... in other news

Georgia: In 'state of war' with Russia

I won't pretend to understand this.

All I know for certain is that when W took office, our troops weren't in any wars, there was a budget surplus of $230Bn, oil was trading at $32/bbl, gas was $1.45/gal, and Russia wasn't at war with Georgia.

There's a wonderful cartoon over at C&L. Haven't yet learned html, so I'll verbally describe it:

Picture of Reagan.
Caption: "Fiscal Conservative"
Result: down-arrow, "$200Bn+ deficit"

Picture of H.W. Bush
Caption "Fiscal Conservative"
Result: down-arrow, "$300Bn deficit"

Picture of Clinton
Caption: "Tax and spend Liberal"
Result: up-arrow, "$200Bn+ surplus"

Picture of W
Caption: "Fiscal Conservative"
Result: "$482Bn deficit"

Final frame:
Picture of McCain
Caption: "My friends, you'll be pleased to know I'm a fiscal conservative."

I'd like to pin the Little Ice Age (16th century - 19th century) on W, but can't seem to manage it and still maintain a semblance of intellectual honesty. Otherwise:

We've poured $600Bn down the drain that is Iraq.

Osama bin Laden (remember him?) is still at large.

Oil is trading at $120/bbl; gas-at-the-pump is hovering just under $4/gal.

... and now: Russia has invaded Georgia!

... oh, yeah:

Michael Phelps set a world record in taking his first Gold Medal at the 2008 Olympics:
4:3.84 in the 400m IM

Congratulations, Mr. Phelps!

Are we there yet?

... on the campaign trail

"Arthur Solon, an attorney with Albuquerque's Branch Law Firm, drowned in the ocean off Jamaica while on vacation, senior partner Turner Branch said."

... well, I guess I can cross him off the list!

Meanwhile, the soap operas continue to play themselves out:

Crispin & L. Noble are householded.
I finally figure out that "L." is "Leah".
More recent data indicates Leah no longer lives with Crispin, and that Crispin now resides with Jane Austen Jackson.

I note that these folks aren't spring chickens.
Crispin is 60, Leah is 52, and Jane is 54.

Well, at least Crispin didn't run off with a younger woman!

Note: the names have all been changed... but the database soap opera is accurately represented.

In the meantime... I thought I'd completed my most recent database update when I was told, "Oops - we forgot to give you another set of corrections." Sigh. This new set represents 3-4 days of work.

When this task is completed, I'll be updating the campaign's database with July's ActBlue info - I just have to check that we've got records for all donors, and confirm the addresses. There are about 250 ActBlue contributions for July.

When that task is completed we should have received most of the returned/undeliverable mail from the most recent mailing. I won't know how long processing those will take till I see the volume... but at least some of the items ought to be easy to disposition (see "Arthur Solon", above!).

Have a nice day.

"The baddest of the bad!"

Gitmo jury gives bin Laden driver 5 1/2 years

... AND - they credit him with 5 years "time served"... so he'll have served his full sentence in about 5 more months - less, I'm guessing, than the time it'll take to exhaust his appeals.

Recall: W and his minions have repeatedly and emphatically declared that the Gitmo detainees are, "the baddest of the bad."... and even with a rigged system, they can't get their underlings to give Hamdam more than 5 more months of judicial punishment!

... of course, W and his minions have also repeatedly asserted that it doesn't make any difference: they'll hold the "baddest of the bad" as long as they feel like it, verdict or no verdict, sentence or no sentence!

I've not been paying particularly close attention, but I'm guessing that Hamdan was the first detainee to face trial because W and his minions figured they had the strongest case against him - a "slam-dunk", as it were. (It's tempting to imagine that someone in W's inner circle in fact used the term "slam dunk" to describe the case against Hamdan!) If this is the best they can do, they've lost.

Our shame!

The correct tone: mockery

TPM highlights Obama's mockery of McCain.
I'm all for it, and recommend this approach in general to any and all Dems. The sample cited:

"In the coming days it's going to be interesting to watch this debate between John McCain and John McCain."
[Obama referencing McCain's energy "policy"]

Ridicule is not a bad tactic.

Stop the madness!

Why are we there?

Two headlines:

GAO: Iraq could have $79 billion budget surplus

Iraq MPs break for summer without passing elections law

Would someone please explain to me again why we're still there?

Stop the madness!

Gitmo Trial #1: the verdict is in

Split verdict in first Guantanamo war-crimes trial
By MIKE MELIA, Associated Press Writer
Wed Aug 6, 2008
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba
... The five-man, one-woman jury convicted Hamdan on five counts of supporting terrorism, accepting the prosecution argument that Hamdan aided terrorism by becoming a member of al-Qaida in Afghanistan and serving as bin Laden's armed bodyguard and driver while knowing that the al-Qaida leader was plotting attacks against the U.S.

But he was found not guilty on three other counts alleging he knew that his work would be used for terrorism and that he provided surface-to-air missiles to al-Qaida.

He also was cleared of two charges of conspiracy alleging he was part of the al-Qaida effort to attack the United States — the most serious charges, according to deputy chief defense counsel Michael Berrigan.

Berrigan noted the conspiracy charges were the only ones Hamdan originally faced when his case prompted the Supreme Court to halt the tribunals. Prosecutors added the new charges after the Bush administration rewrote the rules.

"The problem is the law was specifically written after the fact to target Mr. Hamdan," said Charles Swift, one of Hamdan's civilian lawyers.

No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.
U.S. Constitution, Article I, section 9

Why is this so difficult?

The article also notes that

"... The judge allowed secret testimony and hearsay evidence."

... and that during his five (5) years of incarceration, Hamdan has been subjected to "coercive interrogation"... hmmm, I wonder what that could mean.

Our shame.

the joys of habeas

U.S. must charge or release Reuters Iraq cameraman: CPJ

Just another "journalist" W doesn't like.

Stop the madness!