The Army is now admitting that they covered up how Pat Tillman died.

A new Pentagon report found that nine officers, including a three-star general, mishandled the investigation into the "friendly fire" death in Afghanistan of Pat Tillman, the pro-football player turned Army Ranger, a senior defense official said Friday night.

The report will not mete out specific punishments to the officers, who include four generals in all. But the Army will begin its own review of what action should be taken.

"We are going to move quickly," an Army official said. "We found out mistakes were made. We've already made fixes. We are going to make more."

The family of Pat Tillman has to finally feel vindicated and more than a little used by the 1600 Crew in their cynical exploitation of the tragic death of their son and brother to further the propaganda efforts of the war effort. I hope they can have some small solice now in knowing that the Army finally owned up to lying.

Those fuckers stand there and say it's all about "Duty, Honor, Country". Where were those traits when they were talking to the Tillman's after his death?

Abu Gonzales we hardly knew ye. No really... we didn't. I guess fixing jury duty for the boss pays off when you're a mediocre lawyer who hitches his wagon to the right star.

Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales met with senior aides on Nov. 27 to review a plan to fire a group of U.S. attorneys, according to documents released last night, a disclosure that contradicts Gonzales's previous statement that he was not involved in "any discussions" about the dismissals.

Justice Department officials also announced last night that the department's inspector general and its Office of Professional Responsibility have launched a joint investigation into the firings, including an examination of whether any of the removals were improper and whether any Justice officials misled Congress about them.

Of course, I don't think any claims of "Executive Privilege" could survive an impeachment inquiry, do you?

Interesting column by John Dean. Most telling sentence right at the end about the Harriet Miers.

In short, all those who have wanted to see Karl Rove in jail may get their wish, for he will not cave in, either -- and may well be prosecuted for contempt, as Gorsuch was not. Bush's greatest problem here, however, is Harriett Miers. It is dubious he can exert any privilege over a former White House Counsel; I doubt she is ready to go to prison for him; and all who know her say if she is under oath, she will not lie. That could be a problem.

Rove took four trips to the Plame Grand Jury before he got his story straight, which makes me think that he's not inclined to tell the truth under oath if he thinks he's not going to get caught out. If, as Dean asserts, Miers won't lie, Rove has nowhere to hide but under the conjured shield of "Executive Privilege". And if that fails, he might be sharing living quarters with Duke Cunningham. Except perjury does not seem to be a particularly heinous crime if you are a republican in the adminstration.

I wonder if the House or Senate is planning to subpoena the email records from the RNC server? Surely they are not protected by any privilege.

Well, well. Beloved Leader's nephew is off to become an Intel Weenie in the Navy. Good for him. At least there is one member of the family willing to put on the uniform during the Global War on Terra™.

He's going to be a "direct appointment", apparently in the Naval Reserve, which means that like his uncle he won't have a fucking clue about things like how an Officer behaves. He's off to "Knife and Fork" school for a few weeks (it used to be in Pensacola, Fl) of rudimentary education on how to keep his gig-line straight and his brass shined. He's not going to go through a commissioning program like NROTC, or the Academy or OCS/AOCS. He just walks in one day a civilian, and walks out as an Ensign, USNR for his weekend a month and two weeks a year. Gee, how Bushian.

If I sound a bit "down" on direct appointment officers, well I am. I had one in my unit, and he was not worth much. He kept thinking he actually knew shit (because someone told him how special he was to get a commission that way), and would really annoy my XO with all his "suggestions". We wrote it off to Ensign-itis, but later found that he was just as bad when he got promoted. We were glad to be rid of him, and felt sorry for his "gaining command"; all of them.

I had heard once upon a time that G.P. Bush had political ambitions, so I guess this is his way of getting that ticket punched. In future years he can always claim to have served in the Navy during the Iraq conflict. Kinda like his uncle kept the North Vietnamese Air Force away from Houston, huh? No reported bombings of downtown Houston by NVAF MIG's while Preznit Incompetant was manning the air defenses, were there?

The trick will be to see whether or not George P. Bush can top his uncle and and make it past LT(jg) (1st Lt), which was the highest rank that Beloved Leader could achieve at a time when you only had to have a minimal pulse if you were an rated aviator to make Captain.

I hear desertion, no to mention drug use runs in the family though ...

The Congressional Democrats have finally exhibited a little bit of spine by standing up to Preznit Fuckup A. Wetdream. Woo-fucking-hoo.

Now, let's see them do it without passing a spending bill that will bury our country further into debt. If they are so all-fired up to spend money, let's see them spend it directly on the troops, and helping them readjust to the world, once they get home.

If you did not watch Richard Engle's excellent Diary, by all means do so. He interviewed several GI's who basically spouted the all-Rove line about "You can't support us but not the mission here". Believe that the republicans will try to turn that logic into a major hammer to crush the Democrats with on matters of national security that anyone will listen to them on (helloooo, New York Times; calling the New York Times, official house [print] organ of the 1600 Crew).

The resolution is a great first step, but it's not time to conflate appropriating money for courthouses and shrimp-sexing research with getting our troops home. The republicans have been politically successful in part, because they could deliver unity at key moments based on what small principles they believed in (mostly worship of St. Ronnie of the Tax Cut); their overall strategy of corruption, greed and naked lust for power for the sake of power undid them.

But it's foolish to overlook the power of doing the right thing, for the sake of doing the right thing. Democrats need to understand the rewards for that will be greater longer than just delivering a courthouse or highway project in the next two years. There's a country to be saved, and it's not located between Iran and Syria.

Yes, the Orwellization continues. Four Years ago today Preznit Tortillas K. Bueno! invited himself into our homes to declare with his customary smirk that he had ordered the invasion of Iraq to begin.

As we swam in a sea of yellow magnetic ribbons, had discourse stifled and were outright lied to by the institutions of government and the fourth estate we expected at least an ounce of honesty from we did not know the terrible path that the half-assed incompetant bastards had set us on. Well, we sure never expected it to be as bad as it's gotten.

Interestingly, as I sat down to write this, I have tried to find quotes from some of the right-wing war-floggers, like the infamous Rich Lowry "We're Winning!" cover on the National Review. One of the biggest loudest low-lifes on the intertubes, Andrew Sullivan no longer has any linkage to any of his work from 2003 that work. I'm sure he'll blame that on his move from being an independant, August-off blogger to his associations with Time and now the Atlantic. I wanted to find a couple of his better quotes ascribing the caution and the diplomacy preferred by most of the sane progressive bloggers to treasonous and seditious behavior, because back then The Duchess of Dupont was real big on that kind of rhetoric.

If I knew how to make my blog pages be white-on-black for the day, I'd do it in honor of the fallen, and the men and women who have given everything only to return to places like Walter Reed and be used for photo-ops by Chickenhawk politicians who passed through and then left them to their moldy, rat-infested rooms.

The republicans, so fast to claim the mantra of the party of "National Security" claim it because they are willing to give big bucks to defense contractors for "outsourcing" and all kinds of whiz-bango hi-tech battlefield crap that never comes in at the prices bid. They are not the party of supporting the VA or the families of enlisted men and women who are left to work other jobs while stateside to support their families or perhaps get food-stamps or other public assistance to make ends meet.

During the early days of the war, while the 1600 Crew was telling us all how evil Saddam was, and that we had 'fight them over there ..blah blah blah" they were taking money away from the VA to pay their rich benefactors off in tax cuts. Now that butchers bill is coming due, and we have senior Pentagon officials telling us that paying for VA care "takes money away from National Defense". Are we getting the picture now, four years later? In what way do republicans give a shit about troops?

The "surge" is not going to end at whatever mythical number Preznit Drunk on Duty lied about a few months ago... his vague number then included no support troops; and I suspect that both escalation in numbers and deaths will continue to occur until he's removed from office via either impeachment (not likely) or the next election.

Today is really a day to remember the men and women whose lives ended for the lies of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and their NeoCon cabal. This is also the day to remember the families of those men and women and the men and women who have come back and need our help as a nation to become whole again after their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan.

They gave us their all, and now we as a country owe them the same, no excuses. If we can afford one of Beloved Leaders mythical tax cuts, we can afford the all too real cost of giving them the care they don't just need, but deserve.

And oh, by the way ... is it just me or do I see far, far fewer of those magnetic yellow ribbons these days?

Please, for the love of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, go and visit my good friend The Talking Dog. He writes one of the bestest blogs on the intertubes and should be a regular read for everyone.

If only for his awesome interviews with some of the folks who are involved in shaping the headlines of today.

Now, Fetch!!

It does seem that our buddy Abu has a tough time telling the same story twice...I caught this in the CNN article, but forgot to bring it up...

After high school, Gonzales joined the Air Force and was stationed at Fort Yukon, Alaska, where the Texas native passed the time playing midnight softball and enjoying the Northern Lights.

There, he met two Air Force Academy graduates who stoked his interest in the lofty military school. In 1975, Gonzales began attending classes, but he struggled with classes like physics and engineering. (Gonzales preferred English, history and social studies.)

After learning his eyesight would never pass pilot muster, Gonzales decided to enroll at Rice, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1979 before going to Harvard Law School. He graduated from Harvard in 1982, the same year his father died.

The academic requirements could not have been all that tough, in the 70's when they were screaming for pilot candidates in all the branches of the service, hell, I got in. And I was no academic superstar.

More to the point, Preznit Tortillas K. Bueno! somehow got into Air Force pilot training ... oh, never mind we know how that turned out...

Five-deferments Dick, who had more important priorities during Vietnam inferred the other day that more men and women need to go to Iraq. Because the terrorist bugbear will foller us'ns home if'n we don't clap loud enuff...

Our strategy in Iraq is clear, our tactics will remain flexible, and we'll keep at the work until we finish the job.
...
Ladies and gentlemen, one of the basic truths of the world we live in today is that George W. Bush is a man of his word. (Applause.) The policies of the United States reflect our ideals and the commitments we've made as a nation. And we will be consistent. We will not abandon our belief in democracy. We will not abandon our opposition to terrorism. And we will not abandon our commitment to the security of our friends and allies. Israel can count on the United States of America. (Applause.)

Yeah, so he's in contention with John Mitchell to be Worst Attorney General in well, a long, long time. As they say in the infomercials; "But wait, there's more!".

President Bush has placed a lot of faith in Alberto Gonzales over the last 12 years.

The embattled attorney general's resume glistens with appointments and nominations made by the 43rd president: Texas gubernatorial counsel, Texas secretary of state, Texas Supreme Court justice, White House counsel, attorney general.

...received the Hispanic Salute Award in 1989 from the Houston Metro Ford Dealers for his work in the field of education.

Oh, and let's not forget that Abu the Ghraib has never been a prosecutor, nor held any position as an officer of the court that would qualify him to understand the complexities and subtleties of being an actual prosecutor. His appointments to courts were, as noted, political and not based on any particular judicial philosophy or merit, other than being a full-time ass-kisser.

So yeah...

Solidifying his conservative credentials shortly after joining the White House team in 2001, Gonzales took a shot at affirmative action while conceding it may have gotten him where he is today.

"I know that I've been helped because of my ethnicity," Gonzales told the Los Angeles Times. However, he added, "Hispanics should expect nothing more than an equal opportunity. For us to now say that we should be given an opportunity because of our ethnicity, irrespective of our competence, means that we'll be discriminating against someone else who doesn't happen to be Hispanic."

It's amazing how tone-deaf the 1600 Crew can be. Well, maybe not so much. Beloved Leader, who is finally a "world traveler" (having been outside the US like twice in his life as an adult before his appointment to his current day job by Antonin Scalia and Sandra Day O'Connor) is off to South and Central America, where the beef is GREAT!

The president, for his part, has made a point of appearing focused on the goals of his six-day "social justice" tour, which will end Wednesday.

About 100 young children were stranded at schools and with baby sitters after U.S. authorities arrested hundreds of illegal immigrants in a raid on a factory which held $91 million (€69.3 million) in U.S. military contracts.
...
"We are particularly concerned about the Guatemalan community and the risk that they may be fearful about disclosing the existence or whereabouts of their children given their history with government agencies," Patrick wrote in a letter asking U.S. Representative William Delahunt to ensure U.S. authorities allow social workers access to the detainees.

"We are not aware of anyone who had any children that weren't being cared for," Raimondi said.

Unraveling, unraveling.

Social Justice tour, indeed. I wonder if their "Social Justice Tour '07" t-shirts were made in a Central American sweatshop for them.

To quote me ol' matey Skippy the Bush Kangaroo... Yes! We Coined That Term!

I hate to be blowing my own Horn O'Prescience, because I am sure that there are other bloggers far more worthy than moi who pointed this out back well, several years ago...but Abu the Greasy is no friend of America. Or at least non-republican, non-Bunnypants-lovin' America.

Mr. Bush said he was confident that Mr. Gonzales would be "a steward of civil rights" as head of the Justice Department. He praised Mr. Ashcroft as "a superb public servant" and said Mr. Gonzales, whom he called a personal friend, would be a worthy successor.

President George W. Bush has acknowledged "FBI shortfallings" connected with the disclosure that the bureau improperly used the USA Patriot Act to obtain thousands of business, financial and other records in the United States.
...
The improper use of provisions under the USA Patriot Act has troubled even Republicans in Washington.

"This is, regrettably, part of an ongoing process where the federal authorities are not really sensitive to privacy and go far beyond what we have authorized," said Senator Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Oh, silly me. I got off the topic of Abu the Ghraib. I guess that the fact that Preznits automatically get deference in their choices for high office, even poor choices of inexperienced "yes men" resonates not at all with the Senate. That Abu has lied and lied again while sitting as a witness resonates with no one in the Senate. Spector let him testify not under oath probably because he knew he would be lying, and accepted it with all the gravitas of his magisterialness as Chairman of the Judiciary Committee after being told the "check was in the mail, and no, I won't cum in your mouth Senator".

Yeah, right.

The unraveling is beginning. Not because the republicans have gotten stupider, but because they have lost two things (1) the power to totally spin the message (although they do try, hard) and (2) the power to control subpoenas. The Democrats haven't necessecarily gotten smarter either (look at how they're dealing, or not dealing with Iraq), they have just managed to snag some airtime in front of cameras and in committee chairs.

So let the Games Continue!!! (and pass the popcorn)

Well, this little item has to make you wonder...

Halliburton Co., the energy services giant and controversial defense contractor, said Sunday it is opening a new corporate headquarters in Dubai in the Middle East.
...
One Washington corporate lobbyist said: "I think it ensures that there will be some interesting oversight hearings," since Democrats have been unhappy with Halliburton's no-bid contracts and what they believe is its poor performance.

The lobbyist, who requested anonymity so he would not jeopardize relationships with his clients, said the move raises several questions, among them how much did Halliburton receive in incentives to move to Dubai and what does it do to the company's tax structure.

"If there's a huge tax shift, then it's taking money from U.S. taxpayers while they're taking no-bid contracts," the lobbyist said.

Another reason VP Dick has earned his stipend... making sure that CheneyBurton screwed everyone to max advantage and then takes the proverbial powder. I wonder how many company records were moved to Dubai as "National Security" documents on the C-17 Darth Cheney rode around the Gulf in?

Just, you know, askin'....

Been away. Miss me? Sorry for the long absence (if you noticed). I have been working some insane hours, on a second shift. Doesn't leave much energy for blogging. But I'll do better.

How 'bout that Scooter? Bwahahahahahahahahahaha

Anyone want to believe that these two mean a word they say?

The nation's top two law enforcement officials acknowledged Friday the
FBI broke the law to secretly pry out personal information about Americans. They apologized and vowed to prevent further illegal intrusions.
...
Rep. Pete Hoekstra, top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said the audit shows "a major failure by Justice to uphold the law."

"If the Justice Department is going to enforce the law, it must follow it as well," said Hoekstra, of Michigan.

The more shit like this that comes out, the more anyone not in a coma (or in the brain-dead 28% of Bush supporters or is that redundant?) will realize that the republicans were not working for a paycheck that anyone could see (see: Bob Ney, "Duke" Cunningham), but one that would pay off in later years. Except Cunningham was as big an idiot of a congresscriminal as he was a Naval Officer ... he was (obviously) never much good at either. Hell of an aviator though.

Sometimes it just writes itself. No, really.

Newt Gingrich, the darling of the conservative right and architect of the Republicans' 1990s "contract with America", has spoken in depth about the extra-marital affair he conducted with a congressional assistant and confirmed that the relationship was ongoing at the time he forced the impeachment of President Bill Clinton over the Monica Lewinsky affair.

"There were times I was praying and I felt I was doing things that were wrong but I was still doing them. I look back on periods of weakness that I was not proud of," Mr Gingrich told the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family.

The hypocrisy of these people knows no bounds. Perhaps a Giuliani-Gingrich ticket "GG", that means something somewhere, I think.

Yes, as a charter member of the dirty, smelly foul-mouthed hippie brigade some things just make me grin from ear to ear.

Democrats controlling the U.S. Congress are confronting President Bush on a broad range of issues regarding his handling of the war in Iraq, and the larger war on terrorism, as well as domestic issues. Congressional committees have launched investigations on numerous topics, including U.S. efforts to train Iraqi military forces, waste by military contractors, and the treatment of terrorist suspects.

I wonder how many of them will be (a) finding Jeebus (2) headed into rehab or (3) both to avoid the inevitable Foleying of their careers.

And seriously, didn't any of these fuckers (some Democrats included) read any of the shitty legislation passed (and then ignored) but Preznit Too Stupid to Swallow?

I have been seething with anger over the whole mess at Walter Reed; it's a total national disgrace. Anyone who has a "Bush-Cheney" bumper sticker and a yellow ribbon magnet on their car ought to be so ashamed of themselves that they ought to not come out of their houses until, oh, 2025 or so.

It hardly gets better when the Undersecretary for Defense Lunacy and Bean-Counting, some kind of a doctor (PhD economist apparently) makes this statement:

Congress, pressured by veterans groups, has in recent years boosted military pensions, health insurance and benefits for widows of retirees. Internal Pentagon documents forecast that the lawmakers' generosity since 1999 will force the federal government to find about $100 billion over the next six years to cover the new benefits.

"The amounts have gotten to the point where they are hurtful. They are taking away from the nation's ability to defend itself," says David Chu, the Pentagon's undersecretary for personnel and readiness. (my emphasis)

1. Puke it makes me.
   
2. O! My My! Who's on First?
   
3. Shades of Watergate...sort of....
   
4. Another Naval Bush
   
5. So, it begins ...
   
6. A Dark Day
   
7. A shameless plug...
   
8. One more Gonzo thing...
   
9. Fuck you, Dick Cheney
   
10. More Abu...