What's the point?

As Camille herself would say: :ars longa, vita breve," None of this, ahem, "music" has stood the test of time, save one or two from Aretha and James Brown.

James Somers

San Carlos, Ca.

You have to give these creeps credit. They're political animals to their core.

I've been telling friends since the 2nd Bush inauguration that Cheney would step down after the 2006 elections. Reason? The last thing they want is an open convention or open primary season in '08. The next veep? Condi Rice.

That they would use Noonan to set the stage with her op-ed in the WSJ blindsided me momentarily; but on further examination, it is a brilliant set-up.

But make no mistake; this has been planned for a long time.

Jim Somers

San Carlos, Ca.

99% of the world's computers are Windows based machines. Why do you post videos in an Apple viewer that does not run well on Windows machines?

Editor;

To my knowledge, there has been only one terrorist act committed by leftists. It occurred some years ago when a radical environmental group bombed the offices of a professor on the campus on Michigan State University. You might want to research it.

You listed Joe Lieberman as being one of the 12 Democrats who voted for the detainee bill. since when is Lieberman a Democrat? And isn't it about time that Harry Reid stripped him of his committee assignments. Reid is supposed to assign Democrats to committees, not turncoats.

Jim Somers

San Carlos, Ca.

Let us never, ever forget that James Baker isn't called the Bush family consiglieri for nothing. He is a fiduciary; nothing more, nothing less. It is the interests of the Bush dynasty that he is retained to protect, not those of the U.S.

Whatever deal his panel (Bush, Inc. stakeholders all) is able to broker through its surrogates, a U.S. force will remain in strategic locations in the Middle East (and in Iraq) as the Bush, Inc. private army until the last barrel of oil is sucked from beneath the sands of the region.

If it is a true solution we seek, it leaps from the pages of Robert Fisk's magisterial "The Great War for Civilisation: The Conquest of the Middle East," ably reviewed by Salon's Gary Kamiya on Dec. 16 last year. http://dir.salon.com/story/books/review/2005/12/16/fisk/index.html

I fear we are in for more years of Western folly in the Middle East no matter who occupies the White house, and no matter who controls Congress. It could very well be our own undoing.

James Somers

San Carlos, Ca.

To many of the younger Salon readers, Watergate is not a memory but rather, something they read or hear about. For a humorist like Art Buchwald, it was a blessing, providing a rich source for new, and funny material about which to write.

To no one's surprise, it was leaked that the Nixon crowd in the White House kept an ememies list. On it were assorted Senators, Congressmen, media people, and if memory serves, a few hollywood types. Among Washington society, it bacame an instant badge of status to have one's name on the list. Art Buchwald's name was not on the list, and he was chagrined. He then wrote a column claiming that his loss of status for not being on the list must certainly be because the list was a Machiavellian plot. The real enemies, claimed Buchwald in his column, were the ones whose names were not on the list. The column was a scream, and remains burned into my memory of Art Buchwald. R.I.P. Art.

James Somers

San Carlos, Ca.

A telling excerpt from Nick Bromell's defense of Libby is this one:

"The book tells the story of a young man just like Scooter, a man with the humility to bow before a master warrior and undertake a life of apprenticeship to figures mightier than himself."

But the ultimate aim of apprenticing oneself to a master warrior is to become a warrior oneself. That he did not become one leaves the reader with but one conclusion: Libby is a sycophant. Nothing more. Every anecdote in the article points to this conclusion.

jimgnos

You have my sincerest symapthy. Watching TV for a living has to be the shits. Especially if you have to watch the shows critiqued in this article, especially "Real Housewives." Turn off your TV. Get out more.

Why should anyone be surprised by Hillary's dodging the Iraq war question? Its what she does, just as fish swim and birds fly.

On January 20, 2006, under a lead that read: "I'd like to make it clear to the people who run the Democratic Party that I will not support Hillary Clinton for president," the late, great Molly Ivins wrote the following:

"Enough. Enough triangulation, calculation and equivocation. Enough clever straddling, enough not offending anyone This is not a Dick Morris election. Sen. Clinton is apparently incapable of taking a clear stand on the war in Iraq, and that alone is enough to disqualify her. Her failure to speak out on Terri Schiavo, not to mention that gross pandering on flag-burning, are just contemptible little dodges.

The recent death of Gene McCarthy reminded me of a lesson I spent a long, long time unlearning, so now I have to re-learn it. It's about political courage and heroes, and when a country is desperate for leadership. There are times when regular politics will not do, and this is one of those times. There are times a country is so tired of bull that only the truth can provide relief."

Like Ivins, had she lived, not only will I not support Hillary. As a registered Democrat, I will work actively and tirelessly to make sure that someone with courage gets my party's nomination for the presidency.

Just wondering; do you have a license to practice psychotherapy, or are you just a hobbyist? I'll bet that Sara Miles is thrilled to get therapy without being billed for it.