Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Paragraphs from around the web

Mr. Brooks at the NY Times has a paragraph of accuracy amid a wandering post that went nowhere.
Indeed, the people who are most furious about what happened at Haditha are those marines who have been in similarly awful circumstances but who have not snapped, and who fear that their heroic restraint will be tainted or overshadowed by comrades who behave despicably.
You are absolutely correct. That is what disturbs me the most. What kind of stress were these guys under? Is it better or worse now? First Pat Tillman is stupidly shot by friendly fire and now killing civilians is a deliberate accident at best and blood sport at worst, but whatever the excuse it isn't acceptable.

Meanwhile Bob Herbert had so many paragraphs that just zinged I couldn't decide which one was best. Was it the beginning?
For the smug, comfortable, well-off Americans, it doesn't seem to matter how long the war in Iraq goes on — as long as the agony is endured by others. If the network coverage gets too grim, viewers can always switch to the E! channel (one hand on the remote, the other burrowing into a bag of chips) to follow the hilarious antics of Paris, Britney, Brangelina et al.
Or this extremely well written paragraph that might help to put the war in perspective.
The killing of American troops is usually kissed off with a paragraph or two in the major papers, and a sentence or two, at best, on national newscasts. (Imagine if someone in your office, sitting at a desk across from you, were suddenly blown to bits, splattering you with his or her blood. You wouldn't get over it for the rest of your life. This is what happens daily in Iraq.)
Now that's an image that would be hard to forget. Especially if you're squeamish. Then he ends with these two paragraphs (I just couldn't separate them).
As was the case with Vietnam, the war in Iraq is a fool's errand. There is no clear mission for American troops in Iraq. No one can really say what the dead have died for. And yet the dying continues.

When it all finally comes to an end (according to President Bush, on somebody else's watch) we'll look around at the hideous costs in human treasure and cold hard cash and ask ourselves: What in the world were we thinking?
Good question. Meanwhile over at the WaahPoo, Jim Hoagland, who must be on the same planet as the commentators at Faux News who believe that we found weapons of mass destruction, has this brilliant paragraph which reveals how supposedly intelligent people are still living delusionally.
The Iraq war was triggered by a dictator's suicidal bluff about weapons of mass destruction. Now it is the Bush administration that risks being caught in a trap of self-delusion.
Well, the part about self-delusion is correct but the other isn't.

The price of gas is expected to be $2.76 a gallon for regular, on average.
Nationwide, retail gasoline prices will average a record $2.76 a gallon over the April-September summer period for regular. That's up 39 cents from last summer and a nickel higher than the Energy Information Administration, the Energy Department's statistical arm, forecast a month ago.
So this means that I can look forward to lower prices since it cost me $3.14 a gallon to fill up? Somehow I don't think so.

For those with a sweet tooth they are making chocolate in a smaller size for those who can't control themselves.
Two of the world's largest chocolate companies, Hershey Co. and Nestle, were promoting new stick versions of their popular chocolate bars Tuesday at the All Candy Expo, a major candy trade show in Chicago.
I wonder if the price will go down in a commensurate fashion?

Yep, things are really looking up. I'm going to bed.

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