...waiting for another swift resolution from the U.S. Congress similar to the "Gen. Betray-us" incident, this time condemning Limbaugh's slap at all those in the armed forces who continue to oppose this war and how it's being fought.

Ranging from basic enlisted men and women up to multi-star generals and admirals, THEY are true profiles in courage, in contrast to this pompous, self-important windbag.

All this does is confirm what we've known for years -- as reported widely in March 2003, here is Dubya's policy statement back in 2002:

"Fuck Saddam. We're taking him out."

Do we REALLY need further confirmation that this President had already decided to attack Iraq and bring down Saddam Hussein? That he was going to do it regardless of what the U.N. did or didn't do? That he didn't particularly care if Iraq had WMDs? That it would be convenient, but not crucial, to have a so-called "Coalition of the Willing" supporting our actions?

No, no, no and no.

It's been well established for years that this cretin and his acolytes had set their sights on Iraq and its leader. At this late, late date, we pretty much know all we need to know about how we got into this debacle.

I'm so tired of this "senior administration official" B.S. that so-called journalists AND their sources both hide behind.

STOP IT, STOP IT *NOW*. I don't give a flying you-know-what about anonymous comments like this. As the old saying goes, those should go straight to the good old circular file -- the trash can beside the desk.

All real journalists should start a refreshing new practice -- anything they publish, ESPECIALLY comments made BY NAME about other public figures, should be sourced, unless it's clearly related to true whistle-blowing.

Otherwise, shut up. Just say NO to requests for unwarranted anonymity.

1. Guiliani is, first and foremost, a POLITICIAN, willing to say and do whatever it takes to get the Republican nomination, and then say and do whatever it takes to win the Presidency in November 2008. No matter that this means flipping from his days as mayor of New York City, or flopping between the primaries and the general election. His integrity and consistency are obviously as flexible as Mitt Romney's or John McCain's, which is sad indeed.

2. Guiliani will get away with it, because the media will never, ever point out this furious and real flip-floppery. Their transformation into megaphones for the right wing's false talking points against Sen. Kerry was utterly sickening in 2004, and their reluctance to hold Republicans to real standards is infuriating now.

It's the line we've always heard about the U.S. Senate. NOBODY could believe that now. What a complete and totally pathetic joke our dysfunctional government has become.

What, then, does this say about all of us? I pray another old saying we've heard for years isn't true -- that we get the government we deserve. If so, maybe we need to hit the re-set button and start all over again, rebuilding and refreshing our democratic republic so it will again be something we can be proud of.

As it is, I'm almost ashamed to be an American -- and that's truly a statement I've never made until this moment.

Golly gee, those WERE the days, weren't they? Back when we really knew how to rule the world? Just recall, if you will, the CIA's Operation Ajax, which in 1953 overthrew a democratically elected Iranian government led by Mohammed Mossadeq, re-installing Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi as ruler. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Gosh, THAT worked so well over the decades, didn't it? By all means, LET'S DO IT AGAIN. AND AGAIN. AND AGAIN.

For those with short memories, or who've never heard of this, just visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax

Happy reading! (Note, please, that this little debacle was all about OIL -- does that fact surprise anyone? Anyone else feeling a profound sense of déjà vu?)

For insulated leaders like George Bush, who always interact with well-screened audiences consisting solely of people who adore and support everything they do, it IS normal and "ordinary" to separate yourself from the real world.

Out of sight, out of mind, as the old saying goes...

...that Dubya's speech last night didn't use one particular word a single time? That word is: VICTORY

Hmmm...what could it mean that "success" or its variants was used 10 times; "progress" was used 6 times; "win" and "hope" only 2 times each -- while VICTORY was totally absent?

Could be he and his speech writers don't know what victory in Iraq means anymore -- but then again, he's used lots of mysterious words in the past. Words like "fully understand", which the Current Occupant has used when discussing problems he obviously does NOT understand at all.

How did Reagan put it at the Republican National Convention back in 1988? "Facts are stupid things." Well, Dubya "fully understands" that words are stupid things too. Meaningless, malleable things that exist only to fill the silence and buy more time.

All the time in the world, or at least until Jan. 20, 2009. Then he can enter blissful retirement, earning $50,000 or more per incoherent speech, while his successor tries to clean up the rotten mess that Iraq will still be.

Oh, THOSE are simply a tiny part of the "small price" John Boehner thinks we should be willing to pay for a stable Iraq.

That's only about 3 deaths per day over the 58-day span, right? Huh -- hardly worth talking about. And as the trolls pointed out during discussion of the death of those two non-coms who protested Iraq policy recently in the New York Times, soldiers die in accidents HERE in the U.S., and nobody cares very much. Let's keep things in perspective, after all.

Now, if we were talking FOUR deaths per day in Iraq, well then you're talking REAL DEATH.