I don't fancy being kidnapped again

The Bush campaign commercials are getting odder and odder. This week alone, there was "Solemn Duty," with George and his faithful robot Laura talking about parents having to choose on 9/11/01 which child to pick up first (in their case, it would be the less slutty twin). Then "Ownership," in which Shrub says, "if you own something, you have a vital stake in the future of America." Paul Krugman says roughly what I thought when I saw the ad, that Bush is unconsciously echoing arguments made in the early American republic in favor of a property qualification for the franchise (not banned until the 15th Amendment) that only those with "a stake in the nation" should vote. (Some states preferred a tax-paying qualification, but, as Chimp Boy pointed out, rich people can always figure out how to dodge taxes.) And now there’s an ad, "Victory," that will be shown on tv screens in health clubs next to the treadmills and exercise bikes, boasting that because of the Bush wars, two former dictatorships, Iraq and Afghanistan, will be represented at the Olympics. So that makes it all worthwhile. Evidently, "Freedom is spreading throughout the world like a sunrise." As a metaphor, isn’t that a little too cyclical?

In the same week that Russia eliminates almost all benefits for the elderly, veterans and the disabled in favor of tiny amounts of worthless money, IN THE SAME FUCKING WEEK, MIND YOU, Putin announces a 40% increase in the military budget.

Quote of the day, from James Brandon, the Sunday Telegraph reporter kidnapped and then released, on why he is now leaving Basra: "I don't fancy being kidnapped again."