They took away "Commander-in-Chief" ... but we have a plan ....

Hollywood's version: Geena Davis, 44th President of the United States!

It doesn't take a genius [sic] blogger to recognize the fact that women and minorities (racial, etc.) are vastly underrepresented as Commanders-in-Chief here in America. Maybe that's why ABC Television decided to drop one of its best new shows of this last season even before the new season begins. Of course, it might be difficult to find a woman as honest and having the integrity of a Richard Nixon and surely, we might have to dig deep indeed to find a woman with the intellectual capacity of George W. Bush. But we can do better than Hollywood, for goodness sakes. We have Condi Rice, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi and ... if push comes to shove, we have our secret weapon to beat all secret weapons ...

The real world: Cynthia McKinney, 44th President of the United States!

PS: I am neither anti-woman, nor am I anti-African American, as might be inferred by the silliness above; it's only that Cynthia McKinney will be available after her runoff primary election against Hank Johnson on August 8 and I happen to be one of the few people around who actually admires her! She stood up against the powers that be when the rest of us were standing around like mindless goons, presumably as "patriots," [sic] in allegiance to a President that was leading us down the primrose path ... Thank you, Representative McKinney! Thank you very much!!

Ceasefire only a mirage ... Qana-like carnage continues!

Isn't war beautiful? Just look at the lines on that F-16!

Well, my previous posting got it wrong ... or maybe 100% correct! It appears that there will be no ceasefire for now and that Condoleezza Rice will be elsewhere than in Jerusalem for awhile. Rather than letting the war "wind down" for a couple of days, the Israeli Security Cabinet approved broadening the ground offensive and rejected a ceasefire, at least until an international "peace force" is in place.

Of course, the Lebanese are fleeing north in every vehicle that is even 50% mobile as the Israelis are vowing to destroy every Hezbollah position in southern Lebanon.

And, just as our invasion of Iraq provided a rallying cry for an increased Al-Qaida involvement in Iraq (and elsewhere in the Middle East) among Sunnis, the Qana attack of two days ago has become a rallying cry for the Hezbollah among Shiites everywhere.

The massacre in Qana may well be the turning point (not necessarily a good one from our vantage) in the Israeli-Lebanon War of 2006.

Oh yes, there will be a 48-hour suspension of air operations (it began 18 hours ago) over southern Lebanon while the Lebanese clean up the mess in Qana and flee northward in buses, minivans, trucks, cars and anything else that can hold these sad people and their belongings.


Yeh, isn't war just beautiful ... ?

US Military deaths down in July ... Iraqi civilian deaths up! But then, who's counting?

By now, we know that when it comes to the war in Iraq, lives don't count the same from person to person ... and indeed, aren't even counted in some cases.

The good news for July 2006 is that the counts for American soldiers dead has gone down for the third straight month -- largely due to a wise decision to keep fewer of our young men and women in combat on a daily basis. Unfortunately, there is another side to that same coin as dramatically shown in the above photograph wherein a mother (I can only assume) is trying to pull her curious child back into the house ... and out of harms way ... I hope and pray!

At last count, we lost only 44 of our military in Iraq this past month, but best "guesses" are that more than 100 Iraqi civilians died each day, largely thanks to the lower posture of our military and the more aggressive activities on both sides (Sunnis and Shiites) of the increasing sectarian violence.

With regard to certain domestic issues, the President has made it abundantly clear that he is "pro-life" and that, under no circumstances (e.g., his recent veto of human embryonic cell research being funded by the Federal Government and his continuing and courageous stand against "abortion on demand" ... that has become commonplace in the US) does he accept the old adage that the end justifies the means.

From the original preemptive strike against Iraq (the evening of "shock and awe" that we watched in exciting green and gray on our television sets) through today, strikes upon targets containing civilians have been an important aspect of the war. The means? Cluster bombs, "daisy cutters" and PGMs of all sizes. The end? Something along the lines of "if we fight them there, we won't have to fight them at home."

For both the US in Iraq and for Israel over Lebanon, the question remains, does the end truly justify the means? Ask the children of Falluja or of Ramadi ... or (more recently) of Qana in southern Lebanon. Ask the mother of the child in the above photograph ... if either or both are even still alive.

"The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world .... are you a Jew?" ...Mel Gibson to arresting officer

I can identify ...

The Passion of the Christ, directed by this same man, depicted total reconciliation with our Lord and God for just such remarks ... and worse. And yes, my own repentance resulted in my not having had a drink since that sad time, as well as an almost complete turn-around in my life, and the "giving up" of far worse than alcohol, gives me both compassion for Mel Gibson right now ... as he contemplates the despicable words he yelled out to the arresting officer ... but the courage to say to Mr. Gibson that it is also the only solution to what might appear to him today to be just a "drinking problem."

No, Mel Gibson, your future is not in jeopardy, as the headlines state -- it might very well be the beginning of a new life that, although not perfect (mine isn't), is so much better than anything you've ever known that you will look back on this incident as the "best thing" that ever happened during your entire life.

The alcohol was but a symptom ... as they say in twelve-step programs ... of much deeper problems of selfishness and self-centeredness, and it was (in my case) the elimination of the most ugly of these that makes my life totally different today ... decades later. And it wasn't me who did anything! It was the man, the Son of God, whose crucifixion you so powerfully depicted in The Passion of the Christ who did it all!

Let the tabloids rant and rave! I truly believe that you are a devout and obedient Roman Catholic and further, a Christian who is on the verge of being "born again" in a manner that will shock the pants off of everyone who has ever known you -- including yourself! I believe that you would be totally obedient to the correct and (I believe) Godly dictates of the two most recent popes (John Paul II and Benedict XVI) that we abhor anti-Semitism in any form.

At this terrible time for Israel and for the Arabs caught up in the ongoing conflict in Lebanon, Israel and Gaza, you might very well now be in a position to help out like you've never been able to before. An open and clear acceptance of Christ and a demonstratable passion for the sad persons who are suffering in Israel and Lebanon, might well be the linchpin of better years ahead for both peoples ... and the conversion of many to Christ.

My prayers and best wishes go out to you and your family at this time.

(And thank you so very much for The Passion of the Christ!!)

Goodbye, Cynthia McKinney ... you were fun, but just a wee bit to much ... "Cynthia"!

This isn't easy for me, Representative McKinney; you were one of the first to question the 9-11 anomalies in 2002 -- about which I began to enter onto my own website as early October, 2001. You asked all of the right questions, but you managed to infuriate your constituents in doing so and ended up out of Congress during 2002-2004. You bravely stood against a President during his most popular years. I congratulate you for that.

I would stand by you in almost any other circumstance, but since a decent and highly credible person is running against you in the August 8 runoff primary (same date as when Lieberman and Lamont go at it in Connecticut) ... and will likely initiate or support a substantial number of liberal initiatives over the next two years, I not only (sadly) have to support Hank Johnson in the runoff, I have to hope that a new and less volatile Cynthia McKinney will emerge from all of this. Of course, I hope that you can find decent employment in Georgia after next January, should you lose.

And yes, you will likely lose, even though you outpolled Johnson 47-44 in the recent primary, requiring the runoff on August 8 (the winner needed 50% in Georgia, as I understand the rules there). Georgia wants someone in Washington who will fight the Republican Congress, Republican Administration and conservative Supreme Court with integrity and no loss of credibility due to foolish actions -- something many of us are prone to doing, myself included. But I'm not planning on running for Congress!

Do the honorable thing and get behind Mr. Johnson in the upcoming General Election. He opposes the Iraq War and is a 100% liberal on almost all of the issues likely to face Congress during 2006-2008.

I meant it when I stated above that you are "fun," but that's not enough. Striking a security guard at the entrance to the House of Representatives took the "fun" one step too far. You have a lot of energy and stand behind what you believe -- that's great! But we are going to need every last nanodrop of integrity and (important) credibility during the next two years. Stand patriotic and firm in your support of Mr. Johnson (below right) if he wins (as I think he will) on August 8.

Should you win, I will certainly be one of your staunchest supporters.

Count on that, Cynthis McKinney!

But let's both support Hank Johnson after August 8!!!

Bill Moyers might get the Democrats to stand up and be ... Democrats!

Democrats: Let's get (1) serious, (2) politically astute and (3) thoroughly behind the lower and middle classes of the American people! We need a "hero" from among you and none of you seems willing to take charge and demonstrate the need for a change in party to lead us past 2006. As it stands today, the Republicans are in charge of the White House, both houses of Congress and the Supreme Court.

That's why Bill Moyers (right) should run for President. His presidential bid might accomplish (1), (2) and (3) above for the Democratic Party. No, he won't be the 2008 candidate! ... It will likely be Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, John Edwards or John Kerry ... but they would at least start to run as true Democrats, both in the primaries ... and further, whoever emerges as the candidate will run also as a true Democrat.

As it stands today, Joe Lieberman will likely be the Senator from Connecticut (probably as an Independent, but possibly as a Democrat), John McCain (a Republican who is a hawk vis-a-vis Iraq) will probably emerge as the favorite Presidential candidate among Democrats -- although certainly not among conservative Republicans, and the Democrats are split on just about everything from embryonic stem cell research to the War/Occupation in Iraq.

I had personally never really heard of Molly Ivins, except as columnist for the Nation (to which I subscribe, of course) ... and never ever thought of her as a leading liberal columnist ... nationwide, but she opened her column this week with, "Dear desperate Democrats." She goes on to suggest that the Democratic party run Bill Moyers (whom we all know as a true liberal and a genuine caring human being) during the upcoming 2008 Presidential campaign.

She admits that he wouldn't even win the primaries, let alone the general election, but describes how he would bring honor and integrity to the debates leading up to the Democratic Convention. Hurrah to Molly Ivins for such a marvelous idea!

How could persons like Hillary or John (either John) or Al waffle on such important issues as foreign policy and the dozen other issues about which the Democrats seem split in nine to hundred pieces ... with Bill Moyers sitting at the table during the debates?

You got it! Maybe we have a chance yet. Bill: do your party a favor and start campaigning early enough to have a war chest large enough to get on at least some of the early primary ballots.

The neocons can be beaten -- even if they are able to bring about more war and mayhem, which always favors the party in power. Even my brother, Richard from Connecticut, would like to see the Democrats stand for ... something!

Go for it!

Qana attack not the first time ... and dead children are result both times!

The familiar pictures (right and below left) from MSNBC and ABC aren't the first time that Qana has endured a horrific attack that has killed as many as 100 (last time) and 60 (this time) civilians -- most of whom are children. Interestingly, the Israelis attacked a UN Post there the last time and openly admitted that they believed that Lebanese were using the UN Post as a shelter -- which indeed some were.

Yes, I keep a fairly robust archive of material on the Israeli-Lebanon war(s).

What we all know today is that the current and continuing attacks on Lebanon have killed upwards of 450 civilians this time and that today's attack on Qana killed approximately 60, including 27 children. Yes, the Hezbollah are a terrorist organization, for the most part, but isn't it long past the time that the United States (George Bush or Condoleezza Rice) called for an immediate cease fire anyway?


Surely, the true (as opposed to Condi's "false") ceasefire may not be fully attainable at this time, but an immediate ceasefire just might save hundreds or civilian lives -- just as an immediate redeployment of Americans out of Iraq might save hundreds of Iraqi civilians there also.

Talking is better than fighting in any scenario, in my opinion, and Condoleezza Rice should use her time in Jerusalem (she will not be going to Lebanon now after the Qana attack) to demand that the Israelis immediately stop the indiscriminate shelling of Lebanese towns -- in Southern Lebanon and South Beirut further north.

For the record, it was on April 18, 1996 that Israel last attacked Qana -- that time it was an artillery attack with precision-guided artillery upon a UN base within which Lebanese civilians thought that they might be safe. 102 of them died there with their children and elderly.

But back to today's attack and a possible US demand for both sides to begin a "no-conditions" ceasefire: If Mr. Bush could detach himself from Cheney and Rumsfield for at least today -- he could blame his church schedule, he could get the word to Condoleezza Rice to (finally) state that the US wants an immediate no-conditions no-holds-barred CEASEFIRE!

By the time Cheney and/or Rumsfield would get word of it, the ceasefire could actually be in effect.

I am not an anti-Semite or even an anti-Zionist -- I care very deeply for Israel and all it's endured over the years as a result of terrorist car-bombs and suicide bombers of all kinds. It's simply that this carnage has got to stop.

I know that the New Testament of the Christian Bible isn't in your Torah, Israelis, but for the record, Jesus said

"Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs in the Kingdom of Heaven."

Matthew 5: 9, 10

Let's all take a chance with peace for a change! Muslims, Jews, Christians (in particular Bush and Rice today) and any others who might be involved in this continuing hate and fighting. Something good just might come out of such a "chance."

Mr. Bush: Even your good friend, Tony Blair, has seen the light and is joining in the worldwide chorus for an immediate ceasefire. Call Condi now -- before Cheney and/or Rummy get to you with their counterfeit arguments.

This is even bigger than than the neocons' plan for the worldwide democracy we are fighting for in Iraq ... and elsewhere!

Hopefully, Rummy and Dick Cheney won't read this morning's Science News.

Otherwise, we will be gearing up (we're talking a major mobilization!) to democratize the amoeba-like structure to the right before it becomes a Communist Blob.

The "blob" is 200 million light-years wide and "made up of galaxies and large bubbles of gas" ... and is the largest unexplored non-uninteresting-space in the universe, according to a couple of Japanese scientists who belong to the team that is researching it/them.

One theory believes that the gas bubbles in this blob are "cocoons" that will someday "give birth to new galaxies." They (the gas bubbles in the blob) were formed by large explosions (supernovas), so the US may already be developing secret weapons capable of exploding as supernovas -- pre-steeped in US-like democracy, of course.

It's a good thing that Mr. Bush doesn't read material beyond the level of My Pet Goat (his words were along the lines of "I don't read") and Rummy and Cheney aren't known to read science magazines or the morning newspaper -- this was in this morning's Sunday News.

Richard: Let's keep this posting's information in Connecticut, okay? Joe Lieberman isn't likely to spill the beans--even to his Republican friends and William F. Buckley is too smart to do anything foolish with it.

I don't think.

Irreducible Complexity ... for the rest of us!

An Irreducibly Complex Organism ... which exists within some of the "simplest" bacterial cells [Click on the picture to see and read its labels more clearly!]

No doubt, many -- if not most -- of you have read something or other about the debate ongoing as to whether "intelligent design theory" should or should not be taught alongside "evolution theory." (And yes, I know that evolution theory is taught as a "fact" in most textbooks and classes at the high school and below level).

Well, I pondered the problems inherent in Darwin's Theory of Evolution as early as in the late 1950s when I majored in, among other disciplines, biology. My thinking while an undergraduate student at Western Reserve University in Cleveland was admittedly sophomoric, but I was particularly bothered by (1) the evolution of life itself and (2) the in-between species.

Only recently when I read the book, Darwin's Black Box, by Michael Behe, did I even think about how irreducibly complex organisms came into existence. Darwin himself said it best in his famous book, Origin of Species, "If it could be demonstrated that any complex organ existed, which could not possibly have been formed by numerous, successive, slight modifications, my theory would absolutely break down ..."

The bacterial flagellum, shown above, is a perfect example (in my opinion) of an organism that meets Darwin's conditions. Take away any "part" of the organism ... and the remaining parts won't do ... anything! It would be like taking the hammer or the spring or the holding bar or the catch or the platform away from a simple mousetrap. The remaining parts would do nothing and thus, we might state unequivocally that the mousetrap was designed through some sort of "intelligent" process ... and didn't evolve from wood from trees and metal mined (or not mined) from the earth.

Other such organisms are the DNA molecule; the retina, pupil, cornea, iris and optic nerves in our "vision apparatus" -- the human (or any mammalian) eye; the cilium; and ... the list goes on and on. Interestingly, these organisms are taught carefully and honestly at the university level -- without resorting to the Theory of Evolution, but it is against the law in many school districts to even mention intelligent design (with or without a mention of some sort of Supreme Being or God as the "designer") alongside evolution theory when discussing the "origin of living organisms" -- let alone, entire species.

Of course, I was trying to conceive the development of the wings on butterflies and moths back in the 1950s and then just "accepted" the Theory of Evolution as the answer to all such questions as I pushed on towards a Doctorate in Engineering.

Then I picked up Behe's book (Darwin's Black Box) earlier this year and all of that "engineering" knowledge paid off in spades! Behe's arguments were largely engineering in nature, just as Demsky's (also arguing for some theory of intelligent design --or simply "ID") were largely mathematical -- oh yes, mathematics was the major of one of my Master's Degrees.

But school boards all see ID as "religious" in nature and Darwin's Theory of Evolution (which requires a great deal of "faith" to accept carte blanche) as "science."

But then we do live in a peculiar world, don't we?

NicVAX ... maybe an alternative to reading Carr's book!

The latest "shot in the arm," so to speak -- and pun intended, for smokers looking for that magic cure-all ... may be here! And no, I wasn't thinking of book by Allen Carr that my brother, Richard from Connecticut recommends.

It's a vaccine that causes the body to produce antibodies that bind to nicotine, making the nicotine "bullets" too large to enter the brain. It was the headline news in yesterday's The Daily World (our local rag), but after looking the subject up and becoming the world's expert on NicVAX this morning, I'm wondering (1) how to buy stock in a couple of the companies that will be producing it (the company with the most advanced form of NicVAX is Nabi Biopharmaceuticals out of Boca Raton, Florida -- having labs in Rockville, Maryland) and (2) how to vaccinate every teenager in America over the next year or so.

If true ... whoopee! If not, it's back to reading Allen Carr's book -- I just received his book, No More Worrying -- The Easy Way to a Worry-free Life in this morning's mail.

Yes, oil ... of course ... but ...!!!

Normally, I don't respond to comments in new postings, but I surely don't want you all left with the impression that I thought that the only matter/item in common between Venezuela and Iran was their dislike of the US. Of course, they both have oil, Sage, but that is not a common item of interest to either of them inasmuch as they both have enough to last till the end of this millennium -- as regards their own usage of it. What they can and are doing together to the glee of both is to pull our short hairs. The "oil investment" agreements are only a way to get Mr. Bush's attention through his minders and other oil barons.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President Chavez ... Happy Birthday to Hugh!

President Hugo Chavez, Venezuela

As if things weren't confusing enough for President Bush as the Iraq War and the Israeli-Hezbollah-Lebanon fighting were already taxing his abilities to keep track of what his foreign policies have wrought ... who should be in Tehran, Iran receiving birthday gifts (really!) from the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad?


President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran

Caracas? Tehran? Baghdad? Beirut? Shiite? Sunni? ... What's the connection? Oh yes, that's right ... oil!

And Chavez's birthday present (one day late, but a present, nonetheless) is ... some oil investment deals that will have Bush consulting with his Pentagon bosses as to what we ought to do about this new development. Oh yes, Ahmadinejad will also be giving Chavez a "birthday" medal of some sort -- the "High Medallion of the Islamic Republic of Iran" for ... just being a thorn in the White House's side, as far as I can tell.

The Venezuelan delegation includes Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez and they will be signing several oil deals today and tomorrow before Chavez leaves Iran late on Sunday. Obviously, this will anger some of Bush's closest friends and campaign financiers, but Gholamreza Manouchehri, CEO of Iran's Petropars Company, is planning on signing a couple of long term oil investment deals with Venezuela.

Interestingly, long before Chavez was even on the scene as a world leader, we were anticipating some sort of Iran-Latin America (a potential "future" Venezuela, actually) "connection" vis-a-vis oil back in the 1990's while I was "political advisor" to the Royal Saudi Air Force -- something about which, even then, the Saudis were concerned.

Bush probably shouldn't have made such ugly statements about Chavez immediately after he was elected -- and again, that "axis [sic] of evil" statement is coming back to bite him -- and all of the rest of us in America --- in the pants.

Think about it ... what do Iran and Venezuela have in common? Politics? Religion? Morality? Regional "closeness"? A big "No" to all of these! Their only common connection is a deep dislike of the United States of America personified by their personal antagonism with/towards George W. Bush.

Is this religion misunderstood? Is this the basis of fundamentalist conservatism?

Its followers think so, but the State of Georgia went ahead very early today and executed one of its adherents anyway. Michael Lenz (right) was executed early this morning by lethal injection for leading a group of Asatru (also known as Odinism) members in brutally stabbing Brent Parker to death at the Augusta Correctional Center for not taking the religion (Asatru or Odinism) seriously enough shortly after one of their religious services at the prison. Parker was stabbed more than 150 times which reminds me a little of the bombing raids upon South Beirut over the past two weeks--disproportionate response, in a sense.

Georgia happens to be a "red state," known for its religious fervor, and its state prisons are known centers of the religion ... which has no fewer than between 10,000 and 20,000 members nationwide.

Asatruism is an ancient religion, actually, which preaches that you gain "power" through strict adherence to its rules which center on traits, some of which, in other contexts, might be regarded as exemplary: loyalty, honor, generosity, truth and (particularly troublesome) white supremacy. Its gods include Odin (of course) and Thor, suggesting its possible Viking roots.

George Bush's new and improved US Supreme Court upheld its "religiosity" last year in requiring prisons to accommodate it along with other religions. This was among many "faith based" initiatives that have been helped along over the past six years.

However, making it particularly worrisome in prison circles is the fact that most of Asatru's members regard martyrdom as necessary to avoid having "black marks" put upon their souls. White members with black marks on their souls are sometimes called "dalmatians" by fellow members. Mark Potok, a leader in the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama which monitors hate groups, adds, "it's a theology that celebrates raw physical power and domination."

At this point in time, the Republican Party and other mainline conservative organizations have made no claims that Asatru's emphasis on "power" is in any way related to their foreign policy beliefs which might appear to be grounded on Asatruistic (or Odinistic) ideologies.

Still, the movement bears watching by liberals and others for whom such ideological principals are abhorrent.

What gives with this testosterone scandal? Can't the body create high testosterone levels with high intensity exercise?

Which of these cyclists (Landis is in yellow, of course) has a T-E ratio higher than 6.0? Answer: probably ALL of them!

The answer to the title of this posting is "yes"!

Yet, Floyd Landis is going through a personal "hell" as a result of a higher than average level of testosterone in his system.

As far back as during the Lance Armstrong years (shown on the right -- he won the Tour de France from 2000 to 2005, inclusively), I have been very interested in the matter of testosterone levels in athletes and how one can determine when high levels are "natural" results of the day's activities versus when they are the result of illegal "doping" -- the use of patches an/or pills and/or special medications ... etc.



Most of you (who follow sports) know that officials in professional sports (sports wherein money is involved) use the ratio of testosterone to epitestosterone (T/E Ratio) as the key. Most of us carry a 1:1 ratio, but athletes are known to be able to get rations up to about 5:1 or even 6:1 during and shortly after very high intensity activities. Can't you smell it in the weight room while working out with a bunch of jocks? Typically, a 6:1 ratio is used as the limit beyond which athletes are allowed to test. That, in itself, is crazy.

There are newer tests involving a test of the red blood cells (instead of the urine) which can measure higher-than-average levels of something called, "hematocrit." But guess what? You're right! Athletes can also show higher-than-average hematocrit after high intensity exercise. Lance Armstrong went through year-after-year of such testing and sometimes he "passed" and sometimes he didn't. He (Lance Armstrong) offered to take a polygraph test, but the officials refused to do that.

To his credit, Oscar Pereiro Sio from Spain (lower left -- in front), who finished second in the race that ended last Sunday (the 23rd), has stated that he isn't interested in "winning" the Tour de France as a result of testing for testosterone.



But this whole matter -- in all sports, including baseball and all of the problems that Mr. Bonds is having as he races after Hank Aaron's home run record -- is one that needs to be settled soon. A 100% accurate polygraph-type test is needed, independent of its "constitutionality" or whatever other ethical/political concerns might be involved.

We need sports heroes and we need to know that they aren't doping their ways to the top.

I have no perfect solution to this one and haven't talked to my brother, Richard from Connecticut, yet today to learn what his perfect solution might be.

More to come on all of this as we await the "second sample" taken from Floyd Landis.

Nouri al-Maliki ... what did we expect anyway?

What did we expect anyway? Hearing that Howard Dean "accused" Nouri Kamal al-Maliki, the democratically elected Prime Minister of Iraq and a Shiite Muslim, of being an "anti-Semite" actually was some comedy relief in this whole matter of the Iraq-occupation-come-Lebanon-Israel-Middle-East-crisis.

We overthrew a secular Sunni dictator in a country populated largely by theocratic Shiites who had been tortured, murdered and denied revenues from the oil that was in their geographic area. Then, when they voted, the majority Shiites elected one of their own. Isn't that the way democracy is supposed to work?

And oh yes, Shiites have traditionally been more "anti-Semite" than the Sunnis from the time that Israel was created in 1948.

Howard Dean's statement was an empty accusation ... somethng like asking a cat why he chases mice after you have just given him a nice dish of warm milk.

Cats chase mice and Muslims -- especially Shiites -- hate Jews!

They also hate Sunnis, and this goes back to almost the moment after the first Prophet, Muhammad, died. The debate over his successor is what divided Islam into Shiites and Sunnis in the first place.

Maliki is being unfairly attacked by Democrats for saying and acting (seemingly favoring the Hezbollah ovre Israel) in much the same manner as these same Democrats have been asking George W. Bush to act as regard what they perceive to be Bush's unfairly favoring Israel in the growing conflict in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon.

Whereas GWB believes that the US historical/Biblical destiny began to unfold with the attacks on 9-11, Maliki believes that the Iraqi Shiites' historical/Quranic destiny began to unfold with the US invasion of Iraq.

What did we expect anyway?

Whales and porpoises need our help. Congress, federal judges and/or Bush Administration must act NOW!!

US Navy testing sonar in Pacific with nearby whales

While Congress has been twiddling its thumbs worrying about flag burning, estate tax elimination (as if the country and those of us who don't even know what an "estate" might be weren't going broke fast enough) and gay marriage bans, etc. (all for political points come November), the whales, porpoises and dolphins ... and other species of mammals and ocean-living creatures are being KILLED by foolish and unnecessary sonar testing.

I've already mentioned the NRDC in a previous posting and try to stay away from hawking any organization on this blog, but please write anyone and everyone about this serious situation. It happens that the NRDC is (in my opinion) the best organization involved in this fight ... to the death!

And we win a few. Just this month, the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco did a little bit towards alleviating the problem by adding new safeguards to the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) military exercises already underway (this week and next) that utilizes whale-killing sonar. Basically, all this "settlement" will do though is set boundaries on the use of the sonar and require more thorough monitoring of mammals in the areas wherein the testing takes place.

Still, it's a step in the right direction.

But the US Navy needs top-down directions that will curtail its mid-frequency sonar during such huge multi-ship exercises. The whales and other mammals are "attacked" without warning and literally KILLED!!! Killed silently and cruelly ...

The Navy is now required (at least during the RIMPAC exercise) to watch for the mammals (three observers on each ship) monitoring and reporting detection of any marine animal to the appropriate watch station for what we can only hope is appropriate action -- like "keep sonar out of this area!"

The sad end of the sea mammals seems imminent nonetheless and the sight of a beached whale or a dead porpoise -- killed by sonar -- is not pretty.

We share this planet with the animals -- sea mammals included -- and must be very careful as new technologies that allow us to kill each other (other humans, that is) doesn't spill over into the killing of innocent "civilian" sea mammals.


Bowhead Whale with two Beluga Whales enjoying life in their God-given "home"

White House and al-Qaida agree on one thing ... no ceasefire!

Both George Bush and Osama bin Laden spoke through their #2's-in-Command today, stating that they would not accept a cease fire between the Hezbollah and Israel. Condoleezza Rice, speaking for the Administration and Ayman al Zawahiri, speaking for the al-Qaida, made it abundantly clear that they are in support of Lebanon and Israel, respectively, for the long haul ... and it's likely to be just that.

Bush (through Condi) has made it clear that a cease fire can only follow the complete defanging of the Hezbollah and a cutoff of both money and supplies to Hezbollah or any group that might replace Hezbollah in its opposition to Israel -- from either Syria and/or Iran (the "sponsor states" of Hezbollah, according to the Bush Administration).

Al-Qaida, for its part, has stated (through al Zawahiri) that "the war with Israel does not depend on ceasefires ... it is a Jihad for God's sake and will last until religion prevails ... from Spain to Iraq."

Condoleezza Rice did not specifically mention Spain, but Bush has mentioned God on several occasions.

Al Zawahiri said that he thought that the world cared more about Israelis than Palestinians. He said, "the 10,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israel's prisons do not move anything while three Israeli prisoners have shaken the world."

Note: We (you, me, the rest of America) may blame Bill Clinton for improprieties in the White House, but he managed to maintain an uneasy Middle East peace throughout his tour of duty during the 1990s -- the only decade since the birth of the new state of Israel in 1948 during which there was no Arab-Israeli war.

And it should be noted (why, I don't know) that Ayman al Zawahiri didn't mention Bill Clinton even once during his televised address shown to the world earlier today. But what he did say -- and this is significant -- was that "... Muslims everywhere ... fight and become martyrs in the war against the Zionists [aka 'Israel'] and the crusaders [aka 'the US']."

In the broader sense, our activities in Iraq have united the Sunnis and Shiites in a common cause and further, we have created a land mass route for supplies and Jihadists from Iran through southern Iraq, Syria and Southern Lebanon ... to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories -- not exactly what was planned when we created that exciting evening of "Shock and Awe" and the subsequent invasion of Iraq.

What next?

George W. Bush and the issues of foreign policy and the environment

I think I first realized that our President had no idea what a "foreign policy" even consisted of when he first used the phrase "axis of evil" when referring to three countries that weren't even an axis. We scientists are touchy about terms like "axis" being thrown around so jauntily.

But how a Communist dictatorship, a Shiite theocracy and a Sunni-led secular dictatorship formed anything like a holistic "whatever" is still beyond the likes of me.

But worse, Mr. Bush had no idea how he planned to deal with his nutty (I know of no better word for it) "axis" anymore then than he now knows how to deal with the one-third of that axis within which we are knee deep.

And two-thirds of that "axis of evil" is running wild with ICBM testing and nuclear weapons development while our State Department and Defense [sic] Department are trying to sort out Sunnis from Shiites in Baghdad.

Meanwhile ... the entire Middle East is devolving into something that Newt Gingrich and Fox News are characterizing as World War III, Armageddon and/or the end of times. (Well guess what? The Global Warming brought on by fossil fuel emissions just might bring on that "end of days.") Pastors nationwide are having a field day on the "end of days" theme while Bush lives in la-la land believing in his heart of hearts that his Medicare Drug Plan is working and that the only issues of concern to Americans are gay marriage bans, embryonic stem cell research and the design of the 9-11 Memorial in NYC.

And I think I got a glimmer of his thinking in the area of Global Warming when he said "probably not!" when asked if her were planning on seeing, An Inconvenient Truth, while continuing to push for additional drilling in Alaska (and elsewhere) and logging in national forests. Lord love a duck!

Get serious, Mr. Bush! Let's show some initiative in the areas of foreign policy and the environment -- positive initiatives, like (1) supporting a meaningful and immediate cease fire in Lebanon/Israel, (2) redeploying our forces out of Iraq ... in the coming week, and (3) signing the Kyoto accords before you forget what they were even about.

And for the love of licorice, learn what the differences are between Sunnis and Shiites (yes, I read Peter Galbraith's book and the account of your pre-invasion meeting in the White House!) -- and further, realize that peoples around the world (like in the cartoon above) all wish that everyone thought as they did.

Well, they don't! And unlike your oft-quoted wish ... you are not a dictator!

Wake up now and get serious!

Sweetheart is slipping ... so sad ...

Just a quick update on Sweetheart. She's still purring but won't eat a thing and is simply wasting away. She sips water now and again, but that's all ... and she can walk to her favorite water bowl, although I've put a dish of water only inches from her nose. I'll take her to the vet again tomorrow, but don't expect encouraging news.

I hate to think I'm "keeping her alive" for my sake and not hers, but sometimes wonder.

The picture above is not the very most recent; I don't think Sweetheart would want me to post a picture of her in her current (very thin) condition.

Thanks for your prayers for her.

Buckley disses Bush ... in spades!

My brother, Richard from Connecticut, emailed me a short video of William F. Buckley (right) being interviewed by CBS News Saturday anchor, Thalia Assuras. Inasmuch as George W. Bush still considers himself to be a "true conservative," he must be somewhat unhappy with all that Buckley had to say about both him and his presidency during the CBS interview.

The video of Saturday's interview (plus two other videos of William F. Buckley debating Noam Chomski) are at this link. My brother, Richard, resent the videos' URL to me in a comment to this posting -- as well as his original email to me. I should have included it when I originally posted this yesterday.

Of course, most of us -- my "Republican" brother, included -- recognize the failures of the past six years and, in particular, the sad failure of our activities in Iraq. Iraq alone will be enough to make my predictions for the 2006 Midterm Elections to pan out, I think. When Buckley was asked if the Bush Administration was distracted by Iraq, he went a step or two further than distracted. "I think it has been engulfed by Iraq, by which I mean no other subject interests anybody other than Iraq ... The continued tumult in Iraq has overwhelmed ... well, other parts of the Middle East with respect to Iran, in particular."

Buckley made it clear that he believes that our being tied down in Iraq makes it difficult to deal with the Iranian problem -- that is, Iran's threat of developing nuclear weapons. He even disagreed with the neoconservative view that we might preemptively resort to an air attack on an Iranian nuclear facility. "What would the Iranian population do?" he asked.

The implication was clear: Iran can full well see how well (NOT) we are handling Iraq.

The most damaging words he had to say about GWB were when he was asked what legacy Mr. Bush will leave behind when he (finally) does leave office. He said, "There will be no legacy for Mr. Bush ... I think his legacy is indecipherable."

Indecipherable?

That, friends, is classic Buckley ... and a word that I couldn't improve upon. And to think that Mr. Buckley is 81 years young ...

More than a book ...

Bryan Curtis wanted us all to know the effect that smoking had on his life. The picture taken two months before his death and the one taken shortly before he died ... only two months later ... do more to keep me from cigarettes than any book such as the one I wrote about in a previous posting could ever do. Of course, Allen Carr's book is aimed at persons who are addicted to smoking rather than persons who have never smoked.

These pictures should be shown to high school and college students who are the fastest growing group among new smokers.

He was only 33.

Saddam's trial likely to backfire ...

The trial (and it is actually an attempt at a "fair trial," I think) of Saddam Hussein, continuing to play out as the Sunni - Shiite Civil War in Iraq is heating up to new levels of violence, is very likely to blow up in the face of the country (that's us!) who rid Iraq of its former brutal dictator.

Certainly, the courtroom drama that is unfolding, like so much of the Iraq charade, moves from one unknown to another. Hussein's "hunger strike" ended with his being forced fed (feeding tube) and he looked thinner, but hardly weaker. He asked that he be shot by a firing squad rather than hanged by the neck until dead -- in accordance with the penalty prescribed by the "rules" for this trial -- despite the fact that the new Iraqi laws forbid capital punishment. That minor detail has never been satisfactorily explained to me, and if one of you knows how it resolves "legally," please let me know.

Anyway, my concerns about the trial "backfiring" is its close connection to the Sunni - Shiite civil war -- and the growing Shiite "crescent" being formed, a large land mass consisting of Iran, the evolving Iraq, and Hezbollah's "new" Lebanon. Saddam Hussein, brutal dictator that he was, was the primary disconnect in the (Iranian) Ayatollahs' dreams of a large Shiite crescent to the east and north of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait -- surrounding the remaining Arab oil -- the oil that it didn't itself contain! I used to listen long and hard to a very bright young Royal Saudi Air Force lieutenant (Mohammad Al Reeshi) as he explained the military, political and economic (oil!) history of that region to me.

Many Americans have forgotten why George H. W. Bush (Bush '41) let Saddam Hussein and his Republican Guard survive the first Gulf War.

I haven't.

Wasn't it George W. Bush (Bush '43) who said, "There's an old saying in Tennessee ... I know it's in Texas ... probably in Tennessee ... that says ... fool me once ... shame ... on ... shame on you ... fool me ... [silence] ... you can't get fooled again ..." -- or something like that?

If deliberate, Israel faces war crimes trial over targeting of UN observer post

Say it ain't so, Joe!

Hopefully, it isn't so, but UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said that today's targeting of a UN observer post in Lebanon just above the far northeastern corner of Israel "appeared to be deliberate." It was a direct hit and apparently killed the four peacekeepers who were manning the site. It was a clearly identified building and one which the Israelis knew about. But the question still remains: could it have been a stray bomb or the accidental targeting by an inexperienced pilot or ...

Well, we certainly hope so ... but the families in China, Austria, Canada and Finland probably don't give a hoot.

In the meantime, perhaps President Bush and other world leaders could ask that an immediate ceasefire be called to allow personnel to enter the area and examine the potential "crime scene" for possible evidence to be used in a later war crimes trial.

Any excuse to stop the carnage ...

Dear Mr. President ...

The desire for peace crosses all cultural and religious boundaries

Dear Mr. President

The lives and future of countless Lebanese civilians -- men, women, and children -- are endangered by the disproportionate response by Israel against Lebanon stemming (I have to believe) from the capture of two of its soldiers two weeks ago. I am personally appalled by the indiscriminate bombing campaign(s) well north of any area from which katyusha rockets could be fired against meaningful targets in Northern Israel.

Please, Mr. Bush, take the higher moral ground before it's too late. The last civilian casualty numbers that I hear on CNN and Fox News are on the order of fifteen Lebanese civilians for each Israeli civilian, and most of the Lebanese civilians are dying in areas of southern Beirut (no katyushas there!) and towns well beyond 40 kilometers of the targeted areas in Israel. Only moments ago, I heard that even a UN observation post was bombed (possibly as many as four killed).

Show at least a modicum of equity in human affairs by sending a high-level negotiation team (your father, former Presidents Clinton and Carter and Brent Scowcroft might make a perfect team, with your father as "chairman") to work towards an immediate ceasefire.

I concur with your statement that "Israel has a right to defend itself," but bombing the Beirut International Airport and other infrastructure targets throughout Lebanon goes well beyond "defense."

I have already forwarded an email letter from my niece and a wonderfully written account of her recent "vacation" in Lebanon -- cut short by the Israeli "response" -- which smacks of being a well-orchestrated campaign. She made it clear that Christians and Sunni Muslims (not Hezbollah!) are in some of the most recent areas bombed.

Please do what you can do to end the conflict ... today!!

Sincerely yours

Joseph T. Ryan

To readers of this posting: This letter is already on its way to comments@whitehouse.gov. Word a letter of your own (of course, take what you want from the above letter) that will pass this important message to our President and/or his staff and send it to comments@whitehouse.gov. Who knows? It might be your letter that makes it through the filters at that WH mailbox. MWN (Joe)

Arlen Specter ups his attacks on Bush's "signing statements" one more notch

Specifically, Arlen Specter (right) -- a pretty powerful Republican in the overall scheme of things -- stated, "We will submit legislation to the United States Senate which will ... authorize the Congress to undertake judicial review of those signing statements with the view to having the president's acts declared unconstitutional."

Inasmuch as Specter is the Judiciary Committee Chairman in the Senate, the specter of Specter, a Republican to boot, pushing such legislation adds quite a bit of fuel to the "impeachment likelihood" (without a conviction, however) in the next Congress --if the Democrats win in the manner described in my predictions in a previous posting.

Specter's original concern dealt almost exclusively with Bush's continuing his now infamous support for the NSA electronic surveillance program which rejects a 100% historical Constitutional requirement for judicial approval of warrants before wiretapping -- which even President Bush stated to the American public were required ... before his program of ignoring the warrants was exposed.

However, the legislation that will be ready by the end of the week (according to Specter) goes much further; it takes up the overall issue of any "signing statements" that suggest that the President will ignore the Constitutional requirements in his (or her) interpretation of whatever it is he (or she) is actually signing at the time.

President Bush has made it fairly commonplace to make statements upon signing a bill that he thinks the bill is unconstitutional, unpatriotic or damages our security.

It's not a foregone conclusion that the legislation will pass. Included among those who side with President Bush on this issue, are at least one Republican Senator from Texas, the Reverend Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh, a radio talk-host.

The Easy Way to Stop Smoking

I'm seldom amazed, but when my brother, Richard from Connecticut raves about a book -- backed up by his first successful attempt to stop smoking, I'm impressed!

Then, I took a trip down Amazon.com Lane and looked at the reviews and wow! I've seen many books with 4 1/2 stars, but I can't recall the last time I saw one with five stars. Allen Carr's book must be some kind of magic, if ever there was something magic about anything or anyone ... other than Earvin Johnson, of course.

Is it only me?

Dahia in South Beirut, Lebanon

Is it possibly just a little bit peculiar that we announced early today that we will airlift a $40 million "immediate aid package" to Lebanon, including 100,000 medical kids, 2000 plastic sheets and 20,000 blankets ... only a day and a half after we announced the shipment of 100-plus 5000 pound precision guided bombs to Israel to allow for an enhanced bombing campaign in the days ahead? An additional $100 million has been promised for "humanitarian aid" to Lebanon later in the same day -- today!

Is it only me or is this just a tad odd?

Thank you -- to you all. Your prayers and best wishes were answered!

Not much to this posting, but to those of you who "commented" your concerns to me after reading the e-mail (from my niece and sent to her parents while she was in Lebanon) that I posted with all names, etc. ######'ed out, I feel that it's only proper that I let you read the sweet conclusion to the otherwise nervous (oftentimes, scary) story. It's at a site that I had never heard of -- wherein my niece posted it -- but whatever/wherever, it certainly gives an accurate and detailed portrayal of how an American family with children might feel/react/think after being caught in Lebanon during the activities of the past two weeks -- which are still ongoing.

For those who live permanently in Lebanon, and for whom there is no easy "escape," it's much worse, of course -- as my niece comments in her "story." So continue to pray for them and all who are affected by the conflict.

And oh yes, it's interesting to note that my niece and I have the same political/whatever take on the whole mess -- as regards Israel's disproportionate response and the White House's apparent support for the Israeli "response" (a.k.a. "war") to continue.

But hey, I've dissed the President enough this month, haven't I?

I'm sick and tired of hearing this "If Lamont wins, the Democrats lose!" sort of crap ...

It's gotten so bad that listening to the talk shows on Sunday morning, and again today while driving home from Grays Harbor College, made me wonder if the Hezbollah versus Israel War was synonymous with "Lamont versus Lieberman."

Well, it's not! Yes, the pro-Israel ("beat the living tar out of Lebanon!") gang is standing firm behind Joe Lieberman and yes, the Zionist Lobby (not necessarily bad, but quite powerful) have gotten both Clintons (remember Bill ... he is a former president), Barbara Boxer and nearly every other leading Democrat to line up behind Lieberman ... even threatening those of us who support Ned Lamont with the specter of Lieberman running as a VP candidate on the Republican ticket in 2008. Yeesh!

I happen to like Joe Lieberman (left) and find both his demeanor and general political stance comfortable and (almost) acceptable. I voted for the Gore-Lieberman ticket in 2000 and will support him if he wins the Democrat primary in Connecticut on August 8.

But ... and this is a large BUT ... I disagree with some of his later stances and alliances in support of the bloodbath in Iraq. Obviously, I support Lamont, but I don't like to be threatened ... by Joe Lieberman or the Democratic Party or anyone!


The latest polls show that Lamont (left, with his wife, Annie), just might win on August 8 in a very close Democrat primary, but they further show that Lieberman will win by a landslide as an Independent in November.

Hey, I'm not happy with that, but I can live with it; it's democracy to the core.

It's only that I truly dislike being threatened -- and I'm not even from Connecticut! My brother, Richard from Connecticut must feel as I do on this, but we haven't discussed this particular issue of late. Last time I talked to him about Joe Lieberman though, I got the idea that he'd probably vote for one of his wife's designer chartreuse-with-fuchsia-stripes drapes over Joe Lieberman in either the primary or the general election. I'll check with him and pass back his take on all of these "threats" and ...

I better stop here, before I get angry.

The 2006 Midterm Elections are coming up ...

Yup! The 48 hours are up. I can start dissing Mr. Bush and the current administration in Washington, DC again. I think my brother Richard from Connecticut gave me permission ... maybe ...

Is the US hoping to have the bombing of Lebanon continue ... until?

It is no secret now that the US wants no cease fire until Hezbollah's "back is broken." In fact, Condoleezza Rice goes one step further. She has described Israel's overreaction in so far as the bombing of Lebanon is concerned as "birth pangs of a new Middle East." Whew! Almost poetic, but very, very scary (to me).

Incidentally "overreaction" was my word, not hers -- and Sean Hannity just said "disproportionate response" on the TV behind me, but he was quoting "leftist Islamo-fascists" or some other pleasant sounding phrase he has for the likes of me.

But I do not see that I am "taking sides" when I suggest that Israel is using disproportionate force in attacking Lebanon -- and the Hezbollah, who are admittedly a terrorist organization -- as a response to the capture of two soldiers three weeks ago.

I obviously have no idea what Secretary Rice will tell Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert next week, but my personal expectation is that she will urge him to increase his bombing campaign against Lebanon and secure a sizable foothold in Southern Lebanon. That's not just idle speculation; after all, why did we send additional 5000 pound LGBs (yes, precision guided munitions of all sorts have been delivered to Israel over the decades) to Israel this weekend unless we wanted them to intensify their air campaign.



Oh yes, those are Israeli markings on the F-15 Eagles above. We shouldn't be surprised; the deliveries of F-16s and F-15s to Israel date back to almost the date we began exporting these aircraft.

I know that we might find ourselves negotiating with unreasonable persons (terrorists are hardly "reasonable"), but the killing of civilians and burying of children in makeshift coffins could at least temporarily stop ... for however long. Is war the only answer?

What would Jesus do?

Plame flame burns more dimly ... however ...

Yes, you're right! That glass candle holder is a (seemingly) sleeping cat ... named Patrick Fitzgerald! Purrrr ...

True, the war/occupation in Iraq and now, the Middle East crisis brought on by Israel's disproportionate response against Hezbollah -- and Lebanon -- to the capture of two of its soldiers two weeks ago ... has put the CIA leak case onto the back burner, or so it seems. But we should all recall that what precipitated the Valerie Plame identity leak was the uncovering (by her husband) of the deception that led us into the invasion of Iraq in the first place ... and subsequently led Israel into feeling it had the "green light" from the US to smash Lebanon into the Middle Ages.

But ...



Special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald isn't finished yet! It's not a foregone conclusion that Scooter Libby will be found "not guilty" next year, nor has the "primary source" for Robert Novak's "Mission to Niger" column been named ... yet. Surely, Judith Miller (former New York Times reporter) didn't spend 90 days in jail for nothing, did she? And why, we might ask, is Patrick Fitzgerald keeping the Special Grand Jury "alive"?

It's clear to me that the only reason that a special prosecutor would keep a "leak case" dragging on is if he had an ace up his sleeve ... a BIG ace! Forget Valerie Plame's (and her husband, Joe Wilson's) suit brought against Libby, Rove and Cheney ... and ten unnamed others!

It's Fitzgerald who is the key to this case.

Yes, he's a Republican, but watch for an "October surprise" from the Special Prosecutor's office that might just allow the predictions that I made some postings ago come to fruition -- despite GWB's rising poll numbers in recent days.

Oh ... Mr. Bush ... it's hot here at home too, not just in Lebanon and Iraq!

And while you're at it, since you've decided not to have Condoleezza Rice broker an immediate ceasefire, you might take "time out" and see An Inconvenient Truth while you're doing nothing else. Oh, and while you're doing nothing much else, take a peek at the thermometer outside.

Who says America can't win? Tell that to Tiger Woods or to Floyd Landis! Yea!!

July 23, 2006 will be remembered as a really outstanding day for American sports. Twenty-three has been my lucky number since my teen years and it came through in spades today!

I know, I know ... this site is not a sports site, but such wonder and gladness that comes from Tiger winning his second straight British Open and Floyd Landis winning the Tour de France (after being a support rider behind Lance Armstrong for the past three years) ... both on the same day ... well, that was just too much!

And in some ways, it's a story of love, loyalty, courage and faith too. We all remember that Earl Woods (Tiger's #1 fan and coach ... and his beloved father) passed away earlier this year, taking several weeks off of Tiger's schedule ... and off his game. And we also remember that Landis was loyal to the core in supporting Armstrong by deflecting the wind (really!) by riding just ahead of Armstrong in some of the stretches that Armstrong used to gain his strength back in winning the record-breaking seven Tour de France's that he won over the years -- Landis's win makes it eight in a row for the Americans now.

Yes, we needed a day like today, so let me relish in a few moments of it before returning to the real events that sadden us all. For the record, Tiger won by two strokes and Landis won by 57 seconds.

Whoop Whoop, Hurray!

It's a bird ... it's a plane ... it's SUPER-CONDI!!

Well, it's down to the wire and who are we sending off to the Middle East to untangle the worst mess in most of our lifetimes?

Yup! It's super-Condoleezza Rice who will win the war, win the peace and destroy Hezbollah-type terrorism once and forever. She's made it clear that she is not going for a "quick ceasefire." She is after nothing less than a permanent solution to the Middle East crisis. In her words, she is totally rejecting a "false ceasefire" that ... blah, blah, blah ...

And to insure that it's a genuine ceasefire, we are shipping additional laser-guided bombs and ammunition to the Israelis in advance of her trip to the Middle East.

It takes bombs and bullets to win the peace. Remember Hiroshima! Remember Nagasaki!

Duck and cover ...



PS: Meanwhile, a small group of courageous Congressmen and Congresswomen are co-sponsoring House Continuing Resolution 450 that calls upon the President to: (1) appeal to all sides in the current crisis in the Middle East for an immediate cessation of violence; (2) commit US diplomats to multi-party negotiations; and (3) send a high-level diplomatic mission to the region to facilitate such multi-party negotiations.

Only 23 persons had signed this continuing resolution the last I saw it mentioned on C-SPAN earlier today. And I haven't heard one peep about it on any of the mainline newscasts which blare on and on in my otherwise peaceful livingroom.

So very strange ... not even a passing reference to the continuing resolution ... and yes, so very sad ...