Category: Politics

You Have to be F&@#ing Kidding Me.

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I just came across the following Guiliani press release, dated March 1, 2007:

Mayor Giuliani Announces Theodore Olson as Chair of Justice Advisory Committee

The Rudy Giuliani Presidential Exploratory Committee today announced that former Solicitor General Theodore Olson will chair the Mayor’s Justice Advisory Committee.

…..

“Ted Olson is a renowned Constitutional expert, one of the very best lawyers in the United States and I am honored to have his support,” Mayor Giuliani said. “Judith and I are even more honored by his friendship.”
…..

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot???? Is this some sort of dog whistle to the right wing Clinton haters of the Republican party?

This guy makes Jack Abramhoff look clean.

In America, Leaving a Tip is Felony Support of Terrorism

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Someone needs some face time on the nightly news, and this guy is brought up on charges.

I wish I lived in America, but that place seems to be gone now.

Loose mouth and loose change – $5 tip leads to terror finance rap

By George Smith, Dick Destiny
Published Thursday 12th April 2007 13:15 GMT

In the terror case against Hassan Abujihaad, formerly known as Paul R. Hall – sailor on the destroyer Benfold, the US government has another mangy cat in the GWOT.

“Material support of terrorism and disclosing previously classified information” are the beefs in the indictment against Abujihaad, according to a government press release from March. It sounds serious and the newsmedia did its usual listless job in reporting on it.

“Hassan Abujihaad, 31, is accused of supporting terrorism by disclosing secret information about the location of Navy ships and the best ways to attack them,” wrote Associated Press. “Investigators say he provided those secrets, in classified documents, to a suspected terrorism financier.”

If one looks at the indictment and evidentiary exhibits logged against Abujihaad, it’s thinner cloth.

Abujihaad bought videos from Azzam Publications and Babar Ahmad*, a London computer programmer locked up since 2004 and awaiting extradition for trial to the US, for running a website that promoted Islamic fighters in Bosnia, Chechnya, and Afghanistan, according to the press.

As for sending classified documents to Ahmad, what Abujihaad did do, and we’ll get to it in detail in a bit, is send rash e-mail, including video orders from the Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer upon which he served.

….

Apparently, no plot. Abujihaad received an honorable discharge from the Navy in 2002 and wound up in Arizona, perhaps an unhappy young man, eventually acutely aware that he might be in trouble for his e-mails to Azzam.

However, when the US government argues that Abujihaad gave material assistance to Ahmad, one expects not to see the equivalent of mail order of three videos reclassified as terrorist activity. Yet this is exactly what is meant.

….

In August, Abujihaad sends Ahmad thirty dollars for another video, Bosnian War.

In this order, he has overspent by five dollars. Ahmad writes “Please tell us what you want done with the remaining $5.”

“Dear Brothers, you guys can keep the remaining $5.00 and [add it] to the funds that you Brothers are spending in the way of Allah and the great Websites .. Azzam Pub.”

Material assistance to terror groups is, you read right, ordering three videos, overpaying slightly and telling the seller to keep the change. “By stating that he watched the video, [Abujihaad] demonstrated that he knew Azzam supported acts of terrorism.” Hmmm, maybe, but logically it seem to indicate many people not normally considered terrorists must now be included in the definition, too.

….

It is a tale, and a bit of a sad one, in which someone which the book against, so far, does not show any serious involvement in terrorism. It is the story of a man who ordered videos and had loose lips when he should have kept his virtual mouth shut, a case of extraordinarily bad timing just prior to 9/11.

But since there is no shortage of experts who can be called upon by the government to insist, true or not, that Azzam Publications was allied with al Qaeda for the courts, Abujihaad’s fate looks grim.

Bloomberg: It’s About Greedy Political Consultants, Stupid

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Who wants Michael Bloomberg to run for president?

The press, leaves the important information at the end.

YAHOO FOR MIKE SWITCHEROO: BUBBA

By MAGGIE HABERMAN

June 22, 2007 — Former President Bill Clinton congratulated Mike Bloomberg yesterday for quitting the Republican Party – and predicted his wife will still be the next president even if the mayor joins the race.

…

Experts estimated that with a half-billion-dollar campaign budget, at least $300 million would be spent on television commercials, $75 million for direct mail, and tens of millions more for high-end travel arrangements and operations around the country.

“Bloomberg would want to try to put 60 percent of $500 million on paid advertising – broadcast, cable, Internet, minority outreach, radio,” said GOP consultant Scott Reed.

Yep, it’s the political consultants, who get 30%-40% of each media buy by a campaign.

Scott Reed is drooling right now like the ghoul he is.

This is Why I Supported Howard Dean.

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From the Democratic Party, Dean’s radio address.

I know he won’t run for president this year, but I would like him to.

Dean: Democratic Candidates for President will End the War in Iraq, Republicans will Stay the Course

Governor Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, delivered the Democratic radio address this week. Chairman Dean outlined the stark differences between the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates on the Iraq War. He noted that all the Democratic contenders are dedicated to responsibly ending the war while the Republican field continues to embrace President Bush’s ineffective escalation of the war.

Dean also re-framed the debate about the war in Iraq and the War on Terror by drawing a contrast between the ineffective policies pursued by Republican leaders that have bogged us down in Iraq and Democrats who offer the American people an effective offensive strategy that puts America on the offensive against al Qaeda, by responsibly re-deploying our troops from the civil war in Iraq and into the fight with global terrorists.

To listen to his remarks, click
here.

Text of Radio Address:

Good Morning. I’m Governor Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee.

Last week, President Bush compared the Iraq War to our ongoing commitment in South Korea, suggesting a plan for a 50-year presence in Iraq. By saying this, President Bush and the Republicans showed once again that they simply do not get it.

It’s time to end the war, not escalate it. A 50-year plan for Iraq is a continuation of an ineffective strategy and it is not acceptable.
Our brave men and women in uniform deserve better. They have served with honor and distinction, but its time for the mission to change. It’s time for the mission in Iraq to focus on a political solution, not a military one. It’s time for a responsible end to this war.

This week the American people had the chance to see for themselves the crystal clear difference between the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates on the number one issue our nation and our next President will face.

Iraq.

Right down the line, we saw Republican contender after Republican contender embrace President Bush’s escalation of the war and now defend the 50-year plan for Iraq. The Republican field of presidential candidates only offer more of the same ongoing support for the President’s failed, ineffective strategies.

The Democratic candidates for president all stood united and firmly committed to responsibly ending the war in Iraq. This week, they each spoke passionately against any misguided stay-the-course plan that keeps our men and women in uniform policing a civil war.

The Democratic candidates have made it clear that they will not ignore the will of the American people and our military experts.

Democrats in Congress have stood up to this President and fought hard to keep him accountable. They passed a bill that established benchmarks with consequences and set deadlines to bring our troops home.

But the President vetoed it.

The American people hired Democrats last November to ensure that we end this war. So let me be clear, we know that if we don’t keep our promise, we may find ourselves the minority again.

But we have to face the reality that Republicans in Congress are standing with President Bush as he stubbornly wields his veto pen in the face of overwhelming opposition to this war from the American people.

Democrats in Congress will continue to work hard to hold the President accountable and to pressure him to responsibly end this war. We want to ensure that we refocus our military efforts on fighting terrorist networks which are resurging in Afghanistan and that our brave troops have the resources they need both on the battlefield and when they come home.

But there is one way to truly ensure we end this war.

Elect a Democratic president in 2008.

There is one way to ensure that we have a commander in chief who understands that America needs a defense policy that is tough and smart, and ensures an effective strategy to keep America safe at home and around the world.

Elect a Democratic president in 2008.

Republican leaders have pursued ineffective policies that have bogged us down in Iraq for years and led to the resurgence of the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Democrats offer the American people an effective offensive strategy that takes the fight to our real enemies abroad.

Democrats understand that the Iraq war has kept us from devoting the resources we need to hunt down and capture the terrorists who are plotting to attack America. We no longer can afford to be pinned down in a war that has created more terrorists and made America less safe, as recent intelligence reports have shown. That is why we favor shifting more forces back to Afghanistan to win the fight there against al Qaeda and the Taliban.

We also want to make sure our military has the resources they need. And equally importantly, we want to restore our alliances around the world and regain America’s moral leadership.

Our men and women in uniform on the frontlines in Iraq have done their job with extraordinary courage and determination. They deserve an effective offensive strategy, one worthy of their dedication and skill, and one that can be executed successfully.

The best way to do that is to get them out of the middle of a civil war in Iraq.

And the best way to do that is to elect a Democratic president in 2008.

I’m Governor Howard Dean, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Thanks for listening.

Women of the IDF

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Let’s understand this. One of the things concerning people wanting to make aliyah to Israel is the mandatory military service.

Now, people will look forward to it.

Andrew Sullivan calls it Porn For Neocons, which is vaguely amusing.

BABES IN OY LAND SCUFFLE By ANDY SOLTIS

BABES IN OY LAND SCUFFLE

The New York post is trash, but I love their headlines.

By ANDY SOLTIS

June 19, 2007 — Israeli female legislators are baring their anger over what they call a “pornographic” tourism campaign – featuring a bikini-clad Israeli beauty queen.

The racy photo of 2004 Miss Israel winner Gal Gadot appears on formal invitations to an event hosted in New York tonight by the Israeli Consulate in conjunction with Maxim magazine.

The affair is to “celebrate” the magazine’s “Women of the Israeli Defense Forces” article in the July issue.

But prominent Israeli women say using sex to market the Land of Milk and Honey is “an outrage.”

Former Consul-General Colette Avital, a member of the Israeli parliament, yesterday demanded an urgent meeting with the Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik to get an explanation of what she called the “pornographic campaign,” the newspaper Yediot Achronoth reported.

The consulate in New York says the campaign is just seeking good demographics.

“We found that Israel’s image among men 18-38 is lacking,” David Saranga, consul for media and public affairs said.

“So we thought we’d approach them with an image they’d find appealing.”

That’s the wrong image, said Zahava Gal-On, a Knesset member and chairwoman of the Meretz Party.

…

News Flash, Harvard Graduates a Complete Moron

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Let us just say that the writers at the Register are more deliciously snarkalicious than I ever could be.

Phyllis Schlafley, you raised a moron.

Need hard facts? Try Conservapedia

By Lester Haines
Published Wednesday 20th June 2007 10:50 GMT

The Wikipedians among you should take note that your days of punting liberal bias may be numbered. Enter stage right Conservapedia, a “conservative encyclopedia you can trust”, which has been enjoying a certain amount of attention stateside for its unashamedly and decidedly non-liberal content.

Conservapedia (Motto: “The truth shall set you free”) is the brainchild of Andy Schlafly, who was moved to act when “teaching a history class to home-schooled teens” and confronted with the term “BCE”, or “before the common era”, in one student’s assignment. “Where did that come from?” he asked, only to receive the chilling reply: “Wikipedia.”

At this moment, according to the LA Times, Schlafly “knew he had to act”. While Wikipedia was “written and edited by self-appointed experts worldwide” and “riddled with liberal bias”, it was also drier than a nun’s chuff in the Jesus Christ Our Lord department.

…

Brits, meanwhile, will doubtless enjoy the entry on our very own Iron Lady, described as “a strong supporter of the the United States”, who was “a good friend of President Ronald Reagan”, and who united with him “in actions against the Communists”. Whether the latter is a reference to Nicaragua’s Sandinista government or the National Union of Mineworkers is not noted.

You have to love the snark on Maggie.

….
The Stegosaurus, for example, was “a dinosaur with plates on its back and spines on its tail”. The entry continues: “Some creationists believe the spines on its tail were to stop other dinosaurs from treading on it before the Fall.”

Hmmm. Here’s more:

Young Earth Creationists believe, based primarily on Biblical sources, that dinosaurs were created on day 6 of the creation week, approximately 6,000 years ago, along with other land animals, and therefore co-existed with humans. As such, they reject the Theory of Evolution and the beliefs of evolutionary scientists about the age of the earth.

Bootnote

We at El Reg are looking forward to the final, Ragnarök (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar%C3%B6k)-style confrontation between Conservapedia, RationalWiki and Wikipedia. The outcome of this titanic battle will be decided by either natural selection or according to God’s will, depending on which one of them is really telling the truth.

A Quick Post on Republithug Criminality.

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Jay Garrity, who is director of operations on Romney’s presidential campaign has impersonated a police officer.

Guiliani adviser is a priest suspended for allegations of child abuse.

This is in addition to his SC campaign chair dealing cocaine.

And for Romney? Robert Lichfield, co-chairman of Romney’s Utah finance committee owned or operated residential boarding schools for troubled teenagers where students were “subjected to physical abuse, emotional abuse and sexual abuse.

Duncan Hunter Tied to Duke Cunningham Aircraft Project

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We know that Cunningham would not try to move his own mother’s bill through congress unless there was graft in it for him.

So, What did Duncan Hunter get from DuPont Aerospace?

Cunningham helped Hunter push for locally made jet
Congress reviewing funding for plane Pentagon rejected
By Dean Calbreath
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

June 16, 2007

Four months after Randy “Duke” Cunningham entered Congress in 1991, he joined with Rep. Duncan Hunter to urge the Pentagon to buy an aircraft that became the focus of a congressional investigation this week.

The DP-2 Vectored Thrust Aircraft, developed by duPont Aerospace in La Jolla, received $63 million in congressional funding despite repeated Pentagon studies that criticized the vehicle as being unsafe and unworkable.

After 20 years of testing, the aircraft has never flown and has never received a positive review from the military, prompting an investigation by the House Science and Technology Committee.

Funding for the aircraft was spearheaded by Hunter, R-Alpine, and former Rep. Christopher Cox, who now leads the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In 1990, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, issued a scathing report on the DP-2. DARPA found that the jet had poor stability and serious safety issues. Among other things, the jet’s engines created dust storms that could erode visibility; its long-range fueling system was “unadvisable”; and its stealth capabilities – which Hunter cited as a major reason for supporting the project – made it only “marginally more survivable” than other aircraft.

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Rudy’s SC Campaign Manager Busted for Dealing Coke

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Gee….This is not a good week for Rudy. I feel for him…..OK….I feel amusement about him.

South Carolina treasurer indicted on cocaine charges

COLUMBIA, South Carolina (AP) — South Carolina Treasurer Thomas Ravenel, a former real estate developer who became a rising political star after his election last year, was indicted Tuesday on federal cocaine charges.

Ravenel is also the state chairman for former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s presidential campaign.

Ravenel has stepped down from his volunteer responsibilities with the campaign, according to a statement released by Mark Campbell, Giuliani’s political director.

Campbell said the campaign has no information about the accusations pending against Ravenel.

The millionaire is accused of buying less than 500 grams of the drug to share with other people in late 2005, U.S. Attorney Reggie Lloyd said.

Ravenel, 44, is charged with distribution of cocaine, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

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Sharrod Brown Just Impressed Me

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Hat tip to Bob Geiger.

If politicians were more willing to admit error, the world would be a better place.

Straight Answer Of The Day At TBA

It was a great day at the Take Back America conference yesterday and one of the best sessions was a town-hall meeting Monday night with Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH).

Brown had to know this was coming and it occurred near the end of the question-answer session when an Ohio constituent asked Brown about his vote in favor of the Military Commissions Act while he was still in the House of Representatives.

Here’s the interaction in its entirety:

Audience Member: ‘In 2006, when you were still a member of the House of Representatives you voted for the Military Commissions Act, which had as one of its elements, the suspension of Habeas Corpus. Given your recent efforts to restore Habeas Corpus, would you still cast that same vote today.’

Brown: ‘No, I was wrong.’

Period.

Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

New York’s state Assembly approves gay marriage bill

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The Republithug controlled senate will be a harder sell, unfortunately.

New York’s state Assembly approves gay marriage bill
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
By MARC HUMBERT
Associated Press Writer

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) Legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in New York, sponsored by the openly gay brother of entertainer Rosie O’Donnell and supported by Gov. Eliot Spitzer, was approved 85-61 by the state Assembly Tuesday after an often emotional three-hour debate.

Despite the victory for supporters of the legislation, the bill is not expected to be acted on any time soon in the Republican-led state Senate.

In opening the Assembly debate, Manhattan Democrat Daniel O’Donnell told his colleagues that civil union, a process permitted in neighboring Vermont, wasn’t good enough.

“It will not provide equality for people like me,” he said.

But Assemblyman Brian Kolb, taking note of “the nuns who taught me in grammar school” and his marriage in the Catholic Church, said he could not support the move.

“I do feel threatened. I do feel harmed,” said the Canandaigua Republican. “It’s a direct challenge to me and how I was brought up.”

Democrat Dov Hikind, an Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn, warned the measure could lead to other proposals he found objectionable.

“Maybe we should include incest in the bill and sort of deal with the whole package at one time,” said Hikind.”

…

Democrat Dov Hikind, an Orthodox Jew from Brooklyn, is a Shanda before the Goyim. (Loose translation: Asshole)

These Morons Won’t Be Satisfied Until they Restart the Arms Race.

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Impeach them all now.

Dispute delays arms-control talks with Moscow

By Jonathan S. Landay | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Wrangling between Bush administration aides and U.S. intelligence agencies is holding up talks with Moscow on future monitoring of the thousands of nuclear weapons that the United States and Russia still aim at one another.

The 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) established the elaborate scheme of inspections, data sharing, advance missile test notifications and satellite surveillance. But the accord will expire in December 2009, and the U.S. spy satellites that locate and count Russian missile sites are stretched thin by the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, concerns about North Korea’s and Iran’s nuclear programs and other threats, current and former U.S. officials and experts said.

Administration policymakers argue that the monitoring system is an outdated vestige of the Cold War that restricts the Pentagon’s ability to respond to new threats. They want to replace it with an informal system of looser inspections that would allow the United States to do things such as replacing nuclear warheads with conventional warheads on intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The end of the U.S.-Soviet rivalry makes strict verification unnecessary, and the START monitoring methods aren’t foolproof, anyway, said senior administration official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

Could members of the press Please stop using anonymous sources anonymity when they are spouting the admin line???

Really.

The end of the U.S.-Soviet rivalry makes strict verification unnecessary, and the START monitoring methods aren’t foolproof, anyway, said senior administration official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

“We both (Moscow and Washington) want to understand the general trends and directions of each other’s forces. But we don’t need to know everything all the time,” the official said.

Alarmed by the stress on the limited fleet of U.S. spy satellites, however, U.S. intelligence agencies oppose weakening the on-site inspections and other means that give U.S. officials a window into the only nuclear arsenal capable of destroying the United States.

What they are saying here is that between, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, and the DPRK (North Korea), their resources are stretched thin.

If it’s not replaced, Moscow and Washington will lose the most reliable means of monitoring each others’ compliance with the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT), which calls for both sides to reduce the number of warheads on their bombers, long-range missiles and submarines to 2,200 by Dec. 31, 2012. After that, neither side will be bound by limits on its arsenal.

Moreover, because the SORT treaty doesn’t require the destruction of warheads, those removed from service and stored in reserve stockpiles could be redeployed rapidly.

So this is even More destabilizing than it appears at first glance.

Russia wants a legally binding treaty mandating deeper weapons reductions. The United States favors an informal deal, opposes new weapons cuts and wants to eliminate strict verification measures.

So now we’re acting like the old Soviets.

John Bolton, who served as the administration’s top arms control official until August 2005, said it would be better to increase spending on U.S. intelligence than to rely on START-type verification to monitor Russia’s nuclear forces.

If John Bolton is for something, you won’t ever lose money going the other way. The man is a moron.

What She Daid, Deborah Leavy Edition

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I guess that the Beltway pundits think that punishment only applies to black and Hispanic folks.

Thank you Ms. Leavy, for a breath of honesty from Philadelphia.

DO THE CRIME, DO THE TIME
Deborah Leavy

PROMINENT conservatives, pundits and websites are rallying around I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, ex-chief of staff to Vice President Cheney, who has been sentenced to 30 months and fined $250,000 after being convicted of obstruction of justice, perjury and lying to a grand jury and federal investigators.

In sentencing Libby, federal Judge Reggie Walton cited “overwhelming” evidence of Libby’s guilt. “People who occupy these types of positions, where they have the welfare and security of the nation in their hands, have a special obligation,” declared the judge, who was appointed by President George W. Bush.

But conservative Republicans argue that Libby is a dedicated public servant, and that he is merely the victim of a faulty memory. They are pressuring President Bush to pardon Libby.

But many Democrats are gleeful. They haven’t forgotten that when Bill Clinton lied about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, Republicans called him unfit for office, and Clinton was impeached. Now the shoe is one the other foot, Democrats crow.

Revenge should have no role in the criminal-justice system, nor should it be a reason to exult in Libby’s case. If revenge were the reason for Libby’s sentence, I would join those calling for his pardon.

But I don’t think the judge is sending Libby to prison for payback. Judge Walton is known as a tough sentencer, and since Libby did the crime he should do the time.

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Hats Off To Karen Tumulty On Anonymous Sources

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If someone gives a reporter something without prior mutual agreement as to it being off the record.

Reporters who allow a source to unilaterally declare anonymity are not doing their job.

Part of their job is to get attribution where possible. It makes the story more credible, and adds context.

Obama: Stay Tuned

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The answer to this is, campaigns should not be allowed to distribute things on a NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION basis. Both NOT FOR ATTRIBUTION and OFF THE RECORD (and their cousins, BACKGROUND and DEEP BACKGROUND) are understandings that are agreed to mutually by a source and a reporter. What I’ve noticed about this cycle is that campaigns (and not just Obama’s) are falling into a bad and sloppy habit of sending out mass hit pieces by e-mail and demanding anonymity. As far as I am concerned, unless I have agreed in advance to accept a specific piece of material from a source on a limited or not for attribution basis, these unilateral declarations of anonymity mean nothing.

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Bloomberg Leaving Republican Party

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Great. Now we get to see Another exercise in political masturbation.

Seeing as we have a large number of people who won’t be able to bring themselves to vote Republithug this time around, this gives them a way NOT to vote Democratic.

Wanker.

Bloomberg Leaving Republican Party
By Sewell Chan
UPDATED, 8:01 p.m.

Michael R. Bloomberg, a longtime Democrat who switched to the Republican Party to run for mayor of New York City in 2001, announced this evening that he is changing his party status and registering as an independent. His office released this statement at 6:05 p.m. (EST):

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This guy is Too Stupid to Cut His Own Meat

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In fact, I’d be worried if he knows how to consume oatmeal.

Never heard of Rand McNally, huh. Or the fact that this imagery is available through third parties for less than the cost of a air of expensive chows.

Why the hell is he a Democrat? It’s too f&^%ing stupid to be a Democrat.

There are real issues of privace with some of the stuff that Google is doing, like it’s new “Street” program, and they seem have lost the word “Don’t” from their motto*, but this objection is just asinine.

Google Maps aids terrorists, NY lawmaker warns

‘It’s only a matter of time’
By Dan Goodin in San Francisco
Published Monday 11th June 2007 20:24 GMT

Adding to the chorus of critics who say detailed images on Google Earth can aid and abet terrorists and snoops, a New York state lawmaker is calling on the company to blur potential terrorist targets.

The plea from Assemblyman Mike Gianaris follows the alleged discovery earlier this month of a plot by a Muslim terrorist cell to blow up fuel tanks and a jet fuel pipeline at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Some of the suspects planning the attack had used Google-produced images clearly depicting airport infrastructure after surveillance video they secured proved inadequate, according to an indictment in the case.

“It’s only a matter of time before someone uses the information Google Earth provides to do this country harm,” Gianaris was quoted as saying in an article in the New York Post. He objects to the satellite images carried on Google Earth and Google Maps that gives detailed views of skyscrapers, airports and other potential terror targets.

Gianaris is only the latest individual to criticize Google for making available images that have the potential to violate national security, privacy or other vital interests. In addition to officials in the US, Australia, India and South Korea complaining about sensitive facilities being clearly visible in online mapping services, other critics warn the rich detail could trample civil liberties.

…

*“Don’t be evil.” Is the Google motto.

And in The OTHER War….

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This is why the Iraq debacle is so damaging.

As a result, we are now losing TWO wars, not just one.

Taliban fighters seize south Afghan area – Yahoo! News

By NOOR KHAN, Associated Press Writer 13 minutes ago

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan – Taliban militants overran a district in southern
Afghanistan and are pushing for control of another key area, sparking fierce clashes with
NATO and Afghan forces that have left more than 100 people dead over three days, officials said Tuesday.

Hundreds of Taliban fighters launched raids on police posts near the strategic town of Chora in Uruzgan province Saturday, forcing NATO, backed by fighter jets, to respond. Fighting was continuing Tuesday, and some officials reported there have been dozens of civilian casualties.

Also late Monday, Taliban occupied Miya Nishin district in neighboring Kandahar province, said provincial police chief Esmatullah Alizai. Authorities were planning an operation to retake the remote area, he said.

The insurgent push in the south appears to be the biggest Taliban offensive of the year and marks a change in tactics.

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Republicans Piss Away Hispanic vote.

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Truth be told, I tend toward the restrictive side to immigration, but it’s not over concern about Hispanics.

I’m more concerned with potentially importing anti-Semitic Russian, Polish, Ukrainian, German, Latvian, Lithuanian, or Estonian skinheads than I am about someone from Latin America, and I’m not too concerned about them.

I’m not that concerned about the above either. When people come to America, they tend to leave a lot of that behind, which is a good thing.

I’m concerned about immigration being used to depress wages, and it is used that way with H1b and L-1 visas, and the repeated suggestions about slave labor guest workers, who would constitute a permanent underclass.

I also agree with Paul Krugman’s assessment that a large underclass creates a breeding ground for right wing politics.

That being said, there are clearly is both a right wing and a left wing position on expanded immigration (cheap labor and empatyh respectively) and on more restricted immigration (racism and wages respectively).

Personally, I favor a bounty program for illegals who rat out employers.

That being said, the Republican anti-immigration side is clearly racist, and it shows to the newly minted Americans.

New mood from new citizens

Latino immigrants in South Florida who have traditionally registered with the GOP have felt alienated by the party, critics say.
By Peter Wallsten, Times Staff Writer
June 16, 2007

MIAMI BEACH — As a Cuban who fled Fidel Castro’s communist rule for a new life in the U.S., Julio Izquierdo would seem a natural Republican voter — a sure bet to adopt the same political lineage that has long guided most of his countrymen who resettled in South Florida.

But moments after taking his oath this week to become a U.S. citizen and registering to vote, the grocery store employee said he felt no such allegiances.

“I don’t know whether Bush is a Democrat or a Republican, but whatever he is, I’m voting the other way,” Izquierdo, 20, said Thursday as he waited for a taxi after a mass naturalization ceremony at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

Izquierdo said he did not like President Bush’s handling of the Iraq war and was miffed at politicians, most of them Republican, who seem to dislike immigrants.

That sentiment, expressed by several of the 6,000 new citizens who took their oaths Thursday in group ceremonies that take place regularly in immigrant-heavy cities nationwide, underscored the troubled environment facing the GOP in the buildup to next year’s presidential election.

Surveys show that among Latino voters — a bloc Bush had hoped to woo into the Republican camp — negative views about the party are growing amid a bitter debate over immigration policy.

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Whiskey Fire: What Ther Said!

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What Thers says:

Buzzards and Dreadful Crows

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This is all my balls. Ezra Klein is perfectly right to judge people writing on foreign policy primarily on their stances towards real world issues. A discussion of “underlying beliefs or theories” in this context is absurd, given the horror of the Iraq debacle. If your “underlying beliefs or theories” made you stick your dick in the blender, even “reluctantly,” and you haven’t thoroughly reassessed these concepts, I frankly don’t want to hear your advice about what to do with the weed whacker.

The essay is crazy. The guy thinks the primary debate about foreign policy is between “pacifists” and “militarists” — as if the primary reason anyone opposed the war in Iraq was from a position of committed pacifism. Well, maybe a small minority did, and good for them. But most of us opposed the war in Iraq because it was obviously a stupid fucking idea. The administration was clearly spouting bullshit about why it was necessary and how much it would cost in money and lives.

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