River Is Leaving

At Baghdad Burning, River explains that her family is now making plans to leave Iraq. She discusses the challenges they face as refugees.

I wish the best for her and her loved ones. And I hope that she escapes the Hell on Earth that we have created there, without undo difficulty.

The Horrible Suffering of George and Laura

Laura Bush on the War in Iraq, "no one suffers more than their President and I do."

Our President and Laura Bush have suffered more than Iraqi children with their limbs burned off.

They've suffered more than soldiers suffering brain damage from IED attacks.

They've suffered more than soldiers that have suffered fatal injuries and endured incredible pain in the hours that took them to die.

They've suffered more than soldiers at Walter Reed who have been woken in the night by rats chewing on their wounds.

They've suffered more than parents who grieve for their dead children.

They've suffered more than the children that grieve for their dead parents.

Laura wants us to know that compared to the suffering that she had George have endured, these are petty complaints.

No wonder George Bush is getting a Purple Heart.

Their suffering has been worse than being cooked alive in your own juices, by a steady rain of phosgene. I had no idea. I feel so bad now.

Power Plant Explosion

The North Lake Arlington Power Plant exploded a short while ago. Flames are pouring high into the air.

Oddly the freeway near it isn't closed yet, so morning commuters are seeing the paint peel off their cars as they drive by.

Update:

Here's a link to the story wuth video: Fire erupts at FW natural gas line

It doesn't look as bad as the morning news initially portrayed it.

Peak Oil Survival Network

As part of a web page targeting peak oil issues, I've started a Peak Oil related bulletin board, Peak Oil Survival Network.

Please feel free to sign up.

I hope to see you all there.

Down The Rabbit Hole

I listened to almost all of Alberto Gonzales' testimony yesterday. It was like listening to the Mad Hatter or sitting in on a conversation with the Red Queen.

It was an incredibly surreal experience. I think the "I don't recall" count finally got tallied at 72. Sometimes I wondered if he dropped acid before coming to the hearing, and if he knew where he was or what he was doing.

Alberto Gonzales studied hard for this hearing. The MSM made a big deal about how this would prove that he was the right man for the job, and how it would vindicate the Bush administration.

What I actually learned is that Alberto Gonzales could study until the end of time and wouldn't be ready. He didn't even seem to understand that he was at a hearing, and what a hearing's purpose was. It seemed very strange to me that he could be running the Justice Department, and not know what a hearing is.

He did come across as the quintiseential Bush appointee. He seems to have an IQ somewhere between a beet and turnip. He had no real knowledge of what his job was or what goes on at his office. The skill he brings to the office, apparently only consists of being able to write his own name, on documents that have been drafted by other people.

When he did use more than a few words to answer a question, he meandered and rattled off arguments were overly long widned and complicated. They sounded rehearsed. It didn't sound like he actually understood what he was saying, or imagined that these prattles were making him sound important. After these prattles, he would be informed that he hadn't answered the question, and then he'd revert back to, "I don't recall".

The hearing had funny moments. When he said, "I've searched my mind..." there were giggles from the peanut gallery.

During recess, the peanut gallery started chanting, "Liar! Liar! Liar! Fire him now!"

Several senators told he that he was a good man, but inept and irresponsible.

If a good man believes in torture, and doesn't believe in the US Constitution or the essential liberties that the US Constitution stands for, then I agree.

For myself, I think this 'torture loving empty suit', is not a good man. He's certainly not qualified for the position he holds. I don't see how he is qualified to do any work in the legal profession. He's had his fifteen minutes of fame. Its time to dump him.

Jeffrey Feldman has a great take on these hearings.

Open Letter To Pete Sessions

To the Honorable Pete Sessions:

President George Bush and yourself told us that you needed the illegal power to listen to our phone calls, read our email, and read our postal mail in order to stop attacks on innocent Americans.

You promised us that you would secretly spy on us, and this would give you the power to prevent attacks on innocent Americans.

Now that you have the power to stop attacks on innocent Americans, why don't you?

You told us again and again that you now have the power to prevent attacks like this school shooting.

Why did you and President George Bush allow this shooting to happen? The two of you promised us that you could prevent these things from happening.

Why didn't you? Why did you let those students die?

Bush told us that by snooping on our phone calls and emails, he would have the power to protect us and to prevent attacks on Americans.

Bush had the power to stop the school shooting. This is what he's been bragging about for years. Between him and the NSA, he promised us that his illegal activities would make us safe. He promised us that he protect us.

Why did he let this happen?

Open Letter To Pat Leahy

On those missing emails...

Hasn't the NSA been archiving all of the emails written in the US for many years now?

Won't they have copies of all of Karl Rove's emails, just as they've recorded all of yours and mine?

Wanted: Chief Whipping Boy

The new story making the rounds today is that Bush is looking for a Professional Scapegoat to blame his failures on.

Waging an endless war for profit is hard work and evidently its under appreciated. Bush is always quick to suck up praise and take credit for the good stuff, but he needs other people to take responsibility for the things that go badly.

Now the White House appears to have run out of good scapegoats to take credit for Bush's litany of failures. Folks have paid attention to 'Heck of a job Brownie', to the folks going down over US Attorney firings, the heads rolling at the GSA, etc...

It was fun being a party hack and a crook when Republicans covered your ass in dollar bills, but now, all the crooks suddenly see the need to pretend that they aren't criminals and thieves.

And this has left the White House in a tough spot. Who will be their whipping boys, now that their old whipping boys are gone?

When Alberto Gonzales finally gets a boot up his ass, who will jump up and scream, "Beat me next! I want a whuppin'! Pick Me! Pick Me!"

Who's in line to go to prison for Bush next? There's still a clock ticking on Bush's presidency, will he end as not only a lame duck but a one legged lame duck with a broken wing? Will Cheney take him hunting and finish him off?

Can a President function without a staff? We may soon find out.

US Home Prices, Plotted As A Roller Coaster!

Speculative Bubble