Day: August 14, 2005
Eveybody But Bush Knows That the Iraq War Is Over
“Nothing that happens on the ground in Iraq can turn around the fate of this war in America: not a shotgun constitution rushed to meet an arbitrary deadline, not another Iraqi election, not higher terrorist body counts, not another battle for Falluja (where insurgents may again regroup, The Los Angeles Times reported last week). A citizenry that was asked to accept tax cuts, not sacrifice, at the war’s inception is hardly in the mood to start sacrificing now. There will be neither the volunteers nor the money required to field the wholesale additional American troops that might bolster the security situation in Iraq.”
— Frank Rich in the New York Times
Bush CIA Leak Prosecutor Brought in Because of Aschcroft’s Meddling and Doubts about Rove’s Story
Rove did not disclose that he had ever discussed Plame with Time reporter Matthew Cooper, and investigators were skeptical of Rove’s claims that he first learned Plame’s CIA status from a journalist – because he said he could not recall the name of the journalist.
Justice Department officials made the crucial decision in late 2003 to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the leak of the identity of undercover CIA officer Valerie Plame in large part because investigators had begun to specifically question the veracity of accounts provided to them by White House deputy chief of staff Karl Rove, according to senior law enforcement officials.
Several of the federal investigators were also deeply concerned that then attorney general John Ashcroft was personally briefed regarding the details of at least one FBI interview with Rove, despite Ashcroft’s own longstanding personal and political ties to Rove, the Voice has also learned. The same sources said Ashcroft was also told that investigators firmly believed that Rove had withheld important information from them during that FBI interview…
During his initial interview with the FBI, in the fall of 2003, Rove did not disclose that he had ever discussed Plame with Time magazine correspondent Matthew Cooper, according to two legal sources with firsthand knowledge of the matter. Federal investigators were also skeptical of claims by Rove that he had only first learned of Plame’s employment with the CIA from a journalist, even though he also claimed he could not specifically recall the name of the journalist.
Britain Says It Will Not Take Part in Bush’s Attack on Iran
“Our position is clear and has been made very, very clear by the foreign secretary. We do not think there are any circumstances where military action would be justified against Iran. It does not form part of British foreign policy.”
— British Foreign Office
And So It Starts: U.S. Intelligence Documents Show Iran as Source of Iraq Bombs
“An Iranian-backed network of insurgents in Iraq is responsible for a new type of lethal roadside bomb, part of plans by Tehran to influence its neighbor that began even before the U.S. invasion, Time magazine reported on Sunday. Citing a U.S. military intelligence document, the magazine said that over the past eight months, a network of insurgents led by a man named Abu Mustafa al-Sheibani had introduced bombs based on a design from the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hizbollah that can easily pierce battle tank armor. The document estimated that al-Sheibani’s team comprised 280 members divided into 17 bomb-making teams and death squads, Time said.”
— Reuters
Not So Coincidentally…
“President Bush’s standing with an American public anxious about Iraq and the nation’s direction is lower than that of the last two men who won re-election to the White House — Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton — at this point in their second terms.”
— Associated Press
Only Liberals Complain about Gas Prices, Bush Adviser Says
Second quarter earnings for oil companies:
- Exxon Mobil Corp. up 35 percent from last year to $7.64 billion
- BP up 29 percent, to $5.59 billion
- Royal Dutch Shell up 34 percent to $5.24 billion
- ConocoPhillips up a whopping 51 percent to $3.14 billion
PR HUMOR — August 14, 2005 — With the price of gasoline rising toward $3 per gallon, a senior administration official told Pensito Review today that while President George W. Bush is “troubled” by the potential effect of high energy prices on the nation’s productivity, there is nothing the President or anyone can do because “oil prices fluctuate due to forces of nature. It’s out of man’s control, similar to hurricanes or earthquakes.”
The price of oil is “in God’s hands,” said the Bush adviser, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. He described Americans as “people of faith,” who have “faith in this President.”
The administration’s hands-off approach on oil prices has broad appeal, the senior official said. The indicator of this is the general lack of outrage over recent price spikes. He said that most of the complaints have come from “a few liberals” who “always blame America for everything.”
THE TICKER – Duke’s defense :: Injustice Sunday :: Kansas hates science
- Duke asks donors to pay for his criminal defense: Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.) can’t keep his fingers out of the honey pot, no matter how many times the bees sting him. Now he is asking defense contractors – the very group prosecutors say bribed him – to pay for his criminal defense. Since the Dukester is not running next year, it’s hard to figure why they would.
- True believers speak out against Christianists: Liberal religious leaders criticized their extremist co-religionists’ rally to back U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts and said wingnuts should not drag religion into his confirmation fight. These folks need to speak up more before Christianity becomes synonymous with intolerance – again.
- Kansas embarrasses itself on evolution: After months of silly and useless debate, the Kansas Board of Education has moved closer to making their state a national embarassment by approving the teaching of Creationism to its students. The state motto of Alabama used to be “Thank God for Mississippi.” Now Mississippi can say, “Thank God for Kansas.”
Sheehan’s Vigil Is Working – Conservative Slime Machine out in Force, with More to Come
Fred Barnes, editor of The Weekly Standard – and the biggest jerk and rightwing tool on the public stage now that Robert Novak has been sidelined – described Sheehan as a “kook.”
It’s hard to imagine how conservatives can look at themselves in the mirror these days. Their knee jerk reaction to any criticism of their Dear Leader – who is by far the worst president in United States history – is to change the subject away from the substance of the criticism by sliming the critic, no matter who it is.
But can they take this too far? Sure. Will they? Absolutely. Have they crossed the line by sliming Cindy Sheehan, the liberal activist “Peace Mom?” It’s too soon to say. But the sliming of Cindy has certainly begun.
It started on Thursday, when Fred Barnes, editor of The Weekly Standard – and the biggest jerk and rightwing tool on the public stage now that Robert Novak has been sidelined – described Sheehan as a “kook.”
If she is, Fred, what are you?
John Podhoretz called her protest “political theater” [in] National Review’s blog, The Corner.
This morning, the Drudge Report posted a banner headline, claiming “BUSH PROTESTING MOM CALLS FOR ‘ISRAEL OUT OF PALESTINE’; VOWS NOT TO PAY TAXES.”
And conservative columnist and blogger Michelle Malkin put up an “unconfirmed report” that Sheehan’s husband, Patrick, had filed for a divorce.
