Gone

America's credibility, that is. When torture becomes the stated government policy, America no longer has moral authority in the world community. And that is exactly what is happening:

The House yesterday voted to pass a bill that would prohibit the CIA and
other intelligence agencies, as well as the military, from using "waterboarding" and other torture techniques on anyone held in detention by our government. The bill would also require all detainees held in US custody to be treated in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, eliminating the hair splitting distinctions made by the Bush administration's legal team to justify ignoring our obligations under those treaties. The vote was 222 to 199 in favor (yes, that means some Democrats -- in this case numbering ten -- voted against an explicit ban on torture). Nonetheless, it's a empty gesture since, as anyone could have predicted, Bush has already stated he will veto the bill, known as the "Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008" (HR 2082) if it ever comes before him for his signature.

...

The bill now goes to the Senate where I predict that the provisions banning torture and requiring compliance with the Geneva Conventions will be stripped out or watered down, because I just don't think there are enough Senators, Democrats or Republicans, who will want to vote for a measure that will be portrayed as "coddling" terrorists. And should those provisions somehow be approved, President "I'm the Commander Codpiece in Chief" Bush will follow through on his veto threat.

http://www.boomantribune.com/

The black eye from the destroyed torture tapes was bad, but it could have been healed by an aggressive investigation and a strong refutation of the use of "waterboarding" and any technique that is torture under international law.

Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I remember when America was better that this. It was very simple: torture is wrong, period. I remember times when an American president could stand up and condemn another country for human rights abuses, and the rest of the world listened with respect. Now, other countries will sneer at our condemnation as rank hypocrisy.

There is only one way to restore America's prestige, and that is to immediately impeach the president and vice-president. It's not likely to happen, which I find appalling. We have an administration that is saying "we torture. we will continue to torture. we will not follow international law or our own constitution." If that isn't grounds for impeachment, then what is?



Yeah, I know.
Added: President Jimmy Carter agrees with me:

"Our country for the first time in my life time has abandoned the basic
principle of human rights. We've said that the Geneva conventions do not apply to those people in Abu Ghraib prison and Guantánamo, and we've said we can torture prisoners and deprive them of an
accusation of a crime. But you can make your own definition of human rights and say we don't violate them, and you can make your own definition of torture and say we don't violate them." -- Jimmy Carter, caught telling the truth again, Link

I cannot believe that this is now a question.

Making a Scandal Disappear

I rarely link to anything from Dkos, as I assume that everybody has already seen it. But this diary amused me. "alysheba" explains how to make the scandal disappear:

Every now and then, your average celebrity - or, in the case of today's news, your average drug-enhanced baseball legend - just needs to disappear for a while. The "so-and-so entered rehab this morning" method has been particularly popular of late, counting among its proponents such figures as Mark Foley and Ted Haggard.
Time will tell if today's headline-makers will choose the same option.

Occasionally, though, a scandal is simply so big, so utterly interwoven into the primal fabric of a nation, so completely relevant to the daily lives of 300 million citizens, that none of the usual remedies will do. Surely, baseball players being caught on steroids in December of 2007 is such a case. And, in this instance, the only way to salvage a celebrity's career - and bring comfort into the hearts of all the nation's citizens - is to effect a complete and total media blackout.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/12/13/191230/73/261/421796

Her suggestions for specific players:

ROGER CLEMENS: Call a press conference and immediately demand the impeachment of President George W. Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney.

It may sound paradoxical, but in order to disappear, Clemens needs to put in some serious face time hammering this issue. I call it my "Crazy Ivan" maneuver (patent pending) - turning headlong into the media's prurience before their corporate handlers have time to retask them. One serious marathon session of putting that big, square jaw in front of every camera he can find and talking incessantly about the need for impeachment?? 24 hours later it'll be: "Roger who?"

DAVID JUSTICE: Join forces with Robert Kennedy and announce a speaking tour to raise the nation's awareness of election fraud in 2004.

As a retiree, David Justice has time on his side - time to think, time to plan, most of all, time to sit through a crash course in the ConyersReport at the Kennedy compound in Hyannisport, and then take his newfound knowledge on the road! It may sound cliched, but making one's self the poster-child for what the mainstream media prefers to label a "conspiracy theory," well, that's the high road to a low profile.

LENNY DYKSTRA: Quickly orchestrate and, if necessary, self-finance, an endorsement deal for Johnathan Goodwin's 100 mpg diesel-electric Hummer.Nothing says "media blackout" like the phrase "alternative fuel." And for Dykstra's money, he couldn't find a better place to hide than under a 7,000 lb. car that scares the shit out of Detroit. I mean, a right wing loon like Arnold Schwarzenegger joining forces with an energy independence advocate like Goodwin? Plus the endorsement of a tobacco chewing millionaire like Dykstra?? There's no way to shoehorn those oddities into the stock media narrative! And you know what
that means: BUH-BYE DYKSTRA HEADLINES!

ANDY PETTITE: Join the Army. Go to Iraq. Stay out of combat if possible, but upon your return have someone pen a book on your (fictional) traumatic brain injury. Stay away from Bob Woodruff at all costs!

Pettite's got a lot to lose. Given that Bonds was already done prior to today's news, and that Clemens was close to retirement anyway, Pettite, in my professional opinion as a newly minted publicist, is the real loser today and it appears he may have to go for the sacrifice fly.

He may get some press initially over the whole "celebrity enlistment" thing, but say he's done with his obligation in three years, he'll still have a good half-decade of throwing ahead of him. And, again, coming home
with the whole sourpuss TBI-thing - that's a guaranteed "C-ya" in the press and next thing y'know, he's back on the mound.But, again, Pettite must stay well clear of Bob Woodruff. The last thing he needs is to get swept up in another one of those "intrepid reporter" plots. That's the kinda airtime no fallen hero needs!

BARRY BONDS: Rent out the "House that (You) Built" and stage a public hearing on the Sibel Edmonds case, signing autographs as necessary to increase attendence.

If none of these work, I would suggest that the accused players become advocates for alternative energy as a way to address global warming. The media will then completely ignore them.

Columbus, plugged, is my favorite dry-hop.

These days, all the ale I drink is either locally microbrewed, or i made it myself. Nice, eh?

Tonight the Geminids

Tonight is the Geminid meteor shower, and it's supposed to be a good one:

The Geminid Meteors are usually the most satisfying of all the annual showers, even surpassing the
famous Perseids of August.

Studies of past find the "Gems" have a reputation for being rich both in slow, bright, graceful meteors and fireballs as well as faint meteors, with relatively fewer objects of medium brightness.

Generally speaking, depending on your location, Gemini begins to come up above the east-northeast horizon right around the time evening twilight is coming to an end. So you might catch sight of a few early Geminids as soon as the sky gets dark.

There is a fair chance of perhaps catching sight of some "Earth-grazing" meteors. Earth grazers are long, bright shooting stars that streak overhead from a point near to even just below the horizon. Such meteors are so distinctive because they follow long paths nearly parallel to our atmosphere.

The Geminids begin to appear noticeably more numerous in the hours after 10 p.m. local time, because the shower's radiant is already fairly high in the eastern sky by then. The best views, however, come around 2 a.m., when their radiant point will be passing very nearly overhead.

While I plan to go outside and watch some of it, tonight's forcast is for it to be 12 degrees. So I doubt that I'll stay out very long.
Added: Went out, saw a few, got cold, went back inside. Yeah, I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to cold.

A Black Eye For Baseball

It's a sad day for those of us who are baseball fans. The Mitchell report on steroid use shows that the entire system was involved:

Dec 13 (Reuters) - Some key points made in former Sen. George Mitchell's report on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in Major League Baseball, released on Thursday.

* There was widespread use of illegal steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs by Major League Baseball players for more than a decade, in violation of federal law and baseball policy.

* Some of the game's biggest stars -- home run king Barry Bonds and top pitcher Roger Clemens, among them -- used drugs.

* Players from all 30 teams were found to use drugs at some time in their careers.

* Baseball's response to drug use by its players was "slow to develop and initially ineffective."

* Report recommends a year-round, unannounced drug testing program that should be administered by an independent authority.

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=reu-steroidskeypoints_factbox&prov=reuters&type=lgns

It's been clear to those of us who watch that this has been going on for a long time. In the past couple of decades players have grown and records have fallen at an unnatural pace. But now the truth is out.

Baseball has overcome scandals and strikes before, and I believe that baseball can overcome this, but a lot of work will need to be done to restore integrity.
added: The list of names in the report is here: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ys-mitchellnames121307&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

A Major Endorsement

Obama may have Oprah, Clinton has Streisand, and McCain has Schilling, but to my mind this is the biggest endorsement yet. Luis Tiant endorses Bill Richardson:

Richardson's campaign announced today that Luis Tiant, the portly pitcher with the whirling-dervish delivery, will be the guest of honor at a "Mi Familia Con Richardson" Posada Celebration in Manchester on Sunday evening.

"Governor Richardson has earned my respect," Tiant, known at "El Tiante" and for his stellar performance in the 1975 playoffs, said in a statement issued by the New Mexico governor's campaign. "Bill Richardson’s experience, vision and record of delivering in the clutch make him the best qualified candidate for president."Richardson said he was thrilled to have Tiant's support.

"For a guy who dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player as a kid, to have the active support of a real Red Sox legend like Luis Tiant is truly an honor," he said in the statement. "Luis and I share an affinity for Red Sox baseball and maybe the occasional cigar."

http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2007/12/el_tiante_to_st.html

Any baseball fan old enough to remember the '75 series knows Tiant. While the Sox lost, Luis pitched with the heart of a lion. His whirling-dervish windup is indelibly imprinted on my memory, and he played with class and style that earned the respect he received. His endorsement should move Richardson up at least 2 points in the polls.

Mall Santa

So I guess I have a job...in the short run. I have agreed to be a "mall santa". Lousy pay, dye my hair and beard, deal with children. We'll see how this works.

Beyond Absurd

Just the title: "ABA journal names Gonzales lawyer of the year":

A magazine published by the American Bar Association on Wednesday named former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales its Lawyer of the Year for 2007 — mostly for creating so much controversial news.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2007/12/gonzales_named_lawyer_of_the_y.php

Truly, truly bizarre. By that standard, Barry Bonds would be "sportsman of the year."

Shrub Still Hates Children

Having already vetoed one SCHIP bill, shrub is sticking to his guns (for Iraq):

President Bush on Wednesday was ready to veto legislation that passed with bipartisan support to dramatically expand government-provided health insurance for children.

It would be Bush's seventh veto in seven years. Bush vetoed an earlier version of the health insurance program.

The bill passed the Democratic-controlled Senate by a veto-proof margin, but the same was not true in the House. Even after the bill was approved, negotiations continued on a compromise version.

A major point of contention with the White House was Bush's demand that nearly all poor children eligible for the program be found and enrolled before those in slightly higher-income families could be covered.

Bush also has opposed using an increased tobacco tax to fund the program expansion. The bill includes a 61-cent rise on a package of cigarettes.

The replacement measure was designed to meet Republican objections to the first bill. But it was little changed.

It would increase funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program by $35 billion over five years, in order to add an estimated 4 million people to an existing program that provides insurance coverage for children from families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private insurance. The joint federal-state program currently provides benefits to roughly 6 million people, mostly children.

Bush's veto in early October of a similar bill was narrowly upheld by the House.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071212/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush_veto&printer=1;_ylt=Atb0B6CJaqETxrNT4I8p4fgGw_IE

Here's hoping that congress can find the spine to override, what with an election year ahead.

Shrubism's 2007

Here's a nice little list of the 10 dumbest things our shrub said in 2007:

10. “And there is distrust in Washington. I am surprised, frankly, at the amount of distrust that exists in this town. And I’m sorry it’s the case, and I’ll work hard to try to elevate it.” –interview on National Public Radio, Jan. 29, 2007

9. “I fully understand those who say you can’t win this thing militarily. That’s exactly what the United States military says, that you can’t win this military.” –on the need for political progress in Iraq, Washington, D.C., Oct. 17, 2007

8. “One of my concerns is that the health care not be as good as it can possibly be.” –on military benefits, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

7. “Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for your introduction. Thank you for being such a fine host for the OPEC summit.” –addressing Australian Prime Minister John Howard at the APEC Summit. Later, in the same speech: “As John Howard accurately noted when he went to thank the Austrian troops there last year…” –referring to Australian troops as “Austrian troops,” Sept. 7, 2007

6. “My relationship with this good man is where I’ve been focused, and that’s where my concentration is. And I don’t regret any other aspect of it. And so I — we filled a lot of space together.” –on British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Washington, D.C., May 17, 2007

5. “You helped our nation celebrate its bicentennial in 17 — 1976.” –to Queen Elizabeth, Washington, D.C., May 7, 2007 (Watch video clip)

4. “The question is, who ought to make that decision? The Congress or the commanders? And as you know, my position is clear — I’m a Commander Guy.” –deciding he is no longer just “The Decider,” Washington, D.C., May 2, 2007 (Watch video clip)

3. “Information is moving — you know, nightly news is one way, of course, but it’s also moving through the blogosphere and through the Internets.” –Washington, D.C., May 2, 2007

2. “There are some similarities, of course (between Iraq and Vietnam). Death is terrible.” –Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007

1. “As yesterday’s positive report card shows, childrens do learn when standards are high and results are measured.” –on the No Child Left Behind Act, Washington, D.C., Sept. 26, 2007 (Watch video clip)

Written by Ron Chusid

http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?p=2492

Can we at least make sure that our next president can speak english? Is that too much to ask?

Real Snow

Woke up to about 6 inches of snow. Which is usually a good thing. Except I have a bunch of things to do today, and I have to go out to do them. The weather gods are not on my side today.

Santa Isn't Coming this Year....

....at least for Uncle Sam.

From Bloomberg:

Iran, the second-biggest producer of crude oil in the Middle East, has ``completely halted'' all oil transactions in dollars, the state-run ISNA news agency said, citing Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari.

Nozari said the U.S. currency was no longer reliable as the dollar continues to depreciate. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has set up a team to study pricing oil in another currency, the INSA cited Nozari as saying. The measure is designed to prevent further losses in revenue to oil exporters, ISNA reported.

At the last OPEC meeting, Iran and Venezuela were pushing hard for a switch away from the dollar. Saudi Arabia was against this move and blocked further moves away from the dollar. In other words, there are a ton of politics involved with this as well. (h/t, http://www.bonddad.blogspot.com)

Since it has been bandied about until we're all blue in the face, let's just say that this could be spectacularly bad for the U.S. And, while we'll harp to the press and the international community about evil Iran having "nookular" weapons, we're really going to take this as a slap in the face as our currency devalues even more (if that's even possible), especially if other OPEC nations follow Iran's lead.

Those speculative plans for a March/April 2008 strike don't seem so implausible now, do they? Let us hope the Joint Chiefs are ignoring them.

More on the Hops Crisis

I've posted before on the world wide hop shortage, but there's more news today:

In the world of beer, you can't skip the hops -- even when the price goes up 400 percent in a year.

That jaw-dropping hike in the price of the twining vine flower -- an ingredient used to impart flavor to many brews -- is the result of market correction, bad crops and China, among other things. For beer lovers at the bar and the distributor, it may boil down to price hikes ranging from a quarter a glass to a few dollars a case in coming months.

''We use about 12 different varieties of hops, and they went up 350 to 400 percent, each one,'' said Dan Weyerbacher, president of Weyerbacher Brewing Co. in Easton.
That translates to a jump from about $4 a pound to about $23 a pound.

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-a1_5beer.6174490dec09,0,3091573.story?coll=all_tab01_layout

This is a serious problem for my local brewery, Zymurgian, and all my friends who brew (I found out in the comments last time that a lot of our readers are also brewers), and there's no quick fix as hops take several years to grow.

Can we blame shrub?

it is snowing outside

I have nothing to say today. So here's a river pic.

Light Snow

While it's only a "dusting", we have our first snow of winter this morning.

Best Friday Boobies

I think this is the best pair of Boobies I've found so far for a Friday.

Act Surprised

The CIA destroyed the "torture tapes". Big surprise. Actually, I'm more surprised that they even admitted that the tapes ever existed. They claim "national security", but this is an obvious cover up of multiple crimes. And with our current dysfunctional government, they will get away with it.
This is the depth that shrub has sunk America to. The tacit admission that America has engaged in torture and then covered it up should be enough for all decent, moral people to call for impeachment. Instead, we get a lot of blather regarding "well, the tapes have been destroyed" as if that is exculpatory of the actual torture. I'm betting that there will be no prosecution of these crimes. They no longer even bother to lie about the torture itself.
As on so many other times, the shrub administration has placed themselves above the law, knowing that they wont be held accountable for their crimes.
How did we come to this? We deserve better.
added: Obstruction of justice is an easier charge to face than violation of international law, I suppose.

Way Too Dumb

Mutt Romney gave his speech "on faith" and proved that he is way too stupid to be president by saying this:

ROMNEY: “Freedom requires religion just as religion requires freedom.”

Anyone who knows even the smallest smattering of history would know that this is absolutely false, not true, stupid, and dangerous.
(lots of other blogs have done more lengthy critiques of Romney's speech. I'll keep mine simple)

History in 100 Words

The history of the human race in 100 words:

Alan Charles Kors

George H. Walker Endowed Term Professor of
History

• First, tribes: tough life.
• The defaults beyond the intimate tribe were violence, aversion to difference, and slavery. Superstition: everywhere.
• Culture overcomes them partially.
• Rainfall agriculture, which allows loners.
• Irrigation agriculture, which favors community.
• Division of labor plus exchange in trade bring mutual cooperation, even outside the tribe.
• The impulse is always there, though: "Kill or enslave the outsider."
• Gradual science from Athens' compact with reason.
• Division of labor, trade, the mastery of knowledge, plus time brought surplus, sometimes a peaceful extended order and, rules diversely evolved and, the cooperation of strangers - always warring against the fierce defaults of tribalism, violence, and ignorance.
• No one who teaches you knows what will happen.
• http://www.sas.upenn.edu/home/news/trans_Kors.html

Pretty accurate in my opinion.

Job Hunting (or an excuse for the 900th post)

Those around me know that I'm looking for a job. Then I saw this one:

The opportunity of a lifetime! The government is paying up to $144,000 for a "business development/tourism" expert to "work with private sector businesses and local governments in fostering business development with a particular focus on tourism and related services."

The 13-month job also offers a 35 percent "danger pay" premium and other bonuses because it's based in Baghdad.

Yes, as the surge continues to calm things, the State Department figures it's time for the tourists to show up. But Iraqi tourism has been on the skids for many years and jump-starting projects will not be easy.

So one of your jobs will be "recognizing and reporting on obstacles to business development" -- small-arms fire, roadside bombs, for example -- and to be "a catalyst for new ideas."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/04/AR2007120402048_2.html

So, dear readers, should I apply for this job? Why or why not?

BTW, I could always use P.J. O'Rourke's slogan "see the ruins".

Happy Repeal Day

Today really should be a national holday. On December 5th, 1933 prohibition came to an end. Feel free to celebrate however you see fit, but as for me, I'll use it as an excuse to have a beer later (not that I need an excuse).

Walter Cronkite on Iraq

For those of us old enough to remember Vietnam, the voice of Walter Cronkite has a certain resonance. When he called for the end to the Vietnam war, the country listened. Now he's speaking out (written with David Krieger) for the end of the war in Iraq:

The American people no longer support the war in Iraq. The war is being carried on by a stubborn president who, like Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon during the Vietnam War, does not want to lose. But from the beginning this has been an ill-considered and poorly prosecuted war that, like the Vietnam War, has diminished respect for America. We believe Mr. Bush would like to drag the war on long enough to hand it off to another president.

The war in Iraq reminds us of the tragedy of the Vietnam War. Both wars began with false assertions by the president to the American people and the Congress. Like Vietnam, the Iraq War has introduced a new vocabulary: “shock and awe,” “mission accomplished,” “the surge.” Like Vietnam, we have destroyed cities in order to save them. It is not a strategy for success.

The Bush administration has attempted to forestall ending the war by putting in more troops, but more troops will not solve the problem. We have lost the hearts and minds of most of the Iraqi people, and victory no longer seems to be even a remote possibility. It is time to end our occupation of Iraq, and bring our troops home.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/12/04/5598/

Mr. Cronkite makes the case quite simply:

We must ask ourselves whether continuing to pursue this war is benefiting the American people or weakening us. We must ask whether continuing the war is benefiting the Iraqi people or inflicting greater suffering upon them. We believe the answer to these inquiries is that both the American and Iraqi people would benefit by ending the US military presence in Iraq.

Moving forward is not complicated, but it will require courage. Step one is to proceed with the rapid withdrawal of US troops from Iraq and hand over the responsibility for the security of Iraq to Iraqi forces. Step two is to remove our military bases from Iraq and to turn Iraqi oil over to Iraqis. Step three is to provide resources to the Iraqis to rebuild the infrastructure that has been destroyed in the war.

Congress must act. Although Congress never declared war, as required by the Constitution, they did give the president the authority to invade Iraq. Congress must now withdraw that authority and cease its funding of the war.

It is not likely, however, that Congress will act unless the American people make their voices heard with unmistakable clarity. That is the way the Vietnam War was brought to an end. It is the way that the Iraq War will also be brought to an end. The only question is whether it will be now, or whether the war will drag on, with all the suffering that implies, to an even more tragic, costly and degrading defeat. We will be a better, stronger and more decent country to bring the troops home now.

Thank you, Mr. Cronkite for speaking out. I only hope that the American people will again heed your word of wisdom.

Shrub Rejects Intelligence

I had hoped to post yesterday on shrub's press conference, but didn't get to it. Shrub seems to be rather confused by the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE).
For example, Iran halting their nuclear weapons program in 2003 means:

Look, Iran was dangerous, Iran is dangerous, and Iran will be dangerous if they have the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon. The NIE says that Iran had a hidden -- a covert nuclear weapons program. That's what it said. What's to say they couldn't start another covert nuclear weapons program? And the best way to ensure that the world is peaceful in the future is for the international community to continue to work together to say to the Iranians, we're going to isolate you.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/12/20071204-4.html

Notice that shrub believes that "knowledge" is "dangerous" (which explains a lot of his behavior). He made the point more than once:

I think it is very important for the international community to recognize the fact that if Iran were to develop the knowledge that they could transfer to a clandestine program it would create a danger for the world. And so I view this report as a warning signal that they had the program, they halted the program. And the reason why it's a warning signal is that they could restart it. And the thing that would make a restarted program effective and dangerous is the ability to enrich uranium, the knowledge of which could be passed on to a hidden program.

Of course, the "knowledge" to make a nuclear weapon is readily available to just about anyone who has studied physics. Given that Iran has a fairly highly educated population (many Americans may be surprised by that) and that the "knowledge" is readily available in the world, we would have to eliminate a lot of people to keep Iran from having the "knowledge". And he's not backing down:

THE PRESIDENT: No, nobody ever told me that. Having said -- having laid that out, I still feel strongly that Iran is a danger. Nothing has changed in this NIE that says, okay, why don't we just stop worrying about it. Quite the contrary. I think the NIE makes it clear that Iran needs to be taken seriously as a threat to peace. My opinion hasn't changed.

And I just explained, Jim, that if you want to avoid a really problematic situation in the Middle East, now is the time to continue to work together. That's our message to our allies, and it's an important message for them to hear. And here's the reason why: In order for a nation to develop a nuclear weapons program they must have the materials from which to make a bomb, the know-how on how to take that material and make it explode, and a delivery system.

Now, the Iranians -- the most difficult aspect of developing a weapons program, or as some would say, the long pole in the tent, is enriching uranium. This is a nation -- Iran is a nation that is testing ballistic missiles. And it is a nation that is trying to enrich uranium. The NIE says this is a country that had a covert nuclear weapons program, which, by the way, they have failed to disclose, even today. They have never admitted the program existed in the first place.

The danger is, is that they can enrich, play like they got a civilian program -- or have a civilian program, or claim it's a civilian program -- and pass the knowledge to a covert military program. And then the danger is, is at some point in the future, they show up with a weapon. And my comments are, now is the time to work together to prevent that scenario from taking place. It's in our interests.

So Iran is a "threat to peace"? I know it's not a revelation that our shrub is a moron, but how the hell did this idiot get to be in charge of a country that has actual functioning nuclear weapons? Shrub has proven himself to be the greatest threat to peace on the planet. It wont be Iran that starts WWIII. Let us hope that shrub will be prevented from starting it.

That's Good

Under the list of unexpected treats, Zymurgian made "mullagatoni" (spelling by guess), an Indian curry soup. I had planned a basic dinner of something sandwich, but I ran into a bouquet of marvelous flavors. Thanks, Zymurgian.
Added: It's not that I don't know how to cook, it's that as a single guy I seldom get motivated to cook. I seldom get the urge to make really good food, and instead go for quick and easy. So a really good soup is a treat.

The NPR Debate

Sister Mary Ellen at The Devine Democrat did a "live blog" forum, with some truly great comments (my own were short).
Well, that was an improvement. NPR took an audience-free, topic focused format and allowed all the candidates (minus Richardson who was repatriating a Korean war vet's remains) time to go beyond sound bytes. While there were no home runs, everybody came away sounding like a huge improvement over shrub. Hillary sounded slick, Barack was tentative at first but got better as the debate continued, Edwards continued his populist message, Joe and Chris both sounded smart and experienced, Dennis was Dennis, and Gravel finally got to talk.
The debate was limited to 3 areas: Iran/Iraq, China/Trade, and Immigration.
On Iran/Iraq: Clinton was the most hawkish, Obama stumbled a bit but sounded solid on engagement, as did Edwards. Biden emphasised his experience, as did Dodd. Kucinich and Gravel took the strongest anti-war positions (as expected), but were both too much "I told you so" rather than how to fix the mess.
China/Trade: Everybody agreed on the need for more regulation enforcement, but the amount of "leverage" was divisive. The nuance between the candidates was quite interesting.
Immigration: Bah! I swear, beyond Gravel, they all fell into the trap of this wedge issue. If I could tell the Democratic candidates what to say on immigration it would be very simple: Restore the funding that shrub has cut from INS so that the LEGAL immigration system can work, and illegal immigration will decrease dramatically.
Anyway, here's the link (transcript not up yet):
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16843353

Another Outrage

When I read this story, I almost could not believe it. This is a total outrage:

WASHINGTON — In a nondescript conference room at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, 1st Lt. Elizabeth Whiteside listened last week as an Army prosecutor outlined the criminal case against her. The charges: attempting suicide and endangering the life of another soldier while serving in Iraq.

Her hands trembled as Maj. Stefan Wolfe, the prosecutor, argued that Whiteside, now a psychiatric outpatient at Walter Reed, should be court-martialed. After seven years of exemplary service, the Army reservist faces the possibility of life in prison if she is tried and convicted.

Military psychiatrists at Walter Reed who examined Whiteside, 25, after she recovered from her self-inflicted gun wound diagnosed her with a severe mental disorder, possibly triggered by the stresses of a war zone. But Whiteside's superiors considered her mental illness "an excuse" for criminal conduct, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post.

At the hearing, Wolfe, who had warned Whiteside's lawyer of the risk of using a "psychobabble" defense, pressed a senior psychiatrist at Walter Reed to justify his diagnosis.

"I'm not here to play legal games," Col. George Brandt, chief of Behavioral Health Services in Walter Reed's Department of Psychiatry, responded angrily, according to a recording of the hearing. "I am here out of the genuine concern for a human being that's breaking and that is broken. She has a severe and significant illness. Let's treat her as a human being, for Christ's sake!"

In recent months, prodded by outrage over poor conditions at Walter Reed, the Army has made a highly publicized effort to improve treatment of Iraq veterans and change a culture that stigmatizes mental illness. The Pentagon has allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to new research and to care for soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder. On Friday, it said it had opened a new center for psychological health in Arlington, Va.

But outside the Pentagon, the military still largely deals with mental-health problems in an ad-hoc way, often relying on the judgment of combat-hardened commanders whose understanding of mental illness is vague or misinformed.

The stigma around psychological wounds can be seen in the smallest of Army policies. While family members of soldiers recovering at Walter Reed from physical injuries are provided free lodging and a per diem to care for loved ones, families of psychiatric outpatients usually have to pay their own way.

Wolfe suggested the military court might not buy the mental-illness defense. "Who doesn't find psychobabble unclear ... how many people out there believe that insanity should never be a defense, that it is just ... an 'excuse.' "

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004047625_reed02.html

A soul broken down by war attempting to take her own life is a tragedy. To prosecute her is flat out cruel and inhumane. I've got a piece of "psychobabble" for you, prosecutor Wolfe: Sociopathic sadistic fucks like you are an offense to the honor of America's veterans.

Please, contact your congressperson and senators and demand better treatment for mentally-ill vets.

Shrub Reveals a Truth

Our shrub revealed his true intent while blasting Democrats in congress:

“In a political maneuver designed to block my ability to make recess appointments, congressional leaders arranged for a senator to come in every three days or so, bang a gavel, wait for about 30 seconds, bang a gavel again, and then leave,” Bush said. “Under the Senate rules, this counts as a full day. If 30 seconds is a full day, no wonder Congress has got a lot of work to do.”

Senate Democrats had held pro forma sessions throughout the Thanksgiving break to keep the Senate “in session” and block Bush from making recess appointments.

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/bush-blasts-senate-over-pro-forma-sessions-2007-12-03.html

He just implied that he would have made recess appointments, but congress prevented him from doing so. Good job, Sen. Reid (something I rarely say)!

The Cheney is Upset

This report is not going to make the Cheney happy:

WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 — A new assessment by American intelligence agencies concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains on hold, contradicting an assessment two years ago that Tehran was working inexorably toward building a bomb.

The conclusions of the new assessment are likely to be major factor in the tense international negotiations aimed at getting Iran to halt its nuclear energy program. Concerns about Iran were raised sharply after President Bush had suggested in October that a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to “World War III,” and Vice President Dick Cheney promised “serious consequences” if the government in Tehran did not abandon its nuclear program.

The finding also come in the middle of a presidential campaign during which a possible military strike against Iran’s nuclear program has been discussed. The assessment, a National Intelligence Estimate that represents the consensus view of all 16 American spy agencies, states that Tehran’s ultimate intentions about gaining a nuclear weapon remain unclear, but that Iran’s “decisions are guided by a cost-benefit approach rather than a rush to a weapon irrespective of the political, economic and military costs.”

“Some combination of threats of intensified international scrutiny and pressures, along with opportunities for Iran to achieve its security, prestige, and goals for regional influence in other ways might — if perceived by Iran’s leaders as credible — prompt Tehran to extend the current halt to its nuclear weapons program,” the estimate states.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/03/world/middleeast/03cnd-iran.html?_r=1&hp=&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin

So, will 16 intelligence agencies saying clearly "Iran is not a nuclear threat" be enough to stop all the talk about war? I doubt it. But it could be enough to stop an actual war.

Imperial Hubris

Not the book (which is quite good), but the latest assertion of authority from the shrub administration:

AMERICA has told Britain that it can “kidnap” British citizens if they are wanted for crimes in the United States.

A senior lawyer for the American government has told the Court of Appeal in London that kidnapping foreign citizens is permissible under American law because the US Supreme Court has sanctioned it.

The admission will alarm the British business community after the case of the so-called NatWest Three, bankers who were extradited to America on fraud charges. More than a dozen other British executives, including senior managers at British Airways and BAE Systems, are under investigation by the US authorities and could face criminal charges in America.

Until now it was commonly assumed that US law permitted kidnapping only in the “extraordinary rendition” of terrorist suspects.

The American government has for the first time made it clear in a British court that the law applies to anyone, British or otherwise, suspected of a crime by Washington.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article2982640.ece

Got that? Shrub's law trumps international law and all previous extradition treaties. And they're actually putting it to the test:

The US government’s view emerged during a hearing involving Stanley Tollman, a former director of Chelsea football club and a friend of Baroness Thatcher, and his wife Beatrice.

The Tollmans, who control the Red Carnation hotel group and are resident in London, are wanted in America for bank fraud and tax evasion. They have been fighting extradition through the British courts.

During a hearing last month Lord Justice Moses, one of the Court of Appeal judges, asked Alun Jones QC, representing the US government, about its treatment of Gavin, Tollman’s nephew. Gavin Tollman was the subject of an attempted abduction during a visit to Canada in 2005.

Jones replied that it was acceptable under American law to kidnap people if they were wanted for offences in America. “The United States does have a view about procuring people to its own shores which is not shared,” he said.

Sometimes it seems that shrub is trying to unite the world against us. I mean, last time I looked, the British were one of the few countries that we have good relations with. Pissing them off doesn't strike me as a good move.

How would America respond if another country (oh, say Germany) decided that they are entitled to abduct an American citizen (oh, say Donald Rumsfield) whom they accuse of a crime?

Or is shrub tacitly implying that America now rules the world?

Added: Cernig of The NewsHoggers adds this thought:

But the same administration has vigorously pursued immunity from prosecution for US citizens by other nations for crimes committed while in those nations. Such a double standard, fuelled by a view of American exceptionalism which draws its inspiration from past colonial powers (including, it must be admitted, Britain) gives a clear lie to administration supporters' claims of there being no intention for hegemonic dominance. Only the most blinkered "my country, right or wrong" zealots could argue otherwise.

British law, however, says that kidnapping is a crime with a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The UK government should make it clear that charges will be brought against any US official authorising kidnapping under a purely American and outdated law - and that even if extradition is refused by the US then those charges will remain
open indefinitely. It should also make it clear that should the accused travel to another nation where the UK has an extradition treaty, Britain will ask for remand of the suspect to a British court for trial. Other nations should follow suit.

We live in a very strange time.

Giuliani

The man has always been a corrupt sleazeball, so none of the latest news surprises me. He's the poster boy of modern republicanism, and I'm thinking that he would be their perfect nominee.

Noam goes home

Archeologists working in Mongolia have recently exhumed a dinosaur skeleton of the like never found before. Because these scientists prefer to listen to recordings of the band Dire Straits while digging, they decided to name this bundle of bones knopflersaurus, after Mark Knopfler of the band Dire Straits.
Now, most of ya'll are oblivious to this but I happen to have a pet dinosaur.(in our archives if ye really give a crap) One day, a dinosaur hopped out of a time travel device- disguised as a dumpster- and nosed its way to my house. It lay mewling and bawling and lost on my doorstep, only because it was attracted to my scent. Folks, I, as well, was once vacuumed into a time travel device that was disguised as a dumpster. I went to 2011,(see archives) but somehow made it back...Anyway, I was an involuntary time traveler, and so was said dinosaur. There is a certain musk one gleans when one time travels, discernable only to those of same affliction.
I named it(soon to be known as a she) Noam. To be sure, Noam was at times quite charming
(and really affectionate..which i won't espouse upon just yet) But her diet- Noam was into devouring books- proved too daunting for this household.
Noam was a good-enough dinosaur. Gorgeous. Lithe. Stupid. Indomitable.
But I never knew exactly what sort of Jurassic hitch-hiker i had on my hands... and now I know that Noam is, in fact, a Knopflersaurus.
Twas a hard decision to make- but i had to send Noam back to her own time. She had simply wreacked too much havoc in our time, and I knew that she was traumatized and alone and longing for her Cenzoic pals...
I stood by the dumpster(looks like one but it's a time travel device) And played "Sultans Of Swing" over and over again until Noam came bounding along like a ten ton beagle.
Noam leapt into the "dumpster" and is, I hope, back in her proper time.
Befriending a six-million year old knopflersaurus don't happen every day.
Damn, I'm gonna miss her.
Farewell, Noam.

Mental Health Treatment

The Clinton HQ hostage situation brings up again the lack of adequate mental health treatment in America:

ROCHESTER, N.H. - Leeland Eisenberg was already in trouble before he walked into one of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s campaign offices.

Three days earlier, his wife had filed for divorce; he was due to appear in court with her for a domestic violence hearing in about half an hour.

Then, the nicely dressed, gray-haired man peeled open his jacket to reveal what looked like dynamite strapped to his chest, authorities said, and things got much worse.

Police say Eisenberg went to the office Friday demanding to talk to Clinton about helping him get mental health care and ended up taking at least five people, including an infant, hostage. Night would fall before the last one walked free and the hostage-taker peacefully surrendered.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22043358/

I guess he'll be getting treatment now, albeit within the criminal justice system.

As I posted in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings, I'm a former mental health counselor. My degree is in community mental health treatment. I worked in the field for about 14 years, before burnout and frustration led me to leave the field. Our mental health system is virtually nonexistent for the people who need it most. If you're poor, the only way you will receive treatment is if you commit a crime and are court ordered into a system that is so overextended that it is unable to provide even minimal care. There is no preventative care unless you're well off enough to pay for it yourself, and the vast majority of people with mental illness aren't.

Another symptom of the sickness that has become the norm in our society.

Strange Budget Priorities

While I think the "Department of Homeland Security" has been a boondoggle full of pork barrel spending that fails to increase security, I never thought shrub would be the one to scuttle it:

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration intends to slash counterterrorism funding for police, firefighters and rescue departments across the country by more than half next year, according to budget documents obtained by The Associated Press.

The Homeland Security Department has given $23 billion to states and local communities to fight terrorism since the Sept. 11 attacks, but the administration is not convinced that the money has been well spent and thinks the nation’s highest-risk cities have largely satisfied their security needs.

The department wanted to provide $3.2 billion to help states and cities protect against terrorist attacks in 2009, but the White House said it would ask Congress for less than half — $1.4 billion, according to a Nov. 26 document.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22046131/

Just try to imagine the reaction if this were a Democratic proposal. I suppose that shrub believes that our occupation of Iraq is providing all the security that we need.

DHS has been riddled with odd spending priorities, but this is weird:

The plan calls outright elimination of programs for port security, transit security, and local emergency management operations in the next budget year. This is President Bush’s last budget, and the new administration would have to live with the funding decisions between Jan. 20 and Sept. 30, 2009.

I'm speechless.

New Toy

We have a new toy in the household. Our household computer network wizard bought a network printer/scanner/copier for us. Given that my printer is a dying antique that only works about 1 of 3 times (I keep waiting for the cartridge to empty, so I could shoot it), this is a big step up. Having access to a scanner will be fun, and may lead to some new posts.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, oh great wizard.

Rain and Roof

I'm very happy that it's raining.

I'm rather unhappy about how much the roof is leaking.

Just sharing. So I'll share this:

Rainy Friday Boobie

It's actually raining today (we'd almost forgotten what rain is), and it may turn to snow over night. Finally.
Update: Not going to snow, as the storm has actually warmed. But we're getting a decent amount of rain.

On "Good" News from Iraq

I haven't posted about Iraq lately because...well...it's complex, depressing, and I've been lazy. The media has been repeating that the violence is "down" which is partly true. Suicide bombings are "down" to an average of 10 a day, from a high of 30 a day. Sectarian killings are fewer and a few neighborhood are almost safe. So we're back to the level of violence of 2005. This is being touted as "progress".

Michael Schwartz has written a great article (that I would highly recommend) titled "Why Bush won't leave Iraq":

Whoa, let's hold those surging horses in check a moment. Violence has lessened in Iraq. That seems to be a fact of the last two months -- and, for the Iraqis, a positive one, obviously. What to make of the "good news" from Iraq is another matter entirely, one made harder to assess by the chorus of self-congratulation from war supporters and Bush administration officials and allies, as well as by the heavy spin being put on events -- and reported in the media, relatively uncritically.

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174868

The "returning refugees" story sound good at first, but the actual numbers are dismal:

An exception was Damien Cave of the New York Times, who had a revealing piece on a big story of recent weeks: The return of refugee Baghdadis -- from among the two million or more Iraqis who had fled to Syria and other countries -- to the capital. This has been heavily touted as evidence of surge "success" in restoring security in Baghdad, of a genuine turn-around in the war situation. In fact, according to Cave, the trickle of returnees, which had actually been lessening recently, has been heavily "massaged by politics. Returnees have essentially become a currency of progress."

Those relatively modest returnee numbers turn out to include anyone who crossed the Syrian border heading east, including suspected insurgents and Iraqi employees of the New York Times on their way back from visits to relatives in exile in Syria. According to a UN survey of 110 families returning, "46 percent were leaving [Syria] because they could not afford to stay; 25 percent said they fell victim to a stricter Syrian visa policy; and only 14 percent said they were returning because they had heard about improved security." And that's but one warning sign on the nature of the story under the story.

Remember that there are an estimated 4.5 million displaced Iraqi's, so the current trickle is the proverbial "drop in the bucket".

And the "drop" in violence? Not such a rosy picture, either:

A recent Pew Research Center poll of American reporters who have been working in Iraq finds that "[n]early 90 percent of U.S. journalists in Iraq say much of Baghdad is still too dangerous to visit" and many believe that "coverage has painted too rosy a picture of the conflict." In an on-line chat, the reliable Thomas Ricks of the Washington Post (and author of the bestselling book Fiasco), just back from Baghdad himself, offered his own set of caveats about the situation. He suggested that, in addition to the surge of U.S. troops into the capital's neighborhoods, some combination of other factors may help explain the lessening violence, including the fact that "some Sunni neighborhoods are walled off, and other Sunni areas have been ethnically cleansed. In addition, the Shiite death squads, in addition to killing a lot of
innocents, also killed some of the car bomb guys, I am told." Of the dozens of American officers he interviewed, none were declaring success. "[T]o a man, they were enormously frustrated by what they see as the foot-dragging of the Baghdad government." And he points out that violence in Baghdad "is only back down to the 2005 level -- which to my mind is kind of like moving from the eighth circle of hell to the fifth." In 2005, or early 2006, of course, such levels were considered catastrophic.

Robert Parry of Consortium News points out that, while "good news" dominated front pages here, "the darker side" of "success" has "generally been shoved into brief stories deep inside the newspapers." He adds that "the harsh repression surrounding the ‘surge' has drawn far less U.S. press attention," even as "Iraq steadily has been transformed into a more efficient police state than dictator Saddam Hussein could have ever imagined."

In other words, the sectarian groups have established their seperate enclaves. They don't have as many rivals around to kill.

So the current "plan" is to continue the occupation for 5 more years:

You can tell things can't be going well if your best-case plan is for an armed occupation force to remain in a major Baghdad community for the next five years. It means that the underlying causes of disorder are not being addressed. You can tell things are not going well if five more years are needed to train and activate a local police force, when police training takes about six months. (Consider this an indication that the recruits exhibit loyalties and goals that run contrary to those of the American military.) You can tell things are not going well when communities have to be surrounded by cement walls and checkpoints that naturally disrupt normal life, including work, school, and daily shopping. These are all signs that escalating discontent and protest may require new suppressive actions in the not-so-distant future.

The American military is well aware of this. They keep reminding us that the present decline in violence may be temporary, nothing more than a brief window of opportunity that could be used to resolve some of the "political problems" facing Iraq before the violence can be reinvigorated. The current surge -- even "the five year plan" -- is not designed to solve Iraq's problems, just to hold down the violence while others, in theory, act.

Now comes the real reason for the continuing occupation:

By now, however, most of us realize that there is much more to the American purpose in Iraq than a commitment to an elected government in Baghdad that could peacefully resolve sectarian tensions. The rhetoric of the Bush administration and its chief democratic opponents (most notably Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama) is increasingly laced with references -- to quote Clinton -- to "vital national
security interests" in the Middle East that will require a continuing "military as well as political mission." In Iraq, leading Washington politicians of both parties agree on the necessity of establishing a friendly government that will welcome the presence of a "residual" American military force, oppose Iran's regional aspirations, and prevent the country from becoming "a petri dish for insurgents."

Let's be clear about those "vital national security interests." America's vital interests in the Middle East derive from the region's status as the world's principle source of oil. President Jimmy Carter enunciated exactly this principle back in 1980 when he promulgated the Carter Doctrine, stating that the U.S. was willing to use "any means necessary, including military force," to maintain access to supplies of Middle Eastern oil sufficient to keep the global economy running smoothly. All subsequent presidents have reiterated, amplified, and acted on this principle.

The Bush administration, in applying the Carter Doctrine, was faced with the need to access increasing amounts of Middle Eastern oil in light of constantly escalating world energy consumption. In 2001, Vice-President Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force responded to this challenge by designating Iraq as the linchpin in a general plan to double Middle Eastern oil production in the following years. It was reasonable, task force members decided, to hope for a genuine spurt in production in Iraq, whose oil industry had remained essentially stagnant (or worse) from 1980 to that moment. By ousting the backward-looking regime of Saddam Hussein and transferring the further development, production, and distribution of Iraq's bounteous oil reserves to multinational oil companies, they would assure the introduction of modern methods of production, ample investment capital, and an aggressive urge to increase output. Indeed, after removing Saddam via invasion in 2003, the Bush administration has made repeated (if so far unsuccessful) efforts to implement this plan.

They're not even trying to hide the fact that we're staying for the oil.

However, maintaining the occupation won't be that simple:

The desire for such an endpoint has hardly disappeared. It became increasingly clear, however, that successful implementation of such plans would, at best, take many years, and that the maintenance of a powerful American political and military presence within Iraq was a necessary prerequisite to everything else. Since sustaining such a presence was itself a major problem, however, it also became clear that America's plans depended on dislodging powerful forces entrenched in all levels of Iraqi society -- from public opinion to elected leaders to the insurgency itself.

American ambitions -- far more than sectarian tensions -- constitute the irresolvable core of Iraq's political problems. The overwhelming majority of Iraqis oppose the occupation. They wish the Americans gone and a regime in place in Baghdad that is not an American ally. (This is true whether you are considering the Shiite majority or the Sunni minority.) As for a "residual" American military presence, the Iraqi Parliament recently passed a resolution demanding that the UN mandate for a U.S. occupation be rescinded.

Even the issue of terrorism is controversial. The American propensity to label as "terrorist" all violent opposition to the occupation means that most Iraqis (57% in August 2007), when asked, support terrorism as defined by the occupiers, since majorities in both the Sunni and Shia communities endorse using violent means to expel the Americans.

Remember that we've pumped tons of guns into Iraq, and that we've armed both Sunni and Shia. So we will continue to face an insurgency as long as we remain.

As long as that government is determined to install a friendly, anti-Iranian regime in Baghdad, one that is hostile to "foreigners," including all jihadists, but welcomes an ongoing American military presence as well as multinational development of Iraqi oil, the American armed forces aren't going anywhere, not for a long, long time; and no relative lull in the fighting -- temporary or not -- will change that reality. This is the Catch-22 of Bush administration policy in Iraq. The worse things go, the more our military is needed; the better they go, the more our military is needed.

And shrub will not leave Iraq, regardless of the situation. But shrubs "goals" will never be achieved because they are based on a delusion. The bleeding will continue, because our goals are incompatable with the Iraqi's goals.

It's a tragedy based on empire and hubris of epic proportions, and we'll be facing the blowback for at least a generation.

Gift Idea

Via Father Tyme at BlondSense, here's a very cool, cheap Christmas (or any other time) gift idea:

Tired of spending big bucks for Christmas gifts that your friends only use till the middle of January? Here's a practical gift that says you care...and it's free! Well, except for a
piece of heavy card stock and learning to use scissors, I mean.

While I'm sure some of our friends in the northeast and midwest may scoff at this,
remember FEMA!




















Click on the picture to enlarge then save it to a folder, print, cut and assemble and you're protected.


Oh, and it's kinda cool in the bedroom, also.

Having grown up in San Francisco, I'm always aware of earthquakes. I might make myself one (if I can get my semi-dead antique printer to agree).

Thug Debate

In a fit of masochism, I watched last nights rethug debate. What a waste of time. CNN's choice of pandering questions, a bunch of white guys trying to out pander each other over stupid issues to play to the base, and the obligatory swipes at Hillary. Immigrant bashing was the main topic, but there was time for "God, Guns, and Gays" and "war is swell" rhetoric (except Ron Paul). Every one of the candidates scares me, as did almost all of the people in the YouTube questions. None of these men should ever be allowed to be President. But the one who scares me the most is Mike Huckabee. He's as crazy as the rest, but he has the ability to look and sound sane (at least when compared to Rudy and Mitt and Fred and Duncan and Tom and John and Ron) and sell himself to the fundies.
The real problem is that the Republican media machine will latch onto the eventual nominee, and we'll get months of propaganda about how candidate "X" represents the "real America" and "values". And Huckabee looks like someone they can sell to the public.
Added: And I agree with Gandhisxmas's post below.

Odd Allies

There are times when I get confused by international relations. Our shrub has a unique talent for uniting diverse groups, albeit that he unites them against him:

The diplomatic chess game around Iran's nuclear program includes an unlikely bishop. According to several well-placed Rome sources, Iranian officials are quietly laying the groundwork necessary to turn to Pope Benedict XVI and top Vatican diplomats for mediation if the showdown with the United States should escalate toward a military intervention. The 80-year-old Pope has thus far steered clear of any strong public comments about either Iran's failure to fully comply with U.N. nuclear weapons inspectors or the drumbeat of war coming from some corners in Washington. But Iran, which has had diplomatic relations with the Holy See for 53 years, may be trying to line up Benedict as an ace in the hole for staving off a potential attack in the coming months. "The Vatican seems to be part of their strategy," a senior Western diplomat in Rome said of the Iranian leadership. "They'll have an idea of when the 11th hour is coming. And they know an intervention of the Vatican is the most open and amenable route to Western public opinion. It could buy them time."

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1687445,00.html

With the timing of the Annapolis conference on low expectations (hey, we'll talk about peace and then do absolutely nothing to promote peace), and the ongoing rhetoric blaming Iran for our disaster in Iraq, strange bedfellows are increasing. Most of the world is trying to prevent the Cheney from attacking Iran, and they just might prevail.

News You Might Have Missed

Sometimes I read something in the news that seems incredibly obvious. This headline caught me:

Bahamas to Ratify Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, says Acting PM
By Lindsay Thompson, BIS
Nov 26, 2007 - 4:46:30 PM

http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/publish/bis-newsupdates/NASSAU_Bahamas_The_Bahamas_is_set_to_ratify_its_position_as_a_signatory_to_the_Comprehensive_Nuclear_Tes-Ban_Treaty_designed_to_rid_the_world_of_nuclear_weapons_Acting_Prime_Minister_the_Hon_Brent_Symonette_announced_Monday_November_26_2007.shtml

I'm glad that the Bahamas oppose nuclear testing, but...uhm...I would have thought that they would have signed on years ago. It's not like they were going to enter a nuclear weapons race any time soon.

The Bahamas is set to ratify its position as a signatory to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban
Treaty, designed to rid the world of nuclear weapons, Acting Prime Minister the Hon Brent Symonette announced Monday, November 26, 2007.

He was addressing a regional workshop co-hosted by the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It is being held November 26 – 28, at the Wyndham Nassau Resort and Crystal Palace Casino, Cable Beach.

...

The year 2006 marked the 10^th anniversary of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty open for signature. Since then, the CTBT has been considered a cornerstone of the non-proliferation of the nuclear weapons regime.

The Treaty has 177 State Signatories, with 140 countries who have ratified. Thirty-four of the 44 States listed in Annex 2 of the Treaty, whose ratification is required for entry into force, have ratified the Treaty.

http://www.thebahamasweekly.com/publish/bis-news-updates/NASSAU_Bahamas_The_Bahamas_is_set_to_ratify_its_position_as_a_signatory_to_the_Comprehensive_Nuclear_Test-Ban_Treaty_designed_to_rid_the_world_of_nuclear_weapons_Acting_Prime_Minister_the_Hon_Brent_Symonette_announced_Monday_November_26_2007.shtml

Last I looked (OK, I've never been there. But I would love to go) the Bahamas had beautiful beaches with lots of tourist resorts. The testing of nuclear weapons would not be a tourist draw, so opposing it should be a "no brainer", so I'm wondering why it's taken over 10 years to sign on.

religious fundamentalism at its best

From the BBC-

British officials are trying to secure the release of a British schoolteacher arrested in Sudan for letting her pupils name a teddy bear Muhammed.
Gillian Gibbons, of Liverpool, may face blasphemy charges for insulting Islam's prophet. A conviction could mean six months in jail, 40 lashes, or a fine.


Okay so none of the above will probably happen, but still... IT'S A FUCKING TEDDY BEAR folks. Gillian has already been in jail for three days now, suspended from her job, and even the school is closed until January.
I don't get it. I just cannot comprehend this overwhelmingly atrocious and pathetic situation.

Please understand, I am not attacking the Islamic faith. If one looks closely enough, ALL religious principle tries to function as a way for us to not to be self-centered assholes. Well, I'm no theologian, but I strive to keep an open mind...
I once had a friend, a very good friend, named Doug. He was rather troubled but he had a heart of gold. One day he died of a heroin overdose. Anyway, Doug had a dog he named Christ.
He never got 40 lashes or anything, but ever-rebellious punk-rock Doug encountered more than a little outrage for naming his black lab as such. For one thing, his parents- fundamentalist Christians- disowned him as their son.
One could argue that vastly intelligent aliens are not amongst us, as they would have already thoroughly sacked us and preserved our planet for a more noble species such as cockroaches. But then again, perhaps folks from outer space, like us, love to be entertained, and are enjoying what a splendid job we are doing at sacking ourselves.

The Bad with the Good

While I'm glad to see racist sleazebag Trent Lott leaving, now I'm hearing that his replacement as Senate Minority Whip will be my junior Senator, Jon Kyl. Ugh. This means that I'll have to hear more of Kyl bloviating in the media, a very ugly prospect. But worse, I'm afraid Kyl will see his job as actually "whipping minorities".

Proof of Something

There are all kinds of stories of deities showing up in food, but this one is the greatest I've seen:

This is not a joke. The Flying Spaghetti Monster has appeared to us in a pumpkin pie. Bless his noodley appendages!The Manefesto is home to many things,

but rarely is it the place of divine revelation. OnThanksgiving night, the Great Divine Deity of Pasta made an appearance in a pumpkin pie baked by no other than my wife, Miranda.

I do not know why we were selected for such a blessing, but we receive it with glad and open hearts.

No, you will not find it on eBay with such commercial sluts as the virgin Mary grilled cheese, or the gay Jesus in a pancake. I will not defame his greatness in this manner.

The photo is not doctored in any way, neither was the (delicious) pie. I will be sending full, hi-res versions to the church for verification. I assume they will sing pirate shanteys to herald its arrival.

To those of you who did not believe before: believe now. His Pastafarian power extends beyond the spaghetti and the ravioli. It inhabits all food in all time and all space. His noodles are of infinite length and omnipotent power.

http://www.gamerevolution.com/manifesto/view.php?id=397

Praise the pastafarian one with pie!

Lott o' Sleaze

Senator Trent Lott plans to resign by end of year, a move that seems to be confusing most of the media reporters. Actually, the reason is very simple: greed.
MSNBC says this ...

While the exactly reason Lott is stepping down before he finishes his term is unknown, the general speculation is that a quick departure immunizes Lott against tougher restrictions in a new lobbying law that takes effect at the end of the year. That law would require Senators to wait two-years before entering the lucrative world of lobbying Congress.

By resigning now, Sen. Lott can go right to lobbying in a year and make a few boatloads of money. Pure sleaze and greed. Oh, I'm sure he'll say something about "family" or some other pretty excuse, but it's really about money. The lobbying reform that takes effect next year makes corruption harder for members of congress, so Lott is racing to sell out under the wire.
Republican values have a price tag. Buy a Senator now while they're on sale.
Update: Just now on NPR, Cokie Roberts (who I almost never agree with) said "he's going to work as a lobbyist" and made it sound like that's a good thing.