Former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow Is Dead

Another loyal servant of the Bush White House has passed away -- too soon, far too soon.

According to Sheryl Gay Stolberg, writing in the New York Times, "Tony Snow, Former White House Press Secretary, Dies at 53"

Tony Snow, the conservative columnist and television commentator who relished sparring with reporters during a 17-month stint as President Bush’s press secretary, died Saturday of colon cancer, the White House said. He was 53.

Mr. Snow’s tenure was interrupted by a recurrence of his cancer, and he was quite public about his battle with the disease, saying he wanted to offer hope to other cancer patients. His message to them, he once said, was: “Don’t think about dying. Think about living.”

Dana Perino, who succeeded Mr. Snow as press secretary, said Mr. Snow’s family informed her of the death early Saturday morning. Mr. Bush received the news from his chief of staff, Joshua B. Bolten.

“It was a joy to watch Tony at the podium each day,” Mr. Bush said in a statement. “He brought wit, grace and a great love of country to his work. His colleagues will cherish memories of his energetic personality and relentless good humor.”

Only a cold-blooded psychopath could bring relentless good humor to a job which consisted entirely of telling deliberate lies in an attempt to justify horrific, murderous, torturous, treasonous policies. And only another cold-blooded psychopath could speak of such a performance and "a great love of country" in the same sentence.

The sheer evil that was visible behind the White House podium every day during Tony Snow's tenure on the job has -- if anything -- been made even more visible by the current chief dissembler, who is not only cold-blooded but young and blonde and "cute". And this is progress, if your interest is in catapulting the propaganda.

With his tall, lanky frame, his thick head of gray hair (it thinned, but never disappeared, during chemotherapy) and his showman’s style, Mr. Snow, who joined the White House in April 2006, helped reinvigorate a press operation that many Republicans believed had been lacking. He loved serving at the White House, once calling it “the most exciting, intellectually aerobic job I’m ever going to have.”

And why was that? Because for once in his career Tony Snow found himself in a place where his lies might be publicly challenged?

Before becoming the chief spokesman for the president, Mr. Snow was a television commentator for Fox News. He was also host of the network’s Sunday public affairs program “Fox News Sunday.” Before joining Fox, Mr. Snow was a syndicated columnist for the Detroit News and USA Today.

At the White House, he turned the daily press briefing into something of a one-man show, challenging reporters’ questions and delivering hard-hitting answers, even when he was occasionally short on the facts.

It's quite nauseating to see how Cheryl Stolberg spins Snow's constant lying and non-stop aggression against the people who were supposed to be trying to find out the truth ...

More than once, Mr. Snow was forced to apologize, as he did shortly after taking the job when he erroneously said Mr. Bush viewed embryonic stem cell research as murder.

... for instance, here she chooses an example where Snow was wrong about what Bush had said.

Never mind all the other preposterous lies he told, like the one where the president was "in the war every day". And never mind about all the other times that Snow and Bush told the same deliberately false stories over and over ...

“He’s velvet glove and iron fist,” Jim Axelrod, the CBS White House correspondent, once said in describing Mr. Snow.

Is this a good thing? Do we all need to be punched in the nose more often?

Coming into the job, Mr. Snow had credibility [sic] with the media because as a commentator, he had often been critical of Mr. Bush.

It's amazing to think that working at FOX News in any capacity could gain anyone "credibility" with the media.

But credibility isn't what it once was. In the old days you had to earn it by telling the truth. Now it's conferred on those who tell the most convincing lies.

“Tony Snow broke the mold — he was a completely different kind of press secretary,” said Ann Compton of ABC News, who has covered six presidents. “For one thing, he would give you his own opinion and you’d have to say, ‘Tony, wait, I asked what the president thought.’ “

Translation: He wouldn't even answer the irrelevant quesions.

His snappy sound bites made Mr. Snow an instant hit among Republicans — and he was not shy about breaking barriers. “It’s like Mick Jagger at a rock concert,” Karl Rove, the president’s former political strategist, once said in describing him.

Snow's smiling, energetic performances helped keep Karl Rove out of prison.

During the 2006 midterm election campaign, Mr. Snow raised eyebrows by using his celebrity to raise money for Republican candidates — something that by Mr. Snow’s own admission, other press secretaries had declined to do for fear of seeming too partisan.

He didn't even care about creating the pretense of impartiality.

Mr. Snow said simply that his job was to serve the president, and that is what he intended to do.

The hottest spot in Hell is reserved for those who simply wanted to serve their tyrants. And Tony Snow is there -- right now -- warming up spots for Rove, Dumsfeld, and all the rest.

Ms. Compton, who had been in touch with Mr. Snow in recent months, said his condition took a turn for the worse after the White House correspondents’ dinner in April. “He had a front-row seat and he looked wonderful,” at the event, she said.

"Wonderful" in his usual energetic cold-blooded smiling psychopathic killer kind of way, of course.

"Wonderful" as described in all the obituaries flooding in ... as usual.

Whenever a prominent "conservative" dies, the "conservative" press goes into hyperdrive, publishing endless tributes to the fallen monster. Occasionally a blogger or two demurs and writes a factual piece about the dead scoundrel, and then "conservative" bloggers ask questions like, "Is the world better off, in your opinion, now that he is gone?"

In my opinion, NO, NOT MUCH. He had already done about as much damage as he could, and he was no longer in a position to do much more.

The world is not a much better place now that he is gone. The world would have been a slightly better place if he had never been born. The world would be a slightly better place today if he had been struck by lightning the first time he told a lie in the service of this unelected president. The world would have been a slightly better place if he had been born with a conscience -- or if he had developed one as he "grew up". But then his career path would have been different, for the American government has no use for citizens with consciences. And neither does FOX News.

I do not celebrate Tony Snow's death in any way. In my opinion it came far too soon. If there were any justice on Earth, Tony Snow's battle with cancer would have been a very long one. But that wouldn't have made the world any better, either.

What would make the world a better place?

If the millions of zombified sleepwalkers who are presently celebrating the twisted life of this despicable man were to read a piece such as this and -- instead of getting angry at the author -- remove their blinders and see for the first time how blatantly they are being manipulated, and how shamelessly they are being used as instruments of evil by the very psychopaths they idolize ...

And then, if they decided to do something about it ...

Good Riddance To Dennis Hastert And Tony Snow

Two of the most despicable swine who ever despoiled the national barnyard bit the dust yesterday, and none to soon. Predictably, they both lied their despicable swine asses off about it.

Hastert Say He's Not Seeking Re-Election

Rep. Dennis Hastert, who was speaker of the House longer than any Republican, announced Friday morning he will not seek another term in Congress. Speaking to hundreds of supporters outside the Kendall County Courthouse in his northern Illinois district, Hastert thanked staff, supporters and voters who helped keep him in office for 20 years.

"Together, we have made a difference," he said. Citing legislation for domestic security, Medicare, technology research, Social Security and alternative fuel sources, he added, "We passed improvements that have quietly made a real difference in people's lives."

Yeah, sure! Especially if they were drug dealers or terrorists or representing foreign governments ... or intent on destroying civil liberties at home. You made a big difference, Denny, you treasonous razorback, you!!

Snow to leave White House early

White House spokesman Tony Snow has announced that he is resigning from the job early for financial reasons.

Mr Snow did not give the date he would leave but said he had taken a pay cut since he joined President George Bush's team from Fox News TV in April 2006.

He has also been undergoing chemotherapy for colon cancer.
...

"I've already made it clear I'm not going to be able to go the distance, but that's primarily for financial reasons," he said.

"I've told people when my money runs out, then I've got to go."

Well, cry me a river, Mister Tony Snow, who made huge sacrifices and even took a pay cut in order to tell noble lies on behalf of the most despicable president who ever despoiled the national barnyard.

Good riddance! Take the rest with you!!

Mr Bush has lost some of his closest advisors in recent months. The latest was his top strategist, Karl Rove, who said he would quit at the end of the month.

Other aides have left since the Democrats took control of Congress in January 2007.

They include counsellor Dan Bartlett, chief White House attorney Harriet Miers, budget director Rob Portman, political director Sara Taylor, deputy national security adviser J.D. Crouch and Meghan O'Sullivan, another deputy national security adviser who worked on Iraq.

... all of whom, as well as the POTUS and the VPOTUS and the AG and many others, belong in prison rather than cushy peaceful retirement.

All of which goes to show how much the system doesn't work.

Are you ready to go on strike or am I all alone on this one?

The Hunt For Osama bin Laden ... um ... Continues

You can't make this stuff up:

Webster Tarpley, July 21:

Cheney [...] visited Pakistan at the end of February with an obvious ultimatum to General Musharraf to get ready to mount a land war against Iran this summer. Equally and immediately obvious was the fact that Musharraf, who considers himself the heir to the great Mustafa Kemal Ataturk of Turkey, had told the Vice President to go Cheney himself. With Pakistan refusing to attack its neighbor, Cheney suddenly discovered that Osama bin Laden was being protected by Musharraf! [...]

Dawn: Bin Laden alive in Pakistan: US spy chief

WASHINGTON, July 22, (AFP) - Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden is alive and sheltering in parts of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan, US intelligence chief Mike McConnell said Sunday.

McConnell blamed the Pakistani government of President Pervez Musharraf for allowing Al-Qaeda to regroup through a controversial peace pact last year with tribal leaders in the border areas. But Musharraf remains a key ally, he said.

Pakistan slams US over Al-Qaeda reports

WASHINGTON, July 22, (AFP) - Pakistan's government lashed out Sunday after US officials said Al-Qaeda was regrouping on Pakistani soil and refused to rule out unilateral strikes against the extremist group's bases.

“Pakistan's commitment cannot be doubted by anybody, and that is why some of our people do not like what we read in some of your newspapers, which are more like leaks and calculated leaks,” Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri told CNN.

Instead of intelligence estimates, the United States should give Islamabad “evidence, actionable intelligence” on the Al-Qaeda presence inside Pakistan, he said.

“Let the United States provide us with actionable intelligence, and you will find that Pakistan will never be lacking,” Kasuri said, attacking US media criticism “despite all the sacrifices that Pakistan has been making”.

A new report by the US intelligence community last week said that Al-Qaeda had regrouped in its Pakistani “safe haven” on the Afghan border, and was determined to inflict mass casualties through new attacks on the United States.

Pakistan denies Osama bin Laden on its soil

ISLAMABAD, July 22, (AFP) - Pakistan Sunday denied a US claim that Osama bin Laden is in the country's tribal areas, saying that if Washington knows the Al-Qaeda leader's whereabouts then it should inform Islamabad.

US intelligence chief Mike McConnell told American television on Sunday that he believed bin Laden is alive and sheltering in parts of Pakistan on the border with Afghanistan.

“Our stance is that Osama bin Laden is not present in Pakistan,” the country's Interior Minister Aftab Sherpao told AFP. “If anyone has the information he should give it to us, so that we can apprehend him.”

Still waiting ...
Still waiting ...
Still waiting ...
Still waiting ...

And meanwhile:

IHT: U.S. military options draw a chorus of protests in Pakistan

American assertions that military action remained an option to quell militants in Pakistan's frontier regions drew mounting protests from the government and its critics here on Monday, as clashes continued in the tribal areas where the United States says Al Qaeda has been allowed to set up a safe haven.
...

The administration's homeland security adviser, Frances Fragos Townsend, said Sunday in an interview with Fox Television that the United States would consider military strikes against Qaeda hide-outs in Pakistan.

The statement was promptly countered by the Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Tasnim Aslam, on Monday. "We do not want our efforts to be undermined by any ill-conceived action," Aslam said, adding that any military strikes would be deeply resented in the tribal areas and the rest of the country.
...

Newspaper editorials over the past several days have pointedly criticized American suggestions of military action, taking note of American troops getting "bogged down" in Iraq and Afghanistan. "So in their own interest and in the interest of Pakistan's battle with the Taliban," read an editorial recently in Dawn, an English language daily newspaper, the Americans "better keep themselves out of it."
...

In Washington, the White House tried to temper such concerns, saying that reserving the option of military force was not necessarily the same as exercising it.

"I think there has been this notion afoot, or at least an attempt or an inclination somehow, we're going to invade Pakistan," said Tony Snow, the White House spokesman. "We always maintain the option of striking actionable targets, but we also realize that Pakistan is a sovereign government and a very important player in the war on terror."

Preposterous: Tony Snow Says The President Is In The War Every Day

White House spokesman Tony Snow may have told the biggest lie of his career Thursday; not an easy thing do to for a former employee of FOX News.

As reported by Think Progress dot org:

Reporter Helen Thomas asked Tony Snow if there are “any members of the Bush family or this administration in this war.” Stunningly, Snow claimed that President Bush is actually on the “frontlines” of the war in Iraq:

Q: Are there any members of the Bush family or this administration in this war?

SNOW: Yeah, the President. The President is in the war every day.

As we all know, the President is not in the war, not every day, not even one day.

He wouldn't last an hour in Iraq. But I'd love to see him try.

You can read more background information and see the video clip at Think Progress dot org.