This is going to be a little brief, but I just had to get this off my chest.

The President appears intent on not listening to anyone but the little voices in his head that tell him that sending untrained troops into Iraq and keeping them there indefinitely is a good idea. Nothing that Congress does (short of specifically defunding the war) is going to make him back off. And even then, I have little doubt that he'll try some sort of end run.

We're now closing in on high school graduation. Kids are getting ready to go out into the world; to the next phase of their lives. The military has long been an option for kids. It's a noble calling. But I think it's high time to call for a moratorium on enlistment as a way to force the President to start listening to the people.

I normally don't diary news stuff. But all of the focus today seems to be on  Sheik Khalid Muhammed and his "confessions".
Not that I'm trying to make a hat out of a certain shiny substance, but I think the "news" is overshadowing an extremely important report. The Pentagon's quarterly assessment of Iraq came out. And the news is particularly bad.

It was a sight that you rarely see these days at a US airport: An entire family at the gate saying goodbye to a loved one before he boarded the plane. But in this case, I guess the TSA made an exception, because the loved one was a soldier returning to Iraq.

We were in the Orlando airport, headed to Atlanta. I watched as the soldier, a big, friendly looking guy dressed in full camouflage, hugged his wife and 3 sons tightly. The littlest one (maybe 3), called out, "Don't die, Daddy!"

I got on the plane, and as luck would have it, the soldier got on the plane and took the seat next to me. He was wiping tears from his face as he sat down.

"That's the toughest part," he said.

I just got back from the Henderson County, NC Board of Elections and thought the community might be interested in my tale of voting.

First, damn did it feel good to vote for Heath Shuler against corrupt Charles Taylor. Even if Shuler doesn't win, I feel like I stood up to the bastards in Washington. But I think he's going to win!

North Carolina has an early voting law that allows you to cast absentee ballots through tomorrow. It's a "no excuse needed" system, so all you need to do is show up. Every county in the state is required to have at least one "one-stop" voting center. Mine was at the Board of Elections Headquarters.

Charles Taylor's ads against Health Shuler in NC-11 just got nastier.

For the past several weeks, Taylor's campaign has been running a classic negative ad campaign -- "Put the Liberals in Charge". This campaign attempts to link Heath Shuler with Nancy Pelosi and was focused on such issues as taxation.

Tonight, it got much worse.

As the election cycle winds down, the various parties are making their final arguments about why to vote for a particular candidate or party.  Listening to the Republican ads and statements, I believe I can offer another strong reason for voters to vote Democratic this time.

I have seen several Republican ads that tout a particular Congressperson's ability to "get things done" for his/her district.  Returning that Republican to Congress, it is argued, will help the district maintain an "effective voice" in Washington.

"If you look to the right, you can see the World Trade Center burning."

It's safe to say that had I not heard those words, I wouldn't be a Kossack. In fact, a lot about who I am, what I am, and even where I am have changed as a result of that day.

Actually, my fantasy of the perfect October surprise.

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Here are 10 things you can do today to help save the environment and while saving money. I'm only including ideas here that everyone can do either with no investment or a minimal upfront cost.  

Other ideas such as buying EnergyStar appliances or solar ovens are great, but those require upfront capital some might not have. The ideas listed below require minimum upfront cash and benefits start today.

Here are some things that piss me off.

That after 6 years of this shit, there is still 30% of the population that thinks GWB is doing a dandy job. Does that mean 30% of the population are amoeba?

That anyone can think we're "making progress" in Iraq. Progress at what? Depopulating the country?

That the CIA/FBI/Homeland Security folks think that the MORONS they arrested in Miami are actual terrorists.  And that, as a result, the real terrorists are giggling themselves silly over our fucking stupidity.  

The language of diplomacy is arcane, subtle, and extremely specific. So when Condi (Dear Wife) Rice used the words "provocative act" to describe the threat of North Korean missile launches a couple of weeks ago, my ears perked up.

"Provocative act. Hmm,"  I pondered. "That's a phrase you don't hear much. I wonder if it's DiploSpeak for something else."

Then the NKans did what any lunatic fringe authoritarian regime would do when warned not to do something - it launched the missiles.  And the reaction from around the world began.

Government spending is out of control. On the Federal level, it's easy to just borrow more money (thanks China). But states have a tougher time; they can't just keeping the mint working overtime.  And so the total tax burden continues to be near all-time highs for the average working family.

I have identified the reason behind this problem: Too many politicians.

All those governors, Speakers of the House, State Senators and Representatives, elbowing each other for position and voter attention. And they all feel the need to "do something" for their constituents, which almost always translates into "take money out of my wallet for something I don't need."  Not to mention 50 state Attorney Generals, Secretary of States, Treasurers, etc. etc. etc.  All full-time jobs, with their own staffs, security details, offices, lights, phones, computers...waste, waste, waste, I say.

I admit that I'm a sucker for the cheap emotionalism of the symbols of patriotism. I choke up when a Cub Scout Den or the old guys from the VFW carry the colors in a 4th of July parade.  I hold my hand over my heart when the National Anthem is sung at ball games.  I swell with pride when the performing group I'm part of sings "America the Beautiful."

And I'm mad as hell that the Republicans have hijacked symbols of Democratic values to make cheap appeals to voters at the expense of those of us who actually believe in the ideals espoused by those symbols.