He’s ready to bring the troops home.

Conan gears up for his new show.

What is Paris Hilton’s excuse now?

The Kardashians invade QVC.

Apparently everyone wants to make a sex tape.

Wait, that’s a real competition?

The event is going to be moderated by NBC’s Tom Brokaw, but instead of Tommy asking the questions, the debate will have a town hall format.

Which means the people get to ask the questions.

So, people of Nashville who will be sitting pretty in the town hall-y debate, if you are reading this, we have a few questions we’d like to ask the candidates. Real questions that require real answers instead of that fluff Gwen Ifill came up with (and Sarah Palin dodged) during the VP “debate.”

1. Honestly, do you think President Bush was qualified to run this country? If not, how does that make you feel now? How badly would you hate yourself if you lost?

2. Inquiring minds want to know: Peanut Butter Crunch or Crunch Berries?

3. If you could only change one thing during your term as President (and money was not an issue), what would it be?

4. When SNL makes fun of you, does it hurt?

5. Barack, do you really eat 4-6 eggs a day, or are you a p*ssy who only eats the whites?

6. Tell us, McCain, what have you learned from living through the Civil War, WW1, WW2, Vietnam and the current Iraq sitch?

7. Would you rather have George Bush walk in on you having sex, or walk in on he and Laura doin’ the naughty dance?

8. What would you do to Osama Bin Laden if you had him in your office right now (and no one was watching)?

9. Would you eat PB slices?

10. Do you really like holding babies/shaking people’s hands/hugging creepy strangers, or is it all an act?

11. You both claim to want to fix the current Global Warming problem, yet you both tool around this country on airplanes/in giant buses. How can you justify that?

12. Is there any money left in either of your budgets to help Amy Winehouse?

Female suicide bombers have emerged as a recent phenomenon of this war.

It seems that there have been 20 suicide bombings carried out by women since the beginning of the war—8 since 2007. Most of these women have lost a close male relative—a husband, brother, father, etc. Eleven of the twenty have been from the Diyala Province—currently the headquarters of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

The big question is WHY?

A recent New York Times article solidly places the blame on the sheltered and traditional lives led by these women. It sites Maj. Gen. Abdul Karim al-Rubai, head of Iraqi Army operations in Diyala, who states, “Most of the women who have killed themselves are from the villages… She is living a very traditional life. She has no rights… For that reason, her ideas are very small”

As a woman this statement offends me. I’ve read countless articles on male suicide bombings that discuss the religious fervor and desire for revenge on the part of the bombers.

These bombers are often teens and young men who have been raised in very traditional villages and indoctrinated to the point of brainwashing, yet they are treated seriously—I doubt anyone would state, “His ideas are very small”.

Blaming her traditional life and lack of rights minimizes the woman’s decision to become a suicide bomber.

The article never raised the possibility that these women were also seeking revenge against those who took their loved ones.

The choice to become a suicide bomber occurs out of a place of desperation with one’s current life—where religious martyrdom is a better alternative to one’s continued existence. It bothers me that the New York Times (and no doubt many others) is unwilling to admit that female bombers may be similarly motivated.

[photo courtesy of msnbc.com]

On Tuesday, the United States and Czech Republic signed the first part of the controversial missile defense system pact. Russia responded with a warning that if the US and Czech Republic go ahead with the system it will be forced to react with military means. The US maintains that the system is aimed at the Middle East, not Russia.If the US gets its’ way, by 2012 the shield will be operable—consisting of a tracking radar site in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland.

In Other News:

Also on Tuesday, the White House officially apologized to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi after a major diplomatic screw-up. In the official press kit distributed to reporters accompanying the President to the G8 summit, Berlusconi was referred to as a man, “hated by many”, “known for governmental corruption and vice”, and as a “political dilettante (amateur)”.

Apparently the bio was taken directly from the Encyclopedia of World Biography. Berlusconi is one of Bush’s few friends in Western Europe and a key supporter of the Iraq war.

Presumptive Presidential candidate John McCain is coming under fire following his budget-balancing boast. Economists and fiscal experts have said that it is unlikely that McCain’s spending and tax cuts package will achieve this goal.

Part of his proposals is a one-year freeze in most domestic spending (education, scientific research, law enforcement, etc), “to allow for a comprehensive review”. It is unlikely that such a freeze will be passed through anything but a republican dominated Congress.

Moreover, McCain has already admitted that his ambitious goals require “rapid economic growth”—something which we’re not likely to see very soon.

McCain has also pledged to extend most of the Bush tax cuts which, according to many economists, will widen, not shrink the deficit.

In other McCain news, on Tuesday, the plain-spoken candidate reacted to a report of rising U.S. cigarette exports to Iran stating “Maybe that’s a way of killing ‘em”. Last year, when asked if there was a plan to attack Iran in the works, McCain responded, stating “You know that old Beach Boys song, Bomb Iran?” He then proceeded to serenade the crowd with his own rendition: “Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran.” Is it just me or does it seem like an Iran War will be inevitable if McCain takes the presidency?

And Now For Something Completely Different:

A group of civic-minded San Franciscans are petitioning the city for the erection of a tribute to President George W. Bush when he leaves office at the end of this year. Their idea? Naming a sewage plant after Bush. Organizer Brian McConell explains:

“It’s important to remember our leaders in the right historical context. In President Bush’s case, we think that we will be cleaning up a substantial mess for the next 10 or 20 years. The sewage treatment facility’s job is to clean up a mess, so we think it’s a fitting tribute.”

Needless to say, Republicans are not amused.

That’s the News!

BestWeekEver.tv has brought a site to my attention that gives you $3 Trillion fake dollars to buy anything from a cure for Alzheimer’s, to a secret island fortress (reasonably priced at $15 million) to, yes, World Peace (which has a price, apparently. Who’da thunk?)

Why $3 Trillion, (and yes, that’s a Carl Sagan Trillion with a “T”) you ask? Because that is how much the occupation in Iraq is costing America.

On their website, 3Trillion.org quotes Nobel prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz:

“Just counting the zeroes on the $3 trillion price tag of the Iraq War is enough to induce hyperventilation. But what does $3 trillion really mean? It’s difficult even to comprehend a number that big. Well, try filling your shopping cart with what the cost of the Iraq War could buy: healthcare for every American? A new home for every subprime borrower now facing foreclosure? An Ivy League university? You haven’t even gotten started.”

The website puts the situation into an incredibly depressing perspective, showing how much better that massive amount of money could be spent to feed the homeless, cure disease and environmental crises, protect and build social programs, etc. The site puts the power in your hands, so to speak, and asks you how the money should be spent; to see if, as they say, you can do better than President Bush.

You can even send out gift certificates to your friends, inviting them to spend the money as they see fit (as the website says, ‘Isn‘t giving better than killing?’).

How would you spend $3 Trillion? Or are you fine with funding the war in Iraq? Write us a comment and let us know!

I’m sure most of you know someone who is either in the military or somehow connected to the military, and a recent report should shock and worry you just as it did me when I read it. According to CNN, “Every day, five U.S. soldiers try to kill themselves. Before the Iraq war began, that figure was less than one suicide attempt a day. The dramatic increase is revealed in new U.S. Army figures, which show 2,100 soldiers tried to commit suicide in 2007.”

I don’t care what side of the political argument you are on, whether you technically consider yourself for or against the war, whether you are a democrat or republican, these are our friends, brothers, sisters, or relatives. The fact that they are attempting or even thinking about suicide after serving in this war is a scary reality that everyone needs to be more aware of.

So, why are the rates increasing so much? People offer up a couple of suggestions…

“Our troops and their families are under unprecedented levels of stress due to the pace and frequency of more than five years of deployments,” said one official.

“Our brave service members who face deployment after deployment without the rest, recovery and treatment they need are at the breaking point,” said another.

No matter what the reason is, I hope that more is done to ensure the safety of our troops and get them the help they need upon returning home from this war — and fast.

If Americans really cared about the war in the Middle East, global warming and our enormous foreign trade deficit, than now is the time to stop buying new automobiles until they produce an alternative car to fossil fuel. This is a matter of simple economics (one of the few classes I dominated).

This simple action would put a huge dent in the three issues mentioned above. Americans currently use over 15 million barrels a day of crude oil, over 9 million is gasoline. Blame whatever Texan you like, but the reality is that this money will largely go to countries who hate us. If we all stood together and refused to purchase any new cars unless they ran on non-fossil fuel engines, we could make a real difference.

The phrase “bigger is better” does not just apply in the bedroom, it applies to American culture. Bigger homes, bigger meals, and bigger cars….so is the world really ready to downsize, travel less or make the effort to use alternative fuel? There are a lot of alternative fuel options, some vehicles use electric, others can run on water, hydrogen and even types of grass, but how accessible are these methods to the American public? How many people do you actually know who drive a car that runs on an alternative fuel method?

Hybrids are gaining more attention but for a vehicle whose concept began in 1908, they are still not being bought at the rate that would drastically reduce the need for conventional fuels. At least hybrids are reasonably priced, as opposed to buying a car that runs on hydrogen. To buy a car that runs on hydrogen, it would cost $149,000 for a sports car, $99,995 for a pickup and $60,000 alone just to convert a Hummer, which already cost you a minimum of $80,000, to run on hydrogen. So you pay all this money, and still have to find one of the few hydrogen filling stations in the United States to keep it running. Seems like more trouble than it is worth, and more money than the average working class American could ever afford. This is the main reason why tuning out all of the new car commercials is so important. Less than a year ago, there was huge push for Hybrids, so people stopped buying regular mid-sized cars. In a matter of 3 months, the market was flooded with every brand and variety of Hybrid car. THAT is Economics. We buy only what we want. Alt fuel cars.

If the world is so concerned about the environment and fuel running out why aren’t there reasonably priced alternatives and why isn’t the information on these alternatives being communicated to the public. It is not that we are necessarily “addicted to oil,” but for most American’s it is our only option. Americans want things to be as easy as possible. Stopping at a gas station to fill up is very simple and it is what Americans know, but if we only gave them the option of using an environment friendly fuel alternative then they would adjust and go on with their lives because alternative fuels would become there only choice of getting from A to Z.

I am not one of those bullshit hippies asking you to burn your car and ride your bike to work. Just hold off on getting a new one. Join a large group of us who are insisting that this cycle needs to stop now. We’ve created an E-petition to be sent to Congress, to let them know that is it time to stop taking care of huge corporations and time to start taking care of all AMERICANS! Why not make an alternative fuel option more available, affordable and phase out the use of conventional fuel?

It’s not a new discovery that combat induces anxiety, trauma, and even depression in soldiers, but the new decision by the Bush Administration to lengthen many tours from the traditional one year to 15 months causes concern among many, especially when it comes to the misplaced combat anger directed at civilians.

According to the article, the Pentagon’s new survey suggests that “extended tours and multiple deployments, among other policy decisions, could escalate anger and increase the likelihood that soldiers or marines lash out at civilians, or defy military ethics.” Another sad fact, as recorded by the Pentagon, shows “suicide rates for soldiers in Iraq from 2003 to 2006 were 16.1 per 100,000, compared with the average Army rate of 11.1.”

While I’ve always hesitated to call the War in Iraq a second Vietnam, the similarities in combat conditions and trauma are striking. Much like Vietnam, the unpredictability of the War in Iraq (civilians who may be suicide soldiers, unmarked roadside bombs, a population going through its own civil war, and general confusion as to a distinct goal) is forcing soldiers to stay on constant alert and distrust many of the civilians they’re there to protect. Prolonged anxiety and uncertainty in any situation is exhausting and frustrating, but when combined with weapons, reactions and mistakes can carry heavy consequences. The recent Abu Ghraib torture scandal and My Lai massacre of 1968 are no exceptions to the rule.

And let’s not forget that most of the men and women fighting overseas are 18-24 years old. Think of what your body goes through when it comes to the every day stress of college – and then multiply it by guns, little to no sleep, fear for your life, homesickness, and possible death on a daily basis.

“You can endure a lot of physical and mental exhaustion as long as you feel you’re having an impact, you’re accomplishing something and that you have some control over your situation,” explains Dr. Andy Morgan, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Yale University who was interviewed for the article. “If you don’t feel you have any of that, you quickly get to a point where the only thing that’s important is keeping yourself and your buddies alive. Nothing else much matters.”

By increasing tour lengths and adding repeat deployments in an attempt to reach their desired outcome in Iraq, the Bush Administration is actually harming the very soldiers it claims to love and respect. If our President really wants to bring peace to a crumbling nation, increasing the discomfort and strain on our troops is a strange way to go about it

(An interesting sidenote: the public release of the survey detailed in this article, which was conducted during August and September of 2006, was belated until after the Bush Administration’s intention to “expand the active duty Army and Marine forces by 92,000 troops.”)

As with any war that goes on for a long period of time, casualty numbers are slowly becoming just that, numbers. Because information is not at our fingertips, many of us are losing track of exactly what’s going on overseas, exactly who’s dying and why, and exactly what we’re hoping to accomplish.

Democrats want to pull out, many want to leave immediately. Republicans claim pulling out is going to cause catastrophes and civil war. Couple those opinions with a burgeoning presidential race, and you’ve got a confusion sandwich with a side of personal gain.

No one seems free of twisting the truth these days, even the U.S Army. In a developing story on CNN.com, the trail concerning the death of NFL player and Army Ranger Pat Tillman has just taken a turn for the worse.

For those of you not familiar with this story, Tillman was killed in 2004 in Afghanistan in what the Army initially referred to as a “courageous counterattack in an Afghan mountain pass”. According to Tillman’s friend and fellow platoon member, Spc. Bryan O’Neal during a trail proceeding on Tuesday, that ‘courageous counterattack’ was a complete lie that he was told to pass along to Tillman’s family. According to CNN.com, O’Neal explained that his superior, then-Lt. Col. Jeff Bailey, “made it known I would get in trouble, sir, if I spoke with (Tillman’s brother) on it being fratricide”. Fratricide refers to death at the hands of one’s own brother, or in military terms, friendly fire. Since their initial press release, the Army has since admitted that Tillman was killed by his fellow soldiers.

Pat’s brother, Kevin Tillman, expressed his anger to members of The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform this week, claiming that the Army used his brother’s fabricated heroic death as a way to build support for a failing war in Afghanistan.

At the same hearing, former Pfc. Jessica Lynch, a familiar face in 2003 after the Army claimed she was captured by enemy forces while leading a heroic attack and subsequently saved in a similarly gallant effort, testified the Army made up parts of her story as well. Lynch never fired a shot on the raid against her and 11 other platoon members, eight of whom died, and apparently there were never any enemy forces guarding the Iraq hospital she had been brought to. At one point, Lynch said, hospital members even tried to get her back to other Americans.

“The truth of war is not always easy.” Lynch is reported as saying, “the truth is always more heroic than the hype.”

Her opinions are valued and heartfelt, but don’t seem to be shared by the U.S Army and certain government officials. And while I’m much more inclined to listen to soldiers who have actually fought on Iraq soil over an Administration Mouthpiece, it seems like more and more of these compelling and genuine voices are being squashed by men on Capital Hill. Men who can afford to make up lies, men who will never be in danger of being sent into this war, men who value their personal gain over the lives of brave soldiers.

Don’t allow yourself to be lied to. Do your own research. Find multiple sources, and trust in an old but sadly still true adage: everyone’s got an agenda.