The years of devotion eventually pay off, although AFTER I move 100 miles away from the Fleet Center and can’t afford to go anyway. One game I managed to convince my father to attend with me during the Antoine-Pierce-O’Brien years was against Minnesota. We lost and Garnett was primarily the reason – rebounding on both ends and managing to will his team up a notch higher than its talent would put it otherwise. Back then he was running with Joe Smith, Troy Hudson, Wally…but they could beat us more often than not whether in Minnesota or at home.
Now he’s playing alongside Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Nothing could convince me that it was a done deal until today, and even then I was anticipating some sort of letdown. I suspect this is the real deal, and somehow from the Draft Lottery to today, Danny Ainge has pulled off something the ping pong balls were determined to deny us. Of course, Bill Simmons puts a perfect column together on this deal, so I’ll leave it at that and direct you to his words. (McHale adds another notch to his Celtics legacy)
Posted by Al Swearengen as sports at 10:50 PM GMT+4
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From an appearance on Chapelle:
Posted by Al Swearengen as Music, Video at 2:50 PM GMT+4
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I’m not sure how many, if any, of the readers of this blog actually watch these long videos I post from time to time, but my idea in doing so is that a single viewer is enough to justify posting them. This one here is especially important, as it covers something the corporate media would rather ignore. The disparity in Ohio when it came to the distribution of voting machines, is something that was covered everywhere, but since then it has become a figment of the nation’s imagination. What took place in Ohio is something that must be exposed at the highest level (looking at you Mr. Waxman), and prevented from happening in the future by there being federal laws in place that ultimately strip a state’s ability to run elections as if the United States was a third world authoritarian wasteland.
Cynthia McKinney, a former Congresswoman from Georgia, is also prominent in this film. I’ve taken her case over to Control Congress, a blog that is run by a Republican radio host in Georgia. John Konop is the host in question, and his blog is an absolute open forum where nothing is censored. I urge everyone to check out the video, and also the thread it prompted me to start over on John’s blog. Open primaries…there will be more to come on this topic from me, time permiting…btw, the Yankees are now 9 games behind after Boston’s 6 run 12th inning in Tampa Bay.
Posted by Al Swearengen as History, Justice, Video, politics at 12:19 AM GMT+4
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UPDATE: State Dep’t Ends Baghdad Electricity Updates
President Bush 6/15/2006: “I do think we’ll be able to measure progress. You can measure progress in capacity of Iraqi units, you can measure progress in megawatts of electricity delivered, you can measure progress in terms of oil sold on the market on behalf of the Iraqi people.”
Chart Source
Marine Corps Time 7/27/07: “A key aide says Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s relations with U.S. commander Gen. David Petraeus are so poor the Iraqi leader may ask Washington the withdraw the well-regarded U.S. military leader from duty here. The Iraqi foreign minister calls the relationship “difficult.”…Al-Maliki has spoken sharply — not of Petraeus or Crocker personally — but about their tactic of welcoming Sunni militants into the fight against al-Qaida forces in Anbar and Diyalah provinces.”
7/24/2007: “Most of the bodies found by the police — an average of 20 a day — are bound, blindfolded and shot execution style, victims of sectarian violence carried out by both Sunni and Shi’ite death squads. Many also bear signs of torture or mutilation, according to medical sources in Baghdad. Despite official Iraqi and U.S. statements to the contrary, the reports indicate that the number of unidentified bodies in the capital has risen again to pre-surge levels over the last two months.”
Posted by Al Swearengen as Military at 12:49 AM GMT+4
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TPMmuckraker features some top-notch analysis concerning Gonzo and the NSA wiretapping program(s?): “There’s a lot of evidence to suggest that Gonzales’s careful, repeated phrasing to the Senate that he will only discuss the program that “the president described” was deliberate, part of a concerted administration-wide strategy to conceal from the public the very broad scope of that initial program…”
Harpers reporting on Blackwater: “…In court papers, Blackwater states that the lawsuit from the four families “unconstitutionally intrudes on the exclusive authority of the military of the federal government to conduct military operations abroad.” Blackwater’s attempt to shield itself behind the military is interesting, as the aftermath of the killings highlighted a huge difference between contractors and the military. Had an officer sent four lightly armed soldiers into Fallujah, he would likely have faced public scrutiny in the military justice system. …”
Classic Clip – Samantha Bee interviews Frank Luntz
Posted by Al Swearengen as Justice, Military at 5:54 AM GMT+4
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Dig it
Posted by Al Swearengen as Music, Video at 9:56 PM GMT+4
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Two foremen on the project tell a House committee about how the USA goes about building something like this under Bush/Cheney. Rory Mayberry, a former subcontractor employee for First Kuwaiti Trading & Contracting Company, gives opening testimony:
John Owens, a former employee of First Kuwaiti Trading & Contracting Company, gives opening testimony:
Posted by Al Swearengen as Military, Video at 9:18 PM GMT+4
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7/25/2007: “Guard’s Border Mission to be Halved” — The number of National Guard troops along the Arizona-Mexico border will be trimmed in half by the end of next month. As the presidentially mandated Operation Jumpstart mission begins its second year in support of the U.S. Border Patrol, the number of troops is being reduced as planned. It will be trimmed from 6,000 to 3,000 nationally and from 2,400 to 1,200 in Arizona, said National Guard Capt. Kristine Munn. The pullout began July 1 and is scheduled to be completed by Sept. 1.
Hired Guns at the Border? The Contracting Has Begun: I take it that a private contracting company, DynCorp International of Virginia, is sending out press releases (basically advertising itself) hoping to be hired by Homeland Security in this border region. It is offering ‘to train and deploy 1,000 private agents to the U.S.-Mexican border within 13 months, offering a quick surge of law enforcement officers to a region struggling to clamp down on illegal immigration.’
It’s starting to look like that movie we’ve already seen too many times during the Bush/Cheney regime. A caller to the Ed Schultz show named “Captain Bob”, former USMC officer, informs us that a fellow jarhead he’s friends with is working for Blackwater, and that Homeland Security is currently working on a contract negotiation with them to patrol the US-Mexico border. They’re (right at this very moment) arranging for Blackwater personnel to be deputized! Where did this money come from?
7/26/2007: “Senate Passes $3 Billion For Border Patrol” — The money approved Thursday would go toward seizing “operational control” over the U.S.-Mexico border by using additional Border Patrol agents, vehicle barriers, border fencing and observation towers. In addition, there is Cornyn’s effort against people who overstay their visas. Graham said the $3 billion would pay for “more boots on the ground, more people patrolling our border making it harder for somebody to come across illegally. We should have done this a long time ago.” The deal, approved by an 89-1 vote, resurrects a GOP plan to pass some of the most popular parts of Bush’s failed immigration bill. That includes money for additional Border Patrol agents and fencing along the southern border.
Was this the plan all along? Starve the beast until the clamor for border security grew loud enough that they could justify outsourcing it? Let’s check the archives:
2/9/2005: “Bush budget scraps 9,790 border patrol agents” — President uses law’s escape clause to drop funding for new homeland security force — Officially approved by Bush on Dec. 17 after extensive bickering in Congress, the National Intelligence Reform Act included the requirement to add 10,000 border patrol agents in the five years beginning with 2006. Roughly 80 percent of the agents were to patrol the southern U.S. border from Texas to California, along which thousands of people cross into the United States illegally every year.
But Bush’s proposed 2006 budget, revealed Monday, funds only 210 new border agents. The shrunken increase reflects the lack of money for an army of border guards and the capacity to train them, officials said. Retired Adm. James Loy, acting head of the Department of Homeland Security until nominee Michael Chertoff takes over, said funding only 210 new agents was a “recognition that we need to balance those things as we go on down the road with other priorities.” The White House referred questions about the border agents to the Homeland Security Department.
Posted by Al Swearengen as Al Swearengen, Military, politics at 6:03 PM GMT+4
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Van Helsing emailed this story today, and since we’re living with 2 toddlers each, it pertains to both of us especially. Here is his chosen excerpt:
…There is now a concerted effort to spread adult-child play beyond its stronghold in the upper- and middle-classes of wealthy countries. To this end, many cities and states support programs of some sort. Massachusetts will give the Parent-Child Home Program, which has 33 sites in the state, $3 million this year (up from $2 million last year). Through the program, staff members visit the homes of low-income residents and offer tips not just on good books for toddlers but also on “play activities” for parents and kids…
With my kids I’m primarily a jungle gym/amusement park ride/book reader. A lot of food for thought…here’s the article:
(Source-BostonGlobe) The idea that adults should be playing with their kids is a modern invention — and not necessarily a good one — WHAT COULD BE more natural than a mother down on the rec-room floor, playing with her 3-year-old amid puzzles, finger-puppets, and Thomas the Tank Engine trains? Look — now she’s conducting a conversation between a stuffed shark and Nemo, the Pixar clown fish! Giggles all around. Not to mention that the tot is learning the joys of stories and narrative, setting him on a triumphal path toward school.
A “natural” scene? Actually, parent-child play of this sort has been virtually unheard of throughout human history, according to the anthropologist David Lancy. And three-fourths of the world’s current population would still find that mother’s behavior kind of dotty. American-style parent-child play is a distinct feature of wealthy developed countries — a recent byproduct of the pressure to get kids ready for the information-age economy, Lancy argues in a recent article in American Anthropologist, the field’s flagship journal in the United States.
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Posted by Al Swearengen as Words at 3:06 PM GMT+4
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(h/t Andrew Sullivan)
Posted by Al Swearengen as Video, Words at 12:35 PM GMT+4
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This is pretty funny. karl emailed it yesterday.
KAMIAH, Idaho — Do you envision a dream home that shields you from nuclear holocaust? Marauding outlaws? Agents of Satan? You’re in luck. A $230,000, two-story, three-bedroom beauty nestled amid rolling pastures eight miles north of here is on the market. The “Survivalist Home,” as advertised in north central Idaho newspapers, was built in 1998 on 21/2 acres and designed as a haven from nuclear fallout and roving bands of outlaws, said owner Mike (Big Mike) Molesworth, 62.”You won’t find another one like this up here,” he said.
His self-sufficient home is in part of Idaho that has drawn many people seeking havens from the world, such as those who came 13 years ago with constitutionalist Bo Gritz to form the Christian covenant communities, Almost Heaven and Shenandoah, which are on 600 acres nearby in the Woodland area.
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Posted by Al Swearengen as Comedy, Religion at 3:18 AM GMT+4
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This should be interesting:
(Source) A Federal Court judge has agreed to reveal portions of the Maher Arar report that were censored by the government. Mr. Justice Simon Noel ruled Tuesday that he will uncensor some – but not all – of the 1,500 words that had been blacked out. The passages are to emerge within 10 days, unless any of the parties launch an appeal. “In the end, I have agreed in part with the Attorney-General and in part with the [Arar] Commission,” Judge Noel wrote in a 64-page ruling Tuesday, without revealing further details.
My piece on this topic – The Murder of Maher Arar
Posted by Al Swearengen as Justice at 3:06 AM GMT+4
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Bill Moyers Journal: The Yes Men Part 1
Bill Moyers Journal: The Yes Men Part 2
Posted by Al Swearengen as Video at 12:17 AM GMT+4
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Posted by Al Swearengen as Military, Video at 12:25 AM GMT+4
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Justice at Stake: Ensuring That Prisoners in the U.S. Are Never ‘Disappeared’- by Shahid Buttar, posted at The Peace Tree
Hadrian’s Forum: “The American founding fathers were well versed in Roman history. People such as Washington, Madison and Jefferson, were all very aware of the evils done by Sulla. When they designed the constitution, and ensured a separation of powers, they were specifically thinking about how they would prevent the rise of an American Sulla.”
Paul Krugman: All the President’s Enablers – by Paul Krugman, posted at Welcome to Pottersville
“I don’t know why the op-ed article that General Petraeus published in The Washington Post on Sept. 26, 2004, hasn’t gotten more attention. After all, it puts to rest any notion that the general stands above politics: I don’t think it’s standard practice for serving military officers to publish opinion pieces that are strikingly helpful to an incumbent, six weeks before a national election. In the article, General Petraeus told us that “Iraqi leaders are stepping forward, leading their country and their security forces courageously.” And those security forces were doing just fine: their leaders “are displaying courage and resilience” and “momentum has gathered in recent months.”In other words, General Petraeus, without saying anything falsifiable, conveyed the totally misleading impression, highly convenient for his political masters, that victory was just around the corner. And the best guess has to be that he’ll do the same thing three years later.”
Exec pleads guilty in Iraq contractor bribery scheme – As the New York Times reports in its Saturday edition, at least eight people connected to former Halliburton subsidiary KBR (formerly Kellogg, Brown and Root), so far receiving $20 billion for war-related services, have been implicated in an investigation into kickbacks and bribes stemming from a scheme to overcharge for freight services to Iraq. Kevin Andre Smoot, managing director for KBR subcontractor Eagle Global Logistics Incorporated, pleaded guilty to dispensing the bribes along with lying to investigators.
Posted by Al Swearengen as Justice, Military, politics at 10:45 PM GMT+4
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There are other comics worth featuring here, but its during times like these when Hicks is the one I think about most often. Imagine him teeing off on Dubya! RIP Bill…
Posted by Al Swearengen as Comedy, History, Video at 10:40 PM GMT+4
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Max Blumenthal – College GOP Convention
Keith Olbermann – Special Comment “Scapegoat”
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Posted by Al Swearengen as Comedy, Military, Video, politics at 1:19 AM GMT+4
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It’s been a good month. PBR (PetroBrazil) and CNQ (CanadaNatlResources) are my two most solid picks, having generated over 100K since February, and surging to this day. I got out of ACI (coal) and cut my position in BAM (BrookfieldAssetMgmt) by 3250 shares. All of that cash went into tripling my position in ORCL (Oracle). Here is a snapshot as of 2PM today:
Stock-Shares-Price-PricePaid-Value-%
BAM-4077.5-39.86-39.24-$162,529.15-1.56
CNQ-3535-73.95-62.66-$261,413.25-18.02
ORCL-11968-20.60-20.00-$246,421.12-3.00
PBR-3782-70.34-50.52-$266,025.88-39.23
RMD-2400-41.25-41.54-$99,000.00-(.70)
TS-3305-50.37-47.95-$166,472.85-5.04
Total (Begun 2/07 w/ $1,106,000) $1,201,920 +8.67
Posted by Al Swearengen as Economics at 2:10 PM GMT+4
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Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA)!!!! I watched a few hours of this yesterday and overnight, but this clip right here was the most impressive speech I’ve heard on Iraq in a long time. (h/t Crooks and Liars)
Senator Durbin explaining the GOP filibuster
Daily Show – Iraq Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Comedy, Video, politics at 1:11 AM GMT+4
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Part 1
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Posted by Al Swearengen as Comedy, Video at 3:13 PM GMT+4
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Saudi Arabia is responsible for the majority of foreign fighters in Iraq1, and in terms of funding2, has for decades been facilitating the flow of funds from collection plates to madrassahs in places like Pakistan, and also to finance jihad3 – holy war – in countries like Iraq. When the topic of fundamentalist Islam, or what the far right refers to as Islamofacism, is brought up in political discussion, the common mistake that is made, perhaps willfully on the part of those who make it most often, is to discriminate based on factors outside the realm of religion. A case in point being the frequent naming of groups like Al Qaeda, Hamas and Hezbollah, none of whom represent a US partner in trade, as opposed to the Saudi government with whom certain US firms profit through oil/gas services contracts4. Any question regarding why our foreign policy is incoherent in this regard, can be answered quite simply by identifying which states we already do business with, and which states we do not.
To recreate the circumstances that provided us leverage in establishing such a rich arrangement with Saudi Arabia would be extremely difficult, as the preface to all this was a perceived threat of invasion during the first Gulf War, where Saudi Arabia feared the ability of Saddam Hussein to invade their kingdom just as he had Kuwait. US protection from this threat is what kicked open the door, and as we are realizing the hard way in Iraq, without such circumstances in place prior to the use of force, the opportunity for rich trade agreements, particularly in the oil/gas services industry, become much more difficult to secure. Going on over four years now, we are no more closer to securing such deals with Iraq as we already have in place with Saudi Arabia than we were before the government of Iraq was first elected5. The pattern up to this point is unmistakably one of purposeful delay, as the Iraqi parliament understands all too well what is expected of them. At the end of 2006, Iraqi politicians saw that the American public turned on its President and his policy in Iraq. This correctly indicated to them that the best strategy would be to neglect the goal of reaching an agreement on the disbursement of energy resources, and whether or not foreign companies would be granted contracts to extract it. Read the rest of this entry
Posted by Al Swearengen as Al Swearengen, Military, politics at 1:14 AM GMT+4
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Webb is probably the first senator I’ve seen on one of these weekend shows throw down on behalf of the troops. He is pointing out how ridiculous Graham, McCain and others sound when they say, “I’ve spoken to the troops, and they want to finish the job…”, as if the military didn’t screen who they’d be talking to when they arrived there. Webb points this out and plenty more:
Posted by Al Swearengen as Military, politics at 12:05 AM GMT+4
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Chickenhawk vs. Cindy Sheehan
Pertaining to the White House dumbing down explainations of what is happening in Iraq by attributing everything bad to al-Qaida, it’d been killing me these past few weeks. My first ray of hope was this first column, written by the NYTimes Public Editor, citing the paper’s tendency to just use the WH’s statements in their stories. Then there are two other items, one a great post by Glen Greenwald and the other is Friday’s NYTimes front page story on this.
1. Seeing Al Qaeda Around Every Corner – NYTimes Public Editor Carl Hoyt
2. Everyone we fight in Iraq is now “al-Qaida” – Glen Greenwald
3. Bush Distorts Qaeda Links, Critics Assert – 7/13/2007 NYTimes Front Page
Various strands of madness:
New York Times Journalist Killed in Baghdad Khalid W. Hassan, 23 years old
Soldier shoots himself to avoid Iraq – Misleading headline, he actually hires someone to shoot him in the leg
Reuters Photographer, Driver Killed Photographer Namir Noor-Eldeen, 22, and driver Saeed Chmagh, 40
Dessert:
Iraqi Kurds Say Politics Revised Oil Law
Opponents of an earlier draft’s decentralization, as well as potential foreign oil company access, threatened to block the law’s passage…”It’s taken this back to square one, frankly,” KRG Natural Resources Minister Ashti Hawrami told UPI from his mobile phone in Irbil. He was referring to additional changes that centralized authority given to regions and governorates in the draft agreed upon in February, including the control over oil.
Posted by Al Swearengen as Military, politics at 10:42 PM GMT+4
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“Following the Committee’s April 24, 2007, hearing on the Tillman fratricide, the Committee wrote to White House Counsel Fred Fielding seeking “all documents received or generated by any official in the Executive Office of the President” relating to Corporal Tillman’s death. The White House Counsel’s office responded that it would not provide the Committee with documents that “implicate Executive Branch confidentiality interests” and produced only two communications with the officials in the Defense Department, one of which was a package of news clippings. The response of the Defense Department to the Committee’s inquiry was also deficient.” – The Gavel
Posted by Al Swearengen as Military at 10:15 PM GMT+4
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#1 – The Sanctity of Marriage
#2 – Christian extremists disrupt Hindu Senate invocation
#3 – Bush Loyalty?
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Posted by Al Swearengen as Video at 10:29 AM GMT+4
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“I believe we are entering a period this summer of increased risk. We could easily be attacked. Summertime seems to be appealing to them. We do worry that they are rebuilding their activities.” – Chertoff bases ‘gut feeling’ on history, Al Qaeda statements
Following the 2004 elections, former Homeland Security Chief Tom Ridge admitted it flat out, that the terror warnings leading up to the election were bogus and entirely political in nature – TOM RIDGE’S BOMBSHELL: HOW THE BUSHIES ISSUED UNJUSTIFIED TERROR ALERTS
Republicans are arroused by the idea that we might get hit again sometime soon, as it would be a political win for the party of fear…“At the end of the day, I believe fully the president is doing the right thing, and I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001], and the naysayers will come around very quickly to appreciate not only the commitment for President Bush, but the sacrifice that has been made by men and women to protect this country,” Dennis Milligan (GOP chairman of Arkansas) said. Here is another example of this from today: ‘Santorum Suggests New Terror Attacks Will Change View Of War’:
In an alarming display of fearmongering, former Republican Senator Rick Santorum has suggested that a series of “unfortunate events,” namely terrorist attacks, will occur within the next year and change American citizen’s perception of the war. (Source)
I’m not up to riffing on this, but wanted to point out one thing, and that being the dynamic of Congressional oversight. Not only is a letter like the one below written and delivered, but that very action is “news” in and of itself, which makes the fear mongering much more difficult to continue on with. I think this response by Rep. Bennie Thompson, Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee is perfect:
July 11, 2007
Dear Secretary Chertoff:
Over the past five years, tens of billions of taxpayer dollars have been dedicated to standing up and building capacity at the Department of Homeland Security. The Department of Homeland Security is charged with deterring, preventing and responding to the threat of terrorism. To that end, systems have been erected to identify risks and communicate them to the American public. With all the resources you have at your disposal and all the progress that you assure us that you are making, I cannot understand why you are quoted in the Chicago Tribune as saying you have a “gut feeling” that we are entering a period of heightened risk this summer.
Words have power, Mr. Secretary. You must choose them wisely—especially when they relate to the lives and security of the American public. What color code in the Homeland Security Advisory System is associated with a “gut feeling?” What sectors should be on alert as a result of your “gut feeling?” What cities should be asking their law enforcement to work double shifts because of your “gut feeling?” Are the American people supposed to purchase duct tape and plastic sheeting because of your “gut feeling?”
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Posted by Al Swearengen as politics at 12:23 AM GMT+4
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(h/t C&L)There had been ripples of this being in the cards for Rudi once this campaign progressed. I posted something concerning the air conditions in NYC after 9/11, and began filtering for news on this. The NYTimes ran a story in their Sunday edition a couple weeks back that comes to mind, and they pretty much walked on their tip-toes throughout the article. With that in mind, it’s truly a blessing to have this video technology available today!
Posted by Al Swearengen as Video, politics at 10:59 PM GMT+4
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The story is going to be buried (U.S. Aborted Raid on Qaeda Chiefs in Pakistan in ’05), and our country will once again be left stupefied, wondering “what happened”, as the Pulitzer Prize winning book Ghost Wars by Steve Coll (BUY IT!) will be followed up with a much needed sequel, leaving me and apparently the CIA and US Army Special Forces wondering what blows up next. It is a replay of the late 1990s in the Afghan-Kush region, only instead of the political implications of a blow job and how a failed raid against al Qaeda would “play” for the administration in charge back then, it is the political implications of already having embarked on a remarkably naive clusterfuck of historic precedence in Iraq, and because the childish codgers who brought us that one were looking to make up for it by doing the same exact thing in Iran as soon as they could, it was Pakistan’s joke of a government that Donald Rumsfeld apparently concluded was too important of an ally to risk offending, with the carrying out of military operations in its tribal areas, where it so happened that a meeting of al Qaeda brass took place at a time and location we were aware of beforehand.
I’m rarely angered anymore by the newspaper, having grown accustomed to the fact that good news will be difficult to come by most days, but tonight I’m really pissed off. The bottom line here is that given the opportunity to strike against the organization that took down the towers, you and I can no longer be confident that the political angle will be pushed aside as promised. For Clinton it was the reluctance to fire off more rockets, since the ones that landed in Sudan weren’t able to kill bin Laden, and also the fact that he’d managed to give Republicans an opening to work with, concerning what came out of the opening he’d asked Monica to work with.
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Posted by Al Swearengen as Al Swearengen, History, Military at 2:21 AM GMT+4
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If you ever wanted some assurance that the free-ride is finally over for our beloved bubble boy, the reaction from left to right is bound to make you smile. While there’s a thick fog surrounding the most vehemently childish portion of the right-wing and James Carville’s bald head, it isn’t going to spread so easily anymore. This is the United States of America. In this country you cannot swear to tell the truth, and then lie under oath. It is against the rules. To argue against that logic, in my mind, makes you an unethical shill. Now I’ll share the opinions of some political writers who, unlike the child-cons I just described, will still be relevant in 10 years:
Frank Rich – A Profile in Cowardice: “There was never any question that President Bush would grant amnesty to Scooter Libby, the man who knows too much about the lies told to sell the war in Iraq. The only questions were when, and how, Mr. Bush would buy Mr. Libby’s silence. Now we have the answers, and they’re at least as incriminating as the act itself. They reveal the continued ferocity of a White House cover-up and expose the true character of a commander in chief whose tough-guy shtick can no longer camouflage his fundamental cowardice.”
Andrew Sullivan – Why The Perjury?: “It means of course that they knowingly exaggerated the causes for war. That’s why this story still rankles, because it’s the closest the outside world has really gotten to the real nexus of decision-making on Iraq that obviously took place in Cheney’s circle. I can still just about believe that Bush thought the WMD case was sound. I can’t believe, given all that we now know, that Cheney did. He’s too smart. The data he read, we now know, was far more equivocal than the data the public was provided with. He’s not new at this. He probably never wanted to make the WMD argument anyway, put it in to appease the UN crowd, and certainly wasn’t going to query its validity. We may never know, of course, because Cheney will have destroyed the evidence, but if I had to guess, I’d say it’s obvious Cheney knew all along that the WMD line was a cover, not a real threat, but realized by the summer of 2003 that any hint of this leaking (even from a two-bit blowhard like Wilson) needed swift and brutal rebuttal. They were embarrassed enough by the WMD bust, but if it was revealed that they had ignored all the caveats beforehand, it could get really dicey.” (Response posts 1, 2)
Pat Buchanan – How Scooter Skated?: “Will the student deferments for these fellows never end?”
Matthew Yglesias: “Is ‘I broke the law to help my boss cover-up embarrassing but non-criminal conduct’ a reasonable case for lenience? No. Is ‘he broke the law to help me cover-up embarrassing by non-criminal conduct’ a reasonable case for granting someone clemency? Also no.”
Here are the numbers (h/t Andrew Sullivan)
Oppose Pardon = RED
Posted by Al Swearengen as politics at 2:26 AM GMT+4
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Arnold Schwarzenegger has phone sex on Howard Stern Show
Posted by Al Swearengen as Comedy at 2:54 AM GMT+4
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