You have to hand it to the Bushies ...

... no matter how many times you think that "they can't top this!" -- they do:

http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/special/s0807/final.pdf

The link is to the official DOJ report about how the Bush administration broke the law by using nakedly partisan considerations to fill career lawyer positions in DOJ. In one case a top anti-terror prosecutor didn't get hired because his wife was a Democrat.

Oh yeah, and Goodling asked some candidates "what is it about George W. Bush that makes you want to serve him?" (Page 18) Gee, I thought career DOJ lawyers were serving the people of the United States.

Eerily similar to the hapless GOP flunky some months back who told Sen. Leahy about her oath to the president, provoking an impromptu civics lesson from the senator to the clueless lackey that her oath was to the Constitution!

National Geographic on Iran

This month's National Geographic has an informative piece on Iran, including an handy detailed map of the country that will undoubtedly prove useful if there's a war.

While studiously non-political, the article does manage to bring up some interesting points. One thing that I think that most of those that are pushing for war and demonizing the Iranians ignore is the bad feeling that Iranians still feel over the coup that brought the Shah to power. Certainly this kind of thing ought to be thought about before glibly advocating a strike. Now what kind of self-respecting country is not going to be enraged by such an act? Remember Pearl Harbor?

The Iranians are proud heirs to an ancient civilization, so we know they are self-respecting. It's really insane to even think about starting a war that we know we can't finish.

McCain vs. Obama contrasting images of July 24, 2008

So, while Barack Obama is talking to hundreds of thousands in Berlin ...

John McCain is on the TV talking to a reporter in front of some German restaurant in Ohio ?(nearly being drwoned out by windchimes)

Really odd juxtaposition.

This is the kind of shit that makes me despise the current GOP

Video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lyaMrS0hzk

The bottom line is that McCain operatives had the police eject a 61-year-old woman (a librarian) from public property outside a McCain event that was supposedly open to the public for holding a sign that read "McCain = Bush."

As the lady points out in the video, why would Republicans think this is offensive? Don't they think Bush was great?!!! It's not like she was even holding an antiwar sign or something.

This suppression of legitimate, mild dissent is disgusting, unAmerican and reinforces why the GOP simply has to be bounced out. Until these blockheads remember they are Americans they don't deserve positions of power.

Brits say we're liars

From Balkinization we learn that a parliamentary report suggests that the British government ought not to put much stock in American denials of engaging in torture considering that it doesn't tell the truth about what it does and when it does tell the truth it defines that truth absurdly.

http://balkin.blogspot.com/2008/07/uk-parliament-report-us-tortures-and.html

The war hits close to home for George Will

makes your heart stop: http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/will070608.php3

The doldrums of summer have hit

But yet we still have news.

Obama's heading to Europe where he seems likely to face swooning schoolgirls and presidents.

McCain's back home, trying hard to make some news that's actually favorable.

Former AG Ashcroft further solidifies his growing reputation as the sane one, who actually believed in following the rule of law -- who'd have thunk?

Bobb Barr makes progress in his crusade to punish the GOP for forgetting all its principles by giving conservatives who just can't bear the thought of voting for a Liberal but despise the current GOP a place to park their votes for now. It seems to me likely that Barr will siphon off enough votes to make a difference.