ThinkFast: November 18, 2009
ThinkFast: November 18, 2009
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Afghanistan today “for a surprise visit on the eve of the inauguration of President Hamid Karzai.” Clinton, who is making her first visit to Afghanistan as secretary of state, “will attend Karzai’s Thursday inauguration to a second term, showing U.S. support for his government, after an election which was tainted by fraudulent balloting.”
President Obama told CBS News that leaks about his administration’s Afghanistan deliberations are “absolutely” a “firing offense.” “I think I am angrier than Bob Gates about it, partly because we have these deliberations in the Situation Room for a reason,” said Obama. “Because we are making decisions that are life-and-death, that affect how our troops will be able to operate in a theater of war.”
Former Bush adviser Karl Rove’s memoir will be released on March 9, 2010, and be titled “Courage and Consequence.” In a new statement, Rove said that the book will be “a frank account of what I witnessed and my often-controversial role.” Last year, Rove said that he was planning to “name names” of the people who never “accepted” Bush as a “legitimate president.”
The House “may pass a new economic stimulus bill by December 18 in a bid to combat sky-high US unemployment.” “I would certainly want to see us move something on jobs before that, and we are working on it now,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said, adding, “I wouldn’t characterize it as a second stimulus. I don’t want to be as broad as that, I want to be very targeted on jobs.”
President Obama “directly acknowledged for the first time” today that the prison at Guantanamo Bay will not close by the January 2010 deadline he set. Saying he was “not disappointed,” Obama “said he hoped to still achieve that goal sometime next year.”
Israeli officials “moved forward Tuesday with a plan to build 900 homes in a disputed neighborhood of Jerusalem, prompting sharp criticism from the White House, the Palestinians and others who feel it will further undermine the chance of renewing peace talks.” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the administration is “dismayed” at the decision.
President Obama is “creating a multi-agency task force to pursue criminals who bilked investors and consumers during the financial crisis.” Working with state and local authorities, the task force will “pursue financial fraud cases stemming from the crash of the housing market and the Wall Street meltdown.”
“House Democratic leaders are considering imposing a new tax on stock transactions to fund a jobs bill,” The Hill reports. The idea, which has been pushed by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), “is attractive because it’s very small, likely 0.25 percent of each trade.” Though “Small- and medium-sized investors would hardly notice a transaction tax,” major trading firms “may see it as a significant threat to their profits.”
Two days before his 92nd birthday and on his 20,774th day representing West Virginia, Sen. Robert Byrd (D) becomes the longest-serving member of Congress. After “six years in House and then nearly 51 years and counting in the Senate,” Byrd “sets a record for longevity unlikely to be broken.”
And finally: A tip if you visit the White House: The silver eagle place card holders are not souvenirs. Rep. Betsy Markey’s (D-CO) husband found this lesson out the hard way when he was at a luncheon with the First Lady. On the way out, a Secret Service agent stopped him and asked him to return the eagle. “Jim! You were shoplifting from the White House!” the congresswoman joked.
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Israeli officials “moved forward Tuesday with a plan to build 900 homes in a disputed neighborhood of Jerusalem, prompting sharp criticism from the White House, the Palestinians and others who feel it will further undermine the chance of renewing peace talks.” White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the administration is “dismayed” at the decision.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:06 am[sigh] I think it’s time we played a little harder ball with these folks. I’m all for Israel maintaing sovereignty, but not at the cost of continuously and deliberately pissing off Muslims just to prove a point.
Re: Rove’s “memoir”
He, apparently, never gets it. Bush was never a “legitimate” president.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:09 amFormer Bush adviser Karl Rove’s memoir will be released on March 9, 2010, and be titled “Courage and Consequence.”
Someone could take a century to look for a more inappropriate and inapplicable title than the above , and still not find it ………..
November 18th, 2009 at 9:09 am@3. Wait, he faced consequences?! Why wasn’t I told?! /snark
November 18th, 2009 at 9:10 am“House Democratic leaders are considering imposing a new tax on stock transactions to fund a jobs bill,” The Hill reports.
This tax, called a Securities Turnover Excise Tax, is a good idea in at least two ways, as it would create a small curb against the volatility of the “casino traders”, and it would reimpose a tax that existed before the Wall Street thieves had the power to get ALL the regulations and oversight removed from their suspicious activities. They put us in this mess, and they should pay off the debt incurred to get us out.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:11 amI’d like to add my name to that list, KKKarl.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:11 amA little off topic but had to say it. Just watched an interview between Chuck Todd and President Obama. Todd behaves like a smug jerk–this from a man who inherited rather than earned the right to be a political reporter.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:12 amLast year, Rove said that he was planning to “name names” of the people who never “accepted” Bush as a “legitimate president.”
_____________________________________________________________
Um…that’s an awful lot of people…are you sure you’ve got the time?
November 18th, 2009 at 9:13 amFrom the NYT this morning…
‘In response to demands from Mr. Nelson, for instance, the leaders appear willing to drop plans to use the bill to strip health insurance companies of their antitrust exemption.’
Why do we keep giving in to DINO’s? Lincoln, Landreau, Nelson aren’t even close to playing ball with other Democrats.
Insurers view us as commodities, and when we get sick they make money.
Today’s congress lets corporations write favorable legislation. If our congresscritters aren’t bright enough to even write laws, what the hell are they doing in office?
The long tentacles of corporate interests and greed for profit are destroying our Country. Look at big pharma, who are raising prices just in time to beat the clock on pending reform. Same with the credit card companies.
Lest we forget, Wall St IS big pharma, insurers and banks.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:13 amSecretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Afghanistan today “for a surprise visit on the eve of the inauguration of President Hamid Karzai.”
Hoping she is there more for the pep talk to Karzai, which goes like this
Yo this is how its going to be from this point on got it, I knew you would.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:14 amone slip and you will be out on your Ace.
then smiles and walks away.
Israeli officials “moved forward Tuesday with a plan to build 900 homes in a disputed neighborhood of Jerusalem, prompting sharp criticism from the White House…
____________________________________________________________
I have a feeling that Israel regards “sharp criticism from the White House” with about as much concern as Bush and Cheney regarded “sternly worded letters from Congress”.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:17 amI guess we HAD to congradulate Karzai on his “victory”. He’s still ostensibly an ally. But I’m sure Clinton did it with the utmost distain. Karzai is going to wind up crafting one of the most isolated regimes in the world, gaining allies only because he is the less odious of the serious alternatives (i.e., Taliban). Get us a timetable for withdrawal, Mr. President…and let the Afghan Civil War keep playing out. Eventually, the country will stabilize…even if the country that emerges more closely resembles a 17th century Persian vassal state than a 21st century democratic republic.
I’d say whoever’s been leaking Afghan information should get their asses drop-kicked out. And that includes McChrystal. This isn’t like Ellsberg with the Pentagon Papers. The leaks don’t concern covert, illegal military tactics; rather, the leaks happen to try to influence the President from a purely political standpoint.
Karl Rove’s book will be called “Courage and Consequence” of which he has none and suffers none. Another self-serving, whitewashed memoir released to level bullshit attacks on political enemies while casting himself (and Bush) as American heroes. It’s a damn good thing he’s not as photogenic as Palin (except to the fawning masses over at FoxNews). Do you really wanna see Rove on Oprah?
A second stimulus is a long time coming. And, please, Dems…don’t cave to the conservatives. Tax cuts to large businesses and wealthy individuals accomplish nothing in the rebuilding of the economy. We need massive infrastructure spending. A Green New Deal; something that will go hand and hand with Cap and Trade to drastically cut down on pollution and greenhouse gasses while simulatenously provding hundreds of thousands of jobs. The WPA, TVA, CCC (and some heavy exports) got our country out of the Depression caused by a laissez-faire, unregulated financial system in the 1930s. Something along those lines will boost us back to economic strength.
Like I’ve been saying, it was not a wise idea to set a firm timeline for the closure of Guanatanmo so early. It was logistically an impossibility, not the least of which because the GOP (and certain Dems) excel at fear-mongering and little else. We have closed prisons with the space for Guanatanamo detainees and communities jumping at the opportunity to gain a couple thousand jobs. It’s win-win, unless you get off on scaring the bejesus out of your constituents.
Netanyahu is deaf to the pleas of the international community. And his own people. Most Israelis are against the expansion of settlements and want rapproachment with Palestinians. They want the conflict to end. The strategy for Palestine to unilaterally declare independence is an intriguing one, or would’ve been if the EU backed it. Getting international recognition (sort of like Kosovo) wouldn’t immediately solve the conflict, but it would force Israel to negotiate. Granted, it’s also a logistic impossibility, since those in favour of unilateral independence (Fatah, Third Way, many independents) would still have to deal with Hamas, who steadfastly claims all of Israel as an Islamist state. Dialogue is the answer, but maybe a joint Israeli-Palestinian front could be enough to dismantle Hamas/PIJ in Gaza.
Congradulations, Robert Byrd. May you come back to the Senate to vote on healthcare reform. And, please, do not run in 2012. Seriously.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:22 amIn other words, the book will be a hit list for evangelical christians. Everyone so named will be an assassination target for religious zealots.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:23 amYou’d still have states like Utah and Idaho and a few others that would vote David Freakin’ Duke over Obama. But if Palin gets the nod in 2012, it doesn’t matter if the Dems lose on healthcare, lose on Cap&Trade, lose on the economy…she’d still get blown out. And she’d probably name Michelle Bachmann as her VP.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:26 amIn all the furor and fuss over Palin’s Provocative Pose, one small detail was overlooked.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:27 amI saw an ealier post about Chuck Todd, and aquarius is right. The MSM NEVER treated Bush with the distain they treat this President with. The only one I saw confront Bush was David Gregory. And that was YEARS after Bush was in. MSM is hopeless.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:35 amFormer Bush adviser Karl Rove’s memoir will be released on March 9, 2010, and be titled “Courage and Consequence.”
Be sure to look for it in the Humor section of your local bookstore.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:36 amWho said Obama is going to be running for president in 2012?
November 18th, 2009 at 9:39 amHe’s light years ahead of anyone the Repubes have to offer, but leaves a lot to be desired as a Democrat, in my opinion.
President Obama told CBS News that leaks about his administration’s Afghanistan deliberations are “absolutely” a “firing offense.”
The gauntlet has been thrown… now we’ll see if certain members of the military remember who their commander in chief is or decide to remain toadies for the right
November 18th, 2009 at 9:40 amKarls book would fit nicely next to Sarahs…in the Fantasy Fiction section.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:41 amMark Koldys Worships Hitler says:
If Palin gets the nod, Obama can vacation throughout 2012 and still win.
As much as this might be a joke, I hope he doesn’t. Can you imagine the Republican backlash rivaling our own against GWB when he vacationed?
Unfortunately, Palin making any announcement for a presidential run is not rosy news to me. I see a lot of die-hard Republicans standing with her, regardless of her message, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they used some dirtier tactics during a 2012 run.
Palin may step in her own mouth, but I fear the spin that could come from their side.
The best thing to do is not rest on our laurels, but to make sure that honest work is done to make sure that Obama’s term is successful, too successful for people to justify calling him too much a “lame duck” to keep for a second term.
No rest.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:42 amray@23, I stuns me how the Repugs forget that. The generals serve the PRESIDENT, not the other way around. Funny how Repugs and MSM forget that.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:42 amYou think Karl’s got enough hard drive space to list all those people who never accepted George W. Bush as legit? Can I be the one to cause the stack overflow?
November 18th, 2009 at 9:45 amdumbstruck says:
“Who said Obama is going to be running for president in 2012?”
No one that I’ve heard, besides, he’s quite busy at present.
“He’s light years ahead of anyone the Repubes have to offer, but leaves a lot to be desired as a Democrat, in my opinion.”
The closest Democrats to President Obama are still fiddling with bottle rockets in hopes of catching up.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:45 am@23. The gauntlet has been thrown… now we’ll see if certain members of the military remember who their commander in chief is or decide to remain toadies for the right
November 18th, 2009 at 9:48 amOn the other side of things, we need to be sure that the C-in-C has the clout to fire these guys. I would hate to see what happens on the day our president can’t fire a general who won’t follow orders.
Of course, he may have done so and I missed it. Please correct my last post if I got it wrong.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:49 amPresident Obama told CBS News that leaks about his administration’s Afghanistan deliberations are “absolutely” a “firing offense.”
The gauntlet has been thrown… now we’ll see if certain members of the military remember who their commander in chief is or decide to remain toadies for the right
Remember, there are voices on the evangelical christian right calling for a military coup.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:51 amSounds like Rove wants more Jim Adkissons.
November 18th, 2009 at 9:53 amThere is precedence USNclerk…
MacArthur’s Dismissal
“Stalemated once again at the 38th parallel, MacArthur pressured Truman to drop nuclear bombs on mainland China. Doing so, MacArthur reasoned, would not only allow his forces to take the entire Korean Peninsula but would also topple the Communist regime in Beijing. Truman and U.S. military officials, however, knew they lacked the resources to fight a war with China, defend Western Europe, contain the Soviet Union, occupy Japan, and hold Korea at the same time. They also wanted to keep the war limited and knew that the deployment of nuclear weapons would bring the Soviet Union into what could quickly devolve into World War III. MacArthur rebuffed these arguments and instead tried to turn the American people against Truman by criticizing him in public. Truman removed MacArthur from command in April 1951, for insubordination.“
November 18th, 2009 at 9:55 amPalin says yes to 2012 presidential run
Daughter Piper, aged eight, revealed that her mother makes excellent hotdogs with cheese — from Alaskan moose — while Willow, 15, gave her own little push to the Palin presidential bandwagon.
“That would be cool,” Willow answered when asked if she wanted her mother to run.
Hell would have had to freeze over before I considered voting for Sarah who? but after reading this bit of info I may have to reconsider. I can’t think of anything more presidential than moose hotdogs with cheese and an endorsement from a 15 year old relative!
November 18th, 2009 at 9:56 am@33. Thank you. My brain is not on full right now. I was full-time babysitting for a friend all weekend and the start of the week. So I’m kinda wore out. The info is appreciated noseeum.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:00 amdumbstruck, IMO one person will never have a representative who exactly governs the way he or she wants, unless he or she is the representative. President Obama does not offer everything I want either. However, I recognize that he is the one in the position, with all the data, with all the advisors, and with all the responsibility to juggle all the issues. Right now I think it is much more important for us to support President Obama as the obstructionist regressives are providing more than enough criticism. Our criticism has already been used by the regressives to undermine progress that we want. I do not want to see any more ammunition put in the regressives hands.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:01 amIs there still room for me on KKKarl Rove’s list…?
Be sure and spell it correctly, a$$hole.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:20 amThere are so many “brownyards” and old industrial sites in places such as Cleveland, Buffalo, Detroit, Toledo, Akron, Erie and Youngstown that should be cleaned up and rehabilitated.
This would be a great way for government to invest in the citizens.
There would be a great deal of labor required for this, and many jobs would be created, doing something good and needed for those local areas and our nation.
Those cities have these areas which are environmentally poisoned and need to be cleaned up and remedied.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:23 amThe leaks on Afghan strategy are firing offenses — indeed.
Gen. McChrystal, among others, should consider himself on notice.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:31 am#38 – evangenital says:
—————————————————–
“There are so many “brownyards” and old industrial sites in places such as Cleveland, Buffalo, Detroit, Toledo, Akron, Erie and Youngstown that should be cleaned up and rehabilitated.
This would be a great way for government to invest in the citizens.”
November 18th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Do we have enough illegals to hire for this project?
OK, that was a joke, and a pretty bad one at that.
I think there are many Americans who’ve been out of a job long enough that a manual labor job would be a source of income they would be glad to take.
The problem I see is that the right-whining regressives would bash it as “turning white collar jobs into blue collor jobs!” It wouldn’t occur to these right-whining regressives that the jobs were lost under Pres. Bush, they’ve already ut his presidency behind them. To these right-whining regressives, it’s all Pres. Obama’s fault. They refuse to allow Pres. Obama to use the Pres. Bush tactic and blame everything on Pres. Clinton.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:34 amGood Morning youngsters….Just a quick fly over today, thank you all for the good reads…As usual I have a critical view of more than I have time to post. on..Picking just one….If President Obama is upset with his right leaning war machine leaders he can simply replace them. The fact he has kept them this long is beyond me…
Time to give Peace a chance Mr. President…Blessings
November 18th, 2009 at 10:53 amHi Witch1, good to read ya this beautiful morning.
I agree and I think, at least hope that’s what is going on right now…….crossing fingers.
November 18th, 2009 at 10:58 amBack at ya Fred…Me to….Happy posting, will catch up again after my Dr’s appointment and bill paying day is over…Sun’s out for the first time in day’s on the west coast….A welcome change….Blessings to you and all here…
November 18th, 2009 at 11:06 amLast year, Rove said that he was planning to “name names” of the people who never “accepted” Bush as a “legitimate president.”
Oooooooo! Pick me! Pick me!
I’m having trouble accepting that Rove is even a legitimate human.
November 18th, 2009 at 11:15 amPresident Obama told CBS News that leaks about his administration’s Afghanistan deliberations are “absolutely” a “firing offense.” “I think I am angrier than Bob Gates about it, partly because we have these deliberations in the Situation Room for a reason,” said Obama. “Because we are making decisions that are life-and-death, that affect how our troops will be able to operate in a theater of war.”
When more than one person knows something. It is no longer a secret.
November 18th, 2009 at 2:32 pmThe House “may pass a new economic stimulus bill by December 18 in a bid to combat sky-high US unemployment.” “I would certainly want to see us move something on jobs before that, and we are working on it now,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) said, adding, “I wouldn’t characterize it as a second stimulus. I don’t want to be as broad as that, I want to be very targeted on jobs.”
More debt. … awesome.
November 18th, 2009 at 2:33 pmTwo days before his 92nd birthday and on his 20,774th day representing West Virginia, Sen. Robert Byrd (D) becomes the longest-serving member of Congress. After “six years in House and then nearly 51 years and counting in the Senate,” Byrd “sets a record for longevity unlikely to be broken.”
Does he hold the KKK record, too?
November 18th, 2009 at 2:34 pmPresident Obama “directly acknowledged for the first time” today that the prison at Guantanamo Bay will not close by the January 2010 deadline he set. Saying he was “not disappointed,” Obama “said he hoped to still achieve that goal sometime next year.”
Liar
November 18th, 2009 at 2:35 pm“House Democratic leaders are considering imposing a new tax on stock transactions to fund a jobs bill,” The Hill reports. The idea, which has been pushed by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), “is attractive because it’s very small, likely 0.25 percent of each trade.” Though “Small- and medium-sized investors would hardly notice a transaction tax,” major trading firms “may see it as a significant threat to their profits.”
The goal is to nickle and dime you to death with new taxes. But, of course, the spending never slows down.
November 18th, 2009 at 2:36 pmMr DUKE
MORON
What do you get out of proving again and again that you are the stupidest most brainwashed punkass troll imaginable? Shouldnt you just break down and CRY about how stupid you are instead of being so proud of your ignorance?
November 18th, 2009 at 2:54 pmRe: Mr. Duke @ 43@
You oughtta know…….DAVID!
November 19th, 2009 at 1:39 am