From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...
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New York Times columnist Frank Rich Sunday:
If we are really to keep America safe, it’s essential we remember exactly which American politicians empowered Iran, Al Qaeda and the Taliban from 2001 to 2008, and why. History will be repeated not only if we forget it, but also if we let it be rewritten by those whose ideological zealotry and boneheaded decisions have made America less safe to this day.
Tomorrow marks the seventh anniversary of the invasion of Iraq---aka "The 2,557 Day and Counting War." That's twice as long as our involvement in World War II.
Back in 2004 and 2005, when Al Franken was hosting his radio show on Air America, he would often go into his dead-on Dick Cheney impression and growl this quote from seven months before the bombs fell over Baghdad:
"Simply stated, there is no doubt that Saddam Hussein now has weapons of mass destruction. There is no doubt he is amassing them to use against our friends, against our allies, and against us."
And then he would let out a heavy sigh of frustration and say (paraphrasing), "Words matter, Mr. Vice President. When you say 'There is no doubt', that means something. 'No doubt' means no doubt. You lied to the American people." (Franken, it should be noted, originally and reluctantly supported the invasion---His words: "I believed Colin Powell"---until it became clear that the justification for it was bogus.)
As the war's architects and cheerleaders try to rehabilitate their images by crapping out error-riddled books sprinked with revisionist fairy dust (Karl Rove's is the latest---Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld's are due soon), let's remember what they and their media enablers really said before and after it all went down. Things like this:
"My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators."
---Cheney (3/16/03)
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"We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."
---Condoleezza Rice (9/8/02)
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"Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final proof---the smoking gun that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud."
---George W. Bush (10/7/02)
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My colleagues, every statement I make today is backed up by sources, solid sources. These are not assertions. What we're giving you are facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence."
---Colin Powell, United Nations Speech (2/5/03)
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On Sept. 7, 2002, [Judith Miller] and fellow New York Times reporter Michael Gordon reported that Iraq had "stepped up its quest for nuclear weapons and has embarked on a worldwide hunt for materials to make an atomic bomb." As proof, she cited unnamed "American intelligence experts" and unnamed "Bush administration officials." Subsequently, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, and Donald Rumsfeld all pointed to Miller’s story as justification for war. On April 22, 2003, she told PBS’s Newshour that WMD had already been found in Iraq: "Well, I think they found something more than a ’smoking gun.’"
---Think Progress (Miller now works for Fox News)
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"[T]he area in the south and the west and the north that coalition forces control is substantial. It happens not to be the area where weapons of mass destruction were dispersed. We know where they are. They're in the area around Tikrit and Baghdad and east, west, south and north somewhat."
---Donald Rumsfeld (3/30/03)
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"We found the weapons of mass destruction."
---Bush (5/29/03)
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Ted Koppel: [Y]ou’re not suggesting that the rebuilding of Iraq is going to be done for $1.7 billion?
Andrew Natsios [Agency for International Development]: Well, in terms of the American taxpayer's contribution, I do. This is it for the U.S.
---Nightline (4/23/03 Funny how the tea party crowd never uttered a peep as Bush funded his war with borrowed, off-the-books money that added a couple trillion dollars to the national debt.)
Words matter. "No doubt" means no doubt. "We know where they are" means we know where they are. "Facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence" means facts and conclusions based on solid intelligence. Write as many books as you want, guys. You'll never sweep your bullshit under the Persian rug.
As we eagerly anticipate the summer withdrawal of our amazing and resilient combat troops from Iraq seven and a half years after they went in, the con artists want you---and everyone---to forget why they were sent there in the first place.
All I can say is: fat chance.
More C&J downstairs...
Cheers and Jeers for Thursday, March 18, 2010
Note: New England Kossack Meetup ALERT!!! Saturday March 27th....12:30pm....Portsmouth Brewery in Portsmouth, New Hampshire....RSVP Michael at cuckolds [at] maine [dot] rr [dot] com by Wednesday, March 24th....Join us....here come some more dots....wheeee!!!....
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til Memorial Day: 74
Days `til The Junkman performs at the Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph, Vermont: 14
Percent of 22-35 year-old women surveyed who say they'd rather give up some personal time for more money than give up some money for more personal time: 54%
(Source: USA Today)
Average balance of an American 401(k) account in 1998: $62,000
Approximate average balance now: $45,000
(Source: Harper's Index)
Rank of Asheville, NC, Sarasota, FL and Prescott, AZ on the list of top retirement locations, according to Topretirements.com: #1, #2, #3
Rank of "up and comer" Portland, Maine, which made the list for the first time: #66
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Your Thursday Molly Ivins Moment:
By now we're starting to notice Bush's bait-and-switch. Make a deal with Ted Kennedy to improve education and then fail to put money into it. Promise $15 billion in new money to combat AIDS in Africa (wow!) but it turns out to be a cheap con, almost no new money. Bush comes to praise a job-training effort, then cuts the money. Gee, what could we possibly have against this guy? We go along with the war in Afghanistan and we still don’t have bin Laden.
---November, 2003
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Hey...I found Nemo!
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CHEERS to flip-flopping...the good kind. Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is absolutely correct that the healthcare behemoth winding its way through Congress via a process called "Demon Pass" is at most a couple notches above the status quo. So we appreciate the difficulty of his decision to change his mind and vote 'Yes' and also his eloquence in summing up the big picture:
"We have to look at what’s going on in this country. One of the things that’s bothered me is the attempt to delegitimize [Obama's] presidency. That hurts the nation, when that happens. He was elected. Even though I’ve had some serious differences of opinion with the administration, this is a defining moment for whether or not we’ll have any opportunity to move off of square one on the issue of health care."
And finally...finally...move on to tackling some other issues. Hopefully one or two where progressives actually win the day. But there I go again, getting all greedy. (Give those damn liberals a thimbleful of mojo and the next thing ya know they'll be demanding a shotglass! Where will it end???)
JEERS to the bad riddle of the day. Q: What's black and white and read all over? A: news accounts of a gaggle (flock?) of Roman Catholic nuns who are telling Bart Stupak and his anti-choice zealots to take their 'No' votes on healthcare reform and stick 'em where the sun don’t shine. [***cue laugh track***] Stupak responded, saying his brain can only be washed by Focus on the Family, not grannies with bad habits. That's a smart move right there, Congressman: take on an army of sexually deprived women armed with wooden rulers. Yeah...reeeeeeal smart.
CHEERS to calling "Olly Olly Auctionfree!" The Netroots Nation spring auction ended Tuesday night and was immediately deemed a big success after organizers raised over 5 thousand dollars. Linda and Beth send their thanks to everyone who donated items and everyone who bid on them. If anyone's wondering, we won the giant pile of credit default swaps, but unfortunately not the federal bailout that was sold separately. (We are...so...screwed.)
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[Formaldehyde + mold + mildew + propane = zombies! This will make sense momentarily]
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JEERS to cash for condemned clunkers. Please tell me the government isn't going to sell the 120,000 uninhabitable "death trailers" that sit as one of the stark reminders of the botched federal response to hurricane Katrina. Please tell me they're not going to do that. Egads, they are:
FEMA acknowledges the units have excessive levels of formaldehyde, a chemical that can cause nasal cancer and worsen respiratory problems, and might also have mold, mildew and propane gas leaks. [...] Critics worry the units could be resold many times, and unscrupulous sellers might remove the required warning label that says "not to be used for housing."
If the sale goes through, we'll be boarding up our windows and stocking up on shotgun shells. Formaldehyde + mold + mildew + propane = zombies! It's true---I read it on the internet.
CHEERS to "Uncle Jumbo." Happy Birthday to #22 and #24, Grover Cleveland, born March 18, 1837. According to Cormac O'Brien's book Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents, in the 1870s, Cleveland, as sheriff of Erie County, Pennsylvania, "personally threw the noose around the necks of two convicted criminals," making him the only American president who personally hanged someone. That is, if you don't count #43, who did a pretty good job hanging himself.
JEERS to buying your way to the top. Mitt Romney's new book, "No Apology" (subtitle: "...for my uncanny ability to put anyone to sleep just by walking into the room") sits atop the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list this week. But don’t for a second think that Americans are trampling over each other to get their hands on his tome the way ladies do during the annual bridal gown sale at Filene's Basement. If you look at his listing, you'll see a (+) sign. That means someone(s) bought a shitload of copies in bulk. In Romney's case, so many bulk orders were placed that he gets two (+) symbols. But despite his (or his publisher's) sticking his thumb on the scale to mask what probably would've been anemic sales, "No Apology" does make a great gift. Especially if someone you know has a table with one leg that's shorter than the rest.
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Five years ago in C&J: March 18, 2005
JEERS to being an Alaskan caribou. A rider to a budget bill approved 51-49 in the Senate paves the way (and you can bet there'll be plenty o' paving) to drilling in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge. Oh yeah...this has 'good idea' written all over it. [3/18/10 Update: And looky here at this line from the article: "To avoid a filibuster by Democrats, proponents of drilling attached it to the budget, which gets special consideration." Or, as the tea party crowd says when Democrats do it: they shoved it down our throats through an act of treason!!!]
CHEERS to universal bear care. This is sweet---to help ease kids' fear of hospitals, an Idaho medical center had them bring in their stuffed animals for a "checkup." Unfortunately, special counselors had to be brought in to help the children cope with their "bill."
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And just one more...
CHEERS to Chris Matthews. Yeah, he can be supremely annoying and clueless. He spits, he drools, he interrupts incessantly, he massacres metaphors, he's like the overeager uncle at holiday dinners who's sometimes entertaining but mostly just LOUD. But then, when you least expect it, he delivers a soliloquy so poignant and true that, by the time he finishes, you can hear a pin drop. This week he did just that:
"Let me finish tonight with evidence that things change in this country and in the progressive direction. Today, General David Petraeus said the time has come to consider a change to Don‘t Ask, Don‘t Tell in the US military. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has previously told the Senate Armed Services Committee that the Pentagon is already taking the first steps toward repealing the rule, allowing men and women to serve in the armed services without having to mask their sexual orientation. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Michael Mullen, has endorsed repeal of Don‘t Ask, Don‘t Tell, as has General Colin Powell, who could well be the most respected leader in the country.
I like the way Admiral Mullen puts it. He said the issue comes down to one of integrity. People shouldn‘t be asked to say, as a condition for serving their country, something about themselves they know is not true. That‘s no way to start your service, especially in standing up to our country‘s enemies. And so times change, as is so often the case, in the progressive direction. This question of whether a gay person can serve his or her country in harm‘s way has, to those who know the military life firsthand, never really been the issue.
People have served in the military, have been in combat, know that gay people have served with them, know that they chose to risk their lives, know they faced the same tests of courage that all fighting people must. ... That is the issue: to be recognized as just as valuable to our country as any other. It‘s powerful to watch how minds and hearts change on such a matter.
It could be that we‘re watching common sense come to bear, or the human experience of seeing that sexual orientation is no guide to guts. Or it could be that there is in this country today a growing empathy for people who are born different in one way, but who love our country just the same, and want to serve exactly as much as those gallant others we have recognized over the past two centuries as our greatest heroes, the best of our patriots.
Watch it here. And pass crazy Uncle Chris an extra drumstick. He done good.
Only two more days to enjoy winter, folks. Get out there and make the most of it. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial:
It seems like we're just in this world where every day Bill in Portland Maine makes some shit up.
---Atrios
3/17/10
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