Well, Duh...

And another year gets underway with chaos in Iraq, the President lying left and right, and “booksellers” on the booklists kvetching about “mega-listers” who might possibly be selling new books more cheaply than they would be, if they deigned to sell such stuff. In other words- Welcome to the New Year, Just Like the Old Year.

Today's news stories make me feel like we need a visit from Obvious Man from the Non Sequitur comic strip.

First at bat- Oh my God, get me the smelling salts- there's a new study showing that hauling your kids around in an SUV is no safer than hauling them around in a car! It seems that simply because an SUV can crush a car like a sardine can does not mean it has (unlike the President) become impervious to the Laws of Gravity and Physics. Turn an SUV quickly doing anything over 20 and it will roll over faster than Monica Lewinsky after an evening of daiquiris. Forget the selfish , anti-social "fuck you" message being given by the parents who declare that they are going to make their kids safer by driving around in a tank even if it costs you your life when they lose control and flatten you like a cow pattie ; it's the sheer stupidity and self-delusion of the whole thing. Let's face it- SUV's attract rollovers like trailer parks attract tornadoes. Was there anyone on the planet who didn't realize that? And yet people persist in deluding themselves.

Then there’s this story from today's Boston Globe-
New study contradicts advice on low-carb diets- Women lost weight on low-fat regimen. "In recent years, some diet gurus have contended that a low-fat diet leads to weight gain, but a new study of nearly 50,000 older women finds that replacing some fats with carbohydrates actually helps control weight”. Geez. Eating less fat will not make you gain weight? Wow.

What these stories seem to have as a common theme is people's overwhelming desire to delude themselves if it will make them feel better. Sure SUV's roll over like ten-pins, but I feel safer... maybe eating more fat will make me lose weight...

It's that sort of thinking that got us into Iraq, and saddled us with four more years of ChimpBoy.

And speaking of the President- George has again proven that, while the Constitution is well worth running roughshod over all our civil liberties to protect, he Himself can ignore it, and any other law, whenever he pleases. Remember that anti-torture bill John McCain fought so hard for, the one Dick Cheney lobbied so hard against? Remember when Bush signed it last week? What you did not hear about was a rider he signed at the same time that says he can ignore the new law if he feels like it. Is it time to impeach this guy? That may be a question for Obvious Man…

Now Listening To: "The Essential Johnny Cash"
Now Reading: fewer fucking newspapers
Now Drinking: not nearly enough