Liars in Paradise, or Say Goodbye With a Lie, Don Rumsfeld

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Conservative columnist David Brooks rarely gets props on MoJoBlog, but during yesterday’s Meet the Press — when he commented on Cheney’s farewell remarks to Donald Rumsfeld — he hit the nail on the head.

Via Think Progress, you can watch Cheney spouting,

In his regard for our people in uniform, in his unwavering strength through unprecedented challenges, in his example of leadership and patriotic service, I believe the record speaks for itself: Don Rumsfeld is the finest Secretary of Defense this nation has ever had.

Yesterday, Brooks noted that if what Cheney said were true,

Either George Bush is a fool or Dick Cheney is a liar, all right? Because either George Bush just fired at the height of a war, at the greatest national security threat of our country’s current era, the greatest secretary of defense in history, or Dick Cheney thinks we’re all walking around with a sign that says “Stupid” on it.

Booyakasha! But why not follow the Vice President’s advice and let the record speak for itself? Try cross-referencing the Department of Defense’s recent homage to Rumsfeld with the Secretary of Defense’s many dubious distinctions chronicled in the Mother Jones Iraq War Timeline.

And PS — Cheney’s got an entry in the MJIWT, too.

— Koshlan Mayer-Blackwell and Celia Perry

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

We need to start raising significantly more in donations from our online community of readers, especially from those who read Mother Jones regularly but have never decided to pitch in because you figured others always will. We also need long-time and new donors, everyone, to keep showing up for us.

In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

Please learn more about how Mother Jones works and our 47-year history of doing nonprofit journalism that you don't elsewhere—and help us do it with a donation if you can. We've already cut expenses and hitting our online goal is critical right now.

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