LewRockwell.com Blog: Right-Wing Christians for Torture: "Cal Thomas, in a recent column, endorses torture of our 'enemies,' but at least he does not directly try to Christianize it. Those who read Thomas on a semi-regular basis know that he is one of the darlings of the so-called Religious Right, although in a book a few years ago, he got the ire of James Dobson because Thomas held that not all problems could be solved by electing politicians approved by Dobson and his gang.

This column, however, demonstrates that Thomas's moral compass is a bit skewed. He first refers to a Fox TV drama in which the hero of the story tortures an Arab who is involved with 'nuclear terrorism.' Alas, the U.S. authorities arrest our hero because he saved lives, but did it with torture."

(Via LewRockwell.com Blog.)

The Glory of War by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.: "The bloom on the rose of war eventually fades, leaving only the thorns. By the time this takes place, most everyone has already begun the national task of averting the eyes from the thorns, meaning the awful reality, the dashed hopes, the expense, the lame, the limbless, the widows, the orphans, the death on all sides, and the resulting instability. The people who still take an interest are those who first took an interest in war: the power elite, who began the war for purposes very different from that which they sold to the public at the outset.

Thus does the American public not care much about Iraq. It is not quite as invisible as other nations that were the subject of national obsessions in the recent past. Hardly anyone knows who or what is running El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti, Libya, Serbia, or Somalia, or any of the other formerly strategic countries that once engaged national attention."

(Via Lew Rockwell.)

what the f**k?!? [that's spelled "fuck" -- ls]: "I didn't know how quickly I would be proven right about CNN when I said that the initials stand for 'Chasing Non-Negroes,' based on their their predilection to report almost exclusively on missing white women and other 'human interest' stories. And while NewsNight was descending to new lows, Zell Miller was demonstrating stunning hypocrisy by promoting his new book and himself on an episode of The Daily Show that defied everything he claims to stand for. First Zell says Dems and liberals have defiled the language, but pals around that foulmouthed Cheney guy and  porno advocate Rush Limbaugh. Then he appears on Jon Stewart's show, which puts the bluest possible language in the First Lady's mouth, because it's a good way to promote his book. A spokesman for decency? Au contraire.  What a whore."

(Via Night Light.)

'Just World News' by Helena Cobban: Approaching 1,600: "In 'Nam, the proportion of Vietnamese deaths to US military deaths was roughly 50 to 1. I believe something like the same proportion (or something even higher, given the US mil-tech 'advances' since then) must apply today. But how, actually, do you count? What do you count? All the infants and sick people who died because of the war-caused degradation of what was once a fairly efficient modern safe-water system? All the sick people who died because of the war-caused chaos in the medical system in general, or because they couldn't get to the hospital because of the rampant public insecurity?"

(Via 'Just World News' by Helena Cobban.)

"Pimp My Ride" Chapman May Get New Crib...With Bars: "It's fun to watch Republicans spend money fighting each other, especially in these House primary races to see who's the most regressive, anti-tax extremist.  It's even more fun when one of those candidates is charged with felony election fraud:

The Manassas businessman challenging longtime state Del. Harry J. Parrish in the June Republican primary said he expects to be charged today with lying about where he lives, his campaign announced yesterday.

Candidate Steve H. Chapman will hold a news conference at the county courthouse this afternoon after he is formally charged with election fraud, said Thomas Kopko, communications director for his campaign."

(Via Democracy for Virginia.)

Democrats, Seeking Files, Threaten to Stall Bolton Vote - New York Times: "Senate Democrats are threatening to abandon an agreement to move toward a swift vote on the nomination of John R. Bolton unless the State Department provides documents related to a clash between Mr. Bolton and intelligence officials over assessments of Syria.

The threat reflects growing tensions between Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee over the handling of an inquiry into Mr. Bolton's qualifications to serve as ambassador to the United Nations."

(Via NY Times.)

From Iran-contra to Iraq | David Corn: "Elliott Abrams--who pleaded guilty to misleading Congress regarding the Reagan administration's secret support of the contra rebels fighting the Sandinista government of Nicaragua--was hired as a staff member of George W. Bush's National Security Council and placed in charge of democracy promotion. Retired Admiral John Poindexter--who was Reagan's national security adviser, who supervised Oliver North during the Iran-contra days, and who was convicted of several Iran-contra crimes before the convictions were overturned on a legal technicality--was retained by the Pentagon to search for terrorists using computerized Big Brother technology. John Negroponte--who as ambassador to Honduras in the early 1980s was the on-the-ground overseer of pro-contra operations there--was recruited by Bush to be UN ambassador, then ambassador to Iraq, and, most recently, the first director of national intelligence. Otto Reich--who mounted an arguably illegal pro-contra propaganda effort when he was a Reagan official--was appointed by Bush to be in charge of Latin American policy at the State Department. Now comes the news that another Iran-contra alum--a fellow who failed a polygraph test during the Iran-contra investigation--is playing a critical role in Bush's war in terrorism.

James Steele was recently featured in a New York Times Magazine story as a top adviser to Iraq's 'most fearsome counterinsurgency force,' an outfit called the Special Police Commandos that numbers about 5000 troops. The article, by Peter Maass, noted that Steele 'honed his tactics leading a Special Forces mission in El Salvador during that country's brutal civil war in the 1980s.' And, as Maass reminded his readers, that civil war resulted in the deaths of 70,000 people, mostly civilians, and '[m]ost of the killing and torturing was done by the army and right-wing death squads affiliated with it."

(Via The Nation Weblogs.)

Bush Administration Rolls Back Rule on Building Forest Roads - New York Times: "The Bush administration on Thursday supplanted a Clinton-era rule banning road construction in nearly 60 million acres of national forest with a complex prescription for state-by state decisions on which areas should retain protections.

The new rule gives governors a primary role in making recommendations. If the governors choose not to take the opportunity in the next 18 months, the Forest Service may begin an analysis of whether and where activities requiring roads, like logging and mining, would be appropriate. The final decision on the status of all 56.5 million acres once protected as roadless will rest with the federal government."

(Via NY Times.)

Filibuster at Princeton Sends Frist a Message - New York Times: "Bill Frist is one of Princeton University's best-known graduates - a physician, the Senate majority leader and a 14-year member of Princeton's board. Now, he has also become a target of protest at his alma mater.

Since April 26, students have been conducting a round-the-clock filibuster to protest Dr. Frist's proposal to bar filibusters on judicial nominees."

(Via NY Times.)

Why Don't You Speak For Yourself, Jerry?: "The latest incident was an ad taken out by Republican Jerry Kilgore’s campaign which accused Democrat Timothy Kaine of mocking Kilgore’s Southwest Virginia accent.  The ad contains a headline addressed to Kaine that literally shouts ‘SHAME ON YOU!’  It  doesn’t feature Kilgore’s own words but utilizes ‘quotes’ from others. 

Now what is this all about?  A little context might clarify for those of us who have not been paying close attention.  It seems to have started a few weeks ago when the Kilgore Campaign began to run a radio ad that belittled Tim Kaine’s Catholic faith and implied that he was using his religion for political purposes.  The ad was slickly produced and featured the customary golden-throated oily voice trying to sound sincere but dramatic.  Kilgore himself did not use his own voice to make the allegations."

(Via Democracy for Virginia.)

In Kansas, A Sharp Debate on Evolution: "Debating a question that the scientific establishment considers settled, Kansas education authorities put evolutionary theory on trial Thursday in a hearing marked by sharp exchanges over Earth's origins and what students should be taught in science class.

Scientists who support the idea of intelligent design, a set of assumptions that challenges established scientific thinking, told an approving Kansas State Board of Education subcommittee that modern Darwinian theory relies too much on unproven reasoning. Gaps in the science, they argued, leave open the possibility that a creator, or an unidentified 'designing mind,' is responsible for earthly development."

(Via Washington Post.)

Defense Tech: R.I.P. HACK: "A real-life hero died yesterday...

Col. David H. Hackworth, the United States Army's legendary, highly decorated guerrilla fighter and lifelong champion of the doughboy and dogface, ground-pounder and grunt, died Wednesday in Mexico. He was 74 years old...

Col. Hackworth spent more than half a century on the country's hottest battlefields, first as a soldier, then as a writer, war correspondent and sharp-eyed critic of the Military-Industrial Complex and ticket-punching generals he dismissed as 'Perfumed Princes...'"

(Via a DefenseTech.)

Defense Tech: HILL RESEARCHERS VS. "FUTURE COMBAT": "Now, in a report, obtained thanks to the fine folks at Inside Defense, the Congressional Research Service says that it's time to start thinking about pulling the plug on FCS.

Congress, in its authorization, appropriation, and oversight roles may wish to review the relevancy of the FCS program in terms of current and potential future threats, the overall viability of the program, program management and contractual agreements, and program ‘off ramps’ into the current force should the FCS program be modified or curtailed."

(Via a DefenseTech.)

ArmsControlWonk | an arms control weblog: ISG Bungles Iraqi Scientist Interviews: "Obeidi claims he continued to meet, however, with Gary and the CIA. ‘From Gary’s first questions,’ Obeidi claims, ‘it was apparent he did not possess a deep knowledge of Iraqi WMD programs …’

During this process, US troops raided Obeidi’s house, dragged him off to detention and interrogated him about Saddam Hussein’s whereabouts.

Eventually, someone figured out he was already cooperating. Obeidi describes recieving an apology and a ride home. Not surprisingly, Obeidi admits to having second thoughts about cooperating with the US in the first place. Albright told Obeidi’s story to the Washington Post in October 2003."

(Via ArmsControlWonk.com.)

Defense Tech: EMP SCAREMONGERS FIZZLE: "First and foremost, [the journal article] contains no discussion of an EMP attack against the United States. For that matter, it contains no discussion of an EMP attack against anyone.

In fact, it contains no mention of nuclear weapons whatsoever.

Yes, friends, you heard me correctly. This eight-year-old article, which a gaggle of 'defense experts' is currently presenting as evidence for Iran's intention to launch an EMP attack using nuclear weapons, does not discuss the use of nuclear weapons, and does not discuss EMP attacks. Not once."

(Via a DefenseTech.)

RUMMY + SPIDEY: "You'd figure that soldiers might be a little confused about whether Defense Secretary Don Rumsfeld was really on their side, after he started holding their paychecks hostage. But Rummy knows just how to block out those nasty thoughts: by trotting out Spiderman and his costumed pals. 'Join Secretary Rumsfeld in welcoming Marvel Comics and special guests Spiderman and Captain America as they distribute the new Special Limited Edition of Marvel's Salute to Our Troops Comic Book,' reads the announcement over at AmericaSupportsYou.mil. "

(Via Defense Tech.)

Salon.com Politics: "From the 'Tell Us Again Why We're Fighting in Iraq' Department, here's Republican Rep. Dan Lungren, in a letter he sent to hundreds of people who wrote to complain about his support for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: 'I feel quite strongly that as long as we have our military in the Middle East fighting so that we can continue to purchase oil from that region, we have an obligation to find alternatives to foreign oil. It is difficult to justify the death of even one soldier when we are not doing everything in our power to explore options for oil within our country.'"

Emphasis mine.

(Via Salon.)

Secret British Memo Shows Bush Tampered with Iraq Intelligence: "But Dearlove's report makes it clear that Bush had already decided absolutely on a war already the previous month, and that he had managed to give British intelligence the firm impression that he intended to shape the intelligence to support such a war. So poor Sperling was lied to twice. Any 'debate' was meaningless if the president had already decided. And he wasn't waiting to make his decision in the light of the intelligence. He was going to tell the intelligence professionals to what conclusion they had to come. 'But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.'"

(Via Informed Comment.)

Salon.com News | Colombians want accused GIs to stand trial: "Two American soldiers accused of arms trafficking emerged from jail Thursday and were handed over to U.S. officials, but a top Colombian official tried to delay their deportation, saying a treaty granting them immunity might be invalid.

Inspector General Edgardo Jose Maya's move reflected a widespread sentiment among Colombians that the two U.S. Army soldiers should face trial in Colombia. They were arrested Tuesday in connection with an alleged plot to smuggle more than 40,000 rounds of ammunition, possibly to outlawed right-wing paramilitary death squads responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians."

(Via Salon.)

Salon.com News | Melting pot of blood: "Years ago, George Bush the elder explained why he did not push on to Baghdad at the end of the first Gulf War: He feared the breakup of the Iraqi state. The most dangerous fissure was and is between Iraq's majority group, the Shiites, and the formerly ascendant Sunnis. Those divisions have now exploded into a horrific guerrilla war in which disaffected Sunnis increasingly target Shiites and Kurds. In the week after the Cabinet was presented to Parliament, Sunni Arab guerrillas went on a bombing spree that left some 200 dead and hundreds more wounded. The Bush administration had hoped that the new, elected government would attract the loyalty of alienated Iraqis, and that as a result the guerrilla war would wind down. Instead, Sunnis are furious that their representation on the Cabinet is still unclear and that their suggestions for Cabinet members have been rejected by Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari."

(Via Salon.)

Martini Republic - Lead, follow, or have a drink.: "'Unfortunately, the mainstream media in the United States was too busy with wall-to-wall coverage of a 'runaway bride' to cover a bombshell report out of the British newspapers,' Conyers writes. 'The London Times reports that the British government and the United States government had secretly agreed to attack Iraq in 2002, before authorization was sought for such an attack in Congress, and had discussed creating pretextual justifications for doing so.'"

(Via Martini Republic.)

Martini Republic - Lead, follow, or have a drink.: "In a sober assessment of the Pentagon's ability to deal with global threats, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers concluded that the American military is at greater risk this year than last year of being unable to properly execute the missions for which it must prepare around the globe."

(Via Martini Republic.)

Martini Republic - Lead, follow, or have a drink.: "Bush's proposal isn't intended to save Social Security, it is intended to marginalize it politically, so it can be destroyed later. 

Cutting benefits for the middle class while leaving those for the poor intact will, conservatives believe, erode overal support for the program over time, and make it easier to cut them for the poor as well."

(Via Martini Republic.)

AlterNet: MediaCulture: Al Gore Gets Down: "Reactions were lukewarm at best. 'It's the same references you see on any other channel,' said 26-year-old activist Julian Davis. 'When did Google become alternative media?' asked 22-year-old filmmaker Jennie Heinlein.

Comments like these suggest that what Current has become is quite different from the vision Gore and his partner, Joel Hyatt, started with. What began as an effort to challenge Rupert Murdoch and the right-wing domination of the corporate media has transformed into a business proposition to lure a youth audience with lofty rhetoric, new technology and pop-culture content. Gore and Hyatt didn't have TV experience, so they ceded creative control to industry people who did. Along the way, 'democratizing' the media--their buzzword from the get-go, which they described as giving space to ordinary young people--became more important than politics or elevating television's dismal content. What emerges on Aug. 1, Current's launch date, could resemble an interactive grad-school version of MTV. Current may still improve youth television and usher in a wave of new technology, but it isn't likely to change the media, or the world. 'Less and less they're trying to run a company with a social mission,' says Orville Schell, dean of the Berkeley School of Journalism and a member of Current's board of directors. 'They want something that's new and interesting and economically viable.'"

(Via AlterNet.)

Salon.com News | Brazil won't be bullied: "Brazil Tuesday became the first country to take a public stand against the Bush administration's massive AIDS program, which is seen by many as seeking increasingly to press its anti-abortion, pro-abstinence sexual agenda on poorer countries.

Campaigners applauded Brazil's rejection of $40 million for its AIDS programs because it refuses to agree to a declaration condemning prostitution. The government and many AIDS organizations believe such a declaration would be a serious barrier to helping sex workers protect themselves and their clients from infection."

(Via Salon.)

Salon.com News | The gushing truth: "If you believe in that vision, stop reading here. That vision will not happen. America will never -- repeat, never -- be energy independent. America is such a major energy user and the energy market is so complex that we can never be independent. America simply sucks up too much oil (25 percent of world production), too much natural gas, and too much coal to ever cut itself off from the global market. The price for these commodities is set by global market forces like booming economies in China and India, and by the ever-increasing energy needs of citizens everywhere to power their cars, fax machines, computers and air conditioners.

In short, there's no silver bullet when it comes to energy. Pretending that there is only obscures the magnitude of the problem. And that problem is enormous. Hydrocarbons of all types are becoming harder to find and more expensive to produce. And more people are vying for the resources that remain. Domestic oil production has been falling since the early 1970s and no matter how large the subsidy or tax break to domestic drillers, that trend cannot be reversed. Given our current energy consumption, the idea that we can mine enough domestic crude to meet our demand is simply fallacious."

(Via Salon.)

Who's Keeping the Nuclear Weapons in Europe?: "NRDC’s Hans Kristensen, sole proprietor over at Nukestrat.com, sends this little missive about the growing public opposition in Germany to US nuclear weapons stationed there:

...

Belgium and Germany are two of the NATO countries that store US nukes on their territory. They are also two of only five non-nuclear NATO countries that are assigned strike missions with US nuclear weapons in times of war(!). A bizarre arrangement in this era of non-proliferation that would not be tolerated anywhere else. Greece quietly withdrew from this scheme in 2001, and the Belgian and German revolt makes an interesting prelude to the NATO nuclear planning group meeting in Brussels next month. NATO’s long-held principle of nuclear ‘burden sharing’ seems to be unraveling."

(Via ArmsControlWonk.com.)

Defense Tech: GITMO GOES GREEN: "Happy belated Earth Day, enemy combatants! You may be staying here at Guantanamo Bay indefinitely. And lawyers might be a bit tricky to come by. But at least we won't be burning up a whole lot of oil to keep the lights on when we force you to stay awake! Nope, now we've got four brand-spanking-new, 275-foot tall wind turbines supplying the power around here, Defense Industry Daily says."

(Via a DefenseTech.)

The New York Times > Washington > Pentagon Says Iraq Effort Limits Ability to Fight Other Conflicts: "The concentration of American troops and weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan limits the Pentagon's ability to deal with other potential armed conflicts, the military's highest ranking officer reported to Congress on Monday.

The officer, Gen. Richard B. Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, informed Congress in a classified report that major combat operations elsewhere in the world, should they be necessary, would probably be more protracted and produce higher American and foreign civilian casualties because of the commitment of Pentagon resources in Iraq and Afghanistan."

(Via NY Times.)

ARMY PAYROLL = POLITICAL FOOTBALL: "If we're going to send hundreds of thousands of young men and women into harm's way, the least we could do is not screw with their paychecks. Common sense – maybe. But Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld presumably disagrees. Back in December, regular Defense Tech readers will recall, Rummy's braintrust decided to dip into the Army's payroll into order to fund truck armor and other wartime expenses. Congress would make up the difference later on, they figured, with a second, emergency 'supplemental' funding bill. The fact that the payroll accounts would dry up in May didn't seem to factor into the Pentagon calculus -- except maybe as a lever to force Congress into action. But as senators loaded the $80 billion supplemental with pet projects -- $23 million for a baseball stadium in DC, $32 million for forest roads in Cali -- and the Pentagon added billions in long-term programs to the supposedly last-minute funding measure, its progress slowed. So now, Rummy is getting all weepy, complaining to Congress that they're keeping soldiers from getting paid."

(Via Defense Tech.)

LASER RELAYS FLASHING BACK?: "Boeing is hoping that it's found one of those retro-chic systems, Aviation Week reports: an 'elaborate relay mirror prototype to extend the range of laser weapons.' It's an idea that first gained currency in the 80's, during Ronald Reagan's 'Star Wars' anti-missile frenzy, and then died down, after controlling the beams proved too difficult. There have been experiments, off-and-on, ever since. But Boeing would like to lead a full-scale revival the laser-directing mirrors, maybe as part of its Airborne Laser (ABL) project – the modified 747 that's being designed for the Air Force to zap missiles in mid-air. "

(Via Defense Tech.)

Salon.com Politics: "Bill Gates said the other day that he was surprised by the visibility that Microsoft's flip-flop on gay rights was getting. Now he can be surprised that it isn't going away. The press coverage has continued and spread; local business sections that missed the story the first time around are starting to pick it up, and today both the New York Times and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer offer up profiles of the evangelical minister who claims to be responsible for forcing Microsoft to go soft on a Washington state gay rights bill."

(Via Salon.)

Salon.com Politics: "This just in: When George W. Bush beat John Kerry in November by less than three percentage points, it might have been something less than a sweeping endorsement of the political agenda advanced by the president and his allies on the religious right.

In a front-page analysis piece today, the Washington Post's John F. Harris and Jim VandeHei tut-tut 'campaign strategists and academics' who once engaged in 'ample speculation that Bush's victory, combined with incremental gains in the Republican congressional majority, signaled something fundamental: a partisan and ideological 'realignment' that would reshape politics over the long haul.'

Now, say Harris and VandeHei, some political analysts believe it's 'just as likely that Washington is witnessing a happens-all-the-time phenomenon -- the mistaken assumption by politicians that an election won on narrow grounds is a mandate for something broad.'"

(Via Salon.)

Capital Games: "It was a good performance but weird, for Laura had jabbed at her husband for not reading books, had suggested he was no powerhouse in bed, and had encouraged everyone in the room--and all those children at home glued to C-SPAN--to envision George W. Bush pulling on the penis of a horse. (I wondered how social conservative leader James Dobson, who was scheduled to be at the dinner, reacted.) It was not hard to figure out why the White House decided to have Laura upstage George. Her approval rating is almost twice his, and his number--in the mid-40s--are at a record low."

(Via The Nation Weblogs.)

i hear and obey, oh slave of beelzebub: "Having seen the power of the Goetia to explain the dark forces controlling our government, I researched the guy who's leading this little parade.   Turns out he's been summoned too, probably by Dick Cheney.  He is undoubtedly 'Raum,' as the following text (with my annotations) will make clear:

' The Fortieth Spirit is Raum. (43rd President, but 40th spirit.) He is a Great Earl (e.g, son of a powerful lord); and appeareth at first in the Form of a Crow (which is apparently how he avoided his military service), but after the Command of the Exorcist he putteth on Human Shape. His office is to steal Treasures out King’s Houses (turn government surpluses into deficits by giving the money to his friends), and to carry it whither he is commanded (ibid), and to destroy Cities (see Iraq et al.) and Dignities of Men (e.g., dignity of work, of adequate education, income, etc.), and to cause Love between Friends and Foes (well, maybe he's working on it). He was of the Order of Thrones (that is, President who is son of a President). He governeth 30 Legions of Spirits  (possibly a reference to the Republican National Committee).'

Out, ye dark forces!  I'm headed to Washington to give Nancy Pelosi some advice on warding off  demons.    Join me if you dare."

(Via Night Light.)

business as usual: "The promotion of torture by certain US officials, civilian and military, is the defining moral issue of this American generation.  Or not.   There was a time, not long ago, when news of American atrocities and human rights abuses (think My Lai) were met with horror.  Today the government, the media, and therefore much of the public have come to accept the condemnation of our country's actions by Amnesty International and the like as business as usual."

(Via Night Light.)