Well. Iowa is over. I personally feel that it means more for Kerry than it does for Dean. When you have a Red state voting over what are predominantly Blue state issues, surprises are bound to take place. That Howard Dean finished shouldn't have surprised anyone, except Howard Dean.

Gephardt's showing was most intriguing. He should have won by the demographic, but it was not to be. He has bowed out gracefully. I'm glad Gephardt is out. He's needed in Congress.

Bush looks to be ready to give his SOTU address focusing on few issues. One, that of homeland security, he is inexplicably held in high regard by the majority of Americans. We at pure bs must wait until after the 9/11 commission reports and we have more color about Bush's Iraqi adventure before issuing him a grade. As noted earlier, he receives a grade of 'incomplete.' He'll be asking for more money, in a further expansion of government, which is anathema to true conservatives.

The other things that appears likely is the Bush will likely be health care, and jobs. Remember, this is a campaign speech as much as anything else, and Bush is likely to use hyperbole and subterfuge in an effort to hide the fact that he has done a terrible job as president. Let's face it, if he had a boss, he'd have been canned a long time ago. That's how I view any resident of the oval office. What would I do if I was the boss? In Bush's case, termination would be the answer. Before you think that I'm a Clinton person, I would have sacked him as well.

Both of there men are terribly flawed individuals. Bush just happens to be the occupier of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue at present. His appeal is very limited. He is not a strong leader. He has a lot of explaining to do on Iraq. He's Cheney's boss, so anything Cheney's involved with, Bush is ultimately responsible.

That Bush's popularity is so narrowly focused(leadership post 9/11) isn't much of a revelation. His response to 9/11 was what any responsible individual would have done. The Right Wing Echo Chamber has turned a very mediocre man, much less president, and turned this fortunate son into a regular guy. Bush is anything but. The polls are really not an indication of Bush's popularity. He is a polarizing figure.

It is curious that Clinton was impeached, and yet Bush, who really has lied to everyone about nearly everything of substance gets a free ride form the press. The So Called Liberal Media is certainly doing its job as watchdog. I won't be watching Bush's SOTU address. I'll look at the transcript and see if I can find any inconsistency between the facts and the rhetoric. It seems an easy job.

Before hearing Bush's 2004 SOTU address, it might be wise to take a look at V2003. Here's a bit:

"The qualities of courage and compassion that we strive for in America also determine our conduct abroad. The American flag stands for more than our power and our interests. Our founders dedicated this country to the cause of human dignity, the rights of every person, and the possibilities of every life. This conviction leads us into the world to help the afflicted, and defend the peace, and confound the designs of evil men.

"In Afghanistan, we helped liberate an oppressed people. And we will continue helping them secure their country, rebuild their society, and educate all their children -- boys and girls. (Applause.) In the Middle East, we will continue to seek peace between a secure Israel and a democratic Palestine. (Applause.) Across the Earth, America is feeding the hungry -- more than 60 percent of international food aid comes as a gift from the people of the United States. As our nation moves troops and builds alliances to make our world safer, we must also remember our calling as a blessed country is to make this world better."'

Really? In Afghanistan, the Taliban are regrouping, security outside of Kabul is STILL a joke, warlords are running most of the country, and because we stretched our resources too thin, by going to Iraq before finishing the job in Afghanistan, terrorism is on the rise. What little we have accomplished is in jeopardy. Hamid Karzai, the President of Afghanistan has survived two assassination attempts. If this sort of thing is happening to perhaps the most heavily guarded man in Afghanistan, what does it say about the average citizen? Opium production has skyrocketed since the ousting of the Taliban as well.

What about "our nation moves troops and builds alliances?" In hindsight this is a joke. Bush has done more to damage the post 9/11 goodwill of the world than I would have thought possible.

The Israeli/Palestinian issue. Bush has done nothing over the past year, while the death toll increases. Sad. Like I've said, he should be fired.

Let's move onto another part of the address:

"The United Nations concluded in 1999 that Saddam Hussein had biological weapons sufficient to produce over 25,000 liters of anthrax -- enough doses to kill several million people. He hasn't accounted for that material. He's given no evidence that he has destroyed it.

"The United Nations concluded that Saddam Hussein had materials sufficient to produce more than 38,000 liters of botulinum toxin -- enough to subject millions of people to death by respiratory failure. He hadn't accounted for that material. He's given no evidence that he has destroyed it.

"Our intelligence officials estimate that Saddam Hussein had the materials to produce as much as 500 tons of sarin, mustard and VX nerve agent. In such quantities, these chemical agents could also kill untold thousands. He's not accounted for these materials. He has given no evidence that he has destroyed them.

"U.S. intelligence indicates that Saddam Hussein had upwards of 30,000 munitions capable of delivering chemical agents. Inspectors recently turned up 16 of them -- despite Iraq's recent declaration denying their existence. Saddam Hussein has not accounted for the remaining 29,984 of these prohibited munitions. He's given no evidence that he has destroyed them.

"From three Iraqi defectors we know that Iraq, in the late 1990s, had several mobile biological weapons labs. These are designed to produce germ warfare agents, and can be moved from place to a place to evade inspectors. Saddam Hussein has not disclosed these facilities. He's given no evidence that he has destroyed them.

"The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed in the 1990s that Saddam Hussein had an advanced nuclear weapons development program, had a design for a nuclear weapon and was working on five different methods of enriching uranium for a bomb. The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa. Our intelligence sources tell us that he has attempted to purchase high-strength aluminum tubes suitable for nuclear weapons production. Saddam Hussein has not credibly explained these activities. He clearly has much to hide."'

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Sorry, George. This is all horseshit, and you knew it at the time. But that doesn't change the reality that you are responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iraqis, hundreds of Americans, and thousands more Americans with life altering injuries. George W. Bush is directly and ultimately responsible for telling Congress and the American people an orchestrated set of lies, so he would get us behind 'his' war.

The Iraqis claimed that they were weapons free. The UN agreed that most if not all of their WMD capacity was destroyed during GW1, or shortly thereafter under the auspices of UNMOVIC. It was not the Iraqis who made a positive claim. It was the U.S. Hence, under rules of logic, the onus was on the U.S.' to prove that Iraq still harbored WMD. In the laughable presentation the Colin Powell made to the UN, it convinced no one but those ready to be convinced. Namely, the Congress and the American public. The press failed in its duty again. The average reporter didn't know what to make of the 'evidence' Powell presented to the UN, but that did not stop them form declaring that Powell's presentation was, "compelling", "convincing" and a whole host of adjectives save for the accurate one, "counterfeit."

Most people, except for guys like Greg Thielmann , were persuaded by Powell's dog and pony show, replete with plagiarised documents stolen from the internet that comprised an American student's doctoral thesis of some ten years past.

The press simply laid down, and we went to war.

So, what is all of this going to cost? No one knows. Estimates range from $200 million dollars to half a trillion. The lives lost can never be recovered. If anyone asks me for references to document any statements I have made, I have all the sources.

I didn't go - as the Bush Administration likes to do - 'cherry picking' information. I only used information form the speech that included facts and figures that are easily dismissed.

Sorry about that. I meant to simply post a link to the article below. :)

Spaced-Out Invaders is worth a read. A bit shrill and lacking on science, it nevertheless provides an interesting viewpoint that hasn't been made in the popular press.

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That is how I view things. If I am not an expert on a topic - and there are few that I am - I will get the opinion of someone that is, prior to forming an opinion. Slower yes, but much more importantly, apt to be accurate. If you watch the SOTU address, just bear in mind the drivel that was shoveled our way last year.