"It appears that the Bush administration will have succeeded in colonizing Iraq sometime in the next few days. This is a blunder of such magnitude -- and we will pay for it for years to come. It was not worth the life of one single American kid in uniform, let alone the thousands of Iraqis who have died, and my condolences and prayers go out to all of them."

"You hope Saddam’s alive to see this, to see the hailstorm of footwear, the burly men taking sledgehammers to his statue’s polished podium, to see the American flag draped over his cruel empty mug. That last point was one of the more remarkable moments today - the soldier put the flag over Saddam’s iron face, then removed it and replaced it with the old Iraqi flag. It’s a potent message. A show of power, then a show of respect. Our flag first; your flag for ever after. Don’t forget how the latter was made possible by the former."

The Zionist controlled media of the west was having a ball with that shot of a British tank yanking a statue of me off its pedestal. Well, the joke's on them: That wasn't a statue of ME; it was actually a DECOY statue of one of my body doubles! HA, HA, HA!!!! Bet those coalition stooges feel pretty foolish now!

"...the Masters is dynamite TV. And like all TV, it's based on illusion. Seriously. You ever been to the Masters? The area just outside Magnolia Lane is a hoot. You'd think it'd be all rolling hills and graceful antebellum mansions. Instead, it's strip mall city. And I mean, low-grade strip mall city. No joke. I ate at an IHOP last year just off Magnolia Lane that was so sketchy, I don't think the Georgia Department of Health had the stones to even enter the place to try and shut it down. Literally, a couple of 3-irons from the hallowed 18th green, you can buy, like, a rifle and some shrink-wrap porn in a strip mall. America: An amazing country." – Bill Simmons, a.k.a. The Sports Guy, ESPN.com Page 2

With Easter hopping down the bunny trail, I feel compelled to mention the science experiement-turned-Frankenstein known as Peeps. These are the little marshmallow monstrosities that taste like melted garbage bags. I'm flabbergasted that by now we haven't seen any scientific evidence that Peeps cause cancer. Then again, perhaps PETA successfully cornered the science community into not subjecting lab rats to the torture of nibbling Peeps.
Posted 04/05/03, 6:30 a.m.

    The Braves have scored two runs while starting the season 0-3 against the Expos. Both runs came in the opening game. I am already officially in "freaking out" mode, and it's only April 3.
Posted 04/04/03, 3:00 a.m.

    Can we please let go of the notion of the "elite" Republican Guard? How about the U.S.A.'s "elite" Marines? The "elite" Air Force? At least those are accurate.
Posted 04/04/03, 2:53 a.m.

    Instapundit Glenn Reynolds notes:
    "They're fighting around Saddam International Airport ... Apparently, they've found a lot of tunnels under the airport. What is it with dictators, bunkers, and tunnels?"
      I wonder if Saddam has any tanks full of sharks with lasers on their frickin' heads?
Posted 04/04/03, 2:44 a.m.

    It's a small world after all. First Saddam gets a blog, and now so does his good Axis pal Kim Jong Il. Then, on top of all American pop culture crossovers, the new Arab hit show, Iraqi Idol!
Posted 04/04/03, 2:30 a.m.

    A public radio host was fired Wednesday for expressing his views about the war in Iraq. Oh, and he supports the conflict. But I thought it was our patriotic duty to let people express their views without repercussions?
Posted 04/04/03, 2:30 a.m.

    You mean Saddam's regime was affiliated with terrorists? Wow. Who knew?
Posted 04/04/03, 2:30 a.m.

    A must read: Photographer Molly Bingham on her seven-day ordeal in a Baghdad prison.
Posted 04/04/03, 2:10 a.m.

    Bravo for this Michael Moore Photoshop Contest!
Posted 04/03/03, 4:30 a.m.

    The biggest battle between the media seems to be how to spell the names of Iraqi towns and citizens.
      They could also use a spelling primer on warfare. For instance, "ordinance" is a law; "ordnance" goes kablooey. Another: "cavalry" is a group of soldiers probing away from the main force; "calvary" is where Jesus was crucified.
Posted 04/03/03, 4:30 a.m.

    I sent in a dedication for Karla and Mike to National Review Online's "Post-a-Note" feature on the troops overseas.
Posted 04/03/03, 2:00 a.m.

    Here are few vents I sent in to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

War never solved anything! Well, except slavery and Nazism, but other than that, what's it good for?

I can't figure out what the anti-war activists hate more, the war or Bush. I suspect the latter.

American journalists are held in an Iraq jail for a week, yet anti-war folks are more worried that embedded media are too favorable towards our troops.

Nice to see the Iraqi people in Najaf throwing an impromptu parade for American troops. Too bad they hate us, or else there might be floats and confetti as well.

The anti-war activists seem to believe that they have the right to say whatever they want, but those who express their disagreement, either verbally or through their choice of music, television viewing and movies, are a threat to democracy.
Posted 04/03/03, 2:00 a.m.

    I think that anyone who protests the war in the streets is effectively supporting Iraq's and the Arab media's anti-American propaganda campaign. Thus, they are helping only those who wish to do our troop harm. Once the war begins, the time for "vomit-ins" end.
      Avowed Bush-disliker Nat Hentoff on why the Left is wrong to protest this war.
Posted 04/03/03, 1:50 a.m.

    Not that you should be surprised, but one in three French backs Saddam in this conflict.
      What is surprising is that they even regret their own freedom. A gang of the extremist French thugs defaced a cemetery where 11,000 British are buried after dying there to free the ungrateful French in World Wars I and II.
Posted 04/03/03, 1:50 a.m.

    David Frum in National Review, on the media's strange morality in this conflict:

"I am not a believer in journalistic “objectivity” in wartime. Journalists who cover fires cheer for the firefighters. Journalists who cover crime don’t keep neutral between the crooks and their victims. What kind of warped system of values forbids journalists to support their country when the guns are blasting?"

"Why do actors -- people whose main talent is faking emotions -- think that their opinions should be directing the course of political events in the real world? Yet it is a mistake that they have been making as far back as John Wilkes Booth."

"It is not the act of dissenting that makes this country great. There is nothing noble in trashing America and her leaders on foreign soil, especially as we prepare for war against a foreign country. It is disgraceful. Anti-war protestors are not exhibiting their patriotism when they dissent; they are exercising their freedoms -- and there's a big difference."

"You may have seen the banner that "antiwar protesters" carried in San Francisco: "We Support Our Troops When They SHOOT Their Officers." So let us put to rest the notion that all of the protesters want only the "safe return of our boys"; that they are simply gentle, high-minded peace-lovers."

"Over there in Baghdad they're dropping bombs and [stuff], but me and my band have come up with something even worse than that [stuff]. And that's unrequited love. At some point you just say, 'I've put too much work into this. I'm gonna have to kill you.' " Gray and company then launched into the aptly intro-ed "Gimme All Your Lovin' or I Will Kill You."

    I have great respect for the men and women fighting overseas to protect our way of life in Iraq and other parts of the world. As the son of an Army officer, I understand the strength, courage and discipline required to successfully carry out their missions in hostile environments and feel tremendous pride they are representing us.
    Obviously, no one likes war. Our Congress and President tried hard to avoid the use of force, but ultimately decided it was the best course of action. I like the assertiveness shown by President Bush and think we owe it to our political and military leaders, along with our brave soldiers to be as supportive as possible during these difficult and trying times. I just wanted to take this opportunity to let our forces know that I am thinking about you and wishing you and your families the best.

Jay Leno had a good crack tonight about Hollywood's standards. To get the joke, you have to know that Roman Polanski, who won the Oscar the other night for Best Director, couldn't be there to accept it because of an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Anyway, Leno remarked that he was driving around listening to an L.A. talk radio host going on about how weird it was that Mel Gibson is building his own Catholic parish. The deejay said that Mel must have lost his mind. "Don't you love this town?" said Leno. "You drug an underage girl, you rape her, you flee the country, you get an Oscar. But you build a church, and it's 'What are you, nuts?!"

I think the networks would be much better advised to start doing longer pieces on one thing, soup to nuts, all the way through. Give us a tick-tock on Umm Qasr. Explain from beginning to end what happened yesterday in the Kurdish North. We get no big picture because they keep saying "we take you now to X," "We interrupt this report to show you Y" etc. The networks need to catch their breaths. Instead of the "military minutes" offer military mini-documentaries. Explain whole strategies. Do multiple interviews on the same topic. Have two military types debate the same set of facts. This rapid-fire stuff makes the big picture harder to see, not easier.