So I am reading the grammar link that Glenn gave on the other writing question and I stumbled over this:

Bad writing is often wimpy writing. Don't be afraid to be blunt. Consider things like "There appear to be indications that the product heretofore referred to may be lacking substantial qualitative consummation, suggesting it may be incommensurate with the standards previously established by this department": what's wrong with "It's bad" or "It doesn't work"? Of course you should be sensitive to your reader's feelings — there's no need to be vicious or crude, and saying "It sucks" won't win you many friends — but don't go too far in the opposite direction. Call 'em as you see 'em. [Revised 15 December 2006.]

I was thinking that the very last part on their no need to be crude or vicious might be something to recall as we discuss politics. I am going to use the presidents name in a paragraph in a post in a few minutes without being overly crude or vicious. Just hold your breath a few seconds as I think up some way to do it. :-)

http://www.counterpunch.org/weir07292008.html

By ALISON WEIR

On June 26th a young Palestinian photojournalist named Mohammed Omer was returning home from a triumphant European tour.

In London he had been awarded the 2008 Martha Gellhorn Prize for journalism – the youngest recipient ever and one of the few non-Britons ever to receive the prestigious prize.

In Greece he had been given the 2008 journalism award for courage by the Union of Greek Journalists and had been invited to speak before the Greek parliament.

In Britain, the Netherlands, Greece, and Sweden he had met with Parliament Members and been interviewed on major radio and TV stations.

In the US several years before, he had been named the first recipient of the New America Media’s Best Youth Voice award.

In an Israeli border facility he was violently strip-searched at gunpoint, forced to do a grotesque sort of dance while completely naked, assaulted, taunted about his awards and his ethnicity, and finally, when Israeli officials feared he might have been fatally injured, taken by ambulance to a Palestinian hospital; if he died, it would not be while in Israeli custody.

As readers may have already guessed, Israel was not part of Omer’s speaking tour.

AP, in its over 60 reports from the region in the following week never mentioned any of this.

The reason Omer was even in ‘Israel’ (actually, an “immigration terminal” controlled by Israel on occupied Palestinian land in the West Bank) is a simple one: He was simply trying to go from Jordan to his home in the Gaza Strip. Gaza is basically a large concentration camp to which Israel holds the keys. It is extremely difficult for Palestinians to get out. It is just as difficult to get back in. [...]

Much more at link.

This is what is important, not if a Democrat wins and continues our insane foreign policy. When will we stop supporting the madmen on the right who think that slowly killing an entire people is "Israeli defense"?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/
jul/29/food.internationalaidanddevelopment

At first sight the business resembles a thriving pottery. In a dusty courtyard women mould clay and water into hundreds of little platters and lay them out to harden under the Caribbean sun.

The craftsmanship is rough and the finished products are uneven. But customers do not object. This is Cité Soleil, Haiti's most notorious slum, and these platters are not to hold food. They are food.

Brittle and gritty - and as revolting as they sound - these are "mud cakes". For years they have been consumed by impoverished pregnant women seeking calcium, a risky and medically unproven supplement, but now the cakes have become a staple for entire families.

[...]

I still do not know if I believe it and I saw the photographs. Is it possible this is happening in our hemisphere? We invaded those poor folks 5 or 6 times now, and we can not give them a little corn?

Oh, I forgot. We use corn to make gas in this country for our trucks and SUVs. Too bad for the poor. Hey! Was not making corn into gas one of those "great ideas" that the everybody was hailing a few years ago.

A panda walks into a cafe. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a gun and fires two shots in the air.

"Why?" asks the confused waiter, as the panda makes towards the exit. The panda produces a badly punctuated wildlife manual and tosses it over his shoulder.

"I'm a panda," he says at the door. "Look it up."

The waiter turns to the relevant entry and, sure enough, finds and explanation.

"Panda, Large black-and-white bear-like mammal, native to China, Eats, shoots and leaves."

============

I have read her book several times, but little seems to rub off on me I fear.

And to add evidence for your point, yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported that Richard Perle is part of a consortium seeking drilling rights in Iraq and Kazakhstan. The WSJ describes Perle as being one of the "most influential proponents of U.S. military action to oust Iraq's President Hussein."

Here's a version from commondreams.org.

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/07/29/10679/

A million civilians (at the very least) have died due to both parties actions in Iraq. Well, they were poor and Democrats don't really care about the poor; and the Republicans don't even pretend to care for them. Smelly buggers!

One American political party with two brands to make it look like a competitive fight. It is more like pro wrestling, but with real violence.