Jane Smiley has a message for all the Republicans only now waking up to the fact that George Bush is a danger to himself and others:

Bush doesn’t know you disagree with him. Nothing about you makes you of interest to George W. Bush once you no longer agree with and support him. No degree of relationship (father, mother, etc.), no longstanding friendly intercourse (Jack Abramoff), no degree of expertise (Brent Scowcroft), no essential importance (Tony Blair, American voters) makes any difference. There is nothing you have to offer that makes Bush want to know you once you have come to disagree with him. Your opinions and feelings now exist in a world entirely external to the mind of George W. Bush. You are now just one of those “polls” that he pays no attention to. When you were on his side, you thought that showed “integrity” on his part. It doesn’t. It shows an absolute inability to learn from experience.

That’s point 1 of 6. There’s more, and you should read it. Go now, please.

I completely agree with this post by Atrios. The idea of a “gatekeeper” media isn’t necessarily bad, but our media gatekeepers have behaved badly of late. They’ve got nobody but themselves to blame for the public’s loss of faith and their own loss of influence. (UPDATE: On this same point, Atrios points us to James Wolcott, who nails it.)

I also like this post by Kevin Drum. The “ticking time bomb” excuse for torture is absolutely ridiculous. There is no good reason for the United States – of all nations – to sanction or condone torture.

Finally, here’s just a little ammo to use when your conservative friends claim that Congressmen and Senators had the same intelligence about Iraq as the President. They didn’t, and they still don’t, because the White House refuses to release the Presidential Daily Brief from September 21, 2001, which is purported to have claimed that Iraq had no connection with the 9/11 attacks.

Bonus Link: Kitten War makes me very, very happy.

The following is a report by Doug Thompson, from a blog named “Capitol Hill Blue.” I was not aware of Mr. Thompson or his blog before reading this piece. He seems to have good credentials, but I’m taking this with a big grain of salt. Whether this actually happened or not, though, it sure seems to sum up the attitude of the Bush Administration.

Capitol Hill Blue: Bush on the Constitution: ‘It’s just a goddamned piece of paper’:

Last month, Republican Congressional leaders filed into the Oval Office to meet with President George W. Bush and talk about renewing the controversial USA Patriot Act.

Several provisions of the act, passed in the shell shocked period immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, caused enough anger that liberal groups like the American Civil Liberties Union had joined forces with prominent conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly and Bob Barr to oppose renewal.

GOP leaders told Bush that his hardcore push to renew the more onerous provisions of the act could further alienate conservatives still mad at the President from his botched attempt to nominate White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court.

“I don’t give a goddamn,” Bush retorted. “I’m the President and the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way.”

“Mr. President,” one aide in the meeting said. “There is a valid case that the provisions in this law undermine the Constitution.”

“Stop throwing the Constitution in my face,” Bush screamed back. “It’s just a goddamned piece of paper!”

I’ve talked to three people present for the meeting that day and they all confirm that the President of the United States called the Constitution “a goddamned piece of paper.”

We watched Control Room this weekend, the documentary about the Arab news network Al Jazeera, set against the beginnings of the Iraq war. it started to bring home to me how horrible this endeavor really is, not because of any graphic depictions of the conflict (there were very few gruesome shots) but because of the way the film wove the American and Arab points of view together. The movie left me with a profound sadness and hopelessness. I do not think we understood what we were getting into, and I do not think we have given ourselves much hope of a positive outcome. We will wear this conflict as a millstone around our national neck for generations.

I came across this story today, and it reinforced the feeling I got from the movie. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read the whole thing:

Once Upon a Time…: When Honor Is No Longer Possible: A Nation Beyond Forgiveness:

Some stories are almost impossible to contemplate. This is one of them.

In June, Col. Ted Westhusing was found dead near the Baghdad airport. His death was most likely a suicide, a single gunshot wound to the head. His wife, who probably understood her husband better than anyone else, had no trouble identifying the cause…

So I’m 5 weeks behind on my blogging. This little morsel from The Editors is still fresh and tasty.

The Poor Man » That’s what I’m talking about (Quoting this post at Bottle of Blog):

When are these people going to get it? You can’t consistently defend the…um…principles of the modern Republican party because they don’t have any. They don’t believe in anything–not anything they can tell you, anyway, and still get re-elected. They have no convinctions.

They have propaganda.

And if you stupidly adopt one of their “talking points” today as a principle, as a conviction, as a value today, you’re going to look like a fucking idiot tomorrow.

Your Life Under Secret Microscope | Bayosphere:

Dan Gillmor reads the WaPo’s article on the FBI’s use of national security letters and doesn’t like what he sees:

This is how tyranny gets its legs: A secrecy-manic administration that is absolutely contemptuous of individual rights—except the right to buy guns and pollute the environment, among other things—and assisted by a Congress that doesn’t even want to know what is happening.

I’m afraid for the future of liberty. We live in a nation that is tossing it overboard, one horrible law at a time.

Holy crap, dude. The Poor Man is right. You simply must read this.

The Poor Man points to this article by Elizabeth Drew about the aggressive infiltration of radical Republicans into the lobbying process. This, and the assault on the judiciary, and the decline of the press… This is what’s killing us.

The Poor Man sees an opening for Democrats to play David to this Goliath. He may be right, but I have a hard time seeing that we have enough bold and nimble warriors to stop this conservative onslaught. Our constitution, our rights, our very notion of America is being chiseled away piece by piece before our eyes. I am not sure that the right people are getting the big picture.

Technorati Tags: Politics, Corruption

Two quickies to wrap up my day and catch me up…

The Poor Man, after quoting a damned good piece by Paul Begala about the hypocrisy of the right, catalogs a long list of hate-filled rhetoric from Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Bill O’Reilly, and others. This kind of speech is shocking and sickening enough on its own. In aggregate it is cold-sweat nauseating.

And here, Editor & Publisher takes its industry to task for its complicity in selling the war.

Technorati Tags: Politics

Fanatical Apathy – Grappling With Cindy:

Adam Felber explains “why everyone besides me is dead wrong on Sheehan.” It’s a good take. You should read it.

UPDATE: And while you’re at it, why not read Cindy Sheehan’s own latest entry on The Huffington Post.

Technorati Tags: cindysheehan, Politics