November 30, 2005

If FOX News doesn't stop aiding the liberal secularist attacks on Christmas, RealTeen at StopTheACLU plans to launch a boycott of FOX News beginning Saturday.

Since other blogs are getting on-board, I will make an official announcement Saturday Night at 7:30 EST calling for a boycott if FOX News doesn't change this. We specifically want the words "Holiday Ornament" and “Holiday Tree” changed in the description to "Christmas Ornament" and "Christmas Tree".

I am hereby announcing my intent to launch a massive e-mail campaign against FOX News. The only reason I’m not calling for a boycott of their network immediately is because I already don’t watch the other networks, and I do need some news to watch on TV.

Because of this, and I’m calling for other blogs covering the War on Christmas to join me, I’m starting an e-mail campaign towards FOX, and unless things change, I will call for a boycott of their network Saturday Night. While I understand I don't have the necessary readership or support to influence such a campaign, I am hoping other conservatives pick up on this. We cannot abandon our principles just because FOX is the only non-liberal Cable News Station.
[FOX News Holiday Hypocrisy - StopACLU - 11-30-05]

Buy war bonds. The War On Christmas just drank a soda pop! RealTeen was responding to a post earlier today from Media Matters.

Despite O'Reilly's specific criticism of those who use the term "holiday tree" instead of "Christmas tree," an O'Reilly Factor ornament for sale at the Fox News store features this tagline: "Put your holiday tree in 'The No Spin Zone' with this silver glass 'O'Reilly Factor' ornament."
[Fox betrays Christmas crusade, sells "Holiday" ornaments for your "Holiday tree" - Media Matters - 11-30-05]

UPDATE 11:49: FOX News has changed the site to properly acknowledge the birth of Jesus, but...

Fox has changed the “Holiday Ornaments” to Christmas Ornaments. Now if they can just fix that dang “Holiday Tree”. Our deadline still stands, but unless they turn a deaf ear, they should be changing it.
[We’ll Give Fox 72 Hours - RightOnTheRight - 12-01-05]

Real Teen is lobbying bloggers to call for a boycott of the Fox News Channel if they don't change the wording from holiday tree and holiday ornament to Christmas tree and Christmas ornament. The boycott will start on Saturday, December 3, 2005 at 1930 EDT. [Fox News Holiday Ornaments? - Backcountry Conservative - 11-30-05]

Don't forget about that ding dang darned it "Holiday Ideas." Hello. Wasn't Jesus born?

November 30, 2005

Who really has enough time to get to the porn and gambling on the Internets with so much work to do defending Christmas from the secularists?

Skeptics argue that even obsessive Internet use does not exact the same toll on health or family life as conventionally recognized addictions. But, mental health professionals who support the diagnosis of Internet addiction say, a majority of obsessive users are online to further addictions to gambling or pornography or have become much more dependent on those vices because of their prevalence on the Internet.
[Hooked on the Web: Help Is on the Way - New York Times - 12-01-05]

November 30, 2005

Not to be out-done by President Bush's unveiling of a National Strategy For Victory in Iraq, Rev. Jerry Falwell launched his own victory strategy in a much more important war where America is divided into friends or foes: The War On Christmas. View the strategy here (pdf).

Furthermore, I am calling on pastors, churches and individuals to join Liberty Counsel’s "Friend or Foe Christmas Campaign" by purchasing ads in newspapers across the country.

We need to draw a line in the sand and resist bullying tactics by the American Civil Liberties Union, Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, the American Atheists and other leftist organizations that intimidate school and government officials by spreading misinformation about Christmas.
[Joining The 'Friend Or Foe' Campaign - Jerry Falwell Ministries - 11-29-05]

November 30, 2005

I generally believe broad assessments of progress with Iraqi security forces, but Rumsfeld continues to peddle half truths to an impatient American people.

Consider the progress of the Iraqi security forces over the past year. In August 2004, five Iraqi army battalions were effectively in the fight. Today the number is 95. In July 2004, there were no ready operational Iraqi army divisions or brigade headquarters. Today there are at least seven operational divisions and 31 operational brigade headquarters.

In July of 2004 there were no ready special police commando, public order or mechanized police battalions under the Ministry of Interior. Today there are 28 such battalions conducting operations.

And last year there were about 96,000 fully trained and equipped Iraqi security forces. And today there are over 212,000 trained and equipped security forces.
[News Briefing with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Peter Pace - Transcript - 11-29-05]

Just a couple of months ago (September), General George Casey told Congress the unvarnished truth that there is only one battalion that can stand up without being propped up (emphasis added). In fact, Gen. Casey said the opposite of Rumsfeld, asserting "Level 1" readiness among Iraqi forces had decreased over the past few months.

The number of the Iraqi army's 86 battalions that can fight insurgents without U.S. and coalition help has dropped from three to one, top U.S. generals told Congress on Thursday, adding that the security situation in Iraq is too uncertain to predict large-scale American troop withdrawals anytime soon. Gen. George Casey, who oversees U.S. forces in Iraq, said there are fewer Iraqi battalions at "Level 1" readiness than there were a few months ago.
[Just 1 Iraqi battalion fit to fight insurgents - Washington Post - 09-30-05]

UPDATE 3:17pm: Andrew Sullivan points to an exchange deeper in the transcript provided above that shows General Pace correcting Rumsfeld on torture while standing at the same podium.

QUESTION: And General Pace, what guidance do you have for your military commanders over there as to what to do if -- like when General Horst found this Interior Ministry jail [where evidenceof toeture was widespread]?

GEN. PACE: It is absolutely the responsibility of every U.S. service member, if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to intervene to stop it. As an example of how to do it if you don't see it happening but you're told about it is exactly what happened a couple weeks ago. There's a report from an Iraqi to a U.S. commander that there was possibility of inhumane treatment in a particular facility. That U.S. commander got together with his Iraqi counterparts. They went together to the facility, found what they found, reported it to the Iraqi government, and the Iraqi government has taken ownership of that problem and is investigating it. So they did exactly what they should have done.

SEC. RUMSFELD: But I don't think you mean they have an obligation to physically stop it; it's to report it.

GEN. PACE: If they are physically present when inhumane treatment is taking place, sir, they have an obligation to try to stop it.
[News Briefing with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Gen. Peter Pace - Transcript - 11-29-05]

November 30, 2005

I'm not sure if Santa Clause can fit all of the following under this year's tree, but when the first lady talks about our national strategy in Iraq between two excessively decorated Christmas trees, some part of you just has to rethink this whole thing.

His wife, Laura, said Wednesday that she "absolutely" would like to see an acceptable resolution there.

"We want our troops to be able to come home as soon as they possibly can," said Mrs. Bush during an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America" to give a Christmas tour of the White House.

"It's really remarkable how far they've come," she said, "but I really feel very, very encouraged that we're going to see a very great ending when we see a really free Iraq right in the heart of the Middle East."
[Bush Unveils New Iraq Strategy Document - Washington Post - 11-30-05]

UPDATE 9:16am - Laura is making the rounds this morning. I just saw her on FOX, giving a White House tour and talking about the decorations. Then, all of a sudden, the reporter asked her about Iraq, got the talking point, and went right back to Santy Clause. Did Scott McClellan come up with today's Christmas Tree Offense rollout of the National Strategy For Victory In Iraq all by himself?

November 30, 2005

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November 29, 2005

We must make certain that no one tells the emperor that he has no clothes.

The White House advance team has long been sensitive to the potency of imagery in presidential events, going to great lengths to stage dramatic backdrops for Bush's appearances. In particular, they have used uniformed, on-duty military audiences many times before to underscore his case for war.

During last year's campaign, White House advance teams began screening audiences at Bush events to insure that only supporters were allowed in. After the election, that policy gave way to a new, "invitation only" approach, in which tickets to so-called public events were distributed largely by Republican and business groups. Now Bush is in phase three, where almost everyone he appears before is either on the federal payroll or a Republican donor.
[Bush's Shrinking Safety Zone - Washington Post - 11-29-05]

But he doesn't have anything on!

So off went the Emperor in procession under his splendid canopy. Everyone in the streets and the windows said, "Oh, how fine are the Emperor's new clothes! Don't they fit him to perfection? And see his long train!" Nobody would confess that he couldn't see anything, for that would prove him either unfit for his position, or a fool. No costume the Emperor had worn before was ever such a complete success.

"But he hasn't got anything on," a little child said.

"Did you ever hear such innocent prattle?" said its father. And one person whispered to another what the child had said, "He hasn't anything on. A child says he hasn't anything on."

"But he hasn't got anything on!" the whole town cried out at last.

The Emperor shivered, for he suspected they were right. But he thought, "This procession has got to go on." So he walked more proudly than ever, as his noblemen held high the train that wasn't there at all.
[The Emperor's New Clothes - Hans Christian Andersen - 1837]

November 29, 2005

Every year, the liberals re-launch their war on Christmas. It starts with demands that America worship Pagan trees with decorations and gift giving on the very same day the Lord Jesus was born. Then, it advances to their silence as the rest of us sing "Jingle Bells." Why, they should be thanking Jesus for being born!

O'REILLY: What's happened is frightening. A legal assault by the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] combined with the media that blatantly promotes secularism has succeeded in convincing some Americans that the words 'Merry Christmas' are inappropriate while celebrating the national holiday of Christmas.

This, of course, is nuts. Anyone offended by the words 'Merry Christmas' has problems not even St. Nicholas could solve.

Every company in America should be on its knees thanking Jesus for being born. Without Christmas, most American businesses would be far less profitable; more than enough reason for businesses to be screaming Merry Christmas.
[O'Reilly: "Every company in America should be on its knees thanking Jesus for being born" - Media Matters - 11-29-05]

No, Bill, THIS is nuts. You should be on your knees thanking Jesus for being born!

[Bill O'Reilly? - Andrea Mackris's Complaint - 10-13-04]

November 29, 2005

Tomorrow, the White House will release a document called the "National Strategy for Victory in Iraq." You can't get any more straight forward than that, can you? Well, there was "Bin Laden determined to strike in US," but as Condi Rice had us wonder, what's in a title?

QUESTION: This document that's coming out, can you just tell us a little bit more about what might be in that, that we haven't seen before?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think just, generally, it'll outline our strategy for victory in Iraq and talk about the three different elements within that strategy that I just mentioned. Beyond that, wait until it comes out.

QUESTION: Who wrote the -

MR. McCLELLAN: Our National Security Council, obviously, has taken a lead in this effort. But, I mean, various people within the White House have been involved in this. The Department of Defense obviously has been very involved in it, as well. As I said, it's an unclassified version of the plan that we have had in place and the plan that we've been pursuing.

QUESTION: Are we going to be shocked by anything in it? I mean, the President has outlined the strategy before, right?

MR. McCLELLAN: What's that?

QUESTION: Are we going -

MR. McCLELLAN: I think one purpose of providing this document is so that the American people can have a clear sense of our strategy for success in Iraq, and so that they can see how we look at the enemy, the nature of the enemy that we're facing and they can see how we define success in Iraq and how we are going about achieving victory in Iraq. And that's an important thing for the American people to be able to look at and understand.
[White House Press Briefing - 11-29-05]

November 29, 2005

In Texas, close only counts in "horse shoes." When it comes to war profiteering, it appears President Bush only takes seriously those ethical lapses that actually break the law.

"Any member of Congress, Republican or Democrat, must take their office seriously and the ethics seriously," Bush said to reporters during a trip to Texas.

"The idea of a congressman taking money is outrageous. And Congressman Cunningham is going to realize that he has broken the law and is going to pay a serious price, which he should," Bush said.
[Bush says congressman taking bribes 'outrageous' - Reuters - 11-29-05]

Of course, if President Bush were to begin speaking out on those who dishonored "the spirit as well as the letter of all rules governing ethical conduct," he'd be quite a busy man.

Bush is requiring his executive office staff to attend refresher courses on ethics and handling classified materials, according to a White House memo.

"The President has made clear his expectation that each member of his Executive Office of the President (EOP) staff adhere to the spirit as well as the letter of all rules governing ethical conduct for EOP staff," states the memo sent to Bush's staff.
[Bush sends staff back to ethics class - CNN - 11-05-05]

November 29, 2005

Kevin Drum has a nice post on today's Washington Post story about money and politics.

November 29, 2005

If you've been following the bumpy start of Open Source Media, you are likely aware of the problems they had with their name following an announcement of receiving $3.5 million in venture capital. After admitting their error and changing their name back to "Pajamas Media," it was relentlessly lampooned in the blogosphere over the choice of a cartoon bathrobe as a logo for "Pajamas." Their own editorial board was critical of the way things were being run. Now comes the loss of an editorial board member, Tim Blair.

As of yesterday, Pajama Media’s editorial board is missing one member.

Me.

Simple decision, really. PM needs people who can devote themselves full-time to rescuing the project after a launch that was, to say the least, problematic. It would be wrong for me to continue any involvement without being able to help to that extent. Hopefully PM will turn things around; I’d love to see it succeed.
[PM AND ME - Tim Blair - 11-28-05]

Review the cast of characters from the opening scene.

November 28, 2005

War is hell, unless you make $2.4 million steering lucrative defense contracts to your buddies.

Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy and tax charges and tearfully resigned from office, admitting he took $2.4 million in bribes to steer defense contracts to conspirators.
[Calif. Congressman Admits Taking Bribes - AP - 11-28-05]

November 28, 2005

I don't know what you're reading, but I'm reading the Internets. (via Volokh)

The developments at the Tribune Company mirror those in the newspaper industry as a whole. For most big-city papers, circulation is declining, advertising is shrinking, and reporters and editors are being let go. The full extent of the crisis became apparent in May, when the Audit Bureau of Circulations reported circulation figures for 814 daily papers for the six months ending last March. Compared to the same period the year before, total daily circulation fell by 1.9 percent and Sunday circulation by 2.5 percent. Sunday circulation fell by 2 percent at The Boston Globe, 3.3 percent at the Philadelphia Inquirer, 4.7 percent at the Chicago Tribune, and 8.5 percent at the Baltimore Sun. At the Los Angeles Times, circulation fell 6.4 percent daily and 7.9 percent on Sundays. Even The Washington Post, the dominant paper in a region of strong economic growth, has suffered a 5.2 percent daily circulation decline over a two-year period.

There are a few exceptions. The New York Times and USA Today, both national newspapers, have had modest circulation gains. Even so, the New York Times Company announced in October that it was going to eliminate five hundred jobs, including forty-five in the Times newsroom and thirty-five in the newsroom of The Boston Globe. (The Globe recently announced that it was dismantling its national desk.) The Wall Street Journal has been holding its own in circulation, but its ad revenues have sharply declined.
[The End of News? - New York Review Of Books - 12-01-05]

UPDATE 10:23pm: 'What if the Internets makes us fat and stupid' and other thoughts from 1991. (via Political Animal)

Much as automobiles discourage walking, with undeniable consequences for our health and girth, textual snippets-on-demand threaten our need for the larger works from which they are extracted. Why read "Bowling Alone" — or even the shorter article upon which it builds — when you can lift a page that contains some key words? In an attempt to coax students to search inside real books rather than relying exclusively on the Web for sources, many professors require references to printed works alongside URLs. Now that those "real" full-length publications are increasingly available and searchable online, the distinction between tangible and virtual is evaporating.
[Killing the written word by snippets - LA Times - 11-28-05]

November 28, 2005

A chunk of the U.S. Supreme Court's pediment fell on the fifth anniversary of this filing with the Second Judicial Circuit Court in the case Gore v. Harris et. al. The filing sought "to commence counting votes in Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties" following efforts by Republicans to stop the recount in the 2000 Presidential elections.

The Florida Supreme Court ordered the recount. The U.S. Supreme Court later stopped the Florida recount.

Spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said a piece marble about one-foot square, from what was thought to be dentil molding at the top of the building, fell about 9:30 a.m. (1430 GMT). There was no one on the stairs at the time, a half hour before the opening of the court's session.

The marble was above the inscription near the top of the building saying, "Equal Justice Under Law" and above the allegorical figure representing "Order," one of nine sculptured figures on the pediment.
[Marble chunk falls from top of Supreme Court - Reuters - 11-28-05]

November 28, 2005

GayPatriot's issue with the Log Cabin Republicans isn't new. Today, he has some tough words for the leadership of the Log Cabin Republicans.

If Log Cabin is regain the influence it lost last fall when it not only refused to endorse the president, but also repeatedly attacked him during the fall campaign, it needs to build bridges to Republican and conservative organizations and elected officials as much as (if not more so than) it does to gay groups. Not only that. Log Cabin needs to change its policy vis à vis other gay organizations.

It should not be grounds for dismissal if a Log Cabin employee takes issue with another LGBT group. Indeed, it should be the group’s policy to take issue with such groups when they unfairly attack the president, oppose his nominees, support liberal policies or make left-wing pronouncements.
[Log Cabin — Greater Standing Among Gay Groups, Increasingly Irrelevant to the GOP - GayPatriot - 11-28-05]

LCR should find a way to strengthen its relationship with the GOP and strive to bring partisan parity to defending the Constitution and civil liberties. But GayPatriot misses the fact that the Republican Party escalated its attacks on the Constitution and the rights of gay and lesbian families in the 2004 Presidential elections.

One need look no further than the disgraceful pandering by the Republican National Committee (RNC) in places like Arkansas, North Carolina, West Virginia, the stage of the 2004 RNC Convention, the 2004 RNC platform, and by people like President Bush, the chair of the RNC, the Vice President's wife, and by Republican leaders in both the House and the Senate (Delay, Santorum), and the overtly regressive policies (here, here, and here) of the Bush Adminstration's first term. Let's not forget the antics of Republicans on the state level in Alabama, South Carolina, and other states too numerous to list.

Attacks on the civil liberties of vast numbers of the American people by pandering elected officials in the 2004 Presidential elections was overwhelmingly Republican. There were Democrats that engaged in equally divisive pandering (here, here and here), but they were publicly repudiated without partisan cover or apology. But the level of justified response from national civil rights organizations to Republican Party attacks was hardly undeserved, especially what came from LCR leaders themselves. National gay and lesbian civil rights groups failed to mobilize the vote and the conscience of America's common sense in 2004, that's for sure.

GayPatriot and other gay Republicans should view LCR leadership as having the guts during the 2004 Presidential elections not to give President Bush and the Republican Party the free ride many drunken ideologues granted on several levels. Let's not kid ourselves into believing the Republican Party doesn't need a lot of help.

also read: The Malcontent

November 27, 2005

The Pentagon wants to expand powers of three year old Counterintelligence Field Activity (CIFA) with an exception to the Privacy Act.

The Pentagon has pushed legislation on Capitol Hill that would create an intelligence exception to the Privacy Act, allowing the FBI and others to share information gathered about U.S. citizens with the Pentagon, CIA and other intelligence agencies, as long as the data is deemed to be related to foreign intelligence. Backers say the measure is needed to strengthen investigations into terrorism or weapons of mass destruction.
[Pentagon Expanding Its Domestic Surveillance Activity - Washington Post - 11-27-05]

November 27, 2005

The White House has now acknowledged they have a plan for troop withdrawal and claimed a consensus by citing Joe Biden's recent Washington Post editorial. (via Atrios)

Today, Sen. Biden described a plan remarkably similar to the Administration's plan to fight and win the war on terror. We welcome Sen. Biden's voice in the debate. We are pleased he shares our view that the way to a democratic and peaceful Iraq is through aggressively training Iraqi police and soldiers, rebuilding the country's infrastructure and forging political compromises between Iraqi factions."
[Setting the Record Straight: Sen. Biden Adopts Key Portions of Administration's Plan for Victory in Iraq - White House - 11-26-05]

The consensus, as stated by Joe Biden, is for a plan the Bush Administration has continued to claim would give terrorists the upper hand. It took consensus in the Republican controlled Senate for the White House to see the writing on the wall.

There is a broad consensus on what must be done to preserve our interests. Recently, 79 Democratic and Republican senators told President Bush we need a detailed, public plan for Iraq, with specific goals and a timetable for achieving each one.
[Time for An Iraq Timetable - Washington Post - 11-27-05]

Perhaps the consensus the White House is really talking about are recent polls that show a majority of Americans don't use the terms "honest" and "ethical" to describe President Bush or polls numbers that show a majority of Americans feel the Bush Administration generally misleads the public. The consensus is around truthfulness.

President Bush must tell the American people the truth when it comes to the facts on the ground Generals share with Congress. We may have 90 Iraqi army batallions "fighting the terrorists alongside our forces," but General George Casey told Congress just weeks ago that only one battalion can stand up without being propped up by American forces. If Iraqis are to stand up before we stand down, our troops deserve everything they need to accomplish the mission, including a healthy debate and a more honest Commander-in-Chief.

November 26, 2005

It was only two weeks ago the president described the progress of the Iraqi force build up as "not easy" but "steady."

I have said, as Iraqis stand up, Americans will stand down. And with our help, the Iraqi military is gaining new capabilities and new confidence with each passing month. At the time of our Fallujah operations a year ago, there were only a few Iraqi army battalions in combat. Today, there are nearly 90 Iraqi army battalions fighting the terrorists alongside our forces. (Applause.) General David Petraeus says, "Iraqis are in the fight. They're fighting and dying for their country, and they're fighting increasingly well." This progress is not easy, but it is steady.
[President Commemorates Veterans Day, Discusses War on Terror - Tobyhanna Army Depot - 11-11-05]

According to President Bush in October, we had 80 Iraqi army battalions.

Today, there are more than 80 Iraqi army battalions fighting the insurgency alongside our forces. Progress isn't easy, but it is steady. And no fair-minded person should ignore, deny, or dismiss the achievements of the Iraqi people.
[Is the Iraqi Army Ready for Duty? - FOXnews - 10-12-05]

According to President Bush in May 2004, we had 5 Iraqi army battalions.

At my direction, and with the support of Iraqi authorities, we are accelerating our program to help train Iraqis to defend their country. A new team of senior military officers is now assessing every unit in Iraq's security forces. I've asked this team to oversee the training of a force of 260,000 Iraqi soldiers, police, and other security personnel. Five Iraqi army battalions are in the field now, with another eight battalions to join them by July the 1st. The eventual goal is an Iraqi army of 35,000 soldiers in 27 battalions, fully prepared to defend their country. [President Outlines Steps to Help Iraq Achieve Democracy and Freedom - United States Army War College 05-11-05]

Generals on the ground, however, told Congress in September 2005 we only have 1 (one) Iraqi army batallion "fighting the terrorists alongside our forces" as President Bush described some 90 Iraqi army battalions on Veterans Day.

The number of the Iraqi army's 86 battalions that can fight insurgents without U.S. and coalition help has dropped from three to one, top U.S. generals told Congress on Thursday, adding that the security situation in Iraq is too uncertain to predict large-scale American troop withdrawals anytime soon. Gen. George Casey, who oversees U.S. forces in Iraq, said there are fewer Iraqi battalions at "Level 1" readiness than there were a few months ago.
[Just 1 Iraqi battalion fit to fight insurgents - Washington Post - 09-30-05]

What a difference a couple of weeks make.

"I do not think that American forces need to be there in the numbers that they are now because — for very much longer — because Iraqis are stepping up," Rice told Fox News in an interview Tuesday. "This is not just a matter of training numbers of Iraqi forces, but actually seeing them hold territory."
[Rice: Iraq Troop Levels May Drop - CBSnews.com - 11-23-05]

And next Wednesday, President Bush escalates this assesment despite the reality on the ground described to Congress by Generals in charge.

President Bush will give a major speech Wednesday at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., in which aides say he is expected to herald the improved readiness of Iraqi troops, which he has identified as the key condition for pulling out U.S. forces.

The administration's pivot on the issue comes as the White House is seeking to relieve enormous pressure by war opponents. The camp includes liberals, moderates and old-line conservatives who are uneasy with the costly and uncertain nation-building effort.
[U.S. Starts Laying Groundwork for Significant Troop Pullout From Iraq - L.A. Times - 11-26-05]

November 25, 2005

Placing polticial ideology ahead of common sense has the Republican Party at odds with the rest of America.

[The Harris Poll. Nov. 8-13, 2005 - PollingReport - 11-24-05]

November 24, 2005

Here is the absolute latest image of our turkey cooking in what is probably the most live, most boring turkey blog post in America.

If the open source editorial board thingy today at Pajamas Media doesn't steal your attention away from all the fixings, come back and watch the movie. That's right, a movie ... of someone's turkey... cooking... in a rotisserie oven.

UPDATE 7:59pm - BBuuurrrrrrrrrpppppp ... and pumpkin pie.

UPDATE 9:13pm - Gobble gobble (video from earlier 9MB WMV)

November 24, 2005

Thanksgiving is a time for the family to come together and give thanks for having at least one relative dead set on talking "Schmidt" at the dinner table. It goes something like this: Democratic "cowards" want to "cut and run" in Iraq.

According to the latest Harris Poll I mentioned below, a majority of those at the dinner table believe the Bush Administration misled the country and that all "Schmidt" talking relatives must sit at the kiddie table.

A majority of U.S. adults believe the Bush administration generally misleads the public on current issues, while fewer than a third of Americans believe the information provided by the administration is generally accurate, the latest Harris Interactive poll finds.

While the telephone survey of 1,011 U.S. adults indicates about 64% of Americans believe the Bush administration "generally misleads the American public on current issues to achieve its own ends," opinion on the topic is clearly divided along party lines. A large majority (68% to 28%) of Republicans say the Bush administration generally provides accurate information. However, even larger majorities of Democrats (91% to 7%) and Independents (73% to 25%) think the information is generally misleading.
[Majority Believe White House Misleads Public, Poll Shows - WSJ - 11-23-05]

Do yourself a flavor and read conservative blogger Hugh Hewitt's entertaining 12-step instruction manual on how to talk "Schmidt" at today's dinner table.

November 23, 2005

yum

Instapundit shares a recipe for "roast Thanksgiving lamb" to have with Tammy Bruce's cranberry sauce and Rod Dreher's cornbread dressing. Don't forget the turkey, guys. (Quicktime video).

UPDATE 9:24pm: Buurrrrrrrrpppp. Stop by Pajamas Media 3pm ET on Thanksgiving day for an open source editorial board session on issues discussed here. Although getting into this might be way more entertaining.

Then, return to this spot at noon Pacific, when OSM Editorial Advisory Board Members convene to carve up The Turkey that Laid a Golden Egg - the story of Pajamas Media's journey to OSM and back again. A fast-moving, live, online debate, this blogjam features Glenn Reynolds, Adam Bellow, Cliff May and Tammy Bruce.

November 23, 2005

Here is what the Murtha Resolution, which Republicans refused to bring to a vote, called for.

SECTION 1. The deployment of United States forces in Iraq, by direction of Congress, is hereby terminated and the forces involved are to be redeployed at the earliest practicable date.

SEC. 2. A quick-reaction U.S. force and an over-the-horizon presence of U.S. Marines shall be deployed in the region.

SEC. 3. The United States of America shall pursue security and stability in Iraq through diplomacy.
[House Joint Res. 73]

Here is what Americans support.

[The Harris Poll. Nov. 8-13, 2005]

Here is what the Pentagon has in store "at the earliest practicable date."

Barring any major surprises in Iraq, the Pentagon tentatively plans to reduce the number of U.S. forces there early next year by as many as three combat brigades, from 18 now, but to keep at least one brigade "on call" in Kuwait in case more troops are needed quickly, several senior military officers said.

Pentagon authorities also have set a series of "decision points" during 2006 to consider further force cuts that, under a "moderately optimistic" scenario, would drop the total number of troops from more than 150,000 now to fewer than 100,000, including 10 combat brigades, by the end of the year, the officers said.
[3 Brigades May Be Cut in Iraq Early in 2006 - Washignton Post - 11-23-05]

And last, but not least, here is the Republican response, lies and all, to all of you unpatriotic cowards who want to "cut and run."

A few minutes ago I received a call from Colonel Danny Bubp, Ohio Representative from the 88th district in the House of Representatives. He asked me to send Congress a message: Stay the course. He also asked me to send Congressman Murtha a message, that cowards cut and run, Marines never do.
[Schmidt causes ruckus in House debate on Iraq - Cincinnati Enquirer - 11-19-05]

November 23, 2005

Poor Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH). She was just trying to join the chorus of Republicans defending the President's policy in Iraq. How was she supposed to know Americans don't like politicians labeling a decorated war veteran a "coward" on the House floor?

Rep. Jean Schmidt flung the word "coward" at a decorated war veteran from Pennsylvania last week, but the Ohio Republican's comments landed with a splat in her own Cincinnati district, where some supporters are backing away as she scrambles to explain what she meant.

Judging by her words yesterday -- the first after avoiding the public for three days -- Schmidt doesn't understand what the fuss is about, and sees herself more as victim than villain. "I am amazed at what a national story this has become," she said in a statement. "I have been attacked very personally, continuously since Friday evening."

Many people are unsympathetic. NBC's "Saturday Night Live" lampooned her, the Cincinnati Enquirer's editorial page -- which endorsed her congressional bid -- said she was "way out of line," and the friend she claimed to be quoting on the House floor last week declared yesterday that he had said no such thing.
[Freshman Republican Weathers Backlash - Washington Post - 11-23-05]

November 23, 2005

In discussing the recent Padilla indictment, conservative author Andrew Sullivan believes many in the White House simply don't care about liberty.

I have no brief for Padilla or any other al Qaeda mass-murderers. But he is an American citizen, presumed innocent, and it took the government three years even to charge him. Anyone who cares about liberty - which obviously does not include many members of the Bush administration, should be appalled by what has occurred and what it means for the future of freedom in this country.
[Padilla Charged - Andrew Sullivan - 11-22-05]

November 23, 2005

Conservative media pundits continue to mislead the American people in the debate over the war in Iraq, suggesting the U.S. House of Representatives voted on Rep John Murtha's resolution to redeploy U.S. forces from Iraq "at the earliest practicable date." The fact is, Republicans offered their own version (which failed 403-3) and refused to vote on Murtha's resolution.

Hannity made the claim twice on November 18 -- once during his radio show and once on Fox News' Hannity & Colmes. He was joined by Wall Street Journal OpinionJournal.com editor James Taranto, who made the same claim in his November 21 "Best of the Web" column, as Media Matters for America previously noted.

On the November 21 broadcast of The Big Story with John Gibson, Gibson interviewed New York Post columnist and retired Army Lt. Col. Ralph Peters, author of New Glory: Expanding America's Global Supremacy (Sentinel, August 2005), and asked, "Why, then, do you think Murtha's suggestion last week, voted down by the House, is causing so much trouble?" Peters responded that by "calling for an immediate withdrawal," Murtha was encouraging terrorists "to think their strategy is working."

But the House never voted on Murtha's suggestion (House Joint Resolution 73), which he announced in a press conference on November 17. Instead, the House voted on a substitute (House Resolution 571) that was introduced the following day by Hunter, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. The vote occurred after a contentious floor debate, during which Murtha described the resolution as "not what I envisioned, not what I introduced."

Murtha's resolution, which cited polling data, the cost of the war, and the rising American death toll, called for the redeployment of U.S. forces "at the earliest practicable date," the maintaining of strategic military presence in the region, and continued diplomatic efforts in Iraq. Hunter's resolution contained a single line: "Resolved, [t]hat it is the sense of the House of Representatives that the deployment of United States forces in Iraq be terminated immediately."
[Fox's Gibson and Hannity, NY Post falsely claimed that House voted on Murtha's resolution - Media Matters - 11-22-05]

November 22, 2005

Here's President Bush claiming Congress had the same intelligence that he did before making a decision to go to war.

"They also know that intelligence agencies from around the world agreed with our assessment of Saddam Hussein. They know the United Nations passed more than a dozen resolutions citing his development and possession of weapons of mass destruction. . . . That's why more than a hundred Democrats in the House and the Senate -- who had access to the same intelligence -- voted to support removing Saddam Hussein from power."
[President Commemorates Veterans Day, Discusses War on Terror - Tobyhanna Army Depot - 11-11-05]

Here's the Vice President repeating the same assertion.

Some of the most irresponsible comments have come from politicians who actually voted in favor of authorizing the use of force against Saddam Hussein. These are elected officials who had access to the intelligence materials.
[Vice President's Remarks on the War on Terror - American Enterprise Institute - 11-21-05]

Here is the Washington Post proving this assertion is misleading.

In the same speech, Bush asserted that "more than 100 Democrats in the House and the Senate, who had access to the same intelligence, voted to support removing Saddam Hussein from power." Giving a preview of Bush's speech, Hadley had said that "we all looked at the same intelligence."

But Bush does not share his most sensitive intelligence, such as the President's Daily Brief, with lawmakers. Also, the National Intelligence Estimate summarizing the intelligence community's views about the threat from Iraq was given to Congress just days before the vote to authorize the use of force in that country.

In addition, there were doubts within the intelligence community not included in the NIE. And even the doubts expressed in the NIE could not be used publicly by members of Congress because the classified information had not been cleared for release. For example, the NIE view that Hussein would not use weapons of mass destruction against the United States or turn them over to terrorists unless backed into a corner was cleared for public use only a day before the Senate vote.
[Asterisks Dot White House's Iraq Argument - Washington Post - 11-12-05]

And here is today's National Journal describing just one of those documents not shared by the Bush Administration as they publicly described selective intelligence as definitive justifications for war. (via Washington Monthly's Political Animal)

Ten days after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, President Bush was told in a highly classified briefing that the U.S. intelligence community had no evidence linking the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein to the attacks and that there was scant credible evidence that Iraq had any significant collaborative ties with Al Qaeda, according to government records and current and former officials with firsthand knowledge of the matter.

The information was provided to Bush on September 21, 2001 during the "President's Daily Brief," a 30- to 45-minute early-morning national security briefing. Information for PDBs has routinely been derived from electronic intercepts, human agents, and reports from foreign intelligence services, as well as more mundane sources such as news reports and public statements by foreign leaders.
[Key Bush Intelligence Briefing Kept From Hill Panel - National Journal - 11-22-05]

And here is what the American people think about their strategy (Newsweek Poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. Nov. 10-11, 2005).

"Do you think the phrase 'is honest and ethical' describes George W. Bush, or not?"
						.
		Describes	Does Not	Unsure
		%	%	%
	11/10-11/05	42	50	8
	1/22-23/04	57	38	5
						.
"Do you think the phrase 'is honest and ethical' describes Dick Cheney, or not?"
						.
		Describes	Does Not	Unsure
		%	%	%
	11/10-11/05	29	55	16

November 22, 2005

Duncan Black of Atrios talks numbers in a public spat with blogger Ann Althouse.

Anyway, according to extreme tracking The site had 188,886 views yesterday. About 21.5% of those were reloads, and about 78.5%, or 148224, were unique. According to sitemeter it was about 225K of the former and 200K "visits" as it measures them. Blogads lists me at about a million page views for the week.

In any case Althouse is entitled to her pet theories about the value of internet real estate, but those are the facts.
[On Traffic - Atrios - 11-22-05]

November 22, 2005

It looks like the guys at 'Open Source Media' are slipping back into their pajamas and becoming "Pajamas Media." This is more drama and wig wars than you'd find in a drag show.

So how did this happen in the first place? Back at the beginning, certain, shall we say, paternalistically minded parties (i.e., the guys in suits) decided that we should act like grownups, and being as yet somewhat immature—at least as businesspeople--we did as we were told.
[Excuse us while we change back into our pajamas - OSM - 11-21-05]

November 22, 2005

It looks like Rep. Jean Schmidt just made up that whole thing about another Marine wanting to send a nastygram to John Murtha via the House floor. (via Think Progress, Atrios)

Danny Bubp, a freshman state representative who is a colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, told The Enquirer that he never mentioned Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., by name when talking with Schmidt, and he would never call a fellow Marine a coward.

"The unfortunate thing about all of that is that her choice of words on the floor of the House - I don't know, she's a freshman, she had one minute.

"Unfortunately, they came out wrong," said Bubp, R-West Union.
[Schmidt in war of words - Philadelphia Enquirer - 11-22-05]

Danny Bubp might have the commonsense and respect not to call another Marine a coward, but Rep. Jean Schmidt doesn't.

November 21, 2005

More on the growing problems surrounding "Open Source Media."

A Partner Scorned

But in my opinion Roger L. Simon thought so little of me that he felt he could do with me as he pleased, and then fast-talk his way out of any possible problems. After all, I was Jethro Bodine and nothing more.
[The “Certain Thing” - DennisThePeasant - Kenton E. Kelly - 11-20-05]

I'm still waiting to see OSM straighten itself out. The debut was hardly that of a powerhouse site, and changes, I'm told, are in the works. I hope quickly in the works. The site needs more action, pizzazz, and raison d'etre. Believe me, I've thrown much more than two cents into the internal discussion about the site, its problems, and the potential solutions...
OSM's startup problems have not been ideological; they've been editorial. The content and presentation have not been sufficiently compelling.
[Winning the War...over the War/OSM's Less-than-Stellar Launch - David Corn - 11-19-05]

You may not need good ethics or manners to succeed in business, but I can't imagine that this much taint attached to the CEO of a brand new company is a good thing.
[Big Roundup Post on OSM/Open Source Media/Open Sores Media/Pajamas Media/Name to be Announced Media Problems and Controversies - The Young Curmudgeon - 11-21-05]

Recently my OSM colleagues and I have been subjected to all kinds of criticism, much of it well intentioned and warranted. But a fair amount has been surprisingly personal, bordering on the abusive. (My wife and I were about to allow our precocious daughter to have an internet connection, but now we think we'll postpone it.) Some of this criticism came from people my colleagues and I thought were friends who did not even give us the common courtesy of querying us on why we did a certain thing. Besides being rude, that's not very good reporting from an MSM or blog perspective.

Of course, we at OSM are making all kinds of mistakes. This is something brand new and we're going to be flopping around for some time, much like a kid learning to ride a bicycle. And even when we learn to ride, we're going to run into plenty of brick walls. But frankly I've been rather upset by some of the more personal criticisms and listening to Judith reminded me of what my words could do. I don't know if she read them at the time through that glass partition. I didn't have the guts to ask her and, if she had, she was too gracious to say so. But in the future I'm going to try to be more careful about how I phrase things when they impinge on the personal. You don't have to be a Buddhist to see the karma in that.
[Words - Roger L. Simon - 11-18-05]

I’m not sure what their lawyers confirmed, because an email to the domain’s registration service provider could have determined that the URL is still registered for our use.
[The Name Problem, Part II - Open Source Media - 11-18-05]

November 21, 2005

Awww! What a slice of American apple pie that right-wing lesbian Tammy Bruce is. She's "in charge of the cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving." Buy her book.

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 (16-ounce) bag fresh cranberries
1 cup chopped apple
1 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 cup Grand Marnier
1/2 orange, juiced
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated

Combine the sugar and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the cranberries and return to a boil, then lower the heat so that the liquid simmers. Add the apples, walnuts, raisins, Grand Marnier, orange and lemon juices, cinnamon, and nutmeg, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let the sauce cool. Makes 4-5 cups. Mmmm....
[Turkey Fight: Roasted or Fried? - Tammy Bruce - 11-21-05]

November 21, 2005

How bad does "Pajamas Media" want to use the name "Open Source Media" commercially? I guess that depends on how fast they want to burn through $3.5 million in venture capital on legal bills.

Last Wednesday, conservative blogging co-founders of Pajamas Media, Charles Johnson (Little Green Footballs) and Roger L. Simon, relaunched as "Open Source Media" at Rockefeller Plaza's Rainbow Room. The only problem is there is already a media outfit operating as "Open Source Media," complete with a blog and radio show. Pajamas Media even acknowledged the original owner in their own "About" section.

A gentleman named Christopher Lydon has an excellent web site called Open Source. His URL is www.radioopensource.com, and he graciously agreed to give us opensourcemedia.net.

At least that's what it used to say before the real "Open Source Media" refuted that claim on November 18.

This is just not true. And weird. We didn’t graciously agree to give them anything. We’ve never talked to them. They didn’t answer our email.
[The Name Problem, Part III - Open Source Media]

Now Pajamas Media provides a lengthy and confusing description in their "About" section that seems to justify their use of "Open Source Media," claims opensourcemedia.net has been "relinquished," and then corrects this correction with yet another correction.

CORRECTION (11.19.2005): Christopher Lydon did not "relinquish" the domain opensourcemedia.net, as we wrote above. He does still own the name, and although he doesn't use it as his primary domain, it redirects to the radioopensource.org address. We apologize for the confusion.
[About Our Name - OSM]

I'm confused. Is this A) an apology for and admission of confusion on the use of a mark already in use, B) an apology for continuing to use someone else's name, or C) an apology for inaccurately claiming someone "graciously" "relinquished" the name to be used by Pajamas Media?

UPDATE Nov 21: Review the cast of characters

November 21, 2005

The Bush Administration's pick to head the CIA has something to say about the use of torture in today's USA Today.

"There is a huge amount of misinformation swirling about on the subject of detainees. That would include alleged activities of this agency," Goss said in an interview Friday in his office at agency headquarters in Northern Virginia.

"This agency does not do torture. Torture does not work," Goss said. "We use lawful capabilities to collect vital information, and we do it in a variety of unique and innovative ways, all of which are legal and none of which are torture."
[CIA chief: Methods 'unique' but legal - USA Today - 11-21-05]

That seems to echo what the President says on the matter.

We are gathering information about where the terrorists may be hiding. We are trying to disrupt their plots and plans. Anything we do to that effort, to that end, in this effort, any activity we conduct, is within the law. We do not torture.
[President Bush Meets with President Torrijos of Panama - Casa Amarilla - 11-07-05]

All that said, why is the Vice President of the United States ignoring this reality and apparent policy of the United States by lobbying in favor of one where torture is allowed? And why is the Vice President's spokesman publicly contradicting many top Bush Administration officials, including the President of the United States?

In recent months, Cheney has been the force against adding safeguards to the Defense Department's rules on the treatment of military prisoners, putting him at odds with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and acting Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England. On a trip to Canada last month, Rice interrupted a packed itinerary to hold a secure video teleconference with Cheney on detainee policy to make sure no decisions were made without her input.

Just last week, Cheney showed up at a Republican senatorial luncheon to lobby lawmakers for a CIA exemption to an amendment by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that would ban torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners. The exemption would cover the CIA's covert detention facilities in several Eastern European democracies and other countries where key al-Qaida captives are being kept.

Cheney spokesman Steve Schmidt declined to comment on the vice president's interventions or to elaborate on his positions. "The vice president's views are certainly reflected in the administration's policy," he said.
[Cheney battling efforts to ban torture, abuse, officials say - Washington Post - 11-07-05]

And please read the ever ridiculous White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan tow the White House line that all of this isn't really happening. And so it goes...

Also read: AndrewSullivan

November 20, 2005

"I was trying to escape. Obviously, it didn't work," Bush quipped, facing reporters again until an aide rescued him by pointing to him toward the correct door.
[Locked doors thwart Bush's bid to duck question - Washington Post - 11-20-05]

November 20, 2005

One of the most disgraceful chapters in American foreign policy continues to unfold around the Bush Administration's handling of pre-Iraq war intelligence. With little left to justify our nation's long-term military presence in Iraq, the American public is increasingly skeptical.

The Republican response to overwhelming skepticism of our nation's war in Iraq has been nothing short of McCarthyism, attacking detractors as "cowards" and "un-patriotic" rather than having the courage to debate our nation's foreign policy. Meanwhile, President Bush is touring America with his latest justification for "staying the course" in Iraq: we must continue to commit American soldiers to war in Iraq to honor the war dead.

For many familiar with the decade old intelligence that justified years of diplomatic pressures against Saddam Hussein's regime, the Bush Administration's selective mischaracterizations of this intelligence as posing an imminent threat did not justify committing our nation to war. Nothing had changed about the intelligence leading up to the pre-war saber rattling of 2002 except the Bush Administration's sudden and selective reinterpretation and no will to lead the world in an effective diplomatic offense. War was not only easier for this administration, it scrambled Russia's announced $50,000,000,000 oil deal with Iraq in August 2002 and assured America would retain the sole right to our "national security interests" in a post-war Iraq.

Before President Bush could commit American soldiers to battle, the pesky need to justify war required a creative reinterpretation of the facts by an Administration with a plan for war before a reason to fight it.

• Adnan Ihsan Saeed al-Haideri - al-Haideri's story of biological weapons hidden in subterranean wells fit the bill. The only problem was he lied. Even though the Bush Administration was told this by intelligence officers, statements like this were re-packaged and sold to the American people as definitive intelligence that justified war.
• "Curveball" - German intelligence warned the Bush Administration that the secret source of intelligence, known as "Curveball," provided unsubstantiated claims that Saddam Hussein had mobile labs cooking up enough anthrax to destroy several American cities. That's not the line shared with the American people and the world when the Bush Administration re-packaged it as yet another definitive justification for war.
• Cake Walk - Despite being told by our nation's own Central Intelligence Agency of the dubious nature of intelligence around yellow cake purchases by Iraq, the Bush Administration sold this as definitive proof that "mushroom clouds" were on the way if we didn't act now. When these facts were challenged, the Bush Administration exposed a CIA operative in an irresponsible act of vengeance and continued to sell a false nexus between September 11 and Iraq through the office of the Vice President.

America knows when a used car salesman is misleading, manipulating, and maybe even lying when they leave out the fact that the engine will only work as long as it takes to drive it off the lot. But every used car salesman knows it pays to deal with an angry buyer after they close the deal than it is to be honest in the first place.

the other side: Mudville

November 20, 2005

Open Source Media (OSM), a for-profit chaired by conservative blogger Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit), has a news feed. As Daily Kos points out, the OSM feed is promoting the official line of Communist China's state run paper Xinhua News Agency. Here is a snapshot of the top stories on yesterday's OSM news feed. Today's feed is no better with 8 of its 9 stories all from Communist China's official party news paper. Perplexing.

November 20, 2005

Priorities...

The Republican-controlled Congress helped itself to a $3,100 pay raise on Friday, then postponed work on bills to curb spending on social programs and cut taxes in favor of a two-week vacation.
[Congress Helps Self to $3,100 Pay Raise - AP - 11-18-05]

Is Tom Delay still open for suggested ways to cut spending?

"My answer to those that want to offset the spending is sure, bring me the offsets, I'll be glad to do it. But nobody has been able to come up with any yet," the Texas Republican told reporters at his weekly briefing.
[DeLay declares 'victory' in war on budget fat - Washington Times - 09-14-05]

November 19, 2005

I should have the archives of past posts up soon. A lot of changes are happening here since the November 8, 2005 Virginia elections (more about that later), but glad to be back.

November 18, 2005

So much for the tired arguement that Democrats support "cutting and running" when it comes to our nation's war in Iraq. When Republicans put the proposition up for a vote late this evening in a cynical stunt on the House floor, it failed 403-3. Read the transcript of Republican Rep. Jean Schmidt's disgraceful attack of Vietnam veteran and Democratic Representative John Murtha.