Rising High Water Blues

You may recall that back in February, the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (IPCC) released a report about manmade global warming, along with some preliminary estimates of how much sea levels would rise if global warming was not stopped.

Today, comes this story:

HOBART (Reuters) - Rising sea levels and melting polar ice-sheets are at upper limits of projections, leaving some human population centers already unable to cope, top world scientists say as they analyze latest satellite data.

[...]"Observations are in the very upper edge of the projections," leading Australian marine scientist John Church told Reuters.

"I feel that we're getting uncomfortably close to threshold," said Church, of Australia's CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research said.

Past this level, parts of the Antarctic and Greenland would approach a virtually irreversible melting that would produce sea level rises of meters, he said.

You might recall, although I can certainly appreciate that you might not, the original report was criticized for its optimistic projections of the melting of the polar and Greenland ice caps. The report assumed a constant rate of melting.

Today's story puts the lie to those projections. Those projections called for the sea to rise no more than two feet this century. That may happen this decade, based on this latest research:

Church pointed out that sea levels were 4-6 meters higher more than 100,000 years ago when temperatures were at levels expected to be reached at the end of this century.

Dynamic ice-flows could add 25 percent to IPCC forecasts of sea level rise, van Ommen said.

Not good news.

And we even have a laboratory experiment in how societies will cope after massive coastal flooding alters civilization forever:

The number of permits issued to carry concealed weapons [in New Orleans] is running twice as high as it was before Katrina — this, in a city with only about half its pre-storm population of around 450,000. Attendance at firearms classes and hours logged at shooting ranges also are up, according to the gun industry.

Gun dealers who saw sales shoot up during the chaotic few months after Katrina say that sales are still brisk, and that the customers are a cross-section of the population — doctors, lawyers, bankers, artists, laborers, stay-at-home moms.

"People are in fear of their lives. They're looking for ways to feel safe again," said Mike Roniger, manager of Gretna Gunworks in Jefferson Parish.

Citizens, the tourism industry, police and politicians officials have been alarmed by the wave of killings in New Orleans, with 162 in 2006 and 37 so far this year. A Tulane University study put the city's 2006 homicide rate at 96 slayings per 100,000 people, the highest in the nation.

By the way, of that 162 killed last year? An additional number of people were killed in self-defense using guns. That number?

Two. Just over 1 percent. So a gun was 81 times more likely to be used in the commission of a homicide than in self-defense.

The breakdown of the social structure in the wake of the breakdown of the infrastructure in just one city is an object lesson in what happens to society. People feel vulnerable and so they will take drastic steps to feel less vulnerable, even if those "drastic steps" may seem reasonable at the time.

Too, think about how easy it was to sell the American people on the Iraq invasion, and that was after a relatively small tragedy occurred in two cities that most Americans view with disdain. Now think about how ready Americans will be to go to war just to feel good about themselves if the Outer Banks of North Carolina wash away, and take Charlotte with them.

We can even look back to history and see that the various occurrences of the plague wreaked havoc with society, resulting in the widespread persecution of Jews and Muslims, the extending of what was to become the Hundred Years' War, and the Jacquerie and England Peasant revolts. Hell, the plague even caused the Great Vowel Shift, which is why roam is pronounced to sound like "rome" but loam is pronounced to sound like "loom".

When you add to this the fact that most Islamists are not going to be too concerned with the immediate effects of global sea level rises, you can see there's a bit of reason to be concerned about warfare after the catastrophe's effect is felt fully.

But, um, yea, right wingers...you won't have to shovel as much snow, so there's an upside...

tags technorati : global warming climate change Antarctica

Friday Music Blogging

Don't Stop Me Now - Queen

As interpreted by Simon Pegg in the marvelous movie, "Shaun of the Dead"

Friday Kitten Blogging

The Wimp Factor, Redux

Long time readers of this blog may recall that many moons ago (more like a year), I wrote a long think piece about, among other things, the inability of the Bush administration to cowboy up and give straightforward answers about difficult situations called The Wimp Factor.

President Clinton was called a liar, yet he rarely prevaricated (except of course, during the Paula Jones/Monica Lewinski, but who the fuck cares if he lied about a blow job except for those with a visceral deep-seated hatred of all things Clintonian?)

Comes this story this week:

Bush has vowed to oppose any attempt to compel aides to testify under oath in probes into whether last year's dismissal of eight of the nation's 93 U.S. attorneys was politically motivated.

The president offered this week to have his aides meet with lawmakers under conditions that Democrats and even some of Bush's fellow Republicans have called unacceptable.

"We're told that we can have a closed-door meeting with no transcript, not under oath, limited number of people, and the White House will determine what the agenda is. That, to me, is nothing," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Vermont Democrat who chairs the Judiciary Committee.

I could get into a whole long drawnout discussion of checks and balances and the repudiation of Congressional oversight and even how this is being spun in that direction.

That's precisely the distraction the administration wants. It takes the focus off "The Wimp Factor," which lately, is running very very high in the White House.

Think about it: Bush and his staff have faced more and more challenges to their stated policy goals...and have buckled under the pressure.

With another administration, even say, Ronald Reagan, you could call this "statesmanship," but I seriously doubt any credible historian will see it that way in the years to come. The kindest way to look at this is to call it "politically calculated".

But that doesn't excuse the fact that, as with all bullies, when confronted by superior firepower and complicated strategies (as Reagan did in Beirut), Bush is folding up his tents and running for cover.

What the administration is engaged in is running out the clock, a time-honored if disreputable way for a team with a slim lead to keep control of the ball away from the other side until the game clock runs down.

You see it in football all the time: less than a minute to play, less than 3rd down, the team with a two-point lead snaps the ball, the QB takes a knee and thirty second are run off the clock.

Cheap. Cowardly. But effective.

In the case of the White House, the "lead" is the secrecy of the information leading up to what can charitably be called as "cheating," by abusing the conditions of the Patriot Act to depose eight prosecutors, some of whom had active investigations into Republicans nationwide, and replace these with prosecutors more loyal to what has been termed "the Bush agenda" (What agenda is that? Allowing cronies to pilfer at the public trough, like Duke Cunningham? Actually, could be, given we're talking about Republicans who somehow don't seem to mind being seen as ripping off the United States taxpayer.)

Likely, the House will issue subpoenas today (expect the Senate to do likewise shortly), and the White House will refuse to allow them to be served (or worse, they will be served and then torn up), which will create a fairly major Constitutional crisis:

Without a compromise, a lengthy court fight could ensue, possibly lasting until after Bush leaves office in January 2009. Republicans and Democrats have urged that common ground be sought.

Any court battle probably would turn on the issue of executive privilege, a legal doctrine invoked occasionally throughout U.S. history to shield presidents and their aides from having to answer questions or turn over information to Congress or legal probes.

Ultimately to be decided in the Supreme Court. Bush's Supreme Court.

Well, now at least we know why Harriet Miers was even considered for the court:

The Senate committee authorized subpoenas of Rove along with former White House counsel Harriet Miers and deputy White House counsel William Kelley.

Even if she recused herself when the case was brought up to the bar, she'd be involved in the discussions over the case.

Executive privilege saw its heyday during the Watergate era, and again during the Lewinski investigation. Clinton, however, agreed to testify under oath. Courage, that takes. A Man For All Seasons, indeed.However, in Nixon's case:

The Supreme Court addressed executive privilege in United States v. Nixon, the 1974 case involving the demand by Watergate special prosecutor Leon Jaworski that Richard Nixon produce the audiotapes of conversations in the Oval Office of the White House in connection with criminal charges being brought against members of the Nixon Administration. Nixon invoked the privilege and refused to produce any records.

The Supreme Court did not reject the claim of privilege out of hand; it noted, in fact, "the valid need for protection of communications between high Government officials and those who advise and assist them in the performance of their manifold duties" and that "[h]uman experience teaches that those who expect public dissemination of their remarks may well temper candor with a concern for appearances and for their own interests to the detriment of the decisionmaking process." This is very similar to the logic that the Court had used in establishing an "executive immunity" defense for high office-holders charged with violating citizens' constitutional rights in the course of performing their duties.

The Supreme Court however rejected the notion that the President has an "absolute privilege." The Supreme Court stated: "To read the Art[icle] II powers of the President as providing an absolute privilege as against a subpoena essential to enforcement of criminal statutes on no more than a generalized claim of the public interest in confidentiality of nonmilitary and nondiplomatic discussions would upset the constitutional balance of 'a workable government' and gravely impair the role of the courts under Art[icle] III." Because Nixon had asserted only a generalized need for confidentiality, the Court held that the larger public interest in obtaining the truth in the context of a criminal prosecution took precedence.

You'll notice that it's Republicans who deign to honor the Constitution when it suits them, not Democrats.

Naturally, the Bushies found a loophole and are claiming that the need for secrecy in this case rests on the doctrine of the ability of advisers to speak freely without recrimination.

Which raises a whole nest of ugly questions, mostly centering around, "If the advise was so controversial, then what the fuck could it possibly have been in a fairly straightforward case?"

The Patriot Act allowed for the firings. No law was broken there, and all the Congress wants to do is to understand what the mechanism was, and how the replacements were determined, since these positions generally have to be filled with the endorsement of the Senate under its advise and consent powers in Articles I & II. Too, you'll note that Article I, establishing Congress, was written before Article II, so important did the framers feel a public legislature was to the nation.

And oaths are a vital part of how any business, governmental or private, is conducted in this country. The United States is curious in that so much about this country is transacted between strangers on a handshake and a word given.

Ultimately, the quarrel comes down to taking an oath:

When a man takes an oath, he's holding his own self in his own hands...like water.

And if he opens his fingers then, he needn't hope to find himself again.

(yes, the movie was on this morning on HDMovieNet...thank you, Mark Cuban!)

And this is precisely why Bush won't let his people swear out an oath to testify to the truth, and nothing but the truth. He knows they would be unable to stand that test, and ultimately, the entire house of cards would tumble in on itself.

And that, this vainglorious, self-indulgent, ignoramus, could not stand. James Wolcott is as puzzled as the rest of us about this:

That's what's so strange about this percolatiing scandal. Instead of defusing it, dousing it, sedating it, Bush & co. have amped it up to a mini-Watergate decibel level of confrontation and document spew, complete with a former Watergate cast member. When Dick Cheney famously told Pat Leahy to go fuck himself, he and the rest of the administration clearly never anticipated the day when Leahy would return to powerful chairmanship; I think they internalized Karl Rove's visionary scheme of a permanent Republican majority and thought the future was in the bag. Now they're holding the bag and it's leaking all over their laps.

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Patriot Act
A Man For All Seasons
Wimp Factor

Wet Enough For You?

I didn't want today to pass by without mentioning the single greatest threat to peace and stability, and perhaps the very existence, of (wo)mankind.

Water. Or rather, the loss of potable water for all humanity. Between global warming, pollution, and population growth, water is quickly becoming more costly than oil in some places and will in other places. There is much work to be done to stave off a major catastrophe the likes of which we have never and will never see in history.

Today is World Water Day. To quote the UN statement regarding water:

Each year more than 1 billion of our fellow human beings have little choice but to resort to using potentially harmful sources of water. This perpetuates a silent humanitarian crisis that kills some 3900 children every day and thwarts progress towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The consequences of our collective failure to tackle this problem are the dimmed prospects for the billions of people locked in a cycle of poverty and disease.

The root of this underlying catastrophe lies in these plain, grim facts: 4 of every 10 people in the world do not have access to even a simple pit latrine and nearly 2 in 10 have no source of safe drinking-water. To help end this appalling state of affairs, the MDGs include a specific target to cut in half, by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking-water and basic sanitation. In addition, the UN Millennium Project Task Force on Water and Sanitation recently recognized that integrated development and management of water resources are crucial to the success or failure of all the MDGs, as water is central to the livelihood systems of the poor.

Already, two billion people, one-third of the world's population, suffer in regions of extended drought (including parts of the United States).

This is obviously not just about drinking: it's about sanitation, health, disease, poverty. It's about food and food sources. It's about being able to live a life, put out a fire, cook. It's about maintaining a bare minimum existence. It is, in fact, about how mankind can wrench a living out of the earth.

Something we in the United States (except for the southwest) barely have to pay attention to, while other countries, other continents, have to spend their entire waking lives keeping an eye on. Just ask Australia.

Places where population is exploding, places like India and China and Asia, are under tremendous strain, and there really is no way to mitigate this strain externally: we have to get in there and help them find water for their people, or risk threats that will expand globally. Think plague, if it will help. And as the strain takes its toll there, there will be less water for the rest of us around the world.

Eventually, it will hurt us all. What can you do? A lot, but far and away the most important thing you can do today is spread the word. Get two friends to the website I linked to, and have them get two more friends to go.

water
World Water Day

Nobody Asked Me, But...

- A friend of mine is celebrating his 32nd wedding anniversary today. For his wife, a life sentence. For him, a death sentence, for it is written, a man is incomplete until he is married. Then, he is finished (just kidding, Krishna!)

- I'll be sad to see John Edwards leave the campaign trail for such a tragic reason, but (note to self: wait for the news to catch up with the speculation)sadly, he sort of lost all his momentum already. He screwed up royally with the whole blogger "are they in? Are they out?" thing, and should by rights have a) vetted the bloggers ahead of time and b) stood by them once hired. His voice is important and while he would have been a longshot under any circumstance, I backed him in 2004 in the primaries and would have had no problems backing him again this year.

- I wish Elizabeth Edwards all the best in her struggle and my prayers are with her. They call it "incurable" but they don't know what they are talking about. Her voice, above even John's, maybe the most important Edwards' in the campaign.

- Speaking of campaigns and candidacies, I will have an huge announcement regarding the 2008 campaign, probably sometime around the first of the month. Stay tuned. Huger, they don't come.

- There was a fight in a hockey game last night...yea, I know, big shock to me too...in which something happened that I have never seen before in nearly 35 years of watching and playing hockey: a KO in the first round. Usually hockey fights turn into endless fist-fencing duels, in which both parties square off, circle each other (literally...the ice is slippery), until someone sees an opening and lands a few glancing blows off the other guy's helmet or face mask. The combatants finally exahust themselves, fall to the ice, and that's that. But last night, in the Rangers/Flyers game, there was a one punch knockout by Colton Orr of the Rangers on Todd Fedoruk of the Flyers, who tried to cripple Jaroimr Jagr about three weeks ago. Check it out:(not for the faint of heart)

- The trouble with Republicans is they'll sell their principles for power. The trouble with Democrats is they'll sell their principles for a shiny toy. By the way, these are also their strengths.

- On that line, the problem with the current brouhaha over the firing of prosecutors is not the firing itself, but the fact that no one read the fucking Patriot Act before voting for it, except Michael Moore. Normally, the Senate has some say in the hiring of prosecutors in their "advise and consent" capacity, but this administration has politicized what should have been clean-skirted from the get-go: the judiciary, from the hideous and embarassing decision in December 2000 to this current scandal.

- The reason we have checks and balances in our government is for precisely this situation: it gives the administration cover while also making sure the administration doesn't oversell its partisanship.

- John Bolton came off a whole lot better on The Daily Show than a lot of lefty blogs are saying in Blogtopia (©Skippy the Bush Kangaroo):

- Baseball season is nearly upon us. I'll be writing a lot about that next week, leading up to the season opener in St. Louis: My Mets v. the lowly Cards, the defending National League champions.

- Al Gore looked awfully Presidential yesterday. Looks like he lost some weight, too...

- If you look to the right in the sidebar, you'll see the brand new Actor212 Radio Days Network. Set a spell and share my music with me.

- Hang onto your butts. It's going to be a bumpy ride.

Hump Day Comedy Blogging

From Shaun of the Dead, one of the funniest scenes involving oblivity ever made.

State Secrets vs. Life Itself

There's something enormously hubristic about this story:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy on Tuesday said it had asserted the "state secrets" privilege in a lawsuit by environmental groups, a move to keep the military from being forced to disclose classified information about the use of sonar believed to injure whales and other animals.

Navy Secretary Donald Winter, in a court filing submitted on Monday, said disclosure of the information requested by plaintiffs "could reasonably be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to national security."

Which could be true, or might be nothing more than a way to cover up a hideously damaging report about American activities in the deep water oceans.

Some background: According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, Navy sonar testing and private industry oil and gas exploration (by detonating explosives, then studying the resulting seismic waves) has caused mass beachings of whales and other marine mammals, forced nursing mothers to abandon their babies (in effect, driving the mothers insane), and has even driven fisheries to bankruptcy by killing or driving away edible fish, meaning entire communities and even countries are now on the brink of starvation and relocation.

Some of these beachings due to sonar include:

October 1989: At least 20 whales of three species strand during naval exercises near the Canary Islands.

December 1991: Two Cuvier's beaked whales strand during naval exercises near the Canary Islands.

May 1996: Twelve Cuvier's beaked whales strand on the west coast of Greece as NATO ships sweep the area with low- and mid-frequency active sonar.

October 1999: Four beaked whales strand in the U.S. Virgin Islands during Navy maneuvers offshore.

May 2000: A beaked whale strands in Vieques as naval exercises are about to begin offshore.

May 2000: Three beaked whales strand on the beaches of Madeira during NATO naval exercises near shore.

April 2002: A beaked whale and a humpback whale strand near Vieques during an offshore battle group training exercise.

September 2002: At least 14 beaked whales from three different species strand in the Canary Islands during an anti-submarine warfare exercise in the area. Four additional beaked whales strand over the next several days.

May 2003: As many as 11 harbor porpoises beach along the shores of the Haro Strait, Washington State, as the USS Shoup tests its mid-frequency sonar system.

June 2004: As many as six beaked whales strand during a Navy sonar training exercise off Alaska.

July 2004: Approximately 200 melon-headed whales crowd into the shallow waters of Hanalei Bay in Hawaii as a large Navy sonar exercise takes place nearby. Rescuers succeed in directing all but one of the whales back out to sea.

July 2004: Four beaked whales strand during naval exercises near the Canary Islands.

January 2005: At least 34 whales of three species strand along the Outer Banks of North Carolina as Navy sonar training goes on offshore.

2006 saw an even greater frequency, pardon the pun.

So one wonders what kind of "state secrets" could possibly be more important than the entire South Pacific chain of islands, more important than the fisheries along the east and west coasts of the United States that provide millions of tons of fish to our dinner tables, or, in truth, the killing of intelligent creatures like whales and dolphins.

As a scuba diver, this distresses me, to know that our "national security" is held to a standard incompatible with our existence as human beings on a planet filled with life that we haven't even begun to understand.

And that security is predicated on pissing other humans off and then defending our country, when in truth, a small change in our attitude towards other people and other creatures would solve most of these problems at far lower cost than the billions and trillions of dollars we have and will spend to defend our 5% of the planet's land mass.

True security only comes when you respect other people. When you start building walls to provide yourself security, eventually you find yourself a prisoner within those walls.

Think about it: how many of us would willingly travel to anyplace other than Western Europe, the Caribbean, or maybe Japan and China? First, you have to take into account the fact that a small minority of us ever leave the shores of the United States, we're so afraid of what the world holds in store for us.

Most Americans don't even hold a passport, that's how jingoistic and chauvinistic Americans are: we think we have it all, when we have so little of the world's beauty and culture.

And now we're building walls, literally, to keep other out, but to keep ourselves in. We build them physically, we build them economically, and we build them psychologically, all designed to "protect" ourselves.

But who will protect us FROM ourselves? How does the United States stop from becoming a stultified dinosaur of a nation, irrelevant to anyone but those who would make a profit off our markets?

One way would be to stop taking ourselves so seriously, to stop believing that we are so much better than everyone (and everything) else. That charming self-indulgence-- particularly evident in certain states that are immune from immigration and diversity (*ahem* redstates)-- has to stop, which is why I've maintained all along that we ought to be welcoming Iraqi refugees and encouraging them to settle in places like Alabama and Tennessee and Wyoming.

The other way would be to start taking everyone (and everything) else more seriously. We've all travelled a road through a tough and dangerous world to get to this precise moment in time, and that ought to be respected and celebrated.

We claim to be a nation that is 85% Christian, and I'm sure there's a vast majority of silent Christians out there who live in Grace daily, but the overwhelming voices we hear are of the Pharisees of Hatred, of Greed, of Lust, and of Pride. These voices must be replaced, too, for us to truly take our place in the world and to do God's work.

Saving whales included. For it is written (Ecclesiastes 3:19):

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.

United States
United States navy
sonar exercises
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Natural Resources Defense Council

For All Those Interested

If anyone is interested in the continuing saga of Sibel Edmonds, there is a wealth of information and a chance to be heard here
It's interesting how the Valerie Plame Affair and some other things fit in there, particularly with Carl's mention of Turkey yesterday.

Also, for those interested in the intricacies of Blackwater, Jeremy Scahill's book is out and Amy Goodman interviewed him today here.

Why Rednecks Are Morons

Gun control is a touchy subject in America. While there is a case to be made for gun control in some parts of the country, there is a case to be made for gun ownership in other parts. I see both sides of this issue, since I have residences both in the most populated part of the nation, as well as in an area that could charitably be called "sparsely populated."

It takes a state trooper about 45 minutes to respond to a call in that area (I know, I've had to do it). In the city, I can count on a cop within a few minutes, usually.

Part of living in the city is understanding that, in dense populations, crime is more rampant, and guns are far more dangerous. Most big city police departments stand four-square behind gun control laws, and in the city, I sure do as well.

New York City has taken this one step further: knowing how hard it is to obtain a handgun in the city (or New York State, for that matter), it has taken the initiative to find out where the illegal guns used in crimes come from and to shut down the flow. Case in point:

The Republican mayor has sued 27 out-of-state gun dealers, alleging they sold firearms illegally to undercover private investigators conducting a sting operation for New York. City officials say the dealers have supplied hundreds of weapons used in New York City crimes. The lawsuits, which name dealers in Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia, ask the court to require monitoring of the shops' sales.

Private investigators attempted "straw purchases" at about 45 dealers, in which one person fills out the legal forms and makes the purchase for someone else. The practice, prohibited by federal law, is typically used by those who can't own firearms, such as convicted felons.

Nine shops agreed to settle the case, and stop these phantom sales. Two shops were forced out of business by the legal bills they were running up.

However, some moron decided to fight back:

Through March 31, customers who spend $100 at either of Bob Moates' stores or Old Dominion Guns and Tackle in Danville are eligible to win a handgun or a rifle at an April 19 drawing. Among those ineligible to win, as per official rules: "Mayor Bloomberg and his immediate family members." Van Cleave said he came up with the idea to boost sales: The stores have paid thousands in legal fees.

In other words, not only are they operating illegally, according to Federal law, but they want to flout authority and flaunt their "independence" by mocking the law, and mocking Mayor Bloomberg. Rather than obey the law, and abide by the agreed-upon identification requirements, they'd prefer to see dead New Yorkers (and presumably, other Americans).

Sad, isn't it? Yet, I can almost guarantee you they'd be the first to appeal for Federal assistance should their own neighborhoods be threatened by some bizarre force of nature or man, say the military opening up a post, and exercising eminent domain to seize their gun shops.

Not, you know, that I'm suggesting a course of action for my two Senators and my Congresscritter. Far be it from me to suggest a demonstration of capitalism in action....

gun control

Let's Talk Solutions

It's four years on now, plenty of time to see what doesn't work, plenty of time to realize that we've made an huge mess of Iraq and the Middle East in general.

We've done a few good things, most of them lately: we seem to have put the Palestinian-Israeli issue back on track a little, even if both sides are resentful and hurt by our ignorance and earlier Bush-led partisanship towards Israel. Iraq *might* be better off with Saddam gone...might, depending on who's statistics you accept. And we seem to have Iran back talking, even if they'ev made some progress in defeating our initial (and wrong-headed) agenda from the early Bush days.

What to do about all this, then? How do we regain the credibility that we once had, both in the region and at home? How do we incorporate ourselves back into the world community, now that the Bush-Cheney legacy is being chipped away?

I have an answer. Like most of my solutions, it's elegant, fairly simple, and only requires some quibbling about the details. The best part is, not only does it help solve OUR problems, but it helps solve Iraq's deep troubles, it keep Iran under the spotlight, and protects our interests in the western Middle East as well.

The centerpiece of my plan is a de facto partitioning of Iraq into three regions: the Kurdish north, the Sunni/Shi'a middle (around Baghdad) and the Shi'a south.

Here's the twist: We station a moderate number of troops in the Kurdish sector. The Kurds were and still, for some silly reason still are, our friends. We turned our backs on them in the fallout from Gulf War I. We can't do that again but at the same time, we can't alarm Turkey into believing we will destabilize a strong ally and an even stronger democracy in a region that we've failed to implant our democratic ideals in the first place (In truth, I've long believed that Turkey should have been more involved in Iraq, but that's just my opinion).

If we were to station, say, 40,000 troops in what I will call Kurdistan, we could protect the Kurds (and their oil assets) while having strike forces poised to defend Sunnis in "Baghdadistan". To keep the peace but also to keep our troops from being targets and from being icons of occupation. Let this middle region settle itself out, while clamping down on overt actions of ethnic cleansing. As it sorts itself out, we obtain commitments from various of the Coalition of the Bribed Willing to take in Iraqi refugees. Most of the wealthy Iraqis fled the country already (some two million of them). There's no reason why anyone who doesn't want to should have to remain behind in what will be the equivalent of the American Old West.

Then in the farther south regions, we could have a coalition, led by Britain, of NATO and UN peacekeeping forces, basically performing some mop up tasks and protecting allies such as Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, from what I see as a likely incursion from Iran into that region. If you look at a map, there's a bottleneck in southern Iraq which makes it very favorable for Iranian dominance in that area.

By forcing the UN to take a humanitarian stance here, it would signal to Iran (without much pressure form the Security Council) that we take them seriously. That may be enough to keep the more radical elements of Iran at bay while encouraging the moderates to the bargaining table. Too, the fist in the velvet glove is knowing the American forces are closer to Tehran than the UN forces.

Whatever squeeze play Syria and Iran could do in "Baghdadistan" could be covered by a joint pincer movement of the southern allies, supported by the British base on Diego Garcia and the American bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and the northern allied coalition of Kurds and Americans (hey, the Kurds would have to be included).

Once "Bahgdadistan" settles itself out, we can begin a strategic withdrawal, but notice this would also give us time to work out the other issues in the Middle East, and perhaps even begin to tackle the strategic interests China has begun to take in the region.

Four years is too long without even having a plan for "victory". By suggesting this plan, we can give our troops there something to fight for and the people of the entire Middle East some hope.

tags technorati : Iraq Bush Iraq refugees

07/07/07

I've been meaning to blog about this, but other events have taken precedence and since as I write this for Sunday, I have no clue what the news will bring today, this is as good a time as any to post on this:

[Al] Gore is scheduled to announce the concerts today in Los Angeles. He's expected to be joined there by rock stars Jon Bon Jovi and Sting, rap musician Pharrell Williams and media executive Kevin Wall, who served as worldwide executive producer for Live 8, the 2005 concerts that drew attention to African debt relief.

The Gore-promoted event will be held July 7, according to published reports, with seven major concerts on seven continents. Producers are said to be considering Washington as the North American host city, but one likely venue -- the Mall -- might be unavailable to them, a National Park Service spokesman said yesterday.

Gee....can't imagine why the Bush administration wouldn't want Al Gore parked on their front lawn, so to speak, just days after the annual Capitol Fourth, but I digress...more details on the event are found here and here.

Can a concert, even one as massive as a six continent, 24 hour extravaganza (no, that does NOT include Antarctica...it's the middle of winter!), promote the cause of saving the earth enough that people will take action?

I mean, the Police reunion will help, of course (and one wonders if this is why Sting decided to tour with Andy and Stewart), but can a concert change enough minds that are intractably resolved to the stubborn belief that global climate change is not real, or not a threat, or perhaps even a benefit?

It's not intended to. We need to focus on the fact that there are billions of people on this planet whose only interest in the news is what can filer down to them as they go through their meager existences, without television, without the internet.

But with music. This is not to change minds. It is to inform.

So maybe, just maybe, it will open enough eyes in places like India and China...and America, I'm ashamed to say...who are mis- or underinformed.

It might make a difference, and given the stakes of man's continued existence, it must be done.

tags technorati : live earth al gore climate change global warming

Blogging Ballet

The impression I've been getting from strolling around Blogtopia (© Skippy, the Bush Kangaroo) is that, now that things seem to be on the "right track" in terms of progressives taking back the government we should never have lost in the first place, bloggers are starting to eat their own, and themselves.

To-wit, I've seen any number of controversies regarding the A list bloggers (that would include Atrios, Kos and any number of folks on my blogroll), from some silly things such as who is on whose blogrolls to who controls the leftist agenda on blogs.

Frankly, none of this concerns me, because a) I'm a B list blogger (and have the star to prove it) and b) even if I was an A list blogger, I got more important things to do than to pay attention to nonsense like that.

Kos wants the agenda? Fine, let him have it. He runs a crappy blog that exists mostly because of the diaries people post, so maybe it's time he cowboyed up and took some responsibility for what he's claiming to have created. Atrios? Does even less than Kos, so he's welcome to it.

Let them see what herding cats is like. I have no problem with this. Nor do I lose any sleep at night wondering what I can do to get onto their blogrolls.

I pay as much attention to my various ratings as anyone, I suppose. I can usually quote you how many links Technorati credits me with (400 from 133 blogs as of this writing), and yes, I get a small thrill when I see those numbers jump (they're based on the past six months' linkages) and a bit deflated when they lower. Why isn't anyone reading my beautiful, eloquent and thought-provoking prose? I whine.

And then go back to work.

See, I understand what this blog is about, and why the couple of hundred of you return, day in and day out. TBogg and them can "report" (read that as "rehash the news in sumamry form, like newsradio") the news. I tell you why I think things happen, and try to put some sense into the world. That's why I never just post for the sake of posting a post every day (some of my midday posts will be rather short, I admit).

Would I love to do that full time, to sit and explain why this or that happened and what it means? Hell yes, but you know what? This gig pays nothing and I have other fish to fry than to sort every story out.

To put it in musical terms, I'm jazz to the Top 40 pop of Crooks and Liars, or whomever. I don't rip people off, at least not knowingly. I try to ask permission before posting, and if I can find something interesting to post, I will post it.

If by being jazz I limit my audience, well, then it's an audience that I welcome and am not slave to. It's not an audience that I end up resenting and angry at.

Which is why I also try to stay engaged in the comments. I value you just as much if not more than you value this blog. I know a fact: I would miss you guys more than you would miss me.

The curious thing for me is how many stories I "break" (because in truth, is it "breaking" a story to report on something I found in the Burundi Daily News?) that end up being covered later by the big boys (and girls). If I'm bleeding edge, then I'm doing the right thing, both by you and for myself.

Too, I find the blogs I'm most attracted to, blogs like Martini Republic (and it's little brother Big Apple Martini), the ones I spend a lot of time commenting on, treat me the way I hope I'm treating you: like an adult who understands that history didn't start ten minutes ago. Tell me what happened, why, and how it fits into a common story. That's what the really good blogs, like Skippy, or Shakespeare's Sister, do.

So, Duncan? Markos? You can keep your blogroll sacrosanct of this blog, if you choose to. I'll still link to you, and I'll even come over and read on occasion. I understand your philosophy.

I just don't choose to genuflect to it.

Friday Music O'Blogging

The Unicorn Song - The Irish Rovers

Friday Kitten Blogging

I miss my daddy

Food For Thought

This letter came across the editorial desk at Actor212 Enterprises (A Cayman Islands Coporation), and I wanted to share it with you as a "food for thought" item:

The Democracy Protection Act -- Executive Summary
Author: Lauren Strayer

A. A Democracy With Too Few Voters:


1. Enforce National Voting Standards - Create national standards to assure a more professional, trained, non-partisan staff to implement election day.

Make Electronic Voting Secure - Use electronic voting machines with paper trails (as ATMs do) to deter or detect fraud.

2. Establish Voting by Mail - Follow Oregon’s example and send ballots by mail to all eligible voters, a form of universal “no excuse” absentee balloting.

3. Enact Election Day Registration - Make it easier to vote by keeping voter registration open until and on Election Day and merge Veterans Day into Election Day to create a national holiday called “Democracy Day.”

4. Create Universal Youth Voter Registration - Based on high school enrollment, automatically register all 18 year-olds to vote.

5. Criminalize Voter Intimidation - Make it a felony to knowingly try to stop others from voting.

6. Bar “Voter Identification” Rules that Suppress Voting - Stop states from requiring expensive forms of ID that are tantamount to a new poll tax.

7. Restore the Vote to People with Felony Convictions - Enfranchise ex-offenders who have paid their debt to society.

8. Give the Vote to D.C. Residents - As America was founded on the principal of “no taxation without representation,” give residents of our capital city representation in Congress.

9. Ensure Responsible Redistricting - Establish a non-partisan system of former judges to oversee the drawing of the legislative lines.

10. Elect the President by National Popular Vote - Organize states that together comprise a majority of the Electoral College to agree to cast their electors to the candidate who wins the popular vote.

11. Try Proportional Voting - Instead of winner-take all elections, use proportional voting to allow similar-minded groups to gain seats in closer proportion to their share of the population.

12. Implement Instant Runoff Voting - Instead of plurality-wins in multiple candidate races, implement “instant runoff voting” by ranking favored candidates until someone gets an absolute majority.

B. Democratizing Congress:

1. Tighten Lobbying Laws - Enact bans on lobbyists’ bundling, gifts, meals and travel and create an independent Office of Public Integrity that could investigate and report on congressional transgressions.

2. Enact “Democracy Funding” in Campaigns - Establish a federal system of public matching funds for qualifying candidates so that small donors diminish the sway of big interests.

3. Guarantee Free Air Time for Qualifying Candidates - Provide guaranteed TV/radio time for qualifying federal candidates as a condition of holding lucrative Federal Communications Commission licenses.

4. Require Congressional Oversight Hearings - To spur oversight hearing when a congressional majority covers up for an administration, allow hearings when at least a third of a panel’s members request one.

C. Rule of Law:

1. Restrict Presidential Signing Statements - Establish rules limiting how these “statements” can become unilateral declarations of law.

2. End Torture, not Habeas Corpus – Rewrite the recent Military Commissions Act to make it clear that the United States will not condone torture and will continue to recognize Habeas Corpus petitions.

3. Ban Federal Funding for Programs that Proselytize - To comport with the “Establishment Clause,” stop funds going to religious-based public programs that proselytize clients.

4. Teach Science-based Science in Classrooms - Do not permit creationism or “intelligent design” to be taught in science classes.

5. Stop Discrimination by Sexual Orientation at Work - Bar workplace discrimination against gays, lesbians, transgender and bisexual workers.

6. Establish a Civil Right to Counsel - Provide counsel to the indigent in major civil cases as provided in criminal cases under Gideon v. Wainwright.

7. Create a Real Civil Liberties Protection Office - Especially given proven abuses in the “war on terror,” fund and empower an office to investigate and expose civil liberties violations.

D. Secrecy & Democracy:

1. Strengthen the Freedom of Information Act - Establish the presumption that all federal agencies should release reasonably requested information under the Freedom of Information Act (i.e., there’s a “right to know,” not the requirement of proving a “need to know”).

2. Publish Budgets for Every Government Agency – Give taxpayers a right to know how their monies are being spent, subject to very narrow national security exceptions.

3. Reduce Media Concentration - Enact cross-media ownership rules prohibiting one corporate owner from largely monopolizing print and electronic news in a defined population area.

4. Restore the Office of Technology Assessment - Restore the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment to provide authoritative and objective analysis of complex scientific issues.

5. Subject Government Contracts to Open Bidding - Make government contracts transparent, subject to public disclosure and open to intense competition, contrary to nearly half of $329 billion spent on no-bid contracts in 2004.

6. Strengthen Whistleblower Protections for Federal Employees - Restore the weakened Whistleblower Protection Act and expand protections to employees in the intelligence and security communities.

E. The Economics of Democracy:

1. Create a Living Wage -- Raise the minimum wage to a living wage indexed to inflation and reviewed biennially.

2. Establish a Child Savings Fund – Provide every child at birth a savings account that, with compounding interest, can be withdrawn at 18 for investment – a Keogh for kids.

3. Tax All Income Equally - To stop AMT from soaking the middle class, either index it to inflation or ideally stop taxing income from work at higher rates than income form capital.

4. Restore Consumer Class Actions - Stop blocking access to court for consumers who have been bilked in bulk.

5. Assure Net Neutrality - Assure universal access to the internet so we don’t divide Americans into the information-rich and information-poor.

6. Bridge the Digital Divide - Invest in broadband so that universal access becomes a reality.

7. Review Corporate Compensation - Require that only independent directors on the Board can vote for increases in pay, subject to shareholders’ approval.

8. Enact a Borrower’s Security Act - Establish a “Borrower’s Security Act” to bring fair credit practices to an industry that now routinely exploits credulous and confused customers.

9. Expand the Right to Organize at Work - Allow employees to organize if a majority signs union recognition cards and impose penalties on employers who use intimidation and firings to discourage organizing.

10. Create Citizen Utility Boards - Create consumer advocacy offices to fight for fair utility rates and practices in legislative and regulatory proceedings.

Why Conservative Are Morons

Across the past few days, if you haven't been reading the comments...and you really should, because some of my best writing happens when I get thrown an improv...the following exchange has taken place, which to my experience is highly indicative of what conservatives are all about:

The quote at the top of the page is historically inaccurate. The GOP brought civil rights legislation which was strongly opposed by the Democratic Party.

It was also the GOP that brought emancipation from slavery. (also strongly opposed by the Democrats)

Have to check on the accuracy of the remainder of the quote. Womens vote, social security, medicare, the Black vote etc...
Is Ought | 03.14.07 - 7:26 pm | #

The "quote" in question, is this one:

"Liberals got women the right to vote. Liberals got African-Americans the right to vote. Liberals created Social Security and lifted millions of elderly people out of poverty. Liberals ended segregation. Liberals passed the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act. Liberals created Medicare. Liberals passed the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act. What did Conservatives do? They opposed them on every one of those things...every one! So when you try to hurl that label at my feet, 'Liberal,' as if it were something to be ashamed of, something dirty, something to run away from, it won't work, Senator, because I will pick up that label and I will wear it as a badge of honor."

The thread in question is the Hump Day Comedy Blogging one.

So to "Is Ought," I was none too kind in my reply:

Is Ought,

*BRAP*

Wrong answer, but thanks for playing.

Clearly, your reading comprehension is rather...lacking.

LIBERALS, not Dems. Not Republicans. LIBERALS did all those things while fascists like you (and how do I know that? Because you knee-jerk assumed that all liberals were Dems) stood in their way.

Liberals. Like JFK & the Civil Rights Act passed in his name, like LBJ & the Great Society, but also like Nelson Rockefeller and Jacob Javits. Good, decent Republican liberals who stood foursquare against bigotry and hatred like yours. All your missing is the white hood and burning cross.

If you want to assume all liberals were Democrats, then I proudly accept Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt as Democrats.

Thank you. As a die-hard liberal, thank you for being an idiot.
actor212 | Email | Homepage | 03.14.07 - 8:59 pm | #

Now, normally, I would think that would be the end of it: neo-con bullshit posted, shot down, stomped on, and ground into a little tiny smear on the pavement.

But no, this troll is a particularly stoopid one, so the following post was made in the thread above the original thread!!!!

Removed the comment, huh?
So, you've decided to leave the lie at the top of your page. Perhaps, you can get CBS to rewrite the history books, just to reflect this as "your truth". Pathetic

Is Ought | 03.15.07 - 11:12 am | #

Which leads me to post this in the open, because clearly, this mule is one that won't respond to the 2 x 4 cracked across his nose, and instead now needs a steel beam across his head.

Now, the real fun begins when I edited "Is Ought"'s post for him....Of course, all this put me in the mood to trot out an oldie but a goodie...

An object lesson, forwarded to me by one of the ten smartest men in America (and a liberal):

Liberal: The USA has fifty states.

Conservative: No, it doesn’t.

Liberal: Yes, it does. The USA has fifty states.

Conservative: What about Guam? What about that Guam, huh? Or the
Virgin Islands?

Liberal: Those are territories, not states. The USA has fifty states.

Conservative: Oh, so you’re saying those don’t count?

Liberal: Yes.

Conservative: Oh, so the people there don’t count? They’re not good enough, huh? I thought you liberals wanted everybody to be counted.

Liberal: No, I said the territories don’t count as states. The USA has fifty states.

Conservative: You’re really something, you know that? You liberals are always going on about how all of us conservatives are racists, how we don’t care about anybody but people who look like us. But you don’t even want to count the blacks who live in Guam as Americans.

Liberal: First of all, I never said all conservatives are racists.

Conservative: Yes, you did.

Liberal: No, I didn’t.

Conservative: Michael Moore says it.

Liberal: I’ve never heard him say that.

Conservative: Yes, he does! He most definitely does!

Liberal: Look, I don’t know what he says. That’s beside the point. And the people in Guam “count,” whatever that means. I don’t even know who lives in Guam; I don’t know the first thing about Guam. I’m just saying Guam isn’t a state ­ it’s a territory. The USA has fifty states.

Conservative: What about Puerto Rico?

Liberal: What?

Conservative: What about Puerto Rico, huh? You love all those Mexicans coming across the border stealing our jobs ­ you must LOVE Puerto Rico, right?

Liberal: I’ve never been to Puerto Rico.

Conservative: Well, I have, and those kind of people would be pretty offended to hear liberals like you saying they aren’t real Americans!

Liberal: I didn’t say that!

Conservative: You said they didn’t count!

Liberal: I didn’t say that either! No, wait, just wait… (takes deep breath). I only said the USA has fifty states. Puerto Rico isn’t a state ­ it’s a commonwealth.

Conservative: And they don’t speak English!

Liberal: Well, many Puerto Ricans do.

Conservative: How do you know that? I’ve been there ­ you haven’t!

Liberal: All right, OK, fine, whatever. But the USA has fifty states.

Conservative: Well, I say Puerto Rico counts.

Liberal: Fine, but not as a state.

Conservative: Well, that’s YOUR opinion.

Liberal: It’s not my opinion ­ it’s a fact.

Conservative: Says you!

Liberal: No, not just “says me.” It’s a fact. Look it up.

Conservative: I don’t have time.

Liberal: You don’t have time to find out if the USA has fifty states?

Conservative: Listen, you may have time to sit around all day surfing on your liberal websites, downloading Michael Moore, but I’ve got things to do.

Liberal: Like reading about blacks in Guam and Mexicans in Puerto Rico?

Conservative: See, that’s why you guys always lose. I’m trying to have a nice conversation, and you just keep up with the insults!

Liberal: Listen, I didn’t mean to insult you.

Conservative: Oh, yes you did!

Liberal: No, look, I’m sorry, OK? I didn’t mean to insult you. Honestly. It’s just that… well, the USA has fifty states. That’s a fact. And I’m just trying to state a fact, and you’re getting very defensive, and…

Conservative: Oh, so now I’m defensive.

Liberal: Well…

Conservative: You just said you weren’t going to insult me!

Liberal: Look, I’m just trying to say the USA has fifty states!

Conservative: According to YOUR sources!

Liberal: MY sources?! What are you talking about? Look it up!

Conservative: I told you, I don’t have time to spend all day cruising the internet, looking up geography questions! Maybe if you were busier at your job, trying to live the American Dream, you wouldn’t have time for all this hate!

Liberal: I work hard at my job!

Conservative: Then why are you spending all day downloading Michael Moore?

Liberal: I don’t spend all day downloading Michael Moore! I don’t even know what you mean by that! All I’m saying is that the USA has fifty states!

Conservative: Again, according to YOU!

Liberal: Not just me! Here, here’s the World Book Encyclopedia. Look it up ­ it’s fifty states!

Conservative: Oh, sure, the World Book! Yeah, like I’m going to believe the World Book!

Liberal: What?

Conservative: Come on, it’s a liberal rag!

Liberal: (Long, teeth-gnashing pause) Look, just look up “United States of America.” Ten bucks it says, “the USA has fifty states.”

Conservative: Ten bucks, huh?

Liberal: Yeah, ten bucks. (pause) Wait, that’s the “M” volume.

Conservative: I know.

Liberal: You need to look under “U” for “United States.”

Conservative: I’m not looking for “United States.” I’m looking for “Moore, Michael.”

Liberal: What?!

Conservative: And when I find a big glowing article about him, you’re going to owe me ten bucks!

Liberal: Why would I owe you ten bucks?!

Conservative: You bet me ten bucks that the World Book Encyclopedia isn’t liberal.

Liberal: No I didn’t!

Conservative: Yes, you did! You bet me ten bucks that I couldn’t find a liberal article in the World Book. So when I find Michael Moore’s picture, you owe me ten bucks!

Liberal: Oh, my lord…

Conservative: AHA!

Liberal: Listen, you idiot, just because you found Michael Moore’s picture in the World Book doesn’t mean that I owe you ten bucks! It doesn’t mean the World Book is a liberal encyclopedia! And it certainly doesn’t mean the USA doesn’t have fifty states!!

Conservative: Oh, no? Look at this!

Liberal: (pause) “Massachusetts”?

Conservative: Bingo!

Liberal: What the hell does Massachusetts have to do with anything?

Conservative: The COMMONWEALTH of Massachusetts!

Liberal: So?

Conservative: So you said Puerto Rico is a commonwealth!

Liberal: Oh, no…

Conservative: You ADMITTED Puerto Rico was a commonwealth! Admit it, you said it!

Liberal: Oh, man…

Conservative: So if Massachusetts is a commonwealth, and Puerto Rico is a commonwealth, then they BOTH must be states! HA!

Liberal: OK, look…

Conservative: You owe me twenty bucks!

Liberal: What?

Conservative: Come one, pay up! Twenty bucks, let’s go!

Liberal: I don’t owe you twenty bucks!

Conservative: And I’m not even counting Pennsylvania!

Liberal: Pennsylvania?

Conservative: That’s a commonwealth, too!

Liberal: It’s a commonwealth, but…

Conservative: And Washington!

Liberal: All right, look, I lived in Seattle ­ Washington is NOT a commonwealth!

Conservative: Seattle’s not even a state ­ it’s a city!

Liberal: Yes, it’s a city, in Washington State! Washington’s a state!

Conservative: I’m talking about Washington D.C.

Liberal: What?

Conservative: Washington D.C. It’s a city.

Liberal: I know what it is!

Conservative: Well, you liberals are always going on about “Statehood for Washington!” Which, you admit, is already a state!

Liberal: Washington D.C. is not a state!

Conservative: Washington State is!

Liberal: You just said Washington D.C.!

Conservative: And you said it should be a state!

Liberal: I never said that! I mean, it should be… but I never…look…

Conservative: Should Washington be a state?

Liberal: Well…

Conservative: Simple question.

Liberal: Washington State?

Conservative: Yes or No?

Liberal: Washington State or Washington D.C.?

Conservative: Right.

(Long pause)

Conservative: He snorts cocaine.

(Long, painful pause)

Liberal: (slowly) This is Washington D.C. you’re talking about.

Conservative: Yeah. The mayor snorts cocaine.

Liberal: Actually, he’s no longer the mayor…

Conservative: I don’t think a state should have a governor who’s used drugs.

Liberal: He’s not the governor; Washington’s not a…

Conservative: Except maybe California.

Liberal: OK, OK, stop for a moment…

Conservative: I mean, that was a long time ago…

Liberal: Listen, listen…

Conservative: I don’t see Michael Moore making any movies about cocaine in Washington State, do you?

Liberal: Please, STOP!

(pause)

Liberal: Look, I’m just trying to make a simple point here…

Conservative: What about…

Liberal: STOP!!!

(long pause)

Liberal: I’m just trying to make a SIMPLE point here. It’s not a big deal ­ it’s just a fact. The USA has fifty states. That’s all! Yes, Puerto Rico is a commonwealth, but it isn’t counted among the fifty states. Yes, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania are commonwealths too. So are Virginia and, I think, Kentucky. I don’t know about Kentucky for sure, and you know what ­ it doesn’t matter! They’re considered
states, OK? They’re states. Washington D.C. isn’t one, even though I wish it was. Guam isn’t one. There are only fifty. Fifty states. Fifty stars on the flag ­ fifty states. That’s all. Fifty.

(long pause)

Conservative: Rush is so right about you people.

Liberal: Huh?

Conservative: Rush. He gets it. You people are the worst.

Liberal: I don’t…

Conservative: Here I am, trying to have an honest political discussion, and all you can do is bring up this liberal claptrap! You call people like Rush racists, but you don’t want to count Mexicans as Americans. You insult the Governor of California every chance you get. You get all your information from encyclopedias and Michael
Moore. You want free cocaine in Washington, and you want Seattle to become a commonwealth, and you won’t pay me my fifty dollars even after I proved that blacks run Guam! And then, worst of all, you insult our flag and our troops!!! You disgust me!

Liberal: Good-bye.

Conservative: See, there you liberals go again! Sneaking off to download porn from Kentucky! I’m not forgetting you owe me 100 dollars!

(pause)

Conservative: That’s it, cut and run!

(long pause)

Conservative: Why do you hate America?

Administrative Note

Starting tomorrow, I shall be travelling until Sunday afternoon (my likely and earliest return). Those of you who have been following Simply Left Behind may recall that it was one year ago this weekend that my daughter's swim team suffered a tragic loss en route to a major swim meet. That swim meet is being held again this year, this time near Syracuse.

I will be leaving several posts for my able-bodied assistant, Katrina, to put up. As well, I anticipate you will be hearing from her directly. I know she has a lot on her mind (even more on her plate), so without me around, she can finally post without fear of being eclipsed by my.....errrrr....forceful personality.

Bon chance this weekend, all!

Image Is Everything

Did you ever have a friend, or better still, an ex-friend, who had to be right about everything, no matter how wrongheaded it was?

I'm not talking about me, who has the added charm of being right, usually, and knowing when I'm wrong, how to make it seem like I agreed with my antagonist in the first place. Diplomacy is, after all, the art of letting someone have your way, so the occasional melding of their opinion into yours helps with negotiations.

No, I'm talking about that one pigheaded friend or relative who, when confronted with purely factual evidence against him or her refuses to acknowledge that you might, in the slightest, most miniscule way, have a minor point?

Usually you can find these people at the Thanksgiving table.

The reason this comes up is, well, Bush, of course. I don't know if you've noticed but, with all the scandals and corruption and controversy...with all the evidence mounting that he created the single largest political blunder (foreign AND domestic) of any American president, ever...no one has ever been fired?

You get the feeling that ol' Uncle George will be sitting in the garage next Thanksgiving, muttering about "those foolish kids and their weird idears". The latest in a string of bullheaded stances is this:

"I'm frankly not happy about" how the U.S. attorneys' firings were handled, Bush told a news conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon in Merida, Mexico.

The Justice Department has said the U.S. attorneys were fired last year largely because of policy differences or performance problems. But critics charge it appears that they may have been ousted for political reasons.

Republican Sen. John Sununu of New Hampshire called for Gonzales' dismissal. He complained about the attorney general's handling of the firings as well as his earlier dealings with Congress on anti-terror efforts.

John Sununu, it should be pointed out, is well-acquainted with pigheaded morons. He was raised by one.

Attorney General is, no doubt, a highly sensitive post requiring someone who has the President's full trust: in other words, it either calls for a man (or woman, Ms. Reno) of moral fibre and character, or a buttkissing toady.

It's clear that Gonzalez stocked up on Chapstick.

It's also clear that Bush has laid the groundwork for Gonzalez to resign, rather than be fired. The timing will be interesting to watch: perhaps as early as Saturday (to give the Republicans a chance to send out the spinners) or maybe there will be a waiting period to give the story time to die down (after all, the firings are over by almost a year, and it took a long time for this story, which I had heard just ahead of the elections last year, to rise to the top). Easter is pretty early in April. I'll pick that day for Gonzo to submit a quickly-accepted resignation.

Why not just fire the bloke? I find it extremely interesting that, in an administration that prides itself on forceful thinking and bold actions, they turn coward when it comes to the hard work of being President, so much so they even whine about it on national TV.

In thinking about this, I have to come to the conclusion that, despite his protestations to the contrary, Dumbya is very concerned with his image in history. If you'll notice, the second term has been filled with Bush polishing his cred for history: he's "read" the "right" books (come on, does ANYONE think he plowed through Camus???), taken comfort from the "right" Presidents (rather than consult Poppy Bush, he's taken to studying Harry Truman), and made overtures to the "right" social issues that might capture him a legacy to extend and somehow balance out the abortion that is Iraq.

Image, in other words, trumps policy. Image trumps politics. Image trumps process.

Image is everything. As with so many things in his life, rather than roll up his sleeves and do the necessary work (or even hire someone to do it for him, but remain focused and interested in the results, which itself is hard work for this obviously adult ADHD victim), he's chosen the easy path, the path of apparent least resistance.

But the Presidency is the highest profile position a man can occupy and guess what? There's no James Bath or bin Laden family poised to bail Bush out of this mess with a bundle of money and some well-placed executors. No. The spotlight of history will not allow such backstage manueverings. The curtain is drawn all the way through the proscenium, and Bush is naked.

If only the audience could find it within itself to laugh. But it's too sad.

snarkasm, snarcasm, snarky

Bush
Alberto Gonzalez

Before And After

Before:

After: