The reporter who broke the Downing Street Memo (DSM) in the London Times, Michael Smith, has filed this important piece in Raw Story (bold text is my emphasis): Britain and America’s reasons for stepping up bombing of Iraq in the ten months leading up to the war in Iraq was a sham, official figures released by the British Ministry of … Read More
We Let Bin Laden Slip Away
Newsweek has the exclusive story: Aug. 15, 2005 issue – During the 2004 presidential campaign, George W. Bush and John Kerry battled about whether Osama bin Laden had escaped from Tora Bora in the final days of the war in Afghanistan. Bush, Kerry charged, "didn’t choose to use American forces to hunt down and kill" the leader of Al Qaeda. … Read More
Carry The Card!
Libertarian Radley Balko (via The Poor Man): For quite awhile now, I’ve flirted with the idea of joining the ACLU, mostly for the organization’s work on drug laws, upholding criminal protections, and its opposition to the PATRIOT Act. Problem is, each time I come close to joining, the ACLU takes some public, statist position on the ADA, affirmative action, speech … Read More
Wall? What Wall?
I’ve always thought that mixing politics and religion creates and cheapens both. Worse than that, it is downright dangerous. USA Today carries an excellent story about how the far right is spreading its divisive values (and, yes, un-Christian values) from the pulpit: CANTON, Ohio — Pastor Russell Johnson paces across the broad stage as he decries the "secular jihadists" who … Read More
America Thinks Bush Is A Liar And Loser
Looks like the country might be getting bluer… Americans’ approval of President Bush’s handling of Iraq is at its lowest level yet, according to an AP-Ipsos poll that also found fewer than half now think he’s honest. A solid majority still see Bush as a strong and likable leader, though the president’s confidence is seen as arrogance by a growing … Read More
Heh, heh! He Said “”Bullshit”!
UPDATE: Bob Novak’s potty mouth is, according to Bob Novak, "poisoning America". (But then again, so is mine).
Novak Blows A Gasket
Mmmmmm. He must be under some pressure. The video is here, but this is the official transcript: HENRY: And the "Strategy Session" continues on INSIDE POLITICS. Still here: James Carville and Robert Novak. Katherine Harris made a name for her self during the Florida recount in the 2000 presidential race. She was then Florida’s secretary of state. She went on … Read More
Conservative Blog Taxonomy
Fables of the Reconstruction, where have you been hiding? My first foray to that fine site yielded this gem — a primer on the prominent wingers of the right-wing blogosphere: 1. Instapundit – Calling Glenn Reynolds intellectually lazy would be to praise him. He doesn’t write, he grunts. Has gained prominence by posting a lot and never making his audience … Read More
One Rule For Bush, Another Rule For You
President Bush said Tuesday he was “troubled” by the Supreme Court’s ruling in the New London eminent domain case and will give “serious review” to congressional efforts to ease its impact. “I’m concerned about the government overreaching,” Bush said. – from The Hartford Courant, August 3, 2005. Bush is “troubled” about the exercise of eminent domain? Oh, please: Bush’s personal … Read More
“Hard Work”
Coming up with acronyms for the Global War/Struggle for Radical Extreme Terrorism (or whatever) must be very draining: President Bush is getting the kind of break most Americans can only dream of — nearly five weeks away from the office, loaded with vacation time. The president departed Tuesday for his longest stretch yet away from the White House, arriving at … Read More
The Psychological Basis of Neo-Conservativism
A Cornell scientist discovered it: Men whose masculinity is challenged become more inclined to support war or buy an SUV, a new study finds. Their attitudes against gays change, too. Cornell University researcher Robb Willer used a survey to sample undergraduates. Participants were randomly assigned feedback that indicated their responses were either masculine of feminine. The women had no discernable … Read More
It’s Constantinople, Not Istanbul
GWOT (the global war on terror) became GSAVE (the global struggle against violent extremism) only a week ago. Now it’s back to GWOT: GRAPEVINE, Tex., Aug. 3 – President Bush publicly overruled some of his top advisers on Wednesday in a debate about what to call the conflict with Islamic extremists, saying, "Make no mistake about it, we are at … Read More
Sleeping Bag Interrogation
Here’s another example of why torture doesn’t work: Iraqi Maj. Gen. Abed Hamed Mowhoush was being stubborn with his American captors, and a series of intense beatings and creative interrogation tactics were not enough to break his will. On the morning of Nov. 26, 2003, a U.S. Army interrogator and a military guard grabbed a green sleeping bag, stuffed Mowhoush … Read More
Dobson-Frist Smackdown
Focus On The Family’s Dr. James Dobson is apparently unhappy about Bill Frist’s flip-flop on stem cell research: Dobson says he can’t bear being "stabbed in the back by somebody that I thought was a friend … [And] that is what I think has happened here. This is not personal … Sen. Frist has not put the knife in my … Read More
My, Oh My, Ohio
The special election for Ohio’s Second District House seat was a real nail-biter. A highly conservative area, it should have been a shoe-in for Republican nominee Jean Schmidt. But her Democratic opponent was a Bush-bashing Iraqi War veteran named Paul Hackett. He lost . . . barely, and there are lessons to learned. From The Left Coaster: Major Paul Hackett … Read More