washingtonpost.com: “– As of Thursday, July 5, 2007, at least 3,591 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians. At least 2,951 died as a result of hostile action, according to the military’s numbers.”

Bush spares Libby from prison – Financial Times – MSNBC.com

President George W. Bush on Monday commuted the 30-month prison sentence handed to Lewis "Scooter" Libby, former chief of staff to vice president Dick Cheney, for lying and obstructing justice.

Oh, splendid!  The presidential Tony Lamas find their mark, squarely amidst yet another big, smelly political cow pie.  This couldn't be better theater, unless of course Scooter gets the Medal of Freedom. I'd pay a buck to see that, wouldn't you? Great photo op for the history books.

W must stand for What A Legacy. 

Scooter Libby Cannot Delay Sentence – CommonDreams.org

A federal appeals court panel has unanimously ordered that a former White House aide, I. Lewis Libby Jr., is not entitled to remain free while he appeals his convictions for obstruction of justice, false statements, and perjury in connection with an investigation into the leak of a CIA officer’s identity. Barring intervention from the Supreme Court or President Bush, Libby is likely to be required to report within the next few weeks to begin his 2 1/2-year prison sentence.

I think this sucks. Libby should not be going to prison under these circumstances. The fish rots from the head. Scooter should certainly be packed off to the Graybar Hotel, but only on the heels of Bush, Cheney, Ashcroft, and Rove.

Here's your Quote of the Day …

"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."

 — Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977      

Meanwhile, over in Afghanistan, Karzai is pissed.

“Innocent people are becoming victims of reckless operations” because the troops had ignored Afghan advice for years, Mr Karzai told reporters.

He was speaking after a week in which up to 90 Afghan civilians were killed.

“You don’t fight a terrorist by firing a field gun 37 kilometres (24 miles) away into a target. That’s definitely, surely bound to cause civilian casualties,” he said.

More civilians have been killed this year as a result of foreign military action than have been killed by insurgents, correspondents say.

The south of the country has seen the worst violence since the Taleban were ousted from power in 2001 by US-led troops.

It might be a good idea if the various countries of the world would occasionally swap history books, just to see what other people are doing with the same set of facts.

– Bill Vaughan
journalist (1915-1977)

Military Industrial Caffeine Complex – that's where I am today. I must confess.

I usually avoid the big chain java joint – Starbutts – for my daily infusion, but today it couldn't be helped. My usual coffeehouse has been closed a lot lately. A lot of small businesses around here commit suicide, de rigueur, and it has seemed quite depressed. But there is a sign in the window citing a death in the family. So maybe it's the other side of that coin.

Are those the coins that were his eyes?  No no, that's not right.

… Here, said she,     
Is your card, the drowned Phoenician Sailor,     
(Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)     
Here is Belladonna, the Lady of the Rocks,     
The lady of situations.

I digress. My situation is that I'm camped out in Starbucks, famous for so many things. The McDonalds of liquid self-indulgence. Purveyor of the mediocre bean to the great bourgeoisie. They who played the big joke on their customers of hooking all their shops to T-mobile internet connections. Which means that only a small fraction of java jonesers can get online. Asshats.

Avast! … um …. Arrrrg! 

I am your birthday sssnake.
I came out to ssstretch in happy,
dappled light, the first like me
you’ve ever ssseen on these bluffs,
to help you make a wish.

You might wish you knew
what kind of sssnake I am.
I sssay live like you die tomorrow,
learn like you live forever.

You might wish you’d taken
the other path, beyond the trees.
I sssay when something changes
things are bound to change.

You might wish to lift me up
and take me home, and make me
live in human time.
I sssay you knew I was a sssnake
before you ever sssaw me here.

Happy Birthday to me!

I guess it’s not really customary for middle aged guys to mention their birthday, but what the heck. I’m 46 today.

I vaguely remember the sadness around me when John Kennedy was assassinated.
I remember the Apollo missions to the moon.
I remember rotary phones with 5 digit phone numbers.
I remember changing the channel on the TV will a big knob on the front.
I remember the invention of the hand held calculator.
I remember head shops lined with black-light psychedelic posters.
I remember when pop stars were all grown ups.
I remember when the news and the “star magazines” were completely separate.
I remember when Pong was on the cutting edge.
I remember when America lost respect for the presidency.
I remember when America had respect for the presidency.
I remember when the police tried to treat suspects with courtesy, at least up to a point, generally. (I don’t remember when they started making people sit on curbs, get down on their knees, and lie in the street, before they were even arrested.)
I remember when gas suddenly jumped over 60 cents a gallon.
I remember waiting in line to buy it for that much, then paying 5 bucks for almost a tank full.
I remember when, in order to talk to someone on the phone, they had to be at home to answer it. You couldn’t leave a message, and if they were talking to someone else, you just heard a beep.
I remember when people drove out into the wide world without phones of any kind, and no one seemed to notice.
I remember when technology lived in a laboratory, and a missile silo.
I remember when we were all afraid of war, when we wanted peace more than anything, at any cost except to lose our freedoms and our rights. They’d been hard won.

Water melts sugar. Sunlight
in February melts the dull fog
in the bald canal. We are
dissolved, standing on the bank
searching the dark water for gar.

They drift away.

Fog dulls the hearing. There –
is that dog barking ahead of us
or behind? No matter, we have
no need of dogs now, or fish.

We have everything.

You know, sugar is good in our coffee
and on berries when the summer comes.

And look – I think I see one
swimming in the swift, cold deep.

Oh, a fine and fuzzy funny toon for y'all.

Just curious, what’s your preference, Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer?

I’m a Mozilla Firefox guy myself. I guess Netscape is still out there too. I used to use it a lot, but not in the last few years. Does anybody know if it’s still any good?

I don’t like IE, because it’s constantly stopping me in the middle of stuff, with silly security alerts. I’ve tried turning all that off, but it doesn’t work.