corrente

Non-fans of Harry Potter may substitute the name "Nelson Muntz," "Eric Cartman," or other real or fictional snotty little cowardly bully of your choice:

(via WaPo)

Bully the military:

Thomas E. Ricks writes in The Washington Post: "Many military experts believe that reviving some sort of military draft is extremely unlikely, even impossible -- but not all of them."

Ricks writes that "a small minority of defense specialists say that, given the strains placed on the U.S. military over the past three years, they can imagine scenarios in which a new conflict would require significant numbers of new troops -- and in which the draft would be reinstituted."

Simply keeping up current troop levels in Iraq might create a need, some say. "Other experts worry that trouble elsewhere, in addition to the Iraq war, could trigger a need for more troops.

"An Army colonel at the Pentagon, who said he could not speak on the record about the draft without being fired, said that he does not believe a draft is politically possible, but that new crises could make it militarily necessary. 'The military right now is stripped down pretty thin,' he said. 'If the president decided we needed to go somewhere other than Iraq, it doesn't take a mental giant to figure out that we don't have the people to do that.'"

"Iran is mentioned frequently in such assessments."

Bully schoolchildren:

Bush stopped to speak at Cuba City High School yesterday.

Robert G. Kaiser writes for The Washington Post: "The kids were told that if they wore a Kerry button or made any rude interventions, they would be in big trouble. No one did."

Bully reporters:

From the pool report by Bob Hillman of the Dallas Morning News, filing from president's photo op at the Sylvan-T dairy farm in Wisconsin:

Bush returned to his bus. "Senior adviser Karl Rove lingered, though, looking to make mischief with a grocery sack of ice balls picked up earlier at the hockey rink in Onalaska.

"An ice ball fight of sorts ensued, and your pooler was iced on the head.

"Your pooler blamed Rove. He denied it. So, frivolous or not, it's up the lawyers now."

Bully reporters and cows:

And while Bush wouldn't answer questions about missing explosives, he did respond when Hilman lobbed him this tough one: Would he consider a few dairy cows for his Texas ranch?

"Only if you'll come and milk them," Bush said.

"All hat, no cattle" is now explained--Cowboy Bush is afraid of them. Let's not remind him that goats come in dairy varieties too.