Bush (DODO*) Orders Rummy To Supress Bad News From Iraq

Terrorism & Security | csmonitor.com: "The Bush administration, The Washington Post reports Thursday, worried that negative stories like these are dominating the news headlines during an election period, has decided to send out Iraq Americans to bring what the Defense Department calls 'the good news' about the situation in Iraq to US military bases.

The Post also reports that the administration is moving to 'curtail distribution' of reports that show the situation in Iraq growing worse. In particular, the US Agency of International Development said this week that it will 'restrict distribution' of a report by its contractor, Kroll Security International, that showed the number of attacks by insurgents had been increasingly dramatically over the past few months. Attacks have risen to 70 a day, up from 40-50, since Iraqi Prime Minister Alawi took office in June."

Apparently the administration believes that the absence of truth will improve its electoral chances.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Bush (DODO*) To Guard: I'm Just Too Busy With Stuff I Might Want To Do To Fulfill My Obligations

Yahoo! News - Document: Bush Leaves Military Service: "The White House on Wednesday night produced a November 1974 document bearing Bush's signature from Cambridge, Mass., where he was attending Harvard Business School, saying he had decided not to continue as a member of the military reserve.

The document, signed a year after Bush left the Texas Air National Guard, said he was leaving the military because of 'inadequate time to fulfill possible future commitments.'"

Pudentilla will defer to philosophers on this question, but she does wonder whether it is at all possible to fulfill a possible, future commitment. Doesn't this letter really say, "I'm quitting now because I might be busy later"?

Pudentilla will defer to lawyers on this question, but she does wonder whether one can just walk out of a contract because one might be busy later. She had always assumed that contracts were binding obligations and that if one breached a contract, one would be liable to the other party for damages. In the case of contracts with the military, Pudentilla assumes these damages might be rather severe. If Pudentilla is wrong, she assumes that many current members of the National Guard and the Reserves would like to know. After all, these fine men and women surely all have possible, future committments.

One hates to be nit-picky, but Pudentilla feels compelled to note as well that the release of this document suggests that previous assertions by the Ministry of Excuses** that all of Mr. Bush (DODO*)'s records had been released, were lies.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders
**Ministry of Excuses: What the Republicans Have Made of the White House

Defense Board: Bush (DODO*) and Rummy Have Gutted Army - Repair Efforts Inadequate - Will Draft Be Necessary To Meet US Global Committments?

U.S. Military Is Stretched Too Thin, Defense Board Warns: "The U.S. military lacks sufficient personnel to meet the nation's current war and peacekeeping demands throughout the world in coming years, despite steps being taken by the Army to stretch its ranks and increase the number of soldiers available for combat, according to a Pentagon advisory board."


The report by the Defense Science Board, a panel of outside advisors to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, argues that "inadequate total numbers" of troops mean the United States can "not sustain our current and projected global stabilization commitments." Army initiatives to create more combat brigades out of its 10 active divisions are "important, but partial, steps toward enhanced stabilization operations," the panel said.

Wrong choices, wrong policies, disastrous consequences.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Juan Cole Is On Fire: Bush (DODO*) Leans on FBI To Delay Important National Security Investigations Until After the Election

Informed Comment: "Several high-profile FBI investigations, in which substantial progress have been made, may well have been put on hold by the Bush administration for political reasons. That is, it has been alleged to me that the White House may have leaned on the FBI-- not to drop the investigations but to postpone some key arrests until after the November elections."

Prof. Cole's analysis rests on the assumption that the arrest of a senior aide to the Vice President for putting the life of a C.I.A. agent for the sake of political payback, and the arrest of a Pentagon official who has been spying for Israel would not redound to the benefit of the administration.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Constitution Makes a Comeback

The New York Times > National > Judge Strikes Down Section of Patriot Act: "A federal judge struck down an important surveillance provision of the antiterrorism legislation known as the USA Patriot Act yesterday, ruling that it broadly violated the Constitution by giving the federal authorities unchecked powers to obtain private information."

There is nothing about the provisions in questions that Stalin would have found objectionable. Ask John Ashcroft.

Would Somebody on the LA Times Editorial Page Please Talk to the Political Reporters?

The Strategy Beneath the Flip-Flop Label: "The same strategy underpins the current, equally illegitimate effort to brand Kerry a flip-flopper. As Grover Norquist, a top Republican strategist, explained in March, if you say ' 'Gore fibs,' or 'Kerry will say anything to get elected,' that has an effect.' He added: 'If Kerry will say anything, do anything, flip-flop, then when he gets in a corner down the road and changes his position, you'll say he doesn't mean it. He can't say anything to endear him to you if you've been convinced he'll say anything.'

As Norquist's remarks show, the irony of the flip-flop charge is that it's meant to expose the phoniness, opportunism and political calculation at the heart of its target. In fact, it is proof of those very qualities in those who level it."

Bush (DODO*) Unable To Defend Baghdad From Insurgents - 35 Children Dead in Today's Bombings


Baghdad Bombings Kill 35 Children: "Car bombs exploded throughout Baghdad today, killing at least 46 people — many of them Iraqi children — and wounding dozens of others in a bloody day of violence. "

Wrong choices, wrong policies, disastrous results.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

OT-A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE REPUBLICAN

Pudentilla just stole this from Patti in the comments section (parts 1 and 2) of Atrios

Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of water, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to ensure their safety and that they work as advertised.

All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained.

Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for the laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor.

Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune.

It's noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FSLIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime.

Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification.

He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to.

Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."

Closing the Barn Door: Republicans Seek To Legalize Torture

Katherine at Obsidian Wings has the sorry tale. Pudentilla does not believe there is sufficient evidence demonstrating that torture results in good intelligence. One suspects that there is ample evidence that torture degrades the soul of the practicioner and those on whose behalf he acts. Accordingly, Pudentilla proposes that Dennis Hastert offers himself up as a test case for extraordinary rendition. If the Syrians get good dirt out of him, perhaps we'll reconsider our objections.

Selective Service: Piece of Cake to Reinstitute Draft

via AMERICAblog

CBS News | The Issues: Reviving The Draft | September 28, 2004�20:34:18: "The head of the Selective Service believes he could start drafting people quickly.

'I think we could do it in less than six months if we got the call,' says Selective Service Director Jack Martin.

This time, Martin says there would be no long deferments for college students and a lot more people could be eligible for the draft than before: men and women ages 18 to 26 could be called up. "

Alternatively, as a colleague of Pudentilla (who served in Vietnam) says, "if you want to support the troops, enlist."

An Unsettling Analogy

Informed Comment: "The country is witnessing a guerrilla war that is vast in geographical reach, such that the guerrillas struck British troops and National Guardsmen in the far southern city of Basra on Tuesday. Americans have little appreciation of geography, and still less of foreign geography, but let's put it this way. The guerrillas were battling in Fallujah and Basra on the same day. They are over 300 miles apart. This is like being able to strike in both Youngstown, Ohio and Baltimore, Md. on the same day."

Medics Who Care For US Wounded Risk Careers To Support Kerry

via the farmer at corrente

Newsday.com - World News: "Maybe it was the stress, maybe it's because Hecker has no military career to mess up by speaking out of line, but it just came out: 'George Bush is an idiot,' he said, quickly saying he regretted the comment. But then he continued, criticizing Bush as a rich kid who hasn't seen enough of the world. 'He's very rich, you'd think he'd get some education,' Hecker said." [--snip--]

She declined to elaborate on what exactly she meant. Comments such as Hecker's about the president can lead to severe consequences for those with careers ahead of them. But Martin did add: "People need to vote for the right people to be in office and they need to be empowered to influence change."

What she did feel comfortable saying, echoing the head surgeon, Hecker and others, was that people back home just don't get it. [--snip--]

In private, some hospital workers said they wished they could openly air their feelings about the war. And if reporters could somehow quote people's facial expressions, a number of those staff members would probably be facing disciplinary hearings. Only one staff member interviewed expressed solid support for the war. [--snip--]

The staff do talk among themselves, said Maj. Stephen Franco, chief of the clinical health psychology service at the hospital. He recalled one doctor's comments after attending a memorial service for a young soldier who had died. "I wish some of the lawmakers could attend some of these more often so they can think a little more about their decisions," Franco recalled the doctor telling him. [--snip--]

From a military family herself, the mother of two had been changing her mind about a lot of things even before her husband became so badly injured that he can't do even the most basic of tasks for himself.

She supported the war and voted for Bush. Now, she says, she wants to pull the troops out of Iraq. "I will vote for Kerry. Not because I prefer Kerry over Bush but because I don't want Bush back in office."

No wonder Rummy's suppressing the military vote.

A Successful Response to Terrorism That Took Time, But Did Not Involve An Invasion; bin Laden Still At Large

Yahoo! News - Two Sentenced to Death for Cole Bombing: "- A Yemeni judge sentenced two men to death and four others to prison terms ranging from five to 10 years Wednesday for orchestrating the 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole (news - web sites), an attack blamed on Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s terror network."

The Angry Bear Has Spoken

Angry Bear: "So do I think Kerry has this election in the bag? Not by a long shot. But Kerry supporters would be better served if they spent a lot less time and energy on wailing and gnashing of teeth, and instead devoted time, energy, and money to supporting John Kerry."

And Pudentilla strongly agrees with him. Perhaps because she works with polite New England academics who tend to quiet handwringing, she is struck by unwarranted and therefore excessive gnashing of teeth. Raised in Chicago, Pudentilla is more familiar with the bare-knuckled school of political analysis. It is five weeks to election day. Bush (DODO*) is wildly unpopular. The polls suggest that people want to vote for someone other than Bush. Kohut said on the NewsHour last night that as many as 25% of the votes may be in play. Kerry has a history of a strong and steady closer (so stop with the "he needs a knock out punch" analysis). Have you noticed that Rove isn't committing seppuku? So, neither should Democrats. We should do nothing that could suppress a single vote.

We phone banked last night and that has left us feeling surly. We will say now what convention forbade us from saying to the Nader voter last night. "Are you out of your fucking gourd?"

Government Experts Say Bush (DODO*) and Rummy Lying About Iraq

Growing Pessimism on Iraq (washingtonpost.com): "A growing number of career professionals within national security agencies believe that the situation in Iraq is much worse, and the path to success much more tenuous, than is being expressed in public by top Bush administration officials, according to former and current government officials and assessments over the past year by intelligence officials at the CIA and the departments of State and Defense."

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Bush (DODO*) Blows $100 Billion On Missle Defense System That Doesn't Work - No Child Left Behind Still Not Fully Funded

Interceptor System Set, But Doubts Remain (washingtonpost.com): "But what the administration had hoped would be a triumphant achievement is clouded by doubts, even within the Pentagon, about whether a system that is on its way to costing more than $100 billion will work. Several key components have fallen years behind schedule and will not be available until later. Flight tests, plagued by delays, have yet to advance beyond elementary, highly scripted events."

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Bush (DODO*) Military Using Vietnam-Style Analysis To Explain Nationwide Insurgency

The New York Times > International > Middle East > Insurgency: Iraq Study Sees Rebels' Attacks as Widespread: "BAGHDAD, Iraq, Sept. 28 - Over the past 30 days, more than 2,300 attacks by insurgents have been directed against civilians and military targets in Iraq, in a pattern that sprawls over nearly every major population center outside the Kurdish north, according to comprehensive data compiled by a private security company with access to military intelligence reports and its own network of Iraqi informants." [--snip--]

But most of all, military officers argue that despite the rise in bloody attacks during the past 30 days, the insurgents have yet to win a single battle.

the insurgents have yet to win a single battle: also true of the Viet Cong

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Bush (DODO*) Caught in Another Campaign Lie


Are Bush's Tax Cuts Doing the Job?:

Kerry's plan to roll back income tax reductions for the wealthy, the president says, would "raise taxes for the 900,000 small businesses and entrepreneurs … who are creating most of the new jobs in our changing economy." [--snip--]

"But statistics show that only 1 in 25 small-business owners would be affected by Kerry's tax increases. Of those who would get hit, half have no employees other than themselves. They include lawyers, accountants, consultants and investors who fall within Bush's generous definition of small business."

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Americans reject Bush (DODO*) Foreign Policy

Boston.com / News / Politics / Presidential candidates / Many at odds with Bush foreign policy: "A new survey indicates that a majority of the American public is at odds with many of President's Bush's foreign policy priorities, with overwhelming majorities favoring treaties that the Bush administration opted out of and more than half saying that the United States has the right to go to war without United Nations approval only if there is 'imminent danger of being attacked.'"

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Republican National Committee is Hotbed (we hope) of Homosexual Activity

The Blue Lemur - Progressive Politics and Media News » No. 2 political director for RNC says he’s gay, won’t comment on policy: "Daniel Gurley, the National Field Director and deputy political director for the Republican National Committee confirmed that he was gay during a telephone conversation Sunday, and declined to answer questions about the party’s platform, which many see as homophobic."

Could someone please run an ad or do flyers on this in Arkansas, West Virginia, etc. E.g.:

The Republicans say they support traditional values. Most of their policies help folks who make more than $200,000 a year, but for Christians they promise traditional values.

They also employ openly gay activists in important jobs in the Republican National Committee. Democrats don't have a problem with gay people having jobs, but they do have a problem with Republicans misleading their constitutents. If you make less than $200,000 a year, and you plan to vote for the Republican party this year because of the way they've used buzz words like traditional values, we think you should know - they talk your talk, but they don't walk your walk. And they think Christians are too stupid to notice the difference.

Department of Homeland Security Uses IRS to Spy on Citizens Rather Than Keep Terrorists Out of US

Scorpio has a truly disturbing post on the adventures of a friend who got a call from the Department of Homeland [In]Security wanting to know why she had purchased a Cat Stevens cd. Apparently the citizen in question is a Cat Stevens fan and the recent ruckus reminded her to update her cd collection.

Now you may well ask how could the Department of Homeland [In]Security, WHICH IS SO INCOMPETENT THAT IT CAN'T KEEP THE MOST FAMOUS MUSLIM SINGER IN THE WORLD OFF AN AIRPLANE (assuming they had an reason to in the first place), manage to so quickly find and interrogate an American citizen about her exercise of her constitutional rights? Because this citizen has a financial profile (land assets and low income) that puts her on an IRS watchlist. The IRS punked her out to Homeland [In]Security.

George Bush's America: The terrorist roam free and the citizens are screwed.

The Master Fondly Recalls A Level Of Success in Apprenticeship That Pudentilla Would Never In Her Wildest Dreams Achieve

Eschaton: "In the early days, I was thrilled to get a couple of hundred hits a day"

Cole Critiques Time Story of Bush (DODO*) Plot To Subvert Iraqi Democracy

Informed Comment: "Time Magazine reports that the Bush administration had had a plan to use the Central Intelligence Agency to funnel money to candidates it favored in the forthcoming Iraqi elections. The rationale given was that Iran was bankrolling its own candidates."

Kerry's Opening Remarks On Thursday

Pudentilla believes the following points should be made:

1) The administration has compiled an unadulterated record of failure in foreign policy since 2000. Consistent rejection of alliances, consistent refusal to work out differences. Go it alone sold with cowboy posturing. The posturing is fine, but obviously Mr. Bush didn't understand the consequences of the positions he took. We are alone in the world today because Mr. Bush was not mature enough to sustain our alliances through difficulties and disagreements.

2) As a consequence, most of the casualties and most of the cost of the Iraq war are being born by America alone. Compare that to the US experience in the first Iraq War when we were led by Mr. Bush's father. The present Mr. Bush hides behind a fig leaf of a "coalition," but I bet he couldn't even name all the members of it here tonight. Mr. Bush chose isolationism as a foreign policy. That choice was wrong. [How he started the war in I

3) Indeed Mr. Bush's foreign policy seems to consist of self-serving proclamations of his "steady leadership" on the one hand, and hectic, scrambling, inconsistent decisions on the other. Example: the Hamdi case - If he is a terrorist - and that's what Mr. Bush's attorneys swore to the Supreme Court this summer, why did Mr. Bush let him go. If Hamdi wasn't a terrorist, why did Mr. Bush keep him in solitary confinement for three years. This isn't a plan for dealing with terrorists. This is something 12 year olds would do when playing soldier. Example: North Korea. If they are a member of the axis of evil, as Mr. Bush claimed, why hasn't he done anything about them. How, on Mr. Bush's watch did North Korea get so many nukes. What about Iran. Are we going to attack them or negotiate with them about their nukes. Mr. Bush has treated the axis of evil the way a child who has become bored with a toy does. He has dropped it on the floor and if he thinks about it at all, he just hopes someone else will clean up his mess. That's fine for a fraternity house, but it's no way to run the foreign policy of the most powerful and important nation on the face of the earth.

4) he needs a tag line for Bush's answer: e.g.: The President hasn't given an answer, he's given a nice sound bite, but as the families of over a 1000 American soldiers have learned, these times are too deadly for sound bites. Here's what I would do.

5)he needs to nail him on the acocuntability issue: a) set up that he doesn't know jack (i.e., factual questions on Iraq) - b) set up that no one's been fired for all the failures; c) close: you can either know the answer, or hire the best person to know the answer. But if you hire someone and they fail, then you've failed. Bush doesn't even know he's failed. He's cutting brush in Texas while Iraq is burning. America must do better than that. I can do better than that.


more suggestions welcome. We'll update links as we find them and our own comments as we think about the links we find.

See also Liberal Oasis and MyDD

Note - we didn't use the acronym "DODO*" for Mr. Bush (DODO*) in the above text.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Cool: Archaeologists and Jet Propulsion Lab Solve 2600 Year Old Biblical Riddle

The New York Times > Science > Solving a Riddle Written in Silver: "An archaeological discovery in 1979 revealed that the Priestly Benediction, as the verse from Numbers 6:24-26 is called, appeared to be the earliest biblical passage ever found in ancient artifacts. Two tiny strips of silver, each wound tightly like a miniature scroll and bearing the inscribed words, were uncovered in a tomb outside Jerusalem and initially dated from the late seventh or early sixth century B.C. - some 400 years before the famous Dead Sea Scrolls."

Bush (DODO*) Medicare Plan Screws Seniors

The New York Times > Washington > Inquiry on Medicare Finds Improper Limits on Choices: "Federal investigators said Monday that the Bush administration had improperly allowed some private health plans to limit Medicare patients' choice of health care providers, including doctors, nursing homes and home care agencies.

The investigators, from the Government Accountability Office, also said that the private plans had increased out-of-pocket costs for the elderly and had not saved money for the government, contrary to predictions by Medicare officials."

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Experts Clearly Warned Bush (DODO*) That U.S. Could Lose The Peace

The New York Times > Washington > Prewar Assessment on Iraq Saw Chance of Strong Divisions: "One of the reports also warned of a possible insurgency against the new Iraqi government or American-led forces, saying that rogue elements from Saddam Hussein's government could work with existing terrorist groups or act independently to wage guerrilla warfare, the officials said. The assessments also said a war would increase sympathy across the Islamic world for some terrorist objectives, at least in the short run, the officials said."

And he still didn't plan for the possibility. Inexcusible Failure.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

FBI Neglect and Incompetence Threaten U.S. Success in War on Terror

The New York Times > Washington > F.B.I. Said to Lag on Translations of Terror Tapes: "Three years after the Sept. 11 attacks, more than 120,000 hours of potentially valuable terrorism-related recordings have not yet been translated by linguists at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and computer problems may have led the bureau to systematically erase some Qaeda recordings, according to a declassified summary of a Justice Department investigation that was released on Monday."

The report, released in edited form by Glenn A. Fine, the department's inspector general, found that the F.B.I. still lacked the capacity to translate all the terrorism-related material from wiretaps and other intelligence sources and that the influx of new material has outpaced the bureau's resources.


Three years after the fact and they still have this much backlog? They still lack the capacity to do their job? Will anyone resign?

The last is a rhetorical question. No one will offer his/her resignation. This is, after all, the Ministry of Excuses.* Pudentilla respectfully suggests that Mr. Kerry promise to give the F.B.I. the resources it needs to get the job done, and to find administrators who can actually manage those resources.

*Ministry of Excuses: What the Republicans Have Made of the White House

Cat Steven's Side of the Story

Something Bad Has Begun: "Something Bad Has Begun"

Memo to Ashcroft & Ridge:

You really need to do something with the Patriot Act to ensure that debacles like this don't happen again. Imagine, the other side getting its story out. Heads should roll. Oh, sorry. That's right. No one is ever accountable for anything in your gang. Well, tell the Ministry of Excuses* to lean on the L.A. Times. Threaten their access or something.

*Ministry of Excuses: What the Republicans Have Made of the White House

The L. A. Times Is On Fire

How Dare Kerry Speak Up: "Compared with Kerry, George W. Bush is a coward. This is not a reference to their respective activities during Vietnam. It refers to the current election campaign. Bush happily benefits from the slime his supporters are spreading but refuses to take responsibility for it or to call point-blank for it to stop. He got away with this when the prime mover was the shadowy Swift boats group. Will he get away with it when the accusers are his own vice president, high officials of his own administration (Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage) and members of Congress from his own party (House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert or Sen. Orrin Hatch)? The answer is yes: Based on recent experience, he probably will get away with it."

Bush (DODO*)'s Energy "Plan" In Dissaray - Oil Prices Through Roof, Global Recession Threatens

Crude Oil Prices Top $50 in Asian Trading: "For the first time, crude oil topped the psychological milestone of $50 per barrel during Asian trading Tuesday, surging to new record levels that could unsettle oil importing nations. " [--snip--]

The United States has lost more than 11 million barrels of oil production in the past two weeks, according to U.S. government data, with Gulf of Mexico output still down nearly 500,000 barrels a day following the devastation brought by Ivan.

The price of oil is up roughly 75 percent from a year ago and some analysts predict the latest surge -- which is already hurting airlines and other big consumers -- could lead to a global recession.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Bush (DODO*)'s Mercenaries Alienate Civilians in Afghanistan

Afghans Are Fed Up With Security Firm: "Heated debates abound in teashops and bazaars about security contractors — many of whom drive aggressively, block off streets without notification, wear military fatigues and wraparound shades and appear to randomly point weapons at residents on congested streets."

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Bush (DODO*) Losing Ramadi - Fears of "another Fallujah"

Iraqi City on Edge of Chaos: "Insurgents are killing and kidnapping government officials, police and Iraqi national guard members in an apparent campaign to destabilize this city, the capital of Sunni Muslim-dominated Al Anbar province west of Baghdad.

The rash of attacks threatens to eliminate the interim Iraqi government's control over Ramadi, notwithstanding the presence just outside the city of thousands of U.S. Marines and Army soldiers who back the government's authority. [--snip--]


Then there are the ominous posters that appeared on the walls of mosques a couple of weeks ago. Directed at Iraqi police and national guardsmen, they read, "Quit or we'll kill you."

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Ministry of Excuses* Flip-flop Saves Blue State Urban Poor's Housing - And Just Before The Election Too

Boston.com / News / Nation / Washington / HUD backs off voucher change: "The Bush administration backed away yesterday from a proposal that critics said would have forced many of the 2 million low-income families who use government housing vouchers to foot more of the rent on their own or find substandard apartments."

*Ministry of Excuses: What the Republicans Have Made of the White House

Indicted Child Rapist Gets A Break In Mass

Boston.com / News / Local / Bishop is indicted but won't be tried: "A Hampden County grand jury has indicted the Most Rev. Thomas L. Dupre, the retired Roman Catholic bishop of Springfield, on two charges of child rape. But just hours after the unsealing of the indictments yesterday, the county district attorney said he would not prosecute Dupre because the charges fell outside the statute of limitations."

The result is the Bishop Dupre's voting rights will be preserved. As a convicted felon he would lose them. Gee, what do you think he thinks about Kerry?

Gay Marriage Opponent Retires in Mass Redistricting Scandal

Leaving on 'own terms,' speaker brings end to era The 54-year-old Mattapan Democrat insisted that his decision to depart was not influenced by a federal probe into allegations that he lied under oath during a redistricting lawsuit last year, which has cast a cloud over his final months at the helm of the House. Rather, he said his time had simply come.

Boston.com / News / Local / Prospects shift as DiMasi takes over for Finneran: "The effort to bring a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage to voters in November 2006 suffered a major setback yesterday with departure of House Speaker Thomas M. Finneran and the elevation of Salvatore F. DiMasi, whose arrival is expected to shift the Massachusetts legislative agenda to the left on social issues such as gay rights, abortion, and stem cell research."

Perhaps this will be the start of a trend.

Post Debate Memes:

What, you don't think the Republicans are writing theirs in advance?

1) Mr. Bush (DODO*) looked a bit stunned on more than one occasion.
2) Kerry seemed to dominate the stage.
3) After a while, the canned nature of Mr. Bush(DODO*)'s responses seemed a bit jarring, particularly in comparison to Kerry's answers.
4) Kerry seemed to really enjoy himself out there. Mr. Bush (DODO*) in contrast, seemed a bit lost and anxious.


Suggestions?

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

What do you think Bush (DODO*) says about Catholics, if this is what he says about the Christian Coalition?

Bush asking for Catholic Vote in Public:

Bush aides say Kerry 'wrong for Catholics' WASHINGTON The Republican Party is portraying John Kerry, a Roman Catholic, as "wrong for Catholics" and suggesting that his opponent, George W. Bush, a Methodist, has a stronger record on Catholic values.


Bush on the Christian Coalition in Private

"I hate those people," he'd once snarled at me when I ribbed him at a White House governors' gathering about some trouble he was having in Texas with the Christian Coalition. (MSNBC: Excerpt from Dean's book)

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Catholic Bishop Accused of Child Rape

Yahoo! News - Bishop Indicted on Child Rape Charges: "Bishop Thomas Dupre, the former head of the Springfield Diocese, was indicted Monday on child rape charges, accused of molesting two boys in the 1970s, the county prosecutor said. He becomes the first Roman Catholic prelate indicted in the sex abuse scandal within the American church." [--snip--]

Four other U.S. bishops have resigned after being accused directly of sexual misconduct since the scandal erupted in Boston in early 2002.

From the people who don't want you to vote for Kerry because his political positions don't accord with Church dogma.

Bush (DODO*) Sends Weapon-less Unit to Iraq; Army Reserves Not Prepared For War Says General

via The American Street

KWTX | Army Sends Weaponless Reserve Unit To Iraq: "About 800 members of the 98th Army Reserve Division from Rochester, New York will begin a year-long mission in Iraq next month.

The unit, which normally trains reserve and active-duty soldiers in the U.S., will find itself training Iraq’s new army.

The 98th is a non-combat unit that doesn't even have its own weapons or vehicles.

"This is a hard war and we, frankly, inside the Army Reserve have been not properly prepared for it,” said Lt. Gen. James Helmly, chief of the U.S. Army Reserve."

Those poor bastards.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

A Reason to Vote for Kerry

The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > Kerry as the Boss: Always More Questions: "There is no Karl Rove in Mr. Kerry's orbit."

Carter: Bush Brothers Turning Florida Election Into Bananna Republic Joke

Still Seeking a Fair Florida Vote (washingtonpost.com): "It is unconscionable to perpetuate fraudulent or biased electoral practices in any nation. It is especially objectionable among us Americans, who have prided ourselves on setting a global example for pure democracy. With reforms unlikely at this late stage of the election, perhaps the only recourse will be to focus maximum public scrutiny on the suspicious process in Florida."

Ministry of Excuses* Politicizes Terror Warnings Before Elections

Election Heightens Terrorism Offensive (washingtonpost.com): "Agencies across the federal government are launching an aggressive and unusually open offensive aimed at thwarting terrorist plots before and during the presidential election in November." [--snip--]

Counterterrorism officials concede they do not have new or specific intelligence outlining plans for an attack, but they say they remain alarmed by indications that al Qaeda and other terror groups might seek to influence U.S. elections as they did in Spain last spring by setting off bombs on commuter trains in Madrid.

No intelligence on al-Q attack, but plenty of polling suggesting that such efforts help Mr. Bush (DODO**)'s election chances.

*Ministry of Excuses: What the Republicans Have Made Of the White House
**DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Bush (DODO*) Flip Flops On Iraq

Heady U.S. Goals for Iraq Fall by Wayside: "
Yet behind the unwavering public posture, there is evidence that the Bush administration has altered its approach. It has lowered its hopes for the type of democracy that can be achieved, changed course on its plans to privatize Iraq's economy and reordered its priorities by devoting more money to improving security as fast as possible." [--snip--]

National security advisor Condoleezza Rice this month defined success in more modest terms than the administration used in the war's early stages. "Success will be an Iraqi government that has gone through the legitimacy process of being elected and an Iraqi government that can defend itself," she said.

Many experts believe the administration will be hard-pressed even to pull that off

DODO*: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Bush (DODO*)'s Economy Great For Rich, Lousy For Everyone Else

Boston.com / News / Nation / For job seekers, economic gloom persists: "This month the US Labor Department reported the nation added 144,000 new jobs, but a wobbly economy that has plagued President Bush almost since he took office still casts a shadow over middle- and working-class Americans, especially in industrial states like Pennsylvania, where layoffs have become common. The lower wages they earn, the fewer benefits they receive, and the debts they owe to relatives have left many people dismissing any suggestions that the economy is improving."

Negligent Hiring?

Boston.com / News / World / Iraqi Guard commander arrested by US military: "The US military announced yesterday that it had arrested a top Iraqi National Guard commander in Tikrit, accusing him of working with the insurgency. It was the most serious publicized confirmation so far that the growing resistance movement, which US officials admitted yesterday is fanning out from bases in Fallujah and Baghdad, has infiltrated the top echelons of Iraq's new security forces."

John Edwards Came To Town (and Pudentilla's Virtue was Rewarded) - a True Story

We drove down to Lewiston this afternoon to pick up our ticket for the John Edwards appearance. Some sleep-deprived, harried-looking staffers asked us if we would phone bank because everyone was so busy organizing Edwards' appearance. It was a beautiful sunny 75 degree day. We hate phone banking. We said yes.

Two phone calls later, a sleep-deprived, harried-looking staffer asked if we would go to the site to help set up. We said yes, and many unfolded chairs and taped up signs and later we were rewarded with a primo seat. Which was fortunate, because the place was packed. People had driven in from towns all over Maine, and Maine is a very big place to be doing that in. Lots of older guys with VFW regalia. Lots of middle aged teachers and mill workers, most of whom are losing or have lost their jobs. Lots of college aged kids, some in college, some not. Lots of everyone, really.

Lillian O'Brien, the godmother of Lewiston politics and Maine State rep (who wore pink today, to remind all the young women in the audience of all the progress women have made because of Democrats), Peggy Rotundo, Maine State Senator, Tom Allen and Mike Michaud (our congressmen), John Baldacci (current governor) and Angus King (former governor, independent, who supported Mr. Bush *DODO*) last time) spoke. King was really the best. Best lines: "Anyone under 35 who votes for Bush needs to get their head examined." "People ask me why I decided to get involved. I say it's because I couldn't take it anymore." "Everyone needs to get one friend who doesn't vote to vote. Humphry lost by one vote per precent. We can't let that happen again." This from a politician who runs as an independent and who voted for Bush last time.

Johnny B. Goode enters to rapturous applause. The younger people in the section next to mine yielded their spots on the rope lines to members of the older generation who wanted to shake Edwards' hand, take his picture and tell him to give Bush hell. It was the sweetest damn thing Pudentilla has seen since forever.

He was preaching to the choir, and said nothing folks who have been following the campaign haven't heard. He did add a beautiful homerun shot on Bush's claim that he would have repeated the "Mission Accomplished" thing if he had the chance. People were on their feet as often as they could be. The speakers, including Edwards had to repeatedly tell people to sit down. Applause ranged from intense to thunderous. Spontaneous booing and hissing at Bush's name. People were pumped.

We believe that the SCLM has failed to notice the intensity of the support Kerry/Edwards is receiving from traditional Democratic constituencies. These people would pretty much have done anything Edwards asked. Nor were they pre-screened.

Pudentilla slipped away avoiding a request to help clean up. For penance she will phone bank on Tuesday.

Moral of the story. TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER AND GO VOLUNTEER!

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Republicans Think Christians Are Stupid

This is the title Pudentilla believes the DNC should give to their own flyer, which Pudentilla believes they should circulate in Arkansas and West Virigina. According to the a NYT story,

"the Republican Party acknowledged yesterday sending mass mailings to residents of two states warning that "liberals" seek to ban the Bible. It said the mailings were part of its effort to mobilize religious voters for President Bush."

Under the banner headline, "Republicans Think Christians Are Stupid," Pudentilla believes the following text should appear.

That's right. Republicans think a God-fearing, Christian (especially one who lives in rural states) is dumber than a post. What else could explain the flyer the Republican National Party distributed last week claiming that "liberals" would ban the Bible if John Kerry were elected.

Two second's reflection reveals that the claim is stupid and crazy. But the Republican National Party thinks that God-fearing, Christians in Arkansas and West Virginia are too stupid to give their own votes for the presidency of the United States two second's worth of reflection. They think they can just push a button by saying "liberal," "Bible," and "ban" in the same sentence and God-fearing, Christians in rural states will march like machines into the voting booth and vote for George Bush.

John Kerry believes that all Americans take this election very seriously. We are a country at war against a very, difficult and dangerous enemy. Our economy is weak. Our health care system is failing. Our schools need help. In times like these, all Americans are following the campaign closely and reflecting on it seriously. We invite you to visit our web-site and consider the positions we have taken and the arguments for them. We ask for your informed vote. We don't take your vote for granted. And we don't think we can "push a button" to get your vote.

And no, Mr. Bush, liberals aren't going to ban the Bible. Liberals, from farms and cities and small towns have fought for centuries so that Americans could have the freedom to practice their faith in public and with the respect of all citizens.

A Teachable Moment: How Democracy Works

The New York Times editorial page is on fire, calling the coordinated effort of Republicans to characterize Kerry campaign criticism of Mr. Bush (DODO*)'s failed Iraq policy as "pro-terrorism."

This is despicable politics. It's not just polarizing - it also undermines the efforts of the Justice Department and the Central Intelligence Agency to combat terrorists in America.

Pudentilla understands the NYT's sentiment, but suggests that their response to the Republicans takes the wrong approach. Let us consider this co-ordinated effort by the RNC and Mr. Bush (DODO*)'s campaign as indicative of the lack of knowledge about basic democratic principles that characterize Mr. Bush (DODO*) and his cronies. Since Mr. Bush (DODO*) claims to be promoting democracy in parts of the world whose history has not been enjoyed the political liberty in which he claims to believe, Pudentilla believes that friends of liberty, democracy and the Middle East would be well served to consider this moment in the presidential campaign as a "teachable moment."

Perhaps we could point out to Mr. Bush (DODO*) and his allies, that when a political opponent criticizes one's policies and their consequences, the electorate is offered an opportunity to evaluate their leaders and make a more informed choice in the election. Some folks call this "the marketplace of ideas." The most effective response to a critique of one's policies and performance in the marketplace of ideas is a response which defends one's policies and offers a critique of one's opponent.

The response of Mr. Bush (DODO*) and his cronies, in fact, is fundamentally undemocratic. Rather than defend Mr. Bush (DODO*)'s Iraq policy and its implementation, they wish to silence Mr. Kerry's critique by branding it "pro-terrorism." If successful, the marketplace of ideas will be impoverished and voters will have much less to consider when attempting to make an informed decision about their leaders.

Perhaps we should suggest to Mr. Bush (DODO*) and his cronies that when Mr. Bush (DODO*) refuses to defend his policy and record, choosing instead to try to silence Mr. Kerry's criticism, that a thoughtful electorate might conclude that now even Mr. Bush recognizes that his policy, its implementation and its consequences are indefensible.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

The Queen's Dollar - RNC CFO Queer As Three Dollar Bill

The Blue Lemur - Progressive Politics and Media News » Chief Financial Officer of Republican National Committee admits he’s gay, stays quiet: "Jay Banning, the Chief Financial Officer and Director of Administration for the Republican National Committee since Ronald Reagan’s presidency in 1983 acknowledged that he was gay during a telephone conversation Saturday."

Jay, honey, stay away from those Jimmy Swaggart fundraisers.

A Pedagogical Opportunity Not Fully Grasped


Prof. Merrill Skaggs of Drew University wanted to make voting a requirement for her American Lit class this. [NYT story] As you might expect, this caused a bit of a hullabaloo, both on the right and the left. The Professor finally compromised by requiring students to enter the voting both, but not requiring a vote. A Quaker, she will grade the exercise on the honor system.

Pudentilla respectfully suggests that the Professor has ackwardly framed the requirement. She should have required students to return with that little slip of paper from the voting booth, or a three to five page paper explaining the student's decision not to vote.

If they have paperless electronic voting at the polls near Drew, students who voted should be required to write a three to five page paper defending or attacking the paperless electronic voting machine.

Dionne's On Fire

Twisting the Truth (washingtonpost.com): "A press corps that relentlessly nitpicked Al Gore in 2000 in search of 'little lies' and exaggerations has given Bush wide latitude to make things up. I guess the incumbent benefits from the soft bigotry of low expectations.

Milbank Engages in an Exercise in Understatement

Tying Kerry to Terror Tests Rhetorical Limits (washingtonpost.com): "President Bush and leading Republicans are increasingly charging that Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry and others in his party are giving comfort to terrorists and undermining the war in Iraq -- a line of attack that tests the conventional bounds of political rhetoric."

"Tests" the conventional bounds? "Drives a Mack truck through the conventional bounds" is surely more accurate.

Mulluhs in RNC Outed - Unapologetic About Efforts To Bring Holy War to America

The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > Republicans Admit Mailing Campaign Literature Saying Liberals Will Ban the Bible: "The Republican Party acknowledged yesterday sending mass mailings to residents of two states warning that 'liberals' seek to ban the Bible. It said the mailings were part of its effort to mobilize religious voters for President Bush."

Feel A Draft In Here?

The New York Times > Washington > The Military: Panel Calls U.S. Troop Size Insufficient for Demands: "A Pentagon-appointed panel of outside experts has concluded in a new study that the American military does not have sufficient forces to sustain current and anticipated stability operations, like the festering conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and other missions that might arise."

Pudentilla, who does not have children and who is too old and too gay to serve in Mr. Bush (DODO*)'s army has several suggestions for the draft:

1) Random Selection
2) Option to Serve in military or non-military - lengths of service can vary depending on type of service.
3) Option to decline selection. Those who decline selection sign a statement that reads, "When asked to serve my country, I declined because I had other priorities." The statement is kept on file and available to press and public on request for the rest of signer's life. Those who accept selection are guaranteed four years of college (all expenses) after service. If they die during service, their estates receive whatever Harvard currently charges for four years of college, room, board and books.
4) Every elected official at the federal, state, county and local level receive two free passes which they can use to nullify a random selection (i.e., the person is tossed from the pool and doesn't face options 2 & 3). They may only use these "free passes," if it least one of their children (niece/nephew or grandchildren ok if they don't have kids) is serving in the military.
5) Openly gay people get to serve.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Herbert Is On Fire

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: Bush Upbeat as Iraq Burns: "As the situation in Iraq moves from bad to worse, the president, based on his public comments, seems to be edging further and further from reality. This is disturbing, to say the least. "

Bush (DODO*) Promises Half a Loaf of Democracy to Iraq - "Hey, it's Better Than None," says Rummy

The New York Times > Washington > Assessments: Bush and Allawi Say Iraqi Voting Won't Be Put Off: "President Bush and Prime Minister Ayad Allawi of Iraq vowed in the White House Rose Garden on Thursday that Iraq would hold free elections as scheduled in January, even though Mr. Bush acknowledged the 'persistent violence' in some parts of the country and Dr. Allawi conceded that the elections 'may not be perfect.'

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld also spoke openly for the first time on Thursday about the possibility that the elections might be held only in parts of Iraq."

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Bad Guys Bag Two More in the Heart of Bush (DODO*)'s Baghdad

Gunmen Kidnap 2 Egyptians in Baghdad: "Gunmen kidnapped two Egyptian employees at a mobile-phone company's office in Baghdad, government officials said today.

The kidnapping happened late Thursday in the upscale Harthiya neighborhood, said an Interior Ministry official, Col. Adnan Abdel-Rahman. The two engineers were driven away in a black BMW, he said.

Don't Worry, Be Happy

In a question and answer session after his speech to Congress, Allawi described Baghdad as "very good and safe." [L.A. Times story]

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

But Cardinal, What Would Jesus Do?

Mahony, Counsel Lament Abuse Victims' Suffering: "'There's enough pain on peoples' faces that you can see that they are, indeed, suffering,' Hennigan said" [--snip--]

In a wide-ranging luncheon interview at The Times, Mahony and Hennigan made clear that the church is not prepared to abandon its legal battles. They reiterated their decision to appeal a recent court ruling that the archdiocese must turn over documents in the confidential records of two former priests to Los Angeles prosecutors investigating sexual abuse allegations.

Talking the talk but walking the perp walk: the people who advise you not to vote for Kerry based on Church dogma

Allawi's Iraq and Reality Part Company

Violence Belies Positive Picture: "Large swaths of Iraq remain outside the control of the interim government, major highways are fraught with attackers, and interim Prime Minister Iyad Allawi — along with the U.S. Embassy and much of the international community — must conduct business in fortified compounds guarded by tanks, blast walls and barbed wire.

In Washington, Allawi gave Congress an upbeat assessment Thursday, but the situation in Iraq is more complicated"

Indicators Indicate Bush (DODO*) Economy Sucks

Leading Indicators Decline in August (washingtonpost.com): "A closely watched gauge of future business activity fell in August for a third consecutive month, evidence that companies and consumers continue to navigate an uncertain economic climate. Meanwhile, more Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week following the hurricanes that hit Florida."

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Bush (DODO*) Flip-Flop On Strategic Reserve Too Little Too Late For Oil Prices

The New York Times > AP > Business > Oil Prices Climb Despite Gov't Statement: "Oil prices climbed toward $49 per barrel Thursday even as the Bush administration considered lending crude from the nation's emergency stockpile to refiners experiencing supply disruptions caused by Hurricane Ivan." [--snip--]

Bush had criticized President Clinton's move in fall 2000 to tap the reserve, saying it was a political effort to help Democrat Al Gore, Bush's opponent in the 2000 election.

When they were crafting the great "Saudi Oil Price Bailout Tactic," did no one stop to consider whether hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico during hurricane season might interrupt oil supplies/reserves?
*DODO: Does Not Obey Direct Orders

Rich Guys Charge Their Tax Breaks To Your Kids' Futures - Refunds for Poor Families Axed

The New York Times > Washington > Deal in Congress to Keep Tax Cuts, Widening Deficit: "Putting aside efforts to control the federal deficit before the elections, Republican and Democratic leaders agreed Wednesday to extend $145 billion worth of tax cuts sought by President Bush without trying to pay for them."

Bid to Save Tax Refunds for the Poor Is Blocked Congressional negotiators beat back efforts yesterday to expand and preserve tax refunds for poor families, even as they added $13 billion in corporate tax breaks to a package of middle-class tax cuts that could come to a vote in the Senate today.

Homeland Security Chief Blames Airline For Breach Of Homeland Security - Offers of Resignation Not Expected

The New York Times > Washington > Accusations on Detention of Ex-Singer: "United Airlines and the Department of Homeland Security blamed each other Wednesday because a passenger, the singer formerly known as Cat Stevens, was allowed on a London-to-Washington flight on Tuesday even though his name is on a terrorism watch list." [--snip--]

But at United, Jeff Green, a spokesman, said in a telephone interview, "That is not necessarily a very fair assessment on Secretary Ridge's part.''

Mr. Green said that information provided by the Department of Homeland Security did not match that supplied by Mr. Islam. "The system did not flag him as a no-fly passenger,'' Mr. Green said.

To summarize:

1) On September 11, 2001, the United States learned that terrorists had figured out how to use airplanes as missiles. Thousands died as the country learned this lesson.
2) Mr. Ridge was hired specifically to make the "homeland" more secure.
3) Homeland Security presumably involves preventing terrorists from ever using airplanes as missiles again.
4) THREE YEARS LATER, Mr. Ridge has still not figured out how to prevent persons the United States has identified as terrorists from getting on planes bound for the US. Let us assume (although no one left in this administration deserves the benefit of the doubt) that Cat Stevens is indeed a terrorist. This means that on Mr. Ridge's watch, Mr. Stephens could have, had he wanted, blown up a plane killing hundreds of passengers on board. He could have done this because the T.S.A. is still not able to keep people with guns and explosives off airplanes according to the Department of Homeland Security (Reuters story).
5) Rather than offer his resignation in the face of proven incompetence, Mr. Ridge, with an earnest assist from his deputy Asa Hutchinson, blamed the airlines.

This from the people who claimed that they would restore integrity to the White House.

As If He Would Know

Powell Denies U.S. Plans to Attack Iran: "Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said Wednesday that there were no plans to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, despite the Pentagon's recent agreement to sell Israel 500 'bunker-buster' bombs capable of disabling underground weapons plants."

Sovereign Iraq?

Iraq, U.S. Differ on Prisoner Release: "The confusion over Taha's release raised the question about how much control the interim Iraqi government exerts over prisoners, security and other matters. It claims custody over all Iraqi prisoners, though the U.S. apparently disagrees. "

No one thought that prisoner release might eventually be a hostage taker's demand? No one thought to write up a protocol so that Allawi wouldn't look so utterly like the stooge he is? The level of incompetence is breathtaking.

Bush (DODO*) Wants Afghans to Have the Best Democracy the US Can Control

U.S. Hand Seen in Afghan Election: "'It is not only me,' Mohaqiq said. 'They have been doing the same thing with all candidates. That is why all people think that not only Khalilzad is like this, but the whole U.S. government is the same. They all want Karzai — and this election is just a show."

The charges were repeated by several other candidates and their senior campaign staff in interviews here. They reflected anger over what many Afghans see as foreign interference that could undermine the shaky foundations of a democracy the U.S. promised to build."

Might someone in the SCLM point out that DODO* and the Merry Men keep devaluing democracy (cf. Putin's putsch) because they themselves don't believe in it. They surely don't want it in their own nation, why would they promote it in another?

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Ministry of Excuses* Promoting Discrimination Against Gays

via Raw Story

Daily News...Advocate.com: "The Social Security Administration is trying to remove language from the agency's labor contract that protects its employees from discrimination based on sexual orientation. The change would make it legal for gay and lesbian employees in the Bush administration to be discriminated against, or even fired, by their employers."

Lets ask David Dreier what he thinks.

*Ministry of Excuses: What the Republicans Have Made of the White House

INEXCUSABLE FAILURE

Boston.com / News / World / Deal frees US 'enemy combatant': "The accused Taliban fighter's case led to a Supreme Court decision in June limiting the president's wartime powers. Because the Bush administration is releasing Hamdi, it will not have to comply with the court's order that it give Hamdi and his attorney a chance to view and rebut any evidence against him before a neutral decision maker.

The release of Hamdi -- a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who the Bush administration once contended was too dangerous to be allowed a lawyer -- is the latest in a series of highly touted terrorism cases that have ended without convictions in recent months."

Pudentilla does not know the facts of this case. Nor does anyone else - with the possible exception of Mr. Ashcroft and his minions. Mr. Hamdi could be Osama's right hand man, or a pathetic victim of circumstance. Mr. Ashcroft, however, apparently believed he did not have the evidence to convict Mr. Hamdi. The Supreme Court pointed out that he did not have the power to hold him in a Stalinesque state of detention indefinitely. Ashcroft did have the practical leverage (three years of solitary confinement) to persuade Hamdi to trade his citizenship and the rights arising from it for a release from the hell Ashcroft had made for him. Every American should shudder at this diabolical bargain.

If Mr. Hamdi is indeed a terrorist, then Mr. Ashcroft's deal (which has the sole virtue of minimizing the administration's embarrassment) is treasonous. If Mr. Hamdi is not a terrorist, then Mr. Aschroft's deal is also treasonous. If he is not impeached for his incompetence he should be jailed for his subversion of the United State's Constitution.

What One Might Do With A Billion A Week

UN: End World Hunger?

Daily Times - Site Edition: "World leaders back new anti-hunger campaign

* Bush fails to turn up for World Leaders Summit on hunger

UNITED NATIONS: More than 100 countries on Monday endorsed a campaign to raise an additional $50 billion a year in development aid to combat global hunger, but the United States poured cold water on the project. [--snip--]

However, the leader of the US delegation, Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman, coolly dismissed it.

“Economic growth is the long-term solution to hunger and poverty,” she told the meeting. “The report should give more attention to practical steps to sustained growth. There is too much emphasis on schemes such as global taxes to raise external resources. Global taxes are inherently undemocratic. Implementation is impossible.”

Ministry of Excuses:*: Single handedly End World Hunger? Nah, Pour It Down The Quagmire

Salon War Room
Iraq spending: More than $1 billion a week

The Pentagon is now tapping into a $25 billion "contingency fund" to pay for troop rotations in Iraq and to prepare for even more intense fighting in Iraq this fall. Just months ago, the administration claimed it wouldn't need more funding for the war until early 2005 -- another glaring example of the administration's complete bungling of post-invasion plans. And you have to wonder how sustainable this rate of expenditure is.

From Reuters: "With the rate of spending in Iraq already at more than $1 billion a week, the Pentagon may not have enough money to 'get past Christmas,' let alone wait until February, said John Pike, a defense analyst with GlobalSecurity.org. He said the White House could need closer to $75 billion next year."

*Ministry of Excuses: What the Republicans Have Made of the White House

Sir, Yes, Sir!

Skippy's on a rant because no one hopped to it when he directed our attention to a song on Audio Street which plays the Lennon tune, "Imagine" over Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side" with very well edited outtakes from Bush (DODO*) providing the vocals. The roo has threatened to shoot the blog if we all don't start spreading the word.


Pudentilla is devoted to the Master of Marsupials and could not bear the thought of him shooting the blog. So she went to listen to the song. As usual, Skippy is right. The song is brilliant. You must listen to it.

Conclusion: When the kangaroo says "hop", you hop.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Another Bomb in Baghdad, Sistani Says US Violating Najaf Truce

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Baghdad car bomb kills 11: "The Associated Press reported that the driver of the car drove it to a photocopy shop in the al-Jamiyah area of western Baghdad where Iraqi national guard recruits were preparing their papers.

The explosives were then detonated, injuring at least 54 people. Several shops were destroyed, and witnesses told Reuters that an ice cream restaurant had taken the worst of the blast." [--snip--]

Iraq's most influential Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, today accused US forces of this week breaking a truce in the southern city of Najaf by raiding the office of the rebel cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.

Meanwhile, back in the fantasy world of Mr. Bush (DODO*)

"The Iraqi citizens are defying the pessimistic predictions," Bush said, adding: "Iraqi citizens are seeing a determined effort by responsible citizens to lead to a more hopeful tomorrow, and I am optimistic we'll succeed." [Seattle Times story]

Much more of Mr. Bush (DODO*)'s optimism and there won't be any Iraqis left to enjoy the democracy he claims to building.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Pentagon Blocks Voter Registration Efforts For U.S. Citizens

Salon.com Technology | The Pentagon doesn't want you to vote overseas: "'This is a completely partisan thing,' one Defense Department voting official told Salon. The official, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of being fired, is one of the many people in the department assigned to help both uniformed military personnel as well as American civilians register to vote. The offical described the Pentagon as extremely diligent in its efforts to register soldiers stationed overseas -- for instance, voting assistance officers have been told by the department to personally meet with all of the soldiers in their units in order to help them register. But the department has ignored its mandate to help overseas civilians who want to vote, the official said."

Someone should suggest to the Ministry of Excuses* that democracy promotion efforts begin at home.

*Ministry of Excuses: What the Republicans Have Made of the White House

Juan Cole Is On Fire Today

Informed Comment: "What would America look like if it were in Iraq's current situation? The population of the US is over 11 times that of Iraq, so a lot of statistics would have to be multiplied by that number. "

Read the whole thing.

Norman Cantor, RIP

The New York Times > Obituaries > Norman F. Cantor, 74, a Noted Medievalist, Is Dead: "orman Frank Cantor, a prominent American medievalist whose books, like his classic 'Civilization of the Middle Ages,' were widely read in the classroom and beyond, died on Saturday at his home in Miami, where he retired four years ago. He was 74 and a former resident of Greenwich Village."

Steady Leadership in Times of Change

Second Beheading Reported
BAGHDAD — Militants said Tuesday that they had beheaded a second American hostage in as many days and threatened to kill a British captive, increasing pressure on President Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair to confront a recent wave of kidnappings of foreigners in the Iraqi capital.

The kidnappers had demanded the release of all female Iraqis being held by the United States, and a Justice Ministry spokesman said this morning that the Iraqi government had decided to release one of the two women known to be held. [--snip--]

"You know that the Iraqi transitional government has asserted many times that it does not negotiate with terrorists," Raheem said.

The Iraqi government claims legal custody over all Iraqi prisoners, including deposed dictator Saddam Hussein. But Taha — like Hussein and his top lieutenants — is in physical custody of the U.S. military. It was not immediately known whether the U.S. would agree to the release, or whether her freedom would save British hostage Kenneth Bigley.

Our prayers are with the families of the hostages, and Mr. Bigley.

UPDATE: The BBC just announced that the Iraqi's are backing off release promise.

Mr. Bush (DODO*) Protects American From Cat Stevens

Boston.com / News / Nation / Washington / Singer's plane is diverted to Maine: "A plane bound for Washington from London was diverted to Maine yesterday after passenger Yusuf Islam, formerly known as pop singer Cat Stevens, showed up on a US watch list, federal officials said."

Perhaps someone in the Ministry of Excuses** might direct Mr. Bush (DODO*)'s attention to Osama bin Laden, now.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders
**Ministry of Excuses: What the Republicans Have Made of the White House

The Play's The Thing

There are surely more pleasant things to wake to than a sensitive, laudatory review of one's partner's work in a major newspaper. We cannot immediately think of any of them, however.

Bush Flip Flops On Meaning of Committments:

Today at the UN:

Yahoo! News - Bush Urges World to Unite With Iraq: "'The commitments we make must have meaning.,' he said."

Thirty Some Years Ago:

Bush fell short on duty at Guard - Records show pledges unmet: (September 8, 2004) But Bush fell well short of meeting his military obligation, a Globe reexamination of the records shows: Twice during his Guard service -- first when he joined in May 1968, and again before he transferred out of his unit in mid-1973 to attend Harvard Business School -- Bush signed documents pledging to meet training commitments or face a punitive call-up to active duty.

He didn't meet the commitments, or face the punishment, the records show. The 1973 document has been overlooked in news media accounts. The 1968 document has received scant notice.

The Poisoned Chalice Analysis

The Jakarta Post - Republican to Democrat: The poisoned chalice?: "As the opinion polls move steadily in favour of President George W. Bush and the likelihood of a John Kerry presidency recedes, Democrats in the United States can take solace in two facts. If their man is not in the White House for the next four years, then they will not end up carrying the blame for the almost inevitable U.S. defeat in Iraq -- and they will not have to preside over the biggest financial crisis to hit the United States since the Great Depression."

"The U.S. dollar is going the way that (the British pound) went as it lost its place as the world's reserve currency," said Jim Rogers, the Wall Street wizard who in 1973 co-founded the Quantum Fund, one of the first and most successful hedge funds, in a recent interview. "I suspect there will be exchange controls in the U.S. in the foreseeable future....Whoever is elected president is going to have serious problems in 2005-2006. We Americans are going to suffer."

Exchange controls? Does this qualify for the Ancient Order of the Shrill?

Bush (DODO*) CIA Nominee: Condi & Cheney Pre-War Statements On WMD Were BS


The New York Times > Washington > Nominee Says Iraq Threat Was Perhaps Overstated: "Representative Porter J. Goss, the nominee to become director of central intelligence, said on Monday that some prewar statements by senior Bush administration officials might well have overstated available intelligence about the threat posed by Iraq."

Under sharp questioning from a Senate Democrat, Mr. Goss, a Republican from Florida, said he agreed that statements by Vice President Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice that linked Iraq to the Sept. 11 attacks; to Al Qaeda; and to an active nuclear weapons program appeared to have gone beyond what was spelled out in intelligence reports at the time.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Desperate Bush (DODO*) Effort To Stabilize Iraq May Undermine Iraqi Democracy

The New York Times > International > Middle East > Reconstruction: Iraqis Warn U.S. Plan to Divert Billions to Security Could Cut Off Crucial Services: "Iraqi officials in charge of rebuilding their country's shattered and decrepit infrastructure are warning that the Bush administration's plan to divert $3.46 billion from water, sewage, electricity and other reconstruction projects to security could leave many people without the crucial services that generally form the backbone of a stable and functioning democracy." [--snip--]

"For a year we have been talking, with beautiful PowerPoint documents, but without a drop of water," Mr. Chadirji said, waving a colorful printout that he received from American officials.

The decision to shift the money, which had been earmarked for rebuilding everything from roads and bridges to telecommunications and the outdated equipment pumping oil, appears to signal an abandonment of the administration's original plan for putting Iraq back on its feet as a functioning nation.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Krugman: Bush (DODO*) Attempts To Conceal U.S. Defeat in Iraq

The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Columnist: The Last Deception: "Now Mr. Bush hopes that by pretending that Mr. Allawi is a real leader of a real government, he can conceal the fact that he has led America into a major strategic defeat."

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Sheer: Conservatives Have Made Faustian Bargain

True Conservatives Would Back Kerry: "Instead, their acquiescence to the reckless whims of George W. Bush marks a descent into that political abyss of opportunism where partisanship is everything and principle nothing."

Failure in Command Leads To Torture and Murder Allegations in Army Prison in Afghanistan - "We're Trying To Figure Out Who Was Running The Base."

U.S. Probing Alleged Abuse of Afghans: "
Alleged American mistreatment of the detainees included repeated beatings, immersion in cold water, electric shocks, being hung upside down and toenails being torn off, according to Afghan investigators and an internal memorandum prepared by a United Nations delegation that interviewed the surviving soldiers.

Some of the Afghan soldiers were beaten to the point that they could not walk or sit, Afghan doctors and other witnesses said.

Afghan military prosecutors looking into the incident privately recommended more than a year ago that the Afghan attorney general's office pursue a murder case against unnamed American soldiers at the Gardez firebase. No action on the recommendation was taken, but the prosecutors say the case is still open." [--snip--]


In Washington, Pentagon officials said they could find no reports passed up the chain of command as required when a death occurs in U.S. custody, raising questions about possible efforts by American troops in Afghanistan to cover up the incident. [--snip--]


The case of the "Gardez 7," as CID officials dubbed it, was filed away as unfounded because investigators had no records, victims' names or witnesses, said Christopher E. Coffey, an Army detective based at Bagram air base in Afghanistan. [--snip--]

"We're trying to figure out who was running the base," Coffey said. "We don't know what unit was there. There are no records. The reporting system is broke across the board. Units are transferred in and out. There are no SOPs [standard operating procedures] … and each unit acts differently."

Remote bases such as Gardez are usually operated by Special Forces and intelligence agencies and report to special operations commanders. Even representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross are not allowed to visit such bases.

"Gardez is the worst facility — it is three or four times as bad as any other base in Afghanistan," said Coffey, whose CID group has been assigned to Afghanistan since April 2003.

If the United States wishes to persuade the Islamic countries that it has invaded under Mr. Bush (DODO*)'s leadership of the virtues of democracy , perhaps Mr. Bush (DODO*) is too imperfect a messenger.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Financially as Well as Morally

CBS News | Portland Church Files Bankruptcy | September 20, 2004�12:18:17: "
Portland's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing halted the trial of a lawsuit against the late Rev. Maurice Grammond, who was accused of molesting more than 50 boys in the 1980s. Grammond died in 2002. "

Tuscon too.

Gee, do you think this will undermine their moral credibility?

On to Iran?

Although Matt Yglesias believes that "bomb Iran" crowd will not succeed, he concedes that the odds that they will succeed are not trivial.

The article in Newsweek that Big Time Patriot has led us to, accordingly, is not comforting.

NEWSWEEK has learned that the CIA and DIA have war-gamed the likely consequences of a U.S. pre-emptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. No one liked the outcome. As an Air Force source tells it, "The war games were unsuccessful at preventing the conflict from escalating."

For a man who didn't like to fight when he was young, Mr. Bush (DODO*) surely has acquired a taste for perpetual war. Wouldn't a mid-life crisis have been easier on everyone concerned?

*DODO: DOesn't Obey Direct Orders

This Is How Facism Takes Root: Bush (DODO*) Campaign Declines Comment on Attack on Democratic Party Office

Vandals target local Democrats: "Vandals set fire to signs and wrote pro-President Bush messages on the front of Lafayette's Democratic Party Headquarters, the second time the office was hit by vandals." [--snip--]

Bush campaign officials in Louisiana and Arlington, Va., did not immediately return calls for comment, the Associated Press reported.

If it looks like a Brown Shirt....

Having it Both Ways: Bush (DODO*) Claims Consistency on Campaign Trail But Comforts Concerned Conservatives Via Leaks to Novak

Quick exit from Iraq is likely: "Inside the Bush administration policymaking apparatus, there is strong feeling that U.S. troops must leave Iraq next year. This determination is not predicated on success in implanting Iraqi democracy and internal stability. Rather, the officials are saying: Ready or not, here we go."

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

Bush (DODO*): If You're Already Rich, Not Too Bad

As Income Gap Widens, Uncertainty Spreads (washingtonpost.com)

Still True

The New York Times > Washington > Campaign 2004 > Military Service: Portrait of George Bush in '72: Unanchored in Turbulent Time: "Portrait of George Bush in '72: Unanchored in Turbulent Time"

Bush (DODO*)'s Pentagon Delays Trainers for Iraqi Army - Elections, Exit Strategy in Peril -Senate Republicans Outraged

The New York Times > Washington > The Military: Effort to Train New Iraqi Army Is Facing Delays: "Three months into its new mission, the military command in charge of training and equipping Iraqi security forces has fewer than half of its permanent headquarters personnel in place, despite having one of the highest-priority roles in Iraq."[--snip--]

But on Sunday, four Senate Republicans - Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Chuck Hagel of Nebraska; John McCain of Arizona; and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina - criticized the administration for the problems facing American troops in Iraq.

"We're in trouble, we're in deep trouble in Iraq," Mr. Hagel said on the CBS News program "Face the Nation."

Bush (DODO*) To Workers re Health Insurance: You're on Your Own, Suckers

Health Costs Soar as Sharply as Candidates' Plans Diverge: "The relentless rise in healthcare costs may now be America's most pressing domestic problem, at once a threat to the economy, family budgets and the social safety net. It's also a window into one of the clearest choices facing voters in November."

Since 2000, health insurance premiums have soared by 59%, much faster than in the late 1990s, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's authoritative annual survey. [--snip--]

Since 2000, wages have grown only one-fifth as fast as health insurance costs. On average, workers now pay more than $220 a month to insure their families. [--snip--]

The number of Americans receiving healthcare on the job has dropped every year since President Bush took office. Public programs, such as Medicaid, have picked up part of the slack, but not all. The result is that the number of Americans without health insurance has increased to nearly 45 million, up almost 5.2 million since 2000. [--snip--]

By contrast, Bush's agenda encourages further movement away from the group-based system toward one in which individuals increasingly obtain insurance on their own.

*DODO: Doesn't Obey Direct Orders

We Think The Word "Treason" Would Be More Accurate

Boston.com / News / Politics / Presidential candidates / Edwards takes aim at 'fear mongering': "Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards yesterday accused House Speaker Dennis Hastert of stooping 'to the politics of fear' when he said Al Qaeda terrorists may launch another terrorist attack to swing the Nov. 2 election in Democrat John Kerry's favor. Hastert's comments, at a fund-raiser Saturday night in his home state of Illinois, were reminiscent of recent remarks by Vice President Dick Cheney that Edwards has called 'un-American.' Edwards said Hastert had joined the 'fear mongering choir.' Campaigning near Philadelphia, Edwards said that Hastert 'said something to the effect that Al Qaeda wants John Kerry to be president of the United States.' (AP)"

Either they know what al-Quaeda wants because they are in direct communication with al-Q leadership (in which case they are traitors) or they are mendacious bags of excrement.