Tony Rice, Jerry Douglas, Sam Bush, Wyatt Rice, & Mark Schatz
There's just one facility in the world where scientists and emergency responders can run full-scale oil spill response tests and research. It's housed at US Naval Weapons Station Earle in Leonardo, New Jersey. But when Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) tried to arrange a visit to the facility earlier this week, he learned that the facility is presently inoperable. Why? The tank researchers use to simulate spills has sprung a leak.
By the time I was done covering Washington politicians I’d came to the rock-solid conclusion that they were only half the problem. The other half were the people paid to cover Washington for major media outlets.
Bagging a White House correspondent post is to admitted to the most exclusive club in the world. I don’t use the term “club” by accident. These media “watchdogs” breathe the same rarified air, fly on the same comfy 747 and speed through traffic-free streets in the same convoys of blacked out SUVs.
And. worse yet, when it’s time to party they attend the same parties. Hell, they even throw parties for one another where they make where they celebrate their relationship with the kind of biting self-deprecating humor only the closest of friends could accommodate.
I came to the conclusion long ago that major media outlets should treat posts in Washington the same way the military treats assignments to active war zones; rotated in for a year or two, then rotate out for a year or two. Because when it comes to uncovering stuff, there’s nothing like the eyes and ears of a fresh reporter eager to make a name for him or herself.
Also editors need to enforce an ironclad rule against their reporters fraternizing with the people they cover. Building relationships of trust is fine. I did that with my sources, as does any good reporter. Burn sources and pretty soon all you’ll be reporting on is who died this week. But there’s a helluva difference between building relationships of trust by treating sources fairly and honestly, and dropping by their house on weekends for a pool party and BBQ.
But that’s what the Washington press corps has become. Those reporters and those they cover have developed a co-dependent relationship that borders on a protection racket. Familiarity has bred a strange mixture of mutual contempt tempered by the reassuring warmth of familiarity.
Which is why we now have to rely for real “scoops” on underground sites like wikileaks.com. And why it was Rolling Stone not the New York Times, or Washington Post or CNN or MSNBC who got the scoop on how General McChrystal feels about his Commander in Chief. (“the real enemy -- those wimps in the White House.”)
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And instead of being shocked and saddened by the vulture culture in Washington -- or anywhere powerful people gather -- Mr. Brooks ought to remember that it's called "reporting" for a reason.
GRAND OLE OPRY LIVE February 17th 2006
Photos: Marines amphibious training
The Marine Corps has not stormed a hostile beach since the Korean War.
If God is in the details, then Wizarding World is the holiest place on Earth.
Afghanistan is more than the “graveyard of empires.” It’s the mother of vicious circles.
So the commander in chief can be bad-mouthed as weak by the military but then he can’t punish the military because that would make him weak? It’s the same sort of pass-the-Advil vicious circle reasoning the military always uses.
McChrystal painted a vicious circle around his commander in chief. As Stars and Stripes summed it up: “Fire Gen. Stanley McChrystal and risk looking like he’s lost control of the war in Afghanistan. Or keep him and risk looking like he’s lost control of his generals.”
But he has met his match in Afghan warriors, who have clobbered every foreign invader since Alexander the Great. The average Afghan fighter lives on grain, a bowl of rice, a bottle of water. How much does it cost by comparison to have a foreign soldier in Afghanistan?
McChrystal never should have been hired for this job given the outrageous cover-up he participated in after the friendly fire death of Pat Tillman. He was lucky to keep the job after his “Seven Days in May” stunt in London last year when he openly lobbied and undercut the president on the surge.
So there you have it. Toxic rain and supersonic tsunamis, the end of North America as we know it. Done. Finished. Certainly, one of those two scenarios is guaranteed to come to pass, right? Maybe, if we're really lucky, even both?
All right, fine. In the off-off chance that invisible Russian scientists and nutball doomsayers are wrong (impossible!), well, there is one more glorious mega scenario to consider. There is a backup to the backup to the backup. Hey, we're Americans. When it comes to dorky apocalyptic visions, we got you covered.
Here is your grand finale: A new survey says that a disturbingly large percentage of Americans -- 40 percent, to be exact -- actually believe Jesus will return by 2050, likely riding on the back of a flaming asteroid (30 percent think one will hit us by then), waving a cowboy hat and yodeling as he careens toward our hapless blue dot of inequity, pain and lousy AT&T reception.
Jesus will then crash land in Texas, wink at Dubya and Sarah Palin, and then sweep up all the True Believers in their beige Dodge minivans just as the earth shudders and implodes, just like one of those swirling black holes in "Star Trek."
How cool will that be? Answer: It will be very cool indeed. It is so cool, in fact, it totally wipes out the need to care much about anything at all. See how easy? Now, who wants pie?
“Mr. President, I, uh, don’t think it’s quite fair to condemn a whole program because of a single slip-up, sir.” These famous words of support were, of course, offered by Gen. Buck Turgidson, played by George C. Scott, in the classic black comedy, Dr. Strangelove, after a rogue U.S. Air Force general subverted America’s “fail-safe” system and sent a wing of nuclear-armed bombers to annihilate the Russians.
This seemed an appropriate intro to General McChrystal’s meeting today with President Obama, where the general’s attempt to explain numerous slip-ups to his Commander-In-Chief predictably resulted in dismissal. Scott’s line is also the lead-in to my reaction to a piece sent to me by Bob Kincaid, host of our favorite nightly progressive radio show on the HORN, describing our pay-offs to Afghan travel agents–otherwise known as insurgents and warlords–to safeguard passage for our military convoys. In a campaign fraught with mistakes and distorted vision, buying into protection rackets which invariably end up funding our enemy seems like another in a series of tragic slip-ups.
We might as well be fighting space aliens on one of the moons of Saturn. Imagine the weekly briefing sometime in 2410: “Well General, how’s the mission on Titan coming along? What’s your assessment after 14 years of bloody warfare?”
“Well, we’re still taking it to them, although it would be easier if there was anything like a legitimate government or legal system up here. But we’re pressing on, and securing as much crazillium-7 as we can.”
“Sir, we understand United Crazillium is poised to make a fortune with the exclusive rights to sell this amusing and revolutionary energy source. Is that still our goal?”
“God willing. Their contractors have been working with us from the outset. Lord knows, they’ve written enough checks to right people.”
Four hundred years from now, those choosing to review the failed campaign on Titan will no doubt reflect on the history we ignored centuries before–and were thus doomed to repeat – of the conflict on a similarly hostile and formidable world known as Afghanistan.
Gulf Coast law firms Levin Papantonio, Eastland Law and others have begun filing a series of civil RICO actions in Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama to hold BP accountable for the false assurances it gave the American people that it could handle a worst-case scenario deepwater oil spill. The suits allege that BP committed mail fraud, wire fraud and potentially other RICO predicate act violations when the company sought permits from the federal government for deepwater offshore drilling, knowing that it did not possess the technical expertise or equipment necessary to respond to an emergency such as the ongoing Deepwater disaster.
Do corporations actually get taken to court these days or can BP just ask to have it kicked upstairs to Attorney Generals and higher courts that they've paid off?
Whatever happens in lower courts the Supreme Court can be counted on to "fix" everything, cf: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/25/business/25norris.html?hp
Everybody's talking about Senator Debbie Stabenow's aggressive words today accusing the Republicans of tanking the economy and throwing millions out of work for political gain. I don't see why this is even slightly controversial. The GOP is a party whose mouthpieces said from the very beginning that they wanted the president to fail and that they were planning his "Waterloo." And anyone who understood how our government works (or even understands simple logic) knew that saying that in the midst of an economic crisis translates to making people suffer. There was no other way to interpret that so it makes sense.
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In this age of sophisticated, cheap anti-ship missiles, I understand why one might question the need to assemble hundreds of ships for an Inchon-style beach assault or thousands of ships for another D-Day. As The Times reported in its June 21 article, "U.S. rethinks a Marine Corps specialty: storming beaches," assaulting a defended beach is seen as a thing of the past. If that is the only perceived mission for the Marine Corps, then why do we even need a Corps?
Our nation — a maritime nation — will always need to be involved with populations and crises across seas. What kind of crises and what kind of crisis response force (CRF, for the purposes of this article) will be required to carry out our nation's interests?
So we have done it. We have created a new crisis response force that economically transports itself over the sea, can provide humanitarian assistance and security, can provide for its own transportation and resupply until more help arrives, and can connect the lowest levels of command in the field with national goals and objectives.
Institute for Creation Research laughed out of court in Texas
See The Washington Post's Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Ann Telnaes' two cartoons this week (one a republished classic from 2003) for her view about all of this.
The White House press corps, ready for the next party invitation
Many of those in the mainstream media were appalled this week when Rolling Stone magazine published a story entitled "The Runaway General" that ultimately dethroned Gen. Stanley McChrystal from his position as commander of American and NATO forces in Afghanistan. The typical mainstream media reaction included snide references to the publication, saying that it appeared "in Rolling Stone, of all places." John Amato on the Crooks and Liars blog chuckled about Fox News contributor Brit Hume's reaction, saying in jest, "How dare (McChrystal) use a hippie rag instead of coming to a Villager?"
Go after the truth, wherever it may lie and regardless of whom it will taint. When comedians and high school students and a hippie magazine outperform you, then the journalists should take a long hard look at their profession.
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As we've already explored in great depth over the years, the purpose of journalism is not to tell the truth or even straightforwardly give people the information they need to reach their own conclusions. It's to maintain the established order and obscure rather than reveal what's really going on ...
ROME -- Italian politician Umberto Bossi apologized Wednesday for his much-criticized remarks that Italy would "buy" a victory in a crucial World Cup group match against Slovakia.
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Bossi reportedly said "they [Italy] will buy it," responding to a question about which team would win. He said he expected two to three Slovak players to surface in the Italian league next season -- apparently as compensation to the Slovakian team.
The Italian federation immediately described Bossi's remarks as "disconcerting and offensive." It said that Bossi, a maverick politician known for his anti-establishment rhetoric, had gone "overboard."
... Not only does he deserve to be shitcanned for mouthing off but his favorite beer is Bud Lite Lime. Holy girl drink, Batman ...
As a nation, we are becoming more and more accustomed to a sense of helplessness. We no longer rise to the great challenges before us. It’s not just that we can’t plug the oil leak, which is the perfect metaphor for what we’ve become. We can’t seem to do much of anything.
We are submitting to this debacle with the same pathetic lack of creativity and helpless mind-set that now seems to be the default position of Americans in the 21st century. We have become a nation that is good at destroying things — with wars overseas and mind-bogglingly self-destructive policies here at home — but that has lost sight of how to build and maintain a flourishing society. We’re dismantling our public school system and, incredibly, attacking our spectacularly successful system of higher education, which is the finest in the world.
How is it possible that we would let this happen?
We’ve got all kinds of sorry explanations for why we can’t do any of the things we need to do. The Democrats can’t get 60 votes in the Senate. Our budget deficits are too high. Rush Limbaugh or Glenn Beck might object.
Meanwhile, the greatness of the United States, which so many have taken for granted for so long, is steadily slipping away.
Overwhelmingly, Americans think the nation needs a fundamental overhaul of its energy policies, and most expect alternative forms to replace oil as a major source within 25 years. Yet a majority are unwilling to pay higher gasoline prices to help develop new fuel sources.
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Large majorities disapprove of the way BP is handling the spill and have little faith in the oil industry generally to act in the public interest. By a 2-to-1 margin, they trust the federal government more than BP to handle the cleanup efforts in the gulf.
Yet they also think the Obama administration could be doing more to fix the damage from the leak. Fifty-nine percent said Mr. Obama did not have a clear plan for dealing with the spill.
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Oh, what a gift to John McCain. We've all seen commercials/infomercials like this before. If you just fork up $1,000, you can learn how to realize all of your dreams by learning how to get rich by applying for government grants. The hawkers claim you can send your kids to the best schools, live in that big house you always wanted, and live your dreams for the low, low price of $1,000 to attend the only conference on the planet designed for YOU.
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The first Russian surface warship to visit San Francisco in 147 years is docked on the Embarcadero this week on a visit that combines friendship, history and a display of military power.
The ship is the cruiser Varyag, a sleek gray vessel that is the flagship of Russia's Pacific fleet. It made the two-week voyage from Vladivostok in the spirit of friendship, as Russian Rear Adm. Vladimir Kastonov said more than once during a news conference aboard the ship at Pier 30-32 on Monday.
The ship's visit also commemorates a nearly forgotten bit of Russian-American history. Czar Alexander II sent a fleet to San Francisco and New York in 1863 during the American Civil War to show support for the union.
Currently the ship is being examined and repaired by China's People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) after purchasing it at auction[5]. It was widely reported that the ship would become a casino in the Chinese SAR of Macau. [...]
Two cruisers in the Russian Navy and one in the Soviet Navy have been named Varyag after the Varangian people, the Viking ancestors of the Rus.
On Wednesday, the Varyag's crew will participate in a cookout and sports competition with sailors from the U.S. Navy cruiser Bunker Hill, which is also in port.
Boing! Feds say Magic Power coffee contains Viagra drug
“Haley Barbour is cross eyed, buck toothed, loud mouthed son of a motherless goat, dammit,”
Josh Fox talks about the toxic materials from hydraulic fracturing that are turning up in people's water supplies. (07:50)
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Josh Fox | ||||
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The top U.S. war commander in Afghanistan apologized Tuesday for an interview in which he said he felt betrayed by the man the White House chose to be his diplomatic partner, Ambassador Karl Eikenberry.
The article in this week's issue of Rolling Stone depicts Gen. Stanley McChrystal as a lone wolf on the outs with many important figures in the Obama administration and unable to convince even some of his own soldiers that his strategy can win the war.
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As Renaissance political scientist Niccolo Machiavelli noted, the fall of Rome came about when its military elite, known as the Praetorian Guard, gained control over the emperor and the Senate. Had irony survived the Bush Jr. administration, it would relish that America’s empire is crumbling under the undue influence of its military elite, the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM).
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WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? I mean it, what is that, you fucking moral dyslexic? You’re basically cheering on the possible implosion of an entire ocean because it will remedy "infantile optimism" of "post-JFK America?" What the fuck does that even mean? I just … I’m … What in the blue hell has to happen inside your brain that makes writing that okay?
What kind of insulated, sheltered, non-reality reality do you have to be swimming around in that you can sit there and say that the killing of an ENTIRE OCEAN and the destruction of an ENTIRE THIRD OF THE DAMN COUNTRY’S ECONOMY would be okay because hey, then everybody will realize that Nixon was right and fuck Cambodia anyway and hippies smell?
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Congressional hearings are to hypocrisy what green felt is to pool tables.
The Rude Pundit hadn't paid much attention to the Sunday blabfests yesterday because, even if it has its charms when you're participating, a circle jerk is just weird and depressing to watch, especially on a weekly basis. But then, in one of her standard blurps of incoherency, Sarah Palin tweeted from "her" Blackberry, "RahmEmanuel= as shallow/narrowminded/political/irresponsible as they come,to falsely claim Barton's BP comment is 'GOP philosophy'Rahm,u lie". The Rude Pundit's first reaction, after breaking out the decoder ring and setting it on "fucktard" (it's right after "Enigma"), was "Vicodin's a helluva drug." But then he wondered what President Obama's Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, the subject of such recent disdain out here in the hinterlands of Left Blogsylvania, had said.
Apparently, an unfed Rahm Emanuel is a worthless and/or destructive being (as in his unending willingness to compromise during the health care debate). However, you give him the raw meat of campaign mode, and that motherfucker becomes the nasty wolverine you want on your side. To those paying attention (like the aforementioned former demi-Governor of Alaska), on This Week with Placeholder Jake Tapper, Emanuel offered more for Democrats to battle for than any administration official has in months.
So Sarah Palin's thong was already twisted when Emanuel started offering up pieces of the GOP for devouring, as when he said, "The approach here expressed and supported by other voices in the Republican Party, sees the aggrieved party as BP, not the American -- not the fishermen and the communities down there affected. And that would the governing philosophy. And I think what Joe Barton did is remind the American people, in case they've forgotten, this is how the Republicans would govern."
And, as if to prove Emanuel right (and contrary to the desperate backtracking that Palin and Mitch McConnell and other craven Republicans are doing on Barton), here's crying California Rep. Darrell "Are the cameras on?" Issa on what he'd do with subpoena power in a House of Representatives run by Republicans: "I won't use it to have corporate America live in fear that we're going to subpoena everything. I will use it to get the very information that today the White House is either shredding or not producing." You got that? Issa's saying that the White House is the enemy that needs to be attacked, not corporations that pollute and steal and kill.
Emanuel is testing a strategy here, laying out a case that ideology matters. If this is the battle line for the midterms, it's got possibilities. It ain't politicizing the oil spill - it's politicizing the Republicans' response to it. Not bad at all. When that snarling bastard Emanuel gets his teeth in something, he's gonna take chunks out of it.
England: Thong Awareness Day Observed
With special discounts for seniors.
World Cup Ball Universally Disliked
Everyone agrees it favors their opponent.
Kepler Telescope Spots Planet With Density of Styrofoam
Probably a fake, say astronomers.
Too Much, Too Little Sleep Can Shorten Life
Too much, too little information can kill you.
...9. "President Bush personally asked Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle Tuesday to limit the congressional investigation into the events of September 11..." ..."Tuesday's discussion followed a rare call to Daschle from Vice President Dick Cheney last Friday to make the same request."
10. The Project For a New American Century, which wrote of the need for a "catastrophic and catalyzing event, like a new Pearl Harbor," had members throughout the top of the government on 9/11 including Cheney, Rumsfeld, Perle, Wolfowitz, Feith, Bolton, Armitage, Abrams, Wurmser, as well as Bush's brother, the governor of Florida, Jeb.
11. Four days before 9/11, Jeb Bush activated the Florida National Guard, "Based on the potential massive damage to life and property that may result from an act of terrorism at a Florida port." (Executive Order 01-261).
12. On 9/11 Jeb Bush declared a "State of Emergency" in Florida (E.O. 01-262). "I hereby delegate to the Department of Law Enforcement the operational authority to coordinate and direct the law enforcement resources and other resources of any and all state, regional and local governmental agencies..." And by 2am on 9/12/01, Jeb Bush was reported to have confiscated the police records in Venice, FL related to the Huffman Aviation flight school. Two rental trucks full of these records drove onto a C-130 military aircraft at Sarasota Airport and flew out with Jeb Bush aboard.
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After months of requests from reporters, a California university has agreed to allow members of the media to attend a fundraiser next week featuring Sarah Palin. [...]
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How out of whack are we if reporting that a public figure with an inappropriate amount of influence is “allowing” us to find out what she’s saying at a fundraiser?
When Joe Barton, the ranking Republican on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, revived Rand Paul’s defense of BP last week by apologizing on camera to Hayward for the “tragedy” of the White House’s “$20 billion shakedown,” the G.O.P. establishment had to shut him down because he was revealing the party’s true loyalties, not because it disagreed with him (my em). Barton was merely echoing Michele Bachmann, who labeled the $20 billion for gulf victims a “redistribution-of-wealth fund,” and the 100-plus other House members whose Republican Study Committee had labeled the $20 billion a “Chicago-style shakedown” only a day before Barton did.
These tribunes of the antigovernment right and their Tea Party auxiliaries are clamoring for a new revolution to “take back America” — after which, we now can see, they would hand over America to the likes of BP. Let Deepwater Horizon be ground zero for a 9/11 showdown over the role of government. There couldn’t be a riper moment for Obama, as a man once said, to bring it on.
