apple juice

The Plain Truth

It’s hard to imagine how the commission investigating the 2001 terrorist attacks could have put it more clearly yesterday: there was never any evidence of a link between Iraq and Al Qaeda, between Saddam Hussein and Sept. 11.

On Monday, Mr. Cheney said Mr. Hussein “had long-established ties with Al Qaeda.” Mr. Bush later backed up Mr. Cheney, claiming that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a terrorist who may be operating in Baghdad, is “the best evidence” of a Qaeda link. This was particularly astonishing because the director of central intelligence, George Tenet, told the Senate earlier this year that Mr. Zarqawi did not work with the Hussein regime.

Read the whole article. I’m just dumbfounded that Bush and Cheney continue to run around and lie to everyone. Well, I guess I know why they are doing it. People are letting the wool be pulled over their eyes.

• Saddam did not have stockpiles of weapons
• Al Qaeda and Saddam were not linked
• None of the hijackers were Iraqi

Read the article. The Plain Truth

Excellent editorial at the Washington Post today (you’ll have to log in): Legalizing Torture

There is no justification, legal or moral, for the judgments made by Mr. Bush’s political appointees at the Justice and Defense departments. Theirs is the logic of criminal regimes, of dictatorships around the world that sanction torture on grounds of “national security.”

Happy hour with George and Dick

The president did not mention, but we will remind everyone, that the White House historically has made the commission’s work more difficult. Indeed, if it was up to the White House, the panel would not even exist. The White House opposed the creation of the 9/11 commission in the first place, and tried to cut its funding after it was created. It has been slow to produce documents from the Bush and Clinton White Houses. Bush tried in vain to speak only to the two co-commissioners, not the entire commission, and for only one hour. Condoleezza Rice initially refused to appear in public and under oath before the panel, and did so only after the White House struck a deal that the panel could not call any other White House officials to do the same. These are the people who have “nothing to hide.”

There is an excessively linked version of the above paragraph at the salon website.

It just kills me when I hear quotes about Bush and Cheney’s testimony like,

“there were no tense moments”

“there were moments of laughter”

“I wish the American people could have seen it.”

I would like to know exactly what the hell could be worth laughing about when you’re discussing the events that led to the deaths of 3,000 people?

To be fair, those came from Former Govenor of Illinois, John Thompson. And he seems to be a bit of a looney. Most of the quotes from commision seem to indicate that it was a good session. But why did they confiscate all the notebooks after the session, why could there not be a stenographer? Why no recordings or TV cameras. Why Bush and Cheney together?

In yet another excellent (and heavily link referenced) salon.com article, author Joe Conason examines some recent comments by Karen Hughes. Entitled: Karen Hughes’ high-octane gall, I highly suggest you read it. (blah blah premium ad view)

The gripping but brief account of Bush’s training and service ends vaguely, with this sentence: “I continued flying with my unit for the next several years.” That’s false; he quit flying after less than two years. He and his ghostwriter don’t mention that he quit flying no later than August 1972, after he missed a flight physical and was suspended. His disappearance into Alabama to work on a Republican Senate race, when he was supposed to be pulling duty, is also left out.

On that chapter’s concluding page, Bush proclaims: “I am proud of my service. Yet I know it was nothing comparable to what our soldiers and pilots were doing in battle in Vietnam.” Having written those words, Hughes should remember them whenever she feels the urge to demean Kerry, who still carries a piece of shrapnel in his left buttock. And should she open her mouth about this subject again, someone should ask her what the president did with his medals.

I will send $50 to any reporter that has this exchange with a “high-ranking” member of the Bush administration or Bush campaign:

High-Ranking Person: And John Kerry threw his medals away! The Traitor! He is unfit to be President!

Soon-to-be-$50-richer reporter: And what did President Bush do with his medals from his service in Vietnam?

Send me your article from the major news organization that employs you, and I will paypal you $50

Let me once again suggest my daily reads for news:

• salon.com
• Slate.com

Those two are all you need.

Aside from the title: GOP “playa hatas” this is another excellent article from Salon.com (and the image of Rush with Andre 3000 is awesome)

“Hip-hop transcends race in America,” Chavis adds. “That’s the greatest fear of the right wing: a generation who would dare to transcend racial division and embrace a vision of a new America that is more inclusive.”