Read It And Weep

Four years ago today.

The Oval Office. 10:16 P.M. EST.

President Bush Addresses the Nation

My fellow citizens, at this hour, American and coalition forces are in the early stages of military operations to disarm Iraq, to free its people and to defend the world from grave danger.

On my orders, coalition forces have begun striking selected targets of military importance to undermine Saddam Hussein's ability to wage war. These are opening stages of what will be a broad and concerted campaign. More than 35 countries are giving crucial support -- from the use of naval and air bases, to help with intelligence and logistics, to the deployment of combat units. Every nation in this coalition has chosen to bear the duty and share the honor of serving in our common defense.

To all the men and women of the United States Armed Forces now in the Middle East, the peace of a troubled world and the hopes of an oppressed people now depend on you. That trust is well placed.

The enemies you confront will come to know your skill and bravery. The people you liberate will witness the honorable and decent spirit of the American military. In this conflict, America faces an enemy who has no regard for conventions of war or rules of morality. Saddam Hussein has placed Iraqi troops and equipment in civilian areas, attempting to use innocent men, women and children as shields for his own military -- a final atrocity against his people.

I want Americans and all the world to know that coalition forces will make every effort to spare innocent civilians from harm. A campaign on the harsh terrain of a nation as large as California could be longer and more difficult than some predict. And helping Iraqis achieve a united, stable and free country will require our sustained commitment.

We come to Iraq with respect for its citizens, for their great civilization and for the religious faiths they practice. We have no ambition in Iraq, except to remove a threat and restore control of that country to its own people.

I know that the families of our military are praying that all those who serve will return safely and soon. Millions of Americans are praying with you for the safety of your loved ones and for the protection of the innocent. For your sacrifice, you have the gratitude and respect of the American people. And you can know that our forces will be coming home as soon as their work is done.

Our nation enters this conflict reluctantly -- yet, our purpose is sure. The people of the United States and our friends and allies will not live at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace with weapons of mass murder. We will meet that threat now, with our Army, Air Force, Navy, Coast Guard and Marines, so that we do not have to meet it later with armies of fire fighters and police and doctors on the streets of our cities.

Now that conflict has come, the only way to limit its duration is to apply decisive force. And I assure you, this will not be a campaign of half measures, and we will accept no outcome but victory.

My fellow citizens, the dangers to our country and the world will be overcome. We will pass through this time of peril and carry on the work of peace. We will defend our freedom. We will bring freedom to others and we will prevail.

May God bless our country and all who defend her.

END 10:20 P.M. EST

***

WHAT WE KNOW NOW: We know the world was not in "grave danger" then, but it is now. We know there were no "weapons of mass murder." We know we were not living "at the mercy of an outlaw regime that threatens the peace." We know that the "honorable and decent spirit" of George Bush's America includes prison torture. We know (because all the retired generals are saying so) that this war has turned out to be a "campaign of half measures." We know that our country entered the war not "reluctantly" but "purposefully." We know that the "innocent civilian" casualities Bush talked about sparing include at least 60,000 (and probably many more) dead Iraqi children, women and men.



Above: President George W. Bush addresses the nation from the Oval Office at the White House Wednesday evening, March 19, 2003. White House photo by Paul Morse. SOURCE.

NBC's Dateline Punts on War Coverage

Exactly four years ago today, President Bush issued a final ultimatum for Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq or face war.

The very next day, in a four-minute address on the evening of March 19, 2003, president Bush told Americans the war had started.

So tonight, how did Dateline NBC mark the fourth anniversary of what ultimately could be the most important and pivotal event of my lifetime? Did it do any sort of review of the past four years? Any sort of new investigation? Any thoughtful examination of those first days (er, make that years) of uncritical media coverage of the war? Any attempt at all to put in perspective 3,000-plus dead Americans and the 60,000* dead Iraqi civilians? (*Some estimates put the number of men, women and children civilian deaths as MUCH higher)

Nope, Dateline NBC decided to do a different investigation: With the help of a few clever wives, Dateline went undercover to secretly film men watching football!

REPORTER'S VOICEOVER:

Tonight, the wives are fighting back. All season women around the country let Dateline NBC place hidden cameras right in their own home. To catch their unknowing husbands on videotape. And they can't wait for America to see what they put up with on any given Sunday!

We'll test what happens when the women try to pull their husbands away from the TV to do a simple household chore!

Ahhhh, modern journalism. I'd love to hear a John Chancellor or David Brinkley commentary on THAT.

What Would You Buy?

My taste in music ranges from Madonna to Johnny Cash, from Tom Russell to the Pet Shop Boys. I like classical, jazz, rock, folk, pop, country and dance. Showtunes, too. The last album I bought is The Who's first new CD in 24 years, Endless Wire, which includes a mini-opera called Wire & Glass. And it's good, all of it.

I only mention this because I still have a $25 I-tunes gift certificate from Christmas, and I need YOUR help.

What would you buy?

Please note that I already own the entire Sing-A-Long with Mitch Miller catalog, a fact that is not lost on my next-door neighbors, who for some reason keep complaining about me to the police.

Solid As a Rock

Here's the Chris Rock opening from Saturday Night Live last night. Once again, he called President Bush retarded during a special "Road to the White House" segment.

At least one conservative blogger is calling on Rock to apologize for using the word retarded, and also for doing so recently on Late Night With Conan O'Brien and Friday night on Real Time With Bill Mahr. The conservative blogger says it's ... insulting and insensitive to retarded people. He's requesting an apology to all people who suffer from developmental disabilities.

I wonder if this includes the President.

What do you think? Would you agree that it's not nice to make fun of retards like President Bush?

Underage Drinking At St. Pat's Parade

Irish puppies love Jello shots. The puppy's identity has been masked to prevent future legal action.

BWI: Blogging While Intoxicated

I love you guys!

A St. Patrick's Day Thoughtful Thought

I try to live by a set of simple rules, one of which is: No Drinking and Blogging!

What this means: I won't be posting any more today.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

***

And don't forget to raise your Irish mugs in honor of Lou Dobbs.

Blog Redesign

I'm experimenting with a blog redesign. The look may be new, but the same tightly focused coverage of movies, TV, politics and kittens will remain. I think.

Feedback and suggestions are welcome.

(And for any techies reading this: if anybody knows how to switch the header and the footer on this template, please let me know. You can email me at joesblog at sbcglobal.net.) I want to keep my old header, which is now at the bottom of the entries.

He's An American; His Ancestors Weren't

Just a reminder to all my Irish friends: I want you ALL to raise a toast to Lou Dobbs tomorrow. I don't care if you're toasting with green sudsy liquids or something a little bit stronger, just do it.

Earlier: My special St. Patrick's Day Message for Lou (including the suggested verbiage for a possible toast) can be found here.

***

When Kittens Attack

The full story here.

Alberto Gonzales Serves At The Pleasure of The President

I love The Daily Show!

Bionic Women Are Making A Comeback

When The Bionic Woman first went on the air in 1977, the Equal Rights Amendment was still a twinkle in the eyes of feminists, and personal expression meant burning bras or going bra-less instead of shirtless "Antonella Barba-like" titty photos on MySpace.

Things are different today for women. Our next president could be a woman. Nancy Pelosi is two male heartbeats away from the most powerful job in the world. This country's chief diplomat, Condoleezza Rice, is a woman.


I'm not really sure how much the changing role of women during the 1970s affected the Jamie Summers character or the creative process behind the original series, which brought us villains such as the Fembots. But it will be interesting to see how today's world will affect and shape a new 2007 Jamie Summers. For example, would it be a stretch to imagine the modern Jamie as a "Steve-Austin-less" lesbian?

DRUMROLL, please: If you haven't heard, NBC has ordered a pilot for a new, updated version of The Bionic Woman!

This original series ran from 1977 to 1979 on two neworks, and this modern update of a classic could possibly be on the fall schedule.

Will Jamie Summers still be a tennis pro? Will she still like sky-diving? Will Bigfoot make an appearance on the new show, or is Bigfoot sooooooooooooooo 1970s? Can we look forward again to the Fembots as Jamie's sworn enemies? Will Jamie still be trying to thwart the insane billionaire trying to destroy the world with a Doomsday device? Will Jamie like boys, girls ... or both?

There's much potential for this new show to be absolutely terrible in an absolutely wonderful way; I just hope the producers have the bionic vision for a 2007 show that could be as much campy fun as the original.

***

Details From Variety.com

The Bionic Woman (NBC Universal TV Studio)
Exec Producers: David Eick and Laeta Kalogridis (writers), Bruno Heller
Cast: Michelle Ryan (as The Bionic Woman, pictured above), Will Yun Lee, Mae Whitman
Logline: Modern version of classic series

***

Mexicans Are The New Irish

A Special St. Patrick's Day
Message for Lou Dobbs

Some of my best friends are ... Irish.

I'm blessed in this way. They have great Irish surnames like Flannery, O'Flannery and McFlannery. As I said, truly blessed.

Starting last weekend, and continuing this weekend (St. Patrick's Day is Saturday) and still continuing the weekend after that, I'll be celebrating St. Patrick's Day at pubs, parades and parties put on by various friends with great names like Patrick or Paddy, Seamus or Shane.

With so much love for the Irish during this time of year, it's easy to forget just how much the Irish in America used to be hated. Despised, really.

Let's review the history.

Around the middle of the 19th century -- say, roughly 1840 - 1860 -- there were lots of Lou Dobbs-like characters who were hell bent on whipping up hatred of Irish-Catholic immigrants for many of the same reasons that Lou Dobbs whips up hatred of Mexican immigrants (also usually Catholic) today.

Back then, the ire revolved around the competition these new immigrants posed for housing and jobs in America's Protestant-packed cities. There was also a strong anti-Catholic religious element as well. People were a-feared of the pope sticking his beanie-capped head into American politics via Irish-Catholic Democratic politicians (The 19th Century Teddy Kennedys, if you will.) The thought among the radicals was that Catholics sought to take over the United States and install the Pope as its leader, a sentiment so strong that JFK faced these same questions when he ran for President in 1960.

So just as Lou Dobbs is fearful of Mexicans today because they supposedly take good jobs (like picking lettuce) away from Americans, men like Dobbs in the 1850s pumped up a similar fever-pitch against the Irish, many of whom were fleeing the Irish Potato Famine and (also like Mexicans today) just trying to make sure their families didn't starve.

Back then, the anti-Catholic and anti-immigrant crowd had their own political party, The American Party, also known by other names, such as the Know-Nothing Party.

They were quite successful, as third parties go, including a presidential ticket in 1856 that included a former president, Millard Fillmore, who received almost one in four of the votes cast that year. (The gay guy, James Buchanan, won this race. And, as a sidenote, I wonder if the current anti-gay party, the Republicans, will look as foolish 100 years from now?)

Lou Dobbs probably would have been a Fillmore-button-wearing and card-carrying member of the Know-Nothing party had he lived back in the 1850s.

There is one big difference between the Know-Nothings of the 1850s and the present-day Lou Dobbs. These haters of yesteryear didn't reinvent themselves and go on populist rants just for want of better ratings, as Lou Dobbs has and does, since cable TV (of course) had not been invented yet. In any case, The Know-Nothings would have LOVED to have played hard-ball and engage in all the shouting that goes on on cable TV news programs. Like Bill O'Reilly and Lou Dobbs and Chris Matthews, they'd probably have top-rated shows.

So on St. Patrick's day, I want all my Irish friends to turn the other cheek. I want them to raise their frosty and frothy mugs, filled with green sudsy liquids, and to give a special toast to Mr. Lou Dobbs himself -- and to all of Mr. Lou Dobbs' ancestors who had the good sense to immigrate to this fine country.

***

Suggested Toast for Lou: May the wind always be at your back, and may the windbag anti-immigration hysteria on CNN be kept to an absolute minimum.

Related: Gays Are The New Irish.

Gays Are The New Irish

Related: Mexicans Are The New Irish.

A Hawk Who Is Not a Chicken

Tomorrow, March 14, marks the 34th anniversary of John McCain's release as a prisoner of war.

His plane had been shot down five-and-half years earlier, on Oct. 26, 1967.

If you need to put these almost 2000 days as a captive in perspective, imagine having spent every waking minute since the fall of 2001 as a prisoner of war. This is what McCain has been through.

***

Here's an earlier post on this same topic.

And pictured below: The guy who beat McCain in 2000 poses in a flight suit at a slightly less-heroic photo-op.

Bush White House Wanted to Say 'You're Fired' 93 Times

We learned this morning that the Bush administration considered firing all 93 U.S. attorneys.

I wonder what went wrong?

* Did these attorneys chose the wrong color napkin during a "create the perfect bridal reception" elimination challenge?

* Did they sell fewer bottles of gourmet salad dressing than the boys in the sheriff's office during a competition at an area organic food super center?

* Did they underperform in a competition involving creating a line of sexy new swimsuits?

Maybe these 93 men and women deserved to be fired? Without competitive skills in all these areas, especially the ability to create sexy swimsuits and kiss Karl Rove's political ass, they may not deserve these jobs that are so critical to the health and functioning of our beloved democracy.

After Ellen: An Amazing 10 Years

Four of the 14 remaining contestants on The Amazing Race "All Stars" edition are gay men. Having four gay men at a single time on any mainstream American reality TV show has to be a first of some sort.

Remember when there would be one token gay on these reality shows and that was it?

What is really amazing is the increasing frequency of gay people on television in the last decade.

Ten years ago next month, April of 1997, Ellen Degeneres came out of the closet in Time magazine and also on her show Ellen. Then her ratings tanked. And then she couldn't even get arrested after her show was canceled.

And now she has a top-rated syndicated show and is hosting the Oscars.

Despite the best efforts of Dick Cheney and Karl Rove, there is growing acceptance in this world for people like Mary Cheney and Karl Rove's gay father.

And Joe, and Bill, and Oswald, and Danny, and Ellen.

This type of progress in such a short time is extraordinary.