Oh Boy, Another One ...

Yesterday, we told you about Jon "Let'em Go" Meacham, and his "Hear/Speak/See No Evil" approach to holding the Bush Grindhouse accountable for their war crimes.



Today, it is, none other, than Thomas "My Head Is Flat", "Suck On This" Friedman, proud creator of the infamous "Friedman Unit".

The president’s decision to expose but not prosecute those responsible for this policy is surely unsatisfying; some of this abuse involved sheer brutality that had nothing to do with clear and present dangers. Then why justify the Obama compromise? Two reasons: the first is that because justice taken to its logical end here would likely require bringing George W. Bush, Donald Rumsfeld and other senior officials to trial, which would rip our country apart; and the other is that Al Qaeda truly was a unique enemy, and the post-9/11 era a deeply confounding war in a variety of ways.

[Snip]

First, Al Qaeda was undeterred by normal means. Al Qaeda’s weapon of choice was suicide. Al Qaeda operatives were ready to kill themselves — as they did on 9/11, and before that against U.S. targets in Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Tanzania and Yemen — long before we could ever threaten to kill them. We could deter the Russians because they loved their children more than they hated us; they did not want to die. The Al Qaeda operatives hated us more than they loved their own children. They glorified martyrdom and left families behind.

We think Mister My Head Is Flat shoots down his own argument, right here.

"Al Qaeda’s weapon of choice was suicide. Al Qaeda operatives were ready to kill themselves ..."

Since Al Qaeda was "undeterred by normal means", fearless of suicide and "ready to kill themselves", why then, would we want to play into all that with torture?

It would seem to be a wiser choice, to do proper interrogations with them, dispelling the myths, and building rapports that trained interrogators say produce better results.

Sorry there Mister Suck-On-This, you don't get to pass Go, and collect your, apparently much-needed, $200.

And, can we start tearing down this meme, that holding criminals accountable for their crimes will "tear the country apart."

Who says so? ... When has this happened, what factual documentation do these people have?

Ford screwed the pooch with pardoning Nixon for the same rationale, choking off the display of democracy, with having the Congress impeach the sitting, criminal President.

So, why is it that, in "enforcing the laws that are on the books" (a favorite Freak Show lament, when it comes to gun control, and immigration), will "tear the country apart", rather than stand out, showing our fellow citizens, and the world, that we are big enough, and strong enough, to take care of our business, orderly, and with respect.

I expect this will get a lot more voicing, as we crawl towards the War Crime Trials, awaiting, hopefully, not in the distant future.

So, Suck On That, there Mr. Friedman Unit.


Bonus "My Head Is Flat" Riffs

Barrett Brown: Thomas Friedman’s Five Worst Predictions

Delawareliberal: Tom Friedman and Me - Or - Calling Friedman out Near the Coat Check at Sardi’s

Wonkette: Thomas Friedman Assaulted By Rhode Island Pies!

Thomas Freidman, Clearly, Is Eating Lead-Painted Toys From His Flat World Economy!

Happy 5th Anniversary of "Suck On This" Day!

ABC's Jake Tapper Walks Away With The Golden McPenis!

As the bathrobe-clad Stumblin' Bumblin John McCain continues his stumblin' and bumblin, the John McCain Fan Club media can't make the donuts fast enough ...

And John Cole, over on Balloon Juice, captures it perfectly

The Voices In Jake Tapper’s Head

The title of his post is “Did Obama Accuse McCain of Running a Racist, Xenophobic Campaign?” He then goes on at length to extol the virtues of John McCain, who does not have a racist bone in his body, we learn. The piece would have been embarrassing for the stupidity alone, but the shameless boot-licking really put it over the top.

For his excellent work, Jake Tapper is the first ever winner of the new Balloon Juice award for shameless media fluffing of John McCain, The Golden McPenis. Congratulations, Jake. The award is below the fold as it is NSFWish.

As another great Bush Grindhouse fluffer once said;

"Suck on this!"

Go get'em Jake!

Hey, Hoyer (and Pelosi) ... Politico ... Suck On This!

How is it, exactly, "speaking volumes", being a "master of cloakroom politics who can use his friendships across the aisle to strike deals" to simply cave-in and give the Bush Grindhouse what it wants, like the FISA Bill they gift wrapped last week?

If you read the Politico (I assumed, as I begin reading, that the artice was written by the one who always drops to his kness, Mike Allen, but, alas, it is not), and the hummer they give to Stench Hoyer today, you'll think the slime ball just saved the world, or something

And Stench Hoyer is thinking pretty high of himself;

In an interview with Politico on Monday, Hoyer called the FISA legislation a “significant victory” for the Democratic Party — one that neutralized an issue Republicans might have been able to use against Democrats in November while still, in his view, protecting the civil liberties of American citizens.

Hoyer said that House Democrats succeeded in dialing back some of the provisions contained in the earlier, Senate-passed version of the FISA legislation. While the Senate bill provided retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies that participated in President Bush’s warrantless surveillance program, Hoyer noted that the House version mandates judicial review of the companies’ actions. Legal experts and congressional opponents argue that such review will ultimately be meaningless.

[Make a note - send dictionary to Stench Hoyer, with Post-It tag on page defining "significant"]

The legendary football coach Paul Brown used to tell his players that, when they got to the end zone, "act like you've been there before".

What would he ever make of Stench Hoyer (and the table-less Nancy Pelosi), taking victory laps - after giving away the store!

Just astounding, that they would go out and brag about their caving in.

I'll repeat here something I wrote the other day;

Considering they beat back the bill the last time they had it, with the recent Supreme Court decision to restore Habaes Corpus to detainees, and, let's throw in the overwhelming majority of American citizens against Illegal Wiretapping, and Immunity for the crony Telecom companies that conducted it, why on earth did they not stand tall, and emphatically reemphasize the LAME in Lame Duck President?

And, if you think I'm being to harsh ...

Digby;

Do read the whole Politico article, which doesn't bother to spend even one paragraph describing why people were opposed to the bill. For that matter it doesn't bother to tell us why the other side was so adamant that it get passed either. The fact that it wasn't some typical congressional agenda item which might naturally be "horse traded" but rather a matter of fundamental constitutional principle, isn't worth mentioning. Even the fact that the whole thing stinks to high heaven of financial corruption gets no mention.

This one is sweeter than most because he managed to capitulate to the congressional minority and the most unpopular president in history on an issue of fundamental constitutional principle which contained little political risk to uphold. A truly bravura performance. In fact, it's worthy of a lifetime achievement award.

Glenn Greenwald;

In other words, Democrats achieved a "significant victory" because -- by giving Republicans everything they demanded -- Republicans are no longer able to criticize Democrats on this issue. What a shrewd strategy: "if we comply with all their demands, then they can't criticize us for anything." That's the Democratic Party's plan for winning, according to Hoyer.

Regarding Pelosi's claim that the Democrats won "significant concessions" -- a claim repeated by Hoyer in the Politico article -- Ponnuru says: "If that's what they want to tell themselves, fine. It sure looks like they got rolled." It looks that way because that's what happened. Who exactly do Pelosi and Hoyer think they're fooling with these self-glorifying claims that they stood down the Republicans and extracted concessions?

The Congressional Leadership of Stench Hoyer, and the table-challenged Nancy Pelosi, is bankrupt, and devoid of principles.

Like so many - and most in, or attached to, the Bush Grindhouse - that has turned their backs on the Constitution, so has this dynamic duo, and they compound their sins by urging their membership to follow their lead.

They continue to be The Blank Check Club.

But wait, while she lives in a world, sans tables, Pelosi found something to rest her gumption on;

Pelosi Welcomes Filibuster of the House FISA Surrender Bill

Did they not send out the PR?

Was last week, the one time, once-per-year, the House is not allowed to debate a bill?

Did some mysterious vapor overcome Hoyer and Pelosi, causing them to forget all the arcane rules that they could have delayed, tabled, or otherwise, killed this bill off?

Since they've been throwing confetti on themselves, what happens if the Senate does manage to beat this bill back?

How can they celebrate the Senate saving our Civil Liberties, when they, themselves, advocated, lobbied and voted against them?

This strategy, of caving into the Bush Grindhouse, and minority Republicans, as some sort of election strategy should fast-track them, zoom them, up to the top of the Darwin Awards (presumably, Pelosi will find a table to place the award on).

And, if the Senate doesn't beat the FISA Bill back this week, they can sit in the same clown bus as Hoyer and Pelosi, who, undoubtedly, will be patting each other on the back, for the great job, for their "significant victories" - as the bus drives over the cliff.


Bonus Links

Comments from Left Field - Hoyer and Pelosi To Their Base: You Should Thank Us for Screwing You

John Amato: Hoyer’s Conservative Capitulation Lifetime Award

Jane Hamsher: FISA: Call Your Wobbly FISA Senator


Bonus, Late-Breaking Update

Dodd And Feingold Will Filibuster Telecom Immunity

Amy Goodman: “One of the Greatest Intrusions, Potentially, on the Rights of Americans Protected Under the 4th Amendment”–Sen. Feingold Blasts Telecom Spy Bill

Think Progress: Reid to co-sponsor effort to strip retroactive immunity from FISA bill. (Updated)

Mike Lillis - Washington Independent: Telecom Donations Tied to FISA Vote; Supporters of the Spying Bill Received Twice the Contributions as Those Against It