Link.
Friday, December 29, 2006
The Hardest Working Man in Show Business for Ugly People
Must be rough having to put in three hour days...
Must be rough having to put in three hour days...
It Can Get Crowded Inside a Little Bubbleworld
Compare and contrast:
Fantasy a la Lieberman. As usual, WIIIAI's take is better than the actual Lieberdrivel itself:
Holy Joe Lieberman has an op-ed piece in the called “Why We Need More Troops in Iraq” in the WaPo, which describes him as “an Independent Democratic senator.”...
Joe fetishizes “security,” a word he uses seven times. Establishing security, he says, “will open possibilities for compromise and cooperation on the Iraqi political front.” Yes, everyone wants to be bipartisan centrist compromisers, given the chance. Remember the line in Full Metal Jacket: “inside every gook there’s an American waiting to come out”? Lieberman thinks inside every Iraqi there’s a Joe Lieberman waiting to come out, given enough, you know, security.
During his recent trip to the region, he says, “I saw firsthand evidence in Iraq of the development of a multiethnic, moderate coalition against the extremists of al-Qaeda and against the Mahdi Army”. He doesn’t say what that firsthand evidence was; I suppose we just have to take his word for it. I’m guessing he met one guy who told him what he wanted to hear, since that’s the standard of evidence elsewhere in the piece: he mentions “one moderate Palestinian leader” who told him that the US should stay in Iraq, and one American colonel who followed him out of a meeting and told him privately that the soldiers under him really want to “finish this fight” and know they can win it. So it must be true. If Joe threw in a cab driver, it could be a Tom Friedman article...
Also, at least according to some small blogger named Atrios (from Philadelphia, I think), today is C.D. Alston Day, a day set aside to commemorate denial--not the river in Egypt, but denial of reality.
And, last but by no means least, (h/t Scout Prime at First Draft), Riverbend has an update today. It's good to know she's alive, but, as you might expect, she doesn't have much cause for celebration as 2006 comes to a close. Rather than specifically cite something, please read the entire post. It's worth the time.
Compare and contrast:
Fantasy a la Lieberman. As usual, WIIIAI's take is better than the actual Lieberdrivel itself:
Holy Joe Lieberman has an op-ed piece in the called “Why We Need More Troops in Iraq” in the WaPo, which describes him as “an Independent Democratic senator.”...
Joe fetishizes “security,” a word he uses seven times. Establishing security, he says, “will open possibilities for compromise and cooperation on the Iraqi political front.” Yes, everyone wants to be bipartisan centrist compromisers, given the chance. Remember the line in Full Metal Jacket: “inside every gook there’s an American waiting to come out”? Lieberman thinks inside every Iraqi there’s a Joe Lieberman waiting to come out, given enough, you know, security.
During his recent trip to the region, he says, “I saw firsthand evidence in Iraq of the development of a multiethnic, moderate coalition against the extremists of al-Qaeda and against the Mahdi Army”. He doesn’t say what that firsthand evidence was; I suppose we just have to take his word for it. I’m guessing he met one guy who told him what he wanted to hear, since that’s the standard of evidence elsewhere in the piece: he mentions “one moderate Palestinian leader” who told him that the US should stay in Iraq, and one American colonel who followed him out of a meeting and told him privately that the soldiers under him really want to “finish this fight” and know they can win it. So it must be true. If Joe threw in a cab driver, it could be a Tom Friedman article...
Also, at least according to some small blogger named Atrios (from Philadelphia, I think), today is C.D. Alston Day, a day set aside to commemorate denial--not the river in Egypt, but denial of reality.
And, last but by no means least, (h/t Scout Prime at First Draft), Riverbend has an update today. It's good to know she's alive, but, as you might expect, she doesn't have much cause for celebration as 2006 comes to a close. Rather than specifically cite something, please read the entire post. It's worth the time.
Just Do It
It looks like Team Superwimp, aka the Cheney-Shrub administration, will once again display to the world the maturity of a four year old child playing war games with a cap gun. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Shrub did the thumb/index finger gun and shouted out "bang bang, you're dead!" while watching the closed circuit teevee footage...(c'mon: just because they say there won't be teevee footage doesn't mean it's so).
Well, you know what? GOOD, I say. First, I don't give a shit about the butcher of Baghdad. I knew he was a crook and a creep back in the 1980's, when Team Reagan lifted him up by his jackboots--and gave him a free ride following the USS Stark Incident--indeed, just to demonstrate how hypocritical THEY were, Reagan did his best to fan the flames of hatred towards IRAN at the time. I knew Hussein was a crook and a creep before he invaded Kuwait...although, to be fair, I likewise don't really care all that much about the kingdom. It's probably a bit of poetic justice--for both--that they share a border (oh, and an aside: Kuwait might be "supporting" the war in Iraq, but if you ask me, the "support" is awfully tepid, considering. Maybe that ought to tell US just how unpopular Shrub's ugly war of choice was...and is).
Anyway--let Saddam's corpse rot, along with those of his psychotic sons. Hell, maybe we can yank Bremer out of whatever spider hole HE'S settled into to make the announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, we got him! Again!" Who-hoo. Only cost us...3000 soldiers dead, 25000 wounded, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, $350 billion dollars, our international reputation...but Shrub gets his "bang bang, you're dead!" moment in the sun...for the last time.
Because once Saddam IS gone, it's finally over, and the boy chimperor's pathetic, juvenile (indeed, infantile) nature will have no more place to hide. Instead, it will be on display for all to see: the Iraq hellhole, the mother of all clusterfucks, the sheer horror of the ungoing, unending tragedy will be staring us right in the eye after the last little thread--Saddam himself--exits, unloved and unlamented, stage right. It will then hopefully become painfully, embarrassingly evident that the nightmare was wrought for no reason besides the desperate need to be vainglorious on the part of a cringing, little man...and, let's be fair, his equally cringing, soulless, forever frightened, socially inept base of political support. Fantasies of blowing things up--or hanging Saddam--sustain their othewise empty and meaningless existence between trips to the mall and/or church.
So, let them engage in some pathetic, wheezing, beer-belled, sunken-chest thumping one last time...the political equivalent of a used Mazda Miata for their bald-pate-male-menopause-premature-ejaculation last hurrah. Because, for them, it's over after that. Yes, we're going to have to clean up their mess, but for the next two years they've got nuthin'...and maybe more people will finally see them for what they are: scared...little...rabbits, who for too long have been deferred to.
It looks like Team Superwimp, aka the Cheney-Shrub administration, will once again display to the world the maturity of a four year old child playing war games with a cap gun. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Shrub did the thumb/index finger gun and shouted out "bang bang, you're dead!" while watching the closed circuit teevee footage...(c'mon: just because they say there won't be teevee footage doesn't mean it's so).
Well, you know what? GOOD, I say. First, I don't give a shit about the butcher of Baghdad. I knew he was a crook and a creep back in the 1980's, when Team Reagan lifted him up by his jackboots--and gave him a free ride following the USS Stark Incident--indeed, just to demonstrate how hypocritical THEY were, Reagan did his best to fan the flames of hatred towards IRAN at the time. I knew Hussein was a crook and a creep before he invaded Kuwait...although, to be fair, I likewise don't really care all that much about the kingdom. It's probably a bit of poetic justice--for both--that they share a border (oh, and an aside: Kuwait might be "supporting" the war in Iraq, but if you ask me, the "support" is awfully tepid, considering. Maybe that ought to tell US just how unpopular Shrub's ugly war of choice was...and is).
Anyway--let Saddam's corpse rot, along with those of his psychotic sons. Hell, maybe we can yank Bremer out of whatever spider hole HE'S settled into to make the announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, we got him! Again!" Who-hoo. Only cost us...3000 soldiers dead, 25000 wounded, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians, $350 billion dollars, our international reputation...but Shrub gets his "bang bang, you're dead!" moment in the sun...for the last time.
Because once Saddam IS gone, it's finally over, and the boy chimperor's pathetic, juvenile (indeed, infantile) nature will have no more place to hide. Instead, it will be on display for all to see: the Iraq hellhole, the mother of all clusterfucks, the sheer horror of the ungoing, unending tragedy will be staring us right in the eye after the last little thread--Saddam himself--exits, unloved and unlamented, stage right. It will then hopefully become painfully, embarrassingly evident that the nightmare was wrought for no reason besides the desperate need to be vainglorious on the part of a cringing, little man...and, let's be fair, his equally cringing, soulless, forever frightened, socially inept base of political support. Fantasies of blowing things up--or hanging Saddam--sustain their othewise empty and meaningless existence between trips to the mall and/or church.
So, let them engage in some pathetic, wheezing, beer-belled, sunken-chest thumping one last time...the political equivalent of a used Mazda Miata for their bald-pate-male-menopause-premature-ejaculation last hurrah. Because, for them, it's over after that. Yes, we're going to have to clean up their mess, but for the next two years they've got nuthin'...and maybe more people will finally see them for what they are: scared...little...rabbits, who for too long have been deferred to.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Um, That's a Body. In a Garbage Dump
I normally don't recycle images quite so rapidly (see below), but after reading a couple of articles about the Boy Chimperor's day, well, it really does make one wonder about disconnections from reality, depths of stupidity, and whatnot:
"We've got more consultation to do until I talk to the country about the plan," Bush said, appearing before reporters outside an office building near his Texas ranch. Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates flanked Bush as he made his statement.
"The key to success in Iraq is to have a government that's willing to deal with the elements that are trying to prevent this young democracy from succeeding," the president said.
Um, yeah...Mr. Preznut, that's a body--in a (makeshift) dump. Dropped off as casually as one might an old fridge, or used tires. As the article states, there will be "little investigation and no chance that anyone would ever be arrested for the murders" (another body was also found).
You know, by most people's definition, murder victims dropped off in makeshift dumps would imply, at the very least, a rather severe breakdown in civil society. But Shrub and company are in serious denial mode...or hopped up on some powerful stuff...
Oh, and Chimp also insists he keeps the troops "in mind" as he continues his strategery-izing. Hmm...if that's the case, why is it only now that he's asking about a plan...almost FOUR YEARS into the invasion itself?
What a bubble boy...
I normally don't recycle images quite so rapidly (see below), but after reading a couple of articles about the Boy Chimperor's day, well, it really does make one wonder about disconnections from reality, depths of stupidity, and whatnot:
"We've got more consultation to do until I talk to the country about the plan," Bush said, appearing before reporters outside an office building near his Texas ranch. Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates flanked Bush as he made his statement.
"The key to success in Iraq is to have a government that's willing to deal with the elements that are trying to prevent this young democracy from succeeding," the president said.
Um, yeah...Mr. Preznut, that's a body--in a (makeshift) dump. Dropped off as casually as one might an old fridge, or used tires. As the article states, there will be "little investigation and no chance that anyone would ever be arrested for the murders" (another body was also found).
You know, by most people's definition, murder victims dropped off in makeshift dumps would imply, at the very least, a rather severe breakdown in civil society. But Shrub and company are in serious denial mode...or hopped up on some powerful stuff...
Oh, and Chimp also insists he keeps the troops "in mind" as he continues his strategery-izing. Hmm...if that's the case, why is it only now that he's asking about a plan...almost FOUR YEARS into the invasion itself?
What a bubble boy...
Freedom is a Messy Thing
That's a barely retouched photograph above--all I added was war criminal Rumsfeld's mug: he may be gone, but he sure as hell isn't forgotten.
Here's the story. If you've got the time, also check out the slide show.
That's this administration's idea of a success.
That's a barely retouched photograph above--all I added was war criminal Rumsfeld's mug: he may be gone, but he sure as hell isn't forgotten.
Here's the story. If you've got the time, also check out the slide show.
That's this administration's idea of a success.
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Mixed Feelings
This Christian Science Monitor article focusing on the expected 2007 spike in energy prices is definitely NOT good news for the country as a whole; however, it could be a sorely needed boost to the Gret Stet. Increasing prices presumably fuel, no pun intended, increased exploration and/or production, both on and off shore. This in turn should increase state revenues (and, under the current circumstances, will likely send oil company profits even further through the roof and literally into orbit). Of course, consumers--including Gret Stet'ers--will pay...probably through the nose.
For the record, I'd much prefer a sane, sound energy policy that isn't wedded to oil company whims. And the increased revenues flowing into state coffers will, again no pun intended, likely be a drop in the bucket versus the genuine need down here.
Oil, for the Gret Stet, has been a deal with the devil from the beginning. The revenues accrued have never been distributed with any measure of equity, while the costs of extraction, in terms of public health and environmental consequences, have been extreme. But, the state has made the deal, and those of us here live with it.
But next summer, when the reports of $4 or $5 a gallon gasoline are aired, with irate consumers complaining about it costing upwards of $150 to fill up, I'll admit that part of me will think that they've got a somewhat peculiar idea of what 'suffering' means...at least compared to some struggling to return to even the semblence of a normal life along the Gulf Coast...
This Christian Science Monitor article focusing on the expected 2007 spike in energy prices is definitely NOT good news for the country as a whole; however, it could be a sorely needed boost to the Gret Stet. Increasing prices presumably fuel, no pun intended, increased exploration and/or production, both on and off shore. This in turn should increase state revenues (and, under the current circumstances, will likely send oil company profits even further through the roof and literally into orbit). Of course, consumers--including Gret Stet'ers--will pay...probably through the nose.
For the record, I'd much prefer a sane, sound energy policy that isn't wedded to oil company whims. And the increased revenues flowing into state coffers will, again no pun intended, likely be a drop in the bucket versus the genuine need down here.
Oil, for the Gret Stet, has been a deal with the devil from the beginning. The revenues accrued have never been distributed with any measure of equity, while the costs of extraction, in terms of public health and environmental consequences, have been extreme. But, the state has made the deal, and those of us here live with it.
But next summer, when the reports of $4 or $5 a gallon gasoline are aired, with irate consumers complaining about it costing upwards of $150 to fill up, I'll admit that part of me will think that they've got a somewhat peculiar idea of what 'suffering' means...at least compared to some struggling to return to even the semblence of a normal life along the Gulf Coast...
Better a Day Early Than Not at All
Full disclosure: I voted for Edwards in the Gret Stet primary last go round, for mixed reasons: the "race" was essentially over, and Sharpton was denied a spot on the ballot--hey, don't laugh: Reverend Al was, as far as I can remember, the ONLY candidate who appeared in Red Stick prior to the primary, and I still remember wishing I'd heard about the event BEFORE the fact.
Still, I didn't mind Edwards, at least at the time, and was impressed by the enthusiasm he generated. Unlike Kerry, who came across as a politician, Edwards seemed to have some star quality. Now, I wish he'd show a bit of righteous anger now and again, but that's just me. Anyway...
It sure is nice seeing him do his best to keep this region on the political map, because it's the right thing to do:
The North Carolina Democrat's campaign accidentally went live with his election Web site a day before an announcement Thursday that was supposed to use Hurricane-ravaged New Orleans as a backdrop.
The slip-up gave an unintended double-meaning to his campaign slogan on the John Edwards '08 Web site: "Tomorrow begins today."...
"Better a day earlier than a day late," said Jennifer Palmieri, an Edwards adviser.
Earlier Wednesday, Edwards visited the site of his planned announcement for a photo opportunity. He did yard work at the home of Orelia Tyler, 54, whose house was gutted by Hurricane Katrina and is close to being rebuilt.
Edwards still will have to earn my vote...but his actions will definitely make me give him strong consideration...
Full disclosure: I voted for Edwards in the Gret Stet primary last go round, for mixed reasons: the "race" was essentially over, and Sharpton was denied a spot on the ballot--hey, don't laugh: Reverend Al was, as far as I can remember, the ONLY candidate who appeared in Red Stick prior to the primary, and I still remember wishing I'd heard about the event BEFORE the fact.
Still, I didn't mind Edwards, at least at the time, and was impressed by the enthusiasm he generated. Unlike Kerry, who came across as a politician, Edwards seemed to have some star quality. Now, I wish he'd show a bit of righteous anger now and again, but that's just me. Anyway...
It sure is nice seeing him do his best to keep this region on the political map, because it's the right thing to do:
The North Carolina Democrat's campaign accidentally went live with his election Web site a day before an announcement Thursday that was supposed to use Hurricane-ravaged New Orleans as a backdrop.
The slip-up gave an unintended double-meaning to his campaign slogan on the John Edwards '08 Web site: "Tomorrow begins today."...
"Better a day earlier than a day late," said Jennifer Palmieri, an Edwards adviser.
Earlier Wednesday, Edwards visited the site of his planned announcement for a photo opportunity. He did yard work at the home of Orelia Tyler, 54, whose house was gutted by Hurricane Katrina and is close to being rebuilt.
Edwards still will have to earn my vote...but his actions will definitely make me give him strong consideration...
Ha, Ha, Ha, Thud
I'm just laughing my head off at this example par excellence of satire at its best.
Oh, wait. Ignatius is, um, serious, it seems. In other words, we really HAVE turned the corner on the Clinton administration once and for all: Ignatius thinks WE should feel HIS pain.
"I must tell you, I'm sleeping a lot better than people would assume," he said.
No one knows what it's like...to be the sad man, behind blue eyes.
Actually, I feel a little bit of regret in posting such an obviously untrue picture...Shrub sure as hell wasn't in New Orleans at the height of the flood, but instead opted for the view from above--the, "here's looking down on you" approach. It must've just been awful. I mean, you know how stuffy those airplane cabins can get...
I'm just laughing my head off at this example par excellence of satire at its best.
Oh, wait. Ignatius is, um, serious, it seems. In other words, we really HAVE turned the corner on the Clinton administration once and for all: Ignatius thinks WE should feel HIS pain.
"I must tell you, I'm sleeping a lot better than people would assume," he said.
No one knows what it's like...to be the sad man, behind blue eyes.
Actually, I feel a little bit of regret in posting such an obviously untrue picture...Shrub sure as hell wasn't in New Orleans at the height of the flood, but instead opted for the view from above--the, "here's looking down on you" approach. It must've just been awful. I mean, you know how stuffy those airplane cabins can get...
Holiday Wishes
Well, I enjoyed the break from work, if not necessarily posting...though my otherwise constantly aching shoulder and elbow are feeling a bit better.
After a couple of days west of the Mississippi in New (S)Iberia, I'm back in Stick Rouge, none worse for the wear. It was a nice Christmas, although to be honest, I can't say I got what I REALLY wanted...
Here are a couple of reasons why that was at the top of my list. But hey, I'm willing to celebrate Christmas/Festivus/Hannukah/Kwanzaa whenever it might happen.
And, if you'll pardon the tangent (pun intended), last night, like most everyone else I guess, I saw the numerous reports about the death of Gerald Ford. To discuss his administration or that time would make for a literal boatload of posts (especially considering Cheney and Rumsfeld's prominent roles)...so I'll just make mention of something I noticed in passing: last night crop of pundits, over and over again, went out of their way to emphasize the media's portrayal of Ford as a klutz, and how unfair that was. Hell, I heard more references to Chevy Chase last night than I otherwise have this century...
OK, fine--so, contrary to media mythmaking, Ford WASN'T a klutz (and yeah, I'd previously known he was an All-American football player for University of Michigan, etc.). Good. But an after the fact we-was-culpa does zero good at this point, and the larger lesson is likely lost: I doubt seriously the media will apologize to George McGovern, a genuine war hero, for their portrayal of him as a communist dupe. Nor am I guessing Howard Dean will ever live down his being dubbed a radical hothead.
So, may the 38th President rest in eternal peace...I bear him no ill will. That said, it'd be nice if some of the retrospective was a bit more introspective on the part of our professional mythmakers...
Update: Um, I hope no one reads too much into the words "I bear him no ill will." Maybe I should've phrased that differently, something about not speaking too ill of the recently departed.
Well, I enjoyed the break from work, if not necessarily posting...though my otherwise constantly aching shoulder and elbow are feeling a bit better.
After a couple of days west of the Mississippi in New (S)Iberia, I'm back in Stick Rouge, none worse for the wear. It was a nice Christmas, although to be honest, I can't say I got what I REALLY wanted...
Here are a couple of reasons why that was at the top of my list. But hey, I'm willing to celebrate Christmas/Festivus/Hannukah/Kwanzaa whenever it might happen.
And, if you'll pardon the tangent (pun intended), last night, like most everyone else I guess, I saw the numerous reports about the death of Gerald Ford. To discuss his administration or that time would make for a literal boatload of posts (especially considering Cheney and Rumsfeld's prominent roles)...so I'll just make mention of something I noticed in passing: last night crop of pundits, over and over again, went out of their way to emphasize the media's portrayal of Ford as a klutz, and how unfair that was. Hell, I heard more references to Chevy Chase last night than I otherwise have this century...
OK, fine--so, contrary to media mythmaking, Ford WASN'T a klutz (and yeah, I'd previously known he was an All-American football player for University of Michigan, etc.). Good. But an after the fact we-was-culpa does zero good at this point, and the larger lesson is likely lost: I doubt seriously the media will apologize to George McGovern, a genuine war hero, for their portrayal of him as a communist dupe. Nor am I guessing Howard Dean will ever live down his being dubbed a radical hothead.
So, may the 38th President rest in eternal peace...I bear him no ill will. That said, it'd be nice if some of the retrospective was a bit more introspective on the part of our professional mythmakers...
Update: Um, I hope no one reads too much into the words "I bear him no ill will." Maybe I should've phrased that differently, something about not speaking too ill of the recently departed.
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