And, actually, today is nearly over so that makes it only 975 days to go.

...And, really, nothing ever happens on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, so that makes it practically only 972 days to go.

Not just incompetence but gluttony.

Not gluttons but fascists.

"I spent 30 years at the CIA," said one former official, "and no one was ever interested in knowing whether I was a Republican or a Democrat. That changed with this administration. Now you have loyalty tests."

Why should we care just because another incompetent, fired, disgruntled Clintonista twit is caught whining again?

Hey AI - is it cozy in the bunker? Give my best to Eva - things are going great on the Eastern front!

I love the Al-bots. Arithmetic challenged, but everready with erzatz wingnuttia.

PTate: Sadly, I was counting from May 19th. Still 976 days left....

Technically, it's 977 days, 11 hours and 51 minutes (according to the countdown timer on my desktop).

Get mad and stay mad. Your hair should be on fire every day these people are in office.

Interesting. Aardwolfs are closely related to hyenas except that where hyenas are ravenous carnivores aardwolfs have lost the aggressive personality and the massive carnivorious teeth - which have become spindly in comparison, are developing a longer sticky like anteaters and have infact changed to a diet of insects. Kind of like the hawk/dove or chimp/bonobo comparisons.

Only 976 days to go. Only 976 days to go. Only 976 days.....

I hope so, but I keep thinking this guy isn't going to want to leave the farm when the time comes. I hope I'm wrong.

If you folks think that elections are going to save you, think again.

A *bad* person? No. A sad person? Likely.

Regardless of all we know, I still find it jarring that the overlords have the gall to interrogate CIA employees about their political leanings.

I hope so, but I keep thinking this guy isn't going to want to leave the farm when the time comes. I hope I'm wrong.

My hunch is the opposite. I don't think he's enjoying it, and deep down he knows he's in over his head. He has a history of walking away from his commitments before they're finished, and this presidenting gig is going to just get worse and worse for him.

My guess is he does a Fujimori, faxing in his resignation from Crawford and saying the hell with it.

KEVIN DRUM: Still 976 days left....

Exciting times ahead.

An administration that was serious about winning in Iraq would seek the best assessment of the situation there, whether the news was pleasant or not. The Republicans are not serious about winning in Iraq, or about governing the country well. They are only interested in their own power as a party, and their own privileges, perks, and profits.

If this country is to do well, the Republicans must go. The longer they stay, the more damage they do to the country, and the more difficult and expensive it will be to repair the damage.

My guess is he does a Fujimori, faxing in his resignation from Crawford and saying the hell with it.Posted by: jimBOB on May 19, 2006 at 1:33 AM | PERMALINK

****Oh, please God, oh please oh please oh please***...and more than likely, to the sound of millions of champagne bottles popping all over this nation. Even Bush knows he's the Worst. President. Ever.

I keep thinking this guy isn't going to want to leave the farm when the time comes. I hope I'm wrong.

You're not the only one who's thinking it. Every time I read another article about Bush's expansive view of wartime powers I find myself wondering if elections and term limits are just another bit of fluff that don't apply to "The Decider."

Other people have said it better, but one of the things I deeply resent about this administration is the way it consistently lends credibility to some of the wildest conspiracy theories.

Actually, make that 977 days. I guess. Apparently my countdown clock has a bug in it.

The Washington Monthly apologizes for getting your hopes up.

Yes, but they were all political hacks whose cousins had voted for Kerry, or who had used the wrong bathroom when Dick Cheney was in the building. No one can be trusted, least of all a career analyst of information. If you're with the intelligence, you're obviously against us.

How do you spell your last name, again?

Am I a bad person if I barely even react to this kind of thing anymore? It's like reading that, once again, the freeways are crowded this morning.

The perfidy of the Bush neofascists knows no limit. Yes, we've seen this story played out a thousand time over until it's nothing but same old thing.

We can hope it's only 976 more days, but one wonders if by then will it be too late to save the Republic?

aa

Get some balls. Rage against the machine. You have a forum. This "ho hum" schtick of yours is getting old Kevin.

Kevin - I read the link. The author supposedly talked to people with knowledge of the report writers getting fired/reassigned - but they are all anonymous sources.

Why are you blogging on anonymous sources?

Okay, 977 days.

But it's practically Saturday. Nothing will go wrong on a Saturday, so that's 976. Ditto Sunday. So that's 975.

*sigh*

...impeachment is really off the table?

"Not gluttons but fascists."

Oh no Hitler was a glutton too. He just had superior metabolism.

Is Gerry Meyer a real person?

Why can't I find anything about him on Google: "Gerry Meyer CIA" or "Gerry Meyer Baghdad". Also tried "Gerald Meyer CIA" and "Gerald Meyer Baghdad".

Nothing on Google. Tried Wikipedia, too. Nothing.

Very interesting.

Why should we care just because another incompetent, fired, disgruntled Clintonista twit is caught whining again?

Scientology has nothing on the Cult of the GOP.

Is Gerry Meyer a real person?
Why can't I find anything about him on Google: "Gerry Meyer CIA" or "Gerry Meyer Baghdad". Also tried "Gerald Meyer CIA" and "Gerald Meyer Baghdad".
Nothing on Google. Tried Wikipedia, too. Nothing.
Very interesting.
Posted by: Frequency Kenneth

... is this a joke? or is kenneth really this fucking stupid? do all CIA station chiefs in baghdad have full profiles accessible to redtate yokels on google and wikipedia? is this a new thing?

try something for me, kennie-boy, you dumbfuck waste of semen ... get me the google profile on the current CIA station chief in baghdad, will ya? and some coffee ... and put some wings on that!

I'll assume if you don't find anything that the current CIA station chief doesn't exist.

Why should we care just because another incompetent, fired, disgruntled Clintonista twit is caught whining again?

A classic textbook case of projection. The very characteristics of a persona (in this case the public persona of acknowledged Bushista incompetence) is, in the damaged and threatened mind of the one making the quoted statement, projected onto a prominent rival, in this case our former president Clinton, one of the most successful presidents of all time. Clearly, the author of such a claim has difficulty integrating the facts of reality with the fantasy that supports his/her fragile, fragile state of mind.

Kindness dictates that we help this individual out of his/her fantasy at every opportunity. The only treatment is reinforcement of the truth -- with the lucky few damaged individuals who, in the beginning, were counted among the swing votes, there can be a cure. As far as the base twenty-something% ---Sigh. If only a celebrity would care enough to host a telethon. Nah. Now that is a fantasy.

I googled my name with "cia station chief baghdad" and got 9,600 hits so it must be me! I'm so covert even I don't know!

"Other people have said it better, but one of the things I deeply resent about this administration is the way it consistently lends credibility to some of the wildest conspiracy theories."

Posted by: Oregonian on May 19, 2006 at 1:38 AM

You and me both. You. And. Me. Both. Indeed, it is the way so many of the threads are matching up with some of the more disturbing and wilder theories so closely that frightens me most about this Administration. Before the Bush43 Administration I would never have believed that Americans, let alone conservative Americans would become so blasé about big brother monitoring their movements as closely as has become apparent recently. I would never have considered an open alliance between certain powerful multi-national energy corporations and the VP to develop a long term energy plan in total secrecy, a plan which has been repeatedly reported as having maps of Iraqi oil fields among other things in it. I certainly would not have considered the possibility that there was a significant cover-up of at the minimum serious criminal negligence by the Administration by the senior level of this Administration regarding the events of 9/11/01. What is worse I would not find myself unable to dismiss some of the intentional power grab conspiracy theories out there, especially the ones reliant on the PNAC agenda given the massive overlap between the signatories of that document and the Bush43 Administration. I find that inability something truly unnerving.

"Am I a bad person if I barely even react to this kind of thing anymore? It's like reading that, once again, the freeways are crowded this morning." Kevin Drum in post

No, you are not a bad person, the clear monotonous repetition of these stories coming out makes that feeling though perfectly understandable. So long as you are still willing to note them while feeling this way is more than enough proof for me that you are not a bad person for feeling this way. You would be a bad person for letting you simply ignoring their presence and not documenting/noting it as yet one more piece of evidence to support the Bush is destroying the intelligence community argument as you instead have done. That you continue to note them is what really matters, for while they are anonymously sourced in this case as well as in others they are also consistent with other on the records facts regarding the partisan witch hunts within the American intelligence community by this Administration since well back into the first term.

General:

This Administration has done more to cripple American intelligence abilities than any other I know of, certainly in living memory and arguably in the history of the nation itself. The purges are bad enough, and the Plame outing seriously damaged both the nuclear proliferation efforts and more broadly the ability of American intelligence operatives to recruit sources and agents abroad to aid in this fight. When one combines this with the lack of institutional memory being retained and the political purging to prevent any contrary opinions/analysis to the official WH line the long term damage being done can only be characterized as extreme. So most likely sooner rather than later it is going to become apparent to all just how dysfunctional and damaged the American intelligence community truly is and then the mother of all blame games will start. Having done the monotonous work of contemporaneously noting all of these stories and examples of evidence of this being driven solely by political partisan operatives will go a long way to countering the inevitable blame the left approach of the GOP.

There is a massive disaster waiting to happen, a disaster I believe on the level that allowed 9/11/01 to happen if not even worse. This is a direct result of the policies and decisions of the current Administration and the rubber stamp Congress refusing to do its proper oversight in anything remotely resembling an active/vigourous manner. When that finally happens it is imperative to be able to properly assigning responsibility/blame, and not so much for political partisan reasons as to drive out those that made such bad decisions from positions of power within that party so as to increase the odds of that party regaining some sanity in how it operates. Particularly when one is talking about issues of national security and intelligence. When one operates a two party system it is always inherently dangerous to have one party controlled by extremists/fanatics/zealots and/or incompetents in such areas. The GOP currently fits that description so closely a monomolecular blade could not get between the body(party) and the overlay of that description.

I googled my name with "cia station chief baghdad" and got 9,600 hits so it must be me! I'm so covert even I don't know!
Posted by: ecoboz

You didn't need to know.

"I spent 30 years at the CIA," said one former official, "and no one was ever interested in knowing whether I was a Republican or a Democrat. That changed with this administration. Now you have loyalty tests."

Why should we care just because another incompetent, fired, disgruntled Clintonista twit is caught whining again?

Posted by: Al on May 19, 2006 at 1:08 AM

I loved this one...this person is assumed to be a Clintonista at the same time that they were in the CIA for 30 years according to Al's own cite/quote, in other words at least 17 years or more prior to Clinton ever becoming President. The inherent contradiction between claim by Al and his own qupoted source material is particularly stark in this case, even for Al. Which is why I am making a rare case of noting it.

Only 977 days to go. Only 977 days to go. Only 977 days to go.....

What makes you think this is reversible?

By the end of the Bush era, the country will be so fed up that they may be ready to do a 180 to the left. Some real opportunities may open up for universal health care, a living wage, environmental progress, etc.

Let us not miss the opportunity by nominating a policy parser like H. Clinton or Kerry again. An inspirational leader is needed or our moment will pass without any big ideas implemented. Gore, Feingold, Obama. Choose one.

By the end of the Bush era, the country will be so fed up that they may be ready to do a 180 to the left.

I hope so. But replace "fed up" with "screwed up", and couple that with a continued effete and cowardly opposition party, and then you see that a coup from the right is just as likely.

Drum: Only 977 days to go. Only 977 days to go. Only 977 days to go.....

Delong: Impeach George W. Bush. Impeach him now.

Drum 0 - Delong 1

I go away for two weeks and I can't recognize my country when I come back to it. My family is the same - liberal, tolerant, friendly, silly & furry (arf!) - but my country is suddenly more brittle and frightened. When did we stop being the home of the free and the land of the brave?

"Positioning for moonbat support 2 years later seems typical."

Pure fridge-magnet poetry, is it not? Proving, once and for all, that all words in the English language go with all the other words in the English language.

Worst. President. Ever.

"When did we stop being the home of the free and the land of the brave?"

December 12, 2000 . . .

And then WHAT, Kevin? Sadly kissing the BUSH & COMPANY crew a fond farewell will NOT make everything "right" (OOPS) with the world. When 2004 went south I thought the one shining light in that could be these guys would surely FU enough for the dimwitted to become enlightened. Of course, I forgot just WHO would be paying the price for their FU...it's you and me and the rest of AMERICA...not to mention the world. It will take decades for democracy to return to America...IF that is even a possibility. I vote for Kevin Phillips' THEOCRACY language...it's where we are. Just watching the Catholic church (oh, they of perverted priests) making a huge stink about a "work of fiction" that might just allow the sheeple a glimpse into what the imagination could discover if it gets up off it's knees, again clearly demonstrates the enslavement of the masses by "religious fervor"...

Well, it still bothers me. This idiot is liable to get us into another war. He just can't stop himself, and apparently, is unable to listen to any but the most fawning points of view. God, every time he's on the TV making a speech, I have to turn it off. I can't even look at him, much less listen to him massacre the English language.

I do hope that the Senate goes Democratic in the fall-someone needs to remind Howdy Doody that he is not king.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/4750647.stm

Another cool topic, Kevin will never mention.
Under universal healthcare, the government can refuse to treat people they diagree with.

Lovely!

Google "Team B" and do some reading. This is standard operating procedure for the Bush family, Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz.

Same shit, different decade...

Am I a bad person if I barely even react to this kind of thing anymore?

Well, I'll skip over the "am I a bad person" part, because it's too junior-high for me this morning, and ask: if you're barely even reacting, why are you in this line of work?

No one can constantly sustain the level of anger that's a perfectly appropriate response to this administration's activities, and incessant rage wouldn't make for good blog reading anyway. But there are lots of other ways you can write about what's happening--calmly, thoughtfully, humorously or simply reporting the facts without tacking on a personal reaction--and other bloggers are managing to do so.

It's one thing to say, "I'm really beaten down by all of this at the moment, but I'll be back with more thoughts after I get some perspective." We're all going through that and we understand it. It's another to keep doing the yawn-I-can't-be-arsed routine.

Kevin, I'm sure we can count on the idiots that comprise the American electorate to put Frist or Gingrich or Santorum in the White House and perpetuate the madness. Maybe a ticket of Condi/Jeb? I'm already prepared to be depressed well into the next decade. Hasta la vista U.S. Constitution........

Good news from my corner of the world in Texas...the latest clubhouse talk amoung even the most loyal of bushies is how shitty a job W is doing. This is a recent new development in redneck country, so take heart my fellow liberals, even the dim bulbs down here are starting to spread light.....

McA, you ignorant slut, stop going off-topic!

Besides, the hospital workers are correct: "we exercised our right to decline treatment to him for anything other than life-threatening conditions."

Anti-abortion wing-nuts: Three strikes and you're out!

McAristotle: The two views are:

Wrong. A succession of reports from a succession of station chiefs, starting much earlier, painted a pessimistic picture and predicted the "upsurge". "Actionable intelligence" is worthless if the decision-makers won't take action because they don't heed the intelligence. The only "ass covering" happening is in Washington.

Due to the line of succession -- Cheney, Hastert and Frist -- we really can't even harbor preposterous, albeit hopeful, wishes. Due to his on deck circle, the man is even more impeachment proof than his father.

Nads: ... is this a joke? or is kenneth really this fucking stupid?

Sadly, both are true.

McAnustotle: CIA guys should be judged on actionable intelligence.

Which Bush and Cheney didn't do; they rejected actionable intelligence in favor of their own "speculative intelligence" and forced out the CIA guys that got it right on Iraq.

The problem is prophetic statements is that you don't get punished if they are wrong.

That's certainly true.

Bushitler and "Dickless" Cheney and Rumsfeld (oops, that's Dumbsfeld) have yet to be punished for falsely/incorrectly (getting it wrong) prophecies about Iraqi WMDs.

Mainly due to lemmings like you and Pat Roberts.

I never thought GWB's father deserved impeachment. I am not so sure about GWB. His biggest sin has been to use the unchecked power Congress surrended to him without so much as a fight. I do wish we had a system that allowed for a no confidence vote.

Ron: His biggest sin has been to use the unchecked power Congress surrended to him without so much as a fight.

That would not be a GWB sin, but a congressional GOP sin.

Blame Roberts for that, blame Frist, Hastert, DeLay, Spector, Hatch, and a host of other miscreants, but not Bush.

You can't use something you don't get and shouldn't have in the first place and you can hardly blame a leader for using all the power given to him by a willing Congress.

You can blame Bush for biting off more than he was offered, in terms of power, however.

Bush has clearly been dishonest in stretching his power beyond that which Congress in fact authorized.

But to the extent that Congress in fact offered power up to the Executive, no president in recent memory, except perhaps Carter, would IMO have been inclined to reject the use of said power.

We just haven't had any recent presidents, and maybe even no non-recent presidents, with that sort of integrity.

Kevin,

Perhaps you should start what may become a blog trend: Put a Bush countdown box at the top left corner as a standard part of your page. (Or somewhere else prominently on the home page).

Days hours minutes and seconds if possible.

In answer to your question, Kevin, yes, anyone who doesn't react is a bad person. For wrong to triumph it is necessary only that those in the right do nothing. Not reacting puts one in the category of the Senators on who press Hayden, get him to admit that he purposely misled in his answers about the extent of spying by subtling changing his response (talking about monitoring "conversations" rather than information about Americans) but will nonetheless allow him to become head of the CIA.
We have to react. Every time. We have to keep pushing, because Bush's administration will keep pushing. They are pushing us in the wrong direction. Without any push back, they will succeed.

Kevin,

You provide two strong arguments for impeachment.

Why should we care just because another incompetent, fired, disgruntled Clintonista twit is caught whining again?

He spent 30 years in the CIA, so Clinton appointed him in 1975? Who knew??

Even for Al, this is a whole new level of stupid. Congrats, Al.

I see the Bush and GOP tax cuts have had a resounding negative effect on the DOW.

But, we have great news!

The wealthy will be getting wealthier while the rest of the country goes to hell in a handbasket.

Yipppeeeee!

What could be more enjoyable for conservatives these days? Deposing Saddam and putting him on trial, dismantling Al Qaeda, flipping the bird to the UN, and watching the Dems inch closer to complete melt down. These are the golden days. If Bush would control spending and downsize the government and entitlement spending, it would be nirvana.

I sense a little loss of momentum from the left though. Don't lose your anger guys, it has been my source of entertainment the last few years and should serve you well in '08. Keep on with your calls for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, the need for the UN to take the lead on pacifying terrorism, loss of civil liberties, tax cuts for the rich and and a bankrupt nation. I am convinced that is why the border is flooded with immigrants, they all want to be a part of the implosion to fascism.

And you get criticised for missing something
-so you get ass covering doom and gloom followed by periodic end-of-career leak/book deal/lefty celebrity stunts.
Posted by: McAristotle

Oh, would that be like George Tenet? 9/11 occurred on his watch and what happened? Oh yeah, Dumbya gave him the Presidential Medal. Nice try, McAsshole.

If Bush would control spending and downsize the government and entitlement spending...

And if pigs had wings...

Jay: . . . and watching the Dems inch closer to complete melt down.

You're looking in a flawed mirror and seeing Dems where GOP should be.

Get a better mirror.

Or better anti-psychotics.

The only meltdown happening right now is Bush and the GOP falling, falling, falling like the sacks of sh*t they are.

I sense a little loss of momentum from the left though.

You never did have much sense, Drama Queen Jay!

If Bush would control spending and downsize the government and entitlement spending, it would be nirvana.

You mean if Bush would stop being Bush and the GOP would stop being the GOP and become liberals and Democrats?

LOL!

Deposing Saddam and putting him on trial . . .

The Iraqis are putting him on trial, not Bush.

But don't let the facts get in the way of your delusions.

. . . dismantling Al Qaeda . . .

Funny that even the Bush administration admits that the Al Queda organization hasn't been dismantled.

And in which jail or grave can bin Laden be found?

Oops!

Wrong-way Jay again.

. . . flipping the bird to the UN . . .

And proving to the world that the UN was right about Iraq and Bush was wrong.

What a coup!

Link to your own Bush Countdown Clock!

Countdown Until Jan 20, 2009

Is there a designated time for the swearing in of the new President? I selected noon, but assume it varies.

Wrong-Way Jay: . . . they all want to be a part of the implosion to fascism.

Since according to you and your fellow conservatives they are all coming here to vote Democratic, it would appear they all want to be part of imploding Bush's fascism, rather than being a part of the implosion to it.

Stupidly walking right into it as usual, Jay.

Thanks!

You continue to do a world of wonders to convincing America's undecideds that conservatives are losers and fools.

Keep up the good work and we'll have Bush and the GOP down to 25% approval before you know it.

political quiz question:

the bush administration's taking over of the gov.
is analogous to:

1)the lunatics taking over the asylum
2)the monkeys taking over the zoo
3)the clowns taking over the circus
4)all three of the above

unfortunately i think things are going to have
to get a hell of a lot worse before they begin to even get a little bit better

i'm depressed, i want to shoot somebody:

a)clinton
b)gore
c)nader
d)kerry
e)rumsfeld
f)chany
g)rice
h)bush
i)all eight of the above

While George W. Bush is sinking in the polls, Senator Hillary Clinton is bouncing back. Thirty-one percent (31%) of Americans say they would definitely vote for the former First Lady if she runs for President in 2008. Just 33% will definitely vote against her.

Doesn't it just stick in your craw, Wrong-Way Jay?

How about you, rdw?

Or are you two the same person - one of "Charlie's" alter egos?

the latest clubhouse talk amoung even the most loyal of bushies is how shitty a job W is doing

Not to be a pill, but while Dubya's definitely damaging Brand GOP, the 2008 candidate will probably be smarter and seem more honest, so most Repugs will probably be reassured enough to stick with a crappy product as long as some small improvements are made.

Strickland (D) by 16

Congressman Ted Strickland (D) leads Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R) by 16-percentage points in the race to become Governor of Ohio.

Hey, rdw, how's your lie about Strickland being behind all potential GOP candidates in the polls playing out these days?

Don't think we have forgotten your mendacious claims about Strickland and DeWine.

They follow you everywhere, just like the "massive stockpiles of WMDs" will follow Bushitler, "Dickless" Cheney, and Donald Dumbsfeld forever.

I should clarify, advocate has already achieved complete melt down, hence his coronation to the drama queen hall of fame.

Also, just to point something out, currently $360 billion is being spent on entitlements yet the left continues to cite the need for more monetary assistance to the "disenfranchised". So if Gregory and advocate, in their most recent posts, both claim that the Dems would be more fiscally responsible in this area, what is their plan? How much would they spend and what areas would be cut?

Generic Congressional Ballot: Dems 48% GOP 33%

Following the President's Monday night speech, Democrats enjoy a 15-point advantage on the Generic Congressional Ballot. Two weeks ago, the Democrats had a ten-point advantage.

Ouch!

Yet more bad news for the GOP.

I thought those generic numbers were supposed to tighten the closer we got to November, not widen.

What's happened Wrong-Way?

What's happened rdw?

Hey, Wrong-Way, what were you saying about "watching the Dems inch closer to complete melt down"?

Repeat after me: Following the President's Monday night speech, Democrats enjoy a 15-point advantage on the Generic Congressional Ballot. Two weeks ago, the Democrats had a ten-point advantage.

wschneid25 takes an early lead in todays drama queen contest. Nicely done wschneid25, that post was dripping with faux drama.

You and your polls advocate, I would have thought by now you would be a bit skeptical on poll numbers considering your embarassment in '02 and '04. But I guess it is something to grasp on to.

oh my god, in comment at 10:09 above it should be:

h)cheney(like lon cheney) not h)cheny

Advocate for God: "Thirty-one percent (31%) of Americans say they would definitely vote for the former First Lady if she runs for President"

I might vote for Hillary in 2008, but I would be very, very unhappy about it. I mean, ready to bolt the f**king party at the first viable alternative unhappy.

The allegations in the Silverstein article are based on unnamed sources.

Nuff said.

Wrong-Way Jay: Also, just to point something out, currently $360 billion is being spent on entitlements yet the left continues to cite the need for more monetary assistance to the "disenfranchised".

And how much is being spent on looking for non-existent WMDs?

$200 billion and going up, up, up, plus, and more importantly, 2000 American soldiers, not to even mention the wounded and maimed.

$200 billion that could have been spent securing our ports and borders.

$200 billion that could have been spent fighting crime and child predators.

$200 billion that could have been spent on Americans, and let's face it that's what Jay's argument boils down to: American dollars should only be spent on American citizens.

Funny, Jay says we shouldn't spend American dollars to make the lives of Mexicans better and that this is the responsibility of the Mexican government, but it's okay to spend American dollars on Iraqis to make their lives better and this was not the responsibility of the Iraqi government.

I tell you what, Wrong-Way, if it's okay to invade Iraq to give them real democracy, to stop the bloodbath, and to help the Iraqi people have better lives, why aren't we doing the same in Mexico where American conservatives claim there is no real democracy, there is a bloodbath the government there won't stop, and where the current government isn't going to make the lives of ordinary Mexicans any better?

Double. Standard.

Wrong-Way: . . . that post was dripping with faux drama.

Talk about faux drama, how about this!

Keep on with your calls for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, the need for the UN to take the lead on pacifying terrorism, loss of civil liberties, tax cuts for the rich and and a bankrupt nation. I am convinced that is why the border is flooded with immigrants, they all want to be a part of the implosion to fascism.

We have a new winner (oops! I almost typoed "sinner" - oh well, either one works, I suppose!).

Wrong-Way: You and your polls advocate, I would have thought by now you would be a bit skeptical on poll numbers considering your embarassment in '02 and '04. But I guess it is something to grasp on to.

Since these are Rasmussen numbers and conservatives crow that Rasmussen numbers are accurate and Rasmussen was virtually on point in his polling in 2000 and 2004, you are blowing smoke up your own ass.

I know it hurts to be caught in your own logical fallacies and inconsistencies, but since it is your character flaw, you'd better learn to live with it.

So, I'm guessing there is no plan, right advocate?

PTate: I might vote for Hillary in 2008, but I would be very, very unhappy about it. I mean, ready to bolt the f**king party at the first viable alternative unhappy.

I'm no big Hillary fan, but watching her out-poll Bush (44% of Americans have a favorable opinion of Clinton while 39% hold an unfavorable view) is priceless.

In any event, while she wouldn't likely be great and would invite yet more conservative hysteria and hand-wringing with constant defamation attempts from the Right, she'd be heads and shoulders better than Bush and even rdw must admit that.

Being concerned about "constant defamation from the right", coming from advocate? Now that's priceless.

SHORTSTOP: if you're barely even reacting, why are you in this line of work?

One of your better posts, shortstop. You lay out Kevin's hypocrisy and remoteness in a manner even he might appreciate. Trouble is, because he only reads the first half dozen or so comments to see what Al and American Hawk have to say, he'll never see yours. By now, after a leisurely breakfast and careful fastening of his clip-on tie, he has strolled into his office/family room to begin his morning online perusal of today's events. Soon we'll be reading his take on them, his mild reactions riling Al and AH to new levels of totalitarian mendacity, even as they serve to further his complicity with those fascist fellows.

But since it's Friday, instead of wishy-washy liberalism, so fatiguing and draining to his spirit, Kevin may treat us to cat pictures . . . or maybe a preview of the Da Vinci Code's opening today, with serious discussion of its attendant "controversies." Better yet, since he's obviously so stressed and overworked, it's probably about time for a vacation announcement. With no ranch to retreat to (yet), our discussion leader will have to settle for something more modest, in accordance with his network's means.

So maybe it'll be a working vacation, during which he can finally get a handle on the internet neutrality issue. Does AT&T have a resort where they show even slicker, more misleading versions of their "Don't Regulate The Internet!" slide show? If so, I hope he'll share it with us. Slap it up, like the current ad, right along side his lead article. Sure gives you confidence in your favorite blog's integrity, huh?

Kevin thinks he knows how to play these games. Likely so. He won't be the first to go; that spot is probably reserved for Buzzflash. And he can forestall his departure by scaling back his "attacks" even further. Eventually, even his timid voice will be subversive. But if all goes right, by then, Kevin will have that ranch to retreat to, from which, I'm sure, he'll wish us all well.

My point about GWB being more impeachment proof than GHWB was to point up the difference in their possible successors. 41 had Dan Quayle -- the original impeachment insurance -- but after him it was Democrats! Democrats! Democrats! 43 has goons from here to Mars and back.

Jay: So, I'm guessing there is no plan, right advocate?

So, I'm guessing my post was spot-on enough to make you try to change the subject and dissemble about plans which you well know the Left has already put forth on numerous occasions.

Being willfully blind to the existent of liberal plans doesn't mean they don't exist, it only means you refuse to look at them because your vision is completely blocked by the outlines of Bush's buttocks.

Let's talk about Bush's plans:

put 6000 National Guard troops on the border, even though he hasn't even hired 9,750 of the 10,000 extra border patrol agents he is authorized to hire;

militarize the Mexican-US border, much like the East Germany-West Germany border was militarized by the communists;

spend $200 billion looking for non-existent WMDs, instead of securing our ports and enhancing our intelligence operations;

oppose the formation of the Homeland Security Agency;

oppose the formation of the 9/11 Commission;

oppose intelligence reform;

promote liars and criminals and when they are caught replace them with liars and criminals who are more loyal to Bush than to their country;

oppose body and vehicle armor for our troops;

cut troop hazard pay in order to fund tax cuts;

oppose giving our troops more time to train in order to rush into Iraq before UN inspectors prove no WMDs;

promote private bill collection against troops brought home early because of disabling wounds;

failed social security reform plan;

flawed and dishonest prescription drug plan;

etc, etc, etc.

Even if liberals had no plans, and you lie when you say they don't, no plan would be better than the incompetent, immoral, and ineffective plans the Bush has proposed or implemented.

In any event, while she wouldn't likely be great and would invite yet more conservative hysteria and hand-wringing with constant defamation attempts from the Right, she'd be heads and shoulders better than Bush....

High praise indeed....

Look they're just doing what they said they'd do - run this country like a company...this kind of crap is SOP in every corporation...treat anyone who knows anything like shit then downsize 'em for 'not being a team player'.

They merely neglected (hehehe - joke's on you) to mention that the one they had in mind was Enron.

Wrong-Way: Being concerned about "constant defamation from the right", coming from advocate?

It's not defamation if it's true.

Something conservatives like Wrong-Way just don't get or don't care about.

So if Gregory and advocate, in their most recent posts, both claim that the Dems would be more fiscally responsible in this area...

I'm curious, Jay, where do you see that claim in my post? Do feel free to point it out.

Evidently your delusions extend to a failure of reading comprehension...

>>"When did we stop being the home of the free and the land of the brave?"

December 12, 2000 . . .
Posted by: rea

“On 16 September 1985, when the Commerce Department announced that the United States had become a debtor nation, the American Empire died.” - Gore Vidal

Thanks, Ronnie.

Stefan: High praise indeed....

I'm willing to be convinced.

Despite the mendacious claims of conservatives and current criticisms from the Left which really boil down to "Sen. Clinton is a politician", Hillary is intelligent and no less dishonest than any other candidate running.

She just likely wouldn't be that effective given the opposition she's likely to stir up which will divert her from doing her best, just as it did with her husband.

So, I guess what I mean is she wouldn't be a great choice because the Right is not going to let her be a great president, even if she might have that potential.

Certainly, McCain would be a bust.

The man is an unscrupulous and untrustworthy loon who will cater to the worst in his party just like Bushitler has.

Remember, Wrong-Way, conservatives like you boldly proclaim that a free market with absolutely no government interference (no plans or policies) will solve all of the world's problems.

By your own philosophy, then, having no plan would be much, much better than implementing disasterous plans such as what Bush has implemented or proposed to implement.

Consequently, you've philosophically planted the seeds and grown the weeds that have destroyed your own crop of arguments.

If anything, you've proven that giving a party with no plans the reins of government is the best solution to America's problems.

Since you insist that the Dems have no plans, then you've proven that the Dems should be elected to lead the country if the country is to succeed, since they, according to your own claim, will do nothing and doing nothing is the exactly right thing to do, er, not do.

Thanks for supporting the Democratic Party, even though your reasons for doing so are born from presumptions and assumptions long ago proven to be fallacious.

>>It's one thing to say, "I'm really beaten down by all of this at the moment, but I'll be back with more thoughts after I get some perspective." We're all going through that and we understand it. It's another to keep doing the yawn-I-can't-be-arsed routine.
Posted by: shortstop

I'm into outrage burnout myself at the moment. It's all I can do not to set my hair on fire and scream at every SUV or BMW with Bush/Cheney bumper stickers: "Look at the fucking mess you stupid people made."

Post Bush Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

Got Xanex?

jayarbee nailed it!

CFShep: Post Bush Traumatic Stress Syndrome.

I think the Iraqis have got a little of that going on too.

Maybe Congress can vote for massive stockpiles of Xanex to be shipped to Baghdad with the next group of administration "advisors".

Prisoners wielding fans, light fixtures and other improvised weapons clashed with guards trying to stop a detainee from committing suicide at the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, the military said Friday.

Yet more good news in Bush's Global Whine on Terror.

I'm sure Wrong-Way and rdw (stands for Really Dim-Witted) will come up with some reason why this is great news, just like they do whenever large numbers of American soldiers are blowed up in Iraq - it will include the word "desperation" somewhere and "Dickless" Cheney will soon thereafter start spouting the same meme to whomever gives him a pulpit (e.g., Faux News).

CFShep,

Thankfully I'm seeing fewer and fewer of the Bush bumper stickers.

When I see one nowadays I think "There goes someone who is either really stupid or who had a terrible time trying to get that bumper sticker off."

Mexico, other nations condemn U.S. fence

It used to be that the US and other nations were condemning the immoral, self-centered, paranoic, and isolationist walls built by communist nations in the Eastern Bloc.

Now, it is the immoral, self-centered, paranoic, and isolationist leadership of the US that is building walls and inviting international condemnation.

Conservatives have become what they say they hate.

They've shown in the last five years that they have more in common with the former communist regimes of the Eastern Bloc and the current Islamic regimes of Iran and Syria, than with our Founding Fathers and the democracies of the West.

It shows in the polls.

Thank God Americans aren't buying into the conservative attempt to turn America into a radicalized, arrogant and isolationist theocracy bent on world domination and the destruction of anyone who voices disagreement with their philosophical beliefs.

Ford hasn't yet announced the price of the 2007 Shelby Cobra GT500. But, whatever it is, buyers have already indicated a willingness to pay at least $20,000 more.

This one is for Yancey.

Makes paying $34 an hour for a landscaper seem pretty reasonable to me.

This is what happens when you let creationists out of the trailer park. These drooling superstitious freaks are anti-science, and that includes forensics.

Anything that doesn't tell them what they want to hear makes the sooooooo mad! Ooooooo, they're gonna stamp their tiny feet! Lookout!

What a waste of fucking skin.
.

. . . the immigration issue remains low on the public's list of priorities, ranking below the economy, terrorism, the war in Iraq, public corruption and fuel prices.

Bush and the GOP behind the curve again.

Desperate, desperate to draw the public's attention away from the priorities on which the administration has performed so poorly, they fail.

Am I a bad person if I barely even react to this kind of thing anymore? It's like reading that, once again, the freeways are crowded this morning.—Kevin Drum

More good news in that it appears Hayden will be approved by the Senate Intelligence committee.
That Harry Reid's a real fighter!

How many shitty nominees have now been passed without the least bit of a fight or the slightest hint of a filibuster? Goss was a complete incompitent now likely to face criminal charges, and Hayden was riding lead on illegal domestic wire taps for the NSA. Given how many Republicans are supposedly upset with this seems to be the perfect opporunity to reject a nominee.

Wonderfully telling detail - Hayden testified that right after 9/11 he made a unilateral decision to begin tapping the phone lines of suspected al Qaeda members in the U.S. This raises two very obvious questions. If he knew this was imperative, why wasn't it done before 9/11, for which he easily could have gotten warrants, and his decision to focus on al Qaeda meant that Iraq was never on the radar with the real intelligence community, as opposed to the trumped up crap created by Cheney's cabal to justify the invasion. Of course, he did not tell the 9/11 Commission this as it was still "secret."

Of, and by the way, we've already lost Afghanistan.

Taliban, what Taliban?

Isn't "The Decider" a synonym for "The Dictator"?

Headline: "Mexico, Other Nations Condemn Fence."

I shall burst into tears at any moment.

NOT!

On May 1, Rush Limbaugh signed a "deferred prosecution agreement" (see below) with the Palm Beach state attorney. The agreement is the outcome of a three-year investigation into Limbaugh's procurement of OxyContin and other painkillers, to which he became addicted after spinal surgery.

So, lawbreaker Rush Limbaugh gets amnesty, but lawbreaking Mexicans get shot to death.

Pretty much tells you all you need to know about the consistency of conservative claims that amnesty for lawbreakers is bad public policy.

Hat tip to Kleiman.

Where's the outrage on the Right about this amnesty for a lawbreaker?

Where is it?

Shouldn't Rush be thrown out of the country or be executed instead?

The shamefulness of Republican hypocrisy on the immigration issue comes to full light once again.

Perhaps someone can generate a list of the thousands of lawbreaking American corporations that have also received amnesty from the Bush administration during the last five years, eh?

jayarbee: "You lay out Kevin's hypocrisy and remoteness in a manner even he might appreciate.

Whoa, dude, you need to cut back on the caffeine. Three words: Fundamental Attribution Error.

Kevin's genius--the reason he has his job and we don't--is that he is able to frame his posts in ways that rile up comment. Don't confuse his professional skill at inciting discussion--that's his job!--with what he actually believes or his character traits.

If Kevin said everything that needed to be said, everytime, these posts would get so boring, so fast.

Thankfully I'm seeing fewer and fewer of the Bush bumper stickers.

When I see one nowadays I think "There goes someone who is either really stupid or who had a terrible time trying to get that bumper sticker off."
Posted by: Tripp

What was really strange down here in RedWorld (and a place intimately bound to the oil bidness) was the dearth of those stickers prior to the ...err...'election'.

I think they're were uneasy that the 'fix' might not take this time. After the 'election' they suddenly appear everywhere.

Actually, hat tip to Jonathan Zasloff, rather than Kleiman.

Mea culpa.

Due to the line of succession -- Cheney, Hastert and Frist -- we really can't even harbor preposterous, albeit hopeful, wishes. Due to his on deck circle, the man is even more impeachment proof than his father.

Nonsense. You get rid of Cheney first, then replace him with a Gerald Ford compromise.

Josh Marshall: As you may know, Vice President Cheney's daughter Elizabeth is the deputy assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs. She also has the title of "Coordinator for Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiatives." Basically that means she's in charge of democratizing the Middle East.

Doesn't he mean in charge of "demagoguing the Middle East"?

"These are the golden days."

Oh yeah, people are really going to look back at this era with so much fondness. Guess the weather's always fine up your own ass.

Boronx: Nonsense. You get rid of Cheney first, then replace him with a Gerald Ford compromise.

Take back both the House and Senate in November, or even just the House, and make it a moot point, as the next in line would then be a Democrat.

With a 15-point edge in the generic balloting that comes from a widening, not narrowing, gap, the Dems even have some hope of doing just that.

With the GOP membership falling all over each other and shooting themselves in the foot, it may even be fun to watch.

Nobody's counting chickens, but it's conservatives who are hysterically desperate, not the Democrats, right now and that's a good thing.

Bush's low approval ratings are likely to push conservative voting levels down, so they are not irrelevant as GOP lemmings hysterically try to promote.

Advocate:"Despite ... current criticisms from the Left which really boil down to "Sen. Clinton is a politician", Hillary is intelligent and no less dishonest than any other candidate running"

I have to disagree. My criticism of Sen Clinton is not that she is a politician, but that she is a Clinton, she supported the war in Iraq and has no executive experience. She is grooming herself for same-old, same-old as the US lurches into dangerous new territory. I agree she'd be better than any Republican out there, but that is faint praise indeed. My local dogcatcher would be better than any Republican out there.

Surely in a democracy with 300 million people, we can cultivate nominees for president who are not born into a political dynasty. We want this sequence to continue??? Bush, 1988, Clinton 1992, Clinton 1996, Bush 2000, Bush 2004....Clinton, 2008???

My other complaint with Clinton is that she is not Al Gore. Though Gore is also part of a political dynasty, he would be a refreshing change. The man is ahead of the curve on the environment, he's smart AND he is more than just a politician. He has integrity.

>>>Bush, 1988, Clinton 1992, Clinton 1996, Bush 2000, Bush 2004....Clinton, 2008???

*shuddering*

The only thing worse would be if the sequence became Bush (Jeb) 2008.

(does Jeb stand for 'Just Enough Bullshit?)

PTate: My other complaint with Clinton is that she is not Al Gore.

Yes, but you alone do not comprise the Left or the entire group critical of a possible Clinton candidacy.

If you were, Clinton wouldn't be polling higher than Gore.

Also, "she supported the war in Iraq" is basically criticizing her for being a politician - this was a politically sound decision at the time. It was wrong, but it was a politician's decision. And it is this type of criticism most often mentioned by left-wing critics, in my experience, that she makes the politically easy and popular choices, rather than the choices the Left believes are morally and ethically liberal.

Given her obvious participation in her husband's administration, both as governor and as president, along with his helpful advice which will be available, I also don't think the lack of executive experience is really going to sell as a good criticism.

Certainly, McCain has no executive experience either, but I don't think that's going to be a big impediment to his candidacy.

I agree that Gore would be better, though.

Or Edwards.

Maybe Gore-Edwards, although Edwards likely won't want to be a second chair a second time around.

Due to the line of succession -- Cheney, Hastert and Frist -- we really can't even harbor preposterous, albeit hopeful, wishes. Due to his on deck circle, the man is even more impeachment proof than his father.

Impeach, convict, and remove Bush and Cheney together, and Hastert will be a short-term caretaker with his wings pre-clipped.

If Congress demonstrates that it is willing to hold the President accountable, that makes a big difference no matter who ends up holding the Presidency.

Advocate for God:"..."she supported the war in Iraq" is basically criticizing her for being a politician - this was a politically sound decision at the time. It was wrong, but it was a politician's decision."

Au contraire. Some politicians--the late, lamented Paul Wellstone, for example--didn't make the "politically sound" decision. He had been running neck and neck with the slimeball, Norm Coleman, until he voted against the war. Everyone said it would cost him the race, but instead his ratings soared. But for his untimely and mysterious death 10 days before the election, he would have won handily.

George Bush is the worst president in American history and among the worst leaders in all history. Yet his base admired that he seemed resolute and his policies followed his principals (principles?), not polls. In other words, they liked that he wasn't a politician, and they were willing to forgive him way more than they should. Big joke on them, of course. Yet, though it was all a lie, but for Iraq, the joke would still be on us.

Yet you tell me that I should forgive Clinton for decisions I consider as cynically done as...as... "CO2: We call it life" ad campaigns...because she's a politician and that's what politicians do?

I think Democrats need to be more than same-old, same-old politicians if they want to last longer than one term. Again, in a country of 300 million people, we can't cultivate Democratic leadership that has integrity?

Whenever a Republican has a position of responsibility anywhere, that, by itself, is fraud.

Jeffrey Davis, Boronx, stop thinking small!
AfG has a good point.
I could almost wish however, that we could get to the investigations with a Republican majority in the House.
I mean, if we're going to have a "partisan witch hunt", let's get serious!
Impeach Bush, then Cheney, then Hastert, then his replacement, then that replacement, then ... well, I think it should be obvious we should be working on some kind of perpetual impeachment machine that is fueled by Republican politicians.
In the meantime, some of those emptied House seats will have to be filled, many by Democrat governors ...

Scotian: I fear you could be right about another big terror-related disaster. The terrorists, including those who pulled of 9/11 (they should have been caught), appear to be pretty incompetent to me, but so many of the folks Bush hires are incompetent as well.

Stephen Kriz: Your comment regarding Team B is spot on. It’s a shame more people have paid attention the past performance of this guys. Their foolishness is nothing new. I honestly don’t know what it would take to protect us from such people. The Karl Roves of the world truly prey upon the ignorant and prejudiced.

Saturday is nearly here. One more down, 976 to go.

Impeach everyone!!!!

cmdicely put his finger on it - if obliquely, not his habit. The next election is about electing people who will hold the White House acccountable.

"Only 977 days to go"

Until the next Republican president!

Or do you really think Hillary can win?

Hah!

yes, you're a really bad person for not being outraged at this type of thing - loyalty test to a political party for government positions - what could be more authoritarian. Becoming complacent with such things is exactly what the cult of republicanism is after.

You think it goes away when the bushliar-criminal leaves office? Bush is too stupid to make such a pervasive effort. Republicans don't govern, they rule and this, along with using government functions to spy on citizens, is how they maintain obedience. And the whole point and thing that makes it happen is that sheople like Kevin become complacent, losing their outrage.

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