I just saw this ad on CNN’s Situation Room …
It’s by a group called Americans United for Change.
{ 0 comments }
From the monthly archives:
April 2007
I’m sure I don’t need to dig up specific examples, as everyone should be well aware by now of how we treat “enemy combatants” we capture and send to Guantanamo Bay. Isolation, degradation, and even torture.
And then I saw this in yesterday’s Dispatch (emphasis mine):
Crew coach Sigi Schmid’s 82-year-old father, Fritz, is visiting Columbus this week and was at the game against D.C. United last night. His eyes lit up when asked about the years he spent in a prison camp in England during and after World War II.
“We had a wonderful time,” said Schmid, who spent 32 years working in Los Angeles area breweries after immigrating to California in 1956.
“We had some terrific soccer teams. We had some players who went on to play some top-notch soccer in Germany. We had a camp team and we would play teams outside the camps. We’d play everybody – soldiers, civilians, guards.”
Schmid, from the Stuttgart, Germany, area, was captured by Canadians during the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944. He was held in England until 1948.
“We had it better than the people in the big cities in Germany,” said Schmid, who was a referee in the Los Angeles area for 30 years. “We had more food than anybody. We had the same ration the British army had, but everyone in the camp worked on the farm, too. We could even buy beer.”
That’s what those “quaint” Geneva Conventions provided for. Actual humane imprisonment of enemy troops.
Sigh.
{ 0 comments }
I have to say that I advocated for this several times while I was there but could never pull it off. Now that I’ve left, guess what? There will be STRIPPERS at the Progress Ohio offices. Great:
(Columbus) – Entertainers from across the state will gather in Columbus for a news conference on Tuesday, May 1, at 10 a.m. The event will take place in the offices of Progress Ohio, 265 S. Third Street, Columbus.
Dancers formed the grassroots organization “Dancers for Democracy” to try and combat Senate Bill 16, a measure that would limit the hours of adult businesses and ban patrons from coming within six feet of any nude or semi-nude entertainers. The six-foot rule will cause wages to drop off dramatically and force many of the dancers into minimum wage jobs, said Charity Fickisen, a Columbus dancer and chairwoman of the new organization.
Those who violate the rule could be found guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor – the same level of offense for negligent homicide or menacing by stalking.
{ 7 comments }
A Congressional investigation into reconstruction in Iraq found that six out of eight projects the Bush administration claimed to be a success were falling apart, throwing doubts over the long-term viability of much of the $30bn (£15bn) programme.
Washington- U.S. efforts to rebuild Iraq are so beset with daily violence, corruption and poor maintenance that Iraqis will not be capable of managing reconstruction anytime soon, investigators say.
The latest audit by the special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction found that uncertainty and delays plague a U.S.-led war and rebuilding effort that has already cost nearly $400 billion.
So…even the “successes” are failures now. We’re in slow bleed land here folks. This invasion played precisely into the hands of those we should have been pursuing instead of deposing a dictator who actually held the country together. The resulting instability of the region is something that actual war planners could have predicted, but not an incompetent neocon driven administration. Deep shit for many years here no matter if we stay or go. That’s the saddest part of all of this. The best bet for the Bush administration is to keep the disaster going until a Democrat is elected President (and one will be), then claim that they mismanaged “the ending of the war” or “were not as committed as we were”. It will be fun to watch these claims, but you can bet that is what is happening.
The tactics of the Dems is pretty smart as well. Push Bush on something they know he will not budge on in order to be able to say “we offered him a way to end this war, but Republicans passed”. It will get a Dem in the White House in ‘08. Mark it down. The question will then become “what now?” The answer will be no matter what you do a disaster in Iraq and the broader Middle East. It is the Bush legacy…
{ 0 comments }
It’s good to see Tony back to work. Hopefully his treatment will put him on the road to permanent recovery.
DAVIDSON, N.C. –White House Press Secretary Tony Snow, who will soon begin chemotherapy to fight a cancer recurrence, told fellow alumni at Davidson College that he feels great and plans to return to work Monday.
{ 0 comments }
Ehud Olmert is under fire.
JERUSALEM – Members of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s ruling coalition joined opposition lawmakers yesterday in calling for the Israeli leader and his defense minister to resign after parts of a government report criticizing their handling of last year’s war in Lebanon were leaked to local media.
Officials close to the investigation confirmed TV reports that the panel concluded Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz made hasty and ill-judged decisions at the outset of the war.
Money quote:
According to the people familiar with the investigation, the panel concluded that Olmert failed to sufficiently question the army?s battle plans, publicly stated his war aims without ensuring they were attainable and failed to demand a clear exit strategy.
That sounds strangely familiar…
Saying that kind of stuff in America is tantamount to “supporting the terrorists”, “hating America”, or even “treason”.
{ 1 comment }
Update: Irony Alert! Official Caught Using Escort Service Demanded Anti-Prostitution ‘Loyalty Oaths’
You have to think this one is gonna get bigger (ht BSB and reader tip):
Randall L. Tobias, the deputy secretary of state responsible for U.S. foreign aid, abruptly resigned yesterday after he was asked about an upscale escort service allegedly involved in prostitution, U.S. government sources said.
Tobias resigned after ABC News contacted him with questions about the escort service, the sources said. ABC News released a statement last night saying Tobias acknowledged Thursday that he had used the service to provide massages, not sex.
Add another to the family values file. This one is gonna be fun to watch all next week. Don’t miss 20/20 on Friday! I’m headed out now to buy popcorn. Love those family values! Why might this one blow up bigger?
Deborah Jeane Palfrey, who operated the escort service, was indicted on federal racketeering charges in February and has threatened to expose her high-profile client list.
Ruh Roh.
Side note: My wife is a massage therapist and really gets pissed off when people use the “massage” excuse for engaging in prostitution. The escort service used claims they provide “legal, sexual game-playing for $275 per 90-minute session”. Um. Yeah. A 90 minute therapeutic massage runs ya about $100-120. I’ll let Holly weigh in if she wants to, but you might wanna do a virtual duck because she’s gonna be pissed…
{ 4 comments }
Good stuff:
WASHINGTON (CNN) — When it comes to Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment — “Thou shalt not speak ill of thy fellow Republicans” — GOP presidential candidates seem to be losing their religion…Republican candidates have been speaking a lot of ill — sometimes quite directly.
It has been said that when Democrats lose an election, they form a circular firing squad. Last year, Republicans lost. So it’s their turn to fire on one another.
Conservatives argue Republicans lost because they veered from their conservative principles on issues like the deficit…The top-tier Republican candidates are all suspect to solid conservatives, who fear they are losing their hard-won influence in the Republican Party.
[Giggles] Trust me. These guys don’t want to get into a “how conservative are you” battle. Smart Republicans know this. Gonna be fun to watch the circular firing squad. The talent at the top tiers couldn’t have a wider gulf…and Fred Thompson can’t save them. Iraq has so screwed their message discipline up it will be tough to recover. Fun for me though!
{ 0 comments }
from Think Progress:
Bush to receive Iraq bill on ‘Mission Accomplished’ day.
CNN has confirmed that Congress’ Iraq withdrawal legislation will be delivered to President Bush on Tuesday, making it highly likely that Bush will veto the bill on the four year anniversary of his infamous “Mission Accomplished” speech
Yep. Love me some irony…
{ 2 comments }
This is too funny. Fox News apparently is so desperate for right-wing drivel that they have resorted to reporting parody as actual news in an attempt to get the knuckle draggers to foam at the mouth. I’ve always thought the Fox News audience was basically the same demographic that continues to forward me wingnut laced hoax emails. Think I’ll go ahead and pen over the pencil on that theory…
{ 1 comment }
via PO who is hosting:
COLUMBUS – U.S. Representative Tim Ryan will meet with Central Ohio Catholic leaders Saturday at the offices of ProgressOhio.org, 265 S. 3rd Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215. He will hold a press availability at 11:30 a.m.
Rep. Ryan and other Catholic leaders at a Columbus Town Hall meeting on strategies to end the war in Iraq. The group will discuss how to mobilize Catholics around the state and encourage them to contact their congressional representatives and make their anti-war views known.
In Columbus, Eric McFadden, director of the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, will introduce Cong. Ryan. Following the introductions, Cong. Ryan will make a statement and then the meeting will be opened up for discussion. Meeting is open to all.
{ 0 comments }
Awesome. From Dave at ProgreeOhio:
Strong American Schools is a nonpartisan public awareness and action campaign offering a voice to every American who supports “ED in 08.” The goal is to ensure that the nation engages in a rigorous debate and to make education a top priority in the 2008 presidential election. They expect candidates to offer genuine leadership rather than empty rhetoric and tell voters how they intend to strengthen America’s schools so all students receive the education they deserve.
Take a minute and check out the site. Bloggers can get some buttons here.
[Note: Their button code is FUBAR. You'll need to remove a ' from in between the " ...or at least i did.]
{ 1 comment }
The first debate of the 2008 Presidential race is behind us. The Democrat side was represented by far too many people – so much so that the wide view made it hard to distinguish between the candidates. The flag backdrop was nice though:
The bottom line is this pretty much means nothing in the bigger picture. I didn’t see anything that happened that might shake up the current balance other than Edwards appearing to fade somewhat. The show of hands questions were idiotic. They should have limited the questions, but it had to be tough with such a large field.
Watched most of the *cough* debate *cough*. I was a bit late and forgot the Buckeye State Boyz were having a live chat thingy. One of them has his take up too.
Here is a quick PlunderTake(tm):
Gravel: Um, spirited? Yah. I’ll go with spirited! Plundergrade: D
Kucinich: Well, he’s Dennis! Lucky for him Gravel made him look way less kooky (gotta give credit where due here. Matt Dole nailed this one!). Not that I disagreed with him, but um…well. Plundergrade: B-
Edwards: Bizarro questions (haircut, hedge funds) and handled them poorly. He also got the “who do you consider your moral leader” question. I thought storms had knocked out my cable he took so long. One of the silences that makes you look up from your live chatting…Ugh. Edwards faded in my mind. Plundergrade: C
Biden: Suprisingly well. He improved his stock the most. His “Yes” answer when asked if he could not be so verbose was an insta-classic. Very well done. Plundergrade: B+
Obama: No surprise here. He was the most composed and had the best message overall. Didn’t shake things up any, but didn’t fuck up either. Handled an attack by Kucinich very well. He’s still the one to beat in my book. Plundergrade: A-
Hillary: She came very close to shrieking in trying to be firm and strong. BSB Bryan kept saying she was yelling. Jill thought otherwise until later, but then agreed she might be. It wasn’t volume it was tone. The tone your mother used to take with you about eating peas. She got easy questions, but the most disappointing moment was when she had a chance to hit one out of the park when asked about Giuiliani’s recent assertion that we’ll be attacked unless a Republican is elected President. Dribbling grounder to third. Plundergrade: B
Dodd: Bad. Just…bad. Dodd’s a dud. Plundergrade: F
Richardson: I expected way more from him as well. I was actually hoping he’d be a darkhorse that would rise to maybe take a ride on the VP train. Not gonna happen. He struggled to answer questions, answered questions not asked to him, and generally had a poor showing. After some deft moves early, I did expect more from the Governor. Tighten up Bill. Big leagues now bro. Big leagues. Plundergrade: C-
So overall we have a situation where the top two are still the top two. The three spot probably is still Edwards, but he lost ground and Biden gained. Richardson is 4 and fading. Gravel and Kucinich are corrective forces and the equivalent of a 3rd party in this. They’ll continue to force issues upon the leaders and that’s a good thing. Dodd can start packing.
Thanks to Jerid and all the chatters. It was fun. We’ll have to do some live hook-ups for the bigger ones.
{ 4 comments }
Generals and the Iraq War: FUBAR
by Eric on April 27, 2007 · Comments
[Note: FUBAR = fucked up beyond all recognition for my non-military friends]
Lt. Col. Paul Yingling, deputy commander of the 3rd Armored Calvary Regiment, wrote a scathing indictment of the top brass in an article for Armed Forces Journal. It’s worth a read. In it he makes a couple points I wanted to highlight and comment on. I’ve been having several conversations lately about the war and had one just today with a friend. We weren’t coming from the same direction entirely, but there were certainly some takaways from it that actually line up with Col. Yingling.
His first point:
This is absolutely on point. I don’t agree that a global “war on terror” ought to be deemed a “war” at all, but for purposes of this post I’m willing to stipulate as such. Where is the passion? Where is the walk through concrete walls to get done what has to get done to protect and defend our country? It has been unceremoniously bled from us over the course of the last 4 years by an administration intent upon it’s own goals and entirely deaf to the cries of the American people. Has there been a greater squandering of political capital in the modern era? September 12, 2001 saw a country and world united in a quest to rid ourselves of terror and fear. We would have done anything and ended up going along with anything as we watched anxiously hoping the ousting of the evil Saddam might bring some comfort to us as we continued to watch images of the still smoldering towers. Some of us woke up quickly to the charade. Most have awakened now. [click to continue…]
{ 0 comments }