No Condi, you were right the first time...you
really have made thousands of mistakes

post from AMERICAblog on 01 April 2006 10:52:00 PM. © AMERICAblog

Condi said yesterday that the Bush team has made thousands of tactical errors in Iraq. Today, she's trying to backtrack a bit. But Condi, even if you meant it figuratively, it is literally true:

"First of all, I meant it figuratively, not literally. Let me be very clear about that. I wasn't sitting around counting," she replied. "The point I was making to the questioner ... is that, of course, if you've ever made decisions, you've undoubtedly made mistakes.

Oh yes, you've made mistakes. And you lied. And you killed a lot of people for no reason. And you have no plan to get out. What else?

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Next time

post from Cafe Politico on 01 April 2006 10:51:43 PM. © Cafe Politico

Next time the Bush administration says something, just keep in mind that we are not supposed to take them at their word. At least not in the literal sense.And that’s according to them!

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Great Strategy. Really.

post from Cafe Politico on 01 April 2006 10:40:49 PM. © Cafe Politico

I hope the GOP continues to use this sort of divide and conquer strategy. When a majority of people believe the war has been grossly mismanaged, attacking anyone who dare disagree with the war is going to backfire big-time. Basically, many of the most vocal chicken hawks don’t really support the military and [...]

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Rubber Stamp Republicans: New McCarthyism Is All
They Have

post from Daily Kos on 01 April 2006 10:25:53 PM. © Daily Kos

As Georgia wrote this morning, the Rubber Stamp Republicans can't say no to Bush. But look at how they do it:

"This hearing, I think, is beyond the pale," said Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas. Mr. Cornyn argued that the censure proposal could send a "perverse and false message" of presidential weakness to terrorists around the world and thus "make the jobs of our soldiers and diplomats harder and place them at greater risk."
Senator Jeff Sessions, Republican of Alabama, added, "Let's don't play games with their lives."
. . . Republicans . . . continued to amplify the debate. The Republican Party sent bulletins to its supporters and to talk-radio hosts calling attention to the hearing. And it distributed an online video quoting Democrats about censure or impeachment with the caption, "Tell Democrats to stop weakening our national security."

The last refuge of a hypocritical scoundrel - the New McCarthyism. Remember Republicans chose to send a "perverse and false message" of presidential weakness to Slobodan Milosovic and thus "make the jobs of our soldiers and diplomats harder and place them at greater risk" just before the Kosovo conflict:

1 February 1999: NATO's Secretary General reaffirms that, if no agreement is reached by the deadline set by the Contact Group, NATO is ready to take whatever measures are necessary to avert a humanitarian catastrophe.

6 February 1999: Negotiations on the future of Kosovo are opened at Rambouillet, France, involving the warring parties and the Contact Group.

12 February 1999: The United Kingdom sends an Armoured Battle Group to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to enable UK readiness to participate in a peacekeeping mission.

12 February 1999 : Republican Senators, led by "Maverick" John McCain vote to remove the Commander in Chief from office on the eve of war, thereby aiding and comforting the enemy. [/snark]

15 March 1999: Negotiations resume in Paris.

19 March 1999: The Paris peace talks break down following Yugoslav refusal to accept the Rambouillet Accords.

24 March 1999: Operation Allied Force begins at 1900 hours GMT

And if you are wondering, Jeff Sessions chose to "play games with the lives" of our troops in the Kosovo conflict. John Cornyn would have, but he was not in the Senate yet.

Lying scoundrels.

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Cornyn's Hypocrisy

post from Crooks and Liars on 01 April 2006 10:00:49 PM. © Crooks and Liars

Cornyn's Hypocrisy

FDL found a little hypocrisy coming out of Cornyn's mouth at the NSA hearings Friday.

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Cornyn: "When I was looking this morning at one of the witnesses that's going to be testifying, that's selling a book and that is a convicted felon, it strikes me as very odd that the Judiciary Committee is giving … an opportunity to somebody under those circumstances as part of their marketing efforts.'’

Now click to FDL and see how involved John was with Abramoff and the Casino scandals.

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Great Moments in GOP High Hypocrisy

post from Firedoglake on 01 April 2006 08:10:00 PM. © Firedoglake

Update: Crooks & Liars now has the video of Box Turtle Cornyn During the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings into the illegal NSA wiretaps where brave leading Democrat Russ Feingold stood alone with the commendable Kohl and[...]

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Defender Tony Serra: Surrender Date Extended

post from TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime on 01 April 2006 08:02:59 PM. © TalkLeft: The Politics of Crime

San Francisco criminal defense lawyer Tony Serra, a legend and the lawyer the movie "True Believer" was based on, got an extension of his jail surrender date last week so he can finish a murder trial. Tonywill be going to jail to serve a ten month sentence for tax evasion.

For any other lawyer, a jail term would mean financial ruin. For Tony Serra the 10-month sentence he starts this weekend for 20 years of tax evasion will be little more than a much-needed rest. With his long silver hair in a ponytail, his tie-dyed shirts and his admission that he smokes cannabis every day, Serra, 72, isn't like most lawyers, yet in a 40-year career he has built an unrivalled reputation of being able to win cases others dismiss as unwinnable.
What makes him remarkable is that, in a country where lawyers are among society's top earners, he has no credit cards, savings or bank account and owns no property. All his clothes are from charity shops or the Salvation Army. His net worth is whatever he happens to have in his pockets.

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Dana Rohrabacher stumped on those seven minutes

post from Crooks and Liars on 01 April 2006 07:41:36 PM. © Crooks and Liars

Dana Rohrabacher stumped on those seven minutes

One of Bill Maher's pet peeves is "the infamous seven minutes," that Bush sat frozen in the school after being notified by Andy Card that the nation was under attack.

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On Real Time Friday night, Maher asked Rep. Dana Rohrabacher-if he wouldn't have criticized Bill Clinton for doing the same thing. Dana was paralyzed and left speechless. Question answered.

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Moussaoui: Bumbling Holy Warrior

The UK papers get it right: Moussaoui was a hanger-on, a bumbling holy warrior, who was not connected to 9/11. Neither was Richard Reid.

The Times Online:

The notion that Moussaoui and Reid were central to the 9/11 conspiracy -- and had been entrusted with the task of destroying the White House -- was "pretty fantastical", one Washington official said. "If there had ever been any evidence that Reid was in any way connected to this, the Feds would be all over him," the official added. Another source said there were no plans to interview Reid about the allegations.

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Footprints in the Sand

This nightmare will never end as long as the GOP holds power. In fact, until they're kicked out, things are going to get significantly worse:

[Firedoglake] On Iraq, Bush has said time and again that when the Iraqis stand up, we will stand down. But then, just recently, our president started talking about the next president taking over where he left off, with withdrawal coming after 2009.
Now, the press is slowly starting to focus on what's been building for months and months. A serious, U.S. foot print in the Iraqi desert meant to take over where our carriers in the Persian Gulf leave off. Huge bases are being constructed, as large as 19 square miles.

Jane, get me off this crazy thing ...The article also notes that Retired General Anthony Zinni will be on Press the Meat tomorrow opposite John McCain. That might be an interesting study in contrasts. A stand-up career combat officer with a proven track record who called Iraq right on the nose, next to a groveling suck-up politician who wouldn't even stand up for his wife and daughter when they were viciously smeared and then thought the manly response would be to hug the alleged instigators.

Update: Anyone who is still under the illusion that John McCain is a stand-up, resolute maverick, should be forced to watch the MTP segment (Just completed here 10 AM EDT) Clockwork Orange style. It was brutal. McCain flip-flopped and hemmed and hawed on at least three or four issues that Russert nailed him on. I criticize Timmeh a lot, so I should say good job when he deserves it. So, Good Job Mr. Russert!