Saturday, January 07, 2006

A benefit of modern medicine?

Not as many soldiers die in Iraq; their lives are saved so that they can survive horrific injuries and be disabled for the rest of their lives. Oh, goody.

Friday, January 06, 2006

Another fine mess...

So, the Shiites by the thousands are protesting against the US ambassador's "coddling" of Sunnis, blaming them for the hundreds of killings of Shiites in recent days; and of course the Sunnis are deeply resentful of the US occupation, and the most radical of them are doubtless behind the attacks on US troops. As a result, the US is caught in the middle of competing forces in Iraq, taking flak from all sides except the Kurds (until the Kurds take action to split away from the rest of Iraq, taking the oil-rich area around Tikrit with them).

The solution: Get the hell out of there. Now.

Thursday, January 05, 2006

Under Cheney's definition, Bush is a traitor

If disclosure of the details of the NSA spying program is traitorous, as Bush, and more forcefully, Cheney, have said, then what about Bush's assertion that the program is "limited," and intercepts only incoming calls from suspected al-Qaeda operatives? Either Bush is lying, or he's telling the truth, and is accordingly revealing details of the program, giving "aid and comfort to the enemy," which is the definition of treason.

Wednesday, January 04, 2006

Fascism Watch

My earlier-announced Fascism Watch has been in abeyance during the last few months (and may go there again), because of overwhelm: Bush's actions toward corporate/executive/religious dictatorship are too numerous to follow with this posting mechanism. But this item, relatively unnoticed, must be mentioned: After all that hullabaloo accompanying Senator McCain's showdown with the White House over a torture ban, Bush has determined that he'll adhere to the Congressionally-mandated ban--or not.

A day in the life

While the US mourns the death of 11 men in a mine explosion--a sad occurence, without a doubt, and accordingly subject to incessant cable TV news coverage--Iraq suffers through another day of deaths, including the bombing of a funeral procession, killing 36. Puts the scope of Iraq's ongoing trauma into perspective, eh?

Tuesday, January 03, 2006

Get out your raincoats or snowshoes, depending

It's gonna be necessary to take to the streets this winter. The Iraq occupation is going to wear on, Bush's poll numbers will remain mediocre, and with the latest Republican scandals and investigations, it's likely the Bush administration will find it necessary to create a crisis. In the absence of a terrorist attack on US soil (which I'm sure Bush is praying for), he'll no doubt launch an air attack on Iran's nuclear plants and make sure Syria is sanctioned by the UN for its involvement in the assasination of a popular leader of the opposition. This will elevate the crises in the Middle East to a flashpoint.

So, we'll have to remain vigilant, ready to protest with vigor (civil disobedience, even), to try to stop the madman from his ongoing administration of fear and force. It's going to be a long, cold winter, everywhere.

Monday, January 02, 2006

An interesting development in reporting

and, I think, a favorable one: After, or before, the publication or airing of an interview, the subject of the interview posts the entire transcript on a website to ensure that the aired or published portions not be unbalanced.

Sunday, January 01, 2006

NSA surveillance

In the next several days the media will present arguments pro and con about the recently-revealed domestic spying operation authorized by Bush shortly after 9/11. Bush is already lying about it, calling it "a limited program" involving only "a few numbers" of al-Qaeda operatives outside of the Unites States, when the facts are otherwise. It was a widespread, full-net surveillance, its information widely disseminated throughout the federal government's intelligence community.

Let's hope--and I'm certain it's only a hope--that Congress gets its back up on this one, calling for hearings, calling to account those, including Attorney General Gonzales, who persuaded Bush it was legal. And make no mistake: It wasn't, not even close.

You want fine writing?

Sheriff Tate to Atticus Finch:

"I may not be much, Mr. Finch, but I'm still the sheriff of Maycomb County. And Bob Ewell fell on his knife."

One of the finest lines in all moviedom. From To Kill a Mockingbird, of course.

I turned on cable this New Years morning, and although I've seen the film ten times, I couldn't turn it off, couldn't leave the room. Best rendition of a novel to film, ever. IMHO.

Top 10 stories of 2006

A funny post by the Freeway Blogger, whose blog--showing the how-to and results of freeway blogging--is cool.