Thursday, August 24, 2006

Robert J. Elisberg: When Total Recall is Actually Something to Forget. President Bush has ordered the Marines to recall 2,500 troops who have already completed their four years of active duty in Iraq. The recall was made necessary because of a shortfall in volunteers. Nooooo? Go figure. And they didn't see this one coming? Then again, these are the same people who didn't see Iraq's civil war coming either, as General Pace has testified, so one shouldn't be terribly surprised. Of course, they didn't even anticipate the insurgency, period, so this whole "We just figured people would be lining up to volunteer for Iraq" thing probably is pretty small by comparison. What should have been the first hint that it was going to be hard to get volunteers for the military? Hmmm. Maybe it was the sight of unsuspecting members of the National Guard - young men and women who'd expected to protect Alabama, lured to a life of ease by rumors of poster boy Airman George W. Bush getting to go AWOL without punishment - and not only sending them to Iraq, but never letting them leave. That probably should have been the first tip-off. And now this recall. Talk about your great recruiting ploy. Man, and they thought getting volunteers was hard before?!! What's their slogan going to be now? "Join the U.S. Military and See One Particular Part of the World. Forever." George Bush is turning Iraq into the military version of the movie, "Groundhog Day." Living the worst day of your life over and over and over again. Yipes, when people have complained about not having an exit strategy, who knew they were referring to just getting out of the military? Keep in mind, that this isn't just bringing up any old troops. The Individual Ready Reserve are Marines who have actually completed their active duty. Yes, that word was "completed." Done. Finito. For all intents, they have retired. Sure, they still have an obligation for four additional years, but once you've unpacked your duffel and gotten on with your life, even Michael Jordan wasn't his old self when he came back. And that was his own choice. And he got paid millions. And the only shooting required were three-pointers. Which don't shoot back. By the way, that heart-wrenching wail of anguish you hear at this news is not from the Marines themselves. No, the people most distraught and pounding their breasts are Republican candidates this November. Try spinning this one from the stump. Republicans running for office may say they're happy to "Stand by our President," but that's only as long as the President is standing somewhere else at the time. Who would have guessed that this would be the October Surprise? (Anyone who had "Recalling 2,5000 Marines after completing their tour of duty" in the office pool is going to clean up.) We all knew Karl Rove had tricks up his sleeve, but this? And it's not even October yet. Maybe October is when they bring back the World War II vets. It should be noted that there is one bit of inaccuracy in the news reports: According to CNN, "Though the initial recall is for 2,500 troops, there is no cap on how many could be called up in the future." However, happily, it turns out that this isn't at all true. There are 59,000 Marines in the Individual Ready Reserve. The cap therefore is 59,000. Of course, for other reservists anywhere in the military, all bets are off. And the way things are going, who knows?, if they really start completely running out of volunteers - as it appears - "reserves" might end up being a code word for "American youth between the draft age of 18-25." (Note: those of you in the "American Public Reserves," it might be a good time to find out if prayer can be considered one of those faith-based initiatives.) This November, as the Marine Reservists re-pack their bags to return to Iraq and start to sing, "I'll Be Home for Christmas," no doubt their loved ones will stare at them incredulously and petulantly stomp, "Yeah, yeah, you said that last year." It's small comfort that the last line of the song is, "If only in my dreams." Marine officials have suggested that the recalled Marines could remain active for an additional 12 to 18 months. Unfortunately, that's in dog years. Of course, all of this could have been avoided. If only President Bush had lived by the words of Ronald Reagan. When asked about his knowledge of the arms-for-hostage deal, Mr. Reagan's response was simple. "I can't recall." [The Huffington Post | Full Blog Feed] 12:32:48 PM    comment []

Bob Cesca: No Way In Hell President Bush Has Read 60 Books. I generally try not to superimpose my personal life and day-job activities onto my political opinions, but lately I've been insanely busy which has limited my ability to write articles here. Currently, I'm working on five animation projects (including this one); I lost a good friend to a heart attack two weeks ago; a close family member has been sick; and I'm installing bead board siding in my kitchen and family room which is more difficult than it seemed before I started. It doesn't sound like a lot, but all told I have about an hour a week for Deadwood, and, what's it called? Sleep. That's it. And those of you with similarly insane schedules might be able to relate to my feelings of shock and dismay when I learned the following news. President Bush is currently responsible for two ground wars; a crisis in Israel and Lebanon; a midterm election; a sagging housing market; the upcoming hurricane season; a laundry list of scandals; an on-going attempt to avoid coming off like a retarded frat-boy bully; and the day-to-day struggle to basically run the nation -- that is, pretend to run the nation. Looking back on 2006, he's faced numerous other critical events at home and abroad including gas prices, immigration, the Dubai ports deal, the Plame investigation, and his vice president shooting a lawyer in the face. Yet, he's somehow found time to read not one, not five, not 20, but 60 books this year alone (via Crooks & Liars). According to US News & World Report, he's in a competition with Karl Rove to see who can read more books over the course of the year. Rove is trailing by 10 books, until November when Diebold will put him up by three. Of course, I don't begrudge someone who chooses to read that much literature. That is, if that someone is a student or an author or a shut-in or a prison inmate or simply a person who is fortunate enough to have a buttload of free time. But the president, any president, shouldn't have more free time than you and I. I honestly don't believe he's read one book ever in his entire life, much less 60. Furthermore, how can his feeble monkey brain possibly retain or comprehend anything he's reading? Does he look at the pages and just see a series of squiggly lines? I think he does. Why else would he say the following? "That's George Washington, the first president, of course. The interesting thing about him is that I read three--three or four books about him last year. Isn't that interesting?"--Showing German newspaper reporter Kai Diekmann the Oval Office, Washington, D.C., May 5, 2006 (from Slate) He admitted to reading three (or four -- he's not sure about that either) books about George Washington, yet the only knowledge he could pass along to the German reporter was that... he read three (or four) books about George Washington. I mean, he couldn't even regurgitate anything beyond "the first president." When I was in seventh grade, we had to read George Orwell's Animal Farm and write a report about. I simply didn't read the book. At the last minute, I puked up a one page report which essentially said, This is a book about animals on a farm and they hate the farmer. Isn't that interesting? I think we've all bullshitted a report or an essay question at some point in our lives, but the president clearly does it all the damn time. Case in point: "Tribal sovereignty means that, it's sovereign. You're a--you've been given sovereignty, and you're viewed as a sovereign entity. And, therefore, the relationship between the federal government and tribes is one between sovereign entities."--Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 2004 (from Slate) Classic President Bush. Animal Farm is a book about animals on a farm. But in his petulant condescension, he likes to emphasize that he knows this stuff with that head-forward, smirky, explosive outdoor voice as if to say, "I know that, you dumb stupid!" So on one hand, there can be no doubt that the president has too much free time which he uses to allegedly read a giant stack of books. Which is pathetic and disturbing for someone who is essentially responsible for a nation of 300 million people and a growing list of critical issues. On the other hand, if he's actually reading these books (and he's probably not) I'd rather that he simply keep reading instead of thinking of new ways to screw us all or, as we learned this week, devising clever new fart jokes. Sadly, I think he has enough free time for all three. And if I were Karl Rove, I'd demand a recount on that book tally. On second thought, if I were Karl Rove, I'd be a dangerous villain who resembles a giant baby. [The Huffington Post | Full Blog Feed] 12:31:19 PM    comment []

DID SHE CALL FOR A DEMOCRATIC REGIME TO REPLACE THE CURRENT ONE? DID SHE EXCORIATE THE REPUBLICAN PARTY, CLAIM THAT THEY WERE SOMEHOW UNWORTHY -- OR WAS HER ATTACK AGAINST THE POLICIES OF THIS ADMINISTRATION SPECIFICALLY. IS THAT PARTISAN? No Nun Talking The bishop of the Diocese of Duluth reportedly uninvited Sister Helen Prejean as a keynote speaker at a fundraiser, after he learned that her name appeared on a New York Times advertisement calling on people to "Drive Out the Bush Regime!" [Cursor.org] 12:23:04 PM    comment []

Fox's Sean Hannity asserts that "some people are saying" that a Democratic win in the fall election would be "a victory for the terrorists," while Defense Secretary Rumself is said to have "emerged from his bunker and withstood quite a grilling from Bill 'The Bookie of Virtue' Bennett." [Cursor.org] 11:32:05 AM    comment []

Jay Gordon: Put Down That Twinkie and Back Away From The Table!. Tomorrow's "New England Journal of Medicine" will make the front pages of many if not most major newspapers. They are publishing two excellent studies which show that being overweight shortens life. I have a different "take" on overweight and obesity because I'm a pediatrician and very few of my patients will decrease their French fry, burger and cheese intake to live to age eighty instead of sixty-five years. They're mostly thinking about next week or the big soccer game this weekend. Overweight children almost never have a great day in school. The sensitivity index of children does not rise through grade school, middle school and high school. It actually drops and grade-by-grade more kids acquire hurtful nicknames. Parents and other adults will respond at least a little to these latest unsurprising stories. My request is that help our kids by not buying them nutritional garbage. By the way, I received many comments about my simple ADD med post including one saying , "My hunch is that this article was written by someone who has not suffered from ADD and depression." Well, while I am fortunate enough to not suffer from depression I certainly do have (unmedicated) adult ADD. Left unsaid in my previous post was how well many of us teens and adults learn to manage ADD. A great organized wife, and office staff to herd me keeps me nearly on time . . . In the meantime, I also agree with the comment, "Believe it or not, some children with very involved and concerned parents still need these drugs to be successful." But I truly believe that very few doctors, parents and school systems explore nutritional and behavioral alternatives in treating ADD and other childhood issues. And, yes, I am a pediatrician and I have cared for children and families for twenty-seven years. JNG MD [The Huffington Post | Full Blog Feed] 10:27:17 AM    comment []

All the News that Fits…. South Africa endorses gay marriage. Christianists seek prosecutions for hotel pay-for-view porn. Say it ain’t so, Pluto! A planetary demotion. Plan B morning after pill finally FDA approved for over the counter sales. Move over eaglet Steven Colbert Jr., San Francisco zoo names a leggy blond horse “Coulter”. [RS National Affairs Daily] 10:20:05 AM    comment []

© Copyright 2006 Patricia Thurston.