They Printed My Letter!!! Part....

They did -- in the News-Times today, on warrantless wiretapping.

You can read it here.

You've seen most of it here on the blog, but I thought I would share it with a wider audience. Frankly, you can't get much smaller than the audience of my blog.

...or give me death!

Osama Bin Laden vows he won't be taken alive, the Associated Press reports.

Anyone got a problem with that? Anyone? You, in the back? No?

Then it's a deal!

In the recently released audiotape statement, Bin Laden also calls U.S. tactics in the war on terror barbaric.

Ho, ho, that's a good one, Osama. This from a man who turned civilian airliners into missles and sends suicide bombers into crowded markets.

That Osama is so funny -- he should be in cartoons!

Oh wait...

eBay Sucks!

That's our topic today.

Long story short. Last week I tried to buy a cellphone cover for my kids' phone on eBay -- found what I wanted, bought it and tried to complete the transaction.

Got all the way to payment, when PayPal wouldn't accept my password. Funny, checked my cheatsheet to make sure I was using the right one -- it all checked out.

Hit "reset password" and waited for the response email from PayPal. Never came.

Got pinged by the seller asking me to complete payment. I explained the problem and he was all cool with it.

Tried the reset twice more -- still didn't work.

Sent an email to eBay explaining the problem -- customer service promptly responded, telling me to follow the same password reset instructions -- tried it one more time for good measure, and it still didn't work.

I pinged eBay again, explaining that the "password reset" still didn't work -- mind you, each time I email them, I get a response from a different CS person. They sent me to the PayPal site to try to resolve it -- now I'm dealing with CS at PayPal and eBay -- nice!

Problem is, you can't get into the PayPal site without logging in, and since my password doesn't work I can't get in. Guess what they ask you to do in cases like that -- yup, the same "password reset" instructions.

Sent eBay an email saying I still couldn't get it fixed, but you know what, NBD -- I'll just shop elsewhere from now on.

And they responded with the same generic email!

I just sent the following email to eBay:

"Salvador: Thanks for your note. Interesting to note that you're the third CS person at eBay to engage me on this, yet you folks continue sending me the same form letters and trying pass the buck to PayPal, without solving the problem.

In case my last note wasn't clear, I'm done.

I have contacted the seller and informed him the reason I haven't completed the transaction is because your application doesn't work. I'm sure he's as delighted as I am.

I would prefer that neither you nor anyone else at eBay or PayPal send me any further generic, useless emails that don't solve the problem. I don't need the spam clogging up my inbox

If you want to do something constructive, you could get on the phone with PayPal and figure out how to solve the problem -- you guys own them so it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Otherwise, I really don't want to hear either of you again.

Thanks and good luck.

Regards,"

Just so everyone knows who everyone is here, I've worked for an IT company for the past 13 years -- I know how this stuff is supposed to work.

See answer #1 -- eBay sucks.

Define "Lack of Response," Please

Democrats still in a flutter about Cheney's "lack of response" after he accidentally winged a hunting buddy last weekend.

But a review of a New York Times timeline (reprinted in the Austin American-Statesman) of what happened shows there was no "lack of response."

The vice president immediately went to the aid of his friend. The incident was reported to authorities by the Secret Service within minutes, and a statement was released to the media the next day by the owner of the ranch.

"Lack of response" is code for "didn't immediately call a news conference while his friend lay bleeding on the ground."

For Democrats to attempt to use this event as an opportunity score political points is the height of hypocrisy.

Compare Cheney's response to the behavior of Ted Kennedy -- a pillar of the Democratic Party -- who allowed a young woman riding is his car to drown while he fled the scene of an accident, which he didn't report to the authorities until the next day after consulting his attorney.

THAT is a lack of response. If you're going to claim the high moral ground, you better make sure you're standing on it.

Some cluck that the Vice President personally didn't issue a public comment for several days after the accident. Uh, neither did Ted.

China Whining

Execs from Yahoo, Google, Microsoft and Cisco under fire yesterday in House hearings on their doings in China, the International Herald Tribune reports.

Reps from both sides of the aisle wringing their hands and asking the execs how they sleep at night, having buckled under to China's requirements that they restrict certain services.

Hypocrites.

The execs cringed, and hemmed and hawed, but this is what one of them should have said:

"Look it's really very simple -- if you want to do business in China, you abide by China's laws.

If you don't want to play by those rules, then stay home. There's really no middle ground on it, and the Chinese government isn't interested in discussing it with you.

What you have to weigh here is where is the greater good? Is it in providing some, if only limited, services in a country like China, promoting growth which could lead to greater cultural and social freedoms. Or is it in staying away, leaving China isolated and festering?"

And if you think you're off the hook because you're not one of those companies, think again. That laptop you're using? Made in China. That DVD player? Made in China. The CD player, the television, the game system? China, China, China.

If you think that's a problem, you're not just part of the problem -- you ARE the problem.

I remember my in-laws once complaining about how everything is made in China now. But they love the inexpensive electronics and consumer goods they buy.

So I told them, look you can either complain about offshoring or you can buy cheap stuff, but you can't do both. Walmart is the single largest importer of goods from China -- they're one percent of the Chinese GDP.

So if you don't like globalization and you don't like the Chinese government, STOP SHOPPING AT WALMART!

Winter Games

Not blogging much this week. Busy at work and busy watching the Olympics every night.

We're Olympics fanatics at our house. The snowboarders have been favorites for us over the last two winter games -- I just love the spirit these guys bring to the games.

And they medal big-time. Shaun White and Danny White just tore it up with their fakey-to-fakey 900s and frontside 1080s, taking gold and silver.

And Hannah Teter and Gretchen Bleiler of the women's team did the same.

2002 gold medalist Kelly Clark finished out of the medals, but put on performance in the finals that rivaled the men's competition -- flying higher and pulling maneuvers that set a new level for the women's competition. Only a fall near the end of her run dropped her to fourth place.

One Olympian I couldn't care less about is the over-amped, over-hyped Bode Miller, who has been washout in two events so far. Yesterday he was disqualified for running over a slalom gate.

The guy says the rules don't apply to him, stays out late before competition, and skips inspection runs, and now it's coming home. Personally, I think he's a punk.

So much for this being an exclusive Republican Scandal

AP via CNN and others report today that Senate Democract Leader Harry Reid -- you know, the guy who's been clucking about what contemptible greedheads the Republicans are for taking money from lobbyist Jack Abramoff -- is a big, fat, crap-spewing-from-every-orifice hypocrite.

Actually, what they said was Reid wrote letters on behalf of Abramoff clients , intervened on their behalf to stop the opening of casinos that would have competed with them, and received more than $68,000 from Abramoff and his partners.

Reid's office said there was no connection between the payoffs and Reid's actions. Uh-huh.

Meanwhile, Dem Party Chief Howard Dean is on the record in a Chris Wallace interview saying no Democrats received any money "directly" from Abramoff and performed no repugnant tasks on his behalf.

Oh well, he always has the insanity defense -- everyone will believe that.

sooo...what else is on....?

The Grammys are on T.V. tonight.

I don't care.

To quote Larry Norman, "I don't like what the radio plays. I don't like what the chart picks."

I won't be watching.

Maybe I'll read a book.

What's next? 9/11 Humor?

That's nice. Reuters reports that an Iranian newspaper is running a Holocaust cartoon contest in retaliation for those Danish cartoons about Mohammed many Muslims find so offensive.

So let me see if I've got this right -- the muslims are offended because their prophet was maligned and God blasphemed. So the rational response is to make fun of the murder of 10 million people.

Yeah, I'd say let's chip in for some sensitivity training for the Iranians, or at least a copy of Dale Carnegie's "How To Win Friends And Influence People."

Hint: If you want respect, you have to be willing to give it.

And stay away from "lightbulb" jokes too...

Rioting continues in the Islamic world today over cartoons originating in Denmark that Muslims say denigrate Mohammed, Reuters reports.

There's the usual rioting and storming of European embassies and the like. The cartoons, one of which depicts the Prophet with a turban shaped like a bomb and another with Mohammed advising would-be suicide bombers that he's run out of virgins to reward them with, have been reprinted in newspapers throughout Europe and in parts of Asia.

You know, if you're going to insult someone's Lord and Savior, the best idea is to do it in the guise of art. Take a picture of Mohammed and suspend it in urine, then display the resulting "art" in a gallery. No one can get mad at that.

Why, you might even qualify for a government grant!

Just don't try that with a photo of a liberal icon, like JFK or Hillary.

Some T-Shirts are more newsworthy than others

Cindy Sheehan was ejected from the State of the Union Address last night for wearing an antiwar t-shirt that said "2245 Dead. How Many More?"

Beverly Young, wife of U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young, was also removed from the spectator's gallery for wearing a "Support Our Troops Defending Our Freedom" t-shirt.

Gee, I wonder who's gonna get more media attention on this.

The Associated Press story reported both incidents, but carried the headline: Police Remove Sheehan From Bush Speech.

The USA Today story doesn't mention Ms. Young until much lower in the story, as an update. A Washington Post story doesn't mention her at all, nor does the San Francisco Chronicle.

Neither does the New York Times, although they did carry an interesting quote from Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D), who said she didn't mean to make the president uncomfortable by inviting Sheehan to the event: "I didn't see [inviting Sheehan to attend] as a political statement at all."

Monstrous amounts of crap immediately starting from shooting from Ms. Woolsey's mouth, nose and ears.

Okay, that didn't happen. But it should have.

CNN online mentions both incidents, but still gives Sheehan top billing -- Ms. Young is mentioned in a subhead and then appears in the fourth paragraph of the story.

Predictable.

Why is no one covering this?

The claims are a showstopper -- a guy claiming to have been the #2 man in Saddam's Air Force says they DID have large quantities of WMD up until late in 2002.

Those stockpiles were moved to Syria under cover of providing humanitarian aid after a Syrian dam collapsed, says Georges Sada.

Shocking, game-changing claims -- and no one is covering it.

I checked the NY Times this morning -- nothing.

I did a search on Google News (a GREAT tool) -- and found two stories. One in the New York Sun and a reference to an appearance by General Sada on Fox News last night.

The guy also got a book deal with Integrity Publishing, although that doesn't mean much -- they'll fling those things at anyone with a story spicy enough to tell, truthful or not. See: James Frey.

And the Sun and Fox News are certainly not the most well-regarded news sources

I'm not saying his claims are true. For all I know they're not. He could be a wild-eyed, moonbat, nutjob par excellence for all I know.

But considering his claims of who he says he is and what he says he knows, don't you think SOMEONE would look into this -- if for no other reason than to debunk his claims?

This reminds of of the non-coverage of the Swifties and fake CBS documents prior to the 2004 election -- it appears that a lot of reporters and editors are shutting their eyes real tight and hoping this will go away because it doesn't fit their view of things.

No visible support

I'll give columnist Joel Stein credit for one thing -- at least he's not full of crap.

Joel states definitively in the L.A. Times that he not only opposes the war but he does not support the troops. He somewhat backpedals, saying he respects the guys in uniform, and that perhaps they were duped into fighting in Iraq, but nonetheless he doesn't support them and holds them accountable for what they're doing.

And I think, "finally, an antiwar guy who can admit that he doesn't REALLY support the troops."

I'm not saying it can't be done, but it's an extremely fine line to walk. And from a moral standpoint it becomes very complex very fast. It is very, very difficult to say that the war is immoral but that they guys pulling the triggers are the good guys and aren't responsible in some way.

We didn't accept that answer from the German citizenry when after World War II they said they didn't really know that Hitler was trying to murder all the Jews.

For my part, I believe most of those who oppose the war but say they support the troops don't really mean it -- they just don't want to be seen as the ones spitting on the returning troops, like their forefathers did during the Vietnam conflict.

More television for idiots

Okay, I think we can sum this up in three words -- Skating with Celebrities.

Fox Television takes a bunch of washed-up figure skaters and pairs them with a bunch of has-been b-level celebrities for a skating competition. Has-been celebrities, incidentally, with no skating aptitude at all.

I mean, I sort of get the Dancing with the Stars thing -- I don't WATCH it, but I can see how someone, somewhere might enjoy that. Actually my daughter does, but she's a dancer.

But this? This is truly a low moment for "reality television," and that's saying a lot.

As girlie as it may seem, I'd imagine figure skating as actually pretty difficult and dangerous. So do you really want to see Todd Bridges dumping Jenni Meno on her head? Three words: massive cerebral hematoma.

From triple lutz to triple clutz. Mustn't See T.V.

I'm not a fan of this genre of television in the first place, but this has to be the worst idea in the world.

What crack-addled junkie came up with this poor excuse for entertainment? This is beneath the intelligence of chimpanzees.

What's next? Celebrity Knifefight?

Say...that might not be a bad idea...

If they're interested, I can provide a list of suggested contestants.

Osama Cries "Uncle"

In one breath, Osama Bin Laden threatens new attacks in the United States and in the next he calls for a truce, Reuters reports.

Despite the fact that I'm not an intelligence analyst, I can provide the following translation:

"Could you please get your foot off my throat? It's hard to breath that way."

A desperate plea by a desperate man.

He tried this once before, offering Europeans a truce two years ago in an attempt to drive a wedge between them and the U.S. Didn't work then either.

This by no means signals the end of Al Qaida, but perhaps the beginning of the end for Bin Laden.

Now in the "Best Idiot" category....

Through an odd confluence of events, apparently the Golden Globe awards were held on the same day as MLK Day.

Oddly, several Democratic politicians used MLK events to make totally freakish statements -- statements so odd that they deserve Golden Globe-style recognition.

So winning in the "Selective Amnesia" category, we have Al Gore saying that the Bush administration is breaking the law with its warrantless eavesdropping on terrorists. Gore conveniently forgot, of course, that the administration he served in DID THE EXACT SAME THING.

Never ceases to amaze me that the Dems don't muzzle this guy -- sticks his foot in his mouth and hurts their cause every time. Doesn't he have a television network somewhere to run into the ground?

In the "Tin Ear" category, Hillary Clinton declared at an MLK event in Harlem that the U.S. House of Representatives is "run like a plantation." The gross insensitivity of that remark to anyone who ever suffered under the lash of true slavery was lost on Ms. Clinton and to most in the audience, many of whom applauded her remarks -- to their collective shame.

So once again, as the orchestra music swells the Divine Ms. H steps to center stage, misses her cue, sings a flat note and trips on the hem of her skirt. But hey, Hillary in 2008! Best recipe I can think of to guarantee another Republican administration.

Finally, in the "Best Portrayal of Nutjob Pat Robertson," New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin -- the guy who left all those poor black people stranded after Hurricane Katrina -- declared that the Big Easy is a black city by divine right and that God is mad a America and specifically at black people.

Ray is up for re-election in March -- THAT'S gonna be fun to watch.

Tapping King

Hard to believe, but it's true.

Federal agents operating without a warrant bugged the phones and offices of the Rev. Martin Luther King , Jr. with the approval of a Democratic administration.

Nicholas Deb. Katzenbach, who served in senior Justice Department roles under presidents Kennedy and Johnson, discusses the decision at length in the LA Times.

Katzenbach tries weakly to justify the taps, but when you read the intent of the FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and of the dirty tricks that followed, it's hard to swallow any justification.

I mean, it's not like the guy was talking to terrorists or something.

Happy MLK Day -- a visionary and a geniune, if personally flawed, American hero. I always liked that part in his "I have a dream" speech about judging someone by the content of his character, not the color of his skin.

Alito 1, Dems 0

With Senate hearings winding down, it looks like the Democrats couldn't lay a glove on prospective Supreme Sam Alito, try though they might.

Through 18 hours and 700 questions, they accused him of everything from a racism to kicking the dog, but Alito wouldn't bite. His answers were thoughtful and scholarly, but he refused to walk into any of the traps they set for him.

Oh, they did manage to make his wife cry though. Nice.

John Kass over at the Chicago Tribune has some thoughts on that and on the character of a good marriage.

Unrestrained Executive Power

On February 19, 1942, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, beginning the forced internment of Japanese-Americans.

Without any due process and in flagrant violation of the Constitution, the U.S. Government stripped 110,000 people -- including women, children and the elderly -- of their livelihoods and property, and imprisoned them in concentration camps simply because of their ancestry.

Talk about the dangers of unrestrained executive power...

By comparison, the current administration has shown incredible restraint in the face of global conflict.

Despite all the hoopla about the presidential wiretapping orders after 9/11, which are consistent with actions by prior presidents and with earlier court rulings, unless you're a member of Al Qaida or talking with one regularly, you stand very little chance of having your phone bugged. And much less of a chance of being confined as an enemy combatant.

Generally speaking, better to be a Muslim-American now than a Japanese-American in 1942.

Kennedy calls kettle black

Senator Edward Kennedy said today that Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito's record "troubles me deeply" during confirmation hearings today, according to the Washington Post.

Heck, Kennedy's record on, say, driving while intoxicated and vehicular manslaughter troubles me deeply too. But we still let him be a U.S. senator.

This guy has no business questioning anyone's record. On anything. Ever.

The Year In Media Blunders

"Holy Shiite"? "Jew Jersey"? "Beef Panties"?

Yup, Crunk's got 'em, over at Regret The Error.

From tragic typos to flubbed corrections to just plain bad reporting, you'll find it here.

You'll laugh until you cry.

Reminds me of the time a newspaper colleague of mine wrote a story on a trial where he wrote that the defendent was charged with several counts of sexual assault.

Except he left the "o" out of "counts."

Not good.

Drunk idiot with "suicide bomber" in journal on plane

The first official stupid act of the year. Sure to be followed by many more, no doubt.

Who does this?

Dems on Abramofff -- First Stone Territory

Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff has taken a plea in his corruption trial, and politicians are doing the usual running and hiding and fingerpointing.

The Bush administration and Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert donated their Abramoff booty to charity.

Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean says Bush should give back more, but he might look to his own party first.

The Washington Post reported last year that Republicans weren't the only one's benefiting from Abramoff's largesse. A short list of Dems taking money from him includes:

Tom Daschle
Harry Reid
Dick Gephardt
Patrick Kennedy
Patty Murray
Byron Dorgan

Money lobbying is a dirty business, and Washington will be better without Abramoff. But for anyone to think that this unseemly conduct is confined to one side of the aisle is naive at best and delusional at worst.

Democratic Wisdom

Yes, odd as that may seem for a headline on my blog, Senator Barack Obama indeed expressed some serious wisdom this year, as quoted by Time magazine columnist Joe Klein.

"Whenever we (Democrats) exaggerate or demonize, or oversimplify or overstate our case, we lose," he wrote to liberal blog the Daily Kos.

Obama was referring to the vilification of John Roberts during his Supreme Court nomination hearings, but I think he nails the fundamental problem for the Democratic Party pretty much every time its members open their mouths.

They've lost their way,, they have no message, and they spend the majority of their time running around shrieking "Bush lied!"

If others in his party heed his wisdom, there may be hope for them yet.

But I'm not counting on it. Hillary in 2008!

U.N.. Endorses Iraq Election Results

A senior United Nations official says Iraq's recent parliamentary elections were credible and the results should stand, the Associated Press reports.

Sunnis immediately protested.

Saaay...these Iraqis really ARE getting the hang of this democracy thing.

They printed my letter!!! Part...Whatever

In the News Times yesterday morning. (Sorry, I didn't blog on Christmas)

Saddam's Chutzpah

Oh my goodness, that Saddam Hussein -- he's quite the comedian, complaining in court that the White House is a bunch of liars and he was tortured by the Americans.

Laughed so hard, milk came out of my nose. And I wasn't even drinking milk at the time!

Saddam claims the U.S. lied about his possession of WMD. Well, he could have easily proven them liars by allowing U.N. inspectors to do their jobs. Oh, but that's right -- then they would have quickly uncovered his hidden WMD assets, as described in the Duelfer report, wouldn't they?

Remember? He said he didn't have any of it left.

One word. Eight letters. Starts with a "B."

As to the claims of torture, here's a guy who considered things like gouging out people's eyes and or using electric drills on them perfectly acceptable means of extracting information and confessions. And raping 12-year-old girls? Well, that was just a good evening's entertainment as far as he was concerned.

What a funny guy.

Dems on Domestic Snooping: Do as we say...

Democrats all in a dither about a Bush order allowing spying on terror suspects in the U.S. after 9/11.

I guess I would be concerned about it too -- if I was a member of a violent terrorist organization.

The usual band of Congressional naysayers (Pelosi, Boxer, Rockefeller, etc.) are expressing the usual concerns, calling for investigations, asking for documents to be declassified and so forth in their sudden expressed concern about this practice.

Except, apparently it was okay when President Bill Clinton did the same thing 10 years ago. And Jimmy Carter too, in 1979.

Gosh, and nobody had even plowed any airplanes into buildings or anything yet!

If that's not the biggest "shut your big fat face," I don't know what is.

Thanks to the Drudge Report for posting the Clinton and Carter documents. I'm not a huge fan of Matt's, but you can't argue with the original source text and credit to him for posting it.

NOT the case against the war

Quite possibly the worst argument I've ever read for immediate withdrawal from Iraq.

And I'm not talking about John Murtha here.

From my local paper's op-ed page yesterday.

This thing is so riddled with factual errors that I can't believe this guy is smart enough to take himself to the bathroom.

I'll have to violate my self-imposed moratorium on writing letters to the editor and respond.

Jack Anderson: RIP

Columnist Jack Anderson passed away yesterday, after a 19-year battle with Parkinsons.

I recall reading his columns as a college student -- he always seemed to have his nose under someone's tent. I heard speak at my university, and I think many of my fellow students were surprised by his strongly conservative viewpoint -- totally dissed the Eastern Bloc and Cuba.

A bit flamboyant, and a bit of a grandstander, Jack was a believer in the power of the press uncovering dishonesty.

RIP.

Election Forecast:: Partly Sunni

More than 10 million Iraqis were expected to cast ballots today in the third major election this year in that country, the Chicago Tribune reports.

They said it couldn't be done -- that democracy couldn't work in Iraq. And yet for the third time in 12 months the Iraqi people have proven them wrong.

Most notable about this election is the high voter turnout among the Sunni minority, which had ruled the country under Saddam. Disenfranchised after his ouster, the Sunnis largely snubbed the first two elections and supported the terrorist insurgency.

Now that the insurgency seems to be ineffective, Sunnis and their leaders are apparently understanding that if they want a say in how Iraq will be governed they have to participate in the process.

Patriot Act:: Paranoia Vs. Reality

It was a frightening prediction the civil libertarians made. Armed with the Patriot Act, jackbooted federal agents would have free rein roust anyone suspected of terrorism, kicking in doors after midnight, tapping phone lines and rifling through business documents and library records.

Library records! No longer would a three-year-old be able to check out a copy of "The Pokey Little Puppy" without falling under the shadow of the Feds.

Except not, reports National Public Radio.

In a story broadcast yesterday, NPR details how federal agents report finding it extremely hard to obtain warrants from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the body set up in the mid-70s to oversee intelligence-related search and seizure requests and prevent abuses.

The Feds complain that getting requests for warrants through the Office of Intelligenc Policy and Review is nearly impossible -- the office sets exceedingly high standards of proof to ensure that civil rights are protected.

And the number of library records requested under the Patriot Act. Nada. None. Zip. Zilch.

Williams Execution: Repentence, Redemption, Forgiveness

Stanley Tookie Williams, convicted of four murders in 1981 and founder of the bloody drug gang the Crips, was put to death by lethal injection this morning, Reuters reports.

To the end, Williams' supporters proclaimed his innocence and asked for clemency.

Innocent he certainly wasn't -- the evidence against him in the four killings is regarded as overwhelming. And as founder of one of the most notorious gangs in U.S. history, Williams was responsible for tremendous death and destruction, most of it within his own community.

Still, while in prison Williams tried to redeem himself. While never admitting to the murders, he renounced the gang life, even writing children's books warning kids about the dangers of being a gangsta.

The question is, what is the price of public redemption and forgiveness? Did the good he did in prison outweigh the bad? Or was the mere change in the attitude of his heart enough? And who can really know the heart of a man, other than God?

Williams plight reminds of another notorious public figure who underwent a similar conversion. Former Alabama Governor George Wallace was one of the most venomous racists to ever hold public office in the United States, consistently pursuing a segregationist agenda through the 1960s and early 1970s that included a run for president.

In the mid-1970s, after an assassination attempt that left him in a wheelchair and a spiritual conversion, Wallace repented of and renounced his racist views. He sought the forgiveness of those who he had persecuted and in his last term as governor appointed a record number of black Alabamians to state government posts.

Some accepted his repentence, others did not, and he died in 1998 just as much a controversial figure.

I wonder what those who sought clemency for Williams thought of Wallace, if they thought of him at all.

Iraqi's Optimistic: BBC Doesn't Agree With Own Poll

The majority of Iraqis say their lives are good and getting better, although security remains a major concern, a new poll conducted on behalf of the BBC, ABC News and other media organizations -- none of them too crazy about the U.S. strategy, I might add.

Pollsters Oxford Research International spoke with 1,700 Iraqis from all regions, and found that 71 said their lives are very good, and 64 said they think things will continue to improve for them personally. Sixty-nine percent said they think overall conditions Iraq will continue improving.

Fifty-three percent called the security situation bad, while 44 percent characterized it as good -- an interesting contrast.

Only 10 percent said getting the U.S. out of Iraq is a top priority, with 57 percent said restoring public security should be tops.

BBC News said that according to their own World Affairs correspondent Paul Reynolds, the findings are more in line with the kind of arguments currently being deployed by President George W Bush. They said he added that that critics will claim that the survey proves little beyond showing how resilient Iraqis are at a local level - and that it reveals enough important exceptions to the rosy assessment, especially in the centre of the country, to indicate serious dissatisfaction.

Interesting way of saying they didn't get the results they wanted from the poll, so they have to come up with a way of mitigating them with a "some critics" comment.

Can you say "arrogant"? Sure you can.

Christmas Service Diss

Everything aflutter today over at Althouse regarding an NY Times article stating -- oh my goodness -- some churches won't hold services on Christmas Sunday this year.

I'm going to stay with my answer -- this is a classic media rolljob.

Take a preconceived notion, add some sloppy and incomplete reporting, throw in a dash of someone who is offended (yeah, like THAT'S hard to do in this society) and PRESTO: instant controversy!

And an opportunity to smack the churches for being hypocritical.

The implication is that this is a result of the megachurch phenomenon. But the little church I attended as a kid -- which never saw more than 125-150 members -- made the same decision 25-30 years ago.

Ann and company are smarter than this -- I'm surprised they're falling for it.

Miami Airport Shooting

A tragic event, that was probably unavoidable in the world we live in today.

Many will try to hand out blame -- some to the man who was shot, some to the marshals.

But there are a couple points of clarity that I think are indisputable:

-- When someone on an airplane tells you he has a bomb, you believe him;

-- If he fails to stop when you tell him to, you shoot him.

To do otherwise is to court a far greater loss.

Daily Torture Roundup

That's what this starting to feel like. But there's an awful lot of news about it.

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice reiterated America's position that we do not engage in torture of terror war detainees (and from what I've seen, we don't), although her remarks failed to quiet global critics.

In the meantime, most people in the U.S. Britain, France and South Korea think torture is okay if warranted by the circumstances, an AP-Ipsos poll shows.

A German citizen held as a terror suspect by the U.S. claims he was tortured and files suit.

And testimony continued in Saddam's trial, with additional witnesses detailing tortune and abuse.

Saddam refused to attend the hearing today, complaining that among other things he hadn't been allowed a change of clothes in three days. Meanwhile, one of the men testifying in the trial said he'd be forced to wear the same pajamas he was arrested in for nine months while in jail.

Finally, if anyone needs a reminder about how brutal Saddam's regime was, take a read through this British government report on torture and abuse in Iraq under Saddam, if you can stomach it.

One thing is clear -- when it comes to this torture stuff, we Americans a real amateurs compared to Saddam.

Torture at Abu Ghraib

No, not by U.S. forces. Witnesses in Saddam's trial recounted harrowing torture at the notorious prison by the dictators henchmen, Reuters reports.

One female witness said she was stripped naked, given electric shocks and beaten.

Oh well, at least they didn't take pictures of her -- that would have been humiliating.

Others talked of being confined in horrible conditions. Many testified behind screens and used voice modulators to conceal their identifies, fearful of reprisals.

Saddam, meanwhile, whined that the trial is unfair and told the judges to go to hell.

"You first," I'm sure they were all thinking.

Saddam Not Afraid

Saddam Hussein said today during his trial that he is unafraid of being executed, Reuters reports.

"I am not afraid of execution," he said, adding "execution is cheaper than the shoe of an Iraqi."

And all I could think was: "There, now isn't that working out nicely? Who says the Iraqis can't agree on anything? He's not afraid to die, and the Iraqi people aren't afraid to kill him."

Fortunately for Saddam, he'll likely be spared execution by some of the grisly methods he employed for the task while in power.

Death by decapitation

Death by beating

Death by being tossed into a vat of acid

Death by being thrown into a shredding machine

Personally I'm opposed to the death penality, and I'm willing to extend that prohibition even to Saddam.

I'd rather see him thrown back into the hole was captured in and kept there for the rest of his life.

Meanwhile, Saddam amused himself at his trial by alternately yelling at and taunting the judges and lawyers, and chuckling as one man recounted torture and abuse.

"I swear by God, I walked by a room and ... saw a grinder with blood coming out of it and human hair underneath," Hassan told the court.

You can read more here.

Anybody still think this wasn't a good idea?

The Music of Politics: Does the House need a Hall?

From my daily newspaper, the News-Times of Danbury, local of musician of previous fame to run for Congress.

This is worth reading through -- chock full of bumbling on both sides of the aisle. But the upshot is this.

Singer-songwriting John Hall, formerly of the band Orleans, discovered last year that the Bush Campaign was using the hit "Still The One" at campaign events. Hall, a long-time liberal (he was one of the artists behind the "No Nukes" concerts in early 80s) immediately protested to the media.

Now he's running for Congress in a district so Republican he has a better chance of being struck by a bolt of lightning than actually winning.

Some object lessons for all here.

First, political campaigns really ought to do a better job of vetting the politics of the musical artists whose songs they use on the road, or risk looking stupid. You didn't see John Kerry cranking up Ted Nugent's "Cat Scratch Fever," now didja? (Not to say the Kerry campaign didn't do plenty of stupid things.)

Second, instead of immediately making a spectacle of this by complaining to the media, Hall could have simply called the Bush campaign and asked them to knock it off. Unless he was bent on making a political spectacle of the whole thing.

Perhaps he did -- it's not clear from the article. But basically nobody likes a tattle-tale or a whiner.

It would seem to be a huge mistake for Hall to run in this race though -- he has absolutely not shot at all. It would probably be better if they Democrats conserved their resources for races where they can win, and don't think the GOP hasn't noticed.

"We encourage Democrats to spend as much money there as possible," said Ed Patru, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee. "It's probably the second fastest way for them to waste money. Flushing it down the toilet would be faster."

Let's hope Hall doesn't make the second mistake Democrats seem to make regularly anymore -- talking about what they're against instead of what they are for. "Bush sucks" is not a political platform.

I used to hear John play with some regularity when he and I both lived in the Hudson Valley (where I grew up). I've always enjoyed his music, and while I don't always agree with his political views, I think he's pretty sincere. Seems like a nice guy, too.

Blogging from Brazil

Brazil today. Hortolandia this morning and Sao Paulo this afternoon.

On to Brasilia tonight.

Wish I had time to write more -- maybe catch up over the weekend.

Blogging from Argentina

In Buenas Aires today on business. Flew down on the corporate jet yesterday -- 13 hours, with fuel stops in Barbados and in Manaus, Brazil, on the Amazon.

Wonderful country, great food, nice people. Wish I could stay longer, but it is on to Campinas, Brazil in about two hours.

Iraq: Even Bill Gets It -- Sort Of

America must continue to fight in Iraq, at least through the parliamentary elections next month, before even considering a timebtable for withdrawal, said Bill Clinton at Westchester County Community College symposium earlier this week.

Other Clintonian revelations in the Journal News story:

-- If the United States pulled out now, he said, "Sunni Iraq would become the very terrorist hotbed they were accused of being before."

-- He does not believe President Bush lied when he linked Iraq to Al Qaeda, but was relying on the intelligence he was given;

-- He declared the recent constituional vote a success, saying that if the Iraqis can persuade the Sunni minority to participate democracy has a shot;

-- He himself did things in the interest of fighting terror that he was uncomfortable with, such as detaining suspects without charge or trial.

Meanwhile, former Clinton Administration official Nancy Soderbergh, when pressed by radio host Brian Lehrer on NPR-affiliate WNYC yesterday, admitted that the Bush administration didn't hype prewar intelligence on Iraq WMDs, with the exception of nuclear weapons, and that we must continue in Iraq.

"I thought he did have them...I got the intelligence for 10 years up until the war, and there was general assumption that he had weapons of mass destruction, primarily chemical and biological weapons," she said.

She spends the better of the interview blathering the usual "imminent threat" mythology and hypothesizing about how much trouble the Bush administration is in. But when pressed on the facts, concludes that based on what was known at the time and Saddam's behavior, the generally accepted view was that Saddam retained WMD.

She also says that Congressional Democrats did receive the same intelligence information about Iraqi WMD as the president, specifically the Democratic leadership in the Congress.

Quitters Never Win

The best way to lose the war in Iraq is to quit, the current philosophy being offered by Congressional Democrats, says retired Army officer Ralph Peters in the New York Post today.

"Forget the fact that we've made remarkable progress under daunting conditions: The Dems are looking to throw the game just to embarrass the Bush administration," said Peters.

I would hate to think that anyone could be so politically craven as that, and I suspect that most Democrats who are calling for retreat aren't. My guess is most of them are well-meaning but clueless, although I'm not sure that's really better.

However, it's impossible for me to totally dismiss this view -- I'd imagine some of those who oppose war simply do so out of hatred for George Bush. It's evident in their hate-filled rhetoric and their lies.

Either that, or they've chosen to back the other side.

Ralph's commentary is a bit of a rant, but it hangs together -- worth reading the whole thing.

Murtha: Wrong on Facts

Democratic Senator John Murtha of Pennsylvania has called for the immediate withdrawal of our troops from Iraq.

"This is a policy wrapped in an illusion ... our troops have become the primary target of the insurgency," Murtha said at a Capitol news conference that left him in tears. "It's time to bring them home."

On the facts, he's wrong, and an analysis of the deaths in Iraq show that to be the case.

U.S. casualty figures are flat year to year (source: Iraq Coalition Casualty Count). The majority of those killed in Iraq continue to be civilians, and most of those deaths are a result of terrorist attacks (source: Iraq Body Count). And civilian deaths at the hands of of terrorists and other criminals continue to rise.

American troops are not the primary target of the terrorists -- Iraqi civilians are. And withdrawal now would leave them at the mercy of those killers.

Case in point from Reuters today: Suicide bombers kills 77 in Iraq. They're attacking churches.

Osama Video Outtakes

Too funny for words.

Edwards Flip Flop

A cartoon from the Charlotte Observer, in response to a column Senator John Edwards wrote for the Washington Post about his vote in favor of the war in Iraq.

"I was wrong," he said.

The first Democrat I've seen express anything close to personal responsibility by fessing up to being part of the decision. Most of them have a pretty bad case of
selective amnesia, continuously regurgitating the "Bush lied" blather.

And while that type of personal responsibility and candor is refreshing from a politician of any stripe, I'm afraid Mr. Edwards is still wrong in his conclusions.

He says the war is wrong because the intelligence was wrong, but frankly the intelligence was only wrong in terms of the quantity of WMD Saddam continued to possess -- not on whether he continued to possess them at all.

The substance of the intelligence estimates and the conclusions coming from them remain correct, borne out by the subsequent analysis and review showing:

-- Saddam continued to conceal the means, capabilities and materials (including biological agent seed stocks, chemical precursors for making weapons, materials and technology for making nuclear weapons, missile technology, and WMD manufacturing facilities, as well as lots of money and people with the education and training to make WMD) for reconstituting his WMD programs on any scale at a time of his choosing. This was a direct violation of the Gulf War Peace Accords;

-- Saddam continued to be a horrific human rights abuser, also a violation of the accords;

-- Saddam was greatly profiting from wholly corrupt U.N. Oil for Food program, using his gains to preserve his WMD capabilities, also a violation;

-- Saddam was an ardent supporter of international terrorists and remained a threat to his neighbors and the international community at large, also a violation.

The conclusion: 10 years of sanctions and on-again/off-again weapons inspections were an utter failure. We were going to end up taking Saddam on head-to-head eventually; better to do so at a time of our choosing.

As opposed to, say, after he provided terrorists with a briefcase full of anthrax spores to deliver to the New York City Subways.

I met John Edwards once -- back in 1996, when he was still working as a very successful trial lawyer in North Carolina. My wife was called as a witness in one of his cases -- a little girl injured in a pool accident. Nice guy, seemed pretty bright.

He won that case, setting precedent in NC for the highest jury award in a personal injury case. At that point, his fortune made, he retired from practicing law and entered politics.

So if he comes across as a bit of a dilettante in politics, I suspect it's because he is.

Dems: He had them, wanted them, would use them

A new television spot by the GOP has leading Democrats, in their own words, talking about how Saddam had or coveted chemical, biological and atomic weapons and would use them.

The quotes dating from 1998 through 2003 are clear and unequivocal in their judgment.

It's an all-star cast. Here's a transcript:

Madeline Albright (2/18/1998) : Iraq is a long way from Ohio, but what happens there matters a great deal here. For the risk that the leaders of a rogue state will use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against us or our allies is the greatest security threat we face. And it is a threat against which we must and will stand firm.

Bill Clinton (2/17/1998): Or we take some ambiguous third route which gives him yet more opportunities to develop this program of weapons of mass destruction, and continue to press for the release of the sanctions and continue to ignore the solemn commitments that he made.

Howard Dean (1/31/1998): There are such a thing as international outlaws. I'm not sure China is one but I'm quite sure Iran and Iraq are.

Sandy Berger (2/18/1998): He will rebuild his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction. And some day, some way, I am certain, he will use that arsenal as he has 10 times since 1983.

Nancy Pelosi (11/17/2002): Saddam Hussein certainly has chemical and biological weapons. There's no question about that.

Jay Rockefeller (10/10/2002): There's unmistakeable evidence that Saddam Hussein is working aggressively to develop nuclear weapons and will likely have nuclear weapons within the next five years. We also should remember we have alway underestimated the progress that Saddam Hussein has been able to make in the development of weapons of mass destruction.

Joe Biden (8/4/2002) : We know he continues to attempt to gain access to additional capability, including nuclear capability. There is a real debate how far off that is, whether it's a matter of years or whether it's a matter of less than that. And so there's much we don't know.

Harry Reid (9/18/2002) : Saddam Hussein in effect has thumbed his nose at the world community and I think the president is approaching this in the right fashion.

Hillary Clinton (9/15/2002) : I doubt it [that there can be disarmament in Iraq without regime change]. I can support the president. I can support an action against Saddam Hussein because I think it's in the long-term interest of our national security.

John Edwards (1/7/2003) : Sitting on the Intelligence Committee and seeing day after day, week after week, briefings on Saddam's weapons of mass destruction and his plans on using those weapons, he cannot be allowed to have nuclear weapons. It's just that simple.

Evan Bayh (3/17/2003): Bill, I support the president's efforts to disarm Saddam Hussein. I think he was right on in his speech tonight. The lessons we learned following September 11th are we can't wait to be attacked again, particularly when it involves weapons of mass destruction. So regrettably, Saddam has not done the right thing, which is to disarm, and we're left with no alternative but to take action.

Certainly undermines the "Bush made the whole thing up" argument many of them have been using.

Glenn Reynolds over at Instapundit notes the use of Traffic's "The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys" as the soundtrack for this. I don't know why that's significant, other than to demonstrate the good taste of the GOP in selecting a cool tune for the background.

LB75 Rebuild

A long overdue photo of my Carvin LB75 rebuild.

I had to send the original back to the factory in February after it developed a terminal neck problem. That's the problem with neck-through designs -- you can' t jus swap out the neck if there's a problem. You have to rebuild the whole bass.

While I was at it, I made some changes -- went with walnut body wings attached to to the maple neck. I opted for a tung oil finish. And just to be fancy, I added abalone dot inlays on the fingerboard.

The bass is performing pretty well -- the walnut wings have darkened up the tone a bit, as I anticipated they would.
Not really my favorite bass right now -- I've already described the customer service freak show I went through with Carvin. And I got reacquainted with my Fender Jazz Bass while this was in the shop, so that's kind of the fave right now.

Here's another shot from the peghead end.

Not the most inspiring photography, I know -- I was kind of in a hurry.

Krauthammer gets gas

The recent spike in gas prices has focused our attention on the problem of constrained supply and increasing competition with emerging markets for that supply, Charles Krauthammer notes in a recent column.

He notes that we should continue to drive down demand -- with an artificial price floor of $3/gallon if nothing else -- and find additional supply.

I agree with his premise, but I think he misses one thing -- the best, most permanent solution to the problem is to develop alternative energy sources. And I think the best one is gasohol (80 percent alcohol, 20 percent gasoline).

While there are technical and infrastructure challenges to adopting gasohol, the long-term benefits are clear -- it burns cleaner, is cheaper (especially at current gas prices) and comes primarily from renewable resources. The alcohol can be made from a variety of crops -- corn, wheat, rice, sugar, etc.

In Brazil, most vehicles can run on either gasoline or gasohol -- if they can do it, we can too.

Jordan to Al Qaeda: Go to Hell!

Thousands of Jordanians protested in the streets following terrorist bombings at three Amman hotels, shouting "Burn in hell, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi!," reports ABC News.

Al Qaeda has claimed "credit" for the bombings, which were targeted Westerners and the Iraqi government, but actually killed mostly Jordanians and Palestinians. In all, 55 people were killled, some of them members of a wedding party.

The story notes that many Palestinians and Jordanians have supported the insurgency in Iraq, but this could turn them around on the issue.

"Oh my God, oh my God. Is it possible that Arabs are killing Arabs, Muslims killing Muslims? For what did they do that?" screamed 35-year-old Najah Akhras, who lost two nieces in the attack. Similar thoughts were heard over and over throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the story says.

The story also says that in response to the protests from their Muslim and Arab brothers and sisters over this act of fratricide, al-Zarqawi's group offered a rare explanation.

"Let all know that we have struck only after becoming confident that they are centers for launching war on Islam and supporting the Crusaders' presence in Iraq and the Arab peninsula and the presence of the Jews on the land of Palestine," al-Qaida in Iraq said.

Yeah, I'm sure that made the grieving parents, siblings, spouses and children feel so much better.

Attention to whomever is responsible for doing PR for Al Qaeda: you suck at it.

Judy Jumps!

New York Times "Plamegate" reporter Judith Miller has resigned under increasing criticism from her own paper. She marks her departure with a letter to the editor in the Times today, her comments far more gracious to her former employers than they were to her.

My, what a difference a few months can make. Just this summer, Miller was the courageous Times reporter who spent 85 days in jail rather than reveal her confidential sources in the Plamegate matter.

Shortly after being released from jail, her own publication turned on her, describing her as a rogue reporter who botched stories on pre-war estimates of Iraq's WMD capabilities and lying to her editors about her conversations with her Plamegate sources.

Mind you, that's the paper's defense -- that it had an out-of-control reporter on its hands. What a lowly state the Times has come to when that's how they explain their behavior. But I guess in the post-Blair period, you go with whatever you can to get off the hook.

Interesting to note that Miller is a 28-year, Pulitizer Prize-winning Times veteran.

So, I guess the question is has she always been out of control, or is this some recent development?

The charge on the WMD estimates appears to be hollow at best -- EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE got them wrong, from Hans Blix at the U.N. to presidential candidate John Kerry -- largely because Saddam purposely lied about what he did and didn't have.

Note that they were only wrong on the amounts however -- the Duelfer report clearly proves that Saddam remained in possession WMD capabilities, resources and materials, with the express purpose of maintaining the capability to reconstitute his programs on a large scale at a time of his choosing.

Now in the "sauce for the gander" category...

Congressional Republicans are calling for an investigation into who leaked info about CIA prisons for terror suspects to the Washington Post, Reuters reports.

Congressional Dems are going to have a hard time fighting this one, after all their howling about the Plame affair and the subsequent investigation, which, I might add, resulted in pretty much nothing.

Wonder who's going to get investigated on this one. Pelosi? Reid? Kennedy?

Most likely the leak came from a staffer.

Newspaper Circ: What Goes Around, Comes Around

Circulation figures for U.S. newspapers continue to decline, reports the San Francisco Chronicle.

The Chronicle quotes the Audit Bureau of Circulation as showing a 2.6 percent drop nationwide over the past six months, and a whopping 16.6 percent drop for the Chronicle itself. The Atlanta Journal Constitution and the Boston Globe both showed declines of more than 8 percent.

Newspaper Association of America marketing guy John Kimball noted factors such as increased use of the Internet as a news source and new limits on telemarketing as factors in the decline.

A factor noted on NPR this morning is age -- newspaper readers tend to be older, and younger news consumers prefer to get their news from other media such as TV and the Internet.

Not cited in any of the reports is public confidence in newspapers, which Gallup reported at a low of 28 percent earlier this year.

Switchfoot at Nokia Theater

Last night, took the big kids down to see them. Awesome show.

The band was more polished than I thought they would be, but great songs performed by a very tight, capable band. Very sincere too.

Thought the light show was a little cheesy though -- a little too slick for them.

We Are One. Stars. Great songs.

Going to the source on Wilson

With all the discussion over the past week about Plamegate and the Senate Intelligence Committee's review of prewar intell on Iraq and WMD, I thought I would take a trip through the actual report the committee produced to see what it says.

One thing it makes pretty clear is that former Ambassador Joe Wilson has been less than candid regarding his pre-war trip to Niger to investigate reports Iraq was trying to buy uranium from that nation.

First, is his statement that he was not picked for the job by his wife. The report makes it pretty clear that he was.

Second, was his claim that his trip produced no evidence that Iraq had sought to buy uranium in Niger. The report says that to the contrary his debriefing with the CIA actually INCREASED their suspicions that the reports were true.

Specifically, he recounted a conversation with Nigerien Prime Minister Ibrahim Mayaki in which the Mayaki said he had been approached by a businessman representing Iraqi officials who wanted to discuss "expanding commercial relations" with Niger. The prime minister indicated he believed that meant they wanted to buy uranium. The meeting took place, but because such trade would violate international sanctions, the prime minister "let the matter drop."

For further illumination -- this is not in the report, I just add it for clarification -- Niger's two main exports are uranium and goats. Iraq has goats.

That should indicate what it was Iraq was seeking through those "expanded commercial relations."

Read the report yourself, if you wish. You can find it here.

The Illustrated Strunk and White

Strunk and White's classic primer on good writing, The Elements of Style, now comes in a illustrated edition, NPR reports.

Of all the books I've read on writing well, this one is indispensible. Simply reviewing the table of contents will make you a better writer.

The illustrations typically render the examples given in the book to describe the grammar or punctuation rule the authors were expressing.

Although it sounds like a strange concept, the description of it on NPR actually was quite compelling.

The opera based on book, however, um, I dunno about that.

Senate Dems Stamp Feet, Hold Breath Until Blue

In what can only be described as a tantrum, Senate Democrats called for a closed session yesterday to demand that a bipartisan committee pursue the second phase of an investigation of pre-war intelligence on Iraqi WMD, Reuters reported.

Problem was, the committee was already scheduled to meet next week to do just that.

It's kind of hard to imagine anyone more politically tonedeaf than Congressional Democrats right now.

At a time when the president is in a rough patch and preparing to vet a Supreme Court nominee, presumably giving the Democrats some political capital, they squander it on a stunt like this.

Now they've pissed off their Republican colleagues, who are in the majority and will simply roll over them.

As we often say at my house when someone pulls off a real bonehead play: smooth move, Exlax.

They had to destroy the reef to save it

Greenpeace was fined nearly $7,000 after its flagship Rainbow Warrior II rammed a coral reef in the Philippines, Reuters reports.

The eco organization blamed inaccurate charts for the accident.

Yeah right -- who was running this boat, the Skipper and Gilligan?

The incident occurred during a four-month tour by the ship to raise awareness about global warming and promote renewable energy.

It was not immediately clear how ramming a historic coral reef in a national park helped accomplish either of those goals.

Sort of like when PETA gets caught killing (murdering?) puppies and throwing the carcasses in a dumpster.

I love irony.

Sixth Birthday -- Toy Stories

Birthday party for my six-year-old on Saturday -- we had about a half-dozen five- and six-year-olds running around the house for about two hours.

Now I know how hostages must feel after they're released.

Halloween costumes were the wardrobe -- we ended up with a Buzz Lightyear, a dog, a pirate, two Batmans and two Spidermans.

All the toys were of a similar theme -- Mighty Freerange Nugent Morphin' Teenage Action Megazoid Robot Combat Heroes, or something.

And why, oh why, do all these toys have to come with a ba-zillion microscopic pieces that get lost the instant the package is opened?

Anyway, the kids had fun, and I suppose that's all that really matters.

Plame Grand Jury Serves Up Nothingburger

Airball!

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald had VP aide Scooter Libby charged with forgetting when he first heard Valerie Plame's name, CNN ostensibly reports.

That's the substance of the five-count indictment delivered today -- no charges that either Libby or Karl Rove leaked Plame's secret CIA identity to reporters.

Why indict anyone at all? Well you don't spend two years and a kajillion dollars on an investigation without indicting SOMEONE for SOMETHING.

A pity for Libby, and to Fitzgerald's shame.

The crux of the charges is that Libby's own notes indicate he knew about Plame earlier than he testified.

Heck, most people can't remember what they had for dinner last night (uh, chicken and kielbasa, french fries and a green salad. And cupcakes for dessert -- it was my youngest son's birthday).

Grill anyone relentlessly on the details of things happening up to two years ago and they're bound to err somewhere in their recollection.

(Hint: If Libby were truly trying to lie, don't you think he would have edited his own notes?)

Having worked for and with the media for more than 20 years I can tell it's a standard and fairly transparent practice to slide something out on a Friday afternoon if you've got nothing and hope no one will notice.

Fitzpatrick says the investigation will continue, much like O.J.'s search for the "real" killer, no doubt.

Make no mistake, this is a complete failure for Fitzgerald, for former Ambassador Joe Wilson and anti-Bush factions.

News Shocker: Russia and France Deep in Saddam's Pocket!

A report released today indicates that 4,700 companies participating in the Oil-For-Food program made massive kickbacks to Saddam Hussein, the New York Times says.

And most of the companies benefiting from the resulting sweetheart deals for oil were from -- France and Russia.

You know, the "we don't really think there's a very good reason to invade Iraq" France and Russia.

Okay, so maybe not much of a surprise.

Still trying to figure out how the Germans missed out on all that boodle.

Also implicated in the scandal -- although not in this latest report -- are officials of the U.N. themselves as well as family members, including the son of U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan.

Interesting also to note that while oil was flowing out of Iraq and money was flowing into Saddam's pocket, 5,000 children under the age of five were starving to death every month -- children who were supposed to be fed through the Oil-For-Food Program.

In case you were wondering why we're in Iraq, there's another reason.

American Deaths in Iraq: In Perspective

The number of American servicemen and women killed in Iraq has passed the 2,000 mark, the Associated Press reports.

We owe every single one of them a tremendous debt of gratitude -- their courageous sacrifices are bringing freedom to oppressed people and making our nation and our world safer from terrorism.

What's perhaps most startling to me, though, is not how high the number of deaths is, but how low compared to other conflicts and events.

A few examples:

-- There were roughly 8.5 million soldiers killed in World War I

-- Eighty-four million people were killed in World War II
-- Fourteen hundred American soldiers and sailors were killed in the D-Day
invasion
-- In the rehearsal for D-Day, 800 soldiers were killed
-- On Iwo Jima, 6,800 Americans were killed.

-- There were 4,400 American battle deaths in the American Revolution

-- There were close to 500,000 Union and Confederate deaths during the Civil War

-- There were 35,000 servicemember deaths during the Korean War

-- There were 58,000 American deaths during the Vietnam War

These numbers in no way diminish the loss of American servicemen and women in Iraq. But they do illustrate that the cost of freedom is never cheap and is often much more expensive.

The Quagmire's Constitution

Iraq has a constitution, Reuters reports, in a story headlined "Iraq voters approve U.S.-backed Constitution."

I love that -- U.S.-backed. Like it's a curse word.

"Those dirty, rotten, no good, #$@%&$*! Americans -- forcing freedom, justice and democracy on people who don't want it."

Or, are they implying, don't deserve it?

Reuters says the voting split typically along sectarian lines -- Kurds and Shiites overwhelmingly in favor, Sunnis overwhelmingly opposed.

Sunnis leaders also typically denounced the results, took their ball and went home. Or, more likely, took their explosive belt and went to the closest market or mosque.

Don't know what the deal is with these Sunnis. If the whole thing unravels into full-scale civil war, they will likely be the losers. They make up only 20 percent of the population and occupy the most resource-poor part of the country.

Even I can do that math -- does the name "Custer" mean anything to them.

Two for Personal Responsbility

Two big wins in Congress this week for personal responsibility.

First, Congress approved a bill saying crime victims can't sue gun makers and dealers if criminals use guns to commit crimes, unless there is direct criminal or negligent behavior by the makers or sellers, AP reports.

For example, if a manufacturer ships a gun to a dealer, who legally sells it to someone, and the gun is then stolen and used in the crime, the manufacturer and the dealer are not liable.

If the maker or dealer were to sell the guns illegally, however, they would be.

Score one for common sense.

Also, the House of Representatives passed a bill saying people who eat too many cheeseburgers and get fat cannot sue the fast food restaurants that sold the burgers, Reuters reports.

Now, if McDonald's sold the burgers illegally...

No, that's just silly.

No bill in the Senate yet, and a similar bill failed last year.

Babysteps, babysteps.

SUV Sales Slump

Bloomberg reports that Ford is showing a slump SUV sales in response to gas prices, possibly putting a crimp in earnings.

This appears to validate the trend for the industry, and it's probably just as well.

It may force the carmakers to make more fuel-efficient vehicles or cars that use alternative fuels like gasohol.

Before anyone accuses me of being a quiche-eating, dirt-worshipping treehugger, let me say there is a strategic reason for this (beyond the environmental concerns, which I do believe are valid).

The Chinese and Indian economies are growing at a phenomenal rate and with that growth comes a voracious, growing appetite for petroleum-based fuels. Within 10 years, we're going to be head-to-head with them for petroleum, with the product going to the highest bidder.

So it's a good time for us to be decreasing our dependency on petroleum now, by developing more fuel-efficient vehicles and alternative fuels.

And don't tell me it's too hard and too expensive -- gasohol (20 percent gasoline, 80 percent alcohol) is actually cheaper than gasoline and they're doing it in Brazil, where 80 percent of the vehicles can use either gasoline or gasohol.

Ethanol-based fuels also come from renewable resources -- you can make it from corn, wheat, rice, sugar cane, virtually anything you can make sugar from.

We should have started doing this years ago, but consumers were to complacent and didn't demand it, so the carmakers didn't do anything about it.

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Checking the Vote

Officials are checking unusually high vote tallies in some districts within Iraq from the plebiscite on the national constitution, the Associated Press reports.

While democracy-haters here and abroad will use this to label the whole election a sham, some things for the rational to consider:

-- That some irregularities may have occured is not unusual in any election, particularly in a country so new to democracy, where stuffing the ballotbox was formerly the national pastime;

-- The fact that anyone is even examing the results is progress in a country like Iraq -- actual checks and balances, as opposed to the openly fixed "elections" conducted by Saddam;

-- Those in favor had little to gain from cheating, since the polls showed that the constitution would pass overwhelmlingly anyway -- Kurds and Shiites, who make up 80 percent of the popultion, favor the constitution by a large margin:

-- On the other hand, Sunni factions opposed to the constitution have everything to gain from crying "foul" and trying to spoil the election.

We'll see where this goes, but I doubt the results will be overturned.

Bad News from Iraq

...if you're an antiwar freak, that is.

Reuters is reporting that voting has been relatively peaceful and sucessful, with few terrorist attacks.

Even the U.N. -- those incredibly spineless, dictator-colluding, oil-for-food program cheats -- called the elections "incredibly peaceful."

Some bullying, pushing and shoving has been reported in Sunni areas, but that's pretty much to be expected -- they lost power when Saddam was ousted. They stand to lose more, though, if the constitution isn't approved, which is why some Sunni leaders have actually encouraged their followers to vote in favor of it.

Meanwhile, in the maddog antiwar camp, activists expressed dismay over the results.

"I was hoping for a few more carbombings, maybe a public beheading or two, just to discourage the voters," said Miranda "Midge" Kerfloffle, co-chairperson of the United for Peace and Justice Every Other Tuesday Womyn's Brunch Collective. "*Sigh* I don't know what to do -- freedom will spread through the Middle East and my beloved terrorists will have no support and nowhere to hide. That would mean George Bush was right, and I can't bear the thought of that."

Okay, I totally made the quote up.

Head Cases: The Good and the Bad

....we'll leave out the ugly for now.

I love headlines. I love reading them. I love writing them.

It's kind of an artform -- with just a few short words, a well-crafted, clever headline can draw the reader in quickly.

Or not.

That brings me -- again -- to the front page of my own Danbury News-Times today, which contained a real mixture of good and not-so-good heads.

Top of the page was a story about the effects of our recently rainy spell titled:

"Serious Flooding Fails To Materialize"

Boy...that's a little underwhelming. Kind of falls in the same category as "Man DOESN'T Bite Dog" and "School Board Tables Resolution."

No inspiration there? How about "Town Escapes Flooding" Or "Don't Build That Ark"?

They did better farther down the page.

There was "Illegal Fireworks Case Still Sizzling," about a guy around the corner from me who got boosted this summer for having, like, a ton of fireworks at his house.

And, on the story I wrote about this morning (below), there was "Face Off" with the subhead "Ridgefield GOP Web site showed Democratic women as hags, Republicans as beautiful."

Dem's some Senstive Dems

My local newspaper, the Danbury News-Times, ran a front-page story today about a Web page put up by a radio commenator Neil Boortz showing flattering pictures of attractive female GOP members, contrasted with some rather horrible pictures of Democratic women.

(I know the image at left is hard to see -- you can see it full-size here.)

Some local Republicans apparently linked to the images, and that has local Dems all a-dither.

Okay, okay, I love this -- this is my imitation of the local Democratic reaction:

*lower lip quivering* (sniff) You're being really, really mean to us!

Granted, this is pretty hamhanded stuff -- not to my taste.

In fact, I'll go as far as to say I think this stuff is pretty counterproductive and adds nothing of substance to the political dialogue. That's why I don't listen to folks like Boortz or Rush Limbaugh or the like.

But this is a clear case of whose ox has been gored. I mean, when did the Dems become so thin-skinned?

These are the same people who hosted a NY fundraiser a year ago where celebrity after celebrity mounted the stage and shrieked obscenities at George Bush. The best part -- at the end Johns Kerry and Edwards got up and espoused their belief in "strong American values."

And these same Democrats sent 100,000 howling imbeciles into the streets of New York City last year with the express intent of disrupting the Republican National convention.

But they get upset about an unflattering Web site.

And if you think those are isolated occurences, give a daily listen to the crap spewing from Air America.

Message to Dems: Get a grip. Unbunch those petticoats. And try not to be so overly sensitive AND hypocritical.

Chopper Aid to Pakistan

U.S. assistance to earthquake-ravaged Pakistan could help improve America's image in South Asia, just as it did in Indonesia after the tsunami earlier this year, reports The Washington Post.

So far about $50 million in U.S. aid has gone to earthquake relief, some of it in the form of 38 American military helicopters being brought in from Afghanistan to fly in supplies and evacuate injured Pakistanis to hospitals.

We're not providing aid to improve our image -- we're doing it because of who we are. But if we get a little image uplift along the way, that can't be a bad thing.

That we're providing such aid to countries with large Muslim populations tends to undercut claims by Muslim extremist organizations like Al Qaida that America is an enemy of Islam.

Important to note, so far Al Qaida has sent no helicopters or any other assistance to their brothers and sisters in Pakistan.

Anyone for New Band?

Reports are coming out that the DeLeo brothers of STP have formed a new group with Filter singer Richard Patrick and David Lee Roth drummer Ray Luzier.

No word yet on when their CD will be out, but the presumptive name of the new band is Army of Anyone.

Rob DeLeo is one of my favorite bass players, and I love Dean's guitar playing, so I'm looking forward to what they'll come up with.

The suckiest job at the New York Times...

...has to be that of Public Editor Byron Calame. His job is to restore the public 's faith in the credibility of the Times by being the reader's advocate -- if you see something not right (or wrong) in the Times, he's the guy you go to to set things right.

One would think that the editorial staff would, therefore, see him as an ally -- someone who's looking out for the longstanding reputation of their beloved institution.

One would be wrong.

Read this recent column by Calame, discussing calls for a correction on a story about, of all people, Geraldo Rivera and whether he "nudged" someone out of the way to help a disabled person in New Orleans after the hurricane.

The discussion itself is amusing enough -- heck, anything with Rivera and the New York Times in it together is gonna be darn funny. But what's particularly telling is how the Times editorial staff treats Calame.

Reporter Alessandra Stanley refuses to review the videotapes of the alleged incident with Calame. Mind you, these are the very tapes that will determine whether or not she got it right or wrong.

Editor Bill Keller replies derisively -- via email -- that no correction is warranted, implying that because of who Rivera is (an obnoxious, grandstanding loudmouth -- my words, not Keller's) and his violent reaction to the story, anything he does is open to interpretation.

Translation -- you can say anything you want about people you don't like without regard to the actual facts if you're the New York Times.

Pretty disturbing. In the wake of the various journalistic lapses and calamities that have occurred over the past few years -- including at the New York Times -- you'd think the editorial staff would take their credibility and reputation more seriously, that they would view Calame as a protector and friend.

Somehow, I imagine Calame spends a lot his noon hours sitting alone at the lunchtable.

No wonder trust in the traditional media is in continuous decline.

Eden Delivers!

So I got a call from the Guitarhangar on Friday -- turns out Eden had shipped a brand-new 15" speaker to replace the one I blew a couple weeks ago.

I picked it up on Saturday, took it home and installed it in the cabinet -- just like new. Broke it in for a few hours, playing through it and then running a line from a boombox at a moderate volume -- Eden recommends this, to seat the voice coil and work off any rough edges.

Used it last night and it sounded great.

Very impressed with the service -- I expected Eden to recone the blown speaker and send it back, which would have been within their rights under the warranty. Sending a new speaker was above and beyond and much appreciated.

Thanks to Rick at Guitarhangar for taking care of the return (and interceding with Eden) and to Eden for great service -- they obviously care about what they make and sell.

Agenda? What Agenda?

Low polling scores for the president, the War on Terror, the Tom Delay and Bill Frist ethics squabbles, and handling of Hurricane Katrina have all caused trouble for the Republicans, writes Gloria Borger in U.S. News and World Report this week.

You'd think the Democrats could make some serious hay and major headway in that kind of environment, but they aren't.

Why? Because they offer no meaningful, intelligent alternative, says Gloria.

"Today's Democratic agenda is somewhere between hate for George W. Bush and disdain for George W. Bush," she says."That's not enough for a party looking to revive itself as a governing entity. People already know what they are voting against; they need to know what they're voting for."

In the next elections, as many as 70 seats in Congress could be up for grabs, and the next presidential election is anything but a sure thing.

But unless the Dems can get their feet under them, I don't think they have much of a shot.

Consider that they've elected Howlin' Howard Dean -- the man THEY decided was too crazy to be president -- as their party chief. His first public statement after taking the post was "I hate Republicans and everything they stand for."

Yeah, that's some real intelligent, progressive thinking there. You betcha.

And they consider their best hope for the presidency to be Hillary Clinton -- yeah, like that's gonna happen.

Oh, back to the president's poll numbers -- boy, isn't it refreshing to have a president who doesn't manage his decisions by the fickle polls, but instead does what he thinks is right?

PeaceNik Shocker: Iraqis WANT Democracy!

Polling shows that 79 percent of Iraqis favor the new constitution being written by their first democratically elected government since whenever, reports Reuters.

The polls showed that even among Sunnis approval runs at 50 percent, indicating that the political split between Sunnis and Shiites might not be as bad as previously believed.

The story continues that Iraqis are weary of both the sectarian infighting and the violence commited by Al Qaeda terrorists, and simply want to have a stable government and to live in peace.

Antiwar activists expressed shock, anger, confusion and grief at the news.

"Why, we just generally assumed Iraqis LIKED being murdered, brutalized and tortured by the sadistic maniacs," said Richard "Woot" Slakey, spokesman for A.N.S.W.E.R. "I mean, who wouldn't want their 12-year-old daughter raped by a platoon of the Saddam Fedayeen? Huh, by golly, it's a puzzler."

"It seems pretty clear that the Iraqis have been duped by zionist-aggressor American occupiers into accepting this so-called "constitution" in a pathetic attempt to establish a "free" country," said Clarette Blivious, member of the Community Brunch Committee of United for Peace and Justice. "You'd think they'd have been content to be slaves under the boot of a vicious dictator, citizens of a rogue, outlaw nation that oppressed its minorities, supported global terror and hid illegal chemical and biological weapons. But NOOOOOOOOOO...they make me sick!"

Other "peace" activists reported such symptoms as dizziness, headache, plantar warts, anemia, uncontrollable weeping, serious doubt about the moral rightness of their views, and projectile diarrhea.

Note: I made up everything after the third paragraph.

Cars Suck -- Chrysler T&C In for Repairs

Got the wife's van in for repairs today -- bad news, needs a steering rack and power steering pump.

Gonna be $1,100 and take at least two days to get the parts and complete the repair.

This on a 2001 Chrysler Town & Country AWD minivan that's been treated like a baby -- I have assiduously followed the maintenance schedule for this car. And it's only got 77K miles on it.

My opinion of Chrysler has been greatly diminished by this vehicle. In the four years we've owned it, it's been in for a long series of repairs that I can only attribute to poor engineering and selection of inadequate materials.

Lessee, there was the armrest that snapped off, and the cupholders in the back that broke within the first month.

We had a seat brace on the driver's seat break and a Macpherson strut that leaked, but they were covered under warranty, so no sweat.

Then there was the oxygen sensor that burned out when the cable came loose and shorted out against the exhaust manifold. I think that was couple-three hundred bucks.

There was the power window actuator on the driver's door -- another $250 or so.

There's also a power lock solenoid on one of the rear doors that only works intermittently -- can't wait to find out what that's gonna cost.

And did I mention this thing goes through tires and brakes like I go through toilet paper?

We also own a '94 Dodge Caravan, 150K + miles and still runs like a top -- it's up on blocks right now, waiting for my daughter to get her license. Never had a lick of trouble from that other than normal maintenance. I did have to replace the tranny at 120K miles, but hey, what do expect from a car that old.

Can't figure what Chrysler did between 1994 and 2001 to diminish the quality of its vehicles, but I'll bet it could be summed up as: cost cutting.

I'll tell ya, I'm thinking one word for the next time I buy a van, and it's not "Chrysler."

It's "Toyota."

Tragedy at Lake George

Twenty-one people killed, many of them senior citizens, when a tour boat capsized on Lake George yesterday, Newsday reports.

It's still not clear what happened, but the supposition is that the boat hit the wake of a larger boat.

We used to visit Lake George occasionally when we lived up in the Albany, NY, area -- swimming, boating, and we even took one of the scenic boat tours once, although not on the boat that flipped over.

So sad and tragic.

Losing New Orleans -- It was in the Plan

Losing New Orleans to a major hurricane wasn't a disaster -- it was the plan, says Jonathan Rauch.

Interesting observations, research and analysis -- worth reading.

The inadequacy of the New Orleans levee system has actually been known since 1927, but for close to 80 years no one did anything about it.