That’s a charlie. I’ve got a nice little digital camera with a big memory stick in it. I’ve been practicing on the uploading and playing around with PSP & the like, although I am not nearly as good at photoshopping as the AP & Reuters photogs are

I’ll gin up an AAR upon return and send it to Lex to edit, etc.

Actually, the only difficult part about this trip is the 14 hour bus ride each way.. sigh…

Respects,

To add to excitement, ANSWER, Code Pink, MoveOn, Cindy Sheehan and a host of others plan to march to Congress on the 15th of September. Their itinerary includes “black Actions” by the resident anarchists, various public acts of vandalism, confrontation, traffic disruption, etc. You can get a run down on all this by visiting (if you can stomach it) the various group’s own websites, etc.

As a counter, GOE, the Gathering of Eagles group, is also planning a full-on response for the same day. I’ll be in attendance again. Wouldn’t miss the opportunity to help jeer on the teeming unwashed masses, after all.

GOE expects to exceed it’s March ’07 attendance record at this event. It ought ta be a whole lotta fun

Respects,

Waving the “closed hearing” red flag in front of congressmen and senators was a calculated affront considering the fact that they’re already incensed at the President for his Executive Privilege claims that demonstrated his unwillingness to let Harrier Myers and Karl Rove testify openly and on the record. By using this as a throw-away card, they get to play their real hand – sitting beside the beribboned example of military competence. Congress walked right into it by focusing on the “closed hearing” aspects, which will – I believe – be conceded in ultimate negotiations.

Congressional leadership would never have assaulted Petraeus if he’d testified by himself openly – they would have painted him as a good soldier ably attempting to implement a failed policy. Not his fault, the poor guy.

If policy gurus Rice and Gates sit beside him, the congressional leadership is stuck with unpalatable options: The first would be going to the full-on attack mode against them. Given the emotionalism on this topic and the bad blood between Congress and the White House, this is an almost irresistible temptation. But blazing away at the sympathetic figure of Condi Rice and the unflappable Bill Gates gains them little while risking the appearance that they’re also firing on that poor general, who after all is only trying to make the best of a bad situation – with some success.

The other option is to give Rice and Gates a pass, but that ends up looking like an endorsement of the administration’s policies – a position guaranteed to be anathema to the “net roots.”

Like I said, I think they’ve been maneuvered into a bad spot, but we’re still early in the game.