Let’s Be Honest, If George Bush Was Still In Charge I Would Go Absolutely Ape

Nothing to see here.

WASHINGTON — American militants like Anwar al-Awlaki are placed on a kill or capture list by a secretive panel of senior government officials, which then informs the president of its decisions, according to officials.

There is no public record of the operations or decisions of the panel, which is a subset of the White House’s National Security Council, several current and former officials said. Neither is there any law establishing its existence or setting out the rules by which it is supposed to operate.

The panel was behind the decision to add Awlaki, a U.S.-born militant preacher with alleged al Qaeda connections, to the target list. He was killed by a CIA drone strike in Yemen late last month.

The role of the president in ordering or ratifying a decision to target a citizen is fuzzy. White House spokesman Tommy Vietor declined to discuss anything about the process.

The first rule of ‘Kill List’ is that you can’t talk about ‘Kill List.’   No, just kidding. Even MSNBC is investigating it and there are still no ramifications for the extra-constitutional exercise of executive powers.  The only rules are don’t get caught fucking interns, always carry your long-form birth certificate, and don’t be photographed playing tennis.

We can talk about this because no one in the wise Establishment really cares about constitutionality in the realm of civil liberties anymore.  The only rights we need to preserve are (1) guns (2) not taxing millionares, (3) something about light bulbs,  and (4) keeping our debt to GDP ratio lower than during the 80s. also…competitive eating.

As I discussed last week, the voices of civil libertarians have been marginalized even further in the Obama administration.  What are they going to do?  Elect Romney? hilarious. Now some secret panel is killing American citizens, with no explanation as to protocol or justification.

Just because the Obama administration is way better at exterminating its targets than its predecessor doesn’t make it legal.

Two principal legal theories were advanced, an official said: first, that the actions were permitted by Congress when it authorized the use of military forces against militants in the wake of the attacks of September 11, 2001; and they are permitted under international law if a country is defending itself.

Ya, sure. We’re just going to throw this shit out there. What are you going to do? Say we shouldn’t defend ourselves?! 9/11 sayswhatnow?

This isn’t about al-Awlaki. The guy  was probably an evil asshole.  The lesson here is that people don’t trust government, but if a secret government panel is killing american citizens, despite the they may not be indicted for anything, we don’t really care. Especially if they’re brown and bearded.   Don’t tread on me!!! But yeah, go ahead and tread over someone from a different tribe. And by tread, I mean kill with a drone strike launched from a Nevada bunker by a minivan-driving father of 3.

As Long As It Doesn’t Require Much Legwork, John Kass Will Pretty Much Piss On Anyone’s Grave

For his 88th birthday, McGovern went skydiving. For his 54th birthday, I believe Kass took a couple Vicotin and woke up in his own drool.

In Wednesday’s Tribune, wannabe satirist John Kass wrote a column regarding the prospective White House hiring of Bill Daley, saying,

“Right now, Obama sits somewhere to the left of the late George McGovern, but he’ll need to become a certified centrist again when he runs for re-election in 2012.” 

Despite the fact that any Poli Sci 101 student could point out the obvious error of considering a center-left pragmatist ‘Left’ of a longtime Dovish liberal, there was an even greater inaccuracy in that statement. “The late” George McGovern, as Kass called him, is not ‘late’ at all. In fact, he’s alive and well – or at least as alive and well as can be for an 88 year old living in South Dakota.

 John, I understand your schtick. Pithy, colorful columns about the culture of Chicago politics that are sometimes clever, yet rarely insightful. A clear dislike for the President and the Daleys, and a 3 year obsession with trying to criminalize Obama for paying 15% below list for his Hyde Park property. What a hot scoop!

But John, contempt for the Mayor or the President doesn’t give you free journalistic reign to shovel dirt on the empty grave of anyone, much less a longtime public servant such as McGovern.

No wonder your column was so unabashedly brimming with excitement. With the hiring of Daley, the door is open for you to stay in bed and pen 6 more months of vapid ‘Chicago Way’ columns without opening your eyes or bothering yourself with the heartbeat of any geriatric political figure.

As far as you’re concerned, you can put down James Baker or reanimate Harold Washington without it having any effect on your one-way pseudo-political analysis. How do I get a gig like that?

John Kass, Stop messing up my ‘Dead Pool.’ Clown.

Lookout Joe, Old Times Were Good Times

There has been a lot of hand-wringing in Democratic circles about the behavior of Sen. Joe Lieberman over the last couple days.  I’m wondering why they’re surprised.  I’m wondering why the White House is bending over backwards for this clown. And I’m hurt that they didn’t read my post from last November:

Joe Lieberman knew.  He knew he could campaign on a promise to investigate the Bush Administration’s ineptitude in their handling of Hurricane Katrina.  He knew he would give Bush a pass once he got his chairmanship (as Homeland Security Chair).

He knew he could push for the “compromise” to appoint the far-right-wing ideologue Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court.

He knew he could support John McCain, promise not attack Barack Obama directly, and go right ahead and say the following:

• “Obama does not always put country first”
• on whether Obama is a Marxist: “it’s a good question.”
• pick-up on the misleading, bullshit line that: “Obama…voted to cut off funding for our troops.”
• said Obama’s economic plan would be like Herbert Hoover’s approach, which:  “turned a recession into a depression.”

He knew he could rally with the rest of the neo-cons + chickenhawks in vehement support of Bush’s Iraq war, implying those who were not fully behind the Bush War were traitors.

What did Joe Lieberman know? He knew Harry Reid + Co. were ineffectual hand-wringers who don’t really give a shit about the people who got out the vote to elect a democratic president + congress.  He knew.   He knew the spineless Evan Bayh wouldn’t even get his half-hearted “apology.”  He knew he would never have to give up one of the most crucial chairmanships in the Senate – the committee that just happens to deal with many Lieberman/Bush/McCain policies that the voters just overwhelmingly rejected.  Good job, Senate Democrats.  Your reputation is certainly well-earned.

This last point still stands.  To have relied on this two-faced docuhebag shows incredible naiveté on behalf of Harry Reid and the

I was for it before I was against being against it.

President.  It would be like a Republican WH doing everything in its power to accommodate Sen. Specter.

Of course,  maybe I’m the naive one.  Maybe adhering to Lieberman’s demands is the perfect excuse to water-down a bill that, as of now, is already watered-down to pretty much represent mandated hand-outs to the Insurance and Pharmaceutical companies. I’ll have more on that if I have time later today.

It’s almost 2010.  If you’re just now beginning to realize Lieberman is a self-serving asshat, you may be better off in your bubble.

Being President Is Easy

The Ex-Governor demonstrates (1) her lack of intellectual curiosity or (2) her uncanny ability to evasively bullshit a straightforward question:

As to whether another pursuit for national office, as when she joined Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in the race for the White House less than a year ago, would result in the same political blood sport, Palin said there was a difference between the White House and what she had experienced in Alaska. If she were in the White House, she said, the “department of law” would protect her from baseless ethical allegations.

“I think on a national level, your department of law there in the White House would look at some of the things that we’ve been charged with and automatically throw them out,” she said.

The “Department of Law” – where all your problems just melt away.  On a related note –  If Palin makes it to the White House, she indicated that she, Todd and the kids would be able to start the day on a much more effective note thanks to the “Department of Breakfast.”