Have I mentioned today how much I hate these fucking guys?

Get yours at T-Shirt Hell.

(Thanks -- I think -- to Melina for finding it.)

The Last Angry Man, or This Guy Has No Business on the Supreme Court

What a wack-a-doodle Clarence Thomas is:

Justice Clarence Thomas settles scores in an angry and vivid forthcoming memoir, scathingly condemning the media, the Democratic senators who opposed his nomination to the Supreme Court, and the "mob" of liberal elites and activist groups that he says desecrated his life.

"Desecrated"? Clarence Thomas' life is sacred? Now he thinks he's Jesus? And here I thought Rudy Giuliani was Jesus.

More:

In the book, Thomas writes that Hill was the tool of liberal activist groups "obsessed" with abortion and outraged because he did not fit their idea of what an African American should believe.

"The mob I now faced carried no ropes or guns," Thomas writes of his hearings. "Its weapons were smooth-tongued lies spoken into microphones and printed on the front pages of America's newspapers. . . . But it was a mob all the same, and its purpose -- to keep the black man in his place -- was unchanged."

Thomas, 59, says in the foreword to the book, due to go on sale Monday, that he wrote it to "leave behind an accurate record of my own life as I remember it" rather than leave it to those "with careless hands or malicious hearts." He indicates he wrote it himself, with editing help from three others.

I guess that means those evil book editors of the Liberal Elite™.

Throughout the book, Thomas describes himself as under siege -- variously from preening elites, light-skinned African Americans and critics who object to his conservative politics. Feeling under duress from civil rights leaders, and despondent over reports he was reading about the poor achievement of African American students in high school, Thomas writes that he simply sat at his desk at the Department of Education one evening and wept.

After the death of his grandfather and grandmother in 1983 and with his first marriage on the rocks, Thomas says he had a fleeting thought of suicide. "I'd actually reached the point where I wondered whether there was any reason for me to go on," he writes. "The mad thought of taking my own life fleetingly crossed my mind. Of course, I didn't consider it seriously, if only because I knew I couldn't abandon [my son] Jamal as I had been abandoned by C," which is how he refers to his father, M.C. Thomas.

There are drugs and therapy for this kind of depression and paranoia, you know.

"As a child in the Deep South, I'd grown up fearing the lynch mobs of the Ku Klux Klan; as an adult, I was starting to wonder if I'd been afraid of the wrong white people all along," he writes. "My worst fears had come to pass not in Georgia, but in Washington, D.C., where I was being pursued not by bigots in white robes but by left-wing zealots draped in flowing sanctimony."

Drama queen much?

Thomas has been a sharp critic of affirmative action and the use of racial classifications in schools, but he acknowledges in the book that he was admitted to Yale Law School in 1971 partly because he was black. "I'd graduated from one of America's top law schools -- but racial preference had robbed my achievement of its true value."

But that didn't bother you enough to turn down the admission, now, did you? That's a lot of time and effort spent to earn a degree that you think has no value.

But by the time he was confirmed, he said, the prize meant little. Instead of watching the Senate roll call, he drew himself a bath. His wife came to tell him he had been confirmed 52 to 48.

"Whoop-dee-damn-doo," Thomas writes.

Then step down. Now. Do us a favor. Because someone holding onto that extreme a level of anger has no business in the Judiciary.

No Jeebus, no presidency

Thus spake John McCain in an interview with BeliefNet:

BeliefNet: A recent poll found that 55 percent of Americans believe the U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation. What do you think?

McCain: I would probably have to say yes, that the Constitution established the United States of America as a Christian nation. But I say that in the broadest sense. The lady that holds her lamp beside the golden door doesn't say, “I only welcome Christians.” We welcome the poor, the tired, the huddled masses. But when they come here they know that they are in a nation founded on Christian principles.

And if you don't like it, you will be stoned to death.

It's sad that John McCain has so little knowledge of, or cares so little for, the facts of American history. What are "Christian principles", anyway? Gay-bashing? Punishing women who become pregnant? Hmmmm....it must be the principle of proseletyzing and conversion (by force if necessary). That's a strong part of Christian principle, isn't it?

Does John McCain ever wonder why the name "Jesus" never appears in any of the founding documents? For that matter, why the word "God" in the "Jehovah" sense never appeears? The only place the word "God" appears in the Declaration of Independence is in the first paragraph, and then it could just as easily refer to any deity, including a female one:

When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Nature's God? Sounds kind of pagan, doesn't it?

The opening to the second paragraph reads:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Christians may assume that this refers to "Jehovah" (it sure as hell doesn't refer to Joshua of Nazareth), but that doesn't make it so. In fact, I would say that these oblique references were worded this way for a reason, that reason being to avoid any implication that it refers to a deity of ANY religious tradition.

If we go to the United States Constitution, nothing about God or religion appears at all. Not "God", not "Creator", not "deity". The Bill of Rights addresses the issue of religion only in Amendment 1:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

The notion of "prohibiting the free exercise thereof" has been what the Christofascist Zombie Brigade has latched onto in their efforts to force Christianity down our throats in every area of public life, because of their mandate to "spread the Word." Well, your right to "spread the Word" ends at my right to not be subject to coercive conversion efforts.

That John McCain doesn't understand the great care the Founding Fathers took to put language into both of the founding documents that doesn't embrach ANY religious tradition -- not even the so-called Judeo-Christian one -- disqualifies him for the presidency, as it does anyone who in trying to throw red meat to the Flat Earthers in a quest for the Ignorant Vote.

(h/t Matt Ortega, who has more.)

Magic..."a tallying of cost and of loss...That’s the burden of adulthood, period. But that’s the burden of adulthood in these times, squared."

...used to be that artists and musicians were the great narrators of our cultural times...and sometimes in these days of the constant influx of information and disinformation, we can forget the power of those who are visionaries and who are sometimes lost in the latest on Brittany's panties and Rudy's ode to himself, the hero...
But then, there is Bruce Springsteen, who is back with a new record that is meant as an answer to the Bush administration and to the mess that this country has fallen into since 9-11 and his heartfelt Rising record.
Today I sat on a dusty couch at a kendo studio that is hidden among smelly warehouses, next to the "Poop Scoopers" headquarters, smelling like sweat and listened to the crack of bamboo swords and Japanese counting and shouts, while I, old fashioned style, read the Times Arts and Leisure, about Bruce's literal lull and then crescendo back into the story with his new record, Magic.
A.O. Scott is a little too clever for me, in his silly attempt at framing his story as an old Springsteen song, when he himself admits that early Springsteen wasn't even the soundtrack of his younger years. But I'm not gonna get all purist and Brooklyn about this, because its a beautiful piece in many ways. Instead, I just want to lift a large part of it that has Springsteen's fantastic quotes, with a tip of the hat to the newly non-select (even though this wouldn't have been select anyway,) NY Times and Mr Scott for being a lucky enough fuck to find himself at an E Street Band rehearsal in Asbury Park at the old convention center, not too long ago. For the full story go here....and for the record pre-order at a great price and a couple of the Videos go here....also notable is Amazon's new MP3 download store that will hopefully grow quickly and overtake iTunes with the ability to buy and actually own your music.
I'm not sure if I can actually love this record...but I do like what Ive heard so far, and I really like what Bruce is doing in that he is acting as a social commentator at a time when we sorely need him.
At the same time, I remember the special he did a few years ago when he sort of talked his way through some of the early songs and explained what HE meant by every little nuance, and it really got to me how he so easily takes back the very thing that is so special about this sort of art, and maybe art in general which is that we can project what we feel and what we need onto the compositions without him saying that this line was about his mother or whatever...and, its not like he ever was such a cryptic writer anyway (I mean, he was supposed to be the new Dylan, but come on...even Dylan wasn't Dylan by the time anyone dissected what the fuck he was writing about ...if he even remembered himself...Its like comparing realism to impressionism in most instances!)
Do I really want to know who You're So Vain was about? No!! Hell No!!...keep it to yourself Carly...I've got enough of my own to fill in the blanks.
But the point that doesn't escape me, (and in another time might have made me feel like he is not giving his audience enough credit for being able to figure this shit out for themselves,) is that this record is clearly a message about what has become of a country that Bruce loves...and he is trying to be literal, as well as explaining what he means to a stupid America, because he is stone cold serious about this....

...Once again he is hitting the road as a presidential election heats up.

“I like coming out on those years,” he would tell me later, when we sat down to talk in a backstage dressing room after the rehearsal. “Whatever small little bit we can do, that’s a good time to do it.”

***

Mr. Springsteen’s best songs, it seems to me, are about compromise and stoicism; disappointment and faith; work, patience and resignation. They are also, frequently — even the ones he wrote when he was still in his 20s — about nostalgia, about the desire to recapture those fleeting moments of intensity and possibility we associate with being young.

***

“You know, that day when it’s all right there; it’s the world that only exists in pop songs, and once in a while you stumble on it.”

“It’s the longing, the unrequited longing for that perfect world,” Mr. Springsteen continued. “Pop is funny. It’s a tease. It’s an important one, but it’s a tease, and therein resides its beauty and its joke.”

***

For his part, Mr. Sprinsteen said that in writing the songs for “Magic,” he had experienced “a reinfatuation with pop music.” “I went back to some forms that I either hadn’t used previously or hadn’t used a lot, which was actual pop productions,” he said. “I wrote a lot of hooks. That was just the way that the songs started to write themselves, I think because I felt free enough that I wasn’t afraid of the pop music. In the past I wanted to make sure that my music was tough enough for the stories I was going to tell.”

The paradox of “Magic” may be that some of its stories are among the toughest he has told. The album is sometimes a tease but rarely a joke. The title track, for instance, comes across as a seductive bit of carnival patter, something you might have heard on the Asbury Park boardwalk in the old days. A magician, his voice whispery and insinuating in a minor key, lures you in with descriptions of his tricks that grow more sinister with each verse. (“I’ve got a shiny saw blade/All I need’s a volunteer.”) “Trust none of what you hear/And less of what you see,” he warns. And the song’s refrain — “This is what will be” — grows more chilling as you absorb the rest of the album’s nuances and shadows.

***

You can always trust what you hear on a Bruce Springsteen record (irony, he notes, is not something he’s known for), but in this case it pays to listen closely, to make note of the darkness, so to speak, that hovers at the edge of the shiny hooks and harmonies. “I took these forms and this classic pop language and I threaded it through with uneasiness,” Mr. Springsteen said.

And while the songs on “Magic” characteristically avoid explicit topical references, there is no mistaking that the source of the unease is, to a great extent, political. The title track, Mr. Springsteen explained, is about the manufacture of illusion, about the Bush administration’s stated commitment to creating its own reality.

“This is a record about self-subversion,” he told me, about the way the country has sabotaged and corrupted its ideals and traditions." And in its own way the album itself is deliberately self-subverting, troubling its smooth, pleasing surfaces with the blunt acknowledgment of some rough, unpleasant facts.

“Magic” picks up where “The Rising” left off and takes stock of what has happened in this country since Sept. 11. Then, the collective experiences of grief and terror were up front. Now those same emotions lurk just below the surface, which means that the catharsis of rock ’n’ roll uplift is harder to come by. The key words of “The Rising” were hope, love, strength, faith, and they were grounded in a collective experience of mourning. There is more loneliness in “Magic,” and, notwithstanding the relaxed pop mood, a lot less optimism.

The stories told in songs like “Gypsy Biker” and “The Devil’s Arcade” are vignettes of private loss suffered by the lovers and friends of soldiers whose lives were shattered or ended in Iraq. “The record is a tallying of cost and of loss,” Mr. Springsteen said. “That’s the burden of adulthood, period. But that’s the burden of adulthood in these times, squared.”

***

In conversation, Mr. Springsteen has a lot to say about what has happened in America over the last six years: “Disheartening and heartbreaking. Not to mention enraging” is how he sums it up. But his most direct and powerful statement comes, as you might expect, onstage. It is not anything he says or sings, but rather a piece of musical dramaturgy, the apparently simple, technical matter of shifting from one song to the next.

***

“You’ve got to let that chord sustain. Everybody!” Mr. Springsteen urged. “It can’t die down.”

The guitarists had the extra challenge of keeping the sound going while changing instruments, a series of baton-relay sprints for the crew whose job was to assist with the switch, until a dissonant organ ring came in to signal a change of key and the thunderous opening of “Last to Die.” It’s not much of an exaggeration to say that Mr. Springsteen’s take on the post-9/11 history of the United States can be measured in the space between the choruses of those two songs. The audience is hurled from a rousing exhortation (“Come on up to the rising”) to a grim, familiar question: “Who’ll be the last to die for a mistake?”

“That’s why we had to get that very right today,” he said later. “You saw us working on it. That thing has to come down like the world’s falling on you, that first chord. It’s got to screech at the end of ‘The Rising,’ and then it’s got to crack, rumble. The whole night is going to turn on that segue. That’s what we’re up there for right now, that 30 seconds.”

But the night does not end there. Onstage, “Last to Die” is followed, as it is on the album, by a song called “Long Walk Home.” In the first verse, the speaker travels to some familiar hometown spots and experiences an alienation made especially haunting by the language in which he describes it: “I looked into their faces/They were all rank strangers to me.” That curious, archaic turn of phrase — rank strangers — evokes an eerie old mountain lament of the same title, recorded by the Stanley Brothers.

“In that particular song a guy comes back to his town and recognizes nothing and is recognized by nothing,” Mr. Springsteen said. “The singer in ‘Long Walk Home,’ that’s his experience. His world has changed. The things that he thought he knew, the people who he thought he knew, whose ideals he had something in common with, are like strangers. The world that he knew feels totally alien. I think that’s what’s happened in this country in the past six years.”

And so the song’s images of a vanished small town life (“The diner was shuttered and boarded/With a sign that just said ‘gone’ “) turn into metaphors, the last of which is delivered with the clarity and force that has distinguished Mr. Springsteen’s best writing:

My father said “Son, we’re

lucky in this town

It’s a beautiful place to be born.

It just wraps its arms around you

Nobody crowds you, nobody goes it alone.

You know that flag

flying over the courthouse

Means certain things are set in stone

Who we are, and what we’ll do

And what we won’t”

It’s gonna be a long walk home.

...

RIPCoco

Have I mentioned today just how much I hate these fucking guys?

Yes, they're the ones who beat me to a pulp, your honor.
(AP Photo)

You know, if Mr. Brilliant treated me the way the Mets do, I'd have left him ages ago.

For years I've said that being a Mets fan is like being in an abusive relationship. They beat the crap out of you by losing eight or more straight games, then they come back and win with grit and heart and the kind of goofy game that only the Mets can play. It's the baseball equivalent of coming home with candy and flowers and a sheepish look and a wheedling voice that says, "I'm sorry baby, I promise it won't happen again. It'll be different from now on, I promise." And you believe because you want to, and then they break your heart again.

Why the hell do we do it? Why do we put up with this shit and keep coming back for more? Is there a shelter and group therapy for Abused Mets Fans?

Today John Maine pitched about as beautiful a game as has ever been pitched at Shea, coming within five outs of the team's first no-hitter and striking out 14. And then he lost the no-no to the cheapest little dead-ball infield hit ever seen. He left to the biggest standing ovation I've heard outside of a postseason game, and even the bullpen rose to the occasion, not just holding onto a 13-run lead, but not giving up any runs.

There is no reason why this game couldn't have been played two weeks ago -- and played twice. There is no reason in the world, other than getting cocky and lazy too soon, why the National League East should come down to the last game of the season. None whatsoever.

As I write this, it's the middle of the 8th inning in Philadelphia and the Nationals are beating the Phillies 4-1, while San Diego is ahead of the Brewers 3-2 in the 8th. If Washington can hold the lead, the season comes down to what happens tomorrow. If both teams win, it comes down to a one-game playoff in Philadelphia on Monday.

In that case, the Mets will jump out to an early six-run lead, José Reyes will get thrown out trying to steal second with runners at the corners and one out at some point, and the bullpen will give up seven runs in the eighth. The Mets will load the bases in the 9th, but Reyes will strike out swinging for the fences at a ball a foot out of the strike zone.

You heard it here first.

Because that's the way it goes when you're a Mets fan.

SUNDAY UPDATE: Well, the old warhorse Tom Glavine, whom I said last night was the guy, barring John Maine, that I thought could pull this off, has been yanked after giving up seven runs in the top of the first.

And so it goes....

What If You Gave a Party and No One Came? The GOPs Got Some 'Splainin' To Do....

The 4 top contenders for the GOP nomination skipped Maryland's Morgan State University debate; a historically African American forum. Oh they had their "conflicts" and excuses, just like they did for the Spanish language debate earlier this month, and I'm sure those conflicts were really, really important, in the face of the racial divide that they supposedly want to address and all ...and where was Rudy?...Must've been important to keep away America's Mayor...the one from the greatest melting pot in the world...uh-huh...



Thanks, as always, to our friends at Brave New Films for this great clip...

Dude!

Another "phony soldier" lets Rush Limbaugh have it with both barrels.

I was never much of one for military-type toughness, but after seeing Paul Hackett smeared by Rush Limbaugh as "a staff puke...padding his resume", John Murtha smeared by Rush Limbaugh as "the useful idiot of the moment", and guys like Alex of "Army of Dude", I could easily change my mind.

Is New Jersey the Michigan of tomorrow?

Edward McClelland writes in Salon about the long, protracted death of his home state, Michigan:

The UAW strike was just one distressing headline in a week of bad economic news for Michigan. As usual, the state has the nation's highest unemployment rate -- 7.2 percent. (In 2005, it was the only state not hit by a hurricane to lose jobs. It regularly wins United Van Lines' title of most-fled state, and the state of Wyoming put up a billboard outside Flint to lure workers west. That's a reversal of Henry Ford's old practice of sending his agents to wander the South handing out free one-way train tickets to Detroit.) On Friday, thousands of state employees will be told whether to report to work next week. Thanks to obstinate Republicans in the state Legislature and an ineffectual Democratic governor, Michigan may not meet its Oct. 1 budget deadline. The governor wants to raise taxes. Republican legislators want to freeze school funding and cut social services. If they can't agree soon, the state government will shut down. Drivers have been warned to renew their license plates now. The state police won't patrol the roads, and even the casinos will close.

How did the state that Franklin D. Roosevelt called "the Arsenal of Democracy" fall on such hard times? By clinging too hard to that title, is how. Michigan is hopelessly attached to the 20th century. It's not just the UAW with its longing for graduation-to-grandparent job promises. The Big Three have never gotten over the idea of muscular American cars ruling the highways. The SUV -- pumped-up descendant of the Fleetwood and the Electra -- was the automotive status symbol of the 1990s, so profitable that Detroit turned up its nose when Japanese automakers introduced hybrid cars.

"Hybrids are an interesting curiosity," then-GM chairman Robert Lutz said in 2004. "But do they make sense at $1.50 a gallon? No, they do not."

This year, with gas at $3 a gallon, GM is introducing a flex-fuel vehicle called the Volt, which can run on electricity, biodiesel, E85 or gasoline. But by waiting so long, GM yielded the title of environmentally friendly automaker to Toyota. The Prius will always be the hybrid car.

Detroit made the same mistake in the 1970s. It was too late getting into the small-car market, and the efforts it turned out were junk. My factory-town DNA tells me that buying American is a patriotic duty (as did the graffito "Assholes Buy Jap Cars" that I once saw painted on an overpass near Flint), so I suffered through the Chevy Chevette, the Ford Escort and the Plymouth Volare. I think I abandoned them all on rural roads, with blown head gaskets. My Ford Focus runs like a dream, but it can't seem to compete with the Corolla. This year, Toyota will become the biggest-selling automaker in the world.

When I think of Detroit's stubborn self-image as "the Motor City," I think of the Boll Weevil Monument in Enterprise, Ala. Enterprise was a town that grew cotton, and no other crop. After boll weevils struck, the farmers thought their livelihood was over. Then they started planting other crops, such as peanuts, and prospered more than ever.

Michigan did not become great because of the auto industry. The auto industry became great because of a Michigander, Henry Ford. The state still produces creative people. Google founder Larry Page, a Ford of the 21st century, grew up in East Lansing, and studied at the University of Michigan, whose main function seems to be giving young Michiganders the credentials to get the hell out of Michigan. Page went to California, but as a sop to his home state, Google is opening a 1,000-employee office in Ann Arbor.

(I've moved back to Michigan three times since college. My last attempt lasted a year -- until I was laid off. I now live on the North Side of Chicago, which is so crowded with my fellow economic refugees that we call it "Michago.")

I can only hope Google Ann Arbor is the beginning of a post-industrial era for Michigan. The picketers in the UAW's two-day strike were mostly gray-haired, protecting jobs and benefits they've held for years. Like the music of Bob Seger -- who celebrated Michigan's glory days with "Makin' Thunderbirds," "Night Moves" and, fittingly, "Back in '72," -- auto work belongs to the baby boom generation. GM has been culling them as quickly as possible, buying out 35,000 last year.

They're not being replaced with younger workers. My generation never heard the promise. We never counted on a career in the shop. If we have a mission, it's finding Michigan a new industry, and a new image, that take it beyond the automobile.

The dependence of an entire state on a single industry -- any industry -- is a huge mistake. Michigan is suffering, not because of "greedy auto workers", but because of decades of boneheaded decisions by Big Three executives, who continued to disgorge gas guzzling V-8 engines during the oil crunch of the 1970's, and continued to disgorge ever-more-mammoth SUVs as gasoline climed to $3.00/gallon and upwards.

It's all well and good that Larry Page is throwing a life preserver at his home state by opening a Google office there, but no single industry can save a state.

I read about Michigan and then I think about New Jersey. With less return on our federal dollar than any state in the country, and with a mammoth debt left to us by the fiscal mismanagement of Christine Todd Whitman, her successor Donald DiFrancesco, and the hapless and troubled Jim McGreevey, it now falls on a former Goldman Sachs executive, Jon Corzine, to try to sort out the mess in a state whose citizens seem unwilling to accept the pain necessary to get us out of it.

It turns out that the state pension fund has been hopelessly mismanaged for the last fifteen years and now has a deficit of $56 billion, which is going to have to be made up somehow. State employment is increasing, property taxes are skyrocketing (mind have gone up $300-$500/year every year since we bought our house in 1996), and not even Corzine has been able to make a dent in cleaning up the mess because of an intransigent state legislature unwilling to make hard choices.

If Michigan is the Automobile State, New Jersey is the Pharmaceutical State. Attempts are being made to make the state a center for stem cell research, but pharmaceutical jobs are heading south. The combination of high taxes and debt are stifling both business and residents alike. And no one in Trenton seems to have a clue what to do about it. Selling state roads is just not going to cut it. Now it seems taxpayers are going to have to bail out a failed golf/resort project in the Meadowlands.

As long as New York remains a world cultural and financial center, it may produce enough jobs to keep New Jersey limping along for a while. But New Jersey residents should look very carefully at Michigan and think about how dependent we've been on Big Pharma, noting carefully every time a pharmaceutical company moves or expands operations in the southern states. Because for those of us stuck here because of family, or because our age makes finding new jobs in another location unlikely, the future of this state looks bleak indeed.

Why is the U.S. military protecting Blackwater mercenaries

Buried in the U.S. Embassy whitewashreport on the September 16 incident in which Blackwater mercenaries fired on Iraqi civilians is this little tidbit:

According to the report, a third Blackwater team, identified as TST 23, was dispatched from the Green Zone to assist after the car bomb detonated. Upon arriving at Nisoor Square, in Baghdad's affluent Mansour neighborhood, the report said, TST 23 was "engaged with small arms fire" from "multiple nearby locations."

The report said TST 23 returned fire and tried to drive out of the ambush site. However, one of the company's tactical armored vehicles, a BearCat, became disabled during the shooting. In the middle of the firefight, according to the report, the other tactical support team, TST 22, was ordered back out of the Green Zone to assist TST 23 in Nisoor Square, identified in the document as Gray 87.

Before TST 22 could arrive, according to the report, TST 23 had towed the BearCat and returned to the Green Zone. TST 22 found itself alone in the congested traffic circle and confronted by an Iraqi quick-reaction force. "Over the next several minutes, additional Iraqi Army and Iraqi Police units arrived and began to encircle TST 22 with vehicles," according to the report. "The Iraqis had large caliber machine guns pointed at TST 22."

"The U.S. Army QRF" -- quick-reaction force -- "arrived on scene at 12:39 hours and mediated the situation," the report said. "They escorted TST 22 out of the area and successfully back to the [Green Zone] without further incident."

Is this now the mission of the United States Army -- to protect Bush's Praetorian Guard-in-training?

Forget about 1905, if you liked 1932, you'll love 2007

The mortgage speculation mess has resulted in the first bank failure of the coming economic collapse:

NetBank Inc., an online bank with $2.5 billion in assets, was shut down by the government on Friday because of an excessive level of mortgage defaults.

It was the largest savings and loan failure since the tail end of the industry's crisis more than 14 years ago. Federal regulators appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as a receiver for Alpharetta, Ga.-based NetBank.

Customers with less than $100,000 deposited with NetBank will be protected by FDIC insurance.

[snip]

The FDIC said Friday that $1.5 billion of NetBank's insured deposits will be assumed by ING Bank, also a major online bank that is part of Dutch financial giant ING Groep NV. ING will pay $14 million for the deposits and receive 104,000 new customers.

NetBank, which had no physical branches, sustained significant losses last year "primarily due to early payment defaults on loans sold, weak underwriting, poor documentation, a lack of proper controls, and failed business strategies," the Office of Thrift Supervision said in a statement.

Now remind me again....is there ANYTHING that hasn't become completely fucked up during the Bush tenure?

John Edwards Hath Charms To Soothe the Savage Beast

The savage beast in question being Candy Crowley, a CNN correspondent who makes no attempt to hide her own bias towards Republicans. But listen to her tone as she thanks John Edwards at the end of this interview:

The thing that I notice as I see more of John Edwards is that this is one tough motherfucker. Don't let the Jimmy Carter smile and the excellent hair and the honey-tinged drawl fool you for one minute. This guy has more stones than the rest of the Democratic candidates combined. This is a guy who could reduce Ahmadinejad to s pool of goo while the latter is still thinking he's been offered another piece of pie. Watching him lope through this campaign, never losing his cool, never being anything but the courteous, smiling southern boy, it's easy to see why those (*cough* Chris Matthews *cough*) who are impressed by swagger and bellicosity and guys who stuff socks into the crotch of their flightsuit might think Edwards is a wuss. But the more I see of him navigating the minefield of a mainstream media that sits bold upright in a cold sweat of terror at night at the mere thought that he could possibly win this thing, the more faith I have that this guy could take on just about anything.

I'm not saying there isn't a fair amount of political calculation in the way the Edwards Family Persona is presented. But is it calculation when you just use what you've got? Elizabeth is out there playing Bad Cop, with her rumpled hair and her nondescript soccer mom clothes that make her indistinguishable from anyone you'll see at your local Kohl's store today and her compelling personal story and her own ability to charm. This leaves her husband free to chart the course of uplift and change and put up with the likes of Candy Crowley.

Doyles at Sydney Fish Markets, Pyrmont

Is there a better Friday lunch than fish and chips at the Sydney Fish Market?We joined the gaggle of tourists, families, seafood shoppers and business workers in the hustle and bustle of oceanic offerings. Fiery orange-red lobsters, cascading mountains of shiny fresh prawns and soft satin pillows of sashimi tuna and salmon fought for my eye. The oyster-shucking man patiently prised open bivalve

Send Rush Limbaugh a message

No, don't go to his web site and post a nasty comment. Show him that he can stick his "phony soldier" comment up his ass, and donate to a worthy cause at the same time.

Comments from Left Field has set up a fund drive in memory of Sgt. Yance T. Gray and Sgt. Omar Mora, two of the authors of the op-ed "As We Saw It" in the New York Times who were killed in Iraq last week. The proceeds of the fund are to be donated to Fisher House, whose mission is to build houses near military medical facilities, so the families of injured soldiers can be near them.

Sayeth Kyle Moore:

I had done a small write up of their passing, not really expecting anyone to read. I definitely didn’t expect the father in law of Yance Gray to leave a comment. As of the time of this writing, approximately 3700 men and women have died in Iraq, and while I honor all of their sacrifices deeply, none of them were personal.

None had a face, and while it’s easy to speak with indignation about not letting these fallen soldiers become a statistic, such a thing is a little more complicated in actual practice. I have never known personally a soldier who had fallen on the field of battle. I’ve not lost any family members or close friends. As much as I hate to say it, to a degree, 3700 has become just a number, a statistic.

Mr. Kenn Duncan changed that.

You say it over and over again, that these numbers have meaning, that they are fathers and sons and brothers and sisters and mothers and members of their community with best friends and people praying for their safe return, but it took the father in law of a fallen soldier to bring it home to me.

Since, I’ve read the mournful remembrances of his closest friends, and have anguished over the photograph of him standing with his lovely wife and beautiful daughter. I have spent much time over the past week or so trying to piece together the lives of Tell and Omar, and while I can never say that I was their friend, I can not feel the grief their families must still burn with, I can say that I have somehow come closer to understanding, and knowing that the world lost two great Americans, soldiers, and men that day.

Further, their conviction and courage has impressed upon me most profoundly. While still serving in the military I grew politically active and started blogging, but fearing some sort of backlash or reprimand, did so anonymously, not revealing my true name until after leaving the US Navy.

These men stood proudly by what they had to say about how they felt and what they had seen. Without reservation they attached their names to their sentiments, and sent it to THE paper of record. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that.

**

You don’t have to agree with the Iraq War to support the brave men and women in our armed forces. You don’t have to agree with the politics. The way I see it, it all comes down to that oath, and what it stands for.

These soldiers took a simple oath, they stood up and said that the ideals of America were bigger than they were, and that for those ideals, they would without question sacrifice their lives.

That’s what this is all about. From one day to the next we can bicker and argue over whether a certain war is right or wrong, but at the end of it all, there must be an understanding that men and women like Sgt. Gray and Sgt. Mora, despite the partisan battles that go on back home, continue to day in and day out perform their duties as soldiers.

Remember the closing words of their OpEd, “As committed soldiers, we will see this mission through.”

We as Americans have much we can stand to learn from soldiers such as Yance and Omar. Least of which is that this very same spirit of fidelity fuels not only the flame from which this country was born, but exists to this day.

More information about the fund here. Please consider donating to this fund. When Moveon.org questioned General David Petraeus' misrepresentations of the situation in Iraq, it was attacked for impugning a military official. Yet Rush Limbaugh has branded every soldier on the ground who knows what's going on as a "phony soldier." By donating to this fund, you have an opportunity to show the military what supporting America's soldiers means, and who really has their backs -- and it's not the gasbags of the right who want to keep them there until they are all dead.

It's astounding to me, baby boomer that I am, that donating to a fund in memory of fallen soldiers to help the families of the wounded could ever be a profoundly subversive act. But given how loathsome the right has become in its endless effort to try to salvage the presidency of the Sociopath-in-Chief, it has become just that.

The Praetorian Guard is expanding

At FDL, Naomi Wolf notes that Blackwater, that wonderful company responsible for most of the American killings of Iraqi civilians, has been awarded a government contract for fighting the so-called "drug war":

Late last month, the Pentagon tapped five major defense contractors to provide wide-ranging support in global counter-narcotics operations. The contract, worth up to $15 billion over the next five years, illustrates the extent to which the Defense Department is relying on contractors to perform critical missions while combat forces are stretched thin by operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In response to specific task orders issued under the indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract, companies will develop and deploy new surveillance technologies, train and equip foreign security forces and provide key administrative, logistical and operational support to Defense and other agencies such as the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Wolf, whose new book The End of America: Letters of Warning to a Young Patriot outlines just how the Bush Administration is systematically taking us down the road to a fascist police state, explains just how terrifying this is:

In my recently released book, The End of America — Letters of Warning to a Young Patriot, I describe the 10 steps that would-be tyrants use to close down a democracy and produce a “fascist shift.” The third of the ten steps is to ‘Develop a Paramilitary Force.’ Without a paramilitary force that is not answerable to the people’s representatives, democracy cannot be closed down; however, with such a force available to would-be despots, democracy can be drastically and quickly weakened.

Every effective despot — from Mussolini to Hitler, Stalin, the members of the Chinese Politburo, General Augusto Pinochet and the many Latin American dictators who learned from these models of controlling citizens — has used this essential means to pressure civilians and intimidate dissent. Mussolini was the innovator in the use of thugs to intimidate what was a democracy, if a fragile one, before he actually marched on Rome; he developed the strategic deployment of blackshirts to beat up communists and opposition leaders, trash newspapers and turn on civilians, forcing ordinary Italians, for instance, to ingest emetics. Hitler studied Mussolini; he deployed thugs — in the form of brownshirts — in similar ways before he came formally to power.

In light of these historical warning, we must ask, “What is Blackwater?” According to reporter Jeremy Scahill, the firm has 2,300 private soldiers deployed in nine countries, and maintains a database of an additional 21,000 to call upon at any time. Blackwater has over “$500 million in government contracts — and that does not include its secret ‘black’ budget…” [It also did not include, at the time Scahill’s wrote this description, the massive anti-narcotics contract described above.] One congressman pointed out that in terms of its manpower, Blackwater can overthrow “many of the world’s governments.” Recruiters for the company seek out former military from countries that have horrific human rights abuses and use secret police and paramilitary forces to terrify their own populations: Chileans, Peruvians, Nigerians, and Salvadorans.

Blackwater is coming home to Main Street, and one of our key constitutional protections is at stake. The future for growth is directed at increased deployment in the US in cases of natural disaster — or in the event of a ‘public emergency.’ This is a very dangerous situation, of course, now that laws have been passed that let the President decide on his say-so alone what a ‘public emergency’ might be.

The Department of Homeland Security hired these same Blackwater contractors to patrol the streets of New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina — for a contract valued at about $73 million. Does Blackwater’s reputation for careless violence against civilians in Iraq, protected by legal indemnification, matter to us? Scahill reports at least one private contractor’s accounts of other contractors’ abrupt shooting in the direction of American civilians in the wake of Katrina: “After that, all I heard was moaning and screaming, and the shooting stopped.”

[snip]

(According to `the blueprint’ described in my book, unless people wake up in time, we in America are likely to see a call for a `security requirement’ for Blackwater to be deployed to `protect’ Congress and to be deployed around voting areas `to maintain public order’, and, unless we intervene, we will see them start to do crowd control when there are antiwar marches or other demonstrations. Then, again according to historical models, protesters will increasingly start to get hurt for `resisting arrest’ or for `provocations.’)

Because, to my sorrow, I know `the blueprint’, I was sad but not at all surprised when a horrified friend who works in downtown New York City told me that armed private contractors — who look like members of the NYPD but who are not answerable to any government entity — have been placed around the U.S. stock exchange. I went down to check it out. Indeed, Wall Street and the entire periphery of the Stock Exchange was like a militarized zone in the hands of what was not evident to onlookers as being in fact a private army: there were barricades; three immense trucks parked to deter and investigate pedestrians; armed dog handlers with their big dogs on tightly held leashes — all of this looks like government security but it isn’t. The company, hired, the guards said, by the stock exchange itself, is neutrally called `T & M.’ (More investigation of such companies is called for.)

I went up to a guard and, chatting sweetly, established from him that, indeed, none of these men were NYPD or even US government agents.

“That’s really big gun,” I remarked admiringly of his massive firearm, encased in leather. “What kind is it?”

“It’s a Glock,” said the contractor, with shy pride.

“Heavens!,” I said. “What kind of guidelines does the company give you for shooting?”

“Use our discretion,” he said. I thanked him, my heart racing.

So while Senate Democrats and Republicans are playing a game of chicken as to who should apologize for saying mean things to America's Military Men and Women™, The Bush Junta is preparing paramilitary squads to operate right here at home, tying in nicely with the the detention camps that KBR has been quietly building.

George W. Bush may not just be looking to outdo his father, it seems he wants to bring his grandfather's dream of a fascist state to fruition as well.

If Rupert Murdoch doesn't step in, it means the corporatocracy has decided it can "do business" with Hillary

The California Republican efforts to steal the 2008 election are temporarily dead, unless a sugar daddy steps in:

Plagued by a lack of money, supporters of a statewide initiative drive to change the way California's 55 electoral votes are apportioned, first revealed here by Top of the Ticket in July, are pulling the plug on that effort.

In an exclusive report to appear on this website late tonight and in Friday's print editions, The Times' Dan Morain reports that the proposal to change the winner-take-all electoral vote allocation to one by congressional district is virtually dead with the resignation of key supporters, internal disputes and a lack of funds.

The reality is hundreds of thousands of signatures must be gathered by the end of November to get the measure on the June 2008 ballot.

Although Maine (since 1972) and Nebraska (since 1996) award electoral votes to the popular vote winner in each congressional district, the California initiative ignited a national controversy with Democratic critics charging it was a power grab by Republicans who are regularly shut out of any California electoral votes by the current winner-take-all system. Democrats have won all the state's 55 electoral votes in the last four presidential elections.

Nineteen of the state's 53 congressional districts are currently held by Republicans, giving them a fair chance of winning those electoral votes in a presidential election. The remaining two electoral votes would still go to the state's overall winner.

The initiative began in July with an air of mystery. Its text and paperwork were filed by a Republican law firm in Sacramento -- Bell, McAndrews & Hiltachk -- but the actual identity of the backers was unknown. Observers noted the initiative would have helped independent candidates because its text specifically provided for third-party or independent candidates to win electoral votes by district.

At one time, said sugar daddy would be Richard Mellon Scaife. But with Scaife having decided that Bill Clinton wasn't so bad after all, he's no longer a reliable hatchet man. So let's see who else, if anyone, jumps into the fray. If no one, then some arrangement has obviously been made with the Clinton camp that her administration will be very friendly to Republican interests.

And the media will attack him for this too

Fresh off his consensus win in Wednesday's debate and his 94% approval marks after yesterday's MySpace/MTV candidate's dialogue, and as a way of drawing a contrast with the awash-in-lobbyist-cash Clinton camp, John Edwards has decided to accept public financing for his campaign:

Mr. Edwards and his advisers said the decision was made not because of any shortage of money for his campaign but because he wanted to draw a distinction with his main rivals for the nomination, especially Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, on the issue of the influence of money on politics.

His decision, announced a few days before the end of the third quarter fund-raising period, belied the demise of the public-finance system. Until recently, all the leading candidates had abandoned the public system in favor of raising and spending far more in private donations.

His move raises the possibility of a two-tiered system for 2008, with the best-financed candidates spending freely from record-breaking fund-raising while the rest of the pack complies with complicated spending limits. On the Republican side, Senator John McCain of Arizona, once considered the front-runner, is also expected to accept public financing. Mr. McCain’s campaign nearly collapsed this summer from a fund-raising shortfall.

Mr. Edwards’s rivals scoffed that the move would doom his campaign by limiting his ability to buy advertising in key primary states or defend against Republican attacks in the many months leading up to the formal start of the general election.

But Mr. Edwards’s advisers argued that loopholes in the spending limits would allow the campaign to keep up with Mrs. Clinton, of New York, and Senator Barack Obama of Illinois in the early primary states.

At a campaign stop on Thursday in Conway, N.H., Mr. Edwards said it was the huge amounts being raised by the campaigns that had changed his mind. “Washington is awash with money, and the system is corrupt,” he said. “I don’t think anybody anticipated the amount of money that would be raised,” he added, saying it had persuaded him to “step up” on the issue.

Cue Chris Matthews, the gasbags of the right, and Barry, to ask why a guy who lives in a 28,000 square foot house needs public financing of his campaign. It's clear that Edwards has decided that win or lose, he's going to have an impact on this race. Given that Hillary Clinton has largely filched his own health care plan (albeit with a bigger role for the for-profit insurance indsutry), he already has. Whether it's because of his own lagging fundraising (which happens when you refuse to take lobbyist cash and the netroots that was a united front for Howard Dean in 2004 is split this year between Edwards and Barack Obama) or to make a point, the point is still made: John Edwards won't have to deal with questions about Norman Hsu or any other shady characters.

Well, it looks like Olbermann has his Worst Person for tonight

It's comedian Rush Limbaugh in a landslide.

Jon Soltz of VoteVets, at Huffington Post:

As Media Matters reported today, Rush Limbaugh, on his show said that those troops who come home and want to get America out of the middle of the religious civil war in Iraq are "phony soldiers." I'd love for you, Rush, to have me on your show and tell that to me to my face.

Where to begin?

First, in what universe is a guy who never served even close to being qualified to judge those who have worn the uniform? Rush Limbaugh has never worn a uniform in his life -- not even one at Mickey D's -- and somehow he's got the moral standing to pass judgment on the men and women who risked their lives for this nation, and his right to blather smears on the airwaves?

Second, maybe Rush doesn't much care, but the majority of troops on the ground in Iraq, and those who have returned, do not back the President's failed policy. If you go to our "Did You Get the Memo" page at VoteVets.org, there's a good collection of stories, polls, and surveys, which all show American's troops believe we are on the wrong track, not the right one, in Iraq.

Does Rush believe, then, that the majority of the US Armed Forces are "phony?"

Third, the polls and stories don't even take into account the former brass who commanded in Iraq, who are incredibly critical of the Bush administration, and it's steadfast refusal to listen to those commanders on the ground who have sent up warning after warning. Major Generals John Batiste and Paul Eaton left the military and joined VoteVets.org for that very reason.

Does Rush believe that highly decorated Major Generals are "phony soldiers?"

Finally, as Media Matters notes, just recently, members of the 82nd Airborne in Iraq wrote a New York Times op-ed, very critical of the course in Iraq, and suggesting it was time to figure out the exit strategy. Two of them just died. Will Rush call up their grieving parents and tell them that they should stop crying, because they were just "phony soldiers?"

There's more. Guys like Limbaugh don't realize that when they fuck with guys like Jon Soltz or Paul Reickhoff, they aren't dealing with people who give a rat's ass what people in the punditocracy say. For these guys, theoreticals can get you killed. Let's see if Limbaugh takes Soltz up on his offer. I'm sure we already know the answer.

Meanwhile, shall we demand an apology from Rush Limbaugh for disrespecting active duty military personnel on the precedent of the sense of the Senate resolution passed the other day about the Moveon.org ad? Reps. Patrick Murphy, Frank Pallone, and Jan Schakowsky have. So has John Kerry in a statement released today:

"This disgusting attack from Rush Limbaugh, cheerleader for the Chicken Hawk wing of the far right, is an insult to American troops," Kerry said. "In a single moment on his show, Limbaugh managed to question the patriotism of men and women in uniform who have put their lives on the line and many who died for his right to sit safely in his air conditioned studio peddling hate. On August 19th, The New York Times published an op-ed by seven members of the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division critical of George Bush's Iraq policy. Two of those soldiers were killed earlier this month in Baghdad. Does Mr. Limbaugh dare assert that these heroes were 'phony soldiers'? Mr. Limbaugh owes an apology to everyone who has ever worn the uniform of our country, and an apology to the families of every soldier buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He is an embarrassment to his Party, and I expect the Republicans who flock to his microphone will now condemn this indefensible statement."

Cue the hue and cry from Republicans screaming that this is a waste of time and we should be doing the nation's business.

Exactly. But hey, sauce for the goose, baby. You wanted grandstanding, you got it.

At Bangkok, Haymarket Chinatown

Nam Prik Krapi $12.90 Shrimp paste chilli sauce with prawn crackersI've never trusted hip Asian restaurants. Fancy chairs and slick logos make me think my money is paying more for overheads than the overly-sweet and under-spiced food on my fancy white plate.But you can't always judge a book by its cover.@Bangkok has funky white tables and plush ottoman stools in rich chocolate brown. So I'm

Best. Ad. Ever.

This is almost enough to make me go back to Honda from Toyota next time I buy a car:

More on this ad at Group News Blog.

I....Just....Can't....Watch

Oh the humanity!

The same co-worker who the other day said that people like me are responsible for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad being allowed to speak also berates me for not being a "true fan", because when my baseball team starts making a loud sucking sound, I just turn the page on the season and settle down to an autumn of reading books and catching Oscar® bait movies.

In these days of naming rights for ballparks being sold to the highest bidder and the new parks being built not only smaller but with fewer seats for the hoi polloi, what does "being a fan" mean? Am I supposed to spend my limited free time watching while José Reyes sulks and pouts his team into an October of playing golf?

You'll notice that I have (hopefully temporarily) removed the Mets section from the left sidebar. It isn't that I have anything against Metsgrrl (who has the most entertaining of the Mets blogs and from whom I filched the accompanying photo). It's just that it's become so painful to watch as Jimmy Rollins' preseason prediction that the Phillies will be the team to beat starts to look like it's coming true, and I have enough aggravation in my life, thank you very much. I mean, who needs to spend time watching the Mets bullpen blow lead after lead to the last-place Washington Nationals during the last week of the season? That way madness lies, and you end up in the Mets equivalent of the Jerome Zone.

It's days like this when I really miss having Steve Gilliard around. He'd understand.

Blackwater: Using the Iraqis for target practice

This is what happens when you privatize the military by outsourcing its functions to unaccountable private corporations:

The American security contractor Blackwater USA has been involved in a far higher rate of shootings while guarding American diplomats in Iraq than other security firms providing similar services to the State Department, according to Bush administration officials and industry officials.

Blackwater is now the focus of investigations in both Baghdad and Washington over a Sept. 16 shooting in which at least 11 Iraqis were killed. Beyond that episode, the company has been involved in cases in which its personnel fired weapons while guarding State Department officials in Iraq at least twice as often per convoy mission as security guards working for other American security firms, the officials said.

The disclosure came as the Pentagon said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates had sent a team of officials to Iraq to get answers to questions about the use of American security contractors there.

The State Department keeps reports on each case in which weapons were fired by security personnel guarding American diplomats in Iraq. Officials familiar with the internal State Department reports would not provide the actual statistics, but they indicated that the records showed that Blackwater personnel were involved in dozens of episodes in which they had resorted to force.

The officials said that Blackwater’s incident rate was at least twice that recorded by employees of DynCorp International and Triple Canopy, the two other United States-based security firms that have been contracted by the State Department to provide security for diplomats and other senior civilians in Iraq.

Way to win hearts and minds, guys.

And from the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" file, Richard at All Spin Zone wants to know who Kiazan Moneypenny is (yes, that is a real name) at State, and why she has directed Blackwater not to disclose any documents related to the Blackwater massacre in Iraq.

John Edwards Rocks MTV/MySpace, Thursday at Noon EST; Michael Moore on Oprah at 4 EST

I just got a message from Tom, who was for the longest time, my only friend on MySpace. Now that I've made some virtual pseudo-friends on my chronically neglected site there, I hardly ever hear from Tom anymore. But that Tom, boy does he know me! He sent me a notice out of the blue last night that today at noon EST John Edwards will be appearing in a live forum brought to us by MTV and MySpace, here.
Apparently, users will be able to IM their questions to Edwards live.
I love interactive forums like this, and even though I'll have to skip this one because of prior commitments, it seems like a good thing to have a look at.
I hope that he has a chance to comment on our growing Iran problem.
Joe-the mole-Lieberman has been a busy little bee in helping the republicans lay down the groundwork for any war that Bush may decide to come up with as he exits stage left.
Passing the embarrassing thou-shalt-not-diss-Petraeus Amendment was bad enough, but the Lieberman/Kye Amendment was destructive in allowing any wiggle room at all for these war mongers...and why were either of these pieces necessary?
Its almost as if the dems are tripping over themselves to try to prove that they are tough on the middle east, when polls already show that most Americans believe that they are.

Here is Jim Webb on this mess:


Oprah is doing another big healthcare show today at 4PM EST, and it features not only Michael Moore, but the DC health insurance lobby. The theme is "Sick in America:It Can Happen to You."

Another Downing Street Memo...will anyone care this time?

Yesterday the story broke about George Bush's conversations with then Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar of Spain before the Iraq War, which confirmed what those of us in the reality-based community already knew: That the war was a foregone conclusion, and that all the talk of inspectors and diplomacy was just, well, lies.

Although Bush's public position at the time of the meeting was that the door remained open for a diplomatic solution, hundreds of thousands of U.S. troops had already been deployed to Iraq's border, and the White House had made its impatience clear. "Time is short," Bush said in a news conference with Aznar the same day.

El Pais, a leading Spanish daily and a critic of the war, said the transcript of the conversation was prepared by Spain's ambassador to the United States, Javier Ruperez, who was at the meeting in Crawford. The newspaper did not say how it obtained the memo.

In the transcript, translated from Spanish by The Washington Post, Bush said that Europeans were insensitive to "the suffering that Saddam Hussein has inflicted on the Iraqis" and added: "Maybe it's because he's dark-skinned, far away and Muslim -- a lot of Europeans think he's okay." But Bush was happy to play the "bad cop," he said. "The more the Europeans attack me, the stronger I am in the United States."

The psychopathology of that statement is just breathtaking: An American president making blatantly bigoted remarks about not just "dark skinned....Muslim[s]", but smacking down all of Europe, claiming that Americans just LOVE it when Europe attacks their president -- all this to the prime minister of one of those European countries.

And more psychopathology:

Bush noted that he had gone to the United Nations "despite differences in my own administration" and said it would be "great" if the proposed resolution was successful.

"The only thing that worries me is your optimism," Aznar said.

"I'm optimistic because I believe I'm right," Bush replied. "I'm at peace with myself."

And that's been the problem all along with this president -- this utter certainty that he's right. This is pathological Narcissistic Personality Disorder in full flower. NPD is described in the DSM-IV as:

"An all-pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behaviour), need for admiration or adulation and lack of empathy, usually beginning by early adulthood and present in various contexts. Five (or more) of the following criteria must be met:

1. Feels grandiose and self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents to the point of lying, demands to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
   
2. Is obsessed with fantasies of unlimited success, fame, fearsome power or omnipotence, unequalled brilliance (the cerebral narcissist), bodily beauty or sexual performance (the somatic narcissist), or ideal, everlasting, all-conquering love or passion
   
3. Firmly convinced that he or she is unique and, being special, can only be understood by, should only be treated by, or associate with, other special or unique, or high-status people (or institutions)
   
4. Requires excessive admiration, adulation, attention and affirmation -or, failing that, wishes to be feared and to be notorious (narcissistic supply). (See also: "Those around him have learned how to manipulate him through the art of flattery. Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld played Bush like a Stradivarius, exploiting his grandiosity. Rumsfeld would later tell his lieutenants that if you wanted the president's support for an initiative, it was always best to frame it as a 'Big New Thing.' Other aides played on Bush's self-conception as 'the Decider.' 'To sell him on an idea," writes Draper, 'aides were now learning, the best approach was to tell the president, This is going to be a really tough decision.' But flattery always requires deference. Every morning, Josh Bolten, the chief of staff, greets Bush with the same words: 'Thank you for the privilege of serving today.'")
   
5. Feels entitled. Expects unreasonable or special and favourable priority treatment. Demands automatic and full compliance with his or her expectations
   Is "interpersonally exploitative", i.e., uses others to achieve his or her own ends
   Devoid of empathy. Is unable or unwilling to identify with or acknowledge the feelings and needs of others
   
6. Constantly envious of others or believes that they feel the same about him or her Arrogant, haughty behaviours or attitudes coupled with rage when frustrated, contradicted, or confronted.

Sound like anyone?

And it isn't as though Bush has tried to hide his psychopathology; it's been out there for the world to see. This account of his meeting with Aznar, aside from being yet another demonstration that he had no intention of doing anything BUT go to war with Iraq, is right up there with his disgusting table manners when talking with Tony Blair or his neck massage of Angela Merkel. It isn't just bad form, it's his way of asserting dominance and feeding his narcissistic grandiosity. In view of his obvious mental illness, it's even more surprising that the Democrats are still so frightened of him.

Bush, think for once in your life

Some things Bush should contemplate before attacking Iran, but won't:

1. It will be far worse than Iraq which hasn't turned out well at all.

2. You will demonstrate to the world the US is no longer a super power.

3. Such an attack will ruin what little respect any country has for the US.

4. Iran will attack world-wide on a scale you won't believe.

5. You can't destroy all of Iran's offensive capabilities fast enough to prevent retaliation.

6. Ten dollar per gallon oil? Oh yeah, that's not a bad thing. I forgot.

7. Obviously Israel, Syria, Lebanon and others will join in.

8. You will wreck what's left of the US military.

9. Even Iranians deserve to live. You will kill civilians in obscene numbers.

10. You will be personally responsible for the deaths of millions of people throughout the Mid-East.

11. People around the world will revile you until the day you die and probably long after. What a great fucking legacy.

12. Your father may finally disown you. Oh, I forgot, you don't really care.

13. Everyone will finally realize just how psychotic you actually are.

14. Your balls will shrivel up and most likely fall off.

15. No doubt almost everyone will see your foreign policy was shit.

16. Paraguay may be too close to the US for you.

17. Because Iran can retaliate, Lebanon is viable, the PA is viable, Syria is viable, you may well trigger the destruction of Israel.

18. You will no longer be able to vacation in the Persian Gulf.

19. Quite possibly you'll see the sinking of one or more US warships.

20. Most likely many of the US's allies will lose thousands of people.

21. You will postpone and guarantee Iran's having nuclear weapons.

22. Its probable Iran won't be the last to develop nuclear weapons as that's the only way to keep you from attacking them.

23. You will prove beyond a doubt you are the most stupid fucker to ever lead a country...period.

24. The 23% approval rate you have may fall down to just members of the US Congress.

25. You will single handedly destroy what's left of the GOP. OK, that could be a good thing.

26. If you're lucky (we're all lucky?) this won't incite a world war.

27. Can you say military coup d’état? They've happened for lesser reasons.

28. You will crush the US economy which you've already decimated.

29. Billions of dollars in military aircraft will be lost. You don't think the Iranians won't fight back, do you?

30. Russia and China are nearby. They may decide its in their best interests to stop you. And China doesn't even have to intervene militarily. It could just call in its US debt. Huge fucking oops!

31. Then there are the American lives to be lost. Can't have enough of those can you, Bush?

This is a partial list. Its a start. Feel free to add to it in comments.

Cross posted at SPIIDERWEB™.

Liveblogging the Democratic Debate

It's 9:08 and I just tuned in.

John Edwards has pledged to remove combat troops from Iraq but plans to keep a presence there, referring to "the embassy". Unfortunately, this is that half-trillion dollar Xanadu being constructed there. Russert looks like hell. His hair is a mess and beads of sweat are dripping down his brow. You'd never see Bill Maher looking like this.

9:09 - Richardson draws a difference between himself and the "top 3" by saying their approach is to change the mission, whereas his is to end the war. He disagrees with Clinton that Congress has done enough to end this war. This is clearly going to be Try To Damage Hillary night. Richardson says it's our very presence in Iraq causing instability in the region.

9:11 - Dodd says the question is whether the military involvement is making us more secure, and the answer is no. He's good; his experience shows. He pledges to get all troops out of Iraq by 2013.

9:13: Biden reminds Russert that his amendment was voted down today. He seems disgusted by all the talk and all the gamesmanship. He reminds people that our continuing presence in Bosnia has stopped the genocide with no American casualties.

9:15 - Kucinich reminds us that he's the only one on the stage who voted against the war. He's the Don Quixote of this race, and frankly, the only "ideologically pure" progressive up there. His plan is detailed, well-thought-out, and utterly impossible. And after he finishes, he grins like a kid who just spelled a word right at the spelling bee.

9:16 - Grandpa Simpson is asked, what advice would you give your colleagues to stop the war even though they don't have the votes. He says they should vote every day on cloture; vote to override the president's veto. Anyone who says the votes aren't there, grab them by the scruff of the neck then make them vote. Gravel is a pain in the ass, but he has the luxury of truth. Good for Grandpa, he brings up the Lieberman/Kyl amendment. He congratulates Biden and Dodd for voting no, and chastises Clinton for voting yes and Obama for not showing up. Hillary responds with her Fox News laugh, which is becoming extremely irritating, because it drips with arrogance and contempt. Hillary regards the amendment as putting "teeth" into our dealings with Iran. [Insert your own vagina dentata joke here.]

9:20 - Dodd says that clarity of leadership is important, and that if you're going to run for president, you have to be prepared to lead -- gee, I wonder who he's talking about?

9:21 - Russert asks Hillary about whether Israel would be justified in launching an attack on Iran if its security were threatened by a nuclear presence in Iran. Hillary doesn't let Russert finish the question, then says she's not going to answer it. She says Israel's attack on Syria was justified. Russert asks if Hillary will use any means to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power. Hillary replies that she will use diplomacy, economic sanctions, and direct talks that haven't been tried yet. She still hasn't answered the question, so Russert asks Obama. Obama says Iran is stronger than before the Iraq war, BECAUSE of the Iraq war. Obama seems skeptical of the intelligence about North Korea's weapons in Syria. He talks about divestiture of investment in Iran. Russert gets partisan and accusing him of not wanting to promise the American people that he will use any means necessary to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Obama replies that we haven't tried diplomacy.

9:26 - Same question to Edwards. He reminds Russert that Ahmadinejad is unpopular even in his own country, and expresses confidence that we can work with Europe to isolate him. He latches onto Gravel's point about the Lieberman/Kyl amendment. He repeats that he voted for the war and admits he was wrong -- and that Hillary voted for the Iraq war and hasn't admitted it. He notes that with this history, you cannot give this president even the first step in war authority, because he can't be trusted. Russert has no comment. This is a very good answer by Edwards, because he sets him apart from the warhawk Hillary and the mealy-mouthed Obama by telling it like it is: you cannot work with George W. Bush, and you cannot give him anything.

9:29 - Richardson advocates talking to moderate clerics and business leaders in Iran. Russert sees an opportunity and asks Richardson if Israel would be justified in attacking Iran. Richardson babbles about a middle east peace process and says "diplomacy" about 100,000 times.

Now a question from outside the punditocracy: Here comes the illegal immigrant question -- would you allow cities to be "sanctuary cities"? The question is for Richardson, who sourly-with-a-smile asks if he got the question because he's the only Hispanic on the stage. Richardson advocates a legalization program in which those here illegally can gain legal status. Then he talks about increasing the H-1B quota,which has absolutely nothing to do with illegal immigration. And he's just lost every IT worker in the country.


9:33 - Biden points out that the Administration hasn't provided funding for existing laws and says that Giuliani doesn't know what the hell he's talking about, "he's the most uninformed person on American foreign policy currently running for president." This gets a lot of applause. Rudy may be doing well in the flyover states, but here in the Godless Heathen Liberal Northeast, we know what a blowhard empty suit he is.

9:36 - Russert asks if anyone would NOT allow sanctuary cities to exist -- setting up nicely for the Republican campaign ad. Kucinich says "of course". Obama blames the current government for not creating "a ratinoal immigration system." Hillary talks about the implications of not having sanctuary cities in terms of underreporting crimes. Gravel notes that we're scapegoating Latinos because we're failing in education, health care, infrastructure, and invading countries and that we should be welcoming the world. Russert is clearly looking to provide material for the Republicans to use in campaign ads, and Gravel is looking for -- I don't know what -- but he sure makes me wish he wasn't just the crazy old man in the attic, because he's behaving like a Greek chorus representing the party's conscience.

9:43 - Nice rimshot for Chris Dodd, when asked about his response to Bush's comments about Hillary making a good president. Dodd says that last time Bush said that we got Heckuva Job Brownie. Hillary does her Fox News Laugh again.

9:46 - Hillary says she wants to be the healthcare president.

Is John Edwards still running? You wouldn't know it from this debate. Gravel is getting more face time than he is. If you needed any further proof that Edwards is the candidate who scares the punditocracy to death, it's this debate.

9:48 - Biden points out that Hillary will have more trouble than anyone else getting major health care reform through because of her history. He makes a point of emphasizing that when he talks about "old stuff" coming up, he's talking about policy.

9:49 - Ooh! Edwards IS still running. He talks about how Obama and Clinton are going to give everyone a seat at the health care policy table EXCEPT THOSE WHO WOULD BE INSURED! Good point. He reiterates that under his administration, if Congress do not pass universal health care, he will take away theirs. Russert attacks him for "changing" from earlier talk of just universal care for children.

9:51 - Obama gets the "experience and judgment" question. Russert asks why if it didn't make sense for him to run for higher office in 2004, why does it now? Obama says he's the one who can bring the country together. (Bill O'Reilly might beg to differ.) Now he talks about being the one who can bring Republicans and Democrats together. Oh. So you mean together like the Lieberman/Kyl amendment today? Like capitulating to everything the Republicans want together? This is the kind of creeping Joe Liebermanism that I see in Obama that keeps him from being the strong candidate he could be.

9:54 - Well, it's about time something funny happened. Gravel says he stuck the credit card companies with $90,000 in credit card debt when he went bankrupt, in a new definition of virtue.

Boy, Russert is really digging into everything these people have done wrong in their entire lives. I wonder if he'll do the same with the Republicans? And I can't wait to see what he asks Hillary on this front. Chris Matthews was already behaving in his short segment on Countdown as if he were in love with her, presumably trying to ensure access. Let's see if Russert does the same.

9:58 - Richardson is babbling.

10:00 - Do you know where your children are? Are they reading a book about same-sex marriage? Would you want your children to read such a book.

10:01: YAY! Edwards says absolutely. But he strangely detaches himself and his own emotional state from his children, saying that he wants his two young children to reach the same conclusion that his daughter Cate and his wife have, and not the one he has. I don't know if his position of eliminating DOMA and DADT and mandating benefits for same-sex couples is going to be enough for the gay community, and it does seem kind of strange that he hasn't been able to make that leap. It's sort of like recognizing you're a racist but not quite being able to leave racism behind. I don't quite get it.

Next up: Social Security. Russert asks Biden if the entire income of all Americans should be taxed. Duh. Biden says a definitive yes, and ever the egomaniac, he reminds Russert that he was in the room when the retirement age was raised.

Same question to Hillary, who goes into a speech. She reminds us that Bill Clinton left a budget surplus. She wants another bipartisan process. Excuse me, Hillary, but have you been in the Seante the last few years? There is no such thing as bipartisanship with this bunch, certainly not where Social Security is concerned. This is odd -- she says she would take everything off the table until the budget is returned to fiscal responsibility and a bipartisan process takes place. In other words, the twelfth of never.

Same question to Obama, who favors lifting the cap. He points out the young people who don't think Social Security will be there for them. (Note to Gen-Xers: Pssst....we don't think it's going to be there for us either.)

Same question to Dodd, who brings up the importance of health care, financial education and pension security as related issues. He's the only one who has said explicitly that privatization is off the table.

Richardson says you don't need to lift the cap. I wish Russert would let these people answer the question. Is this the Tim Russert show, or a debate? It feels odd that Richardson doesn't get the same boos at his advocacy of a Constitutional amendment to balance the budget that he did at Yearly Kos. But now he's babbling about growing the economy through environmental research and education. He sounds like thomas Friedman.

Same question to Edwards: Can you grow your way out of this? "Absolutely not." He says the American people deserve to hear the truth. "Why would you believe a bunch of politicians who say the same thing over and over?" He would create a protective zone between $97,000 and $200,000 for middle-income two-income couples, but he says someone making $50 million shouldn't have a $97,000 cap.

Kucinich is now channelling FDR, talking about a new WPA. He advocates raising the cap and LOWERING the retirement age. It would have sounded less nutty if he'd talked about the latter in the context of older workers being shunted out of the work force.

Chris Dodd thinks it's possible to go back to the days when Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill could sit down and hammer out legislation.

Gee, was Hillary's husband president? I'd forget that if she didn't remind me every 20 minutes.

God, Russert is annoying.

Kucinich: "We've all been breathing a lot of second-hand smoke tonight." Zing!

This is a college town, so a question is asked about returning the drinking age question back to the states. This, and the previous question about national laws banning smoking in public places, are the Dumbass Questions of the Night. And by the way, the drinking age issue WILL come up again if there's a military draft.

Does anyone else find it odd that NOTHING IS BEING ASKED ABOUT THE JENA 6???? Why the hell are they wasting time on questions about changing the drinking age, and why the hell is Richardson answering a question about the drinking age, by talking about stem cell research, and why the hell are we not talking about what the Jena 6 case, and what this case, and Don Imus, and Bill O'Reilly, say about the state of race relations in this country?

Oh God, they're back with more. I want to go to sleep.

The lightning round:

If I had a drink every time Obama talked about ending divisive politics, I wouldn't be able to go to work tomorrow.

Russert asks Hillary if it's healthy for this country to have a 2-family political dynasty. Hillary says Bill was a pretty good president, and wild applause results. She's running the campaign Gore should have in 2000. But it's till not health.

Oh, Jesus fucking Christ. Russert asks if Moveon has been a positive force. Biden punts.

Kucinich reminds Russert that he was saying about Iraq four years ago what Alan Greenspan says now. Time runs out, and he says "...or you could have a persident who's tall." He's cute, but he's just not serious.

Gravel advocates a carbon tax. He reminds me of George Carlin's old routine about "wanna...."

Russert asks Dodd if he favors a moratorium of imports of Chinese toys until their safety can be confirmed. Dodd gets a chuckle when he says "If you promise not to tell my daughters, I will."

FINALLY! A Jena 6 question, but it goes to the black guy. Russert asks if he should have been more active in the protests, and he says no, he was busy in DC trying to end the war in Iraq. Good answer. He said the issue is to make the justice system work for all Ameridans.

This seems to be the "Meet the Press" debate. If you've appeared on Russert's Sunday show, you get a lot of face time. Hence, lots of time for Richardson, Biden, Dodd and Kucinich. Obama and Edwards, not being the frontrunner and not being Russert's drinking buddies, get the short end of the stick here. Of course Russert is also trying mightily to make Hillary the nominee.

Gee, is John Edwards running? Ah yes, he gets a question. Would he be in favor of developing nuclear power in the United States? Terse answer: "No."

Listening to Obama speak, I get the sense that an Obama presidency would have a lot of blue ribbon committees and group discussions and not get anything done.

Have I mentioned tonight how much I hate Tim Russert? What an ass. He brings up the "If we captured the #3 in Al Qaeda, and there was a bomb, and he knew where it was, wouldn't we be justified in beating it out of him?" Biden hits this one out of the park, pointing out that it doesn't work and it gives us bad information. Russert ignores his response.

This question is ridiculous. It's like the old George Carlin bit from Class Clown where the kid comes up with this ridiculously convoluted scenario where it would be impossible to receive communion because you're on a ship at sea, and then the chaplain goes into a coma, and asks, "Would that then be a sin then, fadda?"

What debate would be complete without a reference to Norman Hsu? I am not going to vote for Hillary Clinton under any circumstances, but Russert asks if Hillary would favor revealing all donors to the Clinton Library.

Oh, Russert, go fuck yourself. Now he asks Edwards about Haircuts and Hedge Funds. Edwards is pissed. He reminds Russert of what he comes from and that he's spent his life fighting for people like those he grew up with. He says he's not ashamed of his success. If I were him I'd climb over the podium and punch that sanctimonious asshole pumpkinhead right in the mouth. Russert isn't giving up. Edwards scares the shit out of him, and he's not taking the bait. Good for Edwards, he's taking the hedge fund question head-on. Yay!

Russert, go double-fuck yourself. Now he asks Obama what his favorite Bible verse is, and he says the Sermon on the Mount. Why is this question even being asked? Why is this relevant? And why doesn't any of these people have the guts to ask Russert why this matters?

The baseball question wraps it up. Oh, please. Last time I checked the Mets game they had blown a 5-run lead and were losing 7-6. Hillary says she's been a Yankees fan for a long time, which Chris Matthews will dig into for tomorrow's Hardball and if she has ever expressed any affinity for the Red Sox, he'll ask if she has the integrity to be president.

Oh, thank God, it's over. Bible verses? WTF??? NOTHING about global warming. NOTHING about FISA. NOTHING about the Constitution. Only one question about the Jena 6 and that to the black guy.

Interesting....the consensus among the MSNBC talking heads is that Edwards, despite his lack of face time, emerged as the "Hillary Alternative" tonight. Imagine what he could have accomplished had Russert not been so determined to deny him any more time than was absolutely necessary.

If you asked me if I'd rather sit through this debate again or have root canal, I'd take the root canal. At least I get nitrous there.

What the fuck is wrong with these people?

Congratulations, America. Your Democratic majority Congress just voted to give George W. Bush authority to attack Iran.

Of course it's not in so many words, but it's in the form of the Lieberman (need I say more?)/Kyl Amendment, a "sense of the Senate" resolution, sort of like the MoveOn outrage, which finds that:

(2) that it is a critical national interest of the United States to prevent the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran from turning Shi'a militia extremists in Iraq into a Hezbollah-like force that could serve its interests inside Iraq, including by overwhelming, subverting, or co-opting institutions of the legitimate Government of Iraq;


(5) that the United States should designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a foreign terrorist organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and place the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists, as established under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and initiated under Executive Order 13224; and

These sense of the Senate resolutions have no legal force, but it is a first step towards giving President 29% legal cover for expanding his insane war into Iran.

In case you're wondering, The Holy Anointed One Hillary Clinton voted for this travesty. So did Harry Reid. So, I'm sorry to say, did both of my Senators, Bob Menendez and Frank Lautenberg (and they will be hearing from me). Senator Barack Obama, who is looking more and more like the quality time he spent with Joe Lieberman included a surgical excision of his spine, skipped the vote.

So remind me again why any Democrat is better than any Republican.

(via Jane Hamsher and Jonathan Schwarz)