Myers denies systemic abuse, then admits hasn't even read the report

Rather troubling news today from Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Appearing on ABC's THIS WEEK today, Myers told Stephanopoulos that "categorically" there's been no systemic abuse of Iraqi prisoners by US authorities, then he admits to Stephanopoulos that he hasn't even read a 53-page internal report detailing, reportedly, "sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuse" of Iraqi prisoners. When asked why he hadn't read the report yet, Myers said, according to Reuters, "It's just working its way up the chain."

WTF?

1. So we had reports going back two months that this was going on and no one in the Pentagon did a damn thing about it until CBS spilled the beans? Nor did they report these abuses to the higher ups - or did they? Myers says he hasn't yet read the report, but when did he find out about its existence?

2. After the president is forced to say how shocked he is on national TV on Friday in an effort to stop the destruction of whatever goodwill we had left in the Arab world, our top general still hasn't read the report on the abuses? Why not? Because it hadn't worked it's way up the chain? Well, bucko, once the boss has to go on TV to talk about what has become an international scandal, you make it your business to read the damn report.

3. How could Myers tell Stephanopoulos that "categorically" there was no systemic abuse when he hadn't even read the report yet (a question Stephanopoulos asked, twice, and didn't get an answer to)? On CBS' Face the Nation, Myers said he couldn't be sure if there had been systemic abuses, but then to Stephanopoulos the same morning he says: "I would say that categorically. There is no, no evidence of systematic abuse in this system at all."

What is it with this administration? They remind me of the old man in the "old country" who you ask for directions and he gives you a very detailed answer. The man has no clue where the place is you want to go, but damn he can give you an extremely detailed, real-sounding, answer - even though he's lying out his ass.

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Germany Says Protection of U.S. Bases to End

Bush has now so ticked off the allies that this is affecting not just the security situation in Iraq, but also the security of our troops in Europe.

I'm sure Palau and the rest of those superpowers in the "Coalition of the Willing" will fill the gap. Read the rest of this post...

James Dobson's advice for great sex

Eeeeewww Read the rest of this post...

Right wing flips out over gay leader with cojones

When you've ticked of the boys at WingNutDaily, you know you gotta be doing something right. A sample of what National Gay and Lesbian Task Force leader Matt Foreman said:

I'm … interested in going after, politically, local legislators and leaders that have launched these anti-gay initiatives,' he explained. 'We beat you, now we're gonna go back and we're going to affirmatively punish you – people who launch this stuff, so that they understand not only that they're not going to win, but that there are consequences to it.' (You can read the rest of Foreman's comments here.

How WingNutDaily spun it:

The head of a national homosexual organization is vowing to politically "punish," "terrify" and "torture" activists who oppose his organization's agenda on "gay" rights – which he says would give him "endless satisfaction."

Man, that anti-gay crowd can make anything sound hot. Read the rest of this post...

The Inquisition (what a show)

I hope this same policy applies to inviting commencements speakers from institutions that coddle and enable pedophilies:

"Indiana Gov. Joe Kernan's high school alma mater withdrew an invitation for him to speak at commencement because his stance on abortion conflicts with Roman Catholic teachings.

St. Joseph High School took the action at the direction of Bishop John M. D'Arcy of the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, who has direct authority over the school. " - AP

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Latest from the comedians

A round up of the political comics:

Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn:
"President Bush and Dick Cheney appeared before the 9-11 commission. It was kind of an awkward start. A senator asked, 'How are you, Mr. President,' and they both answered, 'Fine.'"

"Reportedly, the commission's first question to the president was, 'You know al-Qaida and Iraq are two different things, right?"'

"Members of panel got annoyed because whenever they asked Cheney a tough question, he grabbed his chest and shouted, 'Elizabeth, it's the 'Big One!"' (Source: SF Chronicle)

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NYT: Republicans may hold on to Senate

The New York Times says that the latest thinking is that the Republicans will hold on to the Senate. But the Times makes a very important point: It was only a short while back that the Republicans looked in serious trouble in the Senate. Thus, we need to take all of these doom and gloom polls with a grain of salt. They reflect, maybe, the situation TODAY, not the situation tomorrow or on election day. Remember that a day before the election Gore was behind Bush by several points when in fact he won the popular vote. We need to stop dispiriting ourselves over polls that simply do not reflect what is or is not feasible to achieve on election day. Read the rest of this post...

Clinton v Bush - they contradict each other in 9/11 testimony

All I gotta say is one president is known for his razor-sharp mind and having lied once about sex, and the other is known for his short attention span, mediocre grasp of facts and a penchant for lying about the war on terror. You decide who's more credible in remembering the exact details of a complicated conversation 3 years ago (as for Dick "WMD" Cheney backing Bush up, that's priceless):

"How much of a warning did Bill Clinton give incoming President George W. Bush that Osama bin Laden posed a grave danger? It depends on which President you ask. In his interview with the 9/11 commission last week, sources tell Time, Bush testified that Clinton appeared far more passionate about the dangers of North Korea's nuclear program and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to sources, Bush said Clinton 'probably mentioned' terrorism as a national-security threat 'but did not make it a point of emphasis.' Clinton earlier told the panel that he had ranked bin Laden as the No. 1 problem the new Administration would face; he made the same point in a speech in New York City last October." - TIME

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