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Yeah, I'll bet the MTV execs were just aglow over being banned from Superbowl hoopla forever.

I find it interesting that the Bush apologists now seem to be down to one final argument, "other politicians are bad too".

Bush is obviously asking the Congress to vote on a whole shitload of spending RIGHT NOW (link to headline in any paper, "2.4 trillion budget blah blah). But one glaring thing he's not asking them to even discuss is more money to fight his war in Iraq. You are right. It probably is more expedient to save it until afterward if he wants to get that money without throwing it in the public's face at how much he's spending on his war. This way too, he won't have to give a real figure, like he did with the Medicare bill.

And to add to Will's excellent links here's this from cc.com ! It was a past discussion on this issue, with a link to the DoD website. Try clicking Iain's link to the DoD site. It's now gone . Also here is a link to "Stars and Stripes" talking about the "stop-loss" order that disallows people leaving the military until a 90 day "cooling off period" And I'll also throw in just one article about the current Army retention crisis. You probably already know about the ham-handed use of the reservists, and how they are being stretched thin.

"White House budget director Joshua Bolten said the administration will not make a request for a wartime supplemental for Iraq and Afghanistan until after the November elections." (Emphasis added). Since they're letting us guess about how much more we'll get socked for our overseas adventures, I'll just make a guess that perhaps one reason that budget item is not going to be specified until after the elections is because it will include costs for reinstating the draft.

excellent. Thanks for the link MisterE. DFA = Largo?

Another tangent here, but wouldn't walking down off of Condorphamine be the quickest and safest way to race the setting sun?

Jay, I think you are overlooking the fact that there are many people who feel it is a good idea to oppose war. I don't think there are as many that feel it is a good idea to oppose peace. I hadn't heard anything about this, so I shouldn't really speak for the strawmen that you are attacking. But, if this stuff is true, I'll tell you that I would certainly hold someone being bribed to oppose a war in much less contempt than someone making war for profit. Also, those others may not bother me as much as someone who might not only be making war for profit, but is also using my tax dollars to facilitate their deeds.

They're probably transporting him to Iraq right now. Settin' him up with a nice little hole complete with botulin toxin, a couple of Stingers, and dirty bomb or two. Poor John Kerry, finally getting close to the show only to be so far away. Kinda like when the Sonics got into the finals versus the Bulls.

You think maybe CNN screwed up majorly and actually should have written NSA?

How does the Hubble telescope contribute to our bold mission to send a man to Mars!!? Zip, zilch, nada. Mars or bust baby. Mars or bust.

Thanks for the tip J. I think. I just called 'em. It's $9.99 so for - 1 penny I get local cable channels, which I had before, but now in striking cable clarity! But it's only for the first six months, after which it goes up to ~ $12.

Silent Running now has a seventh pitch (a really good one too).

A picture by Off White I believe

You will note however, that I allowed that it is OK to complain ONCE, to inform others of the situation. What is tiring is when someone bitches, whines, snipes, and nags repeatedly and continually instead of just putting up or shutting up.

Yeah, that doesn't sound right. I was talking about public education K-12. Don't know where the college stuff sneaked in. BTW, speaking of NASA , I was thinking the other day that Bush's proposals there sound very analogous to his "no child left behind deal". He proposes a whopping increase of $1 billion (from 86 billion to 87 billion, a 1.2% increase ) with the minor caveat that they've got to build a freaking colony on the Moon! ...and then send people to Mars while yer at it . Oooooo! just like Kennedy

DAmn! Comcast internet now costs ~ $55/month if you don't buy the cable TV too. Time to shop DSL's again.

Stonehead, I think there is a spinoff to the public at large. We need people to be functionally literate to have a thriving society. If we keep injuring our already poorly performing schools by cutting funding we are going to have more totally illiterate people in our society. I think we're a long ways from worrying about educating people too highly for the available job pool . Peter, I am not trying to defend Seattle Schools as being perfect. I am sorry that the busses provided are not adequate for your situation, but I do think they provide a pretty good service. I think you are right that Seattle's school choice system is meant to reduce flight to private schools and is also a response to the pressure put on by the vouchers demagogues. There definitely could be a lot a money saved by not providing all the transportation that they do, but I think a lot of parents also value the freedom to choose any school they want.

You probably read something about a STATE income tax. For the Federal thingy, a 3% flat rate would probably mean revenues of about an order of magnitude less (that's one tenth of current). Given the fact that we are currently overspending our budget to the tune of 500 billion dollars, I hardly think a little belt tightening is going to cover the gap there. Plainly and simply as I have stated before. The flat tax is appealing to rich people because they will get to pay less money. The flat tax is appealing to a lot of non-rich people who are arithmetically illiterate and find the 1040-EZ form incomprehensible. If this sounds like you, here's a little tip. Hiring an accountant would be cheaper for you than paying the flat tax rate.

Peter, I am not sure what you are arguing for, but I think you imply in there that the public schools are not the greatest. You certainly are not arguing that we should cut funding to better them are you? By the way, you're example about Coe is not relevant. SSD provides bus transportation for children to a wide variety of schools.

Nice reply Matt. JayB, you're more convincing when you spew about something you actually know the facts about. Speaking of which, here's some facts... NEXT TUESDAY (FEB 3) SPECIAL SCHOOL LEVY ELECTION IN SEATTLE! GO VOTE FOR THEM. BTW: "Both measures renew existing levies, are part of the District's 10-year levy plan and will result in tax rates at or below current levels." i.e. if these levies lose, it will result in a cut in current school funding levels. These levies are not asking for a "raise". And if you don't want to vote for it, I'd love for you to post your rationalizations of how cutting school funding is going to 1) better the public education system in Seattle 2) better the ways of life for all those who have to live in a society full of illiterate morons.

CBS, I think those "failed delivery" messages are copies of the virus being sent to you in hopes you'll click the attachment to see what the message was that you sent. What's the deal with this "banned CD that the government doesn't want you to see?" spam that has all the random words in it? I guess those random words must be meant to fool the spam filters?

I have really been jonesing for "Lysol" by the Melvins lately, but my turntable setup is broken down and I can't find my tape of it.

try this

Yeah, is that an analogy in the guise of a newsstory?