Stretch of I-90 named for Jane Addams

As a long-time admirer of social reformer Jane Addams, I'm pleased to see that a 79-mile stretch of Interstate 90 between Chicago and the Rockford area has been named for her.

Addams, who was born 147 years ago this past Thursday in Cedarville, a few miles north of Freeport, is generally recognized by historians as one of the most influential women in American history. She's seen as the godmother of modern social work and was instrumental in the establishment of juvenile courts, child-labor laws, public health reforms, the 8-hour workday and countless other advances.

She was the founder of Hull House, the famed social settlement in Chicago, and was a founding member of both the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, among other organizations.

She also was the first person to win an academic degree from what later became Rockford College.

In 1931, Addams became the first American woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Four years later, she died at the age of 74 and was buried in a family plot in Cedarville.

Osama who? Oh, yeah! He's the guy who got away when Bush sent our avengers to Iraq

Osama bin Laden has always been a weird dude, but never more so than on his latest video. I mean, the dyed (or fake) beard, the unlikely pitch for lower taxes, the reference to the subprime mortgage crisis, the taunting of the Democratic Party -- the man was riffing all over the place, and doing it in a strangely stiff manner.

He even mentioned global warming (which mention, I'm afraid, is only going to embolden the deniers; I can hear them chortling now: "Global warming? Come on. Who you gonna believe? Al Gore and Osama bin Laden? Or Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter?")

Here's a transcript of bin Laden's rap. And here's Josh Marshall's initial take on the matter, with which I'm inclined to agree.

Big Jim is for Rudy -- but why?

Former Illinois Gov. James Thompson has endorsed Rudy Giuliani for the Republican presidential nomination, which is cause for wonder given Big Jim's erstwhile reputation for having at least half a brain.

Apparently, Thompson hasn't seen this:

McCain has said it again

Remember last winter when John McCain and Barack Obama riled some folks by suggesting that American lives have been "wasted" in Iraq?

Well, McCain said much the same thing last night during the Republican presidential debate in New Hampshire.

By way of claiming that he was presciently early in his dissatisfaction with how the Bush administration prosecuted the war in its early stages, McCain said: "Back in 2003, amid criticism from my fellow Republicans, I spoke strongly against the then Rumsfeld strategy, which I knew was doomed to failure and [would] cause so much needless sacrifice."

According to the English language I learned in school back in the 1940's and '50s, the term "needless sacrifice" is pretty much synonymous with the word "waste."

But I've yet to hear any pseudo-patriots taking McCain to task for what he said last night.

Of course, the lives lost in this stupid war have, in fact, been wasted.

POSTSCRIPT: On this blog, Dan Balz of the Washinton Post has an item about McCain's performance in last night's debate and about prospects for a rebound in the Arizona senator's bid for the presidency.

(Balz, by the way, lived just down the street from me when we were growing up in Freeport. Oddly enough, there were two other future journalists in the neighborhood. Must have been something in the water.)

Congressional Democrats are unpopular?

For several months now, conservative bloggers have delighted in misinterpreting poll results showing deep public dissatisfaction with the Democratic-led Congress.

The right-wingers would have us believe that the polls suggest a popular preference for the policies of the Bush admininistration and the Republican Party.

The truth, of course, is that much of the disapproval of Congress stems from the failure of Democrats to more strongly oppose Bush's war policy.

Lest anyone get the idea that there likely will be a return of Congress to Republican control next year, consider the latest Rasmussen poll showing Democrats with a lead of 18 percentage points over Republicans on a generic congressional ballot.

Boo Man has more on the subject here.

More on juggling Iraq casualty figures

Twice in recent days (here and via the first link therein), I've told you of how the U.S. government is playing games with casualty figures in the war in Iraq.

The Washington Post has more on the matter.

Will the media fail us again?

When the U.S. government's long-awaited reports on the war in Iraq are issued this month, what will newspapers and other media have to say about the matter

Recent history doesn't give us much cause to expect that they'll be forthright.

How stupid can one person be?

Here's the answer.

Juggling the numbers

Last week, I warned you here that the Pentagon was playing games with casualty figures from the war in Iraq.

Steve Benen at Crooks and Liars has more today on the same subject.

Light blogging

I've got jury duty, so blogging will be pretty light until further notice.

Check out my archives on the right, if you've a mind to.

I don't like the sound of this

This might be just a lot of hooey. But, then again, it might not be.

UPDATE: I don't like the sound of this, either. Or this.

Bad year ahead for GOP

The 2008 election season starts in earnest next week with the passing of Labor Day, and the year poses grim prospects for the Republican Party.

Yeah, Larry Craig's announcement today that he'll resign from the Senate means that his scandal soon will be off the front pages, but the GOP's problems still loom large.

Joe Sudbay surveys the situation here.

British general slams Rummy on Iraq

The guy who led the British army during the invasion of Iraq is out with a book in which he labels former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumseld's war policy as "intellectually bankrupt."

Gen. Sir Mike Jackson also says the U.S. government depends too much on its military in the fight against global terrorism.

Bush's bogus case for war with Iran

Ray McGovern, a retired CIA officer and now an executive with a church-affiliated publishing venture, warns that George W. Bush and Dick Cheney are hell-bent for war against Iran.

Is the Pentagon cooking the books?

The Defense Department seems to be playing games with casualty figures in Iraq in an effort to make the surge look successful.

Hooray for President Bush!

Credit where credit is due, folks.

President Bush has declared Winnebago and Stephenson counties in Illinois -- the very heart of Rascal Land -- disaster areas in the wake of recent floods.

Good for him.

Go to hell, Harry and Louise!

Maha's got some interesting points to make about national health insurance.

Frederick of Hollywood drops Hamlet pose

Actor Fred Thompson finally is ready to announce his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination.

Oooh! Feel the surge!

I've got a feeling that this guy is going to burn out very quickly. What's he got to recommend himself? Not much, it would seem.

Oh, I forgot. He's Don Manzullo's candidate.

Gold Star mom answers Fleischer

Former White House mouthpiece Ari Fleischer is the front man for a group of war hawks who are spending $15 million on TV ads calling for America to stay the course in Iraq.

In this video, a woman who lost a son in the war responds to Fleischer and company:

Is that you, Senator?

This is funny.