Tweet
NYT:
BAGHDAD, Dec. 12 — At least 56 people, most of them Shiite laborers looking for work, were killed today when a pickup truck packed with explosives was detonated in a crowded square in the city’s center this morning, Iraqi officials and witnesses said. At least 220 more were wounded.
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Also today, the A.P. announced that one of its cameramen, Aswan Ahmed Luftallah, was shot by insurgents while covering clashes in the northern city of Mosul. He is the third employee of the news agency to be killed in Iraq.
A tally kept by the Committee to Protect Journalists shows that 89 journalists and 37 media support workers had been killed in Iraq since the 2003 invasion, prior to Mr. Luftallah’s death, the news agency said.
I hope we can look forward to another chorus from the wingnuts choir as they raise their voices to question the courage of journalists in Iraq with pithy one-liners about "reporting from hotel balconies." Superbly timed, as always, and laced with bon mots about the incivility of the left.
I'll be disappointed without it. Maybe Tom DeLay will lead them?
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FITZMAS!
The Middle East is out of control. And my party, the Democrats, are not speaking out.
But but but, Sean Hannity was there…
Kicking a dead horse.
/snark
Superbly timed, as always, and laced with bon mots about the incivility of the left.
This is totally not a civil war.
no better time to trot out my daily invective:
my contempt for Joe Lieberman will never subside.
my contempt for Joe Lieberman will never subside.
It is Joeternal.
Eli @
4
Is it the “Recent Unpleasantness”?
My contempt for Democrats on Iraq and the Middle East is ballooning.
Now that Tom Delay is a blog journalist maybe we can ship him over there to cover the war? I look forward to his outside the green zone reportage.
jane,
so glad to see you back at it. you were on my mind all day
Is it the “Recent Unpleasantness”?
It’s the “Recent, Current, and Forever Unpleasantness”.
jayt @ 7
or that nagging itching sensation?
Let’s give this Iraq war effort one last shot before we bring our troops home.
Speaking of Joe, haven’t seen any statements from (I. CT) recently, except his hearing questions in which he said, “I’d like to follow up on the wonderful, insightful questions asked by my neocon colleague, Senator Warman . . .” What has he said about the ISG?
Where’s Murtha?
Joe Biden @ 13
goddammit Joe:
I mixed my own reaction to the ISG Report with a little bit of Arlo Guthrie – wanna see it?
Let’s give this Iraq war effort one last shot before we bring our troops home.
I’ll give it six months, but that’s it. If it’s not looking better in six months, I will have no choice but to give it another six months. I am dead serious about this.
I hope Obama or someone smokes Hillary out of her rat-hole on Iraq.
Joe Biden @ 13
WHY? Why? why? Just kill more of our children and more Iraqis, exactly why?
in my perfect world he’s still pimp slappin Reyes for being the first string dumb ass he is . . .but he may simply be measuring drapes:(
Eli @ 17
Your last name doesn’t happen to begin F-R-I…, does it?
Oklahoma kiddo @ 18
Yes, but if he did that, half the Senate Democrats would come pouring out. She’s cover for some of them.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 18
Obama? Don’t pin your hopes on him. Please remember this guy was an unknown state senator 2 years ago, put up as a “sacrificial lamb” candidate who was expected to lose.
The ONLY reason he won was because his opponents self destructed. it was pure dumb luck.
What has he done since? He delivered the best goddamned speech I have heard since JFK died.
Then,…..?
Oh, and he is SOOO hooked into the corrupt Chicago machine, it makes my skin crawl. He may be a rock star, but that’s all he is.
OT
Hugh — left you a post at bottom of your thread.
Your last name doesn’t happen to begin F-R-I…, does it?
F U, buddy.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 18
there was a fair bit of discussion re Obama(mania) in Late Nite last night, starting around here, including a link to the Salon.com cover story du jour.
WHEN A SOLDIER MAKES IT HOME
words and music by Arlo Guthrie
Halfway around the world tonight
In a strange and foreign land
A soldier packs his memories
As he leaves Afghanistan
And back home they don’t know too much
There’s just no way to tell
I guess you had to be there
For to know that war was hell
Chorus:
And there won’t be any victory parades
For those that’s coming back
They’ll fly them in at midnight
And unload the body sacks
And the living will be walking down
A long and lonely road
Because nobody seems to care these days
When a soldier makes it home
They’ll say it wasn’t easy
Just another job well done
As the government in Kabul falls
To the sounds of rebel guns
And the faces of the comrades
Being blown out of the sky
Leaves you bitter with the feeling
That they didn’t have to die
Chorus
Halfway around the world tonight
In a strange and foreign land
A soldier unpacks memories
That he saved from Vietnam
Back home they didn’t know too much
There was just no way to tell
I guess you had to be there
For to know that war was hell
And there wasn’t any big parades
For those that made it back
They flew them in at midnight
And unloaded all the sacks
And the living were left walking down
A long and lonely road
Because nobody seemed to care back then
When a soldier made it home
The night is coming quickly
And the stars are on their way
As I stare into the evening
Looking for the words to say
That I saw the lonely soldier
Just a boy that’s far from home
And I saw that I was just like him
While upon this earth I roam
And there may not be any big parades
If I ever make it back
As I come home under cover
Through a world that can’t keep track
Of the heroes who have fallen
Let alone the ones who won’t
Which is why nobody seems to care
When a soldier makes it home
©1989 Arloco Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
All Rights Reserved.
looseheadprop @ 23
My point here actually is not Obama. It’s Hillary and Iraq. And the whole of the Middle East. Politically, I don’t pin my hopes on anyone. ;)
Oklahoma kiddo @ 8
That’s the tricky thing about the Democrats. They’re better than the Republicans but that’s a pretty low bar. They enabled Bush and the Republicans for the last 6 years and it is an open question just how aggressive the Hillarys and Bidens are going to be about really pushing our Middle East policy in a new direction. Lieberman is, of course, a lost cause, but I wonder how many Lieberman-lites are out there among Democrats in the House and Senate.
He may be a rock star, but that’s all he is.
In all fairness, he probably makes for a better senator than Keith Richards would.
No comments about coconut trees please.
Eli @ 30
looseheadprop @ 23
Well damn LHP – I’d like some more info. So, If you ever get to headline here again at the FDL (We Ain’t Necessarily Pretty, But We Just Ain’t a Lettin Anybody In) Lake – pleae spill a little more. w/r/t to this momemnt – Obama has, at the moment, a bit of the look of JFK to hiom. If I’m wrong, I most *certainly* wanna know.
Alaskan journalist in Iraq, Dahr Jamail, on how “one last shot” is going this week. Jamail is quoting an e-mail from a friend there:
“I hope I can show you how the dogs have started eating the dead bodies which lie in the streets of Baghdad now. I filmed one of the dead bodies while there was a dog eating on it. The U.S. troops and Iraqi police leave the dead bodies in the streets for one or two days… I think they intend to do this because they want everyone, including the children, to see this. Three days ago my young son saw some of the Shia militia as they killed an innocent Iraqi in front of his eyes just near his school.
LHP @ #23 – Obama’s big speech was OK, but I find Al Gore’s Cooper Union speech to be more fitting for the “great American speeches” category.
Eli @ 30
Well, more comprehensible.
looseheadprop @ 23
I never thought I’d say it, but I find myself hoping Gore will actually throw his hat in.
I never expected to miss the monotone delivery, the blank mannequin stare and strange pauses in conversational speaking style, but I do.
The only good aspect of his loss (stolen win) is that LIEberman didn’t get brought along with. But his work with global warming (that bitchin beard) and general all around good guy demeanor just seem to warrant another look. Plus…”First Lady Tipper,” will be the coolest phrase to be heard in the back halls of the White house since, “First Lady Lady Byrd,” (it’s not all that hep a place, ya see).
Gilliard weighs in on the Hillary/Obama shinyness – with a surprise ending . . .
http://stevegilliard.blogspot……eason.html
Eli @ 30
That made me guffaw
the terrorists are targeting our
holidayChristmas spending!jayt:
Obama has, at the moment, a bit of the look of JFK to him. If I’m wrong, I most *certainly* wanna know.
here’s the headline of the salon.com front pager:
I’m not endorsing Obama, mostly curious about how all this is playing out. There’s not much “there” there. I am intrigued by the possiblities of a Gore/Obama ticket.
Is the war in Iraq civil? Or Uncivil?
At the time, I thought Obama’s keynote speech was great, but after he rolled over a few times I realized that he was just saying “Can’t we all just get along?”, and essentially buying into the Joepublican version of bipartisanship. Feh.
There wasn’t much “there there” when the current moron got elected.
punaise @ 39
Eli @ 25
Excuse me?
from last night:
Cujo359 @
245
jayt @ 32
I wish I had the time right now, which I don’t I have to do some research for a client, but there was a whole megilla maybe amonth or so ago about Obama buying multi million dollar house next door to a chicago lobbyist/fixer who and then buying a strip of land from him under very shady circumstances. I MIGHT have first seen it in a John Kass article, but there were a flurry of articles at the time and it was not pretty.
jayt @ 43
FU = Freidman Unit = six months
jayt @ 32
He DOES make me think of JFK in that speech. He is definately a rock star.
jayt @ 43
Eli, you were walking down the Tom Friedman 6 to 9 month path. It wasn’t a slam. Jayt isn’t that uncool. Worry not!
Jane did a good piece on Obama just recently … let’s see if we can find it.
Meanwhile CNN headline is “War Forward Stalled”
punaise @ 46
Got it; I’m that uncool!
Here we go – Jane on Obama and ethics:
http://www.firedoglake.com/200…..democrats/
I want to know what Hillary’s prescription for peace in the Middle East is. Is this too much to ask?
Siun @ 51
Siun, thank you. Now I really do have to go do some client work. By all and thank you for being so kind today.
jayt @ 43
F.U. = Friedman Unit = 6 months =>Eli snark.
I want substance way over style.
Meanwhile CNN headline is “War Forward Stalled”
That would be good news, siun. ;)
Oh gads. I did a post on Tom Bugman Delay’s blog. I felt like I needed to scrub my hard drive with bleach. Then burn it.
Maybe Obama’s views will moderate with time.
That’s all we need…
(Thanks for covering for me on the F U, punaise – I’m a bit slow to respond on the Treo…)
looseheadprop @ 45
I recall seeing and hearing news coverage also – the audio was Pacifica or NPR. The mpropert transaction was abelow-market payment price for the fixer’s prop.
I am not 100% certain, but my recollection is the fixer has ties with organized crime.
Even without that, Obama was a greedy fool to think it would work, even given baseline tolerance for endemic corruption in the Illinois.
The ambitious empty suit can’t even look after his own ass – and he wants to be trusted with a nation?
We just tried that, Barak – read any papers later, or too busy with your mirror and the exploratory committee?
Barak Obama – too incompetent to get away with graft in Illinois.
NEXT!
Siun @ 51
Thanks Siun.
I’ve got
The Great War for Civilization on order, per your recommendation. Can you tell me anything about some of these other books by Robert Fisk?
I know good and goddamm well what a Friedman unit is…
Inj the meantime, I don’t necessarily need an F.U. from Eli…
looseheadprop @ 23
Yes, he was a practically unknown state senator 2 years ago. I don’t know why that means we shouldn’t pin our hopes on him, or that he’s not worthy of higher political office? At the same time he was a state senator, he was a constitutional law professor at the Univ. of Chicago, not too shabby a post.
I am not sure where you get that he was put up as a “sacrificial lamb” candidate who was expected to lose. Certainly he was one among many Democratic candidates in the primary, and he didn’t start out as the frontrunner, but I don’t recall anyone “putting him up”. My impression is that he decides when and if to run, not the Illinois Democratic Party.
Yes, some of his opponents self-destructed, but that’s not the ONLY reason he won. It certainly was not pure dumb luck. There was a lot of serendipity involved, but one of his opponents, who had greater name recognition (Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes), could just as easily have won, because the self-destructing could just as easily benefitted Hynes as Obama. But once people started noticing Obama, and he started getting press coverage, his star quality began to emerge (here in Illinois, not nationally). He won both because of luck, Republican Jack Ryan’s ex-wife problem, and because he turned out to be a superb candidate.
He is not SOOOOOOO hooked into the corrupt Chicago machine. He’s made a couple puzzling and what I would certainly call poor judgment calls, but he is not “hooked into” the corrupt machine. He is not a Richard Daley. He is not a Rod Blagojevich. He is not a John Stroger.
Why is it we never hear? They were so cool. I mean they were real politicians.
As for Obama, let him be a rock star on his own time. The people of Illinois elected him to be a Senator. Let’s see if he can do that job first.
The victory of image over substance gave us Bush. I don’t want to go there again, thanks.
punaise @
46
How many Freidman units per Biden – “one last shot” – unit?
I want to know what Hillary’s prescription for peace in the Middle East is. Is this too much to ask?
“Take two Friedmans and call me in 2008.”
Regarding the high number of journalists killed in this war, on December 5, 2006, the Spanish Supreme Court unaminously held that Spain did have jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute the murder of Spanish cameraman Jose Couso by the American military.
Jose Couso Permuy was one of the two journalists killed on April 8, 2003, when a U.S. tank fired on the Palestian Hotel in Bagdah, which the U.S. military knew was filled with journalists and supposedly not be fired upon. The American media attempted to portray the tank firing on the Palestian Hotel as unfortunate consequence of war. The legal request for an investigation and prosecution was originally filed in October of 2003, but the Spanish authorities put aside the investigation under pressure from the United States.
The family of the dead journalist have fought hard, characterizing the act as a war crime for it was a deliberate act against the (unembedded) press. Mr. Couso’s mother, Mara Isabel Permuy, marched with Cindy Sheehan on Washington, D.C. while his brother Javier Couso Permuy kept up pressure claiming that there is no free pass to murder jounalists during times of war.
Our lay-down media has failed us miserably in their role to question those in power and give us accurate facts. The rest of the world still has journalists of intregity and courage and they should be protected, not murdered.
(From the Salon article.)
Obama is NOT RUNNING YET. He is being vague on purpose. He’s a smart guy. He doesn’t want to bore these crowds with a litany of where he stands on every single issue. He doesn’t want to be the new Al Gore, precise and robotic and uninspiring. He knows that right now all he has to do is create buzz, get people to pay attention, learn his name, and when he announces, then he can give more details.
Can we quit with the empty suit talk? The dude is not an empty suit. He’s being smart.
Inj the meantime, I don’t necessarily need an F.U. from Eli…
Sorry, man – it was a play on words, no offense intended. Just as I assume no offense was intended in implying I was related to Tom Friedman, yes?
jayt @
61
jayt, I am probably one of the most highly sensitive folks around these parts, and even I knew Eli was making a joke. I hope you can take a breath and realize how clever it was, and not intended as an insult.
My .02, fwiw.
A-MEN
a functioning intellect, passion, appreciating the constitution and a smidge of empathy for those still left socio-economically behind will do it for me at this point :}
Some folks say it’s too early to worry about the Democratic nomination for the WH in 2008. Why don’t we just wait and let things ’sort out’, they say. The fear here is that ‘things’ are being sorted out now, and these sorted out things are beginning to be “sorted out” in a manner which is beyond our control. And I don’t like it.
Eli @ 65
Is this the same as “revisiting the issue” (in Hillary’s words)?
Eli @ 68
No- of course not -just chalk it up to – my bad.
Apologies.
johnSwifty @
50
Oh dear Punaise – have said it before & will say it again You are just too cool for school. FOFL!
Ed*ard Teller @ 33
which al gore speech was that?
Oklahoma kiddo @
71
Nor do I. Blogs have more influence on US House elections than US Senate races; more influence on Senate than Presidential race dynamics.
Primary voters have far less influence on who the Dem and GOP machines nominate than do the funders of those candidates and the press. I don’t think that will change for the 2008 presidential election.
cbl @ 36
And he thinks Wes Clark will? I don’t have a crystal ball either, but both Obama and Clinton seem more polished and race-ready to me than Clark. I hope to God if Clark does run, that he’s been studying up on abortion, because last time the dude did not have a clue.
newspaperbrat @ 74
aww, shucks, actually it was Eli’s “funny” – I was just sweeping up after him (word tinkerers of the world, unite!)
cbl @
20
MSNBC’s Scarborough and Tuckerson are both eating up the Reye’s ignorance on TWaT (The War against Terror) details. Joe asked the CQ reporter if anyone,…..oh, say,….like Jane Harman knew the details? The reporter said when he asked her, Harman asked him where he wanted her to start.
JohnSwifty -
Great War is an astonishing book – I found I read it slowly and several other friends have had the same experience. A lot of what Fisk has to teach us is not easy to take in large doses – while he has been *the* leading war correspondent in the Middle East for a very long time and understands all the players, he always sees the issues and conflicts from the perspective of the people impacted – plus his knowledge of history really provides a perspective that opens eyes – understanding that US troops are using the same locations in Iraq that British colonial forces used all so long ago for example is important in understanding both the failure of our policiies and the reactions of the Iraqi people.
His other books – I have not yet read his book on Northern Ireland but Pity The Country is equally valuable reading. Fisk has lived in Lebanon for a very long time and Pity is his account of the civil war there – in many ways a microcosm of Great War. I read it during the recent attack on Lebanon and it was horrifying – Israeli forces were killing civilians in precisely the same locations as they did the last time round for example. Also, the view, up close, of Israeli tactics looks like a blueprint for US tactics in Iraq – with the same horrific consequences.
Understand that Fisk is not a crazy – he was war correspondent for the Times of London for years until they tried to censor him and he moved to the Independent. He’s been everywhere things have happened – interviewing Bin Laden in Yemen before he ever went to Afghanistan for example or walking along the road where Iraqis were slaughtered at the end of GW1 – this is info we have not had here in the states and info we really need.
He also writes very well – while the subject makes for hard going coz it’s so sad, the writing is strong and readable – not dry.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 71
Agreed. I feel as if having cast our votes ‘correctly’ we are now getting a pat on the head and being told to run along.
Dear elected candidates: I voted for out of Iraq. I voted for *vigorous* investigations with impeachment very much *on* the table. I voted for honesty in government. If I’d wanted Republicans, I have voted for them. Get it?
This has been brought up before..but is there anyone trying to determine the actual number of US KIA’s? The deaths are announced as x # died today in Iraq..How many died in the hospitals in Germany or the US as a result of war injuries? Or does the 2900 include these numbers?
Siun @ 80
Not that anyone asked, but sometimes I love to just stand back and admire Siun’s fantabulous mind. Breathtaking.
(Not to mention her heart – it’s GINORMOUS!)
punaise @ 78
Aw punaise – you’re such a prince. And now for a big shout out to Eli – THANKS for evoking laughter in these otherwise grim times. – grin.
Jacqrat @ 83
me too.
selise @ 85
me three
selise @
75
I believe it was this one:
http://s8.invisionfree.com/Al_…..wtopic=100
http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/001053.php
Clark’s confusion about abortion in 2004…..
Scarborough and Tuckerson are both eating up the Reye’s ignorance on TWaT … Harman asked him where he wanted her to start.
You know, where were these guys when Terry Everett, a seven-term Alabama Republican who was vice chairman of the House intelligence subcommittee on technical and tactical intelligence (and had been for two years) was asked the same question, two months ago. Scarborough is just stealing this from the NYTimes.
As for Harman, scr*w her. She knows too much about the Middle East.
good lord! thank you!
just a big Fisk fan here – while I’ve followed ME for many years, it was only reading him that put it all in perspective
good to see you all – have been working too much to comment much but today I’m avoiding work and getting a little comment time in
Planning any travel to St. Vincent? Be careful…..
Man Beheads Woman in St. Vincent
Where was this guy when I was going through my divorce in ‘83. (Not that I’m bitter.)
Steve @ 82
If anyone takes up this question, do you have any information on the non-counting of US non-citizen/new military casualties? Way back in 2003 some articles brought to light the Pentagon policy of not counting these casualties even though their numbers in active duty were pushing close to 70,000 over the past 3 years.
It’s thought that actual casualties could be up to 10x what’s been reported.
A bit of British “humor” that I just stumbled upon:
More here:
http://politics.guardian.co.uk…..21,00.html
It’s worth stepping back for a moment and realizing that if we weren’t the ones who had started this a lot of us would be calling for the US to intervene to prevent what looks to be coming down the pike. But, as I said, we’re not available.
It’s an irony I suspect some folks will be mulling in hell, or at least in limbo, for quite a long time.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.c…..011504.php
irony is most often a favorite of mine, but I guess not always.
rumi @ 93
From Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C…..since_2003
I love me these Internets.
Ed*ard Teller @ 87
thank you. thought it might be one i didn’t have a record of (like you, i had the text, but no audio). i’ve been keeping track (trying to anyway) of gore speeches since 2002. been interesting to see the evolution.
apologies to all for the OT….
Rumi@ 1:32,
I like that one, heres another,
TWAT= Total War Against Terror, Because when I think of TWAT, I think of George W. Bush.
selise @ 97
No apologies needed – you interrupted mayhem and death – bless yore heart!
kemo @ 89
I think it’s time they all became educated on not only the basics but the finer points of our covert involvement with these groups….lol, the intel committees are to speed on this you think?
Can you elaborate on Harman knowing too much about the ME?
Siun @ 80
I’m looking forward to it. My previous source of information on the region was Tom Friedman’s
From Beirut to Jerusalem and, besides the fact that information is 15 years old, I’ve experienced a recent epiphany about the man…in terms of he being a certain amount of pompous ass…actually, quite a lot of pompous ass.
Because when I think of TWAT,…
God help me, and I’m gonna rot, but whe I think of TWAT, I think of the Laura-bot.
That one’s gonna hurt me at some pont.
johnSwifty – nodding, I have mixed feeling about Friedman though mostly negative … and pompous is precisely right!
angie @ 94
Wow, I was under the impression that Douglas Adams was dead (rip fine soul). Someone must be channelling, mightily!
Can you elaborate on Harman knowing too much about the ME?
She’s been around the issues, and the lobbyists surrounding the ME too long. She has misused intelligence, and is caught up in the Larry Franklin affair. Check out Wiki’s article Intelligence Committee controversy.
Siun, thanks for sharing the Fisk references so widely.
I’d chip in to send a copy to Harman, if only AIPAC would let her read it.
(ooops – my bad – touched the third rail of our foreign policy: )
A foreign policy purchased by non-registered lobbyists of a foreign nation with a history of unprovoked attacks on US warships – while we were their most important ally.
But a few strafing runs on the USS Liberty – why should any patriot care about that, when the AIPAC checks are so fat?
And if a few more trillions of US dollars go down the MidEast rathole – and thousands of our young soldiers are killed and maimed to keep the right people on the top in the Knesset – well, hey.
Why shouldn’t US soldiers die to help religious fanatics in Israel carry out racial and religious apartheid?
Why shouldn’t US citizens pay for the Catepillar tractors the Israeli army uses to run over American citizens – and then back over them, just to make sure the injuries are fatal.
Hey – they’re our closest ally – right?
That’s why Jane Harman, Lieberspawn, and their Congress-colleagues swore to uphold the Constitution, and to defend the nation against enemies foreign and domestic.
So we can be jerked around the planet by Likud war criminals – and remake our nation in their ghastly image.
Can’t wait to see the AIPAC fifth column spies in the US indicted, tried, convicted, and rotting in jail – along with all the Congresspeople they bribed to advance the Likud’s interests over the safety of the American people.
Oklahoma kiddo @
2
Well, somebody thinks we can just slip out the back, Jack. From Michael Moore:
Michael Moore nails it – thanks HotFlash!
and folks, check the gift ideas on HotFlash’s site – I’m buying Kiva certificates for several relatives thanks to HF!
Bustednuckles @ 98
D.ecider I.nspired L.ast D.ays O.ver
Yup…me too.
New thread
we overthrew the bad guys and everybody lived happily ever after
Right ideea. Wrong country.
HotFlash @ 96
Thanks for the link, HotFlash. I feel the same about these wonderful internets of ours.
Do it the way that the brave Paul Bremer did it. Announce your departure and then leave a few days early…in the dead of night…in secrecy.
jayt @ 110
Which country?
Kirk @106: you got a pair of the proverbial steels ones, fella. Next beer is on me.
kemo @ 105
The importance of Harman’s efforts on that committee were coming up if she had been in a position of power. I appreciate her determination to seek accountability for Cunningham and the network of private contractors corrupting with politicians on contracts for illegal domestic surveillance and other crimes.
rumi, I think I follow you. But these types of abuses are most properly investigated by an ethics committee… and to me, such a committe may already be in Harman’s future.
kemo @ 115
Thanks, kemo – I look forward to working elbows with you (and buying the second round) – but I don’t think I deserve any credit for courage here.
I’m kicking a deflating balloon.
What cracked me up was – working on LA’s Westside – the most passionate critics of the Likud’s pogrom against the Palestinians were – ta-da – American citizens who worshipped in temple.
Outside the beltway and the chattering classes, the US “special relationship” with Israel is over. Leon Uris used to tell the story – Rachel Corrie tells the story now.
AIPAC is on the ropes – let’s beat the Likud’s hate policies out of our Congress, our nation, and our tax levies. And see the Americans who have spied and given and taken bribes on behalf of the Israeli government in jail.
kemo @ 117
I’m not so much supporting or defending Harman as much as I am questioning the judgement in appointing Reyes.
After considerable thought, all I can say is I’m sure glad that Ms Pelosi doesn’t have any ties or connections to AIPAC.
Time to decide all Democrats who voted for the Iraq war and Bush war “powers” should be gone in one or two elections. Their error, deceit or pandering is so egregious that none of them should continue to be in the Senate or the House.
Some errors (or sins) really are unforgivable or so dreadfully disastrous they should disqualify such congressmen or senators from future office.