Condy Rice defends statements even while admiting they were a lie.
Now Playing: Look at me! I'm as delusional as the Prez!
From this article at USA Today:

--"During a CNN interview in 2002, Rice said the tubes were "really only suited for nuclear weapons programs." In bolstering the administration's argument of the threat the nation faced, she added: "We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."--

BUT...

--"On Sunday, Rice acknowledged she was aware of a debate among U.S. intelligence agencies about whether those tubes were intended for nuclear weapons. The State Department, she said, had raised concerns, but she said there was other evidence that could not be ignored.

"The intelligence community assessment as a whole was that these (tubes) were likely and certainly suitable for, and likely for, his nuclear weapons program," Rice told ABC's This Week. She said the director of the CIA at the time, George Tenet, believed that the tubes were for centrifuge parts."--

So, she said they could "ONLY" be used for nuclear weapons, even though she knew that there was a "debate" going on among intelligence agencies about just what they were for, and the director of the CIA believed they were NOT for weapons. Yet, she said they could ONLY be used for weapons.

--"But two years later, Rice insisted she has no regrets about how the administration portrayed what it believed was a dangerous threat posed by Saddam."--

Fraternity Fun
Now Playing: Everybody Get Drunk!
In some non-political news:

I see that nothing has changed in the world of fraternities in the ten years since I was in college. Students are still DYING to fit in to these exclusive groups that encourage irresponsible and dangerous behavior.

--"It was the third death in less than a month at a fraternity house.

About two weeks ago, Lynn Gordon Bailey Jr., 18, was found dead at the Chi Psi fraternity house at the University of Colorado following a party with fraternity brothers where wine, whiskey and beer were consumed. Investigators have not released a cause of death.

Also last month, Samantha Spady, 19, died at a Colorado State University fraternity house with a blood-alcohol level of 0.436 percent."--


Tragic as the deaths are for the families and friends of the victims, a much greater problem with fraternities and the hyper-testosteroned lifestyle they promote is rape. On many University and college campuses, rape (or "date" rape, as some people seem to think there's a difference) is seen as a party favor.

Strategic and Humane?
As long as the US continues to refer to bombings that kill civilians, especially children, as "strategic" (or even, "humane", as Don Rumsfeld had the gall to refer to them once), the US will never be able to get beyond the labels of "Arab-haters" and "murderers" that Osama and company like to paint us with.

In general, the body count continues to grow.

Though Bush his puppet, Allawi, continue to look at Iraq through rose-colored glasses, and to suggest that anyone who does not is trying to "embolden" the terrorists, most everyone else, from Donald Rumsfeld to this
former Pentagon official see that things are still getting worse.

Lets hope the American voters are paying attention.

Fox
Now Playing: Who would have thunk it!
Just check this out.

When you can't spin with what you've got, just make something up.

And Atrios has this little gem about another "story" Fox reported. Incredible.

Counterspin's Spin
Now Playing: Hesiod gets in the ring.
Hesiod has his take on the debate up now. It's worth a read.

I really liked his insight in this part:

--"I think I finally realized what Bush's major character flaw is derived from.

He's never really had to deal with the potentially harsh consequences of his own mistakes.

That creates a sense that he can do no wrong. Or that no matter what he does, someone somewhere will fix the problem or mess he creates.

There are two ways you can gain confidence in yourself. One is to take risks, and have those risks pay off and be successful.

The other is to never really feel the sting of failure because you are pampered and protected.

So, Bush is simply doing what he always does. Stick to his guns, until someone saves his butt.

Unfortunately for Bush (and more especially for the American people and the people of Iraq) when you are President of the United States, Mighty Mouse is not going to come save the day. The Buck stops with YOU. And if YOU can't solve the problem on your own, it doesn't get solved."--

Once again, Europeans understand it better than Americans
Now Playing: Too bad these guys can't vote!
I hope to get the transcript eventually, but I was just watching CNN Europe here in my home of the Czech Republic. Walter Rogers was talking about "European reaction" to the recent debate, and his remarks and recounting of the opinions of Europeans contained some of the best points on the issues I've seen to date.

Interesting, that he started off the whole spiel by saying this: "Because expectations for George W. Bush were so low, and because he did not shoot himself in the foot, Europeans actually had to grudginly give him some credit..."

Doesn't THAT just instill you with confidence in the prez?

Anyway, Rogers' analysis and that of the Europeans he talked to was dead on: They said Kerry overwhelmingly "won" the debate, but that, unfortunately for them and the world, Bush will win the election, because he knows how to scare the US people and oversimplifies complex issues down to a level that Americans can understand (or THINK they understand).

The Debates, part I
Okay...so there are MILLIONS of sources out there on the debate already...not much I can add. So I'm just going to touch on a couple key points I think Kerry made, and one mistake.

At one point, Kerry made this statement:

I believe in being strong and resolute and determined. And I will hunt down and kill the terrorists, wherever they are.

But we also have to be smart, Jim. And smart means not diverting your attention from the real war on terror in Afghanistan against Osama bin Laden and taking if off to Iraq, where the 9/11 Commission confirms there was no connection to 9/11 itself and Saddam Hussein, and where the reason for going to war was weapons of mass destruction, not the removal of Saddam Hussein.

This president has made, I regret to say, a colossal error of judgment. And judgment is what we look for in the president of the United States of America. (my emphasis added)

This, to me and many people around the world, especially those who are or have family members who are dying in Iraq, is the biggest problem with Bush: He took a dangerous world and made it MUCH MORE DANGEROUS, by igniting a whole new firestorm of hatred and violence in Iraq. Yes, Saddam Hussein was an evil dictator, but Iraq was NOT a home for terrorism and posed NO threat to the US.

In another portion, Kerry said this:

I think we need a president who has the credibility to bring the allies back to the table and to do what's necessary to make it so America isn't doing this alone. (emphasis added)

Unfortunately, I have to say I think there's little that ANY new President can do to make the situation in Iraq better any time soon. Bush and Blair opened a Pandora's Box there, and no on will be able to close it for a long time. BUT, by electing a new leader, we can start to mend the HUGE RIFT that Bush has driven between the US and the rest of the world. We can reverse this trend of Unilateralism and Chauvinism that Bush has created.
As a recent poll showed, people around the world hope to see Kerry win for just such reasons.

Sadly, for many Americans, and certainly MOST Bush supporters, the fact that a majority of the world DISapproves of Bush and sees him as a threat is a reason to vote FOR him, not against him.


Finally, Kerry's mistake: While I understand and respect Kerry's desire not to lower himself to Bush/Chenney/Rove's level, I think the fact that he didn't counter the "flip-flop" jabs from Bush with DIRECT counterattacks was a mistake. Rather than simply stating his view clearly, he should have also pointed out how the President has flip-flopped on key issues, perhaps even offering a couple examples, such as when Bush said that the war on Terror was unwinnable and then reversed his position the very next day.


I'll close with this nice review of the debate from political analyst Paul Begala:

"Bush didn't face reality and accept that we're in a mess in Iraq. You can't fix the problem until you acknowledge there is a problem. He was defensive through almost the entire debate. He seemed a little befuddled, and often seemed to be grasping.

Kerry had a remarkable command of policy. He knew how many hours of terrorist tapes the FBI has not translated. He quoted from the president's father. He has clearly mastered the material. And he was on offense the whole night -- forcing Bush back onto his heels. What happened to the windy, verbose senator we thought we knew?

Kerry was strong, certain and in command. He was more presidential than the president himself was. If a Martian were watching this debate, he'd think Kerry was the president, not Mr. Bush."

Invade Iraq, and you'll be screwed Mr. Bush.
Now Playing: Not only those commie peacenicks warned him.
As those of us who opposed the war from the start watch the news each day and shake our heads in disgust, both at the mess created by Bush and co and by that small but nagging "I told you so" feeling that hides in the back of our heads, it now turns out that it wasn't only us traitorous anti-war terrorist-lovers who predicted a future of occupation and terror, but the president's OWN INTEL was telling him the same thing.

Oh, but unlike the "evidence" of WMD which was largely based on FORGED documents and the hearsay of an Iraqi in exile who wanted to succeed Sadam Hussein, this report compiled by inteligence experts in the CIA, according to Bush, wasn't worth heading because they were "just guessing".

The Nightly News or the Daily Show.
Now Playing: Whose viewers are better informed?
Well, last year I pointed out this study that showed that people getting their "news" from FOX news were the most MISinformed on some important international issues.

Well, now, there's another interesting study (or, results of a "quiz", anyway) that seems to show people who get their news from late night television are better informed than those who look to newspapers or network news programs.


--Comedy Central was waiting for news like this. On September 17, Stewart appeared on Bill O'Reilly's "The O'Reilly Factor" only to be told his viewers are "stoned slackers" and "dopey kids."

"You know what's really frightening?" O'Reilly asked Stewart. " You actually have an influence on this presidential election. That is scary, but it's true."

Comedy Central used its viewers' test scores Tuesday to strike back at Fox News Channel and O'Reilly's viewers.--

Tax and Spend (on Invading other Countries)
Now Playing: From The Daily Outrage
In case the fact that he's made us all even less safe in an already scary world, Ari over at The Daily Outrage has a detailed list of financial reasons that Bush must go.

I guess there IS a plan to his madness, though: Push as many lower-middle class people into poverty, make enough people lose their insurance, get as many people unemployed as you can, and at least SOME of those people are bound to enlist in the military: it's the only place the poor can get a living wage and insurance.