Simply Liberal

Civil War In Full Force

2007-02-03T12:22:00.000-05:00

At least 121 dead in Baghdad market suicide bombing.

Eeech.

Global Warming Conspiracy Grows!!!

2007-02-02T09:39:00.000-05:00

(Photo Via Netmar)

The biggest liberal conspiracy on Earth got a little bigger today, as a new report states that Global Warming is, with 90 percent certainty, created by man.

PARIS - Scientists from 113 countries issued a landmark report Friday saying they have little doubt global warming is caused by man, and predicting that hotter temperatures and rises in sea level will “continue for centuries” no matter how much humans control their pollution.

A top U.S. government scientist, Susan Solomon, said “there can be no question that the increase in greenhouse gases are dominated by human activities.”

Environmental campaigners urged the United States and other industrial nations to significantly cut their emissions of greenhouse gases in response to the long-awaited report by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

[snip]

The 21-page report represents the most authoritative science on global warming as the panel comprises hundreds of scientists and representatives. It only addresses how and why the planet is warming, not what to do about it. Another report by the panel later this year will address the most effective measures for slowing global warming.

There comes a point when we, as a society, need to tune out the crazies whose ideas would be a detriment to our way of life. I think that time has come. No longer should we even listen to the nutters who claim Global Warming isn’t happening, or isn’t manmade. It is important to us, as a civilization, to begin acting on this threat, and if that means we need to let the nutters on the right babble on with false claims, simply because they are not smart enough to understand science, in a small dark room somewhere, while we make meaningful policy to save ourselves, then so be it.

Why we even give the opinions of the politicos on the right any weight compared to scientists is beyond me, but it needs to end. Most nutters don’t even believe in science, anyway.

Technorati Tags: Republicans•Global Warming•Science•Nutters

NIE Tells A Story

2007-02-02T08:50:00.000-05:00

From the little details that have come out of the Iraq NIE, one thing is clear. Whatever good happens in Iraq, it will have to come from within, not from a foreign power trying to accelerate change.

In a discussion of whether Iraq has reached a state of civil war, the 90-page classified NIE comes to no conclusion and holds out prospects of improvement. But it couches glimmers of optimism in deep uncertainty about whether the Iraqi leaders will be able to transcend sectarian interests and fight against extremists, establish effective national institutions and end rampant corruption.

The document emphasizes that although al-Qaeda activities in Iraq remain a problem, they have been surpassed by Iraqi-on-Iraqi violence as the primary source of conflict and the most immediate threat to U.S. goals. Iran, which the administration has charged with supplying and directing Iraqi extremists, is mentioned but is not a focus.

Completion of the estimate, which projects events in Iraq over the next 18 months, comes amid intensifying debate and skepticism on Capitol Hill about the administration's war policy. In a series of contentious hearings over the past two weeks, legislators have sharply questioned Bush's new plan for the deployment of 21,500 additional U.S. troops and the administration's dependence on the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Other Bloggers: Capitol Hill Blue

Technorati Tags: Republicans•Congress•NIE•Iraq

Republicans Becoming More Sane?

2007-01-14T10:12:00.000-05:00

Republicans in the new House are fully taking advantage of their minority status. As they are no longer the majority, they are free to break away from their far-right base, in order to side with the more… umm, sane.

Freed from the pressures of being the majority and from the heavy hand of former leaders including retired representative Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), many back-bench Republicans are showing themselves to be more moderate than their conservative leadership and increasingly mindful of shifting voter sentiment. The closest vote last week -- Friday's push to require the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare -- pulled 24 Republicans. The Democrats' homeland security bill attracted 68 Republicans, the minimum wage increase 82.

"You're freer to vote your conscience," said Rep. Jo Anne Emerson (R-Mo.), who received an 88 percent voting record from the American Conservative Union in 2005 but has so far sided with Democrats on new budget rules, Medicare prescription-drug negotiations, raising the minimum wage and funding stem cell research. "Or, really, I feel free to represent my constituents exactly as they want me to be."

November showed a rejection of far-right policy, and most Republicans realize this. Through the run-up to 2008, Republicans will abandon their far-right roots, realizing that America is not this, like, Christian Conservative theocracy that the Right would have you believe. Being a hardnosed Conservative will not get you elected in most areas, and finally Repubs are catching on, and changing their platform to reflect that.

Perhaps the hijacking of the Republican Party, by the nutters, has finally stopped.

Other Bloggers: Spacious Reasoning•Below The Beltway•Oliver Willis

Technorati Tags: Republicans•Congress•Conservatives•Democrats

The Failed Plan

2007-01-12T07:53:00.000-05:00

Because of school (those bitches blasted me with work on the first day), I wasn’t able to live blog the Iraq speech, or really even post anything about it until now. I did watch the speech, and obviously, as most people know, the escalation plan is nothing new, nothing different, and nothing that will solve any problem in Iraq. If anything, this escalation plan is a plan to escalate into other countries.

Zbigniew Brzezinski outlines most of the problems in a column in today’s WaPo.

· The commitment of 21,500 more troops is a political gimmick of limited tactical significance and of no strategic benefit. It is insufficient to win the war militarily. It will engage U.S. forces in bloody street fighting that will not resolve with finality the ongoing turmoil and the sectarian and ethnic strife, not to mention the anti-American insurgency.

This is the weirdest thing about Bush’s plan. No matter what anyone says, this plan doesn’t really do anything. It’s simply a pretend plan… and I can’t figure out what the point of it even is. MSNBC (which had the.best. post speech coverage) brought up the point that that number needs to be cut in quarters, as troops need to sleep, and that that is the true number of extra troops on the ground at all other time. Simply, I will pass 5275 people on the road today as I travel to work.

We’ll see how this evolves, but let me be the first (well, really, like the 1000000000th person) to call this policy a simple failure.

Technorati Tags: Bush•Iraq•Surge•Escalation

Creationism In Kansas

2007-01-10T08:48:00.001-05:00

According to the Kansas City Star, education and sanity may return to Kansas schools.

TOPEKA | Now controlled by moderates, the Kansas Board of Education wasted little time in beginning the repeal of science curriculum standards that cast doubt on the theory of evolution.

So, what kind of great science minds are trying to limit the teaching of evolution?

“Evolution as it’s taught today is bad science,” said Doug Kaufman of Leavenworth. “It’s unproveable.”

Oh… the kind that doesn’t even know anything about science, and thinks that it deals with proofs.

Ugh.

Technorati Tags: Evolution•Kansas•Science•Creationism

In Opening: Escalation

2007-01-10T08:14:00.000-05:00

Today’s WaPo outlines Bush’s obvious change in policy when it comes to listening to the commanders in Iraq.

When President Bush goes before the American people tonight to outline his new strategy for Iraq, he will be doing something he has avoided since the invasion of Iraq in March 2003: ordering his top military brass to take action they initially resisted and advised against.

Bush talks frequently of his disdain for micromanaging the war effort and for second-guessing his commanders. "It's important to trust the judgment of the military when they're making military plans," he told The Washington Post in an interview last month. "I'm a strict adherer to the command structure."

But over the past two months, as the security situation in Iraq has deteriorated and U.S. public support for the war has dropped, Bush has pushed back against his top military advisers and the commanders in Iraq: He has fashioned a plan to add up to 20,000 troops to the 132,000 U.S. service members already on the ground. As Bush plans it, the military will soon be "surging" in Iraq two months after an election that many Democrats interpreted as a mandate to begin withdrawing troops.

Bush has no choice but to ignore the people who know what they are talking about, because, quite frankly, Bush is only left with three choices, and two of them just aren’t in his, like, creepy makeup to accept.

First, Bush could do absolutely nothing. He could continue on, continuing on, while we are handedly defeated in Iraq. This is obviously a horrible idea, and one that even Bush wouldn’t think about continuing.

Second, Bush could pull out of Iraq and leave the Iraq civil war up to Iraqi citizens to take care of. This is the most sensible, but an idea that Bush is unable to accept. I fully believe that Bush is unable to pick this choice, to leave Iraq, because if he does, it’s a sign that his presidency was a complete failure. Bush will, and is, putting the lives of our men and women in jeopardy simply to take a chance at saving his legacy.

The third choice, and the one that Bush is choosing, is to attempt to send more troops into Iraq, in an effort to draw this war out long enough that it won’t be his problem any longer. It’s frightening to think that this is what’s happening, but I don’t see any other reason why Bush is, contrary to every single voice in this country (the few that say send many more troops and the overwhelming amount that are saying get out), deciding to go down this path.

Without pressure from Democrats, this war will be pushed off for two more years, until a new President is in place to make the call that should be made now.

Technorati Tags: Bush•Iraq•Surge•Escalation

In Closing: Escalation

2007-01-09T22:49:00.000-05:00

Most Americans are soundbiters, people who do not dig deep into politics and news, but instead listen and read simple soundbites, soundbites that can be printed or aired without any concern to facts. It’s not that Americans are stupid, it’s just that busy lives keep people from prowling the 24 hour news stations, blogs, and online news sources (not that I do… really….).

Tomorrow, when Bush announces his escalation plan (which I‘ll be live blogging *ahem*), very few Americans will really fully understand what is going on, as the soundbites that come out of it will most likely not tell the whole story. It’s important to look for many things in this plan, and frame them in a way that the facts will allow.

• Will Bush’s plan actually contain anything new, other than more troops? There will be padding to make the escalation seem more sweet, but will any of it actually matter? Will Bush just simply promise to try harder and set goals where no action will be taken if they are not met? Or, will Bush set clear benchmarks that must be met, complete with penalties in case these benchmarks can’t be fulfilled?

• Will Bush explain why he isn’t listening to the American people, most of Congress, or the soldiers and leadership in Iraq? Will he explain why he knows more than all of these people, and who exactly it is that he’s taking tips from?

• Will Bush undertake diplomatic policy, like the ISG report suggested?

• Will Bush explain how more troops will solve another country’s civil war?

Can Bush adapt to a roll where he is no longer solely in charge of this country? A roll where he is at odds with the American people?

It should be interesting.

Technorati Tags: Bush•Iraq•Surge•Escalation

Troops Out By November? Yeah, Right

2007-01-09T21:04:00.001-05:00

Bush’s escalation plan is set to begin right away, according to news reports.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President Bush is prepared to send about 20,000 more troops to Iraq in an effort to pacify Baghdad, with the goal of handing control of the country to Iraqi troops by November, a senior administration official said Tuesday.

Most of the additional troops will be deployed in Baghdad, where American and Iraqi troops fought a 10-hour street battle with insurgents on Tuesday.

But about 4,000 would be dispatched to the restive Anbar province, the heart of the Sunni Arab insurgency, the senior official said.

The first troops in the new wave could be a brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division that is already in Kuwait.

The official cautioned that the November date for Iraq control does not mean U.S. troops would withdraw by then.

The newest thing to come out here, is the idea that Iraqis will take control by November. Is this one of those, “that’s our goal, which doesn’t really mean anything, because it’s not like we’re going to actually do anything if that goal isn’t reached”, things? My guess would be, yes.

Technorati Tags: Bush•Iraq•Surge•Escalation

McCain And The Nutters- BFF

2007-01-09T13:00:00.000-05:00

Jesus Christ, you must be fuckin’ kidding me.

John McCain guest blogs over at strange, Arab obsessed Powerline, trying to drum up some escalation points from the far-far-far-far-far-far-far-farthest of the far-far-far right.

Read it, and then ask yourself why McCain is trying to gain support from the nutter minority in politics, while ignoring the important, sane, anti-Iraq majority in America.

It’s almost like they only care about one group of people….

Technorati Tags: McCain•Iraq•Surge•Escalation•Nutters

Peso's For Pizza

2007-01-09T10:25:00.000-05:00

Do you want to see how people kidnap a story and use it to prop up their political beliefs, in real, live action?

Watch the way people are using the “peso’s for pizza” (Gawd, I feel dumber just writing that) story to further their immigration agenda (more can be seen on any of the 24hour newsers).

Living in Detroit, I can honestly say that at least 25 percent of the businesses around here will accept Canadian money, without even a second thought. I even worked at a fastfood place that would accept Canadian money at face value, without even making a calculation for exchange rates.

And you know what?

Not one single person ever bitches about immigration, or our country losing its “identity”.

Technorati Tags: Immigration•Peso’s For Pizza

Murtha's Nosehorns

2007-01-09T09:11:00.000-05:00

Is it just me, or does Murtha have nosehorns?

Why?

2007-01-09T08:15:00.000-05:00

Sally Quinn takes a step back and actually focuses on the American soldiers in today’s WaPo.

It’s nice that someone actually takes the time to think about these young men and women. As many times as the Right uses our troops to further their liberal bashing agenda (you know, the soldiers snub Kerry, lie) , they never seem to actually want what is good for the troops.

We have three choices here. All three are immoral. We can keep the status quo and gradually pull out; we can surge; or we can pull out now. When I think about those young soldiers on that plane coming back from Japan years ago, I believe pulling out now is the least immoral choice.

This is one of the truest things I’ve seen written. No matter what some would have you believe, we will eventually pull our troops out. This surge is not going to solve the civil war in Iraq, and Bush seems to not have the ability to do the things that will actually calm the violence. So, what we are left with is a simple escalation plan that will kill and injure more of our men and women, before the inevitable withdrawal.

The question everyone needs to ask themselves is why.

Why are we going to send more of our people to die?

Why can’t we just skip the deadly step and get to the inevitable point of withdrawal?

Why are the people who use “support our troops” as a political platform the least likely to truly support our troops?

Why?

Technorati Tags: Soldiers•Surge•Iraq•Escalation

Morning Roundup

2007-01-08T08:57:00.000-05:00

•From the WaPo -

Democratic leaders who had hoped to emphasize their domestic agenda in the opening weeks of Congress have concluded that Iraq will share top billing, and they plan on aggressively confronting administration officials this week in a series of hearings.

Pushed by House members who want a quick, tough response to the Iraq strategy President Bush is expected to announce this week, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has backed off from her initial assertion that nothing should detract attention from the legislation she hopes to pass in the first 100 hours of House debate.

This is what happens when you have people representing you and actually listening to you.

Contrary to what the nutosphere claims, Americans are not opposed to troop withdrawal and the Democrats realize this. Without a hardnosed stance to Bush’s escalation policy, the Democrats are in danger of alienating voters. Their domestic plan is good, but that most important issue of our time is the Iraq war. Nothing good will come out of ignoring it, while leaving it in the hands of Bush, who’s already bungled it beyond belief.

•Deb Price, a columnist at the Detroit News, has posted a column explaining that the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy is no longer needed.

W hile serving in Iraq and South Korea during his five-year Army career, Specialist Patrick English came out to about 50 fellow soldiers.

The enlisted man never had a problem, even in group showers -- which are increasingly uncommon -- with heterosexual military men who knew he was gay.

I never understood why the army allowed this discrimination. Even if soldiers were fearful of gays (which is no longer the case), that doesn’t mean that we should discriminate against them. All discrimination stems from irrational fear, yet we don’t give any of that the time of day.

And, seriously, if members of our military are fearful of gays, do we really want them protecting us from enemies? All a terrorist would have to do is blow them a kiss, and they’d, like, fall down in a fit of fear. Obviously, nothing good can come of that.

•Just in case any of you wondered, Wesley Clark is still against escalation.

The odds are that this week President Bush will announce a "surge" of up to 20,000 additional U.S. troops into Iraq. Will this deliver a "win"? Probably not. But it will distract us from facing the deep-seated regional issues that must be resolved.

The administration views a troop surge of modest size as virtually the only remaining action in Iraq that would be a visible signal of determination. More economic assistance is likely to be touted, but absent a change in the pattern of violence, infrastructure enhancement simply isn't practical.

Clark’s entire OpEd paints a picture of an administration that still doesn’t seem to understand what is happening in Iraq and how to solve the problem.

Most telling is this statement -

Vicious ethnic cleansing is underway, as various factions fight for power and survival. In this environment, security is unlikely to come from smothering the struggle with a blanket of forces -- and increasing U.S. efforts is likely to generate additional resistance, especially from Iraq's neighbors. More effective action is needed to resolve the struggle at the political level. A new U.S. ambassador might help, but the administration needs to recognize that the neoconservative vision has failed.

Uhhh, ya think?

Nothing about the war should be left to this administration… an administration who still doesn’t understand that situation in Iraq and still doesn’t understand that a military solution is not real

Technorati Tags: Bush•Surge•Iraq•Escalation•Democrats•Congress•Don‘t Ask Don‘t Tell•Gay

NYT: The Bush Escalation Plan

2007-01-07T22:25:00.000-05:00

The Times has published more details about Bush’s new Iraq plan -

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 — President Bush’s new Iraq policy will establish a series of goals that the Iraqi government will be expected to meet to try to ease sectarian tensions and stabilize the country politically and economically, senior administration officials said Sunday.

Among these “benchmarks” are steps that would draw more Sunnis into the political process, finalize a long-delayed measure on the distribution of oil revenue and ease the government’s policy toward former Baath Party members, the officials said.

The article goes into further detail (basically the entire plan).

This entire thing feels like window dressing, meaningless things that are simply put there to take some attention away from the escalation. Does Bush actually believe any of this stuff will have any impact in Iraq? Is there anything there that is even new?

This is the same exact thing we have now, simply with more troops involved. Like, seriously, Bush is simply saying, hey, we’ll work a little harder… while we send more troops in because, basically, we still don’t get it yet.

Gag.

If this is the entire plan, please, Democrats, don’t be little bitches.

Technorati Tags: Bush•Surge•Iraq•Escalation

Pelosi VS. Escalation

2007-01-07T19:06:00.001-05:00

The biggest (only) thing to come out of the Sunday Talk Shows would have to be Pelosi clearly stating that there would be no funding for an escalation, if Bush cannot justify it. (h/t Think Progress).

Visit Taylor Marsh’s site to view the whole video.

If the Democrats hold to this, we may finally see the first bit of oversight Bush has ever really faced. If you think Bush is a lame ducky, now, just wait until he has to try and explain his insanity to people that ultimately control the funding of said insanity.

Is it too nerdy to admit that this is, like, totally freakin’ exciting?

Other Bloggers: Tennessee Guerilla Women•Progressive Movement

Technorati Tags: Pelosi•Face The Nation•Iraq•Escalation

Bush - Finally Sucking Across Party Lines

2007-01-06T10:41:00.000-05:00

Are we actually seeing the start of a Congress Vs. Bush steal cage match, with Democrats and Republicans banning together?

It kinda seems that way.

WASHINGTON - President Bush's plan to send more troops to Iraq is running into trouble on Capitol Hill, with Republicans joining Democrats in raising eyebrows before the president even has a chance to make his case.

Next week Bush will unveil a new Iraq strategy that entails political, military and economic steps to win the war. The military solution, which has attracted the most attention and skepticism from Congress, is expected to include an increase in U.S. troops, possibly 9,000 additional troops deployed to Baghdad alone.

Technorati Tags: Congress•Bush•Escalation•Democrats•Republicans•Iraq•Surge

BREAKING- Dems' Letter To Bush

2007-01-05T13:10:00.000-05:00

The entire letter can be found over at HuffPo.

In a recent appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee, General John Abizaid, our top commander for Iraq and the region, said the following when asked about whether he thought more troops would contribute to our chances for success in Iraq:

"I met with every divisional commander, General Casey, the Corps commander, General Dempsey. We all talked together. And I said, in your professional opinion, if we were to bring in more American troops now, does it add considerably to our ability to achieve success in Iraq? And they all said no. And the reason is, because we want the Iraqis to do more. It's easy for the Iraqis to rely upon to us do this work. I believe that more American forces prevent the Iraqis from doing more, from taking more responsibility for their own future. "

Rather than deploy additional forces to Iraq, we believe the way forward is to begin t he phased redeployment of our forces in the next four to six months, while shifting the principal mission of our forces there from combat to training, logistics, force protection and counter-terror. A renewed diplomatic strategy, both within the region and beyond, is also required to help the Iraqis agree to a sustainable political settlement. In short, it is time to begin to move our forces out of Iraq and make the Iraqi political leadership aware that our commitment is not open ended, that we cannot resolve their sectarian problems, and that only they can find the political resolution required to stabilize Iraq.

Finally.

I was worried the Dems wouldn’t take such a hard line, but it seems they have listened to the American people, the Iraq forces, and, like sanity, and issued a strong statement.

Let the games begin.

Technorati Tags: Congress•Pelosi•Escalation•Democrats•Dean•Iraq•Surge

Welcome To Relevancy

2007-01-05T11:08:00.000-05:00

(Updated Below...Updated Again)

When the Country spoke last November, there was a bit of trepidation in me, boiling beneath the surface. I felt that there was a chance that Democrats could easily drop the ball that they were given, and simply become another version of the Republican do-nothing Congress.

My trepidation has been eroded, somewhat, as it seems, to me at least, that the new Congress has gotten more done in its first 24ish hours, than the last Congress did, ever.

From today’s WaPo -

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) was elected America's first female speaker of the House yesterday in a raucous, bipartisan celebration of a historic breakthrough, and hours later she presided over passage of the broadest ethics and lobbying revision since the Watergate era.

Democrats took control of the House and Senate after 12 years of nearly unbroken Republican rule, with resolute calls for bipartisan comity and a pledge to move quickly on an agenda of health-care, homeland security, education and energy proposals. Sen. Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), the soft-spoken son of a hard-rock miner, took the helm of the Senate, after a closed-door session in the Capitol's stately Old Senate Chamber. But with the eyes of history riveted on her, it was Pelosi's day.

(snip)

In the House, Democrats did not skip a beat between formally taking control and getting to work on what they have called their hundred-hours agenda. Last night, the House nearly unanimously approved a broad package of internal rules changes designed to sever the cozy links that have developed between lawmakers and lobbyists.

The changes would prohibit House members or employees from knowingly accepting gifts or travel from a registered lobbyist, foreign agent or lobbyist's client. Lawmakers could no longer fly on corporate jets. In addition, congressional travel financed by outside groups would have to be approved in advance by the House ethics committee and immediately disclosed to the public.

The measures were approved 430 to 1, with only Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) voting against it. This was a remarkable change considering that House Republicans could barely pass a far weaker measure last May and ultimately did not enact any measure because they could not reach agreement with the Senate. But voters in November identified corruption as one of their primary concerns, and the House responded yesterday.

The House also saw action on some important Bush-slappin’ issues -

To make it clear that such issues will have to be addressed, Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) reintroduced legislation on the new Congress's first day to mandate that NSA surveillance once again involve a warrant from a secret federal court.

"There's a long list where Congress has been abdicating their responsibility, and I suspect the leadership and the chairs will have to quickly get to work," Schiff said.

It may not be much, yet, but it’s still more than we ever saw from the Republicans.

I’m not even sure how to cover a relevant Congress that does its job.

UPDATE1: 11:25 AM

Look for a statement from Democrats on Bush’s horrible escalation plan.

UPDATE2: 12:54 PM

The letter has been sent. It’s breaking on MSNBC. Will have a link and more as it pops up online.

Technorati Tags: Congress•Pelosi•Escalation•Democrats

In The Army Now!

2007-01-04T09:13:00.000-05:00

(Updated below...Updated Again)

Watch out liberal newswires, here comes the Malkin, to, like, let truth prevail.

I spoke with Jordan by phone before Christmas to learn more details of his offer, which I'm not going to get into for privacy and security reasons. (He asked that his discussion be off the record.) I let him know that I had received invitations to embed with the military and planned to follow up on some of these offers concurrently with the investigation of the AP's reporting. Since our conversation, things have moved at a fast pace on the embed side. Over the holidays, my Hot Air colleague Bryan Preston and I received word that our embed applications had been approved. We have been busy preparing our families and ourselves for the journey. Our overarching goals are two-fold:

1) to report on how the troops perceive mainstream media coverage of the war (with a particular focus on the wire services relying on local stringers); and

2) to report on progress and interaction between U.S. troops and Iraqi Army trainees.

The "Jamil Hussein" story is one important item on our agenda, but not the only one. As Curt and other bloggers on this story have noted from the beginning, Jamilgate isn't just about "Jamil Hussein." Bryan and I plan to do as much on-the-ground reporting as we can to nail down unresolved questions--not only about Jamil Hussein and the Hurriya six burning Sunnis allegations, but also about the AP four burning mosque story discrepancies and the many other AP sources that our military has publicly challenged--including "Lt. Maitham Abdul Razzaq" and more than a dozen police officers listed by U.S. military spokesman Navy Lt. Michael Dean. There's also the issue of detained AP photographer Bilal Hussein. And we are looking forward to reporting first-hand on the security situation in Iraq outside the so-called "Green Zone" (International Zone) and talking to as many American and Iraqi Army troops with insights on these and other broader matters.

Please, Malkin, enlighten us with your fair and unbiased reporting.

UPDATE1: 12:11 PM

Jamil Hussein has won the first Battle of Fakraq as he stuns the Malkin Brigade by announcing his existence!

UPDATE2: 9:11 PM

Oooopsie, it looks like Jamil Hussein is really, really real.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- The Interior Ministry acknowledged Thursday that an Iraqi police officer whose existence had been denied by the Iraqis and the U.S. military is in fact an active member of the force, and said he now faces arrest for speaking to the media.

Ministry spokesman Brig. Abdul-Karim Khalaf, who had previously denied there was any such police employee as Capt. Jamil Hussein, said in an interview that Hussein is an officer assigned to the Khadra police station, as had been reported by The Associated Press.

But still, Malkin will be on the scene to convince us that Iraq is really a happy place with prancing bunnies and, like, sand creatures that frolic in the dunes. You know, nothing like the war zone that the liberal media would have us believe it is.

Other Bloggers: Firedog Lake

Technorati Tags: Michelle Malkin•Iraq•Jamil Hussein

Morning Roundup

2007-01-04T07:54:00.000-05:00

Ahhh, the drunkenness of New Years is over, and it’s time to start full time blogging again.

The funniest news of the day - Judge Blahblahtano on Fox and Friends totally just said “Ghost Ride The Whip”. What a honkey.

In what has to be the most.disgusting.visual.image.ever, The Rude Pundit takes on Nutterdamus.

A couple of nights ago, Robertson celebrated the new year by opening his sticky Bible to the less worn New Testament and yanking his meat to the Gospel of John, the crucifixion scene, his mind a miasma of images from the words of the ancients and the film of the Gibson, Christ's pain and screaming giving him something not unakin to a full erection, his cock like a spitting camel at the end. And God spoke to him, and God told him a horrible thing, but something that, to his mind, was just an inevitability, like the nailing of the Son of God.

Are we all puking are cuts out, yet?

• Yesterday, ABC reported on a report released by the Union of Concerned Scientists, which shows how ExxonMobil has attempted to confuse the American public on the issue of Global Warming, basically by funding Global Warming naysayer, making it appear to the public that there is some sort of scientific debate about Global Warming.

From ABC News -

Jan. 3, 2007 — A new report details what it calls an "enormously successful" disinformation campaign by ExxonMobil that used tobacco-industry tactics to fund groups who cast doubts and deceive the public on the scientific consensus regarding global warming.

The report was released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a nonprofit environmental advocacy group based in Massachusetts.

Anybody with half a brain already knew this, and it’s not at all surprising, seeing as ExxonMobil’s livelihood is threatened by Global Warming, but the biggest question still remains, why are others on the Right embracing this idea that Global Warming isn’t real? The only thing I can think of is that they got scooped by the Left on this issue, and we all know that their Party loyalty will never allow them to admit that they were wrong and the other side was right.

I certainly hope that isn’t the reason, but it’s the only thing left that I can possibly think of.

Other Bloggers: Floating Ark•Blue Climate•Dude, Where‘s My Enlightenment?

• Living in Metro Detroit, it’s sometimes hard to realize that there are crazy gay haters everywhere, including my own state, who are so unbelievably insane, they think that simply supporting a high school gay/straight alliance club means you are from teh S@t@n.

From The Bay Area Report -

One day a girl from the middle school came in, and Yale mentioned to her how she hadn't seen her or her friends in a while.

"She said, 'So and so's mom said she couldn't come in here again.' We assumed she was grounded," recalled Yale. But the girl's friend told Yale that "her mom said you guys have the gay store and she can't come in here."

Yale's sin, at least to her neighbors, was sponsoring the homecoming parade float built by the GSA. Her tacit acceptance had provoked a backlash. The community was reportedly shunning her business.

After the parade in late September, sales at her small store plummeted. Many of her shoppers' parents, upset at her decision to sponsor the GSA float, no longer allowed their children to come in to the shop, said Yale.

"All summer long we had so many kids in here it wasn't funny. We would have to kind of limit how many kids could come in at once," said Yale of the store she opened just before Christmas in 2005. "Now if we get 10 kids in a week we are doing good. We'll probably have to close."

There is still so much bigotry out there. Michigan is a funny state, with its liberal Detroit area and its whacky conservative “backwoods”, but still I’m shocked to see this going on in my own state. There’s an entire city that needs to take a step back and look at its own actions, and realize that they are part of the problem, not the solution.

Technorati Tags: Pat Robertson•Global Warming•Environmentalism•Homosexuality

Virgil Goode: Racism and Republicans

2007-01-02T13:38:00.000-05:00

From USATODAY -

A letter I sent in early December was written in response to hundreds of e-mails from constituents upset about Rep.-elect Keith Ellison's decision to use the Quran in connection with his congressional swearing-in. Their communications followed media reports that Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat, had said that he would swear on the Quran. He repeated that at a gathering of Muslims in Detroit on Dec. 26.

I wonder if more Republicans will now come out against Goode and his use of racism to gain support for an immigration plan.

Doubtful… I wonder why….

Technorati Tags: Virgil Goode•Racist Republicans

Gitmo Again

2006-12-31T16:07:00.001-05:00

What are we going to do about the innocent people held at Gitmo, while making sure we don’t release the dangerous ones?

Hey, the American court system seems to be the best at doing this in the world. But fuck that, these people are Muslims!

Technorati Tags: War On Terror•Guantanamo•Gitmo

Morning Roundup

2006-12-31T10:46:00.000-05:00

There’s nothing more annoying than blogging during a slow news week. Here we go -

CNN has a poll up where you can vote for the top news stories of 2006. My first would have to be the shifting of attitudes towards the Iraq war, which single handedly lead us into my pick for number 2, the resounding defeat of Republicans in the midterm elections.

Gordon Adams and John Diamond have an Opinion piece on escalation, in today’s WaPo. It makes several good points on why escalation would be bad policy.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Pete Schoomaker, The Post, the New York Times, and many Democrats and Republicans have converged over the past month in support of a serious expansion of the U.S. Army -- a permanent addition of 40,000 to 90,000 over the current ceiling of 507,000 troops.

This proposal is a bad idea. It is irrelevant to the stresses the Army is experiencing in Iraq. It would build enormous long-term costs into the defense budget, and it presumes a role in the world for the U.S. military that the voters emphatically opposed in November.

AlterNet has a post up detailing the nuttiest nutter moments of 2006.

How extreme were conservative commentators in their remarks this year? How about calls to nuke the Middle East and an allegation that a "gay … mafia" used the congressional page program as its own "personal preserve." Right-wing rhetoric documented by Media Matters for America included the nonsensical (including Rush Limbaugh's claim that America's "obesity crisis" is caused by, among other things, our failure to "teach [the poor] how to butcher a -- slaughter a cow to get the butter, we gave them the butter"), the offensive (such as right-wing pundit Debbie Schlussel's question about "Barack Hussein Obama": Is he "a man we want as president when we are fighting the war of our lives against Islam? Where will his loyalties be?"), and the simply bizarre (such as William A. Donohue's claim that some Hollywood stars would "sodomize their own mother in a movie"). Since there were so many outrageous statements, we included a list of honorable mentions along with the top 11, which, if not for Ann Coulter, we might have limited to 10.

Read it. It’s some good ish.

Technorati Tags: Iraq•Troop Escalation•Nutters

It's Latenight, yo

2006-12-31T03:00:00.000-05:00

Because I’m hopped up on Rockstar - and freakin’ bored - I present to you the dorkycool news of the week.

Technorati Tags: archaeology

The Death Of Saddam and The Creepy Right

2006-12-29T13:53:00.000-05:00

(Updated Below)

Let me start off this post with the obligatory “Saddam was an evil, evil man who did evil, evil things”, so the nutters don’t accuse me of an evil lovefest, or whatever other strange ad hom attacks they can think of to label the left, instead of actually debating their ideas. With that said, it seems quite set in stone that Saddam will be hung by tomorrow, giving the Bush administration what could, perhaps, be their final shining moment in regards to the Iraq war.

Watching Fox news (hey, I take that bullet so you don’t have too) and the Conservative blogosphere (that one too) cover this with such glee is quite creepy. There is no doubt in my mind that there will be Champaign (and pill) popping in many Conservative camps, once this execution has taken place. The fact that a group of people are so happy, so incredibly giddy, about the death of another human being, cannot be described as anything but a sign of insanity. To get a hardon over the destruction of another human life is intrinsically evil.

UPDATE1 1:16 AM

And it's done.

With all the effort, all the lives lost, all the money spent in the fight to get to this exact moment (well this exact moment a few hours ago… yeah, yeah, I’m behind), shouldn’t I feel more… something? I can honestly say it wasn’t worth all the pain and suffering of our soldiers, all the deaths, all the past and future destruction as this war drags on until Bush is no longer president.

Technorati Tags: Iraq•Saddam•Nutters

Ice Shelf Breaks - Nothing To See Here

2006-12-29T12:16:00.000-05:00

Those evil liberals must have hiked up to the frigid North (God knows they didn’t take a car… I mean, they are just that radical) and cut away at a giant ice shelf, making it seem as though their excuse for “normal” weather patterns - Global Warming - is causing huge climate changes. All so that they can stick it to their evil nemesis, big business, by making them adhere to regulations.

TORONTO, Ontario (AP) -- A giant ice shelf the size of 11,000 football fields has snapped free from Canada's Arctic, scientists said.

The mass of ice broke clear 16 months ago from the coast of Ellesmere Island, about 800 kilometers (497 miles) south of the North Pole, but no one was present to see it in Canada's remote north.

Contrary to the flat out lies by the right, Global Warming is real, and there is a scientific consensus that agrees. As GW spurred environmental changes occur at incredibly fast rates around us, they will eventually come to terms with this fact. My only fear is that it will be entirely too late. Prevention is the key here, yet I don’t think enough people are ready for that step. I hope that, by the time they are, our world isn’t completely destroyed. Maybe with the new Congress something will get done, but I highly doubt it.

Technorati Tags: Global Warming•Climate Change•Ice Shelf•Environment

LIEberman and Reality: No Longer BFF

2006-12-29T08:19:00.000-05:00

Ripped From Museworld

In case anyone was wondering, Joe LIEberman is still at odds with reality.

I've just spent 10 days traveling in the Middle East and speaking to leaders there, all of which has made one thing clearer to me than ever: While we are naturally focused on Iraq, a larger war is emerging. On one side are extremists and terrorists led and sponsored by Iran, on the other moderates and democrats supported by the United States. Iraq is the most deadly battlefield on which that conflict is being fought. How we end the struggle there will affect not only the region but the worldwide war against the extremists who attacked us on Sept. 11, 2001.

Because of the bravery of many Iraqi and coalition military personnel and the recent coming together of moderate political forces in Baghdad, the war is winnable. We and our Iraqi allies must do what is necessary to win it.

This entire Lieberman OpEd, which is basically LIEberman giving a BJ to the troop escalation camp (is there any doubt now that Bush is going to call for escalation), stinks of some real reality dodging- we even get a 9/11 comparison. Simply, LIEberman sounds like unhinged Bush (circa 2005).

The interesting angle of this is how the American public will receive this OpEd and if they will believe that we are, once again, fighting al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups in Iraq, instead of being completely stuck in the middle of warring Iraqi groups fighting for power. My guess is that there will be a resounding rejection of this escalation plan, and when this happens, I hope they realize that LIEberman is not a Democrat and that he should not reflect on the party.

Technorati Tags: Iraq•Bush•Troop Escalation•Lieberman•Troop Surge

Other Bloggers: ConnecticutBLOG•Brillian At Breakfast

Tweaking The Site

2006-12-28T23:04:00.000-05:00

I've been playing with this blogger beta all day, adding fun things and tweaking the site.

There's a chance that I messed something up, badly, so if anyone notices anything wrong, please let me know. I'm only running IE, Netscape, and Firefox so it may all look horrible on other browsers. It sure wouldn't be the first time.

Strange Waiting Game

2006-12-28T06:44:00.001-05:00

(UPDATED BELOW)

I feel like all this behind-closed-doors “Iraq policy crafting“ is nothing more than political games.

CRAWFORD, Texas - Already weeks in the making, President Bush's new war plan is being burnished with the assistance of top military and diplomatic advisers as critics of the war urge the Democratic Congress to resist any call for a large military buildup in Iraq.

It's unclear whether Bush will signal his desires or just seek further consultation when he meets at his Texas ranch on Thursday with Vice President Dick Cheney and other members of the National Security Council.

Downplaying expectations, the White House says it's a "non-decisional" gathering. Yet advisers have set the stage for a presidential speech after the first of the year in which Bush will lay out a new U.S. strategy in Iraq where violence could be sparked by the execution of Saddam Hussein.

We all know that Bush is going to call for more troops, so why all these weird consultations and talks? Bush fully thinks that there is an enemy in Iraq that has to be defeated for the country to become stable. Because of this flawed thinking, he believes that sending more troops will solve the problem by quickly defeating the enemy and bringing peace to the country.

How fucking weird is that?

I think this quote from the article hits it dead on -

Sending more troops only increases the Iraqis' dependence on U.S. forces and allows them to delay making the painful political compromises needed to end the violence, said Larry Korb, a former assistant secretary of defense. He said part of Gates' mission in Iraq was to get military leaders to support an increase in troops.

"You can put a Marine or soldier on every street corner in Baghdad, but unless the reconciliation process begins, it's not going to make any difference," Korb said.

UPDATE1 11:35 AM

The Raw Story has a post up linking McCain’s sagging poll numbers to his support for the “troop surge” idea. It’s an interesting read, but in the end it all works out like this:

If this troop surge idea happens (it will) and if it actually works (it won’t), then Republicans will be hailed as some sort of heroes, which leads to a problem for the Republicans. This idea is completely unpopular, causing very few Republicans to support this troop surge policy, out of fear that it could be political suicide.

All this leads me to believe that we are about to face some interesting political times.

Grab a beer and watch the games begin.

Technorati Tags: Iraq•Bush•Strange Republican Insanity•McCain•Troop Surge

Hillarious

2006-12-12T10:09:00.000-05:00

Hahaha, if anti-drug commercials really were like this, my life would be so much more interesting.

A Day In The Life... Right Wing Nutter

2006-12-07T17:49:00.000-05:00

From an AP article on Sam Brownback -

"I am an economic, a fiscal, a social and a compassionate conservative," he said.

"I'm the one that has been there, is there and will be there in the future," he added, a subtle dig at his potential rivals who are trying to claim the conservative mantle.

Positioning himself as the traditional values candidate, Brownback said his campaign's main focus would be "to save and improve lives, rebuild families and renew the culture" in the United States that supports the institution of family.

"We don't have enough family formation taking place in this country," the father of five said. "We know the best place to raise children is between a mom and a dad. It's not the only place, and you can raise great kids in many different settings, and people do, and they struggle heroically to do it."

"Raising kids is difficult, and it's difficult, too when you have a culture that doesn't particularly support you, but is constantly pulling away," Brownback added.

*Shudder*

Sam Brownback is a walking right-wing nutter stereotype, so I’m glad he’s making his positions known loudly, early on. This should designate him as one of the Republican extremists entering the presidential race, which should get him booted quite quickly.

Technorati Tags: 2008 Election•Sam Brownback•Family Values•Republicans•Nutters

ISG Report: The Iraqi Feeling

2006-12-07T10:48:00.000-05:00

The overall tone of the ISG report is a simple one. America must begin transferring power and responsibility over to the Iraqi government. It seems like such a simple little idea, but published in today’s WaPo is an article detailing the feelings of Iraqis to this report.

Basically, Iraqis feel that the report doesn’t take into account the difficulties that are actually taking place in Iraq. The civil war is so strong that most are unsure that the warring factions will ever be able to agree, leaving the ISG report filled with ideas that can never be achieved. This may be the case, but what is America supposed to do?

Admittedly, this is America’s (the Bush admin’s) mess to clean up, but we can only do so much. If Iraqis refuse to give up their warring ways, there is nothing we can do as the toll on our country would certainly not be worth the risk. As much as it is our mess, unfortunately, it has to be their mess to clean up, for it is impossible for us to do so. We cannot change the minds of people that are engaged in a centuries old battle.

From the WaPo article -

"It comes far too close to having the U.S. threaten to take its ball and go home if the Iraqi children do not play the game our way," Anthony Cordesmann, a military analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in an e-mailed analysis, referring to possible withdrawal of support.

Actually, that is exactly what is happening, as the U.S. needs to threaten Iraq in this way. There seems to be this prevailing thought in Iraq that they cannot bring safety to their own country. Even if this is true, the problem is that Iraq will never be truly safe until their Government is able to fully govern. America cannot govern Iraq into sanity, and quite frankly, we’re sick of trying. If Iraqis want to live in a civil society, then they must take the steps needed to achieve it.

Other Bloggers: The Moderate Voice

Technorati Tags: Bush•War On Terror•Iraq•Iraq Study Group

Gates Confirmed

2006-12-06T21:01:00.000-05:00

Gates has been approved. The final vote: 95-2
Voting No: Santorum and Jim Bunning (some sort of protest or something… probably protesting that Jesus wasn’t made Secretary of Defense, or somethin’ whacky like that).

Technorati Tags: Bush•Senate•War On Terror•Iraq•Gates•Secretary Of Defense

Iraq Study Group Roundup

2006-12-06T17:22:00.000-05:00

[Updated Below...Updated Again]

The AP has a nice summary about the Iraq Study Group’s findings and all the hoopla around them..

It recommended the U.S. reduce political, military or economic support for Iraq if the government in Baghdad cannot make substantial progress toward providing for its own security.

I was never down with the immediate troop withdrawal idea in the beginning, but I always warned that we needed to find a way to make the Iraqis step up, a way to show them that this is their country now, as well as their responsibility. Apparently no one could find a way to accomplish this, leaving us with only this hardnosed option.

The truth of the matter is that the Iraq government needs to take control, and apparently this is the only way to achieve this. What’s the only eother option? Sit in Iraq for decades while their government works it out? Yeah right.

"If the president is serious about the need for change in Iraq, he will find Democrats ready to work with him in a bipartisan fashion to find a way to end the war as quickly as possible," said Rep. Nancy Pelosi (news, bio, voting record), the California Democrat who is in line to become House speaker when the new Congress convenes in January.

Thank you for acting like a real leader, Pelosi. Seriously, score one for our side… or something - you know it works somewhat like that in almost everyone’s head, don’t lie - .

In a slap at the Pentagon, the commission said there is significant underreporting of the actual level of violence in the country. It also faulted the U.S. intelligence effort, saying the government "still does not understand very well either the insurgency in Iraq or the role of the militias."

(emphasis mine)

Take that Michelle Malkin! You little liberal conspiracy believer, you.

Update1 5:38 PM EST

The Truth Laid Bear has the report in html. Check it out if you want to know more about what is inside.

Update2 9:28 PM EST

The Times has published a piece basically quoting some prominent Democrats on their reaction to the Iraq Study Group’s report.

Basically, it seems that most in the party are going to shy away from an immediate withdrawal proposal, which will anger some, though I have yet to decide if it is a good move.

There’s a part of me that thinks all hope is lost in Iraq, and that no matter what we do, we will lose. Part of me thinks that we should pull all our troops out, because simply, we have no business being there, our citizens have no business dieing there. Then there’s the other part of me that wants to give this new Congress a chance to work with the president and come up with a plan that will allow the Iraqi government to stand on its own. But, if we allow Congress to work with Bush and hammer something out, how long do we wait before we come to the conclusion that it’s time to pull the troops?

Technorati Tags: Bush•Congress•War On Terror•Iraq•Iraq Study Group•Nancy Pelosi

Morning Roundup

2006-12-06T09:10:00.000-05:00

Oh look, House members are going to actually have to work for almost a whole week.

Forget the minimum wage. Or outsourcing jobs overseas. The labor issue most on the minds of members of Congress yesterday was their own: They will have to work five days a week starting in January.
The horror.

The best quote comes from some random Republican who doesn’t want to work a full week, because it may hurt his “family”, or something.

"Keeping us up here eats away at families," said Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), who typically flies home on Thursdays and returns to Washington on Tuesdays. "Marriages suffer. The Democrats could care less about families -- that's what this says."

What a tool. If you are so worried about your marriage and family, then don’t run for office. Your job is to run this country, a job that should be taken seriously. Sorry Repub, but there won’t be any do-nothing Congresses here, even with you trying to paint Democrats as anti-family because they expect you to go out and do your job.

Seriously, you shouldn’t have expected Democrats to run a do-nothing Congress, so I’m not sure about why this guy is so surprised. We aren’t under Republican control anymore, duh!

Other Bloggers: Gun Toting Liberal•Captain’s Quarters

• Bush has been briefed on the Iraq Study Group report. Some interesting info I’ve ran across:

From CNN -

"The country is tired of pure political bickering," Bush said.
The report says "the primary mission of U.S. forces in Iraq should evolve into one of supporting the Iraqi Army."
It adds: "It's clear the Iraqi government will need U.S. assistance for some time to come, especially in carrying out new security responsibilities. Yet the U.S. must not make open-ended commitments to keep large numbers of troops deployed in Iraq."

From the AP -

The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating," the commission warned after an eight-month review of a conflict that has killed more than 2,800 U.S. troops and grown increasingly unpopular at home. The report was obtained by The Associated Press.
The report warned that if the situation continues to deteriorate, there is a risk of a "slide toward chaos (that) could trigger the collapse of Iraq's government and a humanitarian catastrophe."
"Neighboring countries could intervene. ....The global standing of the United States could be diminished. Americans could become more polarized," commissioners said.

From the NYT -

According to members of the panel, the group concluded that American forces in Iraq should make a major shift in priorities over the next year, withdrawing from combat in favor of beefing up the training of Iraq forces. It also called for stepped-up diplomatic efforts — including talks with Iran and Syria — not only to stabilize Iraq but to revive the peace process between Israel and Palestine, news services reported.
According to The Associated Press, the report describes the current situation in Iraq as “grave and dangerous.” And The Washington Post reported that the group recommends that Mr. Bush threaten to withhold economic and military support unless the government led by Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki meets specific milestones for progress on security and political reconciliation.
As word of the likely recommendations leaked out recently, Mr. Bush has moved to distance himself on some points, while emphasizing that his administration is already pursuing others. The president has also requested a review of policy options from the Pentagon, and has made clear that he will regard the Study Group’s report as one input among many.
In particular, Mr. Bush has been adamant that he will not agree to any timetable for withdrawal, and has dismissed the idea of a “graceful exit.” He has also said repeatedly that he will not talk with Iran until the standoff with the United Nations over its nuclear program is resolved.

Basically, Bush has finally been informed that his Iraq policy is fucked, and that he needs to change it quickly, which may include *gasp* working in a bipartisan manner, and through diplomacy with Iraq’s neighbors.

Will we see a change that will work? Probably not, as Bush is still the guy in charge, and I highly doubt that he is able to save this mess. His entire way of thinking about this war has just been labeled as “wrong”, yet I doubt Bush is able/willing to change his way of thinking.

Let the games begin….

•

Oh noes!!!1!!1 Lesbos having babies, someone call the Republicans! O wait, it’s those lesbians.

WASHINGTON -- Mary Cheney, the openly gay daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney and wife Lynne, is pregnant, according to a published report.
Mary Cheney, 37, and her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe, 45, are "ecstatic" about the baby, due in late spring, The Washington Post reported in Wednesday's editions, quoting an unnamed source close to the couple.

Technorati Tags: Bush•Congress•War On Terror•Iraq•Senate•Democrats•Lesbians•Iraq Study Group

Gates Wins Unanimous Support

2006-12-05T21:28:00.000-05:00

[Updated Below]

Yes, yes, the surprising has happened, and Gates has won unanimous approval from the Senate Armed Services Committee.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Senate Armed Services Committee unanimously approved President Bush's nomination of Robert Gates to be defense secretary Tuesday and sent it to the full Senate for approval, the committee's outgoing chairman said.
Republican Sen. John Warner of Virginia announced the committee's 24-0 decision after a closed session.
The full Senate could vote Wednesday, but senators may not have an opportunity to vote until Thursday, depending on how many lawmakers want floor time to speak on the nomination, a Senate aide said.

Everyone saw this coming. The snoozefest of a testimony was a simple pat on the back from Republicans for being Bush’s nominee, and a pat on the back from Democrats for not being Rumsfeld. I’m not sure that any of this even matters, as I am 100 percent certain that Gates will not call for a troop withdrawal, even though that is what the American people and Iraqis want.

UPDATE1 11:17 PM

Let the fellatio begin.

Technorati Tags: Bush•Congress•Gates•Iraq•Senate

Moronic Quote Of The Day

2006-12-05T20:11:00.001-05:00

From the Times -

The New York City Board of Health voted today to ban artificial trans fats in the city’s eateries, establishing more rigorous limits than any other American city on an ingredient considered by doctors and nutritionists to increase the risk of heart disease.

[snip]

“We’re not going to take away anybody’s ability to go out and have the kind of food that they want, in the quantities that they want,” Mr. Bloomberg said today. “But we are trying to make that food safer.”

Ummm, idiot, yes you are, in fact, taking people’s ability to go out and enjoy the foods they want. If I want to go out and destroy my heart by purchasing tubs of butter to, like, melt it down and drink it as a shake, that’s really none of your business.

And really, Mayor, your obsession with my health is sort of creepy.

Technorati Tags: New York•Bloomberg•Trans Fat

Speech Should Always Be Free

2006-12-05T15:21:00.000-05:00

From The Golden Gate (h/t LittleGreenWingnuts) -

Preceding an ongoing investigation into SF State College Republican behavior, the Associated Students board unanimously adopted a resolution condemning the student group for purposely stomping on flags containing the Arabic symbol for God.
“Associated Students, Inc. deems the College Republicans’ actions as contrary to university values and feel they should be held accountable by the university for their actions,” the resolution says.
[snip]

The resolution cited a rule outlined in the university’s Strategic Plan saying, “SFSU facilitates teaching, learning and work experiences among students, faculty and staff that promote equity and social justice within a respectful and safe environment.”
Moreover, the resolution sets the stage for the College Republicans possibly losing official student group status and or ASi funding.

The vision of a Republican student group - shudder - losing its status is hilarious... but, they should be totally within their rights to do whatever they want to any flag. Trying to limit someone’s free speech is the worst thing you could do, even if that person is contrary to everything you believe in.

I’m not sure I buy the story that these Republicans didn’t know the Arabic symbol for God, but even if they did, and were purposely stumping on it, they should be free to do so. Yeah, they broke a school rule, but I don’t see why the issue is being pushed by other students.

Talk about giving up your beliefs to fuck an opponent….

Oooo, and to the little, lying, loonies, the group didn’t “ban” anything, so please stop making it up.

Technorati Tags: San Francisco State University•Free Speech•Muslim Flag•terrorists•terrorism•Flag Desecration

Morning Roundup

2006-12-05T09:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I posted about the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act that Republicans in the House are trying to push through in their last days of power. Today, the WaPo has a more in-depth article complete with this little tidbit -

Even the bill's definition of pregnancy -- beginning at the moment of fertilization, rather than at implantation in the uterus -- is problematic to some abortion rights groups, since it would legislatively establish that some forms of birth control induce abortion by blocking implantation after fertilization.

Really, this is simply just another declaration of science by a political body. “Fertilization” is not an accepted beginning to pregnancy amongst the scientific community, yet here we have Republicans frothing at the mouth to, like, declare their religious assumptions as truth.

And they wonder why they have been booted out of office. Perhaps someone needs to inform them that their job is in politics, not medicine or science.

Other Bloggers: Blue’s On Third•Sexuality and Religion: What's the Connection?

• From CSN -

With the White House facing a pivotal week for Iraq policy, the big question is not so much what the bipartisan Iraq Study Group will say when it releases its report Wednesday, but how President Bush will respond.
In the final two years of his tenure and well aware that Iraq more than anything will define his place in history, Mr. Bush is facing intense pressure to make extensive adjustments to save a project that most experts conclude is rapidly failing.

I want to have faith that Bush will listen… that he will realize that his policy is a horribly failed one and that we need an Iraq change, but… I think Bush has proven that he isn’t in touch with reality. Even if there is a policy change, how do we know that it will be the right one? Bush is utterly out of touch with the situation in Iraq. He refuses to call it a civil war, and he still claims that we are fighting terrorists there. If Bush doesn’t even want to admit the real situation in Iraq, how is he going to come up with a plan to solve it?

I believe that Bush, in some weird out-of-touch-moron-reality hating way, actually believes that he knows what he is doing. His Iraq policy is a complete failure, yet he thinks that it is correct. What makes anyone think that he will change? He has no political pressure to stop this insanity, so what would make him change his opinions? Reality certainly doesn’t have that power… so what the hell does?

Technorati Tags: Bush•Congress•Abortion•Iraq•Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act•Lame Duck Republicans

Bush And His (Pushing, Thrusting, Moaning...Sick) Faith

2006-12-04T23:47:00.000-05:00

The Boston Globe has published an article detailing Democrat initiated investigations that will look into Bush’s failed Faith-Based Initiative.

WASHINGTON -- Two leading Democrats on the House International Relations Committee said they want to investigate President Bush's faith-based initiative to determine whether taxpayer funds are being used to reward Bush's Christian conservative supporters and whether the faith-based groups are using the funds to help gain converts.
In addition, Democrats on the panel said they could be in a strong position to try to overturn a measure that requires one-third of AIDS prevention money overseas to be spent on "abstinence-until-marriage" programs.
The $1 billion abstinence measure was passed by the Republican-led Congress and signed by Bush, but many Democrats have complained that the money could be better spent on other measures such as condoms. Many of the religious groups receiving funds under Bush's faith-based initiative have received money as a result of the abstinence-until-marriage program.

If anything comes out of these proposed investigations, I would hope that it would be this horrible failure of a measure - which may actually help contribute to the spread of AIDS - being overturned.

Sexual development 101 teaches us that abstinence-only education is ineffective. The best method is a comprehensive method that explains all options, including condoms… you know, reality. It is highly immoral for this administration to award a failed method - a method that helps spread AIDS throughout the world - and something that all people should be outraged about. People need to take a step back and look at what the real issue is here. Is it the goal of our government to persuade people to live lives that coincide with their random morals, or is the goal to stop the spread of an epidemic?

The answer is quite obvious to me, but there are those who feel that the real goal should be to spread their religious doctrine throughout the world, no matter the casualties it may bring.

As much as it kills the Christian extremists, I fully believe that the Democrats’ new power will restore an inkling of common sense back to our government, which is quite a huge victory for all of us that were blessed with common sense to begin with.

Technorati Tags: Bush•Congress•Democrats•Values•Whacky Extremists•

Do-Nothing Congress' Last Act: Do Nothing

2006-12-04T20:20:00.000-05:00

If you’re like me, you had to be sitting on pins and needles, wondering what the Repuiblican House’s final action would be before they lose control (shhh, it’s a slow news day… and my ass is numb, sort of feels like it’s being jammed by pins and needles).

Well, apparently, in far-right fashion, they are going to throw the religious right another bone.

WASHINGTON (AP) _ An anti-abortion bill seeking to declare that fetuses can feel pain is slated to be voted on by the House this week, a last bid for loyalty from the GOP's base of social conservatives.

The measure, sponsored by New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith, has no chance of passing the Senate this year since it won't be brought to a vote in that body. And the incoming Democratic majority won't let it come to a vote when they take control of both Houses next year.

So yes, the do-nothing Republican Congress’ last act will be to… do absolutely nothing by pushing a bill that will, according to themselves, never be passed. Interesting.

The bill defines a 20-week-old fetus as a "pain-capable unborn child" _ a highly controversial threshold among scientists. It also directs the Health and Human Service Department to develop a brochure stating "that there is substantial evidence that the process of being killed in an abortion will cause the unborn child pain."

So, I guess the real question here is, what the Hell is Congress doing making scientific proclamations when what they claim is under scientific debate? Again, I guess it’s okay to lie, if your lies support a particular religious notion. Thankfully, these people are going to soon be out of power, and sanity restored to our Legislature. Hopefully.

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Welcome

2006-12-04T18:20:00.000-05:00

I've been playing with this new Beta for a few days now, and I am completely impressed. This will be my new home, so I’d like to welcome everyone to the site.

The layout’s a bit… fucked, but that will be coming along in time. Really.

I’m excited to actually begin blogging again. (Yes, technically this is a blog post, but really it’s a welcome message/post holder so I can play with the layout)