Arthur Silber:

At this point, no one should have any doubts on one point: if the Bush administration wants "intelligence" that shows Iran is a "serious" and "growing" threat, they will find it or create it out of nothing, or next to nothing. The atmosphere of growing hysteria will be amplified by a press which continues to view itself primarily as an adjunct to the powerful (some rare exceptions to the contrary notwithstanding, as noted here)--And none of it will be the result of the intelligence. It's never mattered in any significant way, and it won't matter in the next chapter in our neverending war. But keep in mind that the next chapter may be the last one...read on"

Frank Rich clearly defines what I've been posting about all week. The scapegoating of the media for political purposes..

NY Times (reg req):

Only a terrorist who couldn't shoot straight would assume that Swift was not part of the American effort to stalk terrorist transactions; that's tantamount to assuming that cops would track down license plate numbers without enlisting the Department of Motor Vehicles. But, unfortunately for us, terrorists are not so stupid: it's been reported as far back as 2003 (in The Washington Post) and as recently as this month (in Ron Suskind's must-read best seller, "The One Percent Doctrine") that our enemies long ago took Mr. Bush at his word and abandoned banks for couriers, money brokers, front companies and suitcases stuffed with cash and gold. Tom Brokaw summarized the consensus of terrorism experts last week when he told Chris Matthews of MSNBC: "I don't know anyone who believes that the terrorist network said, 'Oh my God, they're tracing our financial transactions? What a surprise.' Of course, they knew that they were doing that."

Continue reading »

So sayeth the right wing blogs.

Greenwald:

I learned today from Michelle Malkin, Powerline's John Hinderaker, and David Horowitz, among others, that The New York Times not only wants to help Al Qaeda launch terrorist attacks on the United States, but that newspaper also want to do everything possible to enable The Terrorists to assassinate Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld. That is the conclusion which these sober leaders of "conservative" punditry drew after reading this article in the Times' Travel section, which features the tiny, charming village of St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where both Cheney and Rumsfeld have vacation homes...read on

These people are insane. One idiot published the photographers personal information online. Someone is going to get hurt.

This story was on June 23 on CBS:

A Republican gubernatorial candidate's call for creation of a forced labor camp for illegal immigrants drew rebukes Friday from two GOP lawmakers, who labeled it a low point in the immigration debate.
Don Goldwater, nephew of the late Sen. Barry Goldwater, caused an international stir this week when EFE, a Mexican news service, quoted him as saying he wanted to hold undocumented immigrants in camps to use them "as labor in the construction of a wall and to clean the areas of the Arizona desert that they're polluting." The article described Goldwater's plan as a "concentration camp" for migrants....read on

Update:

The Spanish news agency EFE apologized to Republican gubernatorial candidate Don Goldwater, saying a story distributed by the agency on June 21 mischaracterized Goldwater as wanting to use "concentration camps" as part of efforts to combat illegal immigration. Goldwater has called for a work program for illegal immigrants convicted of nonviolent crimes to help construct a border wall and clean up desert areas where illegal border-crossers have left trash and damaged the environment.

Remember Bernard Kerik?

Defiant and unapologetic to the end, Bernard Kerik was arrested and booked yesterday, processed through the same criminal justice system in which he worked for most of his adult life. He stood before a judge in state Supreme Court in the Bronx and admitted to having illegally accepted $165,000 in free renovations from a contractor with alleged links to the mob while he was the city correction commissioner…read on

It wasn’t too long ago that Kerik stood next to Bush:

"President Bush on Friday nominated Bernard Kerik, a former New York City police commissioner, as the next secretary for homeland security.Bernie Kerik is one of the most accomplished and effective leaders of law enforcement in America," Bush said in announcing his decision at the White House. "In every position, he has demonstrated a deep commitment to justice, a heart for the innocent and a record of great success. I’m grateful he’s agreed to bring his lifetime of security experience and skill to one of the most important positions in the American government…read on

Talk Left brings Giuliani into the equation.

What's the best way for a Democrat, particularly a decorated war-hero Democrat, to defend himself against Swiftboat-style attacks on the flag-burning amendment? If you watch James Webb's (D) Senate campaign in Virginia, you know to call the criticism "weak-kneed attacks by cowards." Note to Sen. George Allen (R): now would probably be a good time to stop using the flag as a campaign issue.

-- Guest Post by Steve Benen, The Carpetbagger Report

A parked car bomb exploded at a popular outdoor market Saturday in a Shiite slum in Baghdad, killing at least 66 people and wounding dozens, authorities said. It was the bloodiest attack to hit raq since the death of terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi...read on

The Gaelic Starover: Spying and stupidity not limited to the GOP

Simply Left Behind: Nobody asked me, but...

Zaphod's Heads: Torture, Lies, and Audiotapes

A Tiny Revolution: More From Nir rosen, World's Bravest human

Discourse.net: Hamdan analysis from three distinguished legal authorities

Pleas read this important piece by Arthur Silber:

All of this is of the greatest importance and, as I indicate above, it is entirely neglected in most of our discussions about how much longer to continue the utterly futile, horrifyingly bloody occupation of Iraq, or which country to attack next. But Fussell makes several other, broader points of equal significance.

He further analyzes the divide between those "serious survivors of war" who know what war is actually like and the "optimistic onlookers" (our armchair warriors of today), and he then notes how the sanitized, cleaned-up version of war must always be the version offered to the general public...read on

Thta's right, our very own ED Hill!

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(h/t accord)