Thursday, September 28, 2006

Buckley: Bush Not A True Conservative

Buckley: Bush Not A True Conservative, CBS News Exclusive: Buckley Criticizes President For Interventionist Policies - CBS News

Now here's some solid conservative thinking.
"Buckley finds himself parting ways with President Bush, whom he praises as a decisive leader but admonishes for having strayed from true conservative principles in his foreign policy.

In particular, Buckley views the three-and-a-half-year Iraq War as a failure.

'If you had a European prime minister who experienced what we've experienced it would be expected that he would retire or resign,' Buckley says."
Too bad the Neocons don't believe in "honor". The only thing they respect, or desire, is "power".

Iraq Vet Walks Across Utah for Peace

Daily Kos: Iraq Vet Walks Across Utah for Peace

I love this story for any number of different reasons. Let's get a bit of context first, then I'll go into the reasons for my love of this story.
"AMY GOODMAN: Were you able to print anything you wanted in the Anaconda Times?

SGT. MARSHALL THOMPSON: No, we were not able to print everything we wanted. We tried. We saw our mission as supporting the troops, so we were always trying to give them the good information of what was really going on, because they know what's going on. They're not being fooled by anybody. And so we wanted to be credible with them and print everything that happened. Of course, there is a level of censorship when you're working for the U.S. Army. It’s just the way it goes.

AMY GOODMAN: Like what? Give an example.

SGT. MARSHALL THOMPSON: There were a few times I wanted to do some stories about how, for instance, Turkey was sending special forces over the border to attack Kurdish groups, you know, without permission, violating Iraq's sovereign borders. I was kind of outraged, and I wanted to print that story, but that was one that got squashed.

AMY GOODMAN: By who?

SGT. MARSHALL THOMPSON: By my commanders. They're all very well-intentioned, but nobody wants to get in trouble. And that was a story that looked like trouble, and so it did not make it.

AMY GOODMAN: Turkey, a U.S. ally, attacking the country that the U.S. is occupying.

SGT. MARSHALL THOMPSON: Exactly. Plus it was kind of -- they were using the same rationale that we used to go into Iraq, saying, well, they've got a terrorist problem. If they can't handle it, then we’ll go in and help them with it. And so we have no moral high ground there. We couldn't tell them not to do it. And they continue to do it to this day. "
One: It's no surprise, nor a fact worthy of condemnation, that the military press censors stories. It's something they have a right to do, and it's hard to argue against that right from a rational perspective. When one signs on to military service in the U.S., one becomes the property of the federal government. It is certainly that government's right to control, to a high degree, what outside information gets disseminated in such a context.

Two: The terrorist state of Iraq. The terrorist attacks by the Kurds really get no coverage in the U.S. [1] [2]. One, rather obvious, reason for this is that is doesn't mesh with the "Kurdish Success Story" being touted by our slowly awakening media. Another, blindingly obvious, reason for this lack of coverage is that it would cast Iran in a victim, rather than agressor, role for terrorist actions. Also, Iran's recent shelling of Kurdish lands is, according to 21st Century American thinking, "fighting the war on terror". This would so confuse an American electorate being primed for an Iran attack that heads might spontaneously explode.

Three: I'm planning of biking/walking across the country to help convince people to help me kick Bush (and the Neocon Cabal) out of office. So I love seeing someone else participating in a similar, if tangential, activity.

Four: I was raised in the Mormon church, and the vast majority of my [very large] family is quite active in said church. I've since become rational enough to realize that starting wars for material gain is not something Jesus Christ would even contemplate, much less endorse. Utah, as mentioned in the article, is the reddest state in the Union. It is an unwritten, but well understood, platform of the Mormon Church that voting for Democrats is like voting for Satan (but worse, as Democrats actually exist). My hope is that the actions of Sgt. Marshall Thompson will help a good people find their way, as they have become lost in their quest for salvation.

Five: This quote brings the whole point home.
AMY GOODMAN: How did you come to the conclusion that it's unjust?

SGT. MARSHALL THOMPSON: Well, it happened before the war started. I was on the fence. And when Colin Powell addressed the UN, I believed him, like most people did, I think. But then there was something in me that kept bothering me, and it was that the decision to go to war with Iraq was based on fear, fear of something that hadn't happened yet. And those are never good decisions. We can't make fear-based decisions. So I decided that even if they had weapons of mass destruction, that I was going to be opposed to the war.

Then, years later when I went to Iraq, spent a year there, saw what happened, it was only reinforced. And I knew that I was going to have to come home and do something to make it right for my participation in it and just because I feel more responsible for what goes on over there, having been there for one year.
[this is the full article, I got it off kos, so that diarist gets first linkage]

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Three Retired Officers Demand Rumsfeld's Resignation

Three Retired Officers Demand Rumsfeld's Resignation - washingtonpost.com

And the chorus grows large.
"Three retired military officers who served in Iraq called today for the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, telling a Democratic 'oversight hearing' on Capitol Hill that the Pentagon chief bungled planning for the U.S. invasion, dismissed the prospect of an insurgency and sent American troops into the fray with inadequate equipment.

The testimony by the three --two retired Army major generals and a former Marine colonel -- came a day after disclosure of a classified intelligence assessment that concluded the war in Iraq has fueled recruitment of violent Islamic extremists, helping to create a new generation of potential terrorists around the world and worsening the U.S. position."
He needs to go, and take his neocon buddies with him.

Monday, September 25, 2006

VA underestimated costs, The Debt Gets Bigger

Report: VA underestimated costs - Yahoo! News

Yet more incompetence, this time affecting the people who are fighting Bush's War.
"WASHINGTON - The government used prewar data to estimate the cost of caring for veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan, contributing to a $3 billion budget shortfall at the Veterans Affairs Department since 2005, congressional investigators say.

The department used 'unrealistic assumptions, errors in estimation and insufficient data' to project its budget, the Government Accountability Office said in a report Wednesday.
Investigators also said the VA failed to estimate correctly the costs for these war veterans partly because the agency could not get accurate information from the Defense Department."
"Unrealistic Assumptions" and "Errors in Estimation"...I can't think of better metaphors for Neocon leadership....well, o.k....maybe "Incompetent War Mongerers" would work as well.

What if Iraq Really Is the War for Civilization Itself?

Daily Kos: What if Iraq Really Is the War for Civilization Itself?

This is a curious exploration of the context of the War on Overwhelming Fear, if one assumes the givens of the Neocon Administation.
"George Bush cannot win the War in Iraq, because he no longer has public support--not for himself or for the war. He is a deeply unpopular President. About sixty percent of Americans think that he's doing a bad job. Even more of them strongly disapprove of the way he's handling the Iraq War.

Indisputably, his leadership has failed. And if we're in a war for civilization itself in Iraq, then we need a President we don't fundamentally dislike. Mothers and fathers don't give up their sons and daughters to die for civilization if they think those lives will be ill spent by a leader they distrust.

Another reason George Bush cannot win this war, is that he has surrounded himself with the worst diplomats since no one living can remember. We are losing the War in Iraq on several fronts, but the Public Relations Front is where we're getting slaughtered. And when it's a war about civilization, that's one place you need to hold the line. "
Bascially, the idea is that if we are in a war for civilization itself, we need a leader who has some credibility.

IMHO, the war for civilization is between those who think political issues should be solved peacefully, and those who wish to use violence to resolve differences. I know this goes against the common framing of the Neocons (who are selling it as "U.S. vs. the World"), but I think this is a much more rational dichotomy in which to explore the battle for civilization. BTW, saying that 'torture' is o.k., is not terribly civilized.

HOWTO: Lose The War on Overwhelming Fear

There is a simple way to lose the War on Overwhelming Fear (a.k.a. what the neocons call "The War on Terror"). That simple way is to keep telling people to be very, very afraid. That simple way is exactly what our leaders have been doing for the last 5 years.

One would think that it's a fairly simple equation. On one side of the war is Us. On the other side of the war is Overwhelming Fear (i.e. "Terror"). The obivous and most glaring strategy would seem to be to tell people "don't be afraid". It would seem that in a war on an emotion, directly attacking that emotion (with calm, reason, and humor) would be the most likely strategy to defeat it.

However, what we've seen during each election cycle since 9/11 is rampant fear-mongering. The strategy of the Neocons has been to try and ratchet up the fear in such a manner that those who would most viciously fight the people we are supposed to be afraid of gain the most public support.

This strategy has left our nation more afraid, and more susceptible, to terror attacks. Hence, the political strategy of turning up the fear in order to gain more support for killing people, has become self-defeating, as the terror now is greater than it was over 5 years ago.

And of course, there's Iraq to contend with.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Part of a classified intelligence report that says the war in Iraq has increased the terrorist threat against the United States has fueled calls by congressional Democrats for a new direction in the nation's war on terrorism.

U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism officials Sunday confirmed to CNN the contents of the leaked portion of the National Intelligence Estimate, which was first reported in the Sunday editions of The New York Times and The Washington Post.

Some intelligence officials have said as much in the past, but the newly revealed document is part of the government's first formal report on global trends in terrorism.

"Press reports say our nation's intelligence services have confirmed that President Bush's repeated missteps in Iraq and his stubborn refusal to change course have made America less safe," Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, said. "No election-year White House PR campaign can hide this truth."
[full story]

It is very sad to see a country go from the land of the free and the home of the brave, to the land of watched and home of the scared...but that's the Republican strategy...and even more sadly...it seems to be working.

Sunday, September 24, 2006

YouTube - The Devil responds to Hugo Chavez

YouTube - The Devil responds to Hugo Chavez

Looks like someone took offense at the inflammatory comments made at the U.N. podium this last week.

Friday, September 22, 2006

Abramoff and Friends in the White House

Crooks and Liars
"Republican activists Grover Norquist and Ralph Reed landed more than 100 meetings inside the Bush White House, according to documents released Wednesday that provide the first official accounting of the access and influence the two presidential allies have enjoyed.

The White House released the Secret Service visit records to settle a lawsuit by the Democratic Party and an ethics watchdog group seeking visitors logs for the two GOP strategists and others who emerged as figures in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

[..]White House officials said Norquist, who runs the nonprofit Americans for Tax Reform, was cleared for 97 visits to the White House complex between 2001 and 2006, including a half-dozen with the president.

Reed, former executive director of the Christian Coalition and an unsuccessful candidate for lieutenant governor in Georgia earlier this year, got 18 meetings, including two events with Bush."
This is another reason they need to go...they are dirty, dirty men.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Cheers and Jeers: Thursday: Bush "bounce" a Media Myth

Daily Kos: Cheers and Jeers: Thursday
"Here then, is some much-needed historical perspective to put Bush's standing in context:

>>> According to Gallup, on the eve of President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination, he was suffering the worst job-approval ratings of his presidency -- 58 percent.

>>> In 1968, when the war in Vietnam was claiming hundreds of U.S. casualties each week, President Lyndon Johnson was considered so unpopular that he didn't even run for re-election. Johnson's average Gallup approval rating for that year was 43 percent.

>>> When Reagan's second term was rocked by the Iran-Contra scandal, his ratings plummeted, all the way down to 43 percent.

>>> This year, according to the Gallup numbers, Bush has averaged an approval rating of 37 percent.

---Eric Boehlert (via Atrios) at Media Matters"
The annoying thing is, as gas prices continue to drop (expect about $2/gal by Nov.) the people quickly forget about their anger. This comic captures the dynamic precisely.

And sadly, it seems the polls would indicate that saying 9/11 100 hundred times straight over the weeks before Septemeber 11th (and splattering in "terrorist" and "Iraq") is still a viable election strategy.

Why He Should Resign

Cheers adnd Jeers: Thursday

Here's a nice historical context for why Bush is high on the list for "Worst. President. Ever."
"Even if all the hopeful, GOP-fed chatter about a bounce were to hold true, it would mean the president would likely end the year right where he started it; around 42 percent. There's not a single White House aid or Republican campaign consultant who in January would have been happy with the president treading water for the entire year. But that's exactly what he's done and the press, unburdened by any historical context, now treats that like an emerging success story.

Just look at the all the press attention paid to Tuesday's Gallup poll showing Bush climbing up to a 44-percent approval rating. In any other recent administration, that kind of rating would be cause for embarrassment. But the media rules are different for Bush. Also note that last week's Pew poll showing Bush stuck at 37 percent received very little coverage. That's because for the Beltway press corps, evidence that Bush-is-back means big news, while evidence that Bush-is-still-down does not.

The press' clear reluctance to tackle the topic simply feeds into the right-wing campaign under way that all presidents at one time or another suffer minuscule approval ratings, so Bush's downturn is no big deal. ...[B]ecause the press has consistently refused to treat Bush's 2006 poll collapse as dramatic or historic, [Rush] Limbaugh and others on the right are able to shrug it off as nothing 'unique.'

Here then, is some much-needed historical perspective to put Bush's standing in context:

>>> According to Gallup, on the eve of President John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination, he was suffering the worst job-approval ratings of his presidency -- 58 percent.

>>> In 1968, when the war in Vietnam was claiming hundreds of U.S. casualties each week, President Lyndon Johnson was considered so unpopular that he didn't even run for re-election.Johnson's average Gallup approval rating for that year was 43 percent.

>>> When Reagan's second term was rocked by the Iran-Contra scandal, his ratings plummeted, all the way down to 43 percent.

>>> This year, according to the Gallup numbers, Bush has averaged an approval rating of 37 percent.

---Eric Boehlert (via Atrios) at Media Matters"

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Ex-CIA Veteran Talks of Bush War Crimes

ex-CITA talks war crimes.

I say we kick him out first, then let the courts handle it. Can you imagine how many poeple he's going to pardon if we let him finish his natural term?
"An in-depth interview with former high-level CIA analyst Ray McGovern; McGovern talks about his work as an advisor to Bush 1 and his belief that Bush 2 is a war criminal and should be tried for crimes against humanity."

Monday, September 18, 2006

Rep. Ney rarely said nay to graft

The Swamp - Chicago Tribune - Blogs.
"Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) who pleaded guilty in federal court today on public corruption charges related to Jack Abramoff, the disgraced and convicted former lobbyist, was living quite large, according to court documents released by the Justice Department today.

For instance, A foreign businessman who wanted Ney’s help in obtaining U.S. export licenses gave Ney thousands of dollars in gambling chips the congressman could use in a British casino the businessman owned. "
And another one bites the dust. It's so nice when they kick themselves out.

Security Analysis of the Diebold AccuVote-TS Voting Machine

Sunday, September 17, 2006

IAEA: U.S. Report on Iran 'Outrageous'

IAEA: U.S. Report on Iran 'Outrageous' - OhmyNews International
"An official at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called an intelligence report put out by a U.S. congressional committee 'outrageous and dishonest,' filled with 'erroneous, misleading and unsubstantiated statements.'

Vilmos Cserveny, IAEA director for External Relations and Policy Coordination, made his comments in a letter to U.S. House Representative Peter Hoekstra, who chaired the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence which on Aug. 23 issued the 29-page document assessing Iran nuclear activities: ' 'Recognizing Iran as a Strategic Threat: An Intelligence Challenge for the United States.'"
Good to see someone calling bullshit on this thing. Basically the Republicans looked at the intel on Iran, said "Wait a second, this doesn't support our stance at all. You guys (i.e. the CIA) suck."

Also, and for the record. One of the big Neocon lies is that "everyone thought Iraq had weapons." They keep repeating this bullshit. The U.N. (i.e. the people on the ground looking for them said Irad didn't have them. That's at least one of 'us', hence 'everybody' didn't think Iraq had weapons before the invasion.

I know that somehwat tangential to a story about a response to a report on Iran's WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION!!! , but I wanted to clear the air on this one.

Bush's Two Pronged Attack in the War on Overwhelming Fear

Xinhua - English
"WASHINGTON, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President George W. Bush used his Saturday weekly radio address to defend his position on counterterrorism legislation, urging the lawmakers to adopt his proposals in two pieces of anti-terror laws.

'Congress is considering two vital pieces of legislation...My administration is working closely with members of both parties to pass these bills,' Bush said. "
Those two piece of legislation, respectively, allow him to try people in his court by his rules and collect evidence on everyone in the world without a warrant.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Bolton Likely To Be Removed from U.N. Post

White House Seeks a Way to Keep Bolton at the U.N. - washingtonpost.com

Looks like another Neocon is on his way out (finally). Thanks Rhode Island moderates!
"President Bush's nomination of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations appears increasingly endangered in the Senate, prompting the administration to explore other ways to keep him in the job after his temporary appointment expires in January, officials said yesterday.

The situation represents a sharp turnaround from two weeks ago, when the White House was confident it could finally push through Bolton's long-stalled nomination. But last week's surprise move by Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee (R-R.I.) to delay a vote convinced Republicans on Capitol Hill that the nomination may be doomed, prompting a search for alternatives."
Why thank R.I. mods? Because Chafee will lose to a (D) if he lets John "I Hate the U.N." Bolton be our actual ambassador to the U.N. Bolton is currently there through a weekend "recess" appointment.

A Diminished Public Appetite for Military Force and Mideast Oil

Pew Research Center: A Diminished Public Appetite for Military Force and Mideast Oil

This is, perhaps, the best sign that the revolutionary spirit is winning over the militaristic one.
"Five years later, Americans' views of the impact of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have changed little, but opinions about how best to protect against future attacks have shifted substantially. In particular, far more Americans say reducing America's overseas military presence, rather than expanding it, will have a greater effect in reducing the threat of terrorism.

By a 45% to 32% margin, more Americans believe that the best way to reduce the threat of terrorist attacks on the U.S. is to decrease, not increase, America's military presence overseas. This is a stark reversal from the public's position on the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. In the summer of 2002, before serious public discussion of removing Saddam Hussein from power had begun, nearly half (48%) said that the best way to reduce terrorism was to increase our military involvement overseas, while just 29% said less involvement would make us safer.

Similarly, in 2002 a 58% majority felt that military strikes against nations developing nuclear weapons were a very important way to reduce future terrorism. Today, just 43% express the same level of support for such action"
BTW, for those that haven't picked up on it yet:

"We" are people who think that peaceful action to create political change is the best course of action (the vast majority of the world).

"They" are people who think that military action to create political change is the best course of action (neocon and al qeada-types).

We must make our strength shown, and we must do it through sheer numbers.

Thursday, September 14, 2006

An Apology Regarding Karl Rove

STLtoday - News - Columnists

Very nicely put "apology".
"After reviewing all this material, I feel obliged to say: I'm sorry Karl Rove . . . still has a job.

With respect to the specifics, Armitage or no Armitage:"
Read the linked article for the facts behind the b.s.

Rumsfeld Must Resign

Crooks and Liars » Murtha: Rumsfeld Must Resign

Looks like the meme is spreading.
"Today I introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives calling for the immediate resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

The President must show the American people and the world that there is accountability for the mistakes that have made in the war in Iraq. We must restore our credibility with our allies and the world in order to effectively fight the global threat of terrorism.

Secretary Rumsfeld has failed in managing the military response to this threat and should be replaced with someone who is capable of not only recognizing the mistakes that have been made but addressing them head on for the good of our military and our great nation."
Rumsefeld should be gone by early '07, at the latest. May he be the first neocon domino to fall.

Are We Stuck In The Twilight Zone?

Are We Stuck In The Twilight Zone?

Yet another look at predictive/cautionary science fiction.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

The War Expands

Jordan jails eight for plots to attack Westerners | International News | Reuters.com

This is NOT "winning". This is "expanding".
"AMMAN (Reuters) - Jordan jailed eight Islamist youths on Wednesday for 10 to 20 years for plotting to attack U.S. citizens who frequent luxury hotels and work in the country, judicial sources said.

A state security court said the eight were found guilty of 'conspiring to carry out terrorist acts and of illegal possession of automatic weapons,' in two separate security plots foiled last year to attack U.S. citizens in the country.

Along with tourists, they also planned to kill U.S. instructors heading to a U.S.-funded police center on the outskirts of Amman that trains Iraqi police recruits."
Q: Why do we need to kick him out?

A: He thinks militarism can solve this problem.

UPDATE: More on the expansion.
DAMASCUS - Starting with what is fact, four attackers and one security guard died in the unsuccessful attack on the US Embassy in the Rawda neighborhood of the Syrian capital Damascus on Tuesday morning. And, contrary to some reports, all of the attackers were Syrian, and not jihadis from neighboring countries.

After this, it all gets a bit murky.

Minutes after the attack, Syrian opposition leader Ali Sadr al-Din al-Baynouni of the banned Muslim Brotherhood spoke from his London exile to Doha-based Al-Jazeera TV, saying the attack was fabricated by Syrian intelligence. The reasons, he said, were to score points with the Americans and prove to Washington that Syria and the US had the same enemy in radical political Islam.

Then a senior Syrian government official accused the United States of being behind the assault on its own embassy. One unidentified Ba'ath Party official was quoted in the media as saying, "Only the Americans can succeed in carrying out an attack just 200 meters from President [Bashar al-]Assad's residence in the most heavily guarded section of Syria."

The official claimed that Washington had masterminded the attack to "prove Syria is filled with terrorists and to put us in a weak position" to extract political concessions - this despite the US praising the Syrians.
[full, strange, story]

8 Musical Artifacts That Capture What Nuclear Paranoia Felt Like At The End Of The Cold War

Inventory: 8 Musical Artifacts That Capture What Nuclear Paranoia Felt Like At The End Of The Cold War | The A.V. Club

This is the old school nuclear fear tactic. Turned out the Russians, far from being a massive threat for invasion, could barely hold a country together. I'm curious how "Islamofearism" will look to the next gen.
"Inventory: 8 Musical Artifacts That Capture What Nuclear Paranoia Felt Like At The End Of The Cold War Email Print Discuss "

Ted Stevens: Big Oil and Dump Trucks

YouTube - Ted Stevens: Big Oil - www.logicalscience.com

This is the video of Ted Stevens (R-Oil), refusing to make oil executive swear in before "testifying" before Congress regarding record oil prices and record oil company profits (and a deteriorating infrastructure[1]).

""


yet another "Him" worthy of kicking. Considering how high he is up on the succession chart, it's important to remember that we have to kick out at least the top 3 people in our government.

BTW, you probably know of Steven from his "Internet is a series of Tubes" idiocy. Yes, he's the one who runs that comittee as well. [sigh]



[1]
British Petroleum's problems with pipeline corrosion at its oil field on Alaska's North Slope could jeopardize future efforts to allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the chair of the Senate Energy Committee said Tuesday.

The "inexcusable" events that forced the oil giant to partially shut down operations in Alaska have damaged the public's trust in the industry, said committee chair Pete Domenici, and could translate into less support in Congress for opening the Arctic refuge.
And that was from someone who wants to pollute Alaska to save $.01 at the pump.

Crashing the Plane of State into Iraq

TomDispatch - Tomgram: Crashing the Plane of State into Iraq

Let's take a look at the update.
"Five years later, according to Emily Gosden and David Randall of the British newspaper, the Independent, the Bush administration's Global War on Terror has resulted in, at a minimum, 20 times the deaths of 9/11; at a maximum, 60 times. It has 'directly killed a minimum of 62,006 people, created 4.5 million refugees and cost the US more than the sum needed to pay off the debts of every poor nation on earth. If estimates of other, unquantified, deaths -- of insurgents, the Iraq military during the 2003 invasion, those not recorded individually by Western media, and those dying from wounds -- are included, then the toll could reach as high as 180,000.' According to Australian journalist Paul McGeough, Iraqi officials (and others) estimate that that country's death toll since 2003 'stands at 50,000 or more -- the proportional equivalent of about 570,000 Americans.' "
And the White House perspective.
"The president did not want to try to turn this into a Democrats-versus-the-Republicans thing, but you cannot talk about the war on terror without talking about Iraq," White House press secretary Tony Snow said yesterday.

"And furthermore, you can't talk about September 11th, especially when Osama bin Laden himself says Iraq is at the center of all this, without mentioning it."
[full story]

So is it wrong to point out the fact that Osama Bin Laden even still talking is a total and abject failure in the War on Overwhelming Fear?

Is it wrong to point out that Iraq is a total and abject failure in the War on Overwhelming Fear?

I guess so.
On Capitol Hill, Mr. Bush's speech stiffened the spines of Republicans who have grown weary of defending an unpopular war heading into a tight election season. Yesterday, they were back to skewering Democrats as harshly as ever.

"I listen to my Democrat friends, and I wonder if they are more interested in protecting the terrorists than protecting the American people," House Majority Leader John A. Boehner said yesterday.
Actually, asshat, they are more interested in protecting the Constitution....and our sense of decency...and our moral standing...and our country's future...and, sadly, our very sanity, which has been in short supply as of late.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

I Think I've Found the Problem

Scientists identify brain's concept control core

Here's the science behind the politics.
"NORWICH (Reuters) - Scientists believe they may have finally identified the part of the brain that deals with the critical issue of matching words to everyday objects.

Using brain scans of people suffering from Semantic Dementia -- the second most common form of dementia after Alzheimer's disease in people under 65 -- they have found that the front end of the temporal lobe seems to be crucial to conceptual application.

'People have been talking about how the brain encodes concepts for 150 years. We believe we have found it,' Matthew Lambon-Ralph of Manchester University told the annual meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science on Wednesday. "
And here's the politics.
WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney said Sunday that he was wrong to predict a quicker end to fighting in Iraq but added that the Bush administration would invade again — even knowing that Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction, the administration's primary rationale for war.

"It was the right thing to do and if we had it to do over again, we'd do exactly the same thing," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Cheney said invasion of Iraq was warranted even without the stockpiled weapons because Saddam Hussein would have defeated the sanctions and rebuilt his weapons programs.

Cheney said U.S. allies in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan doubt Americans' resolve and fear they could be left to face terrorists alone. He also said domestic war debate emboldens adversaries.

"They can't beat us in a stand-up fight — they never have — but they're absolutely convinced they can break our will, that the American people don't have the stomach for the fight," Cheney said.
[full story]

"Semantic Dementia" = "Neocon Thinking"

UPDATE: More of the same.
Sept. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Vice President Dick Cheney said the ``world is much better off'' since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and the Bush administration was right to wage war even though Iraq turned out not to have weapons of mass destruction.
--
Cheney defended the Bush administration's strategy in Iraq and disputed opinion polls that show most Americans think the conflict has created more terrorists, the war was a mistake and Iraq isn't the central front on terrorism, as President George W. Bush maintains.
--
The vice president defended his statements before the war that Americans would be greeted as liberators and that he didn't expect the war to be lengthy and cost many lives.

``That's true within the context of the battle against the Saddam Hussein regime and his forces,'' Cheney said. ``That went very quickly.'' The subsequent insurgency has been ``long and costly and bloody,'' he said.
--
``It was the intelligence all of us believed,'' Cheney said, repeatedly citing assurances from George Tenet, then director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Tenet told the president that the case against Saddam Hussein was a ``slam dunk,'' Cheney said. Iraq turned out not to have stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.
--
Two reports released Friday by the Senate Intelligence Committee said that Bush administration claims justifying the war against Iraq were based on intelligence that was fragmented, conflicting, and at times unreliable.
[full story]

My emphasis to highlight the semantic dementia.

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Disturbed - Land Of Confusion - Original - War Corporatism

YouTube - Disturbed - Land Of Confusion

Animation by Todd McFarlane



The original video, by Genesis (animation by Jim Henson, I think)



This is fairly reminiscent of the War Corporatism video from 2003.



BTW, watching this, then reading Rumsfeld's "fascism" is surreal in the extreme.

Lapdog Taken to Woodshed

Blair "to be replaced" within a year-|-Top News-|-Reuters.com

It's about time. Oh, what I would do for a parliamentary system.
"LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair aims to quit next year after 10 years in office but his reported departure date failed to quell growing opposition to his leadership within the government.

Newspaper reports on Wednesday of an exit date of July 26, 2007 signaled the start of a leadership battle which some fear may paralyze government and prompted two junior members to resign in protest at Blair's determination to hang on.

Finance Minister Gordon Brown is widely expected to take over as leader of the Labour Party and the country, and several key political figures urged the two men to map out a joint leadership. "

Friday, September 01, 2006

Kurt Vonnegut : Paraphrased

Rolling Stone :

Mr. Bush, you have forgotten the face of your father and damned us all!

/o.k. it's a vonnegut link and a king ref. happy days. have a smoke.
//Jeremiah
"Thus said the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: mend your ways and your actions, and I will let you dwell in this place. Don't put your trust in illusions and say, The Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord, the Temple of the Lord are these [buildings]. ... therefore I will do to the House which bears My name, on which you rely... just what I did to Shiloh" (7:3-4, 14). Considered a traitor, Jeremiah was placed outside the law during the reign of Zedekiah and placed in detention until the destruction of the city by Nebuchadnezzar (39:14) . He saw the shattering of the last hope for the survivors of the destruction in the murder of Gedaliah, whom the Babylonians had appointed to rule over Judah. Although Jeremiah was saliently a prophet of apocalypse, he emphasized the temporary nature of the destruction and the consolation to be found in the certainty of the nation's return to its land.