BushCo. Not Just Incompetent; Evil

When news broke that the FEMA debit cards promised to all dislocated families were to only be given to those who wound up in Houston - and then only to those at the Astrodome - I assumed it was just the bungled work of the gang of incompetents I outlined in the previous post. The continued delay delivering them seemed to be just part of the whole, cruel situation.

I may have been mistaken.

Steve Bates, over at the Yellow Doggerel Democrat, thinks there may be a more malign reason for the delay. He notes that the numbers of refugees in the covered sites are quickly falling as they find other places to stay:

Somebody's gotta do it, so I'll connect the dots: FEMA is slow-walking delivery of the debit cards to reduce the number of displaced families that actually get them. It's the latest instance in a long tradition by the Bush administration of making a big public splash about providing money approved by Congress for use in a catastrophe, but never actually delivering it. Think of New York City after 9/11/2001... much of the promised federal money was never spent. Think of the FEMA money authorized for relief from several hurricanes in Florida over the last few years... many people approved to receive it never got it. And right here in Houston, think of Tropical Storm Allison, back in 2001. FEMA promised to reimburse the city for many of its expenditures that legally should have been covered by the agency. According to a segment by Wayne Dolcefino on the ABC 13 evening news earlier this week, most of that money has still not been reimbursed, 4-1/2 years later; FEMA is allegedly still investigating whether the city's claim is legitimate.

If you think you've seen the worst from this band of incompetent, thieving bastards, you're probably wrong.

What Went Wrong?

While there is surely plenty of blame to go around for the disaster after the disaster of Katrina, even our SCLM is getting the clue that the buck really ought to stop at a certain desk in the Oval Office. The story teaser under the image below on MSNBC this morning was "Agency's top leaders have ties to Bush White House; critics say ability to respond to emergencies weakened."



The story that went with the picture is pretty damning.

Five of eight top Federal Emergency Management Agency officials came to their posts with virtually no experience in handling disasters and now lead an agency whose ranks of seasoned crisis managers have thinned dramatically since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

FEMA's top three leaders -- Director Michael D. Brown, Chief of Staff Patrick J. Rhode and Deputy Chief of Staff Brooks D. Altshuler -- arrived with ties to President Bush's 2000 campaign or to the White House advance operation, according to the agency. Two other senior operational jobs are filled by a former Republican lieutenant governor of Nebraska and a U.S. Chamber of Commerce official who was once a political operative.

Is it any wonder then that much of the initial - and continuing - response has been photo ops for the empty flight suit and his missing-in-action side kick?

FEMA's response has only been the most visible and talked about mistake of BushCo. since the hurricane, but you can bet that the administration will try to sack "Brownie" and foist that off on all of us as the solution to the problem. We can't let them get away with that. There's a reason why inexperienced political hacks are in such important jobs, there's a reason why the National Guard troops needed in Louisiana and Mississippi were unavailable to help, there's a reason why there's no money in the Federal budget to pay for this disaster: and that reason is sitting in the White House.

Humbling

In January, my father-in-law died after an extended fight with liver cancer. When my wife and I returned from his funeral in Canada, there was seemingly an entire grocery store on our front porch. Our friends, knowing what we'd been through over the holidays, had called to make sure they knew when we were coming home and made sure that there was nearly a month's worth of groceries and prepared foods waiting for us when we arrived.

It was one of the most humbling things that has ever happened to either of us. To know that friends would care so much, would think of nearly everything we could need, would do so much of us... To this day I can't think about what they did without choking up.

In the same vein, I've been humbled by the response of the world community to the disaster on our Gulf Coast. You won't hear much about it on the news - you have to go to the blogs and the "unofficial" media to learn about who's given what - but the response has been similarly humbling. One in particular that I remember hearing about was from Bangladesh. Typically we only hear about Bangladesh when the latest typhoon sweeps seemingly half its population away in the storm surge. In this instance, they pledged to send food aid and over a million dollars; an amount probably equal to a fair percentage of their GDP.

It's such a shame that the media chooses to ignore this response; it makes the rest of the world seem so far away rather than the integral part of our neighborhood that it really is. Even worse is the federal red tape delaying the deployment of this aid...

Offers of foreign aid worth tens of millions of dollars -- including a Swedish water purification system, a German cellular telephone network and two Canadian rescue ships -- have been delayed for days awaiting review by backlogged federal agencies, according to European diplomats and information collected by the State Department.
Since Hurricane Katrina, more than 90 countries and international organizations offered to assist in recovery efforts, but nearly all endeavors remained mired Tuesday in bureaucratic entanglements, in most cases at the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

So when you hear some mouth breather on the networks or talk radio asking where the aid from the rest of the world is, you'll know.

Republicans Have Pillaged, Now Comes the Raping

We've seen, in the slow, uncoordinated and sometimes ineffectual response to Katrina, the results of the Republican pillaging of our federal government: tax cuts to the richest, huge and uncontrolled spending on the illegal Iraq war and nearly lethal cuts to social programs for the poorest among us. These have left the government nearly, but not quite small enough to "drown in a bathtub."

Now comes the final raping of America.

While Democrats and a few moderate Republicans try to figure out how to help those who've been devastated by Katrina and her aftermath, those furthest to the Right are using this catastrophe as an excuse to flay the last bit of flesh from the federal government so that it can finally be drowned.

If you think I'm kidding, here's what Republicans are saying in response to Hillary Clinton's musings on perhaps needing to raise some peoples' taxes to pay for all of this:

So how will Congress pay for the new spending needs due to Katrina? Part of Clinton’s answer was to raise taxes. “We should be prepared to ask for sacrifice particularly from the richest people in America,” she argued.

But DeLay rejected any such notion. “The worst thing we could do in response to a recovery like this is to attack the economy,” he told reporters. “The worst thing we could do… is a windfall profits tax on the oil corporations, so that they won’t have the money to reinvest in developing more oil and more gas. The worst thing we could do is to increase taxes on the economy, an economy that now has to be a major part of the recovery.”

Some congressional Republicans indicated the hurricane recovery may point to an “era of smaller government” — requiring a suspension of regulations that slow down re-building of highways and more urgently needed gasoline refineries.

Even in wake of this appalling natural disaster, this band of thugs - no better than the looters in the darkest hours of New Orleans' misery - they can only think of how to benefit themselves and their largest contributors. All at the expense of the poorest and most miserable of American citizens. Instead of a helping hand, Republicans - again - are telling all of us to bend over.

They disgust me.

Outrage Fatigue?

With work and the fast pace of the news I can't even begin to keep up with all the incompetence and lies of BushCo. in the aftermath of Katrina. Every news story I read about the bungled response from all levels of government, but most especially from the federal level raises my blood pressure. The way the press is largely letting Bush and his cronies off the hook threatens to make my head explode.

Invaluable in keeping me up-to-date and pointing me to some of the good reporting out there, to other blogs and resources is John Aravosis and friends over at AmericaBlog. I can't recommend their blog enough.

Go.

Read.

Speaking Truth

I've been amazed at the number of times I've heard reporters asking some hard questions and not accepting the pat answers of those in power. It's not as often as it really should be, and some - most notably Michael Chertoff - have gotten away with the most blatant of lies. But perhaps the press is finding its voice; finding their collective cojones. Perhaps.

But more than even the press, I've been impressed with Ray Nagin, the mayor of New Orleans. I don't know much else that the man has done prior to the disaster that's destroyed his city, but I know that he has been singularly disinclined to take any bullshit answers from other politicians when it comes to the rescue/relief efforts. From local and state officials all the way up to our so-called president, he's held no punches.

When Pelley suggests that bureaucracy might be the cause of the confusion, Nagin replies bluntly, "Bull-crap. When people are dying, bureaucracy should be thrown out of the water."

Asked if he thought people died because of the delays, Nagin says, "There is no doubt about it. I watched a guy jump from the Superdome yesterday, just couldn't take it anymore. We have two police officers that have committed suicide. They couldn't take it anymore. This is, this is hell. And to have this happen in the United States of America in the state of Louisiana, and to not have immediate, immediate response regardless of the laws, is tragic."

Nagin is someone to keep an eye on.

Impeach Bush Now!

I was going to write that Bush must fire Michael Chertoff for his incompetence and the constant stream of bald-faced lies he's been spouting on national TV for days.

But the whole crew must be held accountable.

Read the details of how BushCo. is making this disaster much worse than it ever had to be at AmericaBlog. But beware, your blood pressure will skyrocket...

Impeachment proceedings need to start now.

Give

I'm off to give blood this afternoon. After I look through my checkbook hopefully I'll have something in there to give as well.

Give. Give 'till it hurts:

Red Cross: 1-800-HELP-NOW

Quagmire Part 2?

Seems that BushCo. just doesn't know how to respond to situations that require a military response. They didn't send enough troops or equipment to do the job they started in Iraq; now they've done the same thing in New Orleans. Had Shrubby boy cut short his vacation by just a couple of more days, he could have had emergency responders and more National Guard standing buy to help out the Gulf Coast. Instead he went to a couple of fund raisers and kept trying to sell his dead-in-the-water Social Security reform.

Now the streets of the Big Easy are nearly as dangerous as those in Baghdad - minus the suicide bombers - for now.

Last night the evacuation of the refugees from the Super Dome was suspended because some of the roving gangs of armed thugs who've been looting the city decided it would be fun to take pot-shots at the Chinook helicopters taking them out and to carjack the busses they were riding in. It's only today that armored National Guardsmen are making their way into the city. An inexcusable delay.

But we couldn't have Bush's vacation shortened by too much, now could we?

Post Script: In situations like this, police and National Guardsmen should only be required to issue one verbal warning to looters, carjackers and other armed, lawless thugs. Then they should be able to shoot them in the street like the animals they are.

Wishing Doesn't Make It So

One in a recent series of articles on the so-called Evolution - Creationism conflict in the NYT, this article really disturbs me. Here's the gist of it:

In a finding that is likely to intensify the debate over what to teach students about the origins of life, a poll released yesterday found that nearly two-thirds of Americans say that creationism should be taught alongside evolution in public schools.

The article goes on to detail how many of our deluded citizens think various things about creationism; all of which are too depressing to go into.

I've stayed mostly out of this "debate" because I get so angry that I can't be sure if I'll get my point across or, indeed, make any sense at all. But this most recent article has just been one too many. Here's my take: It doesn't matter what you want. There is no debate among real biologists: evolution is fact. None. Hell, I wish that Thermofluid Dynamics had been a little easier when I was in college; all of my classmates did. But that didn't make it so. In the same way, it doesn't matter to scientists what stupid people want or wish or believe. In science class, science should be taught. Not religion. And no matter how pretty a face the IDiots put on Intelligent Design or whatever the current euphemism is, it's still religion.

Period.

If we think that our schools are graduating a crop of morons now, just wait and see what happens to our technological standing in the world if these people have their way.

Now excuse me while I bang my head on my desk some more...

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To see what other people are saying about this, start with Steve at the Yellow Doggerel and also read several entries at Americablog. You can also search the NYT (registration required) archives for their previous articles.

BushCo Allergic to the Truth

Last week it was the Justice Department statistician who dared to tell the truth about the differential treatment of minorities received during traffic stops. This week it's a contracting official for the Army Corps of Engineers who raised questions about non-competitive bids awarded to Halliburton subsidiary KBR in Iraq. From the NYT:

A top Army contracting official who criticized a large, noncompetitive contract with the Halliburton Company for work in Iraq was demoted Saturday for what the Army called poor job performance.

The official, Bunnatine H. Greenhouse, has worked in military procurement for 20 years and for the past several years had been the chief overseer of contracts at the Army Corps of Engineers, the agency that has managed much of the reconstruction work in Iraq.

[snip]

Ms. Greenhouse's lawyer, Michael Kohn, called the action an "obvious reprisal" for the strong objections she raised in 2003 to a series of corps decisions involving the Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg Brown & Root, which has garnered more than $10 billion for work in Iraq.

[snip

Known as a stickler for the rules on competition, Ms. Greenhouse initially received stellar performance ratings, Mr. Kohn said. But her reviews became negative at roughly the time she began objecting to decisions she saw as improperly favoring Kellogg Brown & Root, he said. Often she hand-wrote her concerns on the contract documents, a practice that corps leaders called unprofessional and confusing.

The lesson should be clear to everyone now; do not, under any circumstances, bring this administration news that doesn't conform to its predetermined world-view. It's a good way to get your head handed to you...

What's On Your Bookshelf?

The FBI wants to know.

BushCo. has repeatedly stated that it has never used the section of the USA Patriot Act to peek at what Americans are reading. But we all knew it would only be a matter of time.

Using its expanded power under the antiterrorism law known as the USA Patriot Act, the F.B.I. is demanding library records from a Connecticut institution as part of an intelligence investigation, the American Civil Liberties Union said Thursday.

The demand is the first confirmed instance in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation has used the law in this way, federal officials and the A.C.L.U. said. The government's power to demand access to library borrowing records and other material showing reading habits has been the single most divisive issue in the debate over whether Congress should extend key elements of the act after this year.

Not only was this request made without judicial review, as allowed by the Patriot Act, the "institution" served with this request (we're not even allowed to know whether this is a library or a book store) is not allowed to tell anyone that it happened.

The best thing we can do, other than making sure to voice your displeasure with such unconstitutional intrusions into our freedom of speech, is to make sure that your book shelf contains at least one copy of everything on the FBI's trigger list. Of course that list is also classified, so we'll have to guess. I'm thinking things like "The Anarchist Cookbook," but I'm sure my readers can come up with others. Leave your recommedations for the "FBI's Most Wanted Reading List" in the comments. I'll make sure to publish the list in a future post.

Failure at the CIA?

A report this morning on MSNBC states that the CIA's inspector general has recommended that current and former high-ranking officials at the agency be disciplined for failures leading up to 9/11. There are some doubts about whether Director Porter Goss will follow through with the recommendation.

In this case, I have to agree with Goss.

Here's the problem - not only will such a disciplinary undertaking target officials once and still popular within the CIA and not only will it pull people away from important work - but wasn't it the CIA who produced a memo, ignored by its intended audience titled "Bin Laden Determined to Attack inside the United States?"

I think there are others who should be disciplined...

Innocent in GITMO

Everyone in BushCo. involved in GITMO, no matter how tangentially are war criminals. If you have any doubt, read this article on MSNBC (from the Washington Post).

Although our supposedly-democratic government admits that the men in this story are innocent, they have refused to tell them so for months on end, have refused them legal counsel for years, and finally have just refused to let them go. This little bit of the story only hints at the criminality involved:

In the meantime, the men are still treated as prisoners. Sabin P. Willett, a Boston lawyer who volunteered to take the cases of two Uighurs in March, finally met with them last month, after he and his team went through their own FBI clearances. One of the Uighurs was "chained to the floor" in a "box with no windows," Willett said in an Aug. 1 court hearing.

"You're not talking about your client?" asked Judge James Robertson of the U.S. District Court in Washington.

"I'm talking about my client," Willett said.

"He was chained to a floor?" Robertson asked again.

"He had a leg shackle that was chained to a bolt in the floor," Willett replied.

Remember, BushCo. has admitted - in court - that these men are innocent.

This is what our country has become. This is what BushCo. has made of us. Despite the protestations of the right the last time the comparison was made, our country, the "beacon of democracy" in the world, is running its own gulag.

This is a crime. Morally and legally.

WWJD?

Pat Robertson, so-called Christian, has gone off the deep end.

Okay, I know this guy's been a nut-case for years; but a televangelist calling for the assassination of a foreign head of state? It will be very interesting to see how BushCo. and the rest of Robertson's audience of mouth-breathers will react.

Really, Pat... what would your invisible sky fairy do?

You Don't Speak For Me!

The thing I find most galling - in a long, long list - about the chicken-hawks and their supporters in this mis-administration is their predilection to put words in my mouth (and the mouths of other veterans and service members). Those who were just too busy to serve in the armed forces of our country or who served under mysterious circumstances (yeah, I'm talking to you, W), have no moral stand whatsoever to say what actions might "dishonor" service members or veterans. They have no right to declare that one action or another would make our sacrifices be "in vain."

As an ex-soldier and a veteran, I can tell you that nothing dishonors a soldier more than to waste his time or to risk his life or the lives of his buddies for no good reason. Nothing could be more in vain than to give up life or limb in the prosecution of a war sold to the American people as a lie.

Listen up, all of you who support this continuing disaster in Iraq, unless you've served, unless you're a veteran, you have no idea what you are talking about. You have no right to make claims on our honor. Keep your goddamn words out of our mouths; we can speak for ourselves.

You do not speak for me.

We All Have Questions

I haven't blogged about Cindy Sheehan since so many others are doing such a great job of it. But two events conspired to get me to write this post. Last night's candlelight vigils around the country in support of Cindy and an e-mail that I got earlier this week.

The vigils held all around the US and in several countries around the world have only increased the public and media focus on all of the false reasons we were given for invading Iraq and the resulting mayhem and deaths of our soldiers. You can read about them here. Finally, perhaps, the press and the country are waking up to what's really going on in Iraq; sometimes it takes something to hit you in the heart rather than in the head.

The second event that inspired this post had to do with a friend I mentioned in an earlier post who had been killed in Iraq; Colonel Ted Westhusing. On Monday, I received an e-mail from Ted's oldest brother thanking me for the kind words I'd written in the above post and in a letter that was published on Eric Alterman's Altercation blog on MSNBC.

This was a wonderful gesture on the part of Ted's brother. It was also a harsh reminder that despite the lack of real sacrifice asked of the rest of us, there are many among us, not just the Cindy Sheehans who get on TV, that have lost something in this neocon misadventure. So as the right-wing spin machine begins its knee-jerk sliming of everyone involved in the vigils and as the amnesiac media moves on to the "next big story," we should all remember and mourn with the mothers, fathers, spouses and children - and big brothers - who have lost a loved one in a war of choice and a war of lies.

Cindy Sheehan is just one reminder of this; a reminder, it appears, that this country sorely needs.

Tip-of-the-tongue-ism

Thanks to Michael at Musing's Musings, I now know that the word I was looking for in yesterday's post was "Panglossian". Here's what the Merriam-Webster has to say about that word:

Main Entry: Pan·gloss·ian
Pronunciation: pan-'glä-sE-&n, pa[ng]-, -'glo-
Function: adjective
Etymology: Pangloss, optimistic tutor in Voltaire's Candide (1759)
: marked by the view that all is for the best in this best of possible worlds : excessively optimistic

It's no wonder I couldn't remember it, I hadn't read Candide since high school. Yet as soon as I saw the title I remembered it like it was yesterday. (Well, maybe more like the day before yesterday, it was nearly 30 years ago...)

And for a hint at a possible reason why BushCo's outlook remains so panglossian check out this post from Joseph's blog, Corpus Callosum.

It's no wonder these guys can't stop grinning like the cat that ate the bird...

It's On the Tip of My Tongue...

What do you call someone who, despite all evidence to the contrary, continues to see things in only the rosiest of light? I know there's a word for that affliction...

While Bush remained on a monthlong vacation at his Texas ranch, he issued a statement saying, “I applaud the heroic efforts of Iraqi negotiators and appreciate their work to resolve remaining issues through continued negotiation and dialogue. Their efforts are a tribute to democracy and an example that difficult problems can be solved peacefully through debate, negotiation and compromise.”

If only I could remember that word!

Anyone out there got an idea?

"Scaling Back Expectations"

Why does BushCo. want our soldiers' sacrifices to be for nothing?

Eric Alterman at Altercation points out this on MSNBC's site (from the Washington Post):

The United States no longer expects to see a model new democracy, a self-supporting oil industry or a society where the majority of people are free from serious security or economic challenges, U.S. officials say.

"What we expected to achieve was never realistic given the timetable or what unfolded on the ground," said a senior official involved in policy since the 2003 invasion. "We are in a process of absorbing the factors of the situation we're in and shedding the unreality that dominated at the beginning."

"Never realistic..." haven't we read that somewhere before?

"Shedding the unreality that dominated at the beginning." Really? An unreality that so many of us warned of at various times from the beginning right through to yesterday?

And all that stuff in the first paragraph; right after Weapons of Mass Distraction, wasn't all of that BushCo's primary excuse for starting this whole damned thing?

If the media - and more importantly - the American public lets these idiots get away with all of this: thousands of lives lost, the creation of more terrorists and billions in our money wasted, I swear my head is going to blow up. And then, finally, I'll be moving to Canada.

And then you red-state, republican-voting, bible-thumpin', intelligent-design-believing morons can all go screw yourselves.

Apple Season

It's actually still much too early here in upstate New York for any kind of apples. But I'm typing this on the sweetest looking Apple ever. If you haven't seen the new iMac you're in for a sweet treat:

That's the whole computer. All of it except the keyboard and mouse. It comes with built in wireless networking, Bluetooth and a CD and DVD burning Superdrive. Of course the entire suite of Apple's digital lifestyle programs comes with it as well: iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie HD, iDVD, GarageBand and lots of others. This means that, unlike most Windows machines, there's nothing else to buy to immediately begin creating amazing digital content. It's blazingly fast with a 2.0 GHz G5 processor and 1 GB of RAM. It was easy to set up and easy to work with and - like all Apples - beautifully designed.

The new operating system, OS X v10.4 is more beautiful than the machines it runs and makes Windows look and feel like an awkward kludge. It works. All the time, every time.

The combination is an absolute joy to work on.

Now I'll stop gloating.

Too Disgusted to Blog...

There's so much going on right now that disgusts me, worries me, angers me that I can't settle on a subject. So I thought I'd let someone else do the blogging for me. So here comes my first Liberal Coalition Blogabout in a long, long time...

Mustang Bobby at BBWW gets a little riled up over NARAL's ad taking probably future SCOTUS member John Roberts to task.

Over at Dohiyi Mir, NTodd's getting an early start on Friday Dog Blogging.

Liberty Street's Kathy decries the conditions in Baghdad - so bad that soon the entire professional class will have fled. To where is not clear, but who'll be running things when the last engineer heads for the hills?

Norbizness takes on Rumsfeld's September 11th March and Country Jamboree with his usual subtle and dry wit here.

Friday... Baby Blogging? Now Rivka at Respectful of Otters has gone too far, no?

And finally, Steve our resident Yellow Doggerel Democrat, tells it like it is about Cindy Sheehan's little camping adventure in Crawford, TX.

When you're done checking out these folks, doing the blogging so I don't have to, go through the rest of the blogs on the Liberal Coalition blogroll. You won't be disappointed. Honest.

Peter Jennings; Signing Off

Last night, succumbing to lung cancer, Peter Jennings died after a much too short fight.

You can read the details at ABC's site, but this was a guy who earned his news chops the hard way; despite an early appointment to the anchor desk. In the retrospective shown on ABC this morning, I recognized his reporting from all the major news events of my life. Most vividly, his was the calming voice and focused manner that I remember during the confusing and horrific days immediately after 9/11 in contrast to the shrill and sometimes ugly reporting at other networks.

It is a sad commentary on the times that the message boards at ABC are already being peppered with comments from people you just know were sent there by right-wing bloggers and followers of that "network which must not be named." They are repeating the lie of a liberal bias in the news while damning him for his idealism, his reporting and his Canadian background.

If you enjoyed his reporting or you care at all about common human decency, if you value the independent voices of the news networks, already mostly gone, leave your message of condolences to the ABC family and help to balance the shrill voices of the right.

Priorities

I wonder if the word even has any meanings for our Congress members. Given recent events, I'd have to say, "no."

A couple of days ago they put off deliberation on the Defense Authorization Bill so that they could give the NRA a pre-summer gift of legal immunity. And now this:

The leaders of a Congressional panel wrote to Major League Baseball yesterday to ask for a broad set of records related to Rafael Palmeiro's steroids suspension.

[snip]

...the Congressional committee wanted to determine whether Palmeiro might have committed perjury when he testified that he had never used steroids.

Nevermind that Bush and numerous other administration members lied to Congress, the public, the UN and the world about Iraq. Nevermind that those lies resulted in a war that has killed over 1,800 soldiers and uncounted thousands of Iraqis.

Nope. Pay all of that no mind.

We're talking important stuff here... You know; a grown man, playing a kids' game, for millions of dollars, who just might have taken steroids.

What's Another Thousand?

Twenty today, seven yesterday; the count is now about 1,815.

If you're like most Americans, which you're not because you're reading this, you might not know what those numbers above refer to. The few of us who are really paying attention know that the number of US soldiers killed in Iraq is too rapidly approaching 2,000.

As in wars past, those who die are predominantly young; for argument's sake let's say that these soldiers averaged 20 years old. When today's average 20 year-old can look forward to living to at least 85, that's 65 years gone in an instant. 130,000 combined years of experiences never to be known; love never found, adventures never had.

With so few people having a stake in what goes on in Iraq, especially those counseling us all to "stay the course," it's no wonder that the loss of those fine soldiers elicits so little reaction. Hundreds of hours of television and radio time were taken up this week discussing the small lies and the even smaller consequences of a baseball player who claims never to have "knowingly" taken steroids. The loss of 1,815 lives merits only a mention in the headlines.

"Bread and circuses," my friends... and our own Nero fiddles, blind to the flames around him.

Republican Priorities

This administration and its Republican supporters in Congress have always been about playing up their strong "support the troops" message and their chest thumping brand of national security. But their actions - as always - speak louder than words ever could their real intentions.

My post from yesterday ended with a leading question that plays into this same theme. Today, the Washington Post, via MSNBC, gives us another peek at Republicans real priorities. If the Iraq fiasco was, at least in part, a sop to BushCo's oil company supporters, then this story reveals even more of their toady obeisance to special interests.

The nation's gun lobby is close to realizing a long-sought goal of protecting firearms manufacturers and dealers from being held legally responsible for violent crimes committed with their handguns and automatic weapons.

Supporters believe they have the votes in the Senate to pass as early as today a bill making it virtually impossible for victims of gun violence to file civil suits against the industry -- a testimony to the political clout of gun manufacturers, which have become increasingly vulnerable to civil lawsuits in the District and several states.

What is more disturbing is that twelve Democrats, including the Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid are going along with the Republicans to support the legislation. Worst of all?

Democrats also criticized Frist for pulling a defense authorization bill from the floor this week to ensure that the gun bill would be considered before the summer recess, which is scheduled to begin this weekend.

That's right; the saber rattling, tough on defense, Iraq invading Rethugs are ignoring one of the most important pieces of business they have to give the equivalent of a legislative blow job to the gun industry.

No leading questions required today.

Terror Arrests

British police, working amid a public with stiff upper lips much in display, have made nine additional arrests related to the recent London bombings. Combined with the identification of the first set of bombers and other arrests, the total number of suspects arrested in less than a month far exceeds the total 9/11 arrests publicly known after nearly four years in the US.

Are the Brits just luckier? Or perhaps their terrorists were less fastidious than those in this country?

What the hell is going on? Why won't the American public hold BushCo accountable?

Alive and Kickin'

Those of you who continue to drop by my little corner of the blogosphere may be familiar with some of the - there's no other word for it - crap that's been going on in my life. It seems that, just maybe, things are starting to turn around.

I won't bore you now with all the details, if you're really interested you can search through the archives, but maybe, just maybe, I might return to more regular blogging. I haven't completely lost touch with the world and there are way too many things going on right now to really catch up on here. I will, however, likely write about several of them in the upcoming days and weeks; depending on how relevent they remain.

As I figure out the best way to get back into the blogging game, I urge you to check out the many fine bloggers linked to on the left sidebar; most especially the outstanding folks in the Liberal Coalition. In their fine blogs you'll get your fill of the continuing saga of Karl Rove, the Supreme Court, the fiasco in Iraq and all things relating to the disaster of an administration currently befouling the capitol of this otherwise wonderful country.

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Finally, in the non-political world, I highly recommend that you go see the following movies if you haven't already: Star Wars Episode III, War of the Worlds and Batman Begins. For various and assorted reasons, they all blew me away.

Now It's Personal

As horrific as it's been to see the list of casualties from Afghanistan and Iraq growing day by day, I found out yesterday that it's worse when one of those names belongs to a friend.

Last week, Colonel Ted Westhusing became the most senior officer to be killed in Iraq. There are still no details about how Ted died - the Army is only saying that it was from non-combat related injuries, which could mean just about anything. I read about his death at Eric Alterman's Altercation (read through Maj. Bateman's letter from Iraq). When I got to Ted's name I froze.

Ted and I graduated in the same class at West Point: 1983. We spent many hours together; most of them studying for and in Russian Language courses over the four years. But there were also the times we spent "out in the field" during our summer exercises and the times we spent drinking beer and laughing.

When I read that my friend had died I could immediately see his face although we hadn't spoken since graduation.

Ted was a brilliant man. I read that during the intervening years he'd gotten a Masters in Russian, philosophy and military history. But he was also - and my memory is sharp on this - a very kind person. In the highly charged and competitive atmosphere at West Point, Ted was always ready to lend a hand, to help someone through a difficult lesson - whether the kind in a classroom or in life. And it was just that spirit that drove Ted to volunteer, from his rather comfortable position as an English professor at West Point, to help train Iraqis to help themselves. It is more a shame that such a life would be wasted on a misadventure such as this; one entirely avoidable and unneccessary.

His family and friends are not the only ones missing something from their lives now. The whole world is a poorer place without Ted Westhusing.

Job

Think either the Robert Heinlein novel or the book in the Old Testament.

Either way - he's got nothing on us.

Stuck in Low Gear

Have you been feeling a little stuck in a rut lately? A financial rut?

It's not surprising, really. Those of us making less than the top 10% of earners are having a harder and harder time making any headway, much less can the bottom 10% live up to the old American dream of class mobility.

In today's New York Times, Bob Herbert puts together many of the things I've thought about and read about over the past several years into a powerful opinion piece. There's no doubt that my wife and I are firmly ensconced in the middle class, but it seems that we can never get ahead - never get comfortable. Herbert lays it all out there; stagnant wages, a jobs market full of more fear than jobs and a plutocracy that's determined to take it all with them. Or at least leave it to their kids.

The privileged classes, with the Bush administration's iron cloak of protection, avoid their fair share of taxes, are reluctant to pay an honest dollar for an honest day's work (the federal minimum wage is still a scandalous $5.15 an hour), refuse to fight in their nation's wars, and laugh all the way to their yachts.

I'm not laughing. And many of our compatriots in that lower 90% are crying and those who are "fighting our nation's wars" are dying.

Bush in Rochester

Ho-hum.

Peddling lies about Social Security to a hand-picked audience.

No excitement here, move along.

Confluence

That's where two rivers or streams flow together. A confluence is often known for its turbidity and, according to chaos theory, the effects of two rivers flowing together can be orders of magnitude larger than you'd expect.

Two things in the news made me think of the above.

The first was North Korea's continued and - perhaps more serious - saber rattling. While the news was all abuzz about a missile test and large holes being dug, perhaps in preparation for an underground nuclear device test, there was little substance. There wasn't much "news" in the news. Nothing much was said about the missile being a short range variety that could only carry a relatively advanced (light-weight) nuclear weapon. And there were only scattered inferences that perhaps the North Koreans were only posturing with their big dig.

The second was this article about the Army and the Marines missing their recruiting goals for the third and fourth months in a row, respectively.

While worrisome on its own, the North Korea situation seems even more ominous in light of the military having trouble with keeping manpower levels up. Despite repeated assurances from BushCo. officials, it's generally accepted that the military is stretched mighty thin around the world and may not be able to handle another crisis (N. Korea) well.

Here's where chaos theory comes in. What happens at the confluence of these two events? Will Kim Jung Il be "emboldened" by our military's preoccupation and staffing problems? Will BushCo. use Iraq, Afghanistan and North Korea as an excuse to finally implement a draft (limited or universal)? Will the military let itself be distracted by multiple missions and staffing problems and allow the situation in the Middle East to spiral out of control?

From our vantage point, just before entering the whirlpool at the confluence of these large-scale world events, it's difficult to say where we might end up. But the roar of the water is thundering, the spray is blinding, and I've sure got a bad feeling about this...

War on the Cheap - Part 378

Humvee armor, Halliburton food, KBR gasoline, too few soldiers. It's all a part of BushCo's attempt to do Iraq on the cheap. Now it's body armor.

The Marine Corps is recalling more than 5,000 combat vests issued to troops in Iraq, Afghanistan and Djibouti after a published report raised concerns that the vests failed a test to determine whether they could stop a bullet.

Things like this usually catch up with you. Unfortunately, it's the soldiers who are paying for BushCo's short-sighted attempt at a Wal-Mart War.

Alice in Fallujah-Land

Self defense.

Self defense? I'm speechless...

What the fuck?

The Italian Side of the Story

How sad, especially for me - I consider myself a real patriot - that upon hearing today that the US and Italians could not come to agreement over what happened during the rescue mission of Giuliana Sgrena I immediately sided with the Italians.

After years of being lied to about everything that goes on in Iraq, who could believe anything that BushCo says about it now?

The death of agent Nicola Calipari became a national tragedy in Italy. Sgrena became a heroine. The US won't even admit the possibility that our soldiers at that check point might have panicked. I don't buy into the conspiracy theories that say Sgrena's car was fired on because the US doesn't think that the Italians should have paid any kind of ransom for her. But it saddens me to think that I immediately discount any announcement from this administration.

How sad is that?

Friday... At Last

Is there anything better than to get to Friday knowing that you have nothing that has to be done over the weekend?

For one of the few times I can remember over the past year, there's nothing that I have to do this weekend. No where to go. Maybe we'll go out for dinner tomorrow. Perhaps we'll actually get to a movie.

Ahhh...

So what are you all doing this weekend?

Support the Goddamn Troops Already!

For all the yellow ribbons and stickers I see everywhere, it seems that Republicans - and BushCo., especially - still can't seem to grasp that "support" means more than just a bumper sticker.

Republicans seem to be more and more ignorant of history as time goes on. If they would only look to the examples set during World War II, they would find examples galore about what it really means to support our troops in combat. Far from retreating from their earlier entreaties to "keep shopping," BushCo. have continued to talk out of both sides of their mouths when it comes to getting the equipment our soldiers need to them. Despite congressional hearings and plenty of press - for as long as our press can pay attention to any one thing - about the need for more armored Humvees, soldiers are still dying in Iraq because of a lack of these sturdy vehicles.

Even the US Marine Corps has marines breaking ranks to complain about the lack of armored vehicles and what that has meant in terms of dead marines. The "brass" is not happy about this turn of events and some are paying the price - check out the details in this New York Times article. It seems that there is still only one, small, contractor up-armoring Humvees for the military. Imagine if the president were just to ask one of The Big-Three auto makers to produce armor kits for military vehicles. The press coverage alone would be worth a couple of points of market share for the winning contractor.

But like the rest of Bush's dirty little war, this is being run on the cheap - or at least being sold to the American people on the cheap. No sacrifices, no tax increases to pay for it, no pictures of the dead.

Dead that would still be alive but for a few pieces of armor.

Cornyn Bares Republicans' Fangs

John Cornyn (R - TX), perhaps intentionally, revealed the Republicans' real reason for wanting to "nuke" the nomination filibuster rule in the Senate. In an interview on NPR this afternoon, Cornyn said something to the effect that they wanted to get this "cleared up now" because there was a Supreme Court nomination "coming up."

Now, to my knowledge, there has been no definitive statement that any of the Supremes is stepping down and I'm pretty sure that Cornyn has no inside line to know which one of them might nod off permanently in the near future. But it's revealing that he would move so quickly to steer the discussion from BushCo's federal judge nominations to a seat on the Supreme Court.

Do democracy a favor. Call your Congress-critter, balance out the fundamentalist, right-wing whack-jobs that are doing the same. Tell them that then nuclear option is no option. Perhaps, just maybe, they'll do the right thing.

Mining a Previous Post

I was finally able to view the landmine video I mentioned in the last post.

Even knowing what was coming - in a general way - did not keep it from being shocking. It's not gory, but it is wrenching. And the tag line is a stroke of genius.

If there were landmines here, would you stand for them anywhere?

Visit StopLandMines.Org, watch the video and then tell someone about it.

Tell lots of people about it.

Two Minds About Mines

We all know that the mainstream media (MSM) are running scared from conservatives. They've been reduced to cowering, blithering idiots by the constant pounding of the "liberal media" meme. Hell, the media haven't been liberal since sometime in the 1980s.

Don't believe that? Go ahead, look up the real owners of your favorite network.

Their latest cowardly deed was this. Refusing to run a public service announcement about the threat of land mines. I haven't watched the video of the ad since my work computer won't let me download the latest Microsoft viewer and MSNBC doesn't support Macs. But the description in the accompanying article makes it clear that the ad was disturbing for good reason. The problem itself is disturbing and most people in the West are ignoring it.

As an ex-military officer, I have to say I'm of two minds about land mines. I know that leftover mines extract an horrible price from the civilian population after a war. But I also know the utility of mines whether placed by hand or scattered by bombs, artillery or rockets. They protect flanks and areas that are too nasty to cover with soldiers or that can't be observed directly. And if somebody has intent to do me or my soldiers harm, I want every tool in the arsenal to keep us safe.

There you have it. I'm of two minds when it comes to land mines. But I'm of one mind when it comes to wanting to do something to mitigate the effects; and cowardly network executives do nothing but piss me off.

The Power of Prayer

Considering the world's population, the portion of that population that's Catholic (estimated at around 6 billion) and the widespread knowledge of the former Pope's failing health, he must have been the most prayed-for person in all of history.

If you consider that there were probably millions, perhaps billions of non-Catholics praying for his recovery from the illness that eventually claimed his life, I would conservatively estimate that some 7 billion people prayed - at one time or another - for his health.

And yet... he's dead.

Think that changed anyone's mind?

Me neither.

The Readers' Digest Version

Before I begin, thank you to everyone who expressed their kind wishes via the comments or via e-mail. You can't begin to know how much they meant.

I have started this post many times over the past week or so. I've been trying to figure out how to tell the story of what's gone on for the past weeks and months and years that has brought me and my wife to near the point of exhaustion; physically and mentally. But rather than go through the whole story - and it would take several posts - I thought I'd give you the short version and let the details flesh themselves out in your minds.

So... how to do this...

A list:

An eating disorder. The longest-lasting problem. One that nearly killed my daughter. At least twice. She is doing wonderfully now. At times I "walk on egg-shells" fearing a relapse. But she is nearly her old, wonderful, silly, incredibly smart self.

Liver cancer. My father-in-law was diagnosed about a year and half ago. I posted about his decline and death just after Christmas.

Breast cancer. My mother was diagnosed last year. The resulting operation has left her with permanent lymph-edema. Fortunately, it seems that will be the worst of it.

Uterine Fibroid Cysts. My sister was diagnosed last year. She is currently undergoing a new procedure that seems to be working well. If only she were working as hard to take care of herself...

Breast cancer. Again. A wonderful friend at work was diagnosed last year and appears to - thankfully - be fully recovered.

Alcoholism. My mother-in-law has had a long-standing problem which her husband was lovingly and tragically enabling until the very end. This has nearly driven my wonderfully sensitive wife over the edge. Which has nearly done the same to me. This past weekend we were able to get her checked into a resident rehabilitation program. We're keeping our fingers crossed...

Work Problems. All of the above has, I think inevitably, caused me to have some problems doing my work well. Now I'm under extra scrutiny at work. I'm making my way through their archaic and somewhat punitive process pretty well. But of course, there are things in that list above that still weigh heavily on my head and my heart.

Hard to believe that's the short version, isn't it? But there you have it. The whole list of things that have occupied me over the past couple of years and in the past several months have occupied me to the point of distraction. I'm glad that there are still those of you out there that come by to read what little I can get posted. I hope, perhaps soon, that things will begin to settle down and I can get back to a more normal life.

Perhaps soon.

Thank you again for all your kind wishes. I'm still here, still interested in all the things that go on in our wonderful, horrible world. I'm just a little distracted.

Just When You Think it Can't Get Any Worse

It does.

Never, ever, ever say "it can't get any worse." Never.

The universe has a very wicked sense of humor; as soon as you say something like that the feces will impact the air motivating device in a totally unexpected way.

Take my word for it.

Tie a Green Ribbon Around...

Tie one around just about anything. If you're tired of the mindless "support the troops" yellow ribbons, maybe this campaign will be more to your liking.

The Wilderness Society, in an effort to remind people about the plight of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), have started the Green Ribbon Campaign. Tell Congress and the public that you support keeping ANWR pristine and a true Refuge by sporting a green ribbon.

Check out the campaign's web site here.

Give them a little support. Save ANWR for your children or grandchildren or somebody else's children. Help keep BushCo.'s and the oil companies' greedy mitts off of ANWR.

Peace Denied

I've not blogged about the Terri Schiavo case in the past. Others have done so much more eloquently than I ever could. But today, as she is finally allowed her wish to die with a little dignity - whatever dignity might remain after being used as a political and religious football for a decade - I thought it appropriate to weigh in. Briefly.

This case touches on two things very important to me, and I think to many people: dignity in death and the autonomy of an adult. Terri was no child when she collapsed and died in all but body. Not only was she fully an adult, but she had entered into an adult "contract" called marriage. In such a case only Terri's wishes and her husband's matter. The apron strings had been completely severed. They could offer their sympathy and their help - and surely they could make their wishes known to her husband - but that's it.

As for the dignity aspect, while it may be too late to restore the dignity she lost during the many circuses cum court battles in the interim, she and her husband, Michael surely showed more dignity and quiet strength - each in their own way - than all the politicians and so-called religious leaders who interfered. Republicans' attempts to subpoena the brain-dead woman herself this week were particularly reprehensible.

But enough of that - it's all been said before.

Rest in peace, Terri; in the peace you could not find at the end of your short life.

R.I.P. A.N.W.R.?

The optimist in me thinks it's too early to mourn the demise of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The realist in me - who knows the power Republicans hold to ramrod legislation through Congress - is starting to come to grips with the fact that the time to mourn may not be too far off.

Perhaps it's just a matter of something so simple as a definition; perhaps Republicans, who despise public education and disdain anything that smacks of intellectualism, are ignorant of the definition of "refuge." Maybe this will help:

1. An area set aside for the purpose of conserving species and their habitat.

2. A place that offers protection or shelter. (This from the Fish & Wildlife Service)

More likely, this is just another Republican sop to their sugar-daddies in the oil industry. The paltry amount of oil available in ANWR (6 billion barrels - or less than 21 months at January's consumption rate), and the amount of time it would take to get commercial quantities flowing (I've seen estimates from 2 years to 10 years) can in no way compensate for the amount of damage this pristine wilderness area will suffer.

In other words, like much else that Republicans have done or would like to do, they are doing this because they can, for spite, for plain meanness.

Farewell, Scooter...

If you've never read Scooter's Freakin' Wicked Weblog, you've missed some great writing - along with a heaping helping of wicked sharp humor. And now, it's too late. Scooter's shutting down his blog for good.

Before it disappears forever and before he stops reading his comments, go tell him goodbye.

The blogosphere is a bit poorer now.

Who's Arming Terrorists Now?

Just when you think that you expect only the worst from BushCo., they do something that makes you think that perhaps, before, they were just pikers. Even after more than four years of hypocrisy, this still amazes me. Sort of.

More than 40 terror suspects were able to buy firearms in the United States last year because background checks showed they had no felony convictions and weren't illegal immigrants, according to a government report released Tuesday.

Okay, you're thinking, just close the loophole and keep these nutjobs from buying a gun, right? If it were anyone but this administration, you'd probably be correct. But for the Bushies, who's a more powerful lobbying group than even the anti-choice folks? C'mon, I know you know the answer to that one...

FBI Director Robert Mueller told a House subcommittee Tuesday that perhaps the law could be altered.

[snip]

But the National Rifle Association says the law is protecting Americans from terrorists while allowing citizens the freedom to own guns. Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's chief executive, said under current law, if the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System gets a hit that someone applying for a gun permit is on a terror watch list, the government official who put that person on the list - along with other counterterrorism personnel - is notified.

All of you out there who guessed the NRA before reading the above, raise your hands... yeah... I thought so.

Honestly, I give up. There is no low these guys won't stoop to.

You Want the Truth?!?

Seems MSNBC thinks we "can't handle the truth..."

The last link in my post below now goes to the MSNBC "we can't find that link" page. It was a story about how the Afghans are faced with growing violence from resurgent warlords and how Afghanistan now provides something on the order of 80% of the worlds opium. Which is exactly, I'm sure, what BushCo. had in mind.

But then again... they've got religion pushing it's way more and more into the public sphere and if religion is the opiate of the masses, why not push the real thing as well?

I wasn't able to find that article anywhere on MSNBC's site.

Thanks to CmdrSue for pointing out that the link was broken. Thanks to MSNBC for pointing out that we're just not ready for the truth.

One Thousand Five Hundred

With barely a notice from the White House the continuing misadventure in Iraq has passed yet another grim milestone. The deaths of three American soldiers on Thursday, pushed the total deaths over 1,500.

With no end in sight.

Remember all of the big events that were supposed to presage a decrease in violence and deaths? Remember how they've all gone by with no decrease - in fact - remember how they've all gone by accompanied by only an increase in violence? You remember if you've kept track of it yourself; you certainly won't remember if you're depending on either the White House, Department of Defense or the mainstream media to keep you up-to-date. According to them, everything's just fine.

Oh, and if you thought the deafening silence about Afghanistan means everything is going great there, well... not so much.

Pot, Meet Kettle...

It's official - if it were ever true, it is no longer - irony is not dead.

The State Department on Monday detailed an array of human rights abuses last year by the Iraqi government, including torture, rape and illegal detentions by police officers and functionaries of the interim administration that took power in June.

In the Bush administration's bluntest description of human rights transgressions by the American-supported government, the report said the Iraqis "generally respected human rights, but serious problems remained" as the government and American-led foreign forces fought a violent insurgency. It cited "reports of arbitrary deprivation of life, torture, impunity, poor prison conditions - particularly in pretrial detention facilities - and arbitrary arrest and detention."

If this were any administration but the second coming of BushCo., nobody would have the gonads to release this report. For our friends at State, now lead by Miss Dominatrix Rice, it's just another bogus report.

Seems that the press' description of Condi's attire in Germany as "Matrix-like" were spot on. Either she's living in a computer generated world where reality is whatever they say it is or the rest of us are.

Either way, it scares the hell out of me.

They Just Look Better Than Hobnails

This week the press was all atwitter over Condi's so-called "Matrix-style" dress in Germany. Her black, cassock style long coat, over a black dress and nearly knee-high black stiletto-heeled boots gave her the look of a demure dominatrix. I can only imagine the drooling of right-wing journalists and bloggers feverishly typing with one hand...

I thought it rather ironic that Condi chose Germany to strut her sartorial stuff. To me her outfit looked more military than sexy; with the high, closed collar and the multiple buttons and loops. There is very little feminine about our new Secretary of State and her stride is not among those few traits. She marched out in her boots with a purposeful, domineering step. If you listened closely, you could almost hear the sharp crack of hobnails on cobble.

Can there be any doubt that somewhere in the right side of the blogosphere somebody put together - in the most horrible of juxtapositions - Condi and "fuck-me-shoes?" Knowing her slavish devotion to her "husband," W and his disdain for the rest of the world (and most of their own country) they should more accurately be called "fuck you" shoes.

Slick

After one of the largest fuel oil spills in recent history in Alaska, comes word that oil lobbyists and their paid-for friends in Congress just haven't learned their lesson. From the Wilderness Society comes word that the oil cabal are going to attach authorization to drill in ANWR to the federal budget bill:

Right now, the oil industry's allies in Congress are plotting a sneak attack on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In the next two weeks, oil industry allies in the House and Senate will try a backdoor trick to pass the controversial proposal to drill for oil in the Arctic Refuge by inserting it into the federal budget bill.

The Wilderness Society needs your help to stop this sneaky maneuver and save the Arctic Refuge! Click here send a free message to your members of Congress urging them to do everything they can to stop drilling in the Arctic!

The more noise we can make, the better our chances of thwarting the sneak attack and saving the Arctic Refuge from oil drilling will be.

Click through the link above to give the Wilderness Society a hand.

Bush Blows Off Northern Nukes

While to most realists the news that North Korea has nuclear weapons was no surprise, even less of a surprise was the Bush Administration reaction:

"Nukes, huh? 'Magine that... Did you see Condi in Europe?"

If imaginary nukes could trigger a real war, why can't real nukes trigger an imaginary war? Can anyone really accuse BushCo. of being consistent on any issue? Why start now?

Of course the fact that Kim's secretive country is entirely capable and sociopathic enough to actually launch a nuclear weapon just to make a point seems to have had little effect on Bush's plans. Or lack thereof.

Meanwhile, administration flunkies continue to make scary faces at Iran.

I'm glad 51% of us feel safer with this loose cannon in the White House. Me? I think I'll start digging a small shelter in my back yard...

"Reports of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated"

For my readers who get my RSS feed, or for those that continue to drop by on occasion, I just wanted to let you know that I'm still here.

Family crises and work continue to conspire to keep my free time to a minimum and while I do check in on most of my favorite bloggers from time to time - thanks to Thunderbird's built-in RSS reader - I've had precious little time to keep up with the news to the extent needed to do justice to my own blog. Hopefully I'll find the time and the energy to devote to The Fulcrum; in the past this effort has not only kept me informed and energized, but it has helped me to feel less isolated from other liberals and progressives. And, in truth, many of you had started to feel more like friends than just blog acquaintances.

So it's in that light that I take the time tonight - and I promise to take time where I can - to let everyone know that "Charles2" has not disappeared.

As usual, Mark Twain said it best...

Balls!

Tomorrow begins act II of the horrid tragedy that set me to blogging in the first place. Inauguration means a beginning and beginnings usually bring to mind a new start; perhaps a chance to make right past wrongs. Perhaps just to set off in a new direction.

In the case of Bush's second coronation I think it only means the beginning of more. More of the abuses of power we've seen for the past four years; power in both the political and the literal sense.

Most of us on the left side of the blogosphere are writing about the upcoming inauguration in dread and our posts show it. I thought about writing something along those lines, but as I often do, even when I don't write in my own blog, I made a quick stop at Steve Bate's blog, The Yellow Doggerel Democrat. What I found there expressed every wretched feeling I have about BushCo. and tomorrow's display of unbridled glee as well as their unbridled donors' money. (If you want to know how much your favorite corporation "donated" for inaugural events, go here.)

But it also made me smile.

Go read Bush's Inaugural Balls.

It's the best thing you'll read on the subject anywhere.

Shop Your Heart

I got an e-mail today from Adam Jusko of ProgressiveDepot.com. He asked me to just post a link to his site, but after taking a look at what he's up to, I thought I'd not only put up a link, but I'd post on it as well.

Here's part of Adam's e-mail:

I am writing to introduce a new Web site I hope you'll be interested in, and to request a link. The site, ProgressiveDepot.com is an online shopping mall that donates a percentage of site profits to progressive non-profits and political organizations. I've included the press release below if you are interested in learning about it.

I checked out the list of merchants on his site and it was great to see that many of the companies I already shop with are there.

Go check out ProgressiveDepot; shop by clicking through the links there and shop your heart!

Bum Rap?

Tonight on ABC's evening news, the soon-to-be former Attorney General, John Ashcroft said that his "Patriot Act" had gotten a bum rap. If only he'd gotten ahead of the "bad press" with a true explanation of PA and PA II, everyone would see that they are only efforts to protect Americans. And they would love them.

It was all I could do to not throw my glass at the TV.

Bum rap? No, but instead of skulking out quietly, it would be so much better to see Ashcroft getting the bum's rush for the Patriot Act that got such a bum rap. But you'll soon hear his refrain repeated ad nauseum across the press and around the right side of the blogosphere.

The only good thing will be watching this turkey soar - out of sight.

Vote? What Vote?

Tell me you didn't see this coming?

With just over two weeks until the Iraq election, the United States is lowering its expectations for both the turnout and the results of the vote, increasingly emphasizing other steps over the next year as more important to Iraq's political transformation, according to U.S. officials.

The Bush administration played down voter turnout yesterday in determining the election's legitimacy and urged Americans not to get bogged in a numbers game in judging the balloting, a reflection of the growing concern over how much the escalating insurgency and the problem of Sunni participation may affect the vote.

Maybe they can put all those out-of-work WMD inspectors to work digging up votes.

Whips and Chains 'R' Us

It would have surprised everyone, I suppose, had they done otherwise, but BushCo. has decided that torture really is in our best national interest.

At the urging of the White House, congressional leaders scrapped a legislative measure last month that would have imposed new restrictions on the use of extreme interrogation measures by American intelligence officers, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

The defeat of the proposal affected one of the most obscure arenas of the war on terrorism, involving the CIA’s secret detention and interrogation of top terror leaders, according to the newspaper, citing congressional officials.

The measure had previously been approved in the Senate 96 - 2. But apparently a little arm twisting by administration officials was enough to get it scrapped in the final version that came out of committee.

Honestly, how long before they get our Republican controlled, lap-dog congress to do the same thing with some national law enforcement bill? That everyone - Congress critters and citizens alike - are not screaming about this bodes poorly for the future of our civil rights. Eroded as they already are...

A New Year

They say how you spend New Year's Day is an indicator of how the rest of your year will go. I hope, for my sanity, that the old saw is wrong.

A little background that will help explain my last post. On Christmas morning, while getting ready to drive to Canada to visit my wife's parents I walked into our bedroom and saw my pajamas were still on the floor. So as I do every morning, I bent down to pick them up. The next thing I know I'm on my knees in absolute agony: my back is in complete spasm.

I don't have a "bad back," and I'm not really familiar with back pain. I have to tell you, I'm not a big fan. It took me 15 minutes to make my way from the floor - right next to the bed - to the bed. I spent the rest of the day right there. There was no food in the house - we'd planned on being away. Our "Christmas dinner" was a little ham and cheese; no turkey, no roast beef, no wine, no desert.

My father-in-law has been sick for over two years with a form of liver cancer. Both my wife and I were pretty sure that this would be the last Christmas they'd have together. And we were missing it.

When I was barely able to move around the next day, we bundled ourselves into the car for the four hour drive to Canada. I couldn't drive and every bump was painful; fortunately the weather cooperated and we made the trip in good time.

What we found when we arrived was not good. My wife's dad was shrunken away to nearly nothing and instead of celebrating and opening presents, we had to get him to the hospital. The prognosis was not good and we were told that it was only a matter of days we had left with him. So we began a vigil - around the clock, with the help of family, we made sure that he was never alone. We talked to him even after he lost consciousness and held his hands. On January the 6th he was finally released from his suffering.

You can see why I hope that the old saying about new years is wrong. I'm not sure that we could hold up to a full year of what we've already gone through in the last week of the old and the first week of the new year.

As we left the hospital on the day my father-in-law died, it was snowing and sleeting. My wife and I had to brush and scrape our car and I told her that this was nature's way of letting us know that the world keeps going and that we have to keep doing all the things we'd done before - that we had to keep living.

That's the message I want to take away from this experience. That's the message I want to send to all of my friends and family who come to read this. Life goes on and we have a choice about how we live it. I plan on making the choice to live it fully and joyfully. I hope you will to.

Worst Christmas...

Ever.

On our way to Canada today, a day late and with nothing but bad stories to tell about our Christmas. I'll post all the gory details later, perhaps.

I hope that all who come here had a much better Christmas than we did. And that the New Year is much better for us all.

Peace.

Turn the Other... "Cheek"

I've been getting e-mails from the folks at Turn Your Back on Bush for quite a while and have supported their efforts. Seems that the AP Newswire picked up a recent story on them and I thought this was a good time to direct you to them. If you haven't heard of them go visit their site and help them out.

On inauguration day, we will gather as citizens for the public events of the day and join the rest of the crowd. At a given signal, we will turn our backs. Until the moment we turn around, there will be nothing to distinguish us. By leaving our signs and buttons at home, we will avoid all of the obstacles that Bush and his supporters have used to keep anyone who disagrees with him out of sight.

That Depends...

One of my favorite writers was Stephen J. Gould, essayist and popularizer of evolution and its attendant theories. A concept that he often wove into his essays was "contingency."

Basically what Gould meant by contingency was that the evolutionary paths of species were so dependent on conditions throughout its history that if you could rewind the "evolutionary tape" of any species and play it back, results would almost certainly never be the same. If you wound it back far enough, there's no certainty that intelligent life would evolve and if it did, there's no certainty it would turn out to be the same small branch of hominids we happen to occupy. Here's the man himself:

History includes too much chaos, or extremely sensitive dependence on minute and unmeasurable difference in initial conditions, leading to massively divergent outcomes based on tiny and unknowable disparities in starting points. And history includes too much contingency, or shaping of present results by long chains of unpredictable antecedent states, rather than immediate determination by timeless laws of nature. Homo sapiens did not appear on the earth, just a geologic second ago, because evolutionary theory predicts such an outcome based on themes of progress and increasing neural complexity. Humans arose, rather, as a fortuitous and contingent outcome of thousands of linked events, any one of which could have occurred differently and sent history on an alternative pathway that would not have led to consciousness.

I've adopted the concept to how I think about lots of things in life. It certainly helps me to not regret the past. Like everyone, there are things I always thought I'd do differently if I could. But I also know that I'm very happy in my life now. Using contingency to frame my thoughts of the past, I know that if I changed one thing in my past, it's highly likely I would not wind up "here" again. I think that when you can accept the past, it makes it much easier to be happy in the present.

Snow Berries

The past couple of days we had about 10" of snow. It's the first real snow of the season and we're about 14" behind normal. I snapped this two mornings ago before heading off to work.

Screw Up and Move Up

Freedom Medals?

Please.

Besides sullying the reputation of a prestigious medal, I suppose The Freedom Medal now represents the epitome of advancing to the level of your incompetence.

What Life is Really All About

A long walk in the snow at night. Watching the flakes come down, swirling in the street lights and the headlights of passing cars.

The blush of warmth as you step inside.

A glass of very good chardonnay.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Sometimes it's the very small and simple things that mean so much; that make you so very glad to be here; to be alive.

Let Them Eat Armor

It's fun watching Rummy twisting in the wind, isn't it? Even Bush, according to the media anyway, "sided" with the soldier who put Rumsfeld on the spot.

Actually I'm surprised the question made it through the screening that the military usually does on those kinds of events. Perhaps that says something about what commanders in-country really feel about their situation.

The worst thing I've heard about this situation is that the factory that armors the Hummers is not running at anywhere near capacity. If this doesn't finally blow up in their faces...

Reduced Posting Ahead

Things at work are changing a bit and I'm going to be relatively busy for the foreseeable future. I'm doing several new things - and the holidays are coming up as well - so I'm going to have much less time to post than I've had in the past couple of months. Hopefully as I settle into my new situation I'll find time to post more often.

For now, I'm not closing down The Fulcrum. It just might be a day or two between posts; or I'll try to find the time to write during the evenings. I hope you'll keep coming by and for sure I'll be reading all of my regulars as often as possible.

Thanks for understanding.

Sometimes It's Better to Forget

As a cadet at West Point I studied military history every year. We absorbed the lessons of warfare from The Peloponnesus to Viet Nam. World War II took up a great portion of our studies, not so much for the lessons that old-style warfare could teach us - although there were many of those - but for the changes that war wrought on our world and their long-lasting effects.

This past week or so has brought the anniversaries of two great events in WWII; The Battle of the Bulge - which signaled the closing act in the European Western Front; and the attack on Pearl Harbor. On Monday's local Public Radio broadcast, an interviewer was speaking with veterans of the Battle of the Bulge and today, discussions of Pearl Harbor were everywhere. I saw countless pictures of veterans, well into their dotage, standing as tall as possible with their ribbons and their old uniforms draped over gaunt frames.

All of the coverage was aimed at preserving the memory of those times and those battles and although all wars have their horrors and their atrocities on all sides, it really was the "last good war." If there can be said to be such a thing. As I looked at the wrinkled and wizened faces of these veterans and thought of our newest veterans, I had a thought that was, perhaps, terrible - or maybe just one that shouldn't be spoken aloud while fervently wished for.

What if, I thought, when the last of these veterans have had Taps played for them, we forgot about their war?

Not literally of course; history will see to that. But many of these men and their sons and grandsons have had a profound impact on our government and on our foreign policy. They have made those decisions in the light of their memories of World War II. But the experience of those who've fought since then is different. Certainly nobody would call either Korea or Viet Nam a "good war." And while Gulf War I went quickly and relatively painlessly (at least for our side), certainly nobody will come away from our current debacle in Iraq with fond memories.

Maybe, when these old men are gone, then we can begin the process of developing a more realistic, a more adult view of warfare and the horrors it imposes on the world. Perhaps as the memories fade into the pages of history books, the more recent memories, seared into a new generation or two will hold sway over our public psyche. It might be only then that Americans can truly learn the lessons that even the ancient Greeks knew. War is hell.

The Beatings Will Continue...

...Until Morale Increases.

Seems that we're all getting tired of working more hours, doing more jobs all for less pay so that our companies can book more to the bottom line.

The productivity of America’s workers grew at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the slowest pace in nearly two years, the government reported Tuesday.

Or as a certain Red Queen might have said:

"...it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place."

CIA: Iraq F.U.B.A.R.

Baghdad Station Chief agrees with me.

The classified cable — sent last month by the CIA’s station chief in Baghdad after the completion of a one-year tour of duty there — painted a bleak picture of Iraq’s politics, economics and security and reiterated briefings by Michael Kostiw, a senior CIA official, according to the Times.

And as usual, the CIA's assessment - from the ground - differs from BushCo.'s - from The White House and other, secure, unspecified locations.

The assessments are more pessimistic than the Bush administration’s portrayal of the situation to the public, government officials told the newspaper.

The truth is so damned inconvenient...

Halt! Who Goes There?

On the weekends, I tend to read a few blogs - when I get the chance - but not to write any posts. No matter how badly things are going in the world, up to a certain point, there are some things that matter more than others. Time with my wife and resting up from the last week being high on that list.

But this weekend, something a little odd has happened. Yesterday, Saturday, I got more hits than any other day of the past week; something that never happens. I also got hits from some unusual places. Anyway, I don't have any idea why. Perhaps it was just coincidence, or maybe some folks just had nothing better to do than to stop by here.

Whatever the reason: hello to you all. Leave a comment or two to let me know where you've come from and how you found The Fulcrum.

Oh, and happy weekend!

Fascism by Degrees

I could never before imagine reading something like this about my country:

U.S. military panels reviewing the detention of foreigners as enemy combatants are allowed to use evidence gained by torture in deciding whether to keep them imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the government conceded in court Thursday.

And there is no way in hell I would have ever thought that someone in my government would make the following argument:

U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon asked if a detention would be illegal if it were based solely on evidence gathered by torture, because "torture is illegal. We all know that."

[Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General] Boyle replied that if the military’s combatant status review tribunals (or CSRTs) "determine that evidence of questionable provenance were reliable, nothing in the due process clause (of the Constitution) prohibits them from relying on it."

If that last sentence doesn't send a chill down your spine, you're dead. That motherf***er just said that the Constitution of our United States has nothing to say about using information gained by torture - "evidence of questionable provenance." Nice euphemism.

If I could get my hands on Mr. Boyle, I'd fold up a copy of the Constitution until it was all sharp corners then shove it right up his ass.

No Joy in Job-ville

Our "robust recovery" keeps right on rolling. Unless you're a member of the Reality Based Community, that is. The Wall Street Journal (subscription) says job growth wasn't so great last month:

U.S. employers sharply slowed the pace of hiring in November, surprising Wall Street and rekindling worries about the strength of the economic recovery.

Nonfarm payrolls grew by only 112,000 jobs last month after a revised 303,000 increase in October, the Labor Department said Friday. That was the weakest gain in five months, and well short of the 200,000 jobs economists had expected, according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires and CNBC. Just before the report was released, traders were pegging the increase at 220,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell a tenth of a percentage point to a three-month low of 5.4%, as expected.

In its revision, the government said employers created 54,000 fewer jobs in September and October than previously thought. Employers added 119,000 jobs in September and 303,000 in October, down from previous estimates of 139,000 and 337,000, respectively.

Economists say the economy needs to generate at least 125,000 jobs a month just to keep up with new entrants into the work force. The average since August of 2003, when employers resumed hiring after a long slump, has been slightly above that threshold at 152,000.

And don't be fooled by that dropping unemployment rate number, many economists feel that's due to people just giving up looking for work right now. So, if you got a job, hold onto it like a lifesaver in rough seas. And if you're wondering why it seems like your income just isn't keeping up with costs these days, you're not imagining things:

Average hourly earnings rose one cent to $15.83 in November. In annual terms, earnings increased 2.4%. The average work week shrank for the first time since August, declining six minutes to 33.7 hours.

With anything related to petroleum rising at double digit rates and many food items going up that 2.4% increase is, in reality, a pay cut.

Oh, and don't those extra six minutes every week really feel good?

Hearts and Minds? Check!

The residents of Fallujah, when the military finally lets them back into their now destroyed city, are really just going to love us. No, really.

Nor is it clear that the city's residents will favor the Americans over their enemies. Last week, Hamid Humood, a 38-year-old cigarette seller who had stayed in the city during the battle, was one of those seeking American food and water at the Hadra mosque.

"They are all liars, the government and the Americans," Mr. Humood said. "The mujahedeen didn't hurt us. They helped us."

F.U.B.A.R.

Need I say more?

They Knew...

Steve Bates, The Yellow Doggerel Democrat, in a comment on this blog, stated that he hoped Bush would be "disgraced in front of the American public" like Nixon and forced to leave office. He also resurrected the term "high crimes and misdemeanors." There are so many things which could potentially blow up to give Steve his wish, but the situation in Iraq seems to be the one thing with the most potential.

The lies that got us there, the incompetent planning for the post-war period, the no-bid contracts to Halliburton, GITMO and abu Ghraib; they are all just ticking time bombs in Bush's second term.

Today, MSNBC has a report that could speed up the ticking of one of those bombs:

A confidential report to Army generals in Iraq in December 2003 warned that members of an elite military and CIA task force were abusing detainees, a finding delivered more than a month before Army investigators received the photographs from Abu Ghraib prison that touched off investigations into prisoner mistreatment.

[snip]

The investigation, by retired Col. Stuart A. Herrington, also found that members of Task Force 121 -- a joint Special Operations and CIA mission searching for weapons of mass destruction and high-value targets including Saddam Hussein -- had been abusing detainees throughout Iraq and had been using a secret interrogation facility to hide their activities.

[snip]

Herrington asked the officer [the officer in charge of a secret detention facility in Baghdad] whether he had alerted his superiors to the problem, and the officer replied: "Everyone knows about it."

And there's the rub, no? Everyone knows about it. Since this was a joint CIA - Army mission, at the very least, the Secretary of the Army and the Director of the CIA knew about this. These kinds of things are not just thrown together by even the Theater Commander. It's likely that the Secretary of Defense knew about it as well. And if Rummy knew...

Tick tick tick tick tick...

Hard Headed

But not hard enough.

I owned a motorcycle for about 7 years. During most of that time I lived in California where the weather is just about always perfect for a bike ride. Trips up and down Highway 1 along the coast were always beautiful and I might see anything from eagles to whales to topless sunbathers. One thing I never - ever - considered (the law notwithstanding) was riding without my helmet.

Much of my family is in police work and I've spent many hours on the road with them. I've seen what happens to the human body when it meets an unyielding surface like asphalt or concrete. I've taken a few physics and engineering courses so I understand things like acceleration, kinetic energy and torque which helps me understand just why people are injured and killed in accidents. Understandably, I have very little sympathy for these morons (WSJ - subscription):

Over nearly three decades, bikers have pushed successfully to weaken or eliminate helmet laws in 29 states. Most of that activity came in the 1970s, but recently, bikers have been active again. Since 1997, five states, including Texas, have repealed laws requiring all motorcycle riders to wear helmets. The other four are Florida -- which, like Texas, is a major biker haven -- and Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Arkansas. Federal statistics show that, on average, in the years after the recent legislative changes, helmet use dropped, and motorcycle deaths increased.

They use the usual arguments against "big government" and riders making responsible choices, but despite their successes over the years, they remain unpersuasive, except to weak-spined politicians. When those politicians give in, here's what happens:

In the six years since Texas repealed its law in 1997, the annual rate has jumped nearly 30%, to an average 10.95 deaths per 10,000 registered motorcycles, compared with an average of 8.46 deaths for the two years prior to the repeal. In Kentucky, the average rate has jumped to 9.9 in the five years since its 1998 repeal, up 55% compared with the average for the two years before.

In Florida, in the three years since repeal, the rate is up 21%, to 8.94, compared with the two-year average prior to the repeal. Last year, 358 motorcyclists died in Florida. That is just 10 fewer deaths than occurred in California, the largest motorcycling state, which has 43% more registered motorcycles than Florida. California has a mandatory helmet law.

Nationally, motorcycle deaths rose 12% in 2003, to 3,661. That is the sixth straight year motorcycle deaths have risen. Twelve percent is the largest annual increase since 1988. The national fatality rate increased 4.4%, to 6.82 deaths per 10,000 motorcycles, the highest such figure since 1990. That rate is four-and-a-half times as high as the auto-fatality rate.

The jump in motorcycle deaths in 2003 came in a year when total highway fatalities dropped, federal statistics show. Alcohol-related fatalities fell 3%, to 17,013, and deaths of passengers not wearing seatbelts fell 6.5%, to 18,019. Federal officials attribute those declines to states passing tougher seatbelt and drunk-driving laws.

Riders who advocate repealing mandatory helmet laws will say that it's their choice about whether or not to protect themselves. And while the choice may be theirs, often the choice of who pays for their stupidity when they have an accident is no choice at all. Those riders without adequate catastrophic medical coverage - and every encounter between brain-pan and asphalt is catastrophic - are treated and the costs are spread to either the tax payers or to other insurance payers. That is; you and me.

I know this is a bit off of my usual topics, but it's one that never fails to really tick me off. Mostly because I can't abide stupid people, but also because it affects my wallet. Putting the two together is the perfect way to get me going...