So Why Aren't the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth Advertising This?
Ever since Bush's run for the presidency in 2000, he has been dogged by rumors that he not only received preferential treatment in joining the Texas Air National Guard, but that he also went AWOL from his unit. This issue gained new relevance as many of his supporters began questioning the legitimacy of challenger John Kerry's medals from his service in Vietnam. But the Bush rumors remained exactly that, with no solid evidence to back them up.

Until now.

Recently discovered records show that the reason Bush abruptly stopped flying in 1972 is that he disobeyed a direct order from his commanding officer to take a required physical. In other memos, Bush's squadron leader complains that he was under pressure from superiors to "sugar coat" Bush's evaluations.

It should also be noted that while all this was going on, George W.'s father was a congressman from Texas. Ah, but that probably wasn't a factor in any of this alleged preferential treatment. Too bad the 58,000 that did ultimately die in Vietnam didn't have such connections.

But what makes this news even more outrageous is that it comes the day after the number of troop deaths in Iraq broke the 1,000 mark.

---------------Mike Thompson, Detroit Free Press

On the other hand, maybe Bush's weaseling out of his Vietnam service may have been a brilliant tactical move: At least he avoided any future controversies over Purple Hearts and medals for valor!!

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A Visit from Frances
In previous weeks, we in the Washington area have managed to avoid the remnants of tropical storms/hurricanes Bonnie, Charley, and Gaston. Even though each of those storms were forecast to drop anywhere from 1" to 4" of rain, they kept sliding off further to the east than expected and we'd end up with a sunny day.

Yesterday, however, our luck ran out with Frances.

While the bulk of its rain went off to our west this time, we still got hammered with some pretty good storms in the afternoon (some accounts). In fact, I was at home when the tornado watch was issued shortly after noon. Now, watches generally aren't that big a deal. It's really only the warnings that you need to worry about.

So when my weather radio went off around 2 with a warning for Fauquier County, it got my attention. And when they further said the twister was in the vicinity of Warrenton--which is where I live--it not only got my attention, it walked right up and gave me a dope slap upside the head.

Now I've actually heard of morons who will go stand out on their back porch snapping pictures of approaching tornados. Personally, though, I've always been the cautious sort. So even though I could see no evidence of imminent violent weather, I decided to err on the side of caution by dragging my mattress into the bathroom and laying it on top of me while I hid in the tub. The tricky part was leaving enough of an opening to provide me with a clear line of site to the TV in the living room so I could keep playing with my new DVR.

And while the tornado did touch down a few miles away, it did no substantial damage. In other areas around DC, twisters did damage some homes in addition to uprooting trees. Fortunately, however, no injuries were reported.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to drag my mattress into the bathroom again and lay it on top of me while I hide in the tub. No, there's no bad weather. It's just kinda fun.