Friday, August 21, 2009

In the Land of Wee-wee, Blinken, and Nod...


Bruce Bartlett
Paul Krugman
Eugene Robinson

"Here's the least surprising news of the week: Americans are souring on the Democratic Party." - Eugene Robinson

"There's something about August going into September where everybody in Washington gets all wee-weed up." - Barack Obama


Say you're just an ol' country boy from Iraq, trying to find a job in the capitol of Baghdad. The only one you readily can get is as a police officer or soldier. The US pulls its troops back, and things are looking good for your future. Then, as reported in the NY Times, two trucks roll into town and exploded: "...carrying ammonium nitrate fertilizer, along with artillery and mortar shells. The truck that hit the Foreign Ministry held 4,400 pounds of explosives, he said, while that at the Finance Ministry carried 3,300 pounds." 95 people were killed, 1,023 people were injured. None of the wounded were taken to the US run hospital just three minutes away...

In response, the government: "detained 11 Iraqi security force officers in connection with the bombings. They included the commanders of two battalions stationed in the areas where the bombings occurred, and the chiefs of intelligence and the police and the top traffic wardens in the two neighborhoods." Its clear that fingers are pointing in every direction, trying to lay the blame, like most true politicians they won't accept responsibility. They have learned well from their US trainers and masters, or is it native duplicity?... Perhaps you are one of those detained, then you are going to get screwed just like if this happened in the US...Its also clear that Iraq hasn't geared up fully for their civil war, where Islamic brother fights Islamic brother yet. Perhaps the Iraqi government will now hire Blackwater for its personal security...

And, if you are one of the families who lost a member in the bombing? "On Thursday night, Iraqis placed hundreds of candles on burned-out cars, damaged walls and sidewalks near the Foreign Ministry bombing.

An Iraqi soldier approached a group that was about to add more candles and said his captain had ordered him to stop them.

“So where was your captain when the explosion happened?” one young man replied. “Why didn’t he put a checkpoint up here? Now you ask me to stop lighting a candle for my family. I am not going to stop, and if you want to stop me, just try.” The soldier stood aside."

Call Me Irresponsible...
The poor CIA, they can't seem to buy a vowel, or to have been able to hire competent people for the last nine years. Not only have they been caught up in outsourcing an incompetent, Dick Cheney inspired al-Qaeda assassin ring, but they have been using the same company to man the drone wars in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It seems that they are being kicked an awful lot right now that they are down, and CQ Politics reports on a new revelation that: "Former CIA officials directly involved or briefed on the highly classified program (said) that Lithuanian officials provided the CIA with a building on the outskirts of Vilnius, the country's capital, where as many as eight suspects were held for more than a year, until late 2005 when they were moved because of public disclosures about the program," wrote ABC News investigative reporter Matthew Cole.

Former CIA officials tell ABC News that the prison in Lithuania was one of eight facilities the CIA set-up after 9/11 to detain and interrogate top al Qaeda operatives captured around the world. Thailand, Romania, Poland, Morocco, and Afghanistan have previously been identified as countries that housed secret prisons for the CIA," Cole added."
A CIA spokesman commented that the story was irresponsible... I'll bet Leon Panetta is asking himself why he agreed to head the Agency right about now, especially with the CIA report on the use of torture is supposed to come out Monday, this time not so redacted.

Enjoying the month of August? Are the kids back in school so you can finally concentrate on the health care side show, or has the strident tones and endless analysis made you wish for a nice, safe cave or a Transformer movie? If Congress hadn't been manipulated into postponing the vote until after summer recess, it would already have been a done deal or not, and we'd have been spared those town hall thingies, and pages and pages of debate over whether the old people were manipulated and bussed to them, or came up with the idea spontaneously by themselves. I still haven't figured out what we are trying to take our country back from...

Of course, the attack style of politics and shrill cries of socialism and government control is weird stuff, because it would fit more into a 60's style of hippie protests against Big Brother. Which just proves that history is just recycled ideas put into a shorter and shorter time frame. This last election was supposed to have been a response to this old style of GOP campaigning, of personal attacks and fear mongering. Now that it has been upped several notches it looks like it works better than anyone could have imagined. If Fox News, or any other channel tells you something is true enough times, does that make it true? Have we become a nation of ditto heads, swallowing our prescriptions of pain pills and anti-depressants just to get by? All I know, is that I am enraged by the two-faced lies that Chuck Grassley and Mike Huckaby is telling selective audiences, like every stereotype of a sleazy politician.

late night jokes:

Jon Stewart, answering the question Barney Frank posed to the crazy woman at the town hall asking "on what planet do you spend most of your time?": "Well, apparently, a planet where a mixed-race president and a gay Jew qualify as Nazis."

"It's time for Health Care Town Hall Snaps! You better hope Blue Cross doesn't consider 'ugly' a pre-existing condition! Oh, damn! Your mama's so dumb, she thinks the public option is a port-a-potty! Your mama's so old, we're going to get together a panel and euthanize her. No. Sorry that was too real." --Jon Stewart (Watch video clip)

"How about this? Brett Favre is coming out of retirement and joining the Minnesota Vikings. He's getting $12 million from Minnesota. Talk about cash for clunkers."

"Are you folks familiar with the Cash for Clunkers program? I'm feeling pretty good about this. I think the government owes me some money because we must have had at least a dozen clunkers on last night's show." --David Letterman

"Happy birthday to former President Bill Clinton -- 63 years old. And you know, when someone famous like that has a birthday, people think, well, should we get him something? Don't worry about Bill. He's fine. He's doing great. His wife is out of the country most of the time. He couldn't be happier." --David Letterman

"Yesterday, Bill Clinton had a separate meeting with Barack Obama, and then Hillary Clinton had a separate meeting with Barack Obama. I mean, something is going on with the Clintons. Obama can't even get them together in the White House for a beer." --David Letterman

"Are you despondent and confused about the healthcare issue in this country? Thank God I don't have to worry about health coverage. I'm with CBS. When I die, I get a guest shot on the 'Ghost Whisperer.'" --David Letterman

"But the one drawback — when I get sick, the only doctor I can see is Dr. Phil." --David Letterman

"I didn't think this day would come. Squeaky Fromme tried to assassinate President General Ford. She's been let out of prison. She was paroled. Is she going to get a job? If you think about it, there aren't many jobs for unstable, gun-toting women, unless she wants to run for governor of Alaska." --David Letterman

"I'd like to apologize for that joke." --David Letterman

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