MetaFilter posts tagged with bush

We Don't Need No Steekin Manual

Xurando — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 05:42:18 -0800

For your perusal: The New FBI Operations Manual. "Agents may begin such assessments against a target without a particular factual justification. The basis for such an inquiry “cannot be arbitrary or groundless speculation,” the manual says, but the standard is “difficult to define.”

Sick money

twoleftfeet — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 04:40:52 -0800

The same billionaires for Bush are baaaaack, and now they want to profit from health care.

"Man has an invincible inclination to allow himself to be deceived..."

peachfuzz — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:34:32 -0800

Matt Latimer worked as one of Dubya’s speechwriters during the president’s final twenty-two months in office.

Inside the financial crisis, from a speechwriter's point of view. And from a different vantage.

Dear President Bush,

empath — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 11:07:14 -0800

Demanding that you alone be held accountable and no one else be scapegoated would itself be an act of honor. It would draw a line between the past and the future in the same way that Lincoln’s defense of his brief suspensions of habeas corpus conceded Congress’s sole right to remove this core constitutional provision, but defended his action as a necessary emergency measure because a mass rebellion “had subverted the whole of the laws.” You do not deserve to go down in history as the president who brought torture into the American system and refused to take responsibility for it..

An Open Letter to George W Bush

Federal prosecutors to investigate abusive interrogation cases

grobstein — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:57:07 -0800

Big Newsfilter: US Attorney General Holder appoints a prosecutor to investigate abusive CIA interrogations in the War on Terror. Obama was reluctant to investigate Bush admin wrongdoing, and he still insists "he thinks that we should be looking forward, not backward" (per his deputy press secretary). But Holder managed to get the go-ahead. Previously.

Threat Level Elevated

saulgoodman — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 11:36:19 -0800

US News reports that in a new tell-all book, Tom Ridge admits manipulating terror threat levels for political motives. In the forthcoming book, Ridge reportedly acknowledges for the first time that he was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush's re-election, something he "saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over." But as The Atlantic points out, Ridge apparently gave in to the White House demands anyway, resigning only after the election. Huffington Post also provides additional discussion on this developing story.

The GOP's Misplaced Rage

glaucon — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:22:22 -0800

A conservative blogger talks about what the Republicans are really (should really be) mad about - Bush's terrible economic and fiscal legacy.

Holding the Cards

l33tpolicywonk — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 15:13:54 -0800

Newsweek has "four knowledgable sources" who claim attorney general Eric Holder is considering appointing a special prosecutor to investigate Bush administration interrogation practices. (h/t Glenn Greenwald).

Maher and Feather

Christ, what an asshole — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 09:57:43 -0800

Bill Maher's criticism of Obama? Be more like Bush. ...And just like Lindsey [Lohan], we see your name in the paper a lot, but we're kind of wondering when you're actually going to do something. Follow up of his statements with Keith Olbermann. ...But where's the beef? And it's easy to make speeches; what's hard to do is stand up against corporations. Corporations and their incredible strength are what have ruined this country so far, and this president -- we thought -- might be the one to stand up to them. I'm losing hope. I still have audacity, but my hope is fading.

Bewildered, Jacque Chirac did not react immediately.

rough ashlar — Sun, 31 May 2009 06:21:46 -0800

“This confrontation is willed by God, who wants to use this conflict to erase his people’s enemies before a New Age begins”. Chirac is said to have been stupefied and disturbed by Bush’s invocation of Biblical prophesy to justify the war in Iraq and “wondered how someone could be so superficial and fanatical in their beliefs” according to Jean-Claude Maurice in his book Si vous le répétez, je démentirai... published by Plon As this is a mostly English site - the only other English link I found was here. During those private interviews, Jacque Chirac had purportedly confessed to the journalist some personal remarks regarding the faith of George W. Bush that seemed quite daunting. He told the journalist that the latter called him twice beseeching him basically, in the name of their common “spiritual faith”, i.e., “Christianity”, to join the collective effort of the coalition being formed to wage a preemptive war against Iraq. In his first telephonic call he reportedly said to Jacque Chirac: “Gog and Magog are at work in the Middle East” and then added that “the biblical prophecies are being fulfilled”. Bewildered, Jacque Chirac did not react immediately. I look forward to the 'surely this will .....' posts which have been missing after mid Jan 2009.

Reprimands for torture

Joe Beese — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:42:24 -0800

"An internal Justice Department inquiry into the conduct of Bush administration lawyers who wrote secret memorandums authorizing brutal interrogations has concluded that the authors committed serious lapses of judgment but should not be criminally prosecuted... The report by the Office of Professional Responsibility, an internal ethics unit within the Justice Department, is also likely to ask that state bar associations consider possible disciplinary action, including reprimands or even disbarment, for some of the lawyers involved in writing the legal opinions..." Meanwhile, "former Bush administration officials are launching a behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign to urge Justice Department leaders to soften" the report.

Condi Criminal Conspiracy Confession Caught on Camera!

Hat Maui — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:53:09 -0800

Recently, Fmr. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was asked some pointed torture questions by two Stanford students after an informal reception in a dorm building (transcript). Did she unwittingly confess to a role in a criminal conspiracy? Signs point to yes. Writers like Dan Froomkin and Glenn Greenwald are staying on top of the torture beat even as the President prefers to look forward, and not back, because it's time to move on (and we're all responsible). For hard-hitting journalistic inquiry when it comes to U.S. torturers, it seems we must now turn to college students or 4th graders.

Filling me up with the shivers

fire&wings — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:26:02 -0800

Violin. Them Heavy People. Egypt. The Kate Bush 1979 Xmas Special (QLYT)

The George W. Bush Presidential Librarium

mr_crash_davis mark II: Jazz Odyssey — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 12:46:35 -0800

The George W. Bush Presidential Librarium

I Like to Fish

netbros — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 11:29:22 -0800

The Last Days of W. Another great photo essay from the folks at Magnum In Motion.

A New Way Forward

geos — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:17:14 -0800

Nationalize. Reorganize. Decentralize. anewwayforward.org wants you to organize a protest on April 11^th to express your frustration and disapproval with how our elected officials have handled the economic crisis.

Iraqi shoe-thrower sentenced to three years in jail

Silky Slim — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:30:28 -0800

Iraqi shoe-thrower sentenced to three years in jail. Can an internet campaign for his release be far behind?

Endangered Species Act 2009

Smaaz — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 00:36:54 -0800

Endangered Species Act Protections Restored by President Obama. Previous regulation made it easier to start projects without consulting scientists.

It was worse than you thought.

EarBucket — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 19:35:34 -0800

The Obama Justice Department has released nine legal memos from the Bush administration that assert broad extra-Constitutional powers for the president. The memos assert that both the First and Fourth Amendments may be subordinated to the needs of wartime. The memos were withdrawn by the Justice Department a few days before President Bush left office.

Grapes we can believe in

Joe Beese — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 12:59:16 -0800

The first female White House chef, a naturalized Philippina named Cristeta Comerford, was appointed by George W. Bush - who told Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, "I am reminded of the great talent of our Philippine Americans when I eat dinner at the White House." Despite the urging of American food icon Alice Waters, President Obama has left Comerford in charge of the White House kitchens - though he's keeping quiet about it. But on the basis of the wines served at Obama's Inauguration Day lunch, oenophiles are still hoping for change. (more First Food posts here and here )

"The writer is the president of the United States."

JVA — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 09:45:46 -0800

In 2007, Dubya wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal. Obama has followed suit with an op-ed article in the Washington Post. Both sites mention that The writer "is the president of the United States." Have we entered a new era of the bully pulpit?

The high cost of Lisa's tiger-repellant rock

orthogonality — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 04:09:17 -0800

Leaving office, President Bush claimed "that he took 'a deliberate and comprehensive approach' to preventing terrorism that combined military action overseas with strong defensive measures at home."

[As early as 2002] "We knew that the mortgage-brokerage industry was corrupt... Where we would have gotten a sense of what was really going on was the point where the mortgage was sold knowing that it was a piece of dung and it would be turned into a security. But the agents with the expertise had been diverted to counterterrorism."
[. . . . FBI Director Robert] "Mueller actually circumvented the Justice Department and the OMB to get resources. But he was shut down" by the [Bush A]dministration. [. . . . Testifying in October 2004, ] Chris Swecker, then assistant director of the criminal investigation division said ... "The potential impact of mortgage fraud on financial institutions in the stock market is clear. If fraudulent practices become systemic within the mortgage industry and mortgage fraud is allowed to become unrestrained, it will ultimately place financial institutions at risk and have adverse effects on the stock market."

Obama the Conservative

leotrotsky — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 19:44:29 -0800

"George Bush was not a conservative, but rather a curious hybrid of reactionary and progressive." "The Obama presidency is not a revolution, but instead a restoration. The "values upon which our success depends", Obama reassures America, "these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout history". He asks for a "return to these truths". Nothing new is needed, neither fresh ideas about the human condition's betterment nor utopias; merely a return to and vindication of the past."

Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

lupus_yonderboy — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 08:36:13 -0800

William Kristol's last column. President Bush's last photographs (scroll down to the end of the article or search for "three versions").

Who said what now?

blue_beetle — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:08:12 -0800

Wired: Obama Sides With Bush in Spy Case. "The Obama administration fell in line with the Bush administration Thursday when it urged a federal judge to set aside a ruling in a closely watched spy case weighing whether a U.S. president may bypass Congress and establish a program of eavesdropping on Americans without warrants."