Get your bullshit detector here

Oh, this is really good. This might just be a must-wear for any GOP appearance in the future. (Hat tip to DailyKos) Read the rest of this post...

RoveGate: Bush's Watergate Ready To Blow?

A good broadside at Karl Rove and Scooter and Cheney from Republican and Reagan official Tom Pauken. (Thanks to readers justme and the truth for pointing us to this.) He says it comes down to those forged documents pretending Hussein was trying to get uranium in Niger.

The worst possible scenario for the administration would be if it turns out that the Niger documents in question (which all now agree were forged) were fabricated by individuals who may have had a motive for getting us into the war. Shadowy figures previously linked to the Iran-Contra scandal have been mentioned as possible originators of the forged documents. If there is any truth to these charges, the lid will blow off Washington Â? and the Bush administration will be history.

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My latest Radar column: Bush dials 9/11, again

From Radar:

Welcome to my September 11 flashback.

Like many others who witnessed the attacks four years ago (I watched the Pentagon burn from my DC apartment), the experience left me particularly susceptible to being unnerved by loud noises. I thought I had long gotten over my minibout of post-traumatic stress disorder, but the other night, at the fashionable Paris bistro La Coupole, there was an explosion of breaking dishes just a few feet from my table. As my French date chattered on obliviously, my brain began to numb, the booth closed in around me, and I fought an overwhelming urge to run outside. But being an intrepid traveler on a hot date, I manfully chose to grin and bear it. Within seconds I had broken into a torrent of tears.

At least George Bush’s summer vacation hasn’t been much better.

The president’s record-breaking five-week sabbatical (are we sure he isn’t French?) has been rudely interrupted by the specter of war and terror in the form of a single mourning mother, Cindy Sheehan. Sheehan’s son Casey, 24, was killed last year in Iraq. Mama bear is pissed, blames Bush for her cub’s death, and is taking no prisoners....

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Open thread

My neighborhood isn't quite Montparnasse. Read the rest of this post...

The American Legion will take "whatever means necessary" to stop anti-war protesters

Sounds like a terrorist threat to me.

The American Legion members who decided to adopt this new fascist policy ought to be arrested right now under the Patriot Act and sent to Gitmo, along with Pat Robertson, where they can all enjoy two kinds of fruit and the very form of un-Democratic system of totalitarian government they're all now embracing.

So is there a Republican left in our country who doesn't embrace fascism? I mean, what are we fighting for anyway? The right to turn this country into a state where none of the very freedoms the American Legion vets supposedly fought for are any longer respected?

The American Legion ought to be ashamed of itself for embracing the language and policies of the very dictators so much American blood has been spilt trying to fight over the years. And the White House ought to be ashamed of itself for embracing un-American thugs who are no better at their core than the enemy we face abroad.

I'll put my patriotism up against some American Legion Stalinist any day.

"The American Legion will stand against anyone and any group that would demoralize our troops, or worse, endanger their lives by encouraging terrorists to continue their cowardly attacks against freedom-loving peoples," Thomas Cadmus, national commander, told delegates at the group's national convention in Honolulu.

The delegates voted to use whatever means necessary to "ensure the united backing of the American people to support our troops and the global war on terrorism."

Mr. Cadmus' email address: natlcmdr@legion.org Read the rest of this post...

More of the same from W

More misleading yadda, yadda, yadda, but no real plan:

Bush, whose Iraq policy is under mounting criticism from the public and even some members of his own party, again rejected calls to set a deadline for a withdrawal of troops, saying, ``We're achieving our strategic objectives in Iraq.''

``We will stay on the offense,'' Bush said. ``We will complete our work in Iraq and Afghanistan. An immediate withdrawal from Iraq or the greater Middle East, as some have called for, would only embolden the terrorists and create a staging ground for terrorism.''

Mislead and overstate. That seems to be the policy. Does anyone know what the "strategic objectives" we are achieving in Iraq? An Islam based government? Daily carnage?

And embolden the terrorists? They seem pretty fricking emboldened now. And, Iraq has become their staging ground already. Nice job. Read the rest of this post...

I'm baaaaaack

Just got home. My Air France flight was, as usual, great. Delicious food, and great service, even in economy. I vowed years ago to never fly a US carrier abroad ever again until they clean their act up, and I'm doing all I can to stick to that promise. They stink. I had the misfortune of flying Delta, business class no less, my last flight back from France a few months ago. What an atrocious experience - disgusting food, I couldn't even finish the pasta surprise they gave us, downright rude flight attendants, and more. And this was business class (paid for by a client). US carriers think you're doing them a favor by crowding into their cramped, obnoxious airlines - well, guess what, that favor is over. Perhaps it's time a few carriers finally moved on to greener pastures. And in the meantime, there's always Air France.

Speaking of nice French people, it's actually amazing to me how NICE the French were over this entire trip. From salespeople, to strangers in stores, to the security people at the airport, they were a hell of a lot nicer than Washingtonians. Yes, it helps if you speak French, but some of my friends don't speak French and with a smile and a "pardon" they were given the red carpet treatment.

I also found out from US Customs an hour ago, just FYI, that you CAN bring back fresh croissants and baguettes from France without a problem. While baguettes get stale pretty quick, next time I am SO bringing a box of pain au chocolat aux amandes!

Ok, more unpacking to do. I'll check back in a bit. Read the rest of this post...

WaPo: Iraqi Constitution Looking Bleak

Even the tub-thumping, we love war, one-time freedom march sponsoring Washington Post admits that the news on the constitution is grim coming out of Iraq. The proposed constitution could cut back on rights for women, give Islam too much power and worst of all push the Sunnis into a desperate corner.

In short, what some Shiite and Kurd leaders are calling federalism looks dangerously like a recipe for partition or civil war. Perhaps the intractable insurgency has convinced these Iraqis that they must amputate and starve the Sunni heartland. Yet as American soldiers do most of the fighting against the Sunni insurgents, that solution would be disastrous for the U.S. mission and Western security more generally.

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First Pat Robertson Calls For Assassination, Then He Lies About It

Pat Robertson has lost his mind. Again. Everyone in the world saw the clip of Robertson calling for the assassination of a democratically elected leader of Venezuela. Some White House officials mildly distanced themselves from it (though Bush said nothing and groups like Focus on the Family stayed mum). Now Robertson is lying and even Fox News is calling him on it.

"I didn't say 'assassination,'" clarified Robertson during a broadcast of his "The 700 Club" Wednesday morning. "I said our special forces should go 'take him out,' and 'take him out' could be a number of things, including kidnapping."

He blamed The Associated Press for making him seem to advocate the assassination of a foreign leader.

"There are a number of ways to take out a dictator from power besides killing him," Robertson said. "I was misinterpreted by the AP, but that happens all the time."

However, during the original "700 Club" broadcast Monday night, Robertson clearly mentioned assassination.

"You know, I don't know about this doctrine of assassination, but if he thinks we are trying to assassinate him, we should go ahead and do it," Robertson said Monday.

Pat Robertson: unholy, sinful and a big fat liar. Read the rest of this post...

Open Thread

Discuss. Read the rest of this post...

Lives Of Women Endangered By Politicians

A study in the Journal of the AMA determined after looking at hundreds of scientific papers that a fetus up to 29 weeks is unlikely to feel pain and there's no need for anesthesia during abortions. Laws in numerous states are demanding that anesthesia -- one of the most dangerous and difficult of procedures -- be administered anyway. Two thoughts:

1. This is just like the "debate" over evolution. There is no scientific evidence for creationism but they insist the mountains of evidence for evolution are "incomplete." There is no evidence anesthesia is necessary during this procedure but the far right will insist the mountains of evidence saying it's not needed is "incomplete."
2. This is not about abortion. Anesthesia is very tricky to administer and can endanger lives. Politicians are endangering the lives of women unnecessarily and without any medical evidence to back them up. They will literally be killing women to make a political point. Whatever you think about abortion or any ethical issue, dangerous and unnecessary medical procedures should be administered only on the advice of a doctor and because sound medical evidence says it's needed, not because some politician wants to score points. Read the rest of this post...

Gary Hart Blasts Dems For Timidity

In today's Washington Post, Gary Hart blasts the war and the Dems who supported it and are afraid to say they made a mistake:

History will deal with George W. Bush and the neoconservatives who misled a mighty nation into a flawed war that is draining the finest military in the world, diverting Guard and reserve forces that should be on the front line of homeland defense, shredding international alliances that prevailed in two world wars and the Cold War, accumulating staggering deficits, misdirecting revenue from education to rebuilding Iraqi buildings we've blown up, and weakening America's national security.

But what will history say about an opposition party that stands silent while all this goes on?... In their leaders, the American people look for strength, determination and self-confidence, but they also look for courage, wisdom, judgment and, in times of moral crisis, the willingness to say: "I was wrong."

To stay silent during such a crisis, and particularly to harbor the thought that the administration's misfortune is the Democrats' fortune, is cowardly....

The real defeatists today are not those protesting the war. The real defeatists are those in power and their silent supporters in the opposition party who are reduced to repeating "Stay the course" even when the course, whatever it now is, is light years away from the one originally undertaken. The truth is we're way off course.

Read the rest of this post...

Bush Hates Facts -- Example #2743

The Bureau of Justice Statistics compiled a report that would surprise no one -- certainly not minorities. Blacks, Hispanics and whites are all stopped by traffic cops at about the same rate, but blacks and Hispanics are 2 to 3 times as likely to have their car searched, get a ticket, be threatened with force and so on.

Of course, Bush hates facts so the head of the dept. Lawrence Greenfeld was pushed to make changes and downplay this news on racial profiling in a press release. He refused, was threatened with being fired and losing benefits and was finally demoted. What else is new with Bush? Tell the truth, do your job -- get punished.

Mr. Greenfeld refused to delete the racial references, arguing to his supervisors that the omissions would make the public announcement incomplete and misleading. Instead, the Justice Department opted not to issue a news release on the findings and posted the report online.

Some statisticians said that decision all but assured the report would get lost amid the avalanche of studies issued by the government. A computer search of news articles found no mentions of the study.

And the official who pushed him to delete that info? She got a promotion. Read the rest of this post...

Open Thread

What else? Read the rest of this post...

Dowd on W's "twisted logic"

Scarily true:

For political reasons, the president has a history of silence on America's war dead. But he finally mentioned them on Monday because it became politically useful to use them as a rationale for war - now that all the other rationales have gone up in smoke.

"We owe them something," he told veterans in Salt Lake City (even though his administration tried to shortchange the veterans agency by $1.5 billion). "We will finish the task that they gave their lives for."

What twisted logic: with no W.M.D., no link to 9/11 and no democracy, now we have to keep killing people and have our kids killed because so many of our kids have been killed already? Talk about a vicious circle: the killing keeps justifying itself.

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Bush takes on Cindy

Interrupting his vacation and his little jaunt to Idaho, Bush addressed Cindy Sheehan directly:

President Bush, confronted by antiwar protesters on his travels, Tuesday renewed his refusal to meet with high-profile activist Cindy Sheehan, asserting that she does not speak for the majority of families who have lost relatives in combat.

Bush dismissed demands from Sheehan and others to bring U.S. troops home from Iraq. "I think immediate withdrawal from Iraq would be a mistake," he said. "I think those who advocate immediate withdrawal from not only Iraq but the Middle East are advocating a policy that would weaken the United States."

Think about that. Not so much what the bonehead said, but the fact that Bush is now having to deal with Cindy.

She's under his skin...and ruined his vacation. Read the rest of this post...

Heading to the airport in Paris

Ugh. It's 7am here. Heading out in a few minutes. Back in DC early this afternoon. Chat with you all then. Man I'm gonna miss this place. Read the rest of this post...