Biden's In

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden entered the Democratic presidential race today, and if the early reviews are indicative, I would say that there is good reason to believe that this really is Joementum II. Or after the 2006 Connecticut Senate race, are we now at Joementum III? Or maybe Joementum: The Next Generation?

The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil

Last night, during a bout of insomnia, I read The Brief and Frightening Reign of Phil, by George Saunders. It wasn't hard to read it all in one sitting. For one thing, the book is a short 130 pages, laid out like a high-school term paper — big font, generous margins, and some extra line-spacing. Cover to cover, it took me about 90 minutes, and I'm not a very fast reader.

But it wasn't hard in another, more important way — it was excellent, biting satire, and very hard to put down. I'm not going to bother with the plot summary or excerpts; I'm sure you can find those at your favorite online bookseller when you put this in your shopping cart or on your wish-list. But just know that, if you have anything like my political sensibilities, you'll be amazed at how the title character Phil — who literally steals his presidency and exudes the arrogance and pitiful meanness of the powerful-and-stupid — captures similar characteristics (and many more) of another President we might know, and does so with such vivid images paired with a remarkable economy of words.

But don't get lazy, as I found myself doing about half-way through the book. What I liked best about Phil was that as soon as you unpacked one level of satire, you found yourself in the middle of another. Almost every character has an important line or two, and you'll miss a good deal of the fun if you don't pause to figure out what they are all really saying.

The book's briefness probably works to its credit, since it is forced to be so sharp with few wasted moves (only the section where Phil meets his "special friends" seemed to drag a little). In a similar way, the fantastical setting and circumstances means that much of the background and detail doesn't need an in-depth explanation. When I finished the book, I did want a few more pages, but at the distance of only a few hours, I'm happy it stopped right where it did. I'll enjoy mulling over the meaning of the last two pages for a while, I'm sure.

Tell Me When It's Over

The latest Newsweek poll says it all:

The president’s approval ratings are at their lowest point in the poll’s history — 30 percent — and more than half the country (58 percent) say they wish the Bush presidency were simply over, a sentiment that is almost unanimous among Democrats (86 percent), and is shared by a clear majority (59 percent) of independents and even one in five (21 percent) Republicans.

Now, the question that's begging to be asked: where were all these people in November, 2004? Did we really need to get to this point for most people to come to this conclusion? Did we really need to give this guy another two years to do screw things up in a way that was so predictable and obvious?

I guess we did. Sorry, everybody..

Kerry's Out

It looks like the RNC won't have John Kerry to kick around so much in the 2008 election — a "source close to Kerry" said today that Kerry's sitting this one out.

My first reaction was relief. I didn't think he'd be able to win, and he'd serve as a lightning rod for GOP attacks against the other candidates.

But my second reaction was a more abstract disappointment. Kerry's biggest flaw has been his consistent underestimation of the strength of the political and media forces that have been deployed against him. He sat on his hands while he was being Swiftboated, and then bungled his response to the stupid, manufactured outrage at his "botched joke" last fall. It's a shame that such obvious lies and misrepresentations can derail a political career, and for that I feel a little sorry for Kerry.

Kerry's experience is certainly a greater indictment of the quality of what passes for political discourse than it is of Kerry's qualifications. But it is a little about Kerry. You can't win your battles if you don't know how to fight back, so his decision about 2008 is probably for the best.

Off to See the Wizard

Here's Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS) on Saturday, announcing his presidential candidacy:

My family and I are taking the first steps on the yellow brick road to the White House. It’s a great journey.

Come on Sam, don't leave the voters hanging — you need to answer the tough questions that your description of the race raises. Do you see yourself more like Dorothy or the Cowardly Lion? Is your wife a good witch or a bad witch? Which core GOP constituency do the flying monkeys represent? What's your position on man-on-Toto sex? And who's the wizard behind the curtain that will make all your dreams come true? Well, we're waiting…

Google's Coming to Town

Well, actually they're coming to Lenoir, about an hour north of Charlotte, but it's all the same. By the time you get out to Charlotte's outer suburbs, you might be closer to there than here.

Google's getting about $100 million in incentives to invest $600 million to create only 210 jobs, but those jobs will pay about double the county's average, which doesn't sound so bad. I'm usually opposed to big tax giveaways like this, but I'm reserving judgment for now. Fingers crossed.

Happy Birthday to Me

Dictionary.com's word of the day is foofaraw, the second meaning of which sums up most birthdays. But not this one, because it's mine and I'm 42.

In fact, what could be more important than my birthday? Not that Wikipedia cares — they note that NHL player Sylvain Turgeon was born on 1/17/65, but they have heartlessly omitted my entrance into this mortal coil.

But regardless of the lack of public accolades, I relish the knowledge that for this, my 42nd year, I am the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything. If I play my cards right, I might get a couple of free drinks at the pub out of that.

Friday Cat Blogging

Sometimes I like to write SQL code and participate in long conference calls. And, of course, nap.

Just for the Record

I have absolutely no interest in what Donald Trump and Rosie O'Donnell are saying to each other, so can all the news channels please please please stop talking about this PR-managed non-story? Between all the wars and stuff, I think there are some more important things going on right now.

Brzezinski on Bush on Iraq

Zbigniew Brzezinski doesn't like much about the President's "new way forward" in Iraq. Here's what he sees as the big picture screw-up:

The [January 10] speech reflects a profound misunderstanding of our era. America is acting like a colonial power in Iraq. But the age of colonialism is over. Waging a colonial war in the post-colonial age is self-defeating. That is the fatal flaw of Bush's policy.

Read the whole thing for some of the rather damning details.

Reset the Clock

Today, less than a week away from my 42nd birthday, I was carded for booze at the Harris Teeter. Dude must not have looked too closely, but I was still happy to pull out my drivers license. Even considering my willing suspension of disbelief, it was a good present well-received. Thanks!

Code Monkey

Yeah, there are some days when I can really identify with this. But I've already got the girl, so life is actually pretty sweet.

I Call "No Do-overs"

Tomorrow, Bush will officially announce that he will ignore the experts and the will of the American people and escalate the war in Iraq. Here's what we know so far.

Bush is going to put more troops in Baghdad, which he's done before. He's going to win the hearts and minds of the civilian population with reconstructions dollars, which he's also done before. And he's going to set benchmarks for the Iraqis, which — surprise — he's also done before. Each effort failed, and the situation has just gotten worse.

So what's new in his "New Way Forward?" A story in the Washington Post about Bush's meeting with Republican Senators yesterday gives us a possible answer:

Sen. Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) said the president was asked during her meeting what would be different about his new plan, and he replied that Maliki has had a "sea change" in attitude. But she said she came away unconvinced.

Good to know that we're going to be risking more lives and treasure because Maliki finally got religion. Oh, wait:

"I come away from here believing that the will is strong and the desire to meet the needs of the people is real and tangible," Bush said after meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and the new leader's Cabinet.

That was back in June, 2006, right before Bush poured thousands more troops into Baghdad. Color me "unconvinced" as well.

Venice Pictures

Whew — finally, the last of our Italy pictures are up. These are from Venice, our final stop. I just can't describe how pretty and special this city is — it was our favorite destination, and a place we will definitely have to visit again.

If you need to catch up on the photographic deliciousness, all 8 of our Italy photo galleries can be found here.

Final Florence Photos

Here we go, our fifth and last collection of pictures from our visit to Florence, Italy this past November. The theme here is some of the scenes we encountered as we wandered around town. Florence is a great city for walking around — the center is relatively compact, and if you stay there not much is more than 15 minutes away.

Rearranging the Deck Chairs

The administration has been engaging in its latest game of musical chairs recently, and it's getting hard for me to keep track of who's where these days. At least I won't have to remember a lot of new names, since even tough times rarely compel this administration to introduce new bodies to the mix.

Yet leave it to the administration to turn that vice into a virtue, as if moving around the folks with the same tired ideas will actually lead to any substantive changes in policy.

"It was clearly time to move the players around on the field," said the senior [administration] official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because Mr. Bush had yet to announce the changes. "This helps the president to make the case that this is a fresh start."

Indeed. You would imagine that the crew of the Titanic had the same idea as they dragged the furniture around, so let's remember where that got them.

ATHF 4EVR!

Good stuff coming to a theater near you in March:

Cartoon Network's animated series Aqua Teen Hunger Force will be the first original show of the channel's late-night Adult Swim programming block to be turned into a feature film, Variety reported. The 86-minute film was written, produced and directed by co-creators Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis.

The film centers on the origins of Hunger Force characters Meatwad, Frylock and Master Shake and an immortal piece of exercise equipment threatening the balance of galactic peace, the trade paper reported. "It was too big a story to do in 11 minutes," Willis told Variety. "It's based on our fear of exercise equipment."

Even though I have sworn off ever going to the movie theater again, I'm making an exception here. And for those at work, consider this my official notice — I'm taking a personal day!

Good Thing I Mostly Get Junk Mail

There he goes again:

President Bush has quietly claimed sweeping new powers to open Americans' mail without a judge's warrant, the Daily News has learned.

The President asserted his new authority when he signed a postal reform bill into law on Dec. 20. Bush then issued a "signing statement" that declared his right to open people's mail under emergency conditions.

That claim is contrary to existing law and contradicted the bill he had just signed, say experts who have reviewed it.

Attention family and friends: please be extra careful with your holiday cards this year. You never know when there might be an "emergency."

The Newest Crap Job

Gee, I wonder why Harriet Myers doesn't want to be White House counsel anymore? Oh, that's right, the Democrats in Congress have subpoena power now.

New Rule

Here's one: if the President orders the FBI to compile a file on a potential nominee, that entire file needs to be turned over to the Senate if the nomination is made.

Why? Well, to enable deliberations on whether someone who is seriously addicted to powerful prescription pain-killers and living in a home with a racist covenant should become a Supreme Court Justice. Because, you know, it could happen.

These Aren't Rhetorical Questions

Dan Froomkin considers the plan for Iraq that Bush is expected to announce next week and asks:

If the vox populi and the cognoscenti agree that throwing more American bodies at the problem will only result in more American deaths, then how is the apparent Bush plan anything short of a betrayal of the troops and an expression of contempt for the will of the people?

And is there any more plausible explanation for Bush's behavior than that he is willing to sacrifice more troops so he won't have to admit — at least not yet — that he made a mistake? Is that a good enough reason to ask even one more soldier to die?

Bush can't bring himself to leave, and politically, he can't "stay the course" any longer. So he takes the only option left to him: escalate the war by sending more soldiers to die in Iraq for no good reason. Froomkin is right: where's the outrage? Let's hope some is forthcoming soon.

Happy New Year

Mary and I rang in the New Year down on the Isle of Palms and had a wonderful time. We skipped the large party on the island, instead opting for a nice cut of meat and some bubbly at home. We definitely made the right choice.

This year, my only resolution is to get healthy again. I had more doctor's appointments in 2006 than in the last 20 years combined, and that needs to stop. I know what I need to do — now I just have to do it. Wish me (and my feet) good luck.

I hope your New Years has started off well — have a great 2007, all!