Right-wing blogosphere: Sloppy or just liars?

The Daou Report reports that the top right-wing blogs are going nuts over the fact that the Quakers are holding a series of memorials across the nation to mourn the upcoming passing of the 2,000th US soldier killed in Iraq.

Of course, it's hard to get riled up over a Quaker. But not to fear. The top right-wing blogs - with Little Green Footballs and Michelle Malkin leading the way - are libeling the Quakers by calling their candlelight vigils "parties," ostensibly, one infers, to celebrate the deaths of American soldiers.

Are LGF and Malkin sloppy or just liars. You decide. Read the rest of this post...

Bush ruins field trip for 100 kindergartners

So not kidding.

One hundred Brentwood kindergartners, many dressed in costumes, were all set to go see "The Wizard of Oz" on Friday when their first-ever field trip was blocked by the nation's 43rd president.

They never got to see the wizard.

President George W. Bush, his Marine One helicopter grounded by fog, brought morning rush hour to a standstill while his motorcade proceeded from West Los Angeles through the San Fernando Valley to Simi Valley for the dedication of the Air Force One Pavilion.

"We had buses all loaded up - but by the time they got to school it was too late," said Julie Fahn, a volunteer mom at Kenter Canyon Elementary in Brentwood, where girls had dressed as Dorothy to see the play performed in Malibu.

"My poor children - they were so disappointed. They're all so sad. They were inconvenienced by a silly motorcade down Sunset (Boulevard)."....

For the children of Kenter Canyon Elementary who had planned to see "The Wizard of Oz" at Pepperdine University, their buses were 90 minutes late. They missed the last performance and will not be given a rain check on $6 tickets.

"All the Kenter Canyon parents, they are not happy with (Bush) right now," said Fahn, 33, whose 5-year-old twin girls had prepared for their field trip for months. "He's not at the top of any list.

"The kids did not see the wizard."

Read the rest of this post...

And another open thread, while we're at it

I didn't realize our last one was at 4pm. Hop to it. Read the rest of this post...

Media Matters corrects the top GOP lies about RoveGate

Good job. Read the rest of this post...

Iraqi Poll: Attacks on US/Brit soldiers "justified"

Not that there was much doubt, but the Iraqis aren't loving their "liberators":

Forty-five percent of Iraqis believe attacks on U.S. and British troops are justified, according to a secret poll said to have been commissioned by British defense leaders and cited by The Sunday Telegraph.

Less than 1 percent of those polled believed that the forces were responsible for any improvement in security, according to poll figures.

Eighty-two percent of those polled said they were "strongly opposed" to the presence of the troops.

The paper said the poll, conducted in August by an Iraqi university research team, was commissioned by the Ministry of Defense.

So, we're pretty much viewed as hostile invaders. They hate us.

This quagmire is the legacy of the WORST PRESIDENT EVER. Read the rest of this post...

"Nightmare prospect" or Fitzmas?

Yet another article about the impending shake-up at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW:

It's a nightmare prospect that Republicans have trouble fathoming: legal problems that could drive some of the president's most powerful aides from office.

A special prosecutor and grand jury are closing in on a deadline to decide whether to lodge criminal complaints against presidential adviser Karl Rove and White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby in the outing of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame, the wife of Iraq war critic Joseph Wilson.

They're putting a lot of thought in to who gets the new jobs over at the WH, but this is the best suggestion I've seen yet:

But one White House official, noting that Bush's senior staff is tired of the long hours and increasing pressure, has told colleagues it might be best if everyone closest to the president resign and clear the way for new blood and fresh perspectives.

It will be best if they resign and go to jail. Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

Slow day. Take it easy. Need to recharge our reserves for Fitzmas. Read the rest of this post...

SEC taking action against Refco - $545 Million in question

Hundreds of millions in funny money, hedge funds worries and more questions about who actually looked into their books. They only started trading on the NYSE in August, so who in the hell actually promoted this dog with fleas? Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse First Boston, underwriters for the IPO, seem to be back to the days of hyping rubbish to suckers. How could they not know that there was such a mess?

How many times are investors going to get clobbered on Wall Street and why would anyone want to invest with yet another case of insider abuse? So let's hear from the apologists who always insist that industry can self-regulate. Read the rest of this post...

Open Thread

Not many shopping days left til Fitzmas.... Read the rest of this post...

Harriet pull out?

So says the front page above-the-fold article today in the Reverend Moon's paper:

The White House has begun making contingency plans for the withdrawal of Harriet Miers as President Bush's choice to fill a seat on the Supreme Court, conservative sources said yesterday.

"White House senior staff are starting to ask outside people, saying, 'We're not discussing pulling out her nomination, but if we were to, do you have any advice as to how we should do it?' " a conservative Republican with ties to the White House told The Washington Times.

The White House denied making such calls.

"Absolutely not true," White House spokesman Trent Duffy said.

But the conservative political consultant said that he had received such a query from Sara Taylor, director of the Office of White House Political Affairs.

Miss Taylor denied making any such calls.

A second Republican, who is the leader of a conservative interest group and has ties to the White House, confirmed that calls are being made to a select group of conservative activists who are not employed by the government.

A strategic trial balloon or just wishful thinking by the right wingers? Reverend Moon's paper is the paper of record for the wingers. And, they do name the names of the WH staffers. Read the rest of this post...

Brownie still on the payroll

Please tell me this is not really happening. Who made this decision and why? Read the rest of this post...

Bird flu spreads in Europe

One new discovery is in the UK, though the bird arrived from South America a month ago. That's bad news if the serious H5N1 avian flu is present in South America as well but so far the tests are suggesting that it could be a difference strain and hopefully less dangerous to humans. At least the UK bird was in quarantine so chances of that spreading are limited. The other new cases come from Russia and Croatia.

Thank goodness the Bush team has a plan...for the lucky few. Read the rest of this post...

Friday orchid blogging

Oops, forgot. Well, we'll just pretend it's 13 minutes ago. This is the guy I posted to weeks ago, my Paph Charles Sladden - the one that was just opening. Well, he opened quite well, I think. There are two more buds growing now, so it should be in flower for quite a while - this flower is heading into its 3d week now.

Note: It's hard to capture the color correctly with a digital camera. The pouch color in the photo is a bit too psychedelic, the true color of the pouch is a bit more muted red, but the rest of the flower looks like that.

Read the rest of this post...