Tillman Death And The Web Of Lies

Oh, what a tangled web Bush weaves.

Honestly, this may have no direct connection to Bush, but Bush has created and supported a system of deceit and lies. This merely follows along with the narrative of mendacity for the most dishonest White House since Nixon:

Officer probe demanded in Tillman case

Anger in Congress over possibility of cover-up in death

(03-28) 04:00 PDT Washington -- Members of Congress from both parties, angered by findings of an Army investigation into the 2004 friendly fire death of football star and Army ranger Pat Tillman, called on Tuesday for hearings to explore if top officers covered up the circumstances of his death.

The quick congressional reaction followed the release Monday of a Pentagon probe into Tillman's death and its aftermath that showed repeated bungling during initial military investigations and a pattern of keeping his family in the dark about how the 27-year-old Bay Area native died April 22, 2004, in Afghanistan at the hands of fellow American soldiers.

"I am disgusted, and that's the word I would use, that officers would try to cover up the truth,'' said Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., a House Armed Services Committee member. "Anyone in a leadership position in the military who would cover up the truth should resign. I cannot imagine how the family would feel.''

Tillman was a true patriot, and he did not deserve this deceitful treatment by false patriots.

I do not care whether the Bush administration was directly involved in this or not because ultimately it was the Bush administration's policies of pathological lying, systematic propaganda, and covering-up the truth that set the stage for this and countless other scandals and disgraceful acts from the outing of a CIA operative to Abu Ghraib to Mark Foley to the political firings of US Attorneys.

I and many others have pointed out the many lies of the Bush administration many times, so I am not going to write another list right now. I think it is sufficient to mention that I would have a hard time coming up with a list of things that they have been right about or told the truth about.

Remember in 2000 when Bush said he was going to "clean up the White House". Well, when does he plan on starting that "clean up"? Because after spending all his time in office on making a mess out of... well, everything and bringing unprecedented digrace upon the White House (yes, even more disgrace than Monicagate), I imagine his "clean up" pledge is going to take a lot more time than he has left in his term. Or did he not mean for us to take "clean up the White House" figuratively?

The Civil War In Iraq

The civil war in Iraq continues despite Bush's surge escalation:

At least 45 dead after police officers go on killing spree in northern Iraqi town

BAGHDAD---- Off-duty Shiite policemen enraged by massive bombings in the northern town of Tal Afar went on a revenge spree against Sunni residents there on Wednesday, killing at least 45 men execution-style, police and hospital officials said.
The policemen began roaming the town's Sunni neighborhoods on foot early in the morning, shooting at Sunni residents and homes.

A senior hospital official in Tal Afar said at least 45 men between the ages of 15 and 60 were killed with a shot to the back of the head and four others were wounded. He spoke on condition of anonymity due to security concerns.

But Joe Lieberman still claims Iraq it is not in a civil war. My question is: Is Joe Lieberman a liar or unintelligent or both?

John McCain vs. John McCain

It was not too long ago that McCain seemed likely to be the next Republican presidential nominee. Now, it seems like he has lost his mind (from ThinkProgress.org):

Faced With Facts, McCain Denies His Own Straight Talk

Yesterday, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) told CNN that that President Bush’s escalation in Iraq is going so well, “General Petraeus goes out there almost every day in an unarmed humvee.” On Monday, he told radio host Bill Bennett that there “are neighborhoods in Baghdad where you and I could walk through those neighborhoods, today.”

This morning, during an interview with McCain, CNN’s John Roberts rebutted McCain’s assertions, stating, “I checked with General Petraeus’s people overnight and they said he never goes out in anything less than an up-armored humvee.” He added that a new report by retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey “said no Iraqi government official, coalition soldier, diplomat reporter could walk the streets of Baghdad without heavily armed protection.”

Faced with overwhelming evidence that he was wrong, McCain denied he’d ever said it: “Well, I’m not saying they could go without protection. The President goes around America with protection. So, certainly I didn’t say that.”

The MSM might criticize McCain by speculating that he might be too old to be president. However, I do not have a problem with his age. What I have a problem with is that McCain is (1) in denial about the reality in Iraq and (2) in denial about the reality of what he said ONE DAY EARLIER.

After Bush, the last thing this country needs is another reality-denying president. McCain is out of the race as far as I am concerned. I do not think that even Republicans will support another delusional (or deluding, depending on your outlook) candidate. I highly doubt that McCain will win the GOP's nomination.

Money Wasted In Iraq

I hate being right all the time:

Iraq Reconstruction Audit to Be Released

WASHINGTON (AP) - The U.S. government must learn from its multi-million-dollar mistakes of poor contract oversight and bad planning in its Iraq reconstruction effort or risk repeating them there and elsewhere, investigators say.

The audit released Thursday by Stuart Bowen Jr., the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction, is the first to list in one place the series of mistakes, delays and missed opportunities in a four-year-old Iraq war and reconstruction effort that has cost taxpayers nearly $400 billion.

Characterizing the U.S. effort as chaotic and poorly managed, Bowen found the Bush administration's rebuilding effort riddled with problems - from a lack of strategy and unclear lines of authority to confusion and disarray between the Defense and State Departments.

I am not only angry because of this story. I am also angry because this is just another example of the countless ways we liberals were right but ignored regarding the war in Iraq.

Bush was WRONG about EVERYTHING. We were RIGHT about EVERYTHING. When are people going to, instead, start listening to us and stop listening Bush?

Universal Healthcare Saves $$$

This is what I have been trying to tell you:

Universal health plan could yield savings

WASHINGTON -- Expanding government health insurance coverage to all Americans could reduce healthcare spending by as much as $60.7 billion a year, according to a study by a nonpartisan research center.

The estimated savings would include a $33.9 billion cut in the cost of prescription drugs, the New York-based Commonwealth Fund said in a report yesterday . The organization evaluated proposals introduced in Congress in recent years, including some that would allow everyone to enroll in Medicare, the government health insurance program that now serves older Americans and the disabled.

Liberals and progressives have been saying this for years. When are the so-called conservatives going to start conserving money and join us in supporting a universal health care plan.

Japan Continues To Lie About Sex Slaves

Japan is really making me irate with this:

Japan Finds No Evidence of WWII Sex Slavery

The Japanese government has found no evidence that the military or the government forced women to work in World War II military brothels, the Cabinet said in a statement to a lawmaker Friday.

The declaration coincided with moves by conservative lawmakers to investigate the issue and soften a 1993 government apology for pressing thousands of woman to work as prostitutes for Japanese soldiers in Asia.

Seriously, why don't they just come out and say that World War II never happened? If they are going to deny one historical fact about WWII, then they might as well deny the whole thing.

Why don't they just deny the attack on Pearl Harbor or the rape and slaughter of the people of Nanking or Unit 731? Denying any one of those events would be just as ridiculous.

Where is Japan's sense of respect and decency? Where is their sense of honor? Japan's government is like a little child who lies to cover up something the child did that he knew was wrong when he did it and doesn't want anyone to know what he did. In doing that, they are making the horror of their crimes worse. If they had any decency, honor, or respect they would own up to their crimes, apologize, and try to make some restitution. Instead, they commit these disgraceful acts of denial.

Could you imagine if Germany's government denied the Holocaust or if the U.S. government denied the enslavement of Africans? There would be such enormous outrage and a strong uproar outside and inside their countries that such governments would be quickly replaced. Why isn't this happening in Japan?

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe must resign, and any members of Japan's government who supports the denial of Japan's history of sex slavery must also resign. Japan's citizens must demand their resignations if they want to restore their country's humanity.

I realize that there probably are not a lot of Japanese people who will read this, but I refuse to be silent when I see this sort of injustice. We are all on this planet together, so it is important that we work together to promote justice and equality. That is why we must speak out against things like genocide, racism, apartheid, terrorism, and war. We cannot be idle or silent when injustice occurs whether it is in Japan or Sudan or anywhere.

Soros Fights TB

Wow, Soros is helping to fight disease and poverty and using his wealth for good. You can really see why Bill O'Reilly thinks he is the spawn of Satan.[/snark]

Soros urges action against drug-resistant TB

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Health experts fear some of the success in managing Africa's HIV epidemic could be undone if donors ignore highly drug resistant tuberculosis, which is proving a serious threat to those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

Hoping to set an example, billionaire philanthropist George Soros announced $3 million in seed funding for a pilot project in the tiny southern African kingdom of Lesotho to develop a centre of excellence to research and treat virulent TB strains.

Soros, founder of the Budapest-baed Open Society Institute, said his donation was a call for urgent action and to encourage donors to add funds to help mitigate a looming health crisis.

Another Gap In Theory Of Evolution Is Filled

The fundamentalist Christians hate when this happens:

Paleontologists Discover New Mammal From Mesozoic Era

Science Daily — An international team of American and Chinese paleontologists has discovered a new species of mammal that lived 125 million years ago during the Mesozoic Era, in what is now the Hebei Province in China.

The new mammal, documented in the March 15 issue of the journal Nature, provides first-hand evidence of early evolution of the mammalian middle ear--one of the most important features for all modern mammals. The discovery was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

"This early mammalian ear from China is a rosetta-stone type of discovery which reinforces the idea that development of complex body parts can be explained by evolution, using exquisitely preserved fossils," said H. Richard Lane, program director in NSF's Division of Earth Sciences, which co-funded the discovery with NSF's Division of Environmental Biology and its Assembling the Tree of Life (AToL) program.

[...]The researchers discovered that the skull of Yanoconodon revealed a middle ear structure that is an intermediate step between those of modern mammals and those of near relatives of mammals, also known as mammaliaforms.

Record Deficit For 5th Straight Year

Bush continues to talk about how well our economy is doing and live in his own fantasy world despite news like this:

Trade deficit reaches a record high for the fifth straight year

WASHINGTON - The deficit in the broadest measure of trade hit an all-time high in 2006 and for the first time the United States even ran a deficit on investment income.

The Commerce Department reported that the imbalance in the current account jumped by 8.2 percent to $856.7 billion, representing a record 6.5 percent of the total economy. It marked the fifth straight year the current account deficit set a record.

Investment flows turned negative by $7.3 billion from a surplus of $11.3 billion in 2005. It was the first time investment income has been negative on records going back to 1929. That means foreigners earned more on their U.S. holdings than Americans earned on their overseas investments.

While the U.S. has run deficits in its trade in goods every year since 1976, until last year it had still been able to record a surplus in investments.

Conrad Black On TrialWill He Pay George Will To Defend Him?

Conrad Black is in trouble:

Ex-Press Lord's Fraud Trial Set to Begin

Former media baron Conrad M. Black's racketeering and fraud trial to get under way with defense lawyers seeking jurors who won't turn sour over his Park Avenue condo, antique Rolls Royce and expense-account vacation on the Pacific island paradise of Bora Bora.

And who is he, you ask?

[...]Black, 62, may no longer be chairman and chief executive of the sprawling Hollinger International newspaper empire, but he still commands attention from reporters, scores of whom are in Chicago to cover the trial.

[...]Hollinger once owned the Chicago Sun-Times, the Toronto-based National Post, The Daily Telegraph of London and the Jerusalem Post, as well as hundreds of community newspapers. The Toronto, London and Jerusalem papers have been sold and the company name has been changed to Sun-Times Media Group.

Black is charged with selling off hundreds of community newspapers and pocketing millions of dollars in payments from the buyers in exchange for promises not to compete in the markets where the newspapers circulated.

[...]Black also is charged with tapping the Hollinger till to pay for a vacation on Bora Bora, use of the company plane and most of a $62,000 birthday party for his wife, conservative writer Barbara Amiel Black.

He is not only married to one conservative writer, but he has personally employed another:

George Will’s Ethics: None Of Our Business?

Media Beat (1/1/04)

By Norman Solomon

[...]Late December brought to light a pair of self-inflicted wounds to the famous columnist’s ethical pretensions. He broke an elementary rule of journalism — and then, when the New York Times called him on it, proclaimed the transgression to be no one’s business but his own.

It turns out that George Will was among a number of prominent individuals to receive $25,000 per day of conversation on a board of advisers for Hollinger International, a newspaper firm controlled by magnate Conrad Black. Although Will has often scorned the convenient forgetfulness of others, the Times reported that “Mr. Will could not recall how many meetings he attended.” But an aide confirmed the annual $25,000 fee.

Even for a wealthy commentator, that’s a hefty paycheck for one day of talk. But it didn’t stop Will from lavishing praise on Black in print — without a word about their financial tie.

Can't we take away Will's Pulitzer Prize or something for that? Why are news organizations continuing to pay him after such a breach of journalistic ethics?

What is it with conservatives and financial corruption? Do you have to be financially corrupt to be a successful wealthy conservative or are there just an enormous amount of coincidences?

Well, maybe Black will be punished for his unethical behavior even if Will is not.

Justice For 9/11?

So this happened:

Al-Qaida No. 3 Says He Planned 9/11

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed portrayed himself to a U.S. military tribunal as al-Qaida's most ambitious operational planner, taking responsibility for planning and supporting 31 terrorist attacks, topped by 9/11, according to an account of his confession.

[...]"I was responsible for the 9/11 operation from A to Z," Mohammed said in a statement read Saturday during a Combatant Status Review Tribunal at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Mohammed's confession was read by a member of the U.S. military who is serving as his personal representative.

[...]The military barred reporters or other independent observers from the sessions for the 14 operatives and is limiting the information it provides about them, arguing that it wants to prevent the disclosure of sensitive information.

Legal experts have criticized the U.S. decision, and The Associated Press filed a letter of protest, arguing that it would be "an unconstitutional mistake to close the proceedings in their entirety."

I do not believe that anyone doubts that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is guilty of being a terrorist and guilty of planning and supporting terrorist acts that include 9/11. That is why the Bush administration's decision to try him in secret is all the more confusing.

There was no need to torture him and try him in secret without legal representation and without habeas corpus. They could have conducted a completely open, fair, and legal trial under the presumption of innocence and still have convicted him.

What good is "justice" if we commit injustice in seeking it? What good is it to fight terrorism if we intentionlly or unintentionally use terrorist tactics like torture, starting wars based on false premises, or killing innocent civilians in the process?

I think that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is an evil man and deserves to be punished for his crimes, but not at the price of our humanity. I try hard to be a good person based on my Christian beliefs and to not be a hypocrite. That is why I feel that this "confession" by Mohammed is a bittersweet event. Bush is not a good Christian and he is a hypocrite, and I have lost all trust in him and his administration to be morally upstanding in their prosecution of Mohammed or any "enemy combatant". To them the ends justify the means no matter how evil or unethical the means are.

How do we know this confession wasn't obtained through torture and coercion? The Bush administration has given us no reason to trust them; they have lied or been wrong about everything.

The "end" of Mohammed being punished for his crimes holds a far lesser value if the means to that end include evils like torture, secret trials, and unconstitutional behavior. If Bush and his administration were doing what is right, they would have no need to hide their works, but they know that what they are doing is wrong, and that is why they feel the need to hide what they are doing.

By the way, while we are on the topic of seeking justice, it has been FIVE AND A HALF YEARS since 9/11, and Osama bin Laden has not been captured.

NY Times Gives Platform To Global Warming Distorters

The "liberal" New York Times published a blatantly biased attack piece on Al Gore and his movie An Inconvenient Truth. RealClimate.org does the debunking (so that I can be lazy):

Broad Irony

The first rule when criticizing popular science presentations for inaccuracies should be to double check any 'facts' you use. It is rather ironic then that William Broad's latest piece on Al Gore plays just as loose with them as he accuses Gore of doing.

We criticized William Broad previously (Broadly Misleading) for a piece that misrepresented the scientific understanding of the factors that drive climate change over millions of years, systematically understating the scientifically-established role of greenhouse gases, and over-stating the role of natural factors including those as speculative as cosmic rays (see our recent discussion here). In this piece, Broad attempts to discredit Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" by exaggerating the legitimate, but minor, criticisms of his treatment of the science by experts on climate science, and presenting specious or unsubstantiated criticisms by a small number of the usual, well-known contrarians who wouldn't agree even if Gore read aloud from the latest IPCC report.

This RealClimate.org article is really good. Click the link. Read the whole article. Educate yourself. It is worth it.

If the NY Times were really liberal or had higher journalistic integrity they would not have printed Broad's right-wing propaganda. To recompense for this error, they should retract Broad's article and print the RealClimate.org article.

That probably won't happen, but that is why the real liberal media, the countless liberal and progressive blogs (like mine), are trying to restore truth and balance.

Truth has a liberal bias as Stephen Colbert would say. While he was being ironic, many on the Right have, whether ignoranly or deliberately, come to that absurd conclusion, and decades of the Right repeating "the liberal media" myth has turned that myth into a religion for right-wingers and an influential scare tactic to the traditional media. By incessantly claiming the traditional media has a liberal bias, the Right has managed to pull an already balanced media off to the right. Through that and other similar tactics, they have moved the entire political debate further to the right by deceitfully demanding that the Right is the Center, the Center is the Left, and the Left is crazy and outside the mainstream.

Such deceit has wrought heavy damage to our country to the point that there became a need for blogs like DailyKos, MyDD, TalkingPointsMemo, Firedoglake, ThinkProgress, CrooksAndLiars. They, in turn, inspired many, many smaller blogs like mine. Our numbers are growing, and as our cause grows we will acheive success in repairing the political damage to our country and, eventually, the environmental damage to our world.

Texas House Loves Cancer And STD

I am glad I don't live in Texas anymore:

TX House Votes to Override Vaccine Order

AUSTIN — The Texas House approved a bill Tuesday that would keep the human papillomavirus vaccine off the list of required shots for school attendance, tentatively circumventing Gov. Rick Perry's executive order.

The vaccine protects girls against strains of HPV, a sexually transmitted virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer.

The measure, approved 119-21, still needs final approval in the House and approval in the Senate. It's also possible that Perry will veto the legislation, but the 119 voters that approved the bill Tuesday are more than enough to override a veto.

It seems obvious to me from this decision that the Texas House does not care about the health and lives of Texas citizens.

Of course, I also think that Texas does not care about the health and lives of American citizens because they gave us George W. Bush, so perhaps I should not be surprised that the Texas House voted to help spread cancer and STD and voted against good health and saving lives.

Wake Up: Fox News Is Right-Wing Propaganda

If you do not know by now that the Fox "News" Channel is in fact a outlet for right-wing propaganda, then you must either be living under a rock or watching the Fox "News" Channel.

Their first trick is to deceive their audience into thinking that they are not a right-wing propaganda outlet. After that, they can say whatever they want, and their audience will believe them because the audience thinks the propaganda is news.

While those of us who are realists have been denouncing the FNC for their right-wing bias, slant, propaganda, and tactics, the FNC and its audience has denied our claims, the traditional media has ignored our claims, and the majority of the public are too busy with their own lives to care.

Well, with a recent push by liberal and progressive blogs and entities, we are finally starting to gain some traction:

Republican Propaganda Is Not News

Over the past three weeks or so, the progressive movement – bloggers, Moveon.org, grassroots activists, filmmakers – pressured the Nevada Democratic Party to drop Fox News as the host of a presidential debate in August. In pursuing this short campaign, we made two basic arguments that were eventually accepted by party leaders.

First, we argued that Fox News is not a news channel, but a propaganda outlet that regularly distorts, spins, and falsifies information. Second, Fox News is heavily influenced or even controlled by the Republican Party itself. As such, we believe that Fox News on the whole functions as a surrogate operation for the GOP. Treating Fox as a legitimate news channel extends the Republican Party’s ability to swift-boat and discredit our candidates. In other words, Fox News is a direct pipeline of misinformation from the GOP leadership into the traditional press.

Thankfully, Fox News immediately proved our point with a press release after the debate cancellation that made the following remarkable claim: "News organizations will want to think twice before getting involved in the Nevada Democratic caucus which appears to be controlled by radical, fringe, out-of-state interest groups, not the Nevada Democratic Party."

John Edwards had already decided not to participate in the debate before it was cancelled, and the FNC attacked him for doing so. Barack Obama had been attacked by them several times before he decided to freeze them out completely. These men have set bold and appropriate examples of how to deal with the FNC's unfair and unbalanced brand of "journalism".

More and more, as the examples pour in, liberal and progressive watchdog organizations (like Media Matters for America and News Hounds) and blogs are pointing out the FNC's flaws and blatant bias. Here are two recent posts from Crooks and Liars:

Crazy Fox Propaganda

Fair and Balanced Propaganda Pt.2The FNC are only part of the right-wing machine, but they are a large part. Sen. Clinton talked about another part of the machine recently:

Clinton: Right-Wing Conspiracy Is Back

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton on Tuesday described past Republican political malfeasance in New Hampshire as evidence of a ``vast, right-wing conspiracy.'' Clinton's barbed comments revived a term she coined for the partisan plotting during her husband's presidential tenure and echoed remarks she made last weekend in New Hampshire, which holds the nation's first primary.

[...]Clinton asserted on Tuesday that the conspiracy is alive and well, and cited as proof the Election Day 2002 case of phone jamming in New Hampshire, a case in which two Republican operatives pleaded guilty to criminal charges, and a third was convicted.

``To the New Hampshire Democratic Party's credit, they sued and the trail led all the way to the Republican National Committee,'' Clinton said.

``So if anybody tells you there is no vast, right-wing conspiracy, tell them that New Hampshire has proven it in court,'' she said.

The article's title is a bit misleading. The vast right-wing conspiracy never left, so it can't be "back".

The VWRC claim for which Sen. Clinton was ridiculed ten years ago was true then and it is true now. Whether the attacks come from

the well-documented efforts by conservative financier Richard Mellon Scaife to fund a network of anti-Clinton investigations.

, the FNC, or the dirty campaign tactics of Karl Rove, the VWRC is alive and well, and all Americans should work to ensure that our country is free from their lies, their deceit, and their propaganda.

Sen. Johnson Recovering

Here is some good news for a change. Sen. Johnson is still getting better and has issued a public statement:

Ailing Senator Issues Photos, Statement

The first public photos of Sen. Tim Johnson since his December brain hemorrhage show him looking pounds lighter and sitting in a wheelchair. According to a spokeswoman, he now has limited use of his right arm and leg.

[...]Johnson's office also issued his first public statement since the hemorrhage three months ago.

"I want to thank the people of South Dakota and all of our dear friends for their support and prayers," the statement read. "This has been an unexpected journey and there is a long road in front of me. I am determined and focused on my recovery, and I look forward to returning to the Senate on behalf of South Dakota."

It is good to hear that he is doing so well after such an ordeal, and I hope his health continues to improve.

Gonzales Aides Comedians

Gonzales helped out comedians everywhere by taking responsibility for the politically-motivated firing of eight U.S. Attorneys and then quickly claimed he wasn't responsible:

Gonzales refuses to resign over firing of U.S. prosecutors

WASHINGTON -- Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales refused to step down yesterday in a widening scandal over the politically motivated firing of eight federal prosecutors, which has already led to the resignation of his chief of staff.

"I believe in accountability," Mr. Gonzales said during a hastily called news conference here. "Like every CEO of a major organization, I am responsible for what happens at the Department of Justice. I acknowledge that mistakes were made here. I accept that responsibility."

Yet Mr. Gonzales immediately placed the blame for the controversial firings on his top aide, Kyle Sampson, who resigned on Monday.

If this latest Bush administration scandal was the only one Gonzales was involved with, then I could understand his decision to refuse to resign, but it is one of many:

He argued that Bush had the right to torture prisoners.

He argued that Bush could break the law.

He supported Bush's illegal spying on Americans without a warrant.

He claims that Bush can ignore laws passed by Congress.

He supports Bush at the expense of the rule of law.

He supports Bush at the expense of the Constitution.

He pushed for the unconstitutional suspension of habeas corpus.

Then there is this one: (from Discourse.net - h/t Crooks and Liars):

Alberto Gonzales's Role in the Plame Cover-Up

Everyone seems to have forgotten that then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales also presided over one of the more sordid aspects of the Plame scandal. When Gonzales first learned that the Justice Department had started an official investigation into the Plame leak, Gonzales waited twelve hours before putting the White House staff on notice that they had to preserve documents and electronic files. Which seemed than -- and seems now -- like an open invitation to "shredding and deleting," not to mention getting your story straight. In short, obstruction of justice.

And it's not as if Gonzales dithered trying to make up his mind what to do. He told White House Chief of Staff Andy Card about the investigation right away -- many hours before sending the official notification to preserve all evidence.

[...]Lest you think this is much ado about nothing, consider that when Patrick Fitzgerald came looking, key emails to or from the Vice President's office mysteriously could not be found in the White House computer system's archives.

Gonzales should resign or be impeached. Either way he should not be (nor ever have been) Attorney General of the United States of America.

Britain Fights Global Warming

Britain abolished slavery about thirty years before the U.S. Hopefully, it will not take us as long to follow their good example on taking action against global warming.

Britain sets toughest carbon targets to beat climate change

Britain is to enact the toughest laws on carbon emission in the world to reduce its impact on global warming, the Government announced yesterday.

The UK will be the first country to impose legally binding five-year limits on carbon emissions as ministers aim to set an example to the world on how to beat climate change.

[...]The five-year limits are part of a rolling fifteen-year programme designed to achieve a statutory target of at least 26 per cent reduction of carbon by 2020 and 60 per cent by 2050, compared with 1990 levels.

Halliburton Stops Pretending It's Patriotic

Halliburton, with the help of Dick Cheney, has done a great job of exploiting the U.S. and Iraq. Progressives and liberals have been speaking out against them for a long time with little or no results. Meanwhile, Halliburton continued to bilk American taxpayers, and now they are getting out while the getting's good and taking their war profits with them. And guess where they are going:

Halliburton moving headquarters to Dubai

Halliburton Co., the energy services giant and controversial defense contractor, said Sunday it is opening a new corporate headquarters in Dubai in the Middle East.

The change from Houston to the United Arab Emirates by the world's second largest oil-field services provider was announced by Chief Executive Dave Lesar at an energy conference in neighboring Bahrain.

[...]Halliburton has been dogged by criticism that it overbilled taxpayers in a multibillion contract to feed and house U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Last month, federal investigators alleged Halliburton was responsible for $2.7 billion of the $10 billion in contractor waste and overcharging in Iraq. The company has denied any wrongdoing.

The company's business dealings in Nigeria also are being investigated by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commissions. The company has said it is cooperating in the investigations.

The planned move surprised longtime critic Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. He called for congressional hearings on the move, saying, "I want to understand the ramifications for U.S. taxpayers and national security."

Halliburton is probably leaving because the Democrats control Congress now, and they are worried about investigations into their shady business practices and war profiteering. Oh, and then there is the "patriotic" tax evasion:

One Washington corporate lobbyist said: "I think it ensures that there will be some interesting oversight hearings," since Democrats have been unhappy with Halliburton's no-bid contracts and what they believe is its poor performance.

The lobbyist, who requested anonymity so he would not jeopardize relationships with his clients, said the move raises several questions, among them how much did Halliburton receive in incentives to move to Dubai and what does it do to the company's tax structure.

"If there's a huge tax shift, then it's taking money from U.S. taxpayers while they're taking no-bid contracts," the lobbyist said.

Sure they'll take our money, but why should they have to pay taxes to the country that they have been profiting from?

Can you imagine the outrage if this company had been run by a Democrat instead of Cheney? Limbaugh and Hannity would be having a field day with this story, but because of the IOKIYAR (It's OK If You Are Republican) double-standard, they'll be hypocritically quiet about this.

This story is just one more sickening thing we on the left were right about, but nobody listens to us no matter how often our warnings turn out to be correct.

Here are some more links with more info on this topic if you are interested:

BREAKING - Halliburton moving headquarters to Dubai!

[...]For a company that gets such a significant portion of its income from the US government, this is quite a stunning move, to say the least. Unless it means that they expect that this revenue stream will end soon - or that there is so little oil left in the USA that this is no longer where business will be? Or that it is suddenly becoming safer to stay away from US law enforcement authorities?

The real reason Halliburton's moving to Dubai

In one of my first diaries on Dailykos, I wrote about how Halliburton was skirting the laws of the United States by having its "affiliate" in Dubai act as a "launderer" of business products and money so that it could sell illegal items to illegal countries[...]

Gingrich Admits To Hypocrisy, But Claims He Is Not A Hypocrite

Newt Gingrich admits that he did something extremely hypocritical:

Gingrich had affair during Clinton probe

WASHINGTON - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich acknowledged he was having an extramarital affair even as he led the charge against President Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair, he acknowledged in an interview with a conservative Christian group.

"The honest answer is yes," Gingrich, a potential 2008 Republican presidential candidate, said in an interview with Focus on the Family founder James Dobson to be aired Friday, according to a transcript provided to The Associated Press. "There are times that I have fallen short of my own standards. There's certainly times when I've fallen short of God's standards."

You know what I am going to say about this, right?

What an incredible hypocrite!

However, that admission isn't even the most unbelievable aspect to this interview with pandering to the Religious Right:

Gingrich argued in the interview, however, that he should not be viewed as a hypocrite for pursuing Clinton's infidelity.

WHAT?! Is he insane?! How is what he did not the very definition of "hypocrisy"?

Gingrich goes on to really stretch this argument by then saying that we cannot accept perjury from our highest officials which is intended to imply that he is not a hypocrite because he went after Clinton for perjury, not infidelity.

Okay, first of all, Clinton would not have had any perjury charges against him if Gingrich had not been a hypocrite about Clinton's infidelity.

Secondly, while I agree with Gingrich the we should not accept perjury from our highest officials (like Scooter Libby), Clinton was found innocent of the perjury charge (as opposed to Scooter Libby).

Third, the perjury charge and the obstruction of justice charge that were brought against Clinton were the result of the Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy and a partisan House of Representatives that went after Clinton because he was a Democrat. He was a moderate who supported good ideas that conservatives pretend to support like fiscal responsiblity and bad issues that conservatives actually support like "free" trade agreements, but simply because he called himself a "Democrat", the VRWC waged a war against Clinton.

And what was the result of that war?

The worst president in our history George W. Bush

One of the most corrupt and secretive presidential administrations

Six years of the most corrupt and partisan Congress which was hopelessly subservient to the White House, Right-wing extremists, Christian conservative extremists, greedy corporations, but not to the public

9/11

The war in Iraq

The most divisive state our country has been in since the Civil War

Record debt and deficits

No-bid contracts for contractors that exploit Iraqis, our troops, and our country

The failed response to hurricane Katrina

The torture of prisonors in our custody (Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib)

The torture of prisonors we sent to other countries (extraordinary rendition)

The further ingorance and prolonging of global warming

Vice President Dick Cheney

The list goes on and on.

So thanks, Newt. Your hypocrisy has really served our country well.

DailyKos On The Libby Verdict

DailyKos is just kicking out the good points and killing the Right-wing talking points. I just wanted to highlight a few posts.

This post skips the easy kill (pointing out the Right's obvious hypocrisy on their standing on "the rule of law" when it comes to perjury charges for Clinton vs. perjury charges for Libby) and goes for a more nuanced approach:

A Pardon For Libby

But setting aside, for now, the blatant hypocrisy of these former defenders of "the rule of law," have any of them considered the implications of George Bush offering, and Scooter Libby accepting, a Presidential pardon? Because a pardon doesn't mean you didn't really commit a crime, and a pardon doesn't mean that the court made a mistake, a pardon is:

...an act of grace, proceeding from the power entrusted with the execution of the laws, which exempts the individual, on whom it is bestowed, from the punishment the law inflicts for a crime he has committed...A pardon is a deed, to the validity of which delivery is essential, and delivery is not complete without acceptance.

Let's repeat that, "for a crime he has committed."

If George Bush pardons Scooter Libby, then Libby is admitting that he did in fact lie and obstruct justice. Perhaps these pillars of the Fourth Estate can explain why that's okay with them.

Then, this one goes right after the hypocrisy, not by the Right-wing, but by the Washington Post:

When WaPo Cared about Lies

No, Mr. Hiatt, the damage done to our nation by a president who led it into an ill-conceived war based on a pack of lies has yet to be measured. Where is your righteous indignation for the deaths of 3,188 American soldiers and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis? And as for the end of the career of a covert CIA agent working on critical issues to our national security in the mideast, destroyed in a petty political payback scheme and the chief of staff to the Vice President lying about it under oath. Does that fit anywhere in your list of "affronts to the justice system"?

Finally, this post helps to point the traditional media towards what should be their next move on this issue:

Suggestions For The White House Press Corps

Until Scooter Libby is deloused and issued his prison stripes, it would be wrong to say anything that might expose him to further legal difficulties. After all, you don't want to screw with the guy who is taking a fall for you. And realizing that, I thought I would suggest a few possible lines of inquiry for the press corps that might be of interest to the American people:

When did the President know that Dick Cheney was behind the outing of Valerie Plame?

How often does the President selectively declassify material expressly to leak it to the press?

Who gave the order to Karl Rove to discuss Valerie Plame with reporters? The President or the Vice President?

Simple questions that in no way prejudice Scooter Libby's rights as he enters the next phase his of participation in the criminal justice system.

With posts like these, is it any wonder why so many people like me have turned away from the traditional media and turned to the new media online?

Money That Promotes Freedom Of Religion

Despite the many claims by hysterical Christian conservatives that the sky would fall if it ever happened, money has been made without the phrase "In God We Trust" and the sky is still holding up:

Oops! New dollar coins missing 'In God We Trust'

PHILADELPHIA -- An unknown number of new George Washington dollar coins were mistakenly struck without their edge inscriptions, including "In God We Trust," and are fetching around $50 apiece online.

The properly struck dollar coins, bearing the likeness of the nation's first president, are inscribed along the edge with "In God We Trust," "E Pluribus Unum" and the year and mint mark. The flawed coins made it past inspectors and went into circulation Feb. 15.

Evangelical extremists all over the country must be confused as to why God has decided not to smite us for this error. Could it be that God does not care about whether or not we put "In God We Trust" on our money? Why would he? I think that God is far more concerned about whether we as individuals have faith rather than if our money has faith.

I also happen to believe that God believes in the freedoms we have used as the foundation of our country. God may wish us to put our trust in him, but I do not think that He does not want us to infringe on the freedoms of others. I do not think he would want us to tell others what to believe and take our their freedom of religion, their freedom to believe as they wish.

Putting the phrase "In God We Trust" on our currency violates that freedom and the separation between church and state. Many people may see that as an arguement by atheists, but I am not an atheist. I believe in God, but while Christian conservatives may see the removal of "In God We Trust" as an attack on their religion, I see the phrase as an attack on all religions including my own.

If you infringe upon the rights of any religious group, then you are infringing on the rights of all religious groups. By placing "In God We Trust" on our money, we are infringing on the rights of all Americans who do not believe in "our" God, and by doing that, we are saying that our country can infringe on the religious rights of these Americans and therefore all Americans potentially.

In order to protect my own religious freedom, I feel it is necessary to stand up for everyone else's religious freedom.

As a Christian, I believe in the Golden Rule that Christ promoted: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I know I would feel like my freedoms were threatened if the phrase on our money was "In Zeus We Trust." That is why I am trying to follow the Golden Rule by fighting for freedom of religion and equality for all. I do not know why these "Christian" conservatives who disagree with the removal of "In God We Trust" have such a hard time with the Christian concept of the Golden Rule. They are hypocrites in my opinion.

Only by ensuring that everyone is treated equally and has the same rights and freedoms can we truly be a free country. I trust in God that He would agree with me.

Impeachment Is Coming: There Is Hope

We are working towards impeaching Bush despite the odds:

Vermont towns seek to impeach Bush

BOSTON (Reuters) - More than 30 Vermont towns passed resolutions on Tuesday seeking to impeach President Bush, while at least 16 towns in the tiny New England state called on Washington to withdraw U.S. troops from Iraq.

Known for picturesque autumn foliage, colonial inns, maple sugar and old-fashion dairy farms, Vermont is in the vanguard of a grass-roots protest movement to impeach Bush over his handling of the unpopular Iraq war.

Thirty-Five Vermont Towns Vote to Impeach

In that charming democratic tradition that still lives in New England, today was the day the people of Vermont got to speak. And to govern.

In Town Meetings all over the state, Vermonters gathered to debate and decide town business, and in some places, to make larger statements.

Today, news reaches us that thirty-five towns in Vermont said they'd had enough of waiting for someone to probe the depths of George W. Bush's crimes, and would wait no longer.

Thank goodness for Vermont!

Torture Is Torture

George W. Bush likes to split hairs on the definition of torture (yet he still claims he is a Christian). Now, there is a new report that further disproves Bush's claim that "we do not torture":

Psychological And Physical Torture Have Similar Mental Effects

Science Daily — Forms of ill treatment during captivity that do not involve physical pain--such as psychological manipulation, deprivation, humiliation and forced stress positions--appear to cause as much mental distress and traumatic stress as physical torture, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Most widely accepted definitions of torture encompass both physical and mental pain and suffering, according to background information in the article. "After reports of human rights abuses by the U.S. military in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan, a U.S. Defense Department working group report on detainee interrogations and a U.S. Justice Department memorandum on U.S. torture policy argued for a fairly narrow definition of torture that excludes mental pain and suffering caused by various acts that do not cause severe physical pain," the study authors write. The detention and interrogation procedures that are excluded from this definition include blindfolding and hooding, forced nudity, isolation and psychological manipulations.

Darfur Is Worst Human Rights Abuse

We admit it, but what are we goint to do about it:

U.S. Says Darfur Is Worst Rights Abuse

The ongoing genocide in Sudan's troubled Darfur region was the world's worst human rights abuse last year, the United States said Tuesday in a global report that found freedoms eroding in numerous other nations, including war-torn Afghanistan and Iraq.

In its annual survey of human rights practices, the State Department cited progress in some countries but stressed a series of "sobering realities" reflecting a significant deterioriation in conditions in some of the world's most populous states like China and Russia. The U.S. is has joined both of those countries in diplomatic efforts to resolve nuclear confrontations with Iran and North Korea.

"Genocide was the most sobering reality of all," it said in the 2006 "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices," noting that mass killings continued to "ravage" Darfur nearly 60 years after the world vowed "Never again!" following the Holocaust.

In 2004, the movie Hotel Rwanda showed us what the horror of genocide looks like while another genocide in Darfur was taking place. Not that we should need to be reminded of the horror of genocide after the genocides of World War II, but apparently we do.

We desperately need to move beyond the point of simply recognizing genocides, and start preventing them or, at least, move much faster in stopping them.

Sexual Abuse In Texas Youth Prison

What is going on in Texas?

Police Sent to All Texas Youth Prisons

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - Police went to 22 Texas Youth Commission facilities and the agency headquarters Tuesday to investigate claims that young inmates were sexually abused and that agency officials covered it up.

[...]Late last month, state lawmakers questioned agency staff about an investigation in 2005 that had found evidence that high-ranking officials at the West Texas State School in Pyote had repeated sexual contact with some of the 250 boys and young men housed there. An internal investigation found prison staff members had complained about the abuse to their supervisors but that no one took action for more than a year.

State lawmakers have complained that they didn't know of the problems until this year.

But Dwight Harris, the agency's executive director at the time, mentioned the investigation in testimony before the Senate Criminal Justice Committee March 15, 2005. Harris resigned last week.

4 senators' aides learned of issue in '05

AUSTIN – Aides to key state senators were told of sexual abuse allegations at Texas youth prisons in an e-mail two years ago. Other documents and testimony two years ago by a Texas Youth Commission official described the problem as well. Gov. Rick Perry's office was alerted, too.

But none of the warnings detailed the extent of the alleged abuse. They did not suggest a blooming crisis. And state leaders said Tuesday that they either didn't see the documents – part of the flood of paper and messages that accompanies a legislative session – or weren't told how broad the problem was.

The e-mail, released Tuesday by TYC officials, shows that staff members for four senators on the chamber's Criminal Justice Committee were sent correspondence flagged "high importance" detailing possible sexual abuse in early March 2005 – less than a month after the investigation at the West Texas State School began.

This bears some resemblance to the Mark Foley scandal. There can be no good explanation for why this took two years to gain the attention of the state government.

The Evil Of Bush's Secret Trials

Secret trials are something commonly used by evil fascists, evil totalitarians, evil dictators, evil authoritarians, and evil rulers. They have no place in American society or government, yet the evil George W. Bush seems to disagree:

No reporters at detainees' hearings

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon said Tuesday that it would bar news coverage of hearings for the 14 suspected terrorists transferred to Guantanamo Bay last fall from secret CIA prisons abroad, including an alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The founding fathers, who wrote the 1st Amendment and were supporters of freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to a fair trial, and the right of habeas corpus, must be disgusted by this. I know I am.

U.S. Attorneys Fired By Bush Admin

I have not really talked about this issue partly because of laziness on my part but mostly because Talking Points Memo, TPM Cafe, and other sites are doing a far superior job on reporting on this than I could do. However, this story is important, so I feel the need to mention it.

Prosecutors' firings slammed as 'purge'
Democrats accuse Justice Dept. of ousting 8 U.S. attorneys who wouldn't toe GOP line

Washington -- Top Democratic lawmakers Tuesday accused the Bush administration of carrying out a "political purge" by firing at least eight U.S. attorneys, including two from California.

Four of the federal prosecutors, including former U.S. Attorney Carol Lam of San Diego, told Congress during testimony Tuesday that they were ousted by the Justice Department without explanation and despite strong agency reviews of their performances.

Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico told the Senate Judiciary Committee he was fired after the state's senior U.S. senator, Republican Pete Domenici, called him at home in late October and asked whether the prosecutor planned to indict top local Democrats in a corruption case.

The call came just days before one of the country's most hotly contested House elections between New Mexico Rep. Heather Wilson and Democrat Patricia Madrid. Corruption was a key issue in the race and an indictment of a top Democratic official could have had an impact, the prosecutor testified.

It seems very likely that these U.S. Attorneys were pushed out of their jobs for political reasons, and knowing how the Bush administration operates, it seems very unlikely that there could be any other explanation for their dismissals.

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is an evil man. He has argued for the use of torture and against the Constitutional balance of power, so for him to fire U.S. Attorneys for partisan political reasons is easily conceivable. If true, it is not shocking coming from him, but it is still horribly wrong and deserves punishment.

Additionally, Gonzales my not be the only one who suffers from this scandal:

Republicans could face new ethics probes

[...]The Senate ethics committee already is conducting a preliminary inquiry into the call by Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., to a prosecutor in his state. The action was required once the committee received a complaint against Domenici from a congressional watchdog group.

The House's ethics panel has more discretion on starting an initial inquiry. But Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said there should be one. Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., contacted the same prosecutor as Domenici.

Edward Cassidy, a top aide to House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio and a former ethics committee staff member, contacted a prosecutor in Washington state.

The Senate's ethics manual says Senate offices should refrain from intervening in pending court actions "until the matter has reached a resolution in the courts." The House's version has similar warnings.

Knowing how reluctant congressional ethics committees are about investigating ethics violations (even though that is their job), I do not have high hopes that much will happen in terms of punishment for these people despite the fact that all three are Republicans and the Democrats now control Congress.

We voted for a change of power in Congress in 2006 partly because of ethics problems that plagued Washington, D.C., but that does not mean our job is over. We must continue to work to ensure that Congress does not fall back into a lazy attitude toward corruption.

We put the Democrats into power, and if they do not uphold our standards, they will lose our support and that power. Whether the issue is ethics or getting our troops out of Iraq, we need to ensure that they follow our will, the will of the American people.

The Tip Of The Iceberg: Libby Convicted

Finally, someone in the Bush administration was convicted for some of the administration's crimes against this country:

Libby Found Guilty in CIA Leak Trial

WASHINGTON (AP) - Once the closest adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby was convicted Tuesday of lying and obstructing a leak investigation that shook the top levels of the Bush administration.

Four guilty verdicts ended a seven-week CIA leak trial that focused new attention on the Bush administration's much-criticized handling of intelligence reports about weapons of mass destruction in the run-up to the Iraq war.

Hopefully, this is only the beginning of convictions for the Bush administration.

This trial is more than Libby and his obstruction of Justice. This is about the Bush administration outing and endangering a CIA operative who has honorably served this country. This is about the Bush administration lying to every American to get us to agree to go to war in Iraq, and the dirty tactics they used to punish anyone who said they were wrong.

This will not end here. The Bush administration must answer for their crimes and Justice must be served.

Analysis: Verdict Puts Focus on Cheney

WASHINGTON (AP) - Campaigning in 2000, George Bush promised he would swear on the Bible to restore honor and dignity to a sullied White House and give it ``one heck of a scrubbing.'' The conviction of I. Lewis ``Scooter'' Libby gave the White House a scrubbing - but not the one Bush had in mind.

[...]It showed the lengths to which Cheney went in early summer 2003 to discredit administration critic Joseph Wilson. The former ambassador's assertions had cast doubt on the administration's justification for having taken the country to war in Iraq. And the Libby case showed the president assisting Cheney in the leaked attacks on Wilson.

[...]The verdict ``does great damage to the Bush administration,'' said Paul C. Light, professor of public service at New York University. ``It undermines the president's pledge of ethical conduct. But the most serious consequence is that it will raise questions about Cheney's durability in office. It may be time for Cheney to submit his resignation.''

[...]The trial leaves a trail of unanswered questions leading to the doorsteps of Bush and Cheney.

Hannity vs. Hannity

John Amato at Crooks and Liars made an amazing point that I hope is not soon forgotten:

How will Hannity ever conduct an interview again?

Hannity's response to Ann Coulter's use of the word faggot pretty much ended his interviewing technique:

Hannity: I didn't hear it. I'd rather see it before I comment on it and whatever. You know, no other person is responsible for what a person says except that person. And so, if they have a problem with what Ann Coulter says, blame Ann Coulter. You can't blame somebody else for what she said. So I didn't see it.

There goes his shtick. For all future participants—no longer can he ask any guest if they are embarrassed by what so and so said.

Sean hannity regularly demands liberal or Democratic guests on his show to denounce or apologize for statements by other liberals or Democrats that he considers to be offensive. His inability to denounce what Coulter said and his statement that "you can't blame somebody else for what she said" perfectly proves Hannity's blatant and unapologetic IOKIYAR (It's OK If You Are Republican) hypocrisy.

Every future guest on Hannity's show should memorize this quote to throw it back in his face when Hannity uses this signature attack of his. He'll never be able to interview another liberal or Democrat ever again.

4,653rd Time's The Charm(Media And Some On The Right Finally Realize Ann Coulter Is A Horrible Person)

Well, it sure has taken way, way, WAY longer than it should have, but Ann Coulter is finally being criticized in the "mainstream" media. Of course, liberal blogs, Air America, and Media Matters for America have been criticizing her for a long time, reporting the horrible things she says, waiting for the appropriate vilification and denouncement of her by the rest of the country, and getting no response.

Apparently, Coulter delivered the last straw on Friday:

Controversial columnist draws fire for gay slur

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Outspoken U.S. conservative columnist Ann Coulter is drawing fire from Republicans and Democrats alike after publicly using a derogatory gay slur in reference to Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards.

"Ann Coulter not only once again went out of her way to use a nasty epithet, she pushed her offensiveness up a notch," Amy Ridenour, president of the National Center for Public Policy Research, said on Sunday.

Coulter made the comments on Friday during a speech at the influential American Conservative Union's Political Action Conference, calling Edwards a "faggot."

[...]Coulter's Friday speech raised objections from Republican presidential hopefuls Sen. John McCain of Arizona, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani as well as Democrats.

This was what it finally took to get Ann Coulter to be denounced in the MSM and on the Right. I am glad that she is being denounced by them at all, but why did they not denounce her for what she said at the same conference last year:

At the same conference last year, she used the word "raghead" -- a slur against Muslims -- in referring to U.S. homeland security policies. In a column published in the National Review after the September 11 attacks she urged an invasion of Muslim countries and forced conversion to Christianity.

Coulter has deserved many times to be shunned for her hateful rhetoric. She is a demogogue who appeals to the most base and evil human emotions. Search for "Ann Coulter" on Media Matters for America's website and you will find hundreds of examples of Coulter's deplorable behavior like "joking" about assasinating President Clinton, Sen. Lincoln Chafee, and Supreme Court Justice Stevens, attacking 9/11 widows, or wishing Timothy McVeigh had blown up the NY Times building.

Coulter should not be and does not deserve to be given a platform to speak by any medium, yet she such is given to her all the time by the mainstream media. Hopefully, with news stories like these, that has come to an end:

Paper Drops Ann Coulter Column Over Her Use of Slur

NEW YORK At least one newspaper has canceled Ann Coulter's column after she implied that Democratic politician John Edwards is a "faggot."

The daily Lancaster (Pa.) New Era, in a note to readers, said it "halted publication of Ann Coulter's syndicated column following her crude characterization of presidential candidate John Edwards as a homosexual at a public appearance on Friday. Coulter's use of name-calling, sarcasm, and overstatement in her columns too often detracts from the arguments she seeks to make.

Four companies to pull ads from Ann Coulter's website

Ann Coulter may soon be feeling the effects of her remarks at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference in the pocketbook.

At least four companies have decided to pull advertisements from Coulter's website in the wake of the controversy that erupted after the conservative columnist called presidential candidate John Edwards a "faggot" last Friday, reports CNN.

Verizon, Netbank, and Sallie Mae have all removed ads from the website. The ads were pulled in part due to a grassroots effort by a DailyKos diarist, who is reporting that Washington Mutual has also pulled ads from the website.

Massive blowback: VRWC begins to abandon Ann Coulter

[...]If the nutters at RedState now consider Coulter unacceptable (apparently, prior calls for assassinations of President Clinton, half the Supreme Court and the New York Times editorial staff weren't offensive to them), it's over. When she's being portrayed as a 'liberal infiltrator', and top conservative voices take pains to distinguish other conservatives from her - witness the fabrication that her audience was silent, which is untrue, as the video clearly shows - then her adoring cohorts finally have gotten the message. Which means it's pretty much over for Ann.

Congratulations, Ann. You've finally managed to stoop so low that even the right is offended. Goodbye.

Unfortunately, Coulter can still depend on the Fox News Propaganda Channel to support her:

Aravosis is on CNN. Coulter isn't -- she's hiding out at FOX News, a network that should not host a Democratic debate

John [Aravosis] is on Paula Zahn tonight. He'll be appearing throughout the hour. However, as John predicted, Coulter chickened out. Instead, she's appearing on the refuge of the right wing: Fox News. And, to top it off, she's going on Sean Hannity's show. Coulter will get some real tough questions over there, huh?

Bush's Escalation In Iraq (So Far)

Earlier this year, Bush decided that he was wrong after all in not sending enough troops to Iraq, but he figured this out too late for it to make a difference. Maybe in four years time, he will figure out that he was too late and that he should have pulled our troops out of the quagmire he created through his incompetence instead of making things worse. He won't be in office by then, so it will be too late for another one of his four-years-behind-everyone-else revelations to make a difference.

If or when Bush does come to that realization, he will be living, as always, in the lap of luxury. Unfortunately, that realization is already too late for nine more US soldiers who won't be living in the lap of luxury in four years like Bush. Today, they aren't living at all:

9 U.S. Soldiers Killed North of Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Nine American soldiers died in explosions north of Baghdad, the U.S. military announced Tuesday after the deadliest single day for U.S. troops in Iraq in nearly a month.

Six soldiers died when a bomb exploded Monday near their vehicles during a combat operation in Salahuddin province, the military said. Three others were wounded in the blast.

Another three soldiers died the same day in a roadside bomb attack in Diyala province northeast of Baghdad.

Two suicide bombers exploded themselves in a crowd of Shiite pilgrims south of Baghdad on Tuesday, killing at least 10 people, police said.

When I think about how the 3185 US military deaths in Iraq, I think about how these people were willing to give their lives for their country, and Bush chose to sacrifice these people for his lies. Then there are the hundreds of coalition military deaths, mostly British, who died for Bush's lies, and the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who are dead because of Bush's lies. Now they are dead, and Bush is living a wealthy and carefree life. They paid the ultimate price for Bush's lies, and Bush bears none of the burden. It is so sickening.

Now, Bush, through his incompetence and lack of planning, has decided to risk even more US military lives with his escalation in Iraq. Well, the escalation has begun and nothing has changed. Iraq is no more stable than it was before the escalation, and, if the past four years of the war in Iraq is any indication, that is not going to change any time soon. So what will Bush do if the "surge" (as he calls it) does not work? Again, if the past four years is any indication, he does not have a backup plan.

Now any other president would know the importance of having a Plan B, but not the hopeless idealogue in the White House today:

There Is No Plan B

As the bad news coming out of Iraq continues, we now learn that:

During a White House meeting last week, a group of governors asked President Bush and Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about their backup plan for Iraq. What would the administration do if its new strategy didn't work?

The conclusion they took away, the governors later said, was that there is no Plan B. "I'm a Marine," Pace told them, "and Marines don't talk about failure. They talk about victory."

Pace had a simple way of summarizing the administration's position..."Plan B was to make Plan A work."

Meanwhile things are still bad in the war in Afghanistan, the war that Bush and his ilk forgot about, and now this happens:

Coalition Airstrike Kills Afghan Family

JABAR, Afghanistan (AP) - A coalition airstrike destroyed a mud-brick home after a rocket attack on a U.S. base, killing nine people from four generations of an Afghan family including a 6-month-old, officials and relatives said Monday - one of the latest in a string of civilian deaths that threaten to undermine the government.

It was the third report in two days of U.S. forces killing civilians. The airstrike took place late Sunday in Kapisa province north of the capital, some 12 hours after U.S. Marines opened fire on civilian cars and pedestrians following a suicide bombing in eastern Nangahar province.

Bush's war in Iraq has led to the deaths of more Americans than 9/11 which Iraq never even had anything to do with despite Bush's lies. The consequences of the Iraq invasion such as the insurgency and civil war has led to hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths which is one of the crimes for which we went after Saddam Hussein. Bush's attempt to protect Iraqi lives has had the opposite effect, their deaths, and if Bush had instead finished the job in Afghanistan, then maybe he could have prevented the death of this family and other innocent civilians in Afghanistan.

Bush is lucky that he was born into weath, because he fails at everything he tries (except elections apparently). Such a man should never have become, nor should he be now, the President of the United States.

Global Warming More Inconvenient For Inuit People

Global warming is human rights issue: Nobel nominee

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It sounds like a sick joke about global warming, with a series of horrible punch lines:

How hot is it? So hot that Inuit people around the Arctic Circle are using air conditioners for the first time. And running out of the hard-packed snow they need to build igloos. And falling through melting ice when they hunt.

These circumstances are the current results of global climate change, according to Nobel Peace Prize nominee Sheila Watt-Cloutier, an Inuit born inside the Canadian Arctic, who maintains this constitutes a violation of human rights for indigenous people in low-lying areas throughout the world.

Yesterday, my mother mentioned to me that she has a friend who still does not believe in global warming. Sometimes, I wish these "flat earth" theorists had to experience the effects of global warming first hand. Perhaps if they had to live like the Inuit people, they would know global warming is real, but somehow I think it would not make a difference because, to them, their ideology is more important than science or truth.

Japan's WW2 War Crimes

I am a big fan of Japanese cartoons, Japanese hybrid cars, and Japan in general, but it is news like this that makes me ashamed of liking Japan at all:

Japan's PM denies army in WWII had sex slaves

[...]Historians say some 200,000 women – mostly from Korea and China – served in the Japanese military brothels throughout Asia in the 1930s and 1940s. Many victims say they were kidnapped and forced into sexual slavery by Japanese troops, and the top government spokesman acknowledged the wrongdoing in 1993.

Now some in Japan's government are questioning whether the apology was needed.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe yesterday denied women were forced into military brothels across Asia, boosting renewed efforts by right-wing politicians to push for an official revision of the apology.

“The fact is, there is no evidence to prove there was coercion,” Abe said.

Abe's remarks contradicted evidence in Japanese documents unearthed in 1992 that historians said showed military authorities had a direct role in working with contractors to forcibly procure women for brothels.

Japan has a serious problem when its Prime Minister is denying Japanese atrocities during the 1930s and 1940s. It is as bad as if the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, denied the Holocaust. It is one thing for an idiot like David Irving to challenge factual evidence of the Holocaust, but for the head of state of Japan to deny the rape and enslavement of 200,000 women, it is far beyond deplorable.

Germany has spent the last 60+ years atoning for the Holocaust and other war crimes it committed during and leading up to World War II, and Japan has done a poor job in following Germany's example in humility and repentance.

And Japan has a lot to repent for. Here are just a few links to examples (Warning! Some of these have extremely violent and graphic content.):

Japanese war crimes

Nanking Massacre

Japanese human experimentation on the Chinese

Unit 731

If you thought the Nazis were bad, the Japanese were just as bad and in some ways worse. From the Wikipedia article on Japanese war crimes:

R. J. Rummel, a professor of political science at the University of Hawaii, states that between 1937 and 1945, the Japanese military "murdered near 3,000,000 to over 10,000,000 people, most probably 6,000,000 Chinese, Indonesians, Koreans, Filipinos, and Indochinese, among others, including Western prisoners of war.

It is called the "Asian Holocaust", yet while practically everyone knows of the Jewish Holocaust in Europe, most people may not be aware of the Asian Holocaust, and Japan elects politicians who actively deny it or passively ignore it.

Japan really needs to change this attitude of denial, fully take responsibility for these atrocities, completely apologize for them, and make amends where they can. I really do not know how to affect that change from my little blog, but every little bit helps, right?

The phrase "never again" has been used in reference the Jewish Holocaust many times, yet we still see genocide after genocide in Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, and now Darfur. The phrase has not been very effective in preventing genocide, but it helps to remind us. Through remembrance, we may hope to avoid more genocide, but only if we educate ourselves as much as possible.

It has been a failure on our part to teach the history of the Asian Holocaust, and we must correct that because those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Apparently, we still need to learn more about genocides like the Asian Holocaust because the act of genocide is still repeating.

Another Tragic Case For Universal Healthcare Coverage

I have written about this issue many times before, and it hurts me so much that the fight for universal healthcare coverage in the U.S. is such a slow one because of the immense, inhuman opposition to it. But I am one of the lucky ones who works for a company that offers health and dental insurance, and as much as the difficult fight hurts me, it hurts others exponentially more, to the point of death:

For Want of a Dentist:
Pr. George's Boy Dies After Bacteria From Tooth Spread to Brain

Twelve-year-old Deamonte Driver died of a toothache Sunday.

A routine, $80 tooth extraction might have saved him.

If his mother had been insured.

If his family had not lost its Medicaid.

If Medicaid dentists weren't so hard to find.

If his mother hadn't been focused on getting a dentist for his brother, who had six rotted teeth.

By the time Deamonte's own aching tooth got any attention, the bacteria from the abscess had spread to his brain, doctors said. After two operations and more than six weeks of hospital care, the Prince George's County boy died.

Deamonte's death and the ultimate cost of his care, which could total more than $250,000, underscore an often-overlooked concern in the debate over universal health coverage: dental care.

This should not happen here in America. It should not happen at all, but it does happen and it happens in America.

How much longer will we have to wait? How many more have to suffer and die before the Republicans and conservatives end their selfish and inhumane hold out on this? If it is money they are concerned about, how much more money has to be wasted on patients like this one whose death cost $250,000 when preventative dental care would have saved his life for $80?

If the family could not afford $80, they certainly are not going to be able to afford a quarter of a million dollars, and who do you suppose will have to pay for that? Either the taxpayers through Medicaid or other patients through raised medical costs.

This also affects our medical providers. If they have to spend so much work and time on life-or-death emergencies, then they have less time to do their regular work which in turn affects us all.

One living child vs. a dead child and a greiving family? Try to calculate the difference. I do not think that you can.

$80 vs. $250,000? The difference is an enormous $249,920. For .032% of the total cost of this child's death, his life could have been saved.

Where are the fiscal conservatives now? Where is their outrage over this since money is so important to them?

Where is the pro-life community now?! All I hear is crickets from where they should be in an uproar.

They are no where to be found. And why?

Seriously, why?!

Is it because it doesn't fall on their side of the political divide? Are they against universal healthcare coverage simply because it is considered a Democratic or liberal issue? Are they simply afraid of higher taxes despite the fact that they would pay much less in taxes than they pay now for higher insurance premiums and deductibles each year?

I have already explained how it fits into pro-life and fiscal conservative ideology, so what are they waiting for?

Everyone should be for universal healthcare coverage because everyone would benefit. Most of the public is for it, but, like getting out of Iraq, the elected government refuses to listen to the will of their boss, the public.

You cannot get much more bipartisan support than what this issue should have if more people understood it and demanded it from their representatives in government. So why is it taking so long? Why is there so much resistance in government?

Why did this child have to die?

He didn't have to die, but he did.

We should have universal healthcare coverage, but we don't.

There shouldn't be opposition to it, but there is.

We need to make a change, and only through the will of "we the people" can we make that change.

Write your Representatives and Senators in Congress today and make that change happen.

The Nontroversy About Gore's Electric Bill

Al Gore's documentary An Inconvenient Truth won an Oscar last Sunday. Surely, the Right-wing Attack Machine will take a break and let the man enjoy such an accomplishment.

Or maybe not:

Drudge Attacks Gore Over Utility Bills - Rush Update

[...]Here's what we know, what we think, what we're trying to find out and how you can help.

Last night, Al Gore got very favorable national press and worldwide television exposure.

This afternoon, a group calling itself "The Tennessee Center For Policy Research" sent out a press release denouncing Vice President Gore for the size of his household electrical bills.

What's this nontroversy all about?

Apparently, the Right is claiming Gore is a hypocrite for trying to stop global warming while having a largue home electric bill (supposedly 20 times the national average in terms kWh). What the Tennessee Center for Policy "Research" and Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity and The Drudge Report and Ann Coulter and all the other right-wing deceivers want you to assume from this is that Gore is contributing to global warming with his large electric bill.

This is an advanced deception technique that Al Franken refers to as a "weasel". According to Franken, a "weasel" is something that is technically true but intentionally used to mislead. In other words, they are telling a half-truth to get people to believe a whole lie.

In this case, this is the half-truth they tell:
Gore's home uses 20 times the energy of the average home.
And this is the whole lie they want you to believe:
Gore is a hypocrite.

The reason they only tell a half-truth and not the whole truth is because the whole truth discredits their whole lie, their argument, and consequently their careers. Limbaugh, Hannity, Drudge, Coulter, none of them would have their jobs if they did not base their entire careers on lies.

Fortunately, the good guys have been busy working to tell the whole truth:

Olbermann on Gore’s Energy Use: Setting the Record Straight

You knew after his big night at the Oscars Sunday, the far right would come out in full force against former Vice President Gore. Since these single-minded sensationalists never let those pesky "facts" get in the way, Keith breaks down the utility bill.

Crooks and Liars has the video of Keith Olbermann debunking the smear. Watch it.

(W/ KO Video) Further Response from Al Gore's Offices

Considering the factors:

Gores have a relatively large 10K square foot 5 bedroom home (latts)

have two home based offices

likely have staff helping in various capacities

likely have several visitors (family, friends, former and present coworkers, those working with Gore on global warming, and maybe a friendly politician or two visiting them once in a while)

use green energy which apparently costs significantly more (30-40% higher according to illinifan7)

their energy bills do not seem unreasonable to me.

There is a lot more info in that diary. Read it.

Gore Responds To Drudge’s Latest Hysterics

[...]Responding to Drudge’s attack, Vice President Gore’s office told ThinkProgress:

1) Gore’s family has taken numerous steps to reduce the carbon footprint of their private residence, including signing up for 100 percent green power through Green Power Switch, installing solar panels, and using compact fluorescent bulbs and other energy saving technology.

2) Gore has had a consistent position of purchasing carbon offsets to offset the family’s carbon footprint — a concept the right-wing fails to understand.

And one more link just for fun:

Breaking news: Al Gore uses electricity, and other Great Moments in right-wing issue avoidance

[...]Yes, he uses more electricity than you or me, but the house of this former Vice President and his wife has offices and staffers and security needs that we don't have either. His car today is an SUV, but it's also a hybrid.

[...]There are, after all, some legitimate experts who don't think global warming is a problem, or at least not a manmade one. I even wrote about one of them -- Penn prof Robert Geigenback -- here on this blog, just to help you people out. I happen to think you'll lose the argument, and lose it badly, since you'll be going against most of the world's scientific community.

But at least try!!!

Instead, it's this same crap, again and again and again. There's a speech on global warming, and it's cold outside! Don't debate John Kerry's plans for Iraq, question his medals from Vietnam. It's not the war that's going badly, it's some freelance photographer for the AP who has a cousin that's an insurgent. Who cares whether Israel's assault on Hezbollah made the problems in the Middle East worse, when there's a picture with too much smoke. A serious debate on issues in Congress? Look, up in the sky, it's Nancy Pelosi's plane -- what was that all about?

This scenario is all too familiar. The Right-wing Attack Machine takes one small fact and twists it into a huge lie. Remember when Gore said this during the 2000 election campaign:

During my service in the United States Congress I took the initiative in creating the internet. I took the initiative in moving forward a whole range of initiatives that have proven to be important to our country's economic growth and environmental protection, improvements in our educational system.

They managed to successfully twist that into "Gore said he invented the internet", and people acutally bought that deception.

The Right bases their arguments on lies and wins elections through deception. They could not exist otherwise because their arguments have no merit without the lies.

They don't have the science or data to disprove global warming, so they lie about the scientific consensus on it, say the scientists are all greedy for that oh so infinite gold mine called grant money, or pay off other "scientists" to say that they don't believe in global warming.

They couldn't get the public behind the war in Iraq, so they lie about WMDs, yellow cake from Africa, and ties to al Qaeda.

They couldn't pass tax cuts for the rich, so they lie about how they will cut taxes for everyone.

They can't deny that universal healthcare would be better and less expensive for everyone, so they lie about long lines and medical shortages.

They can't deny they outed an undercover CIA operative, so they lie by saying she wasn't undercover.

They can't deny that the majority of the public want us out of Iraq, so they lie and say those who want us out of Iraq are just far-left, crazy people.

The list goes on and on. They base everything on lies.

Which is why when they tell a new lie, like they are now with Gore, we have to be ready to fight it with the truth every step of the way.

More On HPV

Regarding my post two days ago about the controversy in Texas over the HPV vaccine, there are some new statistics about HPV:

Study: 27% of women have HPV

One in four U.S. women ages 14 to 59 is infected with the sexually transmitted virus that in some forms can cause cervical cancer, according to the first extensive national estimate.

The highest prevalence--nearly 45 percent--was found in young females within the age range recommended for a new vaccine, according to a report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The figure is mostly in line with previous assessments.

There is no sane reason not to make the HPV vaccine mandatory. If you want my full rant you can go to the post from last Tuesday. I will hold off on repeating myself for now.