War, attended by Ignorance and Lies.

The first casualty of war is truth.
- Hiram W. Johnson

The heavens are changing. Pluto recently lost its standing among the planets. The pronunciation of Uranus was changed to reduce the giggle factor (no, children! Accent the first syllable, schwa 'a'!). Maybe it's time to modernize the personifications accompanying Mars.

Mars, named for the Roman god of war because of it's reddish tint, has moons that were discovered in 1877 by Asaph Hall. He named them Phobos (panic/fear) and Deimos (terror/dread) after characters in Greek mythology who accompanied their father, the god of war, into battle. There's been practically no reaction to Bush's 'hot air' about sending a man to Mars (in defiance of Newton's laws of motion). Well, I say we send him there in spirit. Let's rename the moons Bush (Ignorance) and Cheney (Lies).

Legislate in haste and forget-about-it.

Fitful attention is all this administration can muster. Invade Iraq? Brilliant! Let's do it! Prescription drug program? Brilliant! Let's do it! Go to Mars? Bring peace to the middle east? Reform immigration? It's like a mediocre student who wants to be valedictorian but doesn't do their homework and regularly rushes to complete term assignment in the last days of the semester. The most likely to succeed, not!

Inadequate preparation, abbreviated debate, and legislation quickly passed through a compliant Congress, this is what happened with Iraq and prescription drugs. Both are now seen as expensive mistakes. Immigration reform seems to be headed toward the same fate. As with prescription drugs, we hear that the politics are complicated and that building a majority requires quick, quiet deals. More likely, a good deal requires consistency, compromise, and caution.

Indy Grand Prix

Grand Prix, or Formula 1 (F1), racing may be the sole annual event with venues in Monte Carlo, Monaco and Indianapolis, Indiana. The contrast between the glamor of international set that constitutes F1 and the “simple life” of the American mid-west is certainly dramatic but not troubling or sad as it is some F1 venues, such as Brazil, where much of the local community is desperately poor. "Rednecks" and red Ferraris mix pretty well.

This year, the buzz was all about Lewis Hamilton, a 22 year old rookie from England who is leading the driver's championship after 7 races. No rookie has ever come close to starting so strongly. His story would strain credulity if it came from Hollywood. His parent split when he was young but his father remained close. He noticed his son's extraordinary hand-eye coordination and worked as many as 3 jobs concurrently to afford race training and equipment. This product of the true working-class is now on top of the world's most exclusive, expensive, and glamorous sport, earning a salary in the millions. At the risk of going over-the-top, add this to his story: his brother, who suffers cerebral palsy, attends most of his races. This is a screenplay for a heart-warming movie that practically writes itself.

At Indy, Lewis Hamilton earned the pole position and then, on a blazingly hot day, after nearly 2 hours of precise driving mere seconds ahead of his teammate and current world champion, he won the US Grand Prix. Congratulations! And best of luck in the next 10 races of the F1 season.

Sad Score

U.S. and NATO forces killed more civilians in Afghanistan this year than did the "bad guys" (203 vs. 178). The count comes from the Associated Press because the US Department of Defense does not report these figures. I hope they actually do keep count, and are simply too embarrassed to release it, because that would mean they take seriously this key aspect of the war. This is no way to win the battle for hearts and minds.

Accept victory... now get to work!

"Americans can always be counted on to do the right thing...after they have exhausted all other possibilities." - Winston Churchill

This has never been more true than today, with Bush acknowledging global warming and proposing to curb greenhouse gases and the SecDef admitting that poverty and hopelessness can breed extremism and bolster terrorists.

Now it's time to start the work that has been delayed or reversed for 7 years. The Democrats and true conservative Republicans should stop arguing, accept that they won, write laws that incorporate and apply these concessions, and send them to Bush for signature...

"The problems of victory are more agreeable than the problems of defeat, but they are no less difficult." - Winston Churchill

Tyrannosaurus Bush

One characteristic of Bush administration officials has been their reluctance to leave office. Rumsfeld had to be pushed, hard. Wolfowitz finally left only after months of fighting and pleading. Gonzales will have to be dragged out of the Department of “Justice”. The Worst may be still to come.

Remember how Bush gained office – losing the popular vote but stealing the electoral college by stopping the recount in Florida. James Baker was thawed (partially), reanimated, and won his sole diplomatic victory – not over a foreign power but over the archenemy Democrats. They told the Supreme Scalia to stay the recount then convinced a bare Court majority to stop it. This gang has no compunction about bending the laws and discarding convention to consolidate their hold on power.

They now confront a clear Constitutional barrier – no third term – and popular disgust (“negatives” triple their “positives”). They could nuance the first by flipping the top 2 spots but then the negatives grow worse. A gap of 20% is just too much; it was tough enough overcoming the popular vote in 2000 and gaining a few crucial percentages in Ohio in 2004.

So here's the scenario: uncover a massive terrorist plot and declare marshal law. They've been rehearsing the script with trumped up charges against Walter Mitty terrorists in Florida, New Jersey, and New York. These groups did not have any bombs or even small arms. Think what would happened if Homeland Security zealots “found” a dirty bomb in Chicago or LA? The “protect us from evil” people would bleat for a strong shepherd, no questions asked. Enter Bush, tyrant and savior. Cheney will declare marshal law, then backdate an order signed by Bush. Or not bother.

Let's make sure these dinosaurs go extinct on schedule.