Tuesday, December 02, 2014

He likes to spend


BULLY BOY PRESS &    CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O CAN'T CREATE JOBS.

HE CAN'T FIX THE ECONOMY.

BUT HE CAN SPEND!

HE CAN SPEND AND SPEND AND SPEND!

IN HIS TERMS SO FAR, HE'S INCREASED U.S. DEBT BY OVER 70%!

REACHED FOR COMMENT, BARRY O TOLD THESE REPORTERS, "YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY, GO BIG OR GO HOME!  GO BULLS! OR WHATEVER SPORT PEOPLE WATCH THIS TIME OF YEAR!"

FROM THE TCI WIRE:



Let's start in the US where two people don't have a grip on the facts: Jason Ditz and Medea Benjamin.

Jason Ditz (Antiwar.com) argues the US focus keeps shifting with regards to the Islamic State.

That's a solid observation.

This isn't:


At the start of the war, Mount Sinjar was the clear focus, and the conflict was even couched as a humanitarian intervention specifically for the refugees there. When the refugee situation turned out to be dramatically overstated, the focus shifted toward ISIS in Iraqi Kurdistan and then Syria.

Mount Sinjar?

Never solved.  Yazidis are still held hostage -- at last count, it was 400 families.

The US didn't rescue anyone.  Those who were rescued by the Peshmerga (elite Kurdish force).

In October, Susan Rice went on Meet The Press.  Pressed to cite a 'success' for the White House in Iraq, she declared it was the rescue of the hostages on Mount Sinjar.

Less than 36 hours later, it was revealed that thousands of Yazidis remained hostages on Mount Sinjar.

Antiwar.com could have run with that.

Except it's the home of the pig-headed male.

I am not 100% right.

I'm wrong often.

When I am, I say so.

The head of Antiwar.com, Justin Raimondo, decided to mock the Yazidis and their plight.

And that became the default position of Antiwar.com.

We pointed out here that nothing was going to be accomplished by Raimondo's nonsense except turning people off to what was being dubbed an "isolationist" position.  The American press wanted more war and was already ridiculing and admonishing those of us against more war on Iraq.

And then comes Justin playing into every stereotype of Ugly American.

Children are being terrorized -- as were adults -- and Justin's mocking it.

Nothing did more damage to the position of 'antiwar' than Justin's bulls**t.

He wanted to stop further war?

Well his ridicule of those suffering wasn't the way to do it.

For those making up their minds and those with a stance that was weak, the response to Justin's mocking of the suffering of the Yazidis was to recoil in disgust.

He did real damage to the 'antiwar' group.  (I belong to the peace movement.)

Justin staked out a position and he's too pigheaded, even now, to admit he was wrong.

This attitude?  It's not antiwar.

It's exactly why the world has so many wars.

People stake out a position and refuse to modify it or to admit they were wrong.

Justin can pretend to be antiwar all he wants but the reality is his mocking of the Yazidis did real damage.

Jason Ditz could probably write the truth, but this is Jason who praised Nouri al-Maliki, remember?

The thug and War Criminal was hero worshiped by Scott Horton (dee jay, not Harper's writer and college professor) and when Jason was a guest on the show, he'd join in on the grooviness of Nouri.

Even though Ned Parker had already exposed the torture chambers Nouri was running, even though Nouri had already launched a witch hunt on Iraqi's LGBT community and much more.

Let's move over to Medea Benjamin.  At the Guardian, she has a column noting the press' inability to question the war claims of the White House.  That's a good topic.  It's one we cover repeatedly.  Medea points out how fear was used to frighten people -- yeah, we covered that months ago.  Thanks for catching up, Medea.

We've also been covering the killing of civilians in the US-led air bombing campaign.

We've noted the inability of the western media to cover those deaths and how, if they were being covered, some of the public support for the bombings -- support in the US -- would erode.  So by all means, Medea, please work your way over to that part of the topic real soon.

Medea writes:

Day after day, night after night, the press relied on propaganda from both Isis and the US government to whip up fear and a thirst for revenge in the American public. Gruesome beheading videos distributed by Isis were played over and over. The media not only regurgitated official US messages but packaged them better than the government itself ever could. 

What is she saying, what does she mean?

We've covered this.

The US press did not cover all the beheadings.  They only cared about Americans and the first death horrified them because of their own huge egos and vanity run amok.


Once upon a time, when the press was supposed to strive for objectivity and to be impartial, there were questions about women reporters and abortion.  Could women cover the topic and be impartial?

Regardless of what camp you fall into on that question (I don't think most people impartial on the topic -- I'm firmly pro-choice), the reality is the press is not impartial.

Steven Sotloff and James Foley got attention -- got round the clock attention -- from the US media because they were reporters.

You did not, as a news consumer, get coverage of those beheadings.

You got obsessive cries from a self-interested group that doesn't give a damn when it's an aid worker beheaded by the Islamic State.

We made that comment in real time, we were correct as demonstrated by the deaths that followed and the lack of media coverage of them.

The press loves war, no question.

But the beheadings resulted in overheated 'coverage' that was nonstop and the reason for that was that the press was having a panic attack, a guttural cry of, "It could have been me!"


When that happens, when the media makes themselves the story, it's not just embarrassing, it's bad journalism.

If Stoloff and Foley's lives (and deaths) mattered (and I believe they did), then so did the others who were beheaded but were reduced to a single sentence in a generic report because they weren't reporters.

There was no grand conspiracy (unless Medea's arguing that the White House gave orders to the Islamic State to kill the two reporters).

The deaths just played into the US press' own vanity and they went crazy with it.


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    • Posted by at No comments:

    Sunday, November 30, 2014

    Michelle renders the verdict


    BULLY BOY PRESS &    CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

    SATURDAY, FADED CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O SHOWED HIS FACE AT A BOOKSTORE AND BOUGHT 17 TITLES -- INCLUDING A HEALTHY SELECTION OF CHILDREN'S BOOKS.

    REACHED FOR COMMENT TODAY, FIRST LADY MICHELLE TOLD THESE REPORTERS, "HOW WONDERFUL.  WE ARE ALL SO THRILLED THAT BARRY HAS LEARNED TO READ."




    FROM THE TCI WIRE:




    In a letter to the editors of the Houston Chronicle, Carl Schiro asks a question no one seems able to answer:

    Regarding "Corruption hobbles Iraq's military efforts" (Page A1, Monday), why is our government still sending our troops and money to such a corrupt country?


    Can anyone answer that question?  The article Schiro's referring to is David D. Kirkpatrick (New York Times via Hamilton Spectator) report on Iraqi forces:


                                 
    The Iraqi military and police forces had been so thoroughly pillaged by their own corrupt leadership that they all but collapsed this spring in the face of the advancing militants of the Islamic State — despite roughly $25 billion worth of U.S. training and equipment over the past 10 years and far more from the Iraqi treasury.                         


    Now maybe if there had been work on the political solution -- the one US President Barack Obama has spent months giving lip service to -- corruption could have been dealt with.

    Instead, Barack's planning a work-around.  Francesca Chambers (Daily Mail) notes:



    The U.S. military has decided against rebuilding the entire Iraqi army and will instead focus on training a handful of brigades to take on Islamic radicals, initiating a shift in the Pentagon's decade-long approach to the handling the country.
    'The idea is, at least in the first instance, to try and build a kind of leaner, meaner Iraqi army,' a senior U.S. official told the Washington Post.
    Officials who spoke to the Post on the condition of anonymity said the military plans to create nine new Iraqi army brigades of up to 45,000 light-infantry soldiers over the course of the next two months and team them with other Kurdish and Shiite fighters. 

    So the problem is being labeled as "corruption" and the US government thinks the way to handle/address that is to just make smaller units?

    That 'solution' -- laughable as it is -- certainly makes more sense than the Iraqi government's response.


    Michael Gregory (Reuters) reports that Minister of Finance Hoshyar Zebari has stated that the military will take up about 23% of the proposed budget for 2015 and he's also calling "for deep-rooted reforms to stamp out corruption in a military that collapsed in the face of an Islamic State advance."

    Yes, by all means, put nearly a quarter of your annual budget into a military machine known for its corruption.

    Don't root out the corruption, just toss more money at it.

    A quarter of your budget, for example.

    Since the US isn't planning on any major actions until at least February, there's nore than enough time to address graft in the Iraqi military.

    In fact, doing so would expose a mountain of corruption because as members of this political party or slate go down, you can rest assured they will take others down with them.  Meaning?  A State of Law military official goes down for corruption, they'll rat out someone in the Ministry of Transportation and so on and so on.

    Corruption is rampant in Iraq.


    That's why Transparency International ranks Iraq the 171st least transparent country or territory on a list of 177 for 2013.  This is not a new development.  In 2009, Barack was sworn in as president.  Transparency International's finds for 2009?  Iraq was ranked the 176th least transparent. (For those who want to trumpet the 'success' in Iraq moving from 176 to 171, please note that the 2009 list included 180 listings.They dropped three.  So Iraq really just moved one spot.)

    In 2009, Patrick Cockburn (at CounterPunch) pointed out, "Iraq is the world’s premier kleptomaniac state. According to Transparency International the only countries deemed more crooked than Iraq are Somalia and Myanmar, while Haiti and Afghanistan rank just behind. In contrast to Iraq, which enjoys significant oil revenues, none of these countries have much money to steal."  Bill Van Auken (World Socialist Web Site) also noted the Transparency International 2009 report:

    In relation to Iraq, the report found rampant corruption as well, with corrupt government officials operating with impunity. It cited a recent study by the Bertelsmann Foundation stating that in Iraq “non-security institutions remain weak and debilitated. The Iraqi leadership faces many structural constraints on governance, such as a massive brain drain, a high level of political division, and extreme poverty.”

    Across the political spectrum, the corruption has been noted repeatedly and consistently.  For example, early this year the right-wing Heritage Foundation noted of Iraq:

    Corruption is pervasive at all levels of government. There are widespread reports of demands by officials for bribes, mismanagement of public funds, payments to “ghost” employees, salary skimming, and nepotism. Although judicial independence is guaranteed in the constitution, judges are subject to immense political and sectarian pressure and are viewed by the public as corrupt or ineffective. Property rights are not well protected.


    And if you need a government source, here's the US Embassy in Baghdad:

    Corruption remains a salient feature of the political and economic landscape of Iraq and poses and threatens its full economic and social development.  Mitigating corruption’s corrosive effects on Iraq’s reconstruction requires continued USG engagement – both in terms of programs and in terms of bringing political and diplomatic pressure to bear on Iraqi leaders. 


    With all the above in mind, let's return to the question that opens Carl Schiro's letter to the editors of the Houston Chronicle:

    Regarding "Corruption hobbles Iraq's military efforts" (Page A1, Monday), why is our government still sending our troops and money to such a corrupt country?


    It's not a hidden factor.  In June, Richard Engel (NBC News -- link is text and video) interviewed Iraqi forces and they repeatedly cited corruption as the country's "biggest enemy."

    And as Patrick Cockburn (at the Independent) pointed out last year, the corruption was predicted at the start of the Iraq War:

     A few months before the invasion, an Iraqi civil servant secretly interviewed in Baghdad made a gloomy forecast. “The exiled Iraqis are the exact replica of those who currently govern us… with the sole difference that the latter are already satiated since they have been robbing us for the past 30 years,” he said. “Those who accompany the US troops will be ravenous.”
    Many of the Iraqis who came back to Iraq after the US-led invasion were people of high principle who had sacrificed much as opponents of Saddam Hussein. But fast forward 10 years and the prediction of the unnamed civil servant about the rapacity of Iraq’s new governors turns out to have been all too true. As one former minister puts it, “the Iraqi government is an institutionalised kleptocracy”.

    Cockburn spent the last years worshipping the Shi'ites and spitting on the Sunnis so it's really hard for him to name names when covering the continued disintegration of Iraq.

    But there are names to be named.

    Chief among them Nouri al-Maliki.

    In 2006, the White House demanded Nouri al-Maliki be named prime minister (the Iraqi Parliament wanted Ibraham al-Jafaari).  In 2010, the White House demanded Nouri get a second term and, having lost the election, the White House offered a legal contract (The Erbil Agreement) to give Nouri a second term.

    Which means from spring 2006 to summer 2014, Nouri al-Maliki ruled Iraq.

    And corruption thrived.

    This despite Nouri insisting he would take on corruption -- repeatedly insisting.  But it's kind of hard to do that when you're part of the corruption.  Pennies found in sofa cushions don't buy all the sports cars Nouri's son zips around London in nor did they buy the swank home.




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    • Posted by at No comments:

    Friday, November 28, 2014

    He calls it a win

    BULLY BOY PRESS &    CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE



    JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS, THE BARACK OBAMA ECONOMY BURPS UP ANOTHER SURPRISE.


    REACHED FOR COMMENT, FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O INSISTED THIS WAS GOOD NEWS, "LESS MONEY MEANS LESS TO SPEND ON BASIC NECESSITIES LIKE ELECTRICITY.  A LACK OF HEAT IS KNOWN TO MAKE PEOPLE HUDDLE UP CLOSE.  SO YOU COULD SAY I AM BRINGING FAMILIES TOGETHER!"







    You'll find more criticism of Barack's 'plan' coming out of Iraq than out of the US.  For example, Press TV reports:

    “The airstrikes cannot defeat ISIL and liberate the cities. We hear that in some places the warplanes drop weapons for ISIL... What we know is that the victories achieved on the ground are done by the Iraqi army and volunteers,” Iraqi State of Law Coalition MP Hanan Fatlawi told the Press TV correspondent in Baghdad.
    On October 22, the US admitted that one of the weapon airdrops intended for Kurds fighting in the Syrian town of Kobani was almost certainly intercepted by ISIL terrorists.


    I'm no fan of State of Law, as the archives establish, but they're right that the air bombings are not accomplishing much of anything -- except physically destroying Iraq and intimidating and terrorizing the people.

    Since this summer, Barack has repeatedly said Iraq requires a political solution but little has been done to facilitate anything political.  Instead, the US government has overseen two major meet-ups of defense ministers and has spent forever recruiting other countries to take part in the air bombings of Iraq and, less successfully, to send troops into Iraq.

    How's that creating a political solution?

    It's not.

    Today's Zaman reports:

    Foreign ministers from up to 60 countries forming the US-led coalition against Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) militants will hold their first meeting next week in Brussels, US officials said on Wednesday.
     
    The Dec. 3 meeting, chaired by US Secretary of State John Kerry, is expected to review progress in the fight against ISIL and to discuss how coalition members will coordinate politically in future.


    It's taken months for them to plan the above.  Hopefully, it's not too late for a meet-up like the above to make a difference.


    We were noting State of Law earlier.  It is the political slate of thug Nouri al-Maliki who was prime minister of Iraq until a few months ago and who is now one of Iraq's three vice presidents.  Of Nouri, Ya Libnan reports:


    In an unprecedented development the Iranian Foreign Ministry adviser, Mohammad Ali Sobhani, yesterday blamed the Iraqi regime of  Nouri al-Maliki, and the Syrian regime of Bashar al Assad for the creation of the islamic State of Iraq  and Syria  ( ISIS)
    In an interview with a local Iranian website «telltale News» Sobhani said  the sectarian policies during the reign of former PM Maliki   led to the formation of an incubator for the«Daash» or ISIS  organization .

    Sobhani said that the economic and social problems that plagued Iraq, in addition to sectarian policies practiced  by the al-Maliki  regime led to the formation of a popular base for the emergence of ISIS  in the region.




  • "Thanksgiving at the House of Cosby?"
  • "Horrible Bosses 2"
  • "Schumer's truth"
  • "general hospital and abc suck"
  • "Unemployment claims increase"
  • "Schumer tells the truth"
  • "Give people something to vote for"
  • "It really was unwatchable"
  • "Schumer speaks, Think Progress whines"
  • "THIS JUST IN! THE TRUTH HURTS!"


    • "
    Posted by at No comments:

    Wednesday, November 26, 2014

    Schumer speaks, Think Progress whines

    BULLY BOY PRESS &    CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE


    STINK NO PROGRESS HAS THEIR PANTIES IN A WAD OVER THE REMARKS OF U.S. SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER WHO HAS DECLARED THE PEOPLE DID NOT HIRE THE CONGRESS IN 2008 TO PASS OBAMACARE, THAT INSTEAD THE FOCUS SHOULD HAVE BEEN ON JOBS.

    STINK NO PROGRESS INSISTS SCHUMER IS WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!

    APPARENTLY PEOPLE DON'T WANT JOBS, THEY JUST WANT HEALTH CARE.

    AND, IN RELATED NEWS, THEY DON'T WANT FOOD, THEY JUST WANT HEALTH CARE.



     FROM THE TCI WIRE:




    A friend at a VSO wanted to point out that Senator Murray never loses sight of veterans issues while, in the House, Corrine "Brown can't even find them."  That's a very good point and one that I have missed.

    At Third on Sunday, we wrote "Editorial: Corrine Brown must not be named Ranking Member" which noted how US House Rep Tim Walz was qualified to be the Ranking Member on the House Veterans Affairs Committee and Brown is not. We noted the nonsense Nancy Pelosi and her cronies pulled as they insisted that Walz couldn't run for Ranking Member because he wasn't a member of the Committee and only took part via a waiver.  The editorial included this:



    If he had to obtain a waiver to serve on the Committee?

    That meant he served on the Committee.

    That's what the waiver did, it made him a Committee member.

    And Tim Walz asked questions in hearings, voted on the Comittee, etc.

    He was a member and he participated.


    Gov.track isn't confused:







    Committee Membership

    Timothy Walz sits on the following committees:


    And he didn't just serve on the Committee and show up for hearings, he sponsored bills dealing with veterans issues:




    H.R. 5680: Veterans’ Toxic Wounds Research Act of 2014

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: Sep 19, 2014
    Referred to Committee: Sep 19, 2014
    H.R. 5059: Clay Hunt SAV Act

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: Jul 10, 2014
    Referred to Committee: Jul 10, 2014
    H.R. 4191: Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: Mar 11, 2014
    Referred to Committee: Mar 11, 2014
    H.R. 3682: To designate the community based outpatient clinic of the Department of Veterans Affairs located at 1961 Premier Drive in Mankato, Minnesota, as the “Lyle C. Pearson Community Based Outpatient Clinic”.

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: Dec 9, 2013
    Passed House: Jun 17, 2014
    H.R. 3569: Protecting the Freedoms and Benefits for All Veterans Act

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: Nov 20, 2013
    Referred to Committee: Nov 20, 2013
    H.R. 2785: Military Reserve Jobs Act

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: Jul 22, 2013
    Referred to Committee: Jul 22, 2013


    H.R. 1980: Quicker Veterans Benefits Delivery Act

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: May 14, 2013
    Referred to Committee: May 14, 2013
    H.R. 975: Servicemember Mental Health Review Act

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: Mar 5, 2013
    Referred to Committee: Mar 5, 2013
    H.R. 679: Honor America’s Guard-Reserve Retirees Act

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: Feb 13, 2013
    H.R. 6574 (112th): Servicemember Mental Health Review Act

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: Oct 12, 2012
    Referred to Committee: Oct 12, 2012
    H.R. 1855 (112th): Veterans’ Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitative Services’ Improvements Act of 2011

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: May 11, 2011
    Referred to Committee: May 11, 2011
    H.R. 1566 (112th): Protecting Servicemembers from Mortgage Abuses Act of 2011

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: Apr 14, 2011
    Referred to Committee: Apr 14, 2011
    H.R. 1025 (112th): To amend title 38, United States Code, to recognize the service in the reserve components of certain persons by honoring them with status as veterans under law.

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: Mar 10, 2011
    Passed House: Oct 11, 2011
    H.R. 865 (112th): Veteran Employment Transition Act of 2011

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: Mar 1, 2011
    Referred to Committee: Mar 1, 2011
    H.R. 6188 (111th): Veterans’ Homelessness Prevention and Early Warning Act of 2010

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: Sep 22, 2010
    Referred to Committee: Sep 22, 2010
    H.R. 6123 (111th): Veterans’ Traumatic Brain Injury Rehabilitative Services’ Improvements Act of 2010

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: Sep 14, 2010
    Referred to Committee: Sep 14, 2010
    H.R. 5928 (111th): Veterans’ Disability Claims Efficiency Act of 2010

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: Jul 29, 2010
    Referred to Committee: Jul 29, 2010
    H.R. 5400 (111th): Veteran Employment Transition Act of 2010

    Sponsor: Rep. Timothy Walz [D-MN1]
    Introduced: May 25, 2010
    Referred to Committee: May 25, 2010


    In fairness to Corrine Brown, we should note that during the same period above (2008 and to the present), she also sponsored some bills. 

    Well . . . 

    Bill.


    Because there was only one.

    From 2008 to the present -- six years -- she only sponsored one bill having to do with veterans.  

    But she thinks she's earned the right to serve as Ranking Member on the House Veterans Affairs Committee?

    In fairness to Corrine, we should note she had other things to focus on.  In the same period, she introduced two bills on Haiti.  Maybe that makes her an expert on veterans?  And she sponsored four bills on National Train Day.

    Of course, she also had to put in a lot of time going through those mail order catalogs to buy all her hideous wigs.
    Is Corrine Ranking Member?
    No.
    She's issued two statements already announcing she is but until January, when the new Congress starts, she's not.
    And if the Democrats in the House are stupid enough to go along with Nancy, to oppose veterans groups on this issue, they better be prepared for the voter fallout in 2016, they better be prepared for the ignorant statements out of Corrine's mouth that the Democratic presidential candidate will have to respond to.  This is insanity.  The woman is a moron and who cannot speak.  Every time she opens her mouth she either embarrasses herself or attacks veterans -- or both!  
    The whole party's going to suffer as a result of Nancy Pelosi's decision and that needs to be brought home to Nancy, loudly and clearly -- not the three person meet-up that took place this weekend where an attempt was made to reason with Nancy.
    This issue isn't over yet, the decision can be overturned.
    But if it's not, it needs to be remembered than Nancy Pelosi is responsible for Democratic losses in 2016 as Corrine Brown becomes the face of the party when it comes to veterans issues.


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    • Posted by at No comments:

    Tuesday, November 25, 2014

    Pay Terry back for his loyalty

    BULLY BOY PRESS &    CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE


    RUMORS CONTINUE TO SWIRL THAT FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O MAY BE VETTING DONALD BEATTY FOR THE SUPREME COURT.

    THOUGH BEATTY IS CERTAINLY QUALIFIED, WHAT ABOUT TERRY BEAN?

    BEAN RAISED OVER HALF-A-MILLION DOLLARS FOR BARRY O'S ELECTION CAMPAIGNS. [SEE "THIS JUST IN! BARRY HAS THE BEST SUPPORTERS!" AND
    "TV: Madonna versus Whore all over again."]


    AND VETTING?

    WHY EVEN A BUST FOR SEX WITH A CHILD HASN'T RAISED TOO MUCH INTEREST IN TERRY BEAN SO HE SHOULD SAIL THROUGH A CONFIRMATION HEARING EASILY.


    FROM THE TCI WIRE:



    Chuck Hagel is now the departing Secretary of Defense. His rumored resignation is now official and AP notes that the resignation "comes as the president's national security team has been battered by crises including the rise of Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria and Russia's provocations in Ukraine."

    This afternoon at the White House, US President Barack Obama and Hagel announced the Secretary of Defense's resignation.  We'll skip Barack's repeated use of "Chuck" and instead note Hagel's words:


     Mr. President, thank you -– thank you for your generous words, for your friendship, for your support which I have always valued and will continue to value. And to my not old, but my longtime, dear friend Vice President Biden, who I have always admired and respected, and both the President and I have learned an awful lot from the Vice President over the years -– thank you. And I want to thank the Deputy Secretary of Defense who is here, Bob Work, and the Chairman and Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Marty Dempsey, who also is here. I want to thank them for being here this morning.
    I also want to thank you both for your tremendous leadership of the Defense Department and what you mean to our men and women and their families all over the world; and for the honor I’ve had to serve with each of you and the privilege it’s been in every way.
    And I want to thank the entire leadership team at the Pentagon. Without their support and wise counsel over the last couple of years our many accomplishments, and the President noted some, I have been part of that -– but it’s a team. It’s all these tremendous men and women, as you know Mr. President, that make this happen and I couldn’t be prouder of them and what we have accomplished over the almost two years that I’ve had the honor of serving in this position.
    And as the President noted I have today submitted my resignation as Secretary of Defense. It’s been the greatest privilege of my life; the greatest privilege of my life to lead and most important, to serve -- to serve with the men and women of the Defense Department and support their families. I am immensely proud of what we’ve accomplished during this time. We have prepared ourselves, as the President has noted, our allies and Afghan National Security Forces for a successful transition in Afghanistan. We bolstered enduring alliances and strengthened emerging partnerships while successfully responding to crises around the world.
    And we’ve launched important reforms that the President noted -- reforms that will prepare this institution for the challenges facing us in decades to come. I believe we have set not only this department –- the Department of Defense -– but the nation on the stronger course toward security, stability and prosperity. If I didn’t believe that, I would not have done this job.
    As our country prepares to celebrate Thanksgiving I want to –- you, Mr. President, and you, Vice President Biden, -– acknowledge what you have done and how grateful I am to both of you for your leadership and your friendship and for giving me this opportunity to serve our country once again.
    I will continue to support you, Mr. President, and the men and women who defend this country every day so unselfishly; and their families, what they do for our country, so unselfishly. And as I have said –- and as the President noted –- I will stay on this job and work just as hard as I have over the last couple of years, every day, every moment, until my successor is confirmed by the United States Senate.
    I’d also like to express my gratitude to our colleagues on Capitol Hill -- my gratitude to them for their support of me, but more importantly their support of our troops and their families and their continued commitment to our National Security.
    I also want to thank my international counterparts for their friendship and their partnership and their advice during my time as Secretary of Defense. Their involvement with me and their partnership with me -- in so many of these important areas as we build these coalitions of common interests as you have noted, Mr. President –- are so critically important and to them, I am grateful I will be forever grateful.
    And finally I’d like to thank my family. My wife Lilibet, who you have mentioned, Mr. President, who was with me this morning as she has been with me throughout so many years, and during so many tremendous experiences. And this experience and opportunity and privilege to serve as Secretary of Defense has been one of those; and to my daughter Allyn and my son Ziller.

    Mr. President, again, thank you. To you and to all of our team everywhere, as we know Mr. President, Mr. Vice President, it is a team effort. And that’s part of the fun of it, to help build teams and to work together to make things happen for the good of the country and make a better world. For all of that I am immensely grateful. And to all of you, your families, happy Thanksgiving. Thank you very much.

     The repeated use of "Chuck" in Barack's remarks were most likely an effort to make shoving Hagel out of a moving car seem far kinder than it was.

    Selena Hill (Latin Post) notes:

     [. . .] inside sources say that the former Nebraska senator was forced out by the president, CNN reports. According to officials, the White House lost confidence in Hagel's ability to effectively lead in the Pentagon. Plus, the former Republican senator faced pressure as criticism of the president's national security team on a series of global issues mounted, including the threat of the Islamic State.


    NBC News correspondent and MSNBC talk show host Andrea Mitchell Tweeted the following:

  • 13 hours ago
    Truth is brought in to manage troop draw down from 2 wars now U.S. is extending combat role in Afghanistan and "advising" in Iraq
    28 retweets 6 favorites

    • MONTAGNE: Well, get down to why Hagel is resigning right at this moment?

     LIASSON: Well, the president had conversations with Hagel in October about the final quarter of his presidency, and he essentially asked Hagel to step down. I think the biggest reason was that the mission has changed. When Chuck Hagel came in, his focus was on drawing down troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, shrinking the Pentagon, dealing with the sequester budget cuts. But now the world has changed. We're recommitting troops to Iraq to fight ISIS. In Afghanistan, we're going to be leaving some more troops behind. And the White House decided they needed a strategic thinker. And they've really struggled to stay one step ahead of all of these crises - Ebola, Ukraine, even conflicts in Asia. And I think the thinking was that they needed somebody else to run the Defense Department, more of a strategic thinker, in the remaining months of the president's term.

     MONTAGNE: And beyond that, were there problems with Hagel?
    LIASSON: Well, Chuck Hagel did occasionally seem not be on the same page as the White House. He famously said that ISIS was beyond anything we'd seen before. He was kind of out in front on that. He clashed with the national security advisor, Susan Rice, on Syria. And he never really made it into that very small insular inner circle at the White House.
    For all the lies and pretense, this was not a happy exit.  Early this morning, Helene Cooper of the New York Times attempted to spin pretty because she's honestly that useless.  She always has been and she always will be.   In 2006, Ava and I dubbed her the Bobble Head Pundit and nothing in all the years since has demonstrated that she has the skill or ability to actually report. 
    Helene had the story but she couldn't do a thing with it because she's never had the skill for context.
    After her embarrassing 'report' broke this morning, other outlets -- including the Associated Press -- brought the skill and context Helene was incapable of.  And the editorial board of the Contra Costa Times probably had the least stomach for spin of anyone working the story:

    The White House announced that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had submitted his resignation after he and President Obama "both determined that it was time for new leadership at the Pentagon."
    Time for new leadership? Really? Hagel's tenure is still being measured in months rather than years (18, to be exact), he has barely had time to locate all the elevators in the Pentagon. Yet it is somehow time for new leadership? This announcement is Washingtonspeak for "the guy we picked isn't working out." 
    TVNZ One News specifically notes,"Mr Hagel has had his own frustrations with the White House. In recent weeks, he sent a letter to national security adviser Susan Rice in which he said Mr Obama needed to articulate a clearer view of the administration's approach to dealing with Syrian President Bashar Assad. The letter is said to have angered White House officials."
    Aliyah Frumin (MSNBC) notes some Congressional reaction:


    “This announcement shows when you don’t have a strategy, it’s hard to come up w/a team to help you implement a strategy,” said GOP Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri on Twitter. GOP Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland tweeted, “Pres Obama’s national security policy is failing & world is in turmoil. It will take more than changing the Sec of Defense to fix it.” Similarly, House Speaker John Boehner thanked Hagel for his service but added, “New #SecDef isn’t enough…” And in an expanded statement, Boehner said Hagel’s replacement must accompany a “larger re-thinking” of the America’s military strategy, suggesting GOP lawmakers will take a tough-as-nails approach during the next confirmation process.


    Hagel has agreed to hang on until his successor can be confirmed.  That person will be number four.  He or she will follow Robert Gates, Leon Panetta and Chuck Hagel.  Four.

    Since January 2009, Barack has required 4 US Ambassadors to Iraq as well: Chris Hill, James Jeffrey, Robert Steven Beecroft and Stuart Jones.   Four.

    When the US could have provided stability, it provided a non-stop state of flux.




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    Sunday, November 23, 2014

    His real base?


    BULLY BOY PRESS &    CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE


    FORGET BILL COSBY FOR A MOMENT, THE HOTTEST SLEAZE SCANDAL MAY BE THAT OF A CO-FOUNDER OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN WHO JUST GOT NABBED BECAUSE HE AND HIS BOYFRIEND ARE ALLEGED TO HAVE HAD SEX WITH A 15-YEAR-OLD BOY.

    TERRY BEAN INSISTS THIS IS ALL A BLACKMAIL SCHEME GONE WRONG -- SOMEONE GOT SCREEN SNAPS OF THE VIDEOS HE KEEPS OF HIMSELF HAVING SEX!

    OKAY THAT PROVES HE'S INNOCENT -- NOT!

    CNN NOTES:

     The Oregonian reported that he helped raise more than half a million dollars for Obama's 2012 re-election campaign, and Federal Election Commission records show he's contributed thousands to Democrats, including former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and others.



    FROM THE TCI WIRE:


    Iraq has a new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi -- or rather their prime minister has a new name.  Otherwise, things are pretty much the same in Iraq.



    • Human Rights Watch issued an alert Friday which includes:
    An attack on November 19, 2014, targeting Erbil’s governorate building killed at least 10 civilians and wounded dozens more. Attacks the same day in Baghdad killed or wounded 18 civilians. In early October, at the beginning of Muharram, the first month of the Islamic calendar and especially holy for Shia worshippers, five car bomb attacks in Karbala killed at least 15 people and injured another 48. Since then, other bombings have killed dozens more in Baghdad, Kirkuk, and elsewhere.
    “Bombings across Iraq are killing and maiming civilians in attacks so frequent they barely make the local news,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director. “But a government response that too often includes arbitrary arrests and summary executions will only fuel the cycle of abuses.”
    Iraq’s central government and the Kurdistan Regional Government should redouble efforts to protect all civilians – Sunni and Shia, Arab and Kurd, and other minorities – in their fight against the militant group Islamic State (also known as ISIS), which has claimed responsibility for many of the attacks. Iraqi authorities have frequently responded to ISIS attacks with human rights abuses against Sunni civilians, including arbitrary arrests and detentions. In July, Human Rights Watch documented government-backed militias’ summary execution of dozens of Sunni civilians in areas where they are battling ISIS.


    Does that sound like a new Iraq?

    No.  And Robert A. Manning (National Interest) observes:


    The strategy, as announced, had a coherent logic to it. But it required some large leaps of faith. As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey told the House Armed Services Committee last week, “One of our assumptions is that the government of Iraq will be inclusive. One of the assumptions is that the Iraqi security forces will be will to take back al-Anbar province…If those assumptions are rendered invalid, I will have to adjust my recommendations.”
    The strategy assumed that once Maliki was removed as Iraqi prime minister, a new leader would form a more inclusive government, one that Sunnis would not reject. Bombing would buy time until Iraqis could be trained to fight ISIS—boots on the ground that would complement our air war.

    But so far, Iraq’s new prime minister, Haider al-Abadi, has done little to change Sunnis’ perceptions of Baghdad. Appointing the head of the Badr Shia militia to the powerful post of minister of the interior hasn’t helped. Will Baghdad fully allow the fostering of Sunni national guard forces? A recent shake-up in Iraq’s defense ministry and senior military leadership may be a step in that direction. But it will be at least six to eight months before it is possible to judge whether Sunnis have any confidence in the new government.





    In fairness, Haider al-Abadi can point to one bit of success.  AFP reports, "The Iraqi government transferred $500 million to the autonomous Kurdish region on Wednesday as part of a deal aimed at ending long-running oil and budget disputes, the finance minister said."  Press TV explains:

    Hoshyar Zebari said in Baghdad on Wednesday that his ministry transferred the sum to the account of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) earlier in the day under the deal which requires Iraq to resume funding Kurdish civil servant salaries in return for a share of Kurdish oil exports.
    He said the KRG began supplying 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day to State Oil Marketing Organization (SOMO) storage tanks in the Turkish port city of Ceyhan on Tuesday.

    "This mutual implementation means that the two sides are ready to resolve all the other issues and all the issues are up for discussion," Zebari stated.


    That isn't minor.  For over a year now, the Kurds have been denied their part of the federal budget.  Nouri al-Maliki, the former prime minister and forever thug, attempted to use the federal budget to blackmail the Kurds.

    So resolving this isn't minor.

    But it's also true that the only resolution Haider al-Abadi can claim thus far also involves oil.  Stick a pin in that, we'll come back to it.

    I would argue you could even give him credit for a meet-up/photo-op this week.  Mu Xuequan (Xinhua) reports that  Haider met in Baghdad with Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the two held a joint-press conference at which Haider declared, "There is an agreement on information exchange and security cooperation (with Turkey), and moreover, the Turkish prime minister has offered military cooperation in fighting against the terror of Daash (IS' Arabic acronym), which is not only a threat against Iraq but also against Turkey and the whole region,,"


    That's news.

    And not because Xuequan reports, "Turkey will train Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces to fight Islamic State militants in Iraq, local Hurriyet Daily News reported on Friday.  Turkey and the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government have been in cooperation for a training program in northern Iraq for a month, according to the daily report."  That's an arrangement between the Turkish government and the Kurdish government and the two have been getting along amazingly well for several years now.

    The same cannot be said of the Turkish government and the central government out of Baghdad.

    And the only person to blame for that is Nouri al-Maliki.

    He repeatedly called the government of Turkey (which shares a border with Iraq) terrorists.  He insulted them non-stop and did so in a public fashion.  Nouri also attacked the governments of Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia -- pretty much every government in the region except for the government of Iran.





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    "THIS JUST IN! WHO'S THE BITCH?"




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    Thursday, November 20, 2014

    Barry goes bitchy

    BULLY BOY PRESS &    CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

    AMERICA'S BIGGEST BITCH, BARRY O, IS READY TO HAVE A CAT FIGHT IN THE MUD.

    FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O CAME ON LIKE THE BIGGEST BITCH ON ANY SOAP OPERA AS HE CACKLED AND THREATENED IN HIS NATIONAL ADDRESS THIS EVENING.

    HAVING PREVIOUSLY DECLARED HE WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO WORKING WITH REPUBLICANS, TONIGHT  BITCHY BARRY DID EVERYTHING BUT INSIST, "CARRINGTON OIL WILL BE MINE, BLAKE, ALL MINE!"


    FROM THE TCI WIRE:




    Senator Bernie Sanders declared this morning, ". . . it's a very difficult hearing because what we are going to be touching on today is what happens to the men and women who come home from war, who have served us with great courage and what happens to them when they return to civilian life."

    He is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and they were talking about issues like military suicide.

    But let's use Sanders' words as a starting point -- and let's note that Senate Democrats actually do work to improve the lives of veterans.  The same cannot be said for the Democratic leadership in the House.

    How bad are things there?

    Last week, US House Rep Nancy Pelosi was in the news for denying US House Rep Tammy Duckworth the right to vote by proxy on party positions in the House:



    Tammy Duckworth is not only a member of Congress, she's also a veteran of the Iraq War.  Nancy Pelosi chose to 'honor' veterans this week by announcing that a veteran who lost both legs in combat would not be allowed to vote by proxy on the issue of who would hold what office -- for example, who would be the next Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
    Duckworth is at home in Illinois.  Why doesn't she just fly to DC?
    CBS News notes Duckworth "was told by doctor that it was unsafe for her to fly at this stage in her pregnancy."


    Last night on Comedy Central Jon Stewart was rightly mocking the disgraceful US House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi in a segment of The Daily Show entitled "Petty Woman" which ended with Jon observing, "And that's how the precedent was set that a woman leader can be every bit as craven as her political male counterparts.  Let me say this, You go, girl.  Seriously, you should go."







    Erik Wemple (Washington Post) explains:

    His takedown of Pelosi’s denial of a pregnant woman’s vote in House Democratic elections proceeds in merciless fashion. Availing himself of Pelosi’s trail of accomplishments over the years, he documented how she has established herself on key issues that bear on the Duckworth situation. For instance: The National Partnership for Women and Families, noted Stewart, celebrated Pelosi’s advocacy for “working women.” Also highlighted by Stewart: Pelosi said at an event for the Voting Rights Act, “The right to vote must be the cornerstone of our democracy.”
    Stewart: “You’re a recognized champion of working women and voting rights.”
    From there, the rip was easy: “You rejected, you’re suppressing the vote of a minority pregnant woman who is a wounded war veteran. She is everything you supposedly stand for stuffed into one individual. She is a Democratic demographic tur-Duckworth,” said the host.

    Jaime Fuller (Washington Post) notes:

    She denied Rep. Tammy Duckworth's request to cast a proxy vote in the Democratic leadership elections. Duckworth was advised by her doctor not to fly to Washington in her eighth month of pregnancy. Duckworth (D-Ill.) also is a double-amputee Iraq War veteran, or, as Stewart put it, a Democratic demographic Turduckworth. The reason for denying the proxy vote? Pelosi said it would set a precedent ... and Duckworth happened to be supporting someone other than Pelosi's chosen candidate for a committee position.


    Poor Nancy, it's week two and it's not going away.

    Even worse for Nance, it's now her.

    This is her to America.

    It's as though she tripped at a party and knocked a table over and now every time she waivers a little when she walks, people will giggle.

    It's the New Nancy.  Somewhere lower on the evolution scale than Billy Carter or Dan Quayle.

    Not a good position to be in when over a third of Democratic members of the House want you gone.

    Not a good position to be in when Dems are gearing up for the 2016 elections and can't afford to have a leader be a laughingstock.

    And now she has an image as a person who trashes veterans.

    Senator Sanders today puzzled about "what happens to the men and women who come home from war, who have served us with great courage and what happens to them when they return to civilian life."

    What does happen to them?

    Last week, Nancy Pelosi made clear that they will not receive fair treatment, that the work environment will not change to meet their medical needs.

    Today, she demonstrated something else:  Their experience means nothing.

    Maybe you know of Senator Patty Murray's work on veterans employment?  The Hire A Hero campaign and other programs she's steered and implemented.

    Murray and others have worked very hard to stress that veterans have important skills they can offer employers.  In the House, US House Rep Gerry Connolly has stressed the skills veterans have and the need for these skills to be translated into the civilian workforce.

    Nancy Pelosi doesn't believe veterans have any skills or insight.

    Which is why she used an arcane rule to force US House Rep Tim Walz out of seeking the Ranking Member post on the House Veterans Affairs Committee in favor of Pelosi pet Corrine Brown.

    Native-born Corrine Brown struggles with the English language, attacks veterans in hearings (when she shows up for the Veterans Affairs Committee hearings), attacks witnesses, attacks the Office of the Inspector General and so much more.

    This is not a new development.

    Dona moderated a "Congress and Veterans" roundtable May 13, 2012 about a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing the previous week that we had covered in the community:

    Kat, Wally, Ava and C.I. attended the hearing.   Kat reported on it with  "Congress Member Gone Wild" and C.I. reported on it with "Iraq snapshot," "Iraq snapshot," "Congress is supposed to provide oversight"  and "Iraq snapshot." 


    From the roundtable:

    Dona: Thank you, Kat.  That perfectly set up a point I wanted to get to with Ava.  Kat and C.I. reported on US House Rep. Corrine Brown.  Ava, what was your take?

    Ava: Brown's an embarrassment.  I can't believe the crap she pulled.  She didn't give a damn about the veterans and made excuses for the VA and lied and misled.  She's an embarrassment, I hope to hell her sorry ass is voted out of Congress.

    Dona: She attacked a witness, what was that about?

    Ava: Another reason her sorry ass needs to be pulled out of Congress.  The second panel was people who worked outside of the government including Dr. Nicole Sawyer who is a psychologist.  Corrine Brown wanted to show that her bad wigs weren't the trashiest things about her.  She went off on Dr. Sawyer because Chair Miller asked about the comments Shinskeki made.  Corrine Brown cut off the doctor started screaming her head and acting like a crazy woman when usually she just sounds like an uneducated one.

    Dona: What set her off?

    Ava: The reality was that Shinseki was being critiqued and she wasn't going to have that.  She lied and stated it wasn't fair for the doctor to critique Shinseki.  But, in the first round, when Shinseki was asked about Dr. Sawyer's written remarks, Shinseki offered a critique and Corrine Browne didn't say one damn word.

    Dona:  Wally, your take?

    Wally: The same as Ava's.  I'll pick up where she left off.  So Corrine Brown cuts off the witness who is answering Miller's questions --

    Dona: Brown doesn't even have the floor.  She just barged in while the witness was speaking?

    Wally: Correct.  And then after she has her rant, Jeff Miller, the Chair, sort of gives this look like, "Now that the crazy lady is done . . ."  He goes back to asking Dr. Sawyer a question.  Dr. Sawyer is sort of stunned and she replies to Miller's question, starts to, and tries to explain she wasn't trying to offend anyone when Brown cuts her off again and starts screaming her head off about how Miller needs to tell the witness to address her remarks to the Chair.  And it was just embarrassing.  I'm from Florida, Corrine Brown is the Congressional joke of our state.

    Dona: So, let's --

    Ava: Sorry.  It's not over, Dona.  Miller is attempting to calm down Crazy Corrine.  The hearing's at a complete standstill.  And the crazy woman is insulting Dr. Sawyer, stating she won't listen to Dr. Sawyer because Dr. Sawyer isn't a "doctor."  She calls the woman an "educator."  As an insult.  Miller notes that remark's not going to please educators and Brown doesn't care.  She was just so rude.  If you'd been in that hearing, you would have been shocked that a member of Congress would act the way she did.

    Dona: Okay, thanks for that.  C.I., is this typical Corrine Brown?

    C.I.: Since January 2009, it has been.  She makes excuses for the VA and rushes to excuse Eric Shinseki's many problems.  I remember an October 15, 2009 hearing on the VA's inability to get checks to veterans -- the GI Bill checks -- for the fall semester and how Corrine Brown was offering excuses for the VA in that hearing too.  That's just one example.  She's disgraced herself.  I have no use for her.

    Dona: Kat, closing thoughts?

    Kat: The hearing's not going to accomplish anything, the Committe's not going to, until everyone can agree that the veterans are the most important thing.  Corrine Brown was not serving veterans, she's usually not.  When a Republican is in office, there's the pretense that she's tough and will ask questions to protect the veterans.  But when a Democrat's in office, she reveals she's just a partisan and doesn't give a damn about veterans.


    And that was 2012.  It's only gotten worse.



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