What's on your mind Leon?
What does Barack Obama owe Leon Panetta? Why him and why now? The CIA is notoriously suspicious of inexperienced civilians and are masters at resistance to real change. What is a seventy year old politician with no intelligence experience going to accomplish with the CIA?
Hillary Clinton, Rahm Emmanuel, Bill Richardson and now Leon Panetta seems like pretty loose change to me.
_________________
Panetta Chosen as C.I.A. Chief in Surprise Step
By MARK MAZZETTI and CARL HULSE, New York Times
Published: January 5, 2009
WASHINGTON — Leon E. Panetta, a former congressman and White House chief of staff, has been selected by President-elect Barack Obama to head the Central Intelligence Agency. The choice, disclosed Monday by Democratic officials, immediately revealed divisions in the party as two senior lawmakers questioned why Mr. Obama would nominate a candidate with limited experience in intelligence matters.(more if you need it)
The job was the last unfilled major post for Mr. Obama, who has criticized the agency for using interrogation methods he characterized as torture. Democratic officials said Mr. Obama had selected Mr. Panetta for his managerial skills, his bipartisan standing, and the foreign policy and budget experience he gained under President Bill Clinton.
Mr. Panetta has himself been a sharp critic of the agency’s interrogation practices. Some Democrats expressed strong support for the choice, with Harry Reid of Nevada, the Senate majority leader, describing him as “one of the finest public servants I have ever served with and dealt with since he left the White House.”
But Mr. Panetta, 70, was also widely described as a surprising and unusual choice to head the C.I.A., an agency that has been notoriously unwelcoming to previous directors perceived as outsiders.
Trish weeps.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe habu will have the answer, as to why Panetta gets the call. He thought he was the expert on all things intelligent.
ReplyDeleteExcept he was really bad at predicting the actions of his hero, GW Bush. 14 days left, GW Bush will order that decisive attack on Iran, soon. It'll have to be soon or it will not be ordered, at all.
As I predicted, all those many moons ago.
mat is going to limit US all to a single square of toliet paper, to save the planet. Under penalty of life without even a single square, if we do not conform to his ideology of less.
Again, even electricity needs to be rationed, those plasma tbs, just to wasteful. Now I did buy an 46" LCD, but not because of the electrical usage.
But big momma mat, knows what's best for everyone, but himself.
Oil does not generate electricity, in the US, and "Energy" is not fungible, sorry.
If not letting energy flow freely to those that oppose you is a mark of insanity, then the Israeli are off their rocker.
ReplyDeleteBut then no one makes that claim, that insanity led the Israeli to blockade Gaza. Which they did even before the rockets began to fly.
Which is/was an act of war, old school style.
So, if Putin is nuts, so are those Israelis. Which no one wants to postulate, even now.
Why would Obama nominate Leon Panetta to head up the CIA?
ReplyDeleteHis bio at The Panetta Institute.
Congressman, White House Chief of Staff, Institute Director...
Maybe he was covert the whole time...
That's it. The next liberal meme could be that Panetta's a spook.
ReplyDeleteMonday, January 05, 2009
ReplyDeletePelosi Moves to Silence Minority By Erasing Long-Standing House Rules
Worst. Congress. Ever.
Speaker Pelosi plans to erase House rules that were written around Newt Gingrich’s "Contract with America" which would effectively silence the minority.
Connie Hair at Human Events reported:
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to re-write House rules today to ensure that the Republican minority is unable to have any influence on legislation. Pelosi’s proposals are so draconian, and will so polarize the Capitol, that any thought President-elect Obama has of bipartisan cooperation will be rendered impossible before he even takes office.
Pelosi’s rule changes -- which may be voted on today -- will reverse the fairness rules that were written around Newt Gingrich’s “Contract with America.”
In reaction, the House Republican leadership is sending a letter today to Pelosi to object to changes to House Rules this week that would bar Republicans from offering alternative bills, amendments to Democrat bills or even the guarantee of open debate accessible by motions to recommit for any piece of legislation during the entire 111th Congress. These procedural abuses, as outlined in the below letter obtained by HUMAN EVENTS, would also include the repeal of six-year limit for committee chairmen and other House Rules reform measures enacted in 1995 as part of the Contract with America.
After decades of Democrat control of the House of Representatives, gross abuses to the legislative process and several high-profile scandals contributed to an overwhelming Republican House Congressional landslide victory in 1994. Reforms to the House Rules as part of the Contract with America were designed to open up to public scrutiny what had become under this decades-long Democrat majority a dangerously secretive House legislative process. The Republican reform of the way the House did business included opening committee meetings to the public and media, making Congress actually subject to federal law, term limits for committee chairmen ending decades-long committee fiefdoms, truth in budgeting, elimination of the committee proxy vote, authorization of a House audit, specific requirements for blanket rules waivers, and guarantees to the then-Democrat minority party to offer amendments to pieces of legislation.
Pelosi’s proposed repeal of decades-long House accountability reforms exposes a tyrannical Democrat leadership poised to assemble legislation in secret, then goose-step it through Congress by the elimination of debate and amendment procedures as part of America’s governing legislative process.
So... this is what hope and change looks like.
---
Democracy in America.
Even if the Eastern Europeans built their French nukes, their heating infrastructure is not electrical, but gas powered.
ReplyDeleteIn the faltering world economy they will not be able to fund a transition and the nuke build out envisioned.
As to French nuclear power being the premium source of energy, I remind the reader of the summer of 2003, in Paris, when 10,000 residents died.
The cause of the death, heat, and a lack of air conditioning. The air conditioners, like plasma tvs, considered a comspumptive luxury that 'common folk' did not need. While the elites went to the beach, to escape the urban nightmare they had created in mat's beloved Paris.
One of the cities he has urged US to emulate.
When he speaks wishfully of mass killings, believe him. He wants that for America, the death of thousands is prefered to wasting energy on air conditioning for the people of Paris.
Which makes Paris one of mat's templates for American cities of the future.
Lest we forget the benefits of living in Paris ...
ReplyDeleteFrance: More than 10,000 dead in record heat wave
By Francis Dubois
22 August 2003
...
France’s leading undertakers organisation reported on Thursday that as many as 13,000 may have died from exposure to the intense heat.
After unusually high temperatures throughout June and July, the heat wave reached its peak between August 6 and August 11, with temperatures soaring to 40 degrees Centigrade (104 degrees Fahrenheit). In the course of the week, hospitals were thrown into crisis, unable to cope with the increasing numbers of people—mostly the elderly and frail and those with chronic illnesses—brought to them by the emergency services.
The number of deaths in the Paris region increased dramatically, up to four times the number normally seen at this time of year. Most deaths were from dehydration or heatstroke. For many of those brought to hospital, it was already too late. According to one estimate, 80 percent of those who died were over 75 years of age.
Hospitals eventually stopped admitting patients, and people calling for ambulances were told they would have to cope where they were. As a result, people died in hotels, in their homes or, even more often, in old people’s homes. Homeless people simply expired on the street.
Morgues and funeral homes ran out of space, and some of the dead were left for days on end where they had perished.
Change is coming...
ReplyDeleteA NEW Government!
Change....
Clinton, Emanuel, Holder, Carter, Kennedy, Biden, Panetta, Gates & much more...
Wow with this much change when is going to make McCain & Bolton part of the cabinet...
as Coulter says, "It doesnt help my career, but it does please me"
I suspect several on the far left maybe having heart attacks right now....
good they deserve the gripping chest pains
DR Which is/was an act of war, old school style.
ReplyDeleteIsrael never stopped all energy to the gaza strip by any means...
in fact 40-50 percent of all electricity is provided to the strip via israel's grid..
the cutting of gasoline & diesel occurred AFTER hamas invaded israel and kidnapped and killed israelis...
THAT IS AN ACT OF WAR...
Also let's not forget that Hamas used suicide bombers INSIDE ISRAEL at civilians
This is an act of war...
and let's also not forget...
Hamas's charter?
try that one for a read is an ACT OF WAR...
Israel should cut off all energy to the strip and force it's people to move to the sinai...
and yes it's war......
get used to it...
Didn't I read, somewhere, that Paris is roughly the same lattitude as Montreal?
ReplyDeleteI doubt if many people have air conditioning in Paris - Rich, or Poor.
We'll have over four, or five times that many die from the cold in the U.S. this winter.
As to the House, bob, the people have spoken.
ReplyDeleteGiving voice to theri frustrations with inept leadership, they have empowered the Democrats, to make Sweeping changes.
Elections matter.
MN, at that grand. Well, the election will be decided with 41% support, whether Coleman or Franken win.
Dean Barkley, he got 14.9% of the vote. Spoiler that he was.
Wonder who'd have won a run-off election? We'll never know, but Senator Franken would have us believe he'd have.
Live fron Washington DC,
it's Al Franken!
Live is not a series of binary choices
As for Panetta: Hell, it's the CIA. How bad could he hurt it?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteParis = 48°52′0″N 2°19′59″E
ReplyDeletepopulation = 2,167,994
density = 24,948 /km² (64,620 /sq mi)
Montreal = 45°30 N / -73°36 W.
So Paris is further north, than Montreal.
There population of the US is 150 times larger than Paris. Do you propose, rufus that 1.5 million Americans will die of the cold, this winter?
That is the comparison you made, do you really believe that?
Yeah, that ain't ezakly apples to apples is it?
ReplyDeleteThis is absurd:
ReplyDeleteMr. Panetta has attended more Garlic Festivals in Gilroy, the
GARLIC CAPITAL OF THE WORLD,
than any other potential candidates to head the CIA.
Trish Weeps?
Anyone who knows anything about nutrition knows that Garlic Strengthens our Defenses.
Just what we need!
...if you can't stand the Leeks,
Stay out of the kitchen,
I say.
Mat gets to wipe my ass with that single sheet the next time I have a WMD Shit like I did last night.
ReplyDeleteSince he was not around, I used copius volumes of H2O, pumped with diesel-generated electricity, to cleanse my nether-regions.
...there I go again,
sinnin in the end,
Signing off,
the Asshole!
'Rat seems unaware that Mat is the only member of the Bar that can pick up a turd by the clean end.
ReplyDelete...gotta respect that.
For the Climatology Impaired:
ReplyDeleteParis benefits from being on the Ocean Side of the continent, Montreal does not.
...IOW, Paris is like a colder version of California, or Perth, Australia.
Montreal more like Stalingrad.
...perfect stomping grounds for Energy Czar Mat.
Dougo, you are on a roll. Master wit!
ReplyDeleteYeah, England and France both are strongly affected by the warm Gulf Stream which passes by their coasts. Heck, London is roughly on the same latitude as Newfoundland and Labrador and those place have very uncomfortable winter climates.
Macworld SCOOP! The new MacBook Wheel!
ReplyDeletemat is going to limit US all to a single square of toliet paper, to save the planet.
ReplyDelete==
No. But I would insist on proper accounting. We're not commies here.
...
ReplyDeleteThe problem here is that Burris unquestionably was lawfully selected. According to the 17th Amendment, "When vacancies happen in the representation of any state in the Senate, the executive authority of such state shall issue writs of election to fill such vacancies." Illinois law gives this power to the state governor, and that is Blagojevich until he is impeached and found guilty.
Allowing the Senate to exclude Burris on any except the narrowest of grounds would create a dangerous precedent. It could open the door to the Senate or the House overturning the will of the people and excluding representatives under one or another pretext. If Burris -- whose appointment meets the legal test, no matter what you think of Blagojevich -- is not seated, other properly elected (or appointed) representatives also are at risk.
The Supreme Court's conclusion could not be clearer or more on point: "In short, both the intention of the framers, to the extent that it can be determined, and an examination of basic principles of our democratic system persuade us that the Constitution does not vest in the Congress a discretionary power to deny membership by a majority vote."
The desire of Senate Democrats, and even Obama, to keep Blagojevich from picking the new senator from Illinois is understandable -- a federal attorney arrested the governor on charges of trying to sell the appointment for personal gain. Although Burris is untainted by the scandal, any selection made by Blagojevich is suspect.
But the taint of Blagojevich's alleged crimes does not justify ignoring the Constitution. For the last eight years, the Bush administration has ignored or twisted the Constitution to serve what it believed were higher ends. It would be an enormous mistake, as a new administration prepares to take charge, for Democrats to send the Senate down that same path.
Erwin Chemerinsky is the dean of the UC Irvine School of Law.
This fricken Russian President leeches on the posts everyday. Sometimes there's a trash can others not.
ReplyDeleteIt annoys me for some reason.
BTW - Erwin Chim is a regular on Hugh Hewitt and about as leftist a jurist as you will find. Not quite out there with William Kuntsler but very liberal. Professor Erwin is doing pro bono work for Quantanamo detainees.
I was reading the Kunstler article on a previous post. The guy really has a dislike for anything Jesus.
ReplyDeletewealth-worshipping, Ponzi-loving, science-hating Jesus cultists
ReplyDelete==
You're right, GR. Someone should point it out to JHK that 'Jesus cultists' part is purely coincidental. He's got a blog, call him on that bit of racism.
..^the 'Jesus cultists' part is purely coincidental..
ReplyDeleteNo. But I would insist on proper accounting. We're not commies here.
ReplyDeleteIn your situration, it seems a case of repeating the lie often enough that some fools might believe it.
Yes LT, wanting energy efficient appliances makes me a Commie. Anything else?
ReplyDeleteBut the taint of Blagojevich's alleged crimes does not justify ignoring the Constitution. For the last eight years, the Bush administration has ignored or twisted the Constitution to serve what it believed were higher ends. It would be an enormous mistake, as a new administration prepares to take charge, for Democrats to send the Senate down that same path.
ReplyDeleteErwin Chemerinsky is the dean of the UC Irvine School of Law.
Disclaimer: I believe in a strong unitary presidency, either party.
We've been treated to this steady whining litany about Bush's alleged ignoring or shredding of the constitution for nigh on eight years now. They need to either prove it, or find a new mantra, but of course they can't prove it. What do you suppose will happen if they get a strong president of their own?
Anything else?
ReplyDeleteParaphrasing you: Read your posts.
It seems to me the wiretapping authorized by the administration and executed by the phone companies was a violation of the constitution. Congress went and granted amnesty to the phone companies. I'm hoping that there are some organizations still pursuing the legal channels on this issue. The ACLU maybe?
ReplyDeleteYes, that's what I thought. You're a drive-by turd.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with
ReplyDelete[choke] Ash [choke]> that Doug is off to a fast rolling start. Something must have made him mighty happy this morning.
Just one after another after another...amazing.
Doug's so far West I'm guessing it is the drinks before going to bed...
ReplyDeleteYes, that's what I thought. You're a drive-by turd.
ReplyDeleteMaintaining the mediocrity of his postings, mat regurges another sample of his adolescent wit.
---
Surely you can do better, little fellow?
You're boring. Meditate on that.
ReplyDeleteThe Leon & Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy
ReplyDeleteThat has to be one of the leanest websites I've ever seen.
A friend in Monterey said he'd seen him at church a few times, after he left Washington. The friend was not impressed.
From a newsvine.com commenter on Panetta's selection:
ReplyDeleteAn Obama transition official and another Democrat disclosed his nomination on a condition of anonymity since it was not yet public.
I never understood this concept...
"we're not supposed to say anything yet, and have sworn not to...but if you say it was anonymous, then I'll tell you everything secret that you would want to know."
---
So what's new?
A cousin wrote at Christmas that his son is thinking of retiring from CIA. Wonder if this may help him make up his mind? Or not.
Waiting here for dr to shed more light on this puzzling appointment.
Dean Barkley, he got 14.9% of the vote. Spoiler that he was.
ReplyDeleteWonder who'd have won a run-off election? We'll never know, but Senator Franken would have us believe he'd have.
Franken's a comedian, or thinks he is. Yup, Barkley spoiled the party.
Elections matter.
----
I've seen bare breasted beauties on the beach in Sweden, that water from the south working it's wonders.
Oh, she rolled lazily over....
Actually I think Coleman probably did win the election.
ReplyDeleteBob,
ReplyDeleteWhat goes into a nice ham casserole?
I need advice, and am turning to you, my Lutheran friend. We have lots of ham, and mom decided she'd like it in a casserole, but can't remember her recipe.
All I can think of is ham and noodles and corn flakes and celery.
LT wrote:
ReplyDelete"Waiting here for dr to shed more light on this puzzling appointment."
My 2 cents is that Obama is not pleased with the CIA he's inheriting and has chosen an outsider who has some knowledge of the organization to shake it up and invoke change.
Linear, let me ask my wife about that, she's downtown, but I'll get back.
ReplyDelete...has chosen an outsider who has some knowledge of the organization to shake it up and invoke change.
ReplyDeleteBut that implies he has any [qualifying] knowledge of the agency.
My guess would be he's a sacrificial lamb, prepositioned to take the fall when some big medicine happens, and the One needs a scapegoat. But, I read Vince Foster novels, too.
That doesn't sound right. Vince...what's his name? Vince Flynn.
lol, but then every person around the president is a potential fall guy...
ReplyDeleteBingo! Got my Sarah Palin Calendar in the mail!
ReplyDeleteVery eloquently and discreetly done. I can't tell what kind of shotgun she is toting, but it's broke over her shoulder, and since there is separte small pic of two spent shells flipping in the air, I take it it's and over/under double.
Only other sporting image is Sarah with a hockey stick. Oddly enough, no fishing pictures.
Made my day.
For Linear Sve-dish Beauty Elin Nordegren Recommends via my wife This Dish Ja vit the Black Forest ham diced up ya know. Iss goood.
ReplyDeleteElin's Ham Link Here
ReplyDeleteLUTFISK LAMENT
ReplyDeleteTwas the night before Christmas with things all a-bustle, as mama got set for the Christmas Eve tussle. Aunts, uncles, and cousins soon would be arriving with stomachs all ready For Christmas Eve dining, While I sat alone with a feeling of dread, As visions of lutfisk Danced in my head. The thought of the smell made my eyeballs start burning; the thought of the taste set my stomach to churning, For I'm one of those who good Swedes rebuff, A Scandihuvian boy who can't stand the stuff. Each year, however, I played at the game to spare Mama and Papa the undying shame. I must bear up bravely; I can't take the risk of relatives knowing I hate lutfisk. Then out in the dark I heard such a clatter I yumped up to see What was the matter. There in the snow All in a yumble Three of my uncles had taken a tumble. My aunt, as usual, gave them what for and they soon were up and through the door. Then, from out in the kitchen, An odor came stealing that fairly set my Senses to reeling. The smells of lutfisk creeped down the hall, and wilted a plant in a pot on the wall. The others reacted As though they were smitten, While the aroma laid low my small, helpless kitten. Uncle Oscar and Lars said, "Oh, that is yummy!" And Kermit said, "That's good for the tummy!" And then, "Dinner time," Said Mama, ringing a bell, As they rushed to the table With a whoop and a yell. I lifted my eyes
To heaven and sighed, And a rose on the wallpaper Withered and died. With my legs full of lead, I found my chair and sat in silence with unseeing stare. Most of the food was already in place; there remained only to Fill the lutfisk's space. "Var så god" And Papa came proudly with a bowl on a trivet you would have thought The crown jewels were in it. Then Papa lifted the cover on the steaming dish and I was face to face With that quivering fish. "Me first," I heard Uncle Kermit call, While I watched the paint Peel off the wall. The plates were passed For Papa to fill. I waited in agony between fever and chill. He would dip in a spoon and all in a pile It oozed onto the plate-I thought I would die. Then came my plate and to my fevered brain, There seemed enough lutfisk to derail a train. With butter and cream sauce I tried to conceal it; I salted and peppered but The smell would reveal it. I drummed up my courage; I tried to be bold-Mama said, "Eat it before it gets cold."
I decided to face it-"Uffda," I sighed. "Uffda, indeed," My stomach replied. Then I summoned that resolve For which us Vikings is known...
Kram it for Desert
ReplyDelete2 cups fruit juice
3 tablespoons water
1 cup whole boysenberries
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
whipped cream
Bring juice and berries to a boil.
Combine cornstarch and water. Stir sugar and cornstarch mixture into juice mixture. Cook until clear and thickened.
Cool and serve with whipped cream.
Virginia Arnold The Swedish Mill, Kingsburg, California
Al Franken for CIA Director!
ReplyDeleteSooper Spook, Master Spy, CIA Director Alfonso Frankenstein
ReplyDeleteBy the way, anybody know if Frankenstein has paid those back taxes yet?
ReplyDeleteWhat about Charlie Rangel?
Last I heard Rangel was going to hire a "forensic accountant", but I don't know what became of the idea.
Viking cuisine (from Doug's link)--
ReplyDeleteFood that required no cooking included cheese and smoked meat. They enjoyed baked bread and meat that was roasted on a spit, or they would bake meat in a deep pit covered with hot stones. Sometimes the meat was boiled in an iron cauldron.
Horns from animals were used as drinking containers, and wooden bowls held their food and soup. Only knives, fingers and small spoons were used as they did not have forks.
The Vikings also enjoyed seaweed. During bad winters the Vikings ate anything they could catch......
Big Hollywood
ReplyDeleteMakes it's Debut.
"There may still be additional legal proceedings related to our recount," ... "But I'm now in the business of serving the people of Minnesota"
ReplyDelete-Franken
The Vikings also enjoyed seaweed. During bad winters the Vikings ate anything they could catch......
ReplyDelete==
Hmmmm,..
Irish girls and seaweed. Which was more appetizing, did they say?
Maybe LT will tell us.
ReplyDelete“C-List” Casting Call: Will Hollywood Conservatives Come Out to Play?
ReplyDeleteby
U.S. Representative Thaddeus G. McCotter
"True, the Congressional Republicans rapping at your doors aren’t standing in the clothes that we once wore: our majority was emaciated by electoral liposuction; our bold re-branding initiative put speed freaks to sleep; and our approval rating nose-dived faster than Bozo on a bender.
ReplyDeleteBut some things haven’t changed. We still like long walks on the beach, faith, family, community and country; and we still dislike taxes, dieting and terrorists. Most importantly, we still share with you the bonds of camaraderie, universality, and creativity.
Our camaraderie stems from our shared suffering as conservatives. Conservatism being the negation of ideology, our existence threatens the Left’s dogmatic ideologues, who revile, repress and retaliate against us: Congressional Republicans are targeted for political extinction; and Big Hollywood’s cloistered conservatives are targeted for professional ostracism."
Sounds the whining of a loser.
ReplyDeleteConservatism being the negation of ideology
What a worthless piece of politcal hubris.
Leon Panetta, I am kind of in the dark on the motivational thinking of our future President. Panetta is a Clinton man, being Chief of Staff there.
So he is knowledgable in the DC ways. It'd seem Obama is wanting to revamp the Agency. Whether Obama gets the leaks and the backstabbing that GW recieved, from whomever it was doing that, from inside the Agency.
We'll have to wait and see.
Seems more than obvious that if a spy guy was involved in approved waterboarding, renditions and other less than PC operations, he's going to out in the cold, at least in the beginning of Team44's tenure.
Despite this, Panetta is unlikely to undergo Senate challenge:
ReplyDeleteFeinstein was miffed not only because of the breach in normal protocol but also because Intelligence Committee Democrats were still smarting from being largely dismissed by the Bush administration for eight years. Bush vetoed the last annual intelligence authorization bill because it would have limited CIA interrogation methods, legislation spearheaded by Feinstein.
Obama also didn't consult outgoing chairman Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., about his unusual choice_ something a committee official said should have happened both for protocol and political reasons.
Obama called Rockefeller Tuesday, and the two men agreed that the President-elect could have done a better job of notifying both key senators, according to a Rockefeller aide who spoke anonymously, not authorized to comment on the record.
Sounds strange to me. To not even consult the Senate Democrats who have the most intel oversight experience. Very strange.
Wonder who advised him to choose Panetta and why he did.
Billery, that'd be my guess.
ReplyDeleteWanting to bring the CIA into the State Depatments's sphere of influence.
But that is just speculative thought, to be sure.
The Podium and the Odium - Mark Steyn -
ReplyDelete"If conservatives don't figure out popular culture soon, the movement will die a deserving death. ...
Liberalism is the default mode of the culture - to the point where the left-of-center position is so pervasive it's no longer a position at all, but rather something uncontentious, received wisdom, part of the air we breathe..."
There is no conservative option, Conservatism being the negation of ideology
ReplyDeleteConservatives, by their own definition are not FOR anything, only standing across the path to progress, shouting NO!
Now that may have worked for WF Buckley, back in the 1950's, but it will not forge a future, now.
Here's another confidence builder, Ladies and Gentlemen. Obama picks CNN Medical Reporter As Surgeon General
ReplyDeletehardeharhar, wonder who recommended him?
Some Illinois drug company perhaps.
Hope and change you can believe in.
I think we need the Duke and the Doctor as Surgeon Generals. Great salespersons.
ReplyDeleteI want Richard Hoagland, Enterprise Mission, As Head of NASA
ReplyDeletePanetta will bring a new 'can do' attitude to the Agency, and build up morale. He'll be able to go out and personally rescue agents in distress. Without rendition, Panetta will question them himself. When the nuke goes off in LA, D.C., New York, he'll hunt 'em down and strangle them with his bare hands. He'll also make speeches. Sarcasm.
ReplyDeleteBut Clinton used rendition, and Panetta was around then.
I'm listening to the former head of the Obama unit on Savage. Says Clinton had 8 chances to get Obama, never gave the order. Bush had one, at Tora Bora, but that was more the generals fault.
Guy isn't impressed with Panetta.
What Agency head ended up floating in a canoe on the Potomac, his dinner still on the stove?
Says Clinton had 8 chances to get Obama, never gave the order. Bush had one, at Tora Bora, but that was more the generals fault.
ReplyDelete==
Strike when the iron's hot. Osama would agree. ;)
Billery, that'd be my guess.
ReplyDeleteWanting to bring the CIA into the State Depatments's sphere of influence.
But that is just speculative thought, to be sure.
This CIA Obama unit head agrees with you on that, Rat. I think his name is Michael Sawyer, Sayer(?) Panetta being a Clinton clone.
Says Obama doesn't see the tentacles encircling him from the Clintons.
We should also celebrate Carol Browner, member of Socialist International, to be the czar of green energy, or whatever it is.
Says Clinton had 8 chances to get Obama
ReplyDeleteDamn, the Teddy Kennedy mistake....Osama, Obama...Omamma.
Ocoma
ReplyDeleteO'Coma in Erse.
Conservatives, by their own definition are not FOR anything, only standing across the path to progress, shouting NO!
ReplyDeleteSounds like mat, the resident progressive.
I don't know if that's tongue in cheek Rat, or not, but conservatives are for all sorts things.
ReplyDeleteTaming Uncle Sam a little, and his many offspring, among them.
Defending the country, another.
The list is long, once you start to think about it.
Off topic, I notice Bob Barr, who wrote the DOMA, Defense Of Marriage Act, or introduced it, is now against it, on the grounds that it isn't protecting those states that want to approve of same sex marriage. Read his argument, and it made some sense. His point being the states should be able to do what they individually want.
I'm listening to the former head of the Obama unit on Savage.
ReplyDeleteNever mind. You caught it.
-------
My church basement supper turned out ok, for a first off. Thanks for the help, Bob. And, Doug.
Next time, some finely chopped Serranos and Fresnos, for that festive touch, along with a couple tablespoons of crushed red pepper.
-----
Irish girls and seaweed. Ummmm. I seem to recall the taste. Blended with some subtle undertones of tuna. Went well with a sprightly chilled Moselle and shredded turnip salad.
Like I told mat the other day. the Big O will change the US perspective on the Middle East. He has already laid out the broad picture, now all he has to do is color within the new lines.
ReplyDeleteHe sees things more like Uri Avnery than does mat.
Barack Obama in Jerusalem: Unified Capital for Two States
By Uri Avnery
Gush Shalom, July 27, 2008
...
Except one, clear solution: to turn East Jerusalem into the capital of the State of Palestine, to enable its inhabitants to set up their own municipality, while keeping the whole city as an urban entity united under one super-municipality in which the Arabs will be equal to the Jews.
I am glad that during his visit with us this week,
Barack Obama repeated almost word for word this plan,
which Gush Shalom published some ten years ago in cooperation with Feisal Hussaini, the late leader of the Jerusalem Arab community.
...
Sounds like mat, the resident progressive.
ReplyDelete==
LT, it's very simple. Small green local accountable to the people government (as opposed to being accountable to the corporations).
I'm against the Corporate State. I'm against the corporate global slave trade, otherwise known as "Free Trade". Citizen's rights should not extend to corporations. And when they do, as they now do in the US, it's fascism. Plain and simple. And I'm all for killing the car/fossil fuels/military mafia at the earliest possible opportunity.
Just quoting a Republican representitive in Congress, bob.
ReplyDeleteU.S. Representative Thaddeus G. McCotter
A life-long resident of southeast Michigan, U.S. Representative Thaddeus McCotter was first elected to Congress in 2002 to represent the citizens of Western Oakland and Western Wayne Counties. Congressman McCotter has focused his efforts on preserving and promoting manufacturing and small businesses, because he knows they form the back bone of our community's economy. He has steadfastly supported winning the War on Terror and increasing our homeland security; tirelessly fought to reduce taxes and the size and scope of government; and, most importantly, Congressman McCotter has dedicated every effort to listen to and serve his constituents.
He is the one that states that conservatives have no ideology
Conservatism being the negation of ideology
There stands one of the few remaining Republicans, in the House. Read 'im and weep, or celebrate the New Age a;omg with him.
along with him
ReplyDeleteI seem to recall the taste.
ReplyDelete==
Must've been some bad seaweed. :D
Small green local accountable to the people government (as opposed to being accountable to the corporations).
ReplyDeleteName one, and I'll likely show you a gentrified, sand-blasted, renewed urban city-scape, traffic excluding haven for liberal voting intelligensia that couldn't exist without the nitty-gritty, blue collar, Chevy and Ford favoring neighbors who deliver the groceries and do the dirty work.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNow, myself, I think that U.S. Representative Thaddeus G. McCotter is really speaking of Republicans, and that the sentence SHOULD read
ReplyDelete'Republicanism' being the negation of ideology
But that would be putting words in his mouth.
No, I think he truly believes that the Republicans represent Conservatism, and well they may. But it is a 'Conservatism' unlike any I've ever seen or heard of, prior to 2000 and the rise of Compassionate Conservatism, which proved to be neither.
Irish girls and seaweed. Ummmm. I seem to recall the taste.
ReplyDeleteOddly enough, I seem to as well, rather vaguely, afar off, as if from some other life....salty....
---
New toy department--
Mind Flex, a new toy from Mattel, comes with a brain-scanning headset. Concentrate, and a fan spins up to levitate a ball. Relax your thoughts, and the ball descends. For a challenge, guide the ball through an "obstacle course" of hoops. The Mind Flex hits stores in the fall for $80.
Psychokinesis!
For a real challenge, hook the spinning fan to an electric generator, and power one of your new 'green mobiles' to the grocery store.
Do Carol Browner proud.
mats personifies an ideologue.
ReplyDeleteMindFlex
ReplyDelete"Concentrate, damn you, the cops are gaining."
mats personifies an ideologue.
ReplyDeletePerhaps, but you're the very thing itself.
Name one,..
ReplyDelete==
It doesn't exist in the US. What you have in the US is big gov Corporate fascism. The last thing on their mind is the actual citizen voters. The whole system is rigged. From education to health care to transportation to city planning to the elections and the courts. One giant fascist corporate state/empire. Only some are too stupid and propagandized to see it for what it is. Rome. With a happy face.
The blame Bush days are over. Al-quida #2 says Obama to blame for Gaza. That makes it official then, whatever happens now is on The One's scorecard. Bush can go home to Texas and chop wood, a free man, unimpeached.
ReplyDeleteAll Obama's Fault Here
Well, if it does not exist in the US, where does it exist?
ReplyDeleteWhere is the model?
The living social experiment that exemplifies the success you dream of, mat.
Where is even one, in all the world?
Where oh where is Shangri-la?
Well, if it does not exist in the US, where does it exist?
ReplyDelete==
It doesn't. But I can say that the problem is most acute in the US.
So maybe it will also be in the US that people will finally say, enough is enough!
ReplyDelete"If he didn't know about Monica Lewinsky, what kind of spy can he be?"
ReplyDeleteSo dream of Utopia and Genocide.
ReplyDeleteChances are you'll never find satisfaction in either.
Earlier you boosted the European cities, Paris in particular.
Now, I will admit that I have touted the Gaza as a densely packed urbanscape, at around 10,000 residents per square mile. When my own hometown has a population density of 1,300/sq mile
Paris, on the other hand has a Density of 64,620 /sq mile.
Hong Kong, a life style disaster story was posted just the other day, as a locale many wanted to leave. It's density, 16,469/sq mi.
Levittown has a density of 7,700 /sq mi, I'll take the US, Levittown and Scottsdale and not smell my neighbors cabbage cooking, merci beaucoup.
It it here! It is here! Samsara is Nirvana! So say the Awaked Ones, accoring to report. This brutal contingent tragic tragic/comic fatal absurd everylasting movement in time IS the very Lotus Leaf of the Buddha's Wombly Compassion.
ReplyDeleteBut not for This Real Estate Broker
The death notice states he has positioned the company for a great move forward in the future, which kinda misses the point as far as he is concerned, I'd think.
They shoulda said something like, 'Poor Hank, got overcommitted, and took it too seriously, we pray for him'.
I might not mind smelling the cabbage, but not the neighbors.
ReplyDeleteHarry Reid says he can smell the tourists in D.C., and doesn't like it.
Some people like big cities, they all don't live there with no choice, for sure. Some say they live there without a choice, but I think they are missing some choices.
The trouble with thinking of redesigning our big cities is they are already there, and can't be changed over night, or in a generation. All one could do is chip away at it.
The Supreme Court has provided a new tool in the Kelo decision, I quess, though mostly it has been used to move some old timers out of their homes and build new malls or high rises cause it brings in more tax money.
I doubt that much has changed, in the last year.
ReplyDeleteDecember 26, 2007
A little more than four-million immigrants live in New York state, three million in New York City, according to a study by the Fiscal Policy Institute. Across the state, immigrants made up 21 percent of the population and contributed 22.4 percent to the economy for a total of $229 billion in 2005.
Moreover, immigrants in New York are better educated, more likely to have health insurance and less likely to be here illegally, compared to immigrants in the rest of the country, according to another study conducted by the Center for Immigration Studies.
The total foreign-born population in New York state increased by 585,000 from 1995 to 2000, but only by 262,000 after 2000. New York accounts for more than one in 10 immigrants in the United States, second only to California, the Center for Immigration Studies claimed.
It is estimated that about 16 percent of immigrants are in New York state illegally, approximately 535,000 in New York City according to the Fiscal Policy Institute. Almost half the households headed by an illegal immigrant are receiving welfare, food assistance and health benefits for their children, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.
The Federation for American Immigration Reform has said the total cost for immigration, both legal and illegal, was an estimated $15-$20 billion per year, while benefits were placed at $10 billion annually.
More than one in three residents in New York City are immigrants, said the Fiscal Policy Institute, about 37 percent of the population. In addition, foreign-born workers earned 37 percent of all wages and salaries paid in the city. The Fisk study said immigrants become part of communities in New York, learn to speak English and buy homes.
The Queens Gazette a local newspaper that may need to be rescued, more than likely, now.
So dream of Utopia and Genocide.
ReplyDelete==
That's pretty provocative, d'Rat. You should get into the selling god business.
More than one in three residents in New York City are immigrants
ReplyDeleteMore than I would have quessed.
Almost half the households headed by an illegal immigrant are receiving welfare, food assistance and health benefits for their children, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.
But that figures.
Something for both Mat and myself tonight on Coast to Coast--
ReplyDeleteTue 01.06 >>
Starting at 10pm PT: Longtime business and energy journalist Jim Norman will discuss how the U.S. and its allies can use the price of oil as an economic weapon.
Last Hour: Geologist Jim Berkland comments on the Yellowstone quakes.
10pm PT. That's 1am ET.
ReplyDeleteIsrael Targets Gaza 'U.N. school'--Weapons Dump Blows Up
ReplyDeleteLong time owner of a drug store in our area, Mr. Cliff Wassem, and his wife, died in a snowy car crash here yesterday. He was a long time "US out of UN, UN out of US" leader here, and had recently won a big battle with the city over a mural on the side of one of his buildings, advocating same. I used to think he was a little nuts but I'm thinking he was at least as much right as wrong about that, and maybe more right than wrong. He has some children, don't know if they will carry on his political battles, none of which he ever really won, except the mural dispute.
It's Solar System Savings Time now Mat, that would make it Midnight, out your way.
ReplyDeleteLong time owner of a drug store in our area, Mr. Cliff Wassem, and his wife, died in a snowy car crash here yesterday.
ReplyDelete==
When I read that, I was immediately reminded of the last scene from Philip Kaufman's film The Unbearable Lightness Of Being.
Mat, that would make it Midnight, out your way.
ReplyDelete==
I'll tune in. But I need a subscription.
The signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the government of Uganda (GOU) on August 26, 2006 followed by an Agreement on a Permanent Ceasefire on February 23, 2008 ushered a two year period of relative peace in northern and eastern Uganda. The modest success of these agreements demonstrated convincingly that a peaceful resolution of one of Africa’s longest running wars can be achieved.
ReplyDelete...
All such hopes for peace were shattered on Sunday, December 14th, 2008 when the government of Uganda gleefully announced a joint military operation to attack Kony’s military bases in Garamba, DRC. Some people have expressed shock at what happened last week in Garamba.
...
Other than monarchies, most if not all political leaders who have served as heads of state for more than ten years are dictators. They are people who are either obsessed with power and/or are forced by circumstances of their own making to remain in power as the only way to guarantee their own security.
Peace Gridlock
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