Fright Night II

Marc Cooper on the Repug can'tdidates panderpalooza:

If the DNC had enough good sense, they'd bankroll the Republican Presidential Debates as a weekly, roving, televised Chautauqua. I mean, what more could a Democratic campaign ever ask for than what was seen Tuesday night on CNN? Every major (and almost every minor) Republican contender elbowing each other aside to chide President Bush while simultaneously and unreservedly endorsing his most unpopular policies. An authentic twofer – for the other party, that is.

I think Leno said this but I'll steal it: they could have folks call in to vote the candidates off one at a time! It would save a lot of money not having to hold a primary election. Repugs don't like elections anyway. The last man standing would go up against the next President.

How long before Romney does his hair up like Sanjaya?

I'm not a Republican so I'm no position to judge which candidate came closest to appealing to the party base but none of them made any effort to speak to the some 70% of the American population that by now has had enough of the war.

And they're not going to. These clowns don't give a shit right now about the 70%. They're playing to the 28%. Period. This is PRIMARY politics. Whichever one of 'em can the most ignoramuses to vote for him in the Repuglican't primaries gets to be the nominee. His tune will change big time after that, believe me.

Doesn't matter. This is without a doubt the weakest bunch of dweebs I've ever seen trying to be the President, and I was the Duty NCO who threw the switch when the Good Lord said "Let there be light!"

This was great TV. My TiVo wants to know the next time this circus is scheduled to perform.

A 10-ringer with elephants in every one! Sometimes I wish I was a shovel salesman. I'd, er, clean up.

Air America TV

There's more of these at Rachel Maddow's Campaign Asylum at YouTube. She goes off on all our favorites! Be sure to see the one on Jerry Falwell aka "Yay! The Deadee!" I picked the above video mostly because she's wearing a Bear Flag tee-shirt.

2002 redux

Ooga Booga, the Iranians are coming!

You know, I wouldn't be surprised the Iranians are helping the Taliban, though the majorities in both groups belong to diametrically opposed sects of Islam. I can believe they put their 1000 year old differences aside to fight 'The Great Satan', really I can. If things get worse in Baghdad, I can envision the Shi'ia joining up with the majority-Sunni al-Qaeda, yes I can. The 'enemy of my enemy ...' and all that bullshit.

But, my dear Brian Ross of ABC News, if you're gonna put forth that these enemies have banded together in their fight against us, you might want to quote someone besides 'coalition officials' and 'unnamed sources' and one clown from RAND.

Ross has been the conduit for the WH to release 'damaging' information about Iran in their attempt to broaden their war. If we were really, concerned about Iran's shenanigans in Afghanistan, which we should have seen coming, we wouldn't have wasted so many resources in Iraq and sealed off the Afghani borders, sort of exactly what we failed to do in Iraq.

Sorry, but after 6 years of the Chimp, and the tide of bullshit we've been fighting against, I believe nothing until I see irrefutable proof. Hearsay went out the window with the Iraq invasion.

Who?

Jon Carroll

"WASHINGTON -- In the past year, lawyers for President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney directed the Secret Service to maintain the confidentiality of visitor logs, declaring them to be presidential records.

"The drive to keep secret the lists of visitors to the White House complex and Cheney's home, the administration says, is essential to ensuring the president and vice president receive candid advice to carry out their duties. The decision made the logs exempt from a law requiring their disclosure to whoever asks to see them."

Logically, then:

Washington -- Lawyers for President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have moved to make the text of all laws initiated or supported by them unavailable to whoever asks for them. The laws will still be available to all people who do not ask for them. Members of Congress will be able to see the laws on a "need to know" basis once they have voted in favor of them.

Washington -- Lawyers for President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney have moved to have their names stricken from all public documents. "If the terrorists knew who the president was, they could very easily find out where he lives," said Press Secretary Tony Snow. "They could learn to whom he is married and where his daughters go on vacation. Imagine what they could do with that information!"

Washington -- Lawyers for President X and Vice President Y have asked the lawyers to classify everything that might be described as "information." Said Press Secretary Beta 5: "More than anything, the terrorists want information. They spend their time and resources attempting to acquire it. It is our job to prevent that from happening. I did not make these remarks and I do not exist."

We must ask you not to read this column. Doing so would subject you to stiff fines and harsh penalties. If you are still reading this column, please waterboard yourself until a federal agent arrives to do it for you.

Look for Bush, Cheney, and Rove to disguise themsleves and slip out of the White House in the dead of night so as to not be set upon and savaged by Repuglican't presidential candidates. Tonight would be fine.

'Surge' - Old School

June 6 would not be complete without a post to commemorate the Allied troops who participated in the amphibious and airborne landings in Normandy on that day in 1944 that led to the end of World War II. Personally, I stayed in the womb until three weeks after the fall of Japan and I was sure it was safe to come out...

Battle of Normandy

United States:: 29,000 dead, 106,000 wounded and missing;
United Kingdom: 11,000 dead, 54,000 wounded and missing;
Canada: 5,000 dead; 13,000 wounded and missing;
France: 12,200 civilian dead and missing

The estimate of German losses is 210,000 prisoners and 240,000 killed and wounded.

680,200 killed, wounded, and captured in the span of 80 days from 6 June to 25 August, 1944.

The difference between then and now was WWII was fought for the future of mankind, and not for oil, power, and some twerp's ego.

Casualty figures in Bush's War, both civilian and military, are similar in number after 4+ years.

The difference is they are all for naught.

California politics

I was looking for something to commemorate this day in history and through sort of site-owner-planned serendipity found this about CA house races:

D-Day

OK, on to the Republicans. I'm going to rank them in order of most possible pickup, including their number from the last roundup. I'm also adding the "Boxer number," an excellent system for measuring districts given to me by a reader whose name escapes me. Basically, seeing how Boxer fared in her 2004 re-election against Bill Jones in a particular district is a decent indicator of how partisan it is. If I put "57," that means Boxer received 57% of the vote. Anything over 50, obviously, is good.

1) CA-04 (Doolittle). Last month: 1. Boxer number: 40. John Doolittle's stayed out of the courthouse thus far, but he's clearly damaged goods and the GOP knows it. A number of prominent Republicans have made waves about challenging Doolittle in the primary, including Air Force reservist Eric Egland, a former Doolittle supporter. Schwarzenegger flack and former Bush-Cheney campaign guy Steve Schmidt apparently has his support. In the article, he calls Charlie Brown a "Cindy Sheehan Democrat," which is ludicrous on several levels, but undeniably more effective in that reliably Republican district than we may think. Doolittle believes that he still has majority support, but then again he thinks rogue Democrats in the Justice Department are conspiring against him. Charlie Brown still has a better chance against Doolittle than a fresh face.

There's more. I'm glad to see my aptly named congresscritter at the top of the list for replacement next time. If you're interested in California politics, this is a good site to bookmark, I think.

Rest in peace, brother

Please read Steve Gilliard's obituary in the NYTimes.

Libby seeks new trial...at Gitmo

Don Davis

"That's right, if we get him declared an 'enemy combatant', and tried under the Bush Military Commissions, he has no chance of ever being convicted."

I think it's a good strategy. He'd do at least five years before they bungle his trial and have to let him go.

Playing to the 'base' ...

Unfortunately, I caught a little of the Rethug debate while waiting for Mrs. F's flight to get in from Columbus. After bleaching my eyes and ears, the overwhelming thoughts were;

1) They're playing to the base. The hardcore 28 percenters, the guns, god, and gays crowd. Note to Rethug Presidential candidates: 28% will not get you in the White House.

2) What a buncha fucking idiots. They sound like a buncha fifteen year olds. Is the norm for GOP candidates to have double-digit IQs?

That said, Digby sees the same things:

...

The rhetoric coming out of these guys is really quite extreme, even by GOP standards, but I guess that's just because the front runners are all a bunch of flipflopping hypocrites who have to fake some kind of red-meat qualifications for the base. They've opted for bullying machismo, which is actually quite smart. It's the tie that binds. They certainly have given up on the "law 'n order" platform with their nearly unanimous support for a Scooter pardon -- especially the ex-federal prosecutor Giuliani who couldn't stop whining and twisting his little lace hankie about how unfair it all was.

...

Dudes ... seriously ...

Dear Preznit Chimpy McFucktard and Congress (Dems included),

You all really suck and we're really fucking pissed. At this point, we're pissed enough to say "fuck the '08 elections, let's string the lot of 'em up and do it ourselves". Seriously, dudes, end this shit soon. You don't have enough troops in the U.S. to put down a revolution.

Regards,

Fixer

Thanks to Maru for the link.

Mega Chimp

Mark Morford

Bush Declares Self 'Mega Decider'

New documents ensure Dubya will rule America, should calamity strike. Free balloons!

It goes something like this: Should any "decapitating event" occur in America that somehow incapacitates the D.C. power structure, should "any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions" take place, well then, all power and decision making would devolve to the White House, which would then attempt to orchestrate our very survival and oversee all essential governmental functions with none other than the president himself as, well, Super-Mega Lord Decider. With extra crayons.

You know, a dictator.

And then boom, the nation goes into lockdown and it's a strict military state and Lynn Cheney starts enjoying sweaty night visions of Dick lumbering purposefully through the White House halls deciding who to nuke next as Dubya quivers in the corner and the flying monkeys prepare the escape pod. Just like in that Will Smith movie! Neat!

After all, Shrub only has a year and a half left in office. Plus, his power has been severely truncated by the Dems. Why would he care to try for such a thuggish, cagey power grab now? What would be the point? Except, you know, to savagely tilt the next election and to further the new 'n' brutal neocon agenda of perpetual war and as a desperate, last-gasp move to prove he actually has the cojones to do something so appalling, so perfectly megalomaniacal, it's sure to rescue his rotten legacy from history's compost pile? I mean, besides that.

I wouldn't bet against it.

Proper marketing...

A tip o' the Brain to 100yearmarch.

Lost in translation

The BEAST has the real lowdown on McCain's walk in the Indiana Baghdad marketplace. Don't miss it! Liquid alert.

The group nears and enters an outdoor market, the vicinity of which has been thoroughly scanned for possible threats. Soldiers fan out throughout the area. Smiling, McCain approaches a rug seller.

McCain: Hiya partner, I'm John McCain from the United States of America. How's business?

Translator: (in Arabic) This guy is an American senator. Smile and shake his hand or you'll be killed.

Shopkeeper #1: (in Arabic) Wonderful. Can we make this quick? I'm trying to sell some rugs here, because your stupid war has made the money I had saved completely worthless, and I lost my job as an engineer. Generally. My life has gone to hell.

Translator: He says it's an honor to meet you, sir.

Much, much more!

Libby gets 30 months

Good. I hope he gets lots of his old pals for company over the next year or so.

Always tell the truth, boys and girls.

Story at Yahoo!News. "LiveSlam" at Firedoglake.

Who? Bush? Never heard of him ...

Heh ... Glenn Greenwald:

The great fraud being perpetrated in our political discourse is the concerted attempt by movement conservatives, now that the Bush presidency lay irreversibly in ruins, to repudiate George Bush by claiming that he is not, and never has been, a "real conservative." ...

He might not be, but he's all yours.

... This con game is being perpetrated by the very same conservatives who -- when his presidency looked to be an epic success -- glorified George W. Bush, ensured both of his election victories, depicted him as the heroic Second Coming of Ronald Reagan, and celebrated him as the embodiment of True Conservatism.

...

And the best part is, he uses the conservative wankers' words against them.

And just an end note: If the situation for the Chimp is really as bad as it seems, wait for Republicans to start bandying the idea of impeachment around as the elections get closer.

Quote of the Day

George at Skippy's:

democrats lose 24 percentage points - now dead even with awol in opinion polls. no one could have imagined that voting a blank check to the megalomaniac against the will of the people would backfire. [my em]

Nah ...

Shorter Bob Shrum ...

It's all the candidates' fault they didn't win. I'm just the consultant.

What a fucking loser.

The last yer gonna hear about this. Well, maybe...

This is the post you've all been waiting for, i.e. the LAST about my High School reunion!

The photo shows all the folks who showed up who graduated in the '60s. I was a little disappointed that more didn't, but on the flip side, given the constraints of time at what was basically a dinner party, it was a workable number in terms of having time to chat. We all managed to sit at one table, marked "60s", which was a little ironic: not only did we graduate in that decade, we are all in that decade of our lives! Pictured are grads of '61, '62, and '64. There were probably 200 people at this thing, but the younger squalling brats in their 30s and 40s didn't count.

Notice the lack of, er, light blond hair in the front row. I suspect a little exercise of a woman's prerogative, but it's not nice to speculate on that so I won't.

I have been asked, if not threatened, by a couple of the gals not to say anything, as in zip-point-zilch, nada, bupkis, about them. It's understandable, given that one of them was the only one I would have recognized on the street after all these years - she still looks like her 'Wanted' poster. Not their names, credit card numbers, blood types, or genetic predispositions, and so as not to single them out, ain't gonna be nuthin' 'bout nobody, with the exception of Steve, who told me to knock myself out.

The last time I saw Steve, standing, right, I was a slick-sleeve Private of Marines and he was a Canoe Club Seaman 2d. He went on to retire from the Navy as a Master Chief and now has his own Systems Analysis company. He lives in Virginia, so he gets the mileage trophy for the dinner, which coincided nicely with his Mom's birthday. Might as well have more than one reason to come all the way out West! He and his lovely bride of 39 years took his Mom to Lake Tahoe for a little R&R and came to visit me last week. We had a nice afternoon.

We all had a fine time reminiscing, catching up on our lives, and, sadly, finding out who all is gone. It's amazing to me how folks can remember some of the little things about school days that are long forgotten. I don't mean big things, like having a chair with your name on it in the principal's office, I mean little things, like the time you bent over to pick up a piece of chalk and your pants split! Just a theoretical example, mind you...

I must admit to the whole evening going kinda blurry after one of the ladies told me about riding her Honda 90 around in fishnet stockings and a mini-skirt. I can only assume that was in her beatnik days and not last week. My strong sense of chivalry will forever prevent me from identifying her, of course. (Second from the right - G's Bad Angel)

These folks have all done pretty well for themselves, although to be fair, some of 'em had a pretty good head start, but in the back of my mind was this little nagging suspicion that one or two might have saved up their state crazy checks so as to put on a good appearance, and had a shopping cart in the underground parking. My suspicions were forever put to rest as we waited to ransom off our car keys from the valets. Escalades, Lexuses, and one notable two-seat M-B in an absolutely livid flourescent barracks green! I think ours was the only pickup.

By the way, the '60s group out-partied the youngsters. We were the last to leave. Maybe we just had more trouble getting up...

It was well worth going. I had a great time, and due to the miracle of e-mail, some of us are keeping in touch as we speak.

The venue

The reunion was held at The Regency Club in Westwood. This is the fanciest joint I've been in for a long time. I violated about 2/3 of their dress code. I woulda had a clean sweep if I hadn't got 'The Look' from Mrs. G when I told her I was going to wear my Grateful Dead T-shirt!

They had two chow lines for dinner, salads on both, one with a meat and one with a non-meat terminus. There was also a large table with sushi, which anywhere else would have qualified as a very well-stocked bait shop. The food was excellent, prime rib and rack of lamb, with good sidearms. The non-meat-eaters got noodles. The lines were long and slow, and Steve and I agreed that these cats didn't know squat about runnin' a chow line, nor the patrons how to move through one. I will admit it wasn't exactly like rammin' a metal tray forward and having it come back with God knows what on it...

After greasin' down, I wanted to go have a smoke. While I was rollin' it, I casually mentioned to Mrs. G that I was gonna do something I used to do in school, go smoke in the restroom. 'The Look' again. Scratch that idea. On the theory that if ya wanta get results, ask an enlisted man, I asked one of the young mess cooks staff (they were all young. UCLA is three blocks away. Click 'contact' at the club site.) where they went to smoke. He led me to an elevator exclusively for the use of floors 16-18. Just a note here - you couldn't get to the floor the dinner was on from the parking garage without a staff member keying in a special code in the elevator. Did I mention this joint was a little exclusive? He accompanied me to a balcony equipped with ashtrays and made sure I knew which elevator to take to get back without screwing up. A good lad.

Now, I lived in L.A. for 35 years, but I had never been on the 18th floor of anything in that town before this. There has been a tremendous amount of development, and such buildings didn't exist when I lived there, except for downtown. It was a lovely clear evening, and I was treated to a spectacular view. The tallest building in West L.A. used to be the Mormon Temple, about a mile away, and I was dead level with the Angel Moroni on the top of it. I got a little vertigo looking over the edge. I'll give you Noo Yawkahs time to quit laughin'...

It's barely possible I was a little under-dressed for that joint. Hell, I went 'Truckee formal', which means I wore socks and zipped up my fly.

My school

I was a little surprised to find that my school has a Wikipedia entry. Be sure to scroll down to 'Notable former students'. The list is nowhere near complete, at least as far as to my day, but I knew the late Meredith MacRae quite well. Click on her name to read about a quality lady.

Well, that's about it. Since this was the first reunion I've been to in 45 years, at this rate look for a post about the next one in 2052.

Cold Cash Coldcocks Congressman

Think Progress

Federal prosecutors are seeking an indictment today against Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) in a longstanding FBI corruption probe centering on allegations that he took bribes to promote high-tech business ventures in Africa, sources familiar with the investigation said.

If filed, the indictment would cap a long and tumultuous investigation that was stalled for months because of a legal battle over the constitutionality of an FBI raid on Jefferson's office last May. The raid came after the FBI found $90,000 in the freezer of his Capitol Hill home.

I can think of better places to keep my 'dirty money' than in my freezer! I find a gutted car battery works well, kept under some old tires in the back of the garage.

But seriously, folks, corruption wherever found needs to be dealt with. This is one area where the Repugs are way ahead of us, I'm happy to say.

Oh, the irony...

Ironic Times

Creation Museum Opens
Features documentary film about Earth's history by Hanna-Barbera.

Archeologists Find 2100-Year-Old Melon
In the back of your refrigerator.

Another Close Bush Adviser Leaves White House
Barney's departure "not related" to recent attorney firings.

And a special "Godwin's Law" twofer:

Army Sending Amputees Back Into Combat
Tactic last used by Germany in April, 1945.

CORRECTION

We erred in ascribing the term "enhanced interrogation" to the Bush Administration. In fact the term was originally used to describe interrogation methods used against insurgents and other civilians by the Nazis in 1942, and later judged to be war crimes. The techniques, and the arguments to justify their use, however, were the same as those used by the Bush Administration. We apologize for any confusion caused by our mistake.

Batshit crazy or the essence of protest?

This is about how the Congressional Dems made me feel when they gave Bush his blank check:



That was Phillip Wellman, Manager of the Mississippi Braves an Atlanta Braves AA operation. Full story «here»

Steve Gilliard woulda loved it!

R.

Religion and Morality

Most regulars know I have little use for religion. I just can't believe the god the Christians (I use the term to describe all derivatives of Catholicism) claim to worship would allow such a buncha hypocrites to speak in His name. Barbara O'Brien (via Roger Ailes the Good) has an excellent post up on just this subject:

...

In fact, it seems to me that “morality” imposed by religion is often brittle. How often do we hear about religious leaders committing the very sins they rail against? What’s amazing about Ted Haggart’s story is not how unusual it is, but how typical it is. Show me a holy roller who rails against the sins of the flesh, and I’ll show you someone who’s been making unauthorized use of his own body parts. You can almost count on it. The same church that crusades against abortion tries to sweep the molestation of choirboys under the rug. The same ministers who warn against worldliness get mixed up in partisan politics. The Ten Commandments forbid graven images, and the faithful make a graven image of the Ten Commandments. It’s as if there’s a near-total disconnect between what the religious say and what the religious do.

And these examples are not exceptions. Albert Schweitzer was an exception. St Francis of Assisi was an exception. Jim and Tammy Faye are, alas, the rule.

...

Don't anyone preach morality to me. Not when you have a Bible in one hand and support the Iraq Occupation and the denial of civil rights with the other.

Had to drop the Mrs. at the airport and I'm late for work. See yas later ...

Evading taxes ...

We need taxes to make this country work, regardless of what the Rethugs say. Now, my accountant finds me every legal deduction I can take. I have investments in tax-deferred accounts and I do my best to invest where the tax burden is a minimum. That said, my money stays here, in America. I pay whatever taxes I owe (a lot) and don't try to 'hide' assets. Sarah at the Wire has been saying the same thing I have for years, that those who hide their net worth in offshore accounts should be encouraged to move those assets onshore:

...

So when the super-rich use offshore tax havens to avoid paying what they owe in taxes, they’re reneging on their duties as citizens. It seems only fair to me that the consequence of that kind of tax avoidance ought to be loss of citizenship. If it’s more important to someone to avoid paying what they owe in taxes than to continue being an American, then let them keep their money. They can become a citizen of the Cayman Islands or Bermuda or wherever else they store their wealth, and come here on a visitor’s visa – if they can get one. [em in original]

Sometimes I worry a little about Pop...

Frank Rich longs for the days of Richard Nixon and presidential competence????

I quit worrying after I read it. You will too.

1 of 1000, but it's a start

AfterDowningStreet

spoke with someone who attended the graduation ceremony at West Point where Dick Cheney gave the commencement speech. Cheney then stood on stage and shook hands with each of the 1000 graduates: wait, make that 999. Because one courageous and principled cadet faced Cheney, looked him up and down, decided not to offer his hand and walked on. Cheney was visibly taken aback, and turned to glare after the parting cadet. (We can only imagine the repercussions that this cadet may now face.)

Yay for the cadet, but I fear the young Lieutenant faces a career as OIC of the Permanent Latrine Orderly Brigade, and maybe as he ascends the ladder of rank over the next twenty years, maybe all the way to Captain, as CO of the Mess Kit Repair Battalion.

A West Point cadet is the epitome of honor, duty and respect. That this graduate was willing to show the assembled gathering that he would not deign to honor this dishonorable Vice President with a handshake should have sent tremors of excitement through the crowd. This is probably the first time in six years that anyone has had the temerity and honesty to face down the man whom we could arguably call the Big Evil. Cheney should be getting this treatment from every person he encounters, as should Bush, Gonzales, Rice and the rest of this renegade administration. Of course, these corrupted leaders have insulated themselves from almost any contact with the general public, to the extent of even blocking off the side streets as their armored motorcades (reminiscent of images of dictator governments the world over) take them from home to work. If they were regularly exposed to common Americans they would discover that there are many who would dare to tell them that this emperor has no clothes.

Fat chance. They go to great lengths to insulate themselves from reg'lar folks. With good reason.

Speaking as a professional...

A magnet you can own!

Dogs? Art? 2

So the votes are overwhelmingly in favor of my putting military art in the masthead. I enjoy it myself, but also have a soft spot for cute doggies (my day isn't complete until I stop at CuteOverload and the Cheezburger). That said, I put the dog in the sidebar and I'll be changing the art on the masthead weekly ... or something like that.

I plan to be King of the World ...

But that doesn't mean I have the resources to pull it off. These clowns could have planned until the cows came home and they would never have been successful.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Four men have been charged with conspiring to blow up jet fuel supply tanks and pipelines at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Homeland Security sources said there is no current threat at the airport and the attack as planned was "not technically feasible." [my em]

...

Ooga booga! Be afraid, the mean terrorist guys are behind every fire hydrant! Pay no attention to all the other scandals coming to light.

Do they still think people believe this horseshit? I don't know about the rest of you but New Yorkers, you know, the people who actually lived through September 11th, don't scare that easily.

Tip o' the Brain to Oliver Willis.

Condolences ...

It is a sad day in Blogtopia. Reprinted in full from The News Blog:

Steve Gilliard, 1966-2007

It is with tremendous sadness that we must convey the news that Steve Gilliard, editor and publisher of The News Blog (www.thenewsblog.net), passed away early this morning. He was 41.

To those who have come to trust The News Blog and its insightful, brash and unapologetic editorial tone, we have Steve to thank from the bottom of our hearts. Steve helped lead many discussions that mattered to all of us, and he tackled subjects and interest categories where others feared to tread.

We will post more information as it becomes available to us.

Please keep Steve's friends and family in your thoughts and prayers.

Steve meant so much to us. We will miss him terribly.

- the news blog team

We have lost one of the greats.

My kingdom for a whore ...

The next chapter of my novel The Fourth Estate is up at The Practical Press.

Why I've Been Scarce

Just in case anybody noticed that I haven't been around much lately, I feel an explanation is overdue. First and foremost, we came back from our business meeting last week up to our eyeballs in work, all of it needed yesterday. This is a very good thing and we are grateful, but it is not leaving a lot of time for extra-curricular activities. Second, and almost as important, 2 events in the past couple of weeks have left me feeling jaded. 1st was the Dems cave on the war funding bill. I am beginning to lose hope (with the one bright exception of John Edwards). 2nd was Cindy Sheehan's valedictory, «here», if you haven't seen it.

Somehow, the 2 events occurring in rat-a-tat fashion left me feeling a bit stunned. I am sure that I will get over it and find my rage again, but right now, I'm almost as tired as Cindy of the whole thing. I will try to up my contribution here again over the next few days and maybe events with jar me out of my torpor.

R.

VFW steps up to the plate

Speaking as a Life Member of the VFW, I am pleased to report the following.

AP via Yahoo!News

The nation's largest combat veterans group on Friday urged the military to "exercise a little common sense" and call off its investigation of a group of Iraq war veterans who wore their uniforms during anti-war protests.

"Trying to hush up and punish fellow Americans for exercising the same democratic right we're trying to instill in Iraq is not what we're all about," said Gary Kurpius, national commander of the 2.4 million-member Veterans of Foreign Wars.

"Someone in the Marine Corps needs to exercise a little common sense and put an end to this matter before it turns into a circus," Kurpius said.

"We all know that people give up some individual rights when they join the military," Kurpius said. "But these Marines went to war, did their duty, and were honorably discharged from the active roles. I may disagree with their message, but I will always defend their right to say it."

Kokesh received his honorable discharge after one combat tour in Iraq, but he remains part of the Individual Ready Reserve, a pool of former active duty service members in unpaid, non-drill status.

Kokesh's attorney, Michael Lebowitz, has called the investigation an effort to stifle critics of the Bush administration's Iraq policy.

Like, DUH!

I wish someone would inform the media as to the difference between separation, or Expiration of Active Service, and discharge. If the Gyrene was Honorably Discharged like everyone is saying, then he's completed his military obligation and is home free. It doesn't sound like he was if he's still in the inactive reserve. I think the Crotch is just trying to scare him. Marines don't scare real easy, even when the attempt comes from 8th & Eye. What do a buncha fuckin' officers know, anyway?

Eat the apple, fuck the Corps. Semper Fi.

Giving back to the future

I appreciate all the comments on the post about Sam doing well on her final exam presentation and it got me to thinking about the kids I've mentored in the car business and the talented, promising young women Mrs. F has taken under her wing over the years. I don't know who has reaped more rewards, the Mrs. and I when we see a kid we've worked with become successful or the kids themselves.

It's our way of giving back for our success and it's also a form of investment in the future of our nation and the world. It's not only job training but a chance to bring our progressive outlook on life, and impart some of the lessons we've learned along the way, to the next generation who'll run this planet when we're gone. I don't know how much will stick, but I believe every experience can be learned from.

I encourage everyone to spend some time with a young person. Listen to them and find out what makes them tick and then lend your advice and guidance. Don't preach, don't act like a parent, be their friend and give them the encouragement they need to develop their self-esteem and the knowledge they'll need to deal with the world, whether it be in business or in life, lessons learned young will last a lifetime.

I have had several mentors in my life whose guiding hand and influence has made me a better person and a better mechanic, and I am forever in their debt. Mentor a young person, give them a hand up, teach them how to be good, successful people and the world will reap the reward.

***

And a Sam update: Harry and I were talking this morning and agreed that since her internship is over, and the fact she enjoys working with us, we're gonna put her on staff for the summer. We'll work out her hours when she starts college in fall (if she'll even have the time), but we figured we might as well start paying her. She'll need all the scratch she can get for tuition and books.

Cross-posted at Fixer & Gordon.

But your timing is off ...

You see, according to the Bugman, sins are all relative. When you committed them, how you committed them, etc. Cliff Schecter at Bob Geiger's, along with the Saturday Toons.

...

According to Tom DeLay, adultery has tiers. Whether or not you've found Jesus, whether or not you're impeaching a president for absolutely no reason, whether or not you smile like a used-car salesman. These all are of major import to Hot Tub Tom...

Lieberman in Iraq ... again

According to Holy Joe, we're "making progress" as he strolls through an Indiana-like market. With all the 'progress' we've made, Iraq should be that "shining city on the hill" 5 times over. Dr. Attaturk says it so well:

...

Y'know if I had a group of armed men surrounding me when I shopped I could get free crap too!

...

Dogs? Art?

See what I get for thinking? I didn't think anybody gave a shit about the little dogs I used to have in the blog title. I came across SFC Peters' work and it moved me and I thought it would be cool to feature the artwork of one of our troops in Iraq. SFC Peters is in Fallujah to be exact. This is primarily a vets issues blog after all.

As I said, I thought nobody gave a shit. I guess some do. Heh ... I'm flattered. Seriously. So, I'll put it to the readers. Cute doggies in BDUs or artwork? Leave your vote in comments and democracy rules. I'll leave voting open until Sunday and I'll make the appropriate adjustments on Monday.

Back later, gotta get the Mrs. from the train.

Gettin' it out in the open. At last.

Seeing the Forest

McCain, O'Reilly: It's About Keeping Jews, Blacks and Women Out Of Power

So...what else is new?

..They want to break down the white, Christian, male power structure...

Gee, O'Rally says that like it's a bad thing...

"Rudy jumped into bed with anyone who could afford a rubber"

Matt Taibbi on JulieAnnie. Today's 'must read'.

Rudy giuliani is a true American hero, and we know this because he does all the things we expect of heroes these days -- like make $16 million a year, and lobby for Hugo Chávez and Rupert Murdoch, and promote wars without ever having served in the military, and hire a lawyer to call his second wife a "stuck pig," and organize absurd, grandstanding pogroms against minor foreign artists, and generally drift through life being a shameless opportunist with an outsize ego who doesn't even bother to conceal the fact that he's had a hard-on for the presidency since he was in diapers. In the media age, we can't have a hero humble enough to actually be one; what is needed is a tireless scoundrel, a cad willing to pose all day long for photos, who'll accept $100,000 to talk about heroism for an hour, who has the balls to take a $2.7 million advance to write a book about himself called Leadership. That's Rudy Giuliani. Our hero. And a perfect choice to uphold the legacy of George W. Bush.

Yes, Rudy is smarter than Bush. But his political strength -- and he knows it -- comes from America's unrelenting passion for never bothering to take that extra step to figure shit out. If you think you know it all already, Rudy agrees with you. And if anyone tries to tell you differently, they're probably traitors, and Rudy, well, he'll keep an eye on 'em for you. Just like Bush, Rudy appeals to the couch-bound bully in all of us, and part of the allure of his campaign is the promise to put the Pentagon and the power of the White House at that bully's disposal.

In his years as mayor -- and his subsequent career as a lobbyist -- Rudy jumped into bed with anyone who could afford a rubber. Saudi Arabia, Rupert Murdoch, tobacco interests, pharmaceutical companies, private prisons, Bechtel, ChevronTexaco -- Giuliani took money from them all. You could change Rudy's mind literally in the time it took to write a check. A former prosecutor, Giuliani used to call drug dealers "murderers." But as a lobbyist he agreed to represent Seisint, a security firm run by former cocaine smuggler Hank Asher. "I have a great admiration for what he's doing," Rudy gushed after taking $2 million of Asher's money.

Did Giuliani know the air at the World Trade Center was poison? Who knows -- but we do know he took over the cleanup, refusing to let more experienced federal agencies run the show. He stood on a few brick piles on the day of the bombing, then spent the next ten months making damn sure everyone worked the night shift on-site while he bonked his mistress and negotiated his gazillion-dollar move to the private sector. Meanwhile, the people who actually cleaned up the rubble got used to checking their stool for blood every morning.

Now Giuliani is running for president -- as the hero of 9/11. George Bush has balls, too, but even he has to bow to this motherfucker.

Just guessin' here, but I think Mr. Taibbi is not Rudy's staunchest supporter.

Deportee

So far, it's a slow news day, so I went over to YouTube to watch my favorites and find some new ones. Ain't you the lucky ones!

In light of all the brouhaha about illegal immigration, the upside of which is it's wreckin' the Repuglicants, there's a downside as well. Or maybe another upside: the only thing the Chimp has got anywhere close to right, and his 'base' doesn't want to hear it, even though his corporate cronies want the cheap labor. Heh. The mojados, of course, are caught in the middle. As usual.

This song was written by Woody Guthrie years ago in response to what he felt was racist treatment of the Mexican victims of a plane wreck in Los Gatos, California. Lyrics here.

A beautiful rendition by Arlo Guthrie and Emmylou Harris.

Enjoy. Think.

Fightin' them over there ...

Ah, never mind:

...

Think of what has happened in only the last week in the Middle East. In northern Lebanon, in the long-established Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp, out of the blue arose a new al Qaeda-related insurgent group, Fatah al-Islam. Within days and even hours, the recurring hell of the Middle East was loosed, and refugees poured out of the camp in terror.

There had been none of this kind of terror networking in these northern camps. Indeed, since this camp was established in 1949 to accommodate refugees from northern Palestine after the creation of Israel, it has housed one of the more formal and conservative of peoples.

But it was soon established that these new "insurgents" or "terrorists" – or whatever they really are – had arrived at the camp only recently, that they marched in one day with brand-new weapons, ready to fight.

...

Yes, the American soldier is now a recruiting tool for international terrorism thanks to the Chimp's policies. The thing that's really disturbing is the leader of the world's most powerful nation is ready for a white jacket (the one with really long arms that buckles in the back) and a room with rubber wallpaper:

...

Friends of his from Texas were shocked recently to find him nearly wild-eyed, thumping himself on the chest three times while he repeated "I am the president!" He also made it clear he was setting Iraq up so his successor could not get out of "our country's destiny."

...

Sounds like Hitler in his bunker just before the Russians overran Berlin.

Off to work; thank god it's Friday ...

Great thanks to Walt @ Blondie's.

M-CRAP

Seems those new MRAPs supposedly taking the place of the Humvee need to be up-armored too. Lurch has the details.

...

Waugh! What? I had the distinct impression that we were 86ing the HumVees and going to MRAPs (cost: $25 Billion +) in order to keep the troops safer in Iraq.

...

Apparently not, my friend.

The Bad Pun At The Heart Of Creationism

Tristero

Sam Brownback's ghost writer gives us the Republican candidate's opinion of science and reality. He's against 'em both. On principle. The amount of deliberate misinformation, bad science, and even worse theology in this op-ed achieves a new high on the Idiocies Per Sentence Index (tm). However, while there is plenty of stupidity to unpack in Brownback [update: PZ Myers tears into Brownback with a vengeance], I'd like to focus on only one small rhetorical detail, which is usually ignored during triage by first responders to the latest "intelligent design" creationist atrocity:

If [belief in evolution] means assenting to an exclusively materialistic, deterministic vision of the world that holds no place for a guiding intelligence, then I reject it.

One word interests me here: "materialistic." Brownback, or rather, Brownback's ghost, is punning on the meaning of "materialism." Doing so is a small but important piece of standard "intelligent design" creationism rhetoric. And it highlights exactly how cheap a fraud it is.

What's wrong with that? Absolutely nothing, of course. And that's the point of the creationist's pun, to confuse the everyday notion of evil materialism with the morally neutral meaning of the word within science. In everyday life, we're appalled by materialistic behavior like the vulgar accumulation of vast wealth (GOP excepted). But that is light years removed from being appalled by one of the major operating premises of science, that reality has a natural explanation. Dembski and Brownback deliberately confuse the two, punning on our rejection of materialistic moral values to create sympathy for a rejection of scientific materialism (ie, epistemological standards).

And once you reject scientific materialism and open science up to - their term, not mine - supernaturalism, well, then astrology becomes a scientifically plausible theory. And UFOs. And ESP. And "intelligent design" creationism.

Harrumph! I'll thank you not to lump UFOs in with a fraud like Intelligent Design! I see 'em all the time. Been aboard one or two as well. We'll probe that another time...

Indeed. "Intelligent design" creationism is just a bad joke. A very bad joke. It prizes punning over reality. And no one, Republican or Democrat or otherwise, who puts any credence in this joke should be taken seriously for the position of dogcatcher, let alone president of the United States.

No shit! I don't want my dogs in the hands of that idiot!

Nor my country either, what's left of it. What does that moron think he's doing, anyway?

Creation Myths are pretty universal. The common one we hear about, "On the seventh day...", Adam & Eve, bad snake, etc. etc., is pretty boring as such things go. No pizzazz. I like the Navajo one better.

According to the Diné legend, we're in the Fourth World. Brownback y ilk are in about the twelfth. Or is that their century?

The Polar Bear Memorandum

From the Pacific Spirit Marine Institute

After the Downing Street Memo Came the...

Do not mention a word about climate change, sea ice or polar bears! That is, of course, if you are a biologist or other employee of the US Interior Departments Fish and Wildlife Service.

Fish and Wildlife Service Officials say the 'polar bear memos' as they have become known as, are consistent with a longstanding policy to ensure a coherent position in foreign negotiations and to prevent employees from discussing topics not on event agendas. (Say that 3 times fast!)

I guess they'll say that until they're treadin' water and mopping the sweat off their brows at the same time.

Note to Marine Scientists: while yer treadin' water, watch out you don't get run over by Noah's Ark fulla dinosaurs...

Is there a budding Qim al Jong?

Reuters

President George W. Bush would like to see a lengthy U.S. troop presence in Iraq like the one in South Korea to provide stability but not in a frontline combat role, the White House said on Wednesday.

The United States has had thousands of U.S. troops in South Korea to guard against a North Korean invasion for 50 years.

And if the North Koreans actually do invade the south, all those U.S. soldiers will likely die, too. They're a tripwire. Probably won't happen.

One difference is that South Korea has a huge well-trained and motivated Army and Marine Corps. They're tougher'n nails, too. I sure wouldn't fuck with 'em.

Another difference is that South Korea and North Korea are individual countries with an actual geographical dividing line.

There's not going to be a DMZ to separate warring factions in Iraq. If you can see how to do that, please tell me. 50 DMZs? 100? Iraq is not really a country, but a primordial soup of hundreds of tribal, religious, ethnic, and political divisions and loyalties and its citizens inhabitants are all mixed together with no common goals except for one group to prevail over the next, with millions of reg'lar folks caught in between. Iraq's 'border' is a boxing ring that isn't doing a very good job of containing the free-for-all.

I am heartened by the thought that that perhaps Bush doesn't want us to stay in Iraq forever. Just for the rest of my lifetime and most of yours, or until all the oil is pumped out.

Ft. Lewis lumps 'em all together

KNDO/KNDU, Yakima WA

So many Fort Lewis soldiers are being killed in Iraq the Army base will no longer hold individual memorial services.

Starting next month Fort Lewis says it will hold one memorial a month for all the dead soldiers.

Those memorial services are going to get bigger and bigger as time goes by.

Damn you, Bush.

"When Are We Going To Get Out Of Here?"

Think Progress

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) made an unannounced trip to Iraq today, telling reporters, "what I see here today is progress, significant progress." Hours later, he was confronted by U.S. soldiers with a very different message: "We don't feel like we're making any progress."

McClatchy reports tonight on Spc. David Williams, who collected questions for Lieberman from 30 other troops.

At the top of his note card was the question he got from nearly every one of his fellow soldiers:

"When are we going to get out of here?"

From one of the comments:

Lieberman's reply:

"I don't know about you, but I'm outta here as soon as I get my picture taken..."

Holy Joe could be standing neck deep in a four-holer and if the White House said the troops shit roses he'd say how nice it smelled and how happy he was to be there. Back on yer knees, Lie-berman.

The one thing I'm glad to see is that the troops are openly questioning the madness they've been subjected to.

Update:

Harper's Magazine

No U.S. senator has made more trips out to Iraq than Joe Lieberman. He's a fixture out there. The regular junket has been a part of his campaign to be "Mr. Iraq" in the Senate. About a year ago, when I was working in Baghdad, I listened to a young captain vent about all the time and energy the Army was forced to expend on the regular visits of CODELs – Congressional delegations. "I guess our democratic process requires it. But I really wish these dopes would open their eyes and actually learn something, rather than use Iraq as a backdrop for speeches that fit in to some preconceived political strategy." I later asked: who were you taking around? And the answer: Joe Lieberman.

Today, it appears, some troops actually worked up the courage to confront Lieberman over his shameless hucksterism. [...]

The troops are not amused by Holy Joe's crap.

Kristol and the Kagans - Lamest Band Name Ever

The Rude One

The Rude Pundit could've gotten a brain-damaged monkey and sat it in front of a giant board filled with squares, each predicting what might happen if the United States invaded Iraq. That brain-damaged monkey could've thrown its shit at the board, and someone could've announced on what square the shit landed, and even if the shit had missed the board entirely, there's a good chance that that brain-damaged, shit-tossing monkey would've been right more often about the war in Iraq than William Kristol or Frederick Kagan.

I love that guy, but for once I gotta call him on it: that's pretty much exactly what happened, only it wasn't a monkey but a brain-damaged Chimp, and it hasn't been right yet. All the neocons are exactly even on Iraq predictions, wrong 100% of the time.

And what happened to the mass quantities of Chimp-flung shit? Our troops are catching it.

A tip o' the brain to 'unbelievable', commenter #40 at Think Progress.

Oy!

Got in late, slept late, so I'll direct you to Greenwald. He's on about right wing pundits' lies regarding Valerie Plame's covert status. A great read, though you know, now that the Agency has confirmed she was covert, you will never hear a retraction from any of them.

Another reason I'm impressed with Joe Wilson. Were someone to make the hassle for my wife the way the White House did to them, I'd be exacting my pound of flesh forthwith, starting with Novakula and working up the line. The restraint on Wilson's part is truly amazing.

Undisclosed and incognito ...

Blogging on my part will be minimal this evening (Updated. See yas tomorrow).

Savage Christians

Stuff about the thankfully departed Jerry Falwall is still trickling in. This one's from Black Agenda Report. Don't miss it!

It seems the corporate media can sanitize and white-wash even the most putrid bigot. Evangelist hit-man Jerry Falwell's career as a racist propagandist was excised from the record, following his death last week. The man who called the Civil Rights Act a "civil wrong" and preached that African Americans were the cursed descendants of Ham, is resurrected as a benign theologian. The pattern fits nicely with the national practice of demonizing all things non-Christian (or Judeo-Christian), while sanctifying the unspeakable crimes of Bible-holders.

The terror attack that took place on September 11, 2001 was an aberration in more ways than one. Muslims were the perpetrators, but that is usually not the case. The purveyors of hate and violence in America are almost always Christians.

Just as it is unfair to smear all Muslims with the legacy of bin Laden, it would be unfair to smear all Christians as disciples of Jerry Falwell. Muslims are constantly asked to denounce their members who are terrorists. Why is there no similar demand of Christians? Will the good Christians, the peaceful ones, ever speak out against their co-religionists who carry bombs in their cars or drop them on civilians in Iraq?

The public reaction to Falwell's death showed how ineffectual the supposedly good Christians have become. Few were willing to point out the numerous examples of his hate speech. An opportunity was lost because of ridiculous prohibitions against speaking ill of the dead. The good Christian soldiers don't know how to fight.

Christians perpetrated the crusades, the inquisition, the slave trade and imperial adventures too numerous to mention. It may be comforting to pat ourselves on the back and consign those behaviors to past centuries. We are living in the 21st century after all. Who would use the name of the Christian God to justify mass killing? A majority of modern day American Christians, that's who.

Perhaps the argument used against Muslims should be applied to Christians instead. Their religion has been hijacked by fundamentalist fanatics while the non-fanatics remain silent. The term clash of civilizations is definitely a misnomer. There can be no clash unless both sides are in fact civilized. Any assertion of American civilization is clearly open to question.

If more of the phony christians would follow Falwell's lead and croak, it'd help. Maybe the real Christians, if there are any, could improve our 'culture' by getting back to Matthew 25:35 instead of worrying about Tinky Winky.

Oh, the irony...

Ironic Times

Iraqi Farmers Now Growing Opium Instead of Rice
Transition to democracy nearly complete.

Bush Defends Immigration Plan, Gonzales
Says if it weren't for immigration we wouldn't have Gonzales.

New Forensic Analysis Confirms Oswald Didn't Act Alone
Findings should put matter to rest.

Yeah, like that'll happen!

Secretive Carlyle Group Will Sell Shares to Public
Membership in Illuminati not included.

Executive Order Gives Bush Authority To Seize Absolute Power
Slay enemies, seize their assets, sit on throne.

Democrats Express Sympathy for McCain's Anger Management Problems
Must constantly deal with other Republicans.

Haiku inspired by masthead art

Tank rolls through desert
Sun sets on America
Bush has ruined us

If the pissants can't see it, it ain't happening

Photo from WW2 Database, The Battle of Tarawa. 1 of 24. Good slide show.

Americablog

Bush now banning photo journalism of wounded troops

We quite literally have a government that no longer believes in the very freedoms it claims our troops are dying for.

NYTimes. Am I the only one who sees the awful irony that this article is in the "Media & Advertising" section?

Capturing the brutal realities of war is a tradition in this country dating back at least to Matthew Brady, and it is undoubtedly part of why Americans, regardless of their politics, have come to know and revere the sacrifices that generations of soldiers have made on their behalf.

When this war began, the government attempted to manage images by banning photographs of coffins returning to United States soil. If the government chooses to overmanage the wages of war in Iraq, there is a real danger that when this new generation of veterans, whose ranks grow every day, could come home to a place where their fellow Americans have little idea what they have gone through.

Photos like the one above were not printed in the media until very late in the war when it was apparent that we were winning. There were two reasons for this: the government was afraid they would turn public opnion against the war, just like now, and, even though there was a draft, they were afraid it might hurt recruiting efforts, just like now.

We haven't seen battle carnage in Iraq on the scale of some of the WWII battles like Tarawa. Yet. Looks like we might not if Bush has his way.

When the Green Zone, sort of a plush Dien Bien Phu, falls, we may see some gleeful photos from photogs embedded with the 'insurgents'.

Quote of the Day

Fruitless Daydreams

PNAC got its new Pearl Harbor. What we need now is a new Boston Tea Party.

Shoe on other foot

Funny to see how the Freepers cry when they realize how they've been played for fools.

Late for work. See yas ...

Babies ...

The score:

Subpoena Scoreboard
Investigating The Clenis' blow jobs and bad real estate transactions, Rep. Dan Burton: 1052
Investigating a Soviet-like take-over of our country, Rep. Henry Waxman: 3

...

Note to Rethugs who whine about 'Bush bashing': Shut. The. Fuck. Up.

What we have wrought ...

This didn't happen under Saddam:

MARABA, Syria — Back home in Iraq, Umm Hiba’s daughter was a devout schoolgirl, modest in her dress and serious about her studies. Hiba, who is now 16, wore the hijab, or Islamic head scarf, and rose early each day to say the dawn prayer before classes.

But that was before militias began threatening their Baghdad neighborhood and Umm Hiba and her daughter fled to Syria last spring. There were no jobs, and Umm Hiba’s elderly father developed complications related to his diabetes.

Desperate, Umm Hiba followed the advice of an Iraqi acquaintance and took her daughter to work at a nightclub along a highway known for prostitution. “We Iraqis used to be a proud people,” she said over the frantic blare of the club’s speakers. She pointed out her daughter, dancing among about two dozen other girls on the stage, wearing a pink silk dress with spaghetti straps, her frail shoulders bathed in colored light.

...

These are the people who invented the fucking wheel. We've managed to destroy any hope these people will have for generations. We should turn Bush, Cheney, and the neocons over to the Iraqis and let them do what they will.

Interview With Our Mom

By way of background, That Colored Fella once called me 'n Fixer "the love children of Frank Rich and Randi Rhodes". A high compliment. It's the first time I've liked being called a loudmouth bastard!

A BuzzFlash interview with Randi Rhodes:

Yes, Randi Rhodes did serve in the military, so unlike Dick Cheney -- let's say -- she can tell you a thing or two about what it means to be in the Armed Forces.

As you will see in the interview, we don't think Randi is a flaming liberal at all. She's a gal from Brooklyn who just applies common sense and the facts to what she sees. And applying common sense to the blinded, destructive zealotry of the Bush cabal can infuriate a person.

You get the feeling that if George Bush had to spend five minutes alone in a room with Randi Rhodes, he'd end up wimpering in the corner and crying out for mercy.

So would I, but for different reasons...pardon my incestuous thoughts!

BuzzFlash: Let me ask a Barbara Walters question here. If we were at a bar, would it be the same Randi Rhodes that I hear on the air?

Randi Rhodes: Yeah, except drunk. Except drunk and really horny.

That's our Mom!

It's quite a long interview, and in no way can I do it justice here. Please go read.

What Congress Really Approved: Benchmark No. 1: Privatizing Iraq's Oil for US Companies

Ann Wright

On Thursday, May 24, the US Congress voted to continue the war in Iraq. The members called it "supporting the troops." I call it stealing Iraq's oil - the second largest reserves in the world. The "benchmark," or goal, the Bush administration has been working on furiously since the US invaded Iraq is privatization of Iraq's oil. Now they have Congress blackmailing the Iraqi Parliament and the Iraqi people: no privatization of Iraqi oil, no reconstruction funds.

No other nation in the Middle East has privatized its oil. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Iran give only limited usage contracts to international oil companies for one or two years. The $120 billion dollar "Support the Troops" legislation passed by Congress requires Iraq, in order to get reconstruction funds from the United States, to privatize its oil resources and put them up for long term (20- to 30-year) contracts.

What does this "Support the Troops" legislation mean for the United States military? Supporting our troops has nothing to do with this bill, other than keeping them there for another 30 years to protect US oil interests. It means that every military service member will need Arabic language training. It means that every soldier and Marine would spend most of his or her career in Iraq. It means that the fourteen permanent bases will get new Taco Bells and Burger Kings! Why? Because the US military will be protecting the US corporate oilfields leased to US companies by the compliant Iraqi government. Our troops will be the guardians of US corporate interests in Iraq for the life of the contracts - for the next thirty years.

With the Bush administration's "Support the Troops" bill and its benchmarks, primarily Benchmark No. 1, we finally have the reason for the US invasion of Iraq: to get easily accessible, cheap, high-grade Iraq oil for US corporations.

Ann Wright served 29 years in the US Army and US Army Reserves and retired as a colonel. She served 16 years in the US diplomatic corps in Nicaragua, Grenada, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Micronesia and Mongolia. She resigned from the US Department of State in March, 2003 in opposition to the war on Iraq.

The takeover of Iraq's resources by 'privatization', a fancy word for 'theft', is Bush's last chance at a 'legacy': to be forever enshrined in corporate boardrooms as the man who bravely sacrificed America's military and treasury in the name of profit.

His position will be assured as well if he can keep the cheap labor flowing northward pretty much unencumbered, while making it look like he has 'solved' the illegal immigration problem. So far, it looks to me like Bush will just charge them to come here, maybe turnstiles in the desert. Pay up, get a lunchroom pass Guest Worker card that legally entitles the bearer to be underpaid and abused.

That's a whole 'nother subject.

Trust and Betrayal

Paul Krugman. Today's 'must read':

"In this place where valor sleeps, we are reminded why America has always gone to war reluctantly, because we know the costs of war." That's what President Bush said last year, in a Memorial Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Those were fine words, spoken by a man with less right to say them than any president in our nation's history. For Mr. Bush took us to war not with reluctance, but with unseemly eagerness.

The question was whether the public would ever catch on. Well, to the immense relief of those who spent years trying to get the truth out, they did. Last November Americans voted overwhelmingly to bring an end to Mr. Bush's war.

Yet the war goes on.

But Osama is back: last week Mr. Bush invoked his name 11 times in a single speech, warning that if we leave Iraq, Al Qaeda - which wasn't there when we went in - will be the winner. And Democrats, still fearing that they will end up accused of being weak on terror and not supporting the troops, gave Mr. Bush another year's war funding.

Democratic Party activists were furious, because polls show a public utterly disillusioned with Mr. Bush and anxious to see the war ended. But it's not clear that the leadership was wrong to be cautious. The truth is that the nightmare of the Bush years won't really be over until politicians are convinced that voters will punish, not reward, Bush-style fear-mongering. And that hasn't happened yet.

Here's the way it ought to be: When Rudy Giuliani says that Iran, which had nothing to do with 9/11, is part of a "movement" that "has already displayed more aggressive tendencies by coming here and killing us," he should be treated as a lunatic.

When Mitt Romney says that a coalition of "Shia and Sunni and Hezbollah and Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood and Al Qaeda" wants to "bring down the West," he should be ridiculed for his ignorance.

And when John McCain says that Osama, who isn't in Iraq, will "follow us home" if we leave, he should be laughed at.

But they aren't, at least not yet. And until belligerent, uninformed posturing starts being treated with the contempt it deserves, men who know nothing of the cost of war will keep sending other people's children to graves at Arlington.

These clowns are pandering to the wrong bunch, a minority (at last, thank God) who can't elect them. Let 'em.

They're just pathetic. I like that.

Not just numbers ...

Real people with real lives.

And while 'I wuz in Main & Central, stealin' Lurch's links', I came across his treatment on the article about the troops disillusionment in Iraq.

...

Those of us who have actually done the deed have been insisting for years that our Army is stretched too thin, tasked too hard, and bleeding too much. Those who have sat on their dead asses have called us traitors. It’s not a painful accusation once you consider the source.

Mr Kamber points out that younger troops, those on their first tour, don’t necessarily feel the same sense of frustration.

...

A grizzled man would wonder whether their attitudes might change after months of patrols, ambushes and IEDs in the same area, day after day, especially after loading a few helicopters with their buddies.

...

When the senior NCOs bitch, you know there's something wrong.

... The fact that a career NCO like SFC Moore has had enough is a signifier that no one should miss ...

Now, fortunately or not, I never had experience with a sustained combat situation, not many of us who served between Vietnam and Iraq 2 have. When we went, it was for a specific op, whether it was extracting a Company weenie from a tight spot or dealing with a South American drug dealer's secret airfield in the Andes, it never lasted more than a couple weeks. Even our deployment to Grenada was less than 3 weeks. We never got into a patrol routine, hell, generally no one even knew we were at a location, let alone be out looking for us. The locals we came in contact with stumbled upon us by accident. We never had to pacify anything and people only knew we were around when shit started blowing up.

For the guys in Iraq it's different; day in, day out of people trying to kill them, the blistering heat of summer, never knowing whom among the locals they can trust, and never being able to decompress . It's bad enough doing it for a year, let alone coming back 3 and 4 times. I'd be sick of it too. I'd be really pissed that I was in the situation thanks to a buncha idiots who thought they'd be getting a quick, large payday by kicking over Saddam and taking his oil.

Our guys are fighting to stay alive. The senior guys know what's happening, know they're fighting a delaying action now. Bringing 'freedom and democracy' to Iraq went out the window for these guys and all they care about is staying alive until the politicians decide it's time for them to come home.

Ask the Vietnam guys about that.

When Will We Ever Learn . . .?

Military Cemetery (Soldatenfriedhof), Retz, Austria.

I was raised believing that the people in these graves were the enemy. But, you know what, they are just like you and me, only we were luckier. The great majority of them died fighting a war that they probably little understood. They were ordered to don a uniform and shoulder a gun. And they did. For love of country. Misguided or not. And they died.

When will we ever learn. . .?

Click image to view larger version.

R.

A musical prayer

Chicago Sun-Times. Even a wingnut fishwrapper is useful sometimes.

The venerable tradition of playing live taps at veterans' funerals and memorial services is making a comeback.

Bugles Across America, founded by an ex-Marine from Berwyn, has enlisted more than 5,000 volunteers to play the haunting, 24-note bugle call.

Since 2000, Bugles Across America volunteers have played taps at 60,000 veterans' funerals, said founder Tom Day.

After World War II, the military eliminated the position of bugler to save money, Day said. Consequently, taps was played at fewer and fewer funerals.

Day founded Buglers Across America in 2000 to recruit volunteers from high schools, colleges, honor guards and drum-and-bugle corps. Volunteers now play taps at about 1,000 funerals a month. The service is free, but the buglers accept tips.

Nevertheless, at many funerals, taps is still played on a boom box, or not at all.

Day, 67, estimates he has played taps at about 5,000 funerals. Each time, he strives to play it with emotion. He hangs out the notes, especially the last one, which softly fades away.

"I regard it as a musical prayer," Day said. "Every time you lift that horn slowly to your face, you have to be in a certain zone."

Day approaches each performance as if it were an Olympic competition. If he makes a mistake, he explains, "there's no do-over."

I think Bugles Across America is doing a fine thing.

'Taps' was played as part of the military honors at my brother-in-law's funeral last year. On this day of remembrance, please go read it and also please pardon me for blowing my own horn, pun intended.

Arlington West

AFP

Volunteers set up the Arlington West display of war memorial crosses for US military personnel killed in Iraq, on Santa Monica Beach in California. Eight more American soldiers have been killed fighting in Iraq, the military reported

About five miles inland from this display is the Los Angeles National Cemetery. There are over 85,000 veterans interred there. Tens of thousands of people drive past it each day. I wonder how many even know it's there.

"May George Bush and Dick Cheney rot in hell for what they've done..."

From Politics Plus, along with a "Memorial Day Message" video and a quote from Thoreau:

This can be a difficult day for people who hate Bush's war for oil and conquest, as I do. The 28 percenters always use military holidays to challenge the patriotism of those who dissent. They claim that we do not support the troops. That is a lie. They are not the mission to which they have been assigned. Supporting or opposing that mission reflects on the authors of that mission, not the troops. If the mission is illegal, immoral and unwinnable the most patriotic thing we can do to support the troops is to demand their withdrawal.

The title of this post is from 'comments' at the site. I wholeheartedly concur.

Voices ...

The Mrs. and I were at Long Island National Cemetery this morning, paying our respects to those who've served before and after I did. We do this most every year but this morning was unique.

On Memorial Day, all of the graves are decorated with small American flags, placed by volunteers. As we walked through, I noticed a flag on one of the graves had fallen over and went to right it. It was then I heard it, nothing mystical, just a voice in my head.

Hey, Sarge, pick mine up too.

And I saw one in front of the grave of a Navy corpsman. And I made it right.

Hey, lady, what about me?

And I saw the Mrs walk over to right a flag near the headstone of a Coastie.

Yo, Wingwiper, I heard an old Marine say. I'm not squared away either, light a fire under it.

Hey, honey, me too, an Army Air Corps pilot said and Mrs. F moved on.

Hey, brother, don't forget me, an Air Force troop, who was stationed at the same place on the DMZ I was, said.

And we went on, row to row, an unintended, unspoken mission, and after an hour we'd covered an acre, and moved on to the next. And when we finally finished with the small area of the cemetery, we walked back to the car, hand in hand, the stains of tears on both our faces.

"You heard them?" Mrs. F asked me when one of us felt we could speak.

"Yeah," I said.

And I realized our mission was a futile one for there were just two of us and 175 acres of marble headstones, row upon row of those who fought and sacrificed, row upon row of small American flags.

And today the mission in Iraq seems the most futile of all. There will be many more headstones, many more small American flags, and many more memorials to the fallen, to those who have served and sacrificed, to those who have fought and died in the service of the nation I love.

The warmongers and the clueless in this nation see the headstones, just as we do, but they don't hear the voices. They somehow don't get or don't care there is a voice attached to each marker. There was a person with hopes and dreams, family and friends, someone who had opinions and beliefs and a sense of duty. They see faceless automatons with rifles. As faceless as the plain, white headstones.

There should be a law in this country that any President who wants to go to war must first spend a day walking through a military cemetery, listening to the voices. They must read the headstones, the names, the branch of service, the battles; Cuba, the Bulge, Remagen, Iwo Jima, Coral Sea, Anzio, Seoul, Inch On, Khe Sanh, Tet, Hue, I Trang, Panama, Grenada, Kosovo, Srebrenica, Baghdad, Fallujah.

There are too many headstones, too many voices ...

Blowin' in the Wind

How many times must a man look up
Before he can see the sky?
Yes, 'n' how many ears must one man have
Before he can hear people cry?
Yes, 'n' how many deaths will it take till he knows
That too many people have died?
The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind,
The answer is blowin' in the wind.
—Bob Dylan

R.

Quaint ...

This from a man who never put his ass on the line for anything in his life. I know a lot of guys who had "better things to do" during Vietnam and came home in boxes because they couldn't weasel one deferment, let alone five:

...

The standards of this Academy only highlight the deepest and most fundamental difference between the United States and our sworn enemies. A month ago, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Pace, spoke to this class about each officer's duty to follow a moral compass in all of his or her actions. In these four years you have learned the rules of warfare and professional military ethics. You've studied the tenets of morality. You've reflected on the seven Army values: of loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. You have lived by a code of honor, and internalized that code as West Point men and women always do.

...

Who in Hell let him speak to the Cadet Corps anyway? Were I one of them, I'd take being lectured on "loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage" by Vice President Cheney as an insult. As a former enlisted man, I can't help but laugh at the irony.

Memorial Day ... again

Yes, I'm on this today. If you read any posts about Memorial Day, I want you to read these two:

Kitchen Window Woman (and fellow scholar of the American Patriot Institute):

...

Years later, my nights were sleepless once more. Despite all that I taught him, the recruiters had convinced my son to Be All That You Can Be in the Army. The thread that connects so many mothers and sons, the invisible umbilical cord, was in my case knotted with fear for well over a decade while my son served in various combat zones overseas. My eldest son survived his fourteen year stint of obliging the Masters of War but he has vomited daily since serving in Iraq during Gulf War I. He's undergone two surgeries on his ankles, and is awaiting a second surgery on his shoulder. I sleep better now but he doesn't. Night terrors from PTSD keep him awake into the wee hours.

...

Commander Huber:

...

When it comes to direct experience with fallen comrades, I got off pretty easy. Great wartime leaders like Dwight Eisenhower and Chester Nimitz lost millions of men and women under their commands--sometimes tens of thousands in a single day. One war story says that after one of the big island battles of World War II, Nimitz was so distraught over the number of Marine casualties that he briefly considered resigning and turning control of the entire Pacific war effort over to Douglas McArthur.

...

Operation Freedom From Iraqis

Daddy Frank

When all else fails, those pious Americans who conceived and directed the Iraq war fall back on moral self-congratulation: at least we brought liberty and democracy to an oppressed people. But that last-ditch rationalization has now become America's sorriest self-delusion in this tragedy.

But his silence about Iraq's mass exodus is not merely another instance of deceptive White House P.R.; it's part of a policy with a huge human cost. The easiest way to keep the Iraqi plight out of sight, after all, is to prevent Iraqis from coming to America. And so we do, except for stray Shiites needed to remind us of purple fingers at State of the Union time or to frame the president in Rose Garden photo ops.

The message is clear enough: These ungrateful losers deserve everything that's coming to them. The Iraqis hear us and are returning the compliment. Whether Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki is mocking American demands for timelines and benchmarks, or the Iraqi Parliament is setting its own timeline for American withdrawal even while flaunting its vacation schedule, Iraq's nominal government is saying it's fed up. The American-Iraqi shotgun marriage of convenience, midwifed by disastrous Bush foreign policy, has disintegrated into the marriage from hell.

Please read the rest.

Epitaphs

Some of these may be on the headstones in Fixer's sobering post.

From Epitaphs of the War, 1914-1918 by Rudyard Kipling.

AN ONLY SON

I have slain none except my Mother.
She (Blessing her slayer) died of grief for me.

BATTERIES OUT OF AMMUNITION

If any mourn us in the workshop, say
We died because the shift kept holiday.

THE BRIDEGROOM

Call me not false, beloved,
If, from thy scarce-known breast
So little time removed,
In other arms I rest.

For this more ancient bride
Whom coldly I embrace
Was constant at my side
Before I saw thy face.

Our marriage, often set-
By miracle delayed-
At last is consummate,
And cannot be unmade.

Live, then, whom Life shall cure.
Almost, of Memory,
And leave us to endure
Its immortality.

The one that applies least to Bush's War:

"EQUALITY OF SACRIFICE"

A. "I was a Have." B. "I was a 'have-not.' "
(Together.) "What hast thou given which I gave not?"

And one that applies to all wars since time immemorial and, sadly, will until the planet crumbles to dust:

COMMON FORM

If any question why we died,
Tell them, because our fathers lied.

Memorial Day

As you stuff your face this weekend, try and remember what this holiday is all about.

Pics courtesy of Arlington National Cemetery.

There is a family behind each one of those headstones. Think about that the next time you casually speak of war.

Incredible

Following quickly in the footsteps of Conservapedia and QubeTV is the Creation Museum (Good God!). We'll let Mustang Bobby tell you about it:

- Meet the Flintstones: A new museum in Kentucky explains how the universe began with two naked people and a talking snake.

Cat wisdom ...

Fred the Cat comes up with some good stuff, common sense mostly. He has a great post up on picking our Presidents:

If you guys were wise when you choose your presidents, you would look to their resumes. That’s what large successful corporations do when they hire their CEOs. You wouldn’t ask who you would like to have a beer with and you wouldn’t look for “rock star” qualities. You wouldn’t worry about their religion, sex, or race.

...

A whore late ...

Usually, I post a new chapter of my novel The Fourth Estate on Saturdays at The Practical Press but I wasn't in the mood last night so I did it this morning.

We had a wonderful dinner with Mrs. F's folks at one of our favorite restaurants to celebrate my mother-in-law's 80th. A bonus, our lovely and talented niece Lauren (2nd year theater major at Adelphi University; yes, we're proud) joined us as a surprise for grandma and grandpa. A good time was had by all.

Buckle Up!

Two-thirds of us will be traveling by car this holiday weekend. Listen to the Governor. He knows what he's talking about.

Great thanks to the lovely Pam Spaulding for the video.

Cross-posted at Fixer & Gordon.

Quote of the Day

“This Memorial Day we remember the dead, and the politicians who killed them.” —John Aravosis at AMERICABlog

R.