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SIMS : ROCKS ARE FREE, AND SLINGSHOTS EASILY STOLEN.
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Friday, July 30, 2010
Any remaining popularity I had?

Shot to hell.

One of the stories dominating the news this week has been about a massive screw-up at Arlington National Cemetery, the largest and best known place where America buries her war dead.

The mistakes are many and they are various. Graves unmarked or marked incorrectly. Grave site maps with erroneous information. Caskets and cremation urns with different people in them occupying the same grave site. Cremation urns being found in piles of fill dirt. At last check, 6600 graves could be either wrongly marked or unmarked.

It's disgraceful. There's really no better way to say it. The remains of the men and women who fought and died defending our country deserve far better treatment than to be misfiled like so much useless paperwork.

Between 2002 and 2009, $5.5 million to $8 million was spent on contracts to automate Arlington's paper-based operations, yet the cemetery still has no computer system to track graves and manage burials. The incompetence is criminal, and one has to wonder whether there hasn't been some misappropriation of funds, embezzlement, call it whatever you want.

I agree absolutely that when it is your job to do something, then you really ought to try and do it the way it's supposed to be done. There is always someone up the chain you can consult with if you have questions, or don't understand some part of your job. What was required of the administration at Arlington was to receive the remains of our honored dead, and not mishandle or lose them. It's a big job, but not that complicated.

Everyone involved in this fiasco should be fired, and charged, if malfeasance can be proven.

This is where I get my ass kicked.

If one of your loved ones was affected, I am sorry for that. If you traveled to Arlington (and I encourage everyone to do so), visited the final resting place of your serviceperson, and it turns out you happened to be standing over the remains of some other person...

Well, practically speaking, what difference does it make?

I am not trying to be flippant, I want to make that clear. I know with certainty that I am going to stand alone on this opinion. I feel like once a person is dead, what happens to the corpse is of almost no importance. I'm likely to go with cremation, and that's only because I can't convince anyone that I would actually prefer to have my body dumped in a river or field where it can do the planet a small measure of good. I understand funerals are for the living, but realistically, so are burial sites, head stones, mausoleums and all the rest. We seem to want to have a place to visit the departed, and the nicer it is, the less bad we feel about it.

Admittedly, if you paid for that (and handsomely, no doubt), then you want the place to be nice. I get that. You purchased a small piece of real estate, and generally maintenance is part of the contract. So, if the marker is clean, the lawn is tended, and the flowers are tasteful, what difference does it make which remains you're standing over, if any?

I know some people go out to grave sites, and speak to the departed, and it can be therapeutic. I'm not opposed to that, or whatever helps people deal with grief. I don't think they're prone to speaking back, and I would humbly suggest that if they do, that's obviously being generated within the visitor's imagination. Again, whatever helps the living feel better is okay.

I'm not for cover-ups, especially with this kind of gross incompetence. Ideally, the responsible people would be punished, fired, prosecuted, whatever remedies are available for this sort of thing. I guess I'd have preferred if it somehow could have been handled internally, since the publicity and righteously thunderous Congressional speechifying results mostly in additional crushing heartbreak for the families of America's war dead. Even worse, families who aren't actually affected will always wonder if perhaps their deceased is one of the mishandled or mislabeled.

And for what? To carry on eons-old superstitious traditions of visiting the bones of our dead? What good is it?

On the day you read this, an American man or woman will die in Iraq or Afghanistan. A small handful of people will ask why this person needed to die, whether it was necessary. The rest of us, if we even bother to become aware of it, will shake our heads slowly, and think, "Well, I sure hope the remains are dealt with properly for the family's sake."

Traditions can be glorious, and they often give us a sense of community and country. We have some wonderful ones in the United States.

The one where the dust of the dead is considered more sacred than the skin of the living is one we would do far better to outgrow.

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posted at 11:19 PM

2 comments

Saturday, January 30, 2010
I wish I knew why I bothered.

I don't know why I talk to people, I really don't. The following is the result of something I saw on Facebook:

Jacqueline: Shame on you America: the only country where we have homeless without shelter, children going to bed without eating, elderly going without needed meds, and mentally ill without treatment - yet we have a benefit for the people of Haiti on 12 TV stations. 99% of people won't have the guts to copy and repost this.

Kevin: You can thank mr obama for that. I'm right with u on that, but I wouldn't say were the only country like that. We r actually way better off than most countries. Shame on obama, not america.. Lol
January 25 at 3:55pm

sims: Because no one was ever homeless before January 20th, 2009.

Add "lol" to that, if it'll help.
January 25 at 4:01pm

Ryan: Thank Obama???? Keep listening to Fox news...

Audra: hey girlie girl, i couldnt agree more! charity begins at home. and to add injury to insult, the italians are saying our relief efforts over there are all mere attempts at notoriety. whatsmore, the day when devastation hits this nation, you can bet we'll have to fend for ourselves without relief from any one else!

sims: Well, we are the richest country in the world. I wouldn't expect Haiti to offer their limited resources to attempt to help us.

But for the record, lots of countries offered to help us after Katrina, including Cuba, which isn't exactly a rich country.
January 25 at 5:30pm

Kevin: Come on ryan, u can't possibly think this asshole is a qualified prez. Lol. He's so ass backward. And I'd rather listen to fox news than george clooney, whoopi goldberg, or any other self proclaimed actors turned politicians. Check ur facts son. Still love ya tho! Lol

sims: Let's see...He's over 35, a natural-born citizen of the US. Yeah, actually, he is qualified. You probably think that being white is a requirement, but it's not.

And do define "ass-backward," would you please? Or just keep posting LOLZ!!1!!!111
January 25 at 7:31pm

Kevin: I posted my opinion like everyone else and u get personal? Wow. If I had to explain why he's ass backward it would take me all day. But no, no because he's not white, because he for one was a senator. Senators have half as much responsibility as governers. as a senator he voted present indtead of yes or no on more than half the bills voted on in his time as senator. Don't u want a decision maker in office? He makes people rely on the government and not giving them the tools to rely on themselves. That's dictatorship not democracy. When counrty is in debt, u don't spend more money to get out of it. That's economics 101 buddy. The reason I wrote lol was to keep the mood light, but if wanna get personal, come meet up with me sometime and c how far that gets you! I guess liberals r the only ones allowed to have an opinion.
January 25 at 7:54pm

sims: Well, I think referring to a person far more educated than either of us could ever dream of being as "ass-backward" is somewhat personal. But, point taken.

Voting "present" in the Illinois Senate is a common tactic, and essentially counts as a no vote. In may of said votes, he was acting in concert with other members of his own party as part of a strategy. You know, like voting no on everything, regardless of what it is.

Was Bush also a dictator, for taking a huge surplus, wrecking it, invading Iraq, and then running up the largest deficits in history while cutting taxes to the wealthiest 1%? He was an MBA, but maybe he skipped Economics 101, because he was so goldarned smart.

Have your opinion, you're entitled to it. It'd be nice if you weren't so...emotional.
January 25 at 8:14pm

Kevin: Alright, I hear ur points. Wasn't gettin emotional, I just don't kno u and it seemed like u were the one gettin emotional. But that's what makes america great, were all entitled to our opinions. I have mine, u have urs. Done talkin about it on someone elses post. Wasn't tryin to make a big deal about it.
January 25 at 9:45pm

Just one last comment here and I'm done. Ass backward doesn't mean dumb. It means that his beliefs in my opinion don't make sense... And a degree or education doesn't make u "smart" anyway. Anyone really smart would know that. When u try to give rights to criminals and terrorists and then take away the rights of an innocent unborn, yet living thing, that's what I mean by assbackwards. Not just obama, the whole liberal way of thinking is ass backward to me. I can honestly go toe to toe with u on politics and talk a lot more about it, I'm not just some idiot. I love america, those who don't shouldn't live here. But to end this back and forth, I don't care about u enuf to even explain anything further. Its politics, shouldn't b so personal dude.
January 25 at 11:11pm

Then I get a message.

Kevin: Jan 28 at 7:08am Report
So, I know I don't know you, and I kno I got a little too personal with u on jaquelin's post. I obviously feel very different than u but at least u sound like u do research and don't just talk out ur ass like most liberals I kno. The only reason I'm taking the time to write this message is because I felt bad for making it personal. That makes me no better than the people I despise. I stand by my thoughts and am passionate about politics to a certain extent, but I have a lot of liberal friends and our different views have never caused us to despise eachother. So, as an american citizen who cares about my fellow americans, I apologize for getting too personal. That's why I always write lol on those posts. Cuz its such a sensative subject. I will say tho, that when u said "our prez is over 35 and an american citizen and that makes him qualified"... I'd have to disagree with u on that. It takes a lot more to be truly qualified to run this country, not just age and citizenship. It takes backbone and heart! Cuz it aint ez takin all the shit a president gets in his time in office. He has to be grounded in his beliefs and stand by them regardless of what his adversaries think.He needs to have the ability to stand FOR something, not AGAINST everything. Anyway, kindof a random message, but I wanted to be a bigger person than I was acting on jaquelin's post.

sims: January 28 at 4:49pm
Honestly, don't sweat any of it, Kevin. The "lol" thing is just a pet peeve of mine, the same as when people say something really shitty, and then think you should forget about it by adding "just sayin'."

I'm probably a great deal less liberal than you suspect, but likely more liberal about some things than you are. That's okay, I don't pretend to have all of the answers.

My issue with those that use the conservative label at this point in history, is that they seem to have completely yielded on many issues to simple, willful ignorance. The issue with Obama's birth certificate for example. The proof of where and when he was born are beyond question, and even with the several proven fake documents people like Orly Taitz have produced, some people refuse to believe that the President was born in this country. I'm sorry if it offends you for me to say this, but anyone who truly doubts this man's origins is either stupid, or being stupid on purpose.

And the other problem with wasting effort on idiotic fake controversies, is that it takes time and effort away from real debate. If you're against health care reform, more power to you. But did you actually believe that Obama was going to set up death panels to pull the plug on grandma? The entire premise is ridiculous, and in order to believe it, you must have a serious disconnect from reality.

The larger problem, of course, is that this country is in a rough spot. There are a lot of reasons for it, and while many of W's policies over the past 8 years contributed, every president going back 30 years had a hand in it. Clinton was the one who set the deregulation of the banks in motion. Bush might have gone ahead and done it anyway, but Clinton allowed Bush to wreck banking regulations a lot more quickly and thoroughly than he might have otherwise. What happens going forward is up for debate, but the economic situation right now simply isn't Obama's fault. The next 12-18 months will reveal a great deal, but this country got hit with an economic tsunami under Bush, and just because the water has receded, doesn't mean the cleanup is going to happen quickly or easily.

The country is where it is, because we have allowed it to get there, either by not paying attention, or just nodding every time a politician said "tax cut," and pretending that somehow infrastructure maintains itself, wars pay for themselves, and that a good education should be cheap, but don't raise my damned taxes. It just doesn't work that way.

The politicians have been treating us like children, because we refuse to be spoken to like adults.

Sorry for the rant, but we're here because we begged to be here.

Kevin: January 28 at 7:34pm Report
Well I agree with a lot of that believe it or not. I'm not a consperacy theorist and definitely don't believe obama wasn't born here. There r so many extremests on both sides that have confused a lot of people because of their ongoing rants. Its hard to kno what the truth is anymore so I don't listen to any of it. When a politician is talking, I look in his eyes to see the truth and I trust what my heart tells me to believe. I did stand behinf W. But don't claim that he was right about everything. However, I do think he got a bum wrap. We probably disagree on that, but one thing we can agree on I think is that even tho we r in a tough spot currently, we r all still very lucky to b americans. That's where I get offended, when people bash america. We r the luckiest people on earth to have the freedoms we have... To even have the freedom to have this very conversation. Anyway, thanks for the reply. Take care

sims: Jan 29 at 12:30am
I will simply say that I don't believe for a minute that criticizing my country is the same thing as not loving it. I'm fully capable of appreciating what's great about it, while recognizing that isn't the same thing as saying it's perfect, or has no room for improvement. We got to be the greatest country in the world by living by the principles laid out in our Constitution and Bill of Rights, not simply by virtue of being born here.

I'd be interested to know in what way you think that W got a bum rap, you know, really be specific. I know you can't blame everything on one guy, but let's face it, he's been a pretty substantial screw-up since he was a kid. He couldn't find oil in Texas, you can look it up.

Anyway, it's late, take care of yourself.

And then it began, long, long diatribes, all of them a single paragraph.

Kevin: 29 at 8:25am Report
First, I don't care where Obama was born. I do care about his phony chin in the air presence and lack of experience and qualifications. George Bush cut taxes and grew the job market by 6 million jobs over 8 years. He responded forcefully and directly to an assault on American soil by terrorists. He warned us it would be a long and painful war against terror and we all supported it. Not three months later, the liberals in Congress tried to cut his legs out from under him. He brought down a vicious, cruel dictator who had continually threatened America. Had we known what Hitler was going to do to millions of Jews, wouldn't it have been better to stop him before he could do it. Bush used the same intelligence which prompted Hillary Clinton, Al Gore and John Kerry to claim his dad, George Sr., allowed Hussein to produce weapons of mass destruction. All three made speeches saying we should take Saddam out. When W did just that, they all jumped ship because they all said he lied. He may have had some bad information but the fact is, there were weapons of mass destruction at one time and Saddam used them against his own people. They either were destroyed or removed, but that doesn't mean W. lied. A lie is when you know you're not telling the truth, he believed every word he said. W. never once whined about his treatment by the left wing press as have both Clinton and Obama about their treatment by the right, even going as far as wanting to shut down all conservative talk radio and news (liberals think freedom of speech only applies when they are speaking!). W. upgraded our nation's security, the libs held him hostage with the funding for the war by including billions in earmarks and entitlements that had nothing to do with the war. If he vetoed the bills, he would have been blasted for not supporting the troops. Still he did not whine or complain. Finally, his last two years in office he had a democratic congress. Check the national debt over these last three years, which includes Obama's first year and you will see a phenomenal jump in debt and a reduction of jobs. Obama blames Bush for everything. Bush, on the other hand, took the heat like a man and has never (as a past president) said anything derogratory about Obama. Therein lies the difference between a man and a boy.

sims: January 29 at 12:04pm
"Boy?" Really? Funny how things subtly reveal themselves.

You said, "He responded forcefully and directly to an assault on American soil by terrorists."

By invading Iraq? No one, not even GWB still believes Iraq had anything to do with any attack on the US. So, your "man" invaded a country, at a cost of over 5000 dead Americans (a lot more than died on 9/11), costing two TRILLION dollars. That will put one hell of a drag on an economy. It still is.

Your comparison of Saddam to Hitler is disgusting. The only people in history who even approach that level are Stalin, and maybe Pol Pot. Saddam was a piece of shit, and a brutal dictator, but he was never even remotely the type of threat to this country that Hitler was. It could easily be argued that the world is a better place with him gone. But I would also suggest that America would be in far better shape if he was still running Iraq. He was completely contained, and no threat to anyone, even his neighbors. The cost to carry out W's Oedipal revenge fantasy has been too high. Your concern for the plight of the Iraqi people is touching, but I imagine that will not lead to calls from you for humanitarian aid to them after our troops have come home from there. And Somalia? *crickets*

And feel free to cite more Democrats who enabled Bush to get away with the snow job he perpetrated on all of us. You won't find me trying to defend them for allowing what happened with the Patriot Act, waterboarding, any of it. They can all go to hell as far as I'm concerned, for thinking that they somehow knew better than our founding fathers what was necessary to defend this country.

Bush constantly blamed Clinton for the recession that started not long after Bush took office, and he also repeatedly tried to blame the Clinton administration for the intelligence failures that led to 9/11, although I'd still like to know how it was Clinton's fault that Bush never responded to the daily briefing titled "bin Laden determined to strike within US."

There may be liberals who are serious about trying to shut down right-wing radio, but none who are worth a damn. Awful things are said by people of all political stripes, but I will always defend their right to say them. There may be consequences, but everyone has the right to say whatever they choose, no matter how stupid. It isn't pretty speech that needs protection.

Besides, the press completely rolled over for Bush after 9/11, completely frightened out of doing their jobs, afraid that if they dared to mention that not ONE hijacker was from Iraq, or that al Qaeda and Hussein were enemies, that the frightened American people would turn on them. The press didn't even think about doing their jobs again until after New Orleans drowned.

You sort of forgot about that one, it appears. Heckuva job, Kevvy.

Kevin: January 29 at 4:32pm Report
Wow, u basicly just proved every point I make about liberals. U asked my opinion, I gave it, and once again u got personal and obviously completely offemded. I could argue every point u just made but its ull just come back w more false info. Ur so full of shotty info it makes me laugh. I apologized to u for getting personal, but I wish I didn't. I didn't kno u and obama were so close. U have his back like he's ur best friend. Please don't write back cuz ur impossible to have a reasonable coversation with. Ur use of big words makes u think ur smasrt I bet, but I see right through u and every other liberal. Tried to have a nice discussion w u but u won't have it. So go live in ur fantacy world and go on believing what u think is truth. It doesn't bother me as much as it obviously bothers u to hear someone elses opinion and take it respectfully. U think ur right and ur wrong! Do not bother me anymore please, ur a waste of time to hv a reasonable discussion with. Wow! Ur amazing!congratulations on being a complete idiot, with all ur rambling all I heard was "blah blah blah"

So, he's all done with me, right? I should be so lucky. Apparently, while I was out last night enjoying myself, he was stewing because he got no response from me.

 Kevin: January 30 at 6:26am Report
And to say my comparison to hitler is "disgusting" tells me enuf about u to kno ur literally too stupid to argue with. How do u possibly get off defending that guy even a little. And the war was not against any one country, it was against terrorism and anyone who backs or harbors terrorists u dum ass! Was sadaam not a constant supporter of terrorism? He posed a huge threat and because of guys like him, we lost more americans in one sitting on american soil than any other event in our history. That's enuf to piss me off. But I'm sure u thot sadam and other terrorists were reasonable enuf to talk to and negotiate with. If u negotiate with them. U r one in my book. That's what ur party wanted to do. Every man and woman who served in that war knew what they were getting into, don't dare take that away from them...they died for a much greater cause than u and I will ever get the chance die for... Including my best friend who died in iraq. Its people like u that try to tear our country apart and make it much easier for those who pose a threat on us to attack us. No one can defeat us if we all stood together. But no, ud rather stand behind those that flew planes into our buildings. Sometimes, it is just that simple!!! Everything u have has been faught for at one time. U wouldn't have a pot to piss in if it wasn't for war. So do I think war is a good thing? No... But it is an unfortunate nescessity when u have people around the world who have no care for human life. Ur rehearsed dialog is so sickening and full of shit that I literally cannot hear it anymore. I've played professional baseball for 8 yrs and the large majority of my fellow ball players would second my statements to u... Because we know what its like to sacrifice something for a higher goal. Pencil pushin bitches like u have no idea what its like to sacrifice anything. U just expect everything to be handed to u. I guess that's why u like obama. The bailouts are a joke. Give me the tools to better myself, don't do it for me. That creates dependancy on our government, we should depend on ourselves. U watch what happens in the next few years with this guy running things. U can already see if u open ur eyes. Go talk it out with sadaam, watch him say one thing to ur face, and then stab u in the back immediately after. Those type of people do not give a fuck! And yet, u come to his defense?? Un freakin believable. If u write back, I won't even open the email. I'm done letting ur ideology into my life cuz its pure crap. The thing that bugs me so much is how u think ur so smart. Words are words buddy. U can pull numbers and so called "facts" from anywhere. Real truth lies in ur heart and backbone, two things u clearly do not have!

sims: January 30 at 10:20am
Shocking, you've resorted to name-calling. And text-speak. But as noted earlier, you do seem to be quite emotional, and I have apparently hurt your feelings, which was certainly not my intent.

I'm also sorry that you managed to completely miss my point about trying to compare Saddam, or anyone, to Adolf Hitler. Hitler started a world war, exterminated 10-12 million people in concentration camps (6 million of them Jews), invaded nearly every country in Europe, resulting in something like 50 million deaths by the time the war was ended. Saddam was an irredeemable piece of garbage, responsible for many, many atrocities. Saying that he wasn't as awful as Hitler is not in any way defending him, it's a statement of fact, the same way it would be if I said that you aren't as bad as Saddam.

But he ain't in Hitler's class. Maybe if he hadn't been completely contained by the US & UN forces, almost completely disarmed after the first Gulf War, etc, MAYBE he would have wanted to wreak the kind of havoc Hitler did. But he couldn't, so he didn't. And if you still truly believe that there is an actual equivalency there, I'm not surprised that you view history as you do, because that would mean you lack the ability to understand perspective. You wouldn't be the first.

As for 9/11, that really wasn't the event where "because of guys like him, we lost more americans in one sitting on american soil than any other event in our history." Saddam was a secular Arab, and al-Qaeda are Sunni extremists, much like the Saudis who bankroll them. Saddam was a douchebag, but not a particularly religious one, which is another reason bin Laden hated him. I know it's tempting for you to lump all Arabs or Muslims into the same simple stereotype, and likely useless for anyone to expect you to begin to understand the philosophical differences between Shia and Sunni Muslims, and how that actually relates to the war on terror. But don't feel bad, Bush didn't understand it either, although I guess you can feel bad for your friend who died bravely in Iraq. It's too bad his commander in chief felt the need to sacrifice him in Iraq instead of the country where 15 of the 19 hijackers came from, Saudi Arabia. It's too bad that the Bush family's relationship with the Saudis goes back so far that he was more comfortable putting young American men and women at risk in order to take out a man in no way responsible for 9/11, rather than deal with the people responsible. That decision to let his friends off the hook for 9/11 may be the worst foreign policy decision in the long history of this country.

I think it's funny how you talk about "ur party" as though this was about something as base and simple as politics. I'm not a member of any political party, because all they do is gum up the process so that nothing can get done. I have no use for political parties, or people who are unable to see beyond the simple scorekeeping that they use to measure success and failure, while the country's future is at stake. I would abolish them all, actually.

I love baseball, played for many years myself. Not really sure how toiling away in the minor leagues in hopes of getting a fat Major League contract is an equivalent sacrifice to a higher goal in the same way joining the Marines and going to war is. But hey, I've had to stay in some lousy motels for road games, and been hit by pitches, too. You would appear to be suggesting that makes both of us just about Pat Tillman. Frankly, I doubt you can sell your sacrifice argument to anyone who understands the word. But I have no doubt you fall asleep with a clear conscience, like most children, and I do envy you for that.

You are right about the fact that al Qaeda cannot defeat us, though. If you think about it, they could carry out a 9/11-type attack every month for a year, and they still wouldn't kill as many of as as die in car accidents each year. They just aren't big enough to defeat us. The way they win is by scaring people like yourself, who then beg authoritarians to protect you at any cost, even by violating the Constitution and Bill of Rights. I know you think that you're a better American than I am because you're willing to send our own to die for payback against a country that wasn't a threat to us, but you really aren't. What you are is a frightened little boy who is willing to give up the rights and protections that MILLIONS have fought and died for, in order to gain some small illusion of safety.

You are pathetic, and it is people like you that will be the death of our way of life, not a few thousand Muslims with death fantasies. Sleep well, and just keep on never thinking about the cost.

There's really nothing you can say to people like this, I mean, just nothing at all. You would think people as panicky as this wouldn't sleep like babies, but they do. I sometimes wonder how well I'd sleep if I could give up 25 IQ points.

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posted at 10:21 AM

0 comments

Sunday, April 19, 2009
Amen to that

“If I had my way, I’d destroy all the mosques and spread the whores around a little more,” the detective said. “At least they’re not sectarian.”

It's a shame so many people have had to die to get things in Iraq back to where they were in 2002.

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posted at 2:07 PM

0 comments

Thursday, March 27, 2008
Morbid Curiosity

I doubt that anyone who reads this blog regularly would be surprised to find out that I voted for Barack Obama in my state's primary. I suppose no one would be all that shocked to find that I have a pessimistic streak in me as well.

I know. Such intimate stuff.

Three or four months ago, I was pretty pleased about the slate of candidates running for president, and saw a number of Democrats and even a Republican or two (eh, one) that I wouldn't have minded casting my vote for. As the Democrats got down to just two, I was of the mindset that either one of these people would make a pretty good president.

To hell with that.

I have decided, and am stating for the record, that if Hillary Clinton is awarded the Democratic Party's nomination, I am not going to vote for her.

"Gonna sit this one out?"

Nope. I'll vote for John McCain. I will cancel out someone's vote, and do it with a grin on my face. My reasons are twofold.

First of all, I am absolutely disgusted with both Hillary and Bill Clinton, and with the type of campaign they have chosen to run. I just don't remember things being this damned nasty back in the 90s, but maybe it was. I don't remember it like this, I just don't. Maybe it's because Bill actually had charisma as a candidate, whereas Hillary seems to have very little. But as a supportive spouse? Bill Clinton can take his smug aw-shucksness and cram it with walnuts.

If the Jeremiah Wright videos were dug up by anyone, it was by the Clinton campaign. Yeah, the pastor is a world-class douchebag, but for Hillary to have the stones to castigate Obama in the manner she did was just ludicrous.

"If my pastor had said something like that, I'd have just gotten up and left."

Well, what if you were married to him and found out he was nailing an intern? Would you have stayed with him then? Or would you stay with him because there's no way America elects a bitchy divorcée to be the first female president of the United States?

It backfired anyway, because Obama ended up giving one of the greatest speeches in political history as a response. His numbers dropped two points. Hillary's went down eight.

The other reason I'll vote for McCain over Clinton is - well...

I just want to see how bad things can get.

McCain wants to maintain high troop levels in Iraq. He wants to invade Iran. He's content to let the mortgage crisis play out, and has very little understanding of economics. He's my guy.

Let's really crater this thing, I mean just fly the country into the side of a mountain at 1000 miles per hour, and see if it bounces or explodes. I'm really curious to see what happens to our 300 million soft, fat asses when the long overdue correction in our standard of living really kicks in and takes out 100 other economies in one fell swoop.

I'm not proud of this impulse, but I recognize it, and figure I may as well be honest about it.

Besides, why should anyone other than a Conservative have to clean up Bush's ridiculous mess? I think Obama could take a crack at it and maybe get this thing back on course, but Hillary is cautious and timid, policy-wise, and we are beyond any good that baby steps can provide.

John McCain sees this thing heading toward a cliff and punches the accelerator like he was driving his Buick Century through a downtown farmer's market.

If we're still actively involved in Middle Eastern wars by 2015, I'll probably leave the country, to be honest. The machinery of war is lubricated with the blood of youth, and I'll make no contribution of that resource, not for oil, and not for empire.

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posted at 10:40 PM

0 comments

Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Message from the future

By the time you read this, Hillary Clinton will no longer be a presidential candidate.

There are certainly reasons that this might be untrue, such as you're reading this over my shoulder as I write it, or you're monitoring my intarwebs in real time, despite the fact that you have no warrant authorizing you to do so.

Thanks a lot, spineless United States Senate Democrats.

But if it wasn't true when you began reading this, there is no doubt that it is a certain fact...NOW.

Fine, keep reading.

Senator Clinton has a problem. It's not Barack Obama, and it's not Bill. Hillary's problem is still Hillary.

Don't misunderstand me, I think very highly of the woman. I'm confident that she's the brighter party in a marriage of geniuses, and I think she'd make a pretty good president. And that's not even using the sliding scale we'll need after Dingus McGhee leaves office in January. I really believe she's got the chops to make things better in this country. Of course, she won't get the chance, because she's just dropped out of the race.

Damn.

When people want to diminish Hillary, they generally choose one of three issues. They pick one, because no one thinks all three are bad, or entirely her fault.

1) Her failure to get Americans universal health care back in 1993.

As first lady, she took a crack at getting Americans something that all other industrialized nations have. She got sandbagged at every turn, and since I'm no policy wonk, for all I know, the plan might have been crap. It was a long time ago, and I honestly don't remember. Still, she got a bum rap, and too few people give her credit for carrying the torch on an issue that 15 years later, most people feel is really important.

2) Monica Lewinsky.

Are you more upset because Hillary couldn't please Bill enough to keep him from straying, or because she didn't leave him after he got busted? I would venture to ask why it's anyone's damned business but the Clintons, but this is America, and OH LOOK A BUNNY.

I'm not mad at Hillary about this. I simply recognize that this eminently independent and capable woman's decision to stay with this man she had no use for was simply a calculation made based on the fact that no one votes for a divorcee' woman for president. And no one will vote for her as a married lady either BECAUSE SHE'S JUST DROPPED OUT OF THE RACE.

Right, that third thing.

3) Her vote to authorize the president's use of military force in Iraq.

I was frustrated back in 2002, because it was starting to become apparent that a case was being made to finish personal family business between the Bushes and the Husseins, and that we were going to have to finance this stupid feud, in treasure and blood. We were less than a month from the midterm elections, and the administration was forcing a vote. They dared Congress to say "investigate more" knowing full well that the blood of the American people was up.

I watched senators come to the podium to justify their votes. Hillary had been in the Senate for less than two years, and talk of a future presidential run was already floating about. She gave her speech. I watched.

I thought, "Damn. She doesn't want to look like a girl when she runs for president."

And a lot of Democratic senators voted the same way for the same reason. They screwed it up. And 4000 dead and the better part of a trillion dollars later, this country has serious problems, financially, militarily, domestically, and in terms of our prestige.

These are the reasons Hillary has dropped out of the race to be president.

The incrementalism that was the trademark of the first Clinton White House will not be sufficient this time around. This country is too far afield to sit through a decade of small measures and baby steps. There is a great deal to be repaired, and we don't have the luxury of time.

Time is up. She's out.

It's the Hillary, stupid.

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posted at 9:41 PM

0 comments

Monday, November 12, 2007
This and that, 2007 12 November

The US military is reporting that mortar and rocket attacks are at a 21-month low in Iraq. So all of you 18-40 studs who feel Iraqi democracy is so important? It's safe to sign up now. I'll be over here, not holding my breath.

Richard Armitage, the State Department official who first leaked Valerie Plame's name to a reporter, has conceded that he was "extraordinarily foolish" to have revealed this information. And I learned that "extraordinarily foolish" is the new way to say "highly treasonous."

The Derferment Twins. Dick Cheney was unavailable.

A 4000 year-old temple was found in Peru, and there are wall paintings inside of a figure that looks very much like Pat Robertson. The figure is drinking some sort of medicinal shake and blaming America for the 9/11 attacks. Rudy Giuliani had no comment.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck from The View has revealed her new son's name. I didn't finish reading the article, but I suspect his name may be I Don't Give A Shit.

A Patterson man was arrested for allegedly stabbing his wife's uncle. Kevin Easter has been charged with attempted murder, making this the bloodiest Easter since...Wait, I don't do religious humor.

Whose house? RUN'S HOUSE!

Six people were killed by rocket fire at a rally commemorating the life of Yassir Arafat in Gaza City. I can't help but think the old rat-faced terrorist is smiling a little bit in Hell, pleased that Hamas devised the perfect tribute for a mass-murderer.

The headline reads "U.S. to woo Africans with naval diplomacy." Because there's nothing Africans like better than seeing fleets of boats anchored off the coast.

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posted at 6:54 PM

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Tuesday, October 23, 2007
No News?

Cal Thomas, a conservative columnist, aside from having the worst dye-job of any major syndicated writer, also routinely writes some of the lamest, chicken-hawk apologist drivel seen in major newspapers around the country. This week, however, he penned an almost lucid, only moderately paranoid and defensive opinion about the Lib'rul Media™. The gist of it was that things are going better, maybe even great in Iraq, and no one is really talking about it. The Democrats and the Lib'rul Media™ have picked a dangerous position, calling the war lost, and boy, are you pinko scum gonna pay now that things are so hunky-dory in Iraq.

And I suppose on scale, things have improved somewhat. American deaths seem to be down, suicide bombings are down to a Beirut/Saigon level of carnage, and I'm pretty sure any US Senator that wants to can still take a brigade of Marines and three helicopter gunships with him and stroll leisurely through a Baghdad market. Take that, Defeat-o-crats!

Thomas thinks that this means the tide of anti-Republican sentiment in this country will soon shift, Americans will return to blindly backing this war of choice, and we can get around to swearing in President Giuliani in 2009. Please, please, don't let him wear a dress to the ceremony...

But the media being what it is (Liberal? No. WHORES.), doesn't really like that whole "no news is good news" thing, nor should they. If things are going well in Iraq, then they will find something to focus on, perhaps something that has been utterly ignored since September 2001.

Domestic issues.

Relax, I'm not only talking about your illegal maid, Congressman. Let's keep talking about the president and Republican congressmen who have decided to make a partisan issue out of health care insurance for middle class children who currently lack coverage, and the right-wing attack on a 12 year-old boy who told his story. Let's talk about immigration. Let's talk more about the shift of wealth from the lower and middle classes to the super-rich, stagnating wages, skyrocketing energy prices, education reform, Scooter Libby, the Walter Reed Scandal, illegal wiretapping, Alberto Gonzalez or a hundred other truly important considerations as yet another election approaches.

By all means, the less the media focuses on the Iraq fiasco, the better I'll like it. Iraq barely makes my top five things that Bush has completely fouled up.

C'mon, newspeople. Cal Thomas is a feeble old man. Can't we grant him a last wish and spend a few minutes in each newscast talking about how great things are in Baghdad? You know, maybe after you ferret out the facts on some of these other issues, if you have the time.

And the balls.

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posted at 7:04 PM

0 comments

Friday, October 19, 2007
This and that, 19 October 2007

Ellen DeGeneres had to cancel the taping of her show due to being so distraught about this dog adoption fiasco. I don't really understand why anyone would even want Elizabeth Hasselbeck, especially given the shedding, but there's no accounting for taste.

Scientists may have some insight into why women outlive men, and it actually has nothing to do with your dumb ass doing wheelies on a motorcycle and plowing into a bridge abutment. You make Darwin smile...

So, you say the surge is working? Violence is down? So typical, so selfish. Won't someone please think of the poor cemetery workers in Baghdad?

I'm no fan of the New York Yankees, but Joe Torre is the man for telling Steinbrenner to go die in a fire. "One year contract? Pay cut? Cram it with walnuts." Go enjoy whatever is next, Coach.



An Amish community in Missouri was hit by a tornado. Several are reported to be without power.

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posted at 4:30 PM

0 comments

Wednesday, October 03, 2007
This and that, 3 October 2007

Airline delays in August were at an all-time high. AUGUST. The report would have been made sooner, but part of it was sent to Houston.

This morning, President Bush vetoed the bill to provide health care to kids. Yes, American kids. Don't worry, parents, the government has a program to provide your children with health care once they turn 18. It's called the US Army.

How bad of a mother do you have to be for a court to award custody of your kids to Kevin Federline? I guess Britney will have to go back to using normal airbags while driving.


Several states are considering seceding from the United States. I'm not in favor of another Civil War, but at least if it happens, there isn't any Habeus Corpus in danger of being suspended.

Poland's envoy to Iraq was wounded. I haven't read the story, but I assume the accident occurred while changing a light bulb with about 15 other guys.

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posted at 6:33 PM

1 comments

Thursday, September 27, 2007
The SCHIP hits the fan

The State Children's Health Insurance Program funding bill made its way through Congress this week. It is pretty much what it sounds like, and it's one of the more successful programs initiated in the last decade. So given that fact, and also that wages are stagnant while medical costs skyrocket, some people thought it might be a good idea to expand the program to another 10 million kids. I know, it's crazy.

Guess who is going to veto the legislation, cutting off funding to even the current beneficiaries of such largesse, a.k.a. poor kids?

That's right, the compassionate conservative himself, President George W. Bush.

How can he do such a thing? It's easy, because he says the program "is an incremental step toward the goal of government-run health care for every American."

Now, who you are is defined by which part of that sentence you gravitate toward.

If you are a conservative, you see "government-run health care."

If you are a liberal, you see "health care for every American."

At this moment, I have medical insurance through my job, so I'm luckier than a lot of people who have no job, or have jobs (plural) which do not offer insurance. I pay a great deal for it, and in comparison to other insurance I have had, it's not really all that great. I have only the brochure's word for it that I will be treated if I actually get sick, but I have seen enough bastardry from that industry to be skeptical.

If the quality of the furniture in my doctor's office declines slightly because he is being reimbursed by a government agency instead of a for-profit insurance conglomerate, I will not just live with that, I suspect I will flourish. And so will all of the other Americans who can get medical care.

This is not bleeding-heart do-goodery. I am a misanthrope, and think the world is ridiculously overpopulated. That being said, I'm pretty sure it'd be more economically feasible to let people see a doctor when they have the flu rather than hospitalizing them when they have pneumonia. It's a cost/benefit analysis, and prevention is always cheaper than treatment. You want to see your taxes spent more judiciously? Make damn sure that children get their vaccinations, and then when your dumb ass breaks your leg skiing, you won't have to wait fifteen hours in the godforsaken emergency room, because people with preventable conditions and no insurance now require immediate treatment. WHILE YOU WAIT.

If state-run insurance is so awful, why do people in the countries that have these programs outlive us, and generally also pay less for their medical costs, including taxes? Please feel free to quote me statistics, I live for that shit.

Please don't quote me any statistics.

I am not a Christian, and I don't believe in god. I don't think that I am amoral. Morality exists, whether god does or not. And the golden rule still covers most things as far as I'm concerned. If you are someone who believes the teachings of Jesus, how does that jibe with your modern "Greed is Good" conservatism? I'm not saying you need to wear sandals and sleep in a tent, but maybe what helps others with less is ultimately good for all of us?

In 2007, it is abundantly clear that the free market has failed to produce satisfactory results in two areas: Health care, and fighting wars. 180,000 "contractors" in Iraq (Contractors! Like they're repairing the roof!) in addition to 165,000 US troops, and we are no closer to a self-sustaining Iraq that we were three years ago, or will be in another three. You can't fight this war with mercenaries, no matter how well paid, and you can't keep 300 million people healthy when profit is mandatory, and stockholders get bigger dividends when people with cancer are denied treatment.

There are some things that are so damned big that the government needs to do them. Sorry, but that should be obvious by now. If you have a free-market solution, please explain it to me, and spare me you tax credits for medical expenses. I'm not sure how those help people that can't pay for treatment in the first place. I know, I know, they should all let their accountants handle this stuff.

So go ahead, George, you silver-spoon never-worked-a-day-in-your-life elite, veto the bill. Dump it. Tell the people with kids that they're better off without insurance in a free market than they would be with insurance provided by the government. You push that argument right through election day next year. You will hand the Democrats a veto-proof majority, and the White House for good measure. If you think SCHIP will cost a lot, wait til you see what these moron Democrats come up with when there is no longer an effective opposition.

Veto it. Keep vetoing it. And enjoy the Rovian Permanent Minority you will usher into American politics for your party.

Veto it.

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posted at 11:37 PM

3 comments

Tuesday, September 18, 2007
This and that, 18 September 2007

That guy in Florida who got tasered by campus cops deserved worse. I'm all about free speech, but this moron is a performance artist who wouldn't even have been there if no one had brought a video camera. Once you are asked to leave a third time, you don't get to complain when security puts their hands on you to walk your ass outta there. I'd have used his head for batting practice.

And if that is civil disobedience in the 21st century, it is hard for me to imagine Ghandi and Martin Luther King Junior screaming "OWWWWW! OWEEEEEEEEE! OWWWWWWWW!" like a little bitch.


The Fed slashed interest rates by half a point. All four of you who stopped running up your credit cards can get back to burying yourselves in debt again.

The Iraqi government wants to throw American contractor and war profiteer, Blackwater, out of the country just because they killed a bunch of people. Someone needs to tell them that we broke it, so we bought it. And we own it. Now, SHUTUP.

A Nebraska state senator filed suit against God last week. So now you know why God decided to kill Johnny Cochran back in 2005. It's tough to have a decent alibi when you are everywhere all the time.

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posted at 10:16 PM

2 comments

Thursday, September 13, 2007
The old Switcheroo

I was thinking this week about how great the war was going in Iraq, and it took me back to an article I read in the Fall of 2004, about why we had to invade. I know now that it is because we must grant democracy to the Iraqi people, but even three years ago, we had already gone through 21 different reasons for attacking. I shit you not, and here they are:

1) To prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
2) For regime change.
3) To further the war on terror.
4) Because of Iraq’s violation of United Nations resolutions.
5) Because of Saddam Hussein’s evil dictatorship and actions.
6) Because of a lack of weapons inspections in Iraq.
7) To liberate Iraq.
8) Because of Iraq’s ties to al Qaeda.
9) Because Iraq was an imminent threat.
10) To disarm Iraq.
11) To conclude the Gulf War of 1991.
12) Because Hussein was a threat to the region.
13) For the safety of the world.
14) To support the United Nations.
15) Because the United States could (easy victory).
16) To preserve peace around the world.
17) Because Iraq was a unique threat.
18) To transform the region.
19) As a warning to other terrorist nations.
20) Because Hussein hates the United States and will act against it.
21) Because history calls the United States to action.

Now, I suppose Number 18 might cover the whole "grant democracy to the Iraqis" thing, so I won't say that this notion is yet another excuse. But lists aside, have we made any progress?

According to the rather sunny report that General Petraeus delivered to Congress this week, the number of Iraqis being killed in terrorist incidents has dropped by 50% this year (only 2000 a month now!). In spite of this great news, the Iraqi government can't seem to get anything done. There are hopeless divisions due to the different Muslim factions that are trying to get their piece of the action, none of which are willing to compromise, take a step back, or admit that their side may have blood on its hands anytime in the, oh, let's say, eight centuries or so.

If you are willing to acknowledge these facts, you may want to throw your hands up in despair. I look at them, and can only think, "Mission Accomplished." In reverse.

George W. Bush, in his efforts to make Iraq more like the United States, has actually managed to make the US more like Iraq.

In Iraq, we have religious groups who have aligned themselves politically with parties that support their particular dogma. There is not, nor has there ever been, any room for compromise between these parties, because all sides are convinced that they are the only ones who know The Truth.

In the United States, where we used to have a two-party system that was capable of compromise, especially on important issues, we now have idiotic, fruitless (no offense Senator Craig) squabbling, because both parties are certain that their way is the only way to do things, and that compromise is a sign of weakness.

Iraq is in the Middle East, it is overwhelmingly Muslim, and even as an ostensible democracy, would still have an Islamic-oriented government. There could never be an institutionalized writ of separation between church (or mosque) and state.

The United States is predominantly Christian, and even though many of the founders were themselves believers in Christianity, they saw fit to not exclude anyone by having a de facto state religion.

Now, however, we have a government in place which is run at the highest levels by evangelical Christians, whose views on the universe and law are not altogether different than those held by Taliban clerics. They believe god, or more specifically, Jesus, should be a part of every single facet of American life, and that there is no type of charity but that of the Christian variety. They know that to believe otherwise makes one an infidel in this life, and condemned to hell in the next one.

Well, no thanks.

I wish the Iraqis well, but they and their inevitable theocracy can go rot. I want my country back. I want people running things that understand science and the value of research. I want the ones in charge to be able to see past their own selfish desires and dogma, and try to figure out what the consequences of actions might be, not just today but for the next fifty years. I want a president who has doubts, because no one but children and imbeciles could possibly ever have a clear conscience. Certainty, especially the moral brand, is the clearest evidence of a closed mind, and people who claim it ought not be left in charge of anything more important than a microwave oven.

These men who would protect us from evil have instead trashed our Constitution, and lowered us to the level of the enemy whom we proclaim to be so utterly backward in its thinking. And I'm not just talking about our Saudi allies who knocked down the World Trade Center, we have become more like the fascist Communist governments run by Stalin and Mao. We may be a ways off from that level, but we sure as hell are as close to that point as we have ever been.

George W. Bush, the staunch anti-Communist who kept the skies over Texas safe from the Viet Cong in the 1960s, and now battles to keep the American Way intact by taking moral lessons from the worst people on Earth. The 3,000 who died on 9/11/01, and the nearly 3,800 American servicemen and women who have died since then are casualties of a war to promote American-style democracy. It is a war we lost the moment the so-called Patriot Act was signed into law in 2001, and its headstone was cemented in place with the signing of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 which eliminated Habeus Corpus.

We have forfeited our birthright to a group of inbred fanatics who could not take it away from us if they had their numbers increased a thousandfold. And we have done it thanks to the type of leadership one would expect in a third-rate, pissant country like Iraq.

Iraq has American-style democracy all right. If that country even exists in ten years, I'll buy you a Coke.

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posted at 4:43 PM

0 comments

Thursday, August 02, 2007
Broken Span of Attention

A ridiculous tragedy yesterday as a thousand-foot long stretch of a US interstate highway collapsed and fell into the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. This was not some country road in the middle of nowhere, it was I-35W in the center of one of the larger metropolitan areas in the richest nation on Earth.

When ferries sink in Cameroon or a garbage dump buries villages in the Philippines, we sit back with our usual smugness and sigh contentedly, "How wonderful it is that I live in the greatest nation on Earth, where we build things that last forever, and they stay that way through the grace of a loving and American God."

Why should the wish-thinking that has so infected large portions of the public discourse not filter down to the mundane subject of care and maintenance of infrastructure? It must have, or we wouldn't see these sorts of calamities happening with more and more frequency.

The President this morning offers and prayers and somber good-wishes, but also declared that the costs were Minnesota's to bear, which is odd, since the last I checked, the Interstate system was a federally operated program.

But that's tough love from a Neocon who only believes in Darwinism if it's the social type, or relates to the marketplace. The winners win, the losers die off, and may God have mercy on the souls of your loved ones caught under 200 tons of concrete and rebar.

The sorrow of this event has not turned to anger yet, but it will. I'm on an accelerated program of pragmatic rage, so I was livid within the first ninety minutes of the bridge's collapse. I was even angrier this morning when I started to see some backlash to the assertion that the Bush administration bore considerable responsibility for this tragedy.

"There you go, libs, hating the president for everything. What, do you think he knocked the bridge down himself?"

Hey, there's a delightfully logical response to the questioning of Bush's priorities.

The knee-jerk defenders of this criminal administration tell you that none of this has anything to do with anything else, and especially not war in Iraq. And I know that the Defense budget has nothing to do with the monies that go into maintaining and building American infrastructure.

But it is a question of priorities.

Someone please tell me how investing even half of the $2.5 billion per week that we are currently spending in Iraq in US infrastructure would not make Americans safer on a daily basis. If the president, who incorrectly interprets his oath as protecting Americans from threats (as opposed to defending the Constitution), then repair of infrastructure that we all use every day should be a high priority.

But as usual, sir:

You have chosen...poorly.

As a person who pays attention, I know that money won't be shifted from the Sunni Triangle to Saint Paul, and besides, we're fighting this war on credit. We haven't even begun paying for this thing. Your kids will pay for it, and theirs as well.

Slap a penny, a dime, a dollar on every gallon of gas sold, and shunt it right into state transportation budgets. The feds will monitor the safety of the infrastructure, and enormous fines will be levied against states where dangerous roads, bridges, etc are found. And just to make everyone happy, those fines will be sent to the Department of Defense for any damned thing they want to spend it on, be it war or just research into how to combat the Soviet threat circa 1961. The caveat will be that none of the money can be spent on defense contractors within states that have been monitored with failing infrastructure.

It's a ridiculous solution to a serious problem, but the president has offered nothing except prayer and warm thoughts. You are The Decider. Make a decision. Do something. American lives are being threatened, yes, but far more by rust and stress than by anything Saddam, erm, Hugo Chavez, ah, Kim Jong Il, OSAMA, yes, Osama bin Laden could dream up. At least these people admit that they want us dead, instead of smiling at us and pretending to give a damn.

Keep your prayers. Fix my fucking bridges.

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posted at 8:54 PM

2 comments

Monday, July 23, 2007
Summer time

And the living is boring.

I seem to be unmotivated by much of anything in terms of writing, but I suppose that's understandable. Congress is in a holding pattern, and isn't even accomplishing stupidity in an interesting way, so that's a dry well. The Commander In Chimp seems to be growing comfortable with his irrelevance, and the most interesting thing he's done in a week is put a camera up his butt.

A less creative type might make an obvious joke here, but not me. Quality matters.

Barry Bonds is about to break Hank Aaron's all-time home run record, and I can't help but feel that it's too bad. Bonds is a great player, and a Hall Of Famer, but he'd not be anywhere close to the record without using illegal steroids. It's just disappointing that the most hallowed record in sports will be held by someone with all of this scandal about him. Eh, there are worse things.

The war in Iraq continues, and no one cares about that either. The people who are against it can't get the Democrats to actually do anything, and the people who are for it won't drive their kids down to the recruiting center to sign up. And College Republicans are the funniest little fascist hypocrites in the world:



I may go to Las Vegas next week for a few days, and just see if I can bust up this cycle of dullness. I don't even know why we bother having summer once we're no longer in school. What's the point?

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posted at 10:47 PM

0 comments

Monday, April 30, 2007
Look Who's Back

It seems that no one can stay away from the lure of the spotlight. Some people are famous for a little while, and then they drop off the radar. Not everyone can have a fifty-year career, like Peter O'Toole or Sean Connery. Although, judging by the cited examples, you ought to be from the UK if you crave longevity.

Bob Barker. I needed an American in there.

Someone once said that politics is show business for ugly people, and I wish it had been me. It's a great line, made all the greater by the truth of it. Like show business, most people in it don't stick around in politics for too long, which I attribute to the vast temptations of scandal that come with power. Of course, lots of people wield power without ever being elected, and those people are the best proof of the addictive nature of power.

Over the past twelve months, many retired generals have come forward to speak of their reservations about the war. Those on the left, especially before last year's midterm elections, were thrilled to have unimpeachable military figures speaking out against the war and the Bush administration's miserable inability to run it.

I was less thrilled.

Oh, sure, there was some relief in hearing that people in the know were saying what so many of us had suspected for a few years. But with so many dead and wounded over that period, saying "I told you so" was inappropriate, and furthermore, useless.

I wanted to know why these military leaders, the ones who have spent their lives training for war, fighting in wars, teaching and studying tactics for combat, why these people stood by while giddy dilettantes who shirked their duty during Vietnam, allowed the finest military in the world to be used in such a haphazard and pointless way.

And said nothing.

If even one highly-ranked military official had said, while still in Iraq, that the plan was flawed, that there was no apparent strategy, that American men and women were sacrificing so much in a conflict that we had no business fighting in, perhaps a meaningful dialogue could have started sooner. Saying the Titanic isn't unsinkable after you're already been rescued is meaningless.

Yes, you would have never been promoted again. Yes, you would have been removed from your command. And yeah, the Bush administration would have destroyed your reputation, as they value loyalty to the president over that to the soldiers, the country and especially the truth.

Which brings me to the new book by former CIA director, George Tenet.

The balls on me, to go after a Presidential Medal of Freedom winner.

Tenet is best remembered for his exclamation about the "fact" that Saddam Hussein has WMD. He called it a "slam dunk."

Four years later in his book, he claims that what he meant was that in regard to making a case that the public would believe, well, that was a slam dunk.

Like that's better somehow.

Tenet, in his recollection, was just a hapless guy who meant well, but got swept away in the feverish march to war by Neocons drunk on power. He was the head of the god damned Central Intelligence Agency, and knew the truth, but no one would listen to him.

And like these suddenly concerned retired generals, Tenet has found his voice. Too late, by several years, and thousands of lives.

If George Tenet had resigned and stated why in late 2002 or early 2003, the press might have found its collective balls, and done some actual investigative work that could have uncovered all of the lies and dissembling that the administration had been doing since September 11, 2001. But he didn't. Power and the limelight are tough to walk away from.

Not for everyone, though.

There is a man named John Brady Kiesling, a lifelong diplomat who was working for the State Department under Colin Powell during the run-up to war. In spite of the fact that he knew he was effectively ending his twenty-year career, he concluded his resignation letter to General Powell with the following paragraph:

"I am resigning because I have tried and failed to reconcile my conscience with my ability to represent the current U.S. administration. I have confidence that our democratic process is ultimately self-correcting, and hope that in a small way I can contribute from outside to shaping policies that better serve the security and prosperity of the American people and the world we share."

Was that so hard?

Actually, I'm sure it was. Keeping your mouth shut so you can stay with the team is relatively simple. Telling the President of the United States and his alleged brain trust of sycophants that they are taking this country down the path to a costly, quagmiric foreign policy nightmare is hard. I suppose that's why so few people bothered to do it.

George Tenet has found his voice, and just in time to sell a few books. I heartily encourage you to ignore it.

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posted at 12:18 AM

0 comments

Friday, April 27, 2007
Who the hell is Mike Gravel?

He was a US Senator from Alaska from 1969 until 1981, and to my surprise, was one of eight candidates at the Democratic debate in South Carolina yesterday. If you think you might like to see what politics sounds like with the bullshit removed, have a look:






He has no chance, but I hope he spends the next 16 months taking potshots at everyone.

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posted at 1:09 PM

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