Hagel's Out, And Now For The Bad News

The NY Times headliners deliver a slap in the face to anyone who hoped for change on the national security front:

Hagel’s Departure Tightens White House Hold on National Security Policy

Yeah, there are plenty more clowns in that clown car. The Times gives the last word to a bit of a critic:

“Not only does the Hagel ouster not address the internal problems in the White House, but it’s also essentially a denial that the problem goes deeper,” said David Rothkopf, an expert on the National Security Council who just published a book, “National Insecurity.”

Well, Obama wasn't going to resign and Biden might not be an upgrade anyway.

Comments

[Danube on iPad]

First.

[Danube on iPad]

This guy from TNR says nothing about Hagel that I didn't strongly suspect: granite-jawed, combat-decorated, photogenic dunce, hopelessly out of his depth.

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120397/chuck-hagel-muddle-accomplished

[Jack is Back!]

Whoever it is (the new SecDoD) it will be weak kneed and subservient to the Matrix. Even Hagel, listened to the Generals and as a result was dumped. If only he would have listened to Susan Rice and ValJar.....

[peter]

I would suggest McCain to replace him.

[Jack is Back!]

I don't want to break away from the game. Is someone going to live blog the end of the world?

[daddy]

BBC TV is standing by to report on Ferguson, so it's main headline news over here also. Local time 01:58 AM.

[Jane]

They are late and I am bored.

[Miss Marple]

Grand jurors are not allowed to speak, according to Missouri law,

This is reported bt Megyn Kelley.

[daddy]

Instapundit highlights our TM's opinion on "Heavy Drinking! I'll drink to that.

Scroll down about 6 stories.

[Janet - I wish my family had a poncho]

I hope they delay, delay, delay...
Make the MFMers yak like fools with nothing to report.
I hope it goes on all night....no announcement.

There's an old Mary Tyler Moore episode about election results with that storyline.

Drag it out....

[Eric in Boise]

BREAKING: Hagel at the podium now, getting ready to announce the Ferguson verdict.

(Ducks)

[Danube on iPad]

I believe David Brooks wakes up every morning and ssks, "What can I do today to make The Danube of Thought want to puke?"

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2014/11/22/david_brooks_on_the_republican_side_the_great_and_the_good_are_hoping_for_jeb_bush.html

[Jack is Back!]

EIB, LOL. Thanks. Saints tie it up.

[narciso]

quota of skincrawling on tap,

Hagel is even more shallow then I first thought,

[Eric in Boise]

"What can I do today to make The Danube of Thought want to puke?"

I thought that was TK.

(Ducks again)

[daddy]

Drudge Headline says "No Charges".

[Jack is Back!]

EIB,

I don't think TK ever suggested Jeb Bush was the chosen one. What it really interesitng is that Rand Paul has found an expeditionary inclination and Jim Webb is exploring. What the hell ever happened to the Economy being number 1 with voters?

[Jane]

What the hell is with David Brooks. He should retire in shame.

[exdemocrat]

SecDef Bergdahl?

[Jane]

So how do all these sources know there is no indictment?

[exdemocrat]

jane - http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/11/24/ferguson-grand-jury-deliberations/19474907/

[Jack is Back!]

Jane,

How did the New York Daily News that Dewey Won?

[Miss Marple]

No true bill!

[Miss Marple]

Evidence will be released.

[Jack is Back!]

Are the games being brought live in case the Saints and Ravens get too pacifistic?

BTW, for lyle, drinking a glass of "The Drive" a nice red from Coonawara in Australia I bought in Miami since it features a picture of a cricket player ready to bat at the crease of the wicket. Very nice!

[boatbuilder]

My poorly informed take on Hegel is that Obama is going to test the Republicans on their pledge to hold up confirmations because of his immigration executive order. Hegel is a twofer--he disagreed with Obama anyway and he's a "Republican" to begin with.
When all hell breaks loose (as it pretty much already has) in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Ukraine, et cetera he will blame it on a)the Republicans for failing to confirm whatever far lefty he nominates to replace Hegel, and b) Hegel. All the while continuing to degrade and destroy our military and whatever semblance of an effective foreign policy we still have.
He doesn't really care what happens to either--he only cares about his domestic, very short-term political position and avoiding blame.

[Jane]

No confirmations - period.

[Miss Marple]

Nytol!

Will check in tomorrow late in the morning.

[Jack is Back!]

Just heard the Bills cleaned out the Jets 30+ to 3 or something like that. Goodby Fat Rex. He will make a good DC somewhere.

[Jack is Back!]

Saints score - no hands up, yet.

[Buckeye]

So will an angry Obummer take the podium or will he try to calm the nation?

[Pagar a bacon, ham and sausage supporter]

Jane, I agree 100%.
----------
Meanwhile the killings continue in Chicago. No outrage is apparent.

[PDinDetroit]

Shots fired and Foxnews Camera Man running down the street...

[Janet]

Pagar a bacon, ham and sausage supporter

I love Pagar's tag line!

[Buckeye]

Angry

[Buckeye]

Zero needs just simply STFU.

[GUS]

It's wonderful in a time of crisis to find that we have a FUCKING RETARDED COMMUNITY ORGANIZER RACE BAITING BASTARD as President.

[Jack is Back!]

BO really thinks the punks in Ferguson are listening to him. But what I want to know is "what is the work we have to do here"? And what is "the problem" he keeps referring to? I think BO is acting stupidly but what's new?

[Buckeye]

Watching the "peaceful" and "constructive" protest.

Burn baby burn.

[henry]

Yup, split screen with O babbling and tear gas barrage / fires in Ferguson.

[PDinDetroit]

Police advancing on the crowd, tear gas used

[Texas Liberty Gal]

Ted Cruz said they should refuse to act on any confirmations EXCEPT those that had to do with national security. I don't think Obama's ploy will work.

[Jack is Back!]

Goiing to bed hoping and praying no one gets killed tonight and that the Saints find a way to win.

Slaap lekker All. Tots Morgen.

Whoa. A riot has broke out on the Ravens sideline.

[Iggy]

Remember when this clown and his car full of Freddy the Freeloaders were going to heal the racial divide?
How's it lookin' out there?

[GUS]

The Jury has spoken. What the fuck is Obama prattling on about.

[Buckeye]

Why do the "communities of color" find it impossible to understand that if you start wailing on a cop he has the right to shoot you dead?

Seems pretty obvious.

[GUS]

Obama knows nothing else. He's an imbecile. he's Marxist imbecile. He likes to set fires so that as FIRE CHIEF, he can come and give us his wisdom. Where the fuck does Opie the Dimwit come up with this wisdom. Where is his expertise derived from?
Chicago and AGITATING. This is the best this pile of shit has got. This is Obama at his best.

[glasater]

How does that old Star Trek saying go...

Captain{TM}, your logic is impeccable. We are in grave danger.

[daddy]

BBC playing apologist for the Black Community in Ferguson, saying that it isn't really there fault they can't get their shit together.

The BBC host is talking to some Black Preacher, Tommie Pierson, who is telling the BBC audience that the Policeman did not feel threatened like the BBC host posed in his question and that he instead decided to kill that black kid.

BBC Host is now saying that the majority of Ferguson residents are disagreeing with the Grand Jury decision, and a guy they now have on saying that he agrees with the Grand Jury decision, is told by the BBC Host that he is not in agreement with the Ferguson Community.

It appears to me that the BBC is fanning the flames.

BBC Host now says that what we just witnessed was "Legal Justice", but what we are not seeing is "Social Justice," and Blacks in America are getting a raw deal in terms of "Social Justice."

So there's the new meme:

"Legal Justice"?---Unimportant.
"Social Justice" is what it's all about.

[Dublindave]

What do we get?

I haven't got all night.

[Stephanie]

That social justice warrior 'council woman' just on Hannity was a hoot. If she had an ounce of sense she would tip the scales an ounce.

[MarkO]

What would be "justice?" An indictment? What if he were found not guilty? One fears that "justice" means conviction.

[GUS]

We need a Ferguson CZAR. And CASH, that will fix things.

HOPE and CHANGE!!!

[Sue]

Walter,

You out there? Everything ok?

[Beasts of England]

As Judge Smails once said: You'll have nothing and like it, DublinDave!

[GUS]

I just stole a case of liquor in honor of Mike Brown. No justice, I get liquor.

[daddy]

BBC parade of haters continues.

Latest from Ferguson says that it is the fault of the Police for not working hard enough to gain the trust of the residents of Ferguson. These people are great at faultfinding as long as they never have to look in a mirror.

I do find it interesting that for 2 hours now the entire Brit BBC TV program has been devoted completely to Ferguson. Nothing else has been shown, no ads, no weather reports, no sports, no other local or International news. Simply Ferguson.

OK, finally at 03:56 local we have a break for the local Weather.

[Stephanie]

She's got a big bottle of gin in her hand. LOL

[Eric in Boise]

Colt .45, Gus?

I denounce myself, of course.

[GUS]

Excellent SHEPTARD SMITH has arrived on the set!!!

[CR]

Iowahawk on Twitter:

"I hear on-site TV news crews carry a lot of cash."

[Beasts of England]

The peaceful protesters sure are looting a lot of businesses.

[RickB]

I believe social justice requires a transvestite prosecutor named Angela Davis Nifong-Corey. [S]he would have to be a person of color and undergoing hormone therapy.

Anyone else would be jus' rayciss.

[Iggy]

--What do we get?--

...a Maserati,
A Mack truck, a Mazda, a new Monza, or a moped
A Winnebago, hell, a herd of Winnebagos
We're givin' 'em away

[narciso]

I guess it's not that surprising, considering their part in the OFF program:

http://www.mediapart.fr/journal/france/221114/le-front-national-decroche-les-millions-russes

[GUS]

I think this is a good dialogue. Clearly Obama, Holder and John Kerry are LEADERS.

[daddy]

How come in Ferguson they can't get "Social Justice" under:

a Black Democrat President,
a Black Democrat Attorney General,
a Democrat Governor,
a Democrat State Attorney General,
a Democrat Mayor, and I think
a Democrat Prosecutor?

Whassup with dat?

[fdcol63]

New Monza? They still make those?

[Dublindave]

Sigh.

What....do.....we.....get?

[MarkO]

Farm out.
White on.

[Skoot]

Surreal. Obama talking about tolerance and the tear gas flying and cop cars burning on the split screen. Why did he stay on so long? Wasn't one of his staff jumping up and down to get him off the TV? They must be done with him as well. He's a real nowhere man.

Very impressed with McCulloch.

[Stephanie]

Looting a closed McDonalds. OMG.

What are they gonna do, turn on the grill and fire up some fries? That's work...ain't gonna happen.

[exdemocrat]

define "we"

[Beasts of England]

Sorry it's been a tough couple of weeks for you, DuDa. Devastating mid-term elections, a sham amnesty EO that's going to hamstring the dems in 2016, and yet another fake race controversy that is going up in smoke. Literally.

Maybe you should spend some quality time making Warren-Sanders '16 posters.

[RickB]

"Surreal. Obama talking about tolerance and the tear gas flying and cop cars burning on the split screen."

We'll see more of that as the Merde Touch approaches the singularity.

[Stephanie]

Singularity?

Don't invoke Moochelle's butt, RickB.

[exdemocrat]

it had a certain Baghdad Bob quality to it, no?

[Jim Miller]

narciso - Great catch!

Reminds me of the book, "L'argent de Moscou: L'Histoire La Plus Secrete du PCF", which I have read only parts of.

(If you aren't familiar with the book, it's an investigation of how the Soviet Union subsidized the French Communist Party, for many years.

Here's a loose translation of the title: "Moscow's Money: The most Secret History of the French Communist Party" (Literally, "argent" is silver, but the French sometimes use it to mean money, just as we use "gold".)

[narciso]

more like reverse Chip Dillard, of course Shemp can't help himself.

[Jim Miller]

Someone whose French is better than mine may want to translate a few lines from narciso's link.

[Beasts of England]

The peaceful protesters have shut down I-44. Peacefully, I'm sure...

[exdemocrat]

come on "Dublin" Dave - i don't have all night

[NKlaptoppin]

Bad Dayz at Troll Rock, nothing's going right for the Progs. Unfortunaely, in order to expose them they had to do grave damage to the nation and the republic first.

[Stephanie]

I think the "Season's Greetings" sign over the looters is a particularly nice touch.

[exdemocrat]

does "we" include Sinn Fein, the Provos and the 'Real" IRA btw?

[Beasts of England]

I think that's one of the finest examples of juxtaposition I've ever seen, Steph.

[Walter]

Sue, everything is copacetic 'round here.

I live a few blocks from I-44. Nothing likely to happen in the neighborhood.

[narciso]

Allegedly the National Front's president, received a loan of 9 million francs from the Czech Russian bank, now this is significant because there is some big assembly in Lyon, next Sunday, how that?

I could try Google Translate, but the result could be frightening,

[Jane on Ipad]

Where ya been Pagar? Are you ok?

[Jane on Ipad]

They are burning Ferguson down.

[jimmyk]

McCulloch was good, though I can't help wishing he'd been a bit more direct at times. Like instead of saying fuzzy stuff like "We have to figure out how to keep this from happening again," and "No young men should die," something like, "One lesson is that you should not assault a police officer and put him in fear of bodily harm."

Then we have the genius of Ezra Klein:

Ezra Klein ‏@ezraklein 2h

So who represented Michael Brown before the grand jury?

[Walter]

Seriously, an off-duty cop shot a peaceful felon out on bail for gun violations just because he shot at him three times.

Happened about four miles east on I-44.

[Stephanie]

An easy way to go after the looters is to get the serial numbers of all the stolen TVs and see where they are activated for the auto updates that the smart TVs do when you plug them in.

https://www.facebook.com/ConservativesAgainstObamasLiberalAgenda/photos/a.211755245526522.46814.112883682080346/761276150574426/?type=1&theater

[RickB]

Stephanie,

I suppose self aware might work as well - the Merde Touch is now controlling BOzo. It explains the surreal element Skoot mentioned. The Merde Touch forced BOzo to grab air time when any sentient pol would wait until morning. It was also the Merde Touch which forced him to use the nation of laws cliche two days after demonstrating he was The Man Who Would Be Queen and had him utter the phrase during a riot.

[lyle]

I just looted the local Co-op and snagged an armful of free range chickens and some purple drank. And some Swisher Sweets. All set for the cop cars getting torched in Boise. Imagine whirled peas.

[Stephanie]

“When my turn on the program comes, I am not nervous at all—because all this is happening out of time, out of space. I am, for a moment, a figure of my own fantasy, and I play my appointed role as if I were in the movies.”
― Eva Hoffman

[Jim Rhoads f/k/a vnjagvet]

As far as I'm concerned, the DA hit all the right notes under very difficult circumstances. He had to give some lip service to the "fuzzy stuff" in view of the GJ's findings.

[lyle]

I keep expecting Shemp to don blackface in solidarity. Effing unbelievable.

[Stephanie]

Shemp = Menstrual Show

[PDinDetroit]

Lots of gunshots now...