Random arrests, beatings, murder and now starvation

While it may sound like Pol Pot and his destructive regime thirty years ago, this is Zimbabwe today. The latest bad news for the suffering population is a massive shortage of corn/maize. Most people in Zimbabwe live on mealy-meal, which we would call cornmeal in the US. This is what people eat for the 2 or if they are fortunate 3 meals a day. Of the required 1.8 tons needed to feed the population, only one third of that amount is expected from this years harvest. Making matters worse is the governments insistence that they have enough food and will not ask for or accept outside assistance.

Mugabe received a free pass this week from his neighbors, at least in public, but the calls for change are growing and the rest of the region has to be fed up with his disregard for human rights as well as the continuing problem of feeding the people of Zimbabwe. How much more abuse can the good people of Zimbabwe endure and how much more of this treatment will they tolerate? Read More......

Disco Saturday Night

Off for drinks and dinner, or dinner and drinks. Read More......

Top Bush campaign strategist blasts Bush in Sunday NYT

From the NYT:

In speaking out, Mr. Dowd became the first member of Mr. Bush’s inner circle to break so publicly with him.

He said his decision to step forward had not come easily. But, he said, his disappointment in Mr. Bush’s presidency is so great that he feels a sense of duty to go public given his role in helping Mr. Bush gain and keep power.

Mr. Dowd, a crucial part of a team that cast Senator John Kerry as a flip-flopper who could not be trusted with national security during wartime, said he had even written but never submitted an op-ed article titled “Kerry Was Right,” arguing that Mr. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat and 2004 presidential candidate, was correct in calling last year for a withdrawal from Iraq.

“I’m a big believer that in part what we’re called to do — to me, by God; other people call it karma — is to restore balance when things didn’t turn out the way they should have,” Mr. Dowd said. “Just being quiet is not an option when I was so publicly advocating an election.”

Read More......

Open thread

Another gorgeous day, it's finally spring. Read More......

Those crafty Jews

No, seriously, it's a compliment. Read More......

Despite GOP spin, Pentagon not running out of money to run the war

So another case where the GOP is lying to make a political point about the war:

The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has estimated that the Army has enough budget flexibility to pay for its military operations through July in the event that a standoff between the White House and Congress over Iraq holds up the money the administration says it needs for the war effort.

The service’s report, made public Friday by Senate Democrats, said the Pentagon may have to shift money between accounts and curtail some nonessential activities, but said Congress has provided the military with new ability to do so, lessening the potential for disruptions until additional money is approved.

Everyone knows and trusts the Congressional Research Service. The media is now on notice that the Bush administration is lying when they say the military is going to run out of money next month. Anyone at the Pentagon who pushes that line is also not telling the truth.

There have been enough lies about Iraq. Bush and his cronies have never been held accountable for the Iraq quagmire. Those days are over and the Democrats are starting to change the course. Read More......

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Good Morning.

I'm in Disney World with my little cousin, Molly, who just finished 2 1/2 years of treatment for leukemia. She's here on Make-A-Wish trip and things are looking good for her. Molly turned seven this week. I've never been to the Magic Kingdom before....it's quite a place.

Bob Geiger has the Saturday cartoons. There sure wasn't a lack of material this week.

Also, check out the poem of the week. Usually, the poem provides a respite from the week. This one is from Donald Rumsfeld. Yep, Rumsfeld.

Have at it. Read More......

It's Final Four weekend!

My standard Saturday morning always involves coffee, possibly a croissant if it's a really good day, but not this morning. I spent 3 1/2 hours with my friendly dentist who finally pinned me down for that visist I've been avoiding forever. The only thing that kept me distracted was thinking about the match up tonight between my two favorite college basketball teams, Ohio State and Georgetown. I had season tickets for both long ago and have loved following both teams move through the tournament this year so tonight, the big game is here.

Ohio State versus Georgetown is up first followed by Florida versus UCLA, who also have fantastic teams but admittedly I know much less about those two. Who's everyone picking to move to the final? Read More......

General tried to warn Bush about Pat Tillman's death

Surprise. I'm sure no one remembers this either. Read More......

Our new favorite man-whore is in even more trouble

Oh my. Read More......

Open thread

Gorgeous night here. 65 degrees, and no birds.

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Jesse Jackson denounces Congressional Black Caucus Institute for wooing anti-Black FOX News

From ColorOfChange.org:

Rev. Jesse Jackson today denounced the Congressional Black Caucus Institute’s planned presidential debate partnership with FOX. He called for yesterday’s decision to be reversed and for presidential candidates not to attend a FOX debate.

Jackson said, “I am disappointed by the Congressional Black Caucus Institute's partnership with FOX, and strongly encourage them to reverse that decision. Why would presidential candidates, or an organization that is supposed to advocate for Black Americans, ever give a stamp of legitimacy to a network that continually marginalizes Black leaders and the Black community? FOX moderating a presidential debate on issues of importance to Black Americans is literally letting the Fox guard the henhouse – FOX should be rejected.”

Read More......

Growing concern about student loan providers

Imagine that...the big names on Wall Street and US banking connected to questionable student loan practices. Shocking, really.

Amid growing government scrutiny of the student loan business, the chairman of a House committee said Thursday he has asked five major lenders to provide information about their relationships with college financial aid offices.

California Democrat George Miller requested the information from industry leader Sallie Mae as well as rivals Bank of America Corp., Wells Fargo & Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup's Student Loan Corp.

In a letter to Thomas Fitzpatrick, chief executive of SLM Corp., the formal name for Sallie Mae, Miller cited news reports raising "concerns about student loan providers offering gifts or other questionable incentives to colleges that agree to encourage students to take out their student loans with specific lenders."

Miller, who chairs the House Education and Labor Committee, asked for the information to be provided within 10 days.

He is seeking a wide range of data on loan recipients and benefits extended to them and their colleges, as well as documents on marketing practices and compensation policies, all extending back as far as 2001.

The lawmaker has already introduced legislation that would require lenders and institutions to disclose more fully the terms of their relationships.

Shocking that the Republican Congress saw nothing wrong with this, sort of like there was nothing wrong with the subprime lending programs. What else did the GOP ignore and when will we find out? It's going to be a never-ending story of corruption and greed and I'm sure we have just barely begun to scratch the surface. Read More......

CNN host launches sexist attack on Senator Clinton

Of course, this is the same CNN host who called Mrs. Clinton a "bitch" two weeks ago, so why stop there? This is the same CNN host who suggested that all Muslim-Americans are working with the terrorists, that the word "faggot" isn't really much of a slur, that women should be referred to by their weight, that he "hates" the families of the victims of September 11, that Hurricane Katrina victims are "scumbags," and that Senator Obama is so "colorless... he might as well be white."

But hey, CNN wants ratings. And they've apparently learned that racism, sexism and homophobia work for FOX, so why not CNN? Very sad.

More from ThinkProgress, and hat tip to My Two Sense for finding this and dogging this pitiful excuse for a CNN host. Read More......

The creator of the (in)famous Hillary/Apple/1984 ad speaks out

I actually met Phil last month, before this story happened. The spoof he did of the 1984 Mac ad is just brilliant (he took the old ad and updated it with Hillary content, it's seamless). I know Phil got some shit for it, lost his job actually. But the quality of the ad, the genius behind it, is simply amazing. The guy is worth a million bucks.

Here's his interview:



Here's the ad he made:



And finally, here is the original Mac ad from 1984 that he's spoofing.

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Newspaper editor sends son to a war he opposes

Great column by an editor whose son has decided to go to Iraq. From E&P;. Read More......

FYI There's a story in the Advocate about Hillary and Obama, quotes me a good deal, most of the quotes are wrong

I had a back and forth all week with the Advocate over their new article about Hillary and Obama and the gay community. They interviewed me, gave me a good few paragraphs in the piece, then to my dismay I realized that 80% of the quotes attributed to me were really quotes that someone else said. Apparently the editors cut some paragraphs and someone else's quotes became mine. It wouldn't be that big a deal, most of the quotes are pretty benign (though who knew that Hillary was a "street fighter"?), but I do object to one quote in particular - claiming that Hillary is now ambivalent on DOMA. That's not true, as far as I know, and I don't want to be quoted in the future as saying so (which is what happens if lazy reporters rely on old quotes they find via google). The editors tell me that they're issuing a correction or a retraction or something. So, just giving you guys a heads up. If you read the Advocate this week, most of those quotes attributed to me are not mine. Read More......

Open thread

Day 7 of "waking up at dawn with the birds" I've retired the new bird feeder. It was a nice idea, but seriously, chirping 10 feet away from my bed at 5:30 in the morning every single bloody day? I don't think so. So, I got a few neat pictures this week of the birds, and now am trying to convince them to go away. The sirens in this town are bad enough (it's been insufferable since September 11), but bird fights all day long? I don't think so. Here are a few pictures I snapped (that's the Capitol dome in the background.) - as always, click on each picture to see a larger version.





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Just whose side is the Congressional Black Caucus on?

We already know - their non-profit institute is on the side of racist TV networks. Corrupt, corrupt, corrupt.

Visit the Color of Change for more info on this issue. Read More......

Top Republicans just can't remember key facts. They are either lying or evading. Or both.

Howie Kurtz asked today: "Does everyone in the Bush administration have amnesia?" He then provides some striking examples of allegedly very smart people, who, by the way, are running the government of the United States, with some very faulty memories:

Alberto Gonzales kept saying he wasn't involved in any discussions about the firing of U.S. attorneys, but according to his former chief of staff yesterday, he was -- several times over.

Gonzales couldn't even recall a conversation with the president involving GOP complaints about some U.S. attorneys, although Bush remembered it.

In his Senate appearance yesterday, Kyle Sampson flatly contradicted his ex-boss's denials. As for himself, Sampson said that, whaddya know, he had forgotten some of the e-mails he sent and received when briefing the deputy attorney general about his appearance before Congress. At one point, Sen. Pat Leahy (D-Vt.) said: "We're trying to find out what in heaven's name he does remember."

GSA chief Lurita Doan, who testified Wednesday about a January videoconference in which a White House official briefed the agency about targeting congressional Democrats, said: "I'm a little bit embarrassed to admit this, but I can say that I honestly don't have recollection of the presentation at all."

She kept repeating the "do not recollect" defense until a Democratic congressman likened her to Sergeant Shultz, the see-nothing dufus Nazi guard on "Hogan's Heroes."

Scooter Libby is facing the prospect of jail because he told a grand jury he couldn't remember leaking Valerie Plame's identity to some reporters.

But the GOP amnesia isn't limited just to "loyal Bushies." Today's NY Times profiles Rudy Giuliani's forgetfulness about Bernard Kerik's alleged ties to the mob. Now, let's not forget that before Rudy was mayor, he was a hard-charging U.S. Attorney who famously went after the mob. Yet, asked whether he'd been told that his choice to run the NY Police Dept. might have some mob-related issues, Rudy couldn't remember:

At one point, a senior Bronx prosecutor, Stephen R. Bookin, asked Mr. Giuliani, “As you sit here today, your testimony is, and correct me if I am wrong, that you don’t recall ever being told that a close friend of your correction commissioner had been indicted in a federal case?”

Mr. Giuliani responded: “I don’t recall that until 2004. I can’t tell you that it wasn’t, but I don’t — I don’t — I don’t remember.”

Is it a lie to say you can't remember to avoid lying? Funny thing how most of these moments of forgetfulness happen under oath.

Telling the truth is not a GOP value. Read More......

The largest data breach to date at TJ Maxx-Marshalls

Thanks for nothing, TJ Maxx. Doing nothing, that is. You would expect that a highly profitable business run by very well paid executives would have shown an interest in data security for their customers, but not TJX, parent company of TJ Maxx and Marshalls. Unauthorized software was working inside the company together with hackers who managed to access 45.7 million credit and debit card numbers. The data was then used across Florida, with reports of international purchases as far away as Hong Kong.

It is almost shocking that nobody has been sacked to date for this mismanaged fiasco but the Bush administration has certainly set new standards in America for holding firm in the face of incompetence and failure. Can you imagine that the largest data breach in history has had such minimal impact? Perhaps someone from TJX can provide some detail as to how they intend to compensate their previously loyal customers who have been exposed to this problem that could easily haunt them for years?

TJX owes some answers to its customers, at a minimum. As consumers, don't we deserve it? Read More......

Friday Morning Open Thread

Big day for George Bush. He gets to do a photo op at Walter Reed. Bush thinks taking pictures constitutes support for the troops.

And, is Alberto Gonzales still our nation's top law enforcement official? In Bush world, lying doesn't mean one can't be the Attorney General. Says so much.

So, it's Friday. Start threading the news. Read More......

Children massacred by Uganda army according to report

The Bush-friendly government often struggles with the truth, so groups such as Save the Children might be more reliable sources than government and military leaders.

Ugandan army raids in the country's troubled northeast killed up to 66 children who were shot or crushed by armored vehicles and stampeding animals, aid workers said Friday, citing witnesses.

Children's rights charity Save the Children said it has met with 256 people who reported the deaths during raids by the Ugandan People's Defense Force on a cattle ranch in Karamoja on February 12.

"Reports of children being killed in indiscriminate, illegal and inhumane way is absolutely devastating. Such allegations must be fully investigated and those involved brought to account," said Valter Tinderholt, country director of Save the Children in Uganda.

Read More......

Democrats warn Interior Department over Endangered Species

Common sense is coming back into style. I love balance of power.

Rep. Norm Dicks and senior Democrats warned the Interior Department on Wednesday against making major changes in the Endangered Species Act without involving Congress.

The quick and unambiguous response came one day after reports that the Interior Department has been working for months to reinterpret the 1973 law in a way that environmentalists said would gut the primary tool for protecting plants and animals on the verge of extinction.

The Bush administration and some Republicans have been working for years to change the act, which they say is onerous and overly expensive for landowners. At each step, however, Congress has blocked the changes.

The new approach would change the law unilaterally by changing the way it is interpreted. Those changes surfaced in a 117-page document and in departmental memos that discuss ways to restrict the law without needing congressional approval.

Dicks, who spoke Wednesday with Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, said he was especially concerned by a proposal that would require extra protection only in areas where endangered species are found.

That would significantly narrow protections because current practice includes habitat that historically supported a species, even if that species no longer lives there.

Read More......

Open thread

News? Read More......

Affordable Suites hotel has policy of not renting to gay couples, employee says

Big storm at Affordable Suites. And it's been confirmed by a local reporter posing as a gay couple. They turned away an inter-racial gay couple, and told them it's because they're gay.

From the local CBS affiliate:

A gay couple looking to rent a hotel room say they were turned away because of their sexuality.

"She wasn't discreet about it," said Jason Pickel, referring to a hotel employee. "She was not apologetic. She just said, 'We do not rent to gay people.'"....

News19 contacted the hotel, posing as a potential renter, and inquired about two men staying in the same room. The receptionist who answered the phone told us the following: “Our policy is we don’t rent to two people of the same sex if we only have one bed.” “Is that your policy,” we asked. “That’s corporate policy because they only have one sleeping area.” We then asked, “Okay, but they can't share the bed?” "I suppose they could, but most men don’t want to," she said.

The owner now says that there is no such policy to discriminate, but his employee was quite emphatic that there is. This is why we need civil rights laws. It is legal at the federal level, and in most states, to turn away gay couples from hotels simply because they are gay. That's wrong. That's why we have civil rights laws. Read More......

Today was "one of Iraq's deadliest days in years"

John had a post earlier about the rampant violence in Iraq today. It was bad. It got worse. Much worse:

Five suicide bombers struck Shiite marketplaces in northeast Baghdad and a town north of the capital at nightfall Thursday, killing at least 122 people and wounding more than 150 in one of Iraq's deadliest days in years.

The savage attacks came as a new American ambassador began his first day on the job, and Senate Democrats ignored a veto threat and approved a bill to require President Bush to start withdrawing troops.

At least 178 people were killed or found dead Thursday, which marked the end of the seventh week of the latest U.S.-Iraqi military drive to curtail violence in Baghdad and surrounding regions.

The horrors continue unabated. Read More......

Why nobody knows anything

The contempt with which media outlets sometimes treat the American public is simply astonishing. Time Magazine, to its credit, put together an extremely readable article on the Talibanization of western Pakistan, a nation of critical importance in the region. Pakistan also happens to be floundering, with widespread dissatisfaction towards leadership and increasing extremism in the population. I don't expect people to always be interested in the machinations of central Asian political development, but hey, Time decided to run with an important and fascinating issue. They even put the article on the cover . . .

. . . for every edition except the U.S. version! The cover story here? "Why we should teach the Bible in public schools." I kid you not. It's just like when Newsweek's cover article was "Losing Afghanistan" for every edition except the U.S. Ours? Annie Leibovitz.

Registan really has the best treatment (and the actual covers) of this:

In other words, while it might be nice to learn about how American policy is failing in the country that actually attacked us on September 11, the mainstream glossies seem to think we’re more interested in lesbians who photograph celebrities and the Kansas Board of Education . . . Why do these publications hate America? I can’t really say. But seeing how they treat us with such contempt is deeply illuminating, and probably good insight into why our leaders seem to make such puzzlingly bad decisions in "the broader Middle East."

This kind of stuff makes me insane. Read More......

Family Research Council: Liars or just clueless?

I got an email today from the religious right lobbying group, Family Research Council. They're all upset that civil rights groups want to add gays, women, and people with disabilities to the already-existing federal hate crimes law. They claim that hate crimes laws are bad, even though the current federal hate crimes law already covers the religious right. You don't hear them ever mention that fact. They claim that the hate crimes laws will punish speech, even though the current law has been on the books for nearly 40 years and nobody has ever been punished for speech. But hey, nobody ever accused the Family Research Council of playing fair when it comes to homophobia.

You'll recall that the existing hate crimes law is a federal law that permits the Justice Department and the FBI to provide federal resources to local police forces when local crimes are motivated by the race, religion or national origin of the victim. The proposed amendment would add sexual orientation, gender and disability to the law as well - so that when crimes are motivated based on any of those categories, the feds could provide resources as well.

Note that currently the feds cannot get involved if there's a local hate crime. Under this law, they can. And that's a good thing. When Matthew Shepard was murdered in rural Wyoming, the local police force practically went broke over his cast. Federal resources can and do help.

In any case, I just find it interesting that the Family Research Council and the American Family Association, vocal opponents of hate crimes laws, haven't told their followers that the current hate crimes law, the law on the books, already covers them. Funny that FRC and AFA aren't publicly calling for themselves to be removed from the existing hate crimes law. Equally funny that in 40 years that the FRC and AFA have had their own hate crime special right, none of us have ever been prosecuted for our anti-religious-right speech (when FRC and AFA claim that this is what the law does, criminalizes speech critical of the protected classes - and
God knows I'm critical of their bigoted fat class).

I'd just like to see some enterprising journalist ask the FRC and the AFA why they're against civil rights for gays, but for special rights for themselves? And if hate crimes laws criminalize speech, then why is it no speech charges have been filed in the 40 years that the law has been on the books? Read More......

Open thread

Anybody perjure themselves today? Read More......

Sampson: Gonzales gave false testimony to Senate

From E&P;:

Specter asked about Attorney General Gonzales' "candor" in saying earlier this month that he was not a part of any discussions on the firings. He asked about the November 27, 2006 meeting "where there were discussions" and Gonzales allegedly attended. Was Gonzales' statement about taking part in no discussions accurate?

"I don't think it's accurate," Sampson said. "He recently clarified it. But he was present at the November 27 meeting."

"So he was involved in discussions in contrast to his statement" this month? Specter asked.

"Yes." Sampson replied.

Sen. Charles Schumer then asked about Gonzales also claiming that he saw no documents on this matter.

Sampson replied: "I don't think it's entirely accurate."

Schumer: "There was repeated discussions?"

Sampson : "Yes."

Schumer: "As many as, say, five."

Sampson: "Yes."

Schumer then asked if Gonzales was truthful in saying Sampson's information on the firings was not shared within the department.

Sampson: "I shared information with whoever asked....I was very open and collaborative in the process."

Schumer: "So the Attorney General's statement is false?"

Sampson: "I don't think it is accurate."

Read More......

Baghdad neighborhoods John McCain might not want to visit during his upcoming trip to Iraq

Today in Baghdad.

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb in Bayaa district in southern Baghdad killed three people and wounded 20 others, police said.

BAGHDAD - Two policemen were killed and six wounded when they approached a car bomb in Amil district in southwestern Baghdad, police said. There was a body in the car.

BAGHDAD - A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol wounded three soldiers in the western Ghazaliya district of Baghdad, a Reuters witness said.

BAGHDAD - Gunmen attacked the motorcade of the head of traffic police, Jaafar al-Khafaji, in northern Baghdad, killing two traffic policemen and wounding two others, police said.

BAGHDAD - Thirteen bodies were found shot in different districts of Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.

BAGHDAD - A car bomb targeting an Iraqi army checkpoint killed a soldier and wounded three others on Wednesday near al-Shurta tunnel in western Baghdad, police said.

BAGHDAD - Gunmen kidnapped Hassan Abdul-Latif, an official of the Iraqi Customs Office in central Baghdad, on Wednesday, police said.

Read More......

Senate passes "surge" spending bill with Iraq withdrawal timetable. Bush holds political "pep rally."

The Iraq war is just a political game for George Bush. Always has been. That's why there hasn't been a real policy. The GOPers in Congress just play along with him. But the times they are a changin':

The Democratic-controlled Senate ignored a veto threat and voted Thursday for a bill requiring President Bush to start withdrawing combat troops from Iraq within four months, dealing a sharp rebuke to a wartime commander in chief.

In a mostly party line 51-47 vote, the Senate signed off on a bill providing $122 billion to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also orders Bush to begin withdrawing troops within 120 days of passage while setting a nonbinding goal of ending combat operations by March 31, 2008.

The vote came shortly after Bush, in a move that his aides said was unprecedented, invited all House Republicans to the White House to appear with him in a sort of pep rally to bolster his position in the continuing war policy fight.

A pep rally. Says it all. Read More......

Sampson testifying now

You can watch is on C-Span 3, or via the Web here.

Read More......

The Green Zone isn't even one of those safe neighborhoods John McCain described

George Bush and John McCain keep telling us how well things are going in Iraq. Just yesterday, McCain was telling us all about Baghdad's safe neighborhoods (before he denied he was talking about them despite saying just that to four media outlets). But, these days, even the safest Baghdad neighborhood, the Green Zone, is under attack:

Iraqi insurgents are increasingly hitting Baghdad's fortresslike Green Zone with rockets and mortar shells, officials said Wednesday.

Insurgents have struck inside the Green Zone, which includes the U.S. Embassy, on six of the past seven days, once with deadly consequences. A U.S. soldier and a U.S. government contractor were killed Tuesday night by a rocket attack that also seriously wounded a civilian, military and embassy officials said. One soldier and at least three other civilians received minor injuries, U.S. Embassy spokesman Lou Fintor said.

The attack stunned a workforce normally blase about Baghdad's habitual wartime booms and blasts.

A State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, also said, "There are increasing attacks on the embassy."

And as for strolling around the Green Zone without any security, that's not happening either. So, the Green Zone doesn't make the cut for safe neighborhoods:

Wednesday morning, embassy personnel received a bulletin citing the "recent increase of indirect fire attacks on the embassy compound." It included strict instructions: Body armor and helmets would now be required for all "outdoor activities" within the sprawling embassy complex, even short walks to the cafeteria. There would be no group gatherings outside, including at the famed Palace Pool. No "nonessential" visitors would be allowed in the compound.

A U.S. official in Baghdad characterized embassy personnel as "anxious and alert."

We're still waiting for McCain to identify just what Baghdad neighborhoods he was talking about. Has anyone in the media actually asked him yet? Or are they worried that if they ask McCain real questions, they won't get invited on the bus? Read More......

Bush Administration fines Bush Administration

What a dysfunctional team. Do they ever get anything right?

The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday fined the federal Energy Department $1.1 million over violations of an agreement to clean up the Hanford nuclear reservation, the nation's most polluted nuclear site.

The fine involved operations at a landfill that is the primary repository for contaminated soils, debris and other hazardous and radioactive waste from cleanup operations across the site.

Read More......

Connecting Truth Tellers from Vietnam and Iraq

At least one legacy of Vietnam lives on.

This year, The Ridenhour Truth-Telling Prize links the Vietman whistle blower for whom the award is named to an Iraq whistleblower. Ron Ridenhour exposed the My Lai massacre in 1969. Donald Vance told the truth about how U.S. detention practices in Iraq because he learned them first-hand:

Donald Vance, a 29-year-old Navy veteran, had been a long-time supporter of the war in Iraq. But that changed last April when, serving as a security contractor in Baghdad, he was detained by U.S. forces and held without charges for more than three months at Camp Cropper, one of Iraq’s most notorious military prison camps. There, Vance and a colleague, Nathan Ertel, were denied counsel and communication with the outside world. They were held in isolation in extremely cold cells without adequate clothing or blankets. Vance was also subjected to sleep deprivation, interrogation for hours and often denied food and water for long periods. The U.S. military eventually released both Vance and Ertel without explanation, admitting that they had done nothing wrong.

Vance secretly kept notes on his time at Camp Cropper and smuggled them out in a Bible. He took his story public in December, offering a detailed and verifiable account of his experiences to the New York Times. His report has provided a rare and credible inside account of the Pentagon’s detention operations — and is one of only a few stories to emerge since the abuse scandals at Abu Ghraib.

I remember reading that article about Vance in the NY Times. We wrote about it here. It was brutal. Vance receives his award on April 4th at the National Press Club. (While Vance is in DC, he should tell his story on Capitol Hill.) Read More......

Thursday Morning Open Thread

Alberto Gonzales is still the Attorney General. We'll see how that goes after Kyle Sampson testifies today.

We're still at war in Iraq and George Bush is still lying about the war. And, John McCain is still delusional.

What else? Read More......

Mugabe clings to power, rumors of coup circulating

Mugabe has been actively sending goon squads out at night to beat up opposition members, who have been already been beaten and arrested countless times. Before leaving for a meeting in Tanzania with fellow southern African leaders, Mugabe's police systematically rounded up and arrested leading opposition members. At this point, Mugabe has nothing left to offer Zimbabwe besides excessive violence so it is no wonder that there are rumors circulating about a coup. People want to get back to eating, working and living a normal life, none of which are on Mugabe's agenda. Read More......

Bernanke: what's a few hundred billion or even a trillion between friends?

What's not to love about a tanking war that is soaking up hundreds of billions of dollars all during a time of massive tax cuts? Add to that increasing oil costs (again) plus the crashing real estate market that has over $600 billion in subprime loans not to mention a growing list of existing homes sitting on the market? Don't worry about it...just join together and sing kumbaya. I'm sure it will all work out somehow. Read More......

Riot in Paris train station

Since the major riots back in 2005, in real terms, nothing has changed in France. Sure I see more police on the streets of Paris, but I never felt threatened in Paris which is a very safe city. The problem for a long time has been disaffected youth who live in the poor suburbs and who are not part of the ultra-conservative French society who detest change and don't seem interested in opening the doors to anyone but the existing elite.

The candidates for president have done their darnedest to leverage these youths for their own self benefit, with Sarkozy talking about a quota system from one side of his mouth while talking about cleaning ("Karchering" to be specific) the troubled suburbs on the other. Segolene from the left, not one to miss a PR spin moment, responded by talking about "fires still smoldering" in these communities but her hero, Francois Mitterand, never made any effort to bring this community into the political fold or improve the daily living options, leaving the issue to future generations. Even today, the Socialists ignore the problem and change the conversation to a constitutional-dreamland discussion instead of realities on the street.

Regardless of what actually transpired in the station Tuesday night and who was to blame for triggering the ugly and criminal events, France still needs a plan for integration. The problem is not going to disappear just because police are on the streets of posh Parisian streets. Real action needs to happen...not just talk. This of course raises the issue that a good friend who is French but spends a lot of time in the US always tells me: the French only want to talk and never take action while the Americans never want to talk and only take action. Not exactly a recipe for success. Read More......

Naitonal Review calls for Alberto Gonzales to resign

Ouch. This would be one of the standard-bearer magazines of the entire conservative movement. Read More......

Those two "Iraqi bloggers" Bush quoted today to prove how much better Iraq is after the surge, he actually (mis)quoted a WSJ op ed from 3 weeks ago

Idiot. Read More......

Saudi king calls US presence in Iraq "illegal foreign occupation"

Bush gets blasted by his very dear friend, the King of Saudi Arabia:

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia told Arab leaders on Wednesday that the American occupation of Iraq is “illegal,” and he warned that unless Arab governments settle their differences, foreign powers like the United States would continue to dictate the region’s politics.

The king’s speech, at the opening of the Arab League summit meeting here, underscored growing differences between Saudi Arabia and the Bush administration as the Saudis take on a greater regional leadership role, partly at American urging. The Saudis seem to be emphasizing that they will not be beholden to the policies of their longtime ally.

He's not your bitch any more, Bushie.
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Open thread

Had John McCain come up with any more lies in the last few hours? Read More......

Every decade has its Monica. And Alberto Gonzales' "Fifth-Amendment Monica" has ties to Pat Robertson.

It hit me last night that Monica "I plead the Fifth" Goodling, Alberto Gonzales' top lawyer who is refusing to testify before Congress, went to Pat Robertson's university for law school. (I subsequently, of course, found the link found that ThinkProgress had already had the same epiphany a few hours before me - doh.)

I have to say that I take a special pleasure in seeing some Pat Robertson-educated religious right drone practically running the Department of Justice and then taking the Fifth Amendment so that she doesn't have to admit to any possible involvement in a crime. Putting aside the fact that we're talking about people who have shown outright disdain for the Bill of Rights for everybody else, but now suddenly they [heart] the Constitution - there's something else important to note here. The silent invasion of religious right henchmen that's taken place in Washington since George Bush and the Republicans took power over 6 years ago. These are the kind of people who will stay in our government should John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, or any other Republican win the White House in 2008. The only way to really clean house, is to clean out the entire (white) house. Read More......

Religious right leader James Dobson says former GOP Senator Fred Thompson is "not a Christian"

Dobson is the most powerful religious right leader in the Republican party. He is THE leader of the entire movement. He is THE man that Republicans turn to when they want to talk to the religious right. He is the only religious right leader who actually has any significant pull in the Republican party (the others, my conservative GOP friends tell me, are considered kind of kooky and irrelevant). And today he threw a Republican presidential candidate out of Christianity. Absolutely astounding. Who does Dobson think he is, Jesus Christ himself?

At least one religious right Republican, former Maryland Lt. Governor Michael Steele, criticized Dobson today on CNN, calling Dobson "the extremes" of the Republican party that needs to be avoided. Read More......

McCain has no credibility left

Senator John McCain (R-Delusion) simply has no credibility left on defense or foreign policy issues. I understand that he was, at one point, a reasonable person and a man of reported integrity, someone who could work with groups and individuals on both sides of the aisle.

That time has passed.

The Senator said yesterday, regarding Iraq, "The consequences of failure are catastrophic because if we come home, bin Laden and Zarqawi, they are going to follow us." Um, Senator . . . Zarqawi is dead. Not only is he dead, but the Senator used his death, which occurred nearly ten months ago, to smear those who advocated redeployment: "[Zarqawi's death] has got to be viewed as a success," he said. "It's got to be viewed as perhaps a bit of a rebuke against those who are advocating that we cut and run out of Iraq."

Almost a year later, with no improvement and tens of thousands more dead and wounded, McCain is saying the same things. Yesterday he claimed that General Petraeus, the commander of all U.S. troops in Iraq, "goes out there almost every day in an unarmed humvee." This is, of course, absolutely ridiculous. As CNN's Michael Ware reports, "certainly the general travels in [an up-armored] humvee. There’s multiple humvees around it, heavily armed. There’s attack helicopters, predator drones, sniper teams, all sorts of layers of protection. So, no, Sen. McCain is way off base on this one."

The only hope for McCain and his war is to confuse and mislead the American public to the extent that they no longer understand the reality of the situation. It would be sad if it wasn't so pernicious.

Between the ghost of Zarqawi following us home and our super General traveling with no defenses in the peaceful neighborhoods of Baghdad, it's increasingly clear that McCain is unfit for any public office, let alone the presidency. Read More......

General McCaffrey contradicts McCain, says nowhere is safe in Baghdad

Following up on Joe's post, earlier, here's General Barry McCaffrey (ret.) in today's Washington Post:

"[N]o Iraqi government official, coalition soldier, diplomat, reporter, foreign NGO [nongovernmental organization], nor contractor can walk the streets of Baghdad, nor Mosul, nor Kirkuk, nor Basra, nor Tikrit, nor Najaf, nor Ramadi, without heavily armed protection."

....McCaffrey is widely respected in the military, having fought in the Vietnam War, commanded a division in the 1991 Persian Gulf War, and later served as the commander for U.S. military operations in Central America and South America.

Then why did John McCain repeatedly say over the past 24 hours that there were several "safe neighborhoods" in Baghdad where US forces could walk around safely? McCain based his Iraq war vote yesterday on this bogus fact. Will he now change his vote? Read More......

DNC rips McCain over his claim that there are numerous "safe neighborhoods" in Baghdad. McCain repeated false claims to NBC, ABC, CNN & talk radio.

The furor is growing over John McCain's repeated statements to four media outlets (i.e., it wasn't just a slip of the tongue, McCain actually believes this stuff) over the past 24 hours that there are numerous "safe neighborhoods" in Baghdad where Americans can walk around in total safety. McCain even went one step further, in an effort to explain his support for the "surge," McCain lied about our commanding general in Iraq, General Petraeus - and Petraeus has now called him on it.

More from the DNC:

John McCain is in Florida today after igniting a flurry of controversy by claiming on Bill Bennet's talk show that, "there are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods today." [Bill Bennett's Morning in America, 3/26/07] Asked about McCain's blatant attempt to spin the facts on the ground, CNN's Baghdad correspondent, Michael Ware, responded with a quick "No" and said, "no way on earth can a westerner, particularly an American, stroll any street of this capital of more than five million people...You barely would last 20 minutes out there. I don't know what part of Neverland Senator McCain is talking about when he says we can go strolling in Baghdad."

McCain refused to back down from his comments, however, telling NBC's Today Show from Orlando this morning that there are "many signs of success...neighborhoods in Baghdad that are largely certainly much more secure," and telling ABC's Good Morning America that "you look at facts on the ground...there are neighborhoods that are calm." McCain's sprinkling of pixie dust in response to ABC came on a question about whether he has "to be looking at Iraq through rose-colored glasses to see progress" when one hundred people have been killed in "just the last day, [in] the same town the president used last year as an example of freedom taking hold." [NBC Today, 3/28/07; ABC's Good Morning America, 3/28/07]

"John McCain seems to think that walking through Baghdad is as easy as his march away from campaign finance reform and his image as a so-called 'maverick,'" said Democratic National Committee spokesman Luis Miranda. "With his rhetoric coming under fire, McCain had better hope the Double Talk Express got the armor that our troops have been forced to do without. Misrepresenting the facts on the ground in Iraq might be the latest tactic for McCain's do-anything-to-win campaign, but after hearing the same thing from the Bush Administration for four years, the American people would no doubt prefer a new direction."

Let me just add that these are the reasons McCain gave for supporting the surge. And his reasons are wrong. Is this the kind of quality, or lack thereof, that Americans want to see in a future war president? A guy who makes critical war decisions based on things that simply aren't true? Read More......