Is just pissing me off with this stuff:
In 2004 Bush and Karl Rove managed to flummox the Democrats by conflating the war in Iraq with the war against al-Qaeda and insisting that any Democratic reservations about Iraq were a sign of weakness. This was infuriating. It was Bush's disastrous decision to go to war and worse, to go to war with insufficient resources that transformed Iraq into a terrorist Valhalla. It is Bush's feckless prosecution of the war that has created the current morass, in which a U.S. military withdrawal could lead to a regional conflagration.
...
But Pariser's anti-triangulation argument deserves attention because it represents the latest expression of a perennial self-destructive urge within the Democratic Party. "Originally employed as a survival mechanism by a Democratic President in the wake of 1994's Republican revolution," he writes, triangulation "no longer makes sense in an era when any attempt at bipartisanship" is seen as Democratic weakness "and exploited accordingly." He has a point. The Bush Administration has made a mockery of bipartisanship.
...
In the end, the real alternative to Bush's Republican extremism isn't Democratic extremism. It is bipartisan moderation—which has the additional advantage of being the highest form of patriotism and the only route to victory in a time of war.
Joe Klien has finally come to terms with what a disaster the Bush administration is, but still clings to the idea that the perfect policy is just a bipartisan compromise away. But you can't split the difference anymore. This is not like Bush wants 30 billion for education, the Dems want 40 billion, let’s make a deal. You can't have half a reckless foreign policy. You can't say OK, invading Iran next will be a horrible disaster, let’s compromise and invade Syria. What does triangulation mean when one side advocates complete disaster? Half a disaster doesn't cut it. You can only support the agenda or oppose it. Lieberman supported Bush's foreign policy and paid a price at the polls.
One of the better lines from West Wing goes like this "You aren’t here to end the partisan fights, you are here to win them" When the policy is this bad, there is no compromise. There is only winning at the polls or not.
It’s not like Klien doesn't know this. Its right there: "The Bush Administration has made a mockery of bipartisanship."
Bipartisanship is dead, Bush killed it and Klien should come to terms with the loss. For the good of the Country.
August 14, 2006
August 13, 2006
Monday, Monday.
A Monday morning to look forward to.
A Middle East cease-fire will go into effect then. The messy will continue, but maybe the death and destruction will stop.
A Middle East cease-fire will go into effect then. The messy will continue, but maybe the death and destruction will stop.
August 12, 2006
Synergy
There's only so much time in the day, so when possible I like to combine my entertainment with learning a little about the world. With a whole lot in the news about British Counter-Terror efforts, I highly recommend MI-5 a BBC show about, well, British Counter-Terrorism. I'm in the middle of season 2 on netflixs.
The show is riveting. Moral murk, real characters, and a ticking clock make for great drama. Not to mention, educational.
The first thing you learn is that MI-5 is not "The British equivalent of the FBI" FBI agents are basically just Federal Cops. Jumped up reputaions, but really just cops. 5 (calling it "5" makes you sound like you know something) is a domestic spy agency.
Its agents are undercover and spy on Britons the way the CIA spys on foreign Nationials. We really don't have an equivalent. The is a lot of talk of the US getting a domestic spy agency, and MI-5 will show you what it looks like.
UPDATE: Richard Posner Makes the case that we should have our own MI-5.
The show is riveting. Moral murk, real characters, and a ticking clock make for great drama. Not to mention, educational.
The first thing you learn is that MI-5 is not "The British equivalent of the FBI" FBI agents are basically just Federal Cops. Jumped up reputaions, but really just cops. 5 (calling it "5" makes you sound like you know something) is a domestic spy agency.
Its agents are undercover and spy on Britons the way the CIA spys on foreign Nationials. We really don't have an equivalent. The is a lot of talk of the US getting a domestic spy agency, and MI-5 will show you what it looks like.
UPDATE: Richard Posner Makes the case that we should have our own MI-5.
August 11, 2006
Drafty
Random web surfing has led we to a Bill O'Reilly column. It has this gem:
The United States needs a new strategy to deal with this ominous threat. Slugging it out in Iraq may be necessary, but there might be another way. President Bush needs to level with the American people and begin putting this country on a war footing. That means a limited draft and a major commitment to defense. The President needs to shake things up and get people's attention.
Bill wants a draft. I'm sure "limited" means "not effecting me or my family." I would just love this to be a major talking point for Bill like putting the National Guard on the border used to be. O'Reilly's audience is all over 65 so they have nothing to worry about. Let's see Bill's conservative guests squirm when confronted with a call for a draft to fight the Global War on Whatever it is We are Fighting.
The United States needs a new strategy to deal with this ominous threat. Slugging it out in Iraq may be necessary, but there might be another way. President Bush needs to level with the American people and begin putting this country on a war footing. That means a limited draft and a major commitment to defense. The President needs to shake things up and get people's attention.
Bill wants a draft. I'm sure "limited" means "not effecting me or my family." I would just love this to be a major talking point for Bill like putting the National Guard on the border used to be. O'Reilly's audience is all over 65 so they have nothing to worry about. Let's see Bill's conservative guests squirm when confronted with a call for a draft to fight the Global War on Whatever it is We are Fighting.
August 10, 2006
Barn Door
Man, airport security is amazing good at imposing inconvenience to no good effect. Banning all liquids and gels will result the confiscation of millions of gallons of perfectly innocent hair gel and not stop a single terrorist attack.
This is just like banning nail clippers after 9/11. No one is going to hijack a plan with nail clippers. But it looks like we are doing something.
The horse is gone, man. The plot has been exposed, the terror cell broken up. Why the big show about confiscating perfume and soda? Its not just closing the barn door. Its setting off fireworks and annouching over the PA that we are closing the barn door.
After 9/11 we banned anything that even looked like a blade, no matter how laughable. After the shoe bomber was caught we now take our shoes off at airports.
A plot to use "liquid explosives" and now liquids are banned. The next terrorist will plan on smuggling a bomb stuck up his ass and I will never travel by air again.
This is just like banning nail clippers after 9/11. No one is going to hijack a plan with nail clippers. But it looks like we are doing something.
The horse is gone, man. The plot has been exposed, the terror cell broken up. Why the big show about confiscating perfume and soda? Its not just closing the barn door. Its setting off fireworks and annouching over the PA that we are closing the barn door.
After 9/11 we banned anything that even looked like a blade, no matter how laughable. After the shoe bomber was caught we now take our shoes off at airports.
A plot to use "liquid explosives" and now liquids are banned. The next terrorist will plan on smuggling a bomb stuck up his ass and I will never travel by air again.
Foiled Plot
Red Alert! Red Alert!
Terror Plot Foiled.
This kicks off the 48 hour freek-out media cycle, then we return to normal.
Terror Plot Foiled.
This kicks off the 48 hour freek-out media cycle, then we return to normal.
August 9, 2006
Please
A lot of conservatives are going to start putting out crap about how a win by anti-war Ned Lamont over pro-war Joe Lieberman is going to hurt Democrats. How the donkeys are embrancing George McGovern, that big loser.
Please.
60% of the County now opposes the Iraq war.
We are all George McGovern.
Everybody is going to be against the war. The GOP is going to try and distant themselves from the war all fall. Anybody who tells you different is fooling you.
Please.
60% of the County now opposes the Iraq war.
We are all George McGovern.
Everybody is going to be against the war. The GOP is going to try and distant themselves from the war all fall. Anybody who tells you different is fooling you.
August 8, 2006
See. Darwin.
Ha Ha. Faith in the system rewarded. Lieberman goes down. Still, he's going to try and run as an independent and the drama has yet to play out, but he got way far away from the Democratic middle and paid the price. Everyone got used to the idea in the last couple of weeks, but the defeat of a sitting US Senator in a primary campaign is amazingly rare. Historic even.
A bonus housecleaning moment came with the defeat of the nutty Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney in that Democratic Primary. McKinney is an embarrassment (9/11 conspiracies, slugged a cop) that I have no desire to try and defend. And now I don't.
A bonus housecleaning moment came with the defeat of the nutty Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney in that Democratic Primary. McKinney is an embarrassment (9/11 conspiracies, slugged a cop) that I have no desire to try and defend. And now I don't.
Service
Getting to webpage with anykind of election results is really hard. Everyone is crashing from traffic. Lieberman's page has been down all day, either cause he got hacked or forgot to pay his bill, depending on who you ask.
OK earlier returns show Lamont up, but it will be a while before we get real numbers.
OK earlier returns show Lamont up, but it will be a while before we get real numbers.
August 7, 2006
Darwin
I have totally neglected the most exciting political story that will happen this August: the Joe Lieberman primary challenge.
Joe has gone from VP candidate san reproach to failed 2004 Presidential to Bush's favorite Democrat to now being on the verge of being beaten in the Democratic Primary for his Connecticut Senate seat.
This is just the Darwinian process of elections. For all their flaws, elections do a pretty job of weeding out the unworthy. Think of the impala pack chased by the cheetah. The sick and lame are going to get eaten. As are the stupid impala who wander away from the pack. The "sick and lame" in this metaphor are corrupt politicians like poor Bob Ney, who went down today. Lieberman is the gazelle who wandered away from the pack.
Joe Lieberman has wandered really far a field. He is the first democrat to sign on with Bush's proposals and the last to denounce the war. In fact, he hasn't denounced the war. In a country and a political party that has turned completely against the war in Iraq, he still supports both the war and its conduct. And he's about to be punished for it tomorrow.
Joe has gone from VP candidate san reproach to failed 2004 Presidential to Bush's favorite Democrat to now being on the verge of being beaten in the Democratic Primary for his Connecticut Senate seat.
This is just the Darwinian process of elections. For all their flaws, elections do a pretty job of weeding out the unworthy. Think of the impala pack chased by the cheetah. The sick and lame are going to get eaten. As are the stupid impala who wander away from the pack. The "sick and lame" in this metaphor are corrupt politicians like poor Bob Ney, who went down today. Lieberman is the gazelle who wandered away from the pack.
Joe Lieberman has wandered really far a field. He is the first democrat to sign on with Bush's proposals and the last to denounce the war. In fact, he hasn't denounced the war. In a country and a political party that has turned completely against the war in Iraq, he still supports both the war and its conduct. And he's about to be punished for it tomorrow.
August 5, 2006
Cats and Dogs Living Together
Today's clip honors the fact that France and America are working together at the UN to end the Middle East Crisis.
Time Warp
A strange time shift is moving its way through my apartment. By bed-side alarm clock (carefully selected for it annoying buzz) has been falling behind, thus jeopardizing my perfect on-time work record. A new battery has corrected the problem. But now my cable box clock is wrong.
And its off by the same 8 minutes that my bedside clock was! Its like the mysterious missing eight minutes are moving around the apartment. A strange ripple in time.
Weird, eh.
And its off by the same 8 minutes that my bedside clock was! Its like the mysterious missing eight minutes are moving around the apartment. A strange ripple in time.
Weird, eh.
August 4, 2006
Oh Great
My second favorite line in Three Kings comes in the misted of a the big heist. Our (anti-) heroes are making off with Iraqi gold and things are starting to go wrong. People are getting shot and the whole situation is getting out of control. Then clank, clank, clank an Iraqi tank appears. Troy Barlow (Marky Mark)says
Great! A fuckin' tank! That should send us on our way.
I keep waiting for the moment in Iraq that will send us on our way. That will blow through all the BS and make clear that we have no good reson to be there.
So how about:
Thousands of Mr. Sadr’s supporters from Shiite-dominated cities in southern Iraq began converging on the capital today in anticipation of the rally. They boarded buses decorated with pictures of Hezbollah’s leader, Sheik Hassan Nasralla, waved Iraqi and Hezbollah flags, and chanted “Death to America! Death to Israel!” according to news agencies.
Great! A major player in the Iraq government we set up has a mob in the street, chanting “Death to America! Death to Israel!” That should send us on our way.
PS My favorite line is the whole "Necessity" speech. Which I've already used.
Great! A fuckin' tank! That should send us on our way.
I keep waiting for the moment in Iraq that will send us on our way. That will blow through all the BS and make clear that we have no good reson to be there.
So how about:
Thousands of Mr. Sadr’s supporters from Shiite-dominated cities in southern Iraq began converging on the capital today in anticipation of the rally. They boarded buses decorated with pictures of Hezbollah’s leader, Sheik Hassan Nasralla, waved Iraqi and Hezbollah flags, and chanted “Death to America! Death to Israel!” according to news agencies.
Great! A major player in the Iraq government we set up has a mob in the street, chanting “Death to America! Death to Israel!” That should send us on our way.
PS My favorite line is the whole "Necessity" speech. Which I've already used.
One Pundit at a Time
I am happy to report that Tom Friedman, New York Times columnist and guy you alway see on TV talking about foreign policy, is now for getting the hell out of Iraq.
For the longest time he's been in the if-we-go-there-will-be-trouble-camp. But now he is done:
[T]hree years of efforts to democratize Iraq are not working. That means “staying the course” is pointless, and it’s time to start thinking about Plan B — how we might disengage with the least damage possible.
…But the administration now has to admit what anyone — including myself — who believed in the importance of getting Iraq right has to admit: Whether for Bush reasons or Arab reasons, it is not happening, and we can’t throw more good lives after good lives.
For the longest time he's been in the if-we-go-there-will-be-trouble-camp. But now he is done:
[T]hree years of efforts to democratize Iraq are not working. That means “staying the course” is pointless, and it’s time to start thinking about Plan B — how we might disengage with the least damage possible.
…But the administration now has to admit what anyone — including myself — who believed in the importance of getting Iraq right has to admit: Whether for Bush reasons or Arab reasons, it is not happening, and we can’t throw more good lives after good lives.
August 3, 2006
French Victory
I know its a small thing what with the Wars and plans for more wars, but a tiny victory for common sense has been struck in the dead of night.
On Capitol Hill fries are French again.
In one of the dumber actions in human history, back in March of 2003, some over zealous Congresscritters changed the name of French Toast and French Fries to Freedom Fries and Freedom toast in the House cafeteria as a way of protesting French opposition to the wonderful Iraq War.
Now if only the rest of the mistakes could be fixed as easy.
On Capitol Hill fries are French again.
In one of the dumber actions in human history, back in March of 2003, some over zealous Congresscritters changed the name of French Toast and French Fries to Freedom Fries and Freedom toast in the House cafeteria as a way of protesting French opposition to the wonderful Iraq War.
Now if only the rest of the mistakes could be fixed as easy.
August 2, 2006
Update
A well said call for a cease-fire in the Middle East over at TPMCafe. Ricken Patel uses my schoolyard figh metaphor.
No more complaining about the heat for me. Its hitting 117 this week in Bagdad. And I don't have to wear kevlar to work.
Castro's health situation kind of a mystery.
Bush doing fine. (healthwise)
And the Mongol Rally is well underway. No one has died yet.
No more complaining about the heat for me. Its hitting 117 this week in Bagdad. And I don't have to wear kevlar to work.
Castro's health situation kind of a mystery.
Bush doing fine. (healthwise)
And the Mongol Rally is well underway. No one has died yet.
August 1, 2006
Hmmm
It appears that California under the Govenator is conducting its own foreign policy with Blair's UK.
Cuba
An interesting development in Cuba, because frankly, there just isn't enough going on in the world. Fidel Castro has temporarily handed over power to his brother Raul due going under the knife. They are dancing in the street of Miami over the news. We shall see if the old Goat at last gives up the ghost. What becomes of Post-Castro Cuba is one of those things that has been speculated about for decades. Continue to speculated.
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