Gen. James Jones, the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, was quoted in Bob Woodward’s State of Denial as believing the Iraq war is a “debacle” and that “the Joint Chiefs have been systematically emasculated by Rumsfeld.” Jones is also quoted as cautioning Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace: “You should not be the parrot on the secretary’s shoulder.”

To the dismay of Rumsfeld and his supporters, Jones has stood by the criticisms reported in the book. He recently said, “I don’t challenge Bob’s characterization of it, except that had I seen [the book], I probably would have suggested that the tone was more critical than I intended it to be. … I did talk about Iraq with a concern that Iraq deserves.”

Jones now finds himself the target of a smear campaign at the hands of Rumsfeld’s allies:

“Military and civilian officials close to the secretary are taken aback by Gen. Jones’ comments,” said the former aide, who asked not to be named. “Rumsfeld certainly takes a very different view of how he has empowered the Joint Chiefs by involving them in every decision. James Jones is highly political — a real Washington operator. He of all generals to claim that the chiefs have become political is highly ironic if not laughable.“

The anonymous aide said Rumsfeld is particularly upset because he believes Jones owes him gratitude for recommending Jones to become the first Marine general to head the NATO Command in Jan. 2003. “Rumsfeld bent over backwards to accommodate this guy,” said the former official.

Before the war, Jones criticized Rumsfeld’s plan to topple Saddam Hussein by using special forces in a repetition of the tactics that succeeded in Afghanistan. “It would be foolish, if you were ever committed to going into Iraq, to think that the principles that were successful in Afghanistan would necessarily be successful in Iraq. In my opinion, they would not.” Now, Rumsfeld and his allies are determined to ruin the reputation of a general whose assessments have been proven correct.

Digg It!

The Palm Beach Post has published emails between ex-Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL) and Gov. Jeb Bush (R-FL) suggesting that the White House considered Foley a political liability as early as 2004 and asked him not to attend events with President Bush.

Foley wrote to Gov. Bush on Sept. 29, 2004:

Have I done something to offend the White House … I am always getting the shaft … they came to ft pierce a few weeks ago and said I was not allowed to attend … yet joe negron is there …

Tomorrow Potus is in Martin County and I am told I am not allowed to be there either. I can’t quite figure what I have done but this is a continuing pattern of slights … I have constantly put the President in the best possible light on everything from haiti to hurricanes … sorry to trouble you … and I wouldn’t if this wasn’t so frequent …

Gov. Bush responded that day: “I will try to help. I know it is nothing you have done. Promise. I think it relates to debate prep time. Jeb.”

Foley also sent Jeb Bush “a cryptic message in the fall of 2005, roughly coinciding with the time” that a former page complained to Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA) about inappropriate emails from Foley.

“I need your thoughts on something … are you in south florida or somewhere we can meet up,” Foley messaged Bush on Oct. 3, 2005.

“I am up in Tallahassee. Will a call suffice?” Bush responded.

Foley asked Bush to call him at his Fort Pierce office or on his cellphone.

At today’s press conference, Tony Snow issued a non-denial denial when asked whether President Bush didn’t want to be seen with Foley. “As far as we know the answer is no,” Snow said, “but I’ll try to give you an actual definitive [answer].” We’ll be waiting.

Global warming deniers frequently fall back on the following argument: even if global warming is real, it’s too expensive to mitigate. For example, the National Review’s Jason Steorts said it would require “economic castration.” Such arguments, however, ignore the costs of inaction.

A new study by the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University reveals the severe economic consequences of doing nothing. From the report:

[I]f nothing is done to restrain greenhouse gas emissions, annual economic damages could reach US$20 trillion by 2100 (expressed in U.S. dollars at 2002 prices), or 6 to 8 percent of global economic output at that time (Kemfert 2005). The same study found that immediate adoption of active climate protection policies could limit the temperature increase to 2° and eliminate more than half of the damages…If, however, climate protection efforts do not begin until 2025, the same model estimates that it will be impossible to limit warming to 2° by 2100 — and climate protection in general will be more expensive, the later it starts.

Even that estimate “necessarily omit[s] some of the most troubling potential consequences of climate change.” Importantly, the study found that the cost of mitigation is about one quarter the cost of doing nothing.

over the last four years “for a project ostensibly designed to make Montana a center for space-related research and industry.” The results? The program “appears to have produced few tangible results while spawning several state and federal investigations. It has also earned lobbyists and companies connected to Burns hundreds of thousands of dollars in contracts and lobbying fees as well as more than $80,000 in campaign contributions for Burns and Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT).”

During a debate on Wednesday, Rep. Chris Shays (R-CT) said, “Now I’ve seen what happened in Abu Ghraib, and Abu Ghraib was not torture. It was outrageous, outrageous involvement of National Guard troops from [Maryland] who were involved in a sex ring and they took pictures of soldiers who were naked.” Watch the video.

Unlike Tucker Carlson, country singer Sara Evans has been talented enough to avoid elimination from ABC’s Dancing With The Stars. She even had the support of Tom DeLay, who sent a letter to his supporters asking them to vote for her because she represented “good American values“:

Sara Evans has been a strong supporter of the Republican Party and represents good American values in the media. … One of her opponents on the show is ultra liberal talk show host Jerry Springer. We need to send a message to Hollywood and the media that smut has no place on television by supporting good people like Sara Evans.

Unfortunately for DeLay, Evans herself is ruining his plans:

Country singing star Sara Evans has announced she is quitting the hit ABC show “Dancing with the Stars” and also filing for divorce after 13 years of marriage.

DeLay sure knows how to pick ‘em.

Wonkette has more.

(HT: Holden of First Draft)