The Source Beyond Rove

Common Dreams puts Plamegate squarely in Condileeza Rice's lap. This is a long article with a lot of timeline.

"We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud." It was September 2002, and then-National Security Advisor, now-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was fastening on CNN perhaps the most memorable and frightening single link in the Bush regime's chain of lies propagandizing the war on Iraq. Behind her carefully planted one-liner with its grim imagery was the whole larger hoax about Saddam Hussein possessing or about to acquire weapons of mass destruction, a deception as blatant and inflammatory as claims of the Iraqi dictator's ties to Al Qaeda.

And, of course, the larger issue beyond Plame is the Bush regime's Big Lie behind the invasion of Iraq, in which the phantom Nigerien yellowcake was an important malignant element. No government since World War II has more blatantly invented the pretext for waging a war of aggression. The Rove and Libby collusion only begins to peel away the layers of the crime. Rice is the next skein to be pulled.

Her manifest failures in the fateful months before 9/11 in meeting the principal responsibilities of the National Security Advisor - the sheer incompetence and shallowness that left so much intelligence uncoordinated, so much neglected or misunderstood - should have been enough to have run her from public office long ago, of course, were it not for her hold on this tragically flawed president, and her deplorable immunity amid the chronic political cowardice of both the Democrats and the media.

Now, however, her role in the Plame scandal cannot be ignored or excused. She alone among senior officials was knowing and complicitous at every successive stage of the great half-baked yellow cake fraud. She alone was the White House peer - and in national security matters the superior - to Rove and Libby, who never could have acted without her collusion in peddling Plame's identity. She as much as anyone had a stake in smearing Wilson by any and all means at hand. If Rove and Libby are to be held criminally or at least politically accountable for a breach of national security, our "mushroom cloud" secretary of state should certainly be in the dock with them.

I notice that since the shit hit the fan on this deal, she's been out of the country a lot.

If? No, when.

With the shortfalls in VA funding, the 1600 Crew not wanting to admit there's a problem and the piss-poor recruiting for the next wave of cannon-fodder for the Chickenhawk Neo-cons Excellent Adventure, you have to start wondering,

When's the D-R-A-F-T? . . .

Democratic Veteran. And when you're done with that post, go read this one.

Repub morphing

. . . I didn't leave the Republican Party, the Republican Party left me. And the nation is the poorer for it.

Go see the guy in the fancy suit.

Friday Cattle Dog Blogging

Cattle Dog in jail. Shayna in her kennel.

Trail's End

Amongst the 1000 or so WWII Vets who pass away each day, some are noteworthy in their uniqueness. From the Aug. 1 issue of Time:

DIED. CHARLES CHIBITTY, 83, last survivor of the Comanche code talkers who sent messages for the Allies during World War II; in Tulsa, Okla. "It's strange," said the war vet in 2002. "Growing up as a child I was forbidden to speak my native language at school. Later [it] helped win the war, and that makes me very proud."

Godspeed, Charles.

Support the troops Boy Scouts

BOWLING GREEN, Va. -- The Boy Scouts marched onto the field singing, plopping down in the grass to wait for President Bush. But hours later, the news that Bush couldn't make it was drowned out by sirens and shouts as hundreds fell ill because of the blistering heat.

About 300 people, most of them Scouts, suffered from dehydration, fatigue and lightheadedness Wednesday just days after four Scout leaders were killed at the national Jamboree while pitching a tent beneath a power line.

[. . .]

Nice. Left 'em twising in the wind for hours while you made up your mind, didja? Wasn't like you were heading across the country, was it? Didn't even have to fire up Air Force One. Could have done it with six Suburbans. I mean, regardless of what I said about them, they did lose 4 people earler in the week. Might have been nice for the (p)resident not to kick 'em in the ass when they were down.

Maybe Rumsfeld is in his "last throes"...

From the World Peace Herald:

The struggle against the Iraq insurgency passed a crucial tipping point Wednesday with the current prime minister calling for major U.S. troop withdrawals and the U.S. ground commander there acknowledging they will probably come next year.

The commander, however, made clear he did not expect the insurgency to have dropped by then significantly below its current level.

Yet even as things are, as one U.S. military analyst told UPI on condition of anonymity, "We're operating at the margins. We're running to stand still."

"We're not making forward progress," he said. "The insurgency has great untapped resources. The insurgency isn't defeated. It just isn't so. The overall trend is up."

"The ability of the insurgents to kill large numbers of Iraqis remains unimpaired," the respected military analyst cited above said. "They kill at all levels. They even kill washer-women working at U.S. bases. When they make a threat, they carry it out. Their ability to kill people is only increasing."

Nice goin', dipshit. Spin your way out of this one. I know you'll try.

It's the old one-two punch: Bush lies us into the wrong war in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong Secretary of Defense, whose masterful plan is about to lose. We shouldn't have been there in the first place.

I've said this all along: Fuck Iraq. That whole sand pit, and all the oil under it ain't worth the lives of our military personnel, who have been ill-used and poorly led in an imperialistic folly. The people who did this should be in jail.

This may not be popular, but I'm going to say it anyway: the sacrifice in blood and treasure has gone for naught. Our troops, irreplaceable human beings each and every one, have died in vain in the mis-service of an evil administration.

Roberts Nickname Contest

From Timothy Noah:

Earlier this week, I invited Slate readers to invent a nickname President Bush could give his Supreme Court nominee, John Roberts Jr., to show him who's boss. (Although everybody in Washington pretends that Bush's penchant for bestowing nicknames is boyishly endearing, in fact, as Garry Trudeau has observed, it's an ugly ritual of domination.) The reader entries were, as usual, very fine, but they revealed a tension in the exercise that hadn't occurred to me up front.

The finalists are:

3rd Runner-Up: Roeminator
(from reader Seth Chamberlain)

2nd Runner-Up: Ned Flanders
(from reader Alison Miller)

1st Runner-Up: Hoosier Daddy
(from an anonymous reader)

And the winner is ...

I think you'll like the winner.

He needs a break. Destroying a nation is hard work...

William Rivers Pitt follows up on Fixer's post:

Imagine you're the CEO of a company. The last several major decisions you've made have gotten a large number of your employees killed. The company you're working with overseas is taking a beating in its infrastructure. The customers you tried to entice with your product are arriving in morgues by the busload.

Several of your executives are about to get nailed to the shed for obstruction of justice and perjury, while words like "Treason" are whispered behind cupped hands. Your company is hemorrhaging cash from every pore, and your big plan for the future has turned out to be the largest threat to the continued existence of the business to come down the pike in a few generations.

Yeah. I guess I'd want a vacation, too.

Have a good time, Georgie. Don't worry about us, like I have to tell you that! Relax. Do some serious drinkin' and ride your bike a lot.

Top Ten George W. Bush Solutions For Global Warming

From CBS, The Late Show with David Letterman:

10. NASA mission to turn down the sun's thermostat

9. Federal subsidies to boost production of Cool Ranch Doritos

8. Fast track Rumsfeld's "Colonize Neptune" proposal

7. Convene Blue-Ribbon Committee to explore innovative ways of ignoring the problem

6. Let Hillary worry about it when she takes over

5. I dunno---tax cuts for the rich?

4. Give the boys at Halliburton 90-billion dollar contract to patch hole in ozone

3. Switch to celsius so scorching 98 becomes frosty 37

2. Keep plenty of Bud on ice

1. Invade Antarctica

These are so close to Bush's way of thinking, it's scary.

More NASA clusterfuck

SPACE CENTER, Houston Jul 28, 2005 - In a numbing setback sure to set off a national debate over the future of the space program, NASA has grounded all future shuttle flights because of a large chunk of foam that broke off Discovery's fuel tank in hauntingly similar fashion to Columbia's doomed mission.

[. . .]

Will the NASA leadership please report to the Department of Duh.

[. . .]

"Call it luck or whatever, it didn't harm the orbiter," Parsons said. If the foam had broken away earlier in flight when the atmosphere is thicker, increasing the acceleration and likelihood of impact it could have caused catastrophic damage to Discovery.

[. . .]

Luck???!!!! You're putting 7 lives and a $15 billion spacecraft at risk and you're relying on luck? I don't do iffy repairs on a $5000 dollar car and send it out, praying for luck it doesn't break. What the fuck are you people thinking?

[. . .]

"We think that would have been really bad, so it's not acceptable," said Parsons' deputy, Wayne Hale.

[. . .]

Ya think, Dickface?

[. . .]

The loss of such a large chunk of debris, a vexing problem NASA thought had been fixed, shattered the euphoria from Tuesday's shuttle launch, the first in 2 1/2 years. The redesign of the fuel tank was the focal point of the space agency's $1 billion-plus effort to make the 20-year-old space shuttles safer to fly following the 2003 Columbia tragedy. [my emphases]

[. . .]

If we lose another shuttle and crew, I want all the NASA managers rounded up, tried for murder, and sent to jail. Fucking engineers. This spacecraft was designed 35 years ago and has been flying for 20, and you myopic motherfuckers still don't know how it works. Maybe it's time to get the guys in ties and pocket protectors out of the Agency and put a guy up there who actually knows how shit works in the real world, not just on paper. Me, for instance. And I'll do the job for a third of what you're paying the current asshole.

Update;

Rereading this, it reminds me of an engineer story from when I worked for Ford. We had a bunch of NYPD window vans (Econoline 250s) that would mysteriously burst into flames (about a dozen of 'em). Well, we weren't allowed to look at them until the 'big guys' from Dearborn got there. They looked and looked, wondering what could be causing the fires. They checked the fuel system, all the lubricants, everything flammable. After a week, they're still scratching their heads. Meanwhile, the NYPD has a thousand vans that are effectively 'grounded'.

The other Motorsport guy and I ask to look things over. 'Fine, if you must,' they say. We look over the wrecks and then call the 105th Precinct up the street to bring down an 'uncharred' version. We run it up, drive it around (there's another story in that too, heh), and then let it sit and idle in the yard. About 15 minutes later, we see smoke coming from under the thing. Approaching with a fire extinguisher, we shut it off and jack it up where it sits.

Seems the NYPD had Ford undercoat the damn things. What Ford didn't plan on is the cops letting them sit and idle all fucking day. Summer for A/C, winter for heat. The catalytic converter (in the exhaust) got really hot when idling for so long, melted the undercoating above it, causing it to drip on the converter. Enough undecoating and heat and you gots a fire. It took us another week and 4 demonstrations to convince the 'big guys' this was the problem. 'It doesn't happen on the Crown Victorias,' was their answer.

The difference between engineers and mechanics. Mechanics gotta work on the shit the engineers design. If an engineer's calculations say something can't happen, they refuse to believe it can, regarless of what their eyes tell them.

Everything

You need to know about John Robets, courtesy of Lambert (here and here).

. . . My goodness! Who would have thought? I mean, besides those nasty liberal bloggers.

Brit Cops Talking Points On Shooting An Innocent Man

From This Old Brit via Wolcott:

The text that follows is not my work. Nor is it the work of anyone I know. It "virtually" came into my hands just an hour or so ago - though it is always possible I was led to it.

Therefore ..........

No source[s]. No email nor snail mail addresse[s]. No link[s]. No secret locations. No conditions of anonimity. No copyright. No clues. No endorsements. No denials. No comments.

Go read. Sounds like they got Republicans writing their shit, too. Good site.

Jesus Loves the Little Children, but Smirky Doesn't

From the Associated Press:

Children aren't faring very well in an annual report on their well-being. The Annie E. Casey Foundation says 500,000 more American children were living in poverty in 2003 than in 2000.

There are 13 million children in depressed conditions. In addition, the percentage of low-birthweight babies increased and infant mortality was up for the first time in 40 years. The study also finds an increase in families where no parent has a full-time job and a rise in the teen death rate. Four million children are living with parents who haven't held a job in the previous year. That's an increase of 1 million since the start of the decade.

There were some improvements, though. The child death rate was down, as were the teen birth rate and the high school dropout rate.

A news release said that child well-being had rapid and sustained growth during the 1990s (when Clinton was in office), but it has slowed (during Smirky McFlightsuit's tenure).

New Hampshire, Vermont, and Minnesota (all latte-drinking, Volvo-driving blue states, I believe) rank highest when all indicators were compared, and Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi (all family-values red states) rank the lowest.

Italics and snarky editorial comments are mine.

So let's wring our hands and get our panties in a wad about abortion and gay adoption, never mind that the children already here aren't faring so well and their parents can't find work.

Oh, the other one!

Connected on MSNBC asked for comments for a piece on North Korea. I sent 'em this:

I think a pipsqueak head of government, second in a dynasty, who drinks too much, has delusions of grandeur, and possesses nuclear weapons is a clear danger to the United States. I don't think much of Kim Jong-Il, either.

For some reason, they didn't use it. Must have been too many submissions.

Where Republican talking points go to die

John has the best take on the Happy Harpies at the DLC.

[. . .]

If Democrats learned anything from the 2004 election, it's that they have to stand for something in addition to not being Republicans. It is the fundamental lesson we need to take from that election, and the problem I have with the DLC, and the centrist movement in general, is that they've failed to understand this basic and vital point.

[. . .]

And don't forget to see Gary's treatise over at Dave Johnson's place.

. . . It's time for the DLC to disband and rejoin the Democratic party.

Heh . . .

Go see Attaturk.

I want to have Jane's children

This is why:

[. . .]

Dig it, Tucker: it doesn't matter what kind of heinous ass-raping, fratricidal racist thug you are, if you profess faith in Jesus Christ your name is already on the guest list at the pearly gates, and there it will stay, no matter what you do in this life. That is why Preznit Never Responsible can do enough blow to deviate the septum of a rhinoceros and still be beloved by Christo Fascists everywhere.

[. . . ]

Yeah, who's your mommy, Tucker?

On the 'To Do' list

Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) has introduced an amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill that would require Armed Forces Radio to provide balanced political programming, and establish an ombudsman position.

A total of over 64 hours per week of AFVN broadcasting consists of rightwing vocal vomit, with the likes of Rush "Dope Addict Pimple Ass Chickenhawk Professional Blowhard Fourth-Wife Family Values" Limbaugh spewing and endless stream of invective against the left in this country -- there is no counterbalancing programming, nor is there any solid requirement for it. [my emphases]

[. . .]

Farnsworth has links on his page.

Rove's Love Life

I hope you turned your head before you puked! If you didn't, wipe off your screen and keyboard and go see this jewel from Lakshmi Chaudhry at AlterNet:

Danger: speculation about Turd Blossom's sex life ahead.

While just the very thought of Turd Blossom's sex life is likely to permanently dampen the libido, Radar Online's got this scoop on a possible extramarital dalliance:

Go read it for yourself. Far be it from me to gossip.

From I love Karl Rove comes this account of Rove's relationship with the Press:

Ooops - must flutter! I just heard my Wudgyblop's knees pop, so he must have been squatting down in the kitchen to see if his special nut-chunked brownie logs were steaming warm and ready for the press folks to swallow. He's even so thoughtful that he handed me some cellophane to keep Ms. Miller's portion nice 'n fresh for her daily care package while she's on her vacation! What a generous Globblegorp!

I know that stuff's not too important, but I'm in an impish mood, having just finished several cups of Freedom Roast from my new Alternate Brain coffee cup. Go get your own and you'll see what I'm talkin' about.

NASA

Head guy: Wow, we got it up there.

Other guy: Yeah, now we have to check for damage from the shit falling off.

Is it because I fix things for a living, or does anybody else have a problem with this?

[. . .]

A 1 1/2-inch-wide bit of tile captured on camera appeared to fly off the shuttless belly, on the edge of a door that encloses the nose landing gear. It was not clear if the tile had been struck by anything. Pieces of tile, which protect the shuttle from searing heat on return to Earth, have been lost on past flights without preventing a safe homecoming. [my emphasis]

[. . .]

If an inch and a half piece of tile can critically damage the fucking thing, why the fuck is it flying? Especially since little shit falls off the thing constantly on takeoff.

Remember Baghdad Bob?

Pic courtesy of the always funny and irreverent Via at Church of the Front Porch.

Call me a bastard

But I'm supposed to feel bad for these guys?

BOWLING GREEN, Va. - They were deeply devoted to the Boy Scouts, traveling thousands of miles to the woods of northern Virginia for 10 fun-filled days of fishing, archery and storytelling beside the campfire. One of their first tasks: Set up a large tent.

But the task went terribly awry when they lost control of a giant tent pole and it hit some nearby power lines, killing four Scout leaders as horrified youngsters looked on, said Bill Haines, a Scout executive in Alaska. [my emphasis]

[. . .]

Now, I don't know about you, but I was a Boy Scout (until they threw me out, but that was another story). I learned (before our first campout) that before you pitched a tent, you checked for any obstructions above, anything that might fall (branches, rocks, etc.) on you overnight, shit like that. Didn't anybody check? Look up and say, 'wow, will the center pole clear the wires?' or 'hey, there's wires, how tall is this tent?'. Nah. Leave us to just stick that pole right up there and . . . zzzzt! Idiots. If there's any consolation, these guys won't be imparting their obviously vast 'knowlege of the outdoors' to anyone else's kids. Who knows what these guys would fuck up out in the backcountry?

"Oh yes, son, go pet the big kitty cat."

Morons. Call it throwing the skimmer in the gene pool.

Ha!

Don't have a link yet, but NY Governor George Pataki (R-Media Whore) announced he will not seek reelection for Governor in order to prepare for a Presidential bid in 2008. I hope he does. There are enough skeletons in closets here in NY that would take him down quickly. This is a win-win for us, taking at least one strong (moneyed) opponent out of Elliot Spitzer's (D-Ethics and Principle) way in the governor's race. More later probably.

Technocracy

No, I'm not plugging my new book. This is the real thing.

You can't buy the Pensacola News Journal at Wal-Mart anymore.

The store ordered us off their property, told us to come pick up our newspaper racks and clear out.

So we did.

A few people called last week, some even wrote letters to the editor, and wanted to know why they couldn't buy the newspaper at Wal-Mart in the days after Hurricane Dennis.

Some managers at Wal-Mart didn't appreciate a column Mark O'Brien wrote last month about the downside of the cheap prices that Sam Walton's empire has brought to America. We all pay a little less, and sometimes a lot less, at the grocery store and department store because of Mr. Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart.

[. . .]

I might understand it if Wal-Mart said I ought to fire Mark because what he said wasn't accurate. But that isn't the case. Mark accurately reported that there are 10,000 children of Wal-Mart employees in a health-care program that is costing Georgia taxpayers nearly $10 million a year.

Shouldn't we talk about that?

When we stop listening to people on the other side of the fence, when we try to silence and even punish people for thinking differently than we do and raising facts and figures we don't like, well, we won't be red, white and blue anymore.

That's why Mark still has a job and you can't buy a Pensacola News Journal at Wal-Mart anymore.

That's what we have here. The big corporations have their fingers in every part of the government, thanks to their Republican enablers, and they believe they can control information the way the Chimp administration does. Unfortunately, they've been getting away with it. Unfortunately, many people have to shop at Wal-Mart because, thanks to the power big business has usurped over the past 5 years, workers are treated like chattel instead of vital cogs in the wheel.

Hat tip: Skippy via Kos.

Whores

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Senate put off until fall completing a $491 billion defense bill in order to act this week on the National Rifle Association's top priority: shielding gun manufacturers and dealers from liability suits stemming from gun crimes.

On a 66-32 test vote Tuesday, the Senate indicated there's plenty of support for Republican leaders' determination to pass the gun bill before lawmakers leave at the end of this week for a monthlong vacation.

"The only reason it is coming to the floor, in a time of war to interrupt the debate on the Defense Authorization bill is that members are feeling pressure form the gun lobby," said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.

[. . .]

Okay, I'm all for the 2nd Amendment, but it's time to rein in the NRA. It's time to rein in a lot of the lobbying efforts on both sides. Do you realize how fucked up this is? The U.S. Senate put off debate on financing our military under pressure from lobbyists. This is fucking Bizarro World. Hat tip: Pissed Off Patricia at Blondie's.

Update:

Via 12th Harmonic and Crooks and Liars, a video of Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Big Brass Balls) giving Sen Bill Frist (R-Bleeding Asshole) a slapdown.

I hope he calls me that...

For a little light reading, go see what O'Lielly is up to, at News Hounds:

Comment: Has Bill O'Reilly lost his mind completely? Will Fox News allow this to continue? First off, let's talk plainly.Bill O'Reilly is calling people traitors not "terrorist helpers" and he is doing this on national television. The audacity of this act is beyond belief. Bill O'Reilly actually believes that he is entitled to do this to other people.

I suppose he and Michelle Malkin will be discussing plans for internment camps for "terrorist helpers" Your fate is in Bill O'Reilly's hands.

It might look a little funny when I have to climb up on a milk crate to bitch-slap that punk, but I'm always willing to look foolish for a good cause.

And Organize Some More...

I guess I got a theme today. If we're talkin' about organizing unions, we should look at Wal-Mart as the modern-day equivalent of the coal mines of the 1920's, minus the machine guns. So far, anyway. From The New Republic:

When Wal-Mart became a major blip on labor's radar screen in the early '90s, the obvious answer was, of course, to organize. But organizing retail is different from organizing, say, a factory. Even large stores require much less capital than industrial plants, a fact that allows Wal-Mart to easily shutter upstart stores or departments (in 2000, for example, when the ufcw organized the meat-cutting department of a Texas store, Wal-Mart closed its meat-cutting departments nationwide two weeks later). Not that many stores have ever gotten to that point. Wal-Mart--which is the nation's largest private employer and the world's largest company (with annual revenue that exceeds the GDP of Sweden)--trains its managers in anti-union tactics and, as a last resort, even dispatches anti-union response teams. "Straight-up organizing in this country is difficult enough under the law," says one ufcw representative. "And, when you're going up against a nation-state company (my bold), it doesn't behoove you to go after one store at a time."

With both sides pursuing Washington strategies--and with Washington politicos starting to take notice--it's almost a foregone conclusion that Wal-Mart will become an issue in the next elections. For one thing, as Kerry found last year, the company makes a great stand-in for the issues that many Democrats want to focus on: Health care, wages, and offshore outsourcing. "They will be held up as bad guys in '06 on particular issues," says Jennifer Palmieri, a 2004 presidential campaign veteran now with the Center for American Progress. "They're Democrats' best talking point on why we need more progressive policy."

Finally, the company's newfound Washington presence, ironically, could end up hurting it politically. With most of Wal-Mart's lobbyists coming from Republican ranks--and more than 80 percent of its contributions going to the GOP--Democrats will have an easy time linking their opponents to Wal-Mart's misdeeds. "All the money in the world isn't going to change the facts," says Blank. "It's their business decisions that are coming back to haunt them."

Where's Winnie when we need him? Well, dead, the slacker, but I can hear his whisky-voice: "We will fight them in the parking lot. We will fight them in the personal grooming products aisle..."

Organize!

Molly Ivins cuts through the shit on the split-up of the AFL-CIO:

Organized labor is weak, but unorganized labor is a hell of a lot weaker. That's what's splitting the AFL-CIO. You may think this is none of your beeswax, but if you work in this country, you owe labor, big time. And I'm talking to you, white-collar worker.

This is not about the old stuff -- 40-hour workweek, unemployment insurance, health benefits, safety regs, etc. This is about right now, today. The money that controls this administration is out to screw you -- it's your pension on the line, your salary on the line and your job on the line. If your company can replace you cheaper, you are gone, buddy. And this administration is pushing jobs overseas just as fast as it can.

The larger result can be seen in the whole picture of stagnant wages, frozen minimum wage, corporate gains against labor on every front. It won't stop -- the Bush administration is in a fight to the death against labor. They even intervened to block a California law that says employers cannot use taxpayer money to run anti-union campaigns in the workplace. How do you like them apples, middle-class taxpayer

The AFL also points out that at least a few of the CWC unions are fairly mobbed up, which has the disadvantage of being probably true, but unprovable.

Unions figured out a long time ago that Republicans are perfectly happy to let the mob issue fester in order to discredit labor -- their despicable efforts to undermine reform in the Teamsters Union will not be forgotten.

Both sides are slugging hard in this fight but are still talking and negotiating, too -- they realize a split can only weaken labor in the short run. This is not so much a left-versus-right fight as it's old strategy versus new -- restructuring labor in ways that make more sense for a de-industrializing economy. Pretty much everyone who supports labor has friends on both sides. I'm supporting Stern and the CWC because the AFL is way too much about protecting turf.

The old unions did some great work in their day. They came up through pain and bloodshed. We owe them a lot, but they got complacent and top-heavy, and more and more irrelevant. Perhaps it's time for a new approach to the modern set of problems.

The Democrats have a chance to get a fresh start with Labor, too, if they're smart enough. Ya listenin', Howie?

Why?

Mrs. F wants to know why the media whores in New York (Mayor Bloomberg, Gov. Pataki) have to use her building every time they make an announcement. The Wintergarden in the World Financial Center is a beautiful place, but thousands of people work there and it makes getting to and from a bitch with NYPD Hercules and NYSP Special Response Teams crawling over everything.

Could it be they're still wrapping themselves in the cloak of 9/11? Have you seen Bloomberg's campaign commercials yet? Meanwhile, they still can't agree on a plan to replace the Towers or the way to memorialize our friends and neighbors who gave their lives that horrible day. A little more substance, a little less flash, you rat bastids.

Patriotism

Long but excellent post on apologetic Democrats (DLC) and what patriotism really is. Digby:

[. . .]

Furthermore, it's entirely possible that at least some Democrats realize that al Qaeda isn't something you can just "dismantle" with a ripping good show of military might because it's morphed into a constantly changing, moving concept, rather than a single entity you can "end." And while terrorism is scary and we need to do all we can to protect people from it, it is not any more threatening than Leonid Bresznev potentially getting into a pissing match or losing control of his military or any other thing that could have resulted in an accidental nuclear exchange during the cold war. We lived for many years under an unimaginable threat (still do, actually) and we managed to keep our heads for the most part and not turn ourselves inside out over it. This threat of terrorism is real and it's important, but we simply have to stop overreacting like we did with Iraq or we really are going to turn it into the existential threat these people seem to desire so fervently.

[. . .]

Bon Voyage . . . again

My post a week ago.

[. . .]

Good luck to the crew of STS-114, my heart and my dreams go with you. I pray the people who make the decisions to fly have your best interest, not the political expediency of getting the thing into space, in mind.

Good luck and Godspeed, boys and girls. Come back safely.

Update: 13:55:

Harry brought a TV in and we watched the launch. Beautiful as always. Good to see nothing broke.

Double standards

WaPo:

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The state suspended the licenses of two church-affiliated day care centers where children allegedly were sexually molested, forced to eat worms and pick each other's noses during employee-led games of "Truth or Dare."

[. . .]

RJ Eskow:

[. . .]

I will say what I always say in these cases, which is: Can you imagine what the Christian Right would do and say if these centers were run by Muslims? Or, God forbid, Wiccans? They would start another Jesus Jihad. Neocons like Daniel Pipes would tell us this is why we're in the Middle East and need to reform Islam at the point of a gun. TV evangelists would explain why Wiccans can't have civil rights. But because the monsters in question are Christian, there will be a thundering silence, just as there has been over the Catholic priests:

[. . .]

It's amazing how much Jesus will forgive when the Republicans stumble and how hard he is on the rest of us. Sadly, the Republicans and the Christian Right have turned Jesus into their own 'Frankenstein's Monster'.

Outstanding

The Angry Old Broad writes an open letter to gay Republicans:

[. . .]

We here on the Liberal side,for the most part honestly don't care if you're gay.In fact,we actually think you can be gay and Christian(or whatever religion you care to embrace),gay and a great parent,gay and a great teacher, writer, journalist, politician, or anything else you want to be.Imagine,feeling fairly comfortable and embraced by a fairly large group of people,think of the lightening of your personal stress load.Now,I won't say that there's no prejudice or homophobia on the Left,we're not immune to that.But we social liberals for the most part would honestly end up embracing you if you could be open to letting us and stop buying into the RNC talking points.Come on,I know you've seen this homophobia on the Right,admit it,just to yourself for a few minutes.No one else has to know.

[. . .]

Heh

Church of the Front Porch.

Same old song and dance

My man Dave Johnson:

Following the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Republicans responded by validating the bombers' complaints. They launched hearings blaming the government for the fire at the Waco Davidian cult compound and the shootings at Ruby Ridge.

They're at it again. . .

I don't think it would be a good idea for the Repubs to piss off the Agency any more than they already have with the Plame affair. Being that Prosecutor Fitzgerald has been tight-lipped (by law) and secretive, the Agency might be sending evidence of Rove's (and the rest of their) misdeeds to him under the table. Don't forget, CIA had to eat a lot of crow after Wilson's exposure of Chimpy's bullshit. 'Intelligence failures' I think the term was. If the Repubs are gonna blame the Agency for the Plame incident, expect a lot of closet doors to be opened before it's over.

All Quiet on the Home Front, and Some Soldiers Are Asking Why

Jockstraps aside, I think my theme today may be on the order of "Why We Support The Troops, But We Don't Actually Want To Do Anything Ourselves Because It Might Be Inconvenient To Our Fat-ass Lifestyle And To The Politicians Who Depend On Our Votes, If Not What We Care About". From the NYTimes.

The Bush administration's rallying call that America is a nation at war is increasingly ringing hollow to men and women in uniform, who argue in frustration that America is not a nation at war, but a nation with only its military at war.

From bases in Iraq and across the United States to the Pentagon and the military's war colleges, officers and enlisted personnel quietly raise a question for political leaders: if America is truly on a war footing, why is so little sacrifice asked of the nation at large?

There is no serious talk of a draft to share the burden of fighting across the broad citizenry, and neither Republicans nor Democrats are pressing for a tax increase to force Americans to cover the $5 billion a month in costs from Iraq, Afghanistan and new counterterrorism missions.

"Nobody in America is asked to sacrifice, except us," said one officer just back from a yearlong tour in Iraq, voicing a frustration now drawing the attention of academic specialists in military sociology.

"For most Americans," said an officer with a year's experience in Iraq, "their role in the war on terror is limited to the slight inconvenience of arriving at the airport a few hours early."

David C. Hendrickson, a scholar on foreign policy and the presidency at Colorado College, said, "Bush understands that the support of the public for war - especially the war in Iraq - is conditioned on demanding little of the public."

The public wants very much to support the troops" in Iraq, he said. "But it doesn't really believe in the mission. Most consider it a war of choice, and a majority - although a thin one - thinks it was the wrong choice."

Most Americans support the military, he said, and "feel like there is somebody out there taking care of the job."

"They say, 'I'm going to support those people, I believe in those people and God bless those people,' " he said. "By doing that, they can wash their hands of it."

As I've said before, it is not to the advantage of the Bush cabal for folks to give much thought to this criminal war. They might raise questions that would upset the apple cart. The questions are being asked anyway, but not by the people who would be embarassed to admit they've been chumped by Bush.

Too many people are content to let our troops die and hope it all works out, and, if it doesn't, it's no skin off their ass. When they find out the truth, that their silence and tacit approval enabled and exacerbated the whole deal, I hope they carry guilt to the grave.

The decline and fall of the athletic supporter

Go read this article in Slate to learn more than you ever wanted to know about this subject:

If you're a guy of a certain age, chances are you wouldn't think of hitting the gym without a jockstrap. For the uninitiated, the item known more formally as an "athletic supporter" consists of an elasticized waistband and leg straps connected to a pouch that holds the testicles close to the body. You women can think of it as a sports bra for a guy's balls.

Being of a "certain age", and also being a mechanic, I use stainless steel safety wire and duct tape.

Uniform Sacrifice

In an NYTimes op-ed very much related to my previous post, David Douglas Duncan, a WWII Marine combat photographer, who also covered the Korean and Vietnam wars for Life magazine, weighs in.

Today - I have no idea whether he survived or perished - I find him wrong. His "tomorrow" is dead, whether he is or not. His tomorrow and mine were born in an America that has now almost vanished. During our widely separated but shared wartime years, we were led by presidents of Olympian eloquence (Roosevelt during World War II) and almost brutal bluntness (Truman during the Korean War), yet, on their own terms, they spoke with clarity, conviction and honesty about our national threats, challenges, sacrifices. And the price of peace was high.

Today, in Iraq, where nearly every dawn is lacerated by mounting carnage - local and foreign - American troops are hemorrhaging among the wounded and the dead, pawns in an unspeakable farce, for the United States of America is not at war.

Only 135,000 men and women in American uniform are fighting - volunteers, members of the National Guard, reservists. There is no draft. No threat of a uniform hangs over the citizens of a nation of nearly 300 million who, in polls, support the invasion of a remote country upon whom our government would pin guilt of 9/11 ... and then attack. An invasion that was ordered by an expertly trained but combat-innocent fighter pilot and a draft-deferred character with "other priorities" during the Vietnam War.

Meanwhile, perhaps one crucial question was omitted from those polls: "Is any member of your family uniformed and in Baghdad?"

In case you missed my point in these two posts, I'll spell it out: A draft might not have prevented this fucking war, but if Americans saw the possibility of themselves or their sons and daughters having to fight and die for our imperialist criminal regime and their grandiose plans for oil and hegemony, it just might have.

When (not "if") I am elected President For Life And Grand Poobah Of All He Surveys, Americans will have no concerns about whether or not they will serve. They will most definitely serve in one fashion or another, and our Nation will be a better place for it. "How did you serve?" will be the introductory question, and we will be a real community of citizens.

Citizenship and Service

David M. Kennedy opines in today's NYTimes about the discontinuity of citizenship and a sense of duty. Many Americans seem to actually believe that freedom is free, and that service in the military can be left to "others". Fixer and I agree that some kind of National Service would be a Good Thing and Mr. Kennedy seems to be catching up to us.

The life of a robust democratic society should be strenuous; it should make demands on its citizens when they are asked to engage with issues of life and death. The "revolution in military affairs" has made obsolete the kind of huge army that fought World War II, but a universal duty to service - perhaps in the form of a lottery, or of compulsory national service with military duty as one option among several - would at least ensure that the civilian and military sectors do not become dangerously separate spheres. War is too important to be left either to the generals or the politicians. It must be the people's business.

I am reminded of the difference between commitment and involvement. Take, f'rinstance a plate of ham 'n eggs: The chicken is involved, but the pig is committed.

In the phony criminal war in Iraq that was made possible largely because of the lack of involvement, largely by design for political ends, of the American people - I hesitate to call them citizens, the only ones with their bacon committed are our volunteer troops. For now.

Thoughts

A question for all of our loyal readers I'd like some feedback on. Hell, anybody who wants to answer can. Since my book Technocracy is now on its way to bookstores, I can ponder this here without giving too much away. The underlying premise of my epic series of pulp fiction is the eventual move to a world government under the guise of the U.N. (or something like it). So, my question is:

Do you envision the world (we're talking 50 years in the future or more) eventually becoming a united planet with one government, or do you think it will still be a conglomeration of close to 200-odd different political entities? And a corollary question: Do you think a single planetary government would be a good thing?

That's it. I'm sure it won't strain your brains. Thanks.

And just a little elaboration here. I'm wondering if my fellow informed (if you're reading this, you're obviously not getting what you want from the news media) people are thinking long term. I hear very little anymore about the direction the country (the world) is headed, and where people believe we will be in a half-century or a century.

I can't remember, I can't recall

Our new SCOTUS nominee:

[. . .]

And remember John Roberts's eminently parseable denial that he had "no recollection" of belonging to The Federalist Society, the uber-winger front organization whose "elves" worked with Linda Tripp, White Feather's Mom, and Ken Starr to overthrow Clinton . . .

Ahh, but through the magic of Google, Lambert finds:

[. . .]

It gets better. Not only did Roberts, um, forget that he was in the Federalist Society's Leadership Directory, he forgot that he was on the Steering Committee:

Roberts is one of 19 steering committee members listed in the directory, which was provided to The Post by Alfred F. Ross, president of the Institute for Democracy Studies in New York, a liberal group that has published reports critical of the society.

Federalist Society Executive Vice President Leonard A. Leo said that either he or another official of the organization recruited Roberts for the committee. Roberts's task was to serve "as a point of contact within the firm to let people know what is going on" with the organization.

[. . .]

So, for all you folks who thought (p)resident Leaky Sphincter was putting up a consensus candidate, think again. There's too much going on beneath the surface for this guy to be confirmed. I hope the Dems have some balls in committee and ask real questions instead of that collegial bullshit they always fall back on. Hey, congressweasels, the rules have changed. Get with the program. Deeds speak louder than rhetoric. Do something about this instead of shrugging your shoulders and giving him a pass. Everything Chimpy does is for politcal gain and, by allowing the Roberts confirmation, you're only screwing yourselves (and the rest of us). Much, much more at Corrente.

The Iran War Buildup

Info from Truthout:

This record is worth revisiting because of the many parallels to the current situation. Just as Bush gave ambiguous signals about his intentions regarding Iraq in 2002 - denying that a decision had been made to invade but never ruling it out - so, today, he is giving similar signals with respect to Iran. "This notion that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran is simply ridiculous," Bush declared in Belgium on February 22. He then added: "Having said that, all options are on the table." And, just as Bush's 2002 denials of an intent to invade Iraq were accompanied by intense preparations for just such an outcome, so, today, one can detect similar preparations for an attack on Iran.

There are also indications that the CIA and SOF officials have met with Iranian opposition forces - in particular, the Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK) - to discuss their possible involvement in commando raids inside Iran or a full-scale proxy war. In one such report, Newsweek disclosed in February that the Bush Administration "is seeking to cull useful MEK members as operatives for use against Tehran." (Although the MEK is listed on the State Department's roster of terrorist groups, its forces are "gently treated" by the American troops guarding their compound in eastern Iraq, Newsweek revealed.)

Given the immense stress now being placed on US ground forces in Iraq, it is likely that the Pentagon's favored plan for military action in Iran involves some combination of airstrikes and the use of proxy forces like the MEK. But even a small-scale assault of this sort is likely to provoke retaliatory action by Iran - possibly entailing missile strikes on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf or covert aid to the insurgency in Iraq. This being the case, CENTCOM would also have to develop plans for a wide range of escalatory moves.

Repeating what was said at the outset, there is no evidence that President Bush has already made the decision to attack Iran. But there are many indications that planning for such a move is well under way - and if the record of Iraq (and other wars) teaches us anything, it is that such planning, once commenced, is very hard to turn around. Hence, we should not wait until after relations with Iran have reached the crisis point to advise against US military action. We should begin acting now, before the march to war becomes irreversible.

I just hope the wording of the bill passed by Congress that Bush misused to go to war in Iraq does not permit him to invade Iran without asking for further permission to do so.

Uncle Sam is ashamed

Colorado Vets.

Shouldering the burden

Carla, blogging at In Search Of Utopia:

[. . .]

The Bush Administration has been painfully aware that the support for the Iraq War has been a mile wide and an inch deep. The moment there's a draft or a substantial tax increase to cover the costs, they knew support would erode. Unfortunately, the Bush Administration vastly underestimated everything else about the Iraq invastion and occupation as well.

[. . .]

The troops see they're the only ones making a sacrifice while the Yellow Republicans have their 'Keggers for Kevlar'. With the rate morale is dropping over there, if I were a squad or platoon level officer, I'd do all I could to keep the enlisteds happy. If things don't improve by next year, I sure as hell wouldn't turn my back on 'em.

What Border? And Kinky's Plan

Illegal immigrants are a godsend to Business, large and small alike. They work for less than Americans will and thus hold down wages for the rest of us as well. They don't complain, in English anyway, because they're criminals and are afraid of jail or deportation. They are exploitable, expendable, and fully interchangeable, like spark plugs. They're damn handy to have around when you need a little rented manpower around the ranch, too. Bush knows all this, trust me, but he is nothing if not expert at talking out of both sides of his mouth. Or as we say out West here, talkin' out the side of his neck.

From the LATimes:

PRESIDENT BUSH HAS been talking for five years, somewhat halfheartedly, about the need to overhaul the nation's immigration laws. The clock is running out. The president needs to make the issue a priority now or the opportunity will have been lost and the former border governor will have failed to resolve the nation's unhealthy immigration policy. The current system combines a failure to control the borders with an insistence on treating needed immigrant workers as criminals.

Kinky Friedman has a sure-fire, dirt-cheap plan that would stop people crossing our southern border right now. I know there are three other borders, but the Mexican one is the one that gets all the air time. His plan only includes the Texas portion of the border, but we could expand on that easily. Here it is:

Kinky will split the border evenly amongst five Mexican generals. He'll put a million (or whatever) dollars in the bank for each one them annually, to be collected by them after one year.

For every illegal alien that gets past them, deduct five thousand dollars from their payoff. I guarantee an instant end to undocumented Latinos.

Simple, ain't it?

If you're in Texas, be sure to vote for Kinky for Governor next year.

Exactly right

On the mistaken shooting of a 'terrorist' by London police. JRH:

. . . We need to find some real legitimate ways to fight terrorism instead of being guided by fear, because in the long run, that will just make things worse.

Indeed. Much as people of the Right flavor say the Left wants to coddle terrorists, the causes of terror have to be addressed in order to stop it. Turning our major cities into armed camps won't do it.

Update: 13:15:

Kevin Hayden looks at this too:

[. . .]

They're not sure whether it's gagging librarians or keeping Cat Stevens out of the country that's keeping us safe, but they'd favor cactus enemas if someone said that's what prevents it. "The proof's in the pudding," they insist. But they'd give away the bowl and spoon for that pudding.

[. . .]

Just a bitch

To my fellow denizens of Left Blogtopia (y!sctp!),

All I'll say is this: At the least, if it's glaringly obvious you (you know who you are) got a story from one of my blog partners here, give them a little credit. It's a matter of respect and courtesy. That is all.

- The Fixer

No I don't

The CultureGhost:

[. . .]

Yeah, a whole bunch believe The Bible is 100% true. The Earth is only 10,000 or so years old. More people can identify the last winner of "American Idol" than know their CongressCreature.
So all in all it's a bad idea to ask a majority of Americans what they think because, really, do you want to know?

[. . .]

Yes, ladies and gents, the rumors circulating around 'the rest of the world' are true. We are a nation of idiots.

More ineptitude

Billmon has a few things to say about the Dem fuckups (my take yesterday) vis a vis Karen 'Manly Yes, But I Like It Too' Hughes:

[. . .]

No biggie. Hughes, a prime architect of the White House's Iraq invasion propaganda blitz, was only fingered in The New York Times today as one of the several thousand White House officials called to testify in front of Patrick Fitzgerald's grand jury. Not enough for any of the Dems to justify getting up in the morning, I guess.

This is like the little scene after the outfielder and the second baseman let the ball drop between them:

"I thought you had it!" "I thought you had it!"

Or, as Think Progress aptly titles its post: Excuse me, but do you ENJOY being in the minority??

Apparently so. It beats working for a living, anyway.

All this would be bad enough, but Think Progress (which really should get some kind of public service award for trying to help the poor, pitiful Dems) goes on to describe the love letter that Joe Biden submitted in lieu of a personal appearance:

[. . .]

Which begets the question:

. . . I had been under the misimpression that Biden was preparing to run for president as a Democrat . . .

Somebody better take Ol' Joe out behind the woodshed. He certainly won't get my vote for President. WTF, Joe? Does MBNA have their arm that far up your ass?

Distractions

Dad*:

PRESIDENT BUSH'S new Supreme Court nominee was a historic first after all: the first to be announced on TV dead center in prime time, smack in the cross hairs of "I Want to Be a Hilton." It was also one of the hastiest court announcements in memory, abruptly sprung a week ahead of the White House's original timetable. The agenda of this rushed showmanship - to change the subject in Washington - could not have been more naked. But the president would have had to nominate Bill Clinton to change this subject.

[. . .]

Only 36 hours after the John Roberts unveiling, The Washington Post nudged him aside to second position on its front page. Leading the paper instead was a scoop concerning a State Department memo circulated the week before the outing of Joseph Wilson's wife, the C.I.A. officer Valerie Plame, in literally the loftiest reaches of the Bush administration - on Air Force One. The memo, The Post reported, marked the paragraph containing information about Ms. Plame with an S for secret. So much for the cover story that no one knew that her identity was covert. [my emphasis]

[. . .]

A good Sunday morning read to warm you up for the Sunday funnies on the tube.

[*A while back, TCF called Gord and me the twin sons of Frank Rich and Randi Rhodes.]

He should do something about the flab between his ears...

Not only does the Chimp-in-Chief take a lot of vacations, like they do in Old Europe, he exercises way too much. From the LATimes:

Given the importance of his job, it is astonishing how much time Bush has to exercise. His full schedule is not publicly available. The few peeks we get at Bush's daily routine usually come when some sort of disaster prods the White House Press Office to reveal what the president was doing "at the time." Earlier this year, an airplane wandered into restricted Washington air space. Bush, we learned, was bicycling in Maryland. In 2001, a gunman fired shots at the White House. Bush was inside exercising. When planes struck the World Trade Center in 2001, Bush was reading to schoolchildren, but that morning he had gone for a long run with a reporter. Either this is a series of coincidences or Bush spends an enormous amount of time working out.

My guess is that Bush associates exercise with discipline, and associates a lack of discipline with his younger, boozehound days. "The president," said Fleischer, "finds [exercise] very healthy in terms of ... keeping in shape. But it's also good for the mind." The notion of a connection between physical and mental potency is, of course, silly. (Consider all the perfectly toned airheads in Hollywood - or, perhaps, the president himself.) But Bush's apparent belief in it explains why he would demand well-conditioned economic advisors and Supreme Court justices.

Bush's insistence that the entire populace follow his example, and that his staff join him on a Long March - er, Long Run - carries about it the faint whiff of a cult of personality. It also shows how out of touch he is. It's nice for Bush that he can take an hour or two out of every day to run, bike or pump iron. Unfortunately, most of us have more demanding jobs than he does.

Gee, working out every day, planning where to go on his next vacation - being president really is hard work. I wish he'd do more of it at the office. On the other hand, as bad as he fucks things up with every new executive decision, maybe I'm glad he doesn't spend more time there.

Henry's 11

From Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA):

A new fact sheet released today by Rep. Waxman documents that there appear to be at least 11 separate instances in which Administration officials disclosed information about Ms. Wilson's identity and association with the CIA.

Go read the list.

Mean Girls

Go read Maurinsky.

Winging it

From The Economist (subscription required):

[. . .]

Having fewer shuttle flights than originally expected will spell trouble for some parts of the station and will result in what is euphemistically described as "alternative configurations". But NASA will have to balance what is needed today with what it wants tomorrow. Fewer flights will result in large cost savings (the shuttle absorbs almost a third of NASA's $16 billion annual budget). This money could be spent on accelerating the creation of the shuttle's replacement, the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). This is much on the mind of Mike Griffin, the agency's new administrator.

[. . .]

However, the current version of the 2006 NASA authorisation bill requires the agency to keep the shuttle flying until its replacement vehicle has flown. If this language is not modified, it spells bad news for NASA because the agency will need to run two space-vehicle programmes side by side-something it does not have the money to do. NASA is currently planning to phase out the shuttle and phase in the CEV. This is likely to mean a gap between one vehicle and the next.

Yet NASA's human space programme has had a two-and-a-half-year gap and the sky has not fallen in. And, while the shuttle may be the safest it has ever been, it will always be an overdesigned and fragile flying Ming vase compared with Russia's Soyuz. The sooner it is retired, the better.

I've been saying this for years and it's nice to see it validated by those with quite a bit more education than I have.

Just an aside, I finally broke down and got a subscription to The Economist. I don't know why I bothered with Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report, whose subscriptions I will let lapse. It's worth the extra bread.

Heh . . .

The World Stupidity Awards. Guess who's winning? Hat tip: Glen.

Come on . . . seriously . . .

From Digby:

This morning the Wall Street Journal reported that Senate Democrats were planning "to grill Bush confidant Karen Hughes" about her involvement in the ever widening leak-case. But, Senate Democrats must have gotten lost on the way to the hearing. Not one showed up. Instead, according to the Associated Press:

[. . .]

The sad reality is that the leadership of the Democratic Party is as inept as the Republicans think they are. No wonder we don't have a majority anywhere. Idiots. More and more, I see an overwhelming need for a 3rd political party.

Sidney

Via DemVet, Blumenthal cuts to the quick.

[. . .]

In Bush's "global war on terror" (Gwot), Iraq and Afghanistan present one extended battlefield against a common enemy - and the strategy is and must be the same. So far as Bush is concerned, it's always either the day after 9/11 or the day before the Iraq invasion. Time stands still at two ideal political moments. But his consequences since are barely managed chaos.

"I was horrified by the president's last speech [on the war on terror], so much unsaid, so much disingenuous, so many half truths," said James Dobbins, Bush's first envoy to Afghanistan, now director of international programmes at the Rand Corporation. Afghanistan is now the scene of a Taliban revival, chronic Pashtun violence, dominance by US-supported warlords who have become narco-lords, and a human rights black hole.

[. . .]

Democracy was an afterthought for the White House, which believed it had little application to Afghans. At the Bonn conference establishing international legitimacy for the Kabul government, "the word 'democracy' was introduced at the insistence of the Iranian delegation", Dobbins points out. [my emphases]

[. . .]

The first step on the road to stopping the bungling and ineptitude is the 2006 campaign. We need at least one house of Congress back. It's imperative, ladies and gents; we need some leverage in order to hold their feet to the fire and maybe, just maybe, impeach this son of a bitch.

You Go, Girls!

Just what are they putting in Geritol these days?

A group of anti-war senior citizens calling themselves the "Tucson Raging Grannies" say they want to enlist in the U.S. Army and go to Iraq so that their children and grandchildren can come home.

. . .

"We went in asking to be sent to Iraq so our kids and grandchildren can be sent home, but rather than listening to us, they called the police," said 74-year-old Betty Schroeder. "It was their place to tell us the qualifications, but they wouldn't even speak to us. They should've said, `You're too old."'

I think the young Yellow Elephants should be ashamed, but I know better.

Read the whole article.

Who can talk

And who has to STFU. An interesting legal brief about who's doing the leaking in the Plame investigation from Talk Left via Digby.

DSM

Where'd it go? I mean, Blogtopia (y!sctp!) is on it. The Sister, the Heretik, Freiheit und Wissen, Pam, and everybody else has been doing their parts, but where'd the news coverage go? I realize the terror attacks and Rove's plight (a good thing) pushed it farther down, but Jesus, you think they could cover Rep. Conyers' doings once a week maybe? The disconnect on the part of the media is astounding. Can't someone put together the facts of Plamegate and 'fixing the facts', as the DSMs illustrate, are part of a criminal pattern undertaken by the Bush administration and show it to the American public? Everything the Republicans do is part of the ongoing cycle of crimes and coverups on the part of Chimpy Inc., all while they raid the nation's coffers of our treasure. Rove should just be the first of those facing indictments as the year progresses.

Are you effin' kidding me?*

The Pentagon, acting under instructions from Vice President Dick Cheney's office, has tasked the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) with drawing up a contingency plan to be employed in response to another 9/11-type terrorist attack on the United States. The plan includes a large-scale air assault on Iran employing both conventional and tactical nuclear weapons. Within Iran there are more than 450 major strategic targets, including numerous suspected nuclear-weapons-program development sites. Many of the targets are hardened or are deep underground and could not be taken out by conventional weapons, hence the nuclear option. As in the case of Iraq, the response is not conditional on Iran actually being involved in the act of terrorism directed against the United States. Several senior Air Force officers involved in the planning are reportedly appalled at the implications of what they are doing--that Iran is being set up for an unprovoked nuclear attack--but no one is prepared to damage his career by posing any objections. [my emphasis]

This is from the American Conservative (not online) via Atrios via Matt Yglesias.

So, what'd I say yesterday? They learned in Iraq and Afghanistan I guess. With Iran, they're just gonna nuke the fucking place. These people are fucking insane.

And thanks to our spineless officer corps for standing up for what is right, you fucking pussies.

*Thanks to RUFNKM for use of the phrase.

From the beginning

Roberts was their man.

. . . For at least a year before the nomination of Judge John G. Roberts to the Supreme Court, the White House was working behind the scenes to shore up support for him among its social conservative allies . . .

Bush knew who he was going to nominate from the get go. Email your Dem senators and demand they filibuster this asshole.

"Get yer shithooks off me, ya big ape!"

By Andrea Mitchell:

When Mitchell asked, "Why should the U.S. believe the Sudanese government will stop the killing when the government is still supporting the militia?" Sudanese security guards grabbed her and muscled her out of the room while State Department officials shouted at them to leave her alone.

Boy, those guys were lucky her husband wasn't there, huh?

It is a symbol of the way this government not only treats foreign guests, but more importantly, their own citizens, who have been victims of what the U.S. calls genocide in the Darfur region.

There is no doubt in anyone's mind that the Sudanese government is supporting the militias that have been killing people for the last two years in Darfur.

Every time there's genocide, from the Holocaust to Rwanda, we say we're not going to let this happen again, but we always do. We 've got a chance to do some good in Sudan if Bush will show some willpower to do what's right. Don't bet on it.

Rove, Libby Accounts in CIA Case Differ with Those of Reporters

From Bloomberg:

Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, told special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that he first learned from NBC News reporter Tim Russert of the identity of Central Intelligence Agency operative Valerie Plame, the wife of former ambassador and Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson, one person said. Russert has testified before a federal grand jury that he didn't tell Libby of Plame's identity, the person said.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove told Fitzgerald that he first learned the identity of the CIA agent from syndicated columnist Robert Novak, according a person familiar with the matter. Novak, who was first to report Plame's name and connection to Wilson, has given a somewhat different version to the special prosecutor, the person said.

Libby and Rove are such lyin' sacks o' shit they make Novak seem honest by comparison. Incredible.

Some Bush allies hope that the Fitzgerald investigation, which dominated the news in Washington for the first part of July, will subside as attention shifts to Bush's nomination of Judge John Roberts to fill the first vacancy on the Supreme Court in 11 years.

Fat chance. Not this time.

First Fluffers do Iraq

Go read the Heretik.

Friday Cattle Dog Blogging

Princess Shayna



"You woke me up, dad."

More vacation

You know, Chimpy takes more vacation than they do in 'Old Europe'.

A Salute to the "Cable Talking Heads"

Fixer's "Is It Me?" entry made me think of this Don Henley song:

I make my living off the evening news
Just give me something-something I can use
People love it when you lose,
They love dirty laundry

Well, I coulda been an actor, but I wound up here
I just have to look good, I don't have to be clear
Come and whisper in my ear
Give us dirty laundry

Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down

We got the bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who
Comes on at five
She can tell you 'bout the plane crash with a gleam
In her eye
It's interesting when people die-
Give us dirty laundry

Can we film the operation?
Is the head dead yet?
You know, the boys in the newsroom got a
Running bet
Get the widow on the set!
We need dirty laundry

You don't really need to find out what's going on
You don't really want to know just how far it's gone
Just leave well enough alone
Eat your dirty laundry

Kick 'em when they're up
Kick 'em when they're down
Kick 'em when they're stiff
Kick 'em all around

Dirty little secrets
Dirty little lies
We got our dirty little fingers in everybody's pie
We love to cut you down to size
We love dirty laundry

We can do the innuendo
We can dance and sing
When it's said and done we haven't told you a thing
We all know that crap is king
Give us dirty laundry!

Is it me?

Or do the cable talking heads seem sad the casualty count was so low in London today?

Science

From the CultureGhost:



Q. What is the difference between these two organisms?

A: Here.

Winning

Where?

LONDON - Explosions struck the London Underground and a bus at midday Thursday in a chilling but far less bloody replay of the suicide bombings that killed 56 people two weeks ago.

Only one person was reported injured in the nearly simultaneous lunch-hour blasts, which shocked and disrupted the capital and were hauntingly similar to the July 7 bombings by four attackers.

[. . .]

I know these guys were probably amateur copycats, but Jesus H. Christ, how did amateurs pull this off a couple weeks after the last bombings? Prepare for Chimpy Inc to try and take some more of our civil liberties as the fear mongering begins.

Update:

And just as I talk about the fear mongering, I find this at Lefty's:

Apparently, a report is being prepared that will state that Iran offered free passage to up to 10 of the 9/11 hijackers.

So this is the beginning of the 'Iran Gambit'. Brace yourself for the rhetoric. I mean, we got bases on either side of 'em now, why not chase the Ayatollahs in Iran out too. We gotta keep 'Murika safe and Christian, right?

Upside

Mr. H finds one.

The Troops' Morale & A Little Humor

From Somewhere's Herald Sun:

MORE than half of US soldiers in the Iraq war reported morale problems in their units, with particular concern over long deployments, but suicide rates have dropped, an Army report said today.

The leading source of stress for the soldiers, aside from actual combat, was the long deployment in Iraq, the report said. Army personnel generally serve a full year on the ground in Iraq, and many have had their duty extended for additional weeks or months shortly before their scheduled return home.

Lieutenant General Franklin Hagenbeck, the Army's personnel chief, said in April the Army was exploring six or nine-month tours of duty, but cautioned that shorter tours would be possible only if the Pentagon was able to draw down the overall troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Marines currently serve seven-month stints in Iraq.

Now there's a switch. In Vietnam, when the Army tour was one year, Marines did 13 months. That had been their standard overseas tour for years and they saw no reason to change it. It was no doubt wonderful to know that they faced 30 days more exposure than Army personnel.

Seventeen per cent of soldiers reported emotional, alcohol or family problems or experiencing moderate or severe stress, compared to 23 per cent a year earlier, the report said.

Acute or post-traumatic stress symptoms were the top mental health concern, affecting at least 10 per cent of those surveyed.

Soldiers in transportation and National Guard and Reserve combat support units reported higher rates of mental health problems and lower perceptions of combat readiness and training than soldiers in combat units, the report stated.

That's no surprise. I'm sure they'd much rather be back home fighting wildland fires or filling sandbags during a flood than being exploded at.

There's always time for humor, though, even if most of us don't quite get the joke. From YahooNews:

As they have throughout their history, the Marines here often turn to jokes or pranks to relieve the tension of living in constant danger, these days while patrolling dusty streets of this western Iraqi town.

The humor is often dark and almost always salty, focusing on aching backs, alcohol, their own mortality - and, of course, old girlfriends.

Other Marines pack boulders in their friends' backpacks before patrols, then try to suppress laughs as they watch their buddies struggle with the extra weight - as if Marines weren't laden enough with body armor, weapons, ammunition and other gear.

I don't advise getting caught doing that. We used to throw the Joker out of a deck of cards to save weight.

Today's comparison to Vietnam:

"At least in the 'Nam, they had booze and women," Toland jokingly complained last month, speaking of the Vietnam War.

Oh boy! Tiger piss and Mama-san's Boom-Boom Room! Let's go to town!

And, during the ride to
Iraq's western border for the Operation Matador offensive on insurgents in mid-May, one Marine from the 3rd Battalion dozed off, prompting the others to quietly put on their gas masks.

"Wake up! Gas attack!" they then screamed.

Their startled, gasping friend scrambled to throw on his own mask as the others burst into laughter. Three weeks later, some of them still chuckled at the memory.

It's comforting to know that some things never change.

Heh . . . again

I said this a while ago:

[. . .]

He knows too much about our involvement in the Iran/Iraq War (Who do you think gave Saddam the WMD to kill the Iranians?) and the gassing of all those Kurds . . .

Today I get this via the Roo:

BRUSSELS (AP) - Iraq's justice minister on Tuesday accused the United States of trying to delay Iraqi efforts to interrogate Saddam Hussein, saying "it seems there are lots of secrets they want to hide."

[. . .]

Yes, all the chickens are coming home to roost. Heh. You know what the Americans want, a kangaroo trial (sorry, Skip, I couldn't resist).

Visionaries

Froggy has an excellent post (from yesterday) about the 36th anniversary of men (Americans) walking on the Moon for the first time. In commments, Froggy and I touched on something. We are both of the mind that this country needs visionaries from our generation. Men and women who were little kids at the time (Froggy was 11, I was 7) who have the ability to dream and look to the future.

Do you remember how we sat in wild-eyed fascination as Armstrong took his first tentative steps on another world? Do you remember how our teachers would tell us "by the year 2000" we'd have space stations and a Moonbase, at least? Sadly, you see the state of our space program, unable to get into near-Earth orbit with any sort of regularity, let alone back to the Moon. It's time we set new goals for the space program.

1) A new shuttle. One that won't break when someone sneezes.

2) Moonbase. A place to launch further expeditions with far less cost than leaving Earth-proper.

3) MarsPort. The Casablanca of science fiction writers and a stepping stone to the riches in the Asteroid Belt.

4) Do this in 20 years.

That's where our future is, folks. We're using up our natural resources at an astounding rate and we're becoming ever more crowded. Unfortunately, the people in power are all about the short term. Instead of being the trustees of our future, all they think about is raping it. Time for a change, a big one.

Adios, Bubba. We'll miss you.

South Knox Bubba has hung up his keyboard. He was one of the Good Guys in Left Blogistan and his keen mind will be sorely missed.

SKB was the first blog I ever read and commented at. It introduced me 'n Fixer and for that I owe Bubba big time. Thank you, brother.

Good luck for the future. Come visit and don't feel like a stranger.

[This is staying on top until I feel like letting it join the queue. - F-man]

Delete options

Pic courtesy of SheaNC.

Turd Blossoms

There's been a lot of talk of "Turd Blossom" lately. Here's Wallace McRae's thoughts on the subject in his poem "Reincarnation".

"What does Reincarnation mean?"
A cowpoke asked his friend.
His pal replied, "It happens when
Yer life has reached its end.
They comb yer hair, and warsh yer neck,
And clean yer fingernails,
And lay you in a padded box
Away from life's travails."

"The box and you goes in a hole,
That's been dug into the ground.
Reincarnation starts in when
Yore planted 'neath a mound.
Them clods melt down, just like yer box,
And you who is inside.
And then yore just beginnin' on
Yer transformation ride."

"In a while, the grass'll grow
Upon yer rendered mound.
Till some day on yer moldered grave
A lonely flower is found.
And say a hoss should wander by
And graze upon this flower
That once wuz you, but now's become
Yer vegetative bower."

"The posy that the hoss done ate
Up, with his other feed,
Makes bone, and fat, and muscle
Essential to the steed,
But some is left that he can't use
And so it passes through,
And finally lays upon the ground
This thing, that once wuz you."

"Then say, by chance, I wanders by
And sees this upon the ground,
And I ponders, and I wonders at,
This object that I found.
I thinks of reincarnation,
Of life and death, and such,
And come away concludin': 'Slim,
You ain't changed, all that much.'"

I hope that lightened up your day a bit.

The Love Affair of Turd Blossom and the Prince of Darkness

Searching the Internets for all things Rovian can lead you to some interesting connections. But in this case all it took was a read of Karl Rove's biography on Wikipedia to learn that the Turd Blossom (Bush's nickname for Rove) Valerie Plame's leaker, the Prince of Darkness (aka Robert Novak) have had quite the cozy little relationship.

First there was this:
"For the next few years, Rove worked in various Republican circles and assisted George H. W. Bush's 1980 vice-presidential campaign. He was subsequently fired from the campaign for leaking information to journalist Robert Novak."

Then this:
"In 1992, Rove was fired from George H. W. Bush's 1992 presidential re-election campaign for allegedly leaking information to journalist Robert Novak. State campaign manager Robert Mosbacher had allotted Rove only one-quarter of the campaign's $1 million direct mail contract, after Rove had the entire contract in 1988. As Novak wrote, "Also attending the session was political consultant Karl Rove, who had been shoved aside by Mosbacher". Novak's column described the firing of Mosbacher by former Senator Phil Gramm.

Novak and Rove deny that Rove was the leaker. Mosbacher maintains that "Rove is the only one with a motive to leak this. We let him go. I still believe he did it.""

And, of course, we already know about the Valerie Plame leak.

My thought for the day? Does the Prince of Darkness even have an original thought? Or is he simply the mindless mouthpiece of the Turd Blossom?

Blog Summit/NY

Okay, I'm gonna set something up. I'd figure a weekend date so those of us who have jobs can make it. The Rude Pundit's show dates:

Friday, August 12 at 9 p.m. (opening day of the festival)

Sunday, August 14 at 3:45 p.m.

Tuesday, August 16 at 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, August 18 at 8 p.m.

Sunday, August 21 at 2:15 p.m.

Wednesday, August 24 at 5 p.m.

Friday, August 26 at 10:30 p.m.

Just my thing, but I'd say one of the Friday night or Sunday afternoon dates would be good, 4 am comes awful early (when I have to get up) Monday morning and we could all be home before it's too late. But I'm negotiable and could swing a day off if I had to for one of the weekday shows (we're a 4 man shop, so when one of us is out the rest feel it). I'll do some research on restaurants and bars in the area that could handle a sudden crowd (most places can and work around the theater crowd) and have a decent ambiance where we don't have to shout at each other. I'll keep you updated by email from now on, so send me a message here and give me your address if you're interested.

To John from Blogenlust: Email me on what you were arranging and maybe we can combine efforts.

The Big Question For John Roberts

According to Craig Crawford:

Does the Constitution recognize and protect an unenumerated right of privacy?

It should be the first question put to President George W. Bush's nominee, John Roberts. If, like Souter, he says yes, then he's unlikely to provide the next vote needed to overturn Roe. If he says no, then abortion-rights activists probably should prepare to take their battle to the states and no longer expect the high court to stand in the way of state legislatures that would outlaw abortions.

And if Roberts refuses to answer the question, or dodges it in some clever way, he should not be confirmed. Anyone seeking to hold a swing vote on such a critical issue owes everyone -- conservatives and liberals -- an answer to that question.

I haven't made up my mind about this guy yet. With Bush in office, the person we would want to see on The Court is not going to be nominated, so we have to go with a "lesser of evils". Roberts? Maybe so, maybe no. I'll just sit here and watch for a while.

I'm not going to link you to InstaIdiot because it would soil my keyboard, but he has a link to a piece that says "Ann Coulter says Roberts is not conservative enough". Duh. That may be a (small) point in his favor, but then no one is conservative enough for The Skank.

Conservatives

Pauly:

[. . .]

The thing is, when the preservation of your own little world is your chief concern, you invariably look on those who do not share your concern as enemies. And because your interests are that personal and that selfish, you develop a "guilty until proven innocent" mindset toward your perceived enemies. Which, of course, opens the door to all manner of flagrant abuses of basic human decency -- just give that Amnesty International report I keep excerpting a glance. Or go back to those photos from Abu Ghraib. And ask yourself what, exactly, it is you endeavor to preserve.

[. . .]

Well said, my feathered friend.

Recruiters sing the blues, blame "parental advice"

From the Houston Chronicle:

Army officials on Tuesday blamed negative news coverage of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, a prospering economy and parental advice as key reasons why the service won't reach its 2005 recruitment targets.

The chief obstacle recruiters are facing comes from "older advisers to young Americans," Chu said, including parents whose views on military service were shaped by the Vietnam War.

Kids taking advice from their elders? The world as we know it has ended! 'Bout fuckin' time!

The skunk at the picnic

Ray McGovern writes on "Why White House v. Wilson/Plame Matters". His closing paragraphs:

The Iraq-Niger lie was thus both the cornerstone of the Bush agenda for war and the key to unraveling how the "fixing" worked. Rove, master of the administration's strategy yet only two years out of Texas, joined by Cheney's chief of staff I. Lewis ("Scooter") Libby spread red herrings to divert reporters off the scent and wound up triggering the eventual appointment of a special prosecutor and the convening of a grand jury.

So it was the president's and vice president's own men who brought the skunk to the picnic - Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald. He shows no inclination to join in the fun and games, and still less to speak prematurely, or to speak at all. Rather, Fitzgerald appears to be a real pro, and as long has he can avoid being fired, he could potentially take all the fun out of things. "Neo-conservative" pundit William Kristol was clearly reflecting growing uneasiness when he commented recently that Fitzpatrick is "the problem for the White House; we have no idea what he knows."

The last line is key: If there was nothing to know, they wouldn't be trying so hard to hide it.

For the record

This is not me.

Blog Summit

I've been debating setting something up in NY for a bunch of us in the local area to get together and swap spit stories and ideas. Jane gave me a good idea.

Anyone on the east coast going to see the Rude One's show in August? It would almost be worth flying out for.

So, what do you think? Anybody willing to do something that includes seeing the Rude One's show? Maybe meet at a bar or restaurant after? Let me know in 'comments' or email me. If a bunch of us are willing, I'll set something up. Maybe the lovely Jane would even consider joining us then?

Roberts

The Sister:

[. . .]

. . . He's been a judge for two years, and the rest of his career has been spent in the pockets of GOP power players. This is, in the end, just more of the same from Bush & Co.

And could we really have expected any different? Of course not.

[. . .]

Did anybody on the left expect a consensus nominee? Bush needs a smoke show now more than ever (© Travis), he needs something the media will push to the front burner and forget about Plamegate. The fight over a SCOTUS nominee is his best chance.

DemVet has more on this clown:

. . . People, this is a guy who hates anyone's civil rights, the constitution and will be down-the-line supporter of the 1600 Crew's planned descent into fascism . . .

Update: 14:45:

And the Rude One:

[. . .]

When Bush said he was going to announce his nominee in prime time on TV so that today's news cycle might shift away from Karl Rove, what wonders should we have expected? That he'd nominate a half-Mexican, half-Asian one-legged blind female midget who farts Bach perfectly? . . .

Marine Corps Shortens Slogan To 'The Few'

From The Onion:

WASHINGTON, DC - In light of recruiting shortfalls, a near standstill in re-enlistment, and rock-bottom troop morale, U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Michael Hagee announced Monday that the Marines will alter their unofficial slogan, abbreviating it to the more accurate "The Few." Hagee said, "We are still the Marines, the premier combat arm of the U.S. military." The Marines will also change their motto to Semper Fidelis, Sic Non Sapienti, or "Always Faithful, But This Is Just Ridiculous."

You may occasionally hear Marines say "Semper Fi", usually among themselves. In its shortened form it means something like, "I've got mine. You're on your own", or "Pull up the ladder, I'm on board."

Brain Gear

Brain Gear. More to come. I put a link in the sidebar.

Civil war

My man, Kevin Hayden, smells the inevitability of civil war in Iraq.

From all accounts, it looks like the mission of Saddam's old crew is nearing its goal. Iraq's about to bloom into a full-scale civil war. In fact, the critical point may have already passed.

[. . .]