For anyone in the DC area, Mike Huckabee and Barack Obama will be visiting the UM campus in the next few days.
I’m considering going to see Huckabee. I don’t know whether there’ll be a question-and-answer period, but just in case, I’d like to have a question or two prepared. Anyone got any suggestions? (Preferably ones that won’t get thrown out immediately if questions are screened.)
The AP reports:
A study by two nonprofit journalism organizations found that President Bush and top administration officials issued hundreds of false statements about the national security threat from Iraq in the two years following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
The study concluded that the statements “were part of an orchestrated campaign that effectively galvanized public opinion and, in the process, led the nation to war under decidedly false pretenses.”
The article doesn’t say, but presumably the study was funded by the Center for Confirming the Obvious.
Bush led with 259 false statements, 231 about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 28 about Iraq’s links to al-Qaida, the study found. That was second only to Powell’s 244 false statements about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and 10 about Iraq and al-Qaida.
This bit’s a bit surprising: I didn’t think Bush would be in first place, seeing as how he let others do most of the lying.
“The cumulative effect of these false statements _ amplified by thousands of news stories and broadcasts _ was massive, with the media coverage creating an almost impenetrable din for several critical months in the run-up to war,” the study concluded.
Okay, now can we impeach the bastards?
From today’s news:
In an interview broadcast Friday, Bush said there could well be a long-term U.S. presence in Iraq, but it would be on the invitation of the Iraqi government.
Now, where have I heard that before? Oh, right. I think it was August 20, 1968:
Although on the night of the invasion, the Czechoslovak Presidium declared that Warsaw Pact troops had crossed the border without knowledge of the ÄŒSSR Government, the Soviet Press printed an unsigned request, allegedly by Czechoslovak party and state leaders, for “immediate assistance, including assistance with armed forces.”
Looks like the USSR won the Cold War after all.
In other news, dog bites man.
From CNN:
“Freedom requires religion, just as religion requires freedom. Freedom opens the windows of the soul so that man can discover his most profound beliefs and commune with God. Freedom and religion endure together, or perish alone,” he said.
What universe is he living in? I guess this means that Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan are among the freest countries on earth, freer than western Europe or North America. Oh, but those are Muslim countries, so they probably don’t count.
How about the Middle Ages, then, when pretty much all of Europe was fiercely Christian, of one stripe or another? Would it be worth pointing out that stuff like the great American experiment came up after that, after the Enlightenment had taught that hey, maybe we can do better on our own, without relying on a god? Would it be worth reminding Romney that Thomas Jefferson took a razor to his Bible in an effort to, in effect, improve upon the received Word of God?
Heck, has he forgotten that the very first amendment in the US bill of rights includes the right freedom from religion?
By the way, Mitt, this has nothing to do with you being a Mormon, and everything to do with you being a pious git.
Remember Conservapædia, the neocon alternative to Wikipedia’s liberal bias?
Here’s a snapshot of today’s list of today’s top ten most viewed pages. See if you can notice a pattern.
(HT Wonkette.)
EDGE Boston gives us the setup:
[Richard] Curtis, elected to the [Washington] state House three years ago, voted in the spring against a measure to provide domestic partnerships to gays and lesbians.
In 2006, Curtis came out against an anti-discrimination bill to protect GLBT people from being discriminated against on the basis of their sexuality.
I’m sure you can guess the punchline. Check your answer below the fold. Read More
Over at Clown Hall, Kristen Fyfe—who is apparently training to become the next Ann Coulter—has a column that can be summarized as
Oh, no! Those filthy, hellbound faggots with their contagious gay cooties are displaying intolerance and denying good Christians basic human rights by parodying a religious picture! Will our oppression never end?! <clutches pearls>
I’m not a lawyer, nor do I play one on teh innertubes. But recently, H.R. 2826 was introduced (you can search for it at thomas.loc.gov). Dubbed the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act, it’s been all over the leftosphere, so I figured I should try to figure out what it’s all about.
Summary: the preamble pretty much says it all:
A BILL
To amend titles 28 and 10, United States Code, to restore habeas corpus for individuals detained by the United States at Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and for other purposes.
Note that habeas corpus is pretty much all that the bill restores (AFAICT).
(Update, Sep. 19: I guess this is mostly moot, since the bill has been defeated.)
…so can someone please give me a good reason why the pigfucker behind it still hasn’t been caught?
