The Great Iraq Swindle

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/16076312/the_great_iraq_swindle

Great reading, if you can stand to learn just how badly private contractors are bilking the American taxpayer out of billions at the expense of the safety of our own soldiers, the contractor companies' honest workers, and the Iraqi people for whom we are building all of this stuff. Oh yeah, the government hasn't brought charges against a single company or person ripping them off. Maybe they're too busy wiping off the fecal matter falling from the ceiling of the Baghdad Police College or looking for the $8.8 billion in CASH that is unaccounted for. Or, maybe they're just too busy writing up the next contract.

Back from vacation...

Although a few things going on in the world prevented me from complete relaxation. Here's a list for your perusal:

1. Kia Vaughn--Vaughn is the Rutgers basketball player suing Don Imus in civil court for the infamous "nappy headed hos" comment that led to his eventual firing. Kia, get over it, and get over yourself. You were called a name. If you follow through with this suit and win, you're worse than anything Don Imus called you. You're now a pimp, and the legal system is your ho.
2. Ted Haggard--Good to see this blowhard is inserting himself into the public eye again. And guess what? He wants your money! It seems the disgraced former head of the National Association of Evangelicals can't get by on the $336,000 he's earned since the beginning of 2006 (plus book royalties), not to mention the house in Colorado Springs he's been trying to sell for $700,000. Hey Ted, I hear the drug trade is a pretty lucrative game.....wait, you've already tried that, haven't you? There's always male prostitution, but you've had a taste of that, too.
3. Idaho Sen. Larry Craig--What else can I say but another morals-spouting, gay-hating conservative wacko gets pegged for a sex crime. Upon further examination, the list of allegations through the years against this guy reveals his career is spottier than Britney Spears' sheets under a blacklight. Larry, can't you find any place more private than the bathrooms of Union Station or the airport to do your deeds? And, do you really need legal representation to advise you to plead "not guilty" if you are innocent?
4. Congress--I hope they, especially Democrats, had some good boots on, because they had quite a time stomping all over the Fourth Amendment with the passage of the Protect America Act of 2007.
5. Iraq War--No politics, no finger pointing this time. The reason for my vacation was to see my brother, a Marine, who will be leaving for Iraq again in 10-12 days. I'm tired of these trips.
   

Bottled water is a joke

I had a rough idea of some rant I wanted to make about the stupidity of bottled water. Lo and behold, somebody did it better than I ever could.

http://www.effbombs.com/2007/08/03/stupid-waternazis/

This has even more relevance in Kansas City, where our tap water is routinely ranked among the best in the country. Add to that all the petroleum used to make the bottles and transport them to the stores where they are sold, and I just can't understand why anyone buys this crap.

Whiskey, straight up!

It was recently alleged that some astronauts were allowed to fly even though they were drunk. I don't know about you, but if I were in that confined quarters with several thousand pounds of highly flammable fuel powering a vehicle that was about to push the limits of the laws of physics and gravity with only some ceramic tile, which by the way has twice failed catastrophically in the last 20 years, while entering and then exiting the most unforgiving environment imaginable....I might want a drink too.

Land of 10000 bicycles

Paris just began a huge new cycling initiative that involves placing 10,000 bicycles at 750 different stations throughout the city, with plans to eventually double the number of bikes to over 20,000. Will this ever happen in the U.S.? Probably not, but it's nice to dream.

Max Blumenthal is at it again

Blumenthal is fast becoming my favorite muckraker. If you thought "Generation Chickenhawk" was disturbing, "Rapture Ready" will really scare you. I always knew Joe Lieberman was an idiot, but speaking at a convention for a group, CUFI, that advocates the eventual elimination of his own religion takes his idiocy to a whole new level. The thing that really bothers me about these wackos is not their beliefs, although they are troubling enough. It's the fact that when they are asked to address these beliefs, they do not. Why don't they explain themselves and publicize the true nature of what they're trying to accomplish? It's probably because they know 95% of the world would see them for what they really are--extremist psycho wackos.

I need some new pajamas.

What the hell?