Bush could bypass new torture ban [From the here-we-go-again department. ] When President Bush last week signed the bill outlawing the torture of detainees, he quietly reserved the right to bypass the law under his powers as commander in chief.
posted by Postroad on Jan 4, 2006 - 87 comments

Bush teleconference with troops staged. Nothing in the article says who is responsible for organizing the staged question and answer session, The White House, military officials, or others in the defense department. Just that it infact was staged, and that the troops were coached for 45 minutes prior to the actual teleconference. When Bush, in an unscripted move, asked an officer if he had anything to say, he stammered through a sentence, in stark contrast to the well put together responses to all the other questions, thanking the President and saying, "I like you." More PR from the Bush administration.
posted by SirOmega on Oct 13, 2005 - 173 comments

Request for guidance regarding the OGC's EC regarding detainee abuse, referring to “interrogation techniques made lawful” by the “President's Executive Order.” comes from Records Released in Response to Torture FOIA Request.
Smoking Gun ? asks the ACLU--or just another stepping stone from Torture's Path ? As Ex-Military Lawyers Object to Bush Cabinet Nominee, and in Torture begins at the top, Joe Conason suggests that a recently disclosed FBI memo indicates that "marching orders" to abandon traditional interrogation methods came from Defense Secretary Rumsfeld himself and all the while Guantánamo torture and humiliation still going on, says shackled Briton. (more inside)
posted by y2karl on Dec 20, 2004 - 35 comments

American Savagery. "Our role was to try to keep people motivated about [the] election and then to undermine the other side's support by casting them as liars, cheaters, stealers, immoral—all of that." The brutal chicanery of Karl Rove.
posted by four panels on Oct 18, 2004 - 25 comments

U.S. refuses to join U.N. plan for women From AP via Yahoo: UNITED NATIONS - The United States has refused to join 85 other heads of state and government in signing a statement that endorsed a 10-year-old U.N. plan to ensure every woman's right to education, health care, and choice about having children.
and
President Bush's administration withheld its signature because the statement included a reference to "sexual rights."
posted by Skygazer on Oct 14, 2004 - 48 comments

World wants Bush out. "Only one in five want to see Bush re-elected," "Senator Kerry was particularly favoured in traditionally strong US allies." Should America take into consideration the international support of their presidential hopefuls, or can they really go it alone in today's global community?
posted by krisjohn on Sep 8, 2004 - 32 comments

So, does posting unreported news on mefi decrease the likelihood the corporate media will pick it up? Let's find out. Greg Palast is at it again, but is anybody listening? Former Texas Lt. Governor admits pulling strings to get Dubya into National Guard and then keeping quiet for big-time money.

... now all we need is a "control group" story. Any ideas? Email me.
posted by joe_murphy on Sep 6, 2004 - 25 comments

Bush's National Guard File Missing Records Documents that should have been written to explain gaps in President Bush (news - web sites)'s Texas Air National Guard service are missing from the military records released about his service in 1972 and 1973, according to regulations and outside experts. For example, Air National Guard regulations at the time required commanders to write an investigative report for the Air Force when Bush missed his annual medical exam in 1972. The regulations also required commanders to confirm in writing that Bush received counseling after missing five months of drills. No such records have been made public...
posted by Postroad on Sep 5, 2004 - 17 comments

For the love of Crusade. A short animation that may not be played at the 2004 Republican Convention.
posted by the fire you left me on Aug 27, 2004 - 19 comments

Pat Buchanan has realsed a new book called "Where the Right went Wrong" just in time for the Republican National Convention. The politics of war in the U.S. must make strange bedfellows if Pat Buchanan, Lou Rockwell and more recently Rep. Doug Bereuter of Nebraska can have anything in common with Moveon.org and Common Dreams. What does it mean for such a notable Republican to publish an anti-war book and be this critical of President Bush? Will moderate Republicans stay at home, vote third party or even switch to John Kerry? A growing trend or blip on the radar? [More inside]
posted by Bag Man on Aug 22, 2004 - 22 comments

Mail Room Veterans for Bush
Not exactly your Swift Boat Veterans, but staunch defenders of all things holy and honorable and patriotic just the same. Submitted for your Friday fun.
posted by nofundy on Aug 6, 2004 - 1 comment

W.’s Double Binds - Rich Lowry.
posted by hama7 on Jul 20, 2004 - 85 comments

"At some time in the past, according to both [redacted] and [redacted] the President suffered what one of his aides called "a very minor seizure" and as a result of this, the President has a very difficult time following any unscripted conversations."

Note: this link comes from a rather conspiratorial website [another source], but claims to be a report from a reporter with White House access. [/caveat] Via Easybakecoven.
posted by moonbird on Apr 28, 2004 - 28 comments

Bush Was Warned of Possible Attack in U.S., Official Says "President Bush was told more than a month before the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that supporters of Osama bin Laden planned an attack within the United States with explosives and wanted to hijack airplanes, a government official said Friday. The warning came in a secret briefing that Mr. Bush received at his ranch in Crawford, Tex., on Aug. 6, 2001. A report by a joint Congressional committee last year alluded to a "closely held intelligence report" that month about the threat of an attack by Al Qaeda, and the official confirmed an account by The Associated Press on Friday saying that the report was in fact part of the president's briefing in Crawford." Then again, he had more important things to deal with that Summer.
posted by owillis on Apr 10, 2004 - 62 comments

Charges of racism have been leveled against this president in the past. But this stunt even surprised me. Then I remembered a similar scene on the Capital steps. There hasn't been much media about it, so I'm wondering...is this a regional racism, such that it slid under the radar of the east and west coast news machines, or has the myth of rubbing the head of a black man for luck thankfully faded from the cultural unconscious?
posted by dejah420 on Mar 10, 2004 - 65 comments

The U. S. Secret Service is going to extraordinary lengths to ensure the safety of George W. Bush's visit to London - including some not insignificant structural changes to the Palace (which have not as of yet been approved). The article claims that "There will be more armed men on the streets of London this week than at any time since the end of the Second World War." British security officials further describe operations as has having been "hijacked by the US secret service."

Everyone knows there's a possibility of violence against the president, especially in light of recent events. A measure of security is thus justified. However, are economic concerns being considered? Now, I have the utmost respect for the president's life - as much as I do for just about anybody. I hate the callousness of associating any sort of price on human life. But when security measures require 5,000 police officers and £4,000,000 (that's merely the cost footed by UK taxpayers, mind you), have we not yet reached the point where that money would have been better spent? -especially when the U. S. executive branch has a very robust official policy of succession in place. It's not like the government will suddenly evaporate if the president were to be killed.
posted by SilentSalamander on Nov 16, 2003 - 115 comments

"Now we know that no other President of the United States has ever lied so baldly and so often and so demonstrably... The presumption now has to be that he's lying any time that he's saying anything." So says Ray McGovern, who worked as a CIA analyst for 27 years. Now, who still believes the P(L)OTUS?
posted by acrobat on Nov 10, 2003 - 50 comments

Last night I saw Brent Mendenhall on an Asian-language television channel, doing a sometimes-uncanny George W. Bush impersonation. Being able to understand his mock-Texan ramblings but not the host interviewing him was a surreal experience. Upon cursory investigation, I was shocked to find that some suspect Dubya of using a look-alike for particularly dangerous speaking engagements, and that others are available for hire. Saddam, too!
posted by scarabic on Oct 3, 2003 - 3 comments

Is Lying About The Reason For War An Impeachable Offense?
posted by thedailygrowl on Jun 7, 2003 - 49 comments

Paul Krugman writes that the Bush administration will fight a "khaki election" next year, taking advantage of the general good feeling after the Iraq war. The original khaki election was the British election of 1900, contested during the Boer War. Our armed forces don't really wear khaki so much anymore and I think we need a new term. I suggest calling 2004 the "Camo Election." Any better suggestions?
posted by Mekon on Jun 3, 2003 - 26 comments

Howard Dean writes about the Bush doctrine (and more) for Common Dreams.

"I am what is commonly referred to as a social liberal and a fiscal conservative."

In other words, he's not only about the war, it's the economy stupid.
posted by CrazyJub on Apr 19, 2003 - 17 comments

Don't like Bush? Send him a pretzel! A French website is urging people unhappy with the Bush Administration to buy a pretzel ("bretzel" in French), which will then be sent to the White House. Part of the pretzel's cost also goes to charity.
posted by Vidiot on Mar 17, 2003 - 30 comments

Fast for George W. Bush. "If you are willing to fast at least one day a month primarily for George W. Bush's holiness (and other areas, such as bipartisan work among the Democrats and Republicans, Wisdom in his work, wisdom for his cabinet, healing for our nation, etc. ... but primarily holiness) then we encourage you to sign up and join us [...] Our goal is to have 1,000 people fasting for the President each day. That will greatly encourage him and keep him accountable when the Evil One seeks to sidetrack him from his commitment to the Lord. "
posted by XQUZYPHYR on Feb 24, 2003 - 92 comments

Smokehammer Video Update Wonderful video clip and mp3 put together by some Warp Records video artists. George Dubya's "warped" rendition of the State of the Union is excellent. "Our first goal is to show utter contempt for the environment... For the first time we must offer every child in America 3 nuclear missles."
posted by meanie on Feb 15, 2003 - 5 comments

Bush is soft on tobacco Just say No! Unless you are in cahoots with Big Tobacco. On issues such as this, I do not hold Bush or his party solely guilty but instead view it as The American Way--lobby groups, gifts, elections handouts--all of which blur party lines.
posted by Postroad on Nov 27, 2002 - 15 comments

Screw G.I. Joe Mommy! I want to play with a George Bush Jr. action figure! Take that, pansy! You have to see the rest of these...
posted by Pinwheel on Apr 19, 2002 - 13 comments

The Battle Over Bush's Gov. Papers. What are they hiding? Executive order blocking Presidential papers, refusing to turn over Energy Taskforce member list, and now this! There must be something to hide. But what?!?!?
posted by bas67 on Feb 11, 2002 - 10 comments

Presidential Makeover? Instant freelance political cartoons. Kind of like those games where you use a magnet to rearrange metal shavings into a guy's funny beard, only it's the Commander-in-Chief. (requires Flash)
posted by samuelad on Feb 8, 2002 - 1 comment

From many voices, onevapproach via NY Times (reg req'd). Facts now coming out indcate that there are many cells, worldwide, that have been set in place over the years and are (or were) to be activated in a continupous terror assault. What our leaders are saying, then, about the length of time requried may in fact be in recognition of the huge job ahead in rooting these cells out.
posted by Postroad on Sep 23, 2001 - 5 comments

Actually, They DO Dare Call It Treason. Criticize Bush and be shouted down as a traitor: "The despicable traitors have made it their mission to undercut the authority of President Bush during America’s darkest hour, proving themselves even more cowardly than the terrorist murderers who are the only beneficiaries of such contemptible conduct." It's a good thing that MeFi would never sink to such levels.
posted by NortonDC on Sep 16, 2001 - 39 comments

Bush speaks out on misplaced anger - "...our nation must be mindful that there are thousands of Arab-Americans who live in New York City, who love their flag just as much as the three of us do, and we must be mindful that as we seek to win the war that we treat Arab-Americans and Muslims with the respect they deserve. "
posted by revbrian on Sep 13, 2001 - 10 comments

Compassionate conservative Bush gives the murderous Taliban $43 million Did anyone else read this from Onlinejournal? This is a disgrace! For what reason would W want to curry any favors with the Talibans?
posted by Rastafari on Jun 8, 2001 - 10 comments

How to get $43 millions dollars from the United States

1. Strip all your female citizens of their human rights
2. Single out religious minorities (for their "protection")
3. Agree to crack down on opium farming without any real monitoring

The War on Drugs finds a new ally in The Taliban.
posted by alan on May 29, 2001 - 18 comments

has george dubya become an unlikely [and unwilling] role model for feminists? "Bush has given the entire country something almost as valuable [as his support for workers rights] -- his example. With Bush in mind, working parents can demand a promotion and nights and weekends off. After all, why should they have to work longer hours than the most powerful man in the world? Today's [feminists] want power and time to watch Little League. And our friend Dubya is leading the way." Is Bush the Younger really doing it right, or ought he be working harder?
posted by palegirl on May 6, 2001 - 8 comments

Fla. OKs Election System Overhaul "Florida's governor was eager to change the state's maligned election system after recounts delayed his brother's election for 36 days and left many Democrats believing Al Gore had won".
posted by matteo on May 5, 2001 - 10 comments

the big book on the election! Unfortunately, though, Drudge highlited this--and we know his stance--and the Washington Times writer wrote it. Well, the Times is owned by the Rev Moon organization, and as Consortium News reports, Moon has many money ties to the Bush family, including big money speaking tours by Daddy Bush. Go figure the objectivity of this one.
posted by Postroad on May 2, 2001 - 15 comments

Texas gets good deal on Bush tax plan.. my state and many others lose....Do I move to Texas or pay more to avoid it?
posted by Postroad on Apr 17, 2001 - 7 comments

Bush's strategy: court the Catholics. Bush won as high a percentage of church-going Catholics as did Reagan in 1984, as Reagan was winning 25% more votes than did Bush. There's a strong Catholic vote in many states Bush narrowly lost, suggesting that consolidating his Catholic edge could assure victory in 2004.
posted by MattD on Apr 16, 2001 - 12 comments

Screw nature - It's baseball that we have to save! He gets to be President and manage a baseball team. Truly, America is the land of dreams.
posted by gsh on Mar 31, 2001 - 23 comments

News about Florida from England Information from BBC that the US media never picked up.
posted by semmi on Mar 8, 2001 - 11 comments

The next ultimate "where were you?" question? According to Tecumseh’s Curse, every U.S. President elected in a year ending in zero will die in office from natural causes or otherwise. This beg's the question "Where will you be when Bush dies?"[via cam]
posted by DragonBoy on Jan 30, 2001 - 17 comments

Welcome to a new era of drop shadows. Ever since Gore conceded, I was curious about the transition of the White House site. And, um, it's a little sparse right now. Did anyone catch what time it went live?
posted by holgate on Jan 20, 2001 - 59 comments

It's uncertain how important online privacy is to President-elect George W. Bush. He indicated a general support for online privacy laws during the presidential campaign without indicating whether he leaned more toward industry self-regulation, technological solutions, legislative solutions, or some combination. A working document drafted by the Bush transition team on "technology proposals" echoes the same undefined support for online privacy. One analyst thinks his transition-appointments indicate a reference for industry self-regulation.
posted by jhiggy on Jan 19, 2001 - 0 comments

Dark. Like America's Future. Join the dark campaign until after inauguration day.
posted by Veruca on Jan 16, 2001 - 45 comments

Apparently, Junior wants to be the "edufication president"... He said he wanted his administration to be remembered for making America ``a more literate country and a hopefuller country.''. Sigh. How do you spell "potatoes," again?
posted by m.polo on Jan 11, 2001 - 59 comments

Justice O'Connor said ''this is terrible,'' when it looked like Gore had won the election But of course, politics played no role in her decision to hand the election to Bush. Right? right? ?
posted by Outlawyr on Dec 18, 2000 - 1 comment

"The rules of this game were set by the people, underwritten by the people, financed or not." Yet another opportunity for the British Observer to put the US newspapers to shame, with an closely-argued, even-handed reflection on the fun in Florida. "The system, full of inefficiencies and coagulations, may stink, but it is also a system which belongs to the voters who now complain so shrilly about it."
posted by holgate on Nov 19, 2000 - 2 comments

After Microsoft and Napster, Boies tackles Bush. Did anyone catch this? I noticed this morning on NBC that David Boies, who has represented IBM (versus the DOJ), the Yankees, the DOJ (versus Microsoft), and Napster, is now representing Al Gore. Wacky stuff.
posted by daveadams on Nov 15, 2000 - 3 comments

Poor user interface elects George W. The second hole on the right does not correspond to the second candidate on the left (Gore), but rather to the first candidate on the right (Buchanan). While many people will notice this, many others, especially those with poor vision, will not. About 20% of Buchanan's votes in FL came from the county that used this ballot.
posted by tranquileye on Nov 9, 2000 - 32 comments

Bush could ask for Iowa recount / Des Moines Register web site uses something other than ASP/WinNT
Describes possible moves and legal requirements for a recount in Iowa. Did you know that there's nothing in the Constitution about voting for president? A new state could come up with some other method of choosing electors!
posted by rschram on Nov 8, 2000 - 5 comments