Christmas Greetings and Musings

Hi, guys, Mike here. Since I appear to be the only one of the RS Team at a laptop this Christmas morning, I just wanted to wish any browsing bloggers who celebrate it a very merry Christmas. I hope this missive finds you well and happy, hopefully with loved ones.

Yesterday, with Jazz's permission, I did a little tinkering with the site's template. The most noticeable changes are that the blog column is about 65 pixels wider, the line spacing was tightened up from 1.6 to 1.3, the sidebar was futzed with a bit, and we got Jazz's photos up in the header. Minor changes included a tightening up of the extra whitespace that used to follow every entry (IE users will still see it, because MSIE's a piece of reindeer scat -- you should just learn to browse happy!), and a slight tweak with the location of the permalinks. I took a look at the site in Safari and Firefox on the Mac, and in MSIE and Mozilla on my folks' Windows machine. All looks well. If you see something wrong, please feel free to drop me a line.

I am not a very religious man, and although I was raised Presbyterian, I am currently in what could best be described as a 'questing' state. Nevertheless, I feel that on this day when they're celebrating Christ's birth, the neoconservatives in the Administration, including George W. Bush, probably need to reread something Christ told everyone. (It probably wouldn't hurt for Cheney to take a look at this and this, too.)

I suppose I'm letting my acrimony pull me a bit away from the Christmas spirit -- I'm casting a lot of stones here, and I'm certainly not without sin. It's just hard to think of all the soldiers deployed over in Iraq, and all the families here stateside who miss them terribly, and not be mad at the person who is causing this cumulatively massive amount of misery for what I feel, at least, is no good cause. (Because, I'm sorry, who was it that masterminded 2,996 murders, and why is it again that he's still free to make speeches?)

If you have a loved one in Iraq, please know that although they may not know your name or your loved one's name, a lot of people have you in their hearts this holiday and are wishing you and them peace and health, and for them, a very safe return. And if you no longer have someone over there, please know that people are thinking of you and wishing you peace and healing, too.

Merry Christmas, all.

A Christmas Scam

Thanks to a tip from MEJ's Bill in DC

Is the Christmas under attack outcry by elements of the Radical Religious Right just a fund raising ploy?

Those on the other side of these battles say the Christian groups are wildly exaggerating the threats from a phantom enemy for the purpose of mobilizing evangelicals to contribute funds (some groups are explicitly using the Christmas issue to raise money) or to become politically active.

But what about that dreaded enemy of Christians everywhere, the ACLU?

On the Christmas fight, the American Civil Liberties Union, the group most often cited as the enemy of traditionalists, says it has not filed a single case blocking Christmas displays this year and cites half a dozen instances over the past year in which it has fought on the side of more religious expression.

This is like the gay marriage issue or abortion, a way for Radical Christian groups to scare the flock, get more of their money and increase political clout.

(cross posted at MEJ because I'm lazy)

What is wrong with this picture?

This has nothing to do with politics, and if you're easily offended, you shouldn't follow this link. However, if you're easily offended, my God, what are you doing reading Running Scared? :-)

What, pray tell, is wrong with this picture?

:-)

Frank Zappa, Nostradamus?

iFilm is hosting Frank Zappa's March 1986 appearance on Crossfire. It's worth a download.

"When you have a government that prefers a certain moral code derived from a certain religion, and that moral code turns into legislation to suit one certain religious point of view, and if that code happens to be very very right wing ... "

I stood up rather straight when I heard that line, I tell you. I wonder if Frank had met the son of the man who happened to be Vice President right about then?

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from Middle Earth Journal.

I am amused

At least I'm not the only one who thinks of him as Monkey Boy.

Doesn't he look like an intelligent chimpanzee all eager to please when he's being earnest? Sadly, giving him a banana just gets him excited. It doesn't make him go away.

Intel Dump

Phil Carter is a former military officer and is now a Lawyer. He has the Blog Intel Dump and gives us a very balanced analysis of military issues. He has been on top of the interrogation of prisoners at Gitmo and Iraq controversy. Today he has a post with links to all of his posts on the subject and I would suggest you check it out if you are interested in this topic. Intel Dump is a daily "must read" for me and I highly recommend it. That's a hint Jazz!!!!!

One of my kissmoose wishes

I wish to be wrong.

Sigh. Have a cup of hot chocho and go snuggle a loved one on the holiday.

Lost in the desert

Lyndon Johnson and Robert McNamara knew in 1968 that the Vietnam war was lost. We continued to send Americans there to die for 4 more years and thousands did. Some were my friends and relatives. In 2004 things continue to go down hill in Iraq. The president admitted today that Iraqization is going as well as Vietnimization went 35 years ago, not at all. By all accounts the Iraqi security forces were useless in the recent assault on Falluja. In the Washington Post today Thomas E. Ricks tells us that the Precision of Base Attack Worries Military Experts. It should because it was an inside job. One of the problems in Vietnam was the Americans never knew who the enemy was. It should not have been that hard because the reality is most of the Vietnamese were the enemy. The young boy who smiled at you during the day would try to shoot you at night. It is much the same in Iraq. Ricks tells us about yesterday's attack:

Several experts noted that insurgents appear to have acted on accurate intelligence. Kalev Sepp, a former Special Forces counterinsurgency expert who recently returned from Iraq, noted that the attack "was carried out in daylight against the largest facility on the base, at exactly the time when the largest number of soldiers would be present."

"This combination of evidence indicates a good probability that the attack was well-planned and professionally executed," Sepp said.

And like Vietnam the Americans can't trust anybody.

A byproduct of such a strike is that it tends to drive a wedge between U.S. personnel and the Iraqis who work on the base. "I think that this tells us first that our base facilities are totally infiltrated by insiders who are passing the word on when and where we are most vulnerable to attack," said retired Marine Col. Edward Badolato, a security expert.

Let's not let the politicians wait 4 more years to admit they made a grave mistake. It's time to get out NOW, the American presence is part of the problem and American soldiers can't be part of the solution, only targets.

Time for a new pair of rose colored glasses

Blast Kills more than 20 at U.S. Base in Iraq.

An attack at an American military base in Mosul today killed more than 20 people and wounded more than 60, among them American and Iraqi soldiers and American and foreign contractors, the military said today.

Brig. Gen. Carter Ham, who briefed reporters from Mosul, said the cause was an explosion at a dining facility but gave no further details on the means of the attack or of the casualty toll in terms of numbers of dead or wounded or their nationalities.

Support our troops, get them the hell out of there now.


Update
Joe Gandelman at The Moderate Voice has more and an analysis.

"Whereas, on or about the night prior to Christmas ... "

It's not political, but might give you a little Christmas cheer.

It's not just in the US

Santa Free Zone

Targeting Santa

Groups in Germany and Austria have launched campaigns protesting the commercialization of Christmas. The target of their ire is Santa, an American import who they say doesn't represent what the holiday is all about.

They say the made in USA Santa does not represent the original.

The image of Santa most known today -- fat, white bearded and in a red suit -- is indeed a creation of the Coca-Cola company, which was looking for a new figure to use in its advertising campaigns in the 1930s and 1940s.

A Swedish-American artist, Haddon Sundblom, created the jolly, benevolent character for Coke based on a previous figure created for Harper's Weekly in the 19th century by Thomas Nast, a German immigrant to the United States.

For the small but vocal anti-Santa movement, which has also gained momentum in Austria, Santa Claus is a poor reflection of the original St. Nicholas, who is believed to have been a fourth-century bishop in Myra, in present-day Turkey. He had a reputation for generosity and kindness, which gave rise to legends of miracles that he performed for the poor and unhappy.

"St. Nicholas was a man who helped the poor, saved people who were unjustly condemned, freed prisoners," Schade said. "You could say he was a forerunner of Amnesty International. Santa is much less than that -- just about giving gifts."

In Germany and Austria it seems to be a revolt against the consumer feeding frenzy rather than the religious wingnutery we see here in the US. An attempt to get back to the Yule season.

Rumsfeld Says He Will Sign Condolence Letters

As a follow up to Mike's post below, Rumsfeld has agreed to sign condolence letters.

The Pentagon has acknowledged that Donald H. Rumsfeld did not sign condolence letters to the families of soldiers killed in Iraq, but it said that from now on the embattled defense secretary would stop the use of signing machines and would pick up the pen himself.

In a statement provided to Stars and Stripes, the military newspaper, Rumsfeld said: "I wrote and approved the now more than 1,000 letters sent to family members and next of kin of each of the servicemen and women killed in military action. While I have not individually signed each one, in the interest of ensuring expeditious contact with grieving family members, I have directed that in the future I sign each letter."

More bad news for Rummy and Bush letters questioned.

This is an unwelcome discovery for Rumsfeld, whose handling of the Iraq war has earned him complaints in recent days from several Republican senators. In particular, Rumsfeld drew criticism for his dismissive treatment of a question from an Iraq-bound soldier about the lack of protective equipment.

Stars and Stripes quoted families of the dead saying they were insulted that Rumsfeld did not sign the letters himself. They also said they were suspicious about the signature on similar letters they received from President Bush, but a White House spokesman said Bush does put pen to paper himself.

Are you red staters begining to see what arrogant slime you voted for?