Be back on Wednesday, August 1.

Dems, Listen to Drew Westen

The Sunday WaPo's Outlook section (sorry, no link) has an interesting, and to-the-point article by Drew Westen, Emory University professor, about why Democrats need to speak to voters from the gut and not with a dispassionate rendering of facts and figures. Westen points out that if Democrats don't connect with the emotional, gut values voters understand and relate to, they will snatch defeat out of the jaws of victory in 2008. In making his case, Westen also makes some right-on observations about Dumbya:

"People vote largely with their passions, and if you jam their emotional radar, you prevent them from making emotionally informed decisions. Consider the case of George W. Bush, whose life story telegraphed everything voters needed to know about him: He had dodged the Vietnam-era draft while avidly supporting the war; he had drunk his way through much of his adulthood, even while he had young children at home; he had shown extraordinary incompetence in the business world; his campaign had smeared Sen. John McCain with stories about mental instability and an allegedly illegitimate baby to get Bush through the South Carolina primary in 2000; and he had mocked a fellow born-again Christian whom he put to death as Governor of Texas. The problem was that the Democrats wouldn't tell it."

The Rethugs have understood this now for many decades. As Westen notes, they have rendered the term "liberal" contaminated, while relentlessly going after individual candidates in the rawest emotional terms possible (Willie Horton, Swift Boaters and, as we have predicted, "traitors").

The Democrats should have all the emotion going for them in 2008, with every backward, foul, lying, unconstitutional, hypocritical, obstructionist, criminal, despicable thing the Rethugs have shoved in our faces over the past 6 -- hell, 40 years. How's that for emotions?!

So, are you listening, Democrats?

Whaa?

In simple terms, the forces dividing Iraq have two major regional clients: the Sunnis have Saudi Arabia, and the Shiia have Iran. The current Iraqi government is majority Shiia. In its stunning wisdom, the Bush Assministration has chosen to arm the "former" Sunni insurgents in Iraq, as the current Shiia-dominated government (Prime Minister Maliki, ostensibly supported by Dumbya) rejects the Sunnis' demands for political redress. Expected outcome? Intensified sectarian violence, with Saudi Arabia and Iran as the drivers.
It's clear that the Bush Assministration has been listening closely to the "counsel" of the Saudi Government/"Bandar Bush" of late, especially with the looming $30 billion arms deal in the works with the Saudis. Bidness, Texas-style. National security, Saudi-style.

Gives New Meaning To "High"

News item: An independent panel finds that some astronauts may have flown while drunk.

Backstabbers

Sidney Blumenthal's current article in Salon details the unfolding strategy of the Bush Assministration and its wingnut media Wurlitzer to blame its failures in Iraq on "backstabbers" at home. Leading the charge for the Assministration is Dumbya himself, ably assisted by President Cheney. The current campaign to portray the Iraq insurgency as fully controlled by al Qaeda in Iraq is one of the themes being used in this strategy. Thus, the recent Edelman letter to Sen. Clinton equating dissent from Dumbya to aiding the enemy, and the smears that war critics are against the troops. All of this, despite the fact that for 5 years, Dumbya got virtually everything he asked Congress for, even the Congress in the past 7 months controlled by Democrats. National Intelligence Estimates tell us that his misadventure in Iraq has weakened the U.S.'s battle against al Qaeda, not strengthened it. Dumbya turned his attention from Afghanistan, and swung his fist at the hornet's nest of Iraq to settle a score left over from his Daddy's term. But he's not to blame for his failure. Not this one, and none of the failures in his past.

Things In Iraq Are Looking Bett. . .Um, What's This?

Just when Dumbya was putting a smiley face on events in Iraq, the Iraqi political winds began to blow. And look what it's blowing in: the main Sunni party has threatened to pull out of the government altogether next week unless the Maliki government meets a number of its demands. Some samples: purge the Iraqi police of Shiite militia, release of thousands of detainees, investigations into the bombings of Sunni shrines, etc. What are the chances of the demands being met by next week, keeping in mind the legislature is on vacation? The same as Dumbya ever admitting the enormous blunder he made in invading and occupying Iraq: zero.

Walnuts' Campaign Hits the Ditch, Part II

Two more senior staff have resigned from Walnuts McCain's campaign, now on life support. Advertising consultants Russ Schriefer and Stuart Stevens, veterans of Preznit Chimpy's 2000 and 2004 exercises in dishonesty, resigned yesterday as the Walnuts campaign continues to hemorrhage wingnut hacks. Expect this little feller to come by any day now.

Quotes of the Week

"You're watching an utterly irrelevant, shallow television celebrity dominate everybody who claimed they want to lead the most powerful nation in the world." Newt "Ego Ginormous" Gingrich referring to Tweety's domination of the Rethug field in the May "debates." Right on, Newtie!

"This is like going to DeGaulle when he was at Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises during the Fourth Republic and saying, 'Don't you want to rush in and join the pygmies?'" Newt "Ego Ginormous" Gingrich again, referring to the same Rethug field and his potential entry into the race, and likening himself to Charles DeGaulle. The gall!

Photo: Newtie showing the actual size of the Rethug presidential candidates.

Don Young, Next Rethug Perp-Walker?

Daily Kos is reporting today that Rep. Don Young (Rethug-AK) may be the next "darn-tootin', straight-shootin'" phony Rethug to do the perp walk. Young, also of Jack Abramoff notoriety, is now reported to be the subject of a continuing criminal inquiry (as is his pardner in crime Sen. Ted "Tubes" Stevens) to determine if Young and/or Stevens accepted bribes, illegal gratuities, or unreported gifts from VECO Corp., an Alaska oil-field engineering group. We hope the good citizens of Alaska have been paying attention to the behavior of these two rotting political hacks (whose only claims to fame have been their ability to bring more than Alaska's share of pork back home), and that they will retire them at the next opportunity.

Another Rethug Perp Walk

Michigan Young Rethug "rising star" Michael Flory has pleaded guilty to sexual battery charges, stemming from an incident last July. Flory's Rethug supporters had been waging a scorched earth attack on the victim of his assault, up until his guilty plea. Typical of slimy Rethugs: 'anything goes in the defense of our warped political ideology.' Lying, smearing, avoiding responsibility, and so on.

So few of these cowardly creeps have enlisted in the quintessential cause they so fervently support: Bush's Iraq war. Fewer still stand for what's right when faced with the corruption and degeneracy of their fellow wingers. Give him the max.

(h/t to Roger Ailes's blog)

The Perjury General

In today's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Alberto "Fredo" Gonzales had trouble keeping his story straight, and was grilled by both Democrats and Ranking Rethug Senator Arlen Specter. His testimony contradicted that of former Deputy AG James Comey, who earlier testified that Fredo and former White House Chief of Staff Card tried to get a sedated and ailing Attorney General Ashcroft to sign off on Bushit's warrantless wiretapping scheme, which Ashcroft refused to do.

Specter warned Fredo that he'd better recheck his testimony to make sure his contradictory statements "weren't actionable" - - i.e. for perjury. Chairman Leahy said simply, "I don't trust you." It looks like Fredo's problems are far from being over.

Wee Willie's War

William "Wee Willie" Kristol's "we're winning in Iraq" op-ed poop in last week's WaPo has elicited more that 200 expressions of outrage, disbelief and laughter. Except of course from the Presidunce, who liked it.

Kristol's a smarmy, self-satisfied little neocon who appears regularly on Fux News Sunday, the Bush Assministration's official outlet, and who always has clever little things to say about "Defeatist Democrats" and other opponents of Bush's war in Iraq. He's never once apologized for the consistent wrongness of his views, particularly over Iraq. But he has a chance to get a whiff of the mess he's helped to propagandize, since the little putz is going to Iraq (follow ThinkProgress link). Too bad they won't issue him a helmet, uniform, and rifle over there so that he can help us "win". They won't because they have standards, after all.

Don't Say 'Insurgents', Say 'al Qaeda!'

More in the annals of spin from the Bush Assministration. Clearly, they're thinking that by conflating the broad sectarian insurgency in Iraq with al Qaeda, they stand to score more points with the portion of the American public that's 1) not been paying attention or 2) is deeply invested in neocon fantasies. Thus, the 5% representing al Qaeda becomes 100% of the insurgency (nevermind the Shiite Mahdi Army, Baathists, etc.). Preznit Bushit strikes again.

"The Great Denier"

The New York Times editorial today is worth reading, if only to elevate your blood pressure. Despite all of the evidence to the contrary, Dumbya persists in pushing Iraq as a potential "victory", while smearing opponents and spinning some facts, and denying others as suits him.

Operation Successful - We Have Pictures

Cartoon by Zapiro

Bin Laden's Recruiters

Most experts and most Americans (51%, CNN) have concluded that the occupation of Iraq has created more terrorists hostile to the U.S. Even more (54%, CNN) agree that there was no moral justification to invade Iraq. A Gallup poll indicates that 71 percent of Americans want our troops home by next April. This article by Timothy Ash, an Oxford University professor and fellow at the conservative Hoover Institute, illustrates how this Assministration fell into Bin Laden's trap to involve us in a disastrous land war in the Middle East, while he and al Qaeda's leadership bide their time in the frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Dumbya and Dead Eye have been Bin Laden's best recruiters.

Asshole Examined, Cheney Stays In Charge

This is one of those inadvertently hilarious stories: Preznit Dumbya is going to get a colonoscopy (i.e., have his brain examined) this Saturday, and "Vice" President Dead Eye Dick Cheney will "take over temporarily" (bwhahahaha) while Dumbya's anesthetized. So what changes from the current situation, except that Dumbya will be more coherent under anesthesia?

Neocon Nuttery

The recent response by Rethug Pentagon hack Eric Edelman to Senator Clinton's request for information on contingency planning for withdrawal from Iraq has prompted a look into Edelman's background. For starters, he's a refugee from the Reagan and Bush Daddy administrations, and a protege of Dead Eye Dick Cheney. Also, a former ambassador to Turkey, where he made himself "persona non grata" by interfering in his host country's internal affairs (a neocon trait). He was also one of the authors of the 1992 Draft Defense Planning Guidance paper, which laid out an aggressive plan for U.S. domination in the world (ditto above), and which was considered too radical to be implemented.

So when he responded to Sen. Clinton's request for a troop withdrawal contingency plan, it's no surprise that this partisan hack suggested that such thoughts would encourage our enemies, etc. etc. As with so many neocon chickenhawks (Kristol, the Kagans, Wolfowitz, Perle, Podhoretz, and so on), Edelman has never faced combat or worn his country's uniform. And yet, he thinks he's obligated to put our men and woman in harm's way to carry out his asinine world view that will, if left unchecked, destroy our standing and influence in the world. And do nothing but increase the ranks of extemists bent on terrorism.

The Un-Catholic League

As we've noted before (3/14/07), the so-called Catholic League, which bills itself as a "Catholic civil rights organization," is nothing more than a unit of the Rethuglican Party. Any group that counts among its "trustees" Brent Bozell III, Dinesh D'Souza, Alan Keyes, and Kate O'Beirne has lost any claim to political neutrality. Under the leadership of Bill Donohue, the Catholic Republican League has fearlessly taken on "cultural issues" in the form of Rosie O'Donnell, but has been curiously quiet about the huge er... elephant under the rug -- pedophile priests.

In the entry noted above, we remarked how odd it was that Donohue didn't go after Obergruppenfuhrer Hannity over his remarks about pedophile priests. Now, you can scan the Republican Catholic League's news releases in vain to find any mention of the recent historic $600+ million settlement by the Los Angeles Archdiocese over its decades-long cover-up of sexual abuse by Catholic priests. We guess since it's not an issue they can bash "secular progressive humanists" about, it's not worth commenting on. "Move along, nothing to see here..."

(Photo: Bill Donohue -- is that a priest in his pocket, or is he just happy to see us?)

The "New Jesus" Problem

As described by James Fallows in The Atlantic, Gen. Petraeus has the "New Jesus" problem: expectations placed on a new "savior" by a cynical and incompetent Assministration will be almost impossible to achieve. The Assministration has been trotting him out as the new military messiah since the surge was announced, and earlier generals shuffled off the stage. Neocon numbnuts Wee Willie Kristol has even dubbed him the new Ulysses S. Grant, sure to bring victory in, um, well let's not talk about timetables. The Preznit's constant referral to the General's September "report" has made it seem like we're waiting for a new Gospel, instead of a predictable "we're winning" justification for protracted war. There's no other reason for Chimpy to be boosting the "New Jesus" if the outcome wasn't already set.

Looking For Legacy

News that the Presidunce is embarking on a new Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative has to cause concern among those who actually want peace in that region. The ever-bungling Dumbya has messed up nearly every foreign policy initiative he's touched, and U.S. prestige in that region is at the lowest ebb in history. The Presidunce will attempt to bolster Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas with aid - - which will certainly make Abbas popular among his fellow Arabs to see him in Dumbya's embrace. A few press conferences featuring Dumbya's famous tortured statements and this process will be history.
(photo: The Presidunce using his "cordless" Middle East hotline phone.)

And the Winner Is...

... "None of the Above." That's what the latest AP/Ipsos poll says the Republican rank-and-file's favorite (23%) choice is among the Rethug candidates (and non-candidate) for president. Rudy McRomney is second with 21%, followed by non-candidate Fred "Foghorn Leghorn" Thompson at 19%, Walnuts at 15%, and (ha-ha!) Willard "Mutt/Muff/Mousse" Romney at 11%. Two observations: when nearly a quarter of your base doesn't get excited about your candidate selection, you're in deep doo-doo; secondly, Willard's puny 5th place showing is a lesson to all those pols who adopt his "I'll be anything you want me to be, as long as you elect me" approach to running for office.

Artificial Intelligence

Expect there to be some industrial-level spinning by the Bush Assministration on today's release of the latest National Intelligence Estimate. Plan on assministration spokesmen, if not Dumbya himself, to get out in front of the cameras and try to link al-Qaeda activity in Iraq with threats to American soil yet again... and for the bobbleheads in the MSM to go right along with it. Wouldn't have anything to do with ratings and poll numbers, would it?

The (Seems Like an Hour) 1/2 Hour News Hour

Amazingly enough, the Rupert Murdoch/Fux attempt at wingnut humor, otherwise known as the "1/2 Hour News Hour," is still on the air. Talk about subsidies! That abomination must be losing Rupert millions, but it's only pocket change when you're trying to prove -- in a spectacularly unsuccessful manner -- that wingnuts have a sense of humor. Happening to come across it last night as one would an infected zit, I watched long enough to see most of one "skit" involving atheist authors being interviewed. Knowing this was Fux, the "gag" could be spotted coming from waaaay over yonder: after each atheist author blasphemed, he/she suddenly was struck dead. Heh heh. Yeah, that's wingnut humor alright! A laugh-track provided the laughter, of course.

What this perfectly demonstrates is what James Waller, in his book "Becoming Evil," categorizes as one of the traits common to the authoritarian personality -- authoritarian aggression. This is defined as the tendency to be on the lookout for, and to condemn, reject, and punish people who violate conventional values. (The show clearly is a rip-off of the 1930's German radio laugh-fest "Zappen Der Juden Mit Der Lightning Bolt" - on the Fuchs Network, of course.)

(Pictured: 1/2 Hour News Hour's comedy team of Rush Limpballs and Crazy (M)ann Coulter from the show's debut.)

Charge of the Right Brigade

As horrifyingly stupid as it seems, Dumbya and his boss, Dead Eye Dick Cheney, continue to spoil for a fight with Iran before Dumbya's term expires. Debates inside the White House between those that favor negotiations with Iran (State and Defense Departments) and military action (Dead Eye and crew) seem to be tilting toward the fanatic Cheney. Cheered on by chickenhawks like Sen. Lieberliar, the Kagan Klan, and Wee Willie Kristol, the Bushies are looking for a "Gulf of Tonkin" type trigger to claim self-defense and expand the war to neighboring Iran. The U.S. armed forces - - especially the Army and Marine Corps - - have not been meeting recruiting targets, and are extending combat tours in Iraq, ensuring the ultimate exhaustion of our forces at the time this Assministration and their right wing base wants to forge into Iran. And they say they support the troops.

Knowing Your Enemy, Part 2

It's nice to know that Dumbya has such good relations with the Saudi royal family. The entire Bush family has long been unusually cozy with the House of Saud, so maybe he could get them to, you know, try harder to shut off the flow of suicide bombers into Iraq: some 45% of the suicide bombers have originated from Saudi Arabia.

They've got some 'splainin to do.

(photo: Commander Codpiece holds hands with his date, Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah; did Codpiece get to first base?)

Knowing Your Enemy, Part 1

The news that the apparent truce is off between the Pakistani government and the tribal areas of Waziristan that shelter Taliban and al Qaeda fighters is ominous. Clearly, they see the Musharraf government as weak and temporary. The Preznit's foolish decision to pull troops out of Afghanistan to attack Iraq before the Taliban and al Qaeda were completely defeated is coming back to haunt them. And, unlike Iraq or Iran, Pakistan is armed with nuclear weapons, with dubious controls over them.

Given this Assministration's record, with al Qaeda strengthening in the Afghan-Pakistani frontier, we'll be launching a military attack on. . . . .Iran. Or Syria. Or Lebanon.

Gilmore (Who??) Bows Out

Comes word that former Rethug National Chairman and Gov. James Gilmore (Rethug-VA) is dropping out of the crowded Rebunglecan presidential field. Gilmore, whose only contribution to the race was his right-on sobriquet "Rudy McRomney" for three of his rivals (we'll keep that one alive for you, Jimbo!), is dropping out due to lack of funds. Gilmore is reportedly thinking about making a run for state office, a thought which must be causing many Virginia Rebunglecans' sphincters to tighten in mortal fear, given the low (Dumbya-level) esteem in which Gilmore was held when he left office. Jimbo, those voices you heard demanding that you run for president? They're the same ones you're hearing now demanding that you run for office in Virginia.

Duck! Incoming Fire On The Right!

Signs that Rethuglican Party support for the Preznit's war in Iraq is eroding mounts every day. The latest: Senators John Warner and Richard Lugar are proposing a bill that would force Dumbya to redefine the mission so as to limit U.S. casualties. No one is taking bets that the Preznit will come to his senses and go along. In fact, there's every indication that Dumbya is going to put a smiley face on Gen. Petraeus's upcoming report. Why do you think he wants everyone to wait for Petraeus's report if he didn't think he could get additional mileage out of it? The report's already written to support further "surging", regardless of reality.

Unlike Dumbya, Warner and Lugar have been around for a number of years, and know a dead fish when they smell one. (Bonus question: Is Dead Eye napping in the photo accompanying the linked NY Times story?)

UPDATE: Uh oh. Now Iraqi PM Maliki says we can leave any time. What say you, Chimpy?

Smell Something Burning, Rudy?

"America's Mayor", dress up queen, and urban legend, Rudy "McRomney" Giuliani, is getting slammed in a new video by the firefighters union, which is accusing him of shortchanging the firefighters' communications equipment in New York for years prior to 9/11. The firefighters say that this caused the death of over 100 firefighters, who were unable to receive orders to evacuate the World Trade Center before it collapsed. Also, Mayor Rudy apparently displayed the wisdom of locating the city's emergency communications center in the World Trade Center complex, despite advice to the contrary since this was a prime terrorist target.

Nice going, Rudy. Guess you were too distracted at the time by your, um, personal issues to hear the firefighters' pleas for the right equipment.

Report Card

One of the failures noted in the Iraq report card yesterday was the failure of Iraq's security forces to set their sectarian differences aside, so that we can "stand down as they stand up." Today's item in the news underlines that this failure has fatal consequences for American troops. These were not "al Qaeda" forces killing our troops (heads up, Preznit Chimpy), but Iraqi police!!

Uh oh, what's this? A "Dear John" letter to Dumbya from a former supporter, Peggy "Piggy" Noonan no less. She says "Americans can't fire the President right now." Well, OK, Piggy if you say so. We should have done that in 2004.

Wee Willie's World

Think Progress has a telling side-by-side comparison of the "official" intelligence on how the surge is going in Iraq, compared to the "artificial" intelligence represented by neocon wingnut extraordinaire William "Wee Willie" Kristol. National Intelligence Office Deputy Director Thomas Fingar indicates that the most optimistic view is that the surge has not had a significant effect on reducing the violence in Iraq. Of course, the much better informed Wee Willie begs to differ. He thinks things are going much better that we expected. We're actually winning. Then that means that Wee Willie can visit Baghdad and stroll around for a few hours, without escort, to bask in the calm that the surge has brought, right? C'mon, Wee Willie, put your willie where your big mouth is.
(Photo: Wee Willie receiving the "Cream Pie Award" from a grateful public)

Update: Try to catch Wee Willie's self-delusional essay in the 7/15 WaPo explaining why he's betting Dumbya will be a successful preznit in the end. It's an extension of his dead-ender rationalization and cherry-picking noted above.

Dumbass Dumbya

After viewing most of the Preznit's news conference today, regarding release of the interim report on (non-)progress made toward benchmarks for the Iraqi regime, please allow us a few moments of frustrated venting. Here goes:

This privileged, deeply ignorant, smug, destructive, murderous cardboard cutout of a man, who was unfortunately elected (after once being placed) into the presidency, is so profoundly out of touch that his only reality is the completely discredited Cheney/neocon rhetoric whistling through what passes for his brain. We now know this malevolent moron was told by the director of intelligence that the Iraq war could not be won because the Iraqi regime could not function as a government... in late 2006! Then came the Iraq Study Group's report, which the Assministration ignored. Now, even when it's clear that the Iraqi regime won't meet its already watered-down benchmarks by September (even in the Assministration's generous grading, 8 were deemed "satisfactory progress," 8 were unsatisfactory, and 2 were "mixed"), Dumbya insists on mouthing the same idiotic rhetoric he's been told to mouth for the last few years.

Ass! Bastard! Clown! Dolt! (and so on, through the alphabet...)

Rethug Sacrifices

Jesus' General has a typically hilarious-- and at the same time infuriating-- piece today on one Rethug's family as it feels the suffering of our troops in Iraq. That is, if suffering means seeing your daughter sucking face with another young lady, both in a state of advanced intoxication, while you are voting against limiting the length of deployments in Iraq. Sen. Bob "At Least She's Not Kissing Some Black Dude Named Harold" Corker (Rethug-TN) is the target of the General's skewering -- nicely done!

"Sen. Vitter, Call Your Office"

Senator and D.C. Madam client David Vitter (Rethug-LA) is apparently in hiding, having missed several meetings and hearings on the Hill today and yesterday, and well he should be. His wife Wendy, after all, has been quoted as saying she would treat adultery on his part in the same manner as Lorena "Ginsu" Bobbitt did. Now comes word that Vitter is linked to a brothel in New Orleans, of which he was also a regular customer, according to the former madam there, Jeannette Maier.

Of course, what makes Vitter such a worthy candidate for Bobbitting is not just his betrayal of his wife and children, but his sanctimonious hypocrisy (even for a Rethug), sermonizing about the sanctity of marriage while doing the missionary mambo, and saying (in 1998) that President Clinton should resign because of the Lewinsky affair. When you're not concentrating on keeping sharp objects out of your wife's hands, you should try penning a resignation letter yourself, Sen. Zipper.

Update: The Rethug spinmeisters are in full Defcon III ho damage control. *ucker Carlson, on his smug show today, tried to badger Michael Rectenwald, of Citizens for Legitimate Government, into apologizing for being one of the groups outing Sen. Zipper. Saying Zipper's sex life should be his own business, *ucker committed Rethug apostasy: one could infer from *ucker's new-found sensitivity that the Rethugs may have wrongly and salaciously inflated Bill Clinton's peccadilloes into an impeachment charade; and *ucker may have also abandoned a prime Rethug tenet that snooping into America's bedrooms was the business of every right-thinking right-winger.

Dumbing Down Medicine and Science

Dumbya's Surgeon General from 2002 to 2006, Dr. Richard Carmona, testified yesterday before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform that he was routinely prohibited from speaking out on public health issues by Bushies who insisted that he stick to their ideological or theological line. The issues included embryonic stem cell research, and abstinence programs. Carmona's admission follows a string of scientists in the government that have pointed to Bush Assministration interference in their work in order to support their political or theological ideology at the expense of science (see global warming, etc.).

Bonus quote: "We need to make people more accountable for their own health . . . everyone should exercise more." - - the Preznit in Cleveland, OH 7/10/07

(photo: Dumbya falling off his daddy's Segway, exclaiming "git me a preacher!").

Our Broken MSM, Cont'd.

Everywhere, from the esteemed pundits appearing on the op-ed pages of the WaPo and NY Times, to the TV gab fests, there is abundant evidence of the outright laziness and cynicism of the mainstream media. For example, Glenn Greenwald takes apart the WaPo "national political reporter" Shailagh Murray for her idiotic non-response to questioners on the Scootin' Scooter affair. She seems bored with the fact that there's so much "flap" about the convicted felon, ignoring the evidence of a continuing obstruction of justice by Dumbya himself. It's all "YAAWN" to Ms. Murray, who condescendingly implies that the "department store managers and orthodontists" shouldn't concern themselves with the government being hijacked and corrupted. Let the Shailagh Murrays of the press inform the unwashed masses: "Nothing to see here, move along."

Walnuts' Campaign Hits the Ditch

News today that Terry Nelson and John Weaver, Sen. Walnuts McCain's campaign manager and chief strategist respectively, have resigned follows news last week that their fundraising for the second quarter left Walnuts with only $2 million cash on hand. Looks like the "Straight Talk Express" bus has hit the ditch (photo of Straight Talk Express bus with damage sustained in Iraq).

Call Me, Madam

Rudy "McRomney" Giuliani's Southern Regional Chairman, Sen. David Vitter (Rethug-LA) apologized today for having used the escort service of the "D.C. Madam, " Deborah Palfrey. Vitter's number was found in the phone records kept by Palfrey that are now available on Palfrey's web site. This marks yet another bad personnel decision by Rudy, given his previous associations with Bernard Kerik and, a more recent blow (pardon the expression), Thomas Ravenel (his South Carolina connection -- pardon the expression).

With this record of achievement picking stellar fellers, one wonders whom Rudy would staff his administration with (Paris Hilton, Dept. of Homeland Security?). With a little luck, we'll never have to worry about that.

Quote of the Day

"Look, I make no apologies." - - Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove, speaking at the Aspen, CO "Ideas Festival", referring to the myriad of Dumbya's Assministration's lies and mistakes.

Neocon Idiocy, Cont'd.

One marvels at the elite punditocracy and how deeply wrong the vast majority were on the Iraq invasion. Take David Brooks, for example. Brooks, writing in the New York Times, has long been a cheerleader for the Bush Assministration's war policies, deriding the Iraq Study Group's recommendations some 7 months ago. Now, he says that there's a bitter realization in the Assministration that the ISG recommendations should have been "embraced." Belgravia Dispatch has the definitive work on Brooks' idiocy.

Run, Cindy, Run!

It's being reported today that poor, deluded Cindy Sheehan is threatening to run against Speaker Nancy Pelosi if Pelosi doesn't bring impeachment charges against the Preznit by July 23. Impeachment. Bush. Preznit Cheney. Yeah, that's a great idea, Cindy!

Cindy, who left the Democratic Party because she believes it "caved" to Bush, must believe the chances of impeaching Bush in the last 16 months of his Preznitcy are so good that it's worth tying up the business of the country and giving the Rethugs a "do-nothing" Congress to run against in 2008. We're not great fans of Speaker "Tin Head" Pelosi, but she would certainly thump the poor loon, and fighting off a Sheehan challenge would clearly demonstrate that the Democratic Party is not going to be blackmailed by the most irrational elements on the "left." Also, should she run, look for Rethug elements to contribute to Cindy's campaign, if only to embarrass Pelosi.

Quote of the Week

"It's going to be a very tight race, and ultimately a Republican will still have an advantage. We're still the daddy-bear party that's going to be trusted to protect America." Alex Castellanos (left), Willard "Muff/Mutt/Mousse" Romney's media advisor on the 2008 race (July 4 WaPo).

No, Alex. The Rebunglecans will not have an advantage. That's because they're not the "daddy-bear party" but, more accurately, the incompetent-bear (think Yogi) party, or the pander-bear party (see Revs. Dobson, Robertson, et al.). And Alex, "trusted to protect America?" This is not 2004 and we're not Goldilocks. For your own sake, please don't let Muff/Mutt/Mousse catch you smokin'that crack, ok? You saw what trouble Rudy's man in South Carolina got into.

Yes, Virginia

An interesting look at the political winds blowing in the traditionally red state of Virginia: Bush is viewed by independent voters as the worst among the past 9 presidents, and his war is increasingly unpopular among this key voting bloc. While November 2008 is far away, it is encouraging that the normally Republican-leaning independent voters in Virginia have buyers remorse. Let's hope the remorse is spreading.

Kudos. . . .

To the excellent David Shuster, who demolished neocon apologist Fouad Ajami and right wing nutball Congressman Dan Burton on last night's "Hardball." I tuned in expecting to raise my blood pressure watching Tweety suck up to a Rethug, but was delighted that substitute Shuster was in full combat mode with both Ajami and Burton. He cut both of them off when they started to recite their Rethug talking points and forced them to deal with facts. They weren't happy. Burton looked like he was going to walk off in a huff. Imagine the indignity of having to deal with facts and the truth! MSNBC has to give Shuster his own prime time hour.

Aww, What A Shame. . . .

Bill Oh Really?'s radio program has been dropped by radio station WJFK in Washington, D.C. due to lack of interest. Most right wing radio programs don't last in D.C. Then again, there are more highly educated people in the D.C. metropolitan area . . .

BBWWAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!

Sorry, that was unkind of us.

"Reports of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated"

In a possible foreshadowing of September's expected "good news" report on the Iraq surge from the Bush Assministration's hand picked General, David Petraeus, the death of a key al Qaeda commander has been reported by our command in Baghdad - - twice. Once a year ago, and again this past Monday. When questioned by a reporter, Brigadier General Kevin Bergner, who recently came to Baghdad via the White House and thus is no stranger to spin, later admitted that al Qaeda leader Kamal Jalil Uthman had not been killed last year as earlier reported. Maybe they got him this time. And maybe Gen. Bergner will be announcing the total defeat of al Qaeda in Iraq come September.

The Bushies and Sacrifice

We've seen how the Obstructer in Chief handles former staff who have done some illegal bidding for him with the commutation of Scooter's sentence to ensure his further silence and protection of the Preznit and his boss, Dead Eye Dick, over their bogus case for invading Iraq. And Scooter was able to dash off a check for $240,400 to cover his fine. No big deal. He'll land at one of the wingnut "think" tanks before long and be well taken care of.

One of the hallmarks of this corrupt group is that there's never any accountability required, from Bush to Cheney on down. There's never any personal sacrifice, either, in terms of the matter that they've described as the critical issue of the day: war against terrorism. Few, if any, Republican elites have had loved ones in harms way in that war. They believe "sacrifice is for suckers." The little people are sent to war; Bushies get out of jail free.

No Law and Order

It's amusing to see likely Rethuglican Presidential candidate Fred "Rented Red Pickup" Thompson cheering Scooter's "get out of jail" commutation from the Obstructer in Chief. This from a guy that was on "Scooter's" infamous defense fund advisory board (along with fellow reptilians Mary Matalin, Bill Bennett and Marty Peretz). The "authentic", manly Mr. Thompson - - who Tweety and other Beltway jock sniffers swoon over - - apparently believes it's OK for Rethuglicans to commit perjury, and be convicted by a jury, and then walk free in order to keep the lid on the corrupt White House campaign to smear war critics and manufacture bogus rationales for the war. Luckily, 60 percent of Americans disagree, according to a SurveyUSA poll.

But then, this Assministration is famous for not listening to the majority of Americans.

Obstruction of Justice Continues

While "Scooter" scoots free, it's worth reflecting on the fact that the Decider, in commuting his sentence, has removed the only remaining incentive for Libby to expose the campaign led by Dead Eye Dick to discredit a critic of the Assministration's Iraq war rationale regarding WMD. Thus, the Decider is further obstructing justice, clearly concerned that further exposure of Cheney's misdeeds could lead to criminal charges against his Veep. Complicit in the "nothing to see here, move along" tactics of the Assministration is the Beltway media elite, who have embraced "Scooter" as someone to be protected from jail. One would think that the MSM would want to explore the mystery of "what is the Assministration trying to hide", but one would be wrong.

Glenn Greenwald says it best in his latest column in Salon:

"In every country ruled by a lawless government and a corrupt political and media elite, powerful political officials do not go to prison for crime."

Rethug Campaign Theme Songs

We have the latest information on theme songs some Rebunglecan candidates are using, complete with lyric changes:

Sen. Walnuts McCain - Kingston Trio's "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" - Lyric change: "Where have all the dollars gone..."

Willard "Muff/Mutt/Mousse" Romney - The Castaways' "Liar, Liar"

Rep. Tom "Italian, Not Mexican" Tancredo - Ray Charles' "Hit the Road, Jack" - Lyric change: "Hit the road, Juan, and don't you come back no more, no more..."

Sen. Sam "Jurassic Jesus" Brownback - Laurie London's "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands" - Lyric change: "He's got the embryonic stem cell in his hands..."

We'll keep you posted on additional theme songs as they are announced.

Scootin' Free/Pardon Me!

OK, so it wasn't the pardon we had the premonition about earlier today (see below). But we had a feeling something might happen, and sure enough, the Decider, stalwart upholder of the Constitution and laws of the land, has commuted the jail sentence of Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

The effect of this, coming at a critical time when "Scooter's" lawyers would presumably be looking to deal with the prosecution to reduce the sentence in exchange for telling what he knew about the Preznit's and Dead Eye Dick's involvement, is to continue the pattern of obstruction of justice that "Scooter" was convicted of in his trial. Well done, Mr. Preznit! We know Dead Eye Dick is proud of you!!

Having Fun?

We couldn't help but juxtapose this Kennebunkport moment with the facts noted below.

Great Moments in the Bush Assministration

As many are noting, this is the fourth anniversary of the Preznit's "bring 'em on" statement, encouraging insurgents in Iraq to try to force us out. At that point, some 200 American soldiers had been killed; some 3300 have been killed since Chimpy's Challenge. With the Preznit hovering in the upper 20 percent range in approval of his job performance, and the "surge" a looming failure, we need to send a message to him to "git out."

Scootin' to Jail

Lewis "Scooter" Libby's appeal to stay out of jail while he appeals his conviction on multiple charges was denied today by the U.S. Court of Appeals District Circuit. Since it's highly unlikely further appeals would be heard, and barring a pardon by the Decider, the next step is for the Bureau of Prisons to set a date for "Scooter" to report to begin serving his sentence (probably in about 6 weeks). As a previous commenter suggested, "Scooter" should have his soap on a rope to minimize any bending over while incarcerated.

The Preznit's Model

Lynne Olson has a great dissection of the Decider's pretensions about being like Winston Churchill. The bottom line: even though the Chimperor sees Churchillian parallels to his Presidency, Olson describes in devastating detail that he really resembles discredited British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who shares a surprising number of the Preznit's traits. Hee hee.

Actually, a comparison of the Decider to Inspector Clouseau would be more appropriate. "Kato, I am lukeing for ze WMD. . .KATO, POOT DOWN ZAT BEUMB!"