Breaking news: Ad put in newspaper

As many of you know, I am loath to openly Bush bash for no reason other than to Bush bash. I assail liberals and conservatives who go after the easy flubs, the mistimed jokes, the perceived stupidity. But honestly, Andrew Sullivan says what I would:

What a fucking disgrace this man and his journalistic lackeys are.

Excuse my language. But I can't take this any longer. We're at war; and he's still playing Rove's game.

Have you noticed that more ink has been spilled on the Petraeus MoveOn ad than actually, you know, defense of the war? Why's that? Oh, because America has finally had it with Bush's war propaganda. So he goes after an advertisement that someone put in the newspaper. This man has devastated the office of the President and needs to be out of office as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the GOP continues to kowtow to Bush's "authority" despite endless claims that things would change in September (Atrios covers their fraudulent earlier claims fervently). Fall comes on Friday... so where's the withdrawal?
These jokers all make me physically ill, with their tenuous, feckless maneuvering. More senators voted to condemn an advertisement than to protect their own troops from extended tours of duty. So much for courage. While Bush is fighting off advertisements at home, our troops are fighting abroad. As if to make himself even more outrageous, now he's threatening a veto against a Democratic bill for child health care. Because if someone in America deserves health care, it's our lawmakers, not our children. Respectfully, Mr. President, shut up.

• Moving on to things that piss me off slightly less, have people been following the Jena Six? There was a significant protest on campus today on Dunn Meadow (as well as Jena), and a lot of ink has been spilled defending the young men on trial. Yet, it's important to note that the attempted murder charges have now been changed to a lesser charge (assault) and the one convicted suspect, Mychal Bell, has a criminal record and was only convicted of second-degree battery. In that sense, didn't the protesters already win? I mean, they're still on trial, but that's because they beat a guy up. When you beat a guy up, it's still a crime. Racism still exists, but the law has rectified its mistake. Should the white dudes have been charged for putting up the nooses? Probably, but the statute of limitations may well be past (I'm not sure). Still, what further action really needs to be taken? The charges have been reduced to something reasonable for a beat-down, and Jena now looks like the racistest town in America (not to mention, the school itself actually burned down). I'm sure that racism existed in the case, but because of all the noise surrounding the case, it's hard to get a good read on what action should be taken now.
  

• Remember that thing about the weak dollar? 1 USD = 1 CAD. Insane.

• A bunch of college graduates from various universities took a basic civics test. They sucked. A lot. Some would argue that memorizing facts and dates is irrelevant to understanding history. I would argue that facts and dates are supplementary information and that they are fixed into place by purpose, but if you don't know the facts, then you know shitty history. Take the quiz here. (Disclosure: I got 3 wrong. WTF bonds?)

• Thoughts from the Heritage Foundation's Nathaniel Ward on DC Statehood. Here's an idea: if you don't like Taxation without Representation... let's get rid of the taxation. DC will run itself, and as a non-voting territory, will not be subject to federal income tax. I still think DC should be a state (along with Puerto Rico) but that's just me. When did we decide to stop adding states?

• An interview with the one, the only, Uwe Boll.

• CUBS WIN CUBS WIN. 1 game ahead in first place. One day off before the home stretch. Looks like our pitching is in place for the rest of the schedule.

Today's video is in memory of the senators who voted against the advertisement, or who, like Obama, refused to show up for a cheap political stunt denouncing a newspaper ad. This is an example of the shit they don't have to deal with when riding in their cars to the Hill, and a reminder of the danger facing our troops while they decide whether or not an advertisement was nice or not.