Sunlight is the Best Disinfectant

Boris Johnson, Member of Parliament, is willing to publish the memo describing Bush's desire to bomb al-Jazeera:

But if there is an ounce of truth in the notion that George Bush seriously proposed the destruction of al-Jazeera, and was only dissuaded by the Prime Minister, then we need to know, and we need to know urgently. We need to know what we have been fighting for, and there is only one way to find out.
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If someone passes me the document within the next few days I will be very happy to publish it in The Spectator, and risk a jail sentence. The public need to judge for themselves. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. If we suppress the truth, we forget what we are fighting for, and in an important respect we become as sick and as bad as our enemies.

Bush has already forgotten what we are fighting for, if he ever knew. His war is not the war he sold the country. He's the Bait and Switch President, in oh, so many ways.

But go read Boris Johnson's posting.

We'll Hold Our Breath 'til We Turn The Map Blue

Democratic Underground has an updated map based on Survey USA Bush approval data for November 5,2005.

DU is where I borrowed this image, but I think I've seen it at Daily Kos and elsewhere. Bandwidth at that posting has been exceeded, so I'm not certain who to credit.

Belief-O-Matic

So much fun it deserves its own posting. Here are my top Belief-O-Matic results:

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Liberal Quakers (96%)
3. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (91%)
4. Secular Humanism (84%)
5. Neo-Pagan (78%)

Just about nailed it, I think, although I'm surprised that I score "more" Protestant than Secular Humanist or Neo-Pagan.

Unitarian Universalist Senator Kent Conrad

I did not know that the Senator from North Dakota is a Unitarian Universalist. Why would I? He is, after all, from North Dakota.

But apparently some in ND are using his UU beliefs as a club, all the while insisting they're merely pointing out that he is not a member of a "mainstream" religion, and there's nothing wrong with that, you know. But "he's not one of us" seems to be the point.

That argument doesn't really interest me, but what I do like is the fact that it's got a thread going over at Daily Kos with 352 comments already, including some thoughtful explanations of UU history and belief. Cool.

Update:
Reading the comments yielded a link to the Belief-O-Matic.

Scalia v. Gore

How many wrong court decisions could a statement like this apply to? Scalia quoted in the New York Post

The election was dragged into the courts by the Gore people. We did not go looking for trouble.

Oy! Take that, Mr. Smarty Pants!

Bombing al-Jazeera

Bush apparently wanted to bomb al-Jazeera in Qatar, according to the online Mirror in the UK. The reason would have been the help he thought they were giving to the other side in his Iraq war.

Tony Blair talked him out of it, according to a leaked 10 Downing St memo.

But what's the problem? If their giving aid and comfort to the enemy, that makes them the enemy too, right? Well, for starters, the staff are civilians. Then too, it would be an attack within a friendly nation, with a US base only 10 miles away. Then the backlash would be enormous. We'd be asked to leave the country. Would we? Or would we then become an occupying force?

What an idiot.

Update: Josh Marshall has an analysis. Some say our Idiot in Chief was joking, some say not. There is no doubt that there are two British civil servants under indictment in the UK for violating the Official Secrets Act, so the memo exists, but the government is warning newspapers away from publishing details from the memo.

More at Dailykos.

The Difference Between High School and College

In college you get to take responsibility for your failures and correct them. If you don't succeed in one thing, you either figure out why and re-commit, or find something else to pursue. There's nothing to say your first chosen path is the right one.

Blaming the teacher never gets you anywhere. Calling him names will set you back and just upset everyone. If you can't learn from one teacher, move on and find one you can build a relationship with and learn from.

After the first semester, you still have time to find your way. If you're in the same predicament in the middle of your penultimate semester, get worried.

Mom and Dad may be as disappointed as you that you're having a hard time in one subject, but they know you'll figure it out one way or another, and will always love you and care for you.

High school is a place to get through.

College is a place to build a foundation.

Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the Curtain!

Tom Englehardt of Tomdispatch writes an in-depth analysis by of how things are going (south) for Bush. He likens it to the Wizard of Oz:

It's finally Wizard of Oz time in America. You know -- that moment when the curtains are pulled back, the fearsome-looking wizard wreathed in all that billowing smoke turns out to be some pitiful little guy, and everybody looks around sheepishly, wondering why they acted as they did for so long.

It's a good read.