I shouldn't have left them out...so before anyone reminds me...

I include them in those who are suffering, and would suffer more if one of these idiots were to succeed George W. Bush as the world-wide king of unnecessary bloodshed and illegal and immoral torture.

Would strap a large caged dog to the roof of his car...

Would get authorities to treat his son's sadistic behavior as a mission of mercy...

Would ditch his wife and family for someone who is capable of torturing dogs for a good sales presentation.

Yes it does matter. It speaks to character and judgement. To moral interpretation and arrogance. Perhaps the headline was misleading. This is not about cute puppie mishaps, or slight lapses of common sense.

Jeffrey Daumer tortured animals as a child. Imagine if someone had thought that was really significant. The idea that an in-your-face "Christian" and minister like Huckabee would countenance this behavior in his son without seeking help is disturbing, but not surprising.

The fact that Mitt Romney would think it is good management to hose off a terrified dog and hit the road again speaks volumes about his disregard for life and his sense of cosmic superiority. And the fact that he regards his sons' missionary work as comparable to soldiers fighting in Iraq fits right in with his views about defenseless animals who depend on him.

These are soul-less people.

And it does matter. It really does. George Bush is a soul-less person, too. And the blood on his hands is the unsurprising outcome of someone having no regard for life other than his own and those of his little self-important circle.

When the Saudi king "pardoned" a victim of gang rape, W's reaction was not of outrage in general, but he tied it to what he would feel if it were one of his girls. That's the only way he could process the horror of a cultural nightmare, by making it about him. I would imagine that if he didn't have the twins to provide an emotional framework, he wouldn't have been moved to comment at all.

I am a military mom...I'll be damned if people like these should ever have the power to inflict their lack of humanity on our troops again. (or on the rest of us, for that matter)

because they already do. The opportunistic little weasel duped the voters in Connecticut into sending him back to Washington. He's a liar and a cheat. And now the McCain endorsement is just one more public finger in the eye of the people Joe Lieberman despises....the people he was elected to represent.

Joe Lieberman and Clarence Thomas should take a cruise together and celebrate with their favorite whine...how everybody "done them wrong" and how sweet revenge is. Ha! Take that, people.

Small men. Big damage.

"He never spoke of it to me. I had to learn it all from the After Action Reports and the Daily Journals with their hour by hour radio logs I got from the National Archives. I understood too late, because he had passed away, the reasons why he was they way he was, sometimes violently angry, sometimes depressed, almost always carrying something inside him that could not be shared with anyone. The acronym PTSD had not been coined back then. It was very hard on us kids. We never knew. We thought we had displeased him and his behavior was our fault."

Holy crap!! Me too. My father was in the Pacific. Never talked to anyone about it, but came home a depressed and violent alcoholic, and according to family friends, a completely altered person. Died of it at the age of 54, fighting demons no one else understood, until the end.

And here we go again.

Maybe you've seen this...but anyone who wants a real look at what our troops are going through should read this and think about it as the people who are fueling this absurdity go Christmas shopping as usual. It makes you really wonder how any of the people who constructed this war can claim they sleep at night.

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121407I.shtml

those that can't, criticize. And they don't even do that particularly well.

That old saw seems to have reached its zenith when it comes to the topic of military service. Shame on you.

Happy Holidays, and a better New Year. (and a Democratic Pres. in my stocking, please)

Best,

Nita

I'm just sayin'... I am left with few simple pleasures and a lot of rage, which is why I just love your opinionated self to bits. So I have to defend my fluffy indulgence. My comments weren't about you. Sometimes it's about me. :-)

Let my puffins go.

I don't care if it makes sense. I don't care if it's shop worn. I don't care if it has deeper meaning.

As long as there is a big-nosed puffin in a shower cap, on a meadow under a tree, under the stars, in a skimmer, he will make me smile. No other raison d'etre required.

The smile has been ripped from my face almost permanently by the deplorable state of nearly everything. But just the sight of Opus makes me smile. And has for decades. It's good to look out through a brain dead simpleton's eyes once in a while and enjoy the pure act of unencumbered subtle amusement without the burning need for soul-searing "meaning". The hit-or-miss of pithy political commentary is a welcome but totally unnecessary bonus for me.

Everybody should be allowed to suck their thumb and twirl their hair once in a while. If that's what Opus has become for some of you who don't want any rage downtime, then for God's sake, turn away. But leave the rest of us in peace to be quietly amused or gently pissed.

If Opus can inspire raging debate and anger, we are all in need of the world's largest cocktail. Pass the bourbon eggnog, please.