Obviously, it is an unacceptable practice

Just in case you were wondering whether the Pentagon considers it okay for soldiers to post pictures of dead Iraqis on porn websites, spokesmodel Bryan Whitman says, “Obviously, it is an unacceptable practice.” The soldiers will still be allowed, indeed encouraged, to kill Iraqis. The BBC helpfully points out that the US never signed on to the part of the Geneva Conventions requiring “The remains of persons who have died for reasons related to occupation or in detention resulting from occupation or hostilities [to] be respected.”

Speaking of disrespecting the dead, I’ve been enjoying watching Bug Boy squirm. Tom DeLay, displaying the quiet dignity for which he is known, accused the prosecutor who indicted him for criminal conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws of being a “partisan fanatic” engaged in a “political witch hunt.” Funny, just yesterday Rep. Steve King was praising Joe McCarthy; one day they like political witch hunts, the next day they don’t. Flip floppers.

Reading the White House transcript of the Gaggle today, I was struck by the fairness of the transcription, which shows accurately how the reporters, kinda feisty today, smelling blood in the water, interrupted McClellan when he was evading their questions:

Q Do you have any papers showing the President has issued a directive against torture?

MR. McCLELLAN: We’ve actually put out paper previously about the directives that he’s made --

Q An actual order?

MR. McCLELLAN: -- and he has publicly stated it very clearly to everyone in his administration and to the American people.

Q Then why is it still going on?

Q Does the President take the allegation of wrongdoing seriously, that Tom DeLay used the Republican National Committee as a money laundering operation to fund local elections in Texas? That’s what the grand jury is indicting him for.

MR. McCLELLAN: That’s what the legal process will proceed to address. And --

Q How seriously does the President take that allegation?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Terry, Leader Delay’s office has put out a statement --

Q I’m not asking Leader DeLay’s office.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- disputing the assertions. We need to let the legal process proceed. And that’s what the President believes.

From the AFP: “The Danish Air Force paid damages to a professional Father Christmas after the noise from a fighter jet caused Rudolph, one of his reindeer, to die from shock. Olovi Nikkanoff was awarded 30,000 kroner (£2740) to buy a new reindeer.”

Caption contest: here, Bush talks about the War on Terra whilst surrounded by purty flowers.