Ok, the Almighty needs to work on His Aim.

(via Tbogg)
Offred and Ofglen go swimming.

We don't need the Taliban. We grow our own.

He is Viggo!

I like Viggo unabashedly. He's smart, he handsome, and I have to respect the work he does at Perceval Press.

American History 101

"Why, we have gotten into a mess, a quagmire from which each fresh step renders the difficulty of extrication immensely greater. I'm sure I wish I could see what we were getting out of it, and all it means to us as a nation."

Which quagmire is this quote referring to? Iraq? -- nope, too easy. Vietnam? -- nuh-uh -- even easier. California? -- hee-hee. The Philippines? You are correct, sir!
And who said it? Mark Twain, of course.
If you knew this little piece of American history than you're way ahead of that knucklehead we call George W. Bush. President Less-Sense-than-God-gave-a-donut said this last week: "America is proud of its part in the great story of the Filipino people."
Proud?!? Amy Kaplan, at the L.A. Times explains why proud is not what America is.

Nearly 5,000 American soldiers died, and historians estimate that 250,000 Filipinos perished — 20,000 were killed in combat and the vast majority died from disease and starvation. The U.S. Army burned villages and fields, massacred civilians and herded the residents of entire provinces into concentration camps.

Can someone get this man a tutor? And while you're up, could you get me an aspirin?

I'm reinstating comments. We'll see how it works out this time. Hope to hear from you!

Partial Birth Abortion Ban Follow-up

I once remarked to a friend that being a Democratic voter these days fell somewhere between battered spouse and abandoned child. Melodramatic? Yes, but it was right after the 2002 midterm elections. That was a bad time. Wellstone had died. The Senate Dems had been MIA for the entire year before that. Can you blame me for playing fast and loose with my analogies?

In a way what's disappointing about the Democratic Party is what's disappointing about the United States. A great platform, a wealth of ideas, so much past accomplishment and unseen potential, and yet at times a spectacular failure at protecting the very values it claims to hold dear. This is what makes it hard to write of the Party despite its (many) mistakes. It's still a good idea and we still have some good representation out there (Note to self: email Senator Durbin to thank him).

In about two weeks we will be a year away from Election Day 2004. The question that keeps coming up on blogs I read isn't always "Can they win?" Sometimes it's "Do they deserve to?" The answer to that questions changes depending on the bills that pass through Congress. The Democrats should pay heed to that.

Tbogg has a list of Senate Dems who need to be taken out to the woodshed.

Jim over at Rittenhouse is taking a break because life is more important than blogging. Really, it is. See you soon, Jim!

Yay! Jasmine's back.