The Hillary Conundrum

"The latest from the US' commanding general in Iraq, David Petraeus, is that if the surge doesn't work, then we get to stay even LONGER in Iraq. Most of us, hell, all of us, thought that if Petraeus reported in September that the last-ditch surge effort didn't work, the war would be over. Not true. Now, the failure of our last chance effort means we'll stay even longer (to try another last-chance effort?). And, I assume, if Petraeus reports that the surge IS working, we'll also stay longer (you know, to finish the job). So, either way, win or lose, we're staying no matter what. So what exactly is the point of Petraeus reporting anything at all?"

This could be big: Rosie to "The Price is Right"?

At the New Republic, Tennessee native Michelle Cottle offers a musical analysis of the political scene:

"Country music prides itself on being the voice of red-state America. So it's hardly surprising that, in the years immediately following September 11, country music artists came out loud and proud with a variety of fightin'-mad anthems. From Clint Black's 'Iraq and Roll' to Darryl Worley's 'Have You Forgotten?' to Toby Keith's infamous 'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American),' aggressive, defiant flag-waving made perfect cultural (not to mention economic) sense.

"It also jibed neatly with blue-staters' sniffy view of country fans as blindly patriotic . . . rednecks . . . By the time of the Dixie Chicks 'incident,' in which an anti-Bush utterance by lead singer Natalie Maines while in England led to the group's ex-communication from the country fold, there was little doubt that, when it came to Iraq, Nashville had the president's back . . .

"But a funny thing happened on the way to the surge. Sometime around 2004, the in-your-face calls to arms faded, and the war-themed offerings coming out of Nashville started taking on a more somber tone. In 2004, for instance, both girl-group SheDaisy and John Michael Montgomery produced hit singles focused on the pain of separation felt by soldiers and their loved ones. The former, 'Come Home Soon,' climbed the country charts to number 14; the latter, 'Letters from Home,' all the way to number two.

"Even Darryl Worley seems to be mellowing. Worley's 2003 'Have You Forgotten?' is often held up alongside Keith's 'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue,' as evidence of country's deep-seated, reflexive patriotism. ('Some say this country's just out looking for a fight / Well after 9/11 man I'd have to say that's right.') But his 2006 hit, 'I Just Came Back from a War,' is more ambivalent. The story is told from the perspective of a recently returned vet sitting in a bar, trying to explain to his buddies why he seems different:

"I just came back from a place where they hated me and everything I stand for

"A land where our brothers are dying for others who don't even care any more

"Chances are I never will be the same, I really don't know any moreI just came back from a war."

Facebook Watch: The Guardian says that 12,000 of the BBC's 25,000 staffers are on the social networking site. (And only one of them has friended me so far!)

Can Britney sue a Florida radio station for using her bald-headed image on billboards, along with one of its jocks, alongside the headline Total Nut Jobs? Let's just say that if I were a laywer, I wouldn't be dying to take that case.

Finally, I couldn't resist this HuffPost link:"LAT Forces Joel Stein to Pull Out of Teaching Oral Sex Class." And it has the virute of being true!