Good news of the day

Two years after The Scream was stolen, Norwegian police have recovered the painting and report that it has suffered little damage.

Season Opener

This Saturday, my beloved Hokies open the season again Northeastern. It is not going to be close. In all seriousness, Tech should win by 50. So this game is not much of a barometer of how good the team is going to be this year. The offense has a lot of holes to fill. But look out for the defense; they are going to be nasty.

Down in the food service trenches

As I have mentioned before, I have held pretty much every job one can have in a restaurant. For that reason, I have a special place in my heart for those folks that work in the field. It is tough work; particularly when customers are nasty or abusive. Very few things in this world are as telling about one’s personality as how you treat the wait staff while out to eat. So in that vein, two items…

To all of you current and former bartenders: you gotta love a steady, generous customer, especially when he gives you a $10000 tip. As far as I am concerned, that guy just bought his way into heaven.

On the other side of the equation, the Waiter over at Waiterrant wrote about a nightmare table a while back. Bad customers are a pain in the ass but bad customers in a heat wave with no AC is like Hieronymus Bosch’s vision of hell.

Rebranding one war to start another

Violence in Iraq today killed 47 and injured 100. The war is going so well the Republican lawmakers are running from actually using the word Iraq. Welcome to the new war on "Islamic Fascism".

It seems the R's have figured out that the real problem with the war is not incompetent leadership; it’s really a branding issue. Everything will sound better with a new catchphrase and “Islamic Fascism” frames the war in such a way as to encompass our next stop, Iran. From the AP:

Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) ., in a tough re-election fight, drew parallels on Monday between World War II and the current war against "Islamic fascism," saying they both require fighting a common foe in multiple countries (Emphasis mine).

I think the neo-cons are winning the internal fight to take on Iran. I also think they know they cannot sell another war without a serious marketing overhaul; hence, the new buzzwords. Make no mistake; we are seeing the groundwork being laid for another invasion. If the neo-cons do get their way and we do go after Iran, we are so very, very screwed.

The joys of fatherhood – Smoked Paprika Edition

Baby J. started to walk a couple of weeks ago. L. and I have already experienced the sheer terror that accompanies our son’s increased mobility. One morning last week, we were busily packing lunches, feeding the dogs, etc. while J. was playing on the floor. I ran upstairs to fetch something I had left in our bedroom. L. had turned her back for fifteen seconds to let the dogs in. Each thought the other was running the baby defense. In that slightest of moments, J. had reached into the spice rack, found my smoked Paprika, opened the tin and dumped the contents on the floor, creating an instantaneous blood-red sandbox. As I descend the stairs into the kitchen, I notice that he is covered in red and holding the now empty can. I say something like “Oh my God” and start running, thinking God knows what kind of tantrum would be set off if he tasted the spice or even worse, got some in his eyes. Just then, L. sees her darling baby boy on the floor in a puddle of crimson and froze. I can only imagine what flashed through her head at that moment. Long story short (too late?), we reached J. before he has a chance to eat any of the stuff but it was a very close call. And L. and I learned a valuable parenting lesson.

Lifted from the Simpsons’ – the Ms. Botz, babysitter bandit, episode:
Ms. Botz: Mr. Simpson, can I give you a bit of advice?
Homer: Sure.
Ms. Botz: Don’t turn your back on that boy for a second.

And how…

(Sidebar: Smoked Paprika is my new favorite spice. As a good Southern boy, I love the smoky flavor of fat back and ham hock. Then I married a vegetarian, so fat back has sort of disappeared from my life. Smoked Paprika, however, is a great veg substitute for the smoky pork in all sorts of rice, beans, and greens.)

Turkey will not stand for this

A Kurdish rebel group took responsibility today for a bombing in the resort city of Antalya. The US needs to stabilize this situation in a hurry or else the Turkish Army will go nuts in Northern Iraq. Indeed, the Administration’s failure to cool the border may yield yet another strategic advantage to Iran. From the CSM article:

"We do recognize that Turkey sees the PKK as its number one security threat and because of that it's a top priority for the US to combat the PKK," says a US official based in Ankara.
Despite the shelling and buildup on the border, Turkey has only taken very limited military action against the PKK.

"[But] if it gets to a point that it is unbearable and if the concrete steps [taken by the US and the Iraqis] don't bear the fruit that we are expecting, then all options are available," a Turkish foreign ministry official says.

Further complicating matters for the US is Iran's involvement. Although the PKK's Iranian counterpart, the Kurdistan Free Life party (Pejak), has recently increased its own activities, observers believe that Iran's recent cooperation with Turkey has less to do with security and more to do with trying to drive a wedge between Washington and Ankara.

"The Iranians can now say, 'We are doing something about the PKK and the United States is not doing anything,' " says Candar.

The Turks are smart, fiercely nationalistic, and tougher than shoe leather. And as the Armenians and Kurds already know, the Turkish military operates with a certain amount of, let’s say, “latitude” when it comes to civilian casualties and collateral damage. Things could get very ugly, very fast.

Our Congress

By Tom Tomorrow.

Revenge of the I-95 commuter

I am sure that everyone in the NoVa/DC area would appreciate the opportunity to demolish the dreaded Woodrow Wilson Bridge. God knows I hate that bastard and I don’t even live there.

One year ago today

If you live on the Gulf or Southeast coasts, this should send a chill up your spine.

Whitewashing the past

Copied in full from Americablog:

In early American public schools, there was no separation between church and state by John in DC - 8/28/2006 08:47:00 AM

From the Wall Street Journal
In early American public schools, there was no separation between church and state. Tenets of Christianity were embedded in almost every lesson and book, including spelling, reading, history, grammar, arithmetic and science.

Yeah, and we had slaves. And women couldn't vote. And no one would hire the Irish. And children made great factory labor.Oh yeah, we also burned witches.

Your point would be?

Right on. Too many people wish for the “good old days” without remembering all of the really bad shit that went along with those times. Just because things were different does not mean that they were better. To paraphrase P. J. O’Rourke, modern dentistry is reason enough to discard the “good old days”.

Crazy but not guilty

So John Mark Karr is not a DNA match to the assumed killer of JonBenet Ramsey. Carry on people, nothing to see here…

CNN

I am a news junky and I watch a lot of CNN (just ask my wife). I choose CNN instead of MSNBC and Fox because its coverage is light-years ahead of MSNBC and Fox is really a propaganda outlet run be conservative hacks. I do like CNN but I have several problems with the way every headlining story is played for maximum dramatic affect. Take the JonBenet thing, please… It was overplayed ten years ago and now that this Karr fellow has claimed responsibility and turned himself in, I guess the networks needs to cover that. But do you need a live shot of the man getting off of the plane with near minute by minute updates of his location, with the scary murderer soundtrack playing. So I offer up my observations as a CNN addict.

1. No story involving missing or dead, attractive, white women or girls can be overplayed. In this type of media circus, melodrama does not exist. These stories are driven by emotion rather than fact and logic. See Lacy Pederson, JonBenet, Elizabeth Smart, Nathalie Holloway, that runaway bride crazy, etc…

2. Coverage of politics should, if at all possible, avoid meaningful discussion of a particular policy and instead, focus on the horse-race aspect of the story. Most of the airtime devoted to the Medicare Prescription plans was directed at how this hurts the Democrats or helps the President rather than actually talking about what the policy would do. This is true of most TV news as well.

3. Bob Novak should have been fired a long time ago.

4. It takes an enormous lie or evasion for Wolf Blitzer to come after someone in an interview.

5. While Anderson Cooper was positively brilliant in his coverage of Katrina, he is not the second coming of Edward R. Murrow. Y’all need to dial back the fawning promotion a bit.

6. The network has absolutely cornered the market on hot Asian anchorwomen and reporters.

7. Coverage of the weather will always focus on the worst case scenario. If the only thing you knew about Hurricane Ernesto was the info you got from CNN this weekend, you would think that everyone from the Gulf Coast to New England was going to die. To boot, any storm with the potential to do any amount of damage will be labeled a “killer” storm. Scary is better than factual.

8. Like the weather, news on terrorism will be gear towards scaring the shit out of you. One will sit through any commercial if one thinks that the coming story can save their life from an imminent terror threat.

9. Lou Dobbs and Jack Cafferty are so much fun to watch. These guys are grumps that refuse to take anything from anyone. Cafferty, especially, loves to get up on the soapbox and lay into someone. It is a bit like an old man screaming at the kids to keep off his lawn. I love that stuff.

Take it away Eleanor

Eleanor Cliff just rips Bush a new one over Iraq in her Capitol Letter column this week and offers a look into the Administrations new strategy and where it might lead us.

Aug. 25, 2006 - If you think things are bad now, they will be worse if we leave. That’s the essence of President Bush’s argument for staying the course in Iraq. Bush is doing what he always does—shamelessly ramping up the fear factor. He says if U.S. troops leave Iraq, the terrorists will be right behind them, bringing Baghdad to America. He’s brought ruin to Iraq and his policies are helping create our worst nightmare, a nuclear Iran. How much worse can it get?

The unfortunate answer to this question is a lot worse. The Middle East is still boiling with tension. Per Bush, we are not going to leave Iraq while he is in office. Cliff gets a very sobering answer from one Dr. Ernest Evans, a military scholar linked to the U.S. Army Staff College.

“The name of the game right now is not achieving victory—it is preventing a major defeat from becoming a catastrophic defeat,”…

“I would define a major defeat as pulling out of Iraq and leaving behind complete chaos. I would define a catastrophic defeat as attacking Iran in a desperate effort to salvage Iraq and igniting a regional war. These are the painful choices before the Republic.”

So I guess the whole "freedon agenda" thing is not really going to work out, eh?

The sunny side of the street

First, I woke up in a good mood and baby J. was good all the way to daycare. Next, I look at the news this morning and Al Hunt gives me another reason to smile. Then, the Wall Street Journal/Zogby poll shows Jim Webb with a lead over George Allen. And yes Sara, Zogby’s model can be really weird but the trend lines are all in Webb’s favor. Finally, the CW gets nasty with President Bush and his most recent attempt to outrun accountability:

Spokesman Snow suggests Bush Senior's failure to take Baghdad led to 9/11. Hey, W, are you blaming Dad?

Ouch. Now this is the way to start a week...

Catfight

Nothing like a bitchy “it was great when I was there but now it is crap” comment to start the day – ladies and gentlemen, I give you Meredith Vieira. In Time’s Q&A with Mrs. Vieira, the erstwhile 60 Minutes contributor held forth on her opinion of her former show, The View:

I'm proud of the work we did there, but it's not a good time in the history of that show. It's hard to watch. It sort of became a joke.

Oh really now. Speaking as a red blooded American man, that crap was always hard to watch and still is. I recently spent the better part of an hour in the doctor’s waiting room watching dim-witted crank Elisabeth Hasselbeck carry on about whatever happened to piss her off that particular morning – just awful. And don’t even get me going on recently departed Star Jones.

To consider the View as anything but a joke (as most daytime talk shows are – paging Mr. Povich, Mr. Maury Povich) is to stare at the insipid and declare it thrilling and sophisticated. And that “I am proud of my work” bit. I hate it when people attempt to save face by praising themselves while kicking former colleagues. If she were ever present during one of Jones’s infamous tawdry rants and did nothing to stop it, she is guilty by association.

This makes Joe very happy

The Christian Coalition is falling apart at the seams. During the heady days of Clinton hunting, they were among the most powerful lobbies in DC. Now, well, when was the last time we have heard from them? This quote from the AP story just makes my heart sing:

"In our prime, we were rated the seventh-most powerful lobbying organization in the country," he said. "Now, there's not even any blip on the radar screen."

The Christian Coalition represents a lot of what I cannot stand about the modern conservative movement and they are among the worst of the bedroom police. More coffin nails please...

Pat Robertson’s brainchild is being crushed by the weight of its own self-righteousness and arrogance. When the national leadership of any organization refuses to listen to the concerns of affiliates, problems always arise. Rank and file members are the backbone of an organization and will not be ignored for long, whether in a union, a political movement, or a company. For a fun exercise, replace the Christian Coalition with Joe Lieberman and the state chapters with Connecticut Democrats and the story is the same.

Sometimes, leadership means listening to those whom you lead, and admitting that you do not always know best.

An example of not thinking on one’s feet

The open paragraph really says it all.

CHICAGO - Cook County prosecutors say a 29-year-old man traveling with his mother desperately didn't want her to know he'd packed a sexual aid for their trip to Turkey. So he told security it was a bomb, officials said.

A bomb? Are you kidding me? In an airport, tell them that it is anything but a bomb. Someone this dim-witted should be charged with disorderly conduct for leaving the house…

I am sorry but more Allen

I was trying to lay off the Allen thing for a while but a few things have popped over the past couple of days that prevent me from doing so. Hey – I am not above kicking a man while he is down. So in that spirit, let’s recap.

First, Allen pulls off the hood by using a racial slur in front of the camera. Whether he meant monkey or darkie or whatever is almost irrelevant (I don’t me to trivialize the incident so stick with me). The truest sin was Allen, a Californian (not that there is anything wrong with California - read previous post), telling an Indian-American and Virginian by birth,

“Welcome to America and the real world of Virginia.”

The message he sent was the Commonwealth and this nation was meant for white people and you folks of the darker complexions are not welcome. Wrong, mean, racist. What a bastard…

Then Bush states flat out that "We're not leaving [Iraq] while I'm the president” and that the war is “straining the psyche of our country”. Our psyche is not strained, we are pissed. Happy lies do not make most of us happy. They make us not believe you. With 61% of America believing Iraq was a bad idea, Bush’s statement, I think, is going to drive home the fact that the Administration has no plan to fix Iraq. Our current quagmire is not going to better or go away any time soon.

As if on cue, the pollsters deliver. Yesterday, Survey USA put the VA Senate race 48%-45% to Allen. Webb has closed something like 10 points in a matter of three weeks without having a significant presence anywhere in the media. While reading this article this nugget struck a chord in me:

In Southeastern VA, Allen has gone from a 2:1 lead to a tie, a 31-point swing.

People, this is my neck of the woods. It is conservative, heavily military, and very, very Republican. For Allen to crater so badly here, something very big is going on. It looks like the "macaca", a terrible campaign plan, a tough opponent, and the majority disapproval of the war are coming together here.

Today, our good Senator, did his part to keep the ball rolling by issuing the fifth? sixth? seven? explanation for what went down. First, he half-heartedly apologizes for his “gaffe”, then sidesteps, followed by 2 backpeddles, a duck and dodge, and now, finally a retraction. From the mouth of Allen’s campaign manager, the awful Dick Wadhams:

I think it is obvious that this past week was difficult one for Senator and Mrs. Allen and the campaign. It is very clear that the news media created what they call a "feeding frenzy", with the Washington Post alone doing major stories on the same issue for 5 consecutive days.

Literally putting words into Senator Allen's mouth that he did not say (by speculating, defining and attributing meanings and motives that simply are not true), the Webb campaign and the news media seeming worked hand-in-hand to create national news over something that did not warrant coverage in the first place.

So that’s it. That’s the strategy. Allen is a victim for being called out on his bigotry. You, Virginia, are to feel bad for the terrible mistreatment of your Senator and former Gov. because the papers are mean to him, after he attempted to publicly humiliate to a twenty year old kid. What a pansy. And he was one of the front runners in the ’08 Prez run…

We may not win the House or the Senate this go-round, but I firmly believe that Jim Webb is going to beat George Allen. If a conservative cannot win Hampton Roads, he cannot win statewide. 50-50 in Southeast Virginia coupled with Richmond and NoVa will carry a Democrat home. All Webb needs now is a little luck and a whole lot of cash. Hello, Democratic Party – our boy needs your help.

Hurray California

Thank God for California. Without the Golden State, so many of the progressive ideas that this nation sorely needs would not get a trial run. And because many of these ideas are good, they spread. That is why I am thrilled that Governor Arnold and the state legislature worked out a compromise to raise the minimum wage to eight bucks an hour in the next two years.

OK – so maybe the only reason why Schwarzenegger went in for the deal is that he is up for re-election in a year that is increasingly hostile to incumbents and especially Republican incumbents. But necessity is the mother of invention or in this case, fear is the father of doing the right thing. As far as I am concerned, doing the right thing for the wrong reasons still means one did the right thing (most of the time anyway). At any rate, this is a good thing for California voters and hopefully, the rest of us.

Non-secret secrets

The government is reclassifying data about out Cold War missile stocks – data that we once provided to the Soviet Union. Can anyone think of a reason why? Does this make any sense? This stuff was public information at one time. One cannot put the genie back into the lamp.

Killer on the loose

A suspected cop killer is on the loose in my beloved Blacksburg. Virginia Tech has shut down the campus and police have put snipers on the rooftops of the school buildings. So to everyone in the Burg, stay safe. This guy is really dangerous.

Sidebar:
In 1994, when I was in school, two convicted killers from West Virginia escaped and made a run for Tech as well. Weird…

UPDATE: The police have him in custody.

This may be over the line but...

So we have Trent “Strom Thurmond in ‘48” Lott, George “Macaca” Allen, and now Tramm “non-swimming Negroes” Hudson all running for election or re-election this year. Hudson’s idiotic remark:

"I grew up In Alabama, and I understand, and I know this from my own experience, that blacks are not the greatest swimmers or may not even know to swim(emphasis mine)."

Just how does one growing up in Alabama qualify you as an expert in the swimming proclivities of African-Americans? WTF? Or is it more likely that one could develop a healthy bit o’ racism growing up in Alabama than say Berkley? Speaking as a Southern, few things piss me off more than some elected cracker from the South climbing up on his Lester Maddox soapbox and making a fool of himself. It makes the rest of us look bad.

So we have the “white makes right” faction lead by Lott plus the “scared of the gay” group fronted by Rick Santorum and the “absolutely terrified we are going to give the Southwest back to Mexico” crowd ably headed by Tom Tancredo – quite the inclusive coalition.

Put another way, is it just me or does this year’s crop of Republican aspirants looks less like a slate of candidates and more like a Klan rally…

Thanks to TMPCafe. Also see Wolcott's take on the conservative punditry. Maybe it's not me...

Useless

France, which had said it would take the lead in providing a stabilization force in southern Lebanon, is now offering a mere 400 troops. From the AP:

PARIS, France (AP) -- French Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie on Friday defended France's decision to send just 200 additional troops to reinforce the U.N. peacekeeping force in Lebanon and reiterated that the force needs a clear mandate to operate effectively.

"I can't let it be said or implied that France is not doing its duty in the Lebanese crisis," the minister told French radio RTL in an interview.

"Since the start of the crisis, France is on the frontline and it is the top contributor."

Um, bullshit. It can and must be said that France is doing as little as possible in the Lebanese crisis. 400 soldiers is a drop in the bucket for a force that the U.N. (also useless) wants to be in excess of 15,000. With this contribution, I think it would be fool-hardy to put any faith in the cease-fire holding. The French have once again proven that, aside from capitulation, they cannot be counted on to do anything right.

Eavesdropping Unconstitutional

A federal district court judge has ruled the Administration’s domestic spying program unconstitutional. Finally... Attorney General Gonzales is planning an appeal.

Dogs

L. and I have dogs. We love dogs. We are dog people. We, however, do not order matching outfits for our pets. So I read this story with the idea that “oh, this might be cute in a goofy way”. Instead, I was greeted with a kind of weird story of decadence and ostentation. I mean, having a doggy wedding? How utterly pointless is that? My bulldog loves my wife more than anything in this world, yet her (the bulldog's) affection can be bought at the drop of a hat by anyone for the price of a cardboard, horrible tasting “treat”. And yes, I have tried a dog cookie. They are not good. I know from experience. Anyway, I am reading this article and not really loving it until I got to what is perhaps the most unnecessarily pretentious thing I have ever read. In the following passage, AFP gives you this absolute monument of ridiculousness and unfound conceit:

Stewart's boutique has occupied an unassuming storefront in West Hollywood for six years. Where many Los Angeles businesses proudly display photographs of star customers, the pink walls of the LA Dog Spa are filled with headshots of well coiffed canines.

The shop is open to the public, but potential clients must satisfy Stewart's discerning standards to become a regular customer.

"We keep the door locked to keep out the riff-raff," said co-owner and master groomer, Rick Edwards, as he clipped the coat of a terrier named Trixie.

"Our clients don't choose us. We choose them."

Spa clients must maintain a regular schedule of beautification or they will be blacklisted from service.

"It's like a garden," said Stewart. "If it gets too overgrown, I just can't be bothered."

Wow. These guys cut dog hair for a living. Not to diminish their chosen profession, but they need get some perspective.

Even more Allen

I love the Commonwealth. I was born, raised, and educated (Go Hokies!) in Virginia. In fact, I have spent all but five of my thirty two years here. It is my home and I embrace all of its glories and its shortcomings. Our history is full of great leaders, events and such but also the ugly legacy of slavery and Jim Crow. Nothing is perfect.

Senator Allen’s recent bigoted outburst has brought the ugly in our state back to the forefront. Until that moment, Virginians were deciding whether to support a sitting Senator in George Allen or Jim Webb, a political newcomer albeit one with a damn impressive resume. That question has changed. Now the Commonwealth must decide whether or not we can re-elect an overt racist. To paraphrase Rob Cordry on the Daily Show,

“Well between you and me, I am not sure what macaca means but it sure as shit sounds racist. And John, here in Virginia, I am not sure whether that helps or hurts a guy…”

Unfortunately, I think Cordry is right. The idealist in me wants to believe that there are enough right thinking people here that are so offended by Allen’s nastiness that they cannot bring themselves to support the guy. The realist in me still hears the local saltwater hillbillies use the n-word in casual conversation.

So the question is, does being a racist help or hurt a guy in Virginia in 2006? I guess we will find out in November…

Just not getting it

Yesterday, President Bush basically accused those of us that think Iraq is irredeemable of being terrorist enablers. Again. Chimpy in his own words:

President Bush said critics of his Iraq policies are advocating a "cut and run" strategy that would draw terrorists to American soil

"Leaving before we complete our mission would create a terrorist state in the heart of the Middle East, a country with huge oil reserves that the terrorist network would be willing to use to extract economic pain from those of us who believe in freedom," Bush said Wednesday.

"If we leave before the mission is complete, if we withdraw, the enemy will follow us home," he said.

OK – let’s review. We get attacked. Bush starts a war with Iraq, a nation that was tangentially involved, if at all, with global terrorism and had NOTHING TO DO with said attack. This war saps resourced needed to fight in Afghanistan, a nation that harbored those that actually attacked us. The new war goes really badly and devolves into a civil war. The old war is sort of forgotten and Osama Bin Laden runs free. The Iraqis, whom we are ostensibly helping, badly want us to leave. Seeing our vulnerability, Iran decides to stir shit up in Israel and starts a war via its client, Hezbollah. We do nothing to put the brakes on it, because Bush thinks that Israel can wipe out Hezbollah. Then Israel decides to fight from the air, fearing the potential losses from putting boots on the ground. This strategy fails because you can’t fight guerillas from the air; you need to go house to house. That requires soldiers and that means casualties. So instead of destroying Hezbollah, a noble goal to be sure, Israel destroys southern Lebanon. Hezbollah is emboldened, Iran is strengthened, and the US and Israel look defeated and weak. And we have 130,000 troops standing in the middle of this clusterfuck.

How is that a good thing? Why is opposing this policy failure an invitation for more terrorism here? There are a few terrorist states in the Middle East already. Iraq was not one of them until this fucked up war made it one. That is Bush’s fault. Bush has yet to extract proper revenge on Bin Laden; one would think that problem might be more dangerous to our security. So screw that “if we withdraw, the enemy will follow us home” bullshit. They have already been here. The hornet’s nest has been stirred. Leaving the troops in Iraq in no way helps prevent an attack here. It just means more dead kids. And I believe in a pretty firm anti-dead kid foreign policy.

Iraq has destroyed our international credibility, undermined our military, and diverted our attention from the things that do work. We need to be focusing our resources on things that prevent a terrorist attack. Britain just foiled an airline bombing via old fashioned police work, not by trying to stave off a civil war. Our current strategy has not just failed; it is making matters worse.

As Molly Ivins put so eloquently (and I am paraphrasing here),

“Its one thing to step on your dick; It’s another thing to stand there and stomp on it”.

More Allen

Daily Kos has more on George Allen's use of macaca in reference to an Indian-American during a stump speech. As if we needed another reason boot this clown from office...

Random thought

I recently listened to Paul’s Boutique for the first time in ages. IMHO, it is the best album the Beastie Boys have made. So, everyone, sing along:

You gotta go upstate to get your head together,
Thunderbird is the word and you’re light as a feather.

Magic?

David Copperfield is claiming that he has found the Fountain of Youth. Seriously, not some miracle aging cure but the actual real Fountain of Youth. Now, I don’t know much about Copperfield aside from him being a magician. I remember when he made the Statue of Liberty disappear; that still freaks me out. But I don’t recall hearing anything about him being a nut so I am hesitant just dismiss this outright as the ramblings of a crazy person. From the article:

"I've discovered a true phenomenon," he told Reuters in a telephone interview. "You can take dead leaves, they come in contact with the water, they become full of life again. ... Bugs or insects that are near death, come in contact with the water, they'll fly away. It's an amazing thing, very, very exciting."

This can’t be for real, can it?

Clueless

I am a bit of a political junky. I love to talk politics and I think I have a better knowledge base than most folks out there because most folks, it seems, just don’t give a shit. Zogby just released a survey detailing the depths of American idiocy. An example:

Respondents were far more familiar with the Three Stooges -- Larry, Curly and Moe -- than the three branches of the U.S. government -- judicial, executive and legislative. Seventy-four percent identified the former, 42 percent the latter.

Wow – that is downright scary. 58% of America needs a remedial civics class.

Pulling out

The Israel/Hezbollah cease fire is holding for the moment and the Israelis are pulling out. It is kind of hard to figure out whom, if anyone, won. Both sides are claiming victory; not that that means anything. But it is pretty clear that Lebanon lost. The south and a good bit of Beirut are completely destroyed. The infrastructure is demolished and thousands are dead.

From my perspective, seated comfortably in my air conditioned home thousands of miles away from the conflict, the whole affair seems like a huge waste. Then again, I am not getting shot at.

George Allen is a disgrace...

and a bigoted asshole. Hat tip to Atrios.

Getting called out

I was going to just lift Atrios’s excerpts but then I read the whole thing. The Philadelphia Daily News delivers a withering and ferocious Op-Ed smackdown on the Bush, Cheney, et al. and their disusting political tactics. The opening salvo:

THESE PEOPLE have no shame. Their contempt for democracy is so great they will stop at nothing to undermine it. Their adherence to fundamentalist beliefs that blinds them to reality is frightening. They must be stopped.

And that's just the Republicans.

Seriously, go read it.

Today in the non-civil war

A mob of fifty Arab Shiites burned down the office of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, a major Kurdish political party, in Kut. From the AP:

The raid in Kut was another demonstration of Iraq’s sectarian and ethnic divisions that have exploded into violence, mostly between Shiite and Sunni Arabs.

But remember, the President said that this is not a civil war. Nothing to see here; please move along.

Pakistan is a problem

After officials started to reveal details of the bottle bomb plot, it quickly became clear that Pakistan was intimately involved. President Musharraf plays both sides of the fence when it comes to terrorism and pretty soon, that will catch up with him and us. The crazies have tried to assassinate him more times that Liz Taylor has married. He can’t get lucky forever and when he does go, look out. Pakistan is big, unstable, nuclear armed and chock-a-block full the kind of folks that want to kill innocents in a war against the decadent west.

33%

President Bush has a 33% approval rating according to the latest AP poll, tying his all time low score. The money quote from the article:

His handling of nearly every issue, from the Iraq war to foreign policy, contributed to the president's decline around the nation, even in the Republican-friendly South.

More sobering for the GOP are the number of voters who backed Bush in 2004 who are ready to vote Democratic in the fall's congressional elections — 19 percent.

Congressional Republicans are starting to freak out. They are so wedded to Bush that they can’t distance themselves on Iraq or any other major issue. They have simple carried his water for too long. These latest numbers seem to be reinforcing something Larry Sabato said last week:

Just over one month ago, the Crystal Ball argued that a larger wave than currently existed at the time would have to build in order for Republicans to lose their congressional majorities. At the time, the race-by-race rather than national dynamic of competitive races pointed more towards a "micro-wave" than a "macro-wave" for out-of-power Democrats.

But now, with a quarter of time elapsed between that pulse-reading and the election, surer signs are emerging that something more substantial than a "micro-wave" is heating up this summer.

It is undeniable that Republicans across the nation are weighed down by the fact they share a party affiliation with a disfavored president, and in most cases, a commitment to his unpopular war.

In this inhospitable climate, the GOP could well get burned worse than initially expected. At this stage, the Crystal Ball is shifting its outlook from a Democratic gain of 6-8 to a Democratic gain of 12-15 seats in the House. We also believe that our original guestimate of a Democratic gain of 2 or 3 seats in the Senate is probably too low; we now expect a Democratic Senate gain of a minimum of 3 seats and a maximum of 6 seats--that's right, we know that the Democrats would take over the Senate at 6. It is still a long shot, but it is not the long shot of long shots that it once was.

I remain skeptical that the Democrats could really pull off a takeover this year. We always seem to find a way to screw it up. After seeing three incumbents lose primaries, you can almost taste the voter dissatisfaction in the air. Voter turnout for the Connecticut primary was twice that of any Democratic contest in recent memory. People are pissed and ready to do something about it. I am still not fully convinced that we can win back either house but it sure is getting easier to be optimistic.

Christopher Walken

Christopher Walken is one of my favorite actors. No matter what character he plays, he always brings a certain air of menace to the screen. This guy could make Santa Claus intimidating. For that reason, the idea of him being a dentist or minister is that much funnier.

Why Lieberman lost

Margaret Carlson has written the best piece I have yet seen on the CT primary and Lieberman’s failed strategy. From the Bloomberg article:

One way to read this election is that Democrats are fed up with the bipartisanship that gets the wrong things done. With the Middle East aflame, the economy slowing and the minimum wage held hostage to the wealthy getting even wealthier by cuts in the estate tax, the day of reasonable, centrist politics for most Democrats is over.

Over because the other side doesn't practice it. Over because this president who launched a war deceitfully and with insufficient planning and troops doesn't deserve it. Over because if you disagree with the president over his disaster in Iraq, you are accused of wanting to cut and run, of not supporting the troops. Over because if you disagree on cultural issues, you're called a baby killer who dishonors the traditional family.

That is exactly right – compromise means that both sides give a little. Lieberman likes to say that his bipartisanship can get things done. Unfortunately, in current political climate, he gets the wrong things done.

There's one born every minute

The lovely and talented Sara brought this to my attention. I vote for idiots.

One man's boredom is another man's fun

I am not sure why I find this bit of a robot story so funny. Maybe it is because of the amount of effort that must have gone into creating something so utterly useless.

Jeremy Greene, 23, of Panama City, created a robot named Atlas, which balances a blue ping pong ball on a flat piece of wood as it moves across the room. He said he sees no real world application for his robot other than entertainment.

Now that’s entertainment!

War

Today, in the getting better everyday non-civil war, 35 people were killed and another 120+ were wounded when a suicide bomber attacked the Imam Ali mosque, one of the holiest sites in Islam and especially revered by Shiites.

Three more US troops were killed in Anbar province.

We can add these poor souls to the 2000+ that made their way into Baghdad morgue in July alone.

Dude, where’s my exit strategy?

Priorities

Bill Gates just threw $500 million into the global fight against AIDS, TB, and malaria. The US government has put 50 500 times that into Iraq.

Which do you think is serving the planet better?

Game on

Israel has finally decided that the ground invasion of Lebanon cannot wait much longer and are preparing a massive assault pending the results of UN Security Council discussions. Basically, if the UN cannot get an international force with enough teeth to disarm Hezbollah, the IDF will do it themselves. For Israel and Lebanon, moving the IDF into southern Lebanon is probably the best of a lot of bad options. The air war was actually working to strengthen Hezbollah’s hand and generate sympathy for their cause. A ground campaign is going to be extremely costly for Israel but if they want to get the job done, them must invade with overwhelming force.

For the region to have any long term stability, Hezbollah must be disarmed or destroyed. Israel is right to be so steadfast in that regard. It seems, finally, that the Israeli government is willing to pay the price to ensure victory.

Big day

A quick recap of the yesterday’s events:

18 year incumbent Sen. Joe Lieberman, backed by the power, might, and money of every DC insider you can point a stick at, lost his primary to relative political newcomer Ned Lamont. It is kind of hard overestimate to improbability of the D’s 2000 VP candidate losing a primary six years later, but that is the consequence for being a Bush/Iraq apologist. But in true “it is all about Joe” style, Lieberman has promised to run in the General as an “Independent Democrat”, whatever the hell that is supposed to mean. In his non-concession speech, Joe got way up on his high horse and proclaimed,

"For the sake of our state, our country and my party, I cannot and will not let that result stand,"

From his point of view, Connecticut voters are just too stupid to recognize what a great Senator he is and he needs to give them another chance to make it right. Ego, hubris, inflated self-worth; what an asshole.

At any rate, congrats to the Lamont campaign; their grassroots strategy may well the roadmap to rout of the Republicans come November. That message is simple: Blind fealty to incompetence should not and cannot be rewarded. And to those that say the crazy anti-war left wing of the Party has taken over, a new poll found that 60% of the country opposes the war. Hostility to Bush’s war is the American mainstream; woe be unto those that forget that lesson this fall.


Another of my least favorite Democrats, Rep. Cynthia McKinney was also handed her walking papers, though for matters more personal rather than policy-wise. McKinney lost her primary to former county commissioner Hank Johnson by 59-41 percent. That folks, is being taken to the woodshed and not without good reason. The Congresswoman for Georgia’s 4th is about as bad a politician as one can be. Vain, arrogant, and a wicked crazy conspiracy theorist/believer; she plays the race card at every opportunity, including the recent incident when she hit a Capitol Hill cop. Dumping her in the primary is a credit to voters in suburban Atlanta. Y’all deserve better.

So good riddance to Cynthia McKinney and congratulations to soon-to-be Rep. Johnson. Yesterday was a very good day for the Democratic wing of the Democratic party. November is looking better and better.

Once again, Tom Tomorrow

Brilliant as usual.

It is a wonder we have made this far indeed.

Sunday's Doonesbury is an added bonus.

From a caterpillar to a hack

Dennis Miller has signed on to be a regular contributor on Fox News’s odious Hannity and Colmes. Sigh - I used to love Miller before his waltz to the Dark Side. Now the transformation is complete. Oh my, how the mighty have fallen.

One interesting side note; Miller was supposedly canned from Monday Night Football because his shtick was too high-brow for that audience. Does anyone believe that viewers of Hannity are any more sophisticated?

Good times

L. and I went to see Widespread Panic Saturday and Sunday nights. In a word, awesome. WSP is the best straight up rock and roll band in America. And from someone whose tastes usually run more towards punk and reggae, that is saying something. If you have the opportunity to see them live, take it. You will not be disappointed.

Another one bites the dust

Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) is dropping out of his Congressional race because of continued allegations of corruption related to the Abramoff scandal. Ney, however, went the tried and true route of casting himself as a martyr. From the AP article:

Ney, 52, told the Tribune-Review that his family had not asked him to drop out, but he wanted to spare them anyway.

"I'm doing this for one reason: my family. My wife and two children have been through enough," he said.

Umm, whatever...

Science is cool

Researchers at Stanford are using a Particle Accelerator to read lost text of ancient mathematician Archimedes. The documents were scrubbed and overwritten some 800 years ago by a monk. Apparently, the electrons from the accelerator cause remnant bits of iron in the original ink to glow, rendering the text readable. Another interesting piece to the story; the guy who came up with the idea of using the accelerator is a biologist. He had utilized the same technology to study plant vascular systems. So while this isn’t going to solve global warming or cure cancer, it is great metaphor for scientific research; using your head to reveal the previously unknown.

Why the Middle East problem will not go away

The prime movers behind a good bit of the militancy and hatred in the region are the Iranian mullahs. The guys are nuts and they live to incite antipathy towards their perceived enemies. These theocrats envision a pan-Islamic Middle East from Morocco and Spain to Kashmir with Iran as the regional hegemony. They fund Hezbollah, Hamas, and a couple other less well known terrorist groups, all hell-bent on destroying Israel. Now we get Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s solution to the conflict. From the AP article:

"Although the main solution is for the elimination of the Zionist regime, at this stage an immediate cease-fire must be implemented," he said.

Ahmadinejad, who has drawn international condemnation with previous calls for Israel to be wiped off the map, said the Middle East would be better off "without the existence of the Zionist regime."

Israel "is an illegitimate regime, there is no legal basis for its existence," he said.

This crazy bastard wants to draw Israel and the US into a larger regional conflict. He is praying for an opportunity to get into the action; either through an Israeli incursion into Syria, bombing Iran’s nuclear sites, or a Shiite uprising in Iraq. Israel, for their part, cannot live with the threat of missile barrages from Lebanon any longer. The long term survival of the state requires that their northern border be secure. Indeed, Israel is actually asking for German troops to be stationed in southern Lebanon – that’s right, the Germans. You know the situation is bad if the Israelis are asking the German Army for help.

It seems to me that the only way out of this is to defang Iran. Unfortunately, our Iraqi misadventure has sapped the army to the point that military force is out of the question. The adverse side effect of which is a civil war; two of the top US generals in Iraq just admitted as much. Iraq’s Shiite population is more than willing to align with Iran and could very well end up Iran’s puppet state. A diplomatic solution is unreasonable due to the batshit insane leadership of Iran and Bush’s “Fuck the World” cowboy diplomacy. We have very few friends willing to get into a fight with Iran and we can’t do this alone.

The only thing we can do now is try to get some sort of coalition together to isolate Iran and pray that, in the meantime, things don’t get out of hand.

Landis tests positive

Did he think that he could get away with this? Not smart...

Some people need to toughen up

Good Lord - if you are so offended by seeing a nursing baby on the cover of a magazine, you need therapy. And by therapy I mean you should be forced to watch 24 straight hours of Richard Pryor doing standup. That should work out your sensitivity issues. From the article:

"I was SHOCKED to see a giant breast on the cover of your magazine," one woman from Kansas wrote in reaction to the picture in Babytalk, a free magazine that caters to young mothers. "I was offended and it made my husband very uncomfortable when I left the magazine on the coffee table."

Oy. This couple needs to grow up. And please, save your moral outrage and righteous indignation for something that matters.

Not your average rodeo

Salem, Va. is probably the last place on the planet that expected this.

Hat tip to Atrios.

Gods of War

Much of the right wing infrastructure exists below the radar of American consciousness. Go look up Richard Melon Scaife or the Coors Foundation. What you will find are profiles of a couple of the many well funded and organized wingnut “moneymen”. The two cited are but a couple of examples of the right’s many financial backers. People and organizations of this sort provide the cash to support SO MANY of the crazed batshit anti-science and pseudo-moral movements that seem to dominate modern Republican politics. But make no mistake; despite their organization and dedication, these fuckers are nuts. And they have more money than God. Which leads me to the most dangerous (to date) of the beneficiaries of this crack job largesse; welcome to the American Axis of Evil - The Project for the New American Century.

Founded by none other than Dick “Big Time” Cheney in 1997, this think tank includes such Bush Administration officials and cronies (both current and former) as William Crystal, Donald Rumsfeld, Richard Perle, Jeb Bush, Scooter Libby, Bill Bennett – aaaarrrrrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhh… The list goes on and on and reads like a who’s who of the conservative political activist and talk show mouthpiece cabal. But the media presence of this crew is nothing compared to the actual political power these geniuses wield. The brain trust represented in this group architected our “Mission Accomplished” Iraq. They got us into this mess. Have you seen a plan from them to get out that does not include a “stay the course” or a “when they stand up, we will stand down”?

I didn’t think so. So where does that leave us. The hell if I know – if we leave now, Iraq could become a massive regional clusterfuck or worse. Stay on until we pacify Iraq? How many dead soldiers, dead civilians, lost years and billions of dollars are we willing to spend on such an endeavor? And do we want 130,000 soldiers standing around in the middle of a civil war? Or do we leave at the most convenient moment, what ever that might be? The costs of either cannot be calculated.

So who the fuck knows? I have no idea. But I do know that I don’t want the clowns that set us up for this decision in power long enough to make it. We need to replace our government. And we have the power to do as enumerated by the Founding Fathers, who in their infinite wisdom gave us the power to overthrow an objectionable regime with the casting of a vote. Congress is our last hope to put the brakes on this madness. Otherwise, these assholes are going to lead us into a briar patch for which we have no out…

I leave you with the words of Anti-Flag.

It's a gut check of what you believe
Will you stand up for democracy?
or a New American Century?

UPDATE: I fixed the bad link on PNAC.

When weather attacks

The mercury hit 100 degrees here in Hampton Roads with a heat index of 111. Folks, it is unbearable here. And whenever the weather gets out of hand somewhere in the US, local kook Pat Robertson usually claims that God is punishing the affected location for some abomination. Well, it seems that the heat has hit a little too close to home for Pat as the Reverend has reversed his stance on global warming. The lede from the Reuters article:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson said on Thursday the wave of scorching temperatures across the United States has converted him into a believer in global warming.

"We really need to address the burning of fossil fuels," Robertson said on his "700 Club" broadcast. "It is getting hotter, and the icecaps are melting and there is a buildup of carbon dioxide in the air."

This week the heat index, the perceived temperature based on both air temperatures and humidity, reached 115 Fahrenheit in some regions of the U.S. East Coast. The 76-year-old Robertson told viewers that was "the most convincing evidence I've seen on global warming in a long time."

I believe Al Michaels put it best when calling America’s huge upset win over the Soviets in the 1980 Olympic hockey tournament; “Do you believe in miracles? YES!!!”

At any rate, Robertson is infamous for the absolute certainty with which he espouses his beliefs. This is not a guy that changes his mind on anything ever. Perhaps this about face will spread among Robertson’s legions. Worse things have happened.

The Bugman stays on the ballot

The AP is reporting that the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that Tom Delay will remain on the ballot in November. In addition, Delay will have to move back to Texas by election day or forfeit the race entirely. It is going to be very interesting to see if the voters in the district will re-elect a man currently indicted for corruption and awaiting trial.

Given some of the recent polling, this could be another unexpected pickup.

More fun with the minimum wage bill

Do you want to know how an increase to the minimum wage becomes a pay cut? Easy; you write a bill that boosts the wage floor while overriding local wages standards for those individuals that collect tips. Some states have passed legislation that requires workers that get tips to be paid the full local minimum ($5.15 or better) regardless of the amount of tips collected. In most locals however, the minimum is $2.13 per hour with tips closing the wage gap to the mandated $5.15. Essentially, millions of hardworking waiters, bartenders, etc. stand to get a pay cut of $3 an hour should this horrendous bill pass. Way to take care of the little guy. As someone that has held damn near every job you can have in a restaurant, I take this kind of personally. L. and I have a theory that everyone in the country ought to be forced to wait tables or cook for a year. That alone would improve your average diner’s behavior and appreciation for just how hard those jobs can be. As I have said before and I will say again: You never, ever fuck with the people that serve you your food.

If I were a Congressman that supports this bill, I would be very careful about where I choose to dine out.

Our Iraq policy in one frame

Tom Toles is one of the best in the business.

Greed is not good

I am not sure whether there is a special place in Hell for people guilty of particularly egregious crimes but stealing Girl Scout cookie money would seem to qualify for at least a reserved lobby. Unbelievable...

A win for science

Yesterday in the Kansas School Board primary, two pro-creationist conservatives were replaced with pro-evolution moderates, shifting the Darwin Scale from 6-4 anti to 6-4 pro. You may remember that last year the Kansas School Board wrote Intelligent Design into the state curriculum. Judging by stated positions of the new members, that decision is likely to be reversed. A win in the battle but the war goes on.

A different sort of museum

The new Creation Museum in Kentucky aims to teach the history of the world by using the Bible as its guide. I have no objections to private groups funding this sort of proselytizing; people can spend their money on whatever they want. So long as Creationism is not taught as science, I am fine with it. But as the old saying goes, everyone is entitled to their own opinion but not their own facts. And I tend to get upset when a belief, no matter how firmly held, gets elevated to fact without evidence to support it. It sort of nullifies the power and notion of faith. Philosophical discussions aside, you gotta love this bit from the article:

John Morris, president of the Institute for Creation Research in San Diego, an organization that promotes creationism, said the museum will affirm the doubts many people have about science, namely the notion that man evolved from lower forms of life.

"Americans just aren't gullible enough to believe that they came from a fish," he said.

And yet, Eve being birthed from Adam’s rib is totally plausible. Well, OK then.

Bad answer

So I was listening to Rush while out picking up some lunch (why I torture myself with him, I don’t know) and America’s favorite drug-addled conservative talk show host played a disturbing clip of Rep. John Dingell (D-Michigan) on a local talk show. Dingell refused to chose a side between Israel and Hezbollah. The host pressed Dingell and asked (I am paraphrasing here), “So you are not against Hezbollah?” To which Dingell replied, “No”.

NO – what the fuck to do you mean no. I know there are a ton of Arabs in Michigan but come the fuck on, with no. This is Hezbollah we are talking about, not Greenpeace. I think the House Democrats needs to revoke Dingell’s position in the leadership and for voters in his district to rethink electing him. Good Lord, what a tool.

And for the record, if you are an elected official and are asked if you oppose a terrorist organization, say yes.

UPDATE: I owe Rep. Dingell an apology. I should have known that Rush would chop a quote to make it completely misleading (sound of me smacking myself in the head). Via ThinkProgress here is the full exchange:

Q: You’re not against Hezbollah?
DINGELL: No, I happen to be — I happen to be against violence, I think the United States has to bring resolution to this matter. Now, I condemn Hezbollah as does everybody else, for the violence.

So apologies to Rep. John Dingell for repeating an out of context quote. Mea maxima culpa. I guess I am the tool here. And, of course, fuck you Rush Limbaugh for being such a lying liar. Now I have a reason to never, ever believe anything on that show.

Conventional Wisdom

The CW hits the nail on the head with Kofi Annan.

Has to retract reckless charge that Israel targeted U.N. observers. He's the world's top diplomat?

Kofi Annan is a spineless idiot. BTW – when can we drop this guy?

I bet you didn’t see this coming

ABC has dropped a project with Mel Gibson’s production company to develop and produce a mini-series about a Dutch Jew during the Holocaust. The stated reason was that after two years, ABC still has not seen a script for the venture.

Really? Script problems? Well, OK then.

Retribution

A few days ago, I put up a post regarding the confrontation between Conrad Burns and a group of Virginia firefighters in the Billings Airport. This morning Kos posted the Missoulian’s editorial on the incident. Ouch indeed.

Cuba

Fidel Castro underwent surgery and named his brother Raul temporary President. No one seems to Castro’s prognosis but lots of folks are speculating that this could be the end for Fidel. On that note, South Florida was partying hard last night. I hate to wish ill on anyone but I have always wanted to go to Cuba. Great food, great music, beautiful beaches and rum…

I have no idea how this plays out, but Raul has always been considered the pragmatist to Fidel’s ideologue.