Unquote” Eddie Vedder

“Empty pockets will allow a greater sense of wealth.”

From the song “Far Behind” on “Into the Wild”

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Noxious number: Cost of war

800,000,000,000

The cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts from Sept. 11, 2001 to Dec. 31, 2007. (From a New York Times editorial on Sept. 28, 2007.)

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Who really betrayed us

Congress felt compelled to condemn MoveOn.org’s “General Patraeus or General Betray Us” advertisement by a 3-to-1 margin.  This vote was trivial and a waste of taxpayers money.

Congress should be developing strategies for a respectable Iraq war exit, yet they meddle in a progressive group’s childish ad.

Americans believe our efforts are damaged by this ad, according to a FOX News Poll. (I know those last three words are an oxymoron.) This belief is typical Conservative rhetoric. Are Muqtata al Sadr or Al Qaeda in Iraq reinvigorated by what Move On does? Hardly. Any “treason” talk is outlandish.

Lawmakers should focus on the cause, not the effect. Although Barak Obama’s abstention was mostly a presidential campaign calculation, it was the right move — don’t validate the insignificant, even in a no vote.

What a complete waste of time.

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Noxious number: Slain women

300

The number of girls and women who die each year in Syria from so-called honor killings, where a male family member will slain a wife or daughter for being raped, having pre-marital sex or committing adultery. (From the New York Times Magazine.)

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An opening tribute

“Animals, whores and dialogue” were the sources Hunter S. Thompson went to when his writing stalled.

It seemed fitting to quote the Good Doctor at the wee-hour inception of my blog, version 4.0, which is titled after HST’s legacy — Gonzo Journalism.

I haven’t blogged since July because the company I went through folded and I was too stubborn and elitist to allow myself to do a blogspot-type site. My impatience, however, won out.

Coming soon: a YouTube link to a Mason Jennings performance of his yet-to-be released song “Train” from Sept. 23 in Duluth.

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