The Binary Circumstance

Daily Koz revisits a number of quotes from George W. Bush about Osama bin Laden, starting with when Bush said he wanted bin Laden "dead or alive" and progressing to the more recent "don’t know where he is and don’t care."

The fact is that bin Laden is worth much more to our government alive and making tapes than being captured or killed.  He is the face of terrorism and serves as a constant reminder that we need our government to protect us from the forces of evil in the world.

In a new tape today said that he has allied himself with Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi, calling him the Prince of al-Qaida in Iraq.  There were no princes of al-Qaida in Iraq before Bush toppled Saddam Hussein, but the public seems to have forgotten that.  A large number of Americans still believe that Iraq was responsible for 9/11.

As long as bin Laden and al-Zarqawi are alive and blowing things up, our government can use it to justify our invasion of Iraq.  As long as Americans remain frightened by bin Laden, the government can continue to shovel their hard-earned incomes into the pockets of Bush’s corporate buddies. Bush can continue to run up the war debt and banks can make huge profits on that debt.  More and more Americans will be willing to surrender their civil liberties in exchange for the illusion that the government is protecting them.

Once icons of terror like bin Laden and al-Zarqawi are dead, they can no longer be used for propaganda to manipulate the American populace.

Indonesia was hit by one of the largest earthquakes in the past century and the resulting tidal waves have killed more than 7,000 people.

JAKARTA, Indonesia - The world’s most powerful earthquake in 40 years triggered massive tidal waves that slammed into villages and seaside resorts across Asia on Sunday, killing more than 7,000 people in six countries.

[…]

In Sri Lanka, 1,000 miles west of the epicenter, more than 3,000 people were killed, the country’s top police official said. At least 1,870 died in Indonesia, and 1,900 along the southern coasts of India. At least 198 were confirmed dead in Thailand, 42 in Malaysia and two in Bangladesh.

But officials expected the death toll to rise dramatically, with hundreds reported missing and all communications cut off to Sumatran towns closest to the epicenter. Hundreds of bodies were found on various beaches along India’s southern state of Tamil Nadu, and more were expected to be washed in by the sea, officials said.

In Vatican City, Pope John Paul II appealed for swift international help to those afflicted by the earthquake and subsequent tidal waves.

“The Christmas feast has been made sad by the news that reaches us from Southeast Asia,??? he told a crowd in St. Peter’s Square for his Sunday blessing on the day after Christmas.

All around the world today there are billions of people actively engaged in the belief that a God controls every event that occurs on earth and that He watches out for all his children.

That belief, which is evidence of a massive, centuries-long pandemic of mental illness and delusion, is a man-made disaster far greater than any earthquake or tsunami.  Throughout the course of human history, it is responsible for more wars, death and suffering than all natural disasters combined.

The Pope has done more than his share to exacerbate that disaster.  It’s ironic that he can see the tragedy of what happened in Indonesia, but remains blind to all the suffering and death his religion has caused in the world.

Check out OhlalaParis, a Typepad blog unlike any others I’ve seen.

Its full of hot nude male photography including articles about firemen and French rugbymen calendars, books, and DVDs.

This is a great site because I really enjoy looking at sports pictures.

The French rugbymen have also put out 2004 and 2004 calendars, a DVD about The Making of the 2005 Calendar, and a book that includes thousands of pictures (From Amazon France). 

I don’t think you’d find too many American male athletes who would pose like this.

If George Bush and his fellow Christians have their way in the world, you won’t too many French rugbymen who will pose like this in the future.

Is it finally over?

Democrat Christine Gregoire finally won the hand recount in Washington State’s Governor’s race by 130 votes.  The Republicans are reviewing their options.

Let’s review.  On the first count after the election, Dino Rossi won by 261 votes.  On the second automatic recount, Rossi won by 42.  After the hand recount Gregoire was ahead by 10 votes.  After previously rejected King County ballots were allowed to be counted, Gregoire’s lead rose to 130, which is half of Rossi’s origional lead in the race.

When Rossi was ahead by 261, Gregoire said the race was "a tie."  When his lead slipped to 42, she said even louder, "it’s a tie."

When she was ahead by only 10 votes, she didn’t call it a tie.  Now that she’s "won" with 130 votes, she doesn’t call it a tie.

Rossi lost the third and theoretically definitive count in the race against Democrat Christine Gregoire by just 130 votes out of about 2.8 million cast. Rossi won the original tally by 261 votes and the mandatory machine recount by 42.

Gregoire has said "the election is over" and Republican Secretary of State Sam Reed agrees with her. He’ll certify the results Thursday.

Before he does that, Rossi and the Republicans want county canvassing boards to reconsider rejected votes they say will help their cause. Reed, however, says the counties can’t do that because they’ve already signed off on the final results of the hand recount.

She says "the election is over."

The Republicans contend that is the Supreme Court said that previously rejected ballots had to be reviewed by the canvassing board in King County, that the same rules should apply to all counties in the state.

Makes perfect sense to me.

Gregoire’s mantra throughout the race was "let very vote be counted."  Now that she’s won by an even smaller margin than Rossi did in the first count, the Democrats say the race is over and no other votes should be counted, especially not previously rejected ballots from Rossi-friendly counties.

Borrowing the rhetoric from the Democrats, Rossi says it’s all about having every legitimate vote be counted.

"Whether your signature was mistakenly challenged or whether you’re a member of the military who didn’t receive your ballot on time, your vote should count," Rossi said in statement Thursday.

Republicans say they have roughly 300 signed affidavits from registered voters who said their votes were not counted.

It all comes down to the definition of legitimate.

Democrats and Reed contend that the 1,718 additional votes that turned up statewide during the manual recount were counted because they were discovered within the time period established by state law.

But now that all of Washington’s 39 counties have certified the results of their manual recounts, Reed and the Democrats say it’s too late for the Rossi votes in question.

Rossi has accused the state’s Supreme Court justices of changing the rules in the middle of the election to the Democrats’ benefit. Justices ruled this week that hundreds of mistakenly rejected ballots could be considered because their error was discovered before King County certified its count.

"That is wrong," Rossi said. "If the rules can be changed for a select group of voters in King County, then the new rules should apply to everyone, equally."

But now that every vote has not been counted to her benefit, she’s very proud of the process.

Gregoire said Thursday that she has "every confidence" in Washington’s election system.

"I think we have been a model to the rest of the nation and the world at large about how an election system, as close as this one is, can be done with the highest of quality … This is the biggest display of democracy I have ever seen and I am proud of it and I think it’s an inspiration."

What’s so inspiring about King County having a special set of rules that lets them choose the governor for the rest of the state?

It there were any logic to this "democratic" process (and I mean that in two ways) then Rossi was elected under one set of rules used by all counties other than King County, so Rossi is governor of those counties. 

Gregoire, who was elected by a special set of "democratic" rules for King County must only be the governor of King County.

If Washington is to be a unified state, then it must follow the same set of rules for counting votes for all its citizens in all counties.