Good Morning.

Today is our 3,845th day in Afghanistan.

We'll start this morning like we always do; with the latest casualty figures from our ongoing war, courtesy of Antiwar.com:

US Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,936
Other Military Deaths - Afghanistan: 1,023

We find this morning's cost of war passing through:

$ 1, 323, 043, 525, 000 .00
Continue reading...

34 comments (Latest Comment: 04/17/2012 21:17:51 by Will in Chicago)

Now that the field has cleared and we have a GOP Presidential candidate we wonder who he'll pick for his running mate.

To be clear, Mitt is the candidate. There are rumors that others are still running against Mr. Money, but no one can find Ron Paul and Newty has run out of money and currently running away from debt collectors. I suppose that he's hiding out in a double-wide somewhere; with Callista cooking eggs over a small stove wearing her diamonds that she refuses to give up. Some people are saying that they've seen Ron Paul wandering the streets of Dallas in a bath robe and muttering nonsense, "End the war, can the tuna, smell the love of the founding fathers who want the tax code changed into Obamacare..." Theory is that he smoked some weed laced with some highly toxic bath salts and has finally lost his mind.
Continue reading...

2 comments (Latest Comment: 04/15/2012 17:48:58 by livingonli)

The 2008 presidential race was quite exciting. After two Bush terms, there was no incumbent for the Republican party. Traditionally, the vice-presidential candidate runs, but Cheney knew he would never be elected, and bowed out. That left both parties to find their presidential candidate for the general election.

What was interesting is that on the Democratic side, there was a serious contender in Hillary Clinton. Sure Geraldine Ferraro had run decades previous, but there was a sense this time that Hillary could actually win (not just the primary, but the general too). As the primaries came down to the wire, it was apparent to the Republicans that they too needed to court a woman. The Republicans ended up with Sarah Palin.
Continue reading...

36 comments (Latest Comment: 04/13/2012 22:50:25 by Raine)

It finally happened - Rick Santorum has dropped out. A year ago it was inconceivable that Santorum would have lasted this long. His own home state had pushed him out of Congress, and his candidacy was seen as a joke. With so many comers in the field early on, he really didn't distinguish himself. Other candidates kept rising to the top, then getting washed out by poor showings or lack of support.

Not Rick Santorum - he kept floating just beneath the surface, not really attracting attention, but also not punching himself in the eye. He seemed unpopular, but managed to stay in as others fell out. Huntsman, Bachmann, Cain, Huntsman, Perry... All were held to the light of scrutiny, only to be rejected.

By the time it seemed like Santorum might be the Next Big Thing, there were just 4 candidates left (including Gingrich, another improbable come-from-behind candidate). The "anybody but Romney" crowd solidified on Santorum, deeming him Their Guy. Gingrich was just too unlikeable, and Ron Paul is... well - he's Ron Paul.
Continue reading...

56 comments (Latest Comment: 04/11/2012 21:54:14 by Mondobubba)

In DC it should come as no surprise that there are more than usual number of advocacy ads, lobbying ads, political ads etc. These ads reach people who might otherwise not be reached, and are from any number of groups. I enjoy watching them to see who is paying for them, etc. One ad that has been running since at least last August is this:

I admit, I hadn't paid much mind to it. It looks benign enough. I simply thought it was just another ad asking the State department for help. the ad was sponsored by a group called Human Rights and Democracy International. According to the ad, MEK should be de-listed as a terrorist organization by the State Department. It makes sense to support democratic opposition in Iran. We will go a little further into this website another day. Let's get back to this group, who claim to be The democratic opposition in Iran.
Continue reading...

35 comments (Latest Comment: 04/10/2012 01:40:28 by BobR)