Army Puts a Chokehold On Military Blogs

The Army makes a move that could effectively shut down the military Blogosphere:

Army Regulation 530--1: Operations Security (OPSEC) (.pdf) restricts more than just blogs, however. Previous editions of the rules asked Army personnel to "consult with their immediate supervisor" before posting a document "that might contain sensitive and/or critical information in a public forum." The new version, in contrast, requires "an OPSEC review prior to publishing" anything -- from "web log (blog) postings" to comments on internet message boards, from resumes to letters home.

Failure to do so, the document adds, could result in a court-martial, or "administrative, disciplinary, contractual, or criminal action."

Despite the absolutist language, the guidelines' author, Major Ray Ceralde, said there is some leeway in enforcement of the rules. "It is not practical to check all communication, especially private communication," he noted in an e-mail. "Some units may require that soldiers register their blog with the unit for identification purposes with occasional spot checks after an initial review. Other units may require a review before every posting."

But with the regulations drawn so tightly, "many commanders will feel like they have no choice but to forbid their soldiers from blogging -- or even using e-mail," said Jeff Nuding, who won the bronze star for his service in Iraq. "If I'm a commander, and think that any slip-up gets me screwed, I'm making it easy: No blogs," added Nuding, writer of the "pro-victory" Dadmanly site. "I think this means the end of my blogging."

Active-duty troops aren't the only ones affected by the new guidelines. Civilians working for the military, Army contractors -- even soldiers' families -- are all subject to the directive as well.

There won't be much interesting coming out of the MilBlogs any longer if it all has to be Pentagon/White House approved propaganda...

Feingold Won't Back Down

Senator Russ Feingold, showing he has a spine, writes over at HuffPo:

After the Veto

The ink on the President's veto is barely dry, and already, a lot of Washington insiders - including some Democrats -- are saying Congress should just give in to the President. Never mind how hard people have pushed to bring Congress to this point, when we are finally standing up to the President's disastrous Iraq policy -- they want to give up on the binding language in the bill requiring the President to begin redeploying troops from Iraq.

But that's just letting the President have his way all over again. That's the kind of thinking that got us into this war in the first place, and it's not going to cut it anymore.

We can't keep giving in to this Administration on Iraq. Every time the Administration gets its way, it means that our troops will remain stuck in the middle of Iraq's civil war, and our national security will continue to be undermined. With so many Americans demanding that our involvement in this war come to an end, backing down is not the answer. No one else should die in Iraq to give political comfort to dealmakers in Washington.

Well I know whats right, I got just one life
In a world that keeps on pushin me around
But Ill stand my ground and I wont back down

Here's to you Senator Feingold:

Anemic Republican Response to Veto

Here is the anemic Republican response to their own failure to fund the troops:

“Several Republican leaders said Tuesday that they were likely to support such benchmarks, and White House aides said Tuesday that Mr. Bush…might back such a measure — but only if the benchmarks are nonbinding.”

Bush tells Americans that Congress can't have a say in what is going on because:

He said the measure would “impose impossible conditions on our commanders in combat” by forcing them to “take fighting directions from politicians 6,000 miles away in Washington, D.C.”

If bush really thinks this, why doesn't he just make those soldiers enlistment contracts "non-binding" and let them decide who they want to "take fighting directions" from? heh According to a January poll in the Military Times:

Only 35 percent of the military members polled this year said they approve of the way President Bush is handling the war, while 42 percent said they disapproved. The president’s approval rating among the military is only slightly higher than for the population as a whole.

I wonder where they would poll now considering the continued failures?

Anyways... What do Americans want their Congrees critters to do?

Do Democrats take John Edwards's suggestion, as relayed in his new campaign ad, and "send [Bush] the same bill again and again"? Or should Democrats and Republicans in Congress work with the White House to find some sort of solution that isn't likely to give either side a complete political victory?

A Pew Research Center poll released on April 26 suggests that the American public favors the Edwards approach, with each side standing their ground rather than compromising.

snip

Roughly six-in-ten people in the Pew sample (59 percent) said they want their member of Congress to back an Iraq funding bill that includes a timeline for American troops to begin withdrawing.

They want Congress to demand binding timelines. And they are right.

[Update]I just wanted to add these two responses to the Veto via The National Security Network:

Today, two retired Generals who led troops in Iraq expressed outrage at the President's veto of the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act.

The President vetoed our troops and the American people. His stubborn commitment to a failed strategy in Iraq is incomprehensible. He committed our great military to a failed strategy in violation of basic principles of war. His failure to mobilize the nation to defeat world wide Islamic extremism is tragic. We deserve more from our commander-in-chief and his administration.
--Maj. Gen. John Batiste, USA, Ret.

This administration and the previously Republican controlled legislature have been the most caustic agents against America's Armed Forces in memory. Less than a year ago, the Republicans imposed great hardship on the Army and Marine Corps by their failure to pass a necessary funding language. This time, the President of the United States is holding our Soldiers hostage to his ego. More than ever apparent, only the Army and the Marine Corps are at war - alone, without their President's support.
--Maj. Gen. Paul Eaton, USA, Ret.

'Nuff said.

You Can't Veto The Truth!

Tell George Bush:
You can veto a bill.
But you can't veto the truth.

Call: 202-456-1111

AmericansUnitedForChange.org

A Little Bit of History

"Today in History" via The Library of Congress:

On May 1, 1931, with the press of a button in Washington, D.C., President Herbert Hoover turned on the lights of the Empire State Building. This event officially opened the edifice, at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 34th Street in New York City, to the public. At 102 stories, it reigned as the world's tallest skyscraper until 1974.

Twin Towers (WTC) constuction via Wikipedia:

In 1970, construction was completed on One World Trade Center, with its first tenants moving into the building in December, 1970. Tenants first moved into Two World Trade Center in January 1972. When the World Trade Center twin towers were completed, the total costs to the Port Authority had reached $900 million. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was on April 4, 1973.

snip

When completed in 1972, 1 WTC became the tallest building on Earth, unseating the Empire State Building after a 40 year reign. 2 WTC became the second tallest building in the world when completed in 1973. The difference in height between the two towers was because of a Port Authority request to have two floors, the 43rd and the 67th, in 1 WTC raised, the lower of the taller floors being a cafeteria for PANY workers. 2 WTC did not need these facilities, so it remained 1,362 feet. Regardless, the WTC towers held the height record only briefly. As the building neared completion in 1973, work had already begun on Chicago's Sears Tower, which ultimately reached 1,450 feet (442 m). With the World Trade Center's destruction, the Empire State Building again became the tallest building in New York, after spending almost 30 years as the third-tallest in the city.

Today marks the 4 year anniversary of bushies infamous aircraft carrier campaign speech:


Bush never said "Mission Accomplished" on that aircraft carrier - though the picture speaks a thousand words - BUT he did say it a month later while addressing soldiers in Qatar:

We've seen a lot of fine sights, but there's no finer sight than to see the men and women who wear the uniform of the United States of America.

I am happy to see you, an so are the long-suffering people of Iraq. America sent you on a mission to remove a grave threat and to liberate an oppressed people, and that mission has been accomplished.

It is sad to think that 4 years after "Mission Accomplished" bush is still asking for a blank check in order to continue to run Iraq into the ground. Now, bush wants to build walls to keep them liberated:

According to Iraqi reports, US troops began building the wall around the predominately Sunni district of Al-A'zamiyah in Baghdad. The wall, which is comprised of reinforced concrete blocks, each of which weighs more than six tons, will be 5.4 km long. The general tone of Iraqi reporting is negative and critical, with some outlets media outlets comparing it to the Berlin Wall and the containment wall first implemented by Israel's former Prime Minister Aiel Sharon, while others opine that it is a sign of a failed US policy to curb sectarian violence in the city.

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

THAN THIS ONE SPEAKS VOLUMES!

CLICK ON THE PIC!
(and Imagine 3, 4 or 5 thousand)

If Congress gives bush a blank check
EXPECT MORE OF THE SAME.

Another Casualty of the DC Madam

You can add this man to the casualty list:

Likely to be among those called to testify is military strategist Harlan K. Ullman. Two weeks ago, Palfrey alleged that Ullman, creator of the "shock and awe" combat theory and now a scholar with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, was a customer of her business. Ullman has said that the claim was "beneath the dignity of comment."
(ABC News)

A Littlemore background on Ullman via Sourcewatch:

In 1996, Ullmann, then an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), published Shock and Awe: Achieving Rapid Dominance. The premise of the book was that, rather than relying on old-fashioned gimmickry like destroying the enemy's military capability, we could instead win wars by "sufficiently intimidating and compelling factors to force or otherwise convince an adversary to accept our will." Ullman approvingly cited the nuking of Hiroshima and the Germans' blitzkreig as examples of shocking and awing civilian populations into submission.

Ullman was the youngest officer to ever serve as Professor of Strategy at the National War College. He taught strategy to Colin Powell when Powell was a Colonel attending the NWC. In his autobiography My American Journey, Colin Powell was effusive with praise for Ullman:

"A teacher who raised my vision several levels was Harlan Ullman, a Navy lieutenant commander who taught military strategy. So far, I had known men of action but few who were also authentic intellectuals. Ullman was that rarity, a scholar in uniform, a line officer qualified for command at sea, also possessed of one of the best, most provocative minds I have ever encountered."

Ullman, a 1963 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, retired as a Commander. His career included commanding a Swift Boat in Vietnam, as well as a Navy Destroyer (USS Dupont DD-941) in 1980-1981.

Also, a bit more on Center for Strategic and International Studies via sourcewatch:

Originally CSIS sprung out from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service, and many of principals were also faculty members at the university. For some time CSIS had an office on the Georgetown campus. Several of the principals were "Cold Warriors" and made a little industry out of finding "communist influence" around the world. During the war against Nicaragua, CSIS produced several documents "proving" a communist plot, etc. For many years, CSIS was also seen as a think tank where right-wing "officials-in-waiting" could wait until their next appointment in government.

Woohoo! Mcarthyism in it's lowest form... (IE: disguised as "thinking")

Ullman joins Tobias in the republican sin-bin:

The Blotter gets the scoop on Tobias:

"Deputy Secretary of State Randall L. Tobias submitted his resignation Friday, one day after confirming to ABC News that he had been a customer of a Washington, D.C. escort service whose owner has been charged by federal prosecutors with running a prostitution operation. Tobias, 65, Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), had previously served as the Ambassador for the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief.

A State Department press release late Friday afternoon said only he was leaving for 'personal reasons.' On Thursday, Tobias told ABC News he had several times called the 'Pamela Martin and Associates' escort service 'to have gals come over to the condo to give me a massage.' Tobias, who is married, said there had been 'no sex,' and that recently he had been using another service 'with Central Americans' to provide massages.

Tobias' private cell number was among thousands of numbers listed in the telephone records provided to ABC News by Jeane Palfrey, the woman dubbed the 'D.C. Madam,' who is facing the federal charges."

These guys just can't seem to get enough of the Randy "Duke" Cunningham treatment.

The DC Madame, with noted GOP clientele and connections, has promised to drop dimes on many more of her pant dropping District of Columbia elite customers in the hopes of avoiding jail time and because she isn't "shy about bringing in the deputy secretary of whatever."

The real kicker on this one?

As the Bush administration's so-called "AIDS czar," Tobias was criticized for emphasizing faithfulness and abstinence over condom use to prevent the spread of AIDS.

Another fine chapter in "the never ending lies" as more extreme hypocrisy eminates from the stink pile of the failed and unethical bush administration.



Sure he does... The only time bush has a problem with their ethics is when they get caught with their pants down...

Think Progress provides an update on Tobias:

"Former U.S. AID director Randall Tobias, who resigned yesterday upon admitting that he frequented a Washington escort service, oversaw a controversial policy advocated by the religious right that required any US-based group receiving anti-AIDS funds to take an anti-prostitution “loyalty oath.”

Aid groups bitterly opposed the policy, charging that it “was so broad — and applied even to their private funds — that it would obstruct their outreach to sex workers who are at high risk of transmitting the AIDS virus.” But President Bush wouldn’t budge. He signed a 2003 National Security Presidential Directive saying prostitution “and related activities” were “inherently harmful and dehumanizing.”"

This could be be some must-watch TV:

Watch "20/20" this Friday at 10 p.m. EDT for ABC News' Chief Investigative Correspondent Brian Ross' exclusive interview with the D.C. Madam, Jeane Palfrey.

You have to wonder if these guys are just "low ranking teasers", and if there will be any bombshells on the show Friday?

Good thing it won't interupt my regular viewing of KO on Countdown! heh

Gen Petraeus: Iraq will “get harder before it gets easier”

The story president poopypants is afraid to tell you:

WASHINGTON - The top US commander in Iraq admitted yesterday that the conflict would “get harder before it gets easier”, providing further ammunition for Democrats determined to face down George Bush in their constitutional clash over the Iraq war.Hours before the Senate passed legislation ordering troops to start leaving Iraq by October, General David Petraeus said the conflict was “the most complex and challenging I have ever seen”. Gen Petraeus, who was put in charge of the Baghdad troop “surge” to pacify the Iraqi capital, warned of the enormous commitment and sacrifice facing the US in Iraq.

His downbeat assessment, in contrast with Mr Bush’s optimistic statements, stiffened the resolve of Democrats in Congress pushing for an early withdrawal of US troops. Yesterday the Senate followed the House of Representatives in backing legislation that calls for most US troops to be out by spring 2008.

The bill is expected to land on Mr Bush’s table on Tuesday, the fourth anniversary of the speech in which he prematurely declared an end to hostilities. Under the legislation billions of dollars of military funding will be withheld unless Mr Bush sets in motion the withdrawal timetable.

If president poopypants takes his ball and goes home (ie: vetos this} like the crybaby that he is, then just send it back to him with more restrictions. Keep sending it back with more and more restrictions.

Oh... And most Republicans in the Senate and House, like Lieberman and Shays, are too chicken to stand against president poopypants and do what they promised to do before the elections.

FU Lieberman and Shays... Be adults for a change and do your jobs.
(And no! I don't mean Friedman Units. You ran out of those in my book not long after the soldiers started dying for your incompetence.)

Get Bucks To Blog For ThinkProgress

Just think of all the skittles and beers you could buy!

New Fellows Program:
Get Paid To Blog For ThinkProgress:

"Today, ThinkProgress is launching a blog fellows program.

ThinkProgress Fellows will be drawn directly from our readership and other progressive blogs, and will become an integral part of our team — writing for ThinkProgress and the Progress Report e-newsletter, monitoring media outlets and conducting other research projects.

Fellows will serve six-month terms, receive a monetary stipend ($3,000), and travel to Washington D.C. for a weekend of training at the Center for American Progress. You’ll be asked to work about 20 hours/week, and you don’t need to reside in Washington.

Applying is easy: just fill out this application and submit it to tpfellows@americanprogressaction.org by May 6. You can also email that address with questions."

I think it is safe to say that Republicans need not apply, unless they have no scruples? (Which is usually the case. heh)

Just do us all a favour and PLEASE disclose that you are paid by ThinkProgress should you be one of the ones that gets the gig. Keep it honest and ethical. Nobody wants to be the next Dan Gerstein...

Simmons confirms the reason for Cappiello's limp into CT-05

I posted this last week on Cappiello limping into the 5th district:

Hobbled by his connection to the most corrupt group of politicians ever assembled under any political party's history, the GOP's David Cappiello will toss his name into the meat grinder that almost every GOP candidate will have to face in the state of Connecticut because of the meat grinder they have created for the soldiers in Iraq.

Unofficially it began Nov. 7 of last year. Officially the race for the state's 5th District Congressional seat started Wednesday when five-term state Sen. David Cappiello announced - more than 18 months before Election Day - that he's challenging freshman U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy.

"I've accepted that I'm the underdog and that I'm going to have to reach as many voters as I can," Cappiello said in telephone interview during a break from Wednesday's marathon session at the state Capitol. The Danbury senator, a 38-year-old mortgage broker, may be the first Republican to file paperwork for the 5th District contest with the Federal Election Commission, but it's likely he won't be the last.

The state's Republican party took a hit in 2006 when 12-term incumbent Nancy Johnson lost to Murphy and three-term incumbent Rob Simmons lost the 2nd District race to Democrat Joe Courtney.

The GOP... Just call them the hamburger party. No word yet if Joe neocon Lieberman will have any beefs with his fellow Republican David Cappiello, and if he will cross the aisle and support Murphy in the first truly bipartisan move of his recent career.

Yesterday, Connecticut Local Politics points to the fact that even Rob Simmons recognizes that his is the hamburger party and why:

From the LA Times:

Three-term Rep. Rob Simmons of Connecticut, who lost his seat last year by 83 votes, said he turned down an appeal from the GOP to run again in 2008, partly because of the dismal political climate. In a district dominated by Democrats, he said, it has become impossible for even a moderate Republican like himself to win — especially since he voted to authorize the war in Iraq.

The real humour here is that Simmons thinks he is a moderate... Sure he is, and so is his fellow Republicon and RADICAL AMERICAN CENTRIST Joe neocon Lieberman! I like to think of Simmons as a flame broiled member of the hamburger party.

In January I wrote about this mythical "Radical American Centrism" claimed by pure far right wingnuts:

Radical American Centrism: THE BIG LIEberman

The center is such a hard thing to nail down for Joe, at least, as long as it keeps moving EVEN FURTHER to the left of Joe than it was before.

According to C&L:

Military Times: (h/t Hugh)

Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the situation with Iraq?
Approve 35%
Disapprove 42%
No opinion 10%
Decline to answer 12%

A few more stats from Gabe at CLP:

TPM Election Central's Eric Kleefeld neatly rips this absurd argument to shreds (click through to read the whole thing and see the video of McCain making the claim):

First, let's take a look at Connecticut's exit polls. They show that sending more troops had the support of — get this — 15% of voters! Meanwhile, 63% of voters said some or even all troops should be withdrawn, in complete opposition to Lieberman's real position.

Second, given the total number of people who cast their vote for Lieberman, it's nothing short of absurd to say that it's in any way indicative of anything national. According to the final results, a total of 563,725 people voted for Lieberman — in other words, just over half a million in a nation of 300 million people.

Finally, Lieberman won because he was able to misrepresent his views on Iraq, not because voters agreed with his actual views on the subject. Back in July, Lieberman actually said he thought we'd be able to draw down "significant" numbers of troops by now. What's more, Lieberman worked hard to blur the line between himself and Ned Lamont on the Iraq issue. In one ad, for instance, he spoke of wanting to "bring our troops home from Iraq."

PING... Just using "echo location" to point out how much further to the left the people of Connecticut are compared to Joe "Right-Wingnut" Lieberman.

The same RADICAL label should, deservedly, be applied to any of Connecticut's Republican members of the hamburger party.

Mothers Day Limerick Contest

skippy the bush kangaroo points to a limerick contest at Mad Kane:

and she's running another limerick contest, this time for mother's day!

so here’s my challenge: write a limerick related to the subject of mothers and post it here in a comment to this post no later than saturday, may 12, 2007. i’ll announce the winners on mother’s day, may 13, 2007.

the first prize will be $25. the second prize will be $10. both prizes will be paid via paypal.

so, what exactly is a limerick? it’s a five line poem with an aabba rhyme scheme and a very specific meter exemplified by these winning entries. (for more information about limericks check out these fine sites: encyclospeedia oedilfica and oedilf.)

HMMM? My entry:

Ode to Martha

There was a blue Mom in Connecticut
Who preached about homemaking etiquette
She spent time in jail
For a fraudulent sale
Or was it her “liberal” epithet?

I think that what Martha Stewart did was wrong BUT, given the fact that many Republic party scoundrels have received a much different treatment by the Republic controlled DoJ, this may have been as much a political witch hunt as it was justice served.

The message was touted as "Don't do insider trading"... But there was a secondary message of "ESPECIALLY if you are a liberal!"

Given what we know about the politicization of the DoJ under Alberto "GONEzo" Gozales, and previously under Ashcroft as well, this may be more apparent now.

Malkin: Hot Air or copycatting the Left?

Is malkin a copycat or is she just full of hot air?

Send 'em a white feather
By Michelle Malkin · April 26, 2007 05:09 PM

Reader and Vietnam Vet Jack Haley e-mails:

The White Feather has been a symbol for cowardice. I suggest that white feathers be sent to the leaders of the Senate and House for the cowardly vote that abandons our soldiers around the world.

From Nov 22nd, 2005 and based on the symbolism of the original "white feather" story:

Operation Yellow Feather


In a effort to blunt the effect of Murtha's serious call for a withdrawal of the troops, Republicans hurriedly offered a sham Bill on the issue that had almost no support. During debate on the issue, Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-Ohio), a freshman Rep., called Murtha a coward:

"A few minutes ago I received a call from Colonel Danny Bubp, Ohio Representative from the 88th district in the House of Representatives. He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do."

Schmidt's comments were heckled on the floor of our Congress, and she was forced to withdraw them from the record. But she and state Rep. Bubp deserve to know that we were watching, and that we won't stand for neo-McCarthyism, where heroic opponents of this flawed war are discredited as cowards and traitors.

You can help. Please print off one of the protest forms below and send them to the offices of Rep. Schmidt and Rep. Bubp. Take the time to write a personalized note on your form, explaining that the "chicken hawk" tactics of the Republican party will not be tolerated. Let's bury their offices with "chicken hawk" feathers, so that the next time they feel like squawking in public, they will remember that we are watching them.

Here are the forms:

Lost Your Chicken Hawk Feather?

The Chicken Hawk Unit Patch

The Classic Yellow Feather (Make sure to explain)

The Ugly Chicken Hawk (Fill in the voice bubble)

Send your forms to:

Rep. Jean Schmidt
8044 Montgomery Rd. Suite 540
Cincinnati, OH 45236

Rep. Danny Bubp
77 S. High St
11th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-6111

I figure malkin and her wingnut friends are probably both... Copycats and full of hot air. Poor little wingnut michelle. Show a bit more originality when you type the thoughts that escape from your back-blast area.

Just to be clear about "Operation Yellow Feather" (and as I noted to BostonJoe in his original diary):

On top of the recommended list and/or front paged at 5 major Liberal/Progressive Blogs today...

1. Booman Tribune!
2. dKos
3. MyDD
4. My Left Wing
5. Political Cortex

And add to that countless "little" blogs have it out there!

It was out there and the right wingnuts probably saw it. But even if malkin didn't copy this from the left... She is still full of it.

More on Tobias

Think Progress provides an update on Tobias:

"Former U.S. AID director Randall Tobias, who resigned yesterday upon admitting that he frequented a Washington escort service, oversaw a controversial policy advocated by the religious right that required any US-based group receiving anti-AIDS funds to take an anti-prostitution “loyalty oath.”

Aid groups bitterly opposed the policy, charging that it “was so broad — and applied even to their private funds — that it would obstruct their outreach to sex workers who are at high risk of transmitting the AIDS virus.” But President Bush wouldn’t budge. He signed a 2003 National Security Presidential Directive saying prostitution “and related activities” were “inherently harmful and dehumanizing.”"

More Illegal Sex With Bushies

The Blotter gets the scoop on Tobias:

"Deputy Secretary of State Randall L. Tobias submitted his resignation Friday, one day after confirming to ABC News that he had been a customer of a Washington, D.C. escort service whose owner has been charged by federal prosecutors with running a prostitution operation. Tobias, 65, Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), had previously served as the Ambassador for the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief.

A State Department press release late Friday afternoon said only he was leaving for 'personal reasons.' On Thursday, Tobias told ABC News he had several times called the 'Pamela Martin and Associates' escort service 'to have gals come over to the condo to give me a massage.' Tobias, who is married, said there had been 'no sex,' and that recently he had been using another service 'with Central Americans' to provide massages.

Tobias' private cell number was among thousands of numbers listed in the telephone records provided to ABC News by Jeane Palfrey, the woman dubbed the 'D.C. Madam,' who is facing the federal charges."

These guys just can't seem to get enough of the Randy "Duke" Cunningham treatment.

The DC Madame, with noted GOP clientele and connections, has promised to drop dimes on many more of her pant dropping District of Columbia elite customers in the hopes of avoiding jail time and because she isn't "shy about bringing in the deputy secretary of whatever."

The real kicker on this one?

As the Bush administration's so-called "AIDS czar," Tobias was criticized for emphasizing faithfulness and abstinence over condom use to prevent the spread of AIDS.

Another fine chapter in "the never ending lies" as more extreme hypocrisy eminates from the stink pile of the failed and unethical bush administration.



Sure he does... The only time bush has a problem with their ethics is when they get caught with their pants down...

Some Outrage for Rush "Parody" Of Obama

ctblogger points to C&L concerning some noise coming from employees that are outraged by Oxy-Rush Limbaugh's insulting parody:

Oh, this man has lost his mind.

Rush Limbaugh has angered many black employees over this parody song called "Barack the Magic Negro"

[...]

I've been told that they have held meetings internally to deal with a ground swell of anger at Rush because of this…A caller noticed there was a disclaimer added to the station she listens to and asks Rush why.

If you are unsure what this is about, I posted this about Oxy-Rush the other day:

Via Stormbear at A Town Called Dobson:

This is a head-shaker. Imus gets canned for calling some college women basketball players “nappy-headed hos” and yet Rush Limbaugh plays “Barack The Magic Negro” on his show and he is still on the air?

How is that even possible?

To hear the song yourself, hit this YouTube link.

It is a parody by Paul Shanklin impersonating Al Sharpton and based on the Peter, Paul, and Mary hit song “Puff, the Magic Dragon”. I am really at a loss of words. I heard it for the first time yesterday on the radio and was sickened.

Again, how is this man on the air?

Here is a YouTube of the song Oxy-Rush calls a parody:



It is sad to think that Oxy-Rush is just playing to his base of support in playing up this statement. But the fact is Oxy-Rush didn't invent the term:

LIMBAUGH: David Ehrenstein, the L.A. Times today, "Obama the 'Magic Negro.' " It's just infuriating. It is the left that continues to besmirch these people. It's the left that continues to question their so-called authenticity. These people are all human beings. Talk about Sharpton, Reverend [Jesse] Jackson, these people are all human beings. Now some of them are in the race business. I understand that. But look at who it is that keeps focusing on whether they're authentic enough. Authenticity based on skin color. Who is it doing this? It's the left. You know what, I got a suggestion for those of you at the L.A. Times. Let's cut to the chase. Go get an old-fashioned auction book and put it in the town square. Put it somewhere where it looks like it's real and just bring all these black people up there and auction them off and find out who it is that sells for the highest price. That's essentially what you're doing with all of these nonsensical categorizations -- Obama's not black enough, Obama doesn't have -- he's not down for the struggle, Obama doesn't have a legitimate civil rights -- civil right background. Obama's ears don't look like a black person's ears, they're too big, Obama doesn't sound like a black person, he's clean and articulate. The left's saying all these things. Now he's the "Magic Negro," which is a convenient trick for the L.A. Times to blame a bunch of white people for being racist. OK. Let's find out who the -- just get an auction block and grab as many blacks as you want to put them up there and let's start the sales, L.A. Times, and let's see who it is that fetches the highest prices. Isn't that essentially the way they're approaching this? These are commodities. These human beings are simply commodities, and they are there for some purpose other than their own human existence? You doubt the racism and the groupthink and the superiority of the leftists in this country, you'd be making a grave error.

[...]

LIMBAUGH: For example, you could take 10 seconds of me saying, "Obama is the Magic Negro" and make it look like I said it, rather than the fact that I'm repeating it from an L.A. Times column today.

10 seconds? How's about years of playing to his racist listeners? He talks about it from the point of view that the left says "Obama's not black enough"??? We could just point to the fact that Oxy-Rush Limbaugh refered to Obama as a "Halfrican American":

LIMBAUGH: Hey, Barack Obama has picked up another endorsement: Halfrican American actress Halle Berry. "As a Halfrican American, I am honored to have Ms. Berry's support, as well as the support of other Halfrican Americans," Obama said.

He didn't say it, but -- anyway, there are those out there -- greetings.

Trying to pawn this off on the left when his own words betray Oxy-Rush Limbaugh's deep seeded bigotry, and the way he perpetuates this bigotry for his bigoted listeners "benefit", is pitiful and disgarceful.

Keep talking Limbaugh... The left understands that you really do want to own these words even if you didn't say it first. It plays to your listeners ingrained bigoted beliefs BUT it also publically exposes the true nature of you and your listeners beliefs to everyone.

Maybe Rush has had his final "Imus moment"?

Actively Serving US Officer Condemns Iraq Strategy

Ok... So this is from an ACTIVE DUTY commander with two Iraq tours under his belt:

BBC NEWS
US officer condemns Iraq strategy:

Lieutenant Colonel Paul Yingling said US generals had failed to prepare their troops properly and had misled Congress about the resources needed for the war.

Writing in the Armed Forces Journal, he said the US had repeated the mistakes of Vietnam and so faced defeat in Iraq."

snip

"For reasons that are not yet clear, America's general officer corps underestimated the strength of the enemy, overestimated the capabilities of Iraq's government and security forces, and failed to provide Congress with an accurate assessment of the security conditions in Iraq," he wrote.

The generals had gone into Iraq in 2003 with too few soldiers and no coherent plan for post-war stabilisation, having spent a decade "preparing to fight the wrong war", he said.

"The intellectual and moral failures common to America's general officer corps in Vietnam and Iraq constitute a crisis in American generalship."

These are scathing words coming from an active duty officer. As for his key recommendation to alleviate the real problems?

Lt Col Yingling has not singled out any individual for criticism but has urged Congress to take a greater role in monitoring officers' performance and holding them accountable.

Oversight...

Congressional oversight.

Far right wingnuts better start questioning the patriotism of this soldier ASAP. You know they will. Speaking of which... I wonder what Joe neocon Lieberman will have to say about this?

I can see it now:
"The US troops are undermining the mission in Iraq!"

That's the Joe neocon Lieberman we know so well...

Riverbend is leaving Iraq

Via Riverbend at Baghdad Burning:

"I always hear the Iraqi pro-war crowd interviewed on television from foreign capitals (they can only appear on television from the safety of foreign capitals because I defy anyone to be publicly pro-war in Iraq). They refuse to believe that their religiously inclined, sectarian political parties fueled this whole Sunni/Shia conflict.

snip

I remember Baghdad before the war- one could live anywhere. We didn't know what our neighbors were- we didn't care. No one asked about religion or sect. No one bothered with what was considered a trivial topic: are you Sunni or Shia? You only asked something like that if you were uncouth and backward. Our lives revolve around it now. Our existence depends on hiding it or highlighting it- depending on the group of masked men who stop you or raid your home in the middle of the night.

On a personal note, we've finally decided to leave.

snip

The problem is that we don't even know if we'll ever see this stuff again. We don't know if whatever we leave, including the house, will be available when and if we come back. There are moments when the injustice of having to leave your country, simply because an imbecile got it into his head to invade it, is overwhelming. It is unfair that in order to survive and live normally, we have to leave our home and what remains of family and friends… And to what?

It's difficult to decide which is more frightening- car bombs and militias, or having to leave everything you know and love, to some unspecified place for a future where nothing is certain."

I am saddened but, sadly, not shocked that it has come to this for her and her family. It has only gotten worse in Iraq with the surge, the walls, the death, the destruction.

People like bush and Lieberman are the cause of all of this. They are barbarians. If you support those idiots and their failed policy then you are a barbarian too. I am sorry that you far right GOP talking pointy head wingnuts don't realize it yet. But the rest of the American public is well ahead of the curve on this.

GOP's David Cappiello Limps Into 5th District Race

Hobbled by his connection to the most corrupt group of politicians ever assembled under any political party's history, the GOP's David Cappiello will toss his name into the meat grinder that almost every GOP candidate will have to face in the state of Connecticut because of the meat grinder they have created for the soldiers in Iraq.

Unofficially it began Nov. 7 of last year. Officially the race for the state's 5th District Congressional seat started Wednesday when five-term state Sen. David Cappiello announced - more than 18 months before Election Day - that he's challenging freshman U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy.

"I've accepted that I'm the underdog and that I'm going to have to reach as many voters as I can," Cappiello said in telephone interview during a break from Wednesday's marathon session at the state Capitol. The Danbury senator, a 38-year-old mortgage broker, may be the first Republican to file paperwork for the 5th District contest with the Federal Election Commission, but it's likely he won't be the last.

The state's Republican party took a hit in 2006 when 12-term incumbent Nancy Johnson lost to Murphy and three-term incumbent Rob Simmons lost the 2nd District race to Democrat Joe Courtney.

The GOP... Just call them the hamburger party. No word yet if Joe neocon Lieberman will have any beefs with his fellow Republican David Cappiello, and if he will cross the aisle and support Murphy in the first truly bipartisan move of his recent career.

The Led Zeppelin Report

28 %
President Bush’s approval rating in a new
Harris survey, the lowest of his presidency.

How can this be?

“In a somber and wide-ranging assessment,” Britain’s top counterterrorism officer Peter Clarke said that Al Qaeda and its supporters have established “an inexorable trend towards more ambitious and more destructive attack planning.” “The only sensible assumption is that we shall be attacked again.”

Could the failed bush administrations' policies have anything to do with his continuously dropping polling numbers?