More to come in a day or so

By Aussiegirl

Blogging has been light because of Christmas preps. Tune back in a day or so when I will post a favorite Ukrainian Christmas story in my own translation - stay tuned -- all about Christmas trees and snowstorms and -- wolves -- perfect to read on a cozy night with a hot toddy (what IS a hot toddy anyway? -- I'll have to look up a recipe on the internet).

Meanwhile, Yushchenko and Yanukovych had a televised debate the other day. According to the blogger on Orange Ukraine, the laugh-o-meter at the local Ukrainian bar showed that Yanukovych pretty much made a fool of himself. Having fallen out with Kuchma, he is now ridiculously trying to position himself as the opposition candidate working against the forces of oppression. These people make the dem spinmeisters look like positive amateurs.

Just a quick observation on the Rumsfeld brouhaha. I remember distinctly that last year Rumsfeld had surgery on a thumb to correct a severe case of arthritis. He wore a cast on that hand for quite some time following the procedure. Having suffered with a severe case of carpal tunnel syndrome not that long ago I can tell you that sometimes just signing your name can be extruciatingly painful -- and awkward. It could very well be that Rumsfeld began to have those letters signed with the auto pen back in those days, and for all we know he may still experience problems writing by hand for any length of time.

According to some families who have lost loved ones in Iraq, Senators Feinstein and Boxer also sent letters of condolence signed by auto pen, and you can bet they have fewer of these letters to sign. Whether or not this is the answer, this is a rather small matter, and is only coming out now as part of the "gotcha" campaign which was begun with the staged question at the Rumsfeld Q & A session with the soldiers in Kuwait.

Rumsfeld had a great answer to Bret Baier of Fox News today who asked him how he felt with all the criticism being directed his way. He responded that he wakes up every day thinking of what the servicemen in Iraq and Afghanistan and everywhere are doing -- and he figures if they can stand it -- he can stand whatever it is that is going on. Puts all this nonsense into perfect persective.

We know if Clinton had been asked this question he would have spend at least 15 minutes whining about how unfair all the attacks are and how hard he has worked, blah, blah, blah.