Bush lies about his lies.

George W. Bush, continues to defend his decision to go to war by telling lies. The President and his army of televised spinners, are now attempting to rewrite history by repeating the same untrue arguments over and over. While this tactic has worked for the Republican party for quite some time, even their own supporters now realize this Administration cannot be trusted. So, next time you hear a Red repeat the talking points they have learned from talk radio or FOX, tell them the truth. Because even the most loyal supporters of the Republican party, perhaps feeling guilty for what has happened, are beginning to see the light.

THE BUSH LIES
Argument 1. Congress, who voted for the war resolution, had the same information as he did.
Truth. Bush and his aides had access to much more voluminous intelligence information than did lawmakers, who were dependent on the administration to provide the material.

Argument 2. Independent commissions determined that the administration did not misrepresent the intelligence.
Truth. The commissions cited by officials, though concluding that the administration did not pressure intelligence analysts to change their conclusions, were not authorized to determine whether the administration exaggerated or distorted those conclusions. The only committee investigating the matter in Congress, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, has not yet done its inquiry into whether officials mischaracterized intelligence by omitting caveats and dissenting opinions.

Commentary: Deepak Chopra

I feel confused over why "compassionate conservatism" turned out to be so much the opposite of compassionate. As an excluded minority without power, one could understand the frustration of conservatives during the long reign of the Democrats. But they are hardly excluded any more. The Presidency has gone Republican five times since 1980, and both houses of Congress are firmly Republican. With all this breathing room and so much power gained, why is conservatism still so mean?
One answer might be that conservatives enjoy being angry, that it fuels their policies. The conservative revolution needed enemies. If you are politically at odds with those who you think are bringing down society--liberals, blacks, the poor, Muslims, pro-abortion groups, gays, non-fundamentalists, and feminists, your animus could be sanitized. You could turn it into social policy.

click title for full commentary

New Chewing Gum Could Replace Toothbrush!

The gum, described at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists convention this week in Nashville, would contain a special bacteria-fighting agent to prevent plaque, cavities and gum disease.

Scientist find way to "thicken" brain

GOP leader predicts disaster because "Intelligent Design" was defeated

Influential Republican and televangelist Pat Robertson told citizens of a Pennsylvania town that they had rejected God by voting their school board out of office for supporting "intelligent design" and warned them on Thursday not to be surprised if disaster struck.

Chemical Weapons Update

Washington Post Confirmed U.S. Used White Phosphorus In Fallujah
by Hunter

So right now, the right's reaction [to reports that U.S.troops were orderd to use chemical weapons in Iraq] consists primarily of "shut up", "nuh-uh", "it's harmless anyway", "it's perfectly legal anyway", and the ever-popular "liiiiiiiiberal!!!".

So, what the hell. Since the videos of White Phospherus being fired onto city streets isn't enough, here's how the Washington Post described the Fallujah attack, back in 2004, in an article very friendly to the U.S. operation.

I don't think thats accurate

Well, well, well. This is a fun little story about the White House accidentally telling the truth then trying to lie about it and finally denying the cover up. Let me explain. On October 31 the White House spokesman said something he shouldn’t have – the truth. He said it, everyone heard it, it's on audio and videotape and in the official transcripts. But when the Bush administration discovered that McClellan inadvertently told the truth they insisted transcripts be changed to remove the truth and insert the misinformation that he should have told. Whew! Kind of hard to follow? Read this:

By Joe Strupp Published: November 09, 2005 11:30 PM
ET
NEW YORK Presidential Press Secretary Scott McClellan's short answer to a question at his daily press briefing last week has prompted a dispute between the White House press office and two news organizations that offer transcripts of the events.

At the Oct. 31 briefing, David Gregory of NBC News stated the following question to McClellan about White House aides Karl Rove and I. Lewis Libby: "Whether there's a question of legality, we know for a fact that there was involvement. We know that Karl Rove, based on what he and his lawyer have said, did have a conversation about somebody who Patrick Fitzgerald said was a covert officer of the Central Intelligence Agency. We know that Scooter Libby also had conversations."The official White House transcript states that McClellan's response was "I don’t think that's accurate."But two outside news agencies, Congressional Quarterly and Federal News Service - which provide transcripts for a fee -both reported the response as "that's accurate."

A video of the press briefing reveals McClellan saying "that's accurate."White House officials contacted the news outlets and ask for a change to their versions of the transcript."They asked me to take a look at it about a week ago," said Kirk Hanneman, news director of Federal News Service,which provides transcripts of different government events. "We took a look at it because they did have a problem with it and in the end, we had what we originally had and we are sticking by that because we believe it is correct.

White House press office spokeswoman Dana Perino confirmed that her office had requested a review of the transcripts, noting, "it was simply to point out that the official transcript by the White House stenographer had it as it was released and that is all it was," she said, saying the White House transcript was never altered.When asked about the fact that the White House version contradicts video accounts of the briefing, Perino added, "the White House stenographer was in the room and I was in the room" and they heard McClellan say "I don't think that's accurate'."

Is the USA finally waking up?

The latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, released Wednesday night, finds that all five of Bush’s job approval ratings — on overall job performance, the economy, foreign policy, terrorism and Iraq — are at all-time lows in the survey. In addition, the CIA leak scandal seems to be taking a toll on the administration, with nearly 80 percent believing the indictment of Vice President Cheney's former chief of staff, Lewis “Scooter” Libby, is a serious matter, and with Bush experiencing a 17-point drop since January in those who see him as honest and straightforward.

Rejoice!

Democrats find themselves in unusual position as nationwide winners in Tuesday's election.

IF THIS IS TRUE......

click title of this blog entry to read more
click HERE for alleged video evidence
...THEN THINGS ARE WORSE THAN I EVEN IMAGINED. I AM GOING TO GIVE THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT ON THIS SERIOUS CHARGE. BUT IF IT IS PROVEN THAT THE MILITARY USED CHEMICAL WEAPONS ON INNOCENT CIVILIANS THEN IT WILL REALY HIT THE FAN. FOR NOW I WON'T BELIEVE IT BUT I WANT TO LEARN MORE.

THE ONLY REASONS I AM EVEN BLOGGING ABOUT THIS

1. U.S. SOLDIERS CLAIMED IT HAPPENED.
2. MILITARY LEADERS SAY THEY "DO NO RECALL". THAT IS POLITICAL SPEAK THAT CAN MEAN IT HAPPENED BUT THEY DON'T WANT TO CONFIRM IT.
3. THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION WAS ADAMANT ABOUT NOT SIGNING THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS TREATY.

ROME (Reuters) - U.S. forces in Iraq have used incendiary white phosphorus against civilians and a firebomb similar to napalm against military targets, Italian state-run broadcaster RAI reported on Tuesday. A RAI documentary showed images of bodies recovered after a November 2004 offensive by U.S. troops on the town of Falluja, which it said proved the use of white phosphorus against men, women and children who were burned to the bone.

"I do know that white phosphorus was used," said Jeff Englehart in the RAI documentary, which identified him as a former soldier in the U.S. 1st Infantry Division in Iraq.

A U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad said he did not recall white phosphorus being used in Falluja. "I do not recall the use of white phosphorus during the offensive operations in Falluja in the fall of 2004," Lieutenant Colonel Steven Boylan said.

An incendiary device, white phosphorus is used by the military to conceal troop movements with smoke, mark targets or light up combat areas. The use of incendiary weapons against civilians has been banned by the Geneva Convention since 1980.
The United States did not sign the relevant protocol to the convention.

The NYC Marathon

Yesterday was the New York City Marathon. It is a big deal here as tens of thousands of runners line up for the 26 mile race through all 5 burroughs of New York City. While I did not intend to watch the race, as it turned out, I spent three hours caught up in the excitement of it all.

I was planning to have a lazy Sunday resting my weary legs. I love to walk and in NYC you get plenty of that. Add to it five flights of stairs with every trip outside the apartment and even this strong legged guy was sore. So the thought of watching people running, while never particularly appealing, was even less of an interest of to me today.

About 11 I decided to make a short trip from the apartment to go get something to eat. But, there is something about New York that just sucks you in. First I was just going to go around the corner to get some food, but the pleasant weather and electricity of the Sunday morning street life convinced me to walk an extra 15 blocks to get something from a really good take out place I found.

As I was strolling down the road I notice blockades everywhere. Must be for the race I thought. I had briefly looked at a map last week of the Marathons' route but it seemed like it was far away from where I live. However after walking a while I discovered it was pretty close after all, and why not go have a look. I'm glad I did.

As I walked toward the race, I discovered new neighborhoods, close to my place but hidden by the maze- like street layout. That's another thing about New York. Every street you turn down is a whole new world, full of new discoveries. I made it to the racing path just in time to see the wheel chair participants go by. It was really amazing to see these people, many with no legs hand-pedal their contraptions. I was at about mile 22 of the 26 mile path. I was really amazed at one legless participant who balanced on a regular sized skateboard and propelled himself only with his arms. I immediately dropped the self pity about my aching legs. If these folks without legs could do a marathon, I could certainly hang around a while and applaud their efforts.

I arrived at the track at 124th street in upper Manhattan and started walking north until I reached the Madison Avenue Bridge. All Along the way people lined the streets. There was music everywhere. Some people bought boom boxes, there were African singers and dancers, church choirs and street musicians. Every block had their own unique sites and sounds. When I got to the bridge (that you can take to get to Yankee stadium) there was a DJ with huge speakers and a microphone leading the crowd. "Let's hear it Harlem!" he shouted. This DJ was really good. He played an assortment of music alternately singing along and leading the crowd in call backs. There were thousands of people at the bridge, all cheering every racer and shouting encouragement to the tired marathoners. When the lead men runners went by, the top 5 who were at least 20 minute ahead of the pack, it was genuinely exciting to see. These were, in fact, elite athletes participating in a world class event. Just blocks away from my apartment!

I walked back south and found a spot to watch the rest of the race. I pretty much applauded every minute or so as groups of runners went by. Others were more enthusiastic. People running in the race must have enjoyed hearing people yell encouragement. What they may not know is that those who yelled out said the same thing to all the runners. While this is fine for the participants, it is somewhat annoying as a fellow spectator. I stood in one place for an hour and heard the same three people scream the same three things over and over and over. One guy, drunk I think, kept yelling "keep going, just five more miles!" as he sipped from his brown bag. Another guy, for whatever reason, shouted "Viva Le France"every so often, and the third and most annoying yeller, decided her encouragement would be to scream "you can DOOO it" at the top of her fingernails on the chalkboard - like voice. You know how annoying it is hearing that ever fifteen seconds for an hour!?

But it was all for the runners benefit and they seemed to take encouragement from it. It was really a great day. It was warm (for New York - mid 60's) and sunny. Everyone was in a great mood and all kinds of people stood together to cheer on those who ran in the Marathon. I was glad I decided not to rest all day although I still hear that woman's voice in my head saying "you can DOOOO it" over and over.

If running for 26 miles was enough to make it go away I would DOOO it, right away.

Let's start with Scooter then

In a disturbing article in today's Washington Post we learn that Vice President Cheney has been working behind the scenes, to stop Congress from instituting a ban on torture. Although the Senate voted 90-9 to impose a ban, Cheney is still trying to convince the President and others to oppose the ban. This from the story ...

Over the past year, Vice President Cheney has waged an intense and largely unpublicized campaign to stop Congress, the Pentagon and the State Department from imposing more restrictive rules on the handling of terrorist suspects, according to defense, state, intelligence and congressional officials.

Just last week, Cheney showed up at a Republican senatorial luncheon to lobby lawmakers for a CIA exemption to an amendment by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) that would ban torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners.

I am sure all of you know that John McCain was a prisoner of war during Viet Nam. He was tortured for years and now leads the effort to stop our torture practices for two general reasons. First, he feels that torture is an ineffective method of getting good information. If someone is torturing you, he argues, you will say anything to get them to stop. Second, McCain says, it goes against the very principles of America. I would only correct him to say that it goes against the principles of the old America. It fits in perfectly with our new Red America.

But the Vice President, who got a "medical deferment" to avoid the draft during Viet Nam, disagrees. Therefore, I would suggest that if the Vice President thinks torture is an effective method of gaining information, we should start here at home. Certainly, the release of a CIA agents name poses a huge security risk. Since we do not know exactly what Scooter Libby did and when he did it, and since he is charged with lying repeatedly about it, we should have Cheney implement the torture policy with his former #1 man.

I suggest to the Vice President that he demand the immediate torture of Scooter Libby so that we may be able to determine how much information he can give us. I am guessing that Scooter would immediately "give up" The VP in which case we would have to use the Cheney torture policy on the man himself. No medical deferments this time.

Sunday Comics

* click comics to enlarge*

Bowden's Seminoles Continue Decline

Bobby Bowden's a legend. Nobody knows it more than he does. The coach gets a lot of praise and is fond of saying that he will coach until he drops. But over the past few years the team has suffered from unimaginative play calling and a lack of motivation. Bobby himself has seems more out of touch than ever.

"We were not sharp. We didn't do the things you have to do to win. We've been playing pretty good in the red zone, but not tonight. That was probably the difference."

Last nights lost to the lowly North Carolina State Wolfpack shows that Bobby Bowden's teams can never be counted on to win. Let's face it, the Seminoles will not get better as long as Bowden is coach. It's time to send Bobby on his way before his much cherished reputation if further tainted.