GOPnot4me: McCainocrats? Surely, not!

Threat Level: McCain - I'd secretly spy on Americans, too.

The Public Record: When Dick Cheney was CEO of Halliburton in the 1990s, he spoke out against the sanctions against Iran - the same Iran he's now rattling the saber toward for their terrorist ties.

Attytood: An Iraqi in America wonders whose war is it, anyway?

HOLY CRAP: US apologizes for proselytizing by Marine in Iraq, but they're really not sorry...You can leave the UCC - but the UCC may not leave you...The Antichrist is gay, "partially Jewish, as was Hitler"...Conservative lawyer Douglas Kmiec denied communion because of Obama endorsement...Blacks, Jews & Obama...Bobby Jindal: Exorcist Vice-President?...More anti-Semitism from the religious right.

Topeka Capital Journal: (h/t J & BillW)

A federal judge in Maryland on Thursday ordered liens on the Westboro Baptist Church building and the Phelps-Chartered Law office.

If the case presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Richard D. Bennett is upheld by an appeals court, the church, at 3701 S.W. 12th, and the office building, at 1414 S.W. Topeka Blvd., could be obtained by the court and sold, with the proceeds being applied toward $5 million in damages Bennett imposed on church members for picketing a military funeral.

The $5 million penalty is the result of a lawsuit filed against three of the church's principals by Albert Snyder, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, whose funeral was picketed by church members. Read on...

It's too early to know how this will be resolved, but I'm hoping the appeals court upholds the ruling and the family of the fallen soldier prevails. These vile people drag their kids along to picket soldier's funerals and spread hatred around the country. For a good laugh check out this brave dude who Rick Roll'd the Phelps clan as they attempted to get their hate on.

I blogged about the Bush administration trying to exempt the Navy from environmental protection laws to allow them to use sonar off the coast of California, which studies have shown is extremely dangerous to whales and other marine life. But happily, the Ninth Circuit Court (from my hometown of San Francisco) has pushed back against the Bush administration and has told them they actually have to care about living things besides their cronies.

SF Chronicle:

A federal appeals court has ruled that the Navy must protect endangered whales from the potentially lethal effects of underwater sonar during anti-submarine training off the Southern California coast, rejecting President Bush's attempt to exempt the exercises from environmental laws.

In a Friday night ruling rushed into print ahead of the next scheduled exercise on Monday, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a federal judge's decision that no emergency existed that would justify Bush's intervention.

The Navy is engaged in "long-planned, routine training exercises" and has had ample time to take the steps that the law requires - conduct a thorough review of the environmental consequences and propose effective measures to minimize the harm to whales and other marine mammals, the three-judge panel said.

The court noted that the Navy has been conducting similar exercises for years, has agreed in the past to restrictions like the ones it is now challenging, and was sued by environmental groups in the current case nearly a year ago. The lower-court judge reviewed the evidence and found nothing to support the Navy's claim that the protective measures would interfere with vital training or hamper national security, the court said.

Sensen No Sen: It's startling to realize that only a small minority in the Senate are working to form survellance laws within the framework of the Constitution.

Beggars Can Be Choosers: Wikipedia continues to sanitize its Bush content.

Evolution of Security: The TSA's blog. Got a comment on how they've been keeping us safe by confiscating cigar cutters and bottled water...and searching Al Gore's carry-on? Or a heartwarming anecdote to share? Now's your chance.

Daily Kos: Former Marine and Naval officer, Montel Williams, lectured the stunned hosts of Fox and Friends on the stupidity of spending hours on the death of Heath Ledger, rather than covering the war in Iraq. A few days later, Fox stations chose not to renew his show.

The Black Commentator: Larry Pinkney thinks Barack Obama is "bamboozling America." (h/t Make Them Accountable)

OFF THE BEATEN PATH: The Root, Watching America, Lez Bang!, propaganda critic, redblueamerica

Cliff Schecter:

President Bush exempted the Navy from an environmental law so it can continue using sonar in its anti-submarine warfare training off the California coast -- a practice critics say is harmful to whales and other marine mammals.

The White House announced Wednesday that Bush had signed the exemption Tuesday while traveling in the Middle East. (snip)

"The president's action is an attack on the rule of law," said Joel Reynolds, director of the Marine Mammal Protection Project at the Natural Resources Defense Council. "By exempting the Navy from basic safeguards under both federal and state law, the president is flouting the will of Congress, the decision of the California Coastal Commission and a ruling by the federal court."

This is not some little thing...sonar used so close to their migration paths disorients the whales (and other marine life) and causes them to beach themselves. A study in 2000 found that incidences of bleeding in the ear and around the brain of marine life from mid-frequency sonars as the Navy uses.

So far, I hold Adm. Mike Mullen, the new Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in much higher regard than his predecessor, Gen. Peter Pace.

A few weeks ago, he banned the use of the phrase “Global War on Terror” in his office, and prohibited using it “in any future correspondence.” In July, he acknowledged “there does not appear to be much political progress” in Iraq. In June, we learned Mullen didn’t approve of the “surge” policy from the outset.

And this week, Mullen apparently has rejected the Cheney worldview that has dominated Bush administration’s thinking for more than six years.

The new chairman, Adm. Mike Mullen, expressed deep concerns that the long counterinsurgency missions in Iraq and Afghanistan have so consumed the military that the Army and Marine Corps may be unprepared for a high-intensity war against a major adversary.

He rejected the counsel of those who might urge immediate attacks inside Iran to destroy nuclear installations or to stop the flow of explosives that end up as powerful roadside bombs in Iraq or Afghanistan, killing American troops.

With America at war in two Muslim countries, he said, attacking a third Islamic nation in the region “has extraordinary challenges and risks associated with it.” The military option, he said, should be a last resort.

I guess it’s only a matter of time before Limbaugh smears the Admiral as a “phony” soldier, but in the meantime, it’s refreshing to hear the Chairman of the JCS saying so many sensible things.

Even by the president’s standards, his speech today on torture policies was remarkable.

“In this new war, the enemy conspires in secret — and often the only source of information on what the terrorists are planning is the terrorists themselves. So we established a program at the Central Intelligence Agency to question key terrorist leaders and operatives captured in the war on terror. This program has produced critical intelligence that has helped us stop a number of attacks — including a plot to strike the U.S. Marine camp in Djibouti, a planned attack on the U.S. consulate in Karachi, a plot to hijack a passenger plane and fly it into Library Tower in Los Angeles, California, or a plot to fly passenger planes into Heathrow Airport and buildings into downtown London.

“Despite the record of success, and despite the fact that our professionals use lawful techniques, the CIA program has come under renewed criticism in recent weeks. Those who oppose this vital tool in the war on terror need to answer a simple question: Which of the attacks I have just described would they prefer we had not stopped?”

Seriously? To question whether the United States government is torturing people, outside the law and treaties to which we are a part, is necessarily to “prefer” that terrorists execute successful attacks?

Also, pointing to today’s list, Dan Froomkin asks, “Which of those attacks was more than a fantasy? And which would not have been stopped with more humane and arguably more effective interrogation techniques?”

LA Times:

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is expected to advise President Bush to reduce the U.S. force in Iraq next year by almost half, potentially creating a rift with top White House officials and other military commanders over the course of the war.

Administration and military officials say Marine Gen. Peter Pace is likely to convey concerns by the Joint Chiefs that keeping well in excess of 100,000 troops in Iraq through 2008 will severely strain the military. This assessment could collide with one being prepared by the U.S. commander in Iraq, Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, calling for the U.S. to maintain higher troop levels for 2008 and beyond 

Pace's recommendations reflect the views of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who initially expressed private skepticism about the strategy ordered by Bush and directed by Petraeus, before publicly backing it....read on

Gives a whole new meaning to "drinking and driving", doesn't it?

Marine Corps Times (h/t Gregory):

At least twice, astronauts were allowed to fly after flight surgeons and other astronauts warned they were so drunk they posed a flight-safety risk, an aviation weekly reported Thursday, citing a special panel studying astronaut health.

The independent panel also found "heavy use of alcohol" before launch that was within the standard 12-hour "bottle-to-throttle" rule, according to Aviation Week & Space Technology, which reported the finding on its Web site.

A NASA official confirmed that the health report contains claims of alcohol use by astronauts before launch, but said the information is based on anonymous interviews and is unsubstantiated. The official didn't want to be named because NASA plans a news conference Friday to discuss the panel's findings.[..]

"That's not the ‘right stuff' as far as I'm concerned," said Bart Gordon, D-Tenn.

AP Via Yahoo:

A federal appeals court has ordered Shell Oil to stop its exploratory drilling program off the north coast of Alaska at least until a hearing in August.

The order, issued Thursday by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, comes after the federal Minerals Management Service in February approved Shell's offshore exploration plan for the Beaufort Sea.

Opponents contend that the Minerals Management Service approved Shell's plan without fully considering that a large spill would harm marine mammals, including bowhead and beluga whales. They say polar bears could also be harmed, and they question whether cleaning up a sizable spill would even be possible in the icy waters.

Company officials are obviously disappointed, said Shell spokesman Curtis Smith. Read more...