quick hits...

the Oxford Research Group says the Iraq war may go for decades Was the American public intentionally misled into war? Murray Waas' latest suggests: yes, Think Progress agrees. If you're a Hurricane Katrina evacuee living in a hotel in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, California, Tennessee, Arkansas or Nevada; have access to a computer, and for no good reason whatsoever have accidentally stumbled upon this blog entry... FEMA brings you good news: FEMA will keep paying for that shitty hotel room you're in for 6 more weeks. Your hometown is probably screwed though. The Yemeni guy who was holding those hostages must have realized they were Swiss and released them. They plan to continue their tour of sunny Yemen. Eric Martin beats his head against the wall dealing with the latest lies from Dick Cheney. Who, it should be noted, is showing very respectable creativity with his latest fear-mongering:

First Rumsfeld tried his hand at solidifying American resolve with some pretty outlandish scare tactics (discussed here). It shouldn't surprise anyone that Cheney would upstage him with an even more fantastical fable:

"Would the United States and other free nations be better off or worse off with (Abu Musab al-) Zarqawi, (Osama) bin Laden and (Ayman al-) Zawahiri in control of Iraq?" he asked. "Would be we safer or less safe with Iraq ruled by men intent on the destruction of our country?"

Wow. The un-holy trinity of Bin Laden, Zawahiri and Zarqawi. Rumsfeld was far too bashful with his choice of only one bogeyman. Should I point out what a big favor it would be to us if Bin Laden and Zawahiri decided to come out of hiding and take up residence in one of Saddam's palaces? Out in the open? Within range of an air strike even if our troops are out of country? Regardless, I don't really think I need to explain how utterly and completely out of the realm of possibility such an al-Qaeda led coup would be. But could someone please explain how someone who would spout such nonsense on a regular basis holds such a high public office? Can't the GOP do better than this? Are there really three years left for this administration?