A couple miles from Walter Reed, Bush claims to support the troops at a GOP fundraiser

When those Republicans get together, they like to pretend they support the troops:

"Our men and women in uniform risk their lives to carry out our plan to support this new democracy and to secure Baghdad," Bush said. "And wherever members may stand on my decision, we have a solemn responsibility to give our troops the resources and the flexibility they need to prevail."

Sure. Give the troops what they need -- like they do out at Walter Reed, which is just a couple miles from the site of the big GOP fundraiser where Bush spoke tonight.

Bush hasn't given the troops the resources they've needed for four years now. Do the words "body armor" ring a bell? Hell, resources shmesources. How about giving them a plan for victory?

Republicans don't support the troops. They say they do, a lot. But, just because they say it, doesn't make it true.

George Bush's motto is "Hate the troops, love the war." Read More......

Laura Bush: Iraq is mostly stable, it's just that "one bombing a day that discourages everyone"

Laura Bush, Iraq expert, just now on Larry King Live:

Many parts of Iraq are stable now. But, uh, of course, what we see on television is the one bombing a day that discourages everyone.

Yeah, it's such a great place that Iraq. So stable, well, except for that pesky "one bombing a day." Once again, Laura Bush blames the media -- and Larry King let her get away with it, of course. Laura should talk to CNN's Michael Ware about that -- actually Larry King should talk to him, too.

That damn Reuters said there were at least two bombings today:

Iraq's Shi'ite vice president and a cabinet minister were wounded in an apparent assassination attempt on Monday when a bomb killed six people at a ministry in Baghdad where they were attending a ceremony.

Near the volatile western city of Ramadi, a suicide bomber blew up an ambulance at a police station, killing 14 people including women and children, a local hospital official said.

Otherwise, it's a really stable place.

Larry asked Laura Bush about the twins, but he didn't ask the most important question: Since, things are going so well in Iraq, Laura, have your daughters signed up for a tour of duty yet? Read More......

Congress needs to support the American people by opposing the escalation and adopting the Murtha plan

More numbers from the Washington Post-ABC News that show the country is way ahead of the politicians on the war. Two-thirds of Americans oppose the escalation of the Iraq war; 53% of Americans want a deadline for withdrawal; and by a wide margin, Americans support Murtha's plan:

There was clear support, however, for the kinds of conditions proposed by Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), who wants to establish requirements for the training and resting of military units that would have the effect of limiting the number of troops available to send to Iraq.

Murtha's plan has drawn fire in the House, including from some of his Democratic colleagues, after it was unveiled on a liberal Web site. The Post-ABC News poll, which did not associate the plan with Murtha, found that 58 percent of Americans said they support such new rules. Even some Americans, 21 percent, who supported the president's troop surge said they would favor rules for training and resting troops.

The American people want this war over. Read More......

Open Thread

John is on CNN's Paula Zahn show tonight commenting on some of the news of the day. What are your comments on the news of the day? Read More......

Blog that called for execution of gays nixed

Good. Read More......

Dissension in the ranks

60 Minutes:

To many in America's armed forces, these men and women are doing the unthinkable: active duty soldiers, sailors and marines speaking out against the ongoing conflict in Iraq. They've signed on to what's called "An Appeal for Redress" - and they say it's time for U.S. troops to come home. Lara Logan has the story.

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FOX's John Gibson chooses Anna Nicole Smith over Iraq

Woah. Just when you think the talking heads at FOX can't sink any lower, they do. During his radio show, FOX's John Gibson mocked reporters (namely Anderson Cooper) who are covering the war instead of Anna Nicole Smith. Think Progress has the transcript and the audio.

[CLIP ANDERSON COOPER] There’s a war on, there’s a war on, there’s a war on.

GIBSON: My complaint about this is what you’re listening to when you hear that guy lecture the audience, is you’re listening to news-guy snobbery. Essentially saying, “I’m better than you. I know what you want to hear about, but I’m better than that story. I’m too high class for that story. I won’t stoop to what you want to hear about.” I’m not playing that. People want to hear about the Anna Nicole story, I’m happy to tell them.

I guess if I worked at the GOP's media mouthpiece, I wouldn't want to talk about the failed war policy of George Bush either. But to malign reporters who are covering the work and sacrifice of U.S. soldiers is outrageous. Another classic example of right wingers actually dissing the troops they claim to support.

If the media gave nearly as much attention to the deaths of U.S. soldiers as they have given to the death of Anna Nicole, the U.S. would be out of Iraq. The American people are already over Bush and his war -- even with the limited coverage Fox wants the war to receive. Read More......

Senate to hold hearings on Walter Reed debacle

Excellent. Read More......

Open thread

On my way to NYC to be on Paula Zahn's TV show again tonight, 8pm Eastern (it's usually 3 segments throughout the hour). The topics are a bit odd, including the Sorority kicking out ugly members, and a discussion of whether black people can be "too white." Yes, definitely my expertise :-) Read More......

Bush's "Iran-Contra"?

From ThinkProgress

New Yorker columnist Sy Hersh says the “single most explosive” element of his latest article involves an effort by the Bush administration to stem the growth of Shiite influence in the Middle East (specifically the Iranian government and Hezbollah in Lebanon) by funding violent Sunni groups.

Hersh says the U.S. has been “pumping money, a great deal of money, without congressional authority, without any congressional oversight” for covert operations in the Middle East where it wants to “stop the Shiite spread or the Shiite influence.” Hersh says these funds have ended up in the hands of “three Sunni jihadist groups” who are “connected to al Qaeda” but “want to take on Hezbollah.”

Hersh summed up his scoop in stark terms: “We are simply in a situation where this president is really taking his notion of executive privilege to the absolute limit here, running covert operations, using money that was not authorized by Congress, supporting groups indirectly that are involved with the same people that did 9/11.”

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Governors worry that Bush is breaking the National Guard

Uh, yeah. Read More......

Americans overwhelmingly disapprove of Bush's handling of Iraq

There is very strong opposition to Bush's Iraq policy. The American people are against the war. That's the overwhelmingly mainstream position these days:

Although trimmed, the Democrats maintain a substantial edge on the war in large measure because of Bush's low ratings on handling the situation in Iraq. Two-thirds of Americans disapprove of how the President is handling the Iraq war; 31 percent approve. And intensity continues to run against Bush on the issue: Fifty-five percent "strongly disapprove" of his work there, while only 17 percent "strongly approve" of it.

The American people have been way ahead of the politicians on Iraq for awhile.

But watch the Republican Senators shut down any effort to curtail Bush's failed policy. The GOP won't rein in Bush. They are, in fact, supporting Bush. If they want to be the 31% party, so be it.

The American people want action to stop the war. Read More......

Bush and Cheney admit Democrats are forcing them to get tough on terror

Okay. This is rich.

Last week, Dick Cheney was trashing Democrats claiming wrongly that any effort to get the U.S. out of Iraq would enable al Qaeda.

This week, Dick Cheney is on a "secret visit" to Pakistan. His purpose is to tell Pakistan's leaders that Democrats are forcing the Bush Administration to get tough on terror:

Vice President Dick Cheney made an unannounced trip to Pakistan on Monday to deliver what officials in Washington described as an unusually tough message to Gen. Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, warning him that the newly Democratic Congress could cut aid to his country unless his forces become far more aggressive in hunting down operatives with Al Qaeda.

Yes, the Democrats are forcing the Bush Administration to take a tougher stance on Al Qaeda. Read More......

Monday Morning Open Thread

This should be another interesting week. The Republican Senators can reaffirm their unyielding support for their President and his failed war. Bush is leading his party off a cliff. Unfortunately, he's taking the country with him.

Start threading. Read More......

Health care for children: "It's a matter of doing the right thing"

So which party is saying such words related to the Bush plan to hack health care for America's children? Both, actually, though this particular quote is from Republican governor Sonny Perdue of Georgia. Bush and his team would rather hand over tax breaks to the wealthy over basic health care for those who our own children who are indeed America's future. As someone who has experienced both the US health care system as well as the system in France, I wish the extremists on the GOP right would quite demonizing basic coverage for citizens and get serious about addressing a problem that even conservatives recognize.

Of course the system in France is expensive and taxes are needed to fund the system, as there is no magic that create it out of nothing. Besides the taxes paid to fund the system plus private health insurance, our costs are still considerably less compared to friends and family in the US. With so many people being uninsured in such a wealth country and with bipartisan support from across the country, it is high time our politicians put aside the pandering to extremist groups and think about the good of the country. Read More......

Another ugly day in Iraq - 41 killed at university

What kind of a person can still see this war as a good thing? It never seems to get better, but only more of the same at best, worse and worse many days.

A female suicide bomber triggered a ball bearing-packed charge Sunday, killing at least 41 people at a mostly Shiite college whose main gate was left littered with blood-soaked student notebooks and papers amid the bodies.

Witnesses said a woman carried out the attack at the business school annex to Mustansiriyah University. Interior Ministry officials said they were still investigating those reports. The school’s main campus was hit by a string of bombings last month that killed 70 people.

The attack came as the powerful Shiite militia leader Muqtada al-Sadr said an ongoing security crackdown in Baghdad was doomed to fail because of U.S. involvement and suggested he was rethinking his cooperation. He bitterly complained that “car bombs continue to explode” in the capital despite the new security push.

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Always assume the camera is on you

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