Creating News From Nothing

FOX has decided to take issue with the possibility that some of the questioners from last night's Republican YouTube debate might have been Democrats. Oh my God! You mean the questioners might have preferences in such a hotly contested presidential race?! Why is this an issue? We should expect each candidate regardless of their political affiliation to answer uncomfortable, unscripted questions. Isn't that the whole point of a YouTube debate? Unfortunately the questions were not even difficult ones. Each candidate was able to easily issue the same talking points dribble that we've come to expect from today's Republicans. Way to go FOX News. Always at the forefront of journalism.

Bush: The Eternal Optimist

Bush met with Abbas and Olmert today in an attempt to restart the peace process that would include the help of regional powers like Saudi Arabia. Though Bush is completely incapable of securing Iraq, he is "optimistic" that he can bring peace to the Middle East. So what he could not do for one country in four and half years he plans on doing for an entire region in 13 months. Yeah that sounds like the Bush we know, optimistic but totally incompetent.

FOX Tries to Make Us Feel Good About Troop Deaths

Citing a report from the Congressional Research Service, FOX is trying to lift our spirits about the 3,800 service members who died in 2005 and 2006, comparing it to the 4,699 who died during the peaceful years from 1981 to 1982. Wow that's great. Really puts it all in perspective. I guess I'll wait until 700 more die in these failed wars before I criticize Bush anymore. Thanks FOX News.

Thompson Should Go Back to Sleep

Thompson is to give a speech at The Citadel where he is expected to call for increased military spending and a larger military force. His plans would increase military spending by roughly 0.5% of GDP to 4.5% and increase our Army and Marine forces from a combined 657,000 to 1,000,000. But why? What is the logic behind that? How will we pay for it? Better yet, how will we pay for it and the domestic expenditures we face to restore quality to education, health care, etc?

We currently spend more than any other country on our military and more than most countries combined. The only reason for such increases would be to prepare for an invasion of a major country, which should absolutely be the furthest thought from any politician's mind. We could have done much better in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last four and a half years with the military we have had this administration come up with anything resembling a plan prior to invading. The answer is not to throw more money at the problem and hope it goes away. There is no need for these Republican candidates to sound more war hungry than the next guy. In fact, it might be nice to hear more about how they will address our crumbling education, health care, Social Security, the housing crisis and the economy, etc. and less about war with Iran (which is not feasible), abortion, and gay marriage (which are not relevant to righting this country).

ACLU Fighting for Our Soldiers

The ACLU tends to get a great deal of scorn. In fact sites like stoptheaclu.com are designed to bring them down. And while many of the issues they get involved in seem ridiculous, they do serve a purpose (e.g. Brown v Board), particularly as a counterweight to extreme groups like the American Family Association, which is trying to ban porn from military bases. The following link leads to an excellent post about the story...http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/67013/.

These soldiers are expected to fight two failing wars and sacrifice their first amendment rights? We cannot afford them one little pleasure? Some might argue that the porn increases rapings. But how does taking it away and expecting the soldiers to bottle up their sexual frustrations make any sense? We could give them more time at home with their wives and girlfriends, but that type of rhetoric is anti-troop and defeatist. And don't these idiots at the AFA have anything better to worry about? Perhaps whether our men and women should be over there in the first place. I am so sick of these holier-than-thou religious groups trying to dictate their self-righteousness to everyone else.

Way to Go Ron Paul

Ron Paul set the GOP one-day fundraising record yesterday, bringing in $4.2 million. It's encouraging to see the one sane, rational, true Republican in the whole ugly field succeeding. It gives a false sense of hope that we might not be stuck with another country bumpkin or a 9/11 exploiter with an itchy trigger finger, each determined to prove he's more pro-war and intolerant than the other.

Impeaching Cheney

Kucinich is expected to bring legislation today calling for the impeachment of Dick. While I applaud the sentiment and the frustration behind it and recognize the need for dissent at a time when foreign policy is so broken, Pelosi would be wise to table it, as she is expected to do. Impeachment is unfortunately not possible, and if the Dems want to stay in power they need to focus on righting a country that has gone so terribly off course over the last seven years.