American youth take a cue from Dark Lord Karl Rove

Is it still a Hate Crime? "Ann Arbor student and official Fark photoshop subject Justin Zatkoff wasn’t actually beaten silly by leftists, blacks, militant homosexuals, pansies, hippies or violinists. He was clobbered by his own 'friends,' who hate him." "That’s what police in Ann Arbor have finally revealed about last weekend’s pathetic incident, which a Michigan website frequented by campus conservatives claimed was some kind of retribution for his political views. But no, it was just retribution for him being a a drunken asshole around his high-school buddies. Next martyr, please!" wonkette.com College Republicans: 'Zatkoff attacked by Crab People.' wonkette.com: GOP College Nerd Beaten By Own Friends! mlive.com: Web site says liberals beat student GOP leader; police say no Police: Student picked fight with friends at party, got punched truthcaucus.com: College Republican Allegedly Beaten by Liberal Thugs wonkette.com: Young Republican Attacked By Either Gays or Blacks What About Feminists? Were They Feminists? The Michigan Federation of College Republicans

Further evidence that Al Quida is influencing the media

Don't Put a Comma Where God Puts a History Book

Finger-Painting and Fisticuffs: Theory trumps reality every time.

In a combative interview on Fox News Sunday, former U.S. president Bill Clinton defended his handling of the threat posed by Osama bin Laden, saying he tried to have bin Laden killed and was attacked for his efforts by the same people who now criticize him for not doing enough.

"That's the difference in me and some, including all of the right-wingers who are attacking me now," Clinton said in the interview, taped Friday. "They ridiculed me for trying. They had eight months to try, they did not try."

Clinton accused host Chris Wallace of a "conservative hit job" and asked: "I want to know how many people in the Bush administration you asked, 'Why didn't you do anything about the Cole?' I want to know how many people you asked, 'Why did you fire Dick Clarke?"' canada.com

Condoleezza Rice yesterday accused Bill Clinton of making "flatly false" claims that the Bush administration didn't lift a finger to stop terrorism before the 9/11 attacks.
Rice hammered Clinton, who leveled his charges in a contentious weekend interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News Channel, for his claims that the Bush administration "did not try" to kill Osama bin Laden in the eight months they controlled the White House before the Sept. 11 attacks.

"The notion somehow for eight months the Bush administration sat there and didn't do that is just flatly false - and I think the 9/11 commission understood that," Rice said during a wide-ranging meeting with Post editors and reporters.

"What we did in the eight months was at least as aggressive as what the Clinton administration did in the preceding years," Rice added. nypost.com

---

Today Sen. Hillary Clinton charged headfirst into the national security debate, arguing that before 9/11 President Clinton took al Qaeda more seriously than President Bush did.

"If my husband and his national security team had been shown a classified report titled 'Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States,'" as the Bush administration was, she said, "he would have taken it more seriously than history suggests it was taken by our current president and his national security team."

The Democratic senator's comments — seemingly planned and written down beforehand — came after her husband's contentious interview on Fox News Channel Sunday in which the former president defended his record in trying to kill bin Laden and attacked President Bush's record.

Today Sen. Hillary Clinton charged headfirst into the national security debate, arguing that before 9/11 President Clinton took al Qaeda more seriously than President Bush did.

"If my husband and his national security team had been shown a classified report titled 'Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States,'" as the Bush administration was, she said, "he would have taken it more seriously than history suggests it was taken by our current president and his national security team."

The Democratic senator's comments — seemingly planned and written down beforehand — came after her husband's contentious interview on Fox News Channel Sunday in which the former president defended his record in trying to kill bin Laden and attacked President Bush's record. abcnews.com

---

Bush dismisses Clinton critique as "finger-pointing"
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush on Tuesday dismissed as "finger-pointing" criticism from his predecessor Bill Clinton of his counter-terrorism efforts in the months leading up to the September 11 attacks.
[...]
Bush, who is trying to stave off a Democratic takeover of Congress in November, seemed to bristle when asked about Clinton, only to sidestep his assertions.

"We'll let history judge all the different finger-pointing and all that business. I don't have enough time to finger-point," he said at a news conference with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

"I've got to do my job," he added, "and that is to protect the American people from further attacks." reuters.com

Finger-Painting by the numbers
reuters.com: Bush dismisses Clinton critique as "finger-pointing"
newshounds.us: Bush dismisses Clinton critique as "finger-pointing"
BBC: Rice hits back at Clinton claims
newshounds.us: Fox News' Guests: Stop Finger-Pointing Over 9/11
thinkprogress.org: VIDEO: Clinton Sets The Record Straight On Terrorism, Smacks Down Fox News
canada.com: Clinton defends handling of bin Laden in interview
thinkprogress.org: Chris Wallace Never Asked Administration Official Why They Demoted Richard Clarke
thinkprogress.org: Chris Wallace Has Never Asked Administration Official About The USS Cole
bbsnews.net: What did Richard A. Clarke really say about Al Qaeda

Bush administration: "We test market positive thinking."

Climate-controlled White House
The administration claims it wasn't telling scientists what to say about climate change; e-mails obtained by Salon prove otherwise.

Sept. 19, 2006 | WASHINGTON -- In February, there were several press reports about the Bush administration exercising message control on the subject of climate change. The New Republic cited numerous instances in which top officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and scientists at the National Hurricane Center sought to downplay links between more-intense hurricanes and global warming. NOAA scientist Thomas Knutson told the Wall Street Journal he'd been barred from speaking to CNBC because his research suggested just such a link.

At the time, Bush administration officials denied that they did any micromanaging of media requests for interviews. But a large batch of e-mails obtained by Salon through a Freedom of Information Act request shows that the White House was, in fact, controlling access to scientists and vetting reporters. (The e-mails were provided to several members of Congress for comment; Rep. Henry Waxman's office has now published them here.)
[...]
The e-mails also show that after Hurricane Katrina, NOAA press officers had to get clearance from the Department of Commerce for scientists to discuss global warming and hurricanes with the press. (NOAA is part of Commerce.) Regarding the request for a particular interview, Commerce press officer Catherine Trinh wrote, "Let's pass on this one." The response from a NOAA official reads, "Can I please have a reason?"

In another message, Trinh writes, "Let's pass on this ... interview, but rather refer him to BLANK of the BLANK at BLANK. CEQ suggested him as a good person to talk on this subject." The blanks denote passages that were whited out by lawyers releasing the documents. [...]

salon.com: Climate-controlled White House
house.gov: Rep. Waxman Releases Internal Commerce Department E-Mails on Climate Change

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The K Chronicles

A rare Glimpse at Both Sides of Chris Wallace's Mouth

Wallace: I have a very strong opinion about this. [...] I think it’s slanderous, I think it’s defamatory and I think that ABC and Disney should be held to account. [...] thinkprogress.org

Wallace: [...] "Why didn’t you do more to put Bin Laden and al Qaeda out of business when you were President? There’s a new book out which I suspect you’ve read called the Looming Tower...[...] crooksandliars.com

I sound like a broken record, or a degraded mp3 file to you.

Every road has two directions.

Deploying the Fleet: An October War No Surprise

"The Nation - Dave Lindorff - As reports circulate of a sharp debate within the White House over possible U.S. military action against Iran and its nuclear enrichment facilities, The Nation has learned that the Bush Administration and the Pentagon have moved up the deployment of a major "strike group" of ships, including the nuclear aircraft carrier Eisenhower as well as a cruiser, destroyer, frigate, submarine escort and supply ship, to head for the Persian Gulf, just off Iran's western coast. This information follows a report in the current issue of Time magazine, both online and in print, that a group of ships capable of mining harbors has received orders to be ready to sail for the Persian Gulf by October 1." thenation.com

"The Nation magazine has learned that the Eisenhower Strike Group is headed to the Persian Gulf. Could this be a ploy, a show of strength? Could it be the makings of a blockade and plans for war? The scheduled arrival date in the Gulf is 21 October." pej.org

After victory, tighten your helmet chord.
alarabonline.org: The Bushes & the Truth About Iran
antiwar.com: US-Iran Shootout Is Inevitable
rawstory.com: Senior intel official: Pentagon moves to second-stage planning for Iran strike option
tompaine.com: I Put My Money On War
pennlive.com: Next, Iran?
antiwar.com: It’s Getting Closer...
lataan.blogspot.com: Aussie Special Forces Already in Iran?!
theaustralian.com: Softer stance may allow talks with Iran

"We Don't Mince Phraseologies at Boston Trade and Industrial."

Online Forum on College Affordablity Committee on Education and the Workforce (Democrats) Despite the critical need to boost affordable college opportunities in order to ensure America’s security and global competitiveness, in early 2006 the Republican-majority Congress cut $12 billion from the federal student aid programs, putting college further out of reach. Democrats have a different idea. We introduced legislation to cut interest rates on student and parent loans in half, saving the typical student borrower $5,600 over the life of his or her loan. It is time for Congress and the administration to listen to students and parents. Take a minute to read testimony submitted below by students, parents, community members and experts about the importance of an affordable college education. Then be sure to see how much a Democratic plan could save you in loan interest with our Student Loan Calculator. Make College Affordable: America's Students and Families Deserve Better

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Stephen Colbert - Media's Role

Stephen Colbert - Media's Role in the War in Iraq


Stephen Colbert - Fear-mongering
youtube.com/search=colbert

gywo-wage

Show this to Ashcroft!

"Comparing official mortality data with the number of Americans who have been killed inside the United States by terrorism since the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma reveals that scores of threats are far more likely to kill an American than any terrorist - at least, statistically speaking."
wired.com: One Million Ways to Die via boingboing.net

"I have monkeys in my pants."

Police: Men smuggled monkeys in pants; also leopard cubs, orchids, birds of paradise

LOS ANGELES — When the rare birds of paradise escaped from his suitcase and flew over the heads of U.S. Customs Agents at Los Angeles International Airport, Robert Cusack decided it was best to confess that, yes, he did have more to declare.

"I have monkeys in my pants," Cusack told the agents. [...] courttv.com

I wonder how they stack up against vending machines?

Jack Cafferty: "Should We Outlaw E-Voting Machines?" Via crooksandliars.com
princeton.edu: Security Analysis of the Diebold AccuVote-TS Voting Machine

"Are there no work houses? Are there no Prisons?"

A Modest Proposal: The Free Market Solution to the US Household Debt Problem–Debtors’ Prisons
By Jane Burns
September 17, 2006

As the real estate bubble deflates and credit card interest inflates, it’s time to consider a dynamic new engine for America’s service economy—debtors’ prisons, the next logical step in a free-market economy in which easy credit has freed more us from the burden of saving and allowed us to experience "the good life." But unfortunately many of us have failed to take responsibility for our financial choices. We borrowed too much and then declared bankruptcy, blithely erasing our obligations and leaving our lenders holding the bag.

[...] Consider, for instance, the many American homeowners now struggling to make rising monthly payments on their adjustable rate mortgages, or those who took out second mortgages in the expectation of continually rising home values. If they have a financial setback and can’t make their payments, they may lose their homes. And if, because of falling real estate prices, what they owe exceeds the value of their homes, their problems are compounded because they have a so-called underwater mortgage.

[...] Some homeless debtors with strong work ethics will persevere in earning a legal living and servicing their debt. But others will engage in "underground" cash-only economic activities such as begging and thus avoid attachment of their wages. The availability of homeless shelters, where debtors may come and go as they please, plus the provision of free nourishment in many municipal parks, will encourage this irresponsible behavior.

But why should homeless debtors loaf in shelters and parks when they can be working off their debt in prison, contributing to the economy, while also creating thousands of badly needed jobs? The weepy-wipers who warn of "social chaos" as the noose of falling real estate prices and bankruptcy reform tightens in America fail to understand that free markets thrive on "creative destruction," a concept introduced by economist Joseph Schumpeter in 1942. The free market always has the answer. In short, from the ashes of ten million ruined American households, a thousand debtors’ prisons can arise to carry the economy forward inexorably to its next stage of rapid expansion. [...] itulip.com

Are there no Prisons?"" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank">

Draft? Non-denial denial

Retired Colonel: ‘We Are Conducting Military Operations Inside Iran Right Now.
The Evidence Is Overwhelming.’

Just now on CNN, Air Force Col. Sam Gardiner (Ret.) said, "We are conducting military operations inside Iran right now. The evidence is overwhelming."

Gardiner, who taught at the U.S. Army’s National War College, has previously suggested that U.S. forces were already on the ground in Iran. Today he added several additional new points:

1) The House Committee on Emerging Threats recently called on State and Defense Department officials to testify on whether U.S. forces were in Iran. The officials didn’t come to the hearing.

2) "We have learned from Time magazine today that some U.S. naval forces had been alerted for deployment. That is a major step."

3) "The plan has gone to the White House. That’s not normal planning. When the plan goes to the White House, that means we’ve gone to a different state." jonesreport.com, Video at thinkprogress.org.

What if Halliburton's CEO came clean?

What if Halliburton's CEO came clean?

"Halliburton CEO David Lesar has refused to come clean about his war profiteering, so we thought we'd help him out a bit. From the producers of 'Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers.'" youtube.com

Cyrus Nnowrasteh: "Listen pal, when I rewrite history, IT STAYS REWRITTEN!"

NEW YORK "Cyrus Nowrasteh, who penned the screenplay for the recent ABC miniseries 'The Path to 9/11' – widely criticized for factual inaccuracies and concocted or conflated scenes – hit back today at critics, including reporters at The New York Times and Los Angeles Times." His column, 'The Path to Hysteria,' appears online today at the Wall Street Journal's site. Its subhed: 'My sin was to write a screenplay accurately depicting Bill Clinton's record on terrorism.'" [...] editorandpublisher.com: Writer of 'Path to 9/11' Movie Hits Back at Media Coverage (Via AMERICAblog)

Listen pal, when I rewrite history, IT STAYS REWRITTEN!"" title="Bookmark using any bookmark manager!" target="_blank">

Olbermann: "This is a frightening and a dangerous delusion, Mr. President."

Olbermann: [...] What all of us will agree on, is that we have the right — we have the duty — to think about the comparison. And, most importantly, that the other guy, whose opinion about this we cannot fathom, has exactly the same right as we do: to think — and say — what his mind and his heart and his conscience tell him, is right. All of us agree about that. Except, it seems, this President. With increasing rage, he and his administration have begun to tell us, we are not permitted to disagree with them, that we cannot be right. That Colin Powell cannot be right.And then there was that one, most awful phrase. In four simple words last Friday, the President brought into sharp focus what has been only vaguely clear these past five-and-a-half years - the way the terrain at night is perceptible only during an angry flash of lightning, and then, a second later, all again is dark. "It’s unacceptable to think…" he said. It is never unacceptable… to think. And when a President says thinking is unacceptable, even on one topic, even in the heat of the moment, even in the turning of a phrase extracted from its context… he takes us toward a new and fearful path — one heretofore the realm of science fiction authors and apocalyptic visionaries. That flash of lightning freezes at the distant horizon, and we can just make out a world in which authority can actually suggest it has become unacceptable to think. hus the lightning flash reveals not merely a President we have already seen, the one who believes he has a monopoly on current truth. It now shows us a President who has decided that of all our commanders-in-chief, ever… he, alone, has had the knowledge necessary to alter and re-shape our inalienable rights. This is a frightening, and a dangerous, delusion, Mr. President. [...] Olbermann: "The President of the United States owes this country an apology" Video and transcript at (Crooks and Liars)

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"To change" and to "change for the better" are two different things.

(The reverse side also has a reverse side!)
Bush says hunt for bin Laden has not slackened vs. CIA closing the Bin Laden unit

"Well, as I say, we haven't heard much from (Osama Bin Laden). And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure. And, again, I don't know where he is. I -- I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him." George W. Bush, 3/13/2002 "And there is a kind of an urban myth here in Washington about how this administration hasn't stayed focused on Osama bin Laden. Forget it. It's convenient throw-away lines when people say that. We have been on the hunt, and we'll stay on the hunt until we bring him to justice, and we're doing it in a smart fashion, Richard. We are." George W. Bush, 9/15/2006

The frenzy of cannibalism

Save Yourself, Blame Bush By Joe Scarborough ( ! ) Sunday, September 17, 2006; Page B01 [...] Even when the administration would not give generals the troops they needed to win the war in Iraq, Republican leaders did nothing. When the president refused to veto a single spending bill while the deficit spiraled upward, Republican leaders looked away. And when chaos was reigning in the streets of New Orleans and across the Gulf Coast in Katrina's horrific aftermath, Republican leaders remained mute. That silence -- proof that it is better to be feared than loved in politics -- has had devastating results. The United States is more divided than ever, our leaders are despised around the world, our fiscal situation is catastrophic and congressional approval ratings are the lowest ever. Since nothing sharpens the mind like a political hanging, Republican leaders in the Senate and House are finally considering doing what effete newspaper editorialists have suggested for years: throwing Bush overboard. Of course, the mere suggestion makes some Republican loyalists shudder. Being a faithful follower of Brother Bush has long been synonymous with loving Jesus, supporting the troops and taking a stand against sodomy. But no more. Many of the conservatives who put Ronald Reagan and Newt Gingrich in power are counting the days until Bush goes to Crawford for good. Some mutter that their leader's governing style looks more like Jimmy Carter's every day -- and among that crowd, there is no harsher insult. [...] washingtonpost.com

Dubya on Global Warming

Will Ferrell as Dubya on Global Warming
History teaches that underestimating the words of evil and ambitious men is a terrible mistake.
George W. Bush, Sept. 5, 2006

Really bad eggs

YO HO (A PIRATE’S LIFE FOR ME) Lyrics by Xavier Atencio and music by George Bruns Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me. We pillage, we plunder, we rifle, and loot, Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho. We kidnap and ravage and don’t give a hoot, Drink up me ‘earties, yo ho. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me. We extort, we pilfer, we filch, and sack, Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho. Maraud and embezzle, and even high-jack, Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me. We kindle and char, inflame and ignite, Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho. We burn up the city, we’re really a fright, Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho. We’re rascals, scoundrels, villans, and knaves, Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho. We’re devils and black sheep, really bad eggs, Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me. We’re beggars and blighters, ne’er-do-well cads, Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho. Aye, but we’re loved by our mommies and dads, Drink up, me ‘earties, yo ho. (Via Cap’n Dyke)

Latest wrinkle in the body-armor controversy

[ 1, 2, 3 ]

Rumsfeld: "HA HA! Gotcha! It was the price of oil the whole time!"

thinkprogress.org: Rumsfeld Unveils New Justification For Iraq War: High Gas Prices [ 2 ]
tennessean.com: 'Smash left wing scum!'
reason.com: Nancy Grace Claims First (?) Scalp
tennessean.com: Gallatin mayor let 'Thong Girl 3' be filmed in his office
news.bbc.co.uk: Rumsfeld's college roomate surfaces
dailymail.co.uk: Bush to hold talks on Ali G creator after diplomatic row
globalresearch.ca: 'Owning the Weather' for Military Use
thelawparty.com: The Franklin Coverup Scandal
youtube.com: 9/11 Commissioner Grills Condi Rice
youtube.com: Powell and Rice assure everyone Iraq is NO THREAT pre-9/11
youtube.com: Bill Clinton on Letterman - Sept 11, 2002
youtube.com: Michael Moore lets Fred Phelps have it.
youtube.com: G. Gordon Liddy on Fear Factor

The end of democracy

Diebold Accuvote Virus - Princeton University

website with the full report and findings including the downloadable Windows Media Video: Center for Information Technology Policy - Princeton University - - - http://itpolicy.princeton.edu/voting/

Osama Bin Spinach

thespoof.com: Popeye The Sailor Man Panicked by Spinach Recall
thestate.com: Are kids ready for SpongeBob spinach?
chronicle-tribune.com: Ditch that spinach, or suffer E. coli's fury
chron.com: Truck driver arrested for allegedly dumping spinach

Rob Corddry moseys over to the dark side

In a desperate bid to improve their rank among fake news viewers, FOX News has stolen of Rob Corddry of the "Daily Show."

"As most fans of the show know by now, this is Rob Corddry's last week; he's leaving so he can concentrate on his new Fox sitcom The Winner, among other projects. He's the last of the three "Big Cs" -- Corddry, Carell, Colbert -- that helped bring the show into its own in the early part of the decade, perfecting their particular reporter roles to the point where the humor came as much out of their characters as from making fun of the news or profile subject. Colbert was the poorly-informed smug guy; Carell was pathetic, and Corddry was the Masshole. High comedy all around. And now, he's taking off, just like the other two Cs before him." tvsquad

tvsquad.com: After Corddry leaves The Daily Show, who's left?
columbusdispatch.com: 'Daily Show' to stay a week

The Asshole Theory of Government

The Asshole Theory of Government plaidder@mindspring.com

Problem: Why is it that no matter what kind of political system man devises it always ends up going bad? Answer: Because no political thinker has yet managed to solve the problem of the Asshole. Sure, the details often differ, but when you come right down to it all forms of government run into the same problem: What does society do with the asshole? Nobody has yet come up with a satisfactory answer, and this is why the vision of life on Earth as put forth in Star Trek has failed to materialize. No matter what principles you build your system on, there will always be some asshole out there who can screw it up and pervert it from its presumed ends. Let’s break it down with a few familiar examples: System: Capitalism. Principle: Efficiency and virtue will be rewarded by the market; only the truly useful will survive. Those who cannot make it to the top will be employed in the service of those who have, and if anyone falls through the cracks, private charity will alleviate the worst of their misery. Problem: Some asshole with money and power will always be trying to fix the market to protect his own assets. Also, assholes don’t give a damn about the suffering of others and have no incentive to take care of them. System: Communism. Principle: Everyone cooperates and shares the work and the wealth so that everyone’s needs are taken care of. Problem: Some asshole will always try to get out of doing his share of the work while at the same time collecting his share of the profits. System: Fascism. Principle: Everyone surrenders their will to the State, whose leaders will decide what is best for the people. Problem: Fascist leaders are almost always assholes. System: Pacifism. Principle: Nobody hurts anyone else. Problem: Some asshole is always going to be willing to hurt you to get what he wants. System: Anarchy. Principle: People are left to themselves to do as they see fit without being hassled by The Man. Problem: Left to themselves, most people will behave like assholes. System: Democracy. Principle: Government by the people, for the people. Problem: Get enough assholes in one place, and you’ve got government by assholes for assholes. [...] plaidder.com: The Asshole Theory of Government youtube.com: Theories of Government #9 [ 2 ] Via democraticunderground.com

Constitutional Rights: It's not like you were using them anyway

[ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 ]

The White Truck Delivering Ballots

Matt Stoller, mydd.com: "The Washington Post's Ovetta Wiggins has an article out on Maryland's 4th yesterday. Get ready for legal challenges, because Edwards won this election."

"What's going on there is really bad, and it's a preview of what's coming in November considering that the Republicans have basically hired a criminal named Terry Nelson to head up the NRCC opposition 'research' department. So if you don't really know how to approach a situation like this, you should try to learn by watching it during the Edwards-Wynn dry run."
[...]
"On Wednesday at 5pm, observers saw a white moving truck pull up and deliver voting machines from several precincts in Wynn-favoring Prince George's county, one of which the Edwards campaign heavily canvassed. Though memory cards were supposed to be taken out immediately after voting closed, these machines had their memory cards still in them."
[...]
"In other words, what it looks like is that Wynn or Wynn's allies held the ballot boxes they controlled back until they knew the margin Wynn needed to win on Monday, and that's when they probably did their tampering. We'll see what happens on Monday, when the provisionals are counted." mydd.com

Hey, our healthcare system is against the Geneva Convention!

knoxnews.com: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said Tuesday his recent trip to the Guantanamo Bay detainee camp showed excellent prison conditions, including '24/7 medical care - better than many Americans' get." (Via thinkprogress.org)

Critiquing the Press

Question to Howard Kurtz "Critiquing the Press" - Monday, Sept. 11, 2006.
Carrboro, N.C.: "On 'Reliable Sources' yesterday Emily Rooney made a statement that drove me nuts. In your discussion of 'Path to 9/11' she stated (paraphrasing here) that it was just entertainment and no one should take it seriously. It is talk like this that drives the left blogosphere nuts about the mainstream media. This is not just entertainment! Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter are not just putting on a dog and pony show that no one really takes seriously. They have a strong influence on a significant chunk of people in this country. They are allowed to make a series of outrageous and inflammatory statements and when called on it they claim people have no sense of humor and the MSM just rolls their eyes as if they couldn't even be bothered to respond. With 36% of the country believing in conspiracy theories about 9/11 and another significant chunk still convinced Saddam was involved, isn't it time that the MSM took starting taking these commentators as major contributors to the political dialog in this country?"

Bush Tells Group He Sees a 'Third Reich Awakening'

"President Bush said yesterday that he senses a 'Third Awakening' of religious devotion in the United States that has coincided with the nation's struggle with international terrorists, a war that he depicted as 'a confrontation between good and evil.'" washingtonpost.com: Bush Tells Group He Sees a 'Third Awakening'

(Do you think that maybe he could finish the "war" in Iraq before he concentrates his energies on becoming the next messiah?)

**misterswill.com: A Story About God

Jelly Bean Prayer RED is for the blood He gave, GREEN is for the grass He made, YELLOW is for the sun so bright, ORANGE is for the edge of night, BLACK is for the sins we made, WHITE is for the grace He gave, PURPLE is for the hour of sorrow, PINK is for the new tomorrow, A bag of Jelly Beans, colorful and sweet, Is a prayer....Is a promise...Made to you and me. jesusoftheweek.com: Jelly Beans for Jesus

Er, Miss? Your Freudian Slip is Showing

Atrios found a couple of significant Freudian Slips on the House Armed Services Committee website: the page titled "Victory in Iraq Caucus" is a dead link, and the link under "Success stories - building freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan" reads, "Check back often - because there is a lot of good news to tell about Iraq and Afghanistan."

The last functioning update for this page is from May 18, 2005. (Via Atrios.)

Bush: "Please! Please let me torture!"

Now:

"The world is beginning to doubt the moral basis of our fight against terrorism," said Powell, who served under Bush and is a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "To redefine Common Article 3 would add to those doubts. Furthermore, it would put our own troops at risk." >signonsandiego.com

Then:

George W. Bush in Torture Scandal
by Richard Gooding
Star, July 27, 1999
Special Star Investigation

Presidential candidate George W. Bush once led a Yale fraternity that barbarically branded its new members on their backsides with a red-hot metal rod as part of a sadistic hazing practice.

"I got branded and I didn't like it one bit," Professor Bradford Lee of the elite Naval War College in Newport, R.I.-an ex-football player and onetime member of Bush's Delta Epsilon Kappa fraternity-told STAR in an exclusive interview.

"It did burn," he says, recalling the terrifying experience. "I think I still have the mark on me."

Bush, the oldest son of former President George Bush, is now the runaway front-runner for the Republican nomination for president. His campaign stresses responsible individual behavior, family values and compassion for one's fellow citizens.

But a STAR investigation has revealed that he was president of Delta Epsilon Kappa when the hazing scandal broke in the campus newspaper in the late '60s-leading to the fraternity being fined and the branding practice halted.

Amazingly, Bush, now the governor of Texas, defended the illegal torture of the young fraternity pledges at the time as a harmless prank-insisting that it was comparable to "only a cigarette burn" which left "no scarring mark physically or mentally."

But others said the branding resulted in a second-degree burn that left a half-inch scab in the shape of the Greek letter Delta.

Lee-who still bears the mark 32 years later-is not sure who actually wielded the brand because the pledges were not allowed to look at their tormentors. "But I do know that George Bush was very active in all the fraternity activities then."

Lee, who was a guard on the Yale football team, recalled that the branding came after "a long initiation that went on into the early morning hours."

He says the idea was to wear you out so much that you allowed your bare flesh to be singed. "I was already tired from football practice earlier that day. I was so groggy I wasn't exactly sensitive to what they were up to. I wasn't very happy about it."

The branding was a key reason why Lee quit the fraternity after just one year. "It got things off on a sour note, you might say," he notes.

Bill Katz, now a community college teacher in northern New Jersey, told STAR that the branding was done with "a wire coat hanger twisted into a triangle and heated up" in the fireplace.

"They touched you just above the buttocks, in the small of the back," he says.

And Boston lawyer Franklin Levy said that to increase the fear of the moment, the older fraternity men first brandished an actual glowing hot branding iron-to make them think that was what awaited them.

"When they burned me," Levy remembers, "I jumped a mile."

Before the brandings, pledges had to endure hours of being kicked and a vicious round of tannings with wooden paddles-another practice that Yale has ruled taboo.

"On that night," according to an account in the Yale Daily News in 1967, 'each pledge was forced to sit with his head between his legs, motionless, for two to five hours.

"If he coughed, raised his hand or talked, he was kicked by an older brother." After all the beatings, recalled one fraternity member, the branding was almost a relief.

In the wake of the Yale Daily News' expose of the fraternity's hazing, Bush, whose father was also a DKE at Yale, admitted the branding to the New York Times in November 1967.

But Bush-whose college nickname was "Lip" for his Texas wisecracks-also ripped into Yale for being too "Haughty" to "allow this type of pledging to go on."

Bush's days and nights at Yale were mostly remembered as non-stop party and prank time by his former fraternity brothers. During his junior year, he was arrested on a disorderly conduct charge in the theft of a Christmas wreath from a storefront to decorate the DKE house. At a football game against Princeton, he helped tear down a goal post and ended up being hauled to the campus police station.

"We drank heavily at DKE," says Gregory Gallico, now a Boston plastic surgeon, as he recalled Bush and his other fraternity brothers. "It was absolutely off the wall-appalling.

"I cannot for the life of me figure out how we all made it through." (End article.)

9/11 Special Comment - Keith Olbermann

9/11 Special Comment - Keith Olbermann

President Bush: "Well, we just disagree with him. Plus, my job is to protect you."

Regarding The President's Address to the Nation, The Fifth Anniversary of September 11, 2001, Dan Froomkin writes;

What’s also telling, as usual, is what Bush didn’t say yesterday, and doesn’t say, period.

He doesn’t say we won’t allow ourselves to be terrorized, and we won’t be afraid. (That would run counter to the central Republican game plan for the mid-term election.) He doesn’t say that in our zeal to fight the terrorists, we won’t give up the qualities that make America great. He acknowledges no mistakes, he calls for no sacrifice, he refuses to reach out to those who disagree with him. Everything's Political via Crooks and Liars

interview with 'Today' anchor Matt Lauer, President Bush defends secret CIA prisons (video)

President Bush: "So what? Why is that not within the law?"

Matt Lauer: "The head of Amnesty International says secret sites are against international law."

President Bush: "Well, we just disagree with him. Plus, my job is to protect you."

Disney, Shmisney

It's all because of that thing in Afghanastan, you know, that Osama guy

Severe Unnatural Gas: "According to this NYT article, there are suspicions among the Iraqi's we supposedly liberated (or did we attack them to protect ourselves? I can't keep up with the latest rationale...) that the US keeps the blood flowing on purpose:"

'Some of the mourners and bystanders blamed the United States, echoing a commonly held belief among Iraqis that the American government initiates the violence to justify its occupation.'" NYT via Severe Unnatural Gas
New York TImes: Iraqi Death Toll Rises Above 100 Per Day, U.N. Says

(Despite the Iraqi's incorrect belief that we are there to initiate the violence, it does seem that we are having increasing difficulty justifying our occupation of their country.)

Bush shipping more jobs outside of American borders

The sovereign nation of Disneyland has graciously accepted and offer from the United States to house America's prisoners formerly held at Guantanamo bay. The first prisoner was put to work Thursday doing safety inspections for the Thunder Mountain ride. A spokesman for Disneyland stated, "we are always in favor of inexpensive labor of any kind. But this humble and gracious gesture on our part is more than that, We are doing it for the hearts and minds of the children." The spokesman then showed us his collection of children's hearts and minds.

Some of the prisoners may also be shipped overseas to work in Disneyland's many sweatshops. Disneyland has also recently done some public relations work for the Bush administration. Disneyland's leader, a large animated mouse, was unavailable for comment at the time of publication.

Disney spokesman: "Many of our films could already be considered a form of torture"
boingboing.net: Prisoner statue smuggled into Disneyland ride
woostercollective.com: The Story Disneyland Doesn't Want You To Know
mouseplanet.com: Continued coverage of Disneyland’s Big Thunder Mountain Railroad accident
eagleforum.org: Why Disney Has Clout with the Republican Congress
huffingtonpost.com: Discover the Secret Right-Wing Network Behind ABC's 9/11 Deception
lostintarnation.blogspot.com: Those Magic (Everything) Changes

Harvey Keitel, GOP Tool

It would appear that this gentleman is saying that Jesus hates everybody

"Ankle biters?" Jesus hates "ankle biters?"

It's all spam to me

George Bush: You sit here, dear.
American Public: All right.
George Bush: Morning!
Waitress: Morning!
George Bush: Well, what've you got?
Dick Cheney: Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and Iraq; egg bacon and Iraq; egg bacon sausage and Iraq; Iraq bacon sausage and Iraq; Iraq egg Iraq Iraq bacon and Iraq; Iraq sausage Iraq Iraq bacon Iraq tomato and Iraq;
GOP: Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq...
Dick Cheney: ...Iraq Iraq Iraq egg and Iraq; Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq baked beans Iraq Iraq Iraq...
GOP: Iraq! Lovely Iraq! Lovely Iraq!
Dick Cheney: ...or Lobster Thermidor a Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and Iraq.
American Public: Have you got anything without Iraq?
Dick Cheney: Well, there's Iraq egg sausage and Iraq, that's not got much Iraq in it.
American Public: I don't want ANY Iraq!
George Bush: Why can't she have egg bacon Iraq and sausage?
American Public: THAT'S got Iraq in it!
George Bush: Hasn't got as much Iraq in it as Iraq egg sausage and Iraq, has it?
GOP: Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq... (Crescendo through next few lines...)
American Public: Could you do the egg bacon Iraq and sausage without the Iraq then?
Dick Cheney: Urgghh!
American Public: What do you mean 'Urgghh'? I don't like Iraq!
GOP: Lovely Iraq! Wonderful Iraq!
Dick Cheney: Shut up!
GOP: Lovely Iraq! Wonderful Iraq!
Dick Cheney: Shut up! (GOP stop) Bloody GOP! You can't have egg bacon Iraq and sausage without the Iraq.
American Public: I don't like Iraq!
George Bush: Sshh, dear, don't cause a fuss. I'll have your Iraq. I love it. I'm having Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq beaked beans Iraq Iraq Iraq and Iraq!
GOP: Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq. Lovely Iraq! Wonderful Iraq!
Dick Cheney: Shut up!! Baked beans are off.
George Bush: Well could I have her Iraq instead of the baked beans then?
Dick Cheney: You mean Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq... (but it is too late and the GOP drown her words)
GOP: Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq. Lovely Iraq! Wonderful Iraq! Iraq Ira-a-a-a-a-q Iraq Ira-a-a-a-q Iraq. Lovely Iraq! Lovely Iraq! Lovely Iraq! Lovely Iraq! Lovely Iraq! Iraq Iraq Iraq Iraq!

Rascally Roundup

Yabba Dabba Doom!
tbogg.blogspot.com: 2 + 2 = Jesus rode a dinosaur
Skippy the Bush Kangaroo: signs of bunker mentality? part 2
DailyKos.com: Madison Ave. Ad Exec Reveals How GOP Wins Elections
MissouriDems.org: Talent Caught on Tape Saying Amnesty Works
DNC: Snakes on a Senate
OneUtah.org: Michelle Malkin Bombs at Alma Mater
news.yahoo.com: GOP Picnic a huge success
telegraph.co.uk: Shia leader: "I no longer have power to save Iraq from civil war"
TimesOnline.com: 'Terror' is out;' 'Islamic fascism' is in'
Patriotboy: Opting Out of WWIII
SFGate.com: Yoyodyne in Afghanistan
TimesOnline.co.uk: White extremists use terror videos to threaten Muslims
CNN.com: Ahmadinejad calls for university purge
Alternet.org: The 10 Most Brazen War Profiteers
bbc.co.uk: US politics 'obsessed' with ads
guardian.co.uk: Study of Bush's psyche touches a nerve
huffingtonpost.com: Miami Journalists Outed for Taking Govt. Cash

At the Picture Show
BoldHeaded.com: DJ Ted's Techno Tubes
The Colbert Report: [ 1, 2 ]
youtube.com: Michael Moore lets Fred Phelps have it.
youtube.com: Santorum: birth control harms women and society
youtube.com: Howard Dean Responds to Rummys Comments
youtube.com: Bill Clinton on Letterman - Sept 11, 2002
youtube.com: 9/11 Commissioner Grills Condi Rice
youtube.com: Powell and Rice assure everyone Iraq is NO THREAT pre-9/11

Coulter: "Her husband was going to divorce her anyway"

Widowed Husband Of Former Disney Records Exec Killed On 9/11
Writes To ABC's Iger: I "Urge You Not To Air This Film"

The Mouse is a R-A-T

blog.thorg.com, via americablog

ABC = Always Blame Clinton
SunTimes.com: Accuracy aside, ABC's '9/11' deserves to bomb
Crooks and Liars: Chris Wallace slams ABC on 9/11 project
Glenngreenwald: Bush supporters condemn fictionalized political mini-series - in 2003
DailyKos.com: Path to 9/11 - Big List of Action Contacts with Updates
YouTube.com: Path to 9/11 - Trailer contradicts ABC's Statement
FCC.gov: Filing a Complaint with the FCC is Easy

Mickey's 'Sweatshopping to the Oldies'
money.cnn.com: Disney sweatshops [...] workers [...] under oppressive conditions
usnewswire.com: Labor Watchdog Discovers Disney Sweatshop Production in China
nlcnet.org: New Report: Disney Sweatshop at the Niagra factory in Bangladesh (pdf)
nlcnet.org: Disney's Floating Sweatshops
nlcnet.org: Why is Disney Lying?
nlcnet.org: Does Mickey Have a Conscience?

Despite economic growth, median incomes have dropped

Washington Monthly: Median Income, Median Income Update
Detroit Free Press: More feel pain of tight economy
U.S. Census Bureau: Historical Income Tables - Households

Just a little snack before the Rapture

"Clintonistas?" Is Mickey Mouse Insane?

Dopey, Sneezy, Grumpy, Sleepy, Happy, and Rove

The author of "The Path to 9/11" states, "9/ll is sacred...," But he also says that "The following dramatization...has composite and representative characters and incidents, and time compressions have been used for dramatic purposes." Let's just skip past how depicting an event that never happened can somehow be a "compression used for dramatic purposes" and go straight to how this statement is prefaced:

"we say so upfront in a long legend -- 'The following dramatization...has composite and representative characters and incidents, and time compressions have been used for dramatic purposes.'

So the author is in effect stating that if he crosses his fingers behind his back then it is OK to lie. It is the viewers fault! they didn't read the "long legend!" So when Disney/ABC passes this around to the schools for free and the children don't read the "long legend," it will be their fault too! Disney/ABC is saying in effect, "If you misunderstand that we are not telling the truth, it's your own fault for not reading the disclaimer!" what kind of fool would listen to such a weak rationialization?

More floaters in the Disney/ABC punchbowl
Major Washington Post story on Disney/ABC scandal, exposes two additional
major errors in 9/11 depiction
Clinton Administration Officials Assail ABC's 'The Path to 9/11'
Top Bush Counterterrorism Official: ABC’s Path to 9/11 Is ‘Shameful,’
‘Straight Out of Disney and Fantasyland’
Open Letter to ABC: Don't Airbrush 9/11
Ben-Veniste rips ABC’s fakeumentary over inaccuracies
Kean Sr.'s 9/11 Sell Out
Kean Let 9/11 Movie Fabrications Slide
The Path to 9/11 Blog

"I weep for you," the Walrus said: "I deeply sympathize." With sobs and tears he sorted out Those of the largest size, Holding his pocket-handkerchief Before his streaming eyes.

Disney/ABC is having a Kool Aid drinking contest

All the bloggers are in huff because Disney/ABC is going to air a fake documentary about 9/11, "The Path to 9/11." It seems that Mickey Mouse and his friends just want to show a different perspective on the issue of the events leading up to 9/11. Not just a different perspective, they want to show a fictitious perspective. But that's Hollywood for you! When milking an important subject like 9/11 for profit creating a documentary mocudrama work of fiction based on a subject that is as sensitive as 9/11, one would expect a certain degree of reverence for the facts.

Steve McPherson, president of ABC Entertainment was quoted as saying, "When you take on the responsibility of telling the story behind such an important event, it is absolutely critical that you get it right." Yet former National Security Advisor Richard Clarke and 9/11 Commission member Richard Ben-Veniste have already pointed out that scenes in the film that did not actually happen, nor were ever reported in the 9/11 report. Also, it has been reported that the video has a decidedly right-wing slant.

Despite the already obvious falsehoods contained within the production, ABC feels that it is so important to get this message out that they have decided to air the program without commercials! "ABC is planning a massive free distribution of its planned docudrama The Path to 9/11, including sending letters to 100,000 high school teachers encouraging them to have their students watch the series." thinkprogress.org They also plan to feed it to school children free of charge. So Disney/ABC wants to air a program that will make the company no profit, give it away free to children, and are spending thousands of dollars in advertising this program to high school teachers so that the teachers can spread the message to teenagers that were probably to young to remember the facts of 9/11. Since when has a corporation thrown away millions of dollars in this fashion, without an agenda?

In my opinion, even without advertising, this punchbowl of ABC Kool Aid has entirely too many turds floating in it. But that's just me, maybe you like turds. If you want to send stinkmail to this flounder, just mosey on over to thinkprogress.org/tellabc and tell Disney where they can put their 9/11 cartoon charectors. While you are at it, send a message along to Harvey Keitel and tell him what you think of his latest career move.

According to "Pickles R Us" These might be some people to contact as well.

ABC Media Relations:
Patrick Preblick
Email: patrick.k.preblick@abc.com
Telephone: (212) 456-7819

Jonathan Hogan
Email: jonathan.hogan@abc.com
Telephone: 818 460-7016

Erin Felentzer
Email: erin.felentzer@abc.com
Telephone: 818 460-6642

On the hand, if you like turds in the punchbowl, there are posts from the Red Kool Aid crowd regarding this matter. In a post titled: "Path to 9/11:" Blame Bush Harder!, redstate.com states that the documentary mocudrama work of fiction is probably fair and balanced, and that the program slams Bush in the following ways;

1. It depicts Condi Rice ignoring Richard Clarke’s advice about Al-Queda and undercutting his authority within the White House.

2. It depicts the August 6th "Presidential Daily Briefing" wherein Rice is explicitly warned before 9/11 that Bin Laden intends to hijack American airplanes.

3. It makes Richard Clarke look like a tragic hero (even though everyone knows that he later went on to become one of Bush’s biggest critics).

4. It contains an epilogue that cites 9/11 Commission members giving the current government a failing grade in implementing their recommendations.

I would disagree on this point strongly, and this is why: Unlike the events that have been debunked in the docudrama, All of the items that redstate.com discusses as points that are an anathma to Bush supporters actually happened.

As far as the rest of his missive, it should be sufficient to point out that what he is saying does not square with the facts.

Anti-terrorism bill gutted in House - March 13, 1996
President wants Senate to hurry with new anti-terrorism laws - July 30, 1996

Floaters in the ABC Punchbowl
ABC Docudrama Sparks 9/11 Spat
Controversy Over 9/11 Film Hits Press
thinkprogress.org/tellabc
ABC Planning Massive Free Distribution of 9/11 Docudrama
ABC's 'Path to 9/11' Stirs Criticism
ABC to Air The Path to 9/11
Under Fire, ABC Yanks Official Blog of 9/11 Docudrama
Richard Clarke Blasts Key Scene In ABC’s 9/11 Docudrama
Condoleezza Rice facing Ben-Veniste 9-11 Commission
ABC sets ad-free '9/11'

They told them that they were gullible, and they believed them.

The invisible hand of the market place has ironically placed an anti-bush ad atop the page for the George Bush fan Club blogring. This is proof positive that Donald Rumsfeld is right, the terrorists are indeed actively manipulating the media in this country.

One of the members of the blogring, mistresshottie, uses a quote from the TV series West Wing in her online profile, "Do you have any idea how much I would like to dress you up in lederhosen and drop kick you into the fjords right now?" Clearly she knows how to keep America's Hitler Neocon Youth hot under the epaulets! If you look closely, you can see that she is holding the recently severed head of a Hollywood Liberal. (Either that, or it's a Punjabi born convenience store owner that was wearing just a little too much "terrorist swarthy" eyeshadow for her tastes.)

Sometime a photo says it all. SalmonCakeDaddy states cryptically, "Brittain (sic) has our back. Even when 50% of the American people don't. 'Told you so!'" And yet in a previous post he says "I Hate Financial Aid, but I Hate the British More." In a post titled "Zarqawi is Dead" SalmonCakeDaddy eloquently states "One more bloody booger picked from the world's nose." Hey, he watches Star Trek. That's a good sign.

Gojake has an interesting view on foreign policy, "the President is missing the boat and his chance to be really cool, and bring this country together. The President of Iran challenged Bush to a debate. I think they should do this. Hype it with promos like they do for WWE wrestling. Set it up in an arena, have theme music when they’re introduced. The Iranian President can enter to some Iranian Music, George Bush can enter to either "Real American" (Hulk Hogan’s theme), Theme from Rocky, or Bad to the Bone."