My, my, my. And we thought UN ambassador Bolton had all the charm of a Klingon?....

How do you know that Wal-Mart has decided to get serious about "fighting back" against its critics?  Well, when two major newspapers run OpEd pieces by "respected" names, both extolling the virtues of the "retailer you can't avoid but would love to," I'd say it's a pretty good sign.

So here's a big cheer and a solid tribute to the Wal-Mart (W-M) weasels of the week, John Tierney and Sebastian Mallaby.

Having trouble keeping up with the list of scoundrels who populate the upper tiers of our democracy's political and business worlds?

Here's a handy list of current and recent past folks who never saw the need to follow any rules if circumventing them could "put a little money in your pocket."  I was tempted to call this "Republican Scoundrels," but that seemed unfair, and now it seems that Dem. Byron Dorgan has gotten pulled into the Abramoff mess.

If I missed any of your favorites, drop a comment and I'll add them.

It seems like the PR spin and PR issue campaigns never stop any more.  And just days after the White House released its written "plan" for victory in Iraq, mainstream media sources are beginning to filter out a little reality from the buzz of spin.

Remember Dr. Johnny Fever from the old sitcom "WKRP in Cincinnati"?  Well, this White House has Dr. Peter D. Feaver, PhD. in the 21st century sitcom WKRAP in Washington.

I don't normally talk politics with my best buddy, because I figured she and I pretty much thought along the same lines.  Boy, was I shocked yesterday when she told me that she was so angry because the ACLU was trying to take Christmas away.

Not content to manufacture phony news stories in the US to control public opinion, the Bush administration is now reported to have done the same thing in Iraq.  Story here

The ballyhooed "Iraq Plan" was described in the president's speech today at the Naval Academy, and released in writing to the public in several locations on the net. Such as here

Did it change your mind?  Make you feel better about the prospects in Iraq?

For those who have worked in a corporation, did it remind you of anything?  Like a "mission statement," for example?  Or the internal sales plan for a new product?

I won't go into excruciating detail on what bothers me about it--I'm too tired, it would take far too long, and who the hell am I, anyway?.  The short version follows.

In just a few weeks, our illustrious president will deliver his 2006 State of the Union speech.  You and I both know that he won't describe the real state of the nation, or even address many aspects of the nation that are really, really bad.  Dangerous.  Potentially disastrous.

Just to get a jump on the whole State of the Nation thing, here's a brief summary of the state of the nation's economic health.

Boy, we just can't seem to get enough of playing empire, now can we? Neat story courtesy of Pravda.....

Remember the move "As Good As It Gets" from a few years back?  At one point in the movie, Jack Nicholson, whose life is being ruined by both obsessive-compulsive disorder and a crappy personality looks at a waiting room full of mental patients and says "What if this is as good as it gets?"

Well I just read a small piece in the UK's The Observer titled "'Hangover hospitals' could go nationwide" that brings that phrase to mind. Story here

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