You forgot to mention that it was founded by a proven liar, David Brock. Hmmm.

The only reason you know Brock is a proven liar is because Brock told you he was a liar and showed you the proof if it himself.

Brock copped to all of his lies and he didn't "have to" like some people we know who are still stonewalling it. Brock saw the error of his ways without a grand jury breathing down his neck, or a Congressional investigation looking into his lies.

Look at all of his cohorts from the Arkansas Project who have not admitted to their lies, let alone gone on to try and make amends for them.

The First British/Afghan War, wherein British troops deposed Dost Muhammed and installed puppet ruler Shah Shujah on the throne. The British "garrisoned" (occupied) Kabul. The result was a disaster. The whole episode was made worse by the incompetence of the British political officers and the military command, which resulted in the slaughter of British civilians in the Khyber Pass.

A good read which delves into this episode, as well as many other episodes of the British and the Russians in their game of empire-building in Central Asia is "The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia" by Peter Hopkirk. There are times when you'll think you're reading modern history.

I wish someone in our government had read "The Great Game." Hell, I wish someone in our government had read the sly-written Flashman historical novels, particularly "Flashman and the Great Game." At least Harry Flashman was honest about his cowardice and outspoken about the incomptence of leadership. "Flashman and the Great Game" -- a satirical work -- is even more like modern times than straight historical nonfiction.

Actually, "Flashman in the Great Game," the story which places Flashman in Afghanistan during the First British-Afghan War, is George MacDonald Fraser's fifth Flashman novel. The first novel was "The Flashman Papers."

For those who never heard of the Flashman novels -- Sir George MacDonald Fraser took the fictional character of the bully and coward Flashman from "Tom Brown's School Days" and placed him at the center of many historical episodes in the 19th century. From India to the Crimea to Madagascar to the Civil War, Harry Flashman -- self-admitted cad and coward -- bullies, lies and betrays his way around the world and comes out on top through misadventure every time. He is constantly mistaken for a hero. And he didn't even need Karl Rove.

The books are satirical, poking fun at British Empire mores and beliefs, though it isn't only Britian which comes in for a share of gleeful expose. Pretty much every country Flashman sets down in suffers a drubbing for its hypocrisy.

"This is very much an issue of censorship, and it's interesting, isn't it, that hate speech is only hate speech when it's directed against the carefully designated victims' groups of cultural Marxism," Lind said.

Grab your pearls, Muriel, the cultural Marxists are here and they've got college basketball players with them this time!

In the Salon article (http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/03/09/suicide/index.html), the question addressed was "Should colleges dismiss students who have attempted suicide in order to avoid parental lawsuits?" after a student's parents sued a school where their daughter set fire to herself in her room.

Looks like there will be another reason for colleges to give second thought to students who show evidence of mental health issues. Whether or not the student shooter at VT had a documented history of mental health issues such as depression or not, schools are now going to add "possibility student could become campus mass murderer" to the list of why students with mental health issues should be dismissed from the pressures of university. Because I'm sure there are scores of people lining up to sue VT right now. In addition to the school having to deal with the horror of the shootings, it's going to have to deal with people who want monetary recompense. Lots of it.

Scratch that "one dead body" post. Why would cops think it was a murder suicide when there were two dead people and no gun? That's pretty poor police work.

(Though I don't blame them for not shutting down the whole campus immediately)

"We're working on the premise of a murder-suicide, Sarge.

"What kind of gun was used?"

"Ummm... not sure..."

"Where's the gun?"

"Umm.. not sure..."

But everything's fine.

---

The Bush Administration's official motto.

He's a soft porn writer? He looks like he's 13.

One of the articles I read about the Cho family said the mother got a job as a cafeteria worker because it had benefits. I'd like to know if it had mental health insurance and if so, did the Cho family use those benefits? I'd also like to know if the family had health benefits before the mother took that job.

Though we don't know a lot about the Cho's family life, it doesn't sound as if they took their son for counseling. Maybe they couldn't afford it if they didn't have health coverage. Maybe after they got health care coverage, it didn't cover many counseling sessions. I wonder if health insurance or lack of it resulted in the son not getting counseling.