"Use the Corolla. The armored car's fer haulin' hookers."

More outrageous waste, fraud, and abuse of our tax dollars by KBR. Muckraked!:

Some explosive testimony this afternoon from a panel of whistleblowers testifying before the Senate’s Democratic Policy Committee on contractor abuse in Iraq.

A contractor died when a DynCorp manager used an employee’s armored car to transport prostitutes, according to Barry Halley, a Worldwide Network Services employee working under a DynCorp subcontract.

“DynCorp’s site manager was involved in bringing prostitutes into hotels operated by DynCorp. A co-worker unrelated to the ring was killed when he was travelling in an unsecure car and shot performing a high-risk mission. I believe that my co-worker could have survived if he had been riding in an armored car. At the time, the armored car that he would otherwise have been riding in was being used by the contractor’s manager to transport prostitutes from Kuwait to Baghdad.“

Other revelations:

- Kellogg Brown & Root contractors used to destroy countless quantities of still-usable equipment that was difficult to transport in “massive burn pits” that were “burning 24 hours a day.”

Nice new truck gets a flat tire. Put on the spare? Nah, burn it. We're on cost-plus. Buy a new truck.

- KBR’s ice foreman “was cheating the troops out of ice at the same time that he was trading the ice for DVDs, CDs, food and other items at the Iraqi shops across the street.”

How much is ice at your local store? Coupla bucks a bag? I'll bet that sonofabitch 'ice foreman' is charging us 50 bucks a bag for all the ice he stole, and then overcharged the GIs for the DVDs and stuff.

- When KBR whistleblower Frank Cassaday reported weapons looting, he was placed in a jail tent by KBR security.

- KBR employees looted Iraqi palaces for treasure to sell on eBay.

I think we can justifiably add KBR to the list of 'enemies' arrayed against our troops in Iraq.

Why don't we just cut out the middleman? It would be a lot less hassle to just burn the money in the parking lot outside the print shop.

MPT for McCain!

As you may have heard, John McCain is now attacking Barack Obama based upon favorable comments about Obama allegedly made by a leader of Hamas. The fact Obama has repeatedly and unequivocally condemned Hamas apparently isn’t good enough in McCain’s book.

McCain On Obama: “Clear Who Hamas Wants to be the Next President”

While some small-minded sorts might claim that it’s wrong to try to hold a candidate responsible for the statements of an organization he’s specifically condemned, John McCain knows better. He realizes that candidates are 100% responsible for everyone who purports to support them, no ifs, ands or buts (Rev. John Hagee, anyone?).

That is, after all, the straight-talking way.

And we here at Marxist Polygamist Terrorists, Inc. couldn’t agree more! And it is in that very spirit that we hereby proudly announce our enthusiastic and unconditional endorsement of John McCain for President of the United States!

We want to make it very clear where Marxist polygamist terrorists stand in this election! And where we stand is squarely behind John McCain!

So, as Big John McCain would put it himself . . . If Senator McCain is favored by Marxist polygamist terrorists I think people can make judgments accordingly.

Amen.

McCain will no doubt accept the endorsement with glee, given that the organization has 'Inc.' in its title.

More on voter ID

Expanding a little on Fixer's post, here's what the DNC has to say about the Repug-biased SCOTUS decision on voter ID:

After the ruling, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean and DNC Voting Rights Institute Chair Donna Brazile issued the following statement:

"Today's decision by the Supreme Court is deeply disappointing and not justified by the facts. It is an affront to our nation's ideal that all people, regardless of their background or beliefs, have the right to vote and have that vote counted. This case has never been about securing the right to vote. Instead, it has confirmed the lengths Republicans will go to in their attempts to limit voting rights in order to win elections. This decision runs counter to the principles on which our great nation was founded, and we will not let them get away with it.

Good luck. They've gotten away with nearly everything they've tried.

SCOTUS has come up with an unconstitutional blatantly partisan ruling about a non-existent problem made up by the Repugs to try and limit other-than-Repug access to the polls. Bolstering this administration's suppressive policies is what SCOTUS gets paid to do these days. To quote the first of the justices who should be hung from the yardarm, "Get over it".

We'll try. 11.4.08 and 1.20.09.

McCain vs. McCain

A 'recommended read' by Fareed Zakaria:

He seems to think he can magically unite the two main strands in the foreign-policy establishment. He can't.

On March 26, McCain gave a speech on foreign policy in Los Angeles that was billed as his most comprehensive statement on the subject. It contained within it the most radical idea put forward by a major candidate for the presidency in 25 years. Yet almost no one noticed.

In his speech McCain proposed that the United States expel Russia from the G8, the group of advanced industrial countries. Moscow was included in this body in the 1990s to recognize and reward it for peacefully ending the cold war on Western terms, dismantling the Soviet empire and withdrawing from large chunks of the old Russian Empire as well. McCain also proposed that the United States should expand the G8 by taking in India and Brazil—but pointedly excluded China from the councils of power.

[...] What McCain has announced is momentous—that the United States should adopt a policy of active exclusion and hostility toward two major global powers. It would reverse a decades-old bipartisan American policy of integrating these two countries into the global order, a policy that began under Richard Nixon (with Beijing) and continued under Ronald Reagan (with Moscow). It is a policy that would alienate many countries in Europe and Asia who would see it as an attempt by Washington to begin a new cold war.

Cold war, hot war, mox nix. McCain'll have 'em both.

[...] His speech reads like it was written by two very different people, each one given an allotment of a few paragraphs on every topic.

The neoconservative vision within the speech is essentially an affirmation of ideology. Not only does it declare war on Russia and China, it places the United States in active opposition to all nondemocracies. [...]

Declaring war on Russia and China. One guess how that's gonna work out...

McCain appears to think that he can magically unite the two main strands in the Republican foreign-policy establishment. But he can't. This is not about personalities but about two philosophically divergent views of international affairs. Put together, they will produce infighting and incoherence. We have seen this movie before. We have watched an American president unable to choose between his ideologically driven vice president and his pragmatic secretary of State—and the result was the catastrophe of George W. Bush's first term. [...]

The second Bush term is even worse, and the third Bush term will be worse than that.

Quote of the Day dos

"I make up crap that isn't true and tell it on TV. Just like Fox News."

Craig Ferguson at the White House Correspondents Dinner.

Catch his whole performance at Deadline Hollywood Daily. Three videos and comments. IMNSHO, Part 2 is the best one.

Quote of the Day

Just another before I leave, a commentary on our 'success' in Afghanistan:

...

"We never sell the drugs for money," boasted one of the smugglers. "We exchange them for ammunition and Kalashnikovs."

...

Supporting the troops ... really

Brother Deuddersun reprints a letter from VoteVets.org's John Stolz. Of course the Rethugs want to screw the troops any way they can in their quest to run a war on the cheap, especially a certain Republican Presidential Nominee:

...

We need your help. This week, Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and Richard Burr offered a watered-down substitute to the 21st Century GI Bill, which was introduced by Senators Jim Webb and Chuck Hagel.

We need you to write to your Senators telling them that the McCain bill is unacceptable.

...

Details at API.

Off to work ... Is it Friday yet?

McCain's legacy ...

William Wolfrum writes it:

...

"When McCain won the U.S. Presidency (controversially winning nine states by one vote each), the United States had reached lows it had not seen since the Great Depression era. With the nation at war on four fronts as he took office (Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Alabama), McCain quickly responded by taking an 87-day holiday and changing his middle initial to "Dubya."

Upon returning to office, McCain continued to do little but show old movies of himself to people visiting the White House. It was under these circumstances that the U.S. reached full recovery.

It was Sept. 2009 when the "American Miracle," as many have taken to calling it, began. First, the dollar strengthened based on absolutely nothing. Job creation also skyrocketed, as business owners around the nation decided that hiring people could be a way for their companies to stop hemorrhaging money. Acting on this news, oil prices plummeted to $42 a barrel, and the price of gas at U.S. pumps averaged $1.28 a gallon. Health insurance rates plummeted based on the "well, everyone else is doing it," economic theory. Wealth inequality closed dramatically as the poor were not anywhere near as poor and the rich were just slightly less rich. All U.S. infrastructure simultaneously strengthened in 2010, based on what McCain called the "successful privatization of the U.S. infrastructure." Critics pointed out that no private companies had done anything, and that it had all just sort of "happened."

...

Heh ... If you want another do-nothing corporatist in the White House, McSame is your man.

We're just gonna swab your ...

In light of the SCOTUS ruling yesterday, it's just a matter of time until just about every Dem or progressive constituency is marginalized. Digby sums it up quite succinctly:

...

First of all, let's not forget that this may be the biggest political land mine the Bush administration has set for Democrats. "Voter fraud" was, you'll remember, at the bottom of the US Attorney scandals and one of their main tools for suppressing the Democratic vote. This is the realization of a very long term plan to chip away at the Voting Rights Act. Republicans, like all aristocrats, know that if enough average people vote, they will lose. Period.

...

It's the only way the genuine elites can win. Wait for the cries of voter fraud in November.

John McCain and Bush's torture powers

Glenn Greenwald*

There are two reasons, and two reasons only, that the Bush administration is able to claim this power: John McCain and the Military Commissions Act. In September, 2006, McCain made a melodramatic display -- with great media fanfare -- of insisting that the MCA require compliance with the Geneva Conventions for all detainees. But while the MCA purports to require that, it also vested sole and unchallenged discretion in the President to determine what does and does not constitute a violation of the Conventions. After parading around as the righteous opponent of torture, McCain nonetheless endorsed and voted for the MCA, almost single-handedly ensuring its passage. That law pretends to compel compliance with the Conventions, while simultaneously vesting the President with the power to violate them -- precisely the power that the President is invoking here to proclaim that we have the right to use these methods.

McCain will hate the 'gooks' forever for what they did to him. This time, thanks to him, we're the gooks.

*Re the Starbux ad I had to watch to enter Salon: $10 for 3lbs of good French Roast at Costco beats the crap outta $4 a cup.

Another one gone

LATimes

Dick Rossi, the Flying Tigers pilot who downed six Japanese planes during World War II and later helped preserve the history of the world-famous volunteers, has died. He was 92.

In his 65 years as president of the Flying Tigers Assn., Rossi and his wife helped organize reunions of the pilots and other Flying Tigers, and through speaking engagements helped spread awareness about their role in history.

Though the Flying Tigers were viewed as heroes, they were not seen as veterans by the U.S. government until 1991. Before then the Pentagon argued that the men were volunteers. That position changed after classified documents revealed the role of the government in forming the group.

"Not seen as veterans". They weren't the only ones who did their duty and weren't recognized officially as veterans until long after their service, like the WASPs and Merchant Marine. Some things never change in the government's battle to save money on benefits.

When I was a kid I think I read every word ever printed about the Flying Tigers. They were and are my heroes.

So long, Sir.

Nevada Republican Convention canceled

Blue Lyon: Living Blue in a Red County

Gord's note: Lyon County is the next county south and east of Washoe County, where Reno is located. It covers 2000+ square miles and has a population of about 34,000. Its main claims to fame are legalized prostitution (Yea!) and a Superfund site (not so yea, but a lovely photo nonetheless).

Anjeanette Damon live blogged the Nevada Republican State Convention. Read it all, from the bottom up.

Rules fight over the delegate selection.

Well, we can't say this hasn't been an interesting year. For once, it isn't the Democrats in the news.

Click on Anjeannette's link and go have some fun! Let's just say those pesky Ron Paul supporters gummed up the works. Heh. Mr. Paul is of some use after all!

In related news, Reno has had a swarm of earthquakes of increasing intensity since February. I'm about 20 miles west of the epicenter and haven't felt a thing.

One report said they were felt 'as far away as northwest Reno'. That's less than five miles away. Pansies! We're 180 miles from Frisco and we feel their quakes all the time.

There's a lot of highfalutin' scientific talk agoin' on as to why, but I have two theories: either the Sierra Nevada is just rising up a little due to relief from the great weight of water that has been shifted to Reno's rapid expansion and development, or God is having a belly laugh over all the support for Ron Paul.

Use our water, share our seismic activity. Welcome to California, Reno. You'll really feel like part of the team when you start paying taxes at our rate.

Oh, the irony...

Ironic Times

U.S. OPENS WORLD'S LARGEST EMBASSY IN BAGHDAD
Contains more square footage than all of Saddam's 70 palaces combined.

Study: Human Race Faced Extinction 70,000 Years Ago
Handful of people survived by ignoring problem, shopping more and cutting taxes.

Recession Has Silver Lining
When economy dives, hemlines traditionally rise.

Airlines to Begin Charging $25 for Second Bag
Of pretzels.

Last resorts ...

No, it's not a travel post.

It's about how we make grave mistakes at the polls and then pray to a higher being to fix them. Instead of electing people who act to preserve the environment, we elect assholes who come up with catchy names like 'Clear Skies' and 'Healthy Forests' for legislation allowing their corporate cronies to rape Mother Nature, and then we pray for rain.

Instead of electing people who look out for the 'working folk', we elect assholes who can count CEOs of oil companies as their base, and then we pray for low gas prices. Idiots:

Come on, people. Instead of praying for lower gas prices, you need to v-o-t-e out all the Rethugs who rubber-stamped the current administration's policies and warmongering that got us here.

...

Maybe, if you'd all vote with your heads instead of your faith, we might not be paying double what we did last year for gas. Stop voting for the guy you want as a drinking or BBQ buddy (I certainly don't want the people I drink with running the country) and vote for the guy (or girl) who actually knows what they're doing.

To Barack and Hil supporters: Either of them is better than George Bush and John McCain.

To people who won't vote at all if one or the other wins the Dem nom: You'll be doing more damage to this nation than you realize.

To people who will vote for McCain if one or the other wins the Dem nom: You're fucking idiots and it's time to pull your head out your ass.

I'm tired of having to explain this every couple days, but it seems like every other day I run into a Hillary hater or someone who "ain't voting for no black guy". Hil, on her worst day, is head and shoulders above Bush and McCain and it's too early in the morning for me to get into a rant on racism.

Get with the fucking program and realize the future of our nation is at stake in this election. If you fuck it up this time, no amount of praying will help us.

Off to the shop. Yes, I'm leaving early, but I gotta pick up dad-in-law's car to service it and replace a side view mirror.

Quote of the Day

Ranger Jim and Lisa:

...

Freedom is a hard-won possession in a social construct, and one usually independent of God. God is a limiting concept on human freedom, because if you buy into it, the only freedom you have is what is dispensed to you from on high. He circumscribes your actions, sanctifying or damning them. He does not unleash you from controls, because in that system, you are as a child, and children would do themselves great harm without rules.

...

Sunday crazy redneck music blogging

In honor of the Democratic presidential primary flusterpluck, I dedicate this to the late Democratic party. by the late Boxcar Willie:

Note the locomotive with no front on its boiler about 25 seconds in. If I'da been sittin' in that thing when its front blew out, my behind'da blown out too...

The Wreck Of The Old 97

Glam metal...klezmer?

Boy, ya sure can stumble across some weird shit at YouTube! (If there's any doubt, check this out.) Anyway, I was checkin' out some traditional Eastern European Hasidic and Ashkenasic Jewish jazz as is my wont sometimes, when I ran across this from Seattle, which figures:



An odd combination to be sure, but in the spirit of ever onward and upward (I think), now I'll try ta find some redneck hip-hop. I'll find it, too. Ah'll be back...

Update: I'm ba-ack. You're safe. The 'redneck hip-hop' I found is some of the stupidest shit I've ever seen.

When do the 72 virgins show up?

As regular readers of the Brain, the smartest folks on the planet, may have guessed, I'm a huge fan of John Prine. He ain't all that much of a singer but he's a helluva good songwriter. This particular song has been covered by everybody as have most of his songs.

Paradise

Update:

Fixer, after the video plays, click on the second thumbnail from the left at the bottom.

Going to shit ...

How long have we been in Afghanistan? And now the Mayor of Kabul President Karzai almost gets his ass shot off.

KABUL, Afghanistan – President Hamid Karzai survived an assassination attempt at a military parade in central Kabul on Sunday, when suspected Taliban insurgents fired mortars and bullets at the dignitaries assembled in the spectator stands.

...

Like I've said in the past, we learned nothing from the British and Russian invasions. They will run us out of there as well.

Holy Crap!

Seriously.

We're starting the demolition in the coming week (once I get off my ass and order the dumpster) and we've been cleaning out cabinets in order to clear the construction area. Needless to say, since we've been in the house (12 years), we've been stashing important papers anywhere they'd fit, always giving the excuse "next year we'll get really organized".

Well, it's gotten to be overwhelming.

So, yesterday we went and got two nice file cabinets (chestnut color, to go with my office decor) and I spent the day putting them together. Today we're getting really organized.

Good. God. With all this paper, we've been living in a 3200 sq. ft. fire hazard. Anyway, that's my day today. Oy! See yas later.

Update:

I got 2 shredders going at once. I feel like I work in the Office of the Vice President. Heh ...