Friday morning fatigue

I am reminded of how dismissive the Bush administration was during the last election of the Shinseki troop levels when John Kerry raised the issue. I am also reminded of Bush's continual lie--"I listen to the generals." Or let's call it a lie of omission, since he made sure with Rummy that those generals would never ask him for more troops.

Andrew Sullivan | The Daily Dish: Quote for the Day II: "'General [Eric] Shinseki was right that a greater international force contribution, U.S. force contribution and Iraqi force contribution should have been available immediately after major combat operations,' - General Abizaid, finally contradicting Rumsfeld, under oath."

Speaking of Bush, Ted Koppel joked the other night that 35 years ago, George W. Bush joined the Texas Air National Guard to keep out of Vietnam. Today, he goes to Vietnam to keep out of Washington. According to one news source from the other day (not being coy, just can't remember which one) Republicans are still so angered about the timing of Rummy's firing that they refused to pass certain legislation that Bush wanted in time for his visit to VN. Perhaps even the true believers in the GOP are starting to recognize what the rest of us knew very early on--Bush is only about himself.

Anyway, the Bushmeister himself visited VN, and on NPR this morning, we heard the clip of him talking about a poignant moment when he passed the lake where John McCain was pulled out of his downed plane and began his 5 year POW experience. All the while, we should note, GWB was skipping what limited service he had agreed to do in Texas and Alabama. Oh, and Bushy also said that McCain was a "friend of ours." I wonder how many other "friends" have received the Bush/Rove treatment of alleging that they might have fathered an illegitimate black child? I think I would prefer my enemies to friends like W.

But back to VN. The draft dodger/war President decided that VN offered some lessons for Iraq:

"'We'll succeed,' Bush added, 'unless we quit.'"

For some reason, I keep thinking of a bag of hammers.

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Oh, and that pesky "liberal media" keeps messing up. First it jumps all over the Murtha/Hoyer leadership battle and calls the Democrats in disarray. Idiots. Then, on CNN's Headline News (as I have noted before) that idiot twit Glenn Beck gets to spout his hatred unopposed. Here is how he addressed the first Muslim representative:

: "On the November 14 edition of his CNN Headline News program, Glenn Beck interviewed Rep.-elect Keith Ellison (D-MN), who became the first Muslim ever elected to Congress on November 7, and asked Ellison if he could 'have five minutes here where we're just politically incorrect and I play the cards up on the table.' After Ellison agreed, Beck said: 'I have been nervous about this interview with you, because what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.' ' Beck added: 'I'm not accusing you of being an enemy, but that's the way I feel, and I think a lot of Americans will feel that way.'"

Yeah. I am not accusing you of being the enemy--but I am.
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For those wondering if the recent election meant anything, here are few items to mull over. First, our President really shows what he thinks of women:

"'The Bush administration has appointed a new chief of family-planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services who worked at a Christian pregnancy-counseling organization that regards the distribution of contraceptives as 'demeaning to women.'"

And for those who see no difference in the Democrats, Shaun points us to Chris Dodd's proposed bill The Effective Terrorists Prosecution Act, which would modify the horrifying Military Commissions Act:

"· Restores Habeas Corpus protections to detainees
· Narrows the definition of unlawful enemy combatant to individuals who directly participate in hostilities against the United States who are not lawful combatants
· Bars information gained through coercion from being introduced as evidence in trials
· Empowers military judges to exclude hearsay evidence they deem to be unreliable
· Authorizes the US Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces to review decisions by the Military commissions
· Limits the authority of the President to interpret the meaning and application of the Geneva Conventions and makes that authority subject to congressional and judicial oversight
· Provides for expedited judicial review of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 to determine the constitutionally of its provisions"

Couple of great phrases: "effective," "limits" and the precious "oversight."