Surging Again and Again

EarlG over at the Democratic Underground noticed that he seemed to remember hearing about a "recent surge in violence" in Iraq more than a few times and decided to Google the phrase.

There are a few notable periods where violence is not reported as a "recent surge," (for example, Nov 2003 - Mar 2004) and there are a few notable periods where the violence is much worse (for example, May 2005).

But overall, it appears that there is a "recent surge in violence" reported in Iraq pretty much every few weeks.

Here are the results. The next time you see the phrase "recent surge in violence" try not to fall out of your chair.

2003

September 3, 2003: Meanwhile, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and French President Jacques Chirac were to meet in Germany on Thursday to discuss ways for the West to respond to the recent surge in violence in Iraq and the Middle East.

October 31, 2003: Ansar is believed to be channelling into Iraq the foreign fighters who are behind a recent surge in violence in the country, officials say.

November 3, 2003: Bush blamed loyalists to ousted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and foreign terrorists for the recent surge in violence in Iraq.

2004

March 4, 2004: A wave of bomb attacks in Baghdad and Karbala killing at least 171 people earlier this week has highlighted the difficulties in rebuilding the country and restoring peace. But Mr Blair, speaking after a meeting in Rome with his Italian counterpart, Silvio Berlusconi, said the recent surge in violence in Iraq did not constitute civil war.

April 14, 2004: U.S. President George W. Bush held a major news conference at the White House on 13 April in the middle of the deadliest month for Americans in Iraq since Baghdad fell a year ago. He spoke of the recent surge in violence there, but urged his countrymen not to lose faith. He also said he would adhere to the 30 June deadline for handing over sovereignty to Iraqis.

April 15, 2004: Pace said the recent surge in violence in Iraq is being driven by "terrorists" who see the June 30 deadline for turnover of sovereignty approaching rapidly and are petrified by the promise of democracy.

April 26, 2004: Lt. Gen. David Barno, the top American commander in Afghanistan, said Monday that the military has seen a recent surge in violence, but that most attacks were directed against soft targets, such as civilians or isolated Afghan security outposts.

May 12, 2004: Despite the prison abuse scandal and the recent surge in violence in Iraq, a majority of the public (53%) continues to support keeping troops in Iraq until a stable government is established

May 25, 2004: In his speech to the Army War College here, Bush warned that "there are difficult days ahead and the way forward may sometimes appear chaotic." Yet he vowed the handover would take place on schedule and that the US-led coalition would not be defeated by insurgents blamed for the recent surge in violence.

June 24, 2004: Compelled by the recent surge in violence, US Central Command (CentCom) has informally asked Army planners for as many as 25,000 more troops in Iraq, the Baltimore Sun reports.

July 22, 2004: Despite a recent surge in violence, including kidnappings, car bombings and assassinations, senior U.S. and Iraqi officials gave a relatively optimistic assessment on Wednesday of the security situation in Iraq since the transfer of political authority from U.S. to Iraqi authorities June 28.

July/August, 2004: In the short term, ongoing help will be required with the maintenance of security within the country. The response to the recent surge in violence must emphasise political solutions and not be just a simple deployment of military power.

September 9, 2004: "The recent surge in violence has been especially surprising because in the weeks after the transfer of power there was a phase that, for Iraq, felt to some almost like a lull."

September 17, 2004: The assessments, made before the recent surge in violence in Iraq and the US military death toll there topping 1000, appear to conflict with Bush's upbeat description of the US-led effort to stabilise and democratise Iraq.

September 22, 2004: The Iraqi leader also said that despite a recent surge in violence in Iraq, it is "very important for the people of the world really to know that we are winning, we are making progress in Iraq, we are defeating terrorists."

December 18, 2004: Mosul has experienced a recent surge in violence. On Friday, a car carrying Turkish security guards was attacked in the city, in Iraq's far north near the Turkish border, and four people were killed, one of them decapitated.

2005

January 4, 2005: The incident marks the most senior assassination since the death in May of Governing Council president Abd al-Zahra Uthman Muhammad and should be seen within the context of the recent surge in violence ahead of national and provincial elections slated for 30 January.

January 17, 2005: The area around Kut has seen a recent surge in violence. In a separate attack, two Iraqi provincial government auditors were shot to death late Sunday after armed gunmen stopped their car in Suwaira, about 25 miles southeast of Baghdad, an official at a Kut hospital said.

March 2, 2005: Most of the victims were Shiites, the targets of a recent surge in violence, most notably a series of suicide bombings and other attacks that killed nearly 100 people during the Shiite religious commemoration known as Ashoura.

April 27, 2005: But he added it was too early to say if a recent surge in violence amounted to a concerted campaign, and insisted that US-backed forces were "winning".

May 10, 2005: The most-recent poll, conducted by CNN, USA Today, and Gallup, interviewed 1,006 adults between April 29 and May 1, 2005, before the recent surge in violence.

May 16, 2005: The insurgents' choice of adversary is unusual. But the recent surge in violence, at least, follows a time-tested pattern.

May 19, 2005: A senior U.S. military official told reporters Wednesday that the recent surge in violence in Iraq followed a meeting in Syria last month of associates of the Jordanian insurgent leader Abu Musab Zarqawi.

May 20, 2005: It's unclear how much of the recent surge in violence stems from tribal leaders, but as Metz points out: "Local elites recognize that in a secular, modernized Iraq, their power would be challenged."

May 23, 2005: Even despite the recent surge in violence, in some areas -- downtown Mosul, for example -- Iraqi forces have begun limited independent operations.

June 17, 2005: It is also believed to be the main hideout of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the Jordanian militant whose al Qaeda-linked group has carried out many of the deadliest attacks in Iraq and who U.S. forces believe is behind a recent surge in violence.

June 20, 2005: Mr. President, we were told that you planned to sharpen your focus on Iraq. Why did this become necessary? And given the recent surge in violence, do you agree with Vice President Dick Cheney's assessment that the insurgency is in its last throes?

August 4, 2005: His comments came as the 15-nation council unanimously adopted a U.S.-drafted resolution condemning a recent surge in violence in Iraq that has killed hundreds, ...

August 12, 2005: But a recent surge in violence and reports of growing public hostility to the Japanese presence are prompting many to question the prospects for continued humanitarian assistance there.

September 13, 2005: It's unclear how much of the recent surge in violence stems from tribal leaders, but as Metz points out: "Local elites recognize that in a secular, modernized Iraq, their power would be challenged."

September 17, 2005: Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, has reportedly said the recent surge in violence is in retaliation for a coalition offensive against the group's stronghold in the northern city of Tal Afar.

October 31, 2005: The fresh U.S. effort to crack down on insurgents followed a recent surge in violence caused by the passing of the new Iraqi constitution in a referendum held earlier this month.

2006

January 7, 2006: US officials have sought to downplay a recent surge in violence that on Thursday alone claimed the lives of more than 115 Iraqis and 11 US servicemen.

January 8, 2006: The recent surge in violence is "an anomaly" and Iraq is not on the verge of civil war, the top US commander there said yesterday, after one of the country's bloodiest days since the fall of Saddam Hussein.

February 1, 2006: Recently, five other members of Congress and I sat on a C-130 transport plane surrounded by soldiers going from Kuwait to Baghdad. The backdrop is a recent surge in violence.

February 4, 2006: Dozens of bodies have been discovered in various parts of Baghdad gagged, bound and shot repeatedly in the past week, amid recent surge in violence, which analysts have repeatedly described as initial stages of an open-ended civil war between Iraq’s ethnic groups.

March 1, 2006: AP reports that he was giving an unusually frank assessment of the stakes in the country's recent surge in violence.

March 4, 2006: The top U.S. commander in Iraq said yesterday that he hopes to make an assessment this spring about whether to reduce the number of American troops in Iraq. But Pentagon officials speaking anonymously said a recent surge in violence there has dampened hopes that force levels can be cut anytime soon.

I Feel Safer, Don't You?

Updated Below

Via ThinkProgress

Here is just one more example of how the Republican majority is dedicated to protecting you and I. Yesterday (3/16) the House of Representatives narrowly defeated an amendment proposed by Rep. Martin Sabo (D-MN) that would have provided $1.25 billion in critically needed funds for port security and disaster preparedness. The Sabo amendment included:

– $300 million to enable U.S. customs agents to inspect high-risk containers at all 140 overseas ports that ship directly to the United States. Current funding only allows U.S. customs agents to operate at 43 of these ports.

– $400 million to place radiation monitors at all U.S. ports of entry. Currently, less than half of U.S. ports have radiation monitors.

– $300 million to provide backup emergency communications equipment for the Gulf Coast.

Just to put this into perspective for you. The Bush budget, which will most assuredly be supported by those very same members who voted against this bill, contains an increase of $1.7 billion for missile defense, a program that has repeatedly proven that it doesn’t even work and most experts agree will probably never work. Have you done your taxes yet?

Update #1

Georgia10 at DKOS has more

Prophecy From An Old Onion

In a comment to the previous post Dr.Max reminded me of one of the greatest Onion pieces ever. It is worth a revisit in light of our new 9 TRILLION DOLLAR DEBT.

Bush: 'Our Long National Nightmare Of Peace And Prosperity Is Finally Over'

January 17, 2001 | Issue 37•01

Here is a bit but read the whole thing

WASHINGTON, DC–Mere days from assuming the presidency and closing the door on eight years of Bill Clinton, president-elect George W. Bush assured the nation in a televised address Tuesday that "our long national nightmare of peace and prosperity is finally over."

"My fellow Americans," Bush said, "at long last, we have reached the end of the dark period in American history that will come to be known as the Clinton Era, eight long years characterized by unprecedented economic expansion, a sharp decrease in crime, and sustained peace overseas. The time has come to put all of that behind us."

Bush swore to do "everything in [his] power" to undo the damage wrought by Clinton's two terms in office, including selling off the national parks to developers, going into massive debt to develop expensive and impractical weapons technologies, and passing sweeping budget cuts that drive the mentally ill out of hospitals and onto the street.

Update Your Quicken

According to ABC News the Senate just added another 781 billion dollars to the national debt. It is now a record $9 BILLION. Divided among every man, woman and child in the U.S. that is $30,000 per so if you are married add 30K$ to your Quicken debt and if you're married another 30K$ for your spouse. Got kids? Add another 30K$ for each. If I add correctly the average family in the U.S. just bought another house and didn't know it.

The partisan vote also came as the Senate continued debate on a $2.8 trillion budget blueprint for the upcoming fiscal year that would produce a $359 billion deficit for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.

The debt limit will increase by $781 billion. It's the fourth such move increasing the debt limit by a total of $3 trillion since Bush took office five years ago.

Happy days are here again.

Chicken Shits

At least Russ Feingold is speaking up.

Wisconsin Sen. Russell Feingold accused fellow Democrats on Tuesday of cowering rather than joining him on trying to censure President Bush over domestic spying

"Democrats run and hide" when the administration invokes the war on terrorism, Feingold told reporters.

Feingold introduced censure legislation Monday in the Senate but not a single Democrat has embraced it. Several have said they want to see the results of a Senate Intelligence Committee investigation before supporting any punitive legislation.

I am really having trouble believing that no other democratic representative in Washington is not prepared to take Bush's latest poll numbers out for a spin and see what they will do. What a bunch of chicken shits. Hey folks, we are talking about probably the worst presidency in the history of the country here. This administration has stripped of us our rights, spied on us, murdered out brothers and sisters in a terribly misguided effort to gain control over a large chunk of oil, destroyed our reputation in the world, bankrupted our treasury putting even our great, great grandchildren in debt and otherwise led this country over a cliff.

This is absolutely disgusting.

Molly Speaks for Me

My other Texas sweet heart Molly Ivins is cooking on all burners with this one and I agree with her 100% which is not unusual. This is a lady that knows Bush and his fake swagger as well as anyone and can tell you from personal experience what kind of son of a bitch Kark Rove is. The establishment Dems have got her shorts in a knot and that is not good news. When Molly turns her guns on you the only prudent thing to do is hide. There is more good stuff here. Read it.

Mah fellow progressives, now is the time for all good men and women to come to the aid of the party. I don’t know about you, but I have had it with the D.C. Democrats, had it with the DLC Democrats, had it with every calculating, equivocating, triangulating, straddling, hair-splitting son of a bitch up there, and that includes Hillary Rodham Clinton.

I will not be supporting Senator Clinton because: a) she has no clear stand on the war and b) Terri Schiavo and flag-burning are not issues where you reach out to the other side and try to split the difference. You want to talk about lowering abortion rates through cooperation on sex education and contraception, fine, but don’t jack with stuff that is pure rightwing firewater.

I can’t see a damn soul in D.C. except Russ Feingold who is even worth considering for President. The rest of them seem to me so poisonously in hock to this system of legalized bribery they can’t even see straight.

New Fear Factor

There is a new fear factor in town. No longer will just some plastic sheeting and duct tape do the trick now you better get some canned tuna and powdered milk to put with it.

In a remarkable speech over the weekend, Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt recommended that Americans start storing canned tuna and powdered milk under their beds as the prospect of a deadly bird flu outbreak approaches the United States.

I guess I must be getting jaded or something. Is it just me or do I get the sense that since "fear of ragheads" is wearing thin the administration has latched upon something else to keep the rubes from sticking their heads out of the sand? I know they fear the day when the majoity of people in this country begin to figure out what is being done to them. From Georgie's lastest polls numbers that day might be approaching.

Anyhow, back to the issue at hand. Am I wrong in thinking that most prudent people keep a modest stock of emergency supplies tucked away? Don't most people maintain kind of a buffer stock of basic necessities that they can fall back onto in case they are trapped or otherwise unable to get to the store or if the stores shelves are empty?

I am not talking about six months worth of everything you might need here. I am talking about 20 pounds of flour, 10 pounds of corn meal, cooking oil, salt, dried beans, canned tomatoes, canned meats and fish and yes powdered milk and some other basics that could get you through for maybe a month. Don't overlook first aid supplies, aspirin, iodine, bottled water, batteries, candles, bottled propane, maybe some beer, wine and whiskey. Last but not least some tools like a hatchet, knives, saws, etc. and finally a small caliber rifle and some ammo.

It's really not hard to do and you don't have to go out and buy it all at once. If you start thinking about how you would get by in an emergency such as a quarantine because of bird flu or even the inevitable bad hurricane or whatever you can begin to add a little to each shopping trip and before you know it have a stock of stuff that will buffer you in case of emergency. Of course you have to think about rotating through the perishables like flour and cornmeal and even long shelf life stuff won't last forever but it is not hard to do.

It is a little simpler for me since it is usually only me and madam to think about. If you have kids and pets etc. it does get a little more complicated but not impossible. Just begin to think about the things you take for granted that are fundamental requirements for getting by and you will reach for an extra box or two of kosher salt and maybe an extra five pounds of flour the next time you are shopping.

If you are the head of a household it is actually kind of irresponsible to not be prepared. Didn't you learn anything in the scouts besides how to cuss and smoke?

Faux President

Barbara O'Brien over at Mahablog has a good post up about the Bush misadministration and how from the beginning it hasn't had much substance and has been more pageant that actual governance. Here is a chunk of the New York Times piece today by Elisabeth Bumiller and David Sanger

… senior staff members insist that Mr. Bush is in good spirits, that calls from his party to inject new blood into the White House make him ever more stubborn to keep the old, and that he has become so inured to outside criticism that he increasingly tunes it out. There is no sense of crisis, they say, even over rebellious Republicans in Congress, because the White House has been in almost constant crisis since Sept. 11, 2001, and Mr. Bush has never had much regard for Congress anyway. …

… “They have a transmitter but not a listening device,” said one well-known Republican with close ties to the administration who gets calls from White House staff members. “They’ll say, ‘What are you hearing, what’s going on?’ You tell them things aren’t good on the Hill, you’ve got problems here, you’ve got problems there, or ‘I was in Detroit and boy did I get an earful.’ And their answer is, ‘Everybody’s just reading the headlines, we’ve got to get our message out better.’ There’s denial going on, and it starts at the top.”

The article and Barbara's coverage really put into perspective what we have all suspected since the beginning. We have actually spent the last six years or so with a faux president and the world has just passed us by. If you think about it all the major events of this period have pretty much just as you would expect if no one was in charge. I am convinced that 9/11 would not have happened if we had someone in charge that was actually serious about the job and paying attention. The same goes for Katrina and all the other disasters that have befallen us.

I guess Iraq is the best example of how not paying attention and not listening to the experts and not thinking things through and just pretending to be serious can create a clusterfuck of "biblical" proportions. How much different would the world be today if someone serious had been at the wheel for the last murderous six years? Two thousand three hundred and seven of America's hope for the future would still be alive and some 16,653 would not have been brutally ravaged in a sensless war with no end in sight. Don't even think about the Iraqi dead and injured or the destruction and suffering.

What the hell is going to happen over the next three years?

No Sex Just Die

Behind the scenes the "jumped by Jesus" crowd is spreading love and support everywhere they go.
In the most recent New Yorker , Michael Specter tells us how they have been spreading all this love. They have waged a "below the radar" war against some very critical vaccines, especially the one against human papillomavirus or HPV. This vaccine has proven in clinical trials that it would drastically reduce the incidence of cervix cancer, in fact, almost to zero. The theowhacks opposes it as a mandatory childhood vaccination. Why do they oppose such a boon you ask? Because it removes a disincentive to having sex in teens and unmarrieds. That's right let's let hundreds or thousands of people die needlessly because we don't want any teens to be encouraged to have sex because they aren't scared of getting HPV. Keerist on a tricycle!

It doesn't stop there folks. If tomorrow our scientists discovered a vaccine for HIV they would oppose that too!
From the New Yorker (sorry no link)

"Religious conservatives are unapologetic; not only do they believe that mass use of an HPV vaccine or the availability of emergency contraception will encourage adolescents to engage in unacceptable sexual behavior; some have even stated that they would feel similarly about an H.I.V. vaccine, if one became available. 'We would have to look at that closely,' Reginald Finger, an evangelical Christian and a former medical adviser to the conservative political organization Focus on the Family, said. 'With any vaccine for H.I.V., disinhibition' - a medical term for the absence of fear - 'would certainly be a factor, and it is something we will have to pay attention to with a great deal of care.' Finger sits on the Centers for Disease Control's Immunization Committee, which makes those recommendations."

I know Jesus is mighty proud of these folks for their efforts in ridding the world of sex.

Nod to Atrios

Pitts on Hypocrits

Mustang Bobby over at BBWW highlights the latest from Leonard Pitts in the Miami fish wrapper. This time Leonard is taking on a hypocritical Miami Sunset Senior High school teacher by the name of Donna Reddick who does the typical jumped by Jesus condemnation of homosexuality using scripture. For my money here is the money quote;

They're so panicked at the thought that somebody accidentally might treat gay people like people. They run around Chicken Little-like, screaming, "Th' homosex'shals is comin'! Th' homosex'shals is comin'!" Meantime, people are ignorant in Appalachia, strung out in Miami, starving in Niger, sex slaves in India, mass-murdered in Darfur. Where is the Christian outrage about that?

This kinda crap always reminds me of something that someone sent me years ago. It's a letter to Dr. Laura (a world class hypocrit if there ever was one) and I think it is a hoot.


Dear Dr. Laura

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's law. I have learned a great deal from you, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord. (Lev. 1:9).The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. How should I deal with this?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as it suggests in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

Lev. 25:44 states that I may buy slaves from the nations that are around us. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans but not Canadians. Can you clarify?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 10:10), it is a
lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

Lev. 20:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear prescription glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Happy Friday

I just love it when my Fridays start off like this. It is a much welcomed lagniappe to add to the end of the week. While this is NOT good news for the GOP it sure tickles me. Is it wrong to relish someone else's misery? Normally, but in this case I am making an exception.

70% of Republicans think civil war will break out in Iraq.

70% of Americans think US is on wrong track

37% approve of his job performance

74% of Republicans approve his performance, down from 82% in February

36% approval rating on domestic affairs, down from 39% last month

43% approval on foreign policy and terrorism

40% approval on Iraq and economy

2/3 disapprove of Congress job performance

Not only is the above good news something to smile about but even the GOP spinners are starting to see the light. This quote is from a major GOP political consultant.

"He has no political capital," said Tony Fabrizio, a Republican pollster. "Slowly but surely it's been unraveling. There's been a direct correlation between the trajectory of his approval numbers and the -- I don't want to call it disloyalty -- the independence on the part of the Republicans in Congress."

You won't see Rove or McClellan admit it but when the insiders start to bash Dubya then it is all over but the shouting.

Via Americablog

Photophobia

Grace Nearing over at Scriptoids links to an excellent post concerning the intellectual murder of one Jay Bennish, a high school teacher in Aurora, Colorado. His crime was trying to teach his students to think on their own. She links to an article by Michael I. Niman, Keeping Kids Stupid: The Intellectual Lynching of Jay Bennish and it very carefully and tragically describes the assault on Jay from the right for doing his job.

It's something I have talked about here before and it is probably time to revisit it. The ultra conservative and/or religious right have a deep seated fear of anyone who can think and reason. Their whole world view cannot stand the light of reason and instead relies on fear and ignorance for it's life. They will go to any length to stifle those who would teach or enable rigorous and creative thought. I have known them all my life and I will tell you once again that if you think to challenge their belief in God/Jesus as master and punisher for sin they would just as soon have you dead. The only reason they don't do it themselves is because it is currently against the law. If they have their way with the law though, it soon won't be.

Since the fundamental root of their miserable lives is fear, whether it be fear of death or fear of eternal damnation or fear of being wrong or fear of happiness or fear of freedom they have to have someone to point to as the source. Since their feeble understanding of the world cannot grasp the concept that their fear is self created then they have to have someone to blame. Guess what...it's you and your liberal, heretical beliefs.

How dare you accept the world as it is and resolve to make it better. Don't you know that there is them and us and we are better and Jesus says so. If Jesus loved them then why are they starving and diseased? Why do you accept him as other than the devil he is when he doesn't even worship Jesus? I could go on and on but you get the drift. They will not and cannot accept the reality of the world and therefore need a scapegoat to blame it on.

Keep this at the forefront when you consider these people. They are the most dangerous thing this planet and society have ever faced. They can justify any act or crime with their belief that the ends justify the means. We have seen the results over and over again throughout civilization when the zealots get control. They will attack and try and destroy every bright light like Jay that rises above the hedgerow. We have to fight them at every opportunity and shine the light of reason and freedom on their black deeds. They will not tolerate light and will shun it or attack it with all their might. We have a responsibility to keep it burning.

Remember Me Always

If you haven't read Dr Max's latest missive on the South Dakota abortion fiasco it's worth a stopover. An excellent piece of satire and one the Doc's best. Go read the whole thing but here is a little teaser.

I would really like to thank the South Dakota state legislature and Governor Mike Rounds in particular for recognizing this fact. By insuring that my victims carry the offspring from my violent act to full term I know they will never forget me. Where other states would callously allow victims an abortion to help them move on with their lives, the good people of South Dakota see me as a dad as well as a rapist.

The Hits Keep Coming

It's 1230 in the morning and I am just now settling down to see what I have missed in the last couple of days. I love my visitors dearly and they have been good friends for over 19 years but Holy Smoke am I exhausted from the constant on. They leave tomorrow but their 20 year old son comes to spend part of his spring break with us on Saturday. Who knows what we'll do to entertain him.

Did That!

Ok we have returned from the wilds of Alabama, Mississppi and Tennessee. Graceland is still there as is Sun Studios and the Rock and Soul Museum. Didn't have any BBQ or ribs this trip but had two nice meals at the 83 Grill and at LoLo's, both are worth a visit.

Horribly long drive back to Atlanta from Memphis today. Took forever to get out of Memphis as the construction on I40 cost an hour and since Madam decided we should come back via Nashville and Chattanooga (the long way) we basically spent all day on the road.

I think our friends enjoyed everything but the driving. American road tips don't register since you could fit the whole of England into say Virginia with room to spare. They can get anywhere in their entire country in 3 or 4 hours driving.

Too tired to spend anytime commenting on the state of the world so that will have to wait until tomorrow. Sleepy time now.

Memphis Monday

Up bright and early here in Memphis. Nice trip up via Birmingham and Tupelo and an absolutely gorgeous day to travel. The new car performed up to expectations and I have to say that Hyundai has done a great job with the new Azera. I get the chance to drive a lot of different cars as much as I travel and rent and the new wheels don't have anyone to apologize to. The new 3.8 L engine and redone suspension make you feel like you are driving an expensive Euro touring car in the BMW 525 or Audi A4 class. I made a good choice.

Off this morning with our English friends for their first visit to Graceland to be overdosed on Elvis. It is, of course, just another trip for me but I'll be good and make sure they get the full treatment. As I mentioned in an earlier post one of my "things" about Memphis is the great BBQ and I can't say I am not disappointed not to be able to share my passion and knowledge of some the best food in the nation with my vegan friends. C'est la vie! I will be back though. Corky's ribs are almost as good as mine and I don't have to spend all day tending them which counts for something.

BTW I am happy to see my choice for best actress won last night. I just love Reese Witherspoon and she did a marvelous job in "Walk the Line".

Light posting for the next couple of days as we'll seeing the sights of Memphis today. Beyond Graceland there is Sun Studios, The Rock and Soul Museum, Gibson Guitars and other stuff to see and do. I will have to be careful though as Memphis has the distinct honor of being the place I got the only speeding ticket in my 40 years of driving (45 in a 40 zone..$35). I did get it on Elvis Presley Blvd so there was something to be said for it.

Memphis Bound

Our visitors from the UK are here and it seems they have an agenda. They want to see Graceland so it's off to Memphis (via Tupelo, of course) for the next couple of days. Using points for the hotel which I have in abundance so all it will cost is the gas and food. Mrs. Fallenmonk would visit Graceland every week if she could so she is quite excited. I have been twice and I think I have seen aboout all I care to. Oh well. We'll also try and hit some of the other sites like Sun Studios and such.
The only reason I like Memphis is for Corky's ribs but our friends are both vegetarians so that won't be on the agenda. Darn it! I am just providing transportation and crude commentary.

Special Visitor

Look who stopped by to nibble on one of the pines in the back. A very rare pileated woodpecker. He stayed for quite a while and inpected this particular tree from top to bottom.

Not a great shot but these guys are very shy and I was lucky to get close enough to get this one.

Getting What You Pay For

Getting a little respite from the last two hectic days. I would normally be half way to the airport to pick up our English freinds who are coming for a short stay but there is a little problem. In order to take advantage of some free tickets they had to connect through Newark instead of direct from Gatwick to Atlanta. What with one thing and another their arrival in Atlanta is now 1015pm instead of 755pm. Yours truly now has about 3 hours of unexpected slack with which to play. At any rate traffic wil be lighter.

Making the rounds of the news and blogs it seems like it's been business as usual in my recent absence.

• Bush and company lie some more.
• We are dropping our pants at 21 ports and issuing tubes of Vaseline.
• Mississippi is going to follow the pack of dogs from South Dakota and plan to issue a Rapist's Bill of Rights.
• Atlanta can't find money to house and feed our homeless but have no problem coughing up 75 million for a NASCAR Hall of Fame.
• Alito thinks Dobson is a swell guy.
• Corn syrup sweetners are killing everybody.
• More and more bacteria and fungi are becoming drug resistant and we are running out of new antibiotics.

I shouldn't really harp on just the bad news though both FOX and CNN are confirming CBS news polls that show pretty much everyone now thinks Bush is a fuckup.

Shell Game Redoux

Didja think Bush and company were telling the truth about a 45 day review before they sold our souls to the UAE? Didja think the string of lies we have had from Bush and company suddenly came to an abupt end? Didja appreciate the extra sand they put in the KY Jelly as they slipped it to you one more time. I know you did 'cause I feel the love and appreciation or should I say adoration we all feel for GW and how hard he is working to keep us all safe from those scary terrorists.

Read it and weep boy and girls 'cause we are screwed, blued and tattooed one more time!

Here is the short if it.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Dubai Ports World's $6.85 billion acquisition of Britain's P&O will close on Friday or Monday, despite an additional 45-day review by the U.S. government in response to security concerns, a U.S. Treasury Department official said on Thursday.

Busy, Busy

Under the gun to get some critical stuff finished by tomorrow for work so it will be kind of light around here with respect to blogging. Don't you just hate it when work intrudes on your blogging?

Not to mention we have overseas visitors arriving tomorrow evening for a week and Mrs. Fallenmonk gets real cranky when yours truly spends too much time in front of the computer.

Glorious day here in Atlanta though and things are starting to bloom. Best time of year in Atlanta in my thinking.

There is plenty to read if you just hit my blogroll there are some real smart folks out there with important stuff to say. I'll do my part when I get some breathing room.

Play nice.

Mountains of Pony Poop

Via Crooks and Liars

Holden is going to be up to his butt in pony poop if Shrub's approval rating sinks much lower. The latest CBS News poll has it at 34%.

Just so you don't have to take your shoes off this is the historical bottom.

The latest CBS News poll finds President Bush's approval rating has fallen to an all-time low of 34 percent, while pessimism about the Iraq war has risen to a new high....

Just in case you are wondering how Deadeye the lawyer shooter is fairing. He has dropped another 5 points and now stands at a miserly 18%. Feel the love.

Caught Pig

Sorry for the pocine reference to any one that may be offended by the mixing of Arabs in the same post with pork.

There is an old southern phrase "a caught pig squeals" and it seems to me that Duabai Ports trying to shut up Lou Dobbs on CNN and his coverage of the ports deal is a pretty good place to use it.

Much to CNN's credit they are refusing bend to the pressure.

A word of advice to Dubai Ports. Even though Bush, Cheney and Rove have been trying to silence the press for the last 6 or more years doesn't mean its a good idea.

More Chicken Dancing

You knew it was going to happen. You knew that some scheme to allow Shrub to save face over his temper tantrum and obvious lack of engagement on the Dubai Ports fiasco would raise its ugly head. Time is reporting that a deal is in the works that will make everyone happy.

Here is the money quote from an unamed Senate Republican aide:

"This avoids a direct clash," the aide said. "It solves everyone's problem. The President doesn't have to cancel the deal or veto anything."

If you read the article carefully you will note that nothing is really changing. The UAE is not changing the deal but only delaying the actual takeover of the 21 U.S. ports for 45 days so that the plan can be "re-vetted".

The reality is that Bush and company with the conspiracy of Frist and the boys are just taking this out of the limelight for 6 weeks or so in the dear hope that everyone will be preoccupied by some other atrocity by the time the deal goes through. I'm pretty sure the civil war in Iraq will garner enough media bandwidth by then that no one will notice. It's a strategy that has worked over and over again for Bush and company. Give the rubes something else to chew on and the won't notice the man behind the curtain.

I don't where the term "chicken dancing" came from but we used to use it in sales presentations when we were basically selling "vaporware". Distract the client from asking meaningful questions about functionality and performance and dazzle them with eye candy and fancy footwork.

Then again there is also that old adage about "boiling frogs".

Vive la Resistance

Thanks to Steve at YDD I had a nice read over at American Street. In a very good post Kevin Hayden asks some serious questions about who you are. It's a nice piece on the mindset of some of us liberal bloggers and I wish I had said it first. It reminds all of us that if you want to live in an open society and be free to live your life as you see fit then you have to do everything you can to resist the encroachment into our way of life by the hard right and intolerant religious right. Good read, give it a go.

Update#1:
Well, it seems we have a theme. Susie at Suburban Guerrilla is on fire today as well.

A hundred thousand dead in Iraq. A little girl, drenched in her family’s blood and screaming into the night. Naked men made to crawl like dogs, forced to listen to the cries of their wives and sisters being raped in the next cell. Icebergs melting, workers sickened and dying of poison at their jobs, bodies of the elderly floating in the chemical soup that used to be New Orleans and one fucking lie after another.

These greedy bastards. These immoral motherfuckers.

If you’re not outraged, there’s something wrong with you. And if you’re outraged, you need to do something. It’s a moral fucking imperative.

Bad Sign

When you have lost William F. Buckley Jr. then the light at the end of the tunnel is the 12:40 from Topeka!
From the NRO

"One can't doubt that the American objective in Iraq has failed. "

[SNIP]

"He will certainly face the current development as military leaders are expected to do: They are called upon to acknowledge a tactical setback, but to insist on the survival of strategic policies.

Yes, but within their own counsels, different plans have to be made. And the kernel here is the acknowledgment of defeat."

I think the above statement is overly optimistic. Expecting Bush to act like a leader? Won't happen. Acknowledge defeat? Not on your life.

UPDATE: #1: The Heretik picks up the theme (cool graphic too!)

Symptomatic

I have already posted on the absurd idea of allowing Dubai Ports to manage 6 of the most important U.S. ports but I haven't really touched on the reality of this and similar things that will inevitably happen over the next few years.

Like it or not, the U.S., especially during the Bush reign, have been systematically selling the U.S. to the highest foreign bidder. The Bush tax cuts, war expense and other fiscal mismanagement have been financed by foreign investment. The current account deficit for 2006 is going to be somewhere around 900 billion dollars. Within just a few years these foreign lenders such as China and Saudi Arabia are going to own virtually every capital asset in the U.S. This means factories, ports, real estate, corporations and all the rest are going to be increasingly controlled by foreign countries. What's more this kind of debt gives these countries the ability to punish the U.S. severely if we don't tow the line. All it will take is for them start unloading their reserves and we will see our economy collapse.

Estimates are that by 2013 or sooner fully 75% of the American GDP will be represented by foreign liabilities. This current deal is just an indicator of what is to come if we continue to live beyond our means. Robert Heinlein covered the concept very succinctly and that is TANSTAAFL (There ain't no such this as a free lunch).

We may very well be beyond the point of no return so get used to the idea of having to kowtow to some foreign government. Even if this port deal is scrubbed for the time being it is only a matter of time before it and more become the reality we have to live with.

UPDATE: BTW...if you think I am overstating the issue check out the following. Do I hear 21?
From UPI

WASHINGTON, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- A United Arab Emirates government-owned company is poised to take over port terminal operations in 21 American ports, far more than the six widely reported.

The Bush administration has approved the takeover of British-owned Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Co. to DP World, a deal set to go forward March 2 unless Congress intervenes.

P&O is the parent company of P&O Ports North America, which leases terminals for the import and export and loading and unloading and security of cargo in 21 ports, 11 on the East Coast, ranging from Portland, Maine to Miami, Florida, and 10 on the Gulf Coast, from Gulfport, Miss., to Corpus Christi, Texas, according to the company's Web site.

Rapist Rights

Jane at Firedoglake has a link to a post from Dakota Today Blog by Doug that is worth repeating. In it Doug establishes an important concept that should be a part of every discussion of this insane law as often as it is mentioned and that is that it is effectively a "Rapist Rights Bill".
I mentioned this in my previous post on this medieval act but it didn't occur to me to carry to the next step. Good for Doug.

Mike Rounds, Governor of SD, is pondering and thinking about the Rapist Rights Bill the SD Legislature just passed. The wingnut loons answered prayers are putting Mikey in a bind. Does he eat everything they shovel his way or not?

Well, He just has to find out if God raped the Virgin Mary. That will provide the theological basis for SD supporting Rapist Rights and treating women as nearly worthless chattle, good only as reproduction machines betting on hitting the Jesus bonus on the reproductive powerball lottery. Speaking of lotteries, how about that Million dollar bribe the anti-women's righters are promising to pony up to fight for their lunatic legislation? Ok, Mike, I wanta buy a vowel and a subsection of a new law. Umm . talk to the lawyers, they are looking for another lawyer's subsidy law. Hey, guess what? Wild Bill Janklow is back in the legal saddle. Whooopppeeee!

Mixed Report

The ever optimistic Washington Post reports the new report from the Pentagon is "mixed". I guess going from one Iraqi battalion able to stand alone last fall to now ZERO able to stand alone is worthy of a "mixed" review.
How can all the money, lives and effort of three years be producing negative results? I am just flabbergasted at this. This is absoulutely outrageous.

To be fair they now say that the number Iraqi battalions that can do battle with U.S. assistance is higher. Three years and this is all we have to show for it?

Oh, but there is good news to report though, as it says the insurgency is now"losing steam" and that it really doesn't even qualify to be called an insurgency. I suppose all the people in the streets waving guns and protesting on TV are just a figment. Damn straight it is not an insurgency anymore but it is definitely a freaking CIVIL WAR.

You can bet your ass that Bush and company will paint this as progress and just part of the democratic process.

The Edge

We're over it. The edge that is. It toast...put fork in it...it's done. There is a certain point in an evolution like this when you know that it is so screwed that you need to start collecting your marbles and begin looking toward home.

I'm pretty sure that's your Momma callin'.

138 Iraqis Killed In Last 24 Hours...7 US Soldiers Killed... Talks Suspended On Forming Gov't... Troops Can’t Stop Bloodshed... Thousands March In Protest…

Out of Place

This is probably out of place for a 50 something male but for some reason I find it necesary to comment on the new South Dakota Abortion Law.

I haven't any moral authority on this issue because I will never have to face the decision on whether or not to abort a fetus is the correct decision. You will notice that I very pointedly did NOT use the term "right" decision.

I think my biggest issue is with the bunch of sanctimonious legislators sticking their uninformed noses into someone else's very personal and emotional decision. This is especially true when Tbogg does us the service of giving us an example of the mature, sexually secure and emotionally centered type that made this decision. Holy crap! Since when did the women of South Dakota turn over all their reproductive rights to a chubby, single, convenience store clerk? The insanity is that by proxy this same twit will probably be making the same decision for every woman in America since we all know that this is about testing the mettle of the New Improved Supreme Court.

Shakespeare's Sis, Pandagon, Digby and Redd and Jane at Firedoglake and others are doing a great job of covering this from the female side so I won't try and talk about something I can only imagine on an intellectual level. Let me just say though, that any law that forbids abortion when the pregnancy has resulted from rape or incest is a sick and perverted thing that has no place in a humane and just society. I would love to hear you try and convince me that a rapist has the right and privilege to have his genes passed on to the next generation and the same applies to incest. I would also like to hear the argument that a deformed fetus that will surely die at birth or soon after must be carried to term.
These are sick, sick people.

Recognizing Failure is Not Un-American

This might be GOOD news. I hope so. The Democrats seem to be rallying around a plan for redeploying troops in Iraq to other areas in the region. I am concerned that the Democratic leadership is calling it a ”redeployment" and NOT a "withdrawal" is sending the wrong message. Evidently, opinion research has discovered that “withdrawal” doesn’t play well in the heartland. I am inclined to believe however, that with the majority of the country wanting us to withdraw from Iraq we should step out there and not mince words. I would think it is time to start taking the initiative. Using the word “redeployment” seems to weaken the reality of what is at stake here.

What's at stake? The consistently incompetent Bush and his minions allowed us to be attacked. They then used that attack and “cherry-picked” intelligence to invade a country that was in no way complicit in the attack. They invaded Iraq with no plan for the aftermath and we are now embroiled in a conflict that cannot be won militarily as more than one expert has indicated. We have lost 2277 men and women as of today with another nearly 17,000 wounded and there is still no plan for “victory” or to bring our children home. Because of the unmitigated disaster in Iraq, the horribly misguided and ineffective War on Terror and its allied torture and lawless imprisonments we are an international pariah. Our military is dangerously overstretched and in spite of their desire to do so cannot effectively respond to other important issues (Katrina and Iran come to mind).

We dare not lose sight of what is happening and where this country is heading and calling this a “redployment” is giving too much credit and not enough discredit to the people who brought us to this.

The message from the Democrats should be that we are the party with a plan to address Bush’s and the GOP’s disaster in Iraq. We mustn’t let the right wing spin machine continue to paint us as un-American for recognizing that Bush and his administration are a bumbling, corrupt, incompetent failures. We should not be ashamed of wanting to pick up pieces of the American dream and to do something positive about getting our asses out of this double-damned war. We should also let the American people know that there is nothing un-patriotic about recognizing a failure in Iraq and seeing that there is nothing to be gained from "staying the course" except more death and a decisive option to get our people out of harm's way is not “cutting and running”.

Hidden Agenda

This is a follow-up to my post here on the take over of port management at a half dozen U.S. ports by state owned Dubai Ports World which is controlled by the United Arab Emirates.

Bush is refusing to budge on this and has even trotted out Chertoff, and Condi to dismiss concerns by a whole raft of people on both sides of the aisle about the control of New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Baltimore and Miami falling into the hands of known terrorism supporters at worst and enablers at best.

There is a piece in the San Jose Mercury News noting that Treasury Secretary John Snow, who's department has sign-off on such deals, is not necessarily lily white. Remember that Snow was chairman of the CSX rail firm that sold its own international port operations to DP World for $1.15 billion in 2004, the year after Snow left for President Bush's cabinet.

Note also that David Sanborn, who runs DP World's European and Latin American operations was tapped by Bush just last month to head the U.S. Maritime Administration.

You have to also question why this deal was fast-tracked through the review process in less than 25 days when Congress requires a longer 45 day review when a foreign government is involved and national security may be impacted.

There is some political fallout risk for Bush to continue to back this obviously devisive issue and in light of the track record of this administration you cannot help but wonder what the rest of the story is. I find it hard to believe that we see all of the iceberg here. What other "deal" with the UAE is hanging fire and what is Bush and company's stake in it. I might be cynical but I suspect that this deal for the ports is merely a stepping stone for something even bigger that will net Bush and his cronies even more money, if not directly then indirectly.

If I have learned nothing in the last 6 years dealing with this bunch is that you take nothing at face value and that if you assume the least favorable result for the American people you will probably be right. It's a tragedy but it's true.

UPDATE: Does is give you a warm and fuzzy feeling inside like it does me that Bush didn't even know about this until it hit the press? Yet he is ready to grab his crotch and veto any attempt to delay or examine it closer. What a maroon.

Fair Warning

Mustang Bobby gets to the job of commenting on Leonard Pitts' column in the Miami Herald before I do and does his usual excellent job.

The column begins;

The enemies of freedom will be defeated.

-- President George W. Bush, 2005

We have met the enemy and he is us.

-- Pogo, 1971

The following happened in the United States of America on Feb. 9 of this year.

The scene is the Little Falls branch of the Montgomery County Public Library in Bethesda, Md. Business is going on as usual when two men in uniform stride into the main reading room and call for attention. Then they make an announcement: It is forbidden to use the library's computers to view Internet pornography.

As people are absorbing this, one of the men challenges a patron about a website he is visiting and asks the man to step outside. At this point, a librarian intervenes and calls the uniformed men aside. A police officer is summoned. The men leave. It turns out they are employees of the county's department of Homeland Security and were operating way outside their authority.

Walt Kelly first used that phrase "We have met the enemy and he is us." on Earth Day in 1970 and I have always thought it one of the most profound sentences ever uttered. Leonard Pitts does the usual excellent job of distilling the salient facts and making sure the reader does not miss the root of the issue however I am not so sure Leonard is strong enough in his implications.

In spite of what you may wish to believe, this country is on the fastrack to becoming a fascist state. We are losing freedoms at an ever increasing pace and the trend is accelerating. Out leaders only give lip service to our needs and only respond with any true action when the corporate fat cats speak. A little research upon fascism will show you that this is the definition of fascism.

While the terrorist may kill a few or a lot of us the most dangerous people are those that take our hard won liberties for granted and place their unswerving trust in their elected leaders to do the right thing. They can kill us all.

How Long Can a Polar Bear Tread Water?

I guess everything Bush and novelist Michael Crichton discussed and pooh-poohed about the threat of global warning was spot on and the little detail about this being the first time in memory that the Great Lakes have been ice free in mid winter is nothing to get alarmed about.

I'm sure it is just an aberration but if one had any "chicken little" tendencies it might be something to set them off.

"There's essentially no ice at all," said George Leshkevich, a scientist who has studied Great Lakes ice for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, since 1973. "I've never seen that."

What me worry? Not at all worried about Greenland melting 10 times faster than thought. Nope, not thinking about all the drowning polar bears either.

It's interesting to see what the always lovely and talented Fred Barnes says about Bush and the ridiculous theories about Global Warming.

In his new book about Mr. Bush, "Rebel in Chief: Inside the Bold and Controversial Presidency of George W. Bush," Fred Barnes recalls a visit to the White House last year by Michael Crichton, whose 2004 best-selling novel, "State of Fear," suggests that global warming is an unproven theory and an overstated threat.

Mr. Barnes, who describes Mr. Bush as "a dissenter on the theory of global warming," writes that the president "avidly read" the novel and met the author after Karl Rove, his chief political adviser, arranged it. He says Mr. Bush and his guest "talked for an hour and were in near-total agreement."

Georgie I'm as big a fan of science fiction as you will find but I do recognize it as fiction. I haven't read Mr Crichton's book but I do remember that he is a FUCKING SCIENCE FICTION WRITER!

Coon in the Chicken Coop

VIA John at AmericaBlog

It seems to me to be the last thing we want to do if we are going to maintain a high security profile at our ports. Hell, I wouldn't outsource operations of our major ports to my mother for Goddess's sake. For my money the ports are our most vulnerable access point and the most likely candidates for our next terrorist event. Do all of Bushes rabid followers know that this is how Dear Leader is protecting them. I would like to see maiden Coulter's take on this.

The Bush administration has outsourced the operation of six of the nation’s largest ports to a company owned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a country with troubling ties to international terrorism. The $6.8 billion sale would mean that the state-controlled Dubai Ports World would control “the ports of New York, New Jersey, Baltimore, New Orleans, Miami and Philadelphia.”

Some facts about the UAE:

– The UAE was one of three countries in the world to recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.

– The UAE has been a key transfer point for illegal shipments of nuclear components to Iran, North Korea and Lybia.

– According to the FBI, money was transferred to the 9/11 hijackers through the UAE banking system.

– After 9/11, the Treasury Department reported that the UAE was not cooperating in efforts to track down Osama Bin Laden’s bank accounts.

UPDATE: Georgia10 at KOS has the complete 411 on this whole deal here

First Lady of Southern Food

One of my cooking icons passed away earlier this week. I had the chance to meet her at Bulloch Hall here in Roswell, get her autograph in my copy of her first book "The Taste of Country Cooking" and spend a glorious 45 minutes or so talking with her about food and cooking. It is a favorite memory.

It was here in Roswell that Scott Peacock Her caretaker for the last 7 or 8 years and the chef at Watershed, put on an 80th birthday party at historic Bulloch Hall. Alice Waters sent produce. Peacock cooked the meal over an open hearth. It was an interesting relationship and one that that was very special for both of them. It always amazed me how a forty-ish, gay chef from Alabama wound up being such a soul mate and eventually caretaker for an old black woman.

Edna was the granddaughter of a Virginia slave and was born on April 13 (Thomas Jefferson's birthday), 1916, in Freetown, Va., a community of former slaves, and against all odds, created a shrine to great food at tiny Café Nicholson in New York. The café was an icon hosting such 20th-century luminaries as Truman Capote, Greta Garbo, Tennessee Williams and William Faulkner.

She was the Southern answer to Julia Child and influenced myriad cooks (including yours truly) around the country and insured the preservation of many of the South's disappearing food traditions. To quote Alice Waters, "Edna Lewis had the hands and soul of a great artist, and like all great artists, she had something of which the rest of us know little or nothing."

In 1995, the James Beard Foundation gave her its first Living Legend Award. In 1998, Saveur magazine placed her at No. 9 on its list of 100 favorite things, calling her its "favorite Southern cook and national treasure." And in 1999, she received the Southern Foodways Alliance's Lifetime Achievement Award and was named a grande dame by Les Dames d'Escofier International.

She was a fine lady and I am very happy to have met and talked with her. She will be happy to know that her cookbooks, especially the first, are two of my favorites and I am trying to keep the traditions alive as well.

Photo courtesy the Atlanta Journal-Constitution/Jaroslav Kanka/Special

Just in Time for the Rain

Back to Atlanta in time for a rainy and chilly weekend. All of my good intentions to get out and some serious walking this weekend are pretty much shot. Don't say it...I know I am a wimp for letting a little freezing rain stop me from walking.
Going out in few though and go to historic Barrington Hall here in Roswell for a demonstration of African cookery in honor of Black History Month and also to see their exhibit of antique folk pottery including some Dave jars. For those of you that are not into folk pottery- Dave was a slave in South Carolina around Edgefield famous for his large storage jars and the fact that he was literate enough to inscribe them with poems and Bible verse. It should be worth a trip in the cold rain as thee jars are very rare and there are very few remaining examples.

I think the rest of the afternoon is going to be spent braising some veal shanks for dinner.

Heckuva Job Boys

Bush just loves our boys and girls in uniform and really, really respects and honors the job they are doing all over the world protecting us from the terrorists. In fact, he thinks so much of the job they are doing that he is proposing to give them a whopping 2.2% pay increase. Did I mention this is the lowest increase since 1994.

Senator John Kerry is leading a coalition of other Senators in trying to get this increase to a meaningful amount.

“Our troops are sacrificing so much, in every corner of the world. Shortchanging them and the families who love them is a lousy way to say thanks,” said Kerry, who authored the letter.

“Our military deserves leadership that matches their service and patriotism. Getting our troops the pay raise they deserve is the very least we can do to show how much we value everything they do for us. I’m going to fight for a fair military pay raise until it becomes a reality, and I thank my colleagues who have joined me in doing so,” added Kerry.

I don't know know about you but I can feel the love radiating from the Whitehouse.

Blood Money

via Marketwatch

Halliburton Co., coming off a banner year in the energy sector and flush with Pentagon contracts abroad, announced Thursday a series of measures to share the spoils with shareholders.

The Houston-based company said its board of directors approved a two-for-one stock split that would double its shares outstanding to 2 billion. Stockholders must still sign off on the split.
The quarterly dividend for Halliburton stock was also raised 20% to 15 cents a share. The higher payout is set for March 23 for shareholders as of March 2.

A $1 billion share buyback is also in the works, the company said.

How much of the blood dripping windfall will wind up in Cheney and Dubya's pockets? Maybe Rumsfool will get a cut and let's not forget Abu Gonzales, Feith and all the rest.

How much Halliburton stock do you own Mr. and Mrs. America? How much Halliburton stock do you think the 1000 or so widows, widowers and some 2000 children now without fathers and mothers hold?

Maybe Halliburton will set aside some to help us pay off the 500 Billion or so we have spent so far on their cash cow. I know I'm counting on it.

Baby Jesus Does Dirty Dick

Just catching up with all that is happening in my personal universe of blogtopia (see blogroll) and you really need to check in on Neil Shakespeare. He seems to have oversdosed on Deadeye Dick and has produced a long series of collages and narratives that address the current flap. Of course Baby Jesus, who can't miss a dustup, is also up to his holy ass in the thing. Travel over there and enjoy the whole series.

Straight Shooter Wanted

Don't ya love it when the chickens come home to roost? Bush's approval is slipping again.

I believe the American people are beginning to figure out Bush now and it is dawning on them that he's kind of dim, ineffective, and not a very deep thinker and reacts childishly to outside forces ( leading to unnecessary wars and more), and they're fed up. They are waiting for the Democrats to show some leadership and provide them with some alternative.

They actually realized what a miserable failure Bush was before the last election but fell into the trap of fear that Rove and company has blanketed the country with for the last 6 years.

Now the dear factor is waring off too and they are no longer willing to be deluded into believing that Bush and company can protect us and that, in fact, they have made us unsafer. This is a great opportunity for progressives to take back the leadership of the country but we need a plan and some courage to stand up and fight for what is right. Not only that but we need a true leader that will shoot straight and deliver the progressive message.

Misplaced Priorities

Just a question. How is it that so many devout Muslim's can get their righteous outrage whipped up over some cartoons, regardless of how incorrect they may be, and haven't seen fit to be outraged and demonstrative over how many of their fellow Muslims we have managed to kill and torture in Iraq, Afganistan and Cuba? It just seems to me that we should have seen riots and burnings of flags and Western businesses long before now. I would think that that the time for hostility towards the Americans and Westerners in general would have long been past. Surely they haven't bought into the Bushian claptrap that we are bringing democracy to the middle east and securing the world against terrorism.
Before someone jumps my case over my insensitivity to the beliefs of Muslims and the seriousness of the blaspheming cartoons let me admit that I am woefully ignorant of the Islamic faith but I think the question needs to be asked. The time for outrage is long overdue in my uninformed world view.

Don't Forget

The news has been preoccupied with Dirty Dick and I haven't seen a mention of the fallout from his real crimes.
As of today 32 American service people have died in Iraq this month(a little over 2/day) and that brings the total up to 2273. Did I mention that 16,653 more Americans have been wounded in Iraq.

Source

Bad Start

This is going to be one of those days.

Had to get up a little earlier that normal as some idiot scheduled me for a conference call at 0630. Made a pot of coffee without the essential ingredient...do over with coffee this time. Conference call with a client that won't let you finish a sentence so a very frustrating 30 minutes. While attempting to pour off the accumulated whey from a brand new quart of organic yogurt managed to pour all but two tablespoons of same down the disposer. Can't wait to see what the rest of the day brings.

MIA

Truly sorry to the regular visitors here about the dearth of activity. I fully intended to spend some quality time on the nets and blogger for the last two nights. The reality turned out to be sleep instead. I sat down in front of the laptop last night and started through the blogroll and the next thing I know I am waking up in the same position only it is two hours later. I gave up and crashed. I guess the travel challenges from Sunday night and Monday morning took more out of me than I realized. Couple this with the fact that I am spending all day deep in complex data, researching client data issues and coaching users through the final stages of system acceptance and you have a formula for wearing an old man down to a nub.

Not scheduled to travel next week or the week after so maybe I can get the batteries charged. Bear with me.

Measure of a Man

I am too jet lagged and otherwise disgusted to comment at any length on Dirty Dick's little adventure. If you want the 411 then visit the always astute ReddHedd at Firedoglake. She covers the deal from A to Z and there is nothing material I can really add. There are a lot of comments by people with hunting quail than I.

My comment is only about the character of a person that considers it sport to shoot caged raised birds. This is an excellent measure of someone's fundamental character. This is not the first example of Cheney shooting birds in a wholesale slaughter just for kicks. There is no redeeming aspect to this practice and it shows how little value Cheney puts on life and honor.

It is quite obvious that this misadventure was caused by some combination of idiocy and alcohol and the only reason that news was delayed for 24 hours was that that there was a requirement to clear Cheney's blood of some highly overpriced booze. Give me another plausible excuse.

Serious Travel

I have survived the travel day from hell and am safely ensconsed at the the client in Sunnyvale. I like to travel in Sunday evenings when I come to the West Coast as it just seems I am able to hit the ground running with a better attitude. Yesterday was a different story. The original aircraft that was scheduled to fly us to San Jose had a medical emergency after it left LA and had to stop in Phoenex and therefore didn't arrive in Atlanta until an hour after we were supposed to depart at 540pm. Then it was quarantined?. New plane finally arrived at the gate at 730pm and after all the prep we boarded at about 815pm. Backed out of the gate at 845pm and the starboard engine wouldn't start. New plane. Finally departed Atanta at just after 11pm 5 hours late. Needless to say we didn't get to San Jose until just after 1am and I finally got to the hotel at 2am. Thank the Goddess we were able to get a waiver from the operations folks at SJC since normally the airport is curfewed after 1130pm. They let us land anyway and while the airport was basically shut down we got through. Many of the travelers were then stuck since all but Hertz and Avis rental car agents were closed for the day. Lucky for me I am a dedicated Hertz guy and dodged that bullet. All in all a challenging day of travel and not one you should like to duplicate.

Being the dedicated trooper that I am I am here at the client bright and bushy tailed at 8am though my eyes feel like two "pee" holes in the snow. Fortuneately this client is a coffee loving bunch and there is a bounteous supply of good French Roast and even an espresso machine if I get desparate.

Will try and catch up on all the goings on this evening if I don't crash at 6pm.

Quiet Saturday

Cold and rainy in Atlanta this weekend. Dodged any frozen stuff so far. Running here and there trying to get all the stuff done that needs doing before I head back out to Sunnyvale tomorrow. Did get my car back from the repair shop and I must say they did a nice job as I cannot spot any hint of repairs. That's one load off the mind.

Time to start thinking about taxes again and I get riled just thinking about my money going into the Iraq disaster. I am a firm believer in the appropriate taxation but I get real angry when I see it wasted. Be nice if we could "earmark" our taxes and insist it not be used for military or war and other stuff we don't see a need for.

Don't expect anything more from me unless I have some kind of revelation I just must share. I will check in from Calidfonia tomorrow night. Thanks for all the comments and participation, keep it up.

UPDATE #1., Sunday AM; I spoke too soon. Woke up this morning to a light dusting of snow and there are still flurries coming down. Temperature is right at or slightly above freezing so this won't be here long. Hope all you nor'easterners can dig out. I bet my brother in Maine is getting dumped on. Off to the airport soon so see you after the jump.

Give it a Break...Please

It's a little after 9pm here in a snowy and cold Minneapolis and I have to get to bed so I have a hope of some higher function at 3am when I have to be up and head for the airport but I have two quickies.

First, I cannot comprehend why CNN feels it necessary to spend the entire evening flogging the Entwhistle murder/extradition. Jeebus, people are murdered all over the country everyday in all kinds of ways and they usually covered by the local news but rarely make the national news. Yet we have had Larry King spend his entire program on this and now Anderson Cooper is interviewing the same people we just saw on Larry King. While the murder of a mother and her child is horrendous it is hardly deserving of national news coverage 24x7. There are probably hundreds of stories worthy of this air time.
Maybe McClellan's continued lies to the press or perhaps AP'a totaly biased story on Harry Ried and the Mariannas maybe the fires in California or even the lie Bush told today about foiling an attack on LA. I need to stop watching CNN it is just pissing me off.

Second, what kind if fools does the Bush crowd think we are? Evidently they think we are pretty stupid. They foiled a plot to blow up a building in LA with a plane hijacked by someone wearing a shoe bomb? Stop and think a minute. Plot out in your mind the scenario of someone with explosive shoes hijacking a jet liner and flying it into a building. I didn't think so. It is completely and totally fiction meant to keep us off balance and afraid of Osama's boys and believe big strong Bush is fighting the good fight and keeping us safe. We were a lot safer on September 10, 2001 than we are today and if you don't know that in your gut you are a fool.

Bed time....traveling until later tomorrow afternoon. Play nice and write if you get work.

Oh No! They're Listening

Via Talkleft

Careful boys and girls and watch what you say. As if we didn't already know they were listening. Maybe we are as forgetful as Osama? I guess now the effort has switched to an attempt to suppress free speech with the threat of "Big Brother" is watching every word you post. Well, "big brother" in the immortal words of Dear Leader "Bring It On!"

The Christian Science Monitor reports on a huge, planned data mining program that will troll news and blogs.

The US government is developing a massive computer system that can collect huge amounts of data and, by linking far-flung information from blogs and e-mail to government records and intelligence reports, search for patterns of terrorist activity.

The system - parts of which are operational, parts of which are still under development - is already credited with helping to foil some plots. It is the federal government's latest attempt to use broad data-collection and powerful analysis in the fight against terrorism. But by delving deeply into the digital minutiae of American life, the program is also raising concerns that the government is intruding too deeply into citizens' privacy.

The "core" of the system is called Analysis, Dissemination, Visualization, Insight, and Semantic Enhancement (ADVISE). The Monitor article has more details. Ya gotta love it!

BTW, Do you every wonder how many thousands of dollars and mandays were wasted trying to come with these stupid acronyms. There must be a full time gubmint bureau somewhere tasked with producing these things.

Like a Laser

Glenn Greewald has an excellent post covering, in great detail, all the things dangerous about the current assertions by the administration concerning the powers of the President in a time of war while they attempt to justify their illegal wiretapping of American citizens without a warrant.

While it is a well written post and should be read by everyone concerned about the erosion or in many cases the complete disregard for our rights, it suffers from the fact that only truly interested people will spend the time to read it.

Somehow this very cogent message needs to be distilled into an "elevator speech" that can be related quickly to those too lazy or disinterested to read it or the equivalent.

Here is my submission:

The Administration is claiming that Article II grants it the power to do to you, an American citizen, whatever it is allowed to do against our enemies in a war with no oversight from the courts or Congress. This includes wiretaps, imprisonment without habeus corpus, torture and confiscation of all rights protected by the Contitution and Bill of Rights. Do you trust this President and all future Presidents to excercise these powers without restraint? If there is any doubt just look at what Bush has done to Jose Padilla an American citizen.

This is serious business and we need to be able to focus like a laser on the meat of this issue. We won't be able to hold the attention of the average American with some long winded explanation of the history of civil rights or what Thomas Jefferson or James Madison said. We need a short and focused message that we can get out in a couple of sentences that captures the essence of the problem and risks of ignoring it.

Fanning the Flames

I just came in and CNN has its shorts in a knot over an alarm at the Russell Senate Office building on a nerve agent attack. Hello folks, nerve agents are virtually an instaneous weapon. If you are exposed to a nerve agent then the time it takes to show symptoms is minutes and not hours or days. If there was a nerve agent present then we would have people showing symptoms of same. This is pretty obvious a failed detector since secondary tests have proved negative.

This will play well with the Faux news crowd though and raise the tension a little and make people a little more willing to accept intrusions into their privacy.

I hate to be so cynical but the facts speak for themselves. Anyone with any NBC training will see through this as nothing more than fanning the flames of fear.

Fear is the mind killer and stimulates primitive responses in the human mind. Rational thought is supressed and survival instincts take over. This is shameful behaviour on the part of CNN and they know better.

Finally, they are beginning to speculate that this is a false alarm now that they have had some experts expain to them the reality of nerve agents. Probably too late to reach the ones that have already internalized this.

UPDATE #1: It's an hour or so later and we have gone through Paula Zahn and now Larry King and they are still flogging this dead horse. It was a non story from the git go and yet they still are treating it like a major disaster. Appalling.

Racist Outrage

Well, well, well it is just so outrageous that people like Jimmy Carter and the most reverend Joseph Lowery would take the opportunity of Coretta Scott King's funeral to bring up politics.
Yesterday John Aravosis was the first I saw to warn us of the coming "swift-boating" and sure enough before his post had cooled GOP shill and hate filled shrew Kate O'Bierne was on MSNBC lecturing the "negroes" on how to behave at a funeral. Evidently DarkSyde at Kos reports that Imus is on the bandwagon this morning over the same issues.

Watching CNN this morning while I get ready and they too are playing exerpts from Carter and Lowery and the whole theme is that somehow this was inappropriate at such an event. Guess what folks...this is exactly why these issues were brought out at the funeral and the more you thrash around and bloviate and replay what you stupidly think is wrong the more the message and intent is fulfilled. Go after it and know you are doing the Lord's work in spreading the word that Martin and Coretta lived for. And oh, by the way, the more you flap your trap over this the more you confirm your racism and bigotry. Go for it.

I would suggest they stop and think for a moment on what this woman and her husband spent their lives doing, believing and dreaming. Where other than in their eulogy can the values that they spent their lives for be honored?

I hereby give anyone permission to politicize my funeral and speak on the things I felt were important.

Cream Crackers

I had every intention of posting on the proposed Bush budget lie tonight and also comment on a few other things. I have started a couple of times and then discovered that I was asleep. I am not sure why I am so tired and non functional maybe there is something to this jet lag thing.
I can recommend the Mahablog if you want a roundup of the thinking on the Bush budger propsal joke. I mean really, how meaningful is a budget that doesn't include the costs of Iraq and Katrina reconstruction. Actually I believe this budget is some kind if red herring ince it is so unrealistic.

Anyhow, there is no dearth of topic upon which to comment it is just that i cannot seem to stay focused (awake) long enough.

Karl is Out There

If you are having positive wishes about the outcome of the Conressional hearings about Bush's illegal spying on Americans don't overlook the reality of who is playing in this puddle.
Via Huffington Post…….

The White House has been twisting arms to ensure that no Republican member votes against President Bush in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s investigation of the administration's unauthorized wiretapping.

Congressional sources said Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove has threatened to blacklist any Republican who votes against the president. The sources said the blacklist would mean a halt in any White House political or financial support of senators running for re-election in November.

[Snip]

Over the last few weeks, Mr. Rove has been calling in virtually every Republican on the Senate committee as well as the leadership in Congress. The sources said Mr. Rove's message has been that a vote against Mr. Bush would destroy GOP prospects in congressional elections.

"He's [Rove] lining them up one by one," another congressional source said.

Mr. Rove is leading the White House campaign to help the GOP in November’s congressional elections. The sources said the White House has offered to help loyalists with money and free publicity, such as appearances and photo-ops with the president.

Those deemed disloyal to Mr. Rove would appear on his blacklist. The sources said dozens of GOP members in the House and Senate are on that list.

Poor Prospect

I was all set to post my take on the domestic intelligence hearings last night when blogger went down. I read Glenn Greenwald, Firedoglake, Digby, Dkos, FirstDraft, Talkleft and all the rest.

In a nutshell, I think this is a setup to get the Democratic Senators to follow Specter's lead just far enough down the road to be totally committed before he reveals his GOP toadiness and leaves them hanging out to dry. They will be painted as Osama supporters and unwilling to make the hard choices necessary to defend America from the terrible threat of terrorism.

The Dems lost the initiative when they didn't walk out of the hearings in protest over not having Gonzales sworn in. That was a pivotal moment and perfect for the political theatre needed in this situation. On the whole the Democratic team did all right but not great and even some of the GOP Senators were effective (Sessions et al notwithstanding).

A special point should have been made by all the Dems and continually reinforced that this was not about the war on terror but about the rule of law.

Finally, Darksyde at Kos takes the time to remind us that the constant flaunting of 9/11 by the GOP stooges is stupid when put into its proper perspective. It's a point that we all need to reinforce at every opportunity.

And don't miss Digby's post which says in effect and in a much more polite way that basically the GOP will once again castrate themselves for Bush.

Needless to say I don't hold out much hope for the outcome of these hearings. The American people will not be served and Bush and company will have moved their fascist state forward once again.

It's Cold

Lucky I made the trip to Minnesota this week it is only 17 right now with a low scheduled at about 5 or so. Next week they are expecting a cold snap!
Safely here in beautiful frozen Maple Grove and snug in the hotel....tired and sleepy and can't even stay awake long enough to check in with all my link buddies. I will do better tomorrow.
Should be an interesting week with Abu Gonzales doing more "chicken dancing" and outright lying to the Congress. Will be interesting to see it develop.
Everyone have a good nights sleep and we'll catch you in the morning sometime.

Too Cheap

Obviously airline tickets are too cheap. Every other person in Atlanta is at the airport this afternoon. You can hardly turn around.

Every plane I have been on this month has been packed and overbooked. This flight to Minneapolis this afternoon is no exception and yet Delta has lost 2 billion and change in the last 9 months. Just makes you wonder what management is doing.

It just seems that every week the crowds get larger. Granted a lot are fellow business travelers but there are a lot of casual travelers as well. If I wasn't a Platinum flyer that let's me expedite security I would be insane. We should maybe look at doubling prices.
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile.

Blogger is Fried

This is the first time Blogger has let me on this weekend in the few attempts I have made. Off to the snowy north this afternoon...Minneapolis BRRRR.
Will hope that blogger is feeling more civilized later this evening when I get to the hotel and thaw.
Later,

Off the Road Again

The Fallenmonk had journeyed once again across this fair land and now rests wearily in Roswell, Georgia. He has obiviously not missed any earth shaking developments whilst at 33,000 feet.
He is distrissed that Neil Shakespeare has forbidden him access but I must admit that I haven't gushed over his work in the last week. Fair's fair.
Totally "cream crackered" as my Brit freinds would say for I am going to bed with the Mrs.
See you tomorrow.

He Said What!

Guess who said the following.

“For 40 years we always assumed the left would take care of our civil liberties,” [Guess WHO] said. “If there were problems, the Democrats were the ones who would push back. But now with a Republican Congress and a Republican in the White House, the ACLU can’t get their calls returned.”

That's right...good guess... Grover Norquist. Here is the link.

Eating the Seed Corn

This comes via SteveAudio who links to the rather batshit crazy VDare but regardless it is an assessment of the state of the union by Paul Craig Roberts. This links up with some discussion in the comments by Steve Bates and Van from Gulf Coast Progressive on labor progress during the Bush disaster.

An early assessment of Lex Bushusuru II, 2006

Gentle reader, if you prefer comforting lies to harsh truths, don’t read this column.

The state of the union is disastrous. By its naked aggression, bullying, illegal spying on Americans, and illegal torture and detentions, the Bush administration has demonstrated American contempt for the Geneva Convention, for human life and dignity, and for the civil liberties of its own citizens. Increasingly, the US is isolated in the world, having to resort to bribery and threats to impose its diktats. No country any longer looks to America for moral leadership. The US has become a rogue nation.

Least of all did President Bush tell any truth about the economy. He talked about economic growth rates without acknowledging that they result from eating the seed corn and do not produce jobs with a living wage for Americans. He touted a low rate of unemployment and did not admit that the figure is false because it does not count millions of discouraged workers who have dropped out of the work force.

Americans did not hear from Bush that a new Wal-Mart just opened on Chicago’s city boundary and 25,000 people applied for 325 jobs (Chicago Sun-Times, Jan. 26), or that 11,000 people applied for a few Wal-Mart jobs in Oakland, California. Obviously, employment is far from full.

Neither did Bush tell Americans any of the dire facts reported by economist Charles McMillion in the January 19 issue of Manufacturing & Technology News:

During Bush’s presidency the US has experienced the slowest job creation on record (going back to 1939). During the past five years private business has added only 958,000 net new jobs to the economy, while the government sector has added 1.1 million jobs. Moreover, as many of the jobs are not for a full work week, “the country ended 2005 with fewer private sector hours worked than it had in January 2001.”

Worth a read in its entirety but it is really depressing.

The Way its Done

Grace has another special post over at Scriptoids that will demonstrate how a SOTU should go. It is something to wish for and something you should read. If nothing else it will make you feel better about someone's state of the union.

Refreshing

Just spent a very pleasurable time watching Larry King interview Jimmy Carter on CNN. It really brings home the disaster of GW when you get to hear a man like Jimmy Carter answer questions truthfully. You can sense that the weighty issue has circled through his brain and been subjected to reasoned thought and analysis and that his answers truly reflect the way he feels and that there is no hidden meaning in what he says.

It is interesting for me to contrast the emotion I felt last night during the few minutes I watched the SOTU and how I felt watching Mr. Carter.

Net is I felt that I learned something after hearing Carter and that I had been fed the truth. Granted Jimmy is not running for office and is not even required to respond to the press or anyone but you still feel that he earnestly wants to communicate and it is not some necessary evil as our current president.

It was sure a refreshing change from the stream of lies and strutting displayed last night.

No More Telegrams

The end of a major part of American history. It was not a very well publicized change but as of Jan 27 Western Union has stopped doing telegrams. They are going to continue with their primary business which is money transfer and which represents a 3 billion dollar a year business.

I understand the economic pressures that forced this decision what with email and faxes so easy to do, it only makes sense. It is still sad and something depressing about something like telegrams disappearing. This something that has been a part of the fabric of America, and the world for that matter, for 145 years.

The world's first telegram was sent on May 24, 1844 by inventor Samuel Morse. The message, "What hath God wrought," was transmitted from Washington to Baltimore.

There are probably millions of people around the world that still remember a telegram that they recieved. Western Union delivered thousands of messages during WWII that brought the devastating news to families about the fate of their loved ones. Many others probably have happier memories connected with the telegram such as births and marriages.

Even though I haven't sent or received a telegram in 35 years or so it still seems like I have lost something.

More on the SOTU

I didn't watch the whole SOTU(which I haven't done since the Big Dog gave them) there are resources to get the scoop. You can turn to the Washington Post where they do a decent job of fact-checking all the lies meanwhile the New York Times provides a handy chart tracking the frequency with which Bush has used certain key words in his last six SOTUs.

(click on "Graphic: The Words He Used " in the left-hand margin)

They watched it so you didn't have to.

Villaraigosa Does the Job.

Antonio Villaraigosa, mayor of L.A. is on CNN right now and he evidently gave the Dem response to the SOTU in Spanish. He is ripping Bush a new one. Nothing positive and hitting every failing of the Bush disaster of a presidency. Very impressive and I can see why he is where he is.
Holy smoke! Why didn't give the English response as well. I will have to go look for the transcript sometime later. He is doing the job that Kaine failed to do last night. I wish I spoke Spanish so I could here his actual response speech. I wonder whether it will be translated and posted anywhere? I'm impressed.