the feel-good story of the year.

wanna bet that the Hamanns aren't republican?

DesMoinesRegister.com: "It's the talk of the town: Richard and Donna Hamann will pay the December electric bill for every person, school and business within the city limits of Anthon.

The city clerk is busily calculating the final amount, but it's likely to be just under $30,000.

'My little philosophy is everything I have is a gift from God and what I do with it is my gift to God,' said Richard Hamann, a retired cattle farmer born and raised in the northwest Iowa community.
Hamann, 75, wanted to build a $1 million wind turbine on his land and donate it to Anthon. The turbine would have covered a third of the town's electrical needs, but the city's contract with its power provider, Northwest Iowa Power Cooperative, wouldn't allow it without a hefty penalty.

So Hamann figured the least he could do was pick up a month's tab for the town of 650."

DesMoinesRegister.com: "Democrats have the moral answers, Republicans only offer moral rhetoric.
-Bill Gluba,
Davenport."

we have not only leaders who are incompetent, but also journalists who are key to making sure we do.

Slate's Today's Papers: On Monday, USAT's lead say Army National Guardsman in Iraq were a third more likely to be killed than their active-duty brethren. Yesterday, USAT said—again on Page One—that the military gave the paper the wrong numbers, and couldn't provide new ones. This morning's USAT does have the revised numbers, which show that Army National Guardsmen are less likely to be killed than active duty GIs. That walk-back is stuffed on page two.

the perfect thing to see in the morning over coffee.

DesMoinesRegister.com: "To future generations: When you wonder how your elders could have allowed the federal deficit to skyrocket in just three years, question the integrity of the U.S. intervention in Iraq, don't understand why individual freedoms slowly eroded and can't afford to travel to Europe because of a weak dollar, remember one phrase: good moral values.
-Jane E. Brown,
Granger."

nauseating to say the least.

Medal of Freedom: "President Bush is awarding the nation's highest civilian honor today to three men who were central to his Iraq policy. At a White House ceremony, Bush will present the Medal of Freedom to former CIA chief George Tenet, former Iraq administrator Paul Bremer and retired General Tommy Franks. Tenet left the CIA in July after seven years as director. He's been criticized for intelligence lapses leading to Nine-Eleven, but provided the president with evidence to back his case for ousting Saddam Hussein. Bremer oversaw creation of the interim Iraqi government -- and disbanding of the Iraqi army. Just yesterday Iraqi President Ghazi al-Yawer called the army move a mistake. Franks was the four-star Army general who commanded the US invasion force. After retiring, he endorsed Bush for re-election and campaigned on the president's behalf. "

Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: December 12, 2004 - December 18, 2004 Archives:

They seem to be stipulating to their knowing about and being untroubled by a) Kerik's long-standing ties to an allegedly mobbed-up Jersey construction company (see yesterday's piece in the Daily News and tomorrow's in the Times), sub-a) that Kerik received numerous unreported cash gifts from Lawrence Ray, an executive at said Jersey construction company (Ray was later indicted along with Edward Garafola, Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's brother-in-law, and Daniel Persico, nephew of Colombo Family Godfather Carmine "The Snake" Persico and others on unrelated federal charges tied to what the Daily News called a "$40 million, mob-run, pump-and-dump stock swindle." b) that Riker's Island prison became a hotbed of political corruption and cronyism on his watch, c) that he is accused by nine employees of the hospital he worked at providing security in Saudi Arabia of using his policing powers to pursue the personal agenda of his immediate boss, d) that a warrant for his arrest (albeit in a civil case) was issued in New Jersey as recently as six years ago, e) that as recently as last week he was forced to testify in a civil suit in a case covering the period in which he was New York City correction commissioner, in which the plaintiff, "former deputy warden Eric DeRavin III contends Kerik kept him from getting promoted because he had reprimanded the woman [Kerik was allegedly having an affair with], Correction Officer Jeanette Pinero," or f) his rapid and unexplained departure from Baghdad.

as i am unwilling to land on the journal's site, i'll just take TP's word for it (they're rarely ever wrong). because everything about this administration is straight up bushit.

Diss-information By Eric?UmanskyThe Journal notices inside that six months after the White House disavowed a Justice Department memo that essentially justified torture, the administration has not gotten around to giving intel agencies and the military a new set of legal guidelines for interrogations. Apparently, some in the administration don't think it's worth the potential trouble. "The question is," said one official, "Why do people have to write opinions about how far you can go?"

the people are beginning to see why us 'leftists' were screaming.

DesMoinesRegister.com: "Regarding the Dec. 9 article, 'Rumsfeld Encounters Some 'Friendly Fire' ': As a father of an Army soldier who put his life on the line for W's father in the Persian Gulf War and is still on active duty, it appalls me to hear this representative of our government tell our troops to more or less suck it up and go out and get killed because this administration has squandered the money that was supposed to be used to protect you.
The show of such low regard for their lives sure doesn't sound like they are supporting our troops. I hope Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld doesn't have one of those 'Support Your Troops' stickers on his armored vehicle.

-Staff Sgt. Billy Dunbar,
Patterson.
***
When Donald Rumsfeld says, 'You go to war with the Army you have, not the Army you might want or wish to have at a later time,' he seems to have forgotten that the United States was not forced into action. We selected the time. We selected the place. We selected the equipment. Mistakes were made, and key figures in this administration continue to ignore or deny that fact. Rumsfeld often responds to questions from reporters with patronizing half-truths. That is annoying. When he does the same to questions addressed to him from soldiers in the field it is inexcusable.

-David Ketcher,
Des Moines.
***
The image of U.S. soldiers scavenging in trash dumps for makeshift armor is appalling. Donald Rumsfeld and other members of the administration chose to go to war pre-emptively with the Army they had. The United States had not been attacked. The administration could have chosen to wait until it did have the Army it wanted.

-Ruth Anne Petrak,
Des Moines.
***
If you think back, 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show' ended with a cute "

wanna bet that the insurgency would disappear if only bush would announce an immediate withdrawal?

they're alllllll liars, cheats & thieves.

White House Puts Blame on Kerik (washingtonpost.com): "Giuliani, who recommended Kerik for the post, also called the White House yesterday and apologized. "

and then from the nytimes:

"I never had a conversation in which I vouched for him or was asked about this issue or any other issue," Mr. Giuliani said.

and there's more juice at the daily news where they delve into just how much of a crook this guy really is.