If you have some extra cash, go here. Hell, even if you don’t, find some.
Archives for 2008
The Newest “Conservative” Position
Trying children as terrorists:
A Canadian accused of killing a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan should not be tried as a war criminal because he was a child soldier for al Qaeda, too young to voluntarily join its forces, his military defense lawyer told a U.S. war court on Monday.
Navy Lt. William Kuebler asked a military judge to throw out the charges against Canadian defendant Omar Khadr, who was shot and captured at age 15 in a firefight at a suspected al Qaeda compound in Afghanistan in 2002.
***If the U.S. Congress intended to try children as war criminals, it would have explicitly authorized that in the 2006 law that serves as a framework for the Guantanamo court, Kuebler said.
But a U.S. Department of Justice attorney, arguing for the prosecution, said that if Congress intended to exclude juveniles from the Guantanamo war court, it would have explicitly written that, because lawmakers knew Khadr could face charges. Instead, Congress wrote the law using the term “person,” which legally refers to “anyone born alive,” Justice Department attorney Andy Oldham said.
There actually was a 60 Minutes piece on this kid a while back.
Obligatory snark: this is one of Don Rumsfeld’s “worst of the worst.”
The Most Meaningless Word In The English Language
Conservative. It means absolutely nothing- it really is code for “in the cool club.” I just spent the last hour and some on the exercise bike watching Morning Joe, where Scarborough had an endless stream of guests and snide comments claiming that Romney was the “real conservative choice” and the “true conservative.”
The last guest was Mary Matalin, a Bush/Cheney advisor, and I am now completely convinced that there is no such thing as “conservative” principles. It is a joke, an empty suit- it means whatever you want it to mean, and right now it means double Gitmo, permanent war, hating on liberals, and tax cuts forever. I guess, in that light, Mitt is the true “conservative,” as he has shown himself willing to do whatever and pay whatever it takes to win the nomination. I simply can not believe that the folks who cheerleaded the Bush administration and who are not even flinching about the new 700 billion dollar military budget have the balls to pretend to be conservative, but, hey, it is their party. I hope they keep wrecking it.
But when folks say “conservative,” and they will say it seriously as if it means something, no doubt also invoking the “mantle of Reagan,” just laugh at them. They might as well be talking about phlogiston. Whatever conservative used to mean, if anything, it no longer does. Some video of the “true conservative choice,” taking a break from donating to Planned Parenthood:
The man is a sociopath. When you think conservative, think of the Bush administration and all the wonderful things they have done for the country, because if you vote for the “conservative” candidate, you are going to get more of the same.
The Most Meaningless Word In The English LanguagePost + Comments (57)
Super Tuesday Open Thread
My day started listening to Mitt Romney smear John McCain on Morning Joe, with a direct assist from Joe Scarborough, who has slipped back into the sort of talking points douchebaggery we can associate with movement conservatism. The party simply must be defeated.
I simply can not believe Romney is sitting here invoking Reagan. These folks will say anything.
Show Me The Money
Since I have asked for weeks and received no response, I am dedicating this entire thread for people to list why some of these nutters think that Mitt Romney, liberal governor of a liberal state, is somehow, suddenly, more conservative than John McCain. So here it is- your own very special thread to show why you think Romney is “conservative.” Some rules:
1.) You can not list McCain’s deviance from conservative issues. That does not support the case that Mitt Romney is conservative.
2.) you are not allowed to list things that Mitt now says he supports (or doesn’t) when he has a record of doing the opposite. For example, guns.
So have at it, wankers. Show me this mountain of evidence that Romney is the conservative darling. Because, quite frankly, other than empty rhetoric and election year conversions, I am not seeing it.
PS- I am beginning to feel bad for Rachel Lucas, a sane voice who is all alone in a desert of stupid.
Do Not Adjust Your Television
Last seen at Kevin Drum’s, Salon, Josh Marshall’s site and his own blog, the Steve Benen experience is now available in video form. The mini-doc won an award (for best new VT filmmaker) at a Vermont film festival, so surf over and check it out.
Three Trillion Dollar Man
The Bush legacy:
The specter of recession took a toll on President Bush’s proposed budget Monday, more than doubling the projected federal deficit and setting up an election-year battle with Democrats over spending priorities.
The $3.1 trillion budget would sharply reduce the growth of Medicare and trim other domestic programs, while providing sizable increases for defense, diplomacy and homeland security.
Perhaps its most lasting legacy, however, would be the re-emergence of deficits above $400 billion, nearly matching the $412 billion record set in 2004. The deficit would rise from $162 billion in 2007 to $410 billion this year and $407 billion next year.
Given the cheerleading forBush done by the Hewitt’s and the NRO’s the last eight years, it is particularly amusing listening to them tell us how “conservative” Romney is and that we should vote for him. Frauds.