---

James Wolcott foregoes snark in the Shattered Dome to ask a few relevant questions about the bombing of the shrine in Samarra.

I admit that I missed it. I knew something was wrong, but wasn’t paying attention. It’s a variation on “the curious incident of the dog in the night-time”¹ or “what’s wrong with this picture”.

Everything is supposed to point to al-Zarqawi, but he would have killed the guards and taken credit for the destruction. Neither occurred. “The dog didn’t bark.” There’s a huge explosion in the middle of a city and no one dies? A group noted for a suicide bomber in a wedding, uses massive amounts of high explosives without killing anyone?

1. Silver Blaze from The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

---

---

An attempt is being made to provide a tool for progressive people and organizations in the “Sunshine State”: Florida Progressive Information Network. “It is a new tool designed to help progressives in Florida respond more effectively to the wide variety of issues we seem to be loosing ground on.”

The idea is to provide a point of contact for people with like-minded views on issues so that efforts can be coordinated and people can find out they are not alone. This is a collection of single-issue groups that are trying to get their messages out to people that agree with them that the issue is important.

---

---

Saturday was a good day for clearing the air about why people need to let the world know what they think. Both Kevin Hayden of The American Street and Susie of The Suburban Guerrilla let it all hang out and testified about why you should care.

If you missed them, go read them. Things are not going to get better unless the people in power figure out that they are in trouble with the people that pay their salaries.

---

---

I’ve seen several people talking about the head of MZM Inc. who just cut a deal in the Randy Cunningham case. He brought up his having made illegal campaign contributions to the current Republican candidate for the Senate in Florida, Katherine “Our Lady of the 2000 Vote Theft” Harris.

Sorry, but as this June, 2005 article in the Pensito Review, makes clear, not only was the 2004 MZM Inc. $50,000 illegal contribution known about, but the illegal 1994 Riscorp $20,292 contribution is part of Cruella’s resumé.

While I don’t doubt she is annoyed by having to spend some of her personal millions on repaying these possible bribes, they are so characteristic of her feeling of entitlement that they don’t affect her base. If you really knew Creulla, you’d realize that this was more probably extortion than bribery. As her unchallenged run displays, running against Harris in a primary is not something any Republican really wants to do.

Karl Rove is lucky that Cruella doesn’t see him as a real threat to her whims or he would find out what a truly nasty campaign can be like. Trust me, it is much better to be a Democrat than a Republican when it comes to Harris.

---

---

The MSM is starting to notice, but they are clapping their hands and trying to believe that “Tinkerbush” will “make it better”.

We have not seen the first open battle, but Professor Cole makes it plain that the clerics who are calling for calm all seem to be “cleaning weapons and issuing ammunition”.

The Kurds can be expected to react by declaring their independence, which will provoke a response from Turkey.

The relatives of the Sunnis in Iraq are honor-bound to support them, which will draw Saudi Arabia and Jordan into the war. Iran will, of course, be honor-bound to provide support, and the Alawis of Syria will also be involved.

The most logical element for the US to ally with are the Baathists elements, the only group really interested in maintaining Iraq as a nation.

This is exactly what was predicted would happen in the first Gulf War, and the reason Saddam was not removed. Control of the Persian Gulf is being handed to the Persians.

---