And Now, Back to the War, Again

I must admit, that when Seamus first posted about Sebastian Mallaby's column on the civil war in Iraq, I was not convinced that pulling out right away was the right thing to do. I felt--and still feel--that we have a responsibility to the Iraqi people to help them rebuild their country. You know, the one that we destroyed?

But today, the swift kick of common sense caught me squa, and the wearer of the hobnailed boot of Justice (I like my metaphors shaken, not stirred) was quite an unlikely person: none other than Michael Moore. Yeah, yeah, I know.

In case you live in a cave (I'd like to give a big shout out to my man Osama! Just call in and let us know your address so that we can send you the special 40 megatonne prize!), the very mention of Michael Moore's name is enough to send a shiver through the spine of most American liberals. Speaking for myself at least, I agree with Mike about 75% of the way, on most issues. It is just the other 25% percent that I find troubling. He is a propagandist, basically. Whether the fact that he is a propagandist on "our" side is a good or bad thing is something that I have not yet been able to determine. I guess it is a good thing, since the other side fights dirty (yes, Fox News and CNN, I'm talking to you), maybe we are better off having a guy who knows his way around truthiness on our team as well.

In any case, here is the letter than convinced me that we need to get out of Iraq now, entitled "Cut and Run, the Only Brave Thing to Do".

Town bans flying foreign flags

This is just too unbelievable... I guess all politics is local. How right they are!

Pelosi First Female Speaker of the House!

Just a heart attack and well-placed pretzel from Madame President! :)

Not politics - but are you freakin' kidding me?

This is just disgusting.

ALLEN CONCEDES!!!

News at 11...

Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory

Of the coming of the Dems! Or at least the leaving of the GOP.

More interesting commentary on the midterm elections can be found over at Politics Schmolitics, or on your television thanks to "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report", but I'd just like to express my appreciation to my fellow Americans for booting the party of War, Graft, Morality of the Do-As-I-Say-Not-As-I-Do variety, Pomposity, and Arrogance out of Congress (and probably the Senate too, though the results are still out as of right now).

I hope this can be a new beginning for America. Let's start trying to undo the damage that has been done to the reputation of our great country. Let's go back to our Boy Scout roots and strive to leave this planet cleaner than we found it. Let's beat the fundamentalists back the only way we can, with the force of our ideas, not of our arms. Let's raise wages in America, hold corporations accountable for their behaviour, do away with the tax loopholes that help the rich while strangling the middle class.

In short, let's make America great again. Let's remake the country into what we claim it is: a shining city on a hill, the last hope of freedom.

Speaker Pelosi and the big tent D's

A show of hands...

I'm curious to know what feelings our D-leaning Schmoliticians have for Pelosi. Granted, she has been cast as a villain in the eyes of most of the R universe, but where does she fit in from the vantage of the D's?

Is she what you want? Some may think that such a (potentially) polarizing Speaker would help another R victory in the White House.

She's been a very loud minority party leader. Will she have to change her tone to keep it together, or shall the lefty-left keep marching on with this new momentum?

She's certainly going to be more interesting than Hastert. She'd have to be.

So, is she good for the Democrat Party? Is she good for America? What say you D Schmoloticians?

Breaking News by Budlong

Rumsfeld is stepping down as Secretary of Defense. A couple of days late, if you ask me. Film at 11:00.

Republicans at it again...this time in Ol' Virginnie!

Its sad they don't feel they can win an election without this sort of thing. Can't they just rely on atrocious redistricting like Texas?

Although it does explain why Ryan, Randy, and Clay's phones have been busy all day... :)

Prognostications?

I'm taking a straw poll, now through let's say 5pm tomorrow (Tuesday) afternoon, of Schmoliticians:

Q: Will the Dems take majorities in both the House and the Senate?

Q: Who you think will win the Senate races in Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, and Missouri?

Q: Who will win Maryland's gubernatorial election -- Martin O'Malley (D) or Bob Ehrlich (R)?

G-O-T-(educated)-V

Here's a funny test to see you you are qualified to vote tomorrow:



After submitting your answers, the results page compares you with the rest of the respondents. I expect all Schmoliticians to earn A+ (w/o Googling, of course!)

Happy voting!

And Now, Back to the War

Sebastian Mallaby's column today in the Washington Post is a spinless, sober snapshot analysis of where we are right now, as a nation, with and in Iraq. Worth reading, especially for the historical and statistical analyses of other intrastate wars (civil wars).

I believe we should and must withdraw from Iraq now, to precipitate the inevitable civil sectarian conflict there -- and admittedly, the horrific bloodshed which is sure to follow it -- and to motivate the other international powers to committing troops and resources to stabilizing the situation.

Thoughts?

Bad taste or creative genius?

I'm not sure if any of you have heard about this movie, Death of A President, but it's a fictional retrospective of President Bush's assassination on October 19, 2007. While I think the idea is certainly unique and groundbreaking, I feel I must question the tastefulness of the subject matter. While I aggressively defend the rights entitled under the First Amendment, I do feel, frankly, sickened, that someone would dramatize a fictional assassination of a sitting president of our country, or even the assassination of any living, breathing human being for that matter. I am very curious to see what you guys have to say regarding this film. I have included a link to the short trailer. http://www.apple.com/trailers/newmarket/deathofapresident/

Gotta love God's sense of humor...

Bittersweet irony so thick you could eat it up like ice cream. I'm still waiting for James Dobson.