Author: Matthew G. Saroff

JCS Chairman Forbids “War on Terror”

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I have commented earlier about the difference between Naval and Army officers. In the Navy, it is expected that one would have made professional enemies before becoming captain, where in the army, there is more of an Eddie Haskell ethos.

Now that Admiral Michael Mullen is chairman of the Joint chiefs of Staff, we are seeing an honesty that was previously lacking:

Seems the incoming chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Adm. Michael Mullen, has banned the use of the phrase “Global War on Terror” (GWOT) and has prohibited using it “in any future correspondence,” according to a Sept. 27 e-mail from a Mullen aide.

Personally, I’ve been using Total War Against Terrorism for some time.

Why is Juan Cole So Dismissive the Kurds?

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Let me be clear, the issue of the Kurds is a thorny one. As what is arguably the largest ethnic group in the world without a nation, there is clearly a moral case to be made for statehood for some of the areas in which they live.

However, there is also a compelling counter argument to be made that any such arrangement, or process toward such an arrangement would be severely destabilizing to the region*.

Let me make this clear, this post is NOT about a solution to the “Kurdish Problem”†, though I do favor a homeland for the Kurds.

Rather it is a commentary on on the Bush administration’s foreign policy failures, and while I agree with its basic thesis, that the Bush Administration has ruined everything that it touched, I am concerned about the disdain that is shown regarding the Kurd and Kurdish nationalism.

I would note this paragraph comes to mind:

The Iraqi leadership, already presiding over a failed state, agonized at being caught in the crossfire. The Iraqi president, the avuncular Kurd Jalal Talabani, hypocritically condemned al-Assad for urging a foreign military invasion of an Arab country, even though he himself had supported the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Massoud Barzani, the pudgy turbaned leader of the Kurdistan Regional Authority, warned that his government would defend its citizens and not sit idly by if Turkish troops rolled through Kurdish cities in Iraq. On Sunday, the Iraqi Parliament, having been unable to agree on virtually any internal issue or enact any benchmark legislation, promptly passed a resolution condemning the Turkish Parliament.

(Emphasis mine)
Let me be clear, the basic facts of the situation are accurate. What struck me was that fact that these were the only people who had their motivations described (hypocritically condemned) or were described physically at all (the “avuncular Kurd Jalal Talabani” and “Massoud Barzani, the pudgy turbaned leader).”

This appears to be a conscious decision to diminish these figures. And I would note that whenever I read Juan Cole‡, it is the rule, rather than the exception to feel the same sense of disdain dripping from his keys as regards the Kurds.

*Truth be told, before Bush and His Evil Minions™ got their hands on US Middle East policy, I would have thought that it was impossible to make the region less stable, but they have exceeded my wildest expectations.
†Yes, I am aware of the historical reference being made.
‡Truth be told, I do not do so as often as I should, he knows his stuff.

Ron Paul is a Spammer

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Well, it appears that botnet of compromised machines are sending out email pimping for Ron Paul.

It should be noted that the article does note that the researcher who discovered this has no evidence of any connections between the Paul campaign and the botnet spammers.

Given the genuinely altruistic bent of spammers, it is possible that these people are just acting out of the goodness of their hearts, just like Dick Cheney does.

The Right Wing Has Run Out of Scandals to Pimp

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But like any good environmentalists, they have have turned to recycling. They gone back to accusations that Hillary is a lesbian.

It appears that the right wingers do not know the difference between a lesbian and a scary woman. While there is an intersection of these groups, it does not approach unity.

Of course, the wankeriffic Mickey Kaus dutifully reports this as a breaking rumor, because, I guess, that he feels honor bound to his readers to report every lame assed rumor out there.

Have I mentioned the rumor that Mickey Kaus blows goats? I feel compelled to report that too.

What I dread is the fact that Hillary’s will now leak a sex tape of her and Bill to refute the rumor.

The horror…the horror…

Appeals Court Puts Small ISPs Out of Business

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It said that the FCC ruling that no requirement for access to the list mile wiring stands.

Ma Bell has lived for years by using monopolistic techniques to ice out competition. It’s more profitable than supplying a better product, which is why the US is behind the rest of the industrialized world in broadband.

The FCC claims that this will give more competition. Why should it, when anti-competitive behavior is more profitable than competing.

Fred Thompson Clown Show: Gun Control Edition

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Remember Freddie Thompson getting all freaked out about the UN and guns?

He referred to a August 2006 declaration of the Human Rights Council Sub-commission

Urges States to adopt laws and policies regarding the manufacture, possession, transfer and use of small arms that comply with principles of international human rights and international humanitarian law;

Also urges States to provide training on the use of firearms by armed forces and law enforcement personnel consistent with basic principles of international human rights and humanitarian law with special attention to the promotion and protection of human rights as a primary duty of all State officials;

Further urges States to take effective measures to minimize violence carried out by armed private actors, including using due diligence to prevent small arms from getting into the hands of those who are likely to misuse them;

Ummm…let’s see….This threat to the 2nd amendment is a statement that people make and sell firearms responsibly, that they train soldiers and police properly, and that you do your best to keep guns out of the hands of bad people.

Pretty scary stuff.

Tom Udall Reconsidering New Mexico Senate Race

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He had previously ruled it out, but now appears to be considering a run. As Domenici is retiring, this is a possible pickup, and it becomes a much more likely pickup with Udall in the race.

If he is half the man his father one, the only one eyed ex-NBA player ever in to serve congress, he’ll be one of the best guys in the senate.

Read Mo Udall’s autobiography, Too Funny to Be Presiodent.

DSCC Gunning For McConnell

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It appears that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) has decided to target Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Good. When the Republicans decided to target Tom Daschle in 2004, it crossed a line, and payback is not about making anyone feel good, it’s about making sure that when these lines are crossed, the people get slapped down.

As Sean Connery once said, They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way!

You cannot make nice with these folks. If you want them to visit your grave every months, the only way to do that is because they are afraid that you will come up again.

This needs more than money, it needs balls. It needs to be nasty, and that includes a whispering campaign about the fact that McConnel separated from the army after 10 days, allegedly for giving another guy a hand job in the shower.

Republicans will never respect anyone else, but they are at their core cowards, and they can manage fear.