Must Watch Interview: Chuck Hagel - Letting It Rip - with Bill Maher

The money shot, right at the very end of the interview;

"I think this war policy, ahh, where we are today, and the continuation of this policy is the biggest foreign policy blunder in the history of our nation ..."

As the description of the video from Tullycast notes;

"Senator Chuck Hagel joins Bill by satellite and lets it rip."

And boy, does Hagel let it rip ... With heavy, steel-toed construction boots, he stomps on the Republicans, the Administration and The Commander Guy ...

Right after the interview, panel member Carl Bernstein was in awe, telling Maher "You made news tonight".

(It usually takes the HBO and/or Maher crew about a week to post a transcript, so take the video out for a spin.)

BILL MAHER’S REAL TIME ::September 14 2007:: (Part Two): Senator Chuck Hagel joins Bill by satellite and lets it rip.




Bonus Chuck Hagel Links

Breaking News! Hagel Speech Causes Havoc; Payless Shoes Flooded With Job Seekers, Resumes; Applicants Looking For " The Safe Jobs Senator Hagel Talked About"; Tancredo Offers Threats

The Crony General Slinks Away ... "I have seen tyranny, dishonesty, corruption, and depravity of types I never thought possible"

The question really begs, given his memory issues, is if Crony General Alberto Gonzales remembered where the exit was.

The Crony General served his last day yesterday, leaving with the scales of justice very much not balanced, after his caretaking role as the nations' top law enforcement officer.

And it is just astounding how telling statements hang on this man.

The Garlic pointed out how The Commander Guy noted, shortly after it was announced the Crony General would slink away, that he "He aggressively and successfully pursued public corruption ...".

Yes, he did that quite well, and the Bush Grindhouse is most appreciative for that.

And yesterday, who exactly was the Crony General referring to when he served this one up;

"Over the past two and a half years, I have seen tyranny, dishonesty, corruption, and depravity of types I never thought possible," Gonzales said at a Hispanic Heritage Month ceremony at Bolling Air Force Base. "I've seen things I didn't know man was incapable of ..."

WOW!

If The Decider Guy's book is titled "Dead Certain", the Crony General's should be, using the above statement, "Dead On".

Whatever you do Alberto, be sure not to go fishing with Dick Cheney, or any of his men.

Bonus Crony General Links

Andrew Cohen: Good Riddance

Murray Waas: Aborted DOJ Probe Probably Would Have Targeted Gonzales

Washington Post: Justice Dept. Probing Whether Gonzales Lied

Top Ten Cloves: How It Would Be Different If Alberto Gonzales Was The Head of March Madness

Alberto Gonzales Sings 'Justice For Sale'


Two peas in a very well corrupted - but protected - pod

I Second The Motion! ..."More Than Ever, Impeachment Is the Cure"

Just caught a great post by Scarecrow, over on Firedoglake;

Scarecrow: More Than Ever, Impeachment Is the Cure

Yes! ... I second the motion!

Following The Commander Guy's delusional rambling last night, the iron is as hot as ever for the Democrats to strike ... And, Lord, knows, there's ample violations that can be charged against the Bush Grindhouse (wading through those may be the bigger part of the problem).

What's to lose?

Quite likely, a majority of the country will rally behind you.

The consequences of not removing this rogue administration is that, should a Dem win the 2008 Presidential Election, they will be inheriting all the bullshit that has been built up ... Over 100,000 troop still in Iraq ... The diminished standing and integrity of United States of America around the world (I'd place a bet that many of our international friends would stand and cheer at Impeachment hearings being called)

The Garlic has had an open invitation out there since July, absent of any Congressional action - A Citizen's Arrest.

And for you, Ms. Speaker of the House, pulling up my best Ronald Reagan imitation - "Sit Down At That Table!"


Bonus Impeachment Links

Digby: Impeachment

Wil S. Hylton: THE PEOPLE V. RICHARD CHENEY

The Raw Story: Kucinich announces impeachment charges against Vice President Cheney

Top Ten Cloves: How President Bush Came Up With New Slogan of "Return On Success"

News Item: Bush hails troop cuts as 'return on success' in Iraq

10. Like any other successful executive - The Magic 8-Ball

9. Part of a new commercial: "Return On Success - Apply Directly To Your Forehead ... Return On Success - Apply Directly To Your Forehead ... Return On Success - Apply Directly To Your Forehead

8. Just a prelude to new nickname - The Success Guy

7. Recycled it from his failed Private Social Security Accounts initiative

6. Thought it sounds, kind of, "Ek-A-Lec-Tic"

5. Throwing one out there to Rumsfield... Sounds like something he would say

4. Fate - Spread a bunch of new slogans on the floor, and "Return On Success" was the one Barney peed on

3. Did some research, looking it up on The Google

2. Got it off the banner that will hang on his next aircraft carrier speech

1. Came in the same package as "The Clear Skies Act"


Bonus Links

Glenn Kessler/Washington Post: The President Asserted Progress on Security and Political Issues. Recent Reports Weren't Often So Upbeat.

Barry Crimmins: Return on success?

Joe Gandelman: Bush: Limited Troop Reductions And Longterm Security Commitment To Iraq (ROUNDUP UPDATED)

Breaking News! Giant Search Engine Downed By GOP and RNC Staffers; Google Crashes! Besieged With “I’m Feeling Lucky” Searches From White House, Congress; Amazon, D.C. Novelty Stores Hit With Run On Magic 8-Balls

Don't Look Now... Troops Might, But Habeas Corpus Won't Be Coming Home Anytime Soon

Was it all a ruse?

The PetraeusReportPalooza... The nationally-televised infomercial last evening ...

Don't look now, but we won't have Habeas Corpus for another year, thanks to The Decider Guy.

He, quietly signed a Notice: Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Certain Terrorist Attacks on Wednesday, of which the Wikipedia entry on it notes;

At least two Constitutional protections are subject to revocation during a state of emergency:

* The right of habeas corpus, under Article 1, Section 9;
* The right to a Grand Jury for members of the National Guard when in actual service, under 5th Amendment of the Bill of Rights.

Or, is it a prelude to the beating of the war drums against Iran?

A club to suppress the criticism when he does start bombing Iran?

Stay tuned Surgefans ...


Bonus Links

Keith Olbermann: ‘The death of habeas corpus; ‘The president has now succeeded where no one has before’

Fred Kaplan: Deceptive or Delusional?Bush's appalling Iraq speech.

Garlictorial: Stop The Lies ... Bring The Troops Home

The PetraeusReportpalooza ... Ready For Your Close-Up, General?

"And Now We Come To The Sanity Clause ..."

Garlictorial: Stop The Lies ... Bring The Troops Home

FDR had 'The New Deal" ... JFK was "Camelot" ...

What do we get?

The Commander Guy, an ambitious General and The Surge

Almost as a backdrop to the theatre of The PetraeusReportPalooza this week comes some sad news.

Two of seven soldiers (Buddhika Jayamaha, Wesley D. Smith, Jeremy Roebuck, Omar Mora, Edward Sandmeier, Yance T. Gray and Jeremy A. Murphy) who wrote the great Op-Ed, "The War As We Saw It", were killed in action on Monday.

Sgt. Omar Mora and Sgt. Yance T. Gray died in a vehicle accident in Baghdad.

"The War As We Saw It" was, more-or-less, a rebuttal to the rose-colored glasses Op-Ed, "A War We Just Might Win" by war cheerleaders-passing-themselves-off-as-war-critics Michael O'Hanlon and Kenneth Pollack, both from the Brookings Institute.

The Garlic featured "The War As We Saw It" in our post "Three For Today ... The Selling of Iraq", as the timing of the publication came smack in the middle of the selling of Ayad Allawi as the next savior of Iraq.

The tragic loss of these two soldiers, as well as the 3,000+, and the scores-of-thousands of Iraqis, certainly begs answers to the questions General Extraordinaire David Petraeus - as well as the Bush Grindhouse - couldn't answer during his testimony this week.

Asking for more time, another six-months, so that, maybe, possibly, something good will happen, doesn't do anything now, for Sgt Mora or Sgt. Gray.

Instead of listening to Golden Boy Petraeus, or his Robin-like sidekick, Ambassador Ryan Crocker, perhaps the House and Senate should have the five remaining Op-Ed writers come in and testify.

And, rather then offering some bland, boiler-plate response to The Commander Guy this evening, after his televised snow job on announcing a troop pullout - that was already scheduled to occur - the Democratic response should be to read "The War As We Saw It" to the country.

But then again, the country doesn't need to be convinced what a nightmare Iraq is, and how we should be out of there.

Perhaps they should convene for a Joint Session of Congress and read it there.

Update/Must Read Bonus Link

Here's a pretty good assessment "from conditions on the ground", as the Bush Grindhouse likes to say, on the Surge and Anbar Strategy

Abu Aardvark: Abu Risha murdered

The PetraeusReportpalooza ... Ready For Your Close-Up, General?

"I can't go on with the scene. I'm too happy. Do you mind, Mr. DeMille, if I say a few words? Thank you. I just want to tell you how happy I am to be back in the studio making a picture again. You don't know how much I've missed all of you. And I promise you I'll never desert you again, because after "Salome" we'll make another picture, and another and another.

You see, this is my life. It always will be. There's nothing else - just us and the cameras and those wonderful people out there in the dark... All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my closeup."

Norma Desmond in 'Sunset Boulevard'

Substitute "President Bush" for "Mr. DeMille" and you, pretty much have the General Extraordinaire David Petraeus?

And instead of making pictures, they're making wars.

The last, worn-out, over-used, broken and tattered shoe drops this evening, when The Petraeus Plan becomes The Bush Plan, and our Commander Guy runs through his infomercial for the continued selling of his invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Today, our good friend Barry Crimmins, in his post, "Pig drippings", writes';

"Unlike the politicians who metaphorically hide behind the grunts, Patraeus literally lives behind a human shield of GI's ... He's an opportunist and after listening to him for two days it's clear he's either delusional or a compulsive liar ..."

Opportunist?

Petraeus makes Eve Harrington, from "All About Eve" fame, look like a patient in a coma compared to his clawing his way to the top.

Try this one on for size;

President Petraeus? Iraqi official recalls the day US general revealed ambition

Apparently the Surge Master has some plans for politics in the not-too-distant future.

With the way things are going in Iraq, likely, we'll be giving the General a "Thank you for playing, and here's some lovely parting gifts to take along with you, including the Home Edition of "Invading and Occupying Iraq".

That is, if the Bush Grindhouse doesn't bury him like they have the generals before him.

And does the General play nice with others?

U.S.-IRAQ: Fallon Derided Petraeus, Opposed the Surge

To quote from the article, Admiral William Fallon, chief of the Central Command (CENTCOM) thought of Golden Boy Petraeus as "an ass-kissing little chickenshit".

And that close-up?

That came Tuesday evening, when the General, with his sidekick Robin, went on Faux News, to be sucked off by Britt Hume;

Brit Hume and the Bush administration take propaganda to a new level

So, to sum up the PetraeusReportpalooza, we have a President who just wants to hand-off this Iraq fiasco to the next President, and the military man he has put in charge of this task has aspirations to become a President, not necessarily the next one.

As always, in situations like this, time to cue up Que Sera Sera ...

Retro Garlic ... Katie, Katie, Katie ...

Well, it seems some feathers are flying, having to do with the intrepid anchor of the CBS Evening News, Katie Couric.

It's been all over the big WWW of Couric's incredible fluff reporting from Iraq.

And, of course, The Garlic took note of this farce last Sunday with Katie ... Now, Just Click Your Heels Together Three Times...

CBS took exception with the avalanche of criticism aimed at their pixie, perky star and it gets better.

Check out Christy Hardin Smith's post, over on Firedoglake - CBS News Gets Snippy When Fact Checked - to see how the all-seeing-eye network responded ...

Please, someone buy the folks over at CBS Dale Carnegie's "How to Win Friends and Influence People" ...

Or better yet, send Katie out on the assignment ... That ought to be a hoot ...

Bonus Katie Links

No apologies, Katie Couric!

Top Ten Cloves: Ways Katie Couric Could Have Made The Edwards Interview Better

The PetraeusReportpalooza: "After two days, no answer to 'how this ends'"

Well, Well, Well ...

For all the build-up... All the hype... The sprinkling of the Pixie Dust... The months of "Wait For Petraeus" ... "Wait For September" ... The Photo-Ops... The Dog-and-Pony shows...

It all boiled down to this;

McClatchy Newspapers: After two days, no answer to 'how this ends'

And the money shot;

The Nation - Petraeus: I "Don't Know" If Iraq War Makes U.S. Safer

Doesn't it just want to make you scream "Help Me Mr. Wizard?"


Drizzle, drazzle, dradle, drone ... The highlights


Sniff ... Sniff ... Can You Smell A Turd Blossom?

Think Progress: Is Petraeus’ Drawdown Part Of The White House’s 2008 Political Strategy?


You'll Want To Get In Line For The Time-Shares

TPMmuckraker: How Does the Anbar Shift Relate to Reconciliation?


They Kicked Him In The Gut, and Then Knocked His Teeth Out For Mumbling About it

Washington Post: Senators Take Petraeus, Crocker to Task


Now, Joe, Did You Come Up With That All By Yourself, or Did You Pull It Out of the Water Bucket Your Carrying?

TalkLeft: Lieberman Asks For War With Iran; Petraeus Turns Him Down


And Here's A Shout-Out To The Vice-President

Andrew Sullivan: The Surge's Real Target: Iran?


Hey, You're Stepping On Friedman's Turf, With That There, Buster

'Eugene Robinson: Six Months' Without End


Who Can I Turn To ... When Nobody Needs Me

Ezra Klein - The Dispensable Man: David Petraeus has admitted David Petraeus doesn't matter. Will anyone believe him?


Bonus Links

The PetraeusReportpalooza

"And Now We Come To The Sanity Clause ..."

GIVE ME A "P" ... GIVE ME A "E" ... GIVE ME A "T" ... GIVE ME A "R" ... GIVE ME A "A" ... GIVE ME A "E" ... GIVE ME A "U" ... GIVE ME A "S" ...

Retro Garlic ... A Sidewalk Full of Banana Peels

"Yes, we have no terrorist charges ...We have-a no terrorist charges today"

No doubt, they're singing that tune around Chiquita Brands International headquarters today.

Especially loud, after this;

Ex-Chiquita Execs Won't Face Bribe Charges

"The United States gave serious consideration to bringing additional charges in this matter," prosecutors wrote in a memo filed in court yesterday. "In the exercise of prosecutorial discretion, the United States has decided not do so."

Could it be that being a fat cat donor to the Republican Party have anything to do with it? Especially circumspect, considering the politicalization of the Injustice Department, as run by the former Crony General Alberto "Fredo" Gonzales.

What would have been the disposition had the funding by Chiquita gone to, say, al Qaeda? Or Hezzbollah?

Looks like a sidewalk full of banana peels for Congress to wade into this one.

The Retro Part

Developing Story! Chiquita Case Emerges With Ties To Bush, DOJ, CIA; To Bolster Surge, President Weighs Using Banana Company Thugs In Iraq; Goodling Courted By Chiquita For "Hiring Expertise"; CIA Contractor Cuts May Hit '54 Coup Vets


Bonus Links

For more information on the Chiquita case, and other Immigration issues, visit Imigration Orange

Virtual Truth Commission

Third World Traveler

Top Ten Cloves: Since Petraeus Can't Say That We Are Safe, The President Will Have To Change His Slogan To ...

News Item: Petraeus: 'I Don't Know' if Iraq Victory Will Make U.S. Safer

10. New intelligence shows that, even if we fail, the terrorists won't follow us home, so we don't have to worry about fighting them here

9. Operation Iraqi Freedom has many facets, not just fighting them over there, instead of here

8. You know, my advisers tell me, fighting isn't the only way to deny the terrorists a safe haven in Iraq...

7. Advancing the ideal of democracy and self-government can be achieved in other ways, not just fighting

6. We'll fight whoever we can fight ... Wherever we can fight'em!

5. We don't have to fight them ... We can "Surge'em"... And we'll Surge'em over there, not over here

4. Forget what I said before ... We'll fight them there, instead of over here ...

3. We'll "Progress" them ... Progressing them is even better then fighting them ... We can show Progress all the time ... Never get tired ... Fighting them all the time, we'll get tired ...

2. We'll fight the mushroom cloud... See, it's a cloud ... A cloud shaped like a mushroom ... And we need to fight it before it becomes the form of a mushroom cloud ... Before it takes the shape of a mushroom cloud ...

1. Maybe we can live with all of Iraq not being free... It's not written in stone all of Iraq has to be free ... We can fight for a partially-free Iraq here, just as well as over there ...

Bonus Links

The Ever Changing Definition of ‘Mission’ In Iraq

Iraq No Longer Exists

Good Post Alert: Author under gag order assails producer, ABC for 'Path to 9/11'

I am a little surprised that The Commander Guy didn't take to the airwaves last evening, or issue the message through Faux News and The Sludge Report, that to commemorate the sixth anniversary of September 11th, that we should all go out shopping today...

He could have scheduled a trip to Minneapolis and hit a 3-For-1;

• Issue his "Go Shopping" from the Mall of America
• Visit the collapsed bridge site for a stirring, "promise them everything" speech for getting them back on their feet
• Stop by the now-infamous Mens Room, for some softball "Same-Sex Marriage" bashing

Ahhh, wishful thinking ... I'm sure he's much too busy celebrating the PetraeusReportpalooza ...

So, we point you to today's Good Post Alert, thanks to The Raw Story;

Author under gag order assails producer, ABC for 'Path to 9/11'

We knew this movie was a hack job when it aired ... Now we know just how much of a hack job it was ...


Bonus Links

Open Letter to ABC: Don't Airbrush 9/11

Max Blumenthal: Discover the Secret Right-Wing Network Behind ABC's 9/11 Deception

Joan Walsh: The false path to 9/11

Top Ten Cloves: Things Overheard At ABC Meetings About “Path To 9/11” Movie

Breaking and Developing News! ABC Fesses Up; Plan For 'Path To 9-11' Is To Launch ‘Dancing With History’ Series; Establish “Dancing” Franchise In Same Vein As CSI, Law and Order; Disney Signs Coulter for New Death Wish Projects

The PetraeusReportpalooza

Perhaps I was bleary-eyed, and beaten down by the PetraeusReportpalooza, or over-anxious at having to ignore the daily, back-to-back 'Family Feud' viewing ritual, in an effort not to miss one surge-pulsing moment of the hearing today ...

But I could have sworn that General Extraordinaire David Petraeus turned the committee members' glasses of water into wine ...

You missed it?

How's about nearly seven-hours of "things are improving", "need more time" and the touting of a troop withdrawal next spring, one that would be taking place anyway (unless the Pentagon was taking the bold step of classifying soldiers as indentured servants), as if the Bush Grindhouse was actually listening to the country as to ending this nightmare.

We turn the floor over to the voices of others ...

Let's Take Controversy, for $100, Alex ...

The Swamp: Petraeus 'Betray Us' ad is group's 'shock and awe'


CNN Political Ticker: Dems join GOP in slamming ad attacking Petraeus


Kevin Drum: COOKING THE BOOKS....


Joe Gandelman: With Enemies Like This, General Petraeus Gets New Friends


But Let's Not Give MoveOn.Org All The Credit

TimesOnLine: Americans doubt ‘General Betraeus’ over troop surge

(h/t to Jane Hamsher over on Firedoglake.com)


Flack ... Flak ... Rhymes With ... Political Hack

Think Progress: Petraeus Falsely Claims That Six Months Ago, ‘No One Would Have Forecast’ Anbar’s Success


Big Tent Democrat: On Petraeus: The Manufacturing Of A Storyline


Think Progress - REPORT: Petraeus Spent At Least 17 Days In August Flacking For Bush’s Escalation


Jane Hamsher: No More Flack for Iraq


You Want Charts?

Kevin Drum: PETRAEUS'S DRAWDOWN...


David Kurtz: Running the Numbers


John Cole: Look At All the Pretty Colors


Tell'em What They Won, Johnny ...


Michael Abramowitz: Petraeus Leaves Large Questions Unanswered


I See ... Dead Policies ...

Glenn Greenwald: Stop the DC Establishment



I've got the world on a string ... I'm sitting on a rainbow ... Got the string around my finger ...

Good Post Alert - Launching Brand Petraeus

Well, we had the prelude, and pregame festivities... Not to mention The Commander Guy's extravaganza at Camp Cupcake, perhaps to, among other dubious things, drop off some autographed copies of his new book.

But today, it's SHOWTIME, the real-time running of the gameplan, with the well-anticipated spotlight being shone on General Extraordinaire, David Petraeus, and his Robin-like sidekick, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, the guy that lives in the biggest house - with full services and amenities - in Baghdad.

They are still, at the time of this writing, in-session, with the questioning, pretty much - on how hard or soft - coming along party lines.

So, before you start wading through the transcripts, and swimming through the pundits, check this out.

Tom Engelhardt, over at TomDispatch.com, offered his third installment of his "By The Numbers" series yesterday;

Launching Brand Petraeus

It's a great read, so check it out (as well as the links there to Part 1 and Part 2)

Introducing Lu and Letty!

Good news Garlic Fans, our good friends Karen Crist and Barry Crimmins have, happily, two new joys to pamper.

We apprised you of the terrible and sad news, first of the illness, and then, the too-fast passing of the beloved Lloyd The Dog.

It was very sad circumstances, not only for Karen and Barry, but a whole, huge community of people who met, and were bowled over by Lloyd.

An opportunity presented itself and, last Friday, Barry and Karen adopted two, adorable, nine-week-old Lab/Shepherd puppies.

Check it all out here on Girls! Girls! Girls!