Calling In Well

When all else fails, Scott and James (usually) deliver. James isn’t all that great today, what with a rant about a malfunctioning new fridge that, save the colorful language, is just average for Mr. Lileks (I should be so “average”). On the other hand, Mr. Ott is pretty good today:

Army Desertions Rise to Near All-Time Average
by Scott Ott

(2007-03-23) — The Pentagon today admitted that, due to the Bush administration’s hugely unpopular war in Iraq, desertions from the Army have increased in each of the last two years, reaching almost 75 percent of pre-war levels.

According to a story in The New York Times, citing a National Public Radio report, the Pentagon has miscalculated desertion figures in recent years, in part because the Defense Department inexplicably misplaced personnel records during what officials called an “isolated incident at the office” on September 11, 2001.

His best line, however, is at the very end. “Fair use” prevents me from posting the whole thing, but I’m sure you’ll go read. Right?

And then there’s this…an op-ed from the WaPo:

TODAY THE House of Representatives is due to vote on a bill that would grant $25 million to spinach farmers in California. The legislation would also appropriate $75 million for peanut storage in Georgia and $15 million to protect Louisiana rice fields from saltwater. More substantially, there is $120 million for shrimp and menhaden fishermen, $250 million for milk subsidies, $500 million for wildfire suppression and $1.3 billion to build levees in New Orleans.

Altogether the House Democratic leadership has come up with more than $20 billion in new spending, much of it wasteful subsidies to agriculture or pork barrel projects aimed at individual members of Congress. At the tail of all of this logrolling and political bribery lies this stinger: Representatives who support the bill -- for whatever reason -- will be voting to require that all U.S. combat troops leave Iraq by August 2008, regardless of what happens during the next 17 months or whether U.S. commanders believe a pullout at that moment protects or endangers U.S. national security, not to mention the thousands of American trainers and Special Forces troops who would remain behind.

The Democrats claim to have a mandate from voters to reverse the Bush administration's policy in Iraq. Yet the leadership is ready to piece together the votes necessary to force a fateful turn in the war by using tactics usually dedicated to highway bills or the Army Corps of Engineers budget. The legislation pays more heed to a handful of peanut farmers than to the 24 million Iraqis who are living through a maelstrom initiated by the United States, the outcome of which could shape the future of the Middle East for decades.

I know: politics as usual. Happens all the time, right? Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. It’s the way things get done in the real world. Still and even…I’ve not seen an example of political behavior lately that’s more reprehensible or more disgusting. It will be most interesting to see which representatives take the bait and sell the country out to get peanut storage, among other things. Damn.

But…kudos to the WaPo for taking a principled position on this issue. I hope they manage to shame those reps that just might be willing to eat the bacon. Fat chance.

Today’s Pic: An example of an art time has passed by: the hand-colored portrait. This particular example is a photo of my sister and me, circa 1957 in Ankara, Turkey. I was 12, my sister was six. Interestingly, the artist didn’t know the shirt I was wearing was tan, not green as colored. My Mom was furious with the results, my Dad much less so. It’s strange how one can remember the angst associated with an event, but not the event itself. I have absolutely NO recollection of sitting for this picture, but I well remember my Mom’s outrage over the color of my shirt. I don’t think she ever got over it!

Short post today. I thought about calling in well* but decided against it. But on the whole? I need a mental health day.

* “calling in well” is when you just feel too good to go to work. Some people can pull this off, some can’t.