Bowling 1, Health Care 0

Elizabeth Edwards - the wife of the guy I wanted to be President - wrote an op-ed in today's New York Times. I don't know if she reads Bob Somerby's Daily Howler, or if intelligent people watching the broken 4th Estate just come to the same conclusions.

FOR the last month, news media attention was focused on Pennsylvania and its Democratic primary. Given the gargantuan effort, what did we learn?

Well, the rancor of the campaign was covered. The amount of money spent was covered. But in Pennsylvania, as in the rest of the country this political season, the information about the candidates’ priorities, policies and principles — information that voters will need to choose the next president — too often did not make the cut. After having spent more than a year on the campaign trail with my husband, John Edwards, I’m not surprised....

[E]very analysis that is shortened, every corner that is cut, moves us further away from the truth until what is left is the Cliffs Notes of the news, or what I call strobe-light journalism, in which the outlines are accurate enough but we cannot really see the whole picture....

Did you, for example, ever know a single fact about Joe Biden’s health care plan? Anything at all? But let me guess, you know Barack Obama’s bowling score. We are choosing a president, the next leader of the free world. We are not buying soap, and we are not choosing a court clerk with primarily administrative duties.

What’s more, the news media cut candidates like Joe Biden out of the process even before they got started. Just to be clear: I’m not talking about my husband. I’m referring to other worthy Democratic contenders. Few people even had the chance to find out about Joe Biden’s health care plan before he was literally forced from the race by the news blackout that depressed his poll numbers, which in turn depressed his fund-raising.

And it’s not as if people didn’t want this information. In focus groups that I attended or followed after debates, Joe Biden would regularly be the object of praise and interest: “I want to know more about Senator Biden,” participants would say.

But it was not to be. Indeed, the Biden campaign was covered more for its missteps than anything else. Chris Dodd, also a serious candidate with a distinguished record, received much the same treatment. I suspect that there was more coverage of the burglary at his campaign office in Hartford than of any other single event during his run other than his entering and leaving the campaign.

Who is responsible for the veil of silence over Senator Biden? Or Senator Dodd? Or Gov. Tom Vilsack? Or Senator Sam Brownback on the Republican side?

The decision was probably made by the same people who decided that Fred Thompson was a serious candidate. Articles purporting to be news spent thousands upon thousands of words contemplating whether he would enter the race, to the point that before he even entered, he was running second in the national polls for the Republican nomination. Second place! And he had not done or said anything that would allow anyone to conclude he was a serious candidate. A major weekly news magazine put Mr. Thompson on its cover, asking — honestly! — whether the absence of a serious campaign and commitment to raising money or getting his policies out was itself a strategy.

Voter Registration Drive

Obama plans major drive to register voters

Sen. Barack Obamas presidential campaign is planning to unveil a massive voter registration drive, one that will reach all 50 states and seeks to boost confidence in him as a potential general election candidate.

A senior campaign official is expected to provide details about the effort in a conference call Friday.

But the candidate himself or his speechwriters apparently slipped up and included a reference to the effort in an address to a union group Thursday in Chicago.

"That's why I'm so proud that today our campaign announced a massive volunteer-led voter registration drive in all 50 states to help ensure every single eligible voter takes part in this election so we can take back Washington for the American people," Obama said at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place.

I love "the candidate apparently slipped up." Yeah, right, it was an accident, and not an intentional attempt to get this out there.

This is VERY smart. It's not only good for the Democratic Party as a whole, it's smart politics. You want superdelegates to have a favorable view of you? Increasing voter registration in their states is very likely to accomplish that.

And a 50-state strategy is the way to go. This doesn't just help Obama, it helps every Democratic candidate - Congressmen, Senators, Mayors, Governors, State Senators - across the board.

Campaigns are rife with symbolic actions. This is a symbolic action that will actually accomplish something concrete. This signals that it isn't just about him. It signals that Obama is not just going to try to win, he's going to try to make the whole party win.

Enough

Isn't it about time the stupid Democrats stopped dancing to their enemies' tune?

Have you ever heard of Operation Chaos?

In late February 2008, Limbaugh developed Operation Chaos, a political call to action with the initial plan to have voters of the Republican Party temporarily cross over to vote Democrat and vote for Hillary Clinton, who at the time was in the midst of losing eleven straight primary contests to Barack Obama. The goal was to have the campaigns of Clinton and Obama fight over the Democratic Party nomination for as long as possible and potentially force a brokered 2008 Democratic National Convention.

On March 27, 2008, Limbaugh said that ""The dream end of this[of Operation Chaos] is that this keeps up to the Convention, and that we have a recreation of Chicago 1968 with burning cars, protests, fire, and literal riots and all of that, that is the objective here [of Operation Chaos]" - Wikipedia

Here's Rush, laughing like Satan on The Day The Music Died:

"Yes, Operation Chaos is exceeding all objectives, ladies and gentlemen. This is just amazing..... The poll showed Arizona Sen. McCain, who has clinched the Republican presidential nomination, is benefiting from the lengthy campaign battle between Obama and Clinton." Well, yes, which was the primary purpose of Operation Chaos. (laughing)

Folks, we are doing it! Do you realize, we are doing it! Things are happening out there on our terms. Why, this is just fabulous." - Rush Limbaugh (No link. I'm not linking to the scumbags website.)

Isn't it time we learned?

Should Limbaugh be arrested?

Is this legal? Can it make someone lose an FCC license?

Rush Limbaugh Calling For Riots In Denver

DENVER -- Talk show host Rush Limbaugh is sparking controversy again after he made comments calling for riots in Denver during the Democratic National Convention this summer.

He said the riots would ensure a Democrat is not elected as president, and his listeners have a responsibility to make sure it happens.

"Riots in Denver, the Democrat Convention would see to it that we don't elect Democrats," Limbaugh said during Wednesday's radio broadcast.

Bush is Number 1!

"The highest disapproval rating of any president in the 70-year history of the Gallup Poll"

The law has ceased to exist.

According to the Attorney General, the law is whatever the Justice Department says it is.

No matter what Bush does, it's legal.

Why don't they just remove the impeachment clause from the Constitution? Obviously, it never applies.

Straight Talk

Of course, George Stephanopoulos just lets this gibberish go.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So was it a mistake to solicit and accept his endorsement?

MCCAIN: Oh, probably, sure. […]

STEPHANOPOULOS: So you no longer want his endorsement?

MCCAIN: I’m glad to have his endorsement. I condemn remarks that are, in any way, viewed as anti-anything. And thanks for asking.

"You have a real choice in this election. Either Democrat would be better than John McCain. And all three of us would be better than George Bush." - Barack Obama

Must Read

The New York Times today ran a front page expose on the propaganda masquerading as news in our war reporting.

You can insert your own snarky comment about how shocking it is for the New York Times to be doing actual reporting, but this time, I'll let that go.

To the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world.

Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.

The effort, which began with the buildup to the Iraq war and continues to this day, has sought to exploit ideological and military allegiances, and also a powerful financial dynamic: Most of the analysts have ties to military contractors vested in the very war policies they are asked to assess on air.

Those business relationships are hardly ever disclosed to the viewers, and sometimes not even to the networks themselves. But collectively, the men on the plane and several dozen other military analysts represent more than 150 military contractors either as lobbyists, senior executives, board members or consultants. The companies include defense heavyweights, but also scores of smaller companies, all part of a vast assemblage of contractors scrambling for hundreds of billions in military business generated by the administration’s war on terror. It is a furious competition, one in which inside information and easy access to senior officials are highly prized.

Liberal Media

From Media Matters

On The Situation Room, an on-screen chart showed Sen. John McCain's income to be significantly lower than that of Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton when combined with the income of their spouses. However, the chart did not include any income earned by McCain's wife, Cindy. As Dana Bash reported moments earlier of Cindy McCain, "Some estimates actually put her worth at about $100 million."

Notice: in the screen capture above, all are shown with their spouses and ALL are the income of the couple - except for McCain, who is shown all alone.

Coconut Manor. No snow, no ice. Read this - that'll make your ice water.

Justin Rood on a serious scandal that no one has noticed.

Even as more information leaks out about the latest Congressional scandal, Congress is struggling to decide how – or whether – to investigate itself.

The crux of the scandal, known as "Coconut Road," is simple: When Congress passes a law, its wording is not supposed to change before it goes to the president for his signature.

But in 2005, a rogue entry popped up in a spending bill after the House and Senate had already voted on it, but before it landed on President Bush's desk.

The entry directed $10 million to Florida authorities to build a highway interchange they didn't want, but which would open up thousands of acres to be developed. That land was owned by a major contributor to Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska.

Pursued by bloggers and a watchdog group, the source of the tiny provision – known as "Coconut Road" – has mushroomed into a full-blown scandal. The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the matter, while Congress is debating how (and whether) to investigate how anyone could manage to pull such a fast one.

For months, no one has come forward to take credit. But this morning, unnamed members of Young's staff are quoted in the Washington Post saying that yes, unnamed committee aides for Young "corrected" the law after it had been passed by Congress. Young's office insisted that campaign donations were not the motive to make the change.

The earmarked money was always supposed to be for the interchange, but had been written as generic highway improvements, Young's spokeswoman said. So they changed it.

Mystery solved? Hardly, says Keith Ashdown, a spending watchdog whose group, Taxpayers for Common Sense, first investigated the Coconut Road earmark and took the rare step of asking the House Ethics Committee for an investigation – six months ago.

For one thing, the role of another Florida congressman, Republican Connie Mack, is unclear. Mack "disavowed any association with the earmark request," the Post reported Wednesday - yet he authored a letter at the time expressing support for the controversial interchange. He has since pushed to reverse the earmark.

"This is still a case of whodunit," said Ashdown. The identities of those involved are still unknown, he said, as well as those of anyone who may have directed the change – nor is it public knowledge what other staffers may have known about the illicit tweak.

"Other staff were involved," Ashdown said Wednesday. "We believe they didn’t intend to do wrong, but at best they were asleep at the switch. . . [but] they let this happen."

Questions for McCain

Following in the wake of that deplorable dog-and-pony show called the "debate," in which the candidates weren't asked a single question about health car, gas prices, the subprime collapse, the falling dollar, Afghanistan or torture, but were instead subject to question about the very important issues of flag pins and past associations, PERRspectives came up with a list of similar questions to be asked of St. John McCain:

Here, then, are 10 debate questions John McCain will never be asked:

1. Do you agree with Pastor John Hagee that war with Iran is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy?

In February, you shared a stage with Pastor John Hagee and said you were "very proud" to have his endorsement. You also called the Reverend Rod Parsley, a man who said of Islam "America was founded, in part, with the intention of seeing this false religion destroyed", your "spiritual guide." Do you believe America's mission is to destroy Islam? Do you join Pastor Hagee in believing the United States must attack Iran to fulfill the biblical prophecy of Armageddon in Israel in which 144,000 Jews will be converted to Christianity and the rest killed? Is that why you joked about "bomb bomb Iran?" If not, why will you not renounce the support of Hagee and Parsley?

2. Doesn't your legendary temper make you too dangerous to be trusted with the presidency of the United States?

Your anger, even toward friends and allies, is legendary. You purportedly dropped the F-Bomb on your own GOP colleagues John Cornyn and Chuck Grassley. In the book, The Real McCain, author Cliff Schechter claims you got into a fist-fight with your fellow Arizona Republican Rick Renzi. Allegedly, you even publicly used a crude term, one which decorum and the FCC prohibit us from even saying on the air, to describe your own wife. Which if any of these episodes is untrue? Don't your anger management problems make you too dangerously unstable to be president of the United States?

3. Doesn't your confusion regarding basic facts about the war in Iraq, including repeatedly citing a nonexistent Al Qaeda-Iran alliance, make you unfit for command?

On four occasions in one month, you confused friend and foe in Iraq by describing Sunni Al Qaeda as being backed by Shiite Iran. Then you showed a misunderstanding of the U.S. chain of command when you claimed you would not back shifting forces from Iraq to Afghanistan "unless Gen. [David] Petraeus said that he felt that the situation called for that," a decision which Petraeus himself told you and your Senate colleagues only the week before rests not with him but with his superiors. Doesn't your lack of understanding and judgment when it comes to basic facts of America's national security disqualify you as commander-in-chief?

4. Given your past adultery, should Americans consider you a moral exemplar of family values?

You are the nominee of a Republican Party which claims to support so-called "family values." Yet you commenced an adulterous relationship with your current wife Cindy months before the dissolution of your previous marriage to your first wife Carol. Should Americans consider you to be a moral exemplar of family values?

5. Doesn't your flip-flop on Jerry Falwell being an "agent of intolerance" show your opportunistic pandering to the religious right?

In 2000, you famously called the late Jerry Falwell "an agent of intolerance," a statement which may have cost you the decisive South Carolina primary. But as you ramped up your next presidential run in 2006, you embraced Falwell and gave the commencement address at his Liberty University. When Tim Russert asked that spring if you still considered him an agent of intolerance, you said, "'no, I don't." Why shouldn't the American people consider you a flip-flopping opportunist who cynically courted the religious right to further your 2008 presidential ambitions?

6. Given your wealth and privileged upbringing, aren't you - and not Barack Obama - the elitist?

You have called Barack Obama an elitist. Yet you recently returned to your exclusive private high school, one which now costs over $38,000 a year to attend. Your wife is the heiress to a beer distribution company, reputedly owns 8 homes and has a net worth well over $100 million. Your children all attended private schools, academies which also happened to be the primary beneficiaries of funds from your supposed charitable foundation. Shouldn't the American people in fact view you as the elitist, and a hypocritical one at that?

7. What is your religion, really? And has the answer in the past changed as the South Carolina primary approached?

I want to ask about your seemingly ever-changing religious beliefs. In June 2007, McClatchy reported, "McCain still calls himself an Episcopalian." In August 2007, as ABC reported, your campaign staff identified you as "Episcopalian" in a questionnaire prepared for ABC News' August 5 debate. But as the primary in evangelical-rich South Carolina neared, in September 2007 you said of your religious faith, "It plays a role in my life. By the way, I'm not Episcopalian. I'm Baptist." But in March 2008, Pastor Dan Yeary of your North Phoenix Baptist Church refused to comment on why you have refused to finally undergo a baptism ceremony. Congressional directories still list you as an Episcopalian. In the past, you've said, "When I'm asked about it, I'll be glad to discuss it." So what is your religion? And couldn't Americans be forgiven for assuming your changing faith is tied to your changing political needs?

8. Didn't President Bush betray you with his signing statement on the Detainee Treatment Act? You claim to be against torture, but aren't you a hypocrite for voting "no" on the Senate waterboaring ban?

You've said that "we can't torture or treat inhumanely suspected terrorists we have captured". And in December 2005, you famously reached a compromise with President Bush on the Detainee Torture Act banning cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment of detainees. But just two weeks later, President Bush issued a signing statement making it clear he would ignore the compromise you just reached. Then in February 2007, you voted "no" on a Senate bill banning waterboarding. Isn't it fair to say President Bush betrayed you with his December 30, 2005 signing statement? And isn't it fair to say you caved to the right-wing of your party on the issue in order to win the Republican nomination?

9. Why did you flip-flop on the Bush tax cuts you twice opposed? Why do you now support making them permanent for the wealthiest Americans who need them least?

You twice voted against the Bush tax cuts. Now you support making them permanent. In 2001, you said, "I cannot in good conscience support a tax cut in which so many of the benefits go to the most fortunate among us at the expense of middle-class Americans who need tax relief." Now, according to the Center for American Progress, your tax plan would cost more than $2 trillion over the next decade and "would predominantly benefit the most fortunate taxpayers, offering two new massive tax cuts for corporations and delivering 58 percent of its benefits to the top 1 percent of taxpayers." Isn't it true that you flip-flopped on the Bush tax cuts? Isn't it fair to say that you now favor a massive expansion of the federal budget deficit in order to fund a tax giveaway to the wealthiest Americans who need it least?

10. With the economy tanking, shouldn't Americans be concerned over your past statements that "the issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should?"

Americans consistently report that the economy is the issue that concerns them most. Yet more than once, you proclaimed your ignorance when it comes to the economy. In November 2005, you told the Wall Street Journal, "I'm going to be honest: I know a lot less about economics than I do about military and foreign policy issues. I still need to be educated." Then in December 2007, you admitted, "The issue of economics is not something I've understood as well as I should." Shouldn't the American be worried about President McCain's ability to lead the United States out of recession? Given your past statements, shouldn't the American reject out of hand your claim that "I know the economy better than Senator Clinton and Senator Obama do?"

They hate the law

The EPA has chosen to defy the Congressional Subpoena.

The Supreme Court ordered them to determine the effect of greenhouse gases on global warming. They did nothing. After a year of doing nothing, Congress subpoenaed what the EPA claimed were two draft documents relating to greenhouse gases. They have flat refused, making the weird claim that releasing the documents before they are finished "would be injurious to important Executive Branch institutional prerogatives," whatever the hell that means. I've known six-year-olds to come up with better excuses.

What in the hell will it take for this spineless Congress to actually act like Congress?

Things to say that will ingratiate you when meeting with the Pope

Call him "Fishhead."

"What wrong with Iraq? Here in America, Christians LIKE war. Didn't Jesus?"

"Why isn't the Vatican in Salt Lake City?"

"I thought the Pope had to be a Dago."

"Why didn't you name yourself 'George Ringo'?

"If priests can be gay, why can't lay people?"

"If you're a Christian, how come you wear a yarmulke"?

"Have you ever seen a character named 'Simon Bar-Sinister' from Underdog"?

"You know what would be a good Pope name? 'Suburban the First.'"

"Here, read this. It's 95 Theses on women's ordination and gay clergy."

If it was Hillary or Obama, this would be a HUGE scandal

McCain Website Pilfers "Family Recipes"

The Huffington Post reported yesterday that a batch of recipes listed on John McCain's campaign website, under the headline "McCain Family Recipes", were actually taken word for word from the website of the Food Network.

The recipes in question – including Ahi Tuna with Napa Cabbage Slaw, Passion Fruit Mousse, and Farfalle Pasta with Turkey Sausage, Peas and Mushrooms — were all credited on the website to McCain's wife Cindy. Another recipe also appears to be very similar to a recipe of TV personality and chef Rachael Ray.

I'm bitter

So many of the articles I've read about this manufactured gaffe have been along the lines of "What Obama said wasn't actually bad, but it's the sort of thing that will offend those people in the sticks" - which (of course) is an ACTUAL elitist attitude.

The Elitist Washington Press Corps calls Obama an "elitist" because he DOESN'T talk down to people, and assumes that they are capable of understanding complexities.

The Washington Press Corps thinks that Pennsylvanians are idiots.

War of the Words.

History will not be kind

But we knew that.

President Bush often argues that history will vindicate him. So he can't be pleased with an informal survey of 109 professional historians conducted by the History News Network. It found that 98 percent of them believe that Bush's presidency has been a failure, while only about 2 percent see it as a success. Not only that, more than 61 percent of the historians say the current presidency is the worst in American history. In 2004, only 11.6 percent of the historians rated Bush's presidency in last place. Among the reasons given for his low ratings: invading Iraq, "tax breaks for the rich," and alienating many nations around the world. Bush supporters counter that professional historians today tend to be liberal and that it's too early to assess how his policies will turn out.

Everything he says is a lie

"One thing is for certain: There won't be any more mass graves and torture rooms and rape rooms."— Bush, press availability in Monterrey, Mexico, Jan. 12, 2004

_____________

Iraq: Mass Grave Found South of Baghdad
April 11, 2008

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraqi soldiers acting on tips from detained Shiite militiamen found 14 bodies Saturday that had been buried in a field south of Baghdad, officials said.

It was the second discovery this week of mass graves in the area, raising to 44 the number of bodies located by Iraqi troops.

____________________

Bush approved torture

President Bush says he knew his top national security advisers discussed and approved specific details about how high-value al Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the Central Intelligence Agency, according to an exclusive interview with ABC News

"Well, we started to connect the dots in order to protect the American people." Bush told ABC News White House correspondent Martha Raddatz. "And yes, I'm aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved.

Deep thought of the day

It's interesting that Democrats are never supposed to voice any criticism of rural America but Republicans are allowed to constantly insult Massachusetts, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc., with impunity. Why is that?

Prediction

Obama is going to do much better in Pennsylvania than predicted, and part of the reason is the statement he made yesterday, and part of the reason is Hillary's stupid response to it.

In case you missed it, this is what he said:

Here's how it is: in a lot of these communities in big industrial states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, people have been beaten down so long. They feel so betrayed by government that when they hear a pitch that is premised on not being cynical about government, then a part of them just doesn't buy it. And when it's delivered by -- it's true that when it's delivered by a 46-year-old black man named Barack Obama, then that adds another layer of skepticism.

But -- so the questions you're most likely to get about me, 'Well, what is this guy going to do for me? What is the concrete thing?' What they wanna hear is -- so, we'll give you talking points about what we're proposing -- to close tax loopholes, you know, roll back the tax cuts for the top 1 percent. Obama's gonna give tax breaks to middle-class folks and we're gonna provide health care for every American.

But the truth is, is that, our challenge is to get people persuaded that we can make progress when there's not evidence of that in their daily lives. You go into some of these small towns in Pennsylvania, and like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations.

Um, now these are in some communities, you know. I think what you'll find is, is that people of every background -- there are gonna be a mix of people, you can go in the toughest neighborhoods, you know working-class lunch-pail folks, you'll find Obama enthusiasts. And you can go into places where you think I'd be very strong and people will just be skeptical. The important thing is that you show up and you're doing what you're doing.

Both Clinton and McCain have responded by taking out his snippet:

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years. ... And it's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

And saying that Obama is elitist.

"Pennsylvanians don't need a president who looks down on them," [Hillary] said. "They need a president who stands up for them."

Steve Schmidt, a spokesman for Republican candidate John McCain, described Obama's comments as "condescending" and "out of touch."

In Terre Haute, Obama chided McCain for not responding promptly to the home mortgage crisis and criticized Clinton for voting for a bankruptcy bill supported by credit card companies.

"No, I'm IN touch," he said. "I know exactly what's going on. People are fed up, they are angry, they're frustrated and they're bitter. And they want to see a change in Washington."

Clinton spokesman Phil Singer said Friday night, "Instead of apologizing for offending small-town America, Senator Obama chose to repeat and embrace the comments he made earlier this week."

Tucker Bounds, a spokesman for McCain, said Friday: "Only an elitist would say that people vote their values only out of frustration. ... You can't be more out of touch than that."

This strategy on the part of Hillary and McCain is so stupid it takes the breath away. People aren't stupid, and no sane human being would read that as "elitist." Obama hit the nail on the head, and said EXACTLY what lots and lots of Pennsylvanians are saying. By attacking the remarks as elitist and spinning them so transparently, Hillary looks like just playing the same tired, soul-deadening, cynical political game. And she also looks like SHE'S the one who doesn't get the problems of industrial America.

Do you know who this is?

Well, if you don't, he's the first modern Superhero, preceding Superman by about five years, and his pulp novels served as the direct inspiration for Superman, the Fantastic Four, and many other comic heroes.

And this is his 75th anniversary.

Just thought I'd mention that.

ITMFA

"Why are we talking about this in the White House? History will not judge this kindly." - John Ashcroft

Do you know how reprehensible the Bush Administration is?

JOHN ASHCROFT looks like a terrific guy when he's in their company, that's how reprehensible they are.

Cheney Approved Harsh Interrogations
Reports: Senior Officials Kept President Bush In Dark Over Meetings On "Torture" Tactics

(CBS/AP)Bush administration officials from Vice President Dick Cheney on down signed off on using harsh interrogation techniques against suspected terrorists after asking the Justice Department to endorse their legality, The Associated Press has learned.

The officials also took care to insulate President Bush from a series of meetings where CIA interrogation methods, including waterboarding, which simulates drowning, were discussed and ultimately approved.

So, all got together and decided that torture was OK - and the guy supposedly in charge had no clue.

These people should be tried for war crimes.

Check out Froomkin's column

Sociopath

WASHINGTON - President Bush yesterday ordered a suspension of further troop withdrawals from Iraq and said he would not review the decision until September, in the midst of the presidential general-election campaign, all but ensuring that any decision on major cutbacks would be made by his successor.

Which is the whole idea, of course. He doesn't care if the whole United States Army breaks in two. All he cares about is leaving the shit for somebody ELSE to clean up, so he can spend the rest of his pathetic little life saying that it's somebody else's fault.

"It's time for the president to answer the question being asked of him: In the wake of the failed surge, what is the endgame in Iraq?" Clinton asked.

To his face, Hillary. I want it asked to his face.

No racism here. No sir.

From NBC'S Laura Appelbaum
Before attending the Senate Armed Services hearing with Petraeus and Crocker, McCain attended a rally sponsored by the pro-Iraq war Vets for Freedom, where he continued to praise Petraeus, calling him "one of [America's] greatest generals."

Before McCain spoke, former Army Staff Sergeant David Bellavia introduced the Arizona senator, telling those in attendance he wants his sons to view McCain as a role model, versus someone like Tiger Woods.

And what, exactly, do Barack Obama and Tiger Woods have in commmon?

Ah.

No racism here. No sir.

From NBC'S Laura Appelbaum
Before attending the Senate Armed Services hearing with Petraeus and Crocker, McCain attended a rally sponsored by the pro-Iraq war Vets for Freedom, where he continued to praise Petraeus, calling him "one of [America's] greatest generals."

Before McCain spoke, former Army Staff Sergeant David Bellavia introduced the Arizona senator, telling those in attendance he wants his sons to view McCain as a role model, versus someone like Tiger Woods.

And what, exactly, do Barack Obama and Tiger Woods have in commmon?

Ah.

Neil Aspinall died

Actually, he died a couple of weeks ago, and I didn't even know it.

Crooks aren't smart.

Cop: Robber Left Name on Job Application

ATHENS, Ga. — Police say they got a major clue to the identity of a suspect in the armed robbery of a convenience store — his job application.

Investigators in Athens, Ga., say Demetrius Robinson filled out the application to kill time while waiting for the Golden Pantry store to empty of customers.

Authorities say it was Robinson who then produced a knife and held up the store last week.

The job application gave Robinson's name and an uncle's phone number, but a phony address.

Police arrested the 28-year-old man Saturday on armed robbery charges.

Nice shot of the teleprompter, John

It's funny how easy it is to forget that EVERYTHING is scripted, EVERYTHING is phony, including stuff as supposedly "personal" and "honest" as McCain's "biographical tour."

Those clapping cookie-cutters called "students" look REAL enthusiastic, too, don't they?

But it's haaaaard weeerk

From Thinkprogress

Enough is enough, it seems. With the NATO summit meetings consistently running two hours over schedule most of the day, President Bush abruptly got up and left the last formal session of the day, not bothering to wait for an official summit photograph of all the leaders.

Bush is no fan of windy meetings and evidently had had his fill. He left behind Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to represent him for the rest of the session, which concerned NATO operations in Afghanistan, but his departure was so sudden and unexpected that he left some of his motorcade behind, inculding his press pool, when he got into his car and headed back to his hotel.

He probably was afraid he'd miss his favorite cartoon. After all, you can't let being the Preznit interfere with your good time.

Dear America: About Race.

Wow.

Obama would hire Al Gore

At this point in the campaign, I think floating this as a possibility is brilliant politics.

WALLINGFORD, Pa. - Sen. Barack Obama said Wednesday he would give Al Gore, a Nobel prize winner, a major role in an Obama administration to address the problem of global warming.

At a town-hall meeting, Obama was asked if he would tap the former vice president for his Cabinet, or an even higher level office, to handle global warming.

"I would," Obama said. "Not only will I, but I will make a commitment that Al Gore will be at the table and play a central part in us figuring out how we solve this problem. He's somebody I talk to on a regular basis. I'm already consulting with him in terms of these issues, but climate change is real. It is something we have to deal with now, not 10 years from now, not 20 years from now."

It's disgusting that it's even come to this

States Sue EPA Over Global Warming

BOSTON — A group of state attorneys general is taking the EPA back to court to try to force it to comply with a Supreme Court ruling that rebuked the Bush administration for inaction on global warming.

The high court decided a year ago that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act and ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to take action.

The lawless Bush Administration. They simply defy the Supreme Court - IGNORE a direct court order - and ASSUME that there won't be any consequences.

It's sickening that the States actually have to SUE to get these criminals to stop stop acting like they are above the law.

Is it impeachment yet?

Seriously. Isn't there some reason to impeach, if only to make a statement that the President isn't above the law? Shouldn't Congress take a simple moral, legal and ethical stance? I mean, as Americans? Or is that just too old-fashioned and quaint?

Memo: Laws Didn't Apply to Interrogators

The Justice Department sent a legal memorandum to the Pentagon in 2003 asserting that federal laws prohibiting assault, maiming and other crimes did not apply to military interrogators who questioned al-Qaeda captives because the president's ultimate authority as commander in chief overrode such statutes.

How Moqtada al-Sadr Won in Basra

George W. Bush has spent 7 years showing the world that the American military is unable to beat a third-world country.

Mission accomplished.

How Moqtada al-Sadr Won in Basra

The Iraqi military's offensive in Basra was supposed to demonstrate the power of the central government in Baghdad. Instead it has proven the continuing relevance of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army, stood its ground in several days of heavy fighting with Iraqi soldiers backed up by American and British air power. But perhaps more important than the manner in which the militia fought is the manner in which it stopped fighting. On Sunday Sadr issued a call for members of the Mahdi Army to stop appearing in the streets with their weapons and to cease attacks on government installations. Within a day, the fighting had mostly ceased. It was an ominous answer to a question posed for months by U.S. military observes: Is Sadr still the leader of a unified movement and military force? The answer appears to be yes.

BREAKING NEWS: AL GORE RUNNING

April Fool.