Glenn:

I want to second Thomas C's excellent post and urge you to do a quick debunk of Gaffney's claims, which are more pernicious than you might think. Republicans thrive on dishonestly raising bogus doubts about evidence (c.f. global warming). It may seem ridiculous to you and I (and it is) but that doesn't mean its not effective. We have to debunk their bullshit as it arises. What's more, in this case, forget the rest of the debate: Gaffney is easily demolished just by posting precisely the quotes from the key findings of the Duelfer Report that Thomas C posted in his letter above.

Glenn, no one thinks that wingnuts are bigger liars than I do, but when you hear a guy like Gaffney make very specific and verifiable claims in public you can't help but think there has to be something to them. That's why you need to debunk him directly. I found myself wondering about his claims after I listened to the debate and I, like Thomas C, went and actually read much of the Duelfer Report. I was glad to see my suspicions confirmed that he was wrong, but if I hadn't double-checked I would have had some lingering doubt that the wingnuts had some kind of point. They bank on this kind of effect. Thomas C nailed it in terms of picking precisely the right key findings to demonstrate Gaffney's dishonesty.

The Duelfer report is interesting. The author obviously hated having to come to the conclusions he was forced to come to. You can feel his frustration oozing right off of every page. Duelfer goes on and on about how hard it is for Westerners to see beyond their western assumptions, blah blah blah, and he goes on about what Hussein "intended" to do "when the opportunity arose" but he is forced in the end, by reality, to admit that if wishes were horses beggars would ride. Likewise, if Saddam's wishes were WMD wingnuts would be able to truthfully claim that Bush is not a liar.

But they're not and they can't and, as a result Duelfer was forced to admit that there were no actual, material, physical, real WMD.

You said it: the most crucial thing by far is that the credibility of those who lied and deceived on such a massive scale -- and who continue to do so to this day -- be destroyed as an act of public accountability. They do not deserve any benefit of any doubt. They are owed no deference. They deserve to be prosecuted.

Rock died in the late 70's/early 80's. Then there was only the Dead and Dylan, and now there's only Dylan.

There was a golden age of rock from 1965-1975. Punk killed it. Rap buried it. Ever since then "rock" music has sucked ass. Sorry, but its true.

Once again, Glenn Greenwald stands up for his country, speaks truth to power, and provides detailed, accurate analysis of the unacknowledged crisis we face in America today.

"If we tolerate DOJ officials falsely denying accurate press reports of illegal surveillance -- all in order to induce Congress to enact legislation vesting vast powers of surveillance against U.S. citizens -- what don't we tolerate?"

I find myself saying this every few months, but this fucking Bush Administration is so far over the line it is absolutely fucking ridiculous. Impeachment is the only way to restore our national honor.

Hmmm....Go with the death squad strategy or not? Damn, that's a tough call.

If you're Kindalseazy Rice and your a Christian, don't you have to really wonder if you're not in danger of going to Hell for supporting death sqauds? Seriously.

I was very surprised that whoever conducted the Salon interview excertpted here seemed to have been hoodwinked by Bushco propaganda re the source of the deficits. A Salon reporter actually asked a follow up question pushing the Bushco spin that the deficits were the result of unavoidable spending in the GWOT.

I'm a big fan of Salon but that interviewer really dropped the ball.

I reread the post and it was Michael Scherer.

Hey Mike: why are you prompting McCain to give misleading Bushco spin?

This is why two years ago -- even though I am a political junkie in the extreme -- I had to quit watching the cable news shows I used to be addicted to.

Those people literally make me sick.

I despair for my country. The Republicans are evil. The media is feckless. And the Democrats are weaklings.

With all three of those institutions contributing to the problem, there is only the American people left to solve the problem. But how can the people solve the problem when Satan occupies the aptly named bully pulpit, the media are complicit, and there is no leadership from the Democrats?

Thanks again Glenn. Spot on, as usual.

I second Glenn's feelings about Norah "Heather" O'Donnell. If you happen to swallow some poison and need an emetic, watch the recent video of Heather O'Donnell confronting Leahy last week.

She was outraged that Leahy would want Rove to testify under oath. She outright scolded Leahy for not trusting Rove, insisting that he would get truth from Rove without an oath. She then scolded him for not trusting the White House, as if not trusting the White House was some radical position beyond the pale. Well among her peers, that IS a position beyond the pale and therein lies the problem.

If you still trust the White House and Karl Rove after the last 6 years, then you are hopelessly brainwashed.