ThinkFast: May 22, 2009
ThinkFast: May 22, 2009
Last night, the House Energy and Commerce Committee approved “the most ambitious energy and global warming legislation ever debated in Congress,” with Rep. Mary Bono Mack (R-CA) joining 35 Democrats to vote for the bill. CAPAF CEO John Podesta praised President Obama and Chairmen Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA), who “demonstrated tremendous leadership by bringing together states, business, labor, and environmentalists to reach these essential agreements.”
In an interview with Newsweek’s Richard Wolffe, President Obama said he wants to convene a “Muslim summit.” “I think that I can speak credibly to them about the fact that I respect their culture,” Obama said, “that I understand their religion, that I have lived in a Muslim country, and as a consequence I know it is possible to reconcile Islam with modernity and respect for human rights and a rejection of violence.”
In March, Chas Freeman, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair’s first choice to head the National Intelligence Council, withdrew his appointment amid controversy. Now, Blair has named his named his new nominee for the spot, former 9/11 Commission Deputy Director Christopher Kojm. “Chris is a highly respected national security expert with a deep background in intelligence and foreign policy,” said Blair.
President Obama has met with another potential Supreme Court nominee, the New York Times reports, bringing the number of face-to-face interviews to at least two. Earlier this week, Obama interviewed federal appeals court Judge Diane P. Wood.
Democratic strategist Paul Begala “is circulating a point-by-point rebuttal of GOP consultant Frank Luntz’s widely read strategy memo on health care.” The memo urges “congressional Democrats to push back hard against ‘Republican Orwellian rhetoric.’” “Because they know they cannot win the argument honestly, Republicans are resorting to mendacity,” Begala wrote in the memo. “Democrats must not let them get away with it.”
Stephen Green, a former U.S. soldier, was sentenced to life in prison yesterday for “raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and murdering her, her parents and a younger sister in Iraq.” One resident of the town where the crime took place said in response, “I’m happy because at least other American soldiers will see this and think twice before doing acts like this again.”
Defense Secretary Robert Gates said today that “the Obama administration had no choice but to order the shutdown of the prison at Guantanamo because ‘the name itself is a condemnation’ of U.S. anti-terrorism strategy.” Gates said Gitmo is “probably one of the finest prisons in the world today” but noted that it had become “a taint” on America’s reputation.
The Senate yesterday passed a supplemental budget measure “which will provide about $85 billion to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan through Sept. 30 and including the addition of an extra 21,000 U.S. troops to Afghanistan.” Sens. Tom Coburn (R-OK), Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Bernard Sanders (I-VT) were the only no votes.
“A handful of House Republicans and two Democrats” yesterday introduced a bill “that would put a halt to recognizing same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia.” Earlier this month, the D.C. Council voted overwhelmingly to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.
And finally: President Obama began his speech on national security by acknowledging “the presence of some of my outstanding Cabinet members and advisors.” He listed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, CIA Director Leon Panetta, and then Defense Secretary…William Gates (rather than Robert Gates).
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He listed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, CIA Director Leon Panetta, and then Defense Secretary…William Gates (rather than Robert Gates).
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I wonder if Bill Gates realizes how close he was to a presidential appointment?
Oh well — if this is to be President Obama’s “Hubert Horatio Hornblower” moment, it’s not too bad.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:05 amAnd, significantly, in covering up shit, if he served the 9-11 Commission “with distinction.”
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:07 amAnd the right wingers are still out there terrorizing their cowardly base with threats of terrorism, to which the base responds: “torture everyone! we’re scared!”
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:10 amThinkSpam
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:12 amDon’t know if it was mentioned elsewhere yesterday on TP, but McClatchy’s Jon Landay & Warren Strobel have written an excellent fact-checking rebuttal to Cheney’s AEI speech:
Cheney’s Speech Ignored Some Inconvenient Truths-
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:16 amhttp://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/68643.html
“that I understand their religion, that I have lived in a Muslim country, and as a consequence I know it is possible to reconcile Islam with modernity and respect for human rights and a rejection of violence.”
Not a bad idea, sir but then could you do the same sort of talk with our own bunch of neocons and christians?
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:25 amOne resident of the town where the crime took place said in response, “I’m happy because at least other American soldiers will see this and think twice before doing acts like this again.”
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I’m sure that most American soldiers wouldn’t even think ONCE about committing such horrific acts. And I doubt that the few psychos who have rape and murder on their minds would be deterred by possible punishment for their deeds.
I’m glad that Stephen Green received a sentence of life imprisonment for his crimes (and let’s hope that’s without possiblity of parole), as this will protect society from this monster. But a deterrent? We tend to give stiff sentences in this country for rape and murder, yet rapes and murders still occur. Imprisonment is most effective for keeping the monsters separated from society. It’s occasionally effective for rehabilitation (and could be more so). It’s scarcely effective as a deterrent. If it was an effective deterrent, Texas would have a much lower murder rate, for example.
It’s possible the town resident who hoped American soldiers would “think twice” was implying that Green did what he did because he placed no value on the lives of Iraqi people, and they were put on earth for his own twisted pleasure. This isn’t a new phenomenon. Soldiers from most of the foreign wars we have fought in — Vietnam, Korea, the Gulf War, Iraq, etc. — report an internal culture that often dehumanizes not only the enemies they’re fighting but the locals they are supposed to be helping. This is why terms like “gooks” and “hajjis” become all too common. If this was the situation in Stephen Green’s case, some serious countering of this attitude is in order.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:28 amGood morning, campers.
TGIF!
Remember our fallen brothers and sisters this Memorial weekend. They were NOT “phoney soldiers”.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:30 amDNFP Says
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:12 am
ThinkSpam
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It appears the “Privacy Center” spammer got kicked out. That was quick, TP — good work!
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:31 am“Stephen Green, a former U.S. soldier, was sentenced to life in prison yesterday for “raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and murdering her, her parents and a younger sister”
I should be noted that “Mr. Green, […] got into the Army in 2005 on a so-called morals waiver, having had problems with alcohol and drug abuse.” and was drunk when he committed his crime.
It should also be noted that whilst justice was served in this case there are cases of US service women having been raped, and and least one murdered, that have gone un-investigated , let alone punished. Here’s one:
http://at5thestate.blogspot.com/2007/10/who-is-burying-ciara-durkin.html
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:33 am“A handful of House Republicans and two Democrats” yesterday introduced a bill “that would put a halt to recognizing same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia.”
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This issue was bound to hit Congress sooner or later. And the resolution from the DC Council just made it sooner.
I imagine virtually all Republicans will unite against recognizing same-sex marriages in the District of Columbia. It will be interesting to see how many Democrats join them.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:34 amAnd Mr. President? It might be a better idea to have the talk here first. Nothing like telling someone they have spinach in their teeth when you have a big mustard stain on your own shirt.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:37 amSame sex objections in DC – I think I read somewhere that the population percentage statistics of homosexuals in DC was equal to or more than that of San Francisco. Ironic isn’t it?
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:39 amPerhaps something can be drawn from the fact that in SF, gays are not in the closet, but in DC, they are in cloakrooms in the Congress.
In an interview with Newsweek’s Richard Wolffe, President Obama said he wants to convene a “Muslim summit.” “I think that I can speak credibly to them about the fact that I respect their culture,” Obama said, “that I understand their religion, that I have lived in a Muslim country, and as a consequence I know it is possible to reconcile Islam with modernity and respect for human rights and a rejection of violence.”
If that’s the case you need to hold one of these summits for America. We are the most violent country in the world. We have a bunch of racist knuckle draggers posing as Republicans and Neo-Nazi’s. We have a government which tortured, and murdered POW’s in an illegal war. We have a former Vice President who says torture is cool.
Can we have one of these summits.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:39 amCheney’s Speech Ignored Some Inconvenient Truths-
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/226/story/68643.html
I saw a close-up photo of the dick and he has a broken blood vessel in his eye — could it be due to the raising of his blood pressure, the strangulation of the truth, or just his evil oozing out?
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:42 am“I think that I can speak credibly to them about the fact that I respect their culture,” Obama said…
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but…but…but…Mr. President! If you go winning the hearts and minds of the Muslim world, you’re going to make it harder for the extremist crackpots to recruit impressionable young warriors into their ranks! You’ll make it harder for them to raise funds! You’ll destroy their whole propaganda campaign about how America hates Islam and wants to see all Muslims dead!
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:44 amDefense Secretary Robert Gates… said Gitmo is “probably one of the finest prisons in the world today”…
“See! See! Real proof with words that the only place to keep those accused enemy combatants is Gitmo, clearly saying that there is no other option but to release them in our backyards to commit more scary terrist stuff in our… ummm.. backyards…. (hey! You, terrirst! Git away from my birdbath!). So, Gates says that gitmo must stay open because it is the only place to keep terrirsts without trials. (Git away from my nut tree!… those are my nuts!….)”
Just thought I’d present the complete misinterpretation before a troll did. Or Cheney.
Nyaa, nyaaa. I said it fiiiiirrrrrrssssst.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:46 amWhat about those of us that live intown in a Condo and don’t have a back yard?
Where will we put OUR terrorist(s)?
The attic? under the bed?
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:48 ammisscoleopteramolly Says: “I doubt that the few psychos who have rape and murder on their minds would be deterred by possible punishment for their deeds.”
Quite so. And the use of “moral waivers” guarantees such criminality–it’s tough enough to maintain a sense of civilized behavior and perspective in a war anyway.
Mr Green might have benefited from the discipline and code of the Army a decent soldier had he not been sent to the
‘front lines’.
But the ‘moral waiver’ undermines the military and the mission as many damn well knew, but they used it anyway so the Bush cabal could “stay the course”.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:48 amRantingTommy Says:
What about those of us that live intown in a Condo and don’t have a back yard?
They will live in the dumpster.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:50 amRantingTommy Says: What about those of us that live intown in a Condo and don’t have a back yard?
Rent some storage space, tommy—and you’ll be stimulating the economy at the same time! .
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:51 amhmm, well, the bums live in the dumpster, but I DO have a storage space
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:53 amIf my terrorist is going to live in my backyard he’s DEFINATELY mowing the grass!
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:54 am5th Estate Says:
Rent some storage space
Whoah! Hey! We have to support them, too? I thought they would be squatting. Damn! This deal is getting worser.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:55 amRantingTommy Says:
hmm, well, the bums live in the dumpster, but I DO have a storage space
Don’t worry… they’ll convert the bums to radiacl islamic terrorism.
They can also infiltrate the sewer system, and enter your home through the comode.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:56 amA Patriotic Anopheles Acting Says:
If my terrorist is going to live in my backyard he’s DEFINATELY mowing the grass!
Oh. Maybe this isn’t too bad. Can I get them to clean out the litter-boxes and do the dishes, too? THEN you may just have a deal.
May 22nd, 2009 at 9:57 amI’ve taken certain, um, chemical warfare measures to keep the terrorists from entering from the commode
lol
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:08 amCageyCretin Says:
“Oh. Maybe this isn’t too bad. Can I get them to clean out the litter-boxes and do the dishes, too? THEN you may just have a deal.”
I figured I’d set up a terrorist Tent City and run it like a hostel.
Trolls complaining about the terrorists taking US jobs from Murican citizens in 3, 2, 1…
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:48 amShadow bankers buy BankUnited. The Carlyle Group, Blackstone Group et al put up $900 million. The FDIC ponied up $4.9 billion. Current BU shareholders got zeroed out in the deal.
PEU boys win again. Reuters reported:
The FDIC said on Thursday it is close to providing more guidance for how private equity firms can invest in failing banks. The government is looking for ways to better tap the $1 trillion of total uninvested private equity capital as bank failures accelerate.
That’s the strategy of the Obama team.
http://peureport.blogspot.com/
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:54 amA Patriotic Anopheles Acting Says:
I figured I’d set up a terrorist Tent City and run it like a hostel.
Don’t forget the concessions stand — that’s where the real money is made, you know.
May 22nd, 2009 at 10:57 amStephen Green, a former U.S. soldier, was sentenced to life in prison yesterday for “raping a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and murdering her, her parents and a younger sister in Iraq.”
Life without parole. He got off easy.
Donuts to dinars, the dead family’s relatives will try to kill some other random American soldier to exact revenge on the US.
May 22nd, 2009 at 11:00 am.
Orwell would have laughed at the Republicans’ rhetoric. But then he was a SOCIALIST!!!
Some of today’s anti-Orwellians.
May 22nd, 2009 at 11:05 am.
Democratic strategist Paul Begala “is circulating a point-by-point rebuttal of GOP consultant Frank Luntz’s widely read strategy memo on health care.” The memo urges “congressional Democrats to push back hard against ‘Republican Orwellian rhetoric.’”
I think this is great and a really a good, necessary thing to do. But watch, now we’ll see a Luntz rebuttal of the Begala rebuttal of the Luntz memo.
May 22nd, 2009 at 11:44 amEvery time I read about how great a facility Gitmo is all I can think about is what a waste of money that represents. It’s a classic Bush move to pour billions of dollars into building a prison overseas that he knew would be temporary. Hell, it’s not his money, right?
The right would have us believe that passing debt on to our children for modern infrastructure, energy independence, and universal healthcare is immoral. But, passing on debt to built Gitmo, a prison that will soon sit empty, is just peachy. If we pass on debt it should at least be for something the future generations will be able to use.
May 22nd, 2009 at 11:44 am#34, good post fletch3her, I woulden’t hold my breath on the closing of Gitmo just yet though…The chess game is just beginning….Blessings, we still need them.
May 22nd, 2009 at 11:51 amSorry, I spelled your name wrong, please forgive..
May 22nd, 2009 at 11:52 amMax Baucus said he wouldn’t cover illegal immigrants in health reform.
“It’s too politically explosive,” Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said of covering immigrants who are in the country illegally. He declined to say how that edict would be implemented, saying: “I’m just saying they’re not covered.”
May 22nd, 2009 at 12:00 pmHas anyone explained why the media put Cheney against Obama on a split screen, giving Cheney as much importance as the president? We all know wht Cheney is and what he is doing – yet the media continue to give him undeserved attention and value, as if he were still in power.
May 22nd, 2009 at 12:05 pmMy fellow INFIDELS misscoleopteramolly & CageyCretin, as per your comments in 16 and 17. Aren’t you oversimplifying the Muslim peace process between the U.S. and the Muslim world. They kill each other daily over bull$hit differences in their faith and you think a summmit is gonna be the ticket to “Change” on this? It is good that the President is addressing the issue but talk is cheap. It will take far more than press coverage of a MUSLIM SUMMIT. Now if the President wanted to be really bold, he would have a summit with the Muslim leadership of the 50 Million Muslims in this country and the Muslim Leadership of a greater number in Europe; whose numbers are so great that the Muslim Birth rate along with Muslim immigration are going to dwarf the natives by 2030; and create an Anti-terrorism network that they and the U.S. government can agree on. This would open the door to all churches being monitored but many people know that in the Mosques of the U.S., there are insurgent messages put out in some congregations. I’ve met a number of Muslim defectors who admit this. THAT’S NOT HATE, JUST THE TRUTH! The way I and many see it, it is the MUSLIM communities job to inform us that they are a faith of peace. Those who have served in Bosnia/Croatia know what I’m talking about. This isn’t Turkey.
CAGEYCRETIN, just as easy it is to put “TROLLS” or conservatives I assume you mean like myself in a box, we can do likewise. You and I know that when we’re not at the rally shouting at each other from the other side of the street demonstration that opposites can speak to each other. MOB Rule seems to apply day after day on this site. Conservatives do listen to opposing views but we operate from a framework principled on incremental change. We might never change if it weren’t for liberals but that is what you call our relationship. As for the Gitmo prison, it will probably cease housing “Enemy Combatants” one day but will revert back to housing U.S. Military Criminals. It will never shutdown per se!!
May 22nd, 2009 at 1:46 pmSheepdog — flagged for crazy-assed shit.
May 22nd, 2009 at 2:07 pmSheepdog Says:
Well… actaully, I did not address the peace process at all in my snarkiness. Simplified or not. And on a blog such as this, NO post will definitively include all of the intricacies and delicacies of diplomacy and negotiation that would be necessary to consider in such a process. Nor are all those details going to be presented in a speech to the general public — the President offers a general outline, but it would be a tedious waste of everyone’s time for him to detail every aspect of such negotiations to the public in a speech (and he himself will not know all of those things — that is where the other people in the government and the specialists our government hires come into play: great leadership is NOT someone who thinks they know everything: great leadership is someone who can effectively organize the people available to do the job the best).
Now, I did not box (or pidgeonhole) you, though I might. Never know. However, from this one post of your I have read, I suspect that you yourself like to pidgeonhole “liberals” or “democrats” — also known as stereotyping. (however, don’t misconstrue my tone here — I intend to be perfectly civil, actually).
But as to my comment refering to “trolls or Cheney” — what I said stands, and my comment itself does NOT imply or declare a definition of troll. I merely offered a distorted out-of-context use of the quote above in a manner that is very common from those who a labeled by the community of posters here as “troll” (as well as many republicans). That I noted that I was getting in a “pre-emptive snark strike” on the matter is all i did. Ideally, so that no idiot would come on here and try to make that absurd claim. But I did not say that every troll would do that (some of the regular trolls here ARE above that kind of thing), nor that every republican would do that. I made no blanket assessment with my comment — only noted that I was pre-emting any troll from getting first marks on said distortion.
You’ll feel better if you have a cookie. :)
May 22nd, 2009 at 2:20 pmShorter: please read more carefully, and don’t work so hard to read things into what people say that are not there.
May 22nd, 2009 at 2:22 pmMore on President Obama’s preventive detention:
http://politics.theatlantic.com/2009/05/the_rubicon_of_indefinite_detention.php
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:10 pmCageyCretin, HAHAHAHAHAHA! I’ll have 3 cookies thankyou! Put up your American Flag this weekend, we have alot to be thankful for!! SHEEPDOG OUT!
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:34 pmZooey, relax. Haven’t you ever heard of Firing for Effect?
May 22nd, 2009 at 7:35 pmPlease teabaggers, teabags in training and teabaggettes, STFU cause you look like useless and dangerous idiots as time passes by.
chimpy appears like a bag of beans and buckshot and the rest of the clowns willingly joined in the wrong, the sick, the depraved, side of the mafia. Interest rates are of mafia roots. The bank of China and Russian dont want to base their currency of the paper dollar. I don’t blame them.
If the repugs make mafia rules the law then we have no laws.
Disappear buckshot like you want your lesbian daughter to do, Let her be, fisheye. How do you feel roughin up your grandchild, the little baby who comes from pure love. Do you feel good? Tell people it’s better to torture than to share love with others? GET F0CKING LOST, mr. strong>NOleans man!
buckshot/chimpy you know you tortured because of your sick fantasies (the 24 crusade show) and damn, because you are the kings.
I don/t buy fisheye’s excuse of hisj playing a bytche. That scene ain’t working for me. buckshot a bytch? he declares the title but I say bs with a capital shit.
Let’s look forward well at least let the wrong fester while President Obama let’s the pot boil over. It’s gonna happen to chimpy’s admin, no doubt. It’s mega egregious and all for your pleasure.
Don’t teabaggers realized that the US don’t want to be seen as turd, chimpy, condi, rummi, wolfwhatever and so on. What is it you don’t understand?
fess up buckshot tell us why you don’t want your daughter to be happy? Why are you happy when you torture? It was never necessary. NEVER IDIOT.
May 24th, 2009 at 11:20 pm