I don’t know. If I was giving a speech in front a group of Tuskegee Airmen from World War II and I was honoring their service, I’m thinking that I would learn how to pronounce Tuskegee. Especially, if my name was spelled Boehner and pronounced, Bainer.
My sister pointed this video out to me. A sailor who had been gone for months walked into his 7 year old son’s classroom. The boys reaction was, to quote a commercial, priceless.
Jon Stewart throws down on Karl (I’ve got no rhythm) Rove. I have seen folks that are at least close to the beat but Rove wasn’t in the same stadium as the beat. Jon free styles a rap (NOT) that does rip into lovable Karl.
What a quirky band!?? They can sure put different sounds together to get something special.
This has the potential to get very, very ugly. Why were British sailors in a position to get taken? Where was their back up? It would seem to me that one would not cruise around in that part of the world without some serious fightpower backing you up.
Iran promised to release the female captive. Nope. They decided not to because of Britain’s attitude. No seriously that’s what they said. Are we looking at 12 year olds? Come on. So, then the Iranians release 2 notes that the British sailors have written. I’m sure that there was no coercion to them to write these “notes” (here and here).
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From CNN.com:
Iranian Arabic language network Al Alam on Friday aired new video showing one of 15 British detainees apologizing to Iranians for “entering your waters without permission.”
The British government responded by criticizing the treatment of the sailors and marines, with Prime Minister Tony Blair saying Iran faces “increasing isolation” for refusing to release the service personnel. (more…)
It is getting harder and harder for the White House to shield Karl Rove. A previously overlooked e-mail seems to have Rove’s fingerprints all over the New Mexico USA firing.
From Newsweek:
(This was written by Michael Isikoff, a great reporter, who was on my show a couple of months ago.)
New Mexico Republican Sen. Pete Domenici’s chief of staff sent a cryptic thank-you note to Karl Rove just as the senator was recommending replacements for David Iglesias, the fired U.S. attorney in New Mexico, according to internal White House and Justice Department documents.
“Thanks for everything,” Domenici chief of staff Steve Bell wrote Rove and two other White House officials, including Rove’s political deputy, Scott Jennings, in a Jan. 8, 2007 e-mail that forwarded the name of a candidate to replace Iglesias.
Buried in Justice Department documents released two weeks ago, the Bell e-mail was not initially noticed by congressional investigators because it was sent to Rove’s political e-mail account—not his more clearly recognizable White House e-mail address. (more…)
Wow, what is going on here? Are the Saudis trying to strengthen their position in the Middle East? Are they trying to align themselves with the Sunni Iraqis? There is clearly a back story. (Remember that Cheney was called to Saudi Arabia for a tongue lashing back in December.)
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From CNN.com:
King Abdullah’s harsh — and unexpected — attack on the U.S. military presence in Iraq could be a Saudi attempt to signal to Washington its anger over the situation in Iraq and build credibility among fellow Arabs.
The White House, in a rare public retort Thursday, rejected the king’s characterization of U.S. troops in Iraq as an “illegitimate foreign occupation,” saying the United States was not in Iraq illegally. (more…)
In Mr. Kyle Sampson’s opening statement there was a very interesting paragraph -
“The distinction between political- and performance-related reasons for removing a U.S. attorney is, in my view, largely artificial. A U.S. attorney who is unsuccessful from a political perspective, either because he or she has alienated the leadership of the department in Washington or cannot work constructively with law enforcement or other governmental constituencies in the district, is unsuccessful.”
Let’s remember that these were “loyal” republicans. All of these attorneys were Republicans. Most of them were selected by their Senator who told the Bush White House that these guys were loyal republicans. If they weren’t they wouldn’t have been nominated.
The media really doesn’t know what to do about blogs and the internet. Some of the guys are embracing the blogging community others … well, are giving us the finger. The true answer is probably somewhere in the middle.
It is always sad to see a beautiful car crash. But this, brings a tear to my eye. An Enzo. Man.
I just don’t understand how a “real” lawyer hasn’t thought thru these questions. If he has thought thru them you can’t tell me that this is his best answer. Gonzales basically sez, “I knew why I fired these attorneys and I’m not going to tell you?” That’s it. That his answer. That’s crazy.
More later.
I’m still not sure that we have heard all that there is to hear about Pat Tillman’s death and the disgraceful cover up of death.
Keith Olbermann has a special comment on Tom Delay.
First, before, I get to his special comment, why? I must ask why? Why has Tom Delay resurfaced like a boil that will not heal? His type of winner take all politics has been rejected by the voters. Hell, Delay ran the House like the Mafia. It was the “either you’re with us or against us” model of government. So, I’m not sure and I really don’t care if Tom Delay is guilty of rigging the Texas election. I’m glad that Tom doesn’t have a strangle hold on our government any more.
Tom’s new book is being peddled on all of the major news shows. Why?
From ACT:
About 300 people gathered Saturday in City-County Plaza in support of peace and an end to the war in Iraq.
The rally, sponsored by the WNC Peace Coalition and other groups, featured speeches by clergy members, activists and authors, along with music and singing performances.
“We do it every year to help influence public opinion and put pressure on politicians to end the war,” said organizer Susan Oehler.
Families, church groups and residents holding signs proclaiming “I voted for peace” were among those gathered on the plaza. (more…)
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We do need to end this war.
Emails released late Friday reveal Gonzales who previously denied being involved in the firing of the 8 US attorneys was in fact involved in the firings of the 8 US Attorneys.
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Update: From WaPo -
Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales met with senior aides on Nov. 27 to review a plan to fire a group of U.S. attorneys, according to documents released last night, a disclosure that contradicts Gonzales’s previous statement that he was not involved in “any discussions” about the dismissals.
Justice Department officials also announced last night that the department’s inspector general and its Office of Professional Responsibility have launched a joint investigation into the firings, including an examination of whether any of the removals were improper and whether any Justice officials misled Congress about them. (more…)
Glenn Beck should have never gotten a primetime show. CNN was looking to grab some of the conservative crowd from Fox. As a matter of fact, his radio show should be pulled but what do I know. Glenn should be playing at his local barbershop. When he gets out of line that ex-high school football jock that is 150 lbs over his high school playing weight should get up and smack him right in the mouth.
Rush Limbaugh is so …Rush. Only he would say on the day that Elizabeth Edwards announces that John is planning for a popularity bump from her announcement. What trash.
Many liberals are PO’ed. They want more. When you are blogging or chatting with friends it is very easy to state your demands. When you are on the floor of the House of Representatives it is an entirely different matter. You have to get about 250 of your colleagues to agree with you. That doesn’t include the Senate where another 50 – 60 colleagues need to agree and then the president. An immediate pullout just ain’t in the cards right now. So, what’s the next best thing? Place constraints on the spending bill. That’s it. The Dem’s have tried several other avenues. This one was open.
With the War in Iraq the Republicans will tell you in private what a disaster the war is but on the floor of the House they continue to vote with the president. The president will never admit defeat unless it is in his political interest. With approval rating between 29 – 34%, what does the president have to lose?
All that I can say is it is about time. Pat Tillman’s family have stayed on this story from the start. Thank god they had some money and some clout. Without that we would have never heard any parts of the truth in this case.
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From MSNBC.com:
A Pentagon investigation will recommend that nine officers, including up to four generals, be held accountable for missteps in the aftermath of the friendly fire death of Army Ranger Pat Tillman, a former U.S. football star accidentally killed by his comrades in Afghanistan, senior defense officials said Friday.
The Defense Department inspector general will report a range of missteps and inappropriate conduct as the military investigated the death on the battle front in 2004 of a man who quit a multimillion-dollar career to join the Army after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, one defense official said. (more…)
Update: Video Added
Errington C. Thompson, MD, is a surgeon, scholar, full-time 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...
