The Sacrifice In Iraq Has Been Worth It, per President Bush 

Wide World of Sports, target vomiting edition

"ANOTHER bullseye!"

"How can he do it? that's 7 projectile-vomit bullseyes in succession, a new world's record!"

"The only possible explanation is that he's just read this:"

"After months of anticipation, millions of votes, and heated debate, you, the people have spoken and Ronald Reagan is the 'Greatest American.'"

"EIGHT STRAIGHT! UNBELIEVABLE!"

HA HA HA HA HA. Glad I had a drink before I got to Preemptive Karma.

They lie about everything

Fucking Assholes.

As global leaders gathered in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum in January, officials from President Bush's $15 billion anti-AIDS program issued a news release citing their accomplishments. Nowhere were the numbers more impressive than in Botswana, where 32,839 AIDS patients were receiving life-extending treatment with the help of the U.S. government, they said.

The operations manager of Botswana's treatment program, Segolame Ramotlhwa, called the U.S. figures "a gross misrepresentation of the facts." His boss, Patson Mazonde, who as deputy permanent secretary for health services had overseen the program since its inception in 2002, called the Bush claim "false" but suggested it was merely a mistake.

They agreed on the number of patients in Botswana who had been put on treatment because of the Bush program: zero.

Impeach Bush.
Impeach Bush.
Impeach Bush.

Back to our regularly scheduled program.

Let's not forget this truly egregious cut and paste hatchet job by this administration:

A State Department release from Monday doctored remarks from U2’s Bono, twisting his quote to mean the very opposite of what he apparently believes. Here’s the State Department paragraph, two graphs below the lede [besides underlining, excerpt appears exactly as published]:

Bono, lead singer of the Irish band U2 and longtime activist for aid to Africa, echoed Geldof’s praise for President Bush as he told an American television interviewer June 26, “[Bush] has already doubled and tripled aid to Africa .… I think he has done an incredible job, his administration, on AIDS. 250,000 Africans are on anti-viral drugs; they literally owe their lives to America.”

Real comment by Bono, before Dubya's SSI got involved:

The most important and toughest nut is still President Bush. He feels he’s already doubled and tripled aid to Africa, which he started from far too low a place. He can stand there and say he paid at the office already. He shouldn’t because he’ll be left out of the history books. But it’s hard for him because of the expense of the war and the debts.

I need another drink.

News flash: Iraq is a disaster

He's back in Iraq for one day, and his hell is a far cry from Rummy's version of Iraq:

"It's amazing, it's historic, what's taken place," he said. "Twenty-five million Iraqi people have been liberated, and they have now have a sovereign government. And they've had a successful election, and the hospitals and the schools are open, and they're making good progress on developing a constitution. And they're going to have a final election in December of this year."

Yet, none of these facts is well known to the American public, the secretary said. "They're not as newsworthy, apparently, because (they) don't get reported as much," Rumsfeld said. "What gets reported is that 10 Iraqis are killed (by) a suicide bomber, or an American soldier is killed."

The secretary said the American people can be optimistic about a good outcome in Iraq, but the optimism must be tempered with an understanding of reality. "We have to recognize that it's a tough, tough, tough world, and there are going to be bumps in the road between now and then," he said.

"Bumps in the road"? Just earlier today, presumably before the Iraqi journalist was killed, an Iraqi member of parliament was killed in a car bomb attack. I can't even begin to tell you how many Iraqis have been killed in the weeks I was away. And how many more Iraqis, journalists or otherwise, will die because the Americans can't tell who's friend or foe? Those aren't "bumps in the road." Those are signs that you went off the road without a map a long time ago.

History isn’t just repeating itself. It’s mocking us.

The jig is up -- so the right needs a chump. And when the U.S. presence is finally forced out there, because no one supports it here, guess who will get the blame.

You got it. Liberals.

I thought I really wanted to see this flick until I started hearing more about it.

The reality of life in L.A. is far different than that presented by this movie. The city is perhaps the nation's most diverse. The intermarriage rate here is five times the national norm. According to the 2000 Census, beyond the numerous ethnic enclaves, there are areas of the city so diverse that no single ethnic or racial group is dominant.

Review of the movie "Crash," as posted on Marc Cooper's blog.

What Threat Was Fallujah To The US Three Years Ago?

Juan Cole's take on Dumbya's speech:

"The commander in charge of coalition operations in Iraq, who is also senior commander at this base, General John Vines, put it well the other day. He said, We either deal with terrorism and this extremism abroad, or we deal with it when it comes to us."

This is monstrous and ridiculous at once. The people in Fallujah and Ramadi were not sitting around plotting terrorism three years ago. They had no plans to hit the United States. Terrorism isn't a fixed quantity. By unilaterally invading Iraq and then bollixing it up, Bush and Vines have created enormous amounts of terrorism, which they are now having trouble putting back in the bottle.

I am not a crook

The most disingenuous presidential speech in 30 years.

Easily. Not since "I am not a crook" have we been more certain of watching a president address a concerned nation with such utter insouciance towards reality.

Grab a martini, and read more.

IRAQ IS NOT WHERE OSAMA IS

Bush Offers Defensive Rhetoric, Rejects Real Solutions

'I'm not sitting at the back of the bus anymore"

Lest we forget other news. From our good neighbor up north, we have this, courtesy of CathiefromCanada, regarding today's historic vote:

I phoned my daughter tonight to celebrate with her about the gay marriage vote. She said "Mom, I feel like I'm not sitting at the back of the bus anymore."

Exactly. Yes, exactly.

Not that gay marriage was actually banned anymore in eight provinces anyway, because of the court cases.

But its one thing for a judge to declare that gay marriage is constitutional, and its another thing entirely for the elected leadership of the country to demonstrate in such a concrete way their support for gay rights, their recognition that gay people are fully Canadian.

Or fully American.

As usual, under this administration, the US is far, far, far, far, far behind the rest of world on this issue of equality.

(typing huge cuz i'm shouting)

What is a Citizen's Responsibility?

Good read over at Corked Bats.

This is from Heather Gladney commenting at Taking the Fight to Karl. She wanted to give some feedback, but did not want to post on the front page because she is not a veteran. Listen to what she says:

I have been posting links about the outrages going on for over two years now, stating as firmly as I know how that while it is a soldier's job to obey orders, it is a "citizen's" job to ask very tough questions of a government, and to insist on getting answers, and holding those responsible accountable for their wrongdoing and fraud--I regard it as the job of folks back home to demand why they want to cut back on veteran's benefits just when they are most needed, why there isn't enough armor, why the supply problems, why the shoddy command structure happened at Abu Ghraib, on and on. But we, too, are being dismissed as irrelevant.

Sounds about right. They take advantage of ignorance and actually try to encourage it. Bush hasn't gone to a funeral for a soldier yet. He hasn't called our country to service. He HAS told us to buy lots of stuff and be VERY afraid for lots of "reasons" that don't hold up to any scrutiny beyond the reasoning powers of our favorite "lawyer" Ann Coulter. Who does he respect and who does he wish to include in our country? It is a fair question.

Has the man no decency or honor at all?

{BUSH] We live in freedom because every generation has produced patriots willing to serve a cause greater than themselves. (via Think Progress)

Two words: Where's Jenna?

Three Words: Where were you?

Four Words: You're shitting me, right?

I mean, now we know "the intelligence and facts were fixed around the policy." And we knew then (because some Gucci-clad winger left his PowerPoint slides in a Starbucks) that Bush rolled out the war vote to win the 2002 mid-terms.

So how do you ask anyone to give their lives for a cause like that? Has the man no decency or honor at all?

NOPE.

And Just WHERE Are Those Conservatives Who Support This War?

My son was a very liberal Democrat. When he signed up for the National Guard no one asked, when he was deployed no one asked his opinion or his politics, and after he lost his life protecting the people looking for those weapons of mass destruction, no conservative hawk came forth to take his place. Nor have they lined up at recruiters offices to answer the needs of our exhausted Army.

Got that from Damn Liberals, citing a blog citing a blog!

Compare that with this from The Nation concerning "Generation Chickenhawk:"

All around me sat the Republican Party's future leaders: fresh-faced, nondescript white guys in blue suits, and slender blond girls in miniskirts and snug-fitting blazers, some with halter tops underneath.

In interviews, more than a dozen conventiongoers explained why it is important that they stay on campus while other, less fortunate people their age wage a bloody war in Iraq. They strongly support the war, they told me, but they also want to enjoy college life and pursue interesting careers. Being a College Republican allows them to do both. It is warfare by other, much safer means.

I chatted for a while with Collin Kelley, a senior at Washington State with a vague resemblance to the studly actor Orlando Bloom. Kelley told me he's "sick and tired of people saying our troops are dying in vain" and added, "This isn't an invasion of Iraq, it's a liberation--as David Horowitz said." When I asked him why he was staying on campus rather than fighting the good fight, he rubbed his shoulder and described a nagging football injury from high school. Plus, his parents didn't want him to go. "They're old hippies," Kelley said.

Munching on a chicken quesadilla at a table nearby was Edward Hauser, a senior at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas--a liberal school in a liberal town in the ultimate red state of Texas. "Austin is ninety square miles insulated from reality," Hauser said. When I broached the issue of Iraq, he replied, "I support our country. I support our troops." So why isn't he there?

"I know that I'm going to be better staying here and working to convince people why we're there [in Iraq]," Hauser explained, pausing in thought. "I'm a fighter, but with words."

It goes on and on and on. Kind of makes you sick, these "young rethugs" advocating a war that they themselves would NEVER volunteer for. So much for real patriotism, eh?

Let's end with this tidbit:

By the time I encountered Cory Bray, a towering senior from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, the beer was flowing freely. "The people opposed to the war aren't putting their asses on the line," Bray boomed from beside the bar. Then why isn't he putting his ass on the line? "I'm not putting my ass on the line because I had the opportunity to go to the number-one business school in the country," he declared, his voice rising in defensive anger, "and I wasn't going to pass that up."

And besides, being a College Republican is so much more fun than counterinsurgency warfare. Bray recounted the pride he and his buddies had felt walking through the center of campus last fall waving a giant American flag, wearing cowboy boots and hats with the letters B-U-S-H painted on their bare chests. We're the big guys," he said. "We're the ones who stand up for what we believe in. The College Democrats just sit around talking about how much they hate Bush. We actually do shit."

We actually do shit.

Someone get me a bottle of tequila.

Pulllllleeeeeeezzzze!

House Agrees to $3,100 Pay Raise for 2006

Where is the average American's COST OF LIVING INCREASE, DAMN IT?

The House on Tuesday agreed to a $3,100 pay raise for Congress next year — to $165,200 — after defeating an effort to roll it back.

To add insult to injury:

The annual debate on the members' COLA resembles kabuki theater: Both Democratic and Republican leaders guarantee sizable majorities of their members to block the effort, and they make sure there is not a clear-cut vote on the measure. None of the party campaign committees uses the pay-raise issue in campaigns.

And this from the Horse's Ass:

"It's not a pay raise," said House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R- Texas. "It's an adjustment so that they're not losing their purchasing power."

Tell that to the millions of Americans who lost their purchasing power on YOUR FUCKING WATCH, DICK HEADS.

U.S. plans to expand prison space in Iraq

And now, for those wearing rose colored glasses, I suggest you skip this post.

Faced with a ballooning prison population, U.S. commanders in Iraq are building new detention facilities at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison and Camp Bucca near the Kuwaiti border and are developing a third major prison, in northern Iraq.

The expansion campaign will cost just more than $50 million: $30 Million for Camp Cropper, $12 million to expand Camp Bucca, $8 million to renovate Fort Suse and just less than $1 million for Abu Ghraib.

Move along. Nothing to see here.

GOP THREATENS GEORGE SOROS

I cannot believe this story I just read. George Soros is part of a financial group that, just maybe, might purchase the new Washington Nationals baseball club. And it has got the RePUKElican congressmen up in arms, threatening the NATIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE should they allow George Soros to purchase a baseball team!

Read this:

While the Soros-Ledecky group is not seen as the frontrunner to win the bidding for the Nationals, who should be awarded to their new owner at the end of the 2005 season, the very prospect that Soros could have a stake in the team is enough to irritate Congressional Republicans.

"I think Major League Baseball understands the stakes," said Government Reform Chairman Tom Davis (R), the Northern Virginia lawmaker who recently convened high-profile steroid hearings. "I don't think they want to get involved in a political fight."

Davis, whose panel also oversees District of Columbia issues, said that if a Soros sale went through, "I don't think it's the Nats that get hurt. I think it's Major League Baseball that gets hurt. They enjoy all sorts of exemptions" from anti-trust laws.

Indeed, Hill Republicans could potentially make life difficult for MLB in a variety of ways. In addition to being exempt from anti- trust rules, baseball is still under scrutiny over the steroid issue. The Nats, meanwhile, hope to have a publicly-funded stadium built soon, though money for that venture is expected to come through the sale of bonds rather than a federal outlay.

Still, Rep. John Sweeney (R-N.Y.), vice chairman of the Appropriations subcommittee that covers the District of Columbia budget, said if Soros buys the team and seeks public funding for the new stadium or anything else, the GOP attitude would be, "Let him pay for it."

Another senior Republican lawmaker who requested anonymity said that the league should be aware of the perception problem that might be associated with selling the Nats to Soros.

"Why would Major League Baseball want to get involved with George Soros?" said the lawmaker. "It's about more than just the sale price."

These people have no brains. This just is disgusting, and on a Monday morning, no less. Time for more coffee, and a doobie.

Iraq Belongs To The People Living In The Green Republic

If this doesn't make you stop, and shake your head, nothing will:

The price of building materials has gone up unbelievably, in spite of the fact that major reconstruction has not yet begun. I assumed it was because so much of the concrete and other building materials was going to reinforce the restricted areas. A friend who recently got involved working with an Iraqi subcontractor who takes projects inside of the Green Zone explained that it was more than that. The Green Zone, he told us, is a city in itself. He came back awed, and more than a little bit upset. He talked of designs and plans being made for everything from the future US Embassy and the housing complex that will surround it, to restaurants, shops, fitness centers, gasoline stations, constant electricity and water- a virtual country inside of a country with its own rules, regulations and government. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Republic of the Green Zone, also known as the Green Republic.

“The Americans won’t be out in less than ten years.” Is how the argument often begins with the friend who has entered the Green Republic. “How can you say that?” Is usually my answer- and I begin to throw around numbers- 2007, 2008 maximum… Could they possibly want to be here longer? Can they afford to be here longer? At this, T. shakes his head- if you could see the bases they are planning to build- if you could see what already has been built- you’d know that they are going to be here for quite a while.

The Green Zone is a source of consternation and aggravation for the typical Iraqi. It makes us anxious because it symbolises the heart of the occupation and if fortifications and barricades are any indicator- the occupation is going to be here for a long time. It is a provocation because no matter how anyone tries to explain or justify it, it is like a slap in the face. It tells us that while we are citizens in our own country, our comings and goings are restricted because portions of the country no longer belong to its people. They belong to the people living in the Green Republic.

Courtesy of Riverbend.

Well, Are We Negotiating With The Damn Terrorists, Or NOT?

Interesting take by Billmon, over at the Whiskey Bar:

Over the past two years, the U.S. Army and its civilian overlords in the Pentagon have gone from denying the insurgency's existence, to predicting its rapid demise, to claiming they are winning the war against it, to promising victory sometime in the future.

The basis of Bush's appeal has always been his obsessively cultivated image of strength and resolution -- of never backing down or looking for a way out of a fight. Likewise, the administration's last effective selling point for the war is the classic circular argument: America must stay in Iraq because it is in Iraq. Withdrawing before the "mission" is completed would show weakness and encourage the terrorists.

Negotiating with the "terrorists" completely undermines both arguments. It makes Bush look like a trimmer -- exactly the charge leveled with such effect against John Kerry, as in this explanation from the nutcase conservatives at NewsMax:

The Bush campaign's central message on Kerry: Anyone who would negotiate with terrorists can't be trusted with U.S. national security in a post-9/11 world.

The true believers of the Bush cult no doubt can be relied upon to wipe the contradiction from their minds. We'll probably get a post any day now from the Powerline bundists explaining why only liberal traitors oppose negotiating with terrorists. But the silent majority might not be so easy to con. It supported the war when the goal was to defeat the insurgency. It was willing -- much more reluctantly -- to keep the troops in Iraq long enough for "Iraqization" to work, so that Iraqi troops could defeat the insurgency. But you have to wonder whether they'll be willing to keep sending their children to die fighting evil, head-chopping terrorists, when their government is negotiating with those very
same terrorists.

Think it's ugly now? You ain't seen nuthin' yet.

A great explanation of the "Rovian communications strategy," from what just happened, to what to expect.

Look for the new catchphrase: "The Democrats stabbed the Army in the back!"

Courtesy of corrente.

US acknowledges torture at Guantanamo; in Iraq, Afghanistan - UN

Now it all makes sense! The timing of the Rove controversy with this little tidbit:

Washington has, for the first time, acknowledged to the United Nations that prisoners have been tortured at US detention centres in Guantanamo Bay, as well as Afghanistan and Iraq, a UN source said.

'They are no longer trying to duck this and have respected their obligation to inform the UN,' the Committee member said.

UN sources said this is the first time the world body has received such a frank statement on torture from US authorities.

The document from Washington will not be formally made public until the hearings.

Wasn't it oh, what, a week or so that the Rethugs were calling for an apology from Senator Durbin, and are still denying one was made, for saying EXACTLY WHAT THIS DOCUMENT states?

See the big fat man behind the curtain pulling the levers. Pay no attention to the little document the United States government quietly filed with the United Nations admitting to TORTURING prisoners.

$100m cut rejected for public TV, radio

I'm pleased that congress decided NOT to cut funding for PBS.

Big Bird lives to see another day.

UPDATE: It seems that the $100 million is only part of the $300 million slated to be cut.

PBS CEO Pat Mitchell stated restoring the $100 million to CPB was good, but does not constitute full funding.

In other words, GIVE US OUR DAMN MONEY!

The Seven Dwarves of Menopause

I'm just testing the new Blogger feature that allows the uploading of the pictures into your post.

I love this drawing!

Rove, Rove, Rove Your Boat

A visit to The Whiskey Bar, and Billmon has this to say:

In other words, nearly 60% of the American people are now willing to say, flat out, that they oppose the war in Iraq. That's a remarkable statement. I'm not sure 60%ever opposed the war in Vietnam, even after it had been lost. You don't turn those kind of numbers around with PR spin -- the casualty lists now speak louder than the microphone, even one as powerful as the White House's.

Add to that the prospect of still higher gas prices, unfilled (and probably unfillable) economic expectations and the black ring of scandal widening around the DeLay-Abramoff-Reed-Norquist axis of weevils, and it's clear that recycled Reaganite optimism -- the "morning in America" brand of propaganda --isn't going to cut it.

So Rove is falling back on his classic strategy of rallying the base. What's more, he's mainlining it a much rawer and more savage version of the conservative message than the White House usually permits itself. While the customary surrogates -- Fox News, Rush, the blogger hyena pack -- have snarled and snapped, the results apparently have been found wanting. Now Bush's "brain" is stepping into the ring himself.

But, like fellow psychopath Mike Tyson, Rove isn't just telegraphing his punches, he's also displaying the depths of his fear. The rhetorical ear chewing and head butting is a clear sign the champ doesn't have the juice any more, and knows it. Rove is trying to get by on sheer intimidation. He's pushing as many primordial conservative buttons as he can -- leaning on them, in fact -- in hopes he can once again make the dreaded liberals the story, not the march of folly currently sinking into the Iraqi quicksands.

All along, the bedrock of Rove's political "philosophy" has been the conviction that propaganda will always trump reality -- as long as the desired message is consistent with existing popular myths and prejudices. And his preferred tool for meshing the two has always been the conservative base and the enormous gravitational pull it exerts on the weak-minded middle.

all I'm seeing is fuck-up after fuck-up after fuck-up

Amd of course, we have Iraq --- the inexplicable war that nobody really understands, including those who willingly spew happy horseshit about "freedom and democracy" every five minutes --- a war that's costing us our future (to the tune of a billion a week) and the future of America's kids, for no good goddamned reason.

So, please let's talk some more about how liberals don't know how to fight the war on terror. Tell us again how tough the Republicans are and how only they know how to protect the United States because all I'm seeing is fuck-up after fuck-up after fuck-up. In fact, what I'm seeing is the biggest non-stop fuck-up in American history.

Digby has a long read, but it's well worth it.

Veterans Affairs faces $1 billion shortfall

"This shortfall results from either deliberate misdirection or gross incompetence by this administration and the Department of Veteran Affairs," said Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington.

The shortage came to light during a routine budget review. Lawmakers said they are still gathering details, but it appears health care for veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and poor budget forecasting contributed to the problem.

OH, REALLLLLLLYYYY?

As we drink another Martini

73 years old, and he kills a leopard with his bare hands by pulling out his tongue. Incredible. Now if only he could do the same with Sean Hannity. Except his tongue is probably too greasy and fast moving to get a grip on.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Ok, so I had to clean my screen after reading that!

'Tini, you're on a roll!

The Right-Wing Attack Machine: Deceive, Distract, Divide

Here’s what ALL AMERICANS – liberals and conservatives -- understand:

1,379 days have passed since September 11, 2001, and Osama Bin Laden remains un-captured. In comparison, the United States successfully concluded World War II – from Pearl Harbor to the Japanese surrender – in 1,365 days. The head of the CIA, Porter Goss, says he knows where Osama Bin Laden is. Why, then, has Bin Laden not been captured? Nearly 2 1/2 years have passed since the start of the conflict in Iraq, yet the killing and violence continues with no apparent end in sight. Meanwhile, the President says he is “pleased with the progress” and the Vice President says the insurgency is in its “last throes”.

Courtesy of Raw Story.

KARL ROVE MUST GO

John in DC is going ballistic over this. Here's Rove's Washington phone number. Use it. (202) 456-2369

Karl Rove can kiss my God damn ass.

I sat in my Washington, DC apartment on September 11, less than 2 miles from the White House, and watched the Pentagon burn outside my window. I sat in my apartment, alone, wondering if I was going to die, if my country was at war, and what the fuck was happening to the world. My liberal friends on the Hill had to evacuate while I was on the phone with them because there was a report that a plane was coming in. My friend liberal friend David was exposed to Anthrax. My liberal friend in California lost his friend in one of those airplanes. I interviewed the victims of September 11 and their families. I know the pain of September 11, and I don't need a God damn lecture from some White House operative about how I just didn't get it.

I have fucking had it with this White House. This is a story that we do NOT let die, people. Karl Rove's sorry ass needs to leave that White House or the Democrats in Congress shouldn't let ONE PIECE OF REPUBLICAN LEGISLATION ADVANCE, EVER AGAIN.

Dems Say Rove Should Apologize or Resign

"The president wanted to go to Iraq in the worst possible way and he did," Pelosi said. "The president is on the ropes."

"Karl Rove should immediately and fully apologize for his remarks or he should resign," Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a statement. "I hope the president will join me in repudiating these remarks."

The White House defended Rove's remarks and accused Democrats of engaging in partisan attacks. Rove, said spokesman Scott McClellan, "was talking about the different philosophies and our different approaches when it comes to winning the war on terrorism."

We know the truth out here. We will stand with anyone who stands up for us. Where are you?

Interesting rant by guest blogger John Cory at Hoffmania!

The howling banshees of the GOP and corrupt media sprout hair under a full moon and wail into the sky until the noise becomes unbearable for simpering politicians. And the jackals of right-wing power feast on the carcass of democracy. Warm jelly spine is such a delicacy for these carnivores.

This GOP has the moral certitude of Errol Flynn at a convention of underage bargirls in Bangkok. And ethics? Please! Republicans have the ethics of – well – Tom Delay and Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham and the Ohio Coin-gOp scandal. They quote Stalin as a means of dealing with the judiciary or anyone who opposes them, but no one makes them apologize. They call Democrats traitors, and accuse them of aiding the enemy, while at the same time, the GOP ensures their friends profit from the deaths of American soldiers. There is not a corpse in this country that these people will not stick Uncle Dick’s cheney into, in order to screw themselves into a frenzy of godly power. And yet, these bilious bullies rule the political playground? Give me a break!

What he says, and more!

U.S. demanded data from libraries, study finds

U.S. law enforcement officials have made at least 200 formal and informal inquiries to libraries for information on reading material and other internal matters since October 2001, according to a study that adds grist to the growing debate in the U.S. Congress over the government's counterterrorism powers.

The study does not directly answer how or whether the Patriot Act has been used to search libraries. The association said it was constrained from asking direct questions on the law because of secrecy provisions that could make it a crime for a librarian to respond. Federal intelligence law bans those who receive certain types of demands for records from challenging the order or telling anyone they have received it.

That's right. BANNED. The librarian is forbidden to tell anyone that the FBI is looking at your records. That is part of our lovely UNPatriot Act.

And on another note:

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) has damaged and perhaps doomed his chances to become the next chairman of the Homeland Security Committee with his vote last week to limit the scope of the USA Patriot Act.

However, Young’s vote last week for an amendment offered by Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has hurt his chances, according to a GOP leadership aide.

Asked about Young’s vote last week, the House GOP leadership aide said, “It does not serve well for those thinking about the Homeland Security chairmanship to vote against initiatives designed to protect homeland security.”

More examples of how this administration plays ... It's my ball, and I'm going home, so fuck all of you.

Yeah, that's the spirit!

A Failure ...

What We Have Here ...


But wait, it gets better.

The Air Force says it made a little boo boo, but there was "no overt discrimination," in a white-washing report issued today."The root of this problem is not overt religious discrimination, but a failure to fully accommodate all members' needs and a lack of awareness over where the line is drawn between permissible and impermissible expression of beliefs," stated the report, headed by Air Force Lt. Gen. Roger Brady.

Okay, so telling cadets they are going to burn in hell isn't discrimination, saying things that aren't true isn't lying, Gitmo is a tropical resort, and Abu Ghraib was just a few bad apples.

Sounds like a scene out of Cool Hand Luke .... What We Have Here Is A ... Failure To Communicate.

Go get 'em 'Tini.

Don't Hate Us Because We Are Americans, Just Hate Our Government

THE IDIOT SON OF AN ASSHOLE! OMG, that had me cracking up. Check this out.

Questions on UN Option in Iraq

I'm arguing for a UN army with an active
peace-enforcing mandate.

Amen, brother, ain't we all.

Why was Bush so anxious to have a war?

To paraphrase George Armstrong Custer when talking about Injuns, "where the fuck did all those insurgents come from?"

Read more, courtesy of Crooks and Liars.

Liberals, Rove and a Database of Potential Soldiers

What a crock of shit.

"Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers," Rove said. "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war."

He praised the conservative movement's success, calling it "the guiding philosophy for the White House, the Senate, the House."

"No more needs to be said about the motives of liberals," Rove said.

It's just too bad Rove & Company were hell bent on attacking/invading the WRONG FUCKING COUNTRY.

[shaking head].

And if THAT isn't enough, now this:

The Defense Department began working Wednesday with a private marketing firm to create a database of all U.S. college students and high school students between 16 and 18 years old, to help the military identify potential recruits in a time of dwindling enlistment in some branches, the Washington Post reports Thursday.

The invade a country, conscript all the current armed forces they can muster into Iraq, fuck it up really bad, kill thousand of people, including our own soldiers, and now they want to tap into the NATION'S DATABASE OF CHILDREN so that they can hound them into volunteering to go die for BushRove & Cheney, Inc.

"The purpose of the system ... is to provide a single central facility within the Department of Defense to compile, process and distribute files of individuals who meet age and minimum school requirements for military service," according to the official notice of the program.

Uh, can you say DRAFT?

School systems that fail to provide that data risk losing federal funds.

Don't you just love this administration's tactics? Give us your fucking children or will defund your school. Nice "piece of work" to quote Dumbya.

Go to Iraq. And see what's actually happening there.

All that is left is for the tornado to drop a house on him. Then we would know for sure he really lives in Oz.

WASHINGTON - When House Majority Leader Tom DeLay sat down with reporters on Tuesday on Capitol Hill, he was asked to assess President Bush's campaign in Iraq and to respond to criticism that the military mission is not going well and the White House needs to develop an exit strategy.

DeLay offered this response: "These things take time and they take a long time, and some people get weary of the constant barrage that we see in the media.

"You know, if Houston, Texas, was held to the same standard as Iraq is held to, nobody'd go to Houston, because all this reporting coming out of the local press in Houston is violence, murders, robberies, deaths on the highways," DeLay said.

"And if you took that as the image of what is a great city that has an incredible quality of life and an incredible economy, it's amazing to me. Go to Iraq. And see what's actually happening there.

"Everybody that comes from Iraq is amazed at the difference of what they see on the ground and what they see on the television set."

-Atrios

Haliburton made me do it ...

After watching the PBS Frontline show tonite, I’m totally convinced that this administration went to war solely to line the coffers of war profiteering companies, such as Haliburton. Everything this administration has done has been for the sole benefit of their singular corporate buddies, and by this, I don’t mean the nickel and dime corporations that have benefitted as a side result of this administration. I mean the few friends of the Bush family that have connections with certain corporate entities, that planned this.

Hmmm. KBR was setting up in Kuwait six months before Bush ever got authority to go to war.

One of the connects that I am trying to nail down is between the fight over the Cheney energy meeting notes that are subject of a lawsuit, the Bolton nomination document requests, and the corporate groups that got together before the invasion of Iraq and bid for buy-outs of Iraqi assets via the privatization route. Follow the OIL, not the money, to paraphrase a famous Non quote!

P.S. Please, please PLEASE donate to your local PBS affiliate. Now, more than ever, they need your dollars.

They Just Keep Getting Dumber

A NutJob blog's take on the Bolton hold-up:

It does seem a bit odd, doesn't it? I mean, Ambassador to the United Nations is an important post, but it isn't exactly the most important post, is it? John Bolton's overall views are not markedly different from those of Donald Rumsfeld or Condi Rice, so why is the left so extra determined to prevent his approval?

From what I've read around the web, Bolton's gravest sins seem to be that (a) he denigrates treaties like the defunct Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty and (b) he takes a hostile view of Castro's anti-human tyranny in Cuba. For our leftwingers, treaties like the ABM are holy writ - anything which tends to hobble American power is a vital necessity. Additionally, after five decades on their knees to Fidel, the left isn't about to suddenly stand up, wipe off their collective chin and realise they've been worshipping a pig. Stopping John Bolton has become an exercise in re-affirmation on the left: a means of stating that international law (as expressed by treaty) is paramount in the United States and that Castro's Cuba is the shining light of the world.

Round about ten years ago I wrote, just to myself (the days of pre-blogophere, ya know?) that the most common aspect of leftwing thought is hate: our leftwingers are collosal haters, and they never forget or forgive. Stopping John Bolton is just a bit a payback for Bolton, long ago, saying a few bad words about Fidel and the ABM.

Man ... the bar on stupidity was lowered a bit today!

From Tom Toles

LOL. Dinner Therapy.

Shades of my ex husband. HAHA. (inside joke)

I'm Telling You ... Diary of the Food Whore rocks!

First you layer instant mashed potato flakes on the bottom. I use 1/2 a box. Then over that you pour 4 cans of Cream of Mushroom soup. On top of that you do chunks of velveeta. I use an entire brick! Don't you just love the way Velveeta melts?"

"Ok so then on top of the velveeta you add 3 cans of lima beans, corn, and carrots. Wait! I don't mean 3 cans each. I mean one can of each, 3 total. Ok so where was I... oh! Ok so on top of the vegetables you layer chopped ham and then you cut up a cube of butter and drop that over the ham. And then you cook it on 275 all day or until the mashed potatoes bubble up from the bottom. Which is why it's a surprise! No one knows there are mashed potatoes in there! Isn't that fantastic?"

In unison, the entire crowd turned to look at me in anticipation of what I was going to say. And it took me a while. So many things were going through my head. The muscles in my neck were actually stiff from trying to desperately to keep my face from contorting into looks of shock, confusion, horror, and just general fear of what may come out of my mouth.

Oh you need to try it. Promise me you will at least try it!"

"I will try it, sometime. Perhaps in the Fall when it's cool outside."

"That would be perfect! I can't wait to hear your review. I plan to make it one of these days and I will bring you a sample."

Please let "...one of these days" be close to the time when Hell freezes over.

I feel that way a lot, about the Bush administration. Sigh.

Democrats Block a Vote on Bolton for the Second Time

All I can say is ... Hell Yeah!

For the second time in a month, Senate Democrats blocked a vote on Monday evening on the nomination of John R. Bolton to be ambassador to the United Nations ...

Geldorf, Go Fuck Yourself

OMG !!! HE DID NOT SAY THIS:

LIVE 8 organiser Bob Geldof claimed yesterday that George Bush had done more for Africa than any other US president.

What a fuck head. He's an idiot.

Few Americans Regard Lawmakers as Statesmen

Many adults in the United States are dissatisfied with the performance of their elected legislators, according a poll by Opinion Dynamics released by Fox News. Only 17 per cent of respondents believe the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate are statesmen doing a service for their country.

New low ... one has to consider that most Americans get their news from their favorite "fair and balanced" (albeit LWL?) M$M, so what does this say, exactly, about the audience for these programs? It tells me that despite their constant harping that the Democrats, or the Liberals, or George Soros is manipulating congress, et al., it's really congresss, in and of itself, that is pissing off the Americans.

CAN I GET AN AMEN?

Thanks to Angus Reid (via Raw Story) for the heads up.

U.S. spending on Iraq may soon surpass Korean War budget

Lawmakers in the United States were scheduled to vote on Monday to approve $45 billion US in additional funding for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, making the recent Middle East foray more expensive than the entire Korean War.

Yeah, you read that right. MORE EXPENSIVE than the entire fucking KOREAN WAR.

Read more.

IMPEACH BUSH.
IMPEACH BUSH.
IMPEACH THE S.O.B. BUSH.

Anyone Seen Those Senators?

Courtesy of Bill Day (link from AMERICAblog)

Vhat, Shoot The Svans? These LOVLIES?

I'm watching the 2005 ABA presentation of Swan Lake on my local PBS station.

Yeah, LEFT WING PBS.

WE need to get a shit load of public MONETARY support for PBS now that congress has decided to ELIMINATE PBS funding altogether in two years. Just like Dean's grassroots campaigns.

NJDC: "Enough is Enough; The GOP's Religion-Bating Must Stop"

Washington, DC: During a debate today surrounding an amendment by Rep. David Obey (D-WI) to fully examine allegations of proselytizing and religious intolerance at the United States Air Force Academy, six-term Republican Rep. John Hostettler (IN) rose to assert that "Democrats can't help denigrating and demonizing Christians." [Rush transcript.] Rep. Obey, the ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, interrupted Hostettler's deeply disturbing remarks and demanded that they be formally retracted; Hostettler ultimately agreed to retract one sentence from his diatribe.

Earlier in his remarks, Hostettler discussed the drive by Democrats to erase every "vestige" of Christianity from America; he also prefaced his remarks by noting that "The long war on Christianity today continues on the floor of the House of Representatives." During a meeting of the House Armed Services Committee on May 18th, while debating a similar amendment by Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY), Hostettler referred to "the mythical wall separation (sic) between church and state that's been erected by the courts."

"Enough with the religion-bating already; the GOP and conservatives must stop attacking Democrats as being against Christians and against faith in America. Such ludicrous assertions and stereotypes coarsen our political debate, they have no place in civil discourse in this country, and they are utterly beneath one of America's two major political parties," said National Jewish Democratic Council Executive Director Ira N. Forman. "The heroic efforts by Representatives Obey and Israel supporting religious expression by people of all faiths at the Air Force Academy -- including people of no faith -- are hardly an attack on Christians, as Mr. Hostettler disturbingly alleged.

"In fact, Reps. Obey and Israel are working to protect the religious liberty of every American, which is exactly what our military has fought to protect again and again. If anything, Rep. Hostettler's shocking display demonstrates just the type of religious intolerance that Reps. Obey and Israel were seeking to address. But the GOP has had their say today, and sadly voted down the Obey amendment.

"Today on the floor of the U.S. House, we've seen Republicans overrule Democratic efforts to squarely address proselytizing and religious intimidation at the Air Force Academy, and perhaps more shockingly, we've seen a key Republican allege a Democratic 'war on Christianity.' On both counts, they just don't get it," Forman added.

A Pathetic Argument for CAFTA

Then again, that's likely the reason why Corporate America and the Bush administration is pushing so hard for CAFTA - they know that Central America's hostility to unions means the region will be a prime place to find cheap labor - cheap labor that will allow companies to eliminate more good-paying U.S. jobs

.

As usual, David Sirota nails it.

The US war with Iran has already begun

This timeline of events has ramifications that go beyond historical trivia or political investigation into the events of the past.

It represents a record of precedent on the part of the Bush administration which must be acknowledged when considering the ongoing events regarding US- Iran relations. As was the case with Iraq pre-March 2003, the Bush administration today speaks of "diplomacy" and a desire for a "peaceful" resolution to the Iranian question.

But the facts speak of another agenda, that of war and the forceful removal of the theocratic regime, currently wielding the reigns of power in Tehran.

Very good point. Read more, here.

This is UNBELIEVABLE

Marine Pfc. Jeremy Tod, 19, called home with news that his superiors were urging him and fellow Marines to buy special military equipment, including flak jackets with armor plating, to enhance the prospects of their survival. The message was that such purchases were to be made by Marines with their own money.

"He said they strongly suggested he get this equipment because when they get to Iraq they will wish they had," Tod said. Total estimated cost: $600.

Bush holds a fundraiser wherein he lets porn star Ms. Carey attend, and donate money to, which raised something like 25 million dollars, but a fucking soldier has to cough up the $600 just to buy armor to protect him?

And you idiots STILL think this guy is a great representative of AMERICAN VALUES?

IMPEACH BUSH.
IMPEACH BUSH.
IMPEACH BUSH.

bombing raids were illegal

It just keeps getting better:

A SHARP increase in British and American bombing raids on Iraq in the run-up to war “to put pressure on the regime” was illegal under international law, according to leaked Foreign Office legal advice.

The advice was first provided to senior ministers in March 2002. Two months later RAF and USAF jets began “spikes of activity” designed to goad Saddam Hussein into retaliating and giving the allies a pretext for war.

The Foreign Office advice shows military action to pressurise the regime was “not consistent with” UN law, despite American claims that it was.

There's that famous phrase, "despite American claims" to the contrary. So very much an administration that just, flat out lies. Everything about the Iraq invasion has come up with the "despite American claims" overview. There were no WMD, "despite American claims." There is no connection to 9/11 and Iraq, "despite American claims." There has been prisoner abuse at Gitmo, "despite American claims." You get my drift.

This country stooped so low as to try to PROVOKE Saddam into firing a shot so that we COULD START A WAR IN RETALIATION. This just sucks. I know the Crawford bunch THINKS they're real shoot-em-up cowboys, but I'm pretty sure that the DumbOne would lose if he was on the other end of a real shooting showdown. He only talks from the hip, they're not a prayer's chance in hell he could shoot from the hip to save his life.

Asshole.

IMPEACH BUSH. IMPEACH BUSH. IMPEACH BUSH.

Two retired specialists say Interior excised their warnings on the effects on wildlife and water.

The Bush administration altered critical portions of a scientific analysis of the environmental impact of cattle grazing on public lands before announcing Thursday that it would relax regulations limiting grazing on those lands, according to scientists involved in the study.

These people just NEVER stop the lying. The science has not backed up many of Bush's environmental policies. No problem. Just eliminate it from the PUBLIC reports. This tactic has had the scientific community up in arms, but thus far, it hasn't translated into much "people" anger. I guess when the parks are all fucked up and there are no animals left, someone might start scratching their head in wonderment.

Oh well ...

The original draft of the environmental analysis warned that the new rules would have a "significant adverse impact" on wildlife, but that phrase was removed. The bureau now concludes that the grazing regulations are "beneficial to animals."

Eliminated from the final draft was another conclusion that read: "The Proposed Action will have a slow, long-term adverse impact on wildlife and biological diversity in general."

Also removed was language saying how a number of the rule changes could adversely affect endangered species.

The rules reverse a long-standing agency policy that gave BLM experts the authority to quickly determine whether livestock grazing was inflicting damage.

The regulations also eliminate the agency's obligation to seek public input on some grazing decisions. Public comment will be allowed but not required.

The current administration is BIG on not allowing PUBLIC OPINION. In fact, this administration would like to just ignore the PUBLIC, preferring to acknowledge its own elitest few.

You know we've come to quite a pass when you can honestly say that Dick Nixon is looking better by the day.

People often remark that the Richard Nixon White House set a new low for unethical behavior and rampant lying. Nixon at least had an excuse for his devious behavior. He had done something bad and didn't want to get caught, so he lied. Bush, as far as I can tell, just lies out of force of habit and because "win at any cost" has become the standard operating principle of his party.

Consider this as well: Even though he was a liar, Nixon had some decent ideas. He toyed with introducing a national health care plan, and, get this, a guaranteed minimum income plan. With Bush, we just get lie after lie without any good policy initiatives.

Morbo nails it. This is a must read.

Onward, Moderate Christian Soldiers

In the decade since I left the Senate, American politics has been characterized by two phenomena: the increased activism of the Christian right, especially in the Republican Party, and the collapse of bipartisan collegiality. I do not think it is a stretch to suggest a relationship between the two. To assert that I am on God's side and you are not, that I know God's will and you do not, and that I will use the power of government to advance my understanding of God's kingdom is certain to produce hostility.

By contrast, moderate Christians see ourselves, literally, as moderators. Far from claiming to possess God's truth, we claim only to be imperfect seekers of the truth. We reject the notion that religion should present a series of wedge issues useful at election time for energizing a political base. We believe it is God's work to practice humility, to wear tolerance on our sleeves, to reach out to those with whom we disagree, and to overcome the meanness we see in today's politics.

For us, religion should be inclusive, and it should seek to bridge the differences that separate people. We do not exclude from worship those whose opinions differ from ours. Following a Lord who sat at the table with tax collectors and sinners, we welcome to the Lord's table all who would come. Following a Lord who cited love of God and love of neighbor as encompassing all the commandments, we reject a political agenda that displaces that love. Christians who hold these convictions ought to add their clear voice of moderation to the debate on religion in politics.

Well said, by former Senator John C. Danforth. Read more in NYT.

Bush considers seeking Schiavo investigation

Read this at FloridaBlues:

Gov. Jeb Bush said Thursday he might ask a state attorney to investigate allegations that Terri Schiavo's husband waited more than an hour to call 911 after her 1990 collapse. Terri Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, have previously said their son-in-law waited more than an hour to make the call. An autopsy report released Wednesday didn't address the allegation. "There's some doubt about when she did collapse and how long it took . . . for the 911 call to be made,'' Bush said. ''Which I think is worthy of some investigation. I don't know what form it would take.'' Bush said he might ask Bernie McCabe, state attorney for Pinellas-Pasco, to look into the issue, but that would have to wait until McCabe returned from vacation. Bush said the medical examiner shouldn't determine if there was a gap. ''This is really out of his realm,'' Bush added. ''It's not a medical examiner's job to determine why there would be a gap if there was one.''

Can someone tell me just WHAT is wrong with THAT (and I mean BUSH) FAMILY? These guys are the scum of the earth. I can't wait till the impeachment of the Preznut, then we go after the other nut.

Why do the Religious Right Think about Sex so much?

Blog Trolling.

Ok, so I'm a lush, blog trolling. Who gives a fuck!

Almost nobody on the religious right thinks about sex more than the Rev. Lou Sheldon. His latest -- a little ditty called The Agenda: The Homosexual Plan To Change America is endorsed by republican token J.C. watts, who has all the intellectual capacity of a retired second string running back. Wait a minute, that's an insult to second string running backs.

Blogs For Bush

I Know, I'm Obsessed With Them!

(picture courtesy of Ballon Juice)

Ohio had gone to John Kerry -- WTF Happened?

Have exit polls always been considered accurate?

Up until the Bush family began running for office.

This is a MUST READ.

Rep. John Conyers conducted an investigation, but where did that go?

Gore Vidal has argued, and so has Mark Crispin Miller,[that this is] the single most important congressional investigation in the history of the country. It clearly spells out how easy it is to manipulate votes in the United States, and the real threat of the privatization of votes to partisan corporations with proprietary secret software.

U.S. checking possibility of pumping oil from northern Iraq to Haifa, via Jordan

The United States has asked Israel to check the possibility of pumping oil from Iraq to the oil refineries in Haifa. The request came in a telegram last week from a senior Pentagon official to a top Foreign Ministry official in Jerusalem.

The Prime Minister's Office, which views the pipeline to Haifa as a "bonus" the U.S. could give to Israel in return for its unequivocal support for the American-led campaign in Iraq, had asked the Americans for the official telegram.

The new pipeline would take oil from the Kirkuk area, where some 40 percent of Iraqi oil is produced, and transport it via Mosul, and then across Jordan to Israel. The U.S. telegram included a request for a cost estimate for repairing the Mosul-Haifa pipeline that was in use prior to 1948. During the War of Independence, the Iraqis stopped the flow of oil to Haifa and the pipeline fell into disrepair over the years.

The National Infrastructure Ministry has recently conducted research indicating that construction of a 42-inch diameter pipeline between Kirkuk and Haifa would cost about $400,000 per kilometer. The old Mosul-Haifa pipeline was only 8 inches in diameter.

National Infrastructure Minister Yosef Paritzky said yesterday that the port of Haifa is an attractive destination for Iraqi oil and that he plans to discuss this matter with the U.S. secretary of energy during his planned visit to Washington next month. Paritzky added that the plan depends on Jordan's consent and that Jordan would receive a transit fee for allowing the oil to piped through its territory. The minister noted, however, that "due to pan-Arab concerns, it will be hard for the Jordanians to agree to the flow of Iraqi oil via Jordan and Israel."

Holy Shit. (laughs).

Read more here.

PARTY ON!

Bush's Ambitious Second Term

And we continue to get THIS type of spin from the NutJob blogs:

Fred Barnes hits the nail on the head in today's Wall Street Journal:

"Mr. Bush doesn't have the second-term blues, his administration hasn't lost its zeal, and he hasn't been troubled by scandal or the lack of a clear policy agenda. Nor is he suffering solely from his single-minded pursuit of Social Security reform. Like Mr. Schwarzenegger, the president has taken on a string of big issues -- Iraq, a drastic foreign-policy overhaul, judges, plus Social Security -- with predictable results. These are issues that generate political conflict. They upset settled practice, rile various institutions, stir strong opposition, and keep poll ratings low.

HA HA HA HA HA. More of the "if I don't look there, it doesn't exist" mentality about Dubya's tenure in office. Just what are these "predictable results" anyway? Most assuredly, they are not successful ventures. If these posts weren't so pathetic, I'd actually try to communicate with "them."

Halliburton to build new $30 mln Guantanamo jail

Well, so much for calling for the closing of Gitmo:

A Halliburton Co. unit will build a new $30 million detention facility and security fence at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the United States is holding about 520 foreign terrorism suspects, the Defense Department announced on Thursday.

More money for Dickless and his cronies.

It just galls me that this crap keeps happening right out in the open. Their brazeness unnerves me.

More On The Insurgents In Their Last Throes

Q Yes. Is there any idea how long a 'last throe' lasts for?

Ok, that just made me laugh out loud! It's the last question from the reporter trying to get McClellan to elaborate on Dickless Cheney's earlier remarks that the insurgency in Iraq is in its last throes.

The following is posted at Daily Kos:

Q Scott, is the insurgency in Iraq in its 'last throes'?

McCLELLAN: Terry, you have a desperate group of terrorists in Iraq that are doing everything they can to try to derail the transition to democracy. The Iraqi people have made it clear that they want a free and democratic and peaceful future. And that's why we're doing everything we can, along with other countries, to support the Iraqi people as they move forward....

Q But the insurgency is in its last throes?

McCLELLAN: The Vice President talked about that the other day -- you have a desperate group of terrorists who recognize how high the stakes are in Iraq. A free Iraq will be a significant blow to their ambitions.

Q But they're killing more Americans, they're killing more Iraqis. That's the last throes?

McCLELLAN: Innocent -- I say innocent civilians. And it doesn't take a lot of people to cause mass damage when you're willing to strap a bomb onto yourself, get in a car and go and attack innocent civilians. That's the kind of people that we're dealing with. That's what I say when we're talking about a determined enemy.

Q Right. What is the evidence that the insurgency is in its last throes?

McCLELLAN: I think I just explained to you the desperation of terrorists and their tactics.

Q What's the evidence on the ground that it's being extinguished?

McCLELLAN: Terry, we're making great progress to defeat the terrorist and regime elements. You're seeing Iraqis now playing more of a role in addressing the security threats that they face. They're working side by side with our coalition forces. They're working on their own. There are a lot of special forces in Iraq that are taking the battle to the enemy in Iraq. And so this is a period when they are in a desperate mode.

Q Well, I'm just wondering what the metric is for measuring the defeat of the insurgency.

CLELLAN: Well, you can go back and look at the Vice President's remarks. I think he talked about it.

Q Yes. Is there any idea how long a 'last throe' lasts for?

McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Steve....

Seriously, folks, this isn't HIGH SCHOOL, it's our damn government, where the word "accountability" is cause for 30 lashes and banishment.

"It's our position that, legally, they can be held in perpetuity,"

According to Deputy Associate Attorney General J. Michael Wiggins, when asked whether the justice department had a definition as to "end of combat."

"No, sir," Wiggins responded.

"If there is no definition as to when the conflict ends, that means forever, forever, forever these folks get held at Guantanamo Bay," Biden said.

"It's our position that, legally, they can be held in perpetuity," Wiggins said.

AMERICA, LAND OF THE FREE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE. Yeah, right.

Exit Strategy on Social Security Is Sought

This is funny. An "exit strategy" for social security, but NOT for IRAQ?

With the Senate Finance Committee at an impasse on Social Security and House leaders anxious about moving forward, Republican congressional leaders have told the White House in recent days that it is time to look for an escape route.

Senate GOP leaders, in discussions with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove and political officials, have made it clear they are stuck in a deep rut and suggested it is time for an exit strategy, according to a senior Senate Republican official and Finance Committee aides.

Democrats are unapologetic. Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said ..."They never wanted our votes on a prescription-drug bill. They didn't want our votes on taxes, and now they want it on Social Security?" he said. "Go ahead. Have your party-line vote. We'll see how it turns out."

Bush has no plans to change his upbeat assessment of Iraq

"In my judgment, this gap between rhetoric and reality is in large part responsible for the sharp decrease in public support for our efforts in Iraq," Biden said in a letter to colleagues yesterday. "Americans believe we are not leveling with them about Iraq and that we have no coherent strategy for success. I fear the end result will be to take away from our troops one of their most important weapons: the support of the American people."

An even bigger UMMMMMMMM. Mr. Biden, get off that apple cart, and come on over the other side, you know, the one that starts off with the acknowledgment that there NEVER WAS A COHERENT STRATEGY FOR SUCCESS, you dipshit! This was the fascist neo-con's invasion of a country for less than patriotic reasons, and the AMERICAN PEOPLE are dying at an unacceptable rate. How dare you insult my intelligence in this manner, and imply that if the government starts "telling the truth" there will miraculously be support from the AMERICAN PEOPLE for this fucking invasion into a soverign country.

We always accentuated the positive and never prepared the public for the worst. . . .

Bush's new approach will be mostly rhetorical, however, as the White House does not plan any changes to the policy or time frame for bringing home the 140,000 U.S. troops, as some lawmakers are demanding.

"The president takes seriously his responsibility as commander in chief to continue to educate the American people about the conduct of the war and our strategy for victory," said Dan Bartlett, a senior adviser.

Ummmmmmmmmm. The Dumbshit "takes seriously" his responsibilities, but his "new approach" will be rhetorical."

Can someone say GO FUCK YOURSELF?

Sen. Durbin's Guantanamo Statement

Kudos to Senator Durbin for having a set of balls.

According to Talk Left:

Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) is being attacked by right-wing talk radio and the White House for making this floor statement on Guantanamo yesterday (pdf). Kudos to Durbin for calling it like it is.

What Durbin said they find upsetting:

If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime -- Pol Pot or others -- that had no concern for human beings. Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners.

What he read was from an FBI Agent's report:

When you read some of the graphic descriptions of what has occurred here -- I almost hesitate to put them in the record, and yet they have to be added to this debate. Let me read to you what one FBI agent saw. And I quote from his report: On a couple of occasions, I entered interview rooms to find a detainee chained hand and foot in a fetal position to the floor, with no chair, food or water. Most times they urinated or defecated on themselves, and had been left there for 18-24 hours or more. On one occasion, the air conditioning had been turned down so far and the temperature was so cold in the room, that the barefooted detainee was shaking with cold....On another occasion, the [air conditioner] had been turned off, making the temperature in the unventilated room well over 100 degrees. The detainee was almost unconscious on the floor, with a pile of hair next to him. He had apparently been literally pulling his hair out throughout the night. On another occasion, not only was the temperature unbearably hot, but extremely loud rap music was being played in the room, and had been since the day before, with the detainee chained hand and foot in the fetal position on the tile floor.

Read more here, here and here.