Tim Russert lets Gingrich walk all over him

Newt Gingrich told Tim Russert today that Saddam had a direct relationship with Al Qaeda. Of course, Bush has found zero evidence to suggest any such thing - that's an outright lie from Gingrich. The thing is, any of us hearing Gingrich say this, we'd immediately say "woah, wait a minute, where did you get that?" And in fact, we'd probably say "Mr. Gingrich, the supposed linkage was disproven years ago, there is no evidence whatsoever. Why are you even saying this?"

Russert said zero.

I'd like to think that in the heat of the moment, in the middle of a talk show, you miss some things. And having been on shows like this, though not on this particular show, I know what's it like to have people after the fact say "why didn't you say this or that?"

But.

Gingrich brings up one of the biggest lies of the entire war, that Saddam had ties to Al Qaeda, and America's top journalists still don't bat an eye, after everything that's happened, after all the lies they've been fed, and after the disastrous consequences that have come from those lies. That is just sloppy and unprofessional.

At some point, US journalists need to get back to their roots. You are not a fair journalist, especially one hosting a top political TV show, if you let people spout garbage that you know, for a fact, to be patently false - especially when it's something as key to the entire war effort as Saddam's alleged ties to Al Qaeda, a falsehood that is no longer even debatable.

Please, listen to the people you're interviewing. And if they feed you an absolute lie, that you know is an absolute lie, don't just let it pass, or pair it off with someone else alleging the truth. It isn't fair, it isn't balanced, and it isn't journalism when you pass along lies that you know to be lies. Read the rest of this post...

Looks like Bush HAS decided to send the National Guard to patrol the Mexican border

How long until a US National Guardsman shoots a poor Mexican man, woman or child trying to cross the border seeking a better life? Then what happens? Answer: Riots in most American cities. DC had its own riots, like a lot of cities, a few decades back and some neighborhoods are still paying the price. This plan is insane. But again, Bush is opting for a knee-jerk publicity stunt without thinking through what's going to happen next. The National Guard's job is to shoot people, and when they do, and they surely will, all hell is going to break loose.

The man is insane. Actually, he's desperate and incompetent. Oh, and by the way, putting aside the fact that our military is already far too overstretched, how much money is this little adventure going to cost the taxpayers? Or can't you put a price on Latino-bashing for votes?

From Reuters. Read the rest of this post...

You know Bush is in trouble when...

...uber-conservative Holocaust-minimizing homophobes like Mel Gibson think he's gone too far.

(Hat tip to Tony, I stole his line :-) Read the rest of this post...

Something stinks in the UK

I love cheese and I adore a nice Stilton, but a perfume? At least something will stink more than Blair and his botched governing. Read the rest of this post...

2nd Poll: Majority of Americans disapprove of Bush, NSA, Verizon, AT&T; and BellSouth spying on you

A second poll. I think we cleared that matter up. Atrios has the details. Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

News? Read the rest of this post...

Laura Bush: Republicans should not use gay marriage ban as campaign issue

Okay, this is rather interesting.

Usually Laura Bush comes out simply to buck up her husband's sagging polls. But this time she chose to speak out about against the anti-gay amendment, or at least against the Republicans using the anti-gay constitutional amendment in the fall campaign. That's interesting.

Now, sure, it's possible this is part of the White House ploy to make Bush look nicer. Sure, he's trying to ban gays in the Constitution, but he doesn't think this is a political issue. So yeah she's giving him cover. But there's more. Her comments are not helpful to Republicans who very much plan to use this issue in the fall campaign - it's the only reason they're bringing this issue up, to help energize their base in the fall congressional elections. So for Mrs. Bush to say "don't you dare," that's not helpful, especially since it's now the quote we all need to use every single time a Republican tries to bring up gay marriage against the Democrats.

Hey, even Mrs. Bush says you're out of line. Read the rest of this post...

Public prefers Bill Clinton to George Bush 2 to 1

Sucks to be a Republican nowadays, doesn't it? Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

Please stop sending me emails about Rove supposedly being indicted. I don't mean to knock anyone's reporting, but if Rove were indicted 36 hours ago, I think we'd all have heard about it by now. If I'm wrong, then my sincere apologies to those who got the scoop - but at this point, my pointy foil hat is saying "bull." Read the rest of this post...

RCN cable makes bizarre vague statement about NSA scandal

RCN, the cable TV, Internet and phone provider released a statement today that the media, wrongly, is interpreting as RCN saying they didn't divulge any customer information to the NSA. For example, today's story from CNET:

RCN Corporation, which offers cable, phone and Internet services, released a statement Friday afternoon assuring its customers that it had not contributed to the NSA's reportedly vast database of Americans' phone call records.

In fact, that's not what the RCN statement says at all.

RCN's statement says nothing at all about the company not giving its customer info to the NSA. The company's statement, which I will give you below, reiterates the same legal mumbo jumbo about not releasing any information without "legal process" that Verizon, AT&T;, and BellSouth have used in attempt to cover up their massive betrayal of their customers' privacy. What is "legal process," the NSA saying it's legal? And besides that, RNC never says that they in fact did NOT turn over their customers' information.

Interestingly enough, the only part of the RCN press release that denies giving info the NSA is the title of the press release. The release itself says nothing of the kind. Here's the entire statement:

RCN Statement on Alleged National Security Agency's Warrantless Surveillance Program; Company Did Not Provide Info, Will Only Comply When Required by Legal Process

HERNDON, Va., May 12, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- RCN Corporation (NASDAQ: RCNI), a leading provider of triple play cable, high-speed internet and phone services, provided a statement on the alleged National Security Agency's Warrantless Surveillance Program.

"We are committed to the privacy and confidentiality of our customers' personally identifiable information. RCN maintains a privacy policy under which RCN does not disclose such information unless disclosure is required by legal process," said Richard Ramlall, RCN's Senior Vice President, Strategic & External Affairs.

Specifically, the RCN privacy policy states: "RCN will consider personally identifiable information that is collected and kept about any person to be confidential and will disclose it to a third party only if ... (iii) disclosure is required pursuant to a request for specific customer information to comply with a Subpoena, Court Order, and/or other legal instrument, legal proceeding or relevant law, specifically as it pertains to the US Patriot Act.... "

Again, the title says the company "did not provide info" - yet the company's statement says nothing of the kind which makes the title simply wrong, since title's per se reflect what is to follow.

RCN has not publicly denied its involvement with the NSA scandal. Read the rest of this post...

Video of Al Gore on Saturday Night Live last night

It's worth a watch. Read the rest of this post...

It would be funny if it weren't so sad

A BBC article about the Stasi, the dreaded former East German secret police, includes the following photo and caption that is, I suppose, intended to chill us to our bone with evidence of how bad the Stasi was.
Read the rest of this post...

Sunday Talk Shows Open Thread

Domestic spying will be the hot topic...except for the wisdom we garner from Laura Bush.

Here's the line-up:

FOX NEWS SUNDAY...: First lady Laura Bush , author Mary Cheney and columnist Art Buchwald .

THIS WEEK (ABC)....: Sens. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.) and Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), actress Reese Witherspoon and Bush .

FACE THE NATION (CBS)...: Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.), Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) and national secuity adviser Stephen J. Hadley .

MEET THE PRESS (NBC)...: Former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and journalists John Harwood , Judy Woodruff and Jon Meacham .

LATE EDITION (CNN), 11 a.m.: Sens. Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.); Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul-Ilah al-Khatib , former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and Hadley .

Read the rest of this post...

BC professor resigns in protest of Condi graduation speech

Good for him. I agree with him that Condi is a liar and that is hardly an example to offer for graduating students. It's no surprise when an extremist right wing school brings in someone such as McCain but Boston College? What the hell?

But I am not writing this letter simply because of an objection to the war against Iraq. My concern is more fundamental. Simply put, Rice is a liar.

She has lied to the American people knowingly, repeatedly, often extravagantly over the past five years, in an effort to justify a pathologically misguided foreign policy.

Read the rest of this post...

Go ahead and tell me there's no problem with military recruiting

I read something about this the other day recruiters signing up borderline mentally handicapped new recruits and now CNN is reporting on the story of the US military forcing mentally ill troops into combat in Iraq. Of course, this is a complete violation of the law and I hope that people will be held responsible for this but let's just say that I won't hold my breath because no one except low level grunts ever seem to be held responsible. In typical military fashion, they're probably going to find women and/or minorities to blame if someone actually holds them accountable but that's a big "if" these days.

The Hartford Courant, citing records obtained under the federal Freedom of Information Act and more than 100 interviews of families and military personnel, reported numerous cases in which the military failed to follow its own regulations in screening, treating and evacuating mentally unfit troops from Iraq.

Read the rest of this post...

CIA may have lied to Congress about torture

I'm sure Congress will be very upset that the administration lied to them.

I made myself laugh. Read the rest of this post...