Now It's McCain

I'd pretty much assumed that McCain would be the Rethuglican nominee, despite his apparent senility. Today, with Romney dropping out, that looks inevitable. I don't see Huckabee picking up enough support to beat McCain in the remaining contests (but I could be wrong). The media loves John McCain, so we'll be hearing "maverick" and "straight shooter" from now until November. I might as well start tearing my hair out now. John McCain has been pandering (albeit more subtly) as much and as long as Romney. The only things that McCain has been consistant on is his desire for more wars (and his ego). The man is dangerous. Regardless of who you prefer between Clinton and Obama, McCain must be defeated.

Can We Fire the Senate?

I wish we could fire them all. After the 2006 election, I had some modest optomism that the congressional democrats might show a little bit of a spine. That has not happened. In the latest move, Senate Republicans blocked an economic stimulus package. While the stimulus package was mostly smoke and mirrors, it would be nice to see something get done by the democrats. Watching Harry Reid cave on FISA, subpeonas, and children's health care gets really frustrating, but as Digby says Senate Republicans are Obstructionists of the highest order. We need to elect tougher Senators if we're ever going to see any real change.

Tornado Help

While I've been playing politics, real lives in the south have been hit by devestating tornadoes. Our good pal monkeyfister is in the heart of it in Tennesse, but Arkansas, Mississippi, Missouri, and Kentucky have also been hit. Here's monkeyfisters comment:

Py--

May I ask you for ONE more bit of Civic Help before you rest?

Whilst we're waiting forGeorge's Promised Prayers to roll in, down here in the Tornado-Stricken Mid-South, I might recommend some DIRECT HUMAN INTERACTION.

This Is My Best First Start To Help My Region.

As Scout Prime is to NOLA, I am to the Mid-South area (I LIVE here, and was Live-Blogging these horrible storms all night), and have started to get the help-ball rolling down here. Some of you know where I work. I started a Food Drive there today for the Mid-South United Way Food Bank.

As the area affected is so broad and detached, and everyone in the Country was distracted by politics last night, as yet, there is no central assistance hub set-up. So, at the link, above, you'll find the two agencies with the broadest radius to help the area right now. Both take DIRECT donations.

A small-blog swarm on that (or this) post would be greatly appreciated by more people than just me. I can't describe how wide-spread the damage is down here. It's enormous. The Media, per usual, is only just now waking up to the situation, after their Super-Duper-Let's-All-Wet-Our-Pants-Together- Tuesday Political Hangover. Like NOLA, these are REALLY poor folks down here, and have nothing, and nowhere to go.

A short post about this at YOUR Blog, linking either to my post, above, or directly to the two Orgs mentioned in the post above, would sure be a big help, and would be greatly appreciated by many people who are relying on help. They are all that we have right now.

I just donated a deer's worth of ground venison, along with the 100 pounds of rice and quart-sized ziplock bags that they said that they needed at the United Way Mid-South Food Bank, when I phoned them this morning. Their pantry is BARE, and I'll be loading them up with all the potatoes, rice, veggies, bags, and other staples that I can fit in my truck tomorrow.

This is serious Red State country, and a flood of help from the DFH Left would REALLY make a big difference in a number of good ways.

I thank you all in advance.

Anybody who was thinking about sending help can go here:

Right now, I recommend the:

American Red Cross
Mid-South Chapter
1400 Central Avenue
Memphis, TN
38104
901-726-1690

And:
United Way of the Mid-South phone in a donation at (901) 433-4300.

They take DIRECT donations, so you can skip all the National-level waste and delay, AND they serve nearly every community in the effected radius.

I don't ask for much from my readers, but I sure would appreciate some link love on this post-- or better yet-- if you'd work-up something of your own linking to the Mid-South Red Cross Chapter to help this area get back on it's feet, re-building, and healing. It'd mean an awful lot to many. A bit of a small-blog swarm would be a mighty thing.

http://www.monkeyfister.blogspot.com/

Many of you know that I'm pretty broke right now, but I still have a house and food. A lot of folks need help now. Monkeyfister, a hearty "Thank You" for what you're doing to help those around you.

My District Primary

Man, I'm tired. Yesterday was a long and busy day (16 hours of non-stop action), and I achieved my primary (pun intended) goal: a clean and legal election with an accurate count of votes. Not that it was trouble free, but I managed to keep things running reasonably smoothly throughout the day. Turnout was very high, as was enthusiasm, but the final results were mixed. Like the rest of the nation, I guess.
A few observations:
There are a lot of poorly informed people out there. I'm sorry to have to tell you that, yes, you must be registered to vote. That is the law. And you are only allowed to vote in the district where you are registered to vote. One of my rolls as an election inspector (the highest authority at the polling place) is explaining to people why they can't vote if they aren't registered. I was even called a "nazi" one time yesterday, but, like it or not, these are the laws in place. My role in the election requires that I comply with, and enforce the laws, regardless of how I feel about them. One simple example is that Arizona has what are called "closed" primaries, where only Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary and only Republicans in the Republican primary. "Independants" are screwed (and there are a lot of independants in Arizona). I'm not a fan of that rule, but on election day I have to enforce it. To all you independants that I had to turn away yesterday, I'm sorry, but the rule has been repeated in all the news media over the past few weeks. Talk to your legislators if you want to change the system.
My district includes the university, and the youth turnout was impressive. Compared to 2004 (I ran the same polling place in 2004), I'd estimate a third more college students voted. Democratic turnout was way up, while Republican turnout was pretty consistent with the 2004 numbers. While he didn't win the state, Barack Obama won big in my district, probably because of the college student vote. On the Republican side, McCain dominated.
I do have to briefly have to rant at Ron Paul supporters: I respect your enthusiasm, but you cannot campaign inside the polling place. It's a simple rule. The polling place is nuetral territory. The 75' limit signs are posted around the polling place. Rally all you want outside the 75' perimiter. All the other campaign followed the rules, but I had to deal with the "Paul people" multiple times (and why didn't your mothers teach you some basic manners?).
A basic partisan difference: Republicans come more prepared than Democrats. Arizona does have an ID requirement. It's fairly liberal as to what qualifies as ID (such as 2 pieces of mail from utilities, banks, or government agencies), but you have to have something. Republicans step up to the check in table with ID in hand, whereas Democrats are likely to require prompting. I'm not sure what it means, but I do think it reflects part of our current political climate.
Paper ballots are a must. Our county uses an optical scan system with paper ballots, and while I've read about problems with optical scan systems, ours worked fine. The final physical count matched the scanner count exactly (our county hand counts 10% of districts, and mine was one of the ones chosen at random for recount). I feel good about that. Regular readers know that I have strong political opinions, but on election day I only care about fairness and accuracy. To all those folks worried about election cheating, I say "get involved" to make sure that all votes are counted. It's easy to become an election worker (call your local elections department to volunteer) and become a part of the process. We can prevent cheating by being present to witness the process in action.

a sea otter

20008

For to keep my way around this house, I recently stuffed my rent money in an envelope and taped it to a door. And not too late, which is nice, well, a commonplace occurrence, of course, excepting what I wrote upon the envelope- "Zymurgian"s (or whomevers) rent 2/20008."
Didn't realize the flawed year till after the envelope of cash had been taped to the door, at a last glance at my taping skills and my hard-earned frogskin.(again into the coffers of an incompetent landlord)
20008. Ha!

I wonder if folks will still be paying rent in Twenty-Thousand-Eight A.D. Ifn the Earth can still support life as we thunk it, I wonder what the brewers will be up to. That is, if by 20008 A.D., all the yeast on this planet, and all the mushrooms haven't evolved into a superior intelligence and formed an alliance to stay stoned on the human race. Oh yeah- maybe they're already doing that... Hey welcome to my world folks! More on this later
This evening, as I type, I am sampling my first homebrew of Two-Thousand -Eight. Been about 34 days since the mash tun. That's sufficient for a tapping. Can I talk your head off about how proud I am of my latest batch of (all-grain, that is) ale? Well, You, as a 21st century reader, are perhaps flummoxed by long diatribes with too many big words? Mayhap. But if you have gotten this far with this post without scrolling than you probably are not a dumbass.

The color is a very deep amber. Carbonation is perfect- i.e- understated,cyclical;expressive, gallantine and somehow promethean. unforced. I yielded 5.25 gallons of ale, through two glass carboys and many swing-top 16oz bottles. Too bombers.
This from 15 lbs of malted barley, half of it from across the pond, where i hear some are an autonomous collective oppressed by the system
SHUT UP!
By the year 20008, eggplants will have interbred with lobsters. They are called "eggsters" or "lobplants", depending upon where you are from. Concurrently, kangaroos either grow thumbs or learn how to use them, and almost overnite develop neural rivers in the hippowhatever part of their brains- far exceeding ours. Kangaroos retake Australia. And their brilliant hopping infantry is buttressed by the stalwart lobplant(or eggster) armada. Humans didn't stand a chance.
The last human public official was sentenced to death by Kangaroo Parliament. Drawn and quartered. The ghastly execution personally attended by the "Roopope" or "mullahkanga" depending upon where you are from.
Chinook hops in this batch, and I was glad to find them. Dank. Fragrant. Potent. Not only a great bittering and flavoring hop, but a cool Athabascan tribe to be named after. Chinook indians carved totem poles in their spare time, back in the day. They considered ravens, bears, wolves and killer whales especially holy. And now a great hop was named after them. Another Limey component is the yeast- first suckled on Thames tricklings, hedgehog breath, and the laughter of auburn tressed lassies with parasols and obnoxiously witty dogs.
Of course not!- if you are about to ask me if, as we have already established that saccaramyces cervisae and mycelium basidiomytes , along with kangaroos, will have conquered what we now know as Earth-if humulus lupus- hops, might also develop intelligence far exceeding the capacity of homo dumbass, and form a triumvirate of absolute reign with the yeasties and the boomers. They do not do this. Because not only do we have our pals the kangaroos as a dominant species, but sea otters have developed thumbs and neurotic anachronisms as well. Hop vines have taken over all of what we now know as Norte Amerika. They have formed an alliance with the sea otters. Unfortunately, ravens are siding with the 'roos, as are the hedgehogs and those stalwart comebacks- sabre-tooth tigers. But Mastadons(another dashing comeback) and Killer Whales, all the cetaceans, actually, are on the opposing side.
In the election year of 20008, so i gather (from, perhaps, this my very quaffable and assertive batch of homebrewed ale) the kangaroos have plenty of experience but a less than laudable economic policy. Also, they are not as personable as the sea otter contingent, whom in the last couple of debates have proven themselves superior orators.
Personally, I'm (well i would be) a dyed-in-the-wool Eggster fan.(or Lobplant) But some of the Roo policies are disconcerting to me. Hmmmm... Who should rule the world in 20008? Marsupials or damn near marsupial aquatic mammals that are really fuckin cute- like when they float about on their backs and stuff...
ahhhhh. This here's a fair to middling batch. H'cup.

Tomorrow

Well, I'll be "blog free" tomorrow. I'm running a polling place, so "super-duper" tuesday results will be in before I get to play. As, I start at 5:00am and finish around 9:00pm. If you're a partisan with a primary, I hope you vote. I know I have.
Best (and most revealing) line from election setup, from the "Republican" judge:
"Who do I have to vote for? Mutt Romney? Juan McCain? Jesus the Huck? I'm glad I'm playing referee, because I don't like any of them. I hope they all lose."
Note: I'm the "Official" "Democrat", so there must be an "Official" "Republican" on the electoral board.
I just try to make sure that every vote counts.
But I will be watching the turnout, as my polling place includes the university.

Adding to the Blogroll

Thanks to "Blogroll Amnesty Day", I've made additions to the blogroll. And fine and worthy blogs they are! Check out:
Jon Swift
Buck Naked Politics
The Impolitic
Ornery Bastard
PhysioProf
Moue Magazine
Watergate Summer
Outta the cornfield
Man Eegee
Just for starters. This amnesty thing has given me a whole new list of blogs to read. Now I just need a few more hours added to the day.

Out Most of the Day

Ah, more snow. That is a picture of my front yard today. Almost a foot of fresh snow, and it's still coming down. So, of course, I'm off to help a friend with a project, then a super bowl party. But looking out the door, I'd rather hibernate.

Blogroll Amnesty Day

Back when this blog was started, there was a purge of the small blogs off the blogrolls of the big blogs. The reaction was led by skippy the bush kangaroo and Jon Swift, who opened their blogrolls to all. Skippy and monkeyfister were amongst the first to welcome Pygalgia onto their rolls, and have continued to be very supportive of our humble efforts.
In "Blogtopia" (y!sctp), there is a wide gulf between the largest and smallest, with many thousand good blogs flying under the radar. I think there is a good analogy in the world of music: everybody knows who The Rolling Stones and Led Zepplin are (i.e. orange and blue), while thousands of great bands are known only to a small audience. The smaller blogs are like the local and niche bands that entertain there audience for little more reward than the joy of "the doing of the thing" (river runner phrase). We're one of those blogs that will never fill a stadium, but hopes to entertain our audience, like the local band. Blogroll Amnesty Day is a chance to recognize and share the contributions of the unique voices of smaller blogs.
When I was building my own blogroll, I chose to include blogs that I enjoy reading. I left the big names off, because I assumed that anyone who cared already knew them. So my initial blogroll included blogs such as Bark Bark Woof Woof, blue meme, hairy fish nuts, If I Ran the Zoo, monkeyfister, swerve left, and the peoples republic of seabrook among others. And I've been expanding it ever since.
While we're supposed to use this day to recognize "smaller" blogs, Pygalgia is pretty small itself. So I'd like to take this opportunity to recognize some of the wonderful blogs that have welcomed us into an ever expanding community.
DCup at PoliTits, Ellroon at Rants From The Rookery, Fixer and Gordon at the alternate brain, Suzy at Luminiferous Ether, Fran at FranIAm, Michael (Whig) at cannablog, and demeur and distributorcap are just some of the fine folks that I consider friends and neighbors. They send me love, and I try to send it back. Check 'em out, along with all the other fine folks on the blogroll.
I'm constantly finding new blogs, and they me. Just in yesterday's comments, I've met the ornery bastard and enigma4ever, both of whom I'll be adding to the blogroll.
So here's an open invitation: My blogroll welcomes small, new, or just interesting blogs. Let me know who you are in the comments or by email, and I'll add you to the 'roll (unless I find you offensive, which rarely happens).

Weather Prediction by Rodents

The starnose mole sticks it's head out of the ground, doesn't see it's shadow, and predicts six more weeks of bad political punditry. Oh, and it will be winter until spring.

It's a Game

Gotta disagree with my buddy, Gandhisxmas, a bit (see post below). Football is a game, and it's only a penalty if the ref sees it. I can think of several other incidents where there was taping against the rules that I would rather the honorable Senator Arlen Spector devote his attention to.
That said, Happy Super Bowl.

One Year of Pygalgia

One year ago today I started this humble blog. In that year, we've had over 1000 posts, 15,000 visitors, and made a whole bunch of new friends. While a year isn't very long, it's a nice start. This next year should be an interesting one to be a blogger, and I plan to give you readers the benefit of my opinion on the years events. SweaterMan, gandhisxmas, and zymurgian will continue (I certainly hope) to add their unique perspective. In short, Pygalgia will continue to be, well, Pygalgic.

Thanks to everybody for a most interesting year.

Old Hippies for Obama

The Grateful Dead will reunite for a concert for Barack Obama:

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters Life!) - The Grateful Dead, the San Francisco cult rock band that has played at political events since the 1960s, will reunite on Monday for the first time in four years to rally support for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, a spokesman said on Friday.

Band leader Jerry Garcia died in 1995. Surviving members have played together occasionally since then, most recently in 2004. On Monday, original members Mickey Hart, Phil Lesh and Bob Weir will play at a San Francisco theater a day before California's primary.

"They have agreed to reunite for this one-time-only event in order to lend support to Senator Obama leading into the crucial 'Super-Tuesday' series of primaries held on Tuesday, February 5th," the band said in a statement.

http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSN0147632420080202

I find this interesting, since Jerry used to avoid electoral politics, and last I knew Bobby Weir was registered as a Republican.

And I'm sure that some right-wingers are going to have fun with this.

(h/t monkeyfister for the find)

My Vote

I've been promising a post on the choice between Clinton and Obama, and why I'm making the choice that I am. This is NOT an endorsement (not that anyone cares), and should not influence who you choose to vote for.



To begin with, I will vote for the eventual Democratic nominee over whoever the Republicans choose. While I'm constantly disappointed by the Democrats, I'm appalled by the Republicans. Between the mess the Republicans have created and the potential of several Supreme Court nominations in the next term (and no realistic third option), the Democrats get my support by default.



We're now down to two options. Neither were among my early choices, but for different reasons. As a liberal progessive, but also a policy wonk, I doubt I'll ever get my ideal choice. Last nights debate simply reinforced my views.



Hillary Clinton is brilliant, and has a strong policy background. She can articulate a position as well as anyone in politics today. Coventional wisdom is that she's "devisive", but the reality is that it's the right-wing that is the source of the devision. Right wing politics is based on attacking, by any means possible, anyone who doesn't march in lockstep with their agenda. That said, I remember the Clinton 90's. I was not a fan of Bill Clinton during his presidency (although shrub makes him look great in retrospect), which was a bland, mediocre, uninspiring era of moderately good government. Clinton's administration was competent, but didn't attempt or achieve any major changes for America. The failed healthcare reform plan was followed by...nothing. No energy, environmental, or economic improvements. A foreign policy of "status quo" that did very little to improve America's standing in the world. Would a Hillary administration be the same as a Bill administration? No. The times have changed. But I doubt it would be much better.



Barack Obama has a great inspirational image, and is among the best public speakers in my lifetime. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of policy substance (although last night's debate was an improvement). After you get past the rhetoric, the positions are moderate and bland. Then there is the question of experience, of which Obama has little (although I'm not sure that anyone is ready for what's coming next).



The next president is going to inherit one hell of a mess, both nationally and internationally. I'm not sure that any of the candidates who were in the running were capable of addressing all the issues facing the country. There are no super heroes left.



But I'm stuck with a choice between the safety of the past or the hope for the future. Despite my experience, I'm choosing hope.



I'm voting for Barack Obama today (I vote early because I'll be running a polling place on election day).
Added: BTW, the state ballot has 24 Democratic candidates for president, including "Sandy Whitehouse" and "Loti Gest" and "Chuck See". Where were they during the debates?

Picture added.

Boobies and Computers

Well, at least I got the Friday boobie to publish. Had a power outage yesterday, and my computer has been having problems since. Firefox wont run, IE (which I hate) freezes at random times, and the whole system crashes episodically.. I'm hoping to find a fix short of "wipe and re-install", but it's not looking good. Please visit the blogroll in the meantime.

Dem Debate (?)

Was that a debate or a mutual admiration club? Computer still sketchy, so serious analysis will have to wait.

Computer Gone Wonky

This is a test. My computer has gone wonky, and things may or may not work.

Not Again

So Ralph Nader has launched an exploratory website, looking at the possibility of running another vanity campaign. Ralph, please don't. As much as I'm disappointed in the choices left for president, another Nader campaign will only help the Republican candidate.
I would love to have a viable progressive third party candidate, but Nader isn't one. My view might be different if Nader spent the years between elections building a party or supporting a movement. Instead, he only shows up in time for the election touting his activism from decades ago. There's no hard work, only a very large ego looking to be stroked.
Here's the basic problem with a third party candidate in a two party system: they usually draw votes away from the more popular candidate, and help the less popular candidate. This presidential election will be (I'm afraid) much closer than many people seem to think. The Democrats are not a sure thing, no matter how it looks right now. Nader's entry will only help the Republicans.
Don't do it, Ralph! (I've sent him that message, and I hope you will too).

Feels Like a Bad Day

Some snow, bitter cold wind, and candidates dropping out today. But I think January 30th has been a bad day historically. Consider these events: 75 years ago today, Adolph Hitler took power in Germany. On January 30th, 1948, Mohandas K. Gandhi was assassinated. In 1972, the "bloody Sunday" massacre occurred in Ireland. And possibly the worst event: on January 30th, 1941 this man was born:


"go fuck yourself"

Edwards Out: Why Now?

So John Edwards is ending his campaign today. I'm surprised by the timing, as I expected him to remain in (as he said) through the super-duper Tuesday races where he might have garnered enough delegates to become a deal maker at the convention. His chances of winning the nomination died in South Carolina, but he still was in a position to exercise a lot of influence on the party platform.
So now it's down to Obama vs. Clinton, as the pundits always said. My preferred candidates have all dropped out, as I expected. My first choice never wins. But I am compelled to support whoever wins the Democratic nomination for one specific reason: the Supreme Court. Whoever wins in November will have at least 2 nominees, and possibly more, and I don't want the court to move any further to the right.
So the real question is how this changes the dynamics of the race. Edwards was the last true progressive in the race. Who will gain the majority of his supporters?

Huck Stole My Analogy

Damn it, Huckabee stole my baseball analogy on the primaries. I want royalties!

Besides, now we have McCain and Romney calling each other "liberal". That really, really (blanks) me. I am a liberal. McCain and Romney aren't.

SOTU or STFU

Last night Zymurgian and I watched shrub's SOTU address, and while we skipped on the drinking games (too dangerous) we certainly needed our beer. Any speech by shrub requires a proper balance of tranquilizers and anti-depressants for me to maintain my sanity (or what's left of it). We both agreed that this was the epitome of low expectations, and shrub managed to fail even the lowest. He looked petulant and tired as he recited his list of demands, like his heart wasn't in it. While he continues to ignore reality, he didn't say anything truly scary (such as threatening to invade Venezuala). So, overall, I think that shrub offered America true inspiration. For his replacement.

Interesting News

One of those little pieces of news that I found interesting that hasn't gotten mainstream attention:

BAGHDAD (AFP) — Iraq has formally ratified the UN's Kyoto Protocol on climate change, according to a government statement seen by AFP on Saturday.

"The presidential council ratified in its session on January 23 a law according to which the Republic of Iraq will join the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol," the statement said.

The Kyoto Protocol legally commits industrialised countries which have signed and ratified it to trim their output of six carbon gases seen as being responsible for global warming.

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j36Xc3cFAC5MxVU1kzImFlZPv6Mw

Of course, it's easy to keep your greenhouse gas emissions down when your industrial infrastructure is in rubble.

"Reality is Totally Different"

I haven't written much about Iraq lately (it's still bad), but I've still been following the chaos. I'm sure that shrub will talk about "progress" in tonights SOTU address, but read this piece by Dahr Jamail (a great independant journalist) to get a better sense of the reality of Iraq:

Iraqis, of course, continue to witness firsthand this "decisive stand against chaos and terror." In our world, however, they are largely mute witnesses. Americans may argue among themselves about just how much "success" or "progress" there really is in post-surge Iraq, but it is almost invariably an argument in which Iraqis are but stick figures -- or dead bodies. Of late, I have been asking Iraqis I know by email what they make of the American version (or versions) of the unseemly reality that is their country, that they live and suffer with. What does it mean to become a "secondary issue" for your occupier?

In response, Professor S. Abdul Majeed Hassan, an Iraqi university faculty member wrote me the following:

"The year of 2007 was the bloodiest among the occupation years, and no matter how successful the situation looks to Mr. Bush, reality is totally different. What kind of normal life are he and the media referring to where four and a half million highly educated Iraqis are still dislocated or still being forcefully driven out of their homes for being anti-occupation? How can the people live a normal life in a cage of concrete walls [she is referring to concrete walls being erected by the Americans around entire Baghdad
neighborhoods], guarded by their kidnappers, killers, and occupation forces? What kind of normal life can you live where tens of your relatives and your beloved ones are either missing or in jail and you don't even know if they are still alive or, after being tortured, have been thrown unidentified in the dumpsters?

"What kind of normal life can you live when you have to bid farewell to your family each time you go out to buy bread because you don't know if you are going to see them again? What is a normal life to Mr. Bush? If we're lucky, we get a few hours of electricity a day, barely enough drinking water, no health care, no jobs to feed our kids…

"Little teenage girls are given away in marriage because their families can't protect them from militias and troops during raids. Women cannot move unescorted anymore. What kind of educations are our children getting at universities where 60% of the prominent faculty members have been driven out of their jobs -- killed or forced to leave the country by government militias? Is it normal that areas [on the outskirts of Baghdad] like Saidiya and Arab Jubour are bombed because the occupation forces are afraid to enter the areas for fear of the resistance? It is always easier to control ghost cities. It becomes very peaceful without the people."

http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174886/dahr_jamail_missing_voices_in_the_iraq_debate

The life of the Iraqi people is not getting better. Shrub is either lying or delusional.

Mohammad Mahri'i, an Iraqi journalist, has a rather different take on the situation: "The problem with Bush is that his people believe him every time he lies to them," he writes me. "His reconstruction teams are invisible and I wish they could show me one inch above the ground that they built."

Jamail's piece is long, with many sources, and well worth reading in full.

Maki al-Nazzal, an Iraqi political analyst from Fallujah who has been forced to live abroad with his family, thanks to ongoing violence and the lack of jobs or significant reconstruction activity in his city, which was three-quarters destroyed in a U.S. assault in November 2004, offered me his thoughts on the Western mainstream coverage of Iraq.

"The media should not follow the warlords' and politicians' propaganda. It is our duty to search for the truth and not repeat lies like parrots. The U.S. occupation is bad and no amount of media propaganda can camouflage the mess inside occupied Iraq. We are ashamed of the local and Western media [for] marketing the naked lies told by generals and politicians. Comparing two halves of 2007 is ridiculous.

"Bush and his heroes, [head of the Coalition Provisional Authority L. Paul] Bremer, [Secretary of Defense Donald] Rumsfeld and now Petraeus always lied to their people and the world about Iraq. U.S. soldiers are getting killed on a daily basis and so are Iraqi army and police officers. Infrastructure is destroyed. In a country that used to feed much of the Arab world, starvation is now the norm. It is ironic that Iraq was not half as bad during the 12 years of sanctions. Our liberation has pushed us into a state of unprecedented corruption."

Oh, and just the usual daily news report:Roadside bomb kills five U.S. soldiers in Iraq. And there is a real potential that things will get worse:

The U.S.-led security crackdown, along with a Sunni revolt against al-Qaida in Iraq and a cease-fire order by radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have been credited with a dramatic drop in attacks in the capital.

However, influential members of al-Sadr's movement said Monday they have urged the anti-U.S. Shiite cleric to follow through with threats not to extend the cease-fire when it expires next month, a move that could jeopardize the recent security gains.

The Sadrists are angry over the insistence of U.S. and Iraqi forces on continuing to hunt down so-called rogue fighters who ignored the six-month order, which was issued in August. Al-Sadr's followers claim this is a pretext to crack down on their movement.

The maverick cleric announced earlier this month that he would not renew the order unless the Iraqi government purges "criminal gangs" operating within security forces he claims are targeting his followers.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2008-01-28-07-52-20

The cease fire by al-Sadr has been as big a part in the reduction of violence as the "surge." Ignore shrub's words. We need to leave Iraq.

Stop Scaring Me

Tonight, shrub will be doing the one thing that he's done in compliance with the constitution; that is to deliver the SOTU address. But this from the front page of the WaPo makes me nervous:

That is the problem Bush faces as he prepares to deliver his seventh and probably final State of the Union address tonight.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/01/27/ST2008012702356.html?hpid=topnews

I've generally been dismissive of conspiracy theories that shrub might somehow remain in power beyond his two terms by creating some sort of "state of emergency." I think shrub would like to get out of the pressure and leave the mess for his successor to deal with. That, and there should be open revolt if the shrub/cheney tried to pull a coup.
But now I have to indulge in some paranoia: do the Washington insiders know something that I don't?
Added: OK, there is another explanation:

Here's the skinny:

Finally, President George W. Bush is set to deliver his next State of the Union Address on January 28, 2008. It is widely believed that this will be his last address before leaving office on January 20, 2009, but assuming this is incorrect. Bush has the right to deliver either a written or oral State of the Union in the days immediately before leaving office in 2009. Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson, Ford, and Carter chose to do this. Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, chose not to.

Household Weather

Today has been a mix of sleet, snow, and steady rain. As I've posted before, the roof on my house leaks (and has for a number of years). The landlord has talked about replacing it many times, while new leaks continue to appear. Today, we've added new leaks...in some very inconvenient places. The household computer wizard gained a leak directly over the household server, and Zymurgian got one over his monitor, which has led to much rearranging. So far, no leaks in my room, which leaves it about the only room in the house without buckets.
We're having a rain party in a while, so please feel free to stop by (BYOB).

Balancing Idealism and Cynicism

I'm a political junkie, and I'm always trying to balance somewhere between idealism and cynicism. It's a challenge that I face every election cycle. I know I'm not alone as I look around the blogs, where some believe in their candidate, while others believe that the system is rigged and the corporate oligarchs control our choices.
Both are true.
As an idealist, I work every election to insure that (at least in my locale) all the votes are accurately counted, and that all eligible voters get to vote. Zymurgian chides me for "believing in the system", and in a way I do. Our political system is seriously flawed, but it functions adequately if enough people get involved.
On the cynical side, the corporate media has tight control of the messages, and the voters are left to choose between media approved candidates. Can't upset the status quo.
Over the years, I've worked on dozens of campaigns, and most have lost. I'm at it again this campaign season, ever optimistic. In the end, I usually end up voting for the "lesser of two evils", like most voters. It's a sad, frustrating reality (I admit that I'm much more liberal than the general public). The Democrats repeatedly disappoint me, but the Republicans are even worse.
Is our political system broken? I struggle with this question. Compared to political systems throughout history, ours works pretty well overall. But it seems to be failing most of us, "the people." I'd love to see a true "populist" party that worked for "the people", but the vast majority of "the people" don't seem to care enough to get involved. Can't say I blame them; politics in this era is a nasty, brutish, slimy process without instant gratification. "American Idol" is more entertaining and less time consuming.
Despite my mixed feelings, I keep re-entering the fray. I keep telling myself "if I don't do it, who will?", but that may just be the rationalization of an addict. I do believe that we'll end up doing the right thing, after exhausting all other options.

South Carolina Results

Obama won big, by a much larger margin than the polls predicted. But I'm most struck by the huge turnout. Over half a million votes! In each of the early primaries Democrats have had record, or near record, turnout:

Almost final results:

99% of precincts reporting

Barack Obama	295,091	54%
Hillary Clinton	141,128	27%
John Edwards	93,552	19%
Dennis Kucinich	551	0%

And some other numbers:

• Total 2008 South Carolina Primary Turnout

  Democratic: about 530,322
  Republican: about 446,000

• Obama received more votes than all Democrats in the 2004 South Carolina Democratic Primary (292,383)
• Obama received more votes in this primary than George W. Bush received in 2000 when he beat John McCain (Bush won 293,652 votes)
• Obama has won more votes than McCain and Huckabee won in South Carolina--combined.

As with the Iowa caucus, Obama won big with younger voters. The "youth vote" has long been the holy grail for Democrats, and Obama seems to be getting them to actually show up and vote:

* For all the recent speculation about race and gender, here’s a tip about the real divide: age.

Among voters between 18 and 24, Obama beat Clinton, 66% to 25% (a 41-point gap).
Among voters between 25 and 29, Obama beat Clinton, 70% to 21% (a 49-point gap).
Among voters between 30 and 39, Obama beat Clinton, 62% to 23% (a 39-point gap).
Among voters between 40 and 49, Obama beat Clinton, 61% to 25% (a 36-point gap).
Among voters between 50 and 64, Obama beat Clinton, 51% to 26% (a 25-point gap).
Among voters 65 and older, Clinton beat Obama, 40% to 32% (an 8-point gap in the other direction).

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/

There is still a long way to go, but the current trends seem to indicate how toxic shrub has been for the Republicans. Now we'll see if that carries over on Feb. 5th:

That all changes in 10 days' time, when New York, Illinois and California
are among the 15 states holding primaries in a virtual nationwide primary. Another seven states and American Samoa will hold Democratic caucuses on the same day.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080127/ap_on_el_pr/south_carolina_primary

I'll be getting a first hand view on Feb. 5th, as I'll be running a polling place on the local University campus. If the youth turnout in Arizona is high, I'll be among the first to know.

Side note: I'll be posting later on my views of each of the candidates. I'm not endorsing anybody, and my own preferred candidates are out of the race, but since I have a blog I'm allowed to share my opinions.

Beyond Irony

My last post has been trumped for irony points. Steve at No More Mister Nice Blog found this:

Buttocks:

The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a $1.4 million fine against 52 ABC Television Network stations over a 2003 broadcast of cop drama NYPD Blue.

The fine is for a scene where a boy surprises a woman as she prepares to take a shower. The scene depicted "multiple, close-up views" of the woman's "nude buttocks" according to an agency order issued late Friday....

The agency said the show was indecent because "it depicts sexual organs and excretory organs -- specifically an adult woman's buttocks."

The agency rejected the network's argument that "the buttocks are not a sexual organ."

Dangerous chemicals:

Dallas gas plant fined $6,300 in July blast that injured 2

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined Southwest Industrial Gases $6,300 after an acetylene gas explosion at its facility near downtown Dallas spawned spectacular fireballs and sent metal canisters flying over freeways in July.

OSHA said Southwest Industrial exposed employees to serious hazards that were likely to cause death or serious physical harm, according to citations issued Thursday and released Friday.

I know that America is extremely prudish when it comes to nudity (something I've never understood), but $1.4 million for a butt? $6,300 for hazards that were likely to cause serious injury or death? Glad that we have our priorities straight.
And, no butt is worth $1.4 million.

Irony

Not much to post today, but I read an item I found ironic: Barry Bonds got his degree from ASU in 1986 in "criminology".

I Hate Ice

I really am cool living with snow. Snow is stable. But I have a very negative relationship with ice. Ice is evil. It wants you to fall down. Snow is liberal; you can fall into it without getting hurt. Ice is conservative; it wants to throw you down and hurt you.

We had a mild snow. But then it froze.

Another Friday, Another Boobie

Happy Friday. I've got more snow this morning, so "Boobie-land" is making me jealous.

Without Comment

Economic Stimulus

(Image stolen from distributorcap, who has a great post up on the same topic)
Isn't it nice to see our government in action, racing to address our economic crisis? Now we can all stop worrying...right?
The problem is that none of the current stimulus plans address the fundamental problems facing the economy. It's a band-aid and some soothing words, when major surgery is called for.
It started with the week on the stock market. Can't have investors in a panic. So the Fed cut rates, effectively punting the market drop to a future date. But the stock market is not the economy. Sure, a lot of people have their retirement invested, but the big money is in the hands of corporate speculators. Most of us paycheck-to-paycheck types are only marginally effected by the Dow Jones numbers (although I actually talked to a tourist woman on Tuesday who was moaning that her "portfolio lost $19,000" in one week. You can imagine how sympathetic I felt). Simply put, the rate cut protected the rich from reality for a while. It doesn't solve anything.
Likewise, the bailout of bond insurers is a short term fix. The bond market is what allows the government (municipal and national) to borrow money. Without the guarantee of bond insurance, the government is bankrupt. Given the decline in the value of the dollar, this, too, is only postponing the inevitable.
Then we have the "stimulus" of "rebates", where a lot of people get some money that the government hopes they'll spend. Given the amount of debt that the average American has, they will spend it quickly. And they'll still have more debt. It's a nice "feel good" tactic that may take the public mind off the problems for a while, but it wont solve anything.
There is only one way to actually repair the American economy, and that is to invest in strengthening the domestic infrastructure. If the billions were poured into alternative energy, reducing the dependence on foreign oil and creating thousands of domestic jobs, it would strengthen the dollar. If a massive WPA style project toward domestic sustainability were initiated, it would create new opportunities for average Americans to improve their quality of life, and their future. In short, we need to be planting, not eating, our "seed corn" to use a native analogy.
Oh, and that $11 billion a month we're spending in Iraq?

Another Corrupt Congress-Critter

Ah, I do enjoy it when one of the corrupt congress-critters gets caught. Today, it's John Shadegg:

The Arizona Democratic Party is accusing Republican U.S. Rep. John Shadegg of using his political-action committee to skirt laws that limit the amount of money donors can give a candidate.

Democrats say they have drafted a complaint to the Federal Election Commission, but Shadegg maintains nothing was done improperly and doubts whether the FEC will take action.

At issue is money that elections records show was transferred from Shadegg's
political-action committee into his election campaign.

Two Valley businessmen who made the maximum allowable individual donations to Shadegg's campaign in 2007 also wrote additional $5,000 checks to Shadegg's PAC, Leadership for America's Future. Eleven days later, on June 26, the PAC wrote two identical $5,000 checks to Shadegg.

Normally, such a transfer would not be noticed among thousands of dollars in contributions. But in the same reporting period, Shadegg's PAC received no other contributions and paid out only the $10,000.

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0121shadegg0121.html

Have a pig, John. If you're unsure what it means, ask your colleague Rick Renzi. He's earned 4 tattooed pig awards.

Only 935?

The shrub administration told 935 lies in the lead up to the war with Iraq, according to a new study:

WASHINGTON - A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements
about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.

The study concluded that the statements "were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses."

The study was posted Tuesday on the Web site of the Center for Public Integrity, which worked with the Fund for Independence in Journalism.

The study counted 935 false statements in the two-year period. It found that in speeches, briefings, interviews and other venues, Bush and administration officials stated unequivocally on at least 532 occasions that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction or was trying to produce or obtain them or had links to al-Qaida or both.

"It is now beyond dispute that Iraq did not possess any weapons of mass destruction or have meaningful ties to al-Qaida," according to Charles Lewis and Mark Reading-Smith of the Fund for Independence in Journalism staff members, writing an overview of the study. "In short, the Bush administration led the nation to war on the basis of erroneous information that it methodically propagated and that culminated in military action against Iraq on March 19, 2003."

Named in the study along with Bush were top officials of the administration during the period studied: Vice President Dick Cheney, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz and White House press secretaries Ari Fleischer and Scott McClellan.

Bush led with 259 false statements, 231 about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 about Iraq's links to al-Qaida, the study found. That was second only to Powell's 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq and al-Qaida.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080123/ap_on_go_pr_wh/misinformation_study

The total number seems low to me, but I admit that I never attempted to catalog all the lies. During the run up to the war, Sweaterman and I tried to keep some sort of track of all the lies, but I think we gave up in disgust. We settled on "everything they're saying is a lie", and we were right.
Can we impeach now?

The Economic Ride

In spite of today's news, I don't pretend to know much of anything about the economy. Except that it looks like a very big mess right now. While the news seems to be focusing on the stock market today, the actual problem is much more wide spread. Some observations:
The housing/mortgage crisis: It's bad enough that 2 million people could lose their homes. What's equally ominous is that the housing bubble has been the main thing propping up the U.S. economy since shrub took office. Beside those losing their homes, some 44.5 million Americans will watch the value of their homes diminish. That's a lot of lost capital.
Oil and the dollar: While oil is back down to around $88 a barrel, that is still a very high energy price. Coupled with the dollar's drop against other major currencies, the reliance on foreign resources will be impossible to maintain.
The deficit: Even worse than the mortgage crisis is the ongoing U.S. deficit crisis that has soared out of control under shrub's watch. The U.S. national debt now stands at a staggering $9 trillion. That amounts to over $30,000 for every man, woman and child in the country. The Iraq War fiasco will add another $2 trillion to the nation's debt. All of this is being financed by foreign investment, but as the dollar weakens that option will be less available. The financial and stock markets are collapsing as a result.
The Republican philosophy of tax cuts and spending cuts has weakened America's infrastructure, so that there is almost no domestic support system in place for those about to lose the life they've known.
For myself, in the words of Dylan "when you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose." While I've been very frustrated by the slow local job market, I don't need very much to get by. I have no dependants or debts. But most of the people I know have a lot more at risk, and I'm worried for them. They are among the huge number of Americans facing a very scary situation.

You're Going to Need a Bigger Helicopter....

...Holy Jeebus!

Stocks plunge on recession fears

In the first hour of trading, the Dow was down 293.70, or 2.43 percent, at 11,805.60. The Dow was last below 12,000 in March 2007.

It's down 2.8% now and I've barely been following. NASDAQ down 3.0%

Shite. Shite, shite, shite.

Well, it's early. Let's see if they can recover or if they end up suspending trading because the market tries to move even lower even faster.

Also, for more (and, much better) analysis, check out BondDad's blog at (http://www.bonddad.blogspot.com/), but I'd have to say this kind of correction is long overdue.

But, putting Medicare and Social Security in the hands of Wall Street (like Bush wanted to do) doesn't sound like that smart of an idea now, does it?

Last Night's Debate

The "truce" of the Nevada debate didn't last, and the gloves came off. This was by far the most contentious debate so far, and the pettiness of the bickering will keep the talking heads entertained for days.
I was disgusted. As Clinton and Obama attacked each other over ever more minor nuance, I wanted to grab them both and say "stop doing the Republicans work for them." If this keeps up, the eventual nominee will go into the general election pre-damaged for the Republican nominee. Yes, the Republicans will attack the Democratic candidate with all manner of slime (it's what they do), and we should be prepared for it, but eating our own doesn't benefit the party or the country.
Here's Josh Marshall's take on it:

It's hard for me to think of much good from this debate. If you view debates like a boxing match, I guess it was lively and perhaps entertaining, in the sense that a good boxing match can be, though the fighting was more intense than well executed. But that's only if you have no investment in the outcome. If you're watching this with a mind to wanting one of these three to be president in 2009, as I do, it wasn't a great thing to watch.

One observation stands out to me from this debate. Hillary can be relentless and like a sledgehammer delivering tendentious but probably effective attacks. But whatever you think of those attacks, Obama isn't very good at defending himself. And that's hard for me to ignore when thinking of him as a general election candidate.

In most of these cases -- such as the Reagan issue -- I think Obama's remarks have been unobjectionable but ambiguous and certainly susceptible to both misunderstanding and intentional misrepresentation. And if you're going to talk like that -- nuance, as we used to say -- be able to defend it when people play with your words. And I don't see it.

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/064349.php

It's this type of mud-slinging that leaves so many Americans disgusted with politics, and leads to the lousy government we currently have.

We deserve better.

Added: I agree with Dave Johnson:

Now with that said let me add that our candidates should all be going after Republicans and defending each other. I will strongly support candidates who have an instinct to defend fellow Democrats against Republican attacks, in any race for any office. I will strongly support candidates who make it clear that they understand that the current Republican party has devolved into something unknown in American history, something dangerous and undemocratic and particularly dishonest.

http://seeingtheforest.com/

Any of the three Democrats will be an improvement on the current administration, but first we have to win.

A Scary Thing

The Russians are breeding super cockroaches in space!

VORONEZH, January 17 (RIA Novosti) - Cockroaches conceived in space onboard the Russian Foton-M bio satellite have developed faster and become hardier than 'terrestrial' ones, a research supervisor said on Thursday.

The research team has been monitoring the cockroaches since they were born in October. The scientists established that their limbs and bodies grew faster.

"What is more, we have found out that the creatures... run faster than ordinary cockroaches, and are much more energetic and resilient," Dmitry Atyakshin said.

http://en.rian.ru/science/20080117/97179313.html

I'm having an episode of paranoia at the very idea.

One More Year

The countdown begins. Only 366 more days.

Know Your Elements

As I spend the day recovering, and preparing for football, I found a fun guide to the Periodic Table of Elements. http://www.periodictable.com/. Fun for all us geeks.

More Trees

(picture taken by Zymurgian on the San Juan river)

Pruning more apple trees today. Yesterday was cold, but not too bad as long as I kept moving, and today we should get above freezing, so I wont complain.
Strange Bumper sticker seen yesterday:

"I feel like walking on a pile of baby ducks"

I have no idea what that means, but it sounds way too angry.
Also, a graffiti sighting that I enjoyed:

"The Bush Doctrine: Speak incoherently and hit people with a stick"

Enjoy your day, and if your in Nevada or South Carolina, be political.

The Boobie is Late

Sorry I'm late on the Boobie. Blame the trees.

Did I Complain Yesterday?

Today is even colder. With wind chill, it's between -7 and -17 degrees. Needless to say, I didn't work pruning Apple trees today. Instead, I took a dear friend to the airport. She's traveling back home to be with her Grandmother who's passing appears imminent (my sympathies, but this is the end of a long illness). Now I have her car for the next 10 days to 2 weeks. Regular readers know that I choose to live car-free (and driving today reminded me how aggravating driving can be), so I don't plan to use the car. But that wind sure makes it tempting.

Omar bin Laden

This is one of those stories that wont make the evening news, but that I found interesting. Osama's son Omar wants to be a peace activist:

CAIRO, Egypt — Omar Osama bin Laden bears a striking resemblance to his notorious father _ except for the dreadlocks that dangle halfway down his back. Then there's the black leather biker jacket.

The 26-year-old does not renounce his father, al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, but in an interview with The Associated Press, he said there is better way to defend Islam than militancy: Omar wants to be an "ambassador for peace" between Muslims and the West.

Omar _ one of bin Laden's 19 children _ raised a tabloid storm last year when he married a 52-year-old British woman, Jane Felix-Browne, who took the name Zaina Alsabah. Now the couple say they want to be advocates, planning a 3,000-mile horse race across North Africa to draw attention to the cause of peace.

"It's about changing the ideas of the Western mind. A lot of people think Arabs _ especially the bin Ladens, especially the sons of Osama _ are all terrorists. This is not the truth," Omar told the AP last week at a cafe in a Cairo shopping mall.

Of course, many may have a hard time getting their mind around the idea of "bin Laden: peacenik."

"Omar thinks he can be a negotiator," said Alsabah, who is trying to bring her husband to Britain. "He's one of the only people who can do this in the world."

http://www.alternet.org/wire/#74154

Not sure that it will have any impact, but I think it's certainly worth talking to him. If nothing else, he has an interesting perspective.

Bloomberg

I got the "draft Bloomberg" email that, as far as I can tell, went to everyone who ever used the word "politics" online. While I can't imagine anyone supporting him, Andy Borowitz has the best take on it:

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is “still trying to decide” whether to buy the U.S. presidency, aides to Mr. Bloomberg confirmed today, with the sticking point reportedly being the steep price of such an acquisition.

In recent weeks, Mr. Bloomberg had been sending out positive signals about his interest in buying the highest office in the land, raising hopes among supporters that he might be preparing to throw his wallet in the ring.

In a speech in Oklahoma last week, for example, the mayor told an enthralled crowd, “In these divisive times, I believe that the American people are yearning for the
leadership of a whiny billionaire.”

Mr. Bloomberg even floated a possible campaign slogan: “Vote For Me and I’ll Give you $10,000.”

Aides close to the mayor indicated that there were other positive signs as well,
noting that Mr. Bloomberg had recently transferred $2 billion into his day-to-day checking account.

“With that kind of money, you could either buy the White House or ten Mitt Romneys,” said one aide familiar with the cash transfer.

But according to one of Mr. Bloomberg’s advisers who spoke on condition of anonymity, falling real estate prices in the U.S. may have given the mayor cold feet about buying the presidency.

“At this point, buying the United States isn’t looking like such a good investment,” the adviser said. “At the end of the day, Mike might be better off buying Canada.”

http://www.borowitzreport.com/

Actually, Bloomberg is the corporations relief pitcher if the Republican nominee looks like a loser and the Democratic nominee isn't Clinton.

White House Recycles

In the most environmentally friendly move yet by this administration, the White House is recycling:

The White House has acknowledged recycling its backup computer tapes of e-mail before October 2003, raising the possibility that many electronic messages — including those pertaining to the CIA leak case — have been taped over and are gone forever.

The disclosure came minutes before midnight Tuesday under a court-ordered deadline that forced the White House to reveal information it has previously refused to provide.

After all, we wouldn't want those backup tapes to end up in a landfill, or worse, littering Henry Waxmen's office.
Added: I should just leave the snark to the pros. dday at Digby:

Look, if you want to criticize the White House for actually showing bold leadership in controlling our runaway back-up computer tape consumption in this country, fine. But don't turn around and claim that you want to stop global warming then. You know how much carbon is released into the air through the production of back-up computer tapes? Maybe you want to see Florida sink into the Atlantic Ocean, and if so, go ahead and keep using those computer tapes!

I wrote my post before I read this. I should know better.

A Milestone

This is the 1,000th post on Pygalgia, less than a full year after I started blogging. When I began, I had no idea where this thing would go. I still have no idea where it's going, but it's been an interesting little forum along the way, and we even have awards for making the journey. Thanks to Gandhisxmas, Sweaterman, and Zymurgian for your contributions. And a VERY BIG thanks to readers and commentors; you make it feel worthwhile.

Thoughts on Last Nights Debate

I watched last nights debate, with the interest only a political junkie could generate, and here are a few of my thoughts:
* The moderators were terrible. Tim Russert tried so hard to generate conflict with "identity politics gotcha" questions, but he failed. And he looked small and petty in the end. The thinly veiled "are you a racist", "are you a sexist" questions were an attempt to provoke a fight, but Clinton, Obama, and Edwards all chose to remain above that fray, and instead seemed to be laughing at him. Brian Williams threw in the email spam "Obama is a secret muslim" as a question, but it merely made him look foolish.
*Clearly, Obama and Clinton settled on a truce. Along with Edwards, they repeated a message that "we're all family as Democrats", and there were no cheap shots during the debate. The differences expressed were policy based, not personal.
*While not as substantive as I would have liked, the debate was more substantive than previous debates. On economic issues, Edwards shined, but Clinton and Obama were also solid. The differences were more of nuance than policy or belief.
*I'm not calling a winner, but it was a bit of a step forward overall. Less trivial, more policy. The media really wants the petty trivia to dominate, but all three candidates articulated their positions well. The current media climate doesn't want a serious policy debate, or we'd still be hearing Biden, Dodd, and Richardson.
*It ain't over yet.

Too Damn Cold

My plans for today have been shot down by the weather. I had planned on working today, back pruning more apple trees. But the friend that I was working for decided "it's too damn cold", so not today. It's 15 degrees with 15-20 mph winds, so it feels like zero. My response is mixed. I really need the money, and was ready to layer up enough to make the temperature bearable. But I wasn't enthusiastic. Worse, tomorrow is forecast to be even colder. Maybe Friday.

Scimitar Rattling

I couldn't resist posting this AP photo of our shrub in action. He almost looks dumb enough to cut his own head off.

Taking the Fun Out of Michigan

Today's Michigan primary lost all it's fun for us political junkies, given the lack of Democratic participation. Too bad. I would have been interested in how Obama and Edwards fared, but it's hard for me to get excited about a race between Clinton and "uncommitted" (and Dennis Kucinich). For the record, I'll root for "uncommitted", but I don't like their campaign style.
On the Republican side, it looks like a race between Romney and McCain, with Romney desperate for a win. Given that both scare me, I can't generate any enthusiasm about the race. I'll predict/guess that McCain wins by a small percentage by picking up some Democratic voters who aren't enthusiastic about either Clinton or "uncommitted."
Update: Called for Romney before the polls were closed? Strange. And on the Dem side, "uncommitted" is coming in second.

Rejecting Reality

Our shrub has decided that mere facts shouldn't be enough to prevent a war with Iran. As he travels the middle east trying to push an Israeli-Palestinian "peace plan" by demonizing Iran (yeah, I have no idea how that works), he's now rejecting the NIE:

In public, President Bush has been careful to reassure Israel and other allies that he still sees Iran as a threat, while not disavowing his administration's recent National Intelligence Estimate. That NIE, made public Dec. 3, embarrassed the administration by concluding that Tehran had halted its weapons program in 2003, which seemed to undermine years of bellicose rhetoric from Bush and other senior officials about Iran's nuclear ambitions. But in private conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert last week, the president all but disowned the document, said a senior administration official who accompanied Bush on his six-nation trip to the Mideast. "He told the Israelis that he can't control what the intelligence community says, but that [the NIE's] conclusions don't reflect his own views" about Iran's nuclear-weapons program, said the official, who would discuss intelligence matters only on the condition of anonymity.

Bush's behind-the-scenes assurances may help to quiet a rising chorus of voices inside Israel's defense community that are calling for unilateral military action against Iran. Olmert, asked by NEWSWEEK after Bush's departure on Friday whether he felt reassured, replied: "I am very happy." A source close to the Israeli leader said Bush first briefed Olmert about the intelligence estimate a week before it was published, during talks in Washington that preceded the Annapolis peace conference in November. According to the source, who also refused to be named discussing the issue, Bush told Olmert he was uncomfortable with the findings and seemed almost apologetic. (bolds mine)

http://www.newsweek.com/id/91673

The whole confrontation with Iran is the worst possible idea that has come out of shrub's little mind. Given that both Russia and China have strong ties with Iran, and that the current American economy can't support another war, how the hell can shrub get away with this kind of bullshit?

I wish we could just lock him in a rubber room with a bunch of toy soldiers for the next year, and that we'll elect a sane president who will actually engage in diplomacy with Iran.

Peace Promotion

More on the shrub's work to promote peace in the middle east:

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States has agreed in principle to provide Israel with better "smart bombs" than those it plans to sell Saudi Arabia under a regional defense package, senior Israeli security sources said on Sunday.

Keen to bolster Middle East allies against an ascendant Iran, the Bush administration last year proposed supplying Gulf Arab states with some $20 billion in new weapons, including Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) bomb kits for the Saudis.

The plan has angered Israel's backers in Washington, who say the JDAMs, which give satellite guidance for bombs, may one day be used against the Jewish state or at least blunt its power to deter potential foes. Israel has had JDAMs since 1990 and has used them extensively in a 2006 offensive in Lebanon.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080113/pl_nm/arms_israel_saudi_dc

The only American industry that is thriving is the weapons industry. And we're only too happy to sell to all sides. Buy war bombs now!

Shrub and Iran

Our shrub is in the middle east, trying to tell everybody how evil Iran is, and spreading his version of democracy.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, Jan 13 -- President Bush accused Iran Sunday of undermining peace in Lebanon, funding terrorist groups, trying to intimidate its neighbors and refusing to be open about its nuclear program and ambitions.

In a speech described by the White House as the centerpiece of his eight-day trip to the Middle East, Bush tried to speak directly to the people of Iran as he urged nations to help the United States "confront this danger before it is too late."

"You have a right to live under a government that listens to your wishes, respects your talents and allows you to build better lives for your families," Bush said to Iranians. "Unfortunately, your government denies you these opportunities, and threatens the peace and stability of your neighbors. So we call on the regime in Tehran to heed your will, and to make itself accountable to you."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/13/AR2008011300342.html?hpid=topnews

Lovely piece of rhetoric, telling the Iranians what sort of government they should have. We could use a government that listens to our wishes, too.
Meanwhile, shrub shows the world how we get our allies to help in the "peace" process:

Bush is trying to persuade Arab countries to join U.S. efforts to pressure Iran, though many have displayed ambivalence about the administration's campaign amid a new U.S. intelligence report that concluded Iran stopped a nuclear weapons program in 2003.

The president will travel Monday to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, viewed by many inside and out of the administration as the lynchpin of its efforts to develop an anti-Iran coalition. As part of an effort to show its commitment to Saudi Arabia, a senior administration official said the White House plans to notify Congress about a substantial package of arms sales for Saudi Arabia; it seemed likely to be on the order of $20 billion.

A $20 billion arms package is just the thing to help pacify the middle east, isn't it?