Oh my, Minnesota might do it again.
Archive for July, 2007
I’m not sure that I think this is kosher, but Bill O’Reilly in his jammies is kind of funny.
The conservative push to re-cast the common sense plan to leave Iraq as a liberal stab in the back continues with Hugh Hewitt given an assist by NY Times correspondent John Burns. Burns pulls the figure of 1 million Iraqis 
dying in a civil war simply out of his rear, and Hewitt is glad to trumpet that figure because it serves his cause. The very real and very concrete number of 3,652 dead Americans in Iraq isn’t much of a concern to Hewitt and the right in this case, however, not to mention the 3,000 killed on 9/11 still unavenged thanks to the Republican inability to fight terrorism (Oh God, we can’t cross Pakistan’s border - we promised with a pinky swear and everything!).
Before the 2004 election the overwhelming message from the right was "We’re winning, the Iraqis are standing up and we’ll be out soon you liberal whiners", now it has modified and transformed into "Well, we totally screwed up the invasion and occupation of Iraq and were totally wrong on everything, but we need to stay in Iraq and have soldiers die and allow terrorists to run free because we don’t want to admit we were wrong and if we leave something may or may not happen and if it’s bad it’s all the liberal’s fault!!!".
The fundamental difference here is that the impetus behind liberal thinking on this issue has consistently been the protection of American citizens and the security of the world, while for conservatives it has been mission one to carry water for George W. Bush and cover his and Dick Cheney’s posteriors. One of those two mindsets makes rational sense, the other one is deep inside with George W. Bush’s benign polyps.
If these people had been in charge back in the ’60s and ’70s we’d still be "on the verge of victory" in Vietnam right now ("We’ve got the Vietcong on the run. Just yesterday we killed the 4,343rd ‘#2′ in Vietcong’s leadership structure.").
This war was a bad idea, horrendously executed by George W. Bush, the Republican party and the conservative movement with able assistance by a blind and dumb Democratic party. The response to this is not to keep it going in fear of something bad happening (News Flash: It’s Too Late For That), but to end it. Thanks to the mistakes made by our leaders, there’s no clean way to end it. People are going to die, but the point here is to not have those people die be Americans - either military people or civilians like you and me who are not being protected against terrorism.
Over at MyDD there is some fretting about Barack Obama identifying himself as a Christian family man in a radio ad in South Carolina. In an ad in South Carolina. Targeted to black radio stations. Hello?
I don’t want to believe stereotypes but sometimes they are true, and you get the sense that more than a few white liberals don’t know a thing about black Americans beyond the sort of "racial justice" happy talk. As I’ve noted before here, one of the most diehard religious votes in this country are black voters. If a Democrat wants to win a South Carolina primary, he needs the help of the black vote. One way one usually gets people to vote for you is by identifying an important cultural thing that you both share. For Barack Obama this happens to be the fact that he’s a Christian.
So is every other leading contender for the Democratic nomination! As the top three (Obama, Clinton, Edwards) have all pointed out in the public record, they do not view their religion as something to be imposed on the nation like President Bush does, but on the flip side it’s part of who they are. I know there are some especially on the left who would like Democratic pols to declare their atheism and rally people to their nonreligious arms, but that is a bad read of the mostly religious base of the Democratic party and America in general.
The poster also makes this statement:
A "Christian family man" — that’s a new theme for a Democratic Presidential candidate.
Really? Somebody tell Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton as well as Al Gore, the last three Democratic presidential candidates to win the most votes - as well as John Kerry, who while not as up front about his religion as Carter, Clinton and to a lesser extent Gore, is also a Christian man.
As an agnostic, I hate people imposing their beliefs on others, but I similarly hate reactionary rhetoric when someone - especially someone like Sen. Obama - simply discusses their religious beliefs.
Never forget that the most important progressive leader America has ever had was a black clergyman.
Pardon my French, but warmongers Ken Pollack and Michael O’Hanlon are what your average person calls "fucking idiots".
If Brookings is “liberal” and produces this kind of swill, can I start calling myself a “conservative Republican”?
Something tells me I have grounds for a trademark or copyright lawsuit….
Ted Stevens was so concerned with the network of tubes, who knew he would have extra time on hand to be the subject of an FBI probe? These guys just can’t seem to help themselves, time and time again - especially on the Republican side of the aisle, no matter if they’re in power or not.
The FBI and IRS have searched the home of Republican Sen. Ted Stevens in a ski resort in Alaska as part of an investigation into his links with an oil-services company, officials said on Monday.
“The FBI and IRS are conducting a court-authorized search warrant in Girdwood, Alaska,” an FBI spokesman said in Washington, but gave no further details.
What a mess.
Presumptive presidential candidate Fred Thompson on Tuesday will report raising roughly $3 million in one month for his all-but-certain White House bid, Republican officials said.
Hollywood actor Fred Thompson tested the waters. They’re frigid.
Can we take up a collection and send Joke Writing For Dummies to the crew of Fox’s Half Hour News Hour? There’s tons of material there for Hillary Clinton jokes, why does Fox fail to make them FUNNY?
There’s no need for the RNC to launch ridiculous attacks on Democrats like John Edwards anymore, the press just does it for them.
Breaking News links for 7.29.07
President Bush Has Connection To MLB Steroid Scandal
Heil Brangelina: Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie Moving To Germany
Shia LaBeouf Begs Media To Find Dirt On Him
Plastic Surgeon Says Kim Kardashian Doesn’t Have Butt Implants
Sean Hannity’s “Freedom Concert” A Bust
DC Metro Closed After Dead Birds Found
Simpsons #1 With $71.8 Million Weekend
Man Builds 97 Foot Treehouse After Vision From God
Iran Laughs At U.S. For Being Stretched Thin In Iraq
Bush Admin. Blocked Health Report For Political Gain
Israel Gets Big Bucks As U.S. Increases Aid
Houses Abandoned As Housing Bubble Pops
Sex Harassment Case Could Be Trouble For Mike Bloomberg
Lindsay Lohan: Too Risky To Be In Movies?
Gunfire As Iraq Wins Soccer Tournament
Jeri Thompson Taking Over Fred Thompson’s Campaign
NY Times Calls For Impeachment Of Alberto Gonzales
Tell the truth, Mr. Ferret.
She makes a splash at Comic-Con.
Blocking out screams of "Jessica, I love you!" and a flurry of camera flashes from the surrounding crowd, many approached the experience in a businesslike manner.
"Nice to meet you. You’re very beautiful. You can put it to Gonzo please," said Gonzalo Sanchez of Spring Valley, Calif., moving right along.
A typical exchange went as follows:
"Hello Jessica."
"How are you?" she would reply.
"I’m good. Nice to meet you."
"What’s your name?"
"Kevin."
Timothy Sexton of Arizona said he was celebrating his birthday, and gave Alba a plush red bear.
Some nerve-wracked fans simply stared. One confessed to having "a little butterflies," while another, when asked by Alba how he was doing, was only able to manage a garbled, "wegslent."
We are all "Wegslent".
(via)
Do you remember that Alberto Gonzales was on the “short list” of Supreme Court nominees for the Bush administration? Holy cow, did we dodge a bullet.
Somewhere Janet Reno and John Ashcroft are adding Gonzo their Christmas card lists for making them both look so much better at their jobs in retrospect. Ashcroft was a snoopy prude but at least the man at least pretended to understand the constitution and that he has to answer a U.S. senator when he’s asked a question!
Noam Scheiber of The New Republic (!) pens an obituary for the DLC that describes moderate-liberals like myself perfectly.
Today, the council has almost no constituency within the Democratic Party. About every five years, the Pew Research Center conducts a public opinion survey to sort out the country’s major ideological groupings. In 1999, Pew found that liberals and New Democrats each accounted for nearly one-quarter of the Democratic base. By the next survey in 2005, New Democrats had completely disappeared as a group and the liberals had doubled their share of the party. Many moderates, radicalized by President Bush, now define themselves as liberals.
Contrary to the popular caricature of me, I am far from a diehard liberal ideologue. Within the Democratic caucus my position on issue after issue trends from moderate to conservative, especially on military issues, crime, and education. And while my social positions are to the left of the mainstream (I think gays should be allowed to get married, think marijuana should be legal, am against unfettered access to guns), the DLC who I at least may have agreed with on some issues in the past (NAFTA, for instance, which I still kind of support) they just sound like idiots now, telling Democrats that the way to win is to act like Republicans. Especially since that formula is exactly why Democrats were in the minority and out of the White House.
‘AJC’: Document Suggests Soldier Shot Iraqi Detainee Under Orders.
An Army document reportedly says a Georgia soldier charged with murdering a detainee in Iraq shot the man under orders from a sergeant.
The story is in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Specialist Christopher P. Shore of Winder, Georgia, and Sergeant First Class Trey A. Corrales of San Antonio are charged with premeditated murder.
The case involves the June 23rd slaying of an unidentified man near Kirkuk.
The newspaper obtained the Army document charging the soldiers by e-mail from Iraq.
The military did not immediately reply to an e-mail request for the document by The Associated Press.
The charge sheet says Corrales shot the detainee before "directing his subordinate, Specialist Christopher P. Shore, to then shoot the detainee."
Lieutenant Colonel Michael Browder was relieved of his command in connection with the investigation. he military has said Browder is not a suspect and has not been charged.
Because she’s a Republican, the media will never treat Jeri Thompson in the same shameful manner they have Hillary Clinton, but the Not Ready For Primetime Campaign of Hollywood actor Fred Thompson had yet another person jump ship.
Another aide to Fred Thompson’s campaign-in-waiting resigned last night, two sources close to the campaign confirm. Tom Frechette had been effectively serving as campaign manager Tom Collamore’s deputy. Collamore was removed from his post Tuesday and given a "senior adviser" role. Like Collamore, Frechhette was said to have chafed under the heavy influence of Thompson’s wife, Jeri.
If he were a Democrat, they’d already be writing his obituary, but Thompson is a Republican so the media has decided that his inept campaign is demonstrating genuine leadership.
Right-wing bloggers like The Captain’s Quarters get personal talking points from the White House on executive privilege, also known as the administration covering its rear in the Alberto Gonzales Affair.
And that’s saying something.
Washington Redskins fan Kevin McCarthy of Germantown, Md., shows off his tattoo with the names of the Redskins Hall of Fame members during the first day of the NFL football team’s training camp in Ashburn, Va., Friday, July 27, 2007.
Fox News producer shuffles over to the ailing Fred Thompson campaign.
Talk about your old media really trying to hold back the new media. Fox is in the “lead” here.
More details here.
