a good observation on how poopyheads work
DesMoinesRegister.com | Opinion: "'It's like the domestic-violence process. If the dependency switch has been turned on, the will is overborne by coercive forces.'"

got the feelin that we're not getting a clear picture of the big story?
DesMoinesRegister.com | Opinion: "The trucks moved toward the border, passing signs that ordered them to not throw food or water to begging children. After crossing the border into Iraq, the trucks passed roadside concrete picnic tables and children, standing barefoot in the blowing sandstorm on the scalding pavement smiling and waving. Then guardsmen saw the children making scooping motions toward their mouths.
Tossing food, though, 'would just bring more kids out and it's very dangerous for everybody when that happens,' said Moore.
The roadside picnic tables are nice. The people just don't have anything to eat"

this is kinda strange. with cheney 'reiterating' the pre-emptive strikes, while wolfy 'reiterates' using murky intel, and topping off the circus is the monkey himself with that "incoherent" news conference yesterday. what a joke. this cabal has gone collectively insane.
U.S. secretly negotiating with Iran

July 31 — The Bush administration is engaged in a secret dialogue with Iran to try to persuade Iran to hand over top al-Qaida operatives, U.S. officials told NBC News.

THE THREE OPERATIVES are among the most wanted members of al-Qaida:

Abu Mussab al Zarqawi, an alleged poison expert who got medical treatment in Iraq.

Sa’ad Bin Laden, Osama bin Laden’s third-oldest son who is believed to be planning new al-Qaida operations.

Suleiman Abu Ghaith, the al-Qaida spokesman famous for introducing bin Laden in a widely seen videotape after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

Many U.S. officials believe that Iran is willing to turn them and other key al-Qaida operatives over to the United States or their home countries for a price: in exchange for members of an Iranian opposition group called the Mujahadeen al-Khalq, or MEK.

The MEK has been attacking Iran’s Islamic government from Iraq and is now in Iraq under U.S. military control.

just when you thought it couldnt get any more greedy...
US Dept of State - wf-latest: "President Bush has formally renewed the U.S. sanctions against Iraq, citing continued instability in the country, as well as the need to 'ensure the establishment of a process leading to representative Iraqi self-rule.'
To extend the sanctions, the president certified to Congress that Iraq continues to pose a threat to the United States. Former President George Bush first imposed sanctions on Iraq on August 2, 1990."

i just sent paul begala a fireback, and didn't copy that gem. gonna try and type it if they show it at the end of crossfire. about the only cnn program i make it a point to see.
on edit: i think i know what happened. crossfire@cnn is the address they banner. i sent mail via the web to paul specifically. ohwell.

if this isn't the most insane bushism yet, i dont know what is.
Air marshals pulled from key flightsDespite renewed warnings about possible airline hijackings, the Transportation Security Administration has alerted federal air marshals that as of Friday they will no longer be covering cross-country or international flights, MSNBC.com has learned. The decision to drop coverage on flights that many experts consider to be at the highest risk of attack apparently stems from a policy decision to rework schedules so that air marshals don’t have to incur the expense of staying overnight in hotels.

msnbc is reporting (on tv) that al-Q is planning another terrorist attack, again using jets. this supposedly is coming from the washington post, which doesn't have anything on the web yet. but one thing that really bothers me: the terror alert level isn't changing. please, dear God, let our defenses and intel agencies have the ability to stop this before it happens.

more from slate:

The LAT plays that angle up, while the NYT emphasizes that U.S. special ops teams looking for Saddam in Baghdad shoot up two cars of civilians yesterday, killing five Iraqis. USAT says that the cars "drove through a roadblock." The LAT says the soldiers fired after they "apparently [became] unnerved" after spotting cars speeding by in a nearby street. The conflicting accounts might stem from the fact that the military has refused to comment, saying that the operation is on-going. The NYT also mentions that troops in Karbala trying to keep an unruly crowd under control, fired into the gathering and killed a cafeteria worker.

Slate's Today's Papers

The piece also includes this suspect contention: "The continuing casualties—such as the four soldiers killed Saturday—are the direct result of the intensified U.S. offensive, the military officials added." Most of the casualties haven't come during raids. They've resulted from ambushes on exposed GIs. How exactly are those "the direct result" of intensified U.S. raids?

in that same article, another prediction on how long it'll be. 2 weeks. that should put it at AUGUST 10.
U.S. Adopts Aggressive Tactics on Iraqi Fighters (washingtonpost.com): "Hogg, whose troops are still engaged in combat every day, agreed. 'I think we're fixing to turn the corner,' he said Thursday. 'I think the operations over the next couple of weeks will get us there.'"

wait a minute here. whats up with the WP today, in their 'assessment'? they claim that the damage was due to 70-ton M1 abrams tanks, then mentions the schools, clinics, water treatment plants and police stations that got the funds for repair. why are we destroying these things in the first place?
U.S. Adopts Aggressive Tactics on Iraqi Fighters (washingtonpost.com): "After the fighting is over, U.S. military officials say, it becomes important to repair the damage -- a door smashed, a wall breached, an irrigation culvert flattened by a 70-ton M1 Abrams tank. Every U.S. brigade commander in Iraq has a 'Commander's Emergency Repair Fund' of $200,000 that is replenished as he spends it. Over the past six weeks of the U.S. offensive, commanders across Iraq dispensed $13 million to rebuild schools, clinics, water treatment plans and police stations, said Army Col. David MacEwen, who helps coordinate the civic works. "

more cartoon material: a young boy standing in front of his mother, whining about the neighbor kids saying nasty things about him. the mother calls the police and they come only to find out that the kid was lying (no neighbor kids around), so when they scold the young boy, he points to mommy and says to the cops: "well, SHE's the one who called you." actually, the neighborhood boys are in the distant background with t-shirts saying economy, terrorism, healthcare.

another letter writer from west des moines. you can usually tell the author is from west des moines even before ya get to the 2nd paragraph. bigot central has setup headquarters in their townsquare mall. but notice, this guy, if that is indeed what he likes to see himself as, forgets to mention that the COSTS of those services is what makes him stagger, not free-wheeling doling out of state's money.
DesMoinesRegister.com | Opinion: "Iowa continues to spend more and more on goods and services for fewer and fewer people, and that is'staggering.'
Robert F. Anderson,
West Des Moines. "

i wish i was a cartoonist. i'd draw a picture of the shrub in a deep deep hole, asking for a bigger shovel. while everybody around him is pointing fingers asking, did you take his shovel? then the big pile of dirt piled up behind them with the letters I R A Q. and then some nasty looking clouds overhead with lightning bolts with the names of dem presidential candidates. oh yah, they all gotta be standing in water. :)

so andrea mitchell is on imus right now, saying that wolfowitz' comments on meet the press yesterday should garner some heat. where wolfowitz tried to slip in the saddam-kobel towers & cole attacks. unbelievable that he said that, and my jaw did drop. especially when timmy came back with the question, are you saying that saddam is tied to those attacks? wolfie being the 'oh no, no' whine, then covering up with some crapola about how we wouldnt even be there for those attacks to have happened had it not been for saddam. i swear, it just gets more laughable every fuckn day. laughable at the stupidity of these white men in power. certainly not laughable at the mess they've made.