for which they were fighting should extend even to their enemies. Washington and his officers were keenly aware that the war was a contest for popular opinion. . . . The esteem of others was more important to them mainly because they believed that victory would come only if they deserved to win. Even in the most urgent moments of the war, these men were concerned about ethical questions in the Revolution."

CHARLES B. SAUNDERS JR.
Bethesda [Maryland]

Alberto "Rasputin" Gonzales and his boys found the Geneva Conventions "quaint." He's now set to be the chief lawyer of the nation. I thought no one could be worse than Ashcroft. Hah!

How did I miss this?

Send a Message to God
He has gone too far this time.
By Heather MacDonald, Jan. 10, 2005, Slate Magazine

In the wake of the tsunami disaster, it's time for believers to take a more proactive role in world events. It's time to boycott God. [Yikes!]

Centuries of uncritical worship have clearly produced a monster. God knows that he can sit passively by while human life is wantonly mowed down, and the next day, churches, synagogues, and mosques will be filled with believers thanking him for allowing the survivors to survive. [Holy, er - ah, crap!] The faithful will ask him to heal the wounded, while ignoring his failure to prevent the disaster in the first place. They will excuse his unwillingness to stave off destruction with alibis ("God wasn't there when the tsunami hit"—Suketu Mehta) and relativising ("for each victim tens of thousands yet live"—Russell Seitz), even if those excuses contradict God's other attributes, such as omnipresence or love for each individual life.

Where is God's incentive to behave? He gets credit for the good things and no blame for the bad. Former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is fond of thanking God for keeping America safe since 9/11; Ashcroft never asks why, if God has fended off terrorist strikes since 9/11, he let the hijackers on the planes on the day itself. Was God caught off guard the first time around, like the U.S. government? But he is omniscient and omnipotent.

So slavishly do his worshipers flatter God that they give him credit for things he didn't even do. Let a man rape and murder a child, and it's the man's offense; but if someone tends to the sick or shares his wealth, it's God's hand at work. The Most Rev. Gabino Zavala from the Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese rejects any suggestion that God forsook the tsunami victims, according to the Los Angeles Times, but he credits God with the subsequent charity: "You can see God in the people's response—how they're reaching out."

And so, no longer guaranteed an adoring public, he starts to make nice. He calls back avalanches poised to wipe out whole villages; he brings rain to drought-stricken communities; he cures fatally handicapped babies in the womb, or prevents such flawed conceptions before they happen. He presents tokens of his love to malaria victims and children paralyzed by auto accidents. Africa blooms with peace and prosperity.

It might not work. But the "I'm rotten-You're divine" syndrome isn't too functional, either. It's worth a try; there is nothing to lose.

Ms. MacDonald has a point. Why should we give God all the credit for the good stuff and none of the blame for the bad? We always get the old song and dance: “it’s God’s will that the nun and the orphans were hit by the speeding cement truck.” What sort of God wills that sort of crap, along with war, pestilence, and George Bush?

Here’s something else that’s always bothered me - we pray to God to vanquish our enemies. Our enemies pray to God to vanquish us. What does God do? Flip a coin?

We, the Godly Americans, lost to a bunch of godless Commies in Vietnam. What should that tell us? Castro’s Cubans beat our Godly Hispanics at the Bay of Pigs, and we can’t forgive and forget… that’s not very Christian.

What to do? Hell, a boycott couldn’t hurt - could it?

Iraq Casualty Count as of 2100 EST, 01/16/2005

14 days until the “election.”

No members of the coalition reportedly died today. 30 American men and women have died this month; 1223 since the “Mission Accomplished” sign was hung on the aircraft carrier; 1363 since Bush’s War began. 1,523 men and women from the participating nations have died since Bush’s war began.

10,372 American men and women have been wounded, 120 between 1/05 and 1/11. These data come from Iraq Coalition Casualties who can use our financial support.

Iraqis continue to be slaughtered wholesale, with tens of thousands of Iraqi men, women, and children killed and the Iraqi infrastructure virtually destroyed.

Quote for the Day

On August 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King delivered this speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. I think each American would benefit by reading it at least once a year.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves, who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we have come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must ever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecutions and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends. And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right down in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I will go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. And this will be the day, this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning, "My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!” And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring -- from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring -- from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring -- from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring -- from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring -- from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that.

Let freedom ring -- from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring -- from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring -- from every hill and molehill of Mississippi, from every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual,

Free at last, free at last.

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last."