The Eagles said it best, or at least, really well.

...

You can't hide your lyin' eyes

And your smile is a thin disguise

I thought by now you'd realize

There ain't no way to hide your lyin eyes...

Only in this case, the lies are full-on full body.

Upon hearing that an "Asian male" had shot students at Virginia Tech, I wondered if I had ever heard a breaking news story where the racial identification of a white male had been maybe the second word of the report. No, don't think so.

The tragedy of the shooting is monumental and far-reaching; personally for those directly affected, culturally for those who live or study in Virginia, and nationally for all of us living here in the US.

No discussion of the race of any of the parties involved will help in any way to solve, mitigate, or explain this seemingly senseless crime. Perhaps some clear, thoughtful journalism could help us understand what happened yesterday; but it can do nothing as long as it leans on the "not one of us" message that was the lead of every story I heard.

I'm tired of it. Tired of MSM writing by rote, explaining by superficials, and draining a true tragedy of its horror by hurrying to get something, even if it really provides no real information or insights, on the air or the page.

I hope for change. But not with breath held. Sadly.

It is sad to me to hear McCain saying something so arrogant, so obvious, and so lacking in respect or thought. He is certainly entitled to believe in the "surge" if he does but it would seem only politic to acknowledge that he is disagreeing with a large number of Americans. He could have cited more information, better understanding, experience - anything to make his statement sound less unilaterally all-knowing.

I believe on issues for which our elected officials are asking for our lives or our money, they have a responsibility to hold town meetings, request input and ideas, and reflect the choices offered them. If that runs in direct opposition to their personal beliefs and values then say so and proceed knowing you might lose your seat next election.

I have never liked McCain's politics but admired his integrity and thoughtfulness. The positions he has taken and the statements he has made recently have eliminated the possibility of seeing him as a "differently motivated" republican.

Clearly now he is re-tooling himself in the image of GW. Too bad for the repubs. And a great loss for McCain.

Maybe the government and citizens of Iraq will demonstrate more bravery than the US House and Senate by standing firm and calling for US troop withdrawal. It would be ironic and very courageous if so. Al-Sadr is no hero but he may inspire heroic action with his call for occupying forces to withdraw.

I have often felt Fox news is more of a threat to liberty than al-Qaida. Seeing Fox join the two organizations in a public statement gives me an opportunity to see that they might have mutual aims; to ream out the core of this society which is sinful and rotten, and create a world of justice as they recognize it. Thanks for showing us that so clearly.

Clearly, we just don't want a president without a penis. I know that sounds angry, but feelings aside it is true. Clinton is a skilled politican, a Senator who has proven her ability to win elections and do the people's business. Nevertheless, as a nation, we are not ready to elect a person instead of "the right man for the job." I am not sure if we can elect a man of color but that seems more likely than a woman of any color.

don't forget to tell your daughters, lest they think feminism is passe.

George Bush is a lier. Everyone who is conscious knows that. But there are still millions of people who will believe what he said and continue to send their children, their accumulated wealth, their future economy, and their trust down the bottomless hole of the Iraq war. I dispair, I really do.

It isn't surprising that Bush would limit his interest in children's health care, it fits perfectly with his other positions, punitive or ignoring, on children's issues. But to characterize this position as being based on a concern that non-poor (read: not below our impossibly low poverty line)children would be removed from currently individually funded health care to a governmentally funded program is so impossible that only someone who has been and continues to be financially privilaged could imagine such a possibility. Anyone who has children who are covered by health care are not going to jump through the substantial bureaucratic hoops necessary to get coverage by the state. Children who don't have health care don't have it because their parents have been priced out of the market.

The ignorance of privilage continues to guide programs for the poor. It is the worst kind of government guided by the most limited of experience. It makes you pray for instant karma for the Fratto, so he might know what this position feels like. But that won't get affordable health care for anyone, it would just inform one ignorant person of the realities of living marginally in this coldly affluent society. A society governed by a group who clearly value death and revenge and power before life and health and care for its citizens has no very little concept of reality and no compassion.

Not new information.