Quote of the Day, Double Dish Edition

A Quote of the Day Two-Fer:

None of the leading Democrats really believes that our civil rights are being trampled on; including president Obama, who has still achieved nothing substantive whatsoever for gay Americans.

Oh, I forgot the cocktail party. Always great to throw a cocktail party for the gays. That's what they really want, isn't it? Just give them some cocktails, ask for more money and they'll forget about their civil rights.

Andrew Sullivan, 7/27/09

If you're a Republican, a lot of things are logical: the entire debt began the moment Obama took office; Bush and Cheney never tortured anyone, but Obama is about to; the WMDs really are in Iraq; the president has the constitutional power to send tanks into the streets to arrest any American without charges; deficits don't matter; Obama is a Kenyan Muslim impostor; and Sarah Palin was qualified to be president of the United States at a moment's notice.

Andrew Sullivan, 7/28/09

There are more than a couple issues I disagree with Sullivan on, but I think he, Greenwald, and Maddow are really sticking it to both parties, and rightfully so.

And I didn't realize until I typed the three names, but is it just a coincidence that three of the most thoughtful critics of Obama are openly gay journalists? (Also worth noting, the most forgiving of the three is the self-proclaimed conservative, Sullivan.) I think this probably has a lot to do with their open support of Obama's platform, and--like many of us less Left-inclined--their profound disappointment with the lack of "Change" on so many important, non-DNC issues. The rest of the Left refuses to come to terms with this, and that is to the detriment of all of us.

Torturous Reading

So, I've been reading stuff on torture all over the place--as most wonks anywhere near my line of work have this week. I'll get into my take at another time, but I wanted to share this with you, from the dissenting view inside the Bush Administration. Read the whole thing, but this is the chilling conclusion:

In other words, Americans in any town of this country could constitutionally be hung from the ceiling naked, sleep deprived, water-boarded, and all the rest -- if the alleged national security justification was compelling. I did not believe our federal courts could reasonably be expected to agree with such a reading of the Constitution.

Seriously, you need to read the whole thing if you want to get an idea of how messed-up the thinking was over there.

Schumer Chokes...But For Good Reason

God forbid I ever agree with Chuck Schumer on anything, but I have to back him on his confirmation of Judge Mukasey. Money quote:

Should we reject Judge Mukasey, President Bush has said he would install an acting, caretaker attorney general who could serve for the rest of his term without the advice and consent of the Senate.

We all thought it couldn't get worse than Ashcroft, and we were WRONG. Seriously, how bad do you have to be to make John Ashcroft appear to be a brave defender of the Constitution? Gonzales proved the adage that the devil you know is better than the one you don't.

The Dems were in a bad spot here. Either confirm someone imperfect but qualified or get force-fed another Bush lackey. I'll (reluctantly) take Mukasey.

Over at the Kos, of course, they want their cake and eat it too.

Day-after Update: Kos, STILL whining.

If War, Then No Constitution

In yet another hint that our president didn't pay attention in Civics class -- he apparently has never heard of the "lame duck":

“In a time of war, it is vital for the president to have a full national security team in place, and a key member of that team is the attorney general,” [the president] said. “Yet the Senate Judiciary Committee has been holding up his nomination.”

Yes. This is what the Decider-in-Chief said to try and coax the Judiciary Committee to move on his AG nominee, Judge Mukasey. I'll translate into language he'd have written instead of a speech writer:

"Torture is bad, 'see. But terrorists are bad. heh heh. So, when fighting bad, gotta use bad. Let 'im through. Don't let that pesky Constitution get in the way."

No, W, we need an AG that will stand-up to your foreign policy and legal teams -- somebody has to.

FEMA Holds Press Conference

I spent the weekend actually doing things -- fun things, even -- instead of sitting at my computer or watching television. (I was avoiding any and all things Red Sox) Consequently, I totally missed this parade of idiocy:

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House scolded the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Friday for staging a phony news conference about assistance to victims of wildfires in southern California.

The agency — much maligned for its sluggish response to Hurricane Katrina over two years ago — arranged to have FEMA employees play the part of independent reporters Tuesday and ask questions of Vice Adm. Harvey E. Johnson, the agency’s deputy director.
The questions were predictably soft and gratuitous.
“I’m very happy with FEMA’s response,” Johnson said in reply to one query from an agency employee.

Not surprisingly, somebody got canned:

An official who faked a Federal Emergency Management Agency news conference into the handling of the California wildfires has been dropped from a job as a media chief, according to reports.

John P. "Pat" Philbin, formerly the public affairs director for FEMA, was involved in organising a briefing with journalists at short notice last Tuesday.

In and of itself, the firing shouldn't be that big of a surprise. But there's more...

''We do not normally comment on personnel matters,'' [Director of National Intelligence] spokesman Ross Feinstein said Monday. ''However, we can confirm that Mr. [NOT REGIS] Philbin is not, nor is he scheduled to be, the director of public affairs for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.''

Yes, that's right. This guy was slated to be the mouthpiece for the Director of National Intelligence. This administration has sunk so low that it is incompetently evil.