BruceR (thankfully back from hiatus) has seen the Stephen Hayes Daily Show interview, and was not impressed:
Just wanted to say while I was writing yesterday, I saw Stephen Hayes' appalling appearance on the Daily Show, where he actually denied Iran had used chemical weapons in the Iran-Iraq War, because it suited his argument that Saddam was uniquely evil. Stewart was visibly flabbergasted. I submit that anyone willing to obscure fact that badly in public probably shouldn't be trusted on any analysis of some "Saddam-Al Qaeda connection." And it's truly disgusting that a comedy show host knows his history better than the Weekly Standard's supposed expert on the subject.
I haven't seen this Daily Show yet (my version of Comedy Central seems to only run re-runs of MAD TV, now entering its tenth consecutive season without a laugh), but it doesn't suprise me. Stephen Hayes says whatever Doug Feith tells him to say, and Doug Feith is an incompetent, dishonest, rigidly ideological fool. Nonetheless, expect his book on how Osama and Saddam were basically the same person to be treated with implict credulity by all the usual suspects. I'd like to get a list of everyone who buys this book so I can telemarket them non-existent Florida real estate and hypersonic centaur repellent and Godzilla insurance and magic money machines and authentic reproduction Papal dispensations and whatever other shit I make up, because they clearly are willing to believe anything. Lookin' good costs, baby. I gotta bite off my piece.
More than a dozen lawmakers attended a congressional reception this year honoring the Rev. Sun Myung Moon in which Moon declared himself the Messiah and said his teachings have helped Hitler and Stalin be "reborn as new persons."At the March 23 ceremony in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Rep. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) wore white gloves and carried a pillow holding an ornate crown that was placed on Moon's head. The Korean-born businessman and religious leader then delivered a long speech saying he was "sent to Earth . . . to save the world's six billion people. . . . Emperors, kings and presidents . . . have declared to all Heaven and Earth that Reverend Sun Myung Moon is none other than humanity's Savior, Messiah, Returning Lord and True Parent."
Details of the ceremony -- first reported by Salon.com writer John Gorenfeld -- have prompted several lawmakers to say they were misled or duped by organizers. Their complaints prompted a Moon-affiliated Web site to remove a video of the "Crown of Peace" ceremony two days ago, but other Web sites have preserved details and photos.
Here's one such site.
This story is just so unreal. Is there some place where we can get a guest list for this thing, to see just who all went to this thing? It's nice that this is finally getting some legitimate media exposure.
Ogged asks:
Maybe someone more familiar than I with the infinite nuance of baseball can explain: Just how would the people proposing that intentional walks be banned police intentional, but not obvious, walks?
Brad DeLong offers:
It's easy. A 4-0 count walk becomes a two-base walk, not a one-base walk. That should do it.
Or, how about this: kick Barry Bonds out of baseball for using steroids, and then just go back to playing regular old baseball for genetic humans? This whole conversation is making baby Ken Burns cry.
Optionally, use this as an opportunity to bring in this entire package of new rules, which will upgrade your grandpappy's boring old "baseball" to new "Mountain Dew Presents X-Ball X-Treme 3000 2.0 - It's Baseball ... To The X-TREME!!!!":
1. Every pitch which isn't a strike is a homerun. The fans love homeruns.
2. The perimeter of the infield will be defined by boxing ring ropes. All players will be required to wear Mexican wrestling masks and tights, and play under cool names like "The Mysterious Shadow" and "Johnny X. Outlaw", or as exaggerated ethnic stereotypes.
3. Rather than simply running the bases to score, baserunners will be required to: BMX bike from home to first; razor scooter-scoot from first to third; snowboard from second to third; and roller-derby from third to home against hostile professional lady roller derby-ers. Upon reaching home plate, runners will have to shimmy up a telephone pole, saw through the top, and then base-jump back to the ground, all before a special celebrity guest can answer 5 trivia questions posed by Regis Philbin.
4. Also, at each base, runners will be required to perform an radi-kewl slam dunk.
5. Bikini girl umpires.
This should solve all of baseball's many problems.
WASHINGTON, June 22 - President Bush has authorized a team of American negotiators to offer North Korea, in talks in Beijing on Thursday, a new but highly conditional set of incentives to give up its nuclear weapons programs the way Libya did late last year, according to senior administration officials.The proposal would be the first significant, detailed overture to North Korea since Mr. Bush took office three years ago.
Under the plan, outlined by American officials on Tuesday evening, in response to pressure from China and American allies in Asia, the aid would begin flowing immediately after a commitment by Kim Jong Il, the North Korean leader, to dismantle his plutonium and uranium weapons programs. In return, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea would immediately begin sending tens of thousands of tons of heavy fuel oil every month, and Washington would offer a "provisional'' guarantee not to invade the country or seek to topple Mr. Kim's government.
Good thing we didn't do this three years ago! That would have been appeasement! Now, however, no one can accuse the Bush Administration of submitting to blackmail, because the North Koreans are going to look at this offer for a few weeks, gaze lovingly at their growing nuclear arsenal, review what folks are offering them to sign on to the Nuke-of-the-Month Club, and tell us to go fuck ourselves. They will do this because they can, and because there's nothing we can really do about it. And we'll come back with more, and they'll do it again, and around and around we'll go, until we finally agree to whatever they want, at which point they won't honor the agreement anyway, because they're North Korea. Eventually Dear Leader decides to ask downtown Tokyo how much it is willing to pay for catastrophic nuclear bomb insurance, and the world economy tanks. We lose New York, maybe Washington, DC, to nuclear terrorists ("I dunno where they got them from!"), and maybe LA, SF and Seattle to North Korean warning shots.
That's the way bad scenario. The way good scenario is this: they only tell us to go fuck ourselves a little bit, because buyers are nervous about getting caught with North Korean nukes, and so we get some kind of reasonable deal in some reasonable timeframe. And the North Koreans still aren't trustworthy, but they agree to some kind of verification program because they are very, very hungry by now. So, with a bit of luck, we end up exactly where we were under the failed Clinton policy of appeasement, except that North Korea has perhaps a dozen warheads at this point, and, because their deterrance is essentially impregnable, we're paying more than we ever would have had we made this deal three years ago, or had the Congress allowed the country to honor the Clinton deal (further proof that, however much one tries to admire John McCain, one can't ever avoid the fact that he's insane). We then pray long and hard that the regime never, ever falls, because then it's going to be a free-for-all.
This is so much of a piece with the Bush approach to Iraq. Well, everything, really, but especially Iraq. Bull-headed right-wing ideology replaces actual policy - fuck the UN; the CPA will be managed by unqualified but connected 25-year-old Heritage Foundation wannabes, Ahmad Chalabi is just like George Washington, blah blah blah. And then, when it predictably goes to hell, we do what we should have done in the first place, except that by now it's too late. And then try to bluff your way out of the political mess.
Worst. President. Ever.
There were a lot of worthy candidates, but, in the end, I had to go with this:
I love how the comments on this page do nothing more than bash what Kaye Grogan is wearing and how she uses her punctuation, because they are composed by people who can only write trash because of a lack of evidence, fact, decency, respect, and common sense…ooops, did I just over use commas? As an actor, I am surrounded by the most corrupt, hypocritical, soulless and ignorant industry/people on the face of the earth, and they truly try to appeal to the lowest common denominator. It really would do some good if you would stop and understand that a country without morals, low taxes, a minimal government, God, respect for life in the womb, tough laws on crime, common sense, etc., will never stand, and I guarantee that if you could have things the way you say you want things to be, you would be the first ones to complain.I sincerely thank you for your time, and I do hope you post this, but that’s unlikely due to the one sidedness that seems to follow the type of thinking that is on this page.
Sincerely,
Michael Hibler
Why did I choose this one? Well, firstly, because he asked nicely. Secondly, because he's an actor, and I have always been fascinated by the inner life of actors. But mostly, it's because of sincerity.
Sincerity is important. I've been reading a lot of troll comments recently, and ... well, to be blunt, I'm sceptical. ALL CAPS, cute spelling and grammar mistakes spinkled in, strange, meandering sentence structure, and oh! that profanity - it's all just a little too perfect, if you see what I mean. A little too cut-and-dried, a little too stereotypical wingnut. I'm not saying anyone's doing anything sneaky; I'm just saying. I want to see a real personality come through; not just some kind of Adam Sandler "I'm Crazy Right-Wing Troll Man!" shaggy dog shit. I want you to sell me on you as you, and not just as another angry, potty-mouthed troll. You owe it to me, you owe it to the readers, you owe it to the internet; but most of all, you owe it to yourself.
WASHINGTON -- The Associated Press sued the Pentagon and the Air Force on Tuesday, seeking access to all records of George W. Bush's military service during the Vietnam War.Filed in federal court in New York, where The AP is headquartered, the lawsuit seeks access to a copy of Bush's microfilmed personnel file from the Texas State Library and Archives Commission in Austin.
The White House says the government has already released all the records of Bush's military service.
Controversy surrounds Bush's time in the Texas Air National Guard because it is unclear from the record what duties he performed for the military when he was working on the political campaign of a U.S. Senate candidate in Alabama.
About time.
They (whoever they are, in this case) have beheaded Kim Sun-il, the Korean captive in Iraq, on video. This is in addition to the extensively photographed beheading of Paul Johnson a few days ago, and the videotaped beheading of Nick Berg last month. Additionally, the recent beheading (untaped, apparently) of an Afghan interpreter and soldier has been answered by the beheading of four Taliban soldiers.
Beheading prisoners of war (and civilians - we weren't always so particular about these things) is probably as old as war. It is disgusting, and it leaves behind a grisly trophy, which can be used to intimidate, or to demonstrate one's power. In medieval Europe, the head would be placed on a pike. During the French Revolution, the heads of recently-guillotined political prisoners were held up in front of cheering crowds. The videotaped beheading of Russian soldiers was apparently quite common in Chechnya. It's now used in Iraq.
My point is that there's a huge propaganda component to beheading, and cheap video technology extends the effective reach of this propaganda immeasurably. These aren't spontaneous acts, and the video is not a candid look inside anything; they are calculated to send a message to friends and enemies - we are strong, we are brutal, be afraid, be horrified, be angry. The videos are terrorist propaganda, purely. That these videos may serve other people's propaganda purposes as well does not change this fact at all, and should be cause for some serious reflection.
Found while perusing the Instapundit blogroll. Ladies and gentlemen, Kim de Toit:
I don't give a flying fuck if non-terrorist Arabs are offended by the term "raghead".And the reason I don't care is because as far as I'm concerned, by their silence they are all complicit in the crimes committed by Al Qa'eda, Hezbollah, Al-Aqsa and all the other little merrimakers. ...
I'm sick of this "religion of peace" propaganda -- it's not only a misspeaking of Islam, it's a flat-out fucking lie.
Anyway, invective is part of this website. Ragheads, John Fuckface Kerry, Charles Barron = racist cocksucker: you name the societal excrescence, I have a vitriolic insult for it. ...
On this site I'll call a spade a spade, a Democrat a goddamn Commie (especially in situations where, for instance, Jimmy Moron Carter gives Fidel Castro a blowjob), and anyone who supports Islamic terrorism whether overtly or covertly, is a fucking raghead.
Some other chestnuts here. Delink! Condemn! Double standards! Hypocrisy!
Spencer Ackerman at Talking Points Memo has been interviewing Anonymous, who has branched out from a very successful career in poetry, bon mots, and alcoholism to enter the crowded field of insiders writing books on how jacked up our foreign policy is. There's a lot to comment on, especially from this post, where Anonymous outlines his either/or strategy for fighting terrorism. Before that, we need to say what it is we are fighting for, and what we aren't:
Continue reading "Anonymous"WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush has turned back years of U.S. efforts to stem the spread of nuclear weapons and has made the world a more dangerous place, one of the Senate's leading liberals said on Tuesday. Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, called the last four years of nuclear policy under Bush "a constant flirtation with nuclear disaster" that has rejected a "half century of success" in nuclear deterrence and steps toward disarmament.In a speech to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Kennedy faulted the Republican president for "encouraging new arms races, neglecting arms control and ignoring the truly threatening nuclear weapons developments in North Korea and Iran and the loose materials that could be readily available to terrorists."
You are correct, sir.
The 9/11 Commission report looks to be a black eye for the Administration, so their media lackies are not going to take the truth lying down. There appears to be a two-pronged approach:
1) The Big Lie - The Moonie news, UPI and the Washington Times, are today running with the scoop that Saddam was so behind 9/11, based on the fact that some guy in Saddam's Fedayeen has the same name as a guy who helped plan 9/11. This appears to all come from Stephen Hayes (the Oracle of Feith) of the Weekly Standard in his new book "The Connection", which shows how Saddam and al-Qaeda are all linked to Christopher Lydon, using the magical secret intelligence available only to him and Dick Cheney. William Safire remains convinced that Osama and Saddam piloted the jets that crashed into the WTC, escaping only due to the personal intervention of Bill Clinton. It is critically important to keep The Big Lie out there, because if the 69% of Americans who believe this stuff begin to doubt that "you can't distinguish between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein when you talk about the war on terror", God's choosen President is in for a very unhappy November. These are the people who are constantly getting amazing "scoops" on our discovery of WMD, so they clearly haven't much shame.
2) It depends On What The Meaning Of "Is" Is - Media Research Center is pushing an alternate line, which is that the 9/11 Commission did not contradict the Administration when it said that there was never any collaborative relationship between Saddam and Osama. This is similiar to the "they never said imminent!" word-lawyering diversion, which clothed the emperor very effectively over the last year. Commission chair Thomas Kean seems content to make nice with the Bushies over this right now, so we should be hearing this one for some time:
But Mr. Kean said that conclusion, made public last week, did not put the commission at odds with the Bush administration's contention that links existed between the terrorist group Al Qaeda and Iraq.In an interview on the ABC News program "This Week," Mr. Kean said, "All of us understand that when you begin to use words like `relationship' and `ties' and `connections' and `contacts,' everybody has a little different definition with regard to those statements."
All of which is true - words can have many different meanings, and the Commission didn't rule out any Saddam-al Qaeda relationship (we are all part of a universal absolute, after all), just any sort of relationship which might justify an otherwise unjustified war. The sort of relationship, in other words, which the Administration and its friends pushed and still push relentlessly, all the while denying they ever said any such thing.
"Hair Plugs The Monkey Is Making Sense" - A wild monkey hosts his own news show, from a special studio in the jungle. Superstar guests from the worlds of entertainment, politics, and sport are invited on to have feces flung at them. Dennis Miller, in a pair of oversized red diapers, is leashed to the monkey's desk, and is forced to do acrobatic tricks during slow spots. To be followed by "The Kaye Grogan Variety Hour".
A twofer, from SEAN:
THE FUNNY THING ABOUT LIBERALS IS THEY LOVE TO CALL PEOPLE NAMES WHEN THEY GET BACKED INTO A CORNER. LIBERALS NEED TO BE DESTROYRF JUST LIKE THE TALIBAN. THOMAS JEFFERSON IS ROLLING AROUND IN HIS GRAVE BECAUSE OF LIBERALS. OH BUT LIBERALS DON'T CARE CAUSE HE HAD SLAVES.
Later:
ANOTHER THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SAID THEY ARE TIRED OF PEOPLE HIDING BEHIND THE TERM LIBERTARIAN. I AM TIRED OF PEOPLE HIDING BEHIND THE TERM DEMOCRAT WHEN YOU TRULY ARE A SOCIALIST. JUST TRY ONE THING ON FOR SIZE FREEDOM FREEDOM FREEDOM FREEDOM FREEDOM FREEDOM FREEDOM AND I AM GOING TO DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO MAKE SURE YOU WHO DOES NOT LIKE FREEDOM, ONLY WHEN IT SUITS YOU, THAT YOU DO NOT CONTINUE TO TAKE MY FREEDOM WHICH IS ENDOWED ON ME BY MY CREATOR AWAY.
I'm watching the Dennis Miller Show on CNBC. He has a comedy monkey.
I'm going to try and watch the whole thing.
[UPDATE: He uses the monkey a lot.]
[UPDATE 2: He just did the "white guy talks gangsta rap" routine.]
[UPDATE 3: Oh, for God's sake! Dennis Miller just made a joke about people who get chest hair implants. Dennis Miller's hair plugs are the stuff of legend, and the man is cracking completely un-ironic jokes about hair transplants.]
[UPDATE 4: David Brooks is on. Is my cable connection fucked up? Am I picking up programming directly from Hell?]
[UPDATE 4.5: I forgot to mention this before, but Miller made a joke about lesbian dentists (noting that they were just mad because they never got "drilled"), and then stood up and took a stage bow. Brooks was gaping with awe at Miller's rapier wit.]
[UPDATE 5: They are talking about the middle class, and how swell Cosco is. I like hearing millionaires validate my life like this, talking about the shopping habits of suburbians and saying "hey, it's not so bad!" The suburbs ain't so bad! Thank you both for defending me from that mean John Cheever novel. Dicks.]
[UPDATE 6: Dennis Miller is happy that the 9/11 Commission report proves that Bush was right all along. Brooks notes that some people have forgotten that there is a war going on. Hmmm. I hadn't thought of that.]
[UPDATE 7: Miller informs me that terrorists want to kill liberals AND conservatives, so we should all get behind Bush. Interesting. I may need to reëvaluate a few hasty and intemperate statements I have made recently.]
[UPDATE 8: Those Ukranian boxing brothers, the Klitchkows (something like that) are on. One of them won the heavyweight title, of which there are about 16. Winning the heavyweight title is like this Legend of Zelda quest, where you have to travel all over the world to collect the 2,000 segments of the Great Mystical Talisman of Vrockthar in order to do whatever the hell your supposed to be doing, save the world or fulfill the prophecy or some shit. I realize that this was a very dorky reference to make, but at least I don't have hair plugs.]
[UPDATE 9: I could take Miller, one-on-one. He's a big man, but he's slow, to paraphrase Michael Caine.]
[UPDATE 10: Oh, God. There's a whole hour of this? Fuck that. You watch it, if you're so great. I'm done.]
Transcript of The Editors' regular Saturday-night poker game with Dick Cheney, 6/19/04. Start tape at 12:32 AM.
The Editors: We'll take three cards.
Dick Cheney: Give me one.
Sounds of cards being placed down, dealt, retrieved, and rearranged in hand. Non-commital noises, puffing of cigars.
Continue reading "Poker With Dick Cheney"The Harris Poll conducted immediately before the news that the 9/11 Commission found no credible evidence that Saddam Hussein supported Al Qaeda finds that more than two-thirds of the public believe that he did so.When the United States and its allies invaded Iraq, President Bush enjoyed the overwhelming support of the great majority of the American people. One reason was that most people believed that Saddam Hussein had chemical and/or biological weapons and was developing nuclear weapons – claims that have not been substantiated by any discoveries of such weapons. Another important factor was the belief that Saddam Hussein had supported Al Qaeda, who, of course, had planned and committed the terrorist attacks on the country on 9/11.
The latest Harris Poll finds that more than a year after the invasion, a large 69% majority of the public still believes that Saddam Hussein had been supporting Al Qaeda. Only 22% believe that he did not support them, even though no clear evidence has been found that he was. And in all our surveys on the subject, most recently in May, a majority of the public has also believed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
