Worth It?

A good day in Iraq. Yep, they prefer democracy, alright. And who wouldn't? Doesn't it make your heart feel big to see these people rejoicing in their ability to vote? It does mine.

Now, let's back up two years. What if the Bush Administration had told us that forming a democratic Iraq (which hopefully will arise in some form) was the reason we were going to send young Americans to kill and die in Iraq? I don't think the American people would have let it happen. Of course, the folks who simply defend anything Bush chooses to do (you know... the ones now defending torture) would have had no problem with it, so long as it wasn't their asses getting fired at. Also, the Project for a New American Century folks, who are the most intellectually honest and at the same time the most disturbingly imperialistic members of the conservative landscape, were advocating the invasion of Iraq long before the WMD rationale arose. But the rest of us would have had serious reservations about bombing a non-threatening country into democracy.

So now, the question all the pundits are busy farting is: if a democracy emerges in Iraq, will it have been worth it? Worth "it"?

It (n.) The death of tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens; the death of at least 1,500 American soldiers; the dismemberment of thousands of American soldiers; the re-ordering of American values to encompass torture; reduced standing in the international community; and $180 billion and counting of our tax dollars (adding to record deficits).

Now, It has not directly affected me much. I haven't lost my legs. I haven't had to kill or torture anybody. Nobody I know has been killed. My life has basically gone on as it always has. In fact, I haven't even had to kick in any extra money for the war, because our president has decided to put it on the national credit card. So, I can see how it would be easy to sit here in my comfortable condo and watch Iraqis courageously voting on t.v. and think "sure it's worth it."

But would I have sacrificed my sister or my friend so that Iraq might someday turn into a democracy? Would I have given my life? How about my legs? Would it be worth it?

Now what will we sacrifice so Saudi Arabians might have a democracy? Pakistan?

Today Iraqis voted, and that makes me very happy. I am proud that this tragic mistake of a war has finally produced something that is worthwhile, and I'm impressed with the heart shown by the Iraqi people today.

Beer: Man's Best Friend?

This reminds me again of why I will never exclaim, "Now I have seen it all!!" This might be the funniest story I have ever read, I am thinking an endorsement deal is in the works for this guy.

Iraq's Democratic Election

3GL and, I would assume, all those on 2GL wish the best on Sunday's elections in Iraq. There is nothing better than seeing Iraqis smiling as they stuff their ballots to vote for a government. I know I get that euphoric feeling every two years when I cast my ballot here in Texas. Although we all know it will not be a perfect election, I hope it is seen as fair to the Iraqis. I also applaud all the brave men and women who are running for office and, as importantly, every Iraqi who heads to the polls on Sunday. That is courage in the truest sense and to the insurgency and all those that wish to destroy the election, may you suffer eternally for the innocent lives you kill and destroy.

Hillary and the Big One

I like Hillary Clinton. For some reason, she drives Republicans into babbling fits, which I don't quite understand. Maybe because they prefer that their lady politicians act like this. I really don't know.

In any event, she is the first politician who has adequately framed the abortion issue in a way I can relate to. The goal is zero abortions in this country. They are sad and tragic. The goal is zero. The question is: how do we get there?

Hint: Forcing women into back alleys is the wrong answer.

"Freedom is messy."

-Donald Rumsfeld

Inauguration Day--Never Forget How Good We Have It

Today is a great day to be an American! From a history that developed one of the first true democracies and bestowed upon us true selfless, in every sense of that word, heroes like George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. To a country that has given courage to leaders like Abe Lincoln who stuck to principle in leading the abolition of slavery and Franklin Roosevelt who fought a just war to brush back imperial tyranny. To a great land that has given opportunity and a desire to explore to innovators like Edison, the Wright Brothers, and countless aeronautic brave souls who tested the boundaries of discovery in the NASA program and, at times, gave their lives to quench our curious thirst, all the while pursuing technology to strengthen our Republic. To a land that gave fundamental rights to the individual that allowed Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Stanton to demand their constitutional privilege to vote, gave Martin Luther King the authority to demand equality and instilled in Cesar Chavez hope in the difficult mountain he desired to climb that would one day allow migrant workers to have dignity. To the Union that demands success if the individual citizen works hard. To the country that allows us to pick our leaders and has created a culture of revoltless transfers of power. To the country that will always have a face of charity and compassion for God's people. To the Republic that expects greatness and has the arrogance to pursue it. To the United States that allows us all to look forward to better and brighter days. To my great country!! Cheers!!!

God Bless this Guy

Barack Obama

Must I Say it Again!!!

The facts speak for themselves.......now lets figure out a way to give Bush a 3rd Term. Wait, its not Bush's fault, it was 9-11, RIGHT? Oh, and by the way, I HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO BE PISSED WHEN ONE ADMINISTRATION RUNS OUR GREAT USA INTO THE GROUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Eff You, He United Me

No, this is not a gag headline.

Hat Tip: TPM

Idol Chatter--Night One, Freaktown, U.S.A.

Wow! The freaks were out last night. Do I begin with the girl with the mysterious scrapes on her arm, who allegedly got dressed in the dark, or the large gentleman draped in purple, with the purple headband, singing "Somewhere Over a Rainbow" and setting records with holding notes?

Wow! And I haven't even mentioned the looney toons at the end who was hearing voices and singing in tongues ("they're telling me that Mark McGrath is a hottie"). Or the recovering alcoholic (5.9%) who just a couple of days ago (about the same time he gave up the sauce) found God, and also, that he could sing (in apparently multi-personalities). Or the two ADHD/ADD, mildly attractive, young girls who both just lost it when they weren't picked (one dropped to all fours, the other flipped in rage)? Images of Veruca Salt come to mind.

And the scariest of all, for me, was Toni Braxton's "cousin" from Baltimore who sang like Braxton on morphine and gave angry commentary throughout his toneless, unintelligible performance. ("Randy, what have you done in the industry? Mark McGrath, you one-hit wonder. Paula, three platinums? When I'm done, I'll have 8!)

Wow! Quite a mix of crazies. At the end of the two hours, my only three thoughts were: (1) guilt, for wasting 2 hours of my life watching dimestore karoake, making fun of people I don't know as if I were back in grade school all over (sans the acne and peanut butter sandwiches); (2) man, I wish I had a psychology degree so I can make on-the-spot diagnoses of all the psychological disorders of the varied contestants, what a case study that'd be, like watching the Simpson's in law school and naming all the Torts that occurred in the half-hour show; and (3) after wasting two hours of torture and enduring ear-splitting singing, my last, and most pervading thought was, I can't wait for the next episode!

Justice Pollution

Read this rundown of the man President Bush hand-selected to be our new attorney general.

And our Congress is going to allow it. Embarassing.

Now, think just a minute about how low this president has set the bar. This is the man in charge of the United States Department of JUSTICE. Justice, people.

Today, that just makes me sad. Will they teach this in the history books? Will Bush ever be held accountable for what he has done to our sweet country? Oh, right. He got that extra 2% of the vote. That was his self-declared "moment of accountability". That's it - baptism, confession, communion, salvation all rolled into one. Of course, he is now accountable for nothing for the next four years.

Anyway, we'll soon be able to welcome our new attorney general. Let's hope he doesn't take a second look at our Constitution and determine it is "quaint".

Oh, Behave...

For the lighter side of Bill Gates and his floppies. Brilliant.

Lock the Doors, Hide the Kids, Secure Grandma

The new fear this winter is not being defenseless against this season's flu virus-- no, not by a long shot-- it's the dreaded "Winter Vomiting Disease," Virginia Department of Health Warns.

From the Post:

For 24 to 48 hours, it lays waste to its victims.

"I was hugging the old commode," recounted Katherine Riddle of Oakton, the first in her family to fall ill in late December.

Riddle's only warning was a few minutes of dizziness while she was teaching an afternoon flute lesson at her house. "And then, boom!" she said. She ran for the bathroom and threw up. The lesson ended quickly, but her vomiting went on and on and on. "I was doing it for the rest of the night. It was incredible."

Across Northern Virginia, people have been calling in symptoms to doctors and public health departments since mid-December. Though no comprehensive numbers are available -- few jurisdictions mandate reporting of viral gastroenteritis, as physicians know it -- officials there say there seems to be no unusually high incidence this winter. Their counterparts in Maryland and the District concur.

Protracted vomiting is the virus's predominant symptom and the most distressing. It's usually accompanied by repeated diarrhea, abdominal cramps and a low-grade fever.

The virus is passed on primarily person to person, though food-borne transmission also occurs. "It's hard to get rid of because it's in the environment," said Kathy DeSnyder, an epidemiologist with the Alexandria Health Department. "You can touch a door handle and then touch your face and get it."

In 2002, such contact was one way sickness spread quite infamously on two cruise ships, affecting hundreds of passengers. And last summer -- proof that winter vomiting disease does not discriminate by season -- more than 100 teenagers attending a program at the University of Maryland at College Park became violently ill from the virus.

The keys to prevention: hand-washing -- lots of it; frequent wipe-downs of toys, doorknobs, countertops and other surfaces; and staying home until you're really well. "If you don't take the time, you will spread it," warned Lucy Caldwell, spokeswoman for the Virginia Department of Health.

In the Riddle family, there was no stopping it. Thirty-six hours after Mom started throwing up, oldest daughter, Lisa, did the same. "One would get it," Katherine Riddle said, "and then 36 hours later, another would get it."

Dad (Paul Riddle) followed Lisa, followed by twins Jennifer (sick on Christmas at grandmother's house in Vermont) and Erica (who spent her 12th birthday vomiting). Followed by 15-year-old Emily (though about that time Grandma began heaving, too).

"It was really sequential," Riddle said. Sequential and circular. After Emily, the bug had one more hit.

"I got it twice," Mom said. "I was so lucky."

Hangin' Out the Passenger Side of Your Best Friend's Ride...

When a male dance fly wants to make maggots, he can't just show up to the lady fly's place empty-handed. He brings a gift, like a nutritious bug, which he presents to the lady. She examines it and begins eating it. Meanwhile the male is busy in back making sweet fly love to her. The bigger the treat, the longer he gets to work it.

If a female fly did not have hold of a gift, she immediately stopped copulation and literally shooed off the male.

But there's a problem:

"It takes time for an insect to go out and catch prey, which can expose the male to predation by birds," he said. "If you are an insect out looking for food, chances are a bird is out looking to eat you."

Um, better to avoid the effort. So, check out what the cheap-ass male flies have come up with: they give FAKE GIFTS!

By the time the female fly realizes her lover is a cheapskate and beats him off with her wings, the male already has mated with her and leaves with his faux present to find another partner. . . .

By presenting a female with a fake gift, a male can mate more often because he will be around for a while longer." Heydon added that some flies even present their mates with empty packages wrapped up with layers of silk. He said, "By the time the female finishes unwrapping her gift and discovers that it is empty, the male has mated with her."

Don't hate the player, little fly. Hate the game.

HAT TIP: A Secular Franciscan Life

Interesting Development in North Korea

This is an interesting development in the North Korea nuclear standoff. I am surprised by this and will be skeptical until a deal is made. When you have a cowboy president like W, even crazy Kim Jong Il will back down. That speaks volumes. I give the credit due to the Bush Administration for being sensible on this issue and I hope it works out. I only wish their policy in the Middle East was as sensible.

I Have Scaled These City Walls, These City Walls. . .

So the Bush Administration jig is officially up. Iraq had no weapons of mass distruction. Saddam was not really a threat. Ha ha. Oh, man. Good prank, Bush. Really funny.

Meanwhile, Rumsfeld is reportedly roaming the halls of the White House with a blowgun in hand looking for the trained ape that started all this.

CBS Holds Top Execs Responsible

On Tuesday, CBS News fired four employees, including three executives, for erroneously pushing a story about George W. Bush's National Guard service, which as it turned out later, relied on faulty evidence that was poorly vetted and, perhaps, politically motivated. A further consequence of the network's blunder was that reporter Dan Rather, whose credibility was damaged by the story, decided to take an early retirement in March.

Reaction to the firings were mixed: White House spokesman Scott McClellan voiced the administration's appreciation for CBS's dismissals: "We felt all along that it was important for CBS to get to the bottom of this. CBS has taken steps to hold people accountable, and we appreciate those steps. We also hope that CBS will take steps to prevent something like this from happening again," McClellan said. Conservative pundit Rush Limbaugh echoed the conservative sentiment nationally that the network "had an axe to grind" with President Bush.



In other news: George W. Bush has retained virtually all his foreign affairs Cabinet members, despite erroneously pushing a war in Iraq, which as it turned out later, relied on faulty evidence that was poorly vetted and, perhaps, politically motivated. Further consequences of the administration's blunders in Iraq (e.g., human rights violations, flawed WMD assessments, and horrendous post-war planning) were that Bush will be inaugerated to his second term in office next Thursday, Condeelaza Rice stands for promotion, and George Tenet was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Reactions to the commendations are mixed.

Can't Buy Me Luh Huv... Strike That.

Interim Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi has been dropping hundies on Arab journalists in Iraq in the run-up to the rushed elections there.

Giving gifts to journalists is common in many of the Middle East's authoritarian regimes, although reporters at the conference said the practice was not yet widespread in postwar Iraq.

As the Financial Times article notes, keeping reporters in bling in exchange for pro-government stories was also a common practice of Iraq's former leader.

I guess paying off journalists is what you do when the truth is not really on your side.

It is also the practice of the President of the United States.

Fisking The So-Called Blog of the Year

Oh boy. The guys over at Powerline are getting a little worked up because someone (in an editorial) called the "war on terror" the "so-called war on terror". But it's a real war! Now watch how far they run with it . . .

The revealing part of Herbert's diatribe occurs early on when he writes that Gonzales' "judgment regarding the detention and treatment of prisoners in Iraq and the so-called war on terror have been both unsound and shameful." It is the left's normally unstated view that the war on terror is not real that serves as the predicate for its complaints about the way suspected terrorists are being treated.

Yep. Nailed us. If the war on terror were only real, then "the left" would have no problem with the real suspects who are really being beaten and really being sodomized and really being tortured to death in the name of the United States. PL's argument is miserably flawed on its face, but for a quick coup de grace, consider the following: Yes, many (me included) question the boundaries of Bush's vaguely defined "war on terror". On the other hand, no one disputes that the Iraq War is a real war. The majority of Americans agree that it was a mistake, but it sure as hell is real. So, according to PL's premise, the left really has no beef with the abuses at Abu Graib.

If you think we really are at war with terrorists, then you react one way when our intelligence and/or military officers ask you how far they can go in trying to obtain information from terror suspects. If you think the war is a phony, you react differently. In the former instance, you're inclined, I hope, to keep on the table for consideration (though not necessarily implementation) any approach that we hadn't agreed not to use prior to 9/11. After all, why should we become more solicitous of the rights of our enemies in war time? But if we're only in a so-called war, the standard I've suggested makes much less sense.

What standard has PL suggested exactly? It's hard to tell. As with most of that faction of the right wing that flirts with stamping "USA APPROVED" on the torture of people suspected of ties to terrorism, PL can't quite bring itself to approve of "torture" in public. Instead PL calls it an "approach that we hadn't agreed not to use prior to 9/11". Wait a minute. We had not agreed not to use torture? What about the Geneva Conventions? Oh right, according to the Bush Administration those protections don't apply to Guantanamo prisoners because this is not a real war. Do you follow so far?

Democratic Senators (along, unfortunately, with Republican Lindsay Graham) kept arguing that our use of debatable interrogation tactics puts our soldiers in harm's way because it means that when they are captured they are more likely to be tortured. There is some truth to this argument, but it would have been nice if one of these Senators had acknowledged that our actual enemies will behead any American (soldier or not) that they capture regardless of what interrogations tactics we use. It would also have been edifying if Gonzales' opponents had recognized the possibility that information obtained through aggressive interrogation can save lives. But, again, if you don't think the war on terror is real, this point is easier to lose sight of.

Whew, the war is real again.

PL's description of our Senators as "Gonzales' opponents" is revealing. If you have a problem with torture, you're an opponent. If you are concerned about the treatment not only of other human beings generally, but also American troops, you're an opponent. If a Republican Senator has these concerns, it is "unfortunate". They've got some tough guys over there at PL.

As a final embarassment, Time Magazine's "blog of the year" dredges up a midieval argument that torture ... sorry, ahem, "aggressive interrogation" ... will yield trustworthy information we can use in the so-called war on terror. Yeah, I said it. So-called. As any first-year law student will tell you, our American system of justice refuses to recognize the validity or trustworthiness of any information obtained through abuse. It's sort of part of the foundation of who we are as Americans. It's sort of what separates us from the head-chopping demons.

Come on, Powerline. Join us and the rest of the civilized world in roundly condemning torture. You'll feel like you've just taken a shower.

I Don't Care If It Rains Or Freezes...

so long's I got, my torturin' Jesus.

Our new attorney general says you should thank him that you're alive.

They took me inside the building and started to scream at me. They stripped me naked, they asked me, "Do you pray to Allah?" I said, "Yes." They said, "Fuck you" and "Fuck him." ... Someone else asked me, "Do you believe in anything?" I said to him, "I believe in Allah." So he said, "But I believe in torture and I will torture you. When I go home to my country, I will ask whoever comes after me to torture you." Then they handcuffed me and hung me to the bed. They ordered me to curse Islam and because they started to hit my broken leg, I cursed my religion. They ordered me to thank Jesus I am alive. And I did what they ordered me. This is against my belief. They left me hang from the bed and after a while I lost consciousness."

From a first-hand sworn Red Cross deposition of an interrogation in Abu Ghraib, via Andy Sully.

A Chronic Problem

“Ah, darn. Mister, you got a dowar?”

In my mind, I say no. No change. Get away. I veer far afield of the street person. Another uncomfortable confrontation averted on my way to work.

When was the last time you helped someone, besides yourself, your girlfriend, or the dog? You talk a big game with your lofty ideals, but telethons, street alms, blood drives, and bake sales go by without a penny. When was the last time you donated anything to anyone, and the Salvation Army doesn’t count – that’s just an alternative garbage dump for your out-of-style clothes.

When was the last time you sacrificed anything, your time or your precious money? Or does charity not count anymore in this effed up world?

Help yourself before you can help others, right? But at what point do you stop helping yourself to the trough? When you’re Bill Gates? When you’re old and gray, worried about the afterlife?

“Mister, you got a dowar?”

What about that advice that you’re doing more harm than good by giving the beggar a dollar, that she’ll only spend it on booze or crank? The junkie.

Isn’t it: Give a man a fish and you will feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you will feed him for a lifetime? But who actually has time to teach fishing? What’s more, would she even want the lesson?

And how do you know that she’s a junkie? Maybe she doesn’t go hard on the drugs, but is just hard on luck.

“Master, you got a dowar?”

How closely related those two words truly are—master and mister—with mister the new water-downed version. And she’s black, like many of the urban chronic poor. Ee-gads, has it come to this? An evolving version of white man’s burden. Wait, my ancestors weren’t even close to plantation owners. They came to this country far after Plymouth Rock. They escaped persecution, pestilence, and penury of their own to make a better life here in the States. Alhough it took a couple of generations, we’ve made it. Now our problems are more of overeating than under eating. If we can make it, so can she.

But how do we do it? How do we just walk by the huddled masses in our streets and think that tough love is the best approach, that pulling the plug on welfare payments after two years will force the chronic poor to find jobs that they are unqualified for or too sick to do. How do we justify throwing tens of millions of dollars toward advertisements for presidential elections, toward presidential libraries, or even, bombs to be used in far off countries when we can’t even provide the basic necessities of life for our citizens? How is this right?

Thomas Jefferson once said in regard to slavery: I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just. How often fitting I find that bit of wisdom.

Head down engrossed in a Washington Post article on the new attorney general, I flee to my 15th floor refuge. Back to work.

“Mister, do you got a dowar?”

--Yes, but is it nearly enough?

Tucker Carlson Punked at CNN

Carlson and Crossfire out at CNN. Tucker may land MSNBC show.

Leads one to wonder whether Jon Stewart's public flogging of CF last year had anything to do with it. Tail wagging the dog, perchance?

Hat tip: Taegan.

Was this Man Bisexual?

Controversial book sparks new debate on old suspicions.

Banished Words 2005

From Lake Superior State University comes the "Banished Words for 2005." As you will surely notice, 2GL has been guilty of using its share of these catchy words/phrases that quickly became cliches over the past year. Chief among the culprits are:

BLUE STATES/RED STATES

FLIP FLOP/FLIP FLOPPER/FLIP FLOPPING

BATTLEGROUND STATE

ENEMY COMBATANT

“… AND I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE”

BLOG

(For last year's list.)

Food for Thought: The All-Pygmy Team

A friend and I were talking last night about her most recent love interest. From the little that I remember, she described the new guy as a tall, blonde, blue-eyed All-American type from Western Pennsylvania. The description, innocuous at first blush, got me thinking...

Do other nations of the world have a similar saying to the common "All-American" description, afforded to those of us who look and act like All-American football players? For instance, do you think they say in Africa, that Ari-Ari is dating so-and-so, a short, stouty, pug-nosed All-Pygmy type from Burundi, or in England, Elizabeth's snogging a tall, lanky, bad-teethed All-England type from New Essex? Or I've heard that Maria's been asked to siesta with a tall, dark, slender All-Portuguese type from Lisbon, when describing an athletic looking man in that country?

Seems silly but if they do, I surely would like to know.

Which reminds me of one of my all-time favorite Onion articles:

"Surinameese Man Struggling to Write the Great Surinamese Novel"

BROKOPONDO, SURINAME--Aspiring author Nikklis Doekhie said Monday that he continues in his struggle to write the Great Surinamese Novel. "I want this book to capture the essence of the Surinamese experience," Doekhie said. "Desi, the wide-eyed protagonist, quits his job in a bauxite mine to hitchhike from Paramarimbo to Alalapadu, searching for his piece of the Surinamese Dream." Doekhie said he hopes to pitch the book to a Surinamese publishing house this fall.

DeLay Foiled

Congratulations, Americans. Because of effective publication of the issue by Democrats and our resulting collective outrage, the party that controls Washington has flip-flopped on its decision to allow criminals to run our Legislative branch. Good job, Republicans. That's a good start.

The Leadership Crisis is Now

A must read from Olde Media about Bush's intentional deception of the American people. It's not just about wars anymore. He thinks that if he scares you enough, you'll buy just about anything.