GeeDubya playing with a gun. Can't see how that could go wrong. Say, haven't seen Laura lately

Gen. Mark Kimmitt, M.M., on the BBC saying that the people of Iraqi will forgive the US for torturing some of them at Abu Ghraib. His current estimate of bad apples = 20.

The June 30th fake-deadline for Iraq may be used domestically as a way to declare victory in order to safely fire some of the architects of that victory. In other words, DC rumor is that Secretary of Bad Apples Rummy Rumsfeld will be retiring shortly after that date.

News reports say that Bush has a toy, I mean souvenir: the gun Saddam had when he was captured. He likes to show it off to visitors. The Secret Service has to quietly dispose of the remains of some of these visitors, because, well, Bush with a gun. I mean all the work they had to go through to child-proof the electrical outlets so George wouldn’t hurt himself, and then someone just gives him a gun. He keeps it in the study off the Oval Office where Monica used to blow Bill.

This articlelists all the Bush campaign lies about Kerry’s records in one place. And they never stop when they’re disproved, either. It’s kind of awe-inspiring.

The bloggers have been commenting for days that the Bush campaign website has 4 pictures of Kerry on it, none of Bush. It’s true, and a little jarring (go look). There’s also a picture of Laura Bush and one of the secretary for veterans’ affairs, who this week said that soldiers fight better under a Republican president.

You know how Yowie Wowie Allawi is the guy who wants to bring Baathists back into office in Iraq? Well guess who Afghan Prez Karzai is negotiating with? Actually, everyone. He is in talks with former Taliban officials, including Mullah Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil, the former Taliban foreign minister, who was in the custody of Americans, who mysteriously released him. And a fundamentalist/warlord party whose leader is on the US Most Wanted list. There is now at least one minister the US previously tried to capture. Karzai, who plans to run for his office again, hasn’t bothered campaigning, or forming a political party, he’s just negotiating with every warlord and zealot in sight.

The Post says this war has surpassed the death toll (only Americans count, of course) of the Spanish-American War and is catching up with the War of 1812 and Mexican-American Wars (wounded is higher than for both those wars).

In Iraq, someone’s been handing out flyers saying that Sadr was killed by the Iraqi police while resisting arrest. It’s not true, evidently they prematurely released the flyers printed up for when Sadr is killed “resisting arrest.” Oops.

We still don’t know what happened with Brahimi and Allawi. I’m sticking with my theory: naked pictures, with a goat, two chickens, and a Jew. The NYT reporter with the unfortunate name thinks Bremer pressured the IGC which pressured Brahimi. Which doesn’t explain what’s happening now, when the Council is trying to pre-empt the choice of president. Although the role is supposed to be ceremonial, the Council and Bremer are fighting over it. Bremer told them not to hold a vote at all, they told him to fuck himself. Bremer wants an 81-year old who won’t make a fuss, the Council wants one of its own members, who’s already calling for the US to go away. The IGC is clearly trying to make the supposed transitional gov permanent. Since the transitional admin organizes the January elections, what happens in the next few days matters, like having your kid brother in place as governor of Florida when you’re running for president.