For all the talk from President Bush about how Congress shouldn’t second guess the military, the truth is, his administration has not only been second guessing the military, they’ve been actively working to increase political micromanagement of the military. In Charlie Savage’s must-read book Takeover, Savage documents how Dick Cheney’s office worked tirelessly to undermine military JAG lawyers on matters like torture, detainment of “enemy combatants,” and military tribunals. The JAGs opposed administration policy on all of these issues, for a variety of reasons. Cheney and the Office of Legal Counsel did everything they could to dispense with objections from military lawyers on these issues, from going around them, to putting more civilian buffers between them and the top brass at the Pentagon, to ultimately concluding that their opinions don’t matter, and keeping them in the dark about what policies the administration would actually end up adopting.

We also now know that when military officers do get it right, are overruled by political appointees, and then are later proven correct, the Bush administration will do everything they can to toss said military leaders under the bus (see Gen. Eric Shinseki for one example).

The latest example comes from Former three-star general and Iraq War leader Ricardo Sanchez, who has a new book. The book doesn’t take kindly to the Bush administration–or to Donald Rumsfeld in particular.

Here’s Sanchez on the administration’s lack of a plan for post-war Iraq, and subsequent efforts to cover up the fact that said plan didn’t exist

That decision set up the United States for a failed first year in Iraq. There is no question about it. And I was supposed to believe that neither the Secretary of Defense nor anybody above him knew anything about it? Impossible! Rumsfeld knew about it. Everybody on the NSC knew about it, including Condoleezza Rice, George Tenet, and Colin Powell. Vice President Cheney knew about it. And President Bush knew about it.

There’s not a doubt in my mind that they all embraced this decision to some degree. And if it had not been for the moral courage of Gen. John Abizaid to stand up to them all and reverse Franks’s troop drawdown order, there’s no telling how much more damage would have been done.

In the meantime, hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars were unnecessarily spent, and worse yet, too many of our most precious military resource, our American soldiers, were unnecessarily wounded, maimed, and killed as a result. In my mind, this action by the Bush administration amounts to gross incompetence and dereliction of duty.

Let’s also clear up one other thing about this administration. They aren’t pro-military or pro-”the troops.” They’re pro-war. There’s a big difference.

Via Reddit, the 50 most popular pages on “Conservapedia,” the reference wiki for right-wingers.

The New York Times stumbles onto the tragedy of the commons. Sort of. .

Distributed Republic has posted their annual May Day remembrance of the brutality and horrors of communism.

So as part of my research for an upcoming article, I needed find out the strip club regulations in various cities. I figured the best way do this would be contact the strip clubs themselves–who, after all, have to abide by the regs. That has led to several conversations like the one below, which I had with the general manager of a club in Baltimore this afternoon.

Me: So what’s the law on nudity in Baltimore?

Her: We’re all-nude in the city. Baltimore County is pasties and a g-string. But the dancers have to be on a platform that’s at least 18 inches off the ground.

Me: And can you serve alcohol?

Her: Yep.

Me: What about lap dances?

Her: Well, we call them “table dances.” There’s no touching.

Me: By customers or by dancers?

Her: Dancers can’t touch each other. They can touch customers, but the customers can’t touch back.

Me: But they’re nude?

Her: Oh, no. Dancers have to be in uniform when they give table dances. Of course, there’s also the Champagne Room. But we consider that private, so the rules are a little looser there.

Me: I see. Any other laws you think are worth noting?

Her: Hmm. Well, there’s no toy play. And a dancer isn’t allowed to touch herself on stage.

Me: At all?

Her: Well, no, not at all. But, you know. She can’t, like, pleasure herself.

Me: Ah. So she can’t touch her genitals.

Her: She can touch them, but she can’t masturbate. Or pretend to. No penetration.

Me: Gotcha. Can she touch other parts of her body?

Her: She can, but it can’t be stimulating. So she can cup or squeeze her breasts, but she isn’t allowed to tweak her nipples, for example.

Me: So the difference between cupping and tweaking is the difference between following the law or breaking it?

Her: Yep . . . You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?

Me: I do love my job.

Neil Diamond night, and no one sang “Cracklin’ Rosie,” “Shiloh,” or my personal favorite, “Song Sung Blue.” Here’s how I’d order the contestants tonight:

David Archuleta. No joke. I thought both of his performances tonight were pretty awful. He sang two Diamond standards, and his just-pubescent voice wasn’t nearly man enough to pull either of them off. He’s got no gruff, no rasp. He absolutely butchered “Sweet Caroline,” turning a driving, up-tempo song into a mushy, sing-songy shell of what it ought to be. As for “America,” I guess Archuleta’s taking up the Kristy Lee Cooke God n’ Country banner. Again, the song was just too big for him. Sad thing is, he’ll still probably get the most votes this week. But I thought this was easily his weakest night of the season, including the week where he booted the lyrics to Eleanor Rigby “We Can Work It Out.”

Jason Castro. I like Castro a lot, and think with the right songwriter, he could sell a few CDs. The problem is, he doesn’t have much range as a performer. There are certain styles he does very well, others where he just sounds like a lame guy on the beach strumming his guitar in front of a bonfire. I’ve always thought that one of Idol’s weaknesses is that because they push so many different styles on the contestants, they weed out the truly interesting voices, and end up selecting for a kind of generic, all-purpose session background singer. Castro’s “Forever in Blue Jeans” was actually very good. But Castro’s voice is in many ways more fragile than Archuleta’s. So “September Morn” again shrank next to Diamond’s growl, and Castro drowned in the expanse of the song. Also, how awesome was it when Paula Abdul started judging Castro’s second performance before he had even given it? I don’t know what she’s on, but I’d hate to see her when she’s off it.

Brooke White. Her “I’m a Believer” was cartoonishly awful. She almost spoke the lyrics. And I half expected her to start swinging her elbows and kicking up her heels. But she bounced back, and delivered on her second song with what she does best–a soulful ballad at the piano. She did the homesick weeper, “I Am, I Said,” and probably saved her butt in the process. Very nice. Related: Every time I hear this song, I can’t get over that “not even the chair” lyric that Dave Barry’s always making fun of.

David Cook. I don’t really care for his style of music (he sounds like half the playlist on your typical “alternative rock” station, but this guy is good. He finds arrangements that suit his style and he’s got a lot of showman in him. His voice is by no means the best in the competition, but he’s great at boosting it with well-placed background vocals, guitar, and stage theatrics. Two very strong performances tonight. Alas, I fear a David vs. David final.

Syesha Mercado. Okay, so maybe it’s because I’m just a sucker for soul. Or because she’s hot. But I thought she won the night. She sang two very different songs and brought ‘em both home. Her “Hello Again” swelled and swooned and gave her a chance to show some vulnerability. Then she brought back the sass from last week with a souled-up take on “Thank God for the Night Time.” She showed more range than anyone else tonight, and probably sang better than anyone but Archuleta (yes, the kid’s got a voice–but there’s more to performing than hitting the right notes). Maybe, just maybe she hangs on another week. But she’ll have to beat out Brooke White or Jason Castro to do it. Judging from past shows, that seems unlikely. Too bad. But I hope she finds some strong management, and they push her toward that late 60s, early 70s neo-soul sound for her first CD. She could open for Ryan Shaw. Or do Broadway.

Memphis was a lot of fun. I took a few of your suggestions. We had dry-rub ribs at Rendezvous, watched the ducks and ate a glorious brunch buffet at the Peabody, visited the Civil Rights Museum and Lorraine Motel, hit the Stax Soul Museum, ate lunch (including a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich) at the Arcade Diner, and walked around a bit in the trendy Cooper-Young area. And of course, we had a few drinks and took in some live music on Beale Street.

I’ll have photos later this week. Thanks for all of your ideas. I liked Memphis quite a lot, even though it’s nowhere near the city it once was.

To the unnamed reader who bought one of these off my Amazon Wishlist.

I’ve only had it for a day, but so far it seems as fun and easy to use as the glowing reviews indicate.

Someone should talk someone like George Soros or Peter Lewis into buying thousands of these, then handing them out in low-income areas to document police abuses. It’s also just a handy, lightweight little camera a journalist can always keep tucked away in a bag. And only $140.

Also, thank-yous to the handful of people who’ve rattled the Agitator tip jar over the last month or so. I appreciate your support.

Hint: It’s not because of “our freedom.”

So we’re apparently at that point in the season where the previous night’s performances mean very little, and everyone is sort of coasting (or clinging to life) based on how well they’ve managed to build up a fan base.

Case in point: Tonight’s two lowest vote-getters by far and away gave last night’s best performances. Carly Smithson may have the best pipes of anyone this year, but she just hasn’t had the charisma to hang with Mormon plush toy (not my phrase, can’t remember where I first saw it, but it’s spot-on–and hilarious) David Archuleta, girl next door Brooke White, or wide-eyed stoner Jason Castro. Those three are all very talented, but all gave considerably worse performances last night than Smithson or Syesha Mercado.

I also wasn’t nearly as impressed with David Cook as the judges. I’m not a big fan of musicals, so maybe my ear was off. But I found him almost unlistenable. He sounded exactly like you’d expect he might–like the lead singer of Creed or one of the dozens of bands who sound just like them trying to do Andrew Lloyd Weber.

But back to Mercado. She killed last night. It was the kind of performance she should have been giving all season. I’ve been saying for weeks now that she needs to liven up, tap her sex appeal, and push a sultry, old soul vibe. She’s finally found her groove, but it’s probably too late. She could conceivably outlast White next week, but it’s tough to see her getting much farther, no matter how much she picks it up.

Sorry my Idol blogging has been spare the last few weeks. I’ve been fairly busy and the shows have been kinda’ boring (I fast-forwarded through just about of all of Mariah Carey week). For those of you who hate the Idol blogging, I guess I’ll go ahead and apologize for its return.

This is funny:

You Washingtonians who get your morning news fix from National Public Radio may have noticed something over the years: All those NPR hosts, well, kinda sound the same. There’s a very distinct NPR voice: Quiet, calm and careful.

Well, it’s not an accident. Turns out NPR actually has someone on staff to help radio hosts perfect that soft and lulling voice: David Candow.

“Weekend Edition Saturday” host Scott Simon talked about Candow during a “Q&A Cafe” interview last week at Nathans restaurant.

“There is a man named David, who’s called ‘The Host Whisperer’ and he works with people on their delivery skills,” said Simon.

Say “David Candow.” Even the guy’s name comes out in hushed tones.

The Ninth Circuit becomes the second federal appeals court to rule that border agents can search your laptop without probable cause. The ruling wasn’t surprising, but it is unfortunate. Probably good for the external drive and web hosting industries, though.

From a 2008 report from the Inspector General for the Department of the Interior:

In addition, the Park Police “failed to adequately manage its financial affairs” and the agency is “suffering from low morale and lacking confidence in its command staff,” the report found.

In March 2007, the department’s Office of Law Enforcement, Security and Emergency Management started conducting unannounced site inspections to see how the USPP were handling the task of icon management. Among their findings was an officer at the Jefferson who appeared to be sleeping in a parked squad car (page 13 offers a snapshot) even though the Memorial was ALREADY short-staffed that day and even though “the visitor centers located in both the Lincoln and Jefferson were continually left unmonitored and unprotected.”

Then there’s this…

On two occasions, USPP detected assessment team members while conducting covert site visits at the Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials. During the first incident, a contract security guard confronted assessment team members while they were opening an unsecured utility access door at the Lincoln Memorial. The second occasion occurred at the Jefferson Memorial after an assessment team member was detained after attempting to photograph a USPP officer completing a crossword puzzle for a period of time inside the Memorial’s information office.

You’d think they’d have more important things to be worried about then pursuing charges against someone for dancing to celebrate Thomas Jefferson.

Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., (profiled by reason’s Dave Weigel here) wants to ban the sale of Playboy on military bases.

“Allowing sale of pornography on military bases has harmed military men and women by escalating the number of violent, sexual crimes, feeding a base addiction, eroding the family as the primary building block of society, and denigrating the moral standing of our troops both here and abroad,” Broun said.

Broun said he wants to bring the Defense Department into compliance with the intent of the 1997 law “so that taxpayers will not be footing the costs of distributing pornography.”

Except taxpayers aren’t actually funding it:

Exchange officials noted that tax dollars are not used to procure magazines in the system’s largely self-funded operations.

Which triggered this stunner from Broun’s office:

But Broun’s spokesman John Kennedy contended that taxpayer dollars are involved — “used to pay military salaries, so taxpayer money is, in effect, being used to buy these materials,” he said.

That line of argument would open up all sorts of other possibilities.

Once again, your Bush Justice Department has decided to waste your money prosecuting consenting adults who make movies staring consenting adults, which are then sold to consenting adults.

This would be the same administration that appointed a “Porn Czar” to oversee this crap.

Pretty pathetic.

Stagliano has set up a website (moderately NSFW, depending on where you work) to discuss his side of the case.

HBO’s series on our second president was mostly very good. It’s about time the American revolution got a serious Hollywood treatment.

But they really pulled the mood down in the concluding episode. In fact, tonight’s finale was downright ghoulish. I guess they had to show Jefferson’s and Adam’s death beds because of the coincidence of them dying on the same day, and the bit of trivia about Adams’ last words.

Still, it felt like the show lingered on death this evening. The close-ups of Paul Giamatti as the series’ make-up people edged him closer to the grave felt overdone. It felt like the entire purpose of the final installment was to show lots of dying, crying, and the brutality of aging. The election of John Quincy Adams was given short shrift, as were the administrations of Jefferson and Madison. Instead, we got drawn-out treatments of Nabby Adams’ mastectomy, and tortuous, agonizing deathbed treatments of Jefferson’s, Abigail Adams’, and finally John Adams’ passing (complete with a leak of spittle dropping from the corner of his mouth, in case you weren’t quite sure he was dead).

Seems like an odd way for a series celebrating the American founding to go out. Here was an otherwise terrific series depicting the men who did more to liberate mankind than anyone in human history, and I turned it off not inspired, but half-depressed. Almost makes you wonder if director Tom Hooper wasn’t expressing some pessimism about the American experiment. Or perhaps this was his way of allowing the show’s actors to audition for their Emmies.

Otherwise, it was great. I think Paul Giamatti silenced his critics, and proved he’s more than just a comic book character–or a walking advertisement for Pinot Noir. And I look forward to seeing more of Stephen Dillane. His Jefferson was marvelous.

This made my day:

South African port and truck workers are refusing to move weapons from a ship that docked in the country on its way to Zimbabwe, union officials said Friday.

The move could add to pressure on South African President Thabo Mbeki to take a harder line on Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who is accused of withholding the results of an election his opposition says it won. Mbeki has argued that Mugabe is unlikely to respond to a confrontational approach.

The Congress of South African Trade Unions applauded the stance by the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union, and reiterated its calls for Zimbabwean electoral officials to release the results of the March 29 presidential elections.

“This vessel must return to China with the arms on board, as South Africa cannot be seen to be facilitating the flow of weapons into Zimbabwe at a time where there is a political dispute and a volatile situation,” the union congress said in a statement.

[...]

Mary Robinson, the former U.N. human rights chief, applauded the unions for taking a stand.

“How positive it is that ordinary dockers have refused to allow that boat to go further,” Robinson said during a conference in Senegal on governance in Africa. “They as individuals have taken the responsibility. Because they believe it’s not right.”

More of this, please. Everywhere.