ThinkFast: December 4, 2007
ThinkFast: December 4, 2007
When intelligence analysts briefed Bush administration officials on Iran in July, the officials refused to believe that Iran had stopped its weapons program. They “expressed skepticism” about an intercept from “a senior Iranian military official” complaining “that the nuclear program had been shuttered,” believing it was “part of a clever Iranian deception campaign.”
The IAEA says that the new NIE on Iran’s halted nuclear weapons program is “validation of its own long-standing conclusion that there is ‘no evidence‘ of an undeclared nuclear program in Iran.” Glenn Greenwald notes that the IAEA has long been attacked for its conclusions.
Israel publicly challenged the U.S. intelligence consensus that Iran had stopped its nuclear weapons program. “It’s apparently true that in 2003 Iran stopped pursuing its military nuclear program for a time. But in our opinion, since then it has apparently continued that program,” Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak told army radio.
Iran welcomed the U.S. intelligence report and said it was becoming clear the Islamic republic’s plans were peaceful. Manouchehr Mottaki, the Iranian foreign minister, “The condition of Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities is becoming clear to the world.”
“Fifty-two percent of Americans say the economy and health care are most important to them in choosing a president, compared with 34% who cite terrorism and social and moral issues, according to the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll. That is the reverse of the percentages recorded just before the 2004 election.”
20 percent: Number of Americans who are unable to afford health care, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Two senior Republican appropriators in the Senate — Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) — “have collected more money in earmarks than any other members of Congress.” In the words of one GOP aide, they are “not only the kings of pork, they’re outright hogs.”
U.S. officials in Afghanistan say they “now were considering providing arms to local tribes in Afghanistan, along with training, equipment and other support,” as violence rises in Afghanistan. The effort would be modeled after “efforts in Iraq to empower the locals to police their own neighborhoods.”
A report by the Government Accountability Office said the Defense Department and top military officials including Gen. David Petraeus have sought to show progress in Iraq by citing numbers of Iraqi Security Force units deemed “independent.” “But it is unclear how the Pentagon and its officials have reached those conclusions.”
And finally: Steve Martin and Dan Akroyd famously played “playboy Czech brothers who called themselves ‘two wild and crazy guys‘” in a famous Saturday Night live skit. In a video greeting the Kennedy Center Honors recipients, which included Martin, Bush “said he hoped that Martin and Cheney would have a chance to meet that evening. ‘It’s about time those two wild and crazy guys got together,’ the president joked.”
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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20 percent: Number of Americans who are unable to afford health care, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Do we have to wait until the figure gets to 51% before something gets done about this?
December 4th, 2007 at 9:03 am“Fifty-two percent of Americans say the economy and health care are most important to them in choosing a president, compared with 34% who cite terrorism and social and moral issues…”
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When people start voting according to their pocketbooks, it’s usually because the pocketbooks are nearly empty. And our executive leaders (and Republicans in general) are still saying “let them eat cake.”
Like the Bourbon royal family, they aren’t even seeing the train that’s coming to hit them.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:07 amThe IAEA says that the new NIE on Iran’s halted nuclear weapons program is “validation of its own long-standing conclusion that there is ‘no evidence‘ of an undeclared nuclear program in Iran.â€
Who will Bush & Cheney’s new boogeyman be now? They can’t operate without instilling large amounts of fear into America’s psyche.
But hey, a couple of Trillion dollars here. A couple there. Hell, we’ll just print new money, right?
Conservaturds cannot govern without fear!
December 4th, 2007 at 9:07 amooo… Israel disagrees with our intelligence consensus on Iran. gonna go bulldoze the entire country. Probably be Israeli settlements in Tehrani suburbs by March.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:08 amI love the fact that the Iran NIE story isn’t even frontpaged on CNN or Fox. II watched the whole fiirst hour of American Morning on CNN today and it wasn’t mentioned–lots of footage of the Teddy teacher and an escaped kangaroo, however. I guess the corporate media is still awaiting the administration’s marching orders on how to spin this.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:09 am” ‘But in our opinion, since then it has apparently continued that program,’ Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak told army radio.”
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This sounds suspiciously like John Coleman’s “opinion” that global warming is a scam. If Barak has intelligence showing that Iran is still ramping up for nuclear weapons, that’s one thing. But I’m getting sick of all these people bloviating on nothing but an opinion and an agenda.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:12 amU.S. officials in Afghanistan say they “now were considering providing arms to local tribes in Afghanistan, along with training, equipment and other support,†as violence rises in Afghanistan. The effort would be modeled after “efforts in Iraq to empower the locals to police their own neighborhoods.â€
So let me understand, we’re actually going to arm the people that will eventually overthrow the government in Pakistan? I just hope that one day the blowback from all our missteps is so strong from all directions that it cancels itself out. The butterflies we set loose have really powerful wings.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:13 amI’m very sick & tired of the USA kow-towing to Israel politically.
AIPAC may be one of the most dangerous entities guiding foreign policy.
It seems we’re down to one political party now. D or R, they all work in slow motion. The D’s are drooling over the prospect of gaining the WH, while obstructionism in congress surpasses historic levels.
Congressional policy has devolved into ‘what’s in it for me’ and ‘don’t do anything right now, let’s see which way the wind is blowing’.
American needs change, not ‘experience’.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:13 amWho will Bush & Cheney’s new boogeyman be now? They can’t operate without instilling large amounts of fear into America’s psyche.
Comment by Zimzone — December 4, 2007 @ 9:07 am
Syria.
They’re sending Iraqi refugees home by the busload, which is sure to raise tensions in the ethnically cleansed neighborhoods of Baghdad when they try and reclaim their property. This gives the administration the excuse that Syria is exporting terror to Iraq.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:14 amI really missed this one. When did Iran stop producing nuke material again? I thought they we defying the world and keeping their production of nuke material. When did they close down all their nuke facilities anyways?
December 4th, 2007 at 9:16 amSo let me understand, we’re actually going to arm the people that will eventually overthrow the government in Pakistan? I just hope that one day the blowback from all our missteps is so strong from all directions that it cancels itself out. The butterflies we set loose have really powerful wings.
Comment by Menehune — December 4, 2007 @ 9:13 am
So?? So we’re arming Afghan warlords and mujaheddin fighters in order to defeat an enemy by proxy. If we play our cards right, I bet we could get the Saudis to find us a charismatic religious leader to bundle funds and assemble a small wahhabist army to help out.
What could possibly go wrong???
December 4th, 2007 at 9:18 amI thought they we defying the world and keeping their production of nuke material. When did they close down all their nuke facilities anyways?
Comment by Roger_Roger — December 4, 2007 @ 9:16 am
Take your head out of your ass, Roger2, and read some facts, instead of shivering in your piss-stained drawers every time the Bush cabal lies to you.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:19 am12. exactly Been there done that.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:20 amI really missed this one. When did Iran stop producing nuke material again? I thought they we defying the world and keeping their production of nuke material. When did they close down all their nuke facilities anyways?
Comment by Roger_Roger — December 4, 2007 @ 9:16 am
They halted their nuclear weapons program in 2003 and have not restarted it. The NIE report doesn’t say they stopped producing fissile material – they still have an active nuclear power program. Yes, it would be nice to convince them to find more efficient alternative energy sources better suited to such a seismically active region as Iran, but that’ll have to wait until we have a president who’s capable of diplomacy.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:21 am12. exactly Been there done that.
Comment by Menehune — December 4, 2007 @ 9:20 am
What’s frightening is that usually it takes 50-100 years for history to repeat itself and for people to start making the same mistakes. Now it’s happening in the space of a generation, and the mistakes are being made by the same people who made them the first time.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:22 am“that the nuclear program had been shuttered,†believing it was “part of a clever Iranian deception campaign.â€
If something is other than what Bush wants to believe, it must not be true. Yeppers, just a clever Iranian deception plan. You really have to watch out for those clever Iranian people who can so easily put one over on our intelligence community.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:23 am“… have to wait until we have a president who’s capable of diplomacy.”
I think you could have ended this with the word “capable.”
December 4th, 2007 at 9:24 amTwo senior Republican appropriators in the Senate — Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) and Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) — “have collected more money in earmarks than any other members of Congress.†In the words of one GOP aide, they are “not only the kings of pork, they’re outright hogs.â€
I get the impression that some how, some way, this is still the democrat’s fault.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:25 amLet the Propaganda Parade begin.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:26 amBut in our opinion, since then it has apparently continued that program,†Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak told army radio.
Sorry folks, we are not interested in the “opinion” of Israel. It’s about as based on facts as is Bush’s opinion. Give us verifiable facts and then we will talk. Until then, Israel, STFU.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:26 amPay no attention to what the experts say, pay no attention to what Iranian defectors say just trust Cheney and the Chimpfck. Bush wants to bomb Iran before he leaves office and the facts are just nuisances.
Reality does have a liberal bias, but the Bush Blowers have been conditioned to ignore reality and have faith in the pResident. What a pitiful bunch really, the piss soaked sycophants, living in fear, sucking their thumbs and clutching on to Daddy for protection.
BOO!!!
December 4th, 2007 at 9:27 amI think you could have ended this with the word “capable.â€
Comment by bernard quatermass — December 4, 2007 @ 9:24 am
“…a president who’s capable of diplomacy capable?”
?:-, (That is a raised eyebrow see…)
December 4th, 2007 at 9:28 am20 percent: Number of Americans who are unable to afford health care, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Do we have to wait until the figure gets to 51% before something gets done about this?
Comment by missmolly — December 4, 2007 @ 9:03 am
Actually, all you need to run the country (apparently) is 24%
December 4th, 2007 at 9:28 amU.S. officials in Afghanistan say they “now were considering providing arms to local tribes in Afghanistan….
And we all know how well that is going to work out. The old “enemy of our enemy is our friend” canard usually comes back to bite us. It’s what brought us Osama in the first place.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:29 amIranians have the same dilemma Americans face…a stooge for a President, no diplomatic resources and resources unnecessarily diverted to ineffective destinations.
Iranians are the most pro-Western people in the Middle East. They are sequestered politically and religiously. They were the first to step up after 9/11 to offer the USA help. Sure, they wouldn’t mind offing some Saudis. They’re not alone!
Bush & Cheney have egg all over their face. As the NYT opined this morning, this will change Bushco’s foreign policy to the end of his storied ‘career’.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:29 am“?:-, (That is a raised eyebrow see…)”
HEH. it looks more like a Reagan smiley.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:29 amAddendum to #25 – And, that’s one big reason why the American deaths have declined in Iraq. It’s also the reason why the Iraq “emergency” appropriations have become so large, we are bribing sheiks not to kill our soldiers. One has to ask, what is going to happen when the bribe money runs out?
December 4th, 2007 at 9:30 am“But it is unclear how the Pentagon and its officials have reached those conclusions.â€
They reach those conclusions with the same “fuzzy math” that Bush uses. Pull a number out of a hat that suits your needs and then make it so.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:32 amOne has to ask, what is going to happen when the bribe money runs out?
Comment by bilbobaggins — December 4, 2007 @ 9:30 am
I’m sure someone will figure out another way to kick the football down the field by then.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:32 am20 percent: Number of Americans who are unable to afford health care, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Do we have to wait until the figure gets to 51% before something gets done about this?
Comment by missmolly — December 4, 2007 @ 9:03 am
Actually, all you need to run the country (apparently) is 24%
Comment by raynman — December 4, 2007 @ 9:28 am
Well if that 20% decided to get off their uninsured asses, walk down to the voting booth and vote, things would probably get better for them.
Then again, they’d probably just vote for the Republican becuase the Republican is against gay marriage.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:32 am#16…It almost makes you think its intentional. I just saw a poster up for Rambo IV–who are the villains going to be this time? The same Afghani “Freedom Fighters” who were the good guys in Rambo III?
December 4th, 2007 at 9:35 amOne has to ask, what is going to happen when the bribe money runs out?
Comment by bilbobaggins — December 4, 2007 @ 9:30 am
I believe Bushco is counting on that to happen after January 20, 2009 when it will be somebody else’s problem — preferably the Democrats. Then the Dems can be blamed for the re-explosion of violence and the upturn in American deaths. The propaganda machine will churn out the message that under Bush we were winning, and under the Dems we’re not. And they will keep this up like a steady tattoo until the midterms in 2010.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:35 amThe Iranian NIE points up a fundamental abuse of the Bush Administration. They have been looking at priveledged information (that no one else may see)that our Government prepares with our tax dollars at great expense, and LYING about what it says in order to influence official policy. This cannot be acceptable! It is a fundamental betrayal of trust that cannot be countenanced by a democracy. If they may point to a document that we may not see and lie about what it says to convince us to follow their suggestions, then the whole pretext of ours as a democratic nation is a sham.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:36 am#16…It almost makes you think its intentional. I just saw a poster up for Rambo IV–who are the villains going to be this time? The same Afghani “Freedom Fighters†who were the good guys in Rambo III?
Comment by Menehune — December 4, 2007 @ 9:35 am
Probably, though many of those guys may be dead or retired by now, in which case we’ll be paying their eldest sons instead.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:38 amCaption:
December 4th, 2007 at 9:38 am‘I am the deciderer!’
Caption : Nazi Chimp Celebrates the Closing of a Free Society by Stomping on Constitutional Freedoms set up by our Forefathers.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:39 amIf they may point to a document that we may not see and lie about what it says to convince us to follow their suggestions, then the whole pretext of ours as a democratic nation is a sham.
Comment by Peter C — December 4, 2007 @ 9:36 am
Fool me once, shame on me- you. Fool me twice, we won’t get fooled again.
December 4th, 2007 at 9:39 amHow can we launch WWIII when the intelligence agencies are acting independently?
-Death Vader Cheney and his dancing monkey Georgie
December 4th, 2007 at 9:43 amCaption: Just kidding America! You’re on Candid Camera!
December 4th, 2007 at 9:49 amWhat did we miss?
Further evidence that the MSM is cow-towing to the President. Check it out and just try to convince me that the Bush doesn’t have the media in his back pocket!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/04/science/04obchim.html?ref=science
(snark)
December 4th, 2007 at 10:04 amcold_hard_left
They recognised that nuclear weapons would take years to develop, that once they had them they would be largely worthless anyway, and that they would do better spending that time trying to move Opec over onto the euro.
December 4th, 2007 at 10:08 amcold_hard_left
Oh, and if you step up the pressure, all you demonstrate is that you aren’t going to take yes for an answer – meaning Iran will not see any point in not developing nuclear weapons.
December 4th, 2007 at 10:09 amI have to wonder if we would have had firmer and better intel had the head of Brewster Jennings not been OUTED!
December 4th, 2007 at 10:14 amActually, all you need to run the country (apparently) is 24%
Comment by raynman — December 4, 2007 @ 9:28 am
Actually, all you need to run the country (into the ground) is 24%
December 4th, 2007 at 10:16 amCold hard left, I really don’t understand why are you twisting your panties like that. When Pakistan or India have threatened Israel with a nuke? Why Iran shouldn’t have one if Israel has more than one? So far, Israel has invaded its neighbors, Iran has not?
Do you like making stuff up?
December 4th, 2007 at 10:17 amCaption Contest:
“I just Shaaaaat myself!!!”
December 4th, 2007 at 10:17 am“Most of you seem to be missing the point that although the American Left has been claiming for years that Iran has never had a nuclear weopans program, the NIE report states that it had one as recently as 2003. ”
Well, if most of “us” have been “claiming for years that Iran didn’t have a nuclear program,” it shouldn’t be too hard for you to post a few examples – or even one.
December 4th, 2007 at 10:17 amNew York Sun editorial today explains the game being played by Iran here:
“The proper way to read this report is through the lens of the long struggle the professional intelligence community has been waging against the elected civilian administration in Washington. They have opposed President Bush on nearly every major policy decision. They were against the Iraqi National Congress. They were against elections in Iraq. They were against I. Lewis Libby. They are against a tough line on Iran.
“One could call all this revenge of the bureaucrats. Vann Van Diepen, one of the estimate’s main authors, has spent the last five years trying to get America to accept Iran’s right to enrich uranium. Mr. Van Diepen no doubt reckons that in helping push the estimate through the system, he has succeeded in influencing the policy debate in Washington. The bureaucrats may even think they are stopping another war.
“It’s a dangerous game that may boomerang, making a war with Iran more likely. Our diplomats, after all, hoped to seal this month a deal to pass a third Security Council resolution against Iran. Already on Monday the Chinese delegation at Turtle Bay has started making noises about dropping their tepid support for such a document. Call it the Van Diepen Demarche, since the Chinese camarilla can boast that even America’s intelligence estimate concludes the mullahs shuttered their nuclear weapons program more than four years ago.
“So much for diplomatic pressure in the run up before the mullahs have their bomb. And so the options for preventing the Islamic Republic from going nuclear get progressively more narrow. What it means is that when the historians look back on this period, they will see that by sabotaging our diplomacy, our intelligence analysts have clarified the choice before the free world — appeasement or war.”
December 4th, 2007 at 10:19 amDo you like making stuff up?
Almost as much as he’s into panty twisting!
December 4th, 2007 at 10:23 amThese people are despicable: liars, thieves, thugs and criminals.
If I were Iranian, I would want my people to develop a nuclear weapon as fast as possible – to protect the country against the warmongering crazies running the United States – you know, the ones who are single-handedly trying to start WWIII…?
December 4th, 2007 at 10:23 amQuite a bit of speculation and projection from troll “cold_hard_left” (as usual):
“what do you supposed might have caused…”
“Could pressure from the U.S….have had something to do with it?”
“Tehran is most likely keeping its options open…”
“keep up the pressure, because it appears to have worked…”
What happened in 2003? Let me see..the outing of Valerie Plame for one thing. Imagine the intelligence we may have gleened much earlier had she not been exposed. “(K)eep up the pressure”? No, fascist, I’d say keep monitoring and vetting intelligence. Your Dear Leader’s drum beating and pandering to the likes of Podheritz and Kristol serve nobody but the neocons blood lust and to keep the rest of the 24%er’s (c_h_l included) underwear perpetually piss-soaked. Fomenting further tensions in the ME is only succeeding in creating more anti-US sentiment. Jeez these trolls will never understand the power of true diplomacy which Bush and his crew are more inept at than any crew ever to occupy the WH.
December 4th, 2007 at 10:23 amCaption:
Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrp
December 4th, 2007 at 10:24 amyou know, the ones who are single-handedly trying to start WWIII…?
Comment by Leftside Annie .
Don’t forget all the jet carriers at the Persian Gulf. I would like to see the most powerful country in the world under the menace of a bunch of Central American peasants… oh wait.
December 4th, 2007 at 10:26 amCaption: While the law has previously been “he who smelt it, dealt it,” 9/11 changed everything – and the president now has sole authority to determine who, in fact, dealt it.
December 4th, 2007 at 10:27 amcold_hard_left you’re a jerk!!!!!
No, seriously, you do make a decent point. I hate to say it, but no matter how you slice it, it’s possible America’s aggression has, in fact, cowed Iran. But you still have to evaluate it – did we scare them because we are a legitimate force to be reckoned with, or are they just keeping their distance from the country that’s gone amok and is just randomly lashing out at whomever presents himself as a target?
Personally, I imagine a man going berserk to be far, far more dangerous than a reasonable enemy. Even if our violence in Iraq has intimidated Iran, it isn’t in a reasonable or positive way. In other words, they’re just biding their time until we run out of steam and our little banzai dies down. In that case, we may have intimidated Iran for now, but as soon as we take a break…
Oh, and, I wonder how pissed off a Republican would be to hear the Iraq war referred to as a “little banzai.” Probably the same way he feels about the term “police action.”
December 4th, 2007 at 10:30 amIt’s about time those two wild and crazy guys got together,’ the president joked.â€
Hysterical! Obviously President Dinkledorf missed his calling.
December 4th, 2007 at 10:30 am47. I have to wonder if we would have had firmer and better intel had the head of Brewster Jennings not been OUTED!
Makes you wonder if that wasn’t the point. It wasn’t in their interest to have the best information on a situation that they wanted to frame “differently”.
December 4th, 2007 at 10:33 amNews article on MSNBC
Bush scolds Congress on Iraq and Iran
“I view this report as a warning signal that they had the program, they halted the program,” Bush said. “The reason why it’s a warning signal is they could restart it.”
I view this report as a warning signal that the criminal regime in the US is trying to make shit up when the facts don’t fit their propaganda.
December 4th, 2007 at 10:44 amCaption:
‘Cheney said Gannon’s dick was thiiisss big!’
December 4th, 2007 at 10:44 amThe Israeli Lobby strikes again…
December 4th, 2007 at 10:48 amcold_hard_left
Here is why: What they want from Israel is the ground. They want the holy sites.
Irradiating the Temple on the Mount kind of defeats the whole point to winning back the Temple on the Mount.
They launch one bomb at America, America launches fifty at them they don’t win a glorius Jihad, they don’t even get a running because America, can survive more then one nuclear bomb attack. Iran is somewhat more vulnerable. (In otherwords, its a mad, MADD world out there.)
Persuing economic domination, via oil, investment, and keeping America engaged in economically meaningless wars would prove a far superior tactic.
December 4th, 2007 at 10:50 amHill’reh’s national poll numbers drop 11 points in less than a month, and now has only 39% of Democratic voters:
http://www.usatoday.com/ news/ polls/ tables/ live/ 2007-12-03-politics-poll.htm?loc=interstitialskip
It’s the last question in the poll, so just scroll to the bottom, and you will see how startling the numbers are.
December 4th, 2007 at 11:25 amHill’reh’s national poll numbers drop 11 points in less than a month, and now has only 39% of Democratic voters:
Comment by Jason M. Hendler — December 4, 2007 @ 11:25 am
Good. I’m all for having Obama as your next President anyways.
December 4th, 2007 at 11:33 amJason M. Hendler
Yay Edwards or Obama.
December 4th, 2007 at 11:37 amIt seems to me that Jason’s fixation with Hillary has to do with her having a vagina…
December 4th, 2007 at 11:42 amJason Manhandler has a vagina?
Thanks, Juan, I didn’t know that, but it explains a lot…
December 4th, 2007 at 11:46 am“52% of Americans say economy and health care are more important than terrorism and social and moral issues.” – WSJ
December 4th, 2007 at 11:55 amIt should be a shoe-in for the Demorcatic candidate since economy and health care are their issues while the Republicans are nattering about moral values and religion. Then there’s Ohio. However, this time around it could be California which decides the outcome of the election considering all the Republican voter rule change shenanigans going on there.
that Hillary has one of those.
Comment by cold_hard_left
hehehe. That was funny.
December 4th, 2007 at 12:08 pmThe uninsured are not only at risk, ultimately, they place our society at risk of major medical disasters. We are not prepared for another Spanish flu or mutated avian influence (highly pathogenic avian influenza virus of type A of subtype H5N1)!
December 4th, 2007 at 12:13 pmYo Ehud,
If you’re so damned concerned about Iran, please, use the nukes and weaponry the US sold you AND TAKE CARE OF YOUR OWN FUKKIN’ HOUSE?!!
December 4th, 2007 at 12:41 pmWhat is Rod Steiger doing standing behind President Dinkledorf?
December 4th, 2007 at 1:11 pmBy sheer coincidence, prominent Neocon Clifford May began his tirade on Dan Abramson’s show last night the same way as “Cold Hard Left” : “you’re missing the point….”
These people are nothing if not disciplined in their talking points, much the same way as Stalin was disiplined in his insistence that his people say the right things.
Actually, I think the assertion that Bush’s attack on Iraq caused Iran to quickly end their program is debatable and conjecture. But, what is not debatable is what the neocons DON’T want to discuss – namely that Bush, Cheney and their subordinates have been lying to the American people for many months now with their insistence that Iran had, as Cheney recently called it, a “robust, ongoing nuclear weapons program.” That’s a blatant lie as was Bush’s repeated assertion that Iran was ramping up to the point where it could trigger WWIII. They’re liars, and their lies are not about personal sexual affairs – their lies are consitutional crimes, lies intended to fool the American people into supporting military adventures.
December 4th, 2007 at 1:40 pmLike I’ve said before, hate the man, not the soil:
Teen vowing not to be a Republican raises funds for Hillary Clinton /The Dallas Morning News
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/120507dnmetclinton.6860d739.html
So, this is how wingnut parents keep their kids in line, POLITICALLY?
What a DICK.
December 4th, 2007 at 2:40 pmLibs are raising money to build “green” homes in New Orleans for Katrina victims:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1205/p04s01-usgn.htm
Who wants to put down money on when we will see the first “green” crack house?
December 4th, 2007 at 3:04 pmComment by Jason M. Hendler
Ah, the smell of unbridled racism.
December 4th, 2007 at 3:16 pmthe first “green†crack house?
Comment by Jason M. Hendler
Knowing that you’ll be the first customer, please relay back where it’s located.
Besides, I’d rather “put down money” on purchasing one, IDIOT.
December 4th, 2007 at 3:26 pm#80, DieNowForPiece,
What use do you have for a “green” crack house?
December 4th, 2007 at 5:23 pm#79, Barfly,
As usual, my point is far to subtle for you to understand, so I will elaborate.
The homeless of New Orleans do not need “green” homes, they good homes and good jobs. If libs just slap up some eco-friendly habitats for their newest pets, it won’t end the cycle of crime and poverty in that region.
December 4th, 2007 at 5:25 pmComment by Jason M. Hendler — December 4, 2007 @ 5:25 pm
Most of the residents of the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans are neither “homeless” nor “jobless” in the common usages of those words.
Residents of the 9th owned their homes at a higher rate than average for the City as a whole. Many of those homes were “in the family” for generations.
Many were employed in New Orleans’ tourism industry before the Corps’ flood. Those who did not lose their cars in the Flood rode busses to their jobs. Many never had cars at all.
With neither homes nor transportation, they lost their jobs. With either of those, they can probably get their jobs back. The City famous for night-life, outstanding restaurants and live local music is desperate for hired help. Most businesses are struggling to stay alive with reduced hours.
The conservative fools who run our government will not assist those Americans in need – those Americans whose only mistake was to trust the Corps’ levees – and when the private sector steps in to help, you are quick to criticize because their help does not fit your formula. You cons extol private enterprise as a cure for everything; but, when it’s liberal-style private enterprise, you sniff and turn your nose. “The libs” are building houses elevated on stilts to protect against future floods, with passive heating and cooling features and reduced energy needs. Oh, and there’s also no formaldehyde!
If you want to apply your ideas, there is no waiting. Just drive on down to New Orleans get to work.
December 4th, 2007 at 7:00 pmMr. Misogynist (#82),
Do not address me directly or otherwise, you racist, cowardly puke.
December 4th, 2007 at 7:29 pm#84, Bienville,
By all means, you libs knock yourselves out! Your Dem governor and Dem Mayor did a good job allowing over 1,000 Dem constituents die, so clearly your liberal policies are just what they need now.
#85, DipshitForPeace,
Is that moniker better for you? I only addressed you directly, because you addressed me directly. If you don’t want a conversation, then don’t address me.
December 4th, 2007 at 11:12 pmJason M. Hendler
If I remember correctly the deaths were mainly due to the levees failing, and the failures of Bush’s Fema. Oh, and if you try that “Blanco never called for help” story, I’ll just point you to Snopes BTB.
Oh, and the levees failing? In 2001 the US’ civil engineers presented designs for improving the levees that would have prevented this whole mess to the very Republican Congress of the day. The very Republican Congress, instead of listening to the engineers – experts in their fields and all of that – decided to slash funding to maintaining the levees that were already there, and use that funding to build a bridge to nowhere, Alaska.
This was done under a Republican president and Senate.
Oh, and as for managing the disaster…
http://thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline
I don’t see as the Democrat governor could have done much more. Bush on the other hand?
December 5th, 2007 at 4:07 am#84, Bienville,
By all means, you libs knock yourselves out! Your Dem governor and Dem Mayor did a good job allowing over 1,000 Dem constituents die, so clearly your liberal policies are just what they need now.
Comment by Jason M. Hendler — December 4, 2007 @ 11:12 pm
Those fatalites were caused by the failure of the Corps’ levees. The Corps’ levees failed in a storm that was 2 categories below their design rating because they were poorly designed and constructed. They were poorly designed and constructed because, over the last 40 years, the Federal government did not appropriate enough money for them. The Federal government has been dominated by supply-side economics conservatives for the vast majority of that time. “Dem” and “lib” local governments financed and built levees and other flood control works through their own resources, in the absence of Federal funding.
Had the Federal government seriously addressed its leadership responsibility, the levees might have been properly funded, they might have been properly built, they might have held, and this discussion would not be occurring. As it is, the Federal government failed, supply-side economics failed, conservativism failed, Republicans failed.
“Don’t give a shit about anyone else” succeeded. You should be proud.
December 5th, 2007 at 8:36 am