Sunday, January 31, 2010
Colbert Rips GOP Response to State of the Union
I don't know if too much was made of this subject as I've been burning the candle at both ends and haven't had much time to watch the Pinheads of Punditry this past week. But I was a little taken aback by the obvious theatrics of the GOP response to President Obama's State of the Union.
Seriously? They went down in flames with Bobby "Mr. Rogers" Jindal that last time out, so they thought, Hey why not just have a live, partisan audience of our own? I'm sure they would have settled for an applause track if they could have gotten away with it, but instead did the next best thing: pretend a white guy who'd been in office for eleven days was the president. And top it off with as many diverse faces behind him while he spoke to an all-caucasian crowd as possible. That's a great idea!
Thankfully, Stephen Colbert took it upon himself to point all of that out.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
President Obama's House Republican Conference Remarks
Enjoy the smackdown.
(C-SPAN has disabled embedding for this particular video, so clicking on the photo will send you to their site where you can watch the full conference remarks and the questions and answers that followed.)
Must Reads
Bob Cesca: Progressives vs. The President
David M. Herszenhorn: Fact Check: Obama and House Republicans
Howard Zinn: How I Want to Be Remembered...
Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman: Justice Official Clears Bush Lawyers in Torture Memo Probe
driftglass: Where Yesterday Has Been Exiled
Matt Taibbi: Populism: Just Like Racism!
Eric Boehlert: So who's going to fact-check PolitiFact?
Norman Lear: Dear Rush...
Home of the Brave, My Ass
ter⋅ror⋅ism [ter-uh-riz-uhm] – nounThe reluctance and pitiful backtracking of political figures opposed to having the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in New York is proof that the terrorists have already won. Cowards like NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who beat his chest not two months ago in favor of having the trials in Manhattan, Senator Chuck Schumer, and countless others citing the cost and inconvenience as a factor is an ass covering tactic.
1. the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes.
2. the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization.
And those worried about the financial cost of the trial to New York City should petition that part of the tab be picked up by the federal government. Besides the fact that in my opinion, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly's expensive plan including rooftop snipers, random vehicle checkpoints and a virtual shutdown of lower Manhattan is over the top and only breeds fear in those who were running scared to begin with.
No one whined about the cost of the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui. No one complanied about the inconvenience in the Richard Reid case. But now the KSM fiasco, which began with simpering masses of flesh not wanting Guantanamo detainees "setting foot on US soil", as if they had some kind of magical powers to break out of supermax prisons, has escalated to ridiculously epic proportions and ultimately, money did the talking.The story of how prominent New York officials seemed to have so quickly moved from a kind of “bring it on” bravado to an “anywhere but here” involves many factors, including a new anxiety about terrorism after the attempted airliner bombing on Christmas Day....“This will be one more stroke for Al Qaeda’s propaganda,” said Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University.
Screw justice if it's going to affect the bottom line, right? Patriots indeed....New York real estate executives were raising concerns with the Obama administration, according to Mr. Spinola, president of the Real Estate Board of New York.Mr. Spinola said he had received calls and e-mail messages from the board’s members. Residential real estate brokers were “going berserk,” as he put it, worried that they would no longer be able to sell apartments downtown.Commercial brokers feared they would not be able to lease office space.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
J.D. Salinger Dies at 91
"There is a marvelous peace in not publishing," J.D. Salinger told The New York Times in 1974. "Publishing is a terrible invasion of my privacy. I like to write. I love to write. But I write just for myself and my own pleasure."
NY Times: J. D. Salinger, who was thought at one time to be the most important American writer to emerge since World War II but who then turned his back on success and adulation, becoming the Garbo of letters, famous for not wanting to be famous, died on Wednesday at his home in Cornish, N.H., where he had lived in seclusion for more than 50 years. He was 91.
Fuck You, Michael Bloomberg
Then:
“I support the Obama Administration’s decision to prosecute 9/11 terrorists here,” Bloomberg said. “It is fitting that 9/11 suspects face justice near the World Trade Center site where so many New Yorkers were murdered. We have hosted terrorism trials before, including the trial of Omar Abdel-Rahman, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.”Bloomberg expressed no concerned that the trial will make the city a bigger target for terrorists.“I have great confidence that the NYPD, with federal authorities, will handle security expertly. The NYPD is the best police department in the world and it has experience dealing with high-profile terrorism suspects and any logistical issues that may come up during the trials,” Bloomberg said.
Now:
You fucking coward.New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has changed his mind about holding terror trials in his city, saying they should be conducted in a more secure location...."It's going to cost an awful lot of money and disturb an awful lot of people," Bloomberg said at a news conference Wednesday. "My hope is that the attorney general and the president decide to change their mind."
You know what? I'm not even going to excuse Bloomberg with cowardice. This is political CYA right after this fuckball was elected to a third term (by changing the term limits law) and spending $108 million on his re-election campaign when he has absolutely no real skin in the game. The cost of extra security will be completely forgotten once Khalid Sheik Mohammed is convicted and shows proof positive that our justice system works.
As a New Yorker, I want to see KSM tried at the scene of the crime. It would be an appropriate and fitting end despite way 9/11 has been handled so far, with Osama Bin Laden "wanted dead or alive" debacles, invading a country that had nothing to do with the worst terrorist attack on US soil, interminable delays on the construction of a new complex at Ground Zero, and even the remains of 9/11 victims possibly being used to fill potholes because of the haphazard way the clean up took place, thanks to Rudy Giuliani.
So fuck you, Mike Bloomberg for being a snivelling, little, poll watching coward.
Off The Rails
Jesus H. Christ, Chris Matthews!
Obviously he hasn't forgotten about it or he wouldn't have brought it up. And what the fuck difference does it make? What an ignoramus. No wonder Pat Buchanan has a seat at the table all the time. They jack off to this shit.Matthews: You know I was trying to think about who he was tonight and it's interesting... he is post-racial by all appearances. You know I forgot he was black tonight for an hour. You know he's gone a long way to become a leader in this country and passed so much history in just a year or two. I mean it's something we don't even think about. But I was watching him and said "Wait a minute, he's an African American guy in front of a bunch of white people and there he is President of the United States and we've completely forgotten that tonight". Completely forgotten it.
Oh, and by the way, "who he was" last night was Barack Obama. I'm getting a little tired of trying to find similarities and comparisons with previous presidents.
(H/T Crooks & Liars)
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Howard Zinn Dies at 87
Seattle Times: Howard Zinn, an author, teacher and political activist whose leftist "A People's History of the United States" sold millions of copies to become an alternative to mainstream texts and a favorite of such celebrities as Bruce Springsteen and Ben Affleck, died Wednesday. He was 87.
Zinn died of a heart attack in Santa Monica, Calif., daughter Myla Kabat-Zinn said.
A Happy Compromise
About three weeks ago, I wrote a quick post on Weatherproof using a purchased AP photo of President Obama on the Great Wall of China wearing their product on a Times Square billboard. I have no idea what has transpired since then, but the billboard was changed today.
"Fit For A President." Pretty clever.
Human Bed Warmers... What Could Possibly Go Wrong?!
Guest: I'd like to request a bed warmer please.According to an article from Reuters, Holiday Inn will offer a trial human bed-warming service at three British hotels this month.
“If requested, a willing staff-member at two of the chain’s London hotels and one in the northern English city of Manchester will dress in an all-in-one fleece sleeper suit before slipping between the sheets.”
Apparently, the ” ’innovative’ bed-warming method” is a response to Britain’s recent cold weather, and the human is meant to act like a giant hot water bottle.
Housekeeping: Will that be snoring or non-snoring?
(H/T to the wifey for bringing this creepy article to my attention.)
Yeah, but...But ACORN... But... ACORN!!!
This story just warms the cockles* of my heart.
Sometimes you just should leave well enough alone, huh, O'Keefe? I can't wait to see his next video, "Conservative Dipshit Ass Reamings in Cellblock H."NY Times: Federal officials charged four men on Tuesday with plotting to tamper with the telephone system in the New Orleans office of Senator Mary Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana. One of the men was a conservative activist who gained fame last year by secretly recording members of the community group Acorn giving him advice on how to set up a brothel.
...[One of the men] was James O’Keefe, 25, who has gained renown in conservative circles by poking fun at the left through pranks and undercover video. In the Acorn videos, Mr. O’Keefe and an associate, Hannah Giles, posing as a pimp and a prostitute, secretly filmed themselves seeking and receiving financial advice for a brothel from Acorn workers.
* Heh... I said "cockles."
Ed Thigpen, Jazz Drummer, Dies at 79
NY TIMES: Ed Thigpen, a drummer whose tasteful and understated style made him a favorite accompanist of some of the best-known performers in jazz, died on Jan. 13 in Copenhagen, where he had lived since 1972. He was 79.
...Mr. Thigpen was most famous for his tenure with the pianist Oscar Peterson’s trio, one of the most popular small groups in jazz, from 1959 to 1965. He was the first drummer to work with Peterson, whose trios up until then had consisted of piano, bass and guitar, and he earned raves for his supportive playing and especially for his deft use of brushes.
After leaving Peterson, he spent five years with Ella Fitzgerald. He then moved to Copenhagen, where he became an in-demand sideman for visiting and expatriate American jazz musicians.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
A Quick Thought on the "Spending Freeze"
When I first read the chyrons "Obama Proposes Spending Freeze" I thought, "Uh-oh. Here comes 1937 when we haven't even gotten to 1936." But after watching The Rachel maddow Show last night and her interview with Jard Bernstein, I thought of the scene from Dave when Kevin Kline playing the fake president goes line by line in the budget during a committee meeting to find $550 million to save some children's program, complete with long hand math including all the zeros in the millions saved.
The problem is the phrase "spending freeze" and comparing it to McCain campaign plan. His plan was a spending freeze across the board, whereas Bernstein explained on Maddow that there were going to look for places where they could cut and in some cases, increase certain programs. I mean, hell, what's the point of a new jobs bill if you're not going to fund it? There's likely billions in wasteful spending that they can cut were it not for special interest lobbyists on all sides. The problem lies in what Congress will do with this plan once it's in their greedy little hands.
This also seems like populist talk and maybe it's designed with some spin to pick up a couple of points in the approval polls.
I'm sure we'll here more about it tomorrow in President Obama's first State of the Union Address (who's taking bets on what Republican is going to embarrass him/herself?).
Monday, January 25, 2010
Fair and Balanced
Do we really have to deal with these idiots day after day? There is plenty with which to criticize President Obama if Fox was a serious news organization instead of right wing National Enquirer.
The horror that this man would dare put his feet up on the desk in the Oval Office! How dare he! Who the hell does he think he is disrespecting the office in such a way?
...Yeah...
And what does the story link to, by the way? Wingnut Hot Air Pundit. But this is a serious "fair and balanced" news organization. I don't what's sadder, the fact that they have a voice or the fact that millions upon millions of rubes fall for this shit.
(H/T Bob Cesca)
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Comedy FAIL!
Seriously?
What a far, far cry from the comedic genius of this just four short years ago.Washington Post: White House Correspondents Association has picked this week's most unpopular stand-up comic Jay Leno be the keynote speaker at this year's White House Correspondents Dinner.
An NBC rep confirmed the invitation to The TV Column.
In fairness, the association asked Leno weeks ago -- when he was just the host of a primetime show that was failing five nights a week.
The System Is Broken
Congress isn't the only thing that needs revamping.
I know these things are spit out automatically by the industrial judicial machine, but come on!Chicago Sun-Times columnist Michael Sneed reported that Obama's jury duty summons was sent to his home on the South Side of Chicago asking him to report on Monday at the county courthouse in the suburb of Bridgeview. The White House said the court was told weeks ago - no surprise - that Obama could not make it.
(H/T GottaLaff)
Must Reads
Brian McGrory: Seduced By Our New Senator
Paul Krugman: Do The Right Thing
Corey Kilgannon: Serpico on Serpico
The Rude Pundit: Random Observations on Last Night's Massachusetts Knockdown
Michael Winship: Progressives: Don’t Mourn, Organize
President Obama's Weekly Address - January 23, 2010
President Obama Addresses This Week's Supreme Court Decision
Read the transcript here.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Activist Judges
NY Times: Sweeping aside a century-old understanding and overruling two important precedents, a bitterly divided Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the government may not ban political spending by corporations in candidate elections.
The ruling was a vindication, the majority said, of the First Amendment’s most basic free speech principle — that the government has no business regulating political speech. The dissenters said allowing corporate money to flood the political marketplace will corrupt democracy.
The 5-to-4 decision represented a sharp doctrinal shift, and it will have major political and practical consequences. Specialists in campaign finance law said they expected the decision, which also applies to labor unions and other organizations, to reshape the way elections are conducted.
“If the First Amendment has any force,” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for the majority, which included the four members of its conservative wing, “it prohibits Congress from fining or jailing citizens, or associations of citizens, for simply engaging in political speech.”
Justice John Paul Stevens read a long dissent from the bench. He said the majority had committed a grave error in treating corporate speech the same as that of human beings. His decision was joined by the other three members of the court’s liberal wing.
Boy, it's a good thing we don't have activist judges that go against years of precedent and overturn previous Supreme Court decsions.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Saturday, January 16, 2010
The Definition of Irony - UPDATED
Some genies (and hymens) can't be put back in the bottle. Completely In Touch.NY POST: ...in a classic example of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted, Bristol -- who gave birth to son Tripp in 2008 after a brief liaison with Playgirl-posing flop Levi Johnston -- told In Touch the experience has made her a born-again virgin and announced, "I'm not going to have sex until I'm married. I can guarantee it."
ADDING... This quote kills me.
Yes, Palin ladies. The operative word is CHOSE. You had a choice. And you choose to deny others their choice.
Must Reads
Paul Krugman: Jonathan Gruber
Rude Pundit: Why Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh Ought to Be Dropped Into Haiti as Food
Roger Ebert: A Letter To Rush Limbaugh
Sen. Bernie Sanders: Where Do We Go From Here?
Yifat Susskind: David Brooks Blames the Victim in Haiti
President Obama's Weekly Address - January 16, 2010
Getting Our Money Back from Wall Street
ADDING... What will the Republican spin be in support of the banks? After hearing for almost a year now that TARP was Obama Socialism even though it was started before he took office, everyone should be on board with trying to get bailout money back from the "too big to fail" criminals. How many right wing pundits and wingnuts are going to agrue the opposite now?
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
There Is Evil In The World
Evil is everywhere. And no, I'm not talking about natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina, or the tsunami in Indonesia or the most recent devastating earthquake in Haiti that we're witness to now, but to some of the reaction that it is garnering.
Regardless of political ideology or religious persuasion, I never expected some public, prominent figures to not even bother taking a breath before using this horrible situation as an opportunistic opening.
A supposed man of the cloth, the televangelist shyster Pat Robertson spewed the usual hateful crap in the guise of religion.
...Or whatever... True story."Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it," he said on Christian Broadcasting Network's "The 700 Club." "They were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III, or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the devil. They said, we will serve you if you'll get us free from the French. True story. And so, the devil said, okay it's a deal."
Robertson said that "ever since, they have been cursed by one thing after the other" and he contrasted Haiti with its neighbor, the Dominican Republic.
Then there's the always-good-for-an-outrageous-statement douche Rush Limbaugh, taking the tragedy and using it for right wingnut political hackery and of course, attacking and criticizing President Obama for his quick response.
You have to wonder what Limbaugh's reaction would have been had it been his favorite sex tourism spot, the Dominican Republic, where he loves to travel with an illegal cache of Viagra. Of course, Limbaugh would have been the first to criticize the President had he not made a statement for being aloof or indifferent. It's a win-win for the Obama's enemy political pundits.LIMBAUGH: I want you to remember it took [Obama] three days -- three days -- to respond to the Christmas Day Fruit of Kaboom bomber. Three days. And when he came out after those three days, he was clearly irritated that he had to do it. He didn't want to do it. He comes out here in less than 24 hours to speak about Haiti.
[...]
Oh, this is what he lives for. He lives for serving those in misery. Now don't misunderstand here, folks. See, this is -- I wonder -- I don't have the whole press conference, but I wonder: Did he apologize for America before acknowledging we are the only people on Earth that can possibly help them out down there in any significant way?
[...]
This will play right into Obama's hands -- humanitarian, compassionate. They'll use this to burnish their -- shall we say -- credibility with the black community, in the both light-skinned and dark-skinned black community, in this country. It's made-to-order for 'em. That's why he couldn't wait to get out there. Could not wait to get out there.
Speaking of aloof or indifferent, do you remember the embarrassment this country suffered at the Bush government's reaction in 2004 in aiding the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami?
The year before Katrina, Bush had faced international complaints about what was seen as a sluggish response in both U.S. aid and manpower to the Asia tsunami that killed 226,000 people in 13 countries.
His administration's initial cash assistance of $35 million for tsunami victims was widely derided as paltry. What helped to salvage the U.S. image in affected countries was a goodwill tour then launched jointly by Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush and former President Bill Clinton.
Haiti In Ruins
The earthquake that hit Haiti yesterday was pretty devasatating, taking out communications, collapsing the largest hospital in the capital and practically flattening Port-au-Prince, with some two million residents.
You can donate to the American Red Cross or text "Haiti" to 90999 to donate as well to help out in this tragic situation.NY Times: The earthquake was the worst in the region in more than 200 years and left the country in a shambles. As night fell in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s densely populated capital, fires burned near the shoreline downtown, but otherwise the city fell into darkness.
Monday, January 11, 2010
The Perfect Fit
Now Fox & Friends' Steve Doocy can claim that Fox News has someone on their staff who isn't as stupid as he is. At least he knows that Africa is a continent. Maybe.The controversial former Alaska governor and Republican vice presidential candidate will not have a regular program of her own on Fox News...
Sources say if her appearances as a contributor pan out, she may get her own show. May I suggest the title, "Not Smarter Than A 5th Grader"?
Say It Loud! I'm Black and I'm Proud!
A lovely little quote from America's second stupidest Governor* ever.
Blagojevich later walked back the quote and said it was a stupid thing to say and that he didn't believe it anyway. That's okay, Rod. We never believed you in the first place. Now we're even."I'm blacker than Barack Obama. I shined shoes. I grew up in a five-room apartment. My father had a little laundromat in a black community not far from where we lived," Blagojevich said. "I saw it all growing up."
*I say "second stupidest Governor ever" because when a certain former Governor doesn't know that North and South Korea are different countries, you have to knock that "moran" to the top of the list.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Must Reads
Chris Kelly: A Horrible Thing to Think About Casey Johnson
Bob Cesca: The Twisted and Dangerous Republican Record on Terrorism
Gail Collins: Oh, Byron, We Hardly Knew Ye
Bruce Schneier: Our Reaction Is the Real Security Failure
Friday, January 8, 2010
They Can't Help Themselves
You can't watch any cable news television nowadays without coming across a lying Republican. They just can't help themselves. It seems to be in their DNA. Whether they're talking about death panels, or a government takeover of health care, or wanting to protect Medicare in a sudden reversal of the GOP agenda to kill Medicare before health care reform was in the forefront. But the latest egregiousness really takes the cake.
America's Mayor, Rudy Giuliani was on Good Morning America today and since the GOP blue plate special has been to attack President Obama and blame him for the failed terrorist attempt of Taintman™ on Northwest Airlines flight 253 landing in Detroit, Rudy thought he'd up the stakes.
Giuliani: "What [Obama] should be doing is following the right things that Bush did -- one of the right things he did was treat this as a war on terror. We had no domestic attacks under Bush. We've had one under Obama."
I suppose Rudy forgot about 9/11, although I don't know how that's possible since "9/11" was his middle name during his pathetic presidential campaign. But to give Rudy the benefit of the doubt, maybe he's blocked the trauma. Maybe he doesn't remember running through the streets of lower Manhattan, away from the Emergency Command Center that he decided to move to the same location that was attacked in 1993. I guess he equated terrorist strikes with lightning strikes; Rudy probably thought they never strike twice in the same place.
But even if you forgive Giuliani his little slip and assume he meant to say that we had no domestic attacks under Bush post 9/11, which is now what a spokesperson for America's Mayor is saying in an attempt to pull Rudy's foot out of his big, fat mouth, it's still not true.
Does Rudy not remember the anthrax attacks in the weeks after 9/11 that killed five people? Does Rudy not remember the DC Sniper who killed ten people in October of 2002? Does he not remember Richard Reid, the failed shoe bomber in December, 2001? I certainly do every time I have to remove my shoes at the airport. Oh wait, my mistake. Rudy does remember the shoe bomber, but says that attack happened before 9/11. Just another lie by another Republican. Just like the lie Rudy told that President Obama waited 10 days before addressing the failed attack when it was three. But it's so easy for them to lie. It's in their DNA.
Does Rudy not remember the attack at Los Angeles International Airport in March of 2006 when two people were shot to death at the El Al ticket counter by an extremist in an incident that was deemed an act of international terrorism?
Of course he does. Rudy remembers all of these attacks, but he decides to deny them. He decides to remain with the Republican meme that Democrats are weak on national security although all signs point to the contrary in terms of actual attacks. Because it's easy for them to lie. It's in their DNA.
This follows on the heels of former Bushie Press Secretary Dana Perino and resident Wicked Witch of the GOP Mary Matalin pushing the same lie; that the Bush administration kept us safe from attacks... pay no attention to those fallen towers behind the curtain. And that doesn't even begin to address the daily Dick Cheney report from Politico or whatever Sunday talk show is scheduled to kiss his ass that particular week.
You can't say that the US wasn't attacked under the Bush administration while discounting the worst terrorist attack in US history. And even if you dismiss 9/11, yes, we were attacked... multiple times. And shame on the mainstream media for letting the lies go unchallenged. George Stephanopoulos has since admitted he should have followed up on the Giuliani lie, but too little too late, George.
I know that the GOP got used to creating it's own reality during those very long Bush years, but do they actually think that revisionist history is going to work on such a traumatic event as the deaths of 3,000 people in one day on their watch? And the GOP making political hay out of this and using the failed Underpants Bomber attack as an opening to malign President Obama and his administration for partisan advantage diminishes the importance of those deaths.
But then again, they just can't help themselves. Being lying jackasses seems to be in their DNA.
Lawsuit Pending?
On the northwest corner of 41st Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan, here's what I spotted on the way home.
Weatherproof did not ask permission to use President Obama's likeness, nor does the White House approve. My guess is that the billboard will be down within a day or two.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Obama Press Conference on Strengthening Intelligence and Aviation Security
President Obama: "Here at home, we will strengthen our defenses, but we will not succumb to a siege mentality that sacrifices the open society and liberties and values that we cherish as Americans, because great and proud nations don't hunker down and hide behind walls of suspicion and mistrust. That is exactly what our adversaries want, and so long as I am President, we will never hand them that victory. We will define the character of our country, not some band of small men intent on killing innocent men, women and children."
Bob Barr Defends Obama
When politicians like Bob Barr give a reasoned response and come to the defense of President Obama, you know the GOP has gone off the deep end and straight down the rabbit hole.
Yes — the not-so-bright, would-be terrorist from Nigeria got though international and domestic security mechanisms supposed to have stopped him long before the jerk lit his underwear afire before landing in Detroit. And yes — the incident happened during the administration of President Barack Obama. But the sniping at the president by Republicans, including former Vice President Cheney, and by conservative radio and TV commentators, borders on — if not passing into — asinine.
The criticism has included such childishness as blasting Obama for waiting a few days before making a national speech on the incident. For heaven’s sake, the president was briefed on the incident from the moment it occured; he made statements almost immediately indicating his concern and that he was being regularly briefed; he took time to gather the facts and meet with his national security team; and then he appeared publicly to give a rational, measured, but hard-hitting response. And for this, a former vice president criticizes him.
Partisanship truly has pervasively infected our political system when a reasonable, measured, factual, timely and substantive response by a president to a single security incident — the roots of which clearly indicate long-simmering problems that predated his tenure in office — is publicly blasted as irresponsible. In point of fact, those levelling such counterproductive attacks are the ones engaging in irresponsible behavior.
Tweet of the Day
WALSH: In May 2002 National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice complained that "no one could have imagined" al-Qaida using airplanes as weapons -- when, in fact, the U.S., and the Bush administration, had been warned of such planning many times.
...By contrast, Obama stood up and described the many missed opportunities to identify, detain and question Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab less than two weeks after the near-tragedy, but concluded: "I'm less interested in passing out blame than in learning and correcting mistakes. The buck stops with me."
[...]
Imagine President Bush doing the same thing after 9/11. I know, you can't. I couldn't either. In almost eight years, he never did.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Tsutomu Yamaguchi Dies at 93
According to his account, he took the Last Train From Hiroshima to his hometown of Nagasaki the next day to get to his family despite being badly burned, even resorting to using a "raft" of floating dead, bloated bodies to cross a bridgeless river to get to the train.Mr. Yamaguchi, as a 29-year-old engineer for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, was on a business trip in Hiroshima when the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on the morning of Aug. 6, 1945. He was getting off a streetcar when the “Little Boy” device detonated above Hiroshima.
Mr. Yamaguchi said he was less than 2 miles away from ground zero. His eardrums were ruptured and his upper torso was burned by the blast, which destroyed most of the city’s buildings and killed 80,000 people.
Heavily bandaged, he returned to work on August 9th and was explaining what had happened to his fellow workers and instructed them how to survive by diving under desks, when his boss berated him for exaggerating, claiming that no such bomb exists, when...
He and about 30 fellow workers, who heeded his warnings and instructions, survived the second blast which killed another 70,000 in Nagasaki. Luckily, their office was in a section of the building that was blocked by a steel reinforced staircase which cut through the shockwave like the prow of a ship cuts through the ocean waves. When they emerged from their hiding places, the rest of the building along with 300 other workers had disappeared....“suddenly the same white light filled the room,” he said in an interview last March with The Independent newspaper.
“I could have died on either of those days,” Mr. Yamaguchi said in an August interview with the Mainichi Daily News. “Everything that follows is a bonus.”
...Mr. Yamaguchi recovered from his wounds, went to work for the American occupation forces, became a teacher and eventually returned to work at Mitsubishi Heavy. He was in good health for most of his life... In his later years, Mr. Yamaguchi began to speak out about the scourge of atomic weapons. He rarely gave interviews, but he wrote a memoir and was part of a 2006 documentary film about the double-bombing victims. He called for the abolition of nuclear weapons at a showing of the film at the United Nations that year.
Rep. Peter King Knows About National Security
Rep. Peter King (R-Lala-Land) sure knows how to increase our nation's security against terrorism. Just have the President use the word "terrorism" more. Boom! Easy-peasy. Now we're safe.
This is the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee and that's his coup de grace in dealing with terrorism. Say "terrorism" more. BRILLIANT! And the GOP wants to be taken seriously with hackery like this.You are saying someone should be held accountable. Name one other specific recommendation the president could implement right now to fix this," host George Stephanopoulos said to King.
"I think one main thing would be to -- just himself to use the word terrorism more often," said King, the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee.
Perhaps if President Obama rolled up his sleeves, wore a cowboy hat and walked with a swagger (or like he took a dump in his pants) as well, he could usher in world peace.
Dorgan and Ritter and Dodd, Oh My!
Within the last 24 hours we have gotten news of Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan and Colorado Governor Bill Ritter not intending to seek re-election for 2010. And now comes word that Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, whose numbers have been down in the polls and would have had a hard time winning another term, has scheduled a press conference for today in which he is expected to announce his retirement after five terms.
Dodd's seat looks safe as Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal might step in and run a little earlier than his anticipated run against Joe Lieberman in 2012, but I think you'd have to expect to lose a seat in conservative North Dakota when Dorgan steps down.
Is it really looking that bad for the Democrats in 2010? I personally don't think so. I think the teabaggers' numbers don't match their loudness, despite what certain polls say.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Bachmann's Anti-Census Rhetoric May Bite Her In The Ass
This is a fun little tidbit of information.
Oh, wouldn't that be sweet, sweet justice?The state of Minnesota could be on the verge of losing a House seat after 2010 -- and interestingly enough, it's been a while since we heard Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) talk about refusing to participate in the Census.
...according to current population estimates, Minnesota is right on the cusp of losing one of its eight seats in Congress, and will be in a close competition with Missouri, Texas and California for that district.
...Bachmann's district would likely be the first to go if the state lost a seat. The other seats are all fairly regular-shaped, logical districts built around identifiable regions of the state (Minneapolis, St. Paul, the Iron Range, and so on). Bachmann's district is made of what's left over after such a process, twisting and turning from a small strip of the Wisconsin border and curving deep into the middle of the state. As such, the obvious course of action if the state loses a seat is to split her district up among its neighbors.
And Wingnuts Blow A Gasket in 5... 4... 3...
President Obama Names Transgender Appointee to Commerce Department
Adding... US lifts HIV/Aids immigration banPresident Obama recently named Amanda Simpson to be a Senior Technical Advisor to the Commerce Department.
In a statement, Simpson, a member of the National Center for Transgender Equality's board of directors, said that "as one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others."
The US has lifted a 22-year immigration ban which has stopped anyone with HIV/Aids from entering the country.
President Obama said the ban was not compatible with US plans to be a leader in the fight against the disease.
The new rules come into force on Monday and the US plans to host a bi-annual global HIV/Aids summit for the first time in 2012.
...In October, President Obama said the entry ban had been "rooted in fear rather than fact".
He said: "We lead the world when it comes to helping stem the Aids pandemic - yet we are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people with HIV from entering our own country."
Just A Thought
It seems the MSM is making a big deal out of Blue Dog Democrats switching parties, joining the GOP and the possibility of losing seats in the House. My question is, what the hell difference does it make what party affiliation they avow if they're not going to vote with the Democrats anyway?
Take for example, Rep. Bobby Bright of Alabama's 2nd District. They sure do like him over at Church's Chicken in Andalusia, Alabama because he a "fine Christian man" even though he is a Democrat. But Bright won largely because he ran as a Democrat, the first for that district in 45 years, in a year when an overwhelming African-American vote awarded him the seat by less than a percentage point. President Obama lost the district to McCain in 2008, but Montgomery most likely won the district for Bright. But overall...
So of what use is he to the Democratic Party in the House? I say if Blue Dogs want to defect the party, let them. If they think having a 'D' after your name is toxic in rural, southern conservative counties, just wait til they have a 'T' (for "Teabag") after it. They may keep their job and win their local election, but they'll be reduced to less than insignificance. And it'll only make clearer what Democratic voters need to do in 2010, 2012 and beyond. Not just elect Democrats, but elect better Democrats. Vote for someone who shares your beliefs and not just because they have a 'D' after their name.Mr. Bright has been such a purebred Blue Dog that he is practically red. He has voted with the Republicans on every significant piece of legislation of his term, including the health care overhaul, the budget and the “cap and trade” energy legislation.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Dumbass Quote of the Day
Brit Hume: "The extent to which [Tiger Woods] can recover seems to me depends on his faith. He is said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. My message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.'"
Curtis Allina Dies at 87
Who is Curtis Allina, you may ask? If it wasn't for Mr. Allina, we would never have had Pez™.
NY TIMES: For nearly three decades after World War II, Mr. Allina was the vice president in charge of United States operations at what is now Pez Candy. In 1955, at his urging, what had been an austerely packaged Austrian confection for adults took on vibrant new life as a children’s product.
That year, the first character dispensers, as they are known in the parlance of Peziana, were issued, giving birth to what is today a highly collectible pop-cultural artifact. Instantly recognizable, the dispensers are slim plastic containers, usually anthropomorphic in design, whose heads — modeled after those of TV characters, cartoon figures or historical personages — flip back to disgorge brick-shaped pieces of candy.
Douchebag of the Week: Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney
McInerney: "If you are an 18-28 year old Muslim man, then you should be strip searched. And if we don't do that, there's a very high probability we're gonna lose an airliner."
Words escape me. McInerney goes on to say that this isn't racial profiling. And he right. It's religious profiling. Why don't we just have all Muslims wear a crescent and star patch on their lapels? That way we know who we're dealing with. After all, it worked for the Nazis.
Plus, there's no way we'd accidentally make a Israeli strip search because he looks Middle Eastern, right? Or an Italian. Or a dark skinned, native born African who may happen to be Christian. That wouldn't happen in this scenario, would it?
Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney (Retired... thankfully): Douchebag of the Week.
(H/T Cesca)
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Quote of the Day
Michelle Bachmann is the new It Girl of Teabagging – the combination sex symbol / Great Conservative Leader for people who think Sarah Palin is a bit soft and a little too book-smart.
Guess Who I Met New Year's Eve?
Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd and his family attended the New Year's Eve Broadway matinee performance of Mary Poppins. I met him as he was being given a backstage tour after the show. He was very friendly and down to earth, and his wife Jackie and their daughters were lovely.
I know that for the most part friendliness is normally the way of politicians in order to secure votes, but I don't live in his state and it felt genuine. Imagine my surprise when after I thanked him for posing for the photo with me, he replied, "Thank you for asking."
Must Reads
Gin and Tacos: The Bomber Will Always Get Through
Chez Pazienza: The Year of Living Painfully
Bob Cesca: Republican Hypocrisy on Terrorism Reaches New Levels of Awful
Dan Pfeiffer: The Same Old Washington Blame Game
Eugene Robinson: Dick Cheney's lies about President Obama
Heather Hurlburt: In Fact, We do Have A Counter-Terrorism Strategy -- And Experts Say It's Producing Results
Kimberly Kindy: Ex-Homeland Security chief head said to abuse public trust by touting body scanners
Will Wright: New Year's Wish: Getting My Country Back
BooMan: Why Support The Democrats?
Friday, January 1, 2010
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