Reuters reports that the Baghdad city government wants the United States to apologize and pay $1 billion for the damage done to the city by blast walls it erected and by our troops’ Humvees during the U.S. occupation of Iraq. The city’s government said in a statement: The U.S. forces changed this beautiful city to a camp in an ugly and destructive way, which reflected deliberate ignorance and carelessness about the simplest forms of public taste…Due to the huge damage, leading to a loss the...

On that dreadful Saturday afternoon of January 8, I along with so many others started blogging on the tragedy in Tucson. My first “report” quoting the Washington Post was, in part: According to a local news report, Giffords was shot in the head at point-blank range. She was taken to University Medical Center in Tucson; her condition was not immediately known. As we all remember, early reports were that the Congresswoman had been killed. Fortunately, my first “update” to the story was: UPDATE After...

In “The Iraqi Phoenix Rises Again,” I described how the once proud and powerful Iraqi Air Force (IqAF)—at one time the sixth largest air force in the world—was decimated as a result of both the 1991 “Persian Gulf War” (Operation Desert Storm) and Saddam Hussein’s desperate concealing, disassembling and “stashing abroad” of its remaining aircraft before the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. While indeed decimated as a result of wars, a new IqAF started to rise again...

Last week, President Obama, in a letter to surviving relatives and friends of 28 patriots evoked a tragic accident that occurred 50 years ago in the Atlantic Ocean 85 miles off New York City. In the letter, the president recognized the 28 men who died when Texas Tower No. 4 (TT4) collapsed into the ocean during a violent storm the night of January 15, 1961: “Our nation is grateful for the dedication, pride, and commitment of all those who have risked their lives to ensure the safety of their...

How many of us remember our first young love? Probably quite a few. However, if that first romance occurred some 70 years ago, how many would still remember it well enough and still cherish it deeply enough to write a screenplay for a movie celebrating such love? That is exactly what 90-year-old, World War II veteran John Tschirhart has been dedicating virtually every waking hour of his life to for the last ten years or so. I wrote about John’s fascinating love story a couple of months ago. Here...

As Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords continues to undergo rehabilitation in Houston and to improve every day, the assumptions, rumors and predictions about her political future continue to swirl. Such speculation includes “Democrats in Arizona and Washington [are] looking to her as a potential candidate to replace retiring GOP Sen. Jon Kyl.“ According to Politico, Arizona and Washington strategists view Giffords as “a compelling candidate for higher office.” Politico adds that...

President Obama has just given his reaction to the momentous and fast-moving events in Egypt. Some of his comments: There are very few moments in our lives where we have the privilege to witness history…The people of Egypt have spoken. Their voices have been heard… Egypt will never be the same…This is not the end of Egypt’s transition. It is the beginning…Egyptians have made it clear that nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day… And quoting and referencing to...

Update (15:20 ET) The Washington Post: The People of Egypt Have Spoken In an address from the White House, President Obama said the “people of Egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard and Egypt will never be the same.” He likened the relatively peaceful ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to the fall of the Berlin Wall and to the advances of the American civil rights movement. Invoking the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, he said: “There’s something in the soul...

WARNING: This post qualifies for the coveted R.D.S. ALERT Award. First, a disclaimer. I have not read, nor intend to read, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s memoir. I know that “reviewing” or discussing a book without reading it is the epitome of arrogance, ignorance and so many other “ances.” However, please indulge me because as the magnanimous person that I am, I will make up for that little detail (not having read the book) by providing excerpts from three reviews....

When it comes to our troops and veterans, I am an equal opportunity zealot. I railed against the Bush administration when the shameful facts of the “Walter Reed scandal” unfolded. Today, under a new administration, we read about another scandal in the making—one that is affecting thousands of our troops at our Warrior Transition units. The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports on a nine-month investigation that found that “America’s sick and injured soldiers must struggle to mend inside...

The Stars and Stripes reports that several House Democrats are asking the Pentagon to allow troops previously dismissed under the “don’t ask, don’t tell” law to petition the boards of correction to upgrade their discharges to “honorable” if they received a lesser discharge. Such an upgrade would make them eligible to receive veterans’ benefits. According to the Stripes: Under Department of Veterans Affairs rules, only troops who receive a dishonorable or bad-conduct discharge are...

WARNING: P.D.S. ALERT I had read that Sarah Palin and her daughter, Bristol, have applied for trademarks for their names. If approved, we could soon see Sarah Palin® and Bristol Palin®. But why? Adam Clark Estes has a pretty good explanation, not only of this latest Palin phenomenon, but also about U.S. intellectual—Oh, the possibilities here—property law and the whole trademark history and process. You can read it here. CODA: According to Salon, “The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office...

As I mentioned yesterday in the thread dedicated to the recovery of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Astronaut Mark Kelly has decided to command the shuttle Endeavour flight set to launch April 19. I also mentioned that the astronaut believes that his wife is making extraordinary progress and that support from family and friends “were keys to his decision to command the upcoming flight of the space shuttle Endeavour.” “She would be very comfortable with the decision I made,” Kelly said at...

It is interesting how people, events and places—and snafus—can have a confluence under the strangest and most ironic circumstances. Take the ongoing conflict in Egypt and the fears by some that serious violence could effectively close the Suez Canal. Add to this the recent claim by Chris Matthews that Egypt “of course has the Panama Canal.” Then we have the never-ending claims by the “birthers” that Obama wasn’t born in the U.S. To counter that, some have revived the 2008...

UPDATE: According to Daily Kos, now that the Veterans of Foreign Wars are fighting back, Bachmann is backing down on her $4.5 billion “suggested” cuts in veterans benefits: “One point on my discussion list was a $4.5 billion proposal that would affect payments made to our veterans,” Bachmann said in a statement. “That has received a lot of attention and I have decided that it should be removed from consideration.” Daily Kos has some choice words for Bachmann’s budget...

Update: 11:00 ET, Feb 4 With signs of fracturing within Egypt’s ruling elite, hundreds of thousands of people packed Cairo’s central Tahrir Square on Friday, chanting slogans, bowing in prayer and waving Egyptian flags to press a largely peaceful campaign for the removal of President Hosni Mubarak. Read more here UPDATE: 19:00 ET The New York Times reports that the Obama Administration is discussing a plan for Mubarak to quit immediately, “turning over power to a transitional government...

The Senate has just defeated a Republican-led effort to repeal the entire national health-care overhaul, with lawmakers voting strictly along party lines. “The decision underscores the hurdle that the GOP faces in that Democratic-majority chamber as it tries to overturn the law.” All 50 Senate Democrats present and one independent voted against the repeal, while all 47 Republicans voted in favor. Sens. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) were not present. The measure was...

Latest from the BBC (18:09 ET) The struggle for control of the future of Egypt continued in Cairo. Egyptian anti-government protesters remain entrenched in Cairo’s main square, after at least three people were killed in clashes with supporters of President Hosni Mubarak. Hundreds of people were also wounded as rival groups fought pitched battles in and around Tahrir Square, in the worst violence in nine days of protests. The army has urged people to go home. :: The unrest has left about 300...

Just as George W. Bush differed with his father on many issues, now Barbara Bush is at odds with her father, George W. Bush, on a major social issue. The New York Times announces that “Barbara Bush, one of the twin daughters of George W. Bush, will endorse same-sex marriage on Tuesday, publicly breaking ranks with a father who, as president, pushed for a constitutional amendment banning such unions.” Ms. Bush, 29, has taped a video calling on New York to legalize gay marriage. A bill...

My hometown newspaper today reprinted Tom Campbell’s op-ed in the Washington Post, an op-ed where Campbell pleaded for a pardon for Tom DeLay. I have already expressed my two-cents worth here and here. However, I noticed that the Austin American-Statesman’s version was noticeably shorter than the Post’s op-ed—about 140 words shorter. Now, I know from personal experience that the Statesman’s editorial page editors are sticklers for word count on columns: “650-700 words maximum,”...

Florida District Court Judge Roger Vinson has just handed down his decision on whether the health care reform law is constitutional. Many Conservatives had hoped or predicted that the judge would rule against President Obama’s health care reform law. Judge Vinson did not disappoint them. Vinson ruled that the legislation is unconstitutional. In the decision, Vinson writes: … I must reluctantly conclude that Congress exceeded the bounds of its authority in passing the Act with the individual...

A few days ago, I commented on Texas lawyer Tom Campbell’s appeal to President Obama and Texas Governor Rick Perry to grant convicted felon Tom DeLay a pardon. While I would not be opposed to a pardon for DeLay on humanitarian grounds—mainly for his family’s sake—Campbell, in my opinion, laundry-listed all the wrong reasons for such a pardon. Over at the Huffington Post, Jason Linkins also comments on the pardon plea with a somewhat similar take but he takes special offense to Campbell’s...

I believe that Tom DeLay is a sleazebag. Tom Campbell believes that Tom DeLay “is not a bad man.” But hey, I am a nobody and Campbell is a famous Texas lawyer who was general counsel of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the George H.W. Bush administration. However, what a nobody and what a famous lawyer think of Tom DeLay—whether he is a sleazebag or “not a bad man”—has nothing to do with what a jury in Texas thought two months ago when they found DeLay...

Former Vice President Dick Cheney — noticeably leaner but otherwise looking quite well, considering he underwent major heart surgery only six months ago — has been making the rounds once again after having been out of the spotlight for several months. While still criticizing the Obama administration, albeit with a weaker voice and without so much combativeness and brashness, Cheney seems to be more interested these days in claiming his place in history and in promoting his upcoming book,...

Today marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi death camp—a day that has been designated as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. About three weeks ago I posted a link to an article about a letter written by a Jewish relative as he was being transported in a cattle train from the Netherlands to his death in Auschwitz. The article ended with the words: A letter which, along with all that has been said and written about the Holocaust, may help us keep...