Here is a story about the expulsion of CNN correspondent Nic Robertson from Iraq which makes a curious counterpoint to the Peter Arnett fiasco.

Way to go, Iraqis.

Not a particularly effective way to cure "humiliation". We could say you fight like girls, but that would insult Cpl. Blondie.

From Sparkey at Sgt. Stryker.

Oh, mercy. Lucy has a crush on the friend Michael brought home with him. The other Michael, as we call him, is charming enough, but Lucy has it bad.

Here's a cutie. Fine, boys. Keep off the grass.

I would advise moderate Muslims to speak out now. I am angry. I have the vote. I will get your asses deported back to the middle ages. This story will work.

Me? I can walk. It would do me good.

And crawfish!

Sons, friends, cars, girls.

I am putting this story up, not because I am a fan of Robert Fisk, or want to malign the Coalition effort, but this is a report of the the view from Baghdad. Regardless of who was responsible for the attack on the marketplace, it's what war looks like, too.

Here is a story that proves I have no troubles. None at all.

From Obscure Store comes this story from a suburb of Houston:

A Harris County resident Thursday was ordered to pay $100 a day until she cleans up her front yard of "natural" vegetation that has angered her homeowners association.

This is my destiny if I don't crawl "out there" by April Fool's Day. Does clover count as "natural vegetation"?

Yowza!

Dumb criminal story here.

By gosh, I'm beginning to like that Donna Brazile. (Via The Corner.)

LATER: I have been filtering stories like this through the information in the story above. Donna Brazile ain't no "skeeza" neither.

I could've sworn I had Fritz Schrank on my bloglist when I started on this enterprise, but I see him no more. Let's try again. Sneaking Suspicions.

Many months ago, when I first started this weblog, a story came from Sydney, Australia, through that inimitable source Tim Blair of a parrot stolen from a pet store. Hector, the 31-year-old galah, or rose-breasted cockatoo, had been taken from his cage by a couple of silver-haired ladies. I have been checking on this story from time to time on Google and finally found the resolution to the story the other day. Here it is, from Persons Missing News, a source for missing persons in Australia. As the source does not provide a link, I will reprint the feature on Hector here:

7 August | The Daily Telegraph 7/8 p13 by Stavro Sofios
Hector thieves make contact - Breakthrough in the parrot-napping mystery
HECTOR the abducted galah is alive, "safe and happy" with the animal liberationists who stole him - and his owner doesn't necessarily want him back. The kidnappers made contact with The Daily Telegraph yesterday, claiming the 32-year-old parrot was freed from his "prison-like existence" to live with other birds in a large enclosure. The liberationists received qualified support from Hector's owner Doug Eyre, who offered to give up the community icon if they could prove the galah was now in a better environment.
"If you can show me he is happier in this new place, then keep him. Let him live out his last days happy," the West Ryde Pet Shop owner said yesterday. "My family needs closure, the people around here need closure and I won't push for charges if we can talk about it face-to-face. "If you really think this was the right way to go and if you're part of a fair dinkum liberation cause, why not prove it to us? Show me Hector in a good aviary and I might not take him away."
Expert analysis of the letter sent to The Daily Telegraph reveals it was written by the person who stole Hector and is also consistent with witness reports of the kidnappers -- two greyhaired women in their 50s with a "social conscience". The women took Hector, in his distinctive cage, from the footpath outside the West Ryde pet shop on July 20. The theft caused community uproar, with a reward of $7000 quickly offered for the return of the popular bird. "It says something about our society when $7000 is rewarded to put a galah back into a miserable existence in a cage no larger than a couple of milk crates rather than $7000 being offered to release a bird to his or her natural environment," read the letter, printed on a laser printer and sent in a yellow envelope. "Hector is safe and happy. Hector has not been released in the wild but now has the freedom to move around in a very large enclosure enjoying the company of other birds."

The owner gave his consent. Don't expect mine.

The stupid little bastard who threw the grenade into the commanders' tent is one lucky little SOB. Throw him into the town square here. Dionysus would be disappointed.

UPDATE: My husband won't accept that language. I invite my women readers to offer other suggestions.

Odd Todd has a new cartoon up. And check out the rest of the site, especially "Daily Good News".

It is a glorious day in our tiny burg. Temperature 66, sunshine, windows open, the crack of the bat from the games on the field behind the houses across the street. Sounds like "Donna Reed", doesn't it?

Despite my post below, don't think I'm looking at this war with a casual eye. I sat through the last Gulf War with a different man who had a son in the reserves. He waited every day dreading the news that his son was called up. I cannot imagine the anxiety of parents who know their children are on the front lines, and I cannot imagine the grief of parents losing their children in this conflict, or wives, or husbands, or children of men and women in service.

God have mercy.

Operation "Profound Dismay and Disgust" was a success. Unfortunately, many targets appeared to have been vanquished prior to attack. DNA experts will be required to identify certain specimens. While we can currently report that the area has been sanitized, we cannot guarantee that the area will not require further attention.

The big boys are covering things just fine. There's little I can add from my small town in Louisiana. So I am going to turn my back on "Shock and Awe" and turn my attention to cleaning my refrigerator -- "Profound Dismay and Disgust".