[. . .]
But, nationally, these are leaders who won re-election last year largely by portraying their opponents as incapable of keeping the country safe. These are leaders who regularly pressure the news media in this country to report the reopening of a school or a power station in Iraq, and defies its citizens not to stand up and cheer. Yet they couldn't even keep one school or power station from being devastated by infrastructure collapse in New Orleans - even though the government had heard all the "chatter" from the scientists and city planners and hurricane centers and some group whose purposes the government couldn't quite discern . . . a group called The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
And most chillingly of all, this is the Law and Order and Terror government. It promised protection - or at least amelioration - against all threats: conventional, radiological, or biological.
It has just proved that it cannot save its citizens from a biological weapon called standing water.
[. . .]
Tuesday, September 6, 2005
Calling 'bullshit'
Olbermann:
Monday, September 5, 2005
Yeah, we're winning
Puh. Via Rising Hegemon:
Is this a fucking joke or what? Hello, McFly! Time to either institute the Draft or cut and run. Pick one, Chimpy. We're losing, you fucking twit.
BAGHDAD, Sept. 5 -- Abu Musab Zarqawi's foreign-led Al Qaeda in Iraq took open control of a key western town at the Syrian border, deploying its guerrilla fighters in the streets and flying Zarqawi's black banner from rooftops, tribal leaders and other residents in the city and surrounding villages said.
A sign newly posted at the entrance of Qaim declared, "Welcome to the Islamic Kingdom of Qaim." A statement posted in mosques described Qaim as an "Islamic kingdom liberated from the occupation."
[. . .]
Is this a fucking joke or what? Hello, McFly! Time to either institute the Draft or cut and run. Pick one, Chimpy. We're losing, you fucking twit.
You want a plan?
The Dems have a plan.
Get the rest below the fold . . .
Katrina Relief Plan for Senate Action This Week
Although the Congress last week appropriated $10.5 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Defense Department, it is clear much more will be needed given the enormity of this disaster. While government authorities and others assess the scope of the problem and decide how much additional funding will be needed to address specific problems, there are a number of legislative items the Senate can and should promptly approve that can help Katrina’s victims. After the Senate has completed action on this emergency legislation, we hope the Senate will quickly provide significant new funding, and consider other substantive proposals that could help address short- and medium-term needs. These proposals must be followed by a much broader, long-term effort to rebuild and rehabilitate the Gulf Coast region and substantially improve efforts to prevent, mitigate and respond to future disasters.
The following are just some examples of proposals that Senate Democrats believe deserve immediate Senate action this week:
Get the rest below the fold . . .
Incompetence? Or Worse?
Here is the transcript of the conversation between Tim Russert and Aaron Broussard, President of Jefferson Parish LA. It raises serious questions.
Examples of incompetence, indifference, and arrogance on FEMA's part abound, and I fear we've only seen the tip of the iceberg.
The turning away of the Wal-Mart trucks (Irony alert: Wal-Mart outperformed the Federal government! How bad is that?) and the refusal to allow the transfer of badly needed fuel are bad enough.
The cutting of the comm line disturbs me. We had a saying in my Comm Platoon in the Marine Corps that "Communications lends dignity to what would otherwise be considered a brawl". It was a semi-humorous understatement.
Communication is EVERYTHING in any kind of serious situation. It's a lifeline. Think about it. You can't communicate by voice more than about a hundred feet. Beyond that, you need telephone, telegraph, radio, semaphores, runners, carrier pigeons, smoke signals, any means of extending the range of the human voice.
Without reliable communications, people die.
Why did FEMA cut their comm line? I think this is important and needs to be looked into.
Update:
From one of the links in Fixer's post above:
MR. BROUSSARD: Sir, they were told like me, every single day, "The cavalry's coming," on a federal level, "The cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming, the cavalry's coming." I have just begun to hear the hoofs of the cavalry. The cavalry's still not here yet, but I've begun to hear the hoofs, and we're almost a week out.
Let me give you just three quick examples. We had Wal-Mart deliver three trucks of water, trailer trucks of water. FEMA turned them back.
They said we didn't need them. This was a week ago. FEMA--we had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel on a Coast Guard vessel docked in my parish. The Coast Guard said, "Come get the fuel right away." When we got there with our trucks, they got a word. "FEMA says don't give you the fuel."
Yesterday--yesterday--FEMA comes in and cuts all of our emergency communication lines. They cut them without notice. Our sheriff, Harry Lee, goes back in, he reconnects the line. He posts armed guards on our line and says, "No one is getting near these lines." Sheriff Harry Lee said that if America--American government would have responded like Wal-Mart has responded, we wouldn't be in this crisis.
Examples of incompetence, indifference, and arrogance on FEMA's part abound, and I fear we've only seen the tip of the iceberg.
The turning away of the Wal-Mart trucks (Irony alert: Wal-Mart outperformed the Federal government! How bad is that?) and the refusal to allow the transfer of badly needed fuel are bad enough.
The cutting of the comm line disturbs me. We had a saying in my Comm Platoon in the Marine Corps that "Communications lends dignity to what would otherwise be considered a brawl". It was a semi-humorous understatement.
Communication is EVERYTHING in any kind of serious situation. It's a lifeline. Think about it. You can't communicate by voice more than about a hundred feet. Beyond that, you need telephone, telegraph, radio, semaphores, runners, carrier pigeons, smoke signals, any means of extending the range of the human voice.
Without reliable communications, people die.
Why did FEMA cut their comm line? I think this is important and needs to be looked into.
Update:
From one of the links in Fixer's post above:
Nearly every emergency worker told agonizing stories of communications failures, some of them most likely fatal to victims. Police officers called Senator Landrieu's Washington office because they could not reach commanders on the ground in New Orleans, Mr. Sharp said.
Killed by Contempt
Paul Krugman
This administration is exactly the antithesis of a "force for good". Katrina has pointed that out in no uncertain terms.
But the federal government's lethal ineptitude wasn't just a consequence of Mr. Bush's personal inadequacy; it was a consequence of ideological hostility to the very idea of using government to serve the public good. For 25 years the right has been denigrating the public sector, telling us that government is always the problem, not the solution. Why should we be surprised that when we needed a government solution, it wasn't forthcoming?
That contempt, as I've said, reflects a general hostility to the role of government as a force for good. And Americans living along the Gulf Coast have now reaped the consequences of that hostility.
The administration has always tried to treat 9/11 purely as a lesson about good versus evil. But disasters must be coped with, even if they aren't caused by evildoers. Now we have another deadly lesson in why we need an effective government, and why dedicated public servants deserve our respect. Will we listen?
This administration is exactly the antithesis of a "force for good". Katrina has pointed that out in no uncertain terms.
Even Fidel
The Cubans do a better job of protecting their people than we do:
Regardless of what you think about his politics, you gotta hand it to Fidel. You gotta respect a guy who, for so long, has given the finger to so many American Presidents and lived to tell about it.
Last September, a Category 5 hurricane battered the small island of Cuba with 160-mile-per-hour winds. More than 1.5 million Cubans were evacuated to higher ground ahead of the storm. Although the hurricane destroyed 20,000 houses, no one died.
What is Cuban President Fidel Castro's secret? According to Dr. Nelson Valdes, a sociology professor at the University of New Mexico, and specialist in Latin America, "the whole civil defense is embedded in the community to begin with. People know ahead of time where they are to go."
"Cuba's leaders go on TV and take charge," said Valdes. Contrast this with George W. Bush's reaction to Hurricane Katrina. The day after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Bush was playing golf. He waited three days to make a TV appearance and five days before visiting the disaster site. In a scathing editorial on Thursday, the New York Times said, "nothing about the president's demeanor yesterday - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis."
[. . .]
Regardless of what you think about his politics, you gotta hand it to Fidel. You gotta respect a guy who, for so long, has given the finger to so many American Presidents and lived to tell about it.
Hat tip: Big Brass Blog
Insulting Potemkin
Billmon admits he does it:
He goes on to draw parallels between Bush and the last days of the Nazi regime:
An excellent post, though I don't completely agree with his final conclusions (I still have faith in my fellow Americans they will correct their political mistakes), I do believe we have some serious work to do on our system of government. Don't groan, but yes, it's time for another excerpt:
More below the fold . . .
[. . .]
Of course, calling Bush the Potemkin president is actually a gross insult to the genuine article -- Prince Grigory Potemkin, the man who allegedly had fake villages constructed on the shores of the Dnieper River in order to impress the Czarina Catherine during an official inspection tour.
[. . .]
But history also tells us the real Prince Potemkin was a hard-working, conscientious public servant who carried out his duties with considerable skill. At this point, it's looking less and less likely that history will ever say the same about Shrub.
[. . .]
He goes on to draw parallels between Bush and the last days of the Nazi regime:
[. . .]
For many Germans -- fanatical Nazis as well as the naive and the weak-minded -- believing Hitler's absurd promises of ultimate victory was the only alterrnative to accepting a world in which evil (Bolshevism, world Jewry) had triumphed and good (National Socialism, the Aryan superman) had failed. Such a world was either unimaginable, or unendurable.
Likewise, for the conservative ultras to accept Bush's failures now would be to admit the patriotic demi-God constructed after 9/11 by the White House propaganda machine (and, ironically, by the mainstream media ) doesn't exist. All that would be left would be the real Bush: the incompetent, arrogant rich kid who's failed at every significant job he's ever held -- from CEO of Arbusto Energy to commander in chief of the planet's most powerful military machine. For many Bushistas, this is equally unbearable.
[. . .]
An excellent post, though I don't completely agree with his final conclusions (I still have faith in my fellow Americans they will correct their political mistakes), I do believe we have some serious work to do on our system of government. Don't groan, but yes, it's time for another excerpt:
More below the fold . . .
Sunday, September 4, 2005
Indictments
So far:
Premeditated Murder of US troops in Iraq: 1900 (to be amended as the bodies pile up) counts.
Negligent homicide for the deaths of American citizens in New Orleans: Thousands.
Do you think Bush should be impeached? Do you think Bush should not be allowed to finish his term? Do you think being allowed to resign is inadequate punishment? Do you believe he should be tried for every count above in a court of law along with the charges of fraud perpetrated against the American people? Do you think the death penalty is a legitimate punishment? Do you think every member of his cabinet and the leadership of the Republican Party should also face the same charges?
I do, on all counts.
Premeditated Murder of US troops in Iraq: 1900 (to be amended as the bodies pile up) counts.
Negligent homicide for the deaths of American citizens in New Orleans: Thousands.
Do you think Bush should be impeached? Do you think Bush should not be allowed to finish his term? Do you think being allowed to resign is inadequate punishment? Do you believe he should be tried for every count above in a court of law along with the charges of fraud perpetrated against the American people? Do you think the death penalty is a legitimate punishment? Do you think every member of his cabinet and the leadership of the Republican Party should also face the same charges?
I do, on all counts.
Shoulda
The Mrs. and I are sitting here, waiting for the NASCAR race to kick off, and we are (of course) talking about the New Orleans horror. Mrs. F came up with the perfect thing for Bush to have done, had he any sechel.
Bush has 1600 acres in Crawford, right? What say, instead of running around, letting McCain blow him, playing guitar, whatever, what if he told the head of FEMA this:
"Hey, Mikey, I got 1600 acres here in Crawford. Tell the Army to set up tents on 1500 of 'em. However many refugees can fit, bring 'em here. They can stay at my place until we get them settled. Get it done now."
How much you wanna bet his approval rating would hit 90% two seconds after he made the announcement? How much 'political capital' would the stupid, smirking chimp get from that? Instead, he fiddled while NOLA died. Thank you, God, he doesn't have anybody as smart as my wife advising him.
Bush has 1600 acres in Crawford, right? What say, instead of running around, letting McCain blow him, playing guitar, whatever, what if he told the head of FEMA this:
"Hey, Mikey, I got 1600 acres here in Crawford. Tell the Army to set up tents on 1500 of 'em. However many refugees can fit, bring 'em here. They can stay at my place until we get them settled. Get it done now."
How much you wanna bet his approval rating would hit 90% two seconds after he made the announcement? How much 'political capital' would the stupid, smirking chimp get from that? Instead, he fiddled while NOLA died. Thank you, God, he doesn't have anybody as smart as my wife advising him.
And just a reminder
From your friendly neighborhood mechanic. Your oil change is gonna cost more soon too.
And another point of info: The gas station only makes 7 to 10 cents markup (not profit) on a gallon of gas. Don't get pissed at the owner when the prices go up. The only time they gouged was on the first day, when they knew the prices were going up on the gas coming in and they raised the price on the stuff in the tanks.
And another point of info: The gas station only makes 7 to 10 cents markup (not profit) on a gallon of gas. Don't get pissed at the owner when the prices go up. The only time they gouged was on the first day, when they knew the prices were going up on the gas coming in and they raised the price on the stuff in the tanks.
It's Official...
New Orleans is now officially a third world combat zone. Upon what do I base that, you may ask. I have incontrovertible proof:
Christiane Amanpour is broadcasting live from there.
Christiane Amanpour is broadcasting live from there.
Bald-Faced Lies
Open letter to Bush from the Times-Picayune:
I think "unbelieveable" is an apt word for just about everything anyone in this incompetent, corrupt administration ever says.
The letter also pooh-poohs the claim that New Orleans was "unreachable" by relief parties. Go read.
State Rep. Karen Carter was right Friday when she said the city didn't have but two urgent needs: "Buses! And gas!" Every official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency should be fired, Director Michael Brown especially.
In a nationally televised interview Thursday night, he said his agency hadn't known until that day that thousands of storm victims were stranded at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. He gave another nationally televised interview the next morning and said, "We've provided food to the people at the Convention Center so that they've gotten at least one, if not two meals, every single day."
Lies don't get more bald-faced than that, Mr. President.
Yet, when you met with Mr. Brown Friday morning, you told him, "You're doing a heck of a job."
That's unbelievable.
I think "unbelieveable" is an apt word for just about everything anyone in this incompetent, corrupt administration ever says.
The letter also pooh-poohs the claim that New Orleans was "unreachable" by relief parties. Go read.
On this day...
On Sept. 4, 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering Central High School in Little Rock.
Falluja floods the Superdome
Frank Rich on how Bush's War increases peril at home, and especially in NOLA.
Go read. The last sentence sent a chill up my spine:
AS the levees cracked open and ushered hell into New Orleans on Tuesday, President Bush once again chose to fly away from Washington, not toward it, while disaster struck. We can all enumerate the many differences between a natural catastrophe and a terrorist attack. But character doesn't change: it is immutable, and it is destiny.
As always, the president's first priority, the one that sped him from Crawford toward California, was saving himself: he had to combat the flood of record-low poll numbers that was as uncontrollable as the surging of Lake Pontchartrain. It was time, therefore, for another disingenuous pep talk, in which he would exploit the cataclysm that defined his first term, 9/11, even at the price of failing to recognize the emerging fiasco likely to engulf Term 2.
But on a second go-round, even the right isn't so easily fooled by this drill (with the reliable exception of Peggy Noonan, who found much reassurance in Mr. Bush's initial autopilot statement about the hurricane, with its laundry list of tarps and blankets). This time the fecklessness and deceit were all too familiar. They couldn't be obliterated by a bullhorn or by the inspiring initial post-9/11 national unity that bolstered the president until he betrayed it. This time the heartlessness beneath the surface of his actions was more pronounced.
Go read. The last sentence sent a chill up my spine:
The world is more perilous than ever, and for now, to paraphrase Mr. Rumsfeld, we have no choice but to fight the war with the president we have.
Indifference is a Weapon
Dennis Kucinich goes off on the administration pretty good at The Nation.
For a newlywed, I'm surprised at his energy! (wink, wink, nudge, nudge!)
"The President said an hour ago that the Gulf Coast looks like it has been obliterated by a weapon. It has. Indifference is a weapon of mass destruction.
"Our indifferent government is in a crisis of legitimacy. If it continues to ignore its basic responsibility for the health and welfare of the American people, will there ever be enough money to clean up after their indifference?
"As our government continues to squander human and monetary resources of this country on the war, people are beginning to ask, "Isn't it time we began to take care of our own people here at home? Isn't it time we rescued our own citizens? Isn't it time we fed our own people? Isn't it time we sheltered our own people? Isn't it time we provided physical and economic security for our own people?" And isn't it time we stopped the oil companies from profiting from this tragedy?
For a newlywed, I'm surprised at his energy! (wink, wink, nudge, nudge!)
STFU*
If one more Republican 'warns' the Dems not to use this for political gain because 'it could backfire on them', they're gonna have to cut his head off to push my foot out his ass.
*Shut the fuck up.
What a dickhead 2
Orrin Hatch proves it once again. He was on Little George this morning and TT caught it.
His ass is so stretched from letting Chimpy fuck it, they're gonna have to sleeve him like the cylinders of a worn out engine block.
By the way, George Will and Cokie Roberts are sucking Chimpy's cock too. Fuck these idiots.
George is over and that big ass loudmouth is on, and I'm noticing something. The self-hating colon cowboy and Bobo Brooks are starting to turn on Bush, though they are prattling on inanely. Sully is screeching for 'more troops' and an 'expanded military' (Bobo's just doing his bobblehead impersonation) to deal with these disasters. Hello, Andy, the Chimp's fucked the military over with the Iraq war. The war you screamed so loudly in favor of. You know how you expand the military (most importantly the National Guard) now? It's called a fucking DRAFT.
On Press the Meat Timmy's reaming Chertoff .060 oversize. Timmy's actually shouting at him. Yeah! Nice to see you grow some balls, fat boy.
And one more thing. I don't ask God for much, nothing in fact, but just once I'd like the Big Guy to arrange for me to meet up with Tony Blankley in a dark alley.
"The state government wasn't very well prepared, and the city wasn't well prepared. They're ten feet below sea level. They should have known that these things could happen."
His ass is so stretched from letting Chimpy fuck it, they're gonna have to sleeve him like the cylinders of a worn out engine block.
By the way, George Will and Cokie Roberts are sucking Chimpy's cock too. Fuck these idiots.
George is over and that big ass loudmouth is on, and I'm noticing something. The self-hating colon cowboy and Bobo Brooks are starting to turn on Bush, though they are prattling on inanely. Sully is screeching for 'more troops' and an 'expanded military' (Bobo's just doing his bobblehead impersonation) to deal with these disasters. Hello, Andy, the Chimp's fucked the military over with the Iraq war. The war you screamed so loudly in favor of. You know how you expand the military (most importantly the National Guard) now? It's called a fucking DRAFT.
On Press the Meat Timmy's reaming Chertoff .060 oversize. Timmy's actually shouting at him. Yeah! Nice to see you grow some balls, fat boy.
And one more thing. I don't ask God for much, nothing in fact, but just once I'd like the Big Guy to arrange for me to meet up with Tony Blankley in a dark alley.
Couldn't have said it better
A note to our conservative friends:
WE TOLD YOU SO
Ever wonder why New Yorkers detest George Bush?
Because we experienced his incompetence up close and person. We knew this guy was full of shit, absolutely full of fucking shit, after they started to play games with the funding and gave Wyoming terrorism money. We knew he was an assclown then.
We thought DC 9/11 was a comedy, because the Bush we saw hid in AF One like the scared bitch that he is.
But did you listen?
Fuck no. Until last week, Ann Coulter was calling New Yorkers cowards for not endorsing Bush's folly in Iraq.
We have been screaming for two years that Bush and his team sucked. That they had no clue. They sent soldiers to be wounded in Iraq without armored anything. And you idiots cheered him on from the safety of your keyboards. We told you he was fucking up Iraq. But no, we supported Saddam, we were racist, we blamed America.
You say this isn't about politics? Fuck you, this IS politics, real time, real life politics, where the insanity of all your ideas are exposed to the world for the fraud that they are. Tax cuts kill. Ask the relatives of the dead of the Gulf Coast.
Well, motherfuckers, the alligators are feasting on dead nigger and there isn't an Iraqi in sight. And Bush is trying to gladhand his way through a mess which has stunned FOX reporters. I mean, Shepard Smith is calling Fox's talking heads liars ON THE AIR.
CNN rips Bush in print and online after nearly five years of sleep.
Instead of hearing what we had to say about Bush, you called John Kerry a coward, mocked Max Cleland, blamed everything but herpes on Bill Clinton. You enabled Bush into this mess and now you're shocked?
Now, Fox can be outraged, now, Wash Times and Union Leader call Bush weak? Well, his coward ass disappeared in 2001. But you rather blame Michael Moore for that.
He can't even explain the Iraq war to a grieving mother.
So what did you do?
Write the most vile things about her and her dead son. Attacked her patriotism and her honesty.
Well, motherfuckers, and that means you, fat ass Goldberg and your master, Rich Lowry, PNAC Bitch Beinart, the racist wannabe white Malkin and the little fucktards at LGF, Bareback Andy and "Diversity" Instacracker, all you backstabbing, fag hating uncle tom ministers, you can see Dear Leader in action. America's largest port is gone, maybe forever, gas is $5+ a gallon and FEMA is coming. Whores come faster with old men than FEMA is getting to NOLA.
How did your wartime President react? Like Chiang Kai-Shek when the Yellow River flooded in 1944, with corrupt indifference.
Bush, the man your fever dreams built into the next Winston Churchill when he is really the live action Chauncey Gardiner, has failed to everyone, in plain sight, without question. Rick Perry is trying to save his ass, but it ain't working. NOLA looks like ANGOLA and that ain't flying.
Say 9/11 changed everything now, motherfuckers. Ooops, 9/11, 9/11. 9/11. Doesn't work anymore? Gee, maybe the sea of alligator MRE's once known as the citizens of New Orleans has something to do with that. Now you can shut the fuck up about 9/11. Bush just proved what would happen with another 9/11. Dead Americans as far as the nose can smell.
Drunken Chris Hitchens muttered some nonsense about blacks having it so good here. The poor man needs to stay in his bottle or go to Betty Ford before someone beats his treasonous ass stupid. Islamofascism means what, now motherfucker? Shove Islamofascism up your well travelled ass. The most dangerous thing to average Americans is not some mullah in Iraq, not even Osama Bin Laden, but George Bush. If he doesn't get you killed in Iraq, he'll fuck up saving your city so it turns into Escape from New Orleans. Armed junkies roaming the streets, looking for a fix, robbing and looting like Serb paramilitaries and about as sober.
George Bush's ineptitude has killed far more Americans than Osama could have dreamed of.
Some of you still try to see the clothes on the Dauphin, but he's as naked as Peter North around Jenna Jameson. Bush fucked up so bad, FOX turned on him like a rabid dog.
You can't hide behind racism forever. Bush fucked up, Bush is a weak, callous leader and the world knows this like it knows few other things. And all the stolen TV's in the world cannot hide that.
I apologize to Steve Gillard for stealing this entire rant, but this has to be seen EVERYWHERE. This is the END, ladies and germs. This asshole has to GO.
No more
Exactly. From AMERICAblog:
Bipartisanship? Puh! The Repubs should get nothing from here on out until this President is history. Do I care the Supremes are two down now? No. Do I care if there is stalemate in Congress? No. A gridlocked government at this point is far better than anything that's come out of there in 'bipartisan' fashion over the past four years. Any Dem who cooperates with Repubs on anything from now on can consider my vote lost.
Democrat or Republican, Congress should reject ANY nominee that the President sends them. Why? George Bush has proven time and again an inability to select the right people for the right job.
As we've seen domestically with deadly, horrifying results, in the President's choices for key security jobs post 9/11, political patronage was more important than competence with Bush. From Secretary of Homeland Security Chertoff, FEMA Director Brown, and especially Patrick Rhode, the Deputy Director of FEMA, the President is incapable of selecting competent personnel for key posts. He chooses political cronies and yes-men over competence EVERY SINGLE TIME. Overseas we've seen incompetence compounded by ignorance, with the President choosing to listen to yes-Generals over more sober military leaders.
[. . .]
Bipartisanship? Puh! The Repubs should get nothing from here on out until this President is history. Do I care the Supremes are two down now? No. Do I care if there is stalemate in Congress? No. A gridlocked government at this point is far better than anything that's come out of there in 'bipartisan' fashion over the past four years. Any Dem who cooperates with Repubs on anything from now on can consider my vote lost.
Screwed
------------------------------------------------------
MSNBC Breaking News
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William Rehnquist, the chief justice of the United States, is dead. -
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died Saturday evening at his home in suburban Virginia, said Supreme Court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg.
We are so screwed.
Saturday, September 3, 2005
Like I said, criminal
Via Atrios:
I don't want somebody fired, I want people in jail!
And just a question for the commanding generals of the Guard forces: What the fuck are you doing sitting around waiting for paperwork? You go when people need you and worry about the paperwork later, you desk-bound, pencil-pushing, bureaucratic motherfuckers. Has it been that long since you had to work for a living? Are your stars and your career worth more than your humanity, assholes? Has the flag officer corps really turned into a bunch of pussies or what?
Update:
Speaking of criminal:
WASHINGTON - Several states ready and willing to send National Guard troops to the rescue in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans didn't get the go-ahead until days after the storm struck - a delay nearly certain to be investigated by Congress.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson offered Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco help from his state's National Guard on Sunday, the day before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. Blanco accepted, but paperwork needed to get the troops en route didn't come from Washington until late Thursday. [my emphases]
[. . .]
I don't want somebody fired, I want people in jail!
And just a question for the commanding generals of the Guard forces: What the fuck are you doing sitting around waiting for paperwork? You go when people need you and worry about the paperwork later, you desk-bound, pencil-pushing, bureaucratic motherfuckers. Has it been that long since you had to work for a living? Are your stars and your career worth more than your humanity, assholes? Has the flag officer corps really turned into a bunch of pussies or what?
Update:
Speaking of criminal:
. . . That's not a defense, guys. That's genocide. . .
Wanted:
Stolen from my friend the CultureGhost:
[I had stolen the graphic, but somehow it was playing Hell with my template. Click on the link to go see it.]
Questions, questions
Jill has questions:
Maureen Dowd has a few of her own too:
Where the hell is Cheney, anyway? Is he alive? Dead? Hooked up to tubes in a persistent vegetative state? It seems odd that we haven't heard so much as a statement from him. [Seems he's on vacation too - F-man]
[. . .]
Maureen Dowd has a few of her own too:
[. . .]
Why does this self-styled "can do" president always lapse into such lame "who could have known?" excuses.
Who on earth could have known that Osama bin Laden wanted to attack us by flying planes into buildings? Any official who bothered to read the trellis of pre-9/11 intelligence briefs.
Who on earth could have known that an American invasion of Iraq would spawn a brutal insurgency, terrorist recruiting boom and possible civil war? Any official who bothered to read the C.I.A.'s prewar reports.
Who on earth could have known that New Orleans's sinking levees were at risk from a strong hurricane? Anybody who bothered to read the endless warnings over the years about the Big Easy's uneasy fishbowl.
[. . .]
'Useful idiot'
Consortium News via Farnsworth:
The answer is a resounding yes. Time to impeach him, indict him, and send him, and his minions, to Leavenworth for the rest of their natural lives.
[. . .]
In the 1980s, when I was covering the wars in Central America, neoconservative theorists liked to call U.S. peace activists "useful idiots" because their opposition to the hard-line Reagan administration was seen as unwittingly aiding and abetting communists and other leftist enemies. In that vein, is Bush now al-Qaeda's "useful idiot"?
[. . .]
The answer is a resounding yes. Time to impeach him, indict him, and send him, and his minions, to Leavenworth for the rest of their natural lives.
I told ya
Don't piss off the spooks. Via Cookie Christine:
They've classified the report and Tenet's rebuttal, but I can't wait until this shit starts leaking out (you know it will). Comes at a perfect time too. Remember how I talked about the coming shitstorm? The housing bubble, the automakers' problems', the steady deterioration of the Iraq situation (haven't heard anything about the new constitution lately, have ya?), and now Katrina. Tenet's rebuttal should be the capper on the Republicans' chances this election season. Unless the Democrats seriously shoot themselves in the foot (which is not out of the question with some of the leadership we have), the Repubs should be big losers in '06.
Former CIA director George Tenet, said to be the target of what the Washington Times called "a scathing report by Inspector General John Helgerson" - may go public with embarrassing disclosures about the Bush administration and its actions leading up to Sept. 11, 2001.
[. . .]
The report, delivered to Congress this week, recommends punitive sanctions against Tenet, former Deputy Director of Operations James L. Pavitt and former counter-terrorist center head J. Cofer Black.
Roberts writes, "George Tenet is not going to let himself become the fall guy for the September 11th intelligence failures, according to a former intelligence officer and a source friendly to Mr. Tenet."
[. . .]
In his rebuttal, Tenet, Roberts warns, "treads perilously close to affirming the account of Richard Clarke, the former NSC terrorism official who claimed the Bush administration's had delayed adopting a strategy against al-Qaida."
[. . .]
They've classified the report and Tenet's rebuttal, but I can't wait until this shit starts leaking out (you know it will). Comes at a perfect time too. Remember how I talked about the coming shitstorm? The housing bubble, the automakers' problems', the steady deterioration of the Iraq situation (haven't heard anything about the new constitution lately, have ya?), and now Katrina. Tenet's rebuttal should be the capper on the Republicans' chances this election season. Unless the Democrats seriously shoot themselves in the foot (which is not out of the question with some of the leadership we have), the Repubs should be big losers in '06.
Note to Dems: Don't fuck this up.
Friday, September 2, 2005
It figures
Via Pam:
[. . .]
Kill me . . . please.
WASHINGTON, Sept. 1 (HalliburtonWatch.org) -- The US Navy asked Halliburton to repair naval facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina, the Houston Chronicle reported today. The work was assigned to Halliburton's KBR subsidiary under the Navy's $500 million CONCAP contract awarded to KBR in 2001 and renewed in 2004. The repairs will take place in Louisiana and Mississippi.
[. . .]
Kill me . . . please.
Looting
This one was so good, I've posted it in two places. My apologies to the source - I can't remember where I found it.
Who Lost New Orleans?
I'm holding a gun on my finger to get it to type this: Go read Pat Buchanan. What he says makes sense, but he says it like it's a bad thing.
Gulf Coast Overload
There is just soooo much today on the twin disasters in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, both the human tragedy and its exacerbation by our highly paid administration, that I will simply direct you to Cursor. Scroll and click.
SKB on NOLA
South Knox Bubba may be using his real name these days, but his powers are undiminished. He's still on the case. Via Are You Effin' Kidding Me?
Forgotten lessons from the Pacific War
Today is the 60th anniversary of the formal end of the Second World War. Philippe Pons brings up some analogies for today.
I absolutely differ with "...they behave no better than the Japanese in China." Our troops don't bet on how many civilians they can behead in a given period or kill millions of people, at least I hope not. Other than that, food for thought.
Asia's history up until the day after the War in the Pacific is especially rich in lessons about mistakes. Thus, Japan's creation in 1932 of the puppet state of Manchukuo presents - in spite of the obvious differences - troubling analogies with Iraq: both cases were the work of rightist radicalism from a superpower (regional, in Japan's case, global, in America's) combined with a manipulation of public opinion and defiance of international rules, notes the political scientist Kang Sang-jung. In both cases, a war of aggression was waged in the name of a messianic vision (the "liberation" of Asia; the "democratization" of the Middle East) and out of a conviction that military superiority would conquer all: the creation of the state of Manchukuo in fact marked the beginning of a fifteen-year-long war.
Finally, George Bush's messianic "vision" singularly recalls the redemptive message of Japanese militarists when they invaded Asia: "Without conveying the United States' pretensions to universalism, Japanese Imperialist ideology drew from the same source," writes American historian and Japanese history specialist Herbert Bix, author of Hirohito and the Making of a Modern Japan (Harper Collins), "The Japanese were taught to believe in their moral superiority and to be proud of the Light of which they were the bearers. Like Americans today. And when they encounter resistance in the country they invade, they behave no better than the Japanese in China." Decidedly not so distant, the Pacific War...
I absolutely differ with "...they behave no better than the Japanese in China." Our troops don't bet on how many civilians they can behead in a given period or kill millions of people, at least I hope not. Other than that, food for thought.
Moore's letter to Bush
Michael Moore
I wonder when Bush will don some chest waders and declare "Mission Accomplished"?
There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.
No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!
You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.
I wonder when Bush will don some chest waders and declare "Mission Accomplished"?
Our 'Can't Do' Government
Paul Krugman
Their incompetence and contempt for us has come spectacularly to light in recent days. Even the MSM has noticed, so it must pretty obvious. They'll try to spin their way out of responsibility like they always do. This time, let's not let 'em.
I don't think this is a simple tale of incompetence. The reason the military wasn't rushed in to help along the Gulf Coast is, I believe, the same reason nothing was done to stop looting after the fall of Baghdad. Flood control was neglected for the same reason our troops in Iraq didn't get adequate armor.
At a fundamental level, I'd argue, our current leaders just aren't serious about some of the essential functions of government. They like waging war, but they don't like providing security, rescuing those in need or spending on preventive measures. And they never, ever ask for shared sacrifice.
Yesterday Mr. Bush made an utterly fantastic claim: that nobody expected the breach of the levees. In fact, there had been repeated warnings about exactly that risk.
So America, once famous for its can-do attitude, now has a can't-do government that makes excuses instead of doing its job. And while it makes those excuses, Americans are dying.
Their incompetence and contempt for us has come spectacularly to light in recent days. Even the MSM has noticed, so it must pretty obvious. They'll try to spin their way out of responsibility like they always do. This time, let's not let 'em.
It is the time
Wolcott:
Like I said the other day, Bush and the Repubs own Katrina and the aftermath of her visit. This isn't just a random natural disaster. This is the result of the corrupt, failed, and flawed policy of the Chimp administration, their enablers, and their apologists.
[. . .]"[T]his is not a time for politics -- not only for moral and ethical reasons, but for political ones as well. That is, politics itself mandates that these days not be political."
Stop right there. First of all, "politics" mandates nothing. It's an abstract noun. It's like beginning a sentence "Morality dictates that..." Morality dictates nothing. It's how people interpret morality, and how they apply it in certain situations which evolve over time. Politics are people, and what they make of their political situation, and when the realities of their lives demand that the political and economic circumstances of their lives change. It isn't something to put on a shelf and used only when the climate of opinion permits.Armando again: "Yes Bush and his administration have much to answer for. But what of the government of the State of Louisiana? The government of the City of New Orleans? I for one believe all have to answer for this. But not now. Maybe next week. But not today."
I don't mean to pick on Armando, but has he learned nothing under Bush? There is no "next week" when it comes to getting answers and fixing accountability for failure under this president. Next week never comes. [my emphasis]
[. . .]
Like I said the other day, Bush and the Repubs own Katrina and the aftermath of her visit. This isn't just a random natural disaster. This is the result of the corrupt, failed, and flawed policy of the Chimp administration, their enablers, and their apologists.
Dear President Bush
From our friend and esteemed colleague, the CutureGhost:
Short, sweet, and to the point. As we've seen over the past few days, we're on our own anyway.
Update:
Granny:
You know the helpless, frustrated feeling you have about all this? That's the way people feel who discover they've just been scammed by a con artist. We've been scammed in the biggest way possible.
Dear President Bush;
Your services are no longer needed. Please submit your resignation and return to Texas.
Thank you,
The CultureGhost
Short, sweet, and to the point. As we've seen over the past few days, we're on our own anyway.
Update:
Granny:
A government that cannot provide basic protection and support to its people, let alone a government in the most powerful nation ever with the most money ever that lets this happen is a government that is beyond corruption.
[. . .]
You know the helpless, frustrated feeling you have about all this? That's the way people feel who discover they've just been scammed by a con artist. We've been scammed in the biggest way possible.
Friday Cattle Dog Blogging
Princess Shayna says she'll shoot death rays from her eyes at George Bush for his ineptitude and criminal acts. "He shouldn't be allowed to have a dog," she was heard to say.
Hat tip: Disgruntled Chemist.
Thursday, September 1, 2005
Ashamed
I've been permanently pissed off at Bush since 2000, but this time I'm ashamed of the sonofabitch. Ashamed that he calls himself an American.
I've been watching the NOLA news, like we all have. What I saw is disgraceful. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people sitting around the Convention Center with no food or water. People are dying of dehydration.
A leader would have been burning up the phone wires getting help for these folks. The Corporal of the Guard of the 443rd Mess Kit Repair Battalion could do better than the Chimp-in-Chief.
It ain't rocket science, folks. Load up a goddam old CH-46 Sea Knight from some reserve squadron in Podunk with water, fly it over the thirsty people and kick it the fuck out. Hell, George, put on your fancy flight suit, load up that big blue motherfucker that we paid for and let you fly around in, fill it with bottled water, fly low (we know the best pilots in the world can do that 'cuz they did it yesterday), tie your ass to a stanchion, sit on the deck, open the door, and you do the kickout. Just once, earn your fuckin' money. Maybe if you're feeling extra compassionate, throw in a few sandwiches.
The relief people won't fly into an area because they heard a fuckin' gunshot, fer chrissakes. 82 school buses aren't highballin' it to get people out because a couple of the drivers are scared to go in. Instead of helping folks, cops and guardsmen are detailed to prevent looting (if they're black) aka stealing to survive (if they're white). They oughta be helping the folks break down the fucking doors to get food, water, medicine. Let the sonsabitches who are stealing TVs get 'em up the three flights to their cribs, then make 'em take 'em back to the store if they won't turn on.
I'm sorta reminded of the so-called Siege of Khe Sanh in Vietnam. Many, many flights went in every day to supply the Marines with food, water, ammo, typewriter ribbons, etc. They used transports, helos, air drops, LAPES, all with background music by B-52s. All this NOLA deal calls for is food, water, a few Corpsmen. Don't need to fly in tons of artillery rounds, and these relief flights are only gonna get shot at by a couple loonies instead of by the whole fuckin' People's Army of Viet Nam.
Goddammit, George, these are Americans you're leaving in the fuckin' lurch. They work, and pay taxes just on the off chance you'll help them in time of need instead of throwing the money down some sand hole.
Get off your ass and tell Rumbo to cut loose with whatever assets we've still got, get 'em in the fuckin' air, and GO HELP THESE PEOPLE!
Better yet, call that young Corporal in Podunk. He'll get it done quicker because he gives a shit.
Ranting is filled. For now.
I've been watching the NOLA news, like we all have. What I saw is disgraceful. Hundreds, maybe thousands, of people sitting around the Convention Center with no food or water. People are dying of dehydration.
A leader would have been burning up the phone wires getting help for these folks. The Corporal of the Guard of the 443rd Mess Kit Repair Battalion could do better than the Chimp-in-Chief.
It ain't rocket science, folks. Load up a goddam old CH-46 Sea Knight from some reserve squadron in Podunk with water, fly it over the thirsty people and kick it the fuck out. Hell, George, put on your fancy flight suit, load up that big blue motherfucker that we paid for and let you fly around in, fill it with bottled water, fly low (we know the best pilots in the world can do that 'cuz they did it yesterday), tie your ass to a stanchion, sit on the deck, open the door, and you do the kickout. Just once, earn your fuckin' money. Maybe if you're feeling extra compassionate, throw in a few sandwiches.
The relief people won't fly into an area because they heard a fuckin' gunshot, fer chrissakes. 82 school buses aren't highballin' it to get people out because a couple of the drivers are scared to go in. Instead of helping folks, cops and guardsmen are detailed to prevent looting (if they're black) aka stealing to survive (if they're white). They oughta be helping the folks break down the fucking doors to get food, water, medicine. Let the sonsabitches who are stealing TVs get 'em up the three flights to their cribs, then make 'em take 'em back to the store if they won't turn on.
I'm sorta reminded of the so-called Siege of Khe Sanh in Vietnam. Many, many flights went in every day to supply the Marines with food, water, ammo, typewriter ribbons, etc. They used transports, helos, air drops, LAPES, all with background music by B-52s. All this NOLA deal calls for is food, water, a few Corpsmen. Don't need to fly in tons of artillery rounds, and these relief flights are only gonna get shot at by a couple loonies instead of by the whole fuckin' People's Army of Viet Nam.
Goddammit, George, these are Americans you're leaving in the fuckin' lurch. They work, and pay taxes just on the off chance you'll help them in time of need instead of throwing the money down some sand hole.
Get off your ass and tell Rumbo to cut loose with whatever assets we've still got, get 'em in the fuckin' air, and GO HELP THESE PEOPLE!
Better yet, call that young Corporal in Podunk. He'll get it done quicker because he gives a shit.
Ranting is filled. For now.
Looters
Froggy at Skippy's:
i heard that awol announced yesterday that he has "zero-tolerance for looters." does that mean he is going to finally stamp out the war-profiteers like halliburton and its subsidiary, kbr, who have stolen billions and billions of dollars from the u.s. treasury and u.s. taxpayers since the war in iraq began?
[. . .]
Just a question
When the going gets tough, why does the Chimp always call Daddy and Bill Clinton?
Link via Maru.
[I just watched the announcement. After the Chimp was done, he just left Bill and Daddy standing there as he stalked off. The boy's losing it. Bill and the elder Bush didn't know what to do for a second and as the camera watched them walk off, the Chimp was nowhere to be seen. Seems that once again, the adults have to clean up Chimpy's mess. What a dick.]
Grrrr!
I was reading an article at Spiegel Online similar to the Molly Ivins piece posted below, only with more depth. The last line made me blow up another blood pressure monitor. Good thing I get 'em by the case.
In his deranged attempt to compare himself to FDR, a man who actually did some good for the nation and the world, by calling WWII an attempt to "bring freedom to Japan", he has once again showed his contempt for facts and history, and, by extension, for all of us. On the one hand, he likens himself to one of our great Presidents, while on the other he is trying to undo everything Roosevelt did for the American people and the rest of the world.
By the way, even as a Machiavellian politician, the Chimp ain't a pimple on FDR's ass.
I hope the son of a bitch lives long enough to hear what history has to say about him. It won't be too long in coming. Then we can hang him.
On the day the levees burst in New Orleans, Bush delivered a speech in Colorado comparing the Iraq war to World War II and himself to Franklin D. Roosevelt: "And he knew that the best way to bring peace and stability to the region was by bringing freedom to Japan." Bush had boarded his very own "Streetcar Named Desire."
In his deranged attempt to compare himself to FDR, a man who actually did some good for the nation and the world, by calling WWII an attempt to "bring freedom to Japan", he has once again showed his contempt for facts and history, and, by extension, for all of us. On the one hand, he likens himself to one of our great Presidents, while on the other he is trying to undo everything Roosevelt did for the American people and the rest of the world.
By the way, even as a Machiavellian politician, the Chimp ain't a pimple on FDR's ass.
I hope the son of a bitch lives long enough to hear what history has to say about him. It won't be too long in coming. Then we can hang him.
New Orleans: It's about us
Molly Ivins
Hear, hear.
One of the main reasons New Orleans is so vulnerable to hurricanes is the gradual disappearance of the wetlands on the Gulf Coast that once stood as a natural buffer between the city and storms coming in from the water. The disappearance of those wetlands does not have the name of a political party or a particular administration attached to it. No one wants to play, "The Democrats did it," or, "It's all Reagan's fault." Many environmentalists will tell you more than a century's interference with the natural flow of the Mississippi is the root cause of the problem, cutting off the movement of alluvial soil to the river's great delta.
But in addition to long-range consequences of long-term policies like letting the Corps of Engineers try to build a better river than God, there are real short-term consequences, as well. It is a fact that the Clinton administration set some tough policies on wetlands, and it is a fact that the Bush administration repealed those policies -- ordering federal agencies to stop protecting as many as 20 million acres of wetlands.
Last year, four environmental groups cooperated on a joint report showing the Bush administration's policies had allowed developers to drain thousands of acres of wetlands.
Does this mean we should blame Bush for the fact that New Orleans is underwater? No, but it means we can blame Bush when a Class 3 or Class 2 hurricane puts New Orleans under. At this point, it is a matter of making a bad situation worse, of failing to observe the First Rule of Holes (when you're in one, stop digging).
Just plain political bad luck that, in June, Bush took his little ax and chopped $71.2 million from the budget of the New Orleans Corps of Engineers, a 44 percent reduction. As was reported in New Orleans CityBusiness at the time, that meant "major hurricane and flood projects will not be awarded to local engineering firms. Also, a study to determine ways to protect the region from a Category 5 hurricane has been shelved for now."
In fact, there is now a government-wide movement away from basing policy on science, expertise and professionalism, and in favor of choices based on ideology. If you're wondering what the ideological position on flood management might be, look at the pictures of New Orleans -- it seems to consist of gutting the programs that do anything.
The Louisiana National Guard also notes that dozens of its high-water vehicles, humvees, refuelers and generators have also been sent abroad. (I hate to be picky, but why do they need high-water vehicles in Iraq?)
The levees of New Orleans, two of which are now broken and flooding the city, were also victims of Iraq war spending. Walter Maestri, emergency management chief for Jefferson Parish, said on June 8, 2004, "It appears that the money has been moved in the president's budget to handle homeland security and the war in Iraq."
This, friends, is why we need to pay attention to government policies, not political personalities, and to know whereon we vote. It is about our lives.
Hear, hear.
Impeach and institutionalize
The lovely Jane:
Bush is a sociopath. It's time he's removed from office and put in a place where he belongs. May I suggest a room with rubber wallpaper at Bellevue?
[. . .]
After three days of golf, staged Medicare events and other random acts of mind-boggling indifference to the disaster whose death toll is still untold (although the WaPo now says it could be in the thousands), I have to say I was wrong. George W. Bush does not give a flying fuck about the suffering of anyone. Ever. Period. [my em]
[. . .]
Bush is a sociopath. It's time he's removed from office and put in a place where he belongs. May I suggest a room with rubber wallpaper at Bellevue?
My boys
I was wondering if my old unit would be called on to help.
Pardon me my pride.
Release No. 050805
August 31, 2005
AIR FORCE SPECIAL OPERATIONS OPENS NEW ORLEANS AIRPORT RUNWAY
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. - Air Force Special Operations Command will fly an MC-130 aircraft into New Orleans International Airport tonight with a small team of special operations forces to work to reopen the runway.
A team of combat controllers and a small medical team will work to establish operations at the airport, which has no electricity or air traffic control. Combat controllers are certified air traffic controllers and special operators who can open airfields deep behind enemy lines or in other hazardous areas.
The combat controllers will set self-powered lights and other navigational aids, then function as air traffic controllers with portable radios so that other military aircraft can land and help evacuate around 2,500 ill, or injured persons from the New Orleans area.
The deployed aircraft include 19 HH-60 Pave Hawk rescue helicopters specifically designed to find and recover individuals in hazardous areas. AFSOC has also deployed 11 C-130 aircraft with various special mission capabilities, including helicopter refueling and the ability to operate from dirt or unimproved airfields.
AFSOC has sent pararescuemen and combat controllers to Jackson to work in conjunction with the aircraft. Pararescuemen are highly trained emergency medical technician special operators. Combat controllers and pararescuemen are accustomed to operating in the most difficult and hostile conditions and are trained in numerous special operations skills such as SCUBA and parachute operations.
Pardon me my pride.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Some questions for you, Mr. President
This appeared today in my local paper, the Sierra Sun. It was written by a local and I want to share it with you. Not blockquoted due to length. I've highlighted a couple of my favorites.
Jennifer Montgomery
August 30, 2005
"I'm the commander - see, I don't need to explain - I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation."
- President Bush, Nov. 19, 2002
In light of the dramatically falling support for the President and his war, maybe it's time to start explaining. Here are 20 questions to start.
1) Mr. President, who is the mastermind responsible for 9-11?
2) Mr. President, where is he now?
3) Mr. President, you've compared the war in Iraq to WWI and WWII. Will you compare it to Vietnam, as well, or will you leave that comparison only for war hero Republican Senators to make?
4) Mr. President, if the war in Iraq is like WWII, why haven't taxes been increased to pay for the war, oil, gas and food rationing instituted, and troop strength increased to fight the war?
5) Mr. President, when you compared this war in Iraq to WWI and WWII, you did not specify whether our role in Iraq is similar to the Allied or the Axis viewpoint. Are we like the Axis, who invaded Poland, Austria, and Czechoslovakia, or are we like the Allies, who fought the Axis after their invasions?
6) Mr. President, in light of statements by the intelligence community and the Pentagon that terrorists in Iraq are now getting training and experience in Iraq and then leaving to attack other countries and train terrorists there, I have to ask, do you ever talk to your intelligence community and your Pentagon? Do you listen to them?
7) Mr. President, you say that we must stay the course in Iraq to finish what we started and honor the memory of the fallen. Are you aware that this rationalization was given 30 years ago as a reason why we should stay in Vietnam?
8) Mr. President, while our troops are being kept in Iraq, is there anything to keep the terrorists there?
9) Mr. President, the 1,864 US Soldiers killed in Iraq, the influx of foreign terrorists into Iraq and the increase of terrorist activity in Iraq since the invasion would seem to indicate that the terrorists are taking the fight to us, and not the other way around. Do you think that's the case?
10) Mr. President, if the Iraq war couldn't keep terrorists out of London, Egypt, and Jordan, what makes you think it will keep them out of the United States?
11) Mr. President, you've compared the War on Terror to WWII. But by the time we had been involved in WWII this long, Hitler had killed himself, Tojo had surrendered, and the Allies had won. In the current War on Terror, Bin Laden is a free man, the Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan due to our troop withdrawal there, and terrorists are gaining experience in Iraq that they are taking to other countries. Do you have any comment on that?
12) Mr. President, can you explain how fallen soldiers are honored by a continued insistence on causing the injury and death of their comrades-in-arms? (Hint, it's the first rule of hole digging: When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.)
13) Mr. President, in a recent speech in Salt Lake City, you said that "the only way to defend our citizens where we live is to go after the terrorists where they live." In light of terror attacks in Bali, Egypt, England, and Jordan, by citizens of those countries, are you proposing we invade those countries?
14) Mr. President, you said that we should go after terrorists where they live. Seventeen of the 19 9-11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia, Osama bin Laden is a native of ... which country?
15) Mr. President, you said that we are building allies in Afghanistan and Iraq by continuing to stay there and fight. Do we expect people whose families have died because of us to become our allies?
16) Mr. President, if Iraq becomes an Islamic state with close economic and military ties to Iran, will we continue to be allied with them?
17) Mr. President, if the Iraqis affirm a Constitution denying women their rights and enshrining Sharia law, will we continue to support them?
18) Mr. President, why won't you meet with Cindy?
19) Mr. President, what is the "Noble Cause"?
20) Mr. President, How do you sleep at night?
I don't know about you, but I'd love to get some answers.
Jennifer Montgomery is a Donner Summit resident. "My Turn" is a space for Sierra Sun readers to submit guest columns that are between 500 and 850 words. Send "My Turn" columns to editor@sierrasun.com
Jennifer Montgomery
August 30, 2005
"I'm the commander - see, I don't need to explain - I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being the president. Maybe somebody needs to explain to me why they say something, but I don't feel like I owe anybody an explanation."
- President Bush, Nov. 19, 2002
In light of the dramatically falling support for the President and his war, maybe it's time to start explaining. Here are 20 questions to start.
1) Mr. President, who is the mastermind responsible for 9-11?
2) Mr. President, where is he now?
3) Mr. President, you've compared the war in Iraq to WWI and WWII. Will you compare it to Vietnam, as well, or will you leave that comparison only for war hero Republican Senators to make?
4) Mr. President, if the war in Iraq is like WWII, why haven't taxes been increased to pay for the war, oil, gas and food rationing instituted, and troop strength increased to fight the war?
5) Mr. President, when you compared this war in Iraq to WWI and WWII, you did not specify whether our role in Iraq is similar to the Allied or the Axis viewpoint. Are we like the Axis, who invaded Poland, Austria, and Czechoslovakia, or are we like the Allies, who fought the Axis after their invasions?
6) Mr. President, in light of statements by the intelligence community and the Pentagon that terrorists in Iraq are now getting training and experience in Iraq and then leaving to attack other countries and train terrorists there, I have to ask, do you ever talk to your intelligence community and your Pentagon? Do you listen to them?
7) Mr. President, you say that we must stay the course in Iraq to finish what we started and honor the memory of the fallen. Are you aware that this rationalization was given 30 years ago as a reason why we should stay in Vietnam?
8) Mr. President, while our troops are being kept in Iraq, is there anything to keep the terrorists there?
9) Mr. President, the 1,864 US Soldiers killed in Iraq, the influx of foreign terrorists into Iraq and the increase of terrorist activity in Iraq since the invasion would seem to indicate that the terrorists are taking the fight to us, and not the other way around. Do you think that's the case?
10) Mr. President, if the Iraq war couldn't keep terrorists out of London, Egypt, and Jordan, what makes you think it will keep them out of the United States?
11) Mr. President, you've compared the War on Terror to WWII. But by the time we had been involved in WWII this long, Hitler had killed himself, Tojo had surrendered, and the Allies had won. In the current War on Terror, Bin Laden is a free man, the Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan due to our troop withdrawal there, and terrorists are gaining experience in Iraq that they are taking to other countries. Do you have any comment on that?
12) Mr. President, can you explain how fallen soldiers are honored by a continued insistence on causing the injury and death of their comrades-in-arms? (Hint, it's the first rule of hole digging: When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.)
13) Mr. President, in a recent speech in Salt Lake City, you said that "the only way to defend our citizens where we live is to go after the terrorists where they live." In light of terror attacks in Bali, Egypt, England, and Jordan, by citizens of those countries, are you proposing we invade those countries?
14) Mr. President, you said that we should go after terrorists where they live. Seventeen of the 19 9-11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia, Osama bin Laden is a native of ... which country?
15) Mr. President, you said that we are building allies in Afghanistan and Iraq by continuing to stay there and fight. Do we expect people whose families have died because of us to become our allies?
16) Mr. President, if Iraq becomes an Islamic state with close economic and military ties to Iran, will we continue to be allied with them?
17) Mr. President, if the Iraqis affirm a Constitution denying women their rights and enshrining Sharia law, will we continue to support them?
18) Mr. President, why won't you meet with Cindy?
19) Mr. President, what is the "Noble Cause"?
20) Mr. President, How do you sleep at night?
I don't know about you, but I'd love to get some answers.
Jennifer Montgomery is a Donner Summit resident. "My Turn" is a space for Sierra Sun readers to submit guest columns that are between 500 and 850 words. Send "My Turn" columns to editor@sierrasun.com
Like, Wow, Duuude....
Take a little break from all the horrible shit that's going on, and go see Ask a Pothead (no, no, not here). Thanks, Old White Lady.
Note: Liquid alert!
Note: Liquid alert!
Bush gives new reason for Iraq war
From the Boston Globe:
With gas prices on the way up in the wake of Katrina, this one might help him. Hell, the damn oil's the reason we were there in the first place. It's about time he admitted it.
CORONADO, Calif. -- President Bush answered growing antiwar protests yesterday with a fresh reason for US troops to continue fighting in Iraq: protection of the country's vast oil fields, which he said would otherwise fall under the control of terrorist extremists.
With gas prices on the way up in the wake of Katrina, this one might help him. Hell, the damn oil's the reason we were there in the first place. It's about time he admitted it.
Exactly! . . . revisited
. . . For, if there's anything we know about this Republican government, if there's a way to exacerbate a fuck-up into a mighty fuck-up, they'll do it.
You know who.
Assessing Responsibility
From Sirotablog:
My earnest hope is that Bush achieves understanding of what he's done to this country in the short interval between the trap door dropping out from under him and the rope jerking taut.
Imagine a burning apartment building. In such a scenario, you'll have the organized crowd who already has checked for stairwells to exit and will be making sure everyone gets out of the building, running through mental checklists. Emotionally caring people will get outside and immediately work to get blankets and hot chocolate to people standing in the cold and comforting people who are scared. Firefighters will be running into the building to fight the blaze (people with "firefighter" style personalities are often also the sort of people who end up starting fires). And fire inspectors will spend time looking at evidence in order to determine who started the blaze.
Each of these actions requires different strengths, but all of them share the fact that they require leadership skills. But there's something else that you could do outside a burning building, something that shows absolutely no leadership: patently denying that the drunk kids playing with matches and everclear had anything to do with the blaze.
Let's face it. The Bush Administration diverted money from safety projects in Louisiana to the Iraq War. They have helped stop the country from doing anything about global warming, despite the fact that climate change may be partially responsible for triggering this event. And the fact that they've relied so heavily on guard troops and equipment means that we're facing critical shortfalls in Louisiana.
Of course, the people at RedState are merely saying that the left is using human tragedy as a way to attack the Bush Administration. Look, the simple truth is that many of these problems were foreseen, but advice was ignored, and Bush was running around playing guitar while Rome burns. That's not leadership, it's incompetence and calling it out is called accountability. In other words, some of us need to be the fire inspectors, because getting to the truth ain't exactly the Bush Admin's strong suit.
My earnest hope is that Bush achieves understanding of what he's done to this country in the short interval between the trap door dropping out from under him and the rope jerking taut.
Katrina is a terrorist
Or she should be. She did more than what bin Laden could do with a nuke. She destroyed an American city. But that's Mother Nature you say. Yes, I agree, but look what she's done. She did what bin Laden wanted, without having to sacrifice a single Mujaheddin.
One bitchy storm will cause us the same hardships. If you don't think we've been dealt a body blow by Katrina, think again. Do you realize what $5 gas prices will do to this 'bubbly' economy? To the people with variable-interest rate or interest-only mortgages and home equity loans? To the people with big cars (right or wrong) who can no longer afford to get to work or make their payments? The effects of this storm will haunt us in ways we can't even imagine yet.
It was a wake up call to us, a microcosm of the bad decisions made over the past 5 years. The lack of funding, the lack of preparedness, the myopia of this administration (256th Louisiana is sitting in Iraq) and the Republican Party. Along with 9/11 and Iraq, Chimpy Inc owns Katrina as well.
One bitchy storm will cause us the same hardships. If you don't think we've been dealt a body blow by Katrina, think again. Do you realize what $5 gas prices will do to this 'bubbly' economy? To the people with variable-interest rate or interest-only mortgages and home equity loans? To the people with big cars (right or wrong) who can no longer afford to get to work or make their payments? The effects of this storm will haunt us in ways we can't even imagine yet.
It was a wake up call to us, a microcosm of the bad decisions made over the past 5 years. The lack of funding, the lack of preparedness, the myopia of this administration (256th Louisiana is sitting in Iraq) and the Republican Party. Along with 9/11 and Iraq, Chimpy Inc owns Katrina as well.
No love beads in her jewelry box...
Go read Maureen Dowd writing about Hillary Clinton.
It would be nice if someone would start leading. It may be hard to recognize leadership, we've gone so long without it.
But by hanging back and trimming her positions, by keeping her powder dry until a more politically advantageous time, she may miss the moment when Americans are looking for someone to emerge from her cowering party to articulate their anger about Iraq or their fear about a Supreme Court that will scale back women's rights and civil rights here, as Islamic courts do the same in Iraq.
Hillary may get caught flat-footed. Or she may be right in betting that there's no need to do anything rash now, like leading.
It would be nice if someone would start leading. It may be hard to recognize leadership, we've gone so long without it.
Puckered Sphincters
Well, I picked up the Mrs. last night off a flight from Boston. As she approached me through the terminal, she had that look in her eye. As usual, she was happy to see me and I her and, after a kiss that drew comments from passersby, she looked at me and said, "they're scared".
Background: Mrs. F is an executive at a large insurance company and the only thing on anybody's lips is 'Katrina'. The last time I saw them get worried like this was right after 9/11 as they began to consider the payouts and liability. (My wife's company insured many of the companies occupying WTC.)
This isn't just a humanitarian disaster, it is an economic one. Fuck the price of oil going up, watch for a bunch of insurance companies to go under thanks to this hurricane. They're also seriously considering this:
This is gonna hurt us more than we think. Not just the poor folks in the area but people all over the nation. It should completely unfold over the next couple months. Brace yourselves.
Update: As of 6:15 this morning, regular gas hits $3.41 on Eastern Long Island. And so it begins . . .
Background: Mrs. F is an executive at a large insurance company and the only thing on anybody's lips is 'Katrina'. The last time I saw them get worried like this was right after 9/11 as they began to consider the payouts and liability. (My wife's company insured many of the companies occupying WTC.)
This isn't just a humanitarian disaster, it is an economic one. Fuck the price of oil going up, watch for a bunch of insurance companies to go under thanks to this hurricane. They're also seriously considering this:
[. . .]
Time to decide what to do next, rather than waste more money than absolutely necessary giving the once glorious, now hideously ruined, corpse the ICU treatment. Pull the plug. Now. Go inland a ways, either west towards Baton Rouge or north of Ponchartrain, and use that $25 billion to create a new city from scratch. Get today's incarnation of Pierre l'Enfant to lay out a liveable plan, and go for it. Because otherwise you're going to have Gaza On the Mississippi with refugees living in tents for years waiting to return to a town that just isn't there any more.
This is gonna hurt us more than we think. Not just the poor folks in the area but people all over the nation. It should completely unfold over the next couple months. Brace yourselves.
Update: As of 6:15 this morning, regular gas hits $3.41 on Eastern Long Island. And so it begins . . .
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
Rant of the Day
Don't miss An Angry Old Broad. She more than makes up for a couple days away from her keyboard.
Blowing shit up
As long time (not that a year and a little more is a long time, though if you were in Iraq . . .) readers know, I love blowing shit up. I just found this via Mark and I'm aroused. You can do this with magnesium too. Heh.
Ka-Chink!
Got this from John Howard via Shakey's Sis:
If you're inclined to sport one of these on your rig, like for camouflage in a bad (Republican) neighborhood, you can get 'em for free at your local car wash. They come right off when the pressure water hits 'em.
If you're inclined to sport one of these on your rig, like for camouflage in a bad (Republican) neighborhood, you can get 'em for free at your local car wash. They come right off when the pressure water hits 'em.
The "Old Ay-rab" Speaks
By Helen Thomas, on the Democrats and Bush's War:
I think they feel that they're the only alternative, but that the mood of the country wants the same old shit, just a little bit less of a disaster of an administration.
It's time for the Democratic Party to take a courageous stand and call for the withdrawal of troops from the senseless war in Iraq.
Would the Republicans have hesitated to challenge the Democrats if the shoe was on the other foot? Did the opposition party give former President Bill Clinton any slack while he was in office?
What is the logic of Sens. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., Joseph Biden, D-Del. and other so-called moderate Democrats still backing the unprovoked war in Iraq when they know they were sold a bill of goods?
Democrats have gone about their lives after giving the president a blank check to do anything he thought was necessary. They think they have absolved themselves of responsibility; It's somebody else's war.
But they might find that if they don't get some backbone and take a stand soon, the voters might not be that forgiving.
I think they feel that they're the only alternative, but that the mood of the country wants the same old shit, just a little bit less of a disaster of an administration.
"Freedom Walk" Gets a New Sponsor
'Washington Times' Offers To Sponsor Pentagon's 'Freedom Walk'
You get to the point where you can almost predict what these folks will do.....
NEW YORK Two weeks after The Washington Post pulled its co-sponsorship of a controversial Pentagon-organized march to commemorate Sept. 11, The Washington Times has offered to take its place.
"We offered to help with free advertising," Dick Amberg, general manager and vice president of the Times, told E&P Monday. "It seems like a very reasonable thing to do in terms of public service."
The offer, which would include publishing public service announcements relating to next month's Freedom Walk, mirrors the support the Post had originally planned to provide before coming under fire from internal as well as external critics.
Amberg said Department of Defense officials have not responded to the offer, and it is unclear if it will be accepted. Calls to the Pentagon's Office of Public Affairs, which is handling publicity for the Freedom Walk, were not immediately returned Monday afternoon.
The Post pulled out of its commitment on Aug. 15 following opposition from anti-war groups and bloggers who saw the event as a pro-war march. Others, such as the paper's media writer, Howard Kurtz, and the local unit of the Newspaper Guild, also objected to the Post's role.
You get to the point where you can almost predict what these folks will do.....
Text of the Draft Iraqi Constitution
Don't panic. I'll just post the first couple of paragraphs. Via the NYTimes:
Sounds like they're well on the way to becoming the new Vermont, don't it?
If you have a couple weeks of vacation, read the rest. When you get to the part that says "as soon as the Americans leave, this document goes out the window and we can open the ball and really settle this shit once and for all", be sure to post it.
Differences between this text and the version Aug. 22 are in parentheses:
PREAMBLE
We the sons of Mesopotamia, land of the (messengers), prophets, resting place of the holy imams, the leaders of civilization and the creators of the alphabet, the cradle of arithmetic: on our land, the first law put in place by mankind was written; in our nation, the most noble era of justice in the politics of nations was laid down; on our soil, the followers of the prophet and the saints prayed, the philosophers and the scientists theorized and the writers and poets created.
Recognizing God's right upon us; obeying the call of our nation and our citizens; responding to the call of our religious and national leaders (and our national forces and politicians) and the insistence of our great religious authorities and our leaders and our reformers, we went by the millions for the first time in our history to the ballot box, men and women, young and old, on Jan. 30, 2005, remembering the pains of the despotic band's sectarian oppression; inspired by the suffering of Iraq's martyrs -- Sunni and Shiite, Arab, Kurd and Turkomen, and the remaining brethren in all communities -- inspired by the injustice against the holy cities (and the south) in the popular uprising and (burnt with the sorrows of the mass graves, the marches and Dujail and others); recalling the agonies of the national oppression in the massacres of Halabja, Barzan, Anfal and against the Faili Kurds; inspired by the tragedies of the Turkomen in Bashir, and as in other parts of Iraq, (the people of the western region have suffered from the liquidation of its leaders, symbols, tribal leaders and displacing its intellectuals, so we worked hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder) to create a new Iraq, Iraq of the future, without sectarianism, racial strife, regionalism, discrimination and (elimination).
Sounds like they're well on the way to becoming the new Vermont, don't it?
If you have a couple weeks of vacation, read the rest. When you get to the part that says "as soon as the Americans leave, this document goes out the window and we can open the ball and really settle this shit once and for all", be sure to post it.
Fucking Africa
This just so pisses me off. Forcing our 'morality' on people at the point of a gun. Blondie:
Is this what Jesus would really want?
The Ugandan government had made great strides in reducing the AIDS epidemic with their condom program but the US has attached "moral" strings to funding the program. (oh yes, the US, that bastion of morality in the world)
[. . .]
Oh come on. The US is punishing innocent people by imposing restrictions on foreign governments. That's not fair. That's terrorism- Do it our way or die.
[. . .]
Is this what Jesus would really want?
We Should All Feel Safer Now
Bush Returning to Monitor Hurricane Effort
Boy I sure feel better now. I mean after all, this is a man who knows hard work when he sees it.
Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't he throw all sorts of help at Florida last fall when hurricanes were heading that way? Before the hurricanes got there? (Of course it was an election year, and Florida was a key state and all of that......)
CORONADO, Calif. - President Bush will cut short his vacation to return to Washington on Wednesday, two days earlier than planned, to help monitor federal efforts to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina, the White House said Tuesday.
"We have got a lot of work to do," Bush said, referring to the damage wrought by the hurricane along Gulf Coast areas.
The president had been scheduled to return to the nation's capital on Friday, after spending more than four weeks operating from his ranch in Central Texas. But after receiving a briefing early Tuesday on the devastation Katrina unleashed, the president decided that he needed to be in Washington to personally oversee the federal effort, White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.
Boy I sure feel better now. I mean after all, this is a man who knows hard work when he sees it.
Correct me if I am wrong, but didn't he throw all sorts of help at Florida last fall when hurricanes were heading that way? Before the hurricanes got there? (Of course it was an election year, and Florida was a key state and all of that......)
FEMA: RIP
From the WaPo:
To all you folks affected by Katrina, our hearts go out to you and we wish you all the best. I mean it, but having said that, there's more:
That "Compassionate Conservative" you love so much has seen to it that your National Guard is not in position to help you, he's reduced flood-control funding by 70%, and he's gutting FEMA. You'll eventually be paying more local taxes to provide emergency services that would be better if we all kicked in on the Federal level. You better hope this is the last natural disaster that befalls you. Yeah, right.
Next time, when you're floating down your street, better bring your own paddle. There likely won't be a Federal one.
Which makes it all the more difficult to understand why, at this moment, the country's premier agency for dealing with such events -- FEMA -- is being, in effect, systematically downgraded and all but dismantled by the Department of Homeland Security.
Apparently homeland security now consists almost entirely of protection against terrorist acts. How else to explain why the Federal Emergency Management Agency will no longer be responsible for disaster preparedness? Given our country's long record of natural disasters, how much sense does this make?
What follows is an obituary for what was once considered the preeminent example of a federal agency doing good for the American public in times of trouble, such as the present.
This year it was announced that FEMA is to "officially" lose the disaster preparedness function that it has had since its creation. The move is a death blow to an agency that was already on life support. In fact, FEMA employees have been directed not to become involved in disaster preparedness functions, since a new directorate (yet to be established) will have that mission.
To be sure, America may well be hit by another major terrorist attack, and we must be prepared for such an event. But I can guarantee you that hurricanes like the one that ripped into Louisiana and Mississippi yesterday, along with tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunamis, floods, windstorms, mudslides, power outages, fires and perhaps a pandemic flu will have to be dealt with on a weekly and daily basis throughout this country. They are coming for sure, sooner or later, even as we are, to an unconscionable degree, weakening our ability to respond to them.
The writer is director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.
To all you folks affected by Katrina, our hearts go out to you and we wish you all the best. I mean it, but having said that, there's more:
That "Compassionate Conservative" you love so much has seen to it that your National Guard is not in position to help you, he's reduced flood-control funding by 70%, and he's gutting FEMA. You'll eventually be paying more local taxes to provide emergency services that would be better if we all kicked in on the Federal level. You better hope this is the last natural disaster that befalls you. Yeah, right.
Next time, when you're floating down your street, better bring your own paddle. There likely won't be a Federal one.
But there's no Moon to howl at...
William Rivers Pitt, in an article at Truthout about how our non-reality-based government has gone barking mad, has this gem:
Go figure, indeed. While I agree that the Chimp needs to be shitcanned, I don't think that's the main issue. Nevertheless, agreeing with Buchanan makes me think I'm going bonkers, too.
Update:
Go read Sis's take on this.
You want to know the really funny part, the over-the-moon wacky part? Pat Buchanan has called for the impeachment of George W. Bush in his latest column. It seems Pat is put out by Bush's immigration policies. "Some courageous Republican, to get the attention of this White House," writes Pat, "should drop into the hopper a bill of impeachment, charging Bush with a conscious refusal to uphold his oath and defend the states of the Union against 'invasion.'"
Go figure.
Go figure, indeed. While I agree that the Chimp needs to be shitcanned, I don't think that's the main issue. Nevertheless, agreeing with Buchanan makes me think I'm going bonkers, too.
Update:
Go read Sis's take on this.
DSM/Reminder
Go see the squid. He's got a roundup of all the shit Chimpy Inc should be indicted with.
The shining bankrupt city . . .
San Diego has billed itself as "America's Finest City" for decades. Yet, today San Diego stands on the brink of bankruptcy. Twenty-five years of Republican stewardship have created a city that is broke and broken, needing over a billion dollar to remain solvent and billions more to repair its crumbling infrastructure.
Decades of mismanagement by acolytes of the Reagan Revolution have left San Diego with the new reputation as "America's Cheapest City."
[. . .]
Thanks to our friend and fellow veteran Jo Fish for the link. He also predicts the likely outcome on the nation.
[. . .]
We're about two election cycles away from this happening nationwide if the "adults" remain in charge. How much more "adult supervision" can this nation take?
The next time somebody calls us 'tax and spend Democrats', remind them who's gotten us into more debt than any time in our history, on both the state and national level. The old adage proves true once again. 'If you want to live like a Republican, vote for a Democrat'.
Monday, August 29, 2005
This is why
What he's fighting for
As a U.S. Marine currently deployed to Iraq, I would like to respectfully disagree with a fellow Minnesotan who stated that people who protest the war hurt troops' morale ("Letters from readers," Aug. 26).
Public debate and discussion are vital to the health of a democracy. It is a good thing when I see Americans exercising their right of freedom of speech.
Seeing people exercise freedoms that many in other countries don't have is something that we all should be thankful for -- whether you agree with what is being said or not. Semper Fidelis!
James Haugerud,
Camp Blue Diamond,
Ar Ramadi, Iraq.
[Article]
One of them Jarheads who helps the terrorists and hates America. Yeah, tell him that when he gets back. (Link via After School Snack)
Go have some fun
Mrs. G and I went for a spin yesterday to go find a better place than our driveway to take pictures of her new pickup. We ended up in the Martis Valley four miles from home, which is a big outing for the dogs as well as for us, although you could see where she works from there.
We were right across the street from Soar Truckee. Go see the crop dusters they tow the gliders with and look around their site. Soaring's a big deal around here as we have a lot of mountains and the sailplanes climb like an express elevator and stay up a long time. Be sure to check out the Northstar web cam too.
As long as we're in the neighborhood, go see Martis Peak Lookout. The third photo shows Truckee and Donner Lake in the distance, and the Sierra Nevada crest farther west. I've been there many times, and on a clear day (rarer these days) you can see Mt. Shasta, 150 miles to the north.
Now that you're all refreshed, get back to kickin' wingnut ass!
We were right across the street from Soar Truckee. Go see the crop dusters they tow the gliders with and look around their site. Soaring's a big deal around here as we have a lot of mountains and the sailplanes climb like an express elevator and stay up a long time. Be sure to check out the Northstar web cam too.
As long as we're in the neighborhood, go see Martis Peak Lookout. The third photo shows Truckee and Donner Lake in the distance, and the Sierra Nevada crest farther west. I've been there many times, and on a clear day (rarer these days) you can see Mt. Shasta, 150 miles to the north.
Now that you're all refreshed, get back to kickin' wingnut ass!
Song meme
Via PSoTD:
My graduation year would have been 1980:
1. Call Me, Blondie
2. Another Brick In The Wall, Pink Floyd
3.Magic, Olivia Newton-John
4.Rock With You, Michael Jackson
5.Do That To Me One More Time, Captain and Tennille (double hate)
6. Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Queen
7. Coming Up, Paul McCartney
[. . .]
The rest below the fold . . .
A good music post. Pick your high school graduation year, grab the top 100 songs of that year, bold the songs you still like, strikethrough the songs you hate, and underscore your favorite from the list.
My graduation year would have been 1980:
1. Call Me, Blondie
2. Another Brick In The Wall, Pink Floyd
3.
4.
5.
6. Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Queen
7. Coming Up, Paul McCartney
[. . .]
The rest below the fold . . .
The Oil Storm
If you didn't see the FX movie "The Oil Storm" when it aired earlier in the Summer, you should watch it. Actually, in the wake of Katrina you may be able to watch it in real life in the next few days or weeks.
Now go read Crawford's List.
Mr. Crawford has many links and many comments.
If you didn't see the movie (when it aired in mid-June), here it is in a nutshell: a category four hurricane destroys a vital pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico...panic sweeps of the nation...speculation drives the price of crude higher and higher...U.S. government turns to Saudi Arabia for oil...Saudi extremists commit terrorist attacks, killing 300 American oil workers...America sends troops to Saudi Arabia...still major lines at gas stations...Americans begin to turn against each other...the U.S. government decides to turn to Russia for oil...the Russians help in return for an investment in the upgrade of their pipelines...oil falls from its high of $153 a barrel down to around $77...and all is right with the world.
Now go read Crawford's List.
"This is the big one. This is unmitigated, bad news for consumers." -- Peter Beutel, oil analyst
"We are still doing the math"
-- Chevron on Katrina's impact
Mr. Crawford has many links and many comments.
Bend over . . . revisited
From the lovely Jane, another whistleblower has been demoted for doing their job correctly.
And of course, Jane calls a spade a spade:
How dare she call bullshit on Halliburton and those in DoD Procurement who enabled this theft of the Treasury. Even if we get these guys out of power, there will be no money left to fix the shit they fucked up.
. . .A top Army contracting official who criticized a large, noncompetitive contract with the Halliburton Company for work in Iraq was demoted Saturday for what the Army called poor job performance.
. . .
And of course, Jane calls a spade a spade:
[. . .]
What a waste. If she'd only developed a talent for lying, ass-kissing, abject failure and shameless dissembling, she could've been -- oh, I don't know -- Secretary of State?
[. . .]
How dare she call bullshit on Halliburton and those in DoD Procurement who enabled this theft of the Treasury. Even if we get these guys out of power, there will be no money left to fix the shit they fucked up.
The Philadelphia Experiment
Billmon
Damn, he's good! Don't miss this one.
The Iraqi constitutional "process" (now careening towards a bitter and divisive referendum) has already inspired one of the silliest historical analogies I think I've ever heard, at least since Ronald Reagan shuffled off the stage. Hardcore supporters of the democratic transformation of Iraq -- i.e. the deadenders -- have taken to comparing the political camel market in Baghdad to the American constitutional convention of 1787.
The men who met in Philadelpha in the summer of 1787 were the winners of a protracted revolutionary struggle for national independence -- not the leaders of a collection of squabbling ethnic and religious factions, many of whom spent years in exile and then rode back into their native land on the backs of foreign tanks. The framers of the U.S. constitution expelled an occupying army. The founders of the New Iraq are guarded by one.
That said, though, as a student of American history it's hard not to be contemptuous of anyone who would dare compare what the framers tried to do in Philadelphia to the deal that just went down in the Baghdad bazaar. Whatever you think of their politics -- or the utter hypocricy of slaveowners and slave merchants posing as champions of liberty -- the men of 1787 were giants.
The boys of 2005 (and their American sponsors), on the other hand, are just pygmies pretending to be giants. And the Iraqi people are going to be footing the bill for those pretensions -- in blood -- for a long time to come.
Damn, he's good! Don't miss this one.
National Guard?
More than 3,000 members of the Louisiana National Guard's 256th Brigade serving in Iraq can only watch from Baghdad as Hurricane Katrina bears down on their families and homes in New Orleans and the other south Louisiana communities from which they hail. The deployed soldiers and their equipment, which includes high water vehicles, Humvees and generators, will be sorely missed as Louisiana attempts to prepare for and recover from the historic Category Five storm. [my emphasis]
[. . .]
Read the story here. I know that here in NY, we have 3 National Guard troops just to answer phones. All the rest are in Iraq. In-fucking-credible! What a clusterfuck. (Hat tip: Maru)
Holy Shit
Here's a two-fer in the "dumber'n a box o' hammers" category. Two articles at Truthout. The first is about how the christians are gonna take over South Carolina and then secede. I wish them well.
I will start the donations for a chain link fence to keep them in.
Scroll down for a look at what one Southern California christowhacker is doing with a famous local roadside attraction.
These people in both articles are the lunatic fringe. If this crazy shit blows their skirts up, I got no problem with it. More power to 'em. If this is how they see "the pursuit of happiness", so be it. They're so fuckin' loony, they're almost fun to watch, if a little embarrassing to those of us with room-temperature-plus IQs.
At least they're out where we can see them. The real danger comes from the quiet ones who stay out of the light and have developed actual political power.
Real Christians take note: they don't like you any better than they like the rest of us. You better start speakin' out in your own self-defense.
Christian Exodus activists plan to take control of sheriff's offices, city councils and school boards. Eventually, they say, they will control South Carolina. They will pass godly legislation, defying Supreme Court rulings on the separation of church and state.
After scrutinizing electoral records, demographic trends and property prices, Christian Exodus members identified two upstate South Carolina counties - they will not officially say which ones - as prime for a conservative takeover. By September 2006, Burnell hopes to have 2,000 activists in one county and 500 in the other.
I will start the donations for a chain link fence to keep them in.
Scroll down for a look at what one Southern California christowhacker is doing with a famous local roadside attraction.
Cabazon, Calif. - Dinny the roadside dinosaur has found religion.
The 45-foot-high concrete apatosaurus has towered over Interstate 10 near Palm Springs for nearly three decades as a kitschy prehistoric pit stop for tourists.
Now he is the star of a renovated attraction that disputes the fact that dinosaurs died off millions of years before humans first walked the planet.
"Dinosaurs lived in the Garden of Eden, and Noah's Ark? Give me a break," said Kevin Padian, curator at the University of California Museum of Paleontology in Berkeley and president of National Center for Science Education, an Oakland group that supports teaching evolution. "For them, 'The Flintstones' is a documentary."
These people in both articles are the lunatic fringe. If this crazy shit blows their skirts up, I got no problem with it. More power to 'em. If this is how they see "the pursuit of happiness", so be it. They're so fuckin' loony, they're almost fun to watch, if a little embarrassing to those of us with room-temperature-plus IQs.
At least they're out where we can see them. The real danger comes from the quiet ones who stay out of the light and have developed actual political power.
Real Christians take note: they don't like you any better than they like the rest of us. You better start speakin' out in your own self-defense.
Hurricanes
To the people of New Orleans, RUN! I wish you good luck and safety. Your stuff is probably less safe, by the way, thanks to your Fearless [cough] Leader:
Hat tip: Jillian.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has identified millions of dollars in flood and hurricane protection projects in the New Orleans district.
Chances are, though, most projects will not be funded in the president's 2006 fiscal year budget to be released today.
[. . .]
Unfunded projects include widening drainage canals, flood- proofing bridges and building pumping stations in Orleans and Jefferson parishes. The Corps also wants to build levees in unprotected areas on the West Bank.
[. . .]
Hat tip: Jillian.
Fortunate Son
[. . .]
Though his handlers have done their best to conceal the truth about whether Bush fulfilled his commitment to the Texas Air National Guard, for which he applied during the height of the Vietnam War, twelve days away from losing his student deferment, there's no doubt that his family's position and connections secured him his spot, safely away from the horrors of the war raging half a world away. There was no waiting list for this Fortunate Son, and no dependence on the military as a means to a better life. He was, after all, losing his student deferment because he had just graduated from Yale [I still have no clue how that happened - F-man.]. The Texas Air National Guard was not going to help pay for his education, or provide him with marketable skills that might be turned into a good career, or be the answer to a lack of health insurance, or any of the reasons that the military is appealing for many Unfortunate Sons. It wasn't even about a chance to serve his country honorably; it was about the chance to serve [hide] without risking his life.
[. . .]
Excellent post from the Sister.
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Call me when the water gets up over his mouth so he can't breathe...
Maureen Dowd writes about how Bush is approaching the wall at high speed on Iraq, just knowing it'll move when he gets to it. After all, he's always been right so far, huh? She says it much better than I do.
She goes on with some other cultural indicators that the Bushies aren't picking up on, and ends with the promotion of the woman who tried to exorcise the racial profiling out of a Bureau of Justice press release. Go read.
He did do a few minutes of work this month, calling a Shiite leader in Baghdad a few days ago to lobby him to reach a consensus with the Sunnis, so Iraq doesn't crack apart. But the Shiites and Kurds ignored the president and skewered the Sunnis.
Iraq, it turns out, is the one branch of American government that the Republicans don't control.
She goes on with some other cultural indicators that the Bushies aren't picking up on, and ends with the promotion of the woman who tried to exorcise the racial profiling out of a Bureau of Justice press release. Go read.
Pop . . .*
Go read Frank Rich:
[*]
[. . .]
It isn't just Mr. Bush who is in a tight corner now. Ms. Sheehan's protest was the catalyst for a new national argument about the war that managed to expose both the intellectual bankruptcy of its remaining supporters on the right and the utter bankruptcy of the Democrats who had rubber-stamped this misadventure in the first place.
When the war's die-hard cheerleaders attacked the Middle East policy of a mother from Vacaville, Calif., instead of defending the president's policy in Iraq, it was definitive proof that there is little cogent defense left to be made. When the Democrats offered no alternative to either Mr. Bush's policy or Ms. Sheehan's plea for an immediate withdrawal, it was proof that they have no standing in the debate. [my emphasis]
[. . .]
[*]
Is it me?
Or have the red states been getting really pounded by hurricanes over the last few years? Ever since the Chimp took office, it seems? Maybe God's tired of you people fucking up His rep. I'd rethink my voting habits next year if I were you.
Impeach
On the second anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq, this letter is being sent on behalf of Veterans For Peace (VFP), a national organization of military veterans, to appeal for Congressional action to remove George W. Bush and Richard Cheney from the offices of President and Vice-President of the United States, respectively.
[. . .]
Stop by the Veterans for Peace website and sign the petition. Read the whole letter too. Thanks to the Roo for the link.
Anality
I just spent the last 3 hours trying to get this fucking page to display correctly in Internet Explorer. It's the anal German in me. Makes me a good mechanic but it also plays hell with my sanity. I hadn't looked at the page in IE for a while, and not since the last round of tweaks. Oy! Much as I hate Microsoft's browser, I realize most folks still use it, no matter how much I harp on Firefox, and I'd like them to be able to read the site with some efficiency too.
Anyway, I got most of it worked out, though I'm still getting an error message in IE. Can anybody translate this:
It's the only problem I have left and it's making me fucking nuts, even though I can't see where it's fucking up the display. Either that or somebody send a car bomber to my house to put me out of my misery.
(Note: I'm using 3 computers to make sure it looks the same in all of them.)
Anyway, I got most of it worked out, though I'm still getting an error message in IE. Can anybody translate this:
Line: 2
Char: 31
Error: Syntax Error
URL: http://alterx.blogspot.com
It's the only problem I have left and it's making me fucking nuts, even though I can't see where it's fucking up the display. Either that or somebody send a car bomber to my house to put me out of my misery.
(Note: I'm using 3 computers to make sure it looks the same in all of them.)
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