Iraq Successes?, Bush Anguishes, Iraq United, Talibani, Hastert Won't Budge, Gullible McCain, Lost Democrats, Bernie Ebbers and Abstinence Only lesson

I saw the headline, Negroponte Highlights U.S. Successes, and I thought "Wow! This ought to be good".

I was really looking forward to reading about what the Bush Administration considers successes in Iraq.

Now I know how to take absolutely nothing and write a whole article about it.

I read the article, and this is what I get.

"What we have said, time and again, is that while there is much that remains to
be done in the war on terror, we have achieved some notable successes against
the global jihadist threat," Negroponte said in a statement. "The conclusions of
the intelligence community are designed to be comprehensive, and viewing them
through the narrow prism of a fraction of judgments distorts the broad framework
they create."

Not one example of any kind of success was given. The reason is obvious. The headline is White House BS.

The latest White House PR campaign seems to be showing President Bush as a man who feels anguish over all the deaths that he's responsible for in Iraq.

Call me cynical, but I find this a tad disingenuous, considering his mad dash to get this war started.

Bush deals with stress through vigorous exercise, working out six days a week.
When he goes for long bicycle rides, he often invites others to join him, but he
asks them not to ride in front of him so he can have the illusion of solitude.
"Riding helps clear my head, helps me deal with the stresses of the job," he
told reporters last month after an 80-minute ride.

To those angry over the war, that can seem cavalier. "It's important for me
to be thoughtful and sensitive to those who have got something to say," Bush
said last year when Sheehan began her protest. "But it's also important for me
to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life. . . . I'm mindful of what goes
on around me. On the other hand, I'm also mindful that I've got a life to live
and will do so."

In less than two and a half years, Bush living his own life will no longer have disasterous results for the rest of us.

In Iraq, the different political parties have reached an agreement to postpone the inevitable.

BAGHDAD, Sept. 24 -- Iraq's fractious political parties reached a deal Sunday
meant to prevent the country from splintering into a federation of three
autonomous zones until at least 2008.
The agreement forestalled concerns that the debate over federalism, a vague
concept enshrined in the constitution but defined differently by various
political groups, could cause the country's fragile multi-sect government to
collapse.

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani gave an interview in which he did an excellent job of expressing the White House talking points, as evidenced by this statement:

Iraq is not in chaos. There are many provinces that are calm -- where people
live in prosperity. . . . I want to assure the American people that Iraqis are
now enjoying democracy and human rights and are struggling to secure the
country.

Iraq's in chaos and so is the U.S. Congress. There's a defense bill that House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Abramoff crony and shady real estate investor-IL) insists won't be brought up unless, an indefinite detention of some illegal immigrants who are protected from deportation by political asylum laws bill, is added to it. Most Democrats and sane Republicans are balking.

"The speaker is not going to let the bill move until these critical security
items get in," said Ron Bonjean, Hastert's spokesman.

House GOP aides are urging Durbin to bring Senate Democrats into line on the
issue. But Durbin spokesman Joe Shoemaker said the Senate minority whip is
feeling no real pressure. The addition of the concealed-weapons provision has
soured Durbin on the court security bill, and the immigration bill is garnering
strong Democratic opposition, he said.

John McCain is either very naive or he thinks the rest of us are just stupid. He says he believes that the compromise bill will put a stop to some of the most extreme torture techniques that this country is using. Bush just has to issue a Presidential signing statement, and things will get right back to normal.

A Republican senator who played a leading role in drafting new rules for U.S.
interrogations of terrorism suspects said yesterday that he believes a
compromise bill embraced by party leaders and the White House will bar some of
the most extreme techniques said to have been used by the
CIA.
Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) named three measures that he said would no longer
be allowed under a provision barring techniques that cause serious mental or
physical suffering by U.S. detainees: extreme sleep deprivation, forced
hypothermia and "waterboarding," which simulates drowning. He also said other
"extreme measures" would be banned.

And just where were the Democrats while this attempt to dismantle the Constitution and Geneva Conventions was being rammed down our throats? Instead of taking a stand for what's right, they were keeping quiet and covering their worthless butts.

And the Democratic Party was nowhere in this debate. It contributed nothing. On
the question of whether or not the United States will reconfigure itself as a
nation which tortures its purported enemies and then grants itself absolution
through adjectives -- "Aggressive interrogation techniques" -- the Democratic
Party had…no opinion. On the issue of allowing a demonstrably incompetent
president as many of the de facto powers of a despot that you could wedge into a
bill without having the Constitution spontaneously combust in the Archives,
well, the Democratic Party was more pissed off at Hugo Chavez.

Yeah, that's right, the principles-challenged, gutless, weenie Democrats were having some kind of weird Twilight Zone moment in which they disregarded our freedom of speech values to rag on Hugo Chavez for calling the idiot "the devil".

It's no wonder that more than half the country don't vote. With all the problems facing this country today, the Democrats waste their time and ours trying to score brownie points with people who will never vote any other way than Republican.

The media's response isn't surprising. What surprises me, however, is that
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi felt compelled to go on record denouncing Chavez's
words. Pelosi-- someone I usually respect because I think she's been an
effective leader (and has effectively handled ridiculous and tasteless GOP
attacks)--said that "Chavez fancies himself a modern-day Simon Bolivar, but all
he is is an everyday thug."

Are we finally getting serious with white-collar crime or is Bernie Ebbers just a scapegoat to keep our attention while business goes on as usual?

Tomorrow, the man who once swaggered through the halls of his telecommunications
company as a cowboy-booted billionaire is scheduled to surrender to authorities
and begin a 25-year sentence. Federal prison policies virtually ensure that
Ebbers, who has a heart ailment, will spend the rest of his life in prison for
his role in an $11 billion accounting fraud.

And finally, Abstinence-Only Programs. Are they good? Or just good for a laugh?

"Females need to be careful with what they wear, because males are looking!
The girl might be thinking fashion, while the boy is thinking sex. For this
reason girls have an added responsibility to wear modest clothing that doesn’t
invite lustful thoughts.”- Heritage Keepers

"If men want to play basketball, they call their male friends. If women want
to ‘enjoy’ a shopping or a sports activity, they call their female friends.
There are important issues and activities which are enjoyed most when shared
with friends of the same sex.”- FACTS and Reasons (Senior High School
Curriculum)

"Could condoms be just another stupid idea?”- Why kNOw’s Public School
Curriculum

"Sex makes you feel good, but it can kill you.”- Free Sex – NOT!