Limbaugh, Imus, Carlson touted Drudge story on DNC even after Drudge issued apparent retraction

When you have no more ideas, just make shit up. Read the rest of this post...

Exxon-financed pundit compares Gore to Goebbels

Interesting that ExxonMobil seems happy to write off the 49% of the country who voted for Gore. Read the rest of this post...

The Poodle is coming to meet his master on Thursday

Lucky you...The Poodle is coming your way.

What do people in the US think of Tony Blair these days? I love mentioning his name over here because it's always a guaranteed wild discussion. I think that many here in France respect what he has done in the UK from an economic perspective, mostly keeping the economy moving along at a better rate than the eurozone, but they really detest his love affair with Bush and his encouragement of war in Iraq.

The center-left in France sometimes likes to think that they can generate a "New Labour-ish" candidate and right this troubled ship but at this point in time, I just don't see it.

UK Labour struggled through some pretty lean years for a long time before New Labour took root. The French Socialists have enjoyed enough (limited) success in recent years to give the image of a party that has a fighting chance, so they just don't seem ready to fully embrace a New Labour platform. Something needs to be done but if the cost of reform is an oily tick like Blair, I'm not sure it's worth it. Read the rest of this post...

White House has more records on Jeff Gannon/James Guckert, GOP prostitute who visited White House 200 times - records they still haven't released

Okay, this is interesting. And you thought the story was over. More from TPM Muckraker. Read the rest of this post...

Pakistan's president reportedly postpones execution of man convicted in sham trial

Well this is good news, if true. Read the rest of this post...

Open Thread

Anderson Cooper is on Oprah today. It's the best reason ever to watch Oprah and it's making for a pleasant afternoon. Oprah told him he's the "most feeling reporter on television today."

What's the real news? Read the rest of this post...

Two top CIA officials to testify that Cheney former chief of staff Scooter Libby lied to special prosecutor about Plame leak

I love it when the CIA gets revenge :-)

Bush needs to promise NOW not to pardon anyone involved with leaking classified information. Read the rest of this post...

Voice of America pulls out of Iraq because it's getting too dangerous

Why does the liberal government-run media refuse to tell the public the truth about how great things are going in Iraq?

The Voice of America's bureau in Baghdad has been closed for the past six months, ever since the government-funded agency withdrew its only reporter in Iraq after she was fired upon in an ambush and her security guard was later killed.

All Western news organizations have struggled with the dangerous conditions in Iraq, which have led to such high-profile incidents as the kidnapping of Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll and the wounding of ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff. But for a federally funded information service to pull out of Baghdad for such a prolonged period raises questions about the Bush administration's insistence that conditions there are gradually improving.

Hey, maybe VOA can hire Joe Lieberman to be their Baghdad correspondent. I hear he's going to be looking for a job, come August. Read the rest of this post...

Lies, All Lies

From an amazing diary on DailyKos by Dave V. I had to copy the entire list to give you the full effect - read these (the names towards the end are the readers who contributed the "lie.")

• Stephen Colbert was not funny.
  
• Helen Thomas is old and batty.
• Mexicans are taking our jobs.
• Iraq sent its WMDs to Syria.
• Democrats don't want to wiretap terrorists.
• Joe Wilson admitted that Valerie Plame wasn't covert.
• Karl Rove has a faulty memory.
• Scooter Libby has a faulty memory.
• Tom DeLay is like Jesus Christ.
• No one could have anticipated that the levees would be breached.
• We do not torture.
• There is no global warming.
• There is global warming, but humans didn't cause it.
• Howard Dean can't raise money.
• John F. Kerry is a flip-flopper.
• George W. Bush is a decider.
• John McCain is a straight-shooter.
• Dick Cheney is a sober shooter.
• Nobody at the White House knows Jack Abramoff.
• Democrats do.
• The economy is great.
• Evolution isn't supported by the facts.
• Diebold voting machines are secure.
• Fox News is fair and balanced.
• Mission accomplished.
• Bill Clinton did it too.
• No one could have anticipated the Iraqi insurgency.
• The budget deficit will be cut in half in four years.
• Anyone who thinks Dubai shouldn't control our ports is racist.
• No one who thinks we should build a wall along the Mexican border is racist.
• George Allen isn't a racist... anymore.
• Terry Schiavo wants to live.
• Andrea Clark wants to die.
• We've turned a corner in Iraq.
• There's a war on Christmas.
• There's a war on Easter.
• There's no civil war in Iraq.
• The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.
• Up is down.
• Black is white.
• Bush won Florida in 2000. – calebfaux
• Bush won Ohio in 2004. – calebfaux
• We support open, free, and fair elections ... for the Ukraine. – Eddie Haskell
• I earned political capital... and I intend to spend it. –Eddie Haskell
• Losing by 2 million votes in 2000 is a mandate. – weelzup
• Winning by 3 million votes in 2004 is a mandate. -- weelzup
• Bush won a mandate for his conservative agenda. –calebfaux
• The grownups will now be in charge. – SteveLCo
• The rule of law is important.--Andy30tx
• This administration will hold itself accountable.-- SteveLCo
• No one could have anticipated Katrina would hit New Orleans. – Hells Bells
• Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job. –snoopydog
• No one could have foreseen the failure of FEMA.—Arken
• Kathleen Blanco never asked for federal help.-- Willow72
• Ray Nagin should have used the buses. -- Willow72
• Ellen DeGeneres caused Hurricane Katrina. –cajay
• Gay couples seek to destroy Marriage. – Torta
• God plays favorites (just like Dad). –Yellow Canary
• Ignorance is strength. -- pdq
• Man existed alongside the dinoraurs. -- SteveLCo
• Moral values voters. –obgynlover
• The earth is 6,000 years old. – fool me once umm
• We're not interested in banning contraceptives. – RainyDay
• America is a Christian nation. –Sister Havana
• GWB is a Godly man. – x
• Bush flew F-102s in the Texas Air National Guard. – gatorcog
• Bush is a compassionate conservative. –I like Ike
• Bush is a great guy to have a beer with. – hrh
• Bush is no longer an alcoholic. –lawstudent922
• Dubya owns an honest-to-God real ranch. – Plutonium Page
• It's a working vacation. I'm working.—Plutonium Page
• George W. Bush is a genius. – cmrizcha
• Dubya is a great cyclist. – Plutonium Page
• Guns don't kill people... pretzels do. –Dittoz
• George Bush is a war hero. – American Zapatista
• ...and John Kerry isn't. – American Zapatista
• John Kerry "outed" Mary Cheney-- IndyScott
• John Kerry shot himself in the leg to earn his medals-- IndyScott
• Al Gore thinks he invented the internet. -- Willow72
• Ronald Reagan was the best president in history. –Sister Havana
• Harry Whittington got himself peppered. -- Willow72
• Bill Clinton caused 9/11 – cmrizcha
• Bill Clinton was once offered Bin Laden "on a silver platter" and turned it down. – IndyScott
• Saddam Hussein attacked us on 9/11. – lawstudent922
• 9/11 changed everything. – Dittoz
• No one could have anticipated airplanes flying into buildings. – Dems2004
• No one could have foreseen the effects of nuking Iran (next year's press conference).—Arken
• War is peace. -- pdq
• We have removed the Taliban from Afghanistan. – mjd in Florida
• The Iraqis will welcome us with open arms and flowers... – calebfaux
• It could take six days, six weeks, I doubt six months. –librarianman
• Pat Tillman was killed by enemy fire-- IndyScott
• Yellow magnetic car ribbons really help the troops. – Dems2004
• The insurgency is in its last throes. -- nicejoest
• But even if Iraq IS in a Civil War, its a good thing. – cmrizcha
• The only way to get Zarqawi is to invade Iraq. – mecki
• We're fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them over here. – IndyScott
• When they stand up, we'll stand down.--Andy30tx
• Iraqi oil will pay for the war and the reconstruction. –librarianman
• Gas prices are high because of librul environmental regulations. --adigal/surferal
• Drilling the ANWR will lower the price of oil. –I like Ike
• Gas prices are high because of taxes.-- Willow72
• The 'magic of the marketplace' will solve all problems. – SteveLCo
• Unemployment numbers have never been so low. -- adigal
• Republicans restored the economy after the shambles left by Clinton. – Ky DEM
• Clinton/Gore recession. – adigal
• The economy is booming! – adigal
• As President, Governor Bush will...pay the debt down to a historically low level. –Nonie3234
• [B]y far the vast majority of my tax cuts go to the bottom end of the spectrum. –Nonie3234
• Tax breaks for Hummers is good for the economy. –x
• Tax cuts are super for the middle class. -- Ky DEM
• Tax cuts increase revenue. -- SteveLCo
• The estate tax hurts family farms.—SteveLCo
• Private Accounts will save Social Security. –I like Ike
• Bush will make health insurance affordable for hard-working, low-income families. –Nonie3234
• Healthy Forests Initiative will help forests. -- House
• No Child Left Behind will help all children. -- House
• Healthy Skies Initiative will reduce air pollution. – House
• Nobody wants reform more than Republicans. –MichaelPh
• Republicans are compassionate conservatives. –Missliberties
• Republicans are pro-life. -- dcookie
• Freedom is slavery. -- pdq
• The government is tapping your phone to protect you. – ukben
• Dissent is unpatriotic. –x
• Valerie Plame is covert and a traitor. --dday
• Karl Rove couldn't have done it because he knew he'd get caught. --dday
• Patrick Fitzgerald is going to indict Joe Wilson. --dday
• Bush and his twin were funny. --Andy30tx
• Jeff Gannon is a serious journalist-- IndyScott
• Rush is Right. – Eddie Haskell
• The media is liberal. –freedom fried
• No one could have anticipated that Colbert would tell the world the Emperor has no clothes. – Hells Bells
• Everything is hunky-dory. – subtropolis
• You're either with us, or against us. –Edanger6
• A vote for John Kerry, is a vote for Al Qaeda. –Edanger6
• George Bush doesn't read the polls. –Edanger6
• ...But he does read all those books. –Edanger6
• Everyone had the same intelligence. –Edanger6
• Iraq is the central front on the war on terrorism. –Edanger6
• All options are on the table. –Edanger6
• Republicans are the party of ideas. –Edanger6
• Those trucks we found in Iraq were mobile biological weapons labs. --IndyScott
• We know where they (the WMD) are. --IndyScott
• These are not assertions. These are facts backed up by solid intelligence. --IndyScott
• Terri Schiavo is responsive. (Bill Frist on the Senate floor). --IndyScott
• I never said she was responsive (Bill Frist, about a week later). --IndyScott
• Anyone who leaks information will no longer be part of this administration. –IndyScott
• Sex Education causes STDs and increases pregnancy rates. –Condoleaser
• HPV vaccine will cause teen sex cults. –Nonie3234/DaveV
• Harriet would be a great justice. I know her heart. –suspiciousmind/AmericanRiverCanyon
• Terrorists didn't know we could use wiretaps until they read about it in the paper. –ragnark
• ...we are in a war that is a different kind of war than we've been in before. –station wagon
• I will restore honor and integrity to the White House. –Nonie3234
• Nothing is more important in a time of war than cutting taxes. –Sister Havana
• Democrats hate America. –Sister Havana
• Vince Foster was murdered. –Sister Havana
• "Bin Laden Determined to Strike within the U.S."--is a historical document. –The Gryffin
• Thousands of tactical errors were surely made in the war against Iraq. –pb
• And when I said "thousands" of tactical errors, I was speaking figuratively. –pb
• America has 'uncontrolled' and 'unprecedented' immigration. –Nonie3234
• The national anthem should only be sung in English. –leftilicious
• Jesus would have voted for Bush. –jlove1982
• I'm a uniter, not a divider. –TVOR
• The 'CEO' President. –TVOR
• Whenever we say 'wiretaps' that means we're going to get a court order. –DaveV
• If this were a dictatorship, it'd be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I'm the dictator. –kestrel9000
• Chris Matthews will not let anything get by him. –mjd in florida
• George Bush was successful businessman. –Edanger6
• Oceania has always been at war with Eurasia. – pdq

And our additions, from AMERICAblog readers:

• God hates Fags
• Karl told me he didn't do it.
• If gays are allowed to marry then heterosexual men will leave their wives.
• Ken Mehlman isn't gay.
• Wanted: Dead or Alive.
• The recession started BEFORE Bush came to office.
• Republicans are for small government.
• Republicans are pro-defense.
• Bush will try diplomacy before invading Iran.
• There will be no draft.
  
• George Bush won the election.
• George Bush doesn't hate black people.
• The PDB was a historical document.
• The religious right speaks for Christians.
• What Americans REALLY care about is flag burning and gay marriage.
• George Bush speaks Spanish.
• George Washington authorized wiretapes too.
• "I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Read the rest of this post...

Bill Frist and Denny Hastert only care about privacy when it's THEIR privacy in question. Do as we say not as we do?

Funny. GOP House Speaker Denny Hastert and GOP Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist don't give a damn about the privacy of their constituents. Law and order is what comes first, to hell with your privacy, let the NSA eavesdrop on your phone calls, it's all for the good of America. And after all, if you have nothing to hide, then what's the problem?

Well, it seems that standard doesn't apply when it comes to THEIR OWN LIVES. It seems they're very upset that criminal congressman William Jefferson got his office searched by the feds. Which again raises the question, why are THEIR offices more sacrosanct than OUR homes?

Republican leaders, who previously sought to focus attention on the Jefferson case as a counterpoint to their party's own ethical scandals, said they are disturbed by the raid. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said that he is "very concerned" about the incident and that Senate and House counsels will review it.

House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) expressed alarm at the raid. "The actions of the Justice Department in seeking and executing this warrant raise important Constitutional issues that go well beyond the specifics of this case," he said in a lengthy statement released last night.

"Insofar as I am aware, since the founding of our Republic 219 years ago, the Justice Department has never found it necessary to do what it did Saturday night, crossing this Separation of Powers line, in order to successfully prosecute corruption by Members of Congress," he said. "Nothing I have learned in the last 48 hours leads me to believe that there was any necessity to change the precedent established over those 219 years."

So if you guys care so much about privacy, where's the cell phone records privacy legislation that Frist refuses to pass in the Senate, and Hastert mysteriously pulled from the House floor a week ago? Or is banning gays in the Constitution (and your own privacy) more important than your constituents' privacy?

It's good to be king. Read the rest of this post...

Lieberman's getting cranky

That didn't take long:

Lieberman said Lamont is rich enough to try to buy his way into the Senate.

"Having between $90 million and $300 million, Ned Lamont can not only try to buy a seat from Connecticut in the U.S. Senate, he can probably buy a seat in a couple of other states if he wanted," Lieberman said.

The response from Lamont's campaign is perfect:

Swan said he does not believe Lieberman's gibes about wealth will resonate.

"I think it makes an incumbent senator look weak," Swan said.

Hmm. Considering how much Joe loves the GOP, it's a little odd that he's attacking someone who has money. Did Lieberman ever attack Dick Cheney's wealth when he ran against him back in 2000? Just wondering. Read the rest of this post...

They're not ready to make nice

And neither are we.

Atrios has the You Tube clip of the Dixie Chicks on Letterman. Watch it.

Then listen again to Pink's "Dear Mr. President."

The songs will help you get through the day. Read the rest of this post...

The Clinton obsession includes the NY Times (and "prominent Democrats")

It's not just Karl Rove who is obsessed with Hillary Clinton. Besides obsession, not quite sure why this article is news...and worthy of front page in the NY Times. It's an article about nothing. Oh, it did give some of the usual subjects the chance to get their names in the NY Times:

When the subject of Bill and Hillary Clinton comes up for many prominent Democrats these days, Topic A is the state of their marriage — and how the most dissected relationship in American life might affect Mrs. Clinton's possible bid for the presidency in 2008.

Just who are these "prominent Democrats" obsessing about the state of the Clinton's marriage? And why would any "prominent Democrat" deign to talk to the media about that subject. One would hope that "prominent Democrats" would spend more time obsessing about how to win. That's what Bill and Hillary Clinton spend a lot of their time thinking about.

Not that any of my pals are "prominent Democrats," they're mostly political geeks -- I've never heard anyone discuss the state of the Clinton marriage. No one cares.

John made a good point last night. When will there be stories about the private lives of leading Republicans? That's something "prominent Democrats" should be talking and asking about. After all, the GOP has decided to turn marriage and personal lives into political fodder. That would be newsworthy. Read the rest of this post...

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

Remember when privacy used to matter? You have to wonder how many more ways the GOP can violate the privacy of Americans. Have to wonder when it's going to be used as an issue against them.

What's the news so far? Read the rest of this post...

Would the real Iraq, please stand up

Spot on article here from the Independent about Iraq and the radically different views of what is really happening. Blair really hit a sore spot with his latest round of rubbish about Iraq and this piece really rips into him. Sounds like Blair is living in the same bubble as his mate Bush.

A frustrating aspect of writing about Iraq since the invasion is that the worse the situation becomes, the easier it is for Tony Blair or George Bush to pretend it is improving. That is because as Baghdad and Iraq, aside from the three Kurdish provinces, become the stalking ground for death squads and assassins, it is impossible to report the collapse of security without being killed doing so.

There was a ghastly absurdity about Mr Blair's optimism as he stood beside the new Iraqi Prime Minister, Nuri al-Maliki, in Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone yesterday. As usual, Mr Blair arrived by helicopter. Anybody entering the zone on foot has to negotiate eight checkpoints defended by heavily armed troops and guards surrounded by sandbags, razor wire, sniffer dogs and X-ray machines.

Hmmm...quite a contrast.

The problem for the US and Britain in Iraq is at one level quite simple. " If you have democracy in Iraq it will be in the interests of Iran, religious organisations and the Shia," said Sami Shoresh, a commentator on Iraqi affairs.

Read the rest of this post...

Berlusconi continuing to whine about defeat

Give it a rest and move on or take action, but please quit the whining. It's not like the Prodi government is going to stick around or actually do anything. Well, I suppose he will be pulling the troops out of Iraq and that's a good thing, but beyond that it's only a matter of time before the Prodi coalition crumbles under the weight of what seems to be thousands of partners. Don't worry Silvio...you'll have your chance to make noise and do nothing besides offend soon enough. Read the rest of this post...

Time for Republicans to defend their own marriages.

Adulterer, heal thyself.

Since the Republicans are pushing the anti-gay 'save marriage' constitutional amendment in a few weeks time, I do hope that no Republican members or their staff have, are, or will ever commit adultry or sodomy (which includes oral sex received by the male or female), since they're such big believers in traditional marriage. After all, they're here to legislate our values, we must ensure that they're practicing what they preach.

Perhaps it's time we asked them... hmmm... Read the rest of this post...