Friday, February 15, 2008
Choice?
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Break
Reyes Update
PC commented on the last post that we should be very careful with our statements concerning our glorious Political Representatives. And that I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions with talk of Reyes being bought off...
Reviewing Rep. Reyes blog today, reveals - that apparently- he was just clueless. My bad. Visiting Reyes blog today, he says that after reading the ISG- he is completely changing his position:
This report confirms what most have known for the past several years - staying the course in Iraq is not a viable option. We need a new approach, and this report provides us some possible options that deserve serious consideration. Those options include: launching a new diplomatic offensive to build an international consensus for stability in Iraq, including engaging with Iran and Syria; transitioning U.S. combat forces out of from Iraq by 2008 while embedding remaining forces in Iraqi units as advisors
Oopsies, Silvestre. What a difference a day makes. Thank god the ISG cleared that up! No apologies or even a reference to his remarks the day prior, which leads me to believe that those of you who thought Reyes was being clever (ala Rangel and the draft) uh- were maybe looking too hard for some brainwave activity in his reasoning.
Forgive me for apparently being more informed on, uh - THE SITUATION in IRAQ - than a politician who has been "a senior member of both the Armed Services and Select Intelligence Committees. Congressman Reyes is a key member of Congress on Defense and military issues." Or so Wikipedia says.
How could he be so clueless and backtrack so quickly? He's not exactly one of our Democratic stand up guys- In 2005 he missed 94 votes in the House, the ninth most of any member. Wow even among a Do-Nothing Congress, he stands out.
He's currently in his 5th term and he pulled 68% of the vote in his last election. His voting record ain't bad- mainly straight Democratic party, although he did vote along with the GOP to give Oil companies incentives against the Democratic party line as well as for the Unborn Child Pain act that failed. And he was linked to a controversy concerning the failure of a $239 million Border patrol network and the contractor who employing his daughter. Other than that, he looks pretty good, except for his flip floppery on Iraq recently.
So, hey, it's a simple mistake. Two days ago he wanted to send 30,000 More troops. Today he doesn't. Just forget everything he was saying to NEWSWEEK. Or that's WHAT he's telling his Democratic constituency NOW. Too bad we probably won't see any MSNBC headlines about him changing his tune. The damage has been done. So rest easy - He wasn't paid off, or anything nefarious like that. He just needed Jim Baker to pop the bubble he was in.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Caught in a mosh
This boils my damn blood! To hear this utter garbage from a neocon, WWIII-pining, Corporate Robber Baron Republican is one thing. But to hear it from the Democrat appointed by Pelosi who will soon head up the House Intelligence Committee is like taking a kick to the gut.
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In a surprise twist in the debate over Iraq, Rep. Silvestre Reyes, the soon-to-be chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said he wants to see an increase of 20,000 to 30,000 U.S. troops as part of a stepped up effort to “dismantle the militias.”
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What in the sixth layer of hell is going on? Who bought off Reyes? "Dismantle" the militias? What fucking planet is this moron on? 30,000 more troops? This is from a man whose has been opposed to the Iraq War from the beginning? He is from Texas, so I apologize, politicians are as crooked as they come around here.
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“We’re not going to have stability in Iraq until we eliminate those militias, those private armies,” Reyes said. “We have to consider the need for additional troops to be in Iraq, to take out the militias and stabilize Iraq … We certainly can’t leave Iraq and run the risk that it becomes [like] Afghanistan” was before the 2001 invasion by the United States.
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When asked how many additional troops he envisioned sending to Iraq, Reyes replied: “I would say 20,000 to 30,000—for the specific purpose of making sure those militias are dismantled, working in concert with the Iraqi military."
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What part of IMPOSSIBLE does this brainiac not understand? Someone slap this fool with a little bit of the FACT that: Most Iraqi citizens ARE standing members of one militia faction or another. Every family is allowed an AK-47 in Iraq. A civil war rages and if you AREN'T gathering your neighbors and families together in armed bands, you are just going to become a victim. What next? Will he outlaw firearms and disarm the whole damn country? How many troops will that take? Another 140,000? And how about this other possibly useful tidbit of info : Most of the Military and Police that we are training also holds allegiance with one faction or another. Has he considered that?
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This is OUR Strong Democratic leadership? This is stupidity on the level of Friedman, Kristol, and Hume! Does Reyes really have no clue to what is going on in Iraq? This is pure idiocy. And either Reyes is an idiot - Or he has ALREADY sold out to the other side.
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And for those who are normally sane and thoughtful who are claiming this is a ploy to one-up McCain- No, it's not. So stop whitewashing stupidity and "ploys" as some kind of great political tactics. The nation elected Democrats in record numbers for one reason and one reason ONLY- They are tired of the bullshit. We want straight talking and intelligent discussion. No more cut-and-stay dialogue. Get us the hell out of Iraq NOW.
Caption it.
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
They have their commandments and I have mine...
There are two great articles on Alternet today that discuss both the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the greater Israeli/Every other Arab conflict.
Both offer a sense of hope for the future. If peace is ever to be achieved in the middle east, it will not be at the hands of a government. It will be when the people on all sides, who have endured and committed so much violence at the same time, can stop the cycle of revenge and retaliation.
The first article discusses how the direct victims of the conflict are striving to do just that= to bury their hate and love their enemies. Half the world away, an American like me can claim to understand, but I can't, truly. It is easy for us to cry out "Stop this useless murder!" with a modicum of emotion and empathy. For those who have lost their husbands, wives, and children, it seems almost an impossible notion.
For those victims- it is a tribute to their humanity that they can set aside vengeance and channel their emotions to serve the cause of peace in their countries. It is far easier to take up a weapon and join those who seek destruction as their only defense. But as these victims can tell you, it only means more martyrs, more victims, more destruction.
The only victory is when the violence stops. Peace is the only solution. Peace is the only victory. Hopefully these brave souls, both jewish and arab, can make more of their countrymen understand this lesson without becoming victims to fully comprehend it.
The Second Article is the story on a more personal level, from the perspective of a Jewish American journalist and his journeys into Lebanon.
EXCERPT:
In all my travels in the Middle East I have repeatedly received the same welcome response. It is one of two Koranic phrases I have memorized. Lakum dinakum wa ana diin. Roughly, they have their mitzvahs (commandments) , and I have mine. I don't pretend to understand the context or interpretations of this phrase, but my entire understanding of Islam -- of the Arab world -- starts here.For Peace- All Understanding on both sides must begin somewhere.
Gates hearing
So far everything that has come out of Gates mouth has been to parrot the president.
[Leaving will be disasterous, the troops need to stay indefinitely, there is no civil war, it's all Iran's fault, etc]
I have not heard anything that makes me think that he will be any different than Rummy. I say NO to Gates. Any thoughts? This can be kind of an open forum on the Gates hearing.
*Update*
Gates was unanimously approved. Any thoughts?
11-7 Changed Everything
Week two of the Pre-November the 7th Thinking series, "the Zombies are starting to awake and attack the agenda the American people voted for," edition:
Allahpundit [Hot Air] - "Bad things happen when you lose your majority."
NewsBusters - "The BBC reports that John Bolton had to leave the UN due to a weakened Bush and Republican set backs in the November election . . . Anything to keep the meme going, Democrats up, Republicans down."
John J. Miller [NRO] - "How about Rick Santorum for the UN job? Yeah, there'd probably be a confirmation fight. And he may want to take a breather after 16 years in elected office. But it's worth thinking over."
John @ Powerline - "Liberal Democrats and media figures have tried to create a sense of panic about Iraq: the country is a disaster, the war has been lost, all we can do is find an 'exit strategy' and get out . . . I think what liberals really fear is that Bush's Iraq policy will yet prove successful. By stampeding the country into withdrawal, they can guarantee failure, and blame it on Bush."
Texas Rainmaker - "Last night I went to Taco Bell, and if there’s any place in our country you can go to see the best argument against raising the minimum wage, it’s a fast food restaurant."
Double Bonus:
Ace of Spades - "Comedy Central To Lauch Animated Bush Parody Show . . . A kinda crappy bit of work that has little going for it except it has the all-important Anti-Bush Brand on it. The same thing that keeps marginal talents Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert on the air."
Mary Katharine Ham [Townhall] - "Chavez's other grinning dictator buddy would also undoubtedly be pumped about the win if he weren't so dead."
-OMG, they killed Johnny, you bastards!
Monday, December 04, 2006
Strong on terror...how?
Now, I knew the President is dumb as a bag of hammers, but I didn't know it's contagious.
This sickens me on so many levels. First that I actually gave this administration and its' leader the benefit of the doubt allot. Second that it takes the liberal media to expose such stupidity.
Let's have a quickie Q&A:
Unless this is what he's talking about when he says this is a new kind of war... Ugh. Fucking ugh is all I can muster now.
U. G. fuckin' H
Namaste to you all.
B
Q- What's the first rule of warfare?
A- Know your enemy.
Time's up, Varmint.
I'm sorry, it's been hours, but I've only just now stopped slapping my knee, giggling and snorting...
...and Pam wept:
We're screwed . . . Anybody happy about this is an America hater. The tyranny of the minority strikes again.-Oh, ROTFL, that's just got me going again!!!11!
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