Freedom on the march:

As Iraq’s campaign season winds into its final week, voters will have to make their choices in a fog of limited information.
Because of the constant violence and death threats against them, candidates will not hold rallies. Instead, they are relying on religious and tribal networks and Islamic holiday feasts to spread their message.
Laconic posters and television ads round out the campaign. As a result, people’s perceptions of the candidates, and their understanding of the election, are as vague as the candidates’ platforms.

The neat thing about this election is that it’s irrelevant whether or not Iraqis are making an informed, meaningful decision. The really important outcome of this election will be in producing video footage of Iraqis voting, which will be used by certain US politicians offering meaningless grand pronouncements on “liberty” and “freedom.”

Don’t you love the smell of a fresh Congressional term in the morning? When our elected representatives set out to tackle the most pressing issues facing our country?

Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) wasted little time before introducing two bills that would require the Ten Commandments to be posted in both the Capitol and the Senate and House chambers.
Stearns introduced the bill Jan. 4, the first day of the 109th Congress. He first introduced a similar resolution in the 105th Congress and subsequent versions in the 106th and 108th.
“Posting the Ten Commandments in places like the House and Capitol would merely serve to remind members that we have the responsibility as lawmakers to be as fair and just as possible,” Stearns said.

That’s for sure. I can’t imagine how many times a Congressperson, in the midst of a floor debate on a transportation bill, has had to send a page out to check on the wording of the third commandment. It really would be better if they could just glance up on the wall.
And why stop there? Wouldn’t lawmakers be more inclined to be “fair” if there was a prominent cross erected at the rostrum? And how about some hymnals distributed around the floor? Representatives could sing hymns during roll calls to remind them of justice.
Seriously, as long as Congress in the posting mode, how about adding the Bill of Rights? I recall something there about Congress not passing laws establishing religion. But I don’t have the Constitution posted on the wall in my blogging chamber to remind me, so I could be wrong.

Apparently the Bush administration isn’t as secretive as I sometimes portray it. No worry, though, as all the terrorists are desperately fighting in Iraq and probably never bother to surf the Internet.

Per capita amount Tennesseans spent playing the lottery run by “the best lottery director America has ever known” during the first 12 months: $147.
Comparable national average: $161.
Amount I spent on Tennessee lottery games in the past 12 months: $0.

Big Orange Michael rings in 2005.