Irregular Times Diaries: Unfit Discussion

Yesterday was the 90th anniversary of the World War I battle of Passchendaele: a horror in which 3/4 of a million soldiers were killed.

Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967), one of the WWI poets, wrote this, not about Passchendaele particularly, but about that war — and all other wars.

AFTERMATH

HAVE you forgotten yet?…
For the world’s events have rumbled on since those gagged days
Like traffic checked a while at the crossing of city ways:
And the haunted gap in your mind has filled with thoughts that flow
Like clouds in the lit heavens of life; and you’re a man reprieved to go
Taking your peaceful share of Time, with joy to spare
But the past is just the same,—and War’s a bloody game….
Have you forgotten yet?…
Look down, and swear by the slain of the War that you’ll never forget.

Do you remember the dark months you held the sector at Mametz,-
The nights you watched and wired and dug and piled sandbags on parapets?
Do you remember the rats; and the stench
Of corpses rotting in front of the front-line trench,—
And dawn coming, dirty-white, and chill with a hopeless rain?
Do you ever stop and ask, “Is it all going to happen again?”

Do you remember that hour of din before the attack,—
And the anger, the blind compassion that seized and shook you then
As you peered at the doomed and haggard faces of your men?
Do you remember the stretcher-cases lurching back
With dying eyes and lolling heads, those ashen-grey
Masks of the lads who once were keen and kind and gay?
Have you forgotten yet?…
Look up, and swear by the green of the Spring that you’ll never forget.

RED DAVE

August 1, 2007 - Wednesday

1586 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3651
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 26953

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 68038
(MAXIMUM): 74435
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $448,192,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

I-35W Bridge Collapse Into Mississippi River

Not terrorism.

But really bad shit.

RED DAVE

August 2, 2007 - Thursday

1586 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3659
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27104

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 68038
(MAXIMUM): 74435
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $448,477,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

The avocado fruit makes no sense from the avocado plant’s point of evolutionary view. After all, why have a nutrient-rich, yummy mix of vitamin-filled flesh if that all gets eaten up by fruit flies when it sits on the jungle floor after falling off the avocado tree? The big seed in the middle is really the only thing left after the fruit flies are done. So why doesn’t the avocado plant just grow the big seed in the middle? The answer: God’s plan. As with so many other fruits, the avocado is delicious, showing an alignment with our taste buds that can only be explained by design. It provides fat stores for humans and essential other nutrients. Then, when a human is done with it, all he needs to do is to plant it and grow another plant, which makes more food! This is a design made for people. The evolutionist view of it makes no sense. The avocado is proof god exists.

In my writing about the upcoming Raw Spirit Festival, which will be attended by Dennis Kucinich and at which Elizabeth is giving a keynote speech, I’ve come across some strange and shady characters, hucksters who go even further than selling snake oil. Some, like Jasmuheen, make money by convincing people that they don’t need to eat food in order to get nutrition.

One thing that Jasmuheen has in common with a lot of the speakers at Raw Spirit Festival is that she doesn’t use her real name. She insists upon being called Jasmuheen, even though her real name is Ellen Greve. I suppose that having someone named Ellen tell you that you can live on sunlight and prana energy is deemed less credible than if someone named Jasmuheen says the same thing.

An unusual number of people involved in Raw Spirit Festival are using aliases instead of their real names. Count the founder of the festival as among these. She calls herself Happy Oasis.

One of the name changers of Raw Spirit is Jameth Sheridan, who writes on his Health Force web site in an attempt to explain why he changed his name. He says he wanted to change his last name so that he could share a family name with his wife without forcing her into the patrilineal system of taking the last name he was born with. But why choose the name Sheridan? That’s not at all clear. “After much consideration, the name that felt the most right was Sheridan. This name has personal meaning for both of us,” says Jameth, ambiguously.

What about Jameth? Well, that’s almost his given name. Jameth was born with the name James, and “did call himself “James” briefly; a fine name indeed, but it did not fit for him. Thus, the name “Jameth” was born.”

I’m confused by this half-explanation. Why would the name Jameth fit this man better than the name James? Is it just that Jameth wanted to seem a bit more exotic?

What’s in a name? A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but if we renamed roses “celestial sky love blossoms”, most of us couldn’t bring ourselves to talk about it without feeling silly.

Why have so many people involved in Raw Spirit Festival chosen to change their names or use pseudonyms for the sake of the business related to Raw Spirit? There isn’t anything necessarily sinister about a pseudonym. Ann Landers was not the real name of the advice columnist. Still, I’m left wondering what brings so many people with cooked names to a Raw Spirit conference. I’m assuming that Elizabeth Kucinich will be speaking under her legal name, and not as Redwood Aura.

August 3, 2007 - Friday

1588 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3665
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27104

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 68172
(MAXIMUM): 74575
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $448,889,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

August 4, 2007 - Saturday

1589 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3665
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27104

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 68347
(MAXIMUM): 74753
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $449,065,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

My friends who do not believe often bring up war as proof that God does not exist. How can a just and loving God allow wars to happen, with all their death and destruction? they ask. Well, I don’t know if you haven’t noticed before now, but death and destruction happen all the time. People die, things rot. It’s part of the circle of life. How they die is important, though. If everybody lives to old age and dies in bed, there’s no useful winnowing process. But if we have wars, the stronger of spirit and body survive, making us stronger. From the point of view of simple evolutionist survival, war does not make sense, because it reduces the number of the species. Evolution cannot explain why war is here. Only if we are living part of God’s plan to make us stronger does war make sense. War proves that God exists, because it shows that there is a plan larger than us, larger than we can understand.

Jesus died on the cross, was buried, and resurrected by the power of God, to save you. Jesus loves you. Jesus wants to save you. Jesus wants you to have eternal life. Jesus is the doorway to Heaven. But you must step through.

“For God so loved the world. that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Look in your heart. Deep down, you know you live a life of sin. Do you want to be saved? There is a way: pray this simple sinner’s prayer and mean it with all your heart.

“Oh God, be merciful to me a sinner, I believe that Jesus died for my sins, I repent of my sins, and trust Jesus as my Lord and Saviour. Thank you Lord Jesus for saving me. Amen.”

You will be amazed to see how differently the world appears from the other side of the door. Trust in Jesus with all your heart and His grace will fall upon you.

August 4, 2007 - Sunday

1590 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3665
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27104

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 68441
(MAXIMUM): 74862
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $449,346,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

August 6, 2007 - Monday

1591 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3670
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27104

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 68495
(MAXIMUM): 74927
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $449,690,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

Today is the 62nd anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.

HIROSHIMA HAIKU

Swallows
coming again and flying
not forgetting Hiroshima

Swings—
nowhere are they to be found
in the A-bomb park

RED DAVE

It’s a fascinating theory, this idea that the Protect America Act was rushed through to protect a Total Information Awareness program. It provokes questions, and reconsiderations of some moments in Bush Administration history.

The question that comes into my mind is this: Given what we know about the tenacity with which the Bush White House has held onto its powers, no matter now outrageous the claims to power are, how likely is it that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and Alberto Gonzales just relinquished the Total Information Awareness program, as they appeared to do at the time, back in 2002? Not likely at all. It’s just not in the character of the Bush White House.

In fact, as was pointed out a while ago here, the Total Information Awareness program never died. It just went underground in the National Security Agency.

Oh, connection! The National Security Agency is where the alleged warrantless wiretapping that the Protect America Act is supposed to legalize was taking place.

The question that now rests most heavily upon my mind is this: How do we test the hypothesis? What are some of the pieces of information that would prove or disprove it?

Barring that, what are some of the pieces of information that would strengthen the Hepting v. AT&T hypothesis, without going so far as to prove it?

As I look at the issue of the possible relationship between a new Total Information Awareness program in the National Security Agency and the sudden urgency with which the Protect America Act was passed, the thing that piques my interest is the timeline of events.

I searched Google News for information related to FISA. Before July 25, I find nothing much. There’s nothing from the Bush Administration about an urgent need to “reform” FISA in order to expand the authority of Alberto Gonzales to spy against Americans. Zilch. When FISA is mentioned, it’s in articles that slam Bush and Cheney, or call for the impeachment of Alberto Gonzales.

On July 22 and 23, the only articles you’ll read about FISA have to do with the FISA World Rowing Championship for people under the age of 23 in Scotland. There’s no push at all from the White House to reform FISA. No urgency. No special terrorist threat. No need for new legislation.

Then, all of a sudden, on July 25, that changes. On July 25, United Press International publishes an article saying that Congressman John Boehner, out of the blue, is supporting a bill introduced on July 24 by Republican Heather Wilson that was like the first draft of the Protect America Act. It’s H.R.3138, given the cumbersome title: To amend the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 to update the definition of electronic surveillance.

Electronic surveillance, huh? What else happened on July 24 to do with electronic surveillance? Oh, yes - U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker issued a ruling saying that the government’s effort to stop a lawsuit by the state governments of Connecticut, Maine, Missouri, New Jersey and Vermont, demanding had no merit… except for possibly the claim that state secrets were at stake, and that claim would be judged in the August 15 hearing. Those 5 states were seeking information about how the privacy of their citizens had been violated by telephone companies like AT&T, in collaboration with the NSA.

Judge Vaughn Walker refuses to kowtow to the Bush White House, the case is going forward, and Judge Walker announces that he will make a decision about whether what the Bush team calls “state secrets” can be revealed on August 15.

Boom! All of a sudden, it’s a full court press by the Bush White House saying that Alberto Gonzales must be given new spy powers… exactly the kind of spy powers it is alleged in the states’ lawsuit that he is already using. Furthermore, George W. Bush insists, mysteriously, that Alberto Gonzales must be given the new spy powers, which include the power to keep all information related to the spying sealed and secret, before Congress goes into its August recess. September will be too late, Bush says.

George W. Bush, who never met an August vacation during the War On Terror that he didn’t like, all of a sudden insists that if Congress doesn’t give Alberto Gonzales exactly the spy powers that Bush says Gonzales needs, he will call a special session of Congress to force them to pass the Protect America Act, not in September, but in early August.

I don’t see a smoking gun. There is no memo I have seen that says “We need to get the Protect America Act passed, because Judge Walker’s decision will force us at that hearing on August 15th to reveal our giant computer database spying program gathering the personal details of Americans’ habits on the Internet.” However, I see a gun, and not too far away from it, I see a wisp of smoke rising into the air. Maybe someone was smoking, or burning incense, but it looks mighty funny to me.

August 7, 2007 - Tuesday

1592 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3679
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27104

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 68747
(MAXIMUM): 75194
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $449,972,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

THE ARCHITECTS OF WAR: WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

President Bush has not fired any of the architects of the Iraq war. In fact, a review of the key planners of the conflict reveals that they have been rewarded — not blamed — for their incompetence.

Featuring:

PAUL WOLFOWITZ
DOUGLAS FEITH
STEPHEN HADLEY
RICHARD PERLE
ELLIOT ABRAMS
SCOOTER LIBBY
JOHN HANNAH
DAVID WURMSER
ANDREW NATSIOS
DAN BARTLETT
MITCH DANIELS
GEORGE TENET
COLIN POWELL
DONALD RUMSFELD
CONDOLEEZZA RICE
DICK CHENEY
GEORGE W. BUSH

Read how your favorite war criminal is doing. Find out their “Role In Going To War.” Find out “Where He [or She] Is Now” And get a “Key Quote.”

RED DAVE

As I have been reading many of the articles here at Irregular Times about the Protect America Act and the associated programs at the NSA to spy on our activity on the Internet, I have been asking myself one question over and over: How can we live under this constant surveillance by our government?

Our email is being read. Our telephone calls are being listened to. Where we go and what we do on the Internet is being recorded.

How can we do anything when we know that our words and actions are all being recorded, to be used against us at some future date by our own government?

I didn’t come up a good answer to that question, until I realized it was the wrong question. Here’s the right question for us to ask ourselves in these times: How, when the government is constantly watching and recording us using the Internet, should we respond?

The idea that we would respond to government spying against us on the Internet by withdrawing, pulling back into our private lives, in our own homes, huddled away from the telephone and the computer for fear of the prying eyes and long ears of Alberto Gonzales, is exactly the kind of reaction the right wingers would love. They would love for us to withdraw from political activism. They would love for us to be afraid.

So, I think that the best response to the Protect America Act is to go on doing things just as we have in the past. We keep on speaking up. We keep on living, and expanding our lives online. We refuse to be afraid.

The Internet levels the playing field. It’s no wonder that people like George W. Bush and Alberto Gonzales want to abuse it, and tarnish it with the stain of constant suspicion.

Don’t give up. Don’t give in. Keep on.

August 8, 2007 - Wednesday

1593 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3680
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27104

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 68747
(MAXIMUM): 75194
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $450,194,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

A Tornado Hits Brooklyn

The violent rainstorms that hit My Fair City yesterday morning including a little package that no one expected: an F2 tornado. Now you know what those things are like and can do in the Midwest and Southwest. Consider that Brooklyn, alone, has 3 1/2 million people.

Imagine the effect if this thing had hit Manhattan, with its hundreds of towers of glass and steel.

Such violent storms are a predictable result of global warming.

RED DAVE

Do you ever feel hopeless? Like it’s all just too much to deal with? Like there’s nothing you can do to make it better? Like anything you try to do will turn out wrong in the end? Like you’re just a useless piece of meat with no purpose in life? Like maybe you just don’t feel that way, but maybe it actually is that way? The psychologist at school tells me that’s a sign of clinical depression, but I think that’s just the psychologist’s way of slapping a clinical diagnosis on the fact that I feel the way I do. Truth is, I look out on the stars at night and think they’re pretty, but then I feel really small. I have such big dreams, so why do I have to be so small and powerless in the face of them? I know, I’m just another piece of meat among billions, but I could really use a voice out there to tell me I’m not alone in feeling the way I do. I don’t need someone to tell me it’s going to be OK, because I’m not sure that’s true. But I do need to hear someone tell me they feel the same way, at least sometimes. That way I won’t feel like I’m going to burst from feeling so alone in this.

August 9, 2007 - Thursday

1594 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3681
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27104

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 68973
(MAXIMUM): 75423
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $450,473,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

(To the tune of My Bonnie — Sing it!)

My Ron Paul is gaga for freedom
My Ron Paul loves liberty
My Ron Paul makes socialists jealous
O Vote Ron Paul’s Presidency!

Vote Ron
Vote Paul
O Vote Ron Paul’s Presidency, you see!
Vote Ron
vote Paul
O Vote Ron Paul’s Presidency

My Ron Paul hates deficit spending
My Ron Paul likes austerity
My Ron Paul won’t raise all your taxes
O Vote Ron Paul’s Presidency!

Vote Ron
Vote Paul
O Vote Ron Paul’s Presidency, you see!
Vote Ron
vote Paul
O Vote Ron Paul’s Presidency

August 10, 2007 - Friday

1595 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3684
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27279

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 69045
(MAXIMUM): 75495
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $450,766,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

August 11, 2007 - Saturday

1596 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3684
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27279

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 69045
(MAXIMUM): 75495
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $451,067,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

The Pentagon tells us that three Americans were killed in Afghanistan today, and that five Americans were killed in Iraq today.

Remember just four years ago, when a single American being killed in either country was regarded as cause for alarm?

The longer we stay, the worse things get in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Military missions have failed.  We need non-military options for both countries.

August 12, 2007 - Sunday

1596 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3684
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27279

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 69045
(MAXIMUM): 75495
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $451,345,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

Not a great day for George. Five more dead Americans, and 57 more dead Iraqis to think about. His right-hand man resigns. Cheney reveals it was all bullshit from the start.

Sunday: 5 GIs, 57 Iraqis Killed; 37 Iraqis Wounded

Although violence remains relatively light, U.S. forces took a heavy hit on Saturday; five American servicemembers were killed and four wounded. At least 57 Iraqis were killed and 37 more wounded during the latest incidents. Also, one security contractor from Fiji was killed, two other Fijians were wounded, and an American was wounded during an attack on their convoy.

Karl Rove Resigns

“I just think it’s time,” Mr Rove said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, adding that he was quitting for the sake of his family.

Dick Cheney ‘94: Invading Baghdad Would Create Quagmire

Transcript:

Q: Do you think the U.S., or U.N. forces, should have moved into Baghdad?

Cheney: No.

Q: Why not?

Cheney: Because if we’d gone to Baghdad we would have been all alone. There wouldn’t have been anybody else with us. There would have been a U.S. occupation of Iraq. None of the Arab forces that were willing to fight with us in Kuwait were willing to invade Iraq.

Once you got to Iraq and took it over, took down Saddam Hussein’s government, then what are you going to put in its place? That’s a very volatile part of the world, and if you take down the central government of Iraq, you could very easily end up seeing pieces of Iraq fly off: part of it, the Syrians would like to have to the west, part of it — eastern Iraq — the Iranians would like to claim, they fought over it for eight years. In the north you’ve got the Kurds, and if the Kurds spin loose and join with the Kurds in Turkey, then you threaten the territorial integrity of Turkey.

It’s a quagmire if you go that far and try to take over Iraq.

The other thing was casualties. Everyone was impressed with the fact we were able to do our job with as few casualties as we had. But for the 146 Americans killed in action, and for their families — it wasn’t a cheap war. And the question for the president, in terms of whether or not we went on to Baghdad, took additional casualties in an effort to get Saddam Hussein, was how many additional dead Americans is Saddam worth?

Our judgment was, not very many, and I think we got it right.

RED DAVE

August 13, 2007 - Monday

1598 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3689
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27279

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 69045
(MAXIMUM): 75495
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $451,626,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

August 14, 2007 - Tuesday

1599 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3690
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27279

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 69284
(MAXIMUM): 75723
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $451,905,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

Yesterday I talked to an old friend back east who was about to lose a home through foreclosure. Today the foreclosure has been forestalled, and my friend is relieved.

Today my neighbor was talking about the number of SNL’s (?) (small mortgage companies) that have gone bankrupt. The neighbor’s usual topic of conversation is boobs.

Sometime during the afternoon a big “for sale” sign appeared nailed to the tree in my front yard.

I give up. What’s going on with the real estate market?

Between 125 and 175 people killed in three or four bombings in just one town in northern Iraq today. Qahtaniya lies in the area of Iraq that George W. Bush and his pig-headed pro-war Republican allies have claimed is a model of peace and prosperity.

If there’s this much violence in what Bush regards as a model area of Iraq, how can Bush possibly continue with plans to declare his military escalation - the surge - a success?

if this is what Bush thinks success looks like, then only a fool would continue to support his plans for “victory”.

The Republicans who keep on repeating the mantra that all hell would break loose in Iraq if America stopped its military occupation are in denial. They refuse to see that hell has already broken loose in Iraq, and it’s because of the American invasion and occupation.

Correction: The death toll from these attacks is now at over 500.

The LA Times has an article saying that, under the revised Patriot Act, the power to review state death penalty cases has been moved from the federal appeals courts to the Attorney General…who, of course, has greater expertise in judicial review, and certainly no political motivation for being tough on crime.

August 15, 2007 - Wednesday

1600 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3699
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27279

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
MINIMUM): 69513
(MAXIMUM): 75955
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $452,192,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

Thanks to John Stracke for bringing to my attention today’s news that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has gained new powers to rush through death penalty cases to quick execution even when the quality of justice is sacrificed in the practice.

It’s a bald-faced grab for power. Executing terrorists fast has no benefit to domestic security (or Homeland Security, as the new politics of fear tells me I’m supposed to say). In fact, quickly executing people who may be able to give valuable information hurts security, as the too-quick execution of Timothy McVeigh showed. Too many secrets about the people behind the Oklahoma City bombings died with McVeigh.

The new death penalty powers come right on the heels of Alberto Gonzales getting powers to force Americans to participate in huge electronic spying programs against their fellow citizens, in what looks more and more like the old Total Information Awareness project.

Those who have read the new law that gives those powers, the Protect America Act, know that there is only one other person in the federal government who shares the power with Alberto Gonzales to run its Internet and telephone spying programs: The Director of National Intelligence, Mike McConnell.

Michael McConnell also was caught in a grab for power today. It seems that Director McConnell has pushed through yet another dramatic new program to spy against Americans. Domestic law enforcement agencies now have the power to use military spy satellites that were designed to spy against the Soviet Union to peer down at the United States, and see what people are are doing here - no terrorist threat required for the spying.

This is a dramatic consolidation of power in the hands of just two men in the federal government - Gonzales and McConnell. Why the power grab now? What do they plan to do with that power that they weren’t doing before?

I’m speaking to the small segment of Americans who is paying attention and cares about preserving the liberty that is the foundation of American government. Something very big is going on, right before your eyes.

Keep an eye to the skies… and wave hello to McConnell and Gonzales.

Every time I think of AT&T, I think of that jingle they had back in the 1980s: “It’s the right choice - AT&T!” After today, however, I’m putting new words to that music.

“The Big Brother Choice - AT&T”

This statement comes from an attorney for AT&T, testifying in the US 9th Circuit Court, which was hearing lawsuits by people who have evidence that the government and AT&T have been collaborating to establish a massive electronic surveillance program to spy against peaceful, law-abiding Americans: “The government has said that whatever AT&T is doing with the government is a state secret. As a consequence, no evidence can come in whether the individuals’ communications were ever intercepted or whether we played any role in it.”

Oh, how convenient that AT&T does not have to officially acknowledge its involvement in the electronic spy program. Of course, if there were no such program, AT&T’s attorney could simply say so, right? That wouldn’t be a state secret.

AT&T has, for all intents and purposes, admitted that there is a massive program to spy on Americans as they use the Internet and make telephone calls, and that AT&T is helping the government to make the spy program work. Only, AT&T thumbed its nose at the judge and said that the judge didn’t have the right to know about it, and the American people didn’t have a right to know about the AT&T program to spy on Americans either.

So, AT&T is helping the government spy against their customers - even when those customers haven’t broken any law. That’s not just low down. That’s bad for business, AT&T.

August 16, 2007 - Thursday

1601 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3699
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27279

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 69660
(MAXIMUM): 76112
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $452,476,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

August 17, 2007 - Friday

1602 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3702
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27409

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 69806
(MAXIMUM): 76258
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $452,765,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

The madness goes on. This is what the US Establishment has engendered by its criminal invasion.

The Number of Car Bombings in Baghdad is Higher Now Than in Last December

By PATRICK COCKBURN

It was a bloody week in Iraq. In the Sinjar district of northern Iraq five vehicle-born bombs have killed at least 200 people and injured 300. The casualties may rise to make the atrocity the worst single bombing of a civilian target in Iraq in the past four years. All the victims were Yazidis, members of a pre-Islamic sect, many of whom live in this part of northern Iraq.

RED DAVE

This warning about Hurricane Dean was given by the National Weather Service just a few hours ago: “Dean could become a potentially catastrophic category five hurricane at any time before it reaches Yucatan.”

Surely, passing over the Yucatan will diminish the power of Hurricane Dean, but only after pounding the Yucatan again.

Am I right in remembering that Hurricane Katrina was only a Category 2 hurricane?

In reading the National Weather Service forecast, it looks as if they’re predicting that Hurricane Dean will reach the Yucatan Penninsula in about four days… but could it turn north, to hit Texas?

Only one computer model predicts that Hurricane Dean will hit Texas, but the National Weather Service notes that that particular computer model <i>”has had a very reliably track record”</i>.

Watch out, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico! Get the hell out of Yucatan!

August 18, 2007 - Saturday

1603 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3702
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27409

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 69973
(MAXIMUM): 76458
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $453,343,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

This year, it’s difficult to appreciate the Democrats, what with their failure to follow through on the promises of the 2006 congressional election. I can, however, say this much:

While looking through the transcript of this morning’s Democratic presidential debate, I suddenly felt very thankful that, with all the shortcomings of these candidates, at least Joseph Lieberman is not amongst those running this time around.

It practically makes me want to go put on a hat with a belt buckle on it and shoot a turkey.

August 19, 2007 - Sunday

1604 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3706
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27409

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 69973
(MAXIMUM): 76458
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $453,343,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

August 20, 2007 - Monday

1605 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3706
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27409

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 70059
(MAXIMUM): 76552
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $453,621,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

Every US death individually, including home town.
http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/list.php

MILITARY CASUALTY INFORMATION
http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/oif-deaths-total.pdf

CASUALTY TYPE

Hostile 3,013
Nonhostile 647
Total 3,660

GENDER

Male 3,584
Female 76
Total 3,660

OFFICER/ENLISTED

Officer
E5-E9 1,170
E1-E4 2,142
Total 3,660

AGE

35 439
Total 3,660

COMPONENT

Active 2,938
Reserve 286
National Guard 43

Total 3,660

RACE/ETHNICITY

American Indian or Alaska Native 39
Asian 68
Black or African American 346
Hispanic or Latino 397
Multiple races, pending, or unknown 46
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 39
White 2,725
Total 3,660

The source has a further breakdown by branch of service

http://siadapp.dmdc.osd.mil/personnel/CASUALTY/oif-deaths-total.pdf

RED DAVE

August 21, 2007 - Tuesday

1606 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3707
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27409

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 70182
(MAXIMUM): 76683
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $453,914,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

Let’s assume that the General will perform his public act of defecation on September 15.

Today being August 21, that means

THE PETRAEUS COUNTDOWN
…

25 DAYS

Petraeus Report Won’t be Written by Petraeus
James Joyner | Wednesday, August 15, 2007

The long-touted September progress report wherein counterinsurgency guru David Petraeus will tell us how the Surge is going won’t actually be written by Petraeus. And, no, it’s not just that he’s going to staff it out like he did the COIN manual he “wrote.” No, it’ll be written in the White House.

Administration and military officials acknowledge that the September report will not show any significant progress on the political benchmarks laid out by Congress. How to deal in the report with the lack of national reconciliation between Iraq’s warring sects has created some tension within the White House.

Despite Bush’s repeated statements that the report will reflect evaluations by Petraeus and Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, administration officials said it would actually be written by the White House, with inputs from officials throughout the government. And though Petraeus and Crocker will present their recommendations on Capitol Hill, legislation passed by Congress leaves it to the president to decide how to interpret the report’s data.

http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/arc…n_by_petraeus

RED DAVE

August 22, 2007 - Wednesday

1607 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3707
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27409

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 70182
(MAXIMUM): 76683
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $454,200,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

August 23, 2007 - Thursday

1609 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3722
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27506

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 70264
(MAXIMUM): 76771
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $454,478,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

August 24, 2007 - Friday

1610 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3724
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27506

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 70359
(MAXIMUM): 767873
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $454,764,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

August 25, 2007 - Saturday

1611 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3724
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27506

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 70604
(MAXIMUM): 77121
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $455,071,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

August 26, 2007 - Sunday

1612 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3728
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27506

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 70663
(MAXIMUM): 77183
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $455,521,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

August 27, 2007 - Monday

1613 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3728
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27506

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 70749
(MAXIMUM): 77272
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $455,632,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

This morning, my six year-old son walked up to me with a clever kind of smile and asked, “Dad, have you had your coffee yet, and if you did, did it taste different this time?”

August 28, 2007 - Tuesday

1614 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3732
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27506

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 70749
(MAXIMUM): 77272
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $455,907,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

I was looking for information about cuttlefish this morning when I came across the following three videos, each of which purports to show a cuttlefish attack.

The thing is, looking at the videos, I don’t really know if I see any attacks. In one cuttlefish video, I see nothing more than a cuttlefish swimming in murky water, with a lot of divers circling around it. In another video, I see a cuttlefish come up to a diver, and then for a second swim quickly toward the diver before darting away. Is that an attack?

In a third video, the caption says that the cuttlefish “hit” his mask, put its tentacles on his regulator hose, and then chased him for ten minutes. However, the caption shows no such attack - or, if the video shows what it’s like to be chased by a cuttlefish, then it seems that only the slowest of swimmers would have anything to worry about. It isn’t exactly a James Bond chase scene.

The lesson I take from these videos is that, when there’s room for interpretation, people like to believe that they’ve been attacked - even by cuttlefish. We seem to prefer that things are out to get us, even if they’re really just taking a look and saying hello.

I’m not saying that cuttlefish don’t behave aggressively toward divers, occassionally. There is another, short video which clearly shows a cuttlefish in something like an attack, though brief, against a camera:

Another video showing such an attack, however, makes me wonder about the context of this kind of aggressive cuttlefish behavior. In this video, two divers are following a cuttlefish, which seems to adopt a warning stance before it briefly rushes at one of the divers. It’s a lesson to divers: When swimming with intelligent animals, don’t chase, or you’ll be told to back off.

That lesson is reinforced by the following video, showing two divers harassing a cuttlefish:

August 29, 2007 - Wednesday

1615 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3732
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27506

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 70749
(MAXIMUM): 77272
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $456,195,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

August 30, 2007 - Thursday

1616 days into the war

U.S. MILITARY DEATHS IN IRAQ: 3733
U.S. MILITARY WOUNDED IN IRAQ: 27506

IRAQI CIVILIAN DEATHS
(MINIMUM): 70980
(MAXIMUM): 77513
(LANCET ESTIMATE) 600,000

COST OF THE WAR SO FAR (ROUNDED TO THE NEAREST MILLION): $447,229,000,000

Please note that the above figures, from the IBC website, are NOT estimates of total Iraqi civilians killed as a result of the US invasion and its aftermath. Rather, they are a count of Western-reported verifiable violent deaths, and likely to be a small percentage of the true figure. Les Roberts, author of the Lancet Report, believes the actual number may now be as high as 1,000,000.

RED DAVE

The Associated Press reports that the “experts” just don’t know what to make of a 600 foot-wide spider web found in Lake Tawakoni State Park in the north of Texas. They write, “Entomologists are debating the origin and rarity of a sprawling spider web that blankets several trees, shrubs and the ground along a 200-yard stretch of trail in a North Texas park.”

Well, while the entomologists debate, the rest of us will be preparing defenses in our basement shelters. We don’t need experts to send out research teams to figure it out for us. Giant spider webs are made by giant spiders.

Giant spiders are attacking Lake Tawakoni State Park, putting it under their control, slowly but surely, with their sticky, predatory spider webs. I figure that a 600 foot-wide spider web could only be made by a 50 foot wide spider.

But why Lake Tawakoni State Park? Well, I don’t think that it’s an accident that the giant spiders of Texas have chosen this particular state park as a place to start their attack. Lake Tawakoni is, after all, the primary source of drinking water for the city of Dallas.

Now, think! What else are spiders known for, besides their ability to make sticky webs made out of silk? Their venom!

If only the entomologists would stop their studies and start thinking more broadly, they would see that this is no time to engage in appeasement with the giant spiders of Lake Tawakoni State Park. They have arachnid minds incapable of compassion. They only want to make the people of Dallas their next meals, in a vast chemical weapons attack against Dallas through the drinking water supply coming from Lake Tawakoni!