Let's Go Fishin', Georgie

The Toronto Star finally asks the right question:

When U.S. President George W. Bush arrives in Ottawa — probably later this year — should he be welcomed? Or should he be charged with war crimes?

It's an interesting question. On the face of it, Bush seems a perfect candidate for prosecution under Canada's Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Act

War crimes also specifically include any breach of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, such as torture, degradation, wilfully depriving prisoners of war of their rights "to a fair and regular trial," launching attacks "in the knowledge that such attacks will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians" and deportation of persons from an area under occupation.

The case for the prosecution looks quite promising. First, there is the fact of the Iraq war itself. After 1945, Allied tribunals in Nuremberg and Tokyo — in an astonishing precedent — ruled that states no longer had the unfettered right to invade other countries and that leaders who started such conflicts could be tried for waging illegal war.

But a Canadian war crimes charge, too, would face many hurdles. Bush was furious last year when Belgians launched a war crimes suit in their country against him — so furious that Belgium not only backed down under U.S. threats but changed its law to prevent further recurrences.

As well, according to a foreign affairs spokesperson, visiting heads of state are immune from prosecution when in Canada on official business. If Ottawa wanted to act, it would have to wait until Bush was out of office — or hope to catch him when he comes up here to fish.

Hey, Georgie, I hear them big lake trout are bitin', eh? I don't know if they got any bass up there. You better get up there quick! Here, take my car!

Martin was talking specifically about war crimes committed by militiamen in far-off Sudan. But as my friends on the Star's editorial board noted in one of their strong defences of concerted international action against war crimes, the rule must be, "One law for all."

One law for all? Canuckistan is pretty Socialist, but even they can't believe the Bush cabal would go along with a cockamamie furrin idea like that! I mean, if such a thing were in effect here, the new Attorney General would have his hands full indicting administration personnel for impersonating government officials, and CEO's for grand theft. That would be un-American!

Rule Change To Shield DeLay

From The Hill.

The House GOP caucus is likely to vote today to end its rule requiring leaders to step down if indicted, thus shielding Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) in the event that criminal charges are brought against him in a highly controversial case in Texas.

In the 108th Congress, GOP conference rules require a leader to step aside temporarily if indicted on a felony charge that carries a prison term of two or more years. A separate rule applies to committee chairmen.

Bonilla’s proposal would drop the requirement that a leader step aside if indicted by a grand jury or a state prosecutor.

“It would be the height of hypocrisy for a party that came to power promising to clean house to deliberately clear the way for a corrupt and unethical member under indictment to lead the people’s House,” a Democratic leadership aide said.

I've said many times that our country is in the hands of a criminal cabal. Now that the crooks have grabbed all the power, they're going to legitimize criminality by making the appearance of impropiety OK, at least until they're convicted. If DeLay is ever convicted, then we'll see if they change the rules again to allow convicted felons to run the House.

As one Republican official said, "It's not about what's legal. It's about what we can make legal."

Missed opportunities

I'm just thinking about the opportunity presented at the death of Yasser Arafat. And then I think about the people in place to act on this opportunity. It's depressing.

The folks in power don't seem to understand that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the tap root of the Islamic Terrorism problem. I am certain a Democrat would have had a contingency in place to take advantage of this wondrous development. But with Bush & Co. so cozy with Sharon and his 'Neocons', enabling them to operate in the Occupied Territories with impunity, the diplomatic door that has opened will close without any change in the status of the conflict.

The Israelis will pull out of Gaza and parts of the West Bank soon, which I view as a good thing, but they are doing it with Sharon's usual disregard for Palestinian issues. The wall around the West Bank cuts communities in half and isolates others; a strong American President could have pressured the Israelis to build the wall on the Green Line instead of the drunken, meandering route it takes through Palestinian territory to protect Israeli resources. Not with a Bush Administration.

Now, I'm not anti-Israel, my wife is Jewish and I understand the problems there, but those problems are beginning to affect the world in ever-expanding ways. It is the heart of what has become a Cold War between the U.S. and Israel on one side and Islam on the other. Fortunately, the Western-Soviet conflict was waged with relatively level heads (with regard to the use of WMDs). Do not expect that Mutually Assured Destruction mindset in this regard. Not in Israel, not in Washington, and certainly not in the caves of Afghanistan or the streets of Peshawar.

We know that if Osama and his ilk get possession of a nuke or chemical agent, they'll use it against us, or Israel. Should that horrible scenario play out, do you think Bush or Sharon would hesitate to respond in kind? I wouldn't be surprised to see mushroom clouds over several 'Axis of Evil' cities.

Where level-headed folks see the death of Yasser Arafat as an opportunity for peace, Bush and Sharon see it as a 'mandate' to kick the shit out of the Palestinians a little more. I'm praying the Israeli 'disengagement' proceeds smoothly, but I feel it will be just another excuse for the Palestinian bomb-throwers to renew the Intifadah and another excuse for the Israelis to go back in and beat them into submission once more.

Peace, or something close to it could have been a real possibility with Arafat out of the picture, but those in a position to act in the name of peace are bereft of objective thought on the issue. There will be no leadership from Washington and the Holy Land will continue to be the festering boil, infecting the world with the agents of terror.

Doublethink

From Bob Harris:

[. . .]

And there we find the very definition of doublethink.

Sure enough, many of the very same people who were so outraged that John Kerry would dare describe known atrocities to which the perpetrators had already confessed, insisting that this was a betrayal, and American troops would never do such a thing... are now saying that shooting an unarmed man who presents no threat is completely justified.

There's only one way this mindset is consistent: if you believe that Americans, by definition, are always on the side of light and therefore never commit atrocities. Whatever Americans do is justified.

There are some notable people in the not-so-distant past who believed something similar.

American troops died in large number to fight them.

What followed was the creation of a large body of international law on what is and is not a war crime. Much of this law was purchased with American blood.

And now... this is where we are.

[. . .]

Listen to Hannity and Limbaugh and you'd think this Marine killed the Iraqi on the steps of the Capitol as he tried to blow up an icon of our society. Being a combat vet, I'll withold judgment of the Marine until the entire story is told. Shit happens in combat . . . and I'll leave it at that.

We shall survive

The Talking Dog:

[. . .]

Our republic has survived venal people before. Of course, in general, at least those venal people usually had some basic levels of competence. We're about to see if our Founders could anticipate not merely venal people, but venal and insanely stupid and irresponsible people.

We'll likely survive this group too. However, no bets please.

Let us hope. Now that Bush has reordered his Reich with CondoLIEzza as 'the face of America', we should find ourselves even more isolated in the international community than during the first 4 years of Bush World. Unlike Powell, who received the benefit of the doubt by our oldest allies, they all know what Condi's about. With her at the helm at Foggy Bottom, don't expect them to give us shit.

This is even more worrisome:

[. . .]

But some in the foreign policy community are very much concerned by the elevation of Rice's deputy, Stephen Hadley, as her replacement as national security adviser. And they are waiting anxiously to see who will be named as Rice's deputy at State, and likewise who will be Hadley's deputy at the National Security Council.

[. . .]

Do you think there will be ANY dissenting opinions at NSC briefings? This is also good:

[. . .]

Also important is who replaces Hadley. Speculation is focused on Elliott Abrams, who now is in charge of Middle East policy at the NSC. Abrams, who was convicted and later pardoned in the Iran-Contra scandal, is seen by some at the State Department as fiercely pro-Israel. [my emphasis]

Imagine if a Dem put a convicted felon on the NSC staff? We'd never hear the end of the screaming from the Right. Where are our people? The only people screaming on the Left are the bloggers. What in Hell is going on at the DNC? It seems as if as soon as the elections were over, the Dem leadership gave up. Do you think Harry Reid will make any noise over these appointments? Yeah, neither did I.

Maru says it best:

[. . .]

By naming nanny, chronic liar and worthless national security adviser Condoleezza Rice as Colin Powell's replacement , the neocons effectively give the unsolicited finger to the world.

[. . .]

Promise

If you're a woman, or love one, you owe it to yourself to read this. Cervical cancer vaccine.

Nov 12, 2004 — Researchers say a second experimental cervical cancer vaccine appears to broadly protect against infection and risky precancerous conditions for more than two years, affirming scientists' belief that the disease could be progressively eradicated in a global campaign much like smallpox and polio.

[. . .]

As If California Doesn't Have Enough Problems Already

I see a bright future for this person with the Bush Administration.

I'm glad Ahhnold thinks she's a genius. This should go over big with the taxpayers.

E.J.

[. . .]

Republicans are fine with their members being for abortion rights if that's what they have to tell voters to hold their seats. But such Republicans can expect only resistance if they dare to rise to the top and expect any meaningful influence on the issue.

[. . .]

Article.

By the midterms of '06, I doubt there will be any such thing as a moderate Repbulican or a classic Conservative in the Party. With the Neocon dominance, the centrists will be squeezed out or converted. That's why I don't agree with Democrats who are happy with Harry Reid (D-NV) being selected as Minority Leader.

I want a guy like me there. A guy who'll lay it on the line to that bastid Bill Frist and say 'if Bush sends us any Jesus freak judges for confirmation, they'll be met with a filibuster'. Who cares if you're labeled 'obstructionist'? They need us to get shit through. We don't need Ol' Harry trying to play nice. They want to destroy us.

We do not need to be changing to appeal to those who are so far right they will never accept anything with a Democratic taint. What we need to do is reinforce our values. Inclusion, the rights of people over their own bodies, the rights of people to love whomever they want to, so long as they're both consenting adults, the insistence on fiscal sobriety, the protection of our forests, skies, and waters. The moderates and fiscal conservatives will come to us when the GOP no longer tolerates debate on these issues from within.

Remember this, the Republicans own everything they've broken. Bad Karma, man. If things turn out well, I'll be a happy camper, but odds are it won't and they're gonna have to explain this mess in '06 and '08. You can only piss on people so many times before they realize it ain't raining.

But Colin, we hardly knew ye

Yeah, right. I stole the whole thing from DemVet becasue Jo says it much better than I could.

As the rats desert the ship, the latest one to head for the land of six-figure speaking and seven-figure lobbying fees is Colin "A Man of No Integrity" Powell. Word has it that he'll be replaced by Buh-Wheat in Drag...Preznit Pootie Tang's real wife, National Security Mis-Advisor and Chevron Board Member Condi "Shoop Shoop..it's in the way he kisses" Rice. Everytime I see Kinda-Lying Rice, I wish I had the concession on whatever it is that she puts on her hair.

Once I wondered what Powell would do when he left the 1600 Crew. After all, he got his woefully inadequate son a day-job, lied to the UN and the world, looked the other way as his boss lied, and lied and lied. Then I remember that he was the staff officer who investigated the My-Lai charges, albeit from the safety of his offices at MAC-V, and I know that he'll head off to live out his golden years untroubled by conscience. He gave that away sometime between Saigon and Washington DC, and it's been MIA ever since. Witness: the last four years and the Vietnam-like mess he is a prime architect of through wilful misdirection and deceit.

Colin Powell could renounce all his worldy possessions, take a vow of poverty and live the life of Mother Theresa, and he'd never atone for his performance over the last four years and his culpability for the Iraq War.

And then there's Michael.

And Hecate elaborates on what I talked about yesterday.

Sickening

From The Farmer at Corrente:

[. . .]

The horrendous humanitarian disaster of Fallujah drags on as the US military continues to refuse the entry of an Iraqi Red Crescent (IRC) convoy of relief supplies. The Red Crescent has appealed to the UN to intervene, but no such luck, nor does the military relent.

[. . .]

Yup, Fallujah is pacified, but at what cost? In addition to nearly 60 troops and over 1000 Iraqis dead, none of the insurgents they were looking for has been captured or killed. I'm sure the Marines (through no fault of theirs) are al-Zarqawi's best recruiters. If we think the Marines' 'success' in Fallujah will begin to ease the tensions in Iraq and pave the way for elections in 6 weeks, we are sadly mistaken.

Our Tax Dollars Protecting Us

Dave Barry cracks me up. His message is clear: You must properly dispose of hazardous waste lest the sheeple panic.

So the nation was on High Random Fear Alert when the young man disposed of his poopy pants. Unfortunately, he elected to toss the garbage bag next to a municipal reservoir, where he was spotted by an Erie Water Works employee, who found the bag and reported it to the police, who closed all the streets in the area and called out the Bomb Squad and the Hazardous Materials Response Team. The Water Works department shut down the reservoir and warned the public to conserve water, a move that caused concerned residents to deluge the police with phone calls

This one may hold special immediacy, and hopefully not impending disaster, for Knox Rover. I'm always looking out for you, kid. Better late than never.

Our next piece of breaking news is a short newspaper item sent in July by alert reader Doe Clark. The article, headlined 'Officials Crack Down on 'Bathtub' Cheese,'' begins as follows: ''San Diego County health officials warned against buying or eating cheeses made in bathtubs that were being sold door to door.''

It is not totally clear, from this wording, whether it is the cheese that is being sold door to door, or the bathtubs. To be on the safe side, we urge residents of San Diego County to avoid both bathing AND eating suspicious cheese, lest you wind up becoming ill and producing what gastroenterologists refer to as an ''Erie Special.''

I love these internets.

Obey

If you feel you are getting stressed-out by all the happenings in our world, go read Obey Big Brother. He has some good points, but may possibly be just the teeniest bit bitter and cynical. I feel much more well-adjusted after reading him.

How?

A good question asked by Hecate (guest blogging for Atrios):

[. . .]

Now, we're stuck in another quagmire, probably worse than Viet Nam. Again, young people are dying for no reason and others try to protest in as dramatic a fashion as possible. I don't think suicide is the answer, but I'd love to see a discussion. How can we effectively protest this insane war? What would work? Boycotts? Marches? Let's think creatively. The times call for it.

How come we don't have the huge marches I remember from that time? I mean, with the Internet, it should be easier to organize and mobilize people, right? If we're so against this war, why haven't the 'agitators' gotten people out in the streets in large numbers? If protest marches were the nightly fare in the news, as they were 35 years ago, they should be again today. We have to keep pressure on the White House, keep 'em under the gun, and move public opinion solidly against the war. Just sayin'.

I Guess You Can Just Pick The Parts You Like.....

Stole this whole thing from cleek.

This is floating around the net right now - author unknown. Maybe you'll be able to say you saw it here first...(Well...No. - Ed.)

Dear President Bush:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from you and understand why you would propose and support a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage. As you said "in the eyes of God marriage is based between a man a woman." I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination... End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her? (I'm pretty sure she's a virgin).

3. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is, my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

4. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2. clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it? How can I help you here?

5. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Aren't there 'degrees' of abomination?

6. Lev.21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?

7. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

8. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

9. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14) I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging. It must be really great to be on such close terms with God and his son, ... even better than you and your own Dad, eh?

Rummy

Matt Yglesias:

Dan Drezner notes that today's mass announcement of cabinet departures ought to make it perfectly clear that Don Rumsfeld is here to stay as Secretary of Defense . . .

[. . .]

If anything, SECDEF will be the last to go. Bush won't switch horses mid-Apocalypse, not when he needs someone with the same warped ideolgy who has the experience Rummy does. Rumsfeld makes it work (not saying he's doing it well, sorta like McNamara) better than the rest of the Cabinet Secretaries who've resigned and he has to make Iraq work, at least hold the status quo. I get the feeling the Cowardly Liar can't afford to let him go right now, not until Iraq is moving on the right direction . . . sort of.

Powell and Others Bail

Big surprise, huh? From MSNBC.

Accelerating the shake-up of President Bush's inner circle in advance of his second term, the White House announced Monday that Secretary of State Colin Powell and three other Cabinet members have submitted their resignations.

The other members of Bush's 15-member Bush Cabinet whose departures were announced Monday are are Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, Education Secretary Rod Paige and Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.

How about Zell Miller for State, Bob Jones III for Education, Ken Lay for Energy, and whoever's the CEO of Archer Daniels Midland for Agriculture? That oughta do it!

Fascists

Even smart people, like Wolcott, are saying what I've been saying since May.

[. . .]

But that's not the issue with the Goss purge. The issue is that Goss is politicizing the agency, turning it into a strong arm of the Bush regime, guaranteeing that information will be slanted toward the conclusions Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld have already reached, that nary a discouraging word will deter the administration from its path of crusade.

To have all the executive, congressional, and judicial branches run by one party, a party determined to bring the intelligence agencies into ideological line--that's fascism in the making, my friends.

[. . .]

I gotta go to work.

Thanks

Thanks to Gordon and Knox Rover for taking up my slack yesterday while I was out having a good time.

Sanctimony

Via Roger Ailes (the good one):

Republican Linda Schrenko, who in 1994 became the first woman elected to a statewide office in Georgia (!) and advocated the teaching of creationism in Georgia's schools, has been indicted (registration required on most links) on allegations she helped herself to over $500,000 of the people's money.

How to tell if you are living in a Red or Blue State

Since I seem to be on a Sunday/pseudo-Christian-bashing kick, go see this from Betty Bowers: America's Best Christian. Some selections:

Blue States: Home of good schools
Red States: Homeskooled good

Blue States: Want a big tent for their Party.
Red States: Wears a big tent to her party.

Blue States: Provide the "tax" part of "tax and spend"
Red States: Provide the "spend on a new 8-lane highway to link a Wal-Mart to the Olive Garden" part of "tax and spend"

Blue States: Watched friends in New York die in foxy attacks on America
Red States: Attack New York on Fox for not being friends of America

Blue States: Believe God loves us and gave everyone free will to be different
Red States: Believe God willed us to freely hate everyone different

Blue States: Want the right for everyone to worship as they choose
Red States: Want the right to choose everyone's worship

There's more. Have fun.