An Abomination

Hindu prayer in Senate disrupted - July 12, 2007 8:55 a.m. PT - WASHINGTON -- A Hindu clergyman made history Thursday by offering the Senate's morning prayer, but only after police officers removed three shouting protesters from the visitors' gallery. Rajan Zed, director of interfaith relations at a Hindu temple in Reno, Nev., gave the brief prayer that opens each day's Senate session. As he stood at the chamber's podium in a bright orange and burgundy robe, two women and a man began shouting "this is an abomination" and other complaints from the gallery.

"Other complaints"? -- come on, let's get specific. Actually, I suspect they may have meant to shout "this is a bombin' nation!", which, though no less disruptive, would at least have been more accurate.

Bush admits staff role in CIA leak - 12 Jul 2007 at 11:46am - President Bush on Thursday acknowledged publicly for the first time that someone in his administration leaked the name of a CIA operative, although he also said he hopes the controversy over his decision to spare prison for a former White House aide has "run its course."

You can forget the unhappy past: study - 12 Jul 2007 at 2:43pm - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers have confirmed what common wisdom has long held -- that people can suppress emotionally troubling memories -- and said on Thursday they have sketched out how the brain accomplishes this.

That's good to know. Purely coincidentally, I'm sure, this item appeared at around the same time:

Bush: "Cause for optimism" in Iraq - 12 Jul 2007 at 2:45pm - The Iraqi government has made only mixed progress toward fulfilling goals for political, military and economic reform, but President Bush on Thursday said he sees "cause for optimism" in its efforts....At a news conference that coincided with the report's release, President Bush said, "I believe we can succeed in Iraq and I know we must."

After a while, enough success is enough, wouldn't you say? Seriously, when was the last time Bush explicitly stated the objective?

Thought for the day:
"The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." -Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882 - 1945)