House of Bush, House of Cards

First Social Security, now Medicaid. Republicans are fighting Bush's erosion of a welfare state because they know that they'll lose office if he's allowed to go through with his plans. I'm not going to get too hung up on their motives, I'm just glad Bush is finally taking it on the chin.

:(

From the WaPo:

BAGHDAD, Feb. 28 -- A car bomb targeting Iraqi civilians applying for government jobs exploded outside a health clinic in Hilla south of the capital on Monday, killing 106 people and wounding at least 146. It was among the deadliest insurgent attacks since the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

No smart ass remark out of me this time.

Stuff

ok, short post today, I'm busy getting ready for an Oscars party and getting my music back on my computer again. Yay Wilson Pickett!

Anyway, a thought I've been having in my head lately is applying Lakoff's nurturant parent model to economics and big business. I'll try to actually think about this and make sense out of it soon, but until then, any thoughts?

The Antichrist cometh

who else could this be?

Blog Awards

Ickpth, it's a little late for this if you read any political blog that isn't mine, but here are 2004 Koufax Award winners. Yours truly is not there, being about 3 weeks old, but look out 2005!

Bush on Democracy

I was watching Bush's press conference with Putin in Bratislava yesterday, during which a European reporter (I'm not sure what language he was speaking) asked Bush what he thought about freedom and liberty in the U.S. because the U.S. is less democratic (as far as systems of government go it's true). Bush's response was something like "I live in a great country. We have freedom and liberty, and lots of it. It's a great country."

I'd want him on my dodgeball team.

O Canada

Canada decided to not join the U.S. missile defense system. Considering the state of the missile shield, I'm not surprised. What I found funny was how the NYT reported it:

The long-awaited decision from Prime Minister Paul Martin was a symbolic setback for the Bush administration when it is trying to heal rifts with allies that emerged from the invasion of Iraq.

The Bush administration trying to heal rifts? Who is this jerk-off (Clifford Krauss)? Ah, the SCLM (so called liberal media). We all know that the administration's way of healing rifts is strongarming people into doing what the administration wants. It's pursuing a very obvious agenda, and compromise isn't on it.

Curious George Goes to Europe

Not surprisingly he hasn't had the warmest welcome. There's been the usual talk about strengthening alliances (as Europe moves away from NATO and onto its own organization) and promoting peace (even though Europe is strangely peaceful).

My favorite quote from this WaPo article is:

"They have breached a contract with the international community. They're the party that needs to be held to account, not any of us," he said.

Guess who?

It's Bush on Iran, not Schroeder on America's position on Iraq or global warming.

Wait a second, is it just me or did Bush use a litmus test for international relations? Like needing a permission flip, er, I mean slip.

Republican Strategy

Courtesy of Kos, this is what we're up against.

Chalabi's Out

It seems like Chalabi finally dropped out of the Iraqi elections for PM, after trying to get the position by using a US stacked election to increase his vote.

I'm curious to see what Judith Miller's next story on Iraq is if she's not in jail by then.