Monday, May 30, 2005
What are the gentlemen supposed to start, again?
Go read about Frist trying to cozy up to NASCAR fans at Charlotte. Hah!
Rising Foreclosures
The downside of the housing bubble is starting already, and where else but with lower-income folks. From the WaPo:
And so it begins....
To walk Thayer Street in northeast Philadelphia is to count, door by door, the economic devastation afflicting a working-class neighborhood. On a single block, 18 of the 42 brick rowhouses have gone into foreclosure in the past three years.
"Mortgage companies convinced us to refinance, and each time our bill went up," O'Mara said as he surveyed his narrow street from his shaded front porch. "You fall behind and they swoop down on you."
State and federal regulators place much of the blame for the foreclosure problem at the feet of mortgage brokers and bankers, who have crafted ever-riskier ways for Americans with poor credit to buy homes. Interest-only and adjustable-rate mortgages account for 63 percent of new mortgages.
But many policymakers say the rise in foreclosures leads to a larger question: Is the push to boost homeownership -- successive presidential administrations have strongly promoted it -- backfiring? As home prices and personal debt rise to record levels, they note, homeownership has become an albatross for millions of Americans, destroying rather than creating wealth.
But the Reinvestment Fund, a Philadelphia-based think tank, analyzed 22,979 foreclosures for the state Banking Department and found a more problematic profile. Those homeowners, most of whom are blacks, Latinos or working-class whites, live close to the economic margin.
They have low incomes and little or no health insurance -- 40 percent of those who sought emergency foreclosure help cited medical costs as the cause of their distress.
Pennsylvania's foreclosure problem is not just an urban phenomenon. Montgomery County contains a genteel stretch of suburbs north of Philadelphia. But from 2000 to 2003, county officials recorded almost 5,000 foreclosure filings, a 14.6 percent increase. Arline, Woodland and Lindbergh avenues run through Abington, a pleasant lower-middle-class town with ranch houses and cherry trees, children's slides and neatly tended gardens. On each of these blocks, three or four houses have gone into foreclosure in the past four years
Philadelphia Sheriff John D. Green has a front-row seat as these dramas play out. In mid-June, he will auction another thousand or so foreclosed homes. "My staff and I watch the suffering every day," he wrote recently in a letter to residents posted on his Web site. He said they "witness the heart-wrenching scenes as families lose their primary means of wealth building and face eviction."
And so it begins....
Caution: Wheels coming off
The essential Krugman:
Yes, but with 'Stop-loss', their commitments become open-ended. The backdoor draft has begun already, and if recruiting continues this downward trend, a front door draft is imminent.
[. . .]
But the Bush administration, which was ready neither to look for a way out of Iraq nor to admit that staying there would require a much bigger army, simply threw out the rulebook. Regular soldiers are spending a lot more than a third of their time overseas, and many reservists are finding their civilian lives destroyed by repeated, long-term call-ups.
Two things make the burden of repeated deployments even harder to bear. One is the intensity of the conflict. In Slate, Phillip Carter and Owen West, who adjusted casualty figures to take account of force size and improvements in battlefield medicine (which allow more of the severely wounded to survive), concluded that "infantry duty in Iraq circa 2004 comes out just as intense as infantry duty in Vietnam circa 1966."
The other is the way in which the administration cuts corners when it comes to supporting the troops. From their foot-dragging on armoring Humvees to their apparent policy of denying long-term disability payments to as many of the wounded as possible, officials seem almost pathologically determined to nickel-and-dime those who put their lives on the line for their country.
[. . .]
Much more serious, because it would be irreversible, would be a mass exodus of mid-career military professionals. "That's essentially how we broke the professional Army we took into Vietnam," one officer told the National Journal. "At some point, people decided they could no longer weather the back-to-back deployments."
And we're already seeing stories about how young officers, facing the prospect of repeated harrowing tours of duty in a war whose end is hard to imagine, are reconsidering whether they really want to stay in the military. [my emphases]
[. . .]
Yes, but with 'Stop-loss', their commitments become open-ended. The backdoor draft has begun already, and if recruiting continues this downward trend, a front door draft is imminent.
Link via Corrente.
Someone I used to be...
This op-ed made tears well up in this ol' Jarhead's eyes.
There's more.
I know exactly how this guy feels. I felt great pride the day members of my old outfit, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, rescued downed pilot Scott O'Grady in Bosnia f'rinstance. They've been in Haiti recently, and then in Fallujah for the elections. I wish they were at Camp Lejeune with their families, or, for the single guys, getting drunk in J'ville and trying to make out with the bar hogs (Not, I hope, with the same ones I tried to...).
There's a lot of guys like me and we will never forget.
ON this Memorial Day, more than two years after the invasion of Iraq, American troops are still fighting and dying. Their deaths have become a staple of the evening news, a permanent column on the front page. Most of the time, we don't even notice anymore. Until death touches someone we know, or someone we used to be.
On the morning of Jan. 26, while I rush my daughters through their bowls of cereal, brush their hair and get them ready for school, I learn that a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter has crashed in western Iraq, killing 31 men. Twenty-six of them are part of my old unit: Company C, First Battalion, Third Marine Regiment, stationed at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay.
My co-worker looks over at me from his desk and says, "Did you know any of them?"
No, I didn't know them.
What I know is the base where they lived. The way they ran up K.T., Kansas Tower, this giant hill in the middle of the base, gasping all the way to the top. I know the view from the apex, overlooking the vivid blue of Kaneohe Bay, a rainbow in the background. I know how good a cool breeze felt when they reached the top, after running past the flight line, beyond the beach where their leg muscles burned and their feet sank into soft, warm sand. I know what drives a marine, at the end of his endurance, choking back vomit as the battalion runs in a huge formation, to suddenly break ranks and run to the man carrying the Colors, the battalion flag, and take it from him, sprinting around 800 marines in a giant circle before returning it and dropping back in line. I know what they smelled like when they were sweating out the beer they drank the night before.
There's more.
No, I didn't know the marines who died, but I miss them just the same. I go to work each day, safe in my cubicle, checking the news for word of the war dead, looking for friends and thinking about that recruiter's card in my wallet.
I know exactly how this guy feels. I felt great pride the day members of my old outfit, 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, rescued downed pilot Scott O'Grady in Bosnia f'rinstance. They've been in Haiti recently, and then in Fallujah for the elections. I wish they were at Camp Lejeune with their families, or, for the single guys, getting drunk in J'ville and trying to make out with the bar hogs (Not, I hope, with the same ones I tried to...).
There's a lot of guys like me and we will never forget.
Plans
The best one I've heard in a very long time. The Dark Wraith:
There's a lot more. A good treatise on what needs to be done and why it probably won't happen.
[. . .]
Somewhere along the way, some politician-be it a Republican; an Independent; or God forbid, a real Democrat-needs to lay it out for the American people:
No, I'm not giving you a tax cut. You've had too many. In fact, I'm going to raise taxes, most particularly on the wealthy, not just because they can afford it, but also because it's when they screw up that the most damage gets done that the government has to clean up. And if the rich people say anything, I'm going to rip into them for the bunch of perpetual crybabies they are.
Oh, yes, and about cutting federal spending: we need to chop down a lot of pork-barrel projects. That's always on the agenda. And we'll probably get rid of some social services spending, too, but that's sure as Hell not a priority when we've got so many people doing without in this country. Before we do much cutting of domestic programs, we're going save a whole lot of money by knocking it off with starting wars against stupid little dictatorships halfway around the world. That's too expensive, especially when they get so bitchy about the part where we try to take their oil.
And finally, if any of you stand up and start whining about 'immigration reform', 'fair trade', or 'wage concessions', you're going to get kicked right in the ass, even if you can't pull your head out before my boot hits paydirt.
[. . .]
There's a lot more. A good treatise on what needs to be done and why it probably won't happen.
Buy this book
And Michelle Malkin gets sodomized by a black man who's hung like a horse. Well, maybe not, but I'm sure it'll raise her blood pressure.
I don't like to plug my stuff here, but I'll gladly shill for Neiwart.
I don't like to plug my stuff here, but I'll gladly shill for Neiwart.
We got 'em too
Jesusland doesn't have a monopoly on morons.
Whaddaya mean I can't kill her? She's my wife, ain't she? This mental midget lives about a mile from me.
Update: 12:20:
It must be Moron Day. Lambert finds another:
(New York-WABC, May 30, 2005) - A Dix Hills man was charged for allegedly letting two 50-pound leopards run around his house endangering his four children.
Thirty-four-year-old Anthony Barone, was arrested after Suffolk County police were called by his battered wife to their 601 Caledonia Road home .
Officials tell Eyewitness News, the 32-year-old wife told them that Barone had repeatedly punched and kicked her, breaking her nose. After allegedly assaulting her, he chained her to a downstairs wall for several hours.
[. . .]
Whaddaya mean I can't kill her? She's my wife, ain't she? This mental midget lives about a mile from me.
Update: 12:20:
It must be Moron Day. Lambert finds another:
GENEVA, Ill. A 46-year-old man allegedly set his own home on fire in order to get two visitors to leave, police said.
(via AP)
Gord asks
In comments here:
He gets. From AMERICAblog:
Update: 13:35:
More on this from Freiheit und Wissen.
I know absolutely nothing about the EU situation. Keep 'em coming, maybe I'll learn something.
He gets. From AMERICAblog:
[. . .]
Ultimately the problem with this constitution is that it has been trying to be all things to all people so every country reads into it what they want to read into it and perhaps everybody is right and everybody is wrong. Even many of the "non" voters believe in Europe (there's really no alternative) but there's a strong undercurrent of resentment about the Euro-ruling class jamming decisions through without consultation to the voters.
[. . .]
So where now? Beyond a government shuffle, who knows? The EU is the only choice moving forward but it's hard to say where this will al go. Somewhere in the 40,000 word document is a pile of mushy-worded nothingness that gives some wiggle room for possible changes and of course there's always the possibility of another vote on the constitution. It's going to happen but it will be later rather than sooner. With the Dutch prepared to vote "no" as well on Wednesday changes will have to come. [my emphasis]
Update: 13:35:
More on this from Freiheit und Wissen.
. . . The France "no" vote signals that the "Americanization" of Europe is unacceptable . . .
Understanding
Riverbend dissects Thomas Friedman:
I know Gord likes Friedman, but he suffers from the same problems our leaders do. You might be able to take an American out of the country, but it's damn difficult to take the country out of the American. I'll believe River's assesment of the situation long before I'll accept Friedman's.
[. . .]
One thing I found particularly amusing about the article- and outrageous all at once-was in the following paragraph:
"Religiously, if you want to know how the Sunni Arab world views a Shiite's being elected leader of Iraq, for the first time ever, think about how whites in Alabama would have felt about a black governor's being installed there in 1920. Some Sunnis do not think Shiites are authentic Muslims, and they are indifferent to their brutalization."
Now, it is always amusing to see a Jewish American journalist speak in the name of Sunni Arabs. When Sunni Arabs, at this point, hesitate to speak in a representative way about other Sunni Arabs, it is nice to know Thomas L. Friedman feels he can sum up the feelings of the "Sunni Arab world" in so many words. His arrogance is exceptional.
[. . .]
I know Gord likes Friedman, but he suffers from the same problems our leaders do. You might be able to take an American out of the country, but it's damn difficult to take the country out of the American. I'll believe River's assesment of the situation long before I'll accept Friedman's.
Thanks to tena at First Draft for the link.
What to believe?
[. . .]
In their biggest coup of "Operation Lightning," Iraqi and U.S. soldiers arrested a former general in Saddam Hussein's intelligence service who was also a member of his Fedayeen secret police during a raid in western Baghdad, the scene of some of Sunday's heaviest fighting.
"He now leads the military wings of several terror cells operating in the west Baghdad neighborhood of Ghazaliyah," the military said in its announcement about the former general. It did not release his name or provide further details.
[. . .]
Is this like every other 'terrorist leader' we capture? Are we ever gonna know who this guy is, or will it fall by the wayside as with most of these 'major arrests'? Are they even gonna bother releasing a name or is this just propaganda? I personally don't care at this point because the situation in Iraq is seldom how the government calls it.
The thing is we've reached a point, after being inundated with bullshit (Fox
Nothing has changed 2
(Newark, N.J.-WABC, May 29, 2005) - It is a loophole in airline security so big, you could fly a plane through it.
Senator Charles Schumer lashed out at the Department of Homeland Security which he feels has ignored a law put in place to keep terrorist from boarding airplanes and repeating what we saw here September 11th.
[. . .]
But Schumer says there's a gaping hole in security at both airports, a way for terrorists to slip through the cracks.
Senator Schumer: "If they know their names will be checked on domestic flights but not on foreign, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to get on a foreign flight and come here."
A new law requires airlines to transmit flight manifests to U.S. officials within 15 minutes of takeoff. Homeland security had until February 14th to come up with a game plan, but Schumer points out that deadline has come and gone and that those lists aren't being checked until the plane is airborne. [my emphasis]
[. . .]
While we're fighting the 'War on Terra' in Iraq, the people we should be worried about have unfettered access. So what exactly did the Patriot Act do besides abrogate our civil rights? It sure as hell hasn't made us any safer.
More lies and treachery
From the beautiful Francesca:
It'd be nice if the media put as much work into finding out exactly what kind of scam Bush and Blair pulled on the Yanks and Brits that they put into finding about that dreaded Oval Office BJ.
Update: 07:10:
Dave Johnson says:
[. . .]
How many freaking smoking guns do we need for people to understand that this war was not a war of necessity, but one that the Blair and Bush administrations actively pursued? Phony evidence, really bad intelligence, and now we even tried to bully Iraq into freaking defending itself so we would have an excuse to invade.
This is all more evidence of the existence of the 'Why Does A Dog Lick His Balls?'[*] School of International Relations and Diplomacy.
[. . .]
It'd be nice if the media put as much work into finding out exactly what kind of scam Bush and Blair pulled on the Yanks and Brits that they put into finding about that dreaded Oval Office BJ.
*Answer: Because he can.
Update: 07:10:
Dave Johnson says:
. . . I honor the sacrifice of our men and women in the Armed Forces. And freeing the people of Iraq is a noble cause, though I sure wish America had had the option of approving it or not on those terms. . . .
Sunday, May 29, 2005
Cowards
We talked about whom we should remember this Memorial Day. Gillard speaks to some we should forget.
I'd love to get these assholes on a C-130, each with a 'chute. I'd kick 'em all out over Baghdad and Fallujah. Give 'em something to 'warblog' about.
[. . .]
Recently, there have been calls for supporters of our folly in Iraq to enlist. Their usual reaction is to act as if we were expecting a heart-lung donation. Cries of "why didn't you enlist to support Kosovo" and other pathetic nonsense usually follows to justify their rank cowardice.
The sad part is that these people understand the military about as much as they understand cricket. They read some hack like Max Boot or some minor historian like Victor Davis Hanson and take them seriously. They like the war porn, but can't go beyond that.
[. . .]
I'd love to get these assholes on a C-130, each with a 'chute. I'd kick 'em all out over Baghdad and Fallujah. Give 'em something to 'warblog' about.
Under the radar
Michael Stickings:
He's a pretty sharp guy from Toronto. It behooves you to check out his blog. More to the point, the doings in Europe will affect us more than we realize. Partly because news from Europe isn't deemed worthy compared to the 'Runaway Bride' andDawn of the Dead . . . er, Michael Jackson.
Poor Jacques Chirac. The French have rejected his beloved European Constitution. In today's referendum, the "No" side won over 55% of the vote, with turnout somewhere between 70 and 80%.
Am I happy about this? Yes and no.
[. . .]
He's a pretty sharp guy from Toronto. It behooves you to check out his blog. More to the point, the doings in Europe will affect us more than we realize. Partly because news from Europe isn't deemed worthy compared to the 'Runaway Bride' and
Holiday cheer*
Be safe and careful while in the process of merrymaking. I don't give a shit if you kill your damn self on the road this weekend, but it's the innocent folks you take with you that concerns me. And remember why you have the day off tomorrow.
*I'm sitting here, watching NASCAR, realizing that since I went into the military, this holiday is never cheery for me. It also would have been my mom's 82nd birthday tomorrow. Since it was her birthday, there was always a party here on Memorial Day. Fond memories of my youth. It will be solemn here, as it has been for the last 9 years since mom passed. The Mrs. and I will have a drink for her, and for those who died in the service of the nation she loved so much.
Fluffed 'n Stuffed
I'm honored to be tagged, I think. On the theory that there's no fool like an old fool, let 'er buck!
Three names you go buy (that won't give away your identity): Never had to go buy one, got given the only name I go by by my parents. I did go from AKA to DBA once.
Three screen names you've had: Only two, Gordon and Anonymous.
Three physical things you like about yourself: Still pretty strong, no (OK, one!) gray hair, good balance. Hard to pick only three items from a menu of perfection!
Three physical things you don't like about yourself: Dicky-Do Syndrome (my tummy sticks out farther than my Dicky-Do) and my toenails suck. Other than that, everything's as it was meant to be. I got better things to do than kvetch about shit I got no control over.
Three parts of your heritage: Scots, English, Polish. A North Atlantic/Baltic chowder(head?) via Illinois, although I'm from L.A.
Three things you are wearing right now: Sweat pants, pocket tee, moccasins. Good thing ya didn't ask for one more or I'd be describing a lot of cartoon characters!
Three favorite bands/musical artists: Emmylou Harris, Kathy Kallick, Jimmy Buffett. Silly question: why limit yourself to three? I can have a hundred favorites if I want, and I do, so there!
Three favorite songs: Out of thousands? Gimme a break! OK, Big Rock Candy Mountain and Do-Re-Mi by Woody Guthrie, original or any cover. Geronimo's Cadillac by Mary McCaslin & Jim Ringer.
Three things you want in a relationship: Common interests, humor, to be supported in the manner to which I would like to become accustomed. Don't want 'em, got 'em!
Three physical things about the preferred sex that appeals to you: As long as they don't look like Jabba the Hutt or stop a clock, just a smile and a nice general appearance. One thing I've noticed as I get older: back when I was a kid, the pretty girls were all as young as I was. Now, there's more pretty gals in their fifties (and beyond) than you can shake a stick at. Gray hair and a little amplitude don't hurt a bit.
Three of your favorite hobbies: Motorcycles, that's it. Street or strip, track or trail. More of a calling than a hobby, tho'. I eat, sleep, breathe, talk, ride, collect, dream, live and love 'em. My folks said I was going through a phase. If they were right, I'd say that just shy of fifty years is a fairly long phase.
Three things you want to do really badly right now: I do enough things really badly. There are, however, some things I would like to do really well, but that wasn't the question.
Three things that scare you: The fact that half of my countrymen are brain-dead scared-shitless blind idiots, that a good many of the entirety of us don't seem to give a shit that they've been sold down the river by their "leaders", and that I may not live long enough to see the USA turn around and be a nation to be proud of again.
Three of your everyday essentials: Coffee, cigarettes (roll 'em myself), family (wifey and my pups).
Three careers you have considered/are considering: Writer, but I'm lazy and have no discipline or imagination. Retirement. At one time I wanted a career in the motorcycle industry. I managed to pull that one off.
Three places you want to go on vacation: Russia, including Siberia; Scandinavia, including Finland; New Mexico.
Three kids' names you like: I don't give a shit what people call their spawn, but I like Biblical names like Cain or Ananias.
Three things you want to do before you die: Learn to play a stringed instrument; deck George Bush (and a bunch of others) on national TV, or alternatively, to have a front row seat at the twelve-rope hanging that will signify a sea change in American politics and culture; win a National Championship Hare 'n Hound, one-handed while drinking a beer and gettin' head from Arriana Huffington.
Three ways you are stereotypically a boy: I can pee through a knothole, ride a bike no hands, and have a picture on my wall of Steve McQueen riding a Triumph.
Three ways you are stereotypically a girl: I don't mind sitting down to pee, I liked City of Angels, and I go nuts over bargains.
Three celeb crushes: Jill Hennessy, Lucy Lawless (she could crush me! Oooh, Xena...), Lexa Doig. Danica Patrick just had the highest-ever finish (4th) by a woman in the Indy 500, so add her to the list.
It ain't my style to tag folks in public, 'cuz maybe they'd rather not be bothered with it, but you know who you are.
Three names you go buy (that won't give away your identity): Never had to go buy one, got given the only name I go by by my parents. I did go from AKA to DBA once.
Three screen names you've had: Only two, Gordon and Anonymous.
Three physical things you like about yourself: Still pretty strong, no (OK, one!) gray hair, good balance. Hard to pick only three items from a menu of perfection!
Three physical things you don't like about yourself: Dicky-Do Syndrome (my tummy sticks out farther than my Dicky-Do) and my toenails suck. Other than that, everything's as it was meant to be. I got better things to do than kvetch about shit I got no control over.
Three parts of your heritage: Scots, English, Polish. A North Atlantic/Baltic chowder(head?) via Illinois, although I'm from L.A.
Three things you are wearing right now: Sweat pants, pocket tee, moccasins. Good thing ya didn't ask for one more or I'd be describing a lot of cartoon characters!
Three favorite bands/musical artists: Emmylou Harris, Kathy Kallick, Jimmy Buffett. Silly question: why limit yourself to three? I can have a hundred favorites if I want, and I do, so there!
Three favorite songs: Out of thousands? Gimme a break! OK, Big Rock Candy Mountain and Do-Re-Mi by Woody Guthrie, original or any cover. Geronimo's Cadillac by Mary McCaslin & Jim Ringer.
Three things you want in a relationship: Common interests, humor, to be supported in the manner to which I would like to become accustomed. Don't want 'em, got 'em!
Three physical things about the preferred sex that appeals to you: As long as they don't look like Jabba the Hutt or stop a clock, just a smile and a nice general appearance. One thing I've noticed as I get older: back when I was a kid, the pretty girls were all as young as I was. Now, there's more pretty gals in their fifties (and beyond) than you can shake a stick at. Gray hair and a little amplitude don't hurt a bit.
Three of your favorite hobbies: Motorcycles, that's it. Street or strip, track or trail. More of a calling than a hobby, tho'. I eat, sleep, breathe, talk, ride, collect, dream, live and love 'em. My folks said I was going through a phase. If they were right, I'd say that just shy of fifty years is a fairly long phase.
Three things you want to do really badly right now: I do enough things really badly. There are, however, some things I would like to do really well, but that wasn't the question.
Three things that scare you: The fact that half of my countrymen are brain-dead scared-shitless blind idiots, that a good many of the entirety of us don't seem to give a shit that they've been sold down the river by their "leaders", and that I may not live long enough to see the USA turn around and be a nation to be proud of again.
Three of your everyday essentials: Coffee, cigarettes (roll 'em myself), family (wifey and my pups).
Three careers you have considered/are considering: Writer, but I'm lazy and have no discipline or imagination. Retirement. At one time I wanted a career in the motorcycle industry. I managed to pull that one off.
Three places you want to go on vacation: Russia, including Siberia; Scandinavia, including Finland; New Mexico.
Three kids' names you like: I don't give a shit what people call their spawn, but I like Biblical names like Cain or Ananias.
Three things you want to do before you die: Learn to play a stringed instrument; deck George Bush (and a bunch of others) on national TV, or alternatively, to have a front row seat at the twelve-rope hanging that will signify a sea change in American politics and culture; win a National Championship Hare 'n Hound, one-handed while drinking a beer and gettin' head from Arriana Huffington.
Three ways you are stereotypically a boy: I can pee through a knothole, ride a bike no hands, and have a picture on my wall of Steve McQueen riding a Triumph.
Three ways you are stereotypically a girl: I don't mind sitting down to pee, I liked City of Angels, and I go nuts over bargains.
Three celeb crushes: Jill Hennessy, Lucy Lawless (she could crush me! Oooh, Xena...), Lexa Doig. Danica Patrick just had the highest-ever finish (4th) by a woman in the Indy 500, so add her to the list.
It ain't my style to tag folks in public, 'cuz maybe they'd rather not be bothered with it, but you know who you are.
Democracy marches on . . .
Via Roxanne:
If we would have put half the troops on the ground in Afghanistan that we have in Iraq, a lot of this wouldn't go on. What in Hell was Laura doing there last week, kvelling over how good women have it there? Ladies, if you let the American Taliban push their agenda here, you'll end up being treated the same way.
LONDON, May 30 (Reuters) - Women are raped, murdered and abused with impunity all over Afghanistan despite the overthrow of the Taliban that was supposed to have ushered in a new era of rights for women, Amnesty International said on Monday.
[. . .]
"Throughout the country, few women are exempt from violence or safe from the threat of it," Amnesty said in a report based on extensive interviews in Afghanistan.
"Husbands, brothers and fathers remain the main perpetrators of violence in the home but the social control and the power that they exercise is reinforced by both state authorities and informal justice systems," it added.
[. . .]
If we would have put half the troops on the ground in Afghanistan that we have in Iraq, a lot of this wouldn't go on. What in Hell was Laura doing there last week, kvelling over how good women have it there? Ladies, if you let the American Taliban push their agenda here, you'll end up being treated the same way.
Self-fulfilling prophecies
Cathie:
Never let it be said Karl Rove allowed an opportunity slip away. Of course, after the week they've just had, maybe he's lost his touch. Maybe somebody will call bullshit when he wants to attack Iran or Syria. Didn't Sy Hersh say the balloon goes up next month?
[. . .]
However, what concerns me most is this -- the Bush administration now may be using the radicalization they themselves caused as an excuse to begin a new war against an enemy even less clearly defined than "terrorism" was.
[. . .]
Never let it be said Karl Rove allowed an opportunity slip away. Of course, after the week they've just had, maybe he's lost his touch. Maybe somebody will call bullshit when he wants to attack Iran or Syria. Didn't Sy Hersh say the balloon goes up next month?
Tagged and snagged 2
Well, so much for me keeping a low profile. The lovely and talented Jane of Firedoglake tagged me with this. (You too, old man, so stop laughing)
Three names you go buy (that won't give away your identity): Itchy, Warf Rat, Asshole (my boss Harry's personal pet name for me)
Three screen names you've had: Troubleshooter, Writer, Fixer
Three physical things you like about yourself: Chest, arms, legs (I'm pretty athletic)
Three physical things you don't like about yourself: Unmanagable hair, scars (got a bunch of 'em; I lived an interesting life), and my ass is getting bigger. (Do I look fat in these Gord?)
Three parts of your heritage: British (several types), German, French.
Three things you are wearing right now: World Cup '94 t-shirt, boxer shorts, a wedding ring. (That's it, I'm lying in bed).
Three favorite bands/musical artists: The Who, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones
Three favorite songs: Fat Bottom Girls - Queen, Thank You - Led Zeppelin, Dirty Work - Steely Dan.
Three things you want in a relationship: Communication, intelligence, sex. (Lots of sex.)
Three physical things about the preferred sex that appeals you: Mammalian protruberances (size don't matter, just gotta have 'em.), a ready smile, and something about the eyes that I have yet to pin down, though my wife got it and other women I've been very attracted to did too.)
Three of your favorite hobbies: Writing, driving (fast), traveling.
Three things you want to do really badly right now: [CENSORED], become King, sell books like Tom Clancy does.
Three things that scare you: The state of this nation and the fact it could get to this point, that my wife might get caught in another terrorist attack (WTC '93 & '01, Colin Ferguson on the LIRR), infants.
Three of your everyday essentials: Coffee, cigarettes, marijuana.
Three careers you have considered/are considering: Gynecologist for supermodels, King of the World, mercenary.
Three place you want to go on vacation: Africa, the Holy Land, Russia.
Three kids' names you like: Hey, You, and Come Here. (Makes things easy.)
Three things you want to do before you die: See most of the world, meet George W. Bush in a dark alley, do the Maine to The Keys run in a sailboat with the Mrs. and the dog.
Three ways you are stereotypically a boy: I generally have to drive, I love sports, and I can fix anything. Honorable mention: I wear womens underwear on my head when the Mrs. leaves me unattended when she shops.
Three ways you are stereotypically a girl: I carry a shoulder bag, I blow kisses at men I work with, I watched The Bridges of Madison County with the Mrs. Honorable mention: I wear the Mrs.' panties when I don't have any clean ones of my own.
Three celeb crushes: Kate Jackson, Bernadette Peters, Andrea Thompson.
Now, it's time for me to reach out and touch someone. My threesuckers victims: the CultureGhost, the incomparable Eponymous, and Michael Stickings of The Reaction. Start thinking!
Three names you go buy (that won't give away your identity): Itchy, Warf Rat, Asshole (my boss Harry's personal pet name for me)
Three screen names you've had: Troubleshooter, Writer, Fixer
Three physical things you like about yourself: Chest, arms, legs (I'm pretty athletic)
Three physical things you don't like about yourself: Unmanagable hair, scars (got a bunch of 'em; I lived an interesting life), and my ass is getting bigger. (Do I look fat in these Gord?)
Three parts of your heritage: British (several types), German, French.
Three things you are wearing right now: World Cup '94 t-shirt, boxer shorts, a wedding ring. (That's it, I'm lying in bed).
Three favorite bands/musical artists: The Who, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones
Three favorite songs: Fat Bottom Girls - Queen, Thank You - Led Zeppelin, Dirty Work - Steely Dan.
Three things you want in a relationship: Communication, intelligence, sex. (Lots of sex.)
Three physical things about the preferred sex that appeals you: Mammalian protruberances (size don't matter, just gotta have 'em.), a ready smile, and something about the eyes that I have yet to pin down, though my wife got it and other women I've been very attracted to did too.)
Three of your favorite hobbies: Writing, driving (fast), traveling.
Three things you want to do really badly right now: [CENSORED], become King, sell books like Tom Clancy does.
Three things that scare you: The state of this nation and the fact it could get to this point, that my wife might get caught in another terrorist attack (WTC '93 & '01, Colin Ferguson on the LIRR), infants.
Three of your everyday essentials: Coffee, cigarettes, marijuana.
Three careers you have considered/are considering: Gynecologist for supermodels, King of the World, mercenary.
Three place you want to go on vacation: Africa, the Holy Land, Russia.
Three kids' names you like: Hey, You, and Come Here. (Makes things easy.)
Three things you want to do before you die: See most of the world, meet George W. Bush in a dark alley, do the Maine to The Keys run in a sailboat with the Mrs. and the dog.
Three ways you are stereotypically a boy: I generally have to drive, I love sports, and I can fix anything. Honorable mention: I wear womens underwear on my head when the Mrs. leaves me unattended when she shops.
Three ways you are stereotypically a girl: I carry a shoulder bag, I blow kisses at men I work with, I watched The Bridges of Madison County with the Mrs. Honorable mention: I wear the Mrs.' panties when I don't have any clean ones of my own.
Three celeb crushes: Kate Jackson, Bernadette Peters, Andrea Thompson.
Now, it's time for me to reach out and touch someone. My three
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)