Anyone care to guess why we - meaning our government - are in the business of just making things up, again?

The UN nuclear watchdog has protested to the US government over a report on Iran's nuclear programme, calling it "erroneous" and "misleading". [link]

Pat Lang tees one up...

Once again, we seem to be in the business of "manufacturing" our own reality. Before the Iraq intervention the US government asserted that SH's government was in violation of many UN Resolutions that had required Iraq to disarm. Iraq HAD disarmed and all the world knows that now, but the US government insisted that this was not true. The US government also insisted that SH's government was impeding the work of the UN inspectors under Blix. The inspection team insisted then and now that this was not true and that delays were temporary and overcome between the two sides.

Now we are "manufacturing trut[h]" about Iran.

What is the purpose of this deception?

I think we all know what the 'purpose' is.

You think it was hard getting a coalition of the willing - pause for laughter - for Iraq, just wait and see how successful it will be for Iran. Here is the short version of the next Republican led foreign policy failure: We practice unilateral preventive warfare - again - versus Iran, we get bogged down - again - and at a much higher level with way worse consequences, many American soldiers are wasted, UBL and other extremist mouthpieces rhetoric is vindicated, the threat of terrorism goes up as it has since March 2003.

Republican led you ask? You bet:

The 29-page report, principally written by a Republican staff member on the House intelligence committee who holds a hard-line view on Iran, fully backs the White House position that the Islamic republic is moving forward with a nuclear weapons program and that it poses a significant danger to the United States. But it chides the intelligence community for not providing enough direct evidence to support that assertion.

A Huston chronicle blogger put it best: "History Repeating."

Friends, CEES and CREW folks,

Slate.com just ran an article on my research in Bolivia this summer. It pays to have friends in corporate media! A little sensational and simplified, but probably a lot better results than most get when their work is mass media-fied. They get about 2 million page hits per day, so this should help get the word out. It's on the front page right now, but if you don't get this message for a while you can click the direct link below.

A Senate committee, in a bipartisan rebuff to President George W. Bush, approved military tribunal legislation that would give more legal protection to suspected terrorists than the administration wants.

Four of the 13 Republicans on the panel joined the 11 Democrats to pass their version of the measure, rejecting Bush's proposal to bar defendants from seeing classified evidence prosecutors may want to use in court. Former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed the Senate approach, warning that the Bush administration is risking the safety of U.S. troops and worldwide opinion by permitting harsh treatment of detainees.
...
"We are not going to win the war by killing every terrorist with a bomb or a bullet," South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham told reporters before the committee met. "You win the war by persuading those people in the Mideast to reject terrorism." [link]

A reemergence of the war for the hearts and minds would be a good step forward amid all the many steps back. Of course this statement has nothing to do with the illegal actions commited in our name and the request by the Fuehrer to have that continue.

Miracle of Miracles, Superbush has ended his month-long vacation without incident. Well, without any major incidents. That we know about. But it is quite safe to come on out to Juanita Greenberg's today for another gathering of Drinking Liberally. Maybe you have an event planned you would like others to know about; maybe you would like to know about any events that may be planned. Come on out and get together in a show of support for Drinking Liberally.

Superbush has been busy this week what with the 5th anniversary of his greatest failure on September 11, 2001, and the upcoming November elections.

Speaking of September 11, we hope that no one bothered to watch that terrible docudrama aired by ABC. Short version: law enforcement is ineffective; war is good. Sadly, the facts do not bear this out. Maybe ABC should have invested more on the documentary and less on the drama. Besides which, the movie was just . . . well bad.

But back to Superbush, who has been travelling about the country telling people not to politicize the September 11 anniversary because he is the sole licensee of politicizing September 11. Superbush has also been telling anyone who was willing to listen that he and his administration have never tried to link Saddam Hussein with al Qaeda or September 11.

America's Sweetheart, Katie Couric, began her stint as anchor of the CBS Evening News. She scored a huge exclusive interview with Superbush which aired on her second night. Congratulations, Katie! In the interview, Superbush explained to Katie that it was his job to link Iraq with al Qaeda terrorists. Okay? Sounds like we might be needing a little drink. You can get one this Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Juanita Greenberg's.

Other members of The League of Injustice have been out hitting the airwaves not politicizing September 11 or trying to link Iraq with al Qaeda. We'll skip George Felix "The Coach's Son" Allen, Jr. and Katherine "Superwoman" Harris as they are caught up in their own personal problems at the moment. Well, not so much personal as public. The Coach's Son is still coming up with apologies for calling an American citizen bad names; we're not sure what this week's apology is about as they change too often to keep up with. Superwoman is busy telling her supporter(s) that if they do not elect Christians they will be legislating sin. Does anyone have a stone Superwoman could borrow?

Vice President Richard "Captain America" Cheney did not go on TV and say that there were links between al Qaeda and Iraq. If you heard him do it, your ears were lying to you. Secretary of State Condaleeza "Catwoman" Rice did not go on CBS or CNN and say that Iraq had weapons of massive destructive abilities; what she said was that had we not invaded Iraq, Iraq would have built another nuclear bomb. What happened to one she apparently believes they already had she did not disclose.

And then Superbush came out again to preempt the primetime networks to deliver an important non-partisan non-political speech on behalf of the GOP trying to link Iraq to al Qaeda and politicize September 11; something that Superbush would never ever do. Really, just ask his spokesperson, Tony "The Joker" Snow .

Wallace "Sixgun" Scarborough is in the news again. Sorry, link has expired but you can read about in last week's Columbia City Paper in a piece by Will Moredock. Wait a minute, don't we know this scoundrel from somewhere? Hopefully, someone will remember where this villain has shown up before.

Residents of Mount Pleasant are reminded of town elections this coming Tuesday, September 19. Please vote.

P.S. If you have not yet read the Letters to the Editor in Wednesday's Post and Courier, there really isn't any need to do so because our own Mike Cone did not write anything interesting to the editors. Really. We mean that.

That is Drinking Liberally for this the 1,230th day since the declaring of "Mission Accomplished" in Iraq. We're your city leaders, goodnight and good luck.

Don't forget to join us TODAY, and every Thursday, at 5:30pm at Juanita Greenberg's in beautiful downtown Charleston for another edition of Drinking Liberally!

Liberally yours ,
Sadie, Leslie, Mike & Marilyn
Juanita Greenberg's
439 King Street - Downtown
5:30pm until they kick us out . . . again
This and every Thursday
843.723.NACHO(6224)
On King, just a couple of blocks above Calhoun. Look for the blinking lights.
http://www.juanitagreenbergs .com/index.php