After I Stop Laughing...

Michael Kinsley is very funny today; I just wish I could figure out who he is attacking.

Mark Steyn is excellent, with a God Bless America theme that makes the object of his ire is clear.

And proving that comedy is where you find it, this was from a self-proclaimed Obama supporter at Kevin Drum's site:

Reverend Wright is Willie Horton driving a SwiftBoat full steam ahead at this movement unless Obama can somehow explain this connection without equivocation or spin as he has so far.

Hmm SwiftBoat Willie - what are the copyright rules there?

Comments

[GMax]

The stakes in this election are much too high for anyone to say anything.

We can only hope that Michael Kinsley will take his own advice...

[clarice]

TM has an unwholesome attraction to cones of silence.

[kim]

The blog warriors for Hillary and Obama are getting shirty with each other. I say it couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.
=============

[SteveMG]

Swifboat Willie

Hah, you crazy Episcopalians.

You're either rioting or partying.

[centralcal]

Spent several hours with the granddaughters and returned to find many posts, threads.

I see the Trinity UCC has issued a statement and is decrying the "character assassination" of Reverend Wright.

I think Ed the Captain has it correct - "character suicide."

Playing portions of Wright's sermon videos is character assassination? Oh brother.

[MeTooThen]

TM,

You are On-Fire.

Really.

But sadly, and again, those who believe in Barack Hussein Obama will do so no matter what.

Besides, there is little to what Rev. Wright said that is out of step, or out of touch, with what the true believers believe.

Who knows, maybe it's true that HIV was created by the US Government to kill Black people?

It could happen.

The stakes are too high and the process too far along for them to quit or back down.

When you believe that George W. Bush is Hitler, and that the Israelis are Nazis, and that together the Jew-Nazi-Neocons-Halliburton-Right Wing-Christian-Gaia Murdering-Evil-Death-Republicans are capable of, and guilty of EVERY SINGLE THING THAT IS WRONG WITH THIS WORLD, what difference does it make that Barack Hussein Obama went to a church where real truth was spoken against real power?

I ask you.

What does any of this matter?

When liberal cities and enclaves declare themselves refuges and haven for so-called "undocumented workers," or set out to castigate and close down Marine recruiting centers, or their elected representatives vote to imperil telecoms by virtue of their participation with the federal government vis a vis terrorist surveillance...

What does it matter?

They know who the enemy is.

And it's you.

And me.

And all of AmeriKKKA.

There are no terrorists except for the U.S. and Israel, and all of their hate-filled, ugly, black-hearted, corporate, Christian, military cronies.

No, it is racist to speak of racism.

Move on.

And get out of the way.

Barack Hussein Obama is now and will be the Democratic Nominee for POTUS.

This may even help his chances in the general election?

Just sayin'.

[MeTooThen]

TM,

Please forgive the waste of bandwidth.

I owe you a drink.

Or two.

Here: Cindy Sheehan

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/node/31824

"Barack Obama has denounced the above remarks of his mentor and pastor, Rev. Wright saying: "I categorically denounce any statement that disparages our great country or serves to divide us from our allies." Let's parse the Rev's statement.

"We bombed Hiroshima, we bombed Nagasaki, and we nuked far more than the thousands in New York and the Pentagon, and we never batted an eye."

Yes, on December 7th, 1941 (another day that will live in infamy), a US Naval base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by Japan. On that day, 2338 American service personnel were tragically killed, but there was little of what our Pentagon calls "collateral damage," civilians killed. As a matter of fact, during WWII, Japan killed very few American civilians. However, the US military command in the Pacific killed hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians in aerial bombings and with the use of the new WMD; H-bombs. General Curtis LeMay informed future Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara (who was under LeMay during WWII), that if the US had lost they would have been tried as "war criminals." The loss of innocent life in Japan was numbered in the hundred of thousands and I don't hear Senator Obama denouncing those acts of cowardice.

We have supported state terrorism against the Palestinians and black South Africans,

I think there is little dispute that Israel (which I assume is what Obama refers to when he says "allies") receives approximately three billion dollars in aid from the U.S. each year and have brutally oppressed and occupied Palestinian lands for decades. In a one week's period this month, Israel killed over 300 Palestinians and was "shocked" when 8 Jewish seminary students were killed in return. I hate and reject all loss of innocent life no matter what is the color, religion or nation of origin. I think Senator Obama may buy into the neocon lie that somehow Israeli or American lives are more precious than Arab lives or black lives. Not only has the US supported state-sanctioned terrorism in such places as Palestine and South Africa, but we are committing some more of our own in Iraq and Afghanistan.

…and now we are indignant because the stuff we have done overseas is now brought right back to our own front yards. America's chickens are coming home to roost.

I wish I could be proud of a nation that tortures people and imprisons them without basic legal rights. I wish I could be proud of a nation that has a sitting president that has been responsible for killing almost a million innocent Iraqi people in a misadventure that was based on lies and is for profit. I wish I could be proud of a nation that rapes its poor people to feed the already rich in a demented reverse Robin Hood affect. I wish I could be proud of a country where over a million children are homeless and hungry every night. I wish I could be proud of a nation that left our black brothers and sisters hanging off of their roofs after Katrina. The list can go on and on. Senator Obama needs to denounce me, because the policies of our government do not make me proud and oftentimes endlessly disgust me.

I sit here behind my computer screen in solidarity with Rev. Wright. Not only do I not denounce him, but I support him in telling the truth. I wish Senator Obama would recall how he once stood for truth. A desk in the oval office that has been corrupted by years of calumny is not worth selling ones soul for."

Just sayin'.

[Pofarmer]

Only to Dems is it Charachter assassination to quote someone's own words, in context.

[Pofarmer]

Ya know, the Dims and progs wanna harp about political and economic progress not being made in the U.S. How about political and economic progress not being made by blacks in this country. They've had the time, and the space, and they actually seem to be slipping backwards. But maybe that's just me.

[Cecil Turner]

I wish I could be proud of a nation that tortures people and imprisons them without basic legal rights.

Heh. I suspect your definition of "torture" and "imprisons" doesn't match mine.

I wish I could be proud of a nation that has a sitting president that has been responsible for killing almost a million innocent Iraqi people in a misadventure that was based on lies and is for profit.

I also suspect your definition of "a million" won't stand scrutiny. Nor your conclusory nonsense about why the Congress voted to use military force in Iraq. Just sayin'.

[SteveMG]

I sit here behind my computer screen in solidarity with Rev. Wright.

Get out of your chair and donate your time and money to helping those you say you're concerned about.

Then come back here.

Just hollering out...

[Soylent Red]

and with the use of the new WMD; H-bombs

Sweet. We used H-bombs during WWII on the Japanese.

Cindy is so smart I wonder why Bushitler never wanted to meet with her.

[kim]

You do understand, CT, that Me Too Then was quoting Cindy Sheehan. Say it again, louder.
========================

[Rick Ballard]

"They've had the time, and the space, and they actually seem to be slipping backwards."

Nah. Not backward. In the Prog Plantations of Il. CD-1,2 (BHO Town), median household income adjusted for inflation increased by 6% between 2000 and 2006. The whole of Cook County (or Crook's County, as it were) showed an inflation adjusted increase of 10% for the same period.

CD-1 showed a very slight drop in population (BHO was a very good overseer - few escaped) but 10,000 fled CD-2 (J. Jackson Jr., overseer) for greener pastures.

Other Prog Plantations have diffent rates, some a bit lower, some quite a bit lower and none on par with growth outside the Plantation. Everything depends on how good an overseer is being employed and the size of the the rakeoff by the race hucksters. Payoffs to Rezko ain't cheap ya know.

[SteveMG]

Well, is "MeTooThen" endorsing Sheehan's views? Or just informing of us of them?

I assume since he uncritically cited them, that he endorses them. Why would one otherwise cite them here?

Most of us are aware of the hard Left's views of America. Sheehan's endorsement of Wright is not a surprise.

[MeTooThen]

Whoa...

Hey, don't be mad at me.

It's Cindy you should be mad at.

My point is that all the time, money, energy, and resources in the world will not sway those who believe in and agitate for what Ms. Cindy and Burack Hussein Obama do.

If 30% of Americans believe that the US or Israel or whoever besides the Islamists took down the WTC, what difference does it make if the Goodly Senator calls Rev. Wright his mentor?

The hyperpolarization and Balkanization of America is upon us.

There is no bridging the divide.

Not the least of which by Mr. Obama.

That he is a phony is irrelevant.

What matters only to those who support him is that he is not BushCo, white, a Jew, a neocon, a whatever.

In fact, I will tell you who and what Mr. Obama really is.

Zelig.

And in being so, he is no different from any other old-school Pol.

But still, it doesn't matter.

Barack Hussein Obama will win the Democratic Nomination and his intransigence will only help him.

And yes SteveMG, what matters will be to get Maverick elected.

Or not.

It may be time for those in opposition to be given the full control of government.

And be responsible for what happens next.

It's a tough call.

I for one admire very much Senator McCain.

I've met him, spoken with him, and find him to be a truly remarkable man.

Whether he should POTUS, is another matter.

That's all I'm sayin'.

Just sayin'.

[PeterUK]

"a misadventure that was based on lies and is for profit."

The daft old bat wants wars that make a loss?

[MeTooThen]

Kim,

Thanks.

[MeTooThen]

SteveMG,

I finished my rant above and then immediately found (via Ace) the Cindy Sheehan stuff.

And no, no critical commentary from me is necessary.

It speaks for itself.

[boris]

Dunno what you're sayin'.

[kim]

You are welcome, MTT. You haven't been regular enough lately, the more is the pity, to avoid being misunderstood, but I remember you from the Good Old Days.
================

[SteveMG]

And no, no critical commentary from me is necessary

My error. I apologize.

Thanks.

Steve

[Cecil Turner]

You do understand, CT, that Me Too Then was quoting Cindy Sheehan.

With the latest influx of Obots and Balloon Juicers, I've given up trying to determine provenance. If the point was that her tripe was nonsense, great. If it's proffered in support, we can debate the differences between wartime detention and prison, and torture vs coercive interrogation. That's great, too.

[centralcal]

Barack Hussein Obama = The Illusionist.

[rueads]

'returned to find many posts, threads.'

Chicago is all federal. They get a lot of federal money and usually want buildings. It would be nice to see all the money Obama got them. He really can't do what he's done again in the White house. He's lucky if he keeps his job.

The Episcopalian British Anglican synod thing and the space shows was pretty neat. Episcopalians go for bodies like the anglican luciferians?

[Patrick R. Sullivan]

MTT,

If you're going to quote someone else, you have to learn how to punctuate it properly, so the readers know it's not your words. Using quotation marks thusly:

"Paragraph 1

"Paragraph 2

"P...

"Final Paragraph"

[RichatUF]

Rick-

Going OT for a minute. Bear Stearns has been bought out by JPM/Chase for $2/share (less than a tenth of their Friday close) and the Fed has cut the discount rate by .25%. I'm thinking that the next thing the fed is going to do is start jacking up the margin requirements on commodities contracts (maybe March 23?)...

[MeTooThen]

PRS,

Yes, I suppose you're right.

Next time.

Promise.

(I did set it up with the Here and put Ms. Cindy's name and link there.)

Oh well.

My bad.

Sigh.

[SteveMG]

My bad. Sigh.

You spelled my name right.

Good enough for me.

[glasater]

Rich--The Bear Sterns news is just amazing. What was it---$171. a share not that many months ago?

Talk about the elasticity of income brackets--this is a doozer!

[RichatUF]

The end is neigh crowd speaketh...via Drudge...The is no end in sight...like the papers are on a death watch for someone else

Here is the JPM/Bear press release.

[RichatUF]

glasater-

The Bear Sterns news is just amazing. What was it---$171. a share not that many months ago?

Indeed. JPM picked up the firm for a cool 270ish million-it appears to be a stock deal though. I could quote from the press release but it appears that it has vanished from their webpage-maybe it wasn't supposed to come out yet. Its amazing, I would think that the Bear Stearns building by itself would be worth a few times that...someone beat me to that a while ago...

Never keep your money in a place were the CEO is smoking pot while at the golf course (although he denied it).

[glasater]

Rich--The "press release" link came up null in two browsers but the first was fine although disconcerting in its message.

[glasater]

We're crossing posting and apologies.

Here's a link to a guy who lost the best part of billion dollars.

[GMax]

I think the deal penciled out at a valuation of about $236 million. Not very long ago the market valued BS at $3.5 B. That is about a 15 times compression.

So the old joke about how do you make a small fortune in the stock market? Start with a large one centered on BS stock.

JP Morgan will likely spin off the parts of BS it really does not want, once a rational market has returned maybe as soon as the end of this year. Watch them to make more on the unwanted pieces than they paid for the whole.

[Anon]

RichatUF and glasater-

try this link for the press release-

Link

[RichatUF]

GMax-

So the old joke about how do you make a small fortune in the stock market? Start with a large one centered on BS stock.

So maybe there is a short selling strategy in the whole "green" business after all. And for the Asia update-markets looking strongly down, with the US poised to open down about 200 points, gold surging over 30/oz, and oil crashing 111/bbl. I'm sure another investment bank is going to get a run-it might be ugly, Black Monday sort of ugly.

[Pofarmer]

I'm thinking that the next thing the fed is going to do is start jacking up the margin requirements on commodities contracts (maybe March 23?)

That would be logical, they already have expanded limits for the 23rd.

[narciso]

Actually this sentiment isn't limited to the black community. In the early 90's,
David Baerwald, the lead singer for what
would be Sheryl "One Square" (name escapes
me right now)put out an album, encompassing
the whole " AIDS created in Ft. Dietrich"
,conspiracy theory, that had it's roots in
Indian and Greek newspapers, financed by the KGB. It's crazy but not uniquely crazy.
The CIA-Cocaine meme, which permeated almost every cop-mystery show in the late 80s and early 90s, was promoted by the Christic Institute, but given wider circulation due to former Church staffer
Jack Blum on Sen. Kerry's staff. Then Gary
Webb, took up the torch again, Maxine Waters, and Green Party presidential wannabe Cynthia McKinney (as well as Saudi
beneficiary) spread the meme around. with the help of several shows reflected that conspiracy; including Dick Wolf's "New York UnderCover". John Deutsch's 'humoring' of
such thoughts in a South Central town meeting, was one of the low points of that decade. Which when that includes, O.J. Lewinsky, and Tanya Harding; that's tough
competition.

[bgates]

I wish I could be proud of a nation that tortures people and imprisons them without basic legal rights.

I wish I could be proud of a nation that has a sitting president that has been responsible for killing almost a million innocent Iraqi people in a misadventure that was based on lies and is for profit.
You know the reason Cindy can't be proud of the nation she's describing? Because we invaded it in 2003 and destroyed its wretched government, and it doesn't exist anymore.

[MeTooThen]

In case there is any doubt as to the Red-Green-Brown-Pink-Islamist alliance here in the U.S. of KKK A, take a look at these photos from the most recent "Anti-war" rally in L.A.

From LGF:

Here, for PATRICK R. SULLIVAN

Paragraph 1:

http://ringospictures.com/index.php?page=20080315

END Paragraph

(I have no patience for HTML tonight)

Although the page takes a very long time to load, pay close attention to Bush as Hitler, Israel and the Jews as Nazis, 9-11 Truthers, Free Mumia, Praise for Chavez, Palestine, Islam, and finally, campaigners for Barack Hussein Obama, but nary a one for Hillary!

No, it does not matter what Rev. Wright said, or whether or not Barack Hussein Obama was there to hear it.

Ready yourselves for an explosively bitter and divisive general election.

One like that has never before been seen.

It's gonna get real ugly.

Just sayin'.

[M. Simon]

Re: CIA cocaine conspiracy.

Blandon