i live near the canadian border, and before bush invaded iraq, canadian prime minister jean chretien was saying in public that if iraq was so dangerous, prove it. bush, cheney, rumsfeld and the rest never proved it to his, nor to my, satisfaction. the french foreign minister was saying that we need to “invent” the solution diplomatically. i found that to be a diplomatic way of saying, “prove it.” it is also true that clinton’s administration solved many things diplomatically.

an academic (local to me here in ann arbor) is professor of medieval islamic history (did i get his title right?) juan cole. his blog is www.juancole.com . another good news source is a sort of clipping service at www.commondreams.org (for those not sure, the city means he teaches at the university of michigan.)

perhaps part of the senate’s problem is that pelosi leads the house. my hat says “IMPEACH CHENEY?” i say IMPEACH BUSH AND CHENEY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE—before they attack iran.

most of us know about the roman empire’s praetorian guards protecting the life of each caesar for as long as they could stand him (but killing caligula). that is what i fear blackwater may become: bushigula’s praetorian guard or our imprisonment camp guard.

this comment illustrates the need for some sort of limit on comment length.

germany and japan surrendered and admitted they were defeated. whatever we find in iraq, we do not find humility and cooperation with us.

right on, elizabeth! while moqtada al sadr has a declared cease fire is the time to leave. that would be NOW.

i downsized my budget, too. no driving just to get out. pay attention to the gas prices and buy when they seem lowest. frozen meals when eating out would have been the choice. no more clothes buys for another two or three years. spend that hour on the phone with the irs to find out how to file for an earned income tax credit. put off haircuts.

not my biggest but my most immediate fear is that bush or cheney will order an attack on iran. my biggest hope is that iraq will be halfway orderly when we get our soldiers out of there, which should happen AS SOON AS POSSIBLE (meaning keep drawing down the forces stationed in iraq). draw down past the presurge numbers. draw down the contractors, too.

maybe it looks wrong to you in any perspective, but imagine if free adults freely joined together, say one woman and two men. if they made a household together, would you object? i know that’s not what happens in this texas compound, but oprah’s show on the topic opened my eyes. there are happy polygamists and unhappy polygamists, depending on how it is practiced. personally, i think religion has nothing to do with any of it.

the isolation is part of the problem, for sure. also, the women started as children there, and they probably do not know how to make their own way in the “outside” society and economy. they probably all dress in a way that distinguishes them from the rest of society.

polygamy among consenting adults should be legal. i mean a multiple spouse marriage of either gender. but the children should have all the rights of children growing up in this country, and i mean citizens. and the marriage vows should be among the whole group, not just between two and leaving the others powerless to have a voice in it. nobody should be considered an adult for this purpose till age 21.