La zed?

Dow is in freefall, YIKES!

Gee, I thought Petraeus was set to replace Fallon. Now it looks like he’ll be fired instead.

Blame the Iraqis!

[Edited by Mod]

Oh, but you can bet it will be a spectacular success again by the time he starts his testimony next month.

can’t wait fer the spin

We’re already doing that.

Iraqi leaders have failed to take advantage of a reduction in violence to make adequate progress toward resolving their political differences, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said Thursday.

Did you get that? Failed.

TA DAHHH!!!!!

now blue Texan, THAT is the way to frame the discussion

nice post

Took the words outta my mouth, you did….only yours don’t include any of the ones with four letters.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/…..index.html

If you have the stomach for it, read the CNN report of life in the country to which we are bringing George Bush’s version of democracy.

Gee, I thought Petraeus was set to replace Fallon. Now it looks like he’ll be fired instead.

I think that the public is aware of how Petraeus was being used by Bush. If Bush fires him, too, I think people would really understand how much Bush is shopping for yes-men rather than military leaders. That could actually end the war the quickest. Let’s hope Bush is stupid enough to do this.

Good work, BT. You’ve managed to get my blood boiling again.

Since that speech, 1034 Americans have been killed in Iraq.

We all knew when they began this farce they call ‘The Surge” that it was bullshit. But it is costing human lives.

Devastating.

I tend to believe patraeus will back peddle and claim but it’s a success anyway

Both Obama and Clinton should be talking about this all the time. And they’re not. Meanwhile, St. McCain continues to pat himself on the back for getting another 1,000 Americans killed for no good reason.

It’s really maddening.

Gee, ya think they administration will bold failed too?

Of course, Bush and his cronies have been telling us that the Iraqi Military would be “able to defend itself by next year” since about…hmmmmm…early 2004 or so? The Bush Administration lies so much that they no longer know how to tell the truth. I think they have trained to do this since they were teenagers…it’s pathologically hard-wired in their brains now.

Their only remaining followers are those who are easily trapped in co-dependent relationships with drug users, alcoholics, and religious cults.

Did I hear someone say general Betrayus?

We saw, we came, we surged,we failed is not going to go down in history as a real great military quote

Yep, he has no other choice. The frustrating thing will be how the press will fail to point out his lies and hypocrisy.

Did I hear someone say Betrayus?

Ya big troublemaker, you! *g*

“We came, we saw, we surged, we tap-danced into a 180-degree turn to ensure we had a big picture view.” Language is everything.

on the house floor: h.res.1041 is up (rule for consideration of fisa)

thanks selise!

We all knew when they began this farce they call ‘The Surge” that it was bullshit. But it is costing human lives.

and there are costs we won’t ever know;

the heart ache of the parenst who’ve lost their kids, their productivity, the lost productivity of those who will never return

the lives of the children they will never have, and the contributions they would have made

each and every person contributes, we might loose an einstein, a newton, we will never ever know

the cost will span generations, the price will be untold, the losses will never be known

“Padded with power here they come
International loan sharks backed by the guns
of market hungry military profiteers
Whose word is a swamp and whose brow is smeared
With the blood of the poor…And they call it democracy” Bruce Cockburn.

I hope the meme can become: Success means that our troops can come home. How long does Bush/McCain/GOP get to claim failure is success?

You have a higher opinion of the public that I do.

the public’s understanding may suck (including mine), but i’ll take it every time over the understanding of people like cheney or betrayus.

Remember “1984″ and newspeak?

o/t

It was just last Monday that former Bear Stearns CEO “Ace” Greenberg responded on CNBC to the rumor that Bear faced a liquidity crisis:

“It’s ridiculous, totally ridiculous.”

But we are getting the US into a treaty-free, long-term, military entanglement with a entity (can’t really call it a functioning government) that can’t even get half of it’s military or police in a state where they can expand a “safe harbor” to even a single major city? Baghdad, Mosul, Tikrit, Irbil are all major war zones with daily suicide bombings or attacks. And you don’t even want to know what has happened in Basra and the South now that the Brits have pulled out.

Wasn’t it Petraeus who was in charge of the Kurdish region which is now the location of most of the violence? Guess he really stabilized that region permanently (it seems it was calmer before the WAR). Then he was given the task of supplying and training the Iraqi National Guard…hundreds of thousands of weapons and equipment were stolen without any sort of proper record-keeping, the ING was infiltrated by militias and rebels, and their preparedness and troop strength kept getting devalued (especially after Petraeus left- he had apparently fluffed up their capabilities).

And I recall hearing all about how the “surge” had succeeded in Baghdad. And Anbar Province. And how it was almost all over for “Al Qaida in Iraq” in the north (where they had never been before…we “drove” them there). I’m sure the people in that region really appreciated us doing that, just as I’m sure the Iraqi’s are so grateful that we decided to make their homeland the spot we were going to fight Al Qaida. They should be grateful.

And when we leave and these kids that have been fighting and dying figure out they have been suckered. . .I can just tell you I haven’t forgotten and it’s been 40 years for me.

More smokescreen a la spitzer for the U.S (and worlds) financial woes

http://www.iht.com/articles/20…..repubs.php

How long does it take a U.S Marine to be trained to the point he or she is sent to war. 12 weeks? And how many years have we been training Iraqi troops to stand up for themselves?

uh oh, parlimentary procedural fuckery begining on the house floor.

hastings says he will submit a motion to amend the rule such that if the vote for the new fisa bill fails, the senate bill will be considered to have passed.

any parliamentarians to explain this to us?

Not nearly the same thing.

looks like the Rs have figured out a way to get around the Ds block on their motion to recommit.

Joe Sestak is doing well.

He has a tough opponent in the next election in mainly Repub district. He needs help now.

yes. and dreier is an ass.

Defeatist.

“All I’ve ever asked of my Marines is to obey me like it was the word of god”

Dreier: “Mike McConnell transcends partisanship”.

I call bullshit. McConnell, while at Booze, Hamilton Allen committed some of the very crimes he is now trying to get immunity for.

Sophist – ya gotta love this -

“In hindsight, it would have been better to have had tighter controls,” he said.

O-V-E-R-S-I-G-H-T

if the paradox don’t get ya, then the irony will

forgive me Blue Texan, more o/t -

Just hitting the wires, the University of Michigan Consumer Confidence reading came in at 70.5, which was slightly higher than the expected reading of 69.5. It’s the lowest reading since the early 1990s.

maybe if i had infinite resources… but his visit here did not inspire.

holt up!

Exactly. So why do we even try? What makes the war hawks think we even have the remotest idea what is needed for the Iraqi’s to have a functioning military or police force to control their own country. Didn’t we disband whatever they had to begin with. Most of the Americans over there cannot even speak the language. We’ll stand down when they stand up, well we better get our feet off of their necks if we want them to stand up.

Meanwhile we’re getting too much of the bread and circuses version of the news. Ferraro vs. former pastor, Eliot’s penis, croc tears about his wife… if you missed it, Naomi Wolf was excellent on MSNBC taking the media to task for dallying with crap news instead of the news people want them to report on. Hopefully that will get more airtime today.

I do wish the media would spend more time actually reporting the news instead of wringing their hands over their process. And doing forensic mea culpas. Enough, already.

Prairie Today: Economy. Stupid.

Been there, done that haven’t we. We Tried to train the ARVN for hiow many years? There were a few outfits that were pretty good but overall, zip. No motivation.

well we better get our feet off of their necks if we want them to stand up.

Now your talkin’. Well said.

This particular fuckery afoot in the House (as selise says) is only possible because reid and jello jay insisted on bringing up the pro-immunity bill in the firs place. Damn all their hides.

Except for the failure part, the surge has indeed succeeded.

just rebooted and have the box on C Span -

what is the timbre of the Republics babbling ? – are they whining ? stamping their feet ?

not snark, I’ll take it as a good sign if they start railing like 4 year olds

i can see that you are one of those “the glass is half full” people.

Arcuri says Royce is lying.

the Rs sound more confident today.

and i am worried about the procedural games….

I just asked about this from a staffer and here is what I’m told: It’s a “previous question” vote — which means if the previous question is defeated, the minority gets to write the rule. They have apparently been pulling this stunt all week, and they haven’t won with it yet. Very few Dems have crossed over to vote with them on this — it is a HUGE deal for those who have (and I’ll be trying to dig that up as I get time…if anyone else has been keeping track on these, let me know). This one is not expected to pass.

HTH!

Sheila Jackson Lee’s up

Arcuri’s my guy. Thanks to all for the House updates (for those of us at work).

thank you christy!

Shorter Betrayus:

Now that the surge has failed, I’ll start planning the Iranian october surprise. At least that’s what Cheney said…

Re Sheila Jackson Lee. From a long list of superb women from Texas. Texas, for chrysake!!!!

Uh-oh. Adam Putzman up.

One of these days, I’m going to have to find some way to teach myself Parliamentary Procedure manipulations for the House. The House and the Senate both have internal rules that are arcane, and trying to follow all of this intricacy is utterly confusing sometimes. But I haven’t found a good tutorial for either yet, although I may have to get the Byrd treatise on the Senate at some point…anyone know a good one for the House?

I’m taking that as a good sign – not quite as good as Boehner crying, but I’ll take it for now

This asshole can talk about the tyranny of the few?

This one is not expected to pass.

This crap, although parliamentary, that they are pulling is because they are certain they will lose the overall bill. So I guess even though it is annoying it is giving me hope.

The question is how many more of these shenanigans do they have to throw at us?

Yep, he’s saying don’t extend the days of darkness. Hell, we’ve had seven years of darkness. Time for some light.

by mcjoan
Fri Mar 14, 2008 at 07:30:57 AM PDT
The debate on the Rule for considering HR 3773, the FISA amendments has begun. Kagro covered the critical ground of the rule and how it hamstrings Republicans, which resulted in the one monkeywrench left to Republicans thrown yesterday. That was the secret session which, according to Hoyer, accomplished exactly nothing.

By all appearances, Democratic leadership did a good job on this one in scripting out the procedure. That includes the scheduling. The House is adjourning today for Congress’s two week Spring district work period (aka “recess”), so expect debate and votes to wrap up quickly (in Congress time) and in time for everyone to catch their planes back home. Also expect the Republicans to spend a lot of time whining about how they don’t have enough time. Never mind that they were trying to adjourn for recess three days ago, to avoid having to vote on ethics reform. Time is relative, as is ethics, when you’re a Republican.

I can’t watch this anymore.

I heard last night that the “secret session” malarky that Blunt pulled was a complete and total bust — that they hadn’t planned anything remotely useful for it, and that even some GOP members were well and truly pissed that this carried over to today based on such a hollow PR stunt. There are a number of people really ticked off at Blunt today because he had nothing — and I mean nothing — really prepared for the actual session. It was all about publicly and petulantly stomping his feet and making demands.

Which I’m hoping means that some more of the Blue Dogs will toe the line rather than vote with the GOP. Nothing’s ever certain, but irritation is a good enough factor for me if it gets the job done…

It is tough to listen the lies from the Republics. It is encouraging that virtually every Dem is pointing out their lies. I’ll tough it out a bit longer.

Bushco is not interested in parliamentary procedures for us. I believe he would prefer a paramilitary process to get what he wants. Blackwater-coming to a city near you. See ya in camp.

I don’t think so — I’ll stay in my own home, thanks.

From the war(s) to the economy, the contradictions between reality and the wingnuts’ words are, um, breathtaking. I for one, am looking forward to watching their heads explode (metaphorically speaking, of course) as we slog towards the general election.

re: Parliamentary Procedure manipulations

there’s some good links on the house rules site (that i was referred to one day when i was getting info from an aide on the house rules committee). but mostly i’m learning by watching. i figure in, oh a decade or two, i might have a clue. *g*

Morning folks.

Please forgive the OT but, speaking of imminent failure,…

Is THIS daddyboosh’s carlyle group???

Are we supposed to feel sorry for him?

No wonder junior’s actin’ snippy & even weirder than usual lately.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/…..=australia

I guess crying wolf is getting teh old now. *s*

Per the cited WaPo article:

Petraeus credited both the mainly Sunni neighborhood patrols known as the Awakening and a cease-fire called by Shiite cleric and militia leader Moqtada al-Sadr with helping to bring down violence. The Awakening fighters include former insurgents who say they have turned against al-Qaeda in Iraq, a largely homegrown Sunni group that Petraeus said is in communication with al-Qaeda leaders abroad. The United States is now paying 88,000 members of the Awakening $300 a month to take part in the neighborhood patrols.

Sadr issued his cease-fire in August 2007 and renewed it last month in an attempt to increase his control over his Mahdi Army militia and expel renegade fighters. U.S. military commanders who once saw Sadr and his forces as enemies now speak deferentially of the cleric, who has maintained his insistence that the U.S. occupation must end.

In the interview, Petraeus conceded that some elements of both the Awakening movement and the Mahdi Army may be standing down in order to prepare for the day when the U.S. presence is diminished. “Some of them may be keeping their powder dry,” Petraeus said of Mahdi Army members. “Obviously you would expect some of that to happen.”

So, Petraeus “expects” the Sunnis and Shiites are standing down awaiting “the day when the U.S. presence is diminished.” In the interim, the U.S. is spending $12,000,000,000 per month arming, training, and funding Iraq’s Shiite government and Sunni Awakening movement, thereby maximizing their lethality for the day when U.S. presence is diminished and they cease standing down.

didja see this steaming turd?

http://money.cnn.com/2008/03/14/news/economy/cpi/

Forgive my pessimism please. Sometimes my frustration gets the best of me.

It’s only a small portion of the Carlyle holdings — just their hedge fund, not the whole of the group. But yes, same company. It’s only a small portion of what they have in total assets, though…

Bullseye!

A lot tougher to use the Israeli’s to bomb Iran if the surge is working.

AFIK, next moonless phase is April 5,6,7.

Others have already mentioned Cheney’s recent trip to Saudi Arabia.

Have to shift the attention off the economy.

unfortunately…that is one teeny arm of the monster Carlyle

Adie,

yes, but the Carlyle Group itself will not suffer ‘exposure’ from this – at some point I really, really want someone to explain to me why any of the Masters of the Financial Universe were buying US Residential Mortgage Debt as late as last July – yes, the bonds were rated AAA, but word was already out as to their dubious nature by then

You and me, both. *g* But I prefer the “Stand and fight with everything I have” method of citizenship. Gives me something to do…

Try Jefferson’s Manual, rules for the H of R.

Thanks. Heard it last nite & couldn’t sleep, worrying for the poor lad.

OT IRT BlueDogs: Contact the Blue Dogs.

I am keeping my e-mail terse, firm yet polite.

because,they knew bailout was assured…NO RISK when playing with the house

maybe so but

Company Bond Risk Soars as Carlyle Fund Edges Toward Collapse

they know where the blame goes, it goes to teh baby bush

1,780 DAYZ AND THE KIIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…

What does “teh” mean again…sorry I’m an old man and my virtual vocabulary ain’t so good.

KEEP THE FAITH AND DON’T WORRY ABOUT THE TRUTH, IT WILL ONLY CONFUSE ‘EM!!

is that how enron was supposed to float also, till it suddenly tipped all the way & sank?

see my 80 comment for TEH GOOD NEWS

Because a lot of those funds are still well capitalized, even though the market is overreacting in terms of write-offs. They just bought some of the more risky ones which weren’t as well funded, taking a big gamble which is what hedge funds do…and they lost. It happens with that sort of thing on occasion, which is why there are rules in place for asset seizure on loans if necessary.

Some mortgage companies are still really solid, even though overall the market is freaking out because of the bad ones. The solid ones will come back and folks who have the money to buy undervalued stocks that will bounce back will make some serious money on them — but that supposes that the stocks will, indeed, bounce back. The inherent risk means that for those who succeed, there is profit to be made…but to get that profit, you have to survive the risk of losing your entire investment…which is what Carlyle just did on those bets of theirs with the hedge fund. (At least, that’s my thumbnail understanding on this, someone correct me if I’m wrong here…)

that is Mr. cbl’s take as well

But you have to dot all the I’s and cross all the T’s, BT, you need to quote the statements that were made that Iraq making the particular moves that were expected of them (in the way of progress). You might be trying to convey this to Republicans, remember? People with the medium-to-long-term-memory of a gnat, and only half of the honesty, or attention to detail.

good my little,teeny STRADIVARIOUS,shall come out of mothballs

FrankCarlucci,andPoppy,and theBin ladens wont suffer

teh used to mean the…i use it to mean “very”

“the”

thank you Christy and sadlyyes

Adie, interesting you mention Enron, as I see the whole Sub Prime/Markets debacle is Enron on steroids – house of cards, collusion, quid pro quo concealment, no one wanting to be the first to call it out loud, and ZERO oversight – not a single lesson learned

teh started as a type for “the” and it became a fun way to say the word

it’s internet speak for “the”

someone posted this link downstairs, “signs of turture you can’t imagine”

Iraqi leaders have failed to take advantage of a reduction in violence to make adequate progress toward resolving their political differences, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, said Thursday.

I’m so cynical at this point – I don’t believe they care at all whether it has worked or not. If the money continues to flow to private contractors and the oil flows remain in our control, the chaos can continue indefinitely.

Betrayus is simply doing his bit to keep the “It’s all their fault” meme going.

And so another day gets X’d off of the Iraq War Perpetual Calendar.

they learned,they could “mostly” get away with it

1,780 DAYZ AND THE KILLIN’ GOEZ ON AND ON AND…

Citizen sadeyes and the Firepup Freedom Fighters:

Thanx…I get SOOOOO confused with this new shorthand…my English are terrible enough and my spellin, well that ain’t so good either…thanks again.

KEEP THE FAITH AND DON’T WORRY ABOUT WIRETAPPIN’…THEY CAN’T UNDERSTAND THE SHIT ANYWAYZ!!

Interesting, I can now admit I didn’t know either. But I’ve started reading it like valleyspeak: “the surge is, like, teh (too) awesome, dude.”

junior better start gettin’ his immunizations up to date for spring break in parahuayooi.

how can one overgrown dinosaur of an administration make such an humungous mess in 7 short years.

dam* the Strad. Where’s the shovel & mop?!

Another lil’ question: does the esteemed heneral betrayus have 2-sided medals, as with 2-headed pennies?

i’m sick of these people. s’cuse while i go find somethin’ to do today that doesn’t involve putting fish thru nearest wall….

ask not, junior… just GO!

Anyone with a strong stomach can watch W on the economy on CNBC.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnr (5+ / 0-)
Recommended by:ovals49, sp0t, mcmom, RantNRaven, jnhobbs
The Human Mind is Amazing !!

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The pmeonhneal pweor of the haumn mnid is aamznig.

Aocdrncig to a rsarecheer at Cmragbide Uinertvisy, it deons’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are. The olny iprmoatnt tihng taht metatrs is taht the frist and lsat ltetres be in the rghit pclae.

The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a poberlm. Tihs is bucseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Anmizag, huh?
Yaeh, and you awlyas togutht slpnelig was
inmotrapt !! So mcuh for topy’s !!
“G”

LMAO!

Good one Norske.

at some point I really, really want someone to explain to me why any of the Masters of the Financial Universe were buying US Residential Mortgage Debt as late as last July – yes, the bonds were rated AAA, but word was already out as to their dubious nature by then

Perhaps they were stalling for time…bluffing if you will, the bluff just fell through, but to prolong the metaphor, the house bailed them out…

Carlyle was just borrowing time on the financial musical chairs game it knew well was playing out.

#11 was for you

oy 111…………

gotta go to work, will leave ‘my good friend’ the general with this -

ya gotta love those Quakers

You got it right… they wanted to run out the clock, use Lieberman to
split the Democrats and hand off a 3 trillion dollar, 4000 dead, 30,000
wounded bill to a successor administration… ” return integrity to Washington ” and so they did and of their particular type.

ok more coffee
#111…..was for you

W: Heck of a job, Bernancke

Does anyone have quick link/list of specific telecoms whose immunity is at stake? Because if the FISA vote tanks in their favor, I have a next step in mind. As Norske would say, “CITIZENS, TIME TO TAKE TO THE RAMPARTS.” Well, something like that.

pray tell?! pour quoi? i can’t even keep my coffee down as it is.

Seriously. Hi eCAHN. It’s strangely comforting to know you’re here. I hope you are well.

tru dat

WHOOT! 111 *G!* way more understandable than junior’s prhoze.

Doing OK. Thanks for asking. How’re you?

Gladly, not in NYC today, cause W’s visit is causing a congestion nightmare.

ok you just made me splatter”g”

#111, ecxllnet!

I’d rather watch a vasectomy on the Discovery Channel.

-G

liarman couldn’t split an oreo these days.

i shall summarily declare him useless.

wake me up when he’s gone.

sorry, corrected ‘Quakers’ link for above

here ya go General

Eew, couldn’t even watch my own.

Uh-oh, too much information, sorry.

Morning all, Sadlyyes, that is amazing. want to thank each and every one of you for helping to improve my reading speed this past year. Typing still at hunt and peck speed though. Keep it up pups.

I’ve admitted that joy at watching car wrecks is growing on me in my dotage. W’s speech is a great car wreck.

your mighty welcome,i usually type one handed with attached cat…”g”

I read the Kagro X article last night that Christy pointed us to yesterday, and I must admit, I was duly impressed! It was a masterful stroke of implementation by Harry Reid, much better than I had ever imagined. We should have known something was in the wind when Dodd relented. We may have been disappointed with Dodd and disgusted with Harry, but they deserve an apology for the results. Wonder how many others knew what was going on…Feingold? Whitehouse? Bravo to them all! Good show!

hahahahahaha u bad

Christy has a new post ready for discussion upstairs.

yea finally…yall had a lot to with this methinks!

Enron on steroids

Gang leader [Mercedes McCambridge]:

The fun is only beginning …

—Touch of Evil

I think Jeff Gannon’s press conference term describing the Democrats fits his man to a T.

Bush is divorced from reality. He’s so divorced that reality is now demanding alimony from Bush.

-G

Bush who is spending $12 billion a month in Iraq is accusing the Congress of wasting some of your money.

Bush is divorced from reality. He’s so divorced that reality is now demanding alimony from Bush.

LOL

Bush now talking about the estate tax. Sort of reinforcing your point.

Hahahahaha

hey eCAHN! Play “bejeweled 2″ with the sound WAYYYYYY up.

Thanks for askin. We’re fortunate hangin in here, compared to so many. For them, I just ache.

And I’m so senseless, I literally had knee replacement ops 4 X (early in the decade, don’t ask) with only local spinal block, joking thru the whole of it with the anesthetist & not even teh sedative.

No sense, plenty feeling. I want our country back from these goons.

sadlyyes!

Thanks for the wonderfully therapheeuuuuwwwwtic conversating.

anytime “G”

but to get that profit, you have to survive the risk of losing your entire investment…which is what Carlyle just did on those bets of theirs with the hedge fund. (At least, that’s my thumbnail understanding on this, someone correct me if I’m wrong here…)

And a good thumbnail understanding it is. I would just add the importance leverage plays in all of this.

Let’s say you invest a $1 in something and make a nickel in a year, a %5 return. Nothing great, but a positive return.

But let’s say you could borrow $32 dollars against that one dollar, and still make a nickel per dollar.

Now you have made $1.60 from your dollar investment, or 160 percent, not 5 percent. Even after paying the bank interest for the cost of borrowing the money there is lots left to pocket for the managers and investors.

OTOH, if you lose %5, then you’ve lost $1.60 which is more than the $1 dollar you started this investment with. You now have to come up with sixty cents just to walk away from the transaction.

This is obviously a gross oversimplification to get the point across, but it’s the essence of what’s happening with Carlyle’s troubled hedge fund.

Yer doin’ a heckuva job Benny.

-The Decider

Stumbled across this site because of your phony headline.
Then I read the comments . What a diverse fan base. Wow …so many different opinions and challenges.
I guess it’s just easier to preach to the choir.