I may have missed the big announcement in the MSM, you know I can't possibly see and read everything, so I checked out this site to see how our latest test went. Apparently... not so good, they've decided to call it a 'no test' which in Missile Shield parlance precludes the use of the phrase 'complete waste of f***ing time and money'. Why, if we are spending all these $$$$$ on new cyber technologies to support the 'hard end' of this defence system, did they use the apparent ICBM equivalent of a Chevy Lumina to carry out the test. Shouldn't the exploding end of the equation be rather important too!
The Russians must have laughed all the way to their weekend dacha's.
Gawd 'elp us!
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Econ 101
So the boy king cooked the books at the beginning of his administration and blamed that recession on his predecessor - hey, they blamed a lot on their predecessor and even after seven years still do - so when Alan Greenspan, now, gives the economy a 1 in 3 chance of slipping into a new recession and we see 0.6% growth (the worst number since '02) for the first quarter of '07, who will they blame?
You and me... probably.
You and me... probably.
Life's A Beach
So who or what are we protecting in this 'long war'? Now, the discussion may center around the differences between Iraq and Korea and there are many, but, my feeling is, this is exactly where this administration wants to lead the debate. Get us all involved with debating hypotheticals and hot under the collar about cognative dissonance etc. When the real questions fall to the floor like a sucked candy wrapper.
Who on the republican side would get behind this kind of commitment? A substantial number of congressional republicans will be in a fight for their political lives in '08 thanks in large part to Bush's war, would they be willing to sell this idea to an already wavering constituent base?
The republican presidential candidates have shown themselves quite capable of trying to sell any extreme position to the base but eventually they have to go up to the electorate in general where the positions stated within the primary debates are proving to be increasingly unpopular. Will they add the 50 year occupation of Iraq to their box of tricks?
Does this statement imply that Al Qaida, Salafi Sunni's, Nationalist Sunni's, Secular Sunni's and Shiites will be in a perpetual civil war? And, should we have our brave men and women stuck in the middle of it?
Does this statement imply that the other regional governments are incapable of protecting the production and supply of oil without a large US presence in the region? Because, if the US is incapable of pacifying and protecting the Iraqi people, as now seems apparent, and the insurgency has yet to affect the supply of oil regionally, as is also apparent, that would appear counter intuitive.
If our strategic mission all along was to protect the production and supply of oil and project US power in the region as a stabilizing force, then what was all that crap about WMD, Iraq-Al Qaida links, Mushroom Clouds and Freedom?
Will a democrat please stand up and effing respond to this!
Who on the republican side would get behind this kind of commitment? A substantial number of congressional republicans will be in a fight for their political lives in '08 thanks in large part to Bush's war, would they be willing to sell this idea to an already wavering constituent base?
The republican presidential candidates have shown themselves quite capable of trying to sell any extreme position to the base but eventually they have to go up to the electorate in general where the positions stated within the primary debates are proving to be increasingly unpopular. Will they add the 50 year occupation of Iraq to their box of tricks?
Does this statement imply that Al Qaida, Salafi Sunni's, Nationalist Sunni's, Secular Sunni's and Shiites will be in a perpetual civil war? And, should we have our brave men and women stuck in the middle of it?
Does this statement imply that the other regional governments are incapable of protecting the production and supply of oil without a large US presence in the region? Because, if the US is incapable of pacifying and protecting the Iraqi people, as now seems apparent, and the insurgency has yet to affect the supply of oil regionally, as is also apparent, that would appear counter intuitive.
If our strategic mission all along was to protect the production and supply of oil and project US power in the region as a stabilizing force, then what was all that crap about WMD, Iraq-Al Qaida links, Mushroom Clouds and Freedom?
Will a democrat please stand up and effing respond to this!
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Shock & Awe II
The Pod man goes off on another speculative, rambling, historically incorrect and mind-numbingly boring rant about bombing Iran. His entire premise and motivation is so incoherently framed, so amateurishly plastered together with disparate and wholly manufactured instances and hackneyed conjecture that one is left with no other thought than it is a piece of pure propaganda.
It is 5,000 words long which, I think, may prove a little daunting to most republicans who prefer their opinion pieces to consist of nothing more intellectually challenging than a head and by line.
I read the whole thing - I am a sucker for punishment if nothing else - and found within it, not a single convincing reason to bomb Iran. You may like to read it for yourself, that is entirely up to the individual and I respect that, however if you find yourself dropping off or gazing mindlessly at a word like 'Finlandization' don't say I didn't warn you.
Always remember - these are the serious people - and - we are where these serious people have brought us.
It is 5,000 words long which, I think, may prove a little daunting to most republicans who prefer their opinion pieces to consist of nothing more intellectually challenging than a head and by line.
I read the whole thing - I am a sucker for punishment if nothing else - and found within it, not a single convincing reason to bomb Iran. You may like to read it for yourself, that is entirely up to the individual and I respect that, however if you find yourself dropping off or gazing mindlessly at a word like 'Finlandization' don't say I didn't warn you.
Always remember - these are the serious people - and - we are where these serious people have brought us.
Fred Flinstone
Finally, after having his ego sufficiently massaged, primped and puffed up the Republican party gets it's "B" Movie, TV Bit-Parter redux groove on.
Can the Repugs be so truly vaccuous, so utterly devoid of ideas, so panderingly obvious, so... so banal?
Yes! Did I mention craven and unhinged?
Can the Repugs be so truly vaccuous, so utterly devoid of ideas, so panderingly obvious, so... so banal?
Yes! Did I mention craven and unhinged?
Myth-Busting
Torture, yes torture, the torture our military and security agencies have been forced to perform upon other human beings so this administration can look tough to the base and scare the heeby-jeeby's out of a bunch of blood thirsty bin Laden wannabees, doesn't work, or rather our 'quaint' techniques aren't necessarily the 'torture du jour' methodology proscribed in the Handy Dandy Torture for Dummy's Manual (Revised Edition). Time to buy shares in Black & Decker?
This will leave a permanent welt mark on the collective behind of the wingnutosphere. Valerie Plame was covert, she was a spy, it was illegal for this administration to reveal her name to the press. Nuff said!
More fall-out as the base discovers what has been done in their name.
This will leave a permanent welt mark on the collective behind of the wingnutosphere. Valerie Plame was covert, she was a spy, it was illegal for this administration to reveal her name to the press. Nuff said!
More fall-out as the base discovers what has been done in their name.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Resurgitation
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
GWOT
There was a time in the '90's that I seriously thought the planet was heading in a new, bright, optimistic direction, we had problems, no doubt, but I felt we were coming out of the darkness, now... not so much.
Axis of The Willing...
The friend of my friend is my enemy, the enemy of my friend is my friend, the enemy of my enemy is my enemy, the enemy of my friend is my friend, the enemy is mostly friendly with my friend... oh! I can't keep up anymore. It's becoming increasingly difficult for me to keep all my ducks straight in one basketcase... so to speak.
Bush Whacked
The sweet smell of success...
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Twenty people were killed by a suicide bomber in a crowded cafe northeast of Baghdad on Wednesday, while the U.S. military reported the deaths of nine more soldiers in the past 48 hours.
Iraqi police also said they had found the body of one of three U.S. soldiers who have been missing since an attack on their patrol south of Baghdad on May 12. The half-naked body, with bullet wounds and signs of torture, was pulled from the Euphrates River.
Once we let the torture genie out of the bottle, we exposed our people to this...
Once we let the war genie out of the bottle, we exposed our people to this...
Why?
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Twenty people were killed by a suicide bomber in a crowded cafe northeast of Baghdad on Wednesday, while the U.S. military reported the deaths of nine more soldiers in the past 48 hours.
Iraqi police also said they had found the body of one of three U.S. soldiers who have been missing since an attack on their patrol south of Baghdad on May 12. The half-naked body, with bullet wounds and signs of torture, was pulled from the Euphrates River.
Once we let the torture genie out of the bottle, we exposed our people to this...
Once we let the war genie out of the bottle, we exposed our people to this...
Why?
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Whaa?
From the annals of Sadly No and highlighted by Atrios comes this turgid piece of pablum from David Ignatius at WaPo. I can't help thinking that I have read every paragraph of this recycled dross before. The bar for 'Victory in Iraq' is now set very, very low indeed. With this current precipitous decline of criteria for victory, what level of success will this administration accept in the future as reason to pack our bags and get the hell out declaring victory all the way; a one hour lull in hostilities?
Walls Come Tumblin' Down...
Sour grapes, disgruntled ex-employee, axes to grind... the canards, they will come a flying. However, I lived in NYC through Rudy's entire administration and although the quality of life, prior to 9/11, improved dramatically it was not such a difficult task to pull off, the rest of his two terms were marked with bizarre statutes, irrational outbursts and the uncompromising, totalitarian actions of a complete egomaniacal despot.
Rudy 'Il Duce' Guiliani as president? I sincerely hope not!
Rudy 'Il Duce' Guiliani as president? I sincerely hope not!
They'll Be Home By Christmas... Probably Not.
If you really need any further indication as to how well the 'Surge' is actually working then read this. Iraq is such a bloody debacle, this administrations strategies and motivations so convoluted and polluted with failure that they now have to operate under a shroud of secrecy and misrepresentation. As Al Qaida continues to grow in strength, wealth and prestige our troops suffer under the command of an incompetent, washed-up band of blithering idiots more concerned with controlling their tattered 'legacy' and staying out of jail than extracating us from this self-imposed morass of ineptitude.
h/t Huffpost on the SFGate article.
h/t Huffpost on the SFGate article.
With Gusto!
It's encouraging to see the word progressive in an article about WNY. There is a powerful and vocal lobby in this region, especially in Buffalo proper, hell bent on preventing any kind of progress. They get a lot of press and media attention unworthy of their negative agenda. Regardless of how carefully planned or sensative to a neighborhood a design may be, the idiots reflexively respond with a slew of prescribed and pre-judged objections. Investors and developers will only bang their heads against a brick wall for so long before they turn away to leave this city and spend their time, money and energy elsewhere.
Friday, May 18, 2007
OWWOOOOOOOOO!
As a compliment to the grubby little scandal, we have the grubby little resignation of this grubby little man. All to the consternation of his grubby little friends. To paraphrase Orwell: They are all grubby but some are more grubby than others!
Thursday, May 17, 2007
The Three R's
Having a close, personal relationship with Jesus (whether sincere or not - it's hard to tell sometimes) comes across as very important to, what appears to be, the majority of Republican Presidential candidates on display at the most recent 'debate', (I have no clear understanding of where Rudy stands on this issue but then again apart from bombing the heck out of brown people I have no clear understanding of where Rudy stands on any issue.) so as an observer of this phenomenon known as pandering to the Christian Right one can't help but notice the plethora of contradictory, mangled, vote driven, talking point inspired, headline grabbing nonesense these drab, white goons are willing to utter in the name of early primary season notoriety, face time, name recognition, exposure, etc., necessary to continue their tired, uninspiring and base-centric or single issue campaigns.
That it has become painfully apparent that the Christian Right has as deep an understanding of the teachings of Jesus Chist as a fourth grader does of Ferme's Last Theorem and as their leaders in procession like uniformity are exposed as the charlatan, hate-mongering, race-bating, homophobic, mysogenist hypocrites that some of us always suspected them of being and that the faithful continue undaunted to blithely tithe these uber-pastors to super wealth and super debauchery regardless of their leaders tawdry actions and grubby exposees, seems to be of little, if no, import to this batch of candidates who faithfully, almost robotically continue their strategic spiral into the gutter of faithbased removal of brain from body by formenting this subjegated, sheeplike bloc. Who, who amongst us but the very ill-informed, very frightened and seriously misled applauds the use of torture by anyone, let alone a nation founded upon an incredibly hard-fought for release from tyranny? It's illogical!
Not one of these candidates strikes me as having anything but complete, if inexcusably temporary, contempt for the principles and mores this nation was founded upon, they are, afterall, embracing a cult that admonishes and wishes to dissolve the separation of Church and State, to radically alter the Constitution and Bill of Rights, to make hay with practically every Amendment except the sacrosanct 2nd and to turn this country into a 16th century theocracy under the supreme leadership of a born again, white, male President, who is supposed to agitate for armageddon and bring about the end of times. Not one of these candidates questions the validity or veracity of this ideological abomination or sees a conflict between it and their own personally held beliefs. What sort of President can that kind of conscious denial and betrayal of trust make? (See: Present Administration - White-House - Bush). Someone has to ask these candidates - Do you believe in the end of times? If the answer is yes who's gonna vote for the guy agitating for the end of the world? If it is no, hmmmm! Obviously, there are a couple candidates who are not, never going to question this credo, it is as much a part of the fabric of their being as breathing but, they are not going to be elected (See: Kansas - Idiot - Brownback), but for the front runners to be seen as goading and embracing this marginalized bunch of crazies for the sake of getting creamed by a generic Democrat appears like a dance with the devil for dancings sake.
If Mr. Romney actually believes that killing varmints, endorsing torture, enlarging Gitmo, apologising for his ancestral polygamus past, believing that being a member of the CLDS is not a hindrance and looking great is going to get him elected he should probably get an entirely new PR team. His pathetic ignorance on foreign policy has already condemned him to having to rely on national issues which, let's face it, he's shifted upon like the proverbial sands and will not be the lede in '08 anyway.
If the lisping mafioso wannabe Guilliani thinks that by holding his crotch and carrying a lead pipe and a saturday night special is all he needs for electoral success then, good luck to him. He's a one issue guy and the issue has passed it's sell by date, on everything else he has no established positions and is, quite frankly, just bluffing.
McCain is ok, he's just old, tired and confused as to where he stands, or shops, or leans, or sits, or lies down. We did this in the '80's, Reagan redux nobody needs.
As for the rest of the field, they are about as inspiring as a corporate memo on office waste and, for the most part, a pocket protector away from lunacy.
Unless one of these candidates has the guts to break away from the rhetoric of enablement and praise for the continued ignorance of the people they hope to represent, then I see them becoming increasingly irrelevant to the greater population who, by and large, have wised-up and turned away from the values espoused by the Christianist wing of the Southern White Party.
That it has become painfully apparent that the Christian Right has as deep an understanding of the teachings of Jesus Chist as a fourth grader does of Ferme's Last Theorem and as their leaders in procession like uniformity are exposed as the charlatan, hate-mongering, race-bating, homophobic, mysogenist hypocrites that some of us always suspected them of being and that the faithful continue undaunted to blithely tithe these uber-pastors to super wealth and super debauchery regardless of their leaders tawdry actions and grubby exposees, seems to be of little, if no, import to this batch of candidates who faithfully, almost robotically continue their strategic spiral into the gutter of faithbased removal of brain from body by formenting this subjegated, sheeplike bloc. Who, who amongst us but the very ill-informed, very frightened and seriously misled applauds the use of torture by anyone, let alone a nation founded upon an incredibly hard-fought for release from tyranny? It's illogical!
Not one of these candidates strikes me as having anything but complete, if inexcusably temporary, contempt for the principles and mores this nation was founded upon, they are, afterall, embracing a cult that admonishes and wishes to dissolve the separation of Church and State, to radically alter the Constitution and Bill of Rights, to make hay with practically every Amendment except the sacrosanct 2nd and to turn this country into a 16th century theocracy under the supreme leadership of a born again, white, male President, who is supposed to agitate for armageddon and bring about the end of times. Not one of these candidates questions the validity or veracity of this ideological abomination or sees a conflict between it and their own personally held beliefs. What sort of President can that kind of conscious denial and betrayal of trust make? (See: Present Administration - White-House - Bush). Someone has to ask these candidates - Do you believe in the end of times? If the answer is yes who's gonna vote for the guy agitating for the end of the world? If it is no, hmmmm! Obviously, there are a couple candidates who are not, never going to question this credo, it is as much a part of the fabric of their being as breathing but, they are not going to be elected (See: Kansas - Idiot - Brownback), but for the front runners to be seen as goading and embracing this marginalized bunch of crazies for the sake of getting creamed by a generic Democrat appears like a dance with the devil for dancings sake.
If Mr. Romney actually believes that killing varmints, endorsing torture, enlarging Gitmo, apologising for his ancestral polygamus past, believing that being a member of the CLDS is not a hindrance and looking great is going to get him elected he should probably get an entirely new PR team. His pathetic ignorance on foreign policy has already condemned him to having to rely on national issues which, let's face it, he's shifted upon like the proverbial sands and will not be the lede in '08 anyway.
If the lisping mafioso wannabe Guilliani thinks that by holding his crotch and carrying a lead pipe and a saturday night special is all he needs for electoral success then, good luck to him. He's a one issue guy and the issue has passed it's sell by date, on everything else he has no established positions and is, quite frankly, just bluffing.
McCain is ok, he's just old, tired and confused as to where he stands, or shops, or leans, or sits, or lies down. We did this in the '80's, Reagan redux nobody needs.
As for the rest of the field, they are about as inspiring as a corporate memo on office waste and, for the most part, a pocket protector away from lunacy.
Unless one of these candidates has the guts to break away from the rhetoric of enablement and praise for the continued ignorance of the people they hope to represent, then I see them becoming increasingly irrelevant to the greater population who, by and large, have wised-up and turned away from the values espoused by the Christianist wing of the Southern White Party.
The 'Boys
I saw the Waterboys as a back up band in '82 at the Brixton Academy. They were sick-good and had a very subjective crowd rockin'.
The headliners? U2! Nice gig.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
It's Just Not Cricket!
Damn those Brits and their disturbing penchant for the truth and stuff. Apparently, our cousins across the water are not as squeamish about the realities of war (pdf) as we have become over here. They prefer their facts served cold and hard, kinda like their gravy.
Still Not Getting It
The MSM, once again, fails to understand the underlying message this Bill sent to the White House. In labelling this a '... stinging defeat' for democrats they miss the fact that this Bill even got to the floor in the first place. That's the message... we're going to keep debating this, we're going to keep sending up Bills rebuking this administrations policies and we are not going to forget that the American people voted Republicans out of office because they came to represent a rubberstamp to a failed policy. The message is, we will force change and the more the American people find out about this war, it's lack of initial planning, the complete screw-up in the aftermath of inevitable victory, the continued violence, the escallation, the treasure spent the more they will turn against it, even those, now, stubbornly opposed to such a course change.
Look at the photo accompanying the Times piece. Does Feingold look too despondent for you!
Look at the photo accompanying the Times piece. Does Feingold look too despondent for you!
Desperate Times
A part of the Comey testimony has revealed what, quite honestly, may be one of the most desperate and tragi-comic episodes in this administrations desperate and tragi-comic history. The WH sends Gonzales and Card to 'heavy' or confuse Ashcroft, fresh out of surgery and still in the fog of a general anaesthetic, into signing a continuation statement for the warrantless wiretapping program that he and his assistant had already deemed illegal and had refused to sign. Luckily, both Comey and FBI Director Meuller (?) were on to this dastardly plan and had made damn sure there would be witnesses and a confrontation.
Gonzales and Card (Stan & Ollie) back off under duress but Card, petulantly, summons Comey to his turf later for a good dressing down.
Although this is really serious stuff (Glenn can fill you in on what this administration was/is up to and what it means to our country and our constitution) it begs the questions;
1) Are Stan & Ollie the best people to be sending on sensative missions like this?
2) If Comey and the FBI were not there, could Mrs. Ashcroft have kicked Stan & Ollie's butts?
3) Say Stan & Ollie had overcome the powerful but no longer in her prime Mrs. A, could they have found a pen?
4) Having found a pen, would they have remembered to bring the document?
5) Alright, say they had a pen and the document, would they have been able to revive Ashcroft?
6) Would they have been able to tell if Ashcroft were revived?
7) If a revived Ashcroft still refused to sign the document, did they have a Plan B?
8) Were Stan & Ollie authorized to 'waterboard' or use other authorized and approved means of persuasion if the AG showed signs of non-cooperation?
9) Having failed in their perverse attempt at coersion and cover-up, were these malingerers chastised and denounced?
10) What,if any, positions within the administration do these two incompetents now hold?
(Look, I'm sorry for using the names of two comedic giants as a foil for my useless attempt at humor... I was going to use Burke and Hare because of the obvious grave robber aspects of this despicable episode but I just see Stan's 'smiley' face everytime I think of Gonzo.)
Gonzales and Card (Stan & Ollie) back off under duress but Card, petulantly, summons Comey to his turf later for a good dressing down.
Although this is really serious stuff (Glenn can fill you in on what this administration was/is up to and what it means to our country and our constitution) it begs the questions;
1) Are Stan & Ollie the best people to be sending on sensative missions like this?
2) If Comey and the FBI were not there, could Mrs. Ashcroft have kicked Stan & Ollie's butts?
3) Say Stan & Ollie had overcome the powerful but no longer in her prime Mrs. A, could they have found a pen?
4) Having found a pen, would they have remembered to bring the document?
5) Alright, say they had a pen and the document, would they have been able to revive Ashcroft?
6) Would they have been able to tell if Ashcroft were revived?
7) If a revived Ashcroft still refused to sign the document, did they have a Plan B?
8) Were Stan & Ollie authorized to 'waterboard' or use other authorized and approved means of persuasion if the AG showed signs of non-cooperation?
9) Having failed in their perverse attempt at coersion and cover-up, were these malingerers chastised and denounced?
10) What,if any, positions within the administration do these two incompetents now hold?
(Look, I'm sorry for using the names of two comedic giants as a foil for my useless attempt at humor... I was going to use Burke and Hare because of the obvious grave robber aspects of this despicable episode but I just see Stan's 'smiley' face everytime I think of Gonzo.)
Knowing When To Leave
Gonzalez, I can understand... he is not a great thinker, ideologue or even a true movement conservative, he is merely a pet reptile, happy to feel the warm hand of White House approval upon his scaley, slick skin. He is not personally responsible for the criminal politization and erosion of credibility at the DoJ, afterall he was only following orders, something he is exquisitely adept at and notoriously well suited for. So, to face the slings and arrows in a vain attempt at protecting his masters and have his name (It was never good) dragged into disrepute means nothing to him. Either he is not smart enough to realize that he is being played or his loyalty to our pot plant president is suppressing his self-preservation gene, neither scenario is very comforting to a public awakening to the irresponsibility, recklessness and incompetence inherent within this administration. That this little, sanctimonious bullshit artist rose so high within the WH cabal leads to a greater understanding of the rest of them and as this WH dissembles and the cracks become chasms, I ask, who's next to be thrust into the arena to be humiliated, ridiculed and ultimately disposed of in the name of protecting the inner circle?
As for Wolfowitz, this is a man supposedly well thought of in neocon intellectual (diminishing) circles. A man who's fingerprints are all over this administrations foreign policy debacles and therefore one who is held in high esteem by wingnut glitterati intent on a position of aggressive denial and intolerance for reality. To have their boy consumed in such a grubby, self-serving - soon to be a movie - pond scum scandal, one would imagine, would be sufficient impetus for the inner circle to take the moral highground and scuttle the good ship Wolfie, if for no other reason than to save one of their own from utter humiliation, not so, Wolfie has their full, if somewhat vascillating and always career threatening support.
Now, who in their right mind would want to join this leaking tub of ineptitude just as the raging sea crests the gunnells? Must be a real bright spark, a man capable of turning this situation around, a man of great fortitude, foresight and imagination... no just another General with a dubious grasp on reality. What? You think the 'commander guy' is actually capable of adapting to the real world? Perish that thought immediately!
As for Wolfowitz, this is a man supposedly well thought of in neocon intellectual (diminishing) circles. A man who's fingerprints are all over this administrations foreign policy debacles and therefore one who is held in high esteem by wingnut glitterati intent on a position of aggressive denial and intolerance for reality. To have their boy consumed in such a grubby, self-serving - soon to be a movie - pond scum scandal, one would imagine, would be sufficient impetus for the inner circle to take the moral highground and scuttle the good ship Wolfie, if for no other reason than to save one of their own from utter humiliation, not so, Wolfie has their full, if somewhat vascillating and always career threatening support.
Now, who in their right mind would want to join this leaking tub of ineptitude just as the raging sea crests the gunnells? Must be a real bright spark, a man capable of turning this situation around, a man of great fortitude, foresight and imagination... no just another General with a dubious grasp on reality. What? You think the 'commander guy' is actually capable of adapting to the real world? Perish that thought immediately!
Friday, May 11, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Speaking of Ignorance
I know we have only been in this war for four years and preparing for it for two thousand years but for some, the middle east remains a confusing hodgepodge of competing interests, schisms, tribal and internicine rivalries all wrapped in a veil of mystery and conflicting histories. I am sure that I, as an 'umble observer, still have many things to learn about the holy lands and the boundless, millenia old intrigues. Having said that, there are places to go to research, learn and educate oneself, they are easily accessible and even in synopsis form one can decipher and solve some of the most obvious puzzles currently perplexing our politeratti.
Now, why would I bother, I could just go along with the conventional wisdom on the subject and classify the entire region as bad guy, evil doers intent on creating a super caliphate-a-listic, islamofascist, pan-arab paradise to challenge western hegemony and have done with it. Eventually, we're gonna nuke the heck out of them anyway and well, it's not as if I'm running for president or anything and should, perhaps try and familiarize myself with the whys, wherefores and whatnots of the recently destabilized religio-industrial-complex of the largest and most antagonistic oil producing region on the planet.
That the middle-east represents a veritable gordian knot of western misunderstanding and failed foreign policy over the last 1,400 years wouldn't it be prudent to get a handle on the major players, their provenance, their political or social aspirations, their affiliations and loyalties, where they stand philosophically or ideologically, just what it is they are fighting for... just asking.
That the political players in this country - both Dem and Repug - remain ignorant of whom we are fighting and continue to spout illogical, uninformed, cliched and quite frankly stereotyped rubbish at an even less well informed public might well be the reason we keep finding ourselves embroiled in these no-win situations. Let us always start here: Know your enemy - only strike when victory is certain - withdraw quickly and live to fight another day if a battle seems lost.
Now, why would I bother, I could just go along with the conventional wisdom on the subject and classify the entire region as bad guy, evil doers intent on creating a super caliphate-a-listic, islamofascist, pan-arab paradise to challenge western hegemony and have done with it. Eventually, we're gonna nuke the heck out of them anyway and well, it's not as if I'm running for president or anything and should, perhaps try and familiarize myself with the whys, wherefores and whatnots of the recently destabilized religio-industrial-complex of the largest and most antagonistic oil producing region on the planet.
That the middle-east represents a veritable gordian knot of western misunderstanding and failed foreign policy over the last 1,400 years wouldn't it be prudent to get a handle on the major players, their provenance, their political or social aspirations, their affiliations and loyalties, where they stand philosophically or ideologically, just what it is they are fighting for... just asking.
That the political players in this country - both Dem and Repug - remain ignorant of whom we are fighting and continue to spout illogical, uninformed, cliched and quite frankly stereotyped rubbish at an even less well informed public might well be the reason we keep finding ourselves embroiled in these no-win situations. Let us always start here: Know your enemy - only strike when victory is certain - withdraw quickly and live to fight another day if a battle seems lost.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Fear, Ignorance & Vengeance
Are three very powerful singular states of mind but, when combined are literally quite lethal to those caught in the vortex. I watched Frontline on PBS last night, it dealt with teen offenders subjected to life sentences without parole. I think all the incredibly violent incidents happened in Colorado around the same time that a youth crime wave was hitting that state (late 90's) and the adult population was being whipped up into the proverbial lynch mob by the press, elected officials and elected officials within the state justice system. Colorado, up to that time, had had a very progressive system in-place to deal with its youth offenders which had offered some kind of hope to those who had suffered at the hands of an overloaded social services system that '...expected teenage boys to be able to take care of themselves' and, for the most part, at the hands of their parents and extended families since their earliest childhoods.
As I mentioned, the cases highlighted here were of a very violent, almost passionate, nature. The boys did not deny their crimes, or in the case of one boy just being at the scene of a crime, and explained in detail what brought them to the brink of contemplating and almost instantaneously executing such crimes. They had all suffered one form of abuse or another, from rape by a step-parent (male) to sexual abuse by an actual parent (female). The physical abuse in these cases acted as a petri dish to the self-sustaining mental abuse and temporary insanity exhibited by the offenders.
That these boys suffered for most of their short lives from an anguish and unhappiness, that I cannot even imagine, is for me enough to give them a second chance at life. These boys were not thugs, gangsta's, street-urchins nor subject to environmental and social pressures where violence can be glorified and immitated as a kind of circular phenomenon, they were your classic middle-class white boys from decent neighborhoods whose only sense of crime was the ugliness happening to them on a daily basis within the confines of the 'family'. Suffice to say that Columbine was perpetrated by classic middle class white boys but the premeditation of that instance was lacking in the cases presented to us on Frontline.
The most stark and emotional moment for me was when, after a long description of the murder, both boys described the events as lasting seconds, less than a minute. The boy who witnessed the event said he had no time to react, to stop his friend from killing his mother or to even run. I can't imagine how I would react either, how quickly my brain could process that kind of horror, what would I do as an adult, he was 16 years old and although he assisted the young boy in cleaning up the mess he kept expecting the mother to '... wake up and be really pissed at us'. Sorry, but none of these kids were master criminals, all were apprehended within hours of the events - usually dazed and confused, there was no premeditation, no murder aforethought, these were crimes of passion and these boys will pay for them with rest their unfulflled lives.
Now the supporters of such strict interpretations and penalties are a motley bunch of canard spouters who wheel out the usual bromides about the kids being vicious killers, being tough on crime, caring about the victims and their families etc. The DA they interviewed assured us that he had prosecuted many crimes like this and they were always the nastiest, most heinous crime scenes imaginable well, to me that is not surprising and should be effing obvious, these kids - kids - have suffered heinous crimes upon their person and psyches by people who are supposed to be protecting and nurturing them and when they seek help they are ignored or worse under suspicion for alterior motives. They are desperate, unwanted and too young to process rage and its consequences, of course the crime scenes are macabre, they picked up the first thing they could find and beat away the rage. The DA is an ignorant idiot lacking in compassion and intellectual honesty. As for the concerned citizens fearful that crime will enter their smug, cossetted existence it already has, these crimes were committed within the confines of a suburban America that has gleefully abdicated its role in defining America's future cultural and social development for twelve pieces of silver and a McMansion. That these supposed adult's fear, ignorance and vengeance is so total, unforgiving and misguided speaks volumes about America in the 21st Century and why a change in the discourse and priorities of modern America is not only important, it is vital to our national interests. We must take the decision making process away from the fearful, the ignorant and the vengeful, they know not what they do.
As I mentioned, the cases highlighted here were of a very violent, almost passionate, nature. The boys did not deny their crimes, or in the case of one boy just being at the scene of a crime, and explained in detail what brought them to the brink of contemplating and almost instantaneously executing such crimes. They had all suffered one form of abuse or another, from rape by a step-parent (male) to sexual abuse by an actual parent (female). The physical abuse in these cases acted as a petri dish to the self-sustaining mental abuse and temporary insanity exhibited by the offenders.
That these boys suffered for most of their short lives from an anguish and unhappiness, that I cannot even imagine, is for me enough to give them a second chance at life. These boys were not thugs, gangsta's, street-urchins nor subject to environmental and social pressures where violence can be glorified and immitated as a kind of circular phenomenon, they were your classic middle-class white boys from decent neighborhoods whose only sense of crime was the ugliness happening to them on a daily basis within the confines of the 'family'. Suffice to say that Columbine was perpetrated by classic middle class white boys but the premeditation of that instance was lacking in the cases presented to us on Frontline.
The most stark and emotional moment for me was when, after a long description of the murder, both boys described the events as lasting seconds, less than a minute. The boy who witnessed the event said he had no time to react, to stop his friend from killing his mother or to even run. I can't imagine how I would react either, how quickly my brain could process that kind of horror, what would I do as an adult, he was 16 years old and although he assisted the young boy in cleaning up the mess he kept expecting the mother to '... wake up and be really pissed at us'. Sorry, but none of these kids were master criminals, all were apprehended within hours of the events - usually dazed and confused, there was no premeditation, no murder aforethought, these were crimes of passion and these boys will pay for them with rest their unfulflled lives.
Now the supporters of such strict interpretations and penalties are a motley bunch of canard spouters who wheel out the usual bromides about the kids being vicious killers, being tough on crime, caring about the victims and their families etc. The DA they interviewed assured us that he had prosecuted many crimes like this and they were always the nastiest, most heinous crime scenes imaginable well, to me that is not surprising and should be effing obvious, these kids - kids - have suffered heinous crimes upon their person and psyches by people who are supposed to be protecting and nurturing them and when they seek help they are ignored or worse under suspicion for alterior motives. They are desperate, unwanted and too young to process rage and its consequences, of course the crime scenes are macabre, they picked up the first thing they could find and beat away the rage. The DA is an ignorant idiot lacking in compassion and intellectual honesty. As for the concerned citizens fearful that crime will enter their smug, cossetted existence it already has, these crimes were committed within the confines of a suburban America that has gleefully abdicated its role in defining America's future cultural and social development for twelve pieces of silver and a McMansion. That these supposed adult's fear, ignorance and vengeance is so total, unforgiving and misguided speaks volumes about America in the 21st Century and why a change in the discourse and priorities of modern America is not only important, it is vital to our national interests. We must take the decision making process away from the fearful, the ignorant and the vengeful, they know not what they do.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
This Is Not An Irish Rebel Song...
Back in the day, it was fine for your 'Ax-Man' to wear a nice red sweater bought for him by his mum!
American Exceptionalism
As a follow up to an earlier post and a comment I received. Although conventional wisdom on the right points to 9/11 as a failure of previous policies of containment, appeasement and traditional terror fighting methods, this is a strawman. We are all familiar with the PDB presented to the preznit whilst on his hols in Crawford warning of a gathering threat and the determination of al qaida to strike at the American homeland. It was through the willful disregard of this and other warnings that 9/11 was such a catastrophe and surprise to this nation. It was however, no surprise to the intelligence community and indeed, a few lightbulbs must have pinged at the WH, even though they were quick to deny it and slow, if not reluctant to have the matter investigated. They remain, to this day, close lipped about the events leading up to that day and unwilling to countenance a true independent investigation. The truth can be a terrible, heartless foe.
The chatter and raw intelligence coming into CIA, NSA and all the other institutions internal and worldwide pointed to something 'large' about to happen. This administration acted with, what we now know as systemic, it's usual lack of urgency, ignoring the warnings, failing to alert it's own domestic law enforcement partners, hushing up inconvenient whistleblowers and concentrating instead upon it's policies of pampering and paying back it's corporate, crony sponsors.
The right is also quick to cite the London and Madrid bombings as further evidence of a fatal flaw in the prosecution of a conventional approach to fighting terror. Even though those two events happened after 9/11 and the entire world was on a high alert status. But that is how terrorism works - and matastacizes. The fact that 9/11 was such a stunning success assisted in the development and financing of further plots and schemes, some of which were prevented, others that, unfortunately, were not. The key to fighting terror is to learn from both your successes and your failures, there will be death and destruction but there will be containment and prevention and prosecutions and imprisonment and eventually the money trail will lead us to the true sponsors of international terrorism, they being the true perpetrators of these heinous crimes against humanity but, perhaps, we already know who and that truth is just too shocking. Spain and Britain - both familiar with domestic terrorism and it's long reach into the collective consciousness - in the aftermath of their respective bombings, did not immediately begin to formulate plans to invade a distant middle east country in revenge for the new carnage suffered on their shores. Both countries bestowed new and unprecedented powers on their domestic law enforcement and internal security agencies and within the letters of these new laws have had some staggering successes.
Every terrorist organization, as is well known, has to fulfill certain needs in order rise and flourish; a charismatic leader, an easily replaceable charismatic leader, reliable financial backers, an easily understood ideology, an easily demonized and recognizable foe, a few spectacular successes as a recruiting tool and the continued ineptitude of its foe to figure out what it is they are up to. As a simplified but demonstrable example of the destruction of the hydra-terrorist organization we can look to the Emerald Isle. With both domestic and international help Britain was able to identify cell leaders of the IRA and through observation, infiltration and intelligence was able, eventually, to identify the very top leaders of the organization - know your enemy. Through the same techniques they were able to identify NORAID as a front organization that funnelled money into the IRA coffers - ultimately, once funds were cut off or at least restricted the IRA was forced to rob banks and gas stations to fund its operations and arms acquisitions, not the best uses of it's men or materiel. By finally engaging and investing the Irish government in the peace process acts of violence were no longer tacitly approved as an inevitable part of the political struggle. The IRA found itself culturally and politically on the sidelines and was forced to politicize in order to be represented at the peace table. Through, initially secret, communications the British government was able to negotiate with Sinn Fein and present, as fait a'complete, the building blocks to Northern Irish self rule and ultimately self determination. It took many years, there were many road blocks and pitfalls but, instead of force an international - we must never forget the American will and resolve displayed in making this succeed - political framework was established and a political solution finally arrived at. History -aint it grand?
The chatter and raw intelligence coming into CIA, NSA and all the other institutions internal and worldwide pointed to something 'large' about to happen. This administration acted with, what we now know as systemic, it's usual lack of urgency, ignoring the warnings, failing to alert it's own domestic law enforcement partners, hushing up inconvenient whistleblowers and concentrating instead upon it's policies of pampering and paying back it's corporate, crony sponsors.
The right is also quick to cite the London and Madrid bombings as further evidence of a fatal flaw in the prosecution of a conventional approach to fighting terror. Even though those two events happened after 9/11 and the entire world was on a high alert status. But that is how terrorism works - and matastacizes. The fact that 9/11 was such a stunning success assisted in the development and financing of further plots and schemes, some of which were prevented, others that, unfortunately, were not. The key to fighting terror is to learn from both your successes and your failures, there will be death and destruction but there will be containment and prevention and prosecutions and imprisonment and eventually the money trail will lead us to the true sponsors of international terrorism, they being the true perpetrators of these heinous crimes against humanity but, perhaps, we already know who and that truth is just too shocking. Spain and Britain - both familiar with domestic terrorism and it's long reach into the collective consciousness - in the aftermath of their respective bombings, did not immediately begin to formulate plans to invade a distant middle east country in revenge for the new carnage suffered on their shores. Both countries bestowed new and unprecedented powers on their domestic law enforcement and internal security agencies and within the letters of these new laws have had some staggering successes.
Every terrorist organization, as is well known, has to fulfill certain needs in order rise and flourish; a charismatic leader, an easily replaceable charismatic leader, reliable financial backers, an easily understood ideology, an easily demonized and recognizable foe, a few spectacular successes as a recruiting tool and the continued ineptitude of its foe to figure out what it is they are up to. As a simplified but demonstrable example of the destruction of the hydra-terrorist organization we can look to the Emerald Isle. With both domestic and international help Britain was able to identify cell leaders of the IRA and through observation, infiltration and intelligence was able, eventually, to identify the very top leaders of the organization - know your enemy. Through the same techniques they were able to identify NORAID as a front organization that funnelled money into the IRA coffers - ultimately, once funds were cut off or at least restricted the IRA was forced to rob banks and gas stations to fund its operations and arms acquisitions, not the best uses of it's men or materiel. By finally engaging and investing the Irish government in the peace process acts of violence were no longer tacitly approved as an inevitable part of the political struggle. The IRA found itself culturally and politically on the sidelines and was forced to politicize in order to be represented at the peace table. Through, initially secret, communications the British government was able to negotiate with Sinn Fein and present, as fait a'complete, the building blocks to Northern Irish self rule and ultimately self determination. It took many years, there were many road blocks and pitfalls but, instead of force an international - we must never forget the American will and resolve displayed in making this succeed - political framework was established and a political solution finally arrived at. History -aint it grand?
Monday, May 07, 2007
Plan F
Perhaps the biggest problem this administration had in the aftermath of 9/11 was that it had absolutely no idea how to fight a GWOT and still doesn't. However, they did figure out a - very bad - way to conventionalize it. That they were gifted the backing of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan where the Taliban, initially, turned out to be not much more than a rag-tag militia and were easily swept off the battlefield only to morph into what we see today. And, that the only apparent or manipulated path forward from that first encounter with the ideology of islamofascist-ring-a-ma-ting was to find a predominantly secular, target rich environment and stay for awhile, completely ignoring what we had learned in Afghanistan about the cynical and barbarous nature of our enemy, remaining blithe to the emotional and tactical shifts of both those nations as a direct reaction to occupation, in parallel with alienating the international community - coalition of the willing notwithstanding - through roughshod treatment of pertinent alliances and existing treaties and blatant arrogance, we arrive where we are today, a mere Friedman Unit from turning the tide in Iraq - again - without still never actually having to confront the realities and consequences of the conflicts at hand and where these consequences will lead us to in the future.
There are many nations of the world very familiar and competent at dealing with both international and domestic terrorism within their borders, there are institutions and world bodies tasked with the collection and dissemination of information regarding terrorist entities, the players, their ideologies and their methods. There are enforcement agencies cooperating around the world with the infiltration and fighting of terrorist organizations, some with great success. There are proven - in the battlefield - models and strategies in existence that will help with the fight against terrorism. But, this administration chose to ignore that route, that skill-set of collective knowledge, strategies and techniques and chose instead to invade Iraq, an albeit prominent part of a self-styled 'Axis of Evil' and constant thorn in the foot of dear leader and his neocon cabal, but, for the most part, a contained and strategical non-entity, except that is for oil and as a showcase for crackpot theories and political sloganeering - winning elections and creating a permanent republican majority, that is - certainly not for anything honorable. So, not only do we rebuff the world - 'CoW' notwithstanding - and all the opportunities inherent with partnerships forged in collective and shared responsibility, we ignite a powder keg and strap it to our service men and womens back and talk of 'diminishing expectations'. It is self immolation on a grand and unforgiveable scale. It would be inconceiveable if it wasn't actually happening before our very eyes.
There are many nations of the world very familiar and competent at dealing with both international and domestic terrorism within their borders, there are institutions and world bodies tasked with the collection and dissemination of information regarding terrorist entities, the players, their ideologies and their methods. There are enforcement agencies cooperating around the world with the infiltration and fighting of terrorist organizations, some with great success. There are proven - in the battlefield - models and strategies in existence that will help with the fight against terrorism. But, this administration chose to ignore that route, that skill-set of collective knowledge, strategies and techniques and chose instead to invade Iraq, an albeit prominent part of a self-styled 'Axis of Evil' and constant thorn in the foot of dear leader and his neocon cabal, but, for the most part, a contained and strategical non-entity, except that is for oil and as a showcase for crackpot theories and political sloganeering - winning elections and creating a permanent republican majority, that is - certainly not for anything honorable. So, not only do we rebuff the world - 'CoW' notwithstanding - and all the opportunities inherent with partnerships forged in collective and shared responsibility, we ignite a powder keg and strap it to our service men and womens back and talk of 'diminishing expectations'. It is self immolation on a grand and unforgiveable scale. It would be inconceiveable if it wasn't actually happening before our very eyes.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Name That Paper...
You just know there will be a competition to name this marriage of the macabre!
Faux Street Journal
Wall Street Noise
etc.
I know the reporting can be excellent in the WSJ - that will surely come to an abrupt end - but the editorial page is abominable! A pox on both their houses...
Faux Street Journal
Wall Street Noise
etc.
I know the reporting can be excellent in the WSJ - that will surely come to an abrupt end - but the editorial page is abominable! A pox on both their houses...
Syriaously
Will Condi be reprimanded by Darth Cheney for her "Bad Behavior" - not likely.
Could this be a result of the Pelosi trip described by CNN as 'Talking With Terrorists'
''There has been some movement by the Syrians ... there has been a reduction in the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq'' for more than a month, Caldwell said.
Bad behavior indeed!
Could this be a result of the Pelosi trip described by CNN as 'Talking With Terrorists'
''There has been some movement by the Syrians ... there has been a reduction in the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq'' for more than a month, Caldwell said.
Bad behavior indeed!
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Old Con
There has been endless debate about the Neocon-Theocratic alliance and it's rise and fall, mostly the discussion centers around who is using who or whether the power bloc in this administration is truely christian in it's belief system or whether there is a belief system at all. Does the Shrub pray or prey, it is probably irrelevant. I think as we move into the end game here things will become more evident, not about the relationship between these two competing philosophies - and they are competing - but about each competing element and how they came to such prominence. Neither side will ever admit that they were used by the other so the infrastructure will never be exposed as perhaps most 'progressive' Americans would like, the secret meetings, in smoke and incense filled rooms, and the agenda discussed therein will remain just that - secret. That a deal was done and 'wish-lists' exchanged there is no doubt, I think SCOTUS and unhinged, unquestioning loyalty to dear leader were the lynchpins to whatever other agreements were thrashed out between the two and if the christian right lost out on many of their cherished theological misinterpretations - quickly abandoned by the neocons - they at least have SCOTUS as a lasting legacy to hang their mitres on and it was a huge victory that I remain furious and discouraged with. The neocon agenda, meanwhile, reached a precipitous foreign policy zenith with the conquering of a third rate power - Iraq, fed in part by a wave of unquestioning patriotic myopia on behalf of the American electorate and a coordinated coup d'etat of a spineless fourth estate initiated and sustained by the bretheren.
As most on the left watch and comment, more astutely than I ever can on, the "slow-motion car crash" that is this administration, the neocon/theocratic blastwall continues to provide political and amoral cover for this administrations incompetence and deceit, even as both entities suffer from perceived hypocracy and irrelevance. Am I sure about this decline? What's on the agenda for the next 19 months, what policies is this administration formulating, in what direction do they want to steer the ship of state? Anyone on the right talking about the next great policy initiative? - I didn't think so! They are still defending NCLB, Tax Cuts for the Rich, the Clean Air Act, Medicaid Reform, in fact every piece of legislation this administration brought forth and had rubberstamped by those idiotic congresses is under siege or under review, under funded or underground in the case of Social Security Reform. And, Iraq and foreign policy in general, the President can stamp his feet and mouth absurdities until the cows come home, the days of preemptive war and never-ending conflicts with zero accountability are over and rightly so.
Both christo-fascism and neocon ideologies have one fatal flaw - inflexibility. They demand that all the laws of society, religion even science conform to their rigid world view regardless of the improbability of that ever really happening and like an unbending piece of metal plunged into liquid hydrogen once exposed and tapped a few times on a solid surface the whole thing shatters. This society and many others like us have thrived on the ability of its people and government to absorb, adapt to and embrace potentially disastrous events, they become moments that define us, change us and mold us but, this requires elasticity of thought not rigid conformity. Catastrophe and contentment should be shared by all of us, no body owns the exclusive rights to either.
As most on the left watch and comment, more astutely than I ever can on, the "slow-motion car crash" that is this administration, the neocon/theocratic blastwall continues to provide political and amoral cover for this administrations incompetence and deceit, even as both entities suffer from perceived hypocracy and irrelevance. Am I sure about this decline? What's on the agenda for the next 19 months, what policies is this administration formulating, in what direction do they want to steer the ship of state? Anyone on the right talking about the next great policy initiative? - I didn't think so! They are still defending NCLB, Tax Cuts for the Rich, the Clean Air Act, Medicaid Reform, in fact every piece of legislation this administration brought forth and had rubberstamped by those idiotic congresses is under siege or under review, under funded or underground in the case of Social Security Reform. And, Iraq and foreign policy in general, the President can stamp his feet and mouth absurdities until the cows come home, the days of preemptive war and never-ending conflicts with zero accountability are over and rightly so.
Both christo-fascism and neocon ideologies have one fatal flaw - inflexibility. They demand that all the laws of society, religion even science conform to their rigid world view regardless of the improbability of that ever really happening and like an unbending piece of metal plunged into liquid hydrogen once exposed and tapped a few times on a solid surface the whole thing shatters. This society and many others like us have thrived on the ability of its people and government to absorb, adapt to and embrace potentially disastrous events, they become moments that define us, change us and mold us but, this requires elasticity of thought not rigid conformity. Catastrophe and contentment should be shared by all of us, no body owns the exclusive rights to either.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
We Pay These People?
TPM's coverage of the USA Scandal has been nothing short of exemplary. Can a blog win a Pulitzer...? Maybe they need a new category. The slime installed at Justice and surely Schlozman is the slimiest, are having their cruel handiwork exposed, layer by ugly layer.
What Glenn Sez!
Has America ever functioned as a true DEMOCRACY, or has the most extreme right wing christo-fascist aristocracy always held sway over our national debates and policy making? It's a valid question. I see no evidence, historically, that America was anything other than a fledgling Anglocentric feudal state, replete with a top-down class system, teetering on the brink of outright theocracy - discuss!
Rock On
Just to keep your spirits up, dear reader.
Why anyone imagines that Iggy and the Ramones invented punk is beyond me!
Mission Accomplished
I hate even having this noodles mugshot on my blog but it is Mission Accomplished Day and I think everyone should be reminded of such. Now in our fourth year of the occupation it is staggering to comprehend the death, destruction and chaos this administration has wrought. We have over 3,300 of our servicemen and women dead, 27,000 injured, over 9,000 seriously. New projections on spending have the war costs coming in at around $500 Billion. We have stopped counting the Iraqi dead. There was a 25% increase in terrorist incidents worldwide (the majority of attacks accounting for the increase occured in Iraq - seriously) in 2006 and we have had 104 troops killed in April. If we project that count as an average of, oh say, 90 a month until we receive a non-conclusive, progress unrelated, non-binding, milestone or benchmark free report in September that will be another 450 dead american soldiers with 2,812 injured, 927 seriously.
To counter this auspicious day - suspicious accounts surface of the death of Al Qaida's #1 guy in Iraq - of course our government is being cautious, some would say skeptical, about reports coming out of Iraq on al Masri's demise but it happened to be the #1 story this morning. Now if they had only been as cautious and skeptical of the intelligence coming out of Iraq 4 years ago perhaps we would not be in this mess. Wait a minute, the intelligence coming out of Iraq 4 years ago was coming mainly from UNSCOM - they couldn't find any WMD or evidence of a 'nucular' program - talk about an inconvenient truth. Bush ordered them out in advance of 'Schlock and Bore'.
They really are tawdry little men, I'm still in shock that 62MM people voted for these buffoons... blood's on their hands too.
Update: Whatever the hell Bush is on... I want some!
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