Quote of the Day

Montag:

No blowjobs for this Monica, she was there to give Justice a good fucking.

More surge ...

What, 4 months into the 'surge' and we need more troops? No-fucking-shit. Me, in January:

...

If several hundred thousand were required to keep Iraq from decending into the mess we're in now, it will take far more than that to dig us out from it now. 20,000 troops are a drop in the bucket; the best we can hope for are short-term successes in certain neighborhoods, but one Friedman Unit from now, we'll all be asking what this 'surge' actually accomplished.

It will accomplish a few things. It will extend tours for troops already on extended tours. It will draw more National Guard and Reserve units into the war, thus degrading our response time to emergencies over here that much more. It will probably break our Army and Marine Corps. It will hinder or destroy our military's ability to respond to another crisis somewhere else in the world. It will affect recruiting efforts, already has. And it will further marginalize us in the international community.

...

So today, the 'commanders on the ground' say they need more.

The commander of U.S. forces in northern Iraq said Friday that he did not have enough troops to deal with the escalating violence in Iraq's Diyala province, an unusually frank assertion for a top officer and a sign that American military officials might be starting to offer more candid and blunt assessments of the war.

Army Maj. Gen. Benjamin R. "Randy" Mixon also said that the Iraqi government had failed to help the situation in the restive province and that it has been a hindrance at times by failing to support local army and police forces. Diyala borders Baghdad on the east, and violence in the province has grown as U.S. troop levels have been bolstered in the capital.

...

May I ask the good general, are ya gonna pull 'em out your ass? We certainly don't have the Guard troops to supplement, as we've seen in Kansas last week. Know what, General? There are no more. Yeah, you can con a few more into enlisting, somebody's always got it bad enough to think a tour or two in Iraq is a step up, or an escape from the law, but without a draft, we don't have the manpower anymore.

Iraq has become a meatgrinder, chopping up our kids' bodies and minds, and all they can do is ask for more young flesh to be shoveled into it. It's time to defund this war, even if our guys have to run for it like they did in Vietnam, they'd be better off than being sentenced to that war for an indeterminate amount of time, for an indeterminate number of deployments. No more 'wait and see'. No more Friedman Units. Send the C-5s and -141s and bring our kids home now, every last one of 'em.

The Counterfeit President

Diatribune goes off on Bush big time. Today's 'must read'.

Bush is American only by courtesy of birth. He feels no debt of honor or loyalty to his natal country, or to the people who depend on the government to do the jobs it was created for. Our forests, the environment that literally keeps us healthy and alive, he labels "resources to give away to corporations" and forgets about it; it’s a big world, and there’s always more – somewhere. For him, at least. He has no problem with stealing elections by any means necessary, as long as he and those he supports win. Besides, as long as "his own kind" control the laws, the courts and the information, no one can prove anything. The deaths of our young men and women are simply what they’re for to him. That’s what all peons are for: if a few thousand, or a few hundred thousand or however many die in securing MORE – more oil, more control, more for the holy "bottom line" for him and his, then they have fulfilled their purpose, and it’s an equitable trade. His oath to defend the Constitution is simply a silly ritual that he had to go through and nothing more. This is clearly shown in this quote of Bush from a staffer: "Quit throwing the Constitution in my face! It’s just a Goddamned piece of paper!" That it is also the core document that defines America and Americans, that it is the single most magnificent piece of ethical and philosophical poetry in legislation since Hammurabi also means nothing to him. It is just an obstruction that keeps getting in the way by making people think they actually have rights and can make demands on him based on them. If he could, he would simply burn it and forget about it. Anyway, he’s gotten around almost all of it now. For all the force it has, it may as well have been burned.

The writer's just gettin' warmed up! He better watch his blood pressure.

OxyContin: The Giuliani Connection

A twofer at Truthout:

Rudolph Giuliani and his consulting company, Giuliani Partners, have served as key advisors for the last five years to the pharmaceutical company that pled guilty today to charges it misled doctors and patients about the addiction risks of the powerful narcotic painkiller OxyContin.

Federal officials say the company, Purdue Frederick, helped to trigger a nationwide epidemic of addiction to the time-release painkiller by failing to give early warnings that it could be abused.

Prosecutors say "in the process scores died."

Drug Enforcement Administration officials tell the Blotter on ABCNews.com Giuliani personally met with the head of the DEA when the DEA's drug diversion office began a criminal investigation into the company.

According to the book "Painkiller," by New York Times reporter Barry Meier, both Giuliani and his then-partner Bernard Kerik "were in direct contact with Asa Hutchinson, the administrator of DEA."

As in almost everything involving corporate/Repuglicant doings, profit trumps morality and human life.

JulieAnnie? President? Fat fuckin' chance!

Supplemental cost-plus funding

William Rivers Pitt

Another hearing took place on Capitol Hill yesterday that was truly chilling to observe. Representative John Murtha's (D-Pennsylvania) Subcommittee on Appropriations heard testimony from two investigators whose work has been focused on the phenomenon of private military contractors in Iraq. The first to give testimony was Jeremy Scahill, author of "Blackwater: Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army." The second witness was Robert Greenwald, a documentary filmmaker who recently released a new film titled "Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers."

Even more disturbing was the testimony offered by Greenwald. Some excerpts:

...

I also spoke with Shane Ratliff, a truck driver from Ruby, South Carolina. He saw Halliburton advertising a job for truck drivers in Iraq and he signed up. When Shane started telling me that empty trucks were being driven across dangerous stretches of desert, I assumed he was mistaken. Why would they do that? Then he explained that Halliburton got paid for the number of trips they took, regardless of whether they were carrying anything. These unnecessary trips where putting the lives of truckers at risk, exposing drivers and co-workers to attack. This was the result of cost-plus, no-bid contracts.

Another young Halliburton worker named James Logsdon told me about the burn pits. Burn pits are large dumps near military stations where they would burn equipment, trucks, trash, etc. If they ordered the wrong item, they'd throw it in the burn pit. If a tire blew on a piece of equipment, they'd throw the whole thing into the burn pit. The burn pits had so much equipment they even gave them a nickname: "Home Depot."

The trucker said he would get us some photos. And I naively asked, how big are they, the size of a backyard swimming pool? He laughed and referred to one that he had seen that was 15 football fields large and burned around the clock! It infuriated him to have to burn stuff rather then give it to the Iraqis or to the military. Yet Halliburton was being rewarded each time they billed the government for a new truck or new piece of equipment. With a cost-plus contract, the contractors receive a percentage of the money they spend. As Shane told me, "It's a legal way of stealing from the government or the taxpayers' money." These costs eat up the money that could be used for other supplies.

Dina Rasor, author of the recently released book "Betraying Our Troops: The Destructive Results of Privatizing War," offered further insight into the private contractor phenomenon in a Huffington Post story on Wednesday. "There is also evidence that these contractor billings are sucking up the supplemental money and making other logistical areas suffer," wrote Rasor. "The supplemental money is flexible so that the Army can use it where they need it, but there is evidence that the contractor over-billings are taking away much needed money for replacing basic fighting equipment such as night vision goggles, workable radios and armored vehicles. The most common email that I get from Iraq makes the point that while troops can get luxury items at the large bases, such as soft-serve ice cream and plasma televisions, they can't get enough equipment needed to save their lives when they leave the cushy bases and go out into hostile areas. There is real resentment among the troops that KBR makes life very nice for the military brass and others at the base, but will not go out of the gate, as required, to make sure that they have the basics that they need."

Beyond this is one central point hammered home by Scahill and Greenwald: How can we justify the usage of private armies that profit from this war, and thus have a financial interest in continuing and expanding this war? Is this not a recipe for endless conflict and bottomless profiteering?

Now we know why Bush is holding out for his supplemental war funding 'blank check' so vehemently. Once again, he's hiding behind the troops as an excuse to profit Halliburton.

Bush and his gang need to be under the jail.

As the whore turns ...

It's Saturday and the next chapter of my novel The Fourth Estate is up at The Practical Press.

Also, stop in to congratulate the winners of The Practical Press Awards and thank you for all your votes (we took runner-up in two categories).

I could do this ...

But then I'd want to stay the night after the show.

Do as I say, not as I do...

CBS shitcans Batiste

Think Progress

CBS Fires Batiste For Anti-Bush Advocacy, Hires Bush Aide To Engage In Pro-Bush Advocacy

In a recent VoteVets ad, Gen. John Batiste says, "I left the Army in protest in order to speak out." Now, CBS has punished him for speaking out. Last night, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann reported, "General John Batiste loses his CBS job after appearing in an advertisement critical of the president."

See the ad here.

CBS News spokeswoman Sandy Genelius spoke to ThinkProgress this morning and confirmed that Batiste's consulting contract has been canceled due to his participation in the VoteVets ad. Genelius said Batiste "inadvertently violated our standards" and therefore "we and the General mutually agreed to end his consultants' arrangement with CBS News."

While CBS claims it will not tolerate consultants engaging in outside advocacy, it apparently has no problem paying a former White House communications director to engage in the Bush administration's advocacy on air. While being billed as CBS News' "political consultant," Nicolle Wallace has propagated talking points advanced by her old colleagues in the White House communications office. [...]

It's apparently only advocacy when you're opposing Bush. Americans United notes that it took two weeks for CBS to fire Don Imus for racial slurs, but two days to fire Batiste for speaking up on Iraq.

General Batiste appears to be a fine man, who resigned from the Army in order to speak out. He's not a flaming lefty, even though it might seem so to CBS. He told the truth about Bush putting us in peril with his criminal war and occupation, and the truth has a decidedly liberal bias. He did sorta call Bush a liar, and rightly so, but his main point was to exhort Congress to "act now to protect our fighting men and women".

Apparently, you can't speak out while in the uniform of CBS either. I guess the exercise of free speech in the suggestion of "protecting our fighting men and women" while drawing attention to Bush's failed strategery is not corporate policy.

Or did Turdblossom have a casual little chat with Chairman Redstone about SEC and IRS audits and 'suggest' Batiste's replacement?

Scarcer than usual

Out of town (Cologne) on business until the 20th. Should have a connection in the hotel, but not certain how good. I will try to get a few posts off, but probably not before Thursday. Have fun all.

R.

In Iowa, they're finding out ...

What we already knew in NY. The great TRex:

...

Unless Emperor Rudy can count on running into you on the polo pitch or at some swank $5,000-a-plate funder, you're just dirt underfoot, another neck to step on as he makes his grasping, elitist way from imposing a police state in New York City to trying to impose one on the whole country.

No wonder he's the front runner for the GOP nomination. He's the veritable embodiment of Republican Values. Place the priorities of millionaires and mega-corporations first, fill all available jobs with your cronies, no matter how corrupt and incompetent they are, and display a breathtaking indifference to real American values like liberty, freedom, and equal justice under the law. Oh, and make a lot of noise about "family values" while leading a private life that would make Caligula look like a Brownie Scout.

...

Go to Harlem, go to East New York, and go to the subway steam grates on Manhattan's sidewalks and ask those folks how it was under Rudy's administration. Ask the cops what the term 'Giuliani Time' means. Better yet, and less expensive (if you don't live within the 5 Boroughs), watch this:

Pet food update

More great cartoons and links at Sumo's place.

Get. The. Fuck. Out.

Not only do the American people (70% of us anyway) want us out of Iraq, so do the fucking Iraqis. Let's go.

Who plotted what at Fort Dix?

CJRDaily

It's hard for the press not to run with stories of possible domestic terrorism, and for good reason -- it's serious and scary business. That said, not all plots are created equal, and lumping them all together into one grab bag of thwarted domestic terrorism cases is something reporters should avoid, especially given some of the absurd plots that have been uncovered over the last couple years. This is not to say that all leads shouldn't be investigated -- they should -- or that anyone discovered in any stage of planning an attack shouldn't be scooped up -- they should-- but we've seen a couple of cases in the last few years be blown way out of proportion, and that makes us wonder what the Fort Dix story will become.

The Bush administration's Justice Department has a vested interest in portraying every "plot" it busts as the next 9/11, regardless of how embryonic or feeble. It serves as a distraction from the administration's failures in Iraq and elsewhere, it perpetuates the state of fear that has served this White House well in recent years, and it justifies the massive Homeland Security bureaucracy. Journalists, meanwhile, are at a decided disadvantage when trying to determine the seriousness -- or lack thereof -- of the threat, because the government holds all the cards. That's why a healthy dose of skepticism -- given this administration's track record with truth -- is crucial to the press's handling of stories like Fort Dix. These would-be terrorists in New Jersey should be taken seriously, at least until we have reason to believe they shouldn't. We're only a couple of days into this story, but it's never too early to watch for the hype, and watch for how the press either runs with it, or turns a skeptical eye.

Good advice. Some FBI 'informants' turn out to be 'instigators' who set these guys up. Look, if someone offers you explosives, guns, and bus fare to go something bad, be a little skeptical.

I've got a feeling that none of the arrested groups of 'plotters' could ever have pulled any of this shit off anyway. It's probably good that they're off the street for a while, but federal law enforcement could probably do better if it expended more effort to go after some of the people who are plotting things they can pull off and aren't stupid about it, instead of going for flashy 'Terrorist Plot Foiled!' headlines to make it look like they're really helping.

The buck stops elsewhere

Go read The Old Ay-rab.

President Bush still has to learn "the buck stops here" when it comes to presidential decisions.

The "decider" and commander-in-chief seems to be trying to pass the buck, particularly if the war in Iraq implodes and he has to bring troops home from his disastrous invasion of Iraq.

The president is counting on Gen. David Petraeus - the top military commander in Iraq - and Iraqi President Nouri al-Maliki to take the fall if his troop "surge" fails.

Bush is a long way from that mirage even with an expected Pentagon buildup of U.S. troops to 160,000 by midsummer.

But White House spokesman Tony Snow rejected any suggestion that Petraeus' comments pointed to September as a deadline. The president was not accepting any troop withdrawal date, Snow insisted.

More ominous is a report Wednesday by Washington Post columnist David Ignatius that an unnamed Saudi source said Bush told the Saudis that he will not withdraw from Iraq during his presidency.

If true, that's more in line with speculation that Bush wants to run out the clock and pass the war on to his successor at the White House.

However, it's not far-fetched to believe that Republicans will wake up and see their reelection chances flame out if Bush continues the war until 2008.

Soon after the war started and all the false rationales justifying the invasion were falling like 10 pins, Ari Fleischer - Bush's first press secretary - stepped up to the podium in the White House pressroom and picked the battleground, declaring: "Iraq is the central front in the war on terrorism." And al-Qaida took him at his word.

The mantra for Bush's new strategy in the war is called "the way forward." But if Americans have any say, it should be "the way out."

Unfortunately, our 'say' may have to wait until 11/07 unless Congress can pound some sense into the Chimp or throw his ass out.

Anyway, not a bad summation by that dear old broad. Her phone number is at the bottom of the article. I wonder if she'd like to go out...

Powell's Chief of Staff Proposes Impeachment

AfterDowningStreet

On Thursday, May 10, 2007, Lawrence Wilkerson, speaking on National Public Radio, proposed impeaching President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Here's the audio. (Click 'listen', upper left - G)

Wilkerson said in early comments on the show: "This administration doesn't know how to effect accountability in my opinion." But he did not raise the possibility of impeachment until after a member of the audience had phoned in.

The first caller who was put on the air demanded an investigation of the lies that launched the war, and asked for accountability "all the way up." In response to Adelman's claims that history would hold people accountable, the caller said "I would love to have a job where, worst case scenario, my historical record is flawed."

That hit home for me. As a motorcycle mechanic, I have held hundreds of people's lives in my hands. I've had customers die through their own actions or those of others, but never because I did something wrong or left something undone, thank you Lord. 'Accountability' had nothing to do with it, really. It's a moral imperative not to put folks in more danger than they're already in out there among the blind, deaf, and dumb cage drivers. And speaking of 'historical records', I sent something to my septic tank this morning that will have a better 'legacy' than Bush and Cheney put together.

After an interruption, Wilkerson continued: "The language in that article, the language in those two or three lines about impeachment is nice and precise – it's high crimes and misdemeanors. You compare Bill Clinton's peccadilloes for which he was impeached to George Bush's high crimes and misdemeanors or Dick Cheney's high crimes and misdemeanors, and I think they pale in significance."

Ashbrook asked for some examples of such high crimes and misdemeanors, and Wilkerson replied: "I think that the caller was right. I think we went into this war for specious reasons. I think we went into this war not too much unlike the way we went into the Spanish American War with the Hearst press essentially goading the American people and the leadership into war. That was a different time in a different culture, in a different America. We're in a very different place today and I think we essentially got goaded into the war through some of the same means."

Same means, yes, but this time it was for oil and hegemony instead of selling newspapers. Another difference is that, however wrong it may have been, The Spanish-American War lasted only 113 days and we won, not X amount of years of loss of blood and treasure and Bush lost.

Impeach Cheney, then Bush. First the organ grinder, then the monkey.

Chuck E. Cheese Legislation

Welcome to Pottersville

Years ago when the kids were small we'd take them to Chuck E. Cheese in Natick, MA. It was there that I learned an invaluable tip on parenting.

My wife would dole out two or three dollars in tokens to each of the three kids and they'd invariably pester us for more every ten or fifteen minutes. So I asked her why she didn't give them more tokens at a time and she said, "So they'll keep checking in."

Isn't this basically what Congress has been reduced to doing with George W. Bush with the war funding bill? We're giving George his hundred billion in video game tokens for that kewl Iraq War arcade game ("Oil Wars", I think it's called) to which he's been addicted for the last four plus years on the condition that he not get into any more mischief. In other words, from here on in, he has to earn his war. There was even a House resolution briefly kicked around that Bush gets his mad money like a monthly stipend in which he had to show significant benchmarks, which is even more perfect for my analogy.

Overall, what Congress is going through with George Bush is getting to be exactly what Mrs. JP is currently going through with her parents, what so many middle-aged people go through when their parents get too incompetent to care for themselves or fall ill- the once-subordinate child, by necessity, becomes the parent.

Our kids never complained about having tokens doled out to them in dribs and drabs and my in-laws aren't complaining about being relieved of the burdens of home maintenance by their only child.

But Bush is complaining about being held to non-existent "rigid and artificial deadline(s) for American troops to begin withdrawing from Iraq". You know, like the one that said we'd be out of Iraq six to eight weeks, tops, after the 2003 invasion. Because Bush knows how incompetent his war's being run. He knows that the Iraqi parliament barely surpasses his own Congress in terms of skepticism and distrust.

Because he knows that benchmarks, even suggestions of them, will automatically set up for failure not the troops but him.

He's already failed and he knows it. He just can't and won't admit it. He'll try and keep his War Crimes going until a (hopefully) sane President pulls the plug on the Iraq clusterfuck and then blame him/her/?. That's his M.O.

Here's a great thought:

Any dog breeder will tell you that when two dogs copulate, the female determines the length of the time of procreation. The male's penis is, literally, caught by the female's vagina and he is not going to get out until she's damned good and ready.

Bush has really screwed the pooch on this one and the bitch isn't letting him go just yet.

A bucket of cold water is way too rude to use on dogs to break a tie, but I think it's entirely appropriate to use on Bush.

Thank you, Jurassicpork.

Bye-bye, 'George'

Will Durst

Even though this honorable moniker stands as a symbol of our country's birthing struggle due to the father of our nation wrestling its honor from the crazed clutches of King George III, parents must be having second, third and no thoughts whatsoever about naming their kids George lest it be seen as a tacit approval of the ways and means of the current administration. Hell, I bet the names Mothra, Dweezil, and Philomena get better placement in the baby name books than George and/or Georgette over the next couple of decades. Wouldn't be surprised to hear Prince George, British Columbia attempts to change its handle to Margaritaville.

He goes on to say that 'George' may soon join 'Adolf' and 'Attila' on the list of names folks don't name their kids any more. Not just because of Bush either, but mostly. For some reason, he left out 'Cain' and 'Ananais'. Must not be religious.

Funny shit. Please go read the rest.

Woodshed Time for the Chimp

Truthout, video from Keith Olbermann and two articles:

In a sign of the growing fissure between the White House and its congressional allies over the war, NBC News reports tonight that 11 Republican members of Congress pleaded yesterday with President Bush and his senior aides to change course in Iraq.

'Pleaded'? They need to grab him by the stackin' swivel and shake him like a rat. The first words out of their mouths should be "listen up, asshole".

One said "My district is prepared for defeat. We need candor, we need honesty, Mr. President." The president responded, "I don't want to pass this off to another president. I don't want to pass this off, particularly, to a Democratic president," underscoring he understood how serious the situation was.

Participants in the Tuesday meeting between Mr. Bush, senior administration officials and 11 members of a moderate bloc of House Republicans said the lawmakers were unusually candid with the president, telling him that public support for the war was crumbling in their swing districts.

There's the rub. I'm glad these Repugs finally had a 'moment of prayer' with Bush, but it pisses me off a little. They didn't go to see him because this criminal war is all wrong or because he has run it so badly that it has wrecked the military, divided the country, spent us into the poorhouse for generations, wrecked our standing all over the world, and shed oceans of blood unnecessarily.

Basically, they told him to let the generals do his lying for him because they're afraid they won't get re-elected. They don't deserve to be re-elected and I hope they aren't. This is a welcome thing they did and I hope it has an effect, but it's years too late.

I hope the Repugs in Congress come to the realization that their best chance for re-election lies in impeaching Bush and Cheney and stopping this imperialistic occupation. It wouldn't hurt if they strung up a buncha neocons, neither.

Quote of the Day

“I'm worried about over committing our military around the world. I want to be judicious in its use. You mentioned Haiti. I wouldn't have sent troops to Haiti. I didn't think it was a mission worthwhile. It was a nation building mission. And it was not very successful. It cost us a couple billions of dollars and I'm not sure democracy is any better off in Haiti than it was before.... I'm not so sure the role of the United States is to go around the world and say this is the way it's got to be. We can help. And maybe it's just our difference in government, the way we view government. I mean I want to empower people. I want to help people help themselves, not have government tell people what to do. I just don't think it's the role of the United States to walk into a country and say, we do it this way, so should you.”
—Texas Governor George W. Bush during his campaign for President in 2000.

A doff of the Jersey cap to Marty Kaplan at HuffPo for that gem.

R.

See yas ...

Don't let the door hit ya in the ass, Tony. Blair stayed around far longer than I thought he would, about 2 years longer. Just goes to show, the Brits are almost as fucked up as we are (granted, their profile in the Iraq mess is smaller than ours).

I can say, cynical as I am about politicians, that Tony Blair was a big disappointment. After seeing how he worked so well with Clinton, I thought he might have had a moderating effect on the Chimp back in '02, when he was rattling the sabre for war with Iraq. At least, he might have not held hands with our moron whilst Bush and the Neocons marched gleefully into Hell. I really didn't figure the Brits would go with us, talk about misplaced hope.

Oh well, Tony, you marched right along with them. You had a responsibility as the 'level-headed big brother', to our people who share a closer bond with you than with any other and to the world, for your history is a thesis on the rise and fall of Empire and you should have learned from the experience. If you would have marginalized Bush early on, maybe so many would not be suffering now.

Please fade into obscurity.

Tip o' the Brain to Cookie Jill at Skippy's.

Listening

Didn't the Chimp say he'd listen to his commanders?



Major General John Batiste

Great thanks to Oliver Willis for the vid.

Quote of the Day

Tristero at Digby's:

...

The situation is now so godawful, so completely coo-coo, and so totally out of control that future historians will shake their heads in amazement trying to figure out why, by the spring of '07, the US politicians and the public haven't demanded the immediate removal of the Bush administration from office and their incarceration in the Hague to stand trial.

We live in very strange times.

I been shaking my head since 2000.

Heh ...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The queen had the last laugh. Dispensing with protocol briefly at the formal dinner she hosted for President Bush, Queen Elizabeth said, "I wonder whether I should start this toast by saying, 'When I was here in 1776.'"

...

Link via Watertiger.

Naming names and 'suicide'

Xymphora

D. C. Madam Deborah Jeane Palfrey claims that a former University of Maryland professor named Brandy Britton worked for her. Britton committed 'suicide' just before her prostitution trial, even though she likely would not have received any time. Her client might even have been Cheney (my em), who was living in northern Virginia at the time.

I note that, predictably, the brilliant defense strategy of her civil attorney of blackmailing the courts by threatening to name names – a strategy which would either have worked or resulted in the D. C. Madam committing 'suicide' – will almost certainly be dropped. Even though she is indigent and needs a court-appointed attorney, she ends up with a prominent lawyer who, if you can believe it (and I sure can!), has represented both Aldrich H. Ames and Robert P. Hanssen, and was part of the defense team that represented . . . Monica Lewinsky! Isn't it funny how the court never ends up appointing a lawyer like this for your average crack cocaine possession? The judge won't even let the impolite civil attorney sit in the criminal court!

Actually, it comes as no surprise to me that any decent prostitute would commit 'suicide' after having sex with The Devil.

It will be interesting to see how they spin the D.C. Madam's car exploding into orbit into a 'suicide'.

Many links at the site.

Suck a snail, watch the fun...

My Favorite Irish Redhead on the French erlection:

Beauty has been chased off by the Beast.

Cartoonists have depicted the tough guy - who bullies rivals, betrays mentors and calls young troublemakers in low-income housing in the Paris suburbs "scum" - as a gargoyle, Dracula, an evil sorcerer and a devil.

The imagery of the presidential duel tapped into mythic Gothic tales of France, like "Beauty and the Beast," "The Phantom of the Opera," and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."

Sarko wrote in his political book "Testimony" that France "is not a museum" and "must find the energy" to succeed. In his acceptance speech, he said he would "rehabilitate" work, and an adviser promised he would be "a presidential entrepreneur." (Just as soon as he comes back from his yachting vacation.)

One expatriate friend of mine observed that the French are not lazy, they just want a leisurely lunch.

At a Paris flea market on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, the vendors did not eat fast food or takeout at lunchtime. They set up tables with tablecloths, china and crystal and joined other vendors to dine on whole roasted chicken, fresh salad, bread and wine. And some would not interrupt their meal even for shoppers who wanted to buy their wares.

It will be fascinating to watch Sarko try to discipline the French, and change their psychology about work. Or will they discipline him, burrowing into their Camembert cocoon, chasing him away as he did Sego?

The mood here was best summed up with a take on an old Bette Davis line. Jean d'Ormesson, a commentator in Le Figaro, advised: "Fasten your seatbelts. This will be quite a ride."

I'm no expert on France. I leave that to Fixer. I've only been there once, if you count an hour at the Nice airport as 'being in France'. All I really know about the French is that they used to make truly terrible motorcycles. A friend of mine had a Peugeot once, and the exhaust smelled like a garlic and red wine burp. But only on the rare occasions when it ran, of course.

It'll be fun to watch all this. From a safe distance.

First Annual Molly Ivins Award to Keith Olbermann

AAN

The Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) announced today that MSNBC news anchor Keith Olbermann is the winner of its first annual Molly Ivins Award. Olbermann's achievement will be recognized in a ceremony to be held this afternoon in New York City.

The award was recently named in honor of Ms. Ivins, who served as co-editor of AAN member Texas Observer early in her muckraking career, and who died of breast cancer on January 31, at the age of 62. It is intended to recognize a journalist or media figure who's reporting or commentary has had a profound impact on the public's understanding of vital national issues, and who's work embodies the spirit of Ivins' courageous legacy.

Said AAN President and Memphis Flyer publisher Kenneth Neill. "Keith Olbermann speaks truth to power with wit and style, just as Molly did."

"I'm utterly honored," said Olbermann, "largely because I'd still like to be Molly Ivins when I grow up."

Don't we all. Ms. Ivins was a 'one-off special', as us bike guys say. I'm glad the Alt Newsweekly folks named an award after her. Congrats, KO. Keep up the good work.

A plan to 'keep terrorists from following us home'

Think Progress

Last night on Hannity and Colmes, right-wing pundit Dick Morris also claimed that we need to keep U.S. troops in Iraq so that terrorists don't come to the United States. But he argued that we need to put "Americans right within their [terrorists'] arms' reach" so that they have the opportunity to "kill Americans" there. He added that therefore, "they don't have to come to Wall Street to kill Americans. They don't have to knock down the Trade Center. They can do it around the corner, and convenience is a big factor when you're a terrorist." Watch it:

Swell. Our guys are just cannon fodder so the terrists don't have to come here and kill Americans. Might disrupt the cash flow. Sometimes I wish they would. Repuglicants should be clearly marked as preferred targets. We've got too many of them anyway.

What. An. Asshole.

Do as I say ...

A lot of people are hypocrites. Fortunately for the human race, the hypocrisy the average person engages in mainly has to do with talking shit about other people while failing to install mirrors in their own houses. Relatively harmless.

That said, Greenwald looks at the Neocon hypocrisy in terms of following the law:

...

The central premise of the Bush presidency has been that this Middle East agenda -- the Epic War of Civilizations for Our Very Existence -- is so paramount that no limits can be tolerated, whether those limits be expressed by long-standing worldwide conventions, moral and political taboos against torture and lawless detention, or even the basic limits imposed by our constitutional framework and by the rule law. All of that must give way to glorious neoconservative triumph over the Supreme Evil Muslim Enemy.

...

Any neoconservative accused of wrongdoing is, by definition, innocent and wrongfully persecuted. The real criminals are always the prosecutors, the investigators, and the accusers. And even when a noeconservative is demonstrated to be guilty, the pure Goodness -- the Overarching Importance -- of their mission means that they ought to be immune from punishment.

...

This has had ramifications across the globe, some we aren't even aware of yet, that will haunt us for decades.

Paris ...

No, not the city Mrs. F and I love so dearly.

Listen to me. If your biggest concern is Gov. Ahnold pardoning that waste of good oxygen, you are in desperate need of a life. As our friend Skippy points out, some of the comments are hilarious.

Shiny shit

Wow, two links to BlueJersey today. Jmelli finds this comment* on an article in the Star-Ledger:

So let me get this straight....The plan was for six guys to attack a fortified US MILITARY BASE filled with soldiers and weapons in the middle of the pine barrons [sic]?

The Bush administration HAS to be behind this plot. Only they could come up with such a ill-concieved battle plan!

Iraq, what Iraq? We got real live terrists Islamic terrists right here! (I thought we were "fightin' them over there so they don't follow us over here", but what do I know?) I mean, real Americans can't be terrorists, right?

*Read through the comments on the page to see the freepers flippin'.

The troops are going hungry because of the Democrats...

Iraq's child mortality rate up by 150% since 1990

From Save The Children:

“Iraq’s child mortality rate has increased by a staggering 150 percent since 1990, more than any other country. Even before the latest war, Iraqi mothers and children were facing a grave humanitarian crisis caused by years of repression, conflict and external sanctions. Since 2003, electricity shortages, insufficient clean water, deteriorating health services and soaring inflation have worsened already difficult living conditions. Some 122,000 Iraqi children (1 in 8) died in 2005 before reaching their fifth birthday. More than half of these deaths were among newborn babies in the first month of life. Pneumonia and diarrhea are the other two major killers of children in Iraq, together accounting for over 30 percent of child deaths. Only 35 percent of Iraqi children are fully immunized, and more than one-fifth (21 percent) are severely or moderately stunted. Conservative estimates place increases in infant mortality following the 2003 invasion of Iraq at 37 percent.”

Not a lot I can add. These (particularly horrifying) facts stand by themselves. A naked indictment of Republican politcs. Please see that this link is circulated. The full State of the World's Mother's 2007 report (PDF) is definitely a riveting read.

R.

What kinda bird don't fly?

From a previous post:

Now that the FCC has ruled that every blog has to have the "Paris Percentage" -- some quotient alluding to Paris Hilton -- let's get that part over with, shall we?

LATimes

When Paris Hilton checks into her temporary quarters at the Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood next month, she will surrender more than just the freedom to roam Los Angeles' boutiques and clubs.

That 'surrender freedom' is sorta the whole point of jail, I think. A description follows of the hardship and deprivation that spoiled brat will endure. In California you get one day off your sentence for each two days served if you behave, so she's gonna do 30 days. As us former jailbirds like to say, "30 days? Shit, I can do that standing on my head with my balls on fire!"

Here's an article about the judge who finally gave Miss Hilton the spanking her parents should have given her long ago:

"I don't care to be the DUI judge to the stars," Sauer told The Times on Monday. "I'm amazed about the amount of talk about this case. I'm amazed at the amount of publicity."

At 69, Hizzoner may not be aware that the proletariat loves its celebrity circuses, especially when a high-profile arrogant young idiot gets treated like anybody else who repeatedly violates their probation, which mostly says to obey the law and not use alcohol. Whee!

She must not be a large contributor to Republicans.

Another attorney who has appeared multiple times before Sauer speculated that the judge may have been annoyed by Hilton's repeated violation of her license suspension and her late arrival for her hearing.

"I think in this case she must have gotten under his skin ... basically she thumbed her nose at him," said Mark J. Werksman. "There's a limit to a judge's patience.

Having probably spent more time in court than anybody who reads this, I can attest to that.

The urban legends have already begun to crop up; celebrity gossip website TMZ.com, citing "sources inside," reported that Sauer received a standing ovation from his fellow congregants Sunday at St. Brendan Catholic Church.

He says it isn't true. I have my doubts. Heh.

I'm a little surprised that she's going to jail in L.A. I'm sure the Lynwood facility isn't as dangerous as the Twin Towers (a real LULU), but it's still an urban lockup. When Sean Penn had to do a little stretch several years ago, he got to do his time in a quiet little country county jail in Mono County, whose major attractions are trout fishing and a ghost town. It probably saved his life.

I hope Miss Hilton gets to meet some reg'lar folks in the hoosegow, and wises up a little. Hey, it could happen!

Having now complied with FCC regulations, I will return to matters of greater significance, which is almost anything else.

Chris Matthews To War Supporter: You Got A Problem With Democracy?

Lardass stood on his hind legs like a man for a minute. Noteworthy.

The Horse's Mouth, with video:

Chris Matthews' guest, a pro-war vet, pumps his host's head up with winger talking points until it finally explodes:

(Video)

In response to the inevitable "Congress is micromanaging the troops against the wishes of the Commanders" argument, Matthews says:

"...Democracy -- that means politicians run countries. You got a problem with that?"

Yeah, something like that. Geez, Matthews really was ticked -- but of course, it can get pretty exasperating just how often the basics need to be restated.

The 'basics' involve the difference between 'strategy' and 'tactics', and 'civilian control of the military'.

My own sentiment is expressed by the very first commenter:

Good. Now let's see if he can repeat that more often ... 'cause I have my doubts.

No shit.

George Kennan vs. Bush, Cheney, Rove, Kristol, Limbaugh, O'Reilly and Coulter

Walter C. Uhler

George Kennan's 15 May 1953 speech at the University of Notre Dame was delivered at a time, when the right-wing anti-communist hysteria, inflamed by Senator Joseph McCarthy, was at its peak. Yet, it courageously exposed the demagogic McCarthyites for the ignorant, self-righteous, fear-mongering extremists they were. Thus, one can hardly avoid the conclusion that John Lukacs appended the speech to his new book about George Kennan, because it has much to teach us about courage during the current campaign of fear orchestrated by today's American equally self-righteous right-wing extremists.

But what about the water-carriers for Bush, Cheney, Rove and Kristol, such as Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and Ann Coulter? They certainly meet the criteria Kennan observed in 1953, when he said: "[T]hey claim the right to define a certain area of our national life and cultural output as beyond the bounds of righteous approval… One has the impression that if uncountered, these people would eventually narrow the area of political and cultural respectability to a point where it included only themselves, the excited accusers, and excluded everything and everybody not embraced in the profession of denunciation."

Mr. Uhler, channelling and updating Mr. Kennan, takes 'em on one at a time. Go read to find out who's "the worst of them all". Place yer bets...

To those, like the writer, who are inclined to fight fire with fire, the following observations seem inescapable: In light of the fact that the Bush/Cheney regime started an illegal, immoral war against Iraq, based upon lies and exaggerations about Iraq's so-called weapons of mass destruction and so-called links to al Qaeda; in light of the fact that the lives of more than 3,300 American soldiers have been wasted for such lies and exaggerations, as well as, perhaps, the lives of some hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqis, and in light of the facts that this illegal, immoral war has increased terrorist attacks seven-fold around the world, elevated Iran to a position of regional dominance, infringed upon domestic liberties in the U.S. and caused a worldwide explosion of hatred of the United States; isn't it plausible to claim that the real traitors to the United States are the members of the Bush administration, the neocons and their McCarthyite water-carriers? ?

In the name of "forgiveness and charity and understanding," then, let's simply work to assure that the Bush administration, the neocons and their McCarthyite water-carriers receive justice. Which would include impeachment for some and jail time for all! (my heartfelt em)

I have nothing to add. Don't miss this one.

How To Tell A Bible-Reading Event Outside The Capitol Was Coordinated By Jeff Gannon

Tony Peyser

"Here's a passage from the Book Of Mark
To show us the light and banish the dark:

If you are guilty of eternal sin,
Well, hello, sailor! Come on in!"

Blow or Dough?

Patt Morrison at HuffPo:

Now that the FCC has ruled that every blog has to have the "Paris Percentage" -- some quotient alluding to Paris Hilton -- let's get that part over with, shall we?

Ms Hilton's great-grandfather, hotelier Conrad Hilton, famously ended his public appearances by asking, "And please remember to put the shower curtain inside the tub."

We now return to our regularly scheduled blog, already in progress.

I'm thinking that there are many ways to sort Democrats from Republicans, but when it comes to scandals, I like this helpful little rule of thumb:

All scandals are about power. But I think Democrats especially covet Republicans' money, and Republicans have the hots for Democrats' sex lives. And there's the tripwire.

It isn't a law of physics ; there are loads of exceptions to the red-or-blue blow-or-dough rule [Wilbur Mills, for starters]. But the next time the word "scandal" hits the headlines, check whether the word "money" or "sex" is there, and then try to predict whether the subject has an R or a D after his name. You can't take it to Vegas, but maybe you can make book on it -- a little black book -- in the Beltway.

Heh. I think the D.C. Madam's 'little black book' runs to 47 pounds!

Will Doolittle do time?

A good article about the rise and looming fall of my congresscritter, and the peak and decline of the Repug criminal machine in general, in the Sacramento News & Review.

Does the downfall of a local congressman mean something more than the latest corruption of a politician?

Whatever the ultimate outcome of the U.S. Department of Justice's ongoing investigation into Congressman John T. Doolittle and his wife, Julie - and it's been going on for three years now - clearly his political career is over. Even if he and his wife unexpectedly locate some loophole to avoid indictment or imprisonment for the two corruption cases in which their fund-raising activities are inextricably entangled, the Doolittles' unsavory skimming of campaign contributions and personally pocketing more than a quarter-million dollars have forever finished off their reputations among their own conservative kith and kin. From Sacramento to Washington, the only discussion of the Doolittle case by political insiders from both parties regards strategy over when and how and by whom he should be replaced.

Easy answers: When and How? If he's still hangin' on by his toenails next November, at the ballot box. Preferably, indictment, prosecution, conviction, jail sooner. By whom? Doolittle or some hapless Repug interim chump will be beaten by Charle Brown.

But Doolittle's devious machinations may not have amounted to all that much if it also had not been for larger forces at work. In hindsight, one can identify the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978 and the election of Ronald Reagan as president in 1980 as the beginnings of a conservative ideological ascendance, one that more or less continued-and perhaps crested in the 2006 election. Whatever its sources and whatever accounts for its relative longevity, Doolittle's rise and fall serve as the bookends of the era.

Whether it's their aggressive overreach abroad or their negligent under-reach at home, the neoconservative Republican agenda with its ersatz Christian halo exhausted itself in failure. Iraq, Hurricane Katrina and climate change are among the key indicators of their collapse.

To whatever extent Doolittle's decline signals a shift in the larger forces that are reshaping the state's and the nation's political dialogue, there still seems something exquisitely inevitable about him personally facing the prospect of criminal prosecution. His successful unbroken ride to power, while regularly violating the most basic ethical standards, must have had the effect of deluding him to believe there need not be any boundaries to his behavior.

In a remark suggestive of both his ambition and his underlying amorality, when he first arrived in Congress in 1991 Doolittle told a reporter, "You can do what you need to do here, and the only thing holding a person back is the person himself." There is a growing likelihood that, in the near future, Doolittle will have some significant time on his hands to contemplate this insight.

Whether or not you're interested in the goings-on in one California district, the story of Doolittle's rise and fall is a microcosm of the whole Repug scam of the last quarter century.

It is coming to an end despite its desperate 'last throes' and kicking and screaming. Go down it must and go down it will. We will be able to breathe again soon.

Update, kicking & screaming dept.:

Raw Story

Writing in his hometown newspaper, Doolittle said the search was "an attempt to intimidate us and garner media attention," noting that news of the search emerged in a Capitol Hill newspaper just before Gonzales was to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"I do not believe it was a coincidence that the leak came the day before Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified before Congress on charges that his office was overly partisan in its firing of eight U.S. Attorneys," Doolittle wrote in the Auburn Journal, "especially considering Gonzales specifically cited his recent prosecution of Republican members of Congress as evidence to the contrary."

Nice try, Johnny boy.

Be afraid, be really afraid . . .

From Blue Jersey:

(note: the "Chen" referred to is Ron Chen, the New Jersey Public Advocate)

“Senator Barbara Buono used today's hearing to gently nudge Chen on the status of an Amicus brief Chen filed after learning the NSA was sorting through the phone records of NJ residents, in violation of state law.

(Some quick background: When the NSA's domestic spying follies came to light way-back-when, then-AG Zulima Farber wanted some answers. After all, the Attorney General is charged with protecting New Jerseyans from consumer fraud. In this case, the questions surrounded whether telecom companies violated their own privacy statements by releasing this information to NSA. According to Chen, the current AG Stuart Rabner was keen to pursue this after taking over.)

When Sen. Buono asked about the status of that suit -- and the Amicus brief that went with it -- Chen's answer was pretty shocking.

Apparently, Rabner's efforts have most recently been met with Federal intervention as the Department of Justice moved to block the AG's enforcement of the telecom companies' privacy agreements, citing "state secrets."”

This is more chilling than usual, they are now blocking state-level invesigations. I don't think the Fascism question is open any more, the U.S. is heading full-tilt to a Fascist society. Impeach the bastards. Now!

R.

Yeah, we got a couple bodies ...

... to answer phones, but if you want equipment* well ...

Greensburg, KS (AHN) - Adding to the woes of residents of Greensburg, Kansas who survived Friday's tornado was the slow response by the National Guard. The guard had trouble responding because some of the equipment needed is in Iraq. One of the National Guard's primary duties is responding to natural disasters and assisting Americans.

...

"We're missing about half our trucks" as well as Humvees and trained personnel that are in Iraq, said Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, on NPR Monday morning.

...

Being that tornado season is just beginning, well, didn't they make a movie about this?

*Thanks to divageek @ WTF for the link.

Top Ten Lowlights of the GOP Debate

Don Davis

Hey, Chris Matthews, if this is the "Daddy Party," wouldn't we be better off as orphans?

10. Sam Brownback: "I'm from the theological wing of the theological party."

9. John McCain: "I'll get Osama even if I have to follow him to the gates of hell, or even worse, to the central market in Baghdad."

8. Mike Huckabee: "As the formerly fat man of faith, who's now the svelte man of faith, I'm guided by one question: 'What Would Jesus Weigh'?"

7. Jim Gilmore: "Nobody ever heard of me, so let me make clear I'm not a character on the Gilmore Girls."

6. Ron Paul: "Let's abolish all government regulation - so that the fatcats can plunder and ruin this country even more than they did under Bush."

5. Tom Tancredo: "Mr. Gorbachev, build up that wall."

4. Tommy Thompson: "I'm the ultimate Ronald Reagan: I only made an anti-gay remark because I had a hearing aid malfunction."

3. Mitt Romney: "I can single-handedly solve global warming by soaking up the sun's rays with my George Hamilton caliber tan."

2. Duncan Hunter: "Elect me and you'll really see a military industrial complex that'll have old Ike spinning in his grave."

1. Rudy Giuliani: "First, I'm gonna make googly eyes at the Iranian leaders, just like the Gipper. Then I'll do what I did in New York: attack the squeegeemen from Squeegeemenistan."

I think the Repug candidates should have a "White Collar Comedy Tour". There's nothin' really funny about 'em, but they'd be outta our hair for a while. Especially if they let me 'n Fixer work on their bus a little. Heh.

Toons

Bob Geiger had many 'toons up on Satiddy.

Quote of the Day deux

BuzzFlash

Bush's new poodle is French

I hope Bush's pants leg can stand the strain.

Nekkid Mes'kins

¡Santa Mierda!

If he'da used Americans, he coulda only got about half as many in that zocalo.

Who 'won' in Iraq?

Today's 'must read', from AlterNet:

From the enormous advantage gained by Iran via our invasion of Iraq, you would think that Dick Chaney(sic) is a mole for the Ayatollah.

[...] In fact, Iran wins so big in this war I think that Dick Cheney's DNA should be checked out by a reputable lab, because he has to be a Persian mole. My theory is that they took a fiery young Revolutionary Guard from the slums of Tehran, dipped him in a vat of lye to get that pale, pasty Anglo skin, zapped his scalp for that authentic bald CEO look, squirted a quart of cholesterol into his arteries so he'd develop classic American cardiac disease, and parachuted him into the outskirts of some Wyoming town.

All these claims that Iran is helping the insurgents really make my head spin. Of course they're helping. They'd be insane if they weren't. If somebody invades the country next door, any state worth mentioning has to act. If Mexico got invaded by China, you better believe the U.S. would react. We'd lynch any president who didn't.

[...] They want us there as long as possible, stoking the feuds and making sure nobody wins. That's what we just did under Bush's new Iraq commander, Gen. Petraeus: switched sides, Shia to Sunni, because the Shia were getting too strong. Yeah, God forbid we should be unfair to the Sunnis, God forbid we should do anything to let somebody win. Let's just make Tehran happy by keeping the feud going another few centuries.

So the likely winner of a war like this is an up-n-coming world economic power that has been investing in its own economy while we blow a trillion -- yep, a trillion -- dollars on nothing. Not hard to figure out who the likely suspects are here.

What's worst is that the war has made us dumber. When Sen. Graham asked his question, "Who won Iraq?" he thought he was being clever. He thought we're too dumb and soft to face that question and its answers. Because there are answers, pretty grim ones. I just hope people are tough enough to start thinking about them.

Anyway, for those of you collecting guidelines, here's what I think are some general rules for "Who wins wars?"

That oughta set the hook! Here endeth my post.

"Wall of the Fallen" Full

Fort Wayne News-Sentinel

Congress already has run out of space on a memorial created last year to honor all of the U.S. service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In a grim sign of the times, the "Wall of the Fallen," set up by House Republican leaders in June, is almost full. The mounting death toll from Iraq has forced U.S. House staffers to study how to reconfigure the display in the lobby of the Rayburn Building - the largest office building for members of Congress - to squeeze in more names.

A perfect example of Repug "planning".

Note to House Repugs: replace the names at half their present size. Then you can get 7000 names on the Wall. You can halve their size again later when you need to.

Desperation ...

Quoting our pal Skippy:

you know things are bad in wingerville when they are so desperate for good news about conservatives, they cheer france.

And just so we don't forget ...

I don't know how Holden can pore over transcripts of the Chimp's speeches but he does, for our benefit, so we can never forget we really do have a moron running this country.

Getting it ...

It’s hard to say which is worse news for Republicans: that George W. Bush now has the worst approval rating of an American president in a generation, or that he seems to be dragging every ’08 Republican presidential candidate down with him. But According to the new NEWSWEEK Poll, the public’s approval of Bush has sunk to 28 percent, an all-time low for this president in our poll, and a point lower than Gallup recorded for his father at Bush Sr.’s nadir. The last president to be this unpopular was Jimmy Carter who also scored a 28 percent approval in 1979. This remarkably low rating seems to be casting a dark shadow over the GOP’s chances for victory in ’08. The NEWSWEEK Poll finds each of the leading Democratic contenders beating the Republican frontrunners in head-to-head matchups. [my em]

...

It seems the only people who don't get it are the brainwashed and those whose future employment and status depends on the Republicans clinging to power.

To Majority Leader Reid and Speaker Pelosi: Fuck that "clean bill" shit. Send the Chimp another war funding bill with the timelines for withdrawal intact. The American people are on your side. Fuck those pundits who say you're committing political suicide. They've been wrong about everything else in the past 6 years. The American people would support you if you sent the FBI to drag Bush and Cheney from the White House and put them in irons.

Quote of the Day

“Lacking a national health system, "the U. S. occupies last place among the major industrialized countries ... in child mortality, life expectancy, and visits to the doctor," although it probably leads the world in politicians who talk about "family values."” —Paul Kennedy

A tip of the Jersey cap to David Michael Green for the quote.

R.

One Day You’re Gonna Wake Up, America.

By David Michael Green

One day you’re gonna wake up in a hostile world where your country no longer has any friends. There will be governments of other countries – former long-standing allies – that cannot afford to have anything to do with you, lest their publics angrily remove them from office for collaborating with a country as hated as yours. Nor will those governments trust yours anyway.

Full text here - Definitely worth taking the time to read. Riveting.

R.

Verbatim Quotes from Republicans when Clinton was Prez

The Young Turks tamp a buncha Repuglicant bullshit into a nice brick. Go see, but you won't be a bit surprised at any of the quotes. Or the Repugs who have conveniently disavowed any memory of saying said quotes.

"If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy." -- Karen Hughes, speaking on behalf of George W Bush

"I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and lots of unanswered questions. A month later, these questions are still unanswered. There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory. There is no contingency plan for mission creep. There is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our over-extended military. There is no explanation defining what vital national interests are at stake. There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there still is no plan today"--Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)

"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."-- Governor George W. Bush (R)-TX

The last one gets me the most

According to these hypocrites, Clinton did all the wrong things, but the exact same things are fine now. IOKIYAR.

The Real Iraq-Vietnam Connection

American Prospect

The key similarity between the two wars is how they profoundly eroded the American people's trust in their government and leaders.

My 'trust in their government and leaders' began to erode in late '63 and has been down to about nothing for many years. The Current Occupation of the White House has scattered the dust of trust to the winds. Here's why:

"The thing about the Vietnam War that troubles me as I look back," Bush told Russert in 2004 (my em), "was it was a political war. We had politicians making military decisions, and it is lessons that any president must learn, and that is to the set the goal and the objective and allow the military to come up with the plans to achieve that objective. And those are essential lessons to be learned from the Vietnam War."

They're lessons Bush never learned and is ignoring anyway. Bald-faced lying, the sheerest incompetence, his political agenda, any one or all three or add anything you choose. Choosing to be wrong on purpose just because he would like it to be right is worse than no excuse.

Americans may not think Iraq is Vietnam, but they are now convinced that it, too, is a political war.

Well, good for them. No rocket scientists, they. It has been obvious since day one.

In order to see even the obvious, one must take one's head out of one's ass and look around, even a little. That blinding light they now see shining on Bush the criminal has been there all along.

Nunsense

San Antonio Express-News

It's a David versus Goliath battle heating up in the Hill Country - a group of nuns from Boerne is taking a stand against Wal-Mart.

The corporate giant reportedly labeled the nuns a security threat after they raised questions about Wal-Mart's business practices.

Wal-Mart better be on the alert. From a radio intercept:

"Sister Bertrille, Sister Bertrille, this is Jesus Bride 6. Request air strike. Co-ordinates follow..."

Put me in, Coach, I'm ready to lie

Froomkin

Back on March 5, several top Justice Department officials were summoned for an emergency meeting at the White House. On the agenda: Going over "what we are going to say" about why eight U.S. attorneys had been summarily fired.

The truth simply won't do. It's got a liberal bias and thus is not Repuglicant policy. Besides, the truth would put 'em all in jail. So would lying. Win-win!

That meeting was about getting their story straight, or "you lie and I'll swear to it". Hopefully, they'll all lie and get caught at it.

When it comes to folks who are going to "refuse" to appear when subpœna'd, the same thing should happen as if you or I failed to respond to an official summons: bench warrants are issued, arrests are made, and the witnesses appear in jailhouse orange, in irons and chained to the floor.

"...a circular firing squad of the war’s enablers"

Daddy Frank climbs CondiLIEzza's frame over her reluctance to answer questions about why Bush started his Criminal War, and takes others to task as well:

This would be a Three Stooges routine were there only three stooges.

A good read, but one of Pottersville's commenters, from Oz no less, nails it:

I'm looking forward to the day when the REAL reasons for the conquest of the Babylon Oil Colony are admitted. I.E. "We did it to get an American military base right smack in the middle of the oil pool. Not just to control Iraq's oil for ourselves, but so we have tanks close enough to roll into Saudi Arabia if someone deposes the monarchs. Or if they decide to deal with China and cut us off. Ditto for Iran. And we want to be able to squash anyone who thinks about messing with our buddies in Israel. We did it to show that we're the big dogs on the planet and we will kill anyone who gets in our way."

That's the real reason for the invasion. Pure Machiavellian geopolitics. No one will admit it until after the game is lost, though. Then it will be "See why we did that great attack? We could have been in such a great position. But YOU DEMOCRATS made us get out, and that's why we have no gasoline at the pumps. This economic disaster is YOUR FAULT."

I doubt the Repugs would ever admit that as their reason for this stupid war, but I have no doubt at all who they will blame for their preordained failure.

Does he even know that there's a war going on . . .

. . . that he started?



Is he even aware that there are people dying virtually every hour in Iraq and that their deaths are at his hands? Does he give a shit? I know the answers to all 3, I'm sure you do too.

A tip of my Jersey cap to http://derstandard.at (Austrian news site - in German) for the image.

R.