Insta-Hoglets 21st Dec

Isn't the news cycle supposed to slow down over the holidays? No sign of that happening yet.

US and Iraqi authorities released "Dr. Germ", "Mrs. Anthrax" and 22 others from top security detention in Iraq. A board process found they were no longer a security threat after so long - and obviously they no longer had intelligence which was current. Given that these two were named cards in the original "deck of cards" of Ba'ath heads issued to US troops during the invasion, it seems reasonable to me to suggest that many of the Gitmo detainees are now just as useless for current intelligence purposes and we know they aren't all regarded as active terrorists - so why can't some of them be released?

How to live like the Prince of Texas on sycophant's money. Tom DeLay really would Nicholas Machievelli proud, wouldn't he?

But his lifestyle of the rich and notorious is doubtless on a slippery slope. Jack Abramoff is reportedly ready to plead guilty on Sun Cruz fraud charges and then inform on former associates in a plea deal. Abramoff's crumble follows that of his partner, Adam Kidan, last week. Oh, I love the new domino theory. Next to topple, Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio).

Days after Tony Blair insisted he knew nothing about such "extraordinary rendition" operations, British police have launched an investigation into persistent claims that the CIA used British airports to fly terrorist suspects for torture in secret camps abroad.

The new British Conservative party leader, David Cameron, has appointed the executive editor of Murdoch-owned tabloid The Sun as his speechwriter The Sun is famous for short lurid sentences and nude women on page three. I'm looking forward to Cameron's first speech where he says "Whoooaarrrr, look at the tits on that!"

Tas at Loaded Mouth compares the Gods of snarky punchposts, the Instapundit and ASStrios - and finds that the Rightwinger is far more helpful to smaller blogs on his side of blogtopia than the alleged liberal. Heh, Indeedy.

Because Tricky Dicky Cheney had to back up his party in the Senate to get their budget bill through, it now has to go back to the House, where Nancy Pelosi is promising it a hard time. She says House Democrats have had enough of rubber-stamping rob from the poor to give to the rich policies.

More Snoopgate fallout - U.S. District Judge James Robertson, one of 11 members of the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, has resigned from the court that oversees government surveillance in intelligence cases in protest of President Bush's secret authorization of a domestic spying program, according to two sources.

And while we are on the subject, my good friend Mr. M at Comments explains why everyone should be upset over the revelations of the past few days. Worth a read, because he is right in every respect. M isn't just any whining latte-sipping liberal either - he's a serving member of this nation's armed forces.

Want another perspective on Snoopgate? It's come to a pretty pass when a former Russian KGB general can lecture the USA about its dangerous slip from democracy into being a Police State using illegal methods and force.

And as if that wasn't depressing enough, Jordan Barab, guesting for Nathan Newman and writing about the New York transit strike, notes that even among liberal commenters in many cases support for the strike is surprisingly shallow or even hostile. The strikers' issues aren't well understood (fault of the new media or the union?), people assume the strikers are lazy, greedy slugs, people don't understand that strikes are not vacation days for the strikers -- especially when they're ruled illegal by the courts and strikers are being fined. but then finds some sympathetic bloggers. And then Nathan explains why the law being used to rule the strike illegal is a slavery law. Great stuff from these two that is definitely in the "must read" category.

Solidarnosc!

P.S. I think I am going to try to increase the frequency of Insta-hoglet posts from their present bi-weekly appearances. With so much going on, a daily Insta-hoglet post might happen. We'll see.