Digby On Hadji Girl Syndrome
"I hope the Republicans are prepared to spend as much on VA mental health as they've spent filling their right wing cronies' bank accounts because a lot of these guys are going to need help. Our troops are in danger of losing their humanity in a war being fought for bogus political reasons. Some of them are going to have a hard time living with that.

Debunking the Arguments Against Withdrawal

"Withdraw immediately or stay the present course? That is the key question about the war in Iraq today. American public opinion is now decidedly against the war. From liberal New England, where citizens pass town-hall resolutions calling for withdrawal, to the conservative South and West, where more than half of “red state” citizens oppose the war, Americans want out. That sentiment is understandable."

How To Impeach A President

Keep your eyes out for the National Teach-In on impeachment, launching nationwide on July 19.

At Least One Senator Will Speak Truth To Absolutely Corrupt Power:
"Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, a potential 2008 presidential candidate, received a raucous, enthusiastic greeting Wednesday ... as he criticized President Bush for the Iraq war and a secretive domestic wiretapping program ... And he reiterated a theme he's made in recent speeches, exhorting Democrats to show some backbone ... Feingold got one of his loudest responses when he reiterated his view that Bush's wiretapping program falls in the "strike zone" of impeachable offenses. ... "There has to be some accountability," Feingold said. "... The president must follow the law. ... We've got 2 1/2 years."

The Bush Administration's Reasons For Wanting To Repeal The Estate Tax:
"Rove's disclosure revealed he is worth between $1.8 million and $6.9 million, mostly in stock and bond funds, a rental house in Ingram, Texas, and a Florida beach house ... White House chief of staff Joshua Bolten listed assets worth $1.1 million to $2.3 million, including a vacation home in Key West, Fla., worth $500,000 to $1 million ... Bush's national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, listed assets held by him, his wife and his two daughters worth $2.8 million to $6.8 million ... Allan Hubbard, Bush's top economic adviser, and his family reported assets of $11.7 million and $52 million in private holdings, retirement accounts and other business investments."

It's Bad When Even The Austrian Right-Wingers Call You A War Criminal
" Austrian right-wing populist Joerg Haider called President Bush a war criminal on Saturday, days before Austria's government hosts Bush and European leaders in Vienna. Haider ... said Bush's meeting with his European peers on Wednesday was pointless as he did not expect the U.S. president to pay attention to what Europe had to tell him. "He is a war criminal. He brought about the war against Iraq deliberately, with lies and falsehoods," Haider said in an interview with Austrian daily newspaper Die Presse. "The Iraqi population is suffering terribly. Bush took the risk of an enormous number of victims," said Haider."

Bush Witholding Key Data On Toxic Waste Sites
"... Bush withholding key details about toxic waste sites that present risks of exposure to nearby residents ... the Environmental Protection Agency had designated as confidential the details of about 140 Superfund sites where toxic exposure remained uncontrolled ... the secret data included information about how much money and time it would take to clean up the dangerous sites, including one site where the EPA predicted it would take 26 years to close off access to toxics ... One Republican-sponsored bill moving through Congress would limit data available on toxic substances released into communities, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has blocked information on flooding dangers in Florida."

It's All About the Messages

“...it is beyond my comprehension how a reasonable observer could believe anything but the fact that the Iraq war has made the U.S. less safe.” - Alex Rossmiller

Rossmiller makes some insightful observations in his opening comments at YearlyKos (see link from Thursday below), but when he says: “Despite what the media might say, Democrats largely agree on foreign policy,” and “I do not believe that Democratic values and strategies in foreign policy need to be significantly revised. I also do not believe that we should have huge message problems,” it gets me worried. The part about not having message problems is really worrying, actually.

Currently John Kerry is talking about full troop withdrawal by the end of ’06, Hillary Clinton is touting her own withdrawal plan and schedule, and Howard Dean and other Democrats chime in from time to time with generalities about the Bush admin having no plan in Iraq. So what is the message we are receiving from Democrats?

The press and Republicans will chew up and spit out any perceived inconsistencies within the Democrat “consensus,” especially when it comes to Iraq. Two examples: CNN attempts to highlight this trend while interviewing Nancy Pelosi, but luckily Wolf was shooting from the hip and Pelosi caught him doing it. Karl Rove has begun peppering his speeches with the mini-slogans that will eventually form the core of his all out attack on Democrat inconsistencies: in this case it’s the Democrat plan to “cut and run” from Iraq. We haven't heard the last of this one, and how exactly will Democrats respond to this in a credible, comprehendable manner to the public?

This is nothing new. Exploiting the lack of cohesive messages and weak communication skills of the Democrats got Bush 2 terms in the WH and Republicans a majority in congress. Republicans know their audience, keep the messages simple, and repeat them incessantly.

So how do we take what Rossmiller says about Democrat foreign policy and package that up in a digestible, compelling message for the public? This is the challenge for Democrats. If there was one thing we SHOULD have learned in 2000 and 2004 is that messages drive perception, and perception drives voting. The public likes the media to lob easy-to-comprehend ideas and messages at them. By using the term “reasonable observer,” Rossmiller assumes that the audience is indeed not only reasonable, but immune to the false realities conjured up by Republican messages. He is giving them (the public) too much credit.

Democrats can’t repeat the mistake of overestimating the American public’s propensity to comprehend reality. It is precisely what the media says that matters in the end, no matter how cohesive the Democrats think they are.

So Democrats: please take a weekend, get out of DC for some group hugging and get your shit together. What can happen between now and November? Anything.

Lapdog Media Supports Corrupt GOP ... AGAIN
"How many Republican representatives and senators are currently under investigation? Probably a dozen, easily.  And what about Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee?  Appropriations is the committee that spends the money. It's probably, by definition, the most corruptable committee in the House. Internestingly, Lewis was the Chairman of the Defense Appropriations subcommittee when Duke Cunningham was getting all that loot for Brent Wilkes and Mitchell Wade. As Chair of that subcommittee, Lewis had to sign off on all that stuff ... Has anyone seen a talking head, an editorial page, anyone suggesting it may not be appropriate for Rep. Lewis to be in charge of House earmarks while all this is going on?"

Recipe For War, Economic Injury, And Reactionary Isolationism
"I spent over six months in Iraq last year, and many more months working the issue at the Pentagon, and it is beyond my comprehension how a reasonable observer could believe anything but the fact that the Iraq war has made the U.S. less safe. It has overstretched our forces, created a lawless area for terrorists to learn their deadly craft, established a constant source of recruiting for militant Islamists across the globe, and destabilized a region on which we depend for economic well-being. Stay the course is a ridiculous notion when the course is wrong."

Dumbfuckingillegalimmoralimpeachable Things
"The ACLU, Ned Lamont, and Bob Casey have cashed their checks, but since Bush keeps doing dumbfuckingillegalimmoralimpeachable things, and since folks are seeing people running around in their ITMFA buttons and pins and want some of their own, orders just keep pouring in. Which means, of course, that we've got more money to give away ..."

"Leaving To Pursue Other Interests"
"One of President George W. Bush's top policy advisers and former chief speechwriter, Michael Gerson, is stepping down to pursue other opportunities, a White House spokesman said on Wednesday. Gerson was Bush's chief speechwriter during the president's first term and was promoted to policy and strategic adviser in 2005 ... Gerson, listed as one of the 25 most influential Evangelical Christians in America by Time magazine last year, is credited with helping Bush give voice to his "compassionate conservative" philosophy ..."

Wonder where Gerson was busted shoplifting, and how long before that story will hit the media.  'Tis the pattern, after all ...

"Fighting Off Fatigue"
I've looked this over, and thought about it from a few angles, and just have to put the question out there: Was the President on speed - or some other special energizing agent - during the press conference this morning?  Or is it just that he's been drunk and/or hung over in public for the last six years?  Just watch the video ... about two minutes in whatever he's on starts to kick in.  About 12-1/2 minutes in, during the Q&A, the difference really shows.

Who was the quack that used to travel with Kennedy to keep his drugs flowing?  Anybody know whether Dubya has similar special medical advisors?  

Sorry folks, but I'm just not buying that his performance this morning was unassisted.  Contrast videos like this one, if you don't see the difference right away.  And take a look at Steve Watson's work from last year chronicling the Bush public persona meltdown, if you weren't aware that there was a problem that needed fixin'.

Any pharmaceutical experts out there have ideas on what magic pill(s) might produce a performance like this morning's?

Resistance Takes Courage:
Kids like Ava Lowery are the future of a progressive America.  You can see why the Bush administration wants to crush her and her peers under the weight of staggering debt, international hatred and a failed health care system.

The Soft Bigotry Of Low Expectations:
"Talk about the soft bigotry of low expectations. The GOP barely won a congressional election in a district that's 60% Republican. After a year of looking, the White House finally persuaded someone to become Secretary of the Treasury. They killed a terrorist they could have killed three years ago if they'd wanted to. And Bush's top aide has avoided criminal charges.  Next up: FEMA fails to screw up after Hurricane Alberto is downgraded to a tropical storm. Another triumph for the White House!"

Michael Berg (Father Of Beheaded Contractor Nicholas) On Bush & Zarqawi:
"We could prevent the suffering of far more families if we would impeach George Bush today and end this war today...Any loss of human life is a loss for all of us...In Zarqawi's case, it's a double loss. Not only was he a human being who has parents who are suffering in the same way that my family and I have suffered, he's also a political figure, and his death is going to reignite the next wave of revenge - revenge that Zarqawi participated in, revenge that George Bush participates in, revenge that goes back to prehistoric times. It never solves anything."

Latest On (Sealed) Rove Indictment?:
"We believe that federal criminal indictment "06 cr 128" (Sealed vs. Sealed) is directly related to the Fitzgerald/Plame investigation. That's based on a single credible source and the information discussed above. We believe that Karl Rove is cooperating with federal investigators, and for that reason Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald is not willing to comment on his status. That is based, again, on a single credible source, and background information provided by experts in federal criminal law. We believe that the indictment was returned and filed "on May 10 2006." Same single credible source, and details from the filing records."

Meanwhile, Rove's lawyers saying he will not be charged ...

So if the Turdblossom isn't indicted in "Sealed vs. Sealed", then who is? Any ideas?

Just To Be Clear: God Is NOT On Bush's Side:
"The Methodists' chief social-issues spokesman, Jim Winkler, believes Congress should impeach President Bush ... 'there was nothing Christian in (Bush's) response to Sept. 11 ... The war on terror is a war of terror. We have to stop it' ... The Methodists are America's third-largest religious body. The bishops of the largest, Roman Catholicism, said before the Iraq invasion that they questioned the morality of pre-emptive and unilateral action and saw no grave danger of Iraqi attacks or evidence that that nation was involved in Sept. 11 ..."

A Difference Over Moral Values:
"The war in Iraq ... Impending war with Iran ... The economy ... Budget out of control, shipwreck ahead ... Worst class divisions since the Gilded Age, rich so much more enormously richer than everybody else ... Torture, massacre, extraordinary rendition, hidden gulag of prisons in foreign countries, Guantanamo, and massive violations of international law, American law and the Constitution ... Don't worry, be happy.  The Republicans are worried about the flag, gay marriage and the terrible burden of the estate tax on the rich."

Local Drives For Impeachment Gain Steam:
"Demonstrators in Fresno ... called for Bush’s impeachment ... Protestors received ... friendly honks as they stood on both sides of the street. Literature was handed to motorists who were stopped at the red light and petitions were signed to impeach Bush."

Weeks Not Months:
"George W. Bush said on Friday that Iran has 'weeks not months' to respond to a U.S.-backed offer aimed at containing Iran's nuclear ambitions and said Tehran needs to suspend uranium enrichment.  Bush said if Iran does not suspend enrichment, 'there must be a consequence' ..."

Don't you just love it when the shrub talks cowboy tough?  Um ... come to think of it, things tend not to go so well when he does that.

Here's an idea ... how about somebody stop him before he does any more harm.  Do we have a Congress, or a Judiciary, or anything that might stop a moonbat messianic dry drunk president from destroying the country with one military adventure after another?  Anyone?

Showdown In Motown:
"Oral arguments are set for Monday at U.S. District Court in Detroit at which the American Civil Liberties Union will ask Judge Anna Diggs Taylor to declare the spying unconstitutional and order it halted. The case goes to the heart of the larger national debate about whether U.S. President George W. Bush has assumed too much power in his declared war on terrorism."