W. Thomas Smith Jr., Jackass

W. Thomas Smith, Jr., October 28th, The Tank, National Review Online's military blog:

I've been to Iraq myself, twice, and with a U.S. Marine infantry battalion task force, a Marine Expeditionary Unit, Marine snipers, fire-team and squad-sized foot patrols, an Army cavalry unit, even British contractors (former Royal Marines, SAS, etc.) in the backcountry, in the tougher neighborhoods, on the dangerous main supply routes. Always operational. Always in action. Days — sometimes weeks — at a time with each unit.

And I would be hard-pressed to find one American Marine or soldier (or a Brit) who would say to me "it's not going well," and not because they were spinning anything for me, because they certainly griped about other things. Fact is, the overwhelming majority of the troops know it's going far better than what the papers and politicians like Dodd are reporting.

What a jackass. Must be Smith didn't see this. Or this. Or this. Or this.

Honestly, these guys are so delusional they don't even make it hard to put the lie to their arguments.

It depends on what the meaning of "most" is

During Sunday's Republican debate in Orlando, Mike Huckabee said that most of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were clergymen.

Umm, no.

ONE of the 56 signers of the Declaration was an active clergyman. John Witherspoon was a Presbyterian minister, and was President of the College of New Jersey, which is now Princeton University.

That's Witherspoon in the illustration at the top of this post. The illustration is from the New York Public Library.

So if by "most" Huckabee meant "almost none" then he's correct.

How many Republicans does it take to screw in a light bulb?

How many Republicans does is take to screw in a light bulb?

Answers:

1 -- 9/11! 9/11!

2 -- None. Since removing a light bulb requires a turn to the left, no Republican can accomplish it.

3 -- None. Republicans don't screw in light bulbs. They screw in airport men's rooms.

4 -- "In the interest of national security, we cannot confirm or deny any elements of our light bulb changing procedures, if in fact those procedures exist, but Joe Wilson's wife is a covert operative for the CIA. Next question..."

5 -- One. Bill Frist to look at a videotape of the old light bulb, and say, "I'm an electrician, and I can tell that the light bulb is not burned out. The light bulb is still on, and glowing, and can be saved."

6 -- None. Republicans don't believe in evolution. Without evolution, the light bulb hasn't been invented. If it ever is invented, it will be regarded as heresy for being contrary to God's natural light, and the inventor will be burned at the stake.

-----------------

24 (and counting):

1. One to deny that the light bulb needs to be changed.

2. One to attack the patriotism of anyone who says the light bulb needs to be changed.

3. One to blame Bill Clinton for being the one who REALLY burned out the light bulb.

4. One to tell the nations of the world that they are either with us or with the light bulb.

5. One to give a billion dollar no-bid/cost-plus light bulb replacement contract to Halliburton.

6. One to arrange a speech by Bush, dressed in a tight fitting janitor's jumpsuit, standing on a stepladder under the banner: "Light Bulb Change Accomplished."

7. One to announce that the ladder used to screw in the light bulb is now called the "freedom ladder".

8. One administration insider to resign and write a book documenting in detail how Bush was literally in the dark on the light bulb change.

9. One to viciously smear #8.

10. Mary Matalin to campaign on TV about how George Bush has ALWAYS had a strong light bulb changing policy and anyone who doesn't agree with it is un-American.

11. Joe Lieberman to lend aura of "bipartisanship" to Bush light bulb changing policy.

12. One to create tax breaks for the light bulb manufacturer that allow it to move its factory to China.

13. One to suggest that laid off American light bulb workers should be grateful for income derived from temporary jobs training Chinese replacements.

14. One to change the name of “light bulb” to “In God We Trust.”

15. One to create a Constitutional Amendment banning gays and lesbians from screwing in light bulbs.

16. One to promote the “trickle down light theory," which claims that when rich people own all the light, some of it will eventually reach the poor.

17. One to represent "Light Bulb Twisters for Truth" (the "Swift Bulbers") in ads arguing that Thomas Edison falsely claimed to be in his lab when the light bulb was invented, and that he is a cowardly traitor incapable of twisting, let alone inventing, a light bulb.

18. One Fox News "reporter" to say "you know, when he said 'I did not screw in that lightbulb', it reminded me of President Clinton saying 'I did not have sex with that woman."

19. Rush Limbaugh to bloviate that this proves that only a Republican is capable of changing a light bulb.

20. Pat Robertson to remind us that we must choose a Christian light bulb as a replacement.

21. One "reporter" from the New York Times to falsely claim that Al Gore said HE invented the light bulb.

22. One "reporter" from the Washington Post to abet number 21.

22. One to make TV talk show rounds with claim that light bulb did not burn out on its own, but was sabotaged by Al Gore to slow global warming - a clear act of terrorism placing Gore in league with Al Qaeda and Iraq AND Iran.

23. One to claim that ultra left wing liberals including Ted Kennedy and Chuck Schumer want to take away your Second Amendment right to own light bulbs.

24. One to claim that Hillary Clinton is "too polarizing" to lead America in establishing new light bulb changing policy.

What's Russian for "I know you are but what am I?"

The Russian government under Vladimir Putin has amassed so much central authority that the power-grab may undermine Moscow's commitment to democracy, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday.

"In any country, if you don't have countervailing institutions, the power of any one president is problematic for democratic development," Rice told reporters after meeting with human-rights activists.

"I think there is too much concentration of power in the Kremlin. I have told the Russians that. Everybody has doubts about the full independence of the judiciary. There are clearly questions about the independence of the electronic media and there are, I think, questions about the strength of the Duma," said Rice, referring to the Russian parliament.

Apparently Rice's education and background didn't equip her with a sense of irony.

Look at the Bush administration in which she is a key player:

All powerful executive? Check.

Weak legislature that can't or won't exercise oversight or prevent the administration's illegalities and excesses? Check.

Undermined judiciary and justice system? Check.

Pro War? Republican? Why aren't you in uniform?

Here's the headline from Doug Bennett's blog. The story is about himself:

Former Nantucket Selectman and County Commissioner seen emerging as a central player for the Massachusetts Republicans.

Here's the illustration:



Are you fucking kidding me?

For those who don't know, here's the original poster:



Here's the history of the "I Want You" poster:

Over four million copies were printed between 1917 and 1918, as the United States entered World War I and began sending troops and matériel into war zones.

James Montgomery Flagg (1877-1960) contributed forty-six works to support the war effort (World War I). He was a member of the first Civilian Preparedness Committee organized in New York in 1917 and chaired by Grosvenor Clarkson. He also served as a member of Charles Dana Gibson's Committee of Pictorial Publicity, which was organized under the federal government's Committee on Public Information, headed by George Creel.

Because of its overwhelming popularity, the image was later adapted for use in World War II. Upon presenting President Franklin Delano Roosevelt a copy of the poster, Flagg remarked that he had been his own model for Uncle Sam to save the modeling fee. Roosevelt was impressed and replied: "I congratulate you on your resourcefulness in saving model hire. Your method suggests Yankee forebears."

How dare Republicans who are pro war but won't serve in the military use icons like these for partisan politics.

Enlist, you chickenhawk.

Bush administration compromises national security AGAIN

A small private intelligence company that monitors Islamic terrorist groups obtained a new Osama bin Laden video ahead of its official release last month, and around 10 a.m. on Sept. 7, it notified the Bush administration of its secret acquisition. It gave two senior officials access on the condition that the officials not reveal they had it until the al-Qaeda release. [...]

Around 10 a.m. on Sept. 7, Katz sent both Leiter and Fielding an e-mail with a link to a private SITE Web page containing the video and an English transcript. "Please understand the necessity for secrecy," Katz wrote in her e-mail. "We ask you not to distribute . . . [as] it could harm our investigations."

By midafternoon, several television news networks reported obtaining copies of the transcript. A copy posted around 3 p.m. on Fox News's Web site referred to SITE and included page markers identical to those used by the group. "This confirms that the U.S. government was responsible for the leak of this document," Katz wrote in an e-mail to Leiter at 5 p.m.

Unbelievable. I defy ANYONE to explain to me why Republicans are considered "strong" on national security and terrorism. There's NOTHING they won't politicize, and there's nothing meaningful they WILL keep secret. The only things these guys are good at are lying and stealing and the only secrets they can keep are the ones related to their crimes and ineptitude.

Don Surber -- high, insane, or stupid?

Don Surber, October 1, 2007

"Americans hate that kind of politics of personal destruction that Democrats have indulged in since Bill Clinton took office."

High, insane or stupid?

I suggest Surber do some reading and some DVD/video watching:

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

Here.

And the most recent example -- Rush Limbaugh, noted conservative and Republican radio talk show host, referring to military members critical of the Bush administration as "phony soldiers."

I think it's clear who's engaging in the politics of personal destruction, and it's not Democrats.