Uh.
Mah.
Gawd.
La MalKKKin is really, really going to Iraq.
Our overarching goals are two-fold:
1) to report on how the troops perceive mainstream media coverage of the war (with a particular focus on the wire services relying on local stringers); and
2) to report on progress and interaction between U.S. troops and Iraqi Army trainees.
The "Jamil Hussein" story is one important item on our agenda, but not the only one. As Curt and other bloggers on this story have noted from the beginning, Jamilgate isn't just about "Jamil Hussein." Bryan and I plan to do as much on-the-ground reporting as we can to nail down unresolved questions–not only about Jamil Hussein and the Hurriya six burning Sunnis allegations, but also about the AP four burning mosque story discrepancies and the many other AP sources that our military has publicly challenged–including "Lt. Maitham Abdul Razzaq" and more than a dozen police officers listed by U.S. military spokesman Navy Lt. Michael Dean. There's also the issue of detained AP photographer Bilal Hussein.
Take that, you pansy-ass international journalists! The squalling siren of Pajamas Media is coming to Iraq to show you all how it's done. Expect dangerous levels of "Truth" to start emanating from that troubled nation forthwith with an intrepid Citizen Journo like Michelle on the job. Now, maybe we'll find out what's really going on over there, outside the America-hating, censored and sanitized world of the Liberal Media. We know all those Righty bloggers are tireless crusaders for the truth and will put their infinite expertise in combat reporting to work as soon as they land.
And we are looking forward to reporting first-hand on the security situation in Iraq outside the so-called "Green Zone" (International Zone) and talking to as many American and Iraqi Army troops with insights on these and other broader matters.
Mm. Michelle, you might want to do all your shopping before you go. I don't think Old Navy Outlet has opened a store outside the Green Zone yet.
Seriously, though, Ms Malkin, please be extra careful over there. Dress warmly, eat right, obey the instructions of your military escort. (Lord knows they can't possibly have anything better to do than babysit a couple of self-important New Media dilettantes, can they?) We want you back here safe and sound when this is over so that you can continue your invaluable criticism of the placement of the Titanic's deck-chairs. Bon voyage!
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Fitz!
well, if Hannity can do it…
Damn any Democrat that supports a ’surge’.
anybody willing to bet she either doesn’t leave the green zone, or never interviews whilst outside the GZ?
Granted, our troops are good, but how brave is she, with the shooting and bombing going on within earshot?
Do you suppose Joe Lieberman’s tour minders are available? They did such a bang up job getting his eyes opened to the realities.
(/snark)
twolf1… that raw story leader on Key Senate Dems for [Lord McCain Doctrine] ESCALATION want to bet that is Clinton and Leiberlooser?
btw… how do you get so many zed’s?
Twolf, you’re way too fast.
the so-called “Green Zone”?????
What world is she living in?
The world of charge cards and latte mochas.
Boy does she have some surprises in store.
Hope she isn’t being escorted by our service people.
What does Hillary have to say about sending more troops to Iraq?
Off topic, but all about everyone’s favorite Dem turncoat/W lackey & fellow ChickenHawk Joe Lieberman
Lieberman Party Now in Hands of Critic
The party Sen. Joe Lieberman created to mount his independent re-election campaign has been seized by one of his critics, and the secretary of state’s office said Wednesday that it won’t challenge the takeover.
After the senator’s Nov. 7 victory under the Connecticut for Lieberman Party banner, John Orman switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Connecticut for Lieberman and voted himself chairman.
Orman, a political science professor who ran briefly against Lieberman last year, said only critics, bloggers and anyone named Lieberman can join the party, which he said would be a watchdog of the senator’s actions.
Ted Bromley, a lawyer for the secretary of the state’s office, said it won’t take a stance on the legitimacy of Orman’s leadership. He said the issue could be settled by a judge, but only if it’s challenged in court.
Lieberman campaign manager Sherry Brown did not immediately return a phone message seeking comment Wednesday.
Lieberman was defeated in the Democratic primary by Ned Lamont, a multimillionaire in his first run for public office who harshly criticized the incumbent’s support for the Iraq war. But state election laws allowed Lieberman to run in the general election as an independent and ultimately win a fourth term.
Orman had bitterly protested Lieberman’s creation of the party, saying it was a ploy to secure a better position on the ballot. In Connecticut, minor party candidates are listed on the ballot before unaffiliated party candidates.
Orman said he hopes to keep the Connecticut for Lieberman party active and endorse a Senate candidate in 2010.
I’m dying to see Holy Joe’s response to this, and thank you John Orman
Oklahoma kiddo @ 3
Current Raw Story headline:
To the phones!!!
katymine @ 6
yep, could be the HilLieberman duo.
zeds… timing is everything ;)
Mary McCurnin @ 8
maybe she’s in for a “bricks and mortar” shopping experience, if you catch my drift…
(previous thread note: no wingnut commentators are threatened by this comment)
I hope she remains sane enough to enlighten the rest of the rightwingers after her side trip to the Green Zone of central Baghdad. I sure hope that the military escort refuses to take her outside the Green Zone and she goes on her own, or with mercs. It should be a real eye opener.
Remember Maj. McClung and what happened to her while escorting North in Iraq.
(previous thread note: no wingnut commentators are threatened by this comment)
They should be.
Why should Malkkkin be any different from Lieberliar? She’ll just come back and lie
SusanD @
17
One can hope…..
Maybe Blackwater should pick up the tab for escorting Connie Clown Ass out and about on her boondoggle, leaving regular troops to do more worthwhile things, like surviving another day in one piece.
>:(
darkblack @ 19
That’s poot-in’ it bluntly!
I just hope nobody gets a hernia from laughing when she asks them to take her around to see all the new schools and hospitals.
The HilLieberman Duo
*link to image that may not be safe for work
Who set her up? Bolton?
darkblack — I’d love to giggle at your graphic, but I’m too torqued off at the stupid clown *ss to do so.
She should be paying her full tab, period. Our tax dollars should not be paying for her personal boondoggle in any way, shape or form.
If we had the money to p*ss away on that, we should be spending it on better armor for our troops.
Frankly, we already know all the answers here: the right-wing media still has complete and unfettered access to our tax dollars and our military, on a quid pro quo for propaganda that promotes the neo-conservative agenda.
This looks more like a form of payola, if you ask me. They cover her ass in Iraq, and she writes happy-happy-joy-joy bullsh*t about the mission that isn’t. The pajamahadeen are trying to drum up a controversy not unlike the TANG document kerning debacle; they want to discredit any press that might actually report the truth from time to time, and they send Anchor Clown *ss Baby to do it.
I guess that makes her a whore, too, if you think about.
The HilLieberman Duo
*link to image that may not be safe for work
EEEEEEEUUUUWWWWW!!!!
OMG…. I forgot I can watch YouTube now that I am in civilization….
I forgot about those cute non-toilet toilets in the middle east…. Oh those were nasty too…. Can you imagine sweet cheeks rolling up her pant legs to squat over that porcelain hole?
Can you imagine she knows that she might need special plugs for her hair dryer? Do you think we can get pics of her eating in the mess hall where NO one wants to sit next to her? Do you think she will put herself where someone can take that pic?
In Meetings With Allies, Clinton Hones ’08 Strategy
According to participants, it is clear that Mrs. Clinton is far along in plotting a campaign, and she is honing strategy at the same time that she is making overtures to people in states that heavily influence the presidential nominating process. New Hampshire is expected to hold the first primary in January 2008, after caucuses in Iowa and Nevada.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01…..0SQf0yqGOw
Rumor has it there is a faaabulous blowout sale on hoop earings in Fallugia this time of year.
Should we offer up a reward (an Olbermann baseball cap) for a photo of her dining alone?
SusanD @ 21
Maybe she could talk to the painters, pick up some decorating tips…’All the good faux finishes to be found in Iraq, the latest desert shades…’
;>)
twolf1 @ 22
You can’t see Hilaryous’s hip-slung Steely Dan behind that whiny Bondage Elf there…Refund!
;>)
“Off topic, but all about everyone’s favorite Dem turncoat/W lackey & fellow ChickenHawk Joe Lieberman”
My contempt for Joe Lieberman knows no bounds.
They won’t let her outside the Green Zone.
Raw Story article live now – Some Democrats could support Bush troop increase, NYT to report
Is it called the Green Zone because there is more life there?
What is it with all these wingnuts going to Iraq lately? Is the WH footing the bill?
Rayne @ 24
My hope is that she comes back a deeply changed woman, and that no life or limb (of anyone, including her Royal Lowness) is lost in the metamorphosis.
She remains for me to philosophically poop on until then.
“Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), incoming Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and incoming House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) have all expressed varying degrees of support for increased troops, which they believe will help to stabilize the country and bring the overall contingent of US troops home faster.”
No surprise there. I bet Hillary does not join them.
She has one finger in the wind and and the other up . . .
there is a simple way the dems can stop the ’surge’ (bush’s secret plan to push the dems into the us.fiasco leaky rowboat). Call his bluff. Tell him he can have all the troops he can pay for, but now it is a ‘pay as you go’ war. So if he wants to cut something, say the defense budget, or raise something, say capital gains, then go for it. Just no more blank check. Let’s see how much repub support he would get for either option.
A troop surge is just a way to spread the blame. It is amazing how many dems are ready to take it.
Stenny Hoyer is a dolt… on Hardball a couple of hours ago saying that he doubts the Dems can do much to change Bush’s iraq policy, and that, “in the short run” the American people won’t hold Congress responsible for b43’s failures…
Lieberman got one finger up his nose and the other up his a** and he’s waiting for Bush to yell “switch”.
Mary McCurnin @ 33
I thought it was the color of the tap water.
sorry.. that would be the continued Congressional failures he promises…
twolf1 @ 32
Didn’t Reid back down from that? If so, this may not be as bad as it portends.
This is tangential more than OFF topic:
Lehrers’ NewsHour (PBS) had an interview segment with NYT(? is he still with them?) John Burns.
Two observations:
1) His assessment was both blunt and bleak. His characterization of the reactions from top military brass after the hanging was along the lines of ‘reality is a sandwich we did not order.’ I can’t recall too many specifics. But there were zero possible facts.
2) This is taking a toll on him. I’ve not seen him for months. Hair and beard are ‘gone native’ — not that that’s bad, in and of itself; it seems to reflect as a personal embodiment the war, much like a portait of Dorain Gray would. (Not that Burns is Gray, but that his appearance is a statement about the war. Metaphorically speaking, of course.) His commentary is crisp, but difficult. He has strong constitution to stay sane and still be able to continue.
Malkin is not worth the waste of pixels.
Escalation of U.S. forces in Iraq is unacceptable. Period.
Democrats in Congress, where do you stand?
Steny is mistaken. The Congress is supposed to check Bush. Not wave him on through. He couldn’t do the stuff he’s done without the Rubberstamp Congress. I hope the Democrats haven’t gotten so accustomed to being beaten that they’re going to stay belly-up. I want to see some life out of them, not that defeated, “Oh well, George, if you say so” crud.
Methinks Raw Story gets overexcited sometimes. Witness the “Developing Hard….” screamer at the end.
I doubt anything will change from this little jaunt to the war. Presuming she survives any unescorted trip outside the Green Zone, that will be proof enough to her and her cohort that things are safe.
The tone and nature of the rhetoric won’t change, because that’s what being a true believer is all about. Nothing changes one’s mind, not even raw reality (especially, raw reality).
Once she arrives in the Green Zone, be assured that she’s going to get as good or better treatment and protection than other journalists requesting escort precisely because she’s not in any sense of the word objective. She’s a Bush and Bush war defender.
Expect her to return saying the same thing, but to a new order of magnitude. She will find a “George W. Bush Memorial Elementary School” in some tiny village 200 miles from Baghdad with fresh paint and neat rows of desks. She will “discover” that the AP has been spewing propaganda, she will determine that, yes, indeed, all the news agencies are manufacturing the news because they’re too lazy to go out and get it, Iraq is safe and prosperous, etc.
Nevertheless, the truth is still out there, unseen and untouched by young Ms. Malkin.
Eureka Springs, AR @ 40
It has more to do with the experience level of the
suckup teenyboppersBushCo pays to oversee the reconstruction.Yeah, it seems to be more of a recap than anything new. Regarding the thug parade in Iraq, they are the political equivalent of the jocksniffers who you see standing on the sidelines at football games. Weren’t good enough to play, but their money brings favors.
If Hillary Clinton gets to be prez maybe her group can figure a way to lure Joe Lieberman back into the Democratic Party. Won’t that be nice.
ccmask @ 39
LMAO&FOMCCMBBJGSUTCW
Who believes these idiots anymore? A large percentage of the American people (who voted) made their wishes known. And the neocons probably cheated but didn’t expect to loose so badly. Do we really care what this woman spews about? Or am I being naive?
montag @ 47:
Discover, hell, it was part of her mission statement.
I often wonder what Bush will do once the troops pull out and the real pictures start coming out of Iraq…I guess I’ll be happy once I know the exit strategy doesn’t involve going thru Iran.
LMAO&FOMCCMBBJGSUTCW
Translation please. I don’t have the brain cells to figure this out tonight.
oregondave @ 42
Reid never really said what a lot of people seem to think he said. He stipulated that he would only support a very short-term increase in troop levels, and only as part of a withdrawal plan over the next year or so. Now, maybe he should have said it differently (as in, “The only way in hell I’ll support any increase is…”), but the content of his statement has been distorted ever since it came out of his mouth.
Mary McCurnin @ 52
No, you are nails. Who gives a fuck if some C-list hack propagandist goes to Iraq? Read an article about Bob Woodruff today, maybe she should call him before she goes.
Shit, she isn’t going anywhere near the shit!
Twisted Martini @ 57
At this rate and unless our reps in Congress start showing more spine than Steny, it’s his successor who’ll be doin’ the pull-out. And he has two years to start a war with Iran…
ccmask @ 54
Actually,
I believe Michelle was in The Green Zone once before.
Wearing 25 lbs of protective armor and only going outside The Green Zone with her two cars of body guards.
Troubled
A “flack” jacket!
Troubled Texan @ 60
The wise sage Gilliard weighs in…
http://stevegilliard.blogspot……-pray.html
Blub — I think we will be taking it to Steny Hoyer in short order. When he won over Murtha, I knew we were going to have to do it, was only a matter of when. Hoyer is simply too much of a corporate whore, his motives are always going to be questionable.
Bloggers and their readers are going to have to reach out and TOUCH Hoyer firmly, give the short ones a solid tug. It’s just a matter of time.
MalKKKin’s just part of the parade.
Shock and Awe.
Now, Surge and Accelerate.
It’s the same ol’
Scheiss and Alottabull
Warmongering courtesy Frank Luntz and Karl Rove.
I sense a change in the air with Dems on the news. They are on the fence and not ready to declare this fiasco over. Steny needs a major push, imo. Dems will own this war, as TSF warned, because the window is going to close very quickly. Every minute is a 100K in war expeditures, it simply pays to much to stall until we the people are far beyond a tipping piont.
I forget what date is set for the next vote on military expenditures but it is our first real deadline /opportunity for convincing congress it’s time to stop, imo.
Congress must stop funding and declare all existings funds off limits for war spending. Bush won’t listen and that will be an additional impeachable offense.
Bring on the hearings!
Supporting escalation would be akin to political suicide, if the US had a liberal media. Even an unbiased media would make for political suicide. Any escalation is bound for faiure and will obviously result in an exponential increase in dead and wounded American soldiers.
Alas, we do not have a liberal or unbiased media. We have a right-wing media and Reid, Hillary and Lieberliar will not be accountable for their folly should they pursue it. There is no doubt about Lieberman and little doubt about Hillary. Sometimes Reid acts like he is capable of reason.
Fortunately, the media is starting to turn around. Three networks today, for example, compared b43’s conduct of the war to his conduct of Katrina. Maybe the media will be a tad more sensible in 2007….
WTF with Negroponte?
Twisted Martini @ 62
I like Gilliard, but, dangit, he doesn’t have FDL in his “Blogs We Like” sidebar.
The Reid et al ’support’ RAWSTORY reports is the same wording I read earlier today in ‘The Hill’.
I think it’s written with an agenda. In the meantime, Gallup has new polling results today:
http://www.galluppoll.com/content/?ci=26029
There’s a graph showing trend since mid-April ‘06 when they started tracking this question. First respnse was at 29%. Now over 70%. That is a huge move, imho. Dems cannot ‘go along’. Majority will be short lived.
So, no matter what – at least she’s going where her audience wants. Personally, I hope she comes close enough to a bad surprise that she’ll be forced to confront her inaccuracies.
I’m also (somewhat) impressed with some of Pelosi’s tactics… apparently the rethugs in the House are up in arms because, they say, Pelosi’s going to put to vote a new rules package tomorrow the draft of which the Republican leadership hasn’t even been shown.
Professor Foland @ 68
Well, my first tinfoil-hatted thought was that this was a first step toward making Negroponte SecState if Cheney were to resign and Rice take over the VP’s office. I’m not very convinced of that myself, though; I think Cheney remains what he always wanted to be–the power behind the throne–and he isn’t likely to give it up.
Professor Foland @ 68
very odd. if he was on the outs, why land over at state?
hackworth @ 66
after all the wretchedness that the investigations are going to bring out.
They’re toast.
Well it’s pretty clear we all agree Steny needs a wake up call. Any suggestions?
Who is she kidding? She won’t leave the green zone. With the way things are going over there, she may not even get in the country. I wonder how she would try to spin that?
oregondave @
46
yeah, did we really need to know about their private lives?
Joe owes Bush and the Gop big time for the money given to him for his election. Joe doesn’t care about the troops–he only cares about Joe. Pay the piper time.
Blub @ 71
Very astute of her. They can read it tomorrow – the pr*cks. I pray to the divine goddess that she clobbers the rethugs in their chubby jowls every time.
Maybe they’ll really take Malkkkin to the Iraq prop area in Texas like they did to Bush when he brought the troops the rubber turkey?
I just fired off an email to him and cc’d to my congress critter (Sue Davis). note he didn’t say he supported the surge.. he was clear that he didn’t like it.. just didn’t think that his party should/could do much to stop him and that the priority is hearings, and not stopping the surge.
Eureka Springs, AR @ 76
ccmask @ 81
Stranger things have happened. I just wish they’d stop happening to me.
twolf1 @ 78
Malkin says she wants “to report on progress and interaction between U.S. troops and Iraqi Army trainees.” Maybe she’ll spend most of her time interviewing privates.
lol Dr :^
Blub @ 82
Awsome
When we hear STOP it, just stop everything, bring them all home now. I will breathe a bit easier.
Blub @ 93
I think it was CNN’s Rick ‘dirty’ Sanchez… but I may be wrong.
Put Moqtada Sadr in charge as her escort.
Everything should fall into place
rather nicely after that.
Off Topic –
Haven’t had time to check in much the past two days, so this might have been dissected already, but did everyone catch the story on this guy Hal Turner, radio wingnut, talking about assassinating Democrats?
I had some fun with that story:
Hal Turner Needs It
Turns out he’s just craving the kind of loving his wife can’t provide…heh
Blub @ 71
And, if she’s really, really smart, when the `pugs start whining, she’ll say, “and how, exactly, is this different than the way the House’s affairs have been conducted for the last twelve years?”
nikto @ 88
What a terrible thing to say. I don’t like Sadr either, but I’d never wish that on him.
Malkin should permit herself to be waterboarded at Abu Graib and report on it as being “No big deal–Even somewhat refreshing”.
I’m sure she’d think so.
I thought some Fox reporter already waterboarded himself..
nikto @ 92
The best possiblity would be for Ms. Malkin to be kidnapped and given a choice—Convert to Islam ON TAPE, or beheading with a rusty
Swiss army knife.
Easy choice?
oregondave @ 42
I am wondering about this also as the brief article does not refer to any statements made or when they were made. I know that Reyes was talking this way a few weeks ago also.
I’m just wondering if this is a replay of old events as “news” for the usual reasons of trying to paint the party as fractured right before they take power.
Will have to wait and see . . .
“I thought some Fox reporter already waterboarded himself..”
Did he spill the beans?
EvilDrPuma @
72
Who says that Cheney will be out of ‘power’ should he ‘decide’ to resign?? I’m sure he has enough strings to continue pulling all the way from Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
Malkin going to Iraq…
That’s the thing now I guess. They’re rotating like the troops. A wingnut at a time will be over there until it’s over…Roger Ailes finally realized that the positive news stories were never going to come.
No matter what happens while she is in Iraq, MalKKKin will lie about it.
So what else is new?
She will spend her entire visit at the green zone opium den, just behind pizza hut.
Blub @ 82
Honestly, I think Hoyer needs to be smacked about messaging more than the facts, and I would caution everyone not to get too down on the Dems if they don’t succeed in stopping this. From what I understand, Hoyer was pretty accurate on the facts; they may not actually have the power to stop it in this round. They only have the power of the purse. As Craig Crawford was saying on Olbermann tonight, one of the few things the do-nothing Goopers did was pass the Defense appropriations bill, so W has been given the money he needs to send the troops. He may not have the “emergency” money to keep them supplied once they’re there, but I’m quite certain he’s willing to play chicken with their lives to put blame on the Dems.
But while Hoyer may have been accurate, that doesn’t mean that he should have been saying that. On that, he should definitely be smacked down. You don’t want to look like you’ve lost by saying you’re going to stop something you don’t have the power to stop, but you also shouldn’t look wimpy by failing to be forceful in your opposition, even rhetorically.
twolf1 @ 87:
Good, good. I can hear “Wankers Aweigh” playing in the background.
Blub @
93
my response to comment #93 ended up at comment #87
Eureka Springs, AR @
76
The only thing that comes to my mind is giving him the old rubber stamp treatment – cause it had such a great Dick Tuck kind of feel and success. Change the wording to Steny, Cheney & Bushey or some such snark.
oh come on, leave Malkin alone.. we want her preaching for the other side, don’t we? She just makes the rethugs look soooo reasonable and rational… she’s almost as fun as Pammy.
I just wrote a letter to my newly elected Democratic Congresswoman. I told her that getting the U.S. out of Iraq is an utmost priority and asked her to oppose Bush’s proposed escalation of the war. I will be interested to see how she responds.
CNN reports Duke Cunningham, now in prison, is receiving a $64,000 annual Congressional pension. That is obscene.
Exactly.. I wrote that I felt Americans who supported the Dems want the members they elected to stay on-message and “to show strength, confidence and unity in confronting and changing the President’s failed policies in Iraq.”
Redshift @ 101
I hear that there is some push for a rules change on this.. but write your congress critter to follow up on it…
neurophius @ 108
neurophius @ 108
How the hell can that be? Dems will vote to shut off that faucet. Unless being a Senator is suddenly like signing an MLB or NBA contract…
Which would make Cunningham the Vin Baker of politics.
neurophius @
108
Good time to lobby for a new law against convicted felons getting any Congressional pension monies.
Rostenkowski, Democratic crook, is receiving even more money. That stinks, too.
Murtha on de-escalation:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…..37732.html
I really do hope that she stays safe there. It just makes me sad that she’s putting herself in harm’s way just to “prove” a point. She has two small children who obviously don’t matter much, I guess. Priorities, you know.
neurophius @ 113
Right…but clearly it’s not stealing that is bad, but rather that it was a Republican that was caught. It’s important I think to let the country know that all this “ethics” hullabaloo is fine for campaigns…but let’s get real. Democrats like Rostenkowski are simply victims of partisan prosecutors only out to ruin lives, and a guy like Cunningham and Republicans of his ilk…well, I’d have to go wash my hands if I actually spelled it out, though I’m sure everyone understands and agrees.
The double-standard is an American tradition.
oregondave @ 102
Good, good. I can hear “Wankers Aweigh” playing in the background.
[laughing] That’s funny. Now it’s time to work on the lyrics. :)
The 101st Keyboarders have been ranting for a long time about the media’s “failure” to report “all the good news in Iraq”.
Whether or not Ms MalKKKin gets outside the green zone – and frankly, whatever she reports – you can bet your sweet ass she won’t come up with all those oodles of good news the evil MSM are suppressing.
And that is the standard of success we should hold her to, no matter what bullshit she’s going to pull with reporting select favorable opinions of armed forces and muddled lack of information regarding AP sources…
Margot @
112
May I please insert my $.02?
I respectfully disagree about the pension. Between fines, public humiliation and jail, Cunningham and his family have paid their dues. not to mention his military service and whatever time he spent in Congress before he tripped into the pigshite pond kinda help balance the scale.
OT – U.S. Navy deployed to block Somali militants
JT @ 118
Does anybody know what “reassuring” “news” Hannity brought back from the Green Zone? I saw a video link, but just couldn’t bring myself to click through.
Oddly, I think this is a good thing for Michelle. I didn’t know how I was going to ever forgive her bullshit outrage over Jane and Christie’s outrage. But unless she just goes and sniffs Hannity’s chair some good may come of this.
oregondave @
69
We’re lazy. They will get added
I’m sure he gets a separate pension for his military service.. and presumably he will continue to get it. One should not get to continue to collect a pension from the organzation you stole from (and was convicted of a felony in stealing from)… unless you hit officials who abuse the public trust in the pocket book, you have no real way to deter others from similar corruption. Whatever service he may or may not have rendered in his years in congress was invalidated the moment he used his public office to steal. In fact, I would support a rules change that forces such corrupt officials to repay any compensation they received during the interval of time during which they engaged in criminal activity.. as well as the forfeiture of any assets they may have amassed. I believe, and most scholars seem to agree, that public corruption is the single most pernicious threat to a democratic society, and must be punished rigorously.
Mommybrain @ 119
Ney:
Link
“This Ney thing has been outrageous for years,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “The ethics committee is never going to look into it.”
Sloan added that she believes the ethics committee would use Ney’s plea as an excuse to not aggressively probe his behavior as a member of Congress.
Even a guilty plea to felony charges doesn’t warrant an Ethics Committee investigation in this Congress.
This was EPU’d about 7 minutes ago from the last thread, but I thought all you folks would really want to know:
steelthing @ 295
Bravo steelthing!!!
I believe, and most scholars seem to agree, that public corruption is the single most pernicious threat to a democratic society, and must be punished rigorously (Blub said this).
Yeah, they should be. But we americans are too hard in the punishment and revenge department, imho. We talk about forgiveness and rehabilitation, but I don’t think we much believe it. Cunningham has provided his own humiliation, some of it in the form of those pathetic letters he sent from jail to the reporter who put him there.
Let it be.
new thread
Just FYI, there has been a wonderful addition to the “Guess Who Is Going To DC?” thread down below.
steve gilliard @ 123
Thanks, Steve. Also for your quick email response to my request. I just couldn’t tell from what you said that you intended to. Appreciated, and for the record here — Steve’s one of the best, IMO.
Mommybrain @ 119
This man put your government up for sale to the highest bidder, and used your tax dollars and mine to do it. Now, you propose that we should subsidize him with yet more tax dollars to provide him a comfortable retirement income (and, by most standards, it is comfortable–it’s 50% higher than the median working household income today)?
That sounds to me strikingly like rewarding illegal behavior.
montag @ 117
[laughing] That’s funny. Now it’s time to work on the lyrics. :)
Here you go:
Wankers Away, my boys, wankers Aweigh.
Onward to oil-soaked shores,
You’ll sail at break of day-ay-ay-ay.
Leave your keyboards behind, take up a gun,
Put your asses where your mouths are now,
I hear Iraq’s a barrel of fun.
Mommybrain,
You could melt hearts of dictators. I do understand about needing pension money for the family; and I agree about the punishment and revenge.
Are you available after Kissinger…retires? ;}
Mommybrain @ 127
He should not collect pay while in prison. Neither you nor I can collect pay if we go to prison.
That’s a lot of money. Some would be happy to go to prison and be able to collect that kind of loot.
Mary McCurnin @
96
Squealed like a supermodel who broke her fingernail, if I recall…
Oklahoma kiddo @ 3
DITTO!
Mommybrain @
119
‘Scuse me, but I most heartily disagree. It’s my tax dollars paying that crook. Maybe if he had given any thought to his family and the potential downside of what he did… Obviously not. So he just “tripped” into the slime? Whose foot was stuck out? Or was it a root that
Bill Clintonthe Clenis put under the mud?Mad Dogs @ 126
DAYUM!!! Words fail me… Wow. Just freaking wow.
Mommybrain — love you dearly as a fellow FirePup, but I respectfully disagree about the Congressional pension.
First, if Cunningham had been working as an executive for a corporation from which he’d stolen, or through which he’d conducted illegal activities, he’d have been sacked and sued for breach of contract, damages and denied any pension.
Second, if there is no threat to one’s pension, there is no disincentive not to take advantage of the public since the risk-reward equation doesn’t exist in the case of minor offenses.
I do not object to Cunningham’s continued receipt of a military pension as he earned it during active duty and IRR. But he forfeited a reasonable claim to a pension as a member of Congress by violating the public’s trust.
There could be as many as 65 members of Congress implicated in the Abramoff scandal; should we pay all these folks who have schemed to abuse our trust a pension until their deaths?
Mommybrain @ 127
Forgive me, but it’s not a question of humiliation or revenge, no matter how “pathetic.” (You’d be surprised how pathetically you can weep and moan and cry when your house of cards comes tumbling down around your neck…) It’s a question of justice. He had all 4 trotters in the public trough, and then he shit in it. Nobody held a gun to his head. Why should we be more sorry for him than for any thug?
I oppose any provision that gives pensions to convicted politicians just as I would for any serviceman/woman who is dishonorably discharged.
period.
The federal (or state governments, for that matter) should never use our tax dollars to assuage any criminal’s guilt! These people took an oath to uphold the Constitution and our laws! Mebbe all of these criminals could have thought about their family and legacy before committing the crime(s).
OMFG!!!!!! That is so cool!
Is MM going to Irag w/ the body-armor she has, or with the body-armor she wishes she has?
Well, I’m glad Ms. Malkin is going outside the Green Zone on her trip– I was afraid she would hole herself up in the hotel bar the whole time only to come back and talk about how peaceful things are.
Of course, it doesn’t matter what she experiences. It doesn’t matter who she talks to. We all know how this is going to turn out– Malkin will say things are far more peaceful and normal than the “liberal media” says it is, the only soldiers she will quote or reference will be those who think the media is biased and that things are going well in Iraq, and the only Iraqis she’ll quote or reference will feel that there’s real progress being made.
The only reason she’s doing this is to give her nonsense some veneer of legitimacy– so she’ll be able to respond to any criticism of her war cheerleading with “WELL, I was THERE! I SAW it!! When was the last time YOU went to Iraq, HUH!?!?”
This is a farce with a foregone conclusion, and it’s going to serve to make Ms. Malkin even more insufferable.
I visited her site yesterday. She is asking for funding to defray the costs of the trip (probably a bit higher than going to DC, but maybe not)
What I did not see was visitor #223892 – or whatever he named himself – mocking her request.
I guess when the rethugs want money to support their positions, it’s okay to ask for $$, but when a truthseeker needs some support, it’s open for mockery.
aaarrrrrgggghhhhh….
Blub @ 105
Pammy Vlogging from Baghdad. That would be an amusing notion if it weren’t for the real possibility that she’d drag her kids along.
So how long is her tour / deployment?
If I remember the situation correctly Michelle visited the Green Zone a couple of years ago.
Of course she was wearing 25 lbs of body armour and when she went ouside the Green Zone she was accompanied by a lead car with four body guards and the car that she was in had another three bodyguards to protect her.
She should do ok on this trip. Everything in Iraq is so much better now.
Troubled