Looks like ol' stumblebum fell off the wagon again and landed face-first.

Open Letter to the Citizens of Iraq:

We're so terribly sorry. Like you, our country is a victim of the neocon empire. Like you, we too have suffered thousands of dead in a neocon "terrorist attack."

But you guys are fighting back. Our people are finally waking up to the 5 years of lies foisted upon us by this criminal, illegal regime. Hopefully we, too, will fight back. And then maybe both our nightmares will at long last end.

Sincerely,

America.

****

Terrific article by the esteemed Professor Ernest Partridge from the Crisis Papers on Why Election Fraud should be the #1 issue for Dems in 2006. Currently posted on Smirking Chimp. A must read for all brad bloggers and anyone else who may be on the fence as to whether or not the neocons gamed the US election machine.

Lastly:

Click here to ask Barbara Boxer to lead the fight for fair elections!

Let's all urge Senator Boxer--the only one to stand up against the seating of the Ohio electors in the likelystolen 2004 "election"--to champion this issue... before Rove realizes his dream of a "permanent Republican majority."

Obviously, we need to leave Iraq as soon as possible.

---

First Lebanon has a Cedar Revolution and now it's happening in Texas (presumably). Watch out everybody, cedars are revolting.

Bush has failed at everything he's ever done. He can't even get rid of all the brush around his house after 5 years of trying. Yeah, I know he spends his vacations in Washington, but 5 years is still a lot of brush clearing.

---

So, Jack Abramoff has plead guilty. Good. Now maybe the investigators will be looking more closely at the SunCruz company activities and the murder of it's former owner, maybe a visit by Mohammed Atta while Abramoff was aboard and the less spectacular but oh so important funneling of money through various enterprises (Florida DOT, Ohio DOT, fake corporations with federal government contracts, etc.) into Republican campaigns.

There is so much to be revealed. It looks to be a terrific year.

Right on, MarkH. And remember that great little factoid broken by the esteemed Joseph Cannon right here on Brad Blog back when Brad was down in Texas --- that hijacker Mohammed Atta was on Jack Abramoff's Sun Crus Gambling boat on 9-5-01.

Now gee, what could an "Islamic terrorist" be doing on a crooked neocon lobbyist's boat just days before he "killed himself" on 9-11?

Of course, the logical thing to assume would be: he's getting a pay off to arrange 9-11 for Bushco.

But that's just outlandish, isn't it? I mean, you'd need a serious tinfoil hat to believe such a theory.

I mean heck, then Marvin Bush's company, who was in charge of security at the World Trade Center on 9-11, and doomed neocon appointee Bernard Kerik was the head of NYPD, all of whom could make sure that no one looked behind the curtains--gee, this entire thing is starting to sound like one big, frickin' inside job!

But of course, that's just lunacy.

Follow the money, boys and girls...

Argh.

Adding to the "great little factoid" regarding the "Florida DOT" investigator Raymond Lemme ."In his 2004 affidavit, Curtis describes a mid-June 2003 meeting with Lemme in which he claims that Lemme told him he "had tracked the corruption 'all the way to the top' and that the story would break in the next few weeks and I would be satisfied with the results. On July 1, 2003 --- just two weeks later --- Raymond Camillo Lemme was found dead in a bathtub, with his arm slashed twice with a razor blade near the left elbow in Room #132 of the Knights Inn motel in Valdosta, Georgia; a border-town some 80 miles from Tallahassee, Florida where Lemme lived and worked."

27,000+ liberated, dead Iraqi civilians...

According to State Dept. document "Decade of Deception and Defiance" (1999 or something) that is many, many times more people that Saddam killed in the 1990s.

It was interesting that when WMDs didn't turn up that the storyline quickly became we had gone there to liberate Iraq from a mass-murdering tryant. People were going around saying Saddam had been killing millions and millions of people. Had there been any honest debate about the goal of liberating Iraq, had people checked their facts, had we stopped to weigh the potential human cost such a war might cast upon Iraq's civilian population, reasonable people would have considered a more tactful approach to ousting Saddam from power.

The story of Iraqi civilian casualties is THE most undercovered story of this whole debacle.

27,000+ people is a lot, and we have to wonder now whether there could have been a better way to deal with Saddam.

"Life, liberty, and justice for all..." That's what we always say, but do an informal survey and guage how people react to this particular tragedy. You'll find that there are way too many people who think that these people's death are just the "costs of war".

First comment from HuffPo read:
"Too bad....but, cliched as it may sound, this is the cost of war - to the Iraqis. Mistakes like these do happen. Unfortunate. However, this doesn't mean that the air strikes should cease."

The insensitivity that some of these people have when Iraqi's are killed is just amazing. These are the same people who think we are in Iraq for some noble cause.

Culture of Life my ass.

>>>>>>>

BradBlog has done an excellent job of latching onto and turning undercovered stories into big issues. This would be an excellent topic to pursue. It would help people to realize the extent of the destruction that was caused and more importantly provide the much needed criticism of future intervention in Iraq.

To bad that mighty cedar could'nt have delivered a comatosis blow to the chimps empty skull.

Compare CCN's coverage of 13 trapped miners to their LACK of coverage of 10's of thousands of dead civilians in Iraq.
when will serious "shit happen" to bush ?
If only karma was true.

None dare call it liberation.

Bush, what a buffoon

I'll bet that cedar branch wilted and died when he rapped his meat-filled head against it

I can hear the SS agents now on the radio

"the pResident is down , code red, I repeat code red"

(answer) "What now, did he slip in some dog shit?"

At least when Gerald Ford fell on his face, it was only physical.

This idiot's whole CAREER is a pratfall.

Just think, throw out about 8 congressman or less and Bush's impeachment is assured......many more and it will be worse, Conyers is introducting Censure resolutions very quickly.

Cheney the real dark op here will probably be gone first in all likelyhood..

Doug E.

Looks like a STaff Infection on more than one branch of government may turn into cancer.

Actually, what Bush said about his injury was, "I got misconbobulated for a moment while clearing brush and had a little paux fas. But my staff got rid of the cedar branch, and the lacqueration on my forehead healed quickly. The Secret Service does a terrific job in these emergency situations, and the American people are safer now."

Since this thread is about moronic statements, maybe it's not too o.t. to comment on yesterday's Ed Schultz Show.
He was discussing a recent interview with Senator Murtha in which, in response to the question "Would you join the military today?" Murtha answered "No".
(I wasn't able to find the interview..anyone know where it is?)
Evidently other questions followed along the lines of "Would you advise young people then not to join?"

I'm not too comfortable paraphrasing away from an interview I've not heard, but it seemed to me that Schultz, who was displeased with Murtha's responses, proceeded to extrapolate them into the freaking stratosphere!
He went on & on about how it was terrible & irresponsible of Murtha to say people shouldn't join the military...what kind of message does this send, etc. etc.
Several callers disagreed with Schultz & tried to explain what Murtha meant, that he was just telling the truth as he sees it, but Schultz was adamant.

The last caller, none too gently, expressed what I was thinking: that Schultz was playing right into the hands of the "righties", who will soon be quoting him with comments like "See! Even leftie talk show hosts think Murtha is a nutjob!"
This isn't the first time that Schultz has made crazy & infuriating statements. The man's entitled to his opinions, but I think he does progressives no good when he nosedives into the deep end like this. The whole thing reminded me of the Dean "yell" & it's insanely exaggerated aftermath.
With all the scandal, crime & horror that's going on, why pick on one remark by one of the few with the balls to stand up & speak the truth in the midst of a blizzard of lies, for chrissake.
Nice going, Ed, you freaking MORON.

Those who have framed houses know that there is a tool for the job, and a tool not to use on a particular problem during a job.

The hammer hammers, the saw cuts. A carpenter is going to bleed if the wrong tools are used for the job.

The military was called to do a job. The military job. It did its job in about the first 60-90 days.

Years ago.

Then when the military had done all it could do, the neoCon administration did the Katrina. No one showed up to do the political things with political tools. Ambassadors, translators, administration bridge builders of the political kind.

No, the neoCon airheads thought every problem in life is a military problem. Bomb the hell out of every problem that moved. Trigger happiness.

They believed that "all you can be in the army" included nation building.

Wrong.

12 Iraqi civilians killed in this airstrike, now I just heard 33 killed & 36 wounded by a suicide bomber at a funeral.
http://www.hindu.com/the...lnus/003200601041858.htm

Your hands are so bloody, george. So, so bloody. You should hang your fucking head in shame.

I didn't hear the Murtha interview either. But for me, the whole deal is summed up in Schulz's question, "What kind of message does this send?" (for Murtha to say he wouldn't join the military today).

Answer: "It sends the message that before we send our soldiers to die for a cause, that the cause must be just. And it must be based on truth, not lies. And it must have a definable endgame."

On a related topic, has anyone considered how the administration's economic policies (the rich get richer, the poor get poorer) affect recruiting? The wider the gap gets, the more kids that from poor families need jobs with decent pay and benefits. For many of them, e.g., miners' kids in West Virginia (see Lynndie England), the army is the best option. "Learn a skill." "Get money for college."

Maybe even survive to talk about it!

Re #20
Sorry, that should have read '30 killed'

"What kind of message does this send?" (for Murtha to say he wouldn't join the military today).

Answer: "It sends the message that before we send our soldiers to die for a cause, that the cause must be just. And it must be based on truth, not lies. And it must have a definable endgame."

Exactly, Robert. Quite a few of Schultz's callers expressed it in much the same way.

I figured I shouldn't badmouth the man behind his back, as it were, so I emailed him my thoughts & a copy of my post about it. There was a poll on the show's site asking if you agree with him on the Murtha issue. Wouldn't hurt if 6 or 7 of you moseyed over & voted...

Joan #23

What is the link ... I will go do as you said.

It seems like it is the right message to send to Schultz ....

How's this for a new bumper sticker:

"Bush wants absolute power to run a war he lied to start"

Bush thinks it's more efficient to kill civilians at funerals. They're already in the graveyard.

http://www.wegoted.com/index.html

The president has reserved "his power" to ignore the new anti-torture law McCain pushed thru (link here).

And he is, thru Alberto "Torture Man" Gonzales, trying to stop all the habeas corpus proceedings of those labeled "enemy combatants" by the spy and torture advocating president (link here).

MMIIXX re: #8 - Karma works - but on its own schedule. Trust me, when it kicks into high gear and the neo-cons finally get what they really deserve, it's gonna be nasty.

Patience and hope, fellow patriot We've waited a long time, we can wait a little bit longer. (Remember, it's the year of the PHOENIX!)

Robert Lockwood Mills re: #21 - Well put, my eloquent friend *s* Military men are well-represented and well-respected in my family, but I'd venture to say that even the most REPUBLICAN of the conservatives in my family (and oh my GAWD they are many) wouldn't send their son or daughter to fight in a war of choice.

Now if I can only get them to see the truth about all of this..instead of focusing on the talking points from "DC Talkers"....

Brad, your wound spotlight is missing the point. The
scratch is a decoy. Look at the impact wound on his
nose. The line of it matches up with another one on his
cheek. His very swollen cheek. Looks like he lost a
battle with an ottoman and wound up face first in a
cabinet or the edge of a door.

So yea, how's that democracy building comin' there neocon zionist crooks???

:satisfied:

The sooner we can get everyone out of the firing squad range in the mid east the better.

Doug

Imagine if some country was bombing the shit out of our civilians, in the name of changing our country to be like theirs!

#8 If Karma is true then I would hate to see what happens to them. Maybe they'll be forced to get naked and make human pyramids. Maybe they'll be made to pose for humiliating pictures and prodded with electrical wires and beaten senseless. Even better, put them in a Guantanamo cell with all the other REALLY PISSED OFF combatants and let them fend for themselves. It would serve them well.

How can he possibly compare clearing brush with battle? What a loser!!

Speaking of losers, check this out.

http://onegoodmove.org/1...chive/002750.html#002750

"While President Bush was spending the holidays at his Texas ranch, he was clearing brush and a branch cut his face. As a result the tree was cut down and tortured by Dick Cheney." --Conan O'Brien

"According to a new poll, President Bush's approval rating, on the rise. Well, a lot of those polls are phone polls. People are worried Bush is listening: What? I think he's doing a hell of a job! Yeah." --Jay Leno

"All kinds of gigantic sales going on after Christmas. Today in Washington, lobbyist Jack Abramoff was selling Tom DeLay at 50% off." --Jay Leno

"Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff has agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors. He could name up to 20 congressmen. When President Bush heard this, he said 'That's amazing. I can only name three congressmen.'" --Conan O'Brien

"President Bush says he is 100% sure he was right to wiretap. 100% sure that he was right to wiretap. And you know Bush, when he says he's 100% sure, he's always right." --David Letterman

from politicalhumor

For Kestrel B.E.: Thanks for the compliment. Every day that goes by in Iraq (five more soldiers were blown to bits today) I try hard to play devil's advocate in Bush's behalf and ask, "What is the BEST that could come out of all this carnage?" Not, what is LIKELY to come out of it, what would make Bush look the BEST in the history books? As a historian, I try not to write history as it happens, but to forecast what a retrospective will read like 25 years from now.

1) Iraq becomes a secular state, run by secular leaders friendly to the West.

I believe this to be totally impossible, whether we leave now, leave in six months, or stay indefinitely.

2) Iraq's new constitution will draw Shiites, Sunnis, and Kurds into a consensus about Iraq's future, and relative peace will result.

I don't think even the neo-cons believe this.

3) All Iraqis, regardless of Islamic loyalties, will become so intolerant of terrorism in their midst that they will praise the United States for leading the war against it, and will join forces against the remaining insurgents.

This theory assumes that Iraqis have no sense of nationalism, and will be unable to recognize the obvious truth that the American occupation created terrorism in Iraq where in didn't exist before 2003.

4) Iraq will have been exposed later as only one battleground in a Muslim caliphate "extending from Indonesia to Spain" (in Rumsfeld's words), and our efforts to combat the caliphate in Iraq will lead to its dissolution or loss of influence elsewhere in the Middle East.

See #3 above. The more we do to "control terrorism" or "liberate Iraq," the worse the terrorism gets.

Maybe someone else can come up with a possible outcome that justifies the invasion and flatters Bush's historical standing. I'm not smart enough.

lobbyist Jack Abramoff should be sent to camp x-ray and waterboarded them it won't be just 60 GOP slime bags "going down" ...

"President Bush was clearing brush at his ranch when he was scratched by a tree. That's a switch, a tree harming a Republican, when does that ever happen? I guess Bush has cut down so many trees they're starting to fight back now" --Jay Leno

What a fool. Impeach the bastards while we still have a country left.