Stop Kicking Yourself!

Hey, speaking of "international norms"...

What about the norm where Country A, which has not been threatened or attacked by Country B, doesn't attack country B?

Doesn't breaking that norm result is a loss of credibility?

W gave us a pretty definitive the answer to that one: Yes.

So, are there different credibilities at play here?

Here we go.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee adopted by voice vote Wednesday two amendments by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) to the resolution authorizing military action in Syria that would make it the goal of the mission to "change the moment on the battlefield in Syria."

The two McCain amendments to that effect, co-sponsored by Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), change the non-binding Statement of Policy in the resolution to say:

It is the policy of the United States to change the momentum on the battlefield in Syria so as to create favorable conditions for a negotiated settlement that ends the conflict and leads to a democratic government in Syria.

That's the stuff!

Florida man cites ‘Bush doctrine’ after pre-emptive killing of neighbors at Labor Day cookout.

WTF.

Some dirty fucking hippie once said this:

We veterans can only look with amazement on the fact that this country has been unable to see there is absolutely no difference between ground troops and a helicopter crew, and yet people have accepted a differentiation fed them by the administration. No ground troops are in Laos, so it is all right to kill Laotians by remote control. But believe me the helicopter crews fill the same body bags and they wreak the same kind of damage on the Vietnamese and Laotian countryside as anybody else and the President is talking about allowing this to go on for many years to come. One can only ask if we will really be satisfied only when the troops march into Hanoi.

I wonder what became of that guy? Probably living on a mountain somewhere in New Hampshire, growing pot and spaghetti squash.

When the predicate of an 'if' seems likely, it's no longer much of an 'if'; it's more like a 'when'.

Secretary of State John Kerry told a panel of senators that he couldn’t absolutely rule out the use of U.S. combat troops in Syria if groups hostile to the United States seized any of Syria’s chemical weapons.

Lawmakers' concerns that America would be drawn into a broader conflict – already evident among many members of the Senate – deepened when Kerry speculated openly at a hearing Tuesday about the circumstances under which the U.S. might deploy combat troops in Syria.

Yay.

Ram On The Lam

Escalation Rhetoric, in Six Simple Steps

The Pixies have a new 4-song EP, of all-new songs.

Is it interesting that new material shows up as soon as Kim Deal leaves? I think so. Wonder what the story there is...

Obama asked Congress to do its job?

This is sure to be an amusing week or so while they figure out what that is.