The Pull of Horses

Over a dozen teams competed in the horse pull contest held at the Elkhart County 4-H Fair. Each 'team' consists of a big guy and 2 huge horses that pull a sled loaded with over 5 tons of concrete blocks – plus or minus a few hundred pounds. Some horses step, others lunge; some drivers hook and go, others seem more nuanced; some smaller teams out pull bigger teams. It rained a bit, which helped the sled slide but hurt the horses' hoofing (footing?). Early pulls went over 20 feet but then it stopped raining and the mud turned sticky but the footing remained treacherous. The last pulls were just over 3 feet, 2 feet and 1 foot for 1st 2nd and 3rd places. It is a rare treat to see the teamwork of the driver and two beautiful animals at the limit of their ability. Excitement with 'just' 2 horsepower!

Remember the Main!... criminal

Nothing is more damaging to the prestige of the US than the simple fact that Osama bin Laden remains at large and still dangerous, nearly 6 years after masterminding the deaths of thousands of Americans. Never in history has such a blow remained unpunished without exposing an effete and corrupt victim-state. Rome destroyed Spartacus and his rebel army; even the new American republic brought the Barbary pirates to heel from half a world away. Yet this tragically misguided administration spends its minuscule credibility and tiresome rhetoric claiming that leaving Iraq without “finishing the job” will weaken America. Iraq was a blunder, but Hussein is deposed and it is (and was) free of WMD. We're done there. Let's get back to job #1.

Render Scooter Extraordinary

Scooter Libby's prison sentence for perjury was commuted by President Bush. Problem is, we still don't know the truth in the case. Did Cheney order the identification of the covert CIA agent? If the commutation keeps Libby from telling what he knows, it effectively obstructs justice.

This White House Gang is enamored of "enhanced interrogation" (torture) as a means of encouraging disclosure and discovering the truth. They initiated a policy of "extraordinary rendition", where prisoners are shuttled to friendly regimes with unfriendly thugs on their payroll. It's a sad and bizarre twist that Homeland Defense could be procurers for sadists. But Cheney fervently defends the value of these "methods" in obtaining the truth.

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Flip flop flip

Bush, our global village idiot, was on the world stage again this weekend. He entertained the president of Russia, Vladimir (Vlad the Paler) Putin at the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport. Remember how at their first meeting W claimed to have seen into Putin's soul? Bush said "I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straight forward and trustworthy and we had a very good dialog. I was able to get a sense of his soul".

Then their relationship soured, not surprising given their job pressures and the geographic challenge. And mutual accusations of dalliances with fascists or neoimperialists can be so hurtful if taken personally.

Now they seem to have rekindled the spark. We know that the dauphin W (the infant) can be temperamental, perhaps even fickle. At least we can be reasonably confident that with adult supervision of his dad and chaperon, King George the 41st, W's penchant for looking deep into Putin's eyes and soul won't get out of hand. Not that there would be anything wrong with consenting adults baring their... souls. They can play together fishing and speedboating around, then the former head of the KGB can return to his fiefdom secure in the knowledge that the world's only remaining superpower really is run by a fool. Maybe he can save the trip and just pull petals off a flower, pondering whether W loves me, he loves me not...