Myanmar junta hits a new low

It's hard to find many regimes in the world that are more despicable than the Myanmar junta. The people there are among the nicest on the planet but have the misfortune of being born under that dictatorship. The neighboring countries who could have influence are never interested in change as that might threaten their juicy business contracts. Unfortunately, the US and Europe do the same in other parts of the world. It's difficult to say how much of the aid will be skimmed off the top for the junta but let's hope enough makes it to the victims.

Commentary in the Myanma Ahlin newspaper said that while the country welcomed international aid, “Myanmar people are self-reliant and can stand on their own without foreign assistance.”

The state-run newspaper said that people in the delta could survive on “fresh vegetables that grow wild in the fields and on protein-rich fish from the rivers” if they could not get “bars of chocolate donated by the international community.”

Read the rest of this post...

More on Buchenwald and Auschwitz

Not to belabor the point, but you should read this. The folks running the Web site for the 89th Infantry Division, the division that liberated one of the sub-camps of Buchenwald (whose members include Obama's uncle), issued a statement about Obama's uncle and this "work" camp.

Concerning the service of Mr. Charles Payne: C.T. Payne was a soldier in the 89th Infantry Division. He served in the 355th Infantry Regiment, Company K. The 355th Infantry Regiment was the unit to liberate Ohrdruf. Mr. Payne was there.

For those who seek to minimize the horrors of Ohrdruf since it was a 'work' camp and not a 'death' camp, we have but one word: shame. Ironically, this argument has been made to us time and time again by various Holocaust-deniers and other pro-Nazi groups. We will let the testimony of survivors and veterans speak for themselves.

"It has been recorded that in Ordruf itself the last days were a slaughterhouse. We were shot at, beaten and molested. At every turn went on the destruction of the remaining inmates. Indiscriminant criminal behavior (like the murderers of Oklahoma City some days ago). Some days before the first Americans appeared at the gates of Ordruf, the last retreating Nazi guards managed to execute with hand pistols, literally emptying their last bullets on whomever they encountered leaving them bleeding to death as testified by an American of the 37th Tank Battalion Medical section, 10 a.m. April 4, 1945.

Today I'm privileged thanks to G-d and you gallant fighting men. I'm here to reminisce, and reflect, and experience instant recollections of those moments. Those horrible scenes and that special instance when an Allied soldier outstretched his arm to help me up became my re-entrance, my being re-invited into humanity and restoring my inalienable right to a dignified existence as a human being and as a Jew. Something, which was denied me from September 1939 to the day of liberation in 1945. I had no right to live and survived, out of 80 members of my family, the infernal ordeal of Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Ordruf, and its satellite camp Crawinkle and finally Theresinstadt Ghetto-Concentration Camp."

Rabbi Murray Kohn

Read the rest of this post...

Netroots Nation and Democracy for America offering conference scholarships

This is very cool.

Netroots Nation has teamed up with Democracy for America to offer scholarships to the annual conference this summer in Austin:

Whether you're an activist organizing locally to support a presidential campaign or a blogger mobilizing communities for a common cause, this is your chance to show off what you've done to move the progressive agenda forward.

Our scholarship program is a way to ensure that activists of every age, background, and economic bracket, representing numerous points of view and all 50 states, are able to attend Netroots Nation. Because the more diverse the audience, the richer our experience in Austin will be.

The scholarship program will cover the cost of registration and lodging for at least nine activists.

You can apply here.

I've been to way too many conferences over the years, but YearlyKos, now Netroots Nation, is actually very fun -- and just a great learning experience. The first one was a very low-key event in Las Vegas back in June of 2006. In Chicago, last year, the crowd was much larger and the major Democratic presidential candidates all showed up for a forum. This year's conference in Austin is shaping up to be another very powerful and positive experience for anyone interested in "changing the face of progressive politics." Read the rest of this post...

Do Catholics really want a Clinton deciding what their priests can say from the pulpit?

The house guest who overstayed her welcome is at it again. This time Hillary isn't attacking some fringe pastor, she's bashing Father Michael Pflegler, a well-known Catholic priest who is, according to Joe Sudbay (who knows him personally), "an amazing activist for social justice." (Check out Fr. Pflegler's resume, it's rather incredible.)

Hillary is again upset with Obama that a man of the cloth said something Hillary didn't like. And, as usual, her attack-dog campaign manager, Howard Wolfson, is telling priests how to run their churches. That's bad enough, but this time, Hillary may have pushed her luck too far. Put aside for a moment the fact that the race is over, and in 5 days Hillary will have to concede - so she really should stop with the destructive attacks against our party's nominee. No, the bigger problem for Hillary is that this time she is demonizing for political gain a well-known and beloved progressive activist who has done a heck of a lot of good in his life - and to boot, he's a prominent Catholic priest in Chicago, well-loved in his community.

Call me crazy, but I'm going to bet most Catholics don't want Hillary Clinton deciding what their priests can and can't say from the pulpit. (Not to mention, whether it's Monica's love-life or Bobby Kennedy's assassination, I'm not sure any Clinton has the right to pull the moral high ground on anyone, let alone a priest.)

I'm not even going to reprint the details of this story, because why help Hillary in her campaign to get John McCain elected (though for you progressive women out there, you ought to be scared to death about what Hillary and her friends at EMILY's List are doing to our chances to keep Roe v. Wade the law of the land in the next administration). This time Hillary is bashing the Catholic Church, and unlike some of the more progressive Christian religions, the Catholics don't take lightly to holier-than-thou government officials telling them how to run their faith. Read the rest of this post...

Bear Stearns disappears today

An amazing fall from grace. After 85 years, the Great Depression and countless recessions, Bear Stearns will no longer exist after today. The business and economic policies promoted by McCain's "economic brain" Phil Gramm has taken its toll, forcing the government to bail out what was previously one of the hottest companies on Wall Street. Still no explanation beyond "we had to in order to prevent a collapse" from anyone in Washington, as if Wall Street is the only place experiencing trouble. A once in a lifetime opportunity to leverage power for change was missed by Washington and very little remorse from Wall Street.

The entire event sickens me. It sickens me that it came to this. It sickens me that everyone turned a blind eye to the obvious failed logic that enriched so many. It sickens me to see how many lives are being ruined. It sickens me to see the chairman unloading all of his stock and profiting "only" $61 million in the middle of this collapse. It sickens me that even now, nobody in Washington addresses what is a very important event. The list goes on and none of it is good. If you have the stomach, the link above is a good overview (and interview) of that failure. It's still debatable whether those in power on Wall Street or Washington fully grasp the seriousness of this series of events. With talk of more mega-mergers, it's not clear that anyone gets it. Read the rest of this post...

In NY, Obama has higher approval rating than Clinton, more think he's the stronger candidate for the general -- and a lot want her to drop out

Here's another addendum for Hillary Clinton's memo to the superdelegates. Since her document was so poll-driven, here are some numbers from those who know her best -- the people of New York:

Fifty percent (50%) of New York Democrats say it’s time for Senator Hillary Clinton to drop out of the race for the White House. Just 43% believe she should keep going. The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey also found that most New York Republicans—52%--want Clinton to keep striving for the nomination. Overall, among all Empire State voters, 45% believe she should drop out while 43% disagree.

Just 16% of New York Democrats think Obama should drop out of the race.

Forty-seven percent (47%) of New York voters believe Obama is the stronger general election candidate. Forty-three percent (43%) believe Clinton would be better.

The survey also found that Obama is now viewed more favorably than Clinton in New York. Sixty-two percent (62%) of New York voters have a favorable opinion of Barack Obama while 55% give Hillary Clinton such positive reviews.

Read the rest of this post...

And to think I thought this video came out too late

That was when we thought Hillary was going to be a good sport. I've posted this before, but it's worth another look. Not so funny now.

Read the rest of this post...

Hillary reportedly using McCain and Huckabee supporters to beef up numbers at DNC protest this weekend

One of the "grassroots organizers" of Hillary's fake protest this weekend at the DNC rules committee meeting (the one deciding what to do with FL and MI), just sent this email out to a lot of the wrong people in DC:

We have Fantastic News!

As you know, our efforts to present a unified front this weekend on Sat, May 31 at the DNC meeting has proven to be quite successful…in fact, we have now an approximate 10,000 marchers. The marchers will be coming from across the country and they aren't just Clinton supporters. For a unified showing will be Obama, McCain, Clinton and even a few Huckabee supporters who will rally together in Washington DC.

How did a grass roots group of politically inexperienced organizers get an overwhelming response of thousands of supporters…supporters that cross partisan lines for the unified message: All Voices Heard, All Votes Matter?

Anyone still working for Hillary should be ashamed of themselves. Read the rest of this post...

Clinton is now tag-teaming with McCain to attack Obama

Nice. Now she's doing McCain's dirty work. They really can't kick her sorry turncoat ass out of this race fast enough. Read the rest of this post...

Cong. Jason Altmire (D-PA), a profile in courage

From CNN:

REPORTER: Right now, excluding Florida and Michigan whose delegations are being contested, there are 271 superdelegates in Congress. 92 of them support Clinton. 114 support Obama. That leaves 65 lawmakers still undeclared. One of those is congressman Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania.

[VIDEO - JASON ALTMIRE: If we allow this to fester, to drag out over the next three months into the national convention which is at the end of August, then we may not have time to put the pieces back together.]

Did you get that? He's afraid that if this drags on any longer it could destroy us all. Yet he's still uncommitted. Tool. Read the rest of this post...

BREAKING: CNN says Pelosi calling SuperDs, urging them to pick a candidate by next week

And you didn't think she had it in her. Here is CNN's transcript:

Blitzer: The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is sounding more determined than ever to try to make sure the Democrats don't take their presidential fight all the way to the Denver Convention. In fact, she's now threatening to take matters into her own hands. Let's go to CNN's Kate Bolduan. She's following this story for us. You're learning Pelosi's actually starting to take some specific action. Tell us what she's doing.

Reporter: Exactly, we've just learned that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now calling uncommitted superdelegates, urging them to pick a candidate between now and next week opinion clearly it's crunch time for the Democratic Party and they know it. A blunt warning from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi telling the San Francisco Chronicle that the Democratic nomination fight must be resolved soon or else.

[AUDIO - NANCY PELOSI: Earlier than that I will step in. Because we cannot take this fight to the convention. It must be over before then. I believe it will be over in two weeks.]

Reporter: Stepping in, according to to a Pelosi spokesman means she'll pressure undeclared superdelegates to publicly endorse either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. Those declarations are key because it's unlikely either candidate will clinch the nomination after next week's final primaries. Right now, excluding Florida and Michigan whose delegations are being contested, there are 271 superdelegates in Congress. 92 of them support Clinton. 114 support Obama. That leaves 65 lawmakers still undeclared. One of those is congressman Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania.

[VIDEO - JASON ALTMIRE: If we allow this to fester, to drag out over the next three months into the national convention which is at the end of August, then we may not have time to put the pieces back together.]

Reporter: While Speaker Pelosi plans on pushing superdelegates to declare their picks, she insists she'll remain neutral because of her role chairing the Democratic Convention in August. But in the past Pelosi has said superdelegates should follow one guiding principle.

[VIDEO - SPEAKER PELOSI: It will do great harm to the Democratic party if it is perceived that the superdelegates overturn the will of the people.]

Reporter: Now, we've also learned that Pelosi is coordinating with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to bring this fight to an end for superdelegates to make a public choice by next week. In a radio interview Reid said he spoke to Pelosi just this morning.

Blitzer: Kate, thanks very much. Good update.

Read the rest of this post...

Clinton campaign now says "it's about delegates, not the popular vote"

You need your own separate supercomputer to track the lies and ever-changing positions coming out of these people. After telling us for weeks that Hillary is really ahead in the popular vote (she's not), now the campaign is saying that popular vote doesn't matter, delegates matter. And they're saying that Obama is ahead in delegates. So, why are they still here? It sounds to me like Clinton's campaign thinks that somehow, after this coming Saturday, they're going to miraculously overtake Obama in delegates, so now they're again making the delegates argument. But they're not going to overtake him in delegates. The only way they can do that is if the superdelegates overrule the votes of millions of Democratic voters. Fat chance of that. Not to mention, it would be rather hilarious for Hillary to now be arguing (and she is, and has been for a while) that every vote counts, only to then be urging elite party leaders in Washington to overturn all of those voters she just "fought" for.

Read the rest of this post...

Reid says he, Pelosi and Dean will push delegates to announce next week

BUT ALL THE WOMEN WON'T HAVE VOTED YET?! Oh that's right, by then they will have. I'm sure there will be some new and creative excuse next week as to why Hillary won't be able to concede just yet. Perhaps she'll need to stay in the race in order to save the whales. More from ABC:

Uncommitted superdelegate and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, visiting San Francisco, told KGO Radio today that he spoke this morning with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and last night to DNC Chairman Howard Dean and, "We agree there won’t be a fight at the convention," he said.

In April, Reid had suggested that he, Pelosi and Dean would convene after the last Democratic primary and decide on a course of action to make superdelegates take sides long before the convention. Today he said, "We’re going to urge folks to make a decision quickly – next week," he told Ronn Owens, according to his office.

Read the rest of this post...

Dunkin Donuts takes a stand against "terrorist scarves"

Seriously. What a bunch of freaking morons. Not to mention, what Duncan Donuts actually did was a take a swipe at Arabs and Arab-Americans. I used to own one of those scarves. So?

Read the rest of this post...

Summer reading

A large email list I'm on recently started a discussion about summer reading. It always seems like there's a little more time to sink your teeth into a good book or two (or twenty) during the summer months, and the contributors debated the merits of Faulkner versus Roth, Phillippa Gregory versus Antonia Fraser, Gabriel Garcia-Marquez versus William Styron, and others. Needless to say, it's a pretty nerdy list.

Besieged by fictionophiles, I threw out a few nonfiction favorites, and I thought it might be worthwhile to share a few here, and I'd love to hear your recommendations (from any genre) in the comments. I read a lot of policy books, but whenever I'm interested in a topic, I always start with something relatively light to ease my way in. So these aren't like textbooks or anything, but rather something like beneficial gateway drugs for their respective subjects.

My favorite of all may just be The Omnivore's Dilemma, by Michael Pollan. An astonishing, interesting, and funny look up and down the food chain, and one that will change the way you read food labels, dig into a steak, or decide whether to buy organic. It's not preachy, just great, and it reveals the awful corporate structures and incentives behind the food industry. It also inspired my personal fascination with food policy. (Bonus food book: Mindless Eating, by Brian Wansink. Omnivore's Dilemma tells you you're eating crap; this tells you why you eat so much of it. Here's a hint: it's not because you're really that hungry. Full of fun food study stories in the course of a breezy narrative.)

Last summer I decided to learn about health care policy, and there's no better place to start doing so than Jonathan Cohn's Sick. A painless but highly educational read, and Cohn deftly combines the stories of real people with a discussion of the decline of American health care, including where it is (as well as where it should be) headed. (Advanced level bonus book: Understanding Health Policy by Bodenheimer and Grumbach. It's the only textbook on the list, but really really worthwhile if you're willing to put in the time.)

For a brilliant introduction into economics and globalization, there's Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy, by Pietra Rivoli. It's a super easy read that literally tracks the construction of a t-shirt, from Texas cotton to Chinese factories to US consumers to used re-sale in Tanzania. (Next level: Globalization and its Discontents, by Joseph Stiglitz. A persuasive argument that globalization has not benefited as many people as it could, due to structural flaws in international financial institutions as well as limited information and imperfect competition.)

From my usual topic, foreign policy, it's hard to find good overview books -- as the market it dominated by coverage of specific issues or regions -- but Anne-Marie Slaughter recently crafted a fantastic intro text, a remarkable book titled The Idea that is America. Clocking in at just over 200 pages, it's an insightful but digestible exploration of American foreign policy goals throughout history, with a focus on the values of the modern era. (And although I certainly don't agree with it all, Kissinger's Does America Need a Foreign Policy?, while much more dense, is absolutely worth reading as well.)

And finally, to read to your kids after they've exhausted themselves playing outside are a couple of my favorites from my (much) younger years. Good Night, Mr. Tom, by Michelle Magorian, in which an adorable and terrified kid is evacuated to the English countryside to live with a gruff -- but ultimately lovable! -- old dude. Also, Bert Breen's Barn, by Walter Edmonds. They don't write 'em like this anymore (published in 1975); it's a simple plot (kid sees barn, wants to buy it to help his family) but amazing writing, and one of relatively few "kids" or "young adult" books that doesn't condescend to the reader.

So enjoy, and let me know what else we should be checking out in the comments! Read the rest of this post...

You know times are tough when this happens

Spam sales are up. And can anyone explain why Spam is so popular in Hawaii?

Read the rest of this post...

By the end of June, we're going to have a Democratic civil war

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is quoted today as saying that if there is no resolution to the Florida and Michigan delegate matter by the end of June, she's going to weigh in. While we will always adore the Speaker here at AMERICAblog (hey, gay men have a thing for smart beautiful women, what can I say?), there are a few problems here.

1. Stepping in at the end of June?

Why not next Christmas? This matter is going to be resolved on Saturday when the rules committee meets. Why should a party leader be giving Hillary the green light to drag this thing out another month? Including June, we have five months to take down John McCain. If we cede Hillary another month to get her temper tantrum under control, then we lose 20% of the time left to go after McCain. That's hardly insignificant. It's also 20% more time for Hillary to take fundraising dollars away from the DNC and our congressional candidates, 20% more time for Obama to have to keep dealing with her bs when he should be focusing on McCain, and 20% less time to heal our collective wounds and re-unify the party in time for victory.

2. Pelosi said nothing about intervening to end the race.

Note that Pelosi didn't say that she'd intervene by the end of June if we don't have a nominee by then. She said that she'd intervene if the situation with the Florida and Michigan delegates was still unresolved. What if Hillary comes up with another reason, unrelated to Florida and Michigan, to drag this thing out. For example, she's already argued publicly that delegates (both super and regular) can and should switch their allegiances at will. What if she says she's staying in the race for a while to keep talking to the delegates? What if she says she's putting her campaign on hold but not conceding - you know, "just in case" (nudge nudge wink wink)?

We are going to know by this Saturday the final number of delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination. That's the day the Florida and Michigan situation will be resolved. In the 3 days following, we'll have the final primaries. By next Tuesday night, it's over. We'll know the final delegate count, and we'll know the final number of delegates needed. And it's very likely that within 24 hours - by Wednesday - Obama will have the total delegates needed to be our nominee.

If this race goes one day beyond next Wednesday, it will be one day too long.

We have put up with Hillary's electoral therapy for too long. By Wednesday we will know our nominee. And we'll also know whether Hillary wants us to win in the fall or lose. Next Wednesday is the day you need to step in, Speaker Pelosi. Because by the end of the month - hell, by next Thursday - we're going to have all out war break out in this party. Read the rest of this post...

Clinton delegate/DNC protest organizer: "It should go to the floor"

Clinton delegate Allida Black was just on MSNBC. Brown was introduced as a Clinton supporter who is organizing protests at this weekend's DNC Rules committee meeeting. When asked what she'd do if she and her group aren't satisfied with the results of Saturday's DNC meeting, Brown said:

Well, I can't speak for the campaign. All I can speak for is myself as a Clinton delegate and as a founding member of Women PAC. We want every vote counted and we will continue to organize. We will continue to speak out and we will continue to pressure the party to stand up to its principles. And that's why we have a convention. It should go to the floor.

So, if they don't get their way, they're apparently willing to destroy the party. How principled. 48 states followed the rules, two didn't. As for principled, Ms. Black should meet Senator Geller, for whom she is fighting, yet who mocked following the party's rules.
Read the rest of this post...

Former prostitute says: "I knew Scott better than any other White House correspondent or Washington reporter."

We have a policy of not caring very much what former male hooker and GOP White House "reporter" Jeff Gannon (aka James Guckert) says about anything. His time has passed, and he's not a terribly credible source. But when a former male hooker (read our story here), who suddenly appeared in the White House a month before we invaded Iraq, and used to get called on by name by McClellan and George Bush, starts talking about how he knew the White House press secretary "better than everyone else," it still raises some questions that deserve an answer. Gannon/Guckert just wrote this on his Web site:

What I hear about the book does not sound like the Scott McClellan I knew for two years. I can say without fear of contradiction, that I knew Scott better than any other White House correspondent or Washington reporter.

Then again, if Gannon/Guckert wants anyone to listen to him about this or any other issue, he should explain just how and why he knew McClellan so well and stop playing games. Otherwise we're just going to ignore him for another year. Read the rest of this post...

Gay marriage opponent can't come up with reason he opposes it

O'Reilly had a gay marriage opponent on last night. When O'Reilly pressed the guy on why he opposed letting gay couples marry, the guy couldn't come up with an answer. It's was weird (check it out, about 3:00 minutes into the tape). And O'Reilly kept pressing him, which was even weird. It reminded me of Tweety pressing that radio host nutjob about who Neville Chamberlain was. Now, you have to remember, that O'Reilly doesn't really care about gay marriage as an issue. He said during an interview several years back that he was fine with gays marrying. Then the religious right got upset with him and suddenly O'Reilly went all fire-breathing again. Makes you wonder. Read the rest of this post...

44

I can see the light. Read the rest of this post...

Right-wing blogger tries to dig up more dirt on Obama and Buchenwald

Hilarity ensues. Read the rest of this post...

DNC should resolve MI and FL issue on Saturday. Pelosi says it could all wrap up next week. (P.S. It should)

On Saturday, at a hotel a couple blocks from my building, the DNC's Rules and By-law Committee will meet to decide the fate of Florida and Michigan. Clearly, most of the key players want to wrap this up. Based on the reports circulating, it looks like those two states, which broke the rules, will be punished by having only half their delegations seated. That's the same punishment inflicted by the RNC on Michigan and Florida. The end could be in sight -- and Speaker Nancy Pelosi says it could end next week and won't go to the convention:

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she will step in if necessary to make sure the presidential nomination fight between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama does not reach the Democratic National Convention - though she believes it could be resolved as early as next week.

Pelosi predicted Wednesday that a presidential nominee will emerge in the week after the final Democratic primaries on June 3, but she said "I will step in" if there is no resolution by late June regarding the seating of delegates from Florida and Michigan, the two states that defied party rules by holding early primaries.

"Because we cannot take this fight to the convention," she said. "It must be over before then."

She's right. Pelosi and other Democratic leaders have to make sure it is over next week.

The X factor is, of course, the Clintons and how far they are willing to continue their losing battle. John Cole agrees with Rachel Maddow that the Clintons will take this all the way to the convention. And, there's plenty of evidence pointing in that direction. The campaign is still riling up its supporters -- and Saturday is going to be a big day for them. But, at this point in the process -- in June of an election year -- is there really no better use of time and money than this?:

Saturday's pro-Clinton event is being co-organized by the Women Count PAC -- founded by five top Clinton supporters, including longtime friend and fundraiser Susie Tompkins Buell -- and a coalition of disparate other groups working under the umbrella of Count Every Vote '08.

Organizers said that they expect people to come from 26 states for the rally, as well as some major celebrity speakers, and that they are receiving logistical assistance or other support from the pro-Clinton United Federation of Teachers and Emily's List.

Count Every Vote '08 first came together in mid-March to lobby Democratic superdelegates on behalf of Clinton. Allida M. Black, project director and editor of the Eleanor Roosevelt papers at George Washington University, joined with Tompkins Buell to start Women Count PAC two weeks ago. They raised more than $250,000 and used the money to buy newspaper ads, including ones that ran in the New York Times over the weekend calling on female readers to attend Saturday's rally.

When I saw that full page ad, I couldn't help but think that money could be used to help elect more Democrats in the House or Senate. It's stunning that groups like EMILY's List are still pumping time and money into a losing cause when there are so many other worthy races that could use help. So many.

Maybe after Saturday, the founders of "Count Every Vote '08" can start a new campaign to help the Clinton campaign pay off its debt. The new group could be called "Pay Every Bill '08." Of course, a better use of time and resources would be a campaign called "Elect Every Democrat '08." Read the rest of this post...

Condi stands by her war

I really have no use for Scott McClellan. That said, his book has pushed the politics of the Iraq war front and center again. Seemed the traditional media, most of which never questioned the start of the war, had lost interest in continuation of the endless war. But, Scott's telling of the propaganda effort to sell the war has forced the DC pundit and press corps to pay attention -- and it's making GOPers to reiterate support for the debacle. On cue, Condi stepped out today:

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice defended on Thursday the Bush administration's record in Iraq after sharp criticism of the war in a new book by a former White House spokesman.

"We did some things well, some things not so well," said Rice, who was national security adviser when the Iraq war began in 2003. "The one thing that I am certain was not a mistake was to liberate the Iraqi people from Saddam Hussein."

John McCain has been traveling around the country espousing his fervent support for Bush's war. Clearly, McCain wants to continue that legacy. Read the rest of this post...

Thursday Morning Open Thread

Good morning.

Like I said yesterday, Scotty McClellan's book would set off a major intra-Team Bush cat fight -- and it did. Scotty did a long interview with Meredith Viera this morning. She was quoting to Scotty a lot the trash talk from his former colleagues. They're furious with him and not holding back. It's vicious. Love it. Keep it up.

Five more days til the primaries are over. Five days til this nomination is wrapped up -- unless Clinton takes the battle to the convention. Don't think that's out of the question.

What else? Read the rest of this post...

Does the US hate science?

No, but the Republicans certainly do. This is just another example of how the GOP is forcing the decline of the US on the world scene. The religious right fringe element that lives in fear of science continues to be the cornerstone of the GOP. If they weren't, McCain wouldn't be sending Lieberman to continue the outreach program with the likes of John Hagee.

Some of the nation's leading scientists, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's top science adviser, today sharply criticized the diminished role of science in the United States and the shortage of federal funding for research, even as science becomes increasingly important to combating problems such as climate change and the global food shortage.

Read the rest of this post...

UK joins cluster bomb ban

The US is still against a ban and did not participate in the conference, joining China and Russia who were also recently highlighted by Amnesty International as human rights violators, though on issues outside of cluster bombs. Fine company we're keeping these days in the world community. Good for the UK though for doing what's right.

Britain will lead the way in scrapping all its cluster bombs, the Prime Minister announced yesterday before diplomats from more than 100 countries later unanimously passed a treaty to ban the use of the bombs around the world.

Overruling the objections of defence chiefs, Gordon Brown said the UK would abandon its entire stockpile as a key step in the long-running campaign against the weapons.

Later last night, delegates in Dublin also agreed to destroy any stockpiles of the weapons within the next eight years. The agreement does not include the US, China or Russia. But it was hailed as a triumph by campaigners last night. Simon Conway, co-chair of Cluster Munitions Coalition, said: "It's a combination of years of work and we are extremely happy. The bombs have been criticised for killing and maiming civilians in war zones all over the world.

Read the rest of this post...