RollingStone.com: Politics - Fear and Loathing, Campaign 2004

"Hitler thought he was King of the Hill forever. He had created a new master race, and every one of them worshipped him. The new Hitler youth loved to march and sing songs in unison and dance naked at night for the generals. They were fanatics.

That was sixty-six years ago, far back in ancient history, and things are not much different today. We still love War.

George Bush certainly does. In four short years he has turned our country from a prosperous nation at peace into a desperately indebted nation at war. But so what? He is the President of the United States, and you're not. Love it or leave it."

Classic Hunter S. Thompson, with a critique that Democrats should learn to emulate.

Thanks to cursor.

The New York Times | Huge Cache of Explosives Vanished From Site in Iraq

"American weapons experts say their immediate concern is that the explosives could be used in major bombing attacks against American or Iraqi forces: the explosives, mainly HMX and RDX, could produce bombs strong enough to shatter airplanes or tear apart buildings.

The explosives could also be used to trigger a nuclear weapon, which was why international nuclear inspectors had kept a watch on the material, and even sealed and locked some of it. The other components of an atom bomb - the design and the radioactive fuel - are more difficult to obtain.

...

The International Atomic Energy Agency publicly warned about the danger of these explosives before the war, and after the invasion it specifically told United States officials about the need to keep the explosives secured, European diplomats said in interviews last week. Administration officials say they cannot explain why the explosives were not safeguarded, beyond the fact that the occupation force was overwhelmed by the amount of munitions they found throughout the country."

Do you still believe that the Bubba currently posing as an elected American president can keep you safe from terrorism?

The New York Times | Bubba Bush Caught Lip-Syncing on Hannity

"In an interview on Saturday with the conservative commentator Sean Hannity of Fox News, Mr. Bush seemed to forget his lines briefly when he was asked whether the nation would always have to live with a terrorist threat. 'Whether or not we can be ever fully safe is up - you know, is up in the air,' Mr. Bush said, according to a transcript."

Can anyone really vote for this clown?

The New York Times | Two Back on Earth After Six Months on Space Station

"Two astronauts who spent half a year aboard the International Space Station returned safely on Saturday to the steppes of Kazakhstan in the pre-dawn darkness.

An American astronaut, Lt. Col. E. Michael Fincke, of the Air Force, and Col. Gennady I. Padalka, of the Russian Air Force landed aboard their Soyuz capsule at 6:36 a.m., three hours after separating from the orbital complex."

The NY Times fumbles. These are not two "astronauts" but one "astronaut" and one "cosmonaut".

But the article goes on to point out something that has been kept very quiet in the Western press:

Until the NASA ships return to service next May, or possibly later, the Soyuz craft will remain the only way for astronauts to get to and from the space station.

What we can say in this point in time is: the Russians are winning the space race! The Bubbas in Houston and Florida, with all the money that is thrown their way, cannot produce a reliable delivery vehicle for human space flight. And, personally, I don't see that private space concerns will do any better.

With the Chinese getting into the space race, along with the European ventures, we're going to see an end in the US space hegemony. Furthermore, what the world is asking now is: why were the Americans ever ahead? What happened to that undaunted American spirit of adventure?

FT.com | Polls say Bush could face electoral college defeat

"The candidates in the 2004 presidential election return to Florida this weekend, amid a blur of polls suggesting that George W. Bush could suffer Al Gore's fate in 2000, winning the popular vote but losing the White House battle in the electoral college."

I would add a disclaimer to that statement: it isn't at all clear that Bush won the electoral college vote in 2000. He simply won the supreme court's vote.

We're hoping that it isn't the Supreme Court that casts the winning ballot again. With things are shaky as they are in Florida and Colorado, I think that we my once again be waiting until December to announce a winner.

Current Electoral Vote Predictor 2004

"Electoral Vote Predictor 2004: Kerry 284 Bush 247"

Nice site, updated regularly with current polls from the different states. If you can believe it, Kerry is currently winning in the electoral college. What's surprising is to hear, at the same time, a Gallup polling putting Bush ahead in the popular vote by 8%.

The New York Times | The G.I.'s: Soldiers Saw Refusing Order as Their Last Stand

"Nancy Lessin, a leader of Military Families Speak Out, which opposes the war, said she had been flooded with calls and e-mail from families with a simple message: What had happened to the reservists echoed the conditions their own soldiers experienced in Iraq: a shortage of armored vehicles, especially for part-time soldiers' units; convoy missions through dangerous stretches without adequate firepower; and constant breakdowns among old vehicles owned, especially, by National Guard and reservist units.

'This is absolutely striking a nerve,' Ms. Lessin said. 'People are saying, 'This is the same thing that happened to my son,' and if the Army tries to spin this as 'just a few bad apples,' people need to know that these are common problems and what these soldiers did required a tremendous amount of courage.'"

The usual Bubba tactic of trying to marginalize dissent is growing horribly evident.

The New York Times | Play It Straight

"The best spin for the Democrats is that they're using Mary Cheney to paint their opponents as hypocrites: Republicans feign acceptance of all people, trot their own daughters out to demonstrate their fairness, then propose that the Constitution be amended to deny equal rights to same-sex couples. They want to have it both ways.
...
[M]aybe John Kerry or John Edwards would have stated the obvious point about the vice president: he doesn't support equal rights even for his own daughter."

Rubenstein gives an argument very close to my own.

The New York Times > International > Middle East > Logistics: Inquiry Opens After Reservists Balk in Baghdad

"Jackie Butler of Jackson, Miss., the wife of Staff Sgt. Michael Butler, 44, said she was awakened about 5:30 or 6 a.m. Thursday by a call from an officer from Iraq. He told her 'that my husband was being detained for disobeying a direct order,' Ms. Butler said, 'and he went on to tell me that it was a bogus charge that they got against him and some of those soldiers over there, because what they was doing was sending them into a suicide mission, and they refused to go.'"

This report hit the web yesterday. It sounds as if the situation for US soldiers in Iraq has become incredibly desperate. Not only are there not enough soldiers in Iraq but ones that are there feel unsafe to the point of insubordination.

"Yesterday we refused to go on a convoy to Taji," Specialist Amber McClenny, 21, said in a message she left on the answering machine of her mother, Teresa Hill, in Dothan, Ala. "We had broken-down trucks, nonarmored vehicles. We were carrying contaminated fuel."

After the soldiers were released, Specialist McClenny called her mother again and explained that the jet fuel the convoy had to carry had been contaminated with diesel, and that because it had been rejected by one base, it would likely be rejected by the Taji base."

Now who do you think is responsable for this contaminated fuel? Could it be Halliburton?

The New York Times | Enduring Friedman | Addicted to 9/11

"[...] [I]t is precisely this exploitation of 9/11 that has gotten [ Bush ]and the country off-track, because it has not only created a wedge between Republicans and Democrats, it's also created a wedge between America and the rest of the world, between America and its own historical identity, and between the president and common sense."

I don't like Friedman, but he seems to have finally come around and decided to make a rare show of courage and intelligence. Looks like his sabbatical did him some good.

SSONET.com.au : Where is Mary Cheney?

"America’s gay and lesbian community is asking why Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of US vice president Dick Cheney, did not join her family on stage at last week’s Republican National Convention in New York.

During her father’s speech Mary and her partner Heather Poe had been sitting in the audience with the rest of Cheneys. But when it came time for the whole family to appear on stage Mary and Heather had disappeared from the hall."

Amazing that Mary Cheney wasn't present with the rest of her family. That's a real low blow, not like the fake "low blow" being fabricated by a stinging Republican party:

"Fox debate panelist Mort Kondracke said Kerry's "outing" of Mary Cheney was a calculated effort to damage the Bush-Cheney ticket in the eyes of conservative voters.

"I think it was totally underhanded - the outing of Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter. ... And it struck me as a low blow designed to weaken the Bush-Cheney team with right-wingers who might not know that Dick Cheney has a lesbian daughter," he said"

Dick Cheney should be proud of his daughter, but he's not. That's the real low blow -- having the President of the United States upset because the opponent mentioned you.

Reuters | U.S. raid destroys Iraq restaurant

"The U.S. military said the target of the overnight bombing [ a popular restaurant in Fallujah ] had been under 'the terrorist organisation's control' for more than a year and 'innocent civilians knowingly stayed away'.

But residents said the restaurant had been as popular as ever over the past 12 months.

The U.S. military has said its recent operations have led to the killing or capture of a 'large percentage of Zarqawi's leadership'. Suspicious Iraqis ask why the captured foreign militants have not been named or shown on television.

In a separate incident, witnesses said a U.S. military patrol opened fire at a car on a highway just outside Falluja and killed five civilians on Monday. The U.S. military said it had no information on the reported shooting."

Hearts and minds, Bubba!

Good to see that the Iraqis maintain a healthy skepticism about the US claims, something that the US media has been unable to garner.

yaledailynews.com | Duelfer proves it: Bush justified in Iraq

"Actually, no. The reality presented by the Duelfer report is that Saddam Hussein was working to undermine the regime of sanctions, had the clear intent to develop weapons of mass destruction, and remained a great threat to the United States during his supposed 'containment.' Duelfer describes a situation where 'prohibited goods and weapons were being shipped into Iraq with virtually no problem': Sanctions had failed to neutralize Hussein, and any diplomatic resolution by the international community was tainted by widespread corruption among Iraq, France, Russia and China."

More Bubba logic, this time coming from Yale. Goes to show that Bubba logic can show up anywhere. I wonder if this one is better grade-wise than the well-known "C" student who is currently posing as an elected president.

If you go with this logic, "intent" is sufficient to prove "guilt". And since the Duelfer report shows no WMD programs since 1991, we can only understand the term "neutralize" to mean "kill": after all, if you have no WMDs, you can't strike, so you are neutralized, weapon-wise, by definition. This is especially true in light of the claim that prohibited weapons were shipped-in regularly: Hussein could have procured what he wanted. This also supports the thesis that the sanctions were working: in light of Hussein's "intent" and "no problem" obtaining weapons, only the UN weapons program would have kept him from re-arming.

Oh, and on the corruption level, the Duelfer report very clearly reported that Americans had major "corrupt" dealings with Iraq post-1991; however, the report decided to black-out the names to protect these corrupt "Uhmericans". It then went on to post allegations about people and corporations in other countries, without investigating these allegations or allowing these "corrupt" folks to contest it. A total crockery and another major embarassment for the Bubba Bush administration in the civilized world, other than the US (which may not belong in that category in the current state of affairs).

Speaking of corrupt, reports are that the Bubba currently posing as an elected US Vice President was a major proponent for lifting UN sanctions against Iraq in 1995. Was this position strictly humanitarian? (Obsequious derisive laughter) Or can you imagine that it was motivated by some "business logic"? At any rate, to try to gloss it over today is more Bubba Logic.

Any chance that this screed is partisan? Check out the by-line:

Al Jiwa is a junior in Pierson College. He is president of the Yale College Republicans.

A Junior! With a sophomoric diatribe like that!

BBC NEWS | Bush's bulge stirs media rumours

"A bulge in the back of President George W Bush's suit jacket during the first TV debate with John Kerry has triggered rumours that he was wired to get help."



What is really scary behind this idea is that 1) it's entirely believable in Bush's case 2) it's also entirely believable that Bubba Bush's staff would lie about this 3) most Bubbas don't care anyway because they are already accustomed to thinking of Bush as a puppet, much like Reagan in his time.

The reaction from the RNC spin doctor, Nicolle Devenish:

"There was nothing under his suit jacket," Nicolle Devenish, the Bush campaign's communications director, told the New York Times newspaper.

"It was most likely a rumpling of that portion of his suit jacket, or a wrinkle in the fabric," Ms Devenish added.

As a sign of warming relations between the Bush administration and France, W divulges the name of his tailor:

Georges de Paris, who made the suit worn by Mr Bush, said the bulge was accentuated when the president crossed his arms and leaned forward.

The New York Times | Truth Stranger Than 'Strangelove'

"Toward the end of the film, officials uncover General Ripper's code and call back the B-52's, but they notice that one bomber keeps flying toward its target. A B-52 is about to attack the Russians with a few H-bombs; General Turgidson recommends that we should 'catch 'em with their pants down,'' and launch an all-out, disarming first-strike.

Such a strike would destroy 90 percent of the U.S.S.R.'s nuclear arsenal. 'Mr. President,' he exclaims, 'I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed, but I do say no more than 10-20 million killed, tops!' If we don't go all-out, the general warns, the Soviets will fire back with all their nuclear weapons. The choice, he screams, is 'between two admittedly regrettable but nevertheless distinguishable postwar environments - one where you get 20 million people killed and the other where you get 150 million people killed!' Mr. Kahn made precisely this point in his book, even producing a chart labeled, 'Tragic but Distinguishable Postwar States.'"

Classic movie, classic actors, lots of fun. That's the good part.

The bad part is that the folks in Strangelove seem very similar to today's Bubba Bush administration. From neocon Christian fundamentalists to clueless leaders, the Bush administration has it all for comedy but nothing for reliability.

And with everyone pushing around nuclear these days, including Iran and North Korea, and most of the US military busy being shot at in Iraq, the nuclear strategy is much more complicated than in was in the cold war days. What we need is some sanity in the US administration. We need you, Colonel Bat Guano!

Slate | The debate was a draw, but Bush's truth troubles continue

"[...] Devenish was the only Bush spinner I spoke to after the debate who didn't try to defend the president's strange assertion about the Duelfer report, that it shows that sanctions weren't working in Iraq. 'I have to confess to being a campaign official and not an NSC spokesgal,' she said. By contrast, here was Dan Bartlett: 'Charlie Duelfer said both in the report and in his testimony that sanctions were unraveling, that the gaming of the system that Saddam Hussein was doing was doing just that. He was trying to game it by bribing people.' "

If you wanted to invade Iraq, as did Bubba Bush and his neo-nincompoop buddies, then you really believe that the Duelfer report, which reiterated, as did Hans Blix at the time, that Iraq had no WMDs after 1991, shows that the sanctions weren't working. In effect, Bubbas chose to ignore the facts, mix things up, and then say that the evidence supports their case, even when the evidence supports the contrary.

Strange assertions: that's Bubba Logic.

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Falluja raid 'hits wedding party'

"The US military said what it called a 'precision strike' targeted a hideout used by associates of Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

But local hospital doctors reported that the raid had struck a house shortly after a wedding party.

The groom is said to have been killed, while his bride was injured. Women and children were also among the wounded.
...
[I]n a statement the US military insisted: "Credible intelligence sources confirmed Zarqawi leaders were meeting at the safe-house at the time of the strike."

Hearts and minds, Bubba, hearts and minds.

BBC NEWS | Nobel Peace winner to be named

"The list of nominations is secret, but there is speculation it includes the UN's atomic inspection agency, the IAEA, and its head Mohamed ElBaradei.

George Bush and Tony Blair are known to have been nominated, for going to war against Saddam Hussein. Right-wing Norwegian politician Jan Simonsen put them forward, saying they laid the foundations for a democratic Iraq.

It is thought the former UN weapons inspector Hans Blix, who argued for more inspections before the war on Iraq began, may also be in the running. "

I understand the Blix nomination. However, it quite surprising to see Bush and Blair on the ticket, unless you take the Bubba-Orwellian viewpoint that "WAR IS PEACE". (Ah, now I get it!)

BBC NEWS | France disputes Iraq bribe claims

"The French foreign ministry said that it was important to first discover if there was any truth behind the accusations."

Now there's a novel idea unknown in the US or in the media: before refuting any claims, say that you must investigate them. Can you imagine Bubba Bush or Bubba Powell reacting in this manner?

'As far as we understand it, the accusations... are unverified either with the persons concerned or the authorities of the countries concerned,' spokesman Herve Ladsous said.

As it goes, one of the French names on the list is Charles Pasqua who already has his own legal problems in France for alleged embezzlement and influence peddling.

"The BBC's Caroline Wyatt in Paris says France appears to view the US accusations as at least partly politically-motivated, following its opposition to the war on Iraq."

This is more than likely. What better way to get Bush and his WMD failures out of the spotlight than to reignite the BIG HATE bonfire amonst the Bubbas? And if you think that this idea is just conspiracy hype, ask yourself why the names of Uhmerican folk and companies were left out of the report.

Names of US companies or citizens found on the secret Iraqi lists were left out of the report on grounds of the US Privacy Act, the ISG report notes.

After all, Halliburton has been in the press an awful lot already.

The New York Times | Cheney Says Report Finding No Illicit Arms in Iraq Justifies War

"Vice President Dick Cheney asserted on Thursday that a finding by the chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq that Saddam Hussein's government produced no weapons of mass destruction after 1991 justifies rather than undermines President Bush's decision to go to war.

The report shows that ``delay, defer, wait wasn't an option,'' Cheney told a town hall-style meeting."

We're veering away from Bubba Logic and jumping into pure Orwellian. Not only does this not make any sense it all, it's stupidity is utterly blatant, and that usually doesn't go over, even with Bubbas. So if Bush/Cheney pull this one off with this kinda idiocy, we know that George Orwell's vision was too keen.

But wait, there's more:

Vice presidential candidate John Edwards called Cheney's claim ``amazing'' and accused his Republican rival of using ``convoluted logic.''

'Convoluted' is too soft a term. I'd say 'Rebubbalican nonsense'.

BBC NEWS | WMD report: Key points: no weapons programmes in Iraq

"WMD report: Key points"

Read the report highlights and then think back to two years ago.

Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld were all talking about Iraq/terrorism/WMDs. All of these things proved false.

Now Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Blair/Howard are trying to claim that "everyone thought that Iraq had weapons/terrorism". Doesn't anyone remember Hans Blix? Doesn't anyone remember how Bush claimed that Blix should have found those weapons already, that the UN weapons team was incompetent, that we knew that they were there? Anyone remember that? Anyone remember the face-off between Colin Powell and Hans Blix in front of the UN Security Council, where Colin Powell did his bogus sales pitch (for which he later apologized) and Hans Blix said that there was no evidence behind it? Hans Blix was right! Why didn't Bush listen to Hans Blix? Why did Bush decide to push on to break international law for bogus reasons?

What an Orwellian moment we are living in today's press! Bubba's like Orwellian moments. Bubbas don't want to have to think about how policy has changed or about how they were lied to, or about how the economy has gone down the drain. Bubbas just want to "hate France", "hate foreigners", "hate liberals", the BIG HATE.

On the other hand, Bubbas love George Bush.

The New York Times > Washington > Bremer Critique on Iraq Raises Political Furor

"Mr. Kerry said, 'Commander in chief means you have to make judgments that protect the troops and accomplish the mission. I would listen to all of my advisers and make the best judgment possible. I can tell you this: General Shinseki asked for more troops, and he was fired. So that's a surefire way to chill a lot of other people from asking for things later.'

General Eric K. Shinseki, then Army chief of staff, testified before the war that hundreds of thousands of troops [ I remember this as 500,000 -- BL ] would be needed in Iraq afterward; he was contradicted by other Pentagon officials. General Shinseki was not fired but had difficult relations with the Pentagon's civilian leadership and was pushed into retiring at the end of his four-year term in 2003."

I blogged this the other day. Good to see that the NY Times can do it, too.

Bloomberg.com: Bremer Says U.S. Never Had Enough Troops in Iraq, AP Reports

"The U.S. ``never had enough troops on the ground,'' Bremer told a conference of insurance professionals in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, yesterday, AP said. This led to ``horrid'' looting and ``established an atmosphere of lawlessness,'' AP quoted Bremer as saying.

U.S. President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld have said that the U.S. had enough troops in Iraq, the news agency reported. "

If you remember the pre-occupation news conference held by a military spokesman, now pushed aside, who estimated that it would require 500,000 military personnel to occupy Iraq. His vision was criticized as "wildly exaggerated" by Rumsfeld and his ilk who prefer to ignore reality. Bremer has come back with a new reality-check, just in time for the elections.

Friedman : Iraq: Politics or Policy?

"... [E]ach time the Bush team had to choose between doing the right thing in the war on terrorism or siding with its political base and ideology, it chose its base and ideology."

Sounds to me like Tom has read Noam Chomsky's new book, Hegemony or Survival, during his sabattical. What took him so long to come to his senses?

Slate: The Global Test - It's called reality

"What do you have in common with a Frenchman? Look again at Kerry's words. He says the test is to "prove" that our reasons for attacking were legitimate. In the next sentence, he gives an example of someone failing that test: Colin Powell's February 2003 presentation to the United Nations about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. What did Powell apologize for? The inaccuracy of our intelligence. Kerry contrasts this with the trust France once placed in American spy photos.
...
Bush claims he has done all this to protect you. But that claim is precisely what's challenged by the evidence he conceals or disregards. What he's protecting you from is the ability to measure his assertions against the world that you and I can see. That's the global test he's mocking. And he expects you to applaud him for it, because he thinks you resent the French so much you'd rather have a president accountable to no one."

Yep, Saletan is channeling Bubba Logic, not to mention Orwell.

HoustonChronicle.com - 'Oil-for-food' program sabotage charged

"The paper suggests that France, Russia and China blocked inquiries into Iraq's manipulation of the program because their companies made billions of dollars through their involvement with Saddam's regime and the program."

Watch out on this story! The by-line is "Judith Miller", notorious for printing "smoking gun" articles on Iraqi WMD. In fact, if the New York Time keeps this nutcase on board, it must just be to keep up with Fox in bellicose journalism.

Reuters.com | Release of French Iraq Hostages Delayed

"The release of two French journalists held in Iraq since August was delayed Friday when a group of Iraqis transporting them was bombarded by U.S. forces, an aide to a French MP aiming to help free them said.

An aide to French MP Didier Julia told Reuters the group of Iraqis was due to drive French journalists Georges Malbrunot and Christian Chesnot to Syria Friday but was delayed by the firing. "

I'm sure that this was just a mistake. The American military probably thought that they were Canadians.

Yahoo! News - Bush: Kerry would let France control US military

"'The use of troops to defend America must never be subject to a veto by countries like France,' Bush told supporters a day after Kerry said the United States ought to pass a 'global test' before launching a preemptive war. "

More Bubba logic.

If you believe Bush's story, you believe that a) France was the only country against the Iraq invasion b) the US/UK had a perfect right to do it.

The reality is quite different.

France was a more vocal component of widespread world sentiment against the Iraq invasion, up to 90% in Spain, 80% in France and the UK and 60% in the US.

Furthermore, elective invasion of another country is against international law. The Security Council did not approve the invasion. Kofi Annan recently reiterated that the Iraq invasion was illegal. So, as it goes, it isn't France that would keep the US from performing illegal acts but International law.

Finally, is there anyone out there today, even a Bubba, who believes that poppycock about making America safer by invading Iraq?

Yahoo! News - Powell Regrets Iraq Weapons Claim for War

" Secretary of State Colin Powell said Friday he regrets the Bush administration claimed that Iraq had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in its argument for war, but he believes the world is better off without Saddam Hussein.

Following a speech to the Atlanta Press Club, Powell defended the bulk of his presentation to the United Nations in February 2003 in which he made the case for war in Iraq.

'The only thing where we got it wrong and where our presentation did not hold up was the actual stockpiles,' Powell said. 'We've seen nothing to suggest that he had actual stockpiles. That was not right.' "

It may be the "only thing where" Powell "got it wrong", but that was the big deal, the big kahuna.

And Powell's regrets, his contrition, is far from complete. When will he publicly apologize to Hans Blix? When will Powell resign?