That W, he’s so creative, look at the pumpkin he carved.
Photoshoppery by Kirk Shelton
TAGS: Carved pumpkin, George Bush, Halloween, Photoshop, pumpkinA Guest Post from The Palinator (re: Debate, Beach Balls)
Friday, October 3, 2008 - 10:30 am (EST)
By a.p.
The Palinator (an author published in a couple dozen countries whose agent would hang him for revealing his name) takes you with him on his train-of-thought ride through last night’s debate (complete with brief detours into tales of fatherhood and beach balls).
Enjoy:
(Author’s note: I got home late and watched the debate delayed, so all times are local, as recorded in my living room.)
9:38 – Ooh. Bad color on Gwen…an emerald green muumuu? She looks like she was just kicked out of Oz.
9:39 – Sarah Palin asks Biden: “Can I call you Joe?” Are you fucking serious? How about, “No, just call me VP.”
9:40 – Coin toss? It’s like football?
9:41 – I hate the requisite “Thank you’s.” So stupid. No doubt Palin will thank and thank and thank and thank St. Louis trying to run out the clock.
9:42 – Shit, I’m already bored by Biden. Gimme Palin. I want blood.
9:42 – Joe got me back. He seems relaxed and coherent. Someone must’ve slipped him a valium.
9:43 – Here’s Sarah. Holy shit, one minute in and she already mentioned “soccer” and said “betcha.” Okay, first impressions – she seems coherent, but robotic. Maybe she is a robot. No, a fembot, like in Austin Powers. I think she’s gonnna shoot Biden w/ her breasts.
9:44 – Biden’s hair is really weird. Not just now, but always. A woman I know took a train w/ “Amtrak Joe” during what she described “the plugging years.” Hair plugs = bad.
9:45 – Weird; when Biden talks, he doesn’t move his body. Just his head. Weird.
9:46 – My god, Palin just winked at me. Shit, she said “mavericks.” So fucking lame. She’s looking right at the camera like a deer in the headlights. Maverick count = 2.
9:47 – HA! Gwen called them on not answering the question. But then didn’t press them on it. Why?
9:47 – Palin: “Darn right, it was the predator lenders.” Yeah, wouldn’t expect any Americans to do simple math on what they could afford. Sure, American’s have got ingenuity, but don’t expect them to add. That’s just wrong.
9:48 – Fuck. She used “hockey moms” AND “Joe Six-pack” in the same sentence. Double fuck – she’s not blazingly incoherent. But she doesn’t believe in using the “g”s God put at the end of words. Everythin’s hurtin’.
9:49 – This format sucks. It’s too fast, all bullet-points, not enough follow up by Gwen. I don’t see this getting contentious at all like Obama vs. McCain got. That’s good for Palin.
9:50 – Boorrrrrrring. Talkng points, talking points, talking points. I think Biden is actually talking, Palin is just spewing. But she’s doing well. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I hate her.
9:51 – Nice rebuttal, Joe. Ooooooooh, McCain voted 477 times to raise taxes. AND the governor didn’t answer the question! Yeah, you go Joe!
9:52 – Palin: “I’m still on the tax thing.” And then: “I may not answer the questions like the moderator wants”?? WTF? Why not just go Faulkner on our ass and do the stream of consciousness “thing.”
9:53 – SNAP! Gwen cuts Sarah off for time. HA!
9:53 – Joe seems empathetic. Nice, I feel like he’s talking to me. I like the “value set” comment. Joe seems to be better at timing his answers.
9:55 – Oh, here it comes. Lambasting Biden for the “patriotic” paying taxes comment. Oh right, McCain’s always been in the middle class. Son of an admiral. Right.
9:56 – I hate this smiling bitch. And I think that’s the biggest flag pin I’ve ever seen. I’m surprised she can stand.
9:58 – “ULTIMATE BRIDGE TO NOWHERE!” Biden gets the first laugh and first “moment.”
9:59 – Biden wants to slow down doubling foreign assistance. Good answer. Americans hate foreigners. I think Biden’s hitting his stride. Or as Palin would say “hittin’ his stride, you betcha.”
10:00 – My wife is yelling at me. She wants me to stop blogging. I have to blow up an insanely large beach ball for my son’s second birthday.
10:01 – Oh fuck, Palin’s referencing the stupid “telling one thing to one group and another thing to another group.” Right out of her stump speech. Bitter, ain’t she?
10:02 – Oh, if Biden doesn’t go after her for the—
I stopped blogging for five minutes to blow up the beach ball. It’s enormous. I’m not sure if I made any progress.
10:07 – Palin: “Your ticket’s energy ticket.” Nice quote, Sarah. Shit, “East coast politicians”? You know what she means, don’t you, middle America? Jews! She means Jews!
10:09 – Ooooh, she’s the governor of the “nation’s only Arctic state.” Is that good? Maybe she should be president of Canada. Though I todn’t think they have presidents. I don’t know, I hate Canada. Blah, blah, blah. Palin doesn’t want to argue about the causes of global warming. Right. Okay, so far, absolutely no answer.
10:10 – Biden: “[Climate change] is man made.” Nice answer, Joe. Simple, makes Palin’s answer look like what it was – a non-answer.
10:12 – “Drill, baby, drill!”
10:13 – Did Palin just call him “Senator O’Biden?”
10:13 – What is this “All of the above” bullshit? Do you lead the country by taking a multiple-choice exam? If so, I think I’d do really well. I’m great at multiple-choice tests. I’d kill to find out Palin’s SAT scores. Do they even have SATs in the “Arctic”?
10:15 – Fuck, going into gay rights. I’m pro-gay marriage, but it’s a loser from an electoral standpoint on the Democratic side. Can’t wait to see what Sarah says. Okay, nice gay-bashing, Sarah. Ooooh, she’s “tolerant.” Wow, she has friends that DON’T EVEN AGREE WITH HER! Amazing. No, she doesn’t know any gay people, but she does know non-gay-haters! How tolerant.
10:17 – Fuck, could Gwen press Sarah on her answers? So far, I give Gwen a C-minus.
10:18 – My wife’s still blowing up the beach ball. It’s insane. Christ, now it’s my turn.
10:25 – Okay, I’ve been blowing up the ball for seven minutes, mostly w/ this pump we have. We’re not sure it’s working. Okay, I’ve checked and it IS working, but slowly. Jesus, this is ridiculous. It shouldn’t be this hard to prepare for a two-year-old’s birthday party.
10:26 – Oh crap, the stupid “preconditions” comment. So tired.
10:27 – Right, Sarah. B/c who’s more passionate about diplomacy than Kissinger?
10:29 – Ah, the stupid McCain won’t meet w/ Spain comment.
10:31 – Ooh, Joe Biden’s referring to himself in the third-person, Bob Dole-style. He’s goin’ old school, bitch! Remember Norm MacDonald’s Bob Dole impression? Fucking priceless.
10:32 – I don’t think ANYONE has mentioned Bush yet. Why not? Gwen, Joe, wake the fuck up.
10:33 – Palin: “Finger-pointing backwards”? How the hell do you finger-point forward? Christ, another maverick comment. Maverick count = 3.
10:34 – Biden’s saying “George Bush’s” every other word. It’s like he read my mind. Jeez, Joe’s goin’ to town. Never noticed this, but it sounds funny when you say “George Bush’s” again and again and again. Try it, you’ll see.
10:35 – Palin: Nuclear weapons would kill “too many” people? So, other weapons would kill “just enough” people?
10:37 – Joe’s doing a nice job making McCain seem extreme.
10:38 – Okay, I know I’m biased, but Palin just sounds like she’s reading off cards.
10:42 – I hate the way Palin says “Americans”. Sounds like “Amerhikens.” And I hate her smile. Goddammit I hate her smile.
10:43 – Biden does a nice job of conflating McCain-Cheney.
10:45 – Shit, Palin is doing well. Oh Christ – McCain “knows what evil is.” What the fuck does that mean? Oh, and McCain “knows how to win a war.” How? Did he win in Vietnam? Or is he just really good at World of Warcraft?
10:47 – Palin on whether she & McCain agree on everything: “What do expect? We’re two mavericks!” Maverick count = 4. Oh, and Palin’s gonna get rid of greed on Wall Street. That’ll be easy. We can just replace all those greedy people that work in banks with money-hating socialists.
10:49 – Yeah! Evidently Joe spends TONS OF TIME in Home Depot! He practically lives there. Ask Joe where the nail guns are, he’ll tell ya. He knows Home Depot.
10:50 – Palin says “Doggonit.” Makes me wonder if she ever saw Deadwood. Cocksuckers. Okay, so Biden’s wife’s reward for being a teacher is in heaven. Cuz she ain’t getting’ a raise! That should be the new recruitment policy – become a teacher, go to heaven. Oh, and a shout out to 3rd graders. Awesome. And here’s to my dead homies.
10:51 – My wife just finished blowing up the beach ball. Halle-fuckin-lujah.
10:52 – Shit, Palin’s hit her stride. She’s in the home stretch.
10:53 – Oh no. There are 10 small beach balls that also need to be blown up. We’re fucked.
10:57 – Palin references Reagan’s “Shining city on a hill.” My wife says Reagan didn’t say it first, that John Winthrop said it on some boat. I just Wikipedia’d it – my wife’s right. Winthrop said it in 1630 on the Arbella. Learn something new every day.
10:59 – Shit, real human moment from Biden about his dead wife and daughter. Joe just won.
11:00 – Oh god, Palin response to Joe’s human moment was to call McCain a maverick. Great response. Maverick count = 5. Whoa, there’s another maverick. Maverick count = 6. Oh, wow, McCain’s even got the support of the biggest fascist in the world—Rudy Guiliani! Awesome! What a maverick!
11:01 – Whoa, Biden just countered Palin and personally threw out FOUR MAVERICKS IN A ROW (as in “John McCain’s not a maverick”)! There’s another maverick! Biden’s on a tear! Another one! That’s six! And another one! And another! We’re at eight mavericks, folks, do I hear nine? YES! A NINTH MAVERICK! In one fell swoop, Biden exceeded Palin’s maverick count by a stunning 50%!
11:02 – My wife has officially declared Biden the winner (and last debate she said McCain won, so she’s not as crazy-biased as me).
11:04 – Sarah Palin claims she’s never compromised. Well, except for that time Todd convinced her to do anal. But that was the only time.
11:08 – Nice shot across the bow at the mainstream media from Sarah Palin. Yeah! Fuck you, Katie Couric! You… you… mainstreamer!
11:09 – Another Reagan shout out by Palin. That’s two Reagan’s and six mavericks. Ooh, in the future, “we’ll tell our children how once we were free” before the robots took over. But John Connor will save us. I know he will, b/c I’ve seen all three Terminator movies (T3 sucked) AND I watch The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Seriously, though, are we really heading to a time when we’re not free? Is someone going to enslave us (besides the robots, I mean)? And what IS Sarah’s Robot-policy.
11:11 – Nice ending monologue by Joe.
11:12 – Sarah’s thanking everyone. Thank you, thank you, thank you… she’s so fucking thankful that she didn’t fuck up. Holy shit, looks like she’s going to kiss Biden. What is wrong with this woman? Oh look, there’s little baby Trig. They really love trotting out that kid. I’ve got to say, as a father of two, if I know one thing it’s that babies love debates.
11:13 – Commentary: David Brooks is “amazed” at Palin’s performance and thought she came across as Joe’s equal. I hate to say it, but I agree. She didn’t win, but she held her own. Bitch. Mark Shields says that he bets Democrats are disappointed that Palin didn’t “implode.” True dat. True dat.
Okay, I’ve got to go. I’ve got beach balls to blow up.
TAGS: Babies, banks, bullshit, Bush, climate change, David Brooks, debate, dog, ep, fascist, free, George Bush, global warming, god, Jesus, Joe Biden, John McCain, mccain, Movie, NATO, NSA, obama, President, Rap, Sarah Palin, warRELATED POSTS:
John McDictator - facist aspirations
Wednesday, October 1, 2008 - 6:20 pm (EST)
By John LaCroix
We’ve hopefully all heard George Bush day dream aloud about the ease of governing as a dictator. But yesterday in a disastrous interview with Des Moines Register editorial board, John McCain stated (on the bailout):
This is just a not acceptable situation. I’m not saying this is the perfect answer. If I were dictator, which I always aspire to be, I would write it a little bit differently.
Can any of our self-respecting conservative readers now honestly tell me that the modern Republican party isn’t pushing on openly fascist ideology?
TAGS: aspirations, bailout, Des Moines Register, dictator, fascist, fascist ideology, George Bush, George W. Bush, Interview, John McCain, mccain, republican party, RepublicansRELATED POSTS:
Palin Taking Field Trip To U.N.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008 - 10:01 pm (EST)
By Hassan Chop
McCain is taking Sarah Palin on a field trip to the opening of the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, where he’ll introduce her to foreign leaders in order to burnish her foreign policy credentials. No word yet on which foreign leaders she’ll be saying hi to, but I’m sure that just by shaking their hands and talking to them for a few minutes, she’ll be able to absorb all the foreign policy experience she needs. George Bush will be giving a speech to the U.N. that same day, buy my guess is that McCain and Palin will steer clear of the one leader they really don’t want to be seen with.
TAGS: Bush, George Bush, mccain, Sarah PalinRELATED POSTS:
street by street, block by block
Friday, September 12, 2008 - 1:01 pm (EST)
By John LaCroix
Remember when you heard George Bush used to blow up frogs with firecrackers? You probably thought “typical” and then when you heard one of Cheney’s favorite pastimes was shooting little birds that can’t fly, you thought it was pathetic.
Sarah Palin’s record with animals is much worse. She’s gotta go.
TAGS: animal rights, brutal, Dick Cheney, George Bush, Sarah Palin, wolvesRELATED POSTS:
Who’s old enough to be Barack Obama’s VP?
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 12:58 pm (EST)
By Tommy Esquire
Don’t worry about those uneducated blue-collar white voters. Forget about security moms, NASCAR dads and whatever other demographic the media invests this year. The 2008 election is all about age. According to the last two Washington Post-ABC News polls, Barack Obama is winning 63% of the 18-29 group, and 39% of voters 65 and older. For the kids, that’s 9 points better than Kerry got in ‘04 and 15 points better than Gore in ‘00. For the old timers, that’s 8 points worse than Kerry and 11 points worse than Gore. This is a MAJOR split, and unfortunately for Barack, it’s the seniors who have nothing better to do than vote. Interestingly, the old folks are the only group that’s concerned that McCain’s age will limit his ability to lead (dey know) — just not concerned enough to vote for the young negro whipper-snapper.
Needless to say, Barack badly needs to pick someone who can reassure your grandad that he’s ready to lead on day one and isn’t about to sell the country to the black panthers. Joe Biden is all over the news lately, and he would make a great Dick Cheney pick: someone who isn’t going to be the best liked VP ever, but who’s enough of a known brand that can provide proper supervision, especially on foreign policy (serious props to Saakashvili for requesting the veep contender’s Georgia visit – Misha knows how to play our country like scrabble).
My personal favorite remains Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius. She’s an extremely popular and successful governor of a blood red state, who happens to wear her hair gray. Not only can she help lock up women and the old folks as a running mate, she would actually be a pretty incredible Vice President (that counts). I think Barack can afford to piss off Hillary for making Katy the historic broad of ‘08.
TAGS: 2000, 2004, Al Gore, Barack Obama, George Bush, George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton, Jack Reed, Joe Biden, John Kerry, John McCain, Mikheil SaakashviliRELATED POSTS:
Conventional Wisdom’s 2008 Irrelevance
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 - 12:11 pm (EST)
By Ray LeMoine
Today’s NYT story on Obama’s VP pick ends with this quote:
“Vice-presidential candidates can make a marginal difference,” said Matt Bennett, the co-director of Third Way, a Democratic advocacy group, “but they rarely matter in terms of winning a state or region — as Mike Dukakis and John Kerry found out. And a weak candidate doesn’t really drag the ticket into the drink — as George H. W. Bush found out.”
Um, Kerry, Dukakis, and HW are white guys! How can you judge an unprecedented campaign—involving the first black candidate—with previous precedents? Obama’s biggest challenge is going to be convincing undecided voters that he, not a white guy named “John,” is a better choice for America. Polls have Obama as a 40% more “riskier” choice than McCain. What does “risky” mean? It means 40% blacker. Obama needs a national brand, one that voters already trust…a Clinton, a Kerry. Remember, JFK picked LBJ, who he hated, for a reason. Kennedy, the first Catholic to run for prez, was also running on a change platform. He chose the Master of the Senate in order to gain voter trust via an established national political brand.
The more I think about it, all this Bayh, Kaine, Biden stuff looks like a head fake. I’m betting on a wild card…
TAGS: Bush, George Bush, John Kerry, mccain, NPR, obama, political, Politics, polls, ViceRELATED POSTS:
John Cusack Drops Knowledge and Drop Kicks John McSame
Wednesday, June 11, 2008 - 7:12 pm (EST)
By Lissa Moon Mathews-LaCroix
In a video just put out by moveon.org, actor John Cusack shows us just how McSamie the GOP nominee is. Now this is straight talk baby!
TAGS: George Bush, John Cusack, John McCain, moveon.orgRELATED POSTS:
New Polls Say Dems Want Joint Ticket, 1-5 Hill Voters Go McCain
Monday, June 9, 2008 - 12:31 pm (EST)
By Ray LeMoine
Even if there’s little evidence for rumors that Hillary Clinton is positioning herself to be Barack Obama’s running mate, this week’s newest poll suggests voters have somewhat latched on to the idea.
According to a May 30-June 3 CBS News poll (PDF), 59 percent of Democratic primary voters want Clinton as Obama’s running mate. That sentiment was similarly echoed in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll conducted on Thursday, in which 54 percent of registered Democrats also supported the so-called “dream ticket.”
Presumably, those numbers possess increased significance in an election fraught with discussion about defection rates. According to the CBS poll, 22 percent of Clinton supporters say they prefer John McCain to Barack Obama. Additionally, 7 percent claim they’re undecided, and 8 percent say they won’t vote at all.
CBS reports that 12 percent of all Democrats currently support McCain, an increase from the 8 percent that deserted John Kerry for George Bush in 2004. Just more than half of Democratic voters—54 percent—reported feeling that the prolonged primary fight has hurt the party’s chances in November, regardless of whom Obama actually taps as his running mate.
I’m not going to piss anymore people off with stating why I’m pro-joint ticket (mainly because it’s a guranteed win in November, but also because it’s the will of the people, Hilllary’s experience is a net plus for Obama and a way to help him to avoid Bill’s Clinton’s first term missteps, the VP would neutralize Hill from becoming a Senate foe to O’s prez legislature etc). If these numbers don’t change in the coming months, Obama may have little choice but to ask Hillary to jump on board. 22% of Hillary’s 18 million voters is about 4 million people. Bush beat Kerry by about 3 million votes in 2004. Or, Obama needs those votes.
Obamaniacs warmed to Hillary this weekend. (Is saying “I like O” and women rule really all it took?) Let’s watch the polls to see if Obama can convert Hill’s women and white trash–I mean blue collar–honks on his 17-stop working class tour this week.
TAGS: Barack Obama, election, George Bush, Hillary, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, joint ticket, mccain, obama, polls, warRELATED POSTS:
Rendition as Piracy: US Secret Prison Boats
Monday, June 2, 2008 - 2:58 pm (EST)
By Ray LeMoine
Photos, Zack Baddor and John Moore
Story of the day: America sucks. The Guardian breaks news that extraordinary rendition continues as US policy:
The analysis, due to be published this year by the human rights organisation Reprieve, also claims there have been more than 200 new cases of rendition since 2006, when President George Bush declared that the practice had stopped.
It is the use of ships to detain prisoners, however, that is raising fresh concern and demands for inquiries in Britain and the US.
According to research carried out by Reprieve, the US may have used as many as 17 ships as “floating prisons” since 2001. Detainees are interrogated aboard the vessels and then rendered to other, often undisclosed, locations, it is claimed.
The Reprieve report focuses on the Horn of Africa, the War on Terror’s least newsworthy front. There, our ally Ethiopia has been propped up by $500 million US aid to occupy Somalia, in order to keep Islamists from power. But Ethiopia is under dictatorship. And its government is waging a scorched earth war against its own people people in Ogaden, making the US partners in ethnic cleansing, or the China of the Horn. Now comes word that we’re also running illegal prison ships. State sanctioned piracy, sweet!:
Reprieve will raise particular concerns over the activities of the USS Ashland and the time it spent off Somalia in early 2007 conducting maritime security operations in an effort to capture al-Qaida terrorists.
At this time many people were abducted by Somali, Kenyan and Ethiopian forces in a systematic operation involving regular interrogations by individuals believed to be members of the FBI and CIA. Ultimately more than 100 individuals were “disappeared” to prisons in locations including Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Guantánamo Bay.
A shocking number of people have been held in illegal detention since 2001:
“By its own admission, the US government is currently detaining at least 26,000 people without trial in secret prisons, and information suggests up to 80,000 have been ‘through the system’ since 2001. The US government must show a commitment to rights and basic humanity by immediately revealing who these people are, where they are, and what has been done to them.”
How do you repent after locking up without trial the population of a small city?
Another story today, from the Times, illustrates changes in the US prison system in Iraq. It still doesn’t sound like swift justice, or even justice for that matter, but things are improving in Iraq. Still:
TAGS: attack, George Bush, Iraq, Islam, Practice, Slam, warCriticism also remains high that the American military detains too many people, deprives them of due process and holds them too long, even if innocent. Many are taken in only because they were near an insurgent attack.
RELATED POSTS:
Newsflash: We’ve Been Talking to Iran For Two Years
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - 10:20 am (EST)
By Ray LeMoine
Right, Is that US Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker negotiating with Iranian “terrorists”? Why yes it is. Left, McCain at an NRA rally…
I don’t know what planet the McCain camp is debating on, but Obama ought to state the fact that America is currently talking to Iran about Iraq/regional stability, and has been officially doing so since 2006. Check it out, even the President of Iran said so in March 2008:
The outcome of (U.S.-Iran) talks have helped stabilize conditions in Iraq a great deal,” IRNA quoted Ahmadinejad as telling Iraqi journalists in Tehran.
These talks have been going since 2006. BBC reports from March 2006:
The US says it has authorised its envoy in Baghdad to hold talks with Iranian officials about the situation in Iraq. It would be the first public dialogue since the 1979 hostage crisis, after which the nations broke off ties.
Yet today the Times runs a story about McCain hating on Obama for saying he’d meet with Iran’s leaders:
Iran, Mr. McCain said, provides explosives used to kill American soldiers in Iraq, supports terrorism in the Middle East and is committed to destroying Israel.
“Obviously Iran isn’t a superpower and doesn’t possess the military power the Soviet Union had, but that does not mean that the threat posed by Iran is insignificant,” said Mr. McCain, who at another point accused Mr. Obama of “reckless judgment.”
Mr. Obama replied by saying Mr. McCain was “using the same George Bush textbook” that had brought “failed cowboy diplomacy.”
The attack by Mr. McCain was prompted by comments Mr. Obama made on Sunday in Pendleton, Ore., where he urged engagement of the nation’s foes and said that “strong countries and strong presidents talk to their adversaries.”
“That’s what Reagan did with Gorbachev,” he said, adding: “I mean, think about it. Iran, Cuba, Venezuela — these countries are tiny compared to the Soviet Union. They don’t pose a serious threat to us the way the Soviet Union posed a threat to us. And yet we were willing to talk to the Soviet Union at the time when they were saying, ‘We’re going to wipe you off the planet.’
”Mr. Obama said in a Democratic primary debate last year that he would be willing to sit down, without preconditions, with adversaries like the leaders of Iran. He has since sought to draw a distinction between such engagement by an Obama administration and his personal involvement as president, saying the latter would require the Iranians’ meeting certain benchmarks.
But Mr. McCain, in his remarks here, said, “Senator Obama has declared and repeatedly reaffirmed his intention to meet the president of Iran without any preconditions, likening it to meetings between former American presidents and the leaders of the Soviet Union.”
Such a position “betrays the depth of Senator Obama’s inexperience and reckless judgment,” Mr. McCain said, adding, “Those are very serious deficiencies for an American president to possess.”In his response later, Mr. Obama said: “Let me be absolutely clear. Iran is a grave threat.” But, he argued, just as “Kennedy talked to Khrushchev,” the United States should have the “courage and confidence” to talk to its current adversaries.“
Demanding that a country meets all your conditions before you meet with them, that’s not a strategy,” he said. “It’s just naïve, wishful thinking.”
Neither side acknowledges the fact that we already talk to the Iranians (although those talks were suspended last month after the US incursion into Sadr City).
So Obama, here’s what you say, “We are already speaking with the Iranians, and these low-level talks are not yielding results. Thus I’ve decided to explore higher level options, with preconditions, and only if they could lead to positive developments. You, Senator McCain, can keep a failed policy in place and lie to the American people about it. Go ahead, say you won’t negotiate with the ‘Iranian terrorists’ even though Bush, Crocker, and Petreaus have been doing so with the Republican Party’s approval for 26 months.”
This is a case where Obama can really nail McCain. Raising the diplomatic stakes with Iran is the right move. If low-level engagement is failing, why not try higher level negotiations? If the Palestinians can speak with the Israelis, the Indians with the Pakistanis, the Tamils with the Sinhalese, then the US can expand talks with Iran. Reckless judgement is letting a failed policy continue and lying to the American public about it.
CORRECTION 11:30am: McCain has acknowledged that we are speaking with Iran currently:
“This is not to suggest that the United States should not communicate with Iran our concerns about their behavior. Those communications have already occurred at an appropriate level, which the Iranians recently suspended.
Still, McCain is on the losing end of this argument. Iran is meddling in Iraq and the region (RE: In Lebanon via Hezzbollah last week) more than ever and there’s little reason to assume further engagement would embolden and strengthen Iran. Diplomacy could work or it could fail. But why stick with a failed policy? Engagement is an American tradition (see: China, Nixon). Considering Iran and the US have share mutual interest in a peaceful Iraq, I see no reason to stay away from high level talks.
TAGS: attack, Cuba, debate, George Bush, India, Iran, Iraq, mccain, NATO, obama, PoliticsRELATED POSTS:
Semi-Exclusive: Obama from MO
Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 11:06 am (EST)
By Ray LeMoine
Jackie McPherson is a TV reporter in Marion, IL, for ABC’s WSIL affiliate. She’s also the future Mrs Darren Jones-McPherson; and enjoys BBQs and visiting Palm Springs. Below is her dispatch from Obama’s stop in Missouri yesterday. See more of her work here.
Obama Stops in Cape Girardeau
By: Jackie McPherson
jmcpherson {at} wsiltv(.)com
CAPE GIRARDEAU,MO– Instead of campaigning in West Virginia Tuesday, Barack Obama seemed to be looking ahead to the general election, making a stop in our region.
The Illinois Senator held a town hall meeting at the Thorngate manufacturing plant in Cape Girardeau.
Many political analysts say Missouri could be a swing state come November.
Instead of talking about Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama had a different name on his lips during his speech: “A vote for John McCain is a vote for George Bush’s 3rd term.” Obama told the crowd at Thorngate Limited that unlike the Republican presidential nominee, his focus is on the middle class. “We’re going to provide an income tax cut to ordinary families, like the ones who work in this plant, that’s worth up to $1000 per family, per year,” Obama said.
After speaking for 30 minutes, Obama took questions from his audience. Many asked about rising gas prices. “I’m going to invest 150 billion dollars over 10 years on alternative fuels” Obama said.
It was a speech that seemed to be well-received. Obama had plenty of supporters in the crowd. Even those who couldn’t attend the invitation-only event parked themselves out in front of the manufacturing plant, holding signs and hoping for a glimpse of Obama.
“He’s rallied the youth like no other candidate since Kennedy” says Brooke Clubbs, a Jackson Missouri voter. “It’s an exciting time.”
Of course, there are some who wonder if Obama’s message of change can actually change things in Washington.
“I think he knows what he’s talking about and I believe him. I guess I worry- how is he going to do all these things?” says Mary Bock from Perry County Missouri.
Perhaps Obama can address that concern, next time he’s back in this area.
“We’re going to spend a lot of time in Missouri and make sure we win this state” he told the crowd in a closing statement.
TAGS: Barack Obama, election, George Bush, Hillary, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, mccain, NATO, obama, politicalRELATED POSTS:
before you vote for Hillary
Tuesday, May 6, 2008 - 4:24 am (EST)
By John LaCroix
You should remember, she voted for the Iraq war and to designate the Iranian Republican guard a terrorist group (effectively giving George Bush all he needs to attack). Last week she said she’d ‘obliterate’ Iran if they attacked Isreael. None of this sounds like peace talk to me.
Right now death and destruction is everywhere. Were bombing in Sadr City and Somalia and killing civilians everywhere we go.
Now, here’s where it gets bad. We’re just starting to learn that there may be more suicides among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans than actual combat victims.
The number of suicides among veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan may exceed the combat death toll because of inadequate mental health care, the U.S. government’s top psychiatric researcher said.
Community mental health centers, hobbled by financial limits, haven’t provided enough scientifically sound care, especially in rural areas, said Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He briefed reporters today at the American Psychiatric Association’s annual meeting in Washington.
Insel echoed a Rand Corporation study published last month that found about 20 percent of returning U.S. soldiers have post- traumatic stress disorder or depression, and only half of them receive treatment. About 1.6 million U.S. troops have fought in the two wars since October 2001, the report said. About 4,560 soldiers had died in the conflicts as of today, the Defense Department reported on its Web site.
Now that you know the American death toll is double what you thought it was, do you still think it’s a good idea?
TAGS: attack, George Bush, Hillary, Iran, Iraq, warRELATED POSTS:
Hassan Chop on McCain’s Economy Speech: The Day He Lost the Election?
Wednesday, March 26, 2008 - 1:58 pm (EST)
By Ray LeMoine
Hassan Chop usually posts under his own byline, but he’s at work and this is a timely post, so here it is…
John McCain’s speech on the economy was awful, and we may well look back at it as the point where he lost the election. I’d venture to say that his economic view will play as big a role as anything else in dragging him down. If he keeps turning in these types of performances on the economy, which only happens to be voters’ number one concern, then there will be comparisons to Jimmy Carter and George Bush Sr., both of whom seemed to be totally out of touch with the economic situation of most Americans.His speech was atrocious for three reasons.
First, the bulk of it simply rehashed how the problem of subprime mortgages exploded into a full-blown financial crisis. Ummm…thanks, John, but that story has been well-covered for the past few months in every major newspaper. Obviously, he was trying to shore up one of his biggest weaknesses, his self-professed lack of economic knowledge, but anyone who has read a newspaper or a blog recently already has a decent sense of what went wrong.
Second—and far more damaging to McCain’s Presidential aspirations—his speech indicated that he has no plan whatsoever to deal with the issue of foreclosures, and that he doesn’t necessarily think homeowners in trouble deserve much help anyway. He might as well have given them the standard Dick Cheney salutation of “F*ck you!” He essentially said that mortgage lenders should try to help homeowners who are having problems paying their mortgages. Thanks genius! This is exactly the same idea as the Hope Now and Lifeline plans that Treasury Secretary Paulson initiated a couple of months ago. Paulson’s plans basically pressure mortgage lenders to alter mortgage contract terms for a six-month period in a way that’s beneficial for struggling homeowners. Now, both of those plans are, in my view, not very helpful for a number of reasons, but the point is that McCain’s “plan” is to repeat what the administration is currently doing and nothing more. First, he’s in lockstep with Bush on Iraq, and in fact it seems like he’s even more hawkish, and now he’s in lockstep with Bush on the government’s role in helping homeowners. He’s painting himself into a corner as the third term of Bush. While that’s great for the conservative base, that’s not so good for garnering the support from independents that he needs if he has any hope of winning the White House.
Third, he gave this speech on the day that data on house prices showed the largest year-over-year decline in at least 25 years, and consumer confidence fell to levels typically seen only during recessions. Is this guy tone-deaf?
TAGS: economy, election, George Bush, Iraq, John McCain, mccain, parisRELATED POSTS:
Hillary’s “resume padding” (lies)
Monday, March 24, 2008 - 9:54 pm (EST)
By John LaCroix
I’m not making a comparison to George Bush here, but Hillary Clinton’s memory is much like G-Dub’s - forgetting about an important invention… video.
Her repeated recollections of a great peace making mission to Bosnia, complete with detailed anecdotes of landing at the Tuzla airport under sniper fire and running for their safety with their heads down abandoning a greeting ceremony are hard to back up NOW THAT THE VIDEO IS OUT.
The video shows Hillary and Chelsea calmly walk out of the aircraft leaving themselves open to the elements (and easy attacks) with no security presence directly near her as she walked down the tarmac - no troops or secret service rushing her off to vehicles as there would be if sniper attacks were suspected possible. Then she stops to listen to an 8 year old girl read a poem.
Hillary has given several “clarifications” of this story so far, but today, she’s saying she”misspoke”. Though she seems to have made herself pretty clear to me.
Sharyl Attkisson from CBS was on that trip, she apparently has a better memory than Clinton.
TAGS: attack, George Bush, Hillary, Hillary Clinton, paris, VideoRELATED POSTS:
Race and the Rise of Obama: Hope and the Katrina Factor
Thursday, March 13, 2008 - 10:01 am (EST)
By Ray LeMoine
In summer 2004 at the DNC in Boston, Barack Obama burst on to the national political scene—Senator, constitutional lawyer, best-selling author, early 40s, statue-esque features. He spoke at the Fleet Center in a prime time slot. Gracious yet fierce, Obama was a DNC week highlight. “The Dems’ new Superstar,” is how Geoff Kenyon (now a writer on Medicine) described Obama back in 04 in Boston. Nearly four years later, Obama is the smart money bet in the race to become the next leader of the free world.
(DNC 7/04)
This week, Geraldine Ferraro, a Hillary Clinton fundraiser and former VP candidate, said, “If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position.” (On the flip side: Obviously, were Hillary not a woman, Bill Clinton would’ve been married to a man or mutant and never elected President.) But is it true about Obama? Ferraro’s idiotic racism aside, let’s look at Obama’s rise as it parallels recent American history.
Of course, Obama was a “rising star” in the Democratic Party after 2004 in Boston. But Obama rose to mega-Presidential-1000s of people show up anytime I open my mouth-prominence in summer of 2006, with the release of his book “The Audacity of Hope.” In 2006, Hurricane Katrina was still fresh in America’s mind.
(See the dead person at bottom? These three pictures are by the amazing Mario Tama. New Orleans. 9/05)
Katrina placed race, poverty, gross domestic federal mismanagement, and economic inequality at the forefront of the national political debate. Combined with Iraq, the Katrina fallout cost the GOP the House and Senate. Would Obama have been able to rise under other circumstances? If it weren’t a time for hope? Even if the answer is yes, we seem to be a defining moment in black American history (see below) in terms of cultural and political power. Here’s what this blog said a few months ago:
FROM DEC 18TH, 2007
Campaign 08: The Katrina Factor
Oprah and Will Smith live with Obama! Coming to your town soon….Will 2008 be the year of the black American?
For the first time in US history, the most popular television personality, movie star, pop star, and politician are all blacks. This weekend “I am Legnd,” Will Smith’s alien disaster movie, grossed $70 million and smashed December box office records. Last week Oprah and Obama drew 30,000 people to a South Carolina football stadium. And 2007’s biggest pop artist is Kayne West.
Writing about Orpah-Obama, Mike Lupica called 2008 the pop culture election. But what if it’s not pop culture as much as the Katrina-factor that’s changing American politics and culture?
Consider the Friday after Katrina, when NBC aired an impromptu celeb-studded fundraiser. One phrase summed up the national mood: “George Bush doesn’t care about black people”–-Kayne West’s words, who at the time was a rising rap star.
(9/05)
At the Oscars a few months later, best picture went to Crash, a film about racial inequality. Best song went to Memphis rappers Three Six Mafia’s “It’s Hard to be Pimp.” Pop culture was confronting the race issues illustrated by Katrina. Then came Obama’s audacious summer. Would his rise have been so meteoric were it not for dead black bodies floating in New Orleans?
(Oscars reflect take on race in America. 2/06)
(6/06)
Maybe I’m overreaching, but Katrina certainly politicized race in America to an extent not seen since at least the Rodney King riots, if not civil rights. Pop culture reacted. Populism developed. Now Obama leads all candidates—GOP or Dem—in the race to become President.Did Katrina force America to care more about black people? So much so that we’re ready to elect Obama? In many ways, I hope so.
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George Bush’s farwell song - a confession
Wednesday, March 12, 2008 - 6:49 am (EST)
By John LaCroix
Can somebody explain to me how a criminal president who started a criminal war based on lies has the balls to sing a funny happy song in which he confesses to high crimes and misdemeanors that have caused the death and despair of millions of people in a room full of journalists and impeachment is still off the table?
To the tune of country song “Green Green Grass of Home,” Bush sang of longing for his ranch in Crawford, Texas and his dog Barney.
“And there to meet me is my mama and my papa, down the lane I look and here comes Barney, heart of gold and breath like honey; it’s good to touch the brown brown grass of home.”
Bush, singing only slightly off key, then turned to some of the long-term members of his team including Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
“For there’s Condi and Dick, my old compadre, talking to me about some oil rich Saudi, but soon I’ll touch the brown brown grass of home.”
“That old White house is behind me, I am once again carefree, don’t have to worry ’bout a crisis in Pyongyang. Down the lane I look, Dick Cheney is strolling with documents he’d been withholding, it’s good to touch the brown brown grass of home.”
It’s so much worse when you actually listen to it and hear those assholes laughing along with him. SCUMBAGS.
TAGS: dog, free, George Bush, impeachment, Texas, war, youtubeRELATED POSTS:
G-dub in Africa, spreading stupidity like HIV
Saturday, February 23, 2008 - 8:51 pm (EST)
By John LaCroix
The Rude Pundit has a post about George Bush in Africa. What a fucking clown.
Finally, Bush’s mind turned to other things, like napping. When he was asked how he thought Americans viewed his trip, he said, really, “I don’t have any idea. What are you writing about it? I don’t know what they think of it. Ask another question. I really don’t know. I’m focused on the trip. When I get home, I pick up a book and start reading it, and I’m sound asleep shortly thereafter. So I’m not — I don’t know. I really don’t know.” There’s no ellipses there. That’s the unedited answer.
Stealing the soul of a young child
Drilling for smarts
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John McCain is 100% Crazy
Thursday, February 21, 2008 - 9:09 pm (EST)
By Ray LeMoine
FORGET TIMES STORY, LONG PROFILE FROM 2005 PROVES MCCAIN INSANE, LIKE CLINICALLY…
MCCAIN’S PARTY
Why the senator from Arizona believes he can be the next Republican nominee for President.
by Connie Bruck
MAY 30, 2005
Watched closely by a North Vietnamese guard, a dirty, feeble-looking young man on crutches, carrying a slop bucket, inched forward in slow, painful steps, and then, with a huge effort, hoisted the bucket, emptying it into an open, fetid trough. As cameras whirred, the white-haired John McCain, standing a few feet away, regarded this portrayal of his younger self intently. The Arizona senator had come to New Orleans to visit the set of a movie based on his 1999 book, “Faith of My Fathers”—an account of growing up with a father and grandfather who were both famous four-star admirals, and also of his experience as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. It will be shown on the A&E network on Memorial Day, with Shawn Hatosy starring. McCain remarked that the set, based that day in a dilapidated former brewery, looked a lot like the “Hanoi Hilton,” where he spent most of his captivity: the interrogation room with long ropes hanging from the ceiling; the wretched infirmary cubicle; and the model hospital space, which the North Vietnamese displayed to visitors. “I spent about one and a half hours there,” McCain, who was a prisoner for five and a half years, commented dryly.
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