Here's another discredited story that won't die: the rumor that Obama created the post of "National Coordinator of Health Information Technology" in his stimulus package, presumably to steal your most personal secrets. (The position was actually created by President Bush in 2004, with broad bipartisan support.)

The latest appearance of this folktale - call it "Obama's Health Big Brother" - comes in a Bloomberg News editorial by Amity Shlaes that boldly goes where no metaphor has gone before. "Barack Obama has dropped us all into The Matrix," writes Ms. Shlaes, adding:

In the Obama Era, it seems, we all pick our way through anxious lives that have something to do with software. Like Keanu Reeves' Neo, we realize hour-to-hour that we are being manipulated by a system that has its own larger plan.

If only we keep a cool head, we tell ourselves, our powers of logic will help us escape the web. But each move we make, even the one that feels independent, takes us deeper into the Matrix ...

President Obama's $634 billion, 10-year health-care plan undoubtedly appeals to would-be Neos out there ... As in "The Matrix," freedom is a mirage ... and there's no escape.

Freedom's a "mirage"? I thought it was "just another word for nothing left to lose." But if she seems to be pushing her Matrix metaphor a little too hard in these paragraphs, wait until she compares Peter Orszag to Agent Smith. America reads this and wonders: Do I take the blue pill or the red pill?

(Think I'll take a Tylenol. It's blue and red.)

There's a pattern developing here, a new "scare 'em with spooky computers" approach that's gaining ground in the right-leaning commentariat. Why pick on the "national coordinator for health information technology"? Maybe because it brings up memories of all those computers-are-taking-over movies from the seventies. In this new conservative meme, anything with "computers" or "information" in it is sinister and dehumanizing.

I look forward to Amity Shlaes' next piece, in which she warns of the enslavement of humanity that's sure to come if people don't stop forwarding that cute video of a dog cleaning your computer screen from the inside.

Ezra Klein has more.

rudy rudy rudy

We know that New York's ex-mayor has a predilection for cross-dressing - although we agree with Jeffrey Feldman that the real cross-dressing lies in Giuliani's decision to wear the rags and frills of a conservative fundamentalist Republican.

To which the Religious Right has so far responded, "Why, hello, girlfriend!"

Odd that a tough, straight ex-DA from the streets of New York would do this, but when I was a New York resident under Rudy's mayoralty I thought it was mildly entertaining and inoffensive - Rudy the Enforcer shows his other side. "You have the right to remain ... divine.  Anything you say can ... and will ... be held against you."

What I can't figure out is how he's became the darling of the right.  The fact that he's now trouncing (or is that flouncing?) McCain in the polls just shows what a weak candidate the Senator from Arizona has become.

Here's the video of Rudy and Donald Trump:

Nancy Pelosi is continuing her counterattack against Dick Cheney's statements that Democrats support 'the Al Qaeda strategy.'  (John noted the attack and her opening salvo yesterday.)  But the real reason I'm writing about this now is the unintended hilarity of this headline: 

Cheney slams Iraq plan advocated by Dems

Could any human being possibility have less credibility for commenting on an Iraq plan than Dick Cheney?  He, who suggested we would be 'greeted with flowers'?  He, who said that the Brits leaving Basra was a sign of improvement even as Blair admitted things there are 'not as we would wish them to be'?  He, whose every plan from Day One has been an ignominious failure?

Which led to to speculate about other headlines we might have seen through history - headlines about spectacularly unsuccessful human beings who presume to comment in the area of their proven inexpertise.  I've only come up with a few, like:

• Inventor of strap-on flying wings says "that Wright Brothers contraption ain't gonna fly"

• Goats are lousy lovers, says Catherine the Great
  

• Former US Attorney General (and composer of "Let The Eagle Soar") John Ashcroft* slams new R&B tune as "insufficiently funky"

Commenters are invited to submit their own headlines.  Rules:  Entries must be as absurd as the notion that Cheney can discuss the Iraq situation with any credibility.  And, of course, stay within the bounds of decency.

___________________ 

(*thanks to commenters for correcting me on who did "Let the Eagle Soar."  I got mixed up on famous Republican singer-songwriters of the 21st century.  My bad.  Ashcroft may not partake of the funk, but Orrin - he can dance just as good as he walks, to quote Archie Bell & the Drells ...)

David Kurtz links to another article, this one from The Guardian, reporting preparations are well underway for bombing Iran.  If we needed any further confirmation, check out Tony Snow's slippery word-parsing on the topic the other day:  "Let's see, I've said it, the secretary of defense has said it, the president has said it: We're not invading Iran."

He also links to a John Dean column that says a bipartisan Congressional group has confirmed that it has the power to prevent war with Iran.  Now, will it use that power wisely? 

Note to Democratic Senators:  Want to win the base?  Don't just apologize for supporting the last needless war.  Stop the next one.

Like the man said, it's deja vu all over again.  ThinkProgress highlights this snippet from U.S. News and World Report: 

“Democrats on Capitol Hill are increasingly concerned that President Bush will order air strikes against targets in Iran in the next few months or even weeks. … [T]hey suspect Bush will order the bombing of Iranian supply routes, camps, training facilities, and other sites that Administration officials say contribute to American losses in Iraq. Under this scenario, Bush would not invade Iran with ground forces or zero in on Iranian nuclear facilities. But under the limited-bombing scenario, Bush could ask for a congressional vote of support…which many Democrats would feel obliged to endorse or risk looking like they weren’t supportive of the troops.”

Let's review this one more time, kids.  You don't support the troops by leaving them in harm's way - or, by encouraging pre-emptive attacks on another country that will lead to even more attacks and more troop deaths.

Democrats should make clear that they will not support attacks on Iran under the conditions now being considered.  That includes Democrats who are hiring my favorite bloggers one after another. 

I like John Edwards, but he, Hillary, and other Dems need to make clear that tough talk about Iran isn't a blank check for more unilateral warfare from this Administration.  Otherwise, they will share in the responsibility - once again - for an unnecessary war.

The great Molly Ivins is in the hospital . My wife Janet won't mind if I tell you that I love Molly.  Have for years.

"I am not anti-gun," she once said.  "I'm pro-knife."  Right away she sounds like a gal after my own heart. 

She went on to explain why, in the context of gun control: "Consider the merits of the knife. In the first place, you have to catch up with someone in order to stab him. A general substitution of knives for guns would promote physical fitness. We'd turn into a whole nation of great runners. Plus, knives don't ricochet. And people are seldom killed while cleaning their knives."

i've been a huge fan of Molly's for years.  She's always been a strong voice for the good guys - especially at a time (the early years of this war) and a place (Texas, by God!) when there weren't very many strong voices being heard.   With W. deciding yet again that he's "The Decider" it's good to remember what Molly had to say about that:

""We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war." 

She never sugar-coats her message.  Here's another quote:

"It is possible to read the history of this country as one long struggle to extend the liberties established in our Constitution to everyone in America."

More Molly gems:

"Just when you thought there wasn't a dime's worth of difference between the two parties, the Republicans go and prove you're wrong."

"I have been attacked by Rush Limbaugh on the air, an experience somewhat akin to being gummed by a newt. It doesn't actually hurt, but it leaves you with slimy stuff on your ankle."

Molly's knife quote reminds me of that great old song, "That's The Way the Girls Are in Texas." In Ry Cooder's version he sings the last verse in heaven:  "She was guilty, I was dead/and what do you think that old judge said?/'Well, that's just the way the girls are here in Texas - case dismissed!'"

This chorus is for Molly,.  She's a true daughter of the Lone Star State, the San Antonio Rose in America's lefty bouquet.  Give her a thought or a prayer, or whatever you care to give.  She's one in a million.

The WaPo editorial page is starting to read as if it's being edited by Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  The lead piece today is an attack on Congress for combining its kindly treatment of Gen. Petraeus with resistance to a "surge."  Apparently, the editors think it's the Hill's problem that we're sending a good general to carry out a lousy mission.  If they think Petraeus is so great, they're saying, why don't they give him what he says he needs?

Note to the Editors:  The General has to say he wants an escalation.  If he didn't say that he wouldn't get the job.  And after much obfuscation, the Post finally gets around to making its point:  against all common sense, they're backing the surge.

They also ran a clueless semi-endorsement of the President's healthcare "proposal," calling it a "tax on the rich" and implying it would only affect health plans that are exorbitant in their benefits.  Nonsense.  As I explained yesterday, this idea (it isn't really a "plan") will tax almost everybody eventually.  It will also help kill our employer-based health system without creating anything to replace it - except a free-market hellhole for stranded consumers.

But then Dr. Jekyll takes over and you get pieces like these:  An appropriate level of revulsion at the way we detain and treat those accused of illegal immigration, and a much-needed push for Democrats to get moving on creating Congressional representation for the District of Columbia.  That’s only fair to the District’s residents, and certainly won't hurt the Dems politically either.  Why not now?

As for that odd personality problem over in the Editor's office, let's hope the good guy wins.  It would be a refreshing change. 

Joe Biden was on "Fox News Sunday" yesterday talking sense about space war. He was asked about the Chinese satellite-killer test, and chose to inject a dose of sanity into the conversation by reminding viewers that the U.S. has a number of ways to respond to the test without escalating the situation. (Diplomacy, anyone?) He also linked the test to the Administration's new policy regarding the militarization of space.

Thanks to SilentPatriot for getting the videos for us

Download | play     Download | play

As for that space policy and its implications, you heard about it here first! We wrote about it , then the WaPo picked it up three days later and it went wide over all the media. (MSNBC News Analyst Jim Oberg argued that media coverage, rather than the policy itself, was creating a new arms race - a charge I answered here .)

Biden's remarks were a rational response to recent events. Score one point for the Senator from Delaware.

Those of you who are afraid this Administration has ruined America's worldwide reputation can now rest easy.  Condi Rice and Karen Hughes recently brought in some public relations executives for a "private summit on public democracy."  It's just a PR problem.  Who knew?

The Center for Media and Democracy wrote:

PR executive Richard Edelman suggested de-politicizing the U.S. image. "Take it away from the part of the media that covers politics," he counseled. "Kick it off the front page and move it to the business page or other parts of the newspaper."

Edelman also suggesting hiring "foreign bloggers."  (Is it time for that "blogger ethics panel" yet?) 

"It's time to get back to the basic values that made our brand great, things like respect for freedom and individual rights," said marketing executive Mary Lou Quinlan.  She added, "The next president needs to be a better listener."  (What are the odds she'll be invited to the next private summit?) 

Trust FOX to put their own spin on the conference.  They summarized its conclusions this way:  "(America) would be wise to downplay its politics and act like it's listening."  Hilarious ...

If America's going to do a PR blitz we'll need a theme song, too.  How about that one from "Team America:World Police"?

This one really upsets me.  We all owe our soldiers a debt of gratitude, especially those who have been wounded in battle.  That includes those who have suffered psychological injuries like post-traumatic stress disorder.  

Doctors suggest a safe environment, counseling, and sometimes medication for people going through this ordeal.  Instead, the GOP leadership is shipping them back out onto the front lines, as this CBS report documents.  That's not only horrific for the soldier with PTSD, but it places everybody around him or her at risk.

Wonder how many people with "Support Our Troops" ribbons on their cars know what they're voting for when they vote Republican?

(more here)

As John points out , today is a dark day for us -- the day torture became officially sanctioned government policy.  I wrote yesterday about Hillary Clinton's waffling on the subject of torture during her interview with the Daily News Editorial Board.  Today, a laudatory op-ed in the LA Times by torture advocate Alan Dershowitz points out that Bill's also equivocating on the subject.

Apparently America's most famous power couple has decided that torture makes a great triangulation topic.  Both of them carve out an impossibly nuanced stand against the current bill, but in favor of torture under certain circumstances - circumstances that, as I pointed out yesterday, don't occur in real life.  That's why many intelligence experts and US generals both oppose the policy -- the intelligence crowd because they know it doesn't work, and the generals because they know it will increase torture against our own troops.

The ex-President's hair-splitting on the topic reminds us that he is the guy who first told the nation about the importance of knowing "what 'is' is."  In fact, Clinton himself points out that "we have erred in knowing who a real suspect is." 

So why forge ahead with these absurd equivocations?  In the mistaken belief that it will help Hillary become President.  This is more of a reminder why triangulation, instead of being the Democrats' salvation, could be their doom.  Moral equivocation doesn't work - not ethically, not politically.  Even Bill Clinton, the most brilliant natural politician of a generation, couldn't win a majority of the popular vote taking that route.  How do you think Hillary will do?

All this triangulating only serves to muddy the waters, about a topic that's wrong morally AND tactically. (slightly longer post on the topic here. )

Bush with Foley:  Write your own caption ...*

Much as I tried to resist, I'm now tracking the Foley matter closely.  We may wish the political tides turned on the deceptions in Iraq, but this is the wave that has formed and is sweeping the ... well, enough with the metaphors.

As John notes below, another Republican has thrown The Coach overboard - but the big guns are speaking up for Denny.  Could those kind words be the equivalent of the Cosa Nostra's 'kiss of death'?  (More on the Mafia-like nature of the GOP's coordinated Hastert defense here, at "Surprised GOP Reacts -- Thought Child Molester Would Be 'Welcomed As Liberator.'")

Republican support among white evangelicals was already nosediving, according to a new poll - even before the Foley episode and subsequent cover-up scandal. 

More on the evangelical vote here, in "Democrats' Letters to God ."

Expect new developments on the Foley front soon.  Call it a hunch.

*Better yet, don't write your own caption.  I've come to regret extending that invitation - really regret it ...

I wish my headline was just hyperbole, but it's not:  it's the truth. 

A minor blog outed one of the victims of Mark Foley's sexual predations.  This violation of an abused kid's privacy was immediately linked and given heavy Internet traffic by leading right-wing bloggers Glenn Reynolds at Instapundit and Roger L. Simon of Pajamas Media.

Pajamas  is so disgraced by this act that they should immediately close their doors.  Since they won't, its few remaining liberal members should quit immediately. 

As for the right-wing, what can I say?  This act is vile beyond description.

It's stunning, isn't it?  There is literally no act of evil that the Right isn't willing to perpetrate to keep itself in power.  There's more on the GOP as the Party of the Devil here.

(via Atrios)

Shorter William F. Buckley:

I'd stand up for America's honor, morals, and liberties - but I'm too scared.

 As justification for his lack of moral fiber, Buckley quotes a military historian who makes statements like these:

"The most widely respected Islamic authorities ... all assume that Muslims have a duty to spread the dominion of Islam, through military offensives, until it rules the world."

Leading Islamic scholars might find this statement, from someone who doesn't know their field, absurd.  Savvy anti-terror strategists might observe that it plays into Al Qaeda's hands by defining all Muslims as terrorists.  

But if it justifies Buckley's timidity, and his lack of reverence and respect for America's values, I guess it bears repeating.

Shorter Stephen F. Hadley (Bush National Security Advisor): 

It takes guts to be this stupid.

What he actually says is that Bush "didn't take the easy way."  That would be the way that looked at the facts, told the truth, and acted accordingly.  No, says Hadley, we're too smart for that ...