And sometimes, when they won’t hold still, you just have to hoist them up at the camera yourself. A. Continue reading Friday Ferretblogging

From Holden: The Guard can’t seem to convince enough people to sign up as cannon fodder: In the latest signs of strains on the military from the war in Iraq, the Army National Guard announced on Thursday that it had fallen 30 percent below its recruiting goals in the last two months and would offer new incentives, including enlistment bonuses of up to $15,000. In addition, the head of the National Guard Bureau, Lt. Gen. H Steven Blum, said on Thursday that he needed $20 billion to replace arms and equipment destroyed in Iraq and Afghanistan or left there for … Continue reading My Nominee for the No Shit Sherlock Award

From Holden: Herbert: Medals anyone? The president may actually believe that this crowd is the best and brightest America has to offer. Which is disturbing. Krugman: So the Bush administration wants to scrap a retirement system that works, and can be made financially sound for generations to come with modest reforms. Instead, it wants to buy into failure, emulating systems that, when tried elsewhere, have neither saved money nor protected the elderly from poverty. Continue reading Terminal Graphs

Link. Real heroes don’t use tragedy as a campaign speech. No one who was on Omaha Beach, or off it, talks about how brave they were. Men ran their destroyers up on the beach at Omaha, and remain largely anonymous. The truly heroic and truly desperate don’t make a fortune off of their sacrifice. You don’t hear fighter pilots bragging about the SOG teams they saved in Vietnam by flying above the treetops and getting their planes shot up. Because that was the job they signed up for. They risked their lives to save others and regret that people died … Continue reading Department of What He Said

Part of the problem, you think, was that he just wouldn’t leave you alone.

Continue reading “In America 12/16: Lovers’ Walk”

From Holden: Another good day at the gaggle, lots of good questions regarding Social Security in particular. But first, Helen Thomas exposes Chimpy’s economic conference for the fraud that it is, and the rest of the press corps has her back. Q How can the President have an economic conference without having any labor representation? How is that possible? MR. McCLELLAN: There was a broad cross section of people at this conference from various — Q Are there any labor leaders there? MR. McCLELLAN: — from various sectors of the economy. We have worked closely with some groups who are … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle

From Holden: As I noted two weeks ago, the Center for Constitutional Rights has filed a complaint with the German federal prosecutor alledging that war crimes were committed in Iraq by ten senior U.S. officials, including Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Former CIA Director George Tenet, Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Dr. Steven Cambone, Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, Major General Walter Wojdakowski, Major General Geoffrey Miller, Brigadier General Janis L. Karpinski, Lieutenant Colonel Jerry L. Phillabaum, Colonel Thomas Pappas, and Lieutenant Colonel Stephen L. Jordan. Now Rummy is threatening to bail out on a scheduled trip to Germany if authorities … Continue reading Persona Non Grata

From Holden: Former miltary lawyers are beginning to speak out against Alberto Gonzales’ nomination to be our next Attorney General. Several former high-ranking military lawyers say they are discussing ways to oppose President Bush’s nomination of Alberto R. Gonzales to be attorney general, asserting that Mr. Gonzales’s supervision of legal memorandums that appeared to sanction harsh treatment of detainees, even torture, showed unsound legal judgment. [snip] Rear Adm. John D. Hutson, who served as the Navy’s judge advocate general from 1997 to 2000 before he retired, said that while Mr. Gonzales might be a lawyer of some stature, “I think … Continue reading Oppose Gonzales

From Holden: Richard Cohen sez Bernard Kerik is as deserving of the Medal of Freedom as Tenet, Bremer and Franks. To make these awards in the face of failure — the mounting American death toll, the awful suffering of the Iraqis, the looming possibility of civil war, the nose-thumbing of the still-at-large Osama bin Laden and the madness of making war for a nonexistent reason — has the creepy feel of the old communist states, where incompetents wore medals and harsh facts were denied. For this reason Bernie Kerik — three months in Iraq building a police force as good … Continue reading Where’s Bernie’s Medal?

From Holden: “Damn. I thought I felt my Bush Boom stirrin’ there for a minute, but I think I just have to pee.” November housing data is in, and like Joseph and Mary my Bush Boom seems to be homeless: Building permits fell 1.5% Housing starts fell 13.8% Single-family housing starts fell 11.7% Housing completions fell 6% New jobless data is in as well. Last week there were 317,000 new unemployment claims, 40,000 less than the 357,000 originally reported last week. Last week’s number was revised up to 360,000. This is a bit of an improvement over last week’s abyssmal … Continue reading Have a Holly Jolly Bush Boom

From Holden: Your preznit is busy trying to convince the world that he’s really serious about supporting the dollar and reducing the budget deficit. Nobody is buying it. President Bush (news – web sites) said Wednesday that the White House will shore up the sliding dollar by working to cut record budget and trade deficits and overhaul Social Security (news – web sites). But his words fell flat on currency markets as a new Treasury report showed the United States is having trouble financing its current huge debt. The policy of my government is a strong dollar policy,” Bush said … Continue reading That Old Magic Touch

From Holden: As Demonstrated by one George W. Bush. Question: Sir, you’re going to this conference today. Some Democrats call the private accounts in Social Security a risky scheme. What happens if people lose money on their investments? Does the government bail them out? 1) Recognition. PRESIDENT BUSH: Look, Steve, this is the issue about addressing the long-term liability issue. This is a Social Security issue. 2) Incoherence. Like many nations in Europe, there’s an issue with Social Security systems. 3) Stumbling. Baby boomers are getting ready to retire and there’s not enough workers to sustain that which — that … Continue reading The Nine Stages of Social Security Reactions

From Holden: Say it isn’t so, Tom. Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Tuesday that the government should reconsider how it warns people about security threats, saying that its color-coded scale has invited “questions and even occasional derision.” “Occasional derision?” Oh, yeah. Continue reading Bye-Bye Terra Alert?

From Holden: According to Atrios we won’t see the grand cinematic re-telling of Bernie Kerik’s life. Too bad, Herschel Bernardi was due for a comeback. In other news from Hollywood, I hear they’re planning to remake The Hitcher without Rutger Hauer. Ooooo, scary! Continue reading Kerik Bio-Pic Shelved

the inestimable attaturk has a post up about an encounter between Bill Clinton and a detractor in Central Park. According to Lakshmi Kumar, a writer for Citizen Culture magazine, who witnessed the exchange, Clinton was walking in the park with his secret service detail when a man taunted him:</p/ “You were an embarrassment to the office of commander in chief. Clinton stopped, and confronted him, and said: “Oh really? I think I did a helluva job…I’ll admit I misled people about my personal life. And I have even apologized for it, but I never misled the people about policy and … Continue reading Once Upon a Time, We Had a President…

From Holden: One characterizes Chimpy’s plan as undesirable, another calls it a “bribe”. Why don’t we just call his plan a miserable failure and be done with it? Princeton economist Alan Blinder, a former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve, said that while the outlines of Bush’s plan were becoming clear, the package was not desirable. “This would be a piece of a program to expose people to more and more risk. There are millions of Americans who have no desire and no ability to gamble on the financial markets, and they shouldn’t be pushed to.” [snip] [S]ome analysts say … Continue reading Leading Economists and Wall Street Speak Out on Social Security

From Holden: Last year the CIA ordered its agents not to participate in any military interrogations in Iraq that extended beyond “questions and answers”: Concerns about harsh techniques used by Special Operations forces prompted the Central Intelligence Agency last year to bar its officers in Iraq from taking part in military interrogations where prisoners were subjected to duress, intelligence officials said. A classified directive issued by the agency’s headquarters on Aug. 8, 2003, to all its personnel in Iraq advised that “if the military employed any type of techniques beyond questions and answers, we should not participate and should not … Continue reading How Do You Disgust a Spook?

From Holden: Surely his screw-ups put those of Tenet, Franks and Bremer to shame. The commander of the Vermont National Guard says she’s frustrated that some soldiers are being sent into Iraq without all the equipment they need. Maj. Gen. Martha Rainville says the military didn’t adequately plan for the war in Iraq. “I’m frustrated with the system that couldn’t foresee the need for this and went ahead and moved in with soldiers when we had the technology. We just didn’t have the plan or have the capability,” Rainville said in an interview with Vermont Public Radio. [snip] Over the … Continue reading Where’s Rummy’s Medal of Freedom?

Rep. John Conyers is trying to get one million emails demanding that the entire House Judiciary Committee hold full hearings on the 2004 election. All you have to do is send an email demanding a full investigation. You need as well to get everyone you know to send an email. Remember, Conyers is trying to get at least one million. email should be sent here. Continue reading Action Alert – 2004 Election Investigation

From Holden: A decent gaggle today, lots of juice for the gaggle-obsessed. And of course no gaggle is complete without the conscience of the press corps. Q The Palestinians think they’re fighting an occupation. The Palestinians think they’re fighting an occupation. MR. McCLELLAN: Helen, we have a unique opportunity before us to move forward on the President’s two-state vision — Q Right. But is it good that the Israelis continue to occupy their land? MR. McCLELLAN: John, go ahead. George Tenet received the Medal of Freedom today, which prompted your preznit to say the following: “There’s still a lot of … Continue reading Today on Holden’s Obsession with the Gaggle

From Holden: I had to break up my obsession today as the gaggle was pretty good. So on the lighter side we first turn to Raghubir Goyal of the India Globe and Asia Today. Goyal can usually be counted on to offer hard-hitting questions about the relationship between the U.S. and India. Not so today… Q Before my question, I must commend to the Secret Service agents at the Southwest gate yesterday. I had a problem with my key. I locked the key in my car, they were very helpful. MR. McCLELLAN: They’ve been duly thanked. (Laughter.) And then… Q … Continue reading Holden’s Obsession with the Lighter Side of the Gaggle

From Holden: An anonymous commenter provides us with this image from PortaPulpit. Take it away, Attaturk. Continue reading LOL!

From Holden: More good news from the war that keeps on giving. Radical youths from Europe and the Arab world are being trained in Iraq, Europe’s anti-terror chief said Tuesday, warning that such clandestine camps could multiply in unstable or failed states anywhere in the world. “There are some who have gone to Iraq, as indeed there have been youngsters from outside Europe, from Arab countries, who have gone there to receive military training,” EU counterterrorism coordinator Gijs de Vries said in an interview with The Associated Press. Continue reading Terrorists Construct Training Camps Out of Flypaper

From Holden: The 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment had a proud history of combat during the Second World War II. The 1-41 was everywhere in the European and North African Theater – Moroco, Sicily, Italy, Omaha Beach, The Bulge. They built a fine reputation under fire. But that was before the 1-41 was sent to Iraq. Last week, in a makeshift military courtroom, the unit’s reputation came under assault. Soldiers from 1-41 [1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment] described how a member of a rogue platoon hauled an unarmed Iraqi man away from his family one hot August morning and casually … Continue reading The Demise of the 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment

link here; scroll down to the last paragraph. “I was very very disappointed — no let me put it stronger — I was angry [sic] by the words of the secretary of defense when he laid it all on the Army, as if he, secretary of defense, didn’t have anything to do with the Army and the Army was over there doing it themselves, screwing up.” Continue reading Norman stormin’ on the Rumster

From Holden: Bushboy: “Oops, I think I just spent some of my poltical capital, if you know whut I mean.” Bremer: “I’m going to my happy place. I’m going to my happy place. I’m going to my happy place.” Continue reading Lunchtime Caption Contest

From Holden: OK, maybe this is even more uncommon than a Bigfoot sighting: a rare glimpse of the Democratic opposition. [Sen. Byron] Dorgan, chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, which will sponsor the hearings, said they will begin in January, with the subject of the first couple of sessions to be announced later this month. Republicans will be invited, and the Democrats will not conduct hearings on a particular subject if a GOP-controlled committee decides to do so, said Dorgan and incoming Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.), who joined Dorgan by satellite from Las Vegas. Dorgan and … Continue reading Bigfoot Sighted in the Senate

From Holden: Some have referred to stop-loss orders and the activation of the Individual Ready Reserve as the “backdoor draft”. But whether you are considering the former or the latter, in both instances the affected individuals volunteered for military service at some point in their lives. That’s not the case with civilians workers at Alabama’s Redstone Arsenal, where they maintain helicopters. The Army has reclassified 111 of these civilians so that they can be sent to Iraq: When you see helicopters in action in Iraq or Afghanistan, you can be sure, those helicopters are supported by civilians from Redstone Arsenal. … Continue reading First Draft on the First Draft

From Holden: Atrios leads us to the latest record-setting achievement of the Bush administration. America’s trade deficit swelled to an all-time high of $55.5 billion in October as imports — including those from China — surged to the loftiest levels on record. Skyrocketing crude-oil prices also contributed to the yawning trade gap. The latest snapshot of trade activity, reported by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, showed the country’s trade imbalance widening by a sizable 8.9 percent in October from the previous month — despite the fact that U.S. exports registered their best month ever on record. The growth in imports, … Continue reading America Trades Its Economic Security for a Bush Boom to be Named Later