Balderdash

Godless and Now Customerless

2006-09-19T18:48:00.000-05:00

I belong to the History Book Club.  Civil War, Adams, Spanish Armada..history.

Today I received my monthly choices.  Among them is Ann Coulter’s Godless.

I am quitting tomorrow.  She is not history, she is right wing lying trash.

The Man Behind the Curtain

2006-09-08T08:57:00.000-05:00

As I was reading Tristero, as all of my readers [Hello..HELLO out there. Nevermind] should it struck me that perhaps GWB has what might be called the Great Wall of Intellect. It is as if nothing the man says is, or could possibly have been, subject to an introspective examination. External ideas cannot breach the Great Wall for any consideration. This is not to say anything of substance lies behind said wall, of course.

Tristero thusly says,

I truly am sorry that the man who is currently occupying the White House, arguably the most powerful person in the history of the world, is an incompetent, delusional liar, and that his administration has set new lows for corruption and criminal behavior.*** But that's the way it is. "Balance" isn't achieved by lying about Clinton in a vain attempt to make his administration appear as dreadful as Bush's. It wasn't. Not even close. Yes, Clinton was far from perfect, sometimes he made terrible choices. But 9/11, Iraq, Katrina, the deficit, the wholesale destruction of science and health standards, the high oil prices, the war profiteering, the debacle in Afghanistan, the shredding of the Bill of Rights and so on, so on, so on - those are Bush's full responsibility. He created many of them out of empty air. They are his fault. And that is unfortunate. Very unfortunate. Because Bush has no idea what he is doing and he still has two more years plus to wreak even more damage, even if, mirabile dictu, Republicans lose either or both of their legislative majorities.

Perhaps the Great Wall has been breached and empty air lies behind it.

Bogeymen

2006-09-03T12:32:00.000-05:00

While reading Atrios, who quotes Glenn Greenwald, it struck me that we have been there before, although before, the fears were a bit more rational.  The early fears of the cold war, right after the Soviets acquired atomic weapons, and in the era of the “hordes” of Chinese crossing the border in Korea, were hysterical.  The hysterics led to McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee.  It led to personal bomb shelters in the early sixties.  It led to practicing “duck and cover” in grade schools, when anyone with sense knew that if a nuclear explosion occurred near enough, “duck and cover” was useless and if it were far away, such procedures were unnecessary.  Gradually, although the Soviets remained rather belligerent, the hysteria subsided.

The post-9/11 era is similar.  The hysteria is, as largely in the 50s, Republican generated and it is greedily ingested by those unfamiliar with cognitive procedures.  The enemy is now the great undifferentiated bulk that is Islam.  And how inconvenient it is that the bogeyman is not a singular horror, but a mixture of Arab, Pakistani, Irani, Turkish (who, of course, get a pass) and (let’s not forget the largest Islamic nation) Indonesian nationalities that practice two, historically incompatible forms of Islam.  As a result, rather than focusing on the small, radical Wahabi sect exemplified by Osama bin Laden, which is too small to generate an appropriate hysterical response, the Bushies have expanded it to all of Islam, most of which is not radicalized against Western civilization.

For this administration it has never really been a war on terror.  It has been use of 9/11 to fight wars for oil and wars for votes and wars for the misplaced visceral delight that, along with intense hatred, drives the wingnuts

And the Devil has Initials MM

2006-07-31T05:48:00.000-05:00

Jonah Goldberg

I sincerely doubt some of the people emailing me would be as quick to condemn if the person involved was, say, Michael Moore.

Damnation based on a false hypothesis, glibly inserted into an otherwise borderline sensible post.

Left and Right

2006-07-30T09:51:00.000-05:00

If you look around you see Kos, Atrios and Jane Hamsher who aggressively and positively support various Democratic candidates, and who are concerned about organization and structure.  On the right, I see nothing even close to their approach.  Most right wing commentary/focus lies in reaction, snark and mindless opinion.

The activists of the left, and they are activists, fight the entrenched lethargy of the Democratic Party establishment while the right mindlessly parrots the, admittedly more successful, strategies of the Republican Party.

The left is active and vital.  The right is stultified.

Let’s see what happens.

Osama bin Stem Cell

2006-07-17T17:08:00.000-05:00

Does anyone remember that Bush was fiddling with stem cells when he should have been paying attention to Osama back in 2001?

Just saying.

The Name's the Thing

2006-07-03T12:24:00.000-05:00

"Petitioning Democrat". A polemic worthy of the Bush Administration, like the “Healthy Forest” Initiative.

The Power Hungry

2006-07-01T10:42:00.000-05:00

The Hamden vs. Rumsfeld decision has generated much philosophical passion, much of it at Unclaimed Territory. Read it all. Paul Waldeman also chimes in. A few major points are:

The control of discourse by the Right.

The polemical repudiation of opposition to the Right.

Gratuitous accusations of treason.

We do not only need to convince voter A that he will be better off with a one payer health care. We need to convince voters that the tactics of this administration are a threat to them.

New Relations

2006-06-27T11:27:00.000-05:00

If a Democrat is elected president in 2008, it will be very interesting to see how he/she relates to the liberal blogs. Blogs did not really exist in 2000, Clinton’s last year.

Bobo's Bathtub

2006-06-25T11:50:00.000-05:00

Both Steve M. and Atrios tackle the latest fart from the mind of David Brooks, aka Bobo. Steve’s excellent point is that much happened in the corrupt world that is Jack Abramoff to merit discussion, yet Bobo chose to discuss Kos. Atrios focuses on the substance of Bobo’s screed and finds a wind sandwich.

I guess we must conclude that Bobo discusses unimportant things poorly. This has now been independently verified.

Sauron of Blogdor

2006-06-25T09:56:00.000-05:00

An amazing insight into the kerfuffle that is Kos the Master of us all (although I get hand-me-down orders).

Kos controlling The Rude Pundit.

Is that power, or what?

Iraq and Repug Tactics

2006-06-25T09:41:00.000-05:00

Case one:  9/11.  Joe Lieberman proposes Dept. of Homeland Security.  Administration poo-poos it.  Administration proposes Department of Homeland Security.  Administration configures it with a poison pill for Democrats (destruction of labor representation).  Bill passes, Democrats excoriated for opposing it.

Result:  Credit for Department goes entirely to Republicans

Case 2: War in Iraq sinks into quagmire.  Jack Murtha (and others) propose withdrawal/redeployment.  Administration poo-poos it. Administration proposes withdrawal/redeployment….

Question for the class:  What will be the poison pill?

Leaving on a Jet Plane?

2006-06-24T13:30:00.000-05:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13521628/site/newsweek/

Timetable? Don’t talk to me about no fucking timetable..

Just imagine how weak we’d look if we left at the request of the legitimate, duly elected, government.

Oh, the horror.

The New Republic

2006-06-24T11:35:00.000-05:00

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/6/23/232223/963

TNR had Greg Easterbook writing for it.

Enough reason to ignore it completely.

An Observation

2006-05-05T09:27:00.000-05:00

The Moose is simply unpalatable.

Political Advantage

2006-04-13T06:36:00.000-05:00

Another day of commentary. Still no answer to the question of why the bio-lab report that says they were not WMD labs was made secret. How does knowing about two trailers that do not have anything to do with weapons endanger the national security?

We know it endangered Bush’s political security. Are documents make secret to hide administration lies? We know they are declassified to provide political advantage. It seems they are also classified to provide political advantage.

Secret?

2006-04-12T07:56:00.000-05:00

Why did the report debunking the “bio-trailers” wind up being classified secret? The discussion of them as found WMDs was not classified. Who classified the report? Bush?

Back

2006-04-12T07:52:00.000-05:00

Just checking.

Artificial Sportsmen

2006-02-15T08:21:00.000-05:00

My father grew up dirt poor in the south during the 20s and 30s. He spent many an hour out shooting a rabbit, or squirrel, or maybe quail for dinner. He was lucky and developed a good career, so we were comfortable, but he never had an urge as an adult, ever, to hunt. He always viewed the shooting he did when he was young as a chore and never understood the “sportsman” aspect of it.

When did hunting become a sport?

The Invisible Victim

2006-02-13T09:31:00.000-05:00

I always thought a hospital that admitted a gunshot victim was required to report it to authorities. Guess I was wrong.

Colonel Klink and Grune Fussballen

2006-02-01T13:30:00.000-05:00

Steve M. and Glenn Greenwald discuss, at some length, the flap in Minnesota regarding the portrayal of a Republican candidate as Col. Klink, who is better known as an idiot than a Nazi, but that’s semantics.  Steve and Glenn extend the discussion to other incidents and note, if not bemoan, the different codes applied to left and right when such comparisons are used.

The issue caused me to consider how the great unwashed masses of Nazi party members, or Nazi voters if not members, behaved in the early 1930s.  Did they act as if Der Fuhrer was infallible and any criticism was unpatriotic, or did they engage in substantive policy discussions that resulted in an informed electorate that understood the strengths and weaknesses of Der Fuhrer?  Did they ridicule and verbally attack their opponents, calling them traitors, or did they acknowledge the legitimacy of dissent?  Did they fully support the loss of German freedoms in the name of security or did they resist such efforts?  If they had blogs in 1933, would one have been called Kleine Grune Fussballen?

I am sure the definitive work on the behavior of the German populace in the formative years is out there.  I’ll keep looking.

Just Rewards?

2006-01-27T07:59:00.000-05:00

Aside from Patrick Fitzgerald (let’s all await his neutering) I see no one in the Justice Department who will aggressively prosecute any Republicans. This latest news reinforces that. We have a Justice Department filled with competent, ethical staff, who believe in rule of law and yet, they are routinely overruled by political hacks (see GA poll ID law and TX redistricting). The Congress refuses to police its members; the administration continually obstructs justice (no Katrina memos or Abramoff-Bush photos for you) and breaks the law. The judiciary is largely Bush I or Bush II appointed (due to Clinton’s inability to get judges up for confirmation votes as a result of Republican hi-jinks).

As the rubes sit and await the fall of the hammer of law, I’ll just look for signs of how they will twist the system to spring their friends.

Curmudgeonly is too neutral a term for how I feel about this business.

Question from a Legal Rube

2006-01-24T07:37:00.000-05:00

It seems to me, unsophisticated bubba that I am, that no matter how many Congressmen Bush tells he is breaking the law; he is still breaking the law. Individual members of Congress can’t give approval, only a change of the law by the entire Congress can render it legal. The Congress members told are complicit.

Kleiman's Korner Komment

2006-01-23T14:28:00.000-05:00

The key word is honor.
_______________________________________________________________________
No, I don't suppose that Jonah Goldberg speaks for all conservatives. But it's striking that he could publish, on the widely-read National Review Online, this item (quoted in full)

OSAMA'S TRUCE [Jonah Goldberg]
What if Bush offered/accepted one and then, under the flag of truce, had Osama killed and his minions rounded up?
It's amusing to imagine what some of Bush's biggest critics might say.

and get no critical reply from any of his Corner colleagues or any other right-of-center blogger. A Google Blog search yields only one comment from the right on Goldberg's proposal, and that one is supportive. (I'm happy to update as new material comes in.)
It's a damned strange brand of patriotism that doesn't mind dragging the flag through the mud.
_______________________________________________________
This is worthy of the worst Mafioso or coward. The flag of truce ambush. And yet, as sad as anything, is my belief that Bush might just approve something like this.

Alterman Answers a Question

2006-01-23T13:03:00.000-05:00

Impressive.

Speaking of which, my buddy Al Gore would not budge an inch on '08, though we were at a crowded party and I did not have a chance to make my case in earnest. He told me he's been writing those terrific speeches of his of late by himself.

Big Boy and Little Boy

2006-01-23T12:20:00.000-05:00

Ah the twists. Iraq under Saddam Hussein was two things, 1) a nation that could never have developed nuclear weapons while under sanction and 2) a nation that would have vigorously fought the possibility that Iran would acquire such weapons.

Contrast that with circumstances now . As horrifying as the superficial problems in Iraq may be, the long term U.S. policy and Middle East political ramifications are potentially far worse.

Q of the D

2006-01-21T17:45:00.000-05:00

For Jane Hamsher:

Are female media personalities more thin skinned than males?

Discuss.

End the War...Nah

2006-01-20T11:05:00.000-05:00

Cheney has rejected a truce. Wants to kill them all. A truce would perhaps end the war on terror.

Can’t have that.

The U.S. of A.

2006-01-20T06:21:00.000-05:00

What a country. Outrage over gay marriage and yawns about political corruption.

A nation of values.

He's Taken It Back

2006-01-19T08:34:00.000-05:00

Morganstown? *sigh*

The Cake

2006-01-17T15:55:00.000-05:00

Discussion abounds across the blogosphere about the impotence of the Democrats.  The problem with Democrats is precisely that they are democratic.  The party has tolerated, maybe even encouraged, diversity of views since I can remember.  Go to the years of the Dixiecrats; the party consistently juggled differences of opinion to maintain itself.  The party even now has differences of opinion on abortion.  If Harry Reid were evaluated only on his abortion stance, he would not be Senate Minority Leader.

Today, in the wake of the Alito hearings, we bemoan the fact that Republicans are not voting their conscience.  Not acting like Democrats.  Yet we excoriate Joe Lieberman for straying from the party line.  We cannot have it both ways.

The Republicans have been successful in getting their message to the confused public.    They have found a means through character assassination and simplification to provide talking points that the party can rally around.  Democrats occasionally find a useful point.  The current one on fear (mentioned by Gore and previously alluded to by many in terms of bladder evacuation) is one that needs to be packaged and pounded.

The Democratic Party needs to drive home the consensus issues.  Choose them carefully and choose the right spokesperson.

John Murtha and leaving Iraq has been a consistent message from the right spokesman and it has hurt the Republicans.  Howard Dean and his concise statement that no Democrat took money from Abramoff has them reeling as well.  Al Gore should be encouraged to take his message of the bravery of the Founding Fathers far and wide.  The truth, packaged properly, can work.

It does not mean, however, that Democrats need to start acting like Republicans.  Heaven forbid.

Extending Terror by Design

2006-01-16T15:25:00.000-05:00

I made a comment to Steve M. regarding Bush’s response to impeachment and it struck me (in a rare conspiracy mode), that if bin Laden is captured it can be argued that the war on terror, as envisioned in the original congressional directive, is over.

That would be inconvenient.

Further Alienation

2006-01-14T10:59:00.000-05:00

Apparently the chimperator and his flying monkeys have once again demonstrated their intelligence acumen, humanitarian instincts and diplomacy skills.  They have used a missile to destroy a few houses in Pakistan even though they are not allowed to conduct military actions in Pakistan.  The missiles apparently killed from 18 to 30 people and missed the prime target, Al Queda’s #2, Al Zawahiri.  So, we have killed up to 30 innocent people in a raid we should not have conducted (and will harm relations with Pakistan) in order to kill a man who was not there.

The incident is stunningly tragic, arrogant and incompetent.  It joins a long list.

This murder comes on the heels of our totally inadequate response, as a nation, to the Pakistani earthquake.  We continue to win their hearts and minds.

A Rude Pundit Moment

2006-01-12T11:33:00.000-05:00

George Bush and domestic spying.

Let’s imagine you are an ordinary average guy (My friend's got a Chrysler, I've got a Dodge) and you discover a well known lothario having a discussion with your nude wife. You barge in and confront him and he assures you that although he fucks the wives of other men, men who deserve their fate, he won’t fuck yours because, well, she’s your wife and you are righteous. Your wife is a very attractive woman and you fully understand that he will be tempted, but since he said he wouldn’t, you leave them to their conversation.

You trust him to resist the temptation. Sure you do. You do not deserve it, you are righteous. Yep and that matters to him. Sure it does.

The Rubes

2006-01-12T10:52:00.000-05:00

From the Charleston Gazette :

During West Virginia’s mine tragedy last week, national news anchors seemed to hawk it like barkers, constantly telling viewers to stay tuned for more sensational details.
……
When the national press behaves like baying hounds, it’s a glaring contrast to the quiet daily work of local news reporters. The latter unobtrusively search for facts, cover events, delve through records, and frequently unearth scandals that bring prosecutions or reforms. That’s the press image I prefer.
This concerns the Sago disaster, but his comment brings to mind the Toledo Blade and their inspired work on the coin scandal and Bob Ney.

The A month

2006-01-12T10:41:00.000-05:00

Here we sit in January and the largest issues are Abramoff and Alito, the A-boys. So let’s see. The Republicans are totally corrupt, the government declares they may spy on us because of executive powers associated with a non-war they decree is a war and the Supreme Court may soon be the Yes Massa Court.

Excuse me. I’m going to get that optimism I was given on Christmas from under the tree. I’m going to need it.

They Wish to Be the Queen of Hearts

2005-12-26T20:19:00.000-05:00

Wolcott once again finds the pearl of truth in the swill that is the wingnut world.

Terror, War and..umm..Terror

2005-12-20T11:23:00.000-05:00

If we have a war on terror, and although a resolution of sorts was sent to King George II, we have no declaration of war, then the so-called war seems to involve groups who kill Americans with premeditation.  The U.S. military has been dealing with these terrorists for a fair bit of time, first in non-sexy Afghanistan, then in Iraq where we have patiently and seductively said “Yoohoo come kill us” and they have obliged.  Most accounts indicate far fewer terrorists in Iraq than trumpeted, but certainly there are more than when Saddam was there.

By and large, we Americans realize that were the terrorists to get a hold of any of us, they would likely kill us.  I applaud actions that diminish that possibility.  However, and this cannot be overstated, our form of government seems to be more fragile than I had envisioned.  I reject actions that limit personal liberty and privacy.  It is no one’s business what I read.  It is no one’s business who I talk to.  It becomes their business if and when I step over the boundaries of the law.

I have never felt that were I in the clutches of the ACLU, my life would be threatened.  On the contrary, I think possibly they’d invite me to lunch.  I see no possible connection between the ACLU, or even PETA, and premeditated slaughter.  Is it remotely possible that these two organizations in the course of their enterprises could inadvertently lead to the death of someone?  Sure.  Driving your car has the same possibility.  They are not terrorists in any sense.

This government cannot say with any believability that covertly gathering information about these organizations will save any lives.  The FBI (and now the NSA) are using terrorism as a rationale for the trampling of civil liberties.

I suggest that all FBI and NSA operatives involved in such work be reassigned to the hunt for Zarqawi and bin Laden.  That would comfort me and many others.  Their current tasks do not.

Consistent

2005-12-20T05:09:00.000-05:00

Bush wants a war, he manufactures reasons to start one. Bush wants to spy on Americans, he manufactures a reason to allow it.

Dear Leader and the Law

2005-12-18T09:27:00.000-05:00

Either the citizens of this country are willing to sacrifice to keep this a country of laws, or the United States will cease to exist as we know it. The Founding Fathers were cautious but largely optimistic about the form of our government. I can but think of Caesar’s Senate and Hitler’s Reichstag. Will the U.S Congress willingly allow itself to become as those? Will we Americans allow a President to become a ruler, rather than an enforcer of the laws of the United States?

Bush does not have enough time to completely destroy what the Founding Fathers created. The key is, who replaces Bush? Will the American people elect another lying autocrat, or will they choose someone to restore our dignity in the world, and amongst ourselves. Will Bush have the 22nd Amendment repealed? Do you doubt the presence of a memo somewhere discussing this?

These are sad, sad times.

Discretionary Funds and Counterinsurgency

2005-12-14T07:53:00.000-05:00

Kevin Drum has a post detailing the Army’s tardy realization that a counterinsurgency strategy may be needed in Iraq. The post reminded me of stories from the very early days of the war. Unit commanders, captains and lieutenants, had access to funds with which to help local villages with rebuilding. I remember comments from the Army unit leaders about the good relationships that were developing. The stories were written at the point where the CPA was being organized and those discretionary funds were being withdrawn.

Perhaps that approach, which was working, should have been continued.

We Need the Font Sizes

2005-11-30T19:09:00.000-05:00

From Will Bunch
We do love the point that a reader (to whom, as a tribute to Bob Woodward, we're granting anonymity) made to us this morning in an email. The White House's entire strategy for winning the war in Iraq, which has claimed more than 2,100 Americans so far and untold Iraqi civilians, while bringing a multi-ethnic nation to the brink of civil war, is just 35 pages.
Meanwhile, arbitrator Richard Bloch's ruling on behalf of the Eagles against wayward star Terrell Owens weighed in at 38 pages.

Among the Missing

2005-11-29T07:20:00.000-05:00

Where is Billmon?

Search parties are being organized.

Words

2005-11-23T09:44:00.000-05:00

I like the word kerfluffle.

Consistancy

2005-11-22T11:34:00.000-05:00

Read rudely.

Sideshow

2005-11-19T07:15:00.000-05:00

Mr. Murtha’s comments have disturbed the force. The circus that erupted in the House last night reminds me of Parliament at its finest. I wonder how long it will take the Murican public to recognize that the Republican Party has deteriorated so profoundly. No ideas on how to resolve Iraq. They say “Stay until we succeed.” No definition of success, no action plan to achieve it. They defend the status quo with a pit bull tenacity. Tax cut after tax cut, with no evidence of any positive effect from them. Now attempts to cut all sorts of services to save money. Perhaps they will not be happy until there is nothing coming in and nothing going out.

Who will buy the body armor then.

And isn’t Jean Schmidt a piece of work? The folks in Cincinnati must be very proud.

He Can't Stands No More

2005-11-17T15:41:00.000-05:00

Re: Jack Murtha. Name any other member of Congress who has visited Walter Reed for anything but a photo-op. Name any other who has a story such as the one concerning the soldier without hands. Murtha is not one to be hasty in such matters. His statement could have interesting repercussions.

Genuflect the Press

2005-11-17T09:03:00.000-05:00

I find the baseless self-righteousness of “journalists” to be extraordinarily comical. See kos for a bit of rollicking good fun in this vein. Journalists, like bloggers and politicians and practitioners of any other profession or avocation, can be skilled, effective and valuable, or completely, utterly, hopelessly worthless. Journalists, however, have cloaked themselves with a “divine right of journalists” mantle; it was obviously wrong to ever refer to them as the 4th estate, no matter its source. The mere presence of the title “journalist” demands, in their mind, an elevated level of respect, even if it is not accompanied by an equivalent level of skill.

Where Are the Brits When You Need Them

2005-11-15T07:38:00.000-05:00

Haven’t heard much lately on the Downing Street memo. About time it was re-introduced into the pre-war Republican liefest.

A Rant

2005-11-14T07:42:00.000-05:00

I hate itty bitty type in blogs. We old geezers need some size.

Wasted Men, Brave French

2005-11-11T09:30:00.000-05:00

1.4 million French killed in WWI, of a population of 39 million.  3.6% of the total population, and mostly young men.  Fewer than 1 million U.S. soldiers have been killed in all wars in our history and that includes Confederate soldiers.

I remind every wingnut who whines about the cowardly French of this sacrifice.  I am always tempted to begin a discussion of the effect this must have had on the national psyche, but I always refrain, remembering, often at the last moment, how impervious ideology is to facts.

No war killed more brave men for less reason than WWI.  Let’s all re-read All Quiet on the Western Front and remember both their sacrifice and the lunacy that called for it.

More Than 15 Minutes

2005-11-10T10:06:00.000-05:00

DING.

Judy Miller has exceeded her allotted time for being famous.

Let’s move on.

Elections

2005-11-09T07:52:00.000-05:00

I lived in New Jersey when I was young. There, it’s out. The politics of that state are bizarre and often corrupt. May Gov. Corzine avoid both aspects.

Under certain circumstances, the voters are able to do sensible things. There is hope.

Vote

2005-11-08T08:17:00.000-05:00

Republican Candidates for Today’s Election

An Informational Note

2005-11-08T07:16:00.000-05:00

I have had a commenter (and thank you for the kind words). I am no longer a needle unfound in a haystack. Oh, the responsibility.

The Search is Re-opened

2005-11-08T07:12:00.000-05:00

It seems, as information accumulates, that Douglas Feith may not be the “fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth”. The title is vacant. Is the new incumbent Dick Cheney? You decide.

Indictments

2005-10-28T13:25:00.000-05:00

I guess in fact there is nothing illegal about outing a CIA agent’s identity.

Weakness?

2005-10-27T19:51:00.000-05:00

Bush’s weakness is less on display than his stupidity, which is far more forgivable by the faithful because they also suffer from it.

The Adventures of Georgie and Harriet

2005-10-23T04:31:00.000-05:00

It seems that liberal coverage of Harriet Miers’ travails is refreshingly neutral. Her case is interesting; the major barrage comes from the right, but the average liberal wants no part of her. As bad a Supreme Court justice as Harriet may turn out to be, there is reluctance to attack her from the left because the level of repugnance to be found in the replacement appointee is unknown. Maureen Dowd used a word yesterday…tropism…that may apply to Harriet. One can just hear her saying that Scalia is the best Supreme Court justice ..EVER.

Meanwhile, it seems the right is delightfully internally contentious and the left occasionally inserts an informational wedge….just to help them out.

Women and Water

2005-10-21T04:48:00.000-05:00

In reading about the woman in SF who threw her children into SF Bay, one cannot help but be reminded of the Susan Smith case, drowning her children in a lake inside a car, and the one in Texas where the children were drowned in the bathtub.

When men murder their children, it is often via a violent act; women seemingly drown them dispassionately.

Is it just me, or do the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of David Horowitz’s wife seem very strange?

Also, it is reported that Roche will perhaps allow some generic firms to manufacture Tamiflu.  I seem to remember back in the old days, Sam Adams beer was brewed by Pittsburgh Brewing on contract.  What’s so different here?  The generics manufacture on contract to Roche and Roche distributes it.

Wouldn’t you like a full accounting of Judith Miller’s sex life for the last 5 years?  No details, just a list.

How Full is the Plate

2005-10-17T14:57:00.000-05:00

I seem to remember when John Roberts was nominated, the issue was supposed to drive the Plamegate focus to the rear; the media could not handle two issues at once. Now we have deep coverage of Fitzgerald, Judy, Judy, Judy and Harriet Miers. I guess the media can handle more than one issue if they are so inclined. Funny that.

Trust

2005-10-12T14:10:00.000-05:00

Don’t you get the feeling that George just doesn’t trust anybody any more. Except Harriet.

Businessmen, Money and Republican Scandal

2005-09-30T10:08:00.000-05:00

The Republican Party prides itself on being the party friendly to business. It seems to draw a fair number of grubby businessmen into its ranks, notable Cunningham and DeLay, and perhaps Abramoff and others. These guys are characterized by their early years spent finding an angle to earn a buck. They seem to never lose that mindset. They seem to get sucked into the maelstrom of petty thievery and chicanery with a wink. When these small minded businessmen hit the big time, they continue their small minded tactics with the big money. One can even point to Whitewater, as misplaced as the accusation was, fitting into the framework used by the Republicans. I can see some Republican saying that Whitewater was something he’d have done, so the Clintons must have done it.

On the other hand, the patricians seem to limit themselves to slippery stock manipulation. Cases in point are Bush and Frist. I don’t remember any of the patrician Democrats being involved in money scandals. One sees LBJ wallowing in slime, but not John Kerry.

Just an observation.

Inconsistencies and Neglect: The Reality of Abortion Politics

2005-09-26T15:48:00.000-05:00

A spectacular post about abortion.

The Real World

2005-09-23T06:04:00.000-05:00

Is it just me, or is the right adrift in this sea of reality? All except Lindsey Graham, who seems to erupt occasionally sensible prose.

Experience vs. Competence

2005-09-20T07:35:00.000-05:00

The left wing blogosphere has grasped a position that I find untenable, although it is convenient.  They are confusing the question of competence with experience.  The Michael Brown case illustrates the misdirected focus.  Brown headed an agency that required administrative skill, organization and leadership.  To function properly the agency needed to be staffed with competent professionals.  In fact, the professional staff had withered and Brown was an incompetent administrator.  Being an emergency response professional had nothing to do with it.  James Lee Witt had run an emergency response agency in Arkansas.  He was no less a crony than Brown, but he was a competent crony.

Few administrators of agencies are professionals in the field.  The EPA has seldom had an administrator that had qualifications in environmental sciences, although they may have had experience in administering an agency.

Another short example.  He may have been a political hack, but Tom Ridge had administrative experience as governor of Pennsylvania that appears to have been useful in the Department of Homeland Security.   Michael Chertoff had none.  When it came time to make a decision, Chertoff froze.  I think Ridge would have responded better.

The newest outrage is the proposed appointment of Julie Myers to a position at Immigration.  She is a political hack, to be sure.  Whether she is competent is unknown.   Her lack of immigration background may not be of concern, if her role at Immigration is largely administrative.  Nor is a background in immigration a guarantee of success.  What we do know is that most of these appointments are disasters.  The criteria for choosing these folks seems not to include potential for actually being able to do the job.

George Bush has a history of appointing incompetent, or worse, individuals to high positions.   Those who are not fully incompetent, often quit in frustration.  As ideology overcomes function, professionals quit because their skills are not being used (cf. Treasury) or are being misused.

In the last election those of us who supported Kerry had faith that he could succeed in one of the most difficult administrative jobs in the world, yet he had no experience as an administrator.  We had, as his opponent, a man who had demonstrated a lack of ability in that job, yet he had been governor of Texas and had paper credentials.  Bush’s ideological stance superseded his demonstrable incompetence (and arrogance and ________[Fill the blank(s)]).

The problem is that many Bush appointees view their job as Beauty Queen positions.  Their responsibilities are to rule and attend photo ops.  They have never been held responsible for making their agencies functional from top to bottom.  They are not hired to get the work done.  Katrina (and 9/11 and the Iraqi reconstruction) revealed this.  It is tragic.

Lateness Saved Lives

2005-09-09T15:32:00.000-05:00

Which reminds me..current commentaries indicate that fewer bodies may be found. Watch how the possible lowered death toll will be spun into a rationale for the late federal response.

Searching for a Parallel Universe

2005-09-09T15:28:00.000-05:00

What would Al Gore have done if confronted with the memo, “Bin Laden Determined to Attack in U.S.”  We’ll never know.  How would he have dealt with 9/11?  We’ll never know.  How would he or John Kerry have reacted to Hurricane Katrina?  Again we’ll never know.  We know how George Bush dealt with the memo, the attack and the natural disaster.  These examples, much like tax cuts and the war in Iraq, suffer from not having a parallel universe in which alternate scenarios are allowed and comparisons can be made.

The Republicans have figured how to forge even disaster into polemical success.  Every small positive is used to glorify the policy.  No matter that Iraqis are dying, electricity is scarce and theocracy is imminent, we have liberated $25M people.  They define the end points, pound those points, find a scapegoat, and broach no argument, finger-pointing or “blame game”.

Is this country better off than on January 19, 2001?  No?  And whose fault is it?

But I have descended into the cult of GWB and the temple of the true believers..

My apologies.

This Administration Ignores Suggestions

2005-09-08T12:08:00.000-05:00

In the fancy free world of rude commentary, we have as one of today’s entries this episode from Gulfport, Mississippi, wherein Mr. Cheney’s lack of eloquence with Mr. Leahy is thrust back at him. Aside from the fact that Jim Cantore's’ presence doomed Gulfport to be the epicenter of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall, the town has suffered from the inefficiencies of response represented so sensitively by Mr. Cheney.

Methinks that if one expresses the sentiment, one should supply the implement most appropriate for the action. In Mr. Cheney’s case, however, it is acceptable to neglect to supply the lubricant.

Police State Run By Jack-booted Thugs

2005-09-08T04:52:00.000-05:00

"At first the evidence was scattered and anecdotal. But now it's pretty clear that a key aim of the Bush administration's takeover of the NOLA situation is to cut off press access to report the story. “

“In the wake of what the Wall Street Journal projected may be the most expensive natural disaster in American history, the Republican Leadership in the House of Representatives limited floor consideration of the $52 billion Katrina relief bill proposed by President Bush and voted to reject any Democratic efforts to amend the bill to include a wider array of relief measures, RAW STORY has learned.”

And also Arbeit Macht Frei. Gilliard says, "These aren't Vietnamese or Hmong, but American citizens. The racism in FEMA's ops, and their cowardice, go hand in hand. It is amazing."

It is becoming less amazing every day

Sadly, Yes

2005-09-07T08:11:00.000-05:00

I couldn’t resist.

Powerline: The ability to produce 100,000 gallons of fresh bullshit a day. And they're always deployed.

A Foul Wind Blows

2005-09-07T07:50:00.000-05:00

Although the hurricane has passed, the wind still blows in New Orleans. Sometimes clarity is lost as the flotsam and jetsam of recrimination flies by, but a number of things are clear:

The city of New Orleans was under-prepared for the flooding. A failure, but realistically, cities on tight budgets will never mobilize adequately for “what ifs”.

The state of Louisiana had responsibilities in many places other than N.O. and perhaps did not respond as well as they should. This is difficult for me to assess.

The federal government has a long history of disaster response. People expect it. The response from FEMA and other federal agencies was slow, inadequate and inefficient. The depth of indifference of this administration to the mission of FEMA is incomprehensible.

The Department of Homeland Security is primarily a public relations outfit with a secondary mission to establish an improved police state. It has successfully inconvenienced those of us not at risk and failed to save those at risk.

Emergency response should not be under the purview of DHS. DHS should focus on prevention…keep in mind..in a terrorist attack, will they be more concerned with emergency response or covering their failed ass for letting it happen?

And now we have the Bushies investigating themselves. Isn’t that special. I will be especially interested in Michael Brown’s future. Bush has been reluctant to fire out-of-the-closet incompetents; he either transfers them (John Bolton) or gives them medals (George Tenet). I’m betting a transfer.

Don’t get me started on John Roberts as chief justice. Some blog-wag called him a political hack and the phrase came to mind as we look at the staffing at FEMA (and DHS). Is anyone in this government not a political hack? I know, a rhetorical question.

Response New Orleans

2005-09-01T08:11:00.000-05:00

Everyone has had something to say about New Orleans and the Gulf Coast.  I am as stunned as anyone.  I hope bloggers, and others far more savvy than I, are able to make the necessary connections with those Americans who still use their cognitive functions and establish the links from this disaster to the policies of George Bush.   Tax cuts, war, environmental neglect (if not antagonism) and neglect of emergency response.  I will do the following in bold:

It is four years after 9/11 and uncounted millions have been spent on homeland security…but THIS is the level of competence of our emergency response capability?

If you ask me, GWB has some serious ‘splainin’ to do.  I wonder if there’s a Democrat alive (aside from Mary Landrieux) who’ll demand it.

I want to see, at the very least, the “What if the levee or a canal wall gets breached?” emergency plan.

An extraordinary natural horror that has occurred.  It is unconscionable that human ignorance, arrogance and incompetence have compounded it.

Domino Delivers

2005-08-26T08:09:00.000-05:00

Atrios is discussing the domino theory of communism, which had play yesterday by Kevin Drum.  As a living remnant of the Viet Nam era, the theory was alive and well throughout the times.  Atrios notes its use to justify intervention in Central America.

Proper use of the domino theory is important.  The implicit presumption during Viet Nam was that it was a military issue, not a philosophical issue.  If Viet Nam fell, Cambodia was next because of the military pressure from its neighbor.  Obviously, communism is less useful as a philosophical domino, since philosophies can jump borders (cf. Cuba).  Yet, in fact, communism was far more a philosophical domino because (look it up) it was the structure most useful to revolutionaries.  Find a personality cult revolution and you often find a communist.

Lenin, Mao Tse Tung, Ho Chi Minh, Castro.

Admittedly the Soviet Union coddled revolutionaries in its quest for friends and allies.

The most interesting aspect of the domino theory is its use today..implicitly.  The Bush administration had hoped for the verification of a domino theory of democracy in the Middle East enforced, in Iraq, by arms then spreading (due to its intrinsically good qualities) to the rest of the area.  Along with many of their other hopes, it seems to have been dashed.  Perhaps we should study the domino theory of fundamentalism.

The domino theory is far from dead.  Its name is simply retired.

Coulter Counting

2005-08-26T07:20:00.000-05:00

Ann Coulter stated last night on Hannity and Colmes [via Crooks and Liars ] that she’d prefer terrorists attack Georgia (or Alabama or Mississippi) rather than New York.  Aside from most Georgians (et al.) preferring the opposite, her context was that Georgians fight and New Yorkers do not.  Notice, she didn’t offer her neighborhood for attack, so she could personally participate.

The gross generality is, of course, ridiculous, as is any suggestion that the average American would shy away from defending home and hearth.  Some are braver than others, to be sure, in both Georgia and New York.  1.9 million people voted for Bush in Georgia, 2.9 million voted for Bush in the state of New York and 1.3 million voted for him in the counties that form New York City and surround it.  Mississippi had only 685,000 Bush voters.  Even on the basis of the usual wingnut presumption that libruls are chickenshit, NYC has more than enough hairy chested folks like Ann to deal with terrorists, unless, of course, the terrorists targeted libruls just so they’d surrender.  Picky terrorists those.

However, logic is but one of many qualities lacking in her audience.  One of Colmes’ jobs is to ask the librul questions so the talking points are easily identified.  If Hannity asked her in an accusing way if she thought New Yorkers were cowards, the masses would be confused.  The entire exchange was scripted to reinforce the Republican notion that if you’re not a warmonger, then you’re a coward.

I will not dignify her odious injection of Cindy Sheehan into her venomous spewings by comment other than to note that Ms. Sheehan has apparently become a synonym for Michael Moore.

Discovery

2005-08-26T06:19:00.000-05:00

I’m checking out the word attachment. First, will it support strange fonts and second, will it do my HTML for me?...Read Digby .

Let’s see.

Thinking in the Void

2005-08-25T07:10:00.000-05:00

It strikes me that many Muricans don't want to think. They want to be told what to do and like to focus gruesomely on those less fortunate than they. Joe makes the point.

I hope Michael Moore's fat farm visit [via the Poor Man ] leads him to create the definitive film about evolution and intelligent design. The subject needs his light touch.

I hear (via the radio) that Hawaii has imposed price ceilings on wholesale gasoline. Damn Communists.

Vacuum Packed

2005-08-24T08:11:00.000-05:00

Only vacuum and continuum have double "u"s.

My mother has lived alone for over 20 years and has developed the habit of talking to either herself or the furniture. Writing a blog is like that, [I note queasily]. Yelling into the vacuum (or is it the continuum?)

I discovered that linking to Atrios generates bizarre comments.

I get to use all the same words as James Wolcott but his always are strung together better. Wonder why.

PPG

2005-08-24T07:45:00.000-05:00

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette discusses Rev. Robertson.

Linking Addresses

2005-08-23T12:51:00.000-05:00

Just some practicing. It has been a long while since I did HTML.

Atrios:Murder ex-Cathedra

Let's see what happens.

Atta-boy

2005-08-23T12:05:00.000-05:00

Mohamed Atta may or may not have been in Brooklyn in early 2000. The entire revelation scenario is goofy at best. IF our boy was fingered, what does it mean?

It appears that the world famous "wall" memo has no bearing; if the information existed in DOD and they chose to share it, they could have.

How many besides Atta (if he were identified) were identified and what was done about them? Or was Atta (if he were identified) a post-9/11 aha...and the other thousand were not.

Given that the wingnuts love to bash Clinton on all of this...on what date did Chimpy say, "Bring me all that Able Danger stuff so we can see what's happening with Al Queda?" He was more interested in stem cells than terrorist cells.

An Unheralded Entrance

2005-08-23T10:14:00.000-05:00

Now where's that outline I wrote...

I read a fair number of blogs, almost all liberal unless a good case is made for a link to Bizarro World. I dislike the word progessive; it is evasive and self-defensive. I dislike the tendency of liberals to fail to support all that is good in what has been done in the last 5 decades. I once worked for a large American corporation in which every new manager felt the need to change procedures, to put their stamp on things. Often procedures needed no change.

Social Security is a program that has, and should, continue to work for years. To even accept that change is needed is ludicrous. As long as the Republicans can hoodwink the populace that change, by its very nature, is good and they "have a plan" and the Democrats don't, they will get away with murder.

Pat Robertson's entreaties towards Hugo Chavez notwithstanding.

Enough said, let's see how this works.