Blumkin-gate

Before even mentioning Larry Craig, a quick note on my absence. I really have been extremely busy the past few months. As the weeks moved on and I didn't blog - hell I haven't even been reading other blogs - I found myself not really missing it. Maybe I'm just a little burned out. Maybe I'm just so sick of blogging about Crapmaster Bush and his house of sycophants. Whatever it was, I jsut didn't have an urge to blog.

I'm really not feeling it now. But hat's off to Larry Craig for motivating me to come up with this witty title. (Reader beware: If you don't know what a blumkin is, you may not want to find out what it really means; its not for the faint of heart.)

Sadly, Blumkin-gate has once again served to take the important issues of the day off the top of the news. Iraq? Insurance for kids? Screw it! Give me Senators soliciting blumkins in public restrooms.

Work, vacations, family: I'm too damned busy to blog

I'll get back into the swing of things when I have more time - not only for my own blog, but also when I have more time to get back to reading many of my favorite blogs, too.

Until then, enjoy the summer!

And ITMFA!

My Schadenfreude Meter Is Stuck on Red Line: Thanks David Vitter

Thanks a lot Senator Vitter, you moral blowhard by day, freakazoid by night, I'm going to need a new schadenfreude meter. This one is busted; pushed way beyond the red line.

From the Quote Machine:

Marriage is a core institution of societies throughout the world and throughout history. It's something that has provided permanence and stability for our very social structure.

We need a U.S. Senator who will stand up for Louisiana values, not Massachusetts’s values. I am the only Senate Candidate to coauthor the Federal Marriage Amendment; the only one fighting for its passage. I am the only candidate proposing changes to the senate rules to stop liberal obstructionists from preventing an up or down vote on issues like this, judges, energy, and on and on.

[Bob Livingston's resignation is] obviously a tremendous loss for the state.... I think Livingston's stepping down makes a very powerful argument that Clinton should resign as well and move beyond this mess. [Vitter on the Clinton-Lewinsky affair and former House Speaker Bob Livingston]

I don't think David will be sleeping too well at night these days:

Vitter's wife, Wendy, said in 2000 that if her husband cheated on her, she would react like a woman who cut off her sleeping husband's penis. "I'm a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary [Clinton]," she said. "If he does something like that, I'm walking away with one thing, and it's not alimony, trust me. I think fear is a very good motivating factor in a marriage

American Research Group Confirms What We Already Know: ITMFsA

American Research Group conducted a survey recently. 45% of Americans want to begin impeachment proceedings against Dubya, and a majority want the same for Darth Cheney. As usual these days, Republicans are off babbling in a corner, while Democrats and Independents agree: ITMFsA.

ARG
ITMsFA (I added the plural.)

Commuted: Scooter Libby

Unreal. How much lower can this administration sink?

President Bush is an Asshole

There's no way around this conclusion. Dan Froomkin

"Congress joined the Bush Administration for a nice little barbecue on the South Lawn [Tuesday] night. The theme was Mardi Gras, so everybody could enjoy memories of New Orleans being destroyed by the Bush Administration and then pretty much left in that same condition years later....

From the transcript:

"THE PRESIDENT: Kermit Ruffins and the Barbeque Swingers, right out of New Orleans, Louisiana. (Applause.)

"MR. RUFFINS: Thank you. Thanks for having us. We're glad to be here.

"THE PRESIDENT: Proud you're here. Thanks for coming. You all enjoy yourself. Make sure you pick up all the trash after it's over. (Laughter.)"

via Wonkette

A Review of Recent US Death Trends in Iraq

Most people know that more US soldiers are dying than at any previous time in the Iraq war/occupation. 2007 was the deadliest February, March and May, and the second deadliest January and April. June will surely be another grim record-setting month.

542 troops have already died in 2007. In 2006, the 542nd troop died in October. That's one surge no one wants - even the NeoCons. ICCC

This got me thinking about the causes of US deaths. My expectation was that, given the surge, we would see a lot more troops dying in combat operations as they take the fight directly to the enemies. This is what the military has had us expect.

Unfortunately, this presumption doesn't hold up to the facts on the ground. The Brookings Institute tracks the cause of US deaths into broad groups - IEDs, mortars/rockets, RPGs, helicopter losses, other hostile fire (which I presume be to mainly from enemy rifles and guns) and non-hostile causes.

Breaking this down, non-hostile deaths have generally numbered between 5 and 10 per month recently. Mortars/rockets, RPGs, and helicopter losses are very small contributors - one percent or less of total troop losses. (Note that deaths from each of these categories have come way down over time.)

This leaves two categories - IEDs and other hostile fire. Here's the breakdown for the entire war and for the time period from March 1 through June 10.

Percent of US troop fatalities from:

IEDs: Entire War = 39%; March-June 10, 2007: 63%
Other hostile fire: Entire War = 31%; March-June 10, 2007: 28% Brookings

Even through the percent of deaths from non hostile file is slightly down recently, more soldiers are dying from this cause because, well, more soldiers are dying, period. I presume these soldiers are mostly dying fighting the enemy - a point the military brass have been making. I never want to say any death is acceptable, but the point is merely made that these men and women are dying fighting.

On the other hand, the huge increase in IED fatalities is simply unacceptable to me. These soldiers are simply sitting ducks, dying as the drive the roads of Iraq. This is an incredibly tragic outgrowth of the occupation, and I presume, the surge. And it is yet another example of why the surge is failing.