I've been pushing Jim Webb as the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee because of his ability to connect with the average voter and describe in thoughtful terms why diplomacy in the world matters, why the growing gap in wages matters, and why Iraq has been a colossal mistake. You can watch his 2007 State of the Union rebuttal here.
I've also written about the first bill Sen. Webb sponsored in the US Senate: The Post 9/11 G.I. Bill which will update the current GI Bill with better educational benefits. Sen. McCain couldn't be bothered in the past to become one of the 50+ co-sponsors - or even read the bill - but that hasn't stopped him from introducing his own GI Bill.
Apparently the two Naval Academy grads are at odds with who is supporting what bill and to what extent. From today's Politico:
"From Annapolis to Vietnam and back to the Pentagon, John McCain and Jim Webb trod the same paths before coming to the Senate. Iraq divides them today, but there’s also the new kinship of being anxious fathers watching their sons come and go with Marine units in the war.
So what does it say about Washington that two such men, with so much in common, are locked in an increasingly intense debate over a shared value: education benefits for veterans?
“It’s very odd,” said former Nebraska Democratic Sen. Bob Kerrey, a mutual friend. And that oddness gets greater by the day as the two headstrong senators barrel down colliding tracks.
An Arizona Republican, McCain has all but locked up the Republican presidential nomination and is preparing for a fall campaign in which his support of the Iraq war is sure to be a major issue. Yet the former Navy pilot and Vietnam POW makes himself a target by refusing to endorse Webb’s new GI education bill and instead signing on to a Republican alternative that focuses more on career soldiers than on the great majority who leave after their first four years.
Undaunted, Webb, who was a Marine infantry officer in Vietnam, is closing in on the bipartisan support needed to overcome procedural hurdles in the Senate, where the cost of his package — estimated now at about $52 billion over 10 years — is sure to be an issue. But McCain’s support would seal the deal like nothing else, and the new Republican bill, together with a letter of opposition Tuesday from Defense Secretary Robert Gates, threatens to peel off support before the Democrat gets to the crucial threshold of 60 votes.
“There are fundamental differences,” McCain told Politico. “He creates a new bureaucracy and new rules. His bill offers the same benefits whether you stay three years or longer. We want to have a sliding scale to increase retention. I haven’t been in Washington, but my staff there said that his has not been eager to negotiate.”
“He’s so full of it,” Webb said in response. “I have personally talked to John three times. I made a personal call to [McCain aide] Mark Salter months ago asking that they look at this.”
“Hell, no,” Webb bristled when asked if there had been an implicit message that he would attack McCain if he didn’t come on board.
"John McCain has been a longtime friend of mine, and I think if John sat down and examined what was in this bill, he would co-sponsor it,” Webb said. “I don’t want this to become a political issue. I want to get a bill done.”
But McCain’s camp has its back up and complains of being bullied by what it says are Webb’s demands to “sign on” to the bill without being given the needed time — and, some would say, due deference — to make changes.
The Gates letter, sent to Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin (D-Mich.), echoes many of McCain’s arguments, and beyond politics, the fight underscores a real policy divide over how the nation views its professional military. Iraq has been the most prolonged conflict for that military since the all-volunteer force was created after Vietnam. And while Gates, like McCain, focuses first on those willing to re-enlist for longer service, Webb believes the nation owes a debt to those who rotate out after one enlistment, which can often include multiple tours in Iraq.
“I’ve been doing veterans law for 30 years. The GI bill is designed as a readjustment benefit for people who leave the military,” Webb said. For the Marines and the Army — which account for the brunt of the fighting — he estimates as many as 70 percent to 75 percent rotate out after a single four-year enlistment.
Webb’s new GI education benefits would apply, then, to anyone who has served up to 36 months of qualified active duty beginning at the same time as or after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. “These are the people who answered the call,” Webb said at the rally Tuesday. “These are the people who moved willingly forward toward the sound of the guns.”
In private life, Webb is known as an officer who kept in touch with the enlisted Marines who served under him in Vietnam. And his rhetoric is a throwback to another era, when military service was seen less as an ongoing career than something undertaken for a shorter period, whether defined by the draft or enlistment during a war.
By contrast, Gates wrote in his letter that “our first objective is to strengthen the All-Volunteer Force” and “re-enlistments (and longer service) are critical to the success of the All-Volunteer Force.” From this vantage point, a too-generous GI Bill is counterproductive, and the defense secretary warns that “serious retention issues could arise” if the benefit were extended above the average costs for a public four-year college.
The Webb bill shoots higher, promising payments up to the cost of more expensive state schools plus a monthly housing stipend equivalent to costs in the same area. The government could even match, dollar for dollar, any contribution a private college might make, if its tuition is more than that of the state schools. This creates a new, more complex, multi-tiered system, which critics contend would be an administrative nightmare.
By contrast, the Republican alternative backed by McCain seeks to build on the current benefits system dating back to 1985. All levels would be increased but not to the degree of Webb’s bill; the greatest benefits — including the ability of career noncommissioned officers to transfer their benefits to their children — would be extended to those who remained at least six years.
Warner, for one, is skeptical of the retention argument against the Webb bill. “I think this argument that it’s going to hurt retention is very thin and tenuous, very thin and tenuous,” said the former chairman. “The flip side of that is, putting a big piece of cheese out there will induce more qualified people to join just to get this. It should be a tremendous incentive for recruitment.”
“This happens in Washington. You have competing proposals side by side,” said McCain. “We need to increase benefits. We share that same goal completely.”
Jim Webb is not the kind of guy to fuck with. Seriously. A combat Marine awarded the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts. Why the McCain people are lying about contacts with him is beyond me. Repeat after me: honesty is the best policy. Do not lie about talking to Jim Webb. He will take you out behind the woodshed and kick your ass (metaphorically speaking of course).
McCain knows that he's going to be badly hurt appearing to be against college benefits for Iraq and Afghanistan vets so he proposed his own bill, which requires that people serve 6 years in order to qualify for any benefits. His argument is that Jim Webb's bill will hurt retention rather than help it. The least we can do to thank those who volunteered for active duty service after September 11th is to give them the opportunity to better themselves. Is that really too much to ask?
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
It's a hard knock life for Hillary
Apparently HRC thinks she's had a tough life. I don't doubt that being beaten up in the VRWC (Vast Right-Wing Conspiracy) since 1992 has been hard. But, come on, she went to Harvard, got a plum job at the Rose Law Firm in Little Rock, lived on the government dole since the early '80s, including swanky digs at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue - and to top it all of, she and her lesser half are worth more than $100 mill. Sweeeeeeeet.
I think Dr. Evil and mini-me nail it with this video:
I think Dr. Evil and mini-me nail it with this video:
Who said it?
Another guessing game - how fun!! Try and figure out who said these things in January, 2005:
"When it comes to getting U.S. troops out of Iraq, [this person] was for the idea before he was against it.
Three years before [this person] argued... that U.S. forces could be in Iraq for 100 years in the absence of violence, [this person] decried the very concept of a long-term troop presence.
In fact, when asked specifically if he thought the U.S. military should set up shop in Iraq along the lines of what has been established in post-WWII Germany or Japan -- something [this person] has repeatedly advocated during the campaign -- [this person] offered nothing short of a categorical "no."
"I would hope that we could bring them all home," he said on MSNBC. "I would hope that we would probably leave some military advisers, as we have in other countries, to help them with their training and equipment and that kind of stuff."
Host Chris Matthews pressed [this person] on the issue. "You've heard the ideological argument to keep U.S. forces in the Middle East. I've heard it from the hawks. They say, keep United States military presence in the Middle East, like we have with the 7th Fleet in Asia. We have the German...the South Korean component. Do you think we could get along without it?"
[This person] held fast, rejecting the very policy he urges today. "I not only think we could get along without it, but I think one of our big problems has been the fact that many Iraqis resent American military presence," he responded. "And I don't pretend to know exactly Iraqi public opinion. But as soon as we can reduce our visibility as much as possible, the better I think it is going to be."
The January 2005 comments, which have not surfaced previously during the presidential campaign, represent a stunning contrast to [this person's] current rhetoric.
They also run squarely against his image as having a steadfast, unwavering idea for U.S. policy in Iraq -- and provide further evidence to those, including some prominent GOP foreign policy figures in the "realist" camp, who believe [this person] is increasingly adopting policies shared by neoconservatives.
Finally, the comments undercut much of the criticism [this person] has launched at his Democratic and even Republican opponents.
When it comes to getting U.S. troops out of Iraq, Sen. John McCain was for the idea before he was against it."
"When it comes to getting U.S. troops out of Iraq, [this person] was for the idea before he was against it.
Three years before [this person] argued... that U.S. forces could be in Iraq for 100 years in the absence of violence, [this person] decried the very concept of a long-term troop presence.
In fact, when asked specifically if he thought the U.S. military should set up shop in Iraq along the lines of what has been established in post-WWII Germany or Japan -- something [this person] has repeatedly advocated during the campaign -- [this person] offered nothing short of a categorical "no."
"I would hope that we could bring them all home," he said on MSNBC. "I would hope that we would probably leave some military advisers, as we have in other countries, to help them with their training and equipment and that kind of stuff."
Host Chris Matthews pressed [this person] on the issue. "You've heard the ideological argument to keep U.S. forces in the Middle East. I've heard it from the hawks. They say, keep United States military presence in the Middle East, like we have with the 7th Fleet in Asia. We have the German...the South Korean component. Do you think we could get along without it?"
[This person] held fast, rejecting the very policy he urges today. "I not only think we could get along without it, but I think one of our big problems has been the fact that many Iraqis resent American military presence," he responded. "And I don't pretend to know exactly Iraqi public opinion. But as soon as we can reduce our visibility as much as possible, the better I think it is going to be."
The January 2005 comments, which have not surfaced previously during the presidential campaign, represent a stunning contrast to [this person's] current rhetoric.
They also run squarely against his image as having a steadfast, unwavering idea for U.S. policy in Iraq -- and provide further evidence to those, including some prominent GOP foreign policy figures in the "realist" camp, who believe [this person] is increasingly adopting policies shared by neoconservatives.
Finally, the comments undercut much of the criticism [this person] has launched at his Democratic and even Republican opponents.
When it comes to getting U.S. troops out of Iraq, Sen. John McCain was for the idea before he was against it."
Monday, April 28, 2008
I do not think that means what you think it means
Headline from today's blogs:
"McCain calls Obama insensitive to poor people "
Right. Because the child of a single parent, raised by his grandparents, who took out student loans for college (just recently paid off) wouldn't know anything about being poor or lower middle class (or nice to people who are)- as opposed to the son and grandson of Navy Admirals who married the daughter of a beer distributor worth, say, $100 million or so.
Ahhhh....the fabulous life of John McCain:
"McCain calls Obama insensitive to poor people "
Right. Because the child of a single parent, raised by his grandparents, who took out student loans for college (just recently paid off) wouldn't know anything about being poor or lower middle class (or nice to people who are)- as opposed to the son and grandson of Navy Admirals who married the daughter of a beer distributor worth, say, $100 million or so.
Ahhhh....the fabulous life of John McCain:
New DNC ads
I think the second ad is better - the DNC needs to hammer Huggy McSame on the Iraq issue over and over and over again. Of course, the RNC and McCain are acting like WATB, claiming that McCain's comments are "out of context". Nope. 100 years of war is exactly what McCain and the rest of the Republican establishment want.
Prediction time: if I had to put money down today on what will happen in November, 2008, I'd bet on McCain winning the presidency and the Dems expanding their majorities in both the House and the Senate. I just think there are too many people out there who won't vote for Obama because of his race, and too many people out there who won't vote for Clinton because she's a bitchy shrew. McCain becomes the default candidate. ....sigh.....
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Supporting Our Troops
How many times have you seen a car waiting in front of you at the traffic light or parked next to you at the grocery store with a yellow metallic ribbon with "Support our Troops" or "We Support the Troops" imprinted on it? How many times have you seen someone wear a flag pin on their lapel while talking of the bravery of American soldiers and how much we need to support them? How many people on right wing blogs have said that they personally thanked a soldier at the airport, or the shopping mall, or the post office?
Those are all wonderful things. Really. But the very sad reality is that none of those people give one god damned crap about American servicemen and women. It's all words, it's all superficial compliments and it means NOTHING. It's all easy plattitudes and it's all the American people have been asked to do in these wars. "Supporting the Troops" should mean something more than just a bumper sticker slogan. It means supporting efforts to allow servicemembers to get a college education. It means giving soldiers that extra 1/2% pay raise without fighting them about it. It means awarding people what they've earned in combat and not being stingy with Bronze Stars and Silver Stars and campaign ribbons.
But most of all, it means providing soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines with housing that YOU yourself would live in. Watch this video, made by the father of a Sargent who has spent 30 MONTHS in combat - 15 in Iraq and 15 in Afghanistan - of the housing his son is assigned to at Ft. Bragg. If you are not outraged, disgusted, embarrassed and fucking pissed off, then you should move your whole family to Ft. Bragg and go live in those barracks.
Those are all wonderful things. Really. But the very sad reality is that none of those people give one god damned crap about American servicemen and women. It's all words, it's all superficial compliments and it means NOTHING. It's all easy plattitudes and it's all the American people have been asked to do in these wars. "Supporting the Troops" should mean something more than just a bumper sticker slogan. It means supporting efforts to allow servicemembers to get a college education. It means giving soldiers that extra 1/2% pay raise without fighting them about it. It means awarding people what they've earned in combat and not being stingy with Bronze Stars and Silver Stars and campaign ribbons.
But most of all, it means providing soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines with housing that YOU yourself would live in. Watch this video, made by the father of a Sargent who has spent 30 MONTHS in combat - 15 in Iraq and 15 in Afghanistan - of the housing his son is assigned to at Ft. Bragg. If you are not outraged, disgusted, embarrassed and fucking pissed off, then you should move your whole family to Ft. Bragg and go live in those barracks.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
"Most Terrifying Headline Ever"
So sayeth John Cole at Balloon Juice. I report, you decide.
Lynchings in Congo as penis theft panic hits capital
By Joe Bavier Tue Apr 22, 1:24 PM ET
KINSHASA (Reuters) - Police in Congo have arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men's penises after a wave of panic and attempted lynchings triggered by the alleged witchcraft.
Reports of so-called penis snatching are not uncommon in West Africa, where belief in traditional religions and witchcraft remains widespread, and where ritual killings to obtain blood or body parts still occur.
Rumours of penis theft began circulating last week in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo's sprawling capital of some 8 million inhabitants. They quickly dominated radio call-in shows, with listeners advised to beware of fellow passengers in communal taxis wearing gold rings.
Purported victims, 14 of whom were also detained by police, claimed that sorcerers simply touched them to make their genitals shrink or disappear, in what some residents said was an attempt to extort cash with the promise of a cure.
"You just have to be accused of that, and people come after you. We've had a number of attempted lynchings. ... You see them covered in marks after being beaten," Kinshasa's police chief, Jean-Dieudonne Oleko, told Reuters on Tuesday.
Police arrested the accused sorcerers and their victims in an effort to avoid the sort of bloodshed seen in Ghana a decade ago, when 12 suspected penis snatchers were beaten to death by angry mobs. The 27 men have since been released.
"I'm tempted to say it's one huge joke," Oleko said.
"But when you try to tell the victims that their penises are still there, they tell you that it's become tiny or that they've become impotent. To that I tell them, 'How do you know if you haven't gone home and tried it'," he said.
Some Kinshasa residents accuse a separatist sect from nearby Bas-Congo province of being behind the witchcraft in revenge for a recent government crackdown on its members.
"It's real. Just yesterday here, there was a man who was a victim. We saw. What was left was tiny," said 29-year-old Alain Kalala, who sells phone credits near a Kinshasa police station.
Uhhh...just wondering about that last quote - was he recently in the pool and suffering the same fate as George "Shrinkage" Costanza?
Personally, I think this whole thing will be used now as excuses by...ahem...smaller gentleman to justify their size (not that size matters or anything....): "I'd be bigger if it wasn't for that black magic curse put on me by the local sorcerer!"
Lynchings in Congo as penis theft panic hits capital
By Joe Bavier Tue Apr 22, 1:24 PM ET
KINSHASA (Reuters) - Police in Congo have arrested 13 suspected sorcerers accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men's penises after a wave of panic and attempted lynchings triggered by the alleged witchcraft.
Reports of so-called penis snatching are not uncommon in West Africa, where belief in traditional religions and witchcraft remains widespread, and where ritual killings to obtain blood or body parts still occur.
Rumours of penis theft began circulating last week in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo's sprawling capital of some 8 million inhabitants. They quickly dominated radio call-in shows, with listeners advised to beware of fellow passengers in communal taxis wearing gold rings.
Purported victims, 14 of whom were also detained by police, claimed that sorcerers simply touched them to make their genitals shrink or disappear, in what some residents said was an attempt to extort cash with the promise of a cure.
"You just have to be accused of that, and people come after you. We've had a number of attempted lynchings. ... You see them covered in marks after being beaten," Kinshasa's police chief, Jean-Dieudonne Oleko, told Reuters on Tuesday.
Police arrested the accused sorcerers and their victims in an effort to avoid the sort of bloodshed seen in Ghana a decade ago, when 12 suspected penis snatchers were beaten to death by angry mobs. The 27 men have since been released.
"I'm tempted to say it's one huge joke," Oleko said.
"But when you try to tell the victims that their penises are still there, they tell you that it's become tiny or that they've become impotent. To that I tell them, 'How do you know if you haven't gone home and tried it'," he said.
Some Kinshasa residents accuse a separatist sect from nearby Bas-Congo province of being behind the witchcraft in revenge for a recent government crackdown on its members.
"It's real. Just yesterday here, there was a man who was a victim. We saw. What was left was tiny," said 29-year-old Alain Kalala, who sells phone credits near a Kinshasa police station.
Uhhh...just wondering about that last quote - was he recently in the pool and suffering the same fate as George "Shrinkage" Costanza?
Personally, I think this whole thing will be used now as excuses by...ahem...smaller gentleman to justify their size (not that size matters or anything....): "I'd be bigger if it wasn't for that black magic curse put on me by the local sorcerer!"
Monday, April 21, 2008
Irony is dead, long live irony
Condi Rice secretly left the United States, flew to Baghdad (where she's taken up residence inside the Green Zone for as short a period of time as possible), and proceeded opened her mouth in Iraq and had this whopper (no, not the statement where she implied Moqtada al-Sadr is a coward):
"But clearly, the prime minister has laid down some ground rules which any functioning democratic state would insist upon, having to do with, you know, arms belonging to the state, not to -- not in private hands," she said. "The current circumstances come out of what I think is a very important and indeed appropriate action that the Iraqi government has taken."
Hmmm. "...rules which any functioning democratic state which would insist upon, having to do with, you know, arms belonging to the state...not in private hands."
Did I miss something? Have we scrapped the 2nd Amendment, you know, the one that allows guns in private hands? 'Cause I'm pretty sure the Supremes just heard the case involving DC's handgun ban (my prediction: it's overturned 6-3). Or maybe we still allow guns in private hands because the Bush administration has given up on even trying to run the country like a functioning democratic state.
Seriously, this is ironic on soooooo many levels. First of all, Maliki has his own militias, loyal to the ISCI (formerly SCIRI) and the DAWA parties. Are we going to insist they turn in their weapons because that's what any functioning democratic state would insist upon? Secondly, haven't we been arming groups in Iraq like the Kurdish peshmerga forces? Should they line up tomorrow morning to turn in their weapons?
Condi's verbal diarrhea is more proof that this administration has no idea what they're doing. I mean, the Secretary of State goes over to Iraq - secretly - and from behind the blast proof walls and armed escorts in and around the Green Zone and flat out says Sadr, one of the most popular dudes in Iraq, is a coward? WTF? Why are we provoking him? We had our chance to get rid of him in 2004. We blinked. Now he's calling the shots, threatening to call off his cease-fire (which had more to do with the "success" of the Surge than anything else) unless the Maliki Government keeps their mitts off his Badr Corps.
Heckvua job, Condi. "Bring it on" worked really well for us when Bushie said it.
"But clearly, the prime minister has laid down some ground rules which any functioning democratic state would insist upon, having to do with, you know, arms belonging to the state, not to -- not in private hands," she said. "The current circumstances come out of what I think is a very important and indeed appropriate action that the Iraqi government has taken."
Hmmm. "...rules which any functioning democratic state which would insist upon, having to do with, you know, arms belonging to the state...not in private hands."
Did I miss something? Have we scrapped the 2nd Amendment, you know, the one that allows guns in private hands? 'Cause I'm pretty sure the Supremes just heard the case involving DC's handgun ban (my prediction: it's overturned 6-3). Or maybe we still allow guns in private hands because the Bush administration has given up on even trying to run the country like a functioning democratic state.
Seriously, this is ironic on soooooo many levels. First of all, Maliki has his own militias, loyal to the ISCI (formerly SCIRI) and the DAWA parties. Are we going to insist they turn in their weapons because that's what any functioning democratic state would insist upon? Secondly, haven't we been arming groups in Iraq like the Kurdish peshmerga forces? Should they line up tomorrow morning to turn in their weapons?
Condi's verbal diarrhea is more proof that this administration has no idea what they're doing. I mean, the Secretary of State goes over to Iraq - secretly - and from behind the blast proof walls and armed escorts in and around the Green Zone and flat out says Sadr, one of the most popular dudes in Iraq, is a coward? WTF? Why are we provoking him? We had our chance to get rid of him in 2004. We blinked. Now he's calling the shots, threatening to call off his cease-fire (which had more to do with the "success" of the Surge than anything else) unless the Maliki Government keeps their mitts off his Badr Corps.
Heckvua job, Condi. "Bring it on" worked really well for us when Bushie said it.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
OK, that didn't last long
Back to politics. Today's New York Times has an incredible story of media manipulation by the Pentagon, former military officers (many of whom are now employed by the Defense Industry), and the Bush White House.
Here's how it works: the Pentagon recruits retired military officers to comment on Iraq, Iran, any aspect of the War on Terror. These recruits are given private briefings by Pentagon, State, White House and presumably other federal agencies, trips to places like Iraq and Guantanamo Bay where there are given separate tours and briefings, "talking points memos" with specific messages to deliver, and then they are sent off to the news networks to spread the word. In many cases, these retired military officers (all of whom are O-5s and above) are working for defense contractors which have some ties to either the Pentagon, the White House or both.
The Plan
"Five years into the Iraq war, most details of the architecture and execution of the Pentagon’s campaign have never been disclosed. But The Times successfully sued the Defense Department to gain access to 8,000 pages of e-mail messages, transcripts and records describing years of private briefings, trips to Iraq and Guantánamo and an extensive Pentagon talking points operation.
These records reveal a symbiotic relationship where the usual dividing lines between government and journalism have been obliterated.
Internal Pentagon documents repeatedly refer to the military analysts as “message force multipliers” or “surrogates” who could be counted on to deliver administration “themes and messages” to millions of Americans “in the form of their own opinions.”
Though many analysts are paid network consultants, making $500 to $1,000 per appearance, in Pentagon meetings they sometimes spoke as if they were operating behind enemy lines, interviews and transcripts show. Some offered the Pentagon tips on how to outmaneuver the networks, or as one analyst put it to Donald H. Rumsfeld, then the defense secretary, “the Chris Matthewses and the Wolf Blitzers of the world.” Some warned of planned stories or sent the Pentagon copies of their correspondence with network news executives. Many — although certainly not all — faithfully echoed talking points intended to counter critics.
“Good work,” Thomas G. McInerney, a retired Air Force general, consultant and Fox News analyst, wrote to the Pentagon after receiving fresh talking points in late 2006. “We will use it.”
Again and again, records show, the administration has enlisted analysts as a rapid reaction force to rebut what it viewed as critical news coverage, some of it by the networks’ own Pentagon correspondents. For example, when news articles revealed that troops in Iraq were dying because of inadequate body armor, a senior Pentagon official wrote to his colleagues: “I think our analysts — properly armed — can push back in that arena.”
How it all started
"By early 2002, detailed planning for a possible Iraq invasion was under way, yet an obstacle loomed. Many Americans, polls showed, were uneasy about invading a country with no clear connection to the Sept. 11 attacks. Pentagon and White House officials believed the military analysts could play a crucial role in helping overcome this resistance.
Torie Clarke, the former public relations executive who oversaw the Pentagon’s dealings with the analysts as assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, had come to her job with distinct ideas about achieving what she called “information dominance.” In a spin-saturated news culture, she argued, opinion is swayed most by voices perceived as authoritative and utterly independent.
And so even before Sept. 11, she built a system within the Pentagon to recruit “key influentials” — movers and shakers from all walks who with the proper ministrations might be counted on to generate support for Mr. Rumsfeld’s priorities.
In the months after Sept. 11, as every network rushed to retain its own all-star squad of retired military officers, Ms. Clarke and her staff sensed a new opportunity. To Ms. Clarke’s team, the military analysts were the ultimate “key influential” — authoritative, most of them decorated war heroes, all reaching mass audiences.
The analysts, they noticed, often got more airtime than network reporters, and they were not merely explaining the capabilities of Apache helicopters. They were framing how viewers ought to interpret events. What is more, while the analysts were in the news media, they were not of the news media. They were military men, many of them ideologically in sync with the administration’s neoconservative brain trust, many of them important players in a military industry anticipating large budget increases to pay for an Iraq war.
Even analysts with no defense industry ties, and no fondness for the administration, were reluctant to be critical of military leaders, many of whom were friends. “It is very hard for me to criticize the United States Army,” said William L. Nash, a retired Army general and ABC analyst. “It is my life.”
From the start, interviews show, the White House took a keen interest in which analysts had been identified by the Pentagon, requesting lists of potential recruits, and suggesting names. Ms. Clarke’s team wrote summaries describing their backgrounds, business affiliations and where they stood on the war.
“Rumsfeld ultimately cleared off on all invitees,” said Mr. Krueger, who left the Pentagon in 2004. (Through a spokesman, Mr. Rumsfeld declined to comment for this article.)
Over time, the Pentagon recruited more than 75 retired officers, although some participated only briefly or sporadically. The largest contingent was affiliated with Fox News, followed by NBC and CNN, the other networks with 24-hour cable outlets. But analysts from CBS and ABC were included, too. Some recruits, though not on any network payroll, were influential in other ways — either because they were sought out by radio hosts, or because they often published op-ed articles or were quoted in magazines, Web sites and newspapers. At least nine of them have written op-ed articles for The Times.
The group was heavily represented by men involved in the business of helping companies win military contracts. Several held senior positions with contractors that gave them direct responsibility for winning new Pentagon business. James Marks, a retired Army general and analyst for CNN from 2004 to 2007, pursued military and intelligence contracts as a senior executive with McNeil Technologies. Still others held board positions with military firms that gave them responsibility for government business. General McInerney, the Fox analyst, for example, sits on the boards of several military contractors, including Nortel Government Solutions, a supplier of communication networks."
Selling the War
From their earliest sessions with the military analysts, Mr. Rumsfeld and his aides spoke as if they were all part of the same team.
In interviews, participants described a powerfully seductive environment — the uniformed escorts to Mr. Rumsfeld’s private conference room, the best government china laid out, the embossed name cards, the blizzard of PowerPoints, the solicitations of advice and counsel, the appeals to duty and country, the warm thank you notes from the secretary himself.
“Oh, you have no idea,” Mr. Allard said, describing the effect. “You’re back. They listen to you. They listen to what you say on TV.” It was, he said, “psyops on steroids” — a nuanced exercise in influence through flattery and proximity. “It’s not like it’s, ‘We’ll pay you $500 to get our story out,’ ” he said. “It’s more subtle.”
The access came with a condition. Participants were instructed not to quote their briefers directly or otherwise describe their contacts with the Pentagon.
In the fall and winter leading up to the invasion, the Pentagon armed its analysts with talking points portraying Iraq as an urgent threat. The basic case became a familiar mantra: Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons, was developing nuclear weapons, and might one day slip some to Al Qaeda; an invasion would be a relatively quick and inexpensive “war of liberation.”
At the Pentagon, members of Ms. Clarke’s staff marveled at the way the analysts seamlessly incorporated material from talking points and briefings as if it was their own.
“You could see that they were messaging,” Mr. Krueger said. “You could see they were taking verbatim what the secretary was saying or what the technical specialists were saying. And they were saying it over and over and over.” Some days, he added, “We were able to click on every single station and every one of our folks were up there delivering our message. You’d look at them and say, ‘This is working.’ ”
Think about how much the American people have been used and duped over the past 6 years. The White House and Pentagon work hand in hand with people paid to deliver the message: we're winning in Iraq, despite the chaos you are watching on your tv in your house with your eyes. I didn't watch the talking heads after the Petreaus/Crocker show last week on Capitol Hill. My guess is that the retired military officers took their checks, free rides to the airport, comp'd meals and lodging, and went on national TV and said whatever their handlers at the Pentagon encouraged them to say. Sounds a lot like the communist Pravda, nyet?
Here's how it works: the Pentagon recruits retired military officers to comment on Iraq, Iran, any aspect of the War on Terror. These recruits are given private briefings by Pentagon, State, White House and presumably other federal agencies, trips to places like Iraq and Guantanamo Bay where there are given separate tours and briefings, "talking points memos" with specific messages to deliver, and then they are sent off to the news networks to spread the word. In many cases, these retired military officers (all of whom are O-5s and above) are working for defense contractors which have some ties to either the Pentagon, the White House or both.
The Plan
"Five years into the Iraq war, most details of the architecture and execution of the Pentagon’s campaign have never been disclosed. But The Times successfully sued the Defense Department to gain access to 8,000 pages of e-mail messages, transcripts and records describing years of private briefings, trips to Iraq and Guantánamo and an extensive Pentagon talking points operation.
These records reveal a symbiotic relationship where the usual dividing lines between government and journalism have been obliterated.
Internal Pentagon documents repeatedly refer to the military analysts as “message force multipliers” or “surrogates” who could be counted on to deliver administration “themes and messages” to millions of Americans “in the form of their own opinions.”
Though many analysts are paid network consultants, making $500 to $1,000 per appearance, in Pentagon meetings they sometimes spoke as if they were operating behind enemy lines, interviews and transcripts show. Some offered the Pentagon tips on how to outmaneuver the networks, or as one analyst put it to Donald H. Rumsfeld, then the defense secretary, “the Chris Matthewses and the Wolf Blitzers of the world.” Some warned of planned stories or sent the Pentagon copies of their correspondence with network news executives. Many — although certainly not all — faithfully echoed talking points intended to counter critics.
“Good work,” Thomas G. McInerney, a retired Air Force general, consultant and Fox News analyst, wrote to the Pentagon after receiving fresh talking points in late 2006. “We will use it.”
Again and again, records show, the administration has enlisted analysts as a rapid reaction force to rebut what it viewed as critical news coverage, some of it by the networks’ own Pentagon correspondents. For example, when news articles revealed that troops in Iraq were dying because of inadequate body armor, a senior Pentagon official wrote to his colleagues: “I think our analysts — properly armed — can push back in that arena.”
How it all started
"By early 2002, detailed planning for a possible Iraq invasion was under way, yet an obstacle loomed. Many Americans, polls showed, were uneasy about invading a country with no clear connection to the Sept. 11 attacks. Pentagon and White House officials believed the military analysts could play a crucial role in helping overcome this resistance.
Torie Clarke, the former public relations executive who oversaw the Pentagon’s dealings with the analysts as assistant secretary of defense for public affairs, had come to her job with distinct ideas about achieving what she called “information dominance.” In a spin-saturated news culture, she argued, opinion is swayed most by voices perceived as authoritative and utterly independent.
And so even before Sept. 11, she built a system within the Pentagon to recruit “key influentials” — movers and shakers from all walks who with the proper ministrations might be counted on to generate support for Mr. Rumsfeld’s priorities.
In the months after Sept. 11, as every network rushed to retain its own all-star squad of retired military officers, Ms. Clarke and her staff sensed a new opportunity. To Ms. Clarke’s team, the military analysts were the ultimate “key influential” — authoritative, most of them decorated war heroes, all reaching mass audiences.
The analysts, they noticed, often got more airtime than network reporters, and they were not merely explaining the capabilities of Apache helicopters. They were framing how viewers ought to interpret events. What is more, while the analysts were in the news media, they were not of the news media. They were military men, many of them ideologically in sync with the administration’s neoconservative brain trust, many of them important players in a military industry anticipating large budget increases to pay for an Iraq war.
Even analysts with no defense industry ties, and no fondness for the administration, were reluctant to be critical of military leaders, many of whom were friends. “It is very hard for me to criticize the United States Army,” said William L. Nash, a retired Army general and ABC analyst. “It is my life.”
From the start, interviews show, the White House took a keen interest in which analysts had been identified by the Pentagon, requesting lists of potential recruits, and suggesting names. Ms. Clarke’s team wrote summaries describing their backgrounds, business affiliations and where they stood on the war.
“Rumsfeld ultimately cleared off on all invitees,” said Mr. Krueger, who left the Pentagon in 2004. (Through a spokesman, Mr. Rumsfeld declined to comment for this article.)
Over time, the Pentagon recruited more than 75 retired officers, although some participated only briefly or sporadically. The largest contingent was affiliated with Fox News, followed by NBC and CNN, the other networks with 24-hour cable outlets. But analysts from CBS and ABC were included, too. Some recruits, though not on any network payroll, were influential in other ways — either because they were sought out by radio hosts, or because they often published op-ed articles or were quoted in magazines, Web sites and newspapers. At least nine of them have written op-ed articles for The Times.
The group was heavily represented by men involved in the business of helping companies win military contracts. Several held senior positions with contractors that gave them direct responsibility for winning new Pentagon business. James Marks, a retired Army general and analyst for CNN from 2004 to 2007, pursued military and intelligence contracts as a senior executive with McNeil Technologies. Still others held board positions with military firms that gave them responsibility for government business. General McInerney, the Fox analyst, for example, sits on the boards of several military contractors, including Nortel Government Solutions, a supplier of communication networks."
Selling the War
From their earliest sessions with the military analysts, Mr. Rumsfeld and his aides spoke as if they were all part of the same team.
In interviews, participants described a powerfully seductive environment — the uniformed escorts to Mr. Rumsfeld’s private conference room, the best government china laid out, the embossed name cards, the blizzard of PowerPoints, the solicitations of advice and counsel, the appeals to duty and country, the warm thank you notes from the secretary himself.
“Oh, you have no idea,” Mr. Allard said, describing the effect. “You’re back. They listen to you. They listen to what you say on TV.” It was, he said, “psyops on steroids” — a nuanced exercise in influence through flattery and proximity. “It’s not like it’s, ‘We’ll pay you $500 to get our story out,’ ” he said. “It’s more subtle.”
The access came with a condition. Participants were instructed not to quote their briefers directly or otherwise describe their contacts with the Pentagon.
In the fall and winter leading up to the invasion, the Pentagon armed its analysts with talking points portraying Iraq as an urgent threat. The basic case became a familiar mantra: Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons, was developing nuclear weapons, and might one day slip some to Al Qaeda; an invasion would be a relatively quick and inexpensive “war of liberation.”
At the Pentagon, members of Ms. Clarke’s staff marveled at the way the analysts seamlessly incorporated material from talking points and briefings as if it was their own.
“You could see that they were messaging,” Mr. Krueger said. “You could see they were taking verbatim what the secretary was saying or what the technical specialists were saying. And they were saying it over and over and over.” Some days, he added, “We were able to click on every single station and every one of our folks were up there delivering our message. You’d look at them and say, ‘This is working.’ ”
Think about how much the American people have been used and duped over the past 6 years. The White House and Pentagon work hand in hand with people paid to deliver the message: we're winning in Iraq, despite the chaos you are watching on your tv in your house with your eyes. I didn't watch the talking heads after the Petreaus/Crocker show last week on Capitol Hill. My guess is that the retired military officers took their checks, free rides to the airport, comp'd meals and lodging, and went on national TV and said whatever their handlers at the Pentagon encouraged them to say. Sounds a lot like the communist Pravda, nyet?
A Break from Politics
You know, living here in DC it's really easy to get overwhelmed by politics. What happens here on Capitol Hill makes the local section of the news because it happens in our backyards. The front section of the Washington Post on Sundays is about 25 pages long - today the top story above the fold is about John McCain (HG calls him "Huggy McSame") and his bad temper. There are also stories about coal mining, such as it is, in West Virginia, the National Harbor in Prince George's County, and something about the Prom, which I skipped entirely, since it's been many, many moons since I went to (or worried about) a Prom. Inside there are full page stories about Obama, Clinton and the Pennsylvania primary, Sadr calling off his cease-fire, the economy, and on and on and on. Same story, different day.
Anyways, it seems like a good day to take a break from politics. It's pouring here, with some crackles of thunder off in the distance, just the kind of day to make my Top 10 list of all time favorite movies. So without further ado, here goes:
1. The Godfather. The single best American movie ever made. My kids and husband are so tired of hearing me say that. I remember watching this movie in my senior year in High School and being completely blown away. I watch this movie every time it shows up on cable, and have the collector's DVD set. I'm hoping the Godfather Saga is released on DVD - that movie combines parts 1 and 2 into a chronological saga with extra scenes (like how Hyman Roth and Vito Corleone meet). If you haven't watched it, rent it or borrow my copy.
2. Not surprisingly, The Godfather, Part 2. I really go back and forth between which of the two movies is my favorite. Usually when I watch Part 2 I think it's the best, and then when I watch Part 1, I think that one is my fave. They really are both my favorites, but I think Part 1 is the best simply because it introduces us to the Corleone family and is such a beautiful movie. Part 2 gives us the back story of Vito Andolini and how he ends up in America. The early 20th century scenes were shot in New York City and you truly believe you are there. Interesting sidenote: Robert De Niro (Best Supporting Actor, Part 2) and Marlon Brando (Best Actor, Part 1) are the only actors to have won academy awards for playing the same character.
3. Dances with Wolves. I love this movie. It is absolutely visually stunning; in the director's commentary, you hear how all the scenes were shot in the Badlands and other parts of South Dakota - no blue screens or computer aided graphics. I think it's a terrific story, and treats the Native Americans as real people. In the director's commentary, they talk about how this movie was previewed in Rapid City, and how whites and Native Americans came out of the movie together in tears.
4. The Shawshank Redemption. This movie came out in 1994, and while it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, it was completely overshadowed by two of the other nominees that year: Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction (the other Best Picture nominees were Four Weddings and a Funeral and the also underrated Quiz Show). This movie has gotten more popular over the last 5-10 years or so, and routinely shows up on Top 100 American movies lists.
5. The Best Years of Our Lives. The Best Picture of 1947, this movie revolves around the lives of three returning servicemen from WWII (an Army Sargent who fought in the Pacific, a Navy Seaman badly wounded in the Pacific, and an Army Air Forces Captain who flew in in Europe), all of whom have difficulties returning to life in Boone City, a small midwestern town. New York Times movie critic Bosley Crowther said this about the movie, "It is seldom that there comes a motion picture which can be wholly and enthusiastically endorsed not only as superlative entertainment but as food for quiet and humanizing thought..." The movie was so successful in humanizing the difficulties returning servicemen face that it was re-released after the Korean War as fighting men were once again returning home from combat.
6. V for Vendetta. "Remember, Remember the fifth of November/The Gunpowder Treason and Plot/I know of no reason/Why Gunpowder Treason/Should Ever be Forgot". Definitely a movie for those who tend towards conspiracy theories. Not surprisingly, it's a popular choice in my household.
7. Miracle. 1980 Olympics. USA vs. Russia. Do you believe in miracles?
8. It's a Wonderful Life. Beyond being one of my favorite movies, I think that's my personal motto. Set in a small town in upstate New York (rumored to be based on Seneca Falls), a small town hero finds out how valued he is in life. I watch this movie every Christmas and have about 15 pieces from the Enesco "It's a Wonderful Life" collectibles set released through Walgreens from 2003-2008.
9. Star Wars Episode IV. My boys are huge Star Wars fans. We have all 6 episodes, plus the Clone Wars DVDs (cartoons) and usually throw the movies in to watch on long car trips. I try to explain to them how revolutionary Star Wars was when it was released in 1977. Awesome special effects for the time, great characters, cool flight scenes - Star Wars had it all.
10. The Manchurian Candidate. The original, not the remake - although the remake was interesting. I love Frank Sinatra (and not just because he's a great singer AND rumored to be the model of the "Johnny Fontaine" character in the Godfather). I know Hillary Clinton is sometimes compared to Angela Landsbury's character, but I think Barabara Bush is a better comparison. As is often the case, the book is better than the movie (same goes for Dances with Wolves and the Godfather).
Update: Tied at #10 is All the President's Men. I saw this movie as a Sophomore in college taking a class in Media and Politics and immediately fell for it. I used to listen to G. Gordon "The G-Man" Liddy when he was on 106.7 - he hated the movie, but it's definitely worth seeing. My Watergate connections are that we used to live in a townhouse once owned by Carl Bernstein, and a friend and I checked out the room at the Watergate Hotel used by the Plumbers and their accomplices while breaking into the DNC.
Notable omissions from this list: My favorite CBC movie, Anne of Green Gables (Parts 1 & 2) and my favorite HBO mini-series, Band of Brothers.
Anyways, it seems like a good day to take a break from politics. It's pouring here, with some crackles of thunder off in the distance, just the kind of day to make my Top 10 list of all time favorite movies. So without further ado, here goes:
1. The Godfather. The single best American movie ever made. My kids and husband are so tired of hearing me say that. I remember watching this movie in my senior year in High School and being completely blown away. I watch this movie every time it shows up on cable, and have the collector's DVD set. I'm hoping the Godfather Saga is released on DVD - that movie combines parts 1 and 2 into a chronological saga with extra scenes (like how Hyman Roth and Vito Corleone meet). If you haven't watched it, rent it or borrow my copy.
2. Not surprisingly, The Godfather, Part 2. I really go back and forth between which of the two movies is my favorite. Usually when I watch Part 2 I think it's the best, and then when I watch Part 1, I think that one is my fave. They really are both my favorites, but I think Part 1 is the best simply because it introduces us to the Corleone family and is such a beautiful movie. Part 2 gives us the back story of Vito Andolini and how he ends up in America. The early 20th century scenes were shot in New York City and you truly believe you are there. Interesting sidenote: Robert De Niro (Best Supporting Actor, Part 2) and Marlon Brando (Best Actor, Part 1) are the only actors to have won academy awards for playing the same character.
3. Dances with Wolves. I love this movie. It is absolutely visually stunning; in the director's commentary, you hear how all the scenes were shot in the Badlands and other parts of South Dakota - no blue screens or computer aided graphics. I think it's a terrific story, and treats the Native Americans as real people. In the director's commentary, they talk about how this movie was previewed in Rapid City, and how whites and Native Americans came out of the movie together in tears.
4. The Shawshank Redemption. This movie came out in 1994, and while it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, it was completely overshadowed by two of the other nominees that year: Forrest Gump and Pulp Fiction (the other Best Picture nominees were Four Weddings and a Funeral and the also underrated Quiz Show). This movie has gotten more popular over the last 5-10 years or so, and routinely shows up on Top 100 American movies lists.
5. The Best Years of Our Lives. The Best Picture of 1947, this movie revolves around the lives of three returning servicemen from WWII (an Army Sargent who fought in the Pacific, a Navy Seaman badly wounded in the Pacific, and an Army Air Forces Captain who flew in in Europe), all of whom have difficulties returning to life in Boone City, a small midwestern town. New York Times movie critic Bosley Crowther said this about the movie, "It is seldom that there comes a motion picture which can be wholly and enthusiastically endorsed not only as superlative entertainment but as food for quiet and humanizing thought..." The movie was so successful in humanizing the difficulties returning servicemen face that it was re-released after the Korean War as fighting men were once again returning home from combat.
6. V for Vendetta. "Remember, Remember the fifth of November/The Gunpowder Treason and Plot/I know of no reason/Why Gunpowder Treason/Should Ever be Forgot". Definitely a movie for those who tend towards conspiracy theories. Not surprisingly, it's a popular choice in my household.
7. Miracle. 1980 Olympics. USA vs. Russia. Do you believe in miracles?
8. It's a Wonderful Life. Beyond being one of my favorite movies, I think that's my personal motto. Set in a small town in upstate New York (rumored to be based on Seneca Falls), a small town hero finds out how valued he is in life. I watch this movie every Christmas and have about 15 pieces from the Enesco "It's a Wonderful Life" collectibles set released through Walgreens from 2003-2008.
9. Star Wars Episode IV. My boys are huge Star Wars fans. We have all 6 episodes, plus the Clone Wars DVDs (cartoons) and usually throw the movies in to watch on long car trips. I try to explain to them how revolutionary Star Wars was when it was released in 1977. Awesome special effects for the time, great characters, cool flight scenes - Star Wars had it all.
10. The Manchurian Candidate. The original, not the remake - although the remake was interesting. I love Frank Sinatra (and not just because he's a great singer AND rumored to be the model of the "Johnny Fontaine" character in the Godfather). I know Hillary Clinton is sometimes compared to Angela Landsbury's character, but I think Barabara Bush is a better comparison. As is often the case, the book is better than the movie (same goes for Dances with Wolves and the Godfather).
Update: Tied at #10 is All the President's Men. I saw this movie as a Sophomore in college taking a class in Media and Politics and immediately fell for it. I used to listen to G. Gordon "The G-Man" Liddy when he was on 106.7 - he hated the movie, but it's definitely worth seeing. My Watergate connections are that we used to live in a townhouse once owned by Carl Bernstein, and a friend and I checked out the room at the Watergate Hotel used by the Plumbers and their accomplices while breaking into the DNC.
Notable omissions from this list: My favorite CBC movie, Anne of Green Gables (Parts 1 & 2) and my favorite HBO mini-series, Band of Brothers.
My favoritest Bushism
Habibi Gooz gave me a calendar for Christmas - "The George W. Bush Out of Office Countdown" which tells you how many days are left in the Bush Presidency (275 as of April 20) and a Bushism for the day. Today's Bushism, from an appearance on CNBC in April, 2000 is:
"Laura and I really don't realize how bright our children is sometimes until we get an objective analysis."
There you have it folks. A guy with TWO Ivy League Degrees speaking about how bright his daughters is. If I were Harvard and Yale I'd want - no, make that demand - my degrees back.
But I think I've come up with my favoritest Bushism to date, one he uttered last week in the Rose Garden while discussing the war in Iraq:
“So long as I’m the president, my measure of success is victory – and success,’’ the president said in the Rose Garden.
I think we should all do that - let's all say that now we measure success by success. And victory. And since we've had nothing but success and victory in Iraq, we can measure our success by the successes we've had and the successfulness we've witnessed and the successfullest successes we've accomplished. And don't forget the successful victories! It's all a successful success, matched only by our victorious victories which have all been a success! Personally, I blame the MSM for not saying more about our successes, whether they be victorious successes, or just successful victories, but in any case, our measure of success is success and the whole thing has been one long success!
"Laura and I really don't realize how bright our children is sometimes until we get an objective analysis."
There you have it folks. A guy with TWO Ivy League Degrees speaking about how bright his daughters is. If I were Harvard and Yale I'd want - no, make that demand - my degrees back.
But I think I've come up with my favoritest Bushism to date, one he uttered last week in the Rose Garden while discussing the war in Iraq:
“So long as I’m the president, my measure of success is victory – and success,’’ the president said in the Rose Garden.
I think we should all do that - let's all say that now we measure success by success. And victory. And since we've had nothing but success and victory in Iraq, we can measure our success by the successes we've had and the successfulness we've witnessed and the successfullest successes we've accomplished. And don't forget the successful victories! It's all a successful success, matched only by our victorious victories which have all been a success! Personally, I blame the MSM for not saying more about our successes, whether they be victorious successes, or just successful victories, but in any case, our measure of success is success and the whole thing has been one long success!
Saturday, April 19, 2008
More Proof
that George W. Bush screws up everything he comes into contact with. Seriously, it's like he's making these shortsighted, impractical, wrongheaded decisions on purpose because no one can be as wrong as he is. Or maybe he's just a "moran."
Take this excerpt from the Vanity Fair article as an example, under the headline "Everyone Was Against the Elections":
"In a speech in the White House Rose Garden on June 24, 2002, President Bush announced that American policy in the Middle East was turning in a fundamentally new direction.
Arafat was still in power at the time, and many in the U.S. and Israel blamed him for wrecking Clinton’s micro-managed peace efforts by launching the second intifada—a renewed revolt, begun in 2000, in which more than 1,000 Israelis and 4,500 Palestinians had died.
Bush said he wanted to give Palestinians the chance to choose new leaders, ones who were not “compromised by terror.” In place of Arafat’s all-powerful presidency, Bush said, “the Palestinian parliament should have the full authority of a legislative body.”
Arafat died in November 2004, and Abbas, his replacement as Fatah leader, was elected president in January 2005. Elections for the Palestinian parliament, known officially as the Legislative Council, were originally set for July 2005, but later postponed by Abbas until January 2006.
Dahlan says he warned his friends in the Bush administration that Fatah still wasn’t ready for elections in January. Decades of self-preservationist rule by Arafat had turned the party into a symbol of corruption and inefficiency—a perception Hamas found it easy to exploit. Splits within Fatah weakened its position further: in many places, a single Hamas candidate ran against several from Fatah.
“Everyone was against the elections,” Dahlan says. Everyone except Bush. “Bush decided, ‘I need an election. I want elections in the Palestinian Authority.’ Everyone is following him in the American administration, and everyone is nagging Abbas, telling him, ‘The president wants elections.’ Fine. For what purpose?”
The elections went forward as scheduled. On January 25, Hamas won 56 percent of the seats in the Legislative Council.
Few inside the U.S. administration had predicted the result, and there was no contingency plan to deal with it. “I’ve asked why nobody saw it coming,” Condoleezza Rice told reporters. “I don’t know anyone who wasn’t caught off guard by Hamas’s strong showing.”
“Everyone blamed everyone else,” says an official with the Department of Defense. “We sat there in the Pentagon and said, ‘Who the fuck recommended this?’ ”
First of all, I'm sick and tired of hearing that "few in the administration had predicted the result" of the Palestinian elections. Spending one week (or less) in the middle east and reading the newspaper would have told them quite clearly what was about to happen: Hamas would win handily. If they weren't able to see that - after seeing the results of elections in Iraq, where the religious Islamic parties did extremely well - then they deserved to be fired for being so stupid and incompetent. Period.
Secondly, it's become obvious that George W. Bush has no idea what the fuck he's doing. The economy is in the toilet, the dollar is in so much trouble other countries are begging us to help raise its value, the good news never stops coming out of Iraq, Iran grows stronger by the day, and our country is unable to respond to any other crisis that arise any where in the world due to our military overcommitments.
There is some discussion of letting George Bush become the Commissioner of Baseball after he's done at the White House. For the love of all that is good and holy, I sincerely hope that the powers that be NEVER ALLOW HIM ANYWHERE NEAR MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL - he's a jinx like Cousin Oliver! If he's hard up for a job after January 20, 2009, let him go here and be the new Ambassador.
Take this excerpt from the Vanity Fair article as an example, under the headline "Everyone Was Against the Elections":
"In a speech in the White House Rose Garden on June 24, 2002, President Bush announced that American policy in the Middle East was turning in a fundamentally new direction.
Arafat was still in power at the time, and many in the U.S. and Israel blamed him for wrecking Clinton’s micro-managed peace efforts by launching the second intifada—a renewed revolt, begun in 2000, in which more than 1,000 Israelis and 4,500 Palestinians had died.
Bush said he wanted to give Palestinians the chance to choose new leaders, ones who were not “compromised by terror.” In place of Arafat’s all-powerful presidency, Bush said, “the Palestinian parliament should have the full authority of a legislative body.”
Arafat died in November 2004, and Abbas, his replacement as Fatah leader, was elected president in January 2005. Elections for the Palestinian parliament, known officially as the Legislative Council, were originally set for July 2005, but later postponed by Abbas until January 2006.
Dahlan says he warned his friends in the Bush administration that Fatah still wasn’t ready for elections in January. Decades of self-preservationist rule by Arafat had turned the party into a symbol of corruption and inefficiency—a perception Hamas found it easy to exploit. Splits within Fatah weakened its position further: in many places, a single Hamas candidate ran against several from Fatah.
“Everyone was against the elections,” Dahlan says. Everyone except Bush. “Bush decided, ‘I need an election. I want elections in the Palestinian Authority.’ Everyone is following him in the American administration, and everyone is nagging Abbas, telling him, ‘The president wants elections.’ Fine. For what purpose?”
The elections went forward as scheduled. On January 25, Hamas won 56 percent of the seats in the Legislative Council.
Few inside the U.S. administration had predicted the result, and there was no contingency plan to deal with it. “I’ve asked why nobody saw it coming,” Condoleezza Rice told reporters. “I don’t know anyone who wasn’t caught off guard by Hamas’s strong showing.”
“Everyone blamed everyone else,” says an official with the Department of Defense. “We sat there in the Pentagon and said, ‘Who the fuck recommended this?’ ”
First of all, I'm sick and tired of hearing that "few in the administration had predicted the result" of the Palestinian elections. Spending one week (or less) in the middle east and reading the newspaper would have told them quite clearly what was about to happen: Hamas would win handily. If they weren't able to see that - after seeing the results of elections in Iraq, where the religious Islamic parties did extremely well - then they deserved to be fired for being so stupid and incompetent. Period.
Secondly, it's become obvious that George W. Bush has no idea what the fuck he's doing. The economy is in the toilet, the dollar is in so much trouble other countries are begging us to help raise its value, the good news never stops coming out of Iraq, Iran grows stronger by the day, and our country is unable to respond to any other crisis that arise any where in the world due to our military overcommitments.
There is some discussion of letting George Bush become the Commissioner of Baseball after he's done at the White House. For the love of all that is good and holy, I sincerely hope that the powers that be NEVER ALLOW HIM ANYWHERE NEAR MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL - he's a jinx like Cousin Oliver! If he's hard up for a job after January 20, 2009, let him go here and be the new Ambassador.
The Iraq War: A "Major Debacle"
No...say it ain't so, Joe! Yes, it's true, apparently, based on this report published by the National Defense University, and written by retired USA COL Joseph Collins, a former Pentagon official.
The report does not paint a pretty picture of the war at any stage. Then Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld's pre-war plan was
"...to conduct a quick, lightning-like operation in Iraq, followed by a swift handover of power to the Iraqis. He did not want a large-scale, ponderous operation like Desert Storm, which he saw as wasteful and outmoded. He also did not want U.S. Troops unnecessarily bogged down in an endless postwar peace operation."
How ironic to read that Rummy didn't want a Desert Storm like war-fighting force because it would be "wasteful", when that's exactly what we've got now to the tune of $10 BILLION (or as my husband puts it $10 THOUSAND MILLION) per month.
The post "Mission Accomplished" phase of the war can be summed up this way:
"In May, 2003, war "A" was ending, but war "B" was about to begin. We had a complex, flexible plan for war "A" but no such plan for war "B". War "A" was a rapid, high-tech, conventional battle, war American style, but war "B" was a protracted conflict, an insurgency with high levels of criminality and sustained sectarian violence, just the sort of ambiguous, asymmetric conflict that the American public finds hard to understand and even harder to endure.
From 2003 to 2007, reconstruction and stabilization activities...did not drastically improve under the CPA or the new Iraqi government in either of its forms. Indeed, many billions have been wasted and electricity and oil production still only match pre-war levels. There remains to this day a very limited capacity to execute meaningful reconstruction."
The report does not paint a pretty picture of the war at any stage. Then Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld's pre-war plan was
"...to conduct a quick, lightning-like operation in Iraq, followed by a swift handover of power to the Iraqis. He did not want a large-scale, ponderous operation like Desert Storm, which he saw as wasteful and outmoded. He also did not want U.S. Troops unnecessarily bogged down in an endless postwar peace operation."
How ironic to read that Rummy didn't want a Desert Storm like war-fighting force because it would be "wasteful", when that's exactly what we've got now to the tune of $10 BILLION (or as my husband puts it $10 THOUSAND MILLION) per month.
The post "Mission Accomplished" phase of the war can be summed up this way:
"In May, 2003, war "A" was ending, but war "B" was about to begin. We had a complex, flexible plan for war "A" but no such plan for war "B". War "A" was a rapid, high-tech, conventional battle, war American style, but war "B" was a protracted conflict, an insurgency with high levels of criminality and sustained sectarian violence, just the sort of ambiguous, asymmetric conflict that the American public finds hard to understand and even harder to endure.
From 2003 to 2007, reconstruction and stabilization activities...did not drastically improve under the CPA or the new Iraqi government in either of its forms. Indeed, many billions have been wasted and electricity and oil production still only match pre-war levels. There remains to this day a very limited capacity to execute meaningful reconstruction."
It is unbelievable to me that having recently "celebrated" 5 years of war in Iraq, the Iraqi people are about to suffer through their sixth summer of less electricity than they had before we invaded. Having lived in Cairo, Egypt in August, allow me to sum up what it's like in the middle east in the summer: IT'S FUCKING HOT. The temps in August in Cairo were as high as 120*. Luckily, we had air conditioning, pools, cool drinks and ice cream. Plus, we American women did not have to cover like Egyptian women did and do. The thought of living in Cairo in the summer without A/C and a pool is unimaginable to me, although I know the vast majority of Cairo residents do not have such amenities. It's even hotter in Baghdad, and I cannot imagine the misery of living in slums like Sadr City, with piles of garbage on every street corner and not enough electricity to run the generator more than 6 hours a day.
I would encourage you to read the "Errors in Decisionmaking and Execution" part of the report. It's long, and the laundry list of mistakes made is too much for my little fingers to type. But I will provide you with the conclusion to this report (which is actually at the beginning, not at the end):
"Measured in blood and treasure, the war in Iraq has achieved the status of a major war and a major debacle. As of the fall of 2007, this conflict has cost the United States over 3,800 dead [ed. note: 4,039 as of today] and over 28,000 wounded [ed. note: more wounded than we thought]. Fifteen percent of the Iraqi population has become refugees or displaced persons [ed. note: that would be the equivalent of 4,500,000 Americans]. The Congressional Research Service estimates that the United States now spends over $10 billion per month on the war, and that the total, direct U.S. costs from March, 2003 to July, 2007 have exceeded $450 billion, all of which has been covered by deficit spending. No one as yet has calculated the costs of long-term veterans' benefits or the total impact on Service personnel and materiel.
The war's political impact has also been great. Globally, U.S. standing among friends and allies have fallen. Our status as a moral leader has been damaged by the war, the subsequent occupation of a Muslim nation, and various issues concerning the treatment of detainees. At the same time, operations in Iraq have had a negative impact on all other efforts in the war on terror, which must bow to the priority of Iraq, when it comes to manpower, materiel, and the attention of decisionmakers. Our Armed Forces - especially the Army and the Marine Corps - have been severely strained by the war in Iraq. Compounding all of these problems, our efforts there were designed to enhance U.S. national security, but they have become, at least temporarily, an incubator for terrorism and have emboldened Iran to expand its influence throughout the Middle East."
That is the most upsetting and discouraging assessment I've read about Iraq to date. It is also probably the most accurate. We are in such a bind in Iraq it is almost not possible any more to figure out a way out. Either we leave Iraq in the state it is today - the most dangerous place on Earth with its elected leaders closer to Iran and less able to govern than we would have ever thought possible, or we stay in Iraq, spending billions every week, losing more Americans every month, watching our image as the "beacon on the hill" sullied daily with every errant bullet and every corrupt leader we support. We should have NEVER gone into Iraq, and despite what the Democratic political candidates say, we will be there in Iraq fighting George Bush's war for decades to come.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Bitter Soldiers
My loyal reader, Habibi Gooz, copied this article into the comment section. It is yet another example of this government saying one thing ("We support the troops!") while their actions say something entirely different.
New York Daily News
April 18, 2008
G.I. Bill Of Wrong
Schumer protests benefit denials to Iraq’s ‘Pvt. Ryans’
By Stephanie Gaskell, Daily News Staff Writer
IN A REAL-LIFE VERSION of the movie “Saving Private Ryan,” Army Spec. Jason Hubbard agreed to an honorable discharge last year after his two brothers were killed in combat in Iraq.
Now, the 33-year-old California native has been stripped of many of the military benefits given to soldiers who serve in war zones.“It is absurd and unjust to deny full benefits to frontline soldiers who chose the humane options of honorary discharge after losing siblings who are also in combat,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).Schumer introduced a bill with Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) yesterday that would make sure these soldiers get their full benefits.
Called the Hubbard Act, the legislation would waive a requirement that “sole survivors” who chose to be honorably discharged pay back enlistment bonuses and separation pay, lose access to home loan programs and transition health care coverage, as well as G.I. Bill benefits.
“These folks have sacrificed for this country in a way that most people can’t imagine,” said Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “It’s an outrage. It shouldn’t take a press conference from senators to fix it.”
Since 9/11, 51 soldiers have been honorably discharged with “sole survivor” status.Army Spec. Ivan Medina, 26, of Oneida, N.Y., lost his twin brother, Irving, in Iraq in 2003. The only remaining son in his family, he agreed to an honorable discharge after fighting in Baghdad and Fallujah.“I sat down with my sister and my parents and I said that it would be their decision — if they wanted me to get out, I would get out,” he said. “My mom started crying and said, ‘Yes, get out.’“My dad said, ‘Yeah, we paid our price.’ ”
Medina wants to attend college, but he found out he no longer is eligible for G.I. Bill benefits. “It’s ridiculous,” he said. “I gave an oath to the country that I would defend it and I did. I thought I paid my price in blood, sweat and tears. My brother paid with his life. I don’t see how they can deny me what I’ve worked so hard far. It’s not like I’m asking to be rich.”
Medina said if this bill isn’t passed soon, or if the government doesn’t fix the problem on its own, he will try to pay for college himself.“This administration sent us out there to get killed,” he said. “This is the minimum that this President needs to give us.”
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Guess Who?
Let's play a little guessing game. I'll give you some information about someone in the news, and you try and figure out who it is:
"In 1961, a young African-American man, after hearing President John F. Kennedy's challenge to, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country," gave up his student deferment, left college in Virginia and voluntarily joined the Marines.
In 1963, this man, having completed his two years of service in the Marines, volunteered again to become a Navy corpsman. (They provide medical assistance to the Marines as well as to Navy personnel.) The man did so well in corpsman school that he was the valedictorian and became a cardiopulmonary technician.
Not surprisingly, he was assigned to the Navy's premier medical facility, Bethesda Naval Hospital, as a member of the commander in chief's medical team, and helped care for President Lyndon B. Johnson after his 1966 surgery. For his service on the team, which he left in 1967, the White House awarded him three letters of commendation. What is even more remarkable is that this man entered the Marines and Navy not many years after the two branches began to become integrated.
While this young man was serving six years on active duty, Vice President Dick Cheney, who was born the same year as the Marine/sailor, received five deferments, four for being an undergraduate and graduate student and one for being a prospective father. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, both five years younger than the African-American youth, used their student deferments to stay in college until 1968. Both then avoided going on active duty through family connections.
Who is the real patriot? The young man who interrupted his studies to serve his country for six years or our three political leaders who beat the system? Are the patriots the people who actually sacrifice something or those who merely talk about their love of the country?
After leaving the service of his country, the young African-American finished his final year of college, entered the seminary, was ordained as a minister, and eventually became pastor of a large church in one of America's biggest cities.
This man is Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the retiring pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, who has been in the news for comments he made over the last three decades. Since these comments became public we have heard criticisms, condemnations, denouncements and rejections of his comments and him. We've seen on television, in a seemingly endless loop, sound bites of a select few of Rev. Wright's many sermons.
Some of the Wright's comments are inexcusable and inappropriate and should be condemned, but in calling him "unpatriotic," let us not forget that this is a man who gave up six of the most productive years of his life to serve his country.
How many of Wright's detractors, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly to name but a few, volunteered for service, and did so under the often tumultuous circumstances of a newly integrated armed forces and a society in the midst of a civil rights struggle? Not many. While words do count, so do actions. Let us not forget that, for whatever Rev. Wright may have said over the last 30 years, he has demonstrated his patriotism."
Article found here, with over 300 comments.
At last night's atrocious excuse for a Presidential debate, Barack Obama was asked if Jeremiah Wright is patriotic:
MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: But you do believe he's (Rev. Wright) as patriotic as you are?
SENATOR OBAMA: This is somebody who's a former Marine.
Once again, it would seem to be obvious that any American, regarldless of color, creed, religious background or economic position, who devotes a portion of his or her adult life to military service would do so because of an intense desire to serve their country, whether out of love for America, devotion to the Constitution, or a feeling that it is important to give back to a nation that offers so much in return to each and every one of us.
But sadly, in today's America, patriotism is defined by what you say, not what you do; what you wear (a flag lapel pin, for instance), not what you sacrifice; and who you voted for in 2000 and 2004 above all else. It's a sad reflection on the state of affairs in today's America, and the really depressing thing is that as we approach the 2008 Presidential elections, it will only get worse.
"In 1961, a young African-American man, after hearing President John F. Kennedy's challenge to, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country," gave up his student deferment, left college in Virginia and voluntarily joined the Marines.
In 1963, this man, having completed his two years of service in the Marines, volunteered again to become a Navy corpsman. (They provide medical assistance to the Marines as well as to Navy personnel.) The man did so well in corpsman school that he was the valedictorian and became a cardiopulmonary technician.
Not surprisingly, he was assigned to the Navy's premier medical facility, Bethesda Naval Hospital, as a member of the commander in chief's medical team, and helped care for President Lyndon B. Johnson after his 1966 surgery. For his service on the team, which he left in 1967, the White House awarded him three letters of commendation. What is even more remarkable is that this man entered the Marines and Navy not many years after the two branches began to become integrated.
While this young man was serving six years on active duty, Vice President Dick Cheney, who was born the same year as the Marine/sailor, received five deferments, four for being an undergraduate and graduate student and one for being a prospective father. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, both five years younger than the African-American youth, used their student deferments to stay in college until 1968. Both then avoided going on active duty through family connections.
Who is the real patriot? The young man who interrupted his studies to serve his country for six years or our three political leaders who beat the system? Are the patriots the people who actually sacrifice something or those who merely talk about their love of the country?
After leaving the service of his country, the young African-American finished his final year of college, entered the seminary, was ordained as a minister, and eventually became pastor of a large church in one of America's biggest cities.
This man is Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the retiring pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, who has been in the news for comments he made over the last three decades. Since these comments became public we have heard criticisms, condemnations, denouncements and rejections of his comments and him. We've seen on television, in a seemingly endless loop, sound bites of a select few of Rev. Wright's many sermons.
Some of the Wright's comments are inexcusable and inappropriate and should be condemned, but in calling him "unpatriotic," let us not forget that this is a man who gave up six of the most productive years of his life to serve his country.
How many of Wright's detractors, Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly to name but a few, volunteered for service, and did so under the often tumultuous circumstances of a newly integrated armed forces and a society in the midst of a civil rights struggle? Not many. While words do count, so do actions. Let us not forget that, for whatever Rev. Wright may have said over the last 30 years, he has demonstrated his patriotism."
Article found here, with over 300 comments.
At last night's atrocious excuse for a Presidential debate, Barack Obama was asked if Jeremiah Wright is patriotic:
MR. STEPHANOPOULOS: But you do believe he's (Rev. Wright) as patriotic as you are?
SENATOR OBAMA: This is somebody who's a former Marine.
Once again, it would seem to be obvious that any American, regarldless of color, creed, religious background or economic position, who devotes a portion of his or her adult life to military service would do so because of an intense desire to serve their country, whether out of love for America, devotion to the Constitution, or a feeling that it is important to give back to a nation that offers so much in return to each and every one of us.
But sadly, in today's America, patriotism is defined by what you say, not what you do; what you wear (a flag lapel pin, for instance), not what you sacrifice; and who you voted for in 2000 and 2004 above all else. It's a sad reflection on the state of affairs in today's America, and the really depressing thing is that as we approach the 2008 Presidential elections, it will only get worse.
Pope Benedict XVI Comes to Washington
Pope Benedict XVI is here in the Washington, DC area this week - yesterday he met with the President at the White House, and today he is celebrating Mass at Nationals Stadium before departing for New York City for a Mass at Yankee Stadium and praying at Ground Zero.
Yesterday morning, I got an email from my friend, the "QB", who wanted to know if any of the DC Queens wanted to meet her downtown to catch a glimpse of the Pope in his "Pope Mobile" traveling down Pennsylvania Avenue. I was immediately intrigued - I didn't have to work yesterday, and frankly, was not looking forward to a day of housecleaning and grocery shopping (...ugh....) so I emailed her back and said count me in! This looked like it would be another of our "Sleuthing Expeditions", having previously checked out 1) the park and bridge in Vienna, VA where Robert Hanssen left his messages for the Soviets, 2) the Watergate Hotel during it's "Firesale" last fall (including the rooms where the Plumbers directed the burglars breaking into the DNC), and 3) "Midgetville", also in Vienna, VA, which sadly, lives on only in our memories as the small cottages have been razed to make way for McMansions built for inhabitants of all sizes.
I am so glad the QB proposed the idea of seeing the Pontiff...the pictures don't really do justice to the beautiful, cloud-free day we had here yesterday, or the large number of the faithful waiting to get a glimpse of Pope Benedict. It was a great day, and I feel lucky to have been downtown and had a chance to see the Pope.
So, without further ado, here is my photo montage of pictures taken by the QB's friend, "J", who was perched somewhere down by 20th Street, and by me of the protesters hanging out in front of the White House:
Now, those of us who have lived here for a while know that whenever there is a dignitary in town, or a hot-button issue being discussed, the counter-protesters are out in force. Thank God for the 1st Amendment which gives these people the right to be the douche bags they are:
Yesterday morning, I got an email from my friend, the "QB", who wanted to know if any of the DC Queens wanted to meet her downtown to catch a glimpse of the Pope in his "Pope Mobile" traveling down Pennsylvania Avenue. I was immediately intrigued - I didn't have to work yesterday, and frankly, was not looking forward to a day of housecleaning and grocery shopping (...ugh....) so I emailed her back and said count me in! This looked like it would be another of our "Sleuthing Expeditions", having previously checked out 1) the park and bridge in Vienna, VA where Robert Hanssen left his messages for the Soviets, 2) the Watergate Hotel during it's "Firesale" last fall (including the rooms where the Plumbers directed the burglars breaking into the DNC), and 3) "Midgetville", also in Vienna, VA, which sadly, lives on only in our memories as the small cottages have been razed to make way for McMansions built for inhabitants of all sizes.
I am so glad the QB proposed the idea of seeing the Pontiff...the pictures don't really do justice to the beautiful, cloud-free day we had here yesterday, or the large number of the faithful waiting to get a glimpse of Pope Benedict. It was a great day, and I feel lucky to have been downtown and had a chance to see the Pope.
So, without further ado, here is my photo montage of pictures taken by the QB's friend, "J", who was perched somewhere down by 20th Street, and by me of the protesters hanging out in front of the White House:
Now, those of us who have lived here for a while know that whenever there is a dignitary in town, or a hot-button issue being discussed, the counter-protesters are out in force. Thank God for the 1st Amendment which gives these people the right to be the douche bags they are:
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Three days in Iraq
Tuesday, April 15
Baghdad
Two civilians were killed and two others were wounded in a bomb explosion near al Alwiyah police station in Karrada neighborhood in downtown Baghdad around 7:00 a.m.
Two civilians were injured when mortar shell hit al Dolai neighborhood in west Baghdad around 5:00 p.m.
Around 12:00 p.m. three mortar shells hit the Green Zone in downtown Baghdad.
A civilian was killed and 8 people including five policemen were wounded when a car bomb exploded targeting the convoy of director of police affairs directorate Major Ali Sabri nearby Mosa Bin Nasir fuel station in Karrada neighborhood around 1:15 p.m.
Police found three unidentified dead bodies, one in Husseiniyah, one in Ubeidi, one in Yarmouk.
Diyala
At least 38 people including women and children were killed and 80 others were injured in a parked car bomb in front of the building of Diyala province in downtown Baquba north of Baghdad around 11:15 a.m. The US military said in an emailed press release that 36 people were killed and 67 wounded adding that three buses were destroyed and 10 local shops were damaged.
Anbar
13 people were killed and 10 others were injured when a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest detonated himself in al Karama restaurant northwest of Ramadi city around 12:30 p.m.
Basra
Gunmen opened fire targeting Ali al Fadhli, a representative of the Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani while he was passing through al Tayaran intersection in downtown Basra city south of Baghdad around 11:00 a.m. one of Fadhli guards was killed. Fadhli and another guard of him were injured.
Nineveh
Gunmen stormed a house in Al khadhra neighborhood in central Mosul, killing three women and a man from one family.
Gunmen killed a lawyer and her sister as they were their car in Mosul.
Two car bombs targeted police vehicles in Mosul. The first car was driven by a suicide bomber and the second was a parked car that targeted police units that rushed to the site injuring 17 people including four policemen.
A roadside bomb targeted a police vehicle injuring four policemen.
Gunmen shooting randomly killed a female student at her school in Al Muthana neighborhood northern of Mosul
Karbala
Gunmen from Mahdi Army militia attacked Al Daoum village south east of Karbala city killing five people and kidnapping six others and destroyed four houses in retaliation from the families of Iraqi soldiers.
Monday, April 14
Baghdad
- Around 11:30 pm of Sunday , a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at the New Baghdad neighborhood (east Baghdad) near Samarayee mosque .One Humvee was damaged with about 20 commercial shops were burned , Iraqi police said. No casualties reported. While the MNC in Iraq reply on the incident was “Criminals attacked a Multi-National Division - Baghdad patrol with an improvised-explosive device in eastern Baghdad April 13. The IED attack ignited a major fire at the nearby Al Ummal market. The market blaze began at approximately 11:30 p.m. Iraqi emergency response personnel responded to the fire. MND-B Soldiers recovered the vehicle and sustained no major injuries in the attack.”
- Around 8 am, a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at Tahriyat intersection in Karrada neighborhood .No casualties reported.
- Around 8:30 am, a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at Fudhailiyah neighborhood (east Baghfdad).No casualties reported.
- Around 11:30 am, a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at Shaab intersection. No casualties reported.
- Around 11:45 am, a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol at Tayran square in Bab Al-Sharji (central Baghdad).Five policemen were killed and 13 others were injured (two policemen and 11 civilians).
- Around 3 pm, 7 mortar shells hit the following neighborhoods:
- 4 shells hit Zayuna neighborhood killing one person and injuring 4 others.
- 2 shells hit Ghadeer of the New Baghdad neighborhood injuring three people.
- one shell hit a mini bus (coaster model) at Sinaa street Karrada near Technology University .Two people were killed and 6 others were injured.
- Police found (5) dead bodies in the following neighborhoods in Baghdad: (3) were found in east Baghdad (Risafa bank); 1 in Zafaraniyah , 1 in Qahira and 1 in Khilani. While (2) were found in west Baghdad( Karkh bank); 1 in Amil and 1 in Doura.
Basra
- Monday night, gunmen assassinated an officer of Basra intelligence directorate at Al-Jaza’er neighborhood (downtown Basra). Major Rafia Mohammad was killed by gunmen who opened fire on him from a sedan car (Cresta model, Toyota) and ran away.The assassinations attacks had disappeared since the Charge Knights operation in Basra has started due to the army check points in neighborhoods and controlling the entrances of the city.
Salahuddin
-In the morning , gunmen of about 40 members of what is called the Islamic State of Iraq attacked some houses at Ral Al-Dhahab village north of Fatha andwest of Baiji which is 240 km north of Baghdad )injuring 17 Sahwa members .
- In the morning, the Iraqi army found a dead body in Dour (south Tikrit and north of Baghdad).
Diyala
- In the morning, gunmen killed a head of one of the electoral station centers ay Had Mizaid in Wajihiyah (east of Baquba).
- An American squad with Sahwa members found 30 dead bodies at Al-Zour village in Muqdadiyah (45 km north east of Baquba).
Mosul
- In the afternoon, a suicide truck bomber targeted a Peshmerga squad while they were on their way home to Sinjar in vacation .Also after that , gunmen opened fire on the Peshmerga squad .14 soldiers were killed and 15 others were injured , an official of Peshmerga said .
- In the afternoon, a car bomb targeted an American patrol at Muthna neighborhood (east mosul) .Two Iraqi people were killed and two others were wounded having no casualties of the American army reported.
- In the afternoon, a car bomb exploded at Al-Mahata neighborhood (south Mosul).Two civil defense men were wounded in that incident.
- Around 6 pm, a suicide bomber targeted a funeral ceremony in Tal Afer (west of Mosul) .Four people were killed with 22 others injured in that incident.
Sunday, April 13
Baghdad
Around 10:00 a.m. Iraqi security forces detonated under control two bombs which were planted in Ferdows intersection in downtown Baghdad.
Two policemen were injured in an IED explosion that targeted their patrol near the national theater in Karrada neighborhood in downtown Baghdad around 12:00 p.m.
Around 4:00 p.m. two mortar shells hit the green zone.
Police found tow bodies in Baghdad today. The first body was found in Zayuna neighborhood and the other body was found in Saidiyah neighborhood.
Diyala
A civilian was killed and another was injured in a bomb explosion in Abo Saida area east of Baquba city around 10:00 a.m.
A civilian was killed in al Aswad area north of Baquba city around 11:00 a.m.
Kirkuk
Two members of awakening councils were injured seriously in a bomb explosion that targeted their bus near Wahid Huzairan area in south Kirkuk on Sunday morning.
A member of awakening council was killed in a bomb explosion that targeted his patrol in Dirsh village south of Kirkuk city on Sunday morning.
Three members of awakening council were wounded in a bomb explosion that targeted their patrol in Kharabat Rot village south of Kirkuk on Sunday morning.
A bomb exploded near the gate of an employee in the directorate of health in Kirkuk city causing material damages only.
Anbar
The deputy of the local council in Falluja town Qasim Mashkoor and his 11 years old son were injured seriously when an IED attached to their car exploded. The incident took place in Nowab al Thobat neighborhood in downtown Falluja town around 7:15 p.m.
Baghdad
Two civilians were killed and two others were wounded in a bomb explosion near al Alwiyah police station in Karrada neighborhood in downtown Baghdad around 7:00 a.m.
Two civilians were injured when mortar shell hit al Dolai neighborhood in west Baghdad around 5:00 p.m.
Around 12:00 p.m. three mortar shells hit the Green Zone in downtown Baghdad.
A civilian was killed and 8 people including five policemen were wounded when a car bomb exploded targeting the convoy of director of police affairs directorate Major Ali Sabri nearby Mosa Bin Nasir fuel station in Karrada neighborhood around 1:15 p.m.
Police found three unidentified dead bodies, one in Husseiniyah, one in Ubeidi, one in Yarmouk.
Diyala
At least 38 people including women and children were killed and 80 others were injured in a parked car bomb in front of the building of Diyala province in downtown Baquba north of Baghdad around 11:15 a.m. The US military said in an emailed press release that 36 people were killed and 67 wounded adding that three buses were destroyed and 10 local shops were damaged.
Anbar
13 people were killed and 10 others were injured when a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest detonated himself in al Karama restaurant northwest of Ramadi city around 12:30 p.m.
Basra
Gunmen opened fire targeting Ali al Fadhli, a representative of the Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani while he was passing through al Tayaran intersection in downtown Basra city south of Baghdad around 11:00 a.m. one of Fadhli guards was killed. Fadhli and another guard of him were injured.
Nineveh
Gunmen stormed a house in Al khadhra neighborhood in central Mosul, killing three women and a man from one family.
Gunmen killed a lawyer and her sister as they were their car in Mosul.
Two car bombs targeted police vehicles in Mosul. The first car was driven by a suicide bomber and the second was a parked car that targeted police units that rushed to the site injuring 17 people including four policemen.
A roadside bomb targeted a police vehicle injuring four policemen.
Gunmen shooting randomly killed a female student at her school in Al Muthana neighborhood northern of Mosul
Karbala
Gunmen from Mahdi Army militia attacked Al Daoum village south east of Karbala city killing five people and kidnapping six others and destroyed four houses in retaliation from the families of Iraqi soldiers.
Monday, April 14
Baghdad
- Around 11:30 pm of Sunday , a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at the New Baghdad neighborhood (east Baghdad) near Samarayee mosque .One Humvee was damaged with about 20 commercial shops were burned , Iraqi police said. No casualties reported. While the MNC in Iraq reply on the incident was “Criminals attacked a Multi-National Division - Baghdad patrol with an improvised-explosive device in eastern Baghdad April 13. The IED attack ignited a major fire at the nearby Al Ummal market. The market blaze began at approximately 11:30 p.m. Iraqi emergency response personnel responded to the fire. MND-B Soldiers recovered the vehicle and sustained no major injuries in the attack.”
- Around 8 am, a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at Tahriyat intersection in Karrada neighborhood .No casualties reported.
- Around 8:30 am, a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at Fudhailiyah neighborhood (east Baghfdad).No casualties reported.
- Around 11:30 am, a roadside bomb targeted an American patrol at Shaab intersection. No casualties reported.
- Around 11:45 am, a roadside bomb targeted a police patrol at Tayran square in Bab Al-Sharji (central Baghdad).Five policemen were killed and 13 others were injured (two policemen and 11 civilians).
- Around 3 pm, 7 mortar shells hit the following neighborhoods:
- 4 shells hit Zayuna neighborhood killing one person and injuring 4 others.
- 2 shells hit Ghadeer of the New Baghdad neighborhood injuring three people.
- one shell hit a mini bus (coaster model) at Sinaa street Karrada near Technology University .Two people were killed and 6 others were injured.
- Police found (5) dead bodies in the following neighborhoods in Baghdad: (3) were found in east Baghdad (Risafa bank); 1 in Zafaraniyah , 1 in Qahira and 1 in Khilani. While (2) were found in west Baghdad( Karkh bank); 1 in Amil and 1 in Doura.
Basra
- Monday night, gunmen assassinated an officer of Basra intelligence directorate at Al-Jaza’er neighborhood (downtown Basra). Major Rafia Mohammad was killed by gunmen who opened fire on him from a sedan car (Cresta model, Toyota) and ran away.The assassinations attacks had disappeared since the Charge Knights operation in Basra has started due to the army check points in neighborhoods and controlling the entrances of the city.
Salahuddin
-In the morning , gunmen of about 40 members of what is called the Islamic State of Iraq attacked some houses at Ral Al-Dhahab village north of Fatha andwest of Baiji which is 240 km north of Baghdad )injuring 17 Sahwa members .
- In the morning, the Iraqi army found a dead body in Dour (south Tikrit and north of Baghdad).
Diyala
- In the morning, gunmen killed a head of one of the electoral station centers ay Had Mizaid in Wajihiyah (east of Baquba).
- An American squad with Sahwa members found 30 dead bodies at Al-Zour village in Muqdadiyah (45 km north east of Baquba).
Mosul
- In the afternoon, a suicide truck bomber targeted a Peshmerga squad while they were on their way home to Sinjar in vacation .Also after that , gunmen opened fire on the Peshmerga squad .14 soldiers were killed and 15 others were injured , an official of Peshmerga said .
- In the afternoon, a car bomb targeted an American patrol at Muthna neighborhood (east mosul) .Two Iraqi people were killed and two others were wounded having no casualties of the American army reported.
- In the afternoon, a car bomb exploded at Al-Mahata neighborhood (south Mosul).Two civil defense men were wounded in that incident.
- Around 6 pm, a suicide bomber targeted a funeral ceremony in Tal Afer (west of Mosul) .Four people were killed with 22 others injured in that incident.
Sunday, April 13
Baghdad
Around 10:00 a.m. Iraqi security forces detonated under control two bombs which were planted in Ferdows intersection in downtown Baghdad.
Two policemen were injured in an IED explosion that targeted their patrol near the national theater in Karrada neighborhood in downtown Baghdad around 12:00 p.m.
Around 4:00 p.m. two mortar shells hit the green zone.
Police found tow bodies in Baghdad today. The first body was found in Zayuna neighborhood and the other body was found in Saidiyah neighborhood.
Diyala
A civilian was killed and another was injured in a bomb explosion in Abo Saida area east of Baquba city around 10:00 a.m.
A civilian was killed in al Aswad area north of Baquba city around 11:00 a.m.
Kirkuk
Two members of awakening councils were injured seriously in a bomb explosion that targeted their bus near Wahid Huzairan area in south Kirkuk on Sunday morning.
A member of awakening council was killed in a bomb explosion that targeted his patrol in Dirsh village south of Kirkuk city on Sunday morning.
Three members of awakening council were wounded in a bomb explosion that targeted their patrol in Kharabat Rot village south of Kirkuk on Sunday morning.
A bomb exploded near the gate of an employee in the directorate of health in Kirkuk city causing material damages only.
Anbar
The deputy of the local council in Falluja town Qasim Mashkoor and his 11 years old son were injured seriously when an IED attached to their car exploded. The incident took place in Nowab al Thobat neighborhood in downtown Falluja town around 7:15 p.m.
Bitter Pittsburgh Steelers for Obama
Sure are a whole lotta bitter Steelers up in the Steel City. Here's what owner Dan Rooney had to say in his endorsement of raised-by-a-single-mom out-of-touch elitist Barack Obama:
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney on Monday endorsed Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's presidential bid
In a statement, the 75-year-old Rooney said endorsing political candidates is not something he regularly does.
"As a grandfather and a citizen of this community, I think Barack Obama's thoughtful, strategic approach is important to America," Rooney said. "When I hear how excited young people seem to be when they talk about this man, I believe he will do what is best for them, which is to inspire them to be great Americans."
The Obama campaign said the Illinois senator and Rooney met Monday after Obama spoke at a meeting of the Alliance for American Manufacturing. Obama's Democratic rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, also addressed the gathering.
Last month, former Steelers running backs Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis also endorsed Obama.
My take on the whole "bitter" controversy is that it will have virtually no affect on the polls. While the talking heads like to blather on about it, the rest of us know exactly what Obama was talking about. Believe it or not, there are people who are bitter about any number of things, including (but not limited to): the war in Iraq, the economy, the destruction of the US Constitution, patriotism questioning, rising gas prices, outing covert CIA agents (and then lying about it), the Taliban still killing our troops in Afghanistan, and promises made by politicians but never kept, just to name a few. People who like Obama do so because they feel like, for once, there's actually someone out there who appeals to them and who they believe will make some changes in Washington.
Here are my predictions about what will happen in the upcoming primaries: The latest polls have Clinton up by an average of about 6 points in PA. I think she'll win by 8%, but the candidates will basically tie in delegates. Obama wins North Carolina big, Clinton wins Indiana by 2%, but loses in delegates. She still takes this thing all the way to the convention as she's promised to do, despite Obama being ahead in both the pledged and superdelagate counts.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney on Monday endorsed Democratic Sen. Barack Obama's presidential bid
In a statement, the 75-year-old Rooney said endorsing political candidates is not something he regularly does.
"As a grandfather and a citizen of this community, I think Barack Obama's thoughtful, strategic approach is important to America," Rooney said. "When I hear how excited young people seem to be when they talk about this man, I believe he will do what is best for them, which is to inspire them to be great Americans."
The Obama campaign said the Illinois senator and Rooney met Monday after Obama spoke at a meeting of the Alliance for American Manufacturing. Obama's Democratic rival, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, also addressed the gathering.
Last month, former Steelers running backs Franco Harris and Jerome Bettis also endorsed Obama.
My take on the whole "bitter" controversy is that it will have virtually no affect on the polls. While the talking heads like to blather on about it, the rest of us know exactly what Obama was talking about. Believe it or not, there are people who are bitter about any number of things, including (but not limited to): the war in Iraq, the economy, the destruction of the US Constitution, patriotism questioning, rising gas prices, outing covert CIA agents (and then lying about it), the Taliban still killing our troops in Afghanistan, and promises made by politicians but never kept, just to name a few. People who like Obama do so because they feel like, for once, there's actually someone out there who appeals to them and who they believe will make some changes in Washington.
Here are my predictions about what will happen in the upcoming primaries: The latest polls have Clinton up by an average of about 6 points in PA. I think she'll win by 8%, but the candidates will basically tie in delegates. Obama wins North Carolina big, Clinton wins Indiana by 2%, but loses in delegates. She still takes this thing all the way to the convention as she's promised to do, despite Obama being ahead in both the pledged and superdelagate counts.
George John McBush
Are John McCain and George Bush the same person?
I report, you decide.
p.s. Thanks HG!!
I report, you decide.
p.s. Thanks HG!!
McCain to oppose Webb's GI Bill
Several weeks ago, I blogged about Sen. Jim Webb's updated GI Bill, which includes significant changes to the education benefits offered by the US military. Despite calls by Webb and others for McCain to join on as one of the 50+ co-sponsors to the bill, McCain today said he would join the military in opposing Webb's amendment, making the argument that more generous educational benefits for today's soldiers would hurt the military.
Sorry, Senator, but you and the Pentagon have it way, way wrong. Today's fighting men and women deserve the chance to better themselves with a college education, and the least that you and the rest of the "Support the Troops" non-supporters can do is offer them an updated GI bill with improved educational benefits - much like the benefits your son is getting at the USNA. But perhaps what's good for the goose is not good for the collective ganders?
Sorry, Senator, but you and the Pentagon have it way, way wrong. Today's fighting men and women deserve the chance to better themselves with a college education, and the least that you and the rest of the "Support the Troops" non-supporters can do is offer them an updated GI bill with improved educational benefits - much like the benefits your son is getting at the USNA. But perhaps what's good for the goose is not good for the collective ganders?
The Sky is falling! The Sky is falling!
We've all heard that expression from "Chicken Little". The right-wing bloggers I come into contact have all said or implied that I'm like Chicken Little, always assuming the sky is falling, especially when it comes to economic matters, whereby they tend to tell me the economy has never been better, jobs are plentiful, and inflation is going down. [Side note: And I'm the one with "BDS" - Bush Derangement Syndrome? Not hardly!]
So let's take a look at where the economy is today, for those of us who live in the reality-based world. Anyone who does the grocery shopping in their home can tell you that prices are rising, but here's some proof:
"After nearly two decades of low food inflation, prices for staples such as bread, milk, eggs, and flour are rising sharply, surging in the past year at double-digit rates, according to the Labor Department. Milk prices, for example, increased 26 percent over the year. Egg prices jumped 40 percent.
Many analysts expect consumers to keep paying more for food. Wholesale food prices, an indicator of where supermarket prices are headed, rose last month at the fastest rate since 2003, with egg prices jumping 60 percent from a year ago, pasta products 30 percent, and fruits and vegetables 20 percent, according to the Labor Department.
Several factors contribute to higher food prices, analysts say, but none more than record prices for oil, which last week closed above $105 a barrel. [Ed. note: Oil is selling now at $112/barrel.] Oil is not only driving up production and transportation costs, but also adding to demand for corn and soybeans, used to make alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.
The weak US dollar, at or near historic lows against the euro and other currencies, adds more pressure. Oil and other commodities trade in dollars, so when the dollar is worth less, producers demand higher prices to make up for the loss in value. This pressure raises inflation fears, which in turn make commodities attractive to investors, who view them as holding value during inflationary periods. As investors buy, demand grows and commodity prices go even higher.
This combination of a weak dollar, soaring energy prices, and global demand recalls the 1970s, when retail food prices rose an average of nearly 9 percent a year, said Bill Lapp, president of Advanced Economic Solutions, an Omaha research firm. Over the past year, Lapp said, food prices rose nearly 5 percent, more than double the average rate of the previous 10 years. Prices will rise even faster the next five years, he forecasts, increasing at an annual rate of 7.5 percent."
There are many factors at play in the rising cost of food, many of which are absolute staples in our house (milk, eggs, bread, fruits and veggies): the weakness of the dollar, the already high and rising price of oil, increased demand vs. decreasing supply, stagnant wages, and poor job growth, and the housing crisis (apparently hitting people other than middle-class homeowners) to name just a few.
So, is the sky falling? Let your checkbook answer that for you...but in the interest of fair and balanced reporting from "Thanks for Stopping By", let me leave you with the view from the other side of the aisle:
Update: After I posted this entry, I heard about this on NPR. This isn't good news, either.
So let's take a look at where the economy is today, for those of us who live in the reality-based world. Anyone who does the grocery shopping in their home can tell you that prices are rising, but here's some proof:
"After nearly two decades of low food inflation, prices for staples such as bread, milk, eggs, and flour are rising sharply, surging in the past year at double-digit rates, according to the Labor Department. Milk prices, for example, increased 26 percent over the year. Egg prices jumped 40 percent.
Many analysts expect consumers to keep paying more for food. Wholesale food prices, an indicator of where supermarket prices are headed, rose last month at the fastest rate since 2003, with egg prices jumping 60 percent from a year ago, pasta products 30 percent, and fruits and vegetables 20 percent, according to the Labor Department.
Several factors contribute to higher food prices, analysts say, but none more than record prices for oil, which last week closed above $105 a barrel. [Ed. note: Oil is selling now at $112/barrel.] Oil is not only driving up production and transportation costs, but also adding to demand for corn and soybeans, used to make alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.
The weak US dollar, at or near historic lows against the euro and other currencies, adds more pressure. Oil and other commodities trade in dollars, so when the dollar is worth less, producers demand higher prices to make up for the loss in value. This pressure raises inflation fears, which in turn make commodities attractive to investors, who view them as holding value during inflationary periods. As investors buy, demand grows and commodity prices go even higher.
This combination of a weak dollar, soaring energy prices, and global demand recalls the 1970s, when retail food prices rose an average of nearly 9 percent a year, said Bill Lapp, president of Advanced Economic Solutions, an Omaha research firm. Over the past year, Lapp said, food prices rose nearly 5 percent, more than double the average rate of the previous 10 years. Prices will rise even faster the next five years, he forecasts, increasing at an annual rate of 7.5 percent."
There are many factors at play in the rising cost of food, many of which are absolute staples in our house (milk, eggs, bread, fruits and veggies): the weakness of the dollar, the already high and rising price of oil, increased demand vs. decreasing supply, stagnant wages, and poor job growth, and the housing crisis (apparently hitting people other than middle-class homeowners) to name just a few.
So, is the sky falling? Let your checkbook answer that for you...but in the interest of fair and balanced reporting from "Thanks for Stopping By", let me leave you with the view from the other side of the aisle:
Update: After I posted this entry, I heard about this on NPR. This isn't good news, either.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Things that make you go...hmmmm.....
Headline on the Huffington Post: "Shieffer asks Pelosi: Is Bill Clinton Working to Undermine Wife's Candidacy?"
I've been making this point to my husband and some friends for about a month now. Bill Clinton is a very astute political guy. He lives it, he loves it, it feeds him. So why has he made a series of gaffes while out on the stump for his wife? First there was this episode with Bill saying about Barack Obama's war votes "This is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen..." Then there was the episode in South Carolina where Bill compared Barack to Jesse Jackson. Then there was the reported red-faced tirade directed at superdelagates in California, complete with yelling and finger pointing.
Now comes Bill's insistence on bringing up the Tuzla incident again (where Hillary claimed to have landed in Bosnia under incoming mortar fire, something she later recanted and the pilot flying her there denied as well).
So, what gives? Personally, I think it's because Bill doesn't want Hillary to win. He wants to be the only Clinton to be President. No way he wants to sit around the White House while Hillary's in the Oval Office answering the phone at 3 am. I would imagine that being President does wonders for the ego - try to imagine being one of only 43 people in the history of the country to have achieved the Presidency of the world's superpower. It's probably hard to top that feeling of being the top dog- and no way Bill Clinton wants Hillary to be one of those select few, either.
There's just no other way to explain how such a smart guy is making such stupid blunders on his wife's behalf. I'll bet he's catching hell like he's never caught before - and given the rumors about those two, that's saying something.
From today's CBS' Face the Nation:
I've been making this point to my husband and some friends for about a month now. Bill Clinton is a very astute political guy. He lives it, he loves it, it feeds him. So why has he made a series of gaffes while out on the stump for his wife? First there was this episode with Bill saying about Barack Obama's war votes "This is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen..." Then there was the episode in South Carolina where Bill compared Barack to Jesse Jackson. Then there was the reported red-faced tirade directed at superdelagates in California, complete with yelling and finger pointing.
Now comes Bill's insistence on bringing up the Tuzla incident again (where Hillary claimed to have landed in Bosnia under incoming mortar fire, something she later recanted and the pilot flying her there denied as well).
So, what gives? Personally, I think it's because Bill doesn't want Hillary to win. He wants to be the only Clinton to be President. No way he wants to sit around the White House while Hillary's in the Oval Office answering the phone at 3 am. I would imagine that being President does wonders for the ego - try to imagine being one of only 43 people in the history of the country to have achieved the Presidency of the world's superpower. It's probably hard to top that feeling of being the top dog- and no way Bill Clinton wants Hillary to be one of those select few, either.
There's just no other way to explain how such a smart guy is making such stupid blunders on his wife's behalf. I'll bet he's catching hell like he's never caught before - and given the rumors about those two, that's saying something.
From today's CBS' Face the Nation:
Friday, April 11, 2008
God's Country
I grew up in what is known as "Upstate" New York - and that does not mean Westchester County. No, I'm talking really upstate - between Rochester and Syracuse in a village along the Erie Canal. It's often called "God's Country", more for its scenic beauty than for its history of religions appearing quickly and fervently.
My little hometown village of Newark, New York has less than 10,000 inhabitants. It's the kind of place where not only do you know your neighbor, you've probably had the same family living next door for years - if not decades. The Erie Canal, a technological marvel in the 1820's, runs through the north side of town and runs parallel to Route 31 - a road that will take you to the "big city" of Rochester if you head west, or to smaller towns and villages like Lyons (home of Jim Boeheim) and Clyde-Savannah. Newark is part of the "Finger Lakes" region, which in the past 20 years or so has become known for the large number of wineries that have grown up around the lakes, and is now the second largest wine producing area after Napa Valley.
Newark and the surrounding area was part of the "Burned Over District" in the early - mid 1800s. New religions and religious leaders sprouted up frequently, including one that we still talk about: the Latter Day Saints movement, which became The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, founded by Joseph Smith in nearby Palmyra. The Fox Sisters, practitioners of spiritualism, were scandalous for their day as they communicated with the dead. The house they lived in still stood north of Newark in Hydesville until the early 1980's. There's now a museum that houses the foundation to their house along with information about the sisters.
"The Lost Weekend" - a movie which was nominated for 9 Academy Awards and won 4 in 1946 (Best Actor - Ray Milland, Best Director - Billy Wilder, Best Screenplay - Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett) - was based on the book by the same name written by Newark native Charles Jackson. Though I don't know much about him per say, I imagine he was a relative of Albert Jackson, who co-founded Jackson & Perkins Roses with his son-in-law, Charles Perkins. Both the Jackson and Perkins families are well-known in Newark - my younger sister and brother and I all attended Charles H. Perkins Elementary School on West Maple Avenue, and Cecilia Jackson was the Village Historian for decades.
One of Newark's more famous residents was US Navy ADM Leslie Gehres. He was the Captain of the USS FRANKLIN, and his actions on 19 March 1945, for which he was awarded the Navy Cross and those of his crewmates, including two sailors awarded the Medal of Honor, are memorialized in a museum at the area High School.
Why am I writing all of this? Because the other day, while talking to my father - a third generation "Newarkite", he told me that little ole' Newark, New York was featured in an Atlantic Monthly article by Megan McCardle, the daughter of a former Newark resident who graduated from Newark High School the year after my father did. At first I laughed - someone actually wrote about Newark? Really??
But she did, and the article is a good one. I'm sure there are lots of places like Newark - they've seen better days, have their share of problems, but underneath that, generally a decent place to live. Sure the school system might not be what we have here in Fairfax County, but the cost of living is pretty inexpensive, and it's nice to think there are still places where going for an ice cream at Sal's is a treat on a warm summer evening, and where kids can still ride their bikes to get to ball practice or the park. So congrats Newark on your well-deserved spotlight - you've earned it!
Bonus: Erie Canal video- with Springsteen cover of "15 Miles on the Erie Canal"! And no, the driver of this boat is not my brother, though they bear more than a passing resemblance...
My little hometown village of Newark, New York has less than 10,000 inhabitants. It's the kind of place where not only do you know your neighbor, you've probably had the same family living next door for years - if not decades. The Erie Canal, a technological marvel in the 1820's, runs through the north side of town and runs parallel to Route 31 - a road that will take you to the "big city" of Rochester if you head west, or to smaller towns and villages like Lyons (home of Jim Boeheim) and Clyde-Savannah. Newark is part of the "Finger Lakes" region, which in the past 20 years or so has become known for the large number of wineries that have grown up around the lakes, and is now the second largest wine producing area after Napa Valley.
Newark and the surrounding area was part of the "Burned Over District" in the early - mid 1800s. New religions and religious leaders sprouted up frequently, including one that we still talk about: the Latter Day Saints movement, which became The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, founded by Joseph Smith in nearby Palmyra. The Fox Sisters, practitioners of spiritualism, were scandalous for their day as they communicated with the dead. The house they lived in still stood north of Newark in Hydesville until the early 1980's. There's now a museum that houses the foundation to their house along with information about the sisters.
"The Lost Weekend" - a movie which was nominated for 9 Academy Awards and won 4 in 1946 (Best Actor - Ray Milland, Best Director - Billy Wilder, Best Screenplay - Billy Wilder, Charles Brackett) - was based on the book by the same name written by Newark native Charles Jackson. Though I don't know much about him per say, I imagine he was a relative of Albert Jackson, who co-founded Jackson & Perkins Roses with his son-in-law, Charles Perkins. Both the Jackson and Perkins families are well-known in Newark - my younger sister and brother and I all attended Charles H. Perkins Elementary School on West Maple Avenue, and Cecilia Jackson was the Village Historian for decades.
One of Newark's more famous residents was US Navy ADM Leslie Gehres. He was the Captain of the USS FRANKLIN, and his actions on 19 March 1945, for which he was awarded the Navy Cross and those of his crewmates, including two sailors awarded the Medal of Honor, are memorialized in a museum at the area High School.
Why am I writing all of this? Because the other day, while talking to my father - a third generation "Newarkite", he told me that little ole' Newark, New York was featured in an Atlantic Monthly article by Megan McCardle, the daughter of a former Newark resident who graduated from Newark High School the year after my father did. At first I laughed - someone actually wrote about Newark? Really??
But she did, and the article is a good one. I'm sure there are lots of places like Newark - they've seen better days, have their share of problems, but underneath that, generally a decent place to live. Sure the school system might not be what we have here in Fairfax County, but the cost of living is pretty inexpensive, and it's nice to think there are still places where going for an ice cream at Sal's is a treat on a warm summer evening, and where kids can still ride their bikes to get to ball practice or the park. So congrats Newark on your well-deserved spotlight - you've earned it!
Bonus: Erie Canal video- with Springsteen cover of "15 Miles on the Erie Canal"! And no, the driver of this boat is not my brother, though they bear more than a passing resemblance...
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