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Sometimes is takes a while for the pieces to drop into place.

When Cheney said he didn’t know Joe Wilson I knew he was lying, but I didn’t know why I knew. I knew my reaction was deeper that “they attacked Wilson, so Cheney had to know”. That would be my surface reaction, but I KNEW Cheney and Wilson were acquainted.

It finally came to me: Gulf War I.

Cheney was the Secretary of Defense under G.H.W. Bush for the first Gulf War and he was so involved that he went to Saudi Arabia to watch the build up and launch of the war.

At the time, Joe Wilson was number 2 in the Baghdad embassy under April Gillespie. At the start of the war Ms. Gillespie was out of the country and Wilson was the highest ranking American official in Iraq. Wilson would have been the main source of information on the official position of the Iraqi government and about conditions in Baghdad. Bush I cited him for bravery in dealing with Saddam.

Cheney and Schwartzkopf would have been on the address list for Wilson’s reports and the reports would have been featured in the daily intelligence briefings. Wilson would have been the channel to Saddam to arrange the end of the war.

There is no way I can accept that Cheney didn’t know a major player in the most important event in his political life before he ran for Vice President.

Does anyone believe that a Secretary of Defense doesn’t know the name of the highest American official in a country we are about to invade?

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That’s the Presidential Seal, as redesigned by Harry Truman to correct some weaknesses he felt existed in the original created by Rutherford B. Hayes for White House invitations.

If you like it there are plenty of companies willing to sell you just about anything with the seal on it.

Important things require the use of the Great Seal of the United States, which is pictured on the back of the one dollar bill.

Steve Bates reports that the White House is upset by the use of the seal by The Onion and has told them to stop.

Frankly I think Harry would approve of The Onion, and I know he would agree with most of what I write. Hell, George H.W. Bush would probably approve of much of it.

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That number does not include those who died of their wounds during or after medical evacuation from Iraq.

The military is a bit testy about this event according to CNN. Lt. Col. Steven Boylan, chief spokesman for the U.S. military in Iraq: “The 2,000 service members killed in Iraq supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom is not a milestone,” he said. “It is an artificial mark on the wall set by individuals or groups with specific agendas and ulterior motives.”

The Colonel was correct, Bill Frist called for a moment of silence to memorialize the event in the US Senate. The Senate majority leader, famous for misdiagnosing ophthalmologic conditions [he said Mrs. Schiavo could see and his trust was blind], felt it was necessary for his failing hopes to run for President to be seen supporting the troops, even those who can no longer vote.

Next up was the Shrubbery who brought it up in a dog show [they used to be dog and pony shows before Holden cornered the pony market] before military spouses. He proceeded to talk about sacrifices required in the “War on Terror”, even though none of his friends or family have sacrificed anything. The military and the middle class are making all of the sacrifices while large corporations are recording record profits.

Steve is also talking about this.

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The hurricane affected my DSL as Sprint, for reasons of efficiency no doubt, concentrates DSL traffic and puts it on the “backbone” in Naples, Florida, so I was on dial-up for most of the day, when I could get on at all.

On a related note, Mark Fiore has a new animation out on a hurricane theme.

The guys in Lakeland came through all right, but PoP and Bobby are in the dark for the time being along with millions of others.

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This article on the Unisys TSA contract shows a remarkable lack of knowledge about contracting in the IT world, and why it is fiscally foolish to get rid of government IT workers and use contractors.

A contractor charging twice as much for an employee than the employee is paid is the norm, not a remarkable condition. It annoys the employees to no end knowing that the company is making 200% or more for their work, but others are willing to pay it, so that becomes the standard.

This is a reality of outsourcing and privatization.

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