From Holden: Everybody sing! Retail industry analysts are rolling out reports with titles like “Tick, Tick, Tick.” While they said sales would strengthen this week, most predict a lackluster Christmas for retailers. Sales are expected to quicken in the days before Christmas, Merrill Lynch wrote in a report, though sales at stores open at least a year are likely to rise only 2 percent in November and December over 2003, down from 3.3 percent last year. This year, analysts, trade groups, and consultants cannot seem to agree on exactly how good – or how bad – this holiday season will … Continue reading Si-i-lent Bush Boom, Nonexi-i-stent Bush Boom

From Holden: Today’s New York Times piece on the latest batch of torture documents unearthed by the ACLU makes no mention at all of FBI e-mails linking illegal interrogation techniques to Bush and Rumsfeld. The Post does a better job, although one would think that this link merited a screaming headline instead of a passing mention four paragraphs into the story. The documents also make it clear that some personnel at Guantanamo Bay believed they were relying on authority from senior officials in Washington to conduct aggressive interrogations. One FBI agent wrote a memo referring to a presidential order that … Continue reading The Times Ignores Torture Link to Bush

It’s difficult to hold all the horrors of the world in your mind at once. Sometimes we get so fixated on what’s happening in one place, and then something else flashes onto the screen, and we’re reminded: there is brutality, casual violence, acceptance of poverty and inhumanity, in many, many places. There are too few of us to pay attention to so much. I rarely read newspapers with an eye to the bylines; Sharon Cohen of Midwest AP is an exception, and Paul Salopek in the Chicago Tribune is a further exception; he has a novelist’s eye for the telling … Continue reading The Weight of the World

From Holden: Atrios links to the big one, but over the weekend Joe tied torture techniques in GITMO to Rumsfeld. [A]n internal FBI memo indicates that the directive to discard traditional restraints came from the very highest civilian official in the Pentagon: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. That revealing memo is dated May 10, 2004, a time when the Abu Ghraib revelations were humiliating the United States before the entire world. An e-mail, it is addressed to FBI counterterrorism officer Thomas J. Harrington from an agent whose name is redacted (along with much else), and its subject is captioned “Instructions … Continue reading And Rummy, Too

From Holden: Atrios brings us an early Xmas present from Dubya, via the ACLU.: Documentary evidence linking Georgie to toture. Let’s let the Moonie Times tell the story, shall we? An FBI document suggests the president authorized inhumane interrogation methods against Iraqi detainees, the American Civil Liberties Union said Monday. The document is among those obtained from the government by the ACLU in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit in New York. A two-page FBI e-mail message refers to “a Presidential Executive Order” and contends President George W. Bush directly authorized interrogation techniques that included sleep deprivation, stress positions, the … Continue reading And It’s Just My Size!

I don’t know if he should head the DNC, but I do now know his tie is very nice. A. Continue reading Happy Democrat Photo: Simon Rosenberg Edition

From Holden: It’s bad enough that the Sunnis are killing the Shiites in Iraq these days. But in case we forget, there’s another, possibly more intense conflict in the region between the Turks and the Kurds. Last week five Turkish commandos were killed in Northern Iraq while en route to the Turkish Embassy in Baghdad. Today the Turks are blaming the Kurds for the attack, as well as the U.S. for not providing security in the country we have occupied for nearly 20 months. Turkish officials imply that the team was ambushed by the Northern Iraqi Kurdish groups and the … Continue reading Stirring the Pot in Iraq

From Holden: When I first saw the image below of your preznit strolling across the White House lawn to his waiting SUV for some reason I thought of Gloria Swanson as Nora Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. But he doesn’t look that much like her. Maybe I was thinking of Greta Garbo… Or even Bella Abzug. But as so many have noted, he can’t be channeling anyone other than Truman Capote. Continue reading My Apologies to Gloria Swanson

From Holden: Damn, that’s one gay-looking preznit you got there, America. I mean, what the fuck? Is he channeling Nora Desmond or something? On to today’s press conference. The smirk is back. Condi: “NDI? NDI?!?! Jeebus, what an idiot.” Finally, the folks at Tom Paine caught this one. What’s wrong with this picture, from last week’s ballyhooed economic yes-men convention? Hint: some sign maker finds spelling to be a challenge. Continue reading Your Mid-Day Caption Contest

From Holden: The president deined to answer a few questions from the press this morning. It was a surprise to me, as no impending press conference was mentioned in Friday’s gaggle. Anyway, here are some lowlights. He got off on the wrong foot, fucking up the first line of his opening message: We’re nearing the end of a year where — of substantial progress at home at here abroad — and abroad. Next it was time to mangle a description of his relationship with Vlad Putin: When Vladimir made the decision, for example, on the — whether to elect governors … Continue reading That Surprise Press Conference, Part I

From Holden: <a href="Your preznit answered a few questions this morning, let’s get back to the fun. On to the Social Security dance! Q Thank you, Mr. President. You’ve made Social Security reform the top of your domestic agenda for a second term. You’ve been talking extensively about the benefits of private accounts. But by most estimations, private accounts may leave something for young workers at the end, but wouldn’t do much to solve the overall financial problem with Social Security. And I’m just wondering, as you’re promoting these private accounts, why aren’t you talking about some of the tough … Continue reading That Surprise Press Conference, Part II

From Holden: Cookie Jill over at skippy international leads us to the reasons why the Chimpster’s Iraqi illusions are taking a beating. The CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the State Department have warned President Bush that the United States and its Iraqi allies are not winning the battle against Iraqi insurgents who are trying to derail the country’s Jan. 30 elections, according to administration officials. [snip] [T]hey said the warnings — including one delivered this week to Bush by CIA Director Porter Goss — indicated that U.S. forces had not been able to stop the insurgents’ intimidation of Iraqi … Continue reading Illusion-Shattering Intelligence

From Holden: I can’t wait to get a full transcript of today’s surprise (to me, anyway) press conference. Here’s a little taste, the preznit’s view on the performance of Iraqi security forces to date: “We are under no illusion that this Iraqi force is not ready to fight in toto.” Good luck figuring that one out. Does this mean that they are under the illusion that the Iraqi force is ready to fight? That’s not news to anyone. And what the hell does Toto have to do with it? Continue reading Your Preznit Speaks

From Holden: December 9, 2004 – the preznit resolutely outlines a core principle regarding Social Security: THE PRESIDENT: We will not raise payroll taxes to solve this problem. Later that day, Little Scottie reiterates the preznits tough stance. Q So the President says that he will not prejudge any solution, but then he rules out a tax increase. Isn’t that prejudging a solution? MR. McCLELLAN: Actually, that’s one of the principles that the President outlined as part of our efforts to move forward to solve this problem. There are a lot of members of Congress who are committed to strengthening … Continue reading Chimpy’s Unwavering Principles

From Holden: Just a couple of tid-bits from yesterday’s installment of Meet the Press. First, Tim Russert asks Sen. Richard Lugar if Rumsfeld should resign. MR. RUSSERT: Secretary Rumsfeld be held accountable for what’s going on in Iraq? Should he stay in office? SEN. LUGAR: He should be held accountable, and he should stay in office. Gee, Dick, I should think that in order to hold Rummy accountable for his many failures in Iraq alone you would have fire him. Why should he stay on? The fact is that change of leadership in the Pentagon at this point might be … Continue reading Meet Tim-MEH

From Holden: We all remember who Time Magazine chose as thier Man of the Year in 1938, don’t we. Continue reading Time Has A Track Record

Today’s Action Alert comes from Atrios. Write or call Allen Boyd, (D – Fla.) and tell him that Democrats who won’t stand up for social security don’t deserve to call themselves Democrats. Point out that social security isn’t in trouble, and even if it were, a boondoggle that transfers wealth to Wall Street traders would not be the way to fix it. Allen Boyd: D.C.: (202)225-5235 Tallahasse: (850)561-3979 Panama City: (850)785-0812 Continue reading Action Alert – Social Security

From Holden: If you must take any drug, make it something natural like it marijuana, peyote or mushrooms. The fermentaion process is natural as well, so drink up! But be very cautious around any drug your doctor prescribes. Make sure it has been on the market for a long time, twenty years should be enough. The FDA is not doing it’s job, hasn’t been for years. Hell, the agency doesn’t even have a commissioner, and hasn’t for most of Bush’s term. Meanwhile they are rubber-stamping drugs that are then mass-marketed to unwary consumers who have been taught to trust their … Continue reading Drugs Are Bad, Mmm-Kay?

Pope says gay marriage is an “attack on society.” “Attacks on marriage and the family, from an ideological and legal aspect, are becoming stronger and more radical every day,” the 84-year old pontiff said in the unusually strong statement. “Who destroys this fundamental fabric causes a profound injury to society and provokes often irreparable damage.” All due respect to the Holy Father, but if he wanted to demonstrate the church’s tendency of late toward narcissism, he could hardly have chosen better words. An attack on society? As a straight married girl, I didn’t get hitched to strengthen society, nor did … Continue reading Department of It’s Not About You

Without a doubt, the most beautiful Christmas carols I’ve ever heard. Try, especially, the clip of “Silent Night.” A. Continue reading You Have Gone To Carnevale

I’ve been a Sherlock Holmes girl since high school, when I pulled the complete works of Conan Doyle off my dad’s shelves, looking for something thick that I could use to practice for my speed-reading class and ending up with a lifelong love. In college, I considered making Holmesiana a field of study. Holmes chronologists are some of the more obsessive people I’ve ever read, and the Baker Street Irregulars sounded right up my alley; Christopher Morley’s account of one of their dinners began with, “By not serving any highballs until after the soup we managed to keep some of … Continue reading Athenae’s New Toy

From Holden: Is it me, or is Little Scottie getting pissed here? Q Is the President surprised by the frustration of Senator Lott and other Republican senators about Secretary Rumsfeld? MR. McCLELLAN: I think the President is focused on working closely with Senator — with Secretary Rumsfeld to win the war on terrorism. That’s where his focus is. Secretary Rumsfeld is doing a great job, leading our efforts at the Department of Defense to win the war on terrorism and to help bring about a free and peaceful Iraq. And the President is focused on working closely with him on … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle

From Holden: Your future is in his hands. Shit. Continue reading Social Security

From Holden: Hard to imagine this happened in such a red state, but the Kansas Supreme Court just struck down the state’s death penalty law in a 4-3 decision. The Kansas death penalty law is unconstitutional because it favors the state over defendant, the state’s Supreme Court ruled today. [snip] The decision came in the Wichita case of Michael Marsh, convicted of killing Marry Ane Pusch and her 19-month-old daughter, Marry Elizabeth in 1996. “The death penalty is gone,” said Rebecca Woodman, the Topeka appellate defender who argued Marsh’s case before the court. Sedgwick County District Attorney Nola Foulston said … Continue reading Death Penalty Abolished in Kansas!

From Holden: The Rev. Wayne Lavender, pastor of the New Milford United Methodist Church, plans to launch a four-month peace mission on Jan. 1 that he hopes will include visiting Iraq and meeting President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, who are both fellow Methodists. [snip] Many leading clergy of the United Methodist Church, which has 9,000 churches nationwide, have spoken out against the war. ”Bush and Cheney are not my enemies and I respect them, but I respectfully disagree with them,” Lavender said. ”It will be part of my campaign to reach out to them and, if possible, meet … Continue reading Good Luck, Wayne

From Holden: In two polls conducted this week Chimpy’s job approval rating is slipping. Fox News (conducted Dec. 14-15) Approve 48 (-5) Disapprove 45 (+5) Zogby (conducted Dec. 13-15) Excellent/Good 49 (-2) Fair/Poor 50 (+1) The swing in the Fox News poll is the most startling, as their poll is usually pretty generous to the Bushboy and the change is outside of the margin of error. It’s hard to put your finger on just what it is that’s dragging Dear Leader’s approval rating down again. Bernie Kerik? Rummy? Attack on Social Security? Maybe it’s all of the above, and more. Continue reading There Goes the Mandate

Girls, consider this your Christmas gift from me. A. Continue reading Happy Democrat Photo: Aloha Obama Edition

From Holden: The Orangeburg, SC, Times and Democrat pays tribute to the retiring Senator Fritz Hollings by publishing 38 classic ‘Hollings-isms’. Photo courtesy of the Hollings Cancer Center. My all time favorites are numbers 21 and 22: 21. “I’ll take a drug test if you’ll take an IQ test.” A challenge made to Henry McMaster during the 1986 Senate race. 22. “Sam, if you want to personalize it, I got it right down the street from where you got that wig.” On ABC’s ‘This Week’ in 1990, when Sam Donaldson asked him where he got his ‘Korean suit.’ Priceless. So … Continue reading So Long, Fritz

Led by MediaMatters, supported by MoveOn, MediaChannel, FreePress, Workingassets, Robert Greenwald, of Outfoxed, Alternet, and The Campaign for America’s Future, we have a launched a campaign to protest Sinclair Broadcast Group’s continued misuse of pubic airways to air one sided politically charged programming without a counterpoint. Please write a letter to at least one of the following Sinclair advertisers: Kraft, Staples, Target, Geico, McDonalds, Sprint. Urge them to encourage Sinclair to balance the content of their news programming. The address for each advertiser can be found at: SinclairAction. Now, go get ’em, people, this is how we change things. And … Continue reading Friday Action Alert – Sinclair Broadcasting

From Holden: No wonder recruits are shunning the National Guard in droves. In a correction to an earlier story about the fatality rate for the Guard and Reserves in Iraq surpassing that of the regular army, USA Today throws out this interesting factoid: Throughout the 12-year Vietnam War, for example, fewer than 100 Guard troops were killed, compared with the 145 who have died in less than two years in Iraq. Shit. Continue reading More Guard Deaths in Iraq than Vietnam