We've been told for four years that we're at war to preserve our freedom, our way of life, our very civilization.I think that's right; civilization, as a whole, is not at risk from terrorism and we should not be acting like it is. To emphasize what Tom says, we need to be vigilant but not to the extreme. Turning fear into counter-productive aggression (Iraq) is not the right course and in itself degrades civilization. Terrorism is, at worst, spotty in reach. The United States, much less the free world, was not in any danger of collapsing on 9/11. Nor is it going to in the aftermath of Katrina. As a society we can get through these things without total capitulation to our most regressive primal states. Let's use our heads to work and live together.
Well, this is in no way meant to downplay the suffering along the Gulf Coast tonight, or the immensity of this tragedy--but this is what we've been afraid of for the past four years, this level of destruction.
This is bad, really bad, probably much worse than we know--but civilization itself is not at risk.
I'm not saying we should just roll over and let The Terrorists run willy nilly through the streets tossing dirty bombs every which way with gleeful abandon. I'm saying that even in a fairly worst-case scenario, another major terrorist attack which manages to inflict anything close to the destruction of Hurricane Katrina--even then, the the only real danger to our way of life, to democracy itself, comes from our own leaders deciding that a free society is just way too much damn trouble.
It's not the damage done to us, by whatever means--we can pick ourselves up and mourn our dead and rebuild. It's the damage we do to ourselves that may be irreparable.
WWL-TV [New Orleans] reported that the Miller Brewing Co. was sendingBut how is Miller going to be able tell the difference between the water and Miller Lite?
several truck loads of water to the region from its Albany, Ga., plant.
(MILWAUKEE) -- Miller Brewing Company announced today it is sending six truckloads of emergency drinking water — more than 80,000 32-ounce bottles — toWell good on them all. It's Miller time.
help Hurricane Katrina victims in Louisiana and Mississippi. Miller is coordinating with relief workers, state agencies and its distributors and suppliers to provide drinking water bottled from its Albany, Ga., brewery to communities hardest hit by the hurricane.
The first truckloads of water left Albany last night for Baton Rouge, La., and Camp Shelby in Hattiesburg, Miss., where the water will be distributed to those most in need. The additional truckloads of water are expected to ship within days, as Miller and its area distributors are able to communicate and finalize arrangements with the affected communities.
Miller’s contribution was made possible with the support of donated services and supplies from Fleetmaster Express Inc., which donated the transportation; Owens-Illinois Glass, which donated the glass bottles; NorthStar Print Group, which donated the labels; and Inland Paperboard and Packaging, which donated the cardboard containers.
WWL-TV reporter Karen Swensen related a particularly sad tale from a region overflowing with sad tales. One New Orleans woman waded through the streets of the city, trying to get her husband to Charity Hospital. He had died earlier and she floated his body through the inundated streets on a door that dome off theirThe New Orleans Times-Picayune has a latest breaking new site.
home.
Consumers can expect retail gas prices to rise to $4 a gallon in the near future, Ben Brockwell, director of pricing at the Oil Price Information Service, said Wednesday. "There's no question gas will hit $4 a gallon," he said. "The question is how high will it go and how long will it last?"Suddenly, this week's $2.96 doesn't sound so outrageous.
HOUSTON – At least 25,000 of Hurricane Katrina's refugees, a majority of them at the New Orleans Superdome, will travel in a bus convoy to Houston starting Wednesday and will be sheltered at the 40-year-old Astrodome, whichhasn't been used for professional sporting events in years.I hope they can actually get them out before it's too late. This story is getting more tragic by the hour.
Bush compares Iraq war to WWIIOK, name one way Iraq is like WWII. Oh, wait here's one from the President:
He said that as in the time of World War II, the United States now faces "a ruthless enemy" and "once again we will not rest until victory is America's and our freedom is secure."
Bush invoked the memory of ... an optimistic [Franklin] Roosevelt calling on Americans to defend liberty. He portrayed Roosevelt's vision as similar to his own -- a commitment to spreading freedom even when U.S. allies were not convinced it was the best course.
Umm, what WWII allies weren't into the freedom thing? Britain? France? Canada? India? Maybe the Belgians? I guess you could say the Soviet Union but they were only an "ally" of convenience. As I recall, the U.S. was one of the last nations to join in the war to "spread freedom" (OK, Brazil did join in later than we did).
And for that matter, what ally today is opposed to "spreading freedom"? Just because most governments are wise enough not to go about "spreading freedom" in a way that kills a lot of people and doesn't really bring much freedom anyway, is not an indication they oppose freedom or its spread. I'm constantly amazed at the childish level of oratory that emerges from this administration.
It appears that the money has been moved in the president’s budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq, and I suppose that’s the price we pay. Nobody locally is happy that the levees can’t be finished, and we are doing everything we can to make the case that this is a security issue for us.Ask the refugees living in horrible conditions in the Superdome how secure they feel. Probably not as secure as the wealthy recipients of Bush's tax cuts. It's one thing to be giving away money when everything else is taken care of and quite another when you have lingering infrastructure problems and a never-ending war of choice to fight.
-- Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish,
Louisiana; New Orleans Times-Picayune, June 8, 2004.
EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE KATRINA CONTINUES TO APPROACH THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTAI've never read such a graphic statement from the usually bland and understated National Weather Service.
DEVASTATING DAMAGE EXPECTED
MOST OF THE AREA WILL BE UNINHABITABLE FOR WEEKS...PERHAPS LONGER. AT LEAST ONE HALF OF WELL CONSTRUCTED HOMES WILL HAVE ROOF AND WALL FAILURE. ALL GABLED ROOFS WILL FAIL...LEAVING THOSE HOMES SEVERELY DAMAGED OR DESTROYED.
THE MAJORITY OF INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS WILL BECOME NON FUNCTIONAL. PARTIAL TO COMPLETE WALL AND ROOF FAILURE IS EXPECTED. ALL WOOD FRAMED LOW RISING APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL BE DESTROYED. CONCRETE BLOCK LOW RISE APARTMENTS WILL SUSTAIN MAJOR DAMAGE...INCLUDING SOME WALL AND ROOF FAILURE.
HIGH RISE OFFICE AND APARTMENT BUILDINGS WILL SWAY DANGEROUSLY...A FEW TO THE POINT OF TOTAL COLLAPSE. ALL WINDOWS WILL BLOW OUT.
AIRBORNE DEBRIS WILL BE WIDESPREAD...AND MAY INCLUDE HEAVY ITEMS SUCH AS HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES AND EVEN LIGHT VEHICLES. SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES AND LIGHT TRUCKS WILL BE MOVED. THE BLOWN DEBRIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL DESTRUCTION. PERSONS...PETS...AND LIVESTOCK EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL FACE CERTAIN DEATH IF STRUCK.
POWER OUTAGES WILL LAST FOR WEEKS...AS MOST POWER POLES WILL BE DOWN AND TRANSFORMERS DESTROYED. WATER SHORTAGES WILL MAKE HUMAN SUFFERING INCREDIBLE BY MODERN STANDARDS.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF NATIVE TREES WILL BE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED. ONLY THE HEARTIEST WILL REMAIN STANDING...BUT BE TOTALLY DEFOLIATED. FEW CROPS WILL REMAIN. LIVESTOCK LEFT EXPOSED TO THE WINDS WILL BE KILLED.
One MILLION homeless! From one city.When Hurricane Katrina hits New Orleans on Monday, it could turn one of America's most charming cities into a vast cesspool tainted with toxic chemicals, human waste and even coffins released by floodwaters from the city's legendary cemeteries.
Experts have warned for years that the levees and pumps that usually keep New Orleans dry have no chance against a direct hit by a Category 5 storm.
That's exactly what Katrina was as it churned toward the city. With top winds of 165 mph and the power to lift sea level by as much as 28 feet above normal, the storm threatened an environmental disaster of biblical proportions, one that could leave more than 1 million people homeless.
What will we call the 183rd Fighter Wing when it doesn't have fighters and it doesn't have wings anymore?As one of his commenters says, the military will come up with something. But the larger point here is this: The 183rd is being dissolved. Once the planes, their pilots and support crews move to Indiana, the 183rd exists no more. The military routinely dissolves units to meet its operational needs. The 183rd will soon just be a part of Springfield history. The units that remain and are added to the bases at Capital Airport will have their own designations.
For the record, Congressman Ray LaHood says he's very displeased about the decision to give our jets to Indiana, especially given his unflagging support for the Bush administration's military decisions over the years, and he plans to clearly communicate his displeasure to the White House.Mr. LaHood, you are no John Thune.
Yeah, a stern talking-to. That'll work. LaHood is learning that loyalty is a one-way street with this White House. They demand it, but only return it when it suits their purposes.
Ellsworth [Air Force Base] is a major base for B-1B bombers. The Pentagon's decision in May to recommend closing the base as part of a series of cost-cutting measures concerned Sen. John Thune, a freshman South Dakota Republican who unseated then-Sen. Minority Leader Tom Daschle, a Democrat, last year.
During his campaign, Thune repeatedly claimed he would have more success at keeping the base open, saying that as a fellow Republican he would have greater access to President Bush.
Thune and fellow members of the state's bipartisan congressional delegation launched an intense campaign to convince the very influential BRAC panel to overturn the recommendation.
The independent Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted 8-1 Friday night to move the F-16 jets from Springfield's Air National Guard base to Fort Wayne, Ind., as recommended by the Pentagon.
The lone dissenting vote was from commissioner Samuel Skinner, an Illinois native who visited the 183rd Fighter Wing and other Illinois bases targeted for closure or realignment in June.
Skinner said before the vote that he wanted to make a motion to move Fort Wayne's fighter jets to Springfield instead, due to the Springfield base's higher military ranking, but was prevented by the BRAC requirements from doing so.
The decision will likely end up in court, as Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan and Gov. Rod Blagojevich have sued the Department of Defense to prevent the Springfield jets' transfer.
Blagojevich and Madigan, both Democrats, said the Pentagon violated federal law by recommending the transfer. They contend the governor must consent to any changes in Illinois' Air National Guard bases. The Pentagon says the federal law to which Blagojevich and Madigan refer does not apply to the BRAC process.
PHILADELPHIA - In a blow to the Pentagon's plan to shake up National Guard units, a judge ruled Friday that the Defense Department does not have the authority to dissolve a Pennsylvania Air National Guard division without the governor's approval.The BRAC commission abruptly adjourned for a three-hour recess around 3:00 pm our time this afternoon but I'm not clear this ruling is the reason. I was all prepared for what amounted to a final decision on the 183rd this afternoon but even if the BRAC commission votes the 183rd away tonight, this ruling now leaves me with at least a little hope.U.S. District Judge John R. Padova said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should have gotten consent from Gov. Ed Rendell before moving to deactivate the 111th Fighter Wing of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard. The judge said the Pentagon's recommendation to close the unit is "null and void."
Several other states have filed, or are considering, similar lawsuits.
"As the commission began debating a huge shakeup of the Air National Guard, a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled that the Pentagon lacks the authority to close a Pennsylvania Air National Guard unit without the governor's approval. The ruling declared the decision to close that state's unit "null and void." It wasn't immediately clear what impact that would have on the commission's deliberations."This could be important because Illinois has also said that the federal government lacks such authority and has filed a suit of its own.
For two years the Daily Egyptian (the student newspaper of Southern Illinois University) has unwittingly been a tool in perpetuating a cruel hoax on it's readers. The story of a marine father deployed in Iraq, mostly told through the perspective of his young motherless daughter. One problem... He didn't exist and the child was a pawn who had been tricked into believing that she was involved in filming a documentary.Out of the Box goes on to dig up the original "scrubbed" article. It's a total sham. I can't believe anyone would be taken by this without doing some verifying. I suppose the rationale for removing the offending items could be that since it is false, they didn't want to make it available for someone to inadvertently stumble across and wind up believing. Maybe that is the right thing to do, I don't know.
The hoax only began to unravel when the child's "caretaker" went one step too far - claiming that the father was killed in Iraq. The Daily Egyptian has now filed at least two mea culpa's but they've gone a step farther - they've scrubbed all of the previous articles, columns, and letters from their archives. Is that the responsible thing to do?
We didn't check the facts carefully. We believed what we were told without verifying. We weren't as skeptical as we are supposed to be. We were fooled by a little girl with a cute smile, surrounded by a group of adults who acted the hoax with her.Boy, that sounds an awful lot like the mainstream media in the run-up to the war in Iraq. Only instead of a little girl with a cute smile surrounded by adults we got a little President surrounded by lying enablers.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The national base closure commission voted Wednesday to save the U.S. Navy's submarine base in Connecticut, sparing about 8,000 jobs there.I think this is important because it reveals that the BRAC is not going to automatically go along with all the Bush administration recommendations. Having said that, there is some ominous news:
However, as it began final voting Wednesday with lightning speed, the nine-member panel agreed with Pentagon proposals to close several other major bases elsewhere and, overall, approved many of the recommendations made by the Army and the Navy.
The panel agreed with closing Fort Gillem and Fort McPherson in Georgia, Fort Monroe in Virginia, Army Garrison Selfridge in Michigan and Fort Monmouth in New Jersey.
The panel also signed off on closing nearly 400 Army Reserve and National Guard facilities in dozens of states, creating instead new joint centers.
Much of the Army's proposal was approved in minutes and as a package.
That wording worries me. My fear is that the 183rd is too small for any serious consideration. That is, the BRAC members may not deliberate on the merits of each individual base closing or restructuring but instead give a thumbs up or down on "packages". This has been my fear all along; we just don't amount to enough to get any serious consideration.
NBC started their Robertson piece with "This was no extremist cleric issuing a death threat. This was Christian Minister Pat Robertson..."I about jumped out of my bed, pain and all, when I heard that opening statement to the Robertson story. So much for the "liberal media".
Watch the clip here.
So, it's a non-extremist cleric issuing a death threat. What do the extremist Christian clerics do?
The states with the highest percentage of obese adults are Mississippi, Alabama, West Virginia, Louisiana and Tennessee according to the report. The states with the lowest percentage of obese adults are Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and Montana.
Effects of new drinking hoursSo see, the more we drink the more motivated the terrorists get. I think Alderman Judy Yeager needs to add this arrow to her quiver.Sir, I turned teetotal having seen, as a barrister, many lives destroyed by alcohol: those of both otherwise law-abiding citizens, who committed acts of violence when drunk, and their victims.
...my many Muslim friends also see large-scale loutish alcoholism, and the society which permits it, as decadent.
Allowing pubs to open round the clock will increase Muslim disaffection and support for those fighting such decadence. Extended drinking hours may cause more terrorism.
ANDREW M. ROSEMARINE
Salford, Manchester
(CNN) -- Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson has called for the United States to assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, calling him "a terrific danger" bent on exporting Communism and Islamic extremism across the Americas.Yes, Mr. Robertson is quite a Christian, pro-life and all that.
"If he thinks we're trying to assassinate him, I think that we really ought to go ahead and do it," Robertson told viewers on his "The 700 Club" show Monday. "It's a whole lot cheaper than starting a war."
What effect is all this blogging having on the brains of bloggers?The good doctors provide much more detail for their conclusions above so go read them if you have any doubts.
[snip]
After surveying the general range of materials that the blogosphere has to offer, we believe the following basic largely supportive conclusions are warranted:
1. Blogs can promote critical and analytical thinking.
2. Blogging can be a powerful promoter of creative, intuitive, and associational thinking.
3. Blogs promote analogical thinking.
4. Blogging is a powerful medium for increasing access and exposure to quality information.
5. Blogging combines the best of solitary reflection and social interaction.
[snip]
In conclusion, it looks as if blogging will be very good for our brains. It holds enormous potential in education, and it could take societal communication and creative exchange onto a whole new level.
Quickly jumping ahead of events and without knowing the facts, the loony right wants to kill again. Niewert finds at least one poster at Free Republic calling for vilgilante action:Len at Blogesque had a noteworthy post the other week about a bizarre incident in Fairfield, Ohio, in which a car belonging to the mother of a soldier recently killed in the Iraq war was set on fire by vandals who lit 20 small American flags, gathered from the lawn in front of their house, under it.
Predictably, the right was all afroth over the case, assuming the fires had been set by America-hating libruls, and even suggesting that it represented a "hate crime."
Actually, I think lynching should be brought back. And now I'm not being sarcastic. I hope I don't get in trouble for writing this. But I think people who do things like this should just go away, if you know what I mean? Find them and make them disappear.That's a true Ameican. And you can bet this guy thinks he is a true American too.
Then it turned out that a couple of local teenagers were charged with the crime: ages 15 and 13. There's no evidence at all that it was a political act; as far as anyone can tell, they just wanted to set something on fire and the flags were handy as a firestarter.But the wingnuts were ready to go out and kill liberals over the incident, the facts be damed.
Folks, this website will disappear from the Internet on Monday, August First. My wrist is healing nicely and life is returning to normal. But its time to move on. Believe me, I have enjoyed our time together here on the Internet. But it has been almost six years since this site went up, and the novelty of communicating this way has worn off. Too many e-mails these days want copies of old shows, autographed photos, recordings of theme songs, and so on and so on.I thought this sudden sign-off was odd. Snyder has been battling cancer, I wonder if it's taking a toll.
My feelings about the country and the way it is going have been expressed here many times and do not need repeating. I think a lot of us who come here feel the same way--and share the hope that somehow good will prevail, and evil will not. I will always treasure the friendships I have made with the listeners and the viewers through the years. And those friendships will not be forgotten. I will always wish all of you the very best--in everything! As I have said on so many occasions, thanks for the memories! The good and the not so good. And for all the kindness you showed me over the years!
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Justice Department is siding with the Pentagon in a dispute with Illinois and a handful of other states, concluding that governors' consent isn't needed for the military to move Air National Guard units.Really. You mean to tell me that the Bush Justice Department doesn't think the Bush Defense Department is doing anything wrong. That's a stunning turn of events. I never would have predicted it. Well gosh, we might as well just give up and go home. See ya 183rd, the Bush administration has made its decision. Remember that Springfield Bush lovers. I don't want any of you complaining about the 183rd leaving. To question Dear Leader is to embrace the terrorists is what I've been told over and over and over....
Pennsylvania officials questioned the propriety of the Justice Department offering opinions to the base closing commission while also representing the Defense Department against the state's lawsuit.Oh banish the thought! If the Bush justice Department says its OK for the Bush Defense Department to do something, then it must be so. Pennsylvania has a long history of treason anyway. Like that time those guys tried to Declare Independence form the legitimate government of the land in 1776. Stupid blue state.
"Where is the independent judgment or analysis?" asked Adrian R. King Jr., an aide to Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. "As far as this state's concerned, the only opinion that matters is the opinion of a judge in a court of law and that's why we filed the lawsuit."
Update: Oops, I have the story now thanks to Russ who in comments, unwittingly, answered my question. Unfortunately, he revealed the name of someone who doesn't want to be known on the internet by their real name. So I have deleted comments and, ummm, moved on. Thanks Russ, you're too efficient for my own good.
Geez, blogger's dilemma. I could have deleated this whole post but since a few people have already looked at it I figured I needed to leave it up for some explanation.
Strom said he will introduce the smoking ban to the city council by next week. Strom's ordinance would ban smoking everywhere except outside, in private homes and apartments, hotel rooms and rooms inside nursing homes where all residents have agreed to permit smoking. Smoking would be banned in all restaurants, bars and bowling alleys.I said earlier I would accept a compromise that only banned smoking in restaurants but I'm more than happy to ride along with Strom's blitz to rid smoking from virtually all pubic places.
Mayor Tim Davlin... has said he will oppose the ordinance because it's a decision for business owners to make on their own. Davlin's brother, Kevin, is a bar owner.Uh-huh.
Two states, Pennsylvania and Illinois, have sued over the Air Guard proposal arguing that the Pentagon doesn't have the authority to move units without each governor's consent. The Pentagon disagrees. The Justice Department has been asked to weigh in. A commission spokesman said the commission has received an opinion from the Justice Department, but neither the spokesman nor commissioners would disclose what it says.It's good to have allies. The Coalition of the We're Not Going to Take It, Bub.
The proposed shake-up of dozens of Air Guard units has emerged as the most contentious part of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's proposal to close, shrink or expand hundreds of military bases and other installations nationwide.It's true, folks. This isn't Bill Clinton's, or Dick Durbin's or John Kerry's idea. No, this comes straight from the military geniuses in the Bush administration. I call on all Springfield Republicans, who almost universally support their President without question, to actively support the moving of the 183rd jets and much of its personnel. I mean, to question the administration in a time of war is just plain treasonous! Right? That's what I keep hearing from you all.
[snip]
Rumsfeld's Air Guard plan calls for shifting people, equipment and aircraft among at least 54 sites where units now are stationed. Roughly two dozen sites would expand, while about 30 are slated for closure or downsizing, including the Capital Airport Air Guard Station in Springfield, Ill., which would lose 163 jobs under the proposal.
(Emphasis mine)
The Right pretends to side with "middle America" against the "coastal elites", but the denizens of the Right Wing Spin Machine all live in the coasts, well-heeled members of the intellectual elite. They are everything they claim to despise.I hate when I learn something that should have been perfectly obvious in the first place.
If democracy only works when there is open discussion of opposing ideas and policies, and if the opposition party, in this case the Democrats, has hand-cuffed, blind-folded, gagged, and hog-tied itself to a failed invasion and occupation in the Middle East, where will the expanding majority of Americans look for a representative, a spokesperson, a voice for their anger, frustration, and distrust at being misled?
The circumstances suggest it should be a Senate or House Democratic leader, a recognized authority on foreign policy constantly seen on the Sunday talk shows, certainly one of the many “leaders” lining up to seek the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in 2008.
Strangely, no one in any of those categories comes to mind. Their voices are silent. Thus, both they and the party they claim or presume to represent look dumbstruck, awkward, pitiful, and timid. Where the single greatest issue of the day, and one of the most potent issues of our time, is concerned, there is no courageous opposition.
Meanwhile, the caskets keep coming home…with no public official to greet them or to respect them. They are the forgotten dead and they represent thousands more of the even more forgotten wounded.
Indeed. This is why I am not a Democrat. I want an opposition party that will stand up for what is right and not cower before the mighty Rupublican smear machine. A majority of the American public doesn't like what the Republicans are doing to this country but find not leadership in the Democrats either. If the Dems want stand up to their political opponents, they figure, how are they going to deal with threats internal and external.
Go read the whole thing and hang around and read all the other Cindy-centric posts from yesterday and today.
The Danes love their beer, but increasingly they are looking beyond the old Danish standby, Carlsberg, to quench their thirst.Basically, the Vores Oel folks provide you with their beer recipe and you can do what you want with it.
Students from the Information Technology University in Copenhagen are trying to help by releasing what they are calling the world's first open source beer recipe.
It is called Vores Oel, or Our Beer, and the recipe is proving to be a worldwide hit.
The idea behind the beer comes from open source software. This is software whose code is made publicly available for anyone to change and improve, provided that those changes and improvements are then shared in turn.
Why not? We all like beer, and as an added bonus there is a legendary quote used to explain the concept of free software (now usually referred to as open source software):
"Free software" is a matter of liberty, not price. To understand the concept, you should think of "free" as in "free speech", not as in "free beer".
We think that our open source beer is a nice twist on this quote, and we think it is interesting to see if our beer grows stronger in out in the free and perhaps one day becomes the Linux of beers. Who knows?
Well, I like free speech AND free beer. In fact, the freer the beer, the freer my speech is. And gee, if Miller Lite would just go open source someone might be able to give it some taste.
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Barbara Bel Geddes, the winsome actress who rose to stage and movie stardom but reached her greatest fame as Miss Ellie Ewing in the long-running TV series "Dallas," has died. She was 82.Man, what's with all the lung cancer in the celebrity world of late?
The San Francisco Chronicle said she died Monday of lung cancer at her home in Northeast Harbor, Maine.
Please please please let the GOP run a 69-year old with multiple heart attacks, business ties that make Bush look ascetic, a history of extremist statements, and all the charm of a table leg you just stubbed your toe on. Let Cheney lumber up the stage, mumbling his inverse Joe Friday, jes-the-lies speeches from that impossibly limber half inch on the right side of his mouth.
Sorry, but the Democratic party has proven one thing, and one thing only, in its last couple of elections: you don't run candidates who scoff at charisma. Cheney makes Kerry look like a laugh party, he makes Gore look like Hitch. They can run him, but for a party whose main task ("compassionate conservatism") is convincing folks that they're not evil, running this artist's rendering of a corrupt corporate overlord would be a hell of an oversight.
Which is to say, No! Don't run Cheney! We'll never beat him! O', woe is us!
The administration is not willing to commit to an all-out effort to defeat the insurgents in Iraq, and is equally unwilling to reverse course and bring the troops home. Most Americans are abandoning the idea that the war can be "won." Polls are showing that they're tired of the conflict and its relentlessly mounting toll. It's hard to imagine that the population at large will be willing to sacrifice thousands of additional American lives over several more years in pursuit of goals that remain as murky as ever.And that is exactly why you don't get into something as serious as a war with no plan. There really is no easy way to extract ourselves from the Iraq tar baby.
Ask a thousand different suits in Washington why we're in Iraq and you'll get a thousand different answers. Ask how we plan to win the war, and you'll get a blank stare.
President Bush is doing a high wire act without a net in Iraq. He cannot increase US troop strength in hopes of destroying the guerrilla movement, because the US does not have the extra troops. He also cannot keep 138,000 US troops in Iraq for another year without risking destroying the all-volunteer army. So he has to draw down. But if he does that too fast or in a strategically flat-footed way, the guerrills could kill off the new elected government and through Iraq-- and the oil-producing Gulf region-- into massive turmoil. The Bush administration is therefore proposing a rolling withdrawal, without fixed deadlines or targets, but simply bringing out US units when Iraqi units can take over. (The problem with this strategy is a) that it can be thwarted by a simple ratcheting up of guerrilla attacks, requiring delays in US drawdowns and b) the Iraqi troops probably are not going to be ready for 5 years.)
The governor's wrestling match with legislation allowing local smoking bans ended Wednesday when he approved the measure.
[snip]
HB 672 revises the Illinois Clean Indoor Act of 1989, which generally requires that smoking be contained in designated areas at public locations and workplaces and prohibits cities from adding stricter regulations. When the law was enacted, only the 21 communities with existing clean-air ordinances were allowed to set local smoking policy.
Groups such as the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society have since lobbied for local control over indoor-air laws, citing the effects of second-hand smoke on restaurant and bar workers and nonsmokers.
The new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, returns the choice to municipalities.
[snip]
Springfield Ward 10 Ald. Bruce Strom in June said he would push an ordinance that would ban smoking in all enclosed workplaces, although only Ward 8 Ald. Irv Smith supported Strom's proposal at the time. Mayor Tim Davlin said then that he would oppose an indoor smoking ban.
A vast expanse of western Sibera is undergoing an unprecedented thaw that could dramatically increase the rate of global warming, climate scientists warn today.Good thing global warming doesn't really exist, otherwise this might be a serious development. Now, where'd I park my Hummer.
Researchers who have recently returned from the region found that an area of permafrost spanning a million square kilometres - the size of France and Germany combined - has started to melt for the first time since it formed 11,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.
The area, which covers the entire sub-Arctic region of western Siberia, is the world's largest frozen peat bog and scientists fear that as it thaws, it will release billions of tonnes of methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere.
It is a scenario climate scientists have feared since first identifying "tipping points" - delicate thresholds where a slight rise in the Earth's temperature can cause a dramatic change in the environment that itself triggers a far greater increase in global temperatures.
The great irony is that these two men, who risk their lives for decisions they don’t even agree with, are called unpatriotic for opposing the war. Rush Limbaugh said Paul Hackett was hiding behind his uniform. Since they oppose the war, these men are accused of not supporting the troops. Have you ever heard anything more absurd in your life?I'll second that. Go read the whole thing.
This administration uses the slogan “Support the Troops” as its shield and battering ram, even if it batters people who put their lives on the line to go back and literally support those troops. The conservative attack against Hackett puts to rest the lie that they support the troops. They support the war they started, and they support the troops only if it is politically convenient.
Meanwhile, the boy's father has to do his part. He needs to mirror and affirm his son's maleness. He can play rough-and-tumble games with his son, in ways that are decidedly different from the games he would play with a little girl. He can help his son learn to throw and catch a ball. He can teach him to pound a square wooden peg into a square hole in a pegboard. He can even take his son with him into the shower, where the boy cannot help but notice that Dad has a penis, just like his, only bigger.Hmmm...taking an interest other guys penises prevents one from becoming a homo? Who knew.
But make no mistake. A boy can be sensitive, kind, social, artistic, gentle—and be heterosexual. He can be an artist, an actor, a dancer, a cook, a musician—and heterosexual. These innate artistic skills are "who he is," part of the wonderful range of human abilities, and there's no reason to discourage them. But they can all be developed within the context of normal heterosexual manhood.So see, we can have all these things without all that icky gayness. I notice Nicolosi doesn't mention interior decorators or hairdressers. I guess there really is no way not to be gay and be good at those things.
SPRINGFIELD -- Former Gov. Jim Edgar has a message to Republicans wondering
if he'll make a comeback in the 2006 governor's race: Wait a few weeks.
Speaking from his vacation home in Colorado, the two-term governor told The Pantagraph on Monday he likely would not make any decision on his political future until he returns to Illinois later this summer.
"As I've indicated before, I'm not making a decision for a while here," Edgar said. "I've been in Colorado with our family and that's what I've been kind of concentrating on."
[snip]
Edgar, however, said he's in no hurry to make a decision because the filing date to run in the March 2006 primary isn't until December.
"From a personal point of view, this is not something I was looking at," Edgar said. "I've got folks coming to me and, out of courtesy, I said I would consider it but that I wasn't going to rush into making a decision.
"I told them when I got back at the end of the summer, I'd think about it," said Edgar. "Anything can happen until December. I would think if I was going to get into it, I would make a decision before December."
On April 11, 1951, President Truman announced the dismissal of Gen. Douglas MacArthur from his duties as Allied Commander of United Nations forces in the Far East.
As commander, MacArthur led U.N. forces north to the Chinese border, but was forced to retreat south as China entered the fight with North Korea in November 1950. By late winter of 1951, the U.N. forces had regrouped against communist forces, and fighting continued along the 38th parallel.
At this point, MacArthur openly challenged the U.S. civilian leadership by threatening to attack China. MacArthur's statements solidified the growing opposition against him in Washington -- which led to President Truman's order.
Well, Truman's dismissal of this war hero from World War II and Korea infuriated many Americans, especially Truman's political opposition. And as we know, my great aunt was no fan of Truman's. I am assuming that is why her scrapbook contained a full page of a newspaper (both sides) dedicated to MacArthur's visit to Chicago after his return to the U.S. from Korea. The newspaper was the Chicago Herald-American which is now long defunct (read about it here).
General Douglas MacArthur scored another of his great victories today. The mighty city of Chicago capitulated in unconditional surrender as the hero of the Pacific landed at Midway Airport in his great silvery plane, the Bataan. The magic moment, for which the city and thousands of Midwest vistors had waited, arrives as Gen. MacArthur steps down landing ramp, preceeded by son Arthur and wife Jean.And this...
All along route from airport to Loop, Chicagoans stood in massed ranks to honor Gen. MacArthur, the man who loved his country more than his career.Oh, brother. Me thinks MacArthur loved MacArthur more than his career or country. But hey, without him MacArthur Blvd. would still be plain ol' West Grand.
GREENVILLE, South Carolina (AP) -- South Carolina Republicans say the Democrats owe them beer money.How sad is it when a beer maker has a regional director of governmental affairs? A regional director. Meaning there are more.
In April, Anheuser-Busch Co. -- based in St. Louis, Missouri -- wrote a $5,000 check intended for the state Republican Party.
Instead, the envelope was addressed to the state Democratic Party, which promptly deposited the money.
Now, state GOP leaders say the South Carolina Democratic Party needs to return the beer money they are owed.
Democrats say the check is in the mail.
Katja Zastrow, Anheuser-Busch's regional director of governmental affairs in Washington, said in an e-mail statement that the check went astray "through a series of administrative oversights."
NEW YORK (AP) -- When daylight-saving time starts earlier than usual in the United States come 2007, VCR or DVD recorders could start recording shows anLook, no one has been able to set the time on a VCR since they first appeared in stores 25 years ago so why would this be a problem? Everything else can but fixed with a quick download. Just shut up and enjoy the evening light.
hour late.
Cell phone companies could give customers an extra hour of free weekend calls, and people who depend on online calendars may find themselves late for appointments.
An energy bill President George W. Bush was to sign Monday would start daylight time three weeks earlier and end it a week later as an energy-saving measure.
And that has technologists worried about software and gadgets that now compensate for daylight time based on a schedule unchanged since 1987.
"It is unfortunately going to add a little bit of complexity to consumers," said Reid Sullivan, vice president of the entertainment group at Panasonic Consumer Electronics Co. "In some cases, depending on the product, they may have to manually increase or decrease the time."
The upcoming transition evokes memories of Y2K, the Year 2000 rollover that forced programmers to adjust software and other systems that, relying on two digits for the year, never took the 21st century into account.
What I hear these men saying is, even if things get ridiculously stupid, we're going to keep doing it. At what point, once you start staying the course, do you stop staying the course? How do you know when staying the course is the wrong course?I think staying the course is a rationalization for stubbornness combined an unwillingness to admit a mistake. You know, it may not be macho but adjusting your plan (altering the "course") to adapt to reality is the only way to positively navigate life. Pig-headed, face-saving absolutism is a rough and costly road.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Nearly four months to the day since he announced in a hoarse voice on his evening newscast that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer, longtime ABC "World News Tonight" anchor Peter Jennings died Sunday, according to the ABC news network. He was 67.Fuck cancer.
According to the paper, the reunion will take place July 8, 2006.PETERSBURG -- Nearly two centuries ago, a self-described "piece of driftwood" settled in a frontier village that would soon dwindle into a ghost town. Both would be forgotten today, except the settler's name was Abraham Lincoln and the village, New Salem, has become synonymous with his rise from rough young man to ambitious politician.
Now the descendants of his friends and neighbors in New Salem -- rebuilt as a state historic site -- are organizing a reunion next summer to mark the 175th anniversary of Lincoln's arrival.
Some Rutledges will be there, still convinced that Lincoln had a secret romance with their ancestor Ann. Descendants of Jack Armstrong, the local tough guy who lost a wrestling match with Lincoln, plan to show up. So do Onstots and Burners and Bales.
But don't look for any Lincolns. The 16th president has no living descendants.
Organizers hope perhaps 1,000 people will attend, sharing information on their family trees and swapping stories handed down through the generations.
