Strollin' Down The Avenue

I had a whole bunch of stuff I wanted to write about on this thing, but I've forgotten most of it. I need to keep notes or something. That may be good, though, as some of my thoughts are pretty obscure. Author Paul Theroux wrote the cover article for Smithsonian a few months ago and I just read it yesterday. It's about the lives of geese and the anthropomorphization of animals in film, books, and television. He made some good points, but he also made some irritating bad ones. And what kind of prick angrily ranks on E.B. White, one of the most gentle, thoughtful people of whom I'm aware.

Sounds riveting, doesn't it? Probably good I didn't keep notes.

With any luck, the Anna Nicole Smith slow-motion train wreck will soon end. It's been distracting people nicely from what has been happening in Iraq, particularly over the past few days. That's rather relevant because John McCain, a fellow whom I once thought was sane and fairly wise for a Republican, has been laying it on pretty thick lately about how safe is Iraq. After walking through a Baghdad market under the protection of over 100 Marines and two attack helicopters he declared that the press is wrong about the way things are over there. He went on to say that General Petreus, the man in charge of the "coalition," could "ride through that Baghdad marketplace in an unarmored Humvee." He later backed off that comment with a vengeance, on 60 Minutes, but that means nothing. McCain gave us a peek into pro-war Republican thinking, and that revealed shocking naiveté by the Bush Administration is it's supporters. There is a very wide and deep chasm between the way they want things to be and the way they really are. They want things to be better after the troop surge, and they want vindication for the war so badly that they have become delusional. Either that, or they are so cynical and arrogant that they don't care what happens, so long as they don't get the blame and pay any political price. There is a dark vision for the Middle East behind this, and that's what motivates the lack of reason or scruples.

So what has the Smith baby trial nonsense distracted the media from? Well, a battle in a Sunni neighborhood in Southern Baghdad (yes, actually in the city) that required hours of hard fighting and air support is probably a matter of importance. Especially since it happened after John McCain's magical visit. There were many casualties; 16 wounded American soldiers and 20-40 dead Iraqi civilians. It's also noteworthy because the attack was so brazen.

I've never been to Iraq, but every war correspondent I know of is talking about how asinine the Republican's take on things actually is. People like Anne Garrels, Arwa Damon, Bob Woodruff, Allen Pizzey (who called McCain's comments "Rubbish") and, of course, Michael Ware, have all been very outspoken lately, and they have all spent a lot of time in Iraq. Ware actually said this about John McCain in an interview with Wolf Blitzer:

I mean, Sen. McCain’s credibility now on Iraq, which has been so solid to this point, is now being left out hanging to dry. To suggest that there’s any neighborhood in this city where an American can walk freely is beyond ludicrous. I’d love Sen. McCain to tell me where that neighborhood is and he and I can go for a stroll.

Yikes. The aforementioned under-reported attacks of the last week are certainly working to make McCain and the Bushies look even more foolish. If you ask me, that's a train wreck worth talking about.

You didn't ask me? Oh. Ok...carry on.