Mel Gibson To Direct Mini-Series About The Holocaust

I'm not making this up:

Gibson, who apologized Saturday for making "despicable" remarks in what was described as an anti-Semitic tirade after a drunk driving arrest, in some ways now finds himself at the mercy of a Hollywood establishment that may or may not be inclined to extend forgiveness.

His most immediate issue is with Walt Disney Co., which is distributing "Apocalypto" and which also, through its ABC television network, has a development deal with his company to make a miniseries about the Holocaust.

Several prominent critics of "The Passion" have stepped forward to suggest that Gibson, who denied there was an anti-Semitic undercurrent in his movie about the last hours of Christ's life, has now shown his true colors.

Maybe I'm wrong, but didn't Gibson deny that the Holocaust actually happened? Or perhaps he said something to the effect that it happened, but the number of dead was exaggerated. In any event, Disney might want to reconsider having Mel on this particularly project.

I must admit, though, that I am looking forward to Gibson's upcoming film, "Apocalypto."

This Is Interesting

This is from TIME Magazine:

Dr. Gregory Smith wants people to know it's not all in his head. According to the Gainesville, Ga., pediatrician, white fibers have been burrowing into his skin for the past two years, making him feel like he's under constant bombardment from insects or cactus needles. Shine a black light on these fibers and they'll fluoresce blue, he says, just like something you'd see in The Twilight Zone. He describes looking into the mirror one night, only to see one burrow down into his eye.

"Yes ma'am, I was a little bit distraught," recalls Smith, 58, who says he can no longer work because his mysterious ailment has also robbed him of his memory and neurological function. "I tried to grab a hold of it with tweezers and it would not come out. It was quite painful, so I threw up my hands and went to the Emergency Room with my wife."

For Smith, and some 4,000 people across the nation who claim to suffer from similar symptoms, it's the reaching out that has been problematic. The disease, called Morgellons after a reference in a 1674 medical paper, isn't officially recognized by the medical community. Some have suggested that it is a hoax, even a viral marketing campaign for a sci-fi movie. But sufferers say it's real and that there have been a growing number of cases across the nation of people with these painful fibers, skin lesions, crippling fatigue and memory loss. No one knows what causes Morgellons and no one knows how to cure it.

ABCNews is also reporting on this mysterious ailment. The CDC is supposedly looking into it.

Excellent

I like this:

U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris demanded an apology Thursday from Democratic Party chairman Howard Dean, who during a speech this week likened the senatorial candidate to former Soviet ruler Joseph Stalin.

Dean, in a speech to Democratic business leaders in West Palm Beach, made the remark in reference to Harris' handling of the 2000 presidential election recount when she was Florida secretary of state and an honorary chairwoman of George W. Bush's Florida campaign.

Harris certified Bush's 537-vote win in Florida over Democrat Al Gore, putting him in the White House.

Dean said in Wednesday's speech that Democratic incumbent Bill Nelson is "going to beat the pants off Katherine Harris, who didn't understand that it is ethically improper to be the chairman of a campaign and count the votes at the same time. This is not Russia and she is not Stalin."

Dean, of course, did not go far enough, because he said that Harris "is not" Stalin, but that is a minor quibble.

What I'd like to see is prominent Republicans having to constantly demand apologies from prominent Democrats. There just isn't enough of that going on, which means that the Democrats are not attacking enough. David Mamet's poker analogy comes to mind:

The American public chose Bush over Kerry in 2004. How, the undecided electorate rightly wondered, could one believe that Kerry would stand up for America when he could not stand up to Bush? A possible response to the Swift boat veterans would have been: "I served. He didn't. I didn't bring up the subject, but, if all George Bush has to show for his time in the Guard is a scrap of paper with some doodling on it, I say the man was a deserter."

This would have been a raise. Here the initiative has been seized, and the opponent must now fume and bluster and scream unfair. In combat, in politics, in poker, there is no certainty; there is only likelihood, and the likelihood is that aggression will prevail.

Dean appears to understand Mamet's point.

Protester Disrupts Bolton Hearing

I agree with everything this protester had to say. To me, Bolton is a living symbol of all that is wrong with the Bush Regime.



He is the epitome of BushCo arrogance and incompetence.

He certainly isn't helping to improve the way the U.S. is viewed around the world. Geesus, the U.S. is viewed so negatively right now that even the new Superman movie couldn't use the phrase "Truth, Justice, and the American Way" (opting instead to use "Truth, Justice, and All That Stuff," or some such phrase). Although I'm sure there is a job for Bolton in the current administration -- perhaps they could make him Torture Czar -- having him as our U.N. Ambassador is like appointing Hitler as the head of B'nai B'rith.

By the way, the New York Sun is reporting that Senators Schumer and Clinton are "seriously reconsidering" their opposition to the Bolton nomination. Hillary's political cowardice never ceases to amaze me.

Interesting Analysis From Froomkin

BushCo has made an important admission when it comes the its Iraq Fiasco:

President Bush and national security adviser Stephen Hadley yesterday for the first time publicly acknowledged the momentous shift in the role for U.S. troops in Iraq, from fighting terrorists to trying to suppress religious violence.

This sea change was described in such understated terms that it was eclipsed by news about the crisis in Lebanon. Bush described a change in tactics; Hadley called it a repositioning.

But it's a historic admission: That job one for many American troops in Iraq is no longer fighting al-Qaeda terrorists, or even insurgents. Rather, it is trying to quell an incipient -- if not already raging -- sectarian civil war, with Baghdad as ground zero.

Arguably, that's been the case for quite a while. But having the White House own up to it is a very big deal.

As things stand now, an overwhelming majority of the American public no longer supports Bush's handling of the war, which they think was a mistake in the first place. A majority wants American troops to start coming home soon. What unqualified support there is for the war seems to come from people who believe it is central front in the war on terror.

But how will people feel about our troops being sent into the crossfire between rival Muslim sects? That is not the war anyone signed up to fight.

It will be interesting to see whether the Corporate Media pick up on the Bush Regime's change of perception with regard to Iraq. But fortunately for Bush, the media is now focusing on the Israel/Lebanon conflict and is thus doing very little reporting on the Iraq Debacle.

No wonder Bush is opposing a cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah. Sure, he and Condi Rice are getting a lot of criticism for how they are handling that particular crisis, but it is keeping the minds of the American people off of the miserable situation in Iraq.

This Is Laughable (with update)

Too funny:

Fox News Channel chairman and CEO Roger Ailes responded to Keith Olbermann's latest critical volley against Bill O'Reilly on Monday, saying the MSNBC host's behavior "is over the line."

Ailes, appearing Monday at the summer meeting of the Television Critics Association, was referring to a weekend incident at the gathering in which Olbermann whipped out a mask of O'Reilly and gave a Nazi salute.

Ailes said Olbermann picks on Fox's O'Reilly to boost his ratings.

"Clearly he has no viewers except those he gets when he attacks Fox News," Ailes said.

Of Saturday's incident, Ailes said, "I really think that's over the line."

OK, so Olbermann didn't go far enough for my tastes, but it is a good start.

UPDATE: Here's Olbermann's response:

Where was Roger Ailes when Bill O'Reilly defended the Nazi SS stormtroopers from Malmedy in World War II? The SS shot 84 American POW's there in 1944, and three different times in the last year, Bill called has called those dead American heroes war criminals. I guess there is no line at Fox News.

Digby Nails It

Here is a great post by Digby. It's all about aggressively going after the assholes on the Extreme Right, and uses the Dixie Chicks song "I'm Not Ready To Make Nice" as its centerpiece:

Did they think we were going to take their shit forever?

Don't lose your nerve Democrats. I know you hate to be "unseemly" and loathe the idea that anyone will think you are "unreasonable." I understand that having Rush say you are in thrall to the lunatic left fringe brings on a 60's flashback that leaves you dripping in a cold sweat. But get a grip on your subconscious fear of being a feeling and breathing human being and recognize that this is a good and necessary thing for your country. (You might even come to "kinda like it" like those Dixie Chicks have.) You don't have to be neutered farm animals anymore. If you're ready to take it to them we're here to get your backs.

In case anyone has forgotten just what it was that Natalie Maines said that caused people to send her death threats it was: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas." They are now virtually banned from country radio. Their CD was #1 on the Billboard charts for three weeks and is still selling briskly anyway.

I particularly like this part of the Dixie Chicks' song to which Digby referred:

I made my bed and I sleep like a baby,
With no regrets and I don't mind saying,
It's a sad sad story
That a mother will teach her daughter
that she ought to hate a perfect stranger.

And how in the world
Can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they'd write me a letter
Saying that I better
Shut up and sing
Or my life will be over

Forgive, sounds good.
Forget, I'm not sure I could.
They say time heals everything,
But I'm still waiting

Great Concert At The Schnitz

Linda and I attended a Pearl Jam concert on Thursday night at the Schnitzer Concert Hall in Portland. The show was a benefit for the Northwest Chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready has suffered from Crohn's disease for 20 years and has served as spokesperson for the Northwest chapter).

Comedian David Cross (he was on Arrested Development and makes occasional appearances on Celebrity Poker Showdown as well as on The Colbert Report as liberal talk show host Russ Lieber) and Washington rock band Sleater Kinney were the opening acts; but before those folks came on, McCready came out onto the stage, thanked everyone for coming, then introduced Eddie Vedder, who opened things up with a great acoustic version of The Beatles' "You've Got To Hide Your Love Away," which a lot of people missed because it was so early in the show.

Pearl Jam's section of the show was a lot of fun. It was the first time we had ever seen them in a smaller venue. Their new stuff -- "World Wide Suicide," "Severed Hand," "Inside Job," "Life Wasted," etc. -- sounded great live, as did their old stuff. I particularly enjoyed their performances of "Corduroy," "Why Go," and "This Is Not For You" (the last one being a great audience-participation song).

It was guitarist Stone Gossard's birthday, and Boom Gasper, the band's touring keyboardist, brought out a cake for him during the first encore and everyone sang "Happy Birthday." Gossard then took the cake and slammed it into the top of his head, which was followed by the band performing "Don't Gimme No Lip" with Gossard singing lead. That song was followed by a cover of Neil Young's "Harvest Moon," with Sleater Kinney coming back onstage to sing the background vocals.

For the second encore, Johnny Marr (formerly of The Smiths) came out and played lead guitar on "All Along The Watchtower," which was great. Everyone then came back out on stage -- including David Cross with a tambourine -- and they performed another Neil Young song, this time a kick-ass version of Neil's "Rocking in the Free World."

We thought the show was over, so we walked out of the hall and into the lobby. But just as we were about to walk out onto the street, we could hear them starting up on another song. We went back in and watched them close the show with "Yellow Ledbetter" -- with Drummer Matt Cameron playing Gossard's guitar and Gossard playing Cameron's drums -- and McCready finished off that song with an electric version of "The Star Spangled Banner."

Anyway, it was a very fun concert.

So Much For The Radical Right Learning From Its Mistakes

One would think that after the Terri Schiavo Debacle, the American Taliban would try to stay away from "moral" issues that have the potential to demonstrate just how extreme the members of the Religious Right are. But I guess I'm just expecting too much from these idiots (from Reuters):

Debi Martin is a Christian, a Republican and opposes abortion but she is ready to vote against the party in November if President George W. Bush and congressional Republicans limit stem cell research.

"This is a vote breaker for me," said the Cincinnati mother. "I tell people I'm becoming a Republi-crat at this point -- because there are just things wrong in the Republican Party where people's voices are not being heard anymore."

The passage on Tuesday of a Senate bill to fund embryonic stem cell research -- and a presidential veto expected on Wednesday killing the legislation -- hits very close to home for Martin. Her 9-year-old daughter, Jessi, has diabetes and they both hope stem cell research can some day find a cure.

Martin also feels strongly about the use of embryonic stem cells for research because Jessi was conceived by in vitro fertilization -- and Martin and her husband decided years ago to discard nine unused embryos because she could not have another child.

"I would give anything if I could have had those nine cells to give to have a cure for my baby now," she said. "And I think the worst sin of all, and I am a very religious person, I am pro-life, is to look a miracle from God in the face and throw it away."

I just don't get this. The position that Bush and other religious nutjobs are taking on this issue is evil -- just like their position on Terri Schiavo was evil -- but they are so whacked out by their religious extremism that they can't see it. Amazing.

What Goes Around . . .

From TPM Muckraker:

It looks like the Justice Department finally may have become as fascinated by Rep. Katherine Harris' (R-FL) deeds as we have been, lo these many months. Justice Department lawyers and FBI agents have recently interviewed Ed Rollins, Harris' former Senate campaign manager, about her dealings with admitted briber Mitchell Wade and his company, MZM, the Orlando Sentinel confirms today.

It has been hard to imagine that the feds weren't interested in Harris, given what was already in the public record about her activities (in no small part thanks to Rollins): how she took thousands of dollars in bundled donations from Wade, ate thousand-dollar meals with the guy, and tried to insert earmarks to benefit his company.

The news of Rollins' tete-a-tete with the feds is the strongest indication to date that Harris is likely facing a very unpleasant federal probe. Thank goodness she's already picked out her super-expensive D.C. insider lawyer.

Not Sure What To Think About This One

From TPMmuckraker:

It's amazing to go to bed with a wish in your heart, and wake up the next morning to find it answered.

Last night, Paul mentioned a breaking scandal in the Connecticut Senate race: the GOP candidate, Alan Schlesinger, has publicly admitted to gambling -- repeatedly -- under an assumed name, and getting thrown out of casinos for card-counting.

Not only that, but by his own telling, Schlesinger's a lousy gambler. That's right: the guy lies about his name, counts cards -- and still loses.

What a wonderful piece of muck, I thought. Too bad the guy's likely to pull out of the race. Still, a boy can dream. And with that, I put on my sleeping-cap, tucked in the dog, and drifted off.

What did I find when I awoke this morning? Schlesinger's gonna fight! Despite pleas from the state's Republican governor, M. Jodi Rell, and the state's GOP chairman, George Gallo, Schlesinger has opted to damn the torpedos, and go full speed ahead.

"Under no circumstances will he withdraw," the Hartford Courant says Schlesinger has vowed.

OK, now I don't like most Republicans and usually love it when the GOP gets hurt in some way, but this seems like much ado about nothing. Sure, this guy counts cards, but card-counting is not illegal. Casinos can throw a suspected card-counter out because casinos are private clubs and have a right to throw out whomever they want.

I've always thought it odd that the best blackjack players, to-wit: the folks who know how to count cards, are banned from the game because they are too good at it. I can't think of any other game where the best players are routinely banned, but there it is. So I'm not troubled by the fact that this guy plays under an assumed name. Hell, really good blackjack players often disguise themselves so they can get into casinos that have banned them.

Of course, it is hysterical that Schlesinger got banned even though he appears to be a bad card-counter. The casinos should be welcoming him with open arms.

And speaking of gambling, this is pretty funny.

Your Tax Dollars [Not] At Work

The National Journal published the list of salaries for White House staffers. The following four jobs have to be the easiest in the Bush White House (via Think Progress):

Deborah Nirmala Misir -- Ethics Advisor -- $114,688

Erica M. Dornburg -- Ethics Advisor -- $100,547

Stuart Baker -- Director for Lessons Learned -- $106,641

Melissa M. Carson -- Director of Fact Checking -- $46,500

Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) had this to say about these specific positions:

I would also ask the President why we're paying for two "Ethics Advisors" and a "Director of Fact Checking." They must be the only people in Washington who get more vacation time than the President. Maybe the White House could consolidate these positions into a Director of Irony.

And yes, Director of Lessons Learned is indeed an actual position in the White House.

Rest In Peace, Syd

From MSNBC:

Syd Barrett, the troubled Pink Floyd co-founder who spent his last years in reclusive anonymity, has died, the band said Tuesday. He was 60.

A spokeswoman for the band said Barrett died several days ago, but she did not disclose the cause of death. Barrett had suffered from diabetes for years.

The surviving members of Pink Floyd — David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Roger Waters and Richard Wright — said they were “very upset and sad to learn of Syd Barrett’s death.”

“Syd was the guiding light of the early band lineup and leaves a legacy which continues to inspire,” they said in a statement.

Some Truth About Iraq

Foreign Policy recently interviewed Rod Nordland, who was Newsweek’s Baghdad bureau chief for two years. I found this part of the interview particularly interesting:

FOREIGN POLICY: Are Americans getting an accurate picture of what’s going on in Iraq?

Rod Nordland: It’s a lot worse over here [in Iraq] than is reported. The administration does a great job of managing the news. Just an example: There was a press conference here about [Abu Musab al] Zarqawi’s death, and somebody asked what role [U.S.] Special Forces played in finding Zarqawi. [The official] either denied any role or didn’t answer the question. Somebody pointed out that the president, half an hour earlier, had already acknowledged and thanked the Special Forces for their involvement. They are just not giving very much information here.

FP: The Bush administration often complains that the reporting out of Iraq is too negative, yet you say they are managing the news. What’s the real story?

RN: You can only manage the news to a certain degree. It is certainly hard to hide the fact that in the third year of this war, Iraqis are only getting electricity for about 5 to 10 percent of the day. Living conditions have gotten so much worse, violence is at an even higher tempo, and the country is on the verge of civil war. The administration has been successful to the extent that most Americans are not aware of just how dire it is and how little progress has been made. They keep talking about how the Iraqi army is doing much better and taking over responsibilities, but for the most part that’s not true.

The irony of all this is that we are always hearing complaints from Bush apologists about how the press is under-reporting all the good things happening over there.

This Is Hilarious

From the AP (via AmericaBlog):

Forget the hot, dusty weeks relaxing at his Texas ranch. President Bush, still down in the polls and grappling with grave matters on the world stage, is breaking his summer routine this election year to travel the country and boost the standing of his presidency and the Republican Party.

With Republicans nervous about keeping control of Congress and worries about the future of Iraq, Iran and North Korea, White House officials have decided too much is at stake this year for Bush to spend so much time on vacation. He'll spend some time at the ranch, but it will be less than previous summers and interrupted by more time on the road.

What I find so funny about this is that for the last five years or so, this country has been "at war" (or, as members of the GOP like to say, "AT WAR!! WAR!!!!!!!"), yet Bush has set records as far as spending time on vacation is concerned (he was actually on vacation when he was informed, a few weeks prior to the 9-11 attacks, that bin Laden was "determined to strike the U.S."). But his people are just now figuring out that maybe he vacations too much. I love it.

As Danimal pointed out recently, Americans have not been asked to sacrifice much of anything in the name of the never-ending war in which we now find ourselves (except, of course, for the soldiers and their families -- they've made plenty of sacrifices). Well, at least now it looks like Bush will sacrifice some of his vacation time. I guess that's something.

What I find interesting is that "White House officials have decided" that Bush vacations too much. What does Bush think about all this? Does our president also think he spends too much time on vacation, and if he doesn't, I wonder who it was at the White House who ordered him to cut back?

Here's Some Wonderful News

From the NYTimes:

A decade after the Pentagon declared a zero-tolerance policy for racist hate groups, recruiting shortfalls caused by the war in Iraq have allowed "large numbers of neo-Nazis and skinhead extremists" to infiltrate the military, according to a watchdog organization.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks racist and right-wing militia groups, estimated that the numbers could run into the thousands, citing interviews with Defense Department investigators and reports and postings on racist Web sites and magazines.

"We've got Aryan Nations graffiti in Baghdad," the group quoted a Defense Department investigator as saying in a report to be posted today on its Web site, www.splcenter.org. "That's a problem."

BushCo Is Spreading Something, But It Ain't Democracy

The Chicago Tribune had this to say recently about the Central Asian republic of Kazakhstan:

In reality,most analysts agree Kazakhstan remains an authoritarian regime where opposition parties are banned without cause, independent media outlets are routinely shut down and corruption is rife throughout the government. In recent months, merely belonging to the opposition movement has become dangerous. Two prominent critics of the Kazakh government have been found shot to death since last fall. The death of one of those men, Zamanbek Nurkadilov, was ruled a suicide even though he had been shot three times, twice in the chest and once in the head.

Given that BushCo's latest justifications for the Iraq Invasion are (1) the liberation of a brutalized population from an evil dictator and (2) the spreading of democracy, one would think that we have our Kazakhstan invasion plans all drawn up and, to paraphrase Ronald Reagan, we will begin bombing that country in five minutes.

Well, that isn't exactly the U.S. strategy. From Ted Rall:

Dick Cheney has been spending a lot of time in the huge Central Asian republic, so much so that its windswept steppes have become his new Secret Undisclosed Location. Mostly the Acting President hangs out in Kazakhstan's landlocked hinterlands wooing a reviled dictator, the only ruler the nation has known since being evicted by the USSR in 1991. Thanks in part to more than $50 million a year in U.S. taxpayer money and ever-soaring bundles of military aid, Cheney hopes to secure "total energy dominance" via lucrative oil pipeline deals on behalf of GOP-connected energy companies.

Cheney is also sending a terrible message to the world's most repressive regimes: the United States still cares more about oil than democracy.

The Bush Administration has unleashed a full-court press of shuttle diplomacy in an effort to keep Nursultan Nazarbayev out of the orbit of Russia and China, America's rivals in the region. On May 5 Cheney appeared in the capital city of Astana with Nazarbayev at his side, hailing Kazakhstan's supposed political and economic liberalization. Declaring the police state America's "strategic partner," the veep invited Nazarbeyev to the White House this September for an official state visit with Bush--an honor recently denied to the president of China on human rights grounds. "I think the [Kazakh] record speaks for itself," Cheney said.

My advice to the Bush Regime -- if you guys want to woo a repressive dictator in the name of oil, I guess that is your prerogative. But for God's Sake, stop claiming that you invaded Iraq to liberate a brutalized nation and to spread democracy, because it is obvious that you don't give two shits about those particular goals.

Thanks for the link, Fredrick.

An Interesting Poll Result

From The Daily Telegraph (via IOL):

People in Britain view the United States as a vulgar, crime-ridden society obsessed with money and led by an incompetent president whose Iraq policy is failing, according to a newspaper poll published on Monday.

The United States is no longer a symbol of hope to Britain and the British no longer have confidence in their transatlantic cousins to lead global affairs, according to the poll in The Daily Telegraph.

The YouGov poll found that 77 percent of respondents disagreed with the statement that the US is "a beacon of hope for the world".

As Americans prepared to celebrate the 230th anniversary of their independence on Tuesday, the poll found that only 12 percent of Britons trust them to act wisely on the global stage. This is half the number who had faith in the Vietnam-scarred White House of 1975.

A massive 83 percent of those questioned said that the United States doesn't care what the rest of the world thinks.

With much of the worst criticism aimed at the US administration, the poll showed that 70 percent of Britons like Americans a lot or a little.

US President George Bush fared significantly worse, with just one percent rating him a "great leader" against 77 percent who deemed him a "pretty poor" or "terrible" leader.

More than two-thirds who offered an opinion said America is essentially an imperial power seeking world domination. And 81 percent of those who took a view said President Bush hypocritically championed democracy as a cover for the pursuit of American self-interests.

The American Embassy responded to the poll this way: "We question the judgment of anyone who asserts the world would be a better place with Saddam still terrorising his own nation and threatening people well beyond Iraq's borders."

Well, at least our foreign service folks are well-versed in Karl Rove talking points.

Return To Three Creeks

The moral of this story is -- never trust what the Forest Service or the newspaper has to say.

The Central Oregon Cascades received a lot of snow this last winter, which is a good thing. But one drawback of a good snow year is that some of the higher elevation lakes can remain inaccessible into the summer months. Three Creeks Lake is an example of such a body of water.

Dan and I had great success there on the last weekend of the 2005 fishing season, and we were anxious to get back up to this 6500-foot-elevation lake as soon as road was clear, particularly given our lack of trout success so far this season at Ochoco Reservoir, Lava Lake, and Crane Prairie (although Dan did land a fat 18-inch rainbow at Crane Prairie last weekend that probably weighed three pounds).

A call earlier in the week to the Ranger Station revealed that Three Creeks Lake would be accessible by the weekend, and Thursday's fishing report in the local newspaper confirmed that the lake was indeed accessible. Both of those sources were sort of right. But there was one problem -- when we reached the lake, the boat ramp was not accessible. There was a huge snow drift blocking the road about 150 feet before the boat launch. There was no way to get the boat onto the water. I wish the Ranger Station or the newspaper would have made some mention of this rather important detail.

What that meant was that we had to fish from the bank, which was hugely disappointing given that we pulled a boat all the way up there over one of the worst roads I've ever been on. But we walked around to the far side of the lake and started fishing off the shore with powerbait and a worm/marshmallow combo. Dan immediately caught a nice brook trout with a worm/marshmallow, and then missed a fish. I switched over to the W/M combo, and started immediately catching fish.

It was one of the best days I've ever had trout fishing from shore. We limited out before the morning was over -- mostly on brook trout but with a few rainbows thrown in -- and at least six of the fish were 14 inches in length. All of the trout we caught were in excellent shape. The last fish I landed -- a big brookie -- nearly pulled my fishing pole into the lake (I was about forty feet from my rod when that particular fish hit -- don't try that at home).

The really cool part is that we were the only people we could see on the lake who were really ripping into the trout -- we probably only saw three or four other fish caught, and there were quite a few people fishing.

I enjoy days like that, particularly when you can drive down the mountain and have three trout sizzling on the BBQ within 90 minutes of leaving the lake. And yes -- they were delicious.

Quote Of The Week

The Daily Show's Jon Stewart summed up the last couple of weeks in Congress this way:

Yes, they added the flag-burning debate to the issues of gay marriage and violent video games. I tell you -- it's been a very difficult couple of weeks for Gary and James, the Massachusetts couple who created the X-Box game, "Flag-Burning City: Troops Out Now."

The Price Of Incompetence

From TIME Magazine:

A spate of good news at home and abroad has so far failed to boost how Americans feel about President Bush's job performance. Bush's approval rating slipped to 35% in a TIME poll taken this week, down from 37% in March (and 53% in early 2005). Only 33% of Americans in the survey said they approved of Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq, vs. 35% in March, and 47% in March 2005. His management of the U.S. economy lost supporters, too, as 36% approved, compared with 39% three months earlier. Bush's handling of the war on terror saw a slight gain in support, from 44% to 45%.

Bush's poll numbers remain stuck in a rut despite several high-profile victories scored recently by the Bush Administration. Earlier this month, U.S. forces killed al-Qaeda leader Abu Mousab al-Zarqawi in an air raid in Iraq. Also this month, Karl Rove escaped indictment in the CIA leak investigation. And the Commerce Department reported today that the U.S. economy grew 5.6% in the first quarter of 2006, the fastest growth in more than two years.

These numbers must be particularly troubling to GOP strategists, who have apparently decided to push Bush's Iraq Catastrophe as a major campaign issue in the run-up to the Mid-Term elections (by the way, 66 people were killed and 87 were wounded in Iraq today in a single car bombing).

The Democrats should of course be delighted that the GOP is doing this, but something tells me they're going to screw it all up and let the Republicans get the upper hand on this particular issue. Karl Rove, although one evil sonofabitch, is a master at turning a political liability into a strength, particularly when his back is against the wall.

Rove's "Swift Boat" operation, for example, successfully negated John Kerry's honorable military career as a plus for the Democrats in 2004, something that Rove had to do given that George W. Bush actually deserted his post during the Viet Nam War.