Religious right money troubles

I guess hate isn't such a profitable industry after all. Read the rest of this post...

Headlines we were supposed to stop seeing 5 years ago

We "won" against the Taliban five years ago. Then what the hell is going on? When George Bush leaves office we will still be at war in Iraq and still be at war in Afghanistan. And we'll be losing both. Was it really worth thousands of American lives and hundreds of billions of American dollars to unseat Saddam and now find ourselves stuck in two quagmires with no end or exit or victory in sight? Computer says 'no.' Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

Joe and I are in NYC for the night to see the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Eytan Fox's new film, "The Bubble." Read the rest of this post...

Former CIA chief Tenet: Bush Iraq policy is "a slow motion car crash"

Former Bush CIA chief George Tenet - the guy who Bush gave a medal to - blasts Bush and the entire Iraq reconstruction effort in TIME:

What Iraq needed were Arabists and Foreign Service officers who understood the country's tribal allegiances, or who at least knew a Sunni from a Shia. What CPA seemed to be getting were people anxious to set up a Baghdad stock exchange, try out a flat-tax system, and impose other elements of a lab-school democratic- capitalist social structure. One of my officers returned from a trip to Iraq a month or two after CPA had taken over and told me, "Boss, that place runs like a graduate school seminar, none of them speaks Arabic, almost nobody's ever been to an Arab country, and no one makes a decision but Bremer."

On the Bush administration's decision to de-Baathify the Iraqi government by firing everyone who was a member of the Ba'ath party:

We soon began hearing stories about how Iraqis could not send their kids to school because all the teachers had been dismissed for being members of the Ba'ath Party. In the context of a country armed to the teeth, this was not a good thing. If the kids and teachers were not in school, they were on the streets. I went to see Condi Rice and complained that the indiscriminate nature of the de-Ba'athification order had swept away not just Saddam's thugs but also, for example, something like forty thousand schoolteachers, who had joined the Ba'ath Party simply to keep their jobs. This order wasn't protecting Iraqis; it was destroying what little institutional foundations were left in the country. The net effect was to persuade many ex-Ba'athists to join the insurgency. Condi said she was very frustrated by the situation, but nothing ever happened. Several months later, with a full-blown insurgency under way, an interagency group headed by Deputy National Security Advisor Bob Blackwill desperately looked for ways to reach out to dissident Sunni Arabs. We again raised the subject of rolling back the de-Ba'athification order. Doug Feith retorted that doing so would "undermine the entire moral justification for the war."....

On one of his trips to Iraq, [Deputy Defense Secretary] Paul Wolfowitz told our senior man there, "You don't understand the policy of the U.S. government, and if you don't understand the policy, you are hardly in a position to collect the intelligence to help that policy succeed." It was an arrogant statement that masked a larger reality. In many cases we were not aware of what our own government was trying to do. The one thing we were certain of was that our warnings were falling on deaf ears.

It's Condi's fault:

Without using her name, Tenet alleges that then-National Security Adviser Condi Rice did not exert the kind of scrutiny of Rumsfeld's and Cheney's ideas as she did of the CIA and the State Department. Tenet says the lack of clear White House oversight of reconstruction efforts in Iraq meant US policy was "almost guaranteed" to fail...

Whenever you decide to take the country to war, you have to know not only that you can defeat the enemy militarily but that you have a very clear game plan that will allow you to keep the peace. There was never any doubt that we would defeat the Iraqi military. What we did not have was an integrated and open process in Washington that was organized to keep the peace, nor did we have unity of purpose and resources on the ground. Quite simply, the NSC did not do its job.

The NSC was headed by Condi. Read the rest of this post...

Bart Simpson criticized for upcoming nude scene

Really.

Click To Play

Here's a screen shot from the film:

Read the rest of this post...

Limbaugh broadcasts song mocking black people's inability to speak "proper" English

TMP has a clip of both "Barack the Magic Negro" and a parody of Aretha Franklin's "Respect" - except that it's called "Respeck." It also includes other clips that Limbaugh ran mocking black speech. And by the way, the guy doing the voice over is a white conservative.

Read the rest of this post...

Religious right uses victims of VA Tech massacre to slam gays, use Christ as political prop

Special place in hell for these homophobes. Ex-"American Family Association" attorney Joe Murray rips the religious right for their un-Christian level of hate. Joe's article is brilliant and difficult to excerpt, so here's a large chunk - read the entire thing:

A few weeks back, writing on the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2007 (LLEHCPA), a measure that would expand existing federal hate crimes law to include classes such as sexual orientation, gender and gender identity, this author noted that the type of debate emanating from those organizations laying claim to Christian morality was quite disturbing.

Specifically, concern was raised about the tone of the debate. Christian groups were sending out "action alerts" scaring supporters into believing that passage of the hate crimes bill, a piece of legislation that has clear First Amendment safeguards, would result in preachers arrested from the pulpit and Christians shipped off for an indefinite stay at the Hanoi Hilton....

Just when it was thought that the hate crimes debate had hit rock bottom, some pro-family organizations opted to capitalize on tragedy and politicize the deadly shootings at Virginia Tech to score political points.

"Under this legislation, the crimes at Virginia Tech, which some are calling one of the deadliest rampages in U.S. history, would not be punishable to the level of these so-called 'hate-crimes'," wrote Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council (FRC), in an email alert sent out to FRC supporters. Perkins' analysis, however, was far from over.

Explaining why the hate crimes bill is not good for America, Perkins wrote, "If the House approves H.R. 1592 and the Senate follows, a homosexual would have more federal protection under the law than the 32 victims of last week's massacre."

Words cannot describe how disheartening such a comment, from a man who champions the values of Christianity, is.

While parents, siblings, students and staff mourned the senseless killings of 32 members of the Virginia Tech community, Perkins thought it was an opportune time, and perhaps even an exercise of his Christian duty, to exploit the tragic situation to aid in the manufacturing of a "homosexual agenda." This is not only degrading to Virginia Tech and to the gay community, it clearly prostitutes any notion of family values.

And while many would hope that Perkins' actions are isolated instances of political prostitution, one would be wrong as the folks at TVC found it prudent to debase the image of Christ to make a political point.

TVC has produced a "wanted poster" in which Jesus Christ, wearing a crown of thorns, is wanted for violating the proposed hate crimes bill. Under "identifying remarks," the poster reads, "scars along forehead, in the hands and feet, & scar on side." The poster states that Christ is "wanted for revealing the truth about homosexuality in 'The Bible' and encouraging his followers not to offend God by committing such behavior."

Pushing aside the fact that such a poster is more rhetoric than reality, is it not disturbing to all people, Christians included, that a hatred of gays has led to using the image of Christ in a political poster? Is this not using the Lord's name in vain?

How could a group purporting Christian values denigrate the image of their, and my, savior, by placing Him in the same category as Willie Horton? When did it become acceptable to turn a man who preached "love thy neighbor" into a biblical billy club? Christ is a source of salvation, not spin.

This is how far separated Christian activists, possessed by a deep seeded hatred of homosexuals, have become from Christian principles. It is now deemed appropriate, and considering the source of such behavior, "Christian-like," for activists to pit gays against the victims of brutal slayings and make a mockery of Christ's image to defeat a secular hate crimes law.

Can one imagine if the ACLU had used Christ's image in such a fashion? But because a pro-family group has tarnished His image for political gain, there is deafening silence. This speaks volumes on how animosity towards gays has turned principle into politics.

Read the rest of this post...

Stalling in Iraq

Among my Very Serious foreign policy friends (that is, the attorneys and think tank fellows and pundits just waiting for a Democratic administration so they can move en masse into the various executive branch jobs), there seemed to be an increasing general view over the past few weeks that President Bush and the military would have until this summer to put up or shut up on Iraq. That within several months (say, oh, a Friedman Unit), either the "surge" would be working or Bush would have to leave.

Except nobody could ever quite explain exactly how "have to leave" would work. A president who feels no sense of responsibility to popular opinion, other elected officials, or, well, reality, is not likely to believe anything is a "last chance." It's easy to keep asking for "one more try!" when all you have to do is run out the clock.

Now we find out that the administration is already laying the groundwork to extend the timeframe. Kevin Drum elaborates, helpfully translating the NYT article that reported the "surge" is now scheduled to last "well into next year":

Maliki has no authority whatsoever; the Iraqi troops we've been training for the past three years are still useless; there's no political progress in sight; and in the meantime we're stalling for dear life, hoping against hope that something good magically happens. In Republican leadership circles, this is called a "foreign policy." The rest of us have a different name for it.

Everybody clap harder, clapping will solve everything! Clap, dammit! Read the rest of this post...

"Barack, the Magic Negro" - a new song played on the Rush Limbaugh show

Dick Cheney's favorite racist has been playing playing the song "Barack the Magic Negro" on his radio show. John Amato has the tape, it's hideous. (Update: The guy who does the song is a white conservative who routinely mocks blacks - Limbaugh often plays his stuff.)

Limbaugh claims he's just repeating a term used in an LA Times commentary. Yes, the LA Times commentary made a reference to the historical term "Magic Negro" - in old films, apparently, the black character, the "magic Negro" as it was called in the trade, would absurdly appear out of nowhere to save the white character. Limbaugh, however, decided to adopt the term, use it over and over again in a mocking way, and even went so far as to make a "funny" song about magic negroes. There's a difference between a historical look at the term - and it's still an iffy proposition using it in a serious op ed - and using the term in a "funny" way to continually mock Obama and, implicitly, black people. Limbaugh is using the term because he thinks it gives him license to say "negro" repeatedly on the air, and "negro" (like "homo" and "ho'" and so many other denigrating words) to Limbaugh is funny because to the GOP base, to Limbaugh's base, bigotry is fun.

Limbaugh is the guy Vice President Dick Cheney interviews with regularly. Limbaugh knew exactly what he was doing - and he didn't care. The current extremists running the Republican party find racism funny. To them, bigotry is a big business. And Rush is one of the biggest. So what does the White House have to say about Dick Cheney's favorite radio host? Will Cheney be going on the "magic negro" show in the future? And will Rush be permitted to keep his job?

Chris in Maine was kind enough to transcribe the song:

(sung by an Al Sharpton impersonator, I assume)

Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times they called him that
cause he's not authentic like me.

Yeah the guy from the L.A. paper
said he made guilty whites feel good
they'll vote for him and not for me
cause hes not from da hood.

See, real black men like snoop dogg
or me or Farrakhan
have talked the talk and walked the walk
not come and laid and won (not sure about this line).

Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times they called him that
cause he's not authentic like me
cause hes black but not authentically.

Barack the Magic Negro lives in D.C.
The L.A. Times they called him that
cause he's not authentic like me
cause hes black but not authentically.

Some say Barack's articulate
and bright and new and clean
the media sure love this guy
a white interloper's dream.

But when you vote for president
watch out and don't be fooled
don't vote the magic negro in
cause...

(background singing the first 3 lines, while the singer is saying)

Cause I wont have nothing after all these years of sacrifice and I wont get justice this is about justice this is about justice, buffet, I don't have no buffet there wont be any church contributions there'll be no cash in the collection plate, no cash money, no walkin' around money...

Read the rest of this post...

Iraq Death toll surpasses 100 for April

The deadly quagmire gets deadlier:

Five U.S. troops were killed in separate attacks in the capital this weekend, including three in a single roadside bombing, the military said Monday, pushing the death toll past 100 in the deadliest month so far this year.

Both attacks occurred in eastern Baghdad, a predominantly Shiite area where American and Iraqi forces have stepped up their activities as part of a security crackdown that began on Feb. 14 to quell the sectarian violence.

CNN just reported 104 U.S. soldiers died in April. Read the rest of this post...

Monday Morning Open Thread

Four years ago, the media was agog that Bush was heading to the aircraft carrier to make his big announcement about Iraq. Yes, tomorrow is the anniversary of "Mission Accomplished" day. Four years later, most of the media still refuses to grasp how often Bush lies to them, flat out lies:
Read the rest of this post...

FDA says tainted pork no problem- dig in and let them know

So the same team that told everyone that melamine was no problem to animals, is now saying that there is no need whatsoever for a pork recall after tainted pork entered the food system of America. Why am I not as confident in the FDA's claim as they are? If their goal is to ruin the American food protection system and move Americans away from eating pork, this is a brilliant plan. If they want to make an attempt at gaining the trust of the public, this might not be Plan A.

"At this time, we have no evidence of harm to humans associated with the processed pork product, and therefore no recall of meat products processed from these animals is being issued," the Food and Drug Administration and Agriculture Department said in a joint statement.

"Testing and the joint investigation continue. If any evidence surfaces to indicate there is harm to humans, the appropriate action will be taken," the agencies said.

Ah ha, the old "let the public be America's food inspector/guinea pig. Does anyone see a problem here? Read the rest of this post...

Another $30 billion down the drain courtesy of Bush and GOP

The recurring theme with Bush and the Republicans is to throw billions out there and hope that something sticks. We've seen it with previous war spending, Katrina relief, the inaction during the subprime lending fiasco and again in Iraq with reconstruction. All too often the administration provides preference to political hires rather than competence so the results across the board are predictable. The old GOP Congress was overseeing Iraq reconstruction until just a few months ago and none of these problems are new. The Iraqis may very well be responsible for a number of problems, but let's not forget who has been dictating terms in Iraq and don't forget to look at this as yet another failed mission by team Bush.

The report, published today, looks at sample projects ranging from a hospital to Baghdad international airport, and finds serious failures and neglect at the heart of the reconstruction plan. Stuart Bowen, the head of the office of special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, says: "These first inspections indicate that the concerns ... about the Iraqis sustaining our investments in these projects are valid."

The inspectors found serious plumbing and electrical failures, looting, and expensive equipment lying idle, either because staff did not know how to use it or those that did were no longer employed.

Of the eight projects which had been declared a success, some only six months before the inspection took place, six were now no longer working properly. The inspectors expressed concern at the speed of deterioration and questioned whether the projects would survive.

Read the rest of this post...