I have gotten a lot of traffic when I posted the Walter Reed Story. Folks were looking for somewhere to voice their concerns. Well, I appreciate the posts but it may be time for us to show more than concern. It is time for Outrage!
The Military seems to be shutting up the soldiers and moving them out of the watchful eyes of reporters.
You see, I shouldn’t nose around on Forbes.com. I have no business there (pun intended). I found this article from today that says just the opposite of what everyone else was saying.
From Forbes.com:
Investors are breathing a sigh of relief as Wednesday’s stock market rebound wiped away some of the pain inflicted by Tuesday’s tumble. They would do well to stay very scared.
Whether Tuesday’s route turns out to be a turning point or a blip, it is an indication of just how edgy investors around the globe have become. With good reason. [Read more →]
I always get nervous when someone tells me to be calm.
————-
From Forbes.com:
Perhaps it will be known as the “Bernanke rebound.”
Coming off a 416-point plunge, the Dow Jones industrial average climbed more than 100 points by midday on Wednesday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said that he expects moderate economic growth and that no single factor caused the Dow’s nose dive on Tuesday.
By the closing bell, some of those gains receded, as the Dow rose 52.39 points, or 0.4%, to end at 12,268.63. Yet investors still appeared more confident than they did early in the morning, during which the Dow made only minor gains.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also finished higher, climbing 8.29 points, or 0.34%, to 2,416.15. The more broad-based S&P increased 7.78 points, or 0.6%, to 1,406.82.
Bernanke’s comments appeared to mollify investors who were spooked by remarks earlier in the week from former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan that a U.S. recession was possibly in the cards for later this year. (more…)
I remember when my sister’s and I would fight when I was a child. We would call each other names. They would come up with some great insults. On the other hand, this exchange of nothing was just nothing. Hillary and Obama say nothing and the media blew it up into this Cagematch fight to the death.
Laura Bush is soo… Oh, just don’t speak. It is just better if you don’t speak.
Updated: Pic added
Keith Olbermann does a good job at pointing out that Condi Rice you really can’t compare Saddam Hussein to Adolf Hilter. It just doesn’t work. Keith simply destroys the Rice Logic if you can call it logic. Damn, she is suppose to be PhD in History isn’t she? Either she is a moron or she is intensionally lying. I don’t think that she is a moron.
Olbermann hit this one out of the park. Outstanding!!
According to this historian, John Diggins (who may I add is a bore) the best Presidents were:
1. Lincoln
2. Washington
3. Roosevelt
4. Reagan
Okay, we’re cool with 1 - 3. Some argue that Washington was the most important because he was so popular that he could have been King. He could have dissolved the Republic but he didn’t. Instead he strengthen the Republic. Now, let’s discuss #4. Reagan? Please.
The Bush Administration has done everything in its power to pump up the Stock Market. Tax Cuts to the Wealthy. Tax Cuts to Business. Cut Capital gains tax. In spite of this, today was the 7th worst day of all time.
———
From CNN.com:
Stocks tumbled across the board Tuesday, after declining markets in China and Europe and a steep drop in durable goods orders triggered a massive selloff on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones industrial average (down 416.02 to 12,216.24) tumbled 416.02 points, its biggest one-day point loss since the day the stock market reopened after the Sept. 11th attacks. On that day, the Dow lost 684.81 points.
On a percentage basis, the Dow lost about 3.3 percent. The blue-chip barometer has now fallen for five sessions straight.
The broader S&P 500 (down 50.33 to 1,399.04) index fell 3.5 percent and saw its biggest one-day percentage loss in nearly four years. The S&P 500 also slumped for the previous four sessions.
The Nasdaq (down 96.66 to 2,407.86) composite tumbled about 3.9 percent and saw its biggest one-day percentage loss since Dec. 9, 2002, according to early tallies.
The Russell 2000 (down 31.03 to 792.66) small-cap index lost almost 4 percent.
Trying to limit the declines, the New York Stock Exchange said it imposed trading curbs as of 1:03 p.m. ET, around the time the Dow slipped 200 points, CNN confirmed.
Treasury bonds rallied as investors sought a safe place to park their money while the dollar fell. Oil prices inched higher and gold prices fell.
Here’s a look at what was moving near the close.
Chinese stocks slumped 9 percent Tuesday - the worst one-day selloff in a decade - on concerns that the government would interfere to cool the speculation that drove the Shanghai market up nearly 130 percent last year.
Other Asian markets slumped in tandem. European shares also tumbled.
“The selloff demonstrates somewhat starkly the inter-connectedness of stock markets around the world,” said Hugh Johnson, chief strategist at ThomasLloyd Global Asset Management.
“Markets can decline in one seemingly isolated part of the world and that decline can be transmitted to other parts of the world through the psychology,” he said.
The slump in world markets exacerbated concerns that Wall Street is due for a selloff after a nearly eight-month rally that has sent the Dow industrials to record highs and the Nasdaq and S&P 500 to more than 6-year highs.
Market veterans have been looking for a stock selloff for some months now due to the combination of slowing economic and earnings growth expected this year, said Harry Clark, CEO at Clark Capital Management.
Although some analysts have been calling for a pullback of about 10 percent for the market, Clark said a smaller drop is more likely.
“We’ll probably see a decline of about 4 or 5 percent and then it will be done,” Clark said, noting that a lot of the selling will be washed out within the next week or so as the shock wears off.
ThomasLloyd Global’s Johnson agreed that the selling should ease. But markets will “continue to be vulnerable to big decisions by big policy-makers in big places like China,” he said.
News that Vice President Dick Cheney was the apparent target in a Taliban suicide bombing attack in Afghanistan added to the day’s worries.
A morning report in the United States showed a steeper-than-expected decline in durable goods orders in January, adding to concerns about slowing economic growth.
Slowing growth ultimately drags on corporate profits, making stocks more expensive relative to earnings.
All 30 components of the Dow Jones industrial average fell. (more…)
Although I have no love for Cheney, I would like to see him safe and sound for years to come as we Dem’s dismantle his tax cuts and completely debunk his foreign policy.
I thought that the picture could lighten up an otherwise somber topic.
From WaPo:
A suicide bomber attacked the entrance to the main U.S. military base in Afghanistan Tuesday during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney, killing at least 14 people and wounding a dozen more. The Taliban claimed responsibility and said Cheney was the target.Cheney’s spokeswoman said he was fine, and the vice president later met with President Hamid Karzai in the capital, Kabul, before leaving the country.
There were conflicting reports on the death toll. Provincial Gov. Abdul Jabar Taqwa said 20 people were killed, while NATO said initial reports indicated three fatalities, including a U.S. soldier, a South Korean coalition soldier and a U.S. government contractor whose nationality wasn’t immediately known. NATO said 27 people also were wounded. [Read more →]
A story in the New Yorker veteran reporter Seymore Hersh reveals that we are funding Sunni groups in the Middle East in order to combat Shia dominance. If this makes any sense to you then you are smarter than I am. We support the Shia in Iraq but Shia also dominate Iran who we are staring down at the moment.
Hersh reports that we are seriously preparing to attack Iran. If we are (Hersh is an outstanding reporter) then we are dumber than dumb.
There is a famous scene from the Untouchables in which it looks like there will be no case against Capone. Malone (Sean Connery) turns to Eliott Ness (Kevin Cosner) and says, “So, what are you going to do now?” I feel like liberals all across the country have turned to the Senate and said the same thing. The answer that seems to be coming out of the Senate (Joe Biden and Carl Levin leading the way) is to revoke the original authorization. Let’s remember that the case to go to war was built on a 3 legged stool - Iraq buys uranium from Niger, 9/11 hijacker meeting with an Iraqi official in Prague and mobile biochemical weapons laboratories. All of these points have been found to be 100% untrue. Therefore, if you are basing a war on those facts, it seems to make sense that if the facts prove to be untrue you should be able to revoke the authorization. All I can say is that I hope that this works.
Just when I thought things were settling down in the Middle East …NOT!!! Pakistan fires an intercontinental missile.
Here’s my problem with the whole Walter Reed thing. Everyone knows about the famous Army bureaucracy. One would figure, if you’re going to start a war, that you might want to fix something like this. Five years later… FIVE years later! This isn’t fixed. As a matter of fact, there appears to be evidence to show that there is no attempt at fixing it.
The one thing that I think is very interesting is that Secretary of Defense Gates really focused on the fixing the bureaucracy. If he is able to do this, it will be a huge boost to the soldiers.
Daily Kos has a nice post on Walter Reed.
There seems to be a push from some Democrats to dust off Al Gore and get him to run to President. Why? I have nothing against Al Gore. We know him. We know what he stands for. We know that he didn’t or couldn’t or wouldn’t get the job done in 2000. Don’t we have enough Democrats running for President? What does Al bring to the table that none of the other Democrats have…experience.
The big question is will he announce at the Oscars.
There is an excellent post on Al here (Crooks and Liars) and here (the Left Coaster).
Keith Olbermann does an excellent job in pointing out Billo’s problems and issues on missing children.
Vice President Cheney reminds me of the Coyote. He continues to do say things that are proven wrong. The Coyote in spite of failure after failure continues to try to catch the Road Runner.
———
From WaPo:
Vice President Cheney refused to back down yesterday from his assertion that the Democratic approach to Iraq would “validate the al-Qaeda strategy,” as he continued a transpacific war of words with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
Speaking with ABC News during a visit to Australia, the vice president addressed the criticism of Pelosi, who earlier this week said that Cheney’s remarks were “beneath the dignity of the debate we’re engaged in.” She also spoke with White House Chief of Staff Joshua B. Bolten to register her complaint.
“She accused me of questioning her patriotism,” Cheney said. “I didn’t question her patriotism. I questioned her judgment.”
“Al-Qaeda functions on the basis that they think they can break our will. That’s their fundamental underlying strategy: that if they can kill enough Americans or cause enough havoc, create enough chaos in Iraq, then we’ll quit and go home,” Cheney added. “And my statement was that if we adopt the Pelosi policy, that then we will validate the strategy of al-Qaeda. I said it, and I meant it.” (more…)
—————
Crooks and Liars have an excellent piece on Cheney (with video) standing up and being 100% totally wrong again.
One way to answer that question is to ask an economist. I will do that next on my show. I’ll have Aviva Aron Dine from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. We will discuss the president’s budget. This time I was looking for something different. I was looking for someone who interacted with a wide range of people like a trauma surgeon. So, I picked my old friend, Harry Wilkins, MD. (The rest of the 2-17-07 show will be up in a day or two.) I think that you will like Harry’s unique perspective.
Why? The music isn’t rocket science. It’s fun. It’s Friday. Dance.
I liked what I saw of Tom Vilsack. His problem was that he started from a position of WHO? Tom Who? No one knew him outside of Iowa. Governor Vilsack had $1.5 million in his war chest. Obama raised that in one trip to sunny and rich Ca. Vilsack had his heart and head in the right place. I hope that he figures out a way to increase his exposure to the American people. He’s a good man who would do a good job serving in a National office.
———–
Dear Errington,
I am very fortunate — blessed in love, family, friends, job, and by this campaign.
I have the boldest plan to get us out of Iraq and a long-term policy for energy security to keep us out of future oil wars. Our campaign has built the strongest organization here in Iowa, with almost 3,000 supporters among Democratic caucus goers. We are organizationally positioned to win the caucuses in January 2008. We have everything to win the nomination and general election.
Everything except money.
That is why this morning after discussing with my wife Christie and our sons Jess and Doug we have decided to end our campaign for the presidency.
Thousands of you have given so generously of your time, energy and money. And together, we’ve built a campaign that has stood up and taken courageous stands on the issues that our country must face. In just the past few weeks, we’ve shaped the debate on the Iraq War and laid out an aggressive plan to achieve energy independence and security.
I firmly believe that our leadership on these issues — the defining issues of our time — will be recognized for years to come.
In recent weeks, just as our message has begun to resonate with voters and pundits alike, our fundraising has suffered. The fact is, each hour I spend with voters, press and policy experts is an hour taken away from our campaign paying bills.
More than any other race in history, this presidential campaign will require candidates to commit more time, energy and influence raising money than developing ideas. I worry that this process, involving hundreds of millions of dollars, holds our democracy hostage to insiders, influence and establishment when we are so in need of just the opposite.
But this is a fact I cannot change with this campaign.
I am leaving one campaign, but I am not saying goodbye. I will continue to fight for outsiders and underdogs who are the backbone of the Democratic Party and our country. Our work is far from over. Because here in Iowa where the first caucus will be held in less than 11 months and all across this great country, voters are longing for bold leadership, big ideas and courage from our elected officials.
We want the war to end — today.
We want a real plan to provide universal access to healthcare — today.
And we want policies to keep us secure and environmentally sound by ending our addiction to oil, both foreign and domestic.
Again, thank you for everything you’ve done. It has been an inspiring few months and I know that, with your continued support, our work is not over.
With great appreciation,
Where’s the Right Wing? They were trying to fry Jack Murtha saying that he didn’t support the troops. Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh led the crowd. Now, where’s the apology? Where’s the you did have your facts straight before you opened your mouth.
——-
From CNN.com:
A U.S. soldier was sentenced to 100 years in prison Thursday for the gang rape and murder of an Iraqi girl and the killing of her family last year.
Sgt. Paul E. Cortez, 24, also was given a dishonorable discharge. He will be eligible for parole in 10 years under the terms of his plea agreement.
Cortez, of Barstow, California, pleaded guilty this week to four counts of felony murder, rape and conspiracy to rape in a case considered among the worst atrocities by U.S. military personnel in Iraq. (more…)
Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, fulltime sports fan and part-time political activist. He is active in a number of community projects and initiatives. Through medicine, he strives to improve the physical health of all he treats...
