Day: November 13, 2005

Now THAT’S Some Sick Stuff: Scooter Libby

Trish

Good lord. Nerve.com:

In this week’s New Yorker, Lauren Collins alerted us to the diverse sexual content of Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s 1996 novel The Apprentice. Today, to further edify the American public, Nerve brings you some longer excerpts.

The book is about a young Japanese man who runs a remote mountain inn and becomes embroiled in a world of intrigue. “A world of intrigue,” in this case, involves:

* a scene of incest between two uncles and their niece;
* a hunter asking his companions if they should fuck a freshly killed deer while it’s still warm;
* the description of a prepubescent girl’s painted “mound” and pleasing lack of vaginal odor;
* a story about a girl who’s kept in a cage and raped by a bear to train her to become a prostitute.

Thanks, Scooter, for reminding us — once again — about the healthy sexual psychology that lurks within the political party of “family values,” abstinence-only education, restricted reproductive rights and opposition to same-sex marriage! Below, some selections penned by the vice president’s former right hand:

I can’t stand any more. You’ll just have to click the link if you can.

Edwards: ‘I Was Wrong’ on Iraq

Jon Ponder

“I was wrong.

“Almost three years ago we went into Iraq to remove what we were told — and what many of us believed and argued — was a threat to America. But in fact we now know that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction when our forces invaded Iraq in 2003. The intelligence was deeply flawed and, in some cases, manipulated to fit a political agenda.”

— Former senator and 2004 Dem VP nominee John Edwards

Split in the GOP: Liberal Republicans Are Unhappy with the Party’s Rightwing

Jon Ponder

When the Bush-Cheney-Rove juggernaut was at full force, the splinter groups within the GOP were held together by their fear of reprisal and retribution from the White House. Now that the public has gotten wise to the Bush team’s flimflaming of America, the Republicans in Congress are coming undone:

In an August Washington Post-ABC News poll, a solid 85 percent of GOP moderates approved of the job George W. Bush was doing as president, including 60 percent who “strongly approved.” By early November, overall support had dropped 24 points among moderates, and only 30 percent remained strong backers. In contrast, overall support among Republican conservatives has held steady.

It’s not just Bush who is getting lackluster reviews. While 74 percent of conservatives say Republicans in Congress are doing a good job, backing falls to 54 percent among GOP moderates, down 22 points from early summer. About one-third of moderates say their party’s leadership is taking them in the wrong direction.

One potential wedge is the role of conservative religious groups in determining the party’s agenda. In the most recent Post-ABC News poll, 44 percent of GOP moderates said that conservative religious groups have “too much influence” in the Bush administration, compared with 17 percent who thought those groups didn’t hold enough sway. About a third saw religious conservatives as appropriately influential.

Clintons Visit Bomb Site in Jordan

Jon Ponder

Associated Press:

Former President Clinton, accompanied by his family, on Sunday visited a Jordanian hotel devastated by a suicide bomber, condemning the “destructive terror that murdered children and other innocents.”

He, his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and their daughter, Chelsea, interrupted a visit to Israel to make a brief trip to Jordan at the invitation of King Abdullah II.

The former president spoke while standing in the wrecked hall of the Radisson SAS hotel, where an attacker detonated a belt of explosives during a wedding last week.

He said the family wanted to express “solidarity with the people of Jordan and our support for doing whatever is necessary to fight against and defeat this kind of destructive terror that murdered children and other innocents.”

The Clintons walked over on a bloodied carpet scattered with broken glass, silver knives and napkins.

“These people have no respect for anyone or anything,” Hillary Clinton said of the bombers. “They believe in death and nihilism.”

More Rumors that Bush Is Drinking Again

Jon Ponder

And this time there’s video. Check out this short reel from Crooks & Liars of recent appearances by Mr. Bush and note the slurring and a wobbly exit from Marine One and the way he throws his arm over Laura’s shoulder.

Sucks to be him. I’d probably start the day with JB & ginger, too, if I were the Worst President Ever.

Here’s a thought: He could resign now, go back to Crawford and get healthy – quit drinking and spend all day working on his abs.

It’s a win-win-win. Bush would get to focus solely on himself, we’d get him out of our lives and the world would be safe from destruction due to his incompetence.

Tutu Supports Gay Bishop

Trish

I love this guy:

Sexual orientation is something that cannot be changed, and the Anglican community should support the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu said Saturday during a visit to [Jacksonville’s] University of North Florida.

Archbishop Tutu told about 100 students that consistency is important when speaking out against discrimination, whether based on race, gender or sexual orientation. Immediately after the forum, Tutu explained that he does not understand religious anger over New Hampshire’s gay bishop and expressed his frustration with opponents.

“I am deeply saddened at a time when we’ve got such huge problems … that we should invest so much time and energy in this issue,” he said. “I think God is crying.”

Tutu, 74, returned to UNF, where he taught for a semester in 2003, to receive an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degree.