Rarely surprised?

"Frustrated? Sometimes I'm frustrated. Rarely surprised. Sometimes I'm happy. This is -- but war is not a time of joy. These aren't joyous times. These are challenging times, and they're difficult times, and they're straining the psyche of our country. I understand that." -- President Bush, press conference Aug 21, 2006

I'd like to know which developments in Iraq he wasn't surprised about. And why is it better to be unsurprised, but too incompetent to plan for it, than to be too incompetent to expect it?

• Iraq had no WMDs
• Not sending enough troops to start with
• Chalabi lied
• It wasn’t a slam dunk
• Massive looting after the invasion
• Munitions stolen during the looting
• Power struggle after Sadam was removed
• The time it took to change from liberators to occupiers
• Sectarian violence
• Needing a Green Zone
• Abu Ghraib
• Accusations of war crimes
• Corruption in the new Iraqi government
• Corruption in the rebuilding
• Corruption in the privatization of military functions
• Loss of 9 billion dollars by the Development Fund for Iraq
• Three years and no end in sight
• Over 2500 US soldiers killed
• Uncountable Iraqis killed
• IEDs
• Suicide bombers
• Inadequate armor for troops
• Depleted uranium affecting our troops, and the Iraqi people
• Shortages in military recruiting
• Stop loss orders creating a back door draft
• Soldiers sent on multiple deployments
• Medical needs for wounded soldiers
• Loss of rights for Iraqi women
• Epidemic kidnapping of Iraqi citizens
• Oil shortages in Iraq
• Iraqi utilities not up to pre-war standards after three years
• Rising influence of religious sects
• Rising influence of Iran
• Cost of war over $300,000,000,000
• Pullouts from the Coalition of the Willing
• Using so much of our resources that we need the UN’s help with other problems

Freedom

Americans are asking, why do they hate us? They hate what we see right here in this chamber -- a democratically elected government. Their leaders are self-appointed. They hate our freedoms -- our freedom of religion, our freedom of speech, our freedom to vote and assemble and disagree with each other. -- George W Bush, declaration of War on Terrorism

The US is the land of the free, home of the brave. Give me liberty or give me death. No one can take away our freedom.

To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty; my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists - for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. -- John Ashcroft, US Attorney General

I'm willing to give up a little liberty if it will stop another 9/11. If you have a problem with the government listening to your conversations, you must have something to hide.

In other words, the terrorists want to take away our freedoms, so we have to give up our freedoms in order to keep them.

Homophone Fun

Time for a little silliness break.


The mole hides his eyes.
The mole hides his ears.
But he really knows how
to show off his nose.

Entitlements

Most people think of welfare or Medicaid when they hear the word entitlements. But there are entitlements that cost a lot more than the expense of giving basic survival needs to people who need a little help.

Congress.

Congress is entitled to a raise each year, while the working poor haven't needed one in years. Congress is entitled to the best health care available, while much of our country doesn't have any. Congress is entitled to a generous pension, while the pension system is on the verge of collapse.

Incumbents.

Once someone is elected to Congress, they are entitled to keep their job as long as they want it. The rest of us have to deal with off shoring, downsizing, slowdowns, and poor management decisions. Lieberman is a prime example. He doesn't understand how he can be voted out, just because his constituents don't like the job he's doing.

Big money.

Those that have are entitled to get more, at the expense of everyone else. The election process is rigged so that ridiculous amounts of money are required. This means that most elected officials have to become indentured servants to big money interests. The servants repay their benefactors with more ways to get even richer. Round and round it goes while the country falls apart.

Bird Flu & Agribusiness

Watch the skies. Bird flu is coming.

There has been considerable concern about wild birds spreading bird flu to our domestic flocks. Agribusiness is always quick to assure us that the industrial flocks are safe because they are kept indoors under strict biosecurity controls. The danger is with free ranging organic flocks because they are allowed to mingle with wild birds.

This is a nice theory, but the facts don't support it. The spread of H5N1 doesn't follow the migratory routes and seasons. It does follow major roads and railways. Bird flu is hitching a ride on shipments to and from factory farms.

Factory farms are perfect disease incubators. Large numbers of homogeneous animals are crowded together in a stressful environment. A virus can evolve rapidly into a more virulent form.

Wild birds and small backyard flocks are the victims. The disease spreads from the factory farms to them. Many small-scale poultry farmers get their feed and chicks from industrial sources. The chicks become infected at the factory and spread the disease to new flocks. Then there is the "poultry litter". Poultry litter is whatever falls onto the floor. This can include bedding, spilled feed, feathers, and fecal matter. It's one of the standard ingredients in chicken feed, as well as other industrial animal feed.

Small backyard flocks provide genetic diversity and maintain a number of older, endangered breeds. The meat and eggs produced is much healthier for us. They give many hobbyists a great deal of pleasure. It would be a trajedy to lose them in the mistaken belief that it will prevent a pandemic bird flu.



Grain has an excellent briefing on bird flu.
http://www.grain.org/briefings/?id=194