Monday Potpourri

The Bush Administration has a historic opportunity -- here on our own soil. And it's doing a piss-poor job of selling it. There's nothing that complicated about what needs to be done for "Social Security". (I use the scare quotes because I consider it an oxymoron.) To see it put clearly, read The Ownership Card

The only political trump that reformers have, and the one the White House has to make its main theme, is ownership. Not just an "ownership society," in the good phrase Mr. Bush often uses, but ownership of your own payroll taxes to build your own retirement assets. This is the nub of the entire reform debate, because it gets to the fundamental issue of who controls the money that Americans pay into the Social Security system.

Ray Haynes checks in with Let's Kill All The Old People

For all the pretty words, "death with dignity" is just a nice way of saying we just wish the old, the disabled, the mentally ill, or anyone with more than normal problems would just spare us all the trouble and kill themselves. We'll give them the pills, we'll find them a doctor who will convince them they would be better off dead, and then we'll make sure they off themselves quickly and painlessly.

Reason #493 Not to Live in England

The Government has ruled that it is now illegal to shoot a crow, rook or pigeon for the pot without scaring it first. The legislation says shooters must attempt to frighten off the birds before pulling the trigger.

Exposing Terror Cells

Iraq The Model has this story about a TV program in Iraq which broadcasts confessions of terrorists. Some of it is pretty chilling reading. One taxi driver shot a man in the head because he "sounded like a collaborator". Others are charging about $200 per hit to kill other Iraqis -- usually unarmed Iraqis. This exchange sheds a lot of light on the "insurgency".

Back to the 1st terrorist. When he was asked about his group he said that he was a member of the "Islamic Army" group. I will quote a short part of the conversation that took place between the officer and the criminal on TV.

Officer: were you doing these killings for Jihad?
Criminal: yes Sir.
Officer: for Jihad or for money?
Criminal: for both Sir.
Officer: how could Jihad be paid for!!
Criminal: (no answer)
Officer: you're Muslim?
Criminal: yes
Officer: on ID card, huh?
Criminal: yes
Officer: do you pray or go to the mosque?
Criminal: no
Officer: do you drink?
Criminal: yes Sir.
Officer: so you don't pray and you don't go to the mosque and you drink and you kill for money and after all this you call your evil doings Jihad?!!! And you call your group the "Islamic Army"!!
Criminal: (no answer again)
Officer: so, tell me about those 9 policemen. Where were they coming from and where were they heading?
Criminal: coming from 'Msayab and heading to Hilla
Officer: so they weren't coming from Tel Aviv? (from the officer's tone, obviously mocking the conspiracy theorists).
Criminal: no Sir, they were Iraqis.
Officer: THEN WHY DID YOU KILL THEM!!?