Did you know? The blond Hutchison was the “Breck Girl” in her early TX career? Gotta love it…have a great day.

did not know that. LOL.

did you know the teabaggers are going ahead with plans for July 4th rallies? There are competing tea parties here and some teabaggers are saying one isn’t authentic. how come Fox News isn’t on this 24/7 like last time? could it be that even FOX viewers don’t give a shit?

Kay Bailey and the WMD lie. Gimme a break.

Good morning.

If Tweetie’d been on the ball, he’d have asked KB exactly how she thought Iraq’s WMDs would get “delivered” to the U.S., since Iraq had no delivery systems. Perhaps FedEx?

When people are killed by airplanes of any sort, it always puzzles me about the body count afterwards. How could anyone really know unless the observer is right there? It seems that what usually happens is that our airplanes make a strike on a mistaken target and kill civilians (wedding parties, funerals, etc). This mistake is spun into a huge victory of many Taliban or AQ people dead. After dancing around for a couple of weeks, our government will try to quietly pay the families or village where the attack happened, hoping that we will not notice. The bad things happen in the “fog of war” you know.

As I like to call her, Kay Bailey Shitferbrains. That still leaves her the better of my 2 Senators.

Good morning all. Thanks for the post BT.

Gloria Steinem flew to Texas all the way from New York City to call Senate candidate Kay Bailey Hutchison a “female impersonator.” Actress Annie Potts of Designing Women pooh-poohed the Republican’s vague stance on abortion rights, saying, “She’s just the same old thing in a skirt.” Columnist Molly Ivins hung the epithet “Breck girl” on her, comparing the way the candidate tossed her blond hair to the slow-motion antics of models in the shampoo commercial. But Hutchison, the Texas state treasurer, survived those and many other attacks.

From Time, 14 Jun 93

Thanks BT.

About 50 people have been killed in two US airstrikes in a Taliban stronghold area of Pakistan, officials have said.

Several people died as pilotless US drones targeted an alleged rebel training centre and then a funeral procession for some of those killed in the earlier assault.

This is being done in our name, with our tax dollars.

In the early days of the war a local reporter was spouting the WMD lie when I said, “How are they gonna get them here? Canoe?” He wandered off in the opposite direction.

I rtemember her pre-Libby trial. Hoping that Fitz wouldn’t prosecute anyone for a “process crime” like perjury. Guess “process crimes” are to be prosecuted by way of impeachment/removal from office only.

What the drones are doing in Pakistan is part of the long history of air war, which mostly just united the U.S. enemy against the U.S. Bombing of German & Japanese cities in WWII being the most dramatic example.

Oh yes, canoe. Much more effective than FedEx. *g*

which direction was that? I think I saw him wandering aimlessly around The City Beautiful. Or maybe that was Bill Nelson.

It’s warm enough to read outside while I finish my coffee, so I’m off. Nothing I want to see on my TV this morning.

Saw Newt on Hannity last night. Verty upset that on the 4th of July Iranian officials will be attending parties here (halal barbecues??)and Noth Korea will be blowing up Hawaii (nice fireworks display though).

north

not even Fox & Friends ?

But now it’s being carried out unilaterally by the US, and now under the command of Barack Obama, a presumably “empathetic” human being.

When SPFP first started its Sat nite vigils at BayWalk we had reporters from the SP Times there for the first 3-4 weeks. When we saw the articles they were printing from interviews with us we stopped talking to them. Misquoted folks, made shit up, the whole shootin’ match. I got particularly nasty with one who wanted to play games with my name. Haven’t communicated with anyone from the Times except Robin Blumner, a columnist who is also a lawyer and a righteous member of the ACLU, since.

Per the 6/1 issue of Time:

The News, a Pakistani daily, reported recently that 60 strikes since early 2006 had killed 687 civilians and only 14 al-Qaeda leaders, a ratio few Pakistanis would find acceptable. The campaign, in fact, may be contributing to a swelling of anti-American sentiment in Pakistan and weakening the fragile government of President Asif Ali Zardari.

Moreover, while the drones may seem a technological marvel and strategic asset to those waging the campaign on the American side, they don’t impress the local tribesmen. On the contrary, they feed a perception that the U.S. is a cowardly enemy, too frightened to shed blood in battle. “The militants say that if the Americans want to come and fight, they should fight them face to face,” says Mahmood Shah, a retired brigadier who was once the top Pakistani official in FATA. Shah, a Pashtun himself, says the families of the drones’ victims are required under the tribal code to seek revenge, which makes them ideal recruits for militant leaders like Baitullah Mehsud, the Pashtun commander of the Pakistani Taliban. Mehsud, says Shah, “likes to boast that each drone attack brings him three or four suicide bombers.“

Apparently, Mehsud is the guy they were gunning for in this attack.

I see yer gettin’ yer southern accent down. Noth Korea.

It’s the same mentality the govt is using in the “drug wars.” They just don’t seem to understand that if you take out “the top guy” there are a bunch waiting in line to take his place. Morons.

LOL. Just a typo. I’m told I still have a NJ accent although we all know ain’t no such a thing.

Woman I work with has been here about 25 years and you’d swear she just got off the bus from the Bronx.

that sucks. some of these local reporters……………. i just don’t know. can’t even write.

The Times has a dyed in the wool neocon as Political Editor, Adam Smith. Talk about a neocon nutjob.

was taking a taxi down here and talking with the driver and after a while he asks me “where in NY are you from ?” LOL. He was from Brooklyn. Not much of an accent around here. Transplants far, far outnumber the locals. more lokeluy to hear a Bahston accent than a Southern one. Except for everybody saying “you all”.

neocon nutjob

redundant?

OT: Per Glenn Greenwald’s just-up posting:

For the last question at his press conference yesterday, Obama was asked by CNN’s Suzanne Malveaux about his reaction to that video and to reports that Iranians are refraining from protesting due to fear of such violence. As Obama was answering — attesting to how “heartbreaking” he found the video; how “anybody who sees it knows that there’s something fundamentally unjust” about the violence; and paying homage to “certain international norms of freedom of speech, freedom of expression” — Helen Thomas, who hadn’t been called on, interrupted to ask Obama to reconcile those statements about the Iranian images with his efforts at home to suppress America’s own torture photos (”Then why won’t you allow the photos –”).

The President quickly cut her off with these remarks:

THE PRESIDENT: Hold on a second, Helen. That’s a different question. (Laughter.)

The White House Press corps loves to laugh condescendingly at Helen Thomas because, tenaciously insisting that our sermons to others be applied to our own Government, she acts like a real reporter (exactly as — according to Politico’s Josh Gerstein — White House reporters “could be seen rolling their eyes and shifting in their seats” when Obama called on The Huffington Post’s Nico Pitney, who has done some of the most tireless work on Iran, gave voice to actual Iranians, and posed one of the toughest questions at the Press Conference). The premise of Thomas’ question was compelling and (contrary to Obama’s dismissal) directly relevant to Obama’s answers: how is it possible for Obama to pay dramatic tribute to the “heartbreaking” impact of that Neda video in bringing to light the injustices of the Iranian Government’s conduct while simultaneously suppressing images that do the same with regard to our own Government’s conduct?

[…]

I know lots of plain vanilla nutjobs.

didn’t bush stop calling on her entitely. she should have juts shouted stuff out anyway like yesterday. surprised she didn’t.

Funny to watch and listen to the senior Jewish ladies from NY at the bakery at Publix.

S’funny how remote control bomb dropping/missile firing drones had reached a viable stage around the time of the 9/11 attacks.

The movie, Syriana, dramatized actors at Langley bombing people in the Levant (Syriana) via remote control drone utilizing satellite technology. As with torture to the point of death, this has become commonplace and acceptable to Americans.

I have to disagree. I don’t think there’s any evidence of large German, Italian, or Japanese anti-war sentiment predating U.S. bombing in WWII. Picasso’s Guernica demonstrates that the Nazis did it before WWII. Additionally, they bombed Warsaw during their invasion of Poland. Most historians I’ve read say that the Germans accidentally bombed London during the Battle of Britain. The British retaliated by bombing Berlin. Hitler then changed his entire airwar from subduing the RAF to the nighttime Blitz against London.

Killing demonstrators is well practiced here as well. Kent State is an early example. As for being a “moral authority” about “free elections” recent history tells us that we have few or no morals at all.

Mornin’ Blue Texan and Firedogs

Buenos Aires bitchez!

Sanford, in an exclusive interview with The State Media Company, said he decided at the last minute to go to the South American country to recharge after a difficult legislative session in which he battled with lawmakers over how to spend federal stimulus money.

Helen is great, and very refreshing. The bulk of the WH press corp seem very cliqueish, even sophomoric, in their questioning.

I did however appreciate it the other day, when Obama tried to duck the question of whether the public option was non-negotiable and the next questioner, Jake Tapper, called him on it. Good on Jake.

Thank goodness for videos like the Guardian one because the one that was aired on Iran state television used “protestors” who blamed news sources like BBC for giving information that influenced them?!
Come on..

Get selise to tell you of her experiences in Miami for WTO.

As for being a “moral authority” about “free elections” recent history tells us that we have few or no morals at all.

Per that same Glenn Greenwald article this morning, 48% of American’s think it’s okay to torture “terrorism suspects.” Note the term “suspects.” Our bill of rights prohibits cruel and unusual treatment of people who have been convicted of the most horrible crimes imaginable, and yet half the country think it’s okay to torture suspects.

The President said he was upset at watching the video of one young female murdered in Iran.
Blowing away 50/60 with an unmanned drone no big deal,right?

Do you think we might be losing something valuable along the way?

sad news,
Dr Jerri Nielsen, the ER Doc who diagnosed and biopsied her own Breast Cancer while stationed in Antartica 10 years ago has died succumbing to cancer that had returned and metastized in 05.

The President said he was upset at watching the video of one young female murdered in Iran. Blowing away 50/60 with an unmanned drone no big deal,right?

His statement is telling. Only five months in office and he has already become divorced from reality.

Christy has a new post up…

He wanted to appoint a torture advocated as head of the CIA, but instead appointed him as his chief national security advisor, because he didn’t think the guy could get confirmed.

No accounting for what American’s believe:

Some of the interesting findings in this Harris Poll include:

80% of adult Americans believe in God – unchanged since the last time we asked the question in 2005. Large majorities of the public believe in miracles (75%), heaven (73%), angels (71%), that Jesus is God or the Son of God (71%), the resurrection of Jesus (70%), the survival of the soul after death (68%), hell (62%), the Virgin birth (Jesus born of Mary (61%) and the devil (59%).
Slightly more people – but both are minorities – believe in Darwin’s theory of evolution (47%) than in creationism (40%).
Sizeable minorities believe in ghosts (44%), UFOs (36%), witches (31%), astrology (31%), and reincarnation (24%).

Thanks for the Greenwald post. Regarding the 48% who find it okay to torture suspects, although I question the reliability of the figure, the fact that any percentage finds it acceptable is a result of years of accumulated media brainwashing.

Agree with him or not, I think you misunderstood what his stated positon was on Afghanistan during the campaign. He always said he thought it was important. I think only Dennis Kucinich and Ron Paul campaigned on getting out of Afghanistan, and I believe they argued that withdrawal was in the national interest, rather than on the moral issues.

Not so much losing as abandoning as if it had no value.

Whatever was said during the campaign, he is now in the position of having to accept responsibility for what occurs during his watch. If he has no problem allowing drones wipe out civilians, he’s no different from the one he replaced.

I guess the governor carries his passport around at all times……just in case he changes his mind about intended destination. s/

Everything about this whole business stinks worse than a week-old fish.

Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha!

[edited for length]

It’s not a matter of power quickly corrupting, as you suggested. He understood that he would have to accept responsibility if elected. You may disagree, but he still sees it in the national interest, and given the fact that he is elected to lead this country, lack of action in the national interest would be deriliction of duty. I may disagree with the policy or think more restraint should be exercised, but to argue that six months has turned him into a gratuitous killer of civilians is, I think, absurd.

It’s a very slippery slope he’s on. If he’s not he’s not cautious, he’ll be wearing Angler stripes soon.

Frateretto calls me; and tells me
Nero is an angler in the lake of darkness.
Pray, innocent, and beware the foul fiend.

Edmund the Bastard

Yes, she called the lies involved “technicalities.” So glad you remembered.

Geez, exactly. When is some commentator gonna stand up and say bullshit, it’s never been proven by any credible source that there were WMDs in that country, in fact, just the opposite was known but the neocons needed their war so the treasury could be stripped clean.