Marines start involuntarily recall

Because everything is going so well in Bush's two current wars:

The U.S. Marine Corps said Tuesday it has been authorized to recall thousands of Marines to active duty, primarily because of a shortage of volunteers for duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Up to 2,500 Marines will be brought back at any one time, but there is no cap on the total number of Marines who may be forced back into service in the coming years as the military battles the war on terror. The call-ups will begin in the next several months.

This is the first time the Marines have had to use the involuntary recall since the early days of the Iraq combat. The Army has ordered back about 14,000 soldiers since the start of the war.

Does make one wonder who exactly is going to fight the war with Iran next year that Bill Kristol was talking about this morning on FOX News. Watch the video at Think Progress. Read the rest of this post...

GOP Senator Conrad Burns and his "nice little Guatemalan man"

You just can't make this stuff up:

Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, whose re-election campaign is pressing for tighter immigration controls, referred to his house painter as "a nice little Guatemalan man" and suggested that worker as well employees of a roofing company he hired might be in the country illegally.

"The other day, the little fella who does our maintenance work around the house, he's from Guatemala, and I said, 'Could I see your green card?'" Burns said at a June meeting recorded by Democrats. "And Hugo says, 'No.' I said, 'Oh gosh.'....

Burns, who voted against a Senate bill this year that would have offered millions of illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship, also joked about the issue at a debate against his Democratic opponent, Jon Tester, earlier this year.

Burns' comments come on the heels of controversial remarks by Republican Sen. George Allen of Virginia, who called a Democratic staffer of Indian descent "Macaca." Indian-American groups and others criticized Allen for his racially insensitive comments after a video was posted on the Internet....

"Hugo is a nice little Guatemalan man who is doing some painting for me ... in Virginia," Burns told the audience, to laughter, after hanging up on the call. "No, he's terrific, love him."....

Conservatives and advocates for stricter immigration control said Burns crossed a line with his comments, even if they were said in jest.

"A U.S. senator hiring illegal immigrants is not a joke," said Michael Dougherty of The American Cause, a conservative group founded by Pat Buchanan that supports strict immigration controls. "He could easily dispirit his voting base."

"If you have the very people who are responsible for making the laws mocking them, it's a pretty good indication of why we have 12 million people breaking the law," said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for Federation for American Immigration Reform. An estimated 12 million illegal immigrants live in the United States....

Burns has used the issue of immigration in a campaign ad.

"Burns votes against amnesty," the ad announcer says, referring to the Senate bill. "It gives illegals Social Security and tuition with your taxes."

Burns, 71, has had to apologize in the past for controversial comments.

In July, he confronted members of a firefighting team at the Billings airport and told them they had done a "piss-poor job," according to a state report. The Hotshot crew had traveled 2,000 miles from Staunton, Va., to help dig fire lines for about a week around a 143-square-mile wildfire east of Billings.

The crew was awaiting flights home when Burns made his comments. The senator, who has a house in Billings, said he was expressing the frustration of ranchers who were critical of the way the fire was handled. He later apologized.

In 1999, Burns issued a written apology after referring to Arabs as "rag heads" during a speech while commenting on oil prices.

Read the rest of this post...

Americans aren't buying the Bush terror message this time

So far this year, the American people are rejecting Bush's political campaign based on terror. They're even starting to get the fact that Iraq and the war on terror aren't linked according to the latest NY Times poll:

Americans increasingly see the war in Iraq as distinct from the fight against terrorism, and nearly half believe President Bush has focused too much on Iraq to the exclusion of other threats, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

The finding that 51 percent of those surveyed see no link between the war in Iraq and the broader antiterror effort was a jump of 10 percentage points since June. It came despite the regular insistence of Mr. Bush and Congressional Republicans that the two are intertwined and should be seen as complementary elements of an overall strategy to prevent domestic terror attacks.

Should the trend hold, the increased skepticism could present a political obstacle for Mr. Bush and his allies on Capitol Hill, who are making their record on terrorism a central element of the midterm election campaign. The Republicans hope the public’s desire for forceful action against terrorists will offset unease with the Iraq war and blunt the political appeal of Democratic calls to establish a timeline to withdraw American troops.

Doesn't bode well for the Rove strategy. It's still pathetic that only 51% of Americans see no link between Iraq and terror. But, that's better than it has been -- and it's happening while Bush and the GOP are trying to make the link.

Also, the poll found that Bush's approval is still at 36%. Read the rest of this post...

Open Thread

Just finished reading "Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq." Now, I'm going to watch Acts III and IV of Spike Lee's documentary "When The Levees Broke." Going from Bush's biggest international failure to Bush's biggest domestic failure.

Chat away. Read the rest of this post...

Embattled GOP Senator George Allen's campaign manager blames "liberal media" for Allen's racist comments

In a rather odd memo, Allen's campaign manager rambles for a long while about how the only person apparently not guilty of any wrongdoing in the affair is George Allen himself.

Particularly interesting is that the campaign manager claims Allen apologized to the guy he attacked. In fact, Allen has yet to talk to the student. He then claims that Allen said his comments were a mistake. But in fact, Allen said his comments were misinterpreted and in this very memo today the campaign manager said the entire issue was a fabrication of the "liberal media" and deserved no attention, and he even goes on to say that the entire story is simply the media and liberals "playing the race card."

So why did George Allen apologize (supposedly) and call "a mistake" something that is a concoction of the liberal media?

And this man wants to be president some day soon?

To: GOP leaders/Allen campaign leadership
From: Dick Wadhams, Campaign Manager
Re: Notes on a tough week
August 19, 2006

I think it is obvious that this past week was difficult one for Senator and Mrs. Allen and the campaign. It is very clear that the news media created what they call a "feeding frenzy", with the Washington Post alone doing major stories on the same issue for 5 consecutive days.

Literally putting words into Senator Allen's mouth that he did not say (by speculating, defining and attributing meanings and motives that simply are not true), the Webb campaign and the news media seeming worked hand-in-hand to create national news over something that did not warrant coverage in the first place.

Even after Senator Allen apologized to the Webb campaign staffer in specific, and to anyone who may have been offended in general, the news media continued to print and re-print the same speculations and inaccurate portrayals of Senator Allen's comments. Never in modern times has a statewide officeholder and candidate been so vilified in a desperate attempt to revive a campaign that was fast-sinking ? the Webb campaign.

Senator Allen has said that his comments were a mistake. Who among us has not made mistakes? In fact, how many of us could put in the hours of work, travel, meetings, campaigning, etc. that Senator Allen has over the years and make as few mistakes as he has?

Apparently the media's standard for candidates is now that they must be perfect, not human, and that no mistake or verbal gaffe is to be forgiven, no matter how much the candidate apologize. Will the Washington Post hold it's candidate for the U.S. Senate to the same standard? We will see, but I'm not holding my breath.

The bottom line for us, friends, is that same as it has always been. We cannot rely on the news media to get our positive, constructive message out to the voters. In fact, we cannot expect them to be objective, let along fair. As always, we have to do it together, getting our message directly to the voters.

Senator Allen has a long, positive, successful track record as a member of the House of Delegates and House of Representatives, as our Governor and now as our United States Senator.

There is hardly a place you can go in the Commonwealth that Senator Allen has not visited at least once or touched in some way. Senator Allen and Susan Allen have impacted the lives of tens of thousands of Virginians through their public service and volunteer activities. This is evident to anyone who has participated in a Listening Tour stop this year.

He was there long before his opponent discovered there were such places in Virginia. And, he will be there long after his opponent has faded from the scene.

Looking Ahead

There is no question that this is a tough year to run for the Senate as a Republican. The Democrats and their liberal constituency groups, such as MoveOn.org, are pouring millions of dollars into television attack ads, seeking to take control of the Senate and House. Rep. Thelma Drake has already been a target of their vicious attacks. We expect to see Senator Allen attacked in the same way.

The reason the Democrats run such negative campaigns and always play the race card, is that they have no positive ideas to run on. That is as true this year as in any other. The fact that they have attempted to make race an issue so early in the campaign is evidence of just how desperate they are.

Senator Allen summarizes his public service as making Virginia a better place to live, learn, work and raise a family. And, that's what this campaign is all about.

Senator Allen will win because he is right on the issues. He will win because he has done a great job as Senator and Governor. He will win because he has stayed in touch with Virginians and been responsive to their needs. He will win because he and Susan will work harded than anyone to get the job done.

And, Senator Allen will win because of your help and support. Now is the time to rally for Senator Allen and our Congressional candidates. Now is the time to get our positive message out door-to- door, by telephone and at fairs, festivals and meetings of all sizes.

You are the secret weapon that Senator Allen has always confounded the pundits with.

Let's show the liberal interest groups that by coming to Virginia, they have gotten more than they bargained for and that they need not bother us ever again!

Dick Wadhams, Campaign Manager

Read the rest of this post...

God damn cats just brought an enormous pigeon into the house

And it's one thing bringing in a dead pigeon. Oh no, couldn't do that. They brought a live one in. And it was quite healthy. And proceeded to race around the room with the cats running after it, at a safe distance of course. Well, Sushi raced after it at a safe distance. Nasdaq sat back about 7 feet and hissed at me like I was the problem, then she ran and hid under a chair behind half a curtain for the next 20 minutes, brave guard-cat that she is.

Sushi on the other hand, well, I'm not sure what Sushi thought he was doing. He kept following the bird, body pressed close to the carpet like the bird couldn't see him from a foot away. But he refused to attack. He just kept, well, teasing the damn thing. I kept saying "get him, Sushi, sic him!" and the damn cat would just look at me, then walk the wrong way. I had to literally carry him and put him down in the front of the bird. Brave, yes. Smartest cat on the block, not so much.

I ran to the hallway and rifled the closet - found some sheets, but they looked nice and figured Chris' wife would shoot me. So I tried to catch the thing with a towel while wearing oven mitts (didn't work so well). Next, tore through the kitchen and finally found just the trap. The salad-spinner thing that the French love so much. Threw that damn thing on the top of the bird, slipped a tray underneath, and got it out of here. Yeah, Chris' wife probably won't love that option either, but at this point, didn't really care.

The cats are now outside, I assume chasing the pigeon yet again since I can hear it flopping around. Fucking cats. Read the rest of this post...

Lieberman STILL thinks the Iraq war was a good idea, and he agrees with the far-right that it's America's job to rewrite the map for the entire world

He not only still thinks the Iraq war was a good idea, he would have supported the war even if Saddam didn't have WMD because Lieberman thinks it's the United States' job to rewrite the map of the Middle East, as if we can just snap our fingers and not only be the world's policemen, but the world's overlord. So what if it doesn't work. So what if we fail. So what if it's based on a total lie. No problem, Joe Lieberman still supports the Iraq war even though it's been a massive disaster. Joe Lieberman doesn't just agree with the Republicans, he agrees with the 35% of the Republicans, the far-right fringe of the party, who still think Iraq was a good idea.

That is why Joe Lieberman lost his primary.

Lieberman on the far-right conservative Glenn Beck radio show this morning:

BECK: I've been saying this before we even went into Iraq, that we're trying to change the face of the Middle East. The weapons of mass destruction was a nice side benefit. We were trying to go and pop the head of the snake in Iran. That's what we were trying to do. And I don't think anybody had the courage or could actually come out and say that with world politics the way they are.

LIEBERMAN: Well, you're right. And I think if I fault the administration for anything before the war -- 'cause I think we did the right thing in going in to overthrow Saddam -- it's that they oversold the WMD part of the argument....

Read the rest of this post...

Iraq is "nothing short of a miracle"

So says Senator James Inhofe. This may explain the GOP strategy -- Iraq is a miracle so we must stay the course.

Iraq, as Inhofe described it according to the Tulsa World, is a markedly different place than what the rest of the world seems to think it is:

Contrary to most reports, Inhofe said, many Iraqis are pleased about the U.S. intervention.

"Iraqi security forces now number 275,000 trained and equipped," he said. "The commanders in the field and the Iraqis say when this reaches 325,000, that would equal 10 divisions, and that's what we need to take care of our own security."

Inhofe has visited Iraq 11 times.

"What's happened there is nothing short of a miracle," he said.

Nevertheless, Inhofe said the current international situation makes him "wistful for the Cold War."

Inhofe should be campaigning for Joe Lieberman. Read the rest of this post...

Victory Fund creates Legal Defense Fund for Patricia Todd

The Victory Fund created a Legal Defense Fund for Patricia Todd, the lesbian who won her primary runoff on July 18th by 59 votes...the defense fund is needed to keep Todd's election victory from being stolen by the Alabama Democratic Party. The state party hearing is scheduled for Thursday -- the word from Birmingham is that Joe Reed, a Democratic party powerbroker in Alabama, is working very hard to strip Todd's election victory in favor of his chosen candidate.

Birmingham Blues has another update that includes what will probably unfold:

Regardless of the outcome of Thursday’s hearing, it’s expected that the result will be appealed to the State Democratic Executive Committee, which meets on Saturday in Montgomery (I’m still trying to find out time and place). From there, any appeals would be settled in court.

In Alabama, we're going to find out if having the most votes makes you the winner in the Democratic primary -- or if being the candidate of the powerbroker means you can win even if you lose. That sounds very Soviet, not very Democratic. Read the rest of this post...

CNN's Jack Cafferty says Lieberman is more a Republican than a Dem

From C&L;, they have the video of the entire thing:

Jack’s question - What does it mean when Republicans are supporting Democrat Joe Lieberman in the Connecticut Senate race?

CAFFERTY: "So what are the Republicans doing about all this. They are in effect saying the ‘hell with party loyalty’ and supporting Lieberman - the Democrat. See Lieberman is really more of a Republican than he is a Democrat".

Read the rest of this post...

Bush likes to fart in front of young aides

Seriously. This is who represents our government. Read the rest of this post...

Iran rejects nuclear halt

At first blush, it appears that this continues the international game of chicken between Iran and the UN.

Shorter Iran: We'll talk about suspending nuclear development but suspension can't be a precondition for talks.

Shorter UN: Suspend your nuclear efforts first, then we'll talk (and throw a bunch of economic incentives your way).

Iran reportedly will make a counteroffer of some kind, and it will be interesting to see the details of its "new formula for resolving the issue through talks." In the meantime, U.S. blunders in the region have left us relatively powerless to affect the course of this standoff. The Bush administration is pushing hard for tough sanctions, but sanctions simply aren't going to work on a country with that much oil wealth, and Saddam showed his neighbors how autocratic regimes can get around sanctions (and even use them to vilify the West to drum up domestic support).

I'm certainly not pleased about the specter of a nuclear Iran, so I hope negotiations bear fruit. On the other hand, none of the parties look ready to make concessions. Read the rest of this post...

Two polls show Lamont closing the gap

Not looking so good for the incumbent.

Talking Points Memo has the ARG poll: Lieberman 44%, Lamont 42%, Schlesinger 3%, Undecided 11%.

Atrios links to a Kos diary from Joel1954 with Rasmussen numbers: Lieberman 45%, Lamont 43%, Schlesinger 6%.

Since Lamont won the primary, he has faced a barrage of attacks from Lieberman and his GOP pals -- starting with Dick Cheney. Look what happened: he's within the margin of error in two polls. Read the rest of this post...

More evidence suggests that #2 official at State Dept also involved in Plame-gate

More from AP. Read the rest of this post...

Brits plan to cut and run from Iraq next year

Oh, that's right, it's not cutting and running when Bush and Blair talk about removing troops. Read the rest of this post...

Bush never plans to leave Iraq, no matter HOW bad or HOW hopeless it gets

This is a very important point that, oddly, Bush himself has openly admitted repeatedly. He plans to keep US troops in Iraq until the end of his term, period. We're not leaving. It doesn't matter how bad things get, how many Americans die, how much money it costs. It doesn't even matter how hopeless the situation becomes. He will NOT remove US troops from that country until "we win."

But what if we can't win?

This is the question that Bush refuses to answer. Bush has only ONE plan for Iraq. We win, then we come home. And its corollary, we don't come home UNTIL we win.

But what if we never win?

While it's cute for George Bush and the Republicans to always pull the "America" card and tell everyone, ad infinitum, that Americans ALWAYS win (because we're the GOOD GUYS), that is simply bravado and a lie. Being good guys didn't help us in Vietnam - we lost and had to withdraw. Being good guys didn't help us in Lebanon in the 1980s - we lost and withdrew. It also didn't help us in Somalia in the 1990s - same story.

Every decade of the past 4 we've had at least one big military loss and been forced to withdraw. So who is to say that we won't lose in Iraq, or haven't lost already? We are not infallible. No one wants to "lose," but to suggest that we can't lose because Americans simply don't lose, or because the cost of losing is too high (hello, Vietnam?), is not a sane basis for figuring out what our strategy should be in this war.

George Bush and the Republican party (along with a few GOP clones like Joe Lieberman) are refusing to accept, or even discuss, the reality that is Iraq. We are in the midst of a terrible war that is not going well. Yet our leaders refuse to change course in terms of how they execute that war because they have a belief that no matter how poorly they execute the war we will win anyway. George Bush, as the emodiment of "America," is infallible - nothing he does can lead to defeat, so stop whining.

That is a very dangerous basis on which to run a country, especially when the "infallible" monarch is someone as incompetent as George W. Bush. The man lost New Orleans, he can lose Iraq.

PS A second possibility, just as disturbing, is that Bush and the Republicans KNOW that Iraq is lost, but because of a desire to save face they refuse to withdraw. They want to leave the problem for the next president two and a half years from now simply because they don't want to be blamed for the coming disaster. To hell with the cost in lives and dollars. The Republicans would rather see our soldiers die than have their party lose face over a war they've already lost. Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

G'day Read the rest of this post...