Rush: Snakes & Arrows

NEW MUSIC ON MY PLAYLIST

Rush: Snakes & Arrows
(AMG Review; 4 out of 5 Stars) -- When Rush issued Vapor Trails in 2002, they revealed that -- even after Neil Peart's personal tragedies in the 1990s had cast the group's future in doubt -- they were back with a vengeance. The sound was hard-hitting, direct, and extremely focused. Lyrically, Peart went right after the subject matter he was dealing with -- and it was in the aftermath of 9/11 as well, which couldn't help but influence his lyric writing. In 2004 the band issued a covers EP that was in one way a toss-off, but in another a riotous act of freewheeling joy that offered a side of the band no one had heard for 30 years. There were a couple of live offerings and a 30th anniversary project as well that kept fans happy perhaps, but broke -- though Rush in Rio was the kind of live album every band hopes to record. Snakes & Arrows represents the band's 18th studio album. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver, Superdrag), the record is another heavy guitar, bass, and drums...drums...and more drums record. The title came -- unconsciously according to Peart -- from a centuries-old Buddhist game of the same name about karma, and also from a play on the words of the children's game Chutes and Ladders. Its subject matter is heavy duty: faith and war. From the opening track (and first single), acoustic and electric guitars, bass hum, and Peart's crash-and-thrum urgency in the almighty riff are all present. When Geddy Lee opens his mouth, you know you are in for a ride: "Pariah dogs and wandering madmen/Barking at strangers and speaking in tongues/The ebb and flow of tidal fortune/Electrical charges are charging up the young/It's a far cry from the world we thought we'd inherit/It's a far cry from the way we thought we'd share it...." At the same time, inside the frame of the refrain, Lee refuses to be conquered in the face of chaos: "One day I feel like I'm ahead of the wheel/And the next it's rolling over me/I can get back on/I can get back on." Alex Lifeson's guitars swell and Peart's crash cymbals ride the riff and push Lee to sing above the wailing fray. Great beginning. Read more.

Amazon Customer Reviews: 4 out of 5 Stars
Anthem/Atlantic recording group Rush return with its first new collection of original material in nearly five years, entitled "SNAKES & ARROWS." The album was recorded in the fall of 2006 with Gammy Award-winner Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Velvet Revolver) and Rush co-producing. "It's hard to describe," Geddy Lee recently told Revolver re: "SNAKES & ARROWS.""It's big, it's bold, and I think it's some of the best work we've done in years. I'm really pleased with the quality ofthe songs, and there's lots of playing on it. " Rush - Lee, Alex Lifeson, and Neil Peart - will trumpet the release of "SNAKES & ARROWS" with a full-scale North American tour, the renowned trio's first since 2004's "An Evening with Rush: 30th Anniversary Tour."

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Rush: Snakes & Arrows

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Combat Camera: Too Hot for Mission - Stryker Troops Keep Clearing

Sgt. Nathan Reider, a radio operator and communications specialist with Company C, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment searches a car during an operation in a southwestern Baghdad neighborhood, May 10. Reider, from Wabash, Ind., was investigating a “squirter,” or a person who tried to leave a cordoned area of the city. Photographer: Sgt. Nicole Kojetin.

Spc. Erik Gonzalez tries to cool off during a clearing operation, May 10, in West Rashid, a southern district of Baghdad. The Sun Valley, Texas, native and his comrades from Company C, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment spent the day searching for weapons caches and insurgents. Photographer: Sgt. Nicole Kojetin.

Soldiers with Company C, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment search a palm grove in Baghdad’s west Rashid District, May 10. Photographer: Sgt. Nicole Kojetin.

Spreading out the contents of a suitcase found in an insurgent’s home in the western Rashid District of Baghdad, Soldier’s with 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, evaluate military clothing and papers during Operation Arrowhead Strike 10 in support of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division’s Operation Dragon Fire – West, May 10. Photographer: Sgt. Nicole Kojetin.

Soldiers with Company C, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment make their way back to the street after searching a palm grove in west Rashid, a southwest area of the Iraqi capital, May 10. The Soldier’s were able to detain an insurgent after the long day in the sun. Photographer: Sgt. Nicole Kojetin.

Too Hot for Mission: Stryker Troops Keep Clearing
By Sgt. Nicole Kojetin
1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

BAGHDAD – “Ugh! It’s real hot. It’s like being in an oven,” said Spc. Erik Gonzalez from Sun Valley, Texas, May 10, in a brief pause from guzzling water.

He was tucked under a little tree taking advantage the small amount of shade, not caring that he was kneeling right next to a thorn bush. Gonzalez and his comrades from Company C, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division were on hour five of a clearing operation in Baghdad’s western Rashid District and were trying to take a break from the sun.

“(You have to) drink a lot of water and put water on your body to keep yourself cool,” Gonzales said. “It doesn’t really work that well, though.”

Their eyes were focused, searching for any threats, but no one could deny the constant pressure of the 100-degree weather, especially since they were on the last day of Operation Arrowhead Strike 10 in support of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division’s Operation Dragon Fire - West.

“Let’s go!” someone yells in the distance.

Gonzales sighs and pours some more cool water down the collar of his body armor and moves out.

“Did you go into a coma last night?” a Soldier asked in passing as he walked. “I know I did. I will tonight, too. It sucks out here.”

All of them would rather be operating in the palm groves, where they started their day, as they trudge across the field with the sun on their backs.

“It’s actually a lot cooler because you are walking in the shade all day,” said Capt. Isaac Torres, the commander of Comanche Company. “It is just a lot of intensive searching with metal detectors and poles in the ground and having to clear little by little.”

Lt. Col. Fred Johnson, the deputy commander of the brigade originally from Centralia, Ill., asked Torres what he could do to help when he was checking on his Soldiers.

“Keep pushing the purchases of the (air conditioning) for the vehicles. We currently only have four vehicles with A/C right now,” Torres said.

The Soldiers jokingly call the Strykers the “green oven” because of how hot it is inside. Torres knows first-hand how bad it is. He is in the same boat.

“The guys are physically and mentally done at 12 p.m. in these temperatures. After that, I tell them to take a lot of breaks and to take your time,” he said. “Towards the end of the day yesterday, we had contact and were maneuvering on someone and almost had two guys fall into heat exhaustion.”

The Soldier’s won’t stop until the mission is done, though, leaving no drawer unopened or leaf unturned.

In the middle of the afternoon, an hour prior to the scheduled time to go home, they receive the word that there is a “bad guy” in the area and the current operation comes to a screeching halt.

The Soldiers wait patiently in their “green ovens” for their moment to strike. When they get the word, the sun is forgotten and Soldiers sprint from house to house searching a four-block area until they find the man they are looking for with some of his associates.

Cheers echo off the desolate street as the sweat covered Soldiers learn they got their man.

“We did really well. It was a combined effort,” said Torres.

“We would have knocked off a few hours ago if it wasn’t for these guys,” said Col. Steve Townsend, the 3rd SBCT commander from Griffen, Ga., as he pointed at the flex-cuffed insurgents. “I am very proud of my Soldiers today … they were so determined to not let this guy get away.”

With a renewed sense of purpose and a new disregard of the heat, his Soldiers asked, “What’s next?”

With a big smile, Torres replies, “We are going home.”

And after 13 hours of searching, they headed back to Camp Liberty for a much-needed break.

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Combat Camera: Stryker Brigade Takes Over Operations in Between Baghdad and Deadly Diyala

Soldiers with the latest Stryker brigade to arrive in Iraq pull security in the Taji area, May 15. The Soldiers are with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash. The 4-2 SBCT is the fourth of five brigades to arrive in Iraq as part of the President's "surge" of troops into the Baghdad area. The brigade assumed official responsibility for the area north of Baghdad including parts of deadly Diyala province, May 15. Photographer: Sgt. Antonieta Rico

A Soldier with the latest Stryker brigade to arrive in Iraq pulls security in the Taji area, May 15. The Soldier is with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash. The 4-2 SBCT is the fourth of five brigades to arrive in Iraq as part of the president's "surge" of troops into the Baghdad area. The brigade assumed official responsibility for the area north of Baghdad including parts of deadly Diyala province, May 15. Photographer: Sgt. Antonieta Rico

Soldiers with the latest Stryker brigade to arrive in Iraq search the palm groves in the Taji area for a team of insurgents, May 15. The Soldiers encountered a roadside bomb during the patrol and chased the suspected triggermen into the palm groves. The Soldiers are with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash. The 4-2 SBCT is the fourth of five brigades to arrive in Iraq as part of the president's "surge" of troops into the Baghdad area. The brigade assumed official responsibility for the area north of Baghdad including parts of deadly Diyala province, May 15. Photographer: Sgt. Antonieta Rico

Soldiers with the latest Stryker brigade to arrive in Iraq search the palm groves in the Taji area for a team of insurgents, May 15. The Soldiers encountered a roadside bomb during the patrol and chased the suspected triggermen into the palm groves. The Soldiers are with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash. The 4-2 SBCT is the fourth of five brigades to arrive in Iraq as part of the president's "surge" of troops into the Baghdad area. The brigade assumed official responsibility for the area north of Baghdad including parts of deadly Diyala province, May 15. Photographer: Sgt. Antonieta Rico

Soldiers with the latest Stryker brigade to arrive in Iraq sight a suspected team of insurgents during a patrol in the Taji area, May 15. The Soldiers encountered a roadside bomb during the patrol and chased the suspected triggermen into the palm groves. The Soldiers are with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash. The 4-2 SBCT is the fourth of five brigades to arrive in Iraq as part of the president's "surge" of troops into the Baghdad area. The brigade assumed official responsibility for the area north of Baghdad including parts of deadly Diyala province, May 15. Photographer: Sgt. Antonieta Rico

Staff Sgt. Lang Gureckis sends a text message to fellow Soldiers using his helmet mounted screen of the Land Warrior System while pulling overwatch security on a roof top in the Taji area, May 15. Lang is with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash. The 4-2 SBCT is the fourth of five brigades to arrive in Iraq as part of the president's "surge" of troops into the Baghdad area. The brigade assumed official responsibility for the area north of Baghdad including parts of deadly Diyala province, May 15. Photographer: Sgt. Antonieta Rico

Soldiers with the latest Stryker brigade to arrive in Iraq secure a road as residents walk by during a patrol in the Taji area, May 15. The Soldiers are with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash. The 4-2 SBCT is the fourth of five brigades to arrive in Iraq as part of the president's "surge" of troops into the Baghdad area. The brigade assumed official responsibility for the area north of Baghdad including a part of deadly Diyala province, May 15. Photographer: Sgt. Antonieta Rico

Soldiers with the latest Stryker brigade to arrive in Iraq patrol a route in Taji, May 15. The Soldiers are with the 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, from Fort Lewis, Wash. The 4-2 SBCT is the fourth of five brigades to arrive in Iraq as part of the president's "surge" of troops into the Baghdad area. The brigade assumed official responsibility for the area north of Baghdad up to Baqubah, in the deadly Diyala province, May 15. Photographer: Sgt. Antonieta Rico

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The Decline and Fall of Western Civ for 17 May

From alien abduction to alien amnesty
It's the end of the world as we know it...

• Unable to simply enforce current immigration laws, key senators in both parties announced agreement with the White House Thursday on an immigration overhaul that would grant quick amnesty to millions of illegal aliens already in the U.S., reports The Associated Press and Reuters.
  
  The Washington Post notes, to satisfy Republicans, the bill's provisions would come in force only after the federal government implements tough new border controls and a crackdown on employers that hire illegal immigrants. Republicans are demanding 18,000 new Border Patrol agents, 370 miles of additional border fencing and an effective, electronic employee-verification system for the workplace.
  
  However, South Carolina Sen. Republican Jim DeMint's statement echoed many conservative's feelings on the issue and was linked on The Drudge Report:
  
  

  "I hope we don't take a thousand page bill written in secret and try to ram it through the Senate in a few days. This is a very important issue for America and we need time to debate it."
  
  "But the little we do know about the bill is troubling. According to reports, the bill contains a new 'Z Visa' that allows those who entered our country illegally to stay here permanently without ever returning home. This rewards people who broke the law with permanent legal status, and puts them ahead of millions of law-abiding immigrants waiting to come to America. I don't care how you try to spin it, this is amnesty."

  On the issue of illegal immigrants, Selwyn Duke, writing at the SmallGovTimes.com sarcastically says, "Western civilization has become old, tired and decrepit; it’s a mere shadow of its former self, running on fumes and on empty. Perhaps its time for it to be euthanized." He says we should be outraged by the pandering to the illegal alien lobby, and further, that the three most important factors in immigration policy are deportation, deportation and deportation. Still, to focus our eyes narrowly on just illegal immigration is to lament only the salt thrown into the wound while accepting the wound itself. Illegal immigration is not the problem. It’s an exacerbation of the problem.
  
  More from The Associated Press; Reuters.

• While many liberals would have us mistakenly believe the U.S. is the most loathed nation on the planet, The New York Times points out immigration to America has caused for the first time the number of nonwhite Americans to move above the 100 million mark; demographers are identifying an emerging racial generation gap.
  
  The Times, however, goes on, trying to make white Americans feel guilty, stating that the development may portend a nation split between an older, whiter electorate and a younger overall population that is more Hispanic, black and Asian and that presses sometimes competing agendas and priorities.
  
  

  “There’s a fairly large homogeneous population 60 and older that may not be sympathetic to the needs of a diverse youthful population,” Dr. Mather said.

  With Democrats holding both houses of Congress and the rise in minority population, perhaps it is time conservatives realize they are also now a minority and start acting like it.
  
  Speaking of the majority party, who are the ones actually acting like a minority, The Politico reports Congressional Democrats are wielding a heavy hand on the House Rules Committee, committing many of the procedural sins for which they condemned Republicans during their 12 years in power.
  
  

  "The Democrats have not made good on a single promise they made during 2006, especially when it comes to fostering a more open and deliberative House of Representatives," Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said. "Instead of making the House more open and deliberative, they've gone in the opposite direction, doing things we never even contemplated during our time in the majority."

• Not satisfied with all the attention his crisis mongering has brought, former VP Al Gore writes of yet another crisis in his new book, "American democracy is now in danger." And this time it isn't from climate change. Rather, Gore says, America is is in danger from the "marketplace of ideas."
  
  The former VP stumbles around his thesis, citing various polls and demographics to back his argument. In the end, Gore, like so many of us, simply misses that which is clearly right in front of us: An ideological template applied by the mass media shapes rather than reflects the public consciousness.

• Reuters reports bullet analysis used to justify the lone assassin theory behind President John F. Kennedy's assassination is based on flawed evidence, according to a team of researchers including a former top FBI scientist.

• A nude car wash offering an X-rated sideshow and topless cleaning in Australia's tropical Queensland state has been given the all-clear after police and officials said they were powerless to scrub it, according to Reuters.

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Combat Camera: USS John C. Stennis on Deployment

ARABIAN SEA (May 15, 2007) - An MH-60S Seahawk assigned to the "Wild Cards" of Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 23 delivers supplies from the Military Sealift Command fast combat support ship USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10) to USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) during a vertical replenishment. The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group is on a regularly scheduled deployment in support of Maritime Security Operations (MSO). MSO help set the conditions for security and stability, as well as aid counter-terrorism and security efforts to the regional nations. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Josue Leopoldo Escobosa (RELEASED)

ARABIAN SEA (April 16, 2007) - An S-3B Viking assigned to the "Top Cats" of Sea Control Squadron (VS) 31 launches from the flight deck aboard the Nimitz-class carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group is on deployment in support of Maritime Security Operations (MSO). MSO helps set the conditions for security and stability, as well as aid counter-terrorism and security efforts to the regional nations. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Paul J. Perkins (RELEASED)

ARABIAN SEA (May 15, 2007) - Sailors from the Military Sealift Command fast combat ship USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10) prepares to attach supplies onto an HH-60H Seahawk during a replenishment-at-sea with the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group is on deployment in support of Maritime Security Operations (MSO). MSO help set the conditions for security and stability, as well as aid counter-terrorism and security efforts to the regional nations. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Josue Leopoldo Escobosa (RELEASED)

ARABIAN SEA (May 15, 2007) - Aviation Warfare Systems Operator 3rd Class Kyle Williams rides in an HH-60H Seahawk, from the "Eightballers" of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 8, during a replenishment at sea with Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10). John C. Stennis Carrier U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Josue Leopoldo Escobosa (RELEASED)

ARABIAN SEA (May 13, 2007) - Chaplains, Lt. Anthony Carr (left) and Lt. Scott Callaham baptize Airman Christopher Allington on the fantail of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). This is the second time full-body baptisms have been performed aboard Stennis in its 11-year history. The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group is on a regularly scheduled deployment in support of Maritime Security Operations (MSO). MSO help set the conditions for security and stability, as well as aid counter-terrorism and security efforts to the regional nations. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman John Wagner (RELEASED)

PERSIAN GULF (May 12, 2007) - Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Equipment) 3rd Class Trevino Crowder directs flight deck personnel working together to rig the aircraft barricade aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). The barricade is used to help recover aircraft during emergency situations. The John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group is on a regularly scheduled deployment in support of Maritime Security Operations (MSO). MSO help set the conditions for security and stability, as well as aid counter-terrorism and security efforts to the regional nations. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jon Hyde (RELEASED)

PERSIAN GULF (May 12, 2007) - Fire Controlman 2nd Class Nathan Becker wraps a line around a ballard on the flight deck aboard the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS O'Kane (DDG 77) during sea and anchor detail. O'Kane is part of the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group on a regularly scheduled deployment in support of Maritime Security Operations (MSO). MSO help set the conditions for security and stability, as well as aid counter-terrorism and security efforts to the regional nations. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joseph R. Vincent (RELEASED)

ARABIAN SEA (May 14, 2007) - From left to right, Hull Technician Firemen Noah Rodriguez, Zach Carver and Keir Burnette assist with brazing a fitting for a saltwater pipe in the metal shop aboard Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). Stennis, as part of the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group, is on deployment in support of Maritime Security Operations (MSO). U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Paul J. Perkins (RELEASED)

PERSIAN GULF (May 12, 2007) - Ensign Sarah Watson stands conning officer watch on the bridge of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS O'Kane (DDG 77). Conning officers provide course and speed changes for seaward navigation while the ship is underway. O'Kane is part of the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group on a regularly scheduled deployment in support of Maritime Security Operations (MSO). MSO help set the conditions for security and stability, as well as aid counter-terrorism and security efforts to the regional nations. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Joseph R. Vincent (RELEASED)

ARABIAN SEA (May 15, 2007) - An HH-60H Seahawk, from the "Eightballers" of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 8, finishes delivering supplies aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN74) during a replenishment-at-sea with USNS Bridge (T-AOE 10). Stennis, as part of the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group, is on deployment in support of Maritime Security Operations (MSO). U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Paul J. Perkins (RELEASED)

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Combat Camera: Patrolling in Haqlaniyah

Sgt. Joshua Cabral, a security team leader of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment's Jump team, talks through his headset while on patrol in Haqlaniyah, Iraq. The Jump team is responsible for escorting the battalion commander throughout 1/3's area of operations. Photographer: Cpl. Stephen M Kwietniak.

Cpl. Jared Wagner, personnel security detail of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment (1/3), and Lt. Col. James Bierman, patrol through Haqlaniyah, Iraq. Haqlaniyah has been a source of the most anti-coalition sentiment since 1/3 assumed control of the area of operations. Photographer: Cpl. Stephen M Kwietniak.

Cpl. Jared Wagner, personnel security detail of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment (1/3), walks by an Iraqi child while on patrol in Haqlaniyah, Iraq. Haqlaniyah has been a source of the most anti-coalition sentiment since 1/3 assumed control of the area of operations (AO). Photographer: Cpl. Stephen M Kwietniak.

Cpl. Jared Wagner, personnel security detail of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment (1/3), walks past an Iraqi pharmacy while on patrol in Haqlaniyah, Iraq. Haqlaniyah has been a source of most attacks since 1/3 assumed control of the area of operations. Photographer: Cpl. Stephen M Kwietniak.

More 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment Imagery: Combat Camera: Patrolling in Hadithah

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The Decline and Fall of Western Civ for 16 May

It's the end of the world as we know it...

• The Associated Press reports environmental activists are building a replica of Noah's Ark on Mount Ararat - where the biblical vessel is said to have landed after the great flood - in an appeal for action on global warming, Greenpeace said Wednesday.
  
  

  "Climate change is real, it's happening now and unless world leaders take urgent, decisive and far-reaching action, the next decades will see human misery on a scale not experienced in modern times," said Greenpeace activist Hilal Atici. "Those leaders have a mandate from the people ... to massively cut greenhouse gas emissions and to do it now."

  The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) warns governments have until 2012 to "plant the seeds of change" and make positive moves to limit carbon emissions, reports Sky News.
  
  Reuters reports a remote chain of Arctic islands is advertising itself as a showcase of bad things to come from global warming.
  
  Forget that January is actually a summer month in the southern hemisphere, LiveScience wants you to worry about news that some ice that melted in January 2005 in western Antarctica adds up to a chunk the size of California .

• However, there are still mature, rational voices above the alarmist din. The EPW Press Blog reports prominent scientists have reversed their belief in man-made global warming.
  
  The Associate Press reports Czech President Vaclav Klaus on Wednesday called for a rational debate on global warming, rejecting what he called "hysteria" driven by environmentalists.
  
  The average temperature in April 2007 was 51.7 F. This was -0.3 F cooler than the 1901-2000 (20th century) average, the 47th coolest April in 113 years. The temperature trend for the period of record (1895 to present) is 0.1 degrees Fahrenheit per decade, according to NOAA.

• Unable for the third time to support the claim that they are expressing the voice of the American people (without having to buy that support with earmarks), The Associated Press reports the Senate on Wednesday rejected legislation that would cut off money for combat operations in Iraq after March 31, 2008.
  
  Despite the fact that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama voted for the measure, the Senate obviously doesn't have the guts to simply defund the war. More from The Washington Post.

• WASHINGTON (AP) - Congressional Democrats Wednesday announced agreement on a $2.9 trillion (that's a whopping $2,900,000,000,000.00) budget blowout for 2008, promising a budget surplus in five years but only by allowing some of President Bush's tax cuts to expire, according to The Associated Press.
  
  

  The top Republican on the Senate Budget Committee, Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, said the Democratic plan would produce "the largest tax increase in U.S. history, billions in new spending, and no attempt to address the long-term fiscal crisis" looming in federal retirement programs and the Medicaid health care program for the poor and disabled.

• According to TVNEWSER, Democrats have officially announced "the dates, media sponsors and cities for the six DNC sanctioned debates." Democrats are sticking to "safe" forums where hard questions will probably not be asked. In other words, the Dems have decided to dis Fox and their voting audience.

• Senate Democrats and Republicans are working feverishly with the White House to put the finishing touches on an immigration proposal that could be announced later today or tomorrow, reads a post on the blog, REDSTATE. The deal would give illegal aliens living in the United States amnesty, according to confidential sources. It would also allow illegal aliens to bring their parents, spouses and children into the United States.

• And finally, here's a story that embodies the fall of the West. AFP reports Battling against a deeply patriarchal society, Arab Israeli and Palestinian lesbians are uniting to break the taboo of homosexuality and politicise the right to be female and gay.
  
  And how does that define the fall of Western Civilization? If you have to ask....

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Laura Ingraham With VFA-106

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (May 11, 2007) - Radio talk Show Host and Author, Laura Ingraham, receives a pre-flight brief from Lt. Ryan Fulwider and Aviation Structural Mechanic Equipmentman 2nd Class Jeremy Gottman both assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106. Ingraham was scheduled for a VIP flight in one of the squadron's F/A-18 Hornets, however, the flight was postponed due to weather conditions. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jason R. Zalasky (RELEASED)

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (May 11, 2007) - Radio talk Show Host and Author, Laura Ingraham, receives a pre-flight brief from Lt. Ryan Fulwider of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106. Ingraham was scheduled for a VIP flight in one of the squadron's F/A-18 Hornets, however, the flight was postponed due to weather conditions. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jason R. Zalasky (RELEASED)

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (May 11, 2007) - Radio talk Show Host and Author, Laura Ingraham, gets fitted for flight gear by Aircrew Survival Equipmentman 1st Class James Dickerson assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106. Ingraham was scheduled for a VIP flight in one of the squadron's F/A-18 Hornets, however, the flight was postponed due to weather conditions. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jason R. Zalasky (RELEASED)

Related:
Laura Ingraham's Web Site
Check out Laura Ingraham on Amazon.com

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Combat Camera: JTACs - Keeping the Army Safe

During an early morning mission of targeting and raids in the back of a Stryker assault vehicle, Staff Sgt. Christopher Froboccino alerts his soldier counterparts of the route they will be traveling on Baghdad. Froboccino is a Joint Terminal Attack Controller in-charge of communicating coordinates for close air support during fire fights with enemy ground forces. Photographer: Tech Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo.

Staff Sgt. Paul Ythemar pulls rear security in the back hatch of the Stryker assault vehicle while enroute to the next objective of his clearing mission in Baghdad. Ythemar is assigned to the 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. Photographer: Tech Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo.

Dressed in an Army Battle Uniform Senior Airman Dan Strom dons his battle armor in preparation for the day's clearing missions in Baghdad. Strom is a Joint Terminal Attack Controller in-charge of communicating coordinates for close air support during fire fights with enemy ground forces. Photographer: Tech Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo.

The Stryker is the fastest assault vehicle being used by the U.S. Army to provide security in the Baghdad area. Joint Terminal Attack Controllers in-charge of communicating coordinates for close air support during fire fights with enemy ground forces are embedded with Army personnel. Photographer: Tech Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo.

Members of the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry secure a local Baghdad village of weapon caches during a routine clearing mission. Photographer: Tech Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo.

A local Iraqi woman walks calmly into an Army secured site in her neighborhood and greets Senior Airman Dan Strom with a thumbs up in approval of their presence their. Later she reports kind gratitude to the Battalion leaders. Strom is a Joint Terminal Attack Controller in-charge of communicating coordinates for close air support during fire fights with enemy ground forces. Photographer: Tech Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo.

During an early morning mission of targeting and raids in the back of a Stryker assault vehicle, Staff Sgt. Christopher Froboccino alerts his soldier counterparts of the route they will be traveling on Baghdad. Froboccino is a Joint Terminal Attack Controller in-charge of communicating coordinates for close air support during fire fights with enemy ground forces. Photographer: Tech Sgt. Cecilio Ricardo.

NOTE: All images May 8th, 2007

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Tags: War, Military, terrorism, Middle East, Operation Iraqi Freedom, United States, coalition, photography, photo, photos, pictures, images, photojournalism, Combat Camera, Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom, Iraq, Navy, Army, Air Force, Marines, Marine Corps, USMC
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The Decline and Fall of Western Civ for 15 May

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
It's the end of the world as we know it...

• A new Gallup Poll finds continued low levels of public support for both Congress and President George W. Bush. Americans approval of Congress is 29%, down more from last month's reading and even lower that Bush's approval rating at 33%.
  
  Left to speculate, I can only assume Americans are disappointed that Democrats, who now control Congress, are still acting like the minority party.
  
  Along with the dismal failure to pass promised legislation during the "first 100 hours," many Americans feel Democrats simply have no intention of fulfilling their promise to stop earmarks and end the so-called culture of corruption.

• Reporters for the Associated Press, The Washington Post, and other news outfits, show their foolish ignorance when they write that the Defense Department's decision to block a dozen bandwidth sucking video and file sharing sites will somehow limit soldiers' access to news and cause troops undue hardship.
  
  With the block in place, soldiers will still have access to just about everything else found on the Internet. They can send e-mail; they can surf the Web. The blocked video sharing and networking sites are relatively recent innovations; their presence and effect unknown in past military conflicts. In the final analysis, however, it's highly unlikely soldiers are going to post personal video messages to their loved ones for all the world to see on You Tube.

• The Associated Press, The Washington Post, and others report the Rev. Jerry Falwell, the television evangelist who founded the Moral Majority and used it to mold the religious right into a political force, died Tuesday shortly after being found unconscious in his office at Liberty University. He was 73.

• In an upside down turn of events, unregulated XM Radio announced today that the company, for their bad on-air behavior, has suspended Gregg "Opie" Hughes and Anthony Cumia, hosts of "The Opie & Anthony Show" and ceased broadcast of the show for 30 days, effective immediately. However, CBS Radio, a unit of CBS Corp., said the pair will be on air as usual tomorrow.
  
  XM officials may not have believed the two had taken the incident seriously.
  
  

  "Comments made by Opie and Anthony on yesterday's broadcast put into question whether they appreciate the seriousness of the matter. The management of XM Radio decided to suspend Opie and Anthony to make clear that our on-air talent must take seriously the responsibility that creative freedom requires of them," the company wrote in a release issued Tuesday.

• Reuters reports a U.S. troop pullout from Iraq would leave the country as a potent launchpad for international terrorism and Washington would be forced to go back in within a couple of years, a leading al Qaeda expert said on Tuesday.
  
  

  Rohan Gunaratna told a security conference at Lloyd's of London insurance market that Iraq, like Afghanistan in the 1990s, would become a "terrorist Disneyland" where al Qaeda could build up its strength unchallenged.

• A new gang war is raging on the Internet, according to CNET.
  
  

  It's like something out of the Sopranos. Antivirus researchers at Moscow-based Kaspersky Labs have identified criminal gangs engaged in a turf battle online. The primary groups are responsible for the Warezov and Zhelatin worms, and these worms then download Trojans that are in turn responsible for a majority of the spam and malware circulating on the Web. Basically, new spam and new phishing attacks are designed to switch your remotely controlled PC from belonging to the Warezov gang or the Zhelatin gang. The resulting botnets--collections of remotely controlled PCs--have proved profitable, luring unsuspecting Internet users to purchase porn or other services attributed to organized crime activity.

• CNET also reports a new U.S. Senate proposal would allow limitless H-1B visas and green cards for foreigners with master's degrees or higher in any field from an American university--or anyone with such credentials in the science, technology, engineering or math fields from abroad.

Tags: Decline and Fall of Western Civ, Open Thread, Wire, Headlines, United States
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