Sooner Be Blue

Mostly politics, a few current events, a squirt of seltzer down yer pants .. a little blog for my rambles and rants.

2007/9/30

Wounded vets face new fight

@ 07:11 AM (26 months, 3 days ago)

The attitude of this White House toward our troops who have out lived their usefulness reminds me of what I heard a wizened ol' Korean vet say -- "If you're looking for 'sympathy' you can find it in the dictionary .. between 'shit' and 'syphilis.'"
 
The Associated Press has a story about the trials of many American veterans who have left the military and are having a difficult time adjusting back to civilian life ..  an important story because we now have nearly 2 million Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in this country. That's roughly equivalent to ten army divisions.
 
One of our nation's finest hours, with respect to the treatment of veterans, was the passage of the GI Bill during WWII. It was a wonderful moment. Here we had most of our manpower at war, and we were united in wanting to provide benefits to them when they demobilized. It caused a boon in our post-war prosperity.
 
This should be the model we use to help veterans of today.
 
But reality is another story.
 
From Associated Press, Sep 29: TEMECULA, Calif. - He was one of America's first defenders on Sept. 11, 2001, a Marine who pulled burned bodies from the ruins of the Pentagon. He saw more horrors in Kuwait and Iraq.
 
Today, he can't keep a job, pay his bills, or chase thoughts of suicide from his tortured brain. In a few weeks, he may lose his house, too.
 
....More than in past wars, many wounded troops are coming home alive from the Middle East. That's a triumph for military medicine. But they often return hobbled by prolonged physical and mental injuries ....Treatment, recovery and retraining often can't be assured quickly or cheaply.
 
These troops are just starting to seek help in large numbers, more than 185,000 so far. But the cost of their benefits is already testing resources set aside by government and threatening the future of these wounded veterans for decades to come ... [..]"
 
http://tinyurl.com/27zy32
 
Yes, there are more "casualties of war" than the 3,800 dead and over 29,000 injured.
 
185,000 are claiming disability or other aid because of injuries or trauma suffered as a result of what they have seen and done and had happen to them, and they're no longer capable of carrying on a 'normal' life.
 
The plight of every one of those 185,000 also touches the lives of their loved ones. The true cost of the Iraq war goes way beyond what the White House or any of the presidential candidates want to admit.
 
Two-thirds of the American public want us out of Bush's Iraq quagmire .. if they realized we have already lost ten divisions of trained soldiers who will never fight again, there would be even more calling for withdrawal .. right now.
 
Just because we can never compensate our troops for serving in harm's way doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to do so. Educational benefits and medical benefits are the two most important ways to do this .. the former because it's a long-term investment in our economic prosperity, the latter because it's the very least we can do to take care of veterans and their families.
 
It's sad that the study on PTSD was being discredited before it was even finished. Apparently, a lot of vets seeking help are just looking for attention and not really having problems. Like they have nothing better to do than spend a day trying to get an appointment for six months later.
 
Yet the head of the VA blows smoke at Congress and pretends everything is fine.
 
We need a modern GI Bill .. let Sen. Jim Webb, a Vietnam vet, author it. He will fight for decent compensation for troops who earn it. Because if we continue to slight our veterans, next time we face trouble (think of a more dangerous threat than Iraq) we could find a shortage of men and women who'd put their lives on the line for a country who breaks promises to its veterans.
 
Another idea -- have our political leaders' own benefits be limited to what morsels they hand to our vets.
 

2007/9/29

Limbaugh vs Anti-War GI's

@ 07:54 AM (26 months, 4 days ago)

So Rush Limbaugh thinks there are two kinds of soldiers serving in the US military in Iraq -- real soldiers who think the US ought to keep fighting there and "phony soldiers" who think the US ought to start making plans to leave.
 
"During the September 26 broadcast of his syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh called service members who advocate U.S. withdrawal from Iraq "phony soldiers." [..]"
 
http://mediamatters.org/
 
And his show appears on Armed Forces Radio?
 
At yesterday's White House press conference Dana Perino was asked about the remark and said -- "The President believes that if you are serving in the military that you have the rights that every American has which is you're free to express yourself in any way that you want to. And there are some that oppose the war, and that's okay."
 
When she was asked specifically about the "phony soldiers" phrase, she added: "It's not what the President would have used, no."
 
Hardly a scathing condemnation .. but it isn't every day that the White House is forced to distance itself from Rush Limbaugh.
 
I think an awful lot of soldiers are coming around to this change of opinion during this war. And I would value the opinion of someone who has served over there over someone who hasn't.
 
THEY are the true profiles in courage, in contrast to this pompous, opiate-addicted windbag Limbaugh.
 
Yes, I know that many soldiers come home still believing in the mission, but from what I've been reading lately, there are many who don't -- there is definitely growing dissent within the military.
 
Senator Jim Webb just tried to pass a bill that would give soldiers stationed "in country" as much time back home as they have on the front. There are sound military reasons for this -- soldiers deployed for too long become angry, disoriented, discouraged and depressed.
 
Next, a Democrat speaks up: "CLAREMONT, N.H. (AP) — Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards criticized Rush Limbaugh on Friday for referring to some members of the military as "phony soldiers."
 
Edwards and the campaign of fellow Democrat Chris Dodd took issue with the radio talk show host's characterization of Iraq war veterans who have spoken out against the war. Limbaugh was responding to a caller who argued that anti-war groups "never talk to real soldiers."
 
"They like to pull these soldiers that come up out of the blue and talk to the media," the caller said.
 
"The phony soldiers," Limbaugh responded.
 
Campaigning in New Hampshire, Edwards called on Republicans to denounce Limbaugh in the same way they came down on Democrats after the liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org ran an advertisement criticizing Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq.
 
"All these Republicans went running to the mic and the TV cameras when MoveOn ran their ad about General Petraeus. Now let's see if they really mean it," Edwards said. "Let's see if they'll speak out against Rush Limbaugh. Let's see if they'll challenge him about men and women who have worn the uniform of the United States." [..]"
 
http://tinyurl.com/2qor99
 
Can Rush Limbaugh possibly explain why our troops aren't entitled to the same freedoms that they are supposedly trying to bring the Iraqis .. that they are fighting and dying for so the Iraqis can have free speech?
 
Some of our military men and women see the war only as a job they have to do. Many of them believed in the mission until they arrived in Iraq and learned what was really going on.
 
And just where does Rush Limbaugh get off calling anyone phony who has fought in that war and earned the right to their own opinion? While he sits on his big butt, never having served or worn the uniform .. just like all the big name war lovers.
 
Oh, I forgot, the poor guy wanted to fight in Vietnam, but he had an ingrown hair, or maybe it was a cyst, on his butt and just couldn't go.
 
Some of our soldiers return to combat after gun shot wounds .. I doubt that a cyst could be as bad as a gun shot wound.
 
The righties stained their undies about the Moveon ad .. and now are whining about the left calling attention to Rush Limbaugh's insult to the troops?
 
Whatever -- I just don't want Democrats to play the Republican phony outrage game. Rush's statement was offensive, yes .. but not worth the time of the US Congress.
 
If they want to support the troops, let them do it with actions, not words.
 

2007/9/28

"Homosexuality Counter to God's law"

@ 07:16 AM (26 months, 5 days ago)

Hmmm .. who said that? Ahmadinejad? No, it was US General Peter Pace.
 
That's what he told the Senate the other day.
 
From time.com: (WASHINGTON) — Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, caused a stir at a Senate hearing Wednesday when he said he believes homosexual activity is immoral and should not be condoned by the military.[..]"
 
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1665925,00.html?xid=rss-topstories
 
General Pace, it's a free country and you can worship whatever invisible being you want .. but as a government employee, paid with our tax dollars, just shut up about your personal "morality."
 
Republicans and Generals should keep their religion out of public policy.
 
"The hearing resumed about five minutes later in which Pace said he would be supportive of efforts to revisit the Pentagon's policy so long as it didn't violate his belief that sex should be restricted to a married heterosexual couple."
 
The US Military Code of Justice already prohibits adultery.
 
So .. maybe Pace thinks the Pentagon should only allow unmarried virgins to enlist, and should investigate and kick out those who have premarital sex?
 
That would mean our armed forces would consist of four Mormon kids.
 
If a general isn't smart enough to keep his religious beliefs to himself, he has no business commanding any troops .. and if his personal opinion on homosexuality has prevented him from enforcing the established military policy on homosexuality -- "Don't ask; Don't tell" -- then it's dang time that he retired.
 
He's making statements that affect the morale of the troops in a negative way. We all know there are gay troops .. it stands to reason that it would be demoralizing and/or insulting to have your commanding officer openly state that God considers you immoral.
 
Look, our Army should be used to protect and fight for the laws of man that are stated in our Constitution. If you want to fight for the laws of your god, become a religious leader.
 

Late-night jokes recap 9/28

@ 05:16 AM (26 months, 5 days ago)
 
"This kind of seems like bad taste to me. A Giuliani fundraiser is now charging $9.11 ... in reference to 9/11. ... Isn't that inappropriate? I mean, isn't it like a Bill Clinton fundraiser charging $69 a head?" --Jay Leno
 
"I was a little disappointed to hear this. Rudy Giuliani, Fred Thompson, Mitt Romney and John McCain all said they cannot attend the minority debate this week at Morgan State University because they have scheduling conflicts. They're scheduled to meet with rich white people" --Jay Leno
 
"Folks, it's official. Congress now has the lowest approval rating of any Congress in the history of the United State. 11%! Their approval rating is so low, today they were invited to speak at Columbia University." --Jay Leno
 
"This week, the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahma-nut job ... became the laughing stock of the world when he said there are no gay people in Iran. So apparently, he's never been to the Tehran airport men's room." --Jay Leno
 
"In Iran, homosexuals can be executed for being gay, but only if a homosexual act is witnessed by four other Iranian men. So, they've got four men watching two other men have sex. ... Isn't everybody gay?" --Jay Leno
 
"The Iranian president also said there are no lesbians in Iran either. Really? In that whole country, there isn't one whole female UPS driver? I don't think so." --Jay Leno
 
"In Utah, polygamy sect leader Warren Jeffs has been convicted. ... The guy's got 80 wives. 80 wives at the same time. In fact, when Rudy Giuliani heard that, he said, 'Records are made to be broken.'" --Jay Leno
 
"This Saturday, in Washington, DC, they will hold the Seventh Annual National Book Festival. First Lady Laura Bush will deliver a speech about the joys of reading. And then, President Bush will give the rebuttal." --Jay Leno
 
"All the world leaders are in town for the U.N. General Assembly. ... Yesterday, President Bush met with President Valdis Zatlers of Latvia, President Festus Gontebanye Mogae of Botswana and President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania. Or, as Bush calls them, 'Buddy, Slim and Big Guy.'" --Conan O'Brien
 
"Yesterday, controversial Iranian President Ahmadinejad insisted that Iran has freedom of the press. He says there are 30 newspapers published there that oppose his government. So, if you're keeping track, that's 30 opposition newspapers and 0 gay people." --Conan O'Brien
 
"Iranian President Mahmoud Ah-members only jacket-jad is headed back home tonight after a whirl-wind trip to New York. He said many, many crazy things during his time here, but the one most people seemed focused on -- I certainly am -- is his contention that there are no homosexuals in Iran. That claim was challenged by an Iranian news reporter [on screen: Ahmadinejad saying he knows no homosexuals after Iranian reporter says she knows several gay Iranians]. Neither did Larry Craig, right?" --Jimmy Kimmel
 
"You folks are here on a historic night. The entire balcony is filled with gay Iranians. ... A couple of days ago, up at Columbia University ... Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that there are no homosexuals in Iran. By the way, that's why in Iran, it's nearly impossible to get your dog groomed." --David Letterman
 
"Here's some good news, ladies and gentlemen: President Bush says he has a new plan to stop Iran's nuclear program. This is what he's going to do, he's going to have O.J. steal the plutonium" --David Letterman
 
"Each year, ambassadors and presidents gather with the goal of making it impossible to get across town in less than two hours. ... Mr. President, you're first. This is your chance to send a clear message to Iran at the U.N. Take the first swing [on screen: Bush saying, 'Americans are outraged by the situation in Burma']. We are? Really? I think I would change that statement somewhat to say, 'Americans just found out there was still a Burma.' ... " --Jon Stewart, on Bush's address to the U.N. General Assembly
 
"At Columbia University, it was 'Take Your Insane Dictator To Work Day.' There was a lot of controversy about letting the Iranian president speak here in the United States, much less at a university. I have to admit, I didn't like it. ... I mean, if he wants to condemn this country and our president, you do it the proper way ... you win an Academy Award." --Jay Leno
 
"Instead of New York, I wish they would have invited Ahmadinejad to California. That would have been fun to watch Governor Schwarzenegger trying to introduce him." --Jay Leno
 
"As you know, the Iranian president said a lot of stupid things ... My favorite is when he said there are no homosexuals in Iran. In fact, today, Idaho Senator Larry Craig volunteered to go over there on an ass-finding mission." --Jay Leno
 
"As you know, women in Iran have to cover up. ... Premarital sex is against the law. In fact, a man can't even touch a woman over there unless you're married. There's no R-rated movies. I'm surprised all guys in Iran aren't gay by now." --Jay Leno
 
"How about that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? What a guy this guy is, huh? According to this guy, he says there are no homosexuals in Iran. I guess that explains the pathetic state of their musical theatre." --David Letterman
 
"But did you see Ahmadinejad's speech at the U.N.? One odd moment: In the middle of the speech, he took a cell phone call from Mrs. Giuliani" --David Letterman
 
"Ladies and gentlemen, the face of evil, the Hitler of our generation. Let's hear his terrifying words [on screen: Ahmadinejad claiming that there are no homosexuals in Iran]. ... That's so interesting there are no homosexuals in Iran because in America, there are no homosexuals in our conservative movement either" --Jon Stewart
 
"President Mahmoud Ah-members only jacket-jad addressed the United Nations General Assembly  ... This guy is nuts. He denies the Holocaust happened. He says his country has no homosexuals. He's looked very hard for them, he's even placed personal ads. ... Hey, maybe if there were homosexuals in Iran, he'd be better dressed" --Jimmy Kimmel
 
"Apple launched its iPhone in Europe ... but it's being criticized because they say it's not European enough. Apparently, the iPhone isn't European enough because it actually works the entire month of August" --Conan O'Brien
 
"The president of Iran gave a speech in New York City, and thousands of New Yorkers are really upset about it. The New Yorkers said, 'If we want to hear a short-tempered Iranian man yell at us, we'll take a cab.'" --Conan O'Brien
 
"During his speech at Columbia University, President Ahmadinejad said his country 'doesn't have problems with gay people because they don't have homosexuals in Iran.' Which finally explains why Ahmadinejad gets away with wearing a windbreaker from 1983." --Conan O'Brien
 
"Earlier today, Arnold Schwarzenegger spoke at a conference on global warming, and he said, 'The time has come to stop looking back at the Kyoto Protocol.' Afterwards, people said, 'We didn't solve anything, but it was really fun hearing Arnold say Kyoto Protocol.'" --Conan O'Brien
 
"Vice President Cheney was recently asked who's going to win the 2008 presidential election, and he said it could go either way. So I guess he means Larry Craig" --Conan O'Brien
 
"Ahmadinejad ... is against drugs, he's against alcohol, against premarital sex, against homosexuality and pornography. What's he speaking at a college for? Good luck finding any common ground with those kids." --Jay Leno
 
"According to a new report out of Cuba, Fidel Castro is near death, but is clinging to life and he is determined to outlive the Bush presidency. Wow, just like Dan Rather." --Jay Leno
 
"Presidential candidate Rudolph Giuliani also on the campaign trail. He spoke to the NRA, the National Rifle Association, last week and he tried to appeal to them by saying that two of his marriages were shotgun weddings." --Jay Leno
 
"The Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans is out. Everybody on the list is now a billionaire. You can't even be a millionaire and be on the list, you have to be a billionaire to be on the list. So see that, the Bush tax cuts are working" --Jay Leno
 

2007/9/27

The Clown Car is going off the cliff

@ 08:05 AM (26 months, 6 days ago)

Republicans are not only ethically and morally bankrupt .. they're also running out of dosh. May the gap against the them continue to widen .. because only a massacre in '08 will end the far right lunacy that has the GOP in its clutches.
 
I'd like the old GOP back.
 
I'd bet there's quite a few big Republican donors who've suddenly found their investments aren't quite as sound as they thought.
 
From politico.com: "At the end of August, the National Republican Congressional Committee reported only $1.6 million cash on hand, with $4 million in debt. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, by comparison, had banked over $22 million, with only $3 million in debt.[..]"
 
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0907/5994.html
 
In other words, Congressional Democrats have a surplus of $19 million while Republicans have a deficit of $2.4 million.
 
Also, according to Gallup's annual Governance survey, conducted Sept. 14-16, 2007, the Democratic Party enjoys a 15-point lead over the Republicans in overall favorability, 53% vs. 38%.
 
http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=28780
 
Democrats have a 20-point lead on which party would do a better job of keeping the country prosperous .. and a 5-point lead on national security, which has always been Republican strength.
 
Here it is again:
 
From abcnews.com: "A crucial GOP fundraising committee is nearly broke, according to its latest monthly filing with the Federal Election Committee last week.
 
The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) reported $1.6 million in cash on hand and $4 million in debts as of Aug. 31. The group helps bankroll House campaigns for GOP candidates.
 
Its counterpart, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, reported $22.1 million, more than 10 times its Republican counterpart.
 
Campaign finance experts say the latest numbers portend an ill future for GOP candidates, particularly newcomers who haven't had years in office to build up a war chest. "If there's no money in the bank, it's going to be hard to take seats away from the Democrats," said Massie Ritsch of the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington, D.C.-based campaign finance watchdog group. Julie Shutley, a spokeswoman for the NRCC, disputed the dim forecast. "We believe we are going to have every resource that we need to be competitive," said Shutley."
 
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/09/house-republica.html
 
Then  Julie raced down to the bank to cash her check ...
 
And they're fighting amongst themselves...
 
From usnews.com: "Upset with rumors and stories that House Minority Leader John Boehner and National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole are at odds over fixing the plight of the party's 2008 election operation, top GOP strategists with ties to the White House are urging a truce.[..]"
 
http://www.usnews.com/blogs/news-desk/2007/9/26/truce-sought-in-house-gop-feud.html
 
What's happening is -- the big money funders for the Republicans are keeping their hands in their pockets not wanting to spend on Congressional races (which are already lost), but saving it toward the '08 Presidential election.
 
Two-thirds of the American people want us out of the Iraq war .. and now we have this slew of GOP presidential candidates who are all committed to Bush's failed war.
 
If they were smart, the Republicans would throw up a major presidential candidate who looked like he (it won't be a she) was living in the 21st century, move him toward the center, lower the temperature in the Middle East, acknowledge global warming, get a reasonable health plan, forget things like sexual orientation discrimination in the armed forces (like they do in Israel or the UK), etc. .. they'd have a better chance at the White House.
 
But, say they did actually find a 21st century candidate, their conservative base would stay home on election day .. whine and pout that they were just not going to vote for someone who believes that the world didn't start with Adam and Eve... boo hoo!
 
Any candidate who can capture their loony "base" and win the nomination, won't have the chance of a mouse fart in a whirlwind in the general election.
 
Yep, the GOP is stuck with the base that they fed, nurtured and grew into the spoiled, bigoted monster we see now .. so I guess it's fitting that they are going down under the weight of that albatross....
 

2007/9/26

‘Fruitbat’ at Bat

@ 05:14 AM (26 months, 7 days ago)

Time for a little MoDo...

By MAUREEN DOWD, New York Times Op-Ed Columnist (September 26, 2007)

We just can’t stop being nice to Iran.

First, we break Iraq and hand it over to the Shiites, putting in a puppet who leans toward Iran and is aligned with the Shiite militias bankrolled by Iran. Then, as Peter Galbraith writes in The New York Review of Books, President Bush facilitates "the takeover of a large part of the country by an Iranian-backed militia," with the ironic twist that "there is now substantially more personal freedom in Iran than in Southern Iraq."

And on top of all that, we help build up the self-serving doofus Iranian president, a frontman with a Ph.D. in traffic management, into the sort of larger-than-life demon that the real powers in Iran — the mullahs — can love.

New York’s hot blast of nastiness, jingoism and xenophobia toward its guest, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, only served to pump him up for his domestic audience. Iranians felt that their president had tied everyone in knots, including the "Zionist Jews," as Iranian state television said. The Times reports that Mohsen Rezai, a former head of the Revolutionary Guards, was on TV criticizing the rude treatment his president received: "It is shocking that a country that claims to be civilized treats him that way."

(It also raised his profile on the evening news here. Katie Couric dryly has told people that she remembers how to pronounce his name with the mnemonic "I’m a dinner jacket.")

After the Bay of Pigs, J.F.K. and his advisers worried that American foreign policy would no longer seem intelligent. W. doesn’t even try for an intelligent foreign policy. He wallows in a willfully ignorant foreign policy. And this week, his irrational ways were contagious.

The Daily News headline, "The Evil Has Landed," was one of the milder imprecations. Consider this reasoned analysis from Greg Gutfeld of Fox News: "So the foul-smelling fruitbat Ahmadinejad spoke at that crack house known as Columbia University today."

The heavy-handed, small-minded reaction that played into the hands of the slippery "I’m a dinner jacket" is not excused by Iran wishing the U.S. and Israel gone.

The Soviet Union’s stated policy for 70 years was the total eradication of American capitalism and democracy — backed up during the cold war with actual nuclear weapons. But while challenging the policies and ideology of the Evil Empire, Ronald Reagan understood he had to engage Mikhail Gorbachev, not ignore or insult him.

Reagan was able to help the Soviet Union — and world communism — to fall apart. All W. has managed to do is destroy the country he wanted to turn into a democracy and make Iran more powerful than it was before.

In a sad testimony to how bollixed up things are in Iraq, Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki told the Council on Foreign Relations Monday that civil war has been averted in Iraq — not! — and that Iranian intervention has "ceased to exist." Gen. David Petraeus recently said that Iran was providing "lethal" support to Iraqi militias.

The president’s irrelevant U.N. speech was a bad combo with the schoolyard name-calling of Lee Bollinger. Even some in the anti-Ahmadinejad audience gasped a bit as Columbia’s president gave the meanest introduction in the history of introductions — one that only managed to elevate the creep sitting on stage with his thugs. Once you’ve made the decision to invite a tyrannical leader, you can’t undo it by belittling him in public. Universities are supposed to be places where you can debate and hear dissenting voices; it would have been far better just to hand the mike to the students and let it rip.

Given the repressive and confused stance of some of our Middle East allies on women and gays, isn’t it insane to get into a war of ideas on homosexuality in the Muslim world?

President Bush is the one who hardened the Iranian resolve to get a nuclear weapon with his policy of negotiating with countries like North Korea that have nukes and invading countries that don’t, like Iraq.

W. and his advisers always act shocked that Iran is meddling in Iraq. Why wouldn’t Iran inflate itself at the expense of its former foe and current enemy?

Even after the Iranian hostage crisis, America never really tried to comprehend the tribal politics in Iran — or Iraq — or bolster the Arab speakers in the intelligence community.

As Mr. Galbraith wrote, Iran’s nuclear program is about prestige. Iranians want to be seen "as a populous, powerful, and responsible country that is heir to a great empire and home to a 2,500-year-old civilization. In Iranian eyes, the U.S. has behaved in a way that continually diminishes their country" — from U.S. involvement in the 1953 coup that reinstated the Shah to W.’s branding them as part of the "axis of evil."

Wouldn’t sticks and carrots — cultural fluency, smart psychology and Reaganesque dialogue — be a better way to bring the Iranians around than sticks and stones?

2007/9/25

Greetings Infidels!

@ 07:38 AM (26 months, 8 days ago)

...from a megalomaniacal, backwards, religious conservative. Sound familiar? Only he doesn't put his foot in his mouth as often as ours does.
 
Columbia University President Lee Bollinger won some points back when he tore Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a new one yesterday .. called him a petty, cruel dictator, etc.
 
While I'm glad that we can shine sunlight on such evil, I'm confused and don't know why everybody is hollering about free speech. I thought these rights were based upon the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights for citizens of the United States.
 
So, Lucy please 'splain to me where Ahmadinejad has any rights here in this country to say things that most rational thinking people find obnoxious .. in a US University .. on US soil? Thank you very much.
 
When Ahmadinejad was asked about widely documented government abuse of women and homosexuals in his country, he said, "We don't have homosexuals in Iran."
 
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/US/09/24/us.iran/index.html
 
The audience laughed .. Mel Brooks would have loved it.
 
So .. Iran is just like the RNC. No gays there either! Not a one.
 
Wikipedia: "Same-sex intercourse officially carries the death penalty in several Muslim nations: Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, Mauritania, Sudan, Somalia, and Yemen."
 
(Also Texas, Alabama and Wyoming, etc.)
 
Anyway, I guess he thinks they killed them all.
 
Ahmadinejad no more represents the majority of his people than Bush does. And the younger, more moderate and more secular generation in Iran could be a great ally for the US in the future -- unless we radicalize them and turn them against us by bombing the hell out of their country.
 
Ahmadinejad disgusts and repels me .. but the guy could get up there before Columbia's audience and do nothing but sing show tunes and the Bushies would still consider it a call to war.
 
Ahmadinejad's actions are controlled by the idiot theocrats back in his country .. and he is generally disliked by his own people. But the war mongers that rule the US are desperate for the world to view him as the very latest Hitler in our midst. And for the most part, that's how we view him .. a little Hitler with elevated shoes and lousy suits.
 
Before he left Iran he gave a speech before a flag that said "Death To America" .. then there's all that 'holocaust is a myth' and 'Israel needs to be wiped off the face of the Earth' and supporting terrorists stuff.
 
How I wish we could've frog-marched him through the Holocaust Museum.
 
All of sudden I'm having immense empathy for the Iranians. I imagine anyone in Iran watching this guy (if they could) was embarrassed and muttering "Whattadumbass!"
 
.. just like we do whenever Bush opens his mouth.
 

Late-night jokes recap 9/25

@ 05:10 AM (26 months, 8 days ago)
 
"Republicans are still angry about this 10-day-old MoveOn.org ad. You know, the General Petraeus, he betrayed us. And the Senate actually voted to condemn an ad. That's what your government did yesterday, they held a vote to pass a resolution to condemn an ad with a pun it in. And then they had oreos and braided each other's hair." --Bill Maher
 
"And 22 Democrats voted for that, by the way. You know, I have to say, the Democrats are so useless that they could not even pass a bill to get our troops more time between deployments. Only the Republicans could make an argument that a bill that literally supports the troops didn't support the troops. And only the Democrats could lose that argument. Next week, the Democrats are going to vote whether to give Republicans all their lunch money or just some of it." --Bill Maher
 
"The Democrat-controlled Congress' approval rating is now somewhere between rectal itch and that douchbag on the Internet who says 'leave Britney alone.' ... Their approval ratings is 11%. 11%! They were so stunned at this number, the Democrats, that it sent a chill up and down where their spine used to be." --Bill Maher
 
"But, come on, it's not all bad. Hillary did call Dick Cheney Darth Vader. ... Which is very unfair, because Darth Vader would have caught bin Laden by now." --Bill Maher
 
"Iran's president wanted to lay a wreath at Ground Zero, but his critics said, 'No, no. You are trying to exploit Ground Zero for political gain, and that is Rudy Giuliani's job.'" --Bill Maher
 
"Rudy says he is not going to go to the ... 'black debate' this month with Tavis Smiley, and neither are the other Republican frontrunners. I think that's just as well. I don't think the Republicans are really that in tune with the black community, 'cause they asked Mitt Romney today what he thought of the Jena 6 and he said, 'I prefer The Jackson 5.'" --Bill Maher
 
"Vicente Fox, the former president of Mexico, has a book coming out where he talks about George Bush. He said that Bush, the cowboy, is afraid of horses. Well actually, he's not afraid of them, but he had a bad experience. Back in college, a horse defeated him in a debate" --Bill Maher
 
"It's getting pretty nasty out there on the campaign trail. This week, Hillary Clinton referred to Vice President Dick Cheney as Darth Vader. ... And today, he demanded an apology. Not Dick Cheney, Darth Vader." --Jay Leno
 
"The president of Iran ... came to New York to address the United Nations. Why isn't his name on the no-fly list? ... And you don't want to get stuck behind him in the security line. How long would that take? Actually, you know he'd go through the line in two minutes, but they'd strip search the 85-year-old grandmother standing behind him. " --Jay Leno
 
"When Scott Pelley ... on '60 Minutes' told Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the American people would be very insulted if he visited Ground Zero, the Iranian President disagreed. He said, 'No. There are 300 million people in America with many different points of view. As opposed to Iran, which has 70 million people who aren't allowed any point of view.'" --Jay Leno
 
"An MIT student named Star Simpson walked into Logan Airport in Boston today with a fake bomb strapped to her chest. ... She said it was art, but of course they took it very seriously. Police were called. In fact, it got so scary, it actually scared Senator Larry Craig right out of the airport men's room" --Jay Leno
 
"Yesterday at a campaign fundraiser, Hillary Clinton criticized Vice President Cheney and called him 'Darth Vader.' Cheney denied it and said, 'Darth Vader is evil, half-machine and always wears a cape. And I don't own a cape.'" --Conan O'Brien
 
"Earlier tonight, the Democratic presidential candidates took part in a debate sponsored by the senior citizen group AARP. It was just like the other debates, except the moderator asked the same question over and over." --Conan O'Brien
 
"While in Europe, presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani called for an expansion of NATO. After hearing this, President Bush said, 'I believe it's pronounced Nintendo.'" --Conan O'Brien
 
"Dan Rather announced he is suing CBS for $70 million for damaging his career. After hearing this, Katie Couric said, 'Then I'm suing for $700 million.'" --Conan O'Brien
 
"The Iranian President ... is in New York, but he's been denied permission to go to Ground Zero in New York City. He wanted to go to Ground Zero. I got an idea. Is there any way we can bring Ground Zero to him?" --Jay Leno
 
"Another person was tasered today during a John Kerry speech ... not for being disruptive. I guess while listening to Kerry, the guy slipped into a coma." --Jay Leno
 
"In fact, when asked about that tasing incident the other day, John Kerry said at first he was for the tasing, but then he was against it." --Jay Leno
 
"It is now being reported that restroom enthusiast Senator Larry Craig is no longer using the Minneapolis airport when he flies from Idaho to Washington, DC. Instead he's using Denver. He says Denver's faster, more convenient and with 23 stalls." --Jay Leno
 
"Reporters at the Washington-based web site The Politico said that Larry Craig's return to the Capitol this week was 'about as wanted as a mystery meat sandwich.' ... Which was what Craig was asking the undercover cop for." --Jay Leno
 
"There are now allegations that New England Patriots Coach Bill Belichick may have tampered with the stadium's audio frequencies to eavesdrop on the other teams' conversations. But the good news of these spying allegations is that today Belichick was offered a job with the Bush administration." --Jay Leno
 
"What's going on with Dan Rather? ... Dan Rather's suing CBS for $70 million, claiming that the network where he worked for years forced him out a job. Hmm, you can get $70 million for that?" --Jay Leno
 
"Just today, President Bush gave a press conference to talk about an issue on everyone's mind -- health care. Specifically, this so-called SCHIP insurance bill. It's a Democratic measure that would expand what children would be eligible for federally funded health insurance. And you know why that's bad [on screen: Bush saying, 'The SCHIP plan is an incremental step toward the goal of government run health care for every American']. Oh my God, they're gonna put Communism in our kids' drinking water ... and then inject them with the gay and load them on Michael Moore and float them to Cuba!" --Jon Stewart
 
"So obviously, the president has a better idea [on screen: Bush saying, 'I believe the best approach is to put more power in the hands of individuals. By empowering people and their doctors...']. Okay, I'm just going to stop him right there. ... I think I figured out the disconnect here. I think I figured out the problem. 'Empowering people and their doctors.' See, he thinks the uninsured have doctors." --Jon Stewart
 

2007/9/24

Tempest, meet Teapot

@ 08:05 AM (26 months, 9 days ago)
 
The "General Betray Us" dust-up is really shining a spotlight on the leftie group MoveOn .. pretty good for an organization with just 17 employees, no central office and a director still in his 20s. Though they do claim a 3.3-million membership. I'm not one of them .. I am closer to the middle.
 
Too bad that MoveOn focused on the messenger rather than the actual issues .. they played right into the Bushies' hands. And it might have been more effective if they had put out the ad AFTER the testimony not BEFORE it.
 
MoveOn is mostly guilty of a bad pun on the general's name .. just a little too cute for me, athough I've probably made worse puns.
 
But, it has become a rallying cry for Republicans, I mean it's been on cable news 24/7 .. on all across the radio spectrum, right-wing shock jocks are having a case of the vapors. How could those despicable lefties say such a thing? It's outrageous .. disgraceful .. where's my scented hanky .. I think I'm going to .. oh, lawsy me ...
 
Like, when it comes to dirty tricks, misleading ads and smearing veterans, I don't think the Republicans have any right to say sh*t.
 
Anyway, the ad fuss has temporarily knocked the wind out of the Democrats as they try to craft something that will change the course of the Iraq war.
 
From thestar.com: "WASHINGTON–When America's largest liberal movement attacked a four-star general, some Democrats seemed to consider it nothing more than a well-liked uncle having too much to drink and blurting out something embarrassing.
 
But almost two weeks later, MoveOn.org is still dealing with a splitting hangover and is having trouble moving on. [..]"
 
http://www.thestar.com/article/259511
 
I had thought the ad was poor form, but after Bush's little press conference and the Senate vote I don't know .. Bush gave more legitimacy to the questions asked in that ad than if he'd just kept his trap shut .. he clearly had his nose out of joint because Petraeus got called out.
 
Because, as far as I can tell, Petraeus DID cook his stats to make the surge look better. Example: He has an unusual way of counting the dead -- somehow where a bullet entered someone's head (front or back) shows sectarian intent. And if a Sunni kills another Sunni for "collaborating" with the Shiites, this is not sectarian. "Purely" sectarian is one enormous loophole.
 
The Washington Post has more: http://tinyurl.com/ysuobg
 
Just answer me this simple question -- Has the number of killings (no matter the reason) decreased? Period. If ethnic violence is really down dramatically, then the total should at least decrease.
 
So if the bodies keep piling up, regardless of why they were killed, then the surge has not improved the "security situation."
 
If your friends and loved ones continue to be shot, stabbed or blown up at an alarming rate, do you care about the supposed intent of the attacker? No. Do you feel the "security situation" has improved? No. So why are we arguing about how the pencil pushers tally up the dead?
 
Dead is dead.
 
The surge has not been successful.
 
Bush put Petraeus in the impossible position of having to juggle his military judgement to fit this administration's political needs.
 
Important things we need to know about counter-insurgency:
1--If you're counting bodies to determine if you're winning, you are losing.
2--If 60 percent of the population thinks attacks on you are 'justified', you've lost.
 
So, let the Republicans holler and bitch about the MoveOn ad, hold hearings and vote to condemn it in the Senate .. it's all they've got.
 
The ad fuss was used to deflect attention away from the real problem -- Iraq is still a disaster, and extremely difficult to disengage from without humiliation. The Bush administration and their Republican allies in Congress are both responsible for that.
 
Not the Democrats, not General Petraeus and not MoveOn.
 

2007/9/23

I.E.D. 1, Robot 1

@ 07:38 AM (26 months, 10 days ago)

Another good reason to send the robots out and leave the troops in the trucks.

Read the rest of this entry ... (14 words left)

2007/9/22

Late-night jokes recap 9/22

@ 07:32 AM (26 months, 11 days ago)
 
"At a John Kerry speech at the University of Florida, a student was asking the senator so many annoying questions that police tasered him. ... Of course, people in Washington were stunned by this. What? John Kerry's still giving speeches?" --Jay Leno
 
"While the cops had him down, did you hear what he yelled to the police? He was yelling ... 'Don't tase me bro.' You know something, any time a white guy says the word 'bro,' he deserves to get tasered." --Jay Leno
 
"When the cops arrested O.J., they found him at the blackjack table trying to play the race card." --Jay Leno
 
"O.J. Simpson was charged with 11 criminal counts, including kidnapping, robbery and assault. Afterwards, O.J. said, 'Wow. Now I really have done it all.'" --Conan O'Brien
 
"Yesterday during a speech, Jesse Jackson criticized Barack Obama, and said Obama's been acting like he's white. Obama said Jackson's comments were hurtful, and they completely ruined his night at the Jimmy Buffett concert." --Conan O'Brien
 
"O.J. is back on the loose. He was released on a $125,000 bail today in Las Vegas. O.J. has been charged with 10 felonies, including robbery with a deadly weapon and kidnapping. He could get life in prison for all this. Isn't that something? You kill two people, you get nothing -- but steal your own football jersey, you go away for life." --Jimmy Kimmel
 
"Tonight we talk about the video we've all seen, the video of the University of Florida student, Andrew Meyer, being tasered at a John Kerry speech. By the way, considered one of the most pleasant outcomes of attending a Kerry speech. Many people, from what I've seen, choose to be tasered." --Jon Stewart
 
"In political news, Vice President Dick Cheney is very upset about the way General Petraeus has been treated by the Democrats. Vice President Cheney said it is horrible that people mock and insult a soldier. I'll be sure to pass that on to John Kerry when I see him." --Jay Leno
 
"Speaking of John Kerry, a University of Florida student was tasered after asking John Kerry about the 2004 election. ... I believe this is the first time anyone's ever been electrified at a John Kerry speech." --Jay Leno
 
"You probably saw the footage on the news. In fact, John Kerry was so shocked when it happened, he almost showed a facial expression." --Jay Leno
 
"Actually, to his credit, John Kerry said he did not want the kid tasered. He figured if he would just keep talking for a few more minutes, the student would have nodded off on his own." --Jay Leno
 
"In a new book, former Mexican President Vicente Fox says George W. Bush's Spanish is at best grade school level. Unfortunately, so is his History, Math, Science." --Jay Leno
 
"President Bush has tapped retired federal judge Michael Mukasey ... to replace Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Conservatives in Washington say Mukasey is a real 'law and order' guy. To which Bush said, 'He was on that TV show, too?'" --Jay Leno
 
"The airport bathroom in Minneapolis where ... Senator Larry Craig was arrested has become a tourist attraction. ... Isn't that unbelievable? See, when I travel, I like to go to the men's rooms that the locals use, not some tourist trap" --Jay Leno
 
"Senator John Kerry was heckled while giving a speech, and the heckler had to be subdued with a taser gun. When reached for comment, the man said being tasered in the chest was still better than sitting through an entire Kerry speech." --Conan O'Brien
 
"Mexican President Vicente Fox has a new book coming out. In it, he says ... George Bush is the cockiest guy he's ever met. Apparently, the first time they met, Bush kept demanding to meet the Taco Bell chihuahua. ... Fox also says Bush speaks grade school Spanish. Well, in fairness, he speaks grade school English too." --Jimmy Kimmel
 
"If the world's off track, O.J. must come back. ... But is it too late? Would a media so focused on elevating national discourse in this election cycle even notice? [on screen: multiple news reports that 'whatever happens in Vegas doesn't necessarily stay in Vegas']. You did it, O.J. You're a uniter. By the way, Las Vegas is now changing its slogan to 'Las Vegas: No One Leaves This Room Motherf-----.'" --Jon Stewart
 
"The bathroom stall at the Minneapolis airport where Larry Craig was arrested has now become a tourist attraction where people go to have their pictures taken. Not only that, for $10, Larry Craig will autograph your penis." --Conan O'Brien
 
"In a new book, Mexico's former president, Vicente Fox, says that President Bush's Spanish is at grade school-level. Fortunately, Bush's feelings weren't hurt, because Fox made the comments in Spanish." --Conan O'Brien
 
"Congratulations to Al Gore! Al Gore won an Emmy last night. Actually, you know the secret to his win? This time, they actually counted the votes" --Jay Leno
 
"Everybody today talking about Mr. O.J. Simpson. ... O.J. Simpson was arrested yesterday for armed robbery in connection with a break-in at a Las Vegas hotel. When the cops cuffed him and took him to jail, O.J. was thrilled and said, 'I've still got it.'" --Conan O'Brien
 
"Apparently, after O.J. was taken into custody, he was questioned by police. He continues to maintain his innocence. O.J. says there's no way he committed the crime because it's not murdery enough." --Conan O'Brien
 
"How many saw the president's speech? He pre-empted regular programming, which is nice, because viewers tuning in to see 'Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader' for once got to feel they actually were. Yeah, he offered really no new strategy that I saw, but, of course, a new slogan: 'Return on Success.' Sounds like a Dr. Phil book." --Bill Maher
 
"Of course this is all coming from General Petraeus -- Petraeus Maximus. He testified before Congress and, of course, he said the surge is working. Although he emphasized, not on a Jewish holiday. ... He said we want to draw down troops, 30,000 troops, by next May. Of course, we just sent in 30,000 troops. So you send in 30,000 and you take away 30,000 -- it's called Operation Bulimia." --Bill Maher
 
"Did you see Britney Spears at the Video Music Awards? I don't want to say that that performance was a disaster, but after the show, I saw Rudy Giuliani having his picture taken standing on her." --Bill Maher
 
"Oh, I kid Rudy with love, because he is on the attack against Hillary Clinton. Have you seen this? He accused her of spitting venom at General Petraeus, and he paid for a full-page ad in the New York Times. He must miss the days when he was the mayor of New York, and the New York Times would have to print his bulls**t for free." --Bill Maher
 
"President Bush addressed the nation on this troop situation in Iraq. He said the best method, he believes, is a limited pullout. I don't know. Guys? Guys, that ever work for you? A limited pullout?" --Jay Leno
 
"Bush's speech was the first one broadcast in Hi-Def. And again, I don't think President Bush quite understands what that means. If fact, when they told him it was Hi-Def, he said, 'Oh great. Does that mean we don't need that lady with the sign language up in the corner anymore?" --Jay Leno
 
"Idaho Senator Larry Craig announced that he believes the United States is making progress in Iraq, thanks to the troop surge. And after he made the announcement, the guy in the next stall said, 'You want to keep it down, buddy?'" --Jay Leno
 
"President Bush gave his eighth speech to the nation about Iraq. In it, Bush promised to have the troops home by speech #73." --Conan O'Brien
 
"Yesterday, it was 'Conception Day' in Russia, where Russians were encouraged to have sex in order to increase their population. In the spirit of international cooperation, America sent Charlie Sheen." --Conan O'Brien
 
"General Petraeus has been testifying before Congress and a number of senators accused General Petraeus of lying. You've gotta understand why they're upset. If you are going to deceive the American people, you do it the right way ... you run for Congress." --Jay Leno
 
"Newt Gingrich has hinted he may run for president [audience boos]. And the American people just hinted he may lose." --Jay Leno
 
"Yesterday was 'Sex Day' in Russia. Government officials have encouraged the people of Russia to take the day off from work and have sex in an effort to increase their population. ... They told people to take the day off from work. That's the difference between our governments right there. In our country, our government officials have sex right there on the job." --Jay Leno
 
"The NFL is investigating whether or not the New England Patriots cheated during last Sunday's game by videotaping opposing coaches and stealing their hand signals. This could turn out to be the worst scandal involving hand signals since Senator Larry Craig got caught in that men's room." --Jay Leno
 
"Earlier today, President Bush announced to the nation that he promised to have Lindsay Lohan out of rehab next summer." --David Letterman
 
"Here's some sad news. ... According to a new study, gorillas are almost extinct. ... The situation is serious. It's grave. Earlier today, the governor of California was placed in a captive breeding program" --David Letterman

2007/9/21

He really doesn't read the newspapers

@ 06:38 PM (26 months, 11 days ago)

Talk about yer mutilated metaphors.
 
Bush gave a speech yesterday trying to defend his administration's Iraq mess. He alluded to former South African leader Nelson Mandela's death in an attempt to explain sectarian violence in Iraq.
 
Nelson Mandela is still very much alive.
 
Bush inartfully said, "Part of the reason why there's not this instant democracy in Iraq is because people are still recovering from Saddam Hussein's brutal rule. Sort of an interesting comment, I heard somebody say, `Where's Mandela?' Well, Mandela's dead because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas."
 
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070920/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush
 
Wonder how Iraqis feel about that statement? What does that say about how Bush perceives the leaders in Iraq?
 
It's not so much what Bush MEANT to say, he comes off as a dim-wit because of what he DID say. This is the “leader of the free world” we're talking about .. who can't adequately articulate a thought.
 
And now the righties are pouting about how evil, deluded lefties deliberately misconstrued the words of the wise and articulate President Bush.
 
I heard him say it with my own ears and blamed myself for not knowing who were the other Mandelas with Iraq connections .. but then it dawned on me that he was just screwing up what he was trying to say.
 
It's right up there with the strangest and silliest things the man ever said. We make jokes about him being a babbling fool and a little bit crazy .. in a few years we'll probably find out the truth.
 
What's crazy is -- if a Mandela did arise out of the chaos in Iraq, he sure as hell wouldn't be on the side of the foreign occupying forces. Like the real Mandela, he'd demand that we leave .. then righties everywhere would be screaming for his blood.
 
So, maybe Saddam did Bush a favor.
 
Anyone remember when Cheney voted against a resolution calling for Mandela's release? He called Mandela's ANC a terrorist organization.
 
Anyone see the irony?
 

Slinking away .. then slinking back

@ 05:37 AM (26 months, 12 days ago)

 

Alan (Not Atlas) Shrugged,

By MAUREEN DOWD, New York Times columnist

WASHINGTON

It’s a lost art, slinking away.

Now the fashion is slinking back.

Nobody wants to simply admit they made a mistake and disappear for awhile. Nobody even wants to use the weasel words: “Mistakes were made.” No, far better to pop right back up and get in the face of those who were savoring your absence.

We should think of a name for this appalling modern phenomenon. Kissingering, perhaps.

In Las Vegas, there’s the loathsome O.J., a proper candidate for shunning and stun-gunning, barging back into the picture.

And on Capitol Hill, Larry Craig shocked mortified Republicans by bounding into their weekly lunch. You’d think the conservative 62-year-old Idaho senator would have some shame, going from fervently opposing gay rights to provocatively tapping his toe in a Minneapolis airport toilet. (The toilet stall, now known as the Larry Craig bathroom, has become a hot local tourist attraction.)

But no.

As though Republicans don’t have enough problems, Mr. Craig said he is ready to go back to work while the legal hotshots he hired appeal his case. He even cast a couple votes, one against D.C. voting rights. (This creep gets to decide about my representation?)

Even if President Bush is “the cockiest guy” around, as the former Mexican President Vicente Fox writes in a new memoir critical of W.’s “grade-school-level” Spanish and his grade-school-level Iraq policy, he can’t be feeling good about the barbs being hurled his way by former supporters and enablers.

Rummy’s back in the news, giving interviews about a planned memoir and foundation designed to encourage “reasoned and civil debate” about global challenges and to spur more young people to go into government.

It’s rich. Maybe more young people would go into government if they didn’t have to work for devious bullies like Rummy who make huge life-and-death mistakes and then don’t apologize.

In The Washington Post, he blamed the press and Congress for creating an inhospitable atmosphere that drives good people away from public service. Maybe that’s why he and his evil twin, Dick Cheney, did their best to undermine the constitutional system of checks and balances so they could get more fine young people to serve.

Does the man blamed for creating civil disorder in Iraq even know what the word “civil” means? Wasn’t he the prickly Pentagon chief who got furious with anyone who didn’t agree with him on “global challenges”?

He shoved Gen. Eric Shinseki into retirement — and failed to show up at his retirement party — after the good general correctly told Congress that it would take several hundred thousand troops to invade and control Iraq. And he snubbed the German defense minister when Germany joined the Coalition of the Unwilling.

Interviewed by GQ’s Lisa DePaulo on his ranch in Taos, N.M., with another mule named Gus nearby, the “75-year-old package of waning testosterone,” as the writer called him, was asked if he misses W. Offering a wry smile, he replied, “Um, no.”

He now treats the son with the same contempt he treated the father with, which is why it’s so odd that the son hired his dad’s nemesis in the first place.

He actually had the gall to imply to Ms. DePaulo that he was out of the loop on Iraq and dragged out a copy of a memo he had written outlining all the things that could go wrong.

In fact, he was the one, right after 9/11, who began pushing to go after Saddam. He and Cheney were orchestrating the invasion from the start, guiding the dauphin with warnings about how weak he would seem if he let Saddam mock him.

The ultimate bureaucratic infighter wrote the memo as part of his Socratic strategy, asking a lot of questions when he was already pushing to go into Iraq. He never did any contingency planning in case those things went wrong; the memo was there simply so that someday he could pull it out for a reporter.

In the same issue of GQ, Colin Powell tried to build up the objections he made to the president, too, in an interview with Walter Isaacson. But nobody’s buying.

Even though he rubber-stamped W.’s tax cuts, Alan Greenspan is now upbraiding the president and vice president for profligate spending and putting politics ahead of sound economics.

He also says in his new memoir that “the Iraq war is largely about oil,” telling Bob Woodward that he had privately told W. and Cheney that ousting Saddam was “essential” to keeping world oil supplies safe.

Irrational exuberance, indeed.

2007/9/20

Are we bringing slavery back dressed in a military uniform?

@ 08:14 AM (26 months, 13 days ago)

Republicans vote to NOT support the troops.
 
If anyone needed a reason to vote Democrat in '08, this was it.
 
Support Our Troops. Yep, pretty much everyone agrees that these brave men and women have been serving under strain .. and doing so without much complaint, even though it's costing them their lives, limbs and sometimes their families. Some are on their 4th tour.
 
So here comes Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) who introduced an amendment to *truly* support our troops and their families, joined by Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE). Both of these guys are veterans and they want to legislate the long standing military tradition of giving the military the same time at home as they spend deployed.
 
Next, here comes the Republicans, led by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sen. John Warner (R-VA), to shoot the amendment down. Warner supported Webb in July, but now has reversed himself.
 
This is choosing politics over protecting our troops .. it's choosing to protect a president and his failed policies over our men and women in uniform.
 
The Republicans even said this legislation was "blatantly unconstitutional" .. McCain said the Constitution doesn't give Congress the right to manage troop rotations.
 
Webb said McCain "needs to read the Constitution. There's a provision in Article 1 Section 8 which clearly gives the Congress the authority to make rules with respect to the governance of ground and naval forces."
 
It’s a shame when our own lawmakers are this unfamiliar with our US Constitution.
 
Then Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said it would "tie the hands of our military commanders to deploy forces..."
 
Seems that they are more concerned about tying the hands of military commanders than they are about ensuring the well-being of the soldiers on the ground.
 
And guess what? Webb’s proposal is supported by the Military Officers Association of America. Here's their letter of endorsement:
 
"On behalf of the 368,000 I am writing to express MOAA's support for your amendment that would support our military men and women by establishing standards for dwell time between consecutive operational deployments.
 
Even before September 11, 2001, our military leaders indicated that members and families of all services were stretched thin in meeting deployments requirements. The subsequent exponential growth of operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, compounded by reluctance to grow our forces to meet requirements of an acknowledged "long war," has placed extreme stress on active duty, Guard and Reserve forces alike.
 
MOAA is very concerned that steps must be taken to protect our most precious military asset - the all-volunteer force - from having to bear such a disproportionate share of national wartime sacrifice. If we are not better stewards of our troops and their families in the future than we have been in the recent past, MOAA believes strongly that we will be putting the all-volunteer force at unacceptable risk."
 
http://webb.senate.gov/pdf/MOAAletterofsupport.pdf
 
We've been calling up the National Guard and Army Reserve for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001 .. hundreds of thousands of our citizen soldiers (the majority of them, I believe) have already served there. Earlier this year, the military announced that Guard units would rotate to Iraq for a 2nd time .. VIOLATING the "one year on, 5 years off" policy for Guard unit deployments.
 
Webb and Hagel held a news conference saying they'll reintroduce their amendment to the Defense Authorization Bill.
 
I guarantee this vote against doing right by our troops will come back to haunt Republicans in Nov 08 .. they're basically telling the troops to just suck it up and get with Bush's program.
 
And keep this in mind next time you hear a wingnut ranting about how Democrats don't "support the troops."
 
The American people know. A recent USA Today/Gallup poll shows that 59 percent of us want a timetable for troop withdrawal, one that must be followed no matter what. A recent CBS News poll shows that only 31 percent of us think the “surge” has made things better.
 
Yep, Republicans will be in big trouble next November. Meanwhile, our troops are in big trouble now.
 

2007/9/19

Hearts & Minds, Baby

@ 07:14 AM (26 months, 14 days ago)

Blackwater USA, a private security firm that's controversial because of the power it wields in the Iraq war, allegedly opened fire on and killed several Iraqi civilians.
 
Iraq's interior ministry wants to ban Blackwater from operating anywhere in that country and jerk its license. The US State Department is apologizing after the bloody shootout in Baghdad.
 
I'm sure the dead Iraqis feel much better now.
 
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq's Interior Ministry has revoked the license of Blackwater USA, an American security firm whose contractors are blamed for a Sunday gunbattle in Baghdad that left eight civilians dead. The U.S. State Department said it plans to investigate what it calls a "terrible incident."
 
In addition to the fatalities, 14 people were wounded, most of them civilians, an Iraqi official said. [..]"
 
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/09/17/iraq.main/
 
Ooopsie .. the White House can't be too happy about this .. Maliki is hanging on by a thread now, and forcing him to back down on this after he went public could be the death blow.
 
There'll be claims back and forth about who shot first .. whether the shootings were justified or not .. whether the dead and wounded were insurgents or civilians, etc. Everyone will have their own spin. It will be interesting to see if any video finds its way out.
 
My money is on Blackwater. There is so much money involved in Blackwater contracts, you can bet that they won't be leaving anytime soon .. they have been roaming Iraq without oversight or management for years.
 
Nope, Blackwater is going nowhere. The number of mercenaries in Iraq is around 20,000 -- that's another entire "Surge." It would take eight to ten combat brigades to replace those 20,000 hired guns .. and we don't have 'em. Period.
 
You don't really think the White House is going to let the Iraqis kick out a high-dollar war profiteer, do you? Next they'll think they can run their own country.
 
I don't understand what the US State Department is doing using mercenaries to provide its security in the first place .. if memory serves, that task is the duty of our military.
 
The US Government HAS an Armed Forces at its command. It has no business employing mercenaries. That it does so is a sad indication of our failure in Iraq.
 
From what I read, Blackwater mercenaries only tend to create more problems for the US military .. who sometimes talk about what kind of Wild West crap Blackwater pulls. US military officers often complain about having to share the battlefield with these private forces who operate under their own rules and agendas.
 
Boots on the ground say the mercs can be a downright menace, getting into situations where Iraqi security forces engage in direct combat with Blackwater .. that it was cowboying by Blackwater that led to the Fallujah bloodbath.
 
I remember a video on the Internet that contractors took of themselves, shooting at civilians, set to the Elvis song "Runaway Train."
 
There's also Abu Ghraib, where all of the translators and half of the interrogators were private contractors from the Titan and CACI firms. The US Army found that contractors were involved in 36 percent of the proven abuse incidents.
 
The real story here is that the strong-on-defense Republican administration has to hire mercenaries because we don't have enough troops to do the job in Iraq.
 
Looks to me like it costs much more to contract out than simply to find more active duty personnel to fill the same positions. If we'd offer just half the money the mercs are getting paid, I guarantee more military sign-ups. Blackwater got a $1 billion contract to do the State Department diplomatic security job last year.
 
"License? We don' need no stinkin' license!"
 
And Iraqis can't seek justice .. can't prosecute Blackwater. Paul Bremer made sure private contractors are not allowed to be brought into any Iraqi court. They can't be held to Iraqi laws.
 
Ultimately, they're accountable to the US government. Now, who exactly is going to prosecute them....?
 
The Department of Justice can .. because the FBI is investigating an incident that took place last Christmas where a Blackwater employee is alleged to have shot and killed a security guard for a top Iraqi official. But, as of yet, no charges have been filed. Experts say no contractor has ever been charged in the death of an Iraqi.
 
That must really make the Iraqis feel nice and cozy .. knowing there is nothing they can do, they have no right to punish anyone for misbehaving in any way.
 
"As we now see in Iraq and elsewhere, the privatized military industry is a reality of the 21st century. This entrance of the profit motive onto the battlefield opens up vast, new possibilities, but also a series of troubling questions – for democracy, for ethics, for management, for law, for human rights, and for national and international security. At what point do we begin answering them?"
 
Food for thought by P.W. Singer (Senior Fellow and Director of the 21st Century Defense Initiative at The Brookings Institution) who wrote "Corporate Warriors: The Rise of the Privatized Military Industry"
 
Mark my words, Blackwater will stay in Iraq .. they will pay a steep fine, say they're sorry and keep their license.
 
Otherwise, one of Bush or Cheney's cronies will lose money, and that is unacceptable.
 
End of story.
 

2007/9/18

Sweet sweet irony

@ 07:08 AM (26 months, 15 days ago)

Here's something else that will keep the Sen. Larry Craig story in the headlines .. he's like those trick birthday candles that won’t blow out.
 
Now he's the new poster child for the ACLU. As much as he's bashed them and called them all kinds of evil, he just might be the guest speaker at their next banquet.
 
Yep, the ACLU is going to bat for restroom tap dancer Sen. Larry Craig.
 
They have filed a "friend of court" brief with the Minnesota Court considering Craig's motion to withdraw his guilty plea over his restroom sting arrest.
 
From aclu.org: NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today submitted a friend-of-the-court brief to a Minnesota District Court urging it to allow Senator Larry Craig to withdraw his guilty plea because the secret sting operation used to arrest him was likely unconstitutional.
 
"The real motive behind secret sting operations like the one that resulted in Senator Craig’s arrest is not to stop people from inappropriate activity. It is to make as many arrests as possible – arrests that sometimes unconstitutionally trap innocent people," said Anthony Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU.
 
"If the police really want to stop people from having sex in public bathrooms, they should put up a sign banning sex in the restroom and send in a uniformed officer to patrol periodically. That works." [..]"
 
http://www.aclu.org/freespeech/31843prs20070917.html
 
Yeah, like you'd want to explain that sign to little kids when you take them to a public restroom.
 
Reminds me of the sign in the movie "Airplane" with the silhouette of two people having sex with the red cross-out circle through it, next to the No Smoking symbol.
 
The ACLU, bless their hearts, defend gays, blacks, virgins, hobgoblins, Republicans and other mythical things that go bump in the night. A principled bunch indeed, they think we ALL are STILL entitled to due process and other rights .. no matter how many warts we have.
 
Rabid righties like Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh howl that the ACLU is a "dangerous left-wing organization. But Rush accepted a brief from them on the issue of his medical records when he got busted for drugs .. then he went right back to bashing them.
 
The ACLU deserves credit for defending the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. It's the principle of the matter, not Larry Craig. I'm surprised it took this long for them to show up .. maybe it was the pleading guilty aspect.
 
The ACLU said -- "It is a crime to have sex in public. It is not a crime to propose or solicit sex in public, whether it's in a bar or in a bathroom."

I'm just not comfortable with the double standard thing. I'm a woman and have been "hit on" oodles of times by men .. no one came running to arrest them.
 
Old joke: Definition of "liberal" -- a Republican who just got arrested.
 
Whatever happens, we all know that even if Craig manages to win his legal case, he is history. Idaho voters seem to have a much lower standard of proof when it comes to branding someone guilty.
 
I got a kick out of this: "Airport Restroom Becomes a Tourist Attraction "
 
http://minnesotamonitor.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=2449
 

2007/9/17

Dwatt that wascawy wibewal media!

@ 07:32 AM (26 months, 16 days ago)

Liberal media, liberal media! For the last 20 years we've heard that whine -- "how can we get a fair shake when the media has such a liberal bias?"
 
Well, guess what? A media watchdog group has a new study out that says conservatives get more print on editorial pages than liberals.
 
Another conservative myth debunked! WMD's .. Trickle Down Economics .. Compassionate Conservatism .. Party of Family Values .. and now the Liberal Media. What will be the next fairy-tale?
 
Though it wasn't in this study, I'd have to say that liberals may have the advantage when it comes to editorial cartoons. Liberals are famous for their wit and sense of humor.
 
Radio wasn't a subject either, but the amount of on air rabid rightie radio hours vs wascawy wibewal radio hours is from here to the moon in difference.
 
According to this article in Media Matters, Editor and Publisher painstakingly gathered data to find out what types of columnists are being published in what markets. The results show a strong conservative bias in most newspapers.
 
They found that 60 percent of the daily newspapers print more conservative syndicated columnists each week than liberals.
 
Here are some of the results from the Executive Summary of the study:
 
"This project did something that has never been done before: It amassed data on the syndicated columnists published by nearly every daily newspaper in the country.
 
While a few publications, most notably Editor & Publisher, cover the syndicated newspaper industry, no one has attempted to comprehensively assemble this information prior to now.
 
...The results show that in paper after paper, state after state, and region after region, conservative syndicated columnists get more space than their progressive counterparts. [..]"
 
http://mediamatters.org/reports/oped/?f=h_top
 
Are we surprised? A vast majority of newspapers are massively owned and dominated by conservatives. Can you say Rupert Murdock?
 
Yep, this study pretty much shreds the rightie claim of liberal bias in the print media .. at least as far as op-ed columnists are concerned.
 
And, it's no surprise that in recent years GOP presidential candidates have gotten the most newspaper endorsements on editorial pages.
 
If nearly one in two Americans say they are "moderate" .. why are only two of the top ten columnists in America centrists?
 
But hey, since Democrats kicked butt in the '06 elections, maybe that means that conservative columnists, or even op-ed columnists in general, have little influence on swing voters.
 
Anyway, who knows how much better the Dems could have done if there had been more political balance on editorial pages?
 

2007/9/16

"MoveOn.org: Practicing Republicanism w/o license?"

@ 07:21 PM (26 months, 16 days ago)

I'm so tired of hearing all the rightie outrage about the moveon.org ad -- "General Betrayus". I personally didn't like it .. and, as much as some righties would love to think so, it sure doesn't represent the mainstream Democrats I know.
 
And the Democratic presidential candidates probably haven't said anything against the ad for the same reason the Republican presidential candidates didn't stand up and condemn those inflammatory and outrageous ads the Swiftboaters put out attacking Vietnam veterans back in '08. Nope, the Republicans sure didn't have any trouble with unkind words about men in uniform back then.
 
Daily Kos says it better than me: "If the Republicans held themselves to the standards they complain that MoveOn violated, President Kerry would be working well with Sen. Max Cleland. The attacks of the Saxby Chambliss campaign and the lies of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are far more foul and as Sen. McCain put it, "McCarthyist" than that ad."
 
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/9/11/205522/090
 
Everyone can be outraged all they want, but the bottom line for savvy pols on both sides of the aisle is -- When running for office, you don't piss off the people who are campaigning for you and/or raising big money for your side.
 
Nevertheless, a CNN poll showed that the public is still on the side of the end-the-war Democrats. It will take more than that ad to change the minds of fed-up war-weary Americans.
 

Peaches Tightens the Girdle

@ 06:20 AM (26 months, 17 days ago)

Leave it to MoDo to discover that, as a youngster, General Petraeus was known as "Peaches"...

Read the rest of this entry ... (808 words left)

2007/9/15

Hey Big Spender ..

@ 12:32 PM (26 months, 17 days ago)

At last, Alan Greenspan speaks in a language we can understand -- he says Bush and Cheney effed-up this country.
 
From The New York Times: "WASHINGTON, Sept. 14 — Alan Greenspan, who was chairman of the Federal Reserve for nearly two decades, in a long-awaited memoir, is harshly critical of President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and the Republican-controlled Congress, as abandoning their party’s principles on spending and deficits.
 
In the 500-page book, “The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World,” Mr. Greenspan describes the Bush administration as so captive to its own political operation that it paid little attention to fiscal discipline...
 
...Mr. Bush, he writes, was never willing to contain spending or veto bills that drove the country into deeper and deeper deficits, as Congress abandoned rules that required that the cost of tax cuts be offset by savings elsewhere. “The Republicans in Congress lost their way,”
 
“They swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither. They deserved to lose” in the 2006 election, when they lost control of the House and Senate.
 
...Of the presidents he worked with, Mr. Greenspan reserves his highest praise for Bill Clinton, whom he described in his book as a sponge for economic data who maintained “a consistent, disciplined focus on long-term economic growth.” [..]
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/15/business/15greenspan.html?hp
 
So .. this self-described "lifelong libertarian Republican" said Clinton was the most economically literate.
 
How about them apples?
 
We already knew Clinton was an economic whiz kid. It's nice to see him getting the credit he deserves .. and says a lot about how the two presidents will be compared by historians on economic policy. Clinton will come out looking like Thomas Jefferson compared to Bush.
 
I still can't figure out why Democrats don't crow louder about fiscal responsibility .. compared to this batch of Republicans, they have certainly earned it.
 
So .. a Democratic president balanced the budget .. and when the Republicans had all three branches of government, we ran up the largest debt in history.
 
Bush and the GOP flushed their reputation for fiscal conservatism down the toilet years ago.
 
And after Bush started trashing our economy Greenspan presided over the Fed for another five years .. he needed to speak out when it would have done some good. Too bad he had to wait until he had an $8.5-million book deal to tell us all this.
 
Too little five years too late.
 
Too many stayed around kissing Bush's arse -- Colin Powell, Jack Goldsmith, Paul O'Neill, George Tenet, etc. -- and those who weren't puckering up said nothing, when it was obvious that Bush was in way over his head, and was doing things destructive to our country.
 
Now, economics and high finance isn't really my cuppa tea, but I'd like to point out that even though Greenspan was the father of a great "asset bubble", he also promoted easy-credit policies and toxic adjustable-rate mortgages that are now ruining so many American families and causing them to lose their homes.
 
Greenspan was the best friend the credit industry ever had.
 
PS -- I was glad he said this: "I'm saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows -- the Iraq war is largely about oil."
 
See .. it's not only leftie moonbats who think that. 
 

Late-night jokes recap 9/15

@ 06:52 AM (26 months, 18 days ago)

"A New Orleans prostitute has come forward and said she has had sex with married Louisiana Senator David Vitter two or three times a week over a four-month period. This is actually good news for the Republicans. Finally a sex scandal involving a woman." --Jay Leno

Read the rest of this entry ... (1632 words left)

2007/9/14

More lipstick on the pig

@ 08:05 AM (26 months, 19 days ago)

Bush and his "What me worry?" speech -- the surge has worked, blah, blah, blah .. stay the course, blah, blah, blah .. don't cut and run, blah, blah, blah .. give me another $100 BILLION for my war, blah, blah, blah .. we are making progress, blah, blah, blah........
 
That was it. Nothing new in this speech .. no new ideas .. no new direction. This guy lacks even an iota of analytic thought. Just more, more, more of the same. More dead .. more crippled, wounded, damaged. More money thrown away.
 
More "We'll stand down as they stand up" .. more "We're fighting them over there..." drivel.
 
If I want to hear somebody lie to me, I'll call my ex-boyfriend.
 
The truest thing he said was, "Our troops are performing bravely." Nothing about how they are trained to fight armies, not police civil wars .. or having to do 4 tours in Iraq.
 
He said there are "36 nations" with "troops on the ground in Iraq."
 
He only missed it by 12.
 
"Return on Success"? Seriously? He must have been talking about his war profiteering buddies on what kind of "return" Iraq is bringing to their pockets.
 
And, *of course* we're going for a "long term strategic relationship" with Iraq .. what with all those permanent bases and the billion dollar embassy.
 
I liked the part where he told us in one breath that the people of Anbar Province were safe to work with the US and Iraqi forces .. then in the next breath told us how the leading Sheik from that area who had been working with the US and Iraqi forces got blown to bits.
 
Bush tried to make his mess look good by spouting the fairy tale that the Surge has been a success and troops can start coming home. But, over 130,000 of them will remain there indefinitely. Huh? And those 30,000 were due to come home anyway because they'll be at the end of their tour. Huh?
 
Michael Ware reporting from Baghdad (the best reporter in Iraq if you ask me) and Anderson Cooper on CNN were very good at exposing Bush's denial and omission. Ware talked about ethnic cleansing, lack of electricity, fear of being dragged off, living in communities protected by militias .. all of which were ignored by the president. Some people call Ware a pro-war hawk .. whatever, at least he provides objective reporting.
 
Bush seemed especially insincere in his eyes .. and they were closer together than I've noticed before .. I wonder how that happens.
 
His speech was riddled with errors and half-truths. It's a terrible day when the leader of the free world feels he can shamelessly propagandize and deceive the American people like that.
 
Like -- "Iraq could face a humanitarian nightmare." Uh .. let's see, 2 million refugees, 2 million internal displaced persons, food distribution has been cut, little electricity, a cholera epidemic .. good golly, how could it be any worse?
 
Then this one -- "To Iraq's neighbors who seek peace...the efforts by Iran and Syria to undermine that government must end." Who on earth can he mean? The Saudis are helping the Sunni insurgents .. the Turks are dealing with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) .. Jordan has helped with refugees. Kuwait?
 
And how 'bout ol' John Edwards? He certainly looked more presidential than he ever has before, came on and showed a savvy take on the speech .. not buying into the BS and pointing out the many flaws in Bush's "logic".
 
The longer the campaign wears on the more I like Edwards. He's the one who most gets it re health care, counter-terrorism and several other key issues. But people worry that he concentrates too much on the poor .. and the very poor don't vote much.
 
If you read the press reports about his reaction to the miner who couldn't get proper treatment of his cleft palate until he was 50, you realize what Edwards is made of -- "In the richest nation on the planet, a man lives for 50 years not being able to talk — a completely fixable, correctable condition," Edwards told the concert audience. "How can that be? How can that be in America? Are we not better than this?" ( http://tinyurl.com/22qb5g )
 
That said I would still support any of the Democrats over any of the Republicans. The only Republican who looks halfway interesting is Fred Thompson...
 
... but that just shows I watch too much TV.
 

2007/9/13

What's a little cholera when you've got all that FREEDOM?

@ 07:56 AM (26 months, 20 days ago)

"Cholera Epidemic Infects 7,000 People in Iraq"
 
What else can we inflict on those poor souls .. maybe we could also give them some "special blankets"...
 
And what are the chances of US soldiers catching it?
 
From the New York Times: BAGHDAD -- A cholera epidemic in northern Iraq has infected approximately 7,000 people and could reach Baghdad within weeks as the disease spreads through the country’s decrepit and unsanitary water system, Iraqi health officials said Tuesday.[..]"
 
http://tinyurl.com/ywxc6b
 
So .. aside from all the violence brought on by the civil war, the religious sectarian strife and resistance to the occupation .. along with sporadic electricity, children drinking from mud puddles, a crippled economy, Al Qaeda in their midst, and a host of other ills, the Iraqis can now add cholera to their list of woes?
 
Don't forget that 75 percent of doctors, nurses and pharmacists have fled Iraq. If you were a doctor, how would like to hopscotch over IED's and dodge bullets as you travel around an incredibly dangerous city, finding and caring for the sick, or even taking away the dead?
 
With the infrastructure destroyed it was only a matter of time before this happened. Yes, we can blame Paul Bremer .. but also the insurgents who shoot at us as we try to rebuild water treatment plants, or blow them up when we're finished.
 
Meanwhile, the US and their Iraqi partners have cut off crucial supplies of chlorine because insurgents use it to make bombs, endangering many thousands. Cholera is water-borne plague.
 
What a mess we've made. I am ashamed of my country because we have so little there in resources for the PEOPLE, from electricity to healthcare to basics like food.
 
What the hell is 10 billion being spent on!
 
We need a middle class mother to audit the damn books .. someone who knows how to control costs.
 
Let me segue into just how much money IS wasted. Remember the billions Bremer couldn't account for? It's unbelievable as to the depth of corruption and crime and theft from the White House on down.
 
Read all about it here -- "The Great Iraq Swindle" .. Conservative Pat Buchanan even linked it.
 
"How is it done? How do you screw the taxpayer for millions, get away with it and then ride off into the sunset with one middle finger extended, the other wrapped around a chilled martini? Ask Earnest O. Robbins -- he knows all about being a successful contractor in Iraq. [..]"
 
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/16076312/the_great_iraq_swindle
 
No real American who loves this country could ever read the above article and not have their eyes opened to the biggest scandal and corruption committed by a White House in our history.
 
There's a book out now - “Dead Certain” - in which Bush tells biographer Robert Draper, "I cry a lot."
 
Don't we all?
 

2007/9/12

Sir, I don't know if the Iraq war makes America safer...

@ 07:47 AM (26 months, 21 days ago)
 
That was the most honest thing he said.
 
All I really heard was -- give us another year, a couple hundred billion more dollars, oh and several hundred more soldiers' lives, so Bush won't have to take the blame for his own eff-up.
 
"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Gen. David Petraeus' report of progress in Iraq may have bought George W. Bush more time to pursue the war while blunting Democrats' immediate hopes of imposing a timetable for a U.S. pullout.
 
Anticipation by Democrats that the Petraeus report would prompt a sea change in policy have dissipated, even as Americans overwhelmingly tell pollsters they are ready for the troops to come home. [..]"
 
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSN1143877420070912
 
The Democrats tried to keep it real .. just overdid the speechifying a bit. But hey, so did the Republicans .. who fluffed up and fawned all over Petraeus .. oh my general how wonderful you are .. oh general you are the greatest American hero ever .. oh general may I touch your medals?
 
I wish he could've said the truth:
 
"Bush and the neo-cons under-manned and under-planned at the start of this war .. they had no backup plan when the flowers and chocolates didn't appear .. they decided we should guard the oil fields instead of the museums and ammo dumps .. they disbanded the army, as well as the top 20 percent of society, and told them all they could never be rehired.
 
Then Bush and the neo-cons were surprised when those people got upset and banded into sectarian groups and fought back. What was originally touted by the neo-cons in charge as lasting "6 days, 6 weeks, I doubt 6 months" and costing upwards of $50 billion (the $200 billion number was dismissed as way off), is almost in its 6th YEAR, and will cost over TWENTY TIMES the original estimates .. probably closer to forty times.
 
While Anbar has quieted a bit .. overall, violence is at about the same level. After the president left the other day, 4 more soldiers were killed and 2 bridges were blown up.
 
Iraqi police are just as likely to be loyal to their tribe as the force. There are more "no-go" zones where tribal leaders are the law. No US administration official has been able to make an announced trip to Iraq since the invasion. The road from the Baghdad airport to the Green Zone is still a suicide drive.
 
Senators, there is no end in sight of our occupation of Iraq."
 
Wouldn't that be refreshing?
 
Another thing .. since so many of the Iraqi people in formerly populated areas are already dead, and millions more have done the refugee thing in Syria, there are just fewer people left in Iraq.
 
Maybe this is why they think the surge is working.
 

2007/9/11

Bush had his exit strategy all along

@ 07:39 AM (26 months, 22 days ago)

 

I've been saying this for years .. it's good to hear someone agree.

"Bush policy to bequeath Iraq to successor"

And get ready for years of Karl Rove and Dick Cheney on Sunday talk shows pointing out how Democrats screwed up the troop draw-down, etc. etc. etc.

Paul Richter of the LA Times is spot on:

"WASHINGTON -- The talk in Washington on Monday was all about troop reductions, yet it also brought into sharp focus President Bush's plans to end his term with a strong U.S. military presence in Iraq, and to leave tough decisions about ending the unpopular war to his successor.

....to improve his chances for a decent legacy. He can say he left office pursuing a strategy that was having at least some success in suppressing violence, a claim that some historians may view sympathetically. [..]"

http://tinyurl.com/2mu3s9

Just like the rich, spoiled brat I always thought he was, once again Bush doesn't have to clean up his messes or live with his mistakes .. let alone own up to them.

He believes what he wants to believe while all his yes men and hangers-on tell him only what he wants to hear. And now he's responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and has bankrupted all of us.

He's probably had this "plan" ever since it became obvious that the strewn roses Bush expected were actually IEDs, and installing a Democratic government in Iraq was like trying to put toothpaste back in the tube.

His "foreign policy" is not only a failure .. it has been destructive to United States interests.

And I think future historians will be smart enough to see that Bush's presidency was defined, diminished and paralyzed by this war, and by his attempts to avoid being embarrassed by it. They'll see how his single-minded focus on it allowed other important domestic and foreign problems to go to hell.

Also .. when historians study this administration it will become clear that Bush was going to invade Iraq from the time he entered office. 9/11 just gave him a propaganda tool to speed up the invasion.

Bush has not only ruined America's standing in the world, he has strengthened our enemies and weakened our military, economy and infrastructure .. the only way to go from here is up.

Too bad we can't levy a special tax on Bush voters and campaign contributors .. let them pay for this war they foisted upon us .. let them pay for the damage they supported.

 

2007/9/10

America will be watching...

@ 08:31 AM (26 months, 23 days ago)

 

Really, History will be watching today as General Petraeus gives his report on Iraq to Congress.

Some lefties are quipping, "General Petraeus or General Betray-us?" .. but I don't feel that strongly. I think Petraeus is basically an honorable man, but he is not completely free of manipulation. What people don't understand is that a General will always follow the orders of his Commander-in-Chief.

Colin Powell wasn't a very good Secretary of State largely because his first instinct was to take orders .. rather than advising the president on proper and good policy.

Once again, Bush is selling his war .. not to the American people this time, but to Congress. The ones who have the power to jerk the money, end this war and start bringing the troops home.

On the morning of General Petraeus's report, we must remember what he said a few weeks before the 2004 elections. He wrote an op-ed piece about 'tangible progress' and how the Iraqi forces were 'developing steadily.'

He may have fooled some voters, but all that he claimed has long since proved to be untrue.

On the morning news I saw a reporter in Iraq who said that when she asks Iraqis what they are fighting for, they say "Sunnis!" or "Shiites!" They never say "Iraq." It will take another generation for them to think of Iraq first. Are we willing for our kids to keep dying for this?

We must keep in mind the recent reports from the GAO, independent agencies and whatnot which tell a different story than Bush's "kickin' ass" story.

Bush is counting on the General to restore credibility to his disastrous Iraq policy .. he sometimes refers to the US troop "surge" as Petraeus’s strategy .. like Bush had nothing to do with it.

It brings to mind the way Bush sent another military man with a strong sense of duty - Colin Powell - as his mouthpiece to spin WMD's to the UN in 2003 .. holding up little vials of anthrax and going on about mobile labs.

Yep, Petraeus is caught between a rock and a hard place, and maybe someday he'll rue his actions the same way Powell says he does.

So let's keep this in mind today as Gen. Petraeus tells Congress that the surge has reduced violence in Iraq .. as long as you don’t count Sunnis killed by Sunnis, Shiites killed by Shiites, the car bombings or certain head wounds. See, they classify violence based on how the bullet pierced a victim's head  -- back of the head, sectarian and counted, front of the head, it's criminal and not counted.

I only hope that the dang Democrats will not look at Gen. Petraeus’s uniform and medals and fall into their usual cringe .. not asking hard questions out of fear that someone might accuse them of attacking the military.

I can just see it -- after the testimony, they’ll desperately try to get Republicans to agree to a resolution that politely asks the President to maybe .. possibly .. withdraw some troops .. if he feels like it.

 

Fred is not Ronnie; he’s warmed-over W.

@ 05:45 AM (26 months, 23 days ago)
 
Old School Inanity by NYT columnist Maureen Dowd:
 
WASHINGTON: Dying for a daddy, the Republicans turn their hungry eyes to Fred.
 
Fred Thompson acts tough on screen. And like Ronald Reagan, he has a distinctively masculine timbre and an extremely involved wife.
 
In his announcement video, Mr. Thompson stood in front of a desk in what looked like, duh, a law office, rumbling reassuringly that in this “dangerous time” he would deal with “the safety and security of the American people.”
 
As Michelle Cottle wrote in The New Republic, far more than puffy-coiffed Mitt and even more than tough guys Rudy and McCain, the burly, 6-foot-5, 65-year-old Mr. Thompson exudes “old-school masculinity.”
 
“In Thompson’s presence (live or on-screen),” she wrote, “one is viscerally, intimately reassured that he can handle any crisis that arises, be it a renegade Russian sub or a botched rape case.” But she wondered, was he really “enough of a man for this fight,” or just someone who meandered through life, creating the illusion of a masculine mystique?
 
Newsweek reported that some close to the Tennessean “question whether moving into the White House is truly Thompson’s life ambition — or more the dream of his second wife, Jeri, a former G.O.P. operative who is his unofficial campaign manager and top adviser.”
 
It took only two days of campaigning to answer the masculine mystique question. Fred gave an interview to CNN’s John King as his bus rolled through Iowa.
 
“To what degree should the American people hold the president of the United States responsible for the fact that bin Laden is still at large six years later?” Mr. King asked.
 
“I think bin Laden is more of a symbolism than he is anything else,” Mr. Thompson drawled. “Bin Laden being in the mountains of Afghanistan or — or Pakistan is not as important as the fact that there’s probably Al Qaeda operatives inside the United States of America.”
 
Usually, you can only get that kind of exquisitely inane logic from the president. Who does Fred think is sending operatives or inspiring them to come?
 
Fred is not Ronnie; he’s warmed-over W. President Reagan always knew who the foe was.
 
Fred followed W.’s nutty lead of marginalizing Osama on a day when TV showed another creepy, fruitcake manifesto by the terrorist, who was wearing what seemed to be a fake beard left over from Woody Allen’s “Bananas” and bloviating on everything from the subprime mortgage crisis to the “woes” of global warming to a Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory to the wisdom of Noam Chomsky to the unwisdom of Richard Perle to the heartwarming news that Muslims have lived with Jews and not “incinerated them” to the need to “continue to escalate the killing and fighting” against American kids in Iraq.
 
Can we please get someone in charge who will stop whining that Osama is hiding in “harsh terrain,” hunt him down and blast him forward to the Stone Age?
 
Fred must have missed the news of the administration’s intelligence estimate in July deeming Al Qaeda rejuvenated and “a persistent and evolving terrorist threat” to Americans.
 
Pressed by Mr. King on the fact that the Bush hawks went after Saddam instead of Osama, Fred continued to sputter: “You — you’re — you’re not served up these issues one at a time. They — they come when they come, and you have to — you have to deal with them.”
 
Democrats pounced. John Edwards issued a statement saying, “That bin Laden is still at large is Bush’s starkest failure.” John McCain and Rudy Giuliani also stressed the need to take out Osama.
 
Fred quickly caved on the matter of men in caves. At a rally later in the day he manned up. “Apparently Osama bin Laden has crawled out of his cave long enough to send another video and he is getting a lot of attention,” he said, “and ought to be caught and killed.”
 
He continued to insist that killing bin Laden would not end the terrorist threat, without realizing that this is true now because, by not catching bin Laden, W. allowed him to explode into an inspirational force for jihadists.
 
Republicans are especially eager for a Papa after their disappointing experiences with Junior. After going through so many shattering disasters, W. seems more the inexperienced kid than ever.
 
In Australia, the president called Australian soldiers in Iraq “Austrian troops,” and got into a weird to-and-fro on TV with the South Korean president.
 
W. cooperated with Ropert Draper, the author of a new biography of him, yet the portrait was not flattering. Like a frat president sitting around with the brothers trying to figure out whether to party with Tri-Delts or Thetas, W. asked his advisers for a show of hands last year to see if Rummy should stay on. And W. is obsessed with getting the Secret Service to arrange his biking trails.
 
“What kind of male,” one of his advisers wondered aloud, “obsesses over his bike riding time, other than Lance Armstrong or a 12-year-old boy?”
 

2007/9/9

Gov. Ahnold says GOP "dying at the box office"

@ 06:49 AM (26 months, 24 days ago)

The Ex-Terminator surely knows what dies at the box office .. so maybe he knows what he's talking about. The fact that he's been so successful as a moderate Republican in a Democrat state should count for something. Looks like the California GOP got more than it bargained for.

Read the rest of this entry ... (380 words left)

2007/9/8

Late-night jokes 9/8

@ 05:57 AM (26 months, 25 days ago)
 
"I heard something interesting today. After he leaves office, George W. Bush is going to start a think tank. That's right, it's like Michael Vick opening an animal shelter." --David Letterman
 
"Did you know, when President Bush is in Australia, his approval rating goes down the drain counter-clockwise?" --Jay Leno
 
"Anybody see the last Republican debate? You know a debate is dull when the most exciting guy there is Brit Hume. Side effects of the Republican debate include dizziness, nausea and sexual dysfunction." --David Letterman
 
"Last night on our show, Fred Thompson announced he strongly supports the war in Iraq. When will these Hollywood actors learn to keep their political opinions to themselves on talk shows? Come on." --Jay Leno
 
"How about that President Bush, he makes that surprise trip to Iraq. Was pretty impressive don't you think? He spent a few quick hours visiting with the troops, and then he left. You know, it was just like his days in the National Guard." --David Letterman
 
"This is interesting, according to a new book President Bush cries when he's alone, never admits to mistakes, and refuses to hear bad news, and -- oh no, wait, that's me" --David Letterman
 
"A very scary moment for four U.S. Senators and Congressmen. I guess Senator Mel Martinez, Richard Shelby, James Inhofe and Congressman Bud Cramer were visiting the troops when their C-130 cargo plane had to take evasive action to avoid gunfire, and that's while taking off from Newark." --Jay Leno
 
"Senator Fred Thompson is on the show tonight, and he says he has something major to announce. In America that can only be one of three things. So he's either pregnant, gay, or running for president." --Jay Leno
 
"Well you know Newsweek has a big cover story on Fred Thompson's presidential campaign. You learn a lot about him. For example, he used to work at NBC, so apparently he knows how to deal with disasters." --Jay Leno
 
"In a new biography coming out soon about President George W. Bush, when asked what his plans where after he leaves office, President Bush said he'd like to make some money giving speeches. He wants to give speeches. Well, you can't say the man doesn't know where his strengths are." --Jay Leno
 
"Scientists in Russia have announced they will send a man to the moon by the year 2025. A defiant President Bush said today, 'not if we get there first.'" --Jay Leno
 
"I learned today that President Bush is a sensitive man. There's a new biography of the president out in which he says 'I do tears,' which means he cries. And he says he cries a lot, and I think it's kind of nice hearing that the president cries. It would be even better to hear that he reads." --Jimmy Kimmel
 
"Fred Thompson is all over the news. ... He'll challenge Mitt Romney, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani for the Republican nomination. Apparently he's very popular, but, here's why Fred Thompson is not going to be our president: very simple, that's his wife. [on screen: A picture of Fred Thompson with wife Jeri.] America is not going to pick a first lady that looks like she runs a tanning salon. Have we ever had a president with a hot wife? Barbara Bush, maybe, but besides that no." --Jimmy Kimmel
 
"Big weekend for President Bush, you all heard about this. Over the weekend President Bush left the White House in an unmarked car and took a top secret trip to Iraq. In fact, the trip was so secret, President Bush still doesn't know where he was. It was hot and there were foreign guys. Mexico, that's his number one guess." --Conan O'Brien
 
"Well, President Bush is upset, very upset that the Iraqi parliament has failed any major legislation since taking office. I guess, of course, on the other hand, it made him feel right at home." --Jay Leno
 
"President Bush announced he plans to help out homeowners in this mortgage-lending crisis thing that's going on. He said millions of people could lose their house, and you know, he knows what he's talking about. Last November he lost a House and the Senate." --Jay Leno
 
"What do you think of this? An elementary school in Colorado has banned the game of tag. You think that's good? Hey forget banning tag in school. How about banning tag from the men's room at the Minneapolis airport?" --Jay Leno
 
"And here's a joke that pretty much writes itself. Former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey, remember he resigned from office because he had a gay affair. Now he's enrolled in a seminary school to become a priest. You may fill in your own joke. A former married governor who was having anonymous gay sex at truck stops now wants to become a member of the clergy. Well what could go wrong there?" --Jay Leno
 
"All right, enough about Larry Craig. In heterosexual news, the Government Accountability Office ... says that things are not improving in Iraq, despite what the administration says. They say Iraq has failed to meet 15 of the 18 benchmarks that they said they had to meet. To give you an idea of how pathetic it's going over there, Lindsay Lohan is doing better in rehab. Of course I'm kidding about that now. No, the rumor about her now is that she was caught doing drugs and having sex in a toilet with a male patient. I didn't even know she was Republican." --Bill Maher
 
"Alberto Gonzales resigned. Our Attorney Generalisimo. President Bush said he was looking for a replacement, someone equally versed in the law. In fact, he's out front of Home Depot right now picking up some guys" --Bill Maher
 
"President Bush wanted to give the White House staff the day off for Labor Day, but then he realized everyone resigned, no one works there anymore. In fact, today was Karl Rove's last day at the White House. Yeah, he wanted to wait until everything was just perfect before he left. You know, you don't want to leave the country in a mess." --Jay Leno
 

Larry Craig jokes 9/8

@ 05:32 AM (26 months, 25 days ago)
 
Senator Craig, the gift that keeps on giving .. here's last week's bunch.
 
"In Idaho, restroom enthusiast Senator Larry Craig, he said he will resign. ... He said he enjoyed being in Washington and he'll miss his colleagues on both sides of the stall." --Jay Leno
 
"Senator Craig still insisting he is not gay. ... And today to prove it he went back to the Minneapolis airport and tried to solicit sex in the women's bathroom." --Jay Leno
 
"But did you hear about this? Senator Craig from Idaho plans to fight a disorderly conduct charge. He wants to change his plea to 'not creepy.' ... Earlier today Senator Craig said he'd like to turn over a new page. I believe his name is Kevin" --David Letterman
 
"It seems there is a website that ranks men's rooms across the country for sex. ... This is true, the one that Senator Craig got caught in at the Minneapolis airport is Minnesota's number one cruising restroom for gay sex. See, all those times you thought those long lines were for security" --Jay Leno
 
"Boy, how about that Senator Larry Craig. ... Now he's thinking maybe he will be back in the Senate. He's not really going to resign. The whole thing raises a question for me: shouldn't those cops that arrested him at the airport, shouldn't they be looking for terrorists, honestly." --David Letterman
 
"He's having second thoughts about resigning, and I was thinking, well, he should have had second thoughts about tapping his foot in the men's room. ... No, he's changed his mind and he's thinking he's going to stay in the Senate, and that occurred to him after he saw the new batch of fall pages." --David Letterman
 
"Senator Larry Craig announced he's now rethinking his decision to resign from the Senate. Craig says he's going talk the decision over with his wife, and the guy in stall number 3." --Conan O'Brien
 
"After announcing last week that he was going to resign from the Senate, Idaho Senator Larry Craig says he may change his mind and not resign. First he's going to resign, now he's not going. Why can't the guy just be straight with us?" --Jay Leno
 
"Apparently he came to this decision because Senator Arlen Specter is coming out in his defense. So his family is coming out for him, Arlen Specter is coming out for him. The only one not coming out is him." --Jay Leno
 
"Actually, no one has even seen Senator Craig for like a week now. Nobody even knows where he is. They think he may have gone on a fishing trip for a couple of days with an old cowboy buddy to some mountain in Wyoming." --Jay Leno
 
"Larry Craig has now hired Michael Vick's attorney, Bill Martin, to defend him. The two cases are quite similar. They both involve being on all fours, and barking like a dog." --Jay Leno
 
"Over the weekend, of course, disgraced Idaho Senator Larry Craig resigned after Republicans refused to defend him. Yeah, Republicans were not happy with him. Yeah, the Republicans' last words were 'don't let the men's room door hit your ass on the way out'"--Conan O'Brien
 
"Idaho Senator Larry Craig announced his resignation on Saturday. ... On Saturday he thanked those who continued to support him and provided us with our unintentional joke of the day [on screen, Sen. Craig saying: 'To have the Governor standing behind me, as he always has.']" --Jimmy Kimmel
 
"Over the weekend Senator Larry Craig resigned from the Senate. Thankfully he was able to do it quietly, before the whole thing turned into some kind of media circus. Thank God for that, how embarrassing if things had gotten out." --Jay Leno
 
"The best Republican sex scandal continues to unfold today, as Senator Larry Craig plead guilty to a misdemeanor after he got caught in a police sting operation in the men's room of a Minneapolis airport. ... The terror alert level in our nation's airport bathrooms has been raised to lavender. Some members of the GOP are demanding the senator give up his seat, which when you think about it, that's how he got in trouble in the first place!" --Jimmy Kimmel
 
"Labor Day weekend! By the way, a word of warning about the weekend. If Senator Larry Craig invites you to a tailgate party, say no." --Bill Maher
 
"The cop says he was giving off gay signals in the men's room. Like when he threw a table cloth over the baby changing station and lit candles and opened a bottle of merlot." --Bill Maher
 
"Now, of course, the Republicans have completely turned on Larry Craig, as Jesus would. ... John McCain has called for him to step down, Mitt Romney has called for him to step down, Mark Foley has just called him." --Bill Maher
 
"Senator Craig says he's probably going to resign. He said that will be a private decision after consulting his wife, his children, and an anonymous dude he met at the Howard Johnsons on I-84." --Bill Maher
 
"Politicians are not supposed to approach people for sex. They're supposed to approach them for money." --Bill Maher
 
"Idaho Senator Larry Craig getting a lot of criticism from his fellow members of the GOP, which of course, as you know stands for Gay Old Party." --Jay Leno
 
"Craig announced yesterday he would voluntarily give up his seat. Isn't that how he got in trouble in the first place?" --Jay Leno
 
"He is claiming entrapment. He said the sign on the door said men, so he went in to get some, and then the cops grabbed him." --Jay Leno
 
"Boy, did you hear those audio tapes ... He said he put his right foot in, then he took his right foot out, then he put his left foot in and he shook it all about. He says he was doing the hokey-pokey." --Jay Leno
 
"Men, let this be a lesson to you, when you're at the airport, never let strangers handle your bags." --Jay Leno
 

2007/9/7

Ass kickin' with the Prez, or Who you gonna believe?

@ 08:21 AM (26 months, 26 days ago)

Oh, there's no doubt that we're kicking someone's ass. Our own.
 
Yep, Bush's new slogan for Iraq is "We're kicking ass" .. I guess because "Bring it on" worked so well.
 
A lot of machismo for a deserter from the National Guard.
 
Anyway, that's what Bush said in Australia this week .. trying to rally support for the Iraq war and fluff up Prime Minister John Howard, one of his last friends (now that Tony Blair is gone) and the last major supporter of Bush's war policy.
 
At a press conference, the Preznit said about Howard -- “I wouldn’t count the man out. As I recall, he’s kind of like me. We both have run from behind and won.”
 
I think the Austrailians will just see about that. From what I read, this visit is their dream come true -- the more Bush keeps stressing how much Howard is like him, the harder Howard is gonna fall in the elections .. since most Ozzies think Bush is vile and Howard not much better. The ass-kicking lie is but a cherry on top.
 
Here's the quote: " [Bush] believes success is being achieved in Iraq and told the Deputy Prime Minister, Mark Vaile, upon arrival on Tuesday night that “we’re kicking ass”.
 
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/09/05/1188783320028.html
 
Talk about diplomacy, eloquence and tact .. I’m sure the Australians are just so awed and impressed.
 
Now, I realize that the Preznit isn’t really an impressive guy, and he doesn't seem to care if he makes a good impression overseas .. but could he be a bigger embarrassment to our country? Acting like some yahoo cowboy who should be left at the ranch.
 
As for the truth of Bush’s boast, could he be any more wrong? Two days ago the GAO documented the fact that Iraq has successfully completed 3 of the administration’s 18 benchmarks.
 
Maybe C's were enough to get Bush through college, but in the real world it doesn't qualify as “kicking ass.”
 
You know, he could have been talking about himself and his war profiteer buddies .. who ARE kickin' ass by reaping billions of dollars that we the taxpayers are shelling out .. on our national credit card I might add.
 
Then again, maybe they heard him wrong and what he really said was -- “I deserve a kick in the ass.”
 

2007/9/6

Hey, didn't those German terrorists get the memo?

@ 07:18 AM (26 months, 27 days ago)

...the memo that said we're fighting them over there in Iraq so we don't have to fight them at home?
 
They're out of bounds! Foul! Time Out! All terrorists have to return to Iraq, those are the rules .. the Preznit said so.
 
Once again good old fashioned police work, not military war, stops the terrorists. Once again it shows that bombs don't stop terrorists, arresting them does .. no armies or preemptive strikes required.
 
"BERLIN (Reuters) - German security services foiled a plan by Islamist militants to carry out "massive bomb attacks" against U.S. installations in Germany and arrested the three men behind it, officials said on Wednesday.
 
Federal prosecutor Monika Harms said the men, two German nationals and one Turk, had been on the verge of launching their attacks after acquiring enough material to make a bomb with explosive power equal to 550 kilograms (1210 lbs) of TNT.
 
...This would have enabled them to make bombs with more explosive power than the ones used in the London and Madrid bombings," Joerg Ziercke, the head of the Federal Crime Office -- Germany's equivalent of the FBI -- said at a joint news conference with Harms. [..]"
 
http://tinyurl.com/2nz2je
 
Good work from the Germans and we say thank you.
 
So .. the hatred in Iraq ends up potentially killing Americans in Germany.
 
35 percent peroxide solution is an industrial chemical, available everywhere. It's only police action and civilian vigilance that will stop domestic terrorism.
 
It looks like in this new world we'll just have to put up with Patriot Act type legislation .. ie. wire taps, eavesdropping, security cams etc. I don't have a problem with that, all they need is a warrant .. and according to the article, 300 cops have been folowing these guys since December, so I think they had plenty of time for legal warrants.
 
Terrorism is 10 percent BANG! and 90 percent aftershock made up of media hype and political overkill.
 
Pakistan is the breeder .. these guys were trained in terrorist camps there. What are we going to do about it? Why are we so afraid to confront Musharraf? Something has to change .. maybe Bhutto's reemergence will spark something.
 
A cynical friend said, "I question the timing .. Petraeus report next week."
 
I'm more inclined to wonder if Al Qaeda used these guys as a diversion .. so the real terrorists have a better chance at a bigger attack. I'm not convinced that we should breathe easy until after the month of September is over.
 
I repeat -- there's nothing like good solid investigative work to get the job done. But Bush isn't into that kind of thing .. he doesn't have the patience, he'd rather drop a bomb.
 
While politicians play games with the war on terror here at home, the global war on terror rages on …
 

2007/9/5

The 46 year old virgin

@ 05:28 AM (26 months, 28 days ago)
 
New York Times Columnist Maureen Dowd uses Obama to whack Hillary .. love MoDo or hate her, what she says is interesting:
 
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama squinted into the New Hampshire sun to read a new speech on his teleprompter Monday and turned into William Jennings Bryan.
 
It isn’t a good fit. Obama is many things, but the Great Commoner ain’t one of them. Bryan gave a Cross-of-Gold speech, and Obama gave a Cross-of-Media speech.
 
The urbane young senator who rules over Chicago society with his wife, Michelle, the glamour boy who has graced more fashionable magazine covers than Heidi Klum, the debonair pol who has wowed crowds at white-tie and black-tie press dinners in D.C., suddenly started ranting about Washington pundits and other jades on the Potomac who don’t appreciate the thrilling loftiness of his message and purifying minimalism of his résumé.
 
Suddenly, the candidate who had so consciously modeled himself and his wife on J.F.K. and Jackie was a simple rube, fighting the system.
 
“There are a lot of people who have been in Washington longer than me, who have better connections and go to the right dinner parties and know how to talk the Washington talk,” he told an audience in Manchester.
 
The smooth jazz senator claiming no facility with “Washington talk” struck a false note. In the traditional Labor Day kickoff to a campaign that has already left us weary of the inauthentic, the shopworn and the hyper-prepped, Obama told voters: “Now, when the folks in Washington hear me speak, this is usually when they start rolling their eyes, ‘Oh, there he goes talking about hope again. He’s so naïve. He’s a hope-peddler. He’s a hope-monger.’ Well, I stand guilty as charged. I am hopeful about America. Apparently, the pundits consider this a chronic condition, a symptom of a lack of experience.”
 
Actually, the only thing we regard as a symptom of a lack of experience is a lack of experience. This pundit, for one, needs hope as much as any American these days. But the only time I roll my eyes is when my hope is dashed that Obama will boldly take on Hillary, making his campaign more than cameras and mirrors and magazine covers.
 
The Obama promise was a fresh approach to politics, and now he pulls out the oldest trick in the playbook — the insider-who-pretends-to-be-an-outsider bit, the tactical populist, the sophisticate desperately shedding his sophistication.
 
I expected more of him than the same outsider routine I’ve heard from other beltway familiars, like Pat Buchanan and Bush senior.
 
Poppy took off his striped, preppie watchband and talked about his alleged love of pork rinds. (He really liked martinis and popcorn.)
 
When he ran for president in 1992, Mr. Buchanan claimed to be an outsider, even though he was a Washington native, an aide to three presidents and a D.C. pundit who lived so close to C.I.A. headquarters that his cat kept setting off the security sensors buried in the woods.
 
Obama doesn’t understand that his new approach — obliquely attacking Hillary by dismissing “those who tout their experience working the system in Washington” — cedes ground to her by admitting she has more experience working the system.
 
He allows Hillary to present herself as having the experience to be president just because she was married to one. He should be making the opposite case, that Hillary — go ahead, use her name, she won’t bite you, or even if she does, you’ll get over it — knew from nothing about the system.
 
In the White House, she botched health care and bungled dealing with special prosecutors — remember that talent she had for losing critical files? And in the Senate, she played it safe and became a Democratic Senator Pothole while helping W. launch his disaster in Iraq.
 
Obama relentlessly recited his credentials to voters in New Hampshire, talking about being a community organizer the way corporate lawyers remind you they were in the Peace Corps.
 
It’s not his experience that excites people, but his brainy élan. We don’t know about his judgment; good on Iraq, bad on Rezko.
 
The joke on Obama is that the only experience that has served Hillary well has been the experience of raw, retail politics — the kind he turns up his nose at — which has allowed her to seem authoritative and professional and singularly unwhiny in speeches and debates.
 
She first tripped up Obama by making him think that every time he fought back, he was falling off his pedestal. As one of the Washington pundits Obama has scorned put it, with a grin: “That’s why you have two hands, one to graciously greet your opponents and one to stick the shiv in.”
 
By conjuring a scenario where Hillary is the deft insider and he’s the dewy outsider, Obama only plays into her playbook again.
 
To borrow Oscar Levant’s old joke about Doris Day: We knew Obama before he was a virgin.
 

2007/9/4

This time HE was the plastic turkey

@ 08:24 AM (26 months, 29 days ago)

George Bush makes a surprise visit to the Iraq ....
 
"....everywhere like such as, and I believe that they should, uhhh, our education over here in the US should help the US, uh, should help South Africa, it should help the Iraq and the Asian countries so we will be able to build up our future, for us."
 
I'm sorry .. that was totally unfair to Miss Teen South Carolina (who should be the next White House press secretary).
 
Anyway, glad he went to the Iraq and not to, such as, South Africa or Asia. I've heard that US Americans don't have maps so I worry that our US American Preznit won't find the right destination.
 
I personally believe that the US American Preznit didn't have the map that would have let him know that Afghanistan is not the Iraq.
 
And I'm sooo disappointed that there were no photo-op cod-piece shots on the 11:00 news.
 
From Forbes: AL-ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq - President Bush and his national security team made a first-hand assessment of the war in Iraq and prospects for political reconciliation Monday before a showdown with Congress over the U.S. troop buildup.
 
The president secretly flew 12 hours to this dusty air base in a remote part of Anbar province, bypassing Baghdad ...
 
The temperature topped 110 degrees as Bush stepped off Air Force One. The president stopped at a small building where a Marine Cobra pilot briefed him about the positives and negatives of current troop rotations. He told the president that troops were not getting enough time at home and did not have enough time for training.
 
"Morale?" asked Bush. "How's morale?"
 
"Very high sir," the pilot, Capt. Lee Hemming, said."
 
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/09/03/ap4076688.html
 
That question sorta reminds me of another question:
 
“Honey, do you think I’m fat?”
 
Then there were those pesky soldier questions about when were they going to get enough up-armored humvees, and what about concussive brain trauma ...
 
And when he mentioned something about going home soon someone yelled something like 'we want to go home now' .. and other voices started to chime in.
 
It was worth listening to his speech just to hear the troops yelling out .. even though the poor things probably got trounced on by their superiors.
 
Let me repeat this -- a Marine told Bush right to his face (in a respectful way) that the soldiers and their families are struggling with short home leaves before returning to the front. But then, he was a Marine Cobra pilot .. those dudes seem to march to a different drummer.
 
"The surge is working! The surge is working! The surge is working!"
 
Such a brave trip .. 6 hours on a remote landing strip is certainly an impressive feat.
 
What gets me is the fact the surge was(is) not targeting Anbar *province*! How can he say progress is being made when it wasn’t a target?
 
Maybe because Anbar *Air Base* is secured for 10 miles around by 10,000 US Marines. Yep, the surge has made an airstrip safe in the middle of the desert.
 
You know .. maybe they were going to sneak Bush into Baghdad until that congressional delegation nearly got blown out of the sky .. betcha he was scheduled to go there but the Secret Service put its foot down.
 
Anyhow .. this surprise visit sure took the wind out of the news sails about British pulling out of Basra and the two top British Generals dissing American policy in Iraq.
 
Funny how these things just seem to happen at the same time.
 

2007/9/3

Bomb Iran, bluffing or crazy?

@ 05:38 AM (27 months, 4 hours ago)
 
It's all over the news about the Pentagon's plans for ‘three-day blitz’ in Iran .. a nice clean Air War to knock out 1200 targets and annihilate the Iranians’ military capability in three days.
 
Bush would have to be a lunatic to attack Iran. Maybe he's just trying to make Iran *think* we are going to bomb them.
 
So far, it has been just rumors, third-hand information and saber-rattling .. but now it's the Times of London ...
 
From timesonline, 9/2/07: "THE Pentagon has drawn up plans for massive airstrikes against 1,200 targets in Iran, designed to annihilate the Iranians’ military capability in three days, according to a national security expert.
 
Alexis Debat, director of terrorism and national security at the Nixon Center, said last week that US military planners were not preparing for “pinprick strikes” against Iran’s nuclear facilities. “They’re about taking out the entire Iranian military,” he said. [..]"
 
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2369001.ece
 
Yes, yes, I know .. planning is what the Pentagon is *supposed* to do .. they do it all the time. With things being so touchy with Iran, it would worry us if the Pentagon *didn’t* have such plans.
 
What's disturbing are the eeire similarities in Bush-talk:
 
"President George Bush intensified the rhetoric against Iran last week, accusing Tehran of putting the Middle East “under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust”. He warned that the US and its allies would confront Iran “before it is too late”.
 
Sounds an awful lot like a repeat of the runup to Iraq.
 
As we all know, they didn't think the Iraq war through. Wonder if the WH has thought this blitz thing through? What about the political fall out in the region? What would our responsibilities be to Iran if we totally destroy their military? Will the other states in the region try to take control of Iran if we cripple it? And how would we stop those states?
 
If Bush bombs Iran, we're talking about the United States going bankrupt -- our military spends $1 billion every 2-1/2 days and we borrow $2-1/2 billion per day. Bush is mortgaging our children's future.
 
Not to mention the rest of the world turning away from us in disgust .. and terrorist recruitment shooting sky high.
 
And don't forget our brave Americans fighting in Iraq. Any attack on Iran will really throw a kink in the works there .. probably further destabilize the Iraqi security forces we have armed and trained  .. they could turn on and attack  American troops.
 
Maybe these Pentagon’s plans aren't relavent because such fierce military action couldn't be carried out because it would seriously stretch resources in Afghanistan and Iraq.
 
But then .. we have plenty of nuclear weapons ..
 
And a president so desperate to win something that he just might double his bets.
 
Or maybe it's just all those investigations going on in Washington that we need to be distracted from.
 
Let's see how Reid and Pelosi handle this. If they don't stomp on the brakes now, this country could end up like the Roman Empire, the Third Reich and the Soviet Union -- too many useless wars, not enough soldiers or money, and no common sense.
 

2007/9/2

Hypocrite, thy name is Republican

@ 07:35 AM (27 months, 1 day ago)

Will Republican sex scandals pave the way for '08 Democratic sweep?
 
People used to say that Republicans get in trouble from the abuse of power and Democrats get in trouble because of sex scandals.
 
Looks like the tide has turned. There are so many Republican sex scandals I'm starting to lose track. How hard are we going to laugh the next time they try to give us a moral value lecture?
 
After the Republicans got 'thumped' in the 2006 elections, Karl Rove claimed that it wasn’t Iraq, Katrina or any of the other Bush administration foul-ups that brought them down. He said it was Mark Foley and other sex scandals that were to blame.
 
I think it was disgust with the Iraq War. Period.
 
But .. just say sex scandals were truly the reason for the big Democratic sweep last year .. well, boy howdy Democrats are a shoo-in for the 2008 elections.
 
Look at this new crop of Republican sex scandals -- FLA state representative (and Jeb Bush cabinet member) Bob Allen busted for offering $20 to perform fellatio on an undercover cop, Senator David Vittner is in the DC madam's little black book, and he was busted for hookers in New Orleans (his diapers were legal), and now Senator Larry Craig busted for seeking sex in airport restrooms.
 
We can't forget -- they've got another Senator whose past conduct is both illegal and in violation of Senate ethics rules. Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK) is the subject of a major criminal investigation, including an FBI raid on his Alaska home. Notice how he continues to sit on the Appropriations Committee.
 
I think all the Democrats have right now is Rep. William Jefferson with his freezer money .. and that felon campaign fund-raiser, Norman Hsu.
 
BTW -- I saw on CNN that Senator David Vitter (who has admitted to the crime of soliciting for prostitution) was greeted with a standing ovation at a Republican conference luncheon shortly after his scandal hit the media.
 
I wonder if they'll give Sen. Craig a standing ovation when he returns to DC this week? Well .. both of them were caught soliciting sex.
 
Where is the outrage? Where is Bill Bennett? Where is Alan Keys, Hanity, O’Reilly and Coulter? Oh I get it .. if it's a Democratic President or Senator we should be outraged, but when it's a Republican looking for sex in the men’s room, it’s the media's fault.
 
Whatever .. doesn't look like the GOP is so light hearted right now:
 
From the 9/2/07 Washington Post: "A Senate electoral playing field that was already wide open for 2008 has become considerably more perilous for Republicans with the retirement of Sen. John W. Warner (R-Va.) and the resignation of scandal-scarred Sen. Larry E. Craig (R-Idaho).
 
Republicans need a net gain of just one seat to take back control of the Senate, but they have 22 seats to defend, and campaign cash is conspicuously lacking.
 
...."It's always darkest right before you get clobbered over the head with a pipe wrench. But then it actually does get darker," said a GOP pollster who insisted on anonymity in order to speak candidly.
 
...."About the only safe Republican Senate seats in '08 are the ones that aren't on the ballot," a GOP operative with extensive experience in Senate races said. "I don't see even the rosiest scenario where we don't end up losing more seats."
 
http://tinyurl.com/2gjd7l
 
So .. the Republicans have 22 seats to defend compared to 12 for the Democrats. The Republican party is strapped for cash and will be forced to decide which of those seats is worth pouring their campaign money into.
 
Now if we only can get enough Senators to shut down a filibuster, we can start to repair all of the damage done over the last several years.
 
Hmmm .. who else can we catch with their trousers down? Rudy? Lovable ol’ Fred? Lott? Mitch McConnell? Perhaps Lindsey Graham?
 

2007/9/1

The dog ate my email

@ 07:12 AM (27 months, 2 days ago)

Can you believe the arrogance of these bastards?
 
The White House is refusing to name the company it farmed out its email management to .. you know, the one whose fault it supposedly is that we can’t read Karl Rove’s email.
 
This company works for the taxpayers! They can’t legally hide the name of a company that's employed by the government. How could they possibly make this argument?
 
One name comes to mind -- Rosemary Woods.
 
"Bush E-Mail Mystery Deepens: White House Won't Name Tech Contractor
The White House will not identify a private company which appears to be involved in the disappearance of millions of White House e-mails.
 
The company was responsible for reviewing and archiving White House e-mails.... Congressional investigators asked then for the name of the company and "have repeatedly requested" the information ....
 
They are still waiting for an answer....
 
....According to the White House, at least five million e-mails were not properly archived and may be lost forever, in apparent violation of the Presidential Records Act. The post-Watergate law states that communications relating to official activity in the offices of the president and vice president are owned by the American public and cannot be destroyed.[..]"
 
http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/08/bush-e-mail-mys.html
 
What fine loyal corporation would be so careless? And probably on a no-bid contract no less? I struggle to think .. Blackwater? Bechtel? Rove’s consulting firm?
 
Would we be surprised if they claim institutional contractors are not subject to the Presidential Records Act, FOIA, Hatch Act, etc.?
 
So .. if the entire EOP (Executive Office of the President) domain were to be, say, installed, owned, and operated by employees of a "private contractor" .. is it possible for all White House email records to not technically be "official government business"?
 
You never know what the WH will try to pull next .. but it seems to me if members of the Presidential Staff use it for communications, it should be under the Presidential Records Act.
 
And just how many email archiving companies could there be out there that handle this volume of work? Surely some crafty reporter could come up with a list of likelies.
 
And since they did such shoddy work, they’ll surely be returning the money they were paid to perform this work for the American people, right?
 
How could any IT company conceivably lose 5 million emails that they are REQUIRED BY LAW to retain? Don’t we even get to know who these incompetents are?
 
Could they be “RovesFingerOnTheDeleteButton, Inc.?
 
C'mon, there is no private company .. that’s why they won’t release a name.
 
These claims of Executive Privilege, claims that the VP is not part of the Executive Branch, refusing to appear and produce documents are all part of a last ditch effort to hide all the illegal activities.
 
The Bushies are just hoping they can drag this out until the last day .. when Bush pardons everyone.
 

Late-night jokes 9/1

@ 06:44 AM (27 months, 2 days ago)
 
"Several prominent Republicans are calling on Sen. Larry Craig to resign. And a couple are asking for his phone number." --David Letterman
 
"Sen. Larry Craig, who pled guilty to soliciting sex at an airport, is now being accused of having oral sex at a train station. When asked about it, Craig said, 'What can I say? I love public transportation.'" --Conan O'Brien
 
"Gay groups are calling Craig a hypocrite because Craig is a staunch opponent of gay marriage. Craig denied he's a hypocrite, saying, 'Hey, I wasn't trying to marry the cop in the bathroom.'" --Conan O'Brien
 
"Sen. Larry Craig said today yes he is gay, but he never inhaled." --Jay Leno
 
"See, I don't think his family was surprised by these revelations. In fact, today his wife said she first became suspicious because every time he had to use the bathroom, he would fly to Minneapolis." --Jay Leno
 
"You had the cop on one side. You know who was in the stall on the other side? Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey. If he just tapped his foot the other way, this whole thing could've had a happy ending." --Jay Leno
 
"What is it with all these gay Republican sex scandals? ... Remember the old days when a politician would just put his hand in your pockets to get your money." --Jay Leno
 
"Earlier today, Fred Thompson who is a former star of Law & Order, confirmed with his supporters that he is running for president. Afterwards, Thompson promised to solve the crisis in Iraq by the end of the episode." --Conan O'Brien
 
"Yesterday in Washington, a couple of pranksters covered Karl Rove's car in bumper stickers that read, "I Love Obama." Karl Rove laughed about it then had the pranksters murdered." --Conan O'Brien
 
"A couple of big anniversaries this week. It's been two years since Hurricane Katrina, and one year since FEMA found out about it." --Jay Leno
 
"In the New York Sunday Times, they mixed up a picture of Iraq with a picture of New Orleans. This even confused the White House. They saw the picture and accidentally sent money to New Orleans." --Jay Leno
 
"After months of scandals and political pressure, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced he's going to resign. Gonzales said, 'There comes a time when a man should resign, and that time for me was last January.'" --Conan O'Brien
 
"Alberto Gonzales is stepping down, but he can't recall why." --David Letterman
 
"Russian leader Vladimir Putin -- have you seen this guy? He gets his picture taken a lot with his shirt off. We used to have a pantless president, they've got a shirtless president. He was named 'Sexiest Commie Alive' ... nearly edging out Hugo Chavez and Kim Jong-Il. ... But people are stunned the Russian president appearing in public without a shirt. And I was thinking, 'Well heck, our president often appears in public without a brain'" --David Letterman
 
"The good news is that President Bush's daughter, Jenna Bush, is engaged. The bad news is she is marrying Rudolph Giuliani. ... Jenna announced her engagement two weeks ago, although President Bush knew about it over a month ago from some wiretaps. ... If you'd like to get the young couple something for the wedding, they are registered at Mobil, Exxon and Shell." -Jay Leno
 
"At a political forum here in Hollywood last week, Hillary Clinton said she does not support gay marriage. In fact, she said she's not too crazy about straight marriage anymore either." -Jay Leno
 
"President Bush made a big speech about Iraq this week. He said the surge is working, a free Iraq is within our reach, and if we don't beat them there, they'll follow us home. That's the great thing about George Bush. I can take three months off and when I come back, he's still making the same stupid speech." --Bill Maher
 
"This guy is so hard up for good news, he called a press conference this morning to announce that Britney's hair is growing back." --Bill Maher
 
"I hate to be one of the naysayers ... who says the surge isn't working, but I'm sorry, it was in the paper today that the number of Iraqis ... who are fleeing their homes has, in a word, 'surged.' In fact, there are so many abandoned houses in Baghdad, it looks like America's real estate market." --Bill Maher
 
"They also came up with what they call the National Intelligence Estimate for Iraq. ... They said ... the Iraqi political leaders remain unable to govern effectively. President Bush said that was the most ridiculous thing he has ever heard. Judging leaders by their effectiveness?" --Bill Maher
 
"Hillary Clinton came out this week and said what we all know, which is ... if there was another terrorist attack, it would only help the Republicans maintain the White House. It would also give them a new slogan: 'O for 2.'" --Bill Maher
 
"Ted Nugent was giving a concert and he held up a machine gun and made veiled threats about Hillary and Barack Obama. I find this shocking. Ted Nugent still has concerts?" --Bill Maher