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While everyone is looking for corruption and conspiracies in the White House leading to the invasion of Iraq, Paul Volcker released his own corruption and conspiracies report. It was his final installment on the Oil for Food scandal.  Russian and French interests apparently were prime partners in the U.N. sponsored kickback program for Saddam Hussein. Volvo, Siemens, and Daewoo were among the 2,253 companies named. British member of Parliament, George Galloway, an outspoken Iraq war opponent, received 11 million barrels from the Butcher of Baghdad.

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After Democrats whacked Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork his name became a verb. Instead of whacking someboody you Bork him. Now that Miers has been Bushwhacked we have a new verb.  Krauthammered.
In his column last Friday Charles Krauthammer sketched out the script for dumping Miers. Republican senators would demand to see Miers' White House documents. In order to protect the principle of executive privilege the only honorable choice would be to dump the nominee. Bush followed Krauthammer's script to the letter. And you thought the president was being led around  by a dark Cheney cabal. 

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Yesterday was benchmark day.  The G.I. death toll in Iraq reached the 2000 mark. That seems to be an important milestone.  Reporters, cartoonists, and politicians have been focused on it for some time and the jihadis were happy to oblige them. I never understood why the two thousandth death was more important than the last one or the next one. Michelle Malkin wonders the same thing in her column.

Actually, I think I do understand. Two thousand is a big number if you want to say they all died for nothing. Another benchmark got less attention yesterday.  The Iraqi constitution passed. 63% of all Iraqis turned out to vote on it. That's a million more purple fingers than voted in last January's election.  This time Sunnis voted too. It could not have happened without the 2000 who gave their lives. It's not a perfect constitution but it's not nothing.

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Ohio was known as the swing state in 2004 presidential election.  The combatants from that election are swinging at each other again over election reform issues on the November 8 ballot.  Reform Ohio Now, backed by unions, Democrats, and MoveOn.org, supports the amendments.  Ohio First, backed by Republicans and the Swiftboat ad people, opposes the issues.

By the way, Issue 3 lowers caps on campaign contributions while Issue 4 takes state and federal redistricting out of the hands of elected officials and turns it over to a bipartisan commission.

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After naming his legal counsel, Harriet Miers, to the Supreme Court the president again stuck his thumb into the White House staff pie. The plum he pulled out this time was his economic adviser, Ben S. Bernanke.  Bush promptly made him chairman of the Federal Reserve.  The experts, however, thought this plum was tasty.  The New York Times favorably compared the appointment to the John Roberts for chief justice gambit. In the Times story Harvard professor Kenneth Rogoff says, "The whole economics world is cheering about it."  Evidently. The NASDAQ shot up 1.6% and the S&P 500 jumped 1.7%

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Saddam Hussein pointed out that he was wearing his best suit as he appeared in court in Baghdad yesterday.  Unfortunately, with my mind poisoned by that famous New York Post front page picture, I could only see him in his skivvies.   He pleaded not guilty to the first 140 or so counts of murder to be brought against him.  Things then degenerated into name calling as the unruly defendant refused to give his name and instead insisted that the judge give his name. My mom used to put my name on my underwear when I was a kid.  If the mother of all Saddams had done the same this incident could have been avoided.

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Health care costs are to GM's generous retirement benefits as $3 per gallon gas is to a big fat unsold S.U.V.  With 2 years left on its contract the UAW agreed to downsize.

Now that James Lipton has moved from actors to musicians like Billy Joel and Elton John, can cartoonists be far behind? But until then you will have to be satifisfied with this audio interview done by our friends at Ohio.com. I hope you enjoy it.

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This was inspired by a spooky
Charles Krauthammer column about a potential new WMD.  Scientists have re-created the deadly 1918 Spanish Flu virus which killed more people than died in World War I.  He quotes New Scientist magazine saying that the rebuilt virus killed more lab mice more quickly than any other flu virus ever tested. Of 117 people already infected by a bird flu now in Asia 60 are dead.

The virus came from birds.  Birds came from Hitchcock.