First Door on the Left

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Bush on Tuesday dismissed a human rights report as “absurd” for its harsh criticism of U.S. treatment of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying the allegations were made by prisoners “who hate America.”

“It’s an absurd allegation. The United States is a country that promotes freedom around the world,” Bush said of the Amnesty International report that compared Guantanamo to a Soviet-era gulag.

THE LATEST FBI documents detailing allegations of prisoner abuse at Guantanamo Bay are, like previous FBI documents, highly disturbing. They contain prisoners’ descriptions of beatings, strippings and abuse of the Koran. Detainees variously claim the Muslim holy book has been thrown on the floor, thrown against a wall and, yes, flushed in a toilet. There are also references to these kinds of events having led to an “altercation” between detainees and guards. (Washington Post, May 29, 2005)

…in just seven words, two commas and an ampersand…

(via Tom Tomorrow)

Memorial Day/Praise bravery, seek forgiveness

Nothing young Americans can do in life is more honorable than offering themselves for the defense of their nation. It requires great selflessness and sacrifice, and quite possibly the forfeiture of life itself. On Memorial Day 2005, we gather to remember all those who gave us that ultimate gift. Because they are so fresh in our minds, those who have died in Iraq make a special claim on our thoughts and our prayers.

In exchange for our uniformed young people’s willingness to offer the gift of their lives, civilian Americans owe them something important: It is our duty to ensure that they never are called to make that sacrifice unless it is truly necessary for the security of the country. In the case of Iraq, the American public has failed them; we did not prevent the Bush administration from spending their blood in an unnecessary war based on contrived concerns about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction. President Bush and those around him lied, and the rest of us let them. Harsh? Yes. True? Also yes. Perhaps it happened because Americans, understandably, don’t expect untruths from those in power. But that works better as an explanation than as an excuse.

Click on the headline to read the full editorial.

Why I’m joining the GOP

After a lifetime voting for and working for Democratic candidates and independents, I’m finally going to make the switch and become a Republican.

The reasons are many, not the least of which is age. I turned 55 recently and, having lived more than half my life, I can’t afford to worry anymore about the other guy. It’s time for me.

As a Republican, I can now proudly — indeed, defiantly — pledge to never again vote for anyone who raises taxes for any reason. To hell with roads, bridges, schools, police and fire protection, Medicare, Social Security and regulation of the airwaves.

President Bush has promised to give me more tax cuts even though our federal government owes trillions of dollars to its creditors. But that’s someone else’s problem, not mine. Republicans are about the here and now, and I’m here now.

Click on the headline to continue reading.

“Apparently, the image of our president is as offensive to MTV as it is to me.” — Nine Inch Nails’ leader Trent Reznor

David Rosen, Hillary Clinton’s former national finance director, was charged a while back with making false statements to the Federal Election Commission about a Hollywood fundraising event in 2000.

Today he was aquitted of those charges.

The coalition of radical right-wing bloggers made a lot of noise when he was charged. I can’t help but wonder if they will make as much noise about his aquittal.

Giorgio “hiding” in the kitty cube…

The last line of this story is priceless…

DeLay Upset Over ‘Law & Order’ Line

WASHINGTON (AP) – House Majority Leader Tom DeLay is upset that a popular NBC crime drama used his name as part of its show.

DeLay wrote NBC to complain that one of the characters on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” invoked his name in a story line about the shooting death of a federal judge. “Maybe we should put out an APB for somebody in a Tom DeLay T-shirt,” the fictional police officer said.

DeLay, in a letter to NBC Universal Television chief Jeff Zucker, called that reference a “slur.”

“This manipulation of my name and trivialization of the sensitive issue of judicial security represents a reckless disregard for the suffering initiated by recent tragedies and a great disservice to public discourse,” he said.

DeLay, R-Texas, criticized the federal judiciary after the courts refused to stop the death of Terri Schiavo. “The time will come for the men responsible for this to answer for their behavior,” he said in a statement on March 31, hours after Schiavo died.

DeLay apologized the next week, saying he had spoken in an “inartful” way and meant that Congress should increase its oversight of the courts.

“This isolated piece of gritty ‘cop talk’ was neither a political comment nor an accusation,” NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly said. “It’s not unusual for L & O to mention real names in its fictional stories. We’re confident in our viewers’ ability to distinguish between the two.”

Creator/executive producer Dick Wolf added: “But I do congratulate Congressman DeLay for switching the spotlight from his own problems to an episode of a television show.”

Besides, one would think that with all the illegal fundraising, running the country and all, the infamous bug killer would be too busy to watch television.

Think Blue bands are a reminder that elections matter every day, and a symbol of the importance of electing candidates who support democratic values. There are more than 80,000 Think Blue bands on the wrists of people in all 50 states and more than 10 countries around the world.

Click here.

There is an excellent column in todays Washington Post, by Jim VandeHei, which discusses how the Republicans are changing our government by chanelling more and more power into the Executive branch.

This is probably not a great idea when the person at the top of the Executive branch is not terribly bright.

Recommended reading:

GOP Tilting Balance Of Power to the Right