Not that you'd know it from visiting this site for that last few days, but earlier this week it was Monday

The Top Ten Conservative Idiots, No. 201

- rob 6:19 PM - [PermaLink] -

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I WENT BACK TO OHIO
BUT MY PRETTY COUNTRYSIDE
HAD BEEN PAVED DOWN THE MIDDLE
BY A GOVERNMENT THAT HAD NO PRIDE
THE FARMS OF OHIO
HAD BEEN REPLACED BY SHOPPING MALLS
AND MUZAK FILLED THE AIR
FROM SENECA TO CUYAHOGA FALLS
SAID, A, O, OH WAY TO GO OHIO
- My City Was Gone Lyrics / The Pretenders

Krugman asks what many have been asking for oh so very long: What's the Matter With Ohio?

- rob 6:17 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Who is this reporter? Can we get him/her a raise?

Q Right. What is the evidence that the insurgency is in its last throes?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think I just explained to you the desperation of terrorists and their tactics.

Q What's the evidence on the ground that it's being extinguished?

MR. McCLELLAN: Terry, we're making great progress to defeat the terrorist and regime elements. You're seeing Iraqis now playing more of a role in addressing the security threats that they face. They're working side by side with our coalition forces. They're working on their own. There are a lot of special forces in Iraq that are taking the battle to the enemy in Iraq. And so this is a period when they are in a desperate mode.

Q Well, I'm just wondering what the metric is for measuring the defeat of the insurgency.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, you can go back and look at the Vice President's remarks. I think he talked about it.

Q Yes. Is there any idea how long a last throe lasts for?

from: First Draft - Today on Holden's Obsession with the Gaggle

- rob 6:08 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Senator Frist being wrong.

The brilliant former heart surgeon... or formally brilliant person... diagnosed Terri Schiavo after watching a video in his office... sounds scary. Now months later we know:

• Terri Schiavo's brain weighed less than half of what is typical for a woman her age.
• Brain damage had made her blind.
• The cause of death was dehydration (but gee that starving her to death stuff just sounded so... so... neat).
• There was no evidence of abuse or neglect.

Well now that is all settled. Michael can get on with his life. The GOP is issuing an apology to Michael and America in general for the suffering they caused.

No... don't be silly because like Frist, Jeb Bush wants to be President. Frist is running for President be trying to prove he's an ineffectual leader who likes to provide cover for pro-lynching racists and who pawns his own medical degree for cheap political theater.

Jeb is running by beating a dead horse.

Jeb being an asshole.

Probe Sought in Terri Schiavo 911 Call

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Gov. Jeb Bush said Friday that a prosecutor has agreed to investigate why Terri Schiavo collapsed 15 years ago, citing an alleged time gap between when her husband found her and when he called 911.

Bush said his request for the probe was not meant to suggest wrongdoing by Michael Schiavo.

"It's a significant question that during this ordeal was never brought up," Bush told reporters.
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In a letter faxed to Pinellas-Pasco County State Attorney Bernie McCabe, the governor said Michael Schiavo testified in a 1992 medical malpractice trial that he found his wife collapsed at 5 a.m. on Feb. 25, 1990, and he said in a 2003 television interview that he found her about 4:30 a.m. He called 911 at 5:40 a.m.

"Between 40 and 70 minutes elapsed before the call was made, and I am aware of no explanation for the delay," Bush wrote. "In light of this new information, I urge you to take a fresh look at this case without any preconceptions as to the outcome."

What's the difference between urinating on your wallet and paying taxes in Florida?

I'm not sure either.

- rob 5:43 PM - [PermaLink] -

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First Lynching Apologists
Doesn't want to make them have to apologize for Lynching

Critics: Frist vetoed roll call

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) refused repeated requests for a roll call vote that would have put senators on the record on a resolution apologizing for past failures to pass anti-lynching laws, officials involved in the negotiations said Tuesday.

And there was disagreement Tuesday over whether Saxby Chambliss, one of Georgia's two Republican senators, had supported the measure when it was approved Monday night.

As dozens of descendants of lynching victims watched from the Senate gallery, the resolution was adopted Monday evening under a voice vote procedure that did not require any senator's presence.
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But the group that was the driving force behind the resolution had asked Frist for a formal procedure that would have required all 100 senators to vote. And the group had asked that the debate take place during "business hours" during the week, instead of Monday evening, when most senators were traveling back to the capital.

Frist declined both requests, the group's chief counsel, Mark Planning, said Tuesday evening.

"It was very disappointing" that Frist handled the matter the way he did, Planning said. "Other groups have gotten roll call votes, so there was nothing new to this, nothing different that we were asking for."

Bob Stevenson, Frist's chief spokesman, said Tuesday evening the procedure the majority leader established was "requested by the sponsors."

The chief sponsors of the resolution, Sens. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and George Allen (R-Va.), disputed that assertion.

Landrieu said Monday before the resolution was adopted she would have preferred a roll call vote but had to accept the conditions set by Senate leaders.

When Stevenson was informed of Landrieu's statement, he amended his comments to say "at least one of the sponsors" had requested adoption on a voice vote and in combination with a resolution related to Black History Month.

Allen press secretary David Snepp took issue with Stevenson. "I don't know why Bob Stevenson would characterize it that way," he said.

Snepp said Allen, since agreeing to sponsor the resolution, had insisted that he preferred a roll call vote.

Planning agreed that Landrieu and Allen "made every effort" to have the resolution debated during the day, when it would attract the most attention from the public, and with a formal roll call of the senators.

"We were very perplexed" that Frist would not agree to that, Planning said.

Yes, how the Majority Leader of the Senate could be such a blatant pathetic liar is somewhat perplexing.

He shamed himself, his party, his state, and along with it the entire Senate. Frist your Presidential campaign is coming off swimmingly!

The only good news is (if you can call sniffling political motivated 'me too me too' good news is):

Eighty senators, however, had signed as co-sponsors, putting themselves on record as supporting the resolution. By the time the Senate recessed Tuesday evening, five other senators had added their names as co-sponsors, leaving 15 Republicans who had not.

I'll put a itty bitty effort to find out who those Senators are and cross them off the list below.

- rob 9:46 AM - [PermaLink] -

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Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Robert Bennett (R-UT), Thad Cochran (R-MS), John Cornyn (R-TX), Michael Crapo (R-ID), Michael Enzi (R-WY), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Judd Gregg (R-NH), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Trent Lott (R-MS), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Richard Shelby (R-AL), John Sununu (R-NH), Craig Thomas (R-WY), and George Voinovich (R-OH) Lynching!

(okay that may be a bit harsh... they just don't feel lynching is something to apologize for).
(also the list will hopefully be reduced as a lot of these folks catch on how bad this looks and co-sponsor this piece of legislation)

Senate apologizes for not outlawing lynching

To the victims of lynching -- 4,743 people killed between 1882 and 1968, three out of four of them black -- the Senate issued an apology Monday night for not standing against the violence.
...

One of the resolution's chief sponsors, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, noted that the public nature of many of the lynchings was particularly disturbing.

"This was a community spectacle and the Senate of the United States knew it," Landrieu said. "There may be no other injustice in American history for which the Senate so uniquely bears responsibility."

Seven presidents petitioned Congress to end lynchings. Nearly 200 anti-lynching bills were introduced in the first half of the 20th century. The House passed three anti-lynching measures between 1920 and 1940, but the Senate passed none.

Senators filibustered anti-lynching measures for a total of six weeks, said the main Republican sponsor of the resolution, Sen. George Allen of Virginia. "It's not easy for people to apologize, but I think it does show the character of the Senate today," he said.

Yes it does, the list of Senators above were the only one's who refused to co-sponsor the piece of legislation.

Do they not want to offend their pro-lynching constituents?

- rob 5:24 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Speaking of get your war on (as I was below), its been updated and is as brutal as ever.



Do check it out.

And if you are a GYWO fan, check out the Get Your War On books. The writer donates his proceeds to Mine Detection and Dog Center Team #5 in Afghanistan, who try to find the landmines before children do.

- rob 2:33 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Because America stands against tyranny and despotism!

unless... you know... we don't

U.S. Opposed Calls at NATO for Probe of Uzbek Killings

Defense officials from Russia and the United States last week helped block a new demand for an international probe into the Uzbekistan government's shooting of hundreds of protesters last month, according to U.S. and diplomatic officials.

Uzbekakitty doesn't want you to read:

The Failure of Reform in Uzbekistan: Ways Forward for the International Community

or

Uzbekistan: Muslim Dissidents Jailed and Tortured
Government Pursues Religious Persecution in the Name of Counterterrorism

or

Will US Policy Backfire in Central Asia?

Links and cartoon thanks to the always worth reading Get Your War On.

- rob 12:38 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Bush and 'the memo'

PRESIDENT BUSH apparently thinks he can dismiss the damning "Downing Street memo" with a few glib words.

If he is right, it is a sad commentary on the state of American democracy and values.

The memo, recounting the details of a July 23, 2002, meeting at British Prime Minister Tony Blair's official residence on 10 Downing St., strongly suggested that the message had been sent across the Atlantic that the Bush White House had made the decision to wage war on Iraq. The minutes of the meeting indicated that Blair and his top-level intelligence and foreign-policy aides were given clear signals that military action was "inevitable."

In the most disturbing passage of the minutes, the head of Britain's MI6 intelligence service, reporting on his recent trip to Washington, told the group that "intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy" of a war to remove Saddam Hussein from power.

Bush was finally asked about the memo directly this week, during a media availability with Blair. Bush tried to discredit the memo because of the timing of its disclosure -- just days before Blair's re-election. But it is important to note that no one has challenged the authenticity of the memo nor the accuracy of its account of the meeting.

- rob 6:07 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Krugman: One Nation, Uninsured

Harry Truman tried to create a national health insurance system. Public opinion was initially on his side: Jill Quadagno's book "One Nation, Uninsured" tells us that in 1945, 75 percent of Americans favored national health insurance. If Truman had succeeded, universal coverage for everyone, not just the elderly, would today be an accepted part of the social contract.

But Truman failed. Special interests, especially the American Medical Association and Southern politicians who feared that national insurance would lead to racially integrated hospitals, triumphed.

Sixty years later, the patchwork system that evolved in the absence of national health insurance is unraveling. The cost of health care is exploding, the number of uninsured is growing, and corporations that still provide employee coverage are groaning under the strain.

So the time will soon be ripe for another try at universal coverage. Public opinion is already favorable: a 2003 Pew poll found that 72 percent of Americans favored government-guaranteed health insurance for all.

But special interests will, once again, stand in the way. And the big debate among would-be reformers is how to deal with those interests, especially the insurance companies. These companies played a secondary role in Truman's failure but have since become a seemingly invincible lobby.
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The great advantage of universal, government-provided health insurance is lower costs. Canada's government-run insurance system has much less bureaucracy and much lower administrative costs than our largely private system. Medicare has much lower administrative costs than private insurance. The reason is that single-payer systems don't devote large resources to screening out high-risk clients or charging them higher fees. The savings from a single-payer system would probably exceed $200 billion a year, far more than the cost of covering all of those now uninsured.

- rob 5:49 PM - [PermaLink] -

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They did have a plan. After Saddam lost Santa was going to come and give our troops presents and the Iraqi citizens were going to have a good laugh about it all with a nice cold Coke.

Memo: U.S. Lacked Full Postwar Iraq Plan

A briefing paper prepared for British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his top advisers eight months before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq concluded that the U.S. military was not preparing adequately for what the British memo predicted would be a "protracted and costly" postwar occupation of that country.

- rob 5:44 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Read: Whiskey Bar: Blowback

- rob 5:43 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Sign the petition

Congresswoman Louise M. Slaughter (D-NY) - We Need A Truman Commission in Iraq

During World War II, Harry Truman established what became known as the Truman Commission. The Commission consisted of a group of dedicated public servants who were committed to examining all financial and military transactions related to the war effort. Their work served to expose and eliminate any waste, mismanagement, or corruption which could have detracted from the effectiveness of Allied troops. The accountability and efficiency which they helped to create and defend was pivotal to winning the war. The money, time, and resources which the Commission saved could be used to build another helmet, or another bullet, or another tank. And these individual pieces added up to a truly historic whole.
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Every dollar which is lost in Iraq is a dollar which could have been used to stabilize the country and protect out troops. It is a dollar which could have been used to help our soldiers to complete their mission so that they can come home sooner. Indeed, every dollar wasted is a dollar spent fighting against, rather than for, our men and women in uniform.

- rob 5:42 PM - [PermaLink] -

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When I'm feeling blue
What do I do?
Pick a nation to invade
or two

I'm sure we'll let the Iraqi's know: It was nothing personal, just good politics

Daily Kos :: Ghost Writer for Bush: He was Dreaming (Iraq) War in 1999

I speak of then Governor GW Bush's belief that a president MUST have a war, preferrably a BIG war, in order to push thru his agenda. That, and other positively creepy things, is what he told his ghost writer, Mickey Herskowitz, when he was lining up to be prez in 1999.

"He was thinking about invading Iraq in 1999," said author and journalist Mickey Herskowitz. "It was on his mind. He said to me: 'One of the keys to being seen as a great leader is to be seen as a commander-in-chief.' And he said, 'My father had all this political capital built up when he drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait and he wasted it.' He said, 'If I have a chance to invade·.if I had that much capital, I'm not going to waste it. I'm going to get everything passed that I want to get passed and I'm going to have a successful presidency."

Read the whole thing if you havent already. It isnt long, but it is chilling -- there are parts about how the Bush cabal thrilled to Thatcher's Falkland War due to the political capital it gave her. It speaks of how Bush said the biggest mistake a president can make is to admit making a mistake. There is also a bit about a reporter in Texas saying he just cant go public about what he heard from Herskowitz (footsteps in a dark alley) and about Bush telling Herskowitz he didnt do NO duty in Alabama when in the National Guard.

One reader's comment to that post:

Here's what cements this guy's credibility about his access to Bush and his family: 3 years later, in 2002, GHW Bush sat him down and asked him to write a book to profile his own Dad, Prescott. Herskowitz did, and titled it, Duty, Honor, Country: The Life and Legacy of Prescott Bush; it was published in 2003.

From the article you cite:

According to [Bush's autobio ghostwriter], George W. Bush's beliefs on Iraq were based in part on a notion dating back to the Reagan White House - ascribed in part to now-vice president Dick Cheney, Chairman of the House Republican Policy Committee under Reagan. "Start a small war. Pick a country where there is justification you can jump on, go ahead and invade."

Bush's circle of pre-election advisers had a fixation on the political capital that British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher collected from the Falklands War. . . . .

Republicans, Herskowitz said, felt that Jimmy Carter's political downfall could be attributed largely to his failure to wage a war. He noted that President Reagan and President Bush's father himself had (besides the narrowly-focused Gulf War I) successfully waged limited wars against tiny opponents - Grenada and Panama - and gained politically.

So this is where Bush feels he earned his political capital. On the backs of 1,700 doomed American soldiers.

I have nothing to add.

- rob 1:44 PM - [PermaLink] -

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Humor at hate

Fashion Highs and Lows of the Westboro Baptist Church.

- rob 1:33 PM - [PermaLink] -

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