Priorities

In Michigan's GOP controlled senate, the top concerns may be ending a woman's right to own and control her own reproductive system, and banning gay marriage, but still in the top tier is ending welfare benefits for the poor.

They're not totally heartless though, they're willing to grant exemptions if you live in a MI county with unemployment above 9%.


That compassionate conservatism really ices over in the old veins here in MI during the winter months.

-D.

Christina Aguilera: Beautiful

"Stripped"


-D.

Olbermann on Free Speech

Keith has some special words for Mr.Gingrich.

-D.

A monkey drinks during the monkey buffet festival in front of the Pra Prang Sam Yot temple in Lopburi province, 150km (94 miles) north of Bangkok November 26, 2006. More than 2,000kg of fruit and vegetable were fed to the animals during the annual festival. [REUTERS/Chaiwat Subprasom]

More Nutcracker

The Other Forgotten War

The gunmen came at night to drag Mohammed Halim away from his home, in front of his crying children and his wife begging for mercy.

The 46-year-old schoolteacher tried to reassure his family that he would return safely. But his life was over, he was part-disembowelled and then torn apart with his arms and legs tied to motorbikes, the remains put on display as a warning to others against defying Taliban orders to stop educating girls.


But say, do gay penguins in the movies have a negative impact on childhood development?

-D.

Cold

As the president flies back from his summit on the war -- the one that will have claimed the lives of more than 3,000 Americans by Christmas -- the Office of the First Lady is distributing the menu for this year's White House holiday receptions.

What we'll be missing:

Display of Specialty Cheeses and Winter Fruits (Served with a Bountiful Display of Lavish Specialty Crackers and Spiced Pecans).

Colossal Shrimp Cocktail and Jonah Crab Claws (Served with Ramsey’s Cocktail Sauce and Spiced Remoulade).

Stuffed Turkey Breasts with Winter Mushrooms, Cheese and Brandied Cranberries.

Sugar Cured Virginia Ham with Hot Pepper Mustard (Served with Warm Blue Corn Muffins).

Chicken Fried Beef Tenderloin with White Onion Gravy (Served with Tiny Icebox Rolls).

Herb Roasted Lollipop Lamb Chops served with Warm Yeast Rolls.

Honey Cup Mustard Sauce.

Fresh Tamales with Tomatillo Sauce and Black Beans.

Baked White Cheddar Farfalle.

Sweet Potato Soufflé.

Asparagus Tier with Lemon-Garlic Aioli.

Golden and Crimson Beet Salad with Orange, Fennel, and Feta.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies with Peppermint Crunch.

Pecan Sandie Tree (Mexican Wedding Cookies, Russian Tea Cakes) with Layers of Cookies.

Holiday Ornamental Cookies: Barney, Miss Beazley, Christmas Trees, Snowflakes, Candy Canes.

Red Hat Box Mascarpone Cake.

White Pound Cake with Mascarpone Cream Filling, Red Marzipan Frosting and Red Ribbon Bow Decoration.

Coconut Cake.

Coconut Chiffon Cake, Coconut Pastry Cream Filling and 7 Minute Meringue Frosting.

Chocolate Roulade (Christmas Log): Soft Ganache Frosting with a Chocolate Sponge, Meringue Mushrooms, Magnolia Leaves in White Chocolate, Raspberries.

Mini Tartlettes.

Pecan Pie, Lemon Meringue Pie, Orange Chiffon and Chocolate Boston Cream Pie.

Chocolate Truffles.

Homemade, Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache.

Long Stem Strawberries with Dark Chocolate Dipping Sauce.

Warm Macintosh Apple Cobbler With Oatmeal Crumble.

Pumpkin Trifle.

Spiced Pumpkin Mousse with Whipped Cream and Shaved Dark Chocolate.

Especially tragic that the citizens of Iraq probably won't be able to take time out to even admire the menu, let alone ponder the difference between a pumpkin trifle and a pumpkin mousse. They're still picking up the 80+ tortured bodies found in the last 24 hours in and around Baghdad ...

Happy holidays.


-D.

Shorter Chimpy:

We have spent over 300 billion dollars and killed over 600,000 of your people to bring you freedom. What more do you want?

-D

Documenting the atrocities

BAGHDAD - A total of 52 bodies, with gunshot wounds and bearing signs of torture, were found in different districts of Baghdad on Wednesday, an Interior Ministry source said.

BAQUBA - Iraqi soldiers found 28 bodies in a mass grave on south of Baquba 60 km (45 miles) north of Baghdad, the U.S. military said in a statement on Thursday.

BASRA - Police found the bodies of Nasser al-Qatrani, the deputy manager of Sunni Endowment in Basra, along with three guards and four members of the Facility Protection Services who were ambushed on the northern outskirts of the city on Wednesday.

SAMAWA - Four civilians were wounded when clashes erupted between Mehdi Army militia and Iraqi security forces in the southern city of Samawa, 270 km (168 miles) south of Baghdad, a hospital source said.

BAGHDAD - A U.S. soldier was killed in combat in Baghdad on Wednesday, the U.S. military said.

BAGHDAD - Gunmen killed a police colonel on Wednesday near the national stadium in east-central Baghdad, police said.

MOSUL - Six bodies were found with gunshot wounds on Wednesday in the northern city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, a hospital source said.

JURF AL-SAKHAR - A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol killed three policemen and wounded three others on Wednesday in the town of Jurf al-Sakhar, about 85 km (53 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.


Chimpy keeps repeating today that there will be no 'graceful exit' from Iraq. I know that the majority of us -- that latest poll says 68% -- would like to see an orderly exit. Orderly as in set dates for official hand-offs of security in various regions to Iraqi forces. I doubt anyone would use the term 'graceful' for any exit we make from Iraq. We've left scores of people dead, the nation is practically leveled ... absolutely nothing graceful about our exit, no. I also imagine if any of these tortured corpses in the streets could speak any last few words, it might be something along the lines of 'just shut up and go already!'

-D

Smoking Assumptions

U.S. officials say they have found smoking-gun evidence of Iranian support for terrorists in Iraq: brand-new weapons fresh from Iranian factories. According to a senior defense official, coalition forces have recently seized Iranian-made weapons and munitions that bear manufacturing dates in 2006.

This suggests, say the sources, that the material is going directly from Iranian factories to Shia militias, rather than taking a roundabout path through the black market. "There is no way this could be done without (Iranian) government approval," says a senior official.


That rat bastard really isn't going to be happy until he gets to pre-emptively strike another 'axis of eviiiiiil' nation, is he?

-D

Caption this.

Bobo's World

Fresno Chapter.

-D

Rock the Boat, Baby

WSJ:

A majority of Americans think Iraq is in the midst of a civil war, a new Harris Interactive poll finds, and few are confident that Robert Gates's nomination as Secretary of Defense will improve the situation there.

Sixty-eight percent of U.S. adults said they believe there is a civil war in Iraq, the online poll from Nov. 13 to Nov. 20 found, compared with 14% who disagree and 18% who aren't sure.

None of this happy, centrist congress shit is going to cut it. Get busy and bring the troops home so they can enjoy the holiday, too, and the Iraqi people can get on with finding a solution to their civil war.

-D.

Simon and Garfunkel: Mrs. Robinson

"The Essential Simon & Garfunkel"

-D.

The Nutcracker: Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy

With the holiday season upon us, I get to torment all of you with various scenes from my favorite ballet. :)

-D.

TDS

Jon Stewart covers Bush twins gone wild, Saddam's 'real' wmd's, and Putin's poison.

-D.

Radiation Detected on two BA Planes

Details here.


-D.

A nurse lifts Natonon, right, past his older twin brother, Natawut, at the Phayathai orphanage in Bangkok, Thailand. The twins, born on Nov. 10 to an HIV-positive mother in jail, are suspected of carrying the virus. Each day, 1,800 children worldwide become infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The vast majority of them are newborn babies, according to the United Nations. Thailand is one of the few Asian countries that provide drugs to prevent mother-to-child transmission as part of the country's anti-AIDS program. However, health experts say there are gaps in coverage for marginal groups such as drug users and migrant workers.
(Adrees Latif/ Reuters )

Documenting the Atrocities

SAMARRA - Six policemen were killed and four wounded when a car bomb exploded near a police station in a town near Samarra, 100 km (60 miles) north of Baghdad. Militants briefly occupied the building. A daylight curfew was imposed.

* ANBAR PROVINCE - A U.S. Marine died from wounds sustained in combat while operating in western Anbar province, the U.S. military said.

* BAGHDAD - A suicide car bomber targeting a police patrol killed a policeman and wounded seven people, including three policemen, in southwestern Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.

* BAGHDAD - A suicide car bomber exploded near a police patrol, killing a policeman and wounding five civilians in al-Nidhal street in central Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.

* BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded three people in Ouqba Bin Nafie square in central Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.

MOSUL - A suicide car bomber targeting a police station killed one civilian and wounded 23 in the northern city of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - A U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded on Tuesday when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in Salahaddin province, the U.S. military said.

DIWANIYA - Police said they found the body of a teacher with gunshot wounds in Diwaniya, 180 km (112 miles) south of Baghdad. Gunmen had kidnapped him on Tuesday.

BAGHDAD - Iraqi soldiers killed three insurgents and arrested 28 during the past 24 hours in different parts of Iraq, the Defence Ministry said.

NEAR BAQUBA - The U.S. military said its forces killed eight insurgents and two women in an early morning ground assault supported by an air strike on a village near Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) north of Baghdad. Iraqi police said a U.S.-Iraqi force killed eight civilians. Police said the dead were a man and his three sons and a neighbouring couple, their son and daughter.

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol killed two policemen and wounded seven people, including two policemen, in Baghdad's al-Nahdha area, an Interior Ministry source said.

BAGHDAD - Gunmen fired on the Shi'ite-run Health Ministry building in central Baghdad after two mortar rounds landed nearby, Deputy Health Minister Hakim al-Zamily said. No casualties were reported and the gunmen later withdrew.


Meanwhile, the guys behind the desks at the Pentagon plan to send 4 more battalions (3,500) to Iraq early next year.

-D.

Cafferty Files

The Department of Justice decides it's time to investigate the NSA's Domestic Spying program. Jack notes the curios timing.

-D.

Wednesday Monkey Blogging

2885

The Toll.

-D.

Caption this.

Striking Down Facism

LOS ANGELES - A federal judge struck down President Bush's authority to designate groups as terrorists, saying his post-Sept. 11 executive order was unconstitutional and vague, according to a ruling released Tuesday.

The Humanitarian Law Project had challenged Bush's order, which blocked all the assets of groups or individuals he named as "specially designated global terrorists" after the 2001 terrorist attacks.

"This law gave the president unfettered authority to create blacklists," said David Cole, a lawyer for the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Constitutional Rights that represented the group. "It was reminiscent of the McCarthy era."



Must be one of them activist judges.

-D.

Guilty and 35 Years

For ... a pre-crime??


-D.

WWJD?

The once-powerful Christian Coalition of America has suffered another setback.

The president-elect of the group has declined the job, saying the organization wouldn't let him expand its agenda beyond opposing abortion and gay marriage.

The Rev. Joel Hunter, who was scheduled to take over the conservative group in January from Roberta Combs, said he had hoped to focus on issues such as poverty and the environment.

"These are issues that Jesus would want us to care about," said Hunter, a senior pastor at Northland Church in Longwood, Fla.

Hunter announced his decision not to take the job during an organization board meeting Nov. 21. A statement issued by the group said Hunter left because of "differences in philosophy and vision." Hunter said he was not asked to leave.

"They pretty much said, 'These issues are fine, but they're not our issues, that's not our base,"' Hunter said.

It seems that the 'Christian Coalition' doesn't have anything to do with what Jesus would care about. Remember that when they're looking for donations, America.

-D.

Welcome

Everyone, please welcome MarkedHoosier to the Blogroll.

-D.

Aerosmith: Amazing

"Get a Grip"

-D.

Horrors!

The Daily Show isn't fair and balanced like Fox news? :)

-D.

Bring them Home

This was posted @ Youtube on November 10, 2006. Terrified US troops who have taken cover during a mortar attack pray for their lives, and cry for the attack to stop.

-D.

Score One for Peace

Yesterday's 'Wanker of the Day' had his phone number changed -- as did the subdivision 'President' -- but Lisa Jensen says the threat of the $25 a day fine for her peace sign Christmas wreath has been dropped and labeled a misunderstanding by the board of directors of the Colorado subdivision.

A big "thank-you" to all here -- and everywhere -- who offered to help pay the daily fines and offered words of encouragement.


-D.

Barney Frank calls Fox News on Bias

Jeezus, I can't stand that weasel Chris Wallace.

-D.

Caption this.

Coingate

For Tom Noe, $13.7 million in fines to go with his 18-year prison term, and Tim LaPointe pleads guilty to 3 felonies for his role in the scam.

-D.

King George: "Not a 'Civil War' -- it's an al-Qaeda Plot"

USA Today:

"We've been in this phase for a while," Bush said.

...

Bush said Iraq is a sovereign nation, free to meet with its neighbors. "If that's what they think they ought to do, that's fine," he said. "One thing Iraq would like to see is for the Iranians to leave them alone."


Someone. Make. It. Stop. For the love of Jeezus, make it stop.

-D.

Boing!

WSJ/Harris Poll: Bush approval at 31%, second lowest of his Presidency.

Wheeeeeeeeee!

-D.

Wanker of the Day

Jeff Heitz

-D.

Lisa Loeb: Stay (I Missed You)

"The Very Best of Lisa Loeb"

-D.

2882

The Toll.

-D.

News missed over the Holiday weekend . . .

Robert Kupperman, a government scientist who began warning of terrorist attacks on the United States over thirty years ago, has died at age 71 of complications of Parkinson's disease.

"Unless governments take basic precautions, we will continue to stand at the edge of an awful abyss," Kupperman, chief scientist for the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency, wrote in a 1977 report that summarized nearly five years of work by the Cabinet Committee to Combat Terrorism."

Then President Richard M. Nixon created the high-level government panel in 1972 after the terrorist attacks during the Olympics in Munich, Germany. Among the panel members were Henry Kissinger, George H.W. Bush, and Rudy Giuliani.

Through the years, Kupperman continued to warn of terrorist attacks, from an op-ed in the New York Times in 1988 that he co-wrote with journalist Jeff Kamen: "Terrorists are undergoing a dangerous metamorphosis from technological clods relying on fanaticism to skilled tacticians." Again, in 1995 he wrote: "essentially ignored the issue of domestic terrorism" for two decades.

Survivors include his daughter -- Tamara Kupperman Thorp, a White House producer for NBC News -- his wife, Barbara Norris Kupperman, and a sister, Ina Brown of Florida.

-D.

Iraq'd

Stolen from Atrios.

-D.

Hmm. . .

My site meter tells me if another site referred people here and such, and I've made an observation just now that has me puzzled. There were over 50 'hits' in the last hour all who got here via a google search of the word "vagina."

So... what is up with that, people?

-D.

Election results Continue

Ohio GOP Rep. Deborah Pryce wins by a Diebold so slim, that a recount will be required.

-D.

Indeedy.

"Senate Democratic aides are a tad nervous about Sen. Joe Lieberman (Whatever-Conn.) hiring a former GOP spokesman to be his new communications director. Especially those working for potential 2008 Democratic presidential contenders."

I *love* it that Roll Call labeled Lieberman "Whatever-Conn."! :)

-D.

Restoring Order in Iraq

Jonathan Chait ponders bringing back Saddam.

Something many methinks have simply been afraid to say out loud.

-D.

The Top 100

"The most influential figures in American history."


"17 Ronald Reagan
The amiable architect of both the conservative realignment and the Cold War’s end."


How can anyone praise him for these 'achievements' without mentioning his 'contributions' as it were, to the terrorism that plagues the world today?

-D.

Supporting our Troops

The number of vets seeking counseling or treatment for mental health issues more than doubled from 4,467 in October of 2005 to 9,103 in June. And the number needing other forms of help transitioning from military to civilian life more than tripled, jumping from 43,682 to 144,227. Yet, the number of staff positions added to deal with such problems since 2002 is only eight.



Where's the love?

-D.

There certainly aren't any ponies here.

"This is live and, God willing, everyone will hear me," one resident said. "We are not interested in sidewalks, water services or anything else. We want safety. We want the officials. They say there is no sectarian war. No, it is sectarian war, and that's the truth."

--From a two-hour broadcast via the state-run Iraqi tv channel after it was taken over by followers of Shiite leric Moqtada al-Sadr on Saturday.

-D.

Guns n Roses - Sweet Child o' mine

"Appetite for Destruction"

-D.

Caption this.

"The Wolf Deserves Better than That"

GAYLORD, Mich. (AP) -- Michigan's federally protected population of gray wolves could migrate to state oversight by spring, and a group charged with developing a management plan is divided between allowing the reclusive animal to be hunted or keeping it safeguarded.

The Michigan Wolf Management Roundtable is charged with offering advice to update the state's management plan, which was first developed in 1997. Gray wolves will become the responsibility of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources if the federal government delists the animal as a threatened, endangered species in four months.

The impending switch to state oversight is being driven by an increasing population in the Upper Peninsula, where more than 400 wolves are believed to exist. Interior Secretary Gale Norton announced a proposal earlier this year to remove the wolf from the endangered species list in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, where a combined 3,800 are estimated to live.

But the farmers, hunters, scientists, conservationists, environmentalists and tribal representatives who make up the advisory panel are split over the issue of sport or recreational hunting of the animal. Some support hunting, while others vehemently oppose it.


"Our perspective is that the wolf is a game animal and it should be managed the same way as other animals, just like deer, bear or elk," Merle Shepard, a spokesman for the Michigan Chapters of Safari Club International told the Traverse City Record-Eagle for a Sunday story. "If you just manage an animal when it becomes a problem, the public views it as a nuisance, not a game animal. The wolf deserves better than that."

[*Insert that cartoon sound for brain cells bouncing around in your head like little rubber balls as you shake it quickly before doing a double take.*]

I'm trying to make sense of what the guy from the Safari Club said. The wolf 'deserves' it's own season to be blasted to bits for sport?

Y'all know I'm not anti-hunting, or anti-gun, but that Safari Club logic is just fucked. Truly.

-D.

The War on Peace

In this undated photo provided by Lisa Jensen, a wreath is seen in Pagosa Springs, Colo. Pagosa Springs Colorado homeowners are battling over whether a Christmas wreath that includes a peace sign is an anti-Iraq war protest or even a promotion of Satan. (AP Photo/provided by Lisa Jensen)

DENVER -- A homeowners association in southwestern Colorado has threatened to fine a resident $25 a day until she removes a Christmas wreath with a peace sign that some say is an anti-Iraq war protest or a symbol of Satan.

Some residents who have complained have children serving in Iraq, said Bob Kearns, president of the Loma Linda Homeowners Association in Pagosa Springs. He said some residents have also believed it was a symbol of Satan. Three or four residents complained, he said.

"Somebody could put up signs that say drop bombs on Iraq. If you let one go up you have to let them all go up," he said in a telephone interview Sunday.

Hello, ACLU?

-D.

Where *is* the Pony, damnit?

WASHINGTON Nov 26, 2006 (AP)— Jordan's King Abdullah said Sunday the problems in the Middle East go beyond the war in Iraq and that much of the region soon could become engulfed in violence unless the central issues are addressed quickly.

"We could possibly imagine going into 2007 and having three civil wars on our hands," he said, citing conflicts in Iraq, Lebanon and the decades-long strife between the Palestinians and Israelis.

"Therefore, it is time that we really take a strong step forward as part of the international community and make sure we avert the Middle East from a tremendous crisis that I fear, and I see could possibly happen in 2007," he said.

Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Abdullah said he remained hopeful a summit he will host this week in Amman with President Bush and the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, will somehow lower the sectarian violence that threatens to push Iraq into all-out civil war.

"We hope there will be something dramatic. The challenges, obviously, in front of both of them are immense," the king said.

"We have to make sure that all parties in Iraq understand the dangers of the ongoing escalation. I hope Prime Minister Maliki will have some ideas … on how he can be inclusive in bringing all the different sects inside of Iraq together. They need to do it now," he said, "because, obviously, as we're seeing, things are beginning to spiral out of control."

With all due respect, don't hold your breath, your majesty. George is on a mission.

-D.

Iraq: The Hidden Story

Filmed back in May of 2006, and is approximately 48 minutes in length. Due to some very graphic footage of a brutal war, strongly recommended for adult viewing only.

-D.

Shiite and Sunni Clerics: "Americans should go Home"

BAGHDAD — Shiite and Sunni clerics, among the last vestige of authority in a country rapidly losing faith in politicians, charged Saturday that Iraq's plight was the result of U.S. mistakes and pleaded with their faithful to stem the bloodshed that followed a devastating attack on a mainly Shiite Baghdad neighborhood.

In interviews Saturday and in recent sermons, clerics articulated one message that appears to be gaining traction on both sides of Iraq's civil war: The U.S. presence is making matters worse, and the Americans should go home.



US takes the blame for the plight of Iraqi citizens going "from bad to worse" as sectarian leaders plead for an end to the retaliation killings.


-Diane

2876

The Toll.

-Diane

3rd Infantry deploys for Third Tour of Duty

STEWART, Ga. - As a gray dawn broke, hundreds of 3rd Infantry Division soldiers gathered on a Georgia marching ground this month and listened to a long list of names of fallen comrades. Taps rose mournfully above rows of young redbud trees planted for each of the division's 317 soldiers who have died in Iraq.

Col. John Charlton, commander of the division's 1st Brigade, which next month begins its third Iraq tour in four years, stepped forward. "Be thankful for your families, your health, and for every day that you're alive," he advised. The brigade's mission, he said, is to bring peace to Iraq's volatile western Anbar province and its capital, Ramadi, which he said despite progress remain "a dangerous area, a very dangerous area."

"Take this time . . . to be thinking about those soldiers represented behind or in front of you," he said, "and as you'll notice, there's still some space on the sidewalk there for more trees."

Jeezus.

-Diane

The Raconteurs: Broken Boy Soldier

"Broken Boy Soldiers"

-Diane

Never a Tear, Baby of Mine

A woman carries her wounded baby for treatment in a hospital in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, November 25, 2006. A baby and four other women were wounded by crossfire during clashes between soldiers and insurgents in central Baquba, police said. [REUTERS/Helmiy al-Azawi]

Janice Karpinski:

Rumsfeld authorized harsh interrogation methods at at Abu Ghraib.

-Diane

Where fore art thou, StMcCain?

BAGHDAD, Nov. 25 — The insurgency in Iraq is now self-sustaining financially, raising tens of millions of dollars a year from oil smuggling, kidnapping, counterfeiting, connivance by corrupt Islamic charities and other crimes that the Iraqi government and its American patrons have been largely unable to prevent, a classified United States government report has concluded.

*sigh.* And still, not a pony to be found.

-Diane

Welcome to my Den, said the Spider to the Fly.

Just incredulous that rather than discuss Iraq options with the new Democratic House and Senate...Cheney goes to the House of Saud.

Perhaps the common oil in the veins is the attraction?

-Diane

An Iraqi woman mourns the death of her son outside the morgue of a hospital in the restive city of Baquba northeast of Baghdad. More than 50 insurgents have been killed and a pregnant woman wounded in a series of clashes between US-Iraqi forces and militants across Iraq, US military and police said.(AFP/Ali YUssef)

Red November Cont'd.

BAQUBA, Iraq, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Iraqi police found the bodies of 21 men and boys from an extended Shi'ite family on Saturday hours after they were abducted from a mainly Sunni Arab village northeast of Baghdad, security sources said.

The victims in Shamafiya, a village just outside the town of Balad Ruz, 70 km (45 miles) northeast of the capital in violent Diyala province, ranged in age from 12.



Meanwhile, Cheney goes to Saudi Arabia to yell "Help!"


-Diane

The Center of Gravity

I've been saying for quite some time now that the US military deaths were centered more in the western Anbar province despite claims to the contrary by Rummy and his side-kick:

As total U.S. war casualties mounted through this summer and into the fall - from a total of about 2,500 by mid-June to more than 2,870 now - military officials blamed the rise on the Baghdad offensive, as well as the holy observance of Ramadan. The escalating violence made October the fourth deadliest month since the war began.

"Baghdad is the center of gravity for Iraq. We must get it right in Baghdad," Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at the time. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld added, "Most of the violence occurs within 30 kilometers of Baghdad."

In terms of actual U.S. casualties, the opposite was true.

Most of the 245 deaths during the first three months of Operation Together Forward occurred beyond Baghdad's boundaries. According to an analysis by The Associated Press, there were 73 casualties in Baghdad between Aug. 7 and Nov. 7, while there were 103 in Anbar.

I must say though, it isn't a comforting feeling at all knowing that your right, and that your nation's military leadership seems to be either clueless or in denial. I'd much rather be wrong about such things.

-Diane

Claiming the Dead

A man grieves outside a hospital morgue as he waits to claim the body of his wife, who was killed during Thursday's bomb attacks, in Baghdad's Sadr City, November 24, 2006. (Thaier al-Sudani/Reuters)

Residents wait to claim the bodies of their relatives who were killed in bomb attacks in Baghdad's Sadr city November 23, 2006. Baghdad was locked down in curfew on Friday and the government appealed for calm after car bombs in a Shi'ite stronghold killed 160 in the bloodiest single attack of the war, pushing Iraq closer to the abyss of anarchy. Picture taken November 23, 2006. (Kareem Raheem/Reuters)

Black Friday

The Best Buy store in West Patterson, N.J., had almost 2,000 people waiting for Friday's 5 a.m. opening, many of whom had lined up starting at 8 a.m. on Thursday.

"They had turkey sandwiches," said Chuck O'Donnell, a Best Buy district service manager, which did well with all the early morning specials advertised in its circular, including $1,000 42-inch, high-definition Westinghouse TVs and digital cameras for $80.

Even those who arrived at stores early Friday were not guaranteed success. Brian Clark, 27, left the West Hartford Best Buy empty-handed after the televisions and computers he'd eyed as Christmas gifts were snatched by earlier shoppers.

Alarmed by a recent shooting of a customer waiting outside a Connecticut Wal-Mart store for highly sought Sony's PlayStation 3, Clark had tucked his Glock pistol in a holster under his jacket and put extra ammunition in his pocket before heading out early Friday.

"You never know these days," he said, quickly adding that he has a state permit for a concealed weapon.

Discuss.

-Diane

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Other Side

"Californication"

-Diane

Bad, Worse, and Beyond Top Secret

BAGHDAD (AP) — Militiamen grabbed six Sunnis as they left Friday worship services, doused them with kerosene and burned them alive as Iraqi soldiers stood by, and seven Sunni mosques came under attack as Shiites took revenge for the slaughter of 215 people in the Sadr City slum.

Also today, a newly released video of Saddam Hussein training his military officers in the months leading up to the Iraq war not in the use of weapons of mass destruction, but in the fine art of sling-shot use, molotov cocktails, and crossbows.

-Diane

The Stupid, it Burns, and Sometimes Kills Us

NOV.23, 2006 — Roughly 3 million Americans live with epilepsy. And a surprising number of them go to jail for it.

Why? Around the country, police officers and bystanders who see someone having a seizure mistake it for disorderly, criminal behavior.

That's what happened to Daniel Beloungea of Pontiac, Mich. On most days Daniel lives the normal life of a 48-year-old single man. But roughly once a week, he loses total control of his body and mind to an epileptic seizure.

A seizure took over Beloungea's body while walking through his suburban Detroit neighborhood last April. When an onlooker in a neighbor's house saw Beloungea having the seizure, which includes rapid repetitive arm motion, she misinterpreted it as criminal conduct. Specifically, she thought Beloungea was masturbating in public.

With that misconception in mind, she called the Oakland Police Department. When police arrived on the scene, Beloungea was still undergoing his seizure, acting disoriented and not responding to questions.

When officers couldn't get through to Beloungea they drew their weapons, shocked him with a high-voltage taser, hit him with a baton and wrestled him to the ground. They then handcuffed him and put him in a police car.

Undersheriff Michael McCabe of the Oakland County Police Department said that the officers tasered Beloungea because he lunged at one of them. Beloungea and his lawyer say the more police got physical the more Beloungea got agitated and aggressive — typical behavior, according to the Epilepsy Foundation of America, for a person restrained while having a partial complex seizure. Beloungea's wild motions and inability to communicate were not defiance or resistance, but classic symptoms of epilepsy

The officers put Beloungea in jail, citing assault of a police officer and resisting arrest. Throughout the incident Beloungea, was wearing a medical alert bracelet identifying him as an epileptic, stating his name and the contact numbers of people who can be reached in case of an emergency.

Unfortunately, it seems this isn't an isolated incident. People with epilepsy suffering from the most common form of seizure -- the partial complex -- have fallen victim to police violence at least a dozen times during the past ten years. In 1999, one such person died after being 'hog-tied' by police during an episode.

Oh, and Mr. Beloungea? He got out of jail, but not before being forced to plead 'not guilty by reason of insanity.' Even though not insane, there was no other way available to his attorney to get him off the charges he faced. And that was the upside, he was forced to spend 20 days locked in a criminal mental facility.

-Diane

Reality Bytes

From the homepage of the WSJ:

SECTARIAN ATTACKS APPEARED to push Iraq deeper into civil war. Sunni insurgents detonated five car bombs and fired mortars into Baghdad's Sadr City, killing at least 160 people in the war's deadliest strike on a sectarian enclave


When did the msm finally recognize the civil war for what it is?

-Diane

Christmas Vacation

In 30 seconds.

-Diane

Counting Crows: Round Here

"August and Everything After"


-Diane

Caption this.

The sister of Mohammed al-Jarjawi, who was killed by Israeli tank fire, mourns at a hospital in Beit Lahia. (AFP/Mohammed Abed)

The Snoopy balloon moves through Times Square during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade Thursday, Nov. 23, 2006 in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

2871

The Toll.

-Diane

Red November

(CBS/AP) In the deadliest attack on a sectarian enclave since the beginning of the Iraq war, suspected Sunni-Arab militants used three suicide car bombs and two mortar rounds on the capital's Shiite Sadr City slum to kill at least 150 people and wound 238 on Thursday, police said.


It would seem the Sunnis are sick and tired, and they're not going to take it anymore. I certainly can't say that I blame them.

-Diane

oh-mah-gawd

I wasn't expecting ThinkProgress to have a 'don't-have-coffee-in-your-mouth-whilst-reading' post.

-Diane

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

Complain about Nickleback, will yas?

Anonymous Blogging

I've enjoyed a pretty long run of fairly anonymous blogging here on Mia Culpa, and Greatscat before it was taken over by the porno spammers(I think most here know that long, sad tale by now.). 'Desi' or 'Desiree' is an old family nick-name, but I'll sign this post with the name I use daily.

The time has come to 'out' myself, as circumstances change, and there are some fairly exciting changes going on in my life that I'd love to share with all my loyal readers.

Aside from the blog here, I'm also working with a great group of folks at the Raw Story, as Editorial Assistant, a great position that encompasses a really wide variety of duties, as well as lately doing some writing now and again. I'll also be guest-blogging from time-to-time on a blog Larisa Alexandrovna has set up, at-Largely. Larisa's blog should be a lot of fun also, as I don't even know what all she has in store for the place as yet. I did notice that Lukery of Wotisitgood4 posting today, and he's a great writer.

I should also note that anything posted here on this site is strictly representative of my own thoughts and opinions, as well as things shared from readers of this site, and it is not affiliated or endorsed by Raw Story in any way.

I hope you're all as glad to meet 'me' as I am to share this with all of you.

-Diane Sweet

No Ponies

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- More than 140 bodies have been found dumped across Baghdad over the past three days, police said Wednesday.

Police said 52 bullet-riddled bodies were found Wednesday, with 20 of them blindfolded, tied up and possibly tortured.

Police also discovered 29 bodies on Tuesday and 60 on Monday.

The dead are thought to be victims of Sunni-Shiite sectarian revenge killings.

That word came as the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq issued a grim bimonthly human rights report that underscored the instability and death resulting from sectarian violence.

The report said 7,054 civilians were killed violently in September and October in Iraq, with almost 5,000 in Baghdad alone -- most of them shot to death and showing signs of torture.

But, by all means, Holy Joe, let's keep on looking for that pony.

-Desi

Casting Asparagus

From a site that shall remain nameless, that may have been the hang-out of a certain wingnut who sent threatening emails laced with white powder to liberal politicians, and entertainers(no, I can/will not link to it):

"Why is when Americans go to London they start dogging the U.S. and our President?"

You have it exactly backwards: they go to London IN ORDER TO cast asparagus on this country and administration.

Just another example of Price's Law of Politics in action ("It's easier to be a liberal a long way from home.").



Heh.

-Desi

Wednesday Monkey Blogging

Yes, it's O'Reilly, and Faux news, but this video is proof that wingnuts have no sense of humor.

-Desi

Americans abducted in Nasiriyah

WASHINGTON — A convoy of civilians was hijacked in southern Iraq Thursday and up to 14 people were abducted, the U.S. military said. Four Americans were believed to be among the captives, an official said.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said that preliminary reports suggested the convoy included about 19 vehicles.

An official familiar with the incident said preliminary reports being checked by the military indicated that the attack occurred at a checkpoint near Nasiriyah and that four Americans were believed to have been taken captive.

I'll update as this develops. It sounds as if they're still sorting it all out, perhaps the abducted have already been released. The details aren't very clear at this point. I must say, those faux security checkpoints are working just too well. Wonder who trained 'em?

-Desi

Indeed

As a last little gift to America, Senator George Allen, who was narrowly defeated by James Webb this month, has introduced what may be his final piece of legislation: a bill that would allow the carrying of concealed weapons in national parks. The argument behind the bill is that national park regulations unfairly strip many Americans of a right they may enjoy outside the parks. The bill has passed to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, where we hope it will die the miserable death it deserves.

I believe that says it all.

-Desi

3,709: Highest Monthly Toll in Iraq

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The United Nations said Wednesday that 3,709 Iraqi civilians were killed in October, the highest monthly toll since the 2003 U.S. invasion.

The violence has been a combination of bombings and shootings by Sunni insurgents, and slayings by Shiite and Sunni death squads.

U.N. officials blamed the increase on the growing influence of armed militias and rampant torture "despite the government's commitment to address human rights abuses."

"Hundreds of bodies continued to appear in different areas of Baghdad handcuffed, blindfolded and bearing signs of torture and execution-style killing," the officials quoted the report as saying. "Many witnesses reported that perpetrators wear militia attire and even police or army uniforms."

We're told daily how the Iraqis need us to stay and prepare them to handle their own security, and yet they're managing to torture and execute each other with amazing speed and precision right under our own troop's noses.

It seems our troops only serve as a minor distraction from the Shiite and Sunni's killing of each other, as they both seem in agreement that they want our troops either gone or dead.

Why not oblige them?

-Desi

Lord Love a Duck.

Karen Gral knows how difficult it is to travel with small children: standing in long lines with squirming toddlers, dealing with new security rules that prohibit liquids -- including some baby foods -- and lugging strollers, car seats and diaper bags through airports.

So when the Alexandria mother of two heard that a family was kicked off a Delta Air Lines flight last month because the mother refused to cover her baby with a blanket while breast-feeding, Gral decided to join 70 people at Reagan National Airport yesterday for a "nurse-in" in front of the Delta ticket counter. Similar protests were held at more than 30 airports around the country, including Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, where 62 people gathered in support of Arlington native Emily Gillette.

"Breast-feeding is the most natural thing in the world. What was Emily supposed to do? Not feed her child? Not give her child comfort?" said Gral, while nursing her son, Garrett, who was wearing a white onesie that read, "I'm a Breast Man."



I wouldn't wish the LaLeche League on anyone.

-Desi

Caption this.

Photograph: Nickleback

"All the Right Reasons"

Yes, Nickleback. Just shut up already and give it a listen, would ya?

-Desi

Exiled Tibetan activists take part in a protest against a visit from Chinese President Hu Jintao to India, in New Delhi, Nov. 20, 2006. Jintao is scheduled to visit India Nov. 20 to 23.


(Photo: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images)

-Desi

Update

Last week, I told y'all that the Amish community in PA that suffered the school shooting had received over a million dollars in donations from various generous groups and individuals. Today, that amount is 3.2 million.

The link also has an address for anyone wishing to continue to show the love to a community hit hard by the darker side of our world. Again note in the post from last week that most of the money has come in from donations of $50 or less.

-Desi

Tweety interviews Sy Hersh

Tweety: Lessons Learned from Vietnam

Tell him why we're there.

An Iraqi boy mourns the death of his little brother in Baghdad's impoverished district of Sadr City, following a raid in which three people were killed and 11 wounded as security forces backed by US helicopters hunted for a kidnapped US soldier.

(AFP/Ahmad Al-Rubaye)

-Desi

Bombs don't like Babies, either.

Women grieve next to a bloodstained blanket in a room where a baby died and another relative was wounded after a U.S. air strike in Baghdad's Sadr city November 21, 2006. A U.S. air strike in Baghdad's Sadr City district killed at least three people on Tuesday when U.S.-led forces mounted their latest raid in the hunt for death squads and a kidnapped U.S. soldier, Iraqi officials said. U.S. military spokesman Colonel Christopher Garver said he was checking the reports.

[REUTERS/Kareem Raheem]

-Desi

Keep it Secret, Keep it Safe

House Intelligence Chairman Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) has restored a Democratic staffer’s access to classified information, essentially clearing the aide of accusations that he leaked a sensitive report on the Iraq War to The New York Times, according to House insiders.

Barely a whisper of this in the media, and after Hoekstra made such a huge public stink calling into question the integrity of Larry Hanauer.

-Desi

Mmmmm...

Pulverized neocon over morning coffee.

-Desi

Homeland Security: Bah-Humbug

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon has extended its timeline to destroy its aging chemical weapons arsenal until 2023, despite concerns by Congress and watchdog groups that the stockpiles raise the risk of an accident or theft by terrorists.

The new schedule, outlined in Pentagon documents obtained by USA TODAY, means the military won't eliminate its stock of deadly nerve gases and skin-blistering agents until 11 years after the 2012 deadline set by the international Chemical Weapons Convention. The U.S. government had already asked for a five-year extension from an earlier 2007 deadline.


Priorities, people. Priorities. Me wonders if Halliburton -- or one of it's subsidiaries -- will be building the new sites the Pentagon wants to have take care of the disposal of these stockpiles. Prolly a pretty penny to be made for such a venture.

-Desi