You won't be able to believe this, but he's from Florida.
There's clearly quite a joke here, but it's tasteless.
However, one of the MANY reasons I don't play with guns is because I'm clumsy. Perhaps this DEA agent should consider a career change (and I don't mean nuclear reactor technician either).
Reader CK posted this in comments, but I neglected to post it here. Let me do that now. It's from Seymour Hersch about the charges of brutality in Iraq and gives more background that the 60 Minutes II piece or most of the followup through the media since Wednesday night.
A fun read it's not but remember... every man and woman there in Iraq right now is in that position because of a course this country took. We own it.
The LA Times is reporting that the Secretary of State in California has pulled his support for electronic voting, a move that is likely to keep at least several counties from using some of the most controversial Diebold machines for the presidential election in November.
I'm actually waiting to hear what my state will do. I decided sometime back that rather than submit to an electronic vote on these machines considering the election of 2000, I'll apply for and submit an absentee paper ballot (in VT, most votes have always been done on paper or even by hand). As it happens, there's a significant chance I'll be traveling around election time so this move serves two purposes. If, however, we disallow "no trail" electronic voting, I'd make more of an effort to be here to cast my vote.
Mind you, ultimately, I think computerized voting will be fine. But we must protect the way it's done, and to have Mr. Bush push into law his "Help America Vote (for Me Whether They Planned to Or Not) Act" is ... uh.. worrisome. That's the word.
Well, in just a few days up, we've gotten some good comments. Thanks to those reading and contributing.
And while I've got a rosy glow (so to speak), congratulations to Jesse Taylor at Pandagon.net who's taken a paid position with the Jerry Springer group.
I know, I know... Jerry Springer, you think. I've never seen more than excerpts from his show, and that's a crock.
But Springer the man seems quite bright, honest (he knows exactly what his show is and pretends nothing lofty), talented, and an intelligent progressive voice. Whether he ends up running for politics again or just tries to give Dems in Ohio a step up, I'd like to hear more. With Jesse - and Ezra - so talented, I'm planning to check out the work. But I also hope Pandagon continues (I'm addicted, what can I say?).
When I was studying journalism in college, we were hit over the head repeatedly with the word,"alleged" and rightly so.
But my significant other and I were watching the news over lunch, and while they kept broadcasting images of torture and degradation of the prisoners, they kept, kept, kept using the word alleged. Frankly, I don't think the abuse quite falls under the category. It may be said "alleged to be Iraqis tortured at the hands of American soldiers", but you look at those pictures... and alleged abuse isn't the first word term pops to mind. Holy shit! and What the f--- came to mind first here.
Although I'm a regular Dick Meyers' reader, Skippy found this first on CBSnews.com:
As Josh Marshall points out today, the excuse being offered - that troops were insufficiently trained in rules of the Geneva Convention - over the documented mistreatment of Iraqi detainees is really quite lame.
Humans should know to treat other living things better than that. And before you tell me, "well, what about the Iraqis?", let me add that we supposedly haven't been living under a brutal dictatorship (except, of course, that we hear about this kind of thing being done here to prisoners).
Like Josh, I feel that this is largely a matter of putting a lot of young men (and presumably women) in a situation like this, getting them juiced up on the concept of enemy and then requiring them to get information from these prisoners (and let's be honest, a lot of detainees have no information to give but perhaps we don't feel we can verify that until we've tortured them - yeesh) at any costs is likely a big factor in this. Nor was this limited to American troops. While British papers have profiled more than once the statements of Brit soldiers rather appalled at the way the Americans treated civilians, at least one case here involves a British soldier purportedly urinating on an Iraqi.
Put these young people with little experience in the world in highly alien and dangerous conditions, hype them on the concept that each prisoner is like a glaring symbol of Osama and Saddam, praise the troops only if they get results, and you end up with a lot of detainees mistreated.
From the Financial Times comes this:
Ezra at Pandagon makes this point (note the article link within to a discussion of Rasmussen at Matthew Yglesias' site):
On a final note tonight, Conan O'Brien has his announcer read off a list of programs Sinclair has found acceptable to show, including "Temptation Island", several really strange episodes of Jerry Springer and Maury Povich, and "I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!"
Heh.
I remember seeing Ted Koppel interviewed at some point last year, and was quite surprised to see him take what seemed like a rather pro-war stance. This seems in direct contradiction to what Sinclair is suggesting. Frankly, I'd believe Ted over some right-winger true red-white-and-blue GOP donor who picks up prostitutes (and the pro said he was a regular customer).
As it happens, the same David D. Smith picked up for prostitution in 1996 (see the Atrios link earlier) still works (as in CEOing) for Sinclair, and responded to Senator John McCain's note on the home page of their Web site today (without showing McCain's letter questioning them).
While you're there reading, check this out:
A year ago tonight, Mr. Bush declared an end to all combat operations in Iraq.
It's amazing, however, how many people shown on the Koppel broadcast tonight lost their lives after that announcement, more than 100 of them the month of April 2004 alone.
This and other interesting tidbits appear via Atrios, starting with this tidbit, about Sinclair Broadcasting, the ones who pulled the Nightline episode tonight. These folks sound like just lovely people.
No wonder John McCain today called them "unAmerican" (I hate that phrase because it's too often used with ignorance and hate, but this is one time it seems a bit apt).
PBS' Frontline tonight had a fairly interesting program tonight about the evolution of George Bush as a born-again Christian and politician. My partner and I argued back and forth about various points. In fact, about the only thing we certainly agreed upon was that Mr. Bush thinks he's a good Christian.
If you're interested at all, I'd recommend trying to catch it.
NBC is reporting that Connecticut Governor John Rowland (R) is one step closer to impeachment, with a state politician ordering up at least one article of impeachment based on what he perceives as non-compliance by the governor in providing evidence from his financial records. Rowland's lawyers say there's nothing more to give.
However, state legislators, while frustrated, will not necessarily vote on - and certainly not necessarily vote in favor of - that article of impeachment when it reconvenes next week.
Still, polls have indicated for some time that a majority of state residents feel he is either corrupt or at least quite dishonest (I guess it's a matter of degree), and feel he should resign. Rowland is not likely to go on his own and still enjoys strong support behind the scenes from the Bush organization (which has no connection, of course, to Tony Soprano's waste carting business).
Hesiod at CounterSpin has an interesting er... interpretation... of Bush in his flight suit from his "Mission Accomplished" speech last May 1st.
Personally, I think chickens everywhere should sue (not Hesiod, the purveyor of chickenhawkdom). I don't think they'd support Bush or Cheney either.
Just consider what has occurred in the year since we heard that message delivered on the deck (poop?) of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.
Just the other day, for example, was one of the bloodiest days (for American troops) since we marched into Iraq. That same day, we saw the mainstream media begin to report on the abuses we've committed on Iraqi prisoners. Tonight, on the eve of the anniversary, a major broadcasting company (one which has given almost exclusively to Republicans) will not air Ted Koppel's Nightline program listing the US war dead.
These, sadly, are just snippets of a quite horrible year.
Mission accomplished indeed.
As someone who's not a particular fan of Nancy Reagan, I have to say I do admire the adamant "no" she's offered up everytime the extreme right decides to do something like put Ronnie's image on money or name a university for them. I also appreciated her speaking out in favor of stem cell research, despite how the right wing made that sound like courting satanism at its worst.
I sometimes wonder, actually, if the true Reaganites don't shudder a bit about the Bush Administration that likes to say it fashions itself after the "best of Reagan". Bush and Cheney, after all, are not conservatives in the traditional meaning of the word. Many conservatives think their GOP has been usurped - a point I happen to agree upon.
From Talking Points Memo:
It's been difficult to find real news around Michael Jackson's court date and the supposed racism of "American Idol" voting, but this from CNN:
It always amazes me at the ire Mickey Kaus draws.
Yes, he's rather a poor writer (yet gets paid reasonably well for the honor).
Yes, he doesn't seem like one of the great brain trusts of all times (and yet he's rather famous/infamous in the pundit/scribe realm).
Yes, for someone who calls himself a Democrat, he seems to spend an incredible amount of energy going after Dems almost exclusively. Sorta like that really strange woman on Faux News (Esterhaus, is it?).
But call me irresponsible, call me whatever, I simply don't read him. Oh, yeah, I read a lot of work by people who do not share my own visions of how the world should be (I learn from some, shout at others).
Yet Mickey has never struck me as anything other than a colossal waste of bandwidth. I don't see what he adds to the debate. I can't even comprehend why anyone has him on the payroll, let alone pays any attention to him whatsoever.
Heck, I'd even hazard a guess that if we all collectively ignored him, Kaus would dry up and blow away.
The above have announced they are cancelling tomorrow night's Nightline broadcast, where Ted Koppel will just read the names of US soldiers dead in Iraq for the full period, because it is against the national interest.
Excuse me?
That's right, Sinclair. Wave the flag, but never think about what it means.
Title: The Politics of Truth: Inside the Lies that Led to War and Betrayed My Wife's CIA Identity
Sounds like one to buy. Rememeber, too, to support your local bookstore. I love Amazon, but small bookstores need to survive as well.
Chris Matthews is practically twittering with delight over his own brilliance, but Rumsfeld is dancing adroitly around him. At one point, Rummy suggested Chris get a life rather than spend all this time reading pesky little news details.
This has been an extraordinarily odd day for Bush Administration comments in an administration that is noted for same.
However, as much as I would like Mr. Rumseld not to be head of the DoD, you have to almost admire his ability to dissemble with a warm smile, dancing light years around the press corps.
Now Rummy is telling us that the chain of command in Iraq is so aggrieved about charges run on 60 Minutes II last night that the information can't be true. Well, gosh, that makes perfect sense.
Addition: Rummy also sorta said that the president really never consulted him first to ask if we should go to War in Iraq. Then he said he thought it was "kind of interesting" that he didn't ask. Now... I'll buy all of that. What I don't buy is Rummy's follow-up statement that Bush must have asked 5,000 different questions over the next year about what to do or how.
The prez works less than 40% of the time, leaving 60% of 365 days (219 days tops) which, when divided by 5000, means Bush asked Rummy an average 23 questions per day. I know Rumsfelt didn't intend to be exact, but no way in hell.....
Barry McCafferty (on MSNBC now) says he really can't believe the statement (about the non-consultation). He even used the word "dissembling".
I'm not sure if I did this quite correctly. I see a couple, but one (now two) I tried as a test has not appeared. I do have to say CommentThis! was easy to install (the developer steps you right through it) and certainly looks like it could handle the job, at least until traffic builds here. If it does.
But then, since I have to drive net traffic as one of the hats I wear for work, I'm not too worried about doing so for this blog. Those who find it are welcome but I'm not big on self promotion.
Rather than set Billy Joel up as Osama's chaffeur, what if we force Osama and Saddam to live in a small apartment with Michael Jackson and Jessica (not Jennifer, as I incorrectly identified her yesterday) Simpleton Simpson? We could toss in Donald Trump for good measure.
I'm giving a Comments system (CommentThis! by Nik Martin) a try here. We'll see how this goes.
I'm not sure readership here yet requires the use of comments, but I'm nothing if not... er... uh... um... adventurous.
From Ha'aretz, the Israeli newspaper (I encourage you to read it in its entirety), via Buzzflash:
Are you listening to Bush's post-911 panel remarks? I'm appalled.
It's the strangest damned series of remarks that don't seem to lend themselves to the very serious situation at hand or what was important to learn from the questions today.
"We're workin' long hours to protect America," Bush just said, as he probably prepares to go on another long weekend again; the same man who since 9/11 has spent more than 40% of his presidency on vacation.
From today's editorial page:
From CNN:
CNN reports 10 more soldiers have been killed in fighting in Iraq. What they're not reporting is that a poll released late yesterday says a majority (57%) of surveyed Iraqis want us out. Now, I suspect a lot of Iraqis are afraid to talk, so seeing that high a number probably represents more like 70-80-90% of the population. In fact, we might be down to Chalabi and his nephew wanting us there.
CNN had a headline this morning that said, "Bush, Cheney to be Quizzed by 9/11 Panel". Gee, I'd like to think this is more than a game of Trivial Pursuit.
It looks like Poland is making plans to make plans to get the hell out of Iraq,too.
What's the coalition down to now? I think it's us, England, and two people from the Solomon Islands.
Why do you think WH spokesman Scott McClellan went out of his way today (actually, now yesterday) to point out that it was anticipated that Mr. Bush, rather than Mr. Cheney, would probably answer the majority of questions put forth by the 9/11 panel to them in private?
It seemed like an odd thing to say out of the blue, sort of similar to saying, "No, I know she's blonde and speaks like Jennifer Simpson, but really, she's a nuclear rocket scientist."
CNN's poll right now asks:
If we really want to punish Osama bin Laden, we might want to consider having Billy Joel serve as his current chaffeur. Word is Osama's last chaffeur is in Guantanamo Bay.
What the hell does a tyrannical religious madman drive anyway?
Well, I know Mr. Bush drives a pickup truck. Ahem.
Many, especially wingnuts (it seems), are questioning ABC and "Nightline" for the decision to run Friday's show presenting just the names (read by Ted Koppel) and images of dead US soldiers. Wingnuts call it a stunt to drive up outrage about the war, to force people to question the cost of the war and this president.
I don't buy that. Nor am I sure how this is a ratings stunt (it coincides with the beginning of the May sweeps period where viewers are counted to help determine ad rates). If anything, I could see Nightline - sadly - losing a lot of viewers that night. People too often don't want to be reminded. Sadder still, I'm sure Misters Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, Negroponte, Wolfowitz, Perle, et al plus Ms. Rice will NOT watch.
Me? I'm going to try to catch it. I understand that whether or not I agree with this war - and I don't - that each of these men and women are there representing the country. I hate the war, but I'm very sad they've lost their lives and the great sacrifice their families are going through.
Try to guess how many members of the Iraqi National Congress will still be free - as in, not arrested for serious corruption - before power is turned over on June 30th. Then try to guess how many people, besides Mr. Bush who made him an honored guest at the latest state of the unions speech, would like to have Mr. Chalabi anywhere near either their money or their intelligence gathering process.
I suspect the numbers are in the single digits on both.
Iraqis spent today burning that new flag I noted yesterday. Once again, Mr. Bush proves he's a uniter, not a divider. D'oh.
They're saying it's supposed to come out in late June, but that he actually hasn't finished writing it yet. On a totally selfish note, I rarely get more than 3-4 months to pound out even a 600-800 page book. Bill's had years.
OK, granted, I've never been president but sheesh. And God knows he gets much larger advances than I do. Grumble. Grumble.
I don't buy, however, the criticism that Clinton's book will somehow overshadow the Dem National Convention or Kerry's campaign. I think the timing is actually quite good for this summer. As David Gergen just pointed out on MSNBC, this is going to give Clinton a lot of attention and he, in turn, can turn the spotlight onto Kerry and why it's so important to get away from the Bush Administration.
I've mentioned Maureen Griswold, a retired military nurse, the sister of a young man lost in Vietnam, and one heck of a smart-on-her-toes writer. Let me copy her latest note, and please, check out her article:
Ah, to be a fly on the wall (with a very small camcorder, of course).
I'm just pleased to see we haven't moved into either Fallujah or Najef on the ground. While it's not getting much attention in the mainstream media, the humanitarian crisis is mounting.
I'd get more excited about this BUT how many suspects have been charged and indicted, only to have the authorities have to grudgingly admit they just made up connections out of whole cloth?
I'd love to see those responsible for 9/11 brought to justice, as any sane person would. But I have this unreasonable tendency to want the real people charged and convicted, and not just any warm body they find.
From Salon (which finally got a subscription out of me) and Joe Conason:
One has to hand it to spammers, who've come up with a new campaign after all that discussion of missing weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
I got several overnight offering a penis enlargement pill that will allow me to "find a WMD right in your shorts." Of course, as a female, I would be especially disturbed if I found a WMD in my shorts.... under most conditions. Ahem.
Here from Josh Marshall, and here from Salon. Read it and [bleep].
For example, from the Salon piece by James C. Moore:
With more than 200,000 respondents now, 74% are still saying Cheney should release the information.
Thankfully for Cheney, however, his pal, Noni (Scalia) will be helping to decide the issue. Now, how many of us can boast of being best pals with a SC justice, let alone funding their hunting trips? I certainly can't... and the only thing I ever hunt for is a decent snack in my kitchen.
(Now where is that cheddar popcorn I bought?)
No, really. Not just little parts. The whole thing. If the Bush folks want to make Kerry's medals an issue (at least he earned some), then I want to why Bush was grounded and then released prematurely. See? I'm being reasonable, I'm not even asking for why he was allowed to jump over 750 more qualified candidates and allowed to fly when he seemed to have neglible flying skills.
Come on, Karen (Hughes). You have time to run your mouth. Offer up the goods.
Growing concern tonight about at least 60,000 refugees already flooding out of Fallujah, starting before the attacks began today. Considering what's happened with humanitarian workers, it would be awfully hard to ask people to go in to help. I have to admit, as much as I'd like to help, I'd be hesitant to sign up (no, I am not happy about that either).
A CNN poll right now asks whether information from VP Dick Cheney's "secret" energy task force meetings (the ones that excluded energy groups but included folks like Enron's Ken Lay, someone we'd all just love deciding American energy policy) should be made public. With close to 150,000 respondents thus far, 74% say YES.
You have to hand it to Solicitor Ted Olson appealing before the Supremes regarding it. The nerve required to say this was an unprecedented intrusion into the presidential office is really funny considering Olson was one of the "elves" behind all those years of Clinton conspiracy theory, where we focused on the blue dress instead of bleeping al Qaeda. Nice work, Ted.
Now they're talking about troops amassing at the borders of Fallujah possibly planning to move in to conduct door-to-door combat, perhaps on the heels of the 20-25 canons shot with each airstrike. I don't pretend to understand the specifics of military talk.
I hope the talk of door-to-door combat is wrong. This could mean incredible numbers of casualties on all sides.
After just reporting that Rumself said,"heck, why not try discussing the issue of whether we should act against Fallujah and Najaf?" [novel concept, btw], MSNBC is now showing some horrific explosions right now in the city of Fallujah. The pundits are saying it's new fighting that has erupted, and that coalition AC130 gunships are firing on targets in Fallujah.
One might ask what the [bleep] is going on today? One might also do well to ask how the Arab world is viewing all the violence today. Remember: 1.4 billion Muslims and climbing.
The new proposed Iraqi flag has been unveiled and the overwhelming reaction among Iraqis is quite negative.
Personally, I'm not sure a flag is the worst issue that Iraq faces right now. But yes, the new Iraq flag, referenced here in a Washington Post piece, bears a lot more similarity to the Israel flag (actually, Israel's, to me, is one of the most attractive flags of all the nations; its appearance as strong and peaceful as Ariel Sharon is strong and pig-headedly warlike) than to the traditional red, green, and black of most Arab nation flags.
While I can see some positives in somehow trying to advance the Iraqi flag, I think this one may represent too much of a break from their tradition. But how would they feel if they took the same flag design, but translate the colors into red, green, and black (whether or not with a white background).
And why try to alienate people through a flag? There's enough going wrong there.
While newspapers seem to be at least raising the topic of whether John Negroponte is the right choice of ambassador to Iraq, a role that would largely take over from CPA head Paul Bremer after June 30th, I was amazed just now listing to Colum Lynch of the Washington Post on MSNBC making it sound like really, nobody could have a problem with this man.
Oh.
I kept hearing today - especially from pundits such as MSNBC military expert Rick Franconia - that we might have to attack Najaf in order to stop the tension.
Has anyone considered what happens if we go into Najaf and we're creamed? Sure, we can call in air power, something the so-called insurgents can't. But there will be a lot of people on the ground, including coalition forces as well as civilians. Going after the mosque in Najaf that is called that part of the world's Vatican seems like a recipe for even greater disastrous, both short- and long-term.
I note, too, that the Justice Department will not confirm Leahy's statement.
However, I would find it very encouraging if AG John Ashcroft could take time out in his busy schedule hunting down post 60-year-old bhong seller Tommy Chong, Planned Parenthood, and Janet Jackson's nipple to investigate real fraud and little issues like terrorism. This summer, I'll anticipate he'll lead a campaign against scantily clad 6-year-olds selling lemonade on Sundays when kids should be in church.
From CNN:
Word out today that hundreds of American lives could have been saved if we had only not tried to do war on the cheap - or, heaven's to Betsy, not go into this horrible war at all - by sending them to Iraq with insufficient armor. Remember, too, that lots of reservists and other non-standard military people were not sent with any armor at all.
Of course, I'm certain that the so-called insurgents know how to distinguish between a "real" soldier and a "weekend" warror so they don't shoot the un-armored folks. Thus, why would we need to bother to protect the plumber, the pro football player, or the accountant in the reserves and serving there.
Elsewhere, several others are stating that the Humvee just isn't designed to stand up to roadside bombs. What a surprise. The only bombs Schwarzenegger has to survive in his are the ones he makes for Hollywood.
Some fifty-two senior British analysts and former ambassadors have returned from Iraq to tell PM Tony Blair that American efforts there are "doomed" and to suggest Britain end its unholy alliance with the US ASAP.
And remember, those are our closest coalition supporters.
Josh Marshall says this far better than I do, but I read with open mouth the article on ABCnews implying Kerry lied about his war medals when not one damned thing Mr. Bush does - however removed from verifiable truth - is ever referred to as a lie.
Bush, Cheney and Delay lied and cheated their way through their military obligations (Cheny and Delay were busy elsewhere, while Bush played a pilot when it was convenient). Yet none of them have an issue with ripping apart someone who did go, sacrifice, and serve. Any media who fails to recognize that is a toady.
[Ed. Note: I put the specific title "Bush GOP Style" for a reason. I don't believe the majority of Republicans think or choose to operate quite the way people such as Bush, Cheney, and Rove think and operate. I believe a lot of people joined the Republican Party because they saw it as a party of economic and perhaps even personal responsibility, of values that spoke of their own, etc. What the GOP has become under Bush/Cheney, Rove and Delay, however, is quite another matter. But just as Democrats often have quite an issue with their party leaders and still feel an affinity for the party, I suspect Republicans, uncomfortable with the rhetoric and meanness, still choose to align themselves with the party as a whole.]
Yesterday, about one person in every 300 Americans appeared in Washington for the women's lives march. Imagine how many more wanted to attend but could not?
That's a very powerful message, I think...of course, to anyone who isn't as blindly partisan as Bush and Company.
Maybe it's because it's a rainy Monday or perhaps because of my allergies, but here's a reality TV show idea that I think many of us could get behind:
Take Wolfowitz, Cheney, Perle, and everyone else who assured us we would have a "cake walk" in Iraq, that we would be greeted with flowers and cheers, and set them up in an apartment in downtown Baghdad or Fallujah. Then these enterprising little spinners - without special protection or air cover - would proceed to go out onto the Iraqi streets helping to transform the country one heart and mind at a time.
Me? I'd give 'em six minutes. But maybe they'd come up with a better approach for Iraq after they had to suffer the way the people of Iraq and the coalition soldiers, contractors, and humanitarian aid workers do. Perhaps we could even let the Iraqis vote one of them at a time out of the apartment to live on the streets.
The only amazing part of all of this is with all the incredible corruption that has come out about John Rowland that he remains governor of Connecticut. Or perhaps it's not so amazing, considering Mr. Bush and the Bush family are very close to Mr. Rowland.
This from the Norwich Bulletin:
Charles Krauthammer in Time this week takes on the issue of whether the president should apologize for all that's gone wrong. He even goes so far as to try to make us feel sorry for poor, poor, misunderstood Paul Wolfowitz.
The problems inherent with this, however, is that neither Krauthammer nor Bush see Bush as culpable for anythingand that Krauthammer takes a pretty strange view of just about everything. But then, so do Bush and Wolfowitz.
Was he really a psychiatrist? I certainly hope he doesn't still inflict himself upon unwitting patients. It's also disturbing that someone with that kind of education and training could be so blindly partisan.
I'm stunned and appalled by what I read at the Daily Kos of Bush advisor, Karen Hughes, equating the right for women to have control over their own bodies to be the same as loving al Qaeda:
From CNN:
I was wondering what accounted for my relative good mood this afternoon, and I finally realized it's because I skipped Tim Russert, Chris Matthews, Howie Kurtz, and Wolfie today. Heh.
The American Prospect magazine (from when, I'm not sure) features a marvelous cover that shows Bush standing there, appearing to shrug, while the world, apparently having slipped from his hands, hits the ground and fragments. You get the impression our feckless leader is saying, "Oops, my bad."
To me, that cover just about sums up Bush's 3+ years as president. He's meddled, mortgaged, and messed up everything, while taking not one scintilla of personal responsibility. He couldn't care less if the world is a much worse place after his tenure than before.
Repeat after me: We need to get this moron as far from the Oval Office as is humanly possible. We owe it to ourselves and we owe it to the world.
From Jesse at Pandagon.net:
Tens of thousands (at least) have shown up for the march on Washington for women and women's lives, according to CNN.
From the great folks at TalkLeft come at least two disturbing bits of information. First, a national ID card goes into trial in England this coming week (lovely), and this:
This from Billmon:
(I'm something of fan of Oliver's --- and love the pictures of his dog, too):
From yesterday's NY Times, courtesy of David Sanger and Thom Shanker:
From Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo a short while ago:
From Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo a short while ago:
For those of you who a) may not have heard of it yet or b) haven't read it, go pick up a copy (used is fine, borrowed is good, too).
While I won't give it strong points for character development and sometimes even plot, the information in there about the "sacred feminine", DaVinci's encoding in artwork, and such is highly interesting. Until I do more research, I'm trying not to get majorly,royally pissed with The Church... but yes, I do think it's possible that a deliberate effort was made to hide the role of women in Christ's teachings. I also see some nasty parallels with the Vatican ordering pro-Choice candidates not be granted communion and the way the Bush Administration thinks of women as fourth class citizens.
For whatever reason - and the reason why remains unclear at this unGodly hour - we're just coming back from a 12+ hour power failure which occurred immediately after I had exhausted my laptop battery on another project and was about to recharge it.
Power failures up here in never-never land are especially fun because a) there's really no place to go to get something to eat b) it's hard to pick up any TV or radio reception without satellite assist so it's difficult to establish whether this is a freak blackout or whether the world's coming to an end and c) once the light of day fades, what the hell do you do? In my case, we went to bed hours early and read "The Da Vinci Code" by light of wind-up flashlight. Then, almost as soon as I turned out the flashlight, I noticed there seemed to be light coming from somewhere and... of course... electricity was restored. So here I am at 3 AM eating a defrosted McMuffin and sipping coffee.
Still, after more than 12 hours without any news, I was a bit nervous about what I would log into find. As usual, it's not good (2 dead sailors, and the part of N Korea where the two trains supposedly exploded the other day has been "flattened" according to the Red Cross).
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