New Year's Eve Open Thread

There won't be many more posts tonight....but here's a musical interlude to ring in the New Year from Pink:
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"Faces of the Dead"

This isn't just a number. These were real people. The NY Times has a mosaic with the picture and basic info. about every single member of the military killed in Iraq so far. The Times is probably breaking some Bush administration rule by honoring the war dead. Over the next day or two, take some time and look at the pictures. We won't see the pictures of the ten of thousands injured, but think of them, too.

If Bush proceeds with his plan to escalate his war, the numbers will increase dramatically. Read More......

Opposition grows to the Bush/McCain/Lieberman plan to escalate the war in Iraq

First, we agree with Atrios: "A 'sustained surge' is an escalation."

So, besides McCain and Lieberman, who else is supporting Bush's plan for a major escalation of the quagmire in Iraq? An Associated Press report on the talk shows has Lugar and Specter sounding very skeptical:

Two prominent Senate Republicans bucked the White House on Sunday, expressing skepticism about more U.S. troops in Iraq and support for greater dialogue with Iran, Syria and others in the region.

Sen. Richard Lugar, the outgoing chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged the president to consult with lawmakers before announcing a new strategy on Iraq that could call for additional troops in Iraq.

If Bush were to act with without involving the new Democratic-controlled Congress, he can anticipate "a lot of hearings, a lot of study, a lot of criticism," Lugar said....

...Sen. Arlen Specter, just back from a trip to the region, also questioned the wisdom of sending in more troops, saying he has not seen an administration plan that would justify it. "If there is a road map to victory, then I would be prepared to listen to what the president has to say about more troops," he said.

In addition, Vilsack and John Edwards stated their opposition this morning:

Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said the U.S. should not make a "big mistake even bigger by suggesting a surge of troops in some way, shape or form is going to make Iraq safer or better."

Former North Carolina senator John Edwards, described the troop-increase idea as the "McCain doctrine" - after a chief advocate, Sen. John McCain - and said he believes the Arizona Republican is "dead wrong."

I think Edwards is on to something there. McCain wants this, let him own it.

Talking Points Memo reports that even Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM), reliable Bush puppet in Congress, is against the escalation.

Very few Republicans have questioned their President over the Iraq war. Now, many seem to be keeping their distance from his latest developing plan. If they had done their jobs for the past four years, maybe things wouldn't be this bad. But things are this bad -- and Bush seems determined to make it worse. Read More......

3000

A horrible milestone. Reuters reports that the U.S. death toll in Iraq has reached 3,000.

This is so wrong. So, so wrong. Read More......

Too many to bear

Juan Cole -- who is really worth the daily read -- on the upcoming tragedy of 3,000 deaths in Iraq, both the importance of the number and also what it obscures. Read More......

Guantanamo: a continued national disgrace

I'm shocked -- shocked!! -- to hear that there's a dearth of due process in Guantanamo Bay. Hard to imagine that an institution with virtually no transparency or oversight might be prone to unfair legal practices.

I have a good friend who worked at Guantanamo; as with many other similarly secretive things, it's worse than most people imagine. Read More......

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

Lots to cover this week in what would be a slow news week. But, we've got the announcement of John Edwards, the Hussein execution, the deadliest month in Iraq this year, the death of Gerald Ford. Lieberman will be pushing his pro-war, pro-escalation views on CNN. At this point, he should be getting some of the credit blame for the death toll in Iraq, too. He and McCain are Bush's biggest boosters when it comes to the disastrous Iraq war. Maybe Wolf should ask him how he feels about the 3,000 dead U.S. soldiers:

ABC's "This Week" _ Former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., presidential candidate; wife, Elizabeth Edwards.

___

CBS' "Face the Nation" _ Alexander Haig, former Ford White House chief of staff; journalists Ben Bradlee of the Washington Post and Tom DeFrank of the New York Daily News; Gerald Ford biographer James Cannon.

___

NBC's "Meet the Press" _ Former NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw; journalist Bob Woodward.

___

CNN's "Late Edition" _ Feisal al-Istrabadi, Iraq's deputy ambassador to the United Nations; Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.

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"Fox News Sunday" _ Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind.; former Gov. Tom Vilsack, D-Iowa, presidential candidate.

Watch and document. Read More......

Open Thread

Okay, you've got one more day of 2006. So, what are the resolutions for next year? Read More......

In the 70s, Betty Ford really was a remarkably hip First Lady

Take a look at some of the things Betty Ford said and did back in the 1970s. She really did speak her mind honestly. This was back in the days when there were normal Republicans. Betty Ford was not out of the mainstream of her party then. Imagine what the right wingers and theocrats would have done to her if they owned the GOP then like they do now:

Thrown into the role of first lady during a period of deep distrust in government, she fulfilled the role of honest arbiter of American family life and of the modern woman, speaking candidly on just about any subject she was asked about, both shocking and delighting the country.

She was a product and symbol of the cultural and political times — doing the Bump along the corridors of the White House, donning a mood ring, chatting on her CB radio with the handle First Mama — a housewife who argued passionately for equal rights for women, a mother of four who mused about drugs, abortion and premarital sex aloud and without regret.

Her candor about her battle with breast cancer, which led to unprecedented awareness among American women about detecting the disease, and her later commitment to alcohol and substance abuse treatment, stemming from her own abuse history, set the stage for widespread acknowledgment and advocacy that is commonplace today.

Given her impact on these crucial health issues and her influence over the modern East Wing, Mrs. Ford’s impact on American culture may be far wider and more lasting than that of her husband, who served a mere 896 days, much of it spent trying to restore the dignity of the office of the president.

Compare Betty Ford's legacy to the current occupant of the White House. Read More......

Christine Quinn making a mark in her first year as NY City Council Speaker

Today's NY Times has an article on the first year of Chris Quinn's tenure as Speaker of the New York City Council. Overall, it's pretty favorable coverage for what has to be one of the toughest political jobs around:

When Christine C. Quinn became speaker of the New York City Council last January, she inherited a rabble-rousing body that relished its role as heckler of the establishment.

She was the first female speaker and the first to be openly gay, and she had already clashed with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg over his stand on gay marriage and his plans for a football stadium on the West Side.

But over the last year, Ms. Quinn, 40, has broken with Council tradition and reshaped the institution from a theater of opposition to a rigidly disciplined body where, in exchange for private collaboration, open dissent is barely tolerated.

She has also emerged as an influential partner of the mayor, pushing him to include more lower-cost housing in a tax break program for developers, shepherding his waste plan through a not-in-my-backyard Council, and expanding neighborhood input on West Side rezoning.

High-stakes conflict between the city’s two most powerful officials has suddenly been replaced with a nonideological focus on effectiveness and collaboration.

“Here you have a liberal Irish lesbian woman speaker working well with a Jewish Republican billionaire pragmatist mayor,” said Douglas A. Muzzio, a professor of public affairs at Baruch College. “The political environment has changed.”

Quinn is probably the highest ranking gay elected official in the country. And as the Times notes, there is already a lot of speculation about whether she'll run for Mayor of NYC in 2009. We have mutual friends so I've met Chris several times and I am big fan. In addition to being a very good politician, she's actually pretty cool and very normal.

Seems like Chris is doing a great job as Speaker and I have no doubt she'll be a super Mayor when the time comes. Read More......

The Ford funeral

Okay, I'll admit it. It's a Saturday night and I'm watching the Ford funeral on CNN. The motorcade really screwed up traffic in the area. I have friends who have been stuck in traffic in both Virginia and Maryland.

The event has created some interesting political dynamics for the Vice President. The honorary pall bearers include Cheney, Brent Scowcroft and Paul O'Neill. Scowcroft has trashed the Bush/Cheney administration. O'Neill, who Cheney fired as Secretary of the Treasury, trashed the administration. And, of course, we all know now that Ford himself trashed the decision by Bush and Cheney to go to war in Iraq.

Rummy is supposed to be an honorary pall bearer but Wolf Blitzer keeps noting the he's no where to be seen. Read More......

Not much celebrating in Iraq

Even the Shia are barely celebrating in Iraq today. What a debacle this whole process was. It's gratifying that Saddam is gone, but there aren't even the usual claims of "turning the corner" that I would have expected.

What should have been a shared experience for Iraqis, a transparent and fair trial and much-deserved justice for a beleaguered nation, instead telegraphed continued incompetence.

Meanwhile, three years into the war, the President is still . . . um . . . "considering his options." Read More......

Open Thread

It is a beautiful day here in DC. Sunny and way too warm for the end of December. Seemed to be a lot of activity getting ready for the funeral for Gerald Ford.

But, I am having a low-key, lazy day...what's the latest? Read More......

New member Jerry McNerney hits on ethics and Iraq in Dem. radio address

Rep.-elect Jerry McNerney who beat the ultra-offensive Richard Pombo in California's 11th CD delivered the radio address for the Democrats today. He hit on the two key issues that moved voters to dump the GOP in November -- ethics and Iraq:

"In this election, the American people clearly called for change," Rep.-elect Jerry McNerney said in the Democrats' weekly radio address. "As our first responsibility in fulfilling the mandate of this critical election, House Democrats will restore integrity and civility in Washington in order to earn the public trust."

The effort to build that trust will include bans on gifts from lobbyists, lobbyist-funded travel and use of corporate jets, McNerney said.

The incoming congressman also promised "a new direction in Iraq" and said Democrats would resist any plan to deploy more U.S. troops there. "The Iraqis need to understand that the responsibility for the future of that country is theirs," he said.

The Democratic caucus is really promoting the new members. That's a good strategy because we'll need them back in 2008. Read More......

Iranian UN ambassador writes op-ed

An interesting piece by M. Javad Zarif, the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations, in the LA Times. It's a very reasonable-sounding article, though obviously this is essentially a paid propagandist. Worth a look, though.

Still, the point isn't so much what's true and what isn't (and of course I think the Iranian regime is terrible, I very much hope Iran never gets the bomb, etc), but rather the fact that the Iranian UN Ambassador wrote an op-ed for an American audience. Obviously they understand that engagement and outreach is vital in politics and in the court of public opinion, a critical point the current U.S. government clearly fails to grasp. Read More......

Deadliest December in Iraq keeps getting worse

Ho hum. Just another day of extreme violence in Iraq in a month of record-setting violence:

Bombings killed at least 68 people in Iraq on Saturday, including one planted on a minibus that exploded in a fish market in a mostly Shiite town south of Baghdad.

The attacks came hours after Saddam Hussein was hanged in Baghdad for ordering the killings of 148 Shiites in the city of Dujail in 1982. Despite concerns about a spike in unrest, Saturday's violence was not unusually high and there was no indication it was related to the execution.

The U.S. military also announced the deaths of three Marines and three soldiers, making December the year's deadliest month for U.S. troops in Iraq, with 109 service members killed.

Let's see, Saddam hasn't run the country since April of 2003. Yet, somehow, the carnage and death -- that was supposed to end when his reign was over -- not only hasn't ended, it's gotten worse.

The traditional media is struggling with what pictures to show of dead Saddam. They've been censoring this war from the outset. Bush wants us to see the dead Saddam, but we can't see the caskets of dead Americans. That's what the media should be fighting -- the censorship that prevents Americans from seeing the true costs of Bush's war. Read More......

Kansas GOP in tatters

Kansas Republicans, weeks after the elections in which many of them were trounced, are still in disarray.

Couldn't have happened to a more deserving group of folks.

On a related note, how about Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius? What a fantastic success story she is. I occasionally hear people talk about how the Democrats lack a "deep bench," i.e., people ready to step up as national leaders, but I honestly think we have one of the best group of rising stars I've seen in decades. Of presidential contenders alone, there's one of the most capable and powerful women the country has ever seen, a brilliant and racial category-defying rising star, a young and attractive progressive powerhouse from the south, a Latino star with extensive executive and foreign policy experience, a four-star General, and more. At the next level, state leaders like Sebelius are augmenting the party more locally, building experience and connections as they prepare to guide the party for years to come, and new progressive Senators like Webb, Tester, and Brown mark a renewal of Wellstone-esque priorities in Congress.

There's a lot to look forward to, especially because, as Kansas shows, Republicans are busy destroying each other as Democrats enjoy the emergence of a stellar group of leaders. Read More......

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Let's get it started with a fresh thread this morning.

If you need a break from the news of the week, check out the poem-of-the-week blog. It's a good respite. Read More......

Open Thread

Bush was asleep when Hussein was executed but he managed to put out a statement anyway. He has made America pay a very heavy price to take down Saddam. We've lost almost 3,000 soldiers. Ten of thousands have been permanently disabled. Hundreds of billions have been spent. The U.S. has lost power and prestige in the world. Our leaders lied to us and to the world. There were no weapons of mass destruction. Our own intelligence agencies maintain that the war in Iraq has inspired new terrorists and made our country less safe. We're stuck in a war that our President chose to start, but it's a war he can't end.

So, Bush got Saddam's scalp. But has it been worth it? Read More......

Saddam has been executed

Via Reuters:

U.S.-backed Iraqi television station Al Hurra said Saddam Hussein had been executed by hanging shortly before 6 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Saturday.

Arabic satellite channel Arabiya also reported the execution had taken place.

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Cliff's Corner

NOTES: My take on Gerald Ford's passing

A great read: DMI's end of the year public policy roundup (see the good, the bad and the Limbaugh)

A great podcast of an interview done by my friend Sean-Paul Kelley at Radio Agonist of my friend Jen Abrahamson about her book Sweet Relief: The Marla Ruzicka Story (and a special bonus if you act now, the book salon I hosted on it at Firedoglake).

The Week That Was 12/29/06

Another week. More preposterousness to report.

Pop quiz folks: Is Joe Lieberman insane (or to put it less delicately...well go here)? Or is he simply the most grotesque, maladjusted, oil-soaked, sociopathic Morlock who really knows the truth about Iraq, but is willing to send more troops to die needlessly when he actually understands how screwed things are?

(Pride, or superbia, is a deadly sin ya know Joe).

See with President Dumbass, I don't have to ask that question. I know his moral catheter Dick is inserting fantasy into The Decider's vacuous noggin while he lays prone slurping SpaghettiOs and navigating the many complexities of "the google" to find the Cartoon Network.

Yet, I was always under the impression that this yapping, little, self-promoting Shitzu (with my apologies to canines everywhere) had a brain, if not a heart. My bad.

You may have seen Holy Joe's piece in The Washington Post today, which argues that we need more troops in Iraq because:

On one side are extremists and terrorists led and sponsored by Iran, on the other moderates and democrats supported by the United States.

Really Joe, it's that simplistic? You mean that Shia and Sunnis who are killing each other and have often done battle for 2,000 years are all on the same side against us? Baathists and whatever Al Qaeda contingent is there, Sunnis all, are taking orders from Shiites in Iran? Are you a complete moron?

C'mon Joe, you can tell us, are you involved in Judith Regan's next book project, "If I FUBARED it?" Do you troll Hannidate late at night with a profile stating, "Has personally turned the entire Middle East into Debbie Schlussel's 2nd night of Hanukah present right after hydrogen peroxide"?

I think Matt Browner Hamlin had the best take today: Shorter Joe Lieberman: Our long national nightmare must go on! Very timely, considering a Republican president whose words this line is based upon just passed away, and it was revealed that he thought this war inane from the beginning (If only what happened in the minds of the Republican Establishment, didn't stay in the minds of the Republican Establishment).

Of course for uttering these anti-Iraq War sentiments even in private and allowing them to be released upon his death, Gerald Ford was attacked by Liebermoron's fellow corrupt moralizer, Bill Bennett. Yup, old cut the deck, jokers are wild, all my money's on red, snake-eyes, Blackjack Bill Bennett and his gargantuan, hairsute corpus questioned whether Ford had "courage" and was "decent" for not making sure that these comments stayed out of the press until Bush & Cheney leave office in disgrace.

In other words, after Bennett has watched more of your kids die for a war I guess he is still enough of an ass to support while sacrificing absolutely nothing for it.

Now, I do think Ford should have had the courage to speak out, but what he did, ie saying something that eventually made its way to the press, was a helluva lot more "decent" than spending your Christianist speaking fees having a room at the Bellagio filled with oxygen so you can pull an all-nighter to get that perfect royal flush while Americans die.

So quite frankly Joe and Bill, suit up or shut up. Read More......

House of Representatives will start dealing with Florida's 13th CD vote controversy on the first day of the session

The dispute of Florida's 13th CD is not over. It will be brought up on the House floor on the first day of the session thanks to Congressman Rush Holt:

A disputed election result in a U.S. House of Representatives race in Florida will be one of the first items raised when the Democratic-controlled House convenes next week, injecting partisan politics into the start of the 110th Congress.

Rep. Rush Holt, a New Jersey Democrat who has pushed for better safeguards on electronic voting machines, said on Friday he would make a procedural point to establish the swearing-in of Florida Republican Vern Buchanan does not prejudice ongoing challenges by his Democratic opponent, Christine Jennings.

``This is a district, Sarasota area in Florida, where there's no way of knowing whether the result presented by Florida's secretary of state is valid. In fact, I think there is significant evidence that it is not,'' Holt told reporters.

Why does insuring that votes are accurately counted constitute "injecting partisan politics"? Bush and the GOP hoodwinked the media along those lines in 2000. Somehow, back then, it was wrong to want to count all the votes. No more. Insuring the will of the voters is called democracy, not partisan politics.

Something very wrong happened with the vote in Sarasota County. We know from experince that Florida won't fix it. Congress has to figure it out -- make it right -- and make sure it doesn't happen again. Read More......

106 -- number of US deaths in October and December -- worst months in 2006

While the media is salivating over the impending death of Saddam Hussein, the U.S. death toll continues to mount. December is already tied with October as the deadliest month for US troops this year. 106 Americans have been killed this month according to CNN. That, of course, doesn't negate the deaths that happened in those non-record breaking months.

AP reports that it has been a bad month for Iraqis too:

Already, December was shaping up to be one of the worst months for Iraqi civilian deaths since The Associated Press began keeping track in May 2005.

Through Thursday, at least 2,139 Iraqis have been killed in war-related or sectarian violence, an average rate of about 76 people a day, according to an AP count. That compares to November - the worst month for Iraqi civilian deaths since May 2005 - when at least 2,184 were killed at an average of about 70 a day. In October, AP counted at least 1,216 civilians killed.

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Edwards and leadership

My allegiance to a Democratic presidential candidate is still very much up for grabs. So much could happen in the months before even the first primary votes are cast that I think it's wayyy premature to pick a horse. With that said, I thought Edwards' announcement this week was fairly remarkable.

Part of what he said, in essence, was that he's not interested in waiting to lead, and he doesn't view this as an audition to be a leader, but rather as a kind of trial period of leadership. Compared to Barack Obama's "I have tons of leadership potential" and Hillary's "Who needs leadership when you have infrastructure" impressions, the idea that Edwards would risk immediately calling people to action is both risky and impressive. He's basically saying, I'm going to lead now, and if people follow, great." The monthly action days, the focus on progressive issues, even the metaphor of him literally picking up a shovel and getting to work in New Orleans -- it all points to what could be a very innovative campaign.

There's plenty of time for others to distinguish themselves as well, of course; hopefully they'll all be as interesting. I'd be similarly entertained if Obama announced on Oprah, for example. Would everyone in the audience get Obama-related prizes??

. . . and as I look around for more info on this, I see that Michel Markman has beaten me to essentially the same point. Worth reading. Read More......

Buhbye ice shelf

What? 41 square miles of ice shelf, one of six major shelves left in Canada's arctic, breaks off into the ocean? Collapse was so powerful that earthquake monitors 155 miles away picked up tremors? No, no; no global warming here, please move on. I said there's nothing to see here! Al Gore is still a lying crazy person, scientists are raving libruls, and hybrid cars are for communists! Why does the Canadian artic hate America?

In reality, though, Warwick Vincent of Laval University, who studies Arctic conditions, "traveled to the newly formed ice island and could not believe what he saw." He commented, "It is consistent with climate change."

What a surprise. Read More......

Open thread

It's Friday afternoon . . . coming up on New Year's weekend . . . and everybody is already planning parties/hangovers for the next few days.

Less working, more threading. Read More......

Hussein hanging imminent?

That's what CNN seems to be indicating. Apparently, the US has handed him over to Iraqi authorities.

Reuters is reporting the execution could happen "within hours."

Bush really got him, huh? Course, Bush is bogged down in a war now that has destroyed American credibility, cost us thousands of lives and tens of thousands of injuries. The war to "get" Saddam has destroyed Iraq. Now, Bush is even making Saddam a martyr.

So Saddam will be dead -- and the U.S. is still stuck in the quagmire. Read More......

Senator Johnson continues to improve

Yesterday was Tim Johnson's 60th birthday. The latest reports via AP sound encouraging:

Julianne Fisher, a spokeswoman for the South Dakota Democrat, said Johnson won't be present in the first days of the new Congress next week but is continuing to improve. She said he is responsive to directions from his wife but has not yet spoken.

It's too early to tell how long recovery will take, Fisher said.

In a statement Thursday, Johnson's doctors said he remains in intensive care at George Washington University Hospital. They have released few new details about Johnson's condition and prognosis since the days after the Dec. 13 surgery to stop bleeding in his brain.

Dr. Vivek Deshmukh, head of Johnson's surgical team, said in a statement that the South Dakota senator's overall condition has improved and he is gradually being weaned off sedation to help his brain heal.

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Follow-up on Saddam trial, verdict

Yesterday in a post about the Saddam verdict I referred to the trial as "generally considered fair." Aside from being the kind of lazy passive voice that I always hate to read, it was an inaccurate (or, at the very least, incomplete) statement. Several comments and more than one email pointed out the widespread criticisms of the trial by legal and human rights groups, including Human Rights Watch, International Bar Association, Amnesty International, and others. Some of these groups are occasionally criticized for having a political agenda, and certainly objections tended to include condemnations of the death penalty, but I have no reason (or legal ability, frankly) to criticize their judgment that the trial was unfair in many ways.

What I should have written, and what I meant to get across, was that the verdict was generally considered fair. This viewpoint is supported by, for example, this article, which quotes experts to that effect:

"Did this meet the standards of international justice?" asked Jonathan Drimmer, who teaches war crimes law at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington. "The answer is no. But to look at the ultimate verdict, it certainly is consistent with the evidence presented."

Miranda Sissons, a senior associate at the International Center for Transitional Justice, a group that has been severely critical of some of the trial proceedings, said, "This was not a sham trial," and added, "The judges are doing their best to try this case to an entirely new standard for Iraq."

The trial seems to have been neither a miscarriage of justice nor up to international standards, which has the somewhat bizarre effect of making the trial questionable but the verdict appropriate. The trial was fairly open (most was broadcast on TV and/or radio), conducted in the language of the accused, accessible to the press, and monitored by experts; on the other hand, procedural errors abounded and both the prosecution and the accused hurt the process, including a multitude of procedural problems. For more on this, see here and here.

(Incidentally, my email address isn't on the sidebar, but anyone should feel free to get in touch via ajamericablog (at) gmail.com -- just the usual requests (no lists, no spam, etc), please -- and I'll reply to whatever extent I can.) Read More......

Lieberman wants escalation of Iraq War

Lieberman comes through again for Bush. Joe writes in a Washington Post op-ed that, like Bush and McCain, he wants more troops in Iraq. You can read it if you can stand it. Lieberman has learned from his friend in the White House -- in the first paragraph he invokes September 11th. The whole piece could have been written by the White House. It's the same old rhetoric that means almost nothing. The one thing it does mean is that sanctimonious Joe is more than willing to send more young Americans to die in Bush's quagmire. Read More......

Bush is doing very well in one poll

Top Villain of 2006. Wow. Must be a proud moment for the decider. Crooks & Liars has the details. Read More......

Take a tour of Notre Dame

I decided to break my YouTube boycott and post some video of the Gregorian chant concert last night at Notre Dame in Paris. I'm running out to the door with "Chris in Paris" to Normandy for the New Years weekend, not clear if I'll have Net access there or not, but I'm told Joe and AJ will be tending the blog in our absence.

Anyway, enjoy the snippet, it really was quite wonderful.
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US preparing for Saddam execution - possibly this weekend

Sounds like a scripted plan to fit someone's agenda. Hmmm, but whose agenda? Sounds like installing the kangaroo courts were pretty effective and responsive in Iraq.

As Saddam Hussein's lawyer made a last-ditch effort to impede his execution Thursday, the White House was preparing for the ousted dictator to be hanged as early as this weekend, a senior administration official said. The timetable was based on information that U.S. officials in Baghdad received from the Iraqi government.

I have little sympathy for Saddam but I still struggle with the fact that he is being executed for killing 148 people considering the hundreds of thousands who have been killed since the invasion. I expect people to be accountable when this many people are killed but not with this administration. Read More......

Bush claims he's got "more consultation to do" but he plans a major escalation in Iraq

Maybe if he spent more than three hours working, Bush would come up with something besides an escalation of his unpopular war. But, according to The New York Times, that's his plan and he's sticking with it:

The Bush administration is considering an increase in troop levels in Iraq of 17,000 to 20,000, which would be accomplished in part by delaying the departure of two Marine regiments now deployed in Anbar Province, Pentagon officials said Thursday.

The option was among those discussed in Crawford, Tex., on Thursday as President Bush met there with his national security team, and it has emerged as a likely course as he considers a strategy shift in Iraq, the officials said.

Most of the additional troops would probably be employed in and around Baghdad, the officials said.

It's like watching a bad dream. It's his war and he'll do what he wants to -- no matter what it does to the country or what it does to the troops or what it does to the Iraqi President. Clearly, the intervention failed. Read More......

Wow, "nearly three hours" of work today

This guy is amazing. Does he expect anyone to be impressed that he works so little while Iraq is in chaos? Most would be too embarrassed, but not good ol' W.

President Bush worked nearly three hours at his Texas ranch on Thursday to design a new U.S. policy in Iraq, then emerged to say that he and his advisers need more time to craft the plan he'll announce in the new year.

Pretty casual attitude, I'd say. Read More......

Open thread

I can't believe we've gone all day without one . . . have at it! Read More......

Just heard a great concert at Notre Dame

Gregorian chants. Amazing.

On an unrelated note, don't miss the blog documentary on the Sundance channel tonight (Thursday), it's on repeatedly throughout the next few days. It's about political blogging in the US, and should include interviews with a number of us. Read More......

More on troop escalation

One of the most frustrating things about all this talk of escalation is that the debate is over whether or not we should add more troops instead of what mission the troops will ostensibly be attempting. It's not, "Will 30,000 more troops be able to accomplish Mission X," but rather "Will 30,000 troops improve the situation" or quell the violence or some such thing. Haven't we all recognized that the current strategy in Iraq is failing? Hasn't just about everybody admitted that, including the two-years-behind-everything pundit class? And if so, how has the conversation gone from changing strategy to changing how many young men and women are on the ground trying to implement that failed strategy?

It's really a remarkable thing that the President has done by countering demands for a strategy change with floating a potential troop escalation. The debate over actual strategy has been virtually sidelined, and now if he does increase troops, he'll try to argue that it's a change in course, and even if he doesn't raise troop levels, he's managed to delay by a couple months any real action, and that debate will start up where it was months ago. I mean, we're even seeing people say that no politicians should offer their own views except in response to a plan from the President! Ridiculous. Read More......

More gifts you didn't see this Christmas

Following on our Time Bomb kids' game we posted yesterday, AMERICAblog reader Seth in London sent me one of his Topps trading cards he got back in the 70s.



Just the thing I like to see before flying to Europe. Thanks Seth :-) Though Seth did inspire me to create my own in-flight game...

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Real US troops in Iraq say "troop surge" is a bad idea

Gee, no one could have ever predicted that Bush would cherry pick the troops attending new Secretary of Defense Gates' "meetings" in Iraq, only choosing the "pro-surge" troops to attend. Well, it seems real US troops in Iraq are now speaking out, and they don't think Bush's surge idea is such a bright idea.

But then again, since when do Republicans give a damn about what our troops think. The Republicans sent our troops into a war based on a lie, with unsufficient supplies and troops, with no plan for victory, and now we're surprised they don't care if they kill even more American soldiers in a plan that's only mean to save Bush's ego? Please. Read More......

Bush is having a BIG meeting today to talk about a major escalation of his war

All that listening the President's been doing probably has his head spinning. So, today, he's going from listener to decider. By now, the whole world knows that Bush wants to escalate the war -- even against the advice of military leaders. But, he's had a couple weeks to whip them in to submission. From Reuters:

President George W. Bush huddles with top advisers at his Texas ranch on Thursday to hash out options for a new Iraq strategy that he wants to unveil next month to an American public weary of the war.

Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and national security adviser Stephen Hadley will attend the session.

Bush will then make a statement to reporters at about 12:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT), the White House said.

Among the options Bush has been considering is a short-term troop "surge" aimed at containing rampant violence.

It's almost surreal how Bush is doing the exact opposite of what the best and wisest minds in the country and the American people want. He's being petulant -- it's his war and he can do what he wants to. Bush never thinks of what this war costs in terms of U.S. credibility, in terms of human life and in terms of the actual budget. This is really scary and dangerous.

We'll be hearing from Bush shortly. If you can stomach watching him, provide commentary please. Read More......

Saddam's death penalty

Saddam's death sentence has been upheld by an Iraqi appeals court, which, at least in theory, means the sentence should be carried out within 30 days. I think the country might be served by trying him for the other crimes he's been charged with, but the conviction and sentence for crimes against humanity (the mass killing of 148 men and boys in Dujail) clearly mandates this result.

I have no problem with Saddam being executed -- he is certainly a criminal of the highest order, the trial was generally considered fair, and, perhaps most importantly, the vast majority of Iraqis favor it. I also am personally unopposed to the death penalty in theory (though I'm often opposed to it in practice because of how it's applied), believing that there are some crimes which are so terrible that death at the hands of the state is the only appropriate punishment. Still, I also strongly feel that the death penalty is something about which reasonable people can disagree. I have no problem with a broad anti-death penalty stance, and I think it's a morally and intellectually defensible position.

What I don't understand, though, is how someone can claim to be opposed to the death penalty . . . but in favor of it for Saddam. TNR's Marty Peretz manages to pull off this feat while denigrating those who are morally opposed to the death penalty. It's classic TNR, actually: claim to take a position, then immediately contradict that position, and then slam people who agree with the originally-claimed position for being wussies.

In fact, Peretz's post has more than one of the things the rest of us learned to avoid in freshman logic (or ethics or philosophy or whatever): flip-flopping on a position in the span of two sentences, a knee-jerk comparison to the Nazis, and ad hominem attacks. Italian Prime Minister Prodi, who opposes the death penalty in all cases, has reasonably applied this viewpoint to Saddam. Peretz ridicules him, writing:

I don't believe in capital punishment either. Did Prodo believe the death sentence for Adolf Eichmann also wrong? I didn't. Even if Saddam is not exactly in the category of Eichmann, he -- like Pol Pot and other leaders of deliberately killer regimes -- has no claim on our conscience. What's more there is something prissy and finicky in Prodo [sic] if Saddam's fate can touch his soul.

Again, I'm perfectly fine with Saddam being executed, but to label someone "prissy and finicky" for their principled opposition to the death penalty should be beneath a "serious" person. And when it's ridicule for a position that the commenter claims to share, it's absurd.

In any case, there will be speculation about how this will change things in Iraq, with some talking heads warning of an uprising in response and others claiming it will be a turning point towards mass healing and reconciliation. I predict, as I usually do with alleged "turning points," that it won't make much difference at all. The conflict in Iraq long ago moved past Saddam, and while there will certainly be some demonstrations after he's executed (celebration from Kurds and Shia, which you'll see plenty of on your TV; protests from Sunnis, which you won't) and perhaps some associated violence, it will be a just punishment that doesn't do much to help the nation. Read More......

John Edwards is officially in the race for President

2006 isn't even over and the race for President is well under way. Today's the day for John Edwards. He's in New Orleans to announce his campaign for President. It's supposed to be a slow news week so his campaign decided they'd get maximum coverage by doing this now. Edwards is getting covered -- he did the morning shows circuit this morning to start:

Two years after his hopes for a Democratic takeover of the White House were narrowly dashed, former vice presidential nominee John Edwards said Thursday that he is making another run at the presidency.

Edwards -- who is calling for cuts in poverty, global warming and troops in Iraq -- scheduled his kickoff in New Orleans, still devastated from last year's Hurricane Katrina. He chose the site to highlight his signature concern of the economic disparity that divides America.

''I'm here to announce I'm a candidate for president of the United States,'' Edwards sold NBC's ''Today Show'' Thursday, one of three back-to-back interviews by the candidate on morning news shows. ''I've reached my own conclusion this is the best way to serve my country.''

Edwards said the difference between his message to voters in 2004 and his 2008 presidential bid is that, ''I've learned since the last campaign that it's great to identify a problem ... but the way you change things is by taking action.''

And Iraq is one of the biggest issues facing the country.

''It would be a huge mistake to put a surge of troops into Iraq,'' Edwards said on ABC's ''Good Morning America. ''It sends exactly the wrong signal. We can maximize our chances for success by making clear we are going to leave Iraq and not stay there forever.''

Here's the website for the campaign. Read More......

There's something much worse than flip-flopping

Don't want to overlook this op-ed from John Kerry from last Sunday's Washington Post:

There's something much worse than being accused of "flip-flopping": refusing to flip when it's obvious that your course of action is a flop.

I say this to President Bush as someone who learned the hard way how embracing the world's complexity can be twisted into a crude political shorthand. Barbed words can make for great politics. But with U.S. troops in Iraq in the middle of an escalating civil war, this is no time for politics. Refusing to change course for fear of the political fallout is not only dangerous -- it is immoral.

Read More......

Good day from Paris

International travel never ceases to amaze me. Any travel, really. The idea of waking up in one city and going to bed in another is just weird. It's as if it's hard to even imagine life existing somewhere else while you're not there. Okay, I'm admittedly hung over from jet lag, but I think you get what I mean - it's just very weird to imagine the entire world kind of moving along without you.

Anyway, the flight was uneventful, the service extraordinary (God bless Air France), and the food was pretty damn good too. Except the yoghurt. Seriously. Those of you who don't know France won't appreciate this, those of you who do will get what I'm saying. Imagine being given yoghurt on a French flight and when you read the label you see that the yoghurt contains high fructose corn syrup (disgusting), corn starch (I assume as a thickener - why does yoghurt need a thickener?), all sorts of weird "gum" and more crap I couldn't identify. It was vile. I don't even eat that kind of crap in yoghurt in the states, let alone on Air France. [/End sermon.]

And who could have ever imagined flight attendants who are courteous and don't act like you're somehow invading THEIR airline. So, already sat down for a nice coffee, croissants, and croissants aux amandes with Chris and his wife Joelle. I'm off for a small nap to catch up on my sleep, then tonight we're going to see a Gregorian chant concert at Notre Dame.

I love this city. Read More......

As Bush continues to rest, relax and enjoy the holidays

The wheels continue to fall off in Iraq. Same story as just about every other day as roadside bombs kill US troops and bombings in Baghdad kills at least 23. Meanwhile the wingnuts continue to talk up Kerry and his visit to Iraq and his stupid joke, completing missing the reality (which they're not very good at anyway) of the situation where their leader is leaving the troops in a bad situation, likely ready to make it worse, while he rests in his comfortable ranch. Kerry may be an ass and I don't care to see him involved at a national scale again but compared to what Bush is doing to America and the troops, Kerry doesn't look so bad.

How's that vacation, George? Are you comfortable? Read More......

The "New 7 Wonders"

How could Angkor Wat not be on such a list? As much as I love Paris and the Eiffel Tower, it's not even in the same league...not by a mile. Angkor and Machu Picchu are definites...what else? I'd say Timubuktu and the Great Wall would have to be on the list as well. For those who want to vote, here's the site. If nothing else, this can spur on New Years discussions about where everyone is going for vacation next year. Read More......

"Washington is the new North Carolina"

Please keep in mind that global warming does not exist and has nothing to do at all with changing weather patterns. We know this because Republican leaders tell us so and we should believe them instead of a bunch of scientific studies, which are probably just a bunch of liberals anyway because changing weather patterns are simply a bunch of lefty conspirators.

Fifteen years ago, a section of the Washington area fell into Zone 6, an area from Massachusetts to Kansas where the lows were between zero and 10 degrees below. The other part was in Zone 7, which spans the upper South, where temperatures were between zero and 10 degrees.

Now, all the Washington area now lies in Zone 7, which has taken over parts of the District and suburbs in Virginia and Maryland. Zone 7 has crept northward to take in most of Tennessee and Virginia as well as parts of North Carolina, Arkansas and Oklahoma.

The National Arbor Day Foundation uses the same format and the same source of climate data as the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which last put out its hardiness-zone map in 1990. Since then, the foundation has provided its own updates.

The warming trend here was also taking place in other parts of the country.

In sections of Michigan, the weather was warm enough to suit southern magnolia trees, said Arbor Day Foundation spokesman Woodrow L. Nelson. The southern species Arizona cypress also seemed to be better adapted for some parts of the Northeast, he said.

"I mean, who would have thought that an Arizona cypress would be a choice for someone in New Jersey?" Nelson said.

Weather experts there's no single reason why the winter temperatures are higher. However, most scientists say the gradual warming of the planet -- due to carbon dioxide and other pollutants preventing heat from escaping the atmosphere -- has played a role.

Of course, I would be very keen to hear the names of the scientists that do not make the connection with global warming so we could then do some research on their studies that say otherwise. Something tells me they either don't exist or they're funded by some wingnut crazy group. Read More......

Ford "disagreed" with Bush, Cheney, Rummy on Iraq

The former President did an embargoed interview with Bob Woodward back in July of 2004. The Post also has the audio of the interviews on the website. Ford was none too happy with Bush and his former staffers, Cheney and Rummy, about Iraq. A lot of people disagreed with this crowd, but didn't speak out. A lot of people are dead because of that:

Former president Gerald R. Ford said in an embargoed interview in July 2004 that the Iraq war was not justified. "I don't think I would have gone to war," he said a little more than a year after President Bush had launched the invasion advocated and carried out by prominent veterans of Ford's own administration.

In a four-hour conversation at his house in Beaver Creek, Colo., Ford "very strongly" disagreed with the current president's justifications for invading Iraq and said he would have pushed alternatives, such as sanctions, much more vigorously. In the tape-recorded interview, Ford was critical not only of Bush but also of Vice President Cheney -- Ford's White House chief of staff -- and then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, who served as Ford's chief of staff and then his Pentagon chief.

"Rumsfeld and Cheney and the president made a big mistake in justifying going into the war in Iraq. They put the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction," Ford said. "And now, I've never publicly said I thought they made a mistake, but I felt very strongly it was an error in how they should justify what they were going to do."

This morning, Bush said Ford was a "man of complete integrity." Cheney said Ford was the embodiment of "decency, integrity, and devotion to duty." Certainly a man with those characteristics couldn't be wrong when he said the Bush and Cheney were mistaken about the war with Iraq. The White House staff has probably already started the attack on Ford's character now that they know he spoke so candidly about Bush's biggest failure. Read More......

Homeland Security unable to secure handguns in vault

If only we could say "unbelievable" but moments like this are just too common at DHS. Read More......