From ABC news last week:

Of the 1,000 U.S. employees at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, only 10 have a working knowledge of Arabic, according to the State Department.

That is still a slight improvement from last year when, according to the Iraq Study Group, six people in the embassy spoke Arabic.

The Pentagon has fired over 300 language specialists in the past 14 years. "Don't ask."

Here's a new twist, though: Last week the Department of Defense issued a revised statement about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

Personnel dismissed under the ban "have the opportunity to continue to serve their nation and national security by putting their abilities to use by way of civilian employment with other Federal agencies, the Department of Defense, or in the private sector, such as with a government contractor," Cynthia O. Smith of the Defense Press Office, said in the statement. It is the first Pentagon statement, according to Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), which encourages lesbian and gay former service personnel to continue their federal government careers.

"In its new statement, Pentagon leaders clearly acknowledge that lesbian and gay Americans make important contributions to our national security and that our country is better off when their skills are employed, not turned away," said Steve Ralls, director of communications for SLDN. "As this new statement points out, lesbian and gay service members are welcome to return to the Department of Defense, as civilian employees, often doing the same job as during their uniformed careers, even after being fired under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." Indeed, the National Security Agency, Department of State and Central Intelligence Agency - and even the Department of Defense - all welcome openly gay civilian employees.

8:46:00 PM

The Gays are All Wet

Appearing in yesterday's Telegraph:

The floods that have devastated swathes of [England] are God's judgment on the immorality and greed of modern society, according to senior Church of England bishops. One diocesan bishop [the Bishop of Carlisle] has even claimed that laws that have undermined marriage, including the introduction of pro-gay legislation, have provoked God to act by sending the storms that have left thousands of people homeless.

Watch out. You don't know what they'll pull next.
8:40:00 PM

Get him before he shoots someone else "accidentally"

I've been reading with some interest the recent online reports about the (apparently) growing grassroots movement to impeach Vice President Cheney (and complaining about how this issue is not being covered by corporate media):

A powerful series of news articles that ran in late June in the Washington Post has disclosed that the vice president was the driving force behind President Bush's decision to violate the Geneva Conventions and to illegally deny international protections to captives in what he has called the War on Terror, including captives from Afghanistan and Iraq, and to establish a program of torture of captives.

Cheney also made the ludicrous assertion this week that he did not have to respond to Congressional subpoenas and requests for information about the activities of his office because as vice president, he is president of the Senate, and thus is not a part of the executive branch, (It is a claim that is contradicted by his own earlier assertions of “executive authority” in refusing to respond to Congressional requests for information.)

Ten members of congress have signed on to Rep. Kucinich's bill to impeach, which cites Cheney's role in deceiving Americans and Congress into supporting an invasion of Iraq, and threatening war with Iran; Cheney's claim to be exempt from Congressional investigation and his refusal to comply with rules for the handling of classified information may be added.

Also:

According to the Washington Post, Sen. Patrick Leahy, the Democratic chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, says that a contempt charge is not out of the question if the White House refuses to turn over subpoenaed documents. Congressional investigators want testimony, internal e-mails and other documents to clarify what role Bush's senior staff played in the Justice Department's removal of nine prosecutors last year. The White House refused last week. In exerting "executive privilege," the Administration asserted the power of the presidency against other branches of government. Leahy says he may also take the matter to court.

8:23:00 PM