Daniel Cody - “Left on the Lake”

Seven unarmed women and children killed yesterday in Iraq. “Our soldiers on the ground have an absolute right to defend themselves.” General Peter Pace, vice-chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said, “(they) absolutely did the right thing”. Defending ourselves is one thing, and I understand the concerns which the recent car bombing brought, but shooting a .50 caliber machine gun into a van full of women and childen?

Bush said today, “We will not stop, we will not relent until your country is free”, and I wonder if he means ‘free’ of innocent civilians. After all, once they’re all gone, we can really let the whoop ass loose on the real bad guys.

Holy Golden Cow Batman!! US troops in Iraq are being asked to pray for George W. Bush: “I have committed to pray for you, your family, your staff and our troops during this time of uncertainty and tumult. May God’s peace be your guide”

I tell ya what, if I was in Iraq right now, the first guy I’d be praying for is me, not the draft dodging guy thats putting my life on the line for oil, Weapons of Mass Destruction, regime change, Liberation of the Iraqi people, re-election.

Unlike their Federal counterparts in Washington D.C., members of the Illinois legislature are actually passing constructive laws for their constituents. A proposed Bill that would ticket motorists who drive slowly in the left hand lane passed the Illinois House of Reps yesterday by a 99-13 vote.The 13 who voted ‘no’ to the measure are reported to all be over the age of 75 and own large Lincoln Town Cars with broken blinkers.

Here yee here yee, House Resolution 153:

“Recognizing the public need for fasting and prayer in order to secure the blessings and protection of Providence for the people of the United States and our Armed Forces during the conflict in Iraq and under the threat of terrorism at home…

Whereas, through prayer, fasting, and self-reflection, we may better recognize our own faults and shortcomings and submit to the wisdom and love of God in order that we may have guidance and strength in those daily actions and decisions we must take”

Are things going that bad in Iraq that we need to petition the Lord for prayer?

“…calling on all people of the United States - to seek guidance from God to achieve a greater understanding of our own failings and to learn how we can do better in our everyday activities”

Dear Lord,

Please send unto us the heavenly host to strike down the North Korean missiles that Mr. Rumsfeld’s missile shield cannot and protect us from the potential chemical weapons you tell our leader the enemy has while totally not listening to any god the other 65% of our human breathern may pray to.

Color me a fucking Puritan looking for the New World.

Just another friendly reminder of how the freedoms we’ve enjoyed for so many years(!) are being trampled on in the mad dash to ’secure’ our country: A Washingtop Post reporter asked National Park Service folks what a five-foot-tall metal box was near the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C.:

“Let me see your ID,” Spilde said.

“Why?” I asked.

Wrong response.

“Call for backup,” Spilde eventually told Ramirez as he seized my notebook and pen and began to search me. Was I being arrested, I asked before turning over my driver’s license.

Eight officers responded to the call for backup. One told me that, legally, I was not being arrested, just subject to “investigative detention.”

Said Sgt. R.J. Steinheimer, “There have been reports of suspicious activity regarding you.”

“By whom?” I asked.

“Can’t tell you that,” he replied.

Remember citizens, if you ask questions, you’re under suspicion!

Can you tell which of these quotes is from the leader of the free world, and which is from the oft-described ‘madman’ he’s intent on disposing of??

“God willing, we will pursue them until they lose their nerves…

Now that they have indulged in their evil and crimes, they will suffer a defeat.”

“As they approach Baghdad, our fighting units are facing the most desperate elements of a doomed regime.”

Microsoft is pulling out of a key ‘Web Services’ working group within the world wide web consortium. It sounds like they weren’t happy with IBM having equal input, and in true Redmond spirt, are now taking their ball and going home.

If history comes even close to repeating itself, expect to see a new ’standards committee’ in the next few months ’spronsored’ by Microsoft and a few other small companies you’ve never heard of untill MS invested in them in return for their support on MS backed standards.

Of course the real losers here are the developers and eventual consumers of the technology. When developers have to be mindful of two ’standards’ (never mind the oxymoron there), products will be slower to market and compatibility will be an issue, both of which will lead to consumer confusion and slow adoption for what’s promised to be a cool technology.

A lot of people were giving themselves pre-emptive pats on the back as late as last week in anticipation for what was promised to be a short, relatively bloodless war where the ‘resolve’ of our administration, if not the rest of the world, was to be carried out with the most technologically advanced war the world has seen.

The problem with all that is apparently we may not have taken the Iraqi army as seriously as we should have. A lot of people tuning into live coverage of this War forgot that people actually die in these sorts of things, and man are they pissed that anyone has the gall to take our troops as POW’s. What’s more, a lot of people seem to be absolutely shocked by the insensitivity of the major news networks who are showing the end result of what happens when you can’t work things our peacefully:

If you object to innocent children being maimed and killed or to US troops being held against their will in foreign countries, you should object to War. It’s that simple.

In one of the foggiest days in memory, me, Jenny, one of my sisters and her husband joined between 200-400 other citizens of Milwaukee to peacefully protest the War in Iraq last night. We’ve got a few pictures here of the event. The police were giving tickets to those who drove by and honked which was pretty ridiculous (would they do the same if people were honking in support of the war?), and there were a few kids arrested for wearing black scarves. All in all, it was pretty productive, and we were happy to get out there and make our voices heard!

Gather at the Federal Courthouse tonite at 5pm, at the intersection of Jackson and Wisconsin Ave (across from the Firststar building). Signs and candles are encouraged.

Afghanistan, Albania, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Hungary, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and Uzbekistan.

This sounds alot like the cast of the movie epic “Waterworld”. One big name, and a supporting cast you think you’ve heard of, but couldn’t find on a map.

Seriously though, Afghanistan?? Aren’t we still bombing them into the carbonized age?

I wasn’t aware that Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, or Uzbekistan even had a foriegn military contingent. Are they playing the role of waterboy for the big game or what? Put me in coach, I know I can do it!!Good to know we have Columbia on board though, in case things get ’slow’.. And if their standing army can’t do the job, maybe we can bribe some Columbian Guerillas, rumor has it they’re good at shooting down planes.

And Eritrea?? How can we lose with Eritrea on our side?? I mean, can they even find themselves on the map to plot a course to Iraq?? This ladies and gentlemen is the Coalition of the Willing/Paid Off/Promised Entry to the EU that our Prez. promised would be with us on our Holy Quest back to the Middle East.

I’m just waiting for Bush to name the Swiss Army as our next ally.