Month: October 2005

Tone and Truth Daily Witness (Day 1)

Posted by | Oct 1, 2005 |

Cross-posted at dailyKos (where it will vanish in a heartbeat)

with a bow to RubDMC

…They don’t think George Bush is mean-spirited or prejudiced, but have become aware that his administration is irresponsible and often incompetent… They don’t think America is an imperialist brute, but are angry that the case to invade Iraq was exaggerated, are worried that we have unnecessarily alienated existing and potential allies around the world, and are ashamed by events like those at Abu Ghraib which violate our ideals as a country.

 — Barack Obama (D-IL)

I’ve been thinking about this tone all day. In my view, there is very little truth in it, especially when one is mindful of the photos and words RubDMC has been posting for the past 269 days.

Maybe America does think the way Senator Obama says they do. But if that is true, I’m just as ashamed of that thinking as I am of Abu Ghraib.

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Letter to Senator Obama

Posted by | Oct 1, 2005 |

My added noise to the Senator’s diary here. Since there are only 771 previous comments (not to mention RenaRF’s excellent missive), I’m sure he’ll be able to give mine the time it deserves.

——————

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Emails, Checks and Lawyers, Oh My!

Posted by | Oct 1, 2005 |

cross-posted from dembloggers.com

At this point in our history, “what did he know and when did he know it?” is almost a cliché; it’s also rather naive. That is to say, how much (or truthful) of an answer can we really expect in response, especially when asking the person in question directly?

It’s not as though it really got anybody anywhere with Nixon and it most certainly isn’t going to net any answers from Delay.  He can’t even keep the details about being asked to testify before Ronnie Earle straight – at least that’s what his lawyers tell us.  Perhaps he was a wee too careless with the bug powder dust back in the day…

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Bush Blackmails the Senate

Posted by | Oct 1, 2005 |

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House on Friday threatened to veto a $440.2 billion defense spending bill in the Senate because it wasn’t enough money for the Pentagon and also warned lawmakers not to add any amendments to regulate the treatment of detainees or set up a commission to probe abuse. (link)

I’m speechless…almost.

“A fifty-three-page report, obtained by The New Yorker, written by Major General Antonio M. Taguba … listed some of the wrongdoing: ‘Breaking chemical lights and pouring the phosphoric liquid on detainees; pouring cold water on naked detainees; beating detainees with a broom handle and a chair; threatening male detainees with rape; allowing a military police guard to stitch the wound of a detainee who was injured after being slammed against the wall in his cell; sodomizing a detainee with a chemical light and perhaps a broom stick, and using military working dogs to frighten and intimidate detainees with threats of attack, and in one instance actually biting a detainee.”
–Seymour M. Hersh, “Torture at Abu Ghraib,” The New Yorker

“I’m not a lawyer. My impression is that what has been charged thus far is abuse, which I believe technically is different from torture. … I don’t know if it is correct to say what you just said, that torture has taken place, or that there’s been a conviction for torture. And therefore I’m not going to address the torture word.”
–Rumsfeld, Defense Department Operational Update Briefing, May 4, 2004

There is only one question to be asked: what are they hiding?

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Valerie P. Undercover OPEN THREAD

Posted by | Oct 1, 2005 |

I just saw her. Even though she’s lost her cover thanks to the dastardly White House, she still wears her mask. She didn’t have the three teenagers with her. I think they’re hiding in the tree because they’re afraid of the noise from the high school football game about 10 blocks away. She snacked on some purple grapes and dog kibble and then ran off, probably to watch the teens.

Just so you know, she doesn’t like peanut butter sandwiches and — as often happens in families — her teenagers don’t like them either. All of the other coonies love peanut butter though. And they all adore those small dark Italian plums, but those are out of season now, sigh. I also feed the wild birds. We’ve been stopping at Wild Birds Unlimited on Highway 101. Their bird seed is so much nicer than what’s sold in grocery stores. We get the “Olympic Mix,” specially formulated for birds on the Olympic Peninsula. It attracts every kind of bird — from quails to blue jays. Which creatures of the wild do you feed and watch? . . .  O P E N    T H R E A D . . .

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