SPITBULL

Kucinich outlined his plan to create a cabinet-level Department of Peace ... . The Department of Peace, he explained, would infuse the principles of peace into every aspect of society. In school, children would be introduced to "peace-making" and "peace-sharing" programs starting in the early grades. In homes suffering from domestic violence, abusers would be treated with "open-hearted compassion," with a focus on dealing not just with the effects of but with the underlying causes of violence in our society. Internationally, the Department would work with the nations of the world to transform relationships, and, in the spirit of the original United Nations charter, end war for good.

Ask Dr. Science About the Birds and Bees (shipped in a brown wrapper)

[W]e've got some hard hitting economic issues, a war on terror, a reconstruction in Iraq, a budget deficit that would make the folks down at Shopaholics Anonymous blush, and a demographic crisis coming down the pike that's going to make all the rest of those issues look like a walk in the park. People are not going to decide who to vote for based on what they do, or do not believe, about the rights of a tiny percentage of the population to wed

- Buffalo Wings and Vodka helpfully brainstorms possible responses to rude and unwelcome grade inquiries ("Come again? I am not from your country. Please pass the biscuits")

- Jeremy Blachman lists the Sneaking Into Registrar's Office And Giving Everyone Perfect Grades Editor as one of the myriad Law Review Leadership Positions currently up for election at his school.

So, basically, I really want to find out how I did, but I don't feel like finding out I don't know Constitutional Law very well, or at least I didn't show it on the exam, will do all that much to my self-esteem. A reader writing in to tell me my weblog sucks, however, will kill me.

Matter is recalcitrant.

7:00PM: There are a lot of old people here.
7:30PM.: Wolf Blitzer! Very short.

Look Both Ways Before Peeing in the Street

I think it may have been the drunkest audience we have ever tried to entertain (and I'm even including Oslo 2001 in that assessment.) People were falling down and remaining on the floor, smiling and continuing their conversations, clearly not having realized that they were no longer upright. It was one of those nights. Luckily, the Minneapolis drunk is not a belligerent drunk. Or they put their belligerence aside temporarily for the occasion. Either way, there was a lot of warmth and goodwill radiating from floor to stage. It sounds corny, but after a lifetime of being received more often than not with stony indifference, you really notice stuff like that. Your lower lip starts to tremble. You start slapping people on the back and saying stuff like "I love you, man." ("Woman." "Sorry, woman.") Life feels ever so slightly less unbearable.

celebrating Valentine's Day, named after the Christian patron saint of lovers, has become increasingly popular in both India and Pakistan.

I Am Too a Policeman, and Of Course That's a Gun in My Pocket

1. I live in a glass house. I long ago burnt my own diary from that time period (it was appalling! embarrassing! I think it even had smily faces instead of dots over some of the "i"'s). Lileks makes this same point, but in a slightly more mature manner:

I held contrary positions when I was Young and Idealistic, and thought that those were attributes that lent some sort of moral weight to what I thought. (Hah!)

You really should read his pithy rendition of said youthful positions if you haven't already--it's trademark Lileks.

2. The election is being held in 2004. As the Fraters' Atomizer huffs,

I don’t give a damn what the man said 30 years ago. I also don’t give a damn what President Bush did or said 30 years ago. I care about what he is doing now. This non-stop back and forth business of “He did this” answered by “Oh yeah? Well HE said THIS” is freaking beginning to wear me down.

If Saddam had destroyed his banned weapons or decided to give them up, why didn't he report it to the very agency that could have vindicated him? Why didn't he change his behavior toward the U.N. inspectors? Why, instead, did he prevent the U.N. inspectors from going where they wanted to go and seeing what they wanted to see? Why did his rhetoric continue to underscore his commitment to possessing WMD as part of his vision of Iraq as the dominant power in the region and in the Arab world?

Hussein has repeatedly refused weapons and contraband inspections.

"Most of the prisoners I've dealt with see the daily checks as routine," the soldier said. "But Saddam likes to complain about how we need evidence of wrongdoing before we can cross the cell's threshold."

Occasionally, guards have been forced to threaten Hussein with sanctions to get him to comply with inspections.

"Every couple of days, he refuses to let us look under his bed," an unnamed soldier said. "There's never anything under there, but sometimes he likes to make a big deal out of refusing."

Food. The food is ok. It is basically chicken al la whatever every day or beef-something surprise. Imagine non English speaking third world civilians trying to read a cook book and cooking American food that they have no idea how it should taste. The ice cream is good though. I eat a lot of junk food because it is prepackaged stuff from the states. It tastes normal. Their favorite ingredient here is pepper. They pepper the heck out of everything here. Doesn't taste right? Add pepper. Out of sugar, salt, or other ingredients? Add pepper. Pepper, pepper, pepper.

Water. The water here that we consume is extremely high in minerals. I don't know why they fortify it so much. We have had a few guys pass kidney stones because of it. They loved it. I am pretty pumped up about the prospect of passing a boulder through my pee hole.

Weather. The temperature stays in the 60s most days now. It is now the rainy season. It is also dust season all year long. It (sic) the winter months they have a lot of dust storms; more so than in the summer. The wind blows more in the winter, I am told. Dust is in and on everything. I sweep the floor in my room a few times each week. I also brought a feather duster with me. It is probably one of the most valuable things I brought. The best I can describe the dust is that it is like talcum powder; especially in high traffic areas. The rest of the ground is mud-sand. Everywhere. Nothing is green. Nothing is clean.

Iraqi police. As for the Iraqi police that we are are training, they are worthless and lazy and scared of everything. They seem to not want to do anything. They are going to have to start if the Iraqis are ever going to get control of this place. People back home talk about letting the Iraqis handle their own problems and pulling out the US military. It can't be done yet. The Iraqi police force cannot even take care of themselves. They are basically a non factor at this point. Maybe they just need more time, but right now it is a major problem with turning control over to these people.

Educated Iraqis. The problem here is education. There is none and ignorance is everywhere. It is refreshing to speak with educated Iraqis. Most of which are older and were educated in the West during the Iran/Iraq war. Back then remember "the enemy of your enemy your friend" ideology was the "in" thing during the Cold War. It didn't matter the type of government that was in place. That is why the Reagan administration supported all those Latin American dictators as well as Saddam Hussein. After all, Iraq was at war against the hated Iranians, right. Well during that time many of the Iraqi military officers, wealthy families, and the middle class that worked for the regime were allowed to be educated in America, France, and Britain. I have ran into a few of those people. They are optimistic about the future of Iraq but think the United States will have to remain here for many years. The individuals I spoke with feel that if we pull out too soon this place is definitely up for grabs and the people will never understand what they will be missing. The Iraqi people who are educated understand that we have to be here if they are to have any chance at a democracy. My feelings are that it better get safer here and the Iraqis had better take on more responsibilities, as far as governing, building infrastructure, and providing their own security in their cities, towns and supply routes. The rest of the world had better get in on it too because you they are just waiting to jump in here and take advantage of this countries (sic) cheap labor force. And in the end the US and BG will end up footing the bill in money and blood. It really irks me about France, Russia and Germany wanting to get in on the rebuilding contracts. As far as I am concerned they can take a leap.

The Brits. We have worked close with soldiers from other countries such as Azerbaijan, Australia, and of course the Brits. The Brits are real good too. We have fun working with them. It is kind of like Iowans working Missourians or Minnesotans. You know how each has jokes about the other and lieks to tease the other. Well the Brits and the Americans do this as well. It is all in good fun and both armies really respect each other. They have a great sense of humor and they really hate the French.

After years - decades - of his tireless and quiet work to save humanity, the planet and about thirteen dozen species, someone's finally given him a small thank you. That was all he was looking for, you know. A little bit of the love, love, love he shares on a daily basis given back to him.

He was nominated for the selfless work he's done in recent years to promote environmental issues through his strong support of Jaguar S-Type cars, with its environmentally sensitive ability to squeeze 22 miles out of every gallon of fuel.

Get All Your TV Watching Done, Or No Homework for a Week

He has a judicial character, but also has little tolerance for fools. Born with the rare Mars retrograde, he entered life with a rage — a deep, inner need to overcome (the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. also had the Mars retrograde). He has a strong sense of responsibility as well as feelings of caution about his message. Over the last 18 months the planets have empowered him with core strength. The long-term picture depicts him achieving his highest goals.