Hubris: Selling the Iraq War

Having followed much of the news regarding the run-up to the Iraq war--both at the time, and in the years after--there wasn't much in Hubris: Selling the Iraq War that I didn't already know. Except that it was presented in Rachel Maddow's typically straightforward, educational style, succinctly and all in a 1-hour package, featuring people who know. It also reawakens old ire in this American, a fire that was largely put out when Bush/Cheney slunk away into (near) obscurity.  When Barack Obama took over, many liberals like myself felt like we could finally take a breath. And though we were initially upset with Obama when he said that we were "looking forward" and not back to the crimes of the Bush era, the fight was largely out of us by then. This documentary brings it all back. We were lied into war, plain and simple.

I'm curious whether the MSNBC documentary will reignite the same anger in other people, or whether its source network and host will cause it to be dismissed by people who consider MSNBC to be the counterpart to FOX "News." Though I  think it would be hard to argue that Hubris is liberally biased, beyond--say--the musical score. Don't believe me, check it out, the whole thing:

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Republican National Convention, Part Deux

Forgive the sparsity of posts of late. As I've mentioned before, I have a persistent sinus headache, that is either made worse by the RNC, or simply makes it more excruciating. I mean I've got to watch this crap, even though I'd rather be doing most anything else. I've got to keep attuned to my Twitter feed, otherwise it would all be truly unbearable. And that makes the headache worse!

Damn. Anyway, the lead-in to the big Paul Ryan speech was mostly a bunch of speculated about potential VP picks, before Ryan got the nod. I watched the coverage on MSNBC because dammit, I needed some sanity sprinkled in, but they did tend to gloss over some of the lesser lights who were speaking. So, no T-Paw, no Portman from Ohio. Just as well, really. [Story continues below]

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I did catch  John McCain. He was so thrilling, convention attendees were wandering around during his speech. It was a chore to stay awake. Mike Huckabee followed, and bugged me as much as any other time I've heard him speak. Huck is charming to people who go for his schtick, but nasty to those of us who are clued in to his poison. If there's one thing I despise, it's a person who smiles at you while leveling an insult. That's Huckabee in a nutshell. Anyway, though some in the hall were into Huck's rap, it was far from a barnburner. [Story continues below]

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Condoleezza Rice, on the other hand, was received warmly. Though Romney/Ryan has taken great pains to avoid talking about the Bush years, somehow, Condi has managed to brush off some of the Bush era barnacles. Her speech was well done. I didn't agree with much of it, but it didn't inspire a defensive posture, and a desire to through something through the big screen, as Huckabee did. The chatter on Twitter and MSNBC was that she was the "Ann Romney" of the night.

Ah, but they hadn't heard Paul Ryan yet. Ryan came out looking good in an expertly tailored suit. I don't know if they tamed the Eddie Munster widow's peak, but he looked really nice. His speech was initially boilerplate, rather underwhelming. The crowd was into him, but not into him. Halfway in or so, though, he got his sea legs. He got less awkward, and started getting his timing down with the crowd reactions. I didn't agree with anything he had to say, mind you, but I can recognize a speech that connects with a crowd. [Story continues below.]

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Ryan's speech was riddled with lies and distortions, but they were delivered well. The one lie that received the most attention was Ryan's charge that a GM plant closed under Obama, even though in reality it closed in 2008 (Bush era, don'tcha know?). But there were several things that had me barking back at the TV and rolling my eyes. Much of it was just the repeating of the lame, out of context, "you didn't build that," and the distortion of Obama "raiding" Medicare. Worst of all, was Ryan selling his raiding of Medicare as though he's saving and protecting it. 

Fortunately, President Obama and the Democrats have ample chance of rebuttal, and--I'm nearly certain--a more consistently enthusiastic crowd. And I seriously doubt that Obama's convention is going to be so devoid of Obama as the RNC has been devoid of Mitt Romney. Oh, he's there, but sometimes you barely notice.

[Excerpt]

The 5 Biggest Lies in Paul Ryan’s RNC Acceptance Speech

Paul Ryan took the stage in Tampa and peppered his speech with lies, falsehoods distortions and exaggerations. There were many to choose from, but here are the five biggest lies. . .

Read more at: PoliticusUSA

Condi Rice Seems to Admit Complicity in Torture

Ruh-roh. Could Condoleezza Rice have stepped her Ferragamos into a big pile of poo? The first clip is from Hardball with Chris Matthews, featuring Pat Buchanan and Jonathan Turley.



And more from Countdown with Keith Olbermann, with John Dean.

Dick Cheney & Condi Rice Signed Off on Torture?

Image from source, Huffington Post

It isn't difficult to see why President Obama is having so much difficulty with the Bush Era torture revelations. As more information comes to light, what many liberals already believed to be true is being confirmed: they were all in on it. If truthful investigations were allowed, it is apparently very likely that the big guns like Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and George W. Bush would be in deep doo-doo.

So, even if it is all absolutely true, and these people really are stone cold guilty, President Obama would be seen (even if the office of the President is not involved) as the guy who put a whole previous administration in jail! There would be parties across the nation to rival the inauguration of course. But the fury of the right-wing noise machine would be akin to Armageddon. It's quite a kettle of fish. And it makes me wonder if that wasn't already on Bush's and Cheney's minds when they were up to all this. Like "too big to fail," are these guys "too big to punish?"

[Excerpt]

Rice, Cheney Approved Waterboarding

Then-national security adviser Condoleezza Rice verbally OK'd the CIA's request to subject alleged al-Qaida terrorist Abu Zubaydah to waterboarding in July 2002, a decision memorialized a few days later in a secret memo that the Obama administration declassified last week. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Dubya vs. Obama

I'm sorry, I can't help it! This gave me giggle fits, and I couldn't help but post it.

Source: Joe.My.God

Hillary Clinton Finally Confirmed as Secretary of State

Photo from TopNews

Hillary Clinton spoke often of the "glass ceiling" of politics, while trying to attain the highest office in the land. And though Secretary of State isn't exactly chump change, she arrives there with an already shattered glass ceiling. Madeline Albright broke it for women, Colin Powell broke it for African Americans, and Condoleezza Rice was both. But hey, Hillary is--I believe--the only former First Lady to go this far in politics. That just leaves "openly gay" or "confirmed atheist" for future glass ceilings, doesn't it?

[Excerpt]

Senate confirms Clinton 94-2

The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of State.
The former first lady becomes the highest-profile member of President Obama’s Cabinet. The two had battled for the Democratic nomination throughout the first half of the year but have since maintained that there is no bad blood remaining from the protracted primary. . .

Read more at: The Hill

This is It! The Final Day of the Bush Era!

It seemed like it took forever, but we're finally here. The last day of the reign of George W. Bush (and Dick Cheney), and the first day of an era of promised change. We don't know if Barack Obama and Joe Biden will bring the change they promised. But it is difficult to imagine that they could run things worse. That is not to say that bad things won't happen, but I'm pretty confident that they'll be handled better. And that Obama won't be actively creating strife.

But for all of the dung that the Bush Administration did heap upon us, it is worth noting that the worst fears of liberals like me didn't all come to pass. Here are a few things we can thank our lucky stars for:

- Ordinary citizens were not rounded up and subjected to extreme rendition

- Bush did not declare Martial Law

- Elections were not postponed or cancelled

- Bush didn't change (or ignore) the Constitution to allow for a third term (or beyond)

- Jeb didn't run

- Bush didn't launch any nukes

- Bush didn't invade or attack Iran

- No conveniently-timed terrorist attacks disrupted elections or key votes

- Cheney didn't step down at a convenient time, and wasn't replaced by Condi Rice

- Karl Rove was not successful stealing a third Presidential election

- The Rovian Alternate Reality Machine broke down, and people started to see the flaws

- Many fearsome people are now political punchlines: Tom DeLay, Randy "Duke" Cunningham, Bill Frist, Rick Santorum, Denny Hastert, Katherine Harris, Donald Rumsfeld, Condi Rice, Karl Rove, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and many, many more.

Condoleezza Claims No US Money Lost to Corruption

Photo from source, Think Progress

I know that the "Bush Legacy Project" is in overdrive, attempting to polish every turd left behind by The Decider. But good grief, do they think there is no such thing as the blogosphere? YouTube? Google? Microfiche for goodness' sake? We can look this stuff up, folks!

[Excerpt]

Rice: No ‘American Money’ In Iraq Was Lost To Corruption

In an AP interview yesterday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke highly of U.S. reconstruction efforts in Iraq, stating, “We’ve done a lot of work to get these [reconstruction] structures right, and I think they finally are” — a day after a scathing government report detailed massive waste and poor planning in U.S. reconstruction efforts. When asked about the abuse, Rice claimed that U.S. dollars have emerged unscathed. . .

Read more at: Think Progress

Huge Reward Offered for Proof Rove Rigged Elections

Image from source, Raw Story

There are few humans I have less regard for than Karl Rove. Where politics are concerned, everybody has their own rogue's gallery. Mine includes Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, George W. Bush. . .shoot, just about anybody who's in--or has ever been in--the Bush Administration. But the aptly nicknamed Turd Blossom is the one at the top of my list.

Rove has been legendarily infamous for his ability to perform the most heinous political machinations, while maintaining plausible deniability. Everybody knows he's been behind them, but proving it is difficult. Even on those rare occasions where he's gotten busted, he's somehow gotten away with it. He even shrugged off being subpoenaed to appear before Congress. He simply didn't show up, and the Justice Department doesn't care.

The list of Rove's "accomplishments" are too lengthy to go into here, but I do have some reference material for you, Bush's Brain by James Moore and Wayne Slater, and Machiavelli's Shadow: The Rise and Fall of Karl Rove by Paul Alexander. There, if you have a strong stomach, you can read all about it.

But now, it would seem that "The Architect" has something of a bounty on his head. Good.

[Excerpt]

Non-profit offers $100k reward for info tying Rove to election rigging

A non-profit organization has offered a $100,000 reward to anyone who can supply information tying Republican strategist Karl Rove and computer expert Michael Connell to illegally manipulated elections, according to a Friday press release. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Condi Must Go?

So, you've probably heard that Condoleezza Rice is being considered, may even be actively campaigning to be named John McCain's running mate. Many are worried that having an African American woman on the ticket will be just the--uh--ticket to combating either a Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama Democratic ticket. You might even think so.

Well, watch this video, and see if you still hold that opinion.

Bush Administration War Criminals?

Here's a great piece from Countdown with Keith Olbermann, with Constitutional Law Professor Jonathon Turley, explaining more about the group of "principals" at the White House who came up with our strange torture policy.

McCain-Rice Ticket Beats Clinton-Obama?

Polls are frustrating things. When they go your way, you want to believe them. When they don't, it's easy to dismiss them. But I have trouble believing this one. First, it was a very small sampling of people. But secondly, and most importantly, how could John McCain's pick of Condi Rice as VP be seen by average New Yorkers as a better idea than a Obama/Clinton or Clinton/Obama ticket?

John McCain is closely aligned with the Bush Administration. Condoleezza Rice is part of the Bush Administration, and has been a largely ineffective Secretary of State. I know there is a lot of hand-wringing that this election is going to be close. I even heard Rachel Maddow (one of my favorite pundits) predict a McCain victory today on the radio. In order to believe that, we'd have to believe that the tremendous Democratic turnout, and anemic Republican turnout in the primaries is somehow going to be reversed. I just don't buy it.

[Excerpt]

Poll: McCain-Rice ticket wins in New York

A Republican ticket featuring John McCain and Condoleezza Rice could be a winner in the Democratic stronghold of New York, a poll suggests.

The Marist College-WNBC poll indicates a ticket featuring the Arizona senator and the U.S. secretary of state would upend a Democratic presidential ticket of Sens. Hillary Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois by 3 points, 49 percent to 46 percent, and an Obama-Clinton ticket by 5 points, 49 percent to 44 percent, the college said in a news release. . .

Read more at: UPI

Condi Rice Actively Seeking Vice Presidency?

Photo from source, Raw Story

Oy. Could part of my April Fool's Day post be coming true? No, no, no, no, no!

[Excerpt]

GOP strategist: Condi Rice 'actively campaigning' to be VP

On ABC's This Week, Republican strategist Dan Senor said that Condoleezza Rice has been actively campaigning to be John McCain's pick for Vice President.

Speaking of possible Vice President options for McCain, Senor said, "Condi Rice is an option. Tom Ridge is an option. Although, I think he'd have problems at the convention. Mitt Romney is an option. Condoleezza Rice has been actively campaigning for this. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

Obama, McCain & Clinton's Passports All Viewed

Photo from source, Raw Story

As expected, the passport scandal has grown, but what it all means still eludes me. The fact that all three of the candidates still in the race, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain have all had their passport files improperly accessed just confuses the matter. It shows that Barack Obama wasn't singled out. . .or. . .this is a nice cover story to make it look that way.

But if all three sets of records were being pilfered, is that better? Worse? It certainly shows that it doesn't matter who you are, the Bush Administration is looking over your shoulder, under your bed, in your closet, and probably watching you shower.

[Excerpt]

Passport firms' CEOs donated to Lieberman, Clinton and Obama

Contracting firms identified as Stanley, Inc. and The Analysis Corp., both of Virginia

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Friday apologized to Sen. Barack Obama for a security breach in which three State Department contractors inappropriately reviewed the Democratic presidential candidate's passport file.

CNN also reports, "Hillary Clinton's passport file was breached in 2007, Secretary of State Rice told Clinton, according to the senator's office. . ."

Read more at: Raw Story

Steven Weber: A Conservative Christmas Carol

Photo from The New Politics

My favorite writer at The Huffington Post (after Arianna), Steven Weber, has a great new post up. I already knew he was talented and funny (see Jeffrey, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip), but I didn't know he was a pretty decent satirical fiction writer too. Check it out. . .

[Excerpt]

A Compassionate Conservative Christmas Carol

. . .Upon reaching the entrance to his dim cell he [Bush] was met by the one remaining copmpatriot that hadn't flown or been kicked from the coop: the brainy, moist-eyed, pianist-cum-Secretary of State Condolleezza, whom Scrorge nicknamed "Condolleezza-peeza-poova-toova".

"I've just left you your nightly Coke and peanuts, Mister President." she said.

"You mash 'em up good in the bottom of the mug before you poured the Coke?" he asked, one brow raised in amused challenge.

"As always, sir. . ."

Read more at: Huffington Post

Wolfowitz May Become New Arms Control Advisor

Photo from source, New York Times

Sometimes you just throw your hands up and say, "well of course, why not?" This administration has proven adept at appointing their favorites to positions they're wholly wrong for, so why not? Good grief, I really don't know what else to say.

[Excerpt]

Wolfowitz May Return as Arms Control Advisor

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has offered [Paul D.] Wolfowitz … a position as chairman of the International Security Advisory Board, a prestigious State Department panel, according to two department sources who declined to be identified discussing personnel matters. . .

Read more at: New York Times

Daily Show: Jon Stewart on Karen Hughes

This clip (at least the clips with Condi) were a big hit in my household, so I thought I'd share them with you. Adios, Karen Hughes, I'm sure they'll find someone to fill that very big hole. . .

Neocon Gold!

Hat-tip to John Aravosis at AmericaBlog for this funny (it's funny because it's true) video. Enjoy.