“The traditional teaching of the church has proven to be the only failsafe way to prevent the spread of HIV/Aids.”

Seems to me that perhaps the only better use for a condom (than protecting from AIDS) would be to put one over the Catholic Church to keep all that unseemly religious goo from destroying the hopes and futures of an entire continent.

Stupid. Religious. Insanity.

(cross posted at Bring It On!)

150 years ago, Charles Darwin put forth the theory of evolution based on natural selection. Layers and layers of scientific evidence have since proven many of his theories to have merit and evolution is mostly accepted as fact by the scientific community. But what about the general public?

The last major public survey I could find was a Gallup Poll from 2005. In this poll of 34 (mostly western) countries, the United States ranks second to last in public acceptance, right before Turkey ( a mostly Muslim nation.)

So in the U.S., only about 40% think that evolution is true, while nearly 60% say it is either false or they aren’t sure if it is true. Interesting…especially when we consider ourselves to be an educated, first world country.

For comparison, here are some Muslim opinions.

So…was Darwin right? Or is the Earth just a few thousand years old, with all species being independently created by a master planner?

In 2008, Gallup did a national poll to find out where the most religious areas of America are. The northwest corner of the country (where I hail from) is among the least religious part of the country. Can you guess which camp I sit in? Let’s just say I’m not waiting for the rapture….

(cross posted at Bring It On!)

(original video by Ken Grandlund- cross posted at Bring It On!)

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, fully 70% of Americans who have some religious affiliation say that many religions-aside from their own particular faith- can lead to eternal life after death on Earth-including non-Christian faiths.

Here are some other interesting facts that the survey reveals about the attitudes of self-described religious Americans (and those who consider themselves “unaffiliated” with any particular religion):

POLITICS & SOCIETY

Political Party Affiliation: Nationally, 36% of religiously minded folks are Republican or lean Republican compared to 47% who are Democrats or lean towards the Democrats.

Political Ideology: Nationally, 37% of these folks consider themselves to be conservative, versus 36% who claim to be moderate and 20% who claim to be liberal. (Maybe not surprisingly, the more conservative folks are Christian evangelicals and Mormons while the most liberal denominations include Buddhists, Hindus, and Jews.)

Government Size: 43% want smaller government with fewer services; 46% want bigger government with more services.

Abortion: 51% believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases; 43% believe it should be illegal in most or all cases.

Homosexuality: 50% think it homosexuality should be accepted by society; 40% say it should not be accepted.

Environment: 30% think that environmental laws and regulations are harming the economy and costing jobs; 61% think stricter environmental laws and regulations are worth the cost.

The survey of over 35,000 also revealed (among other things) that only about 59% believe in Hell while nearly 74% believe in heaven.

Clearly, America’s religious aren’t as dogmatic as we may be led to believe, or even as dogmatic as some anecdotal evidence may have us believe. Clearly, the media overhypes the religious differences anywhere and everywhere it can. And while some regions of the country are more religious than others, as a whole, Americans don’t seem to conform to the standard media view that there are but two sides of the religious equation-nutjob evangelical and raging athiest. In fact, most seem to be just regular folks who hold their own beliefs dear without having to force them on others or condemn others as heretics and blasphemers-or, more importantly, force them upon the nation as a whole via legislation.

This is good news, especially for those of us who live outside the religious tent and have no affinity for religion, other than for the entertainment value it offers us. But what it really shows is that by and large, Americans aren’t hell-bent to mold this nation into a theocracy, despite the overtly vocal rantings of televangelists, “family” groups, and some certain politicians. Let’s hope they get the message.

(cross posted at Bring It on!)

The Rapture is coming, you know. Just ask an Evangelical Christian. They’ll tell you it’s true. Even though predictions for hundreds of “imminent raptures” have thus far failed to materialize (or is it dematerialize?), these folks are as sure as fresh snow is white that the REAL Rapture is definitely on the way. But they also know that their message is not whole-heartedly embraced by everyone. But for the Rapture Disciples this only means that they still have work to do, and they know that once the Rapture really does happen, all those who have missed the train to Heaven will cast aside their disbelief and fervently work to join their righteous loved ones in Heaven, who had warned them all along.

To that end, welcome to the world wide web youvebeenleftbehind.com. This handy-dandy website allows subscribers the opportunity to remind special friends and family members who missed the Rapture that they still have hope, and a chance, to gain the Kingdom of Heaven.

From their website:

“You’ve Been Left Behind gives you one last opportunity to reach your lost family and friends For Christ. Imagine being in the presence of the Lord and hearing all of heaven rejoice over the salvation of your loved ones. It is our prayer that this site makes it happen.”

That’s right friends…for a mere $40 per year subscription fee, youvebeenleftbehind.com will let you store up to 250Mb of documents that can be automatically e-mailed to up to 62 different sinners when the Rapture happens. But wait…there’s more! That 250Mb is partitioned so that you can have document encryption for 150Mb worth of information. What better way to pass along sensitive password information to that sinful Aunt Tessa who never took Jesus into her heart? No reason to deny her your money (which you no longer need, right?) just because she denied the Lord now is there?

But wait, you might be asking, how does this service work? I mean, the Rapture takes all the good Christians away, and these folks who run this site are obviously good Christians. How does the system send out all these e-mails to the black-hearted non-believers if they’ve (the site hosts) been taken back to Jesus?

Just as Noah got instructions from God on how to build a really big boat, the fine folks at youvebeenleftbehind.com have an ingenious trigger that can only be divinely inspired.

“We have set up a system to send documents by the email, to the addresses you provide, 6 days after the “Rapture” of the Church. This occurs when 3 of our 5 team members scattered around the U.S fail to log in over a 3 day period. Another 3 days are given to fail safe any false triggering of the system.”

Got it? If three of the five team members fail to log in to the system for three days in a row, the trigger is set. Another three days pass, and it’s sure the Rapture took place. (Odd though that only 3 need to log in. I wonder if that means that two of the five are really closet sinners?) Talk about fail-proof!

 The site is the brainchild of Mark Heard, who came up with the idea while buying stocks online one day. He worried about how his wife would gain access to his account and password if he were to be Raptured at that moment.

“In the encrypted portion of your account you can give them access to your banking, brokerage, hidden valuables and powers of attorneys. There won’t be any bodies, so probate court will take seven years to clear your assets to your next of kin. Seven years, of course, is all the time that will be left (during the Tribulation) so, basically the Government of the Antichrist gets your stuff, unless you make it available in another way.”

I guess Mr. Heard’s wife isn’t as devout as he wishes she were. But you know what they say….behind every great man….

So better join today. Why? Because the Rapture is coming! And because when you’re gone, you’ll never get another chance to save your loved ones from a fiery eternity. Oh wait….with this service, I guess you will get one more chance.

(cross posted at Bring It On!)

From our first footsteps as modern humans, our species has moved forward, stretching our potential as we improved our mortal condition, each new step taking thousands of years before its imprint could be seen. It took humanity about 190,000 years to move from the Stone Age to the first human civilizations. The modern era begans about 12,000 years ago and includes the present time. In those 12,000 years though, it is in the last few hundred, and especially in the last half century, that human kind has shown that it might be ready to make the next step forward. At least, I hope we are.

Consider for a minute the advances of humanity during the Stone Age, so called because of the technological breakthrough and refinement of making tools out of stone. These early folks also had crude language and social skills, but were largely hunter-gatherer, subsistance types. But their mastery of fire, and eventual knowledge about natural pharmacology and animal behavior, in addition to their other skills, proved that they had mastered most of what any creature needs to endure: they knew the “how” of living. By the end of the Stone Age, the advent of agriculture was the icing on the cake, and the launchpad from which human beings leaped towards the next big move forward, they “why” of living.

Enter the rise of civilization, both ancient and modern, for aside from the technology, the mechanics haven’t changed all that much. For about the last 12,000 years, population centers in Asia and India, today’s Middle East and Egypt, the Mediterranean, and the lower Americas spawned people of thought and enterprise. Some formed the political structures, other the religious teachings, while still others turned towards the arts or the natural sciences.
For the first six or seven thousand years, civilization was tribal in nature, for lack of a better term. But about six thousand years ago the first “states” arose in Egypt, the Middle East and Indus Valley. These early pre-nations developed complex religions and infused them into the political structure and general culture of their societies, and eventually gave rise to the geopolitical map we know today. Through religious teachings and political-social mandates, humanity had provided himself with an answer to the “why” of living, and has spent the last 2000 years fervently fighting about which version is the truth. But to our credit, we have also managed to increase our knowledge about the world and the universe and the subatomic universe that makes up all matter. We have gained insights into the depths of our world and the folds in our brains. On the whole however, humanity has not been able to reconcile the faith of religion with the precision of science. Especially when the tenets of the religion can’t stand up to the empirical evidence or the modern times. Still, our technological prowess continues to expand at exponential rates, outstripping the mores of traditional religion with it’s sheer speed and marvel and engendering an expectation of self-satisfaction or greed that drives change. That, and religion continue to be the prime drive for billions of people, but that very individual drive, or rather the manipulation of it, may be the thing keeping humanity from taking the next step in our species’ evolution- the “what” of living.

Some will say we already have the “what” of living, that our religious faiths tell us what we should do. From an individual perspective, I may say, “Great. Glad that works for you.” But that’s not really the “what” I mean. Consider the change that took place when homo sapiens transitioned from Stone Age to The Age of Civilization. If ever there was an apt use of the night and day metaphore this would be it. And the leap from a human species dominated by religion and greed to one committed to bettering the entire species as a whole would be as dramatic.

Mankind has some serious challenges in the not-so-distant future and how (or whether) we work together to solve these issues will define the future of our species- the “what” if you will. It took our species 190,000 years to move out of the caves and into the light. It was a slow move, but we had the time and we had a common goal- to move forward. We’ve spent the last 12,000 years moving away from each other and our natural world. We’ve still moved forward, but hardly in concert. And increasingly, it seems that our only common goal is to destroy each other while asserting a particular religious philosophy or exploiting a particular resource. It would be a shame to spend another 188,000 years doing that. And quite frankly, I doubt we have that much time left on the clock if we keep going like this.

It is time to put religious differences down. It is time to put cultural differences down. It is time to put national greed aside. It is time to end provocations of war and acts of terror, both physical and economic. It is time to take the next step. And the funny thing is, you don’t have to give up your beliefs or selfish desires. After all, we didn’t stop using fire did we? You only have to be willing to refuse to allow those things to stop human progress, whether that comes from spacial colonization or ecological rejuvenation.

I think humanity can take the next step. I think there is a minority out there who are ready to put that foot forward. I just wonder when the rest of the pack is going to jump on board.

Despite all your Sunday school lessons, popular mythology, and even your secular Santa’s, the fact about Christmas is this-the holiday now celebrated as Christmas in much of the western world began life centuries before the purported birth of Jesus as a pagan celebration of life, rebirth, and rejoicing.

With a little help from my friends at The History Channel (yes- I know they are an entertainment medium, but they are also quite factual in many of their presentations, and at least as un-Hollywood as one can be and still get sponsors), here are some things you may never have known about the origins of Christmas.

IN THE BEGINNING

-The middle of winter has long been a time of celebration around the world. Many peoples rejoiced during the winter solstice, when the worst of the winter was behind them and they could look forward to longer days and extended hours of sunlight.

-In Scandinavia, the Norse celebrated Yule from December 21, the winter solstice, through January. In recognition of the return of the sun, fathers and sons would bring home large logs, which they would set on fire. The people would feast until the log burned out, which could take as many as 12 days.

-The end of December was a perfect time for celebration in most areas of Europe. At that time of year, most cattle were slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter. For many, it was the only time of year when they had a supply of fresh meat. In addition, most wine and beer made during the year was finally fermented and ready for drinking.

-In Rome, where winters were not as harsh as those in the far north, Saturnalia—a holiday in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture—was celebrated. Beginning in the week leading up to the winter solstice and continuing for a full month, Saturnalia was a hedonistic time, when food and drink were plentiful and the normal Roman social order was turned upside down.

-Around the time of the winter solstice, Romans observed Juvenalia, a feast honoring the children of Rome. In addition, members of the upper classes often celebrated the birthday of Mithra, the god of the unconquerable sun, on December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock. For some Romans, Mithra’s birthday was the most sacred day of the year.

IN COME THE CHRISTIANS

-In the early years of Christianity, Easter was the main holiday; the birth of Jesus was not celebrated. In the fourth century, church officials decided to institute the birth of Jesus as a holiday.Unfortunately, the Bible does not mention date for his birth. Pope Julius I chose December 25. It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival.

-By holding Christmas at the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly embraced, but gave up the ability to dictate how it was celebrated.

– By the Middle Ages, Christianity had, for the most part, replaced pagan religion. As a result of ceding celebratory control on Christmas, believers attended church, then celebrated raucously in a drunken, carnival-like atmosphere similar to today’s Mardi Gras.

CHRISTMAS GETS OUTLAWED

-When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas.

-The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings.

-After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under America’s new constitution. Christmas wasn’t declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870.

THE CHRISTMAS REFORMATION

-The early 19th century was a period of class conflict and turmoil. During this time, unemployment was high and gang rioting by the disenchanted classes often occurred during the Christmas season. This catalyzed certain members of the upper classes to begin to change the way Christmas was celebrated in America.

-It wasn’t until the 19th century that Americans began to embrace Christmas. Americans re-invented Christmas, and changed it from a raucous carnival holiday into a family-centered day of peace and nostalgia.

-Also around this time, English author Charles Dickens created the classic holiday tale, A Christmas Carol. The story’s message-the importance of charity and good will towards all humankind-struck a powerful chord in the United States and England and showed members of Victorian society the benefits of celebrating the holiday.

-In the next 100 years, Americans built a Christmas tradition all their own that included pieces of many other customs, including decorating trees, sending holiday cards, and gift-giving.

OTHER CHRISTMAS BITS

-Santa Clause is most likely based on the Turkish monk St. Nicholas.

-Christmas trees predate Chsirtianity by thousands of years. Ancient peoples would celebrate the evergreen trees during the winter to remind them of life and rebirth.

(The previous information was taken from the History Channel. Link provided above.)

SO- there you have it. Not only is Christmas just a big jumble of ancient traditions co-opted by a particular religion, there is no one defining Christian identity regarding the holiday at all. So the next time you encounter a someone babbling like a fool about the demise of Christmas or bemoaning the notion that the ‘spirit’ of Christmas is fading, remember that their idealized notion of December 25th is neither that pure or that old.

In my house, we begin celebrating at the beginning of December, and since we aren’t religious or Christian, it’s more of winter celebration. But, taking our cues from the Christians of yesteryear, we’ve co-opted our own favorite parts of the holiday, the ones we grew up with and the ones we make anew, and that’s Christmas for us. And we don’t care if you are Jewish or Muslim or Martian in my house. We’ll wish you a Merry Christmas if we feel like it. No offense intended, for to us, it’s a pretty generic seasonal exchange. Besides, Christmas is what it is, and it won’t be the same for me as it is for you. It can’t be. It shouldn’t be.

So while I understand that the commonly accepted name is Christmas, and while I myself say Christmas and wish a good Christmas to others, and sing Christmas songs with religious undertones, I don’t buy the whole “War on Christmas” bullshit. And quite frankly you shouldn’t either. After all, if you’re spending all your time bemoaning the demise of ‘your’ holiday, you surely aren’t enjoying or observing it in any meaningful way. Give it a rest…and Merry Christmas.

(cross posted at Bring It On! )

Excuse me, Senator’s…which part of “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” don’t you understand? Or have you just decided that pandering to the religious majority is your best bet of holding on to your seats of power a little longer?

Right wing news sources seem to be agog in glee with the recent developments, but the fact that the federal government is about to get into the business of taking over public lands with religious icons is another sign that America is on the path to theocracy…that very form of government the Neo-Con agenda has been decrying in the Middle East. The only difference is the brand of religion being espoused.

What makes matters even more interesting is the fact that both of the Distinguished Women from California are Jewish. Not that that really matters except for the fact that it seems despite widespread public distrust of Republicans and their corporate-religious form of government, more and more Democrats are pretending to be Republican-lite instead of standing up for classic American principals.

What next friends? Will the government start using eminent domain to shut down mosques, temples, or Buddhist monastaries and transforming them into Christian shrines? It used to be scoffed when the words ‘theocracy’ and ‘America’ were uttered in the same breath. Now, with two Democratic senators from one of the country’s largest liberal states joining hands with the religious right, I’m not so sure you can dismiss the thought so easily.

(cross posted at Bring It On!)

Whether it’s tackling the vital issues of the day (gay marriage and flag burning) or ignoring those pesky problems that keep cropping up (mounting war deaths, skyrocketing energy and health care prices, a sluggish economy), this Congress is always there for their holier-than-thou base. Today was no exception as the members of the House managed to squeeze in the important national crisis revolving around the Mt. Soledad Cross in San Diego.

The history of the cross is now long and sordid, but to boil things down quickly, the cross was originally built on city property and maintained with city tax dollars. In the 1950’s, the current 29 foot cement cross was built and still stands there today. In the late 80’s the city was sued to remove the cross on the grounds that its ownership and care of the cross by the city and with tax funds violated the state constitution. In what became a long-running tug of war, the city lost that suit and 8 other court actions. Voters in the city approved one transfer, then rescinded, then reapproved. The city council sold, reclaimed, resold, reclaimed, and tried to donate the land. The mayor begged the president for help. The Supreme Court turned down one request to get involved and then recently issued a stay of all action. No one, it seems, can be consistent with this issue, except maybe the California Constitution which all of the court rulings were based on that states that

“State, County and local units of government can not use tax money or grant property to aid of any religious sect, church, creed, or sectarian purpose.“

But Congress has come to the rescue, by way of San Diego area Congressmen Duncan Hunter (R), Darrell Issa (R), and Brian Bilbray(R) aka, Duke Cunninghams Pinch Runner, voting today (349-74) to accept the City of San Diego’s offer of the land as a donation to the National Parks system. The president has already indicated he’ll not use his newly found veto power (which he use to placate the zealot base by denying federal funds for research involving frozen embryonic stem cells.) So the Senate now has the chance to take up the cause.

Congress also did the hard work of telling the Judicial Branch that they should have no jurisdiction over the words in the Pledge of Allegience. Meaning ‘under God’ stays in there at all costs so long as the republicans stay in charge.

Is Christianity in such need of defense that over a decades worth of local and federal elected officials, judges and court personnel, elections employees, and many millions of tax payer dollars should be spent defending a giant cement cross? Is this what really matters to Christians? What about all that stuff about worshipping graven images? What about helping the less fortunate and peace and love? And do you really think Jesus wants to come back and see crosses all over the place? Talk about PTSD…..

So that’s it! No more whining from the 20 percenters on the far right about the War on Christmas or the sob stories about kids being able to pray in school. You’re clearly steering the ship, even if you’re the only ones on it. While the rest of the country is worried about the economy, the environment, health care, war, security, and education, Team Right-Wing Christian has Congress bowing to your religious wish list- a cross on every corner, a camera in every bedroom, and a plague on all who oppose them.

You may hold the short hairs of Congress now, but your over-zealousness to turn America into a theocracy will be your own worst enemy. Why don’t you listen to your savior and do unto others.

(Cross posted at Bring It On!)

Two Steps Forward The government of Great Britain has passed a law ending mandatory closing hours for liquor serving establishments. Declaring that it’s “Time for adults to be treated as adults,” government officials blamed an increase in binge drinking and early morning accidents or violence on closing hours at pubs. By removing the mandated service hours, officials hope that people won’t get quite so hammered since there won’t be a need to get in “one last drink.” Sounds like good common sense policy to me. Arbitrary laws that encourage bad behavior should be eliminated. And the savings from not having to enforce, prosecute, and punish needless crimes can help address budget shortfalls in other areas. We could use some of that rationality in our Congress over here.

Canada appropriated $4.3 billion towards helping native populations climb out of poverty by improving access to health care and education, as well as helping people buy property off reserves. It is long past the time when the U.S. needs to address our long-standing maltreatment of our own native populations. See the previous post (Two Sides To Every Story) for more thoughts on this topic.

Five Steps Back A Federal judge has the Federal No Child Left Behind act that was being challenged by several states for not adequately funding the mandates it proscribes. Saying that Congress can, in effect, demand that certain conditions be met before doling out federal dollars, the judge in the case rejected the case as having no merit. Funny, but I thought that the tax dollars held by the federal government belonged to the people. Isn’t that Bush told us when he cut taxes time and time again? The federal government should allocate education dollars equally among the states with few strings attached and fewer mandates, acting instead only as a clearinghouse and equalizer of funds. And while we should demand that all graduates have a competency in reading, writing, mathematics, and other essential skills, we should leave it to the states to figure out how to impart them without having the federal government demand certain tests that may or may not show real progress.

Use of torture has weakened the case against terror suspect Jose Padilla, at least according to the government’s own reasoning for reducing the charges it has finally leveled against him. Realizing that most of their evidence against Padilla in the bombing plots was gleaned from men under torture interrogation, government prosecutors lost any information that may have been credible. The result will be that a self-avowed Jihadist in America will receive a reduced sentence, possible putting him back on our streets sooner rather than later or never. Tell me again why torture is such a good idea…

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has agreed to hear a clemency plea from lawyers of convicted killer and Crips gang founder Tookie Williams, who is set to be executed in mid December for four killings in the late 70’s. Evidence at the trial, including Williams own braggart confessions revealed on the stand clearly show that the man was not wrongly convicted. His jury was not all white. Witnesses against him included some of his own acquaintances. Williams, savagely gunned down a convenience store clerk and then brutally killed three members of a family at their hotel for what amounted to $100 in the till. After 24 years of appeals being denied, it is time for this killer to be put out of our misery. Why do we continue to waste precious tax dollars keeping murderers alive? Maybe Arnold is just trying to placate some segment of society and is just going through the motions, but there is nothing to gain from commuting this sentence except further waste of tax dollars that could be better spent on society.

On the religious front, a Christian television network is suing Orange County over its lost bid to acquire the local public broadcasting station. Shed by the community college because of costs, the local PBS station went up for bid, but was awarded to a PBS foundation for a lower initial cash payment than the religious group ponied up. The religious network is decrying the process because state law allows a public sale to the highest “up-front cash” bidder, which they claim to have been. But the word “allows” is not the same as the word “must” so when local citizens banded together to save their local station from being overrun by religious programming, guess who didn’t turn the other cheek?

Finally, proving once again why America is will be her own demise, hundreds of citizens battled it out, in some cases literally, for the honor of shelling out $300-400 bucks for the new Xbox gaming system. Let’s see…poor schools…expensive energy and medical care…war as far as the eye can see…yeah, I can see how getting one of those over-rated imagination killers is high on the list of things to fight over. Way to go Consumerism!

Three to the Side Palestinians finally received control of the border between Gaza and Egypt, offering the first real tangible on their path to independence. Israel is also planning to normalize more cross border trade at this port and is allowing Palestinians to build and operate a permanent seaport. Now it is up to the Palestinian government to insure that violence doesn’t destroy these gains. They must match each step towards freedom with the application of the rule of law and as a society condemn and turn out those who will use violence to make a point. It is a tentative step in the right direction, taken in a mine field.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez has announced his intention to gain nuclear power for his county and wants to work with other South American nations to achieve his goal. While this could be the latest in a round of saber rattling between Venezuela and the U.S. one wonders why an oil-rich country with no real history of conservation or environmentalism would need nuclear energy. And with relations already frayed and the Bush Administration’s proclivity towards labeling all nuclear wanting people as enemies and terrorists, this could turn out to be a dangerous development in the politics of the America’s as well as the larger “War on Terror.” Or maybe it is a not-so-subtle repudiation of the entire Bush style of swagger and punch. Time will tell.

Last but not least was the major capitulation from the Bush Administration on troop reductions in Iraq. Curiously timed to coincide with the mid-term elections, it will be hard for people to pick at this planned reduction since it is what they have been clamoring for. But this may just be another classic bait-and-switch by this administration. The key is what starting point they use to measure “reductions” against. Troop strength has grown fro 138,000 this past summer to over 160,000 by years end. The planned reductions in ’06 should be measurably smaller than the summer numbers to truly be reductions of any meaningful size. Further, reductions are still only going to happen when certain nebulous conditions are met. Without a stricter timetable, Iraqi’s may decide to let us keep dying for them, since it is easier than dying for themselves. There is little incentive for them to take control as long as we are there indefinitely. Again, we’ll see how they spin this come next summer in the heart of the congressional campaign season.