From CNN:

Remember Patrick Buchanan, that ultra-conservative who ran for the republican nomination for president twice? Surely he supports the President and his foreign policies.

umm, maybe not….

If the price weren’t so high for this country, this would almost all be funny.
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From an article in the NY Times:

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So, Condoleezza Rice will testify under oath before the 9/11 commission. Perhaps they relented after the NY Times reported:

Had a great time on Saturday – Kitty and I went to see a play called “Wintertime” at the Wilma Theater, and then to dinner at Morimoto’s.

The play was by Charles Mee who is rapidly becoming my favorite current playwright (as though I know any at all…) and has been described as a “surreal romantic tragicomedy” which is about as close a description as you can get. Morimoto’s is the extremely upscale restaurant by one of the “Iron Chefs” of TV fame, and was perhaps the best restaurant meal I’ve ever had. (Warning, you’ve got to love Japanese cuisine with lots of raw or lightly cooked fish, but I do).

Sunday I was up at seven to meet the troop at a weekend campout. Unfortunately when I got there, they were off at a firehouse breakfast. That sounds like fun, but I was a little perturbed as it kind of defeated the purpose of the trip, which was to get everyone up to speed on camping skills. It also meant there was a lot of fresh food left over, paid for but not used. As a leader I don’t really approve, but I didn’t want to say anything at the time. After that, home, quick change, and off to the homebrew store, where we were swamped, very busy. Home, collapse, and watch Xavier lose, unfortunately.

On the national front, I see where the bush-league wants to declassify portions of Richard Clarke’s earlier testimoney before a congressional panel investigating the September 11 attacks in 2002 to prove he lied under oath. Fascinating. They are willing to hide behind executive privilege to keep Rice from testifying (and weren’t they blistering when Clinton tried to use that tactic?), but want to declassify other testimony for political gain. Even better is the response from Clarke. He told them fine, as long as you declassify all of it and not just a line here or there, and that that would prove he was not lying. I bet that shuts them up if they can’t just pick and chose a few sentences for political purposes. I find it amazing how the whitehouse attack machine can try to paint a 20 year veteran, known as a policy hawk, and who was extremely supportive of the current Bush’s father, as just a hack trying to cash in on a book.

Richard Clarke was a career member of the Senior Executive Service, having begun his federal service in 1973 in the Office of the Secretary of Defense. In other words, about the same time the current president was hiding out in Alabama, dodging his national guard service.

In the sidebar to the right is an updating counter of the dead and wounded from the illegal Iraq war. As I write this, it stands at 588 dead and 3355 wounded.

I wonder how many of their families feel, as President Bush obviously does, that after his administration hammered on these weapons as a justification for attacking Iraq, that not finding them is a big Yuck?

Does anyone but me find it interesting that Condoleezza Rice can spend hours attacking Richard Clarke, quoting reams of internal memos and emails to supposedly rebutt him, but can’t be bothered to testify herself before the 9/11 commission?

Richard Clarke was apparently respected enough to serve in four consecutive administrations, including the conservative Reagan and Bush I years. One explanation being put forward is that Clarke is just disgruntled because he was ignored, and Rice has said that he was not always “in the loop.” According to her official government biography Rice during that time:

From the interview with Richard Clarke on 60 minutes:

I love the NCAA basketball tournament. Despite the obvious corruption, both financial and of the academic standards of our leading universities, the tournament itself is a study in human grit, and the best that is in these players.

Stanford, Kentucky, and Gonzaga eliminated. A lot of upsets this round. Unfortunately, Duke is still involved, but you can’t have everything.

Pitt is still in there (wahoo!) after a couple of great games.

What is amazing is the look of determination, emotion, and joy in the players and those around them. It must be wonderful to be that emotionally involved in something. I hope the day never comes for these people to realize that none of this, or anything else, really matters.

I haven’t posted here in a while, mostly because the week has been so overwhelming. First, my mother, niece and nephew came to visit for a few days. It seems my niece, age six, really wanted to see the liberty bell, and being the Philadelphia relative, I was most able to fulfill this request:

My brother was to join us, but weather dealt his schedule a blow, and he didn’t make it. Needless to say, I was anxious to see my mother and find out how she was doing. She didn’t say much, and wore long sleeves the entire time, so I don’t feel as though I got much more information, but at least she seems be doing well, though even more tired than usual. I’m worried that the mental strain, as well as the physical abuse from my mentally ill sister in law, are taking a toll that will be difficult to rectify.

This alone has been overwhelming – I’m falling farther behind in my duties for the quaker meeting, as well as for the scouts. Work has taken a turn for the worse, if that is even possible. The customer who has been paying for my time while not giving us any work has decided they only need three bored people instead of four, so I am the odd man out, and not only have nothing to do, but no one willing to pay for me to do nothing. I hope we will find more work, but I don’t really know if my company will survive the year, let alone keep me employed.

With the administration’s trickle-down economic failure, combined with industry’s desire to spend any trickle-down effects in India rather than at home, I don’t know what will be available for a 50 year old computer programmer. I’m sure that means nothing to the demi-gods of haliburton, the Bush-league leaders of the country, and their friends, but it does to me.

In general, I’m feeling beat-down, and pessimistic about the future.

On the upside, I’ve brewed some damn fine beers lately. I’ve finely found a yeast, and the techniques, to make Flander’s Red and Oud Bruin style ales, so there is at least a little hope for me.