3000

For those who are paying attention, the death toll for US forces in Iraq hit 3000 today. Not the makings of a Happy New Year for sure. And for some reason, as of this posting, the New York Times and CNN don't have this story on their front page; the Washington Post, LA Times, and MSNBC all do. Go figure.

Edwards Is In

This isn't a surprise by any means, but it's still good to be able to put another candidate officially in the "yes" column. The total on the Democratic side is now three, with Vilsack and Kucinich already announced.

The Year in Politics

The Hotline has the day-by-day chronology. It's a good reminder of how we got from there to here.

Top Ten Myths About Iraq

This list, courtesy of Prof. Juan Cole, is a must-read for anyone who still believes anything the Bush administration says about the war. Our current Iraq policy is based upon a series of lies and fantasies, and we need to get smarter to do better. We can't "win," but as the last year has shown, things can always get worse if we don't do the right thing.

Photos from the Pitti Palace and the Boboli Gardens

Our fourth batch of photos from Florence are now up. These are from the Pitti Palace and its Boboli Gardens, two places you must go to if you are spending any time in Florence. Not only do you go across the river to the very cool Oltrarno district, but you get to see some of the best art and architecture in Florence. It took us two trips to see what we did, and we still didn't get to see everything there. Fortunately, the combination ticket is good for three days, and gets you into everything.

That's a Big Part of the Problem

In an article in yesterday's New York Times, we are treated to this bit of insider wisdom from one of the President's close friends:

"I think [Bush] knows it's bad over there," this person said, "but I'm not quite sure he fully appreciates the incompetence of what's gone on."

Sadly, I'm sure he doesn't, since that might actually require that the Decider take a little bit of responsibility for his decisions.

Still More Florence Photos

The third batch is up. These are from Santa Maria Novella and the San Marco Monastery. The common thread: beautiful frescoes, featuring Fra Angelico. Unfortunately, we couldn't get pictures of the frescoes that Fra Angelico painted in the monks' cells in the monastery, but we still managed to get some nice examples from other places. Enjoy!

Hacked? No, Just Messed With.

What happens when the 28-year-old communications director for a Republican member of Congress tries to hire some hackers to change his college transcript? Hilarity ensues, complete with pictures of squirrels. And he gets fired.

I bet he's a little bummed during this joyous holiday season.

Pictures of the Baptistery in Florence

Our second batch of photos from Florence is now up. These are of the Battistero di San Giovanni, the Baptistery next to the Duomo. Also included are some photos from the Duomo Museum, and unexpectedly beautiful and fascinating stop.

Channeling Ann Coulter

Watching the campaign commercials this fall from NC-8 was depressing. Rep. Robin Hayes (R) had a good media company and a huge media budget. Meanwhile, challenger Larry Kissell looked like he let a local 3rd grade class make his ads, and lacked the money to run them more than a handful of times. I was surprised, really, when Kissell came within a few hundred votes of knocking Hayes off.

And how I wish Kissell had won, especially when I see Hayes making bone-headed, bigoted statements like this:

Stability in Iraq ultimately depends on spreading the message of Jesus Christ, the message of peace on earth, good will towards men. Everything depends on everyone learning about the birth of the Savior.

Any time your elected officials begin channeling Ann Coulter, it's time to trade them in. 2008 can't come soon enough.

Hacked? No.

Four months after the Connecticut primary, state and federal investigators finally issue their report on the "hacking" of the Lieberman website. The conclusion?

"The investigation has revealed no evidence the problems the Web site experienced were the result of criminal conduct," Tom Carson, spokesman for U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Connor, said Tuesday.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal confirmed the joint investigation "found no evidence of tampering or sabotage warranting civil action by my office."

But that's the Lieberman campaign, right down the line — the latest example of the paranoid style in American politics.

Don't Do This

Well, I'm out of the hospital and feeling much better. So what exactly happened? Nobody seems to know for sure.

It started two weeks ago with a common antibiotic fighting a simple infection. Then one antibiotic became two, then three. The infection, meanwhile, morphed into drug-resistant staph. Then came the high and persistent fever, the dehydration, the dizziness and nausea, and two trips to the emergency room. At the end, I was checked into in the hospital, given an IV, and told to hang tight until my sodium and white blood cell counts came back up.

Most likely I was having an allergic reaction to one of the drugs, or an opportunistic virus snuck in at just the wrong time (or maybe a little of both). I'm a little disappointed that the doctors were not able to say for sure, given how much of my blood they managed to extract and test.

But either way, it's good to be home again. Although I'm not quite 100% in the vim & vigor department, I'm back at work tomorrow. And that sounds fine by me.

Pictures of the Duomo in Florence

This is our first set of photos from Florence. The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore & the Duomo deserve every bit of hype the tourist guides give them, and we walked by this imposing structure on more than one occasion just for the remarkable views. Not that you'd go to Florence and not go to the Duomo, of course, but don't plan just one visit.

Friday Cat Blogging

Merry Christmas. Now get away from the tree before I shoot you with my holiday laser eyes.

House Rules

I guess this means that the House needs some new rules, you know, the kind that actually mean something. And perhaps the Ethics Committee should just grow a pair, too. Sheesh.

Bologna Photos

A busy day on the picture front, and thus the second installment of our photos from Italy — Bologna. We went there for the food, but had a wonderful (if rather confusing) walk around town. While the city center has some lovely historic art and architecture, there are also some areas that reflect the fact that Bologna is a real, working city, not just a tourist destination. All in all, a very interesting and diverse place to visit.

Ravenna Photos

As promised, I've finally posted the first batch of photos from our recent trip to Italy. These pictures are from Ravenna, a city on the east coast with some amazing Byzantine mosaics, where we stopped on our way from Florence to Venice. While we hate to contest the dictates of our travel lord and master, Rick Steves, we respectfully disagree with his assessment of Ravenna — it is defintely worth an overnight stay.