Did ABC get duped by Bushies on their Iran 'exclusive'

Signs pointing to maybe. It seems the same, or similar, story that ABC broke today - that Iran was helping the Iraqi insurgents make IEDs - broke in England last fall. It was quickly shown that in fact the IRA seemed to the one helping the resistance, not Iran.

Is that what happened here? We don't know because ABC didn't even mention that the international press was duped once before by a similar story.

Duped again? Read More......

NBC's Republican shill Chris Matthews tries to label Hillary Clinton "a socialist"

Paid for by proud sponsors like Verizon. Disgusting.

You'd think NBC would be concerned that Chris Matthews not have a conflict of interest now that his brother is running for office in Pennsylvania as a Republican. Perhaps NBC would respond to concerns about why Matthews has grown so sycophantic to the GOP and whether it has any relation to his brother's race. NBC might want to make sure that Chris Matthews wasn't using his position at NBC to further a partisan political race.

But if you thought NBC cared about standards of journalism, you'd be wrong. Hell, their own staff has accepted speaking gigs to brief far-right Republicans on how to use NBC to help the GOP win elections.

Is it any wonder NBC continues to let Chris Matthews shill for Republicans? You really need to read the interview he did today with new House Republican leader John Boehner, where Matthews tries three times to label Mrs. Clinton a "socialist." Then where Matthews praises Boehner's "greatness." Regardless of what one thinks of Boehner, where does a newsman get off telling gushing at someone mid-interview about how great they are?

Heck of a job you're doing, NBC. Read More......

US military experts now say Iraq is in a full-blown civil war

Well, I hope Bush and the Republicans are proud of what they've created. We are on the path of the worst case scenario of what could happen if Saddam were removed from power. A full blown civil war and the country falls apart. And before Bush tells us that no one could have predicted it, I learned about this scenario in graduate school.

And before anyone who voted for Bush, and defended this war, tries to squirm out of it, you're now learning what it means to be an adult in the big bad world. You make decisions, and you're responsible for the consequences. And in spite of what the Republicans keep telling you, going to war has its consequences. In this case, that consequence is a civil war that's going to be nearly impossible for the US to pull itself out of in any way that doesn't further inflame the already inevitable disaster. And oh yeah, you also bankrupted our country at the same time. Oops.

Actions have consequences. 51% of you fell for George Bush's flag-waving Democrat-bashing chest-thumping remember-September-11 bullshit, and now we're all paying the price for your ignorance and his arrogance. Congratulations. And now the Republicans are preparing to invade Iran. I hope you're all prepared to see your children and your grandchildren drafted in order to pay for your mistake.

Let FOX News spin you out of this disaster. Read More......

Religious right church picketing soldiers' funerals, thanking God for IEDs

I hope the religious right is proud of itself. At least Americans finally get to see what kind of filth the "conservative Christian" gay-haters really are:

This past Saturday morning I found myself in a five-car caravan cutting across the Kansas plains with about 30 religious protesters. In the back of a truck, there were signs that read "Thank God for IED's" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers."

I was with the Phelps family. They've launched a disturbing campaign to tarnish the funerals of fallen soldiers.

This is a painful drama playing out at dozens of military funerals across the country. The group is led by Fred Phelps.

He and his family have picketed and heckled military families at more than 100 funerals since June. They say the soldiers are fighting for an army that represents a country that accepts homosexuality.

Read More......

Senator Harkin (D-IA) says Iraq is now a civil war and it's time for us to pull out

Harkin is a more liberal Democrat, but until now, few Democrats, even the libs, have been willing to call Iraq what it really is, and to finally call for a US pull out (other than Murtha, Pelosi and a few others). This is significant, and a good sign. Read More......

Open Thread

You know it's a slow news day when the ABC Breaking News email is that NASCAR picked the site for their Hall of Fame.

The Governor of South Dakota signed the abortion bill setting the court challenge in motion.

Congressman Bill Thomas (R-CA) is retiring. Let's hope he starts a trend for the GOP.

And tomorrow is primary day in Texas. Read More......

And if you believe this one... US military and intelligence officials have suddenly "found" evidence of Iran arming the insurgents in Iraq

You have got to be kidding. Suddenly after 3 years we conveniently find "evidence" of Iran arming the Iraqi insurgents, only a mere weeks after Bush starts laying the groundwork for attacking Iran. Gee, how convenient is that.

This is EXACTLY how they led us into Iraq under false pretenses. And it's rather disturbing that ABC News reports this as an "exclusive," yet doesn't bother mentioning that critics worry that this may be another ploy to get the US to attack a country in the region based on faulty or doctored intelligence. Read More......

New report: Religious right harms gay teens

The report is right. These people are destroying kids lives. It's time they were regulated, sued, and thrown in jail. Read More......

Poll shows majority in five Southern states disapproves of President Bush

From AP:

A majority of adults in five key Southern states disapproves of President Bush's job performance and says the war in Iraq was not worth fighting, according to an Elon University poll released Friday.

In the survey, 52 percent of respondents said they disapproved or strongly disapproved of Bush's job performance, compared to 43 percent who said they approved or strongly approved.

Asked whether the war with Iraq was worth fighting, a slim majority _ 51 percent _ said no, while just 44 percent said yes.

All five of the states polled _ Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida _ went to Bush in the 2004 presidential election by margins ranging from 58 percent in South Carolina and Georgia to 52 percent in Florida.

Less than 18 months later, Bush isn't even close to majority approval in any of those states.

Read More......

Conservative Jews voting to end their ban on gay rabbis and same sex unions

This is an interesting -- and hopefully, profound -- development. It's significant that this group is even considering lifting the ban:

In a closed-door meeting this week in an undisclosed site near Baltimore, a committee of Jewish legal experts who set policy for Conservative Judaism will consider whether to lift their movement's ban on gay rabbis and same-sex unions.

There seem to be many reasons for the Conservative Jews to consider this action. First, they know more gays:

Conservative Jewish leaders say, they have watched as relatives, congregation members and even fellow rabbis publicly revealed their homosexuality.

Second, they don't want to look out of touch:

"There are those who are saying, don't change the halacha because the paradigm model of the heterosexual family has to be maintained," said Rabbi Meyers, a stance he said he shared. "On the other hand is a group within the movement who say, look, we will lose thoughtful younger people if we don't make this change, and the movement will look stodgy and behind the times."

And, bottom line, the change will happen eventually anyway:

Many students at the seminary say they find the gay ban offensive and would welcome a change, said Daniel Klein, a rabbinical student who helps lead Keshet, a gay rights group on campus. "It's part of the tradition to change, so we're entirely within tradition," he said. Mr. Klein said that even if the law committee did not lift the ban this week, change would come eventually.

"Imagine what will happen 10 years from now when some of my colleagues are on the law committee, when people from my generation are on the law committee," he said. "It's not going to be a close vote."

This last point is key. The right wing knows that change is coming...that's why they want to enshrine hate in the constitution. Read More......

Washington Post corrects itself over Katrina

You never know if these things are indicative of a response to a concern we raised, or whether it's just a coincidence, but the blogs complained a few days ago about the Washington Post's reporting on the new Katrina video. The Post reported on the video, but failed to even mention potentially the most important part of the video, that it contradicts Bush's claim that no one could have imagined the levees breaching (in fact, Bush was briefed about this very possibility in the video, a briefing that happened BEFORE the storm hit). The Post didn't mention this, but on Friday, two days ago, they wrote a front page story on this very issue.

Whether or not the Post responded to the concerns we all raised, the point is they did the right thing, they wrote the story that needed to be written - needed to be written as dictated by the very facts of the story - and they get kudos for that.

Here's the article. It's good. Read More......

Bad polls numbers on Iraq

If you were President, you'd probably start to worry about these new numbers from the Washington Post-ABC News poll. They show that, as John Murtha says, the American people are way ahead of the politicians on Iraq:

An overwhelming majority of the public believe fighting between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in Iraq will lead to civil war and half say the U.S. should begin withdrawing its forces from that violence-torn country, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.

The survey found that 80 percent believed that recent sectarian violence made civil war in Iraq likely, and more than a third said such a conflict was "very likely" to occur. Expectations for an all-out sectarian war in Iraq extended beyond party lines. More than seven in 10 Republicans and eight in 10 Democrats and political independents believe civil war was likely.

In the face of the continuing violence, fully half--52 percent--of those surveyed said the United States should begin withdrawing forces. But only one in six favored immediate withdrawal of all troops from Iraq.

The Post will have the rest of the poll at 5 PM today. Read More......

Monday Morning Open Thread

Here we go again. What new horrors will unfold from team Bush this week? Read More......

Homeland Security not so secure

Chertoff really is as bad as Brownie says. Sounds like Chertoff is priming himself for a Congressional Medal of Honor at this pace. Did the hazard training team come from Chernobyl? Thank goodness this is the team that is responsible for protecting America.

For instance, when an envelope with suspicious powder was opened last fall at Homeland Security Department headquarters, guards said they watched in amazement as superiors carried it by the office of Secretary Michael Chertoff, took it outside and then shook it outside Chertoff's window without evacuating people nearby.

"I had never previously been given training ... describing how to respond to a possible chemical attack," Daniels told The Associated Press. "I wouldn't feel safe nowhere on this compound as an officer."

"If the allegations brought forward by the whistleblowers are correct, they represent both a security threat and a waste of taxpayer dollars," Democratic Sens. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota and Ron Wyden of Oregon wrote. "It would be ironic, to say the least, if DHS were unable to secure its own headquarters."

Read More......

Another step closer to Big Brother

"Just say no" to more government surveillance. I don't trust this administration (or others for that matter) to have any more power to track and monitor Americans. If any government could show that they can resist the temptation to abuse information, perhaps, but in the mean time this proposed national ID card-like program is a bad idea. I don't buy into the pitch that it will help stop illegal immigration or illegal workers because it won't. I really wish politicians would quite playing the 9/11 card as well and debate facts and not emotion for something so serious. Read More......