Three years on

So, we're here again. Another anniversary of this misbegotten war. In a couple months, we'll be celebrating the anniversary of that great day when our 'war president' touched down on the deck of an aircraft carrier and said 'mission accomplished'. Thing is, I don't know what more I can say that I haven't already.

This nation was led into this war under false pretenses. We were lied to and that makes the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. a murderer. There is the blood of over 2300 American souls on his hands for that alone. There are also 60 - 100,000 Iraqis who have lost their lives for a lie.

This war has also enriched many corporations, most who have strong ties to this administration. They have been allowed to loot our treasury and pay no penalty. They are worse than traitors, more like graverobbers, counting their loot as military families struggle to pay bills and and attempt to make up for the absence of a loved one.

The only people this war serves are the bloodthirsty and the profiteers, the ideologues and the fanatics. We've destroyed a nation that was no threat and we've destroyed our credibility as a nation of principle. Over the last five years, the world has seen the worst of this nation, hopefully not our true character. It is time to get the warmongers out and this November we can begin that process with the Congress. Neither our nation, or our military, can stand another three years of war in Iraq.

Bill Beutel

They don't make newsmen like him anymore. Since I can remember, he came into my house at 6 every day and gave us the world. He was like a trusted uncle and he'll be missed.

Light posting

Sorry I haven't been around today. I just got too much shit to do. I'll try to post something of substance after dinner.

Friday Cattle Dog Blogging

Princess Shayna keeps an eye out for her crazy friend across the street. As you can see, Mrs. F is doing better, able to sit up in the livingroom and read a book now. Steady progress.

"We achieved tactical surprise, but there wasn't anybody home..."

MyWay

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - U.S. and Iraqi troops pressed their sweep through a 100-square-mile area on Friday in a bid to break up a center of insurgent resistance, the U.S. military said. No resistance or casualties were reported.

"We believe we achieved tactical surprise," Lt. Col. Edward Loomis, spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division, said of the day-old Operation Swarmer. He said about 40 suspects were detained, 10 of whom were later released.

Center of insurgent resistance? 30 "suspects"? My dyin' ass! Sounds like some ignorant native with a cell phone saw the helicopters, deduced which direction they were headed, and dropped a dime on 'em. The insurgents didi'ed or went underground - oops, wrong war! - fired up their Toyotas and camels and boogied. I don't blame 'em. I wouldn't wanta tangle with the 101st Airborne either.

Civil War in America

Margaret Kimberley at AlterNet:

Every year the Sons of Confederate Veterans use the North Carolina statehouse to celebrate their annual Confederate flag day ceremony. It has become more common in recent years for some white Southerners to openly wax nostalgic for the days when their ancestors fought and died to preserve slavery.

It is easy to see a connection between present-day yearnings for a return to Dixieland and renewed efforts to threaten voting rights. It is less obvious to see similar connections with trends elsewhere in the country. South Dakota is a long way from South Carolina, but that state recently joined the battle to turn back the clock on civil rights and return to the bad old days when white men ruled and everyone else was subservient.

The right to abortion became the law of the land with the Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision in 1973. In the absence of that decision being overturned by the court, the action of the South Dakota legislature gives the finger to the United States Constitution and anyone who believes in it. South Dakota has fired on Fort Sumter. Congressman John Conyers stated, "Victory in the South Dakota case will give conservatives renewed momentum to challenge all the other freedoms we hold dear."

The 21st century Confederates are succeeding because no one is willing to stand in their way. The Argus Leader, the largest newspaper in South Dakota, announced it will not take an editorial position on the new law. Spineless editorial page editor Chuck Baldwin made this amazing comment about his decision to gag himself. "Rather than change anyone's mind, we would create another controversy."

Translation: The powerful have spoken, and I'm not bucking the system.

Civil rights and civil liberties are in grave danger. They will disappear if there is no willingness to fight for them. Preserving them will mean having to fight against some of our fellow citizens. We can fight with nonviolent methods, but there has to be a fight. The only alternative is to find ourselves back in the days when everyone knew his or her place and didn't dare step out of it.

That's exactly why we're here. All that's required for the wingnuts, government and civilian both, to succeed is for us to do nothing. Over my dead body.

Pay up, sucka

You are now $30,000 more in the hole than you were a couple days ago. My lovely neighbor:

In today's episode of Fuck The Poor, the Senate voted fuck everyone to raise the debt limit allowing the government [to] borrow another $781 billion without raising taxes or cutting frivolous spending. This means that each and every American now owes $30,000.

...

Congratulations. I don't know about you, but I got a problem with people spending our money like it's free.

Fear

I think Ben Wood brought it up in 'comments' here over the past week and Creature jumped on it last night. The Dems seem to be suffering from a Stockholm Syndrome-type affliction.

Feingold, Harkin, Boxer, Kerry, Menendez. What do these Democrats have in common? They have chosen to stand up for the rule of law and are willing to censure George Bush.* Count'em, five. What are the rest of them so afraid of? What have they got to loose [sic]? Nothing, according the to first censure poll to hit the streets today.

...

The Democratic 'base' (I hate that name, reminds me of the mouth-breathing Jesus freaks who are 'Bush's base' or al-Qaeda in a literal translation.) has shown they will back serious initiatives by our representatives if they'll only stand up for what is right. The polls back that up. Let's go get 'em.

Note to Dem House and Senate incumbents: I realize this blog isn't Kos or Eschaton, but if you want our support as Election Day nears, you'd better give us something to support. Right now, in my book, you're nothing more than the lesser of two evils.

American Theocracy

Well, if I haven't scared the crap out of you yet today, this one oughta do it. Salon reviews Kevin Phillips' new book.

American Theocracy: The Peril and Politics of Radical Religion, Oil, and Borrowed Money in the 21st Century

Oil, religion, and finance are not new elements in U.S. politics, but as Phillips makes clear with his formidable command of fact, figure, and history, and his long experience as a political strategist and observer, we are now in new and dangerous territory. The Bush coalition has resulted in a dearth of candor and serious strategy - a paralysis of policy and a government unable to govern. If left unchecked - the same forces will bring a preacher-ridden, debt-bloated, energy-crippled America to its knees. With an eye on the past and a searing vision of the future, Phillips confirms what too many Americans are still unwilling to admit about the depth of our misgovernment.

Please go read the rest of the stuff. I liked (maybe that ain't the right word - it was a good book) American Dynasty about the Bushes and it wised me up a lot to what's going on. I hope they have this new book at Costco on Saturday.

Daddy's fucked it up so bad Mommy may not be able to fix it...

Good metaphorical rant at Clusterfuck Nation.

My own guess is that actual conditions in the household may be too far gone for even Mommy to set things right. Our situation with oil and natural gas are much more dire than the kid's realize. Dad's investments were idiotic and his portfolio is shredded. Not only is the house about to be repossessed, but the car and the home theater will be going with it. The bad 'hoods around the world are set to explode. The kids are going to have to grow up fast. Some will just go feral. Some will become Mommies and Daddies themselves, and they will try to form new households with the remnants of the old one. Maybe they can cobble together something like an American common culture out of whatever's left, and recreate some organizing principles for a family life that make sense.

Kunstler likens our nation to the Cleavers. Does that make Cheney Eddie Haskell and Rumsfeld Lumpy?

I wish he'd used the Nelsons. I wanta be Ricky.

Is another 9/11 in the works?

We here at the Brain have touched on this before, but Antiwar.com's Paul Craig Roberts says it well:

If you were President George W. Bush with all available US troops tied down by the Iraqi resistance, and you were unable to control Iraq or political developments in the country, would you also start a war with Iran?

Yes, you would.

If you were being whipped in one fight, would you start a second fight with a bigger and stronger person?

That's what Bush is doing.

Opinion polls indicate that the Bush regime has succeeded in its plan to make Americans fear Iran as the greatest threat America faces.

The Bush regime has created a major dispute with Iran over that country's nuclear energy program and then blocked every effort to bring the dispute to a peaceful end.

In order to gain a pretext for attacking Iran, the Bush regime is using bribery and coercion in its effort to have Iran referred to the UN Security Council for sanctions.

In recent statements President Bush and Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld blamed Iran for the Iraqi resistance, claiming that the roadside bombs used by the resistance are being supplied by Iran.

It is obvious that Bush intends to attack Iran and that he will use every means to bring war about.

One of the more extraordinary suggestions is that a low yield, perhaps tactical, nuclear weapon will be exploded some distance out from a US port. Death and destruction will be minimized, but fear and hysteria will be maximized. Americans will be told that the ship bearing the weapon was discovered and intercepted just in time, thanks to Bush's illegal spying program, and that Iran is to blame. A more powerful wave of fear and outrage will again bind the American people to Bush, and the US media will not report the rest of the world's doubts of the explanation.

Reads like a Michael Crichton plot, doesn't it?

Fantasy? Let's hope so.

I wouldn't put it past him.

My tinfoil hat ain't cuttin' it no mo'. Excuse me for a while. I gotta go out and get enough Reynolds Wrap to do my house!

"I've been all the way to the West Coast...almost to Ohio..."

NYPost

ALBANY - Gaffe-prone Republican attorney-general candidate Jeanine Pirro has done it again - bragging about her knowledge of upstate areas while erroneously claiming New York has a border with Ohio.

Pirro's bumble occurred during an interview on Albany's WROW-AM, as she bragged about her upstate credentials: born in Elmira and educated at SUNY Buffalo and Albany Law School. "I've been to Chautauqua County, which is all the way on the west coast, I should say the west end, of New York, bordering Ohio," the ex-Westchester DA said.

In fact, Chautauqua borders Pennsylvania. New York has no border with Ohio. Pirro later offered up another malapropism after acknowledging her geography mistake: "Am I better than that? Absolutely not."

If the Repubs scrape much farther for candidates, the barrel won't have a bottom left!

Stick it to him...

I like long sentences. Here's one of the grammatical kind from Will Durst:

I don't know about you guys, but I am so sick and tired of these lying, thieving, holier-than-thou, right-wing, cruel, crude, rude, gauche, coarse, crass, cocky, corrupt, dishonest, debauched, degenerate, dissolute, swaggering, lawyer shooting, bullhorn shouting, infrastructure destroying, hysterical, history defying, finger- pointing, puppy stomping, roommate appointing, pretzel choking, collateral damaging, aspersion casting, wedding party bombing, clear cutting, torturing, jobs outsourcing, torture outsourcing, "so-called" compassionate-conservative, women's rights eradicating, Medicare cutting, uncouth, spiteful, boorish, vengeful, noxious, homophobic, xenophobic, xylophonic, racist, sexist, ageist, fascist, cashist, audaciously stupid, brazenly selfish, lethally ignorant, journalist purchasing, genocide ignoring, corporation kissing, poverty inducing, crooked, coercive, autocratic, primitive, uppity, high-handed, domineering, arrogant, inhuman, inhumane, insolent, know-it-all, snotty, pompous, contemptuous, supercilious, gutless, spineless, shameless, avaricious, poisonous, imperious, merciless, graceless, tactless, brutish, brutal, Karl Roving, backward thinking, persistent vegetative state grandstanding, nuclear option threatening, evolution denying, irony deprived, depraved, insincere, conceited, perverted, pre-emptory invading of a country that had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11, 35-day-vacation taking, bribe soliciting, incapable, inbred, hellish, proud for no apparent reason, smarty pants, loudmouth, bullying, swell-headed, ethnic cleansing, ethics-eluding, domestic spying, medical marijuana-busting, kick-backing, Halliburtoning, New Deal disintegrating, narcissistic, undiplomatic, blustering, malevolent, demonizing, baby seal-clubbing, Duke Cunninghamming, hectoring, verbally flatulent, pro-bad- anti-good, Moslem-baiting, photo-op arranging, hurricane disregarding, oil company hugging, judge packing, science disputing, faith based mathematics advocating, armament selling, nonsense spewing, education ravaging, whiny, unscrupulous, greedy exponential factor fifteen, fraudulent, CIA outing, redistricting, anybody who disagrees with them slandering, fact twisting, ally alienating, betraying, god and flag waving, scare mongering, Cindy Sheehan libeling, phony question asking, just won't get off the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drilling, two- faced, inept, callous, menacing, your hand under a rock- the maggoty remains of a marsupial, oppressive, vulgar, antagonistic, brush clearing suck- up, showboating, tyrannizing, peace hating, water and air and ground and media polluting which is pretty much all the polluting you can get, deadly, illegal, pernicious, lethal, haughty, venomous, virulent, ineffectual, mephitic, egotistic, bloodthirsty, incompetent, hypocritical, did I say evil, I'm not sure if I said evil, because I want to make sure I say evil...

EVIL, cretinous, fool, toad, buttwipe, lizardstick, cowardly, lackey imperialistic tool slime buckets in the Bush Administration that I could just spit.

Impeachment? Hell no. Impalement. Upon the sharp and righteous sword of the people's justice.

I'm mellowing in my old age, so the other kind of 'long sentence' for the slime buckets would do. In Leavenworth. In lieu of that, the 'short drop' would be fine. Or their heads on a pike.

I told ya so...

I'm usually not one to say that, especially in a team setting where all should learn from missteps and move on to better things. However, after being called a traitor, unAmerican, a terrorist sympathizer because I disagreed with this President over the 'War on Terra' and the illegal war in Iraq, let alone the rotten domestic policy moves, it's nice to be vindicated. I told you so, you idiots.

...

"Do you all remember Scott Ritter, you know, the former chief U.N. weapons inspector who played chief stooge for Saddam Hussein? Well, Mr. Ritter actually told a French radio network that - quote, "The United States is going to leave Baghdad with its tail between its legs, defeated." Sorry, Scott. I think you've been chasing the wrong tail, again.

...

That was from the twit Joe Scarborough. No, Joe, you imbecile, Scott knew what he was talking about then, just as we vets who know something about the combat disciplines. You see, while all the amateurs talk 'strategy and tactics', the people who know talk 'logistics'. Ask a bunch of combat vets how hard it it to keep an occupying army on the ground without them turning into targets. Blood is thicker than water and Shi'ite and Sunni are Iraqis first and we'll always be Infidels.

It's all well and good to envision an ending that has us hailed as liberators, but I think France in World War Two was the only time it happened. Every other place we've 'liberated' now says 'Yankee go home'.

If you're gonna read history, you have to understand it too. The U.S didn't enter WW2 to become a colonial power. To see parallels to Iraq, you have to draw on the British, and French, colonial pursuits and our incursion into Vietnam when the French threw up their hands after 3rd Parachute Regiment died at Dien Bien Phu. Yes, Vietnam was supposed to have become a client-state of the West against the scourge of Communism. As much a colony as U.S. public opinion would allow. Too bad McNamara didn't get it either.

All these clowns, if they read history at all, certainly don't understand it. Yes, I, and a whole bunch of people smarter than me, told you so and you refused to listen. Guys like Scarborough are accomplice to the incompetent idiots who fucked this nation to Hell. Thing is, we have all your statements on record. Like MJS says:

...

Funny thing about the Internet: it's a great way to keep track of what was said by who, and when and where. Bloody Internet! Bloody Information Highway! Bloody Computers!

...

When it's time for a reckoning, I hope you all pay the price.

Screwing the vets...again

The great Bob Geiger:

In case you missed it in the Senate yesterday, Daniel Akaka (D-HI) proposed a bill to increase Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in fiscal year 2007 and Republicans shot it down with extreme prejudice.

...

And you wonder why, among other reasons, this veteran has no use for Republicans? They only see soldiers as, to quote my esteemed colleague Gordon, 'cannon fodder and deck apes'. If you can't fire a rifle, you're useless ot them, regardless of any past service to this nation.

Yes I am

I am bashing the Dems lately. Know why? Because they're (not all of them) a pitiful excuse for an opposition party. You know who:

...

What the rest of the Democratic Party ain't gettin' is that the nation is fuckin' begging for the party to stand up and say, "Enough." Bush's poll numbers are in the tank despite non-stop coverage of every flea fart of a speech he gives, despite the political talk shows being filled to swelling with Republicans and Joe Lieberman saying how goddamned wonderful the President is, except for a minor thing here or there, like, you know, the war; with the bloviators of the air and of the Congress saying that it's unpatriotic to question the President; and without any serious news organization or investigative body exposing the rotten worm and maggot-filled underbelly of all the scandal that's eating away the nation. Turn that log over, and you'll retch from the disgusting sights and smells. Still, still, the public is done with this President. So you know what? Here's the big fuckin' conclusion, so listen the fuck up: [my ems]

...

Wake the fuck up.

More 'Strategists'

Robert Parry weighs in on these losers.

So, by the time he ran for president in 2004, Kerry was silent about his heroic investigations of the 1980s. He presented himself instead as a careful politician who spoke in a fog of nuance. Whenever he seemed poised to crush the bumbling George W. Bush, Kerry retreated into poll-tested platitudes.

As it turned out - as the younger Kerry would have understood - the greatest risk was to play it safe.

In life, you often don't get a second act. Except, of course, for Democratic "strategists," who always seem to get a second act, even a third and a fourth, no matter how often they lose. Strategist Bob Shrum, for instance, has been a chronic loser in presidential races but is still sought out by Democratic hopefuls, including John Kerry in 2004.

And, when they're not applying their cold hands to Democratic campaigns, the strategists can put a chill on any Democrat's principled behavior by whispering in the ears of journalists that a seemingly noble act is reckless, calculated or somehow both.

While Feingold's proposal could be viewed as a moderate step - expressing congressional disapproval short of impeachment - Washington Post reporter Charles Babington searched out unnamed "Democratic strategists" to make Feingold's plan look both craven and crazy.

The lesson for Democrats who want to stand and fight is that they must respond to this three-sided problem with a three-pronged solution: challenging Republican wrongdoing without fear or equivocation; building media outlets that will circumvent the smug mainstream press; and standing behind the rare Democratic politician who shows some courage.

Go read it.

Last night on The Daily Show there was a segment with Ed Helms interviewing Paul Hackett, who is "the rare Democratic politician who shows some courage" if there ever was one.

Helms also spoke to a 'Democratic strategist' who said pretty much what the 'strategist' in Fixer's post said: "Just stand back and let the Republicans screw up and we'll win".

Helms then said, and I paraphrase, "I know what you mean. I got robbed the other day. This bum was beatin' the crap out of me with a bottle. I didn't fight back because I knew eventually he'd hit himself with it and take himself out. Finally, he did. Even though I was beaten, battered, and bleeding, I felt I'd won."

Then, Helms played the 'strategist' to Hackett. Hackett was doing campaign commercials, telling the truth and standing on principle, and Helms would come in and get him to tone it down and in general remove all the substance so as not to be controversial and 'alienate' voters with facts. At one point Helms pointed at Hackett's Marine Corps Eagle, Globe, and Anchor emblem hanging on the wall and told him to "Oh, and lose that thing".

I think the skit illustrated the whole problem pretty well. If anybody's got a link to video of that, please let me know.

Update:

Thanks to the usual amazing in-depth research by Fixer, you can see the clip at Crooks and Liars. Enjoy.

Lou and the 'Strategist'

So I'm watching Lou Dobbs in the wee hours this morning (last night's show) and he's got that twit John Fund on, along with Michael Goodwin of the Daily News and Hank Sheinkopf a "Democratic political consultant and strategist". Lou stretches Fund's sphincter (not that I'm a big fan of Lou Dobbs, but I love it when he gets pissed) in this exchange:

...

DOBBS: A limit, and speaking of limits, debt limits. We are watching the national debt rise. The federal debt limit has just -- we're going to hit it this week. And at the same time, the treasury secretary says, John Fund -- John Snow says, "We don't want to have anything attached to this debt limit," like as the Democrats are calling for, "some reduction in federal spending."

The chairman, the new chairman the Federal Reserve on this very day says "Yes, we need to deal with the budget deficit."

FUND: We have a lot of federal spending because we have a broken budget process that's 30-years-old and out of date. The only time we have ever had substantive budget reform, Lou, is attached to a debt- ceiling bill. Perfect example in the 1980s. This is a tremendous lost opportunity if we just raise the debt and don't do something about the underlying disaster that is our federal spending machine.

DOBBS: Well you can talk about process but nonetheless, pro force, a very good economy, pro force bipartisan action. Bill Clinton was able and give the devil his due whether you're Republican or Democrat, he was able to create surpluses for three years with this process. This is about decisions that are being made by leadership both in the Congress and the White House that says the hell with the consequences.

FUND: Just remember...

DOBBS: You're a conservative.

FUND: ... those three years of surpluses, over half of that was the Internet bubble, which was a one-time.

DOBBS: Oh please.

...

And it goes on from there, Fund sputtering Rethug talking points every time Lou gives him the evil eye. Now, you'd think the Dem 'strategist', Scheinkopf, would take the opportunity to lay out a Dem plan to bring the deficit into line and reduce the hemorraging of money from the Treasury. You'd expect that, wouldn't you? If it were me, I'd grab Fund by the tie and slap some sense into him (or shit out of him; whatever works) but more civilized folks would say 'look, we quit throwing money at Halliburton and Iraq, roll back some of the Chimp's tax cuts for the wealthy, we might work our way out of this mess in a generation'. I mean, Lou even softened the Repuke up for ya. Jump on his ass, right? But no. This is the Dem 'strategy':

...

SHEINKOPF: We live in a land of sound bites. They've got to wake up. Every time they open their mouths, they make it easier for Democrats. Democrats just need to stand there, smile, let them keep doing what they are doing. [all my ems in quotes]

...

And you wonder why we lose. Some strategy, idiots.

The poor Slob-idan

Neocons eulogize their hero. Heh...

Spineless bastids

...

Republicans savored the Democrats' discomfort. Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., pushed for an immediate floor vote; Democrats protested, saying they hadn't yet read the resolution. Several Democrats offered empathy for Feingold's frustration but no overt support for his resolution.

...

What a bunch of losers. I want a new party. When your guy goes to the mat for you, you're supposed to back him up. How much Republican crap have you passed without reading it. That's part of the reason were in the situation we're in.

...

Several Democrats said that before any censure, they want the Senate Intelligence Committee to finish an investigation of the warrantless wiretapping program. In that program, the National Security Agency is allowed to eavesdrop on international calls and e-mails of U.S. residents when terrorism is suspected.

...

Oh, you mean the same committee who wants to change the law after the fact to absolve Chimpy McStupid of any crime? Idiots. Morons. Dickheads. Losers.

No choice at all

Sirotablog has this:

Election '06: GOP Culture of Corruption vs. Dems Culture of Weakness

The American Heritage Dictionary describes the term "weak" as "lacking firmness of character or strength of will, lacking aptitude or skill, lacking the ability to function normally or fully or lacking authority or the power to govern." Incredibly, even with President Bush at an alltime low, we are watching the Democratic Party in Washington fulfill all these definitions and more.

The question, then, of the 2006 election is really simple: will voters support the GOP's culture of corruption, or will they support Democrats culture of weakness? Because that's exactly what this election is really going to be about. Democrats will air lots of commercials hammering the GOP for the corruption scandals, and the GOP will air lots of commercials hammering Democrats for having no positions at all on major issues. You can already see their strategy - just look at how House Speaker Denny Hastert recently aired this message loud and clear.

Frankly, that's an awful comparison for Democrats. People certainly hate corruption, but polls show most believe both parties are corrupt. And people would likely rather have a corrupt party running the show, then one that is so weak, so indecisive, and so needlessly frightened of its own shadow that it can't take the most basic stands. And unless Democrats start turning this around, all their righteous, and well-grounded indignation at the GOP scandals will sound like whining and crying - not an effective call to remove the GOP from power.

"GOP Culture of Corruption" link (Jeez, how d'ya choose from that list?) goes to Americablog about Nortwist, whom I'd love to go quail hunting with. 'Nuff said.

"Dems Culture of Weakness" link (Jeez, how d'ya choose from that list?) goes to HuffPo:

In the face of this brazen unconstitutional power grab by a wildly unpopular president -- what do the Democrats do? Cower! It is hard not be repulsed by them.

The only prominent politicians I have any respect left for now are the four horsemen of the Democratic Party -- Al Gore, Russ Feingold, Howard Dean and Jack Murtha. They must rebuild this party from the ground up.

The cowards who run it now are more afraid of their own shadows, and the shadow of Fox News Channel, to ever stand up for the people who voted for them in the first place. The whole country is waiting for you stand up to these bullies. Will you, for the love of God and country, do it already?!

Two out of three of these posts are good. Fuck Norquist. I just put that there for reference. Go read.

There's no choice whatsoever in Election '06.

We can deal with weakness. We can't deal with Republicans.

So far, reality refuses to conform

Molly Ivins on Bush's foreign policy:

Until Sept. 11, except for staring deep into Vlad Putin's ice-blue eyes and concluding the old KGB shark had soul, Bush evinced little interest in foreign affairs.

And since then?

Unfortunately, reality uncharitably refused to conform to the Bush administration's demands -- in fact, reality kept blowing up in our faces. In Afghanistan and particularly in Iraq, reality turned out to be downright ugly about not obliging our blithe president.

So far, it looks as though Bush does better on foreign policy when he's being an isolationist. Maybe he should just stay home and cut taxes for the rich some more, or go expose some CIA agent for political payback against her husband, or just spy on a lot of American pacifists.

When I heard him deploring xenophobia (that's fear of foreigners) on the Dubai Ports deal, I did a double- take. Michael Chertoff of Homeland Security again has said the trouble with homeland security is that it threatens trade -- all important, all sacred trade, profits above all. For the umpteenth time, it is not only possible, but smart to insist on adjusting free trade for labor standards, for environmental standards and even so your ports don't get blown up.

Well, maybe, if we ever get a real president.

The RNC [hearts] me

This is in the mail when I get home from work.

Dear Friend,

I know that you are a strong grassroots leader on Long Island.

Which means you understand that the future of our country and President Bush's bold second term agendais at stake in the 2006 elections.

Good.

Will the liberal Democrats regain total control of Congress and roll back the gains the country has made over the last five years?

I certainly hope so. If those are gains, I'd hate to see what your idea of setbacks are, Kenny-boy.

The liberal Democrats are working to obstruct action on the President's positive policies in a cynical attempt to recapture Congress in 2006. Their left-wing allies are raising hundreds of millions of dollars and willing to pay any price to aid the Democrats' power grab.

Shit, I'm even putting tuna fish and powdered milk under my bed, but I feel safer sitting in my Haitian buddy's house with his chicken legs and orangutan scroti filled with voodoo dust hanging outside his front door.

You can make a difference by activating your membershp to the Republican National Committee for the 2006 election year. Please use the postage-paid envelope to become an RNC Sustaining Member for 2006 by sending your contribution of $100, $75, $50, $35 or $25 today.

I'm running for my checkbook. Tell you what, I'll send you a blank one and you fill in the amount. I mean, if I can't trust President Bush...

With your help, I am confident the Republican Party will be victorious in 2006. Please let me hear from you today.

Sincerely,

Ken Mehlman
Chairman, Republican National Committee

Stop, you're killing me. What's that I smell? Is that the scent of desperation? If you're hitting me up for money, you must be.

Where's that shredder...

Pi Day

Today is 3/14. Get it?

The Pimp-in-Chief

Ernie McCray does a nice job comparing the Oscar-winning song to our pimp.

And the pimp in the movie says "It's f--- up where I live, but that's just how it is. It might be new to you, but it's been like this for years." And he says something about how, when it comes down to what's happening in his world, "It's blood, sweat and tears." But our pimp shares no tears as he looks out at people who've shed blood and tears for years and years yet have no medical care or food to eat and have no place to live. And it's been like that for years, and others have tried to make it right but Dubya has absolutely no help to give. He's too busy pimp slapping folks in places faraway, trying to tell them how to live. But he doesn't have to knock us, we the people, around because as his "ho's" we only show our disdain in polls. Then we just walk the streets as pitiful souls who don't fully understand just how democracy goes.

Go read. You'll like it.

Aaarrrggghhh

Can't they get anything right? They had this case down; Moussalaoui was 'dead man walking'. They could have got this guy ritual colonoscopies for the rest of his life, had his arm ripped off and had him beaten to death with it, but they still couldn't leave well enough alone. The 'Culture of Corruption' raises it's ugly head again.

If their fuckups wouldn't be so serious, this government's actions would be comical. We could play a game; 'Let's See What They Fuck Up Next', make a weekly series out of it maybe? These clowns couldn't play by the rules, even if it was in their best interests. Fortunately, shit like this just adds ammo in our pile come November.

Speaking of November. Connecticut women, please get Holy Joe out of there. Ned Lamont is one of those candidates who will get a contribution from me.

Role models

If the Dems want one, they should just look at Russ Feingold. By the way, my vote and my money are going to Russ if he runs for President in '08. If any of you other incumbent Dems want a donation from me this year, you'd better start acting like the distinguished senator from Wisconsin, otherwise your opponent in a primary will get my cash.

The Right's Man

Don't care much for McCain? Neither do I. Here's Paul Krugman with a few choice words about him. Thank you, Tennessee Guerilla Women.

It's time for some straight talk about John McCain. He isn't a moderate. He's much less of a maverick than you'd think. And he isn't the straight talker he claims to be.

No offense, Mr. Krugman but, once again, DUH!

So here's what you need to know about John McCain.

He isn't a straight talker. His flip-flopping on tax cuts, his call to send troops we don't have to Iraq and his endorsement of the South Dakota anti-abortion legislation even while claiming that he would find a way around that legislation's central provision show that he's a politician as slippery and evasive as, well, George W. Bush.

He isn't a moderate. Mr. McCain's policy positions and Senate votes don't just place him at the right end of America's political spectrum; they place him in the right wing of the Republican Party.

And he isn't a maverick, at least not when it counts. When the cameras are rolling, Mr. McCain can sometimes be seen striking a brave pose of opposition to the White House. But when it matters, when the Bush administration's ability to do whatever it wants is at stake, Mr. McCain always toes the party line.

Mr. Krugman uses a lot of nicer words than I do to describe McCain's fellatorical relationship with the Chimp.

It's Monday

Ironic Times

TEXAS: DeLAY TROUNCES THREE CHALLENGERS IN GOP PRIMARY
Indicted congressman easily outpolls convicted child molester, confessed mass murderer and former Nazi prison guard.

New Website Traces Travels of $10,000 Bill
So far it's bounced around Washington, from a representative for a pharmaceutical firm, to a full-time lobbyist and finally into the hands of the Senate Majority Leader.

And in Sports:

U.S. Team Loses to Canada at World Baseball Classic
Americans complain Canadian players pay less for their performance-enhancing drugs.

Damn commies!

Republican Twilight Zone

Go watch this despicable, ridiculous Republican campaign commercial at Crooks and Liars.

A Political Act

From BuzzFlash:

On March 8, BuzzFlash ran an interview with Al Franken. The interview included this exchange:

BuzzFlash: You must be ecstatic that you didn't do an interview for the film "The Aristocrats." Are you familiar with the film?

Al Franken: I am. But I haven't worked up my "aristocrat." I suppose if I'd been asked to, I would have worked one up.

BuzzFlash: After you get elected, maybe you'll have to come up with the Senate version.

Al Franken: On the floor of the Senate - tell the aristocrat joke. I'd be the first senator to do that.

The problem with this is that if he actually told The Aristocrats joke on the Senate floor, he'd be escorted off in handcuffs and probably recalled in a landslide. Which is a shame, because it could go down in history as the only filibuster anyone actually listened to.

With that in mind, I humbly offer my take on this timeless joke:

The rest is Below the Fold.

Cars? Huh?

I am so late today. A week off work and I'm so out of it. Ranting will begin when I get home.

Norton out

NYTimes

Like her mentor, James Watt, the maniacally anti-environmental interior secretary under Ronald Reagan, Gale Norton came to Washington convinced that the pendulum of public policy had swung too far in favor of the protection of America's natural resources at the expense of their commercial exploitation - especially by the oil, natural gas and mining industries.

Ms. Norton has been an extraordinarily faithful steward of the Bush agenda - but not, we are sad to say, of the lands she was obliged to protect.

She was probably canned for not selling off our country fast enough. Either that or, like her namesake Norton motorcycle, she leaked oil on the Chimp's Oval Office rug.

Woman of Mass Derision

For all you Maureen Dowd fans out there, and you know who you are, there's a good article about her in the Guardian.

Dowd was always irreverent, but as the world turned darker, so her columns took on a grotesque flamboyance, became more a satirical cabaret - she put a spanner in the works of truthiness and made the calamitous shatteringly funny. "Vice" was Cheney - since the incident in which he shot his hunting partner, he's also now Shooter; General Karl is Karl Rove, Bush's chief of staff; Richard Perle, one of the most committed of the neocons, was the Prince of Darkness; W moved from the Oedipal Boy King to Top Gun. In April 2004 Dowd wrote her real scorcher, Bushworld, which later became the name of her collection of writings on the Bush administrations. It is a litany of deadpan statements, acidly and relentlessly pointing up the gap between the Bushies' reality and the real world: "In Bushworld, our troops go to war and get killed, but you never see the bodies coming home ... In Bushworld, the CIA says it can't find out whether there are WMD in Iraq unless we invade on the grounds that there are WMD."

As a friend of mine says as his secret to success, "Cold steel, hard cash, dry socks - and stay away from red-headed women!"

Fat chance, pal.

Feingold

I was gonna blog it but Ed beat me to it. Feingold is Ed's boy after all. Tell you what. If Russ runs in '08, he's got my vote.

Generals

Michael Gordon of the NYT and General Bernard Trainor (USMC Ret.) on Press the Meat with Timmy shilling their book about Iraq. The overwheling reason why I won't read it. Bernie Trainor to Timmy:

No one knew [in 2003] we'd be bogged down this long in Iraq.

I knew it, you fucking dickhead, and I was a lowly buck sergeant. Lotsa people knew it when the Chimp started rattling his sabre. How the fuck did you get to be a general and how many troops did you lose thanks to your stupidity? Moron.

Update:

Another moron on Wolfie, Sen. John Warner (R-Huh?) on 'redeployment' of U.S. forces in Iraq.

The Iraqis should have the primary responsibility of putting down the insurgency.

Another clueless fool who doesn't grasp the situation on the ground. Read my lips, shithead. There are no Iraqi units capable of operating on their own. Remember how Vietnam ended, you twit? We threw away 58,000 American lives for nothing and you seem bent on doing it again.

A game of Risk

Dave Johnson says it well:

...and then these darn things that never came up in the board game start happening and just mess everything UP for you. Like private sectarian militias - where are THEY in the board game, anyway?! And civil wars! There's no civil wars in Risk! And IEDs. And car bombs in the middle of crowds of police recruits. And you don't even NEED body armor in Risk...

Remember when the Repukes said 'the adults are in charge now'? Not adults, just frustrated college boys who can't get laid.

Dr. Strangedeal

The Economist [sub req'd] has some serious concerns about Bush's India nuke deal:

...This week America and others were insisting at the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran not be allowed to bend the anti-nuclear rules out of shape to further what are assumed to be its weapons ambitions. So why does Mr Bush propose doing just that for already nuclear-armed India?...

But it is one thing to have as broad and close a friendship with a nuclear India as the anti-nuclear rules allow. That is already in both countries' interests. It is quite another to knock aside the rules for India's sake. To be sure, Mr Bush is not proposing that other nuclear dabblers be given a welcome if they are persistent enough to succeed-though that will be the message Iran prefers to hear this week. Rather, he wants democratic, friendly, law-abiding India to be treated as an exception by Congress, which must first amend America's own laws if the deal is to go through, and by others in the NSG.

The problem here is that India could instead prove the exception that fatally weakens the rules. The devil is both in the deal's troubling detail, and in its likely knock-on effects.

India may not have signed the NPT, but America has. In doing so, it promised not to help other countries with their nuclear-weapons tinkering. It also pioneered the reinforcing principle that only countries that have all their nuclear facilities under international safeguards (India doesn't now and won't in future) should benefit from trade in civilian nuclear technology. If countries were going to sign the NPT and renounce nuclear weapons themselves, they needed assurance that as many others as possible would follow suit. To encourage them, treaty rights-help in enjoying the benefits of civilian nuclear power-were withheld from those that shrugged off or ignored its obligations.

...

This will come back to bite us in the ass, just as most of the Chimp's 'leadership decisions' have. With this deal, we're beginning a whole new arms race. One, with the instability in the world today, that will surely end in tragedy.

In addition, the beautiful Katrina vanden Heuvel noticed a new move by DoD that will no doubt heighten tensions instead of diffusing them. Did Rummy put every moron in the world at DoD or do they all have to check their brains at the door when they walk into the Pentagon nowadays?

Git a rope!

This is from the Chimp's hometown newspaper:

These people stole our White House. They bastardized all four branches of our Government. They have done nothing for the People, not one thing the majority of the People have wanted.

If you haven't read between the lines, then I'll spell it out: I'm so damned pissed off I could chew nails!

You should be, too.

America and the rest of Planet Earth can't take another three years of Bush, Cheney, Rove, Rice, Rumsfeld and the rest! And they don't deserve more time.

It has been 1,914 days since the Rehnquist Supreme Court allowed this illegal oligarchy overthrow of our Government. It's high time we take it back.

Richard M. Nixon was tossed out of office for far less, and Spiro T. Agnew left the vice-presidency in disgrace over what amounted to a minor infraction compared to Cheney's dishonorable, greedy, un-American activities.

Impeach the lot of the George W. Bush and Karl Rove Cabal.

Note to Georgie: This is from the Barbarians at your Gate.

If my hometown paper said shit like that about me, I'd reconsider whatever it was they said I was doing wrong. Just before I snuck moved away in the dead of night to avoid bein' tarred and feathered and run out of town on a rail. Or to avoid being the guest of honor at a necktie party.

"I'm from the government and..."

This is telling, if not particularly comforting, about our government's mindset as to what our troops need to know about cultural sensitivity in Iraq. From Liberation.fr:

Before rushing into Iraq, Captain Fick's men learned two phrases in Arabic: "Stop or I'll shoot!" and "We're here to help you."

I'm sure a great career in Federal domestic 'law enforcement' awaits these troops upon their discharge. And they can say these phrases in English, along with "Show me your papers" and "Tough shit about your door".

Today

I'm just getting ready to head off. I'll be bringing the Mrs. home this morning since the last of the pathology came back negative for cancer last night. Dr. Abu-Rustum says she's proceeding ahead of schedule in her recovery too. Yay!!!

I'd just like to thank the folks at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center for their competence, professionalism, caring, and thoughtfulness. A very impressive team who took great care of my wife and didn't have a problem with me showing up in the wee hours of the morning, 2 hours before the normal visiting hours, and hanging around for half the day. Special thanks to Ofor (yes, that's his name), the Army medic (Reservist) who just came back from Iraq and is pursuing his nursing degree while he works at Sloan as an aide. He doted on my wife, making sure she was comfortable and wanted for nothing. Thanks, man. I'm eternally in your debt, brother.

Several folks have asked where to send flowers. I'd rather, in lieu of sending anything to us, you make a donation to Sloan-Kettering for what the flowers or gift would cost. Flowers die but your gift to them can help folks who really need it.

Once again I'd like to thank all of you who've left good words and wishes in comments or who've emailed me directly. The generosity of concern has been overwhelming. Thank you on behalf or the Mrs. and Shayna.

Now we work on getting back to normal.

On message

I hear guys saying the Dems don't have a message, like my link to Matt Stoller's post this morning.

...

Yes, it's that bad. I've been told that the way to gain power in the Democratic caucus is to get elected, and then this is key, to not die. That's how you become a committee leader. And apparently to become leader you promise not to rock the boat and make sure that every gets their precious little committee assignment, regardless of merit. Listen to this pathetic podcast by Representaive Frank Pallone, who jokes about what a bad job he's doing as the Democratic member in charge of 'message'. Yes, in fact that's his job as the Communications Chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, where he "coordinates the party's message on the floor of the House of Representatives."

...

And then guys like Bill Press who get all incensed and proceed to lay out the Dem agenda:

...

Looking at mid-term elections of 2006, political reporters are incapable of writing about all the monumental screw-ups of George Bush and Republicans, without immediately adding: Yeah, but Democrats are worse.

...

Look, they might have a plan and an agenda. They might even have a message. But it's not the correct message. This is what should be beaten like a rented mule until Election Day:

The Republican Party is an organized criminal enterprise.

That's it. Simple. One coordinated message that comes out of every Dem pie hole whenever they're in front of a camera. I don't have to give examples, pick a couple from the big pile. DeLay, Abramoff, Cunningham, Halliburton, Iraq, New Orleans and tie 'em all together with the money they've stolen from the treasury and their constituents. That's the message.

...a stunning warning

From Attytood:

Sandra Day O'Connor rips into GOP, DeLay, Cornyn, and warns of the "beginnings" of dictatorship

This has to do with pols going against judges whose rulings they don't agree with and the possible outcome. It's a "should read".

Half, dammit

Half of us believe Man was spat, fully-formed, on the face of this earth by God...literally. Someone please kill me.

A Veteran's Letter to the President

Go read it at Main and Central.

Not About Brazilian Pube Jobs?

The Rude One goes off on Laura Bush. Doesn't really mean a damn thing, but it's funnier'n shit.

Unless it's "Jesus Christ, you're on fire" or "Let me lick that clean for you," the Rude Pundit doesn't give a happy monkey fuck what Laura Bush has to say.

Christ, sex between them must be like watching a circus clown fuck a balloon animal.

...Laura droned on about the Laura Bush Foundation, which is not, it turns out, a place for researching the proper care and maintenance of a Brazilian pube job...

It's not? Shit! I sent 'em money...

Enjoy.

Cultural Warmongers

No quotes, because it's hard to hold my nose and link to Pat Buchanan at the same time. He's got a good point. There, I said it (Shudder!).

Naked came the blogger

TBogg's goin' Big Time:

I guess I should let everyone in on my little secret.

I have been commissioned to write a book on blogging for a sub-major publishing house (Not Regnery. I said sub-major, not sub-human). Negotiations started several months ago, and today we finally dotted our i's and crossed our tboggs and the deal is done. I'm quite excited. Here is what you can expect:

The book is tentatively called -

An Army of Wankers: How Blogging and Technology Empower Social Maladroits to Feign Expertise, Over-Simplify Complex Arguments, and Land Face Time on Reliable Sources.

In a wide-ranging survey employing very long words containg both vowels and consonants, in addition to Venn diagrams, scratch-and-sniff panels, knock-knock jokes, and pop-ups, I will explain:

This oughta be good. Here's a sample:

Cock-headed man-whore or cock-headed journalist-whore? You make the call.

Some of the 'comments' are good too, to wit:

And be sure to use the line "between the sheets" liberally. That would spice it up AND drive the nitwits crazy.

Oh, and maybe "vagina" too.

The Amazon reviews are being composed already...

Speaking as a Social Maladroit, this is fun stuff. Go read.

Rove on track for real port deal...?

This might be a little tinfoil-hattish, but that's never stopped me before. From TPM Cafe:

Karl Rove, Rush Limbaugh, and the hawks have done it again. The fell-through Dubai-Ports deal is a backroom deal between the White House Hawks and the prospective firms--all in a diversionary tactic to get the deal to Halliburton--one of the only American firms that can easily handle the task. The priceless element of this: Democrat Chuck Schumer believes he came up with the idea.

This is the information I have.

On the evening of December 21, 2005--Bush had just secured an extension of the Patriot act until July. He wrote a memorandum for the Secretary of Transportation, and then met privately with a few advisors (Rumsfeld, Rove, Cheney, Card) and discussed how the Patriot Act would get through. In this private discussion, Rove proposed the idea of creating a diversionary tactic through an upcoming ports deal. Cheney and Rove toyed with this idea at length, as card and Bush worked on the details of how to get the Patriot Bill into a sure-win situation with Congress. Rove noted that the next years elections would weigh heavily on the Senator's decisions vis a vis Terror, an issue which Bush had been dropping in the numbers--and seemed vulnerable. If the Democratic leaders would believe the opposition of a Islamic ports deal could be their opportunity to out-do Bush on his hiterto strongest issue--they would all but secure that the deal would fail, and they would be ahead on the issue of Terror--right before the elections. In the process, Halliburton could be subtly offered up through channels as a "lesser of two evils" alternative. Si vis pacem, para bellum

I don't know if this is true, but it wouldn't surprise me a bit. I wouldn't put anything past Rove and his chimpy little puppet.

What's true now was true then...

Paul Krugman courtesy of Tennessee Guerilla Women.

Never mind; better late than never. We should welcome the recent epiphanies by conservative commentators who have finally realized that the Bush administration isn't trustworthy. But we should guard against a conventional wisdom that seems to be taking hold in some quarters,, which says there's something praiseworthy about having initially been taken in by Mr. Bush's deceptions, even though the administration's mendacity was obvious from the beginning.

According to this view, if you're a former Bush supporter who now says, as Mr. Bartlett did at the Cato event, that "the administration lies about budget numbers," you're a brave truth-teller. But if you've been saying that since the early days of the Bush administration, you were unpleasantly shrill.

Similarly, if you're a former worshipful admirer of George W. Bush who now says, as Mr. Sullivan did at Cato, that "the people in this administration have no principles," you're taking a courageous stand. If you said the same thing back when Mr. Bush had an 80 percent approval rating, you were blinded by Bush-hatred.

And if you're a former hawk who now concedes that the administration exaggerated the threat from Iraq, you're to be applauded for your open-mindedness. But if you warned three years ago that the administration was hyping the case for war, you were a conspiracy theorist.

The truth is that everything the new wave of Bush critics has to say was obvious long ago to any commentator who was willing to look at the facts.

Modesty precludes me from including me 'n Fixer in the "old wave", but Mr. Krugman is absolutely correct. This "new wave" waited until there was absolutely no way to deny or spin their way out of the long-ago-obvious without looking like the idiots we've known they are. There's not enough Kool-aid in the world to sustain the evil charade except for the brain-dead true believers and Corporate beneficiaries.

Welcome to the club, but don't think you're going to be treated like heroes for discovering something new about Bush & Co. You won't be and you didn't. You helped keep this cabal going a lot longer than it should have, and some of us have long memories.

Why we lose

Just read... Wrap your head in duct tape first so it doesn't explode.

Friday Cattle Dog Blogging

"Dad's an idiot. I can't wait until mom gets home."

My Jesus

An excellent quote from Froggy:

...

You know, the GOP likes to play that they are the party of god, but Jesus didn't go around holding $1000 a plate fund-raisers for Herod. He wasn't noted as "one of Caesar's Pioneers." He's famous for walking with the sinners, forgiving thieves and prostitutes, and lending a helping hand to the poor...

Ann Richards

She was my governor when I lived in Ft. Worth. Let's hope she overcomes this latest hurdle.

Godly men

It's a hot day on Indiantown's Brady Ranch. And pastor Doug Giles has his hands on a gun. A wiry man in fatigues and a crumpled cowboy hat, he crouches between two fat oak trees. Then he locks his sight on a 500-pound nilgai antelope and pulls the trigger.

The bullet hits with a force so fierce that the animal sails four feet into the air. Then for a moment it regains its footing and tries to scramble away. But a shattered front leg flops like a jelly-filled sack. When the minister fires again, the antelope tumbles to the ground.

Giles sells a video of the hunt after Sunday services at his Aventura Clash Christian Church ...

And explain to me how Jesus would justify this? Shouldn't a 'pastor' be somewhat non-violent? This is as bad as going to the Far East to fuck children. Killing animals (or anything else) for no reason other than to mount their heads on a wall is unconscionable to me. Ladies and gentlemen, all life is precious and the sooner we realize that, the better off we'll be.

And before all you hunters crawl up my ass, I'm not talking about actual 'hunting season', culling the herd hunting. We have a deer hunt here on Fire Island because they have no natural predators and they'd overrun everything. I understand that. I'm talking about the Cheney-type clowns who go to farms here and in other countries to kill shit for no reason other than the animal's features make a nice 'trophy'.

I knew it

I knew Lardass was on the take.

Thanks: C&L

Carville and Begala

As most of you know, I think Carville is either an idiot or on the take, and Begala isn't much better but tolerable. I don't think they should speak for Democrats. Scott at FDL:

...What's amazing, though, is Michael's archival find--the alternative suggestion advanced at the time [the 2000 election season] by Paul Begala and James Carville, the Democratic Party's self-appointed saviors:

By choosing former Georgia governor Zell Miller as his running mate, Al Gore could add intellectual brainpower, rhetorical firepower, and lots of plain old populist piss-and-vinegar to this staid election.

[...]

...

Couple of fucking morons.

Dear Repubs

At Huffpo:

...

Anyway, the reason I'm writing is, I want to ask, Are you all scumbags? Are you all only interested in your personal wealth, political power, and foisting your idiotic form of fundamentalist Christianity on others? By whatever combination of lies, manipulation, intimidation, deceit, and hypocrisy is necessary?

Surely not. Sheer statistical probability alone requires that there be some of you who are not scumbags. For those who aren't, then, I have several questions:

...

I had that thought this morning as I watched the sun rise over the East River. I don't care what anybody says, New York has the most beautiful skyline of any city in the world.

For all those interested, mama's doing fine. We're hoping to have her home either tomorrow or Saturday. Thanks again for all the good wishes, prayers, and kind words.

Sark Drops Feudalism for Democracy

This is positively HUGE! Drop whatever you're doing and run to My Way News!

LONDON (AP) - There are no cars, roads or dentists and the only ambulance is a converted tractor, but Sark - a tiny self-governing island in the English Channel - embraced the modern world Wednesday, when legislators voted to swap its feudal government for democracy.

After around 450 years of rule almost exclusively by landowners, the smallest independent state in the British commonwealth will allow each of the 600 residents to stand for election.

"It is an enormous leap, a bigger leap than we had wanted. The island was hoping to reform through evolution, not revolution."

Despite the move to embrace modernity, the island retains some unusual laws. Only the head of state - the Seigneur - has the right to keep pigeons or an unspayed female dog.

The use of tractors - the only mechanized transport on the island - is also strictly regulated, with only one passenger per vehicle allowed - except up and down the 300-foot high Harbour Hill.

Actually, I once saw a photo of the Dame of Sark with her motorized invalid carriage. She was tearin' up the roads. That was during the Nazi occupation.

I hope their revolution doesn't give 'em a nosebleed in the wake of their headlong rush into the 18th century.

Be sure to click on the link. It's a lovely place.

Walschwitz

Never one to let bad taste stand in my way, The Guardian sent me here. You vill go look. If you do not, ve haff vays of making you...

Iraq through the prism of Vietnam

General William Odom, USArmy (Retd.), former Director of the NSA, has a few things to say.

The Vietnam War experience can't tell us anything about the war in Iraq - or so it is said. If you believe that, trying looking through this lens, and you may change your mind.

The Vietnam War had three phases. The War in Iraq has already completed an analogous first phase, is approaching the end of the second phase, and shows signs of entering the third.

Gen. Odom has a good historical perspective and knows whereof he speaks. Go read.

Big Business admits it...

Sirotablog

This new article and this new article in the Financial Times finally exposes the real issue fueling Big Money's freakout over Congress moving to stop the Dubai port deal. The first article is most brazen. It quotes the president of the Business Roundtable "warning that renewed political attempts to block the takeover of port facilities could jeopardise both foreign investment and forthcoming trade negotiations." The Roundable, which represents 160 chief executives, dismissed serious security concerns and claimed the controversy is "just another iteration of economic isolationism like the outsourcing debate was." So there you have it in black and white from Corporate America: profits are more important than security.

Big Biz is in on the grim joke: "National Security" is a big scam the way Bush is doing it.

Office Pirates

So there I was (relax, it's not a fairy tale war story), pursuing truth, justice, and the American way on behalf of our readers like I always do. I exist only to serve. Anyway, proving the old adage that even a blind old pig will find an acorn once in a while, somehow I got to this article in the NYTimes, which was interesting enough that I went to the subject site, Office Pirates, to see what I could see. Pretty good, jokes, videos, shit like that. Go see. Don't go if you ain't got a coupla minutes to cruise around. Let me know whatcha think.

Midwest Values

Good interview with Al Franken. From BuzzFlash.

BuzzFlash: Do you feel that redefining and accurately framing progressive values is one of the biggest keys for progressives to win the election? Have you jumped on the Lakoff framing bandwagon?

Al Franken: I have, to some degree. It just drives me nuts that these guys have stolen values, when they're corrupt, dishonest, greedy. They hire people by cronyism. They hijack religion and Jesus, when Jesus talked about helping the poor. As I always say, if you cut out every passage in the New Testament where Jesus talks about helping the poor, or helping the least among us - if you cut out each one of those passages, you'd have the perfect box to smuggle Rush Limbaugh's drugs.

Read and enjoy.

I should have known...

This line at Cursor piqued my prurient interest:

...gay ex-prostitute goes down.

I thought to myself, "Wow! A true enthusiast! Gets after it even when there's no money involved!"

But, of course, there was. It was about Texas politics.

Power and Fantasy

Maureen Dowd compares our two national centers of fantasy and denial. At Donkey O.D.

There is a crash of ideologies between the country's two most self-regarding and fantasy-spinning power centers. The Bush crowd cringes away from gay cowboys spooning, gay authors flouncing, transgender babes exploring and George the Dashing Clooneying in movies about the glories of free speech and the dangers of oilmen influencing policy.

But as I looked around Vanity Fair's slinky Oscar party on Sunday night, it struck me that the bellicose Bushies do share a presentation aesthetic with Tinseltown's trompe l'oeil beauties: you see no furrowed brows, no regretful winces, no unflattering wrinkles, no admissions of imperfection, no qualms about puffing up what you really have, no visible signs of hard lessons learned, and no desire to confront reality in the mirror.

In Hollywood terms, we've reached an Indiana Jones crisis moment in our parlous protectorate. The cave is collapsing, the snakes are encroaching, the vehicles are exploding, the crushing ball is rolling down on us. The public has stopped buying the administration's sugary spin. The Washington Post reported yesterday that 80 percent of Americans - cutting across party lines - say sectarian violence makes civil war in Iraq likely. More than a third call it "very likely." Half also think the U.S. should begin withdrawing troops from Iraq, the poll found, and two-thirds say the president has no clear plan for Iraq.

The widespread resistance to the Dubai ports deal, even among newly fractious Republicans, indicates that Americans have lost faith in the president's competence - a faith shredded by the White House's obtuseness and lies on Katrina.

I love MoDo. The Vanity Fair post-Oscar party is the hottest A-list ticket in Tinsel Town, and she managed to brag a little on herself for getting to go to it, and weave the administration into the phoniness at the same time! Way to go, Red!

Fire Chief Caught On The Lamb

This one's just for fun. From The Smoking Gun.

"You caught me Alan, I tried to fuck your sheep."

Thank God for reality. I couldn't make this shit up!

Veto this, Chimp-o!

From the WaPo

Efforts by the White House to hold off legislation challenging a Dubai-owned company's acquisition of operations at six major U.S. ports collapsed yesterday when House Republican leaders agreed to allow a vote next week that could kill the deal.

Appropriations Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-Calif.) will attach legislation to block the deal today to a must-pass emergency spending bill funding the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. A House vote on the measure next week will set up a direct confrontation with President Bush, who sternly vowed to veto any bill delaying or stopping Dubai Ports World's purchase of London-based Peninsular & Oriental Steamship Co.

Yo, Dubya, you ran your mouth and threatened these guys. Put up or shut up. Let's see you veto your war money. It's your choice: Dubaiously controlled U.S. ports or more money to throw down the sand-hole. Congress might over-ride the veto and you'll get your money and no port deal.

Wanta know the ironical part?

DP World officials suggested yesterday that within days, Peninsular & Oriental's operations will belong to them, no matter what Congress does.

They're not going to stop unloading ships in those port terminals. International trade and corporate profit trumps the War on Terror.

And why not? In Bushworld, Green Money beats out a phony, made up, political Red Herring anytime.

Besides, Bush needs the UAE for bases for the jump-off into Iran.

Just one

I'm off to the city to visit the Mrs. I just want you to leave you with some wisdom from Jo Fish:

...

The last time the US sent military forces in to intercede in a civil war, we had to build a monument to 58,000-plus Americans who lost their lives taking sides in a civil war that both the Preznit and Vice-Preznit ran away from, in spades. This time, those two cowards started it and we, the People own it. Unfortunately.

Iraq will affect the political discourse in this country for the next 20 years. It will not be over when the troops come home, on many levels. For the American public, the troops, the economy, this war has damaged us all immeasurably.

And get a dose of reality from Kevin Hayden. I've been saying this for almost 2 years.

...

Yes, I can compare Bush to Hitler. The numbers of corpses do not need to match. The willingness to maintain that death rate, to practice torture, to murder POWs, to develop a gulag that includes foreign ones we've exiled people to via extraordinary rendition... these are the tools of Stalin and Hitler. The only brake that has kept the numbers of dead smaller has been the press digging out the details. And when they are silenced, the numbers will rise.

...

I'm outta here...

It ain't yer daddy's Jesus...

David at 42 turned me on to this one. In his words,

Dear Friend - It is *imperative* that you read the following page from the White House web site: http://www.whitehouse.org/ask/jesus.asp

Don't delay! Your patriotism is at stake!

Liquid Alert!

Yeah!!!!!

I'm happy to report Mrs. F is out of surgery and doing fine. I should be able to bring her home on Friday. While they did do a complete hysterectomy, they found nothing malignant. Once she heals she'll be good as new. I'm a happy camper.

Thanks to all of my colleagues and commenters who offered prayers and good words. We're both deeply touched.

Have I told you how much I hate driving in Manhattan?

How Tom DeLay Stole Congress

Here's a little teaser.

Update:

NYTimes on the film.

Port deal is necessary for war on Iran

Mike Whitney recalls Napoleon's advice in regard to why Bush is pushing so hard for his UAE port deal:

"If you want to understand the policy of a country, look at the map."

United Arab Emirates is located at the center of an oil-dependent world. This tiny state forms the promontory that juts out into the famed Straits of Hormuz through which 40% of the world's oil passes every day. Across the narrow straights sits Iran, the next victim on the list of "axis of evil" nations. Any attack on Iran will require that military forces quickly deploy to Dubai to forestall the closing of the straits and the subsequent devastation that would occur to world oil supplies and financial markets.

This is the critical point that is being intentionally concealed by America's diversionary media. This is the reason that President Bush continues to force the Dubai port plan even though 70% of the American people and Congress resoundingly oppose it.

As far as we know, however, Ahmadinejad has been straightforward in his claims. The IAEA has consistently found that Iran has fully complied with the terms of the NPT and that there "is no evidence of a nuclear weapons program."

That hasn't stop[ped] Washington, though. The die was cast for war with Iran nearly a decade ago in policy papers drawn up by far-right political ideologues that now control all the levers of foreign policy in the Bush White House.

The hypocrisy of this Bush-backed plan is breathtaking. Bush just finished a trip to India and Pakistan where he effectively declared himself the final arbiter of who will get nuclear technology and fuel and who won't. His actions were a clear affront to the IAEA, the UN, the NPT, and the United States Congress, who is supposed to determine such matters as treaties.

Bush has apparently elected himself the god of all things nuclear.

The NPT is dead.

Will this final assault on international agreements clear the path for war with Iran?

The UAE port deal is just more indication that an attack on Iran is forthcoming. Its location is crucial to the success of any American invasion.

For the Pentagon warlords Dubai has become the strategic epicenter of the global resource war. As peace activist and author Uri Avnery said, "Regimes come and go, rulers rise and fall, ideologies flourish and wither, but geography stands forever. It's geography that decides the basic interest of every state."

All eyes should be focused on Dubai and the tenuous future of the Straits of Hormuz.

I didn't want him to go to war with Iraq, and I really don't want him to go to war with Iran.

Anything that presents a barrier to another criminal war on behalf of Big Corpora is a good thing. The port deal must not stand.

The Solution For South Dakota

The Rude Pundit has a sure-fire plan to get the misogynistic South Dakota Forced Birth law overturned so fast it'll make your head spin. Note: his post contains both bad language and a high sexual content. Win-win! You gotta go read it, but here's the upshot:

Over the next few weeks, months even, as periods are missed and crocodile tears are shed (for, indeed, there will be few real regrets), you can pretty much bet that abortion on demand will become the law of the land in South Dakota so fast that it'll seem that yesterday never happened.

That guy's got a pair o' solid brass ones, don't he? I hope it's nice and warm wherever he is.

Spring is almost here: for Mr & Mrs F

Exhausted, I sought
a country inn, but found
the dogwoods in bloom.
Basho

We're thinking of you two. Get the rest you need, have some chicken soup and get ready to enjoy springtime (plant some bulbs for next year)!




(I took a little liberty with Basho, who found wisteria in bloom.)

Family matters

My ass is gonna be scarce around here until the weekend. Unfortunately, during an exam two weeks ago, Mrs. F's doctor found a mass that he didn't like the looks of. Being an Ashkenazi Jew with a family history of cancer (my wife's mom and her grandparents on her mom's side had various flavors), surgery is the only option. She goes in tomorrow morning.

The docs have prepared us for the worst but are hopeful because a C-T scan did not show evidence of metastasis. They'll be doing a biopsy while she's on the table to see if chemotherapy is warranted or not.

While we're naturally concerned, I know she will be in the best place in the world, in the hands of the best doc in the world in the field.

This is a big change for me because it's usually Mrs. F waiting in the hospital for them to put me back together. If all goes well, I'll have her back home for the weekend. Posting will be few and far between because I'll be spending most of my time in Manhattan and frankly, the world can go to Hell for all I care until I know the love of my life is out of danger. I'll let you all know how things went tomorrow night or Wednesday morning.

Gord's got the keys. Behave yourselves until I get back.

See ya's.

Enjoy Monkey Tail

Take about 15 minutes and go see this film. I don't know where he finds this shit, but this is the best one yet from Cleek. Yes, install the media upgrade if you have to. It's worth it.

This day in history

From Geov Parrish

3/6/1836: Mexican troops defend their country's abolitionist constitution, defeat foreign slaveholders. San Antonio, Texas. Remember the Alamo.

Then again, maybe they were just trying to get part of their country back. I wish they'd try again.

1857: Dred Scott decision by U.S. Supreme Court opens federal territory to slavery and denies citizenship to blacks, ruling that blacks are not entitled to protection under the law. The "unhappy Black Race," wrote Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney in his opinion, had never possessed "rights which the white man was bound to respect."

Gee, sumthin' happens nearly every day! Go read.

The case for impeachment is growing

AlterNet

Until recently, talk of ousting President George W. Bush has proved little more than a distant rumbling. For too long, impeachment has been deemed implausible. It's not going to happen with a Republican Congress, so the argument goes. Not with the president finishing his second term, not while we're at war.

But the distant rumbling is growing louder by the day, creating a resonant echo that is rapidly taking root in public discourse. "Impeach Him," reads the cover of this month's Harper's magazine. And in a public forum in New York City last week, journalists, lawyers, and political figures came together to discuss the case against our president.

n fact, the case for the impeachment of President Bush is arguably the strongest in American history. The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) makes this amply clear in its recent book, a concise indictment of President Bush that lays out four clear legal arguments that point to impeachment as a necessary remedy for the gross violation of our Constitution. The Articles of Impeachment Against George W. Bush covers illegal wiretapping, torture, rendition, detention and the Iraq war. An appendix compares the impeachment proceedings of Andrew Johnson, Nixon and Clinton to the comparatively more powerful case against Bush.

The Articles of Impeachment make clear that this is no longer just about President Bush. Rather, it is about preventing the executive branch from obtaining carte blanche to disregard the two other branches of government. This is a paradigm shift that has already gained substantial footing through this administration's steady erosion of legal precedent.

It is the ultimate case of missing the forest for the trees. Behind this massive body of evidence, behind each new report of this president's transgressions of the law, is the threat of the one and only story that Americans will read for the rest of this presidency, and presidencies to come: The abuse of power, and the destruction of our Constitution.

That may be the legal argument, but this for damn sure is about Bush. And all his merry, evil men.

By all means go read the article. Many links and an interview with the book's author.

Right now, the move for impeachment resembles a sputtering moped. Let's turn it into a fire-breathing Top Fueler.

Priests Purify Shrine After Bush Visit

ABC News International

NEW DELHI Mar 5, 2006 (AP)- Hindu priests who look after the memorial of Indian independence leader Mohandas Gandhi conducted a purification ceremony at the shrine after a visit from President Bush. [...]

A Tijuana whorehouse would need spiritual cleansing after a visit from Bush.

The rest of the story:

[...] But it wasn't the president who offended them, it was the sniffer-dogs who scoured the area ahead of his visit.

These people have a strange order to their priorities. Yes, I know the dogs were a mortal insult to Hindu sensibilities, but I hope they saved some pixie dust to rid the joint of Bush's karma as well.

And these are the folks we're giving nuclear assistance to? If I remember right, they have a six-armed deity named Kali who claims to be the "destroyer of worlds".

Weekly reminder

Ironic Times

Survey: Only One in 1,000 Americans Can Name All Five Rights Guaranteed in 1st Amendment

Those who do are detained, questioned.

Analysis: American Economy Enters New Era

We borrow trillions from other countries to pay their workers low wages to make things our laid-off workers can afford.

Be sure to read all three pages.

On Moussaoui

After a month of jury selection, the death penalty trial of Zacarias Moussaoui, the only man charged with a crime in connection with the Sept. 11 attacks, is set to begin today in a Virginia courtroom, and Hamilton Peterson, who lost his parents on hijacked United Flight 93, plans to be there.

"Justice must be done," Peterson, of Maryland, says. "There must be accountability."

...

I guess we can hoist a body high and claim victory, or revenge, or justice was achieved but this guy was just the dumbest member of the team. Had he been a little smarter, we wouldn't have caught him either, his DNA smeared on the pavement instead of the Chimp's only PR victory in the 'War on Terra'. All I ask is this, more than 4 years after 9/11; where's Osama?

Blame

I touched on this last night when I quoted Atrios commenting on an Andy Sullivan [I still don't get him, I never understood gay Repukes - Fixer] post. This morning my man Dave over at STF looks at another courageous Repuke, Instashithead [link to Kevin Drum; we don't link to idiots here].

The press had better hope we win this war, because if we don't, a lot of people will blame the media.

And a comment struck me:

But damn it, if the chickenhawks had just gone and fought...we'd have won easily, right?...

We sure as hell wouldn't have as big a recruiting problem. If blame is passed out, the ones who should take most of it, aside from the Chimp and his minions, are the Chickenhawks. Those who spoke loudest in favor of it, despite their broad-based unwillingness to serve.

All you so-called 'men' who get your kicks watching the military do their stuff, cheerleading from the safety of the sidelines. You're all pathetic, lame excuses for men and the only power you have comes from subjugating your women and arming yourselves to the teeth. If you believed so strongly in this war, you should have dropped everything and signed up. But that isn't your style, is it? You all talk a good line but, like your so-called leader, all you do is talk.

You've had your say and it's helped run this nation down the road to ruin. Now that we're there, I'm gonna make sure no one forgets your parts in it. Men? Not a chance. You're all a bunch of whiny little boys.

And I blame you!

Let's get this straight #2

To all those 'courageous' right wing bloggers and sycophants who are 'supporting the troops/the president/the war', listen to Atrios:

...

Of course by participating in the public discourse one plays a part in something, but typing away from one's basement does not involve "facing down" anything. Not a single person who opposed this war was "cowardly" as it takes no actual courage to send other people off to kill and die. One does not get to bask in the reflected bravery of those who are actually doing what you send them to do. There was nothing courageous about supporting a war which was supported by the US government and almost the entire punditocracy, and aside from helping to stifle debate and demonize people who quite sensibly opposed the war their contribution to their noble cause was precisely zero.

Eating their own

Last week I wrote about Rep. Peter King's stand against the Dubai ports deal. Seems the Chimp is paying him back:

WASHINGTON, March 3 - Representative Peter T. King's prominent opposition to a proposal to allow a Dubai company to take over some terminal operations at American ports may have earned him some punishment from the Bush administration: He has been grounded.

Mr. King, the New York Republican who is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, confirmed Friday that a few days after he first threatened legislation to hold up the port deal, the Pentagon informed him that it could not provide an aircraft for his planned March Congressional delegation to Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.

...

King is in a position to stick it right back to the White House. Let's see if he does it. I love election year politics.

Thanks to donkey o.d. for the link.

Wha...

No sex toy for you! Did you know Tennessee was overrun with 'em??!!!

Please don't

At Iddybud:

On today's Meet the Press, former Senator and 2004 VP candidate John Edwards of North Carolina stated that he was considering a run for US President in 2008.

I like John Edwards, I really do, and so does Mrs. F, but in '08 we need a person with national and international experience. We don't need someone who'll learn it on-the-job. The Chimp has screwed things to Holy Hell and we need someone who knows what they're doing in order to fix it.

I'd like to see him as a VP candidate on a Wesley Clark ticket. Wes Clark has the international connections (Supreme Commander of NATO) and the sechel to put good people in leadership positions where he is weak. We have to rebuild the foundations of this nation before we begin to move forward again.

And just to be clear, I'm not saying Wes Clark will be my choice, but Clark/Edwards does sound appealing.

Deadly Lies...

Or, Clinton with a Blue Dress.

Oscar blogging

I'm with Roger:

...

What will make this event even more revolutionary is that I haven't seen a single 2005 movie, either in theaters or on DVD. That's at least two less than TBogg. I am less qualified to have an opinion on 2005 films than anyone on any subject, with the exception of Michelle Malkin on any subject.

...

I, however, won't be liveblogging. I will be dead sleeping. All I know about the movies this year is just the premise of Brokeback Mountain has given four immature mechanics too much material.

And one more thing. I'm all for any movie that makes the Jesus-freaks crazy.

Leaving...

LONDON (Reuters) - The United States and Britain are planning to pull all their troops out of Iraq by the spring of 2007, two British newspapers reported in their Sunday editions, quoting unnamed senior defense ministry sources.

The Sunday Telegraph said the planned pull-out followed an acceptance by the two governments that the presence of foreign troops in Iraq was now a large obstacle to securing peace.

...

Stay the course, huh? After wasting hundreds of billions of dollars, hundreds of thousands of lives, American and Iraqi, and destroying our standing in the world, we're just gonna throw up our hands and say 'oopsie'? I'm sorry, but Bush and Blair are gonna have to pay for this. For crying out loud, Bush 1 knew this would happen 15 years ago (the reason the cry 'on to Baghdad' wasn't heard after we kicked Saddam out of Kuwait) and most of the reality-based folks knew it too. Somebody's gonna have to be held accountable and be 'brought to justice'.