"Political satire became obsolete when Henry Kissinger won the Nobel Peace Prize."That pretty much sums up my response to most recent headlines.
[Tom Lehrer]
Bush orders emergency bailout of the auto industryThe news is absurd absent my commentary.
Judge toughens Madoff's home detention rules
Iraqi judge orders Baath party plot suspects freed
Mother of Palin daughter's boyfriend arrested
Oil dropping below $40/bbl.I'm left speechless, capable only of quoting a tasteless comedy gem:
Price of everything dropping - more rapidly than anytime since 1933 ("... it was a very good year").
Chrysler & Ford to idle U.S. plants. (GM still hasn't a clue.)
W attacked by shoe-flinging journalist in Iraq.
Madoff admits running a $50Bn Ponzi scheme, in which, apparently, half the capitalist world invested.
W is musing publicly about his soul.
"Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue!Have a nice day.
Against The Odds, Snow Dumps On Las Vegas
7,000 Without Power In Vegas Area
Thursday, December 18, 2008 LAS VEGAS
What's happening in Las Vegas is staying in Las Vegas: snow.
Bush: "... One of the major theaters against al Qaeda turns out to have been Iraq. This is where al Qaeda said they were going to take their stand. This is where al Qaeda was hoping to take ..."Rove suggesting that without the WMD intel, we wouldn't have invaded...
[ABC News' Martha] RADDATZ: But not until after the U.S. invaded.
BUSH: Yeah, that's right. So what?
Don't let 'em do it!Matt Ygelsias puts it well:
The harsh reality is that this [Iraq fiasco] was not a noble undertaking done for good reasons. It was a criminal enterprise launched by madmen cheered on by a chorus of fools and cowards. And it’s seen as such by virtually everyone all around the world — including but by no means limited to the Arab world. But it’s impolitic to point this out in the United States, and it’s clear that even a president-elect who had the wisdom not to be suckered in by the War Fever of 2002 has no intention of really acting to marginalize the bad actors. Which, I think, makes sense for his political objectives. But if Americans want to play a constructive role in world affairs, it’s vitally important for us to get in touch with the reality of what the past eight years of US foreign policy have been and how they’re seen and understood by people who aren’t stirred by the shibboleths of American patriotism.
[An Empire of Sentimentality]
"... In one passage, for example, former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell is quoted as saying that in the months after the 2003 invasion, the Defense Department “kept inventing numbers of Iraqi security forces — the number would jump 20,000 a week! ‘We now have 80,000, we now have 100,000, we now have 120,000.’ ”This has a very familiar ring to it.
"... Enron projected earnings per share of $1.80 for 2001. But the real delight was 2002 - $2.25 a share. Impressive. But how? There was nothing explaining what Enron was planning to do to achieve such stellar results.Cool!
During a negotiating session later that day, Tarpley decided to ask. He looked across the table at Dave Delainey.
"Dave," Tarpley said, "I'd really like to get a copy of Enron's business plan for 2002."
Couldn't happen Delainey said. "We don't have a business plan available," he said.
How then, Tarpley asked, did Enron get its 2002 projections if it didn't know what it was planning to do?
Delainey shrugged. "We just increased the prior year's results by 25 percent," he said simply.
des·ul·to·ryYes - this is a desultory post!]
1. Moving or jumping from one thing to another; disconnected
[The Free Dictionary Online]
Report Spotlights Iraq Rebuilding BlundersThe article is worth a read!
By JAMES GLANZ and T. CHRISTIAN MILLER
Published: December 13, 2008
NYT
BAGHDAD — An unpublished 513-page federal history of the American-led reconstruction of Iraq depicts an effort crippled before the invasion by Pentagon planners who were hostile to the idea of rebuilding a foreign country, and then molded into a $100 billion failure by bureaucratic turf wars, spiraling violence and ignorance of the basic elements of Iraqi society and infrastructure.
Humpty DumptyI doubt it.
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall;
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the King's horses
And all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again!
“A Date Which Will Live in Infamy”: FDR Asks for a Declaration of War(note: I probably wouldn't have remembered this anniversary if it weren't for TV today!)
President Franklin D. Roosevelt: Yesterday, December 7, 1941—a date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation, and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific. Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our secretary of state a formal reply to a recent American message. While this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian Islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday the Japanese government also launched as attack against Malaya.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night Japanese forces attacked Wake Island.
And this morning the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As commander in chief of the Army and Navy I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us. . .
Bush: Jobless rate shows U.S. in recessionSitemeter reflects no activity from anything that looks like a WH server, but who knows? Maybe AQA is W's first read in the morning!
WASHINGTON, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- The U.S. jobless rate shows the country is in a recession resulting from poor housing and the troubled financial markets, President George Bush said Friday.
1. Why do you want to retain the team that got you into the mess you're in?I know it's a lousy analogy, but there are a number of "successful" college football coaches losing their jobs at the end of this season due to recent poor performance - it doesn't matter that they have an overall winning record - this year and maybe last were not up to expectations. Time to get new blood!
2. Where are these guys going to find other jobs?
Article I, Section 6SoS salary has increased during Sen. Clinton's current term. Can she serve as SoS?
... No Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time...
Nicholas Eymerich, inquisitor general of the Inquisition of the Crown of Aragon; 1357-1360, 1366(?)-1381(?):Today?He was the first inquisitor to get around the Church's prohibition against torturing a subject twice by interpreting directive very liberally, permitting a separate instance of torture for a separate charge of heresy.After many years as Inquisitor General, he finally concluded that,
[Wikipedia entry, Nicholas Eymerich]"Quaestiones sunt fallaces et inefficaces."
["Torture is deceptive and ineffectual."]
I'm Still Tortured by What I Saw in IraqTorture does NOT work.
By Matthew Alexander
Sunday, November 30, 2008
WaPo op-ed
"... Torture and abuse are against my moral fabric. The cliche still bears repeating: Such outrages are inconsistent with American principles. And then there's the pragmatic side: Torture and abuse cost American lives.
I learned in Iraq that the No. 1 reason foreign fighters flocked there to fight were the abuses carried out at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. Our policy of torture was directly and swiftly recruiting fighters for al-Qaeda in Iraq. The large majority of suicide bombings in Iraq are still carried out by these foreigners. They are also involved in most of the attacks on U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq. It's no exaggeration to say that at least half of our losses and casualties in that country have come at the hands of foreigners who joined the fray because of our program of detainee abuse. The number of U.S. soldiers who have died because of our torture policy will never be definitively known, but it is fair to say that it is close to the number of lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001. How anyone can say that torture keeps Americans safe is beyond me -- unless you don't count American soldiers as Americans."
"Quaestiones sunt fallaces et inefficaces."
["Torture is deceptive and ineffectual."]
White House Still Won’t Use The Word ‘Recession,’ Press Corps Doesn’t Seem To NoticeDoes it matter that WH refuses to use the word "recession"?
Prez-elect Obama delivered an economy-related press conference Mon-Wed last week.Meanwhile, whenever W or his minions addressed the economy, the market tanked.
Each day the market shot up.
Paulson held a press conference, promising, "We are actively engaged in developing additional programs to strengthen our financial system so that lending flows into our economy."Day-trading based on who's holding an economy-related press conference (W/minions vs Obama) could be profitable.
As predicted, the market tanked!
"One of our greatest blessings as Americans is that we live in a country with a growing economy -- where people can pursue their dreams, turn ideas into enterprises, and provide for their families. It is a measure of our economy's resilience that even with high oil prices and softness in the housing market, we're still growing. In November, our economy added jobs for the 51st straight month, making this the longest period of uninterrupted job growth on record. Unemployment is a low 4.7 percent. Exports are up. And the fundamentals of our economy are strong."And today?
[President's Radio Address]
US in recession since December 2007: official panelYep - W's on top of it!
by Rob Lever Rob Lever
Mon Dec 1, 2008
WASHINGTON (AFP) – A US recession began in December 2007, a panel of economists charged with the official designation of business cycles said Monday.
