ThinkFast: August 21, 2006
ThinkFast: August 21, 2006
Iraqi insurgents killed 20 people and injured 300 as hundreds of thousands of pilgrims gathered for a holy Shiite festival over the weekend. But in a sign of just how routine the intense sectarian bloodshed in the capital has become, the U.S. military reported “relatively little violence.”
U.S. Postal Service gone wild. As the top executive at the USPS, Azeezaly Jaffer “ran up $8,252 staying at a Washington hotel suite,” “blew $3,486.33 in one evening for steak dinners and a bar-hopping binge,” and “tipped two lucky waiters $1,511.66 following a seafood dinner.” It was “all on the Postal Service’s dime.”
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev said President Bush should stop viewing the world “from the position of a superpower†and Vice President Cheney should “calm down†and stop criticizing Russian leaders. The U.S. should understand that “leadership should be done not by domination, not by becoming a policeman in the world, but by being a partner,†Gorbachev.
The Homeland Security Department’s Science and Technology Directorate, the federal research agency in charge of countering emerging terrorist threats such as liquid explosives, is so hobbled by poor leadership, weak financial management, and inadequate technology that Congress is on the verge of cutting its budget in half. Lawmakers call the agency a “rudderless ship.â€
82 percent. Number of Katrina victims who say their lives are still not back to normal, according to a new USA Today/Gallup poll.
A Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 43 percent of Americans believe the federal government has failed to learn from Hurricane Katrina and the nation is no better prepared for a major disaster than it was before.
“The Bush administration has begun designating as secret some information that the government long provided even to its enemy the former Soviet Union: the numbers of strategic weapons in the U.S. nuclear arsenal during the Cold War.†William Burr, who compiled the report for The National Security Archive, said the move represented one of the “more dramatic examples of unjustifiable secrecy.â€
Violent crime is “on the rise†in cities across America, “fueling criticism of Bush administration policies as a wave of murders and shootings hits smaller cities and states with little experience with serious urban violence.â€
The economic slowdown. Recession appears unlikely but “The job market is now tepid, consumers are tempering their spending, and inventories – from women’s apparel to computer hard drives – are starting to rise.”
And finally: “Conservatism is widely seen as having the upper hand†in country music, but Nashville artists on the left have grown frustrated with that reputation and are starting to speak out. A sample from “W Cheese,†written by Darrell Scott: “They filled our plate with freedom fries, red, black and blue, white lies/And a helping, heaping, hating size of stinkin’ W cheese.â€
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82 percent. Number of Katrina victims who say their lives are still not back to normal, according to a new USA Today/Gallup poll.
August 21st, 2006 at 9:04 amThis may also be the number of people opposing the Bush policies
abroad & at home.
One thing’s for sure; Intelligent Design isn’t guiding White House policy.
“relatively little violence”…
Reminds me of how the government was desperately attempting to downplay how badly Viet Nam was going just prior to the Tet offensive.
August 21st, 2006 at 9:06 amLet’s face it, these folks ain’t gonna care what Mikhail Gorbachev has to say. Afterall, they think they beat him in the Cold War.
August 21st, 2006 at 9:09 amLawmakers call the agency a “rudderless ship.â€
August 21st, 2006 at 9:13 amI think DHS’s Science & Technology directorate is indicitave
of Bush policy in general…
‘A rudderless ship’
‘We have no hereditary Kings in America’, Mr. President
Grab for a rubber duckie. America is drowning in the bathtub, just like Grover Norquist promised.
-GSD
August 21st, 2006 at 9:14 am“relatively little violence” might be an indication that the US military is not very engaged in what’s going on right now. Isn’t the notion that most of the violence is Iraqi Sunni on Iraqi Shia now?
For me, this underscores even more how ridiculous it is for us to be there right now. The mission was definitely not to police a civil war.
There’s an interesting article on Kurdistan here: http://www.reason.com/0608/fe.mt.the.shtml
One basically gets the idea of what’s required for “peace” in “Iraq”.
August 21st, 2006 at 9:17 amIt’s sad that most people will not hear these stories in the evening news.
August 21st, 2006 at 9:27 amWhat will be top story will be JonBenet’s accussed killer once went to a sex change clinic. The Horrors!
America’s priorities are so out of kilter….
stox down due to Iranian missile test
August 21st, 2006 at 9:27 amGood Morning America and all shit’s at sea….Yep! I spelled it right……More spin and grin from the nut bag…Be sure and catch his royal dumbass in his speech this morning. Listen to his every lieing word, got a feeling we are going to catch the real plans in his usual stuttering and stammering…..Even when liers make up their crap there is always a 1% of truth that slips through……..Is it Friday.? Thought we got this on Friday’s… 20 minutes to blast off. ……Israel must not be happy and has given bush his speaking point’s
Graft in the postal service.? gee I can’t imagine…..Katrina victoms still waiting.? Realy.? All politician are waiting for their spin sheet’s with marching orders and state lay out plans….Listen and watch…….Start writing all representatives, remember we must emphasize to them they work for us and the constitution…..Sadly they have all forgotten…..Blessings
August 21st, 2006 at 9:29 amWe interrupt the reports of America’s coming collapse to bring you:
Pedophiles on a Plane full of snakes!
Back to American Idol after these messages.
-GSD
August 21st, 2006 at 9:41 amGreat one, GSD!
August 21st, 2006 at 9:43 amIs there a posting that shows the amount of funding allocated to N.O., to whom did it go, and how was it spent?
August 21st, 2006 at 9:48 amAHHHHHHH!
Even Stephanie Miller has gone to the JonBenet circus!
When will the madness end?!!?
August 21st, 2006 at 9:48 ambill,
August 21st, 2006 at 9:49 amAccurate Accounting?
HAH!
This is the Bush Regime, you don’t need to know that… :(
Only 882 days for Pres. Bush to screw America before he is shown the door and told to get the h#!! out!
I only hope the Constitution survives the ordeal. If Pres. Bush has his way, it’ll be gutted in order for him to illegally expand the Presidential power to levels that our founding fathers would cry over.
August 21st, 2006 at 9:49 amI can only pray to Reagan, Gingrich, dubya and all else that is holy that Dems run on Global Warming and Hurricane Katrina this fall. When Mississippi, Alabama and Florida had no problem of rebuilding and moving on, how is it that Lousiana, with the Democratic Party controlling all the key power positions, is unable to fix itself. Moreover, how is that the national guard and state troopers have to help police this city?
Please, please, please run on Global Warming and Hurricane Katrina.
August 21st, 2006 at 9:53 amIt seems to me that most americans would rather live in the land of detachment than look into the un-filtered mirror.
August 21st, 2006 at 9:54 amThere’s JMH – once again with his ridiculous comments – I say this morning, DON’T TAKE THE BAIT!
August 21st, 2006 at 10:00 amKatrina: Disaster Profiteers Pocket Millions in Deals
August 21st, 2006 at 10:01 am‘Downright Criminal.’ That’s the verdict of a report into New Orleans’ reconstruction, and the huge contracts handed to non-local firms.
GWB blathering on the tee vee. Aggressive tone of voice, just can’t/won’t look at him to see if he’s grabbing the front of the podium.
August 21st, 2006 at 10:04 amstox down due to Iranian missile test
i’m really not familiar with which side this one’s on, but it seems to be a reaccuring theme to the righties’ posts that money – and lots of it – is the main purpose of their existance… the common good be damned…
August 21st, 2006 at 10:06 amjust saying…
GWB is disrespecting and patronizing Helen Thomas again…
August 21st, 2006 at 10:08 amHopes and Homes: Subject to Seizure On Katrina’s Anniversary
If they are successful in gentrifying the city, WHO THE HELL WILL BE THE SERVICE WORKERS? And WHO THE HELL WOULD WANT TO GO THERE THEN? Lest ANYONE FORGET the MUSIC that came from there – and WHO STARTED IT? Louis Armstrong was born in the Ninth Ward…..
August 21st, 2006 at 10:11 amKatrina: Disaster Profiteers Pocket Millions in Deals…
Comment by madashell — August 21, 2006 @ 10:01 am
and that’s how it’s done folks – PRESENT THE FACTS.
thanks for a good example, mad…
August 21st, 2006 at 10:12 amYou are mad as hell, today, madashell!
August 21st, 2006 at 10:14 amI think I’ve just become numb.
Rising Sea Levels Worry Floridians
August 21st, 2006 at 10:15 amsorry, true, JMH got me started…and without actually confronting him….
anyway – GOOD MORNING ALL!
August 21st, 2006 at 10:17 amWhen the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts
August 21st, 2006 at 10:17 ama Spike Lee film on HBO :
…Acts I and II premiere Monday, August 21 at 9pm (ET/PT), followed by Acts III and IV on Tuesday, August 22 at 9pm. All four acts will be seen Tuesday, Aug. 29 (8:00 p.m.-midnight), the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/whentheleveesbroke/index.html
Nothing to be sorry about, madashell.
August 21st, 2006 at 10:19 amI’m glad you are, it’ll shake me out of the ether!
Amateur Warlords
Bush, Cheney, Blair – and now Olmert – have demonstrated they have no grasp of military affairs
by Eric Margolis
For a leader who styles himself “the war president,” U.S. Commander-in-Chief George W. Bush’s military record now stands at 0 for 4. Even Italy’s born-again “imperial Roman conqueror,” Benito Mussolini, fared better.
August 21st, 2006 at 10:21 amHey postal service guy. According to my calculations from the information provided on TP, you spent a total of $13,249.99.
August 21st, 2006 at 10:28 amLet’s put that in perspective. That would be as much money as we are spending in Iraq in 4.4 seconds.
Isreal will not talk with Syria because Bush has told them not to. Bush, who is very much a mental midget, does not want any negotiations in the region which might lead to peace.
A good two thirds of the total troop force in Iraq are hunkered down, never leave their base or the comparative safety of the green zone, and other safety zones they have set up.
This puts the other one third at bigger risk because they are doing all the work, ferreting out insurgents, not terrist. There are not that many terrists in Iraq, but there sure are one hell of a lot of pissed off Iraqis.
A good 100,000 troops could leave Iraq tomorrow and no one would know the difference. They never see them anyway.
August 21st, 2006 at 10:29 amJohn McCain:
The administration has done the wrong thing for the last 3 and a half years which leaves us with no option other than staying the course.
Albert Einstein:
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
and there you have it….
August 21st, 2006 at 10:30 am#31: Bush is still ahead of Mussolini, because he has not been hanged from his heels in the center of Washington ….yet.
August 21st, 2006 at 10:30 amahhhhh the typical hit and run MOA for JMH. Make a statement around 9am, then don’t stay around for a rebuttal until the thread is archived!
August 21st, 2006 at 10:30 amJason,
Stanford is NOT an Ivy League School
Vulcanization is the hardening of rubber through chemicals
Volcanism is the ” set of geological processes that result in the expulsion of lava, pyroclastics, and gases at the Earth’s surface” and is speeled with an “o”, not a “u”
(NUFF SAID)
sorry, meant #30
August 21st, 2006 at 10:31 am#35 correction: vulcanology IS the study of volcanoes. Vulcanization is the hardening of rubber through the treatment of rubber with sulfur to increase hardness and elasticity.
August 21st, 2006 at 10:36 amMUST SEE: US AND THEM
August 21st, 2006 at 10:43 amLook, if you think any American official is going to tell you the truth, then you’re stupid. Did you hear that? -stupid.”
Arthur Sylvester, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs, 1965
August 21st, 2006 at 10:51 amWhy do people think Bush has 2 1/2 years left in his presidency? He has laid the ground work for his never having to leave office, and his 30% have swallowed it hook line and sinker. Remember anything he does in prosecuting the war is legal in his mind, therefore if he determines that he needs to stay in office longer to prosecute the war, it is legal and his minions will buy it wholesale. If he is being impeached and he determines that congress is impeding his ability to wage war, then using his legal logic, he can disband congress and continue to prosecute his war. Remember this is a guy who has gotten his way, right or wrong , his entire life. He has always surrounded himself with sycophants and actually believes that as president his power is not limited to the constitutionally granted stuff but also to anything he desires, including legislation and the courts. Think about it how many court decisions that have gone against him has he abided by? How much legislation that he does not agree with has he followed? 2 1/2 more years? I’ll believe it when I see it.
August 21st, 2006 at 11:06 amIt seems rather funny, but I’d rather have Gorbachev than bushie.
August 21st, 2006 at 11:23 amThank You Judge Anna Diggs Taylor
This website was launched to offer support for the Honorable Anna Diggs Taylor. We feel she is yet another example of a great American patriot and civil servant working to protect the rights we all cherish.
http://judgetaylor.org/
August 21st, 2006 at 11:34 amkaty: thanks for the link. I just visited and wrote a long, heartfelt thank-you on her guest page. Everyone else here ought to show their support and do the same…it seems that there’s a few trolls scribbling nasty messages there, and Judge Taylor deserves to know that those snakes are in the vast minority, even if they try to sockpuppet the site to death.
August 21st, 2006 at 11:54 amMark – If that comes down, I’ll see you in the streets!
August 21st, 2006 at 11:56 amhttp://www.nysun.com/article/38268
August 21st, 2006 at 12:42 pmHey postal service guy. According to my calculations from the information provided on TP, you spent a total of $13,249.99.
Let’s put that in perspective. That would be as much money as we are spending in Iraq in 4.4 seconds.
Comment by tablogloid
August 21st, 2006 at 12:54 pm————
Now that’s a sobering,or should I say,infuriating statistic.
I’m not aying it will happen, but he has laid the groundwork for it, and his people believe it. Congress has been shut down two or three times for security reasons in the past year or so, and remember they seriously researched postponing elections in case of terrorism prior to the 2004 elections.
August 21st, 2006 at 1:04 pmthanks for that response, trip – my posts have been lost to the netherlands of late… no reply to all my messages to TP, but i guess yours gives me an answer… sort of…
STILL WONDERING W T F ???
and, rucerious and mark, i’ll help! let me know if anyone needs a ride from illinois…
August 21st, 2006 at 1:28 pm#41, theswan – I agree. Gorbachev is incredibly intelligent and was instrumental in helping to end one of the scariest times in human history. We may not all see eye to eye on social policies with him, but as far as foreign policy is concerned, I would take him over ANY repub out there these days, and most of the watered-down dems.
That’s really saying a lot about American politics these days. What happened to the heros?
August 21st, 2006 at 3:38 pmAt least now we know whom your Gods are. Methinks thou hast run afoul of the Evangelical Christians and the Jews. For the Lord hath proclaimed, “I am the LORD thy God, which
I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods
before me. ” Exodus 20. 2,3.
August 21st, 2006 at 9:58 pm[...] ThinkFast: August 21, 2006Think Progress, DC - 16 hours agoUS Postal Service gone wild. As the top executive at the USPS, Azeezaly Jaffer ran up $8,252 staying at a Washington hotel suite … [...]
August 22nd, 2006 at 1:39 am[...] ThinkFast: August 21, 2006Think Progress, DC - 17 hours agoUS Postal Service gone wild. As the top executive at the USPS, Azeezaly Jaffer ran up $8,252 staying at a Washington hotel suite … [...]
August 22nd, 2006 at 2:53 am[...] ThinkFast: August 21, 2006Think Progress, DC - 18 hours agoUS Postal Service gone wild. As the top executive at the USPS, Azeezaly Jaffer ran up $8,252 staying at a Washington hotel suite … [...]
August 22nd, 2006 at 3:51 am