U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft in an undated file photo.

This is long overdue- why now? Did it take this long for it to sink in that this was a ridiculous conflict of interest? What does that tell us about other decisions? Will it take until the middle of next year to realize that the Iraq war was a mistake and that Hussein wasn't behind 9/11?

The Justice Department will name a special prosecutor shortly.

In other news, Karl Rove has just resigned from his Bush administration post and is looking for a "special" job in the Washington D.C. area. Here's hoping there's a job opening soon, we all know how bad the job market is.

There's only one person running next year that's unelectable. The candidates should believe that any one of them can beat Bush because damn near all of them can. Candidates who accuse the other candidates of being unelectable are so divorced from reality that, ironically enough, it makes them unelectable.

I like the ACLU's consistency- they don't shy away from defending people who have denounced them. Shows they believe in what they are doing, good for them.

"There is no right to privacy specifically enumerated in the Constitution."
- Rush Limbaugh, June 27, 2003

"... the seizure of Mr. Limbaugh's private medical records without going through the process outlined by the state Legislature is clearly an invasion of his Constitutional right to privacy.
-Rush Limbaugh, December 23, 2003

This is a ploy to get out of federal money laundering charges. It's the right way to go if you're trying to avoid federal "pound me the ass" prison.

It will be interesting to see if Limbaugh can back any of this up, it sounds like the housekeeper has emails and voicemails and other recordings of Limbaugh excitedly handing over "the cabbage" for his "blue-ies."

Limbaugh says he didn't report this activity to the FBI because there was a vast left-wing conspiracy that would have tried to destroy his career if he stopped violating federal money laundering laws.

Bwahaha!

His defenders say he's not a criminal because he's rich. He had thousands upon thousands of pills. Two thousand were prescribed to him through various doctors, thousands more were bought illegally from his maid. Anyone who's not rich would be charged with distribution. Of course some people who are charged with distribution have no intention of actually selling the drugs, but you know what? That doesn't matter. They're charged anyway. Limbaugh should be charged as well. Being rich doesn't make you above the law.

At a minimum, he's funding terrorism.

If Tommy Chong goes to prison Limbaugh should be sent up twice as long for funding terrorism!

DIANE SAWYER: First of all, I just want to ask about reading. Mr. President, you know that there was a great deal of reporting about the fact that you said, first of all, that you let Condoleezza Rice and Andrew Card give you a flavor of what's in the news.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes.

DIANE SAWYER: That you don't read the stories yourself.

PRESIDENT BUSH: Yes. I get my news from people who don't editorialize. They give me the actual news, and it makes it easier to digest, on a daily basis, the facts.

DIANE SAWYER: Is it just harder to read constant criticism or to read —

PRESIDENT BUSH: Why even put up with it when you can get the facts elsewhere? I'm a lucky man. I've got, it's not just Condi and Andy, it's all kinds of people in my administration who are charged with different responsibilities, and they come in and say this is what's happening, this isn't what's happening.

This is the same interview where Bush admitted he doesn't know the difference between actually having weapons of mass destruction and having the potential of trying to aquire them.

It's clear this guy just does not possess sufficient candlepower for the job.

It's been a few days since this story broke overseas, but nobody's reporting it in the states.

You would think if it wasn't true the administration would say something...

Donald Rumsfeld has claimed that when he met with Saddam back in '84 he denounced Saddam's use of chemical weapons on his own people. The minutes of the meeting show different. He actually indicates that the US doesn't want the fact that Saddam killed thousands of people with chemical weapons to get in the way of our friendship.

Here's the Washington Post Article and the actual meeting minutes.

Here's something I just put together- it's Bill O'Reilly lying about his book sales.


He's blotchy.

Link [Real Media File, 3 Megs]

Howard Dean has taken a tremendous amount of shit the last few weeks for his statements saying that 9/11 was preventable and that the president may have had advance knowledge of attacks.

The head of the independent commission charged with investigating 9/11 seems to agree with Dean.

Former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean (Republican) says: "As you read the report, you're going to have a pretty clear idea what wasn't done and what should have been done. This was not something that had to happen."

Here's the bottom line- your national security advisor should not go on television and say, "I don't think anybody could have predicted that they would try to use an airplane as a missile," when the National Reconnaissance Office was running a drill on 9/11/01 that dealt with a plane crashing in to a building. Add to this that the FBI had been warning for years of planes being used by terrorists as weapons and the FBI insisted shortly before 9/11 that Tom Ridge use government chartered aircraft and no longer fly commercial (article is from July of 2001)out of concern for his safety and you have an yet another administration claim that does not pass the laugh test.

We shall see if the administration finds a way to kill this report- they've been stonewalling the commission completely so far. (Think about that, they create this commission, hand pick the guy to run it, then stonewall him.)

Developing...

O'Reilly has been claiming that his book is neck and neck for best selling non-fiction book of the year with Hillary Clinton's "Living History." Turns out he's lying again.

From Drudge:

With two weeks to go for 2003:

Nonfiction

1. South Beach Diet / Dr. Arthur Agatston / 2,304,608 [units scanned]
2. Purpose Driven Life / Warren / 1,507,902
3. Living History / Clinton / 1,084,520
4. Ultimate Weight Solution / McGraw / 836,043
5. Lies and The Lying Liars / Franken / 674,024
6. Who's Looking Out for You / O'Reilly / 430,407
7. Benjamin Franklin / Isaacson / 384,137
8. Dude, Where's My Country / Moore / 365,519
9. Treason / Coulter / 364,848
10. Fly Boys / Bradley / 222,685

Look, I'm cool with people changing their views. But in this interview, Miller contradicts himself all over the place. He professes love for free thinkers, then openly backs a president who does anything but think. He hates liberals because they didn't want to make us safer, but wanted more money. Meanwhile, Republicans have spent billions to get thousands of U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians killed or injured. I feel much safer. And, what was with the childish rip on Barbara Boxer? Miller has become a parody of himself. He's perfect for talk radio.

Found in a hole near Tikrit.

Just checked, I scooped Drudge.

Mr. President, please, please, please don't fuck this up.

"There's nothing I am worse at than long-term planning. I have never run my life that way. I believe that serendipity or fate or divine intervention has led me to a series of wholly implausible steps in my life. And I've been open to those twists and turns because I didn't have a long-term plan."
-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice

It's now clear to me what happened in Iraq.

Robert X. Cringely has been discussing E-Voting the last couple of weeks- worth reading:
Column 1
Column 2

Also yesterday, the National Enquirer reported that "the police web is tightening around Rush Limbaugh" and that he could be arrested in days.

Limbaugh's lawyer, Roy Black, yesterday called the tabloid story "a pure fabrication" and a "thinly veiled attempt to destroy Mr. Limbaugh's reputation and career."


If Mr. Limbaugh's career is indeed ruined by his illegal activity I can't see how he can blame this on law enforcement. He's not being challenged because he is an addict, he's being challenged because he broke the law, it's as simple as that.

As bad as the drug laws are, they have to be enforced equally. The fact is, anyone else dealing with the number of pills in this case would immediately be charged with distribution. I mean, we're talking tens of thousands of pills according to the maid that Mr. Limbaugh bought the drugs from. Being rich shouldn't enter into it, but already people are defending him by saying he had no motive... well, having a motive doesn't enter into it, it's still illegal activity.

If Tommy Chong goes to jail for selling bongs on the internet certainly Rush Limbaugh should be punished for putting tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of dollars into the illegal drug trade and supporting terrorism.

Being rich (or a republican) is no excuse for illegal activity.

CNN reports:

About 300 of 700 members of the new Iraqi army have resigned, citing unhappiness with terms, conditions and pay and with instructions of commanding officers, a representative of the U.S.-led coalition said Thursday.

"It's a new force, and ... we face some difficulties," the representative said.

In response to the resignations, the coalition will review the terms and conditions and compare them with other security services in Iraq -- the police and Civil Defense Corps, the representative said ...

So, what's worse? The fact that nearly half of the army quit, or that "nearly half" is 300 soldiers? At this rate, Kuwait will be storming Baghdad in a few months. We're never leaving ... $87 billion is a downpayment.

ANNAPOLIS -- An e-mail found in a collection of files stolen from Diebold Elections Systems' internal database recommends charging Maryland "out the yin-yang" if the state requires Diebold to add paper printouts to the $73 million voting system it purchased.

The e-mail from "Ken," dated Jan. 3, 2003, discusses a (Baltimore) Sun article about a University of Maryland study of the Diebold system:

"There is an important point that seems to be missed by all these articles: they already bought the system. At this point they are just closing the barn door. Let's just hope that as a company we are smart enough to charge out the yin if they try to change the rules now and legislate voter receipts."

"Ken" later clarifies that he meant "out the yin-yang," adding, "any after-sale changes should be prohibitively expensive."

unelectable.

While we're at it:
Santorum
drug addict
vulgar pigboy
liar
blotchy
illegitimate

It's like a mass Cassandra complex, so many of us see all this shit coming, but nobody believes us until it's too late.

The Pentagon wanted the media to ignore all the death and destruction and focus on positive stories like schools opening?

Well, they asked for it...

"In almost every case, the paint jobs were done in a hurry, causing more damage to the appearance of the school than in terms of providing a finish that will protect the structure," a recent Army investigation into Bechtel's work found. "In one case, the paint job actually damaged critical lab equipment, making it unusable."

We're winning hearts and minds here, folks, let's not get caught up in the details of usable classrooms! Even the good news in Iraq sucks.

[When I ran this post through a spellchecker "Halliburton"'s suggested spelling was "Halfhearted"]

Those opposed to the war will not be allowed to help rebuild Iraq. This works out well for Halliburton, who organized the war in the first place. (Well, that's what it's seeming like more and more... am I wrong?)

Just askin' is all...

Amuse your conservative friends and annoy your liberal neighbors with the brand new Ann Coulter Talking Action Figure. This incredibly lifelike action figure looks just like the beautiful Ann Coulter, and best of all . . . it sounds like Ann, too! Ann recorded these classic Coulter sayings especially for this action figure.

Push the button on the figure, and you'll hear such "Coulterisms" as:


* "Liberals can't just come out and say they want to take more of our money, kill babies, and discriminate on the basis of race."
* "At least when right-wingers rant, there's a point."
* "Swing voters are more appropriately known as the 'idiot voters' because they have no set of philosophical principles. By the age of fourteen, you're either a Conservative or a Liberal if you have an IQ above a toaster."
* "Why not go to war just for oil? We need oil. What do Hollywood celebrities imagine fuels their private jets? How do they think their cocaine is delivered to them?"
* "Liberals hate America, they hate flag-wavers, they hate abortion opponents, they hate all religions except Islam, post 9/11. Even Islamic terrorists don't hate America like Liberals do. They don't have the energy. If they had that much energy, they'd have indoor plumbing by now."

This highly collectible doll comes in a display box with information highlighting Ann's unique contributions to America's political discourse. If you can't get enough Ann Coulter, you'll want to order the Ann Coulter Talking Action Figure today!

Rumsfeld is seen here waving around a centerpiece as is customary with US dignitaries visiting Iraq.

Web Logger Matt Drudge has a headline on his page saying the following:

Limbaugh Pokes Fun at Pain-Killer Probe ...

The headline links to an article where the only quote from Limbaugh's is this awkwardly phrased statement:

"I bet you what, if I had been treated by Dr. Dean, I bet you Democrats in certain parts of this country would be demanding his records."

Well, if Rush had gone to Dr. Dean to get an illegal prescription while seeing four other doctors at the same time... yeah... I'd expect everyone would be demanding to see his medical records. How desperate do you have to be to make that kind of connection? Rush has released statements through his lawyer that mention how his privacy has been invaded. Impressive how little thought goes in to his statements about other people's privacy.

Well, if Rush is suggesting Dean should be investigated for imaginary problems, why does Rush have a problem with the real investigation into his own (non-fictional) illegal drug activity?

Stop helping terrorists Rush!

TheSmokingGun.com Roolz.

As if there were any doubt, check this out.

Google Bomb: Miserable Failure

"We have been informed that this afternoon the Palm Beach State Attorneys Office will announce that it has seized the medical records of four doctors who treated Rush Limbaugh for serious medical conditions and the pain resulting from them. In fact, what these records show is that Mr. Limbaugh suffered extreme pain and had legitimate reasons for taking pain medication."

Unfortunately, being in pain won't excuse Mr. Limbaugh from buying tens of thousands of dollars worth of black market drugs and thereby aiding terrorists.

Mr. Limbaugh's attorney goes on to say that Mr. Limbaugh "was never a target of a drug investigation." If that were true they wouldn't be seizing his medical records... would they? I mean, it doesn't mean he's guilty, but he's certainly the target of a drug investigation if nothing else.

Deny, deny, deny... Keep talking, Mr. Black, you're only digging a deeper hole...

Stephen Colbert reports on his Thanksgiving trip with the President into Baghdad.

This should be such a non-story, but the White House (specifically communications director Dan Bartlett, left) can't seem to admit the truth: A British Airways plane did not spot Air Force One, the pilot of the British Airways plane did not give a knowing "oh" when lied to, and though there were many instances where the trip could have been canceled, this was not one of them.

Now the White House has clarified/reimagined the story so that the pilot of Air Force One, if asked, wouldn't have to lie. Current information oozing from the White House now claims that the communication discussed happened only between the British Airways plane and it's tower in London.

This administration can't tell the truth on even the smallest, most inconsequential stories. Flying in to the cauldron of death and despair that is Iraq on Thanksgiving wasn't enough? Dan's got to come up with a fluff piece to top it?

So, Dan Bartlett, fresh off the plane, giddily tells reporters of this imagined drama while our soldiers continue to die in Iraq. Was this just another lame attempt to bump bad news from Iraq off the front page for another day?

Well, it looks like The Nation has jumped on the Dean bandwagon. Clark has gotta be wondering: With covers like this, who needs covers?

How to sneak in and out of Baghdad without getting shot down:

The president's handlers this week have been telling some tall tales about the drama surrounding the campaign stop in Iraq:

Bush aides recounted with excitement last week the moment during the flight to Baghdad when they said a BA pilot thought he spotted the president's blue and white Boeing 747 from his cockpit.

"Did I just see Air Force One?" the pilot radioed, according to the White House. [Presumably with a lilting Cockney accent, yes yes? " 'ello! 'ow are 'ou?" I'd throw in some rhyming slang, but it'd be over your loaf. (of bread... rhymes with head... Get it?!?! Fucking quaint, aren't they?)]

There was a pause. Then came the response from Air Force One: "Gulfstream 5" -- a much smaller aircraft.

As one of Bush's aides recounted, the BA pilot seemed to sense that he was in on a secret, and replied: "Oh."

The exchange was one of the most suspenseful moments during Bush's secret flight to Baghdad, according to the White House.

And then this:

British Airways said on Monday that none of its pilots made contact with President Bush's plane during its secret flight to Baghdad, contradicting White House reports of a mid-air exchange that nearly prompted Bush to call off his trip.

They lie.
They constantly lie about shit that doesn't even matter.
Then, when they're caught, they say they didn't say what they said. Nobody calls them on it... the press just shrugs and waits for the next scripted press conference.

"Reports that say something hasn't happened are interesting to me, because as we know, there are known unknowns; there things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."
-Don Rumsfeld, claiming he's not drunk.

"I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. Thank you. Now watch this drive."
-GWB