You know, up in New York City right now, they’re having some big to-do with fashion designers, models, celebrities, and a whole bunch of other assorted liggers, impresarios, camp-followers, and fashion victims of all stripes (and solids and plaids).
Me, I know that the real party is in DC where everyone is anxiously awaiting Fall Fascism Week, the buzz about which has been on low boil now for months, but which is expected to reach a frenzied peak on Monday when the House of Crocker-Petraeus Couture will roll out their new Fall Line of Bullshit. The White House has turned out all of its chief PR flacks, past and present, to push this new product line, and even the normally stodgy fashionistas of the Pentagon are planning a concomitant multi-multi-media extravaganza:
(AP) WASHINGTON – Shaping the Bush administration’s message on the Iraq war has taken on new fervor, just as anticipation is building for the September progress report from top military advisers.
For the Pentagon, getting out Iraq information will now include a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week Iraq Communications Desk that will pump out data from Baghdad — serving as what could be considered a campaign war room.
Of course, the real reason most people come to Fascism Week isn’t so much for the shows, the meet-and-greets, and the photo-ops. Anyone will tell you that the main attractions this week are the star-studded guest lists and opportunities to rub shoulders with such icons of obfuscation as Mike O’Hanlon and Ken Pollack, who were instrumental in branding the House of Bush’s spring and summer lines and making them such a success with the press (if not with the public).
NeoCons, of course, those perennial favorites of the Fascionati, are expected to turn out in abundance for the festivities. The party invitation that everyone is dying to get their hands on is for “Kristolnacht”, an all-night bacchanal in the ballroom of the Willard InterContinental Hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue hosted by Bill Kristol and Jailhouse Judy Miller.
I hear that Jenna Bush and her fiancee will be on hand, as well as the entire Ledeen family, Mr. and Mrs. Ol’ 60 Grit, and (this may be just a rumor) I have also heard that Senator Larry Craig will be making a very special guest appearance to do his wildly popular drag routine to Jennifer Holiday’s, “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going”. Like I said, though, that’s just a rumor, and I heard it from (shhhhhhh!) Arlen Spector, and you know how he is. When he’s all geeked out on blow, he’ll say damn near anything.
But my favorite thing about Fall Fascism Week is the swag. I’ve already snagged some really sharp-looking stun grenades from the Bechtel tent, a coupon for 100 shares of Halliburton stock, and a voucher for a .0006% share of the eventual Iraqi oil revenues that was set up through a no-bid contract with KBR. I hear the Pentagon goodie-bags are supposed to be the best, though. For Spring Fascism Week last February, they gave out color-coordinated boots and kevlar body armor with the word “Surge!” and big neon-colored daisies (adorable!) stenciled all over them. So. Cute.
I know that there are those of you out there who think that the military-industrial complex is evil and that to base a whole week of excess on making rich people richer and exploiting miserably poor dark-complected people all over the world is nothing to celebrate, but come on, you’re missing the whole spirit of the thing. Listen to Guy Trebay at the New York Times who says, “Admit it. You love it. It Matters.”
For god’s sake, lighten up. It’s just a bunch of dead people on the other side of the world. Have some fun this week!
Related posts:
- Late Night: Gays Seize Ice Cream; Puppies Next to Fall to Homosex Menace?
- Erick Erickson Reviews “Liberal Fascism,” Hilarity Ensues
- Late Night: This Week In Obama Killing Your Grandma…
- Florida Doctor Who Distributed Racist Email is a Tea Party Organizer, Called Health Care Reform “Medical Fascism”
- ABC’s ‘This Week’ Adopts Fox News





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2
Hiya TRex!
Late night!
Late Nite rawks!
boing
boing
fork it – too forkin hot to dive – i’m going to go sit by the fan
g’evening everyone
I don’t understand the post, but I’ll hang out a while anyway. Propoganda = fascism, right?
happy birthday, liss
Suzanne @ 5
There is a cold waterfall over here Suzanne. Come sit with me!
Lucky sevens!
On edit:
number nine, number nine, number nine…
Funny, you got all the good stuff.
Me, I just got shiite.
What kind of fuckery is this?!?!
Suzanne @ 7
Thanks, Suzanne.
Steve-AR @ 1
Confident, eh??? ;-)
Dark humor indeed. Parallels with pre-WW2 are scary.
Hi Liss. Happy Birthday.
Hey TRex!
(((((((TRex!)))))))
EvilDrPuma @ 11
Dammit, a fuckery has been invoked.
All bets are off now.(Courtesy of Godwins Law)
SnarKassandra @ 8
CTuttle @ 13
I was until nukes flew over my house.
Hey ya’ll! It’s still plenty steamy here, but we have gotten rain. So now all the chirpy creatures are raising a rukus in my yard. ANd this morning a teensy frog jumped in my car as I was taking the little guy to school. He may still be in there.
zennurse!
Evening all. Black or brown shirts required for all events I presume? I do drool over the cammo lingerie. It is just so …. Montana.
zennurse @ 19
I am currently debating completely fluffy, non-fascist things. My husband wants me to go out to a small local all-women spa and soak in the tub, sauna, etc. for a bit tonight. I’m ACTUALLY considering not doing this. Must be sick.
Maybe I need cake.
- BrainLiss
Liss @ 12
Happy B’day, fellow Virgo!!! *g*
Shorter Bush to the corps: “Make it WORK!”
Blogwhore alert:
I have a new post about Bush saying “kick ass” to the Australian prime minister.
what a delicious post, TRex!
Happy Birthday Liss!
SnarKassandra @ 15
Thank you!
Liss @ 25
From Tex (in case she does now appear tonight)
If anyone is still watching Fox, they’re showing the polling results. Paul 35%; Guilliani 17%; McCain 15%
The rest were voted ‘too insane to consider’.
CTuttle @ 26
Thank you! It’s been a pleasant day.
Well, I was trying to say, come join me beachfront and sit in my hot tub, but I’ve merely proved I am unable to comment effectively tonight. Oh well, you’re welcome anyway. It’s a breezy 60 degrees here in MA and I’m getting in my suit. Seeya in a bit.
Hi Suzanne!
Liss @ 25
must have cake on birthday
SnarKassandra @ 28
Texb had this up earlier today I think, excellent stuff. It’s a terrible thing when a person your age can see so clearly what so many who should have the benefit of age and experience miss completely. Great writing!
SnarKassandra @ 8
SnarKassandra @ 6
Cassie,
I really like some of the old WW1 and WW2 propaganda posters from US and England. Very good artwork, very persuasive. It’s done to sway people’s thinking, like having Fox News on everywhere…that’s bad propaganda, but there was propaganda that reminded people during wartime to recycle tin, paper, grow a garden, save gas, stockings, etc. for the war effort.
Hi Liss. A secret person bought you a cake. Here it is!
OT?
Blumenthal:
On Sept. 18, 2002, CIA director George Tenet briefed President Bush in the Oval Office on top-secret intelligence that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction, according to two former senior CIA officers. Bush dismissed as worthless this information from the Iraqi foreign minister, a member of Saddam’s inner circle, although it turned out to be accurate in every detail. Tenet never brought it up again.
Nor was the intelligence included in the National Intelligence Estimate of October 2002, which stated categorically that Iraq possessed WMD. No one in Congress was aware of the secret intelligence that Saddam had no WMD as the House of Representatives and the Senate voted, a week after the submission of the NIE, on the Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iraq. The information, moreover, was not circulated within the CIA among those agents involved in operations to prove whether Saddam had WMD.
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com…..stero.html
Liss @ 25
Birthdays always go better with cake. Happy B’day!
Elliott @ 29
Thank you!
Suzanne @ 31
I have it on good authority that she shall be here, but thank you!
Elliott @ 35
And yet, I have had no cake today. Well, other than virtual cake. Pictures are lovely, but just not the same.
SnarKassandra @ 28
Bush should know by now who’s getting his ass kicked. He’s taken enough blows to the chin by now.
Oh TRex! Brilliant! Great mind warp of words and all. Uh, can I use that tired phrase “thinking outside the box” and not have you hate me for being so uhhh…. mundane? You really do connect the dots in a most unusual and educational way.
Oh Gawd, TRex, Don’t tell me deer hunter orange camo is back already!
Off to bed. Drank enough wine to make me drowsy. Wish Andy Roddick luck, he lost the 1st set.
That donor Hsu didn’t show for his hearing today and is now a fugitive from justice.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..YJGZWyFz4D
solai @ 32
thanks solai,
I can just see Paul getting the nomination, then what do they do?
Steve-AR @ 20
That’s all right, I’ve got whole fields of them in my backyard so to speak. Well, OK, they are about 200 miles away in Great Falls, but that is close enough (too close actually).
Margot @ 38
Unlike now, when the doofus says “go shopping!”
hmmm this post is kinda deep Trex….the upcoming dog&pony show with petraeus etal is going to be a doozy i betcha
Folks, consider going over to the WSJ’s Law Blog’s post on Jack Goldsmith’s amazing revelations about David Addington, and help them out with some intelligent comments. The one’s they’ve drawn so far (except for, of course, mine), kinda suck, actually. You’d think a Law Blog could do better, fer crissakes.
Ah, but it is the WSJ, after all . . .
EPU’D:
Ed*ard Teller @ 175
The big-hand-bag craze is expected to add a line of easy stow Truncheons for the fashionable gooper lady.
Elliott @ 47
No worries. The GOP knows better than to leave it up to voters.
Eureka Springs @ 45
Only in Red States.
Fair warning friends, I took an amb*en
Heaven’s knows if it’ll put me to sleep or send me shopping. If I stop making sense, stop letting me post *G*
(MOD NOTE: *Edited to allow through filters)
TRex @ 56
That’s it, I’m staying home. No telling where Dick Cheney might be lurking.
Bush and Condi “come out”:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200…..GIpOeyFz4D
now I”m going to soak.
Trex, I was thinking we’d have some song stylings from you by now. When will we be so fortunate?
EvilDrPuma @ 55
If only it weren’t true.
spin, spin, spin
I’m gettin’ Dizzy!
SnarKassandra @ 39
Why, thank you!
newdealfarmgrrrlll @ 41
Thank you!
EvilDrPuma @ 55
So true So true
That is some serious snark!
Larry Gannon/Craigert singing “And I’m Telling You I’m Not Going”…. almost pulled a muscle laughing at that one!
juslin @ 51
Yes, but it looks pretty certain that we are going have Larry Craig pissing all over their parade. I really am looking forward to watching Bloody Billy Kristol(nacht)’s head explode.
Who is in the picture?
ET- wow! thanks for the update. been busy doing lecture stuff, so just now had a chance to read.
I have “phone envy”- like you actually talked to Howie on the phone? Wow.
Howie is pretty amazing.
As is Diane. Even if she does not become a BA candidate, I still plan to give $$ to her campaign.
madmommy @ 60
Sigh.
Whenever the guy who is editing the video takes one of my calls or calls me back.
Poppy wanted me to tell you all that William is still doing better from his steroid shot, eating and not throwing up and generally being his strange, cat-from-Mars self.
EPU’d From Downstairs. Bad news on the loose nukes stuff…a conspiracy theory that makes sense!
althespook @ 155
Meanwhile, back at Teh Loos Nookes…
ArmsControlWonk lays out just how unlikely the stated scenario is..
(Am sending RonD second bill for enlarging fallout shelter to hold my pets and family…)
You’re concerned? The damn plane flew over Louisiana. We can’t build basement fallout shelters, they turn into indoor swimming pools. Sigh…yet another thing to put my mind in overdrive as I try to sleep.
These are THEATRE nukes people. THAT is the take home message here. they top out at 150 KT, which is TEN TIMES more powerful than the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima. THEATRE nukes take out ENTIRE ARMIES at once.
This is very very bad. I suddenly see where this is going and it is not good.
Let me explain:
a) Boosh has talked of “destroying the entire iranian military in three days with minimal us casualties”. Leaked news stores suggest “massive cruise missile bombardments” etc.
b) this is bullshit. you cannot take out hardened tank berms and aircraft shelters with conventional weapons and you certainly cannot neutralize a ground soldier heavy army that way. plus the high number of sorties against heavy WORKING anti-air defenses would mean heavy losses of aircraft and pilots. And with the carriers bottled up right next to iran, the danger from anti-ship missiles is extreme.
c) bush wanted to use nukes to destroy the iranian military in 2004. plans were drawn up.
d) this is the scary part. let’s assume bush has decided the only way to get his goal (total destruction of iranian military) is with theatre nukes. let’s also assume he wants to get them over there without the main brass knowing it and leaking it to the press.
e) his and cheney’s moles arrange for shipments on hard points just like “ordinary weapons” from the storage depot to the staging airbase for attacks in that part of the world (ME that is). None is going to notice BECAUSE WE DON”T SHIP NUKES THAT WAY. then those in on the plan quickly get them off the hard points and into storage for the real mission.
f) somebody got sick or careless and the scheme has been discovered. BUT WE DON”T KNOW HOW MANY WARHEADS (and what actual yields) ARE ALREADY IN PLACE!!!
yes i’m shouting. jeebus h keerist. this fool want’s to carpet bomb iran with nukes ten times bigger than those used on hiroshima.
Speaking of fashion….
Praise the Lord and Pass the Nipple Clamps
This reminds me of an issue of “National Lampoon” entitled “Spring Fascism Preview”. Back in the 70s.
TRex @ 69
(sigh) thanks for the video update
woohoo – good news about william!
rexy = snark razor truth perfection ever more perfect…just damn
lovies
sorry, the ACW link in the epu’d post didnt’ make it for some reason…linky.
TRex- why are you ignoring my comment? Haven’t you gotten used to my compliments by now? Yeah, I know they tend to be extravagant, but they are heartfelt.
Sharkbabe @ 74
lovies to you too, Sharkbabe! xxoo
{{{{{{{{William}}}}}}}}}}
Sharkbabe! dang, like old home week :)
cahuenga @ 71
No WAY am I clicking on that!
:)
drdick@66
ve haff vays to deal vith herrs like craig…….hehehehehe danke ;o)
DrDick @ 49
…a thousand miles is too close!!! ;-)
EvilDrPuma @ 58
You ought to come up here to western Montana. Vast hordes of heavily armed cammo slathered rednecks on ATV swarming through the forests (not to mention WalMart and everywhere else)for months. Minute hunting season opens (upland game birds opened last week), cammo becomes the de rigeur fashion statement, right down the the lacey unmentionables.
Hiya Wangdang Doodley! How is your garden?
althespook @ 70
Sweet jebus! Does the fucking moron not understand that national borders are only drawn on maps, not actual lines that continue up to infinity? I am gobsmacked.
DrDick @ 82
And yet, you’ll never hear any of them refer to “the old ultraviolence.”
SnarKassandra @ 84
Could be weeded…!!! ;-)
Also EPU’d:
“She’s my little loose nuke,
You don’t know what I got.”
– John McCain
althespook @ 70
unfortunately, this makes more sense than anything i’ve yet read. Scary. Depressing.
wangdangdoodle @ 80
Wise choice, it is pretty twisted.
wangdangdoodle @ 80
But you know you really really want to.
I vacillate between believing this is all posturing
and believing the extreme, that Bush is insane enough to actually nuke Iran so Iran won’t have nukes.
newdealfarmgrrrlll @ 89
Maybe the grown-ups in the administration will prevail.
Oh wait–
I’d like to order a cashmere shooting jacket.
Valley Girl @ 76
The only thing I have a harder time accepting than criticism is praise.
But you know, of course, that I love you with all my Jurassic heart.
SnarKassandra @ 84
Wasted from the heat! I’m ready to pull it up and start the cool weather veggies. MMMMMM-mmmmm, Brussels sprouts! And OH MY GAWD collard greens…
madmommy @ 90
In a totally 100% heterosexual, Christian kind of way.
Valley Girl @ 68
{{{Valley Girl}}}
Hold onto it for now. I’m hoping that by October things will clarify in the Dem field for the Alaska House race, and that we can present Diane Benson to the country as the most formidable challenger and the real progressive for that house seat.
Well, with any luck this carefully staged debut will be upstaged by the loud chorus of anti-fur Craigite Wide Stancers, loadly chanting “Notgay! Notgay! Notgay!”
Elliott @ 92
It’s about their oil. Not human beings, not WMD, not reason.
Eureka Springs @ 94
what ammo do you use for shooting cashmere?
madmommy @ 85
This is my area of expertise. This fool is actually going to try to do to the Iranians what we planned to do to the Sov’s in the event of an armed incursion into germany.
I cannot state this too clearly. This is not “bunker busting”. THIS IS NUCLEAR WAR. Casualties from the inital blasts will number in the millions, that is direct kills from vaporization, burns, debris, shockwaves, radiation. Deaths from fallout will number in the tens of millions. Iran will cease to be a functioning nation.
ALL OIL TRAFFIC IN THE PERSIAN GULF WILL STOP FOR MONTHS IF NOT YEARS DUE TO FALLOUT CONTAMINATION. EVEN PUMPED OIL WILL BE BANNED DUE TO FEARS OF SEEPAGE INTO THE PIPES AT CHECKSTATIONS AND OTHER POINTS.
If the fallout blows wrong, Iraqi will become a deathtrap. US troops will die by the thousands from radiation sickness. ALL OUR MILITARY VEHICLES AND AIRCRAFT WILL HAVE TO BE ABANDONED DUE TO FALLOUT CONTAMINATION. We will suddenly have no functioning military. period. In a worst case scenario, the fallout could hit israel and saudi arabia as well.
I am not a hysterical person, but guys, this is just as bad as it gets. I’m typing with one hand and phoning with the other. we have to let our people know that this is not something we can survive.
I am, for the first time in a long time, scared poopless.
DrDick @ 97
Like I said, twisted.
Elliott @ 92
Honestly, he’s got Jenna and not-Jenna. He’s not going to use real nukes. Consider this though, if he threatens (implies) the use of “big nukes”, using tactical nukes doesn’t sound so bad. Now, that he would do.
CTuttle @ 87
Why ah do declah, ct, I don’t know what you could possibly be talkin’ ’bout…
Eureka Springs @ 94
With or without epaulets?
cahuenga @ 91
Well, yeah… but that’s beside the point.
So, like, is irradiated oil ok in pre-2000 models? Will I need a new cataclysmic converter or something?
Eureka Springs @ 100
Did you see Scarecrow’s earlier thread about adding the 51st state?
DrDick @ 97
I’m sure mon General would approve, in a manly heterosexual way.
madmommy from last night – just be bad on late night. I promise you, Suzanne’ll be all over you in a NY second. I hadn’t slept so well in months…
Elliott @ 101
That’s classified
Thank the Lord for Larry Craig.
Or rather, thank Bush and the GOP.
They’re so determined to deep-six the guy so Idaho’s (Republican) governor can pick a (Republican) replacement that they seriously pissed him off — and he (with the help of Arlen Specter, Mitch McConnell, and his lawyers is singlehandedly squishing Bush’s sock puppet Petraeus’ surge crapola off the top of the news charts.
Out of curiousity, did you pick that particular model/outfit because she seems so, well, fascist?
SnarKassandra @ 28
***
Excellent post, Cassie. I was struck by this quote about Howard, too:
Translation: If you supported the war, you’ve got no room to talk. If you opposed the war, you’ve got no room to talk.
Bizarre.
Riesz Fischer @ 88
…and lets…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IyQv_GTK90
Eureka Springs @ 100
*sigh*
Al-this is madness! Surely to god there is someone who can explain in small words and phrases to this idiot that he would be cutting his own throat with such an action. I know, wishful thinking, but I have to hope that there is someone who will save this lunatic from himself. The alternative is to horrifying to contemplate.
LS @ 104
I beg to differ. There is absolutely nothing that is too extreme for this bunch of whackos. I seriously doubt Bush has ever in his life given more than 30 seconds consideration to anybody other than himself.
GordonM @ 111
is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Phoenix Woman @ 113
It is amazing how helpful they are in providing so much material for the blogs. Too bad the MSM doesn’t see the humor in it all.
Shadowstalker @ 108
I need a new cataclysmic converter.
CTuttle @ 116
McCain’s chubby little cheeks are full of nuts.
GordonM @ 111
huh?
Blub @ 99
Craig’s lawyers have threatened to make his ethics hearings VERY interesting by bringing up all those other Senators who did similar or worse things and DIDN’T get ethics charges, much less a railroading into early retirement.
This will burn up the whole month of September and a goodly chunk of October, if we’re lucky.
CTuttle @ 116
Yeah, the original is good, but I prefer John McCain’s cover.
GordonM, harking back to a way earlier thread, yeah, I know all about the SuperFund site. Know many locals, and heard the stories about how the mine came in. And, seen before and after pix from someone who was born in a house a stones’ throw away.
wangdangdoodle @ 123
No, that’s a jawbreaker he has in there, silly.
How do they make money with radioactive oil?
Phoenix Woman @ 113
PW, I am still not convinced this is a good thing.. All that matters is that congress lets Bush and Cheney keep on keeping on. Craig won’t stop that, will he?
After Dizzy, how about a little Charlie?
Shadowstalker @ 108
Don’t worry – September 11th changed everything. You won’t need a cataclysmic converter. Fallout and nuclear pollution no longer exist. We’ve always been at war with Persia.
Blub @ 114
Yes. I couldn’t find what I really wanted which would have been a really tasteless fashion shoot featuring war imagery.
Although I feel fairly certain that it has been done somewhere.
Phoenix Woman @ 125
If I were Craig, and thank god I am not, I would just start saying Vitter over and over.
Eureka Springs @ 130
That worries me, too. Attention on Craig’s pecadilloes is attention diverted away from the really bad stuff.
Phoenix Woman @ 125
Better buy a big bag of popcorn. This could be fun.
Riesz Fischer @ 128
Jaw Breaker? Howza’bout a bunker buster…!!!
If althespook at 102 is scared poopless – - – - – - – - -
Elliott @ 48
Win, of course.
DrDick @ 119
There’s room in the bunker (or the spaceship ark) for Jenna and non-Jenna I’m sure. It’s the rest of us that get to glow in the dark.
OldCoastie @ 129
The same way the Chinese make money off lead painted toys and toothpaste with antifreeze in it.
skeptic @ 137
If Al is scared, I’m terrified. Al knows what to be scared of.
If you think that they are planning to nuke (big bombs) Iran or anywhere else, then why can’t 9/11 be looked at in an independent way? I just don’t get that. Here they are being discusses as organized and crazy enough to destroy the world as we know it, but looking at the facts of 9/ll are off the table…give me a break.
Ed*ard Teller @ 132
It’s true. I saw the movie 300!
skeptic @ 138
Me too!
If we can’t track our nukes, how can we track our terrissts?
I’m sleeping under the bed tonight.
TRex @ 133
A lady friend in the room just suggested Balenciaga 2005 Fall, whatever that means. Apparently, they do very militaristic outfits.
althespook @ 102
thank you, al. I suspect a phone in your hand is a LOT more powerful than a gun in the hands of many a vigilante.
a song to fit my mood tonight Uncle Sam Goddamn
DrDick @ 140
…and melamite infused pet food and flours…!!!
Hey, say they did start the big one, and Bush and Cheney were the only survivors in their nuke-proof bunker, would they get to keep all their money?
I’ll take my answer offline– it’s getting late here in MI.
wangdangdoodle @ 80
Funniest thing I’ve read all day. Go ahead and click. Be brave.
CTuttle @ 147
Yep. The Bushevik don’t ask, don’t tell policy.
wangdang, i double dog dare ya – there are not even any pictures.
Phoenix Woman @ 125
Boy, this sounds like a potential blast!!
Can’t wait.
CTuttle @ 148
In the rethug mindset, its as much about what you can deny your enemies (or strategic competitors) as it is about what you can seize yourself. If we can’t have Iran’s oil, China certainly won’t get it. Bwahahaha!
Maybe it’s a fake-out to China.
TRex sayeth,
“NeoCons, of course, those perennial favorites of
the Fascionati … “
Hello Larry Craig, “Fascio-naughty, naughty”
oh, soooooo naughty.
Suzanne @ 151
And it is spiritually uplifting! ;-)
Suzanne @ 120
You mean it wasn’t good for you??
Riesz Fischer @ 128
those aren’t his cheeks
newdealfarmgrrrlll @ 146
Git yer groove on, grrrlll! I am liking it and I don’t learn new tricks so well. But I do remember hallway drills in elementary school so I know how to tuck my head between my knees and kiss my ass good-bye! Could come in handy these days…
LS @ 155
Yeah, It’s kinda difficult to imagine China, Russia and India just allowing Bush and Cheney a nukular spree over there.
wangdangdoodle @ 131
thanks, wangdang
GordonM @ 158
what wasn’t good for me? i’m not remembering anything earthshattering.
DrDick @ 151
Shrub came up with the perfect compromise with China when he effectively shut down the FDA: if the Chinese don’t set any standards on their exports, we won’t inspect their imports. It worked perfectly well for all major campaign donors.
GordonM- OT comment for you above read here
Eureka Springs @ 161
Like…don’t mess with our actions on Iran.
Al’s mostly correct. The Army is mostly out of the nuke business. The USAF and the Navy have most of them. The Navy’s been Bush’s problem. In Al’s scenario, the Navy is left out, but the Navy is the only service with pilots and crews trained in delivering the recently developed new generation of enhanced nuclear weapons. These would only kill people and leave structures within a quarter mile of blasts largely intact, and leave the oil uncontaminated by fallout or other radiation effects which would keep it unmarketable. Then again, the Bushistas might not care if the oil is radioactive as long as they can sell it.
realworld @ 149
I dunno, are you sure? My virus protection expired last week.
On my computer, damn it!! (I know how y’all think.)
wangdangdoodle @ 160
Brother Ali’s a real treasure. Thanks due to my young ‘uns who kinda follow this stuff in the Minneapple.
Valley Girl @ 127
Yeah, I saw your reply. Callahan – they had one in Blue Hill, too, but that one got cleaned up.
And now that Labor Day has passed, things have calmed down considerably. All the stores are back to winter hours.
AK, we can only hope you are wrong, but all day long I have not been able to get my mind off the flying nukes. This is mind boggleing stuff. I’m gonna make another Costco run tomorrow on the off chance that we can live through this if we have provisions.
Blub @ 140
I’m hoping for a glazing pink glow, myself
Hi Jim! Good to see your FACE again!!
Elliott @ 162
double thanks … dizzy, charlie, ah. love teh jazz.
Eureka Springs @ 161
The shrub policy on Chinese food and drug exports applies here as well.. everybody in the “Special Club” can menace their own defenseless victims with whatever WMDs they care to so long as they stick to their respective spheres of influence. Putin can beat up the country of Georgia to his heart’s content. And we’re free to menace Arabiacs (a category now expanded to include Persians) and Mexicans. Again, other people glowing the dark doesn’t bother shrub in the slightest. It’s all so much easier when one is a psychopath.
Good evening dear friends. I trust that the birthday cake was shared among all the guests.
Happy Birthday Liss
Loo Hoo. @ 170
I’m not sure I’d want to. (Sorry to go all Jonathan on your ass.)
newdealfarmgrrrlll @ 147
I’m really appreciating the musical selections, my shuffle is so stale. thanks!
News early tonight, I am hoping to get to sleep on time.
U.S. builds for future at Guantanamo
from RawStory
GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) – The U.S. military is building a mobile courtroom complex on an unused runway at the Guantanamo Bay naval base and plans to be ready by March to conduct as many as three terrorism trials at a time. ADVERTISEMENT The $10 million project will add two new courtrooms to the existing one, which is being fitted with a new computer projection system to display evidence for the war crimes tribunals set up to try suspected al Qaeda operatives held at the U.S. naval base in eastern Cuba.
Loo Hoo. @ 170
I really don’t have enough information and background to evaluate what AK is saying, but I know Larry Johnson is thinking along similar lines and that makes me nervous.
GordonM @ 170
Since this is late nite, I’m sure it’s okay to go OT. You are a real Mainer and I am not. So, I am interested in the details of life once the folks from away are gone. Like, where to you shop for groceries? Likely I will recognize specific name.
TexBetsy @ 175
Thanks yet again, Betsy. You rock my world, as always.
Ed*ard Teller @ 167
That is why I think they were delivered to the Gulf so that they could be uploaded onto carriers. Do we have names for any of the pilots, or anything about them?
LS @ 155
Bobo can’t wait til we go mano y mano with China.
TexBetsy @ 176
Yes’m! Mahalo!!!
Bush wouldn’t go large with the nukes, but he might very well use tactical neutron bombs at specific sites, like the Iranian nuclear facilities.
Neutron bombs kill people with radiation that dissipates within a few days, but leaves equipment and buildings alone. Think ‘Goldfinger’ – knock out the people, take the gold.
All of this, of course, is Crazy Talk. The repercussions of such a rash act would be immense, and almost certainly spell doom for America in the community of nations.
I actually think he is bluffing, and praying that the Iranians make a foolish, provocative move – like shoot a missle at one of our ships.
Blub @ 175
The Chinese are worried since they are executing responsible people, and the Russians are worried, since they are staking flags out at the pole. There are saber rattles being heard across the world, but W and his minions are mere mortals..they know it, we know it, it is a huge game of p*ker. Not a good scenario. Either he has the hand….or not.
*MOD NOTE: *Edited to allow through filters)
It’s bedtime for me. I’ve got lots to get done in the next 2 days to get ready for the little guy’s birthday party saturday. The cleanest woman on planet earth is comming to stay here friday. No, Suzanne, not your mom, but mine! Tomorrow is scrub the house day!
closet update:
all mildew gone from the water heater. tile is fine. carpet is fine and padding will be replaced tomorrow. will move everything back into closet tomorrow night.
health update:
feeling good! injections working, easy recovery.
Back to work tomorrow.
Night madmom. Happy cleaning! Enjoy the birthday party.
madmommy @ 187
i feel for ya – the little woman arrives here tuesday
TexBetsy @ 188
good news all the way around :)
TexBetsy @ 188
i like good news!
TexBetsy @ 188
WOO HOO Betsy!!
Night MM.
TRex, in Chicago you said you would send a tks letter about the pen? Autumn leaves? No pressure or anything, but this is my entire retirement plan. This is not a plan endorsed by Fidelity. *JK*
This should Getz you in the mood.
radiofreewill @ 186
The French President has said he thought Bush would bomb Iran. Is*ael is pressing to get this done. Bush must think that our reputation can’t get much lower in the world. And, even then, he may be thinking either about end times, or that this will be the great legacy (”saving Christians from Moslems”) that he will be fondly remembered for.
TexBetsy @ 187
Great news!
TexBetsy @ 188
thanks sweetie.
radiofreewill @ 186
…any bomb would have disastrous results!!!
Elliott @ 184
won’t happen on shrub’s watch. It’ll violate the bully prime directive. They have an army, a good press office and decent tailors… even a female #2 who blows Condi away in competence. Nah… brown people in turbans make for a much easier target.
Phoenix Woman @ 125
HA!
Eureka Springs @ 160
Uh huh. One of those times when it is not too comfortable living on the northern side of that long border. To put it mildly.
Senator Wants Firewall Between White House And Justice Department Investigations
from Huff Po by The Huffington Post News Editors
A freshman Democratic Senator is working to pass a bill on Thursday that will put limitations on communications between the White House and the Justice Department regarding pending law enforcement business. The bill’s author intends to prevent the politicization of Justice Department criminal and civil prosecutions.
“We need to restore Americans’ confidence that politics has no place in the administration of justice in our country,” Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, told the Huffington Post in a statement. “Requiring the Department of Justice and the White House to disclose who is authorized to discuss pending investigations and cases will be an important step in that effort. Even Attorney General Gonzales admitted that the greatest threat to the Department’s independence came from the White House, so this portal between the White House and the Department bears careful scrutiny.”
TexBetsy @ 188
that’s good news from one of the nicest people here! Sunny hugs from California!
Blub @ 201
I find that persuasive
i didnt comment much today but i read a lot of the posts and comments….this is an oasis in these stormy times – thank god for the lake – keeps me sane when i have a tendency to be ugly – thanx gang :o)
Does anyone remember the article a few days ago about the female soldier saying that they are loaded up with arms now? Maybe a Dkos article?
I wanted to show my husband, but I can’t remember where I saw it. Thanks
Heading home, kids.
See you in a bit.
CTuttle @ 199
I will say this again. Never underestimate the insanity, stupidity, or recklessness of this crew. Do not try to apply rational standards to them. They are NOT rational actors.
TexBetsy @ 203
Good for Whitehouse. I hope some of the non-freshmen are listening.
radiofreewill @ 185
The Iranians have been astonishingly disciplined, given the grandiosity of their rhetoric.
Thanks do-si-do.
More good news:
Audience boos Brownback’s proposal to ban gay marriage.
from Think Progress by Amanda
At the Fox News GOP presidential debate tonight, correspondent Carl Cameron asked a New Hampshire woman whether she wanted gay marriage banned. Her answer — “Absolutely not” — received cheers from the audience. When Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) then said he believes the nation should have a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, the audience loudly booed. Watch it:
oh btw – anyone checking for the APEC summit? that ought to be interesting…..
drive safely TRex
OT for EDP- okay on the comeback to reviewers?
The Republican buddies of Craig are miffed:You Can’t TakeIt Back!!!
More on repugs eating their own:
Ney threatened staffer with ‘abusive phone calls.’
from Think Progress by Amanda
Neil Volz, a former top staffer to Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) who pleaded guilty to conspiracy in the Jack Abramoff scandal, is now asking for “house arrest” instead of prison time. Documents filed in federal court last week said that Volz has “endured harsh criticism, including abusive phone calls” from Ney when the former congressman suspected he was helping investigators.
TRex @ 210
Watch out for the dinks.
TJ @ 207
Don’t bother. It was a hoax.
Richmond @ 197
i fear that he believes he can jump-start the Rapture.
Valley Girl @ 216
Did you get your article back from peer review? What did they say. Afraid I missed it the first time around.
AZ Matt @ 218
awesome!
GOP can’t take their own parsing? Craig said only that he intended to resign.
That word caught my ear when he said it and I thought it didn’t sound very definite at all. He only said what his colleagues wanted. to. hear.
How does it feel?
Valley Girl @ 216
I think I was able to give them enough of what they wanted and improve the paper in the process. I ended up with some extra ambiguity as a result, but not enough to change the essence of my conclusion. However, it will be interesting to see what happens with the “discussant” chapters of the book, since one of the two authors will be the guy I refute. I’ve seen him react harshly to critique in the past.
do-si-do @ 223
Sounds like Republicans playing Calvinball. Only with each other this time.
For all you masochists out there, Faux is rerunning the Pube Duh-bate.
Fern @ 225
Republicans always play Calvinball.
Valley Girl @ 181
Tradewinds, as usual (used to have to go Doug’s in Ellsworth, and that was a pain during the summer). It’s really that the schedule changes. During the summer I do the shopping early, or make sure I get into Ellsworth by about 10. You don’t have to worry about traffic or crowds in the winter.
Selection changes – nowhere near as many fancy fruits, veggies or meats during the winter. Most stores close a lot earlier, too. But if I run into a friend, we can stop and talk for 1/2 hour, and that never happens in the summer.
Jan & Feb can be rough – sometimes intensely cold, and not enough daylight to go around. But fall is fantastic (best sailing weather is Sept to mid Oct), and once you get through mud season, spring is too. Besides, I’m a nut – I love snow.
It’s been mid 60s, crystal clear and breezy the last couple days. Great stuff.
DrDick @ 222
That’s okay. It’s a paper in a refereed proceedings volume, and my first pub, so I was a bit anxious about the reviewer comments. I think the revisions came out all right–when it came right down to it, the reviewers were right about some methodological changes they suggested, and I ended up with what I think is a stronger argument with no change in outcome.
Sounds like Republicans playing Calvinball. Only with each other this time.
lets hope the dems have the spine to take advantage of it but i see no sign of any of em having underwent a reverse spinectomy while on summer break.
DrDick @ 227
Yeah, but not usually with each other.
Anyone with a music suggestion?
DrDick @ 227
But not for the right reasons. Not for fun. Just because they think they’re entitled to anarchy.
sen craig better not do any flying…..
Remiss in my duties…
Miles Davis & John Coltrane.
NOW | Women in the US Military Assaulted and Raped by Fellow Soldiers
from t r u t h o u t
NOW reports on the shocking phenomenon that is military sexual trauma, saying that “Roughly one in seven of America’s active-duty military soldiers is a woman, but a NOW investigation found that sexual assault and rape are widespread. One study of National Guard and Reserve forces found that almost one in four women had been assaulted or raped. Last year alone, almost 3,000 soldiers reported sexual assault and rape by other soldiers. On Friday, September 7, in one of the only national television broadcasts of the issue, NOW features women who speak out for the first time.”
It’s been mid 60s, crystal clear and breezy the last couple days. Great stuff.
sounds perfect, gordonm, except for the snow and not enough daylight bits.
Elliott @ 234
Curve : Doppelganger
Suzanne @ 231
I’ve seen no sign either, Suzanne. they are still invertebrates.
yeah how ’bout delaney&bonnie singing i dont wanna discus it lol
TexBetsy @ 236
The Pentagon needs to do some serious, systematic house-cleaning. Rapists should not be representing this country in uniform.
EvilDrPuma @ 229
Glad to hear it. Nice to see peer review work the way it is supposed to. Sometimes you get a real jerk for a reviewer who obviously did not really read what you said or who thinks you should should have written about something else altogether. Had one like that on an essay in an edited volume, which was consistently cited in book reviews as one of the best in the book.
EvilDrPuma @ 242
I agree completely.
egad, almost 250 comments in the first hour!
DrDick @ 242
Well, like I told VG, I’m expecting the roar of the cannons from the guy whose conclusions I throw out. But I’ve been expecting him to take his opportunity to nail me, just after seeing how he ripped on another dissertation.
Elliott @ 234
I’ve had the “Duck and Cover” jingle running through my head all afternoon. An oldie but goodie for the early fifties.
Zevon
Well pups, the weekend before last I was responsible for food for a 4 day event for about 100 people and this last weekend I put on a one-day workshop and now I’ve got about a 100 degree fever and bad sore throat and so, I’ve cancelled the trip to Chicago I had planned for the coming weekend and will burrow into bed for now. The food at the event was delicious and healthy and everyone loved it and the workshop went fabulously well – way beyond my expectations and hopes. And today… it’s been a real joy having some time to be back at the lake.
TexB @ 220,
That doesn’t surprise me about Ney.
Trying to get to sleep early tonight. See y’all tomorrow.
Steve-AR @ 248
and perhaps a little too relevant today..
GordonM @ 229
GordonM, thanks for the details.
Actually, I ran into a long-time friend (who I was planning to visit next day) at Tradewinds, and we did chat for 30 mins at the top of one of the aisles. And, I did visit him later.
And, later. Backed my car into a ditch. Hiked to his house to call AAA. Guy who dug the car out was nephew of guy who responded to my first AAA call years ago. (keys in car). I have gotten to know the locals. ;) ;)
Went to Ithaca for a year. I loved the snow, so I am with you on that.
wangdangdoodle @ 237
oooh! one of my faves, thanks!
EvilDrPuma @ 245
Just keep your head down and your guard up, but stand your ground. When the data is on your side, you win eventually.
pain free tomorrows, tex
CTuttle @ 185
Happy B-day, Liss!!
madmommy @ 135
The deal is that the press tries NOT to pay attention to The Really Bad Stuff — but when they’re thrown off stride by Craig, they aren’t able to pimp Bush’s propaganda as effectively.
Which allows US to get out stories like this one, which you should all pass around to everyone you know:
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.c…..s-kne.html
Suzanne @ 246
Not sure when I first started hanging out here, but 35 comments was considered HUGE! Back when there were ReddHedd thredds.
Steve-AR @ 248
I get that one mixed up with another one. Ends up going like this:
Duck!
And Cover, a San Francisco treat!
lol
Night Betsy. Sleep well.
G’night, Betsy. Thanks again!
wangdangdoodle @ 237
and I am remiss in my THANKS!
newdealfarmgrrrlll @ 253
Here’s some mellow Oscar:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YN5LpL_8jjc
yellowdog jim @ 249
Thanky Jim!! Did ya see ‘em at the ‘dillo?
wangdangdoodle @ 259
yeah – i remember those days too – remember when TRex got his first thread with 100 comments – and it was up all night and was the only late nite.
DrDick @ 254
That’s what I’m counting on. I’m dealing with tricky questions, no doubt about it, but my methods are more robust and my data no worse (actually, much of it is the same data).
Shadowstalker @ 108
irradiated oil releases radioactive co and co2 when burned i *guess*. radioactive co and co2 causes prompt lung cancer. bottom line, drive a tank of contaminated gasoline, kill fifty people. that is BAD air pollution.
Plus contaminated out will contaminate the refineries. they will break down and be unusable and unrepairable due to the danger from radiation. what fun.
I did this for a LIVING people. we were gonna do all this and more to the sovs and made dayam sure they knew it. older folks may remember those “military exchanges” the peaceniks made suck a big deal over in Teh Cold War. Bullshit. That was us showing them how thoroughly we would fuck them if they ever launched on us. worked, too.
TexBetsy @ 252
G’night TexB. Wafting gentle healing and soothing dreams your way.
greenwarrior @ 249
Hi, GW!
yellowdog jim @ 249
thanks! haven’t heard this in a while.
DrDick @ 211
And much as I don’t want to believe it, remember the rule: the Bush Administration is always worse than you imagine, even if you try to take this rule into account.
I think it was Josh Marshall who was saying just recently that after the past six years, anyone who believes that the Bush Administration is just using military threats as a negotiating tactic is delusional.
greenwarrior @ 250
(((greenwarrior)))
wangdangdoodle @ 265
i wish.
and i wish i had been at the paramount for lil’ feat.
newdealfarmgrrrlll @ 255
I should be in bed. But then again… there’s a weekend coming up soon!
g’night texbet sleep well
Another hypocrisy. Gays in the military is much too controversial but our women soldiers being assaulted & raped in high numbers is hushed up? What screwed up priorities.
TexBetsy @ 252
Sleep well, Betsy!
Elliott @ 264
{{{MWAH!}}}
(poke)
Elliott @ 271
mohammed’s radio
Margot @ 261
lol!
TJ @ 209
***
TJ, I believe that Kos diary was by maccabee (sp?). You might do a search. There was some controversy about the piece, I believe Siun said, but I don’t know the details.
juslin @ 207
ditto.
except now I am also scared “poopless” after reading AK tonight.
althespook @ 69
Okay, devil’s advocate stuff, just to put feet back on the ground and discourage possible hysteria.
The above is true, but it doesn’t have anything to do with nukes. If this event hadn’t been reported, would the above still make sense, given the Air Force/Navy desire to preserve aircraft and flight crews with stand-off weapons?
Well, yes and no. Aircraft berms can be taken out with conventional direct hits, and aircraft are of secondary concern. Iran isn’t going to be able to put up a large number for air defense. Besides, two attacks on Iraq show that it’s a lot simpler to bomb runways so the planes can’t take off, then destroy aircraft on the ground at one’s leisure. Second, carriers are not likely to be in the Gulf, but, rather, in the Arabian Sea, two or three hundred miles offshore, beyond coastal defense Sunburns or Silkworms.
Sy Hersh said, then, that the biggest push was from the OVP, and there was strenuous objection from the Pentagon. We do have to depend, for now, on the common sense of some in Pentagon–tenuous hope, I agree, given the number of evangelical wackos there, but hope, nonetheless.
Well, these weapons, like the B61-Mod 11, are cockpit-programmable. They’re basically variable-yield, hollow-core, boosted-fission weapons. That means that they can be used as very low-yield weapons for the originally-presumed purpose of deep penetration for destroying nuclear production facilities (not that that is good, in any event, because of the inevitable increased amount of fallout).
My understanding is that the weapons are in indoor storage, in locked cages (they were in locked cages even in the old days). To open the cages, now, there has to be an authorization through a computerized system which tracks weapons distribution. That would imply formal authorization at some level higher than wing/base commander. That should be capable of being tracked, for what little that is worth.
This is a good point. But, logically, if this was a mistake, then the six in question have been accounted for and are back in the chain of custody, and there may be none beyond custody. Moreover, carriers typically leave port (under proper authorization) with many more nuclear weapons than these six. That alone makes this almost moot.
I don’t discount the distinct possibility that these guys in the WH want to use nukes, if only to make a point about the big, bad United States. But, I also have to consider that there are people in the Pentagon who know it’s not wise (along with some others who know any attack is not wise), and that they’re trusting that procedures are in place to avoid eventual casual use.
Could Cheney get `em in or near points near Iran? Possibly. He’s got moles everywhere in the administration, but, those moles don’t extend to weapons loaders, riggers, drivers, etc. Someone will know they were in theater and being loaded on combat aircraft.
Just as they were found on combat aircraft now, and that fact was exposed. In this case, I don’t think the “hide in plain sight” theory works. If you really wanted to get them to a staging area with a limited number of people knowing, you’d game the computerized system by saying the warheads were released from storage for removal from the delivery system for decommissioning, then put them in a Ryder rental truck with an armed guard and drive them out the front gate of Minot at midnight. Mounted on the hard points of a B-52, you’ve got ground and maintenance crews who know, too.
Now, what I haven’t heard is whether or not Barksdale is the authorized point of decommissioning for this variety of ACM. If that’s a ruse hiding in the official explanation, then all bets are off. (I’m going back a long ways, but Barksdale used to be a TAC base, mostly. The more likely decommissioning point would be Davis-Monthan.)
I dunno. There are lots of questions yet to be answered, and simply decertifying the people involved at Minot doesn’t answer them.
But, why subterfuge? The Nuclear Policy Doctrine from a few years ago already sets U.S. policy as the willingness to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states and gives battlefield authority to commanders for their use.
I wonder if a Brazilian wax would constitute torture if done on a 3-star general.
(What’s Petraeus?)
Hello, Silver Springs Waxes-R-Us Spa? Do you make house calls? You do! Oh goodie…
DrDick @ 242
Love you guys, and yes! My husband has been publishing medical history for 25 years, and each and every time the editor/vetting process goes on. I love academia, but the trenches are sometimes deep.
Chris
wangdangdoodle @ 276
so you better start practicing now!
Wow, wangdang, I never even knew that Getz & Trane played together. CA Cool and NY Intense in Paris. That was something.
Was looking for Diana Krall but had to settle for this. Not bad at all. Great tune.
Fern @ 265
Thanks Fern!! I forgot all about Oscar Peterson. (Fooking menopause!)
Time for book and bed. Be excellent to each other.
ironranger @ 277
Yep. And, just a vague memory in terms of where I read this- but it was story about female soldier/s dying in Iraq bec. of dehydration. Why the dehydration? Because drinking of water meant that the shes might have to go to pee at soldier pee stations in the middle of the night, and that was where they were most likely to get attacked/ raped by male “cohorts”.
EvilDrPuma @ 291
good night, EDP
Am I alone in thinking that so much of what passes as fashion is utter crap?
EvilDrPuma @ 289
Night EDP. Congrats on the paper.
Thanks Fern!! I forgot all about Oscar Peterson. (Fooking menopause!)
Since reading this here foul mouthed fem blog, I now blame boosh everytime I have one of them carrying around my own personal summer moments.
yellowdog jim @ 249
I can think of some of his others that are more on-topic, but I think they’d cut a little too close to home. Thanks for that, though. I really miss him.
OT, but of continuing interest to not just us here at the Lake, but the entire freakin’ world – From the Military Times:
When the “experts” are having a hard time believing this can happen, then maybe something else is what really happened.
Like that black propaganda I was talking about a few threads back.
Elliott @ 288
After reading al & montag, I think I’ll do just that. One twelve ounce curl at a time.
Would this whole nuke scare story be designed for congress.. A negotiating point for smaller attacks on Iran instead of all out big nukes?
Suzanne @ 295
Hi everybody!
A friend of mine used to call them ‘power surges’, although I guess Bush has ruined
the term ’surge’ for all time.
Redshift @ 296
nah, nah ,nah:
you choose.
That is one of the first things I thought. The aircrew had to know or knew at take-off that something wasn’t right by the weight of the ordinance.
Eureka Springs @ 299
good question, es – identify the target audience
Eureka Springs @ 298
Bushies don’t negotiate.
Eureka Springs @ 299
Anything’s possible. But, given that, on the surface, there’s a big security meltdown to accomplish that, you’d think that Congress would be more interested in the meltdown than Iran strategy. Or, one would hope so….
Or as a negotiating point for no attack on Iran (for now) and continued full funding support for Iraq in a manner where everyone is just supposed to be thankful we are limiting our continued genocide?
Uh-oh! Well, we can’t say Santorum didn’t warn us!
Eureka Springs @ 300
sounds plausible to me
It still makes me sick to my stomach that we could EVER use a nuke, not matter how tactful it is.
Eureka Springs @ 306
es – this makes total sense to me – add in boosh’s comment about just trying to make it until october – november to lock in the candidates’ positions.
GordonM @ 289
I didn’t know either, Gordo, ain’t youtube something? Never heard Lee Aaron before, soulful!
persiflage @ 300
Uhoh, somebody left the screen door open…!!! G’day, Persi…!!!
i think this was done on purpose…reason – not sure but this crowd has a motive – give it time – down the line aways it’ll come out….this is a lesson for someone i believe
Suzanne @ 296
Coffee, Suzanne. I hate to say it, but you have to give it up.
wangdangdoodle @ 313
I strongly disagree on the coffee front. ;)
wangdangdoodle @ 313
i’ll just have to buy a bigger fan then
CTuttle @ 311
What a charming person you are Charles! Actually, I used the time portal, I don’t need no steenkin screen doors!
wangdangdoodle @ 313
Heh, I tell my wife to ease up on the Pepsi/Mt. Dew…!!! …deaf ears!!! *g*
Suzanne @ 314
A woman after my own heart.
And Junya is “conveniently” away playing with kangaroos…leaving Deadeye alone in his bunker with nothing to do.
Hmmm…anyone willing to trade me a lead overcoat for this here tin-foil hat?
yellowdog jim @ 302
Just as well that there isn’t a YouTube of “Run Straight Down… I’ll go with this — apropos of the mood tonight, but in a fun way.
persiflage @ 316
Kewl, can I try it…!!! ;-)
Sounds like the Jesus Campers in the Air Force are gearing up for armageddon.
-GSD
ahh, I hear my dreams calling..
nite
Suzanne @ 309
However,
Brezinski (sp?) and the the PNAC say the plans are control of Pakistan and Uzbekistan and others like Iran and Syria.
Bush and Cheney clock is running out of time…
Mad Dogs @ 298
Holy SHIT!! How in the FUCK can anyone think Bush is keeping them safe!?
Steve-AR @ 302
Not exactly. These are cruise missiles. They have a maximum design payload, otherwise, they don’t fly (probably on the order of 800kg or so)
The loading crews might notice the weight difference. The air crew of a B-52 wouldn’t much notice the difference, which would probably, for six warheads, be about two metric tons, as compared to 500kg conventional warheads on the six of them.
These are not huge warheads, and are, I think, bulkhead-mounted at the nose of the ACM. Just guessing, but the difference is probably 300kg each, maybe 850kg nuclear, 500kg or so conventional.
GSD @ 322
It would be that very sect…!!!
GSD @ 323
That is my take. End run around Pace and the JC’s.
Looks like I’m here just in time to be epu’d but that’s a hella funny post, Trex.
Although, it’s somewhat alarming that we have a three ring media circus to try and “sell” the war(s) to the public. Bah.
Too hot to splash, Suzanne? I’ve actually got a COLD breeze coming in the window! I’m *shocked*. Delighted but *shocked*…
Elliott @ 323
Nite, Elliot!!!
Elliott @ 308
nagasaki
as bushco is looking ever more foolish – anything may happen – tinfoil hat alert pups ok
Fern @ 265
Ah, the man that, like Art Tatum, could play 14 hours straight and not get tired.
This is a mediocre youtube introduction to Pat Martino, a guitarist of like caliber. You have to be careful of his recordings, though. He has played a number of different styles. I think he’s among the best bop players, but I’m not that fond of his other stuff. This is a Wes tune, so he’s in his element (even if the youtube is only so-so).
montag @ 285
Thank you montaq for helping me with a few points i missed in my earlier ephiphany. And since I never got into the operational details the way you obviously have I could not verify the validity of my thesis.
(Sorry about the delay, daddy duties.)
Having calmed down a bit (after my minder said, “Holy shit! I’m calling [redacted] on this right now, you could be right!”) I feel that my idea is, fortunately, wrong. For mostly the same reasons that montaq points out, namely that the bombs aren’t specially designed theatre use ones I worked with but the modern “dial a yield” boosted fission devices. That makes the whole thing much less suspicious, for which I’m glad.
However, there are still problems, and my concerns are not fully laid to rest yet. I’ll try to elucidate:
1) as you point out, the decomish story has holes in it, from several angles. this alone is worrisome. it makes the possibility that SOMETHING funny is going on more possible.
2) the navy has made it abundantly clear they DO NOT WANT A WAR WITH IRAN, particularly with most of our carrier assets snugged right next to Iran’s massive antiship missile capabilities. This means that if Boosh wants to nuke iran, he may not be able to count on the cooperatin of the Navy.
3) the AF, OTOH, has a lot more xtianists than the navy (remember that i’m from denver and the air force academy is right down the road. all the issues there (rapes, cheating, xtianist overt propagandizing and intimidation) were front page news for us. There are perhaps AF types who would like to have us nuke iran.
4) however, the AF brass may not be as cooperative as the line xtianists. therefore it may have been decided to keep the op from them. it would not have been the first time as anyone who read about vietnam is well aware.
5) So let’s say that chimpy has decided to do a aerial theatre yield nuclear attack on the iranian military, but he wants to do it with no warning, no leaks, and no chance for the navy or top brass to squelch it. he has the cooperation of a few pilots and some line people at the target AFB.
6) he arranges to ship the needed nukes there and store them with no fuss, no muss. If anyone asks, they’re being held for decomissionioning (the current cover story). This takes care of the “line guys noticing” issue. Only a few top extianist brass and a few pilots and line guys know what is really going down.
7) when I hour comes, the planes load up and do their mission and return. Iran is nuked without warning and with no chance to fight back. their air defenses will be unable to attack the high altitude bombers and after the first theatre nukes go off they wont function anyway due to EMP effects.
8) This would have all gone swimmingly except that somebody noticed and instead of asking and getting the cover story, blew the whistle. we don’t yet know why or how.
so bottom line, my worry stands. and now the guys I used to work for know about my concerns. that’s all I can do for now.
But if this goes down, it is going to be very bad even in the best of circumstances. At worst, we are going to enter into a world we’ve never known. It won’t be a mad max civilization collapse, but it will be an economic depression for at least a few years until the alternative technologies can take over.
and the us will never ever be trusted again by anybody.
Eureka Springs @ 307
Maybe he won’t pull the football away this time, eh?
Anyone who would take a “deal” giving Bush something now in return for him giving (or refraining from) something later should have their head examined. He has never negotiated in good faith, and what exactly are they going to do when he says “oh, look what those Iranians did; we have to respond,” ask for the money back?
Valley Girl @ 315
Depends on if you hate the night sweats more than you love coffee. I go back and forth with it myself…
Ahh, I see the discussion on the nuclear-armed plane flying across the US. I posted a link on that this morning somewhere in the depths of downstairs. Fucking scary. I mean, absolutely, completely, utterly scary. And I’m not so sure they “didn’t know” during the flight. I really, really, really, REALLY wonder what actually went on.
Mad Dogs @ 298
see my comments on the subject. boosh may want to sneak theatre-yield dialabombs to the BUFFS so he can cream iran without the navy preventing it.
Well, I had better head off to bed. Hundreds of innocent young minds to warp tomorrow.
wangdang, i don’t have nite sweats – just hot flashes (thank goodness)
Montaq, first and foremost, it was six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles that were inadvertently diverted…!!! 8-(
wangdangdoodle @ 336
Even back then, I only drank coffee in the mornings. Not all day. So, despite the night sweats, I never thought that coffee had any cause to be blamed. Besides, it probably helped counter-act “mush-brain”. (That does go away, in my experience).
Let us also remember that Bush is obsessed with his legacy.
He seems to have glommed on to Truman.
Truman being the first and only person in the world to have ever ordered the launch of nuclear weapons on another nation.
Don’t think that Bush wouldn’t just love to be number two.
-GSD
Could Bush be preparing to use nukes on Iran because of how badly the Israeli airforce did against Hezbollah in Lebannon last summer? The Israeli’s have good equipment a lot of it is ours, but did they have our latest non nuke bunker buster bombs?
If the Israelis did and they still failed to stop Hezbollah who built their underground bunkers with the help of Iranian engineers then Bush might have no choice in his mind at least but to use nukes.
This ends justify the means thinking will not excuse war crimes. If the president does it its not a crime won’t work either.
I wonder if there has been anymore legal moves by the White House lately to excuse the White House from warcrimes?
DrDick @ 339
Heh, nawty, nawty…!!! *g*
Suzanne @ 341
Ah, just you wait grasshopper.
Al the Spook,
Yes, Bush and Cheney definitely operate through the “see if you can stop me” line of thinking. As in, after I bomb Iran, what are you going to do about it?
sick and scary.
“government can’t be trusted with the nation’s nuclear weapons!”
sounds to me like a campaign to have our nuke weapon systems privatized.
halliburton’s next no-bid contract.
out source our ICBMs.
yeehaw.
Valley Girl @ 343
Boy, am I glad to hear that!!! I got the mush-brain bad.
things come undone @ 344
Actually, the new generation bunker busters are nuclear…!!! 8-(
Valley Girl @ 342
I had horrible night sweats. When I got out of bed after a night sweat I left a wet imprint of mu body on the bed. I never drink coffee.
At the time that it was announced that Peter Pace wasn’t going up for a second tour, the reason that made the most was that Pace was the leader of the anti-Iranian War faction in the Pentagon. (IIRC Pace is only the second JC not to serve more than two years.) BTW, Pace is out at the end of this month.
do-si-do @ 348
but stoppable. THOSE six nukes aren’t going anywhere near iran, ever. Let’s just hope it was the first shipment and not the last. and now that the brass are being alerted by my associates in spookdom, this little plot may die silently in the bud, to mix several metaphors in grisly fashion.
our system actually works. and boosh may learn that the hard way.
Redshift @ 321
Redshift, was this about his cancer diagnosis? I have some patients who would get a hoot out of it, either way.
wangdangdoodle @ 346
…pot meet kettle…!!! *g*
GSD @ 344
And he is real good at glomming on to the little point and missing the big picture. So now I see his infatuation with Truman.
wangdangdoodle @ 349
yep, I know exactly what of I speak. Don’t let it freak you out, thinking that it will be long-term. But, it is/ was hard to deal with. Lasted a few years, actually (bad news). But, for me it went away w/o “hormonal supplements”. Which, are nasty in terms of increasing risk for breast cancer.
CTuttle @ 356
Oh, and you’re some kind of spring chicken or what? :)
sad news, firepups.
Pavarotti has passed on to the Opera House on Elysium. Fortunately they have an opening, la traviata i believe.
wangdangdoodle @ 359
Bwack!!! :P
By the way, they let ME into the Republican debate tonight.
Heh, heh.
-GSD
I asked the cop on detail outside of the men’s toilet if he had “swept the restroom for pre-verts”.
He got a good laugh.
althespook @ 339
Would that be the same Navy of Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Admiral Michael G. Mullen who is going be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when General Peter Pace stands down at the end of this friggin’ month?
And would that also be the same Navy of Admiral William J. Fallon who is Commander, Central Command, the line officer who is friggin’ already the Commander responsible for all war thingies in the Mideast including Iraq and Afghanistan?
You mean that Navy? Talk about kicking over a Hornets nest (yes, the Hornets pun was intentional for all Airedales *g*).
ix-nay with the ichen-chey
Suzanne @ 340
i am a 56 yo male person who has night sweats and hot flashes.
i’ve had these for 7 or 8 years.
i haven’t noticed them lately.
they come and go.
oh, yeah, summer masks them some.
and it’s been summer.
i like to think of it as my inner Human Torch trying to “Flame On!”
althespook @ 360
Aah, RIP Luciano…!!! 8-(
Valley Girl @ 358
Screw harmonal treatments. Women have been dealing with this since Eve. Someone once asked me how I deal with the mood swings. I told ‘em that was easy, I get moody!
Even if this doesn’t go down, why would anyone trust the US now?
althespook @ 360
Blessings on him and the millions he made so happy.
I hope his passing was peaceful and beautiful.
Namaste all, my night must end.
Thanks again for the Zevon tune, I love it.
Despite all the hooplah, I still think this is all the “I’m fucking crazy” card. With everyone distracted by nuking Iran, Bush gets his court nominees, his AG nominee etc. etc. etc. That what this guy is good at. Exploiting political advantage. And creating it, by creating crises. Just think, when he backs down by “negotiating a diplomatic solution”, everyone will fall on their knees, sing Halleluja and give the f*cker whatever he asked for.
He’s crazy. And he’s stupid. But he’s not stoooopid.
‘Night.
For those wondering, a friend who has very good knowledge and sources says Barksdale is indeed a decommissioning location; however, they say there is no chance that this was about decommissioning and no chance this was an accident. Either some air force guys are going rogue and sending a message to stop the Administration’s plans for Iran or somebody caught on to an actual Administrating plan.
CTuttle @ 361
best part of MN State Fair was the poultry barn. Looking into our Feathered Friends’ eyes, was bemused by the thought that these are the closest links we have to, um, er, … oops. Maybe this isn’t a tactful line of discussion ….
GSD @ 362
707 You’re such a patriot for enduring it in person…!!! ;-)
Mad Dogs @ 363
I mean the admiral who when asked about war with iran about a year ago said “we’re trying to put the crazies back in the box”. And from all reports, they did.
Of course, I am a retired spook, not a serviceperson and so you may know more than I. I hope so. But as yet I see no major flaws in my thesis. I would prefer to, but I don’t.
Ctuttle @ 351
Ok but did the Israelis have the best non nuclear bunker buster bombs? Cause if they did and they didn’t stop Hezbollah from launching rockets at Israel after how many days of air attack by Israel’s airforce then by Chimp logic we would have to go nuclear or send in ground troops for the strikes on Iran to be effective.
Nukes are a quick fast and easy solution which is just the way the Chimp likes his answers. Sending ground troops after an airstrike would be costly and messy.
Late Late Nite is up.
things come undone @ 375
If theatre yield weapons are used, no troops go in period. the area is contaminated for years. There are not “neutron bombs” but dirty, nasty fission weapons designed to destroy equipment and soldiers fast and hard.
Redshift @ 320
well done!
(applauds)
althespook @ 334
Well, I’m going from old knowledge, and one of the manufacturers is just down the road from Davis-Monthan. From that, it would make more sense, but I’ll have to wait on further info about a decommissioning program at Barksdale. If such isn’t going on there, then I’m sure someone will call bullshit on the Air Force’s story.
Protection of the carriers would be foremost in the Navy’s mind–that’s why I think they would be far enough offshore in the Arabian Sea to not be troubled by Iranian antiship capability. That, in itself, would not be enough to stop them from launching an attack if ordered. The Marines air squadrons would be happy do so, even if the Navy squadrons were not.
I can only go by what Hersh has written in this regard, and yes, he’s written that the Air Force is hot to trot on some sort of attack on Iran, nuclear or otherwise. There are air medals and generalships to be won…. But, I’m still counting on enough sense, even in the Air Force, to prevent the subterfuge you suggest.
Oh, the AF brass knew, too, then. How else to account for, say, the planning of Operation Breakfast?
Kind of far-fetched. If we stay out of la-la land, and look at the logistics of that, it would mean several air crews, three ground loading crews, manifest clerks, stocking clerks, etc., all enlisted. And none of it is necessary, since those weapons, as on carriers, would have been there, anyway, for contingency plan purposes.
Now, I’m going to throw you a ringer, in this regard. Remember what an Air Depot Squadron did, in the old days? That’s right…. Where’s the biggest one in Europe? That’s right…. What’s their main stockpile right now? That’s right…. If they were told to use them, orders being orders, they probably would.
No one in the US need know what’s happening there…. There were a great many flights flown out of that host country during the “shock and awe” portion of the invasion. So, is Barksdale critical? Or just a screw-up?
The House Fraus attending will still be sporting capri pants in shades of pink, I’ll be bound.