Here’s a section of Bush’s strategy plan for Victory in Iraq (PDF). This is under the section entitled "The Political Track In Detail". Key words to that heading are: "…in Detail". Even with this solid progress, we and our Iraqi partners continue to face multiple challenges in the political sphere, including: Ensuring that those who join the political process leave … Read More
More on Bush’s “Victory In Iraq” Strategy
Here’s the real problem with Bush’s "Victory in Iraq" strategy. We’re supposed to be fighting al Qaeda — they are the bad guys who pose a threat to us. Where’s the "Victory Against Al Qaeda" plan? Sure, the Bush "Victory in Iraq" plan seeks to prevent al Qaeda from establishing a foothold in Iraq, but of course, al Qaeda never … Read More
Bush’s “Victory in Iraq” Strategy (or “Look, If We Built This Giant Wooden Badger….”)
I haven’t read it (things are crazy here), but Matt Yglesius has. It sounds like what I expected: a laundry list of ideal goals, but not an actual plan on how to achieve them. Here’s Matt: [I]t’s plain that there’s no actual strategy here. The document calls for "building democratic institutions" and eventually "providing an inspiring example to reformers in … Read More
Kayes Expresses Herself
Our favorite wingnut columnist, Kaye Grogan, has a new column up. It’s called "Freedom of speech and expression . . . most abused rights" The title alone suggests that Kaye is having trouble with verbs this week, as she prefers to use ellipses. Still, we forge on: Freedom of speech is perhaps one of the most abused freedoms we have. … Read More
Focus on SCOTUS: Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England
Yup. It’s time once again to look at a major case coming before the Supreme Court, and attempt (inadequately) to translate what the legal issues are, as well as the case’s impact. Tomorrow, the Court will hear arguments in the case of Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England. As you may have guessed, this is an abortion case, … Read More
Julie Andrews Ruins The Opening Of “The Sound Of Music” For Me
CNN: At a question-and-answer session celebrating the 40th anniversary of "The Sound of Music," Julie Andrews recalled the scene in which her character, Maria, runs through the mountains singing the title song. It wasn’t as serene as it looked, the 70-year-old actress said Monday. "I will never forget it, there was a large helicopter coming towards me through the mountains … Read More
Stupid Lawsuit Of The Day
D’oh: A Russian lawyer plans to take his case against The Simpsons to the European Court of Human Rights. It comes after a Moscow Court rejected Igor Smykov’s appeal to have the show banned from Russian TV. Mrr Smykov wanted to have the cartoon series taken off the air in Russia, or at least shown at a later time, claiming … Read More
Everything’s Out Of Whack In Kansas City
…but they haven’t gone as fer as they can go. A group of concerned parents in the Blue Valley School District want to ban certain books from the high schooler English curriculum. The petition objects to the "quality of the books", although as far as I can tell, literary "quality" is measured largely by the number of polite words (the … Read More
Something To Consider
In 1976, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed states to execute criminals again. This week, barring any changes in schedule, the 1000th execution will take place since the 1976 reinstatement. And it’ll probably happen here in North Carolina. Fun fact: In the past 32 years, 120 death row inmates have been proven innocent and released. Most of them have been in … Read More
The Abstinence Wars
What’s more important? Young girls learning to have safe sex so that they don’t get pregnant and/or sick — or young girls being sexually abstinent? Logically, these two positions are not incompatible. Most would agree (I hope) that we would want young girls to be knowledgeable about safe sex, and then choose abstinence (until they are ready). But sadly, much … Read More
Birds Of A Feather
Sen. Tom Delay (indicted for money laundering) on the subject of Rep. "Duke" Cunningham (pled guilty to bribery): “Duke Cunningham is a hero . . . He is an honorable man of high integrity.” Yeah. Whatever.
It’s The End Of The World On Your TIVO
I’ve always been intrigued by entertainment fads as a reflection of culture and the national psyche. For example, after Japan was nuked (twice) in WWII, they started making movies about giant monsters (Godzilla, Mothra, etc.) sent to destroy civilization. And nuclear radiation was often the given reason why these monsters came into existence in the first place. I’m not a … Read More
Vatican vs. Me
The Vatican (as reported by Reuters): The Vatican newspaper said on Tuesday that homosexuality risked "destabilizing people and society," had no social or moral value and could never match the importance of the relationship between a man and a woman. Me: "The segmentation of people based on their sexual preference destabilizes people and society, has no social or moral value, … Read More
Fox News: Anti-Christmas
Well, the "War on Christmas" trumpters have a new enemy: Fox News. Here’s why: Fox News, the media company whose hosts have staunchly defended the public use of the word "Christmas," is raising eyebrows after posting a story on its website with the headline, "Holiday Trees Arrive at Capitol, White House." The story written by FoxNews.com starts off with its … Read More
Stupid Pet Tricks
Parrot Exposes Husband’s Philandering Family’s Dog Survives 60-Mile Trip In Car’s Grill