Al Franken played this goodbye montage to Scotty on today's show. (audio)

How can anyone stand there in front of a room full of questions and succeed by not giving any kind of actual answer to any of them without the compliance of those asking the questions?

The anemic members of White House Press Corps has show their yellow underbellies for so long that the daily press breifing is now nothing more than a display of soggy spitballs hitting, then slinding down a chalkboard of sweaty brie.

Anyone who stands behind that podium wins by simply repeating over and over whatever they're told to repeat. No worthy questions are posed, out of fear of exclusion. No worth answers are given out of surety that repitition equals truth.

puh-thetic.

-T

I'm hoping McClellan knew he was being disingenuous with me. That is, I'm hoping he and the president he speaks for are merely denying the truth, not denying reality.

Don't leave me hanging here David, which is it?

Dang! I will post this excerpt from a good little ditty here.

Where did all the good people go?
I've been changing channels, I don't see them on the TV shows
Where'd all the good people go?
We got heaps and heaps of what we sow.

Jack Johnson

Johnson is awesome!

Hajji, Sierra Nevada is good in a pinch, give me Stone IPA any day! But you know that. A possible trip to Fl. looming in the near future, will keep you posted. Robb, you still out there? We are SO close to having an up an running gold mine and mill, woo hoo!! After 4 long years of unpaid labor, the motherlode is smiling at us!

David, I just read that rove is resigning. Is that an exaggeration?

Here's the headline from ITV news

Bush rocked by resignations
4.04PM, Wed Apr 19 2006

White House press secretary Scott McClellan and senior advisor Karl Rove have announced their resignation from the Bush administration.

...and WTF is up with that "Boyd LBH" idiot? Didn't he admit to just jerking chains and became addicted to it and thought we all were really good folks, down deep and though that his admission to being an asshole made him less of an asshole, somehow...and now he's doing it again?

Somebody get him in a program or something...

-T

Saladin,

I know you've all worked hard and deserve it. Just don't et-lay the uhvermunt-gay ow-nay our-yay iggin-day our-yay n-oway old-gay!

OK?

I must say that as nice as my old haunts in Naples, Miami and the keys were to visit, I'm jonesin' for a walk on St.Augustine Beach right now...

-T

And Stone IPA just doesn't make it to these parts. I can order it, though...

-T

Dan Bartlett Caught In A Lie: No One Ever Said The War Would Result In Cheaper Gas Prices

Appearing this afternoon on MSNBC's Hardball, White House Counselor Dan Barlett adamantly denied that anyone in the administration claimed that the Iraq war would lead to lower gas prices. The transcript:

MATTHEWS: [W]e've been struck by higher gas prices. That was another promise made, that this war would help us get cheaper gas

BARTLETT: I don't think

MATTHEWS: None of these promises come through.

BARTLETT: That's not correct, Chris. The president or no one else ever said that this war was going to result in cheaper gas prices

MATTHEWS: Ok, so just to make it official, Dan, no one in the administration has ever said that we would have cheaper gas because of war in Iraq, just to make it official?

BARTLETT: I don't recall anybody ever saying that, Chris.

As Matthews noted later in the broadcast, Laurence Lindsey President's senior economic advisor at the time argued in 2002 that the Iraq war would increase oil supplies and lower prices. From the Washington Times, 9/19/02:

As for the impact of a war with Iraq, "It depends how the war goes." But he quickly adds that that "Under every plausible scenario, the negative effect will be quite small relative to the economic benefits that would come from a successful prosecution of the war."

"The key issue is oil, and a regime change in Iraq would facilitate an increase in world oil," which would drive down oil prices, giving the U.S. economy an added boost.

Bartlett is a talented spinmeister but facts are stubborn things.

*****end of clip*****

Not just liars but effin liars.

capt

Alan, what do you mean, "David just signed offline?"

Hey, thanks for posting the Freidman article. K, what that means is... (if you're not familiar with AOL or AIM) David's on my Buddy List. If he's online, his screen name appears in the little box on my AOL screen. If he signs off, his name still appears for a few minutes, but in parentheses, then it clears.
You see any Maureen Dowds behind the wall, I'd sure 'preciate you posting them also. She just had one a couple days ago in the local paper, but like Freidman's, it didn't appear at the local site. Guess the Chronicle paid so I could read it in their paper, but I have to pay if I wanna read it again online.
*perturbed look*

I couldn't get __________to address the facts because he refused to recognize their existence.

__________was denying what was already on the public record.

.... my fellow journalists could have pressed him further on these points, but....

Refusing to acknowledge reality, it seems, can be effective spin.

It's one thing to deny facts knowingly for political purposes.....but it's quite a different matter to be detached from reality.
-------------
someone needs to say ha.

Hajji

Dude you're sooooo sensitive, I love that about you man!!! Thanks for keeping me in your thoughts, that means a lot to me!!!

When McClennan says he's resigning, doesn't that mean he's NOT resigning? I'm just getting used to reverse-speak, where everything he says is the exact opposite of the truth. It's been kind of a refreshing change from previous WH spokespeople, where you never knew when they were lying. With Scotty, you don't even have to know what he's saying to know it's a lie. I'll really miss him--oops, now he's got me doing it!

Hunt The Boeing II! Shanksville edition

This is just an observation, not an accusation: I think David's headline -- McClellan's Retreat -- is a little misleading. "Retreat" suggests that it was a voluntary move. More likely, McClellan is out because Andy Card is out -- when there is a new chief of staff, there is usually a shake-up in communications. The press secretary is the *face* of the communications team.

Saladin & Carey, if Rove is (thrown) OUT also, that must mean that Fitz is close to nailing him.

Of course, it could be that General Rove needs to pay FULL ATTENTION to the mid-term elections so that the WH can keep Congress in Repug control, carry forth their agenda, and KEEP THEIR SORRY ASSES OUT OF JAIL.

James Ha and other Corn-nut conspiarcy theorists

The San Francisco Chronicle wrote about you today

"The truth about 9/11 conspiracy theories"

By Cinnamon Stillwell

Whatever ones criticisms of the administration and it's approach to the war on terrorism, one would have to be awfully cynical to believe that it would kill or allow thousands of Americans to die, simply to to accumulate additional powers.But even if one assumes that the government acted purely in it's own interests, why on earth would it risk weakening the economy and creating instability for the foreseeable future? Not exactly a winning formula for the so-called ruling classes.

Flying in the face of common sense.

In other words, Ms. Stillwell is trying to say, politely, that 9/11 conspiracy theorists are nut-jobs!!!!

Got to hand it to ya James-you're making the papers!!

Maybe Scotty boy will be calling you David, and asking if he could use the phrase Bush Lies for his new tell-all book?? Oh wait. He doesn't think bush lied does he? He doesn't even think for a moment that he himself has: distorted reality, denied factual evidence, nor lied to the people. I guess Bush Lies for us is redundant and for Scotty it is oxymoronic...

Hajji 7, gottcha! Just let 'em try! PS did you know Sierra Nevada is producing a very decent IPA? New and improved.
AH yes, Ms. Cinnamon, a so-so MSM establishment hack. Too bad she won't address facts like these:

1. There are supposedly an unknown number of hijacked planes flying over the country crashing into buildings.

2. Bush's presence at the school was announced in the media three days in advance. So the hijackers knew where he was going to be.

3. There is an airport just 4 miles away from the school where Bush was sitting.

How did the United States Secret Service Protective Detail, know they did not need to immediatly move the President? How did they know they did not need to toss him into his bomb-proof limo and start driving in any direction to foil a possible inbound?

How did the United States Secret Service Protective Detail know that by leaving the President where he was, they were not making targets of all those students and teachers?

How did the United States Secret Service Protective Detail KNOW FOR A FACT THAT PRESIDENT BUSH WAS NOT A TARGET THAT DAY?
-----------
HMMM, the dog that didn't bark. I'm sure she will be receiving the same slamming Doug Thompson received, but I doubt if she will publish it. It's WAY to much work to address the issues and to review the facts than resort to whiny rhetoric. C'mon ms cinnamon, talk to us about WTC "7. The whitewash report really couldn't be bothered with such minute details. Maybe YOU have a great theory! It's a matter of history that over built steel constructed buildings ALWAYS fall down when threatened by a few minor office fires. LBH, if I were you I would stay out of all American built highrises. You never know when one might catch on fire and disintegrate within an hour. Best to stick with Spanish buildings, they are much stouter!

The more I think about it (#15), the more I think that Fitz is zeroing in on Rove, the clock is ticking, and the WH is getting nervous.

Snotty leaving is not the headline; the headline is the change in karl rove's *status.*

The WH is desperate to figure out how to put the screws to Fitz before his investigation nails rove. They are running out of ideas.

This WH *shakeup* is just bullshit window dressing to change the subject -- AGAIN!

Saladin,

Was just thinking about you. Pabla's feed has brought a bounty of crabgrass to the "compound" this spring. I love every square foot of the clover, the dandelion, the gods-know what the hell else is sprouting up for the hooved ones to feed.

I figure we spent about $2 grand on hay and feed, medication, vet visits and pet-sitters last year.

Every square yard of crabgrass is like money in my wallet! I'm sorry, but I gotta be a shill for the opposition in the crabgrass wars!

-T

A "NEW AND IMPROVED SIERRA IPA?" Does it have a new label? I got a strong whiff of cascade hops when I opened a bottle today...I just thought it was because my hops count has been low...?

Scotty gone. One down 100 to go. How do we know he's really going? Can't wait to meet the new slime, the same as the old slime.

No matter how they tell the truth it's still a lie.

If Bolton has charge, Rove should be out.

Distraction upon deistraction and lie upon lie.

WTF is with this movie about flight 93? They use every source possible for propaganda (VNR, MSM, etc, etc...) and now feature movies that spin fiction into fact. Wherever the passengers on F93 went it wasn't into a 10ft hole at Shanksville.

Good Choice
Jane Hamsher | Firedoglake | 4/19/06

Time Magazine has made Matt Cooper the political editor of Time.com. (link)

I guess the Right & Left read things very differently! Let's just take the following:

McClellan: "We knew...that Saddam Hussein had large unaccounted-for stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons...Then came 9/11."

David: "This was a rather important assertion. We knew, even before 9/11, there were large amounts of weapons of mass destruction."

It is NOT my imagination that David's & my interpretation of what McClellan said are different! Generally informed (certainly not anywhere near David's level), I do know that the problem w/Saddam was that he would NOT properly account for what was known of his WMD and thus, the world had healthy suspicions that he still HAD them and were hiding them from the UN Inspectors. That is exactly what McClellan said: "had large unaccounted-for stockpiles".

David then turns the statement into "there were large amounts of weapons of mass destruction".

Am I the only one to see that there is a HUGE difference between our respective take on McClellan's one statement here? Saddam may well have destroyed his WMD but his `games' of not `accounting' for their destruction (if a FACT), led to the War.

What about that market! It is scary how good it's been!

Saladin

Wow, great question about Bush, but is that all you've got? How about answering Ms Stillwells questions, they seem to be more thought out and intelligent than why Bush wasn't attacked. There could be many resons for this such as the terrorist were ordered to hit buildings for maximum damage. They also knew that the Military would never have let them within the President without shooting them down.

As far as visiting a high rise, well, chances are you would be more at risk driving two blocks from your home and getting killed in an auto accident.

Hey Corn, I have seen you on Fox and true today to form, you are just a scumbag. You and your traitor democrat mental rejects

#5 Saladin

I tried to answer your question in the last thread, but am afraid I didn't make myself clear. Rove is only giving up the policy-making portion of his job. He will maintain the political part. Which is what he would have done full-time anyway, because this is an election year, and an important one. There's growing speculation that Rove had to give up the policy stuff because he's lost his security clearance.

I wonder why that happened? Fitzgerald's pulling the noose tighter.

I wanted to clarify something I wrote in the previous thread in relation to Dems and GOPers being one in the same. One must remember that Democrats have absolutely no power, none, zip, in Congress right now. They have control of nothing. So it's up to the Republicans to protest the constant onslaught of the executive branch on the legislative. And that's not saying much for holding out any hope of bringing some level of democracy back to Washington.

As for Mr. Corn's relief that McClellan is gone. It's only going to get worse with Tony Snow, the probable pick.

Interesting that it is Rove, the figurhead of the Bushco and GOP slime machine, who is chosen to spearhead the politics of the GOP's #1 citizen and bolster his relationship with those who desire nothing more than distance from this horrid misAdministration.

Let 'im lead them! Maybe he'll deputize JerkAbrahmoff and Tom Delay for his Barney and Goober to guide the GOPhers through the mid-terms like the Mayberry Machiavelli he is!

woo-hoo!

-T

I'd like to see Tony Snow try to keep from getting pissed off and shouting back when pressed by the...uhm...press!

He's too smug to take it up the tailpipe for der'Furher like Ari and Snotty. He ain't the guy, I'm purty shore!

-T

Get a grip of reality...you all talk trash about stuff that you have never walk the walk...someday get out from behind your computers and smugnesss and find the real world...take a trip to Iraq..or Malaysia---you guys have never had to stand up in public and be held accountable for anything in your lives!

Hajji 20, no more crabgrass wars for me! I can't have a garden in our new place, but I do get to operate a sort of co-op garden between my old house and the next door neighbor. Crab grass is now their problem! I do understand the nutrient contribution to the critters though. Yes, Sierra Nevada is now brewing an IPA, with a very different label, IPA being very overt. The one you know is simply a Pale Ale, so you can't miss it.
geof01 21, where's your sense of patriotism??? Of course giant jet liners disappear into 10 ft. holes, just like cell phone calls are routinely made from 35,000 feet, AND, 110 story buildings vanish into concrete dust at the drop of a hat. Nothing to see here, move along now.
LBH, I didn't see anything to answer. It's too bad that cave dwelling terrorists are able to overcome our entire airforce AND NORAD, for the first time in history, (wow, there sure are a lot of firsts on 9/11), I am seriously considering moving to Bora Bora where it's far more secure. The US defense system SUCKS!
Carey, having no power and rolling over are two different things. The way the dems have treated Cynthia McKinney makes my stomach turn. I am on her side, all against can take a leap!

I read and heard that George and Laura Bush made an appearance for the youth volunteer organizations and VIPs at the annual White House egg roll in the morning, but snubbed the children of ordinary tax paying citizens who had to wait for the second egg rollin the afternoon. That is, no appearance for the riffraff. They were not worthy. Arrogant?

Liz,

Prolly they got wind that some rainbow-lei wearin', leftist same-secksul parents were plannin' to crash the proletariat festivities and scooted off to the Ivory Palace for truffles and blue-blood bunnies!

-T

#31...yes, Bush and Laura are arrogant, and can't be bothered with the "lower class" of this country...did you see the look on Laura's face during the Katrina coverage...disgusted by the poor people in NOLA. And how could GW not be arrogant...look at what his mother said in the Astrodome...that "these people" are better off than when they were living at home! (yeah, like sleeping on a cot with thousands of other people in a stadium is better than having your own home and bed with privacy to sleep in!!!!...she probably thinks "those people in prison" are better off too...I can see Barbara Bush saying how great it is that they get 3 meals a day...of course, they're behind bars and have no freedom to make any decisions for themselves. That whole family is P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C!!! I still can't understand how so many people in this country voted for that idiot twice (although he didn't REALLY win the first time...only because of his black robed friends at the Supreme Court...can anyone say William Renquist?

What were Mcclellan's Parents Name--Please!!!!

F**K YOU bush administration

Ok, since we're now somewhat off topic --- operating systems and e-viruses. There are two quite good Unix derviative, that is Unix based, operating systems. One is Apple's OS X. I haven't used it myself. Those who have and told me about it found it user-friendly. I use Linux myself. Combining all the people using OS X and Linux together might represent about 2% of the operating systems installed on PCs. All the rest use Bill Gate's stuff.

While there is still some small problems with e-viruses using Linux (and I don't know about OS X), the vast majority of problems occur, so far, in machines with Bill Gate's operating systems.

...so I am not impartial, based on the evidence to date. I hope I am reasonably objective.

David:

Quite funny piece of `accounting' of an old encounter!

"...bizarre because McClellan was denying what was already on the public record. I felt like shouting, 'But that is what Powell said! It is! It is!' But in media exchanges, composure is everything and he would have just said, more calmly than me, 'I think it is not.'"

What Powell said, in Feb. 2001, doesn't seem to conform with the fact that there were lists of Saddams' WMD that he was asked to `account' for. And as you noted, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the UN Inspectors, even though they had no hard or reliable information that Saddam was maintaining chemical weapons, they still did NOT say that was WMD-free during Fall, 2002.

It is plausible that in early 2001, not as much attention was paid to Powell's statement which was not `Factual'. But by Fall of 2002, every statement on Iraq was being scrutinized as preparations for War became real.
==========================================
"Of course, my fellow journalists could have pressed him further on these points, but they all had their own questions they wanted to ask. I confess, I felt a little flummoxed. Refusing to acknowledge reality, it seems, can be effective spin."

This little encounter of yours also gave me a huge appreciation for how tough the `spokesman' job is. Dozens of reporter armed with their own researched/prepared facts or past statements raising questions for which the `spokesman' had not prepared for. I would have said a whole bunch of "Let me look into it....I'll get back with you on that...".

I would vote for President Bush again
Women in Iraq was hanged in public for showing
her face or waving to the US troops that were rolling in. REM.BUSH is trying to help the
WORLD to be a better Place.YES,YES, I believe
IRAQ had weapons and used that time they
kept US from inspctions for a long time to get rid of them

Walking the White House plank
Sidney Blumenthal | The Guardian

McClellan is a flea on the windshield of history. On the podium, he performed his duty as a slow-flying object swatted by a frustrated and flustered press corps. Inexpressive, occasionally inarticulate and displaying a limited vocabulary, his virtue was his unwavering discipline in sticking to his uninformative talking points, fending off pesky reporters, and defending the president and all the president's men to the last full measure of his devotion. (link)

In his request for documents from Rove's files, Libby dropped mention of Rove's current legal status.

For months, Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, has assured the press that his client, who was believed to be vulnerable to indictment for perjury, is in the clear. But Libby insisted that he was entitled to "disclosure of such documents" in Rove's files "even if Mr. Rove remains a subject of a continuing grand jury investigation".

Karl Rove is a subject of Fitzgerald's investigation - this is the headline buried in Libby's filing.

There's an old saying in Tennessee -- I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee -- that says, fool me once -- shame on -- shame on you. You fool me, you can't get fooled again.

(pic)

Dubya attempting to co-opt Texas and Tennessee into his verbal wreckage. The saying he was trying to dredge up was "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." Even better, Dubya was speaking at a literature magnet school. I'm sure it was a learning experience for the kids. East Literature Magnet School, Nashville, Tennessee, Sep. 17, 2002

Can someone post this article? I can?t browse to it.
Has Rove's Security Clearance Been Revoked? (link)

Has Rove's Security Clearance Been Revoked?

This morning, the White House announced that Karl Rove will step down from his policy post and resume his focus on the midterm elections. An important question has not been asked: Will Rove also give up his security clearance?

To this day, Rove has maintained his security clearance in spite of evidence that he mishandled classified information regarding Valerie Wilsonճ position at the CIA. Rove was named as in the indictment of Scooter Libby as "Official A."

An Executive Order 12958, signed by President Clinton in 1995, states disclosure of an undercover agent is grounds for, at a minimum, losing access to classified information:

Section 5.1: Violation means: any knowing, willful, or negligent action that could reasonably be expected to result in an unauthorized disclosure of classified information.

Section 5.7.d: The agency head, senior agency official, or other supervisory official shall, at a minimum, promptly remove the classification authority of any individual who demonstrates reckless disregard or a pattern of error in applying the classification standards of this order.

In November, Newsweek wrote, "Having his security clearance yanked would not require Rove to resign as deputy chief of staff to President Bush. But it would prevent him from taking part in policymaking that relates to national-security issues, which would mean a much-reduced role in the Bush White House."

Rove has now resigned his policy-making post and is focusing primarily on politics. Given Roveճ public intentions to make national security the focus of the 2006 elections, the White House should reveal whether Rove will be doing his political job while holding a security clearance.

40 O'Reilly ""even if Mr. Rove remains a subject of a continuing grand jury investigation"

While Rove may, in fact, be a target, this sounds like mere boilerplate language from the defense to request, as broadly as possible, information from the prosecutor. Without more, I don't believe this is a smoking gun nor even an accusation/affirmation by Libby.

#36 Oh, don't get me started about Bill Gates. Go, Linux!

Thomas Jefferson warned against monopolies. I have friends and family who swear by Apple's systems, especially those who are graphic artists; and other friends who use Linux on principle because they loathe Gates' business practices.

Bill Gates is a monopolist who is now spending his conscience money, snookering the sheeple once again, making it look like he really gives a damn about quality public education. Gates is the wealthiest man in the world -- $51 billion -- because of his price gouging, unfair business practices, and hoodwinking the judicial system to rule in his favor because he had the most buck$. It's difficult to separate the man from his record.

As far as we know, he hasn't polluted the environment like Monsanto or W.R. Grace, but his business ethics are in their league.

Oh, I guess I am off-topic. Sorry. And, perhaps, not too objective...

44 "Subject" of an investigation is a term of art - it has a specific meaning in a legal context.

To the extent Libby's defense team would know Rove's legal status (Rove would have been informed by the prosecutor) Rove is not only under investigation (a person of interest) but he has been named as a "subject" of the ongoing investigation.

43 Thanks Capt.

The Decider Sticks With the Derider
Dowd | April 19, 2006

At first Rummy was reluctant to talk about the agonizing generals' belated objections to the irrational and bullying decisions that led to carnage in Iraq. The rebellious retired brass complain that the defense chief was contemptuous of advice from his military officers and sabotaged the Iraq mission with willful misjudgments before and after the invasion.

"I kind of would prefer to let a little time walk over it," Rummy told reporters at a Pentagon briefing yesterday. But seconds later, he let loose a river of ruminations, a Shakespearean, or maybe Nixonian, soliloquy that showed such a breathtaking lack of comprehension that it was touching, in a perverse way.

He flailed and floundered through anecdotes from his first and second stints at the Pentagon, arguing that he drew criticism because he was a change agent, trying to transform the lumbering military bureaucracy.

He talked about things that most people wouldn't understand ? how 30 years ago he chose a M-1 battle tank with a 120-millimeter cannon and turbine engine instead of the 105-howitzer and diesel engine the Army had wanted. He babbled on about reforms in the Unified Command Plan, the Defense Logistics System, the Quadrennial Defense Reviews and the National Security Personnel System and about going from "service-centric war fighting to deconfliction war fighting, to interoperability and now towards interdependence."

When you yank the military from the 20th-century industrial age to the 21st-century information age, Rummy said, you're bound to cause "a lot of ruffles."

Asked why he twice offered to resign during the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal but has not this time, Rummy smiled and replied, "Oh, just call it idiosyncratic."

Idiosyncratic, indeed, with Iraq in chaos, the military riven and depleted, the president poleaxed, the Republican fortunes for the midterm elections dwindling, and Republican lawmakers like Chuck Hagel questioning Rummy's leadership and Democratic ones like Dick Durbin proposing a no-confidence vote in the Senate.

The secretary made it sound as if the generals want him to resign because he made reforms. But they really want him to resign because he made gigantic, horrible, arrogant mistakes that will be taught in history classes forever.

He suggested invading Iraq the day after 9/11. He didn't want to invade Iraq because it was connected to 9/11. That was the part his neocon aides at the Pentagon, Wolfie and Doug Feith, had to concoct. Rummy wanted to invade Iraq because he thought it would be easy, compared with Iran or North Korea, or compared with finding Osama. He could do it cheap and show off his vaunted transformation of the military into a sleek, lean fighting force.

Cloistered in a macho monastery with "The Decider" (as W. calls himself), Dick Cheney and Condi Rice, Rummy didn't want to hear dissent, or worries about Iraq, the tribes, the sects, the likelihood of insurgency or civil war, the need for more troops and armor to quell postwar eruptions.

"He didn't worry about the culture in Iraq," said Bernard Trainor, the retired Marine general who is my former colleague and the co-author of "Cobra II." "He just wanted to show them the front end of an M-1 tank. He could have been in Antarctica fighting penguins. He didn't care, as long as he could send the message that you don't mess with Hopalong Cassidy. He wanted to do to Saddam in the Middle East what he did to Shinseki in the Pentagon, make him an example, say, 'I'm in charge, don't mess with me.' "

The stoic Gen. Eric Shinseki finally spoke to Newsweek, conceding he had seen a former classmate wearing a cap emblazoned with "RIC WAS RIGHT" at West Point last fall. He said only that the Pentagon had "a lot of turmoil" before the invasion.

Just as with Vietnam, when L.B.J. and Robert McNamara were running the war, or later, when Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger took over, we now have leaders obsessed with not seeming weak, or losing face. Their egos are feeding their delusions.

Asked by Rush Limbaugh on Monday about progress in Iraq, Rummy replied, "Well, the progress has been good." He said that if you always listened to critics about war, "we wouldn't have won the Revolutionary War" or World War I or World War II, and America would have been a different country "if it existed at all."

But the conscience-stricken generals are not critics of war. They are critics of having a war run by a 73-year-old who thinks he's a force for modernity

Read the rest here (link)

O'Reilly,

Any time at all.

AND - (capt kiss butt here) there is a whole gang of good stuff on this short thread - Thanks to all, for all of the execellent stuff!

capt

#45 and #36 About Bill Gates and his love of
H-1B visas.

46

Boilerplate language can include terms of art, so, again, without more it does not confirm anything to me. Your argument assumes Libby's lawyers *know* Rove was a "subject." I don't read it that way. We disagree on this one.

Olbermann's tribute to Scotty (video)

'We knew, just like the United Nations Security Council and intelligence agencies across the world,' he said, 'that Saddam Hussein had large unaccounted-for stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons.' And McClellan added, 'Then came 9/11.'
------------
And then came 9/11. Still trying to tie Iraq to 9/11 anyway they can. Throw BS out there and see what sticks.

Walking the White House plank

...Last week, on April 12, Libby counter-filed to demand extensive documents in the possession of the prosecutor. His filing, written by his lawyers, reveals that he intends to put Karl Rove on the stand as a witness to question him about his leaking of Plame's name to reporters and presumably his role in the "concerted action" against Wilson.
In his request for documents from Rove's files, Libby dropped mention of Rove's current legal status.

For months, Rove's attorney, Robert Luskin, has assured the press that his client, who was believed to be vulnerable to indictment for perjury, is in the clear. But Libby insisted that he was entitled to "disclosure of such documents" in Rove's files "even if Mr. Rove remains a subject of a continuing grand jury investigation".

Karl Rove is a subject of Fitzgerald's investigation - this is the headline buried in Libby's filing.

In white-collar criminal investigations, individuals who fall under the gaze of a prosecutor fit into one of three categories: witness, subject or target. Rove's attorney has suggested that Rove is simply a witness. But that is untrue. He is a subject. A subject is someone the prosecutor believes may have committed a crime and is under investigation. If the prosecutor decides he has accumulated sufficient evidence to prove guilt, he will change the designation of that person from subject to target and then indict him or her.

Having successfully completed his most extensive investigation and prosecution, ending with the conviction of former Governor Ryan, Patrick Fitzgerald returns to the unresolved case before him. The federal grand jury considering his evidence began meeting again this morning. Karl Rove remains a subject--for now.
--------------
Concentrate on elections? Radioactive boy will not be welcomed in any district I'm aware of. Maybe he's going to smear from the office. He'll have to hire someone else to put the leaflets on the windshields of the honest church going folk so that they can read all about the biracial love children of the opposing candidates.

All one needs to do is to repeat the lies often enough and with conviction soon they will be viewed as the truth and we shall prevail.....

Goebels

This guy shoulda been shot when he was a pup.

Savave clip

'bout a two-minute audio clip built-in to the page

With respect, this Iraq War was never about WMD. It was, right from the outset, ABOUT OIL. Whether there were WMD was moot from the beginning. The tragic irony of the whole nonsense is the simple that the US (and her noble allies) have spilt blood while not getting one halfpenny's worth of oil for the waste in human life, money as well as materiel.

We simply gusranteed the rest of the world an orderly oil supply, while incurring the wrath of the beggars that we protected. And odium from the Shi'ites that we propelled into power.

Scott McCellan's efforts notwithstanding.

#19 Micki... I am with you on this one. If Fitzgerald is a man who really believes in justice, truth and holds true to his word. "Truth is the engine of our judicial system"...the "frog march" will continue.