Open Thread Friday

Traveling.

Comments

[Jane]

Morning everyone! That's what they call it.

[Jeff Dobbs]

It's Morning in America.

[Jane]

So H&R, you are becoming quite famous. Can I say I knew you when...?

[Jeff Dobbs]

Well, like John Edwards, I will never forget my roots.

[Jane]

EWwwwwwww

[Jeff Dobbs]

A haircut from celebrity stylist Joseph Torrenueva of Beverly Hills for John Edwards: $400

Services from a trendy salon and spa in Dubuque for John Edwards: $250

Services from the Pink Sapphire in Manchester -- the unique boutique for the mind, body and face that caters mostly to women: $225

Using a John Edwards speech to mock his economic populism with his lavish and superficial lifestyle: Priceless

Some things in life are free. For everything else, there's satire.

[Dan S]

Satire: the last refuge of the cynical.

I got a kick out of that pinky-stuff, H&R. But AT's style of archiving stuff makes finding the other Mission Impossible (I smoked my 'next' key). Wish he'd put in an index by author (or is it just behind some sort of coded barrier reserved for those who don't need it?)

[clarice]

Well Dan he does for the larger articles but not the blogs which aren't archived.Speaking of which he still hasn't posted my article.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Dan S:
But AT's style of archiving stuff makes finding the other Mission Impossible

I blame Bush.

hey, nice to see you...btw

[clarice]

http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/04/no_secret_trail_for_aipac_defe_1.html

[clarice]

http://www.americanthinker.com/2007/04/no_secret_trail_for_aipac_defe_1.html>AIPAC

[Jeff Dobbs]

Wow, Clarice....yeah, I sooo wish to believe the prosecution's proposals you wrote about was parody that you invented. So as not to become more cynical, of course.

Holy cow.

[Other Tom]

H&R, you oughta start doing that stuff for money. You're better than a lot of folks who are regularly in print these days.

I'm really enjoying the fallout from the haircut thing. For one thing, it give me a chance to use the term "tipping point," as in Edwards is now toast. The folks at Lucianne are on it big-time, and they equate it with Muskie's tears, Kerry's magic hat, etc. How can this clown ever again stand up and give his "two Americas" speech? Which America are we supposed to think he inhabits? God, I love to smite these jackals when they are down!

[Jeff Dobbs]

I think the prosecution's proposed procedures are bull-"four letter word A" and "swear word B"-'ed up

[Dan S]

Wow, Clarice, that is indeed some weird stuff. The use of Get Smart is appropriate, as the silliness is comparable.

What's needed is more deterrence to prevent the need for these trials and the resulting (sometimes) additional exposure of NDI.

For whatever reason the same government that's pushing this case didn't find it appropriate to maintain precedent with past harsh penalties for improper handling of classified materials. So it's all a bit of a head-scratcher.

Consistency may be a bit overrated as a virtue, but at least it confuses us poor members of the public less.

[clarice]

Apparently yesterday he gave the prosecution two weeks to come up w/ another plan, appeal or drop the case.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/19/AR2007041902295_pf.html>Not Smart

It does make you wonder how stupid DoJ is, doesn't it?

How could they imagine this could work?I especially loved the rotating names and code--One man's Finland is another man's Iceland..

[Other Tom]

Clarice, you're now posted on Lucianne. And they even preserved the typo in the title.

[clarice]

Thanks! First the editor had failed to post the thing because of a mechanical thingy, then I emailed him several times about the error, finally I called him(it turns out hs was rebooting and missed the emails) and he said he'd correct it but too late..Oh dear!!! Awful.(Not the first time this has happened.

[clarice]

OT--You don't think DoJ thought they'd pull that off, do you?

Rumor has been flying for some time that they were trying to get rid of this case. Or maybe they consulted with that creative genius, Fitzpatrick.

[centralcal]

Have a day off (hooray) and trying to catch up . . . H&R!!!! Woohoo!!! I am so impressed that you are on AT and are such a clever satirist. Of course, everyone here knew you had talent!

Now, off to Lucianne to read Clarice's piece.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Other Tom...have another bloody mary. For your health!

Fruity cocktails count as health food, study finds
Thu Apr 19, 7:41 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A fruity cocktail may not only be fun to drink but may count as health food, U.S. and Thai researchers said on Thursday.

Adding ethanol -- the type of alcohol found in rum, vodka, tequila and other spirits -- boosted the antioxidant nutrients in strawberries and blackberries, the researchers found.

Any colored fruit might be made even more healthful with the addition of a splash of alcohol, they report in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.
...

Any colored fruit or vegetable is rich in antioxidants, which are chemicals that can cancel out the cell-damaging effects of compounds called free radicals.

Berries, for instance, contain compounds known as polyphenols and anthocyanins. People who eat more of these fruits and vegetables have a documented lower risk of cancer, heart disease and some neurological diseases.

[Dan S]

Hmm, strawberry margarita for lunch then.

[DEMO]

Training Iraqi troops no longer driving force in U.S. policy

WASHINGTON - Military planners have abandoned the idea that standing up Iraqi troops will enable American soldiers to start coming home soon and now believe that U.S. troops will have to defeat the insurgents and secure control of troubled provinces.

"Training Iraqi troops, which had been the cornerstone of the Bush administration's Iraq policy since 2005, has dropped in priority, officials in Baghdad and Washington said."

[Jeff Dobbs]

Ahhhhh crap, there goes my weekend.

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- Greensboro police said they have been planning for weeks to keep an anti-war demonstration Saturday peaceful.

National activist Cindy Sheehan is scheduled to speak at a downtown rally

But wait!

police said there will be a large number of counterprotesters.

Many of the counterprotesters are expected to be from a veterans group called the Gathering of Eagles and a motorcycle group called Rolling Thunder.

Eagles member Charles Gant of Greensboro said he expects 500 or more counterprotesters and hopes to outnumber the anti-war group.

[clarice]

But will the papier mache heads of the counterprotestors be as good as the antis? Inquiring minds fue;ed with fruity cocktails want to know.

[DEMO]

Putting the 'F' in FUBAR

". . . it's more than a bit disingenuous to cast today's debate as one of Plan A versus Plan B. In fact, we've seen at least five major strategies implemented in Iraq, and all have failed, creating a legacy of bad blood that undermines our continuing efforts. Much of this failure owes to the naive belief that we can impose our will on the Iraqi people through our strategies, or win their support with a combination of security and reconstruction."

"Gen. Petraeus and his brain trust have devised the best possible Plan F, given the resources available to the Pentagon and declining patience for the war at home. But the Achilles heel of this latest effort is the Maliki government. It is becoming increasingly clear to all in Baghdad that its interests—seeking power and treasure for its Shiite backers—diverge sharply from those of the U.S.-led coalition. Even if Gen. Petraeus' plan succeeds on the streets of the city, it will fail in the gilded palaces of the Green Zone. Maliki and his supporters desire no rapprochement with the Sunnis and no meaningful power-sharing arrangement with the Sunnis and the Kurds. Indeed, Maliki can barely hold his own governing coalition together, as evidenced by the Sadr bloc's resignation from the government this week and the fighting in Basra over oil and power."

"Plan F will fail if (or when) the Maliki government fails, even if it improves security. At that point, we will have run out of options, having tried every conceivable strategy for Iraq. It will then be time for Plan G: Get out."

[Cecil Turner]

Malkin has some good responses to Reid from folks actually serving. My favorite:

But they do know that if they help us, they are noticed by terrorists and extremists. They decide to help us if they think we can protect them from those terrorists. They tell us where caches of weapons are hidden. They call and report small groups of men who are strangers to the neighborhood, men that look the same to us, but are obvious to them as a foreign suicide cell.

To be brief, your words are killing us. Your statements make the Iraqis afraid to help us for fear we'll leave them unprotected in the future. They don't report a cache, and its weapons blow up my friends in a convoy. They don't report a foreign fighter, and that fighter sends a mortar onto my base. Your statements are noticed, and they have an effect.

Finally, you are mistaken when you say we are losing. We are winning, I see it every day. However, we will win with fewer casualties if you help us. Will you?

Apparently not.

[Appalled Moderate]

Cecil:

Of course, this is why Congress should not bother giving money with conditions. they should just defund the entire enterprise to force a withdrawal.

Even I know that sometimes, the moderate position is the worst one of all.

[topsecretk9]

From clarice's article:

Making this even more preposterous was that the jury which would hear and see the classified information wouldn't have security clearances and could not be prevented from disclosing it to others.

In other words, they are setting up the jury to maybe find themselves in the same spot as the defendants if they might even inadvertently spill a bean - why would anyone want to be on this jury?

(of course the idea is bizarrely dumb - remember this is McNulty's case so)

[Specter]

On a different note. Did you see this quote from Murtha?

"I am proud of these troops and what they have done," said Murtha, D-Pa. "They won the war and the mission was accomplished. We cannot win it militarily. It can only be won diplomatically."

From "murderers" to "proud". And I don't want to hear another quack from the left about the "mission accomplished" banner. Even Murtha says it is so.

[clarice]

Actually, as the Judge noted, the jurors were under no legal obligation not to tell, and merely telling them not to talk about it after the trial would prejudice the defendants because it would make them assume the very thing they were to decide:whether the information constituted national defense information.

This proposal is w/o doubt the stupidest thing (perhaps short of the indictments themselves) I've ever seen. And Szady the dope was behind this, and--yes--McNulty, too.

[Specter]

But even funnier is the "we won the war" followed by "We cannot win it militarily." Sounds like the Murtha-Reid show is in full tilt and ready for the big time.

[Cecil Turner]

. . . they should just defund the entire enterprise to force a withdrawal.

Alternately, the Dems coulda got on board for a win . . . about four years ago.

Even I know that sometimes, the moderate position is the worst one of all.

Yes, and voting for war--and then doing your best to undermine it--is particularly unimpressive. On a related note, when I saw Drudge's headline "'Devastating' Bill Moyers Probe of Press and Iraq Coming on PBS; Dan Rather Admits: I Blew It..." I thought they might perhaps be willing to admit a teensy bit of regret for airing enemy propaganda at every opportunity. But no, they're doing more mea culpas over "war cheerleading." And Rather "admits" he "didn't dig enough." (Maybe we can even get Ted Kennedy to "admit" that "Bush lied.")

[clarice]

It's another Rove plot:Let Reid and Murtha and the rest of the clowns get unimpeded airtime 24/7.

[cathyf]

I find that Peggy Noonan's column today is really annoying me. She says things like: "...Cho Seung-hui, who was obviously dangerous and unstable..." and then goes off blaming everybody for lacking common sense and not being "adult" enough to stop him. Her last two sentences are "Too bad nobody stopped him. Too bad nobody moved."

I think I'm agreeing with Sara here -- geez, stop blaming everybody but Cho himself. I don't have control of the remote in my house, so the last couple of nights when I have looked up from my laptop it has been to the CNN and Fox wall-to-wall coverage. I have big problems with them televising Cho's last manifesto over and over. But on the other hand, they also spent a lot of time interviewing people who actually knew the actual guy. And they universally are saying that no, it was not obvious that Cho was dangerous. He seemed like just another one of the many college students who are having mental health problems, and no, they aren't dangerous. Several of the experts came on to say that the whole point of paranoia is that the person, as part of the disease, is terrified to confide in anyone.

Noonan calls the stuff he sent to NBS news "[t]he self-serving meanderings of a crazy, self-indulgent narcissist." What a nasty b**** thing to say. What is "common sense" to me is that Cho was tortured and ultimately broken by unimaginable evil which existed nowhere except in his head. Every one of the news reports agreed on one thing -- all of the people who have seen all of the "manifesto" -- at the FBI, their experts, the journalists, their experts -- all of them say that they have no idea who Cho meant by "you" when he, in virtually every sentence, complains about what "you" have done to him.

Noonan seems to be claiming that Cho was merely pretending to be crazy, so that he could somehow "get away" with something. And so it is everybody else's fault -- school officials, roommates, judges, his parents, etc. -- for falling for it or something. How about I try my version of reality and common sense: two days after the guy and his 32 victims were dead, Cho provided an extraordinary view into the heart of madness. And what it showed us is that what we are dealing with a terrible problem. Sometimes we get lucky, and some little shred of sanity left reaches out for help, but that doesn't always happen. And because we don't have any magical machine that can look into people's heads and see what they are thinking, we have no practical way of helping the person with paranoid delusions if that person is too paranoid to believe that people will help and not hurt him/her.

[clarice]

I can't ever stand her, cathy. Term limits for pundits!!

[topsecretk9]

But Cecil they support the troops

Last month I wrote (in regards to the Congress double speak)

Military types are always 7 steps ahead of the dimwits in Congress

To which troop supporter Demo/Sfrerris responded:

Military types are always 7 steps ahead of the dimwits in Congress? Yes, that helps explain how the Military has done such a wonderful job in Iraq to date. Forgot, Abu Garhib?

Posted by: sferris | March 24, 2007 at 01:07 AM

So, it's pretty much a lie they hide behind, they not only don't support the troopas, they are actively at war against them - so to speak

[Jeff Dobbs]

cathyf:
I don't have control of the remote in my house, so the last couple of nights when I have looked up from my laptop it has been to the CNN and Fox wall-to-wall coverage.

Well, then I will stop complaining about looking up from my laptop to see Grey's Anatomy and whatever show that was last night with "Ally Mcbeal" and Sally Field and "Arvin Sloan" etc.

[DEMO]

"Putting the 'F' in FUBAR" was written by Phillip Carter a former U.S. Army officer who served in Iraq and writes a blog at Intel-dump.com">http://www.intel-dump.com/">Intel-dump.com on national security issues.

[Les Nessman]

"...said Murtha, D-Pa. "They won the war and the mission was accomplished..."

Mission Accomplished?

Uh oh. I wonder if the usual anti-America crowd will snarkily throw that back in Murtha's face.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Michael Ledeen on the Corner:

But I do think we are overlawyered, and maybe there, as Shakespeare once remarked, there is a solution...

Hey, at least he didn't say "Faster, Please".

[maryrose]

H7R:
Bothers and Sisters"is the Sunday night show you are referring to and Grey's Anatomy is the Thursday night show. It just illustrates that Mrs. H&R is watching the most popular shows on tv.

[PeterUK.]

"they should just defund the entire enterprise to force a withdrawal."

Do you really think there can be a withdrawal without getting a bloody nose in the process?
That Iran and al Qaeda will just let the Coalition walk peacefully away?
How much influence would America have in the Middle East if you walk,who will ever trust her again?
Iran and AQ will trumpet this as THE defeat of the worlds only superpower,"Apres Toi le Deluge"

[DEMO]

USA Today poll, March 5:

Which comes closer to your view about the war in Iraq?
Definitely win: 11%.
Probably win: 17%.
Can win, but don't think will win: 20%
Do not think it can win: 46%

CNN poll, March 13:

Do you think the U.S. can win or cannot win the war in Iraq?
Can win: 46%
Cannot win: 46%

Washington Post/ABC News poll, April 16:

Will U.S. win or lose the war?
Lose: 51%
Win: 35%

Rasmussen poll, April 16:

Thirty-three percent (33%) of American voters believe that history will ultimately judge the U.S. mission in Iraq a success. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 50% of Likely Voters believe the mission will be deemed a failure.

[Jane]

To be brief, your words are killing us.

Yup, and as you can see from Troll central they take great pride in killing our soldiers. I don't know how many years I have left, but I don't plan on forgiving them any time soon.

[Cecil Turner]

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 50% of Likely Voters believe the mission will be deemed a failure.

Looks to me like fertile ground for a doctoral-level thesis on propaganda and the effects on national opinion. Wonder how many times were they told that before they started believing it? And whether it's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

But the really unattractive part of this is the supposedly loyal Americans who rub their hands in glee at the prospect of a US defeat. Nice.

[Dan S]

"Michael Ledeen on the Corner:

But I do think we are overlawyered, and maybe there, as Shakespeare once remarked, there is a solution...

Hey, at least he didn't say "Faster, Please".

Posted by: hit and run | April 20, 2007 at 12:11 PM"

Ledeen is THAT old? He was there to hear the Bard "remark" that?

I wish people wouldn't do this with fictional works. Shakespeare did WRITE it, we believe, but the only one who says it is the character in the play. That does not at all mean that Shakespeare meant it, any more than what Ledeen says means he really means we should kill all the lawyers. But phrasing it this way gives it an apparent authority that just isn't there.

What charaters in fictional works say is not necessarily what the author would say at all.

For example... there's this satiricist who goes by H&R...

[Rick Ballard]

The Copperheads need to come up with a flag and a motto. I think a scuttling cockroach on yellow (or maybe a white background with yellow splotches) would be fitting. Maybe with 'Semper Infidelis' in script at the bottom.

CathyF,

I looked through a few CDC 'studies' on the incidence of mental illness. I found nothing that could provide an actual comparison between, say, 1960 and 2007 - the changes in diagnosis make comparisons worthless.

[DEMO]

Boehner’s 60 Days On Iraq Are Up

BOEHNER: I think it will be rather clear in the next 60 to 90 days as to whether this plan is going to work. And, again, that's why we need to have close oversight, so that we just don't look up 60 or 90 days from now and realize that -- that this plan is not working. We need to know, as we -- as we're -- we move through these benchmarks, that the Iraqis are doing what they have to do.

KOPPEL: You spent a weekend at Camp David recently, along with other Republican leaders, and had a lot of one-on-one time with President Bush to talk about Iraq. What did you tell the president?

BOEHNER: Well, I told -- I told the president and others in his administration that there's skepticism on the Hill as to whether this plan will work.

There is skepticism about whether the Iraqis really will step up and bring their military into Iraq, whether they will do the other parts of this plan that they have committed to. And that's -- the skepticism is built around the fact that so much of the plan is dependent on the Iraqis doing their part.

[Jane]

Did you guys see this:

Biden Blames GOP for Virginia Tech Killings

Sen. Joe Biden, a Democratic Party candidate for president in 2008, on Thursday blamed the Republicans for the Virginia Tech killings and a string of events that have made news in the past few years.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/4/20/
74655.shtml?s=rss

[DEMO]

Your President

“My job is a job to make decisions. I’m a decision — if the job description were, what do you do — it’s decision-maker. And I make a lot of big ones, and I make a lot of little ones.” - George Bush

[boris]

supposedly loyal Americans who rub their hands in glee at the prospect of a US defeat

If they manage to bring it off they are not going to like what happens next. The disconnect between ...

• 50% of Likely Voters believe the mission will be deemed a failure;

• To be brief, your words are killing us.

... could be detrimental to their comfort well being. There is an element of risk when you hire a hit man to take out your enemies then refuse to pay because you changed your mind about wanting them dead.

[jcox31vc]

If Reid, Murtha and all were around in 1944; afer Normany, we would have pulled out of Europe, and after Iwo Jima, we would have pulled out of the Pacific.

[DEMO]

Your President

The White House issued a statement yesterday saying that President Bush was “pleased with the Attorney General’s testimony.” Dana Perino told CBS News this morning that the President was “updated” on the Gonzales hearing but that she does not know whether Mr. Bush actually saw any part of the proceedings.

[topsecretk9]

Yes Jane....chickenhawk also proposes we engage the "military loosers" in Darfur -

Biden, the Senate Foreign Relations committee chairman, called for military action to resolve the killing in Darfur and promoted his plan for peace in Iraq that would divide the country along ethnic lines.

Can't make it up

[PeterUK.]

"I told the president and others in his administration that there's skepticism on the Hill as to whether this plan will work."

This is shorthand for "Please God,get the Iraq campaign off the table before 2008,we don't want the Republicans winning anything before the election".

[Barry]

From the article jane referred to:

Senator Biden:

"I would argue, since 1994 with the Gingrich revolution, just take a look at Iraq, Venezuela, Katrina, what's gone down at Virginia Tech, Darfur, Imus. Take a look. This didn't happen accidentally, all these things," he said.

AND,

During his first presidential bid in 1987, Biden told one New Hampshire voter who questioned his law school grades that: "I think I probably have a much higher IQ than you do."

Joe Biden Newsmax Article

[MikeS]

Someone should let the Copperheads know that the debate is over on the Iraq war.

A consensus of U.S. military officers and every mainstream analysis agree that we should not set a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq.

Everyone knows a consensus is everything.

[Barry]

Oh, and I think Bidens IQ is inversely proportional to the size of his mouth.

[PeterUK.]

"Iraq, Venezuela, Katrina, what's gone down at Virginia Tech, Darfur, Imus."

Conflating these issues is an indication of moral retardation,DARFUR and IMUS?

[Cecil Turner]

Thanks for the cite Jane. My favorite:

"I would argue, since 1994 with the Gingrich revolution, just take a look at Iraq, Venezuela, Katrina, what's gone down at Virginia Tech, Darfur, Imus. Take a look. This didn't happen accidentally, all these things," he said.

I actually think trying to blame an act of God on politics is even dumber than blaming it on God. Which is fairly impressive, in its own inimitable way.

BTW, the actual linkage to extremist weirdness at this time of year is Hitler's birthday (today, as it happens), and the Extra-Terrestrials that inspired him. The danger zone extends to the 24th. No doubt the leakage from all the mind waves is what's making Biden sound like a nut job (possibly with a bit of political opportunism thrown in for good measure).

[topsecretk9]

Oh, and I think Bidens IQ is inversely proportional to the size of his mouth.

The only thing standing between Joe Biden and the presidency is his mouth. That, though, is no small matter. It is a Himalayan barrier, a Sahara of a handicap, a summer's day in Death Valley, a winter's night at the pole (either one) -- an endless list of metaphors intended to show you both the immensity of the problem and to illustrate it with the op-ed version of excess. This, alas, is Joe Biden.

The reviews for Biden's first crack at Samuel Alito, the humorless Supreme Court nominee, were murderous. The New York Times had Biden out on Page One -- normally a position to kill for -- only this time it was not a paean to his considerable merits, but an account of how it took him nearly three minutes of throat-clearing to ask his first question and then took the rest of his allocated 30 minutes just to get in four more. He concluded with about half a minute still left to him -- something of a personal best that even he had to acknowledge.

"I want to note that for maybe the first time in history, Biden is 40 seconds under his time," he told Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter, no clipped speaker himself.

The Post had a similar account of Biden running off at the mouth. In that piece, Dana Milbank wrote that during Biden's round of questioning, he "spoke about his own Irish American roots, his 'Grandfather Finnegan,' his son's application to Princeton (he attended the University of Pennsylvania instead, Biden said), a speech the senator gave on the Princeton campus, the fact that Biden is 'not a Princeton fan,' and his views on the eyeglasses of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.)."...

And then there is the plagiarism...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/11/AR2006011102041.html

[Jane]

chickenhawk also proposes we engage the "military loosers" in Darfur -

What exactly is the difference between Iraq and Darfur, besides skin color?

I didn't realize how big the Columbine anniversary was - Oklahoma City, Waco, VT. Sick people out there harkening to the signs of spring, or some such baloney.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Shorter Joe Biden:

Iraq - I blame Bush

Venezuela - I blame Bush

Katrina - I blame Bush

Virginia Tech - I blame Bush

Darfur - I blame Bush

Imus - I blame Bush

Shorter hit and run:

Biden's stupidity - I blame Bush

[DEMO]

In Baghdad, U.S. troops build wall to curb violence

"Are we in the West Bank?" asked Abu Qusay, 48, a pharmacist who said that he wouldn't be able to get to his favorite kebab restaurant in Adhamiya.

"I feel this is the beginning of a pattern of what the whole of Iraq is going to look like, divided by sectarian and racial criteria," Abu Marwan, 50, a Shiite pharmacist, said.

Majid Fadhil, 43, a Shiite police commissioner in a neighborhood north of the wall, said flatly, "This fence is not going to work."

Army Capt. Marc Sanborn, brigade engineer for the project, said in the release. He said the concept was closer to an exclusive gated community in the United States than to China's Great Wall.

"Bear in mind that the wall is an ongoing project," Pryor wrote. "We're not completely sure how the population feels either way."

[SunnyDay]

DEMO
dimmo
dhimmo

[topsecretk9]

Going through the links at hotair I had forgotten this masterpiece - after so many racial and stupid gaffes (can't go into a Duncan donuts without an Indian accent - or some such) - the left muckers went into hyper drive trying to defend Biden's Obama articulate black man slur as just a misplaced "comma"

Link

There's now a debate going on at Talking Points Memo about whether the addition of a comma before the word "who" in this sentence -- "I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy" - would have affected its meaning.

Anyway, listen for yourself.

[Jeff Dobbs]

I believe I was lamenting just the other day that Biden wasn't more prominent in the dem 08 field....that without Kerry in the mix, Joe might provide enough fodder to have fun with.

Now I am left wondering if perhaps he heard my lament and wanted to raise his visibility (although if I were advising him, I would have selected a different means of doing so).

With that in mind, I would like to try another experiement.

It's really a shame that we do not hear more from Howard Dean. His is a voice that should not be silent at this time in our nation's history.

[PeterUK.]

H&R,
Here's someJoe Biden quotes

[DEMO]

Senior House GOPers Call for Gonzales Resignation

Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL), the Chairman of the Republican Conference and the number three in the House Republican leadership, has said that Gonzales should resign.

[DEMO]

Senior House GOPers Call for Gonzales Resignation

Rep. Adam Putnam (R-FL), the Chairman of the Republican Conference and the number three in the House Republican leadership, has said that Gonzales should resign.

[topsecretk9]

Rove better watch his back, H&R is packing some pretty powerful mind rays of his own!
----

Far more relevant, consequential and disturbing is the behavior of the Senate Majority Leader, Harry Reid, who by word and action is actively undermining our fighting men and women in Iraq. His legislative efforts to starve our armed forces in the middle of a war are as contemptible as anything I’ve witnessed in my 25 years in Washington. And yesterday he made a statement that was so disgraceful and brazen that it could have been uttered by Tokyo Rose during World War II or Jane Fonda during the Vietnam War. The difference, of course, is that Reid is the highest ranking Democrat in the United States Senate.

For those who are so pre-occupied with Gonzales that they may not have heard it, this is what Reid said yesterday: "I believe ... that this war is lost, and this surge is not accomplishing anything, as is shown by the extreme violence in Iraq this week."

So, Reid announces to our brave volunteers that their country is sending them to a lost war. And he announces to our enemy that victory is within their reach — just keep up the killing a little longer. During my radio show last night, I received a call from a Gold Star father. He was outraged by Reid’s comment. He has called before and has become a good friend. But I’ve never heard him as angry and frustrated as he was last night.

Rather than join the chorus demanding Gonzales's resignation, let me be the first to demand Reid's resignation. And let's see how many pundits, conservative and otherwise, will join me.

http://levin.nationalreview.com/post/?q=YTg2NGE1ZmVmNzFkMGVjYTAzOGE5MTQ2NjU2ZTFkOTc=

[Rick Ballard]

"BTW, the actual linkage to extremist weirdness at this time of year is Hitler's birthday"

Hmmm, that would mean Reid = Quisling and Pelosi = Pétain.

Works for me.

[DEMO]

Waxman Plans Hearing To Issue Subpoenas

Waxman plans hearing to issue subpoenas. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced that next Wednesday it will consider issuing four subpoeanas for the following testimony and documents:

The testimony of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice regarding the fabricated claim that Iraq sought uranium from Niger and other issues;

The testimony of former White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card regarding the leak of Valerie Plame Wilson’s covert identity and White House security procedures;

RNC documents related to possible violations of the Presidential Records Act and the Hatch Act by White House officials;

Contacts between the White House and MZM, a federal contractor implicated in bribery charges.

[topsecretk9]

Must see the Democrats raising the White flag

and

...My bride is skeptical of all of this but I reassured her that I know for a fact that he will be home soon because based on your statement and being the Senate Majority Leader, you will kill all funding for this “lost war” immediately.

My bride was still unconvinced and I explained it to her this way.

If Senator Reid, based on the information that the Senate Majority Leader has, has determined that this war is lost; there is nothing left to do but come home. The way I see it, if you were to vote for anything less; you would be personally liable for any future wounded or God-Forbid dead soldiers.

Although, I have the utmost confidence that you will do the right thing and de-fund this war immediately; I have retained legal council just in case.

So, know this Senator; if you don’t de-fund this war within seven days, I will hold you personably liable for any harm to American servicemen. If the war is lost and you have the power to end it then just do it. Stop whining like a ***** and just do it...

...You, a person in high authority in the US government, have made a definitive statement that an action is occurring with no redeeming value. Said action is causing harm and death to US citizens. You have the unique power to stop said action and thusly stop the harm.

So Harry, I say have the balls to actually do it or find yourself liable.

Governing is not just whining and pandering. At some point you have to actually govern. It is painfully clear that you have neither the intellectual power nor the fuzzy kiwis to actually do it.

Feel free to share this with Neville Nancy as I plan the exact same action for her pathetic ***.

The soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen that you are endangering by either your idiotic statements that empower the enemy or your overt inaction that contributes to their danger; are American citizens. In either case, you have endangered them and you alone have the ability to correct it.

See you in court.

Very sincerely,
Crotchety Old Bastard

[topsecretk9]

Crotchety Old Bastard's blog

Tort law: an overview

Torts are civil wrongs recognized by law as grounds for a lawsuit. These wrongs result in an injury or harm constituting the basis for a claim by the injured party. While some torts are also crimes punishable with imprisonment, the primary aim of tort law is to provide relief for the damages incurred and deter others from committing the same harms. The injured person may sue for an injunction to prevent the continuation of the tortious conduct or for monetary damages.

Negligence
From Wex, everyone's resource for law learning
Failure to exercise due care. When a person fails to exercise the care that a reasonable, prudent person would exercise under the same circumstances, that person is said to be negligent.

Intention
Intentional torts are those wrongs which the defendant knew or should have known would occur through their actions or inactions...

PS: I am asking all veterans, friends and families of servicemen and simple good Americans to please add a comment to this post. I will forward it to Senator Reid.

PSS: I know that Senator Reid’s comments likely upset many of you as it clearly did me. I have my flesh and blood that has been endangered by this jack-ass so please forgive the salty nature of this post.

[topsecretk9]

Well, there is your answer Mr.Crotchety Old Bastard

A two-month spending bill to cover the costs of the Iraq war is “very likely” after President Bush vetoes the current Iraq spending bill, House Defense Appropriations Chairman John Murtha (D-Pa.) said Friday.

...Moran nodded with an expression of resignation when asked if the two-month bill, as currently envisioned, would fund the ongoing “surge” of U.S. combat troops in Iraq.

He was not as clear about whether the non-military spending, such as money for peanut storage, reimbursement for spinach farmers whose crops were recalled and asbestos removal in the Capitol, would be included. Moran simply said he didn’t like it.

“I wish we’d take that s--t out,” Moran said. “It was all put in by leadership after we wrote the bill, and it didn’t get us a single vote.”

Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-Calif.) a founding member of the House Out of Iraq Caucus, said she expects there will be even more pressure to withdraw troops in two months if events in Iraq continue on their current violent course.

“In two months it might be really clear how bad it is,” Woolsey said.

[DEMO]

Iraq War is Lost

The war in Iraq isn't over yet, but -- surge or no surge -- the United States has already lost. "Even if we had a million men to go in, it's too late now," says retired four-star Gen. Tony McPeak, who served on the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Gulf War. "Humpty Dumpty can't be put back together again."

[Jeff Dobbs]

Clarice:
Apparently AT is getting lots of hate mail on H & R's Obama piece.
(on yesterday's thread)

Just as I am starting to put my life back together after this, yet another victim of verbal violence has come forward.

[PeterUK.]

It isn't a war.

[Jeff Dobbs]

Crap. bad link, kinda.

oh well

[Jeff Dobbs]

I blame Bush

[DEMO]

Washington D.C.: Citing rising costs in the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the U.S. Defense Department today unveiled a deal that puts Walmart in charge of running the war.

President and Chief Executive Officer of the Bentonville, Arkansas based retail giant, H. Lee Scott, Jr. says this is an exciting moment in Walmart's history. "We plan to bring the same efficiencies that have made us so successful in business to the war effort."

Scott is optimistic about Walmart's future in the Middle East. "We hope to bring a quick end to the war and install a democratic, capitalist government in Iraq, all at everyday low prices."

U.S. President George Bush hailed the groundbreaking agreement. "This is another example of how the private sector can do a job better than the government at less cost."

[topsecretk9]

“In two months it might be really clear how bad it is,” Woolsey said.

Isn't that outrageous? they don't have the balls to defund the 'lost" war they voted for- they would NOW like to keep funding the 'lost" war they voted for and apparently Woosley needs to see some more "bad" take place before she defunds the "lost" war? OR is that it's not bad enough to defund which runs counter to their hopes and desires?

[topsecretk9]

H&R

Just tell them there must have been a misplaced comma in the Senators free association speech.

[Dan S]

Heh, here we go, it begins:

[url=http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2007/04/was_cho_taught_to_hate.html]How English Studies Taught Cho to Hate (or something)[/url]

[Dan S]

oops, wrong syntax for this blog.

[PeterUK.]

"“In two months it might be really clear how bad it is,”

Instead of poncing about persecuting uppity minority group members why doesn't Waxman and his team get their slimy arses over to Iraq to find out?
They can supoena that nutcase Ahmdndangerous,demand replies from al Qaeda and a multitude of gangsters and terrorists.Oversight in action.

[DEMO]

Your President

"The hardest decision a president makes is to ask those men and women to go into harm's way. My decision making was deeply affected by the attack of September the 11th, 2001. It was a -- it was a moment that defined a dangerous world to me with absolute clarity. I realized then that this country was no longer invulnerable to attack from what may be happening overseas.

"I realized that there is an enemy of the United States that is active and is lethal. At further study of that enemy, I realized that they share an ideology, that these weren't -- that the -- and when you really think about it, the September the 11th attack was not the first attack ... This enemy is smart, capable, and unpredictable. They have defined a war on the United States, and I believe we're at war. I believe the attack on America made it clear that we're at war. I wish that wasn't the case. Nobody ought to ever hope to be a war president, or a presidency -- a president during war. But that's how I see the world."

George Bush, Tipp City, Ohio

[topsecretk9]

Harry Reid OWNS it now...

Associated Press Dems Reluctant to Oppose Iraq Funding By ANNE FLAHERTY 04.20.07, 2:06 PM ET

Anti-war liberals worried about party unity are reluctant to mount opposition to war spending legislation in the House even if it does not set a firm date for troop withdrawal.

Their support would pave the way for Democratic leaders next week to send President Bush a bill that would fund the Iraq war and still call for troops to leave by March 31, 2008, albeit a nonbinding withdrawal date.

The measure would be weaker than House Democrats wanted but is advocated by the Senate, where Democrats hold a slimmer majority and many party members oppose setting a firm timetable on the war....

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/04/20/ap3636030.html

[Enlightened]

Good Morning. I see the DNC has sounded the TPM alert. All rodentia are armed and on deck!

Splendid. Still 6 cans short of that six pack huh?

[Enlightened]

Let's see, hmmm...

President George W Bush leading my country, or Senator Harry Reid rasing the white flag.

I can't decide if I want to be a lilly-livered asshat, or a defender of life.

I'm torn.Really.The DNC is making this so easy.

[DEMO]

Abu to announce his resignation on/before 30th June 2007

Intrade futures on Gonzales resigning before Jun 2007 took a 23% jump today. Isn't looking very good for Abu today.

[topsecretk9]

Headlines

Reid Declares Defeat in Iraq
Hawaii Reporter, HI - 35 minutes ago

[DEMO]

How many Republicans will raise the white flag in say 3-4 months? That's a bigger problem for Bush.

[PeterUK.]

Tops,
No that should read,
"Reid Declares, Defeat in Iraq".

[topsecretk9]

uh huh.

[DEMO]

Kissenger Declares Defeat in Iraq

Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who helped engineer the U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam, said Sunday the problems in Iraq are more complex than that conflict, and military victory is no longer possible.

[Jane]

Reid is trying to reinvent his words again today, and he's got all his little robots (see demo) racing around trying to fix the damage. Funny they just compound it.

[DEMO]

Reid said what is the majority of Americans in this country believe. The U.S. cannot win the war in Iraq.