Kristol Calls On Bush To Pardon Torturers And Wiretappers, Reward Them With Medal Of Freedom
Think Progress — ... In his new Weekly Standard column, right-wing pundit Bill Kristol lays out a to-do list for President Bush before he leaves office. He urges Bush to deliver speeches “reminding Americans of our successes fighting the war on terror.” Kristol dreams, “Over time, Bush might even get deserved credit for effective conduct of the war on terror.” ...

Kristol wants rewards for torturers
Political Animal — KRISTOL WANTS REWARDS FOR TORTURERS.... Bill Kristol devotes his new Weekly Standard column to warning Republicans to expect to stay the minority party for a while. As he sees it, the GOP, if history is any guide, won't have a legitimate shot at reclaiming the congressional majority until, at the earliest, 2012, and probably won't be able to reclaim the White House until 2016. With that in mind, Kristol ponders what Bush might do with his remaining weeks in office to help Republicans "get the credit they deserve for successes in Iraq and the broader war on terror." As part of his list, the conservative pundit wants to see some pardons . ...

No
N/A — No, hell no. Bush can explain to Americans just how his administration’s detention, interrogation, surveillance, and other counterterrorism policies have helped keep us safe. If he lays out the case for them publicly–as his appointees are surely doing to their transition counterparts privately–he’ll make it easier for the incoming Obama administration to back off rash promises and continue most of the policies. This would be a real service to the country. A real service to the country?  Hell no.    Which country?  A nation of laws?  Hell no. A ...

The Medal Of Freedom For Torturers
The Daily Dish | By Andrew Sullivan — It's hard for Kristol to top himself, but in Orwellian terms, offering a Medal of Freedom for torture may be a career high: One last thing: Bush should consider pardoning--and should at least be vociferously praising--everyone who served in good faith in the war on terror, but whose deeds may now be susceptible to demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points. The lawyers can work out if such general or specific preemptive pardons are possible; it may be that the best Bush can or should do is to warn publicly against any such harassment or prosecution. But the idea is this: The CIA agents who ...

President Bush Should Pardon the Wal-Mart Shoppers
Jon Swift — ... in The Weekly Standard (which was apparently too good to waste on The New York Times) William Kristol writes, “Bush should consider pardoning – and should at least be vociferously praising – everyone who served in good faith in the war on terror, but whose deeds may now be susceptible to demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points.” It would indeed be ...

Let’s Reward Torture and Illegal Surveillance with the Medal of Freedom
Comments from Left Field — ... n his new Weekly Standard column, right-wing pundit Bill Kristol lays out a to-do list for President Bush before he leaves office. He urges Bush to deliver speeches “reminding Americans of our successes fighting the war on terror.” Kristol dreams, “Over time, Bush might even get deserved credit for effective conduct of the war on terror.” ...

I Done Felt How The Shells Burn, I Still Won’t Learn
Firedoglake — It's hard to know what to do with the final weeks of the Bush administration. But Bill Kristol thinks the time might best be spent killing your children in another war with a dubious relationship to the national interest: ...

Kristol’s Next War
Matthew Yglesias — In addition to being a booster of the two actual wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Bill Kristol and/or his publication has, at one time or another, also called for the United States to go to war with North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Sudan. And now he’s got another war he’s like to start: And while [Bush is] at it, perhaps he could tell various admirals to stop moaning about how difficult it would be to deal with the pirates off the coast of Somalia (isn’t keeping the shipping lanes open a core mission of the Navy?) and order the Navy to clobber them. If need be, the Marines would no doubt be glad to recapitulate their origins and ...

Medal of Freedom for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed Waterboarders?
PoliGazette — So argues Bill Kristol in a recent article for The Weekly Standard: Bush should consider pardoning–and should at least be vociferously praising–everyone who served in good faith in the war on terror, but whose deeds may now be susceptible to demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points. The lawyers can work out if such general or specific preemptive pardons are possible; it may be that the best Bush can or should do is to warn publicly against any such harassment or prosecution. But the idea is ...

NY Times Urges Bush Not To "Abuse Pardons"; Bill Kristol Urges Bush To Pardon Torturers And Wiretappers
Crooks and Liars — ... But it is svengaliesque William Kristol whose advice will much more likely be heeded by his PNAC buddies and disciples in the Executive Branch. He argues in his Weekly Standard that the right thing for Bush to do is to pardon any and all foot soldiers in his War on Terror™: ...

It’s Only a Paper War
Comments from Left Field — There should be a cross-reference next to the word “fool”: See William Kristol: In addition to being a booster of the two actual wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, Bill Kristol and/or his publication has, at one time or another, also called for the United States to go to war with North Korea, Syria, Iran, and Sudan. And now he’s got another war he’[d] like to start: And while [Bush is] at it, perhaps he could tell various admirals to stop moaning about how difficult it would be to deal with the pirates off the coast of Somalia (isn’t keeping the shipping lanes open a core ...

Your Abbreviated Pundit Round-up
Daily Kos — Monday... time to go back to work, pundits. Paul Krugman: The idea that tight fiscal policy when the economy is depressed actually reduces private investment isn’t just a hypothetical argument: it’s exactly what happened in two important episodes in history. The first took place in 1937, when Franklin Roosevelt mistakenly heeded the advice of his own era’s deficit worriers. He sharply reduced government spending, among other things cutting the Works Progress Administration in half, and also raised taxes. The result was a severe recession, and a steep fall in private investment. The ...

Hullabaloo — ... come at the hands of foreigners who joined the fray because of our program of detainee abuse. The number of U.S. soldiers who have died because of our torture policy will never be definitively known, but it is fair to say that it is close to the number of lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001. How anyone can say that torture keeps Americans safe is beyond me -- unless you don't count American soldiers as Americans. Yet this practice is what slaves to executive power like Bill Kristol think are worthy of the Medal of Freedom. In fact, what anyone who has been ...

Journey Into The Unknown: How The Bailout Trend Is Upending Politics
Politics on HuffingtonPost.com — While Republicans and Democrats argue over whether the 2008 election signals the dawn of a new political era, the ground is changing under both parties. The economic crisis has prompted the Bush administration and Congress to significantly expand the role and authority of government in the private sector -- in some cases taking ownership positions in individual corporations, in addition to pushing for more aggressive regulation. A similar degree of government intervention in the auto industry, including the creation of a federal "car czar," is considered likely -- if not immediately, then after January 20. The success or failure of such policies will ...

Journey Into The Unknown: How The Bailout Trend Is Upending Politics
The Huffington Post | Full News Feed — While Republicans and Democrats argue over whether the 2008 election signals the dawn of a new political era, the ground is changing under both parties. The economic crisis has prompted the Bush administration and Congress to significantly expand the role and authority of government in the private sector -- in some cases taking ownership positions in individual corporations, in addition to pushing for more aggressive regulation. A similar degree of government intervention in the auto industry, including the creation of a federal "car czar," is considered likely -- if not immediately, then after January 20. The success or failure of such policies will ...

Another reason to give to HCAN
Sadly, No! — In a previous post, I asked you guys to give money to Health Care for America Now based on some hopey-changey assumption that we can reform our health care system to the point where we at least have a lower infant mortality rate than Cuba. But then I realized that that’s not why I donated to HCAN today. As a Nixon Democrat — that is, a liberal who is motivated more by spite than by hope — I realized that what spurred me to give $40 to HCAN was that Bill Kristol has his fangs out and is encouraging his comrades kill health reform for another 20 years. Greg Sargent notes that the White House is smartly ...