Powell: Iraq now a civil war

Oh man. To repeat an Indian proverb: when the elephant gets stuck in the mud, even the frog kicks him. Reuters reports:

DUBAI --Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Wednesday Iraq had descended into civil war and urged world leaders to accept that "reality"

So NBC first (actually, it was the bloggers), then LA Times, and now CP? Is he getting back at deadeye Dicks and Rummy, or trying to salvage his reputation for a 2008 run?

US apologizes to man mistakenly identified as a terrorist; pays $2 million fine

Warts and all, justice prevailed. But I can't help think what would have happened if Mr. Mayfield was not a lawyer, and did not have the monetary resources to pursue this case.

The U.S. government has agreed to pay $2 million to an Oregon lawyer who was wrongfully arrested as a terrorism suspect because of a bungled fingerprint match and has issued an apology for the "suffering" inflicted on the attorney and his family.

The guy isn't stopping here:

Under the terms of the settlement announced today, Brandon Mayfield of Portland, Ore., will also be able to continue to pursue a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the USA Patriot Act antiterrorism law, which played a role in Mayfield's case.

Bush summit with Iraqi PM delayed after memo 'leak'

Heck of a job, W!

President Bush's high-stakes summit with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was put off Wednesday after public disclosure of U.S. doubts about his capacity to control sectarian warfare.

And you know why? Because the Bush Whitehouse leaked a memo. And 30 members of the parliament and 5 cabinet ministers are boycotting the Iraqi coalition government in protest of the meeting.

Lawmakers and cabinet ministers loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr have suspended participation in parliament and the government to protest Prime minister Nouri al-Maliki's summit with U.S. President George W. Bush.

Man's a visionary--been extending Prez power for years

Great article in the Boston Globe about the man behind the man, Dick "Deadeye" Cheney.

In July 1987, then-Representative Dick Cheney, the top Republican on the committee investigating the Iran-contra scandal, turned on his hearing room microphone and delivered, in his characteristically measured tone, a revolutionary claim.

President Reagan and his top aides, he asserted, were free to ignore a 1982 law at the center of the scandal. Known as the Boland Amendment, it banned US assistance to anti-Marxist militants in Nicaragua.

"I personally do not believe the Boland Amendment applied to the president, nor to his immediate staff," Cheney said.

Was he setting himself up for a future presidency, or a Veep-ship? Every school kid knows that congress is supposed to act as a check-and-balance against the presidency. This was amazingly sycophantic. I hope the current congress subpoenas the pants of this guy.

Happy Turkey Day, Mr. Lame Duck.
(or is this a TurDuck? If we could add Cheney, then this would of course become a TurDuckEn)

War criminal gets 5 years in prison

5 years for immigration fraud for lying about military service in a refugee application.

The Boston Globe reports:

It is undisputed that Marko Boskic helped slaughter civilian Muslim men in a 1995 massacre of more than 1,200 at Srebrenica during the Bosnian War and then lied about his military service to win refugee status and residency in the United States.

It is likely that Mr. Boskic will be deported after he serves his prison term.

Humor break

TRADITIONAL ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You sell one and buy a bull.
Your herd multiplies and the economy grows.
You retire on the income.

INDIAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You worship them.

AMERICAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You sell one and force the other to produce the milk of four cows.
You profess surprise when the cow drops dead.
You put the blame on some nation with cows and naturally that nation
will be
a danger to mankind.
You wage a war to save the world and grab the cows.

FRENCH ECONOMICS
You have two cows
You go on strike because you want three cows.

GERMAN ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You reengineer them so that they live for 100 years, eat once a month
and milk themselves.

BRITISH ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
They are both mad cows.

JAPANESE ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You redesign them so that they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary
cow, and produce twenty times the milk.
You then create cute cartoon cow images called Cowkimon! And market them worldwide.


CHINESE ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You have 300 people milking them.
You claim full employment, high bovine productivity and arrest anyone
reporting the actual numbers.


PAKISTAN ECONOMICS
You don't have any cows.
You claim that the Indian cows belong to you.
You ask the US for financial aid, China for military aid, British for
technology, French for submarines, Switzerland for loans, Russia for
drugs and Japan for equipment.
You buy the cows with all this and claim exploitation by the world.


BANGLADESH ECONOMICS
You have two cows.
You don't know economics.
You choose one of them as the Prime Minister of the country and the
other the Leader of the Opposition.

Time to get on with the program

Bill Maher, he of the acerebic wit, treads into a controversial territory, and proposes updating the constitution. I fully agree, but can we trust the nimrods who will sit in on the constitutional convension?

There's no out-of-the-box thinking in this country. If we were really looking for a new direction, we'd not just change Congress, we'd have another Constitutional Convention, as Jefferson suggested we do. Jefferson said: "Let us provide in our Constitution for its revision. . . every 19 or 20 years. . . so that it may be handed on, with periodical repairs, from generation to generation." He himself was saying, "I'm a bright guy, but even I can't foresee the iPod." Or the assault rifle.

We sadly mourn the death of journalistic integrity

Forget civilized dialog--what happened to the basic principles of journalism? CNN's Beck asked Karl Ellison:

On the November 14 edition of his CNN Headline News program, Glenn Beck interviewed Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN), who became the first Muslim ever elected to Congress on November 7, and asked Ellison if he could "have five minutes here where we're just politically incorrect and I play the cards up on the table." After Ellison agreed, Beck said: "I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.' " Beck added: "I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way."

I must say Mr. Ellison handled it very well.

Email Glenn Beck if you consider this a disturbing trend.

Contact information:

Glenn Beck

When contacting the media, please be polite and professional. Express your specific concerns regarding that particular news report or commentary, and be sure to indicate exactly what you would like the media outlet to do differently in the future.

Jack, Bubba. Bubba, Jack, aka Fresh Meat

Jack Abramoff will be Uncle Sam's guest for the next 6 years.

Hours before entering a federal prison in Cumberland, disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff sent friends an e-mail lamenting "this nightmare" political scandal.

Abramoff, who parlayed campaign donations and expensive gifts into political influence from Congress to the White House, was sentenced to six years for a fraudulent Florida casino deal. He is awaiting sentencing in a Capitol Hill public corruption case in which he also is the star witness.

"He is the most effective racist I know"

So Trent Lott is the #2 senate republican. Somehow I find #2 to be symbolic, but I am not in mood for any scatological humor right now.

Time spoke thusly:

G.O.P. Senators said they were eager to have Lott back in the leadership, as he's known as a clever back-room dealer and tactician on the Senate floor, which operates through a bizarre, complicated rules that at times outgoing Majority Leader Bill Frist didn't seem to understand. "He's the most effective leader I know," said Arizona's John McCain, who has won Lott's support for his likely presidential bid. Minnesota's Norm Coleman called Lott "the master of the Senate."

How desperate is that?

9/11 isnt working any more, so manufacture some dirt on Harry Reid

This man needs to sue someone to shut them up--the same drivel comes up again and again, and he proves again and again that there was no corruption.

ABC reports that the Feds are focusing on Reid now that Abramoff is off to jail. Its NOT a new story, and has been discredited once, twice, and thrice. I am sure there are many more links, but I have less patience than Sen. Reid.

A few days late (celebrating too much)

Countdown To A Majority

We Are In The Majority! 29 And Counting!
7 more races undecided

Democratic
Pickups:

29

GOP
Pickups:

0

Seat Totals: Democrats 231 Republicans 196