Liars

Bush administration lies to 9/11 Commission, says it's turned over all “documents,” “reports” and “information” related to the interrogation of al-Qaeda members while withholding videotapes:

Mr. Kean, a Republican and a former governor of New Jersey, said of the agency’s decision not to disclose the existence of the videotapes, “I don’t know whether that’s illegal or not, but it’s certainly wrong.” Mr. Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana, said that the C.I.A. “clearly obstructed” the commission’s investigation.

But look, people, get real: Al Gore said something that, if deliberately misconstrued, could be understood as claiming that he invented the internet. Think about it.

Comments

But, man, Bush is just somebody a guy can have a beer with, you know what I'm sayin'?

Posted by Media Glutton | December 22, 2007 10:58 AM

The real question here is whether the torture is continuing. Everything else can and must wait until Bush and his gang are out of office.

Bush can give himself a pardon, but only for crimes against the US. These crimes have been committed in too many jurisdictions.

Put a memorial commemorating the victims of torture outside his Presidential library. Instead of merely repealling the Bush tax cuts, impose them as a special war tax on the rich and call it the Bush Iraq tax.

Buy the Enron E logo back and stick it in the lobby of Congress as a permanent reminder of the Abramoff era of Republican corruption.

Posted by PHB | December 22, 2007 11:04 AM

And fortunately for your argument the CIA=the Bush Administration, right, Matt?

Posted by Pat Curley | December 22, 2007 11:10 AM

Pat, the statement in question came from John E. McLaughlin, who was Deputy Director of Central Intelligence, which is a position held by appointment from the President. And he was appointed less than two weeks later by the President to be Acting Director of Central Intelligence. So let's just stop pretending the lie in question came from an independent bureaucrat without a political bone to pick.

Posted by jhupp | December 22, 2007 11:38 AM

time to lay off the pot, matt.

the al-gore-invented-the-internet trope is an utter non-sequitur. while perhaps it may have a profound [albeit elusive] relevance in the substance-clogged synapses of your own brain, in any other context, however, it makes naught but prime gobbledygook.

get a grip, dude. you're close to losing it.

Posted by teknozen | December 22, 2007 11:48 AM

Matt,

You are completely unhinged -- you committed the cardinal sin in the beltway MSM: the administration lied and you actually called them "liars" for it. You must be an angry liberal now. When the Bush administration lies or breaks the law, you are only supposed to say, "Some Democrats say the Bush administration is playing fast and loose with the truth. Some Republicans see it differently." You should talk to Joe Klein. He can explain it to you.

Posted by jim | December 22, 2007 11:58 AM

teknozen: you're right, it is a non-sequiteur. but it's an understandable sentiment given the stark contrast between the degree of odiousness of the Bush administration in contrast to the insipid, juvenile, frat-boy rhetoric that was employed against Gore during the 2000 election.

As an aside, it would be nice of MY's fellow blogger, Andrew Sullivan, to STFU with his anti-Gore snark. You'd think that given the events of the last 8 years and his many mea culpa's for supporting Bush, Sully might reconsider his reflexive need to mock Gore every time he comes up. (manbearpig anyone?)

Posted by ramster | December 22, 2007 12:17 PM

It's not 'lying', it's serving a higher truth -- to wit, the Revolution.

The truth-value of a statement is a measure of the extent to which the statement serves the Party, especially its leading role as vanguard of the Revolution.

The old, bourgeois notion of truth as 'comporting with observable reality', is rightly rejected by all correctly oriented cadres.

Posted by Davis X. Machina | December 22, 2007 12:57 PM

The whole have-a-beer-with-Bush meme was so symbolic - not just because its stupidity, but also because Bush did not drink - so it was moot.

Chris Matthews used to lie day after day about Gore in 2000 - Plus others in the so called liberal media did too.

Why? It was a real sociological phenom - Lots of narcissism of small differences, plus Clinton fatigue. Gore made Matthews feel insecure (he's admitted that in a roundabout way), but that does not explain all.

Posted by Comment | December 22, 2007 1:11 PM

Ramster, you're assuming Sullivan is capable of shame. He'll admit he was wrong about lots of things, but say it was only because people like Gore were "Too obnoxious and insufferable to be taken seriously." That way, he can act like he's learned from the disasters of the past few years, without actually admitting the people he spent so much time mocking were right.

Posted by mad6798j | December 22, 2007 2:59 PM

while perhaps it may have a profound [albeit elusive] relevance in the substance-clogged synapses of your own brain, in any other context, however, it makes naught but prime gobbledygook.

I'm sorry, you are too stupid to use the internet. Please stop, for your own good.

Posted by Tyro | December 22, 2007 5:08 PM

PHB - Put a memorial commemorating the victims of torture outside his Presidential library.

Why?

Wouldn't it be more important for enemy lovers like you to put the memorial for sweating Kahlid Sheikh Mohammed and his two friends at the places of their greatest impact?
Meaning Arlington Cemetery and the World Trade Center Pit?

PHB - The real question here is whether the torture is continuing.

NO real question. AQ terrorists from foreign lands caught in Iraq trying to murder Iraqi civilians, foreign civilians and Americans have been sent back in many cases to French DST, Moroccan, Libyan and Egyptian secret police. To Algerian military intel interrogators and to their own KGB and Saudi counterterror agents. I have no doubt most of them would give their left nut to be at GITMO instead.

PHB - Bush can give himself a pardon, but only for crimes against the US. These crimes have been committed in too many jurisdictions.

Lots of luck prosecuting or kidnapping former US leaders, military officers, and diplomats overseas. One of the few things that got soldiers roused up about Clinton was a Belgian lawyer saying Beligium law justified seizing him in Brussels for "war crimes" and he was issuing warrants for the arrest and jailing of Clinton, Kissinger, Bush I, Madelyn Albright.
The thinking was that we would be justified in invading, crippling the whole Belgium navy and AF, and then killing a pile of human rights lawyers and Belgium prosecutors until they coughed up the Prez.
At the time when the Belgian issued his threats based on new Belgian law saying Belgians had global arrest powers - Americans did tell them words to that effect. The Belgians 1st reaction was that we must be joking! We weren't. (Germany holds the present record for conquering Belgium - 18 days.)

Posted by Chris Ford | December 22, 2007 5:48 PM

The thinking was that we would be justified in invading, crippling the whole Belgium navy and AF

That's a strange use of "thinking," but then I considered the source and it all became clear.

Posted by calling all toasters | December 22, 2007 8:30 PM

(Germany holds the present record for conquering Belgium - 18 days.)

Yep, and look at how it turned out for them! Clearly we should follow the German example.

Really, if you're getting a hard-on imagining an invasion of Belgium there isn't much hope for you.

Posted by Matt Stevens | December 22, 2007 11:53 PM

enemy lovers like you

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

Posted by Kevin | December 23, 2007 1:39 AM

Chris Ford is one demented dude.

Posted by merlallen | December 23, 2007 3:44 AM