Hold The Phone! ... He Can't Be President, He's Not Part of The Executive Branch ...

I can't believe that the stock market didn't crash, the Emergency Broadcast System, didn't, with blaring beeps, take over our televisions and Washington DC become paralyzed in Constitutional gridlock.

With the news today that The Decider/The Commander Guy/The Shakespeare Guy will undergo a Colonoscopy (is this the yearly clean-out of the bile he spews, in place of reasoned thought and sound policy?), which, for a number of hours, places Darth Vader, aka, Vice President Richard B. Cheney with the Presidential Powers.

Couldn't Bush just have done another Signing Statement to say he had his Colonoscopy?

Perhaps we should add the Iranian citizens bolting down the hatches and running for cover tomorrow.

Better hold off on filling up that memoir Nancy Pelosi... And Harry Reid can run out to Bed, Bath and Beyond for some new sheets to go on the cots they should be rolling back in tonight.

If no one believed we have been in a Constitutional Crises, this scenario certainly creates one.

Cheney to become president…briefly?

Wasn't it just a mere few weeks ago that Cheney indicated, in order to avoid some benign oversight, that he wasn't part of the Executive Branch?

If that is the case, as the Bush Grindhouse agreed, than the Speaker of the House, the aforementioned Ms. Pelosi, should get the to hold the parchment and wear the secret decoder ring this weekend.

Maybe this is why the Bush Grindhouse came out today with that bizare legel mumble-jumble about they - The Grindhouse - can't be prosecuted by the DOJ for Contempt of Congress.

How about Contempt of the Constitution? Contempt of the Country?

Granted, it may be for only a few hours, but, jeez, the way Cheney operates with that stealth secrecy, he could kick start that Armageddon he's been practicing for before you finish mowing the lawn.

If you do straighten this out Nancy, and you get to sit in the big chair, how's about putting all this on that table you don't want to put anything on?

Bonus Links

John Fabian Witt: A Declaration The President Ignores

Glenn Greenwald: Bush's magical shield from criminal prosecution

Eugene Robinson: Bush's Cognitive Dissonance












"He could kick start that Armageddon he's been practicing for before you finish mowing the lawn."

Developing Story! A Livid Cheney Moves To Place Chertoff Guts Under Wraps

Future Intestinal Prognostications To Be Kept Secret; Brings In Former U.N Ambassador For Extra Tongue Lashing

Against the backdrop of a report shedding light of Vice President Dick Cheney's Energy Task Force, as well as new intelligence reports regarding Al Qaeda readying to attack the United States again, as well as a new, extraordinary move by the Bush Grindhouse in claims of Executive Privilege, an incident has come to light, over national security, involving Cheney, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and, former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton.

In yet another example of the unprecedented and extraordinary secrecy the Bush Grindhouse has conducted the nation's affairs, sources tell The Garlic that Cheney is citing, since gases are formed in a person's "gut", re Chertoff's "gut feelings", and gases being a form of energy, this would fall under Cheney's Energy Task Force and any information from it would be classified and unavailable for any overview.

Last week, before the Homeland Security Secretary gave his now infamous interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, that he was repeatedly badgered and harassed by the Vice President's office.

There was a rumor circulating on the Hill that Chertoff was merely suffering from indegestion, that he had a upset stomach, but that Cheney, along with his Chief of Staff David Addington, made repeated visits to Chertoff, seeking more and more information from Chertoff's gut.

Sources tell The Garlic that, on a subsequent visit by Cheney and Addington, former Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton was accompanying the pair and, after entering Chertoff's office, Bolton could be heard, very loudly, screaming, yelling and berating Chertoff.

The White refused to comment on the story, indicating that they would invoke Executive Privilege regarding their refusal to comment, but did issue a statement that they are not anticipating exposing any covert CIA agents over the Chertoff Gut matter.













"Hey There! ... Hi! ... Yeah, Fuck You! ... Executive Privilege! ...How Ya Doin'! ...We Don't Have To Say Anything! ...Hey There! ... Blow It Out Your Ass! ... Executive Privilege! ..."

Retro Garlic ... Oh, Ed Henry, David Chappelle ... That's Sooooo 2005

Another Retro Garlic... Another case of life imitating The Garlic?

CNN's intrepid White House correspondent Ed Henry has a riff about meeting comedian David Chappelle outside the White House a few days ago.

Dave Chappelle: Next White House press secretary?

They walk and talk, nothing earth-shattering

But the conversation shifts to Henry asking Chappelle what's his next project.

“Or maybe I’ll take Tony Snow’s job,” Chappelle smiled. “I think that’s a cool job.”

Mr. Chappelle forgets that he already has a commitment, given to him by The Garlic, back in May 2005;

Washington Bombshell On U.N. Post - Bush Ready To Pull Bolton; Will Nominate Dave Chappelle; Senate Says They'll Vote "Up, Down and Sideways" For Comedy Central Star; Bolton Goes Ballistic

Now, it would be a gas to have Chappelle in either position, no?

Links

David Chappelle Website

David Chappelle Show

CNN's Ed Henry

Minced Garlic - Keith Olbermann Special Comment: Go to Iraq and fight, Mr. President

As our MSNBC hero-anchor Keith Olbermann is fond of saying, "Oh no, here we go again ..."

A blistering, top-of-the-program, red-hot Special Comment tonight on 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann'.

The criminal lack of planning for the war — the total “jump-off-a-bridge-and-hope-you-can-fly” tone to the failure to anticipate what would follow the deposing of Saddam Hussein — that had nothing to do with the chaos in which Iraq has been enveloped. It isn’t Mr. Bush’s fault.

The utter, blinkered idiocy of “staying the course,” of sending Americans to Iraq and sending them a second time, and a third and a fourth, until they get killed or maimed — the utter de-prioritization of human life, simply so a politician can avoid having to admit a mistake — that had nothing to do with the tens of thousand individual tragedies darkening the lives of American families, forever. It isn’t Mr. Bush’s fault.

The Bush Grindhouse is at it again.

Perhaps a light bulb went off over someone's head that, "Hey, the latest NIE Report kinda blows our shit right outta the water".

Or, just in case General David Petreaus is balking - early - at becoming the scapegoat, they gotta work their motto: The Bucks Stop Here - But The Blame Goes Somewhere Else

They trotted out a B-Team player (perhaps Fran Townsend is still trying to figure out if there is a country named Iraq, or not), Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Eric Edelman to send Senator, and 2008 Presidential Candidate, Hillary Clinton a "You're either with us or against us" letter, responding to a letter she sent asking about a plan for troop withdrawals.

“Premature and public discussion of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraq,” Edelman writes, “reinforces enemy propaganda that the United States will abandon its allies in Iraq, much as we are perceived to have done in Vietnam, Lebanon and Somalia.”

Edelman adds: “Such talk understandably unnerves the very same Iraqi allies we are asking to assume enormous personal risks.”

Haven't they played this song before?

Defeatocrats ... Cut-and-Run... Giving Aid and Comfort To The Enemy ...

Geeish ... Maybe Karl Rove needs to hit summer school and hone-up on his math skills.

Or get "the Homeland guy" to have some better churnings in his gut.

But what was Senator Clinton thinking? That these guys have -or had - a plan?

They can lie, obfuscate, cook intelligence, smear, expose covert CIA agents, not take care of the injured, all in the name of their invasion and occupation of Iraq (This war has been brought to you by the PNAC ... The PNAC - Power Over People ... We Kill The Good Things In Life) and you there, Missy, shouldn't be asking any questions about it.

Olbermann gives The Commander Guy a schooling on scapegoats and role models, towel-snapping Bush's ass every step of the way, and wrapping up with;

This, sir, is your war.

Sen. Clinton has reinforced enemy propaganda? Made it impossible for you to get your ego-driven, blood-steeped win in Iraq?

Then take it into your own hands, Mr. Bush.

Go to Baghdad now and fulfill, finally, your military service obligations.

Go there and fight, your war. Yourself.

Links

Watch Keith Olbermann's Special Comment: Blame Hillary?

Read Keith Olbermann's Special Comment: Go to Iraq and fight, Mr. President; Bush’s latest choice of scapegoat — Hillary Clinton — boggles the mind


Bonus Links

TPM Café Exclusive: Hillary's Stinging Letter To SecDef Gates Obtained

MSNBC's Matthews Uninjured Pulling Head Out Of Judy Miller's Ass

Hardball Host Fawns Over Former White House Stenographer; Stays Away From Tough Questions

MSNBC's Chris Matthews, host of 'Hardball with Chris Matthews', escaped serious injury yesterday, extracting his head out of the rectum of Judy Miller, former New York Times reporter and White House stenographer.

"We weren't sure," offered MSNBC President, Dan Abrams. "We sent Chris to the hospital, just as a precaution."

Abrams wasn't pleased with his hosts' interview with Miller, who served nearly three-months in jail for not disclosing her source in the CIA Leak Case, which turned out to be convicted felon, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

Sources tell The Garlic that Abrams is considering a change in the title of Matthews' program, to "Soft Balls On Chris Matthews".

Matthews, with his trademark grinning and drooling, welcomed Miller with "Judy, you‘re a hero to the press. You are definitely a woman to be trusted with secrets ..." and started off the interview on a strange, blathering tangent;

I‘m in Los Angeles right now. I‘m up there in a—I was up in a Renaissance Hotel the other night, looking down—actually, when I got up this morning—seeing this whole city, crowded city, below me. Is it safe?

Matthews, fawning over Miller, continued his line of questioning the former White House shrill about the recent NIE report and the alleged strengthening of Al Qaeda.

Not once did Matthews, his cranium firmly squeezed into Miller's behind, question his guest about her role in spreading the lies and misinformation coming out of the Bush Grindhouse in the run-up to invading and occupying Iraq

Another point Abrams was upset about was the network teased and ran promos for Matthews show, and specifically his interview with Miller, offering the tantalizing prospects of her view and opinion on the commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence and incarceration.

Without asking her a single question about Libby, that Miller could have answered or chosen not to answer, Matthews gushed;

MATTHEWS: Judy, I believe in you. You‘re great. And by the way, I didn‘t ask you about Scooter Libby because—because the president didn‘t ...let‘s make it clear what happened here. If he had pardoned the guy, we could talk because there‘d be no further legal action against him. But because he‘s now floating around there in limbo, as the guy with clemency commutation but still appealing his case, you can‘t talk about the case.

MILLER: That‘s right.

MATTHEWS: I completely understand that. I sympathize with you.

MILLER: Thank you, Chris.

MATTHEWS: And I sometimes even sympathize with Scooter Libby.

"If this is how Chris plays hardball," an agitated Abrams fumed, "than we have to sit down and have a talk ... Either that, of he can pack his bags and move over to Fox News."

In a related story, unconfirmed reports have former MSNBC host Rita Cosby, recently losing out on a World Wonder title, was said to be stalking the graveyard where Anna Nicole Smith is buried, badgering workers and visitors. Cosby, it was said, still hopes to revive the deal with Abrams, to launch a 24-hour Anna Nicole Smith channel.

Links

Watch Video of Judy Miller plays Hardball with Chris Matthews

Hardball with Chris Matthews' for July 18 Read the transcript to the Wednesday show

Miller To Leave 'Times' With Movie Deal In Hand; Signs On To Star In Memento Sequel; Not Sure If She Will Continue Freelancing For Bush Admn.

Bonus Links

Editor & Publisher: Judy Miller Defends Leaker -- Of Harry Potter Ending!


Matthews' program could be retitled "Soft Balls On Chris Matthews"

Top Ten Cloves: Ways To Tell Your Next Door Neighbor May Be Conducting Illegal Dogfights

News Item: Falcons' Vick Indicted In Dogfighting Case; Star QB Alleged to Have Been Highly Involved

10. You invite him and his dog over to watch the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show - His dog eats the television

9. Dog collars and leashes are delivered by the crate

8. Passes off the huge fighting ring he's built in his basement as having to do with his religion

7. Everytime he passes you when you're walking your little mixed poodle, he sneers at the dog and murmurs "pussy"

6. Piles of blood-soaked towels on the back porch? - Says cuts himself shaving a lot

5. Notice his dogs don't fetch the newspaper, they fetch the newsboy

4. After you confront him about abusing the dogs, he tries to tell you he's "with the CIA and these are Al Qaeda dogs"

3. Claims the non-stop barking and yelping is just him, watching his Lassie DVD collection

2. Has a habit of saying "As you know, you have to go to dogfights with the dogs you have, not the dogs you want,"

1. With all the cars and other dogs coming around at all hours, tries to pass himself off as a "Dog Whisperer"


Bonus Link

ESPN: Legal odds against Vick just got much longer


A Dog's Worst Friend

Of Legacy Maintenance - And Corrections! ... David Corn's "REBUTTAL - Why Bush Is A Loser"

"The Bush-Cheney years have been marked by ineptitude, miscalculation, and scandal. A successful presidency? Bush will be lucky if he gets a public elementary school in his adopted hometown of Crawford, Tex., named after him. He has placed this country in a hole. Yet Kristol, with shovel in hand, points to that hole and says, Trust me -- we're about to strike oil!"

Thank You David Corn!

If the Washington Post can run a big, fat, wet kiss by PNAC founder, Little Billy Kristol, then it is only right for The Nation's David Corn have equal time to bitch slap him down.

Today's WaPo has Corn's REBUTTAL: Why Bush Is A Loser to counter balance Kristol's ON THE BRIGHT SIDE: Why Bush Will Be A Winner.

And bitch slap is being nice about it.

"Iraq: Kristol says "we now seem to be on course to a successful outcome." The war has been a mess from the start, and these days even leading Republican senators no longer buy the argument that Bush's so-called "surge" is succeeding or can succeed as promised. Kristol contends that with the recent escalation "we are increasingly able to protect more of the Iraqi population." Many in Iraq would find little comfort in his assurances. Despite the "surge," Iraqi civilian deaths are still running at 2,500 to 3,000 a month. And since the "surge" began, according to the Pentagon's own numbers, the number of attacks on U.S. and Iraqi forces and Iraqi civilians has marginally increased."

"Afghanistan: Steady as she goes, says Kristol. Well, not if you're one of those dozens of civilians who seem to be killed every few days in an errant attack from NATO and western forces. (Even Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai is fed up.)"

"Foreign policy: Kristol does not mention that, thanks to Bush's misadventure in Iraq and other missteps, the United States' image abroad is in the sub-basement. He does note that we now have decent relations with Brazil."

"It's remarkable what Kristol leaves out of his bizarro-world view of Bush the Great: Hurricane Katrina, the collapse of the Justice Department, global warming, and much else. An American city was practically destroyed on Bush's watch, but that merits no consideration in Kristol's case for Bush. The Justice Department -- run by Bush cronies accused of corruption, incompetence, or both -- is in tatters."

The Garlic weighed in on this Sunday, with our Takes A Neocon To Raise A Legacy ... They're Drinking The Kool-Aid Again ..., which also covered the bonus of Stephen Hayes' fellatio of Dick Cheney.

The Bush Grindhouse, and the gang of dwarfs, finks, phonies and frauds, are going to keep coming out of their bunkers, attempting to rewrite history, slapping new paint on the irreparable legacies, that only washes off, much like a scam artists' cheap driveway "retarring" job, with the first drops of rain that fall in it.

Don't hesitate, whenever and wherever you see it, when they start yapping as such, to bitch slap them down.

Bonus Links

David Corn's Website

Analysis: Intelligence Puts Rationale For War on Shakier Ground

Glenn Greenwald: The tragic collapse of America's standing in the world

Little Billy Kristol

Retro Garlic: I'm Surprised It Wasn't Headlined As "Mormon Candidate Ties To Cosmetic Industry Exposed"

If a Democrat running for President spent $300 on makeup, you can bet your Ann Coulter eye-patch that The Politico, Fox Noise and all the gang over at the Freak Show would have been all over it, knee-deep and calling for more shovels.

Headlines and chyrons screaming "Mormon Candidate Ties To Cosmetic Industry Exposed" and "Makeup Mitt" the title of one of those "I Feel Pretty" YouTube videos.

There'd be Fox Noise satellite trucks criss-crossing Utah, 24/7 on this.

And the money quote;

"He's already tan," she said. "We basically put a drop of foundation on him … and we powdered him a little bit."

Oh man, if it were a Dem, they'd be going to town on that.

And that, more or less, is what the inexhaustible Glenn Greenwald points out today, in his "The Politico sewer", as the Drudge-Wannabe had the Mitt makeup story front-and-center.

But with Mitt being a Republican, no echo chamber on the piece. The second gallery has been deafening silent.

As to the Retro part, go back to May, when Greenwald wrote, more so, exposed, who and what is behind The Politico;

The Politico's DNA ... The Other Iraq ... And He's a Bible-Thumper Now ... Around The Garlic Patch

Weigh in, but only after your nails are dry.

Makeup Mitt

Boy, I'll Bet David Vitters Wished He Could Have Invoked Executive Privilege ... The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll

It certainly isn't going to help Senator David Vitters (R-LA) that his Commander Guy may think, as our Garlic Poll Voters suggest, that "Executive Privilege" is the name of the escort service he frequented.

Hey, at least it was a "straight" escort service, and the Holy Rollers won't have deprogram him.

And it could be understandable, especially if The Decider didn't bother to check it out on "The Google".

He's free-falling in the polls, he is still purposefully conflating who exactly we are fighting in Iraq - Al Qaeda or the Al Qaeda Wannabe's, and, our Shakespeare Guy thinks that, maybe, someone in his administration might have leaked Valerie Plame's name and status and his Security Chief's heartburn is divulging sensitive information.

But if our Court-Appointed-President is confused with the term "Executive Privilege", he is no stranger to "State Secrets Privilege", as he, and his strong-armed vice president, have virtually encased this administration in cement (I mean, it could play out that, by the time they leave office - which hopefully will come via Impeachment - who are 43rd President was may be wiped from the records and sealed for eternity).

Maybe the Bush Grindhouse will throw Vitters a lifeline ... I don't know, perhaps the could release a new report, that breathlessly cautions, with full-fear-jets blasting, that Al Qaeda is coming after us...

The Results - The Garlic's Weekly Poll July 2 - July 8 2007

President Bush believes that Executive Privilege is ...

1. The name of the DC Madame's business Tally 29%

2. A really cool desk gadget from The Sharper Image Tally 27%

3. Some ''Ek-A-Lec-Tic'' thing Cheney keeps ranting about in meetings Tally 24%

4. Doesn't know: Regrets missing those classes at Yale Tally 20%


This week’s Poll - The reason President Bush didn't fire Michael Chertoff was ...

Scroll up to the top right corner to place your vote

Bonus Links

Think Progress: The Ever Changing Definition of ‘Mission’ In Iraq

Crooks and Liars: Bush blames Saddam for the US attack of Iraq and says: “there is a war fatigue in America”

It Takes A Neocon To Raise A Legacy ... They're Drinking The Kool-Aid Again ...

It's turning into a mini Neoconpalooza today!

We offered earlier, what it would be like to be stuck on a boat full of Neocons (see our post "Where's Ernest Borgnine when you need him?")

And, lo-and-behold, before the second cup of coffee (fair-trade-bought-beans) can get cold, we have a couple of Legacy-Writing Drafts to chew over, that is before we smash them both with "The Hammer".

Legacy #1 - The Don't Call Him Dick For Nothing

First, there's the big, fat, wet kiss The Weekly Standard's Stephen Hayes plants on Darth Vader's cheek (and not either one above his neck), with his "Cheney Speaks", portraying a staunch and resolute, fearless Vice President, just doing his job (you're on your own as to supplying a barf bag);

"It had to be done. It was a--once you made the decision, once the plane became hijacked, even if it had a load of passengers on board who, obviously, weren't part of any hijacking attempt, once it was hijacked, and having seen what had happened in New York and the Pentagon, you really didn't have any choice. It wasn't a close call. I think a lot of people emotionally look at that and say, my gosh, you just shot down a planeload of Americans. On the other hand, you maybe saved thousands of lives. And so it was a matter that required a decision, that required action. It was the right call."

And, perhaps, an insight to the question, inadvertently supplied by Hayes, of who the real President was/is;

"Shortly after 10:00 P.M., Cheney, along with his wife and top two aides--Libby and Addington--walked back upstairs from the bunker and out the diplomatic entrance of the White House to the South Lawn, where Marine Two, the vice president's helicopter, was waiting. Joined by three Secret Service officials, a military aide, a communications expert, and Cheney's doctor, they took off under cover of darkness, an unusual precaution. The departure itself was a violation of longstanding protocol: No one takes off from the South Lawn other than the president. Their destination was kept from all but a handful of the most senior White House officials."

And;

"Less than thirty minutes later, another tradition was discarded when Cheney and his family settled into the Aspen Lodge at Camp David, the facility typically reserved for the president."

And what's so good about building up one legacy, is you get to throw someone under the bus.

"On February 15, 1991, George H.W. Bush had urged Iraqis to overthrow Saddam Hussein ...

Those comments and the subsequent failure of the United States to support the rebellion would have lasting consequences. "The Shia had been treated for centuries as second-class citizens, governed by the Sunnis, and in recent decades the Baathists, under Saddam Hussein. They had been encouraged, in '91, to rise up, and did, and were slaughtered for their troubles. Nobody came to their assistance," Cheney says.

Many Iraqis assumed that the United States refused to remove Saddam Hussein after the first Gulf war because the United States wanted him to remain in power ..."

And in case Cheney was impressed with the first big, wet, kiss, Hayes puckered up in closing out;

"And then Cheney paused, his words and his emotions tangled in his throat. He started to speak and then, choking back tears, stopped again. Reporters exchanged quick glances as if to confirm that they were seeing what they thought they were seeing.

For the man who had repeatedly evaded questions about how those attacks affected him personally, this was his answer."

Legacy #2 - When In Doubt, Pucker Up

But wait, not to be left behind, and under a sun-drenched, cheery title of "On The Brighter Side", TWS's main man, the warrior who put the destruction in the WMD's, the hawk who will measure the Bush Presidency by how well he carpet bombs Iran, Little Billy Kristol throws his hat in the ring for writing The Decider/The Commander/The Shakespeare Guy's legacy, the uplifting scolding that we've had it all wrong, with his "Why Bush Will Be A Winner" (okay, we'll wait a minute, while you grab the Hayes Barf Bag ... )

"Let's step back from the unnecessary mistakes and the self-inflicted wounds that have characterized the Bush administration. Let's look at the broad forest rather than the often unlovely trees. What do we see? First, no second terrorist attack on U.S. soil -- not something we could have taken for granted. Second, a strong economy -- also something that wasn't inevitable.

And third, and most important, a war in Iraq that has been very difficult, but where -- despite some confusion engendered by an almost meaningless "benchmark" report last week -- we now seem to be on course to a successful outcome."

First, throw some garlands down on the domestic front (after all, you'll want to secure those library donations from the Isolationist Conservatives as well as all the others);

"So on the two biggest pieces of domestic legislation the president has gotten passed, he has been vindicated. And with respect to the two second-term proposals that failed -- private Social Security accounts and immigration -- I suspect that something similar to what Bush proposed will end up as law over the next several years."

And;

"And if you're a conservative constitutionalist, putting Roberts and Alito on the court constitutes a huge accomplishment."

The War? Everything's coming up roses;

"What about terrorism? Apart from Iraq, there has been less of it, here and abroad, than many experts predicted on Sept. 12, 2001. So Bush and Vice President Cheney probably are doing some important things right. The war in Afghanistan has gone reasonably well.

These Waziristan havens may well have to be dealt with in the near future. I assume Bush will deal with them, using some combination of air strikes and special operations.

We are routing al-Qaeda in Iraq, we are beginning to curb the Iranian-backed sectarian Shiite militias and we are increasingly able to protect more of the Iraqi population.

Iran is a problem, and we will have to do more to curb Tehran's meddling -- but we can. So if we keep our nerve here at home, we have a good shot at achieving a real, though messy, victory in Iraq."

And Kristol isn't adverse to puckering up himself;

"Following through to secure the victory in Iraq and to extend its benefits to neighboring countries will be the task of the next president. And that brings us to Bush's final test.

The truly successful American presidents tend to find vindication in, and guarantee an extension of their policies through, the election of a successor from their own party. Can Bush hand the presidency off to a Republican who will (broadly) continue along the path of his post-9/11 foreign policy, nominate judges who solidify a Roberts-Alito court, make his tax cuts permanent and the like?"

Send In The Hammer

But, it's Sunday, so we can count on - and he delivers, as usual - Frank Rich to come hammering home (Stanley Tools, take note), to save the day by turning the reality channel back on, as he continues his relentless pounding of the Bush Grindhouse in "Don't Laugh at Michael Chertoff";

"But even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Last week, as the Bush administration frantically tried to counter Republican defections from the war in Iraq, Mr. Chertoff alone departed from the administration's script to talk about the enemy that actually did attack America on 9/11, Al Qaeda, rather than Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the jihad-come-lately gang Mr. Bush is fond of talking about instead. In this White House, the occasional official who strays off script is in all likelihood inadvertently coughing up the truth.

The White House's game is to create a new fictional story line to keep the war going until President Bush can dump it on his successor. Bizarrely, some of the new scenario echoes the bogus narrative used to sell the war in 2002: an imaginary connection between Iraq and the attacks of 9/11. You'd think the Bush administration might think twice before recycling old lies, but things have gotten so bad in the bunker that even Karl Rove is repeating himself.

The capital's entire political debate over Iraq - stay-the-surge versus "precipitous withdrawal" - is itself pure hot air. Even though felons and the obese are now being signed up to meet Army recruitment shortfalls, we still can't extend the surge past next April, when troops for Iraq run out unless Mr. Bush extends their tours yet again. "Precipitous withdrawal" (which no withdrawal bill in Congress calls for) is a non sequitur, since any withdrawal would take at least 10 months. Rather than have the real debate about how to manage the exit, politically panicked Republicans hope to cast symbolic votes that will allow them to tell voters they were for ending the war before they prolonged it."

Regrettably, these won't be the only legacy drafts we see coming out of the TWS barn, they have an almost inexhaustible supply of Kool-Aid, as well as another farm-produced by-product.

And it will take all the Frank Rich's out there to keep them on the ranch, not letting them stray too far.

And just in case it isn't the Kool-Aid, Hayes and Kristol, you can follow the same advise we gave John Fund, as well as Dorothy Rabinowitz and Richard Cohen ...


Bonus Links

Webb Rips Graham As ‘Politician Trying To Put His Political Views Into The Mouths Of Soldiers’’

Kristol: ‘We’re Not In A Civil War’ In Iraq, ‘This Is Just Not True’

Glenn Greenwald: Still more White House secrecy -- this time in the Tillman investigation


Bonus Links II

Crooks and Liars: Bush Iraq policy controlled by Bill Kristol

The Guardian: Cheney pushes Bush to act on Iran; Military solution back in favour as Rice loses out; · President 'not prepared to leave conflict unresolved'













Get ready for some big, wet ones, boys, Kristol and Hayes are calling ...

Where's Ernest Borgnine when you need him?

"You! Preacher! Murderer! I started to believe in your promises, that we had a chance. What chance?"

Det. Lt. Mike Rogo (Ernest Borgnine)

This is like the Poseidon Adventure, but only the ship stays afloat and it's the passengers who have sunk.

The Independent's Johann Harri writes about taking a National Review cruise.

"The Iraq war has been an amazing success, global warming is just a myth – and as for Guantanamo Bay, it's practically a holiday camp... The annual cruise organised by the 'National Review', mouthpiece of right-wing America, is a parallel universe populated by straight-talking, gun-toting, God-fearing Republicans."

If this didn't have some stark implications on our national politics, and the direction of the country, it would be outright slapstick.

As it is, it is very, very humorous

Ship of fools: Johann Harri sets sail with America's swashbuckling neocons

Bonus Links

Larisa Alexandrovna: Send Liberals to "Gas Chambers."... Astonishing Right-Wing Extremism!

Richard Silverstein: Lib Journalist Crashes National Review Cruise

Rachel Sklar: TNR Sails The Seas With Eric Alterman The National Review