The online journal, notebook and playground of HFM

Although repeatedly warned of it’s importance to world history, the military failed to prevent looting at the Iraqi National Museum, leaving 5,000 years of written records, irreplaceable cultural history, to be destroyed. The oldest examples of human writing, clay tablets containing cuneiform are gone.
“It’s extraordinary,” says Joan Aruz, curator in charge of the Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “It’s of the utmost significance, not only for the cultural heritage of Iraq, but also for the rest of the world. The museum contained the greatest work of art created in the first cities. The loss is just outstanding. I haven’t gotten over the shock.”
Rumsfeld’s response:”The images you are seeing on television you are seeing over and over and over,” he said, “and it’s the same picture of some person walking out of some building with a vase, and you see it 20 times, and you think, ‘My goodness, were there that many vases? Is it possible that there were that many vases in the whole country?'”
Of course, this is overlooking the fact that that vase is probably the oldest object created by man and worth over a billion dollars.
Apparently, the military is stationed to defend Iraq’s oil wells, leaving it’s people, hospitals and civic infrastructure to be looted and destroyed. “Protecting people should be a primary responsibility of any power that expects to enter a country and justifies its intervention on the basis of liberating the people or protecting their rights.”

Tim Robbins gives an excellent speech to the National Press Corp on the war, civil liberties, and the current media climate. Excerpt:

A chill wind is blowing in this nation. A message is being sent through the White House and its allies in talk radio and Clear Channel and Cooperstown. ‘If you oppose this administration there can and will be ramifications.’ Every day the airwaves are filled with warnings, veiled and unveiled threats, spewed invective and hatred directed at any voice of dissent. And the public, like so many relatives and friends I saw this weekend, sit in mute opposition and in fear.
It takes one person with the courage and a resolute voice. The journalists in this country can battle back at those who would re-write our Constitution in the Patriot Act II (or Patriot, the sequel, as we would call it in Hollywood). We are counting on you to star in that movie. Journalists can insist that they not be used as publicists by this administration.

“Is this your liberation?” one frustrated shopkeeper screamed at the crew of a U.S. tank as a gang of youths helped themselves to everything in his small hardware store and carted booty off in the wheelbarrows that had also been on sale.
“Hell, it ain’t my job to stop them,” drawled one young marine, lighting a cigarette as he looked on. “Goddamn Iraqis will steal anything if you let them. Look at them.”

Start looking for this letter to the editor in your local papers, witten by the Republicans and distributed to their troops for seeding in the local press:
“Dear XXX,
Yesterday, John Kerry shocked many Americans when he called for “regime change” right here in the U.S. By comparing our commander-in-chief to Saddam Hussein’s brutal regime at a time of war, Kerry showed just what he is willing to say to appeal to liberal Democrat primary voters.
RNC, Chairman Marc Racicot quickly responded saying, ‘Senator Kerry crossed a grave line when he dared to suggest the replacement of America’s commander-in- chief at a time when America is at war. Critical analysis offered in the best interests of the country is part of a healthy democracy. But this use of self- serving rhetoric designed to further Senator Kerry’s political ambitions at a time when the lives of America’s sons and daughters are at stake reflects a complete lack of judgment.’ ”
In a couple of days, Google on the bold phrase and you see how this letter spread. It will appear signed by different people in different papers.
But let me point out the substance of the letter… um, is this a suggestion that we suspend elections until after the war is over? Because that’s certainly what it sounds like. If so, let me be be pre-emptive in my response: IMPEACH BUSH!