[image courtesy turbo squid]
for the week ending 4/14/07:
SEEKING WAR CZAR: The White House, in conjunction with the Department of Defense, is seeking an administrator to oversee the daily maintenance of Operation Iraqi Freedom and its ancillary programs. M.B.A. preferred. No military experience necessary.
Our Mission: To generate strategic value for our investors while establishing a permanent American presence in the Middle East. To maintain a perpetual, ongoing threat to U.S. security interests at home and abroad. To create a permanent underclass to serve in our armed forces.
The White House approaches the execution of war by simultaneously maximizing profit and minimizing American goodwill around the world. This innovative approach to global warfare emphasizes a refocusing away from primary causal connections and on to predetermined targets through a multi-pronged organization comprised of media outlets and celebrities, compromised political affiliates and a distracted American public.
The Office of War Czar is being established to advance our executive and market goals via the recycling of well-worn but successful talking points. By engaging and motivating supporters of President Bush, as well as influential voices among the Right's public opinion leaders, political funders, and national, state, and local leaders to join our efforts, we multiply opportunities for financial success.
This position is responsible for overseeing the execution of the Surge Phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom:
1. Weigh the political expediency of the decisions of the military "on the ground" to further the President's personal goals.
2. Supplant the role of the President as Commander-in-Chief.
3. Serve as the official spokesman for the Bush Administration with regard to its ongoing occupation of Iraq.
4. Prepare and review written communications, e.g. talking points, for White House communications director and the national news organizations.
5. Accept responsibility for and deflect any negative feedback away from the President resulting from any procedural, programmatic, or policy failures during the next phase of Iraqi Freedom.
Please send resume with cover letter to:
Stephen Hadley
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
Washington, D.C. 20006
—
Courtesy of Wonkette, Andrew Sullivan finally gets the difference between Don Imus and South Park. Although the way Imus is looking these days, he's almost two-dimensional.
According to James Wolcott, Tom Oliphant's favorite movie must be "Spartacus."
Because you just can't make this shit up. Via Cliff Schecter.
It's always the ones who fancy themselves as religious recluses that have no souls. Roy at alicublog has more.
I'm really sorry I went to law school when I did. Had I waited, found Our Saviour Jesus Christ behind my sofa, and given the money to Pat Robertson instead, I'd be pulling down six figures down in D.C. Jesus' General found the 1L syllabus from Regent University Law School.
A Wingnut In Baghdad. Science fiction, you say? Gavin M. at Sadly, No! tries to explain how maintaining a certain flexibility when faced with reality can only benefit you in the long run.
Ah, yes, the foolish consistencies of small minds. As TBogg notes, Michelle Malkin's mind is quite wee, indeed.
Courtesy of Kieran Healy at Crooked Timber, we have what surely is the oddest photograph of the week at Blue Monster.
Why do I adore Norbizness so? Because he blends up a foamy concoction of snark AND Emily Dickinson, and then dumps the gooey mess on John McCain's haid!
Hairy Fish Nuts' Salvage critiques the latest "novel" by Pope Benedict XVI.
Funniest video all week – From Apostropher, via Lawyers, Guns, and Money. Of course, this one from Ampersand, via Shake's Sister, is pretty amusing in its own way.
Not snark per se, but a really spot-on explanation of why Don Imus isn't a real comedian from Lance Mannion. As someone who dabbled in stand-up comedy, I always thought dick jokes were a cop-out.
August J. Pollak is living proof that our children is learning.
Creature at State of the Day tells us a tale of a sad little government report.
Poor Peggy Noonan. Not content with the spectacles she made of herself by dry-humping Ronald Reagan's casket and waxing poetical about the magic dolphins, she moves on to dismiss the latest crop of political candidates as "unserious." Steve M. at No More Mister Nice Blog can't quite contain his amusement.
Tom Burka at Opinions You Should Have gets the inside skinny on hapless Karl Rove and his recordkeeping habits.
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zed??
second? stopped to read …
Madness Madness Madness
Gonz-gone! (he said hopefully)
Boy that cold I’m planning to have Tuesday looks like it could keep me home all day…..
As Eli below asked, where did Pach’s late nite post go? Inquiring minds …
Now off to follow the links.
jayt @ 3
heh.
They found the new ‘WAR CZAR’: http://video.google.com/videop…..7901840957
in re: War Czar, MBA with no military experience. I’d imagine a lot of MBAs from Enron, Worldcom, Tyco, Quest, Arthur Anderson, and a whole host of other firms are available. After all, competence is not one of the criteria.
For War Czar? Someone suggested Wolfowicz yesterday, I think it was. Or how about Chalabi or Lieberman? Or Rumsfeld perhaps. The prez is supposed to be the Commando in Chief. Therefore, doesn’t that make Bush the war Czar too? Just who are they trying to kid?
Oklahoma kiddo @ 8
McCain?
whelp: haunted
I don’t post much, but wanted to share this. The Ashland Film Festival is happening here this weekend and yesterday we got a chance to see another excellent global warming documentary. http://www.everythingscool.org/ It doesn’t deal with the science of global warming, like An Inconvenient Truth, but instead tackles the difficult task of the politics behind the issue. One of the “stars” of the film is Rick Piltz ( http://www.prospect.org/web/pa…..cleId=9884) who was the director of the climate research arm of our federal govt. He resigned when they put oil guy Philip Cooney in charge of editing his reports, then became a whistleblower about the situation. I’m sure some of you here remember these events.
Anyways, after the film, Rick came out (to a rousing standing O) and answered questions. What an honor! I have the deepest utmost respect for those willing to give up their paychecks and do the right thing! He had plenty of blistering things to say about the Bush regime and the film is highly recommended!
I am allowed to work outside my home approx 15 hours per week. And I sleep at odd hours and take medication. Zero military experience. I am perfectly qualified.
On the other hand, I am bright and reality-based. So I guess maybe not.
Oklahoma kiddo @ 9
In case you missed it: http://www.crooksandliars.com/…..war-czars/
watertiger @ 10
Ding! Perfect choice he can even stay in Baghdad and pretend it’s Indiana.
If you have not read the Feb.11, 2003 Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing before the invasion. Worth it
One of General Zinni’s statements before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Feb.11,2003
“Number one task is keeping order in this country. The tribal retributions, the revenge killings, the opposition groups and others that will be jockeying for position, opposition groups that will scream across the border. All sorts of things can disrupt this. There are things in this country that we’re going to have to deal with that no one has really talked about. There’s a major Iranian opposition group in here, the MEK. What do you want me to do with that if I’m the commander in chief? Do I lock them up? Do I send them back across the border to be slaughtered? Exactly what happens to them? And there are millions of little issues like this that aren’t talked about, that are going to be major problems when you’re on the ground and whoever goes in is going to have to have the guidance.”
A link to the complete hearing on Feb.11,2003
http://www.iraqwatch.org/gover…..021103.htm
I got jour steenkin’ War Czar, rrright here.
so.
Oh, fine, tigresa bonita, just go ahead and heent all around eet.
(bathe, bathe)
Jeb for War Czar!
Oklahoma kiddo @ 9
Seems to me each time someone is replaced or brought into in the bush regime, the person turns out to be even more incompetent and hideous than the one before, or brings new meaning to the word criminal.
Scary-good want-ad, WT. You’ve been touched with teh BushSpeak.
Now to click thru to your co-snarkettes…
watertiger @ 10
Would Zinni even consider, after he warned against the invasion? Who could possibly begin to deal with this quagmire?
OOps have not heard anyone use quagmire in a while.
Badwater @ 18
I think Jeb’s tired of taking the heat for his older brother’s shit.
ixnay @
5
Dunno if it was weighing down the server with all the comments, maybe Jamie pulled it back for a bit.
I didn’t do it.
Watertiger, poodles miss you & pie.
TexasBetsy @
13
I was gonna say…
Eureka Springs – left you a mash note in EPU-ville last thread.
Jane Hamsher @ 24
The site was down around 6 AM central. Perhaps something happened?
Wow.
Check it out — Josh Marshall points out that we now know that GWB ordered Iglesias’ firing, for failure to prosecute Democrats. [Original story links @ TPM]
Will this finally be enough?
Bill @ 28
Why does Josh Marshall hate America?
Ooooooh, poooooodles!!!!
I’ve been raving about yer dogs for a week. “You stay classy, San Diego!”
Badwater @ 29
Same reason the rest of us do?
!El Gato Negro! @ 18
Love you El Gato Negro. Such talent and a great post weeth pictures. No?
TexasBetsy @ 31
Actually, I find it hard to believe that Bush ordered anything himself beyond what to have for lunch. Someone must have told him what to do.
El Gato Negro ees muy bonito y muy smart-o.
Bill @ 28
Domenici must go! Richardson will be able to appoint a D NM Senator..thus nailing Lieberman into the independent obscurity he earned..and Reid should replace him as Chair of the DHS committee..
I’m thinking Gonzo’s pre-release statement (and the cover story about his lousy prep for ‘murder boards’)is playing the ‘expectations’ game. MSM will focus on the statement, and be properly focused by Rove’s minions about how the ‘inquistion’ failed to move him…’no smoking gun’ – Nothing to see here. Move along.
New impROVEd ‘Modifed limited hangout’, and all that. Ask Fred Fielding.
At least, that’s how I see this being played. From that side’s perspective. Not sure that will REALLY be how it unravels.
For some reason, Bush’s search for a War Czar brings to mind some kind of Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera. Trouble is this image breaks down when I think about all the death and destruction this clown has brought down on the world, and is still not done.
From Pirates of Penzance:
General.
I am the very model of a modern Major-General,
I’ve information vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I know the kings of England, and I quote the fights historical
From Marathon to Waterloo, in order categorical;
I’m very well acquainted, too, with matters mathematical,
I understand equations, both the simple and quadratical,
About binomial theorem I’m teeming with a lot o’ news –
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse.
All.
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse,
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypotenuse,
With many cheerful facts about the square of the hypoten- potenuse.
General.
I’m very good at integral and differential calculus;
I know the scientific names of beings animalculous:
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.
All.
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
He is the very model of a modern Major-General.
General.
I know our mythic history, King Arthur’s and Sir Caradoc’s;
I answer hard acrostics, I’ve a pretty taste for paradox,
I quote in elegiacs all the crimes of Heliogabalus,
In conics I can floor peculiarities parabolous;
I can tell undoubted Raphaels from Gerard Dows and Zoffanies,
I know the croaking chorus from the Frogs of Aristophanes!
Then I can hum a fugue of which I’ve heard the music’s din afore,
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore.
All.
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore,
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pinafore,
And whistle all the airs from that infernal nonsense Pina- Pinafore,
General.
Then I can write a washing bill in Babylonic cuneiform,
And tell you every detail of Caractacus’s uniform:
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
I am the very model of a modern Major-General.
All.
In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,
He is the very model of a modern Major-General.
etc….
In truth, and sadly, Bush’s search for a War Czar is at bottom, hugely comical and farcical, and indeed tragical.
Bill @ 28
Anyone think this would come up in the next Bush Press Event?
A few words from the statement of Anthony “Cordesman at the Feb. 11 2003 Senate hearing
“Now, having said that, we also have to accept the fact that on the day we go in, not when we win but on the day we go in, we will have the Arab world and every bit of the media in the Arab world blaming us for everything wrong in Iraq. There won’t be any tolerance. It won’t be an intellectual argument. We inherit the wind, 30 years of mismanagement by a ruthless dictator. We also have to face the fact that in this region people believe in conspiracy theories. That public opinion poll after public opinion poll shows only one polarizing issue in foreign policy: the second Intifada and some 70 percent of the Arabs in this region blame us in large part for the outcome.”
Sure does seem that there was a strong possiblity with all of the very serious fuck ups in post war planning that the right wing radicals in the Bush administration wanted chaos in the area.
You know the “creative destruction” ideas suppported by warmongers like Micheal Ledeen
dreamcatcher @ 37
Perhaps the Pythons are already working on one.
Eureka Springs @ 35
It all goes back to the ‘pleasure of the President’. It doesn’t matter what Abu and others did. The final outcome was the Presidents choice. (so there!) IDIOTS
Badwater @ 38
Who gets to ask the questions?
I believe the quest for a “War Czar” is but a feeble attempt to gain another Friedman Unit or two. It will take time for the Czar to settle in, come up with a new plan, fight Congress to implement it, and then the inevitable “we must give it time to see if it works”.
And all that will bring this administration a year or so closer to being out of office and leaving it to the next President, which is their true goal.
litespeed
Bush/Cheney are dying to get the war back on the front page. It’s all they talk about.
lolo, I just hope we are both right. (in a very left way)
Please contact Senator Rockerfeller. Ask about Phase II of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Will we witness those responsible for the false pre-war intelligence held accountable?
Senator Jay Rockefeller
531 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
202.224.6472
Georgesimian @ 44
And given how swimmingly the war is going, that in itself is amazing! Remember when they were trying to hide the war>?
Did Cully Stimson get into DOD by way of the Justice Dept?
-GSD
If it is at “the pleasure of the President”, does that mean the president actually signs off?
Maybe a dumb question but we keep hearing the phrase ad nauseum.
Blank Kludge
Did you say you were looking for a Pismo couple days ago? Sumtin to run 10.x on?
Badwater @ 38
Richard Wolffe thinks it would be so veddy improper.
-GSD
TexasBetsy @ 47
Yeah. They’re trying to blame the Democrats, but it is amazing that they don’t have any real talking points on the emails. They’re usually on top of these things. Is the war their best bet?
snowbird42 @ 49
Hide in plain site. They don’t serve at the “pleasure of Alberto Gonzales’ unqualified sidekicks”.
-GSD
In the spirit of being a uniter, I think Bush should ask Senator Clinton to be the War Czar. Afterall, she did vote for the Iraq invasion, and has never said anything about her vote on that to be a mistake, say a la Edwards. And she did say if you don’t agree with her position on supporting the Iraq attack, then to just go ahead and vote for someone else. Some might conclude she’d be perfect for the job, and has just the right creds. Oh, and the Senator is a member in very good standing with the DLC, and that little group fervently supported the Bush invasion of Iraq. And lastly, MS. Clinton has been rather cozy with the Bush family and Newtie and seems in tune with Sen. Lieberman’s views on foreign policy respective of the Middle East.
Rove warned to save memos!
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/….._0414.html
snowbird42 @ 49
It’s a way to both relieve responsibility from those who are serving and to make it seem like Bush actually does something.
newtonusr @ 50
Ayup…What news Horatio?
CSpanII running the 4/10/07 book chat on COLLUSION the most recent expose on the forged “yellow-cake” scandal with co-author Carlo Bonini, the acclaimed Italian investigative reporter. Unger is appearing with him.
I theenk that litespeed has the right idea.
Everytheeng from the surge onwards ees just designed to run out the clock, so that another president may be blamed for the inevitable weethdrawal.
so.
Perfect choice……Henry Kissinger:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZpKFBTutW8
*War
CriminalCzarOklahoma kiddo @ 54
Such a nice necklace to have around her neck. Always a reminder of Hillary the Hawk.
Bill @ 28
EPU-d from last thread:
Oklahoma kiddo @ 54
Hillary says “ouch” Good idea!
Georgesimian @
52
The war is their best bet … for pulling the wool over the eyes of their bosses – the American people. I can’t wait for their last talking point – blaming the American people for electing them and getting into this mess ;-) Oh come on, you know someone has raised this in a meeting.
newspaperbrat @ 58
I’ve heard them a couple of times. Didn’t learn anything new. Did I miss something, or is this all rehash?
Thuis just came out, I think. Josh Marshall posted a link to it about 5 minutes ago:
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Domenici Sought Iglesias Ouster
By Mike Gallagher
Copyright 2007 Albuquerque Journal; Journal Investigative Reporter
Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias was fired after Sen. Pete Domenici, who had been unhappy with Iglesias for some time, made a personal appeal to the White House, the Journal has learned.
Domenici had complained about Iglesias before, at one point going to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales before taking his request to the president as a last resort.
Here’s the entire article.
newspaperbrat @ 58
Thanks for the headsup newspaperbrat.
lolo
Al Sadr announces his members are pulling out of the Al Maliki government.
A wobbly leader(Al Maliki) just got more wobbly.
Al Jazeera link.
-GSD
P.S. Bush has dispatched with over 3,300 Americans troops as of today. How many Iraqis? God only knows. How many journalists? How many contractors?
USA’s serve at the pleasure of the president, yes, so the firing in and of itself does not break a law. But the ethical standard on display is fantastically awful, and if Iglesias was investigating anyone that Domenici wanted left alone, I believe a law was broken. I can’t keep it straight in my mind whether it is actually a violation of law to fire someone for an investigation they did not carry out to the president’s satisfaction.
Bottom line is that this one is clearly on Bush’s desk. Not Cheney, or Rumsfeld, or Rove, etc. I’m going out to get some of that caramel-flavored popcorn for this one.
Lou Costello @ 60
BINGO!
Henry is the perfect choice…he connects the dots between Vietnam and Iraq. Not only that, where three, repeat three, generals already turned down the job, Henry would jump at it. His main strategy is what he claims he learned about Vietnam…that we walked away from what should have been a victory. He is the perfect man for this job, and of course, it would be a tragedy for the American people.
eCAHNomics @ 65
I donno nothin’ cause I missed it earlier – only mentioned it as a fan of Unger and lingering respect for the OPC -Overseas Press Club of America.
dreamcatcher @ 70
Here you go: The Trial of Henry Kissinger [1h20m]
eCAHNomics @ 65
Also..see next weeks scheduled FDL book salon. *s*
end zig
It always surprises me just how ‘tech-not’ the Bush Admin is…why, all they’d have to do is post an ad for ‘War Czar’ on the DC Craigslist and voila…Oodles of applicants, itching to get their Sgt. Fury on, and perhaps purchase some used Danish teak at a reasonable price, too.
;>)
Blank Kludge @ 57
Had one slip through my fingers Monday. Running 10.4.7 (not blistering fast, but easily runnable) – 500mhz, 512 mb/40gb hard disk/DVD-ROM (it worked)/Airport (802.11b of course), kept time (CMOS battery OK), battery held a charge, very clean machine. Very slight display degradation in lower corners, but not one dead pixel. Remarkable shape for a Mac this age – it was babied.
Guy wanted $350 for it.
dreamcatcher @ 70
minor obstacle, perhaps: the dozens of countries he can’t set foot in for fear of being one-wayed to the Hague. I guess if he just passes through air space they can’t apprehend them.
GSD @ 48
that wouldn’t be a relative of Henry L would it?
sec war for truman?
You want a Czar, here is a Czar that knows something about being a Czar – Could do better than what they have now!
Badwater @ 29
Marshall loves what America “thinks” it stands for, Josh like so many of us hates the policies of the Bush fascist!
newtonusr @ 75
That would be fair value.
compare:
http://www.lowendmac.com/deals/pbg3.html
…and the battery?
how about Nicolas Czarkosy? he’s a law ‘n order hard-liner. too bad about the Frenchness.
CNN legal analyst Jeffery Toobin says that the bottom line from Gonzales is that the blame for the US attorney firings lies with Harriet Miers.
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/….._0415.html
Is Bush going to let Gonzo talk about one of his work wives like that?
punaise @ 76
Henry then/Vietnam…Henry now/Iraq. Henry after he dies/Hell.
These Judeo/Christian values at work around the world are deadly.
http://www.robertfisk.com/iraq…..ar2003.htm
kathleen @ 79
Just want to remind folks that Josh has a Ph.D. in American History from Georgetown University, specializing in the Revolutionary period. Unlike a lot of folks in the Beltway in the power circles, Josh knows something about the principles under which this country was founded.
Badwater @ 81
Poor Harriet Miers. She’s to blame for everything.
kathleen @ 79
I was joking.
Badwater @ 82
their first instinct was to hang this around Harriet’s neck… are they going back to that now?
zig alert.
dreamcatcher @ 84
Brown University, IIRC
Georgesimian @
44
They should be very careful what they ask for as they might get it.
Blank Kludge @ 80
Until my Pismo (similar config as the one I spec’d) bursts into flames, I will use it. It has been the best Mac I’ve owned. That’s saying something. I’ve pulled it apart numerous times, used it to slave clients data, carried it everywhere – it will not quit. Had since Dec. 2000, just before discontinued in favor of TiBook.
I have Pach’s Late Nite Agonistes post open in a Firefox tab, with 530 comments.
Bolten named “war czar”
Some. A very few. Members of my party, the Democrats, are not yet part of the solution.
kathleen @ 93
linky per chance? thanx – ;~)
War czar. Hmm. Oh, if only there were some sort of provision in our constitution, investing some sort of civilian with supreme authority over the military. If only there were some sort of provision for
electingappointing acommander-in-chiefwar czar. If only!Ed*ard Teller @ 89
I stand corrected. Thanks for the heads up.
dreamcatcher @ 84
kathleen @ 79
Badwater @ 29
Bill @ 28
Wow.
Check it out — Josh Marshall points out that we now know that GWB ordered Iglesias’ firing, for failure to prosecute Democrats. [Original story links @ TPM]
Will this finally be enough?
Why does Josh Marshall hate America?
Marshall loves what America “thinks” it stands for, Josh like so many of us hates the policies of the Bush fascist!
Just want to remind folks that Josh has a Ph.D. in American History from Georgetown University, specializing in the Revolutionary period. Unlike a lot of folks in the Beltway in the power circles, Josh knows something about the principles under which this country was founded.
Actually it’s from Brown
The Gonzi and Harriet shownewspaperbrat @ 95
kidding
-ck- @ 92
I am still getting a 404 message for that page. I have IE7, but I cleared my cache last night so it’s not in my history. Page not found is what I see.
lolo
While taking apps and doing i-views perhaps
G.W.Bush should also open up Competency Czar,
Follow the Law Czar,Truth and Fact Czar and
most importantly Karl Rove Minder Czar positons.
Clearly The Decider needs all the help he can find.
Oh…also find and hire a Dick Cheney Czar.
Dick seems to think he is The Czar in this BushWH.
So hire a “czar” to try
and keep “Czar Cheney” honest,dealing in known
facts and historical record and less facist in
demeanor. Question–Isn’t D.Cheney the real and
current GWOT/IraqWar-Occupation/ME-Central Asia
Petro Biz Czar? Can one Czar over-rule another Czar?
Can G.W.Bush over-rule Czar Dick?
kathleen @ 93
They wouldn’t dare.
Here are some “War Czars”
http://www.orange-papers.org/o…..lowers.jpg
Isn’t that a “Turd Blossom” they are looking at?
To further the snarkitude, I bring you, from the comments on Abu’s WaPo op-ed:
simple & elegant with just the right degree of childishness…
Whoever is appointed to whatever, will still take their orders from out of the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff. Karl Christian Rove’s office.
newtonusr @ 91
Charles Moore would probably agree.
I settled for a Rev. A ‘Wallstreet’ aka ‘Mainstreet’…came w/9gig/128/CD-floppy. Added RAM. Kludgy…but quite reliable. And very rugged. Took two major league ‘drops’…never even blinked (well…rebooted).
Details of demise are human-factors related.
Excellent post.
That’s all
kathleen @ 99
you rascal kathleen – ya got me but I plead nolo contenre cause I thought ya meant the mustacioued bolton – blush – and thank ye anyhow for providing a short lived thrill. ;)
Being commander in chief is hard work.
It means you have to work hard, see, cuz that’s what hard work is all about.
Hard work gets done by hard workers, working hard.
That’s why a war czar is a good idea, cuz he could do the hard work and the president could do the deciding.
Not that deciding isn’t hard work, too.
Deciding can be real hard work–Let’s see, someone disagreed with me, what should I do to them?
shootthatarrow>>> @ 101
Bush is usually too busy riding his bike or harvesting brush to worry about what Cheney’s up to.
War Czar candidate – at the risk of getting comical:
Zarathos is a fictional character in the Marvel Comics series Ghost Rider. He is a demonic being who tortures and devours souls.
Who’s the Drug Czar nowadays? How busy could he possibly be? Maybe he could work part-time on the war thing too. Make him Czar of All Czars.
lolo @ 102
Wolfie – World Bank
Rice – SecState
Abu – Atty Gen
Elliot Abrams – WhateverTheFuck
Poindexter – WhateverTheFuck
I beg to differ…
lolo @ 100
I hope we save the thread – dozens of great haikus, the worst of which was mine – as usual:
Larry Moe Curly
Abu Karl Shrub and Shooter
HaHaHaHaHa
TeddySanFran @ 104
he he! great stuff!
i’ve just put up “sen. schumer’s sunday
surprise for alberto gonzales“, or –
“i’m RE-grillin’ me some good kyle
sampson this afternoon, stop
by tuesday for leftovers. . .”
ooh — wait — you’re the main course!
Ed*ard Teller @ 114
That’s what I thought forget the Keystone Kop analogy, the stooges fit!
OKK @ 223 of previous post:
Do we think Lieberman would vote to impeach?
IMVHO, Lieberman will vote to impeach … here’s why:
He is casting himself as a patriotic American, who does what is best for America, not interested in political partisanship (I can hear you snickering, OKK).
When there is enough evidence brought to light, and the American public are deluging every “American Politician” to uphold American values, he will have to vote to impeach or be called a hypocrite. Guess which one “Honest Joe” will choose?
Pseudo-moralists like HoJoe are the easiest to manipulate, though they think themselves superior to manipulation. This is not a legal opinion, but I stake my reputation as a meditation teacher on it.
http://www.govexec.com/story_p…..todaysnews
snip
snip for snark
Petrocelli @ 117
Petrocelli dear – you will let us know if you hear of a betting pool – cause my money would be JoeHo would never vote in favor of impeachment – just not in his dark heart DNA.
Oklahoma kiddo @
54
Lots of bright add-ons. How about the fact that Hillary fits right in with them in her apparent psychotic inability to take responsibility. Just like Wolfowitz, “Oh, you didn’t like what I did? I’m sorry!” — but they just do not get that they have done something WRONG, and “Sorry!” does not cut it. An amend, Mr Wolfowitz, Mrs Clinton, is that you put things right, and in both your cases, I suggest you leave, now!
albert fall @ 108
HAHAHAHAHA!
Blank Kludge @ 118
Well of course his stupid Committee can “play a constructive role” in creating the new post — he and Susan Collins aren’t doing jackshit elsewise!
nolo @ 115
Now that’s art! That video is just awesome! Thanks!
I thought Liebermann all ready switched parties. http://rawstory.com/news/2007/….._0319.html
Did Liebermann forget that the last U.S. President to demand that Israel open up it’s nuclear sites to inspections was Kennedy. Kennedy sure had a lot of enemies. Jack Ruby (Jack Rubenstein)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Ruby
http://www.polisci.ucla.edu/fa…..xVIII.html
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/i…..halom.html
OT- see DailyKos, Miss Laura has charts up about the economic inequalities in US pay
Isn’t considering a war Czar admitting defeat? What will the enemy think!
If Bush/Cheney needs a war Czar then they should step down… America (you know that GD piece of paper) doesn’t do Czar wars.
War Czar is a fine idea. Remember, when they appointed a Drug Czar, and the poof! the drug problem disappeared? It’s clear that the chief problem with this war is that it lacks sufficient layers of bureaucracy. The Department of Defense is much too lean and spare to get the job done. They don’t have nearly enough bureaucracy or experience in prosecuting anything as complex as a war.
TSF -
Don’t speak too soon. Recent subcomm (like earlier this month) hearings about National ID cards.
Watch carefully.
http://www.senate.gov/~govt-af…..ringID=430
Plus, War Czar ties HomelandSec to Iraq. GWOT? Not to mention AEI surge Dec. 2006…HAL$$ reconstruction. “Reconstruct over there, so we don’t have to reconstruct over here.” NOLA/Gulf.
edit: HomelandSec is the worst BigGov Dept. Ever. We will rue the day. Dismantle or go to ‘Brazil’. (imdb)
Michael Brown might want to be War Czar. His has had experience taking the blame and that is really what Bush is looking for anyway.
Anyone know what happened to last night’s Late Nite FDL with Pach? It topped over 500 comments and I was planning on going back and reading them all when I had time today. Yet it seems to have vanished.
I would have thought it was Mandingo.
Cassie (SnarKassandra) just posted some rather snarky comments on today’s political cartoons.
Has anybody commented on this yet here?
It seems like the plot of a particularly far-fetched horror film. But some scientists suggest that our love of the mobile phone could cause massive food shortages, as the world’s harvests fail.
They are putting forward the theory that radiation given off by mobile phones and other hi-tech gadgets is a possible answer to one of the more bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world – the abrupt disappearance of the bees that pollinate crops. Late last week, some bee-keepers claimed that the phenomenon – which started in the US, then spread to continental Europe – was beginning to hit Britain as well.
The theory is that radiation from mobile phones interferes with bees’ navigation systems, preventing the famously homeloving species from finding their way back to their hives. Improbable as it may seem, there is now evidence to back this up.
And just when I was getting ready to score an iPhone for Ms. ET when they come out….
The article later cites a Finnish study showing a high percentage of new brain tumors are developing on the brain side most favored by individual cell phone users.
We don’t need a WAR czar. We need an OCCUPATION czar since the war ended 6 weeks after it started.
IF lolo is still around, I have a bone to pick…
I asked Marcy about her little sister and she claimed she didn’t have one.
Not as if she doesn’t already consider me psycho-stalker material; but now she has even more evidence.
Thanks. Not.
TexasBetsy @ 134
But, but, but, I thought the mission was accomplished…
tbsa @ 136
My point exactly!
Jacqrat @ 135
Lore has it the sibling rivalry was named IBM-PC…
But…”I feel yore pain.”
darkblack @ 74
Brilliant, just brilliant.
Jacqrat @ 135
You are not a psycho-stalker, J.
newspaperbrat @ 108
I did mean that Bolton..spelled wrong. Was not going to leave it on for long. Heart beat faster?
Jacqrat @ 135
So sorry Jaqurat but she told the story that when she was growing up her dad always promised her an adopted sister. When her dad brought home a computer and called it baby she wondered if it was her baby sister. I know how much you to tease her and I don’t think she thinks you are a stalker, I was curious if you ever heard the story because it was so sweet. She has a brain like a computer hence the reference that she must take after her little sister. I am so sorry to confuse you but she did say that. I wasn’t around when you asked her or I would have explained all this then.
lolo
((((jaqurat)))))
Blank Kludge @ 138
Thanks Blank Kludge for watching my back. *g*
Oklahoma kiddo @ 9
and he has an MBA – the ideal administrator, no?
TeddySanFran @ 140
How about a stalker of Bush psychos
I think Scooter needs a job. He’s already proven that he’ll fall on his sword for BushCo
if you have not read John Deans take on the AG mess. http://writ.news.findlaw.com/dean/20070323.html
Cheney knows not whereof he speaks, on Face the Nation this morning
newspaperbrat @
119
I really like the opinions on this blog but I love the snarks. Nice one newspaperbrat.
Don’t know if this has been posted yet here. But according to this article in the Alb Journal. Bush is the one who told Abu to fire Iglesias. Just looking for some analysis on this.
http://www.abqjournal.com/news…..-15-07.htm
kathleen @ 93
Shite, woman — I sure hope you were joking… I just checked CNN NYT and (blush) even Drudge and I found nuttin… ???
How’s about calling it Terror Czar? Who could pass that up? Bring OBL in from the cold.
Just like old times… Or Bolton… either way…
McNulty being targeted?
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iow…../1483.html
For you word lovers out there, the slavic word “czar/tsar” has the same roots as the words “caesar” and “kaiser” all denoting a monarch, emperor, or king, an autocratic leader, someone exercising great power or authority.
The idea of putting the Iraq and Afghanistan wars under a single responsible person makes a lot of sense strategicaly, but the big questions are:
(1) Didn’t we already have that in the form of a commander-in-chief, as Bush loves to think of himself, and his deputy, the Secretary of Defense?
(2) Why now, four years after both wars were started?
(3) Why was this strategy not presented as part of the “surge” but instead of as a delayed add-on?
(3) In a country full of ambitious generals/admirals, why doesn’t someone jump at the job?
I am sure if I continue to think about it I can come up with more intriguing questions as to why a War Czar, but for starters, inquiring minds want to know.
There is something here that needs to be understood and the explanations don’t just jump out at us. One plausible one was suggested in one of today’s threads, and that it was just another delaying action, like the “surge” until after the 2008, but I think there is something else.
First of all, this was a leak, not an announced goal of the WH, and at least one of the generals went public. At the same time, there was no denial from the WH that such a move was afoot. Strange, no?
Let me put out at least one hypothetical: Bush may be at a crossover point in losing the loyalty and enthusiasm of the generals in the field and needs an enforcer. No, not some civilian at the Pentagon, or even the Joint Chiefs, who after all, is a desk jockey.
No, Bush needs another soldier who can make the antsy generals toe the line. Who better to do this than another super-general, somebody with a tough reputation, preferably called out of retirement without anything else to prove?
If this hypo is anywhere near being true, then the conclusion we can draw here is that Bush is contemplating his search for a War Czar not out of strength but out of tremendous weakness. Far from the surge working, he is seeing it fall apart, around the same time that the army is breaking.
Ergo: if Bush is really looking for a War Czar, it is because he is desperate.
hang a left: There’s some excellent analysis of the Alb Journal piece just up on TPM Muckraker, by Paul Kiel…
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/003017.php
TeddySanFran @
148
I think he meant heart to part.
S.O.S. from MA @ 151
Shite, woman — I sure hope you were joking… I just checked CNN NYT and (blush) even Drudge and I found nuttin… ???
totally kidding. Did not wait for long to say so!
solai @ 146
He may have fallen on his sword, but Cheney’s got him on “ignore”
In my family, I am the official scapegoat. Every time that my mother has to host a dinner she asks if it can be at my (larger) home. She does most of the cooking etc. but if things don’t turn out perfectly or if something is forgotten (like cranberries one Thanksgiving)she lets everyone know that I have erred. I go along with this. It takes the pressure off her and… what the hell – she’s my mother.
So, that’s what’s needed here. Someone with absolute love for Bush.
I nominate Barney.
hang a left @ 150
Mary’s analysis here
kathleen @ 157
totally kidding. Did not wait for long to say so!
Back at 141. Was not going to let anyone’s heart rate go up for too long!
Listening (C-SPAN2) to Reuel Marc Gerecht introduce Bernard Lewis to get some wingnut award is creepy. Talk about Kool-Ade drinkers.
Book Salon is upstairs
Interesting! Gaffney “why ia a film on moderate Islam being suppressed”
For Gaffney to like a film about Islam it must be an anti-Islam film.
http://article.nationalreview……FhYWY2NDg=
kathleen @
16
Kathleen if you’re still here? This link’s broken, do you have a better one? I’d like to read this.
Thanks so much
Kalliope @ 144
But seriously now:
I’d like to nominate Raisha (sp?) – Mr. Wolfowitz’s girlfriend.
She seems to have the time, just having completed her logo contest and essay judging, according to an earlier thread,
and she has such good war-resource people at her elbow: not only her boyfriend, but also BBFF Liz Cheney.
The idealest candidate eva, I think.
Ed*ard Teller@ 114:
You forgot Shemp, which makes it all so much more understandable, especially if we include the “Fake Shemps” Sam Rami is so fond of:
Shemp Howard
Try this again.
http://www.iraqwatch.org/gover…..021103.htm
eCAHNomics @ 162
But they are serious people.
As for the WarCzar: if Bush could nominate
his horse to the SenateHarriet Miers to the Supreme Court,why not Atlas Juggs for WarCzar?
Kathleen, pls refresh & reread my #151. :) (only kidding there at the end)
allan_in_upstate @ 170
why not harriet?
Blank Kludge @
138
HP Pavilion, iirc.
eCAHNomics @ 162
Gerecht doesn’t think it’s any big deal that the free women of Iraq may end up in Burkas. You’ll have this was his attitude.
Watertiger!
another great post, thanks!
(I’ll EPU this, but not till after the FDL Book Forum)
——————————
Feeling adventuresome? Interested in who else is in the FDL community, and where they are? Maybe get in touch with them via anonymous message?
http://www.frappr.com/?a=const…..8720111273
or, for fans of smaller URLs:
http://tinyurl.com/2ykqgb
See if it works for ya. Bookmark it if you like. This is Beta stuff only. No, really Alpha. :)
Check it out… If you’d like to join, there’s a little orange “Join!” button at the upper left of the map. You even get to declare your political pref (and gender too) when picking your pin.
No guarantees… this is just a part-time project. The map’s set such that you can join NOW rather than having to get reviewed… but if lots of spammers or wingnuts show up, I’ll change that. Please don’t forget your “shoutout” — and perhaps you’ve got a teenchy graphic to use…? :)
Don’t worry about pinpointing your house! All I seem to be able to give it is a City, State or ZIP within the USA. It seems to recognize major worldwide cities, so if you live in some burg in Western Foobistan, try to see whether Frappr knows its capital.
At the bottom of the map page you’ll find a link to a discussion forum, different from our ever-changing (and marvelous!) FDL strings. Ask questions about the firedoglake map over there, not here.
N.B.: The discussion area and FireDogLake map are not related in any way to the FireDogLake blog or its many excellent proprietors. This stuff is just a fun way of seeing how widespread we all are, and to finding neighbors while retaining anonymity. There’s an anonymous message system built-in, if you want to use it. Enjoy…
S.O.S. from MA @ 176
cool widget, SOS! — added myself — very cool.
kathleen @
168
Thanks Kathleen
TexasBetsy,
I’m hoping you’ll see this…here’s a link to a very funny Texas blog.
http://www.kissmybigbluebutt.com/#apr14
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD AND ALL THAT IS HOLY
MY ANUS IS BLEEDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I just did my taxes. I owed $3000.
TO FUND THAT COCK-KNOCKING SON OF A BITCH’S WAR!!!
F*CKSHITPISS.
WHO THE FUCK CAN I KILL TODAY?
Once I’m eligible for the 401K through my agency, I’m maxing the motherf*cker out.
I AM NOT HAPPY!
kathleen @
153
If you are still here, Kathleen
Another good commentary on Imus, from a comedian’s perspective, can be found at Kung Fu Monkey: I Sense Your Confusion, TIME …
kathleen @
153
Hit the wrong button when the “H” key fell off ==
Well found, Kathleen,if you are still there. With The Lobby after him as well, there is no doubt McNulty is screwed all ways for Sunday!
Peehaps he’s not such a bad guy…….!