Ted Rall: Black and White and Full of Crap

Here is an absolute must-read piece from patriotic cartoonist and columnist Ted Rall.

Hasil Adkins, R.I.P.

Hasil Adkins, the performer of one of my all-time favorite songs, "We Got a Date," has died. Despite living in Chicago for four years, I never got to see him play.

Here's an obit.

Eighty-eight Members of Congress Call on Bush for Answers on Secret Iraq Plan

Michigan's John Conyers is at it again, the nut, actually doing his job as a member of the US House of Representatives. Eighty-eight members of Congress have signed a letter authored by Rep. Conyers, calling on President Bush to answer questions about a secret U.S.-UK agreement to attack Iraq.

The Sunday Times of London obtained a leaked document with the minutes of a secret meeting from highly placed sources inside the British Government (read more about it here). Among other things, the document revealed:

* British Prime Minister Tony Blair chaired a July 2002 meeting, at which he discussed military options, having already committed himself to supporting President Bush's plans for invading Iraq.

* British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw acknowledged that the case for war was "thin" as "Saddam was not threatening his neighbours and his WMD capability was less than that of Libya, North Korea, or Iran."

* A separate secret briefing for the meeting said that Britain and America had to "create" conditions to justify a war.

* A British official "reported on his recent talks in Washington. There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

Of course, it's nothing we didn't already know. Or choose to ignore. As the case may be.

Associated Press: Democrats Voted Out of Baptist Church

Did you hear about this?

It's not really all that surprising. By far the most brilliant thing that Karl Rove has done has been to sell George W. Bush as the only choice for Christians. To sport a Kerry sticker on your car last fall made you feel a little bit like a heathen. You know that's how a lot of folks saw mine. But is Bush really running this nation in an even vaguely Christian manner? Is God for preemptive war, tax cuts for the super wealthy, deregulation of multinational corporations, and protecting crooked politicians (Delay), so long as they are powerful Republican politicians? What about lying? Repeatedly? Seriously, don't let anybody tell you that Christians lack a healthy sense of irony. Either that or they, as a whole, do not read or watch the news (apart from Fox News). Does being a Christian mean remaining blissfully ignorant? Or do they so look forward to the rapture that they vote for the guy most likely to bring on the apocalypse? Because Bush is not a very Christian dude. I mean, sure, he talks the talk. But he certainly doesn't walk the walk. He doesn't even go to church. Clinton went to church! Every Sunday!!

Ugh...Is it 2008 yet?