Thursday, April 26, 2007
Uhhh...?
MSNBC Chyron:
The debate, of course, being the 7pm Democratic debate. On MSNBC, a relatively low rated cable station. The Today Show, of course, is a highly rated broadcast program.
Friday on Today: White House Counsel Dan Bartlett responds to debate
The debate, of course, being the 7pm Democratic debate. On MSNBC, a relatively low rated cable station. The Today Show, of course, is a highly rated broadcast program.
Carry-On Glock
I don't know how you can be so stupid as to try to bring a gun on the plane. You really have to be too stupid to breathe.
8 rounds in the gun with an extra clip in the bag.
David Huckabee, a son of Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, was arrested at an Arkansas airport Thursday after a federal X-ray technician detected a loaded Glock pistol in his carry-on luggage.
"I removed the bag and asked Mr. Huckabee if he knew what he had in the bag," Little Rock police officer Arthur Nugent wrote in a report after he was summoned to a security checkpoint. "He replied he did now."
8 rounds in the gun with an extra clip in the bag.
Working Them Hard
Here's a lovely tale about a blue-collar boy from Buffalo who was working his sources so hard he forgot to pick up the phone and call them.
Fighting Age Beinart Talks to Bill Moyers
I like how he shifts discussion from the message (getting it fucking wrong) to the medium (television). You were wrong in print, too.
Kweschins
A CBSer says Bill Moyers is being unfair.
Here are the questions that were asked at that news conference.
Here are the questions that were asked at that news conference.
Ron Fournier.
Q Let me see if I can further -- if you could further define what you just called this important moment we're in, since you've made it clear just now that you don't think Saddam has disarmed, and we have a quarter million troops in the Persian Gulf, and now that you've called on the world to be ready to use force as a last resort. Are we just days away from the point of which you decide whether or not we go to war? And what harm would it do to give Saddam a final ultimatum? A two- or three-day deadline to disarm or face force?
...
Steve.
Q Are we days away?
...
Q Thank you. Another hot spot is North Korea. If North Korea restarts their plutonium plant, will that change your thinking about how to handle this crisis, or are you resigned to North Korea becoming a nuclear power?
...
Dick.
Q Mr. President, you have, and your top advisors -- notably, Secretary of State Powell -- have repeatedly said that we have shared with our allies all the current, up-to-date intelligence information that proves the imminence of the threat we face from Saddam Hussein, and that they have been sharing their intelligence with us, as well. If all these nations, all of them our normal allies, have access to the same intelligence information, why is it that they are reluctant to think that the threat is so real, so imminent that we need to move to the brink of war now?
And in relation to that, today, the British Foreign Minister, Jack Straw, suggested at the U.N. that it might be time to look at amending the resolution, perhaps with an eye towards a timetable like that proposed by the Canadians some two weeks ago, that would set a firm deadline to give Saddam Hussein a little bit of time to come clean. And also, obviously, that would give you a little bit of a chance to build more support within the members of the Security Council. Is that something that the governments should be pursuing at the U.N. right now?
...
Jim Angle.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Sir, if you haven't already made the choice to go to war, can you tell us what you are waiting to hear or see before you do make that decision? And if I may, during the recent demonstrations, many of the protestors suggested that the U.S. was a threat to peace, which prompted you to wonder out loud why they didn't see Saddam Hussein as a threat to peace. I wonder why you think so many people around the world take a different view of the threat that Saddam Hussein poses than you and your allies.
...
Jim Angle.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Sir, if you haven't already made the choice to go to war, can you tell us what you are waiting to hear or see before you do make that decision? And if I may, during the recent demonstrations, many of the protestors suggested that the U.S. was a threat to peace, which prompted you to wonder out loud why they didn't see Saddam Hussein as a threat to peace. I wonder why you think so many people around the world take a different view of the threat that Saddam Hussein poses than you and your allies.
...
Q The potential price in terms of lives and the economy, terrorism.
...
Terry Moran.
Q Thank you, sir. May I follow up on Jim Angle's question? In the past several weeks, your policy on Iraq has generated opposition from the governments of France, Russia, China, Germany, Turkey, the Arab League and many other countries, opened a rift at NATO and at the U.N., and drawn millions of ordinary citizens around the world into the streets in anti-war protests. May I ask, what went wrong that so many governments and people around the world now not only disagree with you very strongly, but see the U.S. under your leadership as an arrogant power?
...
Gregory.
Q Mr. President, good evening. If you order war, can any military operation be considered a success if the United States does not capture Saddam Hussein, as you once said, dead or alive?
...
Q Sir, I'm sorry, is success contingent upon capturing or killing Saddam Hussein, in your mind?
...
Bill Plante.
Q Mr. President, to a lot of people, it seems that war is probably inevitable, because many people doubt -- most people, I would guess -- that Saddam Hussein will ever do what we are demanding that he do, which is disarm. And if war is inevitable, there are a lot of people in this country -- as much as half, by polling standards -- who agree that he should be disarmed, who listen to you say that you have the evidence, but who feel they haven't seen it, and who still wonder why blood has to be shed if he hasn't attacked us.
...
Elizabeth.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. As you said, the Security Council faces a vote next week on a resolution implicitly authorizing an attack on Iraq. Will you call for a vote on that resolution, even if you aren't sure you have the vote?
...
Q No matter what?
...
Mark Knoller.
Q Mr. President, are you worried that the United States might be viewed as defiant of the United Nations if you went ahead with military action without specific and explicit authorization from the U.N.?
...
Bill.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. Even though our military can certainly prevail without a northern front, isn't Turkey making it at least slightly more challenging for us, and therefore, at least slightly more likely that American lives will be lost? And if they don't reverse course, would you stop backing their entry into the European Union?
...
Q Oh, I have a question. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. I'm sure you do have a question.
Q Mr. President, as the nation is at odds over war, with many organizations like the Congressional Black Caucus pushing for continued diplomacy through the U.N., how is your faith guiding you? And what should you tell America -- well, what should America do, collectively, as you instructed before 9/11? Should it be "pray?" Because you're saying, let's continue the war on terror.
...
Hutch.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. As you know, not everyone shares your optimistic vision of how this might play out. Do you ever worry, maybe in the wee, small hours, that you might be wrong and they might be right in thinking that this could lead to more terrorism, more anti-American sentiment, more instability in the Middle East?
...
Ann.
Q Mr. President, if you decide to go ahead with military action, there are inspectors on the ground in Baghdad. Will you give them time to leave the country, or the humanitarian workers on the ground or the journalists? Will you be able to do that, and still mount an effective attack on Iraq?
...
Ed.
Q Mr. President, good evening. Sir, you've talked a lot about trusting the American people when it comes to making decisions about their own lives, about how to spend their own money. When it comes to the financial costs of the war, sir, it would seem that the administration, surely, has costed out various scenarios. If that's the case, why not present some of them to the American people so they know what to expect, sir?
...
George Condin.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. If I can follow on Steve's question, on North Korea. Do you believe it is essential for the security of the United States and its allies that North Korea be prevented from developing nuclear weapons? And are you in any way growing frustrated with the pace of the diplomacy there?
...
Bob.
Q Thank you, sir. Mr. President, millions of Americans can recall a time when leaders from both parties set this country on a mission of regime change in Vietnam. Fifty thousand Americans died. The regime is still there in Hanoi, and it hasn't harmed or threatened a single American in the 30 years since the war ended. What can you say tonight, sir, to the sons and the daughters of the Americans who served in Vietnam to assure them that you will not lead this country down a similar path in Iraq?
...
Jean.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. In the coming days, the American people are going to hear a lot of debate about this British proposal of a possible deadline being added to the resolution, or not. And I know you don't want to tip your hand -- this is a great diplomatic moment -- but from the administration's perspective and your own perspective, can you share for the American public what you view as the pros and cons associated with that proposal?
Iraq'd
Well, with almost all Republicans now on record voting in support of permanent war, the only thing which could prevent another big victory for Democrats in '08 is campaign consultants telling their candidates not to run on the war.
Young Broder
Washington Post, October 7, 1969.
If there are any smart literary agents around these days, one of them will copyright the title [ed. note - titles can't be copyrighted] "The Breaking of the President" for the next big series of nonfiction best-sellers. It is becoming more obvious with every passing day that the men and the movement that broke Lyndon B. Johnson's authority in 1968 are out to break Richard M. Nixon in 1969.
The likelihood is great that they will succeed again, for breaking a President is, like most feats, easier to accomplish the second time around. Once learned, the techniques can readily be applied as often as desired - even when the circumstances seem less than propitious. No matter that this President is pulling troops out of Vietnam, while the last one was sending them in; no matter that in 1969 the casualties and violence are declining, while in 1968 they were on the rise. Men have learned to break a President, and, like any discovery that imparts power to its possessors, the mere availability of this knowledge guarantees that it will be used.
The essentials of the technique are now so well understood that they can be applied with little waste motion. First, the breakers arrogate to themselves a position of moral superiority. For that reason, a war that is unpopular, expensive, and very probably unwise is labeled as immoral, indecent, and intolerable. Critics of the President who are indelicate enough to betray partisan motives are denounced (That for you, Fred Harris.) Members of the President's own party who, for reasons perhaps unrelated to their own flagging political careers, catapult themselves into the front ranks of the of the opposition are greeted as heroes. (Hooray for Charley Goodell.)
The students who would fight in the war are readily mobilized against it. Their teachers, as is their custom, hasten to adopt the students' views. (News item: The Harvard department of biochemistry and molecular biology last week called for immediate withdrawal from Vietnam.)
Next, a New England election (the New Hampshire primary is best but the Massachusetts Sixth Congressional District election will do as well) surprisingly shows that peace is popular at the polls. The President's party sees defeat staring it in the face unless it repudiates him, and the Harris poll promptly comes along to confirm his waning grip on public trust. The Chief Executive, clearly panicky, resorts to false bravado and says he will never be moved by these protests and demonstrations, thus confirming the belief that he is too stubborn to repent and must be broken.
And then, dear friends, Sen. Fulbright and the Foreign Relations Committee move in to finish off the job.
All this is no fiction: it worked before and it is working again. Vietnam is proving to be what Henry Kissinger once said he suspected it might be -- one of those tragic, cursed messes that destroys any President who touches it.
That being the case, any President interested in saving his own skin would be well-advised to resign his responsibility for Vietnam and publicly transfer the assignment of ending the war to Congress or the Vietnam Moratorium Committee or anyone else who would like to volunteer for the job.
But he cannot. And that is the point the protesters seem to overlook. Assume that they and the President are both right when they assert the time has come to end this war. Assume that the protesters know better than the President how to do so -- despite the conspicuous absence of specific alternatives to the President's policies in their current manifestos.
There is still a vital distinction, granting all this, to be made between the constitutionally protected expression of dissent, aimed at changing national policy, and mass movements aimed at breaking the President by destroying his capacity to lead the nation or to represent it at the bargaining table.
The point is quite simple. Given the impatience in this country to be out of that miserable war, there is no great trick in using the Vietnam issue to break another President, you have broken the one man who can negotiate the peace.
Hanoi will not sit down for secret talks with the Foreign Relations Committee. Nor can the Vietnam Moratorium's sponsors order home a single GI or talk turkey to Gen. Thieu about reshaping his government. Only the President can do that.
There is also the matter of time. It is one thing to break a President at the end of his term, as was done last year. It is quite another thing to break him at the beginning, as is being attempted now.
The orators who remind us that Mr. Nixon has been in office for nine months should remind themselves that he will remain there for 39 more months -- unless, of course, they are willing to put their convictions to the test by moving to impeach him.
Is that not, really, the proper course? Rather than destroying his capacity to lead while leaving him in office, rather than leaving the nation with a broken President at its head for three years, would not their cause and the country be better served by resort to the constitutional method for removing a President?
And what a wonderful chapter it would make for Volume 2 of "The Breaking of the President" series.
Searchlight
Begala has a good column about Broder, which highlights, among other things, his sneering elitism. Given that Broder has long painted himself as the One True Understander Of What The Murkin People Think it's important to call him out on that.
They Know Even Less Than What They Say
Greenwald discusses the Moyers documentary in contemporary context.
The tragic absurdity of our contemporary political discourse, where selling a catastrophic war ensures your tenure in elite punditry, cannot be overstated.
The tragic absurdity of our contemporary political discourse, where selling a catastrophic war ensures your tenure in elite punditry, cannot be overstated.
Blowing Up Bombs Where Angels Would Fly
Little Petey Beinart, 4/29/02:
PETER BEINART: (CNN 4/29/02) We need a little bit of logistical support, but we don't need the moral support of anyone, because we're on the side of the angels in this.
What the People Think
Obviously what orthodontists and the other members of the dirty masses think is much less important than, say, the thoughts of Washington insiders who have proven their inability to find their own asses again and again over the past few years. So, I imagine such views will be left out of the Sunday outlook. Still, here it is:
BTW, I really think it's important for all good people to cancel their Washington Post subscriptions. It has become yet another propaganda arm for the Bill Kristol wing of the Republican party, as if that territory wasn't already amply covered.
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of American voters now favor either an immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq (37%) or a firm deadline for their withdrawal (20%). The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that just 35% of voters are opposed to both of these options for ending the war.
...
Underlying these attitudes is pessimism about the War itself. Just 29% of American voters believe the troop surge launched earlier this year has made things better in Iraq. Twice as many, 61%, believe the surge has either made things worse (43%) or had no impact (18%). A separate survey found that just 33% believe history will judge the U.S. mission in Iraq a success. Fifty percent (50%) believe it will be viewed as a failure.
BTW, I really think it's important for all good people to cancel their Washington Post subscriptions. It has become yet another propaganda arm for the Bill Kristol wing of the Republican party, as if that territory wasn't already amply covered.
They Write Emails
The deputy editor of the Washington Post's Outlook section is sending this email around:
Is Harry Reid right? Is the Iraq War lost?
The Washington Post's Outlook section wants to hear how people in the know would answer this ringing question. So we're asking a variety of people around town and in the political/military/media/diplomatic community to tell us what they think. We'd love it if you could send us no more than 50 words from the senator, starting with a blunt "yes" or "no" and then explaining why, for publication in this Sunday's Outlook.
You can send responses directly to this e-mail. I'll need your reply by 2 p.m. Thursday, April 26.
Look forward to hearing from you soon, and many thanks.
Best,
Warren
Moyers
I couldn't stomach watching the whole thing, though I skipped through it. If you have an iron stomach you can watch here.
"Get a Life"
In response to Murtha taking issue with McCain joking about IEDs, McCain said:
The point is that dead troops and other victims are no longer capable of getting "a life."
All good fun for St. McCain, though.
Lighten up and get a life.
The point is that dead troops and other victims are no longer capable of getting "a life."
All good fun for St. McCain, though.
Jonah's World
Recently Max asked:
But he basically answered his own question:
Probably the most successful kind of internet troll, the kind of troll unaware that it is actually attempting to troll, is the truly stupid person. They attract an immense amount of attention, bringing out all of our inner teachers. We cannot believe they are actually that stupid. We believe that maybe, somehow, if we explain things to them very slowly they will actually have the capacity to learn. But they don't. They are giant honking ignoramuses who don't know anything about anything and likely never will.
Yet we can't resist them, because we are fascinated by their stupidity. Fascinated that they manage to be that profoundly dumb yet still manage to tie their shoes, string complete sentences together, etc.
Jonah's so stupid he has no idea how stupid he is. It'd be funnier if he wasn't one of the standard bearers of the dominant (if fast waning) political movement in this country.
Why do so many bloggers engage in online debates with Jonah Goldberg?
But he basically answered his own question:
He's a gigantic honking ignoramus. He doesn't know anything about anything.
Probably the most successful kind of internet troll, the kind of troll unaware that it is actually attempting to troll, is the truly stupid person. They attract an immense amount of attention, bringing out all of our inner teachers. We cannot believe they are actually that stupid. We believe that maybe, somehow, if we explain things to them very slowly they will actually have the capacity to learn. But they don't. They are giant honking ignoramuses who don't know anything about anything and likely never will.
Yet we can't resist them, because we are fascinated by their stupidity. Fascinated that they manage to be that profoundly dumb yet still manage to tie their shoes, string complete sentences together, etc.
Jonah's so stupid he has no idea how stupid he is. It'd be funnier if he wasn't one of the standard bearers of the dominant (if fast waning) political movement in this country.
Reboot
Petraeus is now rebooting the war as the US allied with Iraqis against al Qaeda.
Lord help us.
...ah, I see Lieberman was prepped with the talking points, which Fred Hiatt dutifully printed.
Funny how all that works.
Lord help us.
...ah, I see Lieberman was prepped with the talking points, which Fred Hiatt dutifully printed.
Funny how all that works.
And the First Eschaton Wanker Emeritus Award Goes To
David Broder.
We'll provide his acceptance speech for him.
We'll provide his acceptance speech for him.
Let me disclose my own bias in this matter. I like Karl Rove. In the days when he was operating from Austin, we had many long and rewarding conversations. I have eaten quail at his table and admired the splendid Hill Country landscape from the porch of the historic cabin Karl and his wife Darby found miles away and had carted to its present site on their land.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
People Hate Bush And Hate The War
I don't know what it'll take for that to enter the bloodstream of Official Washington.
...and:
ouch
WASHINGTON - As the Democrat-controlled Congress and the White House clash over an Iraq spending bill, with President Bush vowing to veto it because it contains withdrawal deadlines, the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll finds that a solid majority of Americans side with the Democrats.
...
Yet the poll shows that 56 percent say they agree more with the Democrats in Congress who want to set a deadline for troop withdrawal, versus the 37 percent who say they agree with Bush that there shouldn't be a deadline.
What's more, 55 percent believe that victory in Iraq isn't possible. And 49 percent say the situation in Iraq has gotten worse in the last three months since Bush announced his so-called troop surge. Thirty-seven percent say the situation has stayed about the same, and just 12 percent think it has improved.
...and:
According to the poll, only 22 percent believe the country is on the right track. That's the lowest number on this question since October 1992, when Bush father's was running for a second term -- and lost.
ouch
Sorry, It's Video Day
Blame Monica A for this horror which will require spending a few hours at the Daily Kitten in order to recover.
More Bush dancing horrors.
More Bush dancing horrors.
Knuckle-Dragging Savages
I sense we're swinging back from "spreading peeance and freeance to the Iraqi people" to "kill the brutes." It's always hard to keep track of just where that pendulum is at any particular moment.
Now That Bigfoot is Captured
A little musical palette cleanser for the previous unpleasantness. Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood (.mp3) from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah.
McCain Takes it to Rudy
His speech today:
Heckuva job, Rudy.
Free lifetime subscription to Eschaton for the first mainstream media person who picks up on that.
They won't accept that firemen and policemen are unable to communicate with each other in an emergency because they don't have the same radio frequency.
Heckuva job, Rudy.
Free lifetime subscription to Eschaton for the first mainstream media person who picks up on that.
Stephanie Miller on MSNBC
Stephanie Miller will be taking the former Imus slot from Mon-Wed next week.
viewerservices@msnbc.com to express your support for this decision.
viewerservices@msnbc.com to express your support for this decision.
We Write Letters
A bunch of people write to the DNC and the RNC requesting the convention footage be placed in the public domain or under a Creative Commons license (.pdf).
The Outrage Generation Machine
Consider, if you will, a parallel universe in which Bill Clinton presided over a deeply unpopular war in Iraq which was increasingly opposed by members of the Republican party. Thousands of US troops had died, and many thousands more had life-altering injuries. And, then, First Lady Hillary Clinton said, on a popular morning show, that over the course of the war no one had suffered more then she and her husband had.
Just imagine for a moment how that would've played out on talk radio, Drudge, CNN, Fox, MSNBC, the nightly news, the Sunday shows, the wingnut columnists, the liberal columnists, NPR, etc...
I imagine few honest members of the media industrial complex could deny this point, though most refuse to learn the broader lesson implied by it.
Just imagine for a moment how that would've played out on talk radio, Drudge, CNN, Fox, MSNBC, the nightly news, the Sunday shows, the wingnut columnists, the liberal columnists, NPR, etc...
I imagine few honest members of the media industrial complex could deny this point, though most refuse to learn the broader lesson implied by it.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
QOTD
Jon Stewart:
Basically, first-term president Bush, you invaded to remove the threat of Saddam Hussein. And you, current president Bush, are there to battle the threat created by the lack of Saddam Hussein.
Oh My
What fun we're having.
...and Renzi news.
WASHINGTON - In a burst of activity over the last eight days, FBI agents and federal prosecutors have won a guilty plea from a former congressional aide, implicated two more House of Representatives members and put the scandal surrounding onetime super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff's influence-peddling back into the headlines.
The pace of the inquiry, which now has bagged a veteran congressman, a deputy Cabinet secretary, a White House aide and eight others, appears to be accelerating.
And it portends to be a major new headache for the Bush administration and congressional Republicans still reeling from a furor over the Justice Department's firing of eight U.S. attorneys and from last fall's election, which put Democrats back in command on Capitol Hill.
The newest figure to face serious FBI scrutiny is Rep. Tom Feeney, R-Fla., who said bureau agents have asked for details of a 2003 golf trip to Scotland that he took with Abramoff - a trip that the House ethics committee recently found violated House rules.
...and Renzi news.
The Simon Standard
I look forward to Roger Simon holding all politicians to his new ecumenical standard.
And, yes, I just wet myself laughing.
And, yes, I just wet myself laughing.
Credibility
From Reid's spokesman:
Cheney's an absurd buffoon. I can't believe how the talking heads on the teevee seem to quiver when he appears. What a joke.
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Jim Manley, Spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, released the following statement today after comments made by Vice President Dick Cheney:
Vice President Cheney should be the last person to lecture anyone on how leaders should make decisions.
Leaders should make decisions based on facts and reality, two words that seem to be foreign to the Vice President
This is the same guy who said Iraq has weapons of mass destruction and that we would be greeted as liberators. And it's the same guy who continues to assert that Saddam Hussein had links to al Qaeda long after our own intelligence agency conclusively refuted this notion. To suggest he lacks credibility would be an understatement.
The Vice President's and others' attacks on those who disagree with their failed policies are signs of desperation. They are lashing out because they know the days are numbered for their failed strategy and that the American people and a bipartisan majority are determined to force this Administration to change course in Iraq.
Cheney's an absurd buffoon. I can't believe how the talking heads on the teevee seem to quiver when he appears. What a joke.
Bring out the Snarl
They sent out Big Time to snarl at Democrats. Even they're not stupid enough to think anyone actually gives a shit about Dick Cheney, anyone but our elite media who think that when Dick snarls the Democrats are supposed to cower.
We're supposed to take war advice from a man who shot someone in the face.
We're supposed to take war advice from a man who shot someone in the face.
Worm Dirt
Mary Tillman just recounted this incident:
And they delayed Jessica Lynch's recuse for a day because they needed to prepare to videotape it.
These are bad people.
In a transcript of his interview with Brig. Gen. Gary Jones during a November 2004 investigation, Kauzlarich said he'd learned Kevin Tillman, Pat's brother and fellow Army Ranger who was a part of the battle the night Pat Tillman died, objected to the presence of a chaplain and the saying of prayers during a repatriation ceremony in Germany before his brother's body was returned to the United States.
Kauzlarich, now a battalion commanding officer at Fort Riley in Kansas, further suggested the Tillman family's unhappiness with the findings of past investigations might be because of the absence of a Christian faith in their lives.
In an interview with ESPN.com, Kauzlarich said: "When you die, I mean, there is supposedly a better life, right? Well, if you are an atheist and you don't believe in anything, if you die, what is there to go to? Nothing. You are worm dirt. So for their son to die for nothing, and now he is no more — that is pretty hard to get your head around that. So I don't know how an atheist thinks. I can only imagine that that would be pretty tough."
Asked by ESPN.com whether the Tillmans' religious beliefs are a factor in the ongoing investigation, Kauzlarich said, "I think so. There is not a whole lot of trust in the system or faith in the system [by the Tillmans]. So that is my personal opinion, knowing what I know."
Asked what might finally placate the family, Kauzlarich said, "You know what? I don't think anything will make them happy, quite honestly. I don't know. Maybe they want to see somebody's head on a platter. But will that really make them happy? No, because they can't bring their son back."
Kauzlarich, now 40, was the Ranger regiment executive officer in Afghanistan, who played a role in writing the recommendation for Tillman's posthumous Silver Star. And finally, with his fingerprints already all over many of the hot-button issues, including the question of who ordered the platoon to be split as it dragged a disabled Humvee through the mountains, Kauzlarich conducted the first official Army investigation into Tillman's death.
That investigation is among the inquiries that didn't satisfy the Tillman family.
"Well, this guy makes disparaging remarks about the fact that we're not Christians, and the reason that we can't put Pat to rest is because we're not Christians," Mary Tillman, Pat's mother, said in an interview with ESPN.com. Mary Tillman casts the family as spiritual, though she said it does not believe in many of the fundamental aspects of organized religion.
"Oh, it has nothing to do with the fact that this whole thing is shady," she said sarcastically, "But it is because we are not Christians."
After a pause, her voice full with emotion, she added, "Pat may not have been what you call a Christian. He was about the best person I ever knew. I mean, he was just a good guy. He didn't lie. He was very honest. He was very generous. He was very humble. I mean, he had an ego, but it was a healthy ego. It is like, everything those [people] are, he wasn't."
And they delayed Jessica Lynch's recuse for a day because they needed to prepare to videotape it.
These are bad people.
Very Serious People
Lawrence Kaplan:
Our pal Larry wrote that exactlytwo years ago 25 months ago.
"At what point does the press report a trend? The question comes to mind because, over the past month, the news from Iraq has been unusually good. Depending on which military official you ask, insurgent attacks have dropped by either a third or nearly half. The number of Americans killed in action has declined. Civilians have begun killing terrorists. Over the past week alone, U.S. forces have killed scores of insurgents in lopsided battles -- in the latest, Iraqi forces spearheaded the offensive. Does this mean America has turned a corner? Can we see a light at the end of the tunnel? Does it mean anything at all?
At least to judge by the amount of press coverage devoted to the past weeks' progress in Iraq, the answer would seem to be no.
Our pal Larry wrote that exactly
My Vision
Fred Hiatt, Joe Lieberman, Bill Kristol in Annie Afros and little red dresses singing:
The sun'll come out
In six months
Bet your bottom dollar
That in six months
There'll be sun!
Just thinkin' about
in six months
Clears away the cobwebs,
And the sorrow
'Til there's none!
When I'm stuck a day
That's gray,
And lonely,
I just stick out my chin
And Grin,
And Say,
Oh!
The sun'll come out
In six months
So ya gotta hang on
For six months
Come what may
In six months! In six months!
I love ya in six months!
You're always
A Friedman
A way!
Until the End of the Summer
Elite press consensus appears to be taking its cue from Joe Lieberman and taking the view that it's just wrong not to let the boy king have another chance to let the surge "work," that we should just sit back and give the incompetent crew yet another do-over.
So, just shut the hell up until August! Or September! Or whenever the hell summer ends.
I imagine the Friedman Unit Generator is hard at work, preparing for the inevitable reboot that will come at that time. When Snowe and Collins furrow their brows and look sad and very seriously say they hope things get better soon. When Joe Lieberman writes his annual "things are getting better finally!" column. When a 3 day period with no mass casualty event in Iraq provides "proof" that maybe it's really really working!
It's all so absurd and so horrible.
So, just shut the hell up until August! Or September! Or whenever the hell summer ends.
I imagine the Friedman Unit Generator is hard at work, preparing for the inevitable reboot that will come at that time. When Snowe and Collins furrow their brows and look sad and very seriously say they hope things get better soon. When Joe Lieberman writes his annual "things are getting better finally!" column. When a 3 day period with no mass casualty event in Iraq provides "proof" that maybe it's really really working!
It's all so absurd and so horrible.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Time's Editors
Perhaps they should step in and have an intervention with Joe Klein.
Not holding my breath.
Not holding my breath.
Meanwhile
Over there.
BAGHDAD - Nine U.S. soldiers were killed and 20 were wounded Monday in a suicide car bombing against a patrol base northeast of Baghdad, the military said.
The attack occurred in Diyala province, a volatile area that has been the site of fierce fighting between U.S. and Iraqi troops, Sunni insurgents and Shiite militias, according to a statement.
The nine Task Force Lightning soldiers died of injuries sustained in the blast, which also left 20 soldiers and an Iraqi civilian wounded, the military said.
Go Away
As if we hadn't had enough to put up with lately, Frank "The Worst Critic in America" Bruni was lurking around my city.
The awful food writing is no surprise to those of us who lived through his campaign 2000 writing.
(via foobooz)
The awful food writing is no surprise to those of us who lived through his campaign 2000 writing.
(via foobooz)
Sharpton/Tancredo '08!
I took the plunge and officially became an official Unity '08 delegate.
It's true I briefly flirted with the Editors/Airwolf '08 campaign, but now I'm back in the Unity fold supporting the only ticket which can bring America together.
It's true I briefly flirted with the Editors/Airwolf '08 campaign, but now I'm back in the Unity fold supporting the only ticket which can bring America together.
Awesome
I think these RNC ads are great, and I hope they spend a lot of money to run them. Over and over and over.
"Fixing" Social Security
In the summary overview we have this:
Roughly, this would require increasing both the employee and employer share of the tax from 6.2% to 7.05% (there might be some employment/wage impacts of such a change so this is a rough take).
A small price to pay to ensure Robert Samuelson never writes another column.
Social Security could be brought into actuarial balance over the next 75 years in various ways, including an immediate increase of 16 percent in payroll tax revenues or an immediate reduction in benefits of 13 percent or some combination of the two.
Roughly, this would require increasing both the employee and employer share of the tax from 6.2% to 7.05% (there might be some employment/wage impacts of such a change so this is a rough take).
A small price to pay to ensure Robert Samuelson never writes another column.
DOOOMED
Well, another year and not much has changed. Last year they said Social Security could pay full scheduled benefits without any program changes until 2040, and now it's 2041.
American Family Association
How do they know how often Cho was spanked? Besides, I thought hot saucing was the preferred method of wingnut discipline.
Memo to Alec Baldwin: more hitting, less yelling.
Memo to Alec Baldwin: more hitting, less yelling.
Too Many Wankers
Memo to Dean Broder: the fact that Republicans whine and screech and cry and carry on is not, in fact, evidence that someone has said anything wrong.
The whiny ass titty baby party always whines and screeches and cries. It's what they do.
The disconnect between elite opinion in Washington and reality continues to grow. It's frightening.
The whiny ass titty baby party always whines and screeches and cries. It's what they do.
The disconnect between elite opinion in Washington and reality continues to grow. It's frightening.
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEE
Bush bouncing all the way to 33%.
Some days I really just can't stand watching the teevee. They still talk about this stuff as if Democrats are on the defensive and the steely-eyed rocketman is going to wow the public with his plainspoken ways.
People hate Bush and hate this war. It's that simple, and it's been true for quite some time.
Some days I really just can't stand watching the teevee. They still talk about this stuff as if Democrats are on the defensive and the steely-eyed rocketman is going to wow the public with his plainspoken ways.
People hate Bush and hate this war. It's that simple, and it's been true for quite some time.
Trustees
Incoming: stupid journalism.
The Social Security Trustees are supposedly releasing their annual report today, so we can look forward to lots of stories about how Social Security is DOOOOOOOOOOMED.
The Social Security Trustees are supposedly releasing their annual report today, so we can look forward to lots of stories about how Social Security is DOOOOOOOOOOMED.
Clear?
Boehner, 90 days ago:
Since the, about 250 US troops have been killed. The rhetoric about Iraqis "standing up" and talk of training has ended. And life goes on.
BOEHNER: I think it will be rather clear in the next 60 to 90 days as to whether this plan is going to work. And, again, that's why we need to have close oversight, so that we just don't look up 60 or 90 days from now and realize that -- that this plan is not working. We need to know, as we -- as we're -- we move through these benchmarks, that the Iraqis are doing what they have to do.
Since the, about 250 US troops have been killed. The rhetoric about Iraqis "standing up" and talk of training has ended. And life goes on.
BAGHDAD - Three suicide bombers launched attacks in different parts of
Iraq on Monday, killing at least 27 people and wounding nearly 60 on Monday, police and politicians said.
Hostage Situation
Krugman:
There are two ways to describe the confrontation between Congress and the Bush administration over funding for the Iraq surge. You can pretend that it’s a normal political dispute. Or you can see it for what it really is: a hostage situation, in which a beleaguered President Bush, barricaded in the White House, is threatening dire consequences for innocent bystanders — the troops — if his demands aren’t met.
If this were a normal political dispute, Democrats in Congress would clearly hold the upper hand: by a huge margin, Americans say they want a timetable for withdrawal, and by a large margin they also say they trust Congress, not Mr. Bush, to do a better job handling the situation in Iraq.
But this isn’t a normal political dispute. Mr. Bush isn’t really trying to win the argument on the merits. He’s just betting that the people outside the barricade care more than he does about the fate of those innocent bystanders.
What’s at stake right now is the latest Iraq “supplemental.” Since the beginning, the administration has refused to put funding for the war in its regular budgets. Instead, it keeps saying, in effect: “Whoops! Whaddya know, we’re running out of money. Give us another $87 billion.”
At one level, this is like the behavior of an irresponsible adolescent who repeatedly runs through his allowance, each time calling his parents to tell them he’s broke and needs extra cash.
What I haven’t seen sufficiently emphasized, however, is the disdain this practice shows for the welfare of the troops, whom the administration puts in harm’s way without first ensuring that they’ll have the necessary resources.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
And the cover...
...which made it okay for white kids to like rap, white broadcasters to play it, and brought back Aerosmith from the dead.
More Thread
You talk too much.
...odd, I never knew Run was the brother of Russell Simmons. And I was someone who saw Krush Groove in the theater on opening night!
...odd, I never knew Run was the brother of Russell Simmons. And I was someone who saw Krush Groove in the theater on opening night!
Mr. Bush, Tear Down That Wall...
Anyone actually in charge?
CAIRO, Egypt: Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Sunday that he has ordered a halt to the construction of a barrier that would separate a Sunni enclave from Shiite areas in Baghdad, saying there are other ways to provide protection.
Meanwhile
What a lovely war.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Gunmen in northern Iraq stopped a bus filled with Christians and members of a tiny Kurdish religious sect, separating out the groups and taking 23 of the passengers away to be shot.
Iraq'd
Brownback:
In other words, we can never leave.
The date we set a deadline to pull out is the date al Qaeda will declare victory over the United States.
In other words, we can never leave.
Politics as Theater
Leaving aside the various sins of error, emphasis, and omission, there is a place in our political discourse for political-writing-as-theater criticism as practiced by people like Rich and Dowd. The problem is that this type of stuff has come to dominate our political discourse, and it's especially awful when it gets filtered through the mouths of people like Chris Matthews who lack any talent in that area whatsoever.
More Truth
In fairness to CNN, they let a bit of truth slip out too. Yesterday:
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Americans do not want to fight an unwinnable war. That's why back in 2005, President Bush said --
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And we'll accept nothing less than complete victory.
SCHNEIDER: The president speaks about the war a little differently now.
BUSH: It's really important as we -- that we have a sober discussion and understand what will be the consequences of failure.
SCHNEIDER: Pessimism about Iraq has continued to mount, even before the news of Wednesday's bombings in Baghdad. In a CNN opinion research center poll taken last week, 69 percent of Americans said things are going badly for the United States in Iraq. That's the most negative assessment yet recorded, up from 54 percent who though things were going badly last June and 62 percent in October. The public's view -- it's not working. Senator Reid put it bluntly.
SEN. HARRY REID, (D-NV) MAJORITY LEADER: As long as we follow the president's path in Iraq, the war is lost.
SCHNEIDER: Senator McCain objected.
VOICE OF SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R-AZ) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That's not the view of the men and women who are putting their lives on the line as we speak.
SCHNEIDER: Do Americans believe the U.S. is winning the war in Iraq? Last month they said no by better than two to one. Do Americans believe the U.S. will win? No. Do Americans believe the U.S. can win? The public is split. They're not sure. So Reid said --
REID: But there's still a chance to change course and we must change course.
SCHNEIDER: Which side does the public take in this standoff? It's not even close. Sixty percent of Americans say they side with the Democrats in Congress, thirty-seven percent with the president.
Majority
Hey, Juan Williams let a little truth slip out.
CNN spent all day Friday hyping this "controversy," parading a series of Republicans - with no rebuttals - to talk about Harry Reid's dastardly statements.
Keep doing it. People hate Bush and hate this war and the more the Democrats are associated with that view the more support they'll have.
CNN spent all day Friday hyping this "controversy," parading a series of Republicans - with no rebuttals - to talk about Harry Reid's dastardly statements.
Keep doing it. People hate Bush and hate this war and the more the Democrats are associated with that view the more support they'll have.
Sunday Afternoon on the Roof
Finally some nice weather returns to Philadelphia, otherwise known as Baghdad on the Delaware, and my cold recedes. The only pressing question for the day is which tasty meats to put on the grill for dinner.
As for those residing in our sister city, more pressing issues exist.
And, suddenly it occurs to me that only one man is truly qualified to be theCzar of All Iraq War Czar.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the moustache of understanding himself. Tom Friedman.
As for those residing in our sister city, more pressing issues exist.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Two suicide car bombers attacked a police station Sunday in western Baghdad, killing at least 13 people and wounding 82, police said.
The bombs exploded as Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki arrived in Cairo, Egypt, on the first stop of a four-nation regional tour aimed at winning Arab support for his embattled government.
The first driver raced through a police checkpoint guarding the station and exploded his vehicle just outside the two-story building, police said. Moments later, a second suicide car bomber aimed for the checkpoint's concrete barriers and exploded just outside them, police said. (Watch why the Senate majority leader says the war is "lost" Video)
The blasts collapsed nearby buildings, smashing windows and burying at least four cars under piles of concrete. Metal roofs were peeled back by the force of the explosions. Pools of blood made red mud of a dusty driveway.
And, suddenly it occurs to me that only one man is truly qualified to be the
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the moustache of understanding himself. Tom Friedman.
Must....Avoid...
...temptation...to...go...meta... Oh, what the hell.
I thought this reader poll at Daily Kos was fairly interesting. A significant (not a majority or most, but significant) number of respondents basically read the Daily Kos and not much else. Their view of blogging is Kos-centric. That is, it isn't really about liberal blogs generally it's all about the Home of the Great Orange Satan.
I'll avoid the temptation to go deeply into this, but I think a lot of the social dynamic that plays out there and elsewhere can be explained in part by this. Us outsiders see Kos as one blog among many, if a very highly trafficked blog, and his voice one among many many many voices on the blog (the other front pagers, the prominence of the recommended diaries, etc...). Some insiders and former insiders see it as the center of the universe.
I thought this reader poll at Daily Kos was fairly interesting. A significant (not a majority or most, but significant) number of respondents basically read the Daily Kos and not much else. Their view of blogging is Kos-centric. That is, it isn't really about liberal blogs generally it's all about the Home of the Great Orange Satan.
I'll avoid the temptation to go deeply into this, but I think a lot of the social dynamic that plays out there and elsewhere can be explained in part by this. Us outsiders see Kos as one blog among many, if a very highly trafficked blog, and his voice one among many many many voices on the blog (the other front pagers, the prominence of the recommended diaries, etc...). Some insiders and former insiders see it as the center of the universe.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Document the atrocities.
ABC’s “This Week” — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich; Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and his wife, Jackie Marie Clegg.
———
CBS’ “Face the Nation” — Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.; Jim and Sarah Brady of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence; former FBI profiler Gregg McCrary.
———
NBC’s “Meet the Press” — Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt; Education Secretary Margaret Spellings; Col. Gerald Massengill, former Virginia State Police superintendent; former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge.
———
CNN’s “Late Edition” — Sens. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell; New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman; Lanny Davis, former special counsel to President Clinton; David Rivkin, former counsel to President George H.W. Bush.
———
“Fox News Sunday” — Virginia Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling; Stephen Trachtenberg, George Washington University president; Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
Morning Thread
Last night's White House Correspondents Dinner was, as I understand it, almost as funny as television in the 70s.
Because it pretty much was.
There was one relative highlight (once you get past Tony Snow, though I'm glad he's about)
Because it pretty much was.
There was one relative highlight (once you get past Tony Snow, though I'm glad he's about)
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Similarities
This McClatchy article comparing that rat bastard Doolittle with my BFF Bob Ney is very unfair to Ney Ney.
When Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., stepped down from his position last week on the House Appropriations Committee because of the unfolding Abramoff investigation, he added yet another ominous similarity between himself and Rep. Bob Ney, the Ohio Republican who is the only member of Congress so far to have been brought down by the scandal.
Ney pleaded guilty to conspiracy in October and is serving a 30-month prison sentence for accepting gambling chips, luxury travel and other benefits in exchange for taking official actions that helped GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his clients.
Doolittle has not been charged. But FBI agents raided the suburban Virginia home he shares with his wife, acting on a search warrant that can only be issued by a judge based on agents asserting there is probable cause to believe a crime has been committed.
Walls
Such plans always end awesomely.
BAGHDAD- A wall U.S. troops are building around a Sunni enclave in Baghdad came under increasing criticism on Saturday, with residents calling it "collective punishment" and a local leader saying construction began without the neighborhood council's approval.
The U.S. military says the wall in Baghdad is meant to secure the minority Sunni community of Azamiyah, which "has been trapped in a spiral of sectarian violence and retaliation." The area, located on the eastern side of the Tigris River, would be completely gated, with entrances and exits manned by Iraqi soldiers, the U.S. military said earlier this week.
But some residents of the neighborhood, which is surrounded by Shiite areas, complained that they had not been consulted in advance about the barrier.
Criminal Enterprise
Sounds about right.
The Justice Department is conducting a probe of a $6 billion reading initiative at the center of President Bush's No Child Left Behind law, another blow to a program besieged by allegations of financial conflicts of interest and cronyism, people familiar with the matter said yesterday.
The disclosure came as a congressional hearing revealed how people implementing the $1 billion-a-year Reading First program made at least $1 million off textbooks and tests toward which the federal government steered states.
"That sounds like a criminal enterprise to me," said Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), chairman of the House education committee, which held a five-hour investigative hearing. "You don't get to override the law," he angrily told a panel of Reading First officials. "But the fact of the matter is that you did."
They're All Birchers Now
I've written before that the right wingers have created an ever more complex mythology which is increasingly divorced from reality, but with this latest salvo it's apparent that they're on a one way trip to their fantasyland and they aren't likely to return.
There are nutters and conspiracy theorists (not necessarily a pejorative term) all across the political spectrum, but we're not talking about fringe beliefs or figures, we're talking about the leading lights of the conservative movement. They're nuts.
There are nutters and conspiracy theorists (not necessarily a pejorative term) all across the political spectrum, but we're not talking about fringe beliefs or figures, we're talking about the leading lights of the conservative movement. They're nuts.
WTF?
Apparently, if you renegotiate terms with your creditor the IRS considers it to be taxable income.
That's absurd.
Still, many banks are not willing to set up payment plans. Instead, they will force sellers to tap into other assets, such as retirement savings or cars. And if the lenders do forgive the debt, the Internal Revenue Service will consider it taxable income. On Wednesday, Reps. Robert E. Andrews (D-N.J.) and Ron Lewis (R-Ky.) introduced a bill that would make such a forgiven debt non-taxable.
That's absurd.
Conspiracy Theories on the Arab Street
Right wing bloggers are the stupidest fucking people on the face on the Earth.
Great Moments in Modern Punditry
John Dickerson, last May.
...just for fun, Franken/Dickerson smackdown.
Pelosi announced that her new Democratic majority would also launch a series of investigations reaching all the way back into the first months of the Bush administration. Across the country, vulnerable Republican candidates are saying thank you to Pelosi. The GOP congressional majorities may now be secure.
...just for fun, Franken/Dickerson smackdown.
Morning Thread
Say hi to the world, little man!
--Molly Ivors (and no, it's not one of the 137 children of Liberal Mountain. This is the long awaited wee trifecta.)
--Molly Ivors (and no, it's not one of the 137 children of Liberal Mountain. This is the long awaited wee trifecta.)
Friday, April 20, 2007
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Please, don't let Bob Kerrey anywhere near the Senate. I know Joe Lieberman needs a new friend, but still.
Wanker of the Day
Joe Lieberman.
Only 9 more months or so before his annual "things are finally getting better in Iraq" column.
...still stand by that quote, Harry?
Only 9 more months or so before his annual "things are finally getting better in Iraq" column.
...still stand by that quote, Harry?
Most. Controversial. Ever.
For no particular reason I feel the need to the re-run Pelosi Gone Wild - Spring Break in Syria media trainwreck from a couple of weeks back.
The horror of our media.
The horror of our media.
Money
I guess I don't really have much of a problem with seeing fundraising as a reasonable symbol of candidate support, especially if number of donors, and not just total amount raised, is taken into account. I mean, if you can't even inspire people enough to get them to throw a few bucks your way you probably aren't going to get very far.
Contributing is a way for people to buy into a campaign, it gives them a stake and an interest in its success. Obama's got the right idea.
No, we're not at a place where big money donors aren't important, and so we should still be concerned with the influence of money on politics, but this is really not as big of an issue in presidential politics.
Contributing is a way for people to buy into a campaign, it gives them a stake and an interest in its success. Obama's got the right idea.
No, we're not at a place where big money donors aren't important, and so we should still be concerned with the influence of money on politics, but this is really not as big of an issue in presidential politics.
Amnesia
Boehner still has 3 more days before the deadline, but maybe if I put this out there some dilligent reporter might actually ask him about it. From 01/23/07:
How's all that working I wonder.
BOEHNER: I think it will be rather clear in the next 60 to 90 days as to whether this plan is going to work. And, again, that's why we need to have close oversight, so that we just don't look up 60 or 90 days from now and realize that -- that this plan is not working. We need to know, as we -- as we're -- we move through these benchmarks, that the Iraqis are doing what they have to do.
KOPPEL: You spent a weekend at Camp David recently, along with other Republican leaders, and had a lot of one-on-one time with President Bush to talk about Iraq. What did you tell the president?
BOEHNER: Well, I told -- I told the president and others in his administration that there's skepticism on the Hill as to whether this plan will work.
There is skepticism about whether the Iraqis really will step up and bring their military into Iraq, whether they will do the other parts of this plan that they have committed to. And that's -- the skepticism is built around the fact that so much of the plan is dependent on the Iraqis doing their part.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOPPEL: Now, an aide to Boehner told me that the leader's remarks were simply a gut feeling that he had. They were personal feelings that he had.
But, Kyra, it gives you a window, when you consider the pressure that the Republican Party is under, especially Leader Boehner over here on the House side, when you consider that it comes just one day after he and some Republicans put the White House on notice that they wanted a report every 30 days on the status of what was happening in Iraq, on specific benchmarks, for the first time in writing, saying that they wanted this to come from the White House, from the Bush administration, and also one day, Kyra, after Leader Boehner said many in his party, including himself, are skeptical that this policy, that this surge is going to work -- Kyra. .
How's all that working I wonder.
Failing
Yglesias:
My favorite manifestation of this is the Friedmanesque obsession with "conspiracy theories on the Arab Street." Compare this to conspiracy theories by our president and his people about Saddam Hussein being connected to 9/11, let alone the conspiracy theories by our entire media and government elite about his weapons of mass destruction.
People in the Middle East can read batshit crazy and incredible hostile stuff coming from our politicians and pundit elite all the time.
This is probably the single largest foreign policy-related failing among American politicians and members of the policy and media elites: A failure to make a serious effort to ask how things look from the perspective of other countries.
My favorite manifestation of this is the Friedmanesque obsession with "conspiracy theories on the Arab Street." Compare this to conspiracy theories by our president and his people about Saddam Hussein being connected to 9/11, let alone the conspiracy theories by our entire media and government elite about his weapons of mass destruction.
People in the Middle East can read batshit crazy and incredible hostile stuff coming from our politicians and pundit elite all the time.
Depressing
Bradrocket:
I don’t understand it. I really don’t. You could find more informed and enlightened commentary by interviewing the guy on the 39 Bus in Boston who thinks he’s the Invisible Man. Why isn’t he being paid six figures to write weekly columns for the National Review? Hell, he wouldn’t even require all that money- just give him a cheeseburger, and he’ll gladly pen 3,000 words explaining why people who get shot by angry psychopaths deserved to die because they didn’t pack heat and/or were Muslamoatheists. What the hell.
When They Stand Up We'll Stand Down
Which will happen at 5 past never.
WASHINGTON - Military planners have abandoned the idea that standing up Iraqi troops will enable American soldiers to start coming home soon and now believe that U.S. troops will have to defeat the insurgents and secure control of troubled provinces.
Training Iraqi troops, which had been the cornerstone of the Bush administration's Iraq policy since 2005, has dropped in priority, officials in Baghdad and Washington said.
Renzi
He going down too?
In a second blow to House Republicans this week, the FBI raided a business tied to the family of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) Thursday afternoon as part of an ongoing investigation into the three-term lawmaker.
Details of the raid on Patriot Insurance Agency in Sonoita, Ariz., were not immediately available. Renzi’s most recent financial disclosure form lists the business as an asset belonging to his wife, Roberta, and valued at $1 million to $5 million.
Hate New
Anyway, if anyone could figure it how to kill the blue bar I'd appreciate it. I've tried all the suggestions I could find through the google.
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