Recommended Reading

"Secrets" by Daniel Ellsberg.

And from this review excerpt you'd think it is about Bush's WH.
...Secrets is at once the memoir of a committed, daring man, an insider's exposé of Washington, and a meditation on the meaning of patriotism under a government intoxicated by keeping secrets.

But the full title is of course "Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers." Still, the parallels are intriguing.

Always Good To Refresh Your Memory...

...about Bush's fait accompli Iraq War, so as to be on guard for, and prevent, the next move...Iran.
See the Downing Street Memo here.

Show Me The Money GW!

The total economic impact of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan is estimated at $1.6 trillion by 2009, a congressional committee said in a report released Tuesday. When calculating out to 2017 the total economic impact increases to 3.5 trillion, taking into consideration factors such as he cost of borrowing money to pay for the war, lost productivity, higher oil prices and the cost of health care for veterans.

And as for GW? He'll be busy giving speeches "to replenish the ol' coffers" --and yes, those are HIS coffers he's speaking of filling--post-presidency (as if he isn't doing so now). How dare he. He and the Dick Cheney owe this country far more than they would ever repay in dollars, but for starters they should have to reimburse the government for their wasteful spending.
War At Any Price? Download: iraq.economic.costs.pdf

You Know He's Correct

Mukasey Vote Leaves Blood On Dem's Hands

Many people may not go as far as Amy Goodman in her Truthdig A Vote for Mukasey Is a Vote for Torture report. However, she, as well as Sen. Durbin and other Democrats, gave powerful arguments against voting for Mukasey's confirmation--the arguments were sound and far beyond reproach in terms of wanting to politicize the AG office (like the Bushies did with Gonzo). I question seriously why anyone--particular those in the Senate who are, shall we say, more leery of another administration lacky in this post-Gonzo, executive privilege run-amuk, era--would vote to confirm. This doesn't include the repugnacans, as they can generally be considered a pack of Kool-Aid-drinking, party-line following lemmings (or Lieberman since he went off the war-mongering deep end), so this leaves the following Democrats who have much explaining to do: Bayh (D-IN), Carper (D-DE), Feinstein (D-CA), Landrieu (D-LA), Nelson (D-NE), & Schumer (D-NY). To this group of Senators in particular I say, if history serves as a predictive guide, you will have blood on your hands.

GONZO 2?

"The United States will not be viewed kindly if we confirm as chief law enforcement officer of this country someone who is unwilling or unable to recognize torture when he sees it." - Sen. Dick Durbin.

Looks like Michael Mukasey is keeping his torture options open to me. His unwillingness to take a stand on waterboarding can be couched and disguised with legalistic maneuvering, but cannot be completely explained away without leaving an uneasy feeling that he is looking to protect this corrupt Bush administration. I'm deeply troubled by Mukasey's lack of commitment on this issue and, in the post-Gonzo era, we can ill afford to take such a chance on another administration puppet who lacks the vision of morality. He should not be confirmed.