Despite Condi's grandiose list of achievements, watching her performances on various interviews and talk shows reminds me of nothing so much as a poorly prepared grad student trying to bullshit an oral exam committee.

A "flack" jacket is just what is needed to protect us against the kind of spin McCain and Romney are producing -- pure "flackery".

Last I heard, we were still at wr with them!

Last I heard, we were still at war with them!

So, at last, there really is a connection between Iraq & "9/11"!

Do you guys mean funny as in "ha ha" or funny as in peculiar?

Great post by ondelette -- I had forgotten a lot of this history -- no conspiracy theorist could make this stuff up. As I tell my kids, "Perfect paranoia is perfect awareness."

Remember this?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/1/13/51227/2275

So how much does Crocker pay for his haircuts?

Why do Bush, Petraeus & Crocker remind me of the story of "The Little Boy Who Cried Sheep?"

Yes, I felt as though I was re-reading "I, Claudius." -- oh, well, panem et circenses, anyone?

I thought the most chilling announcement in American politics was Bush's announcement of his favorite political philosopher, Jesus, "because he changed my heart" -- but now Josh Bolten's morning greeting takes its place!

Hidden in this awful travesty of a press conference was the Resident's first (only?) admission of error:

Reporter: Can I follow?

Bush: No. I knew I made a mistake calling on you in the first place.

No doubt we can hope for more to follow.

I don't understand why no one is going after Harvey Johnson (the deputy administrator) for going along with this charade (wait -- maybe I do understand -- they found a lower level scapegoat).

The best part was Johnson's answer ("night and day") when asked the difference between FEMA's response to Katrina vs. to the fires -- maybe he should have said "black & white"?

I've been driving a Honda Insight (hybrid) since 2001. I love it. Too bad they aren't making any more. I have consistently gotten 55-60 mpg, have had no problems with the battery (currently 125,000 mileage). It is a 2-seater, so not practical for everyone. I may have to buy gas this month!

I might get a smart car next time if they can improve the mileage:)

What puzzles me is no one mentions the strange coincidence between the apparent cessation of Iran's nuclear weapon's program and the fall of Saddam. 2003. Hmm .. what happened then to the regime that had fought a virtual World War I against Iran with endless trench warfare and poison gas attacks -- incidentally using weaponry that we were providing? Oh yes, and we apparently were helping Saddam acquire nukes, even if inadvertently. This 2003 segment from Marketplace absolutely blew my mind:

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/play/audio.php?media=/2003/03/khaddari_full

As the sage said, "Let not the arrow you shoot come back to pierce your own sorry ass!"

"This canary's dead. Send down a new canary."

Yes, but...

What if those travelers pooled 4 to a car?

What about steamships & dirigibles? Or better yet, modern sailing/motor craft?

The Japanese are demo-ing a 350 mph maglev train, already carrying passengers in testbed production -- any idea about the fuel efficiency of that system? (I saw videos of the demo at the Aichi 2005 World Expo). Incidentally, they were proposing using the same system as a railgun for satellite launches, another benefit to the troposphere by eliminating that nasty, nasty hydrazine from rockets.

The benefits of rail for short-medium length intracity travel are indisputable -- overall traffic reduction, delivery to the desired downtown location rather than a remote airport, reduction in the pavement footprint needed because of reduction in auto commuter traffic, even the possibility of putting passengers autos on the train for transport over those medium distances.

Maybe Captain Smith can look forward to a new career as a maglev train driver?

Grreat. let the creepy-peepy people waste their time monitoring Second Life. Less time for them to invade our privacy in the real world. Data overload, anyone?

His only stumble was not emulating John Stewart on Crossfire. Journalism? Gibson & Stephanopoulos should be demoted to writing gossip columns for the supermarket-line rags. Or maybe they couldn't come UP to that standard.

"This canary is dead. Send down another canary"

"Hate the sin but love the sinner!"

Never lie to your lawyer, your doctor or your PR flack.

Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last have you left no sense of decency?

Check out this info on bentonite. Considering the multiplicity of its common uses, it is astonishing that they ***did not*** find it!

http://www.ima-na.org/about_industrial_minerals/bentonite.asp

By the way, did Saddam own a cat?

At last, some speakers with passion. Biden's speech was great -- great story, great delivery. I was disappointed in Bill Clinton. By contrast, his delivery seemed like a wonkish monotone, lacked real enthusiasm. What energy there was, came from the crowd.

Stars so far -- both Bidens, Kucinich, Kerry and TAMMY DUCKWORTH!

So if Alaska secedes we'll be sending our hard-earned gas money to a FORMER RUSSIAN COLONY??

while in the Illinois legislature? Didn't McCain vote

AWOL

on veteran's care, the GI Bill and alternative energy?

No, if you were a Repugnican, you would not be hiding your face in shame.

(or at least I didn't see any of them doing that, no matter how appropriate).

Between Sarah Palin and Giuliani? NOT lipstick.

Oh yeah, wasn't she the one who ran Hewlett-Packard into the ground, spied on her own board of directors and escaped with the typical CEO golden parachute? Talk about back from the dead!

Apparently the country has moved so far to the right that Laura Schlesinger is now considered a "liberal"!