This is Robert J. Samuelson's plan, Build a Fence -- And Amnesty. Excerpts with added boldfacing below:

In the meantime, here's this Reuters news item...

This Administration inherited an Iraq threat that was unresolved.....

For America, the September 11 attacks underscored the danger of allowing threats to linger unresolved. Saddam Hussein's continued defiance of 16 UNSC resolutions over 12 years, combined with his record of invading neighboring countries, supporting terrorists, tyrannizing his own people, and using chemical weapons, presented a threat we could no longer ignore.

Since the start of the Iraq war, it's been clear that "victory" rested on the answer to one Big Question: Was Iraq the way Iraq was because Saddam was the way Saddam was, or was Saddam the way Saddam was because Iraq was the way Iraq was -- a country congenitally divided among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds that can be held together only by an iron fist.

• Those who energize the base or those who reach out to the independents or non-voting public?
• Those on TV or those on radio?
• Those on AAR or in the SCLM?

We don't want to see some formulaic Hollywood ending happen where the serial killer - wounded and bleeding, pulls a pistol out of his sock and springs back to life with five minutes left in the feature.

I say to you: Tom DeLay's political obituaries are premature.

Ronnie Earle's indictments are obviously not enough to kill this reptile.

Where as the typical liberal may be inclined to sit complacently back and let Texas courts have their way with DeLay, I am saying that's courting the still possible disaster of The Hammer's recovery.

DeLay's demise would be better assured if he were ganged-up on.

I am challenging any so-called liberal member(s) of Congress to prove themselves to be true Progressives, to put their signature(s) where their mouth(s) have been, and sign an outstanding citizen complaint.

Say whatever you want about Brooks, he's not stupid. So at the end of the day, if it seems he just doesn't get it, it must be because he's been bought.

We don't have any examples here, so it might be interesting.

British MP George Galloway has announced his U.S. speaking tour in the United States. He's the guy who faced down his accusers in the U.S. Congress on May 17th. Idiot Congressman Norm Coleman had accused Galloway of profiteering in the Oil for Food program.

Bad idea.

Bushco has done nothing more than taking Iraq by exercising his constitutional powers of eminent domain.

Iraq was a blighted area. Even though it was a sovereign nation (a detail), it was impoverished (by U.S. sanctions), and governed by a mass-murdering dictator (even though most of the mass murders were decades old).

Iraq was also a public nuisance. It was a haven for terrorists (even though not proven), and stuffed with WMD's (disproven).

Bottom line: there was also a "public purpose" involved - we needed the oil.

Just compensation? Not Bush's problem. Future generations of Americans will foot that bill.

So, in more ways than one - notwithstanding a few troublesome details - Bush can take the 5th Amendment in explaining how he took us into the un-provoked, unnecessary and largely unilateral invasion and occupation of Iraq (UULUIOI)!

I ran this poll Saturday but only tallied seven ballots.

I was curious how an Instant Runoff Vote (IRV) selection of liberal talk show hosts (radio & TV) would turn out if limited to KOS members. Also, since I catch very little TV, I have also wondered how the popularity of progressive radio stacks up to liberal TV. Hence, this poll in last Saturday's Diary.

Results below the fold

I have often wondered how an Instant Runoff Vote IRV selection of liberal talk show hosts (radio & TV) would turn out if limited to KOS members. Since, I catch very little TV, I have also wondered how progressive radio stacks up to liberal TV. Hence, I am conducting this poll.

Location!  Location!  Location!

The Unofficial-Unapproved IRV-Based Poll to Express a Preference for the location of the 2006 YearlyKos Convention.

Read about this fantastic event here!

And then express your preference for its location in an Instant Runoff Vote (IRV) Poll among these candidate sites:

Atlanta
Baltimore
Baltimore  
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Denver
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
New Orleans
New York City
Oakland
Philadelphia
San Francisco
Washington D.C.
Detroit
Minneapolis

Go Here for the Unofficial YearlyKos Convention Poll!  

I think one of the most un-asked or under-asked questions has to do with the seemingly seamlessness of Saddam's record wanton mass violence.

Beginning on 7 November and ending on the 18 November, 35 members of Kos each cast Instant Run-off (IRV) ballots in a poll on presidential candidates in 2008. The purpose of the poll was to identify  which candidates Kos members anticipated (at this immediate post-election juncture at least) might emerge in the next three years from Democratic, liberal or progressive ranks to contend in the next presidential election.

My biggest complaint about Daily Kos - and it is not a big one - is the atrocious ad by AMERICABlog.org.

Yes, I'm talking about the "Lipstick on a Pig" ad!!

Now I resent George W Bush, more than any one I know. But this ad is disgusting, revolting, nauseating, repugnant, and otherwise graphically unbecoming to this great site, IMHO.

Cannot this thing be taken down ASAP, if it's voted down?