Looking Back

I have sufficient faith in America's historians that when they look back on the outbreak and strategy of the Saddam War, they will get it right. Currently the debacle is somehow being blamed on the MSM in one of those all-out coordinated smears by the White House. I don't don't think an objective look back can support this notion that the Media are reporting all the bad stuff, and burying the good stuff.Iraq is certainly one of the most dangerous places on the planet. Unfortunately we can't ask the 85 dead Journalists that have been killed covering the story of taking Saddam out. Side comment: Am I correct in thinking that more Journalists have died under Bush than soldiers under Clinton ?

Dave Johnson at Seeing the Forest lays out the real problem with this administration. BushCo is not "politics-as-usual", it's deconstructing the Constitution. And the major fault of the MSM is letting Bush-Cheney get away with so much.

For instance, the "signing statements" are a red flag as to how much we can count on Bush to carry out Congress' laws. Sure, Clinton had them too - about 105 - but Bush has 500. He has recently created this caveat to the Patriot Act - he says he may not inform Congress about surveillance, even though the bill, his bill, requires it. The real problem is that that Congress and the Media allow this kind of naked grab for unrestrained, anti-Constitutional power.

Finally, Glenn Greenwald puts it this way:

"As usual, the most amazing aspect of all of this is not that the Administration is claiming these powers. It is that even as it claims them as expressly and clearly as can be, the Congress continues to ignore it and pretend that it still retains power to restrict the Administration by the laws it passes. And the media continues to fail in its duty to inform the country about the powers the Administration has seized, likely because they are so extreme that people still do not really believe that the Administration means what they are saying. What else do they need to do in order to demonstrate their sincerity?"

Shameful, but Typical

One Good Move has the Keith Olberman video that explains his choice for "Worst Person in the World" for this week.

The President's Mom made a generous (at least $30,000) to the Bush-Clinton Katrina Relief Fund. Here's the catch: the money was to be earmarked for 8 (at $3,800 each) of her son Neil's educational software programs to be supplied to Houston schools.Notice that New Orleans doesn't get the software, Houston gets it.Or should I say Neil Bush gets it.

This way Barbara Bush gets to give her son a gift without paying gift tax. Also, she can write this "donation" off her taxes as a charitable contribution. Not illegal, just immoral.This clever move is not surprising with this family and reinforces the notion that the acorn doesn't fall far from the oak tree.In any case, it shows how shabby and really meaningless the Bush model of compassion really is. Barbara Bush's "beautiful mind" seems to be lacking in ethics.

Update: It gets worse. John Aravosis of AmericaBlog notes that Barbara Bush is actually one of the larger investors in Neil Bush's company, so she is using the tax code to make a gift to herself.

DINO

Here's a screen capture of Joe Lieberman greatly amused as the President jokes about looking around the White House for WMDs. To think that we voted for this ass.

A Test of Democracy

Abdul Rahman,41 of Afghanistan is on trial for converting to Christianity sixteen years ago, though born to Islam. It appears that his death sentence may be thrown out because his tormenters think he is mentally unbalanced. The courts will have to wait for his sanity to return before they can chop off his head. His whole trial is an indicator that it's not so easy, not a foregone conclusion, that other countries will automatically develop U.S-style democracies.

Why Mommy is a Democrat

Above is a sample page from Why Mommy is a Democrat, a children's book that explains the general differences between what Democrats have done, and what ever it is that we have now in government. I think it's very telling.

A Case for Absolutes

Ryan Dobson, James' son, has a seies of books, DVDs, and CDs advocating intolerance for our young people. Titles like Be Intolerant:Because Some Things are Just Stupid or Why We Need to Be Intolerant are sold for a modest "donation."

Focus on the Family's site offers this description of one book by Dobson :

Tolerance Is For Wimps When It Comes To The Truth Of God's Word

Ryan Dobson presents the case for absolutes based on the Word of God through the use of examples that break through today's tolerance-at-any-cost atmosphere. Awaken yourself and your friends to the world's desperate hunger for absolute truth — and the church's duty to proclaim it.

I was taught that Jesus was a pretty tolerant guy. It sounds like these Christians no longer turn the other cheek. Provocative food for thought I'm sure.

Quote of the Day

Dwight D. Eisenhower was our beloved leader who masterfully led our Armed Forces to crush the very definition of evil, the Nazis. When the war ended, though both parties pleaded with Ike to head their ticket, he went Republican. He was broadly, sincerely admired in a way that Ronald Reagan couldn't approach. Yet some of Ike's beliefs were not like the D.C. Republicans we see today. For instance:

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms in not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense." - Dwight David Eisenhower

The Duty of Our Journalists

"I think it does raise the question, how do you fight and win the war on terrorism? And if Democrats want to argue that we shouldn't be listening to al Qaeda communications, it's their right and we welcome the debate. We are a nation at war." -Scott McClellan

Whether one believes that the MSM is progressive or conservative, I think that it's their duty to correct blatantly false claims by whoever. In this case, Scott McClellan claimed that Democrats don't want to eavesdrop on al-Qaeda operatives, that they must be against the "War on Terror." Of course all Democrats without exception want us to spy on al-Qaeda; they just want to follow the current law in effect that requires some accountability by getting a warrant. Our memories are not so short that we don't remember the abuses of Nixon's Enemies List. This is not rocket science. McClellan is either ignorant, deliberately misleading the public, or simply lying for his party's political advantage.

The President Who Cried Wolf

Avian Flu Virus
It's a classic story. Call it "The President Who Cried Wolf." So little the current administration puts out is credible that the current threats about avian flu become LOL. Mike Leavitt, Bush's man, has come out with a strategery to help: save an extra can of tuna or three (and perhaps some powdered milk - yum) for when the pandemic hits the U.S. This, of course, is reminiscent of the time Tom Ridge advised us to buy lots of duct tape to seal off every crack around our doors to keep out the terrorist's poison gas. This announcement by Leavitt is more of a "Wag the Dog" diversion to cover falling poll numbers and a burgeoning civil war in our favorite Mid East democracy.Should there actually be an imminent danger from H5N1, the political propaganda this White House foments may well be ignored the way the color-coded warnings of Homeland Security were.

Bush on Trial

Baby Dubya
A high school government class in Parsippany, NJ has been conducting a mock trial of President Bush for war crimes. Local politicos think the class may have gone too far with a student impersonator speaking the Pres' words.

Curious Hatred of Women

For all the talk of Bush haters that one hears on the internets, I'm anticipating a whole new kind of hatred when Hilary Clinton actually runs for President. Some of these Cable pundits really must feel that attacking the Clintons is really the bread-and-butter of their business.In reality, this is probably anti-woman paranoia for those types that simply could not stand to have a female in a position of power.

Yesterday, in an interview with John Boehner, Chris Matthews asked him not once, but three times, "Is Hillary Clinton a Socialist?" Totally meaningless and stupid. Heckuva job,Tweety.

Representative Murtha

Pardon me if I am totally impressed with Rep.John Murtha, and hear every word he says. His aim is true. On Face the Nation today he said this about the Bush War :

"The public is way ahead of what’s going on in Washington. They no longer believe it. The troops themselves, 70 percent of the troops said we want to come home within a year. The only solution to this is to redeploy. Let me tell you, the only people who want us in Iraq is Iran and al-Qaeda. I've talked to a top-level commander the other day, it was about two weeks ago, and he said China wants us there also. Why? Because we’re depleting our resources, our troop resources and our fiscal resources."

Redhedd at firedoglake explains it better than I could :

"Murtha comes across as not only very credible, but also as caring about the lives of our troops, the consequences of the horrible choices made by the Bush Administration, and as having some serious sources at high levels in the military who are having the same concerns. Perhaps because all of that is true -- you can really feel the anger on behalf of the nation and its men and women in uniform coming off Murtha in waves, can't you? Boo yah."

Rep. Murtha truly cares for our soldiers in a way that the thugs in the White House can't even conceive of. Murtha has the clout to express the public's anger with this useless, liar's war to the national media. The MSM doesn't often give anti-war liberals like Feingold or Kucinich a forum, but Murtha cuts through, clear and strong.

The Usual Suspects: Liberals on Television

Phil Donahue
Phil Donahue had what I considered the most liberal show on television a few years back on MSNBC. When BushCo started the latest Iraq War, Donahue's show was cancelled, even though he had the highest rated show on MSNBC. Certainly a gutless move, and certainly not a liberal policy by his network.

Bill Moyers
Bill Moyers has had a long history of fighting for liberal causes, which he did on his signature show Now with Bill Moyers on public television. When Bill took a well deserved retirement, it was the signal for a Republican appointee, Kenneth Tomlinson, to begin an intrusive, inneffectual inquisition of the CPB looking for liberal slant. Tomlinson has since been replaced because of his questionable practices.

David Brancaccio
Mr. Brancaccio has continued the Now program and continues to examine issues important to Liberals.Reporters like Mr. Brancaccio are called biased if they report at all on such news as Tom Delay's trial.

George Stephanopoulos
George does This Week with George Stephanopoulos every Sunday on ABC. He worked for and helped elect Bill Clinton, so the Right labels him a Liberal. However, my
observation has been that Mr. Stephanopoulos tries so hard to escape such labeling that he often lets Republican spin just go by without comment.

Alan Colmes
His heart is in a Liberal place, but Colmes is a laughinstock and an enabler for Hannity to dominate the discussion while pretending that theirs is an equitable exchange of viewpoints.

Keith Olbermann
Olbermann is probably the most liberal commentator on the air now (there are many to the right of him who have their own shows). An indicator of his effectiveness is that Bill O'Reilly has foisted a petition on the public to remove Keith.

Eleanor Clift
Other shows like The McLaughlin Group have liberal panelists like Clift or O'Donnell, but they are not by any means in control - they are often shouted down by McLaughlin, Blankely, or Buchanan. Fox actually has liberal Neal Gabler regularly on
Fox News Watch. Often the viewing audience is told that someone like Joe Klein will be the Liberal viewpoint, but this is simply false. Klein is likely to regurgitate the current Republican spin or somehow diminish or dilute valid opposition. Digby calls him "a useful Republican idiot." This is the state of the Liberal media on television as I see it. All in all, it's pretty sparse when you're looking for a real Liberal with some spine.