What's the Punch Line?

Jesse's capable new partner, Ezra, has an interesting post (scroll down) in support of Howard Dean that I think unconsciously highlights the problems inherent in Dean's candidacy. Matt Yglesias comments on "The Weirdness of Deanism" here, and correctly points out that Dean is all "trappings" and no substance. Interestingly, Ezra's response simply proves Matt right; the best he can do is talk about "how [Dean's candidacy] has been couched" and "what most of his supporters believe they're voting for."
Ezra has been reading Matthew Miller's "The Two Percent Solution" and contends Dean represents the "innate incrementalism" that Miller believes is necessary for broad social change. The problem is that apparently Dean isn't aware of this, and his supporters need to explain it to him and for him. Here's Ezra:

Dean doesn't highlight his innate incrementalism, he highlights how radically different he is from Bush. Tax cuts versus none at all, Iraq versus staying home, universal health care (despite the fact that it's not), etc. The key thing about Dean's campaign is that, when evaluating it, Howard Dean and what he wants to do are the least important aspects. It is his supporters and their projections that matter.

"Projections", my friend? I would have to agree with that characterization. While I will enthusiastically support Dean if he is the eventual nominee, in some ways, the Dean candidacy reminds me of a bad joke: if you have to work too hard explaining it, it isn't really worth telling.

Update: Ezra's post is not "in support of Dean," though I originally interpreted it as such, and his highlighting of the disparity between Dean's positions and the projections of his supporters is deliberate, not unconscious as I suggested. Ezra suggests this post, and this one, as more representative of his views on Dean.

Behind Every Successful Man . . .

is a woman who's smarter than Todd Morman. Or something like that. Or at least that's the case in this e-mail exchange between Elizabeth Edwards and Mr. Morman, tireless John Edwards critic, and proprietor of Monkeytime. Kudos to Mr. Morman, who modestly describes himself as "sharp and aggressively opinionated," for his gallantry in (belatedly) reprinting this exchange. And double kudos to the articulate Mrs. Edwards who rather elegantly takes Mr. Morman to task for his incessant focus on Edwards' stance on the Iraq war, as well as his petty criticism of Edward's advertisements and his feigned ignorance of Edwards' detailed and specific policy positions.

While Morman's tiresome attacks on Edwards have long had a puzzlingly personal tone, he's now moved on to arrogance, as he suggests to Elizabeth Edwards, in his most patronizing manner, that perhaps her husband would make a good Secretary of Labor, or Attorney General. Thanks, Todd, I'm sure Mrs. Edwards will pass that along.

If You Read Nothing Else This Week. . .

Read The Political and the Personal, David Neiwert's latest essay on Orcinus. In this piece, Neiwert discusses the development, as well as his growing awareness of what he terms "a genuine and significant rift in American society." Beginning on a personal level with his conservative roots, Neiwert describes the progression of ideas that many of have experienced, and then focuses the reader on two critical events, the December 12, 2000 Supreme Court decision in Bush v. Gore, and September 11, 2001, events which affected, and in many ways divided us all, both politically and personally. Neiwert has a unique talent for seeing the "big picture," and this essay is no exception. There are so many great quotes from this piece that I don't even know where to start, so I won't. But don't take my word for it, go read it. It doesn't get any better than this.

Update: Several other blogs have linked to, or commented on this essay, and Digby's take on it, in particular, is worth reading.

Debates

Can't they break them up into groups of 4 or something? For crying out loud, what a waste of time, to sit and watch them spout the same 30 second canned speeches over and over because they have no time to say anything else. Ugh...

Phil up the ballot

SI's Stewart Mandel thinks that NC State quarterback Philip Rivers deserves more Heisman consideration. I couldn't agree more. It will be a travesty if Rivers is not invited to the Heisman Trophy ceremony. Rivers is the best football player in NC State history, the best quarterback in ACC history and one of the top three players in the NCAA this season (I'll grant that Jason White and Larry Fitzgerald are the others). Check out the numbers in the article (among the contenders, Rivers is #1 in completion percentage, #2 in passing yards, #3 in TD's, tied for #1 for interception (fewest) and #2 in passer rating). . . I'm not sure that the Heisman winner needs to come from a top 10 team.

Krugman vs. AARP

Today's NY Times has another great column by Mr. Krugman: AARP Gone Astray. Yes, we know the prescription drug bill sucks, but why is the AARP endorsing it? Apparently, AARP members want to know as well. From the column:

"Over the years AARP has become much more than an advocacy and service organization for older Americans. It receives more than $150 million each year in commissions on insurance, mutual funds and prescription drugs sold to its members."

Nice. Gotta love the profit motive.

There's nothing like a good protest

Thousands in Britain protest Bush visit, pull down statue of Bush in central London

Proposed energy bill sucks, say greens

tompaine.com has published a great letter addressed to members of Congress and signed by the leader of most every environmental organization in America: TOMPAINE.com - Better Off Dead.

Of course I expect to be fully educated by my local newscaster about this bill and the other stinker in the pipeline. Oh, and Daschle sucks.

Thought Control

Stephen Clemmons thinks we need to rethink the role of think tanks. It's not just the corrupting power of campaign contributions and paid lobbyists, it's what Clemmons (VP in the New America Foundation) calls "deep lobbying." Here's how it works: (1) corporation or special interest group pays think tank (tax deductible! and without disclosure requirements!) for it's expertise and credibility, (2) think tank 'educates' legislators and administration officials, (3) legislators make policy decisions based on their newfound 'education."

"One reason why think tanks are so attractive to moneyed political players is that the intellectuals who work for them seem more legitimate than corporate spokespeople or lobbyists. So part of what's being bought is credibility. . .

Not only are the contributions tax-deductible, they don't have to be disclosed. It's that quiet, undisclosed advocacy that has given rise to a term for all of this: "deep lobbying." Deep lobbying is helping the think-tank sector thrive, while enlightened policy decisions wither in the well-worn grooves of a paralyzed debate."

It's Worse Than We Thought

Not only will Bush not speak to Parliament, apparently his meeting with bereaved relatives of soldiers killed in Iraq will not include families who oppose the war.

From the Mirror:

With the hours ticking away, No 10 confirmed that details of Mr Bush's meeting with relatives of dead troops were still in the air. Mr Bush wants to tell the families their loved ones died for a "noble cause".
White House aides were still locked in dispute over which relatives of dead British troops will meet the president amid fears he may be met with hostility.
Downing Street admitted the president would meet relatives, and soldiers who served in Afghanistan and Iraq, on Thursday. But asked if that included relatives of troops killed in this year's Iraq conflict, Mr Blair's spokesman replied: "The precise composition is still being worked on."
It implied Mr Bush will not meet those bereaved families who believe the public was misled into conflict.
An official said: "There'll be a meeting between Mr Bush and some of the families who lost loved ones in Iraq. But we're not releasing information."

Fewer press conferences than any president in history, "free speech zones" designed to distance protesters from presidential appearances, no speech to the Parliament of basically our only ally, and now he's afraid to meet with the relatives of men and women who died fighting his personal and unnecessary war? Has there ever been a bigger coward representing a world power?

Save the Earth -- dump Bush

Great interview in Salon today with the much too quiet environmental activist, Bobby Kennedy Jr. Kennedy rails on Bush and his corporate cronies, but has some nice things to say about Kerry and Arnie. I realize this is a little long, but I couldn't resist:

"SALON: In Rolling Stone, you use the term "corporate fascism" to describe what's happening under Bush. Do you think that's excessive rhetoric?


KENNEDY: No I don't. When I was growing up, I was taught that communism leads to dictatorship and capitalism leads inevitably to democracy. And I think that's the assumption of most Americans. Certainly if you listen to people like Sean Hannity or any other voices of the right, there's an assumption that capitalism in any form is beneficial for democracy. But that's not always true. Free market capitalism certainly democratizes a nation and a people. But corporate capitalism has the opposite effect. The control of the capitalist system by large corporations leads to the elimination of markets and ultimately to the elimination of democracy. And we desperately need to understand that point in our country -- that the domination of our country by large corporations is absolutely catastrophic for our democratic process.

Corporations don't want free markets, they want profits. And the best way to guarantee profits is to eliminate the competition; in other words, eliminate the marketplace, through the control of government. And that's what we're seeing today in our country. There is no free market left in agriculture. The free market has almost been eliminated in the energy sector. These are two of our most critical sectors, and the marketplace has disappeared. We're seeing the same process underway in the media industry now. So there's very little consumer choice and Americans aren't getting the benefits and efficiencies that the free market promises us.

Under Bush we're seeing the complete corporate domination of the various departments of government. The Agriculture Department, which was created to benefit small farmers, is now a wholly owned subsidiary of big agribusiness and the principal instrument of their destruction. The Forest Service is being run by a timber industry lobbyist, Public Lands by a mining industry lobbyist. Virtually all Bush's Cabinet secretaries, department deputies and agency heads come from the very industries that those agencies are supposed to be regulating.

The same thing happened in Germany, Italy and Spain during the fascist takeover in the 1920s and '30s -- you had industrialists flooding the ministries and running the ministries, and running them in many ways for their own profit. If you read the American Heritage Dictionary definition of fascism, it says "the domination of a government by corporations of the political right, combined with bellicose nationalism." Well, we're seeing that today."

So true. . . .

Well, you can forget about political news coverage for the next 2 years

This story is OJ plus Kobe plus Fatty Arbuckle all rolled up into one.

Our myopic media won't be able to talk about anything else. CIA agents killed because of leak from White House? Never heard of it. Presidential election? Not important. Massive budget deficits? Pshaw - people just don't care. Hey man, there's a celebrity to obsess over! And we can talk about sex with children! Yay! Ratings!


Ugh.

Is Bonds Juiced?

Barry Bonds won his sixth MVP Award yesterday and further cemented his place in the pantheon of baseball greats. . . but has it all been a sham? Read Jon Saraceno's article in USA Today. . . and consider the following:

• from ages 22-34 Bonds averaged a home run every 16.1 at-bats
  
• from ages 35-39 Bonds averaged a home run every 8.5 at-bats
  
• Bonds weighed 185 lbs as a rookie in 1986 and close to 250 lbs this past season
  
• Bonds head supposedly increased three hat sizes since 2000
  
• Bonds began working with Victor Conte (founder of Balco Incorporated) in the winter of 2000 and promptly gained 25 lbs - and hit 73 home runs the following season
  
• Bonds publically endorsed Balco products
  
• Conte and Balco are suspected of being the source of distribution for the designer steroid TGH
  
• and check out this table from Saraceno's article:

Bonds' 3-year averages
1991-93	Category	2001-03
.313	BA	.345
35	HR	55
114	RBI	112
.442	OBP	.542
.606	Slugging	.808
120	Walks	174
111	Runs	119

Obviously no one has proven anything, but it wouldn't surprise me to see an asterisk at some point in the future.

Dead Heat

I can't decide which post better nails Bush's cowardly but characteristic failure to address the British Parliament, this one, by Tim Dunlop, or this one, from Crooked Timber.

Both note that, according to ABC News, “such a speech could invite the kind of heckling the president received when he spoke to the Australian Parliament last month.”

Tim Dunlop: "Does it matter that George Bush won't address the British parliament during his current visit? Of course it does. If the President is willing to launch wars and involve other nations in that adventure, the least he can do is explain himself to their elected representatives and hell, take a bit of verbal flack. It won't kill him, which is more than you can say for many of those who marched off to fight his war for him."

Kieran, via Crooked Timber: "One might have thought that a leader with thicker skin might have told the begrudgers to 'Bring it on.' Bush’s aversion to explaining himself to people who might talk back is well known, of course, but it seems insulting to treat the representative body of your staunchest ally in this way. Needless to say, the spin on the visit — see the same ABC news story — is that Bush is in London to “address” and “confront” those who doubt his policy in Iraq. He’ll just be doing this without, you know, addressing or confronting anyone."

I just don't think I can improve on either of those comments. Give 'em hell, guys.

Hey, Al Franken's on . . .

NRO??! Yep, taking on Rich Lowry. Hate to link to those bastards, but Al's great in any forum.

Oliver Willis has a funny one up today

It's about what JFK would think if he saw the 40th aniversary of the assassination hoopla. It's great.

Here's a sample:

My fellow Americans, please have no doubt that I love this country. I love it with every beat of my heart. Every year since I was killed my love for America has grown. So it is with a heavy heart that I make this request: LEAVE. ME. ALONE.

...

I love you all, and I wish I could be there with you. But I'm trying to live a peaceful afterlife, punctuated by wild orgies with the Rat Pack and Jayne Mansfield, and it's getting embarrasing.



Go read the whole thing.

Why Does George W. Bush Hate North Carolina?

Via Atrios comes this interesting little tidbit: Bush tells American firms in England to bring the jobs home.

Evidently Chimpy's goons have met with the heads of American operations in England and told them, in no uncertain terms, to break their contracts in England and elsewhere in Europe and bring production back to the states.

Anyone want to guess what will happen to the thousands of jobs at RTP's Glaxo plant when the Brits get ahold of that particular line of reasoning?

Is the man insane?

One ally is too many - so we want to start a trade war with the one we've got?

One more time: WORST .... PRESIDENT.... EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Urban Legend in the Making?

I hope not, because if this actually happened, I plan to get a lot of mileage out of it.
Here's the set up: Last week, TBOGG comments on and links to a thread at fark.com which asks guys in Boulder, Colorado what questions they'd most like to ask Ann Coulter at an upcoming campus appearance. If the follow-up account now posted is true, a TBOGG reader forwarded the list to a friend, who found at least one suggestion too good to pass up.
The hilarious "best of" list is here, but the question which (allegedly) actually got asked was, "Ann, since you're a self-proclaimed extreme right-winger, when are you going to take your own advice and get pregnant, march into the kitchen barefoot and make me a damn sandwich?!"

Hey, Oliver Willis! 20-17 baby!

I hate to push Shoveldog's excellent post down too far, but I had to rub one in Oliver Willis' face. First he abandons John Edwards too early, and then he continues to ride that Washington Indigineous Persons wagon right into the ditch. These two are for you, Oliver:


Say hello to Sara Brown:



And then, burn this image into your head, big man, because just as Spurrier gave up on Davis last year and he came back to do this to the 'Skins, John Edwards is coming back to burn you, my friend. Sweet dreams:



TOUCHDOWN!!!(And no, his knee wasn't down - like you could have stopped him on third down anyway...)

All the More Reason to Bare your Bum at Bush

While the link above represents typical British bloggers doing their typical good work, stateside bloggers and journalists frequently cite the more traditional and respected outlets of the British media, such as The Guardian, The Independent, and The Telegraph, for their perspective on American foreign policy and global issues. Indeed, this site has recently linked to both The Guardian and The Independent, and I saw an insightful discussion of an article from the conservative Telegraph on Crooked Timber earlier this week. Notwithstanding the panoply of reputable British newspapers, conservative, liberal and moderate, George W. Bush, during his upcoming trip to the British Isles, will give an exclusive interview to The Sun, a Rupert Murdoch owned, National Enquirer style tabloid famous for its topless models, the Page 3 girls. Excuse me, but isn’t this the same guy who gave us Protection From Pornography Week last month? What will we tell the children?

But, as Dana Millbank points out in the above-linked Washington Post article:
". . . the Sun is so much more than breasts. It is also reporting this week on a woman who is "made of two women" and "is NOT the biological mother of two of the children she conceived and had naturally." Other news items highlighted on the Sun's Web site: "Man begins 12-day sausage, bean and chip bath to promote Brit food," "German saboteurs plotted to bomb Palace with peas in WW2, files reveal," and "Sobbing islanders say sorry to the ancestor of minister eaten by natives.
Bush, meanwhile, has given no solo interviews this year to the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Time or Newsweek. And he hasn't given an exclusive interview in his entire presidency to the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe and dozens of other major publications.”

But what did we really expect? Dubya can’t be expected to go one-on-one with a real interviewer; he simply doesn’t have the resources to answer questions for which his handlers haven’t given him answers beforehand. A man’s gotta know his limitations.

Truth be told, Dubya chose his audience pretty well. My suspicion is that his advisors have watched a little British television, perhaps this 1987 exchange from Jim Hacker’s great series “Yes, Prime Minister”:

Jim Hacker:
"Don’t tell me about the press. I know exactly who reads the papers:
- The Daily Mirror is read by people who think
they run the country;
- The Guardian is read by people who think they
ought to run the country;
- The Times is read by people who actually do run
the country;
- The Daily Mail is read by the wives of the
people who run the country;
- The Financial Times is read by people who own
the country;
- The Morning Star is read by people who think
the country ought to be run by another country;
- And the Daily Telegraph is read by people who
think it is."

Sir Humphrey:
"Prime Minister, what about the people who read the Sun?"

Bernard Woolley:
"Sun readers don’t care who runs the country, as long as she’s got big tits."

Blumenthal: Bush lied to Blair too!

I supported the invasion of Iraq for several reasons, none of which were the reasons Bush used (until forced to do so when the whole "Iraq caused 9/11" thing blew up in his face). I have been an advocate of an interventionist foreign policy for the purpose of defeating homicidal dictators for a long time now. Unlike Bush, I would apply it to "friendly" homicidal dictators. The noblest things the Clinton Administration did in foreign policy were the interventions in the Balkans and in Haiti. The worst thing was to allow Rwanda to fester.

We have the power to bring about good in the world. We should do it. I would prefer we do it with our allies and the UN and with a plan to succeed and get out - but that's another argument.

Now, having said that, another reason I felt more pro-war than anti in October 2002 was that Tony Blair supported it. Tony Blair. A good liberal. A progressive. A man I would be proud to call my President.

I figured, if John Edwards and Tony Blair (and to a lesser extent Colin Powell) believe this is the right thing to do, that outweighs the presence of George W. Bush in the equation.

But now Sidney Blumenthal, the great one himself, has an interesting article in the Guardian (yay!), in which he says that Blair went along with Bush because Bush promised Blair he would bring real pressure to bear on Ariel Sharon, the Prime Minister of Israel.

Now, of course, the neocons have said no to the pressure, we're stuck in Iraq without a plan to get out except for cutting and running, Ariel Sharon is turning the West Bank into a giant relocation camp, and Tony Blair's government is struggling to stay afloat.

All together now: WORST....PRESIDENT.... EVER.

More From The Exterminator

At the risk of elevating DrFrankLives' blood pressure to dangerous levels, I direct your attention to Tom Delay's latest fundraising scheme, which, at best, blurs the line between charitable and political contributions in order to avoid legislative limits on soft money, and at worst, uses neglected children as political "cover" for large, undisclosed and unregulated contributions. From the New York Times article:

"It is an unusual charity brochure: a 13-page document, complete with pictures of fireworks and a golf course, that invites potential donors to give as much as $500,000 to spend time with Tom DeLay during the Republican convention in New York City next summer — and to have part of the money go to help abused and neglected children.

Mr. DeLay's charity, Celebrations for Children Inc., was set up in September and has no track record of work. Mr. DeLay is not a formal official of the charity, but its managers are Mr. DeLay's daughter, Dani DeLay Ferro; Craig Richardson, a longtime adviser; and Rob Jennings, a Republican fund-raiser. Mr. Richardson said the managers would be paid by the new charity.

But because the money collected will go into a nonprofit organization, donors get a tax break. And Mr. DeLay will never have to account publicly for who contributed, which campaign finance experts say shields those who may be trying to win favor with one of the most powerful lawmakers in Washington.

Nothing surprises me anymore.

Step One: Place tail between legs.... Step Two: Run...

Step three: declare victory and call your opponents traitors and terrorists.

Via Atrios comes this story in which the Resident announces a renewed push to hand over authority to Iraqis and get the hell out of Baghdad.

This is much like the kid who breaks his mother's figurines, attempts to glue them back together and then hands them over in a sticky mess. What, does Georgie Peorgie expect some credit for being honest now? Ooops, I broke it, but at least I tried to fix it . . . and at least I told you about it...


What the hell are the Iraqis going to do with a decimated country, no authority in power and a Shiite religious majority bent on letting Iran run the show?

Amateur hour continues... I'm so glad the grownups are running the show now...

ugh.

Different Strokes?

The Strokes debut album Is This It? made them critical darlings and spearheaded the so-called "garage rock revival" of 2000-2001 (see also the White Stripes, The Vines, The Hives, Interpol, etc). Two years later, the NYC band has released the follow-up: Room On Fire. The new record draws from the same musical sensibilities as Is This It?, and though it perhaps lacks the debut's scene-making gravitas, it's more than a worthy successor. The Strokes still evoke the cool detachment of the Velvet Underground and the musicality of Television, but they've have brightened the corners, making the hooks more angular with improved production. This one's been stuck in my CD player for a week now and is highly recommended.

Key Tracks: 12:51, Between Love & Hate and Under Control

AlterNet: The Professor Takes the Gloves Off

The esteemed Professor Krugman interviewed on AlterNet about the willful deceptions of the Bush Administration and the state of the American economy. It's interesting how Krugman was hired to do a relatively apolitical column about international economics and has ended up being one of the most level-headed critics of the Unelected One. I loved this quote about the failings of the mainstream media:

"So rather than really try to report things objectively, they [the mainstream media] settle for being even-handed, which is not the same thing. One of my lines in a column – in which a number of people thought I was insulting them personally – was that if Bush said the earth was flat, the mainstream media would have stories with the headline: "Shape of the Earth – Views Differ." Then they'd quote some Democrats saying that it was round."

Dirty business

From Salon: how Bush and his coal industry cronies are covering up one of the worst environmental disasters in US history. Yet another example of the rape of our environment. I must admit that it's no longer shocking to read an article like this. . . unfortunately this is probably just one example out of hundreds.

Preaching to the Choir

Admittedly, most visitors to David Neiwert's blog are all too familiar with the points he makes in this Sunday's post, but seldom will they find them expressed so well. In his typically eloquent style, Neiwert gives us the introductory post to his new extended series, "Manifestly Unfit: The Disastrous Presidency of George W. Bush." To those of us who've been paying attention, it's a familiar sermon, but you can find me in Neiwert's "amen corner" any day.

"They don't want to govern. They want to rule."

Molly Ivins quoting Texas Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos.

Today Molly is railing, quite rightly, about the prescription drug and energy bills. Turns out that 61% of what the plan costs will remain with the drugcos as added profits. . . and the energy bill gives the industry an extra $10B in subsidies and tax breaks. Talk about welfare queens!

By George!

An entertaining look at the Dim Son from UK's Independent.

"Bush wants to pack the courts with doctrinal right-wing judges; if he could, he would roll back a woman's right to choose even further than the ban on partial birth abortion he signed into law last week.

And all this done with a certainty ill-befitting a man with scant knowledge of the world's complexities, and a quite scary lack of curiosity about what makes other people and other cultures tick. As the political writer Joe Klein put it in a Time magazine column just before the second Iraq war: "George W Bush lives at the intersection of faith and inexperience. This is not a reassuring address, especially in a time of trouble.""

US Bombing Baghdad

Let me get this straight - we are bombing a city that we occupy. Couldn't we just send the troops in to destroy/capture whatever is being targeted? Or are entire parts of the city that are out of our control? Or is this just a show for the 'merican people? Details (not many) at CNN.com Breaking News. . .

This is Tom Delay, Calling to tell you I'm a Freaking Sleazebag!

It seems Tom Delay (R-Mars) is calling people who happened to vote Republican and leaving messages telling them they have won a prestigious award from the President of the United States.

When they call back, they are invited to join the prestigious "Business Roundtable" for a mere $500!

This is called bait and switch. When aluminum siding companies try it, they get fined and driven out of business. When Tom Delay does it, it's just politics, right?

Scum. The man is scum.

If I ever find the guy that sold my Grandfather the continuously renewing set of "Video Professor" CDs, at $70 a pop, I'm going to kick his ass and make him eat every CD.

I would feel the same way about Tom Delay if they called my Grandfather with this crap.

Yes, Mr. Ashcroft, that's an expression of violent feelings. Please spell my name right in your little book - DR. FRANK LIVES.

Fox vs. Franken Transcript

Legal types might enjoy this read. . . (link discovered via the fine work of Atrois).

The Nation Of Israel Is Truly An Island Of Civility In The Middle East

This article describes a side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that is not often reported at the same level of detail as the suicide bombings - at least not in this country where it's apparently anti-Semitic to describe the horrors imposed on human beings by the government of Israel.

James Brooks: Israel's New War Machine Opens the Abyss

The Thwarted Iraqi Peace Proposals

Very interesting article that goes into some detail about the last-ditch effort by Iraq to avoid a US invasion. Apparently, the Iraqis offered up almost everything the Bush Administration wanted (including oil concessions for US companies, assistance in the War On Terra, UN-managed elections in two years and open kimono inspections), but would not agree to regime change and total surrender of the Iraqi military.

It's difficult to find the truth when you're dealing with a secretive administration that is not above lying and half-truths, but this story is quite believable - unless you believe that the Iraqis actually thought they could defeat a US invasion. If only the mainstream media would report this story with a bit of intelligence and integrity:

""You're saying Iraq didn't want war?" CNN's clueless Bill Hemmer, with a smugly quizzical look on his cherub-face, asked Hage [Imad al-Hage - one of the key go-betweens], as though any rational viewer would just assume Iraq wanted to be attacked."

Best Film Trilogies

With the Matrix and LOTR trilogies concluding this year, I figured it was only a matter of time before we starting seeing "Best Trilogy" rankings. Here's one from MSN: MSN Entertainment - News - Three's Company.

Order notwithstanding, I generally like these choices (though I have not seen the "Apu Trilogy" or the "Dead Or Alive Trilogy"). I might have thought about including the Karate Kid or Tremors trilogies though. . .


Here's a list of some trilogies that didn't make the cut: Matrix, Aliens, Terminator, Back To The Future, American Pie, Hannibal, Indiana Jones, Rambo, Revenge of the Nerds, Jaws, Home Alone, Die Hard, Dirty Harry, Ghostbusters, Oliver Stone Vietnam trilogy (Platoon, Heaven & Earth, Born On 7/4), Jurassic Park, Naked Gun, Beverly Hills Cop, Harry Potter, Batman, Terry Gillam "Artist" trilogy (Time Bandits, Brazil, Baron Munchausen), Austin Powers. Some of these probably have grown to more than 3 flicks by now.

The Uncompassionate Conservative

"It's not that he's mean. It's just that when it comes to seeing how his policies affect people, George W. Bush doesn't have a clue."
- Molly Ivins in the current issue of Mother Jones.

Maybe it IS that he's mean. What's poor Molly gonna do when Dim Son is thrown out of office next year?

Where does Keanu go from here?

This week's release of Matrix Revolutions caps off one of the most-hyped film trilogies in history. Will it be remembered for the groundbreaking original, the confusing (but intriguing) sequel or the apparently empty finale? (Thanks to my 5-month old, I have not yet seen Revolutions.) Reviews have been all-around rotten:

"The Matrix Revolutions sucks." -- Peter Travers, Rolling Stone Magazine

Looks like it's back to surfboards, out-of-control buses and Circle K's for Keanu.

Meanwhile, the final segment of the best film trilogy in history is set for a December 17 release. The buzz is that it's the best of the three. Come January, I'm going to miss my annual dose of Tolkien.

The ScotchZombie's NFL Mid-Season Awards

Throwing a little sports into the mix. . . .


Best Team: The undefeated Kansas City Chefs actually have a shot at staying undefeated this season - but expect an upset or two over the next few weeks.

Worst Team: The San Diego Bolts edge out the Blackbirds of Hotlanta - though the performance of the Steelers and Raiders is shameful.

Most Improved Team: The Dallas Cowpokes have turned things around (note that Quincy Carter's mid-season stats are almost identical to last years).

Best Coaching Job: (tie) Bill Belichick for leading the Patsies to a 6-2 record with all of those injuries on defense and a makeshift running game and the Tuna for turning America's Team around so quickly.

Worst Coaching Job: Steve Spurrier - 'cause I just hate the guy - but Marty Shots and Bill Callahan are hurtin' for certain.

MVP: Steve McNair, who has done it all for his team. Stevie beats out Peyton Manning for two reasons: his offensive weapons are not as talented as Manning's and he makes plays with his feet.

Best Rookie: Dominick Davis has been running lights out for the Texans.

Biggest Bust: Donovan McNabb - too much soup?

Biggest Surprise: Keenan McCardell - Keyshawn who?


All-Pro Team (sorry, I'm not competent to judge the NFL's offensive linemen)

QB: Steve McNair: the ultimate competitor.
RB: Ahman Green: has done it all for the Pack (we can overlook the 4 fumbles).
RB: Priest Holmes: still ministering for the best team in the NFL.
WR: Torry Holt: on pace to break the NFL single-season yardage record.
WR: Randy Moss: still dominating, but the mouth stays closed.
TE: Tony Gonzalez: Shockey is a pretender to the throne.
K: Mike Vanderjagt: nary a miss and he kicks more than Kasey.
P: Shane Lechler: and the Raiders have needed a punter this season.
ST: Dante Hall: maybe the best season ever for a special-teamer.
DL: Mike Rucker: a league-leading 10 sacks to go with 26 solo tackles.
DL: Simeon Rice: the Bucs collapse is through no fault of this guy.
LB: Ray Lewis: absolutely murdering the opposition this season.
LB: David Thornton: leading a resurgent Colts D; big plays will come.
DB: Ronde Barber: best all-around corner in the NFL.
DB: Corey Chavous: 7 picks already this year.

With Apologies to REM. . .

It's the end of the world as we know it. Oddy enough, I found this link on Andrew Sullivan's blog, and sifting it out of the rest of the garbage on that site reminded me of the other morning when I had to bend down and pick up my sunglasses after I dropped them in the cat's litter box.

Can you learn more about America from the Brits?

A very interesting series of articles about the United States from the the UK Guardian. Check out the three-part article by Julian Borger entitled "Special Investigation: Bush's America."

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Special report: United States

Last word on the Reagan miniseries affair. . .

Thanks to Tom Toles.

EPA To Drop Pollution Cases

Still not convinced that the Bush Administration and their greedy friends in the energy industry don't run the show? Take a look at the travesty du jour in the NY Times:

"A change in enforcement policy will lead the Environmental Protection Agency to drop investigations into 50 power plants for past violations of the Clean Air Act, lawyers at the agency who were briefed on the decision this week said.
The lawyers said in interviews on Wednesday that the decision meant the cases would be judged under new, less stringent rules set to take effect next month, rather than the stricter rules in effect at the time the investigations began."

The stench of corruption is remarkably easy to follow: energy industry donates millions to Republican coffers -> Republicans are elected to office -> Republicans permit energy industry to rewrite the rules in favor of energy industry -> energy industry enjoys increased profits -> American people suffer. It's time this cycle was broken. . . I think the "Crying Indian" is all out of tears.

"Were you wrong, Howard?"

Deer in the headlights.

It's the look Dan Quayle had when Senator Bentsen skewered him as "no Jack Kennedy."

It's the look Ted Kennedy had when Roger Mudd asked him why he wanted to be President.

It's the look on the face of Gary Bauer as that last pancake flipped over his shoulder and he knew he was falling off the stage in Iowa.

And it's the look Howard Dean gave John Edwards at last night's Rock The Vote forum in Boston.

Dean, belligerently refusing to admit he had miscalculated the reaction to using the Confederate Flag as an encompassing symbol for Southern whites, refused to give ground. Al Sharpton warmed him up from the side of African American offense at the symbol, and John Edwards hit him with a rhetorical baseball bat:

From CNN:
"SEN. JOHN EDWARDS: Wait a minute. Unless I am mistaken, Howard Dean still hasn't said he was wrong. Were you wrong, Howard? Were you wrong to say that?

"The last thing we need in the South is somebody like you coming down and telling us what we need to do. One of the problems that we have with young people today is people talk down to you. You know, you get all pigeonholed. They stereotype you. Exactly the same thing happens with people from the South. I have seen it. I have grown up with it. I'm here to tell you it is wrong. It is condescending.
(END VIDEO CLIP)

Contrary to the protestations of the Dean supporters on the web last night, neither Al Sharpton or John Edwards called Dean a racist. He most assuredly is not. But he made a boneheaded move here, and his tone-deaf response should give pause to anyone who thinks he has what it takes to go up against the Bush Rove machine. All he had to do was express his perfectly valid point in a different way. Why didn't he say "I shouldn't have used the flag as a reference. Wrong thing to say. But what I want to do is reach out to those people who have been voting Republican in the South for all the wrong reasons." In fact, that's what both Edwards and Bob Graham have been saying all year long.

Instead, Dean walked into a threshing blade and kept walking. Consider the Shark well and truly jumped.

CNN's Bill Schneider summed up Edwards' shining moment:

SCHNEIDER: That's the key word. The key word is condescending. That's [where] John Edwards, I think, was outstanding last night. He refused to condescend to his audience. He objected to being condescended to as a Southerner and even in those short videos the candidates presented, his was the least cringe-inducing because it was the least condescending. When his ads showed a young man, a young African-American man, asking questions about his goals and his future, and Sen. Edwards responding to him directly. Sen. Edwards avoided any condescension to that audience and I thought it was very effective.

Remember that one lucky break I was talking about? The one thing that would cause the media to turn and say "Hey, look, John Edwards is coming on strong."? I think it happend last night. With that performance, Edwards put himself in the minds of the voters. I would be willing to bet his poll numbers in South Carolina will grow and solidify.

Allow me one more metaphor: Seabiscuit.

Republicans permit yet another taxpayer rip-off

Your Republican representatives in the Federal government are apparently more interested in lining the pockets of corrupt corporate executives than fiscal responsibility. But where tax cuts that overwhelming benefit the wealthy can be defended with a bit of spin and and an uninterested populace, this latest move is indefensible. Turns out the Republicans have stripped an anti-profiteering provision from the Iraq supplemental bill. The provision would have subjected those defrauding the government (THE AMERICAN PEOPLE) to possible prison terms and/or fines. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? Not in our bizarro democracy.


"At a Democratic Policy Committee hearing, Melanie Sloan, executive director of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, testified that “Halliburton [formerly headed by Vice President Dick Cheney] has charged an average price of $2.65 a gallon of gasoline imported into Iraq from Kuwait, despite experts’ conclusions that the total price should be less than $1 a gallon.”

Sloan added that Iraq’s state oil company is importing “the exact same gas” for 97 cents. She concluded that between $286 million and $339 million of the $900 million the administration has requested for the importation of petroleum products could be wasted “if Halliburton’s pricing practices are not stopped.”

Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who chaired the hearing, said, “Is there anything more ironic than getting ripped off on the price of oil imports in Iraq, of all places?”"

Mutual fund fleecing

Molly Ivins is a smart and funny lady and she's starting to get really pissed off -- I don't blame her. Today she's writing about the corporate scandal du jour - pension fund fraud. Another sickening consequence of deregulation that has probably affected millions of Americans.

"So what's been going on with your money in mutual funds? Late trading, short trading and insider trading. And in a depressingly familiar pattern, the regulators who were supposed to be watching mutual funds didn't notice a thing until after New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer jumped in and started talking criminal fraud charges. . . Why do they do it? Because they can get away with it."
MORE

All the President's Votes?

More to worry about on the election technology front. This outstanding article from the UK Independent describes how a reliance on computer technology to run elections might be compromising our democracy. The extent to which these systems can be manipulated is astonishing - and given the confidentiality agreements in place between the manufacturers and government entities, there is almost no accountability. If you thought the 2000 elections in Florida were troublesome, just wait until 2004. . .

Republicans want "Reagans" censored - CBS complies!

CBS is caving in to the right wing loonies.

Since when does the chairman of the Republican Party have the ability to prevail upon a network to change the content of its programs?

WHAT COUNTRY IS THIS!!!!????????

FIRE PAUL MAURICE!!!!!!!

The Canes stunk up the league last year. Tonight, against a team that got shelled 7-1 last night, they come out flat, give up two goals in 2 minutes and then proceed to do NOTHING for a whole game.

THe team has made personnel chamnges. It is undoubtedly a more talented team than it was last year, yet the results are the same. Solution? FIRE THE DAMN COACH!

This lady needs Atkins?

Is this ad trying to say that the shapely young woman in the picture is fat?

I'm not one to be judging other people's body fat content, given that my belt is becoming mysteriously less visible every day. However - this chick is NOT FAT!

Not that I would want to see someone who really needs an Atkins diet in that particular bikini, but what exactly is the message here? That is a nice ass! Why would I want her to be skinnier???