The Truffle

The new, thoughtful George W. Bush

George W. Bush now regrets some of the shouting, hollering, frothing, and breast beating that accompanied the Iraq war. Among other things, he wishes he hadn’t said, “Bring it on!” I guess he learned to be careful what he wishes for.

Maybe that’s why we’re seeing a more nuanced, cautious Preznit, a commander-in-chief who chooses his words carefully. Good thing too, because the war’s taken an ugly turn with the Haditha massacre. We don’t know all the facts just yet, but the president is “troubled” by the news.

“I am troubled by the initial news stories,” Bush said. “I’m mindful that there’s a thorough investigation going on. If in fact, laws were broken, there will be punishment.”

“Troubled” and “mindful.” That’s the new George W. Bush. I guess he won’t be staging any war-related photo ops any time soon, eh?

Toto, I don’t think we’re…uh, never mind

Kansas, the “What’s the Matter” State, is governed by the immensely popular Dem governor Kathleen Sebelius. Named one of America’s Best Governors by Time, she’s been one of the names tossed around as a running mate for 2008. But from what I’ve read about her, she could be an excellent president. I’d take her over La Hill, most certainly.

It turns out that Sebelius is no Joe Lieberman-esque “Fox News Democrat” either. In fact, she’s been nudging moderate Republicans toward the party of the Donkey. Republicans do still outnumber Democrats in Kansas, but there’s an intra-party split between the Brownback branch (i.e., the fundie wackos) and the moderates. The conflict, as it turns out, is the gift that keeps on giving for the Kansas Democrats.

Current Lt. Governor John Moore is an ex-Republican who switched just days before joining Sebelius on the ticket. Now, Mark Parkinson, the head of the Kansas GOP has switched parties.

The head of the Kansas GOP, folks. The head of the Kansas GOP.

Anyway, Parkinson is believed to be in the running to become Sebelius’s new lieutenant governor. He and Moore are not the only Kansas Republicans to leave the GOP, either. As it turns out, one Kansas state legislator is miffed about this:

House Speaker Doug Mays said he was disgusted by Parkinson’s lack of loyalty to the party that made him chairman.

“To me, one of the most valuable traits that a person can have, particularly a person who find himself in a position of authority is loyalty,” said Mays, R-Topeka. “I think he’s being opportunistic on a personal basis. The Republican Party had been very good to Mark Parkinson.”

Well, whoop dee do. When a party no longer represents your interests and, in fact, seems to have been taken over by nut cases, it’s probably reasonable to jump ship. I don’t doubt that political self-interest played a role in Parkinson’s decision, but it’s telling that a man in his position would jump ship.

Sebelius is doing the smart thing by peeling away the moderate Republicans who are alienated and disgusted by what’s happened to their party.

And you may wonder what Bush’s approval rating is in Kansas. According to SurveyUSA, it’s 35 percent. Maybe Kansas isn’t so wingnutty after all…

"Praise bravery, seek forgiveness"

A year ago, on Memorial Day, the Minneapolis Star Tribune published Memorial Day: Praise bravery, seek forgiveness, to honor the troops in Iraq. The editorial appeared shortly after the infamous Downing Street Memo, but today, the Strib’s words remain timely as ever.

In exchange for our uniformed young people’s willingness to offer the gift of their lives, civilian Americans owe them something important: It is our duty to ensure that they never are called to make that sacrifice unless it is truly necessary for the security of the country. In the case of Iraq, the American public has failed them; we did not prevent the Bush administration from spending their blood in an unnecessary war based on contrived concerns about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.

The World’s Largest Underpants

The subject line says it all. Yes, you too can share the time-honored experience of wearing underwear with your friends! Alas, they only come in white. I can’t wait to see McPhee make the world’s largest pair of glow-in-the-dark boxer shorts. Yes, you heard me. Glow-in-the-dark boxer shorts. They really exist.

Note to George Galloway–Shut up.

Ugh. This is all I have to say. Ugh. What a famewhoring jackass. Wish we could put him on a desert island with Christopher Hitchens.

It’s Frivolous Gossip Friday! Yippee!

Britney Spears’ spokesperson is now refusing to deny rumors of a forthcoming Britney/Kevin Federline split. Yes, Britney seems to have realized that foisting K-Fed the perpetually stoned wannabe rapper on the world was a mistake. She seems to have figured this out very recently, since she is now about five months pregnant with their second kid. According to IMDB, Britney came home to find him drinking and smoking pot. She is now at the end of her rope.

Of course, everyone but her already saw this coming. Unemployed stoner who dumped his pregnant girlfriend as she’s about to pop out their kid? Yup, a great catch. In People, Britney gloated, “I’m sorry you don’t have what I have.” She’s the only one who felt that way. Everyone else just shook their heads as the idiocy unfolded. She was photographed grabbing his crotch and dumping her ashtray over the balcony. They held a white trash wedding where K-Fed’s homies wore track suits that read “Pimp Daddy.” They posed for photos spreads in People, submitted their home movies for a lame reality series, and acted as if the whole relationship was one big publicity stunt.

Oh yeah, and K-Fed started to fancy himself as a rapper. That was a joke that wrote itself.

Except now it’s gone from hilarious to plain pathetic. Britney was reduced to tears after she stumbled and almost dropped her kid, with the paparazzi clicking away. Obviously, it was an accident. However, she’s already been investigated by Children’s Services twice, for stuff that’s much more serious. And Stumblegate just led to more cracks about her lack of parenting skills. With a picture like this one, however, it’s hard to laugh along. Now I just feel sorry for the girl. I wish she’d dump the loser, take a parenting class, and leave the public eye for a while. The joke’s over, people.

Bye-bye Ayn?

Ayn Clouter has long been one of my most favorite blogs, quick with a withering putdown or skilled parody. Now, she appears to be signing off. To hear her put it:

The old order is indeed passing before our very eyes. Continuing to chronicle the conspirings crumbling the country’s quaint delusions is redundant. While to paraphrase Marilyn’s husband, “Lip service must be paid”, let the front men do so. I have no patience to pretend anything like a “democratic republic” exists here, and welcome our new overlords (of whom, as a stockholder, I am theoretically one myself).

Sigh…snif…Fare thee well, Ayn.

Sometimes, evil loses and good wins, just like in the comic books

Mr. Lay and Mr. Skilling have been convicted. They are both going to prison. With any luck, they will be able to file all the appeals they want and never have their convictions overturned.

Bits and pieces. Dribs and drabs. Flotsam and jetsam. And other stuff floating around the blogosphere.

When the going gets tough, the tough (uh-huh) just pray. “Please, God, just skip a year so we can have 2008 elections early. Please!!!! From the Defeatists.

Meanwhile, Neomugwump stumbles onto a right-wing fruitcake who points to the Nazis as a good example of how to handle illegal immigrants. Dennis Sanders, Neomugwump blogdude, has to have the patience of a saint to remain in the GOP.

Moxiegrrrl finds Dick Cheney channeling Blackbeard.
Those are some scary teeth he’s got. Sure there are other things about the guy that are scary, but I noticed those teeth. EEEEWWWWWW.

Speaking of Tricky Dick, the Rude Pundit weighs in on his speech-cum-pirate impersonation.

Laurie Anderson at Joe’s Pub

Le Sweetie and I saw Laurie Anderson at Joe’s Pub this evening. Ms. Anderson played a 7 PM show in a very intimate setting. I was totally unfamiliar with her music or much of anything about her. I was fearful that it would be an hour of esoteric mush, but was pleasantly surprised.

Normally, I don’t really like electronic pop and I HATE programmed drumbeats with an utter passion. However, Anderson’s a humorous, understated performer, making all kinds of witty asides in her monologues-cum-songs, inspiring random giggles from the audience. Another thing too–I usually wouldn’t enjoy this sort of talk-singing, but Laurie Anderson does it effectively. She still has the spiky haircut, but despite a few wrinkles, seems ageless.

She even sings one song, “The Lost Art of Conversation.” The lyrics are simple but effective, and Anderson has a delicate, pretty voice. I read about how she began taking voice lessons and was surprised when her teacher told her she was a soprano, not an alto. This is definitely an artist I can appreciate, even if I don’t want to listen to her every other day.