From Holden: I was guest-blogging for Atrios in July 2004 when I wrote this post (with follow-ups here, here, here, and here) about allegations that Interim Iraqi PM Iyad Allawi killed six men in cold blood a few days before the “transfer of sovereignty” at the end of June. Not surpisingly, major U.S. media never picked up on the story and not much was heard about the allegations after the award-winning Australian journalist who broke the story, Paul McGeough, fled Iraq fearing for his life. Today, however, we find a report confirming the Allawi execution story. A former Jordanian government … Continue reading ”We Got Rid of One Son of a Bitch Only to Get Another One.”

From Holden: Both the Clinton and Bush administrations turned a blind eye to illegal sales of Iraqi oil to Jordan and Turkey in order to maintain close ties to the two Middle Eastern Allies. Charles Duelfer, head of the Iraq Survey Group, said last year that Iraq’s smuggling to and from neighbouring countries was by far the largest source of revenue for Mr Hussein’s regime, accounting for $8bn (£4.2bn) out of $11bn. Its single biggest source of illicit income was trade with Jordan, at least until 2000, after which trade with Syria and Turkey grew in importance. In December 1998, … Continue reading Oil for Food Snares Clinton – And Bush!

Today’s Action: Write a letter to your Senators and ask them not to confirm Condalezza Rice as Secretary of State.� As demonstrated by Rice’s unresponsive answers to Barbara Boxer’s questions, Rice is not qualified to be Secretary of State.� Tell your Senators that we can do better. Thanks for taking today’s action. Continue reading Wednesday Action Alert

From Holden: The Washington Post manages to write an entire article about the Justice Department investigating Joe L. Allbritton’s personal use of a Gulfstream jet and other company assets during and after his time as chief executive of Riggs Bank (a bank that hid assets for dictator Augusto Pinochet) without mentioning that Georgie’s uncle Johnathan J. Bush was until recently an executive with Riggs. Nor do they devote a drop of ink to the fact that Allbritton is an old family friend of the Bush’s and a major donor/fundraiser for junior. I guess their too busy covering the coronation to … Continue reading Must Have Slipped Their Notice

From Holden: Singer Curses at Inaugural Youth Concert What will the children think? Continue reading The Moral Values Crowd

From Holden: Your Secretary of State-designate: Condoleezza Rice, President Bush’s nominee for secretary of state, refused Tuesday to set any timetable for the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq. Reality: The Iraqi government that emerges from elections on Jan. 30 will almost certainly ask the United States to set a specific timetable for withdrawing its troops, according to new American intelligence estimates described by senior administration officials. So that gives them, like, two weeks to come up with a plan. And we know how good they are at planning. Continue reading Not What You Would Call – How Do You Say It? – Competent

From Holden: A: A toilet doesn’t whine after you use it. President Bush came under fire from some social conservatives yesterday for saying he will not aggressively lobby the Senate to pass a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage during his second term. Prominent leaders such as Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, and many rank-and-file Bush supporters inundated the White House with phone calls to protest Bush’s comments in an interview published Sunday in The Washington Post. “Clearly there is concern” among conservatives, Perkins said. “I believe there is no more important issue for the president’s second term … Continue reading Q: What’s the Difference Between a Fundie and a Toilet?

From Holden: The Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means committee says Georgie should not bother to send his Social Security plan to congress. I think he realizes that there is no crisis. House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) predicted yesterday that partisan warfare over Social Security will quickly render President Bush’s plan “a dead horse” and called on Congress to undertake a broader review of the problems of an aging nation. Thomas, one of Capitol Hill’s most powerful figures on tax policy, is the highest-ranking House Republican official to cast doubt on the president’s plan … Continue reading Bush’s Plan to Destroy Social Security is DOA

From Holden: Ladies and gentlemen it’s my pleasure to bring you the lovely and talented Helen Thomas: Q Does the President think that advancing freedom through war is the only way you can do it? MR. McCLELLAN: Absolutely not. And, of course, that’s — Q Does he intend to continue that MO? MR. McCLELLAN: Absolutely not, Helen. In fact, we are working in a number of ways to support the advance of freedom throughout the world. The President believes that all people yearn to live in freedom. And we will always stand on the side of those who seek freedom, … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle

From Holden: I think we can all agree that Condoleezza Rice is a lemon. So what’s the upside to having her as Secretary of State? Turn the clock back to March 5, 2004: A federal grand jury probing the leak of a CIA officer’s identity has subpoenaed the records of phone calls from Air Force One, the president’s plane, made the week before the name of the officer was published in a July newspaper column, Newsday reported Friday. A federal grand jury probing the leak of a CIA officer’s identity has subpoenaed the records of phone calls from Air Force … Continue reading Making Lemonade

From Holden: The Nazi Israeli way. The U.S. military is resorting to collective punishment tactics in Iraq similar to those used by Israeli troops in the occupied territories of Palestine, residents say. Military bulldozers have mown down palm groves in the rural al-Dora farming area on the outskirts of Baghdad, residents say. Electricity has been cut, the local fuel station destroyed and the access road blocked. The U.S. action comes after resistance fighters attacked soldiers from this area several weeks back. “The Americans were attacked from this field, then they returned and started cutting down all the trees,” says Kareem, … Continue reading Winning Hearts and Minds

From Holden: Via Froomkin, we find this. Officials say Bush’s inauguration ceremonies next week will cost about 40 million dollars, nearly all of it coming from private donations. Some people say that because the country is at war, it would be better to have a smaller and more subdued inauguration. Others favor continuing the country’s tradition of large inaugural celebrations. Which of these views comes closer to your own? Responses by Party (Democrat, Republican. Independent, and All) Better to have smaller, more subdued inauguration D – 81% R – 46% I – 68% All – 66% Continue tradition of large … Continue reading People Say No To Lavish Coronation

From Holden: Earlier today I linked to a story about the Interim Government of Iraq’s announcement that it would seal the country’s borders for the Jan. 30 election. Now, some might wonder how the Iraqi’s are going to seal a border that the U.S. military has been unable to secure for nearly two years. But let’s be fair and look at the state of our efforts to secure those borders. First, let’s take a look at the brave Iraqi soldiers we’ve trained for border security. A force of about 500 Iraqis patrols this area of the border. Overseen by U.S. … Continue reading Securing the Borders

From Holden: Our friend Josh (not Marshall) e-mailed this example of Christian Charity. Rage and fury has gripped this tsunami-hit tiny Hindu village in India’s southern Tamil Nadu after a group of Christian missionaries allegedly refused them aid for not agreeing to follow their religion. Samanthapettai, near the temple town of Madurai, faced near devastation on the December 26 when massive tidal waves wiped it clean of homes and lives. [snip] Jubilant at seeing the relief trucks loaded with food, clothes and the much-needed medicines the villagers, many of who have not had a square meal in days, were shocked … Continue reading WTFWJD?

From Holden: “What else did I do that was funny when I wuz preznit?” Continue reading There Are No Coincidences

From Holden: “The time for diplomacy is now.” But only now. During the prior four years – no time for diplomacy. Continue reading Sort of a Last Resort, Eh?

From Holden: A new post from River Bend: The weapons never existed. It’s like having a loved one sentenced to death for a crime they didn’t commit- having your country burned and bombed beyond recognition, almost. Then, after two years of grieving for the lost people, and mourning the lost sovereignty, we’re told we were innocent of harboring those weapons. We were never a threat to America… Congratulations Bush- we are a threat now. And from Juan Cole, a clear-eyed look at Bush’s mandate. Bush should have been elected, as a war president, with a big margin. He wasn’t. He … Continue reading Two More. Topic: Iraq

From Holden: It could happen. Continue reading Bushisms Explained

From Holden: Iraqi officials announced Tuesday they will seal the country’s borders, extend a nighttime curfew and restrict movement to protect voters during the Jan. 30 vote, which insurgents are seeking to ruin with a campaign of violence. Link. After nearly three years of futile efforts by both U.S. and Iraqi forces to seal Iraq’s borders what makes them think they can find success now? A private security company staffed by former elite U.S. special forces soldiers will provide security at polling places in the United States for people voting in Iraq’s Jan. 30 parliamentary election. Link. Gee, our own … Continue reading ThreeTwo. Topic: Iraq

The real problem with Roemer, as the crack den reveals, isn’t that he’s too moderate or disagrees with his party’s platform on abortion or might steer the party to the center. The problem is that he comes across as a puling whining little wuss before he’s even got the job. How’s this “everbody’s pickin’ on poor widdle me” attitude going to play on the Sunday shows? How is he going to have the steel to face down Bush and his congressional crowd of flying monkeys if he can’t inspire an inspiration-starved crowd like the Dems right now? The problem isn’t … Continue reading The Great Distraction

Nice. A weekend television weatherman was fired after he made an on-air racial slur about Martin Luther King Jr., station officials said. Rob Blair of KTNV-TV was delivering the extended forecast Saturday morning when he said: “For tomorrow, 60 degrees, Martin Luther Coon King Jr. Day, gonna see some temperatures in the mid-60s.” Jim Prather, vice president and general manager of the ABC affiliate, said Blair stumbled but the excuse was not enough to save his job. How exactly does that just slip out? He was trying to say King and Junior at the time and came up with Kunior? … Continue reading Happy MLK Day!

From Holden: In remarks that I fear will do nothing but elicit a few snide remarks from the wrong side of the blogosphere, John Kerry speaks out. Sen. John Kerry, in some of his most pointed public comments yet about the presidential election, invoked Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy on Monday as he criticized President Bush and decried reports of voter disenfranchisement. The Massachusetts Democrat, Bush’s challenger in November, spoke at Boston’s annual Martin Luther King Day Breakfast. He reiterated that he decided not to challenge the election results, but “thousands of people were suppressed in the effort to vote. … Continue reading Remember Me?

Atrios has a follow-up on the Clarence Thomas story, with a transcript of what the Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court said: Following up on this post, here’s the transcript of what an Alabama state SC justice said about Clarence Thomas, sent in by a reader: PARKER: “Just moments before I placed my hand on the Holy Scripture, Justice Thomas soberly addressed me and those in attendance. He admonished us to remember that the worth of a justice should be evaluated by one thing, and by one thing alone: whether or not he is faithful to uphold his oath _ … Continue reading Following up on Clarence Thomas

From Holden: Today will be a slow blogging day for me (like less than 100 posts). So here are just two Iraqi quickies of interest. Mass resignations in Mosul (we’re talking thousands of police, election workers, and other government workers) leaves the U.S. scrambling. Urban Mosul is predominantly Arab, but the rest of the region is dominated by the Kurds. Will the coming election be a “catastrophic success” if the Sunnis and many Kurds are unable to vote? Finally, the U.S. is shipping Saddam to Qatar in what was described as a “precautionary measure against surprise developments” in the run … Continue reading Iraqi Quick Hits

Clarence Thomas has been quoted as saying, “[A] judge should be evaluated by whether he faithfully upholds his oath to God, not to the people, to the state or to the Constitution.”� If he said this, he ought to be impeached. Today’s action is to keep this story alive.� Call talk radio, write a letter to the editor, blog the story.� We need Supreme Court judges who take their oath of office — to protect and defend the Constitution — seriously.� If Mr. Thomas can’t do that, he needs to find a new job.� Now. For more information on Thomas’s … Continue reading Action Alert – Clarence Thomas

Remember Mark Belling? The loudmouth talk radio host from Milwaukee called Mexican-American voters in the city “wetbacks,” proclaimed on his show that he wasn’t all that sorry he said it, got suspended while his masochistic listeners beat their man-boobs and demanded we stop persecuting this great American, after which Belling was reinstated with hardly a scratch. However, those who spoke up about Belling’s obnoxious behavior did get, it turns out, a little something out of the deal: A new Hispanic public affairs show hit the airwaves today on WISN radio, the same station that carries Mark Belling’s talk show. Belling … Continue reading Compare/Contrast

Atrios has a post up, linking to (The Return of) Ignatz. It concerns something that Justice Clarence Thomas may or may not have said to a justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Did He Say It An Alabama SC justice claims, according to a Birmingham News reporter, that Clarence Thomas told him: [A] judge should be evaluated by whether he faithfully upholds his oath to God, not to the people, to the state or to the Constitution. This is indeed a big deal, no matter what your personal religious views happen to be. Did he really say it? Will anyone … Continue reading A Very Big Deal

link to highly credible source here. Evil Cyborgs Assimmilate Harvard!!!!!!! You will be shocked to learn that Rebecca MacKinnon, of the Harvard Blogging, Journalism, & Credibility Conference at Harvard’s Berkman Center, is… AN EVIL CYBORG INTENT ON DEVOURING THE BLOGOSPHERE!!!! AND SHE EATS KITTENS!!!! REALLY, REALLY CUTE KITTENS!!!! I heard this from this guy, you know. He’s a real good guy. VERY reliable. OH! Won’t some prominent blogger pick this story up from this slapdash blog, so the story can duly ping around the blogosphere until it flies upwards, as if by MAGIC, into the Journalistic Credibility Stratosphere, to end … Continue reading Sunday Action Alert: Save the Kittens!!!!!

From today’s NYTimes, a magnificent Frank Rich column about the last Crossfire broadcast: This was a half-hour of television so egregious that it makes Jon Stewart’s famous pre-election rant seem, if anything, too kind. This time “Crossfire” wasn’t just “hurting America,” as Mr. Stewart put it, by turning news into a nonsensical gong show. It was unwittingly, or perhaps wittingly, complicit in the cover-up of a scandal. Read the the whole thing – I promise you’ll be glad you did. Disclaimer: I take no responsibility for Mr. Rich’s claim in the above quote. However, I really really likes it. Continue reading Frank Rich goes to town on Novakula’s “Ethics”

From Holden: I don’t usually blog on weekends, but I just had to do a post on Chimpy’s WaPo interview. You’ve probably already read about his claim that as he won the November election no one should be held accountable for losing his War on Iraq. But you may not have read this exchange, which calls into question his memory if not his mental state. The Post: Will you talk to Senate Democrats about your privatization plan? THE PRESIDENT: You mean, the personal savings accounts? The Post: Yes, exactly. Scott has been — THE PRESIDENT: We don’t want to be … Continue reading Your Preznit’s Mental Problems