President Bush's crappy 9/11 speech

The Bush Administration went out of their way to state that President Bush's speech today, on the 5-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, would not be political in nature. But I was actually (somehow) surprised at how overtly political it was. It sounded much like any recent speech trying to bolster public support for the war in Iraq, and to justify the invasion of Iraq by tying it with the September 11th terrorist attacks.

This was shameful in one regard: that he should have stuck to the issue of the terrorist attacks, and simply honored the memory of those who died and the tragic events that occurred that day, rather than using it as an opportunity to justify his foreign policy decisions and kick off the mid-term campaign season.

But it was an even more egregious act in that just 3 days ago, on Friday, the Senate Intelligence Commitee, chaired by a Republican, approved and released a report stating officially that not only were there no known ties between Saddam Hussein and the 9/11 attacks, nor any real support by Saddam Hussein of Al Qaeda; but that this was all pretty well confirmed PRIOR to the invasion of Iraq, when we were being told that "there was no doubt" that there was an Iraq-9/11 connection.

In short (not that I didn't know it already), the President, Vice-President, Secretary of Defense, National Security Advisor and others deliberately manipulated the known facts in order to link Iraq and the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the minds of the American people. And here, 5 years later, the President is still trying to do just that. I have one word for you, that it is time to seriously start considering: Impeachment. If lying our nation into war doesn't justify it, then what does?

Steve Irwin dies

I'm totally bummed about the death of Australian "Crocodile Hunter" Steve Irwin. In one sense, maybe it shouldn't be a big surprise: he's been putting himself in the path of dangerous animals for years. It's a wonder that he didn't die from a snakebite to the crotch a long time ago. But seriously, it's tragic. He just seemed like such a good guy, obviously brimming with enthusiasm and vigor for life, and he did a lot to bring about awareness of all kinds of animals and nature in general. And unlike most wildlife TV personalities, like Marty Stouffer (sp?), who tend to be the quiet, boring types (although I liked his show as well), Steve had an electrifying personality that poured out of the screen at you. He could make a pile of dung exciting. Man, what a drag that he had to go. He'll definitely be missed; but at least he'll still be around for years on TV screens around the world...