DEBRIS.COMgood for a laugh, or possibly an aneurysm

The downside to lying all the time is that chronic liars eventually get caught. Public and prolific liars could even get caught on national TV. That’s what happened to Donald Rumsfeld on Face the Nation.

In late 2002, Rumsfeld said:

No terror state poses a greater or more immediate threat to the security of our people and the stability of the world than the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

Last week, Rumsfeld denied ever using the phrase “immediate threat:”

You and a few other critics are the only people I’ve heard use the phrase “immediate threat.” I didn’t. The president didn’t. And it’s become kind of folklore that that’s what’s happened.”

Folklore? Please. See the video. Judge for yourself: Rumsfeld caught lying on Face the Nation. Watch him backpedal as the video fades out, stuttering about “the best intelligence…” What a maroon.

Here’s a page full of Bush, Rumsfeld, and the whole band of neo-con lunatics spouting off about imminent and immediate terrorist threats.

Frightening results from a recent Pew Research Center poll on global opinion of the war on Iraq:

• Osama bin Laden is viewed favorably by large percentages in Pakistan (65%), Jordan (55%) and Morocco (45%).
• In those same countries, more people than not think suicide bombings against Americans are justified.
• Large majorities in almost every country surveyed think that American and British leaders lied when they claimed, prior to the Iraq war, that Saddam Hussein’s regime had weapons of mass destruction.
• Large majorities in every country, except for the U.S., hold an unfavorable opinion of Bush.
• Just 14% of Germans, 24% of French and 41% of British think that people who have moved to the U.S. from their countries have a better life.

To anyone who thinks America can succeed and survive in the long term without the support (if not admiration) of the rest of the world, I humbly suggest you cancel any international travel plans.

But don’t take my word for it. Listen to what John Hulsman, from the right-wing Heritage Foundation, says about the recent bombings in Madrid and subsequent ejection of Spain’s Bush-friendly government:

Al Qaeda clearly determined the outcome of a Western election. That is terrifying, and it will only encourage them to continue. The lesson is going to be that if you side with America, there’s a price to be paid.

More from Hulsman, and more interpretation of the Pew results can be found here: U.S., allies face rising antiwar sentiment (mirror)

When I visited Greece last Fall, I was treated with courtesy and respect nearly everywhere I went. But outside of the towns I saw evidence that my appeal was less than universal. This is only a tiny data point, but I took it personally. I don’t want to be judged based on the actions of my government. Moreover, I don’t want to be punished for them.

It’s funny, except that it’s sad:
Doonesbury on Bush’s invasion of Iraq

I spent last night reading about all the candidates: US Senators, state Senators, US Representatives, state assembly members… I scanned position papers… I read endorsements… I flipped an occasional coin… And I marked up my sample ballot with all of these choices so I wouldn’t be fumbling for names in the voting booth.

Today I found out that California’s primary elections don’t work the way I expected. I thought we had open primaries, meaning citizens can vote across party lines. I didn’t register with any political party; I don’t like any of them well enough to claim affiliation. But that means I don’t get to vote for any of their candidates!

My ballot consisted of one lonely little card with four state propositions on it. There were no candidates at all.

On February 12, the Washington Post published a graph of George W. Bush’s approval ratings, superimposed with the three defining moments of Bush’s presidency: the terrorist attacks of September 11, the invasion of Iraq, and the capture of Hussein.

Sound familiar? It should. I published the same graph ten days prior.

Of course the Post’s version is much prettier than mine. They have a paid staff of illustrators. I have a paid staff of… none. No, wait — I once made $1.50 in commissions from Amazon.

In related news, some folks on a political discussion board had a debate about my graph. One poster in particular seemed to think I’d faked it — a curious response, given that the data is publicly available.