Glenn--

All of this makes more sense (or is more logical, but still inhuman and mad) if you read Naomi Klein's The Shock Doctrine. The Bushies didn't come up with this on their own and it isn't new. They've been trying it out for years in places like Chile and Poland. Only when they thought they had their methods down did they try it in the US. I want you to read Klein--You must read Klein and do a piece on the book.

Anyone with a lick of sense knew in 2002 that Bush was intent on committing the war crime of attacking Iraq. He had already tried luring Saddam into shooting down Nato planes in Feb. 2001. Saddam was cautious and knew that the Americans were going to try to get him. Whatever Bush's motivation, it was not to "protect America from weapons of mass destruction". That began as a ploy and was always a ploy. Nothing would have stopped Bush from attacking Iraq, and because is an impatient, foolish man, he kept showing his cards. There is no excuse for ever having supported the Iraq war. The case was stupid on the face of it, and carelessly made. Now they are going to do it to you again on Iran. You ambivalent types are gong to have the blood of multitudes on your hands. I feel sorry for you, you are so f---ing stupid.

I haven't watched TV in 11 years. When I happen to turn on the TV now, just to see what people are talking about, I can't bear the commercials and the shows make no sense. I watched about fifteen minutes of Mad Men last week because everyone said it was good. It was boring and slow, and those of us who were actually alive in 1960 recognized that the details were not authentic. Not watching TV--a good lifestyle!

When I had a week old baby, I happened to discover that the apartment I was living in had an improperly installed furnace, and I made up my mind that we couldn't spend the winter there. We found another apartment and moved out within two weeks. It wasn't that hard. These people need to move. They can do it. It's called taking responsibility for your own lives.

Who commits a war crime as a representative of the US, including Bush, Petreus, CHeney, and everyone on down the chain of command is someone who "betrays us". The invasion of Iraq was a war crime. THe bombing of Iran will be a war crime. THerefore, all suporters of these crimes and all participants in them "betray us".

That's "jibe", not "jive". Too bad.

The Dick Van DYke SHow? THose pratfalls (the one he makes and the one he avoids) are great. And that was a great show, too, especially the office episodes and sequences.

The kid was not acting like a jerk. He was attempting to force Kerry to answer some questions that Kerry and the rest of the political establishment consistently refuse to answer. He did what it seems that those of us who can no longer stand what is happening in this country must do, which is to act rude and aggressive. My analysis of what you say about the kid and his other "stunts" and the fact that he had a camera is that he suspected that he was going to be silenced, and he wanted a record. And what if this were a bit of self-generated political theater? Did he get tased or not? If he did, then the cops should lose their jobs. They over-reacted.

and Ahmednajibad sounded sane.

The real problem with Blackwater is that they constantly screw up. The military hates them because they are trigger happy, untrained, and always in the way. They owe nothing to the army, and they know it. Rumsfeld's idea of outsourcing army services was just a baaadd idea, and this is the result.

THis is what I told my son about girls:

1. Let the girl lead the way with regard to sex. You will get more that way.

2. Make eye contact and smile.

3. Most girls fall for a jerk first and a nice guy later, so be patient.

4. Be nice to all the girls, but especially to the girls who are a little plain. They are going to change.

5. Watch a lot of the Disney channel so that you know what girls talk about.

6. When you are listening to a girl, actually listen.

Truly Scandinavian to me. The one upping, the teasing, the put downs, the lack of emotional affect. Anyone for Kierkegaard or Laxness? NIce article. Scandinavian literature lives!

Let me be clear about this. Hillary is not going to win the presidency. She was never going to win the presidency. The corporate Democrats may think they have this thing locked up, but they don't. Very few thinking Democrats trust either Hillary or her policies. She triangulates just like Bill but she doesn't have any of his charm or his heart. NO ONE THINKS that she is generous or well-intended. If she wins the nomination, the dead will walk (among Republicans) to deny her the presidency. If she wins the nomination, it will be just another way the Democrats have committed suicide, and by the way, it is Mark Penn who is pulling the trigger, because he is a clueless, principle-less opportunist.

Today on NPR, I heard Nancy Pelosi energetically defending the Congress, saying that the had accomplished lots of things (she gave a list), but that the Iraq war trumps everything in the mind of the voters. I don't know if they have accomplished what she says, but the Military Commissions Act, The Kyl-Lieberman whatever, and Mukasey do indicate whether COmgress succeeds or fails. This is their last chance. If they let Mukasey through, they will have nothing left to cover their shame.