Consequences

There is plenty of evidence that Bush and his policies have wrought havoc on the country, from undermining disaster preparedness to scarring the image of America and its values abroad. Two recent stories catch a couple recent pieces of evidence that -- surprise! -- decisions have consequences:

1. Anger against the US presence in Iraq has become so intense throughout the MidEast region that the conflict is now a money-maker for Al Qaeda...

   In one of the most troubling trends, U.S. officials said that Al Qaeda's command base in Pakistan is increasingly being funded by cash coming out of Iraq, where the terrorist network's operatives are raising substantial sums from donations to the anti-American insurgency as well as kidnappings of wealthy Iraqis and other criminal activity.

   (Read the whole thing, especially the grim if compelling quote from Kevin Drum.)
   
   
2. In a cheerier vein for the Opposition, Bush's insistance on using every Congressional recess as the excuse to appoint more unqualified extremists to empty posts has finally riled Harry Ried to action.

   We hear that over the long August vacation, when those types of summer hires are made, Reid will call the Senate into session just long enough to force the prez to send his nominees who need confirmation to the chamber. The talk is he will hold a quickie "pro forma" session every 10 days, tapping a local senator to run the hall.

   His fellow Senators aren't too excited about losing their lush summer vacation, but this puts a wrench in Bush's game and makes a pretty clear statement about the need to respect both the players and the process...