Pacific Views: No Lieberman

I've always been against the "circular firing squad" method of primary campaigning - I won't dog out any democrat, though I clearly favor Dean, and would gag on the way to the polls if Lieberman would turn out to be the nominee. Natasha at Pacific Views finds something nice to say about virtually everyone seeking the democratic nomination - all deserved. Nicely done.

Go Get 'em, George




... or not.

Good Economy. Bad Job Market. Huh? | NY Times

"IT was like waiting for Godot. We waited for years for productivity to accelerate, and now, unlike Godot, who never showed up, that day has finally arrived. Productivity is soaring, holding out the promise of rising prosperity. Unfortunately, now we're waiting for the prosperity to kick in. A second term for President Bush could ride on whether it does, and how soon. The United States economy has not experienced anything like this since World War II. Normally, a spike in productivity is accompanied by an even greater spike in demand. Simply put, productivity rises when workers produce more and sell more each year, and do so without putting in extra hours. The production part is working just fine. The demand, however, is lacking."

Really? Say it ain't so.... because if it's a demand problem and not a supply problem, man we just blew $200 billion this year (and more in the years to come) on supply side tax cuts that aren't going to do a damn thing to promote job growth. Oh wait, we already knew that back in May of 2001 when the first tax cuts were passed.

Iraq WMD search: Coming up short | MSNBC

"THE HUNT for weapons of mass destruction, so far, has been a bust. Intelligence officials told NBC News there is no smoking gun. They thought they’d discovered a biological weapons lab, but it wasn’t one. A massive CIA investigation, led by former U.N. weapons inspector Kay, is turning up only what former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein planned — not what he produced. “He’s not finding the kinds of things the administration expected to find — large quantities of biological and chemical weapons or evidence that they were destroyed prior to the war,” said David Albright, a former U.N. weapons inspector."

Stand by.... the Bush propaganda spinmeisters are no doubt gearing up to convince us that documents about weapons of mass destruction programs are just as good as actual WMD themselves. This will be quickly followed by the "We told you so..." conservative pundits, as in "We told you Iraq had WMD....programs, er, um, I mean plans for programs. That's what Bush and Cheney said all along! These liberals are simply revisionist historians!"

Krugman - tells you everything you need to know about tax cuts

This article is long, but a veritable primer on how tax cuts work and don't work, and how republicans have hood winked the public for years on the subject of taxes. It is absolutely required reading for those in the middle class persuaded to vote republican based on the promise of ever bigger and better tax cuts.

Tim Noah at Slate nails it too

Disaster in the Making | Eleanor Clift

"So far, the Bush White House has just $2 billion in pledges. “Why should anybody fund this?” says a Senate Democrat. “In the eyes of the world this is our baby, this is our mistake.” The true cost of reconstruction is closer to $300 billion, says Michele Flournoy, a senior advisor for international security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The $20 billion won’t cover much more than repairing infrastructure damaged by sabotage. “We’re coasting rather than developing,” she says. Of the top 20 security concerns confronting America, toppling Saddam wouldn’t have made her list. “And because of Iraq, we’re not doing other things” like funding homeland security and protecting U.S. ports. Bush has the bully pulpit, and if he says something often enough, it becomes common wisdom. As long as people believe Iraq is the “central front” in the war against terrorism, they’re very forgiving. Iraq has become a haven for Al Qaeda, a development that a Hill Republican dubs “the flypaper theory.” Having failed to rout the opposition in Iraq, Bush would have us believe the bad guys are now flocking to their destruction, making our job easier, not harder. This administration has great powers of self-delusion. The neocons are isolated from reality, but they run the government, and they’re unrepentant."

My only disagreement with this article is with the title. Iraq is already a disaster. It became a disaster on 9/12/01 when they decided to invade it and occupy it - facts, costs, complications, and risks be damned. They can't conceive of the possibility that they might be wrong about anything so there is no need for an examination of the facts or other bothersome details. Ideology rules above all else.

Murray fends off criticism of her 9/11 fund-raiser | Seattle PI

This a local story about democratic Senator Patty Murray here in Washington state...

"The event, which raised $10,000 for Murray's campaign against George Nethercutt, was denounced by Republicans as tawdry. Even some Democrats privately questioned the wisdom of holding a fund-raiser on what is still a mournful day. "I think this says a great deal about Senator Murray's judgment and priorities," Washington state Republican Party Chairman Chris Vance said. A senior Republican strategist in Washington, D.C., expressed disbelief that anyone would hold a fund-raiser that day. He said he knew of no Republicans who held events."

The mendacity of the republican party here in Washington, like the rest of the country, knows no bounds. Vance never misses an opportunity to slam a democrat, and the "liberal" Seattle paper never misses a chance to make it a story.

Here's my letter to the editor at the Seattle PI in response:

I have to call a pot, kettle, black on Republican party chairman Chris Vance's comment that a fundraiser held for Patty Murray on the 9/11 "says a great deal" about her "judgment and priorities." If he truly feels that way perhaps he should have a talk with President George W. Bush. According to the Washington Post, Bush recently invoked 9/11 as the justification to raise $170 million in campaign funding for a primary race in which he faces no opponent.

"'Every day, I'm reminded about what 9/11 means to America,' Bush said when asked in July about the $170 million budget for his primary campaign, where he has no opponent. 'We're still threatened,' he said, explaining that he wants to 'continue doing my job, and my job will be to work to make America more secure.'"

In addition, the Republican party has decided to hold it's convention in New York City days before 9/11 next year, even though presidential nominating conventions are traditionally held in August.

Clearly, these are examples of the exploitation of a horrible tragedy for political gain by the republican party and its candidate for president. I was working the morning of 9/11 this year; Chris Vance was working the morning of 9/11 this year; and Patty Murray was doing a part of her job that is no doubt a necessary evil - raising money to beat back unfounded, hypocritical, attacks. Vance and the other "republican strategists" mentioned in the article should spare us the pale comparison of Murray's paltry $10,000 fundraiser.

*****************************************************************

Her opponent in the Senate race is a Congressman who ran on a term limit promise in the era of the "Gingrich Revolution" and then promptly broke his promise when the term limit he agreed to was up. Here was his response during the 2000 campaign when a group of citizens dared criticize him for breaking his term limit pledge:

Nethercutt fights term limits group with negative ad "After facing months of negative advertising from a pro-term limits group, Rep. George Nethercutt, R-Wash., is lashing back with an attack ad of his own. U.S. Term Limits Executive Director Paul Jacob 'is a convicted felon who served a long prison sentence. ... So when you see the next U.S. Term Limits ad, recognize it for what it is -- lies from convicted felons,' Nethercutt's radio ad says. Jacob served 5 1/2 months in prison in 1980 after he refused to register for the draft. President Carter reinstated the draft for 18- to 25-year-olds after Soviet troops entered Afghanistan."

Those are the kind of lies they tell about the people who criticize them, so you can imagine the kind of attacks they will perpetrate on anyone who dares to defend their incumbent seat in the Senate.

How to save 20 billion in 20 minutes...

Bush’s bloated defense budget

Pentagon Official Retracts Assertion of al-Qaida Involvement in Iraq | VOANews.com

"We know a great many of Bin Laden's key lieutenants are now trying to organize in cooperation with old loyalists from the Saddam regime to attack in Iraq," he said. Mr. Wolfowitz gave no details. And when asked about the new claims, Pentagon officials indicated at first that Mr. Wolfowitz was referring to sensitive new intelligence information. Intelligence officials contacted by VOA said they were unable to corroborate his comments. Late Friday, Mr. Wolfowitz spoke to a reporter from the Associated Press and acknowledged he had misspoken. The bin Laden lieutenants he mentioned were in fact just one man, Abu Mussab Zarkawi, who was reported to have gone to Baghdad for medical treatment before the war. As for the alleged al-Qaida fighters in Iraq, Mr. Wolfowitz indicated he was actually referring to unspecified foreign fighters and members of Ansar al-Islam, the Iraqi terrorist group linked to al-Qaida. Defense officials declined comment when asked if they thought Mr. Wolfowitz had intentionally used interviews with national and international media to underscore the Bush administration's contention that Iraq is the central front in the war on terrorism."

The lies never stop.

Update: Digby gets it. Oh yes he does.

TBOGG takes on Ann Coulter

Tom gets a load of Ann's latest column and wonders:

"...who pays for this shit? I mean, are there papers that really think that she has anything to offer to political discourse? She's not funny or even ocassionally witty. She's a notorious liar. She has never written a column that has shown any evidence that she has any knowledge about the subject at hand, and besides, she can't write for shit. Her work is a collection of disjointed slurs strung together by misrepresentations and non-sequential outbursts. I've met people who have Tourette's Syndrome, I've just never met anyone who typed out their impulses."

Who indeed?

August J. Pollak does a little butt kicking of his own.

Nicely done, gentlemen!

Middle East Math | NY Times Editorial

"At the Democratic presidential debate on Tuesday night, Senator Joseph Lieberman criticized former Gov. Howard Dean for calling on Israel to dismantle most of its settlements. 'That's up to the parties in their negotiations, not for us to tell them,' the senator said. We strongly disagree. True support for Israel means helping it see through its pain and rage to its own best interest. You do not have to believe in Mr. Arafat's sincerity or the Palestinians' good will to grasp the need for a radical course shift. You need only understand the meaning of self-preservation."

It's nice to see that even a consistent voice for the pro-Israeli position like the NY Times can recognize that the situation in the Middle East is unsustainable. The very definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Bombing apartment buildings full of people to get one guy will not result in peace any more than blowing up school busses full of children will. That is the sad truth that must be faced at some point.

Busy, Busy, Busy points out a bogus hit on Howard Dean

... they distort, and hope you don't notice.

Anger builds over EPA’s 9-11 report | MSNBC

"Two years after the World Trade Center attacks, New Yorkers say they’re outraged by reports that the White House influenced the Environmental Protection Agency to downplay hazards posed by the toxic dust that fell in an avalanche over the city. The EPA’s acting chief defends the agency’s actions after the attacks, saying it hopes to be better prepared for “the next time.”

I wish someone could explain to me how lying is going to be corrected by being better prepared "next time." But no, it gets better. From the same article...

"The EPA presented “an overriding message that there was no significant threat to human health” even though there was cause for caution, it concluded. [...] Workers have to bear some of the blame, says Horinko. “Many did not wear professional gear despite our best efforts.”

Their "best efforts" might have included telling the truth. Just a thought.

Remembering 9/11 - We Will Never Forget

There have been countless memorials today, honoring all the innocent victims who died at the hands of crazy extremists. We know who the "evil-doers" are and we condemn them and their murderous extremism. But here is what no one in the media has dared mention and did not "remember" today, and it's just as painful for the victims...

DC 9/11 - a review by a victim's widow: "It is understandable that so little time is actually devoted to the president's true actions on the morning of 9/11. Because to show the entire 23 minutes from 9:03 to 9:25 a.m., when President Bush, in reality, remained seated and listening to 'second grade story-hour' while people like my husband were burning alive inside the World Trade Center towers, would run counter to Karl Rove's art direction and grand vision. "

Bush, as commander in chief, is the only person within the government authorized to have a fighter jet shoot down a commerical airliner. Yet he sat in a classroom for 25 minutes, casually reading to students while the second tower burned, and while we knew there were other hijacked planes in the sky, surely targeting other buildings. Did he summon his courage even after the next crash, this time into the Pentagon? No, instead he ran scared all over the country for another 9 hours before returning to Washington.

Was it not the most cowardly act by a President in the history of this nation?

I will never remember 9/11 without remembering his cowardice. I didn't like him before 9/11, but I certainly loathed him after that. George W. Bush - the most cowardly man to ever hold the office of the president in this nation.

ABC Ships Uranium Overseas for Story | WaPo

More atrocities from the Bush administration....

"ABC News says it has exposed a crucial weakness in the nation's port security system by shipping depleted uranium from Jakarta, Indonesia, to Los Angeles. Federal officials say the network seems to have committed a crime. 'We feel this is a very valid and important test,' ABC News spokesman Jeffrey Schneider said yesterday. 'This is what journalists do. . . . It was not our intent to defraud the U.S.' But Homeland Security Department spokesman Dennis Murphy said that 'it appears they violated the law, and the Justice Department is taking a look at that. Does a news organization have a right to break the law? Can a reporter rob a bank to prove that bank security is weak? My understanding of journalistic ethics is you don't break the law in pursuit of news."

It's not bad enough that the Bushies are lying to us about homeland security and placing more emphasis on the national grid in Iraq than on protecting our borders. Now they are going to condemn and prosecute anyone who tells us the truth?

Here is the original ABC News story: How Secure Are U.S. Borders?

Lobbyist Discord Muddies Energy Bill Talks on Hill | WaPo

"As congressional negotiators begin trying to resolve differences between House and Senate versions of major energy legislation this week, many of the big business lobbies that often help shape such measures are divided, battling one another over key provisions. The lack of consensus, especially in the electricity industry, has complicated the lawmakers' work, raising concerns that the final product could be a patchwork of compromises that does not solve such urgent problems as how to streamline the nation's power grid to avoid blackouts such as the one that crippled the Northeast in mid-August. The divisions may also force Republican lawmakers, who have taken charge of drafting the final package, to pick and choose among industries and companies that are among their party's largest and most loyal supporters."

How bad does it have to be; how whorish is our republican controlled congress if something like this can be reported so non-chalantly, like it was the most natural thing in the world to allow industry lobbyist to write legislation? Just when you thought you couldn't get any more disgusted.... [sigh]

Foreign Views of U.S. Darken Since Sept. 11 | NY Times

"In the two years since Sept. 11, 2001, the view of the United States as a victim of terrorism that deserved the world's sympathy and support has given way to a widespread vision of America as an imperial power that has defied world opinion through unjustified and unilateral use of military force. 'A lot of people had sympathy for Americans around the time of 9/11, but that's changed,' said Cathy Hearn, 31, a flight attendant from South Africa, expressing a view commonly heard in many countries. 'They act like the big guy riding roughshod over everyone else." [...] "America has taken power over the world," said Dmitri Ostalsky, 25, a literary crtic and writer in Moscow. "It's a wonderful country, but it seized power. It's ruling the world. America's attempts to rebuild all the world in the image of liberalism and capitalism are fraught with the same dangers as the Nazis taking over the world."

... which tends to back up this article in Slate.

Bush Cites 9/11 On All Manner Of Questions | WaPo

"In the past six weeks, Bush has cited '9/11' or Sept. 11, 2001, in arguing for his energy policy and in response to questions about campaign fundraising, tax cuts, unemployment, the deficit, airport security, Afghanistan and the length, cost and death toll of the Iraq occupation. Bush's aides said his persistent references to the attacks reflect his identification with them as a searing personal experience. Some analysts said he sometimes appears to depend on such references in times of trouble or uncertainty. 'Every day, I'm reminded about what 9/11 means to America,' Bush said when asked in July about the $170 million budget for his primary campaign, where he has no opponent. 'We're still threatened,' he said, explaining that he wants to 'continue doing my job, and my job will be to work to make America more secure."

No shit, he really said that. He's gonna whore for the maximum legal donation of $2000 per person from every wealthy greed head on the planet and use $170 million to smear the democrat opponent with every lie Rove can think of because it's his patriotic duty in memory of 9/11! This from the absolute coward who sat in a classroom for 25 minutes while planes continued to crash into buildings. Unbelieveable.

William F. Buckley: Bush is evil

Because getting a BJ is evil, but lying, and lying, and lying, and lying, about, well..... everything else, is not.

Bush Calls for End to 'Past Bickering' Among Allies on Iraq | NY Times

"President Bush called today for an end to 'past bickering' so that the way can be cleared for a United Nations resolution to send more soldiers from other countries to bolster peacekeeping forces in Iraq. 'Let us not get caught up in past bickering, let us move forward,' Mr. Bush said at a brief question-and-answer session with reporters at the White House."

Bummer, I missed the TV version of this (if there was one), but I just know it had to sound as absolutely lame as it reads. First he humiliates the better part of the globe with his complete arrogance, then he humiliates the U.S by trying to shirk it off as nothing, least of all his fault. Some days you just have to shake your head and ask, just how bad can it get?

It would be funny if it weren't essentially true

A special speech to the nation:

"My fellow Americans: I come before you today to ask for all the money in your wallet, your checking account and your 401(k). And do you have one of those spare change jars on top of the dresser? I'd like that too. I am planning to spend $100 zillion to fight international terrorism in Iraq -- and all this without raising taxes. I am therefore asking Americans to make a sacrifice. I am asking them to support their aging relatives, because I'm not going to have any money to fund Social Security right now. Or Medicaid. "

Americans think Bush riles terrorists | MSNBC

Just to get it on the record:

"Most Americans think the U.S. administration’s aggressive military pursuit of the war on terrorism has made further terrorist attacks more rather than less likely, according to polls released this week before Thursday’s second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. SIXTY-FOUR PERCENT of respondents said that the U.S. military presence in the Middle East increased the likelihood of terrorism, 77 percent thought there were widespread negative feelings towards the U.S. in the Islamic world that enhanced terrorist recruiting, and 54 per cent thought the US had been too assertive in its foreign policies. In addition, 81 percent thought a key lesson of September 11 was that the U.S. needed to work more closely with other countries to fight terrorism, up from 61 percent in a similar poll more than a year ago."

Unfortunately, Dubya doesn't seem to be one of the 81% who "get it." Another key component of "winning the war on terrorism" would seem to be not squandering nearly all the resources we have where terrorism isn't (or wasn't, at least). Lastly, they may want to consider the fact that breeding roaches is not the most effective way to rid yourself of them.

How dumb do they think we are? | Molly Ivins

"But naturally, we're not supposed to mention that the administration has reversed itself -- no, no. As Paul Wolfowitz, who now has all the credibility of Ken Lay, explained, the new U.N. resolution 'didn't sort of emerge out of nowhere a few days ago. It's been on our agenda ever since the fall of Baghdad.' He said the bombing of U.N. headquarters was 'a breakthrough -- a sad one. The bombing, I think, changed the atmosphere in New York, and it looks like we can move forward in that area.' Right. The United Nations changed its position, we didn't change ours. How dumb do they think we are? I am tired of being asked to swallow lies by this administration. For 87 billion bucks, the least we deserve is some candor. I want to know who was responsible for the whole weapons of mass destruction fiasco, and I want to see some accountability for it -- resignations and firings. In May of this year, President Bush said, 'We found the weapons of mass destruction.' No, we didn't. We have yet to find any evidence of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons in Iraq."

Indeed, how dumb do they think we are? Great question, and it's one I bring up with republicans every time the subject of politics and George W. Bush comes up. Aren't they offended, at some point, by the unending lies this administration tells as a tool to advance their agenda? How can they stand to be treated like absolute idiots by these guys? And what does that say about what this administration thinks of its supporters? Don't they have enough respect for themselves to think they deserve to be told the truth -- at least once in awhile?

I've never once gotten a straight answer from a republican to any of those questions. I get the feeling it is just too painful for them to contemplate. But in the meantime, Bush is making fools of them all.

Democrats Demanding Answers From Bush on His Plans for Iraq | NY Times

"I got things that need to be rebuilt in Louisiana,' said Senator John B. Breaux, a centrist Democrat who occasionally sides with the administration on economic issues. 'And I certainly don't want to give money we don't have to a faraway country to the neglect of the domestic demands we have here. I mean, $87 billion for Iraq and zero for better security at our ports? That's not exactly balanced.' Republican leaders dismissed the criticism as election-year posturing and said that after the fireworks, the president would get the money."

Yes, he probably will get the money, if only because it would be immoral for the congress to make our soldiers pay for the blunders of their commando in chief. On the other hand, it's important for the country to understand just how much money this is on top of the $80 billion already spent, regardless of the sycophantic tendencies of the republicans in congress who don't quite seem to understand the democratic process.

At the very least, people need to understand just how much of this new $87 billion will be funneled to no-bid contracts for corporate cronies who donate (or perhaps we should say invest) large sums of campaign money to Bush and company.

Spy Agencies Warned of Iraq Resistance | WaPo

"Intelligence reports told them at some length about possibilities for unpleasantness,' said a senior administration official, who like others spoke on condition of anonymity. 'The reports were written, but we don't know if they were read."

Given what we know about this administration, it's entirely possible that they did not read the reports. As we now know, they started talking about using 9/11 as a justification to invade Iraq in the days following the World Trade Center attack. One high level senior correspondent for a national news network was telling folks in February of 2002, in private, that the idea of invading Iraq would be rolled out in August of that year, and indeed it was.

Bottom line - bad idea or not, it's not as if they didn't have time to plan the war's aftermath. So when the right wing pundits claim that the war went too fast and we just weren't prepared for such a quick and awesome victory -- that the lack of planning is somehow connected to great military skill.... well, that's just plain bullshit. Incompetence and arrogance are the hallmarks of this administration.

Rumsfeld Is Muted On Weapons Hunt | WaPo

An example of lying / misleading / exaggerating / embellishing with lots of words:

"At a final news conference in Baghdad Saturday, reporters asked Rumsfeld twice about the weapons search. 'Can you please give us at least one example of what is the result today' of the search, one journalist said. 'I'm inclined not to,' the secretary replied. 'I'll tell you what the situation is: The situation is that it's an important question.' Kay's teams 'are visiting various sites periodically,' he said. 'And rather than dribbling out pieces of information in a way that, oh, causes confusion, debate or discussion, it strikes me that it's useful to let the leadership of that team . . . proceed in an orderly way and at the right moment bring forward the information they have to the people of the world. And they will do so."

An example of telling the truth:

U.S. military officers were slightly more forthcoming about the absence of weapons of mass destruction. 'We're still looking,' said one brigadier general. 'We haven't found any yet, but it's a big place. If you wanted to hide something, you could."

Wouldn't it be refreshing if the Bushies could learn the difference?

Many Americans, Iraqis unsure how road from Sept. 11 led to Baghdad | Boston Globe

"Rabia Ibrahim, an Iraqi, says the Sept. 11 attacks were ''horrible for the whole of humanity,'' but he sees no connection to Saddam, nor any evidence that the U.S. invasion has removed the terrorist threat. He contends that four deadly car and truck bombings in Iraq last month at the Jordanian embassy, the U.N. headquarters, the country's holiest shrine in Najaf and Baghdad's police headquarters show that the U.S. military has created a terrorist problem rather than eliminated it. ''We did not have this kind of attacks before. America must recognize that they helped allow them to happen,'' said the 33-year-old electronics dealer. ''They deliberately broke down our security forces and now the Iraqi police are not capable of protecting the people.''

Prior to Bush's address on Sunday, the television media made a big deal out of informing us that for the first time, Iraqis would be able to listen to a U.S. president's speech (lucky them, apparently). What a breakthrough for freedom, Mom, apple pie... the whole bit. And what did Iraqis see if they tuned in? They saw Bush lie about their country and again imply that Iraq had something to do with 9/11 when there isn't the smallest shred of evidence that this is true. I'm sure that must have left a wonderful impression of America's great democracy with the Iraqis. Way to go, Dubya.

It's gonna require a sacrifice...

Gotta love this from RonK over at Daily Kos:

Put a Price Tag on that Price Tag!: "What pound of shame-faced POTUS flesh should Congress, Kofi Annan, the Axis of Chocolate, the CIA or the 4th ID non-com's demand in return for their sign-off on Plan Iraq, Version 2.0? Your favorite neo-con's head on a stick? Repeal of the Estate Tax repeal? Aggressive SUV fuel efficiency standards? Mandatory french fries with every order off the House menu? Public disclosure of Condi's old family yellowcake recipe? A pledge not to seek reelection? Remember -- ya don't ask, ya don't get."

Paul Krugman elaborates on the same general theme albeit lighter on the sarcasm and heavy on details.

Rush Limbaugh, on the other hand, spent a portion of his radio show today declaring that the huge deficit is the sacrifice Americans are making, and liberals should "now shut up about Bush's calls for sacrifice" (empty and inane as they may be). Apparently, in conjunction with the fine republican tradition of redefining words as needed, the word sacrifice is now defined as running up a few trillion on your kid's credit card. Like "personal responsibility, sacrifice seems to be for everyone but them.

Update: Calpundit has some thoughts on this, and also manages to round up plenty of links to pundits commenting on the same issue (many of which discuss the related NY Times editorial ).

Court ponders campaign finance law | MSNBC

Look who's trying to convince the USSC that "one dollar, one vote" ought to trump "one person, one vote"...

"The law “intrudes deeply into the political life of the nation” and “goes too far,” said Kenneth Starr, the former independent counsel who investigated President Bill Clinton, who now is serving as an attorney for challengers to the law."

Versus the guy who relentlessly supports the most whorish admininstration the United States has ever seen in action:

But Solicitor General Theodore Olson, defending the law, said it was a response to a perception of corrupt politics — “the breakfasts, the lunches, the receptions, the dinners ... the relentless pursuit of big contributions.”.

Gee, sounds a lot like republicans writing energy legislation. In this case perception is reality.

Eunuch no more?

Just when you thought the NY Times editorial board had been permanently castrated, they come out with this:

Presidential Character: "Other wrong turns, however, were chosen because of a fundamental flaw in the character of this White House. Despite his tough talk, Mr. Bush seems incapable of choosing a genuinely tough path, of risking his political popularity with the same aggression that he risks the country's economic stability and international credibility. For all the trauma the United States has gone through during his administration, Mr. Bush has never asked the American people to respond to new challenges by making genuine sacrifices. He committed the military to war, but he told civilians they deserved big tax cuts. He seems determined to remake the Middle East without doing anything serious about reducing our dependence on Middle East oil. His energy policy is a grab bag of giveaways to domestic oil and gas lobbyists. He refuses to ask for even the smallest compromise when it comes to fuel-efficient cars. The pattern goes further....."

This doesn't make up for all their bad editorials... not by a long shot. I'm holding out for their next editorial - "We were duped!"

Identity Politics

Not to go Eschaton crazy today, but this is too good to pass up. Read the whole thing. It's arguably better than anything you will find in Tapped or TNR, particularly on the subject of indentity politics:

Atrios: "In their example, Tapped hits at the central issue. Paranoid Texan politicians, from the House Majority Leader on down to the governor and the Texas Legislature are indeed engaged in 'identity politics,' while a bunch of fringe activists are with no political power are... a bunch of fringe activists with no political power. When the dominant group, and in this case the dominant political group, abuses its power to marginalize the political power and discourse of other racial/ethnic groups, it's puzzling that all of the attention is then put on the attempts of the powerless to organize against it. They've already been identified by the dominant group. The socio-political-economic structure has already grouped them together, and told them to go to the back of the bus. When you're marked and labeled by your race or ethnicity, it's very odd to expect those individuals not to organize around it. In fact, arguably they have little choice."

Can I give a two hearty Amen's to the same guy in one day? Absolutely.

Rumsfeld: Criticism of Bush Strengthens U.S. Foes | WaPo

This nugget, brought to our attention by the incomparable Atrios (who must read the news as a career - I want a job like that):

"Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Monday opposition to the U.S. President was encouraging Washington's enemies and hindering his 'war against terrorism'."

Atrios makes the following comments, to which I would give a hearty Amen:

"I suppose I should be honored that Donald Rumsfeld thinks my Mighty Blog has the power to change the course of world events, but frankly I'm getting a little tired of being told I'm a traitor and that I'm responsible for getting our troops killed by the guys who created this whole mess in the first place. This is the sickest kind of political discourse imaginable, and the fact that it's standard stuff these days and not being met with universal outrage by our liberal media shows how low we've gone."

Not too put too fine a point on it, but I would also add that Rumsfeld's comments stink of the nationalism of fascism. Dave Neiwert writes an excellent article on the fascist techniques of the right that discusses the following characteristics of fascism that seem particularly apt here in describing Rumsfeld's comments:

1. Disagreement is treason

2. Pacifism is trafficking with the enemy

3. Life is eternal warfare

At some point it makes you wonder what we are fighting for, if in fighting for it, we abandon every principle on which this country was founded, in favor of the nationalistic behavior apparently expected by those on the right. Not only am I tired of seeing comments like Rumsfeld's in the paper, reported uncritically by the press as if they were natural facts, I'm tired of hearing the likes of Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly, and Ann Coulter, et al constantly telling the country that "liberals hate America."

There is certainly an assault on the founding principles and values of the United States being perpetrated on this country daily, but it isn't being spearheaded by liberals, that's for sure.

Master of events or at their mercy? | MSNBC

The BS spin from the press begins:

"Now the 2004 election — little more than a year away — is shaping up as a referendum on Bush’s doctrine of pre-emptive war, the argument that he made in the year leading up to the invasion of Iraq that it would be too dangerous for the United States to wait until Saddam Hussein’s regime had developed weapons of mass destruction."

Here's some pure BS from the press. "the invasion of Iraq that it would be too dangerous for the United States to wait until Saddam HusseinÂ’s regime had developed weapons of mass" - is that what Bush said? No, what he said was that Saddam had endless supplies of WMD, poised at the ready, to attack us at any moment. The press are shaping up to be the chief revisionist historians.

Update: Kudos to Digby, who was somehow able to hold his breath long enough to wade through the complete pile of manure that is this article, and bring you the unspun reality in its entirety.

Bush: $87 billion for Iraq | WaPo

"President Bush said Sunday night he will ask Congress for $87 billion to fight terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan, appealing for troops and money from other countries, even those who opposed the U.S.-led war. Bush, in a speech from the Cabinet Room, said the United States would not intimidated into retreat by violence."

And so the spin begins. Nothing in the speech that explains where the phantom WMD have gone; nothing in the speech to link 9/11 to Iraq; nothing in the speech to explain why we should spend nearly twice what we spend on education in this country to build Iraq's infrastructure.

Bush claimed that Iraq was the central front on terror - if so, only because we made it so. This administration has yet to identify one Al Qaeda terrorist with an Iraqi connection, yet now we are told Iraq is a breeding ground for terrorists of every ilk imaginable. We've turned into in a larger version of the Israeli / Palestinian war.

Yes, we broke it, so we bought it. But it was a very costly mistake. When you add in the $80 billion we have already spent and all that we will likely spend after this new $87 billion runs out, it becomes a staggering mistake.

And you can rest assured that any attempt at all to hold him accountable for these tremendous mistakes will be shouted down by right. They want you to live in a fantasyland with them, where Bush never dissed the UN; never lied about WMD; never pulled us into a war that will take every resource we have and drain our government of much needed funds during a bad economy. It either never happened, or it doesn't matter now .

White House Approved Departure of Saudis After Sept. 11, Ex-Aide Says | NY Times

"Top White House officials personally approved the evacuation of dozens of influential Saudis, including relatives of Osama bin Laden, from the United States in the days after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks when most flights were still grounded, a former White House adviser said today. The adviser, Richard Clarke, who ran the White House crisis team after the attacks but has since left the Bush administration, said he agreed to the extraordinary plan because the Federal Bureau of Investigation assured him that the departing Saudis were not linked to terrorism."

The Vanity Fair article this story was drawn from (unfortunately not available online) delves deeply into the long standing connections between the Bushies, the bin Ladens, and the House of Saud, in a much more detailed way than can ever be accomplished in a single news article. Suffice to say that the connections run deep and revolve around money and oil. If you still can't wrap your brain around the missing 28 pages in the 9/11 report, read this article and it will all become clear.

The fact is that this extraordinary article will not be widely read and newspapers will under-report the story or ignore it entirely. Consequently, the vast majority of the country will never hear about it, and the outrage that should materialize will never see the light of day. Had Clinton been the connection instead of Bush, the republicans would have had an investigative committee in place long, and within weeks, be assuring us that Clinton personally approved 9/11 in collusion with the Saudis.

Running all branches of government and major segments of the news media certainly does have its privileges, doesn't it?

Lies, and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them



In a stunning revelation this weekend, a tape of Bush's speech to rescue workers at ground zero was recently played backwards, revealing a coded message to New Yorkers from Bush.

"I'm lying my ass off about the air quality here. You're all going to get sick and possibly die. But I don't really give a shit. Fuck you all - the markets must be open so my pals can get back to making money."

Republican leaders on capital hill declined to investigate the charge against Bush, claiming that airborne dioxins and other pollutants at levels up to 1500 times normal were much ado about nothing. "It's just another case of the democrats trying to take an itty bitty lie by Bush and politicizing it for their own purposes," claimed Tom Delay, republican bag man and former pest exterminator.

Update: Digby has some thoughts on the latest Bush atrocities