PaigowPrincess does Paultards
 

Doesn't sound like her either.

Van der Sleuths
 

So Aruba has arrested the 3 boys again and at the same time, Natalee Holloway's Dad just shelled out money to hire guys to do a search of waters in Aruba even though searches were already done. The reason given was new evidence.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11222007...ain_958557.htm
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g...CO6FwD8T2Q6A80

Anyone have any insight into the latest developments? Counsel for one of the boys is poo-pooing the rearrest but wouldn't it seem that Aruba prosecutors have something big to get the judge to allow a re-arrest? And the rearrest coming on the heels of the Dad's renewed search in the water?

Iraq - Progress
 

This sounds like real progress: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...201568_pf.html

His Taco with Tancredo
 

Tom Tancredo clearly doesn't know that Joel Stein's singular role at the LA Times is to be a wise-ass columnist - if he did, he'd never have agreed to sit down to lunch with the man. Personally, I blame Tancredo's staff.

At any rate, it results in a couple of good lines in Stein's piece.

• Inever thought GOP presidential candidate Tom Tancredo would eat Mexican food with me. The Colorado congressman has proposed anti-immigration legislation so draconian that he's been banned from the White House and called a "nut" by Jeb Bush. And I definitely never thought Tancredo would tell me that Mexican is his favorite cuisine. That was like finding out that CNN's Nancy Grace gets turned on by violent criminals. Only surprising.
  
  Tancredo agreed to our Mexican lunch during a campaign sweep through Iowa last month. But the night before our appointment, I found out he was already headed to Mami's Authentic Mexican Food in Muscatine for dinner. The man was planning two Mexican meals in a row. I had little to teach him.
  
  On my way to Mami's, however, I got a call from his aide. A local Republican had tipped Tancredo off to the fact that Mami's owners marched in the Great American Boycott on May Day 2006. So Tancredo was now driving all the way to Davenport to go to Carlos O'Kelly's Mexican Cafe instead. If his campaign staff was as skilled at finding voters as Mexican restaurants in Iowa, Tancredo would win the nomination.
  
  Carlos O'Kelly's makes the finest Mexican food with an Irish flair of any chain restaurant in Iowa. The enchiladas came with a sort of hollandaise sauce that constituted a greater insult to Mexicans than anything Tancredo has ever said.

I thought the name of this place was a joke, but apparently there actually is such a chain, located primarily in the Midwest. NotBob? Are these guys a client together with Piggly Wiggly?

Gattigap

Iraq - Progress
 

It appears, up to a point - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...&sn=012&sc=359 .

On the other hand, maybe he isn't that bright.
 

Understood, but the devil you know is always preferable when dealing with a nation full of idiot fundamentalists and nuclear bombs. He really has no choice here but to get behind Musharraf.

And every Democrat should be damn glad he did. If Musharraf fell and some pack of religious buffoons were to somehow get the reins of that nation, protecting us from Pakistan and its nukes would be the battle cry Rudy rode into the White House by the biggest margin in recent electoral memory.

Be happy Bush is keeping the status quo. The Democratic Party is always one globally destabilizing and frightening incident from irrelevance. As long as Iraq and the economy remain the main issues, however, it has a pretty rosy future.

I'm a faithful follower of Brother John Birch.
 

I don't know. I'd say "oracle" fits more these days.

You can all call me crazy, and you'd be right in a lot of regards, but I really believe that Bush and Cheney put us over there knowing it would lead to our decades long presence in the Middle East because they believe we have to eternally engage that part of the world, and it happens to suit the interest of their party and their benefactors.

They had to know this was not a war we'd end quickly.

They bought forty more years of relevance for the right wing of the GOP and the defense industry. The war in Iraq:

1. Pump primes sectors of the the economy that donate heavily to the GOP;
2. Promotes nationalism among their rabid base;
3. Provides a rallying point the economic and social conservatives can both get behind; and
4. Replaces the Southern Strategy that is no longer working with a perpetual argument that they are the party of choice in times of conflict.

Maybe I'm nuts, or maybe this is obvious.

Iraq - Progress
 

Wasn't trying to paint a rosy picture. It's just seems that there is a consensus starting to build that there has been real progress over the last few months. Even the DEM candidates are starting to hedge/re-message on Iraq.

Iraq - Progress
 

We are never getting out. Never.

Iraq - Progress
 

if algore is right, the whole place will be under water in 25 years.

Iraq - Progress
 

There seems to have been tactical gains, but there's no apparent strategic progress. If the progress of the war were measured by casualties, you'd think things go a lot worse on D-Day instead of better.

And the Democratic candidates are a terrible bellwether of what's happening.

This is a fake or doctored pic
 

....right?

http://steelturman.typepad.com/photo...l_cleavage.jpg

This is a fake or doctored pic
 

Penske?

On the other hand, maybe he isn't that bright.
 

Neither Butro nor the fasting cricket captain seem particularly like religious baffoons.

On the other hand, maybe he isn't that bright.
 

True. I hear the Europeans are hoping for a Republican victory.

On the other hand, maybe he isn't that bright.
 

She's steeped in fanatical Islamicism, and she and her family are so corrupt, they are basically the reason why Pakistan usually ties with Nigeria for "most corrupt country in the word". Even good ole neutral Switzerland went after her to have her indicted for corruption (the results of which naturally landed in Swiss banks). On her Islamicist connections, look at her appointment of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence - General Hamid Gul. Yes, the U.S. worked with him during the Soviet/Afghan occupation but no doubt about it, her appointment has shown his true colors and is not only fanatically Muslim but the kind that wears a tin foil hat under his round cap. He PeterThottam-like blamed the jews for 9/11 (on 9/11 mind you) and then said the U.S. was in on it. He also urges Muslims everywhere in the world to object to the American war against terror b/c he thinks it's a war against Muslims. Quote: "Let's destroy America wherever its troops are trapped." Lovely.

Bhutto is so much more corrupt than Musharaf and now she's probably going to run along with Sharif, a/k/a the one who made Pakistan a nuke nation. It will be all about money again and she'll let any fundamentalist group do what it wants as long she continues siphoning massive amounts of money. What a mess. There is a reason I've had Musharraf on my Celebrity Death Pool list for 3 years straight.

For Spanky
 

This means nothing - perhaps even less than nothing because it's Zogby - but her "inevitable win", according to you, is looking ever less so, primarily because of the kooks on the far-Left:

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php...show_article=1

On the other hand, maybe he isn't that bright.
 

Agreed. But they also don't seem as strong and willing to crush and kill Islamists to stay in power as Musharraf is.

Sometimes, you need a despot. Granted, Musharraf isn't the strongest leader for that title, but you take the cards you're given. He's predictable and buyable and in that part of the world, that's as close to a synonym for "depandable" as you can find.

Which leads me to some uncomfortable questions about why bib Laden has free run of the provinces, allegedly. I have to believe that some of the $10bil we give Musharraf could buy bin laden's capture, and I wonder exactly how Musharraf manages the high wire act of taking the money and telling us to fuck off on the bin Laden search.

I've read blogs and web stuff on the area and the players, but its all contradictory gibberish, and none of it asks the biggest question - whether Bush is really even committing any serious efforts toward capturing bin laden, or instead letting him run loose for a variety of reasons many could speculate about until the conspiracy theory centers of their brains exploded.

And with that run on sentence, now I'm done.

On the other hand, maybe he isn't that bright.
 

The funny thing is, that might be true on one level. Some would argue, but there's a consistency in "crazy" you don't find in wonky or "open to suggestion."

For Spanky
 

Ah, but run her with Obama as VP and see where those #s go.

Breck boy's cooked after Iowa.

For Spanky
 

But for those who beleive in efficient markets, Ladbrokes is still heavily favoring Hillary:

Hilary Clinton 1/2
Rudolph Giuliani 7/2
Mitt Romney 11/2
Barack Obama 8/1
Ron Paul 14/1
Fred Thompson 22/1
John Edwards 25/1
John McCain 33/1
Mike Huckabee 33/1
Bill Richardson 50/1
Condoleezza Rice 66/1
Christopher Dodd 100/1
Dennis Kucinich 125/1
Joe Biden 125/1
Sam Brownback 125/1
Duncan Hunter 150/1
Mike Gravel 150/1
Tom Tancredo 250/1

For Spanky
 

Any bookie that has Ron Paul paying 14/1 is about as respectible as ...well... Zogby.

For Spanky
 

The shocking part of that listing of odds is how far Paul has moved up the chart. Demonstrably better chances than Thompson, Edwards or McCain? Really?

For Spanky
 

2. They're only paying 2.75 for a Werder Bremen win at home to Real Madrid. Scandalous.

For Spanky
 

ZING!

For Spanky
 

So Ron Paul has just disproven efficient market theory?

For Spanky
 

Ladbrokes is shite. For the real sportsman's line ye have to be goin to de biys dere at Paddy Power.

On the other hand, maybe he isn't that bright.
 

The central government has never had control of those provinces.

For Spanky
 

Better chances of Ladbrokes taking money from Paul backers, anyway.

For Spanky
 

OK, I understand. This one's a survey of the idiot vote. Still, shouldn't that be a good predictor for much of the south?

For Spanky
 

His numbers are tacked to the price of gold. It's almost the holidays. He'll be back around 679/1 come Jan 2.

On the other hand, maybe he isn't that bright.
 

Well, if we'd give them 25bil and pegged it to that task, I'm sure they could make a start.

A Whole Lotta Something
 

Any reactions to Lott stepping down? Seems a lot of the old Senate hands on the Republican side are retiring - does anyone think some new blood will have a chance of reinvigorating the party, or is it just going to be more of the same?

A Whole Lotta Something
 

Who knows. But Lott was a greedy earmark motherfucker who was part of a larger problem, so - other than perhaps further weakening our numbers - godspeed.

PS - Once again, I'm criticizing a member of my own party when appropriate. Lefties, take note.

A Whole Lotta Something
 

It won't weaken the Republican numbers. The odds of a Democrat winning a senate seat in Mississippi are right up there with Ron Paul winning the White House.

The more interesting question is whether the next Senator from Mississippi is going to add to the creationist caucus.

A Whole Lotta Something
 

I think the new lobbying rules go into effect January 1. After that, there's a bit of a wait before a member of the Senate can go work on K street. I wonder if anyone else will do the math and realize if they're thinking about getting out, now is the time.

I don't really think that Lott's departure is going to change anything in terms of numbers. It's not like Mississippi is the bastion of liberalism. OTOH, it's what, six Republican Senators now that have announced their retirements? I suppose it will depend on who ends up running for / winning their seats.

I know my industry is looking for leadership that is prepared for major, major change in health care in the next few years. We're all pretty sure that the status quo isn't going to be maintained, even if the Republicans maintain the White House. The problem is that no one has a clue which direction health care is going to change.

A Whole Lotta Something
 

QED

Lott is leaving on 12/31, which, from what I'm reading, will force a replacement election within 90 days, whereas if he left on 1/1, they could just appoint a successor to serve through 2008.

A Whole Lotta Something
 

he just wants to not take away the vote. the people's vote is their most precious right.

On the other hand, maybe he isn't that bright.
 

The Bhuttos and their Party hid (in Geneva) over 20 million in Swiss francs gleaned from bribes, money launduring and drug dealing. I don't know how much 20 mill Swiss Francs gets you in Pakistani Rupees but my bet is: a lot. And enough for the central government to buy control of those provinces as well as Bin Laden's head on a big shish kabob.

On the other hand, maybe he isn't that bright.
 

20M francs is all it would take? Huh. Sounds like ol' OBL is down to the coins found in his caveside couch.