They’ve already looked for the weapons and couldn’t find ‘em. They sent in more people and looked again. Now they want 600 million dollars to look one more time.
They just want to keep looking until it comes out the way they want it to!
They’re trying to divine the location of the weapons of mass destruction!
Racist Meme
“I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well,” Limbaugh said on Sunday NFL Countdown. “There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve. The defense carried this team,” he said.
[…]
Limbaugh on Wednesday reiterated that he doesn’t think McNabb is a bad player, just that he isn’t as good as some media members think he is. “This is such a mountain out of a molehill,” he said. “There’s no racism here, there’s no racist intent whatsoever.”
This is so typical of cowardly bigots. They act as if they are completely clueless that what they are saying is racist. “Who me? I’d never do that.”
Limbaugh was basically saying that the NFL is practicing affirmative action and giving this guy McNabb a job he doesn’t deserve because he’s black. This is because the media are politically correct and demand it.
Can there be anything more absurd than this? This is professional athletics, not some junior college in Northern California. The National Football League, for gawd’s sake. Is there no corner of society in which Rush can allow that African-Americans may be making it on their own merit?
This really gets to the essence of modern racist rhetoric. The belief has been subtly reframed from an overt belief that racial minorities are inferior and must be kept in their place to a subliminal meme that they are inferior so they must be getting an unfair advantage when they are treated equally with whites.
To say that this applies in professional sports, one of the most meritocratic institutions in our society (and one which nonetheless still has vestiges of racist barriers to full participation) is a perfect example of how the modern racist mind works.
A Traitor’s Best Friend
Via Atrios:
Robert Novak is completely immoral and intellectually bankrupt. I had heard him make a statement on CNN regarding the issue but never actually read his column about his relationship with convicted spy Robert Hanssen
His apparent confusion as to the integrity of the man whom he reluctantly revealed as a souce after he had pled guilty to spying and blowing the covers of dozens of CIA assets (resulting in many deaths) is downright astounding.
According to Novak, (whom it seems is every treasonous Republican’s favorite reporter) the fact that Hanssen had spied for more than 30 years, had collected more than a million dollars in “fees” from the KGB and had been personally responsible for many deaths and compromises of national security, was not enough to fully convince him
that he wasn’t acting out of patriotism when he leaked to Novak that Janet Reno was endangering spies in China.
Unanswerable questions are pondered. During the lengthy interim when he was not betraying his country, could Hanssen have felt some genuine concern about the security of U.S. assets in China if they fell into the hands of the attorney general? Could he have experienced a sudden change of heart after disclosing the identity of U.S. assets in Russia?
Or, was he merely using me to undermine Reno — and his boss, FBI Director Louis Freeh, as well? …
Robert Hanssen is an enigma and will remain so at least until he reveals himself. The speculation that he is purely the embodiment of evil tends to be undermined by the validity of his report about Ray Wickman. He really may have been living a double-life, one as a patriotic, religious American and the other as spy of the century. That sounds fanciful, but any other explanation fails.
No, there actually is another explanation. The explanation is that Robert Hanssen, traitor and scumbag, was a sexually repressed, greedy, mentally unbalanced right wing Republican who would sell out his fellows, his family and his country for money and ego gratification. Anyone who believes that this is not the embodiment of evil has no business being on the receiving end of ANY sensitive information.
It is monumentally insulting that Novak would even ponder the possibility that a man like Hanssen remained a good patriotic American when he accused Janet Reno of being a traitor. It’s simply unbelievable.
Establishment Washington needs to start taking a good hard look at Novak’s work over the last 40 years. It seems he has often been a willing tool of those who like to commit treason. Perhaps the “pattern” required to establish a journalist’s culpability under the law is more obvious than we think.
Nasty Boys
So, Limbaugh is under investigation for a serious narcotics addiction and Arnold is being accused of some seriously creepy sexual harrassment.
I’m not a big fan of tabloid journalism and I don’t have any idea if this stuff is credible. It’s awfully easy to make accusations.
But even it it’s true, I’m sure this won’t hurt them with their base —- hypocrites.
Ya think?
As the White House hunkered down, it got the first taste of criticism from within Bush’s own party. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) said that Bush “needs to get this behind him” by taking a more active role. “He has that main responsibility to see this through and see it through quickly, and that would include, if I was president, sitting down with my vice president and asking what he knows about it,” the outspoken Hagel said last night on CNBC’s “Capital Report.”
Just try to picture the scene in which Junior sits Cheney down and demands that he tell him what he knows about it.
I didn’t think so….
Neocon Hash
NY Times
An Extreme Plan for Iraq
By JEFF MADRICKIRAQ’S new finance minister, Kamel al-Gailani, announced a sweeping liberalization of his country’s economy at the annual meeting of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Dubai early last week. Amid the controversy over President Bush’s request for $87 billion to finance the American presence in Iraq, the new laws hardly attracted attention in the United States.
But by almost any mainstream economist’s standard, the plan, already approved by L. Paul Bremer III, the American in charge of the Coalition Provisional Authority, is extreme — in fact, stunning. It would immediately make Iraq’s economy one of the most open to trade and capital flows in the world, and put it among the lowest taxed in the world, rich or poor. Is this Middle Eastern nation, racked by war, ready for such severe experimentation? Moreover, the radical laws have been adopted without a democratic Iraqi government to discuss or approve them.
One would have thought that the failures of swift and sudden free market changes in Russia in the 1990’s would have made even extremist economists cautious. In Russia and other nations, spontaneously freeing markets from price controls, reducing taxes and suddenly privatizing business was supposed, almost overnight, to create a thriving economy.
In a recent book, “Income and Influence: Social Policy in Emerging Market Economies” (W. E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research; $14), two economists, Ethan B. Kapstein and Branko Milanovic, remind us how the assumptions behind such “shock therapy” were not borne out. To the contrary, the gross domestic product continued to fall for years in most of the “reformed” nations, and eventually unemployment rose rapidly. The failure to grow immediately after the transition became, in the words of the M.I.T. economist Olivier Blanchard, “the major theoretical challenge facing economists.”
And supply side economics, which argues that low taxes are the main ingredient in motivating people to save, invest and innovate, did not even work in the United States. The economist Arthur Laffer, a member of President Ronald Reagan’s Economic Policy Advisory Board, claimed that reduced taxes in the 1980’s would actually raise tax revenue. President Bush’s current chief economist, N. Gregory Mankiw, wrote in his widely read textbook that “subsequent history failed to confirm Laffer’s conjecture.”
But never mind such historical lessons. The Iraqi planners, apparently including the Bush administration, seem to assume they can simply wipe the slate clean.
Those poor bastards.
C’mon. We aren’t going to do this, are we?
Waddya think, Tom Friedman? Is this what you had in mind when you pounded the war drum so we could empower the moderates in the mid-east by setting such a fine example of political freedom and democratic capitalism? Did you realize that what we were really doing was buying Ahmed and his little friends a brand new country to play with?
What a good idea. It just get’s better and better every single day.
Slime And Defend
The White House encouraged Republicans to portray the former diplomat at the center of the case, Joseph C. Wilson IV, as a partisan Democrat with an agenda and the Democratic Party as scandalmongering. At the same time, the administration and the Republican leadership on Capitol Hill worked to ensure that no Republicans in Congress break ranks and call for an independent inquiry outside the direct control of the Justice Department.
“It’s slime and defend,” said one Republican aide on Capitol Hill, describing the White House’s effort to raise questions about Mr. Wilson’s motivations and its simultaneous effort to shore up support in the Republican ranks.
“So far so good,” the aide said. “There’s nervousness on the part of the party leadership, but no defections in the sense of calling for an independent counsel.”
[…]
With initial polling suggesting that voters are concerned about the accusations and the Democratic presidential candidates trying to make the matter an issue, the White House and its allies worked to shape public perceptions. In particular, they raised questions about the motivations of Mr. Wilson.
In a memorandum distributed Wednesday to Republicans on Capitol Hill, the Republican National Committee suggested that the party strike back at Democrats.
“Lacking a positive issue agenda to offer the American people, the Democratic Party now returns to what they have long seen as their best opportunity to defeat President Bush and Republicans — scandalmongering,” the memo said.
House Republicans distributed white paper bags with the label “Leak hyperventilation bag,” saying they might come in handy for Democrats who were having trouble catching their breath over the subject.
Well, you can’t exactly say they are being devious or Machiavellian, can you? After all, they are openly telling the NY Times about their stonewall and smear strategy and they don’t seem to feel the slightest need to pay lip service to the old fashioned concepts of adhering to the rule of law or statesmanlike conduct. They used to at least pretend to give a damn about having an image of sobriety and responsibility. This stuff is something you’d expect from a College Republican Freshman strategy seminar.
It is actually quite a dizzying admission of the corruption and impending mass mental breakdown of the Republican Party.
This line of defense is so lame that it tells me that Rove must be involved in the scandal and has completely lost his touch because of it. And, it points out that Republicans don’t know how to play defense (which is not surprising since they haven’t had to in many years.)
They can’t put this genie back in the bottle by pretending that the Democrats have morphed into Newt Gingrich and they are now the beleagered and victimized Clinton administration. (What are these people smoking?) And Joe Wilson could be Teddy Kennedy’s long lost twin and it wouldn’t make it any more ethical or legal to blow his wife’s CIA cover. It’s absurd on it’s face.
But it’s also completely misreading what’s driving the story. Don’t they get that the media itself is one of the stars of this little narrative and therefore they have an unusually clear view of the facts in this case? Obviously, they are all dying to know not just who leaked, but who got leaked to.
This is one time the media starlets are not going to be baby birds and sit in their nests waiting for the masticated RNC faxfacts to be dropped into their willing little beaks. In their minds this one is about something very, very important.
It’s about them.
Fasten Your Seatbelts, Folks
Here we go….
Via (future radio star) Atrios:
“They may try and recover deleted email files for certain dates…”
“The White house asked for and got permission earlier this week to wait a day before issuing a directive to preserve all documents and logs which led one seasoned federal prosecutor to wonder why they wanted to wait a day, and who at the justice department told them they could do that, and why?”
Nina Totenberg, on NPR this evening.
One would have thought that the Commander in Chief would have personally ordered his staff to preserve all e-mails and documents relating to a possible felony and breach of national security during wartime on the morning after the leak was revealed in Robert Novak’s column.
That’s what a leader does. He doesn’t depend upon legal technicalities and partisan firestorms to make him do the right thing. He takes the bull by the horns and demands that anyone under his watch who commits such an act, or knows who committed such an act, comes forward or he’ll know the reason why. He would make it crystal clear that there will be zero tolerance for political games with national security. He would immediately put in place safeguards to ensure that it never happens again. He would fire the perpetrator and send all evidence to the proper authorities.
Of course, strutting around in a fighter pilot costume is good, too.
Lights! Camera! Action!
Via The Road To Surfdom, I find that Newsmax has blown the lid off the Plame affair.
This is all a plot to get Joe and Val a movie deal!
I see Richard Gere as the hot headed but ethical Joe Wilson and Julia Roberts as the mysterious but plucky Valerie Plame. With Danny DeVito as Dick Cheney and Adam Sandler as the President.
And introducing Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Governor of California.
jayzuz…
Supporters of the administration simply cannot wrap their arms around the idea that there is no reasonable excuse for what has clearly happened here.
How hard is it for someone to simply say, “I don’t know all the facts, but if these allegations are true, the person who did it should be fired and prosecuted.” It’s really that simple.
One thing people have to remember about all this is that the issue didn’t arise from little Democratic birds whipering in anybody’s ears. It sprang from a request for an FBI investigation from the CIA. Certainly, the Democrats are pushing the issue — that’s the nature of politics — but this is not the usual partisan whitehouse – travel – office – firing – haircut – on – the – tarmac – crapola.
If people really care about this administration, much less the country, they should be encouraging the President to cut loose whoever the assholes are who leaked the name. They are either out of control partisans or they are much too stupid to have access to classified information. In either case, they should go.
Democratic talking point of the day:
If President Bush refuses to personally and forcefully pursue a national security risk on his own staff, how can we trust him to keep this country safe?
I Am Ashamed Of My Party And My State
By 56 percent to 42 percent, likely voters support ousting the Democratic incumbent, a sign that Davis has lost ground in the closing phase of his battle for political survival. Support for Davis has slipped among key parts of his political base — Democrats, women, moderates and liberals among them — since the last Times Poll in early September found 50 percent for the recall and 47 percent against it.
Summing up the view of many voters was poll respondent Gladys Taub, a Democrat exasperated by the state’s giant budget shortfalls
Gov. Davis has been doing a terrible job, and I just want to get rid of him,” the 62-year-old paralegal, who plans to vote for Schwarzenegger, said in a follow-up interview. “Look at the state our state is in. If I ran my home that way, spending a whole lot more money than I was taking in, I’d wind up bankrupt. I’d wind up on the streets.”
[…]
Overall, the poll found the central theme of Schwarzenegger’s candidacy has struck a chord with likely voters: Rather than finding the actor frightening, they see him as the candidate most apt to curb the influence of special interests in Sacramento.
“I look at him as maybe like a Kennedy, where he really wants to do something good, because he’s not in it for the money,” said Jim Rego, 58, a Castro Valley independent who owns a gas station near Oakland.
Rego faults Davis for the state budget mess and sees Schwarzenegger as “a guy who can run a business, balance the books.” He typically votes for Democrats; Schwarzenegger will be the first exception since Rego went for Ross Perot in the 1992 presidential race.
[…]
Many likely voters do harbor reservations about the former champion bodybuilder. Only 8 percent think Schwarzenegger has the best experience for the job of governor, well behind Davis, McClintock and Bustamante. Also, only 8 percent believe Schwarzenegger seemed more knowledgeable than his opponents in last week’s televised debate in Sacramento.
But that appeared to matter less than other qualities. A broad swath of voters see in Schwarzenegger an aptitude they have found lacking in Davis since California was struck by the energy crisis of 2001: leadership skills.
[…]
For Davis, a key challenge in the final days of the race is to bolster support among Democrats. Despite his aggressive efforts to woo union members, Hispanics and other traditional blocs of the party, the poll found 27 percent of Democrats support the recall, up from 19 percent in the last poll.
Among liberal Democrats, support for the recall grew from 1-in-10 to 2-in-10. Among moderate Democrats, support for the recall rose from 30 percent to 35 percent. Union members, a key to Davis’ success in previous elections, also tilted further in favor the recall, 54 percent-43 percent.
[…]
For Bustamante, the poll results are bleak. Only 41 percent have a favorable impression of him, while 58 percent view Schwarzenegger favorably, and 62 percent view McClintock in a positive light.
Bustamante’s millions of dollars in campaign donations from casino-owning Indian tribes — the subject of an unfavorable court ruling and a host of Schwarzenegger ads — appear to have damaged his public image. More than four in 10 voters say those contributions make them less likely to vote for Bustamante.
Schwarzenegger has relentlessly barraged this state over the last month with ads, the media has been following him around like they’re practicing to be Leni Reifenstahl, and he has said nothing substantive ever. His debate performance proves that the patented “stupid is as stupid does” smartass fratboy Bush approach is, once again, a winner with the public.
He is winning because he seems to be filling the role of “leader,” a complete misaprehension because movie stars are pampered little princes who are kept away from any of the ugly necessities of leadership on a movie set. They are leaders only to the extent that they usually lead everyone around them to have a nervous breakdown, and Arnold is reputed to be as difficult as any in that respect. I am unaware of any “leadership” he has shown in the various failed investments he tries to pass off as business experience. His restaurant, Schatzi, sucks.
He is a “leader” because he plays a leading man in the movies, period.
Now please give me the lecture again about how off-base I am to argue that the Democrats must find a way to compete in the brand obsessed media environment. And don’t forget to harrangue me about the great hoardes of Democrats who have been holding back their votes because the candidates haven’t been liberal enough.
Read those numbers above. Democrats in the most Democratic state in the union are saying that they will vote in large numbers for a vapid GOP Hollywood celebrity asshole — one who will undoubtedly be taking his marching orders from Karl Rove because he is incapable of doing the job on his own — rather than keep the Democrat they voted for less than a year ago or the perfectly acceptable Democratic Lieutenant Governor they voted in the same election to be the person best to replace him.
We are our own worst enemy. If I could stomach their policies, I’d be tempted to become a Republican myself. At least they vote their own self interest.