These are my mundane daily ramblings. For something
less spontaneous, I maintain The
Samuel Johnson Sound Bite Page (over 1,700 Johnson quotes),
with a weekly essay springing from
one of Johnson's quotations.
Questions about Gerald Ford's disparaging comments to Bob
Woodward about Bush's war; Bush won't take questions about Iraq
while he tries to act involved and concerned.
The Senate Judiciary Committee's behavior, when dominated by
Republicans; the Washington Post needs the Iraqis to tell them
when it's OK to call it a civil war; why not blame Clinton for
all that's wrong in Iraq?
Thanksgiving wishes; Thomas Pynchon's "Against the Day;" Bush's
reckless gamble in Iraq; Bush won't leave Iraq because it
requires admitting a mistake.
Bush (damn him to hell) has foisted an incredible moral
obligation onto the United States; will Nancy Pelosi's failed
endorsement of Jack Murtha be a learning experience?
Speaker-of-the-House-to-be Nancy Pelosi looks like she's making a
misstep by calling out for Jack Murtha in a leadership position;
Cass Gilbert; how Bush hurt midterm candidates.
PowerLine wants other media outlets to be less relentless, now
that the election is over; Cap Weinberger is unavailable, but
Bush 43 is mining others in his Dad's administration.
Midterms elections over "Bush," vs. a failure to behave like an
independent branch of government; NRO bloggers treat Dem
victories as usurpation; sour grapes over RI Senator Lincoln
Chafee's defeat; the hidden costs of free content on the
Internet; White House hubris over the midterms has echoes of
Iraq; pundit perceptions of "reaching across the aisle."
Bush's capricious release of nuclear secrets for political gain;
mixed signals on November's job hires; terrorists gaming the
midterm elections, and a wingnut falls for it.
The back-pedaling in which some conservatives engage to defend
their poor conclusions; the desperate behaviors of the GOP in
the last days leading up to the midterm elections.
At the foot of the President, conservative writers buy his
argument that the problem in Iraq is that we're not counting and
reporting how many enemy combatants have been killed.
The costs of war in Iraq; Bush's "stay the course" denials; a
U.S. State Department official has to retract his
characterizations of the Bush Administration's policies in
Iraq.
A convicted criminal refuses to resign from Congress; how
Wal-Mart brings you your savings; a conservative columnist is
thrilled by the debate performance of a candidate she supports,
but probably didn't vote for John Kerry in '04.
Jobs report disappoints, again; victims groups call out for
former House Representative Mark Foley to identify his alleged
abuser; a White House employee in the Jack Abramoff-to-Karl Rove
tunnel decides to pursue employment elsewhere; the US government
refuses to turn over someone others see as a terrorist.
Separating the expected costs of Medicare from those for Social
Security; why the Dow Jones' passing of its high from six years
ago isn't a watershed event.
Powerline's continued adulation of Bush; Condoleezza Rice's silly
assertion that Bush was at least as aggressive as Clinton in
targeting terrorists prior to 9/11; the White House now shies
away from doing the math on terrorists.
9/11 hijackers were not identified in advance by a fata gathering
program; the "Today" show wastes time on a fast food idea which
may or may not happen, years away.
The U.S. has concerns about the Iraqi PM, failing to recognize
the magnitude of the challenge the U.S. provided; Bush's use of
the phrase "Islamic Fascists" may be short-lived.
DHS and the US government finally announce Bin Laden's intentions
in his November, 2004 message; Dick Cheney's new excuse for why
we haven't been greeted as liberators yet.
White House attempts to sidestep accountability and ignore a
Senate report concluding Saddam Hussein was not in cahoots with
al Qaeda; the fascism continuum: are we moving further down
it?
The President's interest in marketing 9/11 seems to require that
he ignore all prior acts of terrorism, such as those from the
KKK; the President's assurances that torture is against our
values ring hollow.
ABC's 9/11 Fairy tale: full of giants and goblins and too little
truth - - why wasn't it handled by the news division, rather
than sacrifice truth at all?
The terrorist Banksy hates Paris Hilton and our way of life; Fox
cable ratings, big in a small pond, may still be an issue of ho-
hum; Power Line achieves beneficence by reminding me of Van
Morrison's birthday, but they seem lost in 30 year old
material.
The media's failure to think independently led them to act like
lemmings over the latest twist in the Jon Benet Ramsey case;
President Bush supports the renomination, without any mention of
skepticism, of an official accused of corruption.
How to get labeled as an uncooperative terrorist by the FBI (a
beginners guide); some Republicans, unabashed by the Iraq
experience, worry that intelligence about Iraq is too soft.
Abandoning Ned Lamont out of boredom; why doesn't a pundit like
Chris Matthews work to understand what the truth is? Plus,
notoriety for my efforts, but I'm not named.
Further thoughts on the Presidential Daily Brief which warned
that Osama Bin Laden was determined to strike at the US, and
White House claims that there had been no warning.
If you SEE something, SAY something; up periscope: Bush's need to
assess his policies' impact on how other leaders succeed with
their countries; Meat Loaf sheathes his sword against Jim
Steinman.
Bush's invasion of Iraq shouldn't be called "bold" when so much
of America supported it already; Bush endorsed "In God We Trust,"
and claims universal recognition of God with his "We;" the Who
(er, make that Peter Townshend) can't get their
his act straight before making concert plans.
Blogging isn't self-expression? What? Plus, tax revenues suggest
the deficit won't be as bad as predicted; applying the 75 year
projection idea used for Social Security to other government
departments.
Bush's ultra-fine moment when he nominated Bernie Kerik to head
the Department of Homeland Security is remembered, as Kerik
pleads guilty; the Supreme Court's decision against Bush over
Guantanamo reminds us of the importance of three independent
branches of government.
Arguments that the New York Times has been treasonous are smoke
and mirrors, meant to distract from the broader lack of
accountability in the Bush Administration over Iraq.
Surprising musical sophistication, even over Steve Miller; the
sense of being cool on the porch, and the nonsense of the racial
epithet; maybe something on Cheney beats watching the
Braves?
Accusations that some of our soldiers may have slaughtered
innocents in Iraq allow wingnuts an opportunity to say that Abu
Ghraib abuses were unimportant. Yeah, right.
Treasury Secretary John Snow's long twist in the wind may soon be
over; news on the Internet gets so widely disseminated, sometimes
you have to ask why.
The Attorney General suggests journalists might get prosecuted
for publishing leaked information, forgetting how much the Bush
Administration did precisely how much the White House leaked in
arguing for war against Iraq.
The longer term goals of the those who believe in Right To Life
suggest that birth control may be threatened also; Thomas
Pynchon's birthday tomorrow; cultural literacy test in a
headline.
It wasn't faulty intelligence on WMDs which led us into Iraq, it
was the willingness to ignore intelligence, in order to achieve a
cherished goal, which led us there.
Right wing commentators who play the role of Pharisees in
disregarding the messages of people like Howard Dean and Cindy
Sheehan probably wouldn't know Jesus if he was sitting right in
front of them.
Bush may be smart enough to understand the deep routes of
sectarian violence in Iraq, but he should have seen it in advance
of the war, and staffed accordingly.
A spending bill tries to pretend it's a law, in violation of the
Constitution; top U.S. general shows how little he's understood
what we're up against in Iraq.
Bill Frist shuts down debate in the most partisan of ways, and
calls it being bi-partisan; White House ignorance over the
potential for civil war in Iraq; a member of the House of
Representatives is told the Pentagon won't take him to Iraq, and
it's possibly because he criticized the administration's effort
to hand over port control to a company controlled by Dubai.
Bush claims our resistence to the UAE managing our ports shows
prejudice on our part, and perhaps he's right. The odd thing,
then, is did we have the Brits on some odd pedestal?
Broadening the definition of "Mainstream Media" to accommodate
demonization of those with whom you disagree; failure to
see how the media supports the troops.
Samuel Alito was mendacious because, as a lawyer, he had so few
opportunities; I wish I could have been there when the Justice
Department finally got around to briefing the judges on why they
never bothered to seek warrants; technological mishaps of my own
doing? I hope not.
The extra seconds on the clock: it seems you have to go to
Chicago; willfully shutting out the truth; happy new year, there
are reasons to be optimistic.
