Right Side Down

At least the Republicans have a plan

2005-12-04T10:32:00.000-05:00

Your tax dollars at work:

HOUSTON (AP) -- Calling the Bowl Championship Series "deeply flawed," the chairman of a congressional committee (R-Joe Barton) has called a hearing on the controversial system used to determine college football's national champion.

Surely with something of this great importance, Harry Reid won't have to shut down the Senate to get to the bottom of it.

via Atrios

The war on Christmas

2005-12-04T09:47:00.000-05:00

Only on FOX:

"Is the "war on Christmas" hurting your portfolio? We'll go inside the Trading Pit with:"

And only on FOX:

From the November 30 edition of Fox News' Your World with Neil Cavuto:

CAVUTO: Well, you know, on Monday night my colleague Bill O'Reilly said something so simple, controversial, but so dead-on accurate. I want you to listen to this. Take a look.

O'REILLY [video clip]: Every company in America should be on their knees thanking Jesus for being born. Without Christmas, most American businesses would be far less profitable. More than enough reason for business to be screaming "Merry Christmas."

-------------------------

O'REILLY: ".....Secular progressives which are driving this movement, OK, don't want Christmas. They don't want it as a federal holiday, they don't want any message of spirituality or Judeo-Christian tradition because that stands in the way of gay marriage, legalized drugs, euthanasia, all of the greatest hits on the secular progressive play card. If they can succeed in getting religion out of the public arena --"

I guess we don't have enough missing white women to gobble up their attention.

It's nice of Mr. O'Reilly and the entire FOX crew to protect America from the liberal boogeymen going after Christmas. But come on, if this isn't silly, i don't know what is. Not to mention hypocritical. Madison Avenue (not to mention Santa Claus) hijacks Christmas and turns it into little more than a financial boondoggle, but the people FOX News have a problem with are those who say "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas". I think that calls for an LOL. And if i recall correctly, Merry X-Mas was even a perfectly acceptable sentiment for the, oh, 30 years prior to Bill O'Reilly deciding he needed to pander to his audience and make them believe he's protecting them from us supposed Anti-Christs.

When it's gotten to the point that Charlie Brown has more sense than the FOX News Network....

My teaching soapbox

2005-11-27T10:10:00.000-05:00

I go on a teacher soapbox so often on here, those who don't know me probably think i'm a teacher. Those who do know me probably think i'm just sucking up to my niece. I'm not. I just look back on my life and i realize the people who had the greatest effect on me (for better or worse) were my parents, my high school football and baseball coach, and my teachers. My parents did it out of a love for me. My coaches out of a love of sports. Teachers, well, who knows why they put up with me? Anyways, here's an article by Anna Quindlen which pretty much makes the point i've been trying to make over the last year or so - that teachers are underpaid.

Highlights:

The average new teacher today makes just under $30,000 a year, which may not look too bad for a twentysomething with no mortgage and no kids. But soon enough the newbies realize that they can make more money and not work anywhere near as hard elsewhere. After a lifetime of hearing the old legends about cushy hours and summer vacations, they figure out that early mornings are for students who need extra help, evenings are for test corrections and lesson plans, and weekends and summers are for second and even third jobs to try to pay the bills.
------------------------
Instead of simply acknowledging that starting salaries are woefully low and committing to increasing them and finding the money for reasonable recurring raises, pols have wasted decades obsessing about something called merit pay. It's a concept that works fine if you're making widgets, but kids aren't widgets, and good teaching isn't an assembly line.
-----------------------
The point about tying teaching salaries to widget standards is that it's hard to figure out a useful way to measure the merit of what a really good teacher does......
...Tying raises to pass rates is a flagrant invitation to inflate student achievement. Tying them to standardized tests makes rote regurgitation the centerpiece of schools. Both are blind to the merit of teachers who shoulder the challenging work of educating those less able, more troubled, from homes where there are no pencils, no books, even no parents. A teacher whose Advanced Placement class sends everyone on to top-tier colleges; a teacher whose remedial-reading class finally gets through to some, but not all, of a student group that is failing. There is merit in both.
----------------------
In recent years teacher salaries have grown, if they've grown at all, at a far slower rate than those of other professionals, often lagging behind inflation. Yet teachers should have the most powerful group of advocates in the nation: not their union, but we the people, their former students.

Amen to that, i say.

If you hold to the notion that teachers are overpaid, imagine this scenario. Put yourself in a room with the 10 brightest, most ambitious and capable kids in your local high school. Ask them why they don't want to be teachers. $10 says one of the reasons is because teaching doesn't pay enough. Better to get a job as a CEO, run your company into the ground, and collect that nice hefty severance package they offer to get rid of you. And we complain about tenure...

Iraq in a nutshell

2005-11-20T12:31:00.000-05:00

I think Josh has it about right. Our plan for Iraq amounts to little more than stay there until the place calms down.

I would add to that the whole notion of not cutting and running for fear of showing weakness amounts to little more than "get ourselves blown up just to prove we can".

That's all - got better things to do today.

Pop quiz

2005-11-17T22:59:00.000-05:00

Question #1: What do liars do?

If you answered "they lie", you get an "A".

But Bush, Cheney, and other senior officials have added several other arguments in recent days that distort the factual record. ....Knight Ridder addresses the administration's main assertions:

Rush-Bo

2005-11-15T19:28:00.000-05:00

Once again, i'm at a loss for words. Support the troops = donate to Rush Limbaugh.

I'm SO not kidding.

When you give an "Adopt A Soldier" subscription, your gift will be matched with a member of the military for a full year. He or she will receive unfettered access to Rush 24/7 online as well as every big, colorful issue of The Limbaugh Letter. When giving, make sure to let us know in the appropriate checkbox if it is ok to pass along your email address to the service person receiving your gift subscription, so that they can have the chance to thank you themselves.

PLEASE NOTE THAT GIFTS MADE UNDER THIS PROGRAM ARE NOT TAX DEDUCTIBLE.
$49.95

Perhaps i missed something in that i looked around to try to find something suggesting the $49.95 was donated to charity. I came up empty. Feel free to correct me.

Until then, if i should ever get this shameless, please do society a favor and shoot me.

Hat tip to Crooks & Liars

Oh Brother Redux

2005-11-12T18:17:00.000-05:00

I know this is a few days old, but how can we mention comments from right wing whackos without mentioning Bill O'Reilly?

Linked:

O'REILLY: Hey, you know, if you want to ban military recruiting, fine, but I'm not going to give you another nickel of federal money. You know, if I'm the president of the United States, I walk right into Union Square, I set up my little presidential podium, and I say, "Listen, citizens of San Francisco, if you vote against military recruiting, you're not going to get another nickel in federal funds. Fine. You want to be your own country? Go right ahead."

"And if Al Qaeda comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you, except San Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead."

Sometimes words escape me. I mean, what can you say about a guy who attempts to wrap himself in the flag at the same time he seems to be advocating a terrorist attack in San Francisco? Now i realize Bill O'Reilly isn't Pat Robertson, but good grief.

Think what you want about voting to bar military recruiters from local schools - though i would guess San Francisco isn't the only area that would like to do that. But what about all the San Franciscans who are veterans? Or current military volunteers? Does Bill O'Reilly want to bomb them too? Seems so. So if you wanna get in Bill O'Reilly's good graces, well, you know what to do.

Oh brother

2005-11-11T09:18:00.000-05:00

Why does God hate America?

Conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson told citizens of a Pennsylvania town that they had rejected God by voting their school board out of office for supporting "intelligent design" and warned them Thursday not to be surprised if disaster struck.

I guess Pat Robertson's God is one spiteful dude.

Saddam Lite

2005-11-09T21:05:00.000-05:00

Linked:

Powerful new evidence emerged yesterday that the United States dropped massive quantities of white phosphorus on the Iraqi city of Fallujah during the attack on the city in November 2004, killing insurgents and civilians with the appalling burns that are the signature of this weapon.
Ever since the assault, which went unreported by any Western journalists, rumours have swirled that the Americans used chemical weapons on the city.
-------------------------
But now new information has surfaced, including hideous photographs and videos and interviews with American soldiers who took part in the Fallujah attack, which provides graphic proof that phosphorus shells were widely deployed in the city as a weapon.

In a documentary to be broadcast by RAI, the Italian state broadcaster, this morning, a former American soldier who fought at Fallujah says: "I heard the order to pay attention because they were going to use white phosphorus on Fallujah. In military jargon it's known as Willy Pete.

"Phosphorus burns bodies, in fact it melts the flesh all the way down to the bone ... I saw the burned bodies of women and children. Phosphorus explodes and forms a cloud. Anyone within a radius of 150 metres is done for."

In the year and a half or so that i've been doing this, i've never posted an article that made me say "Please don't let that be true". But i'm saying it now. I don't pretend to be an expert on white phosphorous. But if it amounts to a chemical weapon, and if we used chemical weapons on the Iraqi people, after attempting to justify this war of so called liberation with the statement "Saddam used chemical weapons on his own people", then it'll be at least 3 years before i'll again be able to say i love this country.

I went to the site mentioned in the article to attempt to view the pictures they were talking about, but it was all in Italian, and i couldn't find them. But with this news about to come out, it would explain why Silvio Berlusconni (sp??) might attempt to distance himself from Bush's war, as he did a week or so ago.

Putting my training to work

2005-11-06T15:45:00.000-05:00

Senator Tom Coburn on Meet The Press this morning:

MR. RUSSERT: Let me ask about something else, and this intrigued me when I watched you during the John Roberts confirmation hearing when you were explaining how you came to make a decision and you used your skills as a doctor. Let's watch.
(Videotape, September 14, 2005):

SEN. COBURN: I've tried to use my medical skills of observation of body language to ascertain your uncomfortableness and ill at ease with questions and responses. I will tell you that I am very pleased both in my observational capabilities as a physician to know that your answers have been honest and forthright as I watch the rest of your body respond to the stress that you're under.

(End videotape)

MR. RUSSERT: Do you believe as a physician you can tell whether a candidate for the Supreme Court is telling the truth?

SEN. COBURN: I think you can certainly tell when they're ill at ease with a subject and sometimes telling the truth or not. I think you can do that. I think you can do that--anybody can be trained to do that--by body language, respiratory avoidance responses. Yeah, I think you can.

MR. RUSSERT: And have you used those skills to make judgments like that?

SEN. COBURN: Mm-hm, I certainly have.

MR. RUSSERT: Has any--have you ever detected someone lying?

SEN. COBURN: Uh-huh, lots of times.

I know where he's coming from. I've often used my blogger skills of observation of body language to ascertain George Bush's uncomfortableness and ill at ease with questions and responses. I will tell you that I am very satisfied both in my observational capabilities as a blogger to know that his answers are typically full of shit as I watch the rest of his body respond to the stress that he's under.

Saturday Morning Funnies

2005-10-29T07:48:00.000-05:00

Complements of my Conservatively Liberal niece - this is pretty darn funny. Worthy of The Daily Show.

And while we're at it, i'd found this one (Quicktime required) last fall during the campaign. I've watched this probably 15 times and i still laugh when i see it.

Tidbit

2005-10-23T19:03:00.000-05:00

Linked: (and for those not in the know, The Club For Growth is an ultra conservative organization - not all that removed from being the Conservative "Moveon.Org")

Number of Pork Projects in Federal Spending Bills

2005 - 13,997
2004 - 10,656
2003 - 9,362
2002 - 8,341
2001 - 6,333
2000 - 4,326
1999 - 2,838
1998 - 2100
1997 - 1,596
1996 - 958
1995 - 1439

I'm gonna hammer this, and hammer this and just keep on hammering this. If it bores you, tough. To the Sean Hannity/Bill O'Reilly/Rush Limbaugh fiscal conservatives, fiscal conservatism begins and ends with "cut my taxes".

Tip 'o the hat to Andrew Sullivan.

JibJab.....

2005-10-15T11:00:00.000-05:00

Takes on Walmart.

Back to the front.

2005-10-07T19:07:00.000-05:00

Linked:

The President has said that “as Iraqis stand up, we will stand down.” He claimed that 80 Iraqi army battalions are fighting alongside American troops. He did not say how many Iraqi battalions are capable of fighting without American troops. But, this week, General Casey did. The answer is: one.
If it has taken two years, 2,000 lives, 15,000 wounded and $218 billion appropriated so far to stand up one battalion of 800 Iraqi troops, how long will it take to stand up an army of 140,000 troops? At the pace of one battalion every two years, we will be in Iraq for 150 years. What is the timetable for standing up Iraq’s army?

Conservatives will usually try to deflect the issue by suggesting Liberals should quit whining about the problem and propose some solutions for once. Sorry, but the Liberal solution was to not get in this predicament in the first place. We were ignored. Not only were we ignored, but we were then outvoted by people who seemed to suggest it was such a wonderful deal they'd love to do it again. So now it's your turn, Mr & Mrs Conservative. Figure it out and do it quick. But until then, you're gonna hear it.

Oh, and:

"Bomb blasts killed six Marines in western Iraq...."

-----------------------------------

"The American deaths brought to 1,950 the number of U.S. troops who have died since the beginning of the war in 2003, according to an Associated Press count."

Ian Fishback

2005-10-04T20:15:00.000-05:00

I've touched on the name Ian Fishback a few times in the comments section. He's the Army Captain referred to a few posts down.......here.

For more detail on him and his ordeal, Andrew Sullivan has an article in the London Times that can be read here:

For even more, go to Sullivan's main page here where he's been posting quite a bit on it.

And to put his views in proper perspective, Andrew Sullivan is a Pro Iraq War Conservative who does enough to piss off both sides - which i would assume only means he must be doing something right.

Quote of the day

2005-09-24T19:31:00.000-05:00

I've got Shrek on the TV Tube and Prince Farquar (or whatever his name is....the short guy) just said:

"Some of you may die, but it's a sacrifice I am willing to make."

Just thought i'd put that out there.

The troops hate the troops

2005-09-24T14:13:00.000-05:00

The U.S. Army has launched a criminal investigation into new allegations of serious prisoner abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan made by a decorated former Captain in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division, an Army spokesman has confirmed to TIME.
---------------------
The new allegations center around systematic abuse of Iraqi detainees by men of the 82nd Airborne at Camp Mercury, a forward operating base located near Fallujah
--------------------
Much of the abuse allegedly occurred in 2003 and 2004, before and during the period the Army was conducting an internal investigation into the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, but prior to when the abuses at Abu Ghraib became public.
--------------------
The Captain is quoted in the report describing how military intelligence personnel at Camp Mercury directed enlisted men to conduct daily beatings of prisoners prior to questioning; to subject detainees to strenuous forced exercises to the point of unconsciousness; and to expose them to extremes of heat and cold—all methods designed to produce greater cooperation with interrogators.
---------------------
Specific instances of abuse described in the Human Rights Watch report include severe beatings, including one incident when a soldier allegedly broke a detainee's leg with a metal bat. Others include prisoners being stacked in human pyramids (unlike the human pyramids at Abu Ghraib, the prisoners at Camp Mercury were clothed); soldiers administering blows to the face, chest and extremities of prisoners; and detainees having their faces and eyes exposed to burning chemicals, (emphasis mine) being forced into stress positions for long periods leading to unconsciousness and having their water and food withheld.

There's more.

I just watched a clip of Bill O'Reilly giving Wesley Clark a hard time for meeting with Cindy Sheehan. Apparently Cindy Sheehan is some sort of wild radical who hates America. But i'll tell ya what's radical. Radical is acting like Pol Pot. Radical is turning a blind eye when your President acts like Pol Pot. Radical is defending people for acting like Pol Pot.

To anyone who thinks Howard Dean is radical (you know who you are), i'll make a bet, if you're willing, and we'll let God be the judge. When we die, i go where Howard Dean goes, and you go where George Bush goes. Takers?

And oh by the way. Perhaps we should revisit Dick Durbin's comments.

"If I read this to you and did not tell you that it was an FBI agent describing what Americans had done to prisoners in their control, you would most certainly believe this must have been done by Nazis, Soviets in their gulags, or some mad regime -- Pol Pot or others -- that had no concern for human beings," Durbin said. "Sadly, that is not the case. This was the action of Americans in the treatment of their prisoners."

I still have no idea why he apologized. Oh wait, yes i do. Because Conservatives whined too much when he said them.

Me

2005-09-23T19:02:00.000-05:00

You are a
Social Liberal
(75% permissive)

and an...
Economic Liberal
(38% permissive)

You are best described as a:

Democrat

Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid

Welease......Woger

2005-09-22T20:16:00.000-05:00

Sir, we have no Roger.

THE PRESIDENT: .....blah blah blah And so it's a long border. One of the things is that we need to continue to train the Iraqis to be better controllers of the border, and that's one of the missions that General Casey briefed us on today.

Bianca. Nobody named Bianca? Well, sorry Bianca's not here. I'll be glad to answer her question.

Q I'll follow up.

THE PRESIDENT: No, that's fine. (Laughter.) Thank you though, appreciate it. Just trying to spread around the joy of asking a question.

Then, a bit later: (and here's the kicker)

Q Mr. President, could we talk more about --

THE PRESIDENT: Are you Bianca?

Q No, I'm not. Anita -- Fox News.

THE PRESIDENT: Okay.

Q Just a quick question --

THE PRESIDENT: Okay. I was looking for Bianca. I'm sorry.

Saturday Night Live should be so funny.

Get 'em while they're hot

2005-09-21T19:40:00.000-05:00

The Virgin Mary Sonogram current bid $122.

Yup, that's her.

Alright, just for fun, let's assume that does look like the Virgin Mary (though i didn't realize she had such a big nose....or is that supposed to be her foot?.....anyways). My question would be, why pay over $122 for the sonogram when you could just do what i did and take the picture off the internet?

ed note: Snarky comments kept to a minimum......you know.....just in case.

NOOOOO!!! We said Main(e) STREET. Take it to Main(e) STREET

2005-09-20T18:52:00.000-05:00

FEMA Sends Trucks Full Of Ice For Katrina Victims To Maine

City officials say they have no idea why the trucks are here, only that the city has been asked to help out with traffic problems. But the truck drivers NEWSCENTER spoke to said they went all the way down to the gulf coast with the ice -- stayed for a few days -- and then were told by FEMA they needed to drive to Maine to store it.

Bwahahahahahahahahahhaahahaha.

Ok, i'm sure that somewhere, deep inside the depths of common sense, there has to be, just has to be, some point of logic that would make one say "Oh, ok, so it's not as totally stupid as it sounds". But boy, that sounds totally stupid. And where is the truck driver who spoke up and said "No, NO, i'm not doing it. That's the dumbest idea i've ever heard!!! Count me out."

Reminds me of a quote by PJ O'Rourke - Republicans keep insisting government is incompetent, and then they get elected and prove it.

A Top 10 List

2005-09-19T18:26:00.000-05:00

Letterman's Top Ten Questions For The FEMA Director Application

10. "Are you able to convey a false sense of security?"

9. "What percentage of your resume is fabricated?"

8. "In a crisis, which state or local officials would you blame?"

7. "What are your plans after you resign?"

6. "Do you mind if the last guy left the office smelling like Arabian horses?"

5. "Which is most serious: A disaster, a catastrophe, or a dis-astrophe?"

4. "Does Robert Blake dating again count as an emergency?"

3. "Can the president easily add '-ie' to your last name to form a nickname?"

2. "Can you screw up bad enough to take the heat off the president's mistakes?"

1. "Michael Brown...Idiot or moron?"

And one that didn't make the final cut, which is actually my favorite of the bunch:

"If a tornado and an earthquake strike at the same time, which do you ignore first?"

The Liberal Conservative

2005-09-17T15:06:00.000-05:00

I despise George Bush. That's no secret. What has been a secret, apparently, is that i'm beginning to think i'm actually more conservative than several of my Bush fawning family members.

Linked:

"There has never been a time where there is more total spending and more wasteful spending in Washington than we have today," said Pat Toomey, a former Republican congressman from Pennsylvania and the head of the conservative Club for Growth. "There is ample opportunity to find the offsets we need so that this (Hurricane Katrina) does not have to be a fiscal disaster as well as a natural disaster."

Republican President + Republican House + Republican Senate = "...more wasteful spending in Washington than we have...." ever had.

I've said it once, i'll say it again, and i'll just keep on saying it. Anyone who supports George Bush as a 'fiscal conservative' has a core belief of fiscal conservatism that begins and ends with 'cut my taxes'.

Rice-A-Roni

2005-09-15T17:20:00.000-05:00

Condi Rice:

O’Reilly: The truth of the matter is our correspondents at Fox News can’t go out for a cup of coffee in Baghdad.

Rice: Bill, that’s tough. It’s tough. But what — would they have wanted to have gone out for a cup of coffee when Saddam Hussein was in power?

People are getting blown up on a daily basis, but does anyone really think they'd rather be blown up with Saddam Hussein in power? I mean, really!!

O'Reilly spins my family. I set them straight.

2005-09-14T19:52:00.000-05:00

I haven't commented on Bill O'Reilly in a while, so what the hell.

Two recent comments, the first from some stray conservative and the second one from "The (Ahem) No Spin Zone".

First:

Fifteen -- under Bill Clinton, 15.1 percent of the population was poor; under president Bush, 12.7 percent of the population is poor. That's a reduction, that's a good thing.

Second:

Halfway through President Clinton's tenure in office in 1996, the poverty rate was 13.7 percent. Halfway through President Bush's tenure, the rate is 12.7 percent, a full point lower.

Wow. Gosh. Criminy. Looks like Bill Clinton did a lousy job fighting poverty compared to Bush. So, just how would one go about defending Clinton on this? How about, oh, pointing out some facts maybe?

Poverty Rates:

1993 15.1%
1994 14.5%
1995 13.8%
1996 13.7%
1997 13.3%
1998 12.7%
1999 11.9%
2000 11.3%

And then:

2001 11.7% (uh oh)
2002 12.1% (oops)
2003 12.5% (yikes)
2004 12.7% (d'oh!)

O'reilly then goes on to say:

In 1996, the Clinton budget allotted $191 billion for poverty entitlements. That was 12.2 percent of the budget and a whopping amount of money. That's why Bill Clinton was called the first black president by some. However, the Bush 2006 budget allots a record-shattering $368 billion for poverty entitlements, 14.6 percent of the entire budget, a huge increase over Clinton's spending on poverty entitlements.

Given the above, anyone willing to wager that O'Reilly isn't lumping corporate welfare entitlements in with that $368 billion?

I hear Al Franken is busy working on his sequel.

Kudos to Media Matters. The leftist fascist Bush hating Media Matters.

My last (or close to it) comment on Michael Brown

2005-09-13T15:59:00.000-05:00

Now that Michael Brown has resigned, and now that the President seems to have been officially informed of this fact, i'll come to his (Michael Brown's) defense (somewhat).

With this: Let's assume my uncle is Joe Torre, and the Yankees find themselves in another World Series game 7. Joe Torre, being the loyal family man that he is decides to do me, his favorite nephew, a favor and puts me on the mound as the starter. If i give up 48 runs in the first inning (and i will), do i deserve all the scorn? Or should the vast majority of it fall on Uncle Nimrod who actually put me in to pitch? And let's not forget the pitching coach (Democrat Joe Lieberman) who didn't speak up.

Michael Brown Resigns - Asks Nation To Notify Bush

2005-09-12T19:30:00.000-05:00

Linked:

Q Can you tell us, have you accepted the resignation of Michael Brown, or have you heard about it?

THE PRESIDENT: I haven't -- no, I have not talked to Michael Brown -- or Mike Chertoff; that's who I'd talk to. As you know, I've been working. And when I get on Air Force One, I will call back to Washington. But I've been on the move.

Q Our understanding is he has resigned, he's made a statement. Would that be appropriate --

THE PRESIDENT: I haven't talked to Mike Chertoff yet, and that's what I intend to do when I get on the plane. You know, I -- you probably -- maybe you know something I don't know, but as you know, we've been working, and I haven't had a chance to get on the phone.

Q Uh, sir, you have heard of Michael Brown, haven't you?

Talk about out of the loop.

ed. note: Just so i don't get accused of misleading my 3 readers, that last question was mine.

9/11/05

2005-09-11T07:57:00.000-05:00

This brings it all back as well as anything i've seen.

If you can get through it without getting a little choked up, you just ain't an American.

9/11 Tribute.

Clinton's FEMA

2005-09-10T19:42:00.000-05:00

Credit goes here:

"... I went to Florida a few days after President Bush did to observe the damage from Hurricane Andrew. I had dealt with a lot of natural disasters as governor, including floods, droughts, and tornadoes, but I had never seen anything like this. I was surprised to hear complaints from both local officials and residents about how the Federal Emergency Management Agency was handling the aftermath of the hurricane. Traditionally, the job of FEMA director was given to a political supporter of the President who wanted some plum position but who had no experience with emergencies. I made a mental note to avoid that mistake if I won. Voters don't chose a President based on how he'll handle disasters, but if they're faced with one themselves, it quickly becomes the most important issue in their lives." Bill Clinton, My Life (p. 428)

These days, blue dresses don't sound so bad anymore.

My George Bush version, yet to be written:

"... I had dealt with a lot of natural disasters as governor, including floods, droughts, and tornadoes, but I had never seen anything like this. I was surprised to hear praise from both local officials and residents about how the Federal Emergency Management Agency was handling the aftermath of the hurricane. Traditionally, the job of FEMA director was given to a political supporter of the President who wanted some plum position but who had no experience with emergencies, so i had no idea why Clinton actually appointed someone qualified. Silly. Voters don't chose a President based on how he'll handle disasters, so why the hell should i have cared, but if they're faced with one themselves, it quickly becomes the most important issue in their lives, not mine." George Bush (because i said so)

There's money in dem dere hurricanes

2005-09-10T16:35:00.000-05:00

In case you haven't noticed lately, i read Josh Marshall quite a bit.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Companies with ties to the Bush White House and the former head of FEMA are clinching some of the administration's first disaster relief and reconstruction contracts in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

At least two major corporate clients of lobbyist Joe Allbaugh, President Bush's former campaign manager and a former head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, have already been tapped to start recovery work along the battered Gulf Coast.
One is Shaw Group Inc. and the other is Halliburton Co. subsidiary Kellogg Brown and Root.

So to quote Barbara Bush (totally out of context, but it makes for a good line)

"......so this is working very well for them."

Uh, YUHHHHHHHHH!

What a real FEMA head looks like

2005-09-10T11:07:00.000-05:00

Got the idea to look for this over here.

This is the FEMA director for my area of the country (NY, NJ, Puerto Rico and The Virgin Islands)

Joseph F. Picciano, P.E.
Office of the Director, Region II

As the Acting Regional Director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Region II Office in New York City, Joseph F. Picciano is responsible for the day-to-day direction, management and monitoring of all FEMA programs within the Region. Over the last two years his office has overseen the World Trade Center federal recovery effort. With the transition of FEMA into the Department of Homeland Security Mr. Picciano continues to support the critical disaster response and recovery efforts of the agency.

Mr. Picciano has been with FEMA since the Agency's inception in 1979, assigned to the New York Regional Office. During his employment with the Agency he has served in a multitude of positions supporting and managing programs including, offsite preparedness for nuclear power facilities; the administration of the National Flood Insurance Program, HAZMAT, national preparedness and state and local emergency management.

He has served as a Federal Coordinating Officer in Presidentially-declared Major Disasters and Emergency operations, appointed by the President and responsible for the coordination of all Federal assets deployed for response and recovery. Additionally, he has supported flooding disasters in Texas, California, New York and New Jersey; hurricanes in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands; and Hurricane Andrew in Florida. He was the recipient of a Meritorious Service Award for his service during the Virgin Islands Hurricane Hugo recovery operation.

In 2002 he received the national Director's Award for his service during 911 and his management of the Region. He was also recently recognized by the New York Federal Executive Board with the Direct Service Award "For Outstanding Achievement in the Service of the United States Government."

Prior to his service with FEMA, Mr. Picciano worked with engineering consultants in the fields of floodplain management, environmental planning and engineering. Mr. Picciano graduated from Newark College of Engineering in 1971 with a BS in Civil Engineering, and received a Masters Degree in Environmental Engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 1976. Mr. Picciano was honored as a distinguished Alumnus for 2002. Mr. Picciano is a licensed professional engineer and resident of Bergen County, New Jersey.

Why ask a guy like that to head FEMA when you've got guys like Joe Allbaugh and Michael Brown on the list?

The more things change....

2005-09-10T10:38:00.000-05:00

Then:

Brownie, you da man!!

Now:

Brownie, get out da damn way!!

Meanwhile:

Remember Joe Allbaugh? Well, he's back, according to Josh Marshall:

Allbaugh client Shaw Group bags two $100 million Katrina rebuilding and recovery contracts.

Meanwhile:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush issued an executive order Thursday allowing federal contractors rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina to pay below the prevailing wage.

I wonder if Joe Allbaugh or his company is getting "below the prevailing wage". Let there be no mistake how this guy thinks.

Greatest. Leader. Ever.

2005-09-08T00:08:00.000-05:00

Are you freakin' kidding me? Emphasis by me.

ATLANTA - Not long after some 1,000 firefighters sat down for eight hours of training, the whispering began: "What are we doing here?"

As New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin pleaded on national television for firefighters - his own are exhausted after working around the clock for a week - a battalion of highly trained men and women sat idle Sunday in a muggy Sheraton Hotel conference room in Atlanta.

Many of the firefighters, assembled from Utah and throughout the United States by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, thought they were going to be deployed as emergency workers.

Instead, they have learned they are going to be community-relations officers for FEMA, shuffled throughout the Gulf Coast region to disseminate fliers and a phone number: 1-800-621-FEMA.

On Monday, some firefighters stuck in the staging area at the Sheraton peeled off their FEMA-issued shirts and stuffed them in backpacks, saying they refuse to represent the federal agency.

--------------------------------------

"They've got people here who are search-and-rescue certified, paramedics, haz-mat certified," said a Texas firefighter. "We're sitting in here having a sexual-harassment class while there are still [victims] in Louisiana who haven't been contacted yet."

The firefighter, who has encouraged his superiors back home not to send any more volunteers for now, declined to give his name because FEMA has warned them not to talk to reporters.

----------------------------------------

But Louis H. Botta, a coordinating officer for FEMA, said sending out firefighters on community relations makes sense. They already have had background checks and meet the qualifications to be sworn as a federal employee. They have medical training that will prove invaluable as they come across hurricane victims in the field.

Whatever.

A firefighter from California said he feels ill prepared to even carry out the job FEMA has assigned him. In the field, Hurricane Katrina victims will approach him with questions about everything from insurance claims to financial assistance.

----------------------------------------

And the coup de gras?

But as specific orders began arriving to the firefighters in Atlanta, a team of 50 Monday morning quickly was ushered onto a flight headed for Louisiana. The crew's first assignment: to stand beside President Bush as he tours devastated areas.

How many people died while these guys were getting their freakin' picture taken?

Say cheese

The Blame Game

2005-09-07T17:14:00.000-05:00

Believe me, there's plenty of blame to go around in this debacle known as Hurricane Katrina. I'm hoping to post more on that later. But for now, i just want to address the process now under way to absolve Bush of any blame and place it all on the Governor of LA and the Mayor of NO.

This is dated 8/27/05 and was apparently signed, by the President on 8/27/05. The Saturday before the Hurricane hit. I've highlighted the most noteworthy portions.

Press Release Date: 8/27/2005

Contact:Denise Bottcher or Roderick Hawkins at 225-342-9037

Governor Blanco asks President to Declare an Emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina

BATON ROUGE—Today Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco forwarded a letter to President Bush requesting that he declare an emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina. The full text of the letter follows:

August 27, 2005

The President
The White House
Washington, D. C.

Through:
Regional Director
FEMA Region VI
800 North Loop 288
Denton, Texas 76209

Dear Mr. President:

Under the provisions of Section 501 (a) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5121-5206 (Stafford Act), and implemented by 44 CFR § 206.35, I request that you declare an emergency for the State of Louisiana due to Hurricane Katrina for the time period beginning August 26, 2005, and continuing. The affected areas are all the southeastern parishes including the New Orleans Metropolitan area and the mid state Interstate I-49 corridor and northern parishes along the I-20 corridor that are accepting the thousands of citizens evacuating from the areas expecting to be flooded as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

In response to the situation I have taken appropriate action under State law and directed the execution of the State Emergency Plan on August 26, 2005 in accordance with Section 501 (a) of the Stafford Act. A State of Emergency has been issued for the State in order to support the evacuations of the coastal areas in accordance with our State Evacuation Plan and the remainder of the state to support the State Special Needs and Sheltering Plan.

Pursuant to 44 CFR § 206.35, I have determined that this incident is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and affected local governments, and that supplementary Federal assistance is necessary to save lives, protect property, public health, and safety, or to lessen or avert the threat of a disaster. I am specifically requesting emergency protective measures, direct Federal Assistance, Individual and Household Program (IHP) assistance, Special Needs Program assistance, and debris removal.

Preliminary estimates of the types and amount of emergency assistance needed under the Stafford Act, and emergency assistance from certain Federal agencies under other statutory authorities are tabulated in Enclosure A.

The following information is furnished on the nature and amount of State and local resources that have been or will be used to alleviate the conditions of this emergency:
• Department of Social Services (DSS): Opening (3) Special Need Shelters (SNS) and establishing (3) on Standby.
• Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH): Opening (3) Shelters and establishing (3) on Standby.
• Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (OHSEP): Providing generators and support staff for SNS and Public Shelters.
• Louisiana State Police (LSP): Providing support for the phased evacuation of the coastal areas.
• Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (WLF): Supporting the evacuation of the affected population and preparing for Search and Rescue Missions.

Mr. President
Page Two
August 27, 2005

• Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD): Coordinating traffic flow and management of the evacuations routes with local officials and the State of Mississippi.

The following information is furnished on efforts and resources of other Federal agencies, which have been or will be used in responding to this incident:
• FEMA ERT-A Team en-route.

I certify that for this emergency, the State and local governments will assume all applicable non-Federal share of costs required by the Stafford Act.

I request Direct Federal assistance for work and services to save lives and protect property.

(a) List any reasons State and local government cannot perform or contract for performance, (if applicable).

(b) Specify the type of assistance requested.

In accordance with 44 CFR § 206.208, the State of Louisiana agrees that it will, with respect to Direct Federal assistance:

1. Provide without cost to the United States all lands, easement, and rights-of-ways necessary to accomplish the approved work.

2. Hold and save the United States free from damages due to the requested work, and shall indemnify the Federal Government against any claims arising from such work;

3. Provide reimbursement to FEMA for the non-Federal share of the cost of such work in accordance with the provisions of the FEMA-State Agreement; and

4. Assist the performing Federal agency in all support and local jurisdictional matters.

In addition, I anticipate the need for debris removal, which poses an immediate threat to lives, public health, and safety.

Pursuant to Sections 502 and 407 of the Stafford Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 5192 & 5173, the State agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the United States of America for any claims arising from the removal of debris or wreckage for this disaster. The State agrees that debris removal from public and private property will not occur until the landowner signs an unconditional authorization for the removal of debris.

I have designated Mr. Art Jones as the State Coordinating Officer for this request. He will work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency in damage assessments and may provide further information or justification on my behalf.

Sincerely,

Kathleen Babineaux Blanco
Governor
Enclosure

ENCLOSURE A TO EMERGENCY REQUEST

Estimated requirements for other Federal agency programs:
• Department of Social Services (DSS): Opening (3) Special Need Shelters (SNS) and establishing (3) on Standby. Costs estimated at $500,000 per week for each in operation.
• Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH): Opening (3) Shelters and establishing (3) on Standby. Costs estimated at $500,000 per week for each in operation.
• Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (OHSEP): Providing generators and support staff for SNS and Public Shelters. Costs estimated to range from $250,000-$500,000 to support (6) Shelter generator operations.
• Louisiana State Police (LSP): Costs to support evacuations - $300,000 for a non-direct landfall.
• Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (WLF): Costs to support evacuations - $200,000 for a non-direct landfall.
• Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD): Costs to support evacuations - $2,000,000 for a non-direct landfall.

Totals: $ 9,000,000

Estimated Requirements for assistance under the Stafford Act:

Coordination: $0
Technical and advisory assistance: $0
Debris removal: $0
Emergency protective measures: $ 9,000,000
Individuals and Households Program (IHP): $0
Distribution of emergency supplies: $0
Other (specify): $0

Totals: $ 9,000,000
Grand Total: $ 9,000,000

Help didn't show up for almost 6 days. 'Nuff said.

I report, you decide

2005-09-03T21:21:00.000-05:00

Ok, i'll admit it's getting to the point of piling on with respect to Michael Brown (Brownie, to his friends) but this little nugget is linked here:

(Washington, DC) - Today (1/24/05), Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL) sent the following letter to President George Bush requesting that he immediately remove Michael Brown from his position as head of the Homeland Security Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Under Secretary Brown's agency disbursed over $30 million in disaster relief money, which was allocated to over 10,000 Miami-Dade claimants after Hurricane Frances, which made landfall more than 100 miles away and there was no more than a heavy rainstorm. According to several news accounts by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, "FEMA has written checks to cover new wardrobes, cars, lawn mowers, vacuum cleaners, furniture and thousands of televisions, microwave ovens, stoves, air conditioners and other appliances." In addition, the Sun-Sentinel sites that FEMA paid $4,500 for one resident's funeral, even though the county medical examiner recorded no storm-related deaths. Another Sun-Sentinel article stated that two residents received aid for "dental treatments due to dental injuries received during the disaster." In six other cases, FEMA reimbursed residents for damage caused by "ice/snow."

On Monday, January 11, FEMA held a news conference acknowledging that they made $12 million in overpayments to 3,500 individuals - blaming these overpayments on a "computer glitch." FEMA, however, continues to deny additional systematic problems and cites the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to prove that there were legitimate hurricane conditions in Miami-Dade. Yet, according to the Sun-Sentinel, NOAA has refuted the weather maps FEMA claims to have obtained from them. As the head of FEMA, Under Secretary Brown oversees federal disaster response and recovery operations, and it is negligent of him to refuse to accept responsibility for its agency mistakes.

"Rather than taking responsibility for FEMA's mishaps and moving expeditiously to correct the problems, Under Secretary Brown has further undermined his agency's reputation by stymied investigations and inquiries into fraud allegations. FEMA's massive misallocation of recovery aid is a gross waste of taxpayer monies, which must be immediately addressed by the Bush Administration," Wexler said.

For proper context, i wanna emphasize that Robert Wexler is a Democratic Congressman from Florida, with, yes, the key word being Democrat.

That said, it should also be noted that the $30 million in question was allocated, you guessed it, just prior to the election in November.

Funny, that.

Yo, Lance! Over here!!

2005-09-03T19:42:00.000-05:00

To offset some recent criticism that all i do is complain, i'll pass on a positive story.

AUSTIN, Texas - Seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and his namesake cancer survivorship foundation will donate $500,000 to help cancer victims displaced by Hurricane Katrina get treatment.

Ok, time to go back to complaining.

Interesting

2005-09-03T15:48:00.000-05:00

I like to be fair, so i thought i'd point out this little quote.

Linked:

"They're doing a good job," one former FEMA executive says of the Bush administration's response efforts.

Oh wait, he also said this.

"And the reason why they're doing that job is because it's so close to the election, and they can't f--k it up, otherwise they lose Florida -- and if they lose Florida, they might lose the election."

Hmmm, makes ya think. More:

In 1993, President Clinton's new FEMA director, James Lee Witt, set the agency on a corrective course. Witt, who had served under then-Gov. Clinton as director of Arkansas emergency management, embarked on an ambitious campaign to bulk up the agency's natural disaster programs while staying prepared for "all hazards." Witt's changes eventually reversed FEMA's reputation for being unfocused and ineffective.

-----------------------

By the time the Bush administration entered office in January 2001, some 250 communities had signed up for Project Impact. FEMA seemed sturdy, having found its role and proved itself capable of fulfilling it. But in the field of emergency management, some things can change as quickly as the weather.

From its first months in office, the Bush administration made it clear that emergency programs, like much of the federal government, were in for a major reorientation.

-----------------------

And for laughs:

Michael Brown, a college friend of Allbaugh's who had served as FEMA's general counsel, was recruited to head the agency, which would now be part of the DHS's Emergency and Response Directorate. When the reorganization took effect on March 1, 2003, Brown assured skeptics that under the new arrangement, the country would be served by "FEMA on steroids" -- a faster, more effective disaster agency.

----------------------

And still more:

Within FEMA, the shift away from mitigation programs is so pronounced that many long-time specialists in the field have quit. "The priority is no longer on prevention," says the FEMA administrator who asked not to be identified. "Mitigation, honestly, is the orphaned step-child. People are leaving it in droves."

In fact, disaster professionals are leaving many parts of FEMA in droves, compromising the agency's ability to do its job. "Since last year, so many people have left who had developed most of our basic programs," Mann says. "A lot of the institutional knowledge is gone. Everyone who was able to retire has left, and then a lot of people have moved to other agencies."

That's just the tip of the iceberg in the article. If interested in the lengthy piece.....

Article of the day

2005-09-03T14:07:00.000-05:00

Maureen Dowd:

Highlights:

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.

-----------------------------

Michael Brown, the blithering idiot in charge of FEMA - a job he trained for by running something called the International Arabian Horse Association - admitted he didn't know until Thursday that there were 15,000 desperate, dehydrated, hungry, angry, dying victims of Katrina in the New Orleans Convention Center.

Was he sacked instantly? No, our tone-deaf president hailed him in Mobile, Ala., yesterday: "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."

Yup.

And whose dumber idea was this?

2005-09-03T13:28:00.000-05:00

Ok, i've alluded to Michael Brown (head of FEMA) a few times.

Here's the rundown, complements of Josh Marshall. Read it and weep.

Michael Brown is a lawyer and GOP party activist. Before he came to FEMA in 2001, he had a full-time job overseeing horse-shows as the commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association. He started with them in 1991. But he was eventually fired because of what the Herald describes as "after a spate of lawsuits over alleged supervision failures." (The Kos diary has some more details.)
But the stars were shining on Brown because President Bush had just been elected. And he appointed his chief political fixer Joe Allbaugh to replace James Lee Witt as head of FEMA.

That was a good break for the recently-canned Brown, because, as we learn from the Herald, he and Allbaugh were college roommates. He hired Brown as his General Counsel at FEMA in February. And then, by the end of the year, he promoted him to Deputy Director.

Then, little more than a year later, Allbaugh left FEMA to set up New Bridge Strategies, a consultancy to cash in on the Iraqi contracts bonanza. On Allbaugh's departure from FEMA, Brown became Director, in charge of federal domestic emergency management in the United States.

So, just to recap, Brown had no experience whatsoever in emergency management. He was fired from his last job for incompetence. He was hired because he was the new director's college roommate. And after the director -- who himself got the job because he was a political fixer for the president -- left, he became top dog. And President Bush said yesterday that he thinks Brown is "doing a helluva job".

And here's the Boston Herald article which adds some more not so generous details.

Is it any wonder the Iraqi reconstruction efforts look the way they do?

Whose dumb idea was this?

2005-09-03T09:39:00.000-05:00

News out of New Orleans is that Ken Lay is now safe.

At one point Friday, the evacuation was interrupted briefly when school buses pulled up so some 700 guests and employees from the Hyatt Hotel could move to the head of the evacuation line — much to the amazement of those who had been crammed in the Superdome since last Sunday.
"How does this work? They (are) clean, they are dry, they get out ahead of us?" exclaimed Howard Blue, 22, who tried to get in their line. The National Guard blocked him as other guardsmen helped the well-dressed guests with their luggage.

Who ya know

2005-09-02T16:43:00.000-05:00

Halliburton hired for storm cleanup

The Navy has hired Houston-based Halliburton Co. to restore electric power, repair roofs and remove debris at three naval facilities in Mississippi damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Halliburton subsidiary KBR will also perform damage assessments at other naval installations in New Orleans as soon as it is safe to do so.

KBR was assigned the work under a "construction capabilities" contract awarded in 2004 after a competitive bidding process. The company is not involved in the Army Corps of Engineers' effort to repair New Orleans' levees.

LOL

Trent Lott's pity party

2005-09-02T15:18:00.000-05:00

George Bush today:

We've got a lot of rebuilding to do. First, we're going to save lives and stabilize the situation. And then we're going to help these communities rebuild. The good news is -- and it's hard for some to see it now -- that out of this chaos is going to come a fantastic Gulf Coast, like it was before. Out of the rubbles of Trent Lott's house -- he's lost his entire house -- there's going to be a fantastic house. And I'm looking forward to sitting on the porch. (Laughter)

Poor Trent Lott. Lost an entire 1 of his houses.

I'm not going to dwell on this, because i think one of the reasons our politicians are all so phony is because we tend to dissect every single sentence that comes out of their mouths. So i won't hold a simple stupid comment against the guy. But gosh, does he have a tendency for putting his foot in his mouth or what?

I will say this, however, after watching him speak a few times today. Would it be possible for him to get 3 sentences out about the devastation in the Gulf without either smirking, smiling, or giggling? Good grief.

53,139 beds volunteered so far

2005-09-02T15:08:00.000-05:00

That evil, fascist, Moveon.org. Won't they ever quit!!

Bastards! .

Would love to be a fly in their house tonight

2005-09-02T12:11:00.000-05:00

Daryn Kagen:

I gotta say that was rather an odd thing to be watching. The president finally making it to the gulf coast after five days, and then spending a big chunk of time, when he could be out seeing the devastation, getting a briefing that frankly he could have gotten back at the White House, if not then, then on board Air Force One. A lot of that seemed like a political opportunity for the cameras and for the Republican governors of Mississippi and Alabama. (emphasis mine)

I watched the photo op too, thought it pathetic, but wasn't gonna comment on it (don't wanna be accused of complaining too much). But when Rush Limbaugh's new squeeze criticizes the President, well, far be it from me to stay quiet.

Keep Mrs Rush Limbaugh's last statement in mind next time you hear Scotty McClellan claim this ain't the time to make political points.

The kids are in charge

2005-09-02T10:34:00.000-05:00

If only those silly Louisianans would have stocked up on duct tape.

All kidding aside, maybe that should have been our first clue as to how unprepared our government was for dealing with another disaster. Seriously. They're telling us to buy duct tape, and we're supposed to believe they're qualified to deal with what's going on in New Orleans.

Duct tape.

Did he say that?

2005-09-01T21:35:00.000-05:00

From here:

Paula Zahn: How can it be that hundreds and hundreds of thousands of victims have not received any food and water more than 100 hours after Katrina hit.

FEMA's Mike Brown: Paula, I think it's so important for the American public to understand exactly how catastrophic this disaster is. I think we have a major American city, a major urban area, that has been totally demolished. And what we're finding is, is that as we continue to do the evacuation and get people out, people who have completely lost everything, they have no place to go, they have nothing, that we're finding other people who are literally coming out of second stories of homes, there are some even appearing on bridges that are not underwater, that people who were unable or chose not to evacuate are suddenly appearing. And so this catastrphic disaster continues to grow.

I will tell you this though, every person in that convention center, we just learned about that today. (emphasis mine) And so I had directed that we have all available resources to get to that convention center to make certain that they have the food and water, the medical care they need...

Paula Zahn: Sir, you're not telling me, you're not telling me you just learned that the folks at the convention center didn't have food and water until today did you? You had no idea they were completely cut off?

FEMA's Brown: Paula, the federal government did not even know about the convention center people until today. (emphasis mine again) We have been doing the evacuations from the superdome for several days, we're taking people out from the superdome to Houston and San Antonio. The people from the superdome have been fed

This is Thursday - 4 days after the fact. My guess is people were advised to go to the convention center, much as they were directed to go to the Superdome. And FEMA didn't know about them until today?

Let me say that again. This is Thursday - 4 days after the fact. My guess is people were advised to go to the convention center, much as they were directed to go to the Superdome. And FEMA didn't know about them until today?

I'm here to tell ya, if this head of FEMA guy turns out to be nothing more than an estate attorney with no disaster experience or something ridiculously similar to that, then the scope of this disaster will be the responsibility of more than just mother nature.

I'm just sayin'.

Hurricane Katrina

2005-09-01T11:03:00.000-05:00

Bush Taps Father, Clinton for Relief Help

Bush asked his father and Clinton to lead the fund-raising campaign after their successful similar efforts in the wake of the Asian tsunami that hit last December. He made the request of them Wednesday and the three planned a Thursday afternoon meeting in the Oval Office.

If only Bush would tap Father, Clinton to run the country.

"I hope people don't ... play politics during this period of time," he (Bush) said. "This is a natural disaster — the likes of which our country may have never seen before — and it's a national emergency. And what we need to do as a nation is come together to solve the problem and not play politics. There'll be ample time for politics."

I'm sympathetic to that sentiment, somewhat. So we won't play politics here, today. But we will say this. If it were to come out, down the line, that Bush eliminated (over strong objections) millions of dollars from pump and levee construction around New Orleans (to fund, say, the Iraq war) and then comes out and makes dumb statements saying nobody could have predicted the levees would break, or that Bush was phasing out FEMA, or that Bush had nominated an Estate Tax Lawyer political crony with no disaster experience whatsoever to head FEMA, or that there now appears to be no coordination of agencies, or if 4 years after 9/11 there are systematic failures in communcations, or if thousands of potential helpful participants are stuck in Iraq fighting our fun little war, or if we were to find out that Bush was carrying out photo ops while thousands of Americans were dying in a natural disaster made only worse by some of his shortsighted policy decisions........

Then i fully expect Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter to come vehemently to his defense.

Proof we are ahead of the Japanese

2005-08-30T14:00:00.000-05:00

Domestic robot to debut in Japan

A robot that recognises up to 10 faces and understands 10,000 words is to be offered to Japanese consumers looking for a high-tech helper in the house.

Someone get the Japanese up to speed. We already elected one of these things President 5 years ago.

Chick-eeeeeeeeeeeeeeennnnn

2005-08-30T06:55:00.000-05:00

Yet another example of Mr "They-Run-Away-From-Me-Cuz-I'm-So-Tough" doing his imitation of Mr Chicken Little.

Last week, in his "Talking Points Memo," O'Reilly angered the director of "Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism" by comparing him to Islamic suicide bombers and believers in the Third Reich.
"O'Reilly has simply lost his mind," Greenwald, who is Jewish, tells us. "I demand that O'Reilly apologize."
He also challenges O'Reilly to "a real debate on the issues, not his silly name-calling."
Is O'Reilly game?
"Why would we book a has-been like Robert Greenwald on cable's highest-rated program?" says a Fox News rep. "We wish him well on his road to extinction."

No title needed.

2005-08-29T12:37:00.000-05:00

Linked:

Another America Hater at Camp Casey.

"Tomas and Bree Young came to stand vigil with us here at Camp Casey. They are on their honeymoon. They are my son's age.
He was shot the same day as Casey Sheehan in Iraq. Because of his disability from his injuries sustained in Iraq he is unable to cool himself naturally so he has to be iced down from time to time. Tomas and Bree have some questions for Bush."

Further commentary here:

Spreadin' like butter

2005-08-29T09:01:00.000-05:00

Words to keep in mind while watching democracy blossom in Iraq:

"Democracy does not mean merely that the majority of voters elect their rulers. It also means the rights of the minority are protected. It means freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, the right to seek redress of grievance, an impartial and independent judiciary, it means no street violence after an election, the right to presumed innocence and to appeal court decisions, respect for those who are different from you, protection of property and contracts, a stable and generally accepted civic culture, civilian control of the military and the police -- all the precious and priceless freedoms and rights which we Americans take for granted -- however imperfectly they may be protected or honored.

Majority rule, without these kinds of safeguards, turns into tyranny....."

-Father Andrew Greeley

Juuuuuuust a bit outside

2005-08-29T07:09:00.000-05:00

Linked:

"When we came back from exile, we thought we were going to improve rights and the position of women. But look what has happened: we have lost all the gains we made over the past 30 years. It's a big disappointment. Human rights should not be linked to Islamic sharia law at all. They should be listed separately in the constitution."

A disgruntled Bush hater no doubt. Perhaps Michael Moore's cousin. Or Howard Dean's sister in law. Nope, it was Safia Taleb al-Souhail. And just who is Safia Taleb al-Souhail, you ask? Why, she is the woman who.....

....was invited to sit with the first lady, Laura Bush, and listen to the President claim in his state of the union address that success was being achieved in Iraq. Her picture went round the world after she turned to hug Janet Norwood, a Texas woman whose son had been killed in Iraq.

1900 dead Americans and $200,000,000 to send Iraqi women back to the dark ages.

Mission Accomplished.

To be fair, George Bush is quoted in the article as saying:

"Twenty-five per cent of the assembly is going to be women, which is embedded in the constitution."

George Bush. Pro-Affirmative action?

You!!.........Out!!

2005-08-29T06:26:00.000-05:00

Linked:

A high-level contracting official who has been a vocal critic of the Pentagon's decision to give Halliburton Co. a multibillion-dollar, no-bid contract for work in Iraq, was removed from her job by the Army Corps of Engineers, effective Saturday.

Just a coincedence, i'm sure.

And in June she testified before a Democrat-sponsored Capitol Hill event on contracting in Iraq.
"I can unequivocally state that the abuse related to contracts awarded to KBR represents the most blatant and improper abuse I have witnessed" in 20 years working on government contracts, Greenhouse said at the Democratic forum.
------------
Since then, Greenhouse has developed a reputation among those in both government and industry as being a stickler for the rules. To her critics, she's a foot-dragging, inflexible bureaucrat. To her supporters, she's been a staunch defender of the taxpayers' dime.

Nothing shady to see here people. Everybody go home to your families.

2005-08-28T08:13:00.000-05:00

Supporting the troops!!!!!

Go figure

2005-08-28T07:43:00.000-05:00

Pro war people getting confrontational. Who'da thunk it?

Linked:

The crowd, which organizers said topped 3,000 but appeared closer to 1,500, chanted "Cindy, Go Home" and compared her to Jane Fonda, whose visit to a North Vietnamese gun site in 1972 earned her the nickname "Hanoi Jane."
"Cindy-Hanoi Jane," read one of the signs at the rally.
----------------
In one heated moment, members of the pro-Bush crowd turned on what they mistakenly thought were a group of anti-war protesters, cursing them, threatening them and tearing down their signs. A police officer rushed the group to safety.

1)All well and good. It's their right. But has anyone noticed how these "pro war" or "pro America" rallies (going back to even prior to the war) tend to be as much an "anti anti war people" rallies? Let's burn Dixie Chicks CD's, or let's insult Cindy Sheehan. And i guess it shouldn't surprise anyone that the "pro war" rallies tend to resort to some sort of violence or destruction of some sort, even if that destruction is as simple as burning things.

2)Yes, i'll say it. George Bush could have prevented this confrontation now going on in Crawford. But having other people fight his battles for him i suppose is his modus operandi.

and 3)The "pro war" crowd claims to be the one's who support the troops. Please. They don't support the troops. They glorify war.

Why FOX Sucks - Reason #28,350

2005-08-25T19:05:00.000-05:00

LA Times:

Randy and Ronnell Vorick thought La Habra was about as far away as one could get from terrorism. They were wrong.

For the last 2 1/2 weeks, the lives of the couple and their three children have been plunged into an unsettling routine of drivers shouting profanities, stopping to photograph their house and — most recently — spray-painting a slogan on their property.

Their house, a suburban fixer-upper the Voricks bought three years ago, was wrongly identified in a cable news broadcast as the home of a terrorist.

Hmmmmmmmm, cable news broadcast.......could it be???

In what Fox News (Yes, it could) officials concede was a mistake, John Loftus, a former U.S. prosecutor, gave out the address Aug. 7, saying it was the home of a Middle Eastern man, Iyad K. Hilal, who was the leader of a terrorist group with ties to those responsible for the July 7 bombings in London.

Hilal, whom Loftus identified by name during the broadcast, moved out of the house about three years ago. But the consequences were immediate for the Voricks.
------------------------
A driver yelled a profanity at the family and called them terrorists as they barbecued on their patio Aug. 14. Some drivers have stopped and photographed the house, Randy Vorick said.

Last weekend, someone spray-painted "Terrist" on their home. Police, who have regularly patrolled their house since the day after the broadcast, now station a squad car across the street.

Yeah, Fox apologized. Too little too damn late.

But then, this IS Fox News we're talkin' about. Which, i guess, as long as it's not Dan Rather, there's no reason to get ourselves into a tizzy or anything.

Bush's message to Cindy Sheehan

2005-08-25T18:55:00.000-05:00

Greatest. Leader. Ever.

Right here, Cindy

His Own Private Idaho

2005-08-25T17:54:00.000-05:00

2-1/2 years after Mission Accomplished, Bush feels the need to go on a little Iraqipalooza tour.

Personally, i think the reporter must have totally made this up, but nevertheless it's linked here:

Despite more violence on Wednesday in Iraq, Mr. Bush said, "What's important is that the Iraqis are resolving these issues through debate and discussion, not at the barrel of a gun."

I want some of what he's smokin'.

And i find it funny that with Cindy Sheehan being outside his ranch, Bush high tails it off to Idaho to talk to people who agree with him about the war.

Greatest. Leader. Ever.

Quote of the day

2005-08-25T16:20:00.000-05:00

Compliments of Bill Maher:

You know, there's a certain point where, in every young man's life, you have to say to yourself, you know what? I am never going to play Major League Baseball. And I think there‘s a certain point in every president‘s life when you say, my plan to transform the Middle East, it's just not going to happen.

Though, in truth, i really haven't totally given up on that Major League Baseball thing.

Give or take 6 years or so

2005-08-21T16:59:00.000-05:00

7/30/03:

BIDEN: No, because the truth of the matter is we've never done that to them. We've only done it to them when they've said to us things that are patently untrue or obviously not accurate. For example, when the secretary of defense said at the beginning of the year that he thought we'd be down to 30,000 troops by the end of this year, (emphasis mine) there is no one, not a single expert -- left, right, center, back, forward -- who thought that could possibly be true.

8/21/05:

The Army is planning for the possibility of keeping the current number of soldiers in Iraq — well over 100,000 — for four more years, the Army's top general said Saturday.

Sounds like the Army's top general is a flip flopper.

My lowest point ever!

2005-08-21T06:22:00.000-05:00

(CNN) -- A former top aide to Colin Powell says his involvement in the former secretary of state's presentation to the United Nations on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was "the lowest point" in his life.

"I wish I had not been involved in it," says Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, a longtime Powell adviser who served as his chief of staff from 2002 through 2005. "I look back on it, and I still say it was the lowest point in my life."

----------------

"(Powell) came through the door ... and he had in his hands a sheaf of papers, and he said, 'This is what I've got to present at the United Nations according to the White House, and you need to look at it,'" Wilkerson says in the program. "It was anything but an intelligence document. It was, as some people characterized it later, sort of a Chinese menu from which you could pick and choose."
--------------

"In fact, Secretary Powell was not told that one of the sources he was given as a source of this information had indeed been flagged by the Defense Intelligence Agency as a liar, a fabricator," says David Kay....

It's a simple concept. When you pass off info from a known liar, then you're a liar. Lawyers can't put people on the stand who they know are lying, but apparently Presidents can.

....At one point, Wilkerson says, Tenet called Powell to tell him the claims about mobile bioweapons labs were apparently not true.

"George actually did call the Secretary, and said, 'I'm really sorry to have to tell you. We don't believe there were any mobile labs for making biological weapons,'" Wilkerson says in the documentary. "This was the third or fourth telephone call. And I think it's fair to say the Secretary and Mr. Tenet, at that point, ceased being close.

That would be George "Mr Medal Of Freedom" Tenet. 3 guesses as to why Colin Powell doesn't have a Presidential Medal Of Freedom.

Yeah, what she said!

2005-08-16T20:35:00.000-05:00

BUSH A COWARD

The President of the United States, who lacked the courage to serve his country during the Vietnam War, has once again shown his cowardice. Scores of brave American soldiers have given their lives since he went on vacation a couple of weeks ago. And yet, when the mother of one of our war dead -- Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed awhile back in Sadr City -- showed up at his Texas ranch asking to speak to him, he didn't even have the cojones to ask her in for a cup of coffee.

Instead, he had Karl Rove contact the Drudge Report and other sleazy news outlets across the land with a couple of comments Mrs. Sheehan made to her hometown paper in Vacaville, Calif., shortly after her son's death. Taken out of context, the quotes make her look like she spoke in favor of Bush and his dirty little war. On reading the full interview, however, it is clear that, from the beginning, she thought her son had died for nothing and was -- as we all might in such a situation -- just trying to be polite to the president.

What a coward. What a pathetic excuse for a man. To refuse to meet with, and then attempt to slime, a Gold Star Mother. It's inexcusable. In fact, it's beyond inexcusable.

The moral high ground in this, of course, belongs to Cindy Sheehan and the other mothers of dead soldiers who have joined her on her vigil down in Texas. It clearly does not belong to George W. Bush, who shirked his military commitment at a time when "wimps" like Al Gore and John Kerry were getting shot at in Southeast Asia.

Mrs. Sheehan, a Catholic youth minister for eight years, says the war is unjust, immoral and was predicated on a pack of lies emanating from the Bush administration. She is, of course, correct. No evidence has been produced to show a link between the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks against the United States and the regime of Saddam Hussein, and the question of whether the Iraqis were in possession of weapons of mass destruction was resolved a couple of years ago.

They weren't, by the way, despite Colin Powell's masterful deception at the United Nations.

Our president is a coward who lied us into a war we can't possibly win. The blood of more than 1,850 American soldiers, 195 allied troops and at least 25,000 Iraqis is on his hands.

As the writer Juan Cole noted recently, "The war in Iraq is over, and the winner is ... Iran."

He begged out of Vietnam.

He has carefully scripted, and tightly controlled town hall meetings in pushing his Social Security plan.

Loyalty oaths were required to get into his campaign rallies.

He's running from a meeting with someone who is vocally against the war.

George Bush is many things. A bold courageous leader is not one of 'em.

Perhaps someone can think of something brave George Bush himself did (rather than have other people do for him, such as fight a war) but i'm at a loss.

Input appreciated.

My visit to Right Wing World (also known as the Chicken Coop)

2005-08-15T21:11:00.000-05:00

Edited: Deleted:

It was wayyyy too long so i ditched it.

Meanwhile....

2005-08-14T19:09:00.000-05:00

....as the right wing continues to attack the mother of a dead soldier, 6 more people became mothers of a dead soldier.

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Six U.S. soldiers died in roadside bombings and a shooting, the military said Sunday, as lawmakers rushed to persuade Sunni Arabs to accept federalism provisions in the draft constitution that is due in one day.

Cindy Sheehan, she ain't.

2005-08-14T18:55:00.000-05:00

Linked: And posted in full. Pay special note to the final paragraph. My guess is a meeting with George Bush isn't in the offing.

Iraq war: tragedy of errors

Honorable Marine died in dishonorable war

By Missy Comley Beattie

He is number 1,828, 1,829 or 1,830. We don't know for sure, because so many died last week.

Marine Lance Cpl. Chase Johnson Comley died when his vehicle was hit head on by a suicide bomber. His death admits his family to a club no one wants to join: the grieving, questioning families who have heard the dreaded ring of the doorbell followed by a messenger's words, "We regretfully inform you that your son ..."

You realize that nothing you've thought, done or felt has prepared you for this reality. The feeling is so much worse than a broken heart. It is an evisceration.

As I write, Chase is being flown to Dover Air Force Base. His 6-foot-4 body is in a coffin draped with the American flag. He loved his family, his country, his Sayre classmates and his life, but we don't think he loved his mission in Iraq.

When he was recruited, he told us he would be deployed to Japan. He called every week when he wasn't in the field to tell us he was counting the days until his return. He tried to sound upbeat, probably for our benefit, but his father could detect in Chase's voice more than a hint of futility and will never say, "my son died doing what he loved."

For those of you who still trust the Bush administration -- and your percentage diminishes every day -- let me tell you that my nephew Chase Johnson Comley did not die to preserve your freedoms. He was not presented flowers by grateful Iraqis, welcoming him as their liberator.

He died fighting a senseless war for oil and contracts, ensuring the increased wealth of President Bush and his administration's friends.

He died long after Bush, in his testosterone-charged, theatrical, soldier-for-a-day role, announced on an aircraft carrier beneath a "Mission Accomplished" banner that major combat was over.

He died in a country erupting into civil war and turned into a hellhole by Bush, a place where democracy has no chance of prevailing, a country that will become a theocracy like Saudi Arabia.

Have we won the hearts and the minds of the Iraqi people? Apparently not.

Have we spent more than half a trillion dollars -- an amount that continues to rise -- in a war that King Abdullah advised Bush against because it would disrupt the Middle East? Apparently so.

Consider what the money spent on this could have done for health care, our children's education or a true humanitarian intervention in Sudan. And then think about Bush's inauguration. Picture the lavish parties, the couture gown worn by Laura Bush. And imagine the cost of the security for the event.

And then think about Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld when he visits our troops. Picture his heavily armored vehicle, a machine impregnable to almost anything the insurgents toss in its path, while our troops are not provided sufficient armor to survive an improvised explosive device.

Think of the mismanagement of this entire war effort. Consider what we've lost. Too much. Think of what we've gained. Nothing.

And think of someone who says, "We will not cut and run," but who did just that years ago when he was called.

Think about a man who speaks about a culture of life when the words fit a wedge issue such as abortion or the right to die when medical effort has failed.

Then think about this war, Bush's not-so-intelligently designed culture of death.

Think, too, about naming a campaign "Shock and Awe" as if it's a movie and, therefore, unreal. And then think that this, perhaps. is one of the problems.

For many Americans, the war is an abstraction. But it is not an abstraction for the innocent Iraqis whose lives have been devastated by our smart bombs. And it certainly is not an abstraction for those of us who have heard the words that change lives forever.

So think of my family's grief -- grief that will never end. Think of all the families. Think of the wounded, the maimed, the psychologically scarred.

And then consider: The preservation of our freedom rests not on U.S. imperialism but on actively changing foreign policies that are conquest-oriented and that dehumanize our own young who become fodder for endless war as well as people in other countries who are so geographically distant that they become abstract.

The answer is not Bush's mantra: "They're jealous of our freedoms."

And, finally, think about flowers: The flowers for Chase Comley will be presented not by grateful Iraqis but by loved ones honoring him as he's lowered to his grave and buried in our hearts.

Missy Comley Beattie of New York is the aunt of Marine Lance Cpl. Chase J. Comley of Lexington who was killed in Iraq last weekend.

More here, from the grandmother.

If ya can't take the heat......

2005-08-14T14:30:00.000-05:00

Linked:

"But whether it be here or in Washington or anywhere else, there's somebody who has got something to say to the president, that's part of the job," Bush said on the ranch. "And I think it's important for me to be thoughtful and sensitive to those who have got something to say."

Sounds good so far.

"But," he added, "I think it's also important for me to go on with my life, to keep a balanced life."

D'ohhhhh, he blew it. So close.

Can't let dead kids get in the way of Bush "going on with his life". Thank goodness we have a President with his priorities in order. Now watch this drive.

Greatest. Leader. Ever.

It's baaaaaaaaaaaaaack

2005-08-14T12:05:00.000-05:00

U.S. Told Not to Release Abu Ghraib Photos

NEW YORK -- Releasing photos and videotapes of detainee abuse at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison would aid al-Qaida recruitment, weaken governments in Iraq and Afghanistan and incite riots against U.S. troops, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff warned in court papers.

Oh my God. Why does the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff hate America?

The government submitted an additional request to the court Friday arguing that some information in its court papers that remains blacked out should not be made public.

In a response to the arguments by Myers, the ACLU submitted a declaration by retired U.S. Army Col. Michael E. Pheneger, who said Myers "mistakes propaganda for motivation."

Pheneger, a military intelligence officer from 1963 to 1993, said that Iraqi insurgents average 70 attacks a day and that they "will continue regardless of whether the photos and tapes are released."

Pheneger said he believed that releasing the photos would lead to a thorough public examination of the administration's decision to approve interrogation techniques that the Army had long prohibited.

"The first step to abandoning practices that are repugnant to our laws and national ideals is to bring them into the sunshine and assign accountability," he wrote.

Ab-so-freakin'lutely.

Frankly, i think there are good arguments against releasing the photos. They will inflame the Arab world, no doubt. But hey, and i hate to say it, but if Americans so refuse to hold accountable those truly responsible (read: George Bush)....well....let's just say we had our chance to pacify the negative reaction that will be caused by these photos, and we refused to take advantage of it.

I'm just sayin'....

Bingo

2005-08-14T11:47:00.000-05:00

I'm fuzzy as to whether this is a direct quote from a transcript, or a paraphrase, but either way it sums up George Bush perfectly.

Howard Dean:

"it never pays to ignore facts. Reason we're in trouble in Iraq? The President didn't care what the facts were. The reason we have an almost $8 trillion national debt? The President didn't care what the facts were. The facts matter. The truth is you can't run a business, a state, a country or a family if you don't care what the facts are."

Amen to that.

Typical

2005-08-14T10:20:00.000-05:00

Linked:

CRAWFORD, Texas -- President Bush today passed within 100 feet of the roadside encampment where the mother of an Iraq war casualty was inviting him to stop and talk, but his motorcade passed by the protest site without making contact.
-----------
On their way to a Republican fund-raising event at a neighbor's ranch about three miles away, (emphasis mine) the Bushes passed directly by Camp Casey, the tent camp named after Sheehan's son, a 24-year-old Army mechanic who was killed in action in Iraq.

Greatest. Leader. Ever.

Did she really say that?

2005-08-11T22:25:00.000-05:00

Found here:

Parent-trap snares recruiters

Staff Sgt. Jason Rivera, 26, a Marine recruiter in Pittsburgh, went to the home of a high school student who had expressed interest in joining the Marine Reserve to talk to his parents.

It was a large home in a well-to-do suburb north of the city. Two American flags adorned the yard. The prospect's mom greeted him wearing an American flag T-shirt.
"I want you to know we support you," she gushed.

Rivera soon reached the limits of her support.

"Military service isn't for our son. It isn't for our kind of people," she told him.

"But we put a couple magnets on our Ford Expedition."

Words of a mother

2005-08-11T18:57:00.000-05:00

Cindy Sheehan:

This is George Bush’s accountability moment. That’s why I’m here. The mainstream media aren’t holding him accountable. Neither is Congress. So I’m not leaving Crawford until he’s held accountable. It’s ironic, given the attacks leveled at me recently, how some in the media are so quick to scrutinize -- and distort -- the words and actions of a grieving mother but not the words and actions of the president of the United States.

You didn't cut their taxes, Cindy. Duh!

For the record, if i was brave enough to die in this idiocy, i'd hope my mother would display the cajones of Cindy Sheehan.

I'm in the process of crafting an email to my niece, explaining what i view as the inherent differences between todays conservatives and todays liberals. Perhaps i could start with this:

The people who send our young, honorable, brave soldiers to die in this war, have no skin in the game. They don’t have any loved ones in harm’s way. As for people like O’Reilly and Hannity and Michelle Malkin and Rush Limbaugh and all the others who are attacking me and parroting the administration line that we must complete the mission there -- they don’t have one thing at stake. They don’t suffer through sleepless nights worrying about their loved ones.

Support the troops, until they die, then attack their mothers.

Name that............Liberal???

2005-08-06T20:41:00.000-05:00

Can you name any of the various people responsible for these statements?

"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."

"You can support the troops but not the president"

"My job as majority leader is be supportive of our troops, try to have input as decisions are made and to look at those decisions after they're made ... not to march in lock step with everything the president decides to do."

"President is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation's armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy."

"No goal, no objective, not until we have those things and a compelling case is made, then I say, back out of it, because innocent people are going to die for nothing. That's why I'm against it."

"If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy."

"I had doubts about the bombing campaign from the beginning...I didn't think we had done enough in the diplomatic area."

"Well, I just think it's a bad idea. What's going to happen is they're going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe 20 years"

"I'm on the Senate Intelligence Committee, so you can trust me and believe me when I say we're running out of cruise missles. I can't tell you exactly how many we have left, for security reasons, but we're almost out of cruise missles."

"I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and lots of unanswered questions. A month later, these questions are still unanswered. There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory. There is no contingency plan for mission creep. There is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our overextended military. There is no explanation defining what vital national interests are at stake. There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there still is no plan today."

"Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?"

"The two powers that have ICBMs that can reach the United States are Russia and China. Here we go in......We can't just say, 'that little guy, we can whip him.' We have these two other powers that have missiles that can reach us, and we have zero defense thanks to this president."

For us to call this a victory and to commend the President of the United States as the Commander in Chief showing great leadership in this Operation is a farce"

Bombing a sovereign nation for ill-defined reasons with vague objectives undermines the American stature in the world. The international respect and trust for America has diminished every time we casually let the bombs fly."

"...... bombing campaign has caused all of these problems to explode"

"This has been an unmitigated disaster ... Ask the Chinese embassy. Ask all the people in Belgrade that we've killed. Ask the refugees that we've killed. Ask the people in nursing homes. Ask the people in hospitals."

"It is a remarkable spectacle to see the Administration and NATO taking over from the Soviet Union the role of sponsoring "wars of national liberation."

Click here to find out. And try not to laugh too hard.

Too good to keep to myself

2005-08-06T10:45:00.000-05:00

I got involved in a conversation over at rawstory.com in regards to this article here. In a nutshell, it's an article about how the US attempted to goad Iraq, prior to the war, into retaliating against one of our planes patrolling the no fly zone in order to give us a reason to invade them, kill their babies, rape their women, and torture everyone else. With the end result being Iraq actually drastically scaling back it's "provocations" compared to pre 9/11 levels. In other words, they were onto us. If you wanna know more, help yourself to the article (no registration needed). Just another example of "the facts and intelligence being fixed around the policy".

But i thought i'd take the opportunity to quote myself here because, frankly, i thought i made a pretty good point. Anyways, the comment i was addressing is this one here, and here's what i said: (first, the portion of his comment i quote in my rebuttal, then me)

I accuse the limosine liberals of the vile cowardice of being the weaklings in the street who would stand by and let one person beat someone else to death, contenting themselves with calling the police when that delay means death for another. They would never risk themselves for anyone. They are weak and cowardly, thinking their wordsmithing is enough! Do they ever live tough neighborhoods?

You're kidding, right? First, we liberals don't need to hide behind 19 year olds getting their faces blown off to prove how tough we are. My arm, head, leg or foot doesn't hurt any more than yours does when some kid i've never met gets his chest blown into bits. So get off your "this is about who is tough and who isn't" garbage.

In fact, if it were, i would argue that you conservatives are the pansy ass chickenshits - and not because you send people to war but don't serve. As a point of logic, you sent 1800 Americans to their deaths (and counting), ruined tens of thousands of American lives, killed tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi civilians, and spent $200 billion all because you were afraid the boogeyman was gonna get you. I was willing to take my chances with the boogeyman. You, on the other hand, were too afraid. "Mommy, mommy, there's a monster under my bed!!"

And don't give me no crap about liberating the Iraqi people. If you think the post war rationale is any more legitimate from this gang than the pre war rationale, you're not only chickenshit, but you're also pretty gullible. This was was/is about politics and money.

That's all i have.

Tiger Bush

2005-08-04T19:58:00.000-05:00

4 more dead in Iraq today.

Now watch this drive.

Take this quiz

2005-08-04T19:15:00.000-05:00

You're in a restaurant with most of your family. Your son calls you on your cell phone and tells you there is a fire in your neighborhood. 5 houses are on fire and the inferno is spreading. Now, there's really not much you can do to help since, let's face it, if the fire wants to make it's way to your home there's not a whole lot you're gonna do to stop it. And besides, your son mentions to you that there are currently 3 fire companies already on the scene doing everything they can.

Whaddya do?

A) Stop everything, quickly pay the check and rush home to assess the situation anyways?

Or

B) Act as a real leader and sit there for 7 minutes so as not to alarm your 6 year old daughter who is with you in the restaurant?

Just askin'.

Problem? No problem.

2005-08-03T20:25:00.000-05:00

Leaked emails claim Guantanamo trials rigged

Leaked emails from two former prosecutors claim the military commissions set up to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay are rigged, fraudulent, and thin on evidence against the accused.

And of course, the Pentagon investigates....and declares itself innocent.

Military Denies Rigging Guantanamo Tribunals

The Pentagon acknowledged yesterday that two former members of the military team handling prosecutions of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had alleged last year that the trial system was rigged in favor of the government.

A Pentagon spokesman said, however, that the prosecutors' charges had been "thoroughly investigated" and dismissed as unfounded. While declining to reveal specifics of the allegations, Lawrence T. Di Rita said an investigation determined they were "much ado about nothing."

The allegations by Air Force Maj. John Carr, who was then a captain, and Air Force Maj. Robert Preston were reported by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times in their Monday editions. The newspapers said they obtained internal e-mails written by Carr and Preston that detailed their allegations.

The Journal account of the allegations said both Carr and Preston requested that they be reassigned rather than participate in the trials. It said they accused fellow prosecutors of ignoring torture allegations, failing to protect evidence that could help defendants establish a defense and withholding information from superiors. The Times said Carr asserted that the chief prosecutor had told subordinates that the members of the military commission that would try the first four defendants would be "handpicked" to ensure that all would be convicted.

But wait, there's more.

Third prosecutor critical of Guantanamo trials

Earlier this week, the ABC revealed that in March 2004, Maj Preston and Capt Carr requested transfers because they believed the process was "rigged" and pursuing "marginal" cases.

Maj Preston was nominated for the Air Force's outstanding judge advocate award last year and Captain Carr has been promoted to major since leaving the military commissions.

It is understood Capt Wolf shared her colleagues' concerns and also asked for a redeployment.

I'll save 'em the trouble. The Pentagon is innocent.

The Go Gos

2005-08-03T19:34:00.000-05:00

5 soldiers killed.

6 more killed.

14 more.

What's this all mean?

Vacation
All I ever wanted
Vacation
Had to get away
Vacation
Meant to be spent alone

Vacationing Bush Poised to Set a Record

With Long Sojourn at Ranch, President on His Way to Surpassing Reagan's Total

By Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, August 3, 2005; Page A04

WACO, Tex., Aug. 2 -- President Bush is getting the kind of break most Americans can only dream of -- nearly five weeks away from the office, loaded with vacation time.

The president departed Tuesday for his longest stretch yet away from the White House, arriving at his Crawford ranch in the evening to clear brush, visit with family and friends, and tend to some outside-the-Beltway politics. By historical standards, it is the longest presidential retreat in at least 36 years.

I won't argue that the President needs to be in Washington, in the oval office for every minute he's "on the job". But there's a war on. Soldiers are dying at an alarming rate. This guy's in charge of it all. And he plans on putting in 2 hour days for the next 5 weeks? That's crap. That is crap, with a capital "C".

Apologize for this. Go ahead, i dare ya. And keep in mind, if this lazy stupid moron hadn't spent 20% of his presidency on vacation, maybe he wouldn't have been 'fooled' by the intelligence that some people want to insist he was fooled by.

Truth in humor

2005-07-28T09:49:00.000-05:00

David Letterman Via Kos - - - - as i sit around waiting (at 10:45 AM) for my nephew to get his lazy butt out of bed.

Top Ten George W. Bush Solutions For Global Warming

10. NASA mission to turn down the sun's thermostat
9. Federal subsidies to boost production of Cool Ranch Doritos
8. Fast track Rumsfeld's "Colonize Neptune" proposal
7. Convene Blue-Ribbon Committee to explore innovative ways of ignoring the problem
6. Let Hillary worry about it when she takes over
5. I dunno---tax cuts for the rich?
4. Give the boys at Halliburton 90-billion dollar contract to patch hole in ozone
3. Switch to celsius so scorching 98 becomes frosty 37
2. Keep plenty of Bud on ice
1. Invade Antartica

War is hell (and money)

2005-07-27T08:48:00.000-05:00

More for the "teachers waste my money but Bush is great" crowd. And if you care to find out, click the link and you'll see this info isn't coming from Moveon.org.

Some findings of Stuart Bowen, the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction:

A third of the $10 billion in contracts signed in fiscal 2003 were awarded without competition.

A contractor charged the U.S. $3.3 million for phantom employees assigned to an oil-pipeline repair contract.

Iraqi construction firms allegedly paid U.S. soldiers to help steal construction equipment from the interim government.

At least a third of the government-owned vehicles and equipment that Halliburton was paid to manage were believed lost.

The U.S. failed to keep track of nearly $9 billion it transferred to the new Iraqi government, much of which appears to have been embezzled.

Take THAT!!

2005-07-26T15:00:00.000-05:00

Linked:

And since i don't have a subscription, and don't feel like sitting through the ad, i'll post simply the quote i found on Atrios.

Note: Schmidt is a Republican incumbent, and Paul Hackett is a Democrat Iraq War Vet challenger for a House seat in Ohio. Apparently there's a special election there next week. Anyways:

Schmidt commends Hackett for his service, but believes Hackett should "stand with the president" by "supporting the Iraqi war effort and our troops that are over there," her campaign manager Joe Braun said. (Through Braun, Schmidt declined to speak with Salon.) When asked to answer that charge, Hackett is blunt: "The only way I know how to support the troops is by going over there." He doesn't hesitate to criticize Schmidt's support of the war: "All the chicken hawks back here who said, 'Oh, Iraq is talking bad about us. They're going to threaten us' -- look, if you really believe that, you leave your wife and three kids and go sign up for the Army or Marines and go over there and fight. Otherwise, shut your mouth."

Ouch.

Terry? Any response? (inside joke)

A Republican telling someone who actually served in Iraq that he should support the troops. Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahah. Isn't that sorta like me telling, oh, Albert Einstein that if he wants to lecture us on physics, he really should educate himself first?

20 to 0

2005-07-26T10:29:00.000-05:00

Linked via Dailykos:

CIA Leak Case By the Numbers

Number of days after the article outing Ambassador Wilson's wife appeared that the White House required its staff to turn over evidence relating to the leak: 85

Approximate hours between then-White House Counsel Alberto Gonzalez's advance notification to White House Chief of Staff Andy Card that he would require staff to turn over evidence relating to the case and formal notification to staff of that requirement: 12

Minimum number of times an Administration official leaked classified information about the identity of Ambassador Wilson's wife: 11

Minimum number of times after the beginning of the Justice Department's investigation that White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan claimed Karl Rove was not involved: 5

Number of press conferences since evidence linking Karl Rove to the leak was made public where Press Secretary McClellan has refused to comment on the case, citing an ongoing criminal investigation: 7

Minimum number of hearings held by Senate Republicans to investigate accusations against President Clinton involving the "Whitewater" case: 20

Total hearings held by Senate Republicans to investigate the leak of the covert identity of Ambassador Joseph Wilson's wife: 0

I guess being a patriot these days means defending treason.

A bargain at 1 gazzillionth the price

2005-07-26T08:52:00.000-05:00

This is for the people who voted for Bush while at the same time complaining their taxes are too high because teachers are overpaid.

The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, a nonpartisan Washington think tank, has estimated that the Korean War cost about $430 billion and the Vietnam War cost about $600 billion, in current dollars. According to the latest estimates, the cost of the war in Iraq could exceed $700 billion.

More than Vietnam. And factor in, oh, 125,000,000 tax payers (give or take) and that works out to about $5600 per taxpayer. Or $11,200 for a family with 2 taxpayers.

Makes me wonder if Saddam Hussein would have simply stepped aside and went into exile if we'd have offered him, oh, half that much.

Connect the dots

2005-07-23T11:33:00.000-05:00

Halliburton Shares Soar 10 Percent After It Posts Profit for Second Quarter

HOUSTON (AP) -- Oilfield services firm Halliburton Co.'s shares soared 10 percent Friday after it reported that an influx of new government contracts (emphasis mine) at its KBR and energy services units drove it to a second-quarter profit.

Glad to see this war is working out great for.....somebody.

"It was a fundamentally solid quarter," Halliburton chief executive David Lesar said during a Friday morning conference call with analysts. "There are good reasons for all of us to feel proud and good about what we have accomplished." (emphasis mine again)

Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyup.

Wilson V The World (or maybe it just seems that way)

2005-07-19T19:07:00.000-05:00

Linked: And read this carefully. There's a test at the end.

In February 2002, I was informed by officials at the Central Intelligence Agency that Vice President Dick Cheney's office had questions about a particular intelligence report. While I never saw the report, I was told that it referred to a memorandum of agreement that documented the sale of uranium yellowcake — a form of lightly processed ore — by Niger to Iraq in the late 1990's. The agency officials asked if I would travel to Niger to check out the story so they could provide a response to the vice president's office.

Now, if i were to link to every occasion where some right wing blusterbutt made the claim that Rove outing a CIA Op was somehow justified based on her husband (in this case Joe Wilson) having lied when he supposedly said "Dick Cheney sent me to Niger", i'd be here all damn day. So settle for this as a typical example. One of hundreds upon hundreds.

And i'll let you decide for yourself whether or not Joe Wilson's original claim above can, in any way whatsoever, be construed as a claim that Dick Cheney sent him to Niger. But just in case, let me point out this part (let's pretend this is an open book test): The agency officials asked if I would travel to Niger...

There's a reason people resort to lying while trying to defend themselves. And the lies are so pathetic and silly that it shows that arguing with Conservatives is sometimes like arguing with a 7 year old kid.....who's got chocolate all over his hands and mouth.....yet insists he didn't eat the candy bar that came from the empty wrapper hanging out of his pocket.

Wilson V Rove

2005-07-19T18:38:00.000-05:00

Gotta love the deductive reasoning of Conservatives.

Perusing a few Conservative blogs it appears the running story (particularly in the comments sections.....and by the way, why is it that every conservative blog i've been to requires registration to leave a comment......oh never mind, i know the answer to that....now back to our story) is that KKKarl Rove is a paragon of virtue and Joseph Wilson is nothing but a lying sack of shite. Not sure how that explains why KKKarl Rove seems to be the one who's been the subject of a 2 year investigation, but whatever.

And their rationale that Valerie Plame wasn't even covert at the time? Priceless. The CIA requests an investigation (the CIA is full of Bush bashers as we all know), and John Ashcroft - he also of the Bush Bashing committee - determines a special prosecutor is needed to investigate the leak of a covert CIA agent, and the conservative's defense is that she wasn't even covert.

If there was a 2 year murder investigation.....looking at me.....and my #1 line of defense was that the murdered person isn't even dead......i wouldn't be feeling too good about my chances.

Why stop with outing CIA operatives?

2005-07-16T20:23:00.000-05:00

With it looking more and more like someone (read: KKKarl Rove) in the Bush adminstration is all too willing to run around to reporters and divulge classified material relative to CIA agents, now might be a good time for a friendly reminder.

(CBS) FBI counter-intelligence agents are focusing on the highest levels of the Pentagon in their search for who told former Iraqi ally Ahmad Chalabi one of the nation's best kept secrets -- only to see Chalabi turn right around and share it with Iranian intelligence agents, reports CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart.
-----------------------
Chalabi told the Iranians he learned about the code intercepts from an American who was "drunk" when he told him.

Personally, i still think that "drunk" was probably George Bush himself, but one thing is clear - Rona Barrett was better at keeping secrets than these people are.

Column as i see 'em

2005-07-14T19:03:00.000-05:00

Anyone who defends/backs/offers support to Karl Rove should be forced to make the following statement. "I approve of outing CIA operatives." No caveats, no explanations, no "but this is different" statements. "I approve of outing CIA operatives". Put up or shut up.
Question for the White House press corps to use on Scottie Mclellan - "You refuse to comment on the Rove matter based on it being an 'ongoing investigation' yet Ken Mehlman is running around on any TV show that will have him commenting on this same 'ongoing investigation'. Can we speak with Ken Mehlman instead of you?"
It's my belief that while Karl Rove has a habit of making people who run against his candidates look pretty bad, he makes people who defend him look even worse.
It's difficult to have a discussion with my brother in law without the conversation somehow getting turned into how the topic seems to have a negative affect on his tax burden - no matter the topic. As an example of how ridiculous it can get, he once argued that the police should no longer issue traffic tickets because he thinks it costs more to issue the ticket than is raised in revenue from the ticket. That sort of thinking often makes me wonder what he (and by extension, my sister) would think of George Bush, 1700 dead Americans in Iraq, Bush political operatives outing CIA operatives etc etc etc if Bush had raised his taxes rather than cut them.
I think one issue voters are dangerous (see above comment). And all too common.
When i hear my family gripe (endlessly) about their local tax burden, particularly school taxes (and the waste they perceive in them), i can't help but mock in my own mind their hypocrisy at then voting for a President who throws money at Halliburton like it grows on trees, loses $8.8 billion (with a 'B') in Iraq, lies about the cost of the medicare/sop to the pharmaceutical industry bill, starts $200 billion wars for reasons that don't exist, uses tax payer monies to pay pundits to push his policies, and runs up the largest deficits in history. I guess all that's ok as long as they get their taxes cut in the process.
I think it's time to get the Republicans to show their cards. Finally ask them exactly what it would take before they'd approve of impeaching George Bush. Just so that when it does happen, we can at least have the fun of watching them make even bigger fools of themselves by changing their tune and arguing they never said no such thing.
After perusing both Conservative press watchdog sites and Liberal press watchdog sites, i've noticed a trend. Conservatives complain when the press concentrates too much on truths they don't like, and Liberals complain when false information is allowed to be spewed.
If the President believed a fiscal policy would lead to growth, truly believed it because his advisors told him as such, enacted that policy.....and the economy proceeded to collapse into the worst depression ever....would anyone say "well, we can't blame him because he really honestly thought it was a necessary idea that would work"?
Looking back on the last election, with 9/11 having happened on Bush's watch, negative job growth, wages barely keeping with inflation, skyrocketing health care costs, no WMD's, outing CIA agents, the stock market collapse, Ken Lay walking free, Halliburton making millions, if not billions off a war for reasons that didn't exist, Bush voters remind me of sports fans who'd insist we need to keep the coach who was 4-12 the last 4 seasons because the next guy might actually go 2-14.
On whether Bush should be totally blameless for not preventing 9/11 - if you had to make the case that Bush was a capable President to a group of Martians oblivious to any biases, and someone else was arguing the opposite position, would you rather 9/11 did happen, or didn't happen? And finally (for today)
I still wanna know - how many years of not catching Bin Laden in a post 9/11 world does it take to trump not catching him in 8 years of a pre 9/11 world?

I hope you're as dumb as Karl Rove thinks you are

2005-07-14T16:13:00.000-05:00

My sister, Mrs Jeremy Scott, who lives in a big blue house (with white shutters) in the Encino Knoll subdivision, 3rd house from the corner of Robertson Dr on Walkers Pkwy in Germantown, PA is an undercover CIA operative.

But i didn't identify her by name.

Clear as mud

2005-07-12T15:57:00.000-05:00

Linked via Americablog:

President Bush, at an Oval Office photo opportunity Tuesday, was asked directly whether he would fire Rove - in keeping with a pledge in June, 2004, to dismiss any leakers in the (Plame) case. The president did not respond.

For the second day, White House press secretary Scott McClellan refused to answer questions about Rove.

So.....to all the people who voted for Bush because "even though you may not agree with him, at least you know where he stands"........tell me......where does he stand? Because i sure as hell can't figure it out.

MAD as hell

2005-07-11T18:55:00.000-05:00

Linked:

ALBANY, N.Y. - Republicans took aim at Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton on Monday for comparing President Bush to Mad magazine’s freckle-faced, “What, me worry?” kid, Alfred E. Neuman.

If Hillary wants to lose my vote.............just keep insulting Alfred E. Neuman.

War clowns are wrong once again

2005-07-07T21:31:00.000-05:00

Linked (via various bloggers - atrios and dailykos among them)

And what he said surprised me. If the terrorists leave us alone in Iraq, fine, he said. But if they come and get us, even better. Far more advantageous to fight terror using trained soldiers in Iraq than trying to defend civilians in New York or London. "Think of it as a flytrap," he ventured. Iraq would not simply be a test-case for Muslim democracy; it would be the first stage in a real and aggressive war against the terrorists and their sponsors in Ryadh and Damascus and Tehran. Operation Flytrap had been born.

And in case my posting that statement wasn't self evident, let me try again.

Far more advantageous to fight terror using trained soldiers in Iraq than trying to defend civilians in New York or London.

I'd laugh, but their desperation at defending this dumb ass joke of a war (and President) just ain't funny anymore.

Four explosions rocked the London subway and tore open a packed double-decker bus during the morning rush hour, killing dozens in well-coordinated attacks that experts and British officials said bore the signature of al-Qaida.
Thirty-seven people were confirmed killed, and more than 700 were wounded in the attacks.

The war clowns in this country better start hoping we actually DID go to war for oil. It's pretty much about the only rationale yet to be totally blown out of the water.

Luther

2005-07-01T19:49:00.000-05:00

Luther Vandross dead at 54

Though i'm single, ever since 1989 i've always said that if and when i do get married, i'll concede every decision concerning our wedding day to my bride to be - provided i get to choose the wedding song.

"Here And Now" by Luther Vandross.

Just thought that was worth mentioning.

Bush smacked around by a 12 year old

2005-07-01T17:46:00.000-05:00

Linked and posted in full here:

Scott's 12 year old nephew recently wrote this essay below as a letter to the local paper, and it was immediately printed on the editorial page! And it was just SOOOO ADORABLE, I have to share it with all of you! I think it fits in perfectly with everything here on the Post!

____

PEOPLE HATES US BECAUSE GEORGE BUSH IS BAD
By Tom Stevens, age 12

I hate george bush. Because He's really stupid. I can't believe how stupid people in America are . and the south - my dad says they're really stupid. they vote for bush and They have guns.

this is why everyone else in the world hates us!

Guns are bad. Why do we have them if they our only used to kill people? Why do we have weapons if all they are used for is to kill people! I think if everyone through all their weapons away RIGHT NOW, we could all live in peace. : )

But George Bush won't let us do that.

And this is why everyone else in the world hates us!

BUSH is a liar. He lies about everything! He lied about the war just so he could kill people! Thats all he wants to do is kill people. There is no other reason - than that! ITS THAT SIMPLE!

This is why everyone in the world hates us!

-WAR IS BAD BECAUSE PEOPLE DIE. Why cant george bush see this? BECAUSE HE IS STUPID. Like the people who work for him too!

The War in Iraq is bad. It's been going on for a long time. Wars should only be fought if its fast and no one dies! If it goes longer than a short time, then IT'S WRONG.

I wouldnt fight for anything unless it was easy and I could win it without getting hurt. but there's probably NO REASON ever to go to war!!! OR FIGHT for stuff! People should just share everything! except candy. and presents.

Fighting for stuff makes people HATE YOU?!

That's why everyone around the world hates us!

Do I get graded for this?

Thank you
Tom Stevens
Age 12.

PS. The gays should be able to be married and stuff. And being mean to the environment is wrong too because of the greenhouses also. we should also get to have more pets. I want a monkey.

The kid's got it figured out.

3 Brief Random Thoughts

2005-06-25T09:43:00.000-05:00

2 mine, and 1 borrowed.

1)Right Wingers can defend KKKarl Rove's comments all they want. Fact is, if we'd have had a Democrat in the White House for the past 5 years, we'd have Osama Bin Laden - assuming 9/11 would have even happened in the first place. That's right, i said it.

2)The Muslim world didn't need Dick Durbin to tell them what to think about Gitmo and Abu Ghraib. They're astute enough to figure it out all on their own. More astute, obviously, then the right wing whack jobs we have in this country.

The firestorm over the Durbin comments were right in line with what my brother in law once told me. He watches Fox News because he doesn't like to hear things that don't make him feel good. So this isn't about Dick Durbin saying something wrong, or aiding & abetting the enemy, or providing them comfort. It's entirely about right wingers not wanting to hear it. Period. Which leads us to put our heads in the sand, pretend bad things don't exist, and then when they hijack a couple planes and fly them into buildings, we can just pretend it's because they hate us for our freedoms.

I'm pissed at Dick Durbin. Not because of what he said, but because he apologized to those whiney bastards for having said it. He should have offered to apologize if they point to the part of his statement that was factually inaccurate. All they offered up was that he's wrong because they get lemon chicken and 2 kinds of fruit. Please.

And 3) What Atrios says concerning KKKarl Rove's remarks.

For the record, my motives aren't to get more troops killed. If those were my motives I'd ship them off to a war on false pretenses without sufficient equipment to keep them safe.

Breitweiser V Rove

2005-06-25T09:25:00.000-05:00

Sorry about the serious lack of recent posts. Simply trying to enjoy some of the all too short summer we have around these parts. That and the fact that continuosly pointing out what a pathetic little simpleton George Bush is tends to get a little boring at times.

Anyways, i thought i'd make an appearance because i thought this from Kristen Breitweiser in response to KKKarl Rove was worth bringing to people's attentions.

The coup de gras:

It was only after your invasion of Iraq, that Bin Laden's goals were met. Because of your war in Iraq two things happened that helped Bin Laden and the terrorists: al Qaeda recruitment soared and the United States is now alienated from and hated by the rest of the world. In effect, what Bin Laden could not achieve by murdering my husband and 3,000 others on 9/11, you handed to him on a silver platter with your invasion of Iraq - a country that had nothing to do with 9/11.

Which leads me to my final questions for you Karl: What are your motives when it comes to 9/11 and are you really sure that you understand 9/11?

My kinda Christian

2005-06-17T19:42:00.000-05:00

Former Senator John Danforth:

Moderate Christians are less certain about when and how our beliefs can be translated into statutory form, not because of a lack of faith in God but because of a healthy acknowledgement of the limitations of human beings. Like conservative Christians, we attend church, read the Bible and say our prayers.

But for us, the only absolute standard of behavior is the commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. Repeatedly in the Gospels, we find that the Love Commandment takes precedence when it conflicts with laws. We struggle to follow that commandment as we face the realities of everyday living, and we do not agree that our responsibility to live as Christians can be codified by legislators.

When, on television, we see a person in a persistent vegetative state, one who will never recover, we believe that allowing the natural and merciful end to her ordeal is more loving than imposing government power to keep her hooked up to a feeding tube.

When we see an opportunity to save our neighbors' lives through stem cell research, we believe that it is our duty to pursue that research, and to oppose legislation that would impede us from doing so.

We think that efforts to haul references of God into the public square, into schools and courthouses, are far more apt to divide Americans than to advance faith.

Following a Lord who reached out in compassion to all human beings, we oppose amending the Constitution in a way that would humiliate homosexuals.

For us, living the Love Commandment may be at odds with efforts to encapsulate Christianity in a political agenda. We strongly support the separation of church and state, both because that principle is essential to holding together a diverse country, and because the policies of the state always fall short of the demands of faith. Aware that even our most passionate ventures into politics are efforts to carry the treasure of religion in the earthen vessel of government, we proceed in a spirit of humility lacking in our conservative colleagues.

In the decade since I left the Senate, American politics has been characterized by two phenomena: the increased activism of the Christian right, especially in the Republican Party, and the collapse of bipartisan collegiality. I do not think it is a stretch to suggest a relationship between the two. To assert that I am on God's side and you are not, that I know God's will and you do not, and that I will use the power of government to advance my understanding of God's kingdom is certain to produce hostility.

By contrast, moderate Christians see ourselves, literally, as moderators. Far from claiming to possess God's truth, we claim only to be imperfect seekers of the truth. We reject the notion that religion should present a series of wedge issues useful at election time for energizing a political base. We believe it is God's work to practice humility, to wear tolerance on our sleeves, to reach out to those with whom we disagree, and to overcome the meanness we see in today's politics.

There's a bit more, but that's the highlight. Frankly, i had trouble snipping any of it because it was all quite compelling.

Shortly after the election, Andrew Sullivan was on Bill Maher's HBO show talking about the liberal attitude to the Christian Right. One point he brought up was that if northeastern liberals ever wanted to win another national election, they had to get over their mockery of the Christian Right. Personally, i think the Christian Right needs to get over the ability to deserve to be mocked. All it would take would be to simply act more like John Danforth, and less like Tom Delay or James Dobson. Not knowing much about his politics, other than the fact that he's a Republican, I could vote for a John Danforth. I think Tom Delay is a punk.

For those Values Voters

2005-06-07T20:54:00.000-05:00

First Bush gets caught hob-nobbin' with a gay male prostitute with a porno website that shows him pissing, yeah pissing into the toilet.

And now he's gonna be hob-nobbing with just a regular ole' every day porno star who, a far as we know, has yet to piss for the cameras.

When a news release crossed our desk yesterday proclaiming that a porn star named Mary Carey would attend a June dinner with President Bush , we figured it had to be a hoax. But it's true. It just won't be an intimate dinner with the prez.

Carey's boss, hard-core porn producer Mark Kulkis of Los Angeles, has ponied up $5,000 for two tickets to a National Republican Congressional Committee event called the President's Dinner and Salute to Freedom. Kulkis, who locked in his tickets by credit card yesterday, tells us he will take the 24-year-old Carey (real name: Mary Cook ) as his date.
-----------
"If he says that he's coming, he's coming," she (RNC Spokeswoman Caryn Alagno) told us. "This dinner is in a huge ballroom and there are going to be lots of people there."

With "Values" like these, who needs Bill Clinton?

Freedom's on the march

2005-05-28T21:11:00.000-05:00

Violence Surges Across Iraq With 30 New Deaths Reported

BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 28 - The surge of violence that has swept Iraq since its first elected government took office nearly a month ago continued Saturday, with at least 30 new deaths reported across the country, some of them in what appeared to be sectarian killings.

The latest attacks raised the total number of Iraqis killed this month to about 650, in addition to at least 63 American troops who have been killed, the highest American toll since January.

A little math says that 650 in a country of about 25 million is roughly the equivalent of 7800 in a country of about 300 million. Or twice the 3500 lost on 9/11. And that's just this month alone. Let's hope the country of 25 million (along with their 1.5 billion...that's with a 'B'....allies) doesn't decide to react with the same idiocy that the country of 300 million did. If so, heaven help us all.

Here's your culture of life

2005-05-28T14:26:00.000-05:00

And remember: The intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy.

David Leeson/Dallas Morning News
Zahraa Ali, 4, lies in the burn unit at Al Karrch hospital in central Baghdad. She and a three-month-old sister are the only members of her family who survived an aerial bombing which struck the family as they were driving. Her mother, father, 24-year-old brother and nine-year-old sister all died. The nine-year-old died at the hospitals. Before she died she told doctors, "We were driving peacefully and then all I remember is fire."

Most gullible people on earth

2005-05-28T13:59:00.000-05:00

Analysts Behind Iraq Intelligence Were Rewarded

Two Army analysts whose work has been cited as part of a key intelligence failure on Iraq -- the claim that aluminum tubes sought by the Baghdad government were most likely meant for a nuclear weapons program rather than for rockets -- have received job performance awards in each of the past three years, officials said.

No, that doesn't surprise me. Yes, this further points to just what a scandal this whole Iraq joke is. And yes, the American people are too dumbed down to care. The only scandals they're interested in hearing about are ones concerning Michael Jackson or American Idol. And yes, Josh Marshall is far more eloquent in making the case of scandal than i could ever be.

But if nothing else....if absolutely nothing else sinks into the thick heads of the American people, shouldn't this (as well as George Tenet receiving the Medal of Freedom) just blow a nuclear sized hole into the suggestion that Bush was misled by bad intelligence? When those who supposedly "misled" him are constantly being rewarded for having done so? Does this not make a lightbulb turn on over people's heads?

In Colin Powell's UN Speech, he said Saddam had thousands of tons of WMD's of one sort or another. I think he confused the thousands of tons of WMD's with the thousands of tons of bullshit coming out of George Bush's mouth.