by Lynnell Mickelsen

Piggy-backing on Susans post on privatizing.

As if Iraq, Katrina and Walter Reed haven't been enough, just remember that conservatives all over the country still have their eyes on a very big privatization prize----your local public schools.

Never mind that education has never been a real big money-maker as entrepreneur Chris Whittle so unwittingly proved.

His highly-publicized and praised Edison Schools, Inc. once sold at $40 a share. But in less than four years, it tumbled down to a low of 14 cents a share and soon after, the company was bought privately (at $1.75 a share) and stopped releasing public disclosure of its finances. Theres more info here.

by Lynnell Mickelsen

Looks like things kept going downhill for W. after the whole Frat-Boy-In-Chief-tries-to-run-people-down-with-giant tractor story on Tuesday.

From Newsweek.

"Jan. 31, 2007 - On Tuesday, President Bush popped in for a surprise visit to the Sterling Family Restaurant, a homey diner in Peoria, Ill. Its a scene that has been played out many times before by this White House and others: a president mingling among regular Americans, who, no matter what they might think of his policies, are usually humbled and shocked to see the leader of the free world standing 10 feet in front of them.

By Lynnell Mickelsen

The fact that so many people are writing and mourning Molly Ivins is a tribute to a life well-lived, well-fought and of course, well-written.

One thing that made her such a good writer----better and funnier than Maureen Dowd"was that she had a great wit AND she actually believed in stuff.

Cynicism about people in power is fine. But relentless cynicism is the easy way out. Molly was never one of the Kewl Kids. Didnt belong to the Beltway crowd. Didnt spend a whole lot of time being hipper than thou. And she honestly loved people. She knew how to rip people a new one without ever losing her deep affection for humanity.

by Lynnell Mickelsen

Oh man, I cant believe how the brief mention of the debate between Walter Mondale and Norm Coleman, right after Wellstone was killed in the plane crash (see Susan's post below) brings back such a rush of memories. And it makes me realize how much has changed in four years.

You know, if I have to find one of the darkest moments during the Bush administration"and geez, there have been so many--it was probably the 2002 election. And for those of us in Minnesota, it was Wellstone's death, the well-spun right-wing uproar over his memorial service (all about tone, once again) and then watching the slimy, obsequious Mother of all Windsocks, Norm Coleman take the Senate seat.

by Lynnell Mickelsen

He's not delusional. He's disordered. At least that's what psychiatrist Paul Minot over at Kos says.

There! I feel so much better. Actually, I don't. But this post makes enormous sense and it explains a) why Bush, waist-deep in the big muddy in Iraq, has decided to ignore the Iraq Study Group and dig a deeper hole, ; b) why he may attack Iran next, never mind the November election results, the advice of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or the fact that the plan is bat-shit crazy; c) why Bush sleeps so well at night and smirks so much during the day, despite his responsibility for the deaths of thousands of people; d) why he likes to surround himself with syncophants; and e) how this relates to being a dry-drunk; f) and (I would argue, as a former evangelical) why Bush is so popular among conservative evangelical leaders, who can easily relate to Bush's holier-than-thou-lack-of-empathy-man-on-a-mission-appointed by God stuff. (Answer: because the same diagnosis applies.)

by Lynnell Mickelsen

I'm a crank about Christmas. I don't like the presents, pagents, consumerism, ads, kitschiness, the godawful carol muzak in the stores and on and on.
Of course, the Grinch was right---you can't stop Christmas from coming. So if you can't beat 'em, you might as well join 'em. Plus I have kids. So I put up lights and greenery, host a big dinner on Christmas Eve, put up the tree, buy some gifts, hang stockings. And on some level, it's fine. It's great. It's a wonderful life, goddam it,

by Lynnell Mickelsen

BarbinMD over at Daily Kos gives us an up-close look at what appears to be Bush's new strategy in Iraq, i.e. the surge..

by Lynnell Mickelsen

Well, excuuuse me, but whatever happened to the so-called GOP Culture of Life? I mean, these are the same people who kept insisting Terri Schaivo was a vibrant young woman, never mind the little 15-year coma thing. After watching her on video tape, Senate Majority Leader and part-time gorilla surgeon Bill Frist gave her a thumbs up and famously dismissed her doctors reports that she was in a persistent, vegetative state.

by Lynnell Mickelsen

Blogger John Aravois goes after the Washington Post lead editorial which brushes off the murder of thousands of Chilean citizens as a relatively mild price to pay for getting the economy right.