a couple bits and good-bye for the weekend

There are so many bizarre stories coming at me I can hardly type fast enough. First, Rumsfeld holds a press conference to defend his decision to hold a member of Ansar al-Islam without telling Red Cross officials, and it turns out the prisoner had the code name "XXX". Now, if it was really Vin Diesel they were holding, even I would admit they were justified. If they had Triple-X locked up, not only should they not tell the Red Cross, they should really not tell the heads of the major studios.

But better than that was this little story based on a CDC study on obesity. It seems that there is a direct relationship between states that have a highly obese population and states that typically vote Republican. (fattest state in the Union, incidentally: Mississippi.) Now, let's think creatively about this. Republican policies are pretty gluttonous about hording their money, so why not their food? Can this be part of a new DNC campaign? "Vote Democratic: it's good for your health!"

Mull it over, while I jet to North Carolina for the weekend. I'll have a report on Monday.