Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

First?

Hmmmm
I will need to do some researching before I can give a comment...
But a nice topic. Wil get back on this one.

"skullduggery and malarkey"

I like 'em a lot, Marcia!

Good Morning everyone and Jason,

I can't believe I'm on top of the blog today.

In regard to Craig's post,
". . .while the Democrats appear to be talking soft while advocating the
rough stuff behind the scenes."

Nothing surprises me about the covert, skullduggery of the New Democratic party.

Hi Patsi,

I had to sneak skullduggery into my early morning post.

Has anyone told BHO? LMAO

"Nothing surprises me about the covert, skullduggery of the New Democratic party. "

The DNC is full of malarkey, Marcia....heh, heh...

Skulduggery. Necrophilia? Jack, where are you when we need you.

If anything is done against Iran it had better be covert, highly covert with no mouse trails. And, it doesn't need to be done within the borders of that sovereign state. And, it had better not be done by Pres Bush. And, it had better not harm the hair on the head of a single 'ordinary' Iranian.

Patsi,

Is malarkey Irish? I'm very Irish. My mom used to speak Gaelic to me and
my dad used to use "malarkey" all the time--he hinted that the word
had Irish roots. But, maybe my dad might have been full of malarkey sometimes.

Hmm...didn't find out if malarkey is Irish, Marcia...(sounds Irish to me ) -- but the German translation appears to be: quatsch. I kinda like it.

And, there was a military term that had the same meaning. I kind of thought malarkey was regional dialect with nonspecific roots.

Thanks Patsi and Flatus.

Back to Iran for a moment. My girl friend is married to an Iranian professor
at UC. They just came back from Iran and the Iranian people are very
worried about the prospect of another war. Most of the folks in Iran seem to really like Obama according to my friend.

Distain dont cabby no gambers, disdain......(love that old song)

Jamie......Great work.........that sounds mighty like the article I was looking for.....Im not totally giving up on the ramparts 68 but I got harpers atlantic also so that may be it.....I'll have to now go and dig out my Wampeters and Foma book......

After reading Craig's post, perhaps those Iran people who like Obama
so much should think again. I get the feeling Obama insider Democrats, privately, are saying exactly what Bush and McCain are saying regarding Iran.

I read obituaries from time to time - this one stuck out at my from yesterday's Globe- sounds like he lived quite a life

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/obituaries/articles/2008/06/29/civil_rights_trailblazer_atkins_dies_at_69/

Hmmm
My research is not giving me the absolute touch to comment on this topic...
LOL

I will sit this topic out :))

Am too focussed on Wimby.....

Patsi,
Thnx for the NYT article. Printed it out and put in my collection....

"Necrophilia? Jack, where are you when we need you."

Flatus
is there some reason for this arrangement of thoughts.
I've seen my name put together with a lot of words but this is a new one. ;-)

Coffees done, I will be back after the brain is in better working order.
Jack

Reid and Pelosi are giving and have given (impeachment is off the table, etc) much evidence to support the claim that democrats are and have been double dealing behind the scenes......it's pretty distinct and pretty gruesome, to me......I hope cindy sheehan really does run, more and more.......pelosi after all learned all her tricks from her dad and maryland politics.......just gruesome......nattering nabobs of negativism.......

nattering nabobs of negativism in public
effete corps of impudent snobs in private

?

"Pakistan claims success in battling militants"

Speaking of not understnding what our leaders are doing in our name this sentence in the above article struck my fog ridden brain. Just what all are we using mercenaries for any way.

"A paramilitary force took on militants based in the wild Khyber tribal area"

Jack

"Insideous crabs of cynism" - not sure where I read that one, but it stuck.

Article in the Dallas Morning News this weekend re: some Iranians saying things might be better if the Americans come.

a summary from

crooksandliars.com

supporting my theory that the media ditched ms clinton to clinch it for obama so that mccain would have a chance........

True love. The press has found it. Smitten by the Republican nominee, John McCain, maverick, here’s a sampling of journalists saluting McCain in their own words in recent days:

Kind of like a Martin Luther [Chris Matthews - Hardball]

A man of unshakable character, willing to stand up for his convictions [R.W. Apple, NY Times]

An affable man of zealous, unbending beliefs [Richard Cohen, The Washington Post]

The hero who still does things his own way [Richard Cohen, The Washington Post]

Rises above the pack-eloquent, as only a prisoner of war can be [David Nyhan, The Boston Globe]

The perfect candidate to deal with what challenges we face as a country. [Mika Brzezinski, MSNBC]

Blunt, unyielding, deploying his principles, what he does do is what he’s always done, play it as straight as possible. [Terry Moran, Nightline]

Wordly-wise and witty, determined to follow the facts to the exclusion of ideology. [Michael Hirsh, Newsweek]

Willing to defy his own party and forge compromise. [Michael Hirsh, Newsweek]

Pragmatic in the service of the national interest, rises to passion when he believes that America’s best values are at stake. [Michael Hirsh, Newsweek]

The maverick candidate still. [Terry Moran, Nightline]

"Distain dont cabby no gambers, disdain......(love that old song)"

Sturge, you are shameless! ROFL!

ooops

The link to the above story

As usual McClatchy
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/42642.html

Jack

whskyjack, i can't tell you how disappointed i am in nancy pelosi. i can understand that it took many years to get where she is, and i can understand not wanting to lose that, but by now it seems to me that we need the democrats who are willing to risk ending their career by standing up to bush and co., and she talks a good game, but doesn't do it.

" I get the feeling Obama insider Democrats, privately, are saying exactly what Bush and McCain are saying regarding Iran. "

I wish Hersh would have told us which Democrats are supporting this insanity.

I believe that Grover Norquist (truly one of the most reprehensible people in this universe) has a lot of people who secretly side with his "starve the beast" theory. Break America's back, then the government HAS to get rid of all "entitlements."

Sturgeone-

It would be interesting to know the context and time of the quotes you cite-

I ask because David Nyhan's stuck out at me- I thought he was a great political writer, and was saddened when he died 3 1/2 years ago (and at that time he was retired).

Kathy -- great article! This is priceless:

"Though he grew up surrounded by religion, Mr. Atkins was spiritual but not religious. He had a colorful vocabulary and a sharp wit that he employed frequently, such as when he gave the grace at Thanksgiving dinner a few years back, when "The Sixth Sense" was in theaters. Scanning the other bowed heads, he tweaked the movie's signature line, saying, "I see . . . black people."

Meanwhile, while we chase ghosts in Iran, the real live terrorists are resurgent in Pakistan while the Administration literally sits on its hands. Great piece from NYTimes today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/washington/30tribal.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1214827513-Ag4Y8AyF4CGEbjhCWXV9Hw

Kathy.......check the article at

crooksandliars.com

couple of articles down from the top.

"A paramilitary force took on militants based in the wild Khyber tribal area"

Jack -- I have a friend in Oklahoma who rivals Anon-Paranoid in her theories....she solidly believes that these paramilitary forces might be turned on us one of these days.

"i can't tell you how disappointed i am in nancy pelosi."
posted by Mary Kitt-Neel

My disappointment with Pelosi began with her actions toward Hillary Clinton during the primary and it has continued unabated ever since. . .

Nancy Pelosi is duplicitous.

Sturgeone- Yes I checked there first- I still see no date. Nyhan left the Globe in 2001, and many in the media or otherwise analyzed and complimented him in 99-2000 a whole lot differently than they are doing this time around.

kathy.....yes....i see.....looks like McGlaughlin was reading the list.....maybe he just mixed in Nyhan somehow to fill it out......will look further.......

Malarkey seems to be Irish in origin, but recent in creation as a word

Etymology http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3732/is_200207/ai_n9139247

Patsi
This morning I can understand your friends fear.
But The article Craig posted gives me a lot of encouragement. there are a lot of prople in government and the military who leaked a lot of the information in that article. They want the word to get out.

Jack

Jamie,

Thanks for the link! I've learned a lot about malarkey.

Marcia -- one thing this season has done is bring me back to 1963. When I started college, one of the first things I wanted to do was join a political organization. My parents were both very political, although on different sides of the fence on many issues. Mom was a FDR/JFK lover, Dad was a Republican on all things fiscal.

We argued and discussed political all the time.

But for me, the face of the Democratic party was that of any one of many Southern Governors standing on school steps with a bunch of thugs. (Mom always said Southern Dems weren't real Dems...)

But because of those Governors, I went to a meeting of the Young Republicans. It was an all-boys club, and all they were doing was jockying for position. No issues brought up at all. Not to mention, they expected me to take notes. Hello?

I left thinking "what a bunch of arrogant pricks."

So I went to a Young Democrats meeting, and it was another all-boys club. Exact same scenario.

I left thinking "what a bunch of arrogant pricks."

Of course, just a couple of months into my freshman year, JFK was assassinated and turned life upside down.

"but by now it seems to me that we need the democrats who are willing to risk ending their career "

Mary

I wouldn't hold my breath.
I think many politicians seem to be reality challenged when it comes to finding working solutions to our many problems. This includes our candidates for president

Jack

The upshot of my college rant is that I joined the rabble rousers that hung out at the Student Union and raised hell about everything. I was the only "chick in a sorority blazer" in the crowd. But nobody asked me to take notes.

I was never A Spiro Agnew fan, but boy did he get this one right:

"The American people should be made aware of the trend toward monopolization of the great public information vehicles and the concentration of more and more power over public opinion in fewer and fewer hands. "

Spiro T. Agnew

Wow. I just finished reading that long NYT piece that I linked above. It's very much worth it. A definitive, inside look at how squabbling and bickering on our side since 2002 has allowed al Qaeda to return to something close to its Sept 10, 2001 capabilities. Lots of juicy new details, like how Rummy waffled at key moments and blew opportunities to capture top Qaeda leaders, like how Bush was such a wimp in dealing with Pervo.

I have enjoyed seeing the conversation going on here this morning. After yesterday, I didn't know what to think. Good stuff.

The Obama Agenda

"Mr. Obama looks even more centrist now than he did before wrapping up the nomination. Most notably, he has outraged many progressives by supporting a wiretapping bill that, among other things, grants immunity to telecom companies for any illegal acts they may have undertaken at the Bush administration’s behest.

In any case, what about after the election? The Reagan-Clinton comparison suggests that a candidate who runs on a clear agenda is more likely to achieve fundamental change than a candidate who runs on the promise of change but isn’t too clear about what that change would involve."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/opinion/30krugman.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

" After yesterday, I didn't know what to think. "

Chloe -- I still contend that the stuff on this blog is nothing compared to many others. AND, the VERY meanest one I ever ventured into was a professional rose growers group.

Holy crap! Those folks can go seriously Medieval on people.

mornin' all.

I have to say that I agree with the approach Hillary laid out in the campaign - lay the groundwork diplomatically then conduct talks at the highest levels with our "enemies." If that is what Obama has in mind, he has my support. If a blockade is what the McCainiacs are thinking, give me a break. It will just divert Iran's oil to China and the rest of our trading competitors, and it wouldn't surprise me at all to see us blockaded from the summer Olympics. Act tough against Iran? PUHLEASE!!

And Craig - touch actions?? Is that some football term to indicate actions short of an all out game?? And is it 2 hand or one? Below the belt or above?

Patsi, I don't visit many other blogs, but I know you're right. Some had me a little worried yesterday, though, when they were discussing things said on "that other blog" as though it had anything to do with this one. I'll personally never read anything on the so called back channel. I like it here. Glad to see things back to normal this morning.

Europe fears Obama on Iran
European officials are increasingly concerned that Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign pledge to begin direct talks with Iran on its nuclear program without preconditions could potentially rupture U.S. relations with key European allies early in a potential Obama administration.

The U.N. Security Council has passed four resolutions demanding that Iran stop enriching uranium.....
European officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, ........although eager to welcome a U.S. president promising renewed diplomacy and multilateralism after years of tensions with the Bush administration, they feel strongly about continuing on the current path.

http://hotair.com/archives/2008/06/22/europe-fears-obama-on-iran/

Lard, see you're her now, and want to make sure you know, by other blog, I didn't mean yours. Your's is great because it's done in the right spirit. I have to learn to be more clear when I post.

Patsi,

What a great post about your college experience with joining a political party.
It brought me back to my college days and I realized that I never joined a party
until years later even though I always expected to be a Democratic like my Irish Catholic, liberal, Dem family. And I eventually did sign up as a Democrat, never
regretting my choice until this year.

ha, good one pogo. one of the failings of spell checker is that it can't always catch a typo that correctly spells a different word. gates should get to work on that instead of retiring.

"After yesterday, I didn't know what to think."

chloe,

I've seen use net groups where yesterday would have just been a friendly greeting and a lot of intellegent conversation still got done.
As I said last night. A lot of it is the basic medium we use here. Text is a poor communication medium and very limited in conveying meaning. Add in to that the fact that we want to create a friendly atmosphere so we write in a conversational style.
So is this post air head musing, overbearing lecturing, sarcastic dismissal, patronizing condensention, or many other irritating things? You mostly have to guess. If you were setting beside me you wouldn't my face , body , hands and tone would be giving you clues.

So(asjack leans back and hooks his thumbs under his suspenders), to us real net warriors, who have survived flame wars that would curl your hair, who learned to knit our asbestos underwear at our mothers knee, these minor little squabbles are mere annoyances. ;-0

Jack

I've seen use net groups where yesterday would have just been a friendly greeting and a lot of intellegent conversation still got done. Posted by: whskyjack

Jack,
I agree. I enjoyed the conversation yesterday (although we missed you).

I woke up for a while around 3or so, and saw some of the later stuff on the blog. REALLY like your late post comments on disagreements. I wanted to tell you how much I liked it, but knew you were long gone. But it's worth a read for everyone who's interested. Hope you don't mind me linking it.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/06/does-mccain-think-hes-already.html#comment-108939

So is this post air head musing, overbearing lecturing, sarcastic dismissal, patronizing condensention, or many other irritating things? You mostly have to guess. Whiskyjack

I almost always get in trouble when I'm laughing and say something I think is really funny (to me) and someone responds as though I'm serious. You're right. They don't see my smile. Or my 'weird' sense of humor.

ps Jack, I love the way you write.

gotta go

We did Malarkey, but here is an even more entertaining etymology for "skulduggery" from the word detective

http://www.word-detective.com/2008/02/12/skulduggery/

craig, maybe Bill can work on that now that he's got a little more time on his hands.

BTW, proud dad moment - Little Pogo went to the Cleveland Cavs basketball camp last week - his second year to go. Last year as a 10 year old he won the award for best defense in the younger group (12 & under I think). This year as an 11 year old he won 4 half gallons of gatorade for winning 4 of the little competitions they had each day, and he won a cap signed by Joe Smith for being the MVP in the younger group. The kid's on fire.

Chloe...no offense taken whatsoever. "Lardo's Retreat" is definitely not a place that takes itself too seriously anyway. Hell, I'm happy with what's there already even if we don't get to add anything else. But I hope we do get more as folks read the stories that are up, and similar stories occur to them.

I've thought it was appropriate one of the cable television pioneers was Martin Malarkey

i cant believe how infantile barnicle's analysis is.....damn.....he reminds me of maureen dowd.......

"i cant believe how infantile barnicle's analysis is"

yeah once he had to stop copying from others, the quality dropped immediately

jamie, I think I like the Scottish sense of the word better. :-)

good morning gang....

"and she talks a good game, but doesn't do it."
Mary KN.... I bet if we looked up the definition of "politician" in various dictionaries we'd come across one that said.... "all talk, and no action".....

Jack.... as a long timer on various computer interactive sites (started in 1991 on AOL's bulletin boards).... you hit the nail on the head.... text is a poor communicative tool for the conversational style most use on these types of sites.....

Chloe.... I have the same problem..... in real life as well as here.... I'm a friendly teaser and joker.... can't believe how seriously some take my harmless little jokes here..... but at this point.... I consider it "their problem".....

Pogo.... congrats for lil Pogo! .... I love your stories about him....

Craig.... as for the Dems saying one thing and doing another..... and you're surprised by this.....

i think fiction writers face it all the time.....how to render the meanings with just the written dialogue.....that's one of the things Hemingway broke thru on and got really good at.......attempting to make written conversation with no qualifying explanations render the meanings behind the words.......

I used to like Barnicle when I read the Globe as my primary news source back in the mid to late 80's when I was in NH (God knows, I didn't read the Union Leader). I think becoming a personality of sorts on MSGOPTV and beginning to take his opinion as somehow tied to the truth has taken a greater toll on him than having his knuckles rapped for plagiarism did.

chloe, thanks for linking and acknowledging whiskyjack's excellent presentation on the limits and dangers of conversational blog commenting. was about to do so myself. particularly like this graph:

"One thing we all need to constantly remind ourselves is we almost all write in a conversational manner. That is a very sloppy way to communicate in text. Because when we converse we are not only using the words but the tone we use, our facial expressions and gestures all give meaning to our words. All of these are missing in text. -- Posted by: whskyjack"

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/06/does-mccain-think-hes-already.html#comment-108939

Thanks, Jack -- Lard Chancellor Sturgeone should consider you for high office in AHPC

IMO Barnicle disgraced himself during the 2004 campaign by caving into the swiftboat meme when he knew none of it was true. That was directly related to his job as msgop so could be his truthiness is related to his paycheck.

I never read him when he was at the height of his "blue collar" popularity. I have always found him to be a lightweight yesman who will say anything for face time.

hey......the boss slot is still open right?

Hip hip hooray.......daughter entering grad school in august.......uncrossing arthritically frozen fingers now.........

Thanks, Renee. Here's another, sort of tied in with the former one. He's had a deal for the past 4 or 5 months with Mrs. P - we have found that he's very motivated by incentives - that if he made straight As for the entire year and did something remarkable athletically, he could get an Ibanez guitar that he's been drooling over since he first saw it. He had already gone down to the state championships and did very well with his soccer team, scoring most of his team's goals, and was the best forward in the league (5 counties) by a longshot, so he was well on his way. So anyway, we get back home yesterday after picking him up from the GPs' for the Cavs' camp, and his report card was in the mailbox - all As. We're headed to the Music Center at lunch to order the new axe.

sturg, congrats on the daughter's grad school admission - your nickel or hers? :-)

pogo......axe......in the late sixties we went to a really serious music club to sit in on sit in night.....the "supercool bass player for the gig there comes over and asks, "You guys bring your own axes?" Sprite, our drummer at the time says, "No.....but I got my hatchet out in the trunk......"

the bass player's face just melted....he looked at the ground, shook his head and just walked off.........

pogo.....all of we'uns.........she's been working 2 jobs, one of which she'll ditch, and we all just make the ends line up somewhere in the same vicinity........

KC, I don't disagree with your take on Barnicle's more recent commentary - like the old grey mare, he ain't what he used to be. Of course back in the day, he was commenting on issues in a smaller pond.

Good morning peeps,
New thread on the BackChannel Blog

"Yes To McGain" by guest blogger maggisd

http://clistersbackchannel.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/yes-to-mccain-by-guest-blogger-maggisd/#comment-456

(#1)

congrats on the progeny progression there sturg

and yes, since Lardass abdicated the chair it is vacant, but thought we might keep it that way in honor of his brilliant work in crafting the Seven Acceptable Insults

Deep Thought
Matt Drudge has been less likely to peddle crap than MSNBC this election season.
http://www.eschatonblog.com/2008_06_29_archive.html#7385327410297520170

and only yesterday msnbc was the hero station to Obama supporters. How quickly things change.

Kathy:

Thank you for linking the obit on Mr. Atkins. Sad that he has to be gone before the majority of us get to "know" him.

Your post put me in mind of a recent encounter. I took my visiting 13-year old niece to the Birmingham Civil Rights Museum. She had studied in school about Dr. Martin Luther King, and she knew about the battles to desegregate public schools. But she was unfamiliar with the name of Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth whose bronze cast statue we passed at the museum entrance, facing Kelly Ingram Park, the site of fire-hosings and attack dogs, and the 16th Street Baptist Church. Don't worry, I said, you'll know who he is by the time we finish this tour.

Indeed. Two hours later, as we left the building, I notice a small group of people posing for pictures in front of the bronze. There was an elderly man in a wheelchair. As I glanced several times between the man's face and the etched one, I turned to a bystander and said, "That IS the Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, isn't it?" "Yes, it is," he replied. I whispered excitedly to my niece, then asked the man who turned out to be the reverend's personal attendant, if she could take pictures. She did and, as they were finishing their own photo work and came toward us, we went up and thanked Reverend Shuttlesworth for his life's work which freed not only African Americans, but she and I as well, since no one had rights of free association under segregation. My niece now has a "personal history" for when she returns to school in Virginia. I too feel fortunate for this encounter.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Shuttlesworth

Done.....

seeking open office for Jack.....let's see.....gardens, whiskey, music, conversational tone.......Im sure there's a beautiful spot for Jack.......

Lardo......the Solon of C-list............

"The kid's on fire."

Yes he is, Pogo! That's great news! Congrats to LP!

surg, lol. I have this vague memory of seeing an album cover with a guy holding a guitar that was shaped like an axe - maybe a Molly Hatchet album? - I think it was one of those anime covers drawn by the guy who drew the Bat Out of Hell cover or someone who drew that sort of stuff. Anyone else remember that, and can you ID that album? My brain says stop, I can't recall.

And the grad school dollar drain will be worth every penny I hope - I assume it's not in some useful or lucrative field of study.

"who learned to knit our asbestos underwear at our mothers knee"

Ha! Jack nails it. Two music-related things come to mind when I think about why I love straight-ahead agggression so much better than the passive kind.

1. The reason Chet Atkins loved to hear Suzy Bogguss sing was that "...she never has to slide into a note. She just lands right there."

2. When Garth Brooks first went to the UK to promote his 1993 tour there, some journalists showed up at his press conference wearing minature cowboy hats and started singing in an exaggerated hillbilly fashion. As Garth said later, "I'd have preferred they just said, 'We think you suck.'"

Ivy, what a terrific experience for your niece.

I clearly remember seeing the scenes on tv from '63 when Bull Connor turned the dogs and firehoses on the demonstratorsmin downtown Birmingham. 4 years later, his nephew started school in my high school, a year behind me. He never mentioned his uncle.

Bill Clinton And Barack Obama To Meet In Next Few Days: Terry McAuliffe

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/30/bill-clinton-and-barack-o_n_109925.html
(#2)

patsi......one of my myriad pet peeves.......sliding onto a note........Jerry Vale used to send me running to the earplug locker........

FOLLOW-UP on today's post:

The fateful moment (when Dems caved to Bush on Iran) came in March of last year when (quoting here from CQ's 3/14/07 report): "Democrats decided to delete language from the spending bill that would require President Bush to get congressional authorization for any war against Iran."

That was Pelosi's doing, by the way.

Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) has introduced a bill to halt any military spending against Iran without congressional approval, but his party's leaders have shown no interest in moving it forward.

The seven wise men of Greece were well-known, both to each other and to the general public. 1 Anacharsis, who was one of these wise men, came to visit Solon in Athens. When Anacharsis saw Athenian democracy at work, he remarked that it was strange that in Athens wise men spoke and fools decided. Solon admired this man's ready wit and he entertained Anacharsis as his guest for a long time. Solon showed Anacharsis some laws that he was drafting for the Athenians. Anacharsis laughed at Solon for imagining that the dishonesty and greed of the Athenians could be restrained by written laws. Such laws, said Anacharsis, are like spiderwebs: they catch the weak and poor, but the rich can rip right through them.

Ivy -- what a wonderful story! Thanks.....

Pogo:

Crazy uncles...we all have one.

A good friend of mine owns Bull Conner's old house. There's a sweet revenge about it for her...

"Democrats decided to delete language from the spending bill that would require President Bush to get congressional authorization for any war against Iran."

Jeezus, Mary and Joseph.

"PRINCETON, NJ -- The Democratic Party is in a good position to retain its majority status in Congress this November. Democrats lead the Republicans by 51% to 40% in the party preferences for Congress among all registered voters, and by 52% to 42% among likely voters."

http://www.gallup.com/poll/108454/Democrats-Favored-Retain-House-November.aspx

(#3)

Paula Gordon|
An Open Letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi
Posted September 5, 2007
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paula-gordon/an-open-letter-to-speaker_b_63178.html

We are the short attention span citizens. The idea that we are ready to attack Iran has been bandied about so much, people have been able to poopoo the idea as so much tin foil hat theory. I think people find it hard to believe that Shrub is such an incompetent jerk and keep looking for that pony.

"PRINCETON, NJ -- The Democratic Party is in a good position to retain its majority status in Congress this November. Democrats lead the Republicans by 51% to 40% in the party preferences for Congress among all registered voters, and by 52% to 42% among likely voters."

Well....now they can just cave in on a grander scale.

"The change in emphasis for the House leader was not limited to the funding bill. Yesterday, at a conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Ms. Pelosi endorsed toughening American sanctions on Iran by stripping the executive branch of the power to waive the sanctions. Her position would effectively establish a trigger to deny companies such as Royal Dutch Shell access to the American financial markets if they continued to work with Iran.

The showdown among the Democrats, first reported by the Associated Press, discloses the fragility of the party's 233- to 201-seat advantage over Republicans in the House of Representatives. Five House sources yesterday said the language barring the president from expanding military actions into Iran was initially added as an inducement for the more left-wing Democrats to support the funding bill that some argued had too many exemptions for allowing American soldiers to stay in Iraq."

http://www.nysun.com/foreign/democrats-retreat-on-war-funds/50391/

(#4)

According to the Associated Press, Iraq hasn't signed oil contracts and the reason, according to the oil minister, is that "they refused to offer consultancy based on fees, as they wanted a share of the oil."

Now can we can we bring the troops home.

Gallup attributes the bump for Obama to his support from Senator Clinton and the Unity,NH appearance.

Krugman from today's times

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/opinion/30krugman.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

We shall see, we shall see.

Haven't we been told for the past 3 or so years that AQ is who we're fighting in IRAQ?

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/washington/30tribal.html?hp

Bushco can't even get the frickin' country right. But we knew that, didn't we?

anon, don't worry about the 4 pt. Gallup Daily spread. DG is a pretty vlatile poll and 4 pts is still within the MOE.

Oh, and if I forgot to say it, get a name.

Pogo

The Kugman column is interesting but I don't think we have to wait. We already know the answer.

It's like all those who are now saying..."no one could have predicted"...the failure in Iraq, the failure in the economy etc. Plenty of people did predict those things but not the main stream media --they would rather appear a clueless maroons.

Obama's backtracking on FISA and other issues because of political expediencey is pretty clear.
We cannot expect more from Obama then being present.

One can only wonder what motives Mr. Hersh and others have at reporting this story now considering this spending bill was passed over a year ago. And one can only wonder why Mr. Hersh decided not to tell the entire story and report on the politics in the House and how this bill came pass, but I'm not surprised, Arthur Schlesinger summed it much better than I ever could when he refereed to Mr Hersh as, "the most gullible investigative reporter I've ever encountered."

(#5)

I think Nigeria just moved up on the Shrub list of countries to be invaded.

AFRICA: Nigeria's Nuclear Program
The Nigerian paper This Day reports on discussions at recent G8 meetings expressing concern over Nigeria's development of nuclear technologies.
http://www.cfr.org/about/newsletters/editorial_detail.html?id=1011

Craig - informative post. I need to check out the Hersh piece. It's a total bummer, though, that the US hasn't learned to quit the old game of regime change. What's that definition of insanity, something like: trying the same thing over and over again and expecting different results? : )

If there's a a sliver lining, I guess it's that the US is now so weak economically that a full ground invasion would be off the table....I hope.

Asked on CNN's Late Edition if there is any truth to Hersh's allegation that US Special Operation forces are operating within Iran, US Ambassador in Iraq Ryan Crocker answered: "I can tell you flatly that US forces are not operating across the Iraqi border into Iran, in the south or anywhere else. ... US forces are not operating across the Iran-Iraq border, no."

http://www.usnews.com/usnews/politics/bulletin/bulletin_080630.htm

http://www.the-peoples-forum.com/cgi-bin/readart.cgi?ArtNum=1881 tanscript of the Hersh and Crocker CNN appearance

Shorter Hersh (who has been writing about US plans for Iran since at least 2005)

"Crocker may not know"

Forgot to post the money quote

"Guest host Candy Crowley brings on Iraq Ambassador Ryan Crocker to officially deny that any cross border operations have taken place, but Hersh points out that Crocker may not be in the loop–plausible deniability being the operative word.

That is simply a reality, that when you run secret operations, if you’re not telling the commander, the military commander of the Central Command, who is supposedly running the country — you may not tell the ambassador everything. Sometimes it’s better not to have the ambassador know."

Craig.... that just means that Crocker is "full of crock"......

PofU.... I hope a full ground invasion is off the table too....
but even the thought of air strikes scares the hell out of me.....
where's Scott Ritter..... we need him now....

Pogo and sturg..... A1 kids you both have there......

wish I had time to read some of the articles linked..... but I just don't.....

This entire Hersh piece, all smoke, no fire.
(#6)

KGC
He may not know or he may be fudging with an evasive answer. ex. Operations originating off a ship in the gulf wouldn't be operating cross border.

Jack

"US forces "

Could this be one of those lying without actually lying situations. If they are mercenaries are they "technically" US Forces in the sense of the Army or Marines or are they just hired hands?

Here is an article by Professor Debra J. Dickerson. She is a BHO supporters, but she doesn't believe he'll win.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2007/01/22/obama/index.html

If I had to guess I would say she and I are 180 degrees apart politically, but I find her an extremely interesting person, and from listening to her we share a number of same thoughts.

She was on Imus this morning ( I think this is her 3rd or 4th appearance), talking about what is considered Black in America, and made a very interesting statement. Paraphrasing here: 'Tiger Woods does not consider himself to be black, to do so would disrespect his mother who is Asian.'

I though about that statement for a moment then thought of BHO who keeps proclaiming he doesn't want race to be part of his campaign, but is always reminding us he is black. Just another quick glimpse into BHO's good looking, articulate, smiling persona.

Jack

Hersh has been writing about our activities in Iran for a long time and the Shrubians have been denying it but the evidence - especially the resignation of Admiral Fallon tells a different story.

An attack on Iran would be the utlimate FU by Bush.
I believe he is capable of doing it. There are plenty stories circulating that the top brass would all resign but I haven't seen that courage with a few exceptions and they have already resigned.

KGC,

If Bush attacks Iran, it will not only be an FU to the American People, but a thank you very much for your support to his buddies in the oil industry.

Iran sits right on the Straights of Hormuz, a choke point in the Persian Gulf. If the Iranians wanted to, they could prevent any of Saudi Arabia's oil from getting to market, which would I think could double the price of oil overnight. I can't help but think what that would do for Haliburton's bottom line...

Why, that rhymes with "all schmuck, all liar".

How'd that work out?

"I can tell you flatly that US forces are not operating across the Iraqi border into Iran, in the south or anywhere else. ... US forces are not operating across the Iran-Iraq border, no."

But he didn't mention, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean, Gulf of Oman or the Arabian Sea.

"One thing we all need to constantly remind ourselves is we almost all write in a conversational manner. That is a very sloppy way to communicate in text. Because when we converse we are not only using the words but the tone we use, our facial expressions and gestures all give meaning to our words. All of these are missing in text. -- Posted by: whskyjack"

May I, again, suggest that we implement the flaming tildes of sarcasm? ~ No, really. ~

A few years back, there were reports of special forces in Iran handing out cash. I mean, we did help secure their border by taking Iraq off of their hands. What's not to love about America?

Awesome news for Obama,

Aparently in Ohio, patriotic Americans think he's a Gay, Muslim racist who was born in Africa and refuses to recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25447998/

Craig: TY for posting the info about Sen Webb's bill / amendment instructing the President about Iran. I wish you had mentioned that Sen Clinton was an early co-sponsor of that legislation.

Just a thought regarding Seymour Hersh's allegation that Dem leaders have "signed off" on this. The WH has a duty to inform Congressional leaders of covert plans, but those leaders are constrained not to say anything at all (remember Sen Rockefeller's letter that he hid in his safe?) The one person who might have said anything ... Rep Jane Harman ... was removed from the Intelligence Committee by Mrs Pelosi.

Bear
Ohio voters more evolved than you think
Obama leads:

RCP Average 06/09 - 06/22 -- 47.3 42.8 Obama +4.5

2 weeks ago the MSM was broadcasting Israel was staging to attack Iran. Now it is back to the US. Well one thing for certain who ever attacks Iran, we better hope they don't make the Straights of Hormuz impassable or gas will cost $10 a gallon.

maggisd and kgc,

Yup, yup and yup.

Pace Jerry Della Femina -- "From The Wonderful Folks Who Brought You The Iraq War And Were For It Before They Were Against It".

Naivete will be celebrated with toasts to Pelousy on another site.

Jamie: I guess Blackwater wouldn't qualify as US forces, would they?

On the other hand, have there been any reports and / or complaints from Iran that the US is operating across its border? I have not heard anything from the BBC on this issue...surely Ahmadinijad would not keep his mouth shut about such a thing.

Spent too much time reading all your wonderful posts. Time to go watch some tennis. Save a place for me at the table.

let's get moving faster on alternative oil and let them choke on their desert sands as their oil will become worth less and less. Enough supporting Iran (and Saudi Arabia and Russia and Venezuela and the like) with borrowed money. National Security=National Alternative Energy Policy

"Aparently in Ohio, patriotic Americans think he's a Gay, Muslim racist who was born in Africa and refuses to recite the Pledge of Allegiance."

Bear -- makes you wonder if ANY of these fools who allow themselves to be interviewed know how dumb they are going to look in print. And that the whole reason for the interview is to write a story about a dumb bunny. Kind of like after tornados....the only people they interview are fat blond women who talk hillbilly.

Ohio is a backassward state. Nothing would shock me.

(* I am currently living in ohio - before I get pummeled)

"On the other hand, have there been any reports and / or complaints from Iran that the US is operating across its border?"

CIA operatives? The CIA has been recruiting for Iranians for years, this is nothing new, it was published in the NYT. And who said there was going to be an invasion? Hersh? Does he have another book in the works? Israel is very capable of doing this on their own, with maybe some help from us with logistics from air and sea. This is all about pretty much to do about nothing.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/06/dems-tougher-on-iran-than-adve.html#comment-109094

Agree whole heartedly with you on this one Fry.

This is a whole lot of nothing. Political motivated. Or Iran would have been sabor rattling back by now.

Maybe Iran is more like Teddy Roosevelt
6/30/2008
Vice Adm. Cosgriff, the commander of the Fifth Fleet - responsible for naval operations in the Persian Gulf - made the remarks after Iran warned that it would not hesitate in taking all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests in case of an enemy offensive.

"When a country comes under attack, it naturally uses all its capacities to confront the enemy," said Major General Mohammad-Ali Jafari on Saturday in reference to the country's ability to cut oil supplies by closing the Strait of Hormuz.
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=62083§ionid=351020101

2 weeks ago the MSM was broadcasting Israel was staging to attack Iran. Now it is back to the US. Well one thing for certain who ever attacks Iran, we better hope they don't make the Straights of Hormuz impassable or gas will cost $10 a gallon.

Posted by: FryDaddy Author Profile Page | June 30, 2008 12:53 PM

Fry,

Anyone who doesn't think the Iranians would make the straights impassable would be looking through the rosiest color of glasses.

It reminds me of the climactic scene in Reservoir Dogs where everyone is pointing guns at one another. If you're going to be hit, why wouldn't you inflict max pain in return?

BHO is a little late to the party isn't he? But he has and out on this one, at the time he didn't vote on this issue. WOW now there is a surprise, BHO not present for voting.

http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/obama-criticizes-moveon.org-in-patriotism-speech-2008-06-30.html

Froomkin on Iran...he's a Hersh believer and has evidence of his own.

"With preemption evidently off the table, some have speculated that Cheney is trying to come up with alternate ways the U.S. can be drawn into a conflict with Iran. See, for instance, my Aug. 10, 2007, column, Cheney's Secret Escalation Plan?

Hersh writes: "The potential for escalation became clear in early January, when five Iranian patrol boats, believed to be under the command of the Revolutionary Guard, made a series of aggressive moves toward three Navy warships sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. . . .

"The crisis was quickly defused by Vice-Admiral Kevin Cosgriff, the commander of U.S. naval forces in the region. . . .

"Cosgriff's demeanor angered Cheney, according to the former senior intelligence official. But a lesson was learned in the incident: The public had supported the idea of retaliation, and was even asking why the U.S. didn't do more. The former official said that, a few weeks later, a meeting took place in the Vice-President's office. 'The subject was how to create a casus belli between Tehran and Washington,' he said"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/blog/2008/06/30/BL2008063000719.html

"he's a Gay, Muslim racist who was born in Africa and refuses to recite the Pledge of Allegiance."

Gordo is from Ohio? : )

Iran derives it wealth from oil. So cutting of their own source of wealth will cause a world crisis until other solution are found, but it is pure suicide, and a prime ignition point for a revolution by the citizen of Iran who dislike their leadership.

FryDaddy:

Drat! I failed to tune-in Imus this morning. Debra Dickerson is great every time she comes on with him. I will be sure to tune into one of the replays.

'The subject was how to create a casus belli between Tehran and Washington,'

At first I would think this could be another Gulf of Tonkin, but the events surrounding the Gulf of Tonkin incident were contrived. Here you have Iranian gunships on film acting in a menacing way, and any US naval ship can fire their weapons if they believe the threat is real. Remember the USS Cole DDG-67. Rubber rafts can sink a war ship, that lesson has not been forgotten.

Fry,

On the surface I agree but they can certainly flood the market with their oil before they cut off other supplies and in a fight, the person with the least to lose is often the most dangerous.

Anything we do will fuel their sense of Nationalism and if the mullah want to start the countdown to Armageddon, they know that Bush will be the willing foil. The Iranian people in general are very favorable towards the US. While I don't know numbers, I am sure that a lot of them have family here. I remember reading stories that while many people there don't see the need for nuclear energy, they don't like being told what to do by other countries.

The more I listen to Debra Dickerson the more I like her thinking. And yes I know she is a D and maybe even a bit Left of center, but this woman makes a lot of sense.

Here's a new Rasmussen poll that shows McCain losing lots of ground in Arizona:

http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/election_20082/2008_presidential_election/arizona/election_2008_arizona_presidential_election

Since May, his lead has slipped from 20 points to 9.

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=3467383

Not sure they can flood the market for 3 reasons. There is a world wide shortage of large tanker ships, they are pretty much at their max on out put, and Iran as most of the Middle East knows their days oil are coming to a end. There is only so much oil under than sand, once that is gone there is no more. Then the question will be, what do we do now for an economy? For that reason alone I can understand why they want to go nuclear power. The problem isn't that Iran wants to go nuclear, but who is governing the country at this time. I could be wrong about this, but are there any other countries that believe that allowing Iran to go nuclear is a good idea? I think the answer is NO ONE.

Ditto Fry and Ivy on Debra Dickerson. I've always liked her on Imus and a couple of other shows she's appeared on -- and when Fry posted that it made me google her bio...LOVE the fact she admits she was clueless as a young woman. I love it when people just lay it all out and say, what the hell?

Nick
Thanks for the "Two Faces and Forked Tongue" link earlier. It just cements what i feel about the Senator.

Fry,

Didn't remember that there was a tanker shortage but I thought that Iran had some type of pipeline running to Russia or somewhere in the Mediterranean. Is that real or in the planning stages?

This is candy for the Clintonians...

I'm posting it because she and I went to URI together...

http://www.mollylloyd.com/

""...Jack, where are you when we need you."

Flatus
is there some reason for this arrangement of thoughts.
I've seen my name put together with a lot of words but this is a new one. ;-)..."

Jack, of course there's a reason, it's because I'm in my dotage. I was thinking of Lard's new 'endeavor' and thought, with the derivation of skulduggery, it was the perfect to opportunity to...

In any case, mea culpa. Have you considered going partners with him? That would bail me out,

Ivy, what a wonderful story!

Sturg,

Grad school. Let her buy the books and you pay the tuition. You'll come out better. :)

Sitting here listening to Debra Dickerson's appearance on Imus this morning. Wonder if she would like joining us here.

More price pressure on corn.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/01/business/01crop.html

This is getting ugly quickly.

*Breaking* Kos Tampering with Obama Birth Certificate?

"The “seal,” sure enough, shows up on the first image — the one I was instructed to use in Greg’s e-mail. Not surprisingly, it looks like the attachment he sent:

BUT when the second jpg file — the one Polarik made from the original Kos story — is analyzed using the exact same application of the magic software, you guessed it…. there is NO SEAL:

Kos has some (more) explaining to do. Tampering with a birth certificate is a crime."

http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/06/30/breaking-kos-tampering-with-obama-birth-certificate/#more-418

"Si