Friday, November 07, 2008
Psycho...
Tony Perkins, right now, is quite possibly the most loathsome, dangerous and stupid man in America, sorry Mr. Feith you are now irrelevant.
Loathsome: "There was clearly no mandate to shift the country to the left on social issues," Perkins said. "What Tuesday was, was a fact that people wanted change, and it's a rejection of a moderate view."
Dangerous: "What has made the conservative movement strong is when you have social conservatives, fiscal conservatives and foreign policy conservatives working together," he said. "This was the first step in what will be a long journey in rebuilding that communication and that common vision."
Stupid: Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council told CNN that conservatives need to take back control of the GOP if the party is to return to its winning ways.
"Moderates never beat conservatives. We've seen that in past elections," he said.
Why is this man getting any air time? His party, his ethos, his ideology were just eviscerated by the American public and yet he and Grover and Kristol and Krauthammer and the rest of the wankers who have been consistently wrong about everything, somehow are afforded a platform to voice their corrupt and abandoned positions and opinions.
Go ahead Tony... turn your party into a theocratic, authoritarian, regional non-entity. Let's see how that works out fer ya!
Loathsome: "There was clearly no mandate to shift the country to the left on social issues," Perkins said. "What Tuesday was, was a fact that people wanted change, and it's a rejection of a moderate view."
Dangerous: "What has made the conservative movement strong is when you have social conservatives, fiscal conservatives and foreign policy conservatives working together," he said. "This was the first step in what will be a long journey in rebuilding that communication and that common vision."
Stupid: Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council told CNN that conservatives need to take back control of the GOP if the party is to return to its winning ways.
"Moderates never beat conservatives. We've seen that in past elections," he said.
Why is this man getting any air time? His party, his ethos, his ideology were just eviscerated by the American public and yet he and Grover and Kristol and Krauthammer and the rest of the wankers who have been consistently wrong about everything, somehow are afforded a platform to voice their corrupt and abandoned positions and opinions.
Go ahead Tony... turn your party into a theocratic, authoritarian, regional non-entity. Let's see how that works out fer ya!
Friday, October 31, 2008
Ask 'Arry
For me, and this is purely personal, Harry Reed's tenure as Leader of the Senate has been, for the most part, perturbing. His actual ascent to his current position has always mystified me, although liberal on many issues close to progressive hearts his pro-life leanings and limp wristed management of the Senate has not endeared him to many on the left and even to a plurality in the center. The 110th Congress came to DC with a true mandate and Harry squandered the opportunity by trying to placate rather than finish off a realing minority. To a great extent his hands were tied by the oppositions unconstitutional insistence upon a sixty vote majority for all important - read Democratic - policy initiatives, the mere threat of filibuster supplanting the very need to actually sustain one, but, Harry could always have threatened the 'nuclear option' as did Frist, this reluctance, on his part, to do so or even threaten such will doom him to a lesser role in the 111th Congress.
I am perfectly OK with that if it plays out. My prefered choice to lead the senate is Hillary Clinton and I'm sure this scenario has been gamed by both Obama's team and Hillary's. She is the logical choice and perhaps the most qualified to fill that role, plus, the thought of wingnut heads exploding at the very mention of such an outcome is nothing short of delicious.
I am perfectly OK with that if it plays out. My prefered choice to lead the senate is Hillary Clinton and I'm sure this scenario has been gamed by both Obama's team and Hillary's. She is the logical choice and perhaps the most qualified to fill that role, plus, the thought of wingnut heads exploding at the very mention of such an outcome is nothing short of delicious.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
The Reasoning Of A Child
To many on the right, both moderate and wingnut, the idea of the masses voting for McSame purely for the purposes of keeping DC in a perpetual state of stasis is very appealing. It is, by their reasoning, a necessary check and balance on the more progressive Congress that will surely be ushered in on November 4th. It satisfies their new found concern for the workings of a Government that actually survived Grover Norquists bathtub drowning exercise. It also satisfies their own conceit that they are the adults and without their serious, applied supervision Washington will run amok and who knows what might happen. That gridlock is preferable to an actual mandated progressive policy agenda is no shock, the last thing most conservatives want to see is a successful government especially a Democratic one, so rather than tell the truth about their pretentions they wrap this particularily loathesome, pompous and unAmerican proposition in feathers and call it macaroni.
For six years of the Bush administration the Republicans controlled all aspects of government, not once did I hear them say that this arrangement was dangerous or contrary to how good goverment should function, not a whisper of discontent was uttered from the lips of either the moderates, of which there are few left, or the extreme right wing, which for all intents and purposes, ran the party and the country. Infact, they were working and conniving (See Texas) to create and maintain a permanent republican majority or as we like to call it on the left 'Rove's Wet Dream' (RWD). Their new found zeal for 'checks and balances' is therefore a strawman, a pile of fetid fear, a sister soulja moment of apoplexy at the realization that the 30 year struggle to impose their vile set of descriminatory prejudices, disguised as policy, upon America has failed.
It is this failure, wrapped in the failure of this administration, that they wish, through the election of John McCain and his Alaskan atrocity, to continue. It is without doubt the worst thing that could happen to this country because the status quo, as of right now, represents the absolute nadir of the American experiment. We are fighting three wars, the GWOT, Iraq and Afghanistan, all three, by anyones estimation, do not go well through either miscomprehension, neglect or rank stupidity. The Constitution may as well be a doormat, since when did America, rendition, torture, secretly and indefinitely imprison anyone? What the hell happened to Habeas Corpus? What is Posse Comitatus for that matter? And what happened to privacy... since when was it OK to spy on Americans, both here and abroad, to listen in on the most banal, everyday longings of soldiers calling their wives and husbands and children back home? What the hell does that have to do with catching terrorists? We are planetarily reviled by both friend and foe. Through our own greed and hubris we have come perilously close to destroying the global economy. And the SCOTUS teeters on the brink of becoming a rubber stamp to every right wing fancy out there.
No, this is no time for stasis, this is no time for seamless transition, this is no time for McSame and Mooseburgers... we need boldness, we need policy and we need a White House and Congress committed to thoughtful, progressive purpose.
For six years of the Bush administration the Republicans controlled all aspects of government, not once did I hear them say that this arrangement was dangerous or contrary to how good goverment should function, not a whisper of discontent was uttered from the lips of either the moderates, of which there are few left, or the extreme right wing, which for all intents and purposes, ran the party and the country. Infact, they were working and conniving (See Texas) to create and maintain a permanent republican majority or as we like to call it on the left 'Rove's Wet Dream' (RWD). Their new found zeal for 'checks and balances' is therefore a strawman, a pile of fetid fear, a sister soulja moment of apoplexy at the realization that the 30 year struggle to impose their vile set of descriminatory prejudices, disguised as policy, upon America has failed.
It is this failure, wrapped in the failure of this administration, that they wish, through the election of John McCain and his Alaskan atrocity, to continue. It is without doubt the worst thing that could happen to this country because the status quo, as of right now, represents the absolute nadir of the American experiment. We are fighting three wars, the GWOT, Iraq and Afghanistan, all three, by anyones estimation, do not go well through either miscomprehension, neglect or rank stupidity. The Constitution may as well be a doormat, since when did America, rendition, torture, secretly and indefinitely imprison anyone? What the hell happened to Habeas Corpus? What is Posse Comitatus for that matter? And what happened to privacy... since when was it OK to spy on Americans, both here and abroad, to listen in on the most banal, everyday longings of soldiers calling their wives and husbands and children back home? What the hell does that have to do with catching terrorists? We are planetarily reviled by both friend and foe. Through our own greed and hubris we have come perilously close to destroying the global economy. And the SCOTUS teeters on the brink of becoming a rubber stamp to every right wing fancy out there.
No, this is no time for stasis, this is no time for seamless transition, this is no time for McSame and Mooseburgers... we need boldness, we need policy and we need a White House and Congress committed to thoughtful, progressive purpose.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Uppity...!
"Charlie, again, we've got to remember what the desire is in this nation at this time. It is for no more politics as usual and somebody's big, fat resume maybe that shows decades and decades in that Washington establishment, where, yes, they've had opportunities to meet heads of state."
Sarah Palin ABC 9/11/08
The problem is Sarah, you're not running for President of The United States, the 'big, fat resume' with 'decades and decades in that Washington establishment' is!
Remember your place young lady... you're religious right eye candy, nothing more.
Sarah Palin ABC 9/11/08
The problem is Sarah, you're not running for President of The United States, the 'big, fat resume' with 'decades and decades in that Washington establishment' is!
Remember your place young lady... you're religious right eye candy, nothing more.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Foreign Policy
The good General believes that 'victory' in Iraq is a chimera, no... honestly, read it yourself. He will never declare victory in Iraq!
One word Mr. McCain... Lipstick!
But, just who are we fighting in Iraq and why is the situation so 'fragile'? Juan Cole believes Al Qaeda, or at least the Al Qaeda of 9/11 is finished. Read the whole thing.
To paraphrase Ms. Bankhead in 'Die, Die My Darling'... "Lipstick, Lipstick, go immediately upstairs and wipe that filth from your face!"
Couple the above with Matt Yglesia's post on Kagan The Terrible and you have a pretty good handle on where Republican foreign policy went and continues to go wrong. It's based on the presumtion that all conventional wisdom, all knowledge really, is worth only two grains of salt compared to the might of neocon prejudice.
That neocon foreign policy is merely lipstick on a pig and a stuck pig at that, is irrelevant to them.
One word Mr. McCain... Lipstick!
But, just who are we fighting in Iraq and why is the situation so 'fragile'? Juan Cole believes Al Qaeda, or at least the Al Qaeda of 9/11 is finished. Read the whole thing.
To paraphrase Ms. Bankhead in 'Die, Die My Darling'... "Lipstick, Lipstick, go immediately upstairs and wipe that filth from your face!"
Couple the above with Matt Yglesia's post on Kagan The Terrible and you have a pretty good handle on where Republican foreign policy went and continues to go wrong. It's based on the presumtion that all conventional wisdom, all knowledge really, is worth only two grains of salt compared to the might of neocon prejudice.
That neocon foreign policy is merely lipstick on a pig and a stuck pig at that, is irrelevant to them.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Dang...!
Got lost in the sauce for a while... Summertime, workaday, vacation etc.
John McCain is loathsome.
John McCain is loathsome.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Hitch...
Hitchens, a paramour of the rightwing protozoan ooze, goes to find out for his own good self just what all this fuss about waterboarding really is...
Clue... He lasts 17 seconds before admitting he single handedly attacked the USS Cole, supplied the explosives for the African Embassy Bombings and bought the plane tickets for all 19 (Mostly Saudi... lest we forget) WTC and Pentagon suicide hijackers.
This was of course, a procedure perfected by Maoist Chinese to extract falls confessions from Western and US troops captured in North Korea and, no doubt, Vietnam.
The MSM, meanwhile, continues to be completely and utterly outraged at Wes Clark for not impugning McSame's honor...
Clue... He lasts 17 seconds before admitting he single handedly attacked the USS Cole, supplied the explosives for the African Embassy Bombings and bought the plane tickets for all 19 (Mostly Saudi... lest we forget) WTC and Pentagon suicide hijackers.
This was of course, a procedure perfected by Maoist Chinese to extract falls confessions from Western and US troops captured in North Korea and, no doubt, Vietnam.
The MSM, meanwhile, continues to be completely and utterly outraged at Wes Clark for not impugning McSame's honor...
Oh... God!
Sometimes you just have to stare in glorious, unadulterated wonder at the silliness...
"Auto-correct can be a very helpful feature of any word-processing program. But when conservatives use it, they run the risk of embarrassing themselves.
The American Family Association’s OneNewsNow website, for example, takes its AP articles and replaces the word “gay” with the word “homosexual.” I’m not entirely sure why, but it seems to make the AFA happy. The group is, after all, pretty far out there.
The problem, of course, is that “gay” does not always mean what the AFA wants it to mean. My friend Kyle reported this morning that sprinter Tyson Gay won the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials over the weekend. The AFA ran the story, but only after the auto-correct had “fixed” the article.
That means — you guessed it — the track star was renamed “Tyson Homosexual.” The headline on the piece read, “Homosexual eases into 100 final at Olympic trials.” Readers learned:
Tyson Homosexual easily won his semifinal for the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials and seemed to save something for the final later Sunday."
Go read the rest at C&L and remember, these people want to rule our world!
"Auto-correct can be a very helpful feature of any word-processing program. But when conservatives use it, they run the risk of embarrassing themselves.
The American Family Association’s OneNewsNow website, for example, takes its AP articles and replaces the word “gay” with the word “homosexual.” I’m not entirely sure why, but it seems to make the AFA happy. The group is, after all, pretty far out there.
The problem, of course, is that “gay” does not always mean what the AFA wants it to mean. My friend Kyle reported this morning that sprinter Tyson Gay won the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials over the weekend. The AFA ran the story, but only after the auto-correct had “fixed” the article.
That means — you guessed it — the track star was renamed “Tyson Homosexual.” The headline on the piece read, “Homosexual eases into 100 final at Olympic trials.” Readers learned:
Tyson Homosexual easily won his semifinal for the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials and seemed to save something for the final later Sunday."
Go read the rest at C&L and remember, these people want to rule our world!
Friday, June 20, 2008
Crisis... What Crisis?
So what can be done, if we can't immediately start drilling off our shores or despoiling our pristene wildernesses?
Well, (No Pun Intended) we could force the US motor industry to apply their European enforced standards on their US built products, for instance;
I went to the Top Gear site on the BBC and looked at the MPG specifications for a Ford Focus, this is published data and qualified by the AA (Britains Automobile Association), I then went to the Ford Motor Company's official US site and compared the Ford Focus in the UK with it's US counterpart. I used the 4 door sedan as my model.
British Ford Focus - City MPG - 33, Highway MPG - 51, Combined MPG - 42.
US Ford Focus - City MPG - 24, Highway MPG - 35, Combined MPG - 29.5
Compared to drilling in ANWR or off-shore in Florida, how long would it take to employ already existing technology in all our US auto plants?
Well, (No Pun Intended) we could force the US motor industry to apply their European enforced standards on their US built products, for instance;
I went to the Top Gear site on the BBC and looked at the MPG specifications for a Ford Focus, this is published data and qualified by the AA (Britains Automobile Association), I then went to the Ford Motor Company's official US site and compared the Ford Focus in the UK with it's US counterpart. I used the 4 door sedan as my model.
British Ford Focus - City MPG - 33, Highway MPG - 51, Combined MPG - 42.
US Ford Focus - City MPG - 24, Highway MPG - 35, Combined MPG - 29.5
Compared to drilling in ANWR or off-shore in Florida, how long would it take to employ already existing technology in all our US auto plants?
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Gushin' Roulette
Now, about that drilling off the coast of Florida, California etc. Just how long does it take to get one of these off-shore oil rigs operational? Any ideas? I mean it's not like just digging a big hole or something and perhaps you might need a few more of the effing ships to make it even possible.
Much like the 'Gas Tax' Holiday espoused by McCain, once you look into these gimmicks proposed by oil men and their crony Republican enablers you find out that it's a complete crock of crap and benefits absolutely no one but the corporate hacks who've been pushing for it and that the mechanisms to make it actually happen don't even exist.
"Mr. Bush called on Congress Wednesday to end a longstanding federal ban on offshore drilling and open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration, arguing that the steps were needed to lower gasoline prices and bolster national security. But even as oil trades at more than $135 a barrel — up from $68 a year ago — the world’s existing drill-ships are booked solid for the next five years. Some oil companies have been forced to postpone exploration while waiting for a drilling rig, executives and analysts said."
We are ruled by morons and another McMoron wishes to perpetuate that fact...
Much like the 'Gas Tax' Holiday espoused by McCain, once you look into these gimmicks proposed by oil men and their crony Republican enablers you find out that it's a complete crock of crap and benefits absolutely no one but the corporate hacks who've been pushing for it and that the mechanisms to make it actually happen don't even exist.
"Mr. Bush called on Congress Wednesday to end a longstanding federal ban on offshore drilling and open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil exploration, arguing that the steps were needed to lower gasoline prices and bolster national security. But even as oil trades at more than $135 a barrel — up from $68 a year ago — the world’s existing drill-ships are booked solid for the next five years. Some oil companies have been forced to postpone exploration while waiting for a drilling rig, executives and analysts said."
We are ruled by morons and another McMoron wishes to perpetuate that fact...
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Doh!
File this under... appeasers and the appeasing appeasers who appease them!
So, a couple of weeks back, Bubbleboy goes to Israel and stands up in front of the Knessett and tells old war stories about weak, lilly-livered appeasers and how their namby pamby approach got us into all that trouble back in '39 and just how strong and macho his new and improved - don't talk to anyone approach - and his - round 'em up, put 'em in a field and bomb the bastards - plan is working out jus' fine thank you very much, and practically begs his Israeli friends to stick with him and listen to the band as his ship keeps sinking. All good TV by the way, the MSM lapped it up, the right wing drooled, the Israeli's...?
They went straight to it and appeased first, Hamas and now Hezbollah.
Fucking brilliant Mr. Bush, even the Israelis think you're an idiot. They'll clap politely, even slap you on the back but then do the complete reverse of what your catagorically failed mid-east policies demand.
Time to restrategeriarize neocons, if you lose Likud who is left?
So, a couple of weeks back, Bubbleboy goes to Israel and stands up in front of the Knessett and tells old war stories about weak, lilly-livered appeasers and how their namby pamby approach got us into all that trouble back in '39 and just how strong and macho his new and improved - don't talk to anyone approach - and his - round 'em up, put 'em in a field and bomb the bastards - plan is working out jus' fine thank you very much, and practically begs his Israeli friends to stick with him and listen to the band as his ship keeps sinking. All good TV by the way, the MSM lapped it up, the right wing drooled, the Israeli's...?
They went straight to it and appeased first, Hamas and now Hezbollah.
Fucking brilliant Mr. Bush, even the Israelis think you're an idiot. They'll clap politely, even slap you on the back but then do the complete reverse of what your catagorically failed mid-east policies demand.
Time to restrategeriarize neocons, if you lose Likud who is left?
Friday, June 13, 2008
Didn't See This One Coming...
Tim Russert dead at 58. One of Buffalo's beloved sons dies of an apparent heart attack whilst at work in the NBC Washington Bureau.
Condolences to his friends and family...
Condolences to his friends and family...
The Great Conceit
As is their want, many Republicans point to the fact that 'everyone thought Saddam had WMD' to justify the pointless bloodletting that has and continues to occur in Iraq and to cover up for an administration teetering on the edge of despotism.
I was not listening to the administration spin, lies, deceits back in the day and many of the quotes or examples gathered here by Eric Alterman are very familiar to me. Especially the Knight Ridder articles and both speaches by Kennedy and Byrd.
It was becoming very apparent by 2003 that something was up with the intelligence coming out of both the US and the UK and that large swathes of the information gathered by IAEA and UNSCOM were being either ignored or reinterpreted to match the narrative these governments desired.
That France, Germany and Russia refuted the allegations made by the US and UK was underreported here in the US but I remember watching Putin, on the BBC, flat out accuse a 'very tense' Tony Blair of being a scurrilous liar, of course in much more diplomatic terms than I state here.
The whole world did not think that Saddam had WMD and if you take away that premis then there was no reason d'etre for the unprovoked attack, after all if Cheney and Bush had been honest for once in their lives and actually stated their reason for going into Iraq, to control at least a portion of the oil rich region, the Congress and the American people would have impeached them both right there and then.
I was not listening to the administration spin, lies, deceits back in the day and many of the quotes or examples gathered here by Eric Alterman are very familiar to me. Especially the Knight Ridder articles and both speaches by Kennedy and Byrd.
It was becoming very apparent by 2003 that something was up with the intelligence coming out of both the US and the UK and that large swathes of the information gathered by IAEA and UNSCOM were being either ignored or reinterpreted to match the narrative these governments desired.
That France, Germany and Russia refuted the allegations made by the US and UK was underreported here in the US but I remember watching Putin, on the BBC, flat out accuse a 'very tense' Tony Blair of being a scurrilous liar, of course in much more diplomatic terms than I state here.
The whole world did not think that Saddam had WMD and if you take away that premis then there was no reason d'etre for the unprovoked attack, after all if Cheney and Bush had been honest for once in their lives and actually stated their reason for going into Iraq, to control at least a portion of the oil rich region, the Congress and the American people would have impeached them both right there and then.
Hooray... Habeas
Sanity, or at least a modicum of it, returned to this country yesterday as the SCOTUS overturned Article 7 the heinous MCA of 2006. Habeas is restored and once again we are a somewhat civilized nation governed by the Rule of Law as the Framers designed.
McCain and Graham were the chief architects of the Military Commissions Act abomination and along with Bush, should be in the Hague and no where near Pennsylvania Avenue.
Glenn Greenwald, who has been a tireless advocate for the repudiation of this 'Act' sums it up succinctly:
"The Court's ruling was grounded in its recognition that the guarantee of habeas corpus was so central to the Founding that it was one of the few individual rights included in the Constitution even before the Bill of Rights was enacted. As the Court put it: "the Framers viewed freedom from unlawful restraint as a fundamental precept of liberty, and they understood the writ of habeas corpus as a vital instrument to secure that freedom." The Court noted that freedom from arbitrary or baseless imprisonment was one of the core rights established by the 13th Century Magna Carta, and it is the writ of habeas corpus which is the means for enforcing that right. Once habeas corpus is abolished -- as the Military Commissions Act sought to do -- then we return to the pre-Magna Carta days where the Government is free to imprison people with no recourse."
This was a good day for America...
McCain and Graham were the chief architects of the Military Commissions Act abomination and along with Bush, should be in the Hague and no where near Pennsylvania Avenue.
Glenn Greenwald, who has been a tireless advocate for the repudiation of this 'Act' sums it up succinctly:
"The Court's ruling was grounded in its recognition that the guarantee of habeas corpus was so central to the Founding that it was one of the few individual rights included in the Constitution even before the Bill of Rights was enacted. As the Court put it: "the Framers viewed freedom from unlawful restraint as a fundamental precept of liberty, and they understood the writ of habeas corpus as a vital instrument to secure that freedom." The Court noted that freedom from arbitrary or baseless imprisonment was one of the core rights established by the 13th Century Magna Carta, and it is the writ of habeas corpus which is the means for enforcing that right. Once habeas corpus is abolished -- as the Military Commissions Act sought to do -- then we return to the pre-Magna Carta days where the Government is free to imprison people with no recourse."
This was a good day for America...
Monday, June 09, 2008
The Big Chill
Bush arrives in Ol' Yurp today and the reception, even from the likes of Merkel, Sarkozy, Burlusconi and Brown, is unlikely to be overwhelming.
Far from the victory tour he no-doubt could have imagined back in the day, Bush will be greeted by skepticism, bewilderment, frustration and, in some cases, utter contempt.
As the Guardian UK outlines:
"While the leaders will be generous and polite towards a US president who has plumbed unprecedented depths of unpopularity in Europe as well as in America, there is no doubt that the overall mood will be one of good riddance."
Even though the article mentions the rising anticipation of an Obama presidency (and how much Europe longs for such) the skeptisism arcs the political divide, an Obama administration may be seen as a breath of fresh air but Americas lurch toward imperialist ambitions may be irreversible:
"An optical illusion may be influencing our opinions: the comforting idea that the real problem is George Bush and not America," a German commentator on America, Josef Joffe, wrote last week. "Why is this a mental delusion? First, because anti-Americanism is older than the younger Bush. Second because Obama (probably) comes, but the superpower stays. America, this steam hammer of a nation, is fundamentally a destroyer."
Blimey...!!!!
Far from the victory tour he no-doubt could have imagined back in the day, Bush will be greeted by skepticism, bewilderment, frustration and, in some cases, utter contempt.
As the Guardian UK outlines:
"While the leaders will be generous and polite towards a US president who has plumbed unprecedented depths of unpopularity in Europe as well as in America, there is no doubt that the overall mood will be one of good riddance."
Even though the article mentions the rising anticipation of an Obama presidency (and how much Europe longs for such) the skeptisism arcs the political divide, an Obama administration may be seen as a breath of fresh air but Americas lurch toward imperialist ambitions may be irreversible:
"An optical illusion may be influencing our opinions: the comforting idea that the real problem is George Bush and not America," a German commentator on America, Josef Joffe, wrote last week. "Why is this a mental delusion? First, because anti-Americanism is older than the younger Bush. Second because Obama (probably) comes, but the superpower stays. America, this steam hammer of a nation, is fundamentally a destroyer."
Blimey...!!!!
Friday, June 06, 2008
Your Country For Sale
John McSame is now willing to sell your privacy... after being against illegal spying on American citizens he's now for it.
That his campaign is littered with past, present and future telco lobbyists, it is no surprise to me that he's flipped on FISA. The man is a craven hypocrite and Charlie Savage knows it.
The ACLU and EFF are not suing the telco's for damages, they are suing for discovery, very different from what we are being told by their enablers in the McCain camp and the White House.
That his campaign is littered with past, present and future telco lobbyists, it is no surprise to me that he's flipped on FISA. The man is a craven hypocrite and Charlie Savage knows it.
The ACLU and EFF are not suing the telco's for damages, they are suing for discovery, very different from what we are being told by their enablers in the McCain camp and the White House.
The Stupidest F***ing Administration On The Planet
If this were a little league baseball game between Iran and our august administration, the mercy rule would certainly have been applied somewhere back in 2002.
That the 'usual suspects' from Iran/Contra were involved is no surprise, likewise Feith's shop set up at the behest of Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz.
Along with the other revelations stemming from the Phase II report, the whole Iraq debacle's genesis is emerging into plain sight.
We were played but it only cost us over 4,000 Americans dead, 25,000 severely wounded, an estimated $2Trillion and apparently our entire economic well being, a small price to pay for our national security and the pride of a fool.
That the 'usual suspects' from Iran/Contra were involved is no surprise, likewise Feith's shop set up at the behest of Cheney, Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz.
Along with the other revelations stemming from the Phase II report, the whole Iraq debacle's genesis is emerging into plain sight.
We were played but it only cost us over 4,000 Americans dead, 25,000 severely wounded, an estimated $2Trillion and apparently our entire economic well being, a small price to pay for our national security and the pride of a fool.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Hmmmm...!
Following on from the Rezko post... just a random thought.
The rightwing noise machine is usually all over this kinda stuff, I mean Drudge could definitely get this story moving if he wanted to, put his full force behind the whole 'guilt by association' thing, rev-up the base and the MSM into a frenzy of speculative innuendo until full blown smear status was achieved.
But really, it's been very quiet on the Rezko front, besides the usual koolaid kids who froth at the mouth at the least provocation, which suggests, either there was nothing ever there with regards to Obama, and believe me someone went dumpster diving, or the real filth was always on the Repug side and as we know, no one does 'cover up' quite like the Repugs.
So, was the squeeze in to suppress this story as long as possible? Did the Repugs realize early that the Rezko path lead to the GOP and its dark Lord Rove? Was the whole Obama thing just a head fake to keep prying eyes away from the real prize?
Me thinks so!
The rightwing noise machine is usually all over this kinda stuff, I mean Drudge could definitely get this story moving if he wanted to, put his full force behind the whole 'guilt by association' thing, rev-up the base and the MSM into a frenzy of speculative innuendo until full blown smear status was achieved.
But really, it's been very quiet on the Rezko front, besides the usual koolaid kids who froth at the mouth at the least provocation, which suggests, either there was nothing ever there with regards to Obama, and believe me someone went dumpster diving, or the real filth was always on the Repug side and as we know, no one does 'cover up' quite like the Repugs.
So, was the squeeze in to suppress this story as long as possible? Did the Repugs realize early that the Rezko path lead to the GOP and its dark Lord Rove? Was the whole Obama thing just a head fake to keep prying eyes away from the real prize?
Me thinks so!
Oh... The Irony
The bloviating from the right, implying Obama's credibility is sullied by his 'association' with Rezko, may just be, so much obfuscation.
It appears Rezko's association with the Illinois GOP, Rove and to some extent the WH itself is the much juicier nut...
You just can't keep the Repug's out of a good scandal.
(h/t) Emptywheel
It appears Rezko's association with the Illinois GOP, Rove and to some extent the WH itself is the much juicier nut...
You just can't keep the Repug's out of a good scandal.
(h/t) Emptywheel
Yes... They Lied!
The Senate Intelligence Committee's Phase II report on pre-war intelligence was released today. As was widely rumored, it aint pretty and contains damning evidence that leadership in the White House frequently and sytematically lied this nation into an unneccessary, costly - in both human and financial - war.
TPM provides some highlights:
Statements and implications by the President and Secretary of State suggesting that Iraq and al-Qa'ida had a partnership, or that Iraq had provided al-Qa'ida with weapons training, were not substantiated by the intelligence.
--Statements by the President and the Vice President indicating that Saddam Hussein was prepared to give weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups for attacks against the United States were contradicted by available intelligence information.
--Statements by President Bush and Vice President Cheney regarding the postwar situation in Iraq, in terms of the political, security, and economic, did not reflect the concerns and uncertainties expressed in the intelligence products.
--Statements by the President and Vice President prior to the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iraq's chemical weapons production capability and activities did not reflect the intelligence community's uncertainties as to whether such production was ongoing.
--The Secretary of Defense's statement that the Iraqi government operated underground WMD facilities that were not vulnerable to conventional airstrikes because they were underground and deeply buried was not substantiated by available intelligence information.
--The Intelligence Community did not confirm that Muhammad Atta met an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague in 2001 as the Vice President repeatedly claimed.
TPM also provides the link to the pdf of the actual report, I for one intend to browse through the entire thing...
TPM provides some highlights:
Statements and implications by the President and Secretary of State suggesting that Iraq and al-Qa'ida had a partnership, or that Iraq had provided al-Qa'ida with weapons training, were not substantiated by the intelligence.
--Statements by the President and the Vice President indicating that Saddam Hussein was prepared to give weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups for attacks against the United States were contradicted by available intelligence information.
--Statements by President Bush and Vice President Cheney regarding the postwar situation in Iraq, in terms of the political, security, and economic, did not reflect the concerns and uncertainties expressed in the intelligence products.
--Statements by the President and Vice President prior to the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate regarding Iraq's chemical weapons production capability and activities did not reflect the intelligence community's uncertainties as to whether such production was ongoing.
--The Secretary of Defense's statement that the Iraqi government operated underground WMD facilities that were not vulnerable to conventional airstrikes because they were underground and deeply buried was not substantiated by available intelligence information.
--The Intelligence Community did not confirm that Muhammad Atta met an Iraqi intelligence officer in Prague in 2001 as the Vice President repeatedly claimed.
TPM also provides the link to the pdf of the actual report, I for one intend to browse through the entire thing...
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Puzzled...
The attempted public execution of Scott McClellan by WH proxies continues unabated on the, too happy to oblige, network and cable 'news' outlets. That not a single one of the idiots, roused from their ideological torpors, responding to the obviously and demonstrably true claims set forth in the book has even read the damn thing is par for the course in this day and time. We have had eight years of misinformation, propaganda, lies and mendacity provided to us by lightweight dillitantes who had absolutely no right to be advising or governing the American people.
Not one proxy has challenged the veracity of Scott McClellan's charges, instead they are 'puzzled', 'confused' and 'skeptical' of McClellans motives and his ability to put several words into a coherent sentence. You see, that's how they operate, facts are merely an inconvenience to be trampled under foot in the head long rush to evicerate and ultimately destroy the origin of those facts. That the truth was told by one of their own, that the whole rotten core is exposed is immaterial.
Must destroy Scotty, must destroy Scotty, must destroy Scotty.
It's all so stupidly predictable.
Not one proxy has challenged the veracity of Scott McClellan's charges, instead they are 'puzzled', 'confused' and 'skeptical' of McClellans motives and his ability to put several words into a coherent sentence. You see, that's how they operate, facts are merely an inconvenience to be trampled under foot in the head long rush to evicerate and ultimately destroy the origin of those facts. That the truth was told by one of their own, that the whole rotten core is exposed is immaterial.
Must destroy Scotty, must destroy Scotty, must destroy Scotty.
It's all so stupidly predictable.
Lieberation
Someone (Harry Reid) free our party of this mench!
Of course, Lieberman's problem is two fold, 1) he has compared Hagee to fricking Moses and that is a tough one to retract and 2) the man has absolutely no moral compass which tends to limit his ability to think like a human fricking being.
Of course, Lieberman's problem is two fold, 1) he has compared Hagee to fricking Moses and that is a tough one to retract and 2) the man has absolutely no moral compass which tends to limit his ability to think like a human fricking being.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
The Blog Thang...
It has been one of the busiest and yet, most fullfilling periods of my life lately. So blogging was sporadic to non-existent for most of April and May however, I vow to return in all my self-perceived glory, in some shape or form, within the next few days.
In the meantime... bouncing round the blogs today - apart from McClellan's, closing of the barn door after the horse has bolted, tell all... who knew you were so capable of lying to the American people Scott, only the Dirty Fucking Hippies, that's who - is the crazy question of who/what was your forst concert. I'm dredging the memory banks here, it's no fun getting old, but these guys were fun...
I saw them a couple days previous, to this concert, at Leeds Poly
In the meantime... bouncing round the blogs today - apart from McClellan's, closing of the barn door after the horse has bolted, tell all... who knew you were so capable of lying to the American people Scott, only the Dirty Fucking Hippies, that's who - is the crazy question of who/what was your forst concert. I'm dredging the memory banks here, it's no fun getting old, but these guys were fun...
I saw them a couple days previous, to this concert, at Leeds Poly
Monday, May 12, 2008
Tuesday, May 06, 2008
...Your Lips Together, And Blow.
This has been followed closely on the blogs, TPM etc., but now it just made the front page of the Times.
Welcome to the spotlight Mr. Bloch. Nice of you to remind us, in these trying times, just how corrupt, self serving and malicious a Republican operative can be.
Welcome to the spotlight Mr. Bloch. Nice of you to remind us, in these trying times, just how corrupt, self serving and malicious a Republican operative can be.
After The 2nd... The GOP's Other Favorite Amendment
The Fifth... They should be going to The Hague, not DC.
Big Brother Is Watching... Someone Else!
It appears that the collosall investment made by the UK government in CCTV has had little or no affect on crime rates or crime solving. Now, based on the fact that the system doesn't work, they want to pump more money into it and increase the size of databases.
Personally, I think this has little to do with minimizing 'street crime' which is a small percentage of the overall crime statistics, and much more to do with increased surveillance of the law abiding populace for whatever end use the government deems necessary.
It can't be good when a systems intended purpose has been shown to be ineffective and then it's spun to a point where that system is to be expanded.
Personally, I think this has little to do with minimizing 'street crime' which is a small percentage of the overall crime statistics, and much more to do with increased surveillance of the law abiding populace for whatever end use the government deems necessary.
It can't be good when a systems intended purpose has been shown to be ineffective and then it's spun to a point where that system is to be expanded.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Friday, April 11, 2008
Fabulous F***ing Hippie Friday
I saw Jackie Greene tour with Phil Lesh & Friends a year back, he was pretty impressive... this is the Skinny Singers with Lesh doin' Sugaree.
Niiiiiice...
"It's Your Baby... Go Do It"
That is Condi Rice, National Security Advisor to the CIA on continuing the 'enhanced interrogation techniques' employed on Al Qaeda 'suspects' or as the rest of the civilized world deems it, TORTURING captives.
How 'quaint' that Cheney, Powell, Rice, Ashcroft and Tenet sat around in the White House discussing the minutae of torture whilst America's reputation in the world was circling the drain.
The 'fun' thing here is that they approved of the torture before DoJ had even provided them with the Yoo justifications. Cheney does love him some retroactive immunity though.
Oh, and about those 108 'evildoers' who died in the process and the hundreds since released without charges... er! Sorry about that.
(h/t) TPM
How 'quaint' that Cheney, Powell, Rice, Ashcroft and Tenet sat around in the White House discussing the minutae of torture whilst America's reputation in the world was circling the drain.
The 'fun' thing here is that they approved of the torture before DoJ had even provided them with the Yoo justifications. Cheney does love him some retroactive immunity though.
Oh, and about those 108 'evildoers' who died in the process and the hundreds since released without charges... er! Sorry about that.
(h/t) TPM
Not Good Friday
As political assassinations go... this one was excellent!
Al Maliki appears determined to have his victory over Sadr, at any cost... as we've witnessed over the last five years, most times, those costs in both lives and treasure far exceed the gains achieved.
Al Maliki appears determined to have his victory over Sadr, at any cost... as we've witnessed over the last five years, most times, those costs in both lives and treasure far exceed the gains achieved.
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
McCain and his Pre-Millenial Dispensationalists
Mr. Hagee, currently touring Israel, is suddenly back in the news... seems his 'hate speech' and looney leanings are once again going under the microscope. It's not just that he called the Catholic church '... the great whore of Babylon' and a 'false religion' or 'anti-semitic' or that his professed love of the Jews is just a cover for his 'end of times' Armageddon cultism. No, he is back in the news because he is a complete religious nut who makes Pastor Wright's flock look like a weekly gathering of the neighborhood Glee Club.
This monster, with his 9 million like minded morons and his 2 million strong e-mail list espouses a theosophy so steeped in ignorance, intolerance and sociopathic mendacity it is very easy to forget that he is a supposed man of the cloth.
His friendship with Israel and the Jews is founded upon his cults necessity for Israel to remain a viable state until the return of Jesus Christ and the final showdown between Good and Evil. With Jesus victorious the Jews will, as Anne Coulter suggests, be 'fixed'. Many in the Israeli government and 'Clueless Joe' Lieberman here in the US have glad handed and encouraged these idiots because they send lots of cash to the Holy Land and do all kinds of nice things for the Jews and Israel.
Reverend Wright may have cursed at the USA and it's history of indifference toward minorities and blacks in particular, that can and should be debated but Pastor Hagee and his cult are planning for the end of the world and it has very little to do with American hegemony or American dominance over the planet. Once all the fighting is done at Armageddon and the good christians have all ascended back with old JC, what is left of planet Earth?
They don't say...
This monster, with his 9 million like minded morons and his 2 million strong e-mail list espouses a theosophy so steeped in ignorance, intolerance and sociopathic mendacity it is very easy to forget that he is a supposed man of the cloth.
His friendship with Israel and the Jews is founded upon his cults necessity for Israel to remain a viable state until the return of Jesus Christ and the final showdown between Good and Evil. With Jesus victorious the Jews will, as Anne Coulter suggests, be 'fixed'. Many in the Israeli government and 'Clueless Joe' Lieberman here in the US have glad handed and encouraged these idiots because they send lots of cash to the Holy Land and do all kinds of nice things for the Jews and Israel.
Reverend Wright may have cursed at the USA and it's history of indifference toward minorities and blacks in particular, that can and should be debated but Pastor Hagee and his cult are planning for the end of the world and it has very little to do with American hegemony or American dominance over the planet. Once all the fighting is done at Armageddon and the good christians have all ascended back with old JC, what is left of planet Earth?
They don't say...
General Wars 'R' Us
The General and the Ambassador appear before Congress today and tomorrow to reiterate their commitment to the 'Pause' Surge strategy that has cast a magical spell over Iraq and transformed it into a veritable Narnian utopia of Middle Eastern tranquility.
Nothing will change...
For some on the right my hate speech above could be construed as treason, infact I know some consider what Reverend Wright said in the oft played, sliced and diced clip was actually treasonous!
It's odd that, to some, the Second Amendment is sacrosanct but the First Amendment is an abuse of we the people. In a few countries, over the years, Mr. Wright may well have been hauled up in front of a complicite bench and immediately found guilty of crimes against the state. Such stately pomp was termed, in the west, a 'show trial'. In Stalinist Russia and Maoist China such show trials were very popular amongst the paranoid elites that ruled, still do in China's case, those countries. In the US it is still not a crime to speak out against intolerance, bigotry or injustice, one perceives as systemic, in ones country through the power of speech and long may that right remain. Mr. Wright was not inciting against the State, he was not attacking any individual or government, he was expressing his opinion, wrong or right, he is entitled to that.
Nothing will change...
For some on the right my hate speech above could be construed as treason, infact I know some consider what Reverend Wright said in the oft played, sliced and diced clip was actually treasonous!
It's odd that, to some, the Second Amendment is sacrosanct but the First Amendment is an abuse of we the people. In a few countries, over the years, Mr. Wright may well have been hauled up in front of a complicite bench and immediately found guilty of crimes against the state. Such stately pomp was termed, in the west, a 'show trial'. In Stalinist Russia and Maoist China such show trials were very popular amongst the paranoid elites that ruled, still do in China's case, those countries. In the US it is still not a crime to speak out against intolerance, bigotry or injustice, one perceives as systemic, in ones country through the power of speech and long may that right remain. Mr. Wright was not inciting against the State, he was not attacking any individual or government, he was expressing his opinion, wrong or right, he is entitled to that.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Bush League
Americans, in vast numbers, have caught up to the realities of life under the Bush regime and, are not happy...
Must be something to do with an economy sliding headlong into recession thanks to Mr. Gentleman C's stewardship...
Meanwhile back in Ol' Yurp, Mr. Lameduck-BuubleBoy gets the brush off from NATO. Yes you can have your missile shield, it's na ganna 'appen, but keep off of Georgia and the Ukraine, as soon as Bush is out of office this, along with all the other madcap, borderline insane, some criminal Bush neocon fantasy/policies in Europe and the Middle East will be dropped like hot bricks...
This from C&L (via HNN):
"In an informal survey of 109 professional historians conducted over a three-week period through the History News Network, 98.2 percent assessed the presidency of Mr. Bush to be a failure while 1.8 percent classified it as a success.
Asked to rank the presidency of George W. Bush in comparison to those of the other 41 American presidents, more than 61 percent of the historians concluded that the current presidency is the worst in the nation’s history. Another 35 percent of the historians surveyed rated the Bush presidency in the 31st to 41st category, while only four of the 109 respondents ranked the current presidency as even among the top two-thirds of American administrations.
At least two of those who ranked the current president in the 31-41 ranking made it clear that they placed him next-to-last, with only James Buchanan, in their view, being worse. “He is easily one of the 10-worst of all time and—if the magnitude of the challenges and opportunities matter—then probably in the bottom five, alongside Buchanan, Johnson, Fillmore, and Pierce,” wrote another historian."
Ouch!!!!
Must be something to do with an economy sliding headlong into recession thanks to Mr. Gentleman C's stewardship...
Meanwhile back in Ol' Yurp, Mr. Lameduck-BuubleBoy gets the brush off from NATO. Yes you can have your missile shield, it's na ganna 'appen, but keep off of Georgia and the Ukraine, as soon as Bush is out of office this, along with all the other madcap, borderline insane, some criminal Bush neocon fantasy/policies in Europe and the Middle East will be dropped like hot bricks...
This from C&L (via HNN):
"In an informal survey of 109 professional historians conducted over a three-week period through the History News Network, 98.2 percent assessed the presidency of Mr. Bush to be a failure while 1.8 percent classified it as a success.
Asked to rank the presidency of George W. Bush in comparison to those of the other 41 American presidents, more than 61 percent of the historians concluded that the current presidency is the worst in the nation’s history. Another 35 percent of the historians surveyed rated the Bush presidency in the 31st to 41st category, while only four of the 109 respondents ranked the current presidency as even among the top two-thirds of American administrations.
At least two of those who ranked the current president in the 31-41 ranking made it clear that they placed him next-to-last, with only James Buchanan, in their view, being worse. “He is easily one of the 10-worst of all time and—if the magnitude of the challenges and opportunities matter—then probably in the bottom five, alongside Buchanan, Johnson, Fillmore, and Pierce,” wrote another historian."
Ouch!!!!
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Crock-O-Dile Tears
Mukasey is either lying or, as Glenn supposes, this administration is even more inept and criminally negligent than we have already surmised.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Baggage...
Tom Reynolds just has too much. What with the Foley Scandal and now the NRCC debacle, Tom saw the writing on the wall... another GOPer retiree, last one out please turn off the lights.
NY-26 is now in play for Dems, go visit Jon Powers site, he's a war vet, labor darling and all around good egg.
NY-26 is now in play for Dems, go visit Jon Powers site, he's a war vet, labor darling and all around good egg.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
It's The Stupid... Stupid II
Sen. John McCain, traveling in the Middle East to promote his foreign policy expertise, misidentified in remarks Tuesday which broad category of Iraqi extremists are allegedly receiving support from Iran.
He said several times that Iran, a predominately Shiite country, was supplying the mostly Sunni militant group, al-Qaeda...
McCain said he and two Senate colleagues traveling with him continue to be concerned about Iranian operatives "taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back."
Pressed to elaborate, McCain said it was "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate." A few moments later, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, standing just behind McCain, stepped forward and whispered in the presidential candidate's ear. McCain then said: "I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda."
Those extremists are most likely Badr Corps and Mahdi Army militia members, both of these militias have representatives sitting in the Iraqi parliament indeed, in the Iraqi cabinet itself and Mr. Maliki himself owes SCIRI (Badr Corps) his position as Prime Minister.
Now, Mr. McSame, who are the bad guys exactly? And how does Iran figure into the equation? That's right, we handed them the country and they are damned sure going to defend their new found territory. Especially against the 80,000 Sunni's we just bought and paid for with guns and tax payer money.
It's going to be bloody...
He said several times that Iran, a predominately Shiite country, was supplying the mostly Sunni militant group, al-Qaeda...
McCain said he and two Senate colleagues traveling with him continue to be concerned about Iranian operatives "taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back."
Pressed to elaborate, McCain said it was "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate." A few moments later, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, standing just behind McCain, stepped forward and whispered in the presidential candidate's ear. McCain then said: "I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda."
Those extremists are most likely Badr Corps and Mahdi Army militia members, both of these militias have representatives sitting in the Iraqi parliament indeed, in the Iraqi cabinet itself and Mr. Maliki himself owes SCIRI (Badr Corps) his position as Prime Minister.
Now, Mr. McSame, who are the bad guys exactly? And how does Iran figure into the equation? That's right, we handed them the country and they are damned sure going to defend their new found territory. Especially against the 80,000 Sunni's we just bought and paid for with guns and tax payer money.
It's going to be bloody...
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
It's Been A Long Time...
It's called being an adult, and the divide between Barack Obama and the rest of the field just got a whole lot wider.
McCain is probably wondering where Obama got this speech from, maybe the Iranians, now, is Obama a Sunni or a Shiite? McCain? He wouldn't know!
McCain is probably wondering where Obama got this speech from, maybe the Iranians, now, is Obama a Sunni or a Shiite? McCain? He wouldn't know!
McDrain
As noted by DKos, this will be trivialized by the 'serious' people as a mere slip of the tongue:
Sen. John McCain, traveling in the Middle East to promote his foreign policy expertise, misidentified in remarks Tuesday which broad category of Iraqi extremists are allegedly receiving support from Iran.
He said several times that Iran, a predominately Shiite country, was supplying the mostly Sunni militant group, al-Qaeda...
McCain said he and two Senate colleagues traveling with him continue to be concerned about Iranian operatives "taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back."
Pressed to elaborate, McCain said it was "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate." A few moments later, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, standing just behind McCain, stepped forward and whispered in the presidential candidate's ear. McCain then said: "I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda."
But, and it's not a big but, what if he was deliberately applying this inference to muddy the waters, fool just enough people, those who may only hear or read the first part of this pathetic attempt to re-demonize Iran? It has been a ploy we have seen from the right on numerous occassions, throw something out there, get the sound bite, retract late on a Friday afternoon. The harm has been done. 25% of the idiots on the right, the 'base', imbibe the koolaid and will forever associate Al Qaeda with Iran, even when that proposition is anethema to both parties.
Sen. John McCain, traveling in the Middle East to promote his foreign policy expertise, misidentified in remarks Tuesday which broad category of Iraqi extremists are allegedly receiving support from Iran.
He said several times that Iran, a predominately Shiite country, was supplying the mostly Sunni militant group, al-Qaeda...
McCain said he and two Senate colleagues traveling with him continue to be concerned about Iranian operatives "taking al-Qaeda into Iran, training them and sending them back."
Pressed to elaborate, McCain said it was "common knowledge and has been reported in the media that al-Qaeda is going back into Iran and receiving training and are coming back into Iraq from Iran, that's well known. And it's unfortunate." A few moments later, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, standing just behind McCain, stepped forward and whispered in the presidential candidate's ear. McCain then said: "I'm sorry, the Iranians are training extremists, not al-Qaeda."
But, and it's not a big but, what if he was deliberately applying this inference to muddy the waters, fool just enough people, those who may only hear or read the first part of this pathetic attempt to re-demonize Iran? It has been a ploy we have seen from the right on numerous occassions, throw something out there, get the sound bite, retract late on a Friday afternoon. The harm has been done. 25% of the idiots on the right, the 'base', imbibe the koolaid and will forever associate Al Qaeda with Iran, even when that proposition is anethema to both parties.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
It's The Stupid... Stupid
However 'temporary' this latest economic manifestation is, it speaks volumes about BubbleBoy and his Gentleman C of an MBA. The Eurozone has caught and passed us in GDP per capita. It's amazing what a non-tax-payer-funded war, tax cuts for the rich and an deregulated financial industry can do for ones economy.
Of course, for the 'serious' people out there, we have been undergoing a sustained period of economic growth unparalleled in American history... riiiiight!
As economic miracles go, I would say this one could have been pulled off by a two bit magician in a very average vaudeville touring show.
Still, the dollar is now on a par with the Albania 'Lek', so there is always hope!
Of course, for the 'serious' people out there, we have been undergoing a sustained period of economic growth unparalleled in American history... riiiiight!
As economic miracles go, I would say this one could have been pulled off by a two bit magician in a very average vaudeville touring show.
Still, the dollar is now on a par with the Albania 'Lek', so there is always hope!
Friday, March 14, 2008
It's Called Backbone...
... and a lot of Democrats appear to have found one!
Good for you House Dems, now, if only the, self styled, greatest deliberative body in the world -the Senate - could, likewise, wipe the fear from their sweating brows and stand up to this recidivist administration we may have a Congress of the United States that actually works for the people of the United States rather than as a rubber stamp for the worst president in American history.
Watch those congressional approval numbers go up... we wanted you to fight them not continually capitulate your responsibilities.
Good for you House Dems, now, if only the, self styled, greatest deliberative body in the world -the Senate - could, likewise, wipe the fear from their sweating brows and stand up to this recidivist administration we may have a Congress of the United States that actually works for the people of the United States rather than as a rubber stamp for the worst president in American history.
Watch those congressional approval numbers go up... we wanted you to fight them not continually capitulate your responsibilities.
Dead Enders
It's getting to the point that I'm not sure who to trust anymore! Seriously, considering the rhetoric coming out of the mouths of this administration and its apologists you'd be right in thinking that we were on the verge of this huge victory over the forces of evil and if we just stuck it out another few months or until St. McCain was elected (Or installed), the cunning genius of our successful plan could finally be revealed.
Well... Not so much.
The military is, once again, at odds with their civilian overlords and seem somewhat reticent to tell the huge glaring lies this administration and its apologists are so fond of.
"The militants are weakened, battered, perhaps even desperate, by most U.S. accounts. But far from being ''routed,'' as Defense Secretary Robert Gates claimed last month, they're still there, still deadly active and likely to remain far into the future, military and other officials told The Associated Press."
Why does our military hate America?
Well... Not so much.
The military is, once again, at odds with their civilian overlords and seem somewhat reticent to tell the huge glaring lies this administration and its apologists are so fond of.
"The militants are weakened, battered, perhaps even desperate, by most U.S. accounts. But far from being ''routed,'' as Defense Secretary Robert Gates claimed last month, they're still there, still deadly active and likely to remain far into the future, military and other officials told The Associated Press."
Why does our military hate America?
Trust Us...
Stealing the money destined to help Republicans take back the House is a form of poetic justice too sublime to contemplate.
Thank you Mr. Ward, you are a true patriot.
Go on... guess who else he worked for?
From the Times:
"Mr. Ward was named treasurer of the national Republican committee in 2003 after serving for several years as an assistant treasurer. He had also been a partner in a political consulting firm, Political Compliance Services, that worked in 2004 on behalf of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group behind advertisements attacking the military record of Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential nominee."
The republican party, doing only what it knows best, lying and stealing.
Thank you Mr. Ward, you are a true patriot.
Go on... guess who else he worked for?
From the Times:
"Mr. Ward was named treasurer of the national Republican committee in 2003 after serving for several years as an assistant treasurer. He had also been a partner in a political consulting firm, Political Compliance Services, that worked in 2004 on behalf of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the group behind advertisements attacking the military record of Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the Democratic presidential nominee."
The republican party, doing only what it knows best, lying and stealing.
Trouble In Surge Land
The General paints a very different picture of Iraq than the officially sanctioned, MSM, O'Hanlon, wingnuttia version. Must be his 'Blue Period' or some such.
Of course it all ends very upbeat...
Of course it all ends very upbeat...
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Our Robust Economy
Retail Sales fell by a whopping 1.1% in February, the largest drop in five years. The Fed pumping $200 billion in to the lending market is really like throwing a pebble into the ocean when you consider the US economy is a $9 trillion behemoth. Which makes yesterdays 400 point rally on Wall Street seem... silly!
(h/t) Atrios, he keeps an eye on these things.
(h/t) Atrios, he keeps an eye on these things.
Red Admiral
The more significant resignation of the week was that of Admiral Fallon. His star began to wane in White House circles as soon as he began to add a little realism to the middle east mix and therefore came into direct conflict with the pie in the sky usually consumed in our corridors of ineptitude.
Just another unpatriotic, unAmerican, hate America first military leader to have his ass canned by those brave fighting men ensconced at 16oo Pennsylvania Avenue.
Just another unpatriotic, unAmerican, hate America first military leader to have his ass canned by those brave fighting men ensconced at 16oo Pennsylvania Avenue.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
FISA Fight Back
The Dems are showing some backbone and some canniness, in the House at least, with regard to the Protect AT&T Act currently slushing around congress.
The question of retroactive amnesty has always been a straw-man, it is really retroactive immunity for this law breaking administration who's wreckless abandonment of updated FISA laws forced the Telco's, perhaps unwittingly, to break the law. However, QWest's legal reading of the administrations requests sets a precedent, they deemed the requested actions illegal, so why did AT&T, Verizon and Sprints legal departments come to a different conclusion? They probably didn't but were promised, probably by Cheney, that some kind of immunity deal could be worked out later.
(h/t) Daily Kos
The question of retroactive amnesty has always been a straw-man, it is really retroactive immunity for this law breaking administration who's wreckless abandonment of updated FISA laws forced the Telco's, perhaps unwittingly, to break the law. However, QWest's legal reading of the administrations requests sets a precedent, they deemed the requested actions illegal, so why did AT&T, Verizon and Sprints legal departments come to a different conclusion? They probably didn't but were promised, probably by Cheney, that some kind of immunity deal could be worked out later.
(h/t) Daily Kos
Outstanding Issues
The wingnuts and their puppetmasters within the administration, and yes even McSame, keep on telling us that the reasons for going to war in Iraq are now moot, old arguments, inconsequential to the fight with Al Qaeda we are currently embroiled in.
But there are a lot of troops in Iraq and a large portion of the population here in the States who firmly believe that we went into Iraq to fight the same people who flew planes in to the world trade center on 9/11 and that Saddam Hussein had assisted in or bankrolled or perhaps even helped plan the dastardly deed.
He, of course, did nothing of the sort and now an exhaustive report, based on 600,000 pieces of information captured after the fall of Saddam and created by the Pentagon (those commies) solidifies and memorializes these facts.
There was no operational ties between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda, none, repeat, none.
There was no 'Al Qaeda in Iraq' until 2004, one year after the invasion...!
You know... at least Rumsfeld had some shred of dignity left and managed to bring his disgraced tenure to an end through humiliating resignation. Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz? All still stinking up the place.
(h/t) Attaturk - DFH
But there are a lot of troops in Iraq and a large portion of the population here in the States who firmly believe that we went into Iraq to fight the same people who flew planes in to the world trade center on 9/11 and that Saddam Hussein had assisted in or bankrolled or perhaps even helped plan the dastardly deed.
He, of course, did nothing of the sort and now an exhaustive report, based on 600,000 pieces of information captured after the fall of Saddam and created by the Pentagon (those commies) solidifies and memorializes these facts.
There was no operational ties between Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda, none, repeat, none.
There was no 'Al Qaeda in Iraq' until 2004, one year after the invasion...!
You know... at least Rumsfeld had some shred of dignity left and managed to bring his disgraced tenure to an end through humiliating resignation. Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz? All still stinking up the place.
(h/t) Attaturk - DFH
Taking It A Little Too Hard
Don Esmonde, a man who's feathers are perpetually ruffled, of the Buffalo News takes Spitzer fall from grace pretty hard. I have no idea why anyone would appear to have invested so much blind faith in a politician. He seems to take it too much like a personal affront, maybe he's enjoying his own self righteous indignity. It wouldn't surprise me, I've always thought of Esmonde as a concern troll anyway.
His 'the end of the world' rhetoric does not take into account that the Lt. Governor is a good man and may well champion a lot of the causes Spitzer had initiated.
These people have deadlines, I suppose they have to write something, but he could have waited for the initial shock to subside and given us something a little more even handed and less quixotic.
His 'the end of the world' rhetoric does not take into account that the Lt. Governor is a good man and may well champion a lot of the causes Spitzer had initiated.
These people have deadlines, I suppose they have to write something, but he could have waited for the initial shock to subside and given us something a little more even handed and less quixotic.
Bernanke Goes Long
The Fed throws a whole new load of cash at the credit crisis and Wall St., predictably, smells blood in the water and starts feeding on itself.
It's all very lemminglike really...
It's all very lemminglike really...
Natch...
Another eight young men slaughtered on the streets of Iraq. Of course, one of the arguments, the right is so fond of, is that about the same amount of young people die on the streets of America on any given day. It's a blood curdlingly gruesome and false comparison and always neglects their whole-hearted 2nd Amendment protectionism that promotes the very gun culture that leads to the plethora of violent crimes in our society but that is an argument for another day.
Now, let's look at civilian deaths over the last six years in Iraq, the low end calculation for civilian deaths, the one this administration haplessly utilizes to hide the horrors thrust upon that nation by our occupation, is 160,000 which represents around 1% of the Iraqi population, 1% of the US population is around 3.15 million, divided over six years that would amount to 500,000 violent deaths a year.
Now, let's take the high number which is touted by that august publication the Lancet, a publication by the way that all previous administrations relied upon to report the atrocities of other nations conflicts but this one cannot bring itself to sanction, calculates a possible civilian death toll of 1.2 million or 5% of the Iraqi population. That would equate to 15.75 million violent crimes over the same six year period or 2.62 million deaths a year in the US.
The streets of America are absolutely nothing like the streets of Iraq... period.
Now, let's look at civilian deaths over the last six years in Iraq, the low end calculation for civilian deaths, the one this administration haplessly utilizes to hide the horrors thrust upon that nation by our occupation, is 160,000 which represents around 1% of the Iraqi population, 1% of the US population is around 3.15 million, divided over six years that would amount to 500,000 violent deaths a year.
Now, let's take the high number which is touted by that august publication the Lancet, a publication by the way that all previous administrations relied upon to report the atrocities of other nations conflicts but this one cannot bring itself to sanction, calculates a possible civilian death toll of 1.2 million or 5% of the Iraqi population. That would equate to 15.75 million violent crimes over the same six year period or 2.62 million deaths a year in the US.
The streets of America are absolutely nothing like the streets of Iraq... period.
The Gov. Is Dead, Long Live The Gov.
Paterson appears to be a competent replacement for Client #9. I wish him the best. He has a good relationship with Mayor Brown and seems to have been a bridge builder rather than a crusading angel.
I hope he keeps the pressure on Albany... about the only good thing to come out of the brief Spitzer administration was his relentless pursuit of that jackass Bruno and his obstructionist cronies.
I hope he keeps the pressure on Albany... about the only good thing to come out of the brief Spitzer administration was his relentless pursuit of that jackass Bruno and his obstructionist cronies.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Just Wow...!
I guess he has to go... I was never a big Spitzer fan, people who throw so many stones usually have something to hide (see 9ui11iani) but this is quite shocking.
Obama - Rezko
For those poor saps still laboring under the delusion that Obama somehow profitted from a land deal he did with Tony Rezko, the facts are startlingly banal.
It appears that Obama bought his home for $300,000.00 less than the original asking price, his agent and the owners agent negotiated the deal, they wanted a quick sale and, although they had received another offer the Obama's offer was accepted. The price was the same as the owners had originally paid for the property.
Rezko purchased the adjacent vacant property the same day, this property had been part of the original parcel but the owner had subdivided and insisted on closing the two deals on the same day.
Obama later purchased a strip of the adjacent property - owned by Rezko - and may have overpaid for that parcel of land but not by much.
In the linked interview Obama rues the appearance of impropriety of that land purchase but the purchase of his own home is beyond reproach, it had little or nothing to do with Rezko.
The whole thing is probably indicative only of a thousand or so such deals transacted everyday in America.
What a scandal!
It appears that Obama bought his home for $300,000.00 less than the original asking price, his agent and the owners agent negotiated the deal, they wanted a quick sale and, although they had received another offer the Obama's offer was accepted. The price was the same as the owners had originally paid for the property.
Rezko purchased the adjacent vacant property the same day, this property had been part of the original parcel but the owner had subdivided and insisted on closing the two deals on the same day.
Obama later purchased a strip of the adjacent property - owned by Rezko - and may have overpaid for that parcel of land but not by much.
In the linked interview Obama rues the appearance of impropriety of that land purchase but the purchase of his own home is beyond reproach, it had little or nothing to do with Rezko.
The whole thing is probably indicative only of a thousand or so such deals transacted everyday in America.
What a scandal!
That Surge Thang
Not that this will get much play in the Main Stream Media (I doubt Faux News will spend anymore that a minute on it) but, the surge appears to be unravelling before our very lying eyes.
This attack happened in supposedly subdued Baghdad...
This attack happened in supposedly subdued Baghdad...
Illinois - 14
The Republican congressional district of IL-14, former Speaker of the House Denny Hasterts seat of power for 21 years and a comfortable 56% supporter of Bush in '04 falls into Democratic hands. Nice job Mr. Foster!
The major issues for the constituents of IL-14, the war in Iraq - they hate it - SCHIP - they are appalled at Republican intransigence and BubbleBoys repeated vetos - the economy - what the hell is going on? And, Obama - they like him and they liked that he showed his support for Mr. Foster.
Basically, old school republicans are rejecting the fallacies of neocon Bush rule. It was bound to happen, if we look at the last seven turgid years of Bush rule and the, almost, 14 years of uninterrupted republican control of congress as a petry dish for conservative 'values' we see the markers for an administration and deliberative body consumed by power, corruption, ineptitude, denial and idiocy.
From the disgrace of the Clinton witch-hunt of the nineties, the failures of this administration leading up to 9/11, the deregulation and cowtowing to corporate America, the implementation and ultimate corruption of the K-Street project, the 'I'm a uniter not a divider' obfuscation, the 'Compassionate Conservative' mendacity, the 'Faith Based Initiatives' attack on the separation of church and state, tax cuts for the rich, the stacking of the Supreme Court with right wing ideologues, the Terry Schiavo debacle, the war in Iraq and the bungling of the embarrasingly simplified notion of a global war on terror, the Katrina aftermath of indifference, tacit rascism and federal thumbsucking, the unconstitutional expansion of the unitary executive, the gutting of the Bill of Rights, the illegal spying upon Americans, the crushing of Habeas Corpus, the torture of prisoners some of whom have been released without charges, the institutional rascism and mysogeny of Trent Lott and his merry band of Islam/Asian/Gay/Anyone who doesn't agree with them haters, the disgusting attacks on Americans who oppose(d) the war as the unpatriotic, unAmerican, hate America first crowd, I believe there's more but I'm getting depressed thinking about it, these themes and policies have been perpetuated by a party of idealogues hell bent on repudiating and trashing the last 200 years of American history and progress and to what end?
We have an economy limping along and probably skidding into recession, we have had six years of war in Iraq with no end in sight and with their new candidate happily expecting 100 more years, (this is a war that we may end up spending $3 trillion on but what price security?) Apparently if we withdraw from Iraq we will end up paying more, I'd like to see the numbers associated with that spectacular piece of propaganda. We have $100+ a barrell oil with $4 a gallon gas predicted for the spring and Exxon breaking all records for corporate profits and ethanol, what the heck is with ethanol, it is perhaps the biggest pile of dung ever thrust upon an unsuspecting and obviously gullible nation. We have lost our moral and intellectual lead over the world, the dollar is in the tank, we have record trade deficits, record national debt, homeowners foreclosing at record numbers, an equity loss of perhaps $600 billion and counting, the creeping spectre of unemployment and a healthcare system that is draining not only the pocket books of ordinary Americans (if they can afford it) but is bleeding corporate America.
America... welcome to the sixteenth century republican world where the men eat meat and the women are barefoot and pregnant. A place where superstition, fear and greed drive, normally rational, people to acts of incredible stupidity.
Viva Mr. Foster, the normally rational people may have finally awoken from this collective, republican inspired, nightmare.
The major issues for the constituents of IL-14, the war in Iraq - they hate it - SCHIP - they are appalled at Republican intransigence and BubbleBoys repeated vetos - the economy - what the hell is going on? And, Obama - they like him and they liked that he showed his support for Mr. Foster.
Basically, old school republicans are rejecting the fallacies of neocon Bush rule. It was bound to happen, if we look at the last seven turgid years of Bush rule and the, almost, 14 years of uninterrupted republican control of congress as a petry dish for conservative 'values' we see the markers for an administration and deliberative body consumed by power, corruption, ineptitude, denial and idiocy.
From the disgrace of the Clinton witch-hunt of the nineties, the failures of this administration leading up to 9/11, the deregulation and cowtowing to corporate America, the implementation and ultimate corruption of the K-Street project, the 'I'm a uniter not a divider' obfuscation, the 'Compassionate Conservative' mendacity, the 'Faith Based Initiatives' attack on the separation of church and state, tax cuts for the rich, the stacking of the Supreme Court with right wing ideologues, the Terry Schiavo debacle, the war in Iraq and the bungling of the embarrasingly simplified notion of a global war on terror, the Katrina aftermath of indifference, tacit rascism and federal thumbsucking, the unconstitutional expansion of the unitary executive, the gutting of the Bill of Rights, the illegal spying upon Americans, the crushing of Habeas Corpus, the torture of prisoners some of whom have been released without charges, the institutional rascism and mysogeny of Trent Lott and his merry band of Islam/Asian/Gay/Anyone who doesn't agree with them haters, the disgusting attacks on Americans who oppose(d) the war as the unpatriotic, unAmerican, hate America first crowd, I believe there's more but I'm getting depressed thinking about it, these themes and policies have been perpetuated by a party of idealogues hell bent on repudiating and trashing the last 200 years of American history and progress and to what end?
We have an economy limping along and probably skidding into recession, we have had six years of war in Iraq with no end in sight and with their new candidate happily expecting 100 more years, (this is a war that we may end up spending $3 trillion on but what price security?) Apparently if we withdraw from Iraq we will end up paying more, I'd like to see the numbers associated with that spectacular piece of propaganda. We have $100+ a barrell oil with $4 a gallon gas predicted for the spring and Exxon breaking all records for corporate profits and ethanol, what the heck is with ethanol, it is perhaps the biggest pile of dung ever thrust upon an unsuspecting and obviously gullible nation. We have lost our moral and intellectual lead over the world, the dollar is in the tank, we have record trade deficits, record national debt, homeowners foreclosing at record numbers, an equity loss of perhaps $600 billion and counting, the creeping spectre of unemployment and a healthcare system that is draining not only the pocket books of ordinary Americans (if they can afford it) but is bleeding corporate America.
America... welcome to the sixteenth century republican world where the men eat meat and the women are barefoot and pregnant. A place where superstition, fear and greed drive, normally rational, people to acts of incredible stupidity.
Viva Mr. Foster, the normally rational people may have finally awoken from this collective, republican inspired, nightmare.
Friday, March 07, 2008
Senator Hothead
Crossed by Elizabeth Bumiller of the Times, McBush, McSame, St John of Nowhere In Particular gets a little testy or is that wheezy, it's hard to tell.
McCain almost crossed the floor in 2000 and had in-depth conversations with Tom Daschle on the subject. In 2004 he pondered an offer to be John Kerry's running mate.
McCain, a maverick or a democrat in hawks clothing? Reagan republicans must be chocking on their own bile. Too funny!
McCain almost crossed the floor in 2000 and had in-depth conversations with Tom Daschle on the subject. In 2004 he pondered an offer to be John Kerry's running mate.
McCain, a maverick or a democrat in hawks clothing? Reagan republicans must be chocking on their own bile. Too funny!
The Underpinnings...
We've been taking the word of a 'Gentleman C' MBA that our economomy is strong and we should all just go out there and buy shit and stuff.
Supply-Side economics is like creationism, it lacks any empirical basis in scientific fact and is in fact an illusion foist upon unsuspecting souls as a way of conning them out of either their money or their grey matter.
The rich will always get richer, they do not need help from government in the form of tax cut hand outs, the people who need the help, and in turn would help stimulate the economy, the middle classes, will always get shafted by supply side, trickle-down mumbo jumbo. It never trickles down, I mean how could it when most of it has been moved off-shore.
The ignorant will always be ignorant as long as organized religion insists upon it and our government tacitly assists them by giving credence to whatever snakeoil they are selling this week.
Your FUBAR republican party at work... feed the rich, starve the poor.
Supply-Side economics is like creationism, it lacks any empirical basis in scientific fact and is in fact an illusion foist upon unsuspecting souls as a way of conning them out of either their money or their grey matter.
The rich will always get richer, they do not need help from government in the form of tax cut hand outs, the people who need the help, and in turn would help stimulate the economy, the middle classes, will always get shafted by supply side, trickle-down mumbo jumbo. It never trickles down, I mean how could it when most of it has been moved off-shore.
The ignorant will always be ignorant as long as organized religion insists upon it and our government tacitly assists them by giving credence to whatever snakeoil they are selling this week.
Your FUBAR republican party at work... feed the rich, starve the poor.
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Vive Le Surge
54 dead in Baghdad today, a further 123 injured, in two bombings.
If the security situation worsens, and February was a very bad month with death totals equalling those of 2006, what do we do? I know we have no Plan B, they've already told us as much.
If the security situation worsens, and February was a very bad month with death totals equalling those of 2006, what do we do? I know we have no Plan B, they've already told us as much.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Speaking Of Pragmatism
It appears there is a chink in our shield, those damn socialists in the Czech Republic don't want our radar installations, the noive!
That's going to make installing the ten (10) missiles in Poland somewhat difficult.
The money quote:
"Paroubek said he would not run in the next election due in 2010 alongside any deputy that would break ranks and vote for the radar. The Social Democrats have 71 members of parliament.
"The (military) base simply is not necessary. There is no threat from Iran and if it exists one day, then we modify our political approach," Paroubek told a news conference."
Imagine... modifying ones 'political approach' based on the threat level, what a novel concept!
Those 'old Europeans' still appear pretty savvy...
That's going to make installing the ten (10) missiles in Poland somewhat difficult.
The money quote:
"Paroubek said he would not run in the next election due in 2010 alongside any deputy that would break ranks and vote for the radar. The Social Democrats have 71 members of parliament.
"The (military) base simply is not necessary. There is no threat from Iran and if it exists one day, then we modify our political approach," Paroubek told a news conference."
Imagine... modifying ones 'political approach' based on the threat level, what a novel concept!
Those 'old Europeans' still appear pretty savvy...
Dumb & Dumber
The headline is 'McCain Set To Win Bush Endorsement'. I'm sorry but who else is Bush going to endorse?
Bush I, Bush II, McBush I, it's the circle of life... republican style.
Sorry I can't believe I used the words republican and style in the same sentence, I promise, dear reader, it will never happen again.
Bush I, Bush II, McBush I, it's the circle of life... republican style.
Sorry I can't believe I used the words republican and style in the same sentence, I promise, dear reader, it will never happen again.
Good Riddance
I grew up with Ian Paisley on my TV, I grew up with the 'Troubles' and Bloody Sunday and pub bombings, shopping centers (malls to you yanks) being evacuated and motorbike death squads and young British soldiers being exploded by dark swarthy terrorists in the middle of the night. Seems however much I am removed from that life it's remnants and memories sustain. Paisley is such a remnant and memory, his grey suits and dog collar, the apoplectic delivery, the armagh-geddon rhetoric and the condoning of brutal reprisals, I remember it all, I was as frightened by him as I was the IRA in their balaclavas, NATO jackets, guns thrust in the air as another martyr was buried with full 'military' honors.
The catholic 'martyr' likely died in a shit stained cell after brutal beatings and interrogations by the protestant RUC, at the time it was a story mostly left untold until a more enlightened era, that Paisley was a brutal warmongering sociopath was also, mostly, left unsaid and as much as Gerry Adams was/is the political face of the IRA an ultra Irish Nationalist criminal enterprise, Paisley was the political face of the UDR or UDF both ultra Unionist/Nationalist criminal enterprises. As I grew older and began to understand the dynamics of the "Irish Problem" I always snorted indignantly as Paisley repudiated Adams for his ties to the IRA while denying his own ties to organised violence. After all Paisley was a man of god he could not condone violence, he said, but look into his black lying eyes and you saw another man of god, using his ordained grace to wield the power of life and death over his minions and his enemies alike.
Only later in his life did Paisley show one ounce of humanity, he ratified the accord that would bring a tenuous but, so far, lasting peace to both the North and South of Ireland. Maybe I'm naive in thinking that his concience finally caught up with him and he realized there had to be peace or whether he looked around him and saw the writing on the wall for him and his political ilk and ceded power to the more pragmatic approach necessary to guarantee Unionist survival.
Either way... Paisley, stay retired.
The catholic 'martyr' likely died in a shit stained cell after brutal beatings and interrogations by the protestant RUC, at the time it was a story mostly left untold until a more enlightened era, that Paisley was a brutal warmongering sociopath was also, mostly, left unsaid and as much as Gerry Adams was/is the political face of the IRA an ultra Irish Nationalist criminal enterprise, Paisley was the political face of the UDR or UDF both ultra Unionist/Nationalist criminal enterprises. As I grew older and began to understand the dynamics of the "Irish Problem" I always snorted indignantly as Paisley repudiated Adams for his ties to the IRA while denying his own ties to organised violence. After all Paisley was a man of god he could not condone violence, he said, but look into his black lying eyes and you saw another man of god, using his ordained grace to wield the power of life and death over his minions and his enemies alike.
Only later in his life did Paisley show one ounce of humanity, he ratified the accord that would bring a tenuous but, so far, lasting peace to both the North and South of Ireland. Maybe I'm naive in thinking that his concience finally caught up with him and he realized there had to be peace or whether he looked around him and saw the writing on the wall for him and his political ilk and ceded power to the more pragmatic approach necessary to guarantee Unionist survival.
Either way... Paisley, stay retired.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Stating The Obvious
Reading this, it sounds like Odierno has absolutely no idea what he is talking about...
Iran, a shiite theocracy, is backing Iraqi shiite militias, OK. One of which, the Mahdi Army, recently extended its cease fire, the other, the Badr Corp, is pretty much an extension of the official Iraqi government being allied to SCIRI of which Al Maliki, the Prime Minister, is its representative.
Odierno says that shiites are responsible for most of the bombing going on in Baghdad but if you read the news reports the bombs tend to go off in Shiite market places or are directly aimed at shiite government officials, so my guess would be that it is probably Sunnis doing the bombing.
Where does this leave Al Qaeda? Al Qaeda are Sunni fundamentalists and as far as they are concerned shiites are heretics, now, some of the weapons leaking across the Iranian border may well end up in Sunni hands, probably exchanged for the good old yankee dollar, but Iran would never train a Sunni and vice versa.
Odierno insists on calling shiite militias insurgents, this is demonstrably false, the insurgency is fueled and lead by Sunnis not shiites, so let's get the message straight Lt. Gen. Odierno, the shiites are in power and therefore cannot, by definition, be insurgent.
He does let the cat out of the bag a little with this statement beginning with the false inference that iran is supporting insurgents:
''We have no doubt they are still supporting insurgents,'' said Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the former No. 2 military commander in Iraq, at a Pentagon press conference. Asked if that was the greatest threat to stability in Iraq, he said, ''If you ask me what I worry about most, I do worry about that as a long-term threat. And I think we have to, you know, constantly watch it.''
Iran is not supporting insurgents... it is arming and training shiite militias for the inevitable civil war with the disenfranchised Sunnis and that is what Odierno is worried about 'long term'.
So quit the fricking double-speak and tell the truth.
Iran, a shiite theocracy, is backing Iraqi shiite militias, OK. One of which, the Mahdi Army, recently extended its cease fire, the other, the Badr Corp, is pretty much an extension of the official Iraqi government being allied to SCIRI of which Al Maliki, the Prime Minister, is its representative.
Odierno says that shiites are responsible for most of the bombing going on in Baghdad but if you read the news reports the bombs tend to go off in Shiite market places or are directly aimed at shiite government officials, so my guess would be that it is probably Sunnis doing the bombing.
Where does this leave Al Qaeda? Al Qaeda are Sunni fundamentalists and as far as they are concerned shiites are heretics, now, some of the weapons leaking across the Iranian border may well end up in Sunni hands, probably exchanged for the good old yankee dollar, but Iran would never train a Sunni and vice versa.
Odierno insists on calling shiite militias insurgents, this is demonstrably false, the insurgency is fueled and lead by Sunnis not shiites, so let's get the message straight Lt. Gen. Odierno, the shiites are in power and therefore cannot, by definition, be insurgent.
He does let the cat out of the bag a little with this statement beginning with the false inference that iran is supporting insurgents:
''We have no doubt they are still supporting insurgents,'' said Lt. Gen. Ray Odierno, the former No. 2 military commander in Iraq, at a Pentagon press conference. Asked if that was the greatest threat to stability in Iraq, he said, ''If you ask me what I worry about most, I do worry about that as a long-term threat. And I think we have to, you know, constantly watch it.''
Iran is not supporting insurgents... it is arming and training shiite militias for the inevitable civil war with the disenfranchised Sunnis and that is what Odierno is worried about 'long term'.
So quit the fricking double-speak and tell the truth.
Hey... Condi's Back In Town
Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse in the Middle East, especially between Israel and Palestine, Hamas and Fatah, Condi turns up to add her special kinda diplomacy to the sitchuwashian...
Of course, the fact that she and her idiot savant twin (That's the 'Deciderer' to you) caused this clusterf**k and it is all over the pages of Vanity Fair fills me with huge confidence that her visit will be just fantastic.
"[Palestinian national-security adviser Muhammad] Dahlan says he warned his friends in the Bush administration that Fatah still wasn’t ready for elections in January. Decades of self-preservationist rule by Arafat had turned the party into a symbol of corruption and inefficiency—a perception Hamas found it easy to exploit. Splits within Fatah weakened its position further: in many places, a single Hamas candidate ran against several from Fatah.
“Everyone was against the elections,” Dahlan says. Everyone except Bush. “Bush decided, ‘I need an election. I want elections in the Palestinian Authority.’ Everyone is following him in the American administration, and everyone is nagging Abbas, telling him, ‘The president wants elections.’ Fine. For what purpose?”
The elections went forward as scheduled. On January 25, Hamas won 56 percent of the seats in the Legislative Council.
Few inside the U.S. administration had predicted the result, and there was no contingency plan to deal with it. “I’ve asked why nobody saw it coming,” Condoleezza Rice told reporters. “I don’t know anyone who wasn’t caught off guard by Hamas’s strong showing.”
“Everyone blamed everyone else,” says an official with the Department of Defense. “We sat there in the Pentagon and said, ‘Who the fuck recommended this?’”"
(h/t Attaturk)
Awe inspiring huh!
Update: Abbas rejects continued peace talks... for now.
"Rejectionists"?
''Negotiations are going to have to be able to withstand the efforts of rejectionists to upset them, to create chaos and violence, so that people react by deciding not to negotiate, '' Rice said in Egypt at the start of two days of Mideast meetings overshadowed by the Gaza crisis. ''That's the game of those who don't want to see a Palestinian state established.''
She finished the presser by stating "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some shopping to do"
Priorities...
Of course, the fact that she and her idiot savant twin (That's the 'Deciderer' to you) caused this clusterf**k and it is all over the pages of Vanity Fair fills me with huge confidence that her visit will be just fantastic.
"[Palestinian national-security adviser Muhammad] Dahlan says he warned his friends in the Bush administration that Fatah still wasn’t ready for elections in January. Decades of self-preservationist rule by Arafat had turned the party into a symbol of corruption and inefficiency—a perception Hamas found it easy to exploit. Splits within Fatah weakened its position further: in many places, a single Hamas candidate ran against several from Fatah.
“Everyone was against the elections,” Dahlan says. Everyone except Bush. “Bush decided, ‘I need an election. I want elections in the Palestinian Authority.’ Everyone is following him in the American administration, and everyone is nagging Abbas, telling him, ‘The president wants elections.’ Fine. For what purpose?”
The elections went forward as scheduled. On January 25, Hamas won 56 percent of the seats in the Legislative Council.
Few inside the U.S. administration had predicted the result, and there was no contingency plan to deal with it. “I’ve asked why nobody saw it coming,” Condoleezza Rice told reporters. “I don’t know anyone who wasn’t caught off guard by Hamas’s strong showing.”
“Everyone blamed everyone else,” says an official with the Department of Defense. “We sat there in the Pentagon and said, ‘Who the fuck recommended this?’”"
(h/t Attaturk)
Awe inspiring huh!
Update: Abbas rejects continued peace talks... for now.
"Rejectionists"?
''Negotiations are going to have to be able to withstand the efforts of rejectionists to upset them, to create chaos and violence, so that people react by deciding not to negotiate, '' Rice said in Egypt at the start of two days of Mideast meetings overshadowed by the Gaza crisis. ''That's the game of those who don't want to see a Palestinian state established.''
She finished the presser by stating "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some shopping to do"
Priorities...
Friday, February 29, 2008
McPain
It has been suggested that McCain will attempt to abandon his reasons for pushing us in to war in the first place (I suppose it has become undefendable as a political position) and concentrate on the success of the 'surge', which he wholeheartedly supported and even takes credit for, and his 100 year war platform which includes unflinching, uncompromising and continued support for the war on terror even as our allies damp down the rhetoric whilst seeking new ways to define and confront these unique problems.
As an aside Matt Yglesias has a nice summation of where we are right now and how we got here, I particularily like this graf:
The trouble is that ever since 9/11, we've adopted a set of incredibly harmful and counterproductive policies (the war in Iraq has, of course, been considerably more costly in terms of lives lost, people crippled, and stuff destroyed than was 9/11). Rather than taking a focused, disciplined approach to a dangerous-but-manageable situation, the Bush administration has engaged in a series of flailing overreactions that have, improbably, actually made it possible for a relatively small group of people to dramatically alter the course of the world without expending any vast resources. The whole thing's been a disaster.
McCain, of course, wants to perpetuate the 'mistakes' of the Bush administration and utilizes pretty much the same rhetoric and palpably false set of metrics to allude to our success in Iraq and our ongoing confrontation with Islamofascistdeadenders. It is a policy that refuses to adapt as the situation itself becomes more and more complex, one could add that because of the initial ill-conceived and fraudulant nature of the reasons for going to war it was always going to be this way and we should now just concentrate on working with what we've got and try to make the best of a bad situation and that is undoubtedly McCains tack. However, our recent military success in Iraq, or rather the temporary respite from all-out civil war the surge may or may not have accomplished, cannot be measured by the decrease in violent attacks upon US servicemen or Iraqi civilians in this given period, as much as McCain would like that to be so, it can only be taken as a whole with the reasons we are there in the first place as a prime integer and the overarching requirement of political or national reconcilliation as the end goal. This, McCain has, so far, refused to ruminate on and it is blatantly obvious why. His argument for perpetual war relies upon the fallacies and presumptions that we are winning or we can never surrender, the fact that these two statements are mutually exclusive is the conceit of his position. Who exactly are we winning against in Iraq and who would we be forced to surrender to in the GWOT?
Let's take a look, firstly his rash announcements on the political improvements in Iraq have now been exposed as, perhaps, a little premature, with the deBaathification law being denounced by Sunnis and heavily criticized by most arab and western observers as unworkable and the recent 'bundle' of laws outlining the framework for future Iraqi regional governance, hailed by McCain and this administration, being vetoed. So far, democracy in Iraq has anything but flourished and this can be attributed to how this administration initially conceived of Iraq's evolution. Democracy was not the goal, Bush, Cheney and Wolfowitz imagined a compliant client state run by a trusted lackey, a Chalabbi or an Alawi, someone they could rely upon to have their best interests at heart and someone they could 'govern', not exactly the imprimature of freedom expressed in numerous fireside chats on the subject. This initial flaw in pre-war planning and the off-the-cuff mechanism for control of the country cost us time and allies both in Iraq and in the international community, it extended the occupation and allowed the insurgency to gather steam and Al Qaeda to infiltrate and instigate and may ultimately have contributed to the political will being sucked out of Iraq's nascent leaders as they battled each other for turf. Political compromise may never happen and a war torn future for Iraq seems plausible if not inevitable. McCain has yet to respond to these developments and has, so far, not shown the ability to think creatively on the causes and possible solutions apart from the fact that he can see us there for 100 years.
Secondly, and lastly, the military situation in Iraq, surge or no surge, is a tenuous bi-product of various coincidences and good old fashioned grunt work. That the Mahdi Army has pretty much sat this out is indisputable and without that singular happenstance perhaps the entire surge dynamic may have been different, remember the conventional wisdom was that this was going to be pretty bloody with an uptick in American deaths whilst the battle raged. There was no battle, at least in Baghdad, Sadr City remained quiet under the cease-fire and other neighborhoods completed ethnic cleansing, whilst the insurgency proper and the remaining elements of AQI slunk off to greener pastures namely Dhiyala Province. The Awakening Councils, whilst being paid (but now on strike), provided a new security dynamic in Al Anbar, a province we had all but given up on, and managed to force AQI out of the region only to resurface, once again, in Dhiyala. Reports from the field continue to paint the Iraqi army as anything but a well oiled machine with still only passing reference made to them in any operations and then only as back-up to the men doing the real fighting, US GI's and Marines. That our armed forces are once again relying upon large bombing campaigns is never a good sign, it means vast areas are still too dangerous for us to venture into and the easiest way to deal with that is to bomb the crap out of it and be damned the collateral damage, not exactly a hearts and minds winner. Now with the surge a yearling and the expected drawdowns to begin this spring, we are told the troop reductions will not be as large as first described in fact, our troop numbers will remain higher than at any time since the invasion, what does that tell you about the success of the surge?
All told, the political situation is a mess and the surge success is open to 'serious' debate, it's a pretty harsh reality for a guy running solely on his supposed knowledge and experience in this arena. If you're not willing to concede that we have major problems in Iraq and as far as you are concerned, we are winning and yet will never surrender, you can see where your credibility is eventually going to be severly questioned, even by an uninformed layman like me.
As an aside Matt Yglesias has a nice summation of where we are right now and how we got here, I particularily like this graf:
The trouble is that ever since 9/11, we've adopted a set of incredibly harmful and counterproductive policies (the war in Iraq has, of course, been considerably more costly in terms of lives lost, people crippled, and stuff destroyed than was 9/11). Rather than taking a focused, disciplined approach to a dangerous-but-manageable situation, the Bush administration has engaged in a series of flailing overreactions that have, improbably, actually made it possible for a relatively small group of people to dramatically alter the course of the world without expending any vast resources. The whole thing's been a disaster.
McCain, of course, wants to perpetuate the 'mistakes' of the Bush administration and utilizes pretty much the same rhetoric and palpably false set of metrics to allude to our success in Iraq and our ongoing confrontation with Islamofascistdeadenders. It is a policy that refuses to adapt as the situation itself becomes more and more complex, one could add that because of the initial ill-conceived and fraudulant nature of the reasons for going to war it was always going to be this way and we should now just concentrate on working with what we've got and try to make the best of a bad situation and that is undoubtedly McCains tack. However, our recent military success in Iraq, or rather the temporary respite from all-out civil war the surge may or may not have accomplished, cannot be measured by the decrease in violent attacks upon US servicemen or Iraqi civilians in this given period, as much as McCain would like that to be so, it can only be taken as a whole with the reasons we are there in the first place as a prime integer and the overarching requirement of political or national reconcilliation as the end goal. This, McCain has, so far, refused to ruminate on and it is blatantly obvious why. His argument for perpetual war relies upon the fallacies and presumptions that we are winning or we can never surrender, the fact that these two statements are mutually exclusive is the conceit of his position. Who exactly are we winning against in Iraq and who would we be forced to surrender to in the GWOT?
Let's take a look, firstly his rash announcements on the political improvements in Iraq have now been exposed as, perhaps, a little premature, with the deBaathification law being denounced by Sunnis and heavily criticized by most arab and western observers as unworkable and the recent 'bundle' of laws outlining the framework for future Iraqi regional governance, hailed by McCain and this administration, being vetoed. So far, democracy in Iraq has anything but flourished and this can be attributed to how this administration initially conceived of Iraq's evolution. Democracy was not the goal, Bush, Cheney and Wolfowitz imagined a compliant client state run by a trusted lackey, a Chalabbi or an Alawi, someone they could rely upon to have their best interests at heart and someone they could 'govern', not exactly the imprimature of freedom expressed in numerous fireside chats on the subject. This initial flaw in pre-war planning and the off-the-cuff mechanism for control of the country cost us time and allies both in Iraq and in the international community, it extended the occupation and allowed the insurgency to gather steam and Al Qaeda to infiltrate and instigate and may ultimately have contributed to the political will being sucked out of Iraq's nascent leaders as they battled each other for turf. Political compromise may never happen and a war torn future for Iraq seems plausible if not inevitable. McCain has yet to respond to these developments and has, so far, not shown the ability to think creatively on the causes and possible solutions apart from the fact that he can see us there for 100 years.
Secondly, and lastly, the military situation in Iraq, surge or no surge, is a tenuous bi-product of various coincidences and good old fashioned grunt work. That the Mahdi Army has pretty much sat this out is indisputable and without that singular happenstance perhaps the entire surge dynamic may have been different, remember the conventional wisdom was that this was going to be pretty bloody with an uptick in American deaths whilst the battle raged. There was no battle, at least in Baghdad, Sadr City remained quiet under the cease-fire and other neighborhoods completed ethnic cleansing, whilst the insurgency proper and the remaining elements of AQI slunk off to greener pastures namely Dhiyala Province. The Awakening Councils, whilst being paid (but now on strike), provided a new security dynamic in Al Anbar, a province we had all but given up on, and managed to force AQI out of the region only to resurface, once again, in Dhiyala. Reports from the field continue to paint the Iraqi army as anything but a well oiled machine with still only passing reference made to them in any operations and then only as back-up to the men doing the real fighting, US GI's and Marines. That our armed forces are once again relying upon large bombing campaigns is never a good sign, it means vast areas are still too dangerous for us to venture into and the easiest way to deal with that is to bomb the crap out of it and be damned the collateral damage, not exactly a hearts and minds winner. Now with the surge a yearling and the expected drawdowns to begin this spring, we are told the troop reductions will not be as large as first described in fact, our troop numbers will remain higher than at any time since the invasion, what does that tell you about the success of the surge?
All told, the political situation is a mess and the surge success is open to 'serious' debate, it's a pretty harsh reality for a guy running solely on his supposed knowledge and experience in this arena. If you're not willing to concede that we have major problems in Iraq and as far as you are concerned, we are winning and yet will never surrender, you can see where your credibility is eventually going to be severly questioned, even by an uninformed layman like me.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Rats... And The Smelling Of
TPM links to a Roll Call article on the Repugs astonishment and frustration that the telcoms are giving more money to Democrats than them, after all they've done for them as well, oh, the humanity.
Afterall, Rethugs manipulated the PAA to protect telcom ass with retroactive immunity, for crimes committed against the people they are supposed to serve and protect, and all the thanks they get is this. Where's the love, where's the money?
Meanwhine, LameDuck-Bubbleboy wants this excuse for a law passed ASAP or he's going to... do what exactly?
So, are we getting it yet, the Preznit allowed this vital law to lapse even when offered an extension, he then says it is vital that we protect the telcoms from frivolous lawsuits (since when has my privacy become frivolous, one may ask?) as they were only doing the administrations bidding legally or illegally, then the party that crafted this piece of excrement is blubbering because they are not getting the payback from the very people they are trying to protect. And where do you and I, oh gentle reader, come into this? We don't, it's not about us, the PAA was designed to protect AT&T and Verizon and Sprint not you and I. They could have changed the surveillance language in the existing FISA law, they chose not to because FISA could not be amended to protect the telcoms. It's a f***ing disgrace of a law and the republican party and it's leader are disgracefully trying to scare congress into passing it whilst bemoaning the fact they are not getting paid to do so.
Afterall, Rethugs manipulated the PAA to protect telcom ass with retroactive immunity, for crimes committed against the people they are supposed to serve and protect, and all the thanks they get is this. Where's the love, where's the money?
Meanwhine, LameDuck-Bubbleboy wants this excuse for a law passed ASAP or he's going to... do what exactly?
So, are we getting it yet, the Preznit allowed this vital law to lapse even when offered an extension, he then says it is vital that we protect the telcoms from frivolous lawsuits (since when has my privacy become frivolous, one may ask?) as they were only doing the administrations bidding legally or illegally, then the party that crafted this piece of excrement is blubbering because they are not getting the payback from the very people they are trying to protect. And where do you and I, oh gentle reader, come into this? We don't, it's not about us, the PAA was designed to protect AT&T and Verizon and Sprint not you and I. They could have changed the surveillance language in the existing FISA law, they chose not to because FISA could not be amended to protect the telcoms. It's a f***ing disgrace of a law and the republican party and it's leader are disgracefully trying to scare congress into passing it whilst bemoaning the fact they are not getting paid to do so.
Benched
More political reconcilliation not happening...
Reading between the lines, it was a risible law allowing the Prime Minister to fire democratically elected regional Governors if he so wished. Riddle me this, what kind of democracy are we creating in Iraq?
This 'bundle' of laws was hailed as a major success for Iraqi parliamentry democracy and by association, this administration.
Reading between the lines, it was a risible law allowing the Prime Minister to fire democratically elected regional Governors if he so wished. Riddle me this, what kind of democracy are we creating in Iraq?
This 'bundle' of laws was hailed as a major success for Iraqi parliamentry democracy and by association, this administration.
McCain
Maybe St. John should actually read or have his people research in what context his opponent is making those statements he finds so funny. In this case it was a hypothetical question, asked by Timmeh, about Iraq, where the scenario could have easily been based on the fact that we had 'won' (whatever that means) and withdrawn or had just withdrawn without all the ticker-tape and macho crotch grabbing. Either way the question assumed that we were already out of Iraq whatever the scenario.
As for Al Qaeda in Iraq, they are hardly capable of taking over a street corner, never mind a fricking Shi-ite state in close proximity to Iran, Syria, Turkey and Jordan. I doubt those countries have any vested interest in seeing Sunni fundamentalists or as Juan Cole calls them '"Excommunicating Holy Warriors" (Takfiri Jihadis)' gaining control of their neighbor. The entire notion is preposterous.
McCain is coming across as less well informed and advised than his supposed inexperienced opponent, not good for a candidate who only has the Iraq war as his strong suit.
As for Al Qaeda in Iraq, they are hardly capable of taking over a street corner, never mind a fricking Shi-ite state in close proximity to Iran, Syria, Turkey and Jordan. I doubt those countries have any vested interest in seeing Sunni fundamentalists or as Juan Cole calls them '"Excommunicating Holy Warriors" (Takfiri Jihadis)' gaining control of their neighbor. The entire notion is preposterous.
McCain is coming across as less well informed and advised than his supposed inexperienced opponent, not good for a candidate who only has the Iraq war as his strong suit.
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Huckleberry
Ol' Huckleberry, a principled man (rare in his party), endorses a 20 year old Coloradoan female who's earnest endeavors, blood, sweat and tears have been spent on getting a ballot initiative on the card in the November elections. The initiative - a 'Human Life Amendment' extending the states constitutional rights to a 'fertilized egg' esconced in it's mummy's womb. It is so sweet that this young 20 year old thought this up all by herself without any prompting from other members of the Colorado Equal Rights group.
I can't imagine what constitutional rights the fertilized egg will truly enjoy, but I'm sure in it's pursuit of happiness the fertilized egg will especially enjoy it's right to freedom of speech, it's right to bear arms, habeas corpus, (whoops, not anymore), it's rights to walk freely over common land, it's rights to privacy etc. etc., the list is as long as my arm. Of course being a fertilized egg is not easy, afterall it is reliant upon a host and eventually after several stages an umbilical cord and a placenta but by that time it is no longer a fertilized egg but a zigote and fetus respectively.
If we are going to give something, anything, constitutional protection should we not ensure that the one receiving it is at least able to exercise those rights? In Colorado, they are going to attempt to give a fertilized egg constitutional rights and the right wing calls Liberals irresponsible and crazy.
Of course gays and immigrants (living, walking, talking conscious entities) are denied any significant rights or protections under the Colorado constitution. Eggs however!
I can't imagine what constitutional rights the fertilized egg will truly enjoy, but I'm sure in it's pursuit of happiness the fertilized egg will especially enjoy it's right to freedom of speech, it's right to bear arms, habeas corpus, (whoops, not anymore), it's rights to walk freely over common land, it's rights to privacy etc. etc., the list is as long as my arm. Of course being a fertilized egg is not easy, afterall it is reliant upon a host and eventually after several stages an umbilical cord and a placenta but by that time it is no longer a fertilized egg but a zigote and fetus respectively.
If we are going to give something, anything, constitutional protection should we not ensure that the one receiving it is at least able to exercise those rights? In Colorado, they are going to attempt to give a fertilized egg constitutional rights and the right wing calls Liberals irresponsible and crazy.
Of course gays and immigrants (living, walking, talking conscious entities) are denied any significant rights or protections under the Colorado constitution. Eggs however!
Monday, February 25, 2008
Evolution
Darwinian Theory (Or 'fact' as the educated classes like to call it), of course, predicted the evolution of our own species in biological terms. Little did he realize that, intellectually we are also evolving away from the mysticism, cultism and exploitation represented by organized religion.
"The report shows, for example, that every religion is losing and gaining members, but that the Roman Catholic Church “has experienced the greatest net losses as a result of affiliation changes.” The survey also indicates that the group that had the greatest net gain was the unaffiliated. More than 16 percent of American adults say they are not part of any organized faith, which makes the unaffiliated the country’s fourth largest “religious group.”"
New York Times - 02/25/08
The fastest growing "religious group" - "unaffiliated", teh funny!
"The report shows, for example, that every religion is losing and gaining members, but that the Roman Catholic Church “has experienced the greatest net losses as a result of affiliation changes.” The survey also indicates that the group that had the greatest net gain was the unaffiliated. More than 16 percent of American adults say they are not part of any organized faith, which makes the unaffiliated the country’s fourth largest “religious group.”"
New York Times - 02/25/08
The fastest growing "religious group" - "unaffiliated", teh funny!
Friday, February 22, 2008
Ho Hum
Another Republican congressman indicted, this time Rick Renzi of Arizona. Just the usual shady land deal, bribes and corporate malfeasance. Can't these people just make an honest buck? Do they always have to resort to crime? I guess that's where the real money is.
From TPM: Renzi is, at least for the time being, a co-chair of John McCain's Arizona Leadership Team (he's one of 24 co-chairs). One imagines he won't be such a public advocate for McCain this election.
Lobbyists and known criminals, seems par for the course for a republican presidential candidate. Mr. McCain is having a very bad week.
From TPM: Renzi is, at least for the time being, a co-chair of John McCain's Arizona Leadership Team (he's one of 24 co-chairs). One imagines he won't be such a public advocate for McCain this election.
Lobbyists and known criminals, seems par for the course for a republican presidential candidate. Mr. McCain is having a very bad week.
Of Course...
...this was the most disturbing story of yesterday.
My own theory is that, like any sport, there has always been a core group of golfers who will always find the time and the money to play... that the game had a huge explosion of interest and indeed, people wanting to take up the game, due to new and expanded television coverage and the revenue and curiosity that that entailed is undoubted, but when reality set in for those who rushed to their nearest or newly built links, that the commitment of time and money was above and beyond their initial enthusiasm and that their game would never improve beyond that of your average 'hacker' and that they would not be finding themselves on the PGA tour any time soon, their interest waned. Those people have slid away, leaving a glut of newly built white elephants. But it was always a false reading for the popularity of the game as a whole, the core is still substantial and should receive more encouragement and incentive from golf club owners to stay in thrall with the game we love.
The core, deal doing, cigar smoking, beer drinking, male bonding hackers remain, content with their games, their friends and the idea of walking around a perfectly manicured simulation of mother nature for four hours, chewing the fat and ceaselessly taking the piss out of each other. It remains a past time not for the feint of heart.
My own theory is that, like any sport, there has always been a core group of golfers who will always find the time and the money to play... that the game had a huge explosion of interest and indeed, people wanting to take up the game, due to new and expanded television coverage and the revenue and curiosity that that entailed is undoubted, but when reality set in for those who rushed to their nearest or newly built links, that the commitment of time and money was above and beyond their initial enthusiasm and that their game would never improve beyond that of your average 'hacker' and that they would not be finding themselves on the PGA tour any time soon, their interest waned. Those people have slid away, leaving a glut of newly built white elephants. But it was always a false reading for the popularity of the game as a whole, the core is still substantial and should receive more encouragement and incentive from golf club owners to stay in thrall with the game we love.
The core, deal doing, cigar smoking, beer drinking, male bonding hackers remain, content with their games, their friends and the idea of walking around a perfectly manicured simulation of mother nature for four hours, chewing the fat and ceaselessly taking the piss out of each other. It remains a past time not for the feint of heart.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Da Fed
The 'Hail Mary' feel to the Fed's strategy of tackling receding growth through rate cuts and leaving inflation unattended until the economy strengthens is intensifying.
Plus, none of the Fed's moves really addresses the huge lurking problem at the root of the present crisis, the loan market. Because banks, lenders and their partners who insure all their loans are still not fessing up to how much bad debt is actually swilling around in their respective industries, any solutions are bandaids on what may amount to be a carcass.
Some of these companies are so extended that it doesn't matter how much cheaper it is to borrow, they just can't.
Plus, none of the Fed's moves really addresses the huge lurking problem at the root of the present crisis, the loan market. Because banks, lenders and their partners who insure all their loans are still not fessing up to how much bad debt is actually swilling around in their respective industries, any solutions are bandaids on what may amount to be a carcass.
Some of these companies are so extended that it doesn't matter how much cheaper it is to borrow, they just can't.
Decanonization
So John McCain is just like the rest of his bretheren on the right, a womanizing, special interest cozying, unethical, warmongering hypocrite.
Oh! John, without your mantle of sainthood, what are you to do?
I suggest a veterans nursing home where you will receive the special care and attention a man of your advanced age and unfaltering service to our country rightly deserves.
I'm serious... it's only February and your campaign could already be in tatters.
Oh! John, without your mantle of sainthood, what are you to do?
I suggest a veterans nursing home where you will receive the special care and attention a man of your advanced age and unfaltering service to our country rightly deserves.
I'm serious... it's only February and your campaign could already be in tatters.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Crikey!!
LameDuck-Bubbleboy is starting to make Nixon look positively 'Mr. Popular'. The kicker is he's completely lost his base with less than 50% of registered republicans enamored with the job he's doing.
Don't know much about ARG and how they conduct their polling but if you look at their tracking, the numbers look pretty much in line with all the other polls I've seen.
McCain, at this point, is practically Bushlite but with those numbers, and these represent the first of the February polls, I can't see him wanting to sustain a campaign based on the status quo, America, quite rightly, is rejecting that position in droves.
(h/t - Atrios)
Don't know much about ARG and how they conduct their polling but if you look at their tracking, the numbers look pretty much in line with all the other polls I've seen.
McCain, at this point, is practically Bushlite but with those numbers, and these represent the first of the February polls, I can't see him wanting to sustain a campaign based on the status quo, America, quite rightly, is rejecting that position in droves.
(h/t - Atrios)
Invading Pakistan!
Obama's position on Pakistan, or rather what he actually said, which was if our intelligence services received actionable intelligence on Osama Bin Laden's whereabouts, he would happily pull the trigger on a 'kill operation' regardless of Pakistan's objections, much to St. John's embarrassment, appears to be official US policy:
In the predawn hours of Jan. 29, a CIA Predator aircraft flew in a slow arc above the Pakistani town of Mir Ali. The drone's operator, relying on information secretly passed to the CIA by local informants, clicked a computer mouse and sent the first of two Hellfire missiles hurtling toward a cluster of mud-brick buildings a few miles from the town center.
The missiles killed Abu Laith al-Libi, a senior al-Qaeda commander and a man who had repeatedly eluded the CIA's dragnet. It was the first successful strike against al-Qaeda's core leadership in two years, and it involved, U.S. officials say, an unusual degree of autonomy by the CIA inside Pakistan.
Obama did not say he would 'invade Pakistan' he said he would carry out something very akin to the above.
Either McCain has some very ill-informed people working for him or he himself is unaware of official US policy, either way, he is dangerous.
In the predawn hours of Jan. 29, a CIA Predator aircraft flew in a slow arc above the Pakistani town of Mir Ali. The drone's operator, relying on information secretly passed to the CIA by local informants, clicked a computer mouse and sent the first of two Hellfire missiles hurtling toward a cluster of mud-brick buildings a few miles from the town center.
The missiles killed Abu Laith al-Libi, a senior al-Qaeda commander and a man who had repeatedly eluded the CIA's dragnet. It was the first successful strike against al-Qaeda's core leadership in two years, and it involved, U.S. officials say, an unusual degree of autonomy by the CIA inside Pakistan.
Obama did not say he would 'invade Pakistan' he said he would carry out something very akin to the above.
Either McCain has some very ill-informed people working for him or he himself is unaware of official US policy, either way, he is dangerous.
Holiday From History
If one should do anything today to enrich ones mind and understand the frauds perpetuated by the republican party and their reluctantly chosen son, one should read Juan Cole.
Just read the whole thing and marvel at the audacity of these people and their chosen bedfellows.
Just read the whole thing and marvel at the audacity of these people and their chosen bedfellows.
Monday, February 18, 2008
PAA Petulance
From 2001 upto 2007 FISA was amended four times, in line with the presidents wishes and his intelligence services requests. He himself said in 2002 that the FISA amendments, he had asked for, were essential in updating FISA and readying ourselves for the modern world realities of fighting a modern war on terror, he thanked congress and said his intelligence services now had all the tools necessary to prosecute the GWOT to its fullest and most modern extent. It was amended a further three times in order to 'tweek' certain covert intelligence gathering techniques. Then in 2007 - after six years of touting the fact that because we had not been attacked since 911 this administrations record on protecting the 'homeland' was a resounding success and the democrats were traitors, terrorist sympathizers and unpatriotic and only republicans could save us from superhuman jihadis hell bent on our complete destruction - a further large 'tweek' was necessary, hence the 'Protect America Act' was conceived, contrived whatever you want to call it and ejaculated onto the floor of the house with only minutes to spare and less time to read the damn thing.
It was another ruse, the Protect America Act was designed, by Cheney, to be a vehicle of amnesty and immunity for the telecom industry, the super-spying component was superfluous and could have been quite easily dealt with in another FISA amendment but that was not the point. After the PAA was brought to the floor the Democrats, in one of their less tremulous and feeble moments, blocked telcom immunity and sunsetted this abomination in six months. The republicans probably agreed to this thinking they could muscle the votes and manipulate the bill in favor of telcom immunity within the six month time frame. The PAA as it has stood for six months has probably done little if anything in protecting our nation from further terrorist attack as that was not its real intent.
Now the democrats in the house have defied their counterparts in the Senate and sat on this thing again, you see, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out that if the president is unwilling to temporarily extend this vital tool of the intelligence community for a further 21 days while details of the telcom payola are worked out, then it can't be that vital in the first place and then to top it all off you have your director of intelligence going on TV and actually admitting that the whole thing was designed to provide immunity to our telcoms so they will comply with future requests from the government to provide the legal or illegal, depending on the preznits mood that day, services that are vital to our security.
That the telcoms have absolutely no choice but to comply to 'legal' government requests in the past, now and in the future is by the by. That they certainly knew that what they were doing way back when was illegal is irrefutable. How do we know this, because not all the telcoms complied in providing information under the administrations requests having run it by their legal teams and coming to the damning conclusion that it was most likely illegal.
Oh, those poor corporations being sued by the 'little people'. What they need is some big time, big government protection from the rabid masses and their unpatriotic lawsuits.
The real conceit here is that the PAA is like some huge, absurd witness protection program for AT& T and Verizon, they are known criminals but because we undoubtedly will need their cooperation in the future we are willing to overlook the crimes they committed willingly and got paid for and offer them immunity from past and future prosecution, regardless of the fact they will have no choice but to cooperate.
Our country is being run by miscreants and liars...
It was another ruse, the Protect America Act was designed, by Cheney, to be a vehicle of amnesty and immunity for the telecom industry, the super-spying component was superfluous and could have been quite easily dealt with in another FISA amendment but that was not the point. After the PAA was brought to the floor the Democrats, in one of their less tremulous and feeble moments, blocked telcom immunity and sunsetted this abomination in six months. The republicans probably agreed to this thinking they could muscle the votes and manipulate the bill in favor of telcom immunity within the six month time frame. The PAA as it has stood for six months has probably done little if anything in protecting our nation from further terrorist attack as that was not its real intent.
Now the democrats in the house have defied their counterparts in the Senate and sat on this thing again, you see, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to work out that if the president is unwilling to temporarily extend this vital tool of the intelligence community for a further 21 days while details of the telcom payola are worked out, then it can't be that vital in the first place and then to top it all off you have your director of intelligence going on TV and actually admitting that the whole thing was designed to provide immunity to our telcoms so they will comply with future requests from the government to provide the legal or illegal, depending on the preznits mood that day, services that are vital to our security.
That the telcoms have absolutely no choice but to comply to 'legal' government requests in the past, now and in the future is by the by. That they certainly knew that what they were doing way back when was illegal is irrefutable. How do we know this, because not all the telcoms complied in providing information under the administrations requests having run it by their legal teams and coming to the damning conclusion that it was most likely illegal.
Oh, those poor corporations being sued by the 'little people'. What they need is some big time, big government protection from the rabid masses and their unpatriotic lawsuits.
The real conceit here is that the PAA is like some huge, absurd witness protection program for AT& T and Verizon, they are known criminals but because we undoubtedly will need their cooperation in the future we are willing to overlook the crimes they committed willingly and got paid for and offer them immunity from past and future prosecution, regardless of the fact they will have no choice but to cooperate.
Our country is being run by miscreants and liars...
Friday, February 15, 2008
Game On
Congressional Democrats finally stood up to Mr. 24% and his lackeys in what could be a turning point for the Constitution, a document that has withstood a battering from this White House for seven long years.
Let's be clear here, it is not FISA that is under consideration but the Protect America Act, a piece of legislation so hastily and clumsily contrived that the house only gave it a six month life span. FISA will go on and our intelligence agencies, by statute will continue to be able to carry out their operations well into the summer and in most instances to the end of 2008.
The PAA, that has just expired, and the extensions and amendments to it, so important and aggressively sought by this WH, enables the NSA to expand warrantless spying on a whole new category of American citizens and gives immunity to Telecom companies for their past illegal complicity in warrantless wiretapping operations. And, it is this part of the PAA that has been so contentious and so spun, that may spell its doom. By giving the telcoms immunity, the administration and the sponsors of this bill in the Senate and the House are tacitly admitting that what occured in the past was illegal but somehow those illegal actions, through the PAA amendment, could be wrapped in an implied patriotic shroud and the whys and wherefores could be argued later in the high courts. Ultimately, it all goes back to the White House and there in lies the rub. Without telcom immunity the illegality in question bounces back to them, with the telcoms as only unwitting accomplices.
High crimes and misdemeanors? For sure... impeach!!!!!!
Let's be clear here, it is not FISA that is under consideration but the Protect America Act, a piece of legislation so hastily and clumsily contrived that the house only gave it a six month life span. FISA will go on and our intelligence agencies, by statute will continue to be able to carry out their operations well into the summer and in most instances to the end of 2008.
The PAA, that has just expired, and the extensions and amendments to it, so important and aggressively sought by this WH, enables the NSA to expand warrantless spying on a whole new category of American citizens and gives immunity to Telecom companies for their past illegal complicity in warrantless wiretapping operations. And, it is this part of the PAA that has been so contentious and so spun, that may spell its doom. By giving the telcoms immunity, the administration and the sponsors of this bill in the Senate and the House are tacitly admitting that what occured in the past was illegal but somehow those illegal actions, through the PAA amendment, could be wrapped in an implied patriotic shroud and the whys and wherefores could be argued later in the high courts. Ultimately, it all goes back to the White House and there in lies the rub. Without telcom immunity the illegality in question bounces back to them, with the telcoms as only unwitting accomplices.
High crimes and misdemeanors? For sure... impeach!!!!!!
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Ambivalence
Very near the end of the 'torturous' interview of William "The Bloody" Kristol by John Stewart the subject turned to torture. In what was a throw away line by Kristol as the music came up he said "...I'm ambivalent about torture." There was no follow up by John as the segment was ending and I'm not sure Kristol's statement even registered. It registered with me though.
Ambivalence: Simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings (as attraction and repulsion) toward an object, person, or action. Websters Dictionary
So Bill Kristol is ambivalent toward torture! How can one be ambivalent about torture? How can one arrive at such a state of mind as to not care whether a human being is purposely having pain or terror inflicted upon them? One is not ambivalent about torture, one is ambivalent about what effing pair of shoes you're going to wear today, not effing torture.
It's a tacit admission by Kristol that we indeed do torture but we only torture the people we don't really give a shit about because, most likely, they deserve to have a bit of pain inflicted upon them, afterall look what the bastards did to us on 9 effing 11.
It's nice Bill, real classy. Your fear and loathing after 911, your initial desire and continued support for the worst foreign policy initiative this country has ever embroiled itself in and your viscious and vaccuous backing of, quite possibly, the most dangerous and despotic president in US history has brought you to a place where you are no better than the people you feel we should be torturing.
There are some bad people in the world, I think every American and freedom loving soul can agree on that, they should be dealt with by our armed forces, intelligence agencies and police in a manner that befits their crimes and nothing more. They should be shot if participating in acts of violence against us, they should be hunted down, rounded up, tried and imprisoned for conspiracy to commit crimes against us and they should be interrogated whenever the opportunity arises. We have laws that govern every facet of how we prosecute the aforementioned. Nowhere does it say we can torture and why? Because torture is not a means of getting exploitable information, it is a form of sadism designed to provide, to the torturor, the answers he wants to hear in order to incriminate the victim. It has no place in modern interrogation methodology because it is anathema to what intelligence gathering agencies are trying to achieve.
Bill Kristol and his ilk however, want to invent news ways, outside the laws that have governed us for centuries to project our new muscle bound, shock and awesome awesomeness upon the world and they assure us, they will go to any lengths or depths, including using torture as a terror weapon against our enemies, to prove they're not kidding around this time.
Our Congress has just finished debating and passing a bill outlawing waterboarding, which is euphemistic language for modern torture techniques, John McCain, in an outlandish and very unmaverick-like pander to Kristol and his neocon trolls, voted against the motion, this from a man tortured in Vietnam, it's tragic.
Ambivalence: Simultaneous and contradictory attitudes or feelings (as attraction and repulsion) toward an object, person, or action. Websters Dictionary
So Bill Kristol is ambivalent toward torture! How can one be ambivalent about torture? How can one arrive at such a state of mind as to not care whether a human being is purposely having pain or terror inflicted upon them? One is not ambivalent about torture, one is ambivalent about what effing pair of shoes you're going to wear today, not effing torture.
It's a tacit admission by Kristol that we indeed do torture but we only torture the people we don't really give a shit about because, most likely, they deserve to have a bit of pain inflicted upon them, afterall look what the bastards did to us on 9 effing 11.
It's nice Bill, real classy. Your fear and loathing after 911, your initial desire and continued support for the worst foreign policy initiative this country has ever embroiled itself in and your viscious and vaccuous backing of, quite possibly, the most dangerous and despotic president in US history has brought you to a place where you are no better than the people you feel we should be torturing.
There are some bad people in the world, I think every American and freedom loving soul can agree on that, they should be dealt with by our armed forces, intelligence agencies and police in a manner that befits their crimes and nothing more. They should be shot if participating in acts of violence against us, they should be hunted down, rounded up, tried and imprisoned for conspiracy to commit crimes against us and they should be interrogated whenever the opportunity arises. We have laws that govern every facet of how we prosecute the aforementioned. Nowhere does it say we can torture and why? Because torture is not a means of getting exploitable information, it is a form of sadism designed to provide, to the torturor, the answers he wants to hear in order to incriminate the victim. It has no place in modern interrogation methodology because it is anathema to what intelligence gathering agencies are trying to achieve.
Bill Kristol and his ilk however, want to invent news ways, outside the laws that have governed us for centuries to project our new muscle bound, shock and awesome awesomeness upon the world and they assure us, they will go to any lengths or depths, including using torture as a terror weapon against our enemies, to prove they're not kidding around this time.
Our Congress has just finished debating and passing a bill outlawing waterboarding, which is euphemistic language for modern torture techniques, John McCain, in an outlandish and very unmaverick-like pander to Kristol and his neocon trolls, voted against the motion, this from a man tortured in Vietnam, it's tragic.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Bubbles
You know, I'm just an average guy, freezing my balls off in a Buffalo winter, worrying about the future, trying to make a living, trying to provide for the selfish ingrates that constitutes as my family, reading the news, watching the telly, fretting over the course this country has taken over the last seven years and hoping for a better day.
I'm concerned about FISA, I worry about Gauntanamo, I closely watch the economy, I criticize the wrecking crew in charge of our foreign policy, I scrutinize the election race on both sides, I insult republicans because they are knuckle dragging neanderthals intent on dragging not only this country, but the world, back to some dark age where their collective memories and deepest heresies reside. They are to the modern world what shit is to a shoe, something to be scraped off.
I saw LameDuck-BubbleBoy on the telly telling all us smart people what he knew about Obama and as usual he framed the debate in his own petulant, arrogant and ill-informed brain and concluded that Obama would invade Pakistan and negotiate with Iran. Demonstrably false of course but the geniuses on the telly were telling me that this was a piece of vintage LameDuck-BubbleBoy campaign speechifying that no one could stand up against because of its sheer audacity and genius geniusness.
The fact that 24% LameDuck-BubbleBoy is about as politically fetching right now as cold baby sick on the shoulder of an Armani suit is lost on the punditocracy who continue to treat 24%LD-BB with all the affection and respect he has never deserved. He has never been right about anything and all the information he receives in his Oval Office bubble has been sanitized, pasturized and edited for his listening pleasure, its purpose being not to upset his devine right to unfettered self confidence. It is machismo gone mad, a grand idiocy that thrives on its own incompetence, feasts on paranoid delicacies and shits out policy based on nothing but greed and fear. The fact that I knew in 2002 that Iraq probably did not have WMD, had no ties to Al Qaeda and had no Nuclear weapons program is testament to the crap going into that place and in turn being regurgitated to a MSM so wanting to kick someones ass, anyones ass - the Taliban having succumbed too easily to get our full revenge blue railer on - that they would willingly believe just about anything as long as it had the imprimature and 'blessing' of the 'Crusader' president LameDuck-BubbleBoy.
He really has taken this country as far down as it can go, we are now down to the lowest common denominator when it comes to political discourse. He comes down from his ivory tower, uninformed, whitless and without his puppetmaster Rove and makes a preposterously false claim and Candy Crowley and the others on the 'best political team on TV' stares at its collective navel and calls it genius. My stars! I get more gravitas watching Everyone Loves Raymond reruns.
I'm concerned about FISA, I worry about Gauntanamo, I closely watch the economy, I criticize the wrecking crew in charge of our foreign policy, I scrutinize the election race on both sides, I insult republicans because they are knuckle dragging neanderthals intent on dragging not only this country, but the world, back to some dark age where their collective memories and deepest heresies reside. They are to the modern world what shit is to a shoe, something to be scraped off.
I saw LameDuck-BubbleBoy on the telly telling all us smart people what he knew about Obama and as usual he framed the debate in his own petulant, arrogant and ill-informed brain and concluded that Obama would invade Pakistan and negotiate with Iran. Demonstrably false of course but the geniuses on the telly were telling me that this was a piece of vintage LameDuck-BubbleBoy campaign speechifying that no one could stand up against because of its sheer audacity and genius geniusness.
The fact that 24% LameDuck-BubbleBoy is about as politically fetching right now as cold baby sick on the shoulder of an Armani suit is lost on the punditocracy who continue to treat 24%LD-BB with all the affection and respect he has never deserved. He has never been right about anything and all the information he receives in his Oval Office bubble has been sanitized, pasturized and edited for his listening pleasure, its purpose being not to upset his devine right to unfettered self confidence. It is machismo gone mad, a grand idiocy that thrives on its own incompetence, feasts on paranoid delicacies and shits out policy based on nothing but greed and fear. The fact that I knew in 2002 that Iraq probably did not have WMD, had no ties to Al Qaeda and had no Nuclear weapons program is testament to the crap going into that place and in turn being regurgitated to a MSM so wanting to kick someones ass, anyones ass - the Taliban having succumbed too easily to get our full revenge blue railer on - that they would willingly believe just about anything as long as it had the imprimature and 'blessing' of the 'Crusader' president LameDuck-BubbleBoy.
He really has taken this country as far down as it can go, we are now down to the lowest common denominator when it comes to political discourse. He comes down from his ivory tower, uninformed, whitless and without his puppetmaster Rove and makes a preposterously false claim and Candy Crowley and the others on the 'best political team on TV' stares at its collective navel and calls it genius. My stars! I get more gravitas watching Everyone Loves Raymond reruns.
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