Having Condi for Lunch

Condi took a trip up the Hill on Thursday to testify in front of Representative Waxman's Oversight committee about the State Departments massive failures mismanaging Iraq and concealing relevant information from Congress.

Like the fictional five-year-old Alexander, she had a terrible, horrible, no-good, very-bad day.

She was visibly frustrated and on the defensive as she was questioned about the lack of control over the mercenary forces under contract to the State Department, as well as corruption at the highest levels of the Iraqi government. They also grilled her extensively about the myriad problems with the still-unfinished embassy project.

She became visibly frustrated at several points, including one intense exchange with Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT) about allegations of corruption that have been leveled against Nuri Kemal al-Maliki, the U.S. Puppet Prime Minister, who kaiboshed corruption investigations in April, when he decreed that all cabinet-level corruption investigations would only proceed with his approval. Critics say this amounts to blanket immunity for al-Maliki and his ministers.)

The most surreal moment of the whole spectacle had to be when Rice, pressed repeatedly to say whether she thought al-Maliki was covering up fraud and abuse, said she would not respond to rumors.

"To assault the prime minister of Iraq or anyone else in Iraq with here-to-date unsubstantiated allegations or lack of corroboration, in a setting that would simply fuel those allegations, I think, would be deeply damaging."

What a difference five years make, I guess.

In the run-up to the invasion, she had no qualms peddling "unsubstantiated allegations" to pave the way to invade the country and overthrow the government and unleash chaos. I'm not sure just how much more deeply the bitch could damage that country.

After it was over, Waxman was blunt in his assessment of her testimony. "I think there was a huge gap between what she said and reality."

Bill O: If there is one thing he can't tolerate, it's tolerance

Back in August, Bill-O was exasperated, and declaring that we should all just chill out and give the "gay stuff" a rest.

That was then.

Before Dumbledore was outed.

Now he is absolutely foaming-at-the-mouth obsessed with the issue.

But the most sickening, revolting part of it all is just exactly what has him all atwitter...he is afraid that kids might grow up to be...tolerant!

Good god, what a nightmare that would be! Imagine what a terrible, terrible place the world would be if everyone were to become tolerant!

I mean, it sounds pretty damned idyllic to me, but then, I'm an unrepentant and unapologetic Liberal. It probably wouldn't look so good if I was considering it from the vantage point of a foam-flecked fuckwit.

But from the vantage point of a person who has people near and dear to her who happen to be gay, I think it's freakin' awesome.

To this very day, I can not for the life of me understand how it would threaten my marriage if my Uncle Bill could just make an honest woman of my Aunt Richard. I mean, they have been together for literally as long as I can remember - and I have a granddaughter. In all this time, I have never seen one of them treat the other with anything but respect and unconditional love. Kinda like they have both always shown me. I had open minded parents who had no problem with me spending a few weeks with them every summer, and soaking up the love of two wonderful people who were denied parenthood.

If the Dumbledore "outing " makes an impact by decreasing hate and fear, then alls the better I say. So let's have a round of Butterbeers and toast tolerance.

Rudy Rushes to Embrace Moral Relativism

For my entire political life, I have heard the reich wing rant on endlessly about the evils of moral relativism. In fact, they have been downright Deontological (.pdf alert) about their rejection of not just moral relativism, but utilitarianism (.pdf alert) as well.

So how are they going to take this equivocating on waterboarding from Rudy?

DAVENPORT, Iowa — At a town hall meeting here last night, Rudolph W. Giuliani expanded upon his views of torture. Here is a transcript of the exchange.

Linda Gustitus, who is the president of a group called the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, began her question by saying that President Bush’s nominee for attorney general, Michael B. Mukasey (who happens to be an old friend of Mr. Giuliani’s) had “fudged” on the question of whether waterboarding is toture.

“I wanted to ask you two questions,’’ she said. “One, do you think waterboarding is torture? And two, do you think the president can order something like waterboarding even though it’s against U.S. and international law?’’

Mr. Giuliani responded: “Okay. First of all, I don’t believe the attorney general designate in any way was unclear on torture. I think Democrats said that; I don’t think he was.’’

Ms. Gustitus said: “He said he didn’t know if waterboarding is torture.”

Mr. Giuliani said: “Well, I’m not sure it is either. I’m not sure it is either. It depends on how it’s done. It depends on the circumstances. It depends on who does it. I think the way it’s been defined in the media, it shouldn’t be done. The way in which they have described it, particularly in the liberal media. So I would say, if that’s the description of it, then I can agree, that it shouldn’t be done. But I have to see what the real description of it is. Because I’ve learned something being in public life as long as I have. And I hate to shock anybody with this, but the newspapers don’t always describe it accurately.” (emphasis mine)

So - when the KGB or the Khmer Rouge waterboarded their victims, it was wrong, because they aren't good guys. When the CIA does it, it's hunky-dory because they are wearing white hats? What the fuck?

Methinks the threatened split from the Republican Party by the religious right if Julie-Annie is the nominee just acquired a lot more gravitas, if they are serious about their moral high ground and not just another bunch of scurrilous hypocrites whose real agenda has nothing to do with morality and everything to do with a quest for enough political power to force their version of morality on society as a whole...using waterboarding to force conversions if necessary.

If the latter is the case, the slide toward fascism will be called safe at home.

Oh well...you know what the Python boys used to say...

"No one ever expects the Spanish Inquisition!"

The State Department needs an "Office of Lessons Learned"

Determined as they are to make the worst possible choices, under the leadership of the most incompetent and inept Secretary of State in the history of the Republic, First Kuwaiti has been awarded additional contracts for construction of embassy and consulate facilities.

Apparently your mother was wrong and crime does pay.

The company that used counterfeit, sub-standard building materials, assembled by abducted third-world workers who are essentially slave labor, has benefited further.

Late last month, First Kuwaiti General Trading & Contracting Co. was part of a team that won a $122 million State Department contract to build a U.S. consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, according to contract documents.

That's one of at least three State Department jobs, in addition to the Baghdad project, that First Kuwaiti won in association with a U.S. firm, Grunley Walsh LLC of Rockville, Md.

Since 2006, by operating as a subcontractor to Grunley Walsh, First Kuwaiti has won contracts for work on a new U.S. Embassy in Libreville, Gabon; on a consulate in Surabaya, Indonesia; and on the Jeddah project.

Such partnerships are increasingly common as foreign companies try to win shares of embassy construction contracts that are worth hundreds of millions of dollars each year under the State Department's aggressive building program. Under a 1986 law, only U.S. firms can bid on embassy construction.

But industry analysts said that First Kuwaiti appears to be the financial muscle behind the partnership with Grunley Walsh. Lebanese businessman Wadih al Absi founded the company in 1996. News reports and Middle East experts say that Absi is a supporter of Lebanese Christian politician Michel Aoun, an ally of Syria and the Iranian-backed Islamic militant group Hezbollah. [emphasis added]

Henry Waxman is already investigating the Inspector General for State, who has facilitated malfeasance at the highest level. Maybe he needs to be looking into the OBO division of State, too.