I can't help wondering whether Senator Lieberman will read any of these. I sent him an e-mail message, asking him to read Harold Pinter's Nobel Acceptance Lecture to correct his rosy picture of what is happening and has happened in Iraq, but I don't live in Connecticut, so the automated answer I received told me that the senator doesn't read any e-mail except that which comes from Connecticut residents. It's a small world he lives in. If he's that provincial, I wish he'd stop making sweeping pronouncements about U.S. foreign policy.

I invite any of my fellow letter writers, and the author of "Jolting Joe" to read Pinter's lecture, which shows that our credibility in the world at large has been trashed by our unilateral aggression against other sovereign nations, our wanton murder of over 100,000 Iraqi citizens ( I know, Bush said 30,000, but the rest of the world says 100,000 not including Fallujah), and our barbarous kidnap and torture of prisoners, some of whom did nothing but stand in the wrong place when our CIA happened to have a "hunch" about them. Pinter rightly points out that the crimes of the United States (and complicity of Great Britain) extend well beyond the Middle East, as our covert and not so covert actions in Central and South America have shown. Pinter's lecture, text and video, can be found here:

http://nobelprize.org/literature/laureates/2005/pinter-lecture.html

Read it, please, and see why so many Democrats can't find it in their hearts and minds to support George Bush OR Joe Lieberman. Oh, yes, and would someone who lives in Connecticut please forward this letter to the good senator? Thanks.

"Lay asked former employees to come forward"

And did they come running to his rescue?

is so damned sure that the president knows. He'd be amazed if the president didn't know. Isn't he cute, though? He makes it sound like the president is the source. Oh, my, wouldn't that be just too cute for words?

Mr. Novak is nearly as disgusting as Mr. Bush, who jokes around right after stating that his war has killed 30,000 civilians, but even knowing it was a mistake, he'd do it again. What does Bob Novak have to be cute about? Or George Bush?

I am betting that Secretary Rumsfeld will finally resign when the bird flu reaches North America. Keep your eye on him. He stands to make megamillions on the U.S. and Canadian purchases of Tamiflu, a most important antiviral drug in demand to fight the flu. The company that owns the rights to Tamiflu (Gilead Sciences) leases the manufacture to the Swiss pharmaceutical company, Roche. Rumsfeld was Gilead's chairman before taking his job with the Bush administration, and he has never divested himself of his shares worth millions (and still growing) in Gilead stock (see the CNN story, here: http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/31/news/newsmakers/fortune_rumsfeld/ ).

Others who stand to profit from bird flu coming to America are former Secretary of State George Shultz (Bechtel Corp.), who is on the Gilead board, and former governor of California, Pete Wilson, whose wife is on the board.

Since Rumsfeld was advised to hang onto his shares, the best thing he can do when the demand for Tamiflu goes through the roof, and when the U.S. government is spending millions of our taxpayer dollars to buy it, is to resign to avoid charges of conflict of interest and then laugh all the way to the bank. Questions might be asked, of course, but nothing would be done. Well, it's now perfectly legal for anyone to bet on when the flu will hit. So get those contracts lined up, folks, and when Rummy resigns to cash in, place your bets. It won't be long. I hope I haven't blown it for any insiders at Intrade.

On a Washington Post chat line, Jim Vandehei says he meant to say Libby, not Hadley. Darn. A whole bunch of Plameologists just tanked. Can't we get *something* new on this story? We are all going nuts just spinning every little detail of the old news.

Thanks for your great reporting, as usual, Mr. Grieve. We will know it's all over for democracy, when we see Bush in uniform, with a pistol strapped to his hip, speaking in front of a huge gathering of uniforms--worn by the Boy Scouts of America. It's getting closer, so please keep trying to find out what he is saying, even if it turns out to be the same old thing. I don't want any sudden surprises.

In which religion did George W. Bush claim he was born again? I heard Condi Rice on the radio this morning, denying all charges of torture by the U.S. In the face of this kind of evidence, how can this administration keep speaking out of both sides of its mouth? It's beginning to look like the rest of the world will have to rise up against us to make their point. I'm afraid for all of us. The world may not want to wait another three years. Thanks, George, Dick, Condi, and all you good guys who are looking after our best interests. What will you say or do when the backlash reaches our shores? You can't even clean up after a couple of hurricanes. I am sick to my stomach.

Thanks, Mr. Blumenthal. I recommended your article to dailykos readers, and many of them had favorable responses. The American public seems to be waking up to Cheney's M.O. I see that his approval ratings are down to around 19% lately. About time. No need to answer this letter, letter writers. I am gone.

The GAO report on military personnel and recruiting goals that I referred to in my previous letter may be found in PDF form here:

http://www.gao.gov/docsearch/app_processform.php

The report is about the sixth one down, on Military Personnel, GAO-06-134, November 17, 2005.

Thanks.