A perfect storm of blunders...

Due to a malfunction of communication between my TiVo and Dish Network receiver (FYI: Dish Network SUCKS!), I wasn't able to see the first part of the Frontline special "Bush's War" on PBS, but the second half I watched last night was a nice intelligent connect-the-dots documentary of what seemed to be a perfect storm of an impressionable president, a couple of overzealous paranoid cabinet members (i.e. Cheney and Rumsfeld), a marginalized National Security Advisor, and a Secretary of State that had some common sense about the whole thing, but always seemed to lose the argument in the face of the Vice President, that coalesced into the disaster that is Iraq. Although the intentions of everyone in charge was probably in the right place, it's kind of scary knowing how clueless some of those in charge really were. You watch interviews that seem to clearly show that the right information was there, but no one of importance would listen.

Anywho, if you've got time to watch the 4+ hour documentary, you can catch it in full on the PBS website.

The Democrats are all girlie men...

The latest poll from The New York Times and CBS News finds that the approval ratings of George W. Bush are at an all-time low of 30%. 72% think the country is off track, 67% think things are going badly in Iraq, and 63% want a timetable for withdrawal of American troops. So you would think this would be a perfect opportunity for the Democrats to really flex their muscle and get exactly what they say the American people voted them into office for. So why are the Democrats backing down from the current war spending bill which doesn't include the timetable they've been clamoring about for so long?

I suppose one could argue that this is what I've been wanting all along, for the President and Congress to compromise and meet in the middle to do what's best for the country. Bush didn't give in to a set withdrawal date, but did concede to setting up benchmarks that the Iraqi government must meet to continue to receive reconstruction aid. Still, this seems like a victory for the Bush administration. I'm still left with this feeling that the Democrats, for whatever reason, seem to crumble when they have to stand up to the Oval Office.

I actually get a bit bothered by comedians commenting seriously on political issues most of the time. I think they too often hide behind their jokes to say what otherwise would be considered rather offensive. They can say some pretty mean-spirited stuff that any other "serious" commentator could never get away with all because it's hidden in the veil of humor. Still, they usually have some pretty intelligent things to say, as does Bill Maher in this clip which sums up exactly what I think of the Democratic Party right now:



On a side note, I thought it was rather humorous that Jimmy Carter of all people called Bush the worst president of all time. After all, who had the lowest approval ratings prior to George W. Bush? Why, Jimmy Carter, of course.

Bumper cars in the Middle East...

This is apparently a video of a typical day for American soldiers driving through the streets of Iraq in a Humvee. Sort of humorous, at first, but not so funny when you stop to think why they're in such a rush to get through the traffic.

And just like that, he made North Korea disappear again...

Topics of discussion have seemed kind of tame lately, which surprises me considering the hot button issue of George W. Bush, the masterful illusionist that's been all over the news this week.

As I was driving home, I listened to a brief commentary from Ted Koppel on NPR about President Bush's recent address to the nation regarding his latest "strategy" to provide a surge of American troops into Iraq. Buried about two-thirds of the way into the address are plans to place Patriot missiles and an extra aircraft carrier in the region, which in the context of other statements in the speech about how Iran is undermining the efforts towards a stable government in Iraq, Koppel suggested might be interpreted as early signs that the current administration is laying the groundwork for a war with Iran at some point in the near future.

Considering some of the recent crackdowns on Iranians within Iraq recently, I'm not sure whether to call Ted Koppel brilliant or paranoid.