The U.S. was for the Saddam execution before we were against it

Okay, let's review. Last week, the White House was ready with a statement from the President as soon as Hussein was executed -- even though the President was asleep.

Yet, today, after it's clear the execution was a disaster, the White House is trying to create some distance. See, the Bush Administration are the heroes here. Their people were really trying to postpone the execution. One more time, the White House is in full spin mode over Iraq:

The American decision to confirm that they had opposed the quick execution came after days of silence from the American Embassy and the United States military command in Baghdad, which appeared to have been shocked, like so many others, by the unofficial video recording that showed the bedlam at the gallows.

With some Iraqi politicians raising fresh demands for Mr. Maliki’s dismissal, the Americans, in offering to have a senior official discuss the matter in a telephone interview with The New York Times, appeared keen to protect the Bush administration from a fresh surge of criticism for its handling of events in Iraq.

The official said that among American officials in Iraq who had tried to stop Mr. Maliki from rushing Mr. Hussein to the gallows, the reaction to the scenes of abuse had been one of dismay.

“Well, yes, when I think of the behavior of the people who were there, I’m disappointed and distressed, that’s true,” the official who spoke in the telephone interview said. He had been one of the Americans who intervened with Mr. Maliki on Friday night,

See, the White House needs to prevent "a fresh surge of criticism" over Iraq while the President is planning a fresh surge of troops in Iraq. This latest debacle interferes with Bush's major escalation of his war.

How the hell did George Bush let Saddam Hussein become a martyr? Read the rest of this post...

Bad bosses get their own poll

Thought this poll on bad bosses was interesting with a universal theme. Everyone has a bad boss story -- or many stories. In DC, there is a particular breed of bad boss -- the self-importance factor is just off the scale. Some of the worst are former elected officials (who, of course, know everything) or the ones who think they should be elected officials. The bad boss is everywhere:

Employees stuck in an abusive relationship experienced more exhaustion, job tension, nervousness, depressed moods and mistrust, the researchers found. They found that a good working environment is often more important than pay, and that it's no coincidence that poor morale leads to lower production.

"They (employees) were less likely to take on additional tasks, such as working longer or on weekends, and were generally less satisfied with their job," the study found. "Also, employees were more likely to leave if involved in an abusive relationship than if dissatisfied with pay."

The results of the study are scheduled for publication in the Fall 2007 issue of The Leadership Quarterly, a journal read by consultants, managers and executives.

The findings include:

_ 39 percent of workers said their supervisor failed to keep promises.

_ 37 percent said their supervisor failed to give credit when due.

_ 31 percent said their supervisor gave them the "silent treatment" in the past year.

_ 27 percent said their supervisor made negative comments about them to other employees or managers.

_ 24 percent said their supervisor invaded their privacy.

_ 23 percent said their supervisor blamed others to cover up mistakes or to minimize embarrassment.

Sound familiar? Read the rest of this post...

US poll: Bush more hated than Osama

From National Journal (no link)

Associated Press/Ipsos Public Affairs/AOL asked Americans to name the biggest villain and biggest hero of 2006, and Bush topped both lists.

Bush ran away with the worst villain title, earning 25 percent of respondents' ire. As if the midterm election outcome wasn't proof enough of unhappiness with the Decider in Chief, the survey's results show Osama bin Laden trailing Bush by 17 points for second place.

Rounding off the top five are some more expected names and faces. Former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who was hanged on Saturday after being convicted of war crimes, came in third with 6 percent. The two other "axis of evil" leaders -- Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and North Korea's Kim Jong Il -- earned 5 percent and 2 percent, respectively. Former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld tied with the communist enclave's dictator.

Of course, as noted in the first paragraph, Bush was also cited as the biggest hero of the past year, which just goes to show what total idiots Republicans have become. I'm sorry, but when the ABC/Washington Post poll (also cited by National Journal) shows that "80 percent of Republicans pledged their confidence in the president," then Republicans need to do some real soul-searching, because they've lost their minds.

Republicans own George Bush. They own the disaster in Iraq, they own the 3,000 American dead killed for an inept lie, they own the repeal of centuries-old civil liberties. Republicans have become the party of incompetence, the party of extremism, the party of theocracy over democracy, and the party of those who hate our freedoms. I say "fine." Sane Republicans, the minority left, are most welcome to join us in straightening out our country. But rest assured that Independents and Democrats don't need the ever-more-irrelevant Republican extremists to build a permanent majority and take our country back. Read the rest of this post...

Big day in DC: we got a new Mayor, a complete smoking ban and we might get a vote in Congress

Adrian Fenty became our Mayor today in DC. He postponed the inaugural speech and inaugural ball because of the Ford funeral today.

Also, for the last few months, smoking has been banned in restaurants, but not bars. If a restaurant had a bar (even in the same room), smoking was allowed in that bar area. Not anymore. The full smoking ban took effect today. Finally.

And, we may finally get an actual, voting member of Congress. Read the rest of this post...

Best Normandy gift ever

Some people go to Normandy and bring back Calvados, war memorabilia, or cheese. Then there's me.



He's 4 feet tall, and his ladder lights up. They were all over Normandy, sometimes three or five to a house. Absolutely hysterical, and downright creepy in a way. Still, I couldn't resist. Come January 8, this bad boy is hitting my balcony. Read the rest of this post...

American troops disapprove of Bush's handling of the war

About time. Too bad the majority of Republicans, 80% in a recent poll, still think good thoughts about George Bush. Those Republicans are killing our troops. More from Military.com.

The American military — once a staunch supporter of President Bush and the Iraq war — has grown in creasingly pessimistic about chances for victory.

For the first time, more troops disapprove of the president’s han dling of the war than approve of it. Barely one-third of service members approve of the way the president is handling the war, ac cording to the 2006 Military Times Poll.

When the military was feeling most optimistic about the war — in 2004 — 83 percent of poll re spondents thought success in Iraq was likely. This year, that number has shrunk to 50 percent.

Only 35 percent of the military members polled this year said they approve of the way President Bush is handling the war, while 42 percent said they disapproved.

Read the rest of this post...

Massachusetts legislature caves to bigots

The Massachusetts legislature took the first step today towards repealing the marriages of its gay citizens. Which leads one to ponder, what would the Massachusetts legislature do if racist legislation came before it? Pass it, I guess. Will Massachusetts become the next hate state? More from our friend Andy Towle. Read the rest of this post...

What we're missing while Iraq deteriorates

An extraordinarily important and insightful article by former national coordinator for terrorism Richard Clarke lays out the vital security issues that continue to be obscured or overlooked because of the overwhelming focus upon Iraq. Iraq, of course, deserves attention, but there's a difference between public and media attention and the focus of an entire governing administration, and the latter continues to drop the ball on vital issues because Iraq is such a debacle. Clarke elaborates:

[W]ith the nation involved in a messy war spiraling toward a bad conclusion, the key deputies and Cabinet members and advisers are all focusing on one issue, at the expense of all others: Iraq.

National Security Council veteran Rand Beers has called this the "7-year-old's soccer syndrome" -- just like little kids playing soccer, everyone forgets their particular positions and responsibilities and runs like a herd after the ball . . .

When issues don't receive first-tier consideration, they can slip by for months.

First on his list is global warming, and it also includes Russia, arms control, and escalating violence across Africa, among others. The whole thing is extremely worthwhile, and as part of my resolutions for the new year, I pledge to try to cover these issues more as well. Read the rest of this post...

Everybody can read Giuliani's top secret campaign plan

Editor and Publisher has the details about how the NY Daily News got Rudy's presidential campaign plan:

We've all left something behind in a hotel room at least once -- a toothbrush, or slipper, or maybe even a set of keys. But now a GOP presidential hopeful, and former New York City mayor, tops just about everyone.

Left behind in a hotel room recently by Rudy Giuliani or one of his aides were 140 pages of printed text, handwriting and spreadsheets, leaked to New York's Daily News by the campaign of a GOP rival. The tabloid in a front-page special today describes it as the "top-secret plan for Rudy Giuliani's bid for the White House."

This "detailed dossier sets out the budgets, schedules and fund-raising plans that will underpin the former New York mayor's presidential campaign - as well as his aides' worries that personal and political baggage could scuttle his run," the paper reveals.

"At the center of his efforts: a massive fund-raising push to bring in at least $100 million this year, with a scramble for at least $25 million in the next three months alone.

Read the rest of this post...

Virgil Goode is really making his name as the leading Republican racist

Congressman Goode (R-VA) is a proud Republican and a very outspoken bigot. Think Progress excerpts his latest screed against Muslims and immigration.

TPM Muckraker was keeping track of the Republicans who disavowed Goode's earlier trashing of newly-elected Muslim member of Congress Keith Ellison from Minnesota. There weren't many. One to be exact. Read the rest of this post...

Bush's Iraq policy: failure after failure after failure

Must read in today's NY Times. It explores the failures of the Bush Iraq policy. Considering this war is the top priority for the Bush team, it's is truly remarkable -- and absolutely frightening -- how screwed up it is:

The original plan, championed by Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the top commander in Baghdad, and backed by Donald H. Rumsfeld, then the defense secretary, called for turning over responsibility for security to the Iraqis, shrinking the number of American bases and beginning the gradual withdrawal of American troops. But the plan collided with Iraq’s ferocious unraveling, which took most of Mr. Bush’s war council by surprise.

In interviews in Washington and Baghdad, senior officials said the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department had also failed to take seriously warnings, including some from its own ambassador in Baghdad, that sectarian violence could rip the country apart and turn Mr. Bush’s promise to “clear, hold and build” Iraqi neighborhoods and towns into an empty slogan.

This left the president and his advisers constantly lagging a step or two behind events on the ground.

This was a war of choice. Before the war, many experts predicted that what has happened would happen. But, our President was on a mission from God. And, Bush and his team have always looked at this war through a political lens. They put the politics of war before the policy of war.

While the rest of the nation is looking for a way out, your President is still looking for a victory in his war:

Mr. Bush came to worry that it was not just his critics and Democrats in Congress who were looking for what he dismissed last month as a strategy of “graceful exit.” Visiting the Pentagon a few weeks ago for a classified briefing on Iraq with his generals, Mr. Bush made it clear that he was not interested in any ideas that would simply allow American forces to stabilize the violence. Gen. James T. Conway, the Marine commandant, later told marines about the president’s message.

“What I want to hear from you is how we’re going to win,” he quoted the president as warning his commanders, “not how we’re going to leave.”

What Americans understand is that we're not going to win. We want to hear from Bush how we're going to leave. Read the rest of this post...

Tuesday Morning Open Thread

The holidays are over. Usually, things slow down during the last week of December. Didn't happen.

And, this will be busy week -- and month.

So get it started. Read the rest of this post...