Babylon and Flying to Heaven on a Chicken's Back

Most of the political nation seems to be suffering from a SOTU hangover. I think there should be a rule that if the speech doesn't even interest Republicans, no one should be allowed to talk about it. The most interesting thing is the Battle of the Bereaved Parents, with Cindy Sheehan getting arrested outside the SOTU and the father of Army Sgt. Mike Mitchell, killed in Iraq, speaking out as well. Inside the House, the parents and widow of Marine Staff Sgt. Dan Clay supported the President in supporting the troops.

Anyway. Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse... Iraq has caught the bird flu. On the bright side, the lethal environment may be inhospitable to the H5N1 virus - what with all the explosions and the like. On the downside, given the unusually high traffic between Iraq and the United States right now, it does seem like a kind of obvious way for the virus to spread, no? A soldier/contractor/Halliburton lobbyist travels from Iraq to the US, and all of sudden we're all clutching our throats and vomiting up our anuses. Or whatever it is that happens when you get the bird flu.