
Stand By Your Man
Trump is a crook, Biden is not. Continue reading Stand By Your Man
Trump is a crook, Biden is not. Continue reading Stand By Your Man
The simplest explanation is usually the best one. Continue reading Occam’s Razor Wept
You can’t fix stupid. Continue reading The Forecast Calls For More Stupid
Underestimate President Biden at your own peril. Continue reading The Underestimated President
“Equality and democracy are under assault.” Continue reading Beware Of Darkness
Democrats in array. Continue reading BFD Redux
You say French fries, I say Frites. Continue reading You Say Putin, I Say Poutine
For only the second time, the state of the union address coincided with Mardi Gras Day. The first was 2/12/2013 when Vice President Joe Biden sat behind President Barack Obama; a sweaty and thirsty Marco Rubio gave the GOP response. … Continue reading The Mardi Gras SOTU Speech
It’s been such a bleak news week that I thought some good news was in order. President Biden is nominating Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to replace the Supreme for whom she clerked, Stephen Breyer. It’s the sensible choice. Judge Jackson … Continue reading Supremely Qualified
This apple fell far from the tree. Continue reading Malaka Of The Week: Meghan McCain
Unlike Encanto’s Bruno, he doesn’t make accurate prophesies that cause people to fear him, but you still may be familiar with the work of Peter Doocy, the spring-loaded punching bag FOX reporter for Jen Psaki’s press conferences. Every day he … Continue reading We Don’t Talk About Doocy
OK – I’m sure that by now you’ve head about Joey B. Shark’s immaculate takedown of Loosey Doocy at the press conference last week, so let’s take a look at how Doody’s dismemberment played out in Freeperville, in real time!
President Biden Holds a Press Conference (Live thread)
youtube ^ | Jan 19, 2022 | VariousPosted on 1/19/2022, 12:48:22 PM by upchuck
*****************
Which presstitute will be brave enough to ask an off-script question?
To: deadWe’ll see if this is a full out dog and pony show by whether or not Fox’s Peter Doucy(sic) gets to ask a question.
334 posted on 1/19/2022, 3:32:55 PM by rickomatic ( )
To: 1Old Pro
To: 1Old Pro
Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – Doody up edition”
Reflections on the Dipshit Insurrection. Continue reading Poltroons, Not Patriots
So as a lot of you know, Joe Manchin kind of lost it on Sunday morning and declared the Build Back Better Act dead, and if you missed the ins and outs of it, it was capably handled here at First Draft by Adrastos and JamieO. I didn’t write anything about it because I was so mad all I could do was call his office, yes even on a Sunday when no one was there, to leave a message about how I felt. And I called all 4 of his offices. I was delighted because 2 of them had full … Continue reading The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease
After my last post a reader who stands in opposition to what I said asked me some questions that I thought would be better answered in todays post then a simple reply to just him. He raises some points that I often hear from those who stand in opposition to my point of view. We will begin with
Since (Biden) took office, Gas prices in suburban areas of (LOCATION REDACTED) have hit highs of $5 per gallon.
Yes they have. I wish Biden had the power to put a cap on how much oil producers can charge for a gallon of gas, but until the socialist dream is achieved he doesn’t. Nor has any president. EVER. If you are upset about five dollar a gallon gas then start getting mad at the real culprits, the oil companies. Personally I think it’s because they see we are coming to the end of the age of the internal combustion engine and are trying to get as much cashola as they can before no one wants and/or needs their product. But if you think five bucks is high, wait till they start using Hurricane Ida as an excuse to raise prices.
And you know they will.
Since he took office, ISIS which was rarely heard of the previous 4 years are claiming to be responsible for the afghan airport bombing which killed many US marines and citizens that have been left there before being evacuated before the US army was to let in the Taliban to take over.
First of all, it was not ISIS that was responsible for the Kabul airport bombing but rather ISIS-K which is an off shoot organization not controlled by ISIS. US citizens were killed in the attack but many more of the dead were Afghans. That’s not an excuse, just a statement of fact. Could it have been prevented? I don’t know, but I do know that a second attempt was prevented with a well placed drone strike. I’m sure you were applauding the bold and direct action that Biden took.
Before he took office it was thought that there might be control on the current situation at hand but reading articles on CNN which is pro Biden, it looks like this August is worse than last year August (although you’ll claim it’s all others faults).
What control are you talking about? Trump’s “peace talks” with the Taliban? Look, let me make it clear, we had no business being in Afghanistan and we certainly had no business being there for twenty years. Biden said enough is enough, we’re not wasting any more money or blood on a place with no strategic value to our country. And if you want to cry about terrorists being there please note my earlier comment about the drone strike as an example of how to take care of things.
The Taliban have no friends, only those who give them money to buzz around and annoy Western democracies. Let them run an unrunable country. When the time is right an opposition group will take to the hills, just as the Taliban did twenty years ago, and begin a guerilla war that will end with them marching into Kabul. But if you think that will bring about a peaceful, serene Afghanistan I’ll remind you that the Taliban will just take to the hills and begin another guerilla war.
The MSM’s Trump fetish. Continue reading Afghanistan: The Media Tantrum Continues
One reason I’m feeling so cantankerous of late is that it’s August. Everyone in New Orleans gets tetchy at this time of year as the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the subsequent Federal Flood approaches. It’s been 16 years since the most important moment of my life. You might not be reading this if not for that epic disaster. It’s why I became an internet writer or blogger as we used to call ourselves.
I’m struck by the similarity of the MSM’s coverage of Katrina’s aftermath and the collapse of the Afghan government. The words that come to mind are shrill, hyperbolic, and over the top. To watch CNN after the storm was to believe there was widespread looting, arson, and mayhem. The looped footage typically included people clinging to rooftops, stealing teevees, and images of the Beer Looter Dude. Over and over again.
In August and September of 2005, the MSM floated unsupported rumors of murders at evacuation sites such as the Super Dome and Convention Center. Over and over again.
I recall watching a reporter do a standup in front of some burning houses and proclaiming that the “Garden District is on fire.” It was not. The burning houses were on Napoleon Avenue, which is not in the Garden District. The looped footage and misattribution continued. Over and over again.
There *was* chaos in New Orleans after Katrina and the Federal Flood but it was not as widespread as the MSM coverage would have you believe. That coverage inspired my skepticism of all on-the-fly live reporting from a disaster area or war zone.
In 2021, the MSM is whipping up hysteria over events in Afghanistan by looping footage of children being lifted over razor wire and desperate people hanging onto airplanes. Over and over again.
There *is* some chaos after the fall of Kabul. Losing armies tend to collapse at the end of a losing war. Make no mistake about it: the side we backed lost this war. Much of the MSM, however, seems disinterested in reporting items such as this:
Just now, @SecBlinken on Afghanistan evacuations: "Last 24 hours about 8,000 people on about 60 flights evacuated from Kabul airport. Since this effort began at the end of July, about 30,000 people all told …" pic.twitter.com/jBIMunbx8Z
— The Recount (@therecount) August 22, 2021
As always, Chris Wallace is willing to sail against the prevailing winds of his own network.
As for the lemmings of the MSM, they prefer headlines like the “Calamity Plane” headline in the feature image. It’s a good pun but an inaccurate headline.
Ok people – let’s get suited up and hit the airlock, shall we?
Of course, the Freeperati have been flooding the site with hundreds of posts about Afghanistan, and Joey B. Shark’s cowardice in cutting and running from the country that has (so far) crushed five different countries’ efforts to control it.
That is now.
This was then:
Donald Trump pulls two thousand troops out of Iraq and plans drawdown in Afghanistan in days amid bust-up with top commanders he accused of going to war to enrich defense contractors
Daily Mail ^ | 09/09/2020 | By NIKKI SCHWAB, SENIOR U.S. POLITICAL REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM and ASSOCIATED PRESSPosted on 9/9/2020, 1:59:35 PM by SeekAndFind
The Trump administration announced Wednesday that more than 2,000 troops will be withdrawn from Iraq and the administration is looking to announce a drawdown in Afghanistan in coming days.
CENTCOM Commander Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. said the reduction will go from about 5,200 troops in Iraq to 3,000 and happen this month, which he said will ‘allow us to continue advising and assisting our Iraqi partners in rooting out the final remnants of ISIS in Iraq,’ according to CNN.
Reporters first caught wind of the president’s plan when a senior administration official discussed it with the press pool on Air Force One Tuesday night – and did so on the condition of anonymity.
The planned announcements come as the president has been trying to make the case that he has fulfilled the promises he made four years ago as he tries to secure a second term. Among them: pulling the U.S. out of ‘endless wars.’
To: SeekAndFind
Isn’t it just?
Also :
McConnell warns Trump against troop drawdown in Afghanistan
The Hill ^ | 11/16/2020 | Jordain CarneyPosted on 11/16/2020, 3:35:42 PM by lodi90
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) fired a warning shot Monday against withdrawing more U.S. troops from Afghanistan, even as the Pentagon is preparing an order to do so.
McConnell, speaking from the Senate floor, warned that only a “small minority” in Congress would support a rapid drawdown and warned that a rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan “would hurt our allies and delight, delight, the people who wish us harm.”
“The consequences of a premature American exit would likely be even worse than President Obama’s withdrawal from Iraq back in 2011. … It would be reminiscent of the humiliating American departure from Saigon in 1975. We’d be abandoning our partners in Afghanistan,” McConnell said from the Senate floor.
**************************************************
The GOP Majority Leader compares POTUS to Obama and the Fall of Saigon?
If anybody was wondering which team McConnell plays for here is your answer. It certainly is not Team USA.
To: lodi90
To: lodi90What kinda stupid do you have to be to call pulling troops out of a 17 year no-victory quagmire a “ hasty withdrawal?
13 posted on 11/16/2020, 3:47:33 PM by silverleaf (Age Takes a Toll: Please Have Exact Change.)
To: lodi90
Do you want to tell him, or shall I?
Anyway, I don’t have (or want) to show you the hundreds of posts from the last week castigating President Biden as a coward for getting us out of Afghanistan.
These mental defectives have the long-term memory of an avocado plant. Or a dog.
.
More below the fold :
Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s obsession with the Freeperati – shart-term memory loss edition”
Everyone here at First Draft has been expounding on the events in Afghanistan this past week or so. If, dear reader, you are so inclined (and I highly recommend it) take a look at Cassandra’s post or Adrastos or my brother Michael, Michael F. All are excellent reads worthy of your time.
I am, like President Joey B. Shark, moving on.
I want to talk about the next war, mostly because it’s already underway.
In case you haven’t noticed, there are nearly constant attacks against Western citizens and companies via the internet. Just today T-Mobile had to admit they had been hacked to the tune of 40 million people having their personal info, including addresses and Social Security numbers, stolen. But they are not the only ones and are far from being the first. Hell, go back far enough and you might discover that this war has been going on longer than the one in Afghanistan.
And it’s not going to end any time soon.
One of the problems is that we first have to admit that it IS a war. You may think that these hacks are being done by some Incel in his parent’s basement as Donald Trump claimed about the DNC hack, but I’m here to tell you it’s pretty obvious that backdoor cyber attacks by individuals or even groups of non governmental individuals are unlikely. Contrary to the myth Hollywood has created, little Matthew Broderick can’t hack into NORAD from his Commodore 64. Nor can any of the individuals, fictional or not, who have tried to ransomware a hacked system. They may have started out as lone wolves, but as the targets became more complicated the individual pirate became a band of pirates and then, just like England in the age of Elizabeth, the pirates went to work for governments. These attacks are coming from well funded government led operations, the kind that, were they in the physical world, would be called guerilla warfare. So first we have to come to the realization that we are in a war and call it that, not cybercrime.
Power grids get hacked. Military computers get hacked. The systems controlling air traffic and even traffic lights get hacked. Elections get hacked. As Deep Throat would say (no not “follow the money”) who benefits? You are talking about a gradual even long term series of attacks on various but vital aspects of everyday life in the West. Tell me, what would cause more deaths, the bombing of one building or the sudden take down of the air traffic control system? 3000 people versus who knows how many of the average of 1.2 million people on flights at any given moment? Think about this, even the most Luddite, living off the grid, burying their money in cans out in the backyard, Survivalist nut case still has to drive a car. That becomes more difficult with no gas because the pipelines have been shut down and more dangerous because the traffic lights are completely turned off. Everyone would be affected. If you wanted to bring rioting and civil unrest to a country this would be the modern way of doing it. Especially if you have a coordinated fifth column of citizens living in the country who would be welcoming the arrival of your “peacekeepers” with rose petals and open arms, all covered live by their favorite faux news network.
Not to mention if you add in a natural disaster like an earthquake or an unchecked forest fire or a pandemic you could bring an entire nation to it’s knees without firing a single shot.
Our fearless leader has written 2 thorough and excellent pieces about the Afghanistan War and how we got where we are. If you haven’t read them, please do: here and here. I have some thoughts, too. There sure are a lot of familiar faces on the TeeVee over the last few days, blathering on about Afghanistan and tut-tutting over President Biden’s decision to get the hell out of, well, hell. They seem to think they have a blank slate for selling their snake oil. Well, I remember who they are and what they did. In 1990, Iraq annexed Kuwait and … Continue reading I Won’t Forget
I’ve often written that Watergate was my formative political experience. I hereby amend that to primary formative political experience. Recent events have reminded me that the Vietnam War also shaped my worldview. It’s the ultimate cautionary tale: wars should only be fought in the national interest and should not be entered into lightly. That was the original sin of the Afghanistan War: we intervened in a hurry without thinking things through. The bill finally came due in 2021.
My family was divided during the Vietnam conflict. My father was a hawk. My mother was a dove. She wasn’t crazy about the hippie protestors as they offended her Scandinavian sense of order and decorum, but she still quietly supported the anti-warriors.
I recall a fierce argument between my parents over one of mom’s bridge playing buddies. Betty was a Quaker and a pacifist. She strenuously objected to all wars but once Richard Nixon, who was raised a Quaker, was president she became an anti-war activist because of his blatant hypocrisy.
My memory is hazy, but I recall that Betty and her fellow Friends staged a sit-in at a military installation somewhere in the Bay Area. They were arrested. Betty was the spokesperson for the group and appeared on the local news. My father thought this was a bridge too far and demanded that my mother bar Betty from their home. He argued that it would be bad for her real estate business to associate with a radical peacenik. Mom stood her ground and refused to go along. Her dovish hippie wannabe son was proud of her.
That brings me to the post title. Last night, Lawrence O’Donnell opened The Last Word with a segment comparing Vietnam and Afghanistan. He lamented that his dream guests, David Halberstam and Neil Sheehan were no longer alive. They wrote the best two books about the American misadventure in Vietnam. Sheehan’s book, A Bright Shining Lie inspired the title of this post. I only steal from the best.
A Bright Shining Lie told the story of American counter-insurgency guru John Paul Vann who was a true believer in the Vietnam mission. Vann loved the country and its people and became frustrated with the military brass who saw them as pieces to be moved around as if in a game of Risk. Hence the featured image.
The bright shining lie told to the American people during Vietnam was that the war was winnable and worth the sacrifice. The same lies were repeated by the Bush-Cheney administration and their supporters in the media about Afghanistan and Iraq. In the aftermath of 9/11, the Washington Post and New York Times became cheerleaders and apologists for Team Bush’s mendacious war effort. The past is prologue as both news organizations dusted off their pom-poms and went into action over the Afghanistan mishigas without, of course, mentioning their complicity in the initiation of our endless wars. Why ruin a sensational story with the facts?
The collapse of the Afghan government and army confirms the truth of a phrase attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson: “”Events are in the saddle and ride mankind.”
That’s truer now than in Emerson’s day. They didn’t have to deal with hot takes on the Tweeter Tube.
There are no happy endings in the Great Game. Continue reading The Inevitable Ending
Things are looking up in the District of Columbia. Continue reading Not Everything Sucks: Progress In Washington
On Thursday, a woman undergoing breast cancer treatment at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, was sprayed with bear mace, physically assaulted, and verbally abused outside a cancer treatment center in West Hollywood, Los Angeles by far-right activists who were angry … Continue reading Sit Down And Mask Up
Last week the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops took a step toward publicly humiliating President Biden by denying him Holy Communion. This action is short-sighted, mean-spirited, and stupid, which means it’s completely on brand for the USCCB.
It’s no secret that the deeply misogynistic Roman Catholic Church is opposed to abortion. I was raised Catholic and had the full anti-abortion indoctrination of grotesque photos of purportedly aborted fetuses (who knows if any of that stuff was real or fake—propagandists use whatever they have available to push their message).
After I was free of parochial education, I started thinking for myself. As an adult, I saw the issue of abortion—and pregnancy—differently than I did as a teenager. I thought about what decision I would make if I found myself pregnant. And I had empathy for women who had to make that decision.
(I know that the anti-choice people love to yell “ADOPTION!!” when discussing abortion, but the reality is that many women just cannot afford to carry a child to term. In addition to the medical appointments, being pregnant still can get a woman fired, or cost her a promotion. If there are complications, it may require her taking unpaid leave.)
I don’t know what Joe Biden thinks deep in his heart about abortion. But I do know that as a politician he is supposed to represent the people who elected him. The Pew Forum says that 55% of people in Delaware support abortion being legal in all or most cases. And Pew also says that 59% of Americans support abortion being legal in all or most cases. And given the makeup of the electorate who elected him, there is a clear mandate for him to support women’s reproductive rights. That’s his job.
It’s ironic that the big fear about JFK’s Catholicism was that he’d be controlled by Rome. And now we have a bunch of Catholic bishops trying to act as if they were Rome to control Biden. This crazy plan might have worked, except that the Vatican has already weighed in on this issue and told the USCCB to back off.
In the end, the USCCB won’t explicitly say that pro-choice politicians must be denied Holy Communion. That’s not how Pharisees work. They’re cowards who hide behind a wall of words which they then twist to suit their purposes.
Naturally the chance to flaunt misogyny under the guise of morality attracts a lot of fellow travelers, and conservative Catholics are out there making the most of it. And they’re being cowards about any challenges to their obvious hypocrisy:
Great to hear from you, Karen! Let me propose that you and I publicly debate the question. Let's see if I can meet your challenges and if you can meet mine. I'm sure it would be illuminating. @RyanTAnd would EPPC be willing to host a debate between Karen and me in Washington, DC?
— Robert P. George🇻🇦🇺🇸🪕 (@McCormickProf) June 19, 2021
Karen Tumulty is right—there is a monomaniacal focus on abortion, but no public shaming for Catholic politicians who gleefully support the death penalty, and the Vatican has been very clear about the stance of the RCC on that issue. (Also on display in that exchange—the typical shift to the demand of a public debate when a conservative “thinker” has been shown to be intellectually naked. Pharisees gonna Pharisee.)
The democrat meets the dictator. Continue reading The Geneva Sip and See
Yet another quiet week in Freeperville, y’all. It’s like reading a transcript of the conversation on a Dallas Cowboys transport bus after they’ve lost yet another game – mostly quiet sulking.
Except, of course, for this –
FANATICS: THE DEEP END (Guess who the fanatics are)
Vice TV ^ | 5/29/2021 | ViceTVPosted on 5/28/2021, 7:36:34 PM by Oshkalaboomboom
Alice Hines goes all in on a journey to the outer limits of obsession.
Season 1 Episode 1: “QAnon”
Alice investigates what causes people to think that storming the U.S. Capitol seemed like a good idea. What draws people to the cult of QAnon?
************************************************
Alice works for Vice TV and the New York Times. This is TV in the Biden Era. If it makes Trump supporters look bad, it’s gotta be good.
To: OshkalaboomboomSome who appear to support President Trump are also trying their hardest to drive rational supporters away from him with crazy conspiracy theories, wrong medical advice, name calling, false accusations and demands for sane people to go away.
To: familyopI think Trump is a big, dumb idiot,
.
.
How dare you insult big dumb idiots by comparing them to The Darnold? And here, especially. Prepare for incoming fire!
but 95% percent of the Crazy conspiracies, bad Medical advice, false accusations and other things he never said were Rupars, taken or edited out of context by a dishonest media.
Bush/Romney republicans are even BIGGER idiots, because they think the media is their friend.
To: UNGNI think Trump is a big, dumb idiotSo, you’re a bigger billionaire
….who declares bankruptcy six times, and is working on his seventh. And does that mean that Bill Gates would make a better President?
and you’ve been a better President than him?
Chester A. Arthur was a fucking better President than him. He lost his second-term bid, too.
Any other lifetime achievements you’ve beat him at?
16 posted on 5/28/2021, 9:45:39 PM by BipolarBob (This is my chainsaw. There are many like it but this one is mine.)
Continue reading “Today on Tommy T’s Obsession with the Freeperati – “Big Dumb Idiot” edition”
Joe Biden meets David Crosby. Continue reading Long Time Gone
Not all populism is bad. Continue reading Soak The Fat Boys & Spread It Out Thin