Wheeeeee!

The surge is a grand success!

Here's Dipshit telling us all how surgetacular things are going in Iraq, today:

Wanted, reality-based government

Amazing...

That more people aren't screaming "Henny Penny, the sky is falling!". Seriously, things are way worse than is being let on in the press.

Who am I? Why am I here?

With the media nearly falling over itself to give McSame a pass on what would have been a career-ending faux pas had it come from the mouth of one of the Democratic candidates, we should remind the so-called MSM that we had another, highly decorated, prisoner of war who ran for national public office: James Stockdale. It was pretty clear that he was not up to the job. Why does the media give McSame such a pass? Being a prisoner of war does not qualify one to be president, nor does it mean that one has deep insights into foriegn policy. Yes, we respect and revere the soldier for his service to the nation, but we don't hand them the football just because.

John McCain has yet to demonstrate that he has any of the qualities that we seek in our President.

It is time for the press to treat this election with the seriousness it deserves. They cannot give a candidate a "pass" simply because it is assumed that they are an expert in the field... Let's actually test that they are an "expert" before we give them the benefit of the doubt.

Hey, they asked for it...

Shorter Dick Cheney: Hey, they asked for it.

In the same Martha Raddatz interview that brought us the "So?" comment from the torturer in chief, comes this gem, in which he claims that the one that is REALLY suffering is Dear Leader... the soldiers that are being stop-lossed and sent back on their third and fourth tours in Iraq? Hey, they volunteered for this.

He makes me want to puke.

Cheney on Iraq: 'It's Important to Win':

"The president carries the biggest burden, obviously," Cheney said. "He's the one who has to make the decision to commit young Americans, but we are fortunate to have a group of men and women, the all-volunteer force, who voluntarily put on the uniform and go in harm's way for the rest of us."

More, please

Dick Cheney's Error

What, then, is the straw that causes me to finally consign a man I served with in the House Republican leadership to the category of "those about whom we should be greatly concerned"?

It is Cheney's all-too-revealing conversation this week with ABC News correspondent Martha Raddatz. On Wednesday, reminded of the public's disapproval of the war in Iraq, now five years old, the vice president shrugged off that fact (and thus, the people themselves) with a one-word answer: "So?"

"So," Mr. Vice President?

[...]

Cheney told Raddatz that American war policy should not be affected by the views of the people. But that is precisely whose views should matter: It is the people who should decide whether the nation shall go to war. That is not a radical, or liberal, or unpatriotic idea. It is the very heart of America's constitutional system.

In Europe, before America's founding, there were rulers and their subjects. The Founders decided that in the United States there would be not subjects but citizens. Rulers tell their subjects what to do, but citizens tell their government what to do.

If Dick Cheney believes, as he obviously does, that the war in Iraq is vital to American interests, it is his job, and that of President Bush, to make the case with sufficient proof to win the necessary public support.

That is the difference between a strong president (one who leads) and a strong presidency (one in which ultimate power resides in the hands of a single person). Bush is officially America's "head of state," but he is not the head of government; he is the head of one branch of our government, and it's not the branch that decides on war and peace.

When the vice president dismisses public opposition to war with a simple "So?" he violates the single most important element in the American system of government: Here, the people rule.

Voice of Reason

Newsrooms Revolt!

Anchors have abdicated their role as educated inquisitors; some because, simply, they are unqualified or unprepared, others because they would rather cater to their guests or the corporate bottom line than to the mission to bring truth to the airwaves. And yes, there is objective truth, or at least legitimate facts from which people may divine their own conclusions.

I could harp on the trivial or tabloid character of the material that passes for news, but that beef is for another day. Instead, it is time for serious revolt by the many journalists who cringe at the current product they are selling. I applauded yesterday as Brian Kilmeade walked off set when his companions on Fox and Friends blathered on insanely about Wright and again when Chris Wallace chastised them for their diarrheic oratory on the subject. This response should be repeated on the other outlets as well.

Amen!

Arthur C. Clarke, R.I.P.

Author Arthur C. Clarke dies

He died early Wednesday -- Tuesday afternoon ET -- at a hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he had lived since the 1950s, Chase said.

"He had been taken to hospital in what we had hoped was one of the slings and arrows of being 90, but in this case it was his final visit," he said.

In a videotaped 90th birthday message to fans, Clarke said he still hoped to see some sign of intelligent life beyond Earth, more work on alternatives to fossil fuels -- and "closer to home," an end to the 25-year civil war in Sri Lanka between the government and ethnic Tamil separatists.

Why does anyone take him seriously?

Think Progress: Cheney: Was There ‘A Link Between Iraq And Al Qaeda? Seems To Me Pretty Clear That There Was’

Before the Iraq war began, Dick Cheney was among the most prominent messengers of the false claim that Saddam Hussein had a relationship with al Qaeda. For example, he said it was “pretty well confirmed” that a 9/11 hijacker met with Iraqi intelligence officials before 9/11.

Over the past five years, numerous intelligence reports have conclusively proved that there was no Iraq/al Qaeda relationship. A Senate Intelligence Committee report stated in Sept. 2006 that Saddam and Osama bin Laden were not collaborators, but rather enemies.

More recently, a study commissioned by the Defense Department to look into the Iraq/al Qaeda ties “showed no connection between the two.” But Dick Cheney still isn’t convinced. Speaking at a press conference in Iraq today, Cheney shot down the new report. He acknowledged that — while no “operational link” has been found between Iraq and al Qaeda — it’s “pretty clear” there is a link: ...

Read the whole thing. The man is clearly insane.

NYT Fiunally grows a set

The Intelligence Cover-Up

Finally, Mr. Bush said it was vital to national security to give amnesty to any company that turned over data on Americans without a court order. The purpose of this amnesty is not to protect national secrets — that could be done during a trial — but to make sure that the full damage to Americans’ civil liberties is never revealed. Mr. Bush also objects to a provision that would create a committee to examine his warrantless spying program.

Mr. Bush wanted the House to approve the Senate’s version of the bill, which includes Mr. Bush’s amnesty and does not do nearly as good a job of preserving Americans’ rights. We were glad the House ignored his bluster. If the Senate cannot summon the courage and good sense to follow suit, there is no rush to pass a law.

The president will continue to claim the country is in grave danger over this issue, but it is not. The real danger is for Mr. Bush. A good law — like the House bill — would allow Americans to finally see the breathtaking extent of his lawless behavior.

It is about time that the so-called MSM finally grew a set and called into question the Administration's increasingly shrill calls to approve the Senate version of the FISA bill (the one that includes immunity for telcos).

I only wish that this sort of demonstration of press-gonads had been evident throughout the full 7 years of this disasterous adminstration.

EPA Scrambles To Justify Action

EPA Scrambles To Justify Action

EPA officials initially tried to set a lower seasonal limit on ozone to protect wildlife, parks and farmland, as required under the law. While their proposal was less restrictive than what the EPA's scientific advisers had proposed, Bush overruled EPA officials and on Tuesday ordered the agency to increase the limit, according to the documents.

Hey, Dubya. Go f*ck yourself.

Ausgezeichnete

I've gone down the rabbit-hole. So far, it is a wonderful experience. Since I plan to make my new MacBook Air my primary machine, it will mean that I am also intending to go cold turkey on Microsoft Windows. We'll see how this plays out.

One Man

The Man Between War and Peace

If, in the dying light of the Bush administration, we go to war with Iran, it'll all come down to one man. If we do not go to war with Iran, it'll come down to the same man.

Now that man is gone. Will Dick Cheney get his war? I hope not, but fear that the sociopath-in-chief has removed the last obstacle.

My dad wonders if he'll ramain silent. I certainly hope not.

Witch Hunt

All the fuss over Gov. Spitzer's dalliances, with every Republican within shouting distance of a camera calling for him to resign, or face impeachment. (Seriously? Impeachment? Seriously?) Reminds me of the scene above from Monty Python's Holy Grail.

Karl Rove and George Bush are rolling on the floor laughing their heads off that they have managed to put a stake through the heart of yet another Democrat.

This is the best that they could come up with? He paid a high priced call-girl for sex?

CNN, MSNBC and I am sure Fox News (though I wouldn't watch Fox on a bet) are all a-twitter with their resignation watches. Commentary is that since Spitzer's prosecutions as AG of NY were all about ethics, etc. that he has demonstrated sheer hypocrisy ... sorry, when did paying for sex become unethical? Immoral, possibly. Unethical? Hardly.

This story wouldn't make the want-ad pages if it had occurred in Europe.

What I can't figure out is why no one in the MSM is looking into exactly why it was that Spitzer was being investigated by the IRS, the FBI and the Justice Department in the first place. Hmmmm? One might also be asking why his name was leaked from the Justice Department... after all, he has not been charged with any crimes, to date.

Under the Bush Administration, Justice Department has become it's antithesis. Mark my words... this is related to the US Attorney scandal and the corruption of the Justice Department under the Bush Administration.

I want my country back. I want the assholes in the White House impeached and prosecuted for the war crimes that everyone on the planet knows that they have committed, but seem afraid to acknowledge.

Rule of Law

NYT Editorial Radio Fear America:

Mr. Bush announced that he had vetoed the 2008 intelligence budget because it contains a clause barring the C.I.A. from torturing prisoners. Mr. Bush told the nation that it “would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror — the C.I.A. program to detain and question key terrorist leaders and operatives.” That is simply not true. Nothing in the bill shuts down the C.I.A. interrogation program. It just requires the C.I.A.’s interrogators to follow the rules already contained in the Army field manual on prisoners.

[...]

This is not the first time that Mr. Bush has misled Americans on intelligence-gathering and antiterrorism operations, and it may not be the last. It will be up to the next president to restore the rule of law.

I'm confused... we have just about everyone on the planet in agreement that this administration has been violating the rule of law, and that the Preznit has broken his oath of office (to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America), yet we need to wait for the next administration to return us to the rule of law?! What are we waiting for? Impeach the clown-show now!

Anticipation

Apple just informed me that my new MBA just shipped!

Someone smells a rat

The Spitzer Sex Sting: A Few More Questions

It looks like the Bush Justice Department just bagged themselves another Democratic Governor.

When I first saw the crawler on CNN, I thought: Spitzer was running a prostitution ring? No, he just over paid for sex. Oh, why is that such a big deal? Just about everyone in Washington has been caught with his pants down. It's embarrassing, sad for the families, and aside from being somewhat hypocritical... what, a misdemeanor?

Let's put aside whether Spitzer should resign or not (frankly, scarlet, I don't give a damn). What motivated this investigation? Spitzer may have dishonored his wife and family, but the Bush administration has committed unspeakable acts that have possibly irreparably damaged this nation.

When are the criminals in the White House going to be investigated?

Read Scott Horton's blog.

So here are the rather amazing facts that surface in the Spitzer case:

(1) The prosecutors handling the case came from the Public Integrity Section.

(2) The prosecution is opened under the White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910. You read that correctly. The statute itself is highly disreputable, and most of the high-profile cases brought under it were politically motivated and grossly abusive. Here are a few:

[...]

(3) The resources dedicated to the case in terms of prosecutors and investigators are extraordinary.

(4) How the investigation got started. The Justice Department has yet to give a full account of why they were looking into Spitzer’s payments, and indeed the suggestion in the ABC account is that it didn’t have anything to do with a prostitution ring. The suggestion that this was driven by an IRS inquiry and involved a bank might heighten, rather than allay, concerns of a politically motivated prosecution.

All of these facts are consistent with a process which is not the investigation of a crime, but rather an attempt to target and build a case against an individual.

Breath-taking

Alice Martin’s War

And one day, law officers charge onto the floor of the legislature as it is in session to serve warrants on a large block of members, and as it turns out just the members he’s most eager to get rid of. Lukashenko’s Belarus, perhaps? Or some forgotten banana republic?

Well, no, actually. This all really happened in George W. Bush’s America. In one of the fifty states. Indeed, in the first state by roll call: Alabama.

[...]

My former partner, Michael Mukasey, appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee with a promise that the tools of the Justice Department would not be used for partisan political games while he was installed as Attorney General. But Alice Martin has made a cuckold of her boss the Attorney General. And now it’s time for Congressional oversight to shine a very bright light on Ms. Martin, her still uninvestigated perjury problems and the various political schemes that dot her political landscape–from a Democratic governor to a small army of Democratic legislators. Martin has concluded that the tools of justice exist to enable her to do the dirty work of a political party and to make good her own escape into party politics when her term as U.S. attorney lapses, as it will in only a few months. Her betrayal of the public trust is breath-taking, and it should not go without a challenge.

When you think about the scope of this, it takes ones breath away. The Bush crime family has destroyed this country. In regards the related story, I said:

Bush, Cheney and Rove have done more harm to this nation than we can possibly imagine.

It would seem that this is proving to be self evident with each passing day.

Read Scott Horton's piece, Alice Martin’s War. Read his previous post on the 60 minutes segment the other week. Then ask your congress critter to 'splain exactly how this can be happening in the U.S.A. in 2008, and why it is that they still think that impeachment is (and should remain) "off the table".

What is "deep doo-doo"?

It's the answer to the question: "What are the Republicans standing in?"

Foster wins Hastert’s seat.

Bill Foster — a Democratic candidate who is a physicist — defeated Republican dairy owner Jim Oberweis in a special election to claim the Illinois congressional seat of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R).

DDay put it best:

Put it this way: if I told you in the middle of 2006 that Democrats would control Tom DeLay AND Dennis Hastert's seats in Congress within two years, would you believe me?

Just look at the popular vote totals by party for the primary elections to date (these are approximations, because I left out the outlier candidates like Guiliani and Thompson, and I also left out the asymmetric votes where only one party held elections on a given date):

• Dem: 26,534,886


• Rep: 16,162,785

The Democratic turnout has been 64% greater than the Republican turnout, thus far.

Voter turnout has thus far been the highest rate in 40 years.

In 17 of the 24 primaries held so far, turnouts were larger than any in the past 40 years, the result of competitive Democratic and Republican contests and earlier primaries.

The sidebar in that article shows that voter turnout has increased by 8% over 2000.

The Republican party leaders had better be reaching for these.

It's a movement.

Tom and Sam have also taken the red pill this past week. Others in our team who have recently switched include Kelvin and David, though I suspect there are others, and I know that there are a few just aching to make the switch.

I've got a little list,,,

... and they'll none of them be missed, they'll none of them be missed.

A Wave of the Watch List, and Speech Disappears

The report, by Shirin Sinnar, said that there were 6,400 names on the list and that, like no-fly lists at airports, it gave rise to endless and serious problems of mistaken identity.

“Financial institutions, credit bureaus, charities, car dealerships, health insurers, landlords and employers,” the report said, “are now checking names against the list before they open an account, close a sale, rent an apartment or offer a job.”

But Mr. Marshall’s case does not appear to be one of mistaken identity. The government quite specifically intended to interfere with his business.

That, Professor Crawford said, is a scandal. “The way we communicate these days is through domain names, and the Treasury Department should not be interfering with domain names just as it does not interfere with telecommunications lines.”

Curiously, the Treasury Department has not shut down all of Mr. Marshall’s .com sites. You can still find, for now, www.cuba-guantanamo.com.

And you thought that the First Amendment guaranteed free speech. Not in Bush-world, where the Constitution is "just a goddamned piece of paper". Court proceedings to prove that Mr Marshall's web sites were truely in violation of some law (they were not)? Nope.

Welcome to the Soviet Union.

Taking the red pill

It should arrive in 5-7 business days...

Jeff Healey... I hardly knew ya

How is it that I managed never to have heard of this guy? Maybe I'm not canadian enough, or something. Sure, after hearing "Angel Eyes" again, I remember that song, but never associated that with seriously good guitar playing. Take a listen



RIP, Jeff