“The husband of Tammy Duckworth is being deployed to Iraq, where his wife lost her legs in a helicopter crash before making a bid for Congress. Brian Bowlsbey, 39, a longtime Illinois Guardsman, has not been sent there previously. … ‘It’s not something that we’re really eager to do, but it’s part of the job and we’ve trained for it for 19 years,” he said. ‘If you believe in the United States you stay in and you keep doing it and you accept the risk.’”
Malkin: “I’m skeptical of anything with ‘Bill of Rights.’”
Right-wing author and pundit Michelle Malkin filled in for Bill O’Reilly tonight on The O’Reilly Factor. During a segment on a newly-proposed Airline Passengers Bill of Rights, Malkin said, “So you’re behind this Passengers’ Bill of Rights move. I have to tell you, in general, I’m skeptical of anything that has Bill of Rights tacked on to it.” Watch it:
[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2007/02/billrights.320.240.flv]
Worst. President. Ever.
Atrios points us to this commentary by USA Today founder Al Neuharth: “A year ago I criticized Hillary Clinton for saying ‘this (Bush) administration will go down in history as one of the worst.’ ‘She’s wrong,’ I wrote. Then I rated these five presidents, in this order, as the worst: Andrew Jackson, James Buchanan, Ulysses Grant, Hoover and Richard Nixon. ‘It’s very unlikely Bush can crack that list,’ I added. I was wrong. This is my mea culpa. Not only has Bush cracked that list, but he is planted firmly at the top.”
‘Slow Bleed’ Conservatives Voted Against Billions In Equipment For U.S. Troops
The right-wing has begun a coordinated effort to smear Iraq war critics by describing their legislative plan as a “slow-bleed strategy.”
The phrase was first used in an article Wednesday by John Bresnahan of The Politico; within hours, the Republican National Committee issued a release falsely claiming that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Rep. John Murtha (D-PA) “call their plan the ‘slow-bleed strategy.’” In fact, as Bresnahan clarified in a subsequent article, “slow-bleed” was “not a term used by any Democrats or the anti-war groups supporting their efforts.”
Nevertheless, conservatives continue to use the phrase to attack war critics. During this week’s Iraq debate, at least five members — Deborah Pryce (R-OH), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), and Adam Putnam (R-FL) — used the phrase on the House floor. Watch a video compilation:
[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2007/02/slow.320.240.flv]
If only their rhetoric matched their voting record. In October 2003, as insurgent violence in Iraq was growing and military equipment shortages were becoming increasingly problematic, Rep. David Obey (D-WI) proposed an amendment shifting $3.6 billion to pay for better equipment and other quality-of-life measures for U.S. troops. Not one of the five voted for it.
That’s a real recipe for “slow bleed.”
Tim Hardaway
The former All-Star, as you may have heard, reacted to the news that John Amaechi is gay by saying “You know, I hate gay people, so I let it be known. I don’t like gay people and I don’t like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don’t like it. It shouldn’t be in the world or in the United States.” David Stern reprimanded him for being a bigoted ass. The Concerned Women of America, meanwhile, reprimanded Hardaway for setting back the cause of legal and social discrimination against gays and lesbians.
Why Did Rove Receive A Copy Of A Secret Iranian Proposal For Negotiations In 2003?
Inter Press Service reports that, in early May 2003, Karl Rove received a copy of a secret Iranian proposal for negotiations with the United States from former Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) — who is now serving 30 months in prison for his role in a corruption scandal.
Former Ney aide, Trita Parsi — who now works at the National Iranian-American Council — said that Ney was chosen by the Swiss Ambassador in Tehran Tim Guldimann to carry the Iranian proposal to the White House because he believed Ney to be the only Farsi-speaking member of Congress and particularly interested in Iran. According to IPS:
Parsi revealed that the document was delivered specifically to Rove, in an exclusive interview with IPS. Within two hours of the delivery of the document, according to Parsi, Ney received a phone call from Rove confirming his receipt of the document. Parsi said the proposal was delivered to Rove the same week that the State Department received it by fax, which was on or about May 4, 2003, according to the cover letter accompanying it.
Contrary to the article’s report, Rove was not deputy chief of staff in May 2003. He was serving at the time as the senior political adviser in the White House, a position with no responsibility on foreign policy. The White House press office has not responded to a request for comment on why Rove received a copy of the Iranian proposal.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice — who served as National Security Adviser in 2003 — and Eliot Abrams — the deputy National Security Adviser — have claimed that they do not remember receiving the Iranian proposal. Newsweek recently revealed the contents of the proposal, which were communicated through a Swiss intermediary in May 2003.
The House opposes escalation.
The House of Representatives has passed a resolution opposing President Bush’s escalation in Iraq, 246-182, marking the first time in four years that Congress has voted decisively against Bush’s Iraq policy.
Help stop the escalation.
Civility
I understand that two wrongs don’t make a right, etc., but I wonder if the Dan Gersteins of the world, so concerned about incivility and immaturity among left-wing bloggers, worry at all about the influence of, say, Don Young over the Republican Party:
Young, as you’ll recall, is an actual member of congress — more influential than even Kos! And he’s making quotes up! And calling for the murder of Democratic members of congress!
Field of Floppers
Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, says Rudy Giuliani is doomed and offers various negative thoughts about several other of the major GOP contenders. The inability of the Republican Party to find itself any high-profile potential presidential candidates whose efforts to portray themselves as social conservatives aren’t so transparently bogus is a bit bizarre, as is the press’ odd inattention to the sorry state of the GOP field.
Hannity Previews Hit Job On Al Gore
Fox News host Sean Hannity has repeatedly attacked Al Gore, calling him an “alarmist” and a “hypocrite” on global warming. Earlier this month on his website, Hannity asked his viewers to send him pictures of “Al Gore getting onto private planes”:
Today on Fox News, Hannity previewed his smear campaign which will air on Sunday night, promising to calculate the carbon used by Al Gore in his travel. Watch it:
[flv http://video.thinkprogress.org/2007/02/hannitygoreagain.320.240.flv]
Hannity argued, “My attitude is, if you want to lead on this issue, then you’ve really got to lead by example.” That’s exactly what Al Gore is doing. This afternoon, ThinkProgress reached Vice President Gore’s office for response to Hannity’s attacks. Here’s what his office told us:
– Gore lives a strict carbon-neutral lifestyle both in his work and private life. That means he tries to reduce his emissions as much as possible, and then purchases carbon offsets for the remaining emissions.
– In his private life, Gore tries to reduce his emissions as much as possible. He drives a hybrid, flies commercially whenever he can, and purchases green power. In the few instances where work has demanded that he travel privately, he purchases carbon offsets for the emissions.
Full transcript: Read more
