The always predictable "Inside Politics" by Judy Woodruff in CNN does it again. In a day of remembrance of those fallen for the country, the show avoids criticism of Bush and his handling of the war in Iraq, but turns around and attacks Kerry out in the open. While CNN doesn't have any transcripts of this string of atrocities, let me list some of the most notorious:

• First we had a report by blonde mannequin Kelly Wallace to tell us how off-putting and boring all this stuff about Kerry's Vietnam record really is. Wallace mentions that Kerry goes out of his way to mention his war record at every opportunity. She shows footage of a ceremony that took place today, in which Kerry honored some of the fallen in Vietnam. Apparently, some wingnut yelled obscenities and lies to Kerry from a distance. You couldn't see it or hear it on the video. So Kelly Wallace makes sure we get a full on-screen transcript of what this lonesome heckler was saying and we couldn't catch. Then she proceeds to mention how many (allegedly) veteran associations hate Kerry and support Bush. It was an obscenely slanted attack on Kerry that distorted the truth and slandered the image of the presidential hopeful.
  
  The bimbette Wallace ended up her report suggesting that Kerry shouldn't run on his heroic war record because, in addition to 'off-putting', presidential candidates that happen to be war veterans usually don't win, anyway.



• The previous atrocity was followed by Judy Woodruff interviewing an incredibly partisan and pro-Bush apologist Ronald Brownstein, from the LA Times. Brownstein, against all logic and reality, said that in order for Kerry to even attempt to win Bush voters "he needs to demonstrate that he can keep America as safe and secure as Bush is doing." Yes he said that. My nausea was so intense I couldn't pay attention to any other pro-Bush propaganda that Brownstein spewed.



• Then we had a caper by the loathsome Bill Schneider, a political analyst that CNN always avoids presenting with his real title: senior scholar of the right-wing AEI think-tank (American Enterprise Institute).
  
  Schneider, in his faux-naive style compared all the wars in American history and the opposition they created. He mentioned that even the most righteous of wars had their "naysayers." Then he goes to say that our current war has unified the country because "we were attacked first."

  OK, CNN, what does it take to understand that IRAQ DID NOT ATTACK US FIRST!!!!!!

So here you have it, CNN is using today's holiday, a day of respect and remembrance of those fallen to defend our country, as just another opportunity to trash Kerry. Look out for CNN's transcript tomorrow.

Well, this one is for real:

Weinsteins Buy 'Fahrenheit 9/11' from Disney

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Miramax film studio founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein have personally acquired rights to Michael Moore's documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" from Walt Disney Co., after Disney, which owns Miramax, declined to distribute it, Disney said on Friday.

Miramax had funded the film but Disney said it was too politically charged for the family-friendly company.

After more than a week of talks, the Weinsteins have bought rights to the film, estimated to have cost about $6 million, and will arrange for its theatrical and home video distribution. (...)

So now you know: "Farenheit 911" WILL be distributed in the USA by a major Hollywood distributor. It will probably be one of the biggest moneymakers of the year. Keep in mind the Weinsteins only paid $6 million for the movie, when they are used to producing very expensive Hollywood blockbusters. Given the tremendous controversy the movie has created, and the fact that it won the Cannes Palm D'Or, this is a true bargain that will produce a tremendous amount of revenue.

I also hope Disney's investors and shareholders become very aware of the truckload of money they will not be making, thanks to Mr. Eisner.

That awful noise you hear is Christopher Hitchens, tripping all over himself and dropping his bottle of scotch while jumping the shark in the most ungracious of fashions.

While all the neocons in DC are running around denying they ever met Chalabi, or simply having panic attacks while shredding all evidence of their dirty dealings with the Iraqi con-man, Christopher Hitchens goes ahead and publishes this excrement:

Defending Chalabi
by Christopher Hitchens

Sad, sad, sad.

You can actually see the alcohol talking all through that article. The guy sets up countless straw-man arguments, only to conclude that this is all Clinton's fault! Hitchens falls as low as to even claim that Chalabi's conviction for fraud and racketeering in Jordan may be the product of some conspiracy by Saddam Hussein's agents in Jordan. If Hitchens would put the bottle down enough to remain sober up for a couple of hours, he may have found out that Chalabi was tried and convicted of fleecing his clients from Petra Bank (up to $60 million in personal savings) and running away with the cash. Chalabi was convicted in absentia to 23 years in prison for fraud. If he didn't flee Jordan, Chalabi would have done 23 years in the big house. This is widely known, but in his ethylic blindness, Hitchens decides to fabricate some laughable conspiracy theory with "secret agents" and other risible B-movie crap. The rest of the article continues the free-fall into embarrassing contradictions and excuses.

It must be awful to be aware that you once were a potentially great writer, then threw it all away by joining the neocon/anti-Clinton brigade.

No wonder he drinks so much!

This from The New York Times:

(snip) Mr. Kerry also asserted, in response to a question from a high school student about the possibility of another military draft, "If you elect me president of the United States, I will give us a foreign policy that absolutely makes it unnecessary to have a draft in this nation."

He accused the Bush administration of "running a kind of clandestine draft" that "turned the National Guard and the Reserve into almost active duty." (...)

So if you are a male under 34 and still wondering who you will vote come November 2004, keep this in mind:

Kerry '04 = NO DRAFT

Bush '04 = Your ass will be in the Iraqi desert in '05

It's your call...

As seen in the streets of New York:





Caption reads, "10,000 Volts in your pocket, guilty or innocent."

(Photos courtesy of Copper Greene and blogger Gizmodo)

Chilling window into what goes on in Guantanamo (article found by No More Mister Nice Blog):

Former Soldier Claims He Was Beaten During Training Exercise In Cuba

In an exclusive interview with LEX 18's Leigh Searcy, a central Kentucky soldier says he was told to pose as the enemy for a training exercise at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in January 2003 - and it nearly cost him his life.

Sean Baker was a member of the Kentucky National Guard from 1989 to 1997. During that time, he served in the Gulf War. In the late 90's, he got out of the Guard, but re-enlisted after September 11th.

In January 2003, Baker was a member of the 438th Military Police company in Operation Enduring Freedom at Guantanamo Bay, where he says he was "given a direct order by an officer in the U.S. Army" to play the role of a detainee for a training exercise. (...)

Baker says what took place next happened at the hands of four U.S. soldiers - soldiers he believes didn't know he was one of them - has changed his life forever.

"They grabbed my arms, my legs, twisted me up and unfortunately one of the individuals got up on my back from behind and put pressure down on me while I was face down," said Baker. "Then he - the same individual - reached around and began to choke me and press my head down against the steel floor. After several seconds, 20 to 30 seconds, it seemed like an eternity because I couldn't breath. When I couldn't breath, I began to panic and I gave the code word I was supposed to give to stop the exercise, which was 'red.'"

But, Baker says, the beating didn't stop. "That individual slammed my head against the floor and continued to choke me," he said. "Somehow I got enough air, I muttered out, 'I'm a U.S. soldier, I'm a U.S. soldier.'"

Baker says it wasn't until one of the soldiers noticed what Baker was wearing did the exercise stop. "He saw that I had BDU's and boots on."

Nearly 15 months after that day, and countless medical treatments at Walter Reed Hospital, Baker is now medically retired from the military, but still suffers.

"I sustained an injury to my brain a traumatic brain injury which has caused me to have a seizure disorder I deal with daily," said Baker.

Baker's traumatic brain injury is outlined in a military document in his possession, which says the injury "was due to soldier playing role as a detainee who was uncooperative." (...)

Lemme guess... Rush will say they were "releasing some steam", "playing around," like a "fraternity prank"...

My friend gina johansen, from the excellent Salon TableTalk forum told me that Freepers are questioning the existence of photos of dead children from the wedding party bombed in Iraq.

Independently of the reasons and circumstances that led to this tragedy, I find it strange the outburst of stubborn denials, considering there is photographic evidence of that bombing. As far as I know, the European press has printed some horrible pictures of massacred children in the attack of that wedding party. Most of these pictures come from Agence France Presse. Here's one:

Warning: Not for the faint of heart:
Daily El Mundo, Spain - May 20, 2004

They also show screenshots of the people from the wedding video, then pictures of the same people laying dead, like the musicians of the wedding:

Daily El Mundo, Spain - May 24, 2004

For your info, El Mundo is a partner of The Guardian in Spain, also a partner of Liberation. These dailies collaborate and share articles, columnists and resources.

On edit:

For (terrible) electronic translations of those articles, use these links:

El Mundo 1 - automatic software translation

El Mundo 2 - automatic software translation

Take that, Mr. Eisner!



'Fahrenheit 9/11' Wins Palme D'Or Award at Cannes

CANNES, France (Reuters) - U.S. director Michael Moore's controversial anti-Bush documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" won the Palme d'Or best film award at the Cannes film festival on Saturday in an evening otherwise dominated by Asian films.

"What have you done? I'm completely overwhelmed by this," an emotional Moore said in his acceptance speech.

"The last time I was on an award stage in Hollywood, all hell broke loose," he added with a laugh.

Moore won a special award in Cannes two years ago for his anti-gun documentary "Bowling for Columbine," which went on to win an Oscar. Moore drew criticism for his extended acceptance speech in which he spoke out against President Bush.

"Fahrenheit 9/11" attracted acres of publicity before the festival when Disney, the parent company of Miramax which produced the film, said it did not want to distribute the picture in an election year. (...)

Another picture of Bush rubbing someone's head:



If you remember, we have been collecting pictures depicting that bizarre habit that Bush has of rubbing other people's heads, particularly bald men.

See the photo collection here: Bush Rubbing Baldies.

Just in case you were confused about the moral priorities of this embarrassing FCC, let's do a quick review:

• Janet Jackson's booby: evil; required congressional hearings
  
  
• Rush Limbaugh's apologia of torture: free speech
  
  
• Howard Stern's adult jokes: the end of civilization; multi-million dollar fines
  
  
• Mel Gibson's sado-masochistic porn flick: fun for the whole family
  
  
• Victoria's Secret lingerie catwalk TV show: sinful perversion, censored by networks
  
  
• Sadistic "reality-TV" shows where contestants are subjected to mild forms of torture for cash: more family fun
  
  
• U2's Bono usage of the "f-word" on TV: abhorrent; more fines and congressional hearings
  
  
• Michael Savage's vividly graphic advocacy of torture and genocide: just patriotic speech

Are you now less confused about the censorship priorities of this blatantly hypocritical FCC?

The priceless Media Matters for America has been keeping track of some of the most obscene media atrocities spouted in our national media by those self-proclaimed advocates of "family values" and "virtue." Their transcripts of the latest ramblings of that deranged talk-radio jock Michael Savage would leave you speechless. Here you have a few selections as transcribed by Media Matters:

http://mediamatters.org/items/200405140003

"Right now, even people sitting on the fence would like George Bush to drop a nuclear weapon on an Arab country. They don't even care which one it would be. (...) They want this war over with, and they want it ended like the war against Japan. They'd like Big Boy dropped on one of the little cities over there. They don't care where. They don't care any more." (...)

"I think these people need to be forcibly converted to Christianity but I'll get here a little later, I'll move up to that. It's the only thing that can probably turn them into human beings."(...)

"Smallpox in a blanket, which the U.S. Army gave to the Cherokee Indians on their long march to the West, was nothing compared to what I'd like to see done to these people" (...)

Those offensive, inflammatory comments are broadcast on American talk-radio, although you would think they read like cheap neo-Nazi propaganda. But those quotes were just from one show! Savage spouts that type of dangerous rhetoric on a daily basis. Check out the following quotes from a different day (and you can actually listen to audio clips from the show in the Media Matters page):

http://mediamatters.org/items/200405130004

Savage on what should be done to the Iraqi prisoners:

"And I think there should be no mercy shown to these sub-humans. I believe that a thousand of them should be killed tomorrow. I think a thousand of them held in the Iraqi prison should be given 24 hour -- a trial and executed. I think they need to be shown that we are not going to roll over to them." (...)

"Instead of putting joysticks, I would have liked to have seen dynamite put in their orifices and they should be dropped from airplanes. How's that? You like that one? Go call somebody that you want to report me to, see if I care. They should put dynamite in their behinds and drop them from 35,000 feet, the whole pack of scum out of that jail. Thank you CBS. Thank you New Yorker. Thank you Carl Levin. Thank you Ted Kennedy. Thank you Hillary Clinton. I'm sure that Mr. Berg's parents appreciate what you've done for them." (...)

Michael Savage talks (and looks) like they just brought Charles Manson* to a studio and gave him a microphone. This pro-genocide maniac has a daily radio show with advertising sponsors and a broadcast coverage that can reach as many as six million listeners.

Apparently it seems clear that, once again, the FCC does not have a problem with violence, torture, genocide or even vivid descriptions of psychotic and perverted forms of execution (as brought to your by the fevered imagination of Savage). The FCC has a problem with sex or the female body. Mass murder, genocide, gut-wrenching torture: fine. A female breast: the end of civilization.

If we are like the Roman Empire, we are spiraling down into our fall, and fast too.

(* Originally I compared Savage to a "psychotic street bum," but some people found it offensive so I changed it. I wasn't updated on the latest list of "politically correct" terms, and I'm sorry if some found the term inappropriate. Apparently some took it as if I was calling homeless people "bums", and all of them "psychotic." This was about Michael Savage, not about homeless people, by a long shot. If at all, anyone should be offended to be compared to Savage! But just in case there was any doubt, I must confess I did volunteer my time during college helping in homeless shelters, and I have also volunteered in church since I was in my teens to distribute food and clothing to people in need.
I wanted to point that I find it interesting that some who found those terms so offensive have no problem with Michael Savage and his genocidal rhetoric. Interesting indeed. I just hope nobody comes down to defend Manson now! )

I went to see Troy this weekend. I give it a 6 out of 10. Maybe I'd give it a 6.5 just for the excellent sword fight between Achilles and Hector.

The first of the big-budget, over-hyped summer movies is here: Troy, directed by Wolfgang Petersen. Troy promised to be more than just a summer flick, given the story it covers: Homer’s “The Iliad.” Unfortunately, the first written work of literature in western civilization is nothing but an excuse for the producers to create a somewhat cheesy, overly inaccurate, ridiculously extravagant vision of what the wars narrated in Homer’s poem may have been. For those familiar with the classics, the most irritating thing about “Troy” may be the tremendous literary liberties the screenwriters took in their adaptation of Homer. Some of them were simply atrocious. Also, the writing at times was downright silly, and you have to give it to the cast for managing to keep a straight face while spouting the cheesy dialogs. Let me list the positives and the negatives:

THE GOOD:

• The battle scenes, while overblown and extremely unrealistic in their scope, were worth watching, and kept a good level of tension and suspense.
  
• The acting skills of Eric Bana and Peter O’Toole shine over the mediocre performances of the rest of the crew, Brad Pitt included.
  
• The set and costume designers deserve praise for their excellent work on this film.
  
• There is a sword fight in the middle of the movie between Hector (Eric Bana) and Achilles (Brad Pitt). This has to be single-handedly the most impressive sword fight I have witnessed in a movie, by a long shot. Extremely well choreographed, and realistic yet exciting enough to wow audiences accustomed to wild movie stunts. It’s the highlight of “Troy.”

THE BAD:

• The casting offered mediocre performances at best, and downright painful at worst. Orlando Bloom manages to spend the entire movie with one facial expression, the same wide-eyed look that screams “surprised elf,” and that he overused all through the LOTR trilogy. Diane Kruger as Helen was downright painful, and she demonstrates she was chosen exclusively for her good looks. Still, a far cry from the "most beautiful woman in the world."
  
• Some of the casting decisions were plainly wrong. It's difficult to buy Brad Pitt, with his California surfer-dude looks as Achilles. There’s no way he could pass as even mildly Mediterranean. The same goes for many of the leading roles in this movie, which seemed more apt to play Scandinavian Vikings than ancient Mediterranean warriors.
  
• The computer generated battle scenes, while impressive, are so overblown that distract the viewer and take away from the story. They literally render hundreds of thousands of little CGI soldiers that battle as far as the eye can see. There’s NO WAY so many Trojans would fit inside the walls of Troy.
  
• Some of the battle scenes were shot in Mexico. In another example of bad casting choices, you can tell in the close-ups of the battle scenes that all the extras they use are Mexican. It’s pretty funny if you pay attention. So here you have the Greek leaders looking like Swedish stereotypes, while the foot soldiers are Mexican. Surreal.
  
• The liberties that screenwriter David Benioff takes on this story are just mind-bending. (WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD) He reduces the Trojan wars to what seem to be a couple of weeks, tops. According to “The Iliad” this whole episode lasts a good 10 years! But that’s not all: They make Paris kill Achilles with an arrow. They make Paris defy Menelaus in hand-to-hand combat. They have Hector killing Menelaus. There are many more atrocities of this sort all through the movie.

Overall, I give it a 6/10. Troy is a rehash of the old Hollywood epic dramas of the 1950s; it certainly has more in common with the Hollywood tradition of epic dramas than it has to do with Homer’s “The Iliad.” Just summer schlock.

Rangel Introduces Impeachment Articles Against Rumsfeld

(Thanks to blogger Waiting for Dorothy)

According to Reuters news, a group of protestors from the organization 'US Out' reenact a prisoner abuse photograph in front of the home of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld May 13, 2004. They were protesting against the treatment of prisoners in Iraq (photos by Reuters/Hans Ericsson):


Reuters/Hans Ericsson

Jose Rodriguez stands hooded cloaked and wired in front of the home of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in an imitation of a photograph depicting Iraqi prisoner abuse May 13, 2004.


Reuters/Hans Ericsson

More photos:


Reuters/Hans Ericsson

Virginia Rodino, from Baltimore, of the Shirts Off Anti-War Coalition holds on to Adam Eidinger, from Baltimore, of the DC Statehood Green Party during a protest against the treatment of prisoners in Iraq:


Reuters/Hans Ericsson


Reuters/Hans Ericsson

Of course, the wingnuts of FreeRepublic had to show up too:

Betsy Deming from the DC Chapter of FreeRepublic.com shouts at a group of protestors who had gathered in front of the home of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld in Washington May 13, 2004. The protestors gathered to demonstrate against the treatment of prisoners in Iraq and to demand Rumsfeld's resignation


Reuters/Hans Ericsson

As more and more information keeps dripping regarding the inhumane treatment of prisoners in Abu Ghraib, a very dark picture is starting to form. If you are confused about this scandal, please allow me to brief the main points to you:

• This was not an isolated incident, and there are reports of similar abuses in as many as ten US-managed prisons in Iraq.
  
  
• These abuses were originally reported as far back as November by many organizations, including the Red Cross and several Christian relief groups serving in Iraq. Rumsfeld sat on these reports hoping they would just go away. He even failed to inform the president until the scandal hit the news last week.
  
  
• These horrible photos were not just the work of a few bad apples trying to reenact Salo, or The 120 Days of Sodom. These practices were encouraged within the chain of command, and demanded by the private contractors as a way of "softening" the subjects for interrogation. Private contractors hired by the Pentagon to conduct these interrogations were given authorization to use these methods, and in return, they requested that US soldiers under their command employed those barbaric methods.
  
  
• Apparently, those private contractors are not bound by the Uniform Code of Military Justice. They can't be held accountable under Iraqi law either. They are Scott-free, apparently.
  
  
• These revelations of torture in conditions similar to Soviet "gulags" have squandered American credibility and moral standing in the international arena. Another accomplishment of the Bush administration.
  
  
• Despite the efforts of right-wing propagandists and other media idiots, those prisoners were not all terrorists. Most of them were not even insurgents. Reports claim that over 70% of the people held at Abu Ghraib were ordinary citizens picked at random. In cases, even entire families.
  
  
• This scandal has revealed a tremendous failure of leadership, as sections of the chain of command knew and even requested these methods as part of the process, while others were completely in the dark.
  
  
• Rumsfeld and the Pentagon confirmed that there are hundreds of additional pictures and videos of the torture practices not yet released to the public. They also confirmed that these pictures and videos are even worse than what we have already seen.

Despite what you just read, today Dubya endorsed Rumsfeld.

To read more about these items, check the following articles:

- Seymour Hersh, The New Yorker

- Soldiers' warnings ignored - Baltimore Sun

- Iraqi Detainees Arrested by Mistake

I'm following the congressional hearings of Rumsfeld, and one thing seems very clear after all the exchanges that have taken place: Rummy is not sorry that the torture (he insists it was only "abuse") took place in Iraqi prisons. He is sorry that the photos were leaked to the press.

He has repeated time and time again that his office and his chain of command were unconcerned with the troubling reports of torture from the Red Cross and from the report commissioned to Antonio Taguba. It was only after the photos were published by CBS that it became "an issue" for them. In his own words:

"The system doesn't provide for procedure to keep these things secret. That is the problem"

Basically, he is saying that had the photos not seen the light of day, Rummy and the Defense Dept. would have kept ignoring the mounting reports of torture and violation of the Geneva Convention, and nothing would have ever seen the light of day.

As I keep watching, I can tell that Rummy makes the same point time and time again. He even blames the media for publishing the photos, because this --he alleges-- will weaken the position of the USA in the international arena. If he is unable to see something as basic, something as elementary, he needs to go. He doesn't seem to see much wrong in the torture and violation of prisoners under his watch: what he seems to imply is that the media are at fault here for revealing these horrendous practices to the public opinion. He implies the media should just "play ball", like his good pals at Fox News. In Rummy world, torture and rape of prisoners is not wrong; what's wrong is the reporting of it.

Someone with such a wretched moral standing should never be anywhere near a position in the administration.

Kerry is also on top of this. From MoveOn.org:

In the wake of revelations of torture and abuse of Iraqi prisoners, John Kerry has launched an important petition calling for President Bush to fire Donald Rumsfeld. Getting rid of Secretary Rumsfeld would be a huge step forward for all of us who oppose the Bush war policy, and Kerry needs to hear our support. To sign on to the petition, go to:


http://www.johnkerry.com/petition/rumsfeld.php

Atrios and other bloggers are reporting that congressman Joe Hoeffel is calling for the immediate firing of both Rumsfeld and George Tenet. You can sign the petition using this link.

Here's the statement from Hoeffel:

Hoeffel Calls for Rumsfeld and Tenet to be Fired, Citing Repeated Failures of Leadership That Have Damaged U.S. Standing on War on Terror

Washington, DC -- (May 7, 2004) – U.S. Rep. Joseph M. Hoeffel (PA-13) today issued the following statement regarding Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld:

“Donald Rumsfeld should not be allowed to resign – he should be fired. In fact, the President should fire both Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet because of the wrong information and bad advice they have given the White House.

“Their repeatedly mistaken judgment and failures of leadership have undermined America’s standing in the world and done serious damage to our mission in Iraq and the battle against terror across the globe.

“The official who should consider resigning is Secretary of State Colin Powell since his advice on these critical matters of national policy is not being followed by the White House. (...)

Link

About time this is done.

According to Media Matters for America, this is what the scummy right-wing junkie had to say about the photos of torture and abuse in the Iraqi prisons:

LIMBAUGH: All right, so we're at war with these people. And they're in a prison where they're being softened up for interrogation. And we hear that the most humiliating thing you can do is make one Arab male disrobe in front of another. Sounds to me like it's pretty thoughtful. Sounds to me in the context of war this is pretty good intimidation -- and especially if you put a woman in front of them and then spread those pictures around the Arab world. (...)

Maybe the people who executed this pulled off a brilliant maneuver. Nobody got hurt. Nobody got physically injured. But boy there was a lot of humiliation of people who are trying to kill us -- in ways they hold dear. Sounds pretty effective to me if you look at us in the right context.

Maybe the people who executed this pulled off a brilliant maneuver. Nobody got hurt. Nobody got physically injured. But boy there was a lot of humiliation of people who are trying to kill us -- in ways they hold dear. Sounds pretty effective to me if you look at us in the right context. (...)

The thing though that continually amazes -- here we have these pictures of homoeroticism that look like standard good old American pornography, the Britney Spears or Madonna concerts or whatever, and yet the Libs upset about the mistreatment of these prisoners thought nothing of sitting back while mass graves were being filled with three to 500,000 Iraqis during the Saddam Hussein regime. (...)

I think a lot of the American culture is being feminized. I think the reaction to the stupid torture is an example of the feminization of this country.

Borrowing a quip from the equally execrable Dennis Miller, I'd say that calling Limbaugh a "scumbag" would be an offense to bags full of scum anywhere.

Also, two days ago Limbaugh claimed that U.S. guards were just "having a good time," "blow[ing] some steam off."

Bush said this to answer a question in yesterday's press conference:

Q Mr. President, critics are saying that by your action in Iraq actually invited al Qaeda and other terrorists to do business with you over there. Could you address that?

THE PRESIDENT: Sure. Do you remember September the 11th, 2001? Al Qaeda attacked the United States. They killed thousands of our citizens. I will never forget what they have done to us. They declared war on us. And the United States will pursue them. And so long as I'm the President, we will be determined, steadfast, and strong as we pursue those people who kill innocent lives because they hate freedom.

And, of course, al Qaeda looks for any excuse. But the truth of the matter is, they hate us, and they hate freedom, and they hate people who embrace freedom. And they're willing to kill innocent Iraqis because Iraqis are willing to be free. Iraqis are sick of foreign people coming in their country and trying to destabilize their country. And we will help them rid Iraq of these killers.

Transcript here.

If you ever needed a smoking gun to prove how deeply in bed the US media are with government officials, this could be it:

Disney Has Blocked the Distribution of My New Film...by Michael Moore

Yesterday I was told that Disney, the studio that owned Miramax, has officially decided to prohibit our producer, Miramax, from distributing my new film, "Fahrenheit 9/11." The reason? According to today's (May 5) New York Times, it might "endanger" millions of dollars of tax breaks Disney receives from the state of Florida because the film will "anger" the Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush. The story is on page one of the Times. (...)

Eisner is not even savvy enough to disguise it as something else, to fake a more dignified excuse, which for a CEO of a massive multinational is truly amateurish. Instead, Eisner spills the beans and explicitly says that if they distribute Moore's movie, "the preznit and his brother will give them no turkey."

According to USA Today, Michael Eisner, added that "Disney would not distribute the movie because the company considers itself a non-partisan entity and the public does not look for us to take sides."

Amazing. Someone should point to Michael Eisner that Disney-owned ABC carries Rush Limbaugh. How's that for "non-partisan"?

John Gorenfeld offers disturbing pictures and video (windows Media) from Korean television of a creepy ceremony that took place in the US Senate Office Building in which they crowned Sun Myung Moon as "the messiah." Allegedly, Danny Davis (D-Il.) and Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) invited Moon to have his crowning ceremony in the Senate building. The video shows the event, where people genuflected to Moon and gave him a royal crown as he wore robes.

Words truly fail me. But while words fail me, there are a few questions that I think we should ask:

• Who paid for that ceremony? Did they use public funds, out tax dollars?
  
  
• Why allowing such bizarre cult ritual in the Senate Office Building?
  
  
• What is the significance (and potential consequences) of having a cult leader being "crowned" in the US Senate?
  
  
• Why are there so many congressmen and senators lately joining this strange movement? Why US politicians of all stripes are signing bizarre letters of allegiance to Sun Myung Moon? Atrios recently mentioned this. Even congressman
  Charles Rangel is joining this strange movement.
  
  
• Should I get my passport ready, just in case?

That disgraced TRAITOR Bob Novak just lied his ass off on CNN.

In defending the indefensible regarding the fake controversy of John Kerry and that wingnut bishop hell-bent on denying his communion, Novak said that the Catholic Church actually defends the death penalty.

Traitor Novak just said on CNN's 'The Capitol Gang' that the positions of the Catholic Church on abortion and the Death penalty are not the same, and he cited a 1995 Catholic Catechism of the US Catholic Church to claim that the Catholic Church actually does support the death penalty.

The traitor is LYING. That 1994 Catechism mentions the following: "The right and duty of legitimate public authority to punish malefactors by means of penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime, not excluding, in cases of extreme gravity, the death penalty."

What the Traitor does not mention is that the Pope made a rebuttal to that Catechism called the Evangelium Vitae (The Gospel of Life) where the pope endorsed the restriction or complete abolishment of the death penalty in modern societies "in conformity to the dignity of the human person." Furthermore, the Pope added that the only remote exception in which the Catholic Church can possibly defend the death penalty is in case that society as a whole is irrevocably threatened. So, unless we are talking Hitler or Attila the Hun, and in an irrevocable case of societal self-defense, the Catholic Church does NOT support the death penalty.

For those unaware of the working of the Catholic Church, the word of the Pope trumps any regional catechism or unofficial declaration within the church.

Novak loses.

Worth a thousand words...

Now you know. According to the Sinclair Broadcasting Group, to honor the fallen in battle is some sort of lefty-commie plot to undermine the "excellent accomplishments" of the Bush administration in Iraq.

As you may know, Ted Koppel's "Nightline" was devoted last night to honoring the soldiers killed in the Iraqi war, but the Sinclair Broadcasting Group --the country's largest owner of TV stations – did not allow its ABC affiliates to air the show. Sinclair claimed the show was "motivated by a political agenda designed to undermine the efforts of the United States in Iraq."

Apparently the Sinclair Broadcasting Group has a history of carrying water to Republicans, as the Center for American Progress neatly reveals.

It doesn't end here. Apparently those guardians of American values on the far right have decided that the daily USA Today is "unpatriotic" for also honoring the American heroes fallen in Iraq during this bloodiest of months.

Today's cover of USA Today displays the photos of the more than 100 soldiers killed this month as part of a tribute. The far right has gone berserk over this and started a boycott of USA Today for having the temerity of making Bush "look bad" by daring to have a tribute to the fallen in Iraq.

This is pure insanity. The Republicans have pushed the agenda so far to the right that anything slightly moderate is immediately seen as suspect. What's more, they have created this ridiculous cult of personality, where everything and anything is about how the president "looks", how anything may reflect of the image of Bush. This has gone so far that even paying tribute to the fallen in a nasty, unnecessary war is seen as a "seditious plot."

It's very sad to see what we are turning into. This is pure insanity