Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Of Course...
...The dismissal of each of "the Ousted Eight" was "performance related."0 comments
They kept PERFORMING, DAMMIT!
Just too damned good at their jobs.
Got in the way of the enterprise.
If they want to toss the occasional Democrat in the hoosegow, fine.
But these were good, honest corrupt Republicans they were harrassing!
Campaign donors, all!
So, of course, the GOP had to stop the bleeding before the Lame-Duck Dictator lost anymore of his support in Congress to frogwalks.
posted by Gotham 12:34 AM
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Nov. 4: Draft Day '08!
I've been saying this for a while now, so I might just as well put it in writing:1 comments
Gore vs. Leiberman, 2008.
The presidential race in 2008 will be decided by two teams furiously working to draft their respective faves for the nominations. One movement is growing outside-in with swelling support; the other is growing inside-out and is entirely self-generated.
But each could work. Here how:
DEMOCRATS:
This has already begun. It's clear from the outset that Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are evenly matched, and have begun an epic struggle that should result in neither gaining a clearcut advantage. We can safely assume that (world events notwithstanding) they will gain equal amounts of loyalty, money and primary votes in the Democratic universe. Also, that all the air for other candidates will successfully be sucked out of the room. (Bye, Gov. Tom! Sen. Visa (D-DE)? I don't think so...) An excellent case can be made that we go to the convention with neither Clinton nor Obama having a clear advantage, and that after close to two years of wrangling, arm-twisting and vicious sniping, there will be no desire whatsoever to barter.
If, in fact, Al Gore wins the Oscar tonight, and/or the Nobel later, the screaming will intensify for him to enter the race. If he does, he's nuts. Who in their right mind would piss away an enviable position and come into a marathon with strong leaders at the 4-mile mark when you can happily jump in at the 25-mile marker and literally run away with it all by acclimation?
Not Al, we say. Again, an excellent case can be made to let HC & BO bash their brains in throughout '07 and early '08. Let them (and us) come to the convention battered, bruised and exhausted, and needing a way out.
Al just continues to do what he's already been doing—being the sage from on high. Spending his days watching his Google stock, speaking wisely, then demurring when asked the daily, obligatory "Are you running?" question. Meanwhile, those who only have his best interests at heart begin the negotiating that's necessary with all the air-starved candidates for their support, IF he were to allow himself to be subject to a draft at or before the convention.
And, GOSH, if it's THAT important to everybody that he be the nominee in '08, then, "well, someone's gonna have to do it, right? So, OK! Let's go do it!"
Of course, Hillary would never take the VP slot, so she'll start angling to replace Harry Reid as Majority Leader.
We can assume that, at that point, Barack would still be open to the visibility the 2nd slot would offer, and we may have a Gore-Obama 'o8 ticket. Affectionately referred to by the masses as: "GORBAMA!" But don't count out Gore-Edwards '08 or Gore-Richardson '08, though they're more unwieldy verbally. That'll be decided by how the negotiations go this year.
This idea actually has been getting a decent amount of play, so I'm not unique with this call. I'm just handicapping it to play out this way.
Meanwhile...
REPUBLICANS:
Here's the one that I don't see anyone addressing, which I find very odd. Seems perfectly logical to me. Here goes...
The GOP field at this point is a circular firing squad of poor souls with absolutely no chance of being elected president. They also have a fallow farm system with no national stars on the horizon. This is proven by the almost wall-to-wall coverage of HC/OB.
Duncan Hunter and Sam Brownback get good marks among the Right, but this is president we're talking about here, not some county commish slot. That leaves the Big 3: Mitt Romney, John McCain and Rudy Giuliani.
Poor Mitt. He makes the podium look fluid. I've rarely seen anyone stiffer—other than George Pataki maybe—enter the fray. Not exactly a ringing endorsement. Nice guy; charisma-challenged. Unfortunately also for Mitt, he's this year's Hubert H. Humphrey. In 1972's California epic primary battle between Humphrey and George McGovern, we sat and watched HHH give TWELVE DIFFERENT views in front of TWELVE DIFFERENT groups on that year's hot-button issue—busing. We were stunned; we never thought there WERE that many sides to a cube. The hairs were split VERY thinly, yes, but twelve there were. Mitt is quickly gaining a reputation of having as many views on issues as there are people asking him. And, as with HHH, all that does is show people you stand nowhere on anything. Not good leadership fodder.
Then, we have the Desperate Twins.
John McCain has muddied the water faster than I thought a human being capable of. Lord! He's pissed EVERYBODY off! From "Straight Shooter" to "Mean, nasty, angry guy" in just a couple of quick years! From the guy you want to go have a beer with to "Ewwwwww! Do I HAVE to go see Grandpa??!! He's so mean, and sooo icky!" Now, for everyone from Kos to Cheney, he's simply a royal pain in the ass. Not the way to build a groundswell. Oh, and that "surge" that's about to blow up in our national faces? Yep, McCain's idea. What a loser.
Rudy. "Aw, Rudy, you're killin' me!"
Perhaps the meanest, nastiest person on the face of the earth. Close to universally loathed by the very people who know him best: New Yorkers who were here during his terms as mayor. 9/11 was actually primary day here. In NYC, we were happily going to the polls to pick Rudy's successor. The election was postponed. In the weeks following the attacks, after seeing what great press he was getting, Rudy tried to get the city to overturn the term limit laws he fought so hard for, in order to oust his enemies and pack the City Council with his friends. NYers said a resounding "NO! Take your clippings and leave!" I actually admit to still having a Rudy voodoo doll, left over from his days as mayor. Played every segment of NYC off against every other segment. Sold the city off to the richest of the very rich. Destroyed the middle class in the city, utterly. Hated every idea he couldn't take full credit for. He would screw around WHILE preaching to you on how you were immoral and your life was badly handled. Why so many would lie across his desk for this man is anybody's guess. He's an amoral, vengeful, egomaniacal prig, not a Christian fundamentalist. To many, that's farrrrrr worse. Rev. James Dobson of Focus on the Family is Bill Clinton next to Rudy. Not exactly presidential timber here. Rudy can be safely assumed to make the far right vomit when his "America's Mayor" tag soon wears off, and they actually look at him. Even Pataki sounded cogent in the couple of weeks after the attacks, and George is NOBODY'S idea of a president. Plus, on the other end, the left would go to any legal means to stop Rudy if he got that far. He is slime incarnate.
And remember, this is the man who fired Bill Bratton as police commissioner because Bratton took too much credit for a job well done, and who was much happier with the useless dirty cop, Bernard Kerik.
Case closed.
Hmmmmm...
Where does that leave us, then? Whoever will the GOP be able to find who has a national standing, is insanely hawkish on Iraq, gets fawning media coverage whenever he wants it, enjoys public displays of affection with the Lame-Duck Dictator, is REALLY pissed off at the Democrats and wants to have ALL the attention for himself? Hmmm...
"Well, Hidey-Ho-o-o-o, boys and girls!" It's Mr. Hankey, himself: JOEMENTUM!
Sen. Joe Lieberman (D for a while-CT)
Lieberman-Somebody '08!!
Because in your heart, you hate America!
Yes, boys and girls, that's what all this postering and posing ol' Joe's been doing since Ned Lamont started mounting a serious threat to Joe's job in DC. Will he? Won't he? Oh, he's being sooo cute. Gosh, whatever will he decide? Who WILL he caucus with? Are you a Good Democrat, Joe?
What, you MIGHT switch parties? Right.
Folks..., this is a lock. Joe hates everything that Democrats are, by this point. His poor feelings are so hurt, and mixing that with his astonishing ambition, he's maneuvering to set up a GOP draft in 2008. He'll soak the media for as long as he can. Then, he'll switch just in the time necessary to file papers before the GOP convention. Remember how he seemed to know all the myriad ins and outs of filing as an Independent in CT? Long before any of the rest of us has any hint that this was an option? Joe does his homework. He can probably tell you all he has to about running as a Republican in 'o8. How he needs to set up his mechanism, fundraising, logistics, etc.
But, how could this be, you ask?
Simple. He knows he's their answer. And he knows they're his. But, like his almost-boss, Gore, the idea is to play it cagey, and let the announced candidates kill each other off. The GOP would have to turn to SOMEBODY, and he's already shown he can pull enough Republican votes to win in a blue state.
Why doesn't he just switch now?
To avoid the primaries. Why get dragged into someone else's fight? Also, he'd get killed if he merely switched parties, and threw the Senate to the GOP. It's bad enough that Democrats hate him, he doesn't want the entire country on his ass. However, by playing the Coy Card, he keeps everybody guessing, thereby keeping CNN and FOX pinned down outside his office door.
He also must figure that he can paint anyone the Dems throw out as a far-left, out-of-touch, dangerous dreamer. Hill? Bring her on! He'll find that live Hillary nerve in the heart of the far right, and just keep poking it until she gets stalkers. He'll be the "skilled, experienced guy" against the "paperweight/he'll get us all killed" Obama. Perfect. As dirty as Joe needs to go, Joe goes.
Depending on how that other draft goes, though. The AFL is definitely looking at who the NFL picks.
The one fly in Joe's unctuous ointment, is Al. Al Gore has never engendered the bitter mania Hillary has; he's more experienced than even Joe, so the Obama tactic won't work on Al. Al's walked every necessary walk.
Yes, Al is Joe's nightmare. You figure Joe blames Al for costing him the VP in 2000, and thereby the White House in 2008. It was all right there! Waiting for Joementum! Oh well.
It would be a mercilessly ugly campaign, with Gore finally putting Joe out of our political misery.
Here's how I'm handicapping the next two years.
Democrat: Al Gore
vs.
Republican: Joe Lieberman
Winner: Al Gore '08.
That's my story and I'm sticking by it.
posted by Gotham 2:51 PM
Being Small, Livin' Large
This story is hysterically, but painfully, funny.0 comments
Smithsonian Head's Expenses 'Lavish,' Audit Says
To say the least.
I don't know what's most shocking through the course of the entire story. There are SO many wacky elements to this thing.
We are reminded, yet once again my fair ladies and gentlemen, that in Republican-held Washington, DC, we citizens are merely a 300 million+ person ATM machine for those who are well connected. YIIIPPPPEEEEEEEE! FREE CASH, DINNERS, JETS, TRIPS, JEWELRY, AND EVEN MOORRE CASH FOR ALL MY FRIENDS!!! THANK YOU, PEONS OF AMERICA! YOU'RE ALL SOOO KIND!!
OK. I'm better now. My, where to begin?
Do we look at our hero, Lawrence Small, Director of the Smithsonian Institute, for his extravagent lifestyle, for which he has spent over six years sending you and me the (VERY LARGE) bill? Do we look at how he negotiated a series of financial conditions when he took the job in 2000, only to flagrantly blow off each of those conditions, along with all other federal expense reporting regulations, as if certainly he were more important than those paltry triffles? Do we look to his staff who rode the Small gravy train for years without blowing the whistle, and then—unethically, but creatively—pitched in to do the paperwork for his investigation by auditors, so as to make him (not to mention, themselves) look MUCH better on paper?
Does it matter that Small was formerly president and COO at Fannie Mae, which has been dogged by corruption?
Do we look at Small's following of the George W. Bush/Neo-Con-mandated ideological corruption of the fully non-partisan inner workings of the American government? And perhaps take a look at how he stopped funding for scientific programs, and sold off major research access to America's Main Museum's archives to Showtime Networks? We can only assume he was so proud of that coup that he felt entitled to put the entire access fee directly into his pockets.
Do we look at harried acting Smithsonian Inspector General A. Sprightley Ryan and his team of auditors—American heroes, all—who MUST have gone through cases of Scotch, just trying to absorb the stunning enormity of Small's brazenness? How sore were their foreheads from slamming them on their desks at each new disclosure? And, remember, this is the ACTING Inspector General. He's the SUB! Where are their Medals of Freedom? And how, exactly, did former Smithsonian Inspector General Debra S. Ritt miss all this for so very long, hmmmm? Wouldn't Rep. Henry Waxman love to chat with her sometime? I'm sure she must have some fascinating stories.
Need we start making book on what poor, courageous Mr. Ryan's chances are, at this point, for confirmation to the fulltime gig...? Nah, didn't think so.
We should really, also, take a look at the 17-person Smithsonian Board of Regents, and their 4-member Audit and Review Committee—in place to oversee exactly this type of scenario. Well, yeah, they oversaw it, all right. And they loved it!
Three of the four people on this supposed Audit and Review Committee—the type of group which, if this were a corporate entity, would have been bound heavily by strident SEC regulations—included the co-founder of worldwide electric power comglomerate AES Corporation, who also is a former co-worker and longtime friend of Small's (and, BTW, has his wife also been installed as the president of the National Gallery of Art, which is also under the Smithsonian?); a "Washington real estate developer and philanthropist"; and the CEO of Bill Gates' shiny new foundation.
Obviously, the kinda folks who have their ears finely tuned to the voice of the common American. Not only were they not offended by Small's lavish taxpayer-paid lifestyle, they defend it!
"I think that any of that is far outweighed by his performance as secretary in the past seven years," [Roger Sant, chairman of both the Audit and Review Committee and the executive committee] said. "On any measure I can think of, his results have been outstanding."
***
Sant defended the expense but said Small's handling of [a $14,509 round-trip Lear Jet charter flight to San Antonio in May 2001] "was a little less rigorous than it should have been."
Oh.
In American, that's, "Hey Larry! I got your back, man! You go, bro'!"
Another sticking point: the full roster of 17 for the Regents Board, by charter, includes the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Vice President of the United States, 3 Senators and 3 Representatives, along with a gaggle of rich folk.
We can safely assume Dick Cheney believes Small was correctly keeping taxpayer cash safe, so Iranian terrorists couldn't get at it; Chief Justice John Roberts, Jr. was asked about Small, and the man who recently whined about Justices being underpaid said, "No comment."
"No comment."!!?? Yikes!! Do you really want this man sitting in judgement of ethics cases? Does there need to be another investigation here? Is Roberts seeing this as a learning exercise? Cheeesh!
The rest of the Regents gaggle can be assumed to be OK with all this since they've raised Small's base pay from $300,000+ to over $600,000 in six years. And that's before and apart from his becoming thoroughly expense account-challenged. So the millions in misspent American cash must not bother them all that much.
My favorite part though, is seeing Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), now in politically threatened waters, being shocked—SHOCKED, I SAY!!!—at finding out about the auditors' finding.
NOW? Now, they become the party of SMALL GOVERNMENT??
This is all hilariousness!
It just hurts so much when I laugh.
posted by Gotham 2:18 PM
Night of the Generals...?
This just in from Rupert Murdoch, in England:0 comments
US generals ‘will quit’ if Bush orders Iran attack
I guess Rupe's afraid of not having military cover while he's whipping up more warfare.
Considering all the various caveats that Iraq invasion foes were offering to the general discourse before George W. Bush actually took his army into Iraq have come true, it's particularly unnerving to see similar warnings cropping up, in terms of Iran.
... army chiefs fear an attack on Iran would backfire on American troops in Iraq and lead to more terrorist attacks, a rise in oil prices and the threat of a regional war.
Britain is concerned that its own troops in Iraq might be drawn into any American conflict with Iran, regardless of whether the government takes part in the attack.
So, are we looking at slaughtered U.S. soldiers, a wave of suicide bombings across the U.S., gas just too expensive for a trip to the Piggly Wiggly leaving children to die, and all the Middle East (including Israel) in nuclear flames? And Blair hanging outside of Number 10 Downing St.?
However, there is another question this brings up.
If the generals resign, and deny implementing The Lame Duck Dictator's blood lust, then it seems feasible for the legions down the ranks to do the same, n'est pas? It's feasible then to have the pilot's of those bombers view this as "a reckless attack" as well, ditch their bombs in the sea, and return to ship.
Because the plaque, "The Buck Stops Here!" was never meant to be seen sitting on a therapist's couch.
posted by Gotham 12:36 AM
Hmmm...
Hmmmm...0 comments
Draft Gore?
Joementum?
Could that possibly set up...
Al vs. Joe?
More Sunday.
posted by Gotham 12:17 AM
Missing the Point...
AMERICAblog most likely is my favorite blog reading. Smart, savvy, an interesting mix of temperate outrage and take-no-prisoners élan. Plus, the're not afraid to walk any needed walk by organizing boycotts and other actions when called for.0 comments
But they, along with the other main blogs, like TPM, are consistently missing the major endgame regarding the GOP presidential race, as it stands at the moment:
JOEMENTUM...!
It's late. More on this on Sunday.
posted by Gotham 12:04 AM
Saturday, February 24, 2007
THIS JUST IN...
DICK CHENEY STILL ALIVE!
Admit it, you weren't sure there for a moment, were you?0 comments
But, all options remain on the table for ol' Richard B. Cheney, including Impeachment, perhaps a Black Box Prison cell in the Czech Republic, some rest home Brittney Spears might recommend or just simple, total insignificance.
Cheney Says All Options on Table for Iran
This pathetic old fool has become America's latest update of the old "Generalísimo Francisco Franco is still dead!" stories from SNL's first year.
He used to be so powerful, too. We used to quake at every utterance. Whenever he'd insist that the sun rose in the west, serious journalists nodded seriously. Headline editors used his quotes in banner headlines: CHENEY: 'THE EARTH IS FLAT!' And besotted Republicans would drive their SUVs off the end of the Earth into the oblivion of space.
Cable news operations would take his pronouncements (I HAD ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH HALIBURTON GETTING ALL THOSE NO-BID CONTRACTS FOR IRAQ... . OR ALASKA... . OR KUWAIT... . OR SAUDI ARABIA..., OR..., OR..., ALL THOSE OTHER PLACES! or WE HAVE CLEAR INTELLIGENCE THAT PROVES NANCY PELOSI IS OSAMA BIN LADIN'S MISTRESS!) as absolute gospel, and repeat them hour after hour, news cycle after news cycle.
Now, however, he's merely relegated to wandering from nutjob rally to nutjob rally in backwards states or even more-backwards countries, insisting that Saddam Hussein is alive and threatening the U.S. with imminent destruction with his vast nuclear arsenal.
He may still look fatter and redder in the face than ever, but you can see Dick deflating by the second.
posted by Gotham 12:32 PM
Monday, February 19, 2007
Bush Finds Religion...
Or At Least, Afghanistan
Brother...0 comments
Al Qaeda Chiefs Are Seen to Regain Power
With all due respect to Mark Mazzetti and David Rohde, this article stumbles through the smell test.
If this is a Tony Snow Special, complete with blind quotes, it fits the M.O. perfectly. The administration has happily rediscovered its neglected stepchild war just this past week as its "Last Chance for Iraq" surge doesn't seem to be working. With grand announcements from The Lame Duck Dictator, and sly asides from administration minions (all to take your attention off of how badly they've battered and abused Number One Son War), it seems we have a new toy!
"uhhh, OK, so Iraq doesn't scare you anymore? It just pisses you off? Umm, You say you like THIS war, over here? OK, THEN, WE'RE ALL ABOUT THIS WAR! THAT DOPEY OTHER WAR IS SO-O-O-O LAST WEEK! THIS WAR? IT'S REEEALLY SCARY! SCARY!...SCARY!"
Scared yet?
If, however, this is actual reporting from Misters Mazzetti and Rohde, my apologies, and we're in deep Bush-induced shit.
Question:
Has anyone noticed anything happening in the last six years that hasn't been EXACTLY the way Osama bin Laden would have drawn it up on paper?
2nd Question:
Could President George W. Bush have done ANYTHING more to aid and abet the enemies of the United States?
If Frank Gaffney, Jr. of the Washington Times and the other Neo-Con zombies want to go around hanging people for treason, let them start with their own leadership which has so much blood on its collective hands.
I assume they've recently stepped up work on Bush's retirement home in Paraguay.
From Mazzetti and Rohde:
Officials said that the United States still had little idea where Mr. bin Laden and Mr. [Ayman al-]Zawahri had been hiding since 2001, but that the two men were not believed to be present in the camps currently operating in North Waziristan. Among the indicators that American officials cited as a sign that Qaeda leaders felt more secure was the release of 21 statements by Mr. bin Laden and Mr. Zawahri in 2006, roughly twice the number as in the previous year.
They "couldn't" find them, because they didn't "want" to find them, OK?
But, yes. We are scared now. Because these are the really bad guys. They've killed before and they'll kill again.
And they've been given a bloody, absolute, Get-Out-of-Jail-Free card from this administration.
Do government types really want to know where these men are? Really?
Simple. Do we have to tell them EVERYTHING!? Cheeesh!
OK. This is easy. GOP campaign fundraisers. Just back up the paddywagon. There is no more safe and secure a haven for crooks, cranks and evildoers in the world than your basic white tie affair among Bush's Base, with folks trying to get their Paraguay tickets punched. But only if you've got tons of cash and no soul. Osama bin Laden would blend right in.
posted by Gotham 10:16 AM
Sunday, February 18, 2007
A Question
A Film Star in Kampala, Conjuring Amin's Ghost0 comments
Who plays the Lame Duck Dictator when the U.S.'s film gets made?
posted by Gotham 3:46 PM
They're ANIMALS! ANIMALS, I Say!...
...oh, they're us? Oh. Well, sorry, never mind, move along then, nothing to see here...0 comments
Jailed 2 Years, Iraqi Tells of Abuse by Americans
This is such a damning quote:
Through it all, Mr. [Laith al-]Ani was never actually charged with a crime; he said he was questioned only once during his more than two years at the camp.
...
“He was released because the board that reviewed his case didn’t believe he any longer posed a threat,” said First Lt. Lea Ann Fracasso, a spokeswoman for detention operations, in a written answer to questions. “He was originally detained as a security threat. I don’t have anything more.”
...Driving While Iraqi, obviously.
Maybe this had something to do with his finally seeing an end to his nightmare:
Just three weeks earlier, his last letter home — with its poetic yearnings and a sketch of a caged pink heart — appeared in The Times in one of a series of articles on Iraq’s troubled detention and justice system.
Arrested for no reason. Held for two years. Questioned once. Abused often. Forced to say it was Club Med to finally get out. His whereabouts passed on to the Shiite Death Squads.
Sounds more like your typical, local corrupt police precinct. Maybe Mississippi or Alabama in the early '60s, with Ani playing "the Negro."
Hey, the leadership at SITCOMM may be scum. But they're OUR scum.
This is what the Neo-cons of Cheney and Rumsfeld have made out of our once proud and vaunted military.
posted by Gotham 3:24 PM
Michael, Take A Letter...!
"Mimeograph Michael" Gordon is at it again.0 comments
One wonders if he takes the time to check the White House's grammar before submitting their press release copy to his editors. Or run a spellcheck, maybe?
Michael and his New York Times editors are at it again. Page 1/Top Of The Page space is SO VERY HARD to fill on most Sundays nowadays!
Planning Seen in Iraqi Attacks on U.S. Copters
Judith Miller isn't available these days, so they've teamed "Mimeo Mike" with David S. Cloud, from the Pentagon beat. Of course, you might know that David's already reported on this story 10 days ago under Richard Oppel, Jr. and James Glanz's byline, as part of a gaggle of New York Times staff:
THE STRUGGLE FOR IRAQ; LOSS OF COPTERS SUGGESTS CHANGE IN IRAQI TACTICS
Here's David's part:
"REPORTING WAS CONTRIBUTED BY DAVID S. CLOUD FROM WASHINGTON, AND ALI ADEEB, QAIS MIZHER AND AN IRAQI EMPLOYEE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES FROM BAGHDAD. (NYT); Foreign Desk"
One can only surmise that: a) lifting this basic story from other Times reporters is jake with the Times' editors (and with Oppel and Glanz); and b) David was responsible for the spiffy "Kingfish"-style quotes from the Pentagon brass ("...And the bazookas were a 'zookin'! ZOOK-ZOOK! ZOOK-ZOOK!"—Amos & Andy, a 1950s sitcom), added to give some spice to the tale.
Michael's usual crassness notwithstanding, White House Press Secretary Tony Snow worked overtime to work in some basic, core GOP threads within the release.
First, the Whining...
From the Pentagon and the GOP: "Muh-o-o-o-m-m-m! They won't hold still and let us beat them! They keep moving around! Mom, they keep shooting at us!"
Sure sounds like Gen. Charles Cornwallis is running this operation.
Then, the Shock of Recognition...
After downing the helicopters, the insurgents often laid ambushes for the American ground troops they expected to come to the rescue, sometimes using roadside bombs that they placed in advance. American troops were attacked in five instances in which they rushed to the scene of aircraft that had been shot down, military officials said.
Where have we seen this double-attack technique before? Hmmm, oh yes...now we remember, abortion clinic bombers in the U.S.
Then, the Grudging Admiration...
The intelligence report supports the concerns expressed by an American general this month that militants were adapting their tactics in an effort to step up attacks against helicopters. Such strikes have increased since the United States expanded its military operations in Baghdad in August. From December to January, the number of antiaircraft attacks rose by 17 percent, according to an American military report.
Insurgents in Iraq have boasted about the helicopter downings and posted video of some of the wreckage on militant Web sites. While Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia has claimed it has “new ways” to shoot down the aircraft, some American analysts believe they are probably not employing new types of weapons but rather are making more effective use of arms already in their inventory.
The insurgents try to plan their attacks by studying flight patterns near American bases and along supply routes, according to the intelligence report.
In several recent helicopter downings, the attackers used a variety of weapons, including shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles, heavy machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and unguided rockets that cannot be diverted by the flares helicopters disperse to fool heat-seeking systems.
Hmmmm... looks like the Sunni's intelligence operation is better than ours. "What Porter Goss hath wraught!"
Then, the Inherent Racism...
"Wow, who knew these dirty little towelheads could figure out a Plan?!?!? They're actually using a strategy! Clever little wogs! They're actually adapting!!! We may actually have to go back and rethink this. Looks like we may have to give these little savages a tad more credit, eh wot?"
The bloodthirsty GOP wanted a war. Now, they've got one.
Doesn't seem to be going so well for them. Eh, wot?
posted by Gotham 2:25 PM
So Much for Waffling—
On My Part
As a New York resident, I'm conflicted about Hillary Rodham Clinton. She'll say something I like; she'll say something I don't. But I can say my view's been mostly positive, overall.0 comments
But Hillary just found Michael Dukakis' Tank! And Ed Muskie's teardrop.
Clinton Gives War Critics New Answer on '02 Vote
In short, she's toast.
As a presidential candidate, she makes a great Senator.
She's out to prove she's bulletproof on being a tough, strong leader. Just when America has just shouted to the rooftops that we don't want another macho president, male or female. We want someone wise, resourceful and with internal fortitude. Not machismo.
Now she says she believes in the Imperial Presidency; only, just with her in it.
Deja vu? Remember when the Lame Duck Dictator said having a dictatorship wasn't that bad an idea? As long as HE was the dictator?
No diff. So, you can view into the future, at some reporter wretch asking Hillary what mistakes she's made. And hearing the same stoney silence.
It's time the Bush and Clinton families officially relinquish the White House and let some of the other 300 million Americans play, too. N'est pas?
posted by Gotham 4:35 AM
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Cheney: My Kingdom For A King!
Shuuuuuuush! This is something SOOOOOOO secret, from a White House attack on Seymour Hersh in 1975 for finding YET ANOTHER administration abuse of power, Dick Cheney hasn't even told himself! Even from 1975! Boy, can he keep a secret!0 commentsThen, as in 1975, Mr. Cheney played a central role in managing the White House’s relationship with the press. It was not precisely the same, however. In 2003, for instance, Mr. Cheney was not protecting secrets but authorizing Mr. Libby to peddle them to Judith Miller, then a reporter for The Times, in an effort to counter the points made in the opinion article, according to Mr. Libby’s grand jury testimony. But his combative relationship with the press and the goals that animate it have not changed.
“He’s had the same idea for the past 30 years,” said Kathryn S. Olmsted, a history professor at the University of California at Davis, who wrote about the Cheney file in her 1996 book, “Challenging the Secret Government.”
“His philosophy is that the president and the vice president and the people around the president decide what’s secret and what’s not,” she said [emphasis ours -- GN]. “They thought they had to aggressively go after the press and Congress to reclaim the powers the president lost in Watergate.”
Ahhh, well offered Mr. Cheney! But, then, only the American people decide who's a crook and who's not!
Perhaps Mr. Cheney should consider emigrating to the country with the monarchy of his choice. For it's clear that he's just not going to be happy here, or get very far trying to turn the chief executive of a republic into a king. But that's certainly not for trying!
posted by Gotham 7:45 PM
Rudy Watch: Rudy Makes A Funny!
Like hundreds of thousands of other social misfits who kept going west in search of reinventing themselves over the next hill, only to find the last hill had the Pacific Ocean behind it, Rudy Giuliani brings his "Land of Broken Firemen" campaign tour to California's GOP dinner.0 comments
Since Stephen Colbert was obviously not available, Rudy had to step into the humorist spot:
Rudy: "Presidents have to take decisions and move the country forward, and that's the kind of president I would like to be: a president who makes decisions."
hehhehhehhehhahhahhehhehhehhehhahhahhehhehhehhahhehhehhehhahhehhahhahheh!
Hoo, BOY! That RUDY! He's such a kidder... .
Yes, poor Rudy would LIKE to be that. The only rub is that he's simply incapable of being that. Here's Rudy "The Two-Week Mayor" Giuliani in a nutshell.Rudy: “Yes, I am committed” to the race. Asked when he would formally announce his candidacy, he said: “I don’t know. If you go back to my speech, I think I may have. I’m not sure. I think I did, I’m not sure. I don’t know what formally means. We’ll figure out how to do it in five places where it gets more attention.”
The only thing Rudy EVER wants is more attention.
This is also what his EVERY press conference as president would be like. Be forewarned.
The only issue Rudy has shown apt ability to make decisions on is staffer-banging.
Rudy! What a kidder... !
posted by Gotham 6:55 PM
The Havoc of Puny Men...
I posted this on an Eschaton comment board last night. Thought I'd repost it here today.0 commentsLord, Lord, Lord...
I was raised a devout Catholic; was a long-time unmolested altar boy; went to Catholic schools from k to 1st year of college; once seriously planned to attend the seminary (until puberty struck!); played CYO basketball; went to CYO dances; hung out at the local K of C hall with my dad and his pals. Unfortunately, I've also been forced to listen to the drooling rantings of this fool for a couple of years now and been forced to hear him described as "a Catholic," simply because I'm also a News junkie.
Ladies and gentlemen, please remember at all times:
1) The Catholic League is not a Catholic league; it is a hate group; like the Moonies or the KKK; but a very small one. Their aim is not discourse, it's Total Control--by all six of their members, if they have that many. Has any news organization done the mundane reporting part of their job, and checked? Is there any other member of this supposed "group" besides [Bill] Donohue, all by his lonesome? Which cable news operation or media conglomerate, to date, has asked Donohue to provide a copy of his membership rolls to establish authenticity?
2) Donohue is to Catholicism as
Spam is to finely marbled filet mignon.
3) Fire the TV producer who first had the brilliant idea that putting him on the air meant they were doing their job competently.
Please, no more air time for this whack job, and spend no more computer bytes angsting over anything this moron says.
I don't have a dog in the '08 race as of yet; I'm certainly not a Barak Obama supporter yet; but his approach of freezing out fascist whacks who have media access has definitely gotten my attention. Bravo, sir!
[John] Edwards: take a lesson here. Your very first reaction should have been to crush this little weasel utterly. Or dismiss him totally at the outset. You allowed this one puny individual to have huge sway over the campaign you've lovingly spent years trying to build. Not wise form, sir. How do we think you'd go nose-to-nose with belligerent world leaders who might mean us harm, if you can't handle a pipsqueak like Donohue?
posted by Gotham 1:59 PM
McCain: New Support for the "Who Me?"-Feingold Bill
McCain Taps Cash He Sought To Limit0 comments
Scum.
posted by Gotham 3:21 AM
