What Anonymous Liberal says (emphases mine); It really is incomprehensible. It’s now been over three years since we invaded Iraq, and still, remarkably, no one can say with any certainty why we did it. There’s a tendency among political commentators (and I’m certainly as guilty of this as anyone) to discuss the Bush administration as if it were some monolithic … Read More
Still Alive
We were all supposed to die yesterday. Did you know that? Here’s a list of gloom-and-doom articles from the right-wing press, foretelling that August 22 was the day in which Iran would wreak nuclear kick-ass on all us Westerners (or, at least, Israelis). Wall Street Journal: August 22 World News Daily: Iran Cataclysm Forecast Aug. 22 FrontPageMag: Iran’s Day of … Read More
9/11: The Comic Book
Sorry, it’s not a "comic book" — it’s a "graphic adaptation". Bits of it are being excerpted on Slate, but I can tell you now that if it didn’t cover such a monsterous event in history, it would be unintentionally funny. Take, for example, this panel showing Bush on 9/11 going to speak to grade school kids in Florida: As … Read More
“Beautiful Dead Girls”
Since the media is once again obsessed with the death of adorable little Jon-Benet Ramsey, Kos diarist "hrh" thought he would shine the spotlight on some other beautiful dead girls — the ones the media doesn’t talk about. Read it. RELATED: Juan Cole has thoughts of his own, comparing the saturation news coverage of Jon-Benet Ramsey with another case: But … Read More
Bush Admits The Truth Three Years Too Late
This is the document that got us in to the War in Iraq: March 18, 2003 Dear Mr. Speaker: (Dear Mr. President:) Consistent with section 3(b) of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 (Public Law 107-243), and based on information available to me, including that in the enclosed document, I determine that: (1) reliance … Read More
George Will Says What I Said
Not that I’m brilliant, but this seems painfully obvious — the "war on terror" will not be solved primarily through military solutions, as the warhawks in the White House seem to think. No, sir. John Kerry was right. Glenn Greenwald reflects: In his new column today, George Will makes a critical (if not obvious) point about all of that: namely, … Read More
Bush Doctrine Explained
World O’Crap introduces us to Mark Noonan, who writes: President Bush is, indeed, a rebel – and his cause is peace. His critics don’t understand it, but President Bush figured out that the only sure path to peace in the world is to make the largest number of free people possible. The elite believes that peace is made by negotiations … Read More
Good Morning, Good Morning
Waltisfrozen: Overheard this morning during the few seconds between when my wife’s alarm went off and when she hit the snooze button : "Mr Secretary, do you think this may be related to al Qaeda." Well, shit. There’s no falling back asleep after hearing that. Tell me about it. When I hear stories about us (or the U.K., or Canada) … Read More
What Year Did The 9/11 Attacks Occur?
Believe it or not, 30% of Americans don’t know. WASHINGTON (AFP) – Some 30 percent of Americans cannot say in what year the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks against New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington took place, according to a poll published in the Washington Post newspaper. While the country is preparing to commemorate the fifth … Read More
New Amendments Would Protect Torturers
Unbelieveable: The Bush administration has drafted amendments to a war crimes law that would eliminate the risk of prosecution for political appointees, CIA officers and former military personnel for humiliating or degrading war prisoners, according to U.S. officials and a copy of the amendments. Officials say the amendments would alter a U.S. law passed in the mid-1990s that criminalized violations … Read More
The Lamont Victory
It wasn’t so much a Lamont victory as a Lieberman loss. I’m sure the political blogosphere will have a lot of post-game analysis about why Lieberman lost. Much of it will no doubt suggest that Lamont won only because of the blogs (even the mainstream media has reported that angle). The "bloggers did it" meme is silly. They may have … Read More
Bush Needs A Civics Lesson
Today he said: "Which gives me confidence about the future in Iraq, by the way. You know, I hear people say, Well, civil war this, civil war that. The Iraqi people decided against civil war when they went to the ballot box." What does "going to the ballat box" have to do with whether or not there is a civil … Read More
The Conyers Report Is Out
Available here for free. Conyers writes: The report, which is some 350 pages in length and is supported by more than 1,400 footnotes, compiles the accumulated evidence that the Bush Administration has thumbed its nose at our nation’s laws, and the Constitution itself.
Tom “Six Months” Friedman Gives Up
New York Times columnist Tom Friedman earned the nickname "Six Months" because of his repeated prognostications about the War in Iraq, which all sounded really similar. "The next six months in Iraq—which will determine the prospects for democracy-building there—are the most important six months in U.S. foreign policy in a long, long time."[New York Times, 11/30/03] “What we’re gonna find … Read More
Why Trust Rumsfeld?
Today on the Hill, Hillary Clinton accused Donald Rumsfeld of giving optimistic assessments of the War on Terrorism in the past. She then asked why anybody should believe him now. Rumsfeld responded: "I don’t think that’s true. I have never painted a rosy picture. I have been very measured in my words, and you’d have a dickens of a time … Read More