...
The fact that Penn is still talking to the press is just another sign that Hillary's ears are nearly as tin as the president she hopes to succeed.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Hillary's tin ear ...
Our pal Creature hits it on the head as to why Hil hasn't won this thing going away:
The last home opener ...
At Shea Stadium. Next year, they'll be playing in their beautiful new stadium being built right next door. I've been a Met fan since I was a little kid, cutting school and taking the train to Shea since I can remember. A good portion of my summers were spent there growing up. I'll miss Shea like the old Brooklyn Dodger fans miss Ebbets Field.
Let's see them ...
The PoliticalCat is absolutely correct. John McCain should release his medical records:
Most certainly. My cousin Robert died when he was 29 from melanoma and I'd rather my President wasn't sequestered in Sloan Kettering (why would he go anywhere else?) when he should be running the country, let alone die suddenly and leave Condi in charge.
I forget things too, but that's because I'm a pothead. I ain't running for President. I'd like the President of the United States to be a bit more lucid than I am.
...
Senator McCain, you're in your 70s. Your grandfather died young (61 years), your father died at the age of 70, relatively young also. You've had repeated bouts of a particularly lethal form of cancer:
...
Most certainly. My cousin Robert died when he was 29 from melanoma and I'd rather my President wasn't sequestered in Sloan Kettering (why would he go anywhere else?) when he should be running the country, let alone die suddenly and leave Condi in charge.
...
And what about mental functioning? Eight years of a dumbkopf in the highest position in the land — a man who can't string eight words into a correct sentence — is plenty enough. Every time we walk into a room and find ourselves thinking, "Now, what did I come here for?" we wonder if that's what is making McCain repeatedly confuse Sunni with Shi'a, and putting al Qaeda in training in Iran, and telling undoubtedly horrified Israelis that Purim is the Jewish version of fucking Halloween, wouldja believe? And we're decades younger than that old fart.
...
I forget things too, but that's because I'm a pothead. I ain't running for President. I'd like the President of the United States to be a bit more lucid than I am.
The Ridenhour Courage Prize
Ron Ridenhour is the soldier who broke the story of the My Lai massacre. An award named for him for excellence in journalism will become a lot harder to give away if Bill Moyers ever retires. He is the Last of the Best, today's Walter Cronkite, albeit without Cronkite's exposure or widespread recognition. Here is part of Mr. Moyers' recent acceptance speech:
Done.
The rest of the speech is good as well. And, oh yeah, Bill Moyers is one of the few good things to ever come out of Texas, like Willie Nelson without the weed.
Note to journalism students: Listen to Moyers. Take his words to heart. Don't get to be complacent fat cats as you climb the ladder to success. Stay lean, stay focused on the mission: to dig out and disseminate the truth, corporate masters be damned, so that the media-compliant and -enabled disaster of the Bush years can never, say again never, be repeated. This country doesn't have any periods like that left in it.
Note to complacent fat cat corporate journalists: Same as above plus clean up your act and restart doing your jobs. You shoulder a lot of the blame for Bush's misdeeds and you have one helluva lot to make up for.
NOTE: INTERESTED PARTIES SHOULD FEEL FREE TO QUOTE THE FOLLOWING TEXTS IN PART OR IN FULL. ANY SUCH USE MUST INCLUDE ATTRIBUTION TO THE RIDENHOUR PRIZES, AND TO THEIR SPONSORS "THE NATION INSTITUTE" AND THE "FERTEL FOUNDATION."
Done.
Before his death I produced a documentary about him, and during our interview he told me the story of how he and his friend, Boots Cooper, were playing in the chicken house there in central Texas when they were about 12 years old. They spotted a chicken snake in the top tier of the nest, so close it looked like a boa constrictor. As John Henry told it, "All of our frontier courage drained out of our heels. Actually, it trickled down our overall legs. And Boots and I made a new door through the hen house." His momma came out to see what all of the fuss was about, and she said to Boots and John Henry, "Don't you know chicken snakes are harmless? They can't hurt you." Rubbing his forehead and his behind at the same time, Boots said, "Yes, Mrs. Faulk, I know, but they can scare you so bad you'll hurt yourself."
John Henry Faulk never forgot that lesson. I'm always ashamed when I do. Temptation to co-option is the original sin of journalism, and we're always finding fig leaves to cover it: economics, ideology, awe of authority, secrecy, the claims of empire. In the buildup to the invasion of Iraq we were reminded of what the late great reporter A.J. Liebling meant when he said the press is "the weak slat under the bed of democracy." The slat broke after the invasion and some strange bedfellows fell to the floor: establishment journalists, neo-con polemicists, beltway pundits, right-wing warmongers flying the skull and bones of the "balanced and fair brigade," administration flacks whose classified leaks were manufactured lies - all romping on the same mattress in the foreplay to disaster.
Five years, thousands of casualties, and hundreds of billion dollars later, most of the media co-conspirators caught in flagrante delicto are still prominent, still celebrated, and still holding forth with no more contrition than a weathercaster who made a wrong prediction as to the next day's temperature. The biblical injunction, "Go and sin no more," is the one we most frequently forget in the press. Collectively, we don't seem to learn that all it takes to transform an ordinary politician and a braying ass into the modern incarnation of Zeus and the oracle of Delphi is an oath on the Bible, a flag in the lapel, and the invocation of national security.
The rest of the speech is good as well. And, oh yeah, Bill Moyers is one of the few good things to ever come out of Texas, like Willie Nelson without the weed.
Note to journalism students: Listen to Moyers. Take his words to heart. Don't get to be complacent fat cats as you climb the ladder to success. Stay lean, stay focused on the mission: to dig out and disseminate the truth, corporate masters be damned, so that the media-compliant and -enabled disaster of the Bush years can never, say again never, be repeated. This country doesn't have any periods like that left in it.
Note to complacent fat cat corporate journalists: Same as above plus clean up your act and restart doing your jobs. You shoulder a lot of the blame for Bush's misdeeds and you have one helluva lot to make up for.
Repug Strategy
From one of the worst of the worst neocons, via The Ostroy Report:
Read it.
Make no mistake: heading towards the general election in November, the Republican Party smells intense fear, and that fear will manifest itself into the dirtiest, ugliest, most divisive presidential election campaign in American history. The GOP's coming off of eight miserable, economically ravished, war-torn, scandal-plagued years of Bush/Cheney. Given the likelihood that Sen. Barack Obama--with his message of inspiration, hope and change--will eventually prevail in his protracted primary battle with Sen. Hillary Clinton, the reality is settling in that the junior Senator from Illinois could be the next occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania. Just ask neocon pundit William Kristol.
Read it.
Yoo Rotten Bastard
Truthdig. Comments here.
Yesterday I posted on Andrew Sullivan's statement that 'officials of this administration will be indicted for war crimes'.
I can't think of a better place to start than with Yoo. He certainly deserves it, and it might be just the ice-breaker we need.
Here's the part that gets me - Yoo is a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley. What's he teaching? How to cloak war crimes by plating them with bullshit legalese?
Berkeley! UCBerzerkely is probably the most liberal school on the planet, located in the most liberal city on the planet. The Free Speech Movement that kicked off the civic and social awakening of the '60s started there. The locals recently vociferously opposed the mere presence of Marine recruiters in their fair burg!* I'm not talkin' wimpy 'progressives', folks, I'm talkin' bomb throwin' left-of-Lenin radical bolsheviks here. In a hyperbolic way, of course.
How does that torture-enabling asshole keep his job?
C'mon you latte-drinkin', poetry-spoutin', free speech-'n-love lovin', banner-wavin', street-marchin' old hippies over there, yer fallin' down on the job (Sorry, 'job' is a dirty word to some of those folks). Get yer walkers fired up, get on the stick, two if need be, and get over to the campus. Recruit some of the youngsters, hell, they're yer grandkids, show some o' that '60s piss 'n vinegar and get this asshole fired!
More shocking details are emerging from the 2003 81-page memo by former Justice Department senior lawyer John Yoo, who determined that the commander-in-chief can order poking out of eyes, slitting of body parts and throwing acid at prisoners, and none of that would constitute torture because it would not result in “death, organ failure or serious impairment of bodily functions.”
Yesterday I posted on Andrew Sullivan's statement that 'officials of this administration will be indicted for war crimes'.
I can't think of a better place to start than with Yoo. He certainly deserves it, and it might be just the ice-breaker we need.
Here's the part that gets me - Yoo is a law professor at the University of California at Berkeley. What's he teaching? How to cloak war crimes by plating them with bullshit legalese?
Berkeley! UCBerzerkely is probably the most liberal school on the planet, located in the most liberal city on the planet. The Free Speech Movement that kicked off the civic and social awakening of the '60s started there. The locals recently vociferously opposed the mere presence of Marine recruiters in their fair burg!* I'm not talkin' wimpy 'progressives', folks, I'm talkin' bomb throwin' left-of-Lenin radical bolsheviks here. In a hyperbolic way, of course.
How does that torture-enabling asshole keep his job?
C'mon you latte-drinkin', poetry-spoutin', free speech-'n-love lovin', banner-wavin', street-marchin' old hippies over there, yer fallin' down on the job (Sorry, 'job' is a dirty word to some of those folks). Get yer walkers fired up, get on the stick, two if need be, and get over to the campus. Recruit some of the youngsters, hell, they're yer grandkids, show some o' that '60s piss 'n vinegar and get this asshole fired!
* I think the reason the Corps had a recruiter in that anti-war bastion is because it was safer than putting him in neighboring Oakland. Heh.
Sir! By Your Command, Off The Cliff! Aye Aye, Sir!
Another good piece at Truthout:
A note here - In his heart of hearts, General Petraeus may know the occupation of Iraq is hopeless, but he is a career military man with a mindset that follows orders and would never admit defeat. It matters not that his orders come from political bosses in a losing election year, he will fight to the death of every man in his command against all odds.
Except for the 'election year' and 'political bosses' part, sounds a lot like General Custer.
So which is worse - a fake military man like we've got now who started a war to show how macho he isn't, or a real one from a lost war of long ago who never got over it and will throw the nation overboard to try to 'win' this one?
It's like asking a condemned man whether he would prefer the gas chamber or the electric chair. The outcome will be the same.
Vietnam is key to McCain's thinking. Much to his credit, he has made his personal peace with the Vietnamese. But, in his military mind, he still thinks America could have and should have won our ill-advised adventure in Southeast Asia. How much further would he have escalated that incredibly bloody war had he been president? Who knows? But, given the widespread opposition to the war among Americans at the time, he would have had to destroy any pretense of constitutional rights on the home front. And for what? As most scholars now agree, no conceivable escalation would have defeated Vietnam's long-standing fight for independence from foreign rule, whether against the Chinese, the French or us.
As we will hear this week, General Petraeus understands the importance of political and ideological forces far better than does McCain. Petraeus has even publicly scolded Iraqi politicians for not working harder to reconcile their differences. Still, he will not give up the counterproductive military fight. Like McCain, the Princeton-educated general stands steadfast in his refusal to see the obvious. No matter how cleverly we apply our overwhelming force, foreign occupation breeds its own opposition in Iraq just as it did in Vietnam.
A note here - In his heart of hearts, General Petraeus may know the occupation of Iraq is hopeless, but he is a career military man with a mindset that follows orders and would never admit defeat. It matters not that his orders come from political bosses in a losing election year, he will fight to the death of every man in his command against all odds.
Except for the 'election year' and 'political bosses' part, sounds a lot like General Custer.
This is a lesson the gung-ho military mind cannot seem to grasp, which is why Americans would do well to look elsewhere for a president.
So which is worse - a fake military man like we've got now who started a war to show how macho he isn't, or a real one from a lost war of long ago who never got over it and will throw the nation overboard to try to 'win' this one?
It's like asking a condemned man whether he would prefer the gas chamber or the electric chair. The outcome will be the same.
Remember, they're all liars, every goddam one of 'em
William Rivers Pitt
Followed by over twenty examples punctuated by "they lied", "liar", or just plain "wrong" and he left out tons of 'em.
There weren't any lies from McCain. Perhaps he deserves his own special category, that of "Quixotically Demented Delusional Throwback Who Is Pissin' On Our Legs And Tellin' Us It's Rainin'".
No one is such a liar as the indignant man. - Friedrich Nietzsche
George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Paul Wolfowitz, Condoleezza Rice, along with a slew of administration underlings and a revolving-door cavalcade of brass hats from the Pentagon, have been making claims regarding Iraq for many years now.
Followed by over twenty examples punctuated by "they lied", "liar", or just plain "wrong" and he left out tons of 'em.
Remember: they lie. They all lie, from the top man down to the bottom. If their lips are moving, a lie is unfolding. If they say water is wet, get into the shower to make sure.
They lie.
Period.
End of file.
There weren't any lies from McCain. Perhaps he deserves his own special category, that of "Quixotically Demented Delusional Throwback Who Is Pissin' On Our Legs And Tellin' Us It's Rainin'".
This should be good ...
Condi wants to be McCain's Veep:
It just gets better. And, related to my post below, how many Dems will like McCain more because he'd have a BLACK WOMAN as his #2? Look, he's liberal!!!!1!!!!1!eleventy-one*!!
...
She's uniquely qualified! Let's see: she's a pro-choice ... uhhhh.... she never anticipated that terrists would fly airplanes into US skyscrapers, she was a champion cheerleader for Bush and the war in Iraq, she wrote an editorial for the New York Times back in 2002 entitled Why We Know Iraq Is Lying, she warned the world about Saddam's "smoking mushroom clouds," compared US commitment in Iraq to the Civil War...
It just gets better. And, related to my post below, how many Dems will like McCain more because he'd have a BLACK WOMAN as his #2? Look, he's liberal!!!!1!!!!1!eleventy-one*!!
*Credit: Maru.
Exactly right ...
For a while now, I've cautioned against too much optimism about the Dems' chances in November. Were the candidates to be judged on equal merits, I would say the Dem candidate would be a shoo-in compared to McCain. Thing is, we have the Democratic Party added to the mix and that's like leaving the door wide open for failure.
Maybe the Hillary and Obama supporters should stop the swipes at each other and look at the big picture. It doesn't matter who wins the nom if they're just gonna give the race away to McCain and the Rethugs.
Think about it, twits, because this is the mindset a lot of Dem voters have:
I can't believe people still swallow this shit.
Listen to me. McCain is a moron and the best part of him ran down a drain in the Hanoi Hilton. There is nothing good (he's a hypocrite, panderer, and adulterer), nothing heroic about John McCain. He was a cowboy fighter pilot who got himself shot down because he refused to follow procedure. He had the bad luck to get himself captured and he spent the war in jail. While I abhor his treatment at the hands of the Vietnamese, none of his experiences made him qualified to run a country (I would even propose his experiences make him less qualified), let alone a war.
...
The article says there is at least one big Hillary donor who doesn't want to spend money for the party unless Clinton's the nominee. And I have also heard that Obama donors don't want to fund any efforts that will be construed as "negative" for fear it will blow back on his campaign. Whatever the reasons, and I suspect it's complicated, this is the stupidest damned thing I've heard yet. It's almost as if the Democrats want to lose.
I don't care which candidate they are supporting in the primary, taking on John McCain will benefit their candidate if he or she wins. Surely they are all maxed out by now, so this is the logical place to put their money either way.
All of this might make some sense if McCain didn't have this ridiculously cozy relationship with the press that's been solid as a rock for more than a decade. He is going to be terribly difficult to redefine. It will take everything they have to do it. And if they don't do it, he could very well win this thing even if he is as old as Methuselah and has the campaign style of a pet rock.
...
Maybe the Hillary and Obama supporters should stop the swipes at each other and look at the big picture. It doesn't matter who wins the nom if they're just gonna give the race away to McCain and the Rethugs.
Think about it, twits, because this is the mindset a lot of Dem voters have:
...
I was talking to a staunchly liberal friend of mine over the week-end who told me that he really didn't worry about the primary because if the party is damaged and McCain wins, it will probably be ok. The reason: he's not stupid like Bush or crazy like Cheney. After I picked up my brains from the floor and put them back in my head, still reeling from the explosion, I tried to explain how that was wrong. It was pulling teeth and I don't think I succeeded. He just likes the guy and doesn't believe he's really capable of being as bad as Bush because he "thinks for himself" and isn't a GOP lackey.
...
I can't believe people still swallow this shit.
Listen to me. McCain is a moron and the best part of him ran down a drain in the Hanoi Hilton. There is nothing good (he's a hypocrite, panderer, and adulterer), nothing heroic about John McCain. He was a cowboy fighter pilot who got himself shot down because he refused to follow procedure. He had the bad luck to get himself captured and he spent the war in jail. While I abhor his treatment at the hands of the Vietnamese, none of his experiences made him qualified to run a country (I would even propose his experiences make him less qualified), let alone a war.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Quote of the Day
I think I'll ease back into this. Holden Caulfield:
Ah, The Two Most Beautiful Words In The English Language: "Yes, Helen"
61% of Historians Rate the Bush Presidency Worst
History News Network
That sounds like about 2 out 109 historians with no sense of history.
One statement amongst several:
I've said almost the exact same things many times without even knowing I'm a historian. Damn, I'm good!
Note to self: Calm down, self. It don't take no rocket scientist to realize the truth about Bush, just functioning eyes and ears hooked to a minimal brain. Which you've got.
In an informal survey of 109 professional historians conducted over a three-week period through the History News Network, 98.2 percent assessed the presidency of Mr. Bush to be a failure while 1.8 percent classified it as a success.
That sounds like about 2 out 109 historians with no sense of history.
One statement amongst several:
“George Bush has combined mediocrity with malevolent policies and has thus seriously damaged the welfare and standing of the United States,” wrote one of the historians, echoing the assessments of many of his professional colleagues. “Bush does only two things well,” said one of the most distinguished historians. “He knows how to make the very rich very much richer, and he has an amazing talent for f**king up everything else he even approaches. His administration has been the most reckless, dangerous, irresponsible, mendacious, arrogant, self-righteous, incompetent, and deeply corrupt one in all of American history.”
I've said almost the exact same things many times without even knowing I'm a historian. Damn, I'm good!
Note to self: Calm down, self. It don't take no rocket scientist to realize the truth about Bush, just functioning eyes and ears hooked to a minimal brain. Which you've got.
Impressions ...
Back from running around. Shayna's home too so our little fambly is back together once again. Yay!
So, I'm back from vacation. A beautiful two week cruise on Queen Mary 2, a Panama Canal transit, and great ports of call, but there was one thing that struck me more than any other.
The Queen is one of the biggest cruise ships plying the seas; couple thousand crew, couple thousand passengers. Among the crew there are over 50 different nationalities from every continent. Among the passengers, the range was just as great. The three major religions, as well as a good portion of the minor ones, were also represented among our demographic. Guess what? We all got along.
Yeah, I know, the Russians can be obnoxious, the Chinese can be rude, the Japanese and Germans act superior, the English are, well ... English, and I personally know of four Americans who probably got on some peoples' nerves. Heh ... My point is, we were all commingled at the Golden Lion or the Chart Room until the wee hours with one band or another, or just karaoke and you know what we did? We sang. We sang the songs of our parents and grandparents, of war, of love, and of good times and we all sang with one another. We were all in the same boat, so to speak. Whether it be folks who have more money than I could amass in ten lifetimes or folks who saved for years to take this 'cruise of a lifetime', it didn't matter. We were all the same, enjoying each others' company.
Some of us couldn't communicate well but it didn't matter. We got the point across. We met people who shared different opinions and experiences, Indian Sikhs, Muslims from Dubai, Catholics from Italy, Baptists from America, Israeli Jews, and at least four atheists I know of. And we all enjoyed each others' company. It was amazing.
And on Saturday night, our last night aboard, as we sat in the Chart Room with Joe and Annie and a few couples of other nationalities, Mrs. F turned to me and said, "I wish we could bottle what we have here and spray it all over the world. Imagine what it would be like if we could all get along like this all the time?" Amen, sister.
***
And, as always at the end of the trip, there are a few people I have to thank. First and foremost, Gord and the staff here for holding down the fort. Also, thanks to all the readers for coming along with us in spirit. Next, to Dr. Melinda Grove and her staff at Glen Animal Hospital. Without the excellent care they give Shayna while we're away our trips would never be possible. Also, to Commodore Werner and the officers and crew of Queen Mary 2. The ship is run with the usual British precision and attention to detail. And lastly to my in-laws, who put Mrs. F's mind at ease enough, and encouraged her, to take this trip, regardless of mom-in-law's condition, whatever the outcome. It proved to be the worst case, but after the last eight months of caring for mom-in-law since she was diagnosed as terminal, this rest was sorely needed. We could continue on even after we got the news.
It's good to be home and I'll be back tomorrow once I take a couple laps around Blogtopia and catch up what's going on. I think I was able to relax better not being in touch.
So, I'm back from vacation. A beautiful two week cruise on Queen Mary 2, a Panama Canal transit, and great ports of call, but there was one thing that struck me more than any other.
The Queen is one of the biggest cruise ships plying the seas; couple thousand crew, couple thousand passengers. Among the crew there are over 50 different nationalities from every continent. Among the passengers, the range was just as great. The three major religions, as well as a good portion of the minor ones, were also represented among our demographic. Guess what? We all got along.
Yeah, I know, the Russians can be obnoxious, the Chinese can be rude, the Japanese and Germans act superior, the English are, well ... English, and I personally know of four Americans who probably got on some peoples' nerves. Heh ... My point is, we were all commingled at the Golden Lion or the Chart Room until the wee hours with one band or another, or just karaoke and you know what we did? We sang. We sang the songs of our parents and grandparents, of war, of love, and of good times and we all sang with one another. We were all in the same boat, so to speak. Whether it be folks who have more money than I could amass in ten lifetimes or folks who saved for years to take this 'cruise of a lifetime', it didn't matter. We were all the same, enjoying each others' company.
Some of us couldn't communicate well but it didn't matter. We got the point across. We met people who shared different opinions and experiences, Indian Sikhs, Muslims from Dubai, Catholics from Italy, Baptists from America, Israeli Jews, and at least four atheists I know of. And we all enjoyed each others' company. It was amazing.
And on Saturday night, our last night aboard, as we sat in the Chart Room with Joe and Annie and a few couples of other nationalities, Mrs. F turned to me and said, "I wish we could bottle what we have here and spray it all over the world. Imagine what it would be like if we could all get along like this all the time?" Amen, sister.
And, as always at the end of the trip, there are a few people I have to thank. First and foremost, Gord and the staff here for holding down the fort. Also, thanks to all the readers for coming along with us in spirit. Next, to Dr. Melinda Grove and her staff at Glen Animal Hospital. Without the excellent care they give Shayna while we're away our trips would never be possible. Also, to Commodore Werner and the officers and crew of Queen Mary 2. The ship is run with the usual British precision and attention to detail. And lastly to my in-laws, who put Mrs. F's mind at ease enough, and encouraged her, to take this trip, regardless of mom-in-law's condition, whatever the outcome. It proved to be the worst case, but after the last eight months of caring for mom-in-law since she was diagnosed as terminal, this rest was sorely needed. We could continue on even after we got the news.
It's good to be home and I'll be back tomorrow once I take a couple laps around Blogtopia and catch up what's going on. I think I was able to relax better not being in touch.
And just an aside: This is our 10,000th post. We're prolific, to say the least.
Sir! Chuck E. Cheese, Aye-Aye Sir!
St.Petersurg Times/TampaBay.com
Heh. I'da thought fer sure that with a name like 'Franks' he'da went with Der Wienerschnitzel.
Apparently, long service in the military makes you an expert on kooky fun-houses. The company behind childrens' restaurant chain Chuck E. Cheese picked retired four-star Gen. Tommy Franks to help them expand their brand.
Heh. I'da thought fer sure that with a name like 'Franks' he'da went with Der Wienerschnitzel.
Keep 'em broke and they'll re-enlist
Crooks and Liars
Keeping the troops in the military is more like it.
Some guys are natural-born soldiers. Most are not. The 100-year Criminal Occupation of Iraq requires the warmongers to keep a certain amount of soldiers in service through re-enlistment since first time enlistment is understandably way down.
If the soldiers think they've got a shot at some higher education in return for their service, a chance to elevate themselves from the socioeconomic underclass, or just plain poverty and no hope of a better life that drove them into the service in the first place, they'll get out and do it when their enlistments expire. Or after their stop-loss shanghai jobs run out, if ever.
I think McCain and Graham are more interested in supporting troop levels than the troops themselves. After all, they've got more wars they plan to start.
McCain’s mouthpiece, Lindsey Graham went on Face the Nation and used every talking point to support the war in Iraq, but can’t come up with an explanation why McCain will not support Webb’s new GI benefits Bill. It’s for the welfare of our troops that have been ordered into this nightmare situation in the middle east, and as strong war advocates, you’d think McCain and Graham would be first on the list of the Senator’s who have signed to show how committed they are to our troops. Graham has a lot of words to say about everything else and goes off topic because he doesn’t have a good answer. Supporting the troops is nothing but a talking point for McCain and Graham it would appear.
Keeping the troops in the military is more like it.
WEBB: Yes. Well, there are too many people in the Pentagon who are seeing a good GI bill as affecting retention rather than rewarding service, and we need to get those — politics aside, we need to get to those issues to help our troops.
GRAHAM: We want a wining outcome in Iraq so that when we do leave, we’re going to leave behind a country that’s part of the solution, not the problem. That is why people reenlist. That is why I support this new strategy. The old strategy was failing. The new strategy is producing results, and I hope we’ll stay with it.
WEBB: I’ve got to take 30 seconds to respond to what Lindsey said, because I can’t let that hang out there. You know, people don’t reenlist because of the war in Iraq. People reenlist because they love their country and they have family traditions and they love to soldier. And they’ll fight in Iraq, they’ll fight in Afghanistan, or they’ll serve anywhere they are called upon to serve.
Some guys are natural-born soldiers. Most are not. The 100-year Criminal Occupation of Iraq requires the warmongers to keep a certain amount of soldiers in service through re-enlistment since first time enlistment is understandably way down.
If the soldiers think they've got a shot at some higher education in return for their service, a chance to elevate themselves from the socioeconomic underclass, or just plain poverty and no hope of a better life that drove them into the service in the first place, they'll get out and do it when their enlistments expire. Or after their stop-loss shanghai jobs run out, if ever.
I think McCain and Graham are more interested in supporting troop levels than the troops themselves. After all, they've got more wars they plan to start.
Clueless John
Crooks and Liars
McCain once again demonstrates that he’s no straightalker when it comes to the issues that are most important to this country. He makes sure to get the whole Basra/ceasefire incident completely backwards which only undermines his credibility as a foreign policy man. Is he even following the fighting in Iraq? It was Maliki that went to Iran and then asked Sadr to broker a ceasefire.
Olbermann: …that Sadr had only called for the ceasefire after members of Maliki’s government asked Sadr to do so in a during a secret trip to meet with Sadr in Iran.—making McCain wrong about the facts on his signature issue, making Sadr not Maliki the victor in this conflict by McCain’s own reasoning. And making Iran and not McCain and not the US the mediator of choice for Iraq’s two top Shi’a factions. The Maliki government and the Sadrists.
'Foreign policy expert' my ass. He's a warmongering propagandist on the wrong side like the rest of the neocon Repugs.
The Real Final ‘Straw’ That Broke Mark Penn’s Back
"I proposed a commercial in which Hillary was able to stay alert at 3AM...due to the new Colombia trade deal."
Everything to date about how come Penn got his double-dealing conflict-of-interested money-grubbin' criminal ass canned by both Colombia and Clinton here.
I wonder if this will be the straw that breaks Hillary's back as well.
Thanks, Don
Andrew Sullivan: Bush Administration Officials Will Be 'Indicted For War Crimes'
HuffPo, video and links.
That's a bombshell, but the trick, of course, is to get the media to talk about it instead of how Obama bowls and eats chocolate.
A tip o' the Brain to Andrew Sullivan for saying out loud, where it was at least heard by some, what we've been calling for for years.
Media coverage of the disclosure of the "torture memo" authored by Bush Justice Department official John C. Yoo has been mostly a deafening silence. But on this morning's Chris Matthews' show, someone finally fired a shot. As we mentioned in this morning's liveblog, credit goes to The Atlantic's Andrew Sullivan, for taking the opportunity to ensure that this matter got out into the televised discourse somehow.
SULLIVAN: The latest revelations on the torture front show the memo from John Yoo...means that Don Rumsfeld, David Addington and John Yoo should not leave the United States any time soon. They will be, at some point, indicted for war crimes.
The moment came during a segment on Matthews' show where the panel is invited to "tell him something he doesn't know," though this might be more accurately termed, "something he doesn't know he should talk about." Matthews is hardly alone. [...]
That's a bombshell, but the trick, of course, is to get the media to talk about it instead of how Obama bowls and eats chocolate.
A tip o' the Brain to Andrew Sullivan for saying out loud, where it was at least heard by some, what we've been calling for for years.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Sunday Crazy Redneck Music Blogging
Ha! Thought I fergot, din'tcha? You ain't gettin' off that easy. This is dedicated to Commodore Werner for his amazing shiphandling in turning the equally amazing QM2 360° in basically her own length.
Note to Fixer: There's a reference towards the end of this song that you will like. ;)
Note to Fixer: There's a reference towards the end of this song that you will like. ;)
Vacation's over ...
I'll have a few closing thoughts on the experience tomorrow, when I'm not so fried but I wanted to get a couple more pics up.
More on the history of Cunard Line and a few more samples of the maritime art displayed aboard the Queen.
The details of a maneuver you wouldn't think the big girl was capable of.
The reason I was out there to begin with.
Some more shots around the ship.
We have some legal stuff to do with dad-in-law tomorrow and have to get Shayna from the vet in the morning. Hopefully, I'll be unpacked by then as well. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon.
As always, great thanks to my pardner Gordon (thanks to the commenters for keeping the old man in line. Heh ...) for keeping a lid on the place and JG for lending his wisdom to the mix while I was gone.
More on the history of Cunard Line and a few more samples of the maritime art displayed aboard the Queen.
The details of a maneuver you wouldn't think the big girl was capable of.
The reason I was out there to begin with.
Some more shots around the ship.
We have some legal stuff to do with dad-in-law tomorrow and have to get Shayna from the vet in the morning. Hopefully, I'll be unpacked by then as well. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon.
As always, great thanks to my pardner Gordon (thanks to the commenters for keeping the old man in line. Heh ...) for keeping a lid on the place and JG for lending his wisdom to the mix while I was gone.
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