Where’s the Outrage?

Keith Olbermann does a nice job at framing the discussion with Rachael Maddow from Air America.  President Bush and the rest of the neocons are turning up the terror.  Fox had a story about Al Qaeda setting fires in the west.  A 4 year old bit of intelligence that had nothing to do with California.  President Bush has he has done many, many times before gave us a list of the attacks that have been stopped.  Many of the plots have been labeled as bogus by those who know intelligence.

 

 Countdown - More Fear [8:02m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Bush Administration, Countdown by ecthompson
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He’s old and older folks tend to say what’s on their mind. James Watson part of the famous team of Watson and Crick who described the DNA Helix has retired as Chancellor of a Long Island Lab after his racial remarks.

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From NYT:

James D. Watson, the eminent biologist who ignited an uproar last week with remarks about the intelligence of people of African descent, retired today as chancellor of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island and from its board.

In a statement, he noted that, at 79, he is “overdue” to surrender leadership positions at the lab, which he joined as director in 1968 and served as president until 2003. But he said the circumstances of his resignation “are not those which I could ever have anticipated or desired.”

Dr. Watson, who shared the 1962 Nobel Prize for describing the double-helix structure of DNA, and later headed the American government’s part in the international Human Genome Project, was quoted in The Times of London last week as suggesting that, overall, people of African descent are not as intelligent as people of European descent. In the ensuing uproar, he issued a statement apologizing “unreservedly” for the comments, adding “there is no scientific basis for such a belief.” (more…)

Tags: Race, Science by ecthompson
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This is why I’m apprehensive about government lists. They always have errors. Once you are on the list is difficult to get off. Did you see that Senator Kennedy was on the list. Yep, Edward Kennedy. You can’t tell me that this wasn’t some twisted Republican thang. Another personal story about a distinguished professor from Princeton University being on the list.

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From NYT:

The meeting had all the hallmarks of an ordinary Congressional hearing. There was Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Democrat of Massachusetts, discussing the problems faced by ordinary citizens mistakenly placed on terrorist watch lists. Then, to the astonishment of the crowd attending a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Thursday, Mr. Kennedy offered himself up as Exhibit A.

Between March 1 and April 6, airline agents tried to block Mr. Kennedy from boarding airplanes on five occasions because his name resembled an alias used by a suspected terrorist who had been barred from flying on airlines in the United States, his aides and government officials said. (more…)

In a separate story from CNN.com:

A new government report says there are now more than three quarters of a million names on the U.S. government’s terrorist “watch list,” raising concerns the list may be becoming too large.

A Government Accountability Office study out Wednesday said the Terrorist Screening Center’s watch list contained approximately 755,000 names. But because many potential suspects have multiple names or aliases on the list, investigators are not certain how many distinct individuals are actually represented. (more…)

 

 Terrorist Watch List [1:31m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Bush Administration, Terrorism by ecthompson
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I thought it would be fun to review just what President Bush said in his January 2007 speech which announced the escalation. As it turns out none of the promises for decreased violence and increased Iraqi cooperation has been done. I have Matt Matten local Asheville Talk show host on WWNC. Surprisingly refreshing interview. I then follow up with my favorite Middle East expert, Brain Katulis from the Center for American Progress. We discuss the progress or lack of progress in Iraq.

 

 The Errington Thompson Show 09-15-07 [53:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Podcasts by ecthompson
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There are times when I just get tired of talking about Iraq.  This war which is not really a war just keeps going on and on and on.  The news comes in 2 flavors - awful and bad.

Today White House press secretary Dana Perino had a very interesting response to the CBO’s figure of $2.4 trillion price tag if the war continues for 10 years assuming that we downsize the force to around 50,000.  She said who knows.  That number doesn’t really matter.  Spending on the global war on terror is an investment in our own security.  This is something that the President is committed in prioritizing in the budget.   What?  That’s a crock.  The War in the Iraq hasnever been in the budget.  Instead it has always come up in supplemental spending requests.

So, the game that the administration is paying is that it will say any big number is wildly out of bounds.  It is too far into the future for us to guess.  That’s been our problem.  If we would have been told from the start that taking down Iraq would cost $500 billion and over 3,000 American troops AND after spending that much money we still wouldn’t have a stable Iraq, how many Americans would have gone for it?  I would bet only a couple of neocons and that’s it.

Chris Matthews talks to Rep. Obey  Chairman of the budget and finance committee.

 

 2.4 trillion reasons to leave Iraq [4:29m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Budget, Congress, Hardball, Iraq by ecthompson
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Well, as usual, the media can’t focus on teh important stuff.  Now, we have stories about how sweet Qualcomm stadium is.  We have stories about dogs and llamas.  Houses are still burning.  Bush has declared a state of emergency.

Below is a video of the images from Countdown.  Keith Olbermann has usual does a great job at introducing the topic then stepping back.

One California blogger has compared the area of Southern California that has been burned to the size of Manhattan (hint:  the area of destruction is bigger)

There is an interesting personal account here.

 

 Countdown - Cali fires day 3 [4:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: California Wildfires, Countdown by ecthompson
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I’m sorry I was busy working and missed most of game one.  I have reviewed the box score and 13 - 1 the Boston Red Sox stomped the Colorado Rockies.  3 runs in the first inning.  This one was never close.

I’m very surprised.  Colorado was on this winning streak.  They weren’t supposed to be fluke.  13 - 1 ain’t a fluke either.

Tags: Sports by ecthompson
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Really? With Rush and his - Obama - Osama routine. The message has stunk with some folks. if there is an association which is all that the Republicans wanted. Barack Obama. Osama Bin Laden. They just wanted a hint of doubt in the minds of Americans. Once you start thinking that you aren’t sure who the Senator is and who is the terrorist then they have won.

So, did Romney really make a “mistake” yesterday when he said, “Actually, just look at what Osam _ Barack Obama _ said just yesterday. Barack Obama, calling on radicals, jihadists of all different types, to come together in Iraq. That is the battlefield. … It’s almost as if the Democratic contenders for president are living in fantasyland. Their idea for jihad is to retreat, and their idea for the economy is to also retreat. And in my view, both efforts are wrongheaded.”

His campaign said it was just a slip of the tongue. Really? So, is Romney the absent-minded politician or is he the business genius that his campaign is painting? It can’t be both.

Update: Video added

 

 Romney - Obama [0:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Tags: Bin Laden, Election 2008, Party Politics by ecthompson
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