What??
By the generals running the war, says The New York Times.
In the fall of 2005, the generals running the Iraq war told the Senate Armed Services Committee that a gradual withdrawal of American troops from Iraq was imperative.
The American troop presence, Gen. John P. Abizaid and Gen. George W. Casey Jr. said at the [...]

Austin Centrist is picking up signals that that’s what Republicans in the House and Senate are planning for the Democrats as part of a “Plan for Victory” called “24 Months to a New Republican Majority.”
So that’s all it’s all about.

I know I’m probably the odd man out among centrists, but I’m greeting the politcal ressurrection of Trent Lott with a big shrug.
Read more to find out why.

This could either turn out to be Orwellian or completely benign. Here’s more from CNN Money:
NEW YORK (Reuters) — Clear Channel, the No. 1 U.S. radio station operator, said on Thursday it would be acquired by private equity firms Thomas H. Lee Partners, Bain Capital and the company’s founding Mays family for nearly $19 billion.
Clear [...]

The vote wasn’t even close.
Steny Hoyer is their man:
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats picked Rep. Steny Hoyer to be majority leader on Thursday, spurning Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s handpicked choice moments after unanimously backing her election as speaker when Congress convenes in January.
A Marylander and 25-year veteran of Congress, Hoyer defeated Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania [...]

In the spirit of “patriots” who want to criminalize flag-burning (thus missing the whole point of what the flag represents), I give you the small town of Pahrump, Nev.
The elected town board in the remote Mojave Desert community voted 3-2 on Tuesday to enact an ordinance making it illegal to fly a foreign nation’s flag [...]

Minority Governments & The Parliamentary System

You can visit it at Eteraz.org.
Here’s a taste of a new post he’s put up over there…
One of the most common justifications of suicide bombings advances in this manner: In Israel, there are no civilians. Because, unlike many other industrialized Western societies, Israel does not have an all-volunteer army; in the event of an emergency, [...]

From the StarTribune:
In a sweeping policy departure that aligns with a top agenda item of the newly elected DFL legislative majorities, Gov. Tim Pawlenty called Tuesday for extending health care access to up to 90,000 uninsured children as a step toward coverage for all Minnesotans.
“We all, I think, can chart a path toward universal coverage,” [...]

First, we have the “Murtha as Majority Leader” situation. This is a guy with a suspect ethical past and he’s being ushered in as the guy who’ll be 2nd in command of a new, more ethical Democratic Party.
And just to give you some added perspective on this guy, it’s being reported that he’s not [...]

And so do I.
Why? Well, obviously I’m not very excited about Pelosi’s choice of Murtha, and neither are two of my local congressmen. They’re going with Steny too. So they give me a little more reason, aside from Murtha’s dirtied hands.
In any event, here’s the Bull Moose with more:
Steny Hoyer should become the donkey’s House [...]

In a moment when centrism is all the rage, Callimachus declares he’s not a centrist. He explains why:
If you’re a “centrist” all you have to do is say, “you’re both partially right,” and without even necessarily knowing whether that’s true, you’re probably one step up the evolutionary ladder from both of the sides. Because chances [...]

StopGeek has 10 reasons why it’s not a good idea, and I wholeheartedly agree with every single one of them.

This is a sample “Democratic” ballot passed out by homeless people shipped in from Philadelphia to work for the Republican campaigns in Maryland of Michael Steele and Robert Erlich.

And the Repubs aren’t even trying to disown it!
The glossy fliers bore photos of black Democratic leaders on the front. Under the headline “Democratic Sample Ballot” were [...]

Pelosi endorsing Murtha as majority leader = dumb.
Why? Well, if Pelosi is really talking about kicking corruption out of the Congress…Murtha doesn’t deserve to be majority leader. Sure, he’s a decorated Marine and he spoke out about the war when few other politicians would, but his hands have been dirtied over the years in all [...]

Not Michael Steele, as previously rumored. But Florida Sen. Mel Martinez.
This seems like an odd pick. Martinez will remain in the Senate, limiting how active he can be with the RNC. And he’s not exactly someone who captures the imagination and energizes the party. In fact, he barely squeaked into office on Bush’s coattails in [...]

“Never underestimate the ability of a small, dedicated group of people to change the world. Indeed, nothing else ever has.” Margaret Mead
This is such a relevant quote when referring to Congressman Rahm Emanuel and Senator Charles Schumer who moved the balance of American politics to the vital center.
As the House and Senate Campaign directors they [...]

I’m not suggesting that Donklephant and other moderate blogs were ahead of the times, but…wait, we were ahead of the times.
And by the way, I reserve the right to gloat a maximum of 2 more times before the year is over.
Now then…how do we capitalize on this win, divide the country and make a [...]

Lincoln provides a glimpse behind the scenes into what the Bush administration was really about all along, and how that worked against his chances to win re-election in Rhode Island.
From the NY Times:
Back in December 2000, after one of the closest elections in our nation’s history, Vice President-elect Dick Cheney was the guest at a [...]

One of the factors in the Dems win could have been a slight loss in the Republican’s devout base.
From Reuters:
DALLAS (Reuters) – U.S. evangelicals have lost some of their enthusiasm for the Republican Party, a factor contributing to the party’s drubbing in Tuesday’s congressional elections, a new survey found.
In a Beliefnet poll of 771 evangelical [...]