Another valiant Republican rejects Bush...too little, too late:

Mr. Dowd, a crucial part of a team that cast Senator John Kerry as a flip-flopper who could not be trusted with national security during wartime, said he had even written but never submitted an op-ed article titled “Kerry Was Right,” arguing that Mr. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat and 2004 presidential candidate, was correct in calling last year for a withdrawal from Iraq. (Emphasis, mine.)

Wow. Written but never submitted. Courageous.

Are there any Republicans, anywhere, with integrity?

I agree with our (GOP) mayor:

But the part I can’t go along with is a cap on the number because if the public wants more pedicabs why shouldn’t the public be allowed to have more pedicabs? And if the public doesn’t want them, then nobody’s going to drive them because they can’t make a living. So let the free marketplace decide.

This issue is a cap, passed by the City Council, that limits the number of pedicabs on our streets. (Pedicabs are the "bicycle taxis" you see pedaling around, mostly Central Park, but more and more these days on the Avenues.)

Pedicabs are green, and a great way to get around. (That said, in the Park they charge a ridiculous amount of money, I guess because it's so touristy...) But more of them is, I think, good.

Any bicycle-related issues going on in your neck of the woods?

Most interesting today was Bush's "proof" of Iraq's swimmingly-ness:

I want to share with you how two Iraqi bloggers -- they have bloggers in Baghdad, just like we've got here -- (laughter) -- "Displaced families are returning home, marketplaces are seeing more activity, stores that were long shuttered are now reopening. We feel safer about moving in the city now. Our people want to see this effort succeed. We hope the governments in Baghdad and America do not lose their resolve."

Google the line about "displaced families," and you'll quickly see it's from a WSJ op/ed, published March 5, 2007.

Editor and Publisher, already on the story, points out this post was actually written weeks ago, even earlier than the WSJ piece. So, what they're talking about isn't even current. E&P also adds:

Howard Kurtz interviewed the brothers more than two years ago during their visit to the U.S. and quoted Mohammed Fadhil in a Dec. 20, 2004 column: "Now we want to say in a loud and clear voice that we welcome American troops and consider this a liberation, not an occupation." He added: "People outside Iraq are more worried than the Iraqis themselves.

And since their blog is apparently also available on PajamasMedia, and, and E&P points out, they had met with the President in the Oval Office in 2004, my guess is these two shills are seeing Iraq through McCain/Lieberman-colored glasses.

Anytime Bush cites a reference, you know it's suspect. 

Well, I have returned from the Hinterlands, and am glad to be back in my latte-drinking, gay-loving, Rudy-dissing amoral city of New York. A few notes from outside my bubble:

- While everyone agrees 70+ degrees in March is unusual, as is skiing through pools of water on the slopes, at least one person, from Cleveland, wonders if this is just a "cycle."

- It is very important for people to carry handguns around, so they can shoot others as needed. Apparently, this is an important "right" of citizenship.

- People everywhere drive like assholes.

- Sometimes a Wal-Mart is welcomed. Like when you otherwise have to drive hundreds of miles to purchase underwear.

- There are many people wealthy enough to purchase million-dollar ski homes, and then only use them the week of Christmas. It is very important to have a vacation home larger than your neighbors'.

- The local news elsewhere is just as depressing, actually even more depressing, than New York City's. TV newscasters are universally dolts.