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Thursday, June 28, 2007
Idiot of the Day: Jonah Goldberg
By Yes, it's Jonah Goldberg again:
Why do I like Dick Cheney? Because at a time when everybody talks a big game about how they don't like people-pleasing politicians who live by the polls, Cheney is pretty much the only guy out there who walks the walk. He truly doesn't care what people think about him. I love that.Right. Because not giving a shit what the people think is really important in a democratic state.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
A Tragic Legacy
By VictorM: The book by the excellent blogger Glenn Greenwald has hit the stores. Glenn explains why he wrote it:
I wrote the book for the same reason I blog: because I believe that arguments can be advanced, evidence marshalled and facts revealed which can serve as an antidote to our deeply dysfunctional political discourse and, through reasoned-based (though impassioned) persuasion, constructively influence our political process. A book's success can force media outlets to provide a platform for the book's arguments and to expand the range of voices and perspectives which are heard.Go out and buy it. I'm on my way.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
"U-S-A, Mex-i-co."
By VictorM: While the immigration debate goes on, with the Republican party pandering to the hateful wing of their party, Democrats eyeing future voters, and neither party interested in really solving the problem, it's easy to forget that we're talking about, for the most part, good, hard-working people who just want a better life for themselves and their families.This past Sunday, the Unites States and Mexico national soccer teams faced each other in the final of the Gold Cup. Here are some quotes from a few spectators that I think represent the general feelings of immigrants towards their own countries and the United States:
After the game, defeat-dampened Mexico fans danced, chanted and reveled in having come so far. The peaceful throngs spilled into Grant Park, chanting a binational "U-S-A, Mex-i-co."
Augustin Cervantes, like many parents on hand, was dressed in Mexican flag colors. But his 4-year-old daughter, Cilalli, was decked out in red, white and blue. "I'm from Mexico but she was born here," said Cervantes, 43. "We want to show the best of here and there."
"The U.S is our second home," said Jose Guadalupe Leon, 35, a Mexican native and U.S. resident for 20 years. "Countries, citizenship -- it means nothing. I'd be happy to go to war. For this country I'd give my life, but futbol -- that's different."
It's time to red-card right-wingers for referring to these people as "scum" and "criminals."
Monday, June 25, 2007
Get Ready for David Beckham Media Blitz
By VictorM: David Beckham is scheduled to join the LA Galaxy of MLS sometime in the last half of July. Plans to ride the wave of soccer's most famous name are well on the way and about to hit America (emphasis mine):Adidas is launching an advertising campaign this week featuring English soccer star David Beckham and New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush swapping sports during practice in "Futbol vs. Football."I've said it before and will say it again, David Beckham will turn out to be a bargain and signing him is the best move MLS has made since its inception.
"So there is a specific Los Angeles-based platform, there's the regional, there's the national and then there's the international. And it's a combination of the Galaxy, the league -- MLS -- Adidas, ESPN. All of those different entities are targeting different areas."
"We've enjoyed some success of AC Milan and Real Madrid jerseys in America," [said Stephen Pierpoint, vice president of brand marketing for Adidas America]. "Now, for the first time, we see global demand for the LA Galaxy jersey."
Idiot of the Day: Bill O'Reilly
By VictorM: The king of all idiots makes a return. O'Rilley has in essence agreed that Fox News does not cover the Iraq war the way real news organizations do:But we don't do the carnage du jour. We don't highlight every terrorist attack because we learn nothing from that. And that's exactly what the terrorists want us to do. I mean, come on, does another bombing in Tikrit mean anything other than war is hell? No, it does not.In response to that, here's a transcript of Howard Kurtz interviewing reporter Lara Logan:
KURTZ: Let’s talk about the broader issue of war coverage. FOX’s Bill O’Reilly says that the other networks — he did not mention CBS — are constantly showing bombings and suicide attacks and other violence in Iraq to undermine President Bush, and that this is giving the terrorist what they want.
What’s your reaction to that kind of criticism? I know you wrestle with how much violence to show in your regular reports.
LOGAN: Well, I mean, with all due respect to Bill O’Reilly or anyone who takes that line, I mean, I just — it’s ridiculous. It’s completely and utterly ludicrous. And how can you — the media’s job is not to serve one side or the other. That’s never been our job. We’re there to be the watchdog for all sides.
So it’s not up to us to say, oh, you know, it doesn’t — it doesn’t do well for the war effort if you show how many people are being killed, so we’re not going to show it. I mean, what are we talking about? That’s not even journalism.
It’s so ridiculous. I actually don’t think that I should — I mean, you shouldn’t have to stoop to address those kinds of issues.
And also, I mean, where are all of these people who think that we’re helping the terrorists’ cause? I mean, what about the fact that this is the reality, that these bombings are still taking place, that in spite of the surge, and people are still dying in Iraq, that huge numbers of American soldiers are dying over here? I mean, now we’re in the game of hiding, only telling what some people want to hear? That’s not what we do.
I think Ms. Logan does a terrific job pointing our what an idiot O'Reilly is.
They are playing games again
By VictorM: Don't be fooled by the Bush administration new attempt to alter the perception of what's going on in Iraq:The Bush administration's recent shift toward calling the enemy in Iraq "al Qaida" rather than an insurgency may reflect the difficulty in maintaining support for the war at home more than it does the nature of the enemy in Iraq.Luckily, they are fooling fewer and fewer people in this country.
A broad based assault on Constitutional government
By lambert: Cheney’s novel and bizarre legal theory that the Vice President is a Fourth Branch of Government is arrogant, does show bad judgment, and does say that Cheney’s above the law. And all that’s bad enough, but it’s not the central point. The real point is this:
Cheney’s doctrine is part of a broad based assault on Constitutional government that’s been taken by the Bush administration. The assault didn’t begin with 9/11, but has been carefully nurtured and prepared for, by the Federalist Society among others, over thirty years of burgeoning conservative ascendancy.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Our mainstream media asleep again
By Steve Benen, commenting on Dick Cheney claiming that his office is not part of the Bush administration in order to exempt it from a presidential order regulating the handling of classified national security information:Cheney started holding himself out as some kind of unaccountable, pseudo-fourth branch of government way back in February. The blogs noticed, and explained how crazy the argument is, but the media yawned... It's interesting -- and if anyone can explain the reasoning, I'm all ears -- but the same important story that was ignored in February is suddenly fascinating in June. The same questions that bloggers asked then are unexpectedly interesting to everyone else now... Don't get me wrong, I'm delighted to see everyone asking, "Does Cheney really think this"? But I am curious: what took the non-blogging political world so long?
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Idiot of the Day: Wizbang
By VictorM: In a post titled "Stupid Stupid Stupid House Republicans", this right-wing idiot takes aim at Nancy Pelosi via Republicans:They're idiots. House Republican wants to restrict Pelosi's travel: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will not be permitted to use State Department funds to travel to nations that are known to have sponsored terrorism if a Republican amendment to appropriations legislation passes the House on Thursday. If the Republicans ever want to regain the House, it would be kinda cool to get as many pictures of Pelosi coddling terrorists as possible.
The Democrats in general, and Pelosi in particular, can keep control of the House and Senate in 2008 if they don't coddle some people more toxic than the worse terrorists -- George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. In fact, to keep control of Congress and regain the White House all they have to do is play harder ball with those two assholes.
The rats are abandoning ship
By Financial Times: When asked whether he was quitting the Bush administration because it would be good for his political future, Rob Portman, the outgoing budget director, replied: “It would be good for my mental health.” Although Mr Portman was joking, a growing list of officials have already acted on that impulse. At least 20 senior aides have left important posts in the White House, Pentagon or State Department over the past six months, as chaos has deepened in Iraq. “There’s a real sense of fatigue and very little sense of purpose,” said a senior official, who asked not to be named. “My guess is you’re going to see a lot more departures.”
Universal Health Care, without the bullshit
By LithiumCola: Americans express broad, and in some cases growing, discontent with the U.S. health care system, based on its costs, structure and direction alike — fueling cautious support for a government-run, taxpayer-funded universal health system modeled on Medicare.In an extensive ABCNEWS/Washington Post poll, Americans by a 2-1 margin, 62-32 percent, prefer a universal health insurance program over the current employer-based system...
If you had to choose, which do you think is more important for the country to do right now, maintain the tax cuts enacted in recent years or make sure all Americans have access to health care?
Cutting taxes: 18%
Access to health insurance: 76%
Friday, June 22, 2007
Iraq: Surging to more deaths
By Ron (click here for a breakdown of numbers): My expectation was that, given the surge, we would see a lot more troops dying in combat operations as they take the fight directly to the enemies. This is what the military has had us expect.Unfortunately, this presumption doesn't hold up to the facts on the ground. The Brookings Institute tracks the cause of US deaths into broad groups - IEDs, mortars/rockets, RPGs, helicopter losses, other hostile fire (which I presume be to mainly from enemy rifles and guns) and non-hostile causes.
Idiot of the Day: Angevin13
By VictorM: Right-wingers continue to insult the American people. Here's another example:Nancy Pelosi doubtless couldn't have used more exaggerated and inflammatory language to pander to crazy people yesterday when she addressed the "liberal pressure group" "Campaign for America's Future," yet still received somewhat less than a warm reception: Pelosi called the war in Iraq a “tragedy” and a “grotesque mistake,” but her words elicited catcalls for her to do more.... Give the nutroots an inch, and they'll take a mile. What a ridiculous relationship the Democrats have to their masters."Crazy people", that's what this idiot calls fellow Americans who by a large margin agree that this war is a tragedy (that's actually putting it mildly). As for the "liberal pressure group", well, whatever you call it, they're working -- Democrats are kicking your butt. And on the issues that matter, much of the netroots reflect the opinions of the majority of the American people. Yeah, crazy people indeed.
Iraq police and frappucinos
By John Aravosis: It takes almost 7 days of training to become a Starbucks barista. But add just one more day and you can become a gun-toting member of the Iraqi police. From NPR: For now, these men get only eight days of training and at the end of it, they get to keep their gun and their uniform.Which explains why we read the following in the Washington Post last October:
[Jon Moore, the deputy team chief] estimated it would take 30 to 40 years before the Iraqi police could function properly, perhaps longer if the militia infiltration and corruption continue to increase.30 to 40 years. That's a lot of frappuccinos.
Thursday, June 21, 2007
George Bush: How Low Can He Go?
By VictorM: This George Bush public opinion poll is worth posting without much commentary:Only 26 percent of Americans, just over one in four, approve of the job the 43rd president is doing; while, a record 65 percent disapprove, including nearly a third of Republicans... the only president in the last 35 years to score lower than Bush is Richard Nixon. Nixon’s approval rating tumbled to 23 percent in January 1974, seven months before his resignation over the botched Watergate break-in.By the way, the answer to the question on the title is: much lower! I refuse to believe there's more than 10% of the people in this country who do not see this man for what he is: the worst president in the history of the United States!
And he's a rotten creep to boot. Those of you who say he's a "nice man" really should have your heads examined for the failure to recognize the skeevy architecture of the man's soul.
Illegal immigration is a red herring
By Eternal Hope: Illegal immigration is a red herring in this country. It is a red herring that diverts focus from the massive wage suppression, exportation of jobs, and union busting that is taking place on a daily basis around this country. It is a red herring because of the fact that it focuses downward instead of upward. Everybody, for instance, loves to whine about the "illegal invasions" and "broken borders" that are supposedly such a big problem. But nobody talks about the exploitation of American workers by people such as Rite Aid... And demonizing immigrants is nothing more than a continuation of the repackaged segregation of the Republican party. Segregation, instead of dying a natural death, was revived by the Republican Party by rewording it to make it more palatable to people and by finding people like immigrants and Muslims who it was more acceptable to hate.
Idiot of the Day: Ed Driscoll
By VictorM: Not surprising, right-wingers continue to want to tie liberals with terrorists. Of course, they do this because when it comes to actual issues that matter, liberals kick their ass as far as the American people are concerned. But this one idiot really does the reach so common of right-wingers:When you flash-forward to this decade, and how the events of September 11th have transformed the left, both in terms of its pivoting away from a policy in the Middle East that Bill Clinton favored in the 1990s, and the concoction of a conspiracy theory regarding the origins of 9/11 that dwarfs anything that Oliver Stone or his writers could have dreamed up, you can’t help but think that when accomplished on a large-enough scale, terrorism works. All too well. And that’s one utterly depressing thought.No, idiot. Terrorism works when we start supporting torture, criminal invasions of countries that didn't attack us, spying on our own citizens, labeling dissenters as traitors, and supporting the waste of American lives and treasure in a quagmire.
Want to see what enables terrorism to succeed? Look in the mirror!
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Digby: Color me surprised
By VictorM: I always assumed that Digby was a man. Turns out, much to my surprise, that Digby is indeed a woman. Does it matter? Not one iota. Male or female, Digby has been and I'm sure will continue to be one of the best writers in the blogsphere. What's even better is that she's a liberal.But a side little issue with this story is that I think too much is being made of why so many of us assumed Digby was male. I don't know why others jumped to that conclusion but in my case it's because the image on top of the blog is of a man (I think that's Peter Finch from the movie Network).
A Happy Man
By VictorM: I never listen to country western music, but I’m working in the state of Kansas, so it’s impossible to avoid it.Today, I listened to this song about a guy who is a happy man. He’s got a house, a piece of land, his ticker is working fine, he’s got some money in a coffee can (at least that’s what I thought he said), the love of a good woman, his brother covers his back (he didn’t say from what), his friends are just a call away to help him, his mom is a saint, and his dad barely survived some illness, but thank God, he’s still with us.
I was trying to figure out just how old this song must be because nowhere did the singer talk about shooting them illegal immigrant scum, disparage faggots, or called us liberal traitors.
So, is the song old enough that hate had not yet become a family value, or it new enough that it signals we’re over the recent bad spell our country experienced? Or, maybe the song just reflects the goodness of most Americans, not of the minority with the megaphone.
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Our news media asleep at the wheel... again
By Kevin Drum:Giuliani left the Iraq Study Group last May after just two months, walking away from a chance to make up for his lack of foreign policy credentials on the top issue in the 2008 race, the Iraq war.
He cited "previous time commitments" in a letter explaining his decision to quit, and a look at his schedule suggests why — the sessions at times conflicted with Giuliani's lucrative speaking tour that garnered him $11.4 million in 14 months.
Amazing. This has been common knowledge for months, but this is the first time I've heard about it. For some reason, the mainstream press apparently thinks this decision from America's Mayor is hardly even worth a yawn. Too substantive, I guess. Back to the haircuts and blind trusts, boys and girls.
Monday, June 18, 2007
The English Fear American Soccer Success
By Steven Wells, an Englishmen's view of soccer in America:David Beckham is going to the LA Galaxy. Hurrah. Let's all laugh at American soccer. Again.
Modern Englishmen are in two minds about Americans playing proper football. Some think it only right the poor benighted heathens be gifted the game historian Eric Hobsbawm rightly described as an artform. But others fear it'll make Americans more like us and therefore much more difficult to despise.
Like most prejudices, this hatred disguises fear.
Why are we scared? Because as a nation we have a desperate need to feel superior to the vibrant barbarian culture that's replaced us as top global ass-kicker.
Face it, feeling superior to Americans is about all we've got left. But the list of things we actually do better than the Yanks is slim and getting slimmer. Did you know that the bastards even brew decent beer these days?
It's time for a new joke.
The Quiet Gay Revolution
By Michael Kinsley: On no issue is history moving faster than on "gay rights"--an already antiquated term for full and equal participation and acceptance of gay men and women in American life. The work is not finished, of course, but what took black Americans more than a century, gays have accomplished in two or three decades (thanks in no small part to blacks, who designed the template for this kind of social revolution). We still argue about it, but the whole spectrum of debate has moved left. A right-wing thug like Tom DeLay or Newt Gingrich probably has more advanced views about homosexuals than dainty liberals of the past century like Adlai Stevenson or Hubert Humphrey. And whatever the actual views, public expressions of overt homophobia are now unacceptable from any national politician.
Global Warming: It's getting ugly out there
By Barcelona: It's getting scary, folks. Here we stand, on the cusp of the long, hottest of all summers we've all been told is coming, with toxic algae blooms in Chinese lakes causing panic (China, where 70 % of waterways and 90% of underground water are contaminated by pollution, according to government figures), and the Epic Drought parching Australia may herald "the first climate change-driven disaster to strike a developed nation", and glaciers and icecaps are melting at twice and thrice the rates predicted by climate models, and whipoorwills are disappearing from swamplands and... SOMETHING HAS GOT TO BE DONE...We need some direction here. We need some guidelines. We need laws, rules and regulations. We need to rethink and reorganize and rebuild our entire system of production and trade, our entire tax systems, our entire pricing policies for, well, EVERYTHING! We need someone who sees the big picture, who talks to the scientists (and even better, whom the scientists seek out to talk to!), who knows this backwards. Not just for your sakes in the U.S., but for the rest of us, out here, whose impotent leaders can't do jack unless some giant of an FDR-calibre president lands in your White House in 582 days from now. Because by then he'll have an even bigger mess on his hands.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Doing the jobs Americans aren’t willing to do
By Carpetbagger Report: Given the recent rhetoric in Republican circles about immigration policy, this story is especially amusing: "The California Republican Party has decided no American is qualified to take one of its most crucial positions — state deputy political director — and has hired a Canadian for the job through a coveted H-1B visa, a program favored by Silicon Valley tech firms that is under fire for displacing skilled American workers." It gets funnier: the deputy political director was hired by Michael Kamburowski, the state GOP’s chief operations officer, who is … wait for it … an Australian citizen.
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Libby: It's not a frog-march, but it's close enough
By Creature: In a time when Republicans, with Karl Rove in the lead, have successfully minimized and dismissed the seriousness of every scandal hitting the Bush administration -- WMDs, torture, domestic spying, a politicized DOJ -- it's good to see the legal system still understands that perjury is as serious a crime today as it was back in Buchanan's Watergate days. All Libby had to do was tell the truth. He didn't. The travesty is not one of justice, it's one of judgment.
How's that working out for you, Mr. President?
By Jack Cafferty: When there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, President Bush immediately seized on the idea of bringing freedom and democracy. How’s that workin’ out for you, Mr. President? The United States also pressured the Palestinians to hold elections.They elected Hamas, a terrorist organization. How’s that workin’ out for you, Mr. President? Hamas has now seized Gaza. The Abbas government has been dismantled and Hamas militants have been on a rampage, pillaging government institutions. It’s very unlikely they’ll be dipping their fingers in ink wells there, any time soon.
Friday, June 15, 2007
Bush in Europe: A pageant of contempt
By Sydney Blumenthal: Bush's procession through Europe was a pageant of contempt, disdain, delusion, provocation and vanity masquerading as a welcome respite from his troubles at home. In Albania he landed at last in a place where he was hailed as a conquering hero. His demolition derby of U.S. influence was presented as a series of bold moves, but it confirmed the fears of the other world leaders at the G8 summit (and elsewhere) that the rest of Bush's presidency will be an erratic series of crashes. His performance ranged from King Nod, issuing proclamations oblivious to and even proud of their negative effect, to King Zog (the last king of Albania). No president has had a more disastrous European trip since President Reagan placed a wreath on the graves of SS soldiers in the Bitburg cemetery. Yet Reagan's mistake was unintentional and symbolic, a temporary and superficial setback, doing no real damage to U.S. foreign relations, while Bush's blunders not only reinforced counterproductive policies but also created a new one with Russia that has the potential of profoundly undermining U.S. national security interests for years to come.
Idiot of the Day: David Beckham Skeptics
By VictorM: When MLS and the LA Galaxy announced they had signed David Beckham, most soccer fans in the US were pleased, however, the dissenters were many. Maxim, for example, called the Beckham deal the 4th "worst sports contracts". And to further prove their idiotic thinking, they listed his salary as "5 years, $250 million, which includes endorsements". Only true idiots would even quote that figure.David's salary will be $5.5 million a year. The Galaxy signed a deal with Herbalife for close to $5 million a year to have their name on the Galaxy jerseys. The only reason Herbalife did this was because of Beckham. So, without even stepping on the field, Beckham already paid for himself. Any other income he gets will be from endorsements and percentage of merchandise, none of which is a direct out of pocket expenses for the league or the team; David only gets money if merchandise sells (and oh it will!).
From a sporting point of view, David Beckham is a world class footballer. Period. And while some people claim he's over his prime, the experts with skin in the game disagree. The Real Madrid coach has Beckham back in the lineup; the president of Real Madrid wanted him to back out of the Galaxy deal so he could stay in Madrid; and the coach of England has recalled Beckham to the line-up. So not only is the Galaxy getting a world-class midfielder, they're getting one playing as well has he's ever played.
David Beckham's signing by MLS and Galaxy is a brilliant move that has already paid for itself and the man hasn't even played a minute of soccer. If you don't agree, you're a world-class idiot.
Tags: herbalife, mls, galaxy, david beckham, soccer, real madrid
Fred Thompson is just like Ronald Reagan... not!
By Mr Populist: Conservatives say, "Fred Thompson is just like Ronald Reagan!" The conventional wisdom says, " Yup, Fred Thompson is just like Ronald Reagan ....Without ideas, charisma, passion, experience, hair, sense of humor, political savvy or an age appropriate wife."... Fred Thompson can't save America. There's only one man who has the guts to take the bull by the horns and stop the disintegration of the social order under the influence of leftist bongo playing beatniks. That man is Spiro Agnew! Spiro Agnew is just like Ronald Reagan! Ummmm... There's only one hitch. Spiro Agnew is dead. Somebody get Ted Nugent on the phone, he's got good hair, kills bunnies with assault rifles and has lots of charisma. He'll make that Hillary Clinton look like a girly man.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Idiot of the Day: Benjamin Lambert
By VictorM: Not every idiot is drawn to the Republican party, although this one should have been:Virginia State Sen. Benjamin Lambert (D), a year after drawing his party’s ire for endorsing George “Macaca” Allen, was defeated this week in a Democratic primary in the Richmond area. Lambert said his support of Allen probably cost him his job. “I thought the Allen folks would have helped me more, but it didn’t work out that way.” (Note to Lambert: you thought far-right Republican activists would help you in a Democratic primary?)An idiot indeed. Good thing we got rid of him.
Water bottles on airplanes
By VictorM: Under current regulations, air travel passengers aren't allowed to carry bottles of water and other containers with liquids through the security check point. The reason, as I understand it, is because... well, I don't even know why, but we're told it's for our safety.This past Sunday I traveled using DC's Metro system. The trains were packed. And I got in carrying a bottle of water. As a matter of fact, I could have carried a large bag, with liquids, alcohol and oh yes, a bomb, and no one would have checked.
Why are water bottles unsafe for air travel but not a problem for rail travel? Or bus travel? Or crowded shopping malls?
Right wing turning on one another
By Mark Kleiman: It's hard to believe that I could actually enjoy reading an Ann Coulter column. But if there's any lovelier sight than different factions of the right wing turning on one another the style of vicious, dishonest attack they have perfected through constant practice on liberals, I can't think of what it might be. Now that GWB has suggested that opponents of the immigration bill aren't thinking about "what's right for America," people like Coulter are responding in kind...Coulter doesn't call the Beloved Leader a "fag": yet. But be patient. It takes her a while to get warmed up. Oh, and Mr. President? What goes around, comes around. Some call it the Law of Karma.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Why Gore is right and the right is wrong
By Carpetbagger Report, commenting on right-wingers making a big deal of a 1992 video of Al Gore complaining about Bush 41 not doing enough to handle Saddam:Gore said Saddam Hussein was dangerous in 1992. That’s true. Gore said Bush 41 looked the other way while Saddam got more dangerous. That’s true. Gore said the U.S. needed to do more to address the Iraqi threat, and then was part of the administration that disarmed Saddam’s regime. That’s true. Years later, Gore said a war against Iraq was unnecessary and would be a tragic mistake. That’s true.
In other words, the right is trumpeting a video clip that makes Gore look better — he’s not only right about Iraq policy now, he’s been right about Iraq policy for 15 years.
The adult and the child
By VictorM: The difference between a child and an adult, when it comes to politics, can be represented by this exchanged of words between Senator Joe Lieberman and retired General Wesley Clark.The child (Lieberman):
I think we've got to be prepared to take aggressive military action against the Iranians to stop them from killing Americans in Iraq... And to me, that would include a strike into... over the border into Iran, where we have good evidence that they have a base at which they are training these people coming back into Iraq to kill our soldiers.The adult (Clark) responding to Lieberman's words:
This kind of rhetoric is irresponsible and only plays into the hands of President Ahmadinejad, and those who seek an excuse for military action. What we need now is full-fledged engagement with Iran. We should be striving to bridge the gulf of almost 30 years of hostility and only when all else fails should there be any consideration of other options. The Iranians are very much aware of US military capabilities.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Blowing Bridges in Baghdad
By L C Johnson: It is incumbent on U.S. commanders to boost security around the bridges. But that is a manpower issue. If you do not have enough troops in country then you must divert troops from patrolling streets to sitting on a bridge and guarding its perimeter. The tactical job of protecting a bridge is fairly simple and straightforward -- you need people with guns. But we do not have enough troops in Iraq to carry out the various missions required to make the surge work. The systematic destruction of bridges in and around Baghdad are the early warning signs that the mission for our soldiers in Iraq is going to get tougher and more deadly.
Odds and Ends and Packing Tips
By VictorM: Do yourself a favor and take a look at these other blogs: at BiblioSquirrel, sanantonerose is packing to go on a trip and she shares some packing "tips" from the collective "wisdom" of some members of her family. Funny stuff. And over at Revolt Today, Ron has some odds and ends that should be obvious to everyone but the 28 percenters.
Idiot of the Day: Vox Popoli
By VictorM: What do I call people who make shit up as they go along and believe it? (I mean, besides calling them right-wingers). Well, as is the case with this right-wing blogger, I call them idiots:The irony of the evolutionarily faithful: The majority of Republicans in the United States do not believe the theory of evolution is true.... No doubt evolutionists will argue that this is significant proof that Independents and Democrats are smarter than Republicans. Of course, it's interesting to note that those presumably less intelligent Republicans are also wealthier, happier, are more likely to possess a college degree and live longer than their more evolutionarily-correct Democratic counterparts.This person doesn't offers a single example of anyone, evolutionist or otherwise, calling Independents or Democrats smarter because of this one issue, but that doesn't stop this idiot from saying it. He simply made it up.
He assumes that of the 7 in 10 Republicans who don't believe in evolution are the smarter, wealthier, happier ones. Maybe they are the 3 in 10? So where did his statement come from? The idiot made it up.
And his "Republicans live longer" statement is totally absurd. He draws this conclusion from the life expectancy by state! Can you believe that? OK, that's dumb enough but even playing that game, the state with the highest life expectancy in the USA is Hawaii, a blue state. So where does the Republican live longer bullshit come from? Again, the idiot made it up.
Monday, June 11, 2007
No enemies among the oil states
By Juan Cole: Remember all that Bush administration bluster against Sudan? Turns out that the CIA is using Sudanese spies against the Iraqi guerrillas. Bush sees no enemies among the oil states, only opportunities to be exploited. Most Americans don't realize that Bush has also de facto deployed Iran-trained Badr Corps fighters against the Sunni Arabs in Iraq, as well. So Iran and Sudan are the great bogeymen in Bush rhetoric, but the pillars of his Iraq policy in reality.
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Idiot of the Day: Don Surber
By VictorM: Besides being wrong on the issues, right-wingers seldom skip the opportunity to show how callous and indifferent to other humans they are. This right-winger not only is an idiot, but a cold-hearted one too:Paris Hilton was released from jail after a few days due to a medical condition, People magazine reported. Yea, she’s allergic to jail. Still that is more time than the “12 million” illegal aliens have spent behind bars.Talking about reaching to make a point. I don't know about you, but every single day I break the law (come on, be honest, do you drive at or below the speed limit?) Does that mean I deserve to be in jail more than Paris Hilton? (Hey, if he wants to reach, let's reach).
Does this idiot have any idea what prompts most people to risk their lives to come to this country? Does he know what it's like to be in a country undocumented? Afraid every day you'll get caught, being abused, underpaid, mistreated, living in terrible conditions? Crossing the border to work so you can feed a family is against the law, but it doesn't make you a criminal.
We need to solve this immigration issue but we won't until we accepted this: undocumented workers have been basically invited in over the decades! We need their low waves doing work we don't want to do.
What Terrorism really is
By Chris Matthews: I agree with what Fareed Zakaria wrote in “Newsweek” this week, which is terrorism isn‘t explosions and death, terrorism is when you change your society because of those explosions and you become fearful to the point where you shut out immigration, you shut out student exchanges, you shut people out of buildings, you begin to act in an almost fascist manner because you‘re afraid of what might happen to you. That‘s when terrorism becomes real and frighteningly successful. That‘s what I believe, and that‘s why I question the way Giuliani has raised this issue. He raises it as a specter. In a weird way, he helps the bad guys.
Terror is good business for some
By Jebediah Reed: 70 percent of the nation's estimated $48 billion intelligence budget goes straight into the pockets of private contactors... For creepy little firms in the defense sector, the road to profitability is paved with government contracts... Lately, we've noticed a stream of former Bush Administration officials and insiders signing on as directors at obscure companies that compete for contracts at their old agencies. Where other observers might see revolving-door corruption, or perhaps an orgy of military industrial profiteering, we see a tantalizing investment opportunity. Just because this crew, which includes George Tenet, Paul Bremer, and Richard Perle, monumentally bungled their duties to the American tax payer doesn't mean they aren't capable of feathering their own nests—and yours.