Keith Olbermann gave George Bush a history lesson last night. C&L has the video and the transcript:
…The Domino Theory was nonsense, sir. Our departure from Vietnam emboldened no one. Communism did not spread like a contagion around the world.
And most importantly — as President Reagan's Assistant Secretary of State Lawrence Korb said on this newscast Friday — we were only in a position to win the Cold War because we quit in Vietnam.
We went home. And instead it was the Russians who learned nothing from Vietnam, and who repeated every one of our mistakes when they went into Afghanistan. And alienated their own people, and killed their own children, and bankrupted their own economy, and allowed us to win the Cold War.
We awakened so late — but we did awaken.
Finally, in Vietnam, we learned the lesson. We stopped endlessly squandering lives and treasure and the focus of a nation on an impossible and irrelevant dream.
But you are still doing exactly that, tonight, in Iraq.
And these lessons from Vietnam, Mr. Bush, these priceless, transparent lessons, writ large as if across the very sky, are still a mystery to you.
"We'll succeed unless we quit."
No, sir. We will succeed — against terrorism, for our country's needs, towards binding up the nation's wounds — when you quit — quit the monumental lie, that is our presence in Iraq.
And in the interim, Mr. Bush, an American kid will be killed there, probably tonight — or, if we're lucky, not until tomorrow.
And here, sir, endeth the lesson.
Too bad Bush was probably watching a "24" re-run or something. Isn't that what the inhabitants of "Fantasy White House" do these days for infotainment?
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Zed is still dead. His condition remains unchanged. And Happy Thankgiving!
Can we give up the first-post “Frist” thing now? It was boring 5000 posts ago.
And yes, Happy Thanksgiving all!
We need a post about the War on Thanksgiving. No Christmas merchandising until the Friday after!
When Keith got to that ending, I couldn’t help but give the proper liturgical response: “Thanks be to God!”
SMACK!
Harsh words for deaf ears, I can’t wait for Hillarity or McLame.. Talk about a revolution!
EPU’d, re Bush’s desire to keep detainees from revealing the events of their detention in court, because these are “top secret” alternative interrogation techniques that they don’t want revealed. Keith gave a great lesson last night, and now someone else needs to give Bush another:
John LeCarre’s series of “George Smiley” spy novels really plays up the dilemma of spying out and defending secrets, as Smiley (the hero) is brought out of retirement to track down a defector from the top reaches of British intelligence who absconded to the Russians. Smiley does this by taking “back bearings” – looking at what the mole was after to see what the Russians really wanted to know, and by looking at what/who the mole was trying to protect to see what the Russians were really worried about. (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy about unmasking the mole; The Honourable Schoolboy about the consequences of having sources blown and the beginnings of turning the tables; Smiley’s People with the full turning of the tables – all three are great reads!)
That’s the dilemma every interrogator faces. The very questions the interrogator asks reveal things to the detainee. The only – and I mean ONLY – way to avoid revealing things is to avoid asking questions in the first place.
Interrogation is a two way street. You try to learn things from the person whom you have captured, and in so doing, you reveal things to them. You can’t change this dynamic by getting a legal ruling or issuing an executive order; it’s simply the nature of the beast.
Someone from the intelligence services (CIA, DIA, NSA, anyone!) really ought to explain that to Bush and Cheney. I suggest using lots of short sentences and action verbs.
Another fantastic Olbermann broadcast. What a brilliant man!
I was wondering the same thing Christy. I’d wager that Chimpster has never seen nor heard one of Keith’s special comments.
That image set me to thinking…
3,000 dead American soldiers. This alone should justify an “Iraqi War Memorial” similar to the Vietnam memorial in DC. Just because the “war” isn’t over doesn’t mean we can’t remember those who gave their lives in this misguided effort.
They better leave plenty of room for more names, though. Something tells me this thing is gonna get a lot worse before it gets better.
Also epu’d from last thread, maybe more appropriate on this thread about another brave newsman.
OT, a memorial for Ed Bradley on c-span 2. Good man, fine reporter.
I have a vague memory of him in a tiff with some irate interviewee, the guy was ranting on about how Ed was some liberal commie lover or something, and Ed blew him off, in French.
OT– There is a beautiful service for Ed Bradley at Riverside Church on cspan2. He was a great newsman and American.
Keith Olbermann is another great newsman and American. His attention to the events of our time means so very much. We can handle the truth and more, please!
Rove controls all of Bushboy’s tv viewing. Bushboy doesn’t even know Olbermann has a tv program.
Oh hi, jeffreyw :)
it’s a great service, eh?
Balrog @
9
What’s needed here? Skywriting? A banner on a blimp? A palace coup? He is insulated at the expense of his power. *SOMEONE* in the White House is watching KO.
Bushie thinks KO is still doing SportsCenter!
KO is that rare breed of journalist – a truth teller.
Oh my. Just noticed my typo in post last thread #68. Fixed it in edit on this thread. Would a mod please help me, should read “guy”. I’m such a dummy.
Twisted Martini @ 16
LMAO.
Bush is a wonderful example of a richboy dilletante who should have been allowed to follow sports, run teams if he wished, and never enter into politics.
A loss to our nation that he did.
angie @ 14
I liked the story about the trip to Cuba in the cigarette boat.
OT?
A day after talks among Iraq, Syria, and Iran were revealed, Pierre Gemayel is assassinated in Beirut.
Naturally, the U.S. Government has been quick to condemn the action.
Albatross @ 2
It’s “Fitz.” And nobody is forcing you to read it.
Balrog @ 9
Probably not. I have this sneaking hunch that Bush’s news is heavily redacted…for his “own good,” I’m sure.
Does anyone think that the one thing this mendacious administration is telling the truth about is the actual U.S. military casualty count?
what if more than 10,000 americans have lost their lives there already?
just saying, this question should be asked, perhaps by some ostensibly anti-occupation members of Congress…
If Bush had actually served in Viet Nam or if he hadn’t been sedated during that era, he might have at least a cursory knowledge of the real lessons of that war.
Yes. It is Fitz!
Badwater @ 26
If Dick Cheney had been in charge during Vietnam, we would have nuked Hanoi.
I pray nothing happens to George for the next two years.
Albatross @
2
Albatross, dear, complaining about it is boring, too.
Happy Thanksgiving!
EvilDrPuma @ 24
Judging from the stories of terrified aides having to brave his wrath when tasked to deliver bad news, I’m pretty sure those aides would rather join the army than to show him a cd of Olbermanns greatest hits.
I wish for KO’s next book to be the text of all his special commentaries. Kickass commentaries one right after another!
Thanks for the diversion today…. I am doing my spring cleaning 6 months late…. needed a break from killing dust bunnies and larger rodents(YEEK)
More troops. Last big push.
This is so familiar to anyone who lived through the “light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel” 60’s Vietnam debacle.
More troops, more bombing, will provide only one result: more death before, inevitably, choppers lift the last Americans out of the green zone.
Bush ought to add T.S. Eliot to his reading list. This adventure will end not with a bang but a whimper.
jeffreyw @ 30
Too bad nobody could get a boom box close enough to Bush to play him a few selections during a public appearance.
Bill Clinton follows Jimmy Buffett and Bill Cosby @ Ed Bradley’s service.
percy @ 32
Unfortunately, there will be bangs–a lot of bangs–before the whimper arrives. People will die. Iraqi people, American people…and the blood will all look the same.
It would be a tragedy for Clusterfuck to run a sports team- he’d bankrupt it. Better that he run a non profit- like the Republican Party..Now I’d vote for THAT!
rwcole @ 36
He already did, the Texas Rangers. Nothing more than a figurehead though, Tom Hicks did all the heavy lifting.
percy @ 32
As an old anthropology professor said when I worked at Portland State University: “Gentlemen, that light you see at the end of the tunnel is a proctoscope.”
Martini- yeah I’m familiar with the charade about the Rangers- I was living in Dallas at the time..Clusterfuck sat in the owner’s box and got a good start on his bender for the evening ahead- then he appeared in the best Dallas watering holes to drunk ta fart.
He didn’t, of course, run ANYTHING- his partners may have been criminal- but they weren’t fuckin stupid.
Georgie is exactly the air-headed, strawman, cutesy-face puppet that the Bush family and Republican machine wanted. Remember Dan Quayle? He was their pick for vice-president, and there he was. This time, they got what they wanted, right where they wanted him. It’s only the real consequences that they didn’t want or foresee.
From Harper’s, Sept. 1993:
The Question Bush Never Got Asked: Did he,as a Navy Pilot, strafe a lifeboat? by Mark Hertsgaard:
“In the closing weeks of the 1992 presidential campaign, a four-page document called a naval aircraft actions report was presented to several news organizations. The last page…cntains strong circumstacail evidence that George Bush committed a war crime as a rookie Naval pilot…The document, as incriminating as it appears to be, doesn’t constitute proof of guilt.”
Hmm, apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, huh?
OT
Robert Altman, rest in peace.
sofistic @
38
!! Even better than the old on-rushing train.
kristinejoy @ 42
That’s it. MASH is next on my movie rental list.
EvilDrPuma @ 35
Yes. For our administration, at the endgame, a whimper. For the Iraqis, an ongoing nightmare of death and violence that surely weighs in as comparable to, if not far worse than the brutality served up by Saadam.
Twisted Martini @ 37
Hicks bought the team in 1998.
http://www.angelfire.com/ok5/p…..-sec5.html
The transcript from last night’s Scarborough Country is now online, where Lawrence O’Donnell starts calling the media war advocates what they are: cowards. My favorite portion:
Peterr @ 4
“thanks be to god”
why is this repeated by the clergy?
is there a “thanks be to mechanic”?
or “thanks be to waitress”?
“thanks be to surgeon”?
it’s bad grammar, maybe once it was good grammar but it’s bad grammar now.
we don’t say in every day conversation “blessed art thou”, we say “bless you” or “you are blessed”
I hate when I’m talking to clergy on the street, I say “hey, how are you today?”
and they say;
“excellent, thanks be to god”
they are like advertising they are clergy…if they want to advertise they are clergy they can wear their collar and speak normal English
just my rant
Vestu hal, Robert Altman. I bow my head.
EvilDrPuma @ 24
Just like Kaiser Wilhelm . . . his ministers produced a special newspaper for him, giving a digest of the days news, and even using gold ink. Betcha Kaiser George never thought about the gold ink, but I guess he prefers to have the news read to him by Condi.
Mommybrain @ 29
I think Albatross almost has it right.. it was boring 10,000 posts ago.
“Thank God” is about as common as “Fuck You” in daily conversation…The fact that even the non religious chose to say it is interesting (and perhaps diagnostic).
O/T… I find it disgusting that Judith Regan referred to OJ as “the killer”. FWIW I still think OJ is innocent.
kristinejoy @ 42
Oh, no! Had he been ill? The article didn’t indicate.
I loved his movies. It’s too bad Prairie Home Companion was his last – wasn’t up to the standards of most of his other films.
Glorfindel @ 40
There have been a number of recent Repub presidents who are/were bona-fide zombies. Who was surprised when Reagan’s Alzheimer’s was announced? I was so relieved when I read that Nancy’s astrologer had major input! So, who is actually running the show? Not Rove, he just does elections, or used to.
Jay @ 51
Nobody’s forcing you to read it, either. Good grief, you people should be a bunch of grapes, you let out so much whine…
OfT: Condi says maybe no war w/Iran right now:
Rice mentioned three reasons why the United States is currently unable to carry out a military operation against Iran: the wish to solve the crisis through peaceful means; concern that a military strike will be ineffective – that it would fail to completely destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities; and the lack of precise intelligence on the targets’ locations.
See, now she’s getting all nit-picky. I’m *so* kicking her off my Neo-Con War-Startin’ Fantasy League team.
“Thus endeth the lesson”
thus sprach zarathustra
Comments as needed…
So as in “The Life of Brian” no sooner is a movement started- then it splinters- sometimes along the lines of “traditionalists” (pro “FRIST”) and revolutionaries (ANTI “FRIST”)
And so it goes!
EvilDrPuma @ 56
It’s just so damn silly, Evil Doc, btw, what has Fitz been doing lately??
Jay @ 51
YAWN
dab from CT @ 54
Nothing released on cause of death, but Altman was 81, so his body might just have had enough.
One of the more interesting stories on the horizon is the possibility of a three way talk between Iraq, Iran, and Syria….
This has got to make Clusterfuck’s ass pucker tighter than the last election!!
dab from CT @ 54
The article did say he had had a heart transplant 10 years ago, but didn’t reveal it for fear no one would hire him again.
He took his art seriously–and not seriously at all. Wonderful combination.
Fitz.
It’s an FDL tradition.
Let it be, let it be
Glorfindel @ 40
highlight is mine
if only it was true, they DID see the consequences, they DID want them.
their very purpose is the destabilization of the middle east, the deliberately did not plan for reconstruction nor insurgence
this is going exactly according to plan
these people are “dispensationalists”…look the term up, it will scare the daylights out of you and you can be absolutely certain Bush, cheney and the sick fraternity that calls themselves the PNAC are dispensationalists
A Wedding
Long Goodbye, The
The Player
M*A*S*H
A Prairie Home Companion
Nashville
There will never be another.
Jay @ 60
His job, from what I read, which has nothing to do with press releases or pleasing you or me. And, again, if you can’t handle the silliness, don’t read it. Or do. But for the love of Pete, quit complaining.
I just put this in every email box at MSNBC ……. 800 ATTA BOYS
http://theattaboys.blogspot.com/
If you haven’t added an ATTA BOY to the ATTA BOY Archives here’s that address :
http://thank-you-keith-olbermann.blogspot.com/
EvilDrPuma @ 68
Thank you foe setting me straight, oh Great Puma.
Jay at 60 — Fitz has been filing a flurry of motions in response to motions that Team Libby has been filing. On top of prosecuting folks in Chicago. Hopefully, I’ll have some time to get to those at some point this week, in between The Peanut having the next coupla days off from preschool and the holidays with my family. He’s been swamped, along with his team, and Team Libby attempts to bury him in motions practice in order to swamp the case — which is what most attorneys deal with two months out from a trial. Glad you asked.
And while I think the whole starting a thread with “Fitz” is a little silly — sometimes silly can be a nice release for the regular readers here. And I, for one, have just about had it with people telling other people what they ought to be doing, how they ought to be living their lives, and so forth this week — and that includes people bitching at me for what I have and have not had time to cover or do or say or get to or whatever. If we could all try being a little more considerate that other folks might have feelings that are different from ours and a little more tolerant of those instead of immediately judgmental and harsh, I think we’d all be the happier for it this week. Maybe it’s just me getting over my stomach ick, but it’s seemed a little more snippy than usual lately, and it’s grating on my last nerve.
What they (we) got in Bush is an incompetent with a very bad disposition.
Peterr @ 7
Peterr
I don’t think we are talking about the same thing. The editorial suggests that it is the torture that government is saying is a secret, not the questions.
How backwards is that?
Thanks for a straight answer, Christy.
It was better when we thought Clusterfuck was a puppet.
Now we know that he’s actually running this house of cards===YIKES!
If the bad guys knew just what kind of torture we were gonna use- then they could TRAIN for it—SEE? Well of course not.
percy @ 45
My Iraqi friends, many of whose families came here (Canada) to escape Saddam, say they lived pretty normal lives even as dissidents. People were definitely ‘disappeared’ but it was, what, better organised? Academics could work, go to university, even travel abroad (if cleared), unless they repeatedly criticised. The people at risk from the secret police knew who they were. Normal folks had normal lives, their homes were not blown up, they mostly had jobs and did not have checkpoints.
rwcole @ 75
“dispensationalist”
google it
Jay at 74 — sure — it’s been insane at my house the last week or two, and the amount of motions that have been flying in the case have been impossible for me to do analysis on with everything else going on in the house. With any luck, I can get them printed off and read soon and get something up for you guys on it. I love being a mom, but sometimes it makes analysis a little tough. *g*
HotFlash @ 77
Basically, it sounds like life sucked. But it sucked in reasonably stable and predictable ways that allowed one to know what might happen tomorrow and whether one’s head would still be mounted on the neck to see it.
Undesirable? Sure. Worse than what they have over there now? Debatable…but maybe for them to say and not us.
I see that Mary Matalin is trying to raise funds for Scooter, what do you make of it, Christy? More smoke??
EvilDrPuma @ 68
Fitz has been in a long series of court appearnces called CIPA hearings over the use of classified information at trial. Last week Team Fitz put out a filing almost every day responding to an enormous barrage of motion from Team Irving. He has been working round the clock is what he has been doing lately.
My quip above comparing KO’s “Thus endeth the lesson” with “Thus Spake Zarathustra” appears to have more substance to it than I thought. After reading the Wikipedia article on Zarathustra, I wonder if Keith meant more than he let on. Thus,
From the review on Wiki.
From Christy @ 71
Are there any plans for a nice big break for you, Jane, TRex and the other regular/semi-regular posters during the Christmas holidays. I mean everybody needs a break and sometimes a really big one. Perhaps a caretaker who posts random topics for us to discuss to our hearts content. Its just a suggestion thrown out to see if it sticks to the wall or not.
Merry ChristmasHappy Holidays to all.prostratedragon @ 67
Gosford Park
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Cookie’s Fortune
Jay @ 81
No, it’s part of a strategy to try to wear down Team Fitz. He has a tiny, tiny trial team and Irvings got IIRC 4 different very large law firms plus additional litgation consulting firms. Matlin’s raidsing money cause all these hired guns have to be paid.
Their job is to keep Team Fitz so busy responding to bullshit, that they don’t have the time to properly prep their case and will arrive at the start of the trial exhausted and burnt out and therefor prone to make mistakes.
Irving is a fool if he thinks that is going to work. You don’t know Pat. The guy has the constitution of an ox and will of iron.
Jay @ 74
Ditto. Take it easy till January for the real drama to begin. But do we need to confirm Rummy’s replacement first?
There is another trashook comming out saying that Fitz is also bi-responsable for 911, with Big Bill.
lisadawn82 @ 84
Are there any plans for a nice big break for you, Jane, TRex and the other regular/semi-regular posters during the Christmas holidays. I mean everybody needs a break and sometimes a really big one. Perhaps a caretaker who posts random topics for us to discuss to our hearts content. Its just a suggestion thrown out to see if it sticks to the wall or not.
Merry ChristmasHappy Holidays to all.I second that. Particularly Christy who regularly posts multiple pieces each day – in addition to being a wife, mom, etc.
Christy needs a break from FDL
Harry at 88 — Larry Johnson addressed that book the other day. Take a peek at No Quarter. *g*
You guys will be happy to note that the ReddHedd family has a vacation in the works for early January. :)
More from Scarborough Country with Larry O’Donnell (D) and Terry Holt (R):
Christy Hardin Smith @ 91
Good to hear. I hope The Peanut’s health holds up for that.
Harry @ 88
details?
You don’t mean the one written by the guy who claims the National Geographic Special was supposed to be a Fitz slime until the agents and cops who actually worked on Fitz’s counterterrisom task force set the record straight?
i thought that book came out a couple months ago? Is there another book? IIRC the title of the book connected with the Natl. Geo. special was “path to 911″ or “road to 911″ something like that.
In the calm before the turkey I wanted to take the time out for a HUGE thank you and the warmest wishes to ((((((Christy and family))))))!!!
Christy, FDL and Fitz-o-friggin rama!!! Best of all Peanut and little in all of their glory!
As an American and a night owl you make mornings something I actually scramble to catch up on and patriotism runs through me with a warmth enjoyed as much as a log on the fire and caffine!! Bless you for all of your incredible work and sharing it all with us.
OT:
Salon today has a list of GOP dirty tricks of 2006:
http://www.salon.com/news/feat…..eat_sheet/
Biodun @ 96
The phrase “cheat sheet” was never more appropriately used.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 91
Can we say, then, happy Reddhead at Hilton Head. Oh, I believe you will be so happy to do bird watching, and relaxing. We love you Redd, and wish you health and happiness for you and your family.
looseheadprop @ 94
Peterr @
4
And this is just a bummer: New Line has cut out Peter Jackson’s group from working on “The Hobbit” due to their continuing dispute over profits distribution. SIGH
Shrink in SF @ 100
I wish someone could explain to me why communism is a bad thing anyway.
Jay @ 60
No, that’s not silly, this is silly.
sweet billy @ 103
Communism was mostly good–until Stalin came along… China is still practicing “Communism” and trying to make it work with Capitalism. Capitalism without Democracy, as they say. But that’s another can of worms.
sweet billy at 103 — because it is run by humans, who are flawed and greedy, and thus it can only work in theory and not in practice?
perris at 8;50,
Cash works.
The book which mentions Fitzy is
Triple Cross by Peter Lance…
Jack
EvilDrPuma @
102
Interesting
Reno Files Challenge to Terror Law
http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/a…..43I01.html
EvilDrPuma @ 97
I wish I could give you a “4″ for that comment.
sweet billy @ 103
To my mind, the issue isn’t good or bad. The issue is that communism just can’t work in a large population. Marx could refer to the early Jerusalem Christians in the book of Acts as an example of his principles in practice, but it must be noted that that early community did not survive the expansion of the sect–and apparently did not work without coercion even at the start. I can point to something similar to communism in small-scale hunting and gathering bands, but again it’s a small community that can make the sharing ethic work through gossip and informal social sanctions. A large community simply offers too many opportunities for free-riders, a point that Marx didn’t really consider. Neither did anybody else at that time, of course; neither game theory nor demographic models of sociocultural evolution were part of the intellectual scene of the nineteenth century.
perris @ 48:
I dunno, my dear Irish relatives just say it (well,”TANKS be to God”) like we say “thank goodness!” I find it pretty charming and addictive when you hear it enough.
looseheadprop @ 94
It is called “Triple Cross,” and it’s probably a load of crap. Start with Larry C. Johnson’s review of it. Jason Leopold’s is pro-lance, but Jason’s review bears ridiculous errors of fact, such as Fitz directed the FBI field teams in 1996 – he did no such thing. Fitz has bemoaned, in fact, the illegality of communicating with the FBI by prosecutors, and how it would have helped.
Anyway, here is a link to Larry C. Johnson’s blog:
http://noquarter.typepad.com/m…..e_cri.html
EvilDrPuma @ 80
It seems they say Yankee, go home. Where have I hear that before?
HotFlash — AH-HA!! Badger-badger is on YouTube?? My kids will love it! They’ve always enjoyed the Weebls-stuff.com website, but they have become YouTube freaks now that they are older; they’ll dig adding it to their favorites.
It’ll be a change of pace from The Pinker Tones’ “Karma Hunter” they have been playing to death. (TRex, you wicked influence, you!)
I am probably the last person you would ever want to ask about anything religious but in Anglican liturgy of the order two form, the part of the service where the epistle is read is supposed to go like this:
http://www.cofe.anglican.org/w…..ertwo.html
Christy Hardin Smith @ 106
Most any system will work if there is good will and respect. We humans, though, find ways to abuse even the best. Therefore, checks, balances, eternal vigilance.
EvilDrPuma @
23
Thank you, EvilDrPuma. I never understood objections to harmless pursuit.
Do I have to be one of the cool regulars for someone to comment on my…comment?
Andrew at 120 — nope! Welcome. :)
looseheadprop @ 86
Do you think that if we all PayPal-ed them a penny at a time it would annoy them?
Andrew 120 — heh. You only get to be one of the so-called “cool regulars” if you comment and regularly at that.
Come on in, the water’s fine!
Hugh @
117
A small pet peeve:
I do wish people would stop using “24″ as a device to beat up on the Bush regime. It is absolutely brilliant television, and it is not the fault of the many highly talented people who work on it that some folks can’t seem to figure out that it’s fiction.
I’m actually an international lurker, but I guess you know that already. Posting for the first time can be a bit intimidating.
HotFlash @ 122-
I’ll get back to reading FDL when I’m finished cleaning coffee off my monitor. ;)
Andrew @ 126
Hi there! I was sooo nervous the first time I commented that I shook for a good 5 minutes afterwards!
burnspbesq at 125 — I actually like the show — the first season, especially, was riveting. And Keifer Southerland really deserves more credit because his acting chops are stretched to the hilt in it. That said, the Bush Administration keeps trotting it out as an example of how things are and, as such, needs to be called on their confusion of fiction with reality. It has nothing to do with a criticism of the show and everything to do with the idiocy of the Boy Who Would Be King.
I don’t think there are any “cool regulars”, I think there are some “kewl” regulars though
Andrew @ 120
I’m not really a regular…but I must confess I was thrilled to get a comment on my comment. I learned of FDL from an article Ron Rosenbaum wrote in The New York Observer eons ago, during the Judith Miller fracas. I’ve been hooked ever since. IMO: FDL is the best political blog in the US, period.
Andrew @ 53
Awesome! Although you must admit a civil court found him liable for those deaths, so she is not soooooo completely crazy to call him “the killer”.
If you had to speculate, who do you think is the killer? Robert Kardashian? Al Cowlings? One of the Simpson kids hopped up on Ritalin?
Biodun @ 131
in the US?
on teh planet
Ok, thanks. Do you guys n girls have any idea how much international readers you have? You would be surprise at how closely people outside North America follows the American political system.
HotFlash @ 122
Genius!
Albatross @ 2
It might have been boring 5000 posts ago, but it still makes many of us smile in response. In a world in which there are so few smiles some days, is that a problem?
-S
HotFlash — you know, I rather like the idea, but I think I’d go for maximum hassle factor.
I’d snail-mail ‘em a penny. They have to open all the bloody envelopes, deal with the excess paper, just to get the penny. Maybe make up a mailer that reads, “Pity Penny: this is how much I pity you,” and tape the penny right smack in the middle.
Andrew — don’t let being an international “man of mystery” put you off. FireDogLake has many readers that comment here located around the world. Speaking of which, I missed Medaka from Japan this morning…
Andrew @ 126
I know what that is like. What I usually console myself with is that so many people read and do not comment. Just because my comment doesn’t get replied to doesn’t mean that it isn’t being read by hundreds of people. And reaching out always means more than whatever good comment kudos you can receive, IMHO.
Rayne @ 116
Hi Rayne, in about an hour you will have had mail (blah_blah@gmail dot com I think? Or lv info at my blog)
burnspbesq @ 125
My favorite show as well. But at least I know it’s fiction, as distinct from the folks in the Beltway.
EvilDrPuma @ 112
What does work in a large population?
Lol..I’m not a lawyer but I think the evidence just didn’t add up. I take it the civil court required less proof to convict tho.
Rayne @ 123
Welcome, Andrew. We love it here, and you will too, I’m sure. There is a bit of FDL specific jargon and Secret Code that you will pick up along the way, which makes it even more interesting. And the wit, intelligence and expertise of members is truly awsome.
Andrew @
126
Andrew … You’re gonna need to know the secret handsake.
Andrew @ 134
Click the Site-Meter at the bottom of this website to find out all the stats.
I have been reading for quite awhile now, and already have my fav posters ( interms of their intelligence and wit)so infact I feel as if I know a couple of you already.
Rayne @ 137
I like writing in from Russia which is about 12% of my life. The time zones work out great for jetlag or insomnia.
It wasn’t so long ago that comments ended a bit after midnight and didn’t start up again til first thing in the morning. Those days are gone forever!
Can our new Demcratic Congress earmark a massive increase in fundage for Fitz’s team to allow full-time treason attention? Seriously, can the legislative branch allocate more for DoJ specifically for Fitz’s efforts? Is there anyone who doesn’t believe that the underfundage is calculated and politically motivated?
How many part-time attorneys did the Whitewater team have to get by with, huh?
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Who’s Next?
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Andrew @ 134
The international gang here is one of the things I really appreciate at FDL. I think the perspective brought here is truly priceless and I do know that the rest of the world is very interested in our politics.
I only wish our government and media were more interested in the thoughts of other peoples and the politics of the rest of the world.
OT– Specter yucking it up at the Federalist Society conference and trashing Kennedy on cspan2.
He’s touting Alito and Roberts.
Angie you might already know, mfi is going to be a grandpa.
Specter is the Edsel of politics.
Sad when one’s career is bookended by the magic bullet and the magical thinking of the Federalists. Poor Arlen.
Andrew — you know what is really surprising? Finding out from time to time that you do actually know some of us.
Marcy Wheeler (emptywheel of The Next Hurrah and the soon-to-be-published author) and I had met before, but were introduced as Democratic Party members by another fellow Democratic Party member. Just never made the connection between blog-selves and real people.
Bush and company still are in denial about most of the realities that are Iraq today.
They do not accept that there is a civil war.
They do not accept the connections between the parties and the militias and how these are reflected in the government and the army.
They do not accept that jihadists are a relatively small part of the insurgency.
They refuse to talk to Iran and Syria. Curiously, they accuse Syria of allowing jihadis into Iraq in aid of the (Sunni) insurgency. At the same time, they accuse Syria’s ally Iran of aiding SCIRI and Dawa (Shia) militias. They give a pass to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan from which many jihadis came. They ignore regional rivalries that Iraq has historically had with both Syria and Iran. In fact, in this part of the world, it is the pattern that all countries have rivalries and tensions with all their neighbors.
These are some of the main illusions the Bush Administration has about Iraq and the situation there. We can not expect a coherent, rational policy toward Iraq until we begin to understand what is and has been going on there. This is a lesson that has yet to be learned.
I have seen every special comment by KO, but he had steam coming out of his ears last night! His comment was an incredible testament to The Shrub’s complete idiocy and deceitfullness.
Via TMP
http://img.timeinc.net/time/ca…..1119/8.jpg
Hugh @
117
And the congregation replies: “Thanks be to God.”
OfT: Peter Baker took some Left Coaster’s query this a.m. on his chatz:
FDL Sitemeter fun:
U.S. 93%
Canada 3%
Unknown 2%
Germany 1%
Jamaica 1%
We have regular commenters from Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
What countries are we missing here?
edit: oops, that’s just a snapshot. It changes from second to second.
egregious– I do know and am so happy for him!
Sparkles the Iguana @ 132
LOL – doncha know that OJ is still looking for the real killers?
egregious @ 159
I believe punaise comments from Berkeley-stan. I’m in EssEffistan.
What Rethugs seem to forget when they try to use “24″ as a reference to anything reality based is that Jack Bauer would have captured Osama before the end of the second season.
Wow,that Site Meter really tracks you! I’m from one of the one-percenters(1%)
Re Specter,
If Trex were here, he would be calling him the amphibian of politics.
I generally comment from UnderTruckistan.
TeddySanFran @ 162
I’m from Behind the Redwood Curtain, where they grow “The Kind.”
And OFG from TruckStopistan!
egregious at 169 — that’s only the current stats — we have regulars from all over the UK, Greece, Italy, Chile, Brazil, Australia, Thailand…you name it. We even have a regular from Morocco who pops on several times a week. :)
COLORADO BOB @ 156
Wonderful! Though it took a few seconds to figure out that it was elephants scrambling to get in the helicopter
harriett @ 155
Here’s one a lot of people haven’t seen … one week after Katrina … Click the Putfile link :
http://thank-you-keith-olberma…..weeks.html
angie @ 149
Punaise (who I think is French but lives in Berkeley) is one of my favorites because I’m a language junkie. I’m a punster as well. But Punaise intimidates me. He’s a nonstop puning machine.
Albatross @ 2
But…we don’t say Frist. We Fitz.
Not a frequent reader here, apparently.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 169
It would be great to see the complete list of countries. I’m such a geography geek.
Christy Hardin Smith @ 169
I propose an FDL International De-Lurking Invitational Day, when all our co-journeyers are invited to alert us in the comments to their homebase. Could we do this in an open thread, perhaps as part of Teh Secular Humanist War on Christmas launching this Friday?
Christy Hardin Smith @ 169
And then we have El Negro Gato, who pops in from time to time and comments weeth an accent.
So.
dab from CT @ 170
Sad and funny …. just like the Air America ship back in 75′.
TeddySanFran @ 148
It’s not possible – Gonzales would have to dig deep into the budget that pays for the lifts for his shoes.
This tracker company has a pretty cool map :
http://www2.clustrmaps.com/cou…..gspot.com/
New Thread.
http://www.firedoglake.com/200…..a/#respond
Andrew @ 53
160 post and not one person called you: delusional about race, a hypocrite or a troll wow. Everything I’ve been called on other boards when I point out that there was more than enough resonable doubt not to convict Orenthal James.
egregious @ 159
That’s misleading, EG. Anything coming in under a .com, n.mil or .edu provider is called US, only .ca is counted as Cdn(my provider is .com), .uk for United Kingdom, etc.
Most of the catch phrases in our Western culture today come from an Eastern book.
“And here, sir, endeth the lesson.” could be paraphrased from:
Luke 4 17-21
17 The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed,
19 and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
20 He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him.
21 He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
There is more to this story however…
Andrew @ 126
Welcome, Andrew! Hope we hear from you often.
Jay @ 51
BAH HUMBUG.
Actually, Cheney was probably briefing him on the plans to attack Iran. The monster isn’t dead yet. We need to make sure the “go long” option — or even the “go big” option — in Iraq doesn’t segue right into “go on” to Iran …
Tank of gas: too much. Prescription refill: too much. Iraq war: WAY too much. Dick Cheney on bending the rules: priceless.
According to Sy Hersh in the New Yorker, Cheney and his neocon colleagues still hope to hit Iran with a military strike despite a Democratic Congress, and may have the means to pull it off. What do we have to do to keep him from pursuing a military option in Iran? Drive a wooden stake through his heart?
HotFlash @
55
Nancy’s astrologer wrote a book about her experience (after Regan wrote about her)… “What does Joan say?” by Joan Quigley, if you’re interested in reading more. It’s interesting.
here’s the link to the video from last nights o’donnell blowup at scarborough… being passionate and indignant is sometimes messy and inpolite, but better that than be complicit
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CSJCAJ4w16c
Mr. Obermann is a true Patriot, I thank him, and our Nation should thank him.
You mean “24″ isn’t a documentary?!