THE GREAT WHITE BEAR

Great articles in Rolling Stone: The Worst Congress Ever, and The 10 Worst Congressmen . Plus.......

Keith Olberman reveals Rush Limbaugh as the vermin he really is. From COUNTDOWN via "Crooks and Liars"
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Okay, it hasn't been the best of weeks. Of course, there is the whole Detroit Tigers world Series fiasco. I just don't get how, when you are down three games to one and the fielding abilities of your pitching staff is the reason you are not up 3-1, you start a rookie pitcher whose fielding abilities have already cost you one game, instead of pitching the guy who is not only your best pitcher, but the best fielding pitcher in the major leagues.

To make matters worse, cleaning and packing is going incredibly slow, mostly due to my daughters work and babysitting schedule.

Then to top it off, I got kicked off a debating site for the crime of... DEBATING! Because neocons and evangelicals apparently don't like having their cherished beliefs challenged. And what is an even bigger crime, if they attack you personally, you defend yourself and fight back.

It is really kind of humorous, but I stepped on the toes of an old geezer who works at NASA, claims to have an IQ of 147, and gets really pissed off if you ask him questions that he can't answer. Like why, if the Pentagon sees the same intelligence data as he does, and comes to an entirely different conclusion, should I believe him instead of them? Never piss someone off who is buddies with the moderator.

US war casualties in Iraq

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Former House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Tex) on Republican leadership meetings: "every week we'd do things we ought not do, in order to stay in power, so we could do the things we ought to do for the American people. Unfortunately, we would never get around to the latter."

Dick Armey gave a very fascinating interview on NPR this week, touching on Republican parochialism, corruption, failure to pass meaningful legislation, and pandering to the Christian right. Listen here

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Okay, even for Dumya, it was a stupid thing to say. This week, Bush compared what is happening in Iraq to Viet Nam and the Tet offensive. Now even if he believes that, it was an incredibly idiotic thing for someone who is supposedly a student of history to say. Note to George : Tet was the beginning of the end for the US in Viet Nam. It turned the public against the war. Okay, to be fair, the public turned on this war even before the disaster that is the Bagdhad campaign began. But George, the very mention of Tet brings back very stark images in the minds of anyone over 45. Unpleasant, disturbing images. Places with names like My Lai, Khe Sahn, and Kent State flood back into view. Not the kind of images you want the public to have if you are trying to drum up support for your damned, not so little anymore, war.
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Speaking of the Bagdhad campaign... Gen. Caldwell said this week that the invasion of Bagdhad has been a disaster (remember, this was supposed to be our last, best hope), and we need a new strategy for Iraq immediately. This follows Sen. Warners call for a new strategy for Iraq with "no options left off the table", following his return from a visit to Iraq.

Which follows remarks from the commander of the British military, Gen. Richard Dannett, who said that the presence of our troops in Iraq is only exacerbating the problems there, and we should bring our troops home soon. Now, even the President's staunchest allies are turning on the war
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The true tragedy of King George's folly is just now coming to full light . We now know that over 600,000 Iraqis have been killed since the start of the war. Over a hundred die daily. The biggest problem with keeping the sewers in Bagdhad operational are the bodies that keep clogging up the system on their way to the Tigres River. The blood of these people lies directly on the hands of George Bush, his neocon supporters, and all those so naive and misinformed that they bought into his sack full of lies. SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND husbands, wives, children, brothers, sisters, moms and dads. They should haunt our dreams for a very long time!

... haven't I been around? Getting ready to move in 6 weeks and trying to get ready. Also had a bunch of medical tests taking up a lot of time.

... would the Republicans, the "family values" party, cover up for a predator stalking kids on the internet for 5 years? Follow the money. Foley was one of the House's biggest bankers. He had millions in unspent campaign money he spread around to other Republican re-election efforts. Just before the story broke, he donated a half million dollars to the Republican Congressional campaign committee. Let's face it, the pachyderm party has always been and will always be about the money. "Family values" my ass.

... would Virginia's senior senator essentially cut the legs out from under his junior partners bid for re-election? John Warner just recently returned from Iraq, saying if the situation doesn't change there within a couple of months, the US needs to make drastic changes in its war policy. He said that ALL options MUST be on the table, which obviously means a complete pull out included. The hawkish, popular, and deeply respected Warner, until recently one of the administrations most dependable backers, cut the legs out from under George Allen's charges that his opponent is soft on terror and willing to cut and run. If the highly popular Warner says it is time to consider pulling out, what leg does Allen have to stand on?

We Can't Make It Here Anymore - by James McMurtry

Rhia MAY BE THE BEST VIDEO YOU WILL EVER SEE