Politics: J'accuse!

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Secret_Agent_Man
Why is this worth posting? Who gives a FUCK?

S_A_M

does it maybe make the point that the ONLY purpose of the commission is grandstanding for the cameras?

[Beauty]

Originally posted by sgtclub
Drudge is reporting that 2 DEM members of the committee walked out during the Bush/Cheney testimony "to attend to prior commitments."

Wonkette points out that when Bush said that he "answered every question," he didn't set the bar very high,*but he did manage to do better than he did at the last press conference.


* "The soft bigotry of low expectations."

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Beauty
Wonkette points out that when Bush said that he "answered every question," he didn't set the bar very high,*but he did manage to do better than he did at the last press conference.


* "The soft bigotry of low expectations."

I don't remember us doing the press conference. I'm off to see the pistons advance to 2nd round, but can we pretty please do the unanswered question Friday? And where is Atticus- I so bitch google slapped his ass today and he doesn't even show.

[Beauty]

Originally posted by bilmore
After the runup of how critical this testimony was, and how Bush was going to face a tough and damaging grilling, it's almost comical that Kerrey, of all people, ducks out mid-way so he can meet the Canadian prez instead.

I don't think anyone thought Bush was going face a tough and damaging grilling.

And it was Hamilton who was meeting the Canadian PM. Kerrey was meeting with Pete Domenici, which -- I'll grant you -- is no less random.

[bilmore]

Originally posted by Beauty
Kerrey was meeting with Pete Domenici, which -- I'll grant you -- is no less random.

The pizza guy? Well, it's understandable, then, I guess.

[Beauty]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
does it maybe make the point that the ONLY purpose of the commission is grandstanding for the cameras?

Odd that you would assume that Bush said absolutely nothing of substance. There's that soft bigotry again.

[Beauty]

Originally posted by bilmore
The pizza guy? Well, it's understandable, then, I guess.

I was meaning the Republican senator from New Mexico. Is that his nickname?

[Not Me]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
can we pretty please do the unanswered question Friday?

Ty isn't the moderator any more. I am not the moderator, either, but I am the Queen of the PB and have the authority to so I will grant you your request.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by dtb
Who's Jessica Fletcher?

"Murder She Wrote."* The most blood-soaked dowager in primetime history. Her killing spree went on for a decade, yet she always managed to pin it on others in the third reel.

*I cannot vouch for the punctuation here.

[Not Me]

Latest documents released by the DOJ showing why Gorelick should be booted off the 9/11 Commission:

http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/testimony/su...rymaterial.pdf

[Bad_Rich_Chic]

Originally posted by The Larry Davis Experience
Clearly I favor the FDR approach. I have a problem with our armed forces being sent to do these things without the American people knowing this. That's why we used to require congress to declare war before we did stuff like this. Your view seems kind of paternalistic (don't worry, children, we're doing this for good reasons that don't concern you).

Agreed that the argument for the FDR approach is pretty compelling, but I don't think my view is so much paternalistic as it acknowledges that part of warfare is counterintelligence and disinformation (particularly so when your enemy's only real weapon is psychological pressure and their only real defense evasion), and that affects what is said in the domestic press (i.e.: explaining your strategy to the public involves explaining your strategy to your enemy, which is sometimes a really bad idea - something Rummy was pretty nonpaternalistically honest about right at the very start).

Why? It hasn't stopped folks from claiming that the Iraq invasion worked to pressure Libya.

Well, Libya had a combination of WMD/international sanctions that brought some pressure to bear by analogy (with Iraq but not Afgh.), though I think arguments that Iraq made Libya decide to hang it up are overstated, to say the least.

I just don't get how people can claim that OBL is somehow peripheral to this war on terror. Maybe that's not what you're doing, but it certainly sounds that way as you make this unstated case for the war on Iraq.

ObL isn't peripheral, but neither is Saudi Arabia (or Pakistan, or Iran, or Syria, or possibly Sudan and Ethiopia). One is simple [comparatively] to attack directly while others for now are better dealt with indirectly. Anybody who thinks this is a one-front war is an idiot.

This is a remarkable sentence, but I can't follow it even if I squint. Who or what is the shineola at this point?

Yeah, it's incoherent, I'll break it up. I still think invading Iraq was a good idea. I think it has been handled incompetently. That incompetence lands the admin/coalition into all sorts of trouble over and over again. Despite continual screwups, the admin seems very adept at turning bad situations in Iraq caused by their incompetent planning and execution to the US's strategic advantage and generally landing on their feet (e.g.: the al Sadr situation shifts from "see, Shias hate the US too and might get together with the Sunnis to kick some butt" to "Sistani can't control al Sadr, and therefore doesn't have the leverage with the US he had before because he can't really deliver the Shias, and in fact he is reliant on the US to protect his people from the Sunnis"). It's just a shame they are doing all that deft maneuovering in response to problems created by their constant screwups rather than applying it toward avoiding some of the problems in the first place.

[Beauty]

Originally posted by Not Me
Latest documents released by the DOJ showing why Gorelick should be booted off the 9/11 Commission:

http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/testimony/su...rymaterial.pdf

According to the White House, the President was "disappointed" that the DOJ selectively declassified these documents and posted them on its web site, and this was communicated to DOJ. "The president does not believe we ought to be pointing fingers during this time period. We ought to be working together to help the commission complete its work. This is very important work that they are doing that will help us in our efforts to carry out the president's most solemn responsibility, which is to protect the American people."

Josh Marshall has the excerpts from the press briefing.

[The Larry Davis Experience]

WH spokesman on Gorelick and the DoJ docs:

QUESTION: Some Republicans on Capitol Hill believe that the work of the 9/11 commission won't be complete until and unless Jamie Gorelick testifies before the commission on her role in building the wall between intelligence and law enforcement. Is that an opinion shared by the White House?

MCCLELLAN: Look, the president, I think even at the beginning of the meeting, he made some brief remarks. He didn't have a prepared opening statement or anything like that, but certainly made some opening remarks at the beginning.

And essentially I think he thanked them for the work that they're doing, talked about how he appreciated what they were doing, and that their work is very important to what we are doing to protect the American people.

And I think that the president looks at this and doesn't believe that there ought to be finger-pointing. We ought to all be working together, to learn the lessons of September 11th and make sure that we are doing everything that we can to protect the homeland and win the war on terrorism. That's the way he looks at it.

QUESTION: The Justice Department keeps releasing documents, they released another -- they declassified 30 pages yesterday, that reinforced the idea that...

MCCLELLAN: I think the president...

QUESTION: ... Commissioner Gorelick has more than she could...

(CROSSTALK)

MCCLELLAN: No, I understand. That's what the Justice Department did; we were not involved in it. I think the president was disappointed about that.

QUESTION: The president was disappointed in the Justice Department releasing those documents?

MCCLELLAN: Putting that on their Web site, yes.

Disclosure: this is from Josh, I was too lazy to find the official transcript.

eta looks like i was slow on the draw.

[greatwhitenorthchick]

Originally posted by bilmore
Canadian prez

In Canada, the political leader is known as the All Supreme Being, not the "prez".

(I consider it my solemn duty to educate the ignorami of this country)

[Beauty]

Originally posted by greatwhitenorthchick
In Canada, the political leader is known as the All Supreme Being, not the "prez".

(I consider it my solemn duty to educate the ignorami of this country)

Known colloquially as "the Poutine," right?

Last time I talked about Canadian food the board crashed for a day . . . .