An intermittent blogger brings you up to speed.

I wanted to give an update about some stuff.

Like this.
<---- I am reading the The Assassins Gate by George Packer. It is a vivid trip down memory lane because the last few years have been so Surreal that it helps to go over what happened because it becomes more real. I think it has to do with our faith in our own perceptions and analysis. We've seen it all we tell ourselves. That's the whole thing new stuff happens all the time and it is strange that we are always shocked when the unexpected happens.

One revelation that comes to mind from the Assasins Gate is a time when Dick Cheney sticks a finger in Colon Powell's chest and argues that the reason things had gone to hell in Iraq was that the State Department didn't facilitate Amhad Chalab's ascension to power. This from a man who it seems as a matter of personal policy said as little as possible at meetings. I find this last assertion utterly fascinating. Every great politician/ leader I can think of has used the power of their own words to effectively move those around him to a common course of action. This vice president is so cynical about those he works with in government he holds back as to not give the enemy an ammunition with which could be used against him in the bureaucratic war he sees himself waging. Unfortunately the American people are the real loser in Dick Cheney's crusade on the the nonbelievers in this country. By not engaging us on the merits of his strategies, the supposed logic that guides them remains a mystery and how can we as Americans advocate our cause when we aren't quite sure what that is.

I know that Cheney says that he will never run for office again but I wonder if he will ever find cause to explain his rationales during a time he exercised more power than any executive branch since WWII. It would be nice but very out of charectar for such a secretive person.