Thanksgiving Side Dishes

Some links to read while you try to digest. I don't promise any will help the process, though.

Charlie Stross, science-fiction author and someone I know is sh*tloads brighter than me, gives his take on where Iraq goes from here - and it isn't a happy path.

Bill Roggio goes into detail about the ongoing feud between the Sunni tribes of the Anbar region and Al Qaeda. This, in a nutshell, is why talk of Al Qaeda winning anything except a swift death when U.S. troops leave is rubbish. Bill oversteps the mark, though, when he ascribes the feud to clever U.S. policy. The feud began and then the U.S. military decided to jump on a great bandwagon. The London Times article he cites has a U.S. officer saying: the sheikhs are only “pro-American in the sense that they are fighting the same enemy”.

Robert Novak's accusation that Rummie didn't know about his firing until the day it happened has the uber-right in a twist. Michelle Malkin's co-blogger "Allahpundit" asks "Is Bush that reptilian? Well … yes, it would seem so." They've finally figured that out...

All together now - "What took you so long?!"

If you're sitting down with an elderly family member, here's something to aid their digestion - if Bush gets his way, by next year they could be denied Medicare.

The Washington Post has finally caught up with the idea that next May's Scottish elections could radically alter the United Kingdon - or maybe mean the end of the Union. (Full disclosure - I usually vote Scottish National Party.) The comments to the WaPo article are actually more interesting - and often better informed - than the piece itself.

Christy at Firedoglake has uplifting words from JFK she wants to share with you.

A native American journalist has a different version of the origins of Thanksgiving. "the story of the pilgrims and Indians having dinner, and sitting down together is not true. The Pequot had a festival to welcome in the new harvest. At that point, the pilgrims came over and ambushed and slaughtered them. The next day the pilgrims went to church and gave thanks to God for the food and success. That's how Thanksgiving started."

Justin Rood tells the tale of The Great Presidential Turkey-Pardoning Scandal.

Enjoy your day.