May 16, 2008 archive

May 16 2008

Obama, Brooks, and Lebanon

Today’s New York Times features a column by David Brooks wherein Brooks claims that Obama’s statements about the current violence in Lebanon, “has the whiff of what President Bush described yesterday as appeasement.”  The statement which Brooks feels has that whiff is:

It’s time to engage in diplomatic efforts to help build a new Lebanese consensus that focuses on electoral reform, an end to the current corrupt patronage system, and the development of the economy that provides for a fair distribution of services, opportunities and employment.

Leaving aside the question as to whether or not that would actually appease Hezbollah in some way (I would contend that Hezbollah is plenty enthusiastic about corrupt patronage systems and unfair distribution of goods and services, merely wishing that they be in charge of the corruption and unfair distribution), let’s focus for a moment on what is actually happening in Lebanon, and what Obama is saying should be done about it by the United States.

May 16 2008

The Stars Hollow Gazette

Now with extra appeasement!

Yesterday I ran across the piece that NLinStPaul discusses in Full-Blooded Americans at Atrios and it sent me scurrying to teh Google to find some speeches by Hitler that contained “Ein Volk, Ein Reich, Ein Furher”.  As it turns out it is so pervasive a theme of Nazi propaganda that searching on it is kind of hopeless, though I did run across some of Goebbels “Our Furher” speeches (birthday speeches for Hitler) that were evocative but not entirely on point.  Just as well because NL’s essay is much better than mine would have been and I’ll Front Page it tomorrow.

So I went instead with my little celebration of Republican party disarray which continues today with-

Six ways the GOP can save itself

Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, Politico

Thu May 15, 5:25 AM ET

Summarized they are-

  1. New ideas and an attractive agenda
  2. Purge scandal-stained members, swear off boondoggle spending projects and promote strong ethical standards
  3. Re-build network of donors, think tanks and activist groups
  4. Disassociate from President Bush
  5. Fresh, reassuring packaging and new spokespeople
  6. Stir up concerns about Democratic patriotism and their commitment to national security

and-

Hagee’s apocalyptic support of Israel

Ben Smith, Politico

Thu May 15, 5:16 AM ET

Hagee’s commitment to Israel, however, is itself controversial: It’s rooted in the belief that the Jewish state will — soon — be the site of Armageddon.

Hagee, who leads the evangelical group Christians United for Israel, is a proponent of U.S. aid and support for Israel, and he is a major ally of Israeli conservatives who reject any “land for peace” formula in dealing with the Palestinians. But Hagee is viewed with distrust by some Jews and Israelis because his brand of Christian Zionism closely links support for Israel to the end of the world and the conversion of the Jews to Christianity.

Hagee’s predictions are very clear. Armageddon, the final battle, could begin, he wrote in his 2007 book “Jerusalem Countdown,” “before this book gets published.”

Indeed Troutfishing said today that he had a copy of Hagee’s specially annotated Bible (free for a small “faith donation”) where he lays out all his eschatology.

But I want to talk about appeasement.

May 16 2008

Writing in the Raw: Hey Mrs. Potter, Won’t You Talk to Me?

This Thursday’s Writing in the Raw is sponsored by The Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions, so call them and book a trip to the Netherlands!  Right now!  Tell them Rusty8 sent you and don’t forget to send me a postcard.  

Because of the intense subject matter of tonight’s WITR, it is being presented with limited commercial interruption.      

I’m a big fan of the Counting Crows, so I want to explain in their defense that the song you are about to hear was written ten years ago, before all the Mrs. Potters in this country began to experience the alarming cognitive/rectal conditions that are the topic of tonight’s WITR . . .          

We’ve all seen Mrs. Potters.  They’re everywhere.  The Republican Party is filled with Mrs. Potters who still respect and admire the war criminals, traitors, psychopaths, racists, and thick-skulled idiots of the GOP who’ve been perpetrating fascist hackery in Washington D.C. this entire millennium.  I’m not a neurologist, I’m not a proctologist either, but anyone who has paid any attention at all can verify that the GOP’s Mrs. Potters are experiencing sensory and cognitive difficulties because their heads are firmly lodged up their asses. As one might expect, this condition is acutely impairing their ability to perceive and understand what’s happening beyond the confines of their permanent Republican rectums.    

They’re everywhere.

You can never escape from them, Buhdy, you can only move south down the coast.

May 16 2008

Republichol: The New Prescription For The Change You Deserve

DemocracynThe more things change…..

In an increasingly complex world, many people find it difficult to cope with the stresses of day to day life. The strain of caring for a family, paying the mortgage, job insecurity, and terrorists lurking at the Dairy Queen, can result in crushing anxiety and fear. But now, from the makers of The War in Iraq™ and Katrina Neglect™ comes a breakthrough in the treatment of depression caused by incompetent and dishonest national leadership. Now there is an alternative to the endless years of suffering brought on by deficient representation.

May 16 2008

Support the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008

An action alert from Physicians for Human Rights:

We urge you to write your Senators and Representative today to support the Detainee Basic Medical Care Act of 2008.

Shocking exposés this week by the New York Times, Washington Post, and 60 Minutes have confirmed the alarming breakdown in health care for detained asylum seekers and other immigrants in custody of the office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), resulting in needless suffering and, in the most tragic cases, avoidable death.

May 16 2008

Pony Party… TITS,ASS

Thursday,  I  Think  Seriously,  About  Stupid  Shit

so i’ve been gardening a lot lately…

that’s part of why this pony is late

(& the truck broke down~ i had to get mrD from town)

May 16 2008

Free the Press: The Maddow Movement! A Policy Statement

Rachel Maddow says:

The real issue is story selection, is editorial control. I can only control what it is that I get asked to speak about in a very blunt way. That said, the way that I handle that is that I, I am gunning to get my own show. I would really like to be hosting a show on cable television, rather than guesting because I would like to exert more control over what gets discussed, over what counts as important.

      Photobucket

The Press, the Fourth Estate, is the gatekeeper of Truth in our country. If the Press does not report it, it effectively never happened as far as the all important reaction of the citizenry is concerned. Where the Press shines it’s light, freedom follows.


Where the press is free and every man able to read, all is safe.

Thomas Jefferson

Information is the currency of democracy.

Thomas Jefferson

This has never been better demonstrated than during the reign of George Bush. The Press has not only blinded its own light in regards to scandalous crimes, it has on far too many occasions, such as the lead up to the Iraq Occupation and domestic spying, and in the latest iteration of the military analysts, actually aided and abetted in the criminal acts and despicable propaganda activities of the Worst President Ever. The Bush Administration has corrupted both the Press and the Justice Department to such an extent that is has literally, in the case of its Torture activities, gotten away with murder. It is up to us as citizens to do what we can to stop this. To take back our government and to restore a Free Press.

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