Democrats say: We Want Saddam Back!

In their repudiation of their Iraq war votes, Democrats seem to forget what the logical conclusion is of their desire to travel back in time:

1) The proximate cause of going to war was Saddam's refusal to tell the United Nation's what had become of Iraq's known weapons of mass destruction.

2) If the Coalition Forces had never invaded and had not removed the Hussein regime, we would still not know what happend to the WMD programs identified by the UN.

3) Therefore, when Democrats say that they were wrong to authorize force against Saddam, they are saying they wish to return to a time when Saddam and his sons were still in power AND we did not know whether or not he still had the WMD programs identified by the UN.

The Democrats are selling a claim that it is possible to imagine travelling back in time and create a world were Saddam is well-contained AND we know for a fact he has no WMD. However, the two are mutually exclusive.

Will Russert Get the Miller-Treatment?

Given that Tim Russert, Washington Bureau Chief for NBC News, has provided testimony to Patrick Fitzgerald in the Plame case -- when might we expect the demands for Russert "to tell us everything he knows" to reach Miller-like proportions?

Will Jay Rosen, Steve Lovelady, and Howie Kurtz ever demand of Timmy-boy what they demanded of Judy Miller?.... I doubt it.

Seems like the old boy network is alive and well.

Libby, Miller, Aspens and Israel

Scooter Libby wrote to Judith Miller:

“You went into jail in the summer. It is fall now. You will have stories to cover—Iraqi elections and suicide bombers, biological threats and the Iranian nuclear program. Out West, where you vacation, the aspens will already be turning. They turn in clusters, because their roots connect them. Come back to work—-and life. Until then, you will remain in my thoughts and prayers.”

What is it about Aspens, Libby, and Miller? Well, this is what the Wikipedia says, "The aspen tree's quivering leaves are, in Christian lore, said to be the result of arrogance at the Crucifixion because the aspen did not tremble like other trees. A German version claims that the aspen was the only tree to refuse to acknowledge Jesus' divinity. The cross that Christ was crucified on is sometimes said to have been aspen wood. As aspens do not occur in Israel, this legend is improbable. It is also sometimes said that aspen leaves are made from female tongues, and their quivering is due to women's inability to stop talking."

Jewish trees?

What binds Miller and Libby is their love of Israel. Libby is telling Miller that what "connects them" together is their common wish for a successful Jewish homeland.

Operation Offset Launches Massachusetts Offensive: Hooray!!

I am pleased to offer up the following Bay State projects in support of the Operation Offset. Some might be worthwhile, so I've bolded the primary suspects:

Reconstruct Chelsea Street $6,000,000 Bridge in Boston..........

Design and construct $4,500,000 downtown roadway and streetscape enhancements in Worcester..............

Design and construct Rt. 24 $5,500,000 Interchange in Fall River and Freetown..............

Design and construct $5,500,000 multimodal improvements and facilities in New Bedford...................

Construct access $2,500,000 improvements to the Lawrence Gateway Project, Lawrence..................

Construct pedestrian and $500,000 vehicular access improvements on the existing Brightman Street Bridge in Fall River......

Northern Avenue Bridge $6,000,000 rehabilitation in Boston..

Construct Phase II of the $6,000,000 Quincy Center Concourse Extension in Quincy.......

Design and construct $2,000,000 downtown roadway and streetscape improvements in North Adams............

Construct Holyoke Canalwalk $3,500,000 and streetscape improvements in Holyoke...

Road improvements between $3,000,000 Museum Road and Forsyth Way in Boston.............

Design and construct access $8,000,000 improvements and intermodal facilities at the former South Weymouth Naval Air Station in South Weymouth..................

Design and construct Boston $7,000,000 National Park traveler information system and visitor center in Boston..

Construct Haverhill $3,000,000 intermodal center access and vehicle capacity improvements in Haverhill.

Design and construct $5,000,000 roadway and streetscape improvements in Franklin..
Construct Lechmere Station $5,000,000 area roadway and access improvements in Cambridge.

Design and construct $5,000,000 Assembly Square multimodal access improvements in Somerville................

Construct downtown roadway $3,000,000 and corridor improvements in Gloucester.............

Construct the Blackstone $2,000,000 River Bikeway and Worcester Bikeway Pavilion between Providence, RI and Worcester.................

Construct Melnea Cass $4,000,000 Corridor improvements in Boston....................

Construct Southeastern $5,000,000 Massachusetts freight rail corridor improvements in Bristol County............

Reconstruct Rt. 24/Rt. 140 $4,000,000 Interchange, replace bridge and ramps, widen and extend acceleration and deceleration lanes....

Design and construct Rt. 20 $2,000,000 access road in Westfield..

Reconfigure Kilby-Gardner- $2,000,000 Hammond area road network in Worcester..............

The The Times Picayune's excellent (and much lauded) pre-Katrina stories reported that the Red Cross had predicted well over 14,000 deaths in New Orleans should a massive hurricane hit.

Given that the death toll is likely to be less than 1,000 in New Orleans, shouldn't President Bush and FEMA be congratulated for saving the lives of over 13,000 Americans or are such reports only noted when they are to the political detriment of the President?

" 'Filling the bowl' is the worst potential scenario for a natural disaster in the United States, emergency officials say. The Red Cross' projected death toll dwarfs estimates of 14,000 dead from a major earthquake along the New Madrid, Mo., fault, and 4,500 dead from a similar catastrophic earthquake hitting San Francisco, the next two deadliest disasters on the agency's list.

The projected death and destruction eclipse almost any other natural disaster that people paid to think about catastrophes can dream up."

ABC News Caught in Biased News Attempt

Remarkable transcript of an ABC News reporter asking leading question of Black New Orleans residents following the President's Katrina speeh last night.