CNN is reporting that Tom DeLay is dropping his re-election bid after winning the Republican primary for his seat.

If true, I suspect that he is expecting some bad news on the legal front.

Update: It’s apparently true, but plans need to be completed.

The stake has to be oak, but is mistletoe in the tree good or bad? Is an oak struck by lightning more effective?

You soak the oak in a marinade of Holy water, crushed garlic and lemon juice from “cock’s crow” to “cock’s crow” on a day with a full moon, but would adding habañeros be gauche?

So many details to attend to, and so few sources of reliable information.

Which Japanese theatrical tradition are the Republicans and the Shrubbery more in tune with: Kabuki or Noh?

As usual, compare and contrast.

Extra credit for references to the films of Stanley Kubrick.

Showing that is has no real concerns for the rights of citizens guaranteed by the Constitution the Supremes have decided not to rule on the Shrubbery’s violation of US law in his Star Chamber proceedings against “enemy combatants”.

Well, you certainly can’t call the Roberts Court activist.

Tbogg tells us Parsons has only finished 20 of 300 medical clinics it was supposed to be building in Iraq but it has been allowed to withdraw from its contract because it has managed to spend all of the money.

This is apparently the new standard for Federal contracts: you get to stop when you have spent all the money. Oh, the complaints about the security situation are valid, but they should have been obvious to any international contractor.

The only reason for endangering ground troops is to control the land. If you don’t intend to control the ground that is being taken, use air power, not ground forces.

If you fire the army and police, you are obviously going to have a security problem unless you have the forces to take their place. This isn’t a matter of high conceptual thinking; this is common sense.

People were once fired for these kinds of mistakes, now they receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Update: Parsons has only actually finished 6 clinics, but has promised to finish the other 14 that are under construction, unless it doesn’t.

There are probably a lot of admirals on a Maalox diet at the Pentagon after reading this: Iran Tests Powerful Underwater Missile.

The Persian Gulf is narrow and shallow, so large ships all ready have problems maneuvering in the waters, and now the Iranians have apparently developed their own version of the Russian submarine anti-ship missile.

This coming the day after claims of a successful test of a ground-to-ground missile with multiple independently targetable warheads and stealth capabilities should really increase antacid sales in Arlington.

The Pensacola Beach Blogger noticed this opinion piece in the Pensacola News Journal about the Interior Department’s continuing program of not listening to Florida residents when it comes to off-shore drilling.

Florida makes a lot of money from its beaches, more than it would ever make from drilling, and the site of oil rigs is not compatible with tourism. The state is constantly telling the Federal government we don’t want them off the coast of Florida, but corporate interests keep getting Federal attention that the state can’t seem to overcome.

The latest move is to re-draw the maps so that Alabama and Louisiana have jurisdiction over the coastal waters south of the Panhandle. Since those states don’t care about the skyline seen from a Florida beach, they are not apt to object to drilling.

In addition to the visual and pollution possibilities, the oil rigs would encroach on the weapons testing ranges the military uses in the Gulf of Mexico, but those concerns get even less consideration from the current government.

Anyone with ties to tourism or the military in Florida who votes for a Republican is voting against themselves. Having the President’s brother as governor just means the governor makes excuses for bad Federal policy.