Blogging from the Left
Libby Trial: Was Scooter Set Up? Did Cheney Conspire?
Scooter Libby was thrown under the bus. No, Scooter Libby gave the bus driver false directions. On Thursday, the prosecution and the defense in the trial of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby spent much of the day clashing over evidentiary matters, but, as they battled, each side laid out its core theory...
2/2/2007
The Battle of Baghdad
If Tom Lasseter is to be believed -- and I think he is -- the junior officers leading our troops are not sanguine about our prospects in Baghdad. They think that Muqtada al-Sadr's militia has so thoroughly infiltrated the Iraqi army and police force that they're the ones who mostly benefit from our training ... You know, everything I've heard suggests that Gen. David Petraeus is a terrific officer in all respects. And yet, there's something that's been niggling in the back of my mind for a while: namely that in August 2004, when al-Sadr was hatching this plan, Petraeus was the guy in charge of creating and overseeing the training program for the Iraqi army and police. In other words, he was the guy who was being suckered. Now he's in charge of the whole operation. Is anybody else bothered by this?
2/2/2007
Double the Troops in "Surge"
President Bush and his new military chiefs have been saying for nearly a month that they would "surge" an additional 21,500 troops to Iraq, in a last, grand push to quell the violence in Baghdad and in Anbar Province. But a new study by the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office says the real troop increase could be as high as 48,000 -- more than double the number the President initially said.
2/1/2007
The War Power
What is clear is that all this legal tapdancing get us nowhere. To end the war, the Congress can do one of two things, or preferably both: it can repeal the Iraq AUMF, and/or it can refuse to fund the war. This sophistry from Democrats, politicians and legal scholars, does neither us nor our principles credit.
2/1/2007
Irony Is Not Dead Update
A big duh: “The fact is that income inequality is real -- it’s been rising for more than 25 years,” Bush said in an address on Wall Street. “The reason is clear: We have an economy that increasingly rewards education and skills because of that education.” Bush left out the part where inherited wealth and easy name-dropping dropped a fortune in his pocket several times over.... Bush may think he can rewrite history late in his term. His will be a legacy of not caring at all.
2/1/2007
Warner, Levin Agree To Oppose Escalation
Yahoo News: Two senators, a Republican and a Democrat, leading separate efforts to put Congress on record against President Bush's troop buildup in Iraq joined forces Wednesday, agreeing on a nonbinding resolution that would oppose the plan and potentially embarrass the White House. The pushback has begun. With this kind of bipartisan (albeit toothless) effort, it will be easier for other Republicans to join in and more difficult for the Bush Administration to dismiss it as partisanship.
2/1/2007
Plame: Did Bush Know?
Dick Cheney kept some notes - or at least, his staff missed shredding some of them when federal prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald started the investigation into who blew Plame’s cover and endangered or stopped some important work in progress. One of the notes has emerged in Libby’s trial, and on the face of it, the note seems to implicate knowledge on the part of the White House, if not George Bush himself. TruthOut breaks down Cheney’s note (and implications of the note) in an article.
2/1/2007
David Brooks, National Spokesman for "Americans"
One of the most common tactics among pundits of all types, but particularly Bush-supporting and pro-war pundits, is to take whatever their own personal opinion happens to be, and then -- rather than stating that opinion and providing rationale or documentation for it -- they instead preface it with the phrase "Americans believe" or "most Americans think," thereby anointing themselves as Spokesman for The American People.... David Brooks is one of the leading practitioners of this tactic
2/1/2007
Texas, you've lost the better part of your state
Molly Ivins has died. I'm surprised at how this affects me. She was a wonderful woman, wise and funny, and this is a great loss to the nation. Whenever I'm tempted to just write off the whole state of Texas (thanks to a few of its rather prominent representatives), I just remind myself, "Molly Ivins," and know that I'm being unfair. Kevin Hayden has put together a sweet tribute to Molly Ivins. We're all going to miss her.
2/1/2007
RedState.org's Guide To Defending Apartheid
Via Thers, I see that Paul J. Cella and Maximos--RedStaters who articulate Strom Thurmond's political views in prose that suggests that they think Josh Trevino could use a little more pomposity--have put forward a "reactionary catechism." Apparently, one central feature is that Jim Crow was a just social order.... [T]hese principles would logically require defending apartheid against the federal government's attempts to enforce the Constitution.
1/31/2007
It's ba-ack...
South Dakota is at it again. A new abortion ban bill is expected to be revealed today at the state Capitol--and this time around it will have exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the woman. (So generous, I know.): The only exception in that measure was to save the life of the mother, but Looby said she believed South Dakotans would not accept the new measure either. “I think the people of South Dakota want the government to stay out of this private, personal family matter,” she said. Let's hope so.
1/31/2007
The Prison Warden's Conscience Clause
This is an example of a situation where denying someone emergency contraception leaves the woman with no alternatives: Over the past 72 hours, a 21-year-old woman in Florida was raped, jailed on an outstanding warrant (for a 2003 juvenile arrest), and blocked from taking emergency contraception because a jail worker had "religious objections" to the medication. Jailing a victim right after a rape?
1/31/2007
POTUS plays chicken with reporters, tractor
Holly Bailey reports on a bizarre and troubling incident involving the president of the United States, the media, and heavy machinery: Does President Bush have it in for the press corps? Touring a Caterpillar factory in Peoria, Ill., the Commander in Chief got behind the wheel of a giant tractor and played chicken with a few wayward reporters.... If reporters scurried away from Bush’s tractor and didn’t report the incident, they would be taking self-censorship to a whole new level.
1/31/2007
Republicans fail to find pony, flee scene
What else would we expect: Republican strategy had envisioned a single resolution that would allow the party’s senators to express doubts about the plan without stating their outright opposition. Instead, Republicans appear to be balkanizing, with at least five GOP drafts now in play and more Republicans stating their reservations. “We’re all looking for a plan that will work,” said Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.). Good luck with that, Arlen.
1/31/2007
Right Wingers Rewrite History on Kyoto
The Kyoto Protocol provides a good example of the dishonesty of the right wing media and blogosphere. John Kerry raised the Bush administration’s rejection of Kyoto at Davos.... Many conservative blogs, such as Blue Crab Boulevard, tried to attack Kerry by falsely claiming he voted against Kyoto in the Senate when in fact it was George Bush who was responsible for the rejection. The right wing media made the same false claims.
1/31/2007
Blogging from the Right
The Taliban Man effect?
The Yale Daily News reports that applications to Yale have fallen ten percent. The article includes several hypotheses for the drop, including something like random variation. No one proposes that last year's bombshell -- the news that Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi, former deputy foreign secretary of the Taliban, is now a student at Yale -- has anything to do with the drop in applications, or draws the inference that there might be a reaction to Yale's administration being a tad out of touch. But it is at least as plausible as some of the other hypotheses on offer in the YDN article.
2/2/2007
NIE on Iraq puts burden for progress on Iraqis
This most recent NIE, if it does nothing else, will, I hope, disabuse those who are inclined to believe that the application of military power alone by America can do much to solve the long term, systemic political problems that keep the insurgency going. At this point, we can do little more than act as a buffer between Shia extremists who seek revenge and Sunnis who are being hunted down and killed by both regular and irregular forces. For this reason alone, our continued presence in Iraq is well worth the effort.
2/2/2007
Time to Purge
If there was ever a good time to consider purging elements of the Iraqi government that many see as being "in bed" with al-Sadr's militia and Iran, this might qualify: Two senior Iraqi generals are being questioned in connection with last week's attack in Karbala that left five U.S. soldiers dead, Pentagon officials told FOX News Thursday.... Should al-Maliki fail here, his government stands to lose trust already wearing thin.
2/1/2007
The Grey Lady Speaks
The New York Times once again puts its bizarre worldview on display this morning, wagging its bony finger at the White House: Mr. Bush is at it again, this time trying to bully Iran. Poor Iran! The 98 pound weakling of the global community, having sand kicked in its face by the bullying Bush administration! If you really want insight into this editorial, be sure to check out the always superb Jules Crittenden’s critique of it.
2/1/2007
You Wetback Whore!
Well, I added the wetback part, but the continuing saga of Democrat insensitivity to race and gender continues: Rep. Loretta Sanchez has quit the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, accusing the chairman, Rep. Joe Baca, of telling people she's a "whore." Baca denied the charge.... Now, in all fairness, hottie Sanchez (being a Democrat) also lies through her teeth and steals elections.
2/1/2007
Defeatocrats
I would call them gutless cowards, but they might mistake it for a compliment: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) went further, publicly hinting she will push binding legislation that would begin bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq. “I believe that you’ll see initiatives on the floor to this effect: that we have this year in which we should be able to drastically reduce the number of troops." Little known fact: “pelosi” is an Arabic word meaning “victory.”
2/1/2007
Chirac Takes the Gas Pipe
What was he doing all thse many months (years even ) with Condi, Bolton, the EU, the UNSC?It was bullshit all along. He can kill himself and his people, but must we go down with him? Chirac Unfazed by Nuclear Iran, Then Backtracks: Chirac said this week that if Iran had one or two nuclear weapons, it would not pose a big danger, and that if Iran were to launch a nuclear weapon against a country like Israel, it would lead to the immediate destruction of Tehran. What abig [sic] pussy.
2/1/2007
A hearty F*** You to William Arkin
Wow, William Arkin has just dropped a stellar entry in the biggest asshole in America contest. I was stunned by the incredible amount of disgusting, deranged, disrespectful drivel the wanker was able to cobble together in one hearty F U to the troops. Well Mr. Arkin in true blogospheric fashion F U right back atcha'. Ymarkasar, who could explain his handle, already whacked him around pretty good in the comments to Matt's post.
2/1/2007
Molly Ivins, RIP
It's hard for me to know what to say about this.... I always liked her Texas attitude--I am a fellow Texan after all--and I tend to like ballsy women. Even if they are faux-liberals like Molly. But it's hard to think of any major political commentator of the last few decades who's been more shallow and spiteful, except maybe Michael Savage or Paul Krugman or Ann Coulter or Maureen Dowd.... She also had a tough life in a lot of ways, usually undeservedly so, which probably fed a lot of the anger that so obviously fueled most of her work.
2/1/2007
News Flash - Liberals Grounded In Reality
This is all I need to hear to know that I would never vote for this guy: “The arguments of liberals are more often grounded in reason and fact.” Umm, yeah. Right. Uh huh. If you can take all of the unhinged rhetoric coming from the political left since 1992 and still not temper this statement in the least - you aren’t grounded in reality. A six-pack of Sierra Nevada to the person who comes up with the most examples of liberals not being grounded in reason and fact. Hint: Start over at DailyKos then go to HuffPo.
1/31/2007
Not Dead Yet
The Miami Herald is reporting that Hugo Chavez popped in for an unannounced visit with his good buddy, ailing octogenarian tyrant Fidel Castro. Cuban state television released video of the two men greeting each other, which the Herald described this way: He [Castro] mumbled some of his words and seemed to gasp for air between sentences, and overall appeared frail and still ailing. Looks like the party is going to have to wait.
1/31/2007
"In all probability, the Iranian government is knowingly killing U.S. troops"
Maybe this will help persuade liberals and their pals in the media that it's at least possible that Iran has something to do with the violence in Iraq: "I think the evidence is strong that the Iranian government is making these IEDs, and the Iranian government is sending them across the border and they are killing U.S. troops once they get there," says Richard Clarke, former White House counterterrorism chief and an ABC News consultant.
1/31/2007
What about the steel tariffs?
Bush Seeks Less Money for Farm Programs: Plowing into the sensitive political debate over farm policy, the Bush administration is proposing to lift spending on conservation initiatives but trim the commodity subsidies that support farm production. The plan, to be unveiled today by Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns, is designed to pull agriculture spending $10 billion below the controversial farm program adopted in 2002... The more market-oriented program will undoubtedly spark sharp debate in the Democratic-led Congress.
1/31/2007
The Global Warming "Debate"
As I've been saying for about ten years now - if the world is warming and if human agency is the cause, then the proposed solutions won't fix the problem. You see, even if we grant that global warming is caused directly by greedy Americans - on purpose because Haliburton has a plan to sell us all gas-guzzling air conditioners - no one is actually proposing a solution to the problem. There are proposals to gut America's economy.
1/31/2007
An Important Statement On Congressional Sentiment
The New York Times' story on the Senate's dance of the resolutions throws the paper behind John McCain's and Lindsey Graham's "Gang of 14," er, "benchmarks" draft in an attempt to leave the impression that the McCain resolution is the one favored by people serious about victory. It isn't, of course.... "Benchmarks" is Senate code for "we are out of here" later rather than sooner.
1/31/2007