Oh.

U.S. April Death Toll in Iraq Passes 100

Five U.S. troops were killed over the weekend in Iraq, the military said Monday, pushing the death toll for April past 100 in the deadliest month for American forces this year.

Oy. Vey.

The answer (here’s a hint, it’s the same as the song…) can be found below.

Ms. Steinfeld wrote last week that many blogs are having a “Blog Day of Silence” to honor the students and faculty members killed two weeks ago at Virginia Tech.

I think that a day of “blogging silence” isn’t really going to do much.

Emma agrees.

My unwillingness to participate has nothing to do with being a cold-hearted bitch (I’m not saying I’m not a cold hearted bitch, I’m just saying this decision has nothing to do with that)…it has to do with my belief that silence solves nothing. I believe exactly the opposite - that only by discussing events such as what occurred at Virginia Tech will people be able to grieve and, perhaps, come up with ideas as to how to keep this from ever happening again - although I think the chances of that are slim.

Communication is a much bigger weapon than silence. If we discuss why and how these things happen, perhaps we can find an answer. If we stand in silent honor, we may as well stand in silent horror. If we speak out, if we act out, against senseless violence, we’ll do far more.

On another note…

Let’s keep the Virginia Tech murders in perspective.

According to the CDC…

• Over 5 million women and over 3 million men are victims of domestic violence.
• Over 1.5 million women and 800,000 men are raped
• Domestic abuse causes over 1,300 deaths
• Between 4% and 8% of pregnant women are abused

According to the DoD…

• Nearly 3,700 uniformed service-members and civilian American government employees were killed in Afghanistan and Iraq
• Over 26,000 uniformed service-members and civilian American government employees were injured in Afghanistan and Iraq

Where is the blog day of silence for them? Where is the week of half-staffed flags?

Has been for good reasons, I promise.

I have been asked by Marshall Adame to be his senior campaign aide and, of course, I agreed.

It’s going to be an interesting 18 months and I intend to blog about as much as I can.

If you want to know more about Mr. Adame, visit the campaign site.

In the future, please let a brother know when you change your RSS feeds.

Your friend,

Thomas

Reading down the list of Senator John McCain’s pre-presidential campaign blunders is always a fun trip…But his latest blunder astounds even those of us who expect the worst from the Red side of the aisle.

Rawstory has the details.

Speaking at Murrells Inlet VFW Hall in South Carolina, McCain was asked when he thought the US Military might “send an air mail message to Tehran.”

“McCain began his answer by changing the words to a popular Beach Boys song,” the Georgetown Times reports.

“‘Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran,’ he sang to the tune of Barbara Ann,” the paper notes.

Rawstory has video, too.

I’m gonna go ahead and give you my initial, first-blush, response:

Oh. My. Gods.

Even Scott Paul is taken aback.

When I first read it as an unrelated comment to my last post, I brushed it off as a joke.

It’s no joke.

McCain is truly an enigma to me. He’s pressed for international cooperation on global warming. He’s spoken of the need to eventually join the International Criminal Court. He’s spoken out against torture. His forceful advocacy on these issues has earned him a fair amount of credibility on international affairs.

Recently, McCain’s buffoonery on Iraq eroded that credibility. With this gaffe, it has hit an all-time low.

 Even if Senator McCain intended this to be a joke, it’s in poor taste and he should know better.

I’ve decided to end the Dailies post.

I want my posts to be interesting and I feel that the Dailies just weren’t. Besides, I’d rather post out of a want to share my thoughts and ideas as opposed to a daily chore.

The Dailies are dead. Long live the Dailies!

Word of the Day

bedaub \bih-DOB\, transitive verb:
1. To smudge over; to besmear or soil with anything thick and dirty.
2. To overdecorate; to ornament showily or excessively.

Quote of the Day

I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it.

Thomas Jefferson (1743 - 1826), (attributed)

Comic of the Day

Herman by Jim Unger

Word of the Day

efficacious \ef-ih-KAY-shuhs\, adjective:
Possessing the quality of being effective; producing, or capable of producing, the effect intended; as, an efficacious law.

Quote of the Day

Calamities are of two kinds: misfortunes to ourselves, and good fortune to others.

Ambrose Bierce (1842 - 1914), The Devil’s Dictionary

Comic of the Day

F Minus by Tony Carrillo

The Onslow County Democratic Party held their annual convention on Saturday, April 14th, 2007.

Items of note:

• Mr. Billy Mills, Ms. Kever Clark, Mr. Ernest Wright, Ms. Elizabeth Koen, Mr. John Burns and myself were elected as the new leadership team.
• Ms. Jennifer Frye of Democracy N.C. was the guest speaker. She talked about the importance of getting youth involved in politics. One of the ways to do that is by funding elections with public money. If elections were conducted with equal amounts of money distributed, candidates would not need to “dial for dollars” and could engage the constituency. (For more information on Democracy NC read this post at BlueNC.)
• Delegates were selected for the 3rd Congressional District and State conventions.

After the convention meeting, Onslow County Sheriff Ed Brown provided Eastern NC vinegar barbeque, beans and hush puppies. Good eatin’.

Mr. Marshall Adame came by the luncheon and met with many of the Democratic leaders. Mr. Adame is running against Congressman Walter B. Jones, Jr. for North Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District. For more information on how weak Mr. Jones, Jr is in Eastern NC, check out BlueNC blogger Blue South’s post “An Introduction to NC-03 (Or, how to create a Perfect Storm)“.

NC-03 is winnable by a Democrat. Now is the time to make it happen.

Word of the Day

cavort \kuh-VORT\, intransitive verb:
1. To bound or prance about.
2. To have lively or boisterous fun; to behave in a high-spirited, festive manner.

Quote of the Day

Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.

Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 - 1821)

Comic of the Day

The Grizzwells by Bill Schorr