Doing it the Putin way, here’s a new approach to the “war on terror”: During School Siege, Russia Took Captives in Chechnya: “Soldiers entered homes of rebel leaders’ relatives and seized 40 people, including children. … One day into the seizure of more than 1,000 hostages by suspected Chechen separatists in the town of Beslan, […]

And now for an irresponsible video report from Iraq that might make you laugh. But seriously, without subtitles, take your pick: Thomas Powers on How Bush Got It Wrong: “No tyrannical father presiding over an intimidated household was ever tiptoed around with greater caution than is the figure of President George W. Bush in the […]

Richard Perle is offering the old “I was misled” dodge to explain his role in the Hollinger “corporate kleptocracy.” We thought Kenny Boy had sucked all the helium out of that stratagem. EmailFacebookTwitterReddit

If any further proof were needed after Zell Miller’s pit bull performance the other night that reality and Republicans do not share the same universe, it was demonstrated once again from the podium in Madison Square Garden by a president so proud of his Texas swagger that he inevitably creates the impression of a prevaricating […]

The Republican Convention starred two different kinds of demagogues last night: Zell Miller, a pit bull who looked as ugly and vicious as he sounded, and Dick Cheney, an oily conman who played the role of wise old grandpa. But their goal was the same: the character assassination of John Kerry. Miller — who had […]

The report of another “corporate kleptocracy” is making news this morning. It’s not Kenny Boy’s Enron or Bunker Boy’s former company, Halliburton, or any of the no-bid contract players in Iraq. This time it’s Hollinger International, a media company formerly led by Conrad Black and F. David Radler with the connivance of a board of […]

Here, from mild-mannered poet Leon Freilich, is what mild-mannered Laura Bush and Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t talk about last night in their speeches to the Republican National Convention: BUSH’S PROGRESS W. triumphed over boozing,Denouncing it as a force he hated;Raising a question not of his choosing:Could sobriety be over-rated? EmailFacebookTwitterReddit

And don’t you forget it: “I’m the commander, I do not need to explain why I say things. That’s the interesting thing about being the President. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don’t feel like I owe anybody an explanation.”— George W. Bush, 2002 EmailFacebookTwitterReddit

The attack on “a disingenuous filmmaker” appears in the prepared text of Sen. John McCain’s speech last night to the Republican National Convention. Did he miscalculate by not knowing, as he claims, that the object of his scorn was in the house? Did he not realize his attack would boomerang, as I believe it did, for the TV […]

What does the Nincompoop in Chief really mean? It all depends on the nuance of “I don’t think you can win it,” his statement about the war on terrorism in answer to a question from the “Today” show’s Matt Lauer. Now the AP reports: In a speech to the national convention of the American Legion, Bush said, “We meet today […]

Because we’re recovering from the anemic gathering of protesters in Central Park that followed yesterday’s massive anti-Bush march, beautifully described by Robert D. McFadden as “a roaring two-mile river of demonstrators,” we leave today’s commentary to pop expert Ryan McGee’s running account of the really important stuff: last night’s MTV Video Music Awards. This not […]

They’re two for the books. Both are in denial and cannot be believed. Either they’re born liars or they’ve learned how to lie with impunity. Or, to be charitable, they’re simply ignorant of their own policies and decisions. THE RUMMY After a week of news stories with these headlines about the Abu Ghraib interrogation-cum-torture scandal, […]

Message from the Op-Ed editor of a major European newspaper: You have obviously not received the e-mail where I told you that you will not be paid, due to customs regulations within the European Union and to the U.S. Patriot Act. But we will send a nice tablecloth with our company logo. The guy has […]

MAKE ‘EM PAYHere’s a tip for the TV networksThat’s hardly controversial:Charge the same for politcal conventionsAs for any infomercial.— Leon Freilich EmailFacebookTwitterReddit

A friend writes: Was one of Kerry’s wounds to a vital kernel of the frontal lobe? He and the feckless fuckers in his braintrust are handing the country to the insects, and those hungry critters will devour what little of value remains. Quite an achievement. Maybe another medal for the chest of a man with […]

By Jan Herman Remember the mysterious black barge anchored in the Hudson River between the Manhattan and Jersey shores during our Code Orange New Year eight months ago? Well, the barge is back. Make that two of them. And just in time for the National Republican Convention at Madison Square Garden, which will be protected by “the largest armada of land, air […]

How cozy it all is: Rummy Boy’s “leadership of the Pentagon has been weighed by a jury of his peers and found somewhat wanting,” The Washington Post reported today. But the conclusion of “the blue-ribbon panel” — appointed by Rummy Boy to review the role of the Pentagon in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, and led […]