The Iraq Study Group to nowhere

The media is going to play this report up big and quite frankly it's already annoying the hell out of me. John makes some good points about the traps for our Democratic leaders, but what's really insane is that there isn't one Middle East expert on the panel. NOT one.

Rather, it is a classic Washington blue-ribbon commission, a group of "old hands" steeped in the ways of the capital — two former secretaries of state (Baker and Lawrence S. Eagleburger), two former senators (Republican Alan K. Simpson and Democrat Charles S. Robb), a former defense secretary (William J. Perry) and a former Supreme Court justice, (Sandra Day O'Connor).

Bi-partisanship is meaningless if nobody knows what the heck they are talking about. It's like bringing a car to a friggin' Burger King to get an oil change. Ok, that's a bad analogy, but you know what I mean. Arthur has much more.

Here's a suggestion. Let's trade up a lot. I'll give you one Juan Cole for Ed Meese. And I'll give you Patrick Cockburn for Charles Robb. Cockburn has actually spent a lot of time in Iraq and the Middle East just recently. Amazing, ain't it?… Read on

John Amato, Crooks and Liars

Mackris v. O'Reilly: The Opera

While the sexual harassment allegations levied against Bill O'Reilly by former Fox News producer Andrea Mackris might seem like fodder for a made-for-TV movie, some have decided to elevate the he-said/she-said back-and-forth to a more refined art form.

Enter Igor Keller, a tenor saxophone player from Belltown, Washington, who has re-imagined the O'Reilly saga as a 31-part, concert-length baroque oratorio titled, rather theatrically, Mackris v. O'Reilly. Keller's opus doesn't cut any corners: The libretto opens with a reading of the original complaint filed by Mackris and runs through seven chorales, four recitatives, and numerous arias before the denouement, which features a dramatic reading of the settlement O'Reilly reached with Mackris.

Those who aren't quite sure they can stomach two hours of O'Reilly opera might be better advised to come in for the recitative and aria that comprise part 27, when the infamous loofah-as-falafel finally makes an appearance.

Charles Robert Stephens - Baritone
as Bill O'Reilly

Stephens’ performances show "a committed characterization and a voice of considerable beauty." (Opera News) He has been hailed by The New York Times as a "baritone of smooth distinction."






Signe Mortensen - Soprano
as Andrea Mackris

Mortensen's roles include Musetta in La Boheme (Bellevue Opera), Pamina in Magic Flute (Skagit Opera), Micaela in Carmen (Opera Pacifica), Frasquita in Carmen (Tri-Cities Opera), Adele in Die Fledermaus (TCO), Yum-Yum in Mikado (Skagit Opera), and Josephine in HMS Pinafore (Northwest Savoyards)




LSB: For ticket information see www.mackrisvoreilly.com. I imagine Olbermann will have front row seats for the opening night!

Colbert’s Got Some Tough Wørds For Bush 41

Colbert was fuming last night over this week's edition of Newsweek that suggests President Bush is relying on his father's close advisors to save him from the quagmire he's gotten us into in Iraq.

Video

Andrew Sullivan: The Torture Memos

For the first time, the CIA has admitted that two critical government memos ordering torture from the president and the Justice Department do indeed exist. They insist they will not be released to the public. Money quote:

The ACLU describes the first as a "directive" signed by Bush governing CIA interrogation methods or allowing the agency to set up detention facilities outside the United States. McPherson describes it as a "memorandum." In September, Bush confirmed the existence of secret CIA prisons and transferred 14 remaining terrorism suspects from them to Guantanamo Bay.

The second document is an August 2002 legal memo from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel to the CIA general counsel. The ACLU describes it as "specifying interrogation methods that the CIA may use against top al-Qaeda
members." (This document is separate from another widely publicized Justice memo, also issued in August 2002, that narrowed the definition of torture. The
Justice Department has since rescinded the latter.)

When Bush officials are eventually prosecuted for war crimes, these documents will be critical in proving the direct link from the White House to the torture cell. I see no reason, except for political protection, that the public should not see them. The Senate should subpoena them.

Bitch!

"Sherwood's seat [in Pennsylvania] would have been overwhelmingly ours, if his mistress hadn't whined about being throttled," - Grover Norquist.

FYI: Grover Norquist is the president of the noted anti-tax lobbying group Americans for Tax Reform, and a conservative activist. His close business and political ties to recently indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff are the subject of a current federal investigation. (LSB: Does the male hooker in CO have anything on this guy? Surely as asshole this big has a male hooker in his past.)

South Africa bill approves same-sex marriage

(AP) - Gays in South Africa can be joined in matrimony under new legislation passed by parliament – an unprecedented move on a continent where homosexuality is taboo.

LSB: Gone is apartheid is all forms. South Africa can now thumb its nose at the US for its backward notions.

FOX News Memo: Fair and Balanced – NOT!

Huffington Post has obtained an internal Fox News memo written by the network's Vice President of news. The memo details Fox's game plan the day Democrats won control of both the Senate and the House.

"Let’s be on the lookout for any statements from the Iraqi insurgents, who must be thrilled at the prospect of a Dem-controlled congress"...

P.S. Fox News reporters freed for $2 million The terror leader, from the Gaza-based Popular Resistance Committees, said his organization's share of the money was used to purchase weapons, which he said would be utilized "to hit the Zionists." (LSB: I wonder if Fox News is as thrilled with the terrorists now for exposing them as terrorist benefactors.)

Cornyn Joins McCain, Calls for Sending More U.S. Troops to Iraq

This morning on Fox News, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) was asked what he thought of Sen. John McCain’s (R-AZ) idea to raise the number of troops in Iraq. (McCain has said he’d like to have “another 20,000 troops in Iraq.”) “I think Senator McCain is on to something,” Cornyn said, adding that an “overwhelming” show of force “could restore some basic semblance of order” to Iraq.

Increasing troop levels is a bad idea. First, we do not have the troops to send. Any attempt to send more troops to Iraq would, “at the moment, threaten to break our nation’s all-volunteer Army and undermine our national security.” Second, a greater U.S. troops presence “risks further stoking the flames of the insurgency by feeding perceptions of long-term U.S. occupation among many Iraqis.”

Notably, the McCain-Lieberman-Cornyn position has virtually no public support: only 8 percent of Americans support sending more troops to Iraq.

LSB: Why does Cornyn even bother to open his mouth? He wouldn’t know a cogent argument if it bit him on the ass – nor could be locate one even if it were put in a paper bag and he was given a flashlight and used both hands to look for it. He and Kay Bailey – why do Texas voters elect these mental midgets? (No offense to the midget reading this blog.)

Bush Really Proud About Allowing Election

We missed this on Saturday, because who the hell actually listens to the President’s Radio Address, but it’s still worth a post because it’s insane. Here’s an actual quote from Bush on the radio:

One freedom that defines our way of life is the freedom to choose our leaders at the ballot box. We saw that freedom earlier this week, when millions of Americans went to the polls to cast their votes for a new Congress. Whatever your opinion of the outcome, all Americans can take pride in the example our democracy sets for the world by holding elections even in a time of war.

Yeah, because one thing the United States always does in a “time of war” is cancel elections. Well, okay, not really. We managed to have elections during World War I and World War II and the Korean War and the Cold War and the Vietnam War and the War on Drugs and the War on Christmas, among others.

LSB: I hate to even contemplate preparing for another round of elections again so soon, but the Presidential election of 2008 can’t come soon enough! We need to relegate this imbecile to history as fast as possible.

Robert Whiteside – You Will Be Missed

Yesterday afternoon I picked up the local gay “rag” to find a front page story on the murder of Robert Whiteside, a prominent gay artist best known for the Faberge-style eggs he created. Ironically while on my errands earlier in the day I drove past the space where Robert once had his Dallas studio/gallery and thought to myself, “I wonder how Robert’s bed-and-breakfast in East Texas is doing.” I hadn’t been past that corner in years, and I only happened to drive past it because I’d missed a turn earlier and decided to take a different route. (Add your own metaphor here.)

In the late 80s and early 90s I was the general manager for a mid-sized Dallas arts organization. I was introduced to Robert and his then-partner at a reception following a performance. I found him utterly delightful. (OK, how gay is “utterly delightful?“ Nevertheless, it applies.) Shortly thereafter Robert was nominated to serve on our Board of Diectors. Over the course of the next several years I would see Robert at monthly board meetings, at performances and the after-parties, and from time-to-time about town in other social settings.

Occasionally there is a kind of “aura” or “magnetism” surrounding an individual, and this definitely applied to Robert. He had a friendly, welcoming smile that drew you to him; he had the kindest eyes that not only held your attention, but let you know he was fully engaged in your conversation and not distracted by what was going on around him; he had a gentle, somewhat shy, and calming nature that definitely lacked the gay drama gene; he was unpretentious and secure in who he was; he was more interested in discovering who you were than impressing you with who he was or what he had; he was bright, witty, inquisitive – and incredibly charming.

Robert was a renaissance man: his interests and talents were varied; he was knowledgeable on a diverse number of subjects; and he excelled in everything he tried. It isn’t that things came easily to Robert – he worked very hard and very diligently on everything he did – but many things came quite naturally to him. He was a painter, a classically trained musician, a decorator, a pilot and a gourmet cook. He designed a jacket for the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS fundraiser that sold for an impressive amount. As a goldsmith and silversmith, Robert produced Faberge-style eggs that many considered better than the Russian originals. (Nancy Reagan even gave several of his creations to visiting heads of states while she was First Lady.)

Robert was openly gay, but his “gayness” wasn’t something that he wore on his sleeve. You wouldn’t find him marching in a parade, or with his shirt off at a gay bar, or with a rainbow bumper sticker on his car. He neither flaunted nor hid his sexuality. In the fascinating world of Robert Whiteside being gay was simply another facet of his personality, and being gay never outshined or overshadowed any of the other facets of his personality.

The John Donne meditation (‘No man is an island… each man’s death diminishes me…’) keeps running through my head today. Although it has been 15 years or so since I last saw Robert and we were never more than friendly acquaintances, I was surprised to find how deeply his death affected me. Although a great many wonderful people, beloved by their families and communities, will die today, I do feel diminished by Robert’s death. He brought a great deal of creativity, and style, and joy to the people around him. I am grateful to have been in Robert’s circle, even for the briefest of time.

For his example of enthusiastically exploring diverse interests, for expressing himself in many different and interesting ways, and for leaving the world – or at least his part of it – a better place because he lived, Robert will be missed.

-LoneStarBear

Pot to Kettle

Sullivan: Pater Et Filius

A reader to Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish sees an analogy to the tortured relationship between Bush father and son Sullivan describe in this column:

With all the talk of the Bush family drama, I’m reminded of the exchange between Commodus and Marcus Aurelius in the movie Gladiator:

Commodus [43]: You wrote to me once, listing the four chief virtues - Wisdom, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance. As I read the list, I knew I had none of them. But I have other virtues, father. Ambition, that can be a virtue when it drives us to excel. Resourcefulness. Courage. Perhaps not on the battlefield, but there are many forms of courage. Devotion, to my family, to you. But none of my virtues were on your list. Even then, it was as if you didn't want me for your son.

Marcus Aurelius [41]: Oh, Commodus, you go too far.

Commodus: I searched the faces of the gods for ways to please you, to make you proud. One kind word, one full hug while you pressed me to your chest and held me tight, would've been like the sun on my heart for a thousand years. What is in me that you hate so much?

Marcus Aurelius: Shh, Commodus.

Commodus: All I've ever wanted was to live up to you. Caesar. Father.

After that, in the movie, Commodus kills Marcus Aurelius. In real life, mercifully, W just calls up James Baker.

LSB: Hmmm, this dialogue is an eerie reflection of what I imagine is the complicated relationship between Bush 41 and Bush 43. It was clear to anyone paying attention that the overthrow of Saddam was simply 43’s pathetic attempt to get 41’s attention and respect. “Look at me, look at me! I’ll get him, daddy, I’ll get him.” Let’s face it, 43 was a mediocre student (thank heavens for family connections and university contributions), a druggie (who skipped out on his military service commitment rather than have his drug habit revealed), a boozer (not to worry, the DUI records were purged), and a failed businessman several times over (see Harken Energy scandal). Bush 41 hadn’t completed the job, Saddam was thumbing his nose at the US and the UN, and removing Saddam would be a way for 43 to finally earn 41’s respect. That intelligence reports would be shaped to justify the ouster of Saddam – 41’s unfinished business – is why the Downing Street Memo is significant. But just as “Poppy” had to rescue this son many times before (i.e., setting him up with Republican contributors who owned the Texas Rangers was just the most recent example), 43 is once again stepping in to clean up his son’s mess. Let’s hope that with some – ANY! – oversight the Dems can keep 43 from doing too much more harm. [FYI: 'Pater Et Filius' is Latin for 'Father And Son.' Andrew Sullivan is simply more erudite than I am, but I appreciate his intelligence.]