From Holden: This exchange from today’s appearance with the EU leaders is so – well, tortured that it deserves a post all its own. Q Mr. President, many in Europe are worrying that with the fight against terrorism the commitment of the United States to human rights is not as big as it used to be — that is not only to do with Guantanamo, but also with the secret prisons where the CIA holds terror suspects. My question is, what will happen to these people who are held in these secret prisons by the CIA? Will they ever see … Continue reading Your President Speaks, The GITMO-Love Edition

From Holden: Is Clinton finally sick of watching Chimpy fuck up his country? In an interview with the Financial Times, the former president called for the camp, set up to hold suspected terrorists, to “be closed down or cleaned up”. Mr Clinton joined critics at home and abroad who have singled out the indefinite detention of prisoners without trial and widespread reports of human rights violations at Guantnamo. “It is time that there are no more stories coming out of there about people being abused,” he said. Mr Clinton said the test for judging whether harsh treatment of terrorist suspects … Continue reading The Big Dog On GITMO

From Holden: I can’t imagine a worse job in DC. The communications director for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) abruptly announced his resignation yesterday after months of defending his boss amid intense media scrutiny of the outspoken lawmaker. Dan Allen’s resignation immediately sparked speculation that he was shut out by DeLay’s closest advisers. [snip] “The reason for Dan’s departure was simple: He simply was not a good fit for either the hardworking nature of the office or the gritty nature of the majority leader,” one Republican strategist with close ties to the DeLay camp said. Another GOP insider said … Continue reading DeLay’s Mouthpiece Throws In The Towel

From Holden: With Democrats and a few Republican allies blocking consideration John Bolton’s nomination as UN Ambassador until the Bush assministration releases documents related to Bolton’s tenure as Undersecretary or State (documents that Little Scottie bizarrely claims the dems don’t really want to see), assministration officials are hinting that Chimpy might try a recess appointment over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. What happens if he makes such a cowardly move? Steve Clemons sez we win. Continue reading Running for Recess

From Holden: Jeb Bush has embroiled himself in a little spat with the Grey Lady over Schiavo. Continue reading Jebbie’s Slap Fight

From Holden: Here’s one: Wounded Bush Starts Public Relations Offensive on Iraq Here’s another: Bush Battles to Regain Footing Heh, indeederino. [/flanders] AFP/Paul J. Richards Continue reading Two Of My Favorite Headlines

From Holden: Today’s New York Times article about Rummy’s plans to promote General Ricardo “Dirty” Sanchez (bylined by Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker) claims not once, not twice, but three times that Sanchez was “cleared” of any wrongdoing related to the torture and abuse of detainees in Iraq. Such a move, which has been urged by senior Army officers and civilian officials now that an Army inquiry has cleared General Sanchez of wrongdoing, seems to reflect a growing confidence that the military has put the abuse scandal behind it. Continue reading Times Still Carries The Water

From Holden: President Asshat still has that magic touch. The sharp barbs from President Bush were widely seen in Iran as damaging to pro-reform groups because the comments appeared to have boosted turnout among hard-liners in Friday’s election — with the result being that an ultraconservative is in a two-way showdown for the presidency. “I say to Bush: ‘Thank you,’ ” quipped Intelligence Minister Ali Yunesi. “He motivated people to vote in retaliation.” Bush’s comments — blasting the ruling clerics for blocking “basic requirements of democracy” — became a lively sideshow in Iran’s closest election since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. … Continue reading Bush GOTV Efforts Work In Iran

From Holden: The entire medical and security staff staff of the main hospital in Baquba are refusing to work until something is done about the Iraqi police and security forces who have been terrorizing them. This “Meet the New Boss” stuff is getting old. Staff and security guards at the hospital, the largest in the province with more than 100 doctors and 400 beds, handed a petition to the director on Saturday saying they would only handle emergency cases until their grievances were addressed. “We want the governor and the minister to do something to protect us from the organized … Continue reading Fool Me Twice…Uhh, Won’t Get Fooled Again

It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these. Tell me what’s on your minds. A. Continue reading Weekend Open Thread

Patriots, every one. Is it me or was this an extraordinary week? Between Charlie Rangel talking about impeachment, the Downing Street Memo hearing (if you haven’t watched it go here for the highlights), Bush’s approval ratings dropping into the basement … And don’t let’s forget Dick Durbin, my very own senator, standing up and telling the truth. And then telling his critics to STFU. We’ve seen movement precisely because we’ve refused to back down in the face of the usual wussified carping from Republicans that oooh, the liberals iz being so meen!!1! See what can happen when we just ignore … Continue reading Happy Democrats

From Holden: In today’s gaggle Little Scottie sez the president wants to compromise with Democrats on Social Security but those damn dems are obstructionists because they won’t do exactly what Chimpy wants. Q I have one thing. There are reports this morning that both Bill Thomas and Chuck Grassley have given up trying to get Republican support for personal accounts and they’re going to bring to the floors of their respective Houses a bill that doesn’t have personal accounts. Is the administration okay with that? MR. McCLELLAN: I’m not sure — which reports are you referring to? Q The Wall … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle

From Holden: Holden Wins! Holden Wins! Holden Wins! Latest Wall Street Journal Poll: Approve: 38% Disapprove: 56% Wait a minute, those are Dick Cheney’s numbers! Here are Chimpy’s Job Approval numbers: Approve: 45% Disapprove: 55% And the numbers for the rest of the Bush Junta. Condoleezza Rice Approve: 52% Disapprove: 41% Donald Rumsfeld Approve: 42% Disapprove: 53% Bill Frist Approve: 28% Disapprove: 47% Dennis Hastert Approve: 28% Disapprove: 44% Tom DeLay Approve: 28% Disapprove: 55% Republicans in Congress Approve: 37% Disapprove: 58% And the Right-Track-Wrong-Track Numbers: Right Track: 38% Wrong Track: 55% Continue reading Less Than 40 By The 4th!

From Holden: Yet another record trade deficit for the Bush assministration. The deficit in the broadest measure of international trade rose to an all-time high of $195.1 billion from January through March of this year as the country sank deeper into debt to Japan, China and other nations. The Commerce Department reported Friday that the deficit in the current account rose by 3.6 percent from the previous quarterly record, an imbalance of $188.4 billion in the final three months of 2004. The current account deficit has risen to record heights in recent years as America’s demand for foreign goods and … Continue reading My Bush Boom is on a Slow Boat to China

A. Continue reading Friday Ferretblogging

From Holden: One of the Zapata Engineering mercenaries detained by U.S. Marines in Fallujah speaks out about the treatment he received from Our Troops! Peter Ginter learned what it was like to be a prisoner of war in combat training exercises so he had an idea of what to expect last month when he was roughed up, stripped and locked in a 6-by-8-foot cell in Iraq. But the ex-Marine never imagined his captors would be U.S. troops. And he never dreamed they would hand him a Koran and a prayer rug, and treat him like the enemy for the next … Continue reading Falling Into The Wrong Hands

From Holden: Somehow I get the feeling that the President’s new strategy for Social Security is destined for failure. President George W. Bush is trying to salvage his faltering campaign for private Social Security accounts by accusing Democrats of obstructionism while searching for a compromise that can win approval in Congress. And in other failed presidency news: The timetable for President Bush’s effort to overhaul the U.S. code was pushed back by two months on Thursday, as the White House grappled with a crammed legislative agenda. An advisory panel named by Bush in January to study ways of revamping the … Continue reading You’d Get More Bees With Honey

From Holden: Impeachment finally muttered on the pages of the Grey Lady. At an antiwar rally across the street from the White House after Mr. Conyers’s hearing, speakers roused a crowd of several hundred people with calls to bring the troops home and to impeach Mr. Bush. The protesters, organized by a group called After Downing Street, called the British memo the “smoking gun” proving their case against the administration. Continue reading The I-Word

From Holden: Krugman shines the national spotlight on yet another Republican scandal with a fine summary of the shennanigans. The key graph: In other words, Ohio’s state government today is a lot like Boss Tweed’s New York. Unfortunately, a lot of other state governments look similar – and so does Washington. Continue reading Coingate

From Holden: The Bush assministration lied to our closest ally about the use of napalm in Iraq. Words that adequately describe my outrage have yet to be invented. Continue reading Wonderful

From Holden: CBS News agrees with the Pew Center and pegs Chimpy’s job approval rate at a mere 42% with an MOE of +/-3%. Continue reading Less Than 40 By The 4th!

Dick Durbin shows he’s been officially admitted into the society of What Would Lyndon Johnson Do and that he has, in fact, read the WWLBJD handbook: A Durbin spokesman said Wednesday that the senator did not plan to apologize for the comments. The senator issued a statement saying it’s the administration that should apologize “for abandoning the Geneva Conventions and authorizing torture techniques that put our troops at risk and make Americans less secure.” Attack. Attack. Attack. You do not apologize. You do not explain. You do not back down. Not. One. Inch. E-mail him with your love. A. Continue reading Happy Democrat Photo: Durbin, Bitches!

From Holden: Oooh, Little Scottie sufferred quite a grilling today on far too many subjects for one blog (go read the transcript and take note of the Social Security questions). Yo, Scottie – how ’bout them insurgents, huh? Now, now Scottie – don’t throe a fit. Q Scott, is the insurgency in Iraq in its last throes? MR. McCLELLAN: Terry, you have a desperate group of terrorists in Iraq that are doing everything they can to try to derail the transition to democracy. The Iraqi people have made it clear that they want a free and democratic and peaceful future. … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle

From Holden: Scottie won’t answer any questions about the Downing Street Memo(s) other than to claim that the issue has already been addressed and to assert that the only people who are concerned with it are those who opposed the war from the beginning. But public sentiment has been shifting on this issue for some time now, I don’t think Scottie’s line will hold up much longer. Q Scott, on another topic, has the President or anyone else from the administration responded to the letter sent last month by Congressman John Conyers and signed by dozens of members of the … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle: Downing Street Edition

From Holden: Your president speaks. “Today, Iran is ruled by men who suppress liberty at home and spread terror across the world. Power is in the hands of an unelected few who have retained power through an electoral process that ignores the basic requirements of democracy,” Bush said in a statement released by the White House. Leading conservative Iranian presidential candidate Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani responds*. “Today, America is ruled by men who suppress liberty at home and spread terror across the world. Power is in the hands of an unelected few who have retained power through an electoral process that … Continue reading Pot-Kettlism Defined

From Holden: Recently released financial disclosures reveal that the Bush White House is infested with multi-millionaires, including: Karl Rove (Deputy Chief of Staff) Dan Bartlett (Counselor to the President) Andy Card (Chief of Staff) Stephen Hadley (National Security Adviser) Allan Hubbard (Chief Economic Adviser) Harriet Miers (White House Counsel) Sorta explains those tax cuts, don’t it? Continue reading Government Of The Millionaires, By The Millionaires, For The Millionaires

From Holden: New jobless claims are back up again. In the week ending June 11, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 333,000, an increase of 1,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 332,000. The 4-week moving average was 335,000, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 332,250. Continue reading The Bush Boom Yo-Yo

From Holden: You better start checking under your couch cushions for loose change, Athenae. Pew Research Center for the People & the Press Survey, Bush Job Approval Rating: Approve: 42% Disapprove: 47% The margin of error on this survey is +/- 3%. Continue reading Less Than 40 By The 4th!

From Holden: What about Poland? Poland said Wednesday it will cut its 1,700-troop deployment to Iraq this summer by as many as 300 troops. Marines bearing the burden. According to a Copley News Service tally of casualties reported by the Pentagon, 502 Marines have died from hostile action or accidents in Iraq, as of the last reported death Monday. Thirty-two Navy personnel also have died in Iraq. Continue reading Quagmire Update

From Holden: Justice Department memos reveal that the decision to settle for less than 10% of what the tobacco industry owes its victims was *gasp* based on politics. Senior Justice Department officials overrode the objections of career lawyers running the government’s tobacco racketeering trial and ordered them to reduce the penalties sought at the close of the nine-month trial by $120 billion, internal documents and interviews show. The trial team argued that the move would be seen as politically motivated and legally groundless. “We do not want politics to be perceived as the underlying motivation, and that is certainly a … Continue reading The Scandal-Plagued Bush Assministration, Part II: Wacky Tobacky