Carol Burnett sues "Family Guy" for riffing off her cleaning lady skit

Hmmm... Read More......

Americans don't like Bush or his war; 59% support Dem legislation to withdraw troops by fall 2008

In the latest Newsweek poll, the American people aren't too happy with Bush, his war, Alberto Gonzales or the situation at Walter Reed. They know their President is a failure:

At 30 percent, President Bush's approval ratings remain stuck where they have been since the GOP lost control of Congress in November. The president's approval rating for his handling of the Iraq war remains unchanged from the last NEWSWEEK Poll at 27 percent, despite an uptick in the public’s positive feelings about the situation in Iraq—up 5 points to 29 percent since January. However, that slight recovery does not translate into greater support for the president’s decision to send more troops to Iraq. Just 32 percent support the president’s approach, while 59 percent support Democratic legislation to require the withdrawal of U.S. troops by the fall of next year.

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Two new gay blogs

Well, maybe not NEW new, but new to me (or news to me). Anyway, found them in the last two weeks, and love them. If you're into glbt stuff, check em out:

- Bloggernista
- Booststrapping Andrew Sullivan (I have no idea what this even means, sounds a bit like Being John Malkovich (which I never saw) but the blog is incredibly well written and the arguments and logic are tremendous)

And I also recently added a link to Politics TV, who I've done a lot of work for. I don't link to many sites, on purpose. The links are to sites I know and like, so please don't be offended if you emailed me and I didn't link. I really don't want the links to be to everyone under the sun, I really want them to be to to a select group of sites I know and like. Keep sending me your good content from time to time, that's the best way to get eventually linked. Read More......

Gitmo detainees being freed in home countries after release

The black eye of Gitmo continues.

The analysis, based on government case files for Saudi detainees sent home over the past three years, shows inmates being systematically freed from custody within weeks of their return. It also raises questions on how detainees are selected for release: While some of the repatriated Saudis were accused of lesser offenses -- such as working for charitable organizations with alleged ties to al-Qaeda -- others were released in spite of standing accusations that they belonged to al-Qaeda or the Taliban, or even fought against U.S. or coalition forces in Afghanistan, records show.

The case files also offer insight into the nature of U.S. evidence against the detainees. For example, in half the cases studied, the detainees were turned over to U.S. forces by Pakistani police or troops in return for financial rewards. Many others were accused of terrorism connections in part because their Arab nicknames matched those found in a computer database of al-Qaeda members, documents show.

"The credibility of many of these accusations is highly questionable," co-authors Anant Raut and Jill M. Friedman write in "The Saudi Repatriates Report," scheduled for release tomorrow. The report is a statistical analysis of the cases of 24 repatriated Saudis, a group representing nearly half of the 53 Saudi nationals released from Guantanamo Bay as of Feb. 1. The authors are members of the Washington office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, a law firm that has provided pro-bono representation for five Saudis detained at Guantanamo Bay. The law firm provided copies of the supporting documents to The Washington Post.

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Open thread

Sunny and cold here. Read More......

Like Mother, like son. The Bush family has disdain for U.S. soldiers.

March 18, 2003, courtesy of Frank Rich:

Barbara Bush tells Diane Sawyer on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that she will not watch televised coverage of the war: “Why should we hear about body bags and deaths, and how many, what day it’s going to happen, and how many this or what do you suppose? Or, I mean, it’s, it’s not relevant. So, why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?”

She is despicable. How many truly beautiful minds have been destroyed by that same cavalier attitude, which is obviously shared by Mrs. Bush's son? These people do not support the troops. They view young men and women as expendable. Read More......

Seven more soldiers killed in Iraq this weekend

Four years later:

After the explosion that killed four U.S. soldiers on Saturday, the unit came under fire and another soldier was wounded. During this month's crackdown in the capital, the battalion had found eight weapons caches and two roadside bombs and helped rescue a kidnap victim, the military said.

An explosion in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad killed another soldier Saturday and injured five. A sixth soldier died Saturday in a non-combat related incident, the military said. A U.S. Marine also was killed Saturday in fighting in Anbar, according to a separate statement.

Saturday's deaths brought to at least 3,217 members of the U.S. military who have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Besides saying he supports the troops at every political opportune moment, just exactly how does George Bush actually support the troops that he sent in to this quagmire? Read More......

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

Bush scandals dominate today. First and foremost is, of course, the scandalous war in Iraq, which continues to claim the lives of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians.

But, there's more fodder with the U.S. Attorneys scandal. "Will Gonzales last the week?" and "Will Rove have to testify before Congress?" are the pressing questions. We've seen from Gonzales that even testifying under oath doesn't prevent Bush officials from lying. Despite consistent pattern of blatant lies from Bush and his staff, watch how the media use every phrase possible to intimate we've been lied to without saying the word "lie."

Here's the line-up:

FOX NEWS SUNDAY...: Sens. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) and Arlen Specter (R-Pa.); Alyssa Mastromonaco, Obama for America scheduling director; former U.S. attorneys H.E. "Bud" Cummins III and David C. Iglesias.

THIS WEEK (ABC...: Sens. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and John Cornyn (R-Tex.); national security adviser Stephen J. Hadley; actor Sam Waterson.

NEWSMAKERS (C-SPAN), 10 a.m.[EDT]: Rep. Ellen O. Tauscher (D-Calif.).

FACE THE NATION (CBS...: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.); Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates.

MEET THE PRESS (NBC...: Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.); Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.); Richard Perle of the American Enterprise Institute; former congressmen Tom Andrews (D-Maine) and Tom DeLay (R-Tex.).

LATE EDITION (CNN), 11 a.m.[EDT]: Hadley; Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.); Retired Army Gen. George Joulwan; Retired Army Col. Pat Lang; former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski.

All the shows will have their media pundit "roundtables," too. There's more insightful analysis and more honest commentary in the comments here then on the shows. So, have at it. Read More......

Carbon footprint to be listed on product labels

A brilliant idea.

The Carbon Trust is launching a green equivalent to the Fairtrade label - a consumer label which details the carbon footprint of a product and a commitment by its producer to reduce it.

Several major brand products, including Walkers crisps (carbon footprint: 75g), Boots Organics shampoo (148g) and Innocent smoothies (294g), will test the use of the logo - a white arrow wrapped in a black letter C. Over time it is expected that many more will join, raising the prospect that products might be marketed on the basis that they have the lowest carbon footprint in their marketplace.

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Germans favor environment over autobahn speed

An initial report out earlier in the week about Germany and the proposed speed limits on the autobahn came as a surprise to me because while German auto manufacturers have a poor environment record and are known for foot dragging on the issue, it has always been my impression (as an outsider and visitor) that the Germans were very environmentally aware. I always think of the green rooftops around Munich, which is one of their plans to combat pollution that gets stuck in the air due to the mountains and was glad when our mayor in Paris proposed a similar program.

The initial reports earlier in the week noted heavy opposition to the proposed speed limits, calling it an "untouchable right" for Germans. It's fun to try driving at 200kph (125mph) and the Germans are excellent, not to mention serious drivers, but not at the expense of the environment. Later in the week a poll came out showing that the majority of the German public supports speed limits. Now that is the Germany that I know. Read More......

"Widespread and dangerous problems in nearly all the buildings" at Walter Reed

It's even worse than you already thought. Read More......

Open thread

Off to bed. Read More......