What can I say? It's been bothering me for a while now, and since the war started, it bugs me even more. I resent being put in a position where my support of our fighting men and women could water down my opposition to this war and this administration. So I made up the graphic above to clearly and unequivocably state my opposition. If you feel the same, this graphic is free for the taking.

I do think this very issue was part of the Bush decision to go to war, with the public sentiment showing signs of weakness. Now just about every citizen, and worse, every lawmaker in the land is showing public support for the troops, which has the effect of quashing much of the anti-Bush momentum here at home.

But not all is lost: If Robert Byrd, an ex-Klansman, can deliver a speech like this to the U.S. Senate, there is hope for the world.

Now that the war's starting, the dialogue on it definitely must not stop. Above is a pretty good, if a little cute, statement on the war. Complete with printable version at tompaine.com.

Other goodies:

• A career diplomat resigns over Bush Iraq policy. This story contains an excellent analysis of the effects of the new Bush doctrine on our alliances, as well as giving a good glimpse of the motivations behind nations that are supporting us. Well worth watching the commercial to read the full version.
• War profiteering. What this war is really about.
• A couple of Earth issues being swept under the rug amid the war furor: Anti-dolphin activity and anti-wolf activity by the Bush administration.
• There is one very juicy morsel of good news yesterday! Plans to drill for oil in the Alaska wildlife refuge were rejected by the Senate today. It's a bit embarrassing that our two Democratic senators from Hawaii voted in favor of the drilling; from what I gather it is a very political maneuver having to do with vote-trading between the Alaska and Hawaii delegations.
• Here is own rant about why it's hard to be proud of America these days.

[rant] Thus far in the Iraq war, we have been fed a steady stream of spin and propaganda by our own government. Here's a short rundown:

• "Disarmament" is the official word of choice in stead of "attack" or "war," which is what this really is.
• Bush said "The disarmament of Iraq has begun." Right. Let's just conveniently forget that Iraq already was 90-95% disarmed through 1998, according to the weapons inspectors themselves. Let's also conveniently forget that further progress was being made -- again according to inspectors themselves -- when Bush decided to act unilaterally.
• The US government claims that the "45 nations" that "support the US" represent 1.2 billion people. First, how many of those 45 countries are major players in the UN? Not many. How many are basically inconsequential countries who would like to cash in on this situation and/or avoid becoming the next targets for the Bush doctrine? More than a few.

  Second, while the countries named may have 1.2 billion people in them, how many of their citizens actually support this war? Turkey is on the list, and latest polls say over 80% of the population DOES NOT.

  Third, just what kind of "support" are these nations willing to pledge? It's a good indication that they are doing it mainly for political reasons and do not truly support the action when the vast majority provide no troops. Only US, British and Australian troops are involved. Even Spain, who backed the US in the security council, is sending no troops to fight.

Great, I got a war for my birthday this year.

WEDNESDAY, 3/19/2003, 8:Ish pm HST by Penfold

Now that our president has started his mad bombing spree, it's time for TA to take a stand. And I promise you that we won't meekly fall into line behind our commander-in-thief as the rest of the mainstream media has.

Protest is not a crime, nor is it unpatriotic. Oh, and one more thing, I really doubt the French give a shit what we call our fried potatoes or our egg battered bread.

Hockey times

Hockey times for the week of 3/19/03.

• "Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers" ESPN, Thu Mar 20 03:00pm HST
• "Tampa Bay Lightning at Los Angeles Kings" FSWH, Thu Mar 20 05:30pm HST
• "Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers" ESPN, Thu Mar 20 10:00pm HST
• "Boston Bruins at Los Angeles Kings" FSWH, Sat Mar 22 05:30pm HST

A bit of strangeness for you, an acronym generator.

Need something to make your Hello Kitty collection complete? How about a Hello Kitty USB Hub.