I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO BE ON LINE OVER THE WEEKEND and today because of family obligations, travel, and a conference in the mountains outside of Santa Fe. Tomorrow I’m speaking at a retreat sponsored by Sandia National Weapons Laboratories about the impact of the election on national security strategy.

MATTHEW YGLESIAS JUST BROUGHT AN IMPORTANT WOOLSEY WATCH ITEM to my attention. Whether one supports this American war in Iraq or not, the perverse interests that find cover in this conflict need to be exposed.

CLIFFORD MAY HAS BEEN LOBBYING HARD ON BEHALF OF DON RUMSFELD who seems not to want to leave his job as Secretary of Defense. I have no inside information on whether the Bush team wants Rumsfeld in or out.

SPREADING THROUGH MANY PROGRESSIVE BLOGS AND COMMENTARY are a number of articles, including one by Greg Palast, that the election was actually won by John Kerry.

ONE WOULD THINK THAT ARAFAT BEING ALIVE, BRAIN DEAD, OR FULLY DEAD would be a testable and verifiable condition. I do not mean to make light of the Palestinian leader’s condition at all, but seriously, there seems to be no end to the spin one way or another about issues that should be clear cut….

THE BUSH TEAM NOW HAS SOME VERY HARD DECISIONS TO MAKE. A transition in Palestinian leadership may be the best chance to set in place a credible path to a two-state solution in the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The passing of leaders — even ones we may detest — are important staging opportunities.

(ed.

THEO VAN GOGH WAS EXECUTED by a band of Muslim radicals who apparently decided to murder the filmmaker for his depiction of abused Muslim women in a recent film. Van Gogh was the great grand-nephew of Vincent.

I WILL BE DISCUSSING THE ELECTION and what all this might mean on BBC’s morning television show at 7 a.m. London time. That’s right, 2 a.m. Washington time. If you are around and up, I’ll say hello.

THAT IS THE FAVORITE LINE of the red-state styled crusaders for the American way in a fairly vulgar, crass, but culturally significant movie, Team America: World Police.