No Faith in Feith

An Article by Spencer Ackerman of The Guardian:

No Faith in Feith

An official report has found that Douglas J Feith, a key neoconservative intellectual, cooked the intelligence linking Saddam Hussein to al-Qaida.

Unless he had a dentist's appointment late this afternoon, it would be hard for Douglas J Feith to have had a worse Friday. Already, one of the first neoconservative officials to have been jettisoned in the second Bush administration, the former undersecretary of defense for policy - the number three position in the Pentagon - just had his legacy torn apart by an official investigation by the Defense Department's inspector general. The long-awaited report, released Friday morning, found that a unit set up in Feith's bureau known as the Office of Special Plans engaged in "inappropriate" intelligence work on the case for war with Iraq.

The Office of Special Plans (OSP) is a murky thing, and, in Washington as well as on the internet, it's taken on a life of its own. Feith has been right to complain that entire conspiracy theories have sprung up around it - like, according to some perfervid views, the claim that the OSP's work was an effort to invade Iraq on behalf of Israel. The inspector general's office didn't dignify that with a response, but it did confirm, in broad outline, much of what has appeared in investigative reports: that Feith's office "developed, produced, and then disseminated alternative intelligence assessments on the Iraq and al-Qaida relationship, which included some conclusions that were inconsistent with the consensus of the intelligence community, to senior decision-makers."

These alternative assessments, developed in late 2001 and 2002, went far beyond the available evidence to assert a connection between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Feith's office further suggested that the intelligence community - which, by and large, didn't put much stock in the idea of cooperation between Iraq and al-Qaida - was hopelessly myopic. And that, in turn, served an important bureaucratic purpose: crowding out competitors. For instance, Feith's intelligence analysts presented a briefing on their exaggerated findings to then CIA director George Tenet in August of 2002, in order to delay a CIA assessment on the issue that they considered insufficiently hawkish. Tenet later told a Senate panel that he "didn't see anything that broke any new ground for me" in Feith's briefing. But the next month, the OSP analysts took their findings to the White House, and included in their briefing a section that contended there were "Fundamental Problems With How (the Intelligence Community) Is Assessing Information." The OSP's analysis was established as the one worth trusting.

The inspector general found that the OSP "inappropriately" pressed a case to senior Bush administration officials - a case that purported to be an intelligence assessment, yet "did not clearly show the variance with the consensus of the intelligence community". In what is quite a significant understatement, the report says the result was that the OSP "did not provide 'the most accurate analysis of intelligence' to senior decision-makers". And how: in September of 2002, President Bush boldly stated that "you can't distinguish between al-Qaida and Saddam when you talk about the war on terror." When the Downing Street Memo warned of "intelligence and facts" being "fixed around the policy" to invade Iraq, it had this sort of thing in mind.

Neither Feith nor the Pentagon took inspector general's report lying down. Feith put out a statement calling the charges of impropriety "absurd", and tried to turn the issue into a question of whether or not policymakers are to be forced to blindly accept shoddy intelligence work. His successor at the Pentagon prepared a 50-plus page rebuttal to the inspector general that challenged nearly everything that could be challenged in the report - including the inspector general's fitness to evaluate the question. Bizarre as the rebuttal may appear, it serves an obvious purpose: to let conservatives pretend that the propriety of the OSP is still an open question. If this is Feith's best defense, things don't look good for his reputation.

Perhaps the only promising note the inspector general offered is that the OSP didn't do anything illegal. Yet the Democratic chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, Jay Rockefeller, has vowed to investigate whether the OSP in fact broke the law by performing intelligence work without Senate notification. Indeed, the report won't be the last word on Feith's office and prewar intelligence: Rockefeller had been waiting on the inspector general before moving forward with a long-delayed inquiry as to how the Bush administration used Iraq intelligence in presenting its case for war. For Feith, it's enough to make a root canal seem pleasant by comparison.

I think this would be bigger news, but Anna Nicole Smith died, and apparently in the media she is more important than the reason 3100+ Americans died.

Attack of the 'Christofascists'

Edwards has received a lot of flack for his recent hiring, firing, then re-hiring of the two bloggers who "ranked" on Catholics about Reproductive rights.

Although it is a poor decision to hire anyone with a questionable and fully locatable history, the real issue is best described by Eric Alterman from The Guardian. He explains that the issue's biggest problem is not the bloggers, but the person who is speaking against Edwards:

The [main stream media] coverage has completely ignored the elephant in the middle of the room, an elephant which has - appropriately in my view - been the focus of blogosphere coverage: that is, the identity of the accusers. The truth is that the reporters covering the story really have absolutely no idea whether Catholics care at all about what a couple of Edwards bloggers said on their personal blogs before they were hired and which clearly, Edwards would never have approved. As a lazy substitute, they have instead allowed the rightwing huckster William Donohue of something called "the Catholic League" to speak for all Catholics.

This is not only lazy; it is journalistically irresponsible. There's no evidence anywhere that Mr. Donohue speaks for Catholics other than himself - which is a good thing, because the man is a raving anti-Semitic lunatic. Don't take my word for it. Here (as posted on my own blog earlier this week) is Donohue, making one of his 23 appearances on cable TV in 2004, and explaining to Scarborough Country guest host Patrick J. Buchanan, that " Hollywood is controlled by secular Jews who hate Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular. It's not a secret, OK? And I'm not afraid to say it. ... Hollywood likes anal sex. They like to see the public square without nativity scenes. I like families. I like children. They like abortions." When a rabbi asked Donohue to please "stop the anti-Semitic garbage, OK?" He replied "Who's making the movies? The Irishmen?... So the Catholics are running Hollywood, huh? ... They're not Rastafarians. They're Jews....You're going to tell me that the Chinese don't live in Chinatown, right?" My sponsors at Media Matters have compiled a list - by no means exhaustive - not only of Donohue's various offenses against common decency but also of uncovered offensive remarks by McCain bloggers that have gone all but unreported in the MSM. You can find that here.

If you look at the link provided, John McCain hired conservative blogger Patrick Hynes with absolutely no media outburst. Patrick Hynes (whose email is patjhynes@msn.com) is a known conservative commentator who constantly blasts Democrats in loud, propagandic [sic] ways on websites like townhall.com and anklebitingpundits.com, including referring to Hillary Clinton as a "Pro-Saddam Democrat."

That's why there is no liberal media bias. There is only right-wing bias and reality, the latter heavily leaning liberal.

George Bush Pet Toys - Also Karl Rover, His Lap Dog

I bought my puppy this. It's a political pet toy of the "President." Like the president, it squeeks loudly and angers dogs. I turned on The Daily Show and they showed a clip of Bush speaking, and Demo (my puppy) ran immediately towards the Bush toy and began biting it vigorously. I didn't need to train him. That should say something.

This week, I'd like to see people start contributing to the anti-republican presidential poetry. Click on the link on the top of this page and add your poem to the collection. If it is really good, I'll feature it on the front page here with a link to your blog. If it is terrible, I probably still will, provided it fits the guidelines.

Who Searches for Me?

Someone searched for "Saudi Arabia White Concubines" on google. I don't know which is weirder: That someone searched for it or that somehow they got to my site.

If A Tree Falls in the Forest, and No One's There to Hear it, How Does Ann Coulter Blame the Liberals?

I thought I'd write a post dedicated to the dense, maggot-like intelligence of the first truly insane Neoconservative of the 21st century.

My Grandpa, if he were still alive, would have said to her "You know why your eyes are brown? Because you're full of sh*t."

I'm pretty sure her eyes are actually green (something that would not have phased my grandfather from saying the preceding sentence), but we don't really know what kind of waste expels from a 6 foot tall bacteria.

Some notable Coulter Quotes, courtesy of The Washington Monthly along with my notes in bold:

"God gave us the earth. We have dominion over the plants, the animals, the trees. God said, 'Earth is yours. Take it. Rape it. It's yours.'"---Hannity & Colmes, 6/20/01

To a disabled Vietnam vet: "People like you caused us to lose that war."---MSNBC

On Princess Diana's death: "Her children knew she's sleeping with all these men. That just seems to me, it's the definition of 'not a good mother.' ... Is everyone just saying here that it's okay to ostentatiously have premarital sex in front of your children?"..."[Diana is] an ordinary and pathetic and confessional - I've never had bulimia! I've never had an affair! I've never had a divorce! So I don't think she's better than I am."---MSNBC 9/12/97 (Note from Librocrat: Never been Married either, and if you are true to your religion, you've never had sex. But I don't think that was your decision. I think that was the collective decision of all men that breathe)

"I think there should be a literacy test and a poll tax for people to vote."---Hannity & Colmes, 8/17/99 (Note From Librocrat: I thought she wanted more Republican Voters)

"I think [women] should be armed but should not [be allowed to] vote."---Politically Incorrect, 2/26/01

"We're now at the point that it's beyond whether or not this guy is a horny hick. I really think it's a question of his mental stability. He really could be a lunatic. I think it is a rational question for Americans to ask whether their president is insane."---Equal Time (Note: I agree)

"Clinton is in love with the erect penis."---This Evening with Judith Regan, Fox News Channel 2/6/00 (Note: Sadly, the erect penis is not in love with you)

"I think we had enough laws about the turn-of-the-century. We don't need any more." Asked how far back would she go to repeal laws, she replied, "Well, before the New Deal...[The Emancipation Proclamation] would be a good start."---Politically Incorrect 5/7/97

"If those kids had been carrying guns they would have gunned down this one [child] gunman. ... Don't pray. Learn to use guns."---Politically Incorrect, 12/18/97

"The presumption of innocence only means you don't go right to jail."---Hannity & Colmes 8/24/01

"Originally, I was the only female with long blonde hair. Now, they all have long blonde hair."---CapitolHillBlue.com 6/6/00 (Note: Did you invent the Internet too?)

"I am emboldened by my looks to say things Republican men wouldn't."---TV Guide 8/97 (Note: Your looks are definitely bold, one would say even "vomitous")

"Let's say I go out every night, I meet a guy and have sex with him. Good for me. I'm not married."---Rivera Live 6/7/00

"Anorexics never have boyfriends. ... That's one way to know you don't have anorexia, if you have a boyfriend."---Politically Incorrect 7/21/97

"I think [Whitewater]'s going to prevent the First Lady from running for Senate."---Rivera Live 3/12/99

"My track record is pretty good on predictions."---Rivera Live 12/8/98

On Rep. Christopher Shays (d-CT) in deciding whether to run against him as a Libertarian candidate: "I really want to hurt him. I want him to feel pain."---Hartford Courant 6/25/99

"The swing voters---I like to refer to them as the idiot voters because they don't have set philosophical principles. You're either a liberal or you're a conservative if you have an IQ above a toaster. "---Beyond the News, Fox News Channel, 6/4/00

"You want to be careful not to become just a blowhard."---Washington Post 10/16/98

-----

My letter to Coulter:

Dear Ann,

SHUT UP

Sincerely,
Everyone
-----------------------

This post is open for your comments/letters/rants. If her email address is anything like the others, her email address should be acoulter@uexpress.com, and you can send her any email you like yourself.

It's a Strange World

The Palestinians may have come to an agreement for their country, Libby is closer and closer to prison, the French President may not run for a 3rd term, and the news that shocks me the most is that Anna Nicole Smith, the intellectual equivelent to George W. Bush, died today at 39 years old.

Tell you what, I'm not going to use TrimSpa.

Read More at the New York Times.

Gay Obituaries

Here Lies Ted Haggard's Gay. 11/02/2006 - 02/06/2007. Dead at 2 months old.
Rest In Peace.

That's a Bad President. Bad! Get in your Cage.

Yesterday the Senate Republicans picked up where they left off as the majority: By doing absolutely nothing.

Republicans blocked debate on a non-binding resolution over the "President's" Iraq policy. For those who don't know, a non-binding resolution is the political equivalent to a harsh wagging of the finger and the phrase "you're in a serious time out mister" only to give the child candy because his face turns red and you feel bad. But still the debate could have opened doors towards a more binding resolution (like, say, one that binds) and eventually put enough pressure on the "President" to change the Iraq strategy to something that may, in fact, work.

Originally the resolution was drafted with bipartisanship by Senators John Warner (R-VA) and Carl Levin (D-MI), and although it was not necessarily expected to receive the 60 votes necessary to pass the resolution, it was at least opening the floor to a spirited debate that could set the tone for the country and possibly the war. But just as guests on Jerry Springer flip off the audience and scream bratty obscenities and the phrase "you don't know me, I'll do what I want," so did the Republicans, as even John Warner voted against the debate for the plan he himself helped create.

From the New York Times:

Republicans had laid a bit of a trap for Democrats, seeking a 60-vote threshold for competing resolutions on the war. They knew that the bipartisan plan by Senators John W. Warner, Republican of Virginia, and Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan, did not have 60 votes. But the plan calling for no reductions in spending, written by Senator Judd Gregg, Republican of New Hampshire, was likely to get at least 60, meaning the only resolution that would have passed would have been one that essentially backed the president.

And since there will be no backing of the "President" with the Democratic congress, the debate on whether to have the debate about the/a resolution was killed.

So way to not do anything again Republicans. Way to not make headway and pretend everything is going to be okay. Way to waste yet another day while our soldiers die in Iraq. Way to be.

"It is understandable that neither the US nor the British governments should want a debate on the failing war. But there is something wrong with a democracy in which congressmen want to hold the debate, one the American public desperately want to hear, and yet are blocked for narrow political reasons.

...

There are few more important issues confronting the US today - citizens of another country being killed in large numbers as well as their own troops - and it is shameful that America is denied, and denies itself, this debate."

--Ewen Macaskill

Why Size Does Matter - Article by Ilana Bet El

From the Guardian:

Why size does matter

by Ilana Bet El

The US defence budget was already bloated; now, it is obese. And that's not healthy for America - or for the world.

There are sums of money that are obscene: sometimes, it is the actual sum, especially if it is very large or small; sometimes, it is the purpose, especially if it is socially unacceptable; sometimes, it is the disproportion between the sum and the purpose; and sometimes, it is a combination of all three. The US defence budget now tabled by President George W Bush falls into the latter category.

Totalling US$623bn, it is an obscene amount - which sounds only slightly better in euros or sterling, given the weak dollar: €481.6bn, or £316.47bn. This is not only larger than any other defence budget in the world, or indeed, nearly all other national defence budgets combined; it is actually larger than most overall national budgets, including those of the developed world. One analyst reckoned it would be the 17th biggest, just behind the Dutch national budget.

To be absolutely accurate, the actual defence budget requested is US$481.4 billion (€372.18bn; £244.55bn), which, in itself, is an 11% increase over last year. The balance of the request is in emergency funding for the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2007-08, and for counter-terrorism needs.

However, whichever way you look at the figures, they give cause for alarm, for five main reasons. First, because spending such a huge amount of money on troops and materiel for conflict in a world still suffering from hunger, deprivation and disease in various quarters, simply jars. One does not need to be a card-carrying member of a pacifist NGO to feel this to be properly obscene. Nor does one need to raise the spectre of Aids ravaging Africa when apparently 40% of US citizens have no medical insurance.

This leads to the second point, which is that such disproportion must be dangerous to the very fabric of US society. For, even in a country based upon a contract of winner takes all - the "American Dream" - there is a need to keep a more equitable balance between internal and external spending. This is especially true in a period in which many middle- and lower-class Americans are already disenchanted with globalisation, for fear of losing jobs and production to cheaper locations. Moreover, given the immense US national deficit (currently US$244bn, or €188.6bn/£123.93bn), the mega defence budget is effectively being financed by these same competitors in the guise of China, Japan and other international creditors. This situation cannot be sustainable over time - neither in the US social sphere, nor in the international economic one.

The third reason for alarm at this budget is that, in many ways, it suggests throwing good money after bad. Put more bluntly: money and spending are not proof of being the global superpower. Given the US military is taking a beating in Iraq and has yet to resolve its conflict in Afghanistan, we can ask: is it really the most powerful in the world? If North Korea can announce it has gone nuclear (though the assertion is yet to be proven), while over 20,000 US troops are stationed on its border, and Iran can continue to taunt the world with its nuclear intents as nearly 150,000 US troops are positioned in neighbouring Iraq, what value is there to supreme military power?

Read More...

A List of Republicans that Molested Children

Also from GLH:

A comprehensive list of Republican politicians and activists who have molested children. http://www.armchairsubversive.com/

I didn't know REPUBLICAN was an Acronym for:

Racist
Evangelicals
Purport
Uprightness
But
Lure
Innocent
Children
At
Night

I welcome your alternate acronyms.

Church Signs

Dear Ann Coulter - Shut the F*ck Up. Love, God.

Church Apologizes for Voting for Bush

Free Prostate Exams

Thanks to GLH for link to these signs

The Aftermath of Operation Iraqi Liberation

From The Guardian

New GM Commercial Kills People

Why do the commercials keep getting interrupted by a football game?

A new General Motors Commercial that played during Superbowl XLI may be responsible for the deaths of many Americans. The commercial, made by a company called "SWAY Studios," stars a little robotic arm that drops a bolt at the GM manufacturing plant. The robot is immediately fired, and leaves the plant sad and alone, attempting to find another line of work that he, as a robot, can do well (he works as the voice box for a fast food drive through, among others). All the while, nice, clean GM cars drive by. Finally, the robot, still alone, is deeply depressed and jumps off a bridge to his death. He then wakes up and realizes it was all a dream.

While this commercial may seem like the standard Super Bowl ad, it represents a gross negligence of the General Motor corporation. Research suggests that depictions of suicide on television greatly increase the rate of suicides in the population. This research (article examples can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) says that although the average person sees a TV show, News Report, or commercial on suicide and can be entertained, saddened, or even laugh, a disturbed person sees the same suicide and finds it attractive.

This may seem foolish and misguided (watching the commercial does not make one suicidal, so you're probably okay), consider this: 90 million Americans watch the Superbowl. If the research above is correct (which we will always assume it is), that means that 90 million people watched a robot jump off a bridge, and chances are that many disturbed individuals tuned in as well.

Even if it only affects 1 person, that one individual's death is the result of ignorant, blatant irresponsibility on the part of General Motors, and they should be held accountable.

Political Penis Jokes

This is a continuation of my Gripes list. Click to view posts 1-13 and 14-24.

25) Chuck Norris - Wow, you made a "B" rate TV show and now you're a NeoCon advocate. Congratulations, you're in the company of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Kelsey Grammer, Bo Derek, Ben Stein and Shannon Doherty. You must be swelling with pride. You don't even have your own show, You FILLED IN for Sean Hannity. That makes you like the dung of the dung beetle.
26) Dick Cheney - You are Satan. You are wrong about everything. You started the Iraq war, and you are the reason nothing goes right ever. The only thing that would make you more of the anti-Christ is if you shot your friend in the face. Oh, SNAP!
27) Robert Novak - I'm not that angry with you. I'm just impressed that somehow your parents managed to teach a giant penis how to talk. Way to be.
28) Paris Hilton - So... How you doin'? Why, again, does a person store sex video tapes of themselves?
29) Mary Cheney - Somewhere in heaven, a little lesbian fairy is really, really pissed off at you for doing absolutely nothing while your father ruins the lives of everyone like you.
30) Dinesh D'Souza - I'm wondering, after you apparently purposely dated Ann Coulter, did your penis shrivel up and die like the wicked witch of the east? Like salt on a slug? Like dehydrated grapes? You chose to date her. You're no longer allowed to make decisions.
31) Abraham Lincoln - That's right, you're not beyond my wrath. Because you freed the slaves some 150 years ago, Republicans use your name as their way of insisting that they are not racist. Please come back to life and explain to them that "conservative" and "Republican" are not synonymous.
32) People who make racist statements because they know a minority - Listen, dude, just because you "have a gay friend" doesn't mean it's okay to make a homophobic epithets. Stop using your one friend that you think you grace with your friendship (though who, in actuality, probably doesn't like you much) as your way of justifying your incredibly bigoted remarks. Congratulations, you know a minority. Shut the hell up.
33) Alex Rodriguez - I didn't like you when you were a rookie, I didn't like you as you became famous, I don't like you now. Your being a Republican only makes me feel more justified. the only thing lower than my opinion of you is your September batting average. Way to sell out.
34) Glenn Beck - ...... SHUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTT UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUP.
35) Peyton Manning - Listen, the only reason I was rooting for you tomorrow in the Super Bowl is because you throw well. But believe me, when I found out you were a Republican, it sucked a lot of the fun out of it. Go Bears.
36) Joe Scarborough - I don't mind you, especially because in your entire life you have only donated money to Democratic candidates. But you really need to stop making your show a "Best of" clip show of the Colbert Report and The Daily Show. You're supposed to be the conservative. Represent.
37) Rudy Giuliani - You were a mayor. All you did was run a large city - poorly - hate the homeless, and happened to be in charge during one of the worst events in America's history. Way to milk a horrible tragedy for your own personal gain. Question: Does anyone actually want a president who couldn't decide whether or not to run, because he wasn't sure whether he'd rather pursue his business ventures? No?
38) The Man from Nantucket - I once met you. You never call anymore.
39) Movies about 9/11 - It's been 5 years. Stop capitalizing on other people's emotions.
40) Geraldo Rivera - Where are you? Oh, that's right. You're at large. First your brain and then you.
41) Conrad Burns - So... How is Bush's super secret plan that he totally has going? Good?

I'm running out of rants for today. More soon.

Bush Cartoons, Courtesy of The Guardian

Thanks to Steve Bell, and Martin Rowson, cartoonists at the Guardian for accurately depicting how incredibly lame our "President" is.