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Happy 2009 Wichita Eagle bloggers and Eagle opinion editors.
Did anybody notice the startling conjunction of the Moon in “ring” of clouds and the planet Venus last night in the Southwestern sky? Perhaps it means good luck for the year 2009.
Of course the Moon is only some 240,000 miles from the Earth and Venus is some 33,000,000 miles from the Earth so its basically an optical illusion.
Of course, the days are now about 15 minutes longer than the shortest day and longest night back on December 21/22nd. So the northern hemisphere is receiving more sunlight to warm the earth for a new Spring.
TEACHING DEMOCRATS NEW TRICKS
Fresh off my triumph over Kwanzaa, I thought I’d mention a couple of other facts that some of us are forced to keep repeating because liberals refuse to learn.
Ravens can learn to snatch fishermen’s untended lines to get fish. Worms learn not to eat harmful bacteria (as opposed to the tasty nutritious bacteria they normally feed on). Fruit fly larvae can learn to detect the scent of predators.
But liberals cannot learn that the Aug. 6, 2001, Presidential Daily Briefing titled “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the U.S.” had not a speck of what we call “useful information.”
I described the Aug. 6 PDB in detail in my 2006 book “Godless: The Church of Liberalism.” The memo read like a fifth-grader’s book report that he left to the last minute and had to quickly cobble together with old information on Google. The only “warnings” of future actions by al-Qaida were completely wrong — for example, suggesting that terrorists might be planning an attack “with explosives” or preparing to attack “federal buildings in New York.”
But liberals cite the Aug. 6 PDB as if it were a clarion warning of the 9/11 attacks.
On Dec. 3 this year, MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann angrily announced that the Aug. 6 PDB “could have included copies of the terrorist itineraries and the message from the future,” but if the president didn’t “act on it or perhaps did not even read it,” it wouldn’t make any difference.
In fact, if Bush had directed all members of the executive branch to drop everything and jump on the “warnings” in the Aug. 6 PDB, bomb-sniffing dogs would have been prowling the nation and police lookouts would have been stationed at federal buildings in New York City — as planes smashed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
True, the title of the PDB was “Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the U.S.” I have a memo on 10,000 waitresses in Los Angeles titled: “Aspiring Actresses Determined to Succeed in Hollywood.”
But liberals endlessly repeat the same falsehoods like Stalinist party members, long after normal people have learned the truth and moved on.
Another Stalinesque classic is the left’s claim that Sen. Saxby Chambliss ran an ad challenging Max Cleland’s patriotism in the 2002 Senate campaign. I’ve seen the ad. You can see it, too: It’s all over the Internet. It does not challenge Cleland’s patriotism.
The ad begins by noting that America is facing “terrorists and extremist dictators” — briefly showing pictures of them — and goes on to say that although Cleland said he “supports Bush at every opportunity,” in fact he had voted against “the president’s vital Homeland security efforts 11 times.”
Again, as I noted in “How to Talk to a Liberal (If You Must),” Cleland voted against the establishment of a Homeland Security Department … because it didn’t allow for unionization of the work force:
OH MY GOD! THERE’S A PLANE HEADED FOR THE WHITE HOUSE!
Sorry, I’m on my break. Please call back in two hours.
It was a completely legitimate campaign ad — urgent in fact — having nothing to do with Cleland’s patriotism, but rather addressing his voting record (and, I would add, his sanity).
And yet, on MSNBC’S “Countdown” the host and guests vented their spleens at the ad all over again this year, during Chambliss’ runoff re-election.
On Nov. 7, Olbermann called it “one of the most shameful moments in the history of American politics.” His equally screechy guest Craig Crawford exclaimed: “I was horrified by what Chambliss did to (Cleland) in that campaign!”
On the Dec. 1 “Countdown,” Margaret Carlson said: “I don’t think enough attention can ever be paid to the ads that were run against Max Cleland. I’m waiting to hear if Chambliss apologizes for that someday.”
At least liberals no longer lyingly claim Cleland lost his limbs because of a Viet Cong grenade. So there is that small victory. Soon, perhaps they’ll learn to stop eating harmful bacteria.
Someday, I could stop writing new columns altogether and could just repost columns and book excerpts I’ve already written disproving the same yarns liberals spin over and over again.
** ** **
CORRECTION
Although I am usually stunningly error-free, due to the obvious urgency of getting my next book out as soon as possible after the election, the recession necessitating a proofreader from Bangalore and the sun being in my eyes, there are some minor editing errors in the first printing of “Guilty: Liberal ‘Victims’ and Their Assault on America.” (Out next week!) This will make the first edition something of a collector’s item, rather like postage stamps with an upside-down airplane.
One error requires advance warning. On Page 89 of my new book, Frank Rich is quoted as referring to a “barrage of McCarthyesque guilt-by-association charges against [the media's] candidate, portraying him as a fellow traveler of bomb-throwing, America-hating, flag-denigrating terrorists.”
Due to an editing error, the brackets around “the media’s” in the above quote were left out, making Rich sound like me. I regret the error, and if Rich doesn’t think it’s an improvement, I apologize to him.
COPYRIGHT 2008 ANN COULTER
DISTRIBUTED BY UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE
1130 Walnut, Kansas City, MO 64106
WELL, That sure isnt much of a start to a “good” New Year, Hank!! Yuck!!! Pewwwww!!!
Headache enhancer!!! Puuuuky!!!
Happy New Year to all my blog friends! May the new year bring you nothing but the best.
Happy New Year, XXX, and to Mrs. XXX… and to everybody else on WEBlog!!
New Years Wishes (Cont’d from yesterday’s Open Thread)
For XXX, a giant air bag for his Harley.
For Nathan, WriterDog’s son, and all those who serve, our country’s sincere thanks.
For Mary, a halo for the caring and difficult work she does.
For Chas, a Standard Tall Fat Unicorn.
For MaggotPunk, a puddle of goo and peace in his heart.
For JWink, a string of beautiful Kansas mornings that he can describe for us.
For Political Mom, a Gloria Steinem autographed bra, partially burned.
More later.
HLP
Posted January 1, 2009 at 6:32 am | Permalink
TEACHING DEMOCRATS NEW TRICKS
========================================================
Hank, I could think of dozens of ways to refute ann’s negative new year crap, but it is a new year, so I’ll just say Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, and may all your dogs win first place ribbons.
And Happy New Year to all bloggers everywhere!!!
LOL… IRAQIS FIREWORKS!
My son called from Iraq New Years eve here and we talked for a while.
He mentioned that last night (for him) he was walking to the midnight chow. When suddenly he heard machine gun fire and the sky was full of tracer rounds! He heard a round come close to him ( a sound that is hard to describe other then a ZAZOOK sound) and he ran back into the building. No sooner did he get through the door when someone shouted
“HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!”.
Here’s hoping your son makes it home safe and sound this new year, Dog!
Happy New Year to everyone! This day brings me back to the memory of my son’s birth. My husband was a little put out that I had the audacity to go into labor on New Year’s Eve, forcing us to miss all the celebrations with our friends. He even half joked that if I gave birth before midnight, “maybe” he could still make it to some of the parties! Well, I didn’t give birth until 3 am, but we were still the lucky ones to have Wichita’s New Year’s baby for 1972. My son turns 37 today, but it still seems like yesterday that he made his debut on TV the day he was born!
“writerdog” cites –
“…machine gun fire and the sky was full of tracer rounds!”
Sorry, but that’s not an “LOL” for me.
I mean, it sorta made me smile, thinking that even so far away on a fool’s errand (the fool being George WMD Bush), there’s a spirit of celebration among our brave fighting troops. There was a moment of “boys will be boys” and “those scamps!”
But then it occurred to me: they are boys. (And girls.) And more than 4,500 of them have died (and five times that many have been damaged for life) to what end?
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have died and millions have been displaced or otherwise had their lives torn asunder because of they guy who still has three weeks to screw up more things had daddy issues vis a vis Sadam Hussein.
I hope those bullets and tracers sent so lightheartedly into the Iraqi sky didn’t come down to earth where a child’s last experience on earth was “ZAZOOK.” Those bullets and tracers
were sent into the air as recklessly as George WMD Bush sent two hundred score Americans into flag-draped (albeit, unphotographed) boxes.
Now, if you want a real “LOL,” try this –
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N8_u1FLu30
Awesome, WH, Bush’e legacy in a 1 minute and 41 second nutshell:-)
#
JWink
Posted January 1, 2009 at 6:15 am | Permalink
Of course, the days are now about 15 minutes longer than the shortest day and longest night back on December 21/22nd. So the northern hemisphere is receiving more sunlight to warm the earth for a new Spring.
=======================================================
Awesome!!! Where’s my shorts and golf clubs???
Sad, isn’t it? Has any other president done so poorly?
#
JWink
Posted January 1, 2009 at 6:09 am | Permalink
Did anybody notice the startling conjunction of the Moon in “ring” of clouds and the planet Venus last night in the Southwestern sky? Perhaps it means good luck for the year 2009.
Of course the Moon is only some 240,000 miles from the Earth and Venus is some 33,000,000 miles from the Earth so its basically an optical illusion.
=======================================================
Every year, it (the moon) moves about an inch further from Earth. Ultimately, the Earth will begin to tilt greater than the current 23 degrees… The END IS coming…
#
Mary_Caruso
Posted January 1, 2009 at 9:49 am | Permalink
Well, I didn’t give birth until 3 am, but we were still the lucky ones to have Wichita’s New Year’s baby for 1972. My son turns 37 today, but it still seems like yesterday that he made his debut on TV the day he was born!
_________________________________________________
Mary,
Today is Mrs XXX’s birthday. She was the first baby of the new year in Ark City.
Cool! The only downside is that usually no one feels like celebrating on New Year’s Day!
Today is Mrs XXX’s birthday. She was the first baby of the new year in Ark City.
I’ve heard of child brides, but today is really quick!
j/k
Happy Birthday to Mrs. XXX.
Damn!
We Janus people (looking forward and looking back) are taking over!
I was born at 6:30 in the morning, January First, Nineteen Mumble-Mumble.
I was six or seven years old before I realized they didn’t have parades on TV (”In COLOR!”) for everyone’s birthday.
Must suck to be you.
;^)
“Ultimately, the Earth will begin to tilt greater than the current 23 degrees… The END IS coming…”
12-21-2012, pole shift baby!
Or not.
I have an old friend who had both her sons on Christmas..and they were 2 years apart!
Monkeyhawk,
I watched the You Tube link and like you told writerdog, “Sorry, but that’s not an “LOL” for me.” I can’t find anything about the devastation of everything bushco had a hand in laughable. You’re right, there is still time for them to screw up something more.
19 days, 18 hours, 58 minutes, 33 seconds
Happy birthday to all the start of the year babies! Hope today is special and the first day of your best year yet!
The blog seems unusually quiet this morning. I wonder how many of our friends are sleeping off a hangover? LOL…there is something really gratifying about losing the desire to party all night on New Year’s Eve!
We went out with friends for a few hours, but early, before most started their partying. We were home around 9:30 and greeted the New Year this morning. I’m not sure, Mary, whether we lost the desire or ability to party all night, but it’s great to feel just as good when you get up as when you went to bed.
You got that right! There were many years when I woke up New Years Day and wished we would have stayed home instead! But I also have a lot of good memories of celebrating with our family and friends. It used to be such a big deal to me to get all dressed up and go out to some fancy party. Now it feels good to just stay home, make some popcorn, and watch a good movie. Getting older isn’t so bad.
Yo, XXX, happy b-day to the little lady!!!
Any resolutions?
Monkeyhawk as literate as you are I am sure you would understand what I mean by this sure is a
“Greek tragedy” for me. And yes I brought the fact up too to him about what goes up also comes down.
The act of shooting blindly into the air is not limited to a war zone. I heard gunshots in my little town last night too. “Stupid is as stupid does”, a part of this Greek tragedy is I do not disagree with most of what you said. And to a certain extent my son does not disagree either, but the issue that brought him to enlist was not the issue of the right or wrong of the occupation of Iraq. It was one of the facts you sited, there were those whom were no different then him fighting and dying and he was not so special that he should not be there for them. Irony is he is what the Neo-Conservatives would call a “noble” one who’s motivation is a sense of duty and honor that leads them into a situation that other would run from because it is not the easy thing to do. I am not sure exactly where he got that from, must have been his mother?
The LOL came from what else can you do? He is in a place that the majority will see him as the invader not the liberator. Having heard that sound means the bullet was close and close means you can be hit by the next one. Irony is often the only tool left when it is a situation where nothing else is left to deal with it.
Part of his normal job at the FOB takes him above the sixth floor of a eight story building and he has to wear full body armor as the windows above the sixth floor are not bricked in. often those going above the sixth floor are subject to sniper fire. Now he thinks it might be a good idea to wear it also to go to chow!
A wise man once told me a saying, “You have to laugh about it, as grown men are not supposed to cry”.
He did not get hit and the FOB was not under attack for that I will choose to laugh out loud since the other option does me no good to do either.
I know this is not meant a personal attack, we are both in that place where the soldiers can not discuss or conclude the right and wrong of this occupation. That leaves it to us to do the talking in their stead.
So we do and you and I are in the same corner where we do not think this country did the right thing by invading and occupying Iraq. I refer to it as the worst mistake this country has made. See the Greek tragedy? Being one of the old dogs, I can afford such opinions I would rather it be I dodging the raining bullets than my son. But being an old dog I am left to lying on the porch and growling at the Raccoons as they pass and no longer hunt them. My son was laughing about this incident too, part of that is because grown men are not suppose to cry. Such things come with the job… He is 82nd airborne.
Now lets continue to growl at the coons as they pass shall we?
The very best to your son and his family (that includes you and Mrs. Dog!). Tough duty! I am ecstatic he was in a position to laugh. You’re right that “the boys will be boys” actions could have been another tragedy and it’s worth a laugh that it wasn’t! I’m sure every contact, every time you hear his voice is a moment of relief and celebration.
I’m glad that you recognize you and Monkeyhawk are in the same corner too! The growling does need to be aimed in the right directions.
#
Mary_Caruso
Posted January 1, 2009 at 11:05 am | Permalink
LOL…there is something really gratifying about losing the desire to party all night on New Year’s Eve!
_________________________________________________
Ain’t it the truth! I gave up drinking 25 or so years ago. I got tired of being sick for 2-3 days after a falling down drunk.
Last night Mrs XXX and I had a glass of bubbly to ring in the new year at home. We prefer to surrender the streets to the drunks on New Years Eve.
#
Regular
Posted January 1, 2009 at 10:55 am | Permalink
I’ve heard of child brides, but today is really quick!
j/k
Happy Birthday to Mrs. XXX.
________________________________________________
Truer than you may think…I’ve got 15 years on her.
Being a New Year baby kind of sucks. Everybody wants to combine Christmas and Birthday presents.
Thanks to Reg and JM for their kind b-day wishes for Mrs XXX.
My resolutions include us getting totally out of debt (including paying off the house), working less but more effectively, and to continue my exercise regime.
…and to finish the bathroom remodel.
Thanks Linda, in a real sense any death or destruction is more a tragedy when it occurs in an attempt to do what you see as the right thing to do. There are those whom dismiss it as the price that has to be paid to accomplish the “good mission”. If a thousand children are killed but the one bad man is also killed than the children was the cost of stopping the bad man. But needless to say if you kill a thousand children then it bring into question whom was really the bad man? I whole heartily agree with Colin Powell and his pottery barn theory. We have to fix Iraq since we bought the place by invading it.
The very fact that people can fire full automatic weapons in the air is a sign that we still are not fixing Iraq.
Would such actions done in Wichita be accepted as normal and sensible actions? Iraq will be fixed finally when people can live without having to accept the danger of weapons being fired and hearing gunshot as a part of just normal everyday life. How to do it? The people of Iraq might come to feel they do not have to accept it. Imagine an America where it is the norm for every household to have an Ak47 for protection?
Just the fact that the Government in Iraq concedes that every household should is not a good sign of the country’s condition. Not to mention that is makes the work of the authority, our troops included in trying to find and stop those bent on ruining any chance of a peaceful Iraq. That much harder since how can you tell the bad guys whom have AK47 from the honest home owners whom have an AK47 in their home?
Another LOL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EvNJWM_NDg&NR=1
I think it would be sweet of the editorial staff to post a “George W Bush on youtube.com” blog entry sometime before the inauguration.
There is certainly no question now why this idiot could never have wide-open press conferences, or videotaped townhall meetings with anybody other than handpicked attendees, or indeed why he took more vacation time than any president in history.
Hell, even with all these ridiculous attempts to control the public’s image of Bush, there are TONS of these kinds of videos on the web.
It would be fun to have a blog entry here where posters could link to their favorites. Maybe on inauguration day? Might set a record!
Great idea, Pedant!
I think I can laugh at him once he is gone. Until then, he is still much too dangerous.
Happy New Year, everyone. I was going to go see the movie Milk, but I see that it is already gone. Will have to rent the DVD, I guess.
I think outlander needs a “gift”, too. Will have to ponder that one.
Hey Hank, could we get you to post a warning that an Ann Coulter rant follows. I mistakenly read a couple of lines of that trash. I sincerely believe that reading that stuff is not good for a person.
outlander posted December 31, 2008 at 6:46 pm
For Cosmos; an Al Gore model green moped.
———–
For outlander; an OISM petition card, so he can pretend that he knows more about Earth’s climate than the thousands of scientists who have studied it since the 1800’s.
outlander,
Since you claim that you, a non-liberal, can understand what liberals can not, please explain some “scientific” points about the OISM petition.
1) How hot is “catastrophic heating of the Earth’s atmosphere”? How many degrees? Is that “catastrophic” to life, with maybe a few humans managing to survive underground? Or hotter?
2) How long is the “foreseeable future”? Decades? Centuries? Longer?
Long, but well worth the time to read every word.
——-
Farewell to All That: An Oral History of the Bush White House
The threat of 9/11 ignored. The threat of Iraq hyped and manipulated. Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib. Hurricane Katrina. The shredding of civil liberties. The rise of Iran. Global warming. Economic disaster. How did one two-term presidency go so wrong? A sweeping draft of history—distilled from scores of interviews—offers fresh insight into the roles of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, and other key players.
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/02/bush-oral-history200902
StevenEDavis posted January 1, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Hey Hank, could we get you to post a warning that an Ann Coulter rant follows.
————
The best way is whenever you see “HLP” at the top of the post, just scroll down to the next post.
New Year’s Wishes (cont’d from above)
For Sol: A Ron Paul action figure, in armor, tilting at windmills. When you pull the string, it says; “I told you so”!
To Steven Davis (a tough one), a rapping Sigmund Freud doll and a 5 year collection the best of NPR’s “All Things Considered”.
Oh, and a late arrival for Cosmos. A tee shirt with a picture of the world on it. Underneath, the caption reads: “Saving the planet, one hyperlink at a time”.
Happy New Year to all.
“outlander” –
Do you have any funny ones?
Submitted for nothing more than interest sake.
Today 1 1 09.
outlander,
I got you a tee shirt also.
Front:
“I HATE carbon taxes more than I love humans.”
Back:
“Certified 100% ignorant of climate science.“
It’s nice to see that with all the lay-offs, Annthrax Coulter will still have a reading audience in the 22 percent who still think that George W. wasn’t the worst-president-ever . . .
ANNUAL GROWTH RATE IN THE S&P 500
Carter . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7%
Reagan . . . . . . . . . .. . 10%
HW Bush . . . . . . . . . . 13%
Clinton . . . . . . . . . . . . 16%
WorstPresidentEver . . .-2.4%
Gift for outlander–sense of humor . . .
Gift for Regular–a friend who isn’t made of inflatable plastic . . .
Gift for Hank–rifle/pistol warmer so that they aren’t so cold when he crawls into bed to sleep with them . . .
Cosmos– “Just scroll over HLP”
Good advice, my friend.
Since Russia cut off gas to the Ukraine, does that count for Obama’s second test?
When we won’t even take the time to deconstruct Coulter’s assertions, you know she’s become irrelevant and not worthy of the small effort it would take.
I suspect Rush is not far behind.
lindainks55
Posted January 1, 2009 at 1:09 pm | Permalink
Long, but well worth the time to read every word.
—
Fascinating. Thanks for the link.
Speaking of linda’s link:
Richard Clarke, chief White House counterterrorism adviser: We went into a period in June [2001] where the tempo of intelligence about an impending large-scale attack went up a lot, to the kind of cycle that we’d only seen once or twice before. And we told Condi that. She didn’t do anything. She said, Well, make sure you’re coordinating with the agencies, which, of course, I was doing. By August, I was saying to Condi and to the agencies that the intelligence isn’t coming in at such a rapid rate anymore as it was in the June-July time frame. But that doesn’t mean the attack isn’t going to happen. It just means that they may be in place.
On September 4, we had a principals meeting. The most telling thing for me about the attitude of these people was on the decision that had been pending for a long time to resume Predator [remote-controlled drone] flights over Afghanistan, and to now do what we couldn’t have done in the Clinton administration because the technology wasn’t ready: put a weapon on the Predator and use it as not only a hunter but a killer.
We had seen bin Laden when we had it in the Clinton administration, as just a hunter. We had seen him. So we thought, Man, if we could get this with a hunter-killer, we could see him again and kill him. So finally we have a principals meeting and the C.I.A. says it’s not our job to fly the Predator armed. And D.O.D. says it’s not our job to fly an unarmed aircraft.
I just couldn’t believe it. This is the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the director of C.I.A. sitting there, both passing the football because neither one of them wanted to go kill bin Laden.
—
Amazing.
More from linda’s VF link:
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2009/02/bush-oral-history200902?currentPage=4
Jesselyn Radack, ethics adviser at the Department of Justice:
I was called with the specific question of whether or not the F.B.I. on the ground could interrogate [Lindh] without counsel. And I had been told unambiguously that Lindh’s parents had retained counsel for him. I gave that advice on a Friday, and the same attorney at Justice who inquired called back on Monday and said essentially, Oops, they did it anyway. They interrogated him anyway. What should we do now? My office was there to help correct mistakes. And I said, Well, this is an unethical interrogation, so you should seal it off and use it only for intelligence-gathering purposes or national security, but not for criminal prosecution.
A few weeks later, Attorney General Ashcroft held one of his dramatic press conferences, in which he announced a complaint being filed against Lindh. He was asked if Lindh had been permitted counsel. And he said, in effect, To our knowledge, the subject has not requested counsel. That was just completely false. About two weeks after that he held another press conference, because this was the first high-profile terrorism prosecution after 9/11. And in that press conference he was asked again about Lindh’s rights, and he said that Lindh’s rights had been carefully, scrupulously guarded, which, again, was contrary to the facts, and contrary to the picture that was circulating around the world of Lindh blindfolded, gagged, naked, bound to a board.
Some New Year’s Day fun! Maybe HLP (and Mrs. HLP!) will take heed. (giggle)
PhoneCallToTheChiropractor 4:37
Shoot! Guess I’ll need to go back to the drawing board on how to get the link live.
I can’t. I’m not smart enough. ;-(
Sure was funny! I know some of you would have enjoyed it!
Maybe after this invaluable tool for older dummies is launched I will be able to do something on this ‘puter. Until then, I’ll mumble a lot…
————
Google Launches ‘The Google’ For Older Adults
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—The popular search engine Google announced plans Friday to launch a new site, TheGoogle.com, to appeal to older adults not able to navigate the original website’s single text field and two clearly marked buttons.
“The Google will have all the same information currently found on regular Google, but with the added features of not stealing your credit-card numbers or giving your computer all kinds of viruses,” said Rick Tillich, The Google project director. “All you have to do to turn the website on is put the little blinking line thing in the cyberspace window at the top of the screen, type ‘thegoogle.com,’ and press ‘return’—although it will also recognize http.wwwthegoogle.com, google.aol, and ‘THEGOOGLE’ typed into a Word document.”
Tillich added that he hopes the site will soon replace Yahoo Internet Website.com as the most popular search engine for users over 55.
http://www.theonion.com/content/news_briefs/google_launches_the_google?utm_source=onion_rss_daily
Linda,
That Vanity Fair article was sure good. I wrote to Dan Froomkin about his take on the movie “W” – he did not care much for it – but he said the uniform reaction of the audience after if was over was “How could we have let that happen?” I had that same thought after reading your article.
To Steven Davis (a tough one), a rapping Sigmund Freud doll and a 5 year collection the best of NPR’s “All Things Considered”.
Thanks outlander, I actually would like either of those.
Kenneth Adelman, a member of Donald Rumsfeld’s advisory Defense Policy Board:
So he says, It might be best if you got off the Defense Policy Board. You’re very negative. I said, I am negative, Don. You’re absolutely right. I’m not negative about our friendship. But I think your decisions have been abysmal when it really counted.
Start out with, you know, when you stood up there and said things—“Stuff happens.” I said, That’s your entry in Bartlett’s. The only thing people will remember about you is “Stuff happens.” I mean, how could you say that? “This is what free people do.” This is not what free people do. This is what barbarians do. And I said, Do you realize what the looting did to us? It legitimized the idea that liberation comes with chaos rather than with freedom and a better life. And it demystified the potency of American forces. Plus, destroying, what, 30 percent of the infrastructure.
I said, You have 140,000 troops there, and they didn’t do jack shit. I said, There was no order to stop the looting. And he says, There was an order. I said, Well, did you give the order? He says, I didn’t give the order, but someone around here gave the order. I said, Who gave the order?
So he takes out his yellow pad of paper and he writes down—he says, I’m going to tell you. I’ll get back to you and tell you. And I said, I’d like to know who gave the order, and write down the second question on your yellow pad there. Tell me why 140,000 U.S. troops in Iraq disobeyed the order. Write that down, too.
And so that was not a successful conversation.
—
It would appear that the name Augustus Stupidus is perhaps too kind.
This story (which I’m reading while watching football) is making me sick to my stomach.
Very true!
‘2008 Year in review‘
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2008/12/2008-year-in-review/langswitch_lang/in
“Most clueless US politician taking about climate change (with the exception of Senator Inhofe who’d always win):
Sarah Palin:
Well, we’re the only Arctic state, of course, Alaska. So we feel the impacts more than any other state, up there with the changes in climates. And certainly, it is apparent. We have erosion issues. And we have melting sea ice, of course. [….] You know there are – there are man’s activities that can be contributed to the issues that we’re dealing with now, these impacts. I’m not going to solely blame all of man’s activities on changes in climate.
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More categories at link.
April 28, 2004 A televised report on 60 Minutes II reveals widespread abuse and humiliation of detainees by U.S. military personnel and private contractors at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, dating back to October 2003 and known to the Defense Department since January.
Kenneth Adelman, a member of Donald Rumsfeld’s advisory Defense Policy Board:
I said to Rumsfeld, Well, the way you handled Abu Ghraib I thought was abysmal. He says, What do you mean? I say, It broke in January of—what was that, ‘04? Yeah, ‘04. And you didn’t do jack shit till it was revealed in the spring. He says, That’s totally unfair. I didn’t have the information. I said, What information did you have? You had the information that we had done these—and there were photos. You knew about the photos, didn’t you? He says, I didn’t see the photos. I couldn’t get those photos. A lot of stuff happens around here. I don’t follow every story. I say, Excuse me, but I thought in one of the testimonies you said you told the president about Abu Ghraib in January. And if it was big enough to tell the president, wasn’t it big enough to do something about? He says, Well, I couldn’t get the photos. I say, You’re secretary of defense. Somebody in the building who works for you has photos, and for five months you can’t get photos—hello?
Lawrence Wilkerson:
The twin pressures were from Rumsfeld, and they were: Produce intelligence, and the gloves are off. That’s the communication that went down to the field.
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Nathan? You there? You asked for any proof* that the administration authorized torture in Iraq.
Here you go.
*-But you meant “evidence,” not “proof.”
Matthew Dowd, Bush’s pollster and chief strategist for the 2004 presidential campaign:
When Abu Ghraib happened, I was like, We’ve got to fire Rumsfeld. Like if we’re the “accountability president,” we haven’t really done this. We don’t veto any bills. We don’t fire anybody. I was like, Well, this is a disaster, and we’re going to hold some National Guard colonel responsible? This guy’s got to get fired.
For an M.B.A. president, he got the M.B.A. 101 stuff down, which is, you know, you don’t have to do everything. Let other people do it. But M.B.A. 201 is: Hold people accountable.
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Actually, it’s M.B.A. 101. But bingo anyway.
Another Bush Youtube….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfwRb_XKFvA&NR=1
David Kuo, deputy director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives:
After the 2004 election they cut the White House faith-based staff by 30 percent, 40 percent, because it became clear that it had served its purpose.
There’s this idea that the Bush White House was dominated by religious conservatives and catered to the needs of religious conservatives. But what people miss is that religious conservatives and the Republican Party have always had a very uneasy relationship. The reality in the White House is—if you look at the most senior staff—you’re seeing people who aren’t personally religious and have no particular affection for people who are religious-right leaders. Now, at the end of the day, that’s easy to understand, because most of the people who are religious-right leaders are not easy to like. It’s that old Gandhi thing, right? I might actually be a Christian myself, except for the action of Christians.
And so in the political-affairs shop in particular, you saw a lot of people who just rolled their eyes at everyone from Rich Cizik, who is one of the heads of the National Association of Evangelicals, to James Dobson, to basically every religious-right leader that was out there, because they just found them annoying and insufferable. These guys were pains in the butt who had to be accommodated.
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This gets back to outlander’s point. These old testament prophet types are “pains in the butt who had to be accommodated” for the GOP, and for the Democrats they’re poison, men to be reviled, even ridiculed publicly.
If it’s really true that the country as a whole is split 54/46 Democrat/Republic, then it becomes pretty obvious how ineffective guys like Dobson are in effecting far more heat than change. If even half your side is willing to follow Dobson, then what can his brand of political evangelism really gain when it’s split the voting public into 77/23?
Ans: Barrack Obama, that’s what they gain.
Joschka Fischer, German foreign minister and vice-chancellor:
I was invited to a conference in Saudi Arabia on Iraq, and a Saudi said to me, Look, Mr. Fischer, when President Bush wants to visit Baghdad, it’s a state secret, and he has to enter the country in the middle of the night and through the back door. When President Ahmadinejad wants to visit Baghdad, it’s announced two weeks beforehand or three weeks. He arrives in the brightest sunshine and travels in an open car through a cheering crowd to downtown Baghdad. Now, tell me, Mr. Fischer, who is running the country?
Hey, Linda, Pendant liked that link also.
A rap lyric for my Sigmund Freud doll:
Yoooooooooooooooooooooooooo, brutha,
You shouldn’t be thinking that about yo mutha…
Sung in a Viennese accent, of course.
Pedant not Pendant – sorry, that would be something different.
Steven,
I think Pedant, you and I found the story at that link mesmerizing, atrocious, fascinating, sickening and a whole slew of other descriptive terms.
As you stated, “How could we have let that happen?”
And then Pedant remarked, “This story (which I’m reading while watching football) is making me sick to my stomach.”
I knew it was too long for many to read, I wish everyone would. We can’t ever allow a repeat of bushco.
outlander gave me Obama jamas and a feather pillow. Nice man, huh?!
Happy New Year to one and all!
I wish every one on the BLOG all the Blessings of the new year.
May you all enjoy good health and happiness!
May our new president be all you hope him to be and the man we need for our troubling times!
Bucket list. The hell with New Year’s resolutions, have you made your bucket list yet?
I haven’t, but since seeing the movie I’ve thought about it. I first saw the movie on a flight to Seattle to get our new puppy.
I saw it on HBO the other night and I think it would be a hoot to make one and actually work toward checking off some of the items.
So. . .If you made a list of ten things that you would put on a bucket list (Outlandish as you want, but achievable) what would be number one?
Happy New Year 2009:
It appears that the same level of corruption and wrongful acts under the color of law will continue in the SG County court for 2009. It is very disturbing to see that the DC 18 website and crooked judges are at work to make it where pro se’ litigants cannot get court records.
I would imagine this wrongful action was accomplished in coordination with one judge who always seemed worried that court documents would be fairly examined and that SG County might actually have to hold a fair hearing on an issue.
Judges hate to lose to pro se litigants.
The SG County court is rotten to the core. They have now set up to where NO case manager can be cross examined. This violates the Constitutution. SG County judges hate the C word,since the Constitution does not apply in SG County! After all no bill of rights was good enough for Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union,why not SG county?
If you were on trial or involved in a case,facing and deposing your adverseries is part of the process. No defense attorney (except maybe in SG county)would accept anyone testifying as an
“expert” without cross examination.
Everyone knows the case managers are there to get $$$ for SG county and are your adverseries if you do not want to hand your kids and all your money
to the county,even the Kansas SRS head official admitted corruption.
The crooked judges also know their in bred cousins who are case managers would fall apart under oath. They scour the earth seeking whom they may devour.
The lack of cross examination capability is the final backstop for crooked judges if the judge (who is actually the DA or any litigants real opposition) is losing the case to a pro se’ litigant.
No cases are probably ever won by other than pro se litigants because your SG county defense attorney works for the other team and the crooked judge, just like the revamped song says:
(Sing to the tune- That’s the night the lights went out in Georgia)
“Don’t trust your soul to no back woods Sedgwick lawyer cause the judge and the town got blood stains on their hands!”
How can Fleetwood ajudicate a child support case? His denomination will not allow a person to advance in “spiritual steps” if they owe back child support,funny I never read that in the good book.
So anyone owing child support (rightly or WRONGLY) would be an infidel to Fleetwood. He should recuse himself from every monetary case.
In my case they manipulated court procedure, refused to allow motions on the record, and violated the law and Constitution at every turn.
They thought themselves above the law, demigods in their own mind like Fleetwood, who violated the law by hearing a civil matter, which was the same root of their falsified and fraudulent “warrant” which was still open.
They think to this day I am stupid and slow and do not recognize their continuing unlawful conduct. Just like Goliath said to David,Am I a dog that you bring this whelp to challenge a great evil giant like me?
A correct analogy of the Fleetwood action would be that a man is falsely accused of robbing a bank. It is later discovered that another man robbed the bank and the innocent man is acquitted, yet according to the Fleetwood court a civil proceeding would stand against the innocent man for the money robbed from the bank.
Whether guilty or innocent no civil matter is to proceed (by Kansas statute) until a determination is made in a criminal proceeding.
Because I faced a falsely sworn oath and falsely obtainted warrant I was denied DUE PROCESS by the Fleetwood civil court which he well knew. A crook to the end,SG County knew even with the Brady amendment they would lose big becuause of well documented fraud and the severity of my injuries. What did Fleetwood do: VIOLATE KANSAS STATUTE.
I never hear anything from the criminal officials I blog about becuause THEY WERE WRONG,UNLAWFUL AND LOST.
Sorry to tell you Fleetwood,It is GOD who decides who is right and wrong spiritually,not you or the mormon church. Don’t worry the good book has specific words for those like Fleetwood who maintain a crooked and unjust scale and balance.
In the book of Daniel all the crooked government officials ended up being consumed by the lions while Daniel was unscathed. Sound familiar Pilshaw and Ware? Maybe if you would have NOT completed SO MANY WRONGFUL ACTS UNDER THE COLOR OF LAW YOU WOULD STILL HAVE A JOB!
Sincere thanks to the voters for getting rid of these two evil people who committed fraud in my case but eventualy lost.
It will take a while before their replacements are up to speed on how to complete criminal acts under the color of law as expected by the DA!
Hank – good point about a bucket list. As another one in your age bracket I can definitely understand!
Hey Ben,
Been pretty fortunate in life, most of my regrets are from things I tried and screwed up. Not too many regrets from things I haven’t tried.
Joyce and I are making a list of things to do in future. Mostly travel. We’ve been to a lot of places, still a few we want to see.
France in a canal boat. We’d like to rent a canal boat a couple of places in France. Germany and England too.
Joyce wants to see Switzerland, Sweden and Norway. I’d like to ski Chili in July.
We’ve actually done or been to a lot of the places on the bucket list in the movie.
I want to own 5-10 square miles of wild natural land and build a self sufficient home in the middle…and never have to work for someone again.
HLP’s list is probably easier to achieve than mine, but I am a dreamer….unless I win the lotto!
I would also like to visit the Nordic countries.
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ANTI
Posted January 1, 2009 at 8:22 pm | Permalink
I want to own 5-10 square miles of wild natural land and build a self sufficient home in the middle…and never have to work for someone again.
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Santa has already taken that position and plot of land.
Santa has already taken that position and plot of land.
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That dirty SOB!!!
I shouldn’t say that about Santa, he’s a rugged individualist like myself.
Anyone know of a good rock/country band, thinking of getting one for a daughters wedding reception. Haven’t really decided between that or a d.j.
IowaJoe–
Do you know Herbert West the Third?
You should exchange phone numbers and then you could leave rational people alone.
Speaking of movies, The Visitor is really an excellent one to watch. I got the tip from an NPR Talk of the Nation program and I am here to tell you it was a great DVD.
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