Invasion of the Body Snatchers Redux

1956 Version

The story is simple enough about a benevolent, intellectual doctor returning from vacation only to find that some weird, unexplainable feelings have been generated in the small town of Santa Mira. Some people say that relatives are not who they seem to be, despite being exact duplicates physically and mentally. This leads to one discovery to another for the good doctor, his girl, and two friends, and what we have through each discovery is one more piece to the puzzle that an alien presence is at work.

So, the other night I was listening to a string quartet from Baltimore. After the concert (excellent) we were chatting with the lead violin. She was describing her experience with the filming of of a remake of this movie. It apparently stars Nicole Kidman and one of the scenes is a banquet (filmed in the Peruvian embassy in D.C.) with the string quartet in the background. The members of the quartet have already been 'snatched.' The hardest thing for this musician to do was to play without emotion.

I am so screwed up these days that I immediately see a political ramification of this story. I think to myself as I am listening to this young lady, in a way, our government has been taken over by sinister forces? George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are the equivalent of bodies occupied by an alien spirit? A spirit alien to our Constitution and underlying beliefs.

This is, of course, far fetched. It is as far fetched as the 1953 movie "Invaders from Mars" on which, I am sure, the "Body Snatchers was based." It wasn't as devious as Body Snatchers.

In Invaders from Mars, the Martians implanted devices in a person's neck that controlled them. They were trying to wreck the rocket base. I guess the idea was that eventually, man would make it to Mars and pose a threat. Little did they know. All I can remember is that I saw it in a drive-in with my father and it scared the living bejesus out of me.

Again, I have to say it. I don't know what to do. I hope I am a reasonable citizen. We decided in 1945-46 at the Nuremberg Trials (60th anniversary of their opening this week) that officials and a people could be held responsible for awful things. Am I to be held responsible for all the children who have died in Iraq, and White Phosphorus, and Abu Gharib, and water boarding, and an unending litany of atrocities?

Its enough to distrub a man's sleep.

DeLay Shenanigans

.............CROOK.........

You have probably been following the indictment and prospective trial of Tom DeLay who, in the not too distant past, was the most powerful man in our House of Representatives (and, if he gets his way, still may be).

First, immediately on being indicted, De Lay deflected scrutiny of his actions by questioning the motives of the sitting Judge. Since this judge had contributed to Democratic causes, he was deemed not worthy to hear DeLay's case. So, there was a new Judge appointed, and now DeLay is submitting motions to have the charges dropped, I guess so he can go back to screwing the American people. While DeLay questioned the impartiality of a judge that had donated money TO democrats, he was not adverse to having a judge who had ACCEPTED money from Republicans. No surprise that it was his own money machine doing the donating.

However, the prosecuter Ronnie Earle, who is right up there with Murtha in my hall of fame, was having none of that:

Seventeen minutes after the Supreme Court announced Priest's appointment, Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle filed a motion seeking the removal from the case of Chief Justice Jefferson, a San Antonian with strong GOP ties.

Arguing that Jefferson's impartiality "might reasonably be questioned," Earle pointed in part to $26,000 in contributions Jefferson received in 2002 from the Republican National State Elections Committee as well as the Business and Commerce PAC, both described by Earle as unindicted co-conspirators in the DeLay case. (emphasis added)

As Molly Ivins would say, "only in Texas."

Well Dick, you've done Winston Smith proud

The Vice President for Torture said today concerning WMD:

"We never had the burden of proof," he said, adding that it had been up to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to prove to the world that he didn't have such weapons.

Think about this statement for a minute. Just think about it. Is this any way to carry out international diplomacy? We say you have weapons. You say you don't. We say jump. Higher. Higher. Higher. Never high enough. Too bad, we invade.

(Winston Smith is the protagonist of 1984)

Gona turn my brown eyes blue, redux

A while back we commented on Ms. Harris from Florida who had those big blue searchlights on her Web page. (Its changed on that site.) Well damn if it didn't happen again. Now we have "Mad Dog" Schmidt from Ohio (who almost got beat out by a decent person (Paul Hackett) in the election last August) and who called our favorite Representative, John Murtha, a coward, doing the same thing. From her Web site:

But then we have these pictures:




Looks like somebody got busy with the cerulean blue and their PhotoShop.

Say What?

From Juan Cole:

At the Iraqi national reconciliation summit, the Shiite delegation of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq walked out when a Christian Iraqi implied that they were traitors and puppets of the US and alleged that the new Iraqi consitution was written by the Americans. (emphasis added)

Read that again. A Christian Iraqi! I would say that Representative Murtha is dead on (pun intended). We have lost the war in Iraq. Now it will take at least 2 1/2 years (until you-know-what) for this fact to sink throught the dense, fibrous layer of tissue that surrounds the brain of George W. Bush.

But a Christian Iraqi. Well, that's a strange kettle of fish.

Paging Pat Robertson.
Paging Ralph Reed.
Paging Billy Graham.
Paging James Dobson.


Murtha's REAL resolution, by the way:

Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of American in Congress assembled, That:

Section 1. The deployment of United States Forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date.

Section 2. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S. Marines shall be deployed in the region.

Section 3. The United States of America shall pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy.

.............PATRIOT.........

Age of Innocence

You can't go back to when we never tortured.

Jintao Presses U.S. on Trade, Human Rights

BEIJING - China President Hu Jintao pressed the U.S. on Sunday to curtail religious extremism, increase political honesty and eschew torture and won renewed promises — but no concrete actions — from President Bush to work on reducing the U.S.'s enormous debt to the Chinese people.

Hu said the two leaders sought an outcome of "mutual benefit and win-win results."

But their meeting Sunday at the Great Hall of the People on the edge of Tiananmen Square appeared to produce no breakthroughs on Chinese demands for withdrawal from Iraq, reassimilation of Formosa with the Chinese mainland, and no details about how the U.S. could reduce its debt to China now estimated at $650 billion.

Watch out Medicaid Kiddies!

Apparently W's promises on resources for the bird flu pandemic:

Researchers here at the NIH have developed a vaccine based on the current strain of the avian flu virus; the vaccine is already in clinical trials. And I am asking that the Congress fund $1.2 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services to purchase enough doses of this vaccine from manufacturers to vaccinate 20 million people.

Has run into a little problem called Congressional Republicans:

Conservative Republicans in the House insisted that an emergency U.S. effort to stockpile vaccines and anti-viral drugs that could be effective against the deadly flu would have to be paid for by cutting other government programs. (emphasis added)

We all know that this doesn't mean the payments to Halliburton and other BOTVP (buddies of the vice president), but kiddies on Medicaid, food stamps and student loans. (School lunches too).

And our local Republican Congressman was in on the act:

Congressional Republicans, with the last minute support of Maryland Republican Congressman Wayne Gilchrest, passed a devastating array of spending cuts early this morning.

“This bill will have disastrous consequences for Maryland’s middle class and working families,” says Lierman. “The House Republican leadership, with Wayne Gilchrest’s decisive support, has forced deep and unnecessary cuts to some of our nation’s most important programs.”

For students, the passage of the bill will mean reversing a previous law capping the interest rates for student loans at 6.8 percent, increasing the cap to 8.25 percent. The bill also includes a massive cut in federal funding for student financial aid.

Intentionally Exposing Children to Pesticides

An alert reader directs us to to an EPA proposed rule that directly involves children. I will review that after I have posted comments (not the reader's) pertaining to this issue:

1. Children who "cannot be reasonably consulted," such as those that are mentally handicapped or orphaned newborns may be tested on. With permission from the institution or guardian in charge of the individual, the child may be exposed to chemicals for the sake of research.

2. Parental consent forms are not necessary for testing on children who have been neglected or abused.

3. Chemical studies on any children outside of the U.S. are acceptable.

I have exactly the same response to this issue as I do to torture. I can't believe we are even discussing it. The mere thought of intentionally exposing children to chemicals (pesticides) that would not benefit them and would actually hurt them is so repugnant that it is like running a nail down the blackboard or rubbing two pieces of styrofoam together to even put it in consciousness.

That said, what does the EPA say?

Protections for Subjects in Human Research [Federal Register: September 12, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 175)]
...snip....
SUMMARY: EPA proposes and invites public comment on a rulemaking to ban intentional dosing human testing for pesticides when the subjects are pregnant women or children, to formalize and further strengthen existing protections for subjects in human research conducted or supported by EPA, and to extend new protections to adult subjects in intentional dosing human studies for pesticides conducted by others who intend to submit the research to EPA. This proposal, the first of several possible Agency actions, focuses on third-party intentional dosing human studies for pesticides, but invites public comment on alternative approaches with broader scope. (emphasis added)

To propose a ban on this activity is to suppose that this activity is currently taking place!! Do we have Abu Gharibs with children in them for pesticides to be tested?

For many years I worked in medical research. Every single effort was made to provide informed consent. I can't remember a time when we treated a child with a new drug (e.g. chemotherapy) or procedure (e.g. bone marrow transplantation) when there wasn't some benefit for the child. Certainly the treatment was stopped immediately if the side effects or the results outweighed the benefit. (I could go into great detail here if necessary).

At one point we were using a medication for children with a rare disease, cystinosis, that had been tested by the US military in the 1960's as a radioprotectant (after nuclear attack to protect against radiation injury). The safety of this drug had been determined by the Army in trials in humans. The humans were adult prisoners who took the medicine in exchange for, I assume, other considerations. The only purpose of the drug was to help these children (it did).

As for the outsourcing of testing pesticides on children, I suppose that it happens. If someone as intelligent as John le Carre in this book "The Constant Gardener"
(now a movie) can talk about unscrupulous testing of drugs in Africa, I suppose some CEO
of Archer Daniels Midland would do the same with his new pesticide. I put nothing past these grey men (and women).

Such outsourcing is as despicable and as worthy of condemnation as torture. I can't be any more explicit.

Vice President for Torture

LONDON, England -- Former CIA director Stansfield Turner has labeled Dick Cheney a "vice president for torture."

This jerk lives in my County. I would like him to leave. I was here first.

Oh, and he seems to be sticking it to the taxpayers too, a rather exquisite form of torture:

WASHINGTON, November 16, 2005 — Vice President Dick Cheney and his staff have been unilaterally exempting themselves from long-standing travel disclosure rules followed by the rest of the executive branch, including the Office of the President, the Center for Public Integrity has discovered.

Finally, some cajones

oops, its Murtha, not Martha:

WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, Ranking Member on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, decorated Vietnam veteran, and expert on military issues, spoke at a news conference this morning calling for immediate redeployment of U.S. forces from Iraq.

Of course, little Scottie (his highness' press secretary) was immediately into the breach:

Congressman Murtha is a respected veteran and politician who has a record of supporting a strong America. So it is baffling that he is endorsing the policy positions of Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic party. The eve of an historic democratic election in Iraq is not the time to surrender to the terrorists. After seeing his statement, we remain baffled -- nowhere does he explain how retreating from Iraq makes America safer.

And, no, Murtha did not ride out on Swift Boats, so get over it.

Missy Michelle's Blog

This appeared on Michelle Malkin's Blog. Remember, she is held up as a bright, young, cool, Republican blogger:

Keep a sharp eye on fresh developments in both Canada and Cuba, two countries with rogue, corrupt and repressive regimes that don't know when to cut their losses and leave town.

Excuse me, I didn't know Republicans smoked Panama Gold. Canada is many things, but rogue, corrupt and repressive is not amongst its adjectives. In fact, Canada is one of the few ideal countries left. I suggest Michelle go back to GO and start over again (and not collect $200.)

What Wagon?

At the beginning of every Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, someone reads out loud a plastic-laminated document that says, among other things, that this Twelve-Step program has rarely been known to fail, except for a few unfortunate people who are "constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves". (emphasis added)

Friday Crab Blogging

A little late, don't you think?

Apparently there is a ground swell in the newly cojonied Democratic Party for getting the heck out of Dodge:

"The U.S. cannot accomplish anything further in Iraq militarily. It is time to bring them home," said Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania, the senior Democrat on the House of Representatives subcommittee that oversees military spending and one of his party's top spokesmen on defense.

At least it is happening. After all the deaths. After the destruction of the infrastructure. (actually, we destroyed it twice. Don't forget the first Gulf War.) After all the rhetoric. (Has a War ever been this screwed up by an Administration?)

We have destroyed a country and a large number of its people and I can't see that there is anything positive coming out of it. The current "elected" government is as corrupt as the previous "elected" government and, blue fingers aside, I don't think the social situation is conducive to true, electoral democracy. Particularly when the majority want a religious autocracy.

About $220 billion late.
May we live in interesting times.

The Plot

We are all part of the plot.
You, there, can be Colonel Mustard.
I will carry the candle stick.
(As I did once in the
dense rubrics of Catholicism.)
We all are related to Torquemada.
By blood.

Thou shalt not kill.
How prosaic.
But, mere life is nothing compared
To centuries of culture.
What They want is a giant
Pablum of a World.

They, I am talking about They.
The grey men behind the fireworks.
The ones whose bank accounts
end with exponents.
They are so confident that They
will triumph in the end.
Until they fall. Ha! Kabuki at its best.
Like a Nixon or a Faust.

How pitiful these stricken mites.
Gangling on for our amusement.
Court applause, an op-ed piece.
While the real Power
Surges away from them
Like a Shuttle in the dawn.

We tail after.
Contrails of detritus.
Cursing our allegiance.
Mere mist.

Apology

Apparently Colin Powell isn't as implicit as I had suggested, though I still think he holds a lot of responsibility for where we are:

The torture ban has the support of General Colin Powell and an array of other retired generals and admirals. But Vice President Dick Cheney is still lobbying so hard against the ban that the Washington Post nicknamed him "Vice President for Torture." It'll all come down to one vote in the House of Representatives this week.

From the Ministry of Truth

As found in the L.A. Times:

U.S. Says It Used Phosphorus as Weapon
From Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Pentagon officials acknowledged Tuesday that U.S. troops had used white phosphorus as a weapon against insurgents during the battle for Fallouja last November.

....snip....

it was used at times in Fallouja as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants.

"It was not used against civilians," he said.

....snip....

...as a potent psychological weapon against the insurgents in trench lines and spider holes.

And might not civilians be in the spider holes? Heh?

I think the previous comment by Hunter suffices

:....there are very good reasons, even in a time of war, not to melt the skin off of children.

First, because the insurgency will inevitably be hardened by tales of American forces melting the skin off of children.

Second, because the civilian population will harbor considerable resentment towards Americans for melting the skin off of their children.

Third, BECAUSE IT FUCKING MELTS THE SKIN OFF OF CHILDREN.

Good Night and Good Luck

I am really anxious to see this movie about Edward R. Murrow.
I seem to vaguely remember him from my childhood. He was extent in the early fifties and didn't leave newscasting until the 1960's (he was a chain smoker and died from lung cancer in 1965 at the age of 57). Mr. Murrow was about a straight a man as you can imagine and pulled no punches. While he was not solely responsible for the eventual demise of Joseph McCarthy, and the hysteria that that man created, he was certainly instrumental in it. As I said, I can't wait to see the movie. We need more men like him today.

One of the things that McCarthy did was compose lists of "commies." This was similar to a list of enemies that Richard Nixon created. Once you were black listed, you were through. If you were an actor, you had trouble getting a job. Ronald Reagan liked those black lists too.

he testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee on Communist influence in Hollywood. He also kept tabs on actors he considered disloyal and informed on them to the FBI under the code name "Agent T-10," but he would not denounce them publicly. He supported the practice of blacklisting in Hollywood.

It is hard for us to imagine the atmosphere of that day, but the fact that everyone in my high school was given a copy of J. Edgar Hoover's "Masters of Deceit" gives you some idea of the level of tolerence. Zero. Yes, we were all brainwashed.

Now we have a new list that is being created by Bill O'Reilly of those who are critical of his remarks about San Francisco (thanks to Kos). I referred to this earlier.

Well, I want to be on this list. Where do I sign up? Kos suggests emailing Bill O'Reilly at: oreilly@foxnews.com

The New Torquemada - Doctors and Torture 2

I put Colin Powell up next to Torquemada because I still hold him partially responsible for the breakdown in government that led to our torturing of prisoners. I put Torquemada up there because he was an official in the Roman Catholic Church who eventually became the Grand Inquisitor. He is a prime example of a man who thinks he is doing the right thing when, in actuality, he is doing evil. (they also look alike)

I was able to get a copy of the Washington Post article on Doctors and Torture that I mentioned yesterday. It is reviewed here.

Medical Experts Debate Role In Facilitating Interrogations
By Shankar Vedantam
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 14, 2005; Page A19

On Oct. 19, leaders of several medical organizations flew to the U.S. Navy detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. After meeting with officials and two psychologists who served as consultants during interrogations with detainees, a vigorous debate sprang up among the experts over the ethics of physicians and caregivers participating in the debriefing of prisoners.

The debate, which participants said was conducted in earnest over a lengthy dinner at Andrews Air Force Base after they returned from Cuba, explored concerns that medical experts in general, and psychiatrists and psychologists in particular, have aided U.S. government interrogations in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan, often by applying their insights into human behavior to break the will of prisoners. (emphasis added)

Although the Bush administration has asserted that it does not condone or practice torture, articles in prominent medical forums such as the New England Journal of Medicine have said that doctors and behavioral scientists have violated ethical norms while interrogating terrorism suspects at the behest of the U.S. government and become "complicit in torture."

I do not condone torture in any form for any reason. The fact that medical personnel are involved in this activity, again, is beyond comprehension. I think that most physicians feel the way we do:

.....the American Psychiatric Association came to the conclusion that psychiatrists should never participate in coercive interrogations, or even lend advice to government officials carrying out interrogations that involve sleep deprivation, threats, humiliation, sensory deprivation or the use of prolonged stress positions, according to the group's president, Steven S. Sharfstein.

...snip....

The psychiatrists' policy effectively says that numerous techniques practiced by interrogators at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere are unethical for psychiatrists to be involved with

The problem is, we can't erase this blot on our national eschutcheon. We need a moral revival in politics, and not from the Christian Right. A friend of mine referred me to Jimmy Carter's take on this.

In recent years, I have become increasingly concerned by a host of radical government policies that now threaten many basic principles espoused by all previous administrations, Democratic and Republican.

These include the rudimentary American commitment to peace, economic and social justice, civil liberties, our environment and human rights.

Also endangered are our historic commitments to providing citizens with truthful information, treating dissenting voices and beliefs with respect, state and local autonomy and fiscal responsibility.

At the same time, our political leaders have declared independence from the restraints of international organizations and have disavowed long-standing global agreements - including agreements on nuclear arms, control of biological weapons and the international system of justice.

And, more to the point:

Of even greater concern is that the US has repudiated the Geneva accords and espoused the use of torture in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay, and secretly through proxy regimes elsewhere with the so-called extraordinary rendition program. It is embarrassing to see the president and vice president insisting that the CIA should be free to perpetrate "cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment" on people in US custody.

Again, I am not angry. Sarcastic, yes. But I am beyond anger. I am seeking for a way to change things. Let me know if you have any ideas.

Our Dear Gov

Our Dear Gov 32. (CLICK TO ENLARGE COMIC).

It is really hard to follow our Dumbo in the White House AND this guy too. For the low down on his latest fiasco, go to here.

Doctors and torture

There is another article today in the Washington Post about the involvement of doctors with torture. This is in a country where its president has recently said: "We do not torture." The article this AM was about the stance of American Psychiatrists basically condemning the involvement of military psychiatrists and psychologists in the interrogation of prisoners. Stating in no uncertain terms that this was unethical. Why did they have to condemn activity that we aren't doing? Huh?

Why is this news? We have known for a long time that this has been going on. The following is from an article by Robert Jay Lifton, M.D. from our flagship journal, the New England Journal of Medicine, over a year ago:

There is increasing evidence that U.S. doctors, nurses, and medics have been complicit in torture and other illegal procedures in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. Such medical complicity suggests still another disturbing dimension of this broadening scandal.

I really don't know what to do anymore. When I wake up in the morning and it suddenly rushes on me that I live in a country that is torturing people both physically and mentally, that doctors and nurses and medics are involved in this activity, and I am doing nothing about it. Sometimes it just makes me ill.

A Billion here, A Billion there

Saudis Pledge $1 Billion to Rebuild Iraq

Of course there is the counter in my blog roll. As of this posting it is at: $219,220,000,000.

As Everett Dirkson supposedly said: "A billion here,
a billion there, and pretty soon you're talking real money"? ..."

For an in depth analysis of the last $87 Billion, see A Little Perspective on $87 billion.

So, what's a billion dollars among friends? Especially when it is slippery as an eel with oil.

Going Back

We cannot go back to a more innocent time, before we started torturing prisoners or before we invaded Iraq. Here are the reasons I believe this:

One thing that the Christian religion instills in the malleable brains of its children is that life is unidirectional. This is interesting since one of the other great religions that predates Christianity, Buddhism, does consider life cyclical. And, up until the 20th century, most humans were exposed to this cyclicity in the yearly seasons much more so than at present. One needs to figure out why Christianity deviated from this obvious view of life. I suspect it is because Christianity developed a sense of the afterlife versus the Buddhist concept of reincarnation (which actually predates Buddhism by centuries) versus the pagan, Jewish and now atheist concept of a very diminished or non-existent life after death.

In any case, one could make the argument that, because Christianity has this "time is an arrow" concept, it puts much more weight and responsibility on an individual for their actions. For political reasons, good actions don't account for much, it is really only sin that is of interest. Again, it is very likely that this stress is mainly for political reasons. And people in power cherry pick the sins of Christianity for obvious reasons.

Take the issues of sex and abortion. A very strong argument can be made that extramarital sex is prohibited because such activity leads to bastards. In the two millennium of Christianity, based mainly in Europe and its colonies, property was of the utmost importance. (It still is. Consider the materialism of America versus the rest of the World.) One of the things about property, and possession of land was what to do with it once you died. The obvious solution was to pass it on to your children. Needless to say, one had to have a real good idea of who your children were to accomplish this. A corollary to this was that your wife couldn't be playing around. Thus the advent of chastity belts during the Crusades (one wonders whether medieval European women didn't suffer more than the Saracens at times. Have you ever seen a chastity belt?)

A similar argument can be made for abortion in that abortion decreases the number of soldiers and workers for those that hold property. Actually, abortion was tolerated far more than we realize even by the Catholic Church up until about 150 years ago. (see the excellent article by Gary Wills that I have linked to before. Unfortunately, it is now buried in the pay for view NYT.)

Both of these activities, extramarital sex and abortion, are considered sins mainly because they have political consequences. That is, they impact on the power structure of society which lives in an unholy alliance with the prevailing religion, Christianity in this case. (If you doubt the close association of Christianity with politics from the word go, please read Elaine Pagels.)

But therein lies a tale. While those in power preach all of the ideas that are needed to support this end-directed (and not cyclical) religion, they do not practice what they preach. In fact, they have never practiced what they have preached. The history of Christianity in Europe has been one long bloodbath. And when you get to the rapacious colonization of the world during the 17th-19th centuries, it sowed the seeds of what we are reaping today. Is it any wonder that Muslims doubt our intentions in the midEast when they have so much history stretching back to 1092 to inform them? (Incidentally, Muslims have adopted the Christian view of life being unidirectional. Unfortunately, their afterlife seems very rewarding and we have a surfeit of suicide bombers.)

So this returns us to our original observation, that we cannot go back to a time when America didn't torture prisioners, didn't engage in "extraordinary rendition", didn't lie to its people about the most important aspects of its operation. But we can change. And we can make amends.

The one thing we can't do is, as Mr. Bush wishes, is ignore it.

Demographics

Condelezza Rice noted that:

"some 50 million to 100 million young people will enter the job market across the Middle East and neighboring countries in North Africa over the next five to 10 years."

Fact: The population of Israel is 6,276,883.

Conclusion: Either the State of Israel comes to some accomodation with its neighbors or it will cease to exist. While some of the 100 million are from Israel, 6,276,883 goes into 100,000,000 15.93 times.

Those are pretty heavy odds.

Yapping!

"Strategy for Victory."

Yap, yap, yap, yap....critics are deeply irresponsible....sending the wrong signal....yap, yap, yap....global war on terror...yap, yap, yap....it is deeply irresponsible to rewrite the history of how that war (Iraq) began...yap, yap, yap...foreign intelligence services and Democrats and Republicans alike were convinced at the time that Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi leader, had weapons of mass destruction...yap, yap, yap..... fight a ruthless enemy determined to destroy our way of life...yap, yap, yap...maybe this investigation (of the lead-in to the Iraq War) will reveal that they (Democrats) were brainwashed...yap, yap, yap...

("Hail to the Chief," which is rarely played to mark Bush's arrival, blared from speakers in the warehouse...)


In a quiet village in England, Eric Blair (a.k.a. George Orwell) takes up his pen and begins to write.

A leveling of rhetoric

First we have Bill O'Reilly in a love note to San Francisco:

O'Reilly went on. "And if al Qaeda comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you except San Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead." (emphasis added)

Now O'Reilly isn't alone in this beating up the cities. Here we have Pat "Kill the Venezuelians, particularly their elected President" Robertson commenting on Dover, PA, that wonderful berg that ousted the 'Intelligent' Designers (gosh, an oxymoron). (this is by way of World of Crap via our friend Redjalapeno):"

"I'd like to say to the good citizens of Dover: If there is a disaster in your area, don't turn to God. You just rejected him from your city," Robertson said on the Christian Broadcasting Network's "700 Club."

And then we have Gerald Walpin introducing the governor of Massachusetts, Milt Romney:

"Today when most of the country thinks of who controls Massachusetts, I think the modern day KKK comes to mind - the Kennedy, Kerry Klan. One person who has been victorious against that tide in Massachusetts is Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney." (emphasis added)

I thought these were the guys who were going to be kinder and gentler.

Ha, ha, ha.

(I promised not to be angry. I didn't say anything about sarcastic.)

Veteran's Day

Or, Armistice Day. On the 11th Hour of the 11th Day of the 11th Month the guns were silent. And, someone died during the 10th hour.

War is hell.

Senate Passes Amendment to End Habeas for Detainees

O.K., then, I am not angry but from here:

The Senate today passed Lindsay Graham's amendment, 49 to 42 barring detainees at Guantanamo and others declared by the Executive Branch to be enemy combatants from seeking judicial review of the legality of their detentions.

And from here:

Section 9, Clause 2:
The Privilege of the Writ of Habeas Corpus shall not be suspended, unless when in Cases of Rebellion or Invasion the public Safety may require it.

Seems pretty straightforward to me. The Senate has decided that we are in a Rebellion.

You bet your booties we're in a Rebellion!

Versions of Reality

George W. Bush:

"Some Democrats and anti-war critics are now claiming we manipulated the intelligence and mislead the American people about why we went to war,"

The Downing Street Memo:

Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.

Friday Crab Blogging - 3 year old version

Being Loud

O.K., O.K., O.K. I hear everyone. I'm being loud. I'm being brash. I'm yelling on the InterNet and in person. I'm angry. I'm not just angry, I'm ballistic.

I stand accused of all of the above. Clearly, I see things as more serious than almost the entire coterie of my associates.

What to do when faced with this? Well, I promise to tone down my internet entries. No more flaming caps. No more shrillness.

However, I continue to feel that the situation is grave. I continue to think that we, the American people, have abrogated our responsibility to rein in our government and military. I do not think that we will escape from the present situation unscathed. It is hard for me to see how we can continue with "business as usual." And I think that we are leaving a legacy of guilt for our children.

White Phosphorus

The United States used white phosphorus in Fallujah last year. This is now well documented by Hunter at Kos. He also directs us to this slide show:
http://www.rainews24.rai.it/ran24/inchiesta/slideshow.asp?gallery=1
(click "successiva" on the right; if you view this slide show, please have an emesis basin available)

These are not soldiers. In fact, at least one of them is a child.

White Phosphorus Melts the Skin off of Children

As Hunter points out

:....there are very good reasons, even in a time of war, not to melt the skin off of children.

First, because the insurgency will inevitably be hardened by tales of American forces melting the skin off of children.

Second, because the civilian population will harbor considerable resentment towards Americans for melting the skin off of their children.

Third, BECAUSE IT FUCKING MELTS THE SKIN OFF OF CHILDREN.

There is nothing more to say. There is nothing more to discuss.

Rotten Apples

You know, once an apple rots you can't go back. Eventually, it rots the core:

Lobbyist Sought $9 Million to Set Bush Meeting

WASHINGTON, Nov. 9 - The lobbyist Jack Abramoff asked for $9 million in 2003 from the president of a West African nation to arrange a meeting with President Bush and directed his fees to a Maryland company now under federal scrutiny, according to newly disclosed documents.

....snip....

The documents also show that Mr. Abramoff and his colleagues drew up a draft contract that called for $9 million in fees to be paid to GrassRoots Interactive, the small Maryland lobbying company that his former colleagues say he controlled.

Documents, including copies of canceled checks, show that millions of dollars flowed through the company's accounts in 2003, the year it was created, including at least $2.3 million to a California consulting firm that used the same address as the law office of Mr. Abramoff's brother, Robert. A separate check for $400,000 was made out to Kay Gold, another Abramoff family company. (emphasis added)

What's this? GrassRoots Interactive???

With the recent withdrawal of Timothy Flanagan's nomination to be deputy attorney general, the ties between Governor Bob Ehrlich, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and Ehrlich's Deputy Chief of Staff, Edward B. Miller, are back in the news.

Miller owned Grassroots Interactive, a company that federal prosecutors believe may have been used to launder money from Abramoff clients like Tyco, for the benefit of other Abramoff controlled entities.

...snip...

In one scenario, Grassroots Interactive performed little or no work and simply served to launder money for Abramoff, which raises a whole host of questions regarding Miller and Ehrlich, their judgement, and character.

...snip....

According to the Maryland Campaign Finance Database, on November 4, 2003, Jack Abramoff and his wife, Pamela, jointly contributed $8,000 to the re-election effort of Governor Bob Ehrlich. Given the fact that it was a full three years before Ehrlich's next election, that's a pretty strong sign of commitment. Abramoff, along with his spouse, had already contributed $8,000 to Ehrlich during his initial campaign for Governor. (emphasis added)

Gosh, the plot thickens. From the NYT's article:

...prosecutors examining other issues, including Mr. Abramoff's relationship with GrassRoots and other small consulting firms and charities he controlled. Congressional investigators have questioned whether he used them to hide income to avoid paying taxes and to evade disclosure rules for lobbyists.

We noted Ehrlich's sliminess in the past when he was involved in firing a nurse for coming clean (Sat, March 26, 2005 - The Nurse, The Clone and the Prince of Darkness). This should contribute to the trend in his poll numbers.

Did I hear a cry out there?
Paging, Elliot Ness!!

Paging, Sam Ervin!!

Paging,

Patrick Fitzgerald!!

Get to work.

The Bush Christmas Tree

Upside down this year, SO YOU CAN GET MORE PRESENTS UNDER IT.

(Oh, and the keg is for the Twins.)

The Tooth Fairy

Oh, Lordy, Lordy, save me from this:

Lee Raymond, chairman of Exxon Mobil Corp., said he recognizes that high gasoline prices "have put a strain on Americans' household budgets" but he defended his companies huge profits, saying petroleum earnings "go up and down" from year to year.

Together the companies earned more than $25 billion in profits in the July-September quarter as the price of crude oil hit $70 a barrel and gasoline surged to record levels after the disruptions of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Raymond said the profits are in line with other industries when profits are compared to the industry's enormous revenues. (emphasis added)

It wasn't so long ago that we looked at this situation here (October 27th):

IRVING, Texas - Exxon Mobil Corp. had a quarter for the record books. The world's largest publicly traded oil company said Thursday high oil and natural-gas prices helped its third-quarter profit surge almost 75 percent to $9.92 billion, the largest quarterly profit for a U.S. company ever, and it was the first to ring up more than $100 billion in quarterly sales. (emphasis added)

Welcome to the United States of Tooth Faries. We, apparently, will believe anything and our Congress will too.

Sad.

Your Tax Dollars at Work

Deputy Prime Minister Ahmed Chalabi
Iraqi National Congress

c/o The Ritz-Carlton

Georgetown

3100 South Street, NW
Washington, DC 20007

$340,000 a month can buy a lot of condo, even in D.C. Of course, you could have a condo here for a lot less:

What will W. Do?

This man holds the fate of the world in his hands. His presidency is crumbling around him and his best advisors are under storm. What is he going to do?

Mayberrry Machievelli

Andy Griffith will receive a presidential award, the Medal of Freedom. One is a little unclear about what Mr. Griffith's credentials are for this award which Wikipedia describes as:

The Presidential Medal of Freedom is one of the two highest civilian awards in the United States, considered the equivalent of the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor. It is designed to recognize individuals who have made "an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, or to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors."

I guess Andy's 1953 monologue about which included comments on moon pies and cow pies might rank right up there as a cultural achievement. On the other hand, it is much more likely that his achievement is related to national security. After all, Mr. Bush's Whitehouse has been described as a hotbed of Mayberry Machievelli's and Mr. Griffith, along with this guy,
pretty much put Mayberry on the map. Actually, there is quite a resemblence to the REAL Machievelli.

Machiavelli originally wrote Principe (The Prince) (1513) in hopes of securing the favor of the ruling Medici family, and he deliberately made its claims provocative. The Prince is an intensely practical guide to the exercise of raw political power over a Renaissance principality. Allowing for the unpredictable influence of fortune, Machiavelli argued that it is primarily the character or vitality or skill of the individual leader that determines the success of any state.

And therein lies our tale. For I would like to list some things here related to the character and vitality of our leaders:

1. The President is intellectually challanged and has difficulty speaking in full sentences.
2. The Vice President condones torture.
3. A recent Speaker of the House is under indictment.
4. The leader of the Senate is under investigation for fraud.
5. The chief advisor to the Vice President has been indicted.
6. The chief advisor to the President is in danger of being indicted.

I guess the worm always turns.

Auschwitz, Cheney, Argentina and C.P. Snow

At first glance, this looks like a strange juxtaposition of people and places. I would like to show you that it is not.
Yesterday, our Vice President, Richard Cheney:

..made an unusual personal appeal to Republican senators this week to allow CIA exemptions to a proposed ban on the torture of terror suspects in U.S. custody, according to participants in a closed-door session.

Cheney told his audience the United States "doesn't engage in torture," these participants added, even though he said the administration needed an exemption from any legislation banning "cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment in case the president decided one was necessary to prevent a terrorist attack. (emphasis added)

Of course "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" is encompassed in the definition of torture, as anyone with a minimal complement of intelligence knows. So, what we have known for a long time:

Exhibit A: The Vice President of the United States condones torture.

Next, let us turn our attention to Auschwitz. Again, as many of us believe, this is the most awful example of the Nazi atrocities during World War II. While it is true that the majority of the inmates and victims of this hell hole were Jewish, it should be remembered that the Nazi regimen also targeted Gypsies and other peoples that they deemed undesirable.
This is important because, contrary to the assertion that this is solely an example of genocide against the Jews, it is much, much more. It is the single, most horrible, recent example of man's ability to suspend his better nature and treat other human's, no matter who they are, in an inhuman manner. (I realize that I will be attacked as anti-Semitic for this statement, but, so be it.) Therefore, we have:

Exhibit B: Auschwitz. Man's inhumanity to Man.

Next, please consider C.P. Snow. If you have been a reader here, you might have noticed that I have referred to Snow and his series of novels, Strangers and Brothers, in the past. I have just finished reading The Sleep of Reason, the tenth novel in this series. It is a very powerful book. The title comes from a Goya painting: "The sleep of reason breeds monsters." In the novel, two young women who have a lesbian relationship abduct and then torture and murder a young boy. It is never clear exactly why they would have done this but the trial of these young women is described in detail.
Since this takes place in prim and proper midLand England, one is shown the horror and repugnance that the characters in the novel have for this crime. Snow goes into great detail setting out the courtroom defense of the women. It is contended that the women have, because of underlying psychiatric disorders, "diminished responsibility." This is similar to the argument of "innocent because of insanity" in our legal system but much milder. Appearing at the trial were four psychiatrists, two arguing for this defense and two against.

The crux of the argument is that some people may be not responsible for their actions if they are under the sway of thoughts that are eccentric or abnormal, as were the two women. The Judge and the jury did not accept this plea and the women were found guilty and given life imprisonment. There is much discussion of this plea and of the related ideas of free will and responsibility. Since the child is tortured and killed, the concept of Auschwitz is raised. This is 1963 and it is still very fresh in the minds and eyes of the English who had liberated the camp. Many at that time believed that the German people as a whole had some responsibility for the atrocities. (There was no diminished responsibility there.)

In particular, they repeatedly bring up the scenario of the Germans going on with their normal lives while behind the walls of the concentration camp unspeakable horrors were taking place. In other words, man's ability to tolerate inhumanity. (should we also not be reminded here that Auschwitz was in Poland, not Germany. And it is in Eastern Europe that the secret CIA torture camps have recently been discovered.)

Most importantly, however, it suggested that everyone is susceptible to this suspension of concern. I will return to this, since it central to the thesis here. But please note:

Exhibit C: the concern here about Auschwitz is not the horrors that took place, but that some, ordinary humans could become inured to the horrors. It also says something about those who made the decisions to perpetrate the horrors. That they were not irrational.

Let us turn now to the response to the visit of the President of the United States to Argentina for a trade conference. He has been greeted with widespread and violent protest.
It may be that George W. Bush is the most hated American that there has ever been. Yet America itself is quiet. Coud it be that the Argentine and other peoples see the truth of what is happening in America, the World and Iraq?

Exhibit D: The people of the World are angry and have passed judgment on America. We are Goya's monsters.

Coda: Richard Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld live in my neighborhood. They eat at the restaurants in my town (and they are sealed off from the public by black SUV's). An acquaintance of mine was at an adjacent table where they were eating and they were discussing Iraq. Everyone goes on about their business in my town. We do nothing about the horrors perpetrated in our name.

Just like the Germans at Auschwitz.

[Addendum on 11/05: To see exactly how slimy this whole thing is go to firedoglake and read-and-cry.]

[Addendum 2 on 11/05: And this tidbit from Juan Cole concerning the practice of bombing "safe houses" in villages:

Collective punishment is forbidden to occupying powers by the fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, since the Nazis had used it so extensively.

]

Don't Worry, Brownie's in Charge! (Of the Cytokine Storm)

"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job!"

I guess I had never thought too much on why the flu epidemic in 1918 caused so many deaths. After all, the flu comes around every year. Many of us made it through the Hong Kong flu (H3N2) of 1968-69 (the late 50's Asian flu) and, every year, most of us survive the more mundane strains. What is it about Bird Flu (H5N1) that makes it so lethal?

Well, the answer, according to Flu Wiki, is that H5N1 (which is similar to the influenza that cause the 1918 epidemic) can cause a cytokine storm in otherwise healthy people. Thus it is not just the old and the very young that may die. It is anyone, even a 300 pound linebacker for the Green Bay Packers!

Our source has the following to say:

The occurrence of a “cytokine storm” has been suggested as an explanation for the devastating nature of the 1918 flu and perhaps H5N1. So what is a cytokine storm? From a clinical perspective, a cytokine storm describes an immune system that has over-reacted and is damaging the body, causing failure of multiple organ systems. Ordinarily a cytokine storm is a rare event, which means there are few opportunities to study them, so we do not fully understand how they happen. The term “cytokine storm” is not precisely defined, referring particular kind of uncontrolled immune response. Cytokine storms can happen rapidly and patients who suffer them have high mortality. Because we lack knowledge, we don’t know the best way to treat the condition. Influenza is thought to be one of the rare conditions able to cause a cytokine storm. (emphasis added)

This is very discouraging. It is possible that Tamiflu, which simply inhibits viral reproduction, might dampen down a cytokine storm enough to allow survival. But who is going to take care of the patients during the "surviving" part?

Alternatively, I've use VP-16, an anticancer drug, to damp down an unusual proliferative disorder called hemophagocytic syndrome. This, also, is probably related to a type of cytokine storm.

You know, I think we knew about this a long time ago. I wonder who is in charge of the response. Whose going to clean up after the storm. Brownie??

Friday Crab Blogging

This is Crazy

I realize this will bore most anybody who reads this, but if we all don't stick up for children, we are in deep trouble. The Senate passed a Budget proposal which at least didn't make deep cuts in programs that affect children. But the House, that bastion of "Compassionate" Conservatives is a different story. They want to (from an AAP eMail):

1. Charge premiums to participate in Medicaid, and require co-pays for doctor’s visits, hospital stays, lab work and other non-preventive care services. Premiums and co-payments could be applied to children under age six with income above 133 % of the poverty line and children age six to 18 with income just above the poverty line. This is a significant change from current law, which exempts children from co-payments and bars premiums for nearly all categories of Medicaid beneficiaries, including children.

2. Impose new co-payments for children’s prescription drugs. States would be allowed to charge all children, including those with incomes below the poverty level, for drugs not on a state’s “preferred” drug list. Also, children with incomes just above the poverty line could face co-payments even for preferred drugs.

3. Restrict health care services available to children with incomes just above the poverty line. These children would no longer have protections under the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) provisions of the current Medicaid rules, which guarantee that children receive the medical services that they need

Why, when we have so much money to kill people in the Middle East don't we have enough money to provide basic services to children?

Why, Mr. Bush?

The Two Hundred and Eighty Million Disaster

There are approximately three hundred million people in the United States of America. There is an avian flu (H5N1 strain) that is currently spreading across the world and is extremely lethal to the birds it infects. There have been people who have contracted this flu:

French authorities report that three people who came back from a holiday in Thailand probably have bird flu. The three people had been to an ornithological zoo (bird zoo) in Thailand - they were in contact with the birds.

Since so many people live in close proximity to birds in Asia, it is only a matter of time before this strain not only passes to humans but passes from human to human there. Once this happens, we have the dreaded pandemic.

So, what do we do? Well, since there is no effective vaccine for bird flu, and it would take too long to develop one once it started to spread in humans to curtail its spread, the only measure available would be to treat cases with an antiviral medication.

As detailed if previous posts, the only effective antiviral medication at this time is probably Tamiflu. Not only is Tamiflu probably effective in the treatment of bird flu, it may be prophylactic. The US Government wants to stockplie 20 million doses of Tamiflu (courses? the current recommended dose is 75mg b.i.d. x 5 days, or ten doses; it is unknown what the real prophylactic dose would be). So, 20 million Americans will be protected from death!

Where does this leave the other 280 million Americans? And, more to the point, who is going to decide who gets Tamiflu(and lives) and who doesn't (and dies)?

Now the manufacture of Tamiflu requires Shikimic Acid as a starting product (see previous posts.) Here is the structure for Shikimic acid: It seems to me that any first year graduate student in Organic Chemistry should be able to synthesize this stuff in his/her sleep. What are they teaching them at MIT these days?

It is inconceivable to me that a country that is willing to put $280 Billion into a bottomless pit called Iraq ($1,000 for every man woman and child in the US of A) is not capable of putting a few pennies into the organic synthesis of Tamiflu.

Geez Louise!

Relenza for the flu

An alert reader has asked if Relenza is as effective against the bird flu as Tamiflu. I'm not sure there is an answer yet, since we haven't seen that many cases of bird flu in humans. The Chinese, who have seen the most cases, might have some information. In case you were interested in what Relenza is, it is similar to Tamiflu:

FDA has approved Relenza (zanamivir), an anti-viral drug, for persons aged 7 years and older for the treatment of uncomplicated influenza virus. This product is approved to treat type A and B influenza, the two types most responsible for flu epidemics. Clinical studies showed that for the drug to be effective, patients needed to start treatment within two days of the onset of symptoms. The drug seemed to be less effective in patients whose symptoms weren't severe or didn't include a fever.

This brings up the whole question of antiviral medications for influenza. There is a white paper draft on the web which refers to this FDA page.

There has been a lot of recent concern about "bird flu" which can refer to a number of influenza viruses that occur in birds and could become causes of human disease in some situations. Some of the current influenza antiviral drugs are able to inhibit many of the "bird flu" viruses in the laboratory although it is not known exactly how much effect they would have against these infections in people.

There are four drugs for influenza A and B, the current strains that infect humans:

Two related drugs, amantadine (approved 1966; Trade Name Symmetrel, also available as generic Amantadine Hydrochloride) and rimantadine (approved 1993; Trade Name Flumadine, also available as generic Rimantadine Hydrochloride), are approved for treatment and prevention of influenza A. Two newer drugs, zanamivir (approved 1999; Trade Name Relenza) and oseltamivir phosphate (approved 1999; Trade Name Tamiflu), are approved for treatment of acute uncomplicated illness due to influenza A and B. Oseltamivir has been approved also for preventive use, while zanamivir is approved only for treatment (emphasis added). Approved ages, doses, and uses in children are different for each drug, so the individual package inserts should be checked for this information. (The anti-influenza antiviral drugs are not a substitute for vaccine and are used only as an adjunct to vaccine in the control of influenza.)

In summary, there are two drugs that treat both Influenza A and B, which are the usual causes of flu. Since Tamiflu is probably effective in treating bird flu, AND it is prophylactic for Influenza A and B, it may be the drug of choice if and when the bird flu breaks out. Hopefully, Relenza will be helpful in this case though it does not provide prophylaxis.

There is no doubt that there will be a panic that occurs when the bird flu hits because of the limited availability of Tamiflu. Who will get it? Only George Bush and his cronies, I suspect. They will have to "be protected so they can lead the country."

Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha....................

Will regular flu shots protect against bird flu?

This from Dr. Julie Gerberding, Director, Centers for Disease Control:

Darleen, from Crystal Lake, IL writes:
I am wondering how to protect myself and my family. Will taking the flu shot that is being given out right now protect or help protect against the bird flu? Also, would taking the pneumonia shot that is available right now protect or help protect dying from the bird flu? If so, are there any particular risks of these shots that we should know of so that we can make an informed decision?

Dr. Julie Gerberding
Right now, Americans are not at risk for pandemic avian influenza and there is no need for vaccination against that virus. However, regular seasonal flu is here in America and we are encouraging Americans to get their regular flu shot. The flu shot that we are offering this year does not protect against the avian strain, but it’s very important that people at risk for flu complications get their flu shots this year because it will protect them.

Overall, this year, we have a good supply of flu shots. We are not expecting any shortages......(emphasis added)

So, the answer is NO. Unfortunately.

Dr. Gerberding goes to to state that:
1. The Government is "investing in our abilities to detect emerging pandemic influenza wherever it occurs."
2. "We’re investing in the development of vaccines and anti-viral drugs."
3. "We’re working with people, families, local and state governments, as well as the federal government to ensure that we have a seamless network of protection for everyone in our country."

If course, they told us this about FEMA and then Katrina happened. Ask those people living in the Houston Astrodome about the "seamless network of protection for everyone in our country." I assume it is a network of protection for Bush, his cronies, and his campaign supporters.

But, there IS a treatment for flu, Bird or otherwise. It is Tamiflu. But, as usual, there is a catch:

Tamiflu is made from shikimic acid but until recently there was only one significant source of supply. The acid was extracted from the seeds of the star anice plant, which for centuries has been used in flavouring oriental cooking. The entire world crop of star anice comes from just four provinces in China, and it's only harvested in three months of the year.

Shortage of star anice would have been a major constraint on increasing production of Tamiflu, except that a few months ago a way was found of making shikimic acid artificially. Roche now derives some of the raw material it needs from fermenting e-coli bacteria. Other drug companies can copy this - but it won't be easy and it won't be quick. Every batch of Tamiflu takes a year to make - and at one of the ten stages the material is highly explosive.
Roche now says its willing to let other drug companies manufacture Tamiflu, but even if this does happen soon it will certainly be months, and possibly years, before stocks are big enough to meet potential demand in the event of a bird flu pandemic in humans.
Mark Gregory, BBC business reporter (emphasis added)

Dear Harry

Frist: "Senator Reid, I have some pills here that I would like you to take. They work wonders. Unfortunately, they have a side effect. I know you won't mind. Its just a little thing. Not to worry."

Reid: "Senator Frist, what IS the little side effect of your little pills?"

Frist: "Senator Reid, you won't mind the little side effect. And the benefit of the pills. The benefit is WONDERFUL!"

Reid: "Alright, Senator Frist, what is the benefit of your little pills?"

Frist: "Well, to begin with you might start leaning a little to the right. After a couple of weeks, you won't be able to make a left turn. After a month, Rush Limbaugh will greet you like a brother."

Reid: "Oh. And the side effect?"

Frist: "You lose your cojones."

Finally, some cojones:

From Think Progress, a transcript of Harry Reid's remarks in the Senate of the United States of America. MY Senate:

SEN. HARRY REID: America deserves better than this. They also deserve a searching and comprehensive investigation into how the Bush administration brought this country to war. Key questions that need to be answered include:

– How did the Bush administration assemble its case for war against Iraq? We heard what Colonel Wilkerson said.
– Who did the Bush administration officials listen to and who did they ignore?
– How did the senior administration officials manipulate or manufacture intelligence presented to the Congress and the American people?
– What was the role of the White House Iraq Group, or WHIG, a group of senior White House officials tasked with marketing the war and taking down its critics? We know what Colonel Wilkerson says.
– How did the administration coordinate its efforts to attack individuals who dared to challenge the administration’s assertions? We know what happened to them — I listed a few.
– Why has this administration failed to provide Congress with the documents that would shed light on their misconduct and the misstatements?

Unfortunately, the Senate committee that should be taking the lead in providing these answers is not. Despite the fact that the chairman of Senate Intelligence Committee publicly committed to examine these questions more than a year and a half ago, he has chosen not to keep that commitment. Despite the fact that he restated the commitment earlier this year on national television, he has still done nothing. …

Mr. President, enough time has gone by. I demand on behalf of the American people that we understand why these investigations aren’t being conducted, and in accordance with Rule 21, I now move that Senate go into closed session.

SEN. DICK DURBIN: Mr. President, I second the motion.

PRESIDING OFFICER: The motion has been made to go into closed session, and it has been seconded. The motion having been made and seconded, the Senate will go into closed session. The chair, pursuant to Rule 21, now directs the sergeant at arms to clear all galleries, close all doors of the Senate chamber, and exclude from the chamber and its immediate corridors all employees and officials of this Senate who under the rule are not eligible to attend this closed session and are not sworn to secrecy. The question is nondebatable.

It is possible that we are heading for a Constitutional crisis. I can't see the details of it, only the outline. This is head and shoulders above Watergate. It ranks right up there with some of the greatest debates in our history.

Please do not back down now, Senate Democrats. The time has come to show your colors.

(In case you were wondering who Col Wilkerson is, go to this article in the Washington Post.