Small gains

So much is so discouraging that we should celebrate the small gains -- and maybe this one is not so small after all.

December 2009 was the first month without a single American death in Iraq since we invaded nearly seven years ago.

It's tempting to go on about 4371 that should not have had to die for the Bush/Cheney folly. But for the moment, I'm just going to be glad that the number didn't become 4372 in December.

Ralph

Twenty-ten

Well, here we are. The beginning of a new decade.

For the past week, I've been just lying low, waiting for the old one to be over. I was so-o-o-o ready for it to be over with and so full of outrage fatigue, I had nothing more to say.

Today, I have a little hope that 2010 may be slightly better.

Fortunately, for anyone eager for some stimulating blogging, I can do no better than to steer you to Mickey Nardo's blog

http://1boringoldman.com/

Mickey is just back from a long trip to Egypt and Jordan and returned ready to share his wisdom and his prodigious internet researching skills.

I highly recommend his essay "A New Year's Resolution For Us All:"

We’ve spent trillions, and sent thousands to the grave trying to unhappen 9/11, looking for a safety that is elusive. And we’ve allowed ourselves to go over to the "dark side."

And then do take the time to watch his clip of Rachel Madow demolishing the shameless and hypocritical responses from Cheney and the Republicans to the Christmas day plane-bombing attempt and Obama's response to it.

Rachel is probably the smartest pundit on TV right now (a former Rhodes scholar); she's also fearless, unintimidated, and funny.

And Happy New Year.

Ralph

Biggest BullShit of the Year Award.

I was expecting that my choice would be Dick Cheney or Sarah Palin or Michele Bachmann --- or any one of the major clowns in congress or on the airwaves.

But I have settled for Cheney's former communications director, Mary Matalin.

Here's the beaut: Yesterday, on CNN's State of the Union, she told host John King that

"We inherited the most tragic attack on our own soil in our nation's history."

What she's saying is: Obama should stop claiming about things he "inherited" from the Bush administration -- after all, Bush inherited the problem with al Qaeda from Clinton.

At the most superficial level, that is of course true. History has continuity; one administration does pass along unsolved problems to the next. Al Qaeda was already in existence and a recognized threat.

So, yes, Bush inherited the problem.

The real story, and that which makes MM's spin such bullshit is that Bush and Condi Rice were informed that al Qaeda was a threat -- both by outgoing counterparts in the transition and by the counter-terrorism officer (Richard Clarke) who stayed on in the Bush administration.

And Bush and Rice did not pay attention -- as late as 08-06-01.

Bullshit.

Ralph