Headlines - Tuesday

 

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The first baby rhinoceros born in Uganda in almost 30 years has been named Obama.

 

Meanwhile, the Obama admin. adopts Bush policy on state secrets in brief to Supreme Court, and his CIA Director Leon Panetta is energetically engaged in trying to vigorously sweep the CIA's war crimes under the rug.

One of the saddest outcomes of the Bush/Cheney War on Terror the Constitution has been the blatant rise of the supra-legal police state mentality, the attitude of "we have the badges, we have the guns, whatever we do is legal and who do you think you are to question us". There has been elements of this going on for a very long time; you see it in the cops who take the view that "nobody but another cop can understand what we do" and who are perennially resistant to the ideas of civilian oversight and accountability for their actions.

Dick Cheney and his ghoulish assistant, David Addington (the two premier chickenhawks of the last administration) brought that mindset to the entire Federal government. If a huge majority of the American people disagreed with what they did, their reaction was "So?". Torture is illegal? So what, they just got some mouthpieces to sign opinion letters saying that torture was not torture.

Very few countries hold their war criminals accountable. Normally it takes massive regime change or a peaceful change of power tantamount to a revolution, as in South Africa. Usually the accountability has to come from the outside, with other nations indicting and convicting the war criminals. We have done the same, witness the conviction of Chuckie Taylor on charges of torture. But we will not do the same for our own torturers, not unless the fix is in and our government can be assured that nobody higher than an E-5 or GS-4 will be tried for it.

No, we are no different from the other nations that have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity. We are no different from Burma, Chile, Argentina, Peru, China, Cambodia, Russia, or any of the other slew of nations in the last few decades which tortured people and then tried to sweep it under the rug forever.

So much for "the rule of law".

And so much for "change you can believe in".

And I agree with what Wisco says too.

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Dorothy Parker once said:

If you want to know what God thinks of money, just look at the people he gave it to.

I mention this because FAIR has a great post up on "class warfare" — it seems that it only means the have nots attacking the have mores. I think our history shows that the have mores are winning this war.

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"He is Michael Jordan playing on a bad team. There's nobody he can pass the ball to." Bill Maher, about Obama and Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi

 

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"We are at war and Barack Obama is talking about beer in the White House. And it is wrong. It is not what our country is about." RNC Co-Chairman Jan Larimer, showing why the GOP is at their lowest in 25 years, Link  

Ha ha

Remember when Jenna Bush was caught breaking the liquor laws?

The GOP said "Drinking is as American as apple pie and everybody broke the law in college."

But when an adult has a beer with three "friends" they howl like they're caught in a tractor's nuts.

Keep it up, you crazy Republicunts.
I can't wait to see what 75 Democratic senators looks like. 

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Halliburton Killed Soldiers
The Inspector General's Report says so  Link

Excerpt:
KBR has repeatedly denied any responsibility for what happened to Sgt. Maseth and other soldiers who were shocked and electrocuted in Iraq. This report makes it impossible for them to do that any longer," Dorgan added. "Instead of cutting corners and issuing denials, KBR needs to get very serious, very quickly about doing quality work that protects soldiers rather than endangering them."

The report says KBR failed to ground a water pump where Sgt. Maseth was stationed, and Army supervisors failed to set baseline standards, inspect negligent work, or hold anyone accountable for shoddy work product - and even for deaths of its own servicepeople - until forced to do so by a public shaming.  

That's because Cheney's goons weren't there to support America and be patriotic. No, they were there to steal money with secret, no-bid, no-performance contracts.

They could make more money doing shoddy work than doing acceptable work. And if a few soldiers have to die, well, the Halliburton stockholders need to make a profit.

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Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of troops in Afghanistan, has reportedly "suggested a dramatic increase in troops — 4 to 6 brigades during 2010. That's equivalent to anywhere from 12,000 to 27,000 additional troops deployed to Afghanistan next year." The increase is in addition "to the more than 20,000 troops already approved by President Obama."

Sad fact: Violence in Afghanistan has been on the uptick lately as July became the deadliest month for U.S. and coalition forces since the war began in late 2001. And just yesterday, insurgents there killed 9 U.S. and NATO troops in roadside bomb and sniper attacks.

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"I've never seen anything quite like it." McCain, on the "vicious attacks" Sarah Palin has had to "suffer." Link  

I guess McCain was sleeping from 1993-2001.

Did the feds spend $100M trying to bring Palin down?
Did the media create entire networks just to tell lies about the Palins?
Did Ken Starr (R-Hardon) send FBI agents to ruffle thru Palin's underwear drawer?
Did 700 FBI agents go to Alaska and comb thru the trailer parks looking for bimbos while saying "We don't have enough agents to check the reports that Saudis were taking flying lesson but aren't concerned about how to land the plane?" 

No John, we've never seen anything like the "vicious attacks" Sarah Palin has had to "suffer."

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The Dems have a lot of excuses when it comes to their level of fail. This one, in particular, chaps my ass. The Great Orange Satan:

Democrats have a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the Senate, meaning they should be able to push through the Democratic agenda without interference from an irrelevant Republican minority. Except that it's the Democrats we're talking about, and there's always an excuse why they can't do the right thing.

Now it's that they really only have 58 votes.

You see, Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd are too sick to show up! Both have been wheeled in for key votes in recent months, and one thinks the same could be done for key health care votes, but they have become the newest excuse for Democratic impotence in the Senate.
Markos ponders: when is 60 not 60? When it's 58.

 

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So many useful idiots

 

The health insurance industry has co-opted the tea-baggers as a bunch of useful dupes to do their dirty work. They are being organized and funded by the same despicable rich fuckers who funded the Swift Boaters.

They are a pack of fascists, using the same tactics as fascists have used for decades to try and quash the democratic process. And like every fascist party since the dawn of the 20th Century, they are funded by the wealthy who seek to destroy any power of the workers.

They are, to put it bluntly: Despicable.  

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Four-way cheater caught, stripped, bound, penis crazy-glued. 
Hell hath no fury…

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After Birthers produce fake Obama Kenya birth certificate

Well, the Birthers have sort of painted themselves into another corner (how many does that room have, anyway?), and their head nut case, Orly Taitz — Attorney, Dentist, and Real Estate Broker — is submitting the Kenya Birth Certificate above as evidence in her class action lawsuit in which she claims Obama is Kenyan, and not President of the US because he is not a natural born citizen.

The Washington Independent debunks the document as a fraud, but the comments on this are absolutely worth a gander.

When Dan Rather tried to report on Awol McAsshole's desertion during the Vietnam war he was drummed out of the business. But these loons get more and more coverage to air their insanity.

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If anybody can save two comely female journalists from the horrors of North Korean labor camps, it's Bill Clinton. New York Times

Next, he will rescue the postal service and cure rickets.

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Greg Craig in trouble....but for what?

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/08/03/greg-craig-in-trouble-but-for-what/

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McCain is a clunker, can I trade him in?

John Sidney McCain III, the blue blooded husband of a beer heiress, has decided he will be the Republican face of opposition to continuance of the wildly successful Cash For Clunkers program. The man who cannot remember how many houses he owns is going to kill the program helping regular people put a decent and efficient new car in front of their humble middle class homes: http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/08/03/mccain-is-a-clunker-can-i-trade-him-in/

He also simply will not vote for the Mexican Supreme Court lady.