WASHINGTON (AP) A U.S. official says a draft report on the Iraq war will conclude that the U.S.-backed government in Iraq has met none of its targets.

If we’d started withdrawal a year (or three) ago it wouldn’t need to be “precipitous” - it would have been the magic word the Republicans are suddenly warming up to- “gradual.”

What’s new?

RIP

I’m not sure why I’m surprised anymore… but this shit is fuuuuucked.

I learned in third grade that there were three equal branches of our government. Turns out, this fucking retard hasn’t gotten the memo.

On second thought, this isn’t ignorance, it’s treason.

That’s not good.  If you pay the terrorists millions of dollars… the terrorists win.

‘Course the source is WorldNetDaily- they shovel even more horseshit than FOX…

Today is a good day.

I’ll be honest, I’m kind of sad it’s going to take two more years to catch Osama… I was sure they were gonna whip him out this morning.

Guess they’re saving him for the presidency… they’re gonna need him.  Again.

Quite a legal system we’ve concocted over there in Iraq… Judge, Jury, and Executioner.

I suppose this is another of those grand Republican experiments they were all excited about when invading yet another country… perhaps an effort to tell those evil activist judges enforcing our constitution that they are expendable?

Vote.

So Limbaugh’s saying Marty McFly is faking his Parkinson’s disease.

Wow. What a despicable moron.

He attacks a guy like Fox, but leaves a real crazy faker like Stephen Hawking alone… (c’mon Stephen, admit it, it’s just an act- we accept your wacky theories, no need for all the horse-shit theatrics.)

Seriously- this shit is indefensible.  He’s over now.

Jeff Suppan/Kurt Warner/the mom from Everybody Loves Raymond opposes stem cells? Well shit.

And, Green Day’s “American Idiot” was a stunt? Maybe. But it’s a helluva lot less of a stunt than playing the patriotism card by calling out a vastly more successful band. Who am to judge? It got ‘em on Drudge.

I’ve been on a posting frenzy lately, and I’m not sure why. McLusky and I had basically ignored Overspun for months, and certainly had no where near the interest we did leading up to the 2004 presidential election. Then Kerry lost, Bush got even worse, the Iraq war turned quagmire and I just lost interest/hope. But two years later, with Bush and Co. about to get smacked in the face, I’m excited again. Sure, it’s fair-weather fandom at its worst, but I think a lot of people are getting reenergized. That’s a good sign for Democrats. If it was just another same-old year, I wouldn’t be writing this post. But with change swirling (not monumental change, but at least change) here I am … and you are. Of course, reading blogs doesn’t translate to votes, so insert here obligatory get and vote and take your girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/hot neighbor to the polls with you (kudos if you can land all four of those).

Now, what can we do to get McLusky to work on some of the videos he used to post here? I know, I know … You Tube changed everything. But isn’t there something worth spending an anxiety-ridden computer-fighting 15 hours putting together?

That Josh Marshall has a future in this Internet blogging thing. Here’s a post on the CW that Democrats are only anti-Bush with no positions of their own. Turns out, that’s how it always is …

So, while Democrats look poised to take back at least one house of Congress, we all know that this is in spite of the fact that they’re relying on opposition to President Bush rather than on putting forward a positive program of their own, right?

Please.

Seldom has Washington conventional wisdom been a more obedient handmaiden to historical illiteracy.

Let’s say this once and for all, after a deep breath and for the record: In US politics, in off-year elections with unpopular incumbents it is always that way. Always. Hear it again, always that way.

Consider a few examples: the 1946 (Truman), 1974 (Nixon) and 1994 (Clinton) mid-terms. There are a few others that come close. But these are the three big wave elections of the New Deal and post-New Deal eras. In each case, the winning party ran overwhelmingly and almost exclusively on opposition to the sitting president of the opposite party and — in two of the three cases — the congressional leadership.

Link

Well, this is one way to hand over control of Iraq to Iraqis:

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) — The Shiite militia run by anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr seized total control of the southern Iraqi city of Amarah on Friday in one of the boldest acts of defiance yet by one of the country’s powerful, unofficial armies, witnesses and police said.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki dispatched an emergency security delegation that included the Minister of State for Security Affairs and top officials from the Interior and Defense ministries, Yassin Majid, the prime minister’s media adviser, told The Associated Press.

The Mahdi Army fighters stormed three main police stations Friday morning, planting explosives that flattened the buildings, residents said.

Messed. Up.
Link

From Time.com’s Allen Report:

Some White House officials became convinced that the House might be lost after they saw polls showing the page scandal had brutalized Republican approval ratings, and one senior party official says that’s also part of the reason that the party’s hold on the Senate is in such peril. “I kind of see the Foley thing as the tipping point,” the official said. “People are just unhappy already and that just did it.”

Foley?! What about Iraq? Katrina? Abramoff? Foley’s an obscure fuck from Florida pressured into seeking reelection by dumbass Rove. He’s not spending $2 billion a day to have four Americans and hundreds of Iraqis killed. He didn’t ignore a major American city in a time of crisis. He didn’t participate (as far as I know) in a massive corruption scandal. Foley’s the tipping point? Man, that’s sad if true … it’s probably true.

Approval for Republicans drops to lowest point in 14 years. It should never get this bad. Ever.

Come on, Dems! It’s time for full mobilization …

We’re lead by fools.

Except this one:

Statement of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
On the President Signing the Military Commissions Act

October 17, 2006“The legislation signed by the President today violates basic principles and values of our constitutional system of government. It allows the government to seize individuals on American soil and detain them indefinitely with no opportunity to challenge their detention in court. And the new law would permit an individual to be convicted on the basis of coerced testimony and even allow someone convicted under these rules to be put to death.The checks and balances of our system of government and the fundamental fairness of the American people and legal system are among our greatest strengths in the fight against terrorism. I am deeply disappointed that Congress enacted this law. We will look back on this day as a stain on our nation’s history.”

link

Josh Marshall has a post about Republicans having more than Democrats in most of the competitive races for the House and Senate. First, this isn’t much of a surprise, right? Second, I’m wondering if this is such a bad thing. It seems to me like every time I hear a Republican speak it’s some out-of-touch message that strengthens my resolve to vote Nov. 7.

Here’s the worst example I’ve seen so far … this isn’t my district and as far as I know, the Republican isn’t competitive. Still, it makes me wonder in a broader sense about the GOP message this year — with ads like these, who needs ads?

the Democrats make big gains in the House and Senate, but don’t win a majority in either body. Is that a win? Or cause for mass depression?

From the Onion:

Terrell Owens Blames Poor Game On Drew Bledsoe, Offensive Line, Hamid Karzai, NASA, Samsung
October 12, 2006 | Onion Sports

DALLAS—Troubled, underperforming Dallas wide receiver Terrell Owens lashed out in a press conference at the Cowboys practice facility Tuesday, blaming a combination of teammates, world leaders, scientific organizations, and multinational electronics companies for his three-reception, 45-yard performance against Philadelphia Sunday. “I can’t catch the ball if the quarterback can’t pull the trigger on those passes, and he can’t get the pass off if no one’s blocking—and who can maintain concentration when [Afghan president] Hamid Karzai is criticizing [Pakistani leader Pervez] Musharraf for not doing enough to stop extremists in his country?” Owens said in response to reporters’ questions regarding how he was feeling. “And now NASA says the shuttle came back from its last mission with damage to the protective foam? And I got to watch that news on a Samsung HP-S5053 that makes everything look all oversaturated. Is anyone out there besides me doing their damn job?” Bledsoe, the Cowboys’ linemen, NASA, and the Samsung corporation have not commented on Owens’ remarks, though Karzai took time yesterday to call Owens a “pass-dropping bitch asshole” on the floor of the United Nations.

You gotta love conservatives like over at NRO’s The Corner. Their side supports this stunning waste of life in Iraq by celebrating valor. If anyone in Washington had the guts to standup to the president four years ago, Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor wouldn’t have had to jump on a grenade — and conservatives wouldn’t be able to celebrate the destruction they’ve brought to thousands of Americans and, oh yeah, a few hundred thousand Iraqis.

Finally a school where all the busses are short.