America in Decline: Anna Nicole Smith Top Story Again

Weeks after the death of Anna Nicole Smith, the former stripper is still the top story in America. A search on Google shows more news hits for Smith than for the Alberto Gonzales, the most talked about news figure in Washington. More hits than for Presidential candidates John Edwards, John McCain and Rudolph Giuliani; almost as much as Barack Obama. Anna Nicole is more talked about the recent scandal figure, Lewis 'Scooter' Libby. Then we wonder why we have a fascist for a president.

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On to a little more imporant news. The White House that refuses to speak to Iran is talking to Iraq insurgents. Isn't that aiding and abetting the enemy:

U.S. and Iraqi officials are in contact with representatives of some Sunni Arab insurgent groups to build an alliance against al Qaeda in Iraq, the outgoing U.S. ambassador said on Monday.

Zalmay Khalilzad also said he was cautiously optimistic that "success is possible" in Iraq, but urged leaders to act fast if they were to maintain the support of the impatient U.S. people amid growing pressure for a timetable to withdraw troops.

That makes me wonder if Republicans will insist on arguing that the Democrats are undermining our troops when the debate on the Iraq war moves to the Senate:

The US Senate was to take up binding legislation Monday to withdraw US troops from Iraq within one year -- setting the stage for a new showdown with President George W. Bush, who has vowed to veto any legislation containing pullout deadlines.

The upper chamber was to debate emergency funding of 121.6 billion dollars for the US military in Iraq and Afghanistan in a bill that would also set a strict March 2008 time line for the pullout of most US combat forces.

Meantime, the Iraq government is busy trying to preventing asassination attempts from its own people. It tells you something about the security situation over there:

The suicide attack against Iraq's Sunni deputy prime minister is now seen as an inside job carried out by a member of his own security detail — a distant relative who had been arrested as an insurgent, freed at the official's request, then hired as a bodyguard, a senior security official and an aide to the victim told The Associated Press on Sunday.

The assassination attempt, at least the third major security breach involving a top politician in four months, prompted Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to order a government-wide security shake up, including plans to hire a foreign company to guard the Green Zone building where parliament meets, the security official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with reporters.

Maybe Condoleeza read my article about the hypocrisy of criticizing Egypt's lack of democracy:

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday toned down criticism of planned amendments to Egypt's constitution that rights groups have called a step backward for freedom and democracy.

Rice, in Egypt as part of a Middle East tour on the eve of a nationwide referendum on the amendments, said she had broached the issue with President Hosni Mubarak but recognized that political change would have "ups and downs."

Why are American's still dying daily if the surge is working:

Roadside bombs killed five U.S. soldiers in Iraq Sunday, including four in a single strike in a volatile province northeast of the capital, the military said.

In Baghdad, gunmen on rooftops opened fire on Iraqi soldiers, prompting fierce fighting in the narrow streets and alleys of one of the capital's oldest neighborhoods, a Sunni insurgent stronghold and a haven for criminals on the east side of the Tigris River. At least two civilians were killed and four others were wounded in the clashes, police said, as U.S. attack helicopters buzzed overhead.

Another victim of the Duke "rape" case. Why is this outrage still going on. Why hasn't this case been thrown out yet:

Kirk Osborn, a lead defense attorney in the Duke lacrosse sexual assault case, died early Sunday, a fellow defense attorney in the case said. He was 64.

Osborn had a massive heart attack on Friday and died shortly before 1 a.m. Sunday, attorney Joe Cheshire said.

Osborn represented Reade Seligmann, one of three Duke lacrosse players charged in the case stemming from a dancer's allegation she was sexually assaulted at a team party. The players were originally indicted on charges of rape, sexual offense and kidnapping, but Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong dropped the rape charges in December after the accuser changed a key detail in her story.

Why is it that only a Republican is talking about impeaching Bush:

With his go-it-alone approach on Iraq, President Bush is flouting Congress and the public, so angering lawmakers that some consider impeachment an option over his war policy, a senator from Bush's own party said Sunday.

[...]GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel (news, bio, voting record) of Nebraska, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a frequent critic of the war, stopped short of calling for Bush's impeachment. But he made clear that some lawmakers viewed that as an option should Bush choose to push ahead despite public sentiment against the war.

"Any president who says, I don't care, or I will not respond to what the people of this country are saying about Iraq or anything else, or I don't care what the Congress does, I am going to proceed — if a president really believes that, then there are — what I was pointing out, there are ways to deal with that," said Hagel, who is considering a 2008 presidential run.

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You might be interested in the story of Eric Volz, an American convicted of raping and murdering his Nicaraguan girlfriend. The problem is that Volz was no where near the murder and witnesses can prove it. The Nicaragua judge in the case refused to listen to those witnesses and sentenced him to 30 years in a Nicaraguan prison. Why? The town and press, possibly motivated by Anti-Americanism, convicted Eric before the trial even started. At one point a mob almost lynched Mr.Volz. His family has moved to Nicaraguan to fight this terrible injustice. Will this case be forgotten?

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Speaking of injustice, the female bartender who was beaten by that drunken Chicago cop says she's being intimidated by other cops trying to prevent from coming forward to press charges. How sick. We all saw the video. The disgraceful cop, Anthony Abbate, beat a woman, half his size, unmercifully, simply because she refused him another drink. The cops involved in the intimidation should be prosecuted. Whether or not the bartender comes forward Abbate should be convicted on the basis of the video alone. A message must be sent. Or will the police succeed at protecting one of their own. Stay tuned.