paralepsis

In the Washington Post , Liz Cheney makes the following argument for escalation (or against withdrawal, or against Hillary, or whatever): If we quit in Iraq now, we must get ready for a harder, longer, more deadly struggle later. It's worth noting that the policies of this administration brought us to whatever Hobson's Choice we now face. Are we really faced either with this unwinnable quagmire or something even worse later? Well, maybe worse than it is now. But if so, that's the fault of Bush, Nanny Dick, and the neocon cheerleading squad (Bush always had a soft spot for his fellow cheerleaders). Doubtful, however, that it will be worse than what we face if we stay and stay and stay. Hey, and Liz (can I call you Liz?): a big shout out to the old man for pimping this war and for covering up the smearing of critics.

A few thoughts about the new report that Iraqi insurgents are planning to attack in the States. The most obvious thought is, why should they come here when they're already killing us over there? Given the number of Americans who died this last weekend (n.b. -- total subject to increase), why mess with a winning formula? Second thought: obviously we should be wary, and I'm all for following leads and tracking them down. But how many leads turn out to be real? The ABC story gets quite breathless about precedent. U.S. officials now require universities to closely track foreign nationals who use student visas to study in the United States. University officials must report international students who fail to arrive on campus or miss class regularly. In August, the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement alerted intelligence agencies and state and local law enforcement about 11 Egyptian students who had failed to report to their classes at Montana State University.

. . . what Morrissey's Eurovision song contest entry might look like . Money lyric: Our former colonies rise as we fall India booms, Britain's profits appall So let's end it all with tall bottles of poison We deserve it We deserve it We deserve it, we deserve it, we deserve it Brilliant -- in its American meaning ( audio link ).