In 1962, the Joint Chiefs Of Staff unanimously recommended that President Kennedy bomb New York City to frame Fidel Castro and provide a pretext for conquering Cuba. It is one of history’s most amazing coincidences that four decades later New York City was bombed and Saddam Hussein was framed and Iraq was conquered… imagine the odds against the original military plan recurring with such precision. In any event, John Kennedy was a liberal Democratic president rather than a conservative professional soldier so he opted against bombing the American people.

Despite conclusive historical evidence that the military has not earned a presumption of candor, liberals are being excoriated for doubting the congressional testimony of General David Petraeus. From the Republican perspective it does not matter that Petraeus is provably talking nonsense about American progress in Iraq – what matters is that liberals have no right to notice Petraeus is talking nonsense, and anyone who does notice is marginalized as being unpatriotic. Talk radio and Fox News and the rest of the Falangist commentariat feign outrage that a decorated military man is having his integrity questioned. Conservatives passionately argue that as a wounded war hero Petraeus is above reproach, but at the 2004 GOP convention these shameless hypocrites impugned wounded war hero John Kerry’s integrity by wearing Purple Heart-shaped band aids.

Totalitarians consider the truth to be seditious. The truth is that the United States military lies frequently, and patriotism dictates acknowledging that truth. The alternative is to follow blindly as the progeny of Gepetto prosecute unnecessary corporate wars that damage our nation. Combating military lies with objective facts guarantees being accused of treason, but failure to do so guarantees being complicit with treason.

The Bush administration's successful kick-the-can scam is unprecedented in American history, as is the political opposition's apparent willingness to simply watch the can get kicked.

The Dems are as unprecedentedly clueless as the administration; hence the unprecedented nature of this entire fiasco.

In Iraq it was the minority Sunni Baath party that lorded over majority Shiites for decades. Here it's been GOP Baathists pushing everyone around. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not accusing Democrats of being Shiites. No. That would be an uncalled for slur on Iraq's Shiites.)

But the Republicans are demonstrably America's Baathists. And it's becoming increasingly clear that the majority of Americans are on to them, fed up with their corruption, incompetence, brutality and near-total disregard for the rights, needs and well-being of their own citizens.

Quoting official sources, the Western media is now confirming, rather belatedly, that the Bush Administration's war plans directed against Iran are "for real" and should be taken seriously.

"Punitive bombings" directed against Tehran could be launched within the next few months.

Mukasey is reported to be President Bush's choice to replace the departed attorney general, Alberto Gonzales. His selection would be an enormous relief to anyone who cares about the Justice Department and wants to see it recover from the multiple injuries sustained during Gonzales's tenure. He has the independence, stature, intellect and experience to help rehabilitate a battered agency.

MoveOn.org is responsible for the content of this ad. The Republican Party is responsible for attacking Freedom of Speech.

Q. How did Gen. Petraeus’ testimony in front of Congress go?
A. Pretty good. He emphasized that progress was being made in Iraq. The same way he talked about the progress being made in Iraq when he testified in the same room back in 2004. He might be using the same script.

Q. What’s the difference between then and now?
A. Back then, Baghdad still had electricity and water and the wheel.

Q. What happened to the Democrats holding the general’s feet to the fire?
A. Everyone except Moveon.org scampered away like 12-year-old girls running from a big hairy spider.

What is the most important date in American history? Most of us would swiftly answer the Fourth of July. But think about today, September 17th. On this date in 1787 the convention in Philadelphia completed work on one of the greatest acts of creative leadership of all time, "this Constitution of The United States." Their work rescued America from what Madison later described as "gloomy chaos" and set the world marching toward what we can now see as the Age of Democracy.