Will the charts explain the methodology used to derive the information they contain?

No.

This has been another Simple Answers to Stupid Questions (thank you Atrios :) )

"I once knew a statistician who drowned while wading across a lake with an AVERAGE depth of three feet..."

Will congress get to ask any questions of Patreus?? Like, how do we know for sure that if one is shot in the front of the head, the violent act is somehow NOT related to the war???

Well wait just a darn minute. Wasn't the big news a week or so ago that the report was not going to be written by Petraeus, as we had been led to believe, but rather by the friendly and forthcoming folks in the White House? Now we're being told even that was not the truth?

I am shocked. Shocked I say.

security code: zebra...they never change their stripes.

Can someone clarify for me, in what respect are we a democracy at this point?

At least this way they can't say they lost the damn thing, the way they lost the 5 million or so emails!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey, what did you expect?
You who protest are all VICTIMS.
That goes for the Democrats like Reid, Levin, Pelosi .
Until we get rid of them, and put some others in their place, this is what we'll get.
Stop protesting and start working to bring pressure on them, if you really want to end the war.

We are so screwed.

Under our constitution when the goverment
becomes so appressive we have the legal
right to dispose that goverment.It is
called (INPEACHMENT).

Well, before jumping to conclusions might this simply be an accurate statement that Petraeus is not providing the written report to Congress, which we (we being TPM readers) have known pretty much all along? There's nothing in this statement to indicate the White House isn't going to provide the written report to Congress "with input from Petraeus and Crocker" as expected. This statement indicates the president won't be receiving a written statement from Petraeus--and as far as that goes, who cares? It's not like the president would read it in the first place. Nor would he release it to the public; he'd just claim executive privilege.

Unofficial Oval Office transcript of General Petraeus reporting his assessment to the President:

PRES: "So, Davey, how's it goin' over there? Y'all gonna kick ass, ain't ya?"

PETRAEUS: "Sir, yes, sir. We're slowly making progress, I think."

PRES: "Thought so. Heckuva job. Want some ice cream? I do. (into phone) HEY! I want Ice Cream! "

End of unofficial transcript.

The methodology? Right there on the PowerPoint slide depicting a guy with his pants around his ankles and one hand reaching into his rectum.

I can think of one person in the White House I'm certain can't even spell methodology.

If this is allowed to proceed, then America does not have two political party's, just one, and we are now imperial....

in other words, if dubya doesnt profile raw data, there no money... its call checks & balances...

It is important to understand the difference between a scam and a con. It takes many scams to float a really good con job. The beauty of a well designed scam is that it sucks you into the real con even while you are rejecting the obvious scam. The scams are endless:
surge/no surge
benchmarks/no benchmarks
national reconcilliation/bottoms up
secret report/public report
commander's report/White House PR paper
written report/presentation

The real con is that the American people have been sucked into paying at least two trillion dollars and in the end will have nothing to show for it. That fact tends to get lost in all the ventilating over the obvious scams.

Why the con job was pulled in the first place is an interesting question that to this day has not been fully answered. However, it is pretty clear that it was part of an even higher level con.

At what point in our history was it decided that political debate meant saying whatever it would take for "our" side to "win" the debate - truth be damned!

This isn't a silly game to be won or lost, this is a major cultural movement and sometimes I feel as if there is only one side that actually understands that and they are very focused on accomplishing their goal.

Basically, Petraus and Bush are both trying to avoid perjury before the Congress. If they or anyone else involved in the report drafts the report knowing that there are lies in the report, they are guilty of a crime.

The original purpose of legally requiring a report was to actually get some facts before Congress so
Congress could make some decisions. A legal and Constitutional crisis now looms because the Executive refuses to uphold this law and refuses to be caught lying to the Congress...the Administration is in a bind...and the People are in one too if Congress does not demand the report...I think a case for Impeachment could be made on this attempt to not tell the Congress the truth about what is going on in Iraq. Yet, the dance continues...

Is Petraus making his report to a joint session of Congress, or to a Congressional committee? If it's to a joint session, there won't be an opportunity for Congressmen to ask questions, challenge his statements, or make any comments. That would suit the Administration just fine. Who decided on the context for the Petraus report?

Does it make any difference? Whatever Petraeus says the Republicans will find it sufficient to continue their lemming like adherence to the preservation of the Bush presidency.

The question is whether or not the American voter has sufficient interest in knowing and memory to hold the Republican go=allongers and Joe Lieberman responsible.

hmmm.... "....not to expect a paper trail..."

well, it worked in the theft of the 2004 general election in Ohio. why would you change a system that 'works' (ie keeps ameriKans in the dark and feed sh*t)...?

you gotta hand it to them (walking papers), they DO have HUGE balls, and, a 'wide stance'.

I'm sure that George Soros, or someone like him, could guarantee General Petraeus a generous life pension if he would only de-couple from the White House and tell the truth.

But I'm naive, as usual.

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