Just fire the Democrats, please. All of them

From tomorrow's NYT:

Even though Democrats thought from the beginning that they had little hope of defeating the nomination, they were dismayed that a nominee with such clear conservative views - in particular a written record of opposition to abortion rights - appeared to be stirring little opposition.

Republicans say that Mr. Bush, in making conservative judicial choices, has been doing precisely what he said he would do in both of his presidential campaigns. Indeed, they say, his re-election, and the election of a Republican Congress, meant that the choices reflected the views of much of the American public.

Ok, let's get a few things straight:

1. Yes, Virginia, the country won't just spontaneously rise up in opposition to President Bush. You need to actually LEAD the country, you need to actually CONVINCE Americans that Bush is wrong and you are right. You can't just sit back, do nothing, and hope that the simple fact that you're right leads you to victory.

2. Only an idiot thinks Bush won the election because "much of the American public" supported anything in his platform. He won by default. People couldn't stand him, they didn't want him back as president, but the Democrats presented the voters with an even worse choice. And when it's a choice between two evils, while Mae West may pick the one she hasn't tried, the American people prefer the lesser of the two. Any Democrat who thinks Bush won, and we lost, because he had some kind of mandate is a fool.

This is just that much more evidence of why there needs to be a major blood-letting in the Democratic party, and soon. Heads need to roll. ROLL. People need to lose their jobs, en masse. After 2000, no one took responsibility. After 2004, no one took responsibility. And now it's happening again. Our wonderful party leaders are sitting back and scratching their heads wondering why the country isn't simply running into our arms while they sit back and do nothing to earn the country's respect and loyalty.

There needs to be a major revolution in the Democratic party. Heads need to roll, and soon. Read the rest of this post...

Another open thread

I just wasted two hours of my life watching War of the Worlds on Sci-Fi. They gave it two and a half stars, and they were far too generous. The worst thing since Mansquito. If you want to watch 2 hours of a guy running around and doing absolutely nothing, tune in. Sci-Fi should know better - when you produce something this crummy, kill it. Read the rest of this post...

First thing we do, arrest all the Muslims

How dare brown people buy cell phones.

And in any case, just sell them Cingular, T-Mobile or Sprint phones. We can always buy their phone records online. Read the rest of this post...

Open thread

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

Jeff Gannon connection to new Swift Boat attacks on Murtha

Oh how I wish I were kidding.

From the Washington Post:

"Cybercast is part of the conservative Media Research Center, run by L. Brent Bozell III, who accused some in the media of ignoring the Swift Boat charges, but Thibault said it operates independently. He said the unit, formerly called the Conservative News Service, averages 110,000 readers, mainly conservative, and provides material for other Web sites such as GOPUSA."

You'll recall that Jeff Gannon/James Guckert wrote for TalonNews and that TalonNews was basically indistinguishable from GOPUSA:

Talon News apparently consists of little more than Eberle, Gannon, and a few volunteers, and is virtually indistinguishable from GOPUSA.com.

Hey, Cybercast. Is that a man-whore in your pocket, or... Read the rest of this post...

How the US will engineer an invasion of Iran

From Atrios. Brilliant. And sadly true.

Winter/Spring - The clone army of foreign policy "experts" from conservative foreign policy outfits nobody ever heard of before suddenly appear on all the cable news programs all the time, frowning furiously and expressing concerns about the "grave threat" that Iran poses. Never before heard of Iranian exile group members start appearing regularly, talking about their role in the nuclear program and talking up Iran's human rights violations.

Spring/Summer - "Liberal hawks" point out that all serious people understand the serious threat posed by serious Iran, and while they acknowledge grudgingly that the Bush administration has fucked up everything it touches, they stress, and I mean stress, that we really must support the Bush administration's serious efforts to deal with the serious problem and that criticisms of such serious approaches to a serious problem are highly irresponsible and come only from irrational very unserious Bush haters who would rather live in Iran than the U.S.

Late Summer - Rumsfeld denies having an Iran war plan "on his desk." He refuses to answer if he has one "in his file cabinet." Andy Card explains that you don't roll out new product until after labor day.

Early Fall - Bush suddenly demands Congress give him the authority to attack Iran to ensure they "disarm." Some Democrats have the temerity to ask "with what army?" Marshall Wittman and Peter Beinart explain that courageous Democrats will have the courageous courage to be serious and to confront the "grave threat" with seriousness and vote to send other peoples' kids off to war, otherwise they'll be seen as highly unserious on national security. Neither enlists.

Late October - Despite the fact that all but 30 Democrats vote for the resolution, Republicans run a national ad campaign telling voters that Democrats are objectively pro-Ahmadinejad. Glenn Reynolds muses, sadly, that Democrats aren't just anti-war, but "on the other side." Nick Kristof writes that liberals must support the war due to Ahmadinejad's opposition to gay rights in Iran.

Election Day - Democrats lose 5 seats in the Senate, 30 in the House. Marshall Wittman blames it on the "pro-Iranian caucus."

The Day After Election Day - Miraculously we never hear another word about the grave Iranian threat. Peter Beinart writes a book about how serious Democrats must support the liberation of Venezuela and Bolivia.

Read the rest of this post...

Bush kills 24 innocent family members in Pakistan

That's nice.

At least when Clinton "lobbed cruise missiles at tents" he wasn't blowing up entire innocent families in small villages who had no idea what was about to happen to them.

An AP reporter who visited Damadola about 12 hours after the attack saw three destroyed houses, hundreds of yards apart. Villagers had buried at least 15 people, including women and children, and were digging for more bodies in the rubble....

Zaman, who said three of his children were killed when his home was destroyed, told AP he was a "law-abiding" laborer and had no ties to al-Zawahri or any other militants....

Doctors told AP that at least 17 people died in the attack, but residents of Damadola, a Pashtun tribal hamlet on a hillside about four miles from the Afghan border, said more than 30 died. They recounted hearing aircraft fly overhead before explosions in the village that were felt miles away....

At another destroyed house, Sami Ullah, a 17-year-old student, said 24 of his family members were killed and vowed he would "seek justice from God."

Read the rest of this post...

Did our commander in chief go AWOL during the Vietnam War?

I think this article in today's Washington Post makes clear that the issue of George Bush's missing-in-action status during the Vietnam War is now relevant once again.

We are a nation at war and it is unnacceptable that there be any doubt in our troops' minds as to whether their commander in chief is a traitor and a coward. Again, the Washington Post article makes clear that the issue as to whether George Bush, standing before the American people as a holier-than-thou spokesman for the war in Iraq, is truly fit to be such a spokesman, let alone the commander in chief of our brave men and women in uniform.

Our troops deserve nothing less than the truth. Is our commander in chief a coward? Read the rest of this post...

Cingular Wireless caught lying to media over cell phone records sale scandal

It's hard to have any faith in a company that feels the need to outright lie to the media in an effort to convince its customers that their phone records are safe.

Cingular, my cell phone provider, did an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution yesterday in which their spokesman said the following:

"Cingular spokesman Mark Siegel... said Cingular isn't aware of any complaints from users who've had their records given out, nor has the company caught any of its own employees selling records."

That's a lie, and Cingular knows it.

My records were stolen a week ago, and Cingular knows it. Not only did I call and raise hell, but I also published the fact on this blog and turned it into a national media feeding frenzy. Call me crazy, but I have a funny feeling that Cingular in general, and Mark Siegel in particular, are quite familiar with the fact that my records were stolen. Not to mention, CNN repeatedly broadcast the fact that my Cingular records were stolen, so how exactly does Cingular not know this?

I appreciate Cingular having sued the companies in question - though I still have to wonder why it took them until now to sue these guys. But I don't appreciate Cingular trying to reassure its customers by outright lying to them. Of course, this is the same Cingular spokesman who told the Washington Post last summer that the theft of our personal phone records was a "infinitesimally small problem." So perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that he's yet again downplaying the seriousness. Read the rest of this post...

Actual copy of Jose Padilla's hand-written Al Qaeda application

We reported last night that the Bush administration is now saying they've found alleged dirty bomber (never mind) Jose Padilla's "hand-written Al Qaeda application." Well, Jesus' General got his hands on it...

From Jesus' General:

Read the rest of this post...

Media says it looks more like Alito will be confirmed

Opponents of Alito really have to do some self-examination. He wouldn't say Roe v. Wade is settled law. He basically supports originalism. But, he's heading to confirmation. Hey, their just rights that will be taken away:

The Senate Judiciary Committee wrapped up its weeklong confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito on Friday with civil rights advocates warning that he would turn the clock back, while a diverse group of former aides and colleagues praised his fairness.

The committee's top Democrat indicated that the panel's vote on Alito, scheduled next Tuesday, would likely be delayed for a week.

In another development, committee Chairman Arlen Specter, R-Pa., a moderate who supports abortion rights, announced his backing for the conservative nominee, saying he was satisfied with Alito's answers on abortion and presidential power, the dominant issues at the hearing.

While Alito would not discuss his current view of Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion, "I think he went about as far as he could go,'' Specter said as the session closed.

So Arlen, that whole pro-choice schtick of yours is over. You are supporting a justice who will overturn it. Same will be true for Olympia Snowe, Lincoln Chafee and Susan Collins. Read the rest of this post...

Saturday Morning Open Thread

Now, this was an interesting week. And, it's a long a weekend. Which means more time for scheming. Any ideas? Read the rest of this post...

Pakistanis say we didn't take out the second highest Al-Qaeda guy after all

Last night, John wrote a post about the major breaking news claiming Al-Qaeda's number two had been taken out by a CIA missile. Given the Bush team's track record, John, unlike cable news, was skeptical. Our great allies in Pakistan say it didn't happen:

Al-Qaida's second-in-command was not at the site of a U.S. airstrike on a Pakistan village near the Afghan border that killed at least 17 people, two senior Pakistani officials said Saturday.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said that Pakistan's own investigation concluded that Ayman al-Zawahri was not in the village of Damadola.

"Their information was wrong, and our investigations conclude that they acted on a false information," said a senior intelligence official who has direct knowledge of the investigations launched by Pakistan to look into the attacks.

Read the rest of this post...

Maryland House overrides GOP Gov veto on Wal-Mart bill

They needed 85 votes and rounded up 88 to override Governor Ehrlich's veto. It's not very popular in GOP circles to talk about corporate responsibility, is it? If Wal-Mart or other big corporates can't spend something on employee health care but can pay handsomely to their top executives, there is a serious problem. If they don't like it, I'm sure Alabama and Mississippi and the rest of the GOP south can open up a few more stores and give away tax breaks and land so that Wal-Mart can bring prosperity to their states. It's high time Wal-Mart and their type compete just like everyone else on a level playing field. Read the rest of this post...

Does the Bush team plan or organize anything, ever?

The new Medicare program sounds like the same disorganized mess that Team Bush churns out everywhere with just about everything they do. No wonder Iraq is such a mess and New Orleans was left to fend for itself. If it's not related to padding the pockets of rich campaign donors, forget about anything working out well. Why does the GOP hate old and poor people?

Computer glitches, overloaded telephone lines and poorly trained pharmacists are being blamed for mix-ups that have resulted in the worst of unintended consequences: As many as 6.4 million low-income seniors, who until Dec. 31 received their medications free, suddenly find themselves navigating an insurance maze of large deductibles, co-payments and outright denial of coverage.

"This new prescription drug plan was supposed to be a voluntary program to help people who didn't have coverage," said Jeanne Finberg, a lawyer for the National Senior Citizens Law Center. "All this is doing is harming the people who had coverage -- America's most vulnerable citizens."

"The first week was pure hell," said Mike Souders, owner of Metropolis Drugs in southern Illinois. Computer systems crashed, phone lines were jammed, and there was no way for him to confirm that patients were covered.

"In 2000, for Y2K, we were practicing running systems for a year," he said, referring to computer preparations for the coming of the new millennium. "They started this up cold turkey."

Read the rest of this post...

US "finds" Jose Padilla's written application to join Al Qaeda

I'm not making this up.

Though I can't say the same for our government. Read the rest of this post...