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 Pre-Inaugural gloat special
12/19/08 10:16:51
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Throughout the course of the campaign I made no secret of my displeasure with certain members of the left-wing blogosphere. While falling head-over-heels in love with Barack Obama, many decided that supporting his candidacy was, by definition, a zero-sum game.
Now, it’s all well and good to zealously support a candidate for office. What’s unacceptable is that while doing so you fall into the trap of engaging in the spreading of sleazy smears.
I was immensely saddened when I read what was being written at Americablog and Daily Kos about Hillary Clinton and then Sarah Palin. Disagreeing with their positions is one thing. Engaging in coarse conspiracy theory peddling is not. It was unforgivable that diarists and commenters revived the right-wing Area 51 Vince Foster suicide "coverup" to cast aspersions on Hillary and peddle base and heartless conspiracy theories about Sarah Palin’s last pregnancy. For months and months, these sexist and revolting posts flourised across lefto blogsylvania.
So I have to say I’m thoroughly enjoying the gnashing of teeth over Obama’s announcement that Rick Warren will provide the invocation at Obama’s inauguration. The ensuing outrage is reminiscent of children reacting to finding out there’s no Santa Claus or Easter Bunny.
This whole mess is not surprising to those of us who tried to encourage some of Obama’s more, shall we say, over-the-top supporters, who wrote and spoke about his as though he had been born in a manger in Bethlehem, to be more circumspect. Obama is a politician. He does what he does for the reason other politicians do what they do.
If the lefto community is upset now, well, more disappointments are bound to follow after Obama takes the oath, not because Obama is evil or incompetent, but because he is about to ascend to the most powerful position in the world. Compromise will be a necessity. Many will feel betrayed. Absurdly high expectations will not be met. But those who are weeping and wailing had it coming.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Whither Blogo
12/10/08 13:24:11
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It’s hard to imagine what must be going through Blagojevich’s mind right now. After all, the man is clearly a delusional sociopath. But he’s out on bail and still the governor, so this is what I’d avise him to do:
Governor, let’s face it. You’re finished. You were worried that you were about to be impeached? Well, guess what. You’re headed for the big house. So why not go out with a bang? Go out Hot Rod style.
I think you should name the person you hate the most, preferably one of your former associates who ran like a bitch and turned state’s witness against you, and appoint them to the Senate seat. You have to move quickly, though, before the legislature votes to strip you of your power to do so.
Think about all the upsides. The person you name would have to plead his/her innocence and convince the press that the appointment didn’t come about as the result of a bribe. The legislature would either have to "suck it up", to coin a colorful phrase used by one of your advisors, or they’d have to pry that person out of the seat in a publicly embarrassing way. You’d tie everyone up in knots trying to figure out whether the appointment was legitimate or not. That would eat up some time and keep your name in circulation. Plus if you did it for no remuneration, well, then you look like you learned your lesson. The press, the FBI and Fitzgerald would be stunned at your hubris, but think of how much fun it would be to see the look on their faces.
And most of all, you’ve got to outrun your Chief of Staff before he turns state’s witness against you.
So here’s your To Do list for today:
Call your lawyer (have you contacted Billy Martin yet? You really, really should).
Announce the appointment.
Call Fitzgerald’s office and rat out as many people as you can.
Then sit back and watch the show. You greedy, stupid, low-class, devious, shameful mother*bleep*er.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Illinois Governor nailed
12/9/08 10:36:39
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Governor Blagojevich and his chief of staff have been arrested as the result of a probe into behavior so egregiously stupid and greedy that it rises to the level of Louisiana’s corruption. Details here.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Aaarrgghh
12/3/08 09:30:03
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Confession: I’m lovin’ me some Somali pirate stories, boy.
I’m just fascinated that a ragtag group of dudes in a canoe brandishing weapons that, in many cases, can be purchased in many Third World country open-air markets can put their entrepreneurial skills to work by hijacking cargo vessels. And if they’re shaking the Saudis down for money to release their tanker, well, where’s the harm? It couldn’t have happened to a nicer bunch of people.
So yes, it’s true that this ransom money is probably going to pay for some unsavory things. God knows where that money goes once it exchanges hands, and all that Somalia needs is to escalate financing to ratchet up their fuckedupness. But you’ve got to love these so-called "security experts" getting punked by these pirates, who demonstrate that even the real-life equivalent of Dr. Evil’s Alan Parsons Project can’t thwart a bunch of determined guys in a dinghy:
Last week, Salon spoke with Nick Davis, a former British Army pilot, who now heads a firm that addresses piracy by non-lethal means. Davis, founder and CEO of the U.K.-based Anti-Piracy Maritime Security Solutions (APMSS), argues that the Somali pirates are far less aggressive than their image in the media would suggest, and that the best way to counteract them is via high-tech audio, not guns. Recent events, however, may undermine Davis’ business plan: On Nov. 28, three days after this interview, and after Davis insisted the non-lethal strategy was effective, a three-man crew from his firm had to jump into the ocean to escape from pirates who had overwhelmed a tanker they had been hired to protect. Davis’ team was rescued by a German naval helicopter; the tanker’s crew of 25 was still being held hostage at press time.
And for those of you who have been asking yourselves the obvious question, the answer is yes, it really is that easy to make a lot of money on the high seas:
"All you need is a boat and three guys, and already you’re a millionaire," grumbles a former officer in the now long-defunct Somali navy.
See, this is the thing. While it’s necessary to remain vigilant when it comes to nuclear and/or biological threats, it’s hard not to notice that the greatest challenges to international commerce and domestic tranquility from the Gulf of Aden to Mumbai come from a bunch of fairly unsophisticated guys with AK-47s, GPS devices and dinghys. I don’t think I’m oversimplifying. You just don’t need an underground lair or a room full of evil computer geniuses, a la 24, to scare the shit out of lots of people and command the attention of the world’s media.
And finally, an amusing postscript:
Somali pirates have freed without a ransom a Yemeni cargo ship captured last week, a Somali official says.
The MV Amani has left the northern Somali pirate stronghold of Eyl bound for Yemen, said Ali Abdi Aware, a minister in breakaway Puntland region....
The Yemeni vessel was freed on Tuesday night after talks between regional authorities, clan elders and the gunmen, Ali Abdi Aware said.
He told Reuters news agency: "The ship was released after long discussions."
"The crew are safe and no ransom was paid."
Mmmhmmm..."discussions". Those "discussions" must have been a humdinger.
A captured captain’s perspective. "All they want is qat and money".
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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’I Did Not Compromise My Principles’
12/1/08 12:47:42
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Instead of being chased around the village with pitchforks and torches and driven out of town like a poisoned dog, George W. Bush is giving interviews from the comfort of what soon will mercifully be his former place of residence. Pull quotes:
- I think I was unprepared for war
- I wish the intelligence had been different, I guess
- One of the things about the presidency is you deal with a lot of tragedy -- whether it be hurricanes, or tornadoes, or fires or death -- and you spend time being the comforter-in-chief," Bush said. "But the idea of being able to serve a nation you love is -- has been joyful. In other words, my spirits have never been down. I have been sad, but the spirits are up.
- 9/11 unified the country, and that was a moment where Washington decided to work together," he said. "I think one of the big disappointments of the presidency has been the fact that the tone in Washington got worse, not better
- I’m going to have a lot of time to think
Bush made the following terrifying offer to Barack Obama:
"One of my parting words to him will be: ’If I can help you, let me know,’" Bush said.
And my personal favorite. Clearly not even the President of the United States has any idea of what’s in the PATRIOT Act:
"I firmly believe that the immigration debate really didn’t show the true nature of America as a welcoming society," he said. "I fully understand we need to enforce law and enforce borders. But the debate took on a tone that undermined the true greatness of America, which is that we welcome people who want to work hard and support their families."
I’ll be writing more on this later, but let’s just say that the man has a lot of gall making a statement like this. A LOT of gall.
And let’s close with the following quote from a sad, delusional woman:
As they prepare to say goodbye to the White House, the first lady said she thinks the country is thankful for her husband’s leadership.
"I think they think he’s somebody that kept them safe for eight years," she said. "And I hear that all the time, people thanking me, telling me to thank him."
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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Another country heard from - unfortunately
12/1/08 07:55:20
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Much is being made in the Pakistani media about former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark’s upcoming trip to that country to show his support for the lawyers’ movement to reinstate deposed Chief Justice Iftakhar Chaudhry, who was shown the door and arrested by then-"President" Pervez Musharraf.
All I can say is Katie bar the door (or Zardari bar the door?).
Ramsey Clark, who is being described as "key international figure", is, not to put too fine a point on it, a disgrace, an apologist for some of the most murderous thugs in modern history. Behold his list of "notable clients". He is also responsible for co-founding the useless anti-war group A.N.S.W.E.R., a circus-like rent-a-mob that has managed to serve one function: to become an umbrella organization allowing every grudge-holder on the earth to gather and air their grievances, 99% of which have nothing whatsoever to do with the war.
With all due respect to the pro-Palestinian, Free Mumia, anti-vivisection and animal rights activists, there’s a time and place for everything. An anti-war demonstration is not one of those places.
Back to the egregious Ramsey Clark. An "international figure" he may be, but to suggest that his presence in Pakistan will in any way help the lawyer’s movement is delusional. He is a discredited apologist for war criminals. He disgraces the brave Pakistanis who took to the streets to protest the outrages perpetrated by Musharraf against his opponents.
Then again, maybe Clark is trawling for more ousted dictators to add to his illustrious "notable clients" list.
Dc Media Girl Permalink
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