Heather Wilson is still following the Republican playbook: appear confident when confidence isn’t warranted, declare victory when it is still in doubt and act outraged when anyone dares to disagree.
Read the insolence from a Wilson spokesperson:
“If there is an honest and open counting, Heather Wilson is going to be re-elected without any questions.”
That’s right, the outcome is certain and the data will fit the results. You will not question this! Notice the acid this throws on the process: if we don’t win, you cheated. Simple. Incendiary. Rovian.
Karl Rove’s still in power (and in the front row at the Bush’s press conference). Though Rove is the Architect of Victory in the same sense as Rumsfeld, Rove has not shared Rumsfeld’s fate.
As for Rummy, did you hear his parting assertion that Bush and his cadre are the few who really understand what’s going on in this, “the first war of the 21st century” (the assumptions of that phrase nauseate me). These guys never knew what is going on, just what they wanted to be going on. They are delusional.
CIA-ocracy
Can anyone tell me how many of the top people in Washington are former CIA directors? Seems like a disproportionate number, going all the way back to Duhbya’s daddy. Sure, CIA people are smart and well-informed. Never mind the secret prisons. mjh
overcoming our fears
The terrorists win and America loses? I don’t think so.
Tallahassee Democrat By Eugene Robinson, WASHINGTON POST
George W. Bush used to claim he was ”a uniter, not a divider,” but that was a long time ago. These days, he’d probably try to deny the quote the same way he tried to disown ”stay the course.” The Karl Rove formula for political victory has been to draw a bright line between ”us” and ”them” and then paint those on the other side not as opponents but as monsters.
Thus Bush openly accused those who disagree with his policy in Iraq of giving aid and comfort to the enemy. ”The Democrat approach in Iraq comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses,” he said the other day.
Unexpected Light
Read the story of the niche…
The Enemy Within
Columnist Victor Hanson writes about the Islamic World forcing us into the Dark Ages. I think he has several good points, but I am sad to realize how one-sidedly we view this issue.
Hanson has ample, legitimate evidence of the wrongs of the “islamo-fascists.” But I keep thinking about what we’re doing to ourselves.
“First, the Western liberal tradition is fragile and can still disappear,” writes Hanson.
Fear can destroy everything. Terror requires a victim; it requires someone who will be terrorized and cannot overcome their own fears. Fear causes paralysis. Fear makes us incapable of thinking.
“Second, the Enlightenment is not always lost on the battlefield.”
Enlightenment can be lost in Abu Ghraib, Gitmo, and countless secret prisons. It can die under torture.
“Third, civilization is forfeited with a whimper, not a bang.”
Listen for that whimper in line at the airport when you surrender your 3.5 ounces of contraband and take off your clothes for the good of the homeland.
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There is no arguing against the claim that beheading is barbaric. Is it more barbaric than rape as punishment? Is it more barbaric than stoning? It seems our enemies have a spectrum of barbarisms. But, wait, our enemies? Our friends, the Afghans, practice rape as restitution (and keep us supplied with heroin). While our friends the Saudis may be above that, they do broadcast official beheadings on TV.
Regarding Iraq: proponents for the War Without End claim a democracy in Iraq will be a shining example for the region, the first big domino in a glorious sweep of liberation. We’re bringing freedom to the world!
In 50 years, the democracy of Israel has only pushed surrounding nations to extremes.
Now, tossing the royal family out of Saudi Arabia would surely create a shining example of a democracy (and, remember, Bin Laden and most of the 9/11 terrorists were Saudis). But that democracy might not be as reliable a supplier of oil, so, never mind.
I think the Simpsons see the future: our 51st state, Saudi Israelia. mjh
What Does TSA Do?
The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Student creates Web site that automates fake boarding passes By Joshua Freed, The Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS — A computer-security student says terrorists would have no trouble getting around the government’s no-fly list, and to prove it he set up a Web site that prints fake boarding passes. …
“Before, any 12-year-old could have done it,” [Christopher Soghoian, 24, a doctoral student at Indiana University] said Friday. “Now any 30- or 40-year-old could do it as well.” [mjh: ouch!] …
Soghoian said taking nail clippers and liquids away from travelers is giving them a false sense of security, and he’s trying to show where the real threats are.
“When they say ‘For security reasons,’ everyone shuts up, everyone follows the rules and no one questions authority. And I don’t think that’s right,” he said.
Flush Rush!
ABQjournal: Google Leaves Little Wiggle Room By Jim Belshaw
Of the Journal
[Y]ou’ll find not only the audio recording of Limbaugh mocking Fox’s debilitating disease, but you’ll find a video of him, too.
He sits in his studio, arms raised above his head, swaying back and forth, physically mocking Michael J. Fox’s disease while dumping aspersions on the actor’s motives.
In addition to being despicable, it turns out that Rushbo was wrong about everything he was saying, too— wrong about Fox’s medication, wrong about Fox’s “acting”— wrong about everything.
The Internet is a good place to watch gasbags like Rush Limbaugh and reflect on how they ever rose to prominence in the first place.
It’s a mystery to me. How did a draft-dodging, thrice-divorced drug abuser become a champion of American “values”?
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Today, Parade reports Lush is the top grossing radio jackass with over 13 million listeners. Who are these fools?