Dear George:

NO, IT DOESN'T HELP, you self-important, under-achieving, arrogant, smarmy, smart-ass son-of-a-bitch!!! (and I mean that last part literally.)

My son is in Iraq. His wife will give birth to their first child in two weeks without him. This is our family's third deployment. My friend's sons are in Iraq. Their friend's sons are in Iraq. Some of them have died. What does it take to make this miserable excuse for a human being to realize that he has created a catastrophe which has made him the executioner-in-chief of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi's and nearly three thousand men and women who have been marched off, not to fight for "freedom", but to fight Bush's botched war of hubris, vanity, and "percieved" opportunity to reinvent himself as the leader he never was.

That he is so unwilling to shoulder any responsibility for this is outrageous enough. That he thinks it's a joke is unbelievable. That the "leader" of the free world refuses to engage in serious and intelligent dialogue about this situation is beyond sad.

And the idea that "he" will mull over reports from any number of sources at his leisure before he finds one that toadies to his egomaniacal views is folly. People are dying today. His time for "mulling" over options is long since over.

Maybe he's just waiting for the white paper on Iraq from God to arrive.

For all the men and women whose lives he has so foolishly and dispassionately taken...I'll say it once more. No, you lousy excuse for a human being...your public disdain for the cost of your war DOESN'T HELP. You bastard.

Although it's not the biggest news, thanks for noticing Rumsfeld's extraordinary finger in the eye of the public who vehemently wanted him out, and the military who hate him.

Let's see. Major accomplishments. He sent soldiers and marines to war improperly equipped and denied it. When he was shown to be a liar, he simply ignored it. He has gutted the military with his wet dream of a down-and-dirty small superforce by concocting and prolonging a situation where the troops have been re-deployed, stop-lossed and hurried through rotations to the point of exhaustion. He has created a graveyard of military equipment in Iraq, and left the troops at the lowest state of preparedness in our history. He has cavalierly dismissed the cost in loss of life and limb, and has disrespected the sacrifices of our troops by not fighting to get them the support they need in the field, and when they return. He has ignored the advice of military men whose job it is to manage the war and the troops. It will take generations, if ever, to undo the damage he has done.

That he dares to take a victory lap and high-five the troops in Iraq is so egocentric, it defies understanding. Unless you've been watching the job performance appraisals of the entire Bush band of incompetents.

Heckuva job, Rummy. There's probably a Presidential medal waiting for you when you get home.

The agenda the newly minted Democratic majority has outlined for it's "debut" is a good solid take on the things that are impacting the quality of life for average Americans. The same things that the Republican majority have had on their list of "not gonna happen", because they have been representing corporate America. We're making progress..or at least we've switched to the track that runs to progress.

Activists need to give them a chance to do their job. On domestic policy. On Iraq. On everything. However, it was wrong of Walter Shapiro to interpret Cindy Sheehan's interruption of Rahm Emmanuel as "blaming the Democrats" for the state of things. I don't think anyone is blaming them. Everyone, however is concerned that they get the message loud and clear that they need to listen, and act. Face it, in the recent past, apart from Jack Murtha, they have been less than courageous in taking a stand. So yes, activists need to remind them and put their feet to the fire.

But no, Cindy Sheehan and others shouldn't interfer with their efforts to bring change by in-your-face distractions. It's counterproductive.

And finally, no, no, Mr. Shapiro, wanting to make sure your voice is by the people with power is not the same as "blaming them." Bush and his cronies should be so lucky!

Bush, Biden, Kagan, Generals, Congress et al, can debate all they want about a surge, but the reality is that they are not talking about fresh, rested, trained "top of the line" new troops to go in and kick some insurgent butt. They are talking about stop-loss and extended tours, accelerated rotations and curtailed training. The "additional troops" are the same troops who have been risking their lives and wearing down their physical and mental strength for four years.

This is the reality. It's time someone started talking about that, rather than pontificating about "how many" troops we should send in.

In an unprecedented move,(the nearest thing was active military publishing a full page letter in the NY Times during the Vietnam War), a hefty group of active duty military (including senior officers) have signed an "appeal to redress" to Congress asking to bring troops home. They did this at great risk. The military believes in retribution not only for failing to toe the line, but for questioning it, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that suggests the contrary.

No one knows the reality or futility of this charade better than the boots on the ground. If the most invested and dedicated of the people associated with the war in Iraq say "get out"...the White House should be listening rather than trying to save Bush's failed "legacy" at the expense of more troop lives.