Bush Diversions

So the (p)resident will wait until January to announce his new Iraq policy. The New York Times opines that he is waiting until enthusiasm (is there any?) for the ISG's report to wane before doing whatever it is his handlers want him to do anyway. Meanwhile, we wait to see how many more troops and Iraqi citizens will be the last people to die for a mistake (thanks, John Kerry).

I know Nancy Pelosi said that impeachment was "off the table." That's fine; politicians are better at getting in front of a parade than at starting one. Let the investigations begin. If we can prove criminal charges against Bush, Cheney, Rice, Rumsfeld, Gonzales, Wolfowitz, et al., the impeachment cry will become a juggernaut. Expect a ton of sprinting, some of it even by Republicans, to get in front of the floats.

How does the creature say "complete"?

In the November 29 Sacramento Bee, Peter Schrag opines that California's community colleges have failed in the category of "completion": "That's the percentage of beginning students who actually get a degree, transfer to a four-year college, or complete the vocational program they began." What if that is not the goal? What if the goal is to retake English 1A over the summer before returning to Chico or Davis for one's four-year program? What if, after years of work in some other field, a retiree wants to study something unrelated to his or her career? Can't those people be said to have "completed" their goal? Schrag himself acknowledges that "the community colleges are -- and have to be -- all things to all people," so the rather short list of criteria doesn't truly apply. We cannot judge community colleges the way we judge universities or tech colleges because the mission is so varied.

Stay tuned for my dissection of the state policy analyst's report.

Charlie Rangel is right! Now let's go further.

Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) has again proposed to reinstate the draft. It is of course a symbolic move with no chance of being sent to the president for a veto. Instead, it's a gut check: are we serious enough about this war to send our best and brightest? Or at least the most privileged?

Because this war has lasted as long as World War II, shouldn't we also have full mobilization? How about building Humvees and tanks in all that factory overcapacity we have? Why don't we give up our best natural and synthetic fabrics to the war materiel effort? Are we willing to give up shopping to really fight this war? How about burning less petrol? Will you give up your Suburban so an Iraqi family whose house was bombed can now live in it? And how about a higher tax rate so those kids who live through the war can have a real GI Bill?

If not--let's bring the boys and girls home. It's not cut and run when the alternative is stay and be slain.

Conflicts? Don't worry!

All those gloating or wringing their hands over the election of Steny Hoyer over Jack Murtha as House majority leader can now shut up and put their hands back in their pockets. This does not show Nancy Pelosi to be a weak Speaker of the House. It's just something we haven't seen in a while.

It's called de-mo-cra-cy. (I'm saying it slow the way Dubya does: the commentator who says he speaks in that condescending manner was dead-on when he suggested that Chimpy is merely repeating it in the fashion it was explained to him.)

Yes. The right wingnuts want lockstep uniformity: that explains their ugly haircuts. The Democrats, as Will Rogers pointed out, are not part of an organized political party. Also, notice how quickly Pelosi and Hoyer were reconciled. This is not your father's Congress, so get used to it.

Welcome to Evl Uncl Bud!

This blog is named for a New Duncan Imperials song. The lyrics are "Evl Uncl Bud/climbing up the stairs/Evl Uncl Bud/in his underwear."

What does that have to do with politics? Absolutely nothing, except . . .

Uncl Bud is evl, all right, but the neoconservatives, religious hypocrites, and totalitarians are evil. Now that they are out of power in the U.S. Congress and many statehouses, I plan to post information to keep them out. Will you join me?