The Rake Magazine

Would somebody please give this guy head so we can impeach him?

We weren't cheered too much by Miers withdrawal from the Supreme Court nomination. It's not as if Bush needed anything else to emphasize how truly out of his depth he is. I was always convinced the decision to nominate her in the first place went something like this:

Bush: "Karl, Dick, we've got to nominate someone for that big judge thing whatchamacallit. You know any good 'ol boys who could completely tip the court off the edge of reason?"

Rove: "Dubya, I got my own damn problems here with this Fitzgerald guy. Can't you do anything yourself?"

Bush: (Yelling down the hall) "Hey, Harriet, whatcha doin' for the rest of your life?"

Cheney: (Stage whisper to Rove) "Evidently not."

But, now that we've had our fun with Harriet, maybe we should turn our thoughts to those who've really paid the price for Bush's incompetence and Rove's treachery. In case you've forgotten, there is tape of Rove telling the Republican National Committee in January 2002 that the "War on Terror" would be the issue that would carry the Republicans to victory in the next election. Since the overthrow of the Taliban in Afganistan wasn't going to take that long, they needed something else to keep up the image of Bush as the man to keep America safe.

So we get lies about WMD, the Plame incident, and a war that's now killed 2000 American boys and girls, wounded and crippled another 15,000, and killed or wounded uncounted Iraqis. Does anyone still believe we did this for the Iraquis as opposed to doing it to keep Cheney and Rove in power?

The indictments that are probably coming down soon are already being positioned by the White House and their sock puppets as "technical" ones--ones that will probably be for perjury instead of the crime of outing one of our covert agents. We get a big laugh out of that, especially since Hutchison voted to remove Bill Clinton from office for just such a "technicality."

But somebody's keeping their eye on the ball, despite all the Republican pitches in the dirt.

Today Operation Truth released a new television ad. Watch it, please.

And would someone tell me how oral sex grew into an impeachable offense while all those flag-draped coffins are kept out of sight?

Say it ain't so, Joe. The Sox beat me to it.

Next time I'm in Vegas, I'm putting $100 on the Cubs to win the 2006 Series. It's their turn.

I have to finish this so I can make the hubby a nice dinner

Probing every day for a new low in journalism, the Strib doesn't let us down today.

One of my female colleagues brought this to my attention. Right before she vowed to call and cancel her subscription.

I never look at the life style section. This is why. Imagine you are a female reader and you run across this sentence: "Whether you're tired of paying dry-cleaning bills or just want to impress your future mother-in-law, it makes sense to learn how to iron a shirt."

Unfortunately, I never met my mother-in-law, but I can certainly tell from the way that she raised her daughter that ironing technique was not high on her list of qualifications to be permitted to marry into the family.

Irony, yes. Ironing, only if you have to.

One thing an iron would be good for, though, is cracking some editor at the Strib over the head. I don't normally advocate violence, but in this case, I'd make an exception.

Lucky at cards, unlucky at war

This story yesterday from the NY Times depicts a new low in how we treat our soldiers. Actually, it's not a new low, since it has been going on for many years.

We're running casinos on military bases. So, we're not only asking our men and women in uniform to gamble their lives, but, hey, while you're at it, why not throw in your paycheck and your family's livelihood?

All this is justified because the Pentagon uses the $120 million or so it fleeces our soldiers for for "recreational" uses. You know, golf courses and such.

As the story notes, jackpots are kept low so soldiers are less tempted to gamble. Of course, anyone who knows anything about compulsive gambling knows that doesn't really work.

I wish I could come up with some crack about this. You know, maybe "Let's have a raffle for a set of armor plating for your squad's humvee." Or how about, "It won't cost you an arm and a leg to take a chance on winning your very own set of body armor"?

Instead, I'm just sort of ashamed.

Ann and I would see eye-to-eye more often if I wore six-inch heels

First, let me call attention to Steve Perry's blog over at City Pages. He had the great idea of starting a Katherine Kersten haiku contest and he's got some hilarious entries. Check it out.

And, while we're on the topic of blithering right wing idiots (Kersten, not Perry,) the Strib Op-Excrement page reprinted some wisdom from Ann Coulter today re the appointment of Harriet Miers.

Faithful readers, look up now. The sky is not falling.

I'm saying that to prepare you for what's coming next.

I agree with Ann Coulter.

There, I said it.

God help us all.