Iraq * Shifting Stance on Climate ChangeIf Vietnam was a quagmire, Iraq is turning out to be a bigger one. President Bush and his band of neocons exploited the fear following 9/11 and took us to war. Now it has become like a ball of fat that cannot be swallowed or spat out. We are stuck and how to get out of Iraq has become the primary issue facing the nation. The article by Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE) in the Washington Post, "Leaving Iraq Honorably", deserves attention. When the time comes we might say that we left "honorably" but is the world going to see it that way? After all the lies, deceptions, and empty claims of accomplishments; after the high toll in lives lost and money wasted, "honor" is not a word that would be associated with the misadventure in Iraq.Leaving Iraq, Honorablyby Chuck HagelThere will be no victory or defeat for the United States in Iraq. These terms do not reflect the reality of what is going to happen there. The future of Iraq was always going to be determined by the Iraqis -- not the Americans.Iraq is not a prize to be won or lost. It is part of the ongoing global struggle against instability, brutality, intolerance, extremism and terrorism. There will be no military victory or military solution for Iraq. Former secretary of state Henry Kissinger made this point last weekend.The time for more U.S. troops in Iraq has passed. We do not have more troops to send and, even if we did, they would not bring a resolution to Iraq. Militaries are built to fight and win wars, not bind together failing nations. We are once again learning a very hard lesson in foreign affairs: America cannot impose a democracy on any nation -- regardless of our noble purpose.We have misunderstood, misread, misplanned and mismanaged our honorable intentions in Iraq with an arrogant self-delusion reminiscent of Vietnam. Honorable intentions are not policies and plans. Iraq belongs to the 25 million Iraqis who live there. They will decide their fate and form of government.Climate Change Al Gore should feel vindicated. Less than a month after the Democrats' victory, there are signs of changing attitudes about climate change! A volteface; quite different from the sky will fall scenario that the energy companies pushed in the past. Certainly, good news. Steven Mufson and Juliet Eilperin in the Washington Post: "While the political debate over global warming continues, top executives at many of the nation's largest energy companies have accepted the scientific consensus about climate change and see federal regulation to cut greenhouse gas emissions as inevitable.""We have to deal with greenhouse gases," John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Co., said in a recent speech at the National Press Club. "From Shell's point of view, the debate is over. When 98 percent of scientists agree, who is Shell to say, 'Let's debate the science'?""We have to deal with greenhouse gases," John Hofmeister, president of Shell Oil Co., said in a recent speech at the National Press Club. "From Shell's point of view, the debate is over. When 98 percent of scientists agree, who is Shell to say, 'Let's debate the science'?"Hofmeister and other top energy company leaders, such as Duke Energy Corp.'s chief executive, James E. Rogers, back a proposal that would cap greenhouse gas emissions and allow firms to trade their quotas.

"Times, They Are A-Changin"If not panic then certainly there is grave concern among the lobbyists and those who employ them. After enjoying six years of cozy relationships with Republican legislators the lobbying industry faced a different world on November 8th.It is to be seen how far the Democrats would go to implement lobbying reform. But even if they fail to carry out all that that they said they would do, lobbyists are regrouping -- preparing to play under different ground rules.Jeffrey Birnbaum in the Post:Labor and environmental representatives, once also-rans in congressional influence, are meeting frequently with Capitol Hill's incoming Democratic leaders. Corporations that once boasted about their Republican ties are busily hiring Democratic lobbyists. And industries worried about reprisals from the new Democrats-in-charge, especially the pharmaceutical industry, are sending out woe-is-me memos and hoping their GOP connections will protect them in the crunch."Change is in the air," said Melinda Pierce, a senior lobbyist for the Sierra Club. She had never even been invited to meet with Republican House leaders, but since Election Day, Democrats have welcomed her advice.Dan Danner sees change in the opposite direction. The top lobbyist for the National Federation of Independent Business has attended meetings with Republican leaders at least twice a month for the past 12 years. But he has yet to see any of the new Democratic crowd and doesn't expect to anytime soon. "That's a significant difference," he said.But don't expect lobbyists with Republicans connections to roll over and quit.A post-election e-mail to executives at the drug company GlaxoSmithKline details just how tough. "We now have fewer allies in the Senate," says the internal memo, obtained by The Washington Post. "Thus, there is greater risk over the next two years that bad amendments will be offered to pending legislation." The company's primary concerns are bills that would allow more imported drugs and would force price competition for drugs bought under Medicare. The defeat of Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) "creates a big hole we will need to fill," the e-mail says. Sen.-elect Jon Tester (D-Mont.) "is expected to be a problem," it says, and the elevation to the Senate of Rep. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) "will strengthen his ability to challenge us." The e-mail also mentions that Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) "has worked closely" with the company and that the firm's PAC had supported six Democratic senators who faced reelection. "These relationships should help us moderate proposals offered by Senate Democrats," the e-mail says. * Come gather 'round peopleWherever you roamAnd admit that the watersAround you have grownAnd accept it that soonYou'll be drenched to the bone.If your time to youIs worth savin'Then you better start swimmin'Or you'll sink like a stoneFor the times they are a-changin'.-- Bob Dylan

Thanksgiving 2006 * Three and Half Years of An Unjust War You've done enough damage, Mr. President; caused enough bloodshed, wasted enough of our money. Even Henry Kissinger believes that that the war is unwinnable.Associated Press/Washington Post November 20, 2006LONDON, Nov. 19 -- Military victory is no longer possible in Iraq, former secretary of state Henry A. Kissinger told the British Broadcasting Corp. on Sunday.Kissinger presented a bleak vision, saying the U.S. government must enter into dialogue with Iraq's neighbors -- including Iran -- if progress is to be made."If you mean by 'military victory' an Iraqi government that can be established and whose writ runs across the whole country, that gets the civil war under control and sectarian violence under control in a time period that the political processes of the democracies will support, I don't believe that is possible," he said.Tomorrow, as Americans gather to celebrate this great holiday, there will be many homes in which the shadow of the war in Iraq will be present. Families will think of their loved ones serving in Iraq; some will try to cope with the memories of the dead, and others think of caring for the injured. Those of us who have not been directly affected by the war must not forget them and the hundreds of thousands of hapless Iraqis caught in the turmoil.Let's hope that come Thanksgiving 2007, the soldiers will be home.Every Thanksgiving Day, a column by Jon Carroll appears in The San Francisco Chronicle. Except for names of people he offers thanks to, the column has remained unchanged over the years. Excerpts from the column Thursday November 24, 2005.JON CARROLLA few years ago I wrote a Thanksgiving column that people seemed to like, so I've reprinted it annually. Here it is again, slightly revised:Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. It is comfortably free of the strident religious and/or militaristic overtones that give the other holidays their soft emanations of uneasiness.At Christmas, for instance, we are required to deal with the divinity of Christ -- I know some of you folks have made up your minds about that one, but not me -- and on the Fourth of July we must wrestle with the question of whether all those simulated aerial bombardments represent the most useful form of nationalism available.At Thanksgiving, all we have to worry about is whether we can wholeheartedly support A) roasted turkey, B) friends and C) gratitude. My opinions on these matters are unambiguous; I am in favor of them all. The Squanto-give-corn stuff has been blessedly eliminated from the iconography, so the thrill of Thanksgiving is undiminished by caveats, codicils or carps. That alone is something to be thankful for.Thanksgiving provides a formal context in which to consider the instances of kindness that have enlightened our lives, for moments of grace that have gotten us through when all seemed lost. These are fine and sentimental subjects for contemplation.

Reform - How Far Will They Go ? * Slimy Pair: Murdoch and O.J.Politics and ethics don't mix. No surprise that some members of the Democratic majority in Congress are looking for wiggle room. A loop hole here, a loop hole there and before you know it Democrats and their lobbyist friends could be merrily on their way to serve special interest groups as the Republicans did. The good news is that serious efforts are underway to implement meaningful measures.Jonathan Weisman in the Post:Despite divisions among Democrats over how far to go in revising ethics rules, House leaders plan a major rollout of an ethics reform bill early next year to demonstrate concern about an issue that helped defeat the Republicans in the midterm elections.But they will do it with a twist: Instead of forwarding one big bill, Democrats will put together an ethics package on the House floor piece by piece, allowing incoming freshmen to take charge of high-profile issues and lengthening the time spent on the debate. The approach will ensure that each proposal -- including banning gifts, meals and travel from lobbyists as well as imposing new controls on the budget deficit -- is debated on its own and receives its own vote. That should garner far more media attention for the bill's components before a final vote on the entire package."This will be the most significant ethics and lobbying reform that Congress has ever voted on," promised Rep. Martin T. Meehan (D-Mass.), one of the point men on the effort.The approach may be the first indication of how the Democrats plan to use their ability to control the House agenda as the majority power, setting the terms of debate while lifting the strict rules that Republicans used to curtail dissent.*Two ScumbagsPublic outcry caused media mogul Rupert Murdoch to retreat from proceeding with promotion of O.J. Simpson's book and TV special. The usual platitudes followed:By Lisa de Moraes and Bob ThompsonWashington Post News Corp. has spiked its O.J. Simpson book and TV special in the face of public and professional outrage over the project, in which the former football star describes hypothetically how he would have killed ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman."I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project," News Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch said yesterday in a brief statement. "We are sorry for any pain this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."

The lovefest is over * Bring Back Military Draft ?The vice president and his friends raised their glasses after the statue of Saddam Hussein was toppled in Baghdad. Recently, a few of us nonentities gathered in Campbell, California, to toast the defeat of the Republicans. By chance we happened to open two bottles of red, both French -- a Margaux and a St Estèphe. Perhaps that was a subconscious snub to the then House Speaker Hastert -- a buffoon -- who had marched out to boast in from of TV cameras in March 2003 that the House Cafetaria menu no longer displayed French Fries and French Toasts. They had become Freedom Fries and Freedom Toasts.(Note: last month the menu went back to French Fries and French Toasts.)Now it is November 2006. The midterm elections left no doubt about how American voters perceived Bush and the Republicans. They were badly mauled. Even the neocons, protagonists of the war, have turned against the president.Peter Baker in the Post:Embittered Insiders Turn Against BushThe weekend after the statue of Saddam Hussein fell, Kenneth Adelman and a couple of other promoters of the Iraq war gathered at Vice President Cheney's residence to celebrate. The invasion had been the "cakewalk" Adelman predicted. Cheney and his guests raised their glasses, toasting President Bush and victory. "It was a euphoric moment," Adelman recalled.Forty-three months later, the cakewalk looks more like a death march, and Adelman has broken with the Bush team. He had an angry falling-out with Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld this fall. He and Cheney are no longer on speaking terms. And he believes that "the president is ultimately responsible" for what Adelman now calls "the debacle that was Iraq." * The Mess That Is IraqThe situation in Iraq continues to overshadow other issues as elected representatives try to come up with a solution to reduce our role. Not easy and nothing is going to happen in the near future. But Democratic Senator Charles Rangel (NY) stated: ".........that he will push to renew the military draft, as lawmakers in both parties sharpened their criticisms of the situation in Iraq and struggled for consensus and solutions."Charles Babington, Washington PostRep. Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) has long advocated returning to the draft, but his efforts drew little attention during the 12 years that House Democrats were in the minority. Starting in January, however, he will chair the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee. Yesterday he said "you bet your life" he will renew his drive for a draft."I will be introducing that bill as soon as we start the new session," Rangel said on CBS's "Face the Nation." He portrayed the draft, suspended since 1973, as a means of spreading military obligations more equitably and prompting political leaders to think twice before starting wars."There's no question in my mind that this president and this administration would never have invaded Iraq, especially on the flimsy evidence that was presented to the Congress, if indeed we had a draft and members of Congress and the administration thought that their kids from their communities would be placed in harm's way," said Rangel, a Korean War veteran. "If we're going to challenge Iran and challenge North Korea and then, as some people have asked, to send more troops to Iraq, we can't do that without a draft."

San Francisco Bay AreaWild mushrooms are one of the bounties of fall. AC and I went on our first (this season) foraging expedition for chanterelles and and returned with four lbs in prime condition.For those who are into wild mushrooms, the 37th annual Fungus Fair will be held in Oakland on Saturday and Sunday, December 2nd and 3rd.© http://www.mssf.org/ *

For An Intellectually Challenged President Deep in his heart, Tony Blair might have doubts about his decision to commit himsel to the American president's war in Iraq. President Bush continues to bluster about the rightness of his action. He can do nothing else. At this point neither Blair nor Bush can admit that it was a mistake. Historians,however, are not likely to be kind to them.Excerpts from "Time for your Vietnam History Lesson, George" by Mary Riddell in The Observer.Iraq's tomorrow looks bleak, but its conflict will have an end some day. All Bush and Blair can do now is to hasten peace in any way they can. That means talking to Iran and Syria, without ruinous preconditions, and recognising that diplomacy is usually less lethal than aggression.Vietnam and Iraq have an identical message, for all their differences. One country offers a story of hope, the other - for now - of hopelessness. But the moguls of Hanoi and the morgues of Baghdad tell the same narrative of misbegotten war. So much blood running down the gutters of history, all shed for nothing.The President's insistence on a 'victory' in Iraq blinds him to the outcome of another ill-fated war

Mahmudiya, Iraq, March 12, 2006 * 502nd Infantry RegimentThe war, President Bush's war, in Iraq began more than three and half years ago. Number of American soldiers who have lost their lives is nearing 2900; many times that number have suffered serious injuries. Estimates of the number of Iraqi deads range from 50,000 to more than half a million. There have been kidnappings and torture of prisoners. The images of American soldiers gleefully taking part in abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib remain indelible.One incident that stands apart is the rape and killing of 14-year old Abeer Hamza. It took place in Mahmudiya on March 12th and five soldiers of 1st Battalion,502nd Infantry Regiment participated in it. The methodical brutality with which they planned and executed the crimes is horrifying. They raped Abeer Hamza and killed her as well as her parents and her younger sister to leave no witnesses. Perhaps killing the parents was in a way an act of kindness. For them, living with the memory of what took place would have been worse than death.When the details began to emerge, cover-up was not an option. The facts were known to too many people -- Iraqis and American soldiers. Two soldiers of the 502nd were kidnapped , tortured and killed by Iraqis, reportedly to avenge what happened. A few soldiers came forward to report what they knew. Investigation began and charges were filed. Steven Green, accused of being the primary culprit, had left the army (discharged for "personality disorder") before the investigation began. He is awaiting trial in Kentucky. On November 16th, Spc. James P. Barker received a sentence of 90 years in prison for his role in the crimes.FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. -- A soldier who was sentenced to 90 years in prison for conspiring to rape a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and kill her and her family said he knew his actions would harm support for the U.S. military's mission in Iraq.At his sentencing Thursday, Spc. James P. Barker, one of four Fort Campbell soldiers accused in the March 12 rape and killings, begged Iraqis not to cast judgment on other troops."I do not ask anyone to forgive me today," he tearfully told the judge. "I don't know how that would be possible after what I have done. I do ask the Iraqi people not to blame my brothers still fighting in Iraq."Barker pleaded guilty Wednesday and agreed to testify against the others to avoid the death penalty.The killings in Mahmoudiya, a village about 20 miles south of Baghdad, were among the worst in a series of alleged attacks on civilians and other abuses by military personnel in Iraq.*See: The Neocons' War and A Girl Named Abeer HamzaThe 502nd Infantry Regiment and Abeer HamzaAbeer Hamza

The Abstinence (from sex) Brigade * Repugnicans ? DemoGlad by Mark FioreThe Bush Administration's hypocrisy about sex lives of Americans continues. How many among them practised abstinence during their youth? Listening to them you'd get the feeling that they didn't even masturbate; only prayed and took cold showers. And now they want to force their warped, fake moral values upon us.Christopher Lee in The Washington Post: "The Bush administration has appointed a new chief of family-planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services who worked at a Christian pregnancy-counseling organization that regards the distribution of contraceptives as "demeaning to women."Eric Keroack, medical director for A Woman's Concern, a nonprofit group based in Dorchester, Mass., will become deputy assistant secretary for population affairs in the next two weeks, department spokeswoman Christina Pearson said yesterday.Keroack, an obstetrician-gynecologist, will advise Secretary Mike Leavitt on matters such as reproductive health and adolescent pregnancy. He will oversee $283 million in annual family-planning grants that, according to HHS, are "designed to provide access to contraceptive supplies and information to all who want and need them with priority given to low-income persons."The appointment, which does not require Senate confirmation, was the latest provocative personnel move by the White House since Democrats won control of Congress in this month's midterm elections. President Bush last week pushed the Senate to confirm John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations and this week renominated six candidates for appellate court judgeships who have previously been blocked by lawmakers. Democrats said the moves belie Bush's post-election promises of bipartisanship.The Keroack appointment angered many family-planning advocates, who noted that A Woman's Concern supports sexual abstinence until marriage, opposes contraception and does not distribute information promoting birth control at its six centers in eastern Massachusetts.Repugnic PartyThe President continues to say "Democrat Party" instead of Democratic Party. Not known whether it is his inability to pronounce the last two letters. His problem with pronounciation of "nuclear" is a fact. What if we start saying "Repugnicans" instead of Republicans?But for us it is time to be happy and forgiving. Take a look at Mark Fiore's animated strip DemoGlad©. It is guaranteed to make you feel good -- not the Bushies but the rest of us.

Elephants' Graveyard * Democrats and 'K' StreetBush in purgatory. The smirk is gone. The president spent his capital like a drunken sailor and the American voters in their wisdom put him in his place on November 7th. In his own words he got a "thumpin". Our Strangelovian vice president must be licking his wound in a bunker somewhere. Not a pip out of him after the results of midterm elections became known. Announcement of his resignation due to health reasons wouldn't come as a surprise.The inimitable Hendrik Hertzberg of The New Yorker summed it up in the final paragraph of his Talk of the Town piece, THUMP. The November 20th issue's cover by Mark Ulriksen shows statue of an elephant being toppled, with the White House in the background.It has been obvious for some time that, as President of the United States, George W. Bush is in very far over his head. He does not know how to use power wisely. He will now have a Democratic Congress to restrain him, and, perhaps, to protect him—and us—from his unfettered impulses. This may not be the Thanksgiving he was looking forward to, but the rest of us have reason to be grateful.'K' Street KerfuffleSpecial interest groups are readjusting to the new reality. Lobbyists with Democratic connections are back in favor. There is little doubt that some members of the 110th Congress will succumb to the temptations and be persuaded to drink from the pail. That is how our system works. Would they stoop as low as their predecessors? Let's hope that they do not.As Guard Changes in Congress, Lobbyists ScrambleNY Times 11/15/06K STREET DEMS SUDDENLY VERY POPULAR: Republicans do not cede control of Congress for nearly two months, but money, power and influence are already beginning to change hands. The political economy, at least here in the capital, is humming for Democrats.Democratic lobbyists are fielding calls from pharmaceutical companies, the oil and gas industry and military companies, all of which had grown accustomed to patronizing Republicans, as the environment in Washington abruptly shifts.The Republican Party lost its grip on Congress and is now bracing to lose its hold over K Street, the bustling corridor that has become synonymous with the lobbying industry. The so-called K Street Project, an effort engineered by Republicans to dominate the trade, is unraveling, and Democrats say they intend to pass sweeping reforms rather than reverse the project for their benefit."What!" said the Prior, "would you master stay our benefactor's soul in Purgatory?" "Ay," said the officer, coldly, "an ye will not pray him thence for naught he must e'en roast."-- Ambrose Bierce (The Devil's Dictionary)