onesies

Zed?

Good on them.

Guess this is why we’re hearing about the death penalty cases re 9/11 today. What? Cynical? Moi?

The new plan seems to be to keep surging until we win.

“There haven’t been gains, Wolf,” the speaker replied. “The gains have not produced the desired effect, which is the reconciliation of Iraq. This is a failure. This is a failure.”

Nice words, Nancy. Now how’s about *doing* something about it?

Thanks for the info Nancy.

She’s turned out to be just about as useful as a hemmorhoid.

Hi, BT!

She’s turned out to be just about as useful as a hemmorhoid.

Not really. At least hemorrhoids make you get up off your ass and DO things.

If W Iraq policy weren’t so sad, it’d be funny. Since they can’t do top-down puppet govt, they try it bottom-up with Awakening Counsels. (Anyone know the origin of that term?) Sunnis are happy to accumulate the weapons we’re providing them with. But they won’t keep piling them up forever without using them. After all, it was Petreaus who turned oover the first 150,000 weapons to the insurgents.

Right now, U.S. is supporting all the factions that want to rip Iraq apart, while Muqtada al Sadr, a nationalist who wants to hold it together (let’s not go into the details of how he would do that) is the enemy.

How could it ever have gotten this far, though?

In what sense could we ever “win” someone else’s multi-faction, centuries-old, culturally and religious-rooted hatreds and resultant civil-wars and anarchy?

What, precisely, is to be “won?”

Hi Blue Texan, thank you !

Surely you are not suggesting logic? !

My hemorrhoid resents that remark.. it feels it is much better than Nancy ever could be!!

What’s that on the table, Nancy? Is that impeachment?

Just trying to keep track of where we’ve been & where we’re going. It helps me keep sane.

Sgt: Next week, we leave for the front. The object will be to kill as many Frenchmen as possible. Naturally, they are going to try and kill as many Russians as possible. If we kill more Frenchmen, we win. If they kill more Russians, they win.
Boris: What do we win?
Boris: Nothingness. Non-existence. Black emptiness.
Sonja: What did you say?
Boris: Oh, I was just planning my future.

I always seem to be holding my breath these days just hoping that Bush doesn’t do something even more stupid before he leaves.

The time of the surge was used by Petraeus to arm, train, and fund both sides in Iraq’s civil war, thereby enhancing their lethality, thereby bolstering the the often-heard humantarian objections to the withdrawal of U.S. troops. Recall that Bush told his biographer, Draper, that he want to induce his successors to keep troops in Iraq, and toward that objective the surge may yet succeed.

These sick right-wing bastards continue to deny the existence of physical reality as a constraint on their fevered hallucinations. But reality has a way of eventually exerting itself.

And Nahant @ 13

I stand corrected, and apologize for any pain I may have caused any hemmorhoids who may have been injured by my thoughtless remark.

He could do something less stupid and it would still put us in a bind!

He does something more stupid every single day. (Hey BT, would that make for a good regular post: W’s Stupid of the Day?) Only some days it’s not the magnitude as invading Iraq.

Is that a Woody Allen quote too?

Not interested in what Ms. Pelosi “says” – just in what she “does” and so far, that’s not much. Do anyone think they are finally get the message and is it too late?

I will talk it over with him and get back to you on that front.

ohhhhhhhhhhh i find that funny…my appoligies to ALL the hemmroid suffererzzzzzzzzz

that, of course, DOES… dummy.

She knows as well as anyone that if Gates is extending the “surge”, then that means that Moqtada al-Sadr’s not going to extend his six-month truce that’s set to end March 1, and it’s the Sadr truce that’s the main reason for the drop in casualties in Iraq.

Does anyone believe we have the votes to impeach in the House and Senate?

Preparation W

“There haven’t been gains, Wolf,” the speaker replied. “The gains have not produced the desired effect, which is the reconciliation of Iraq. This is a failure. This is a failure.”

I think that statements falls under “No Sh** Sherlock.”

Twain, not buying into and reinforcing BushCo propaganda is a start. All too often I hear Bush talking points coming out of Democratic mouths.

Now, no. Once the evidence is exposed to the full light of day, they wouldn’t dare not impeach & connvict.

They do for us, but not for the GOP/Media Complex.

Impeachment is off the table. So, at this point, unless pelosi DOES SOMETHING I don’t buy a thing she says. Even the answer to wolfie was weak. Given an opportunity like that, the answer should have been along the lines of: What are you talking about wolfie? Are you asking me a question or are you simply mouthing what you are told to ask?
No, I don’t buy it and I don’t think that many will.

Every day he remains in office is fraught with danger here, there & everywhere. Hope burns eternal that Mr. Conyers will heed the clamor of we the people to institute impeachment proceedings soonest. To hell with my failed Sen. DiFi, Boxer and Rep. Pelosi who have demonstrated they are all just good old boys in high and not so high drag.

good for warts too.

Here’s a “Stupid Shit of the Deployment” Award page from my favorite real trooper blog, the Army of Dude”. This guy is great, if we only had had the internet. . .none of those stupid MARS phone calls!

ps i also loved your comment about voting yesterday……..hahahahahaha

This is success to these deluded people:

Iraqi Deaths February 2008 SO FAR

Starting Feb 1st:

Thursday: 1 US Soldier, 20 Iraqis Killed; 20 Iraqis Wounded
Friday: 110 Iraqis Killed, 215 Wounded
Saturday: 31 Iraqis Killed, 24 Wounded
Sunday: 2 US Soldiers, 21 Iraqis Killed; 10 Iraqis Wounded
Monday: 39 Iraqis Killed, 24 Wounded
Tuesday: 3 GIs, 90 Iraqis Killed; 7 Iraqis Wounded; Mass Grave Found
Wednesday: 1 US Soldier, 46 Iraqis Killed; 46 Iraqis Wounded
Thursday: 3 US Soldiers, 29 Iraqis Killed; 42 Iraqis Wounded
Friday: 5 US Soldiers, 31 Iraqis Killed; 17 Iraqis Wounded
Saturday: 1 Navy SEAL, 26 Iraqis Killed; Five Iraqis Wounded
Sunday: 86 Iraqis Killed, 84 Wounded
Monday: 1 US Soldier, 25 Iraqis Killed; 53 Iraqis Wounded

-G

At the end of our fifteen month deployment, it seemed fitting to resurrect the Stupid Shit series started over a year ago under the gray Washington sky. I envisioned a weekly edition but quickly realized a deployment is a constant parade of ridiculous, asinine, over the top moments that are too numerous to keep track of, and much too difficult to explain in full.

These entries come to you in a fury of writing during the few precious days we have inside the wire. Ever since Baghdad we’ve left the comfort and safety of our huge bases to venture out into the city for as little as two or as much as eight days at a time. There is a direct correlation between the amount of operation activity and the amount of stupid shit that gets piled onto us. As the workload increases, so does the shit, eloquently described as stupid here on out.

arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ,it is indeed a challenge to be humoress when EVERYDAY we wake up to these cold hard facts ……sigh

Done with the Pelosi-Establishment Dem Kabuki Dance. Over it.

Here’s a textbook example for Nancy and all of us how to stand up to Repubs and the Noize Machine. Absolutely perfect:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT_faGwBr1Q

We have options. Let’s use them!

http://cindyforcongress.com/

Every day he remains in office is fraught with danger here, there & everywhere. Hope burns eternal that Mr. Conyers will heed the clamor of we the people to institute impeachment proceedings soonest. To hell with my failed Sen. DiFi, Boxer and Rep. Pelosi who have demonstrated they are all just good old boys in high and not so high drag.

Amen.

Good start by Pelosi- needs endless follow up. Most are convinced that “things are getting better in Iraq”. The campaign to disabuse the public of that notion has to be carefully planned- they will want to reject any bad news.

Does anyone believe we had votes to impeach Nixon BEFORE hearings even began?

I HATE this argument! HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT! It is ass-backwards. You do not start out with the punishment before you even have the trial. You do not start out with the conclusion and then mold the facts to that outcome. Quit with the “we don’t have the votes” nonsense. MOST Rethuglicans didn’t want to vote to impeach Nixon until it was abundantly clear (with hearings) that the bastard broke real laws (and only a fraction of the laws Bush/Cheney have broken).

How about we do the investigation first, THEN vote on impeachment.

OT to npb: despite the myriad reasons to frown on professional golf (ecological, socio-economic, land-use, etc.) … that sure was a glorious weekend at the tourney formerly known as the Crosby in Carmel.

One thing that would be a good start would be for Dems to stop referring to it as the Iraq War. The war ended when the Iraq military was defeated and Saddam Hussein’s government was disbanded. What we have now is the Iraq Occupation.

Impeachment is off the table until criminal charges can be brought up. Impeaching for incompetence? Didn’t congress try that with Andrew Johnson? And it failed to get him out of office, as I see it, because ya can’t impeach someone just because they suck.

I see The Johnson impeachment kinda set a precedent that incompetency or unpopularity are not enough to be removed from office.

Nancy’s statement may be true but it comes off like a political statement to criticize for its own sake. Does anyone remember the purpose of the surge? Very few. The rest hear, “The violence is down and the surge is working.” This is the drum beat. Nancy and Reid did not create a drum beat. They do not know how to seize the moment and work it. They react. By later today no one will remember or care what Nancy said to Wolfie.

The reductions also have to do with the TWP(Terrorist Welfare Program) of offering $300.00 cash stipends to Sunni fighters not to fight.

Unfortunately they have been using the money and weapons to tighten up their militias so if and when they decide to stop cooperating, they’ll be rested, armed, funded and probably have a better lay of the American strategic landscape.

-G

damn straight….commence the hearings!!!

Thanks for the link. I hate to know that much about what’s really going on Iraq. My imagination is not as cruel as reality. But then, got to do a reality check from time to time.

The Democratic leadership needs to keep pounding this point over and over, because it’s the truth. The Bush/McCain surge failed.

Yes, the surge has failed. And yes, lack of political reconciliation is a big issue.

But I don’t see that Nancy’s argument is going to hold much sway. Regular people see some success with the surge because our troops are not dying in the same numbers as they were before.

It would be more effective, IMO, to say that the surge hasn’t lowered the number of troop deaths. Al Sadr’s cease fire did that. The surge has been used as a way to fabricate success (fewer deaths) when it has had no such effect.

IMO we should be pounding that point. More people can relate to our troops rather than some distant, nebulous thing like political reconciliation.

I don’t remember what I said on that subject. Hum a few bars & I’ll pick it back up.

it is the double whammmy,imo…incompetence,and CRIMMINAL acts

You do not start out with the punishment before you even have the trial. You do not start out with the conclusion and then mold the facts to that outcome.

Excepting Guantanamo and the Green Scare trials, that is.

I don’t know why more Dems don’t push this line.

The war is over, has been since Saddams government fell. What we are dealing with is an occupation.

You can not win an occupation, you can not lose an occupation.
You can continue it, or end it. Those are the only two options.

about…if they thought it would make any difference,they wouldnt let us vote
hahahahahahaha

This guy is great, really wonderful sense of humor. I hope we don’t get so caught up in being against this thing that we miss a chance to learn from those that are trapped in it.

criminal charges can not be brought until Bush is out of office. Impeachment is the only recourse for actual crimes committed while the chimp is in office.

Americans equate any reduction in casualties as “progress” and a step toward the final goal which is no casualties at all. It’s logica- but just wrong. Hard to convince people of that however. Hats off to Pelosi for the ol college try- farts in the general direction of Wolfie for bein the sap that he is.

Impeachment in the United States is an expressed power of the legislature which allows for formal charges to be brought against a civil officer of government for conduct committed in office. The actual trial on those charges, and subsequent removal of an official on conviction on those charges is separate from the act of impeachment itself: impeachment is analogous to indictment in regular court proceedings, trial by the other house is analogous to the trial before judge and jury in regular courts.

(emphasis mine)

Yep, remember it now. Not sure where I originally plagarized that from.

Nicely stated- I like it.

One key is investigations. Another key is dominating news cycles. The Democrats have some ability on the investigations side. They lack anyone who can get on TV to sell the messages. The Republics had that with Newt. WHo can for the Democrats?

Actually…valid reasons for impeachment are whatever the Congress decides are valid reasons. The “high crimes and misdemeanors” thing is very pliable. Getting an impeachment to be seen as legitimate by the populace though, that is another thing.

Show them the very real crimes (and there are crimes worse than Nixons) and the people will be more than fine with impeachment. Plus, impeaching ANY of these Administration clowns is a shot across the bow that they absolutely cannot ignore. Take one of them. ANY of them. And their belligerence will start to fade into pure panic-driving hairpulling.

Well said. We are slow learners in this country or we wouldn’t be there. Maybe we’ll get it this time.

I wish we would stop using BushCo’s words. Why do we call it the “surge” as opposed to the “bailout?”
Recently, there was a Book Salon featuring Thom Hartman’s book “Breaking the Code.” It made the point that using BushCo’s words concedes a significant edge to them. A very good example Hartman cited as allowing BushCo to refer to what is going on in Iraq as the “Iraqi War” as opposed to the more correct and decriptive words – “Iraqi Occupation.” If it was known as the Iraqi Occupation, BS like ‘waiving the white flag of surrender’ would be harder to sell.

Here’s a table that Nancy can put impeachment on.

the purpose of the surge was to create a secure time for the government of Iraq to make the political change to bring reconciliation to Iraq,” Pelosi said on CNN’s “Late Edition.” “They have not done that.”

Tactics and strategy. The surge was never a strategy-it was an internal security operation. A tactic. Combined with bribing the militias, and Sadr’s standdown, it may have helped quiet things down somewhat, temporarily-but one tactical success does not make a successful strategy. The overall strategy has still failed, as evidenced by the lack of reconciliation, which was of course the real point to begin with.

More here.

There’ll probably be no after-office charges. Presidential pardons will see to that.

Haven’t heard the word “victory” from Clusterfuck or McBush lately. Cat got their tongues?

Bush admitting that he authorized Waterboarding is a felony by law sine WWII, that alone should force this congress to to it’s constitutional duty and start hearing that should to eventual impeachment and trial. Even though the AG said he won’t investigate this administration, he can also be charged with obstruction of justice for not doing so. .

Sorry, wiki.

As long as Al Sadr maintains the truce violence will be down. As long as Americans continue to pay off Al Sadr with money the truce will hold. As long as the truce holds Bush, McBush and the media will hail the surge as a success. Might as well send our income taxes directly to Iraq. As soon as the truce ends watch out Green Zone.

You can not win an occupation, you can not lose an occupation.
You can continue it, or end it. Those are the only two options.

DING!

Who will charge anyone with anything? There’s no one.

We’re in the home stretch of the Clusterfuck presidency.

There won’t be any impeachment- and no prosecution after the fact (of Clusterfuck at least).. There SHOULD be a total airing of what this little fucker did and it’s illegality and who helped and how—-total disclosure.

Americans deserve the truth- it we aren’t told history- we’ll be doomed to relive it.

AMEN.

Verdicts normally come after trials. But then again this is the Chimperor Empire.

Another key is dominating news cycles. The Democrats have some ability on the investigations side. They lack anyone who can get on TV to sell the messages. The Republics had that with Newt. WHo can for the Democrats?

There are these two Democrats who can’t seem to sneeze without it appearing on television these days. Barack somebody or other, I think, and that senator from New York that isn’t Chuck Schumer.

Perhaps the two of them could compete to see who could do better at pushing the message of investigations and holding those responsible for misdeeds accountable for their actions.

I mentioned this the other night but I watched “Rescue Dawn” and one of the first things those rotten commie pathet lao mofo’s did was to dunk the hero in a well!

It is about the investigation…that is what impeachment is … a process proscribed by the Constitution to investigate alleged high crimes and misdameanors. Such as lying to start a war that killed over a million humans.
It also vetts the alleged activity before the congress and the American people.
And it benefits the election process by exposing candidates that support such policies.
Your comment reveals a veiled attempt to mock the process by implying the end is to remove from office the perp…that can be but not necessarily is the result. it is an opportunity to correct illegal or activity that is not beneficial.

It’s a waste of key strokes, it ain’t happenin.

Well don’t you worry Prof, when I control the media, this line will be out front and center.

It ocurred to me about a year ago, after I read that Rumsfeld actually was a ‘friend’ of Saddam’s until Saddam turned all independent, that they are trying to establish their own ‘bought and paid for’ thug in Iraq. Handing out all of the munitions to the various factions means, in bush-speak, let the toughest SOB win. And Bush and the oil companies can do great business together with the winner. Plus the winner must promise never to bother all those secret air bases. Promise, pinky swear.

I think it should be someone outside of presidential candidates. Otherwise, anything said would be lost in the noise of campaign rhetoric.

Actually…valid reasons for impeachment are whatever the Congress decides are valid reasons. The “high crimes and misdemeanors” thing is very pliable. Getting an impeachment to be seen as legitimate by the populace though, that is another thing.

Show them the very real crimes (and there are crimes worse than Nixons) and the people will be more than fine with impeachment. Plus, impeaching ANY of these Administration clowns is a shot across the bow that they absolutely cannot ignore. Take one of them. ANY of them. And their belligerence will start to fade into pure panic-driving hairpulling.

Makes for very simple framing. “These guys are crooks.”
And when there’s more obstacles thrown up by the DOJ: “The crooks have taken over the police force.” What else do you call it when the capo di capo tells the jailer who to release and who to keep locked up, and who also tells the public prosecutor when to press charges and when to look the other way?

Bob in HI

Speaking of Kabuki (as I was), John Solomon, who’s deceptions are well documented in the Liberal blogs, has left the WaPoo to run the Washington Moonie Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02…..ref=slogin

Mr. Solomon describes himself as a “down-the-middle journalist…”

Yes, smack dab in between Karl Rove and Larry Craig in a three-way.

Dance away brave puppet!

The votes to start the process are in the House who has the constitutional responsibility to start the process which Rep Kuccinich has offerred to the floor which sent it to the Judiciary committee.

Raven, you are right…Army of Dude is great.

whatever the Congress decides

These morons can’t decide whether it’s night or day, give me a break.

The new president can declassify information at a whim. Just like Chimpy and Dicky.

Let it all hang out baby.

-G

Is there even a single fucking Congressional Dem saying this?

That was the obvious plan from the start. It’s name was Allawi. This was an imperial enterprise from the get-go. It went South, as they so often do.

I think the Bush Administration defines “Winning the War in Iraq” as having secure oil production and exporting. That’s what ‘winning’ in. When the oil is pumping and is safe, we won. Some troop presence near oil centers, and the rest? At least enough government/military stability so that we don’t need to come back when there is an uprising or demand to disrupt the oil flow.

Oh – and Gov Siegelman’s (sp?) trial.

And Ron Coronado’s trial for answering questions in San Diego.

And the QWEST executive CEO sent to the slammer after deying the NSA’ illegal wiretaps.

And Ron Coronado’s trial for disrupting hunters in Arizona.

And Dave Foreman and Peg Millet’s trial for carrying out the plans set forth by the FBI infiltrator who entrapped them.

And the woman sent to prison in (Minn?) by one of the AUSA’s – for nothing.

Nope – show trials – that’s the Evil Empire’s gig.

That’s why we ran our schools and roads and elder care and child care and hospitals to ruin: so no one could force us to live in the Evil Empire.

Except, of course, the same military/contractor complex we paid to “save us” from the Commies.

HUMOR ALERT attempt for my non fans
its like occupying the bathroom
you cant stay in there forever unless you want a huge hemmroid!

cancercures #96:
I think you are exactly correct.

Before Allawi there was Chalabi. Let us not forget him. He’s still in charge of the oil ministry iirc.

Nancy Pelosi: The surge has failed.

most.obvious.statment.of.the.decade

Correct..the presumption of innocence is part of our process…the fact that crimes are alledged requires and investigation, charges and a defence. All part of the democratic PROCESS
Those who pose this argument are opposing justice.

Not obvious at all to most americans unfortunately.

Nope. I think it’s Plan B. That’s the plan to keep Iraq’s oil off the market so the prices stay high. The Plan A that you mention was the neocons’s idea. They lost to Cheney’s oil execs who favor Plan B. This from Greg Palast’s Armed Madhouse.

And the woman sent to prison in (Minn?) by one of the AUSA’s – for nothing.

what is this about?

You are parsing see 102. Torture, 935 false statements to get us into war, occupation and Geneva convention violations are evidence enough. Not only bad policy but major crimes.
You probably do a lot of sophistic reasoning as does your buds.

It would be great to get a clear idea of what Clusterfuck’s plan was regarding Iraq’s oil. Obviously it hasn’t turned out well…but what were the goals?

Increases/decreases in production?

Movement of Iraq out of Opec to contribute more non-opec oil to world supply?

Remove the threat of Iraq changing to the Euro for petroleum purchases?

Long term production and supply agreements for US oil companies?

Would be nice to know why we really invaded Iraq?

nancy know failure …

she is living it in da house.

Actually, if it’s whom I’m thinking of, it was a woman in Wisconsin. She was a Dem official IIRC. The appeals court directed a verdict of not guilty and demanded she be release immediately from prison. I don’t recall her name but I’m sure some one here has handy links to the story…

I think it was to stop oil production in Iraq for the benefit of the Saudis.

Not to americans, to her

Then, I’m afraid, it’s not going to happen.

THE STORY this year is the election. Period. Everything else revolves around that, in the eyes of the media. Everything.

And given the way the democratic nomination process is going, every elected Democratic member of the House and Senate — by virtue of being a superdelegate — is going to have whatever they say on investigations and impeachment read through the lenses of the election. “If so-and-so is pushing for investigations, what are the implications of that push for the election? Who does so-and-so favor, and does this help or hurt their candidate in the nomination fight?

Does anyone have the status of former Governor of Alabama Don Siegelman case, Congress asked for the information and DOJ told them to pound sand.

For those of you who are asking about the U.S. plan for Iraqi oil, read Greg Palast’s Armed Madhouse. He sez there were 2 plans: the neocons to privatize it & flood the market with it & the oil cos. to keep it off the market. The latter won. Don’t remember whaat evidence he advances though.

Here you go.

To move from where we are now through impeachment hearings, vote, and trial, would take up most of the time congress has left to it in an election year. If anyone sees a chance in hell of this happening- please tell us how.

The end of the war is signaled by the cessation of hostilities. That has yet to occur. The occupation is ongoing. So we are in an occupation and a war. We have asupply line a battle plan and troops on the ground and at sea with large air contingents strategically placed for continued attacks and bombing. We are making war on the Middle East. Call it like it is.

Good for Pelosi.

Now — what is she gonna DO about it?

ayup. I read that book too. I also found interesting his point that “peak oil” is a misnomer, and only becomes relevant when the price of oil per barrel comes into the equation.

i.e. – there’s a whole bunch of oil out there, depending upon what kind of price the market will bear. With oil having recently reached almost $100/-barrel, and now hovering in the $90/barrel range, there is no shortage of oil, or corresponding profits to be made by “Friends of Bush”, who can sell their domestically-produced oil at the same price that is , upon a given day, set essentially by the activities of OPEC. OPEC will do whatever Boosh asks them to do.

What I either missed, or don’t remember, from Palast’s book, is how Iran figures into the equation…

I have not heard a single congressional Dem stating what should be the party line.

You can not win an occupation, you can not lose an occupation.
You can continue it, or end it. Those are the only two options.

My brother and I told this to our congressman. He had no reply.

That’s the story although the TPM links are now dead.

That sums it up for me.

Close but no cigar. The Hague can prosecute international crimes when they chose. The game is much bigger than you know.

Interesting comment about peak oil.

If the saudis can still increase production at the drop off a hat and respond to highter prices- then maybe Palast is right. There is some evidence that they CANNOT- and no other supplier is able to make up for increases in demand even at higher prices.

Yep. Not to get off on a peak oil tangent (been there, done that), Palast argues that the term was invented by oil cos in the 1950s to get prices up, and it worked so well they’ve been doing it ever since. I’ve just pulled the book off the shelf. Will post whatever seems illuminating.

The lady’s name was Georgia Thompson and it was Wisconsin.

Gov. Jim Doyle praised the decision, calling it an “extraordinary action” in a criminal case.

“This conviction was a terrible injustice,” he said. “Georgia Thompson is an innocent woman who was imprisoned for more than four months just for doing her job.”

38
In response to eCAHNomics @ 22
Here’s a “Stupid Shit of the Deployment” Award page from my favorite real trooper blog, the Army of Dude”. This guy is great, if we only had had the internet. . .none of those stupid MARS phone calls!
_____________________

if anything has the ring of truth to it, this is it. the only thing i’ve read that comes close is

“The Last True Story I’ll Ever Tell” by John Crawford

As long as we stay in Iraq, the US is forward-deployed to attack Iran, Saudi Araia, the Gulf States, and the Caspian Sea Basin on a moments’ notice. This is an incredibly valuable strategic position, and they’re not going to resign that position without some powerful incentive, either positive or negative.

Life calls…

I’m sure you’ve probably seen the “McCain” version of the Obama (yes we can) video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…..lykos.com/

Try this from Harpers, then.

That would be great!

Read the book. The extra oil supply is in Venzuela & Stans, among other places I can’t remember.

WOW

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said twice Sunday that Iraq “is a failure,” adding that President Bush’s troop surge has “not produced the desired effect.”

Wow. Cool. I bet she must feel REAL bad about enabling this crap since she’s been Speaker. Maybe she’ll issue a stern rebuke before the next time she apitulates – that’ll show ‘em.

Eff Pelosi. Eff Reid. New leadership is WAY overdue.

there’s a whole bunch of oil out there, depending upon what kind of price the market will bear.

And interestingly Palast asserts that Venezuela has the world’s largest reserves of tar sand oil. Armed Madhouse is a fascinating read and it has a decent index, but no organized list of sources.

Who the hell are you to decide what will or won’t be?

Sounds interesting. There are, of course, contrary views…

The oil in Venezuala is difficult of course because it’s “sour”. Few refineries can handle it’s high sulphur content.

Driveby. Excuse me, a correction is required: I believe it is the Bush/McCain/Lieberman surge. *looking forward to wiping McCain’s ass all over the country in the upcoming elections.*
Hi eCahn.

Washington State GOP head loves voter suppression.

“Many of the most successful anti-deadbeat voter techniques (poll taxes, sound beatings, etc.) that conservatives have used in the past have been outlawed by busybody judges.”

-G

Wigwam has been arguing that those who allow these war crimes to continue are war criminals themselves. I think Speaker Pelosi words on CNN without strong action to end the crimes strengthens Wigwams argument.

Enough!

desired effect…..are you kiddin me?
yea the potterybarn effect…some stuff and peeps got busted up-…is she kidding?

It’s a waste of key strokes, it ain’t happenin.

You are not happening…you defend this administration and what they have done in peril of obfuscating and abetting crimes against humanity. Stark Raven mad.

Just ordered the Palast book. Anxious to read it.

There are these two Democrats who can’t seem to sneeze without it appearing on television these days. Barack somebody or other, I think, and that senator from New York that isn’t Chuck Schumer.

Perhaps the two of them could compete to see who could do better at pushing the message of investigations and holding those responsible for misdeeds accountable for their actions.
——

But that is their super duper secret plan – they are going to be the darling of the progressives….after they are president. Or, well, maybe they need to get into their 2nd term before they can do it. Yeah, that’s it – just vote one of them in and re-elect in 2012, and keep a Democratic Congress…then you are really going to see some change. No wait, when they are writting their memoirs upon retirement – that is when they will spring all this good progressive stuff they wanted to do.

Actually, no it will be their Biography that comes out post-humanously…that is when they are going to finally let the world see what wonderful progressives they are…um were.

I bet she must feel REAL bad about enabling this crap since she’s been Speaker. Maybe she’ll issue a stern rebuke before the next time she apitulates – that’ll show ‘em.

I understand the anger at Pelosi and Reid, but when they actually do something right, we should acknowledge it. And telling the truth and framing issues is important.

Would I have preferred stronger action via legislation? Of course.

Bush will be doing a lot more stupid things before he leaves. He can deliver a stupid thing a week and will.

Pelosi and Levin have done nothing substantive to change the status quo of Dover Doffins and cheap pine boxes that hold thousands of Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis.

The words displaced Iraqi refugees have never been on Pelosis and Levins lips. Whoops! Pelosi has to rush out and buy a few more 2500 designer suits. Got to go.

DiFi is braying on and on in support of the Jello Jay Telcom Immunity bill.

There used to be a Democratic party in Congress–but now they’re the shrub adulation society.

And what’s the code on the yellow suits 2/day from Hill–$5 million more from Ron Burkle or the Kazakhstan oil deal?

2 CBS journalists missing in Southern Iraq.

-G

Ease up. rwcole-and Raven-are simply pointing out the most likely outcomes.

hey, big brother, don’t you want to cool it down a bit?

In other announcements, Pelosi said she was ready to draw a line with Hitler at Munich. “Appeasement doesn’t work,” she said. She made similar remarks about the Kaiser. As for the Soviet Union, she said it was too early to tell. Next week, she promised to come out with a policy statement on whether the South had a case or Lincoln was overreaching. Oh yeah, and she said the surge was a failure.

desired effect might refer to a new coifure,or beauty treatment….can she just say it was a disaster the whole misserable missadventure,almost a trillion dollars later

There ought to be a fashion contest for the most absurd outfit with the finalists being Huckabee’s wife, Hillary, and DiFi.

If I may pimp a few other such blogs:

This Fucking War

6 Months in Kabul. A BEAUTIFUL blog given the subject.

The Sandbox. A bunch of different voices at a site created from Doonesbury.

The new president can declassify information at a whim. Just like Chimpy and Dicky.

If the new President is Clinton will she move to disclosure Presidential Records (she does not want her records out yet, and will she want Bills out) – or keep the records for the ruling dynastys (or cart them off to people libraries)?

Obama (or any pol) in a similar way, he has his allies on the record as well.

They are not very clear on this position.

T’anx!

there are different types of oil. Light sweet crude is the cheapest, easiest to obtain and refine. That oil can be sold for, say, $30/barrel. Then there are other types of oil, more expensive to get out of the ground and to refine, which obviously costs more. Then there’s things like oil-shale, in Canada. (I’m workin’ from memory here, so please excuse if I mis-speak).

I believe I’m correct in recalling that Saudi Arabia may be close to the end of their ability to produce light sweet crude, but there’s plenty of oil there still, but of the more expensive type. I believe that it’s also correct to say that Iraq can still produce massive amounts of light sweet crude.

So here’s the thing – if Iraq is allowed to turn on the spigot for cheap oil, American oil companies cannot gain and exploit the margin on their cheaply domestically produced oil, because a flooding of the market by Iraqi oil, which would essentially be saleable at around the same price/cost that American companies are selling their domestically-produced oil – means that the “Friends of Bush” are forced back into a competitive market. No more $10 Billion profit quarters – and this must obviously not be allowed to happen.

Some developments there:

Conyer’s Said He’s On The Edge Of Starting Impeachment

Give him a ring…

Mmm

I don’t decide ANYTHING about the actions of congress– but I do have my own opinion about what is likely and what is not- and I happen to think that impeachment won’t happen. You are certainly free to hold a contrary opinion- which apparently you do.

It’s not important that we all have the same opinion.

OK. Just scanne Palast’s chapter on Iraq’s oil. He doesn’t have any secret emails from the Cheney energy exec meeting (unlike the R caging lists that he has copies of). The story he tells about Iraq stems from the history of the U.S. oil industry, how the Brits treated the Iraq oil when they were in charge, and OPEC. All these have always tried to suppress oil production to keep the price up. So it shouldn’t be a leap of faith that the oil execs should behave the same way in the future as they have in the past.

One final piece: he argues that Saddam had to go because he was getting frisky & oil prices were getting jerked up & down. Remember the U.S. launched an aborted coup in Venzuela around the same time.

Actually, controlling oil supplies is about controlling the price. Mostly that means keeping it above where it would be if markets prevailed. However, sometimes that means keeping it stable, and sometimes it means holding the price down to prevent supply from increasing. Saudi Arabia did that for years, and still world supplies doubled.

Backwards : revealing the illegal immoral and un-American Bush war, the war crimes will assist the candidates in defeating the war monger.

To move from where we are now through impeachment hearings, vote, and trial, would take up most of the time congress has left to it in an election year. If anyone sees a chance in hell of this happening- please tell us how.
—–

Postpone the steriod hearings by a year, and limit prayer, poems, and state love praise to 2 minutes a day? Work 5 8-12 hour days a week.

If Hill were the new President, I wouldn’t look for any records to declasify.

Stonewalling Clintons won’t release:

1) Their tax records
2) 1.6 million documents on Hill’s secret medical plan from the ’90’s which she has refused to detail
3) The multimillion dollars contributed to the Clinton library (and very possibly now to Clinton’s campaign)–Clintons aka Billiary refuse to release a list of contributors.

Maybe work a weekend?

It ain’t going to happen because we have a few folks that really want to be President…because…well so that things like all the items they are ignorning will never happen again. Honest, thats why they are running.

Jayt

According to my reading, the saudi oil is among the sweetest on earth, but it comes primarily from four monster oil fields which they began harvesting nearly sixty years ago. They have searched every inch of the place for more oil and haven’t found much. They had a history of trying to overproduce and have badly damaged some of the fields. They began injecting water decades ago to shake out more production. They will not release their actual production figures- which are treated as state secrets.

There is reason to think that they are peaking out. If so- the rest of the world will have to make up the difference.

Sour oil is available in some parts of the world at lower prices- it requires special refineries to process it..they cannot be constructed instantly. We have ONE in the US.

Chavez was saying yesterday he might turn off the spiggot to the Us ,if Exxon didnt release Venezuelean Assets it had the courts seize

“There haven’t been gains, Wolf,” the speaker replied. “The gains have not produced the desired effect, which is the reconciliation of Iraq. This is a failure. This is a failure.”

this was ok, but not nearly as forceful as it needed to be, I would have preferred;

“this is a blazing failure and it’s hard to believe the president is once again trying to make believe another of his failed strategies is working, I’m surprised you even wanted to repeat the clear deception”

me would like to see that kind of stuff, make them research the talking points before they repeat one

I saw this. Expect to hear more about the Venezuelan Nuclear Wepons Program soon.

Peak oil is a natural fact (as we are not putting new dino bones into the ground). Only the timing (and for a short time the technology) would be in questions.

It was devised from the ground up, it is the trend/theory seen at every single oil well hypothsised on a global scale.

we are major league racketeers

Actually, if I was Chavez, I probably would have a nuke program.

I WILL NEVER BUY AN OUNCE OF EXXON MOBILE GASOLINE( rant off)

I kind of like the sound of the McBush Surge.

Agree on Saudi’s peaking out. Simmons’ book on the subject was pretty definitive.

As for the other oil, it’s all a Q of price. Not just extraction costs, but also, as you point out, refining costs, and as for the Stans, transportation costs. Current prices are high enough to extract a lot more that is not Saudi & not sweet.

The next President is unlikely to mess with the way Presidential Records are handled now because one day they too will be a former President.

I like the McBush Surge-and-Bribery tactic.

I am amazed there is even as much as we have used, I keep thinking;

*just how many dinosaurs WERE there?

here’s the point though everyone is missing;

creating alternative fuel is GOOD for the economy, it continues the ever expanding requirements everyone talks about

I missed that. Do you have a link?

H/T the chickenlivered Democrats in the Senate, including Whitehouse and Feinstein, who are parading up to the podium to fulfill Cheney and Addington’s dream for wiretapping you and granting Telcom Immunity. There have never been better Conservative Republicans than Whitehouse and Feinstein.

Are they voting for McBush as well in the general?

on this I disagree

a president should be proud of their work, not ashamed

No they are being negative…and have been consistently opposed to impeachment since the dialogue began. A Blue Dog non progressive political position that says political expediency is OK to shred the constitution. The same a Pelosi, Reid and Hoyer. The cancer on democracy continues to grow. Observe thge last three bubbles, free market rule and the destruction of the dollar economy and the US Military.
[edited by mod] It is simple impeach or be ruled by corporate fascism who do not take no for an answer.

[Mod note; Please do not insult other commenters here at FDL.]

Speaking of surging, since Romney’s sons are no longer showing support for our nation by helping to get him elected, will they be enlisting?

THAT is not a problem unless you are going into office with the intention of breaking the law.

I want a President that simply says “no” to breaking the law and releases the friggin’ documents with a dare to the next Prez to release his/hers.

I’d friggin do it because I am kindof a brinkmanship…er.

A lot of oil out there kind of misses the point. First, there is not very much daylight between supply and demand. Nor is there a lot of excess capacity that could be brought on line if demand increased.

As the price of crude goes up, it becomes more feasible to exploit fields that are more difficult and expensive to produce, but it takes a long time to bring these fields online, it is expensive, and the fields are smaller and more quickly exhausted. It will take years to bring increased Iraqi production online and even if you could bring it on faster you are talking about only a 1% to 2% increase in daily needs. At the same time, more traditional fields are decreasing and the average decline in a field once it begins to decline is around 6% a year. Bottomline you have some possiblity for some increases but you have much larger and inexorable declines generally.

Survey says……BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!

I’ll say it again genius, I’m not opposed to it, it just isn’t gonna happen. And don’t get to intense with the name calling, you are way out classed.

After almost 400 years in America, many sacrificed familiy members the stakes are much to high to be silenced by cowards. Defending our democracy is far more important.

I understand the anger at Pelosi and Reid, but when they actually do something right, we should acknowledge it. And telling the truth and framing issues is important.

——
The words (at lest these few) threshold is not doing it for me when it comes to leaders. That being said kudos to at least hitting the words threshold on this subset of an issue (words from Clinton, Obama, Reid, Pelosi are nice – but not enough anymore – leadership is the bar, legislation and investigation tools, words should just wrap around that stuff).

One might say that oil supply is relatively inelastic in the short run and somewhat MORE elastic in the mid run (as new specialized processing plants are built to handle the less desirable product). In the end, though, world oil production will decline and probably on the same pattern as US oil production has decline- a fairly steep line.

As for the other oil, it’s all a Q of price. Not just extraction costs, but also, as you point out, refining costs, and as for the Stans, transportation costs. Current prices are high enough to extract a lot more that is not Saudi & not sweet.

ecahn – since i’m not an economist, i tend to look at it as a question of energy balance – and not as a question of price (although i expect price to catch up with the thermodynamics).

for example – if it takes the energy equivalent of 10 barrels of oil to extract, refine and transport 9 barrels of oil – then it doesn’t matter what the price is. without technological changes to improve efficiencies – we are running out of “cheap oil” (*) even if we are living on an ocean of oil.

(*) cheap as measured by energy balance, not $.

Jane is upstairs with my new zed.. …I mean, a new thread!

Oil Prices Jump on Chavez Threat

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened Sunday to cut off oil sales to the U.S. as retaliation for court orders freezing assets belonging to Venezuela’s state oil company. Exxon Mobil Corp. has gone after Petroleos de Venezuela SA in U.S., British and Dutch courts, challenging the nationalization by Chavez’s government of a multibillion dollar oil project. A British court last week issued an injunction freezing as much as $12 billion in Petroleos’ assets.

Among other sources.

Since the surge has failed, since the whole thing was meant to create more problems, the next Bushco step is the nuke threat referred to by Lieberman. This is the next 9/11. Has to be. It will occur new year’s eve 2008. New York . Obama is assassinated at the same time. Bush will rally with such a speech (already written). It will say that since Obama is dead and since the VP has not been elected as the pres, then, since he was 2x elected, he will remain at the helm and since there are people who don’t us to be strong and want us to be vulnerable then martial law is required for just a short time to maintain the peace.

The price of oil would be very different today if Bush had not destroyed the value of the dollar. This is not just an oil supply/demand problem.

I’ve run more regressions on prices elasticies for supply & demand for oil than you can shake a stick at. Keep in mind a couple of things. Prices have been high for several years now. So a lot of stuff is already in train. Also higher prices suppress demand. That also takes awhile, but has shorter lags than supply. So that opens up daylight. And finally, China’s been agressively going around the world helping to increase supply to meet their own needs, long before the higher prices.

Actually, controlling oil supplies is about controlling the price
—–

An power and influence over enemies AND allies.

Oil aint from dinosaurs as we think of them. That does not stop me (or my 4 yr old daughter) from calling gasoline “dinosaur juice”. It’s actually mostly prehistoric algae and zooplankton. Not as glamorous, but there was a helluva lot of it in all those inland seas and such. Coal is mostly from land plants. Dinosaurs didn’t give us much except for a few laughs from Ken Ham. ;-)

Don’t know anything specifically about what you’re asking, but if oil execs do it, then it must work.

Of course, if we put the oil industry tax welfare into alternative energy research, we could all talk about something more interesting.

That too!

From Army of Dude:

Sometime this year, an eighteen year old soldier will die in a war that started when he was thirteen.
Hold onto that. Let it linger.

Thanks. Those lawsuits are something to watch.

That depends, there is a certain negative power to making the statements you have made.
Please read, all of you who think impeachment is not an option. Al Gore’s explanation in his book “The Assualt on Reason”. Also read the Resolution for Imppeachment by The National Lawyers Guild. There is in fact plenty of support both here and abroad.
I would say Mr. Dean, past Nixon counsel does in fact support impeachment along with many conservative republicans..
So saying so does have a negative impact on the possibilities. Further I find your chrystal ball cloudy. Maybe some brain bleach would assist clarity.
Personally I plan to send daily emails to Representative John Conyers who is holding the impeachment ball at Judicuary. As well as Pelosi and company. As political tides turn so do those who blow with the wind.

i think i’m trying to ask: what would your regressions look like if you priced production costs in energy equivalents instead of dollars?

like your alternative plan.

The next President is unlikely to mess with the way Presidential Records are handled now because one day they too will be a former President.

—-

Yeah, but don’t they have the book of secrets for that!
The rules did not start to change until recently (as we have dynastys, but family and just party/coalition).

Right when we are going to find out some stuff about Papi the records hidden. People slinking around in JFK assasination, and Nixon pardon parade around, cart of RayGuns records, etc).

I just wish one of them would grow a set and allow the population to be educated.

My guess is that BushCo wanted a closed oil market, one that sells only to the US. We already passed peak production domestically, so we needed a new sandbox (pun intended) to play in.

For the repugs it is a win-win: we maintain an active mission to fund our military-industrial complex and we have a cost-controlled source of oil under our control to hedge supply-demand pricing.

Among other sources.

—-

40 years ago we would be starting a boat sinking to go to war. 20 years ago it would be proxy war time. Wonder what it will be in the 21st century. I think first line is to buy off the elite (as a time honored tradition), if that does not work maybe just proxy-war.

Correct as well. They want more worth-less dollars to buy the same amount of the commodity.

hehe. Correct of course, all those dino’s needed greens to gobble to start to food chain so those carbon banks vastly outwiegh the huge dinos. Just that as you say DinoCo sounds cooler.

Please tell me this is a joke and you’re not serious about any of this.

Where did you get the notion that peak oil is a myth? Virtually everyone in the oil industry accepts it. It’s only a matter of the date when it occurs and that largely depends on oil discoveries and known reserves. The Saudis are not fessing up to what there reserves are and many of the known fields, like the north sea, have past peak extraction and are on the decline.

But demand is gowing very rapidly and it is now exceeding what can be extracted. Even if there is a lot of oil in a field only so much can be extracted and we are at the limit. Some fields are in decline so the only fix is to release reserves into the market or bring new fields online.

What new fields are coming online to meet the growing demand?

There is a slowing of demand a bit when the cost of the stuff shoots up, but that will not solve the basic demand. And all the “wasteful” uses will fall away but the basic needs will continue their upward trend. Can’t stop that… unless a new energy source replaces oil. When is that?

read this site:

http://www.theoildrum.com/

Linky?

;-)

and this article:

http://www.theoildrum.com/node/2409

The US attorney scandal and the politicization of justice by the right wing in this country. Hazarding a guess.

But were’nt all the republican members of congress accessories to the Bush/Cheney crimes? Why would they vote to impeach when they themselves participated by not having any investigations, and passing legislation that funded war, approved no-bid contracts, allowed torture, and spying on U.S. citizens? This would be alot different situation than Watergate. Individual members of congress were not so personally involved in the break-in and cover up.

Romney’s sons, and Chelsea Clinton are headed to Cozumel for a convention of Chickenhawk Children along with the children of most Senators and House Members whose parents never served in the armed forces or draft dodged as did Bill Clinton and who have no intention leaving jobs procured for them by their parents even though they have no experience or training for said jobs. Hillary Clinton did not serve.

Good words, Nance! Now; what do you and Harry propose to do about it?

Because; every day that passes means you’re that much closer to the day when george bush and Co. hand you and Harry (assuming that you GET re-elected) that big, bloody, flaming bag of shit that you have just described.

Are you guys so enamored of having “The Force be with you” this November that you don’t even care if it is utterly polluted by the little thingy of one intractable clusterfuck attached to it, for the republicans to begin shreiking is all YOUR fault, the nanosecond they leave office?

Enquiring minds want to know.

Pete@216;

Good post. Is there a link to that, that we can use for ammo?

:o)

You do recall that at the end of the day, Bill Clinton did allow himself to be declared 1A and had his name in the draft when they instituted the lottery? Like many of us, he manipulated the system and got away with it. He was lucky. Especially since he didn’t have a father or grandfather to get him into the National Guard over a long waiting list.

And I somehow doubt Chelsea Clinton is going to Cozumel with the Romney boys.

Yes, Nancy, the Surge was a failure. Speaking of failures, how’s your “Empeachment is off the table” act going? Looks like a success. You’ve got Conyers scared to death to allow it out onto the House floor. Way to go Nancy Bush Enabler Pelosi. We don’t cave, we lead with the Republicans.

Pelosi came out to cover her ass in response to the Matt Taibi
piece in Rolling Stone magazine on how both her and Harry Reid
betrayed the Democrats on the war issue… Unfortunately, nothing Pelosi and Reid says anymore is believable..

I hope i am wrong and we safely enter Yes-we-can land.

Last night on 60 minutes Senator Barack Obama said that the SURGE was working. I guess he didn’t read the paper or get an update before going on 60 minutes and repeating the talking point the surge is working.

http://www.democraticundergrou…..15;3177163

Thanks Nancy for setting Senator Obama clear on the situation in Iraq.