The Nation has an excellent article further fleshing out details in the Downing Street memo. It explains how Bush & Co. were in "full combat mode," beginning the Iraq war before it was officially declared. Rear Admiral David Gove is quoted as saying in November 2002 that pilots were then "essentially flying combat missions." Recall the war didn't "start" until March 2003. Talk about an impeachable offense....
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In a recent NY Observer column, Joe Conason wrote about the right-wing's outrage over the filibuster compromise and how "the leaders of the religious right -- who demanded the 'nuclear' obliteration of legislative traditions in their pursuit of judicial theocracy" denounced the eventual resolution. It should come as no surprise that these folks were a bit perturbed. It's how they think. To them, the Bible is absolute, beyond compromise. The problem is that's not the case with politics, public policy, democracy -- in short, the American way of governmental existence! They refuse or neglect to shift gears. Newsflash: we're not a take-it-or-leave-it theocracy, but rather a republic, which means the minority is represented, heard, and respected. There is no singular voice (God) but rather many opinions, all of which merit consideration.
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This item from a right-wing blog just left my head spinning. The writer takes issue with this letter from John J. Donohue to the NY Times stating that Giuliani didn't deserve a Nobel Peace Prize for crime falling in NYC because it was in part due to abortion being made legal in the 1970s. Crime fell in other cities during this same time period. The blogger retorts, "I'm just curious if Professor Donahue also beleives that it's possible that the person who was going to find the cure AIDS, Lou Gehrig's Disease or some other fatal disease was also a victim of abortion?"

Causal facts vs. sheer conjecture. Hey blogger, how about young children killed by handguns in homes. These same young kids could've grown up to "cure AIDS, Lou Gehrig's Disease or some other fatal disease" and yet I don't hear the right-wing clamoring for tougher gun laws. More of "love the fetus, hate the child."

Also, I could've won the lottery today if I just remembered to play it (I can pose this hypothetical on a daily basis). Oh, and stem cell research could help a child live who may go on to cure cancer -- yet, this research is opposed by the religious right. Or stem cell research could help a more mature, older scientist who is on the verge of a crucial breakthrough in his anti-cancer work, and yet is ailing in health and requires more time to finish.

Where does the idiocy end?