This is a great idea.  In the days after Beckapalooza, the estimate of crowd size was in the press and blogosphere.  Michelle Bachmann said that the number of people there was greater than 1 million.  This is a fallacy, but people repeat it.  I was thinking that it would be great to have a rally in response, sometime before the election, the better to get out the vote among progressives.  It seemed like only Obama could headline it, but I didn’t think he would do that, because then he would be lowering himself to Beck’s level.

Colbert.  A faux comedian for a Fox comedian.  One of them knows he is a comedian.

¹⁸Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

In the other translations, the word sorceress comes up.  What about later when King Saul goes to see the witch of Endor?  There are some inconsistencies here.

But what was a witch?  Was this someone versed in herbal remedies?  That could be a threat to the religious hierarchy who believed that all sickness was punishment from God.

Or verse 19.

¹⁹Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death.

Yikes.  What was that about?  The Bible the kids are using says, “has sexual relations with an animal”.  Bookzilla is 14, JMan is 11.  We let the topic drop.

Tuesday Obama speech marks end of combat ops in Iraq.  If Obama had had his way, Saddam would be making that speech in Baghdad.  #ftrs #tcot

1) Conservatism and what is wrong with it.

Q: What is conservatism?

A: Conservatism is the domination of society by an aristocracy.

2) Conservatives want to rule, not govern.

Then there is this:

Ricky Thomas, 43, a SWAT team police officer from Chesapeake Beach, Md., brought his 10-year old son Chase to the Beck rally. “I wanted my son to see democracy in action,” Thomas said.
He said he wants government to stay out of people’s lives. He acknowledged that he works for government, but said it’s “a part of government that helps people when they are in trouble.”

I registered the domain name Beckistan and will see if I can put some stuff up there.

Saw this pic and thought it appropriate.

Preclinical data recently published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation demonstrating that cannabinoids may spur brain cell growth has reignited the international debate regarding the impact of marijuana on the brain. However, unlike previous pseudo-scientific campaigns that attempted to link pot smoking with a litany of cognitive abnormalities, modern research suggests what many cannabis enthusiasts have speculated all along: ganja is good for you.

I don’t know if ganja is good for you, but I support the legalization of marijuana as a matter of good public policy.

Read about it here.

1. Tommy R. Franks: American Soldier
2. L. Paul Bremer III: My Year in Iraq
3. Ricardo Sanchez: Wiser in Battle
4. Janis Karpinksi: One Woman’s Army
5. Douglas Feith: War and Decision
6. Richard Myers: Eyes on the Horizon
7. Mike DeLong: Inside Centcom
8. Nathan Sassaman: Warrior King
9. Michael Hastings: I Lost My Love in Baghdad
10. Midge Decter: Rumsfeld (likely to be replaced by the man’s own book)

Most of these people are assholes should be sent back to work as taxi cab drivers in Baghdad.  Karpinski was the fall-guy.

From Foreign Policy:

1. Niger river delta in Nigeria, oil spills equivalent to one Exxon Valdez a year.
2. Underground coal fires burning since the 1960s.  One in China that consumes 20 million tons a year, about the amount that Germany produces.
3. Deforestation in Haiti.
4. The Aral Sea, once the fourth largest inland body of water, is gone.
5. The  Pacific Ocean garbage patch, 150% the size of the US and 100 feet thick.

Read the whole thing.