It's never too early to say goodbye ...

... to George W. Bush.

Paul Waldman at the American Prospect gets the party started:

Goodbye, we can say at last, to the most powerful man in the world being such a ridiculous buffoon, incapable of stringing together two coherent sentences. Goodbye to cringing with dread every time our president steps onto the world stage, sure he'll say or do something to embarrass us all. Goodbye to being represented by a man who embodies everything our enemies want the people of the world to believe about America -- that we are ignorant, cruel, and only care about foreign countries when we decide to stomp on them. Goodbye to his giggle, and his shoulder shake, and his nicknames. Goodbye to a president who talks to us like we're a nation of fourth-graders.

And goodbye, of course, to Dick Cheney. Goodbye to the man whose naked contempt for democracy contorted his face to a permanent sneer, who spent his days in his undisclosed location with his man-sized safe. And while we're at it, goodbye to Cheney's consigliore David Addington, as malevolent a force as has ever left his trail of slime across our federal institutions.

Goodbye, indeed, to the entire band of liars and crooks and thieves who have so sullied the federal government that belongs to us all. We can even say goodbye to those who have already gone, to Rummy and Scooter, to Fredo and Rove, tornados of misery left in their wake.

Go and read the rest.

Scott McClellan Tattles on Bush

I always thought that the repugnant look on Scott McClellan's face was an outward manifestation of his disdain for his job, and now I think I was right. By now, you all know that he just came out with a book that basically confirms that he was a a hack to the highest degree.

Former White House press secretary Scott McClellan writes in a new memoir that the Iraq war was sold to the American people with a sophisticated "political propaganda campaign" led by President Bush and aimed at "manipulating sources of public opinion" and "downplaying the major reason for going to war."

McClellan includes the charges in a 341-page book, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception," that delivers a harsh look at the White House and the man he served for close to a decade. He describes Bush as demonstrating a "lack of inquisitiveness," says the White House operated in "permanent campaign" mode, and admits to having been deceived by some in the president's inner circle about the leak of a CIA operative's name.

In true form, the White House responded by dismissing McClellan as a disgruntled employee.

Why am I not surprised?

Man, I hate when former Dubya employees keep their mouths shut until after they leave the White House, then write a tell-all book about how screwed up things really are under this administration.

Oh, the irony

Bush said it's "sad that we live in a time when a talented and honorable person" is impeded "from doing important work."

Oh yes. Let me count the ways ...

(Cross-posted on BIO.)

UPDATE: Oh Carpetbagger, how I so love you and your astute observations.

Thursday morning rant

Aside from the war in Iraq; Congress and its struggle between blind faith and support for the President and sheer impotence and inability to reinforce the simple concept of checks and balances; Mr. Go Fuck Yourself; and a whole host of other things I don't even want to go into right now, Bush and his bunch of miscreants just NEED to go away. The sooner the better.

Why?

Yesterday was my dad's birthday, so we (Dad, Mom, and I) went out for a nice dinner. I got into a somewhat heated discussion about Bush with my mother and the war in Iraq (why she continues to support him is beyond me, so don't even give me shit about that --- suffice to say, I KNOW), in which I said something to her that was not very nice. And, even if things are fine between her and I right now, I went to bed last night and woke up this morning feeling like a horrible person and the worst daughter in the world.

To top it all off, I listened to part of Bush's press conference this morning driving to work. Even in the face of some pretty tough questioning, Bush managed to vomit out the same, tired bullshit he has been since the war started. To the point of making me want to scream. Inciting within me some fierce road rage.

And you don't want to see me when I'm angry. For real.

I hate the person I become when I think about our president and everything that he and his administration stand for. Shouldn't our president be ... oh, I don't know ... inspiring, but in a good way?

I really cannot wait for a regime change. Seriously.

/end rant

NYT to Bush: End This War

In an editorial this morning:

It is time for the United States to leave Iraq, without any more delay than the Pentagon needs to organize an orderly exit.

[...]

President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have used demagoguery and fear to quell Americans’ demands for an end to this war. They say withdrawing will create bloodshed and chaos and encourage terrorists. Actually, all of that has already happened — the result of this unnecessary invasion and the incompetent management of this war.

This country faces a choice. We can go on allowing Mr. Bush to drag out this war without end or purpose. Or we can insist that American troops are withdrawn as quickly and safely as we can manage — with as much effort as possible to stop the chaos from spreading.

Click here to read it in its entirety.

Al-Qaida: The brand

While perusing the NPR site, I came across this interesting piece. Among the fledgling extreme jihadist set, the "success" of Al-Qaida, understandably, is perceived as the winning team:

For a local terrorist group, joining al-Qaida makes it harder for members to move around — and harder to raise funds openly. But, on the plus side, publicity will increase, which is good for recruitment. A link to al-Qaida may bring other monetary investment. And, seen through the eyes of would-be jihadi, Al-Qaida means prestige.

"Al-Qaida, because of its perceived success — especially in Iraq — is the team you want to be on," said Daniel Benjamin, of the Brookings Institution, who was formerly a director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council.

The appearance of new offshoot groups across the Middle East and North Africa is good news for al-Qaida's core leadership, believed to be holed up in Pakistan, Benjamin said.

"Remember, what al-Qaida wants most is to mobilize the Muslim world. And so every time a new group signs on, particularly takes the name, then it's — it's a coup for them," Benjamin said.

In other words, the more successful Al-Qaida is perceived among fledgling terrorist groups, the more they'll want to have the same success. So, in order to gain an instant reputation of importance --- a sort of terrorist "street cred," if you will --- they attach the Al-Qaida name to their group.

And there you have it: The Al-Qaida brand is born.

Unfortunately, the longer this war in Iraq continues, hatred toward the U.S. will grow, and the stronger the Al-Qaida "brand" becomes; such that the Al-Qaida problem will not be confined to the Middle East. In fact, it's already happening:

"For many years, we had worried about the east-west axis — the threat coming from the east, be it Afghanistan, Pakistan or, even now, Iraq and the Gulf — moving to the west," [Former White House Counterterrorism Official Roger] Cressey said. "Now, what we've seen is a north-south axis — and that from North Africa, we've seen groups and individuals moving into Europe. So, in some respects, it's the worst of both worlds."

Great. Now all Al-Qaida needs is a logo.

Because it's my patriotic duty ...

... and because Keith Olbermann said it best:

I accuse you, Mr. Bush, of lying this country into war.

I accuse you of fabricating in the minds of your own people, a false implied link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11.

I accuse you of firing the generals who told you that the plans for Iraq were disastrously insufficient.

I accuse you of causing in Iraq the needless deaths of 3,586 of our brothers and sons, and sisters and daughters, and friends and neighbors.

I accuse you of subverting the Constitution, not in some misguided but sincerely-motivated struggle to combat terrorists, but instead to stifle dissent.

I accuse you of fomenting fear among your own people, of creating the very terror you claim to have fought.

I accuse you of exploiting that unreasoning fear, the natural fear of your own people who just want to live their lives in peace, as a political tool to slander your critics and libel your opponents.

I accuse you of handing part of this republic over to a Vice President who is without conscience, and letting him run roughshod over it.

And I accuse you now, Mr. Bush, of giving, through that Vice President, carte blanche to Mr. Libby, to help defame Ambassador Joseph Wilson by any means necessary, to lie to Grand Juries and Special Counsel and before a court, in order to protect the mechanisms and particulars of that defamation, with your guarantee that Libby would never see prison, and, in so doing, as Ambassador Wilson himself phrased it here last night, of you becoming an accessory to the obstruction of justice.

[...]

We of this time — and our leaders in Congress, of both parties — must now live up to those standards which echo through our history:

Pressure, negotiate, impeach — get you, Mr. Bush, and Mr. Cheney, two men who are now perilous to our Democracy, away from its helm.

And for you, Mr. Bush, and for Mr. Cheney, there is a lesser task.

You need merely achieve a very low threshold indeed.

Display just that iota of patriotism which Richard Nixon showed, on August 9th, 1974.

Resign.

Bush Commutes Libby's Prison Sentence

What the fuck ever:

"The reputation he gained through his years of public service and professional work in the legal community is forever damaged," Bush said. "His wife and young children have also suffered immensely. He will remain on probation. The significant fines imposed by the judge will remain in effect. The consequences of his felony conviction on his former life as a lawyer, public servant and private citizen will be long-lasting."

A spokeswoman for Cheney said simply, "The vice president supports the president's decision."

I'm sure he does.

Oh yeah, and P.S.? As Otto Man points out, Paris Fucking Hilton spent more time behind bars than Scooter Libby ever will.

Also, Bush, yet again, shows the world how little he respects the rule of law --- except when it works to the benefit of him and his people.

Utterly ridiculous.

UPDATE 10:43 p.m.: My astute and highly esteemed BARBARian colleague, Paperwight, brings home the fact that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Green Zone Security Breach

I guess this is one of those "bad days" Bush was talking about.

Hmmmm.

Last week, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessed to being the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks.

Today, on the fourth anniversary of the war in Iraq, Bush spoke about how much "progress" has been made, and yet, there will be "good days and bad days."

Also today, Waleed bin Attash, a Gitmo prisoner, confessed to plotting the bombing of the USS Cole, and two American embassies in Africa.

My, my. What curious timing.

Oh yeah, and 16 more people were killed in attacks on mosques and by car bombs in Baghdad and Kirkuk.

That burning stench you smell on the streets of Iraq? Apparently that's what "progress" smells like.

Submitted without further comment

Props to AMERICAblog for the link.

This week's cognitive dissonance

In case you needed another reason to believe that the war in Iran Iraq [thanks, a] was motiviated by interests other than fighting terrorism, it's this. We're not even interested in going after the guy who started this whole thing (emphasis mine):

The Army's highest-ranking officer said Friday that he was unsure whether the U.S. military would capture or kill Osama bin Laden, adding, "I don't know that it's all that important, frankly."

"So we get him, and then what?" asked Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, the outgoing Army chief of staff, at a Rotary Club of Fort Worth luncheon. "There's a temporary feeling of goodness, but in the long run, we may make him bigger than he is today.

"He's hiding, and he knows we're looking for him. We know he's not particularly effective. I'm not sure there's that great of a return" on capturing or killing bin Laden.

Um, WHAT?

As far as I'm concerned, Dubya and Sith Lord Cheney are no longer given permission to invoke 9/11 in any future speeches, since they seem to think that capturing the mastermind behind the attacks really doesn't produce "that great of a return."

... Schoomaker's remarks echoed comments last year by Vice President Cheney, who seemed to play down the value of capturing or killing bin Laden days before the Bush speech. "He's not the only source of the problem, obviously. . . . If you killed him tomorrow, you'd still have a problem with al-Qaeda," the vice president said.

To be sure, terrorism itself is a problem that transcends any one individual, but it's obvious that we've wasted a lot of time and money pursuing the wrong guy and the wrong country. That is, of course, if you're still working under the assumption that the war in Iraq was begun in response to the 9/11 attacks.

Meanwhile, al-Qaeda is rebuilding itself and getting stronger.


(Thanks to AMERICAblog for the link.)

Bush cuts off NPR and PBS

Is nothing sacred? I urge you to sign this MoveOn.org petition:

George W. Bush is trying—yet again—to slash funding for NPR and PBS. This week, Bush proposed a new budget with devastating cuts to public broadcasting.(1) "Sesame Street" and other ad-free kids' shows are under the knife. So is the independent journalism our country needs.

Enough is enough. We've fought this fight before and won—but we can't afford the risk anymore. With the new Congress, we can make sure this never happens again. We need Congress to insulate NPR and PBS from the political winds.

We can make it happen if enough of us sign this petition: "Congress must save NPR and PBS once and for all. Congress should guarantee permanent funding and independence from partisan meddling." Clicking here will add your name to the petition.

After you sign, please forward this email to your friends, family, and co-workers to keep this campaign going. We'll deliver the petition to members of Congress as they consider Bush's budget—offering a public counterpoint to this dangerous attack.

Congress can protect NPR and PBS from future cuts. The long-term solution to save public radio and TV is to:

* fully restore this year's funding
* guarantee a permanent funding stream free from political pressure
* reform how the money is spent and keep partisan appointees from pushing a political bias

Bush's budget would cut federal funds for public broadcasting by nearly 25%.1 According to PBS, the cuts "could mean the end of our ability to support some of the most treasured educational children's series" like "Sesame Street," "Reading Rainbow," and "Arthur." (2)

As telecommunications chair Rep. Ed Markey said, "In a 24-7 television world with content often inappropriate for young children, the public broadcasting system represents an oasis of quality, child-oriented educational programming. We owe America's children and their parents this free, over-the-air resource."(1)

The cuts could also decimate one of the last remaining sources of watchdog reporting on TV—continuing the partisan war on journalism led by the ex-chair of public broadcasting, Ken Tomlinson.(3) More people trust public broadcasting than any corporate news media.(4) President Bush would rather undermine our free press than face reporters who are asking tough questions.

Shades of gay

Even as a heterosexual woman, I find this to be utterly absurd. And when I say "this," I mean the fact that they felt the need to issue a press release declaring the non-gayness of ex-minister Tom Haggard:

One of four ministers who oversaw three weeks of intensive counseling for the Rev. Ted Haggard said the disgraced minister emerged convinced that he is "completely heterosexual."

Haggard also said his sexual contact with men was limited to the former male prostitute who came forward with sexual allegations, the Rev. Tim Ralph of Larkspur told The Denver Post for a story in Tuesday's edition.

"He is completely heterosexual," Ralph said. "That is something he discovered. It was the acting-out situations where things took place. It wasn't a constant thing."

Ralph said the board spoke with people close to Haggard while investigating his claim that his only extramarital sexual contact happened with Mike Jones. The board found no evidence to the contrary.

To refresh your memory:

Haggard resigned as president of the National Association of Evangelicals last year after allegations of sexual misconduct surfaced. He was also forced out from the 14,000 New Life Church that he founded years ago in his basement after Jones alleged Haggard paid him for sex and sometimes used methamphetamine when they were together. Haggard, who is married, has publicly admitted to "sexual immorality."

Is this latest "development" supposed to exonerate him Ted Haggard, purveyor of faith and leadership and acting moral compass of his congregation because of the fact that he's been declared to be like, completely heterosexual? You know, minus the whole paying-a-male-escort-for-sex-and-meth thing. Does that make it all OK?

Did they "pray the gay away" during these weeks of "intensive counseling"?

Whether Haggard is straight, bi, experimental, or g-g-g-g-GAY is of no importance here. It is this evangelical movement, the Preznit's "base," that has quickly gained control of the GOP, shaped the Republican agenda, and manipulated and motivated to vilify and demonize a particular group of people for the purposes of political gain. It's this group of people, the Preznit's self-proclaimed "base," that has had a heavy hand in shaping public policy during his administration.

And yet, Haggard is the embodiment of everything these people stand against. But somehow, people like James "He will continue to be my friend, even if the worst allegations prove accurate" Dobson manage to find the compassion and forgiveness that they should be showing to their fellow human beings rather than just toward people just like them.

The "Ted Haggard is not gay" announcement also begs the question: How many same-sex encounters does one have to have in order to be officially gay? Is there some kind of threshold you have to cross? Is there a checklist or something? And if you have to pay for gay sex, does that mean it's not real?

My fellow BARBARian, Generik, also shares with us his point of view.

Dubya's attack on rich folk

In a stunning display of his intermittent ability to grasp the painfully obvious, Not-My-President gave a speech on Wall Street recently in which he acknowledged that income equality exists.

No shit?

So now that he acknowledged it, what's he going to do about it? Think Progress breaks down Bush's previous attempts to fix the problem:

– “$77 billion in funding cuts for Medicare and Medicaid over the next five years, and $280 billion over the next 10.”

– $223 million in funding cuts (4 percent decrease from this year’s levels) to the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

– “$4.9 billion, or 8 percent, cut in education, training, employment and social services” grants.

– $100 million cut for Head Start, which provides child development services to economically disadvantaged children and families.

– “$2.4 billion cut in community and regional development grants — which often provide funding for low- and middle-income communities — to $16.5 billion from $18.9 billion.

– $400 million — 18 percent — cut in the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, “which provides $2.2 billion to help people pay heating bills this year.”

– $172 million — nearly 25 percent — cut in funding for housing for low-income seniors.

Did I say "help"? Sorry, I meant "swift kick in the nutsack of the American poor and middle class."

He also went on to say that “government should not decide the compensation for America’s corporate executives,” and that “... the salaries and bonuses of CEOs should be based on their success at improving their companies and bringing value to their shareholders.”

Isn't that how it is already?

Rich people, never fear. Despite what Dubya tells the press and the American public, he'll still hook you up. In perpetuity, even. Keep your chin up, ol' boy.


(Props to Think Progress for the link.)

SOTU 1/23/07

Bush's State of the Union? A decidely muted and sombre tone from the Prez, but pretty much we heard more of the same. The only high point was him giving a shout out to Americans who've shown courage, entrepreneurship, and bravery in the face of adversity, including Wesley Autrey, the Harlem man who risked his life to save another man on the NY Subway.

Everything else? I've heard it many times before from his mouth.

But how about Jim Webb giving the Democratic response, eh?

We owed them our loyalty, as Americans, and we gave it. But they owed us sound judgment, clear thinking, concern for our welfare, a guarantee that the threat to our country was equal to the price we might be called upon to pay in defending it.

The President took us into this war recklessly. He disregarded warnings from the national security adviser during the first Gulf War, the chief of staff of the army, two former commanding generals of the Central Command, whose jurisdiction includes Iraq, the director of operations on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and many, many others with great integrity and long experience in national security affairs. We are now, as a nation, held hostage to the predictable — and predicted — disarray that has followed. [...]
As I look at Iraq, I recall the words of former general and soon-to-be President Dwight Eisenhower during the dark days of the Korean War, which had fallen into a bloody stalemate. "When comes the end?" asked the General who had commanded our forces in Europe during World War Two. And as soon as he became President, he brought the Korean War to an end.

These Presidents took the right kind of action, for the benefit of the American people and for the health of our relations around the world. Tonight we are calling on this President to take similar action, in both areas. If he does, we will join him. If he does not, we will be showing him the way.

I fucking hope so, because it's about time.

Also, props to Jim Webb mentioning New Orleans and the victims of Hurricane Katrina - a point which was glaringly absent from the Preznit's address.

Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), in response to Webb's address offered up the same, tired old argument, saying that those who supported the non-binding resolution sent a signal to the enemy that we're weak, that we're giving comfort to the enemy, yadda yadda.

Seems like you've also lost your way, Mr. Graham. Don't worry. We'll show you how to get back on the right path.


UPDATE: I gotta hand it to Think Progress for systematically debunking Bush's talking points from tonight's SOTU. Great job.

Great.

Somebody tell me how the bungled executions of Saddam's two aids helps us?

The deaths aroused anger in mourners at the funerals of the former Iraqi officials.

"Where are those who cry out in demands for human rights?" Marwan Mohammed, one of the mourners, asked in grief and frustration. "Where are the U.N. and the world's human rights organizations? Barzan had cancer. They treated him only to keep him alive long enough to kill him. We vow to take revenge, even if it takes years."

Ibrahim's son-in-law, Azzam Saleh Abdullah, said "we heard the news from the media. We were supposed to be informed a day earlier, but it seems that this government does not know the rules."

The execution, he said, reflected what he called the Shiite-led government hatred for Sunnis. "They still want more Iraqi bloodshed," he said. "To hell with this democracy."

Dubya supporters may argue that the Iraqi government brought these people "to justice," but in the global scheme of things, these executions have our country's fingerprints all over them. The new Iraqi government did the deed, but who do you think this revenge will be aimed toward?

And this surge, and Cheney's recent PR attempts to bolster public support for it, is just bad, bad news. (Don't even get me started on why They continue to use Cheney to be "the face." He doesn't exactly convey a feel-good, collaborative, and inspiring vibe.

Anyway, feel safer yet?

Saddam Hussein is Dead

Executed last night by hanging.


I get it that Hussein was a dispicable human being. I get that his despotic rule resulted in the deaths of hundreds of his own people. I get it. But you know how I feel about the death penalty, and there's something about Hussein's trial and subsequent execution that just does not sit right with me. Nevermind the fact that several countries (England, France, the European Union, the Vatican, for chrissakes) are criticizing the move.

And what about Dubya? Of course not. This is just business as usual for him:

Bringing Saddam Hussein to justice will not end the violence in Iraq, but it is an important milestone on Iraq’s course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain, and defend itself, and be an ally in the War on Terror.

Shortly after Hussein was executed, a bomb killed at leat 68 people in Iraq. See what I mean? More of the same. Will Hussein's execution help the situation in Iraq? I don't see it. What I do fear is retaliation and revenge.

Will 2007 be the Year of the Vendetta?


P.S. Tony Blair didn't offer an immediate comment to Hussein's execution because he's kickin' it in Miami visiting with one of the freakin' Bee Gees. One of the freakin' Bee Gees, bitches.



UPDATE: The Carpetbagger posts a thought-provoking reflection on Hussein's execution. Same with Joe at AMERICAblog. Windspike at Bring It On! doubts that Iraq is now better off. Good to know I'm not alone.

UPDATE #2: Juan Cole writes that we've succeeded in making Saddam a martyr.






(Photo credit: Iraqi television via Associated Press)

We're supposed to be grateful or something

From Bush's radio address yesterday (emphasis mine):

One freedom that defines our way of life is the freedom to choose our leaders at the ballot box. We saw that freedom earlier this week, when millions of Americans went to the polls to cast their votes for a new Congress. Whatever your opinion of the outcome, all Americans can take pride in the example our democracy sets for the world by holding elections even in a time of war.

What a dumbass.



(Courtesy of The Carpetbagger Report.)

Let's move on to the real issues now, shall we?

So the Republicans got the apology they wanted out of Kerry. Whatever. What's more interesting is this snippett from CNN in which Andrew Sullivan and Christopher Hitchens essentially say that Bush and his band of fools should be held accountable for this disastrous war in Iraq.

This is me, cautiously optimistic.