Outstanding Values

allnormalpeoplethinkthatthingsarebetter
There is a big PR push now to sell the war in Babylon to an increasingly skeptical public. This is especially true on talk radio.
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yea yea yea. That is not going to go away. Today is August 16.
On this day in 1958, Madonna made her first nude appearance.
On this day in 1977, Elvis made his last trip to the bathroom.He forgot to flush.

Back to Babylon. Tony Snow and Bill Kristol (the brains behind Dan Quayle) both were on the Laura Ingraham show recently. They said the surge was working, Anbar province is ready for its own Disney theme park, and those nasty liberal democrats just don't get it.
Now, it is possible that things are better now. This might be because things were so bad last year that there was no place to go but up.
And, it is also possible that all three players in this drama are liars.
Meanwhile, in the enclave of a marginalized Kurd village, bombs have killed an estimated 400 people. This is one of the worst terror attacks since the invasion of Iraq.
Iraqimojo also had this gem:
"PS: Note that Iran (and the Shia militias) are also blamed for the persecution of Iraqi Christians. 3-5% of the Iraqi population are Christians, and yet they make up 40% of the refugees!"

Well I am not gonna finish this on the lunch hour, but I only started ten minutes ago. I will add a few touches tonight.


uponmyhonorisawhtemadonna
Well, unlike the United States in Babylon, I like to finish what I start.
As for the progress in Anbar province, that is good news, if we can believe it. From what I hear, there are lots and lots of caveats to this. And, in the absence of an overall political miracle, any battlefield progress is for naught.
I think it was telling that Mr. Kristol spent as much time bashing the Democrats as he did hailing the battlefield progress. I think it is really cool that he has been to Iraq, but seeing what his handlers want him to see is not the entire story. And, as readers of Iraqi blogs know, is much more complicated than "We Win, You Lose".
Speaking of complications unknown to western observers, what about the Yezidis, the victims of the "Black Tuesday" bombing?
"The ancient Yezidi religion is a blend of Islam, Christianity, Zoroastrianism, and Judaism. Some Muslims consider the Yezidis to be infidels." While the knee jerk press is blaming Al Queda, there are more suspects here than the Kennedy Assassination. Rival Kurds, Turks, radical Moslems, American Private Security, Iran....any one of those players could have done this.
Yea, the surge is working. And the emperor’s new clothes are really snazzy.
But the issue that really gets me thinking is this bit about Iraqi Christians. Could it be that maybe Iraqi Christians were better off under Saddam. Of course, the numbers quoted by Iraqimojo are not infallible, and may be as useless as Tony Snow's optimism. But, assuming that they are at least partially true, the question arises, why isn't this being played up in Jesus Mad America? One possible reason is the number of Jesus Worshippers who are fervent supporters of the Killing in Babylon. W does not want to alienate his power base by mentioning that our Allies are running off their “Brothers in Christ”. Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we venture to deceive.