Condi Admits Incompetence

Well, not as such. In the course of admitting to 'thousands' of unspecified errors in the administration's Iraq War policies, Condi claims that those errors are 'strategic' rather than fundamental. Ivan Eland has 10 more concrete examples she might wish to peruse.

Tags: Iraq

He Doesn't Even Play By His Own Rules

Incredible. In his addendum to the Patriot Act this month - and did you know he could sign laws provisionally? - the President stated clearly that he was not bound by its requirements to inform Congress of what he was doing with all those expanded police powers. Those whose first instinct towards this administration has been enablement and capitulation - and let's be fair, that's practically every member of Congress - will have a difficult time talking about 'oversight' in the wake of this latest affront to democratic principles.

Tags: High Crimes

Copyfight's Worst Excesses

In the same week that their ideological opponents(.PDF) at the Cato Institute took up the subject, Mother Jones presents a breezy overview of some of the most excessive, most dunderheaded, or most amusing moves by people of all stripes attempting to obstruct the flow of information.

The last one's my favorite:
THE VILLAGE PEOPLE refused to let their songs be used for a documentary called Gay Sex in the ’70s because they want to be thought of as “mainstream.”

A Brief History of Everything

13+ billion years of history, compressed into a few pixels. This diagram represents the inflation of the universe from Big Bang to present.
There's a 'You are here' sticker, but it's too small to be seen.



From NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day.

Daily Kos : : Know Your Creationists, Know Your Allies

In the wake of the Kitzmiller V. Dover trial at which she was an expert witness, Dr. Barbara Forrest offers a detailed debunking of the Intelligent Design scam and some pointed remarks on the politicization of science:

...Their attack on evolution symbolizes their contempt for public education, modern science, and ultimately the Enlightenment ideals on which American constitutional democracy is based...

The government has politicized science committees. The American people have consequently lost the valuable expertise of scientists who have either left or were removed from these committees. The federal government's credibility in science-related policy matters has been severely undermined.

Tags: War on Reason

Someone's Not Clear On The Concept

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized." - some piece of paper.

So Bush's asserting his right to warrentless physical searches now. Tapping war protestors's and church groups's phones wasn't enough! Be prepared to show your papers and be frisked on the way down the street in the not-too distant future.
... for freedom!

The Final Word Is "Hooray"!

And it was written in 2003. FAIR has assembled a collection of quotes that summarizes the picture you might have of the Iraq boondogle, if you relied on old media for your news:

"Iraq Is All but Won; Now What?"
(Los Angeles Times headline, 4/10/03)

"This will be no war -- there will be a fairly brief and ruthless military intervention.... The president will give an order. [The attack] will be rapid, accurate and dazzling.... It will be greeted by the majority of the Iraqi people as an emancipation. And I say, bring it on."
(Christopher Hitchens, in a 1/28/03 debate-- cited in the Observer, 3/30/03)

This Just In: Bush Is A Liar

... and it's on tape:

In dramatic and sometimes agonizing terms, federal disaster officials warned President Bush and his homeland security chief before Hurricane Katrina struck that the storm could breach levees, risk lives in New Orleans' Superdome and overwhelm rescuers, according to confidential video footage of the briefings.

Remember "I don't think anybody anticipated the breach of the levees."? But, then, he has a history of ignoring early warnings and then lying about it.

Tags: Katrina, Bush Lies