Nuclear Flub

In the rear-view mirror of the Gestalt theory of wartime rationalization, the Cheney Administration hastily agreed with wingnut bloggers to post on the internet documents seized during the invasion of Iraq. Somewhere in there, they surmised, must be the reason why we invaded Iraq. They felt confident someone with the 101 fighting keyboards, armed to the teeth with cheetos and mello yellow, would find the proof that Osama and Hussein were mutual fans of Judy Garland.

But buried within the pile of docs were the directions on how to build a nuclear bomb. Wups. According to The New York Times:

[...]
But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraq’s secret nuclear research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say, constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb.
[...]

Swell. Bush and his Republican chairmen of the House and Senate Intelligence (and I use that word vuuury loosely) committees handed over the instruction manual on how to build a nuclear bomb to the entire world, because they hate doing homework and prayed somewhere in the pile of unread captured "intelligence" someone could find what we are doing in Iraq.
Lefty bloggers are hammering these idiots for selling out America. Citizen Hardin Smith is on fire. Atrios on the backgrounder, as is Sadly, No! and Attytood wonders out loud.
Before I hear a bunch of whining on "civil discourse", which a dog whistle phrase for Republicans which means, "yeah, we screwed up, but can't we all just sing kumbayaa?" I need to point out this little story:

A bird flying south for the winter left too late, and his wings froze up. He crash-landed in a barnyard, landing right behind a cow in the process of a bowel movement. The bird, quickly thawing out in the warm cow shit, soon began chirping. The barnyard cat, hearing this, quickly uncovered the bird and devoured it.

There are three morals to this story

Not all those that shit on you are your enemy.

Not all those that remove the shit are your friend.

If you are warm and happy in a pile of shit, you better keep your mouth shut.

Shock & Awe

How bad does it have to be in Iraq when the war profiteers quit and come home? From the San Francisco Chronicle:

[...]
"Did Iraq come out the way you hoped it would?" asked Cliff Mumm, Bechtel's president for infrastructure work. "I would say, emphatically, no. And it's heartbreaking."
[...]

So, after gobbling up $2.3 billion worth of taxpayer money, 52 employees getting killed and dozens others wounded, somehow they feel it's just not worth it.

When it's bad enough to gag a vulture, you know it's pretty bad. Heckuva job Bushie.

What An Honorable Republican Sounds Like

Feel free to take notes.

Bush Abandons Troops, Demands Kerry Apologies

American troops were ordered to remove checkpoints in Baghdad, halting their feverish search for a kidnapped American soldier, by Iraqi Prime Minister Maliki. Yes, you read that right, American military is under the control of a foreign government. When Maliki stands up, Dubya sits down. From the New York Times:

Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki demanded the removal of American checkpoints from the streets of Baghdad on Tuesday, in what appeared to be his latest and boldest gambit in an increasingly tense struggle for more independence from his American protectors.
Mr. Maliki’s public declaration seemed at first to catch American commanders off guard. But by nightfall, American troops had abandoned all the positions in eastern and central Baghdad that they had set up last week with Iraqi forces as part of a search for a missing American soldier. The checkpoints had snarled traffic and disrupted daily life and commerce throughout the eastern part of the city.
[...]

Meanwhile our Campaigner-In-Chief demands an apology from Senator Kerry, who aimed at humor and missed, while Maliki orders our troops to abandon their search for their missing soldier, dooming him to torture (everybody's doing it these days) and an agonizing death.

Seems the bigger brouhaha of these two events, bad joke vs. foreign control over American military, the first is by far the most egregious, leastwise according to our "liberal media." If Kerry doesn't apologize soon, why our entire punditry class will become vapor locked.

I would offer this apology:

"I'm sorry that your Commander-In-Chief now resides in the Green Zone of Baghdad and the control of American Soldiers are now under the command of a foreign power, who wish to protect those who kidnapped your comrade-in-arms, and who right now are most assuredly torturing him to death. I'm sorry our President has abandoned each and every one of you, and by extension, all Americans, by handing control of our military to foreign powers. God Help Us All.

Gay Hooker Provides Oral Services For Foley

Local Blogger, Wild Bill, is accepting the oral services of famed male prostitute, Jeff Gannon, in the default position of the party of "personal responsibility", blame the Democrats.

From the outset, I suspected Foleygate was a premeditated political dirty trick – and I was right. After a blogger traced the phony website to an HRC staffer the perpetrator was terminated. The New York Times reported the firing, but didn’t seem interested in finding out the name of the person involved. It took another blogger about 6 hours to determine that Lane Hudson was the anonymous website operator.

Yeah, right. Poor sleazebag Foley is a victim of those dastardly Democrats.

And Wild Bill ejaculates enthusiastically all over his blog in anticipation:

Jeff Gannon will be on The Passionate America Show Wednesday November 1st at around 4pm Central Time

Who is Jeff Gannon? Glad you asked:

“Jeff Gannon is a former White House correspondent and contributing columnist for the Washington Blade. He is currently writing a book about his experiences as a Washington journalist and the impact the New Media is having on politics.

No mention of Mr. Gannon's dubious background, or any question of how Mr. Gannon got press credentials to lob softball questions in the briefing room. White House press credentials are not just given to anybody.

This merely underscores the current problem with the Republican party. It is difficult to base your political philosophy on values and personal responsibility, when no evidence exists of having any. Denny Hastert accepted responsibility and then immediately said he hadn't done anything wrong.

If you are a leader you are either a responsible one or an irresponsible one. Hastert just attended a fundraiser here in OKC for Mary Fallin, bringing the Foley matter to the forefront here locally. Now Bill and Jeff will attempt some sort of weird oral game of twister trying to shield the obviously pure Republicans from devious Democratic shenanigans.

This is just a symptom. We are facing multiple serious issues right now. Iraq, Afghanistan, environment, energy, health care--which need some attention. Via Digby:

Let's say you have a problem. You have the choice of two people to solve the problem --- the one who caused the problem, refuses to admit it even is a problem and won't change anything even as the problem grows worse --- or the other one. Which do you choose?

That's the simple logic of this election.

There are, of course, many affirmative Democratic messages necessary for the future. But right now, this is it.

Yep.

Conservatives No Friend To Small Business

You've heard the mantra. Every tax cut conservatives promote, they trot out the "small business" and "middle class" talking points. However, small business doesn't seem to be befitting from the conservative agenda. Since Ronald Reagan took office, with a brief interruption of the Clinton administration, the SBA has slowly been changing the rules to give government contracts to large corporations, in direct violation of the law.

The whole idea behind the SBA is to allocate 23% of the value of government contracts dedicated to companies with 100 employees or less, which, according to the American Small Business League, amounts to 98% of all US businesses. In the last five years, the Bush administration has quietly dismantled the SBA by cutting the funding in half and not prosecuting companies for fraudulently obtaining government contracts set aside for small businesses.

To point out the hypocrisy of the Bush economic policy of punishing small businesses, I include these quotes:

“I understand small business growth. I was one.”

And from the White House web site of Presidential speeches, a search for keywords of "small business" came up with two thousand six hundred and eighty three references. Some examples:

"I understand that the small business sector of our economy is vital for economic growth."
August 10, 2006

The entrepreneurial spirit of America is robust and strong, and small businesses are thriving throughout our great Nation. The opportunity to own a business is an important part of the American dream. During Small Business Week, we celebrate small business owners and employees who are willing to take risks and work hard in pursuit of a better life for themselves and their families.
March 23, 2006

"I appreciate the fact that our small business owners are taking risks and pursuing dreams, and as a result, you're creating jobs for millions of our citizens."
April 27, 2005

"The dedication and entrepreneurial spirit of small business owners are vital to our Nation's economic growth and prosperity. We celebrate Small Business Week to applaud the efforts of America's small business men and women in our communities."
May 15, 2004

As they say on Seinfeld, yadayadayada. The appearance that Bush wants to put forth is clearly that he is a regular Joe and four square behind the little guy--the small business that drives the American economy. However, behind the scenes, he dramatically cuts the funding for the Small Business Administration by half, and the projections are damn near a virtual elimination of the office entirely. According to the director of the American Small Business League, Boeing is the biggest beneficiary of small business contracts.

Many small business owners look forward to Republican administrations under the belief that good business sense has come to town. They rest assured that they have a place at the table and those pesky Democrats will be kept at bay with their knee jerk wonky-assed regulations and cumbersome requirements. While this sounds good, as Bush has amply demonstrated 2,683 times, the reality is that in the conservative worldview, small business is a relative concept--Boeing and Halliburton being the benchmark of smallness.

It is an attractive concept for one to start a business, and through hard work and pride of quality, succeed by ones own bootstraps, without interference or assistance from government. This is the conceit of conservatism; it plays on such beliefs to further the agenda of deregulation, social darwinism and laissez faire economics. What it fails to recognize is our economic structure of today is the result of a couple of centuries worth of tweaking. In other words, all of the wonky Democratic regulations that paint the Democratic party as technocrats and boat anchors that slow down businesses and their ability to function as they see fit, are the very regulations that allow competition to exist.

The results of the conservative "trickle on" policy disaster began by Reagan and continuing on until today will take a herculean effort to clean up, before we hit a global economic crisis that will make our own Great Depression resemble a head cold. We have went from the largest creditor nation to the largest debtor nation in the world. We no longer produce, only consume and we import and rarely export. Our country, and our citizens are living on plastic, a situation that is untenable. The only reason the dollar is so strong is because so many countries are heavily invested in us. The Republicans have been running a massive check kiting scheme to prop up the illusion of prosperity, while swaggering around talking about personal responsibility and ownership society.

Knowing full well the public would never support the real conservative agenda of eliminating social security, Medicare and Medicaid, workers unemployment insurance and other social safety nets they deem as redistribution of wealth, they have set forth to bankrupt this country, passing on the burdens that we should bear onto our children and grandchildren. We should be so lucky to have sober, wonky leadership to clean up their irresponsible and downright criminal behavior before a worldwide economic crisis causes catastrophic damage.

Report Card On Troop Support From OK Delegation

The majority of Americans hate the war in Iraq, but remain steadfast in their support for the troops. One would think that would go double for our elected officials, especially in this hypertensive environment.
The Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) have looked at the voting records of all elected officials and produced a single grade report card for each politician. So how does the Oklahoma delegation fare? Not so good.

Senator James Inhofe (R-OK) D-

Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) F

Congressman John Sullivan (R-OK-1) C

Congressman Dan Boren (D-OK-2) B+

Congressman Frank Lucas (R-OK-3) C

Congressman Tom Cole (R-OK-4) C

Congressman Ernest Istook (R-OK-05) C

So, out of our seven servants, the lone Democrat gets decent marks for actually supporting our troops with supportive legislation, as opposed to lip service and tough talk.
Golf applause please, for Dan Boren.
This is much the case nationally, as Bob Geiger tabulates the report for us here. It is the Democrats, by far, who truly support our troops, as no Republican gets higher than a C and no Democrat gets lower than a B-. Go check out Bob's page, it shows the hypocrisy the Republicans live by.
I wonder how long it will take the rightards to come out and attack our veterans ranking of those who support them, and those who are full of shit.

Governor Henry Debates Congressman Istook

I just watched the Governor of Oklahoma, in his bid for re-election debate Republican congresscritter Istook (OK-05) on the teevee.
The main parts that interested me was minimum wage and immigration, and both candidates did not fail to disappoint. I looked for a transcript online, so I would b sure to get their responses correct, but either they are not available or my search skills really suck. Anyway, I'll rely on memory, just be advised that I do not pretend to have a photographic memory.
Istook is opposed to providing Oklahomans a living wage, saying that if someone wants a raise, they should work hard and ask their boss for one.
This is the level of disconnect these rightards have. On numerous occasions he advocated tax cuts to employers to stimulate growth, but feels the government has no role to play in seeing the citizens he is supposed to represent are valuable. In other words, corporate welfare and captains of industry feeding at the public trough is acceptable, as is having the lowest possible paid workforce.
Brad Henry waffled on the issue, claiming it was a federal issue. He tried to make the point that if Oklahoma raised their minimum wage and neighboring states did not, then companies would simply relocate to save on costs.
There have been many times in business I have quoted higher prices than my competitor, sometimes dramatically higher. Those who chose not to use my services were apparently not ready for the calibre of quality I produced. Nothing wrong with that. There are some areas where my talent runs rampant and I charge accordingly. Arrogant? Of course it is. But nonetheless if employers are interested in the A-team, shouldn't our state, if they are true believers of our workforce, insist our workers get paid a premium? Are slave wages and stoop work really all that important to our economy? How is our state supposed to lead our neighbors when our leaders don't value the citizens who live here?

Republican Immigration Policy

Who has committed the bigger crime here, the immigrant or the exploiter?
Outrageous.

Past, Present And Future Of This Blog

When I first started this blog, I had no idea what I was doing, and even less of an idea what anybody else was doing. I had heard about "blogs" from the Howard dean campaign and eventually got around to investigating.
My motivation was a serious feeling of alarm early in the Bush administration, beginning with his selection by the Supreme Court into office. That shit just fascinated me. After 9/11 I predicted to a very opinionated co-worker that Bush would fail in his little war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. She was incredulous at my assertion. I opposed the Iraq war, on every reason I could think of, but as of yet, all my beliefs were close held, I had not yet discovered an outlet for my beliefs. Oklahoma, after all, is a red state, which makes me an oddity.
Being odd has never bothered me, simply because I see so many options and understand positions of those who hold differing views from myself, I just happen to disagree.
This has been the major thrust of my blog to this point, a sort of behind the curve disagreement with the current administration and all of his toe sucking lackeys.
My ability to use the internets as a research tool has improved dramatically and I plan on continuing to throw spitballs from the back of the bus through the mid-terms.
However, I feel after that point I need to turn my attention to local matters and elected officials. My two US Senators, my US rep, my state Senator and state rep are all Republican. After the mid-terms I intend to direct ideological questions at each of them, publish them on this site, and expose them for the corporate whores that they are.
Some may feel that I am not being fair by labeling them as such, but as a blogger, I operate as a guerrilla journalist, and I do not like these sumbitches. If they are opposed to a minimum wage increase, then they believe their constituencies are worth less than their sponsors who wield industrial strength erections.
If they believe tax cuts to the "captains of industry" are required to stimulate economic growth, then they are guilty of endorsing corporate welfare.
If they believe locating and exporting each illegal alien is more efficient than confiscating the profits, and revoking licenses of those who profit from their exploitation, then one can only conclude they are weak and slavish lapdogs of the power structure, pretending to be tough by finding some powerless punk to carry around with them as a cartoon demonstration.
As I take on my "representatives" I will gently chide the local Democratic party to take advantage of this, and try to discover why this area has become so red. I feel that too many people have sat safe in their little kingdoms and tried to shuffle around dwindling votes. We cannot be content with trying to "swing" votes one way or another. Their exists a vast untapped market of people who do not vote simply because they feel they have no voice.
It will remain so as long as Republicans remain in office. In other words, we need massive voter registration drives.

The Bush Legacy

President Bush signed into law the Military Commissions Act of 2006 this week. The two most contentious parts of the legislation was the suspension of habeus corpus and allowing the President to determine the meaning of torture.
Not being a legal scholar, and being fully aware of previous constitutional assaults, by this President as well as a few others, I am fairly confident this latest affront will also be turned aside.
The question for me becomes, why is this being done in this fashion? Truly Bush has authorized torture and the administration insisted on a retro-active white out protection for the torturers, but to continue the program and suspend habeus corpus?
In my opinion, this is strictly a political move, where mid-term gains by Democrats are threatening to expose multiple criminal acts by the Administration and its lapdog Republican rubber-stamp congress.
By reducing detainees, many of whom were bought and paid for, and not "captured on the battlefield" as alligator bait, this Administration will use this legislation as a political weapon on those who oppose them.
Make no mistake about this law, it gives the President the power to jail whomever he sees fit for as long as he sees fit and no judge has any power to stop him. From the New York Times:

[...]
About 430 people are being held at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and there is no guarantee that they will ever be tried. The legislation, unchanged by the compromise, would prohibit habeas corpus challenges to these indefinite detentions.
[...]

The President, under this new law, decides if they get a hearing. He is the decider, and the protector. The mighty right-wing wurlitzer is gearing up to paint the Democrats as trying to protect the rights of terrorists.
I predict Democrats will take the house and make major gains in the Senate in spite of this. But when this heinous law is tossed aside by the Supreme Court, this will be used as red meat for Republicans to criticize the court, and to use it as another political issue.

U.S. Led Iraqi Regime Change Part II

It looks like number twelve in the situational reasoning for invading Iraq is nearing euthanasia. Via hard-right newspaper, The Washington Times:

[...]
Leaks from a U.S. task force headed by former Secretary of State James A. Baker III are contributing to the widespread sense that the Bush administration is preparing for a "course correction" in the coming months.
The options cited most frequently in Washington include the partition of Iraq into three ethnic- or faith-based regions, and a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops, with some remaining in neighboring countries to deal with major threats.
Another scenario is being discussed -- and taken seriously in Iraq -- by many of Iraq's leading political players, under which the U.S.-trained army would overthrow struggling Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and replace him with a strongman who would restore order while Washington looks the other way.
[...]

(emphasis mine)
After each reason got exposed for the lie that it was, some Republican hack would pop up with a new one, while simultaneously using criticism for Republican failures as a blunt instrument on Democrats. Like some sort of morbid whack a mole game, the philanthropic venture of "bringing democracy to the Middle East" is being seriously considered tossed aside, and replacing it with a ruthless dictator. Never mind all the preaching about purple fingers and all.
I hear Saddam is available.

Et Tu Kansas?

Dorothy awakens after a going through the looking glass to find Steve Rose, chairman of the Johnson County Sun. And he is not happy.
[...]

In the 56 years we have been publishing in Johnson County, this basically has been a Republican newspaper. In the old days, before the Republican civil war that fractured the party, we were traditional Republicans. That is, we happily endorsed Jan Meyers for Congress, Bob Dole for U.S. Senate, Nancy Kassebaum for U.S. Senate; virtually every Republican state legislator from here, with a few rare exceptions; and most governors, although we did endorse the conservative Democrats George and Bob Docking and John Carlin.

The point is, I can name on two hands over a half century the number of Democrats we have endorsed for public office.

This year, we will do something different.
[...]
Seems Mr. Rose is not pleased with what has become of the Republican Party. And exactly what is that?

The Republican Party has changed, and it has changed monumentally.

You almost cannot be a victorious traditional Republican candidate with mainstream values in Johnson County or in Kansas anymore, because these candidates never get on the ballot in the general election. They lose in low turnout primaries, where the far right shows up to vote in disproportionate numbers.

To win a Republican primary, the candidate must move to the right.

What does to-the-right mean?

It means anti-public education, though claiming to support it.

It means weak support of our universities, while praising them.

It means anti-stem cell research.

It means ridiculing global warming.

It means gay bashing. Not so much gay marriage, but just bashing gays.

It means immigrant bashing. I'm talking about the viciousness.

It means putting religion in public schools. Not just prayer.

It means mocking evolution and claiming it is not science.

It means denigrating even abstinence-based sex education.

Note, I did not say it means "anti-abortion," because I do not find that position repugnant, at all. I respect that position.

But everything else adds up to priorities that have nothing to do with the Republican Party I once knew.

That's why, in the absence of so-called traditional Republican candidates, the choice comes down to right-wing Republicans or conservative Democrats.

And now you know why we have been forced to move left.

There's no place like home.

UH. MAH. GAWD.

Just one word.

Digby

Go read it.

Every.

Fucking.

Word.

Minimum Wage Initiatives

Taking a page out of the Jesus Pimps playbook of getting issues on the ballot to bring voters to the polls, and while they are there, voting for your guy, progressives have minimum wage issues on six state ballots.

They all are polling very well--over 70 percent. But the rightards are fighting back. See them mock Moses shilling in favor of slave wages in the lamest fucking ad ever.

National business groups kick it into hyperdrive in Arizona and Ohio, labeling the proposition as a threat to identity theft.

Before Election Day, voters in Ohio and Arizona should ask themselves: Should political appointees have access to my social security number and home address? If they vote yes on ballot initiatives to raise their state's minimum wage they will be doing just that.

Now, why would the National Restaurant Association be opposed to a minimum wage increase? Are they afraid their fatass customers might choose to gnaw on a wheat thin once a week?

And what kind of GOP support did this minimum wage hike receive in Ohio?

[...]
Most of the committee’s GOP members walked out of the room without hearing the testimony of labor leaders, social service providers, and others...
[...]

Oh, and about the privacy thingy, we know how concerned Republicans are about privacy.

L. Camille Hebert, an Ohio State University law professor and author of the reference book Employee Law Privacy, characterized the opposition’s privacy claims as “disingenuous.”

Six states with an issue Republicans turn their backs on, use fear tactics to oppose and denounce to Moses from a burning Bush that is polling favorably at over 70 percent. Aye caramba!

If you think high wages are the answer, vote Democratic.
If you think high wages are the problem, vote Republican.

Overlook Or Oversight

I don't want to hear anymore whining from Republicans about pending investigations if Democrats get control of Congress. Krugman via echidne:

The current Congress has shown no inclination to investigate the Bush administration. Last year The Boston Globe offered an illuminating comparison: when Bill Clinton was president, the House took 140 hours of sworn testimony into whether Mr. Clinton had used the White House Christmas list to identify possible Democratic donors. But in 2004 and 2005, a House committee took only 12 hours of testimony on the abuses at Abu Ghraib.

HAD ENOUGH!

Terrorists Threaten War Profiteers

Found this over at Digby. I guess when the President he insists he only spies on terrorists, he's talking about peaceniks and Quakers.

Internal military documents released Thursday provided new details about the Defense Department’s collection of information on demonstrations nationwide last year by students, Quakers and others opposed to the Iraq war.
[...]
The documents, obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union under a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, show, for instance, that military officials labeled as “potential terrorist activity” events like a “Stop the War Now” rally in Akron, Ohio, in March 2005.

The Defense Department acknowledged last year that its analysts had maintained records on war protests in an internal database past the 90 days its guidelines allowed, and even after it was determined there was no threat.

The documents indicated that intelligence reports and tips about antiwar protests, including mundane details like the schedule for weekly planning meetings, were widely shared among analysts from the military, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security.

“There is simply no reason why the United States military should be monitoring the peaceful activities of American citizens who oppose U.S. war policies,” said Ben Wizner, a lawyer for the A.C.L.U.

It's pretty clear, Bennie, Bush is spying on his political enemies. Why do you think he is fighting tooth and nail to prevent oversight? No judge would fail to issue a warrant to spy on terrorists, but no judge would issue a warrant to spy on Quakers.

Republican October Surprise

Pai Mei, of Kill Bill fame, reportedly taught North Korean strongman Kim Jong Il a variance of the "five-point palm exploding heart" technique. The technique used by Kim Jong Il is the "nuclear test seven rotation Hawaii earthquake" sneak attack. Full explanation, coupled with shiny new war graphics, are expected to be supplied by "Foxperts" on the "fair and balanced" news (?) network.

A Potential Democratic Rout

The polls are showing the potential for a landslide repudiation against the Republican authoritarian cult of unlimited executive power and the mewlish rubber-stampers that hangs over their necks like an ax. Clearly, this is a vote against the results of conservatism as opposed to support for progressive issues, as Glenn Greenwald once again posts a root cause of the lack of passion coming from Democratic candidates.

The single most erroneous and destructive premise among the Beltway political class -- which includes the Democratic consulting class along with their intellectual twins in the David-Broder-led punditry circles -- is that anger and passion are the enemies of successful political movements. They preach a mindset of fear and defensiveness -- never articulate a view too strenuously and never be driven by principle or passion because to do so renders one an unmoderate extremist who will alienate normal Americans.

Shorter Glenn: If Democrats are not passionate about anything, voters will not be passionate about them. It is difficult to elect leaders who fail to lead. Citizens who vie for public positions should put positions in front of them, and drag the public towards it, not carefully triangulate based on polling data in an effort to appear popular.
So, it is hoped that these consultants that advise Democratic candidates to get elected, they must be "republican lite" to do so, will either realize the error of their ways, or be kicked to the curb. Arming your candidates with a willow switch to go into battle is indeed very poor advice.
Go large or go home.
Something that is becoming louder and clearer within the Republican party is the meme that conservatism cannot fail, politicians fail conservatism. Witness conservative apologist Andrew Sullivan on Larry King Live:

ANDREW SULLIVAN, AUTHOR, "THE CONSERVATIVE SOUL": Well, I think it gets to the whole idea that they've been in power too long and that they've gotten very used to power and they're abusing their power, not only over pages but spending billions of dollars that they don't have, not protecting the border, and betraying basic conservative principles of limited government. And, it's time to get back to those principles, which means some conservatives are saying kick these people out.

KING: So, you are saying the Bush administration is not conservative?

SULLIVAN: Yes, I am saying that. I'm saying that when you've increased the debt the next generation has to pay from $20 trillion to $43 trillion in five years, when you can't even control your own borders, when you've engaged in a war that you haven't planned for and have no strategy for that's not conservative in my book.

The fair weather friends of the Republican party are trying to save the failed conservative movement by throwing their own under the bus only after they tank in the polls.
The ideological difference between the parties exists on the placement of the exceptional nature of America.
Conservatives believe our strength exists within the power and wealth of our corporations and captains of industry.
Progressives believe our strength exists within the power of the middle class. However, since the middle class is a non-entity for conservatives, they claim progressives do not believe America is exceptional, which implies we hate America.

PRAGER: Neither owns values, but they have different values. And I'll give you one example. This is a topic for, you know, a marathon Larry King show. But one is, the Republicans believe in American exceptionalism and the Democrats believe in a much more universalist vision, like the West Europeans. That's a huge difference. That is why it matters -- laughing doesn't answer it.

See, the daddy party is telling you how great you are, but the Democrats, not so much. Prager lobs this intellectual bomb into the discourse of Larry King and came off sounding like a true believer in the superior Aryan race.
Democrats who fail to define themselves appear weak and rudderless and allow Republicans to define them as such. But no amount of spin can alter the reality of the wholesale mess the Republicans have brought us since Bush took office.
Republicans have defined themselves in the process, with very little help from the Democrats. We can't let conservatives divorce themselves from this reality.

Iraqi Inhofe Is New Baghdad Bob

Jim Inhofe R-OK has left the Red Earth reservation of reality. Back in August, he enthralled us with his keen insights:

“What’s happened there is nothing short of a miracle,” the Senator reported to the Tusla World about Iraq.

And now it appears that civilian deaths are somewhere north of 650,000.

War has wiped out about 655,000 Iraqis or more than 500 people a day since the U.S.-led invasion, a new study reports.

Violence including gunfire and bombs caused the majority of deaths but thousands of people died from worsening health and environmental conditions directly related to the conflict that began in 2003, U.S. and Iraqi public health researchers said.

"Since March 2003, an additional 2.5 percent of Iraq's population have died above what would have occurred without conflict," according to the survey of Iraqi households, titled "The Human Cost of the War in Iraq."

Now, lots of rightards are screaming about these figures, dismissing them as flawed and questionable. They may have a point in that we still have unidentified bodies in New Orleans and an incomplete body count, but the concern for victims of both tragedies from this adminisration are relatively the same. Baghdad Inhofe thinks the war is going smashingly well. I wonder if he talked to this guy?

BAGHDAD, Oct. 12 — Sabah al-Atia sometimes calls home every 10 minutes when he is working to let his wife know he is still alive. After all, his job is one of the most dangerous in the city.

Mr. Atia is a trash collector.

In a city where a bomb could be lurking beneath any heap of refuse, and where insurgents are willing to kill to prevent them from being discovered, an occupation that pays only a few dollars a day has become one of the deadliest. Most of the 500 municipal workers who have been killed here since 2005 have been trash collectors, said Naeem al-Kaabi, the city’s deputy mayor.

“When we are working, we are working nervously,” said Mr. Atia, 29, who started collecting trash during Saddam Hussein’s rule. “We are carrying our souls in our hands.”

The danger to trash collectors is at the root of one of the most visible symptoms of collapse in Baghdad. Garbage is ubiquitous, especially in dangerous neighborhoods, blanketing street medians, alleys and vacant lots in stinking, fly-infested quilts. Trash collection has joined a long list of basic services, including electricity, water and sewerage, that have slipped badly in many places since the American-led invasion.

Trash collectors have frequently refused to venture into especially problem-plagued Baghdad neighborhoods, including Dora, Adhamiya, Jamiya and Ghazaliya, where spasms of violence have often been the norm. Or they have dashed in and out when the danger ebbed, hauling away what they could.

Insurgents have taken to hiding roadside bombs amid the refuse. Trash collectors sometimes stumble upon them and notify the police, but other times they are not so lucky.

To protect the bombs set for American and Iraqi convoys, insurgents have killed scores of trash collectors.

If it weren't for all the trash and bombs and dead bodies everywhere, it sounds like a swell place.

Inhofe, you are a sockpuppet for big oil and war profiteers, both who are dealers for doom.

Crazy Jesus Lady

Peggy Noonan clutches her pearls and heads for the fainting couch:

The Sounds of Silencing
Why do Americans on the left think only they have the right to dissent?

To support her brash headline claiming lefties don't know how to behave in public, she trots out four examples. Columbia University students protesting a Minuteman presentation on illegal immigration, an unnamed blogger complaining about the Chirpy Little Tart putting a grieving father on teevee, blaming the Amish schoolchildren murders on abortion, Barbra Streisand dealing with a heckler, and Rosie O'Donnell harping about gun control.

That's it. Students, an unnamed blogger and a couple of movie stars represent the entire left and her thesis that these examples demonstrate lefties are intolerant of alternate views:

What is most missing from the left in America is an element of grace--of civic grace, democratic grace, the kind that assumes disagreements are part of the fabric, but we can make the fabric hold together. The Democratic Party hasn't had enough of this kind of thing since Bobby Kennedy died.

The hypocricy of this whole editorial is absolutely staggering. We have listened to the wingnuts shriek incessantly for years, dragging the debate down into the gutter, calling any criticism of this President "treasonous" and "seditious". The Crazy Jesus Lady is surrounded by the likes of Michelle Maulkkkin, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh and the Faux News Network that constantly try to quash dissent by labeling all those who disagree with their views as siding with terrorists, when in fact it is now clear that the policies they advocate are terrorist multipliers.

Perhaps Noonan is looking at the polls and seeing a defeat for her viewpoint and is doing a pre-emptive call for civility. Talk to your friends lady, cause I'm not listening.

Crunch Time

Republicans are hoist by their own petard by basing their control on the "values voters." Now comes the time for each activist to gently encourage non-voters to participate. I learned something very valuable in my sales career--every call results in a sale being made. Either they buy my story, or I buy theirs.

Don't let people throw their hands up and say "They're all crooks," because that is what Republicans who run attack ads want. Democrats have to respond with their own negative ads, or be labeled spineless, and campaigns descend into the territory that validates popular low opinion of elected officials.

Challenge this opinion. Vote the crooks out--these people work for us, and do things in our name. America is supposed to be a world leader, and as such, should not be behaving like a soiled brat. Votes in the district I live in very well could end the brutal killings and baby girl rapes of Darfur, not to mention the abomination that is Iraq, a disaster that has our fingerprints all over it.

America can return to being a respected world leader. This power comes from the American people, and this power is weakened and perverted when its citizens fail to hold their servants accountable by voting. Not voting is an endorsement, an agreement with current events. I point this out to everyone I talk to who does not regularly vote. Like it or not, we are the world leader, and it is time for Americans to take this responsibility seriously and perform the duty that makes us so. Not voting counts too.

HAD ENOUGH?

October Surprise Trifecta

Chicken little Democrats have been quivering in the corner waiting for the big bad Rethuglicans to drop the infamous "October Surprise" on them, reversing the national trend against the rubber stampers of Dubya's disastrous reign, allowing them to retain their foot on the throat of the middle class. And then the National Intelligence Estimate leaked out:

The war in Iraq has become a primary recruitment vehicle for violent Islamic extremists, motivating a new generation of potential terrorists around the world whose numbers may be increasing faster than the United States and its allies can reduce the threat, U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded.

The N.I.E. is put together by 16 of our national security agencies. They basically pile up all their data, sort through it, and put forth an estimate. My phone never rang.

[...]
First of all, when someone is killed, usually it makes someone else upset that they lost their friend or family member. And maybe it pisses off several people. Some have been known to strike back indiscriminately, especially if the death of their friend or loved one was senseless. The Bush Doctrine, for this reason, is a terrorist multiplier.
[...]

Here I am, a truck driver from Oklahoma, all caught up with them and shit.

Then came the release of Bob Woodward's blockbuster indictment of all things Bushwhacked: State Of Denial

[...]
There was a vast difference between what the White House and Pentagon knew about the situation in Iraq and what they were saying publicly. But the discrepancy was not surprising. In memos, reports and internal debates, high-level officials of the Bush administration have voiced their concern about the United States' ability to bring peace and stability to Iraq since early in the occupation.
[...]

Of course, us bloggers on the left have been saying "bullshit" every time Dubya opens his mouth, but this is different. This is Bob Woodward, and he can never be confused with the dirty hippies of the "rabid lambs of the left."

Then came the "hat trick" of the trifecta, if I may mix my sports metaphors: The La Cage Aux Foley

[...]
Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., abruptly resigned from Congress on Friday in the wake of questions about e-mails he wrote a former teenage male page.
[...]
The page worked for Rep. Rodney Alexander, R-La., who said Friday that when he learned of the e-mail exchanges 10 to 11 months ago, he called the teenÂ’s parents. Alexander told the Ruston Daily Leader, "We also notified the House leadership that there might be a potential problem," a reference to the HouseÂ’s Republican leaders.

So the Republican Leadership new about this letch and let him continue preying on children in the halls of congress for nearly a year. As Think Progress points out:

One of the few members of Congress informed of Foley's actions was Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY), currently the Chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
[...]
As Hill columnist Josh Marshall writes, the NRCC is "the House Republicans' election committee, a political organization entirely separate from the House bureaucracy and the Congress. Marshall notes, "Considering that the issue involved a minor, it seems highly inappropriate to discuss the matter with anyone not charged with policing the House. More to the point, however, you tell the head of the NRCC because you see the matter as a political problem." On May 10, 2006 -- two months after he was informed of Foley's emails -- Reynolds's personal PAC, TOMPAC, wrote Foley a check for $5,000. In July, the NRCC accepted $100,000 from Foley.
[...]

So, we have 16 Federal agencies, who agree with me, that Bush has fucked up the entire Global War on Terror, a prestigious journalist, who also agrees with me, saying Bush has the reverse midas touch, and the enabling rubber stamp Republicans who not only shield Bush by calling critics terrorist sympathizers, but also coddle and shield pedophiles. mmmkay?

Looking at this whole sorry spectacle, I must admit I have mixed emotions, like watching my ex-wife drive off a cliff, in my brand new cadillac. This is my country and these people are supposed to represent American values. I hardly recognize the place anymore. I ache all over.

Fight Back Against Republican Sex Scandals Double Standards

Representative Mark Foley's resignation in disgrace over allegations of improper sexual advances towards little boys once again bring the familiar refrain; it's Bill Clinton's fault. The party of personal responsibility and family values are neither. The opportunity exists, for those of us in the netroots, to cast aside one such double standard hypocritical rightard running for the open seat of Oklahoma's 5th congressional district. Mary Fallin, long insulated in her cocoon of Rethuglican cohorts, feels she can step out of the shadows of her long twelve year stint as Lt. Governor, the demanding daily task requires every morning to ask, "How is the Governor feeling today?" Sure, her good buddy Governor Frank Keating threw her projects to make her political bones. But someone else may have been "boning" Fallin.

While Governor Keating was hammering Clinton for his "pecadillos", Lt. Governor Mary Fallin was embroiled in her own steamy little tryst with a hunky Highway Patrol officer assigned to guard her body (yikes!)
The real "body guards" of Fallin's professional career are Frank Keating, a real mucky-muck in the DoJ of the Reagan and Bush administrations,prior to his stint as Governor of Oklahoma, and Bob Ricks, (yes, THAT Bob Ricks, mouthpiece of the FBI at WACO) and who got the cushy job of Oklahoma's Director of Public Safety, from, you guessed it, Frank Keating. Now, think this through, the Governor tells some old chum of his that he appointed to "leave no stone unturned" in investigating the alleged "poking" of his second in command, by one of his ol' buddies employees.
Now, this is sleazy to be sure, and I'll be taking a shower when I'm done writing it, but it is a story that is not being told. Insiders shielding insiders and shrieking violently about immoral behavior(IOKIYAR).
Which brings us to the 5th Congressional District of Oklahoma. Political neophyte Dr. David Hunter won the Democratic primary and is facing Fallin on November 7. It is an open seat as Istook wants to be Governor (not gonna happen.) Hunter opposes the Iraq war and the Republican Torture Authorization Act.

I set up a donation page at Act Blue for Dr. Hunter. Please hit the tip jar over their so we can get oversight in congress, and really just bitchslap these rightards and their one-way ethics. Everything helps.

Republicans Shield Child molesters

The party of "family values" has a shiny new member to place on its list of pedophiles. Representative Mark Foley (R-FL) has resigned in disgrace when it became publicly known that he was allegedly sexually harassing a 16-year-old male page via email and instant messages.

As sick as these allegations are, even more distressing is that the Republican leadership has known about this for nearly a year, and were more concerned with protecting their leadership positions than protecting the children of America from pedophiles. Once again, the Republican leadership was willing to trade oversight for overlook and end the session without any investigation and hit the campaign trail. Not so fast, says House Democratic Leader, Nancy Pelosi:

Whereas for more than 150 years, parents from across the country have sent their children to be pages in the U.S. Capitol, the Page School is a national treasure, and the children who attend it and work in the Congress are our special trust;

Whereas, according to press reports, Representative Mark Foley (R-FL) reportedly engaged in highly inappropriate and explicit communications with a former underage page;

Whereas these allegations were so severe that Representative Foley immediately resigned his seat;

Whereas the page worked for Representative Rodney Alexander (R-LA) and, according to press reports, Representative Alexander learned of the emails "10 to 11 months ago"; (AP, September 29, 2006)

Whereas Representative Alexander has said, "We also notified the House leadership that there might be a potential problem", and the Democratic leadership was not informed; (AP, September 29, 2006)

Whereas all Members of Congress have a responsibility to protect their employees, especially young pages who serve this institution;

Whereas these charges demand immediate investigation, including a determination of when the emails were sent, who knew of the emails, whether there was a pattern of inappropriate activity by Mr. Foley involving email or other contacts with pages or former pages, when the Republican leadership was notified, and what corrective action was taken once officials learned of any improper activity;

Whereas given the serious nature of these charges, the pages, their parents, the public, and our colleagues must be assured that Congress will take responsibility that such egregious behavior is not tolerated and will never happen again;

Therefore be it resolved,

That the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct shall immediately appoint an Investigative Subcommittee to fully and expeditiously determine the facts connected with Representative FoleyÂ’s conduct and the response thereto; and

That Committee on Standards of Official Conduct is further directed to make a preliminary report to the House within ten days.

That is the text of Leader Pelosi's privileged resolution. It simply cannot be any clearer that the Republicans are unethical and completely uninterested in anything other than their grip on power. It was hard for me to fathom anything Republicans could do any worse than they have already done last Thursday. Friday, they threw the bar on the ground and tripped over it.

One can only imagine what kind of pressure was applied to this lad to STFU. Imagine being a 16-year-old boy and having the power of the future of the world in your possession. Surely someone took a run at him.

Welcome To The United States Of Torture

Okay, so we've all seen the pictures of Abu Grahib prisoners being humiliated and gnawed on by german shepherds, so we can say "bullshit" when Dubya says we do not torture. As an end run around the Geneva conventions, detainees were classified as enemy combatants, and since they belong to no government that signed any treaty, they were persona non grata, the Bush administration could run their own little petri dish of intel gathering, however they saw fit. Remember, none of these detainees have even been charged with a crime. Some, without doubt, are evil, as some, without doubt, are just poor unlucky bastards.

Then, the Supreme Court ruled that Dubyas little kangaroo court idea needed a serious enema, and oh, by the way, the detainees are protected by the Geneva conventions. Did you see the "fiendish fourteen" terrorists suddenly come out of the secret CIA prisons and get transferred to Gitmo? Did ya here Bush tell Congress to enact the bill he proposed to enable the CIA program to "go forward?"

CIA agents were told their torture program was legal. The Supreme Court told them they are fulla shit. The CIA spooks told Bush "fuck this" we are like not doing time for war crimes, so they halted their operation "Terror/Torture".

Now Bush is thumping his chest saying the deal is done and operation Terror/Torture can continue. McCain, Graham and Warner have returned oversight to the executive branch and the Democrats are tediously gnawing their fingernails, shell shocked into an opinionless mass of quivering shit.

We do not have to be a lawyer or listen to anything this administration says to understand what is going on. This administration tortures people. SCOTUS says no-no. Program stops. POTUS gets new rules, program re-starts.

How would you like to be the poor unlucky bastard when your tormenter returns, reinvigorated after a hiatus, armed with the power of God? Surely some people think torture could be an effective tool. Please, do not confuse America with countries who accept this, even though Bush has.

They actually think they can prevent the courts from reviewing any of this. It's in the language of the bill. These guys are not strong on defense, they're lame in the brain. This will not stand. The only question I have is where do the Democrats stand?

Nationbuilding With The Wingnut Welfare Program

So, to build a shining example of Democracy and free-enterprise, one would think you would assemble the best and brightest for the job. But then again we are talking about a program coming from the culture of corruption and cronyism that defines the Bush administration. From the Washington Post.

After the fall of Saddam Hussein's government in April 2003, the opportunity to participate in the U.S.-led effort to reconstruct Iraq attracted all manner of Americans -- restless professionals, Arabic-speaking academics, development specialists and war-zone adventurers. But before they could go to Baghdad, they had to get past Jim O'Beirne's office in the Pentagon.
[...]

Yeah, I said that already. You know there is a "but" in there somewhere.

[...]

To pass muster with O'Beirne, a political appointee who screens prospective political appointees for Defense Department posts, applicants didn't need to be experts in the Middle East or in post-conflict reconstruction. What seemed most important was loyalty to the Bush administration.

O'Beirne's staff posed blunt questions to some candidates about domestic politics: Did you vote for George W. Bush in 2000? Do you support the way the president is fighting the war on terror? Two people who sought jobs with the U.S. occupation authority said they were even asked their views on Roe v. Wade .

[...]

Now, I have never applied for a Federal job before, I always assumed it would be different somehow.

[...]
Many of those chosen by O'Beirne's office to work for the Coalition Provisional Authority, which ran Iraq's government from April 2003 to June 2004, lacked vital skills and experience. A 24-year-old who had never worked in finance -- but had applied for a White House job -- was sent to reopen Baghdad's stock exchange. The daughter of a prominent neoconservative commentator and a recent graduate from an evangelical university for home-schooled children were tapped to manage Iraq's $13 billion budget, even though they didn't have a background in accounting.
[...]

hmmm. This Bush appointee O'Beirne is married to Kate, the far right talking head that spins faster than a Texas tornado. This is basically just a wingnut welfare jobs program for the sons and daughters of rightwing think tanks, all of whom will eventually wind up being "Foxsperts" on some blah blah bullshit sales job on the rank and file of racist homophobic "value voters" Republicans hoodwink into voting for their fundraising schemes.

The article in the Post very long and is an excerpt from a book. I strongly recommend reading it. To be aware of these things makes it very difficult to vote for Republicans. Impossible for me.

FBI Triples Fraud Investigators In DC

This is why Grover Norquist wants to reduce the size of government where he can drag it into the bathroom and drown it into a bathtub.

WASHINGTON - There is so much political corruption on Capitol Hill that the FBI has had to triple the number of squads investigating lobbyists, lawmakers and influence peddlers, the Daily News has learned.

For decades, only one squad in Washington handled corruption cases because the crimes were seen as local offenses handled by FBI field offices in lawmakers' home districts.

But in recent years, the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal and other abuses of power and privilege have prompted the FBI to assign 37 agents full-time to three new squads in an office near Capitol Hill.

FBI Assistant Director Chip Burrus told The News yesterday that he wants to detail even more agents to the Washington field office for a fourth corruption squad because so much wrongdoing is being uncovered.

[...]

Try to remember, the cops and robbers both are on our payroll. Vurp!

Abramoff And Bush Connected

Remember Jack Abramoff, the crooked lobbyist that no Republican knew?

Press briefing by Presidential spokesliar, Snotty McClellan, January 17, 2006.

Q So would the White House be open to complying with the Democrats' request to go ahead and provide that kind of information, the contacts Abramoff had with senior staff, that type of thing?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I've already indicated to you a general description of any contacts that were there.

Q Can you be more specific about the contacts with the senior staff? You said you were going to get back to us on that. Can you give us --

MR. McCLELLAN: I did check. There were a few staff-level meetings. As I indicated there were -- I think I previously indicated that he attended three Hanukkah receptions at the White House. It is actually only two Hanukkah receptions that he attended.

Q And the years?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think it was the earlier years, earlier 2000 -- early in the 2000 time period. I can double-check that. And so that's --

Q Specific staff? You were going to get back to us on the specific staff --

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, my understanding from the check that we did was that there are just a few staff-level meetings in addition to those.

Q Who was in the staff meetings?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't get into discussing staff-level meetings.

Q Why not?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, if you got something to bring to my attention, Elisabeth, I'll be glad to look into it. If you've got something specific, I'll be glad to take a look into it.

Q Did he meet with Karl Rove, for example?

MR. McCLELLAN: We don't -- we don't ever tend to get into those staff-level meetings.

Gee, sounds like just a couple of times, like maybe religious ceremonies or something. Or not.

Former associates of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff had dozens of appointments with Bush administration staff members, according to Secret Service visitor logs the White House released yesterday to settle a lawsuit by the Democratic Party and an ethics watchdog group.[...]

Seems the Dems weren't willing to rely on ole Snotty to get back to the steno capitol crew and had to break out the lawyers to find out who has been in the people's Whitehouse, currently occupied by Repugnicons.

[...]
Republican activists Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed, political allies of President Bush and longtime Abramoff associates, totaled more than 100 visits to the Bush White House. Abramoff, a former GOP lobbyist, has pleaded guilty to fraud and is cooperating with prosecutors in an influence-peddling investigation. White House officials said they believe all their meetings that included Bush were group events, such as Christmas parties or policy briefings for GOP supporters.[...]

Ah, Grover and Ralph, lobbying for Jack and the mighty right-wing welfare programs. I guess when Snotty said "two" referring to meetings, he left out the modifier "hundred." It only took nine months to get these records. If this story gets any traction Iran better head for cover.

NSA Claims Wiretapping Program Illegal

The National Security Agency provided a list of "talking points" about the warrantless eavesdropping program on American's in America to Senate intelligence agency chair, Pat Roberts (R-Kan) that somehow ended up on the pages of WaPo. The one that caught my eye, was the one that admitted guilt.

"Current law is not agile enough to handle the threat posed by sophisticated international terrorist organizations such as al-Qaeda"

So instead of following the law, that is not "agile enough" (72 hour retro-warrants are waaay too slow) they chose to ignore the law. Which is a polite way of saying they are engaged in criminal activity, and their own talking points point that out. Can somebody get a judge on the phone?

The Path To 9/11; A Critical Review

So, over the vehement protestations of hundreds of thousands of people, ABC/Disney elected to air the GOP-U-Drama, Path To 9/11, saying to criticize it before viewing is "irresponsible." So, this is my attempt at being responsible.

For full disclosure, I was busy, and missed some of the start of the shillathon and cannot review the treatment the previous administration received for rounding up all of the perpertrators that first attacked the world trade center, prosecuted, convicted who now sit rotting in a maximum security prison in Colorado. Even though that attack occurred very early in the Clinton administration, I do not recall anyone blaming Bush the Senior.

What I did witness was the path to 9/11 during the Clinton Administration was aided and abetted by the constant stumbling over the Clenis--apparently the previous Commander-In-Chief was thinking with the wrong head. Deep throat wore a blue dress and bin Laden got away because our President couldn't shoot straight.

Enter Leader-by-landslide Dubya (aka The English Patient) and Kinda Sleazy Rice knicking her leg by pushing Dick away from the Adults table. The tin star Rexall Ranger is tired of "swatting flies" and wants to go all "shock and awe" on bin Laden, but the apparatus left by Clenis is impotent, unable to penetrate and deliver a climax to the baddies.

FISA can't help and wiretapping laws have them hamstrung. Shit, these guys hit all the points in making this $40 million gift for the Republican party.

Okay, so Disney/ABC chose to air a movie that is a huge stain on the events of 9/11. The writers and producers are well known partisan hacks as has been brought to light on the internet. They took the default position of the "Party of Personal Responsiblity" and blamed Clinton. They peopled their movie with actors portraying real people who are still alive and have them saying things they do not say, and doing things they do not do.

They claimed their shillathon was based on the 9/11 bi-partisan commission report, even though their movie was not bi-partisan, contradicted the 9/11 report and carried a blantant political slant.

Now it is not possible to put this turd back into the elephant that shit it out, but those involved with this must know it is not without consequences.

I'll start out this way; Disney/ABC--Fuck You.

I won't be going to Disneyland or anything like that--for sure. I'll be sure and tell everyone I know that you hire and coddle child molesters. You belong with the GOP, the party of child molesters. Fifteen-year-old boys would be safer on an all male Greek freighter. At least they don't wear goofy costumes and preach about family values.

ABC is joined at the hip with these assfuckers. An Iron Curtain of Orwellian Reich-speak has descended upon the corporate media. Would you approve of a holocaust denial movie-of-the-week "docudrama?" Credibility is like virginity, once you've lost it, you're fucked. And in the words of Pat Paulsen, "I'm trying to up my standards, so up yours."

The Actors.

Lending starpower to such a politically slanted movie is a dangerous thing to do. Perhaps you were misled. However, ignorance is no excuse, and making political statements can be quite costly. I watched in horror as flight Toby Keith crashed into the Dixie Chicks tower, reducing the Chicks careers to a smoldering hole in the ground. Maybe Keith thinks it's kewl to beat up on chicks, but the message stands; you have tread on treacherous ground.

Certainly your high priced handlers are saying "no comment" as fast as they can. Wolf is trying to get out in front. Shave your heads, put ashes on your forehead, gird your loins up in sackcloth, and when you go out in public, wear clappers and bells and yell "unclean, unclean" whenever someone approaches, and maybe you can weather this shitstorm.

Yeah, I'm a little pissed over this deal. The movie is a fucking lie, Republicans refuse to accept responsibility for anything, and they wrap their failure around the Clenis. Everyone involved in this project is part of the military-industrial complex of war profiteers, getting rich off of fomenting strife and death throughout the world and the manufacture and sales of mechanized doom. They have dishonored the victims of September 11, 2001 by turning their memory into an excuse to blame their political rivals and an opportunity to line their pockets.

Disney/ABC/GOP--Fuck You.

Happy Labor Day

The final stretch to the November elections and Karl said he's bringing the two "t's" to the fight. Terrorism and turnout. Looks like the Republicans are going to focus on six congressional seats to maintain a slim majority and avoit oversight and indictments. They have $60 million to spend on this, half of which is dedicated to get out the vote.

Everyone has a voice. Use it. Get active. Donate and do whatever you can. Many people have no voice and are no longer active. To see who I am talking about, click right here.

(h/t to cbl @ fdl for the link. Do yourself a favor and check it out.

Double Down Presidency

cross posted at firedoglake

In an awkward pivot from Bush's failed Katrina response anniversary, the President tries to drum up support for additional wars with Iran and Syria, heading toward the 9/11 anniversary, while stuck in the Iraqi tar-baby debacle. Some choice excerpts of his speech on August 31, 2006.

The enemies of liberty come from different parts of the world, and they take inspiration from different sources. Some are radicalized followers of the Sunni tradition, who swear allegiance to terrorist organizations like al Qaeda. Others are radicalized followers of the Shia tradition, who join groups like Hezbollah and take guidance from state sponsors like Syria and Iran. Still others are "homegrown" terrorists -- fanatics who live quietly in free societies they dream to destroy. Despite their differences, these groups from -- form the outlines of a single movement, a worldwide network of radicals that use terror to kill those who stand in the way of their totalitarian ideology.

Okay. We have a worldwide boogeyman but the big ol' fat bullseye is painted on Iran and Syria.

Second, we have made it clear to all nations, if you harbor terrorists, you are just as guilty as the terrorists; you're an enemy of the United States, and you will be held to account.

He has done so well with Iraq, now he wants to expand the war. And he will.

The Iranian regime arms, funds, and advises Hezbollah, which has killed more Americans than any terrorist network except al Qaeda. The Iranian regime interferes in Iraq by sponsoring terrorists and insurgents, empowering unlawful militias, and supplying components for improvised explosive devices. The Iranian regime denies basic human rights to millions of its people. And the Iranian regime is pursuing nuclear weapons in open defiance of its international obligations.

Like a gambler on a losing streak, Bush insists on doubling down. His administrations complete failure on the GWOT seeks to pick bigger fights with larger nations and even more dangerous adventures. Using new buzzwords like fascism, nazi, and Hitler, they are pandering to the warporn wing of the country, nastier images are required to achieve erection and gratification.

This administration will generate more wars. It is what they do, even if very badly. To stop them, Democrats must undertake a blistering assault on their warmaking. I'll pass some ammunition.

Half of the people in Iraq are under eighteen, according to UNICEF. I wonder where their parents are and if they are enjoying their freedoms from them? Are the policies of this administration reducing the ranks of terrorists or increasing them?

The number of terrorist attacks worldwide increased nearly fourfold in 2005 to 11,111, with strikes in Iraq accounting for 30 percent of the total, according to statistics released by U.S. counterterrorism officials yesterday.

Does this make anyone feel safer? Not a very good track record coming from the Daddy party. This current track of escalating wars is doomed to fail for two very basic reasons. First of all, when someone is killed, usually it makes someone else upset that they lost their friend or family member. And maybe it pisses off several people. Some have been known to strike back indiscriminately, especially if the death of their friend or loved one was senseless. The Bush Doctrine, for this reason, is a terrorist multiplier.

The second reason it is doomed for failure is that a fella needs to work. When war comes to town, it sorta makes it hard to find a job, and soldiering is about the only game in town. And clearly Bush does not get these two points, even as simple as he is. Bush wants war, so the Democrats must give him one. Never explain, never defend, always attack. Keith Olbermann shows us how it's done.

The man who sees absolutes, where all other men see nuances and shades of meaning, is either a prophet, or a quack.

Donald H. Rumsfeld is not a prophet.

Mr. Rumsfeld’s remarkable speech to the American Legion yesterday demands the deep analysis—and the sober contemplation—of every American.

For it did not merely serve to impugn the morality or intelligence -- indeed, the loyalty -- of the majority of Americans who oppose the transient occupants of the highest offices in the land. Worse, still, it credits those same transient occupants -- our employees -- with a total omniscience; a total omniscience which neither common sense, nor this administration’s track record at home or abroad, suggests they deserve.

Two words: K. O.

Had Enough?

The uncurious and incompetent Bush administration. He decides yes and no and leaves the room for his war profiteering cronies to run the show. Meanwhile, Rove teaches the chant for Republicans, "Our firm dealing with terra has saved Merkins from being hit since 9-11."

The Dems response? "Republicans are so proud to only have one Pearl Harbor type attack on us under their so-called protection. Where is Osama? Where is the leader of the attack and his chief lieutenant? When we were attacked under Democratic leadership, we rounded up all of the terrorists and now they are rotting in a maximum-security Colorado jail. The Republican mismanagement of National Security has increased the ranks of international terrorists four-fold, while our own military cannot recruit enough soldiers to carry out their botched policies. This Administration and their Rubber Stamp Republican Congress has failed to protect this country, swelled the ranks of our enemies, evaporated most allied support, ruined our credibility, emptied our treasury and badly misspent our Armed Forces. We would be amused at their boasting and swagger, standing atop such a vast pile of ruination, if the consequences of their incompetence were not so grave. No longer will we sit idly by while this confederacy of dunces claim they are showing strength. They are not showing strength, but stupidity. And the entire world is a much more dangerous place because of it."

Okay, that is not the Democratic response, but it should be. To hell with making a plan for Iraq. An energy plan? Fuhgeddaboudit. Health care plan? Tax policy? Nope and nope. The democrats have a ten-point plan for everything under the sun fer chrissakes. Nobody's gonna hear about it, 'cause the press will just say "the Dems don't have a plan." It is too close to November. Never explain, never defend, always attack.

JANEDALF

And so it came to pass that Janedalf, the progressive pilgrim whose sparks of snark are heralded as the flame of the west came to the fork in the road where the fellowship of the hoblogits of Nutmeg would part. They begged the wizardress to linger, for she was a chieftain of the High Order and wielded great power, for their was much left to do. She laughed a merry laugh, and as she did, a cool breeze wrapped about the company, fresh born from the snowy crests of distant mountains that marched on the margins of view. And in answer, a nearby sycamore tree that housed a multitude of colorful birds; a curious mix of Striesandols and Kadylanes burst into a song of hope and rainbows, and the pasture at nigh blanketed with whortle and midsummer niphredels kissed the bees and butterflies.

"My dear Nutmeggers," she began with a sparkle in her eye, which never dimmed after the battle, "I have other deeds in this long campaign against the Dark Lord and his good buddy Dubya. But you no longer need my help. You have grown, indeed you are now giants. The deeds you have performed, the battles you have fought and the victory you have achieved have entered the councils of the great and shaken the foundations of tyranny. Indeed, even if the chief Kossack of the High Council Himself, Master of us all, summoned all his minions throughout the four corners of the land to the impenetrable fastness of Townhouse Castle, verily you four would sit in honor at the head of the table, two on his right hand, which holds thunder and lightning and two on his left hand, which hold wisdom and mercy. Or is that gold and silver?"

TRex, a vaguely domesticated carnivore whose diet consisted exclusively of racist wingnuts, cared little about meetings spelled without an a, and didn't feel slighted by being overlooked. His keen green eyes furtively scanned the field in search of athelas, or kingsfoil, a known numbing agent for a cramped bowel. It had been a very target rich environment lately, but TRex had vowed not to release his captives save only on the steps of the Dark Lords palace. He wanted to leave a glistening display to the wingnuts future prospects. Not spying any athelas, TRex casually uprooted a small thirty foot tall pine tree for a toothpick. Hair of the dog, he mused.

Somehow, Spazeboy, the intrepid documenter of battles, didn't feel like much of a giant. He looked at his friend CT Bob, who understood his mind at once.

"But Janedalf, we have dealt a grievous blow, to be sure, but Saurilooserman still walks yet, and continues to gnaw the ends of his broken schemes." The two battle scarred warriors, Ed and Keith, glanced nervously at one another sitting in their battle wagon, powered by the Poodles of Doom, still dragging their trophy of the beaten-but-not-destroyed hideous two headed foe.

Janedalf stiffened in her saddle, and the four had not marked how tall and Queenly she was; an unrevealed power shone through that lifted the hearts of the righteous and caused much wailing and gnashing of teeth of evildoers and their stenographers.

"Behold," she thundered. "A great shadow has been removed from the East. But it can return. As you must straight away. Remove all the foundations of Saurilooserman and circumcise the false flesh away from the wolves wearing sheeps clothing. Remember our battle cry; Kos to the fore, skins or not."

And with that, Janedalf departed, and the four warriors headed for Nutmeg, TRex galloping happily behind the warriors, wagging his thunderous tail clearing acreages of timber on both sides of the road. He felt the scours coming on.

Authors note: This is my response to the silly claims of the power wielded by the far-left bloggers. It's the message, stupid, not the medium. Artwork provided by the incomparable Darkblack. Go bloggers!

...And Down The Stretch We Come

cross-posted at firedoglake

The Connecticut Primary reminded me of George and Lorraine and Biff. You remember, from Back To The Future. Mild mannered, always polite and courteous, George McFly was constantly ridiculed and beset by the foul, uncouth and obnoxious Biff. It's just the way it was. Biff nearly broke George's arm, and still, he would not defend himself. But when Biff manhandled Lorraine, The object of George's love down to his very soul, his density as it were, that tore it. With a punch delivered from three counties over, Biff was snoring before he hit the ground.

And so it was in Connecticut. Americans tired of thugs mauling and sullying the reputation of their country fought back against those who enable such atrocities. The collective heads across America snapped to the East to witness--and I'll paraphrase Tweety here, "The smote heard 'round the world." However, grim business is before us, and the high-fives and towel snapping will have to wait. Joenabler refuses to concede, and the peoples choice in Lamont still has no job. No one is interested in living off this latest round of press clippings.

Before this victory, the Reich-Wing gleefully hung the goose egg around the neck of left-wing political blogger victories. Now we are dangerous far-left hippy peaceniks. Yawn. The dog barks but the caravan rolls on. And now we are not alone. Death, destruction, corruption and fluent incompetence are the Bush legacy and his Rubber Stamp Republican Lickspittle sycophants. And George McFly is not happy.

We are down to the final quarter. This is where the coach calls a gut check. Well, how bad do you want it? Donate all you can to your local candidates. Turn your evening stroll into doorhangings/knockings and over-the-fence visits. Write Letters to the Editor. Pitch in to a phone bank. Check with local nursing homes about rides to the polls. Any other ideas?

What About Joe?

Everytime he opens his mouth, we'll be there. And again, this time we will not be alone. Perhaps someone feeding from the same donation troughs will gently urge the feedmaster to invest their money more wisely. After all, Joe is obviously headed to the pasture of punditry, where him and his good buddy, Joe Klein, can generously fertilize the same fields as the crap they spew is so similar. Even Pox News may see the coming progressive tide and offer them a spot to represent the Democratic viewpoint. The Joe/Joe Show. They can copy the graphics of 60 minutes, but instead of a stopwatch going tic, tic, tic, they can put up a nagging mother going tsk, tsk, tsk.

A Very Dark Chapter

Sorry to have been away so long kids, but Papa has been busy supplying an addicted nation. So let's dive right in, shall we?

Can you feel it? I sure as hell can, and it's not a little spidey sense thing either. The turn is occurring in our political make-up. I can feel it and it is palpable. The natives are truly restless. People are coming too and realize they no longer live in a country they recognize as America. Being mislead into a disastrous occupation of a country that was not a threat and did not attack us, costing us the sons and daughters of our country, Billions of dollars, worldwide sympathy and goodwill has taught us this administration is not strong but stupid. The entire worldview of the Bush junta diplomacy is summed up in the final scene of Scarface. Say hello to my little friend.

They brought us Abu Grahib, Gitmo, Abramhoff, Delay, Alito, Enron, Exxon, Cheney deals made with Big Oil behind a door sealed by the Supreme Court, stripped us of civil rights, K-street earmarks, Duke Cunningham, 9/11, voter fraud, fear, racism, war profiteering, gross negligence in the Katrina aftermath, Terri Schiavo, civil war in Iraq, nuclear arms by North Korea quadrupled, Iran on the brink of nuclear abilities, Osama in the wind and worldwide contempt.

Just to hit a few highpoints.

This is the tedious drip, drip, drip that is soaking by osmosis into the American consciousness. Folks are starting to get the hint that running a Republic is not a spectator sport. It is very serious shit when you are the world superpower, and when fanatical idiots like the ones we have now hold the reins of power, we get the government we deserve. Clearly the Bush cabal is all about talking points and marketing, but they have no clue how to govern. This is simply a matter of a group of people stealing our nation blind. Seriously, no one with an IQ over room temperature can give a coherent argument that these guys really give a shit about anything at all except their own fortunes.

I feel people are tired of the Mid-South Wrassling/Carney Pitchman crap they spew. Regular folks don't care how high you jump when you preach, but how you walk when you hit the ground. And Joe Lieberman got thrown under the bus the other day in favor of a real progressive, Ned Lamont. Everyone is all atwitter over them nasty radical hippy McArthyite anti-war bloggers dragging the Democratic party to the far left, where they can't win elections. Pshaw!

Let's deal with that, shall we? First off, welcome to the 21st Century, dickheads. Iraq is a civil war and we are involved in an occupation. See that? Their war, our occupation. Their war caused by stupidity, not by strength. We need somebody besides Scarface, or worse, Kindasleezy Rice, to figure out that mess. And wassup with the pounding the innernets? Sure, journalists maybe don't like it, cause it is not a one way medium like newspapers, teevee and radio, or two way like telephones. It is a multi-way medium. Still, it is nothing more than a message and information system. Ned had the right message and Joe did not. Instead of Ned and Joe paying the innernets to get out their messages, we did it for free and gave them the opportunity to allow us to pay them. Pretty fucking outrageous, huh. I know, it stands the God of Media culture, Marshall McLuhan on his head. It is the message, not the medium.

Joe still wants to play though. Seems all them voters for Ned are al Qaida sympathizers. Yup. Ol Joe Nomentum said something very similar to that. That may shock some people, and if it does, it just means you haven't been paying attention. You see, all us nasty left-wing anti-war hippy bloggers knew along time ago Darth Cheney had turned Joe into his own widdle sock puppet. A three-way race? Fuhgedaboudit. Other Dems are looking for ways to look more progressive. Hell, even Hillary was heard bitchslapping Ronald Dumsfeld the other day. It's a tough thing for a chick to try and look tough while distancing herself from a hawkish position. I'm willing to cut her a hell of a lot of slack on that deal. Joe, not so much.

I wish I could conclude this hopeful post by declaring a complete takeover by both houses by Democrats in November, but I can't. You see, the people want some entirely different shit happening in the halls of power, you know like honesty and restraint and diplomacy and non-stop investigations, indictments and froggermarches, but the remaining Dems in power, especially in the Senate (I'm talkin' about you Chuck) aren't quite ready for all that for some reason. Oh, well every dog has his day.