Final Sacrifice

I'll believe this one when I see it. From Tapped:

For all the talk in the '90s about how Bill Clinton epitomized the self-absorption of the Baby Boomers, the current White House occupant has magnified Clinton's failures by several orders of magnitude. All must be sacrificed to George W. Bush's whim, his need to be right, his desire to find now the affirmation and self-regard that so painfully eluded him before his 40th birthday.

All of which is preview to this prediction: Dick Cheney will be sacrificed. The Libby trial currently underway is certainly part of his whacking (to use Eugene Robinson's Sopranos metaphor from today's Washington Post column). But the story seems to me larger than trooping various White House officials into court to narrow the culprits in the Plame leak episode to Cheney and his close confederates.

Cheney is the final sacrifice -- the last layer between Bush and the disapproving public, the skeptical media, and the angry Democrats. In one sense, having him there has always provided Bush a human (and humanizing-by-contrast) buffer against the hordes who oppose him and his policies. To sacrifice Cheney is therefore to have sunk to but one level above the very bottom, the core of the presidency itself. When Cheney goes on television, as he did last week with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, proclaiming the Iraq war a success, he demonstrates that he is either (a) unhinged from reality; or (b) playing a willing role in his own, inevitable discrediting and marginalization.

Under either scenario, his neck is moving slowly but inevitably toward the noose. Somebody, after all, has to pay for the complete collapse of the Republican majority and the conservative agenda. And since Bush himself has never paid the price of his own failures in life, it is Cheney who will pay for them next.

Any guesses as to whom might replace him as Faux Veep? I don't care if he/she is a purple fuckin' hermaphrodite or Pee Wee Herman. It'll be an improvement.

A tip o' the Brain to Brother Lurch.

Slingshots anyone?

What do I always say? Amateurs talk strategy, experts talk logistics. To wit:

Boosting U.S. troop levels in Iraq by 21,500 would create major logistical hurdles for the Army and Marine Corps, which are short thousands of vehicles, armor kits and other equipment needed to supply the extra forces, U.S. officials said.

The increase would also further degrade the readiness of U.S.-based ground forces, hampering their ability to respond quickly, fully trained and well equipped in the case of other military contingencies around the world and increasing the risk of U.S. casualties, according to Army and Marine Corps leaders.

...

It's all good to have the best fighting force in the world, but if you can't support them, the war is lost. Worst of all our guys die needlessly.

Link thanks to BlogRevolution!

It's Dick 'Dick' Cheney's birthday ...

Let's hope this is his last.

Small Satisfaction

Obviously a regular reader of the Brain, MFBTGR* expands on my closing comment in yesterday's post:

One of the small satisfactions of the Libby trial has been getting certain things that we all already knew confirmed by various former White House officials.

Q & A of Ari Fleischer's testimony follows.

The reason hearing all this is only a small satisfaction is because the real satisfaction would be if the media stopped accepting these punts -- if, in fact, they stopped playing this game altogether.

Does anyone in the press corps -- not to mention the planet -- not know that Tony Snow is still up there "punting," day in and day out? Why, then, do they still play the game? Why don't they call the punting what we all know it is: deliberate deception -- even...gasp...lying?

The media's willingness to take punt after punt, and allow the administration to "control" its "message," is part of what got us into this historically disastrous debacle, and what's still allowing Bush to punt this entire war down to the next president.

It would be a lot harder for the administration to play games with the lives of other people's children if the press refused to play along.

Like, DUH! The "press" owes us big time for their dereliction of duty. They better start payin' up. It's easy - just start telling the truth about this administration. When their journalism results in film at 11 of Bush in tar and feathers being ridden out of town on a rail, well, that'll be a good start on payback.

*My Favorite Big-Titted Greek Redhead

Bring 'Em Home

Pete Seeger. 1969. As topical today as it was then.





Anyone reading this who has their own blog, please post it there. Let's get it up on as many blogs as possible.

Hat-tip to Information Clearing House for the link.

R.

Fuck civility

A lot of the whiny wankers of the Beltway have this whole civility thing going on. Civil discourse, they say, is the answer. Joe Klein being the latest:

I'm so pleased to have received the coveted wanker of the day award from Atrios, whose civility knows no bounds. But slightly disappointed in the Matt Yglesias post that Atrios links to, since Yglesias does have a reputation for substance over slime...

Listen. Fuck civility. Civility went out the window when the press and Congress became wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Right Wing Noise Machine. People tried civility, pointing out the mistakes and underhanded dealings of the Bush administration and their rubber stamp 109th Congress. Know what we got? We were 'Bush-haters'; we were 'shrill'.

Sorry, but civility lost us our power over those who govern this nation. Civility lost us a boatload of civil rights. Civility lost us over 3000 lives and a half-trillion bucks so far. Civility got us in this mess, it won't get us out.

You know why guys like Joe Klein preach civil discourse? So they can hide behind flowery language. So they can't be pinned down by one side or the other. Guys like this have built their lives and careers kissing ass in Washington. They like hobnobbing with the 'ruling class' and don't want to compromise their positions; don't want to lose their access to the 'powerful'. They don't want to lose their invites to the DC/Georgetown cocktail party circuit.

Had the 'press' been a little more uncivil, maybe more Americans would have awakened long before last November. It's time for guys like Klein to look in the mirror, to ask themselves if they've lived up to the responsibility the Constitution endowed them with. These people are the guardians of truth in our society and they've allowed themselves to be bought. And they talk about civilty? Suck my big, hairy, white ass.

Suppose I take the same attitude toward my customers? Suppose I tell them there's nothing wrong with their car, they drive away, and the thing blows up? They're gonna come back mad and want a piece of my ass. Am I supposed to say 'you're being uncivil' and 'you have no idea what you're talking about'? I'm losing a customer, pal. If I don't do my job, my customers will go somewhere else. Listen, Joe, 31% of the American public comes to us, the 'shrill', the 'uncivil', for their news and opinions.

You see, Joe, folks know what they're getting from me, my esteemed colleagues here at the Brain, and the other wonderful bloggers in Left Blogtopia*. They know what they're getting, unlike the crap they get from folks like you. They don't expect 'fair and balanced'. They expect us to call 'em as we see 'em, unvarnished, uncivil, and yes, with a leftward slant, though I prefer to think of us as speaking for the average guy, for the vets in Iraq and Afghanistan who don't, can't, have a say because the UCMJ muzzles them. They know we don't have an agenda, aside from ending this war and electing a government who is responsive to the needs of Americans, all Americans, not just the special interest of the few, the wealthy, the connected, and the powerful who have no idea what goes on outside that highway in Washington. They know we will never be among the 'in crowd' in Washington and they know when we give someone an 'attaboy', we're not kissing their ass for some promise of access or an invite to rub shoulders with the rich and powerful. They also know when something the 'braintrust' in Washington pulls out of their collective ass affects one of us (bloggers) negatively enough to voice our outrage, odds are it will probably affect them the same way.

Joe, and all your pals who like to see themselves as 'above the fray', people don't identify with you, not after letting this nation fall so far in such a short time. It is your fault, for you all have abdicated your responsibilty to us, and Americans know it. Had you done your jobs, instead of protect your positions, Bush would never have come as far as he has in reenacting the Crusades and Inquisition. It is your fault, Joe Klein, and yours, David Broder, and yours, Tim Russert, and yours, Chris Matthews, and yours, Richard Cohen, and the fault of all your friends who feed at the Beltway 'corporate media' trough. You should be ashamed of yourselves, for the half-assed job you've done, for your 'holier than thou' attitude, and for abdicating your responsibilities.

Uncivil? You betcha. Shut up, quit whining about us, and do your job the way it was supposed to be done. Had you done the right thing to begin with, there wouldn't be a need for the shrill folks of the blogosphere. Go fuck yourselves.

*Yes! Skippy coined that phrase!

Get. The. Fuck. Out!

Newsweek via Maru:

... The president’s approval ratings are at their lowest point in the poll’s history—30 percent—and more than half the country (58 percent) say they wish the Bush presidency were simply over, a sentiment that is almost unanimous among Democrats (86 percent), and is shared by a clear majority (59 percent) of independents and even one in five (21 percent) Republicans. Half (49 percent) of all registered voters would rather see a Democrat elected president in 2008, compared to just 28 percent who’d prefer the GOP to remain in the White House ... [my em]

Can ya spare it?

Via the wonderful Shakes Waveflux, from The Onion:

WASHINGTON, DC—In an effort to display his administration's willingness to fight on all fronts in the War on Terror, President Bush said at a press conference Monday that American ground forces in Afghanistan will be aided by the immediate deployment of Marine Pfc. Tim Ekenberg of Camp Lejeune, NC.

...

I know, one Marine is as good as 3 troops from the other branches. Heh ...

...

"I want the American people to know that I have not forgotten that our battle for freedom began in Afghanistan, rooting out the extremists of al-Qaeda and the Taliban," Bush said. "Today, I am ordering the deployment of the 325th Marine Expeditionary Brigade, Private Tim Ekenberg, to the embattled Kandahar region."

"We will take whatever measures necessary to win," Bush added. "Isn't that right, Tim?"

...

Thank God the Chimp hasn't killed parody like he did satire and irony.

Ex-Cheney Aide Details Media Tactics

Tony Peyser is almost as bad a poet as I am, but sometimes he nails it:

Plan A is if there's something to put over
Talk to Tim Russert -- he's a pushover.
Who knew the way to beat the press
Was just to go on "Meet The Press?"

Yahoo! News

A smorgasbord of Washington insider details has emerged during the perjury trial of the vice president's former chief of staff.

For example, when Dick Cheney really needed friends in the news media, his staff was short of phone numbers.

No one served up spicier morsels than Cheney's former top press assistant. Cathie Martin described the craft of media manipulation - under oath and in blunter terms than politicians like to hear in public.

The uses of leaks and exclusives. When to let one's name be used and when to hide in anonymity. Which news medium was seen as more susceptible to control and what timing was most propitious. All candidly described. Even the rating of certain journalists as friends to favor and critics to shun — a faint echo of the enemies list drawn up in Richard Nixon's White House more than 30 years ago.

We knew all this of course, but it's nice to see it coming out in the public record.

Getting closer to the truth

BuzzFlash channels Bloomberg;

Four Alarmer Breaking: Ari F. Puts Libby in a Very Tight Spot, So to Speak. "Former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer told a jury that ex-vice presidential aide Lewis "Scooter" Libby disclosed a CIA operative's identity to him three days before Libby has testified he learned it." Uh, Libby Seemed Quite in Control of His Memory and the Significance of Plame's Position, Indicating That Cheney, Libby and Possibly Bush Personally Put the National Security of the United States at Risk in Outing Her. This is Treason. "I think that he told me her name," which is Valerie Plame, Fleischer said. Libby also said "something on the lines of 'This is hush-hush. This is on the QT. Not very many people know about this,'" he told the jury.

From Ironic Times. Maybe not so ironical:

Big Fan: Scooter Libby Committed to Memory Every "Star Trek" Episode
He's currently on trial for not being able to remember leaking classified information.

Note to Libby, Cheney, and Rove:

"Bad boys, bad boys, what'cha gonna do when they come for you?"

They're closin' in, ya fuckin' traitors.

Questionable Ethics

Apparently if you click on http://www.rudyguiliani.com/ (note the spelling), you get John Edwards campaign site. Somehow this raises my hackles, it speaks negatively to Edwards' character. What do folks here think?

R.

Update: The link now seems to point to Mitt Romney's campaign site. Definitely something weird going on.

But how d'ya butter it?

Yesterday, me'n Mrs. G went over to The Auld Dubliner Irish Pub and Restaurant located in the ski resort of Squaw Valley USA to listen to the Sunday afternoon Celtic jam featuring our friends Bev and Bentley and some of their friends playing acoustic music. The food was good, too.

Bev, a founding member of The Saddlerash Bluegrass Band, says they've gone over to 'the dark side' as bluegrassers refer to Celtic music. She's one day younger than I am, so I replied that at our age the occult, witchcraft, magic, etc., not to mention 'the little people', are lookin' better and better every day.

These folks play this kind of music out of the sheer love of it. At this venue, the musicians play for tips and beer provided by the pub management, and the whole purpose of this post was to share Bentley's line:

"How much Guinness could we drink anyway? There's a loaf of bread in every pint!"

The real McCain

Cliff Schecter has a website designed to expose the reality of John McCain:

...

McCain, who is bathed in admiration and covered with rose petals (unlike, say, our soldiers in Iraq) by the MSM, still is regularly called a man of "principle," "integrity" and a number of other hollow descriptions that are as accurate as calling Dick Cheney charming or Ted Nugent a human being.

...

The Mighty Wurlitzer

By golly, I think the Times finally gets it:

...

The controversy started with a quickly discredited Jan. 17 article on the Insight Web site asserting that the presidential campaign of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was preparing an accusation that her rival, Senator Barack Obama, had covered up a brief period he had spent in an Islamic religious school in Indonesia when he was 6.

(Other news organizations have confirmed Mr. Obama’s descriptions of the school as a secular public school. Both senators have denounced the report, and there is no evidence that Mrs. Clinton’s campaign planned to spread those accusations.)

...

To most journalists, the notion of anonymous reporters relying on anonymous sources is a red flag. "If you want to talk about a business model that is designed to manufacture mischief in large volume, that would be it," said Ralph Whitehead Jr., a professor of journalism at the University of Massachusetts.

...

I hope other 'reputable' news organizations begin to get it as well. For too long anything one of these idiots pulled out of their ass was treated as substantiated fact, picked up and spread all over the place.

The Times especially has been used as a tool of the Bush administration in their run up to the war in Iraq. If they want their reputation as the 'paper of record' restored, extra diligence on their part is required.

The American public gets it. 31% of them get their news from the Internet and blogs and I'm sure the subscription department is feeling the heat, judging from the amount of commercials imploring you subscribe. Maybe more articles like this will restore the public's faith they are telling the truth.

Update:

Well, maybe not.

And a note: I was sicker than a dog yesterday and when I changed the template back after fucking around on Saturday, I used an old one, so shit's a little fucked up. Apologies and I'll get it straightened out when I get home from work today.

Clinton calls for troops out before Bush's term is over.

From A.P. via Yahoo News:

DAVENPORT, Iowa - Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that President Bush should withdraw all U.S. troops from Iraq before he leaves office, asserting it would be "the height of irresponsibility" to pass the war along to the next commander in chief.

"This was his decision to go to war with an ill-conceived plan and an incompetently executed strategy," the Democratic senator from New York said her
in (sic) initial presidential campaign swing through Iowa.

"We expect him to extricate our country from this before he leaves office" in January 2009, the former first lady said.

Fine, as far as it goes. What she has so far failed to say and what any credible Democratic candidate must say is that Bush had no good reason at all to go to war with Iraq in the first place. She should be calling for his impeachment.

Also from the same piece:

The White House condemned Clinton's comments as a partisan attack that
undermines U.S. soldiers.

The Democrats have to find a way to stuff the "undemines" mime down the White House's throat every time it is uttered. It seems to be all they've got left to hang their hats on.

R.

"...the San Antonio Rose in America's lefty bouquet"

Our pal RJ Eskow has a few nice things to say about Molly Ivins.

I've been a huge fan of Molly's for years. She's always been a strong voice for the good guys - especially at a time (the early years of this war) and a place (Texas, by God!) when there weren't very many strong voices being heard. With W. deciding yet again that he's "The Decider" it's good to remember what Molly had to say about that:

""We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war."

She never sugar-coats her message. Here's another quote:

"It is possible to read the history of this country as one long struggle to extend the liberties established in our Constitution to everyone in America."

More Molly gems:

"Just when you thought there wasn't a dime's worth of difference between the two parties, the Republicans go and prove you're wrong."

"I have been attacked by Rush Limbaugh on the air, an experience somewhat akin to being gummed by a newt. It doesn't actually hurt, but it leaves you with slimy stuff on your ankle."

Molly's knife quote reminds me of that great old song, "That's The Way the Girls Are in Texas." In Ry Cooder's version he sings the last verse in heaven: "She was guilty, I was dead/and what do you think that old judge said?/'Well, that's just the way the girls are here in Texas - case dismissed!'"

This chorus is for Molly,. She's a true daughter of the Lone Star State, the San Antonio Rose in America's lefty bouquet. Give her a thought or a prayer, or whatever you care to give. She's one in a million.

I'd give Molly my left nut if it would help, but she's got plenty of those, so I'll just stick with prayers and best wishes.

Keep in mind that it was Molly Ivins that tipped us off first about what kind of guy Bush is.

Pauly goes a-marching

Our good friend Mimus marched on Washington yesterday and he has an excellent post up detaling the experience.

"I take responsibility,"

I'm no big fan of Hillary, however, it would be nice if a few more politicians could bring themselves to say this:

DES MOINES, Iowa - New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton blamed President Bush on Saturday for misusing authority given him by Congress to act in Iraq, but conceded "I take responsibility" for her role in allowing that to happen.

...

You got that right, my dear. Now do something to end it.

Son of Rummy

Robert Parry writing at Smirking Chimp:

...

For his part, Gates has shown his thanks to the Democrats for his cakewalk confirmation by speeding up deployment of the new troops even as Democrats struggle to fashion a non-binding resolution opposing the escalation.

Gates also picked up Bush's favorite cudgel to pound the Democrats for supposedly helping the enemy.

"Any indication of flagging will in the United States gives encouragement to those folks," Gates told reporters at the Pentagon on Jan. 26. "I'm sure that that's not the intent behind the resolutions, but I think it may be the effect."

...

Sometimes I wonder what organ Senate Dems use to think with. Hel-lo, McFly? Like they did during the SCOTUS nominations, the Dems just went with the flow, expecting the Chimp, reasonably chastened from the November elections, to suddenly grow a 'bipartisanship gland' or something.

So here's what we have now:

...

Now, as Bush rushes more troops to Iraq, the Democrats are left to debate whether the non-binding resolution on the "surge" should refer to it as an "escalation" or, as some Republicans would prefer, an "augmentation."

...

Wait for it. In a few months, as the hearings promised by Senate and House Dems get into full swing and the public learns more about the Chimp's corruption, the calls for impeachment will get louder. Wait for the words "impeachment will cause a constitutional crisis from which America cannot recover". Horseshit. This nation is stronger than most think. The only 'crisis' will be the lack of spine on the part of a good portion of our elected representatives.

...

So, the Democrats are again learning a hard lesson they should have mastered years ago, that this breed of Republicans views Democrats as suckers who can be easily seduced with a few sweet but empty words like "bipartisanship" and "comity."

...

Suckers indeed. And an aside to Nancy Pelosi: Put impeachment back on the table. It might be the thing that saves us.

Never in My Wildest Dreams . . .

From Laury Haytayan at peacemiddleeast:

"How could I imagine that after 30 years…my kids…my 3 year old and my not yet born will witness a civil war…will live a similar life as mine…a life with fear…a life in shelters…

31 years ago, my uncle had to rescue me from the hospital… I was a few hours old…Maybe my kid that will be born in June will have to be rescued by my same uncle from the hospital too…"

Pay close attention, folks, this is the future that Bush & Co. is building for all of us. Endless war. Endless fear.

R.