Shhhhhh, don't point out the monsters among us ...

Glenn Greenwald responds to the woolly thinkers who counsel we make nice to those who's goal is to take control of this country by any means.

In what universe is it "obscene" to compare the architects of the Iraq War, the torture regime, and endless War with Muslims "to killers and terrorists"? The comparison is true by definition. The people who launched the attack on Iraq are guilty of an aggressive war -- what the Nuremberg prosecutors condemned as the "kingpin crime" that "holds together" all other war crimes -- which killed hundreds of thousands of innocent human beings, turned millions more into refugees, and destroyed an entire nation. The aptly named "Shock and Awe" was designed to terrify an entire civilian population into submission. John Podhoretz criticized the brutal assault on Fallujah for failing to exterminate all "Sunni men between the ages of 15 and 35," while his father has spent years agitating for a devastating military attack on Iran. At least 100 War on Terror detainees in American custody died as a result of their treatment, tens of thousands more (including clearly innocent ones) were put in cages for years with no due process (where many remain), and as recent mosque-related controversies reveal, a substantial portion of the American population craves a religious war with Islam. And that's to say nothing of the acts of other countries which this faction supports: from mauling an imprisoned population in Gaza and attacking a harmless, civilian ship in international waters to propping up some of the most oppressive tyrannies on the planet, including many in the Muslim world.

Sometimes, one's political opponents are "monsters" -- or at least engage in genuinely monstrous acts -- and what's morally offensive is not those who point this out, but rather those who insist that the comparison not be uttered on the jingoistic ground of shared nationality. ...

...

The endless, destructive War on Terror depends -- like most wars do -- on a cartoonish demonization of the Enemy as something utterly foreign, inhuman, and subject to entirely different drives than Us. Moulitsas' book, at its best, destroys that rotted premise by highlighting the many similarities between Them and Us. Because that similarity is a great taboo -- perhaps the greatest taboo -- it has triggered all sorts of outrage: outrage that is actually a testament to the value of the argument he makes.

Because LIEberman has shown such a penchant for responsible, ethical and supportive behavior during his public career ...

... there is a potential upside to the way things played out. It's pretty clear from the statements of various parties, including Lieberman himself, that Obama's expressed desire to bury the hatchet was instrumental in allowing Lieberman to retain his chairmanship. Obama didn't have to do this. ...

Everyone on Capitol Hill and in the press corps knows this. So, in a very real sense, Lieberman is now beholden to Obama. He's owes him one. And there may be times in the next few years when President Obama needs to cash that in, when he needs Lieberman's vote on a key piece of legislation or needs Lieberman's help to convince people like John McCain and Lindsay Graham to break ranks and join the Democrats. And when that happens, President Obama will have an important chip to play. He'll be able to call Lieberman into the Oval Office, sit him down, and say "look, Joe, remember when the Senate was voting to remove you from your chairmanship? I stepped up for you then. I need you to step up for me now."

Yeah, right ...

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Today's QUOTES:

The FISA Lie: Barack Obama gave his word (likely to cravenly gain credibility with Russ Feingold, Wisconsin Democratic primary voters, and the netroots) that he was against retroactive telcom immunity and would filibuster any attempt to pass it through the Senate. Then, when his nomination was all but assured and the bill came up for a vote, Barack Obama showed his colors and shoved the shiv once again in the raw bloody back of the progressives and netroots. Obama turned on a dime and not only did not filibuster, it was his lead that Pelosi and Reid followed in ramming the craptastic FISA Amendments Act through with retroactive immunity for the Bush/Cheney criminals. Heckuva job Baracky! ... --Obama’s Long Arm/Short Arm Stiff Of The Netroots by bmaz, firedoglake.com

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Now there's a surprise ...

About those fixes for the economy BushCo demanded and the Democrats rolled over for: New federal mortgage plan offers relief to only a few

"Everything to date has been voluntary, and it really hasn't worked ..."

Now that's something we wouldn't have expected based on BushCo's history, would we?

Anyone paying attention for even a few of the last eight years knew that BushCo would botch everything up while mainlining our tax dollars into their friends' coffers. But Congress gave them the power and authorized the money with no strings, no oversight, no rules, not limits, no logic.

And given Harry Reid's inability to come to terms with his responsibility to get back stabber Lieberman off the Democratic committee leadership list we can assume that any Senate under Reid will continue toe the Republican line.

A significant majority of voters choose a Democrat to be President this month. In addition, voters have have increased the number of Democrats in both House and Senate in the last two elections. Reid's Republican-lackey approach to his job is not going to do those Democrats any good.

I'm of the opinion that both Reid and Lieberman must go. But since most of 'those people' think of themselves as select members of a club and not as representatives of the citizens of this country, it seems unlikely that Democrats will step up and put good leaders in either the House or the Senate.

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Today's QUOTES: One of the biggest problems clogging and clotting our political discourse has been the near-total merging of the media and political classes over the last few decades. Or rather, the completely false and fatuous fantasy on the part of big-time journalists that they are actually part of the same clubby circle as politicians who operate the levers of power. The politicians have made good use of this collective, self-serving delusion, ... --Happy Days: No Crime, No Foul for the Media-Political Club by Chris Floyd, Empire Burlesque

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Marana in the dumps ...

Pima County Board of Supervisors plans to close the Tangerine Road landfill (near Marana) to the public and as a result Marana residents would need to travel at least 20 miles to Catalina Transfer Station. Then the Catalina Transfer Station will truck the refuge to the to the Tangerine Road landfill which will be 'open' to such well travelled rubbish.

Complete closing the Tangerine Road landfill to the public will cost $9 million for which the county does not have the money to pay and is " looking to have a bond election in the future." It's not clear, to me, whether 'complete closing' refers to some time after which Tangerine landfill no longer accepts transferred rubbish from Catalina nor is it clear, to me, what 'complete' closing entails. But it is clear, even to me, that complete closing does not mean just locking the doors and turning off the lights as it costs much dinero.

The above is what I gleaned from this article: Marana council irate over dump closure --Plan to shut Tangerine Landfill next year called irresponsible, but county disagrees by Shelley Shelton, Arizona Daily Star

Notice how the he said/he said nature of the article begins right in the subheading?

He said/he said journalism is a journalistic strategy that provides that the reporter never has to understand the subject matter.

Never imagined I would, or could, enjoy a post about split infinitives ...

Both support as well as being ready

Of course, only the media believed them ...

ADDED II: As always Glenn Greenwald puts the world in perspective: The simultaneous rejection of the bailout and a corrupt ruling class
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ADDED: Actually Pelosi made a pretty good speech. She understands the problems (in more than just the economy) but she seldom follows through to ensure good legislation. She usually gives up to the Thugs and helps put through terrible Thug-backed solutions while telling us that's not what she's doing. That's what she was doing this time. And the Thugs sandbagged her, not for the first time. But remember she was helping the Thugs pass what they said they wanted, what they said they had to have to 'save the country,' only they couldn't hold their own members in line this time. And the 'protections' that Pelosi and the Dems said they got were so much hype, just like they were with FISA and everything else.
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Nancy Made Them Cry - Or Not

by Steve Soto

House Republicans are already stepping away from their ludicrous claim that Nancy Pelosi's speech cost them the Republican votes needed to pass the bailout yesterday. Several media sources this morning point out that Boehner and Blunt knew hours before the vote that they didn't have the numbers to hold up their end of the deal, but didn't tell Pelosi and Hoyer this.

Maybe we should send them all "Nancy Made Me Cry" bumper stickers.

But they claimed, in public, that Nancy Pelosi made cry babies out of them by giving a political speech. And they claimed that because Pelosi made cry babies out of them with her words they decided not to vote as they had promised to vote [another lie].

We knew it was all a lie but were still presented with the ridiculous story because the press rolled with the story without laughing in their faces, as usual.

We should make sure the shame [not that Thugs have shame, ridiculousness then] of presenting themselves as cry babies because of Pelosi's words should follow them to the grave [or at least a few minutes more].

Poor widdle Thugs ...

• The Thugs want a $700B giveaway, but their 'base' does not.
• The Thugs manipulate the stupid Dem leadership into doing the Thug giveaway [instead of looking at reasonable options].
• But the Thugs' goal is for the Dems to look like they own one of the most unpopular Congressional actions in decades and, as usual, the Dems cooperated with gusto.
• But the Dems do insist that a 'reasonable' number of Thugs must come forward and vote for the giveaway [after all, they are the real ones who caused the mess and want to turn over all money to the filthy rich]
• And the Thugs agree [away from the cameras, away from the photographers, probably in a public bathroom stall somewhere]
• But when it comes to voting in daylight, in front of the cameras, the Thugs couldn't get enough of their own to fall on their own dull swords
• Being the party of excuses, they of course blame everything on the Dems and on Pelosi in particular, who has been stupid enough to try to work with them time after time after time. Seems Nancy Pelosi hurt them with words. Hurt them so badly that they took their widdle hurt feelings and their promised votes and left the playground.

Poor, poor widdle cry babies.

I never knew Pelosi's words could be so powerful.

I'm sure they will be back asking for the Dems to give them more [all is just not enough for them] to make up for making them cry. Working with lunatics is a setup for disaster [as many of us have had repeatedly drilled into our brains the last seven plus years].

Luv Chris Floyd's imagery ...

The Resurrectionists: Beltway's Big Money Cultists Bail Out the Dead

The crisis of Wall Street's financial meltdown has demonstrated, once again, that although the Bush Faction thugs are criminals, killers, torturers, and thieves, without even the slightest competence in governing, they remain brilliant political tacticians. They may be willfully ignorant and brutally stupid in almost every other area, but when it comes to advancing their own narrow interests -- at the expense of the political opposition -- their low cunning cannot be denied.

Just look how they have made the Democratic leadership the face of the Administration's bailout plan -- which is perhaps the most virulently unpopular government action in the last 100 years. ...

And the photo! Follow the link to the article if only for the photo ...

Words fail ...

[This post edited after posting.]

The US Army is going to help h.s. dropouts get their GED's so it can use them as targets in the mideast.

Holden, 18, of Medford, Ore., is racing through her first week of practice tests before taking a formal GED exam soon. She left home at 16, one of nine children of a mill worker, and wants to be a military police officer.

"There's no jobs out there, nothing. It's just horrible. And it got hard just trying to support myself and go to school at the same time," Holden said.

Send enough US jobs overseas and it becomes much easier to recruit that all 'volunteer' army.

What I don't understand is why the irrational concern about those crossing US borders looking for low paid jobs? I'm surprised the Bush administration and their think-alikes have not conscripted them into the Army.

Given the Bush administration's propensity to invent (illogical and irrational) rationales for torture, kidnapping and imprisonment without trial there should be no barriers to stop them from sweeping illegal border crossers --many of whom come to the US looking for a better life, or maybe just survival, and end up working at low-paying and dangerous jobs-- into the US Army.

Enhanced testing procedures?

In order to renew my vehicle's registration it must pass an emissions test. Waiting in line with the engine running I pass the time by reading whatever is posted:

Enhanced testing procedure are a direct result of federal law.

Enhanced? Where have I heard that word used by the federal government before? Oh yeah!

Enhanced interrogation techniques

Enhanced testing procedure? Information, warning, threat? I don't know. The only other, possibly related, bit of information was that IF your vehicle doesn't pass you are instructed to park and go to the office for 'help.'

Vehicle passed. Whew ...

From the offspring of Ma Bell ...

Verizon offers 'My Verizon' members the amazing ability to "keep a copy of your saved phone numbers on a secure website without a monthly fee so they're available if you lose or upgrade your phone."

Please be aware that that free service from the company that spies on you and shares your information with the government [unConstitutionally and without warrant], information that is ultimately shared with other non-governmental and unregulated organizations is offering you a special service to share that information with you also. And all that sharing is worth $1.99 per month (per month!) but they will just give it away because, you, the spied upon, are just so special.

Gall, thy name is Republican Business Models.

My umpteenth final notice ...

I just received another final notice about my vehicle's expired factory warranty. 2nd and final notices seem to be as numerous as sands on the beach or drops in the oceans. There is just no limit to the number of times one will receive that 2nd or final notice. They seem to be interchangeable. I will receive a final (but not 'the' final, evidently) notice and with the next phone call I will receive a 2nd notice.

I've been told by others that one does not even need to own a vehicle in order to be honored by 2nd and final notices.

This final notice was by way of the post office. And they have make, model, year. Though they do seem to be a little confused.

It seems that:

You purchased your _____ 19 months ago. The original in service date of the vehicle, which activates factory coverage, was over 38 months ago.

My that was a fast 19 months. In fact, I purchased the vehicle in 2004. Definitely over 38 months ago.

Poor Sean Hannity ...

Sean Hannity is just so fearful of bloggers who lean to the left of the entities which provide his paycheck that one is concerned his brain may explode from his self generated fear as his brain struggles to connect imaginary and randomly selected dots.

View the video: We control the horizontal...we control the vertical...we control the democratic party

Now I must say there are a couple facts in that video. MoveOn.org is an organization supporting Democratic views. FireDogLake is a real web site. Senator Clinton did post there. George Soros is a real person. But it's just wonderful to see how the left side of the blogosphere rules the roost as far as the Democrats are concerned.

Charlie Chaplin would be proud ...

This video clip of the border patrol and a car full (and I do mean full) of people who I assume are illegal entrants is marvelous slapstick.



Sure it wasn't staged? And if real, I do hope nothing bad happened to any of them --Border Patrol officers and the cars occupants alike.

Link via Tucson Weekly.