Obama's prayer

A written prayer that Barack Obama left this week in the cracks of the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, asks God to guide him and guard his family, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday.

"Lord _ Protect my family and me," reads the note published in the Maariv daily. "Forgive me my sins, and help me guard against pride and despair. Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will."

More below.

The paper's decision to make the note public drew fire. The rabbi in charge of the Western Wall, Shmuel Rabinovitz, said publishing the note intruded in Obama's relationship with God.

"The notes placed between the stones of the Western Wall are between a person and his maker. It is forbidden to read them or make any use of them," he told Army Radio. The publication "damages the Western Wall and damages the personal, deep part of every one of us that we keep to ourselves," he said.

That to which we aspire

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

Less beautiful stuff below.

How many ways is this disgusting?  Let me count the ways.  This clip is courtesy of diarist Lauren S at Daily Kos. Whatever you think of Sen. Clinton's comment on Friday, set that aside.  Here's Liz Trotta, a Fox News contributor, discussing the incident, first mixing up Osama and Obama, then offhandedly suggesting that "knocking off" both would be great "if we could". http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archive...

Trotta apologized for her comments on Fox News Monday morning:

I am so sorry about what happened yesterday. In a lame attempt at humor I really just fell all over myself in making it appear that I wished Barack Obama harm or any other candidate for that matter. I sincerely regret it and apologize to anybody I've offended. It's a very colorful political season and many of us are making mistakes and saying things we wish we hadn't said.

The War Prayer http://thewarprayer.com/war_film.html

Holiday abbreviated edition below.

So, what are the McCains hiding? Cindy McCain was asked about releasing her tax returns, on the Today show, and reiterated that she would never release them -- ever -- even if she becomes First Lady:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vZi6...

We're All Hacks Atrios is right

It's important to remember that none of us are above the fray, that we all have hackish tendencies to suppress information which doesn't fit our worldview and privilege information that does. We're more likely to excuse behavior from people we like and exaggerate the ills of people we don't like. I try to fight hackish tendencies especially during this intra-Dem battle, but I don't claim to have superhuman Nonhack powers.

For the record, I make no effort to be above the fray nor any pretense of being fair or balanced.  I'm not only a member of the Hack Club for Men, I'm the president.  It's good to know your own filters....

More hackery below.

Obama Romps in NC; Hillary Squeaks By in Indiana  The two primaries ended as many polls predicted: with Clinton winning Indiana and Obama winning North Carolina. But Obama won with a double digit lead, while Clinton eked out a very narrow victory. http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/20...

Gas tax pandering didn't work, the arithmetic is even more stacked against her than ever, the cable talking heads have almost unanimously declared her dead, Tim Russert says she's cancelled her morning TV appearances, and speculation is rife that she might finally drop out. Maybe the game changed tonight after all.

It's been pretty clear for over a month that Hillary's only chance to win was to hope that Obama got hit by a meteor or something. In the end, though, he got hit by several meteors and it still didn't knock him out. Short of Obama literally keeling over from a stroke, I'm not sure what Hillary has left to hope for. Maybe she's finally figured that out.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/arc...

More of this, and anything else I can find, below.

The Deceit of Dubya's Folly Behind TV Analysts, Pentagon's Hidden Hand

In a lengthy article based on 8,000 pages of Pentagon records, the Times details the Pentagon's program for directing, co-opting and using network 'military analysts' to spin viewers with DOD-crafted talking points. The DOD used analysts' financial ties to military contractors and control over access "to transform the analysts into a kind of media Trojan horse -- an instrument intended to shape terrorism coverage from inside the major TV and radio networks."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/wa...

More Monday morning news below.

TGIF!

Quote of the week: Retiring Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-VA): "The House Republican brand is so bad right now that if it were a dog food, they'd take it off the shelf."

News below....

Ray McGovern thinks it was Admiral Fallon.  Scarecrow thinks it was a “group of Pentagon seniors”.

Whoever you were, thank you.  Because of you, the NIE finding that Iran currently has no nuclear weapons program is now in the public eye.  As a result, war on Iran becomes less likely.

From Democracy Now!:

So many things about the current Bush administration have been so horribly, terribly wrong.  Red flags were popping up from day one, and motivations have always been murky.  Then I ran across a quote that just struck me as cutting through to the heart of why the Pentagon (and Halliburton, etc.) supports the Iraq occupation and the war on terra.  And it happens to be a familiar problem -- "Inventing Enemies."

The family of Pat Tillman is seeking accountability for the stories that were told by the military after his death.  From Democracy Now!:

Tillman Family Rejects Pentagon Probe into Shooting Death


And finally, Pentagon investigators are recommending disciplinary action against nine officers involved in the initial probe into the death of former football star turned soldier Pat Tillman. Tillman was killed in Afghanistan after being shot by a fellow Army Ranger. The military initially said he died from an attack by Taliban fighters. The probe found the nine officers passed along misleading and inaccurate information and delayed reporting their belief Tillman was killed by friendly fire. The officers include four generals -- Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, retired Brigadier General Gary Jones, now-Brigadier General James Nixon and Lt. Gen. Philip Kensinger. McChrystal is commander of the Joint Special Operations Command while Jones led a previous military investigation into Tillman’s death. Meanwhile investigators have also ruled out criminal negligence in Tillman’s shooting. Tillman’s family has rejected the findings. In a statement, the Tillman family called the investigation “shamefully unacceptable” and called for a Congressional probe.