A Spork in the Drawer

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George Ends His Year

U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 3,000

I'm not in the prediction biz but with the expected escalation in the war expect 2007 to be a whole lot worse.

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A Bit Of Francesca Woodman

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Year's End

We're awash in year-end lists and I have little interest in them. Still, Dahlia Lithwick does a great job listing the "10 civil liberties nightmares of 2006." Number nine captures BushCo™ perfectly:

Guantanamo Bay: After the Supreme Court struck down the military tribunals planned to try hundreds of detainees on the U.S. base in Cuba, and after President Bush agreed that it may be a good idea to close down the prison, the worst public relations fiasco since the Japanese internment camps lives on. Prisoners once deemed "among the most dangerous, best-trained, vicious killers on the face of the Earth" are either quietly released or still awaiting trial. The lucky 75 to be tried there will be cheered to hear that the Pentagon has just announced plans to build a $125 million legal complex for the hearings. The government has now officially put more thought into the design of Guantanamo's court bathrooms than the charges against its prisoners.

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An Excellent Suggestion

LTE:

Denote their value

I was intrigued by David M. Shribman's Dec. 24 column "Not All Presidents Deserve a Coin," about American presidents who deserve or don't deserve to have their portraits on our coins.

But separating the deserving from the undeserving might be too harsh a judgment. Instead, the presidents' merits could be represented by the denominations of the coins on which their likenesses appear. We have had dollar-worthy presidents, penny-worthy presidents and many nickel-, dime-, quarter- and half-dollar-worthy presidents in between.

I suggest that when George W. Bush's term is up, his image be engraved on the wooden nickel.

ROBERT L. WOLKE
Mount Washington

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Exactly

John Edwards talking to Chris Matthews:

Matthews: President Bush in his last press conference last week said that his idea was for America to go shopping. He literally said that. What do you make of that? As a way to engage the public in our national cause.

Edwards:What planet is he living on? I have absolutely no idea. This is the man who is in charge of this war in Iraq.

(Video at link.)

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Saturday Palate Cleanser

Rasputina - "My Orphanage."

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The Dark Ages

Words fail me:

Grand Canyon National Park is not permitted to give an official estimate of the geologic age of its principal feature, due to pressure from Bush administration appointees.

[Via C&L.]

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Three More Commas...

...in George's War.

Happily, hanging Saddam will make it all right.

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The Thing Is...

...Iraq probably needs a dictator.

Too bad we're throwing a perfectly good one away.

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