James Wolcott covers a lot of things in A-Roving We Will Go, but the last paragraph points to a 23 June, 2005 poll by Rasmussen Reports.

The question was: “Who was more responsible for starting the War in Iraq…Saddam Hussein or President Bush?” It was asked of 1000 people.

“June 23, 2005–Forty-nine percent (49%) of Americans say that President Bush is more responsible for starting the War with Iraq than Saddam Hussein. A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 44% take the opposite view and believe Hussein shoulders most of the responsibility.”

Like JW and Atrios, I don’t remember anyone ever making this particular point. It almost makes Saddam a victim. I strongly feel that the Iraqi people are victims in this war, but I have never even considered Saddam as anything other than a convenient thug used by Reagan and the neocons to oppose Iran, a view I’ve held for over a quarter century. His status under Reagan was the first indication I had for how crazy the younger Pipes and Mylroie were: they backed Saddam, before they demonized him.

Rule Number One when swimming in the Gulf of Mexico: Do Not, Under Any Circumstances, Swim With Bait Fish. If you notice a lot of 6 to 12 inch fish in the water around you, get out of the water. The reason there are a lot of fish swimming by is that something is chasing them.

CNN Reports: a 14-year-girl died as a result having her leg bitten off by a shark estimated to be about 11 feet long. The incident occurred approximately a quarter mile off the shore of a beach near the Sandestin Resort in South Walton County in the late morning. This is about 15 miles East of me.

Bull sharks 10 feet long and larger are often in the area and if they find a school of bait fish they start biting. They aren’t consciously attacking swimmers, they are simply moving through the water biting whatever enters their mouth. A bull shark eats everything: fish, dolphins, turtles, surfers, tourists; if it’s in the water, it’s what’s for dinner.

There are also hammerheads in the area that can get that big, but the bull sharks are the most common biters in this area. They don’t cruise on the surface, but along the bottom and will enter bayous, even fresh water rivers.

[Update: I got this either from Elayne’s Journal or Len at Dark Bilious Vapors.]

skippy the bush kangaroo is still pushing for a million hits on his third blogiversity².

Jillian of The Snarky Cat has been down with connection problems is now back on line.

Keith at The Invisible Library is wondering if people noticed that he has moved to http://www.sanchezkisser.com/Ilblog/ from Blogspot.

Tbogg is having problems with his formatting, and after he wrote it, I’ve noticed small changes in mine, that I certainly didn’t make. I hope that Blogger isn’t about to go through another round of “improvements”.

1. yes, skippy coined that term.
2. Jeralyn of TalkLeft gets credit for this one.

“The ultra-conservative mayor of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has won Iran’s presidential election run-off, the interior ministry has confirmed.”

The complaints from Washington that helped to get this man elected continue.

For those who don’t know, while Teddy Roosevelt was a Republican, he was definitely a progressive/liberal.

I covered the fallacy of Rove’s military versus law enforcement claims on December 6, 2004 in Liberals & Terrorism.

Andante, who has been really blogging at 110% lately, has another great read in Rove is Right.

Remember the problems of the Al Qaqaa ordnance depot being looted after being left unguarded? We are now seeing the result of that mistake in this Boston Globe report: 2 U.S. Marines Killed, 4 Servicemembers Missing After Bombing. Until they find enough of their bodies to make an identification, those four people are carried as missing in action. Their vehicle was hit by a shaped charge, the proverbial “hot knife through butter”, and the explosives involved are those stored in the Al Qaqaa depot.

Remember when Rumsfeld talked about tanks not being safe from all weapons, well now the “insurgents” have weapons that can destroy tanks.

I think the troops might think that the Bush administration’s support is a bit lacking when they find out that his Veterans Affairs faces $1 billion shortfall. What are they doing with the money?

As for what conservatives believe, Len Cleavelin of Dark Bilious Vapors has found Excellent analysis, from a thoughtful, reasonable conservative….

[Update: This is just weird – from skippy: eine kleine nitwit muzik.]