Another Blow to Utopian Conservative Ideology

Behavioral Economics explains why the conservative totem of Free-Market Fundamentalism is a fallacy. IF free markets existed (they don't) they would not work as the pitchmen of the GOP would have us all believe: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104803094&ft=1&f=1001

Why not?

-Humans are easily overwhelmed by choices
-Humans are easily overwhelmed by information
-Humans don't have the information they need or the time and resouces to gather it
-Humans routinely make poor decisions even when they have good information
-Humans are lazy by nature
-Humans are not rational actors in their own self-interest as economic models assume
-Humans are not as intelligent, on average as economists who assume that other humans will make decisions like they do.

Once again we see the wishful thinking of conservative dogma running headlong into the pillars of human nature and getting knoocked back squarely on its ass.

What a Lying Little Dickster

"You know, Dick Clarke. Dick Clarke, who was the head of the counterrorism program in the run-up to 9/11. He obviously missed it."-- Dick Cheney, on Richard Clarke

Subject lines of Richard Clarke emails to Bush Administration prior to 9/11/01:

"Bin Ladin Public Profile May Presage Attack" (5/3/01)
"Bin Ladin's Networks' Plans Advancing" (5/26/01)
"Bin Ladin Attacks May Be Imminent" (6/23/01)
"Bin Ladin and Associates Making Near-Term Threats" (6/25/01)
"Bin Ladin Planning High-Profile Attacks" (6/30/01)
"Planning for Bin Ladin Attacks Continues, Despite Delays" (7/02/01)

Oh yeah, and what, in front of Congress and the Camera's, did Condi have to admit was the title of the Presidential Daily Intelligence Briefing from Early August 2001? - Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside United States.

I guess that little Dickster was too busy with the secret Energy briefings where he was dividing up Iraq's oil fields among his cronies to take a clue and so he was caught completely unawares. Now he's got to spin and find someone else to take the blame.

Morsels of Truth - Cookies Beat Torture

The Dickster is of course lying about the torture he authorized and it's effectiveness. He can't help it, he lies out of reflex now the habit is so ingrained. And he's a frightened and pathetic little man. But it turns out that what really worked, what really provided the most and the best actionable intelligence was a cookie, sugar free cookies to be precise: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1901491,00.html

One of the FBI's top experts on terrorism and interrogation and a harsh critic of the bu$hite tactics of torture, Ali Soufan, interrogated the man closest to Osama who has ever been in custody, his bodygaurd Abu Jandal. A man charged with protecting Bin Laden and ensuring that he was never captured alive. He got nowhere until he gave the diabetic man sugarfree cookies. He thereby showed him respect and became a human being in his eyes instead of an evil westerner.

Soufan has testified before congress about the ineffectiveness of torture and says that contrary to Cheney's claims that torture was used succesfully it was these types of methods, not the harsh techniques, that prompted al-Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah to give up the identities of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, mastermind of the 9/11 attack and Jose Padilla the dirty bomber. Soufan says that once the CIA brought a private contractor to start the rough stuff, Zubaydah stopped cooperating.

Apparently, top experts in the field of interrogation agree with Soufan that resorting to torture, means you've lost control of the situation and leads to poor results compared to standard techniques. I know personnally I'd spill my guts for some oatmeal scotchies warm from the oven. But I can't help but wonder, if the recruiting pamphlets that Al Qiada is handing out all over the middle-east showed Americans bearing cookies instead of chains, electrical wires, sexual/religious humiliation and water-boarding might they not be having the success they've had at demonizing us with our own actions.

Anyway you can't be a beacon of light when you're working on the darkside like the slimebucket war criminals, Cheney and friends.

Fundamentals of Rightwing Domestic Terrorism

Once again we see domestic terrorism arising from the wing nuts on the extreme right in this country. It looks like the guy (Scott Roeder) who shot the abortion provider has been affiliated with antigovernment groups like The Freemen (of Jordan MT standoff fame) and the Kansas Unorganized Citizen Militia, a former Commander of which refered to him as a Good Ol' Boy. Yeah "good" right. (Commander - Unorganized, how stupid is that?). Reoder was also convicted of criminal use of explosives and possessing bomb components. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090601/ap_on_re_us/us_tiller_shooting

Apparently inspired by fundamentalist religious zeal, this fanatical terrorist forgeting about the inconvenient Thou Shalt Not Kill and Vengience Is Mine Sayeth the Lord stuff gunned the man down in his church while he was ushering and his wife was singing in the choir. While Operation Rescue President Troy Newman disavowed any connection between Mr. Roeder and his organization, it's interesting to compare the statement made by Newman about the victim legal activities:

• "We are shocked at this morning's disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down, Operation Rescue has worked for years through peaceful, legal means, and through the proper channels to see him brought to justice. We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning."

And this post on Operation Rescue's website apparently made by the murderer:

• "Bleass everyone for attending and praying in May to bring justice to Tiller and the closing of his death camp,"
  

Bringing justice. Isn't that what the fundamentaist islamic terrorists claim they're trying to do with their bombings and beheadings and Sharia Law? I ask you.

Hey shouldn't we send this guy to Gitmo and and give him some "enhanced encouragement" to tell us who his congregants, I mean cell memembers are? Where's the Dickster when we need him? Will these groups with which he is affiliated be declared terrorist organizations and have their assets frozen? Should the FBI start secretly attending church services and snatching white looking men off the streets for secret indefinite detention and send them to say Egypt or Syria or other black sites for torture and interrogation? Or is that treatment only reserved for people who look less like "us"?

Once again we see rightwing fundamentalism steadfastly reducing spirituality to it's lowest common denomination.