It's a miracle!!! Giuliani is suddenly PRO-GUN after a lifetime of being the most pro-gun-control Republican in the party!!!

Deathbed conversions just bring tears to my eyes.

So, he's flip-flopped on gay rights. On abortion. On gun control. Oh yeah, and he's the most famous American in the world!

NOTE FROM JOE: This is hysterical. I worked at Handgun Control, Inc. during the 90s. There were few elected officials who were as supportive of gun control as Rudy Giuliani. Here are a couple posts I've written about Rudy and guns over the past few months. I'll be doing more:

Rudy Giuliani and his amazingly good record on banning guns

Giuliani didn't talk about his support for national handgun licensing today in Georgia. Wonder why?

I bet Rudy forgot to mention his support for national handgun licensing at the NRA today, too.

The hysterical thing will be if Wayne LaPierre and his crew at the NRA fall for Rudy's "conversion." Read the rest of this post...

Cliff's Corner

The Week That Was 9/21/2007

Another week. More preposterousness to report.

Well what a week to be a Senator! First you get to reject that relatively recent concept of Habeas Corpus, you know the one that came in with Disco. Then you get to tell soldiers that aren't members of your family that the wacked notion of wanting to spend as much time at home as you do in Iraq taking fire for Bush's folly is simply insane. And finally, you get to pressing matters such as condemning a television ad, and 22 moronic Democrats fall for it, while the wide-stanced troglodytes of the GOP get to laugh so hard they fall out of their closets.

So Gopers who support the troops about as often as Britney Spears wears underwear again get to play dress up like they're at a Rudy Giuliani surprise party. Swell.

Making things even better, right-wing members of your party who run a merc unit that handles firearms like Dick Cheney post-Lowenbrau are causing an international uproar and President Bush even found a way to regress on the evolutionary scale in his press conference from anthropod to Allen, George.

Sometimes I wonder if I went into the wrong profession.

** I apologize for the shortened length of this piece and my sparse posting lately. I have been busy over at Brave New Films where I have a new(ish) gig, so please come on by and I will continue to write my Friday satire pieces here as often as possible :) Read the rest of this post...

The breastfeeding photos that Facebook found so offensive

I wrote about this yesterday. Here are a few of the banned "obscene" photos that Facebook took down. Note, as mentioned before, that Facebook has no problem hosting 250 pro-Anorexia groups that give young girls instructions on how to starve themselves to death.





Read the rest of this post...

A top US general in Iraq says US media is losing the war in Iraq

Yeah, because we wouldn't want to blame Maj. Gen. Rick Lynch himself for killing all his men in a horribly executed war. Oh no. His men are dying, Iraq is going to hell in a handbasket, it's not even safe for US government officials to travel by land in Iraq anymore, all because of ABC News (he also blames the other networks, including FOX!).

First Petraeus falls apart at the seams because he was called a mean name, and now this Lynch character can't even win a war because some TV station 6000 miles away is somehow affecting the effectiveness of his street patrols. So let me get this straight: We expect Petraeus and Lynch to handle Al Qaeda when they can't even handle one of the blonde bimbos on FOX?

I'm really beginning to think that these generals of ours are a bunch of immature, spineless, whiny children who found their commissions at the bottom of a box of Cracker Jack. Read the rest of this post...

Bush raises half a million for MoveOn

Maybe we could get him to attack AMERICAblog too? From Eli Pariser, the Executive Director of MoveOn.

Dear MoveOn member,

Yesterday, an amazing thing happened. After the Senate's shameful vote, and after President Bush called MoveOn "disgusting," our email started to fill up with messages like this one:

I'm currently in Iraq. I do not agree with this war, and if I did support this war, it would not matter. You have the RIGHT to speak the truth. We KNOW that you support us. Thank you for speaking out for being our voice. We do not have a voice. We are overshooted by those who say that we soldiers do not support organizations like MoveOn. WE DO.

YOU ARE OUR voice.

And then came the donations. By midnight, over 12,000 people had donated $500,000—more than we've raised any day this year—for our new ad calling out the Republicans who blocked adequate rest for troops headed back to Iraq.

The message from MoveOn members was loud and clear: Don't back down. Take the fight back to the issues that matter.

So today we're shooting for a very ambitious goal: Reach $1 million so we can dramatically expand the campaign we launched yesterday going after politicians who support this awful war. Can you chip in $25 toward our goal?

All day, messages from vets and military family members kept pouring into our email, many of them aimed at the Senate:

I have given a son to this country. My brother, my father, my uncle have all served honorably and bravely. I am a loyal American. I am outraged and sick to death of the tactics this administration uses to try to silence dissent to a war that is unjust, built and maintained on lies, political power, and greed. I was content to let others fight more loudly, but no more.
–Sharyn W., NC

I am a prior soldier who served in Iraq for 13 months, and am now an expecting mom with a husband who is deployed in Baghdad. I don't think I can ever forgive the Bush administration for the lies that tricked America into this war and hurt my family so badly. I am ashamed of those American politicians who would condemn an organization for practicing the Freedom of Speech that so many soldiers have died for.
–Danielle B., OH

As a US Navy veteran and an Iraq war veteran of over a year I want to ask, What has happened to us? What has happened to our voice? Where is this country going with stopping free speech and free press? ... Every time I think of the long nights I had in Anbar remembering what I was fighting for, well here it is....
–Ahmad H., LA

These folks have made sacrifices many of us can't imagine. Their charge to us was clear: keep speaking the truth about how President Bush and the Republicans have betrayed our trust.

So we're going to expand our ad campaign—keep it on the air longer and run it against other politicians who helped block adequate rest time for our troops. Can you chip in $25 to do it?

And still the messages kept coming ...

I've had three nephews serve since 2002, one of whom was killed in Anbar Province. I have a fourth nephew at Quantico training. I want this war over before he is deployed and before any more of our soldiers are sacrificed.
–Michele R., NE

Three members of my family are military. Two Marines have served in Iraq and an Army Lt. is deploying in November. If we had all spoken out when the administration used General Powell perhaps we would not be in this mess.
–Carol B., PA

As a Marine I served for many reasons but one of them was to allow people the freedom of speech, whether I agreed with it or not. Wearing a uniform does not mean someone isn't a shill, is spewing propaganda, and downright lies. MoveOn has every right to buy an ad and say what they want about a public figure. This administration has lied to us, deceived us, misled us and when posed with a challenge this is how they respond?
–Keith G., VA

The Senate won't pass a policy to end the war or even to make sure our troops in the field have enough rest time between deployments, but they hold votes to crack down on millions of Americans who are upset about the war?

Well—it isn't going to work. We put together a hard-hitting ad that highlights how Republicans failed our troops and if we can raise enough money today, we'll air it across the country. Please help if you can:

For all of us on the MoveOn staff, this week was a bit of a rollercoaster—MoveOn was attacked by nearly the entire Republican party, while too many Democrats ran for the hills. But what kept us going were messages like these—and the incredible privilege we feel to serve all 3.2 million Americans in MoveOn.org.

When the story is written of how the Iraq war ended, you will be the heroes. Thank you.

Read the rest of this post...

Maine GOP Senator Susan Collins votes against ending Iraq war

Even Olympia voted for it, but Susan just couldn't bring herself to break with her hero, George Bush. From the Maine Democratic party:

Susan Collins continued her support for the war in Iraq today with yet another vote against troop withdrawal. Her vote against Levin-Reed today shows that her support for this war is stronger than ever, said Carol Andrews, Communications Director for the Maine Democratic Party.

"With this vote today, the senator told Mainers once again that she stands as firmly with President Bush and his disastrous war today as she did four and a half years ago. Susan Collins could have shown the leadership of her Republican colleagues Gordon Smith, Chuck Hagel and Maine's senior senator, Olympia Snowe in supporting a bipartisan solution, but she stuck to her guns and her plan to continue the war," Andrews said.

"Senator Collins's plan simply shuffles the deck chairs on the Titanic and keeps 100,000 U.S. troops on the ground in Iraq engaged in an endless religious civil war."

In stark contrast to Collins' record, Tom Allen voted against authorization for the war and has been an outspoken critic ever since. Allen wants Congress to set a deadline for withdrawal to bring our troops home and has consistently voted for withdrawal.

"Tom Allen led on this issue when it wasn't popular. He stood up to the White House and continues to do so. Susan Collins supported President Bush's war from Day One and is unwavering in her support," Andrews said.

Read the rest of this post...

Giuliani says he'll pay for his proposed tax cut with another tax cut

AP

Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani said Friday that the alternative minimum tax — which is expected to generate as much as $1 trillion over the next 10 years — could be eliminated by balancing it out with even more tax cuts.

Giuliani's remarks prompted a bewildered response from his audience of technology executives. Both Republicans and Democrats said they assumed that the candidate must have misspoke as he responded to a question about the tax and its affect the middle class....

Giuliani told the 700-member audience of the Northern Virginia Technology Council that he wants to cap the tax, and perhaps eventually eliminate it altogether.

"Over time we can figure out how to eliminate it. ... If we were going to eliminate it, though, we'd have to balance it with additional tax cuts," Giuliani said, leaving confused expressions on his audience. "That might be by making the Bush tax cuts permanent."

It's rather clear that he didn't misspeak. Giuliani is playing a cute game of pandering to the right, saying things he doesn't believe, and now he's tripping over his lies. Read the rest of this post...

Reed-Levin amendment fails in Senate - does worse than last time

This is rather pathetic. Read the rest of this post...

Another bait and switch by the Bush spinmeisters -- and the punditry falls for it

Dana Milbank explains just how Bush got the MoveOn question yesterday. Surprise!!! It came from the religious-right-owned Washington Examiner's reporter (who used to work for the Washington Times and is a frequent guest on Fox News -- it's all in the family):

In need of a pick-me-up, Bush looked toward the back of the room and found "Big Stretch," the conservative journalist Bill Sammon of the Washington Examiner. Sammon obliged, asking whether Bush thinks Democrats should repudiate MoveOn.org's ad attacking Gen. David Petraeus.

Bingo -- another chance to criticize Democrats in Congress.

Bingo. The right wing spin machine in action.

So, the Today Show led with a discussion about the MoveOn ad, not the real, endless war. Eli Pariser from MoveOn looked even more sane and rational when pitted against Laura Ingraham. And, Tim Russert breathlessly contemplated the political implications. Russert and the crew fall for the right wing bait and switch --- again. The MoveOn bashing is clearly being led by the Bush spin team. They'd rather talk about anything than the real war. They must just sit back and laugh at how easy it is to manipulate the media after all these years.

I won't even get into the pathetic display in the Senate yesterday. But if South Park created a stereotypical Senate buffoon, John Cornyn from Texas would be a great model.

Our friends at
FoxAttacks again document how Fox carries the water:
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Friday Morning Open Thread

Still waiting for George Bush, the Senate and the punditry to condemn Republican House leader John Boehner for saying the deaths of our troops in Iraq is a "small price." That's an outrage, especially coming from the leader of the Republican party so willing to send troops to die in an endless war.

And, how hard is it to do a morning open thread? The morning people need our open thread.

So, thread away. Read the rest of this post...

More signs of progress in Iraq

Cholera is confirmed in Baghdad for the first time since 2003. What successful democracy is complete without a cholera outbreak that is due to people fleeing their homes to avoid sectarian violence and killings?

Al-Gasseer said health authorities were concerned the disease could spread because of the movement of people within Iraq's borders. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people have been forced to flee their homes because of violence.

A disease that would otherwise be easily treatable has been made all the more dangerous because of Iraq's precarious security situation following the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Read the rest of this post...

$6 billion under review, $88 billion under audit at Pentagon

The culture of corruption through the Bush II/GOP Congress years is sinking to new lows every day. Why are Republicans always so concerned about tax money when it's their friends at the top but for most Americans who are stuck funding the bulk of this war, the problems never are resolved? Oh sure, there's outrage and plenty of talk, but what has to happen for the GOP to take action as they do if we're talking about a tax cut for the wealthiest Americans? Then it seems to be critical and the world will end in five minutes of tax cuts are not launched that very second. Meanwhile, we have problems such as this over and over and over.

Military officials said Thursday that contracts worth $6 billion to provide essential supplies to American troops in Kuwait, Iraq and Afghanistan — including food, water and shelter — were under review by criminal investigators, double the amount the Pentagon had previously disclosed.

In addition, $88 billion in contracts and programs, including those for body armor for American soldiers and matériel for Iraqi and Afghan security forces, are being audited for financial irregularities, the officials said.

Taken together, the figures, provided by the Pentagon in a hearing before the House Armed Services Committee, represent the fullest public accounting of the magnitude of a widening government investigation into bid-rigging, bribery and kickbacks by members of the military and civilians linked to the Pentagon’s purchasing system.

Read the rest of this post...

Buddhist monks in Myanmar excommunicate junta, protest again

While this may not sound like much in the western world, this means everything in Myanmar where the population is very Buddhist. Taking firm action like this is incredibly bold and potentially dangerous, as in deadly.

Thousands of Buddhist monks marching in defiance of Burma's oppressive military regime have decided to excommunicate the government and its supporters by refusing alms or donations from anyone linked to the junta. At one of several ceremonies held before saffron-robed clerics marched peacefully through the former colonial capital, Rangoon, and other cities this week, the monks vowed to refuse offerings from the "pitiless soldier kings" in charge of the country now known as Myanmar.

"Reverend clergy, may you listen to my words," a Buddhist abbot told one such gathering. "The violent, mean, cruel, ruthless, pitiless kings – the great thieves who live by stealing from the national treasury – have killed a monk at Pakokku and also arrested reverend clergymen by trussing them up with rope. They beat and tortured, verbally abused and threatened them.

"The clergy ... must boycott the violent, mean, cruel, ruthless, pitiless soldier kings. They must also refuse donations and preaching. This is to inform, advise and propose."

With the monks entering their fourth day of protest which is unheard of in Myanmar, tensions have to be high. In a country where government control is enforced through arrest, torture and hard labor this is an absolutely incredible display of peaceful protest for human rights. Think of the US civil rights movements in the 1950s and 1960s or Gandhi in India. Read the rest of this post...