Up Waaay Too Early...

So…did he stay? Or did he go? First there was this:

Feb. 13, 2007 — While members of the U.S. House of Representatives take turns weighing in on President Bush's planned troop surge in Iraq, the focus in Iraq is not on the arrival of more U.S. troops, but the departure of one of the country's most powerful men, Moqtada al Sadr and members of his army.

According to senior military officials, al Sadr left Baghdad two to three weeks ago and fled to Tehran, Iran, where he has family.

And then there was this:

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Supporters of Muqtada al-Sadr said Wednesday that the radical Shiite cleric was still in Iraq, denying a report that he fled to Iran ahead of a security crackdown targeting his militia.

An Iraqi government official said al-Sadr was in the Shiite holy city of Najaf Tuesday night, when he received delegates from several government departments. The official, who is familiar with one of those meetings, spoke on condition of anonymity because he has no authority to disclose information on his department's activities.

Given all the brouhaha about Iran’s involvement in, and support of, the Iraqi “insurgency,” it would be interesting indeed if al-Sadr has fled to Tehran. But then again… birds of a feather, and all that. I’m sure al-Sadr and Ayatollah Khamenei have a lot more in common than, say al-Sadr and Bashar Assad. Like a taste for expensive Austrian firearms? (On sale!! Only $3,999.99! Each.)

The other shoe dropped. Both Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan have resigned from the Edwards campaign. Both claimed their resignations were personal decisions and Edwards wasn’t involved. Yeah, right. Sure. Ummm-hmm.

One thing about l’affaire Marcotte/McEwan bothers me, though. Ms. Marcotte has put up several samples of the hate mail she’s received, and the content and tone is troubling, indeed. This is America, where everyone, regardless of how repugnant their views may be, are free to express those views. Slimeballs who feel a need to insult and threaten people, in the vilest manner, for speaking their mind(s) just don’t get it. I’m embarrassed for these people, and most of all, ashamed that they are on my “side.” That sort of behavior simply hands the Left ammunition to use against the Right (which Marcotte also has used, in spades). Not to mention the fact that it’s frickin’ illegal, too…the threats, that is.

Just sayin’.

Apropos of nothing, but Iowahawk just happened to find Ms. Marcotte’s brand new, updated résumé. And it’s a hoot. L’affaire Marcotte has been a frickin’ goldmine for Mr. Burge.

This is rich… (from Drudge, in its entirety):

HOUSE HEARING ON 'WARMING OF THE PLANET' CANCELED AFTER ICE STORM
HEARING NOTICE
Tue Feb 13 2007 19:31:25 ET

The Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality hearing scheduled for Wednesday, February 14, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building has been postponed due to inclement weather. The hearing is entitled “Climate Change: Are Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Human Activities Contributing to a Warming of the Planet?”

The hearing will be rescheduled to a date and time to be announced later.

DC WEATHER REPORT:

Wednesday: Freezing rain in the morning. Total ice accumulation between one half to three quarters of an inch. Brisk with highs in the mid 30s. North winds 10 to 15 mph...increasing to northwest 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation near 100 percent.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy. Lows around 18. Northwest winds around 20 mph.

Well, the House may have cancelled its hearing, but the Senate did not. I watched the Barbara Boxer-led circus of a hearing on C-SPAN last evening and it was a real hoot. But only for a moment, until I realized Ms. Boxer has legislation in the hopper (I searched for info on her pending bill but couldn’t find anything; perhaps her allusion to pending legislation was more of a threat than a reality.). Good Senator Boxer barely tolerated Senator Inhofe and his pointed questions to the “expert panel” Ms. Boxer had invited to testify. Here are a couple of excerpts from Senator Inhofe’s opening statement:

Some companies are coming together in an attempt to profit from government intervention where they have failed in the marketplace. Economists call this rent-seeking. But I think the Wall Street Journal was right. They are climate profiteers. These companies will gain market-share against their competitors while the economy flattens and jobs are sent to China – which in an ironic twist of fate will soon become the biggest emitter of carbon dioxide on the planet. Madame Chairman, not all companies have joined the climate profiteers. Most will be its victims, particularly small businesses that will no longer be able to compete. But the biggest losers won’t be businesses, but American consumers.

This proposal and others like it may be written in the form of government regulatory mandates, but for all practical purposes, it is really a regressive tax on the American economy, where select powerful companies profit at the expense of seniors, the working class and the poor. These groups already pay disproportionately more of their monthly budget for energy, and this situation will only worsen under proposals like we see today. Let me be clear -- this is the biggest tax hike in U.S. history.

[…]

And then there are the political leaders. Prime Minister Stephen Harper reportedly once called the Kyoto accord a "socialist scheme" designed to suck money out of rich countries. And just last week, Czech President Vaclav Klaus made clear his disdain for politics parading for science when he said "Global warming is a false myth and every serious person and scientist says so. It is not fair to refer to the U.N. panel. IPCC is not a scientific institution: it's a political body, a sort of non-government organization of green flavor.

You don’t have to agree with my position on the science to question the wisdom of the cap and trade approach. These proposals will do little and cost much. Moreover, as White House spokesman Tony Snow stated last week, "there is a carbon cap system in place in Europe, we are doing a better job of reducing emissions here," Snow said.

All the links are good, but you might recognize the WSJ op-ed, if you chase that particular link. I posted a link to the op-ed and excerpts from same on January 29^th. Boxer wasn’t impressed with Senator Inhofe’s comments, invoking the “The science is settled. There’s no more debate” argument. But I sure am glad there’s a voice of reason left in the Senate.

I can relate: “I've been chewing Nicorette strenuously." That would be Barack, quoted in an article about his attempt to quit smoking (as I noted back on February 1^st). From that same article (which is pretty good, BTW):

"For someone who's known to be a smoker and for a senator who's photographed all the time, it's odd that there aren't actually pictures of him smoking," said Wonkette editor Alex Pareene.

Not really, though — Wonkette has also tried in vain to obtain smoking photographs of House Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, an unrepentant chain smoker whose Barclays aromatically fill the area outside his Capitol Hill office as if it were an enormous marble ashtray.

Other rumored present or past smokers in political life — first lady Laura Bush, former Vice President Al Gore — have assiduously kept any signs of the habit away from any prying shutterbugs.

Algore smoking strikes me as just plain weird, but Laura? Laura smoked? No sh!t? Major digression here, but I find that lil rumor to be extremely interesting. The digression is the image that comes to mind…which reinforces one of my minor secrets, that being that I think the First Lady is hot. A friend of mine (female) was once taken aback when I mentioned that fact. “Laura??? HOT???” she said, incredulously. Well, yeah. I’m not the only one…Dubya thinks so, too.

But…back to Barack. I most definitely relate to the Nicorette thing. Three weeks today and I’m still on the wagon. I wonder who’s gonna fall off first? Barack, or me? Glad I’m not running for President.

Today’s Pic: Freezin’ my @$$ off in Yellowstone. I’m posting this pic because my hair is just about this long at the moment. I have absolutely NO idea why I’ve let it get this long again. The last time I was in the barber chair was May of last year. And I’ve put the beard back on, too. Goin’ for that contemporary Old Hippie look, I guess.

May, 2000.