Just a quickie from yesterday’s appearance in the Shenandoah National Park. He Got The Money Able I really love being with our park rangers. These are dedicated people who have got a pretty cool job, when you think about it. I just want to make sure that they got the money able to do their job. Tarzan Like New Money Our idea is to have $3 billion new money available for this important initiative. Continue reading Your President Speaks!
Here’s Captain Squirrel Nut speaking at that Justice Sunday event I mentioned: BILL DONAHUE: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. It is great to be here amongst friends. You know, I know a lot of the people in the media are wondering why are Catholics and Evangelicals getting together? I have got news for you. Get used to it, all right. We are here because we are concerned about the culture. The heart and soul of any culture has always been religion. But in our society over the last 30, 40 years, it seems that the … Continue reading Bill Donahue: Moral Authority
Oh my, the wingnuts are gonna love this. Chimpy invited New Jersey lawyer Jonathan Saint-Preux to the White House Christmas party a scant two months after Saint-Preux received a felony indictment. Better yet, Saint-Preux stands accused of forging immigration documents in order to allow hunderds of illegal aliens to stay in the US. Paging Tom Tancredo! President George W. Bush invited an indicted New Jersey lawyer to a White House holiday party less than two months after the attorney was charged with immigration fraud, court records show. Jonathan Saint-Preux was indicted on Oct. 5 with his wife, Michele, and another … Continue reading Bush Crime Family, Part Deux
(Photo from People Get Ready…go check out more) As Atrios says, any campaign that doesn’t know how to deal with wingnut attacks should just fold. So seeing this from an Edwards spokesperson is troubling… Mr. Edwards’s spokeswoman, Jennifer Palmieri, said Tuesday night that the campaign was weighing the fate of the two bloggers. If I may suggest to the Edwards campaign…go read Maitri for an illustrative example of a response to an attack. Maitri is a member of the Mardi Gras Krewe du Vieux whose King this year was Times Picayune columnist Chris Rose. Rose did some fence sitting in … Continue reading Edwards …take a Cue from a Krewe
Think Progress has video of Chris Matthews dropping the F bomb on Imus today… “…so sick of Southern guys with ranches running this country. I want a guy to run for President who doesn’t have a f**king — I’m sorry, a ranch. Wouldn’t that be good. Not a, a guy who wasn’t on the ranch during Katrina, he was on the street corner answering questions.” I like the Katrina quote Continue reading Tweety drops F bomb
Today Pony Blow opened with a stunningly stupid statement (so what else is new).
As you know, the global war on terror is a struggle against terrorists who are threatening the entire civilized world.
The ENTIRE civilized world. Yeah, right.
Next up, the Iraqi’s have already missed several “benchmarks”. Pony sez give ’em more time, then “hope that we’ll be able to report success.”
Q Tony, the President said in his speech on the 10th that America will hold the Iraqi government to the benchmarks it has announced. How do you follow through on that pledge if Iraq is not meeting its own target dates for certain pieces of legislation, they’re not supplying troops into Baghdad at the numbers that were expected? What does the White House do to follow through?
MR. SNOW: I think the most important thing to do is to keep in mind what is, in fact, going on. For instance, yesterday, I think the Prime Minister stood up before everybody and said, “I call on you quickly to finish the preparations so we don’t disappoint people.” He also made the point that either we win or — “Either we all win or we all lose. The whole world is watching us and expecting us to win.”
I think at this point, to try to start rendering summary judgment at the very beginning of an effort by the Iraqis not only to deal with matters of legislation, but also economic development and getting forces on the ground, and for that matter, getting their headquarters and command stood up, is a little premature. The other thing we’ve said is if it takes a couple extra days or weeks at one end or another, we’re going to understand that.
[snip]
But as we’ve said all along, over time, within the next couple of months, we’ll be able to get a firmer sense of how the Iraqis are doing and how the plan is proceeding.
Q What will happen then?
MR. SNOW: Well, we hope that we’ll be able to report success.
Q But even that drawn-own process doesn’t do much to address the lack of security for the people who are needed to rebuild Iraq in places outside the Green Zone. And as you know, there’s difficulty getting those people to go there.
MR. SNOW: Yes, there is, absolutely. We’re in the process right now of working on building up the provisional reconstruction teams. The State Department pretty much has its commitments now made. Their team leader positions are pretty much filled.
Obsession continues…
Continue reading “Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle”
Via Froomkin, Helen Thomas is recognized with a lifetime achievement award from the Washington Press Club Foundation. On this Tuesday night, there was a party to be had and a journalistic legend — the indefatigable Helen Thomas — to be honored. And not even the threat of snow could stop the 63rd annual congressional dinner of the Washington Press Club Foundation. [snip] [N]o honor meant more than the lifetime achievement award bestowed on veteran White House correspondent Thomas. “On behalf of the House of Representatives, we salute Helen Thomas,” said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. “You could have gotten … Continue reading Yea Helen!
AnotherUS helicopter is shot down in Iraq. The U.S. military sent a quick-reaction force to the site of a downed helicopter about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad on Wednesday, the U.S. military said. The downed chopper is a CH-46 Sea Knight, and the cause of the crash is unknown, said U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell. He did not provide further details. Two witnesses told Reuters they saw a twin-rotor Chinook transport helicopter crash amid gunfire from the ground Wednesday. The Chinook and Sea Knight are similar twin-rotor helicopters, and according to Boeing, which manufactures the choppers, … Continue reading They Continue To “Bring It On”
With Chimpy polling below a swift kick in the nuts, the tourist trade in Crawford has entered a rough patch. Near the lone stoplight on Main Street, a for-sale sign hangs from a dusty window where a souvenir shop used to sell cufflinks, cowboy boots and denim shirts emblazoned “The Western White House.” Another gift store across the street is shuttered too, though a sign says it will reopen elsewhere. And the biggest souvenir shop in Crawford is reporting a drop in sales. [snip] The Washington professionals have their polls, their focus groups and their newspaper editorials. But Crawford, the … Continue reading Live By The Bush Boom, Die By The Bush Boom
Nice. Like many of his colleagues, Abu Zaid was issued an Austrian-made Glock pistol when he joined the new U.S.-trained and equipped Iraqi police force. But after narrowly escaping death twice, including being shot at near a polling station in Baghdad during national elections in December 2005, he decided to quit, he said. “I sold my Glock pistol and my bullet-proof vest for $1,500 (763 pounds) so that I can feed my family until I find a safer job. They were mine to sell, after all I had risked my life and faced death,” he told Reuters. Anecdotal evidence, including … Continue reading We’re Arming Our Enemies
Pony Blow openstoday’s gaggle by bickering with Terrence Hunt.
Q Iran says it’s holding the United States responsible for the safety of an Iranian diplomat who was seized by people in Iraqi uniforms, Iraqi soldier uniforms. What do you know about this?
MR. SNOW: All we know is that the Iraqi government is investigating it. And obviously, we abide by and support the Vienna Convention for diplomats. But we don’t really know a lot about it at this point. We know that the Iraqi government is investigating.
Q And is the United States — can it confirm that Iraqi soldiers took this person?
MR. SNOW: Again, I think you — refer all that to the Iraqi government. We’ve seen the news reports. We’re not in the business of confirming. They’re investigating. I would refer you to the people doing the investigation.
Q Do we know, did it happen?
MR. SNOW: I’ve seen news reports, again, Terry —
Q Nothing more than that?
MR. SNOW: Terry, you know who to call, or you know who to have your people call.
Q I’m starting with you.
MR. SNOW: All right, and I’m telling you that this is something that the Iraqis are investigating.
Obsession continues…
Continue reading “Today On Holden’s Obsession With The Gaggle”
APew Research poll reveals that Hispanics are way ahead of the rest of the country on the subject of ending Chimpy’s Vanity War. This can’t be a good sign for the electoral prospects of Republicans in states like Texas. Two-thirds of Hispanics (66%) now favor bringing troops home as soon as possible, up from 51% in January 2005. Conversely, Latinos who favored keeping troops in Iraq until the situation there has stabilized have declined from 37% to 19%. [snip] The general public also is more inclined to bring the troops home, but not to the same extent as Hispanics. A … Continue reading Hispanics Ahead Of The Curve
The International Herald-Tribune reports that “More U.S. troops died in Iraq combat in past four months than in any similar period of war”. More U.S. troops were killed in combat in Iraq over the past four months — at least 334 through Jan. 31 — than in any comparable stretch since the war began, according to an Associated Press analysis of casualty records. Not since the bloody battle for Fallujah in 2004 has the death toll spiked so high. The reason is that U.S. soldiers and Marines are fighting more battles in the streets of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, and … Continue reading More For The Meatgrinder
So Romenesko’s its usual buffet of stupid today. hirings and firings and a lot of whining about newspapers going the way of the buggy whip, or something, and this Swedish thing which I actually think is rather cool, but I’m reading this and just getting frustrated all over again. If we just covered this and not that, if we just put a reporter here and not there, if we just wrote more stories about nannies and less about government, if we just tried to reach people where they were, if we just … if we just … most of it … Continue reading Journalism: Accepting The Inevitable
Yet another Pew poll shows that the Internets are booming as a news source for the well-informed. Just after the midterm elections in the fall of 2006, the Pew Internet & American Life Project polled Americans about their political news sources. We asked people if they were getting most of their election news from the television, newspapers, radio, magazines, or the internet. As ever, television was the walk-away favorite. Over two-thirds of respondents (69%) said they got most of their political news from television; about a third (34%) said newspapers, and 15% said the internet.1 But the underdog internet is … Continue reading Boomin’
UPDATE: I see from a comment that audio may be autoplaying? Autoplay is very annoying and I didn’t mean for that to occur. I think I have fixed it but if it is still autoplaying could you please leave a comment? Rep. Barney Frank chaired a hearing today on the Federal Housing Response to Hurricane Katrina. Rep. Frank has promised legislation to deal with the situation. For background on that situation you can read this piece by Loyola law professor Bill Quigleywho has been advocating for the rights of residents. (To his possible professional detriment I may add, as the … Continue reading “We Need To Come Home”
First it was the Italians, then the Germans, and now the Portuguese who are investigating their country’s involvement in Chimpy’s gulag. Portugal’s attorney general is opening a criminal investigation into claims that CIA flights, some of them allegedly carrying terror suspects, made stopovers in the country, the state-owned news agency reported on Monday. The agency Lusa quoted Deputy Attorney General Candida Almeida as saying the investigation had ‘many leads’ to pursue after a Portuguese deputy at the European Parliament presented a dossier of allegations. [snip] The attorney general’s decision to launch a formal investigation is embarrassing for the government. Last … Continue reading More Push-Back On Rendition
A Swift Kick In The Nuts Is More Popular Than The President Continue reading Sit Down And Have A Beer With That, Bitches
No wonder she’s trying to drum up business during the State of the Union Address and taking advantage of taxpayer-funded free parking for as long as she can get away with it. Katherine Harris’ senate campaign owes a hefty chunk of change. Former Representative Katherine Harris, a Florida Republican, on the other hand, ended her failed Senate bid with more than $2.5 million in debt, according to her year-end filings. Continue reading She May Have To Pawn Her Implants
Talk…No walk Continue reading Hagel
Here are two important items via Oyster which demonstrate how Bush continues to stand in the way of NOLA recovery. First is this from the Times Picayune… U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials based in New Orleans on Monday defended a White House budget recommendation that would temporarily shift $1.3 billion to complete construction of West Bank levees and levee walls, instead of reserving that money for east bank hurricane-protection projects. But during a briefing with reporters, the local corps officials also confirmed that the White House had turned down a third alternative, which would have allowed the corps to … Continue reading Bush The Obstructor: Standing in the way of NOLA recovery
Moral clarity, Bush-style. From CNN: A man sentenced to death in Kuwait for the 1983 bombings of the U.S. and French embassies now sits in Iraq’s parliament as a member of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s ruling coalition, according to U.S. military intelligence. Jamal Jafaar Mohammed’s seat in parliament gives him immunity from prosecution. Washington says he supports Shiite insurgents and acts as an Iranian agent in Iraq. U.S. military intelligence in Iraq has approached al-Maliki’s government with the allegations against Jamal Jafaar Mohammed, whom it says assists Iranian special forces in Iraq as “a conduit for weapons and political influence.” … Continue reading Putting The Terrorists In Power Over There So They Won’t Be In Power Over Here — Or Something
Watertiger has pics for Colin Powell Day Continue reading She owes me a monitor as they say
The Corner kids think they are so funny when generating hilarity in kicking a destroyed city down.Oyster at Your Right Hand Thief rings it all in with his post “Clown Derby.” That would be Derby as in Derbyshire. But first there are these clowns… Fellow Corner resident Mark Steyn chimed in: “Derb, I’m with you on New Orleans– welfare swamp enlivened by occasional transsexual hookers”. 01/25 12:30 PM…Jonah’s reply: “Now That’s a Slogan. Mark describes New Orleans as a “welfare swamp enlivened by occasional transsexual hookers.” I love it!” 01/25 12:47 PM Oyster gives the kids a richly deserved spanking … Continue reading NRO swampland humor
Bush Opposes The Iraq War. [Bush] repeated his belief that if he were called by a pollster and asked whether he approved of the war in Iraq, he would say, “You can put me down as a no.” Continue reading Your Moment of “WTF?”
Suspect Device has a pic Continue reading He owes me a keyboard as they say
Today, at the White House. Listen to the Budget! Our priority is to protect the American people. And our priority is to make sure our troops have what it takes to do their jobs. We also have got priorities in national parks and education and health care. But we have proven, and I strongly believe Congress needs to listen to a budget which has no tax increase, and a budget, because of fiscal discipline, that can be balanced in five years. What The Meaning Of Is Is There will be no timetable set. And the reason why is, is because … Continue reading Your President Speaks! Again!
The Heartland rejectsChimpy. Clear majorities of Michiganders say President George W. Bush’s new Iraq strategy won’t work, and they doubt that pulling U.S. troops out of Iraq would increase the risk of terrorist attacks in the United States, a Detroit Free Press-Local 4 Michigan Poll shows. [snip] Bush’s 26% approval rating in Michigan is the lowest of his presidency. Nationally, Bush’s approval rating has dipped below 30% only twice since he took office in 2001, both within the last year but neither as low as 26%. His approval rating was 84% in Michigan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. … Continue reading Michigan Gets A Pony
And New Toy… So who are you picking to win? (h/t for new toy to the lovely Amanda) Continue reading Super Bowl Thread