The Gift That Keeps Giving: Macswain's Picks

Macswain's Season Record: 28-17-2.



Here's this week's picks:

Florida State goes to Gainesville to face in-state rival Florida. The Gators are favored by 3.5 at home. Both teams are struggling late, but FSU's ongoing implosion has been the worst. Take the Gators and give up the points.

The Georgia Bulldogs are favored by 4 as they travel a short way down the road to face Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs'll win by a field goal. Take the points and the Yellowjackets. As a second bet, the over/under is set at a vey low 40. Yet, the teams' defenses are better than their offenses --- take the Under.

It struck me as odd to see Oklahoma favored by 19.5 over Oklahoma State, even though the Sooners are at home. The big question is which Cowboy team will show up - the one that beat Texas Tech two weeks ago or the one that lost to Baylor last week. I say the emotions of a big in-state rivalry will spur on Ok.State. Take the Cowboys and the huge point spread.

In another big spread game, Notre Dame is favored by 16.5 at Stanford. The Irish want to send a message that they deserve to be in a BCS bowl. Bet on the Irish.

Here are this week's spreads.

Jonah Goldberg's New Feature: Fun with Racial Slurs

What a funny motherfucker that Jonah Goldberg is! He decides to use his high profile position at the NRO's Corner to link to a racial slurs database. He cheekily offers: "I endorse none of these, of course." Ha Ha Ha.

Then why the fuck did you link to it in the first place.

The LA Times & NPR must be so proud of their new editorialist. How irreverent!

Of course, this is all just a set-up for his all-too-obvious "poor me" mea culpa in which he explains that he didn't explicitly endorse it and it's just another example of those damn liberals misconstruing us oh-so victimized righties. What kind of piece of shit actually sets stuff like this up?

Is Kindasleazy Rice Retarded?

Atrios hooks us up with this jaw-droppingly-stupid quote from Rice:

Rice on CNN to John King, just now, responding to King pointing out that Democrats didn't have the same intelligence as the White House. It's her shiny new talking point. Shr grinned triumphantly as she said it:

They had the intelligence that made the case that Saddam Hussein had reconstituted his biological and chemical weapons and was at least on the way to reconstituting the nuclear weapons.

That's the point, dumbass. That was the bogus stuff. You didn't give them all of the stuff that put that crap in doubt.

The Sins of The Music Industry

Warner music has agreed to pay $5 million dollars to settle the payola claims brought against it by Elliott Spitzer.

Now let me see if I have this right. If you jack a $.99 sent song off the internet, you are subject to a fine - punitive damages - of $150,000 per song. So Warner's crime - in the music industry's view - is the equivalent of some kid who jacked 34 songs.

Bush's War to Destroy the Media: Has Bush Espoused Violence Against Al Jazeera?

Almost weekly we learn of a new Pravdaism performed by the Bush Administration regarding the United States media.

Now there is a report out of London that Bush told Tony Blair that he wanted to bomb Al Jazeera's headquarters in Qatar.

If true, this is whack job territory. It would also raise serious questions about the violence that the media has suffered at the hands of the United States in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Meet Tawana Steele

... he's Maryland's Republican Lieutenant Governor and now a candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Apparently he's got a lil' problem of misplaying the race/victim card.

I can't deciide whether Republican Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich or political scumbag extraordinaire Paul Schurick should get credit for playing the Al Sharpton role in pushing this despicable fraud.

Through this stunt - a stunt designed solely for political gain - Steele demeans every true victim of racism. He should be ashamed of himself.

Dirty War

With the torture prison story, we are seeing a broader recognition of Iraq's dirty little secret ... there is a present, ongoing dirty war. The Guardian gives more info on what this dirty war includes.

Yet, not to be outdone, The Independent echoes the stories of Saddam's ear-cutting days with a story of present day extra judicial executions using drills. Apparently, this is what the Brits were investigating when their battle with the local government broke out over the arrest and detention of two undercover British soldiers.

The big picture, however, is the widening sectarian divide.

Somebody needs to tell Rummy and Dick that this ain't progress.

The Picks

With the season record at 24-16-2, we enter a weekend chock full of big rivalry games. On one hand, the skills of the gambler should be finely honed this late in the season. Yet, on the other, the rivalry games are so filled with raw emotion as to make this one of the more unpredictable weekends of the year.

The two big games of the week are Ohio State at Michigan and Alabama at Auburn. In Ann Arbor, the Wolverines are three point underdogs to the Buckeyes. I think Ohio State is the best team in the Big Ten and will prove they can win a big game on the road. Give up the 3 points and bet Ohio State.

With 'Bamas bubble being burst and Auburn's confidence rising, I am on the Auburn bandwagon. But so are the bookies who've made the Tigers 7 point favorites against the Crimson Tide. I just can't bite on a spread that big in this all-important rivalry. Look for Alabama to lose late by 3; that means, take the Tide and the 7 point cushion.

Oregon is favored by 13.5 at home against Oregon State. The Beavers have killed themselves all season with turnovers. Last week their starting QB, Matt Moore, sprained a knee and will either play hurt or not at all. The Ducks, on the other hand, have given their backups three weeks of experience since starting QB Kellen Clemons went out with a season ending injury. Expect the Ducks to win big; give the points.

Michigan State has imploded while Joe Pa has proven he's still got it. Penn State is favored by 8 on the road against the Spartans. Look for the Nittany Lions to win big; give up the points.

In a nonrivalry game, two top twenty teams do battle when Fresno State visits USC. The Trojans are favored by 23.5. They Trojans'll build a big lead, but lose interest late. The Bulldogs will score a late touchdown in a 41-20 loss. Put the cash on Fresno State.

McCain's Cheerleader Strategy: Give Me A "V"

A number of bloggers on the right (here and here) are gushing over John McCain's latest speech on Iraq. Here's what McCain says:

"Anyone reading the amendment gets the sense that the Senate's foremost objective is the draw-down of American troops. What it should have said is that America's first goal in Iraq is not to withdraw troops, but to win the war. All other policy decisions we make should support, and be subordinate to, the successful completion of our mission.

Morality, national security and the honor our fallen deserve all compel us to see our mission in Iraq through to victory.
A date is not an exit strategy. To suggest that it is only encourages our enemies, by indicating that the end to American intervention is near. It alienates our friends, who fear an insurgent victory, and tempts undecideds to join the anti-government ranks.

Think about this for a moment. Imagine Iraqis, working for the new government, considering whether to join the police force, or debating whether or not to take up arms. What will they think when they read that the Senate is pressing for steps toward draw-down?

Are they more or less likely to side with a government whose No. 1 partner hints at leaving?

The Senate has responded to the millions who braved bombs and threats to vote, who put their faith and trust in America and their government, by suggesting that our No. 1 priority is to bring our people home.

We have told insurgents that their violence does grind us down, that their horrific acts might be successful. But these are precisely the wrong messages. Our exit strategy in Iraq is not the withdrawal of our troops, it is victory."

But wait ... I think I've heard this speech before. Isn't it simply a cut and paste from the speeches DeGaulle gave regarding Algeria in the early Sixties

... or is it from Nixon's speeches regarding Vietnam in the late Sixties and early Seventies

... or is it that the speech is similar to what Brezhnev and Andropov were telling Rissians about Afghanistan in the Eighties.

Regardless, what is missing, of course, is any plan for "victory" in Iraq. Is McCain still arguing for more troops? And, if so, what are the specifics for that plan? At this point, "more troops" arguments are about as fanciful as claiming success can be achieved by sprinkling a load of pixie dust on Baghdad.

Nor does McCain define "victory." That's the beauty of his speech. It's built to satisfy each individual's desire for what they view to be victory but leaves McCain an out in that he can define victory to mean whatever serves his need at some point in the future.

Finally, who is McCain talking about when he refers to the insurgents. He seems to think that they're only made up of those who engage in "horrific acts." If this truly is his understanding, I have a little secret to share with him ... Psst ... the insurgency is the Sunnis. Not just a few "deadenders," not just the extremist islamists, but a whole historical group of people which includes the secular and the pious. Debating such a group about "horrific acts" isn't going to get you anywhere. You cannot simply crush such a group militarily but need to coopt that group in some meaningful manner into a future Iraq. This group has been marginalized time and again throughout the rebuilding process; most recently through a referendum on a Constitution with highly suspicious vote counts and a Constitution itself which seems to enshrine Sunni marginalism.

One of the reasons many of us liberals opposed this war is that we viewed the task of bringing all the etnic/religious groups together in a new Iraq as a virtual impossiblity. We viewed a sectarian breakdown as the most likely result. However, once we went in --- not even trying to avoid this result, indeed, taking acts that have exaccerabated the problem, is inexcusable. How does McCain propose to address this problem? One simply does not know?

The raid on the torture facility in the Interior Ministry was the right step in finally showing some concern about the Sunnis' complaints. However, it is probably too little, too late and, indeed, at this late stage, it is simply peeling back another layer of problems. Maybe Iraq is now like Shrek or, mor precisely, an onion.

In any event, McCain's speech is nothing more than cheerleading. He offers no specifics because its all about politics to him and not about true leadership. It makes his supporters feel good without showing the courage necessary to confront the real problems we face in Iraq.

It looks like McCain has adopted the Bush playbook - All Hat, No Cattle.

Please Update Your Dictionaries: "Blood Diamonds" Is Being Replaced With the Softer & Gentler Term "Conflict Diamonds"

We've seen numerous instances of situational semantics throughout the Bush years. Recent examples are Bush's claim that we do not "torture" or the Pentagon's claim that White Phosphorous is not a chemical weapon.

This disease, we now learn, is spreading faster than the avian flu. What we liberals have been calling "Blood Diamonds" - the diamonds being mined in Africa that are fueling violence and war - are now to be called "Conflict Diamonds" according to this piece in the AFP quoting the human rights group Global Witness.

Yeah, that phrase really gets the imagery across!!!

Popping a Woody

How disingenuous is Bob Woodward's story?

Woodward said that the unnamed official told him about Plame "in an offhand, casual manner . . . almost gossip" and that "I didn't attach any great significance to it."

Yet, he also claims that not only did he have a strict, ironclad confidentiality agreement not to identify the source but that the agreement extended even further to not revealing the information he had been given.

One might reasonably ponder, "What the fuck?" How could the information be meaningless banter, on one hand, but, on the other, suffused with such significance as to be afforded double secret protection.

The whole Woodward story does serve as an illustration of the modern priorities of some of the media elites. Notice how Woodward's first priority was protection to his powerful inside-the-White-House source. Once Woodward's duplicity was revealed (Woodward had publicly denied having any info on the issue), he then apologized to his cocktail circuit friends in the upper echelons of the Washington Post. But ehere was the apology to his readers or the people who witnessed his analysis of the Plame affair during his many television appearances? To Woodward, the public now comes a distantr last.

U.S.: "My Chemical Weapons Don't Count"

The Pentagon lied to us about white phosphorous not being used as a weapon during the siege of Fallujah.

The BBC has now received confirmation from the Pentagon that, yes, WP was in fact used as a weapon. [No one knows where the fuck the American media has been on this story].

Of course, the latest spin is that we didn't sign the treaties banning the use of WP as a weapon. Hmm ... is that an acceptable defense for Saddam? Would it have been okay if he had simply used white phosphorous on the Kurds instead of the other chemical weapon that was actually used?

Of course, the big question is why we have leaders who continue to destroy America's image around the world? How much lower will these fuckers take us?

Another Reverse Embed: Bob Woodward Version

The Washington Post has late breaking news tonight. Bob Woodward is now claiming to be the initial media recipient of Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA employee.

Woodward doesn't publicly ID the admnistration official (otherwise known as "Fall Guy") who gave him the info, but Rove & Libbey's spokespeople have been quick to crow how its not their clients. They are also using Woodward's revelation to smear Fitzgerald's investigation.

But Woodward's late revelation smells fishy given that he has covered the story without any acknowledgement that he was personally involved. His coverage has been almost entirely dismissive and even contemptuous of Fitzgerald's investigation. Woodward referred to Fitzgerald as "a junkyard prosecutor." Indeed, his story is contradicted, in relevant part, by his Post colleague Walter Pincus.

He has had an ogoing love affair with the Bushies which has afforded him status as the insider extraordinare to the administration. He has been media apologist numero uno for the Bushies.

Could it now be that the man whose ambitions once led him to expose corruption that brought down one President is now focusing his ambitions on doing whatever he can to help save another President?

Scalito Admission: As "An Advocate Seeking A Job," I Can't Be Trusted to Tell the Truth

The big story this week on Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito is the discovery of a 1985 letter he wrote that confirms his extreme conservative views.

Alito's defense, voiced to Senator Dianne Feinstein, at the time he wrote the letter, he had been "an advocate seeking a job." Well, what the fuck does he think he is now?

But this is a second instance which confirms that - not only are his views extreme - he cannot be trusted to give credible testimony before the Senate. He implies that his 1985 letter was a matter of spin and we also know his 1990 testimony about recusing himself from particular cases in which he might have a conflict of interest was bogus.

But analysis of the 1985 letter does not end with his personal view on a constitutional right of choice or on credibility. The letter contains a number of other tidbits that give us a shocking view of Alito's conservative ideology.

Nathan Newman has the breakdown on Alito's disdain for the Warren court's reapportionment cases that helped ensure equal representation for all voters, or, as Mr. Newman artfully paraphrases it, "Alito's War on Democracy."

The letter also puts on display Alito's antithapy toward affirmative action. While he phrases his zeal as one against quotas, we must remember that conservatives have long referred to all affirmative action programs as being quotas. Their use of the term has always been broader than the liberal understanding of the word as applying only to programs similar to the one in Bakke. Moreover, quotas have been recognized as a constitutionally sufficient remedy for dealing with situations where there was past, actual discrimination or to remedy current, ongoing discrimination. In 1985, the Reagan administration was at war against even remedying these forms of discrimination as well as at war in general against all affirmative action. It is my suspicion that this is what Alito is cheering in his letter. It is not a limited cheer against Bakke-like programs. Indeed, further evidence of his views toward civil rights can be found in the fact that he sings the praises of the writings of William Buckley in the 1960s as well as Barry Goldwater's 1964 presidential campaign.

Certainly someone should find out what cases Alito is so proud of having worked on regarding these issues.

More Rightwing Ethics

Jesus' General has unearthed some documentary evidence against Republican Conngressman Don Sherwood.

The Weekly Gridiron Picks

The bookies obviously have no love for Alabama. They must be expecting a UCLA-like implosion because LSU is favored to beat the Crimson Tide by 3 even though the game is at 'Bama. I love homefield advantage and, though there is a good chance LSU can knock Bama from the ranks of the unbeaten, I think 'Bama should be a 1 point favorite. Take the points and the Crimson Tide.

Another great SEC match-up has Auburn as 3 point underdogs at Georgia. With homefield advantage and DJ Shockley back in the line-up, take the Bulldogs and give up the points.

USC is favored only by 18.5 at Cal. I think this is the second lowest spread for USC this season (the lowest was against Notre Dame but was still double figures). The bookies are obviously looking at how USC has performed poorly against Cal over the last two years. I'm not buying it. I see give up the points & put the dough on the Trojans.

Turning to the ACC, we have a great game lined up with Florida State going into Death Valley to battle Clemson. FSU is favored by 1 but will win by 3. Bet the 'Noles.

Miami's favored by 16.5 at Wake Forest. Miami smells blood in its bid for a BCS bowl and are looking to impress. Take advantage of the built-in incentives and bet the 'Canes; they're rolling.

Friend of Scalito Admits Scalito Thinks Roe Wrong

Think Progress has the story of a strange day at the college newspaper the Princetonian.

First, the paper printed:

[Alito’s senior thesis adviser Walter] Murphy said he and Alito agree that the 1973 landmark abortion-rights case Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided.

Later, they allowed Murphy to backtrack with this "clarification":

The point I was trying to make was that, even if Sam thought that Roe was wrong, he would not necessarily vote to overturn it.

All fine and good, but the paper did not have the courage to admit in print what it admitted to Think Progress:

Based on a review of our transcript, Professor Murphy did not tell us that even if Judge Alito believed Roe to be wrongly decided, he would not necessarily vote to overturn it. Though we’re not sure why it was suggested that this was said in the interview, we’re reluctant to draw any conclusions. That said, had the transcript reflected the assertion that Judge Alito would be unlikely to overturn Roe, we would most certainly have included the point in the story, given the importance of this claim.

Anybody who believes all this talk about "respect for precedent" and "not necessarily voting to overturn Roe" means Scalito won't seek to curtail individual freedoms protected by the constitutional right of privacy is either being purposefully stupid or doesn't have the mental capability to be sitting in the Senate.

Federalist Society Pukes Give Standing O to Leaker Rove

The Federalist Society - a group whose philosophy is nearly the antithesis of the founding fathers who called themselves Federalists - showed you everything you need to know about their view of America.

They gave a standing ovation to a man who revealed the confidential identity of an undercover CIA operative and then lied about it.

How can any Democrat or moderate Republican vote to confirm a man to the U.S. Supreme Court that hails from this pathetic group. A group that places corporate freedom above individual freedom. Hamilton, Madison and Jay must be rolling in their graves.

Scalito Isn't New to "Confirmation Conversion"

The most extreme conservatives have long sought to get on the Supreme Court through what is charitably referred to as "confirmation conversion."

Despite their past records, conservative nominees will spin hard to portray themselves as moderates and even liberals on issues ranging from the right of privacy to civil rights to federal protections of employees in the workplace. The "confirmation conversion" tactic didn't work for Bork but did for Thomas.

Now we have the spinning of Scalito. Scalito has an absiolutely horrid written record which can only be supported by those who want a judge further to the right than Scalia. Nonetheless, the media has taken to drinking at the Scalito spin-trough with a vomit-inducing, love note in the New York Times and a piece in the L.A. Times celebrating decisions by Scalito that were slamdunks but on which he didn't go into complete whackjob land.

But - as Johnny America reports - misleading the Senate and the American people is nothing new to Scalito. In his 1990 confirmation hearing to be appointed a Circuit Court Judge, Scalito testified under oath that he would recuse himself from cases involving Vanguard mutual funds and cases involving his sister's law firm. After appointment, Alito, in fact, didn't recuse himself from such matters on, at least, three occasions. You could almost hear him laughing at the Senate: "Suckas!!!"

Fortunately, we can turn to the wisdom of George Bush on such matters: "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again."

Mr. Abramoff, Did You Just Fart?

Because I sure smell something stinky.

The New York Times reports on an attempt by Abramoff to get $9 million from the West African country of Gabon in exchange for, in part, a meeting with President Bush. And - lo and behold - Abramoff's front company GrassRoots (at least, he's got a sense of humor) received large sums of money and, despite an atrocious human rights record, Gabon's President, Mr. Bongo (I shit you not, that's his name) did get a meeting with Bush.

While denying any involvement of Mr. Abramoff, White House officials hillariously describe the meeting "as routine." (To be fair, its not clear from the article whether these are the words of the officials themselves or just a bit of delicious paraphrasing from the reporter).

GOP: Damn It! Now Everyone Will Want A Secret Prison

Leave it to the Rethugs. They're not upset by the fact that our government is running secret prisons in other countries, but because someone let the American people and the rest of the World in on it.

Now every country will think it's okay to have one.

BUT THERE'S MORE: The GOP may have jumped on smashing the leaker too soon. A commenter at DK reports that Trent Lott is saying he believes the leaker may be a GOP Senator.

Regardless of who it is, my initial reaction is that this is precisely the type of secret that needs a whistleblower. We, the American people, get to make the decision about engaging in such a tactic that is fraught with international consequence. Establishing prisons in other countries to avoid the dictates of United States laws is not something the President is or should be entitled to do secretly.

On Iraq: If Bush Says It, You Can Bank on the Opposite

Remember the day after the October 15th election when Bush attributed the lack of violence during the vote to progress made by the Iraqi security forces? Of course, the obvious answer had nothing to do with any success of the security forces. It was simply a matter of the Sunnis giving the referendum an actual chance since they felt they could defeat the referendum at the poll.

The poll was heralded by the Bushies as a way to bring the Sunnis into the fold of democracy lovin' peoples. But to do that, there needed to be a fair and transparent vote count. Every Sunni group of which I'm aware, including the IIP that participated in drafting the charter with the Kurds and Shiites, have denounced the count as fraudulent (and given how the count was spun out, who wouldn't be suspicious?)

Due to the lack of transparency, the vote has backfired and further enflamed the insurgency. In the two weeks prior to the vote, Coalition soldiers were dying at a rate of 2 per day. In the three weeks since, Coalition soldiers are dying at a rate of 4 per day.

Of course, if you get your news from the MSM, you wouldn't even know of this latest development.

More Plainspeak from Bush

Remember how America was sold Bush as a plain spoken Texan.

Today Bush says: "Any activity we conduct is within the law. We do not torture."

But what the fuck does this man mean when he uses the word "torture"? Undoubtedly, its some technical, legalistic argument and not what I or, I would venture, the majority of Americans would think of as torture.

UPDATE: Bush also stated: "I did not have torturous relations with Khalid Sheik Mohammed." (courtesy of Webhub).

Robert Mueller Thinks You're Retarded

After over two years of foot-dragging on the FBI's investigation on the Niger-Uranium document forgeries, FBI Director Robert Mueller wants you to believe it was all just one man - Rocco Martino - making a couple of bucks and not the result of any efforts by Italian intelligence or American politicos.

One big problem - the FBI didn't even interview Martino despite the fact that Martino has come to America twice during the time of the investigation. 60 Minutes was able to find him and so was Josh Marshall. But appears that the FBI may not even have tried.

Josh has the latest piece of the story.

The Bush administration certainly isn't lacking for hacks who like to play the "Tom Sawyer down by the picket fence" role.

Open Wide: The New York Times Serves Up A Hot Steamy Pile of Horseshit on Scalito

Tiring of writing fawning love letters to George Bush, the New York Times now apparently has a boner for Scalito.

See if you can stomach this load.

What's Wrong for Serbia Is Also Wrong for Dick

Laura Rozen, one of thew left's sharpest minds on foreign policy, nails Cheney on torture:

If he had been supporting the very same policies he is now advocating while representing a regime like Serbia's, the big man would be in a Hague jail cell. The same support for torture. The same naked contempt for democratic processes. The same contempt for law. The same contempt for their people.

I would suggest we start calling him Slobodan Cheney, but the reality of calling him "Dick" has just too good of a ring to it.

Mushroom Cloud Evidence of Bush Lie to Take Us to War?

The New York Times reports that newly declassified portions of a Defense Intelligence Agency document found that it was probable that an Al Qaeda prisoner, Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi “was intentionally misleading the debriefers" about support by Iraq for Al Qaeda. But that didn't stop Bush, Cheney and Powell from relying on al-Libi in making the claim of just such a connection.

Indeed, as to President Bush, there is this:

Among the first and most prominent assertions was one by Mr. Bush, who said in a major speech in Cincinnati in October 2002 that “we’ve learned that Iraq has trained Al Qaeda members in bomb making and poisons and gases."

When will Bush have to answer for all his administration's deceptions in taking us to war? The drum beat is getting louder.

UPDATE AT 11:26 PM: Atrios points out that the NYT forgot to mention that al-Libi apparently was tortured into his questionable statements.

The Late Night College Football Picks

I dropped the ball last week, going 1-3-1. The season tally now stands at 18-13-1 against the spread.

It's been a season of great match-ups with the best being the USC-Notre Dame classic. Tomorrow another potential classic is in place when Miami visits Blacksburg to take on undefeated Virginia Tech. Virginia Tech is favored by 6.5, but will win by four. Take the 'Canes and the points.

Tennessee is a team in disarray as they go into South Bend to face Notre Dame. On the other hand, the Irish are inspired and want to prove Weis is worth the money. Give up the large spread of 9 points and take Notre Dame.

Oregon was on its way to the top ten with Kellen Clemens at QB. With Clemens out, the Ducks home matchup with Cal becomes one of the most difficult games to call. Can super QB prospect Dennis Dixon equal Clemens performance. No. But if he can stay away from critical mistakes, the Ducks have a lot of unsung players who can pick up the slack. They also play great at home. Take Oregon and give up the 2.5 points to Cal.

Michigan State looks like it righted itself last week. Meanwhile, Purdue remains one of the year's biggest busts. Take the Spartans and give up the 4.5 points.

Iowa is a 3 point favorite on the road against Northwestern. But Iowa isn't Michigan, and Northwestern won't make the same mistakes that got them behind early last week and which allowed Michigan to dictate the tempo of the game. Take the 3 points and Northwestern.

Bush Ruins Soul Food Night at Howard U

Bush, in another attempt to photo-op blacks while doing nothing of substance for black communities, thought a lil' PR visit to Howard University might get him a bounce from his 2% approval rating amongst blacks.

Unfortunately, many of the students didn't get the memo that much of the campus would be shut down including the cafeteria where their paid-for meals are served. And worse ... it was Soul Food Night.

Hillarity ensued with the eruption of a protest and campus security's bumbling attempts to shut out the media.

Things just didn't work out well for our man of action from the White House:

What might have been a public relations coup for Bush -- a visit to a historically black college to show concern for at-risk youths -- ended up as another Katrina-like moment, with the president appearing spaced-out, waving and smiling for television cameras while students were trying to break through campus security to get to the cordoned-off cafeteria.

But the misbehavior of Bush's supposed props wasn't the end of it:

[T]he visit went from bad to worse. On a day when the U.S. Senate passed a resolution paying tribute to civil rights icon Rosa Parks, who died last week, campus security guards were telling students that if they wanted to eat they'd have to come back when the president and first lady were gone, then go to a service door at the rear of the dining hall and ask for a chicken plate to go.

And this, just when you didn't think things could get any dumber.

Thom Hartmann Teaches The Golden Rule to Dick Morris

Crooks & Liars has the breakdown (audio included) of Thom Hartmann's smackdown on scumbag Dick Morris.

Hartmann: Sandy Berger told me personally Dick that he told Condi Rice when she came into office-that his words to her were look out for Osama Bin Laden. He's coming to get you. You need to be paying attention. This has to be your number one priority and she said, "OK thank you very much for that information," and did then nothing.

Morris: Did he, did he take the documents out of his socks when he told you that?

Hartmann: Come on Dick, do you want me to talk about hookers with you? Come on Dick.

Morris: Okay, well thanks very much for the interview. Bye-bye. (hangs up)

Talk about getting whacked with a boomerang!!! And the beauty of Hartmann's comeback is nearly topped by Morris pussy assed exit. Whhhaaaa!!!

BREAKING!!!

Bird flu confirmed in U.S..

How Fucking Embarassing

The Washington Post finally nuts up and does an expose on the long-rumored, secret prisons the CIA is running outside of the United States.

Virtually nothing is known about who is kept in the facilities, what interrogation methods are employed with them, or how decisions are made about whether they should be detained or for how long.

Along with the treatment of the prisoners in Afghanistan, Iraq and Gitmo, this is just another argument for those who look for rationales to violate human rights and engage in terrorist activity. One is also left to wonder how many Mahar Arars or Brandon Mayfields have been caught up in this sick & twisted scheme.

Bush & Media Double Standard On Syria & Pakistan?

Cernig posts an insightful piece today entitled Double Standard -Syria Gets Threats, Pakistan Gets Jet Fighters.

There are allegations out of India that Pakistani intelligence has links to the recent Delhi bombing.

Where's the immediate calls for an investigation. Condi? George? UN? Where's the immediate media coverage.

Cernig is right that the pressure being placed on Syria is the correct approach. But the Bushies always seem to shatter our credibility with inconsistent responses based on whether the dictator involved is a Bush crony or not.