We're getting a little off-topic here (Heck, I started a little off-topic.), but the narrative that the imperialism in Iraq is decent men (Cheney, Bush, and their ilk) doing dirty, but requisite work, is a story that no one who doesn't watch Fox TV believes. And not even the mass of those who watch Fox TV believe it. If this is really WWIII, as Rove told us and wants us to believe, then Bruce Willis wouldn't be pretending to fight terrorists: he'd be over there, over there. Rove would too. And you. And me. Instead, the military has lowered its standards, accepting gangbangers and felons, and extending tours, it still can't meet recruiting requirements. 'member the real world wars when celebs and children of presidents enlisted? You can pretend that this imperial occupation is noble, but you're smarter than that. My wish upon a star is that at night, Rove tries and tries again to wash the oil from his hands, the oil that only he can see. Actually, I can see it too: he looks like one of those post-Exxon Valdez shorebirds.

And RealName, we'll tussled in the past and it was fun, for you're a smart guy, but leaping to an accusation of "anti-Americanism" is erecting a strawman so big that those sunburnt Burning Man cats are licking their lips and reaching for their matches.

May I marry it?

I suggest that the Republicans don't like their candidates because they don't like Bush. However, they elected Bush, so what they really don't like is their ability to prognosticate based upon campaign stumping. They've learned that they're horribly fallible as voters. They elected a man who sold America to the communists and gave us Vietnam, the Sequel. For the finale, Bush will give us an embassy-top evacuation, which will fall on the shoulders of someone else, for he's likely to be long gone from the Oval Office, hanging at his former pig farm in Texas, cutting brush, while posing and wondering where the photographers went.

The topography between Baghdad and Kuwait is brutal. Finally, all those MIA/You're Not Forgotten black flags might have meaning.

What seems more likely is that we'll flee fast and leave piles of weapons, munitions, and other equipment behind. Of course, of lot of it will be destroyed by our military, but it'll still be hardware lost.

...as Rove is to W. With Rod Sterling whispering into God's ear, those brave and earnest soldiers behind of the wheels of the Hummers would be replaced by the cowardly and disingenuous O'Reilly, Coulter, Rove, W, Limbaugh, Malkin, and the 101st Fighting Keyboardists.

...a trackable way. I'm cowardly in using my moniker, but at least I stand, er, cringe, behind my cowardice.

If the Republican Party is the party of personal responsiblity, then Bush voters, being party members, are personally responsible for Bush.

I once wrote a column on a well-read site and that column infuriated enough folks for them to launch some ICBDs (intercontinental ballistic diatries). I visited one of those sites dedicated to disparaging me, responded under my true name, and noted how many attacked anonymously, which was all very confusing, for I didn't know if I was tussling with one anonymous or 20. Those posters had chucked their make-believe monikers to more freely insult me. So, I correlated aggression and anonymity and I still think that's so. It's similar to how dangerous a crowd can be when each person in the crowd is just one more face in the crowd. If you're going to be a coward, then at least be a 0.5-vertebrate and post under a moniker.

...they are of transwomen and when they dismiss butch lesbians as "women in men's clothing," then I won't dismiss them as people who sacrifice people for the sake of ideological purity.

Radical feminism is predicated upon the assumption that being a woman in a patriarchal society is a very, very bad thing. However, how bad can it be if some Y-chromosomed folks elect to live as women?

I'm not saying that patriarchy doesn't suck and that women don't suffer. It does and they do. However, being a man for some apparently sucks even more...and that reality sucks for some radical feminist assumptions.

...a bowl of living, twining, toothy weasels. Then I have at them and they have at me. Sure, women scream and men faint, but it's impressive. Unfortunately, I only get second dates with survivalists.

But seriously, I don't get why anyone would be that calculating on a date. Do they intend to sustain that magnitude of calculation? If so, they'll be haggard by 45.

I advise, "Don't worry. Be happy."

If you really want "to land a man," dig a pit and cover it with tropical fronds. Men don't watch where they walk.

but once he's in the cave, I'll just put the fronds back in place and walk away, whistling, "Don't worry. Be happy."

...we're all cheaters. We are.

I know I am. I just tried walking on water and ruined a fine pair of shoes.

...off to wage war, when you and yours won't go. However, I think these Republican candidates and the Bush gang have all had their shame glands surgically removed. Remember this is the party whose people mocked Kerry's service and called Murtha a coward. At the clinic where Republicans go to have their shame glands removed, there must be a stinking stack of them the size of a mountain.

I modify "If it bleeds, it leads," to "If you want to lead, be ready to bleed."

A friend was recently invited to the White House and she returned with the menu. All the dishes were French and it was served in waves. I have volunteered at V.A. hospitals. So, while Bush sips his fancy soup, because vets without arms can't flip themselves, their bedsores grow and grow.