Rumsfeld is seen here waving around a centerpiece as is customary with US dignitaries visiting Iraq.

Web Logger Matt Drudge has a headline on his page saying the following:

Limbaugh Pokes Fun at Pain-Killer Probe ...

The headline links to an article where the only quote from Limbaugh's is this awkwardly phrased statement:

"I bet you what, if I had been treated by Dr. Dean, I bet you Democrats in certain parts of this country would be demanding his records."

Well, if Rush had gone to Dr. Dean to get an illegal prescription while seeing four other doctors at the same time... yeah... I'd expect everyone would be demanding to see his medical records. How desperate do you have to be to make that kind of connection? Rush has released statements through his lawyer that mention how his privacy has been invaded. Impressive how little thought goes in to his statements about other people's privacy.

Well, if Rush is suggesting Dean should be investigated for imaginary problems, why does Rush have a problem with the real investigation into his own (non-fictional) illegal drug activity?

Stop helping terrorists Rush!

TheSmokingGun.com Roolz.

As if there were any doubt, check this out.

Google Bomb: Miserable Failure

"We have been informed that this afternoon the Palm Beach State Attorneys Office will announce that it has seized the medical records of four doctors who treated Rush Limbaugh for serious medical conditions and the pain resulting from them. In fact, what these records show is that Mr. Limbaugh suffered extreme pain and had legitimate reasons for taking pain medication."

Unfortunately, being in pain won't excuse Mr. Limbaugh from buying tens of thousands of dollars worth of black market drugs and thereby aiding terrorists.

Mr. Limbaugh's attorney goes on to say that Mr. Limbaugh "was never a target of a drug investigation." If that were true they wouldn't be seizing his medical records... would they? I mean, it doesn't mean he's guilty, but he's certainly the target of a drug investigation if nothing else.

Deny, deny, deny... Keep talking, Mr. Black, you're only digging a deeper hole...

Stephen Colbert reports on his Thanksgiving trip with the President into Baghdad.

This should be such a non-story, but the White House (specifically communications director Dan Bartlett, left) can't seem to admit the truth: A British Airways plane did not spot Air Force One, the pilot of the British Airways plane did not give a knowing "oh" when lied to, and though there were many instances where the trip could have been canceled, this was not one of them.

Now the White House has clarified/reimagined the story so that the pilot of Air Force One, if asked, wouldn't have to lie. Current information oozing from the White House now claims that the communication discussed happened only between the British Airways plane and it's tower in London.

This administration can't tell the truth on even the smallest, most inconsequential stories. Flying in to the cauldron of death and despair that is Iraq on Thanksgiving wasn't enough? Dan's got to come up with a fluff piece to top it?

So, Dan Bartlett, fresh off the plane, giddily tells reporters of this imagined drama while our soldiers continue to die in Iraq. Was this just another lame attempt to bump bad news from Iraq off the front page for another day?

Well, it looks like The Nation has jumped on the Dean bandwagon. Clark has gotta be wondering: With covers like this, who needs covers?

How to sneak in and out of Baghdad without getting shot down:

The president's handlers this week have been telling some tall tales about the drama surrounding the campaign stop in Iraq:

Bush aides recounted with excitement last week the moment during the flight to Baghdad when they said a BA pilot thought he spotted the president's blue and white Boeing 747 from his cockpit.

"Did I just see Air Force One?" the pilot radioed, according to the White House. [Presumably with a lilting Cockney accent, yes yes? " 'ello! 'ow are 'ou?" I'd throw in some rhyming slang, but it'd be over your loaf. (of bread... rhymes with head... Get it?!?! Fucking quaint, aren't they?)]

There was a pause. Then came the response from Air Force One: "Gulfstream 5" -- a much smaller aircraft.

As one of Bush's aides recounted, the BA pilot seemed to sense that he was in on a secret, and replied: "Oh."

The exchange was one of the most suspenseful moments during Bush's secret flight to Baghdad, according to the White House.

And then this:

British Airways said on Monday that none of its pilots made contact with President Bush's plane during its secret flight to Baghdad, contradicting White House reports of a mid-air exchange that nearly prompted Bush to call off his trip.

They lie.
They constantly lie about shit that doesn't even matter.
Then, when they're caught, they say they didn't say what they said. Nobody calls them on it... the press just shrugs and waits for the next scripted press conference.

"Reports that say something hasn't happened are interesting to me, because as we know, there are known unknowns; there things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."
-Don Rumsfeld, claiming he's not drunk.

"I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. Thank you. Now watch this drive."
-GWB

WASHINGTON, (AFP) - The US Central Intelligence Agency has acknowledged it "lacked specific information" about alleged Iraqi weapons of mass destruction when it compiled an intelligence estimate last year that served to justify the US-led invasion of Iraq.