THE Issue....

It's here. It's now. Everything else pales in comparison.

"The Strategy is Working"

This is frightening on many fronts:

KABUL, Afghanistan Mar 19, 2006 (AP)— An Afghan man is being prosecuted in a Kabul court and could be sentenced to death on a charge of converting from Islam to Christianity, a crime under this country's Islamic laws, a judge said Sunday.

The trial is believed to be the first of its kind in Afghanistan and highlights a struggle between religious conservatives and reformists over what shape Islam should take here four years after the ouster of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban regime.

First, I'm concerned that the religious right in this country will try to match this hysteria by implementing a like sensibility in their newly aquired court system.

Secondly, is this the kind of democracy that BushCo. has spent three years, thousands of lives and trillions of dollars exporting to the middle east?

Finally, today, we hear this from the Screw-up-In-Chief:

CLEVELAND - President Bush on Monday cited progress in stabilizing an insurgent stronghold in northern Iraq, saying he has “confidence in our strategy” and critics should look beyond the images of violence to see clear signs of progress.

Worst. President. Ever.

Say, "Cheese."

Seems like yesterday's "Shock & Awe," was really a "smile and click." This from Time:

The press, flown in from Baghdad to this agricultural gridiron northeast of Samarra, huddled around the Iraqi officials and U.S. Army commanders who explained that the "largest air assault since 2003" in Iraq using over 50 helicopters to put 1500 Iraqi and U.S. troops on the ground had netted 48 suspected insurgents, 17 of which had already been cleared and released. The area, explained the officials, has long been suspected of being used as a base for insurgents operating in and around Samarra, the city north of Baghdad where the bombing of a sacred shrine recently sparked a wave of sectarian violence.

But contrary to what many many television networks erroneously reported, the operation was by no means the largest use of airpower since the start of the war. ("Air Assault" is a military term that refers specifically to transporting troops into an area.) In fact, there were no airstrikes and no leading insurgents were nabbed in an operation that some skeptical military analysts described as little more than a photo op. What’s more, there were no shots fired at all and the units had met no resistance, said the U.S. and Iraqi commanders.

Worst. Administration. Ever.

Slam Dunk, Revisited

Thanks to Radical Russ...

Watch as the map turns blue.



Add this American Research Group poll, which shows Americans are behind censure to the mix:



There is no longer any reason NOT to stand up to the Law-Breaker-In-Chief and back Feingold's Censure Measure. America is screaming for a change. Can you hear it, DC Dems?

Mission Re-Accomplished?

Three years after this:



Shock & Awe

34 months after this:


"Major combat operations in Iraq have ended."
George W. Bush
May 1, 2003

Two Days After this:


Bush Approval Hits New Low

One hour after this:


New Iraqi Parliament Meets for the First Time

We get more of this:


An Iraqi man cries as he runs past a burning car destroyed during an air strike on Baghdad.

...we are back to this:


Shock & Awe

Three years well spent? Happy Anniversary.

Take a moment and think about all the destruction, pain and hate the Bush Crime Family has created in the brand new 21st Century. So much destroyed in so little time.

An All-time, Hall of Fame, Grade A, First Class, Slam Dunk No-Brainer

Talk about an All-time, Hall of Fame, Grade A, First Class, Slam Dunk no-brainer for the Democrats...Feingold's Censure is certainly that and more. I can't, for the life of me, imagine a why ANY dem would even hesitate to back this measure...why they wouldn't jump through fire to get behind this...let alone RUN AWAY FROM IT!

Do they all have a political death wish or are they just plain living on another planet?

Let's go back a few years to the Clinton/Monica non-story. Via Firedoglake, here's a list of Dem Senators who censured Bill Clinton over an "extra marital blowjob":

Max Baucus
Byron Dorgan
Dick Durbin
Dianne Feinstein
Daniel Inouye
Jim Jeffords
Ted Kennedy
John Kerry
Herb Kohl
Mary Landrieu
Carl Levin
Joe Lieberman
Blanche Lincoln
Barbara Mikulski
Patty Murray
Jack Reed
Harry Reid
Jay Rockefeller
Chuck Schumer
Ron Wyden

Where are these Senators now? Bush has broken multiple laws with his NSA wiretapping, kept it secret and lied about it, and his approval rating is at 34%!

Bill Clinton's was in the low 60s when they moved to censure him. I've called my Senators...especially Hillary, who should certainly have a dog in this hunt and demanded they wake the hell up.

Good, God. I want to spend my time battling the ignorance and ideology of wingnut Republicans, not spend it slapping Democrats around to get them with the program.

UPDATE:

A new Pew Poll just came out and Bush's approval is down to 33%! The poll has NO GOOD NEWS for the Law-Breaker-In-Chief. All the more cover to do the right thing. Get off your butts!

UPDATE II:

As usual, Glenn Greenwald nails it. Sad. So very sad.