BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
WHITE HOUSE WHORES TODAY DECLARED:
The President’s vision includes investments in important technologies to diversity our energy sources and reduce our dependence on foreign oil, including: the renewal of our nation’s nuclear energy industry after a 30-year hiatus, cutting edge biofuel and clean coal technologies, and additional offshore oil and gas drilling.
HOW MUCH WILL THE LEFT TAKE BEFORE THEY SCREAM ENOUGH?
A SIMILAR QUESTION WAS POSED TO THE PRESS BY THE PRESS. NEIL MACDONALD OBSERVES:
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Oh, the stupidity. The Status Of Forces Agreement is a contract (it's a treaty) and as such it can be extended. We've gone over and over that point while idiots who want to pretend they know something about the law gas bag to the contrary. They don't know what the hell they're talking about.
We will spoon food one more time. If the SOFA could not be extended (or replaced with another contract), then you would not have Nouri al-Maliki speaking of US troops ever staying beyond the end of 2011, right? If it ends the war and the US occupation, then that's that. That means, since Thanksgiving 2008, I have been wrong and I have wrongly interpreted the SOFA and I didn't know what I was talking about. Except . . . Let's drop back to the July 23, 2009 snapshot for this little detail:
Aljazeera reports, "The Iraqi prime minister has admitted US troops could stay in the country beyond 2011." Yeah, he did it today and it's only a surprise if you've never grasped what the Status Of Forces Agrement does and does not do. The Washington Post, for example, has one person on staff who understands the SOFA completely. That's one more than the New York Times has. Drop back to real time coverage (Thanksgiving 2008) and you'll see the Washington Post could explain what it did and didn't do and get it right. No other US outlet can make that claim. (The Los Angeles Times hedged their bets but did appear to grasp it in an article co-written by Tina Susman.) McClatchy Newspapers? Oh goodness, Leila Fadel made an idiot of herself over the SOFA. Even more so than the New York Times (Elisabeth Bumiller -- in December and January -- offered some realities but they were lost on the other reporters at the paper). The Times just got it wrong. Fadel got it wrong and sang praises of it. It wasn't reporting, it was column writing passed off as such. Today, Nouri declared, "Nevertheless, if the Iraqis require further training and support we shall examine this at the time, based on the needs of Iraq." Sound familiar? It should. This month you should have heard Adm Mike Mullen make the same statement, you should have heard General Ray Odierno make it over and over beginning in May and US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has made it many times -- generally he's asked when he's visiting a foreign country because US reporters don't really seem to care. One exception would certainly be Dahr Jamail who was on KPFA's Flashpoints yesterday and explained, "We still have over 130,000 troops in Iraq. Troops are not being withdrawn from Iraq. They are being relocated to different bases, some of the bases still within cities, but they are not being withdrawn thus far." Dahr's latest book The Will to Resist: Soldiers Who Refuse to Fight in Iraq and Afghanistan has just been released this month. IPA provides this context from Global Policy Forum's James Paul: "For all the talk of 'U.S. withdrawal' from Iraq, the reality on the ground is starkly different. U.S. troops still patrol the cities, in flagrant violation of the U.S.-Iraqi security agreement, while Washington remains hugely influential in the politics of the country. The gigantic U.S. embassy looms large in Baghdad, U.S. forces still hold thousands of Iraqi prisoners in the vast U.S. prison camp in the southern desert, dozens of U.S. military bases remain in place including the sprawling 'Camp Victory' complex in Baghdad and Washington continues to press towards its ultimate goal -- the de facto privatization of Iraq's vast oil resources."
Nouri spoke of US forces remaining beyond the SOFA's 'withdrawal' -- that firm, firm SOFA. Ooops. That's because it's a contract. Both parties can follow every detail on the page and still decide that they want to extend it. That's how contracts work. We'll be kind and not name today's idiot, but, oh, the stupidity.
Idiot wants to pretend he knows the SOFA and he knows the law. He gives no indication that he knows either. First, he's unaware that a contract can be extended by the parties involved the agreement or replaced with another contract. The SOFA only exists to replace the UN mandate (the earlier contract which provided legal cover -- post-invasion -- for the occupation). The SOFA could be replaced with something else. Blathering on like an idiot, Idiot writes about "the governing document here is the bilateral Status of Forces Agreement which calls for a withdrawal of combat forces by the end of the summer and all forces by the end of 2011."
I'm not in the mood kids. Idiot doesn't understand the law. And the quote demonstrates he doesn't understand the SOFA. The SOFA has no call, repeating NO CALL, for a withdrawal of combat foces by the end of the summer. Why would it have that? Bush didn't put it in. That's Barack. And that's not in the SOFA. The SOFA was pushed through the Iraqi Parliament on Thanksgiving day 2008. Barack hadn't been sworn in. So sorry, Idiot, you don't know what the hell you're talking about. Read the SOFA and find the end of summer reference. It's not in there. (If the SOFA's too difficult for you to master, you can refer to Karen DeYoung's Washington Post report from last March.)
On the topic of the drawdown, we'll note Brian Montopoli (CBS News) today:
As CBS News National Security Correspondent David Martin reported Thursday, "first the delay in the Iraqi elections and then the dispute over the results has forced Gen. Ray Odierno, the commander in Iraq, to slow down his withdrawal plans."
"Right now, it is still possible to move that many troops - but just barely," wrote Martin. "Any further delay in the drawdown will cause him to miss the deadline."
Justin Raimondo (Antiwar.com) weighs in:
With a complicit Democratic majority in Congress, and a Republican minority all too eager to keep us bogged down in Iraq until Kingdom come, no one is holding the Obama administration accountable -- and the American public, which never hears anything about Iraq in the "mainstream" media, doesn't even know what's happening. They voted for Obama, in the Democratic primaries and the general election, in large part because he promised to end the war. That he now appears to be reneging on his firm pledge comes as no surprise to us foreign policy mavens, never mind observers of the Obama Method -- which is to strike an angular stance, and then come up with all sorts of convincing reasons for abandoning his position.
To the majority of Americans, however, the pledge to get out of Iraq is carved in stone, and the only way to erase it is to shatter the tablet on which the President's electoral mandate is written.
What the Democrats are counting on is the complicity of the "opposition" party, which is not going to make Iraq an election year issue -- except insofar as they see it as a "model" for how to win the war in Afghanistan. The administration is also counting on the silence of the "antiwar" left, in congress and at the grassroots, simply because these forces -- easily bought off, and/or intimidated -- haven't given them any reason to worry in the past.
Counter-insurgency is war against a native people. It's colonialism and it was used to trick and then attack and slaughter the Native Americans and it was used during Vietnam and at other periods. It has a long, long history and a long, long history of human rights activists calling this war on a people out. But that history sorts drops by the wayside in the last ten years. While some have called it out -- and certainly James Cameron's Avatar drove the message home on what counter-insurgeny actually is -- people have been grossly silent. Barack groupies, of course, have to remain silent because Samantha Power, Sarah Sewell, Monty McFate, all of those counter-insurgency 'gurus' are Barack boosters and groupies don't call out their own. There is a development on the counter-insurgency front. Nancy A. Youssef (McClatchy Newspapers) reports it is now under internal criticism, "The biggest spur, however, is a growing recognition that large-scale counterinsurgency battles have high casualty rates for troops and civilians, eat up equipment that must be replaced and rarely end in clear victory or defeat."
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THIS JUST IN! SWANSON'S SPINE COLLAPSES!
BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
D-LISTER GOSSIP DAVID SWANSON HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE MONO LOCO IN CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. LATE THIS AFTERNOON. POST-LUNCH CROWD SO THE PLACE WAS DESERTED ALLOWING THESE REPORTERS TO NOTICE THE ROASTED TOMATO VINAGRETTE RUNNING DOWN SWANSON'S PLUS-SIZE T-SHIRT.
STUNG BY RECENT CRITICISM NOTING HOW WEAK ASS HIS 'CRITICISM' OF BARACK WAS AND NOTING THAT HE NEEDED TO GET HONEST AND STOP WHORING, DAVID SWANSON DECIDED THE BEST RESPONSE WOULD BE IN HAIKU:
Obama should be in prison.
As should anyone who votes for anyone who funds illegal wars.
The two parties should be eliminated.
Try to read it a few times to find the Democratic conspiracy hidden deep within.
f you can't find it, try suspecting it isn't there.
Then read books, including mine, which will help prevent future paranoia at least about me.
AT THE END OF HIS BITCHY AND SELF-RIGHTEOUS STATEMENT, THE ROOM ERUPTED IN LAUGHTER ("THE ROOM" WAS THESE REPORTERS AND THE WAIT STAFF).
A RED FACED SWANSON BEGAN HISSING ABOUT HOW "THAT WOMAN" GOT HIM WRONG AND HE WAS VERY STRONG AND HE STOOD UP AND TOLD THE TRUTH ABOUT BARRY O AND HE NEVER BACKED DOWN "NEVER! NEVER!"
WHICH MADE IT ALL THE FUNNIER TO SEE THIS THURSDAY EVENING POST AT DAILY KOS BY DAVID SWANSON WHERE HE WROTE:
The first thing I did was use a reckless headline. I titled an article "Obama Scraps Iraq Withdrawal." Maybe I wanted people to read it. Maybe I was used to the overwhelming indifference to articles about Afghanistan and didn't realize that Iraq was still a hot topic. Maybe I'd grown used to people accepting imprecise headlines when they were about Bush. Primarily, however, I recklessly picked a headline related to stories I linked to in my first paragraph in order to write on a related theme. In any case, I got literally hundreds of angry complaints, all of which were correct. Obama has not announced that there will never be any withdrawal from Iraq.
THAT WOULD BE THE CRAVEN, COWARDLY ACTIONS THAT C.I. WAS RIGHTLY CALLING OUT. SWANSON RUSHED OVER TO THESE REPORTERS AND INSISTED THAT WE INFLATE THE "CROWD" THAT TURNED OUT FOR HIS PRESS CONFERENCE. WE BEGGED OFF EXPLAINING THAT WE'D LEAVE IT UP TO HIM SINCE HE WAS SO MUCH BETTER AT LYING THAN ANYONE WE'D EVER MET.
PLUS, WE ADDED, WE WERE THERE TO SAMPLE THE COCONUT CRUSTED SALMON AND WEREN'T EVEN AWARE OF HIS PRESS CONFERENCE UNTIL WE ARRIVED. (HECK, WE WERE BARELY AWARE OF HIM.)
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Monday April 5th, WikiLeaks released US military video of an assault in Iraq. 12 people were killed in the assault including two Reuters journalists -- Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh. One of the people speaking on the topic is Iraq War veteran Josh Stieber. Paul Jay (Real News Network) has a multi-part interview with Stieber and we'll note this from the second part of the interview.
Paul Jay: We are talking to Josh Stieber. He was a member of the army company in Baghdad that day that everyone has now seen. This is the video where Apache helicopters attacks a group of Iraqis on the ground. Josh was a member of that company. Not there that day. But now we're talking about how Josh came from joining the army to, a couple of years later, applying for conscientious objector status. Thanks again for joining us, Josh.
Josh Stieber: Sure. Thanks for having me.
Paul Jay: So let's just pick up the story where we left off. So you've more or less finished boot camp, what comes next?
Josh Stieber: A couple of more months training with the company I eventually deployed with.
Paul Jay: And in terms of this arc of how you get from joining to conscientious objector status. What took place before you go to Iraq? Is there another kind of moment there for you?
Josh Stieber: I guess another big moment in training that really started making me ask questions -- and a good excuse not to ask too many -- but what initially disturbed me was our leaders would take us to us into a room one at a time, take the new soldiers, and they would ask us a series of questions leading up to this big question that if somebody were to pull a weapon in a marketplace full of completely unarmed civilians and there was only one person with a weapon, would you return fire towards that person? And not only did you have to say "yes" but in this exercise if you even hesitated in your answer then you got yelled out for not being a good soldier and not being prepared to do what it took to keep your fellow soldiers safe?
Paul Jay: So when they asked you, what did you say? Did you hesitate?
Josh Stieber: I hesistated. And after a second or two, they really ripped into me.
Paul Jay: Saying what?
Josh Stieber: Again, I needed to be prepared to fire whenever I was told and I had to keep it -- always be aware of these threats and any hesitation could potentially mean the lives of the other soldiers.
Paul Jay: So the idea of killing women and children is an actual part of the training that you have to internalize that this is acceptable under the right circumstances?
Josh Stieber: Yeah, it's not specifically said that we're going to go out today and kill women and children but if it should happen in the process of doing what we're supposed to --
Paul Jay: But when you put that with what you told us in the first segment of the interview that one of the marching chants was killing women and spewing bullets on children, it seems to be something they know you're going to get into -- these situations with civilians -- and so part of the training is accepting the killing of civilians as part of your job.
Josh Stieber: Yeah, again, it's all very psychological. And I even take that beyond just military training and say there's aspects of our society -- going back and looking at my history class, when I learned about the atomic bombings or bombings in other wars that either intentionally targeted civilians or there were a lot of civilian casualties in the process. Just that same mindset: "This was unfortunate, we don't intentionally do this most of the time but if it should so happen that it happens as we're accomplishing our greater goals, then so be it.
We'll try to note more from the multi-part interview. The plan was to pair the above with something a friend wanted to noted. Can't note the latter. Radio program. Not in the mood for uninformed hosts. Don't talk about past war coverage by broadcast networks if you don't know what you're talking about. I don't care if says a kernal of truth somewhere in that nonsense. He's uneducated and he doesn't know what he's talking about. During Vietnam, you had reporters who were not embedded. The moron seems to believe that the only way reporters have ever covered a war is by being embedded. I'm not noting his program. We'll instead move over to US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: I was just in Iraq last week to visit the troops, in preparation for Memorial Day, to see them and they're so great. There's nothing that's happening there that-that would justify continuation of the policy. In order to bring stability to the region, more security to the American people and restore our reputation, we must redeploy those troops out of Iraq safely, honorably, responsibly and soon. We've lost -- what is it, 4075 -- something like that now. Every one of them precious to us. Tens of thousands wounded, many of them permanently. And I was just at the hospital -- and I'll go to the VA hospital again after I leave here. The loss of repuation in the world. The cost in dollars to our -- taking us into debt, into recession, into a-a -- where the relationship between the war and the economy are becoming more apparent. And if you didn't care about -- well I'm sure you care about all of that -- but if you're just thinking militarily, the undermining of our capability to protect the American people, undermining our military strength is staggering. We don't have one combat ready unit in the United States to go to protect our interests where ever they are threatened or those of our friends. So it has to end. And soon. We just passed another bill. The House keeps passing with deadlines or to accomodate the Senate's sometimes goals We just sent them another one. They sent it back without-without the redeployment language. We'll send something back to them. But it is essential and it will happen. And it will happen, in my view, with a Democratic president and that will begin in a matter of months and that is the optimism that I --
San Francisco Chronicle: Why not put withdrawal dates in this bill to the Senate and stand up to them and just say, "It's got to be this way, we're not going to give in"?
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Well they -- See there is a bipartisan majority for that in the Senate -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- but there aren't sixty votes. So nothing would ever get to the president's desk. And there just isn't a -- That just won't happen.
Not much happened, Nance. Not much at all. The above -- Nancy claiming a withdrawal of all US troops will take place "soon" -- took place in May of 2008, when Nancy sat down with the San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board and reporters. " And it will happen, in my view, with a Democratic president . . ." You got that Democratic president, Nancy, so why is it your remarks are now two years old and yet US troops remain in Iraq? Why is that? And did I miss something? Between now and then did the US economy recover and begin thriving? I don't believe it did. But somehow the fact that the economy is even worse than it was during your interview doesn't demand that the Iraq War end if only for economic reasons?
Wall St. Journal editorial board member and columnist Kimberley A. Strassel notes:
Barack Obama allowed the left to believe he was one of them. Some of his campaign promises certainly fed its hopes: He'd close Guantanamo, pass union "card check," renegotiate Nafta, leave Iraq. Adding to the left's exuberance was the party's filibuster-proof Senate majority.
But Guantanamo is still open, card check is still dead, Nafta is still functioning, and troops remain in Iraq.
Yesterday's snapshot noted Martin Chulov (Guardian) reporting, "The White House is likely to delay the withdrawal of the first large phase of combat troops from Iraq for at least a month after escalating bloodshed and political instability in the country." Today on Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman explained, "The Guardian newspaper reports the White House is likely to delay the withdrawal of the first large phase of combat troops from Iraq for at least a month after escalating bloodshed and political instability in the country. The US commander, General Ray Odierno, had originally expected to give the order within sixty days of the general election held in Iraq on March 7. In a message to Congress yesterday, President Obama said the situation in Iraq continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States." David Martin (CBS News) notes the talk of the pace of the drawdown and provides this walk through, "There are currently 94,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, meaning Odierno will have to send 44,000 home over the next three and a half months to meet the deadline. Right now, it is still possible to move that many troops - but just barely. Any further delay in the drawdown will cause him to miss the deadline." Peter Kenyon reports on the drawdown for NPR's Morning Edition here.
Iraqi journalist Sardasht Osman was kidnapped from his college campus and murdered. His corpse was discovered last Thursday. Demonstrations have been held to protest the murder and Mihemed Eli Zalla (Hawler Tribune) reports that protests were staged yesterday as well in Sulaimania with demonstrators chanting, "We all are other Sardashts. We are not afraid of dath. Dr. Kamal Kirkuki, who killed Sardasht!" Kamal Kirkuki is the Speaker of the Krudistan Parliament. Yahya Barzani (AP) adds, "There have been nearly a dozen demonstrations over the past week in Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region calling for his killers to be brought to justice." Ranj Alaaldin (Guardian) notes, "Osman, writing anonymously but later revealing his identity, had been critical of the authorities and the patronage and corruption that plague Kurdistan. He pushed the boundaries of freedom in the region by publishing a number of inflammatory articles, insulting senior officials of the ruling Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic party (KDP); and crossed the red line of local taboo by writing of his desire to marry President Massoud Barzani's daughter: a no-go area for any sane Kurd." AFP reports protests continued today and quotes Hawlati editor Kamal Rauf stating, "We are continuing to demonstrate to demand an inquiry to discover the murderers."
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D-LISTER GOSSIP DAVID SWANSON HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE MONO LOCO IN CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. LATE THIS AFTERNOON. POST-LUNCH CROWD SO THE PLACE WAS DESERTED ALLOWING THESE REPORTERS TO NOTICE THE ROASTED TOMATO VINAGRETTE RUNNING DOWN SWANSON'S PLUS-SIZE T-SHIRT.
STUNG BY RECENT CRITICISM NOTING HOW WEAK ASS HIS 'CRITICISM' OF BARACK WAS AND NOTING THAT HE NEEDED TO GET HONEST AND STOP WHORING, DAVID SWANSON DECIDED THE BEST RESPONSE WOULD BE IN HAIKU:
Obama should be in prison.
As should anyone who votes for anyone who funds illegal wars.
The two parties should be eliminated.
Try to read it a few times to find the Democratic conspiracy hidden deep within.
f you can't find it, try suspecting it isn't there.
Then read books, including mine, which will help prevent future paranoia at least about me.
AT THE END OF HIS BITCHY AND SELF-RIGHTEOUS STATEMENT, THE ROOM ERUPTED IN LAUGHTER ("THE ROOM" WAS THESE REPORTERS AND THE WAIT STAFF).
A RED FACED SWANSON BEGAN HISSING ABOUT HOW "THAT WOMAN" GOT HIM WRONG AND HE WAS VERY STRONG AND HE STOOD UP AND TOLD THE TRUTH ABOUT BARRY O AND HE NEVER BACKED DOWN "NEVER! NEVER!"
WHICH MADE IT ALL THE FUNNIER TO SEE THIS THURSDAY EVENING POST AT DAILY KOS BY DAVID SWANSON WHERE HE WROTE:
The first thing I did was use a reckless headline. I titled an article "Obama Scraps Iraq Withdrawal." Maybe I wanted people to read it. Maybe I was used to the overwhelming indifference to articles about Afghanistan and didn't realize that Iraq was still a hot topic. Maybe I'd grown used to people accepting imprecise headlines when they were about Bush. Primarily, however, I recklessly picked a headline related to stories I linked to in my first paragraph in order to write on a related theme. In any case, I got literally hundreds of angry complaints, all of which were correct. Obama has not announced that there will never be any withdrawal from Iraq.
THAT WOULD BE THE CRAVEN, COWARDLY ACTIONS THAT C.I. WAS RIGHTLY CALLING OUT. SWANSON RUSHED OVER TO THESE REPORTERS AND INSISTED THAT WE INFLATE THE "CROWD" THAT TURNED OUT FOR HIS PRESS CONFERENCE. WE BEGGED OFF EXPLAINING THAT WE'D LEAVE IT UP TO HIM SINCE HE WAS SO MUCH BETTER AT LYING THAN ANYONE WE'D EVER MET.
PLUS, WE ADDED, WE WERE THERE TO SAMPLE THE COCONUT CRUSTED SALMON AND WEREN'T EVEN AWARE OF HIS PRESS CONFERENCE UNTIL WE ARRIVED. (HECK, WE WERE BARELY AWARE OF HIM.)
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Monday April 5th, WikiLeaks released US military video of an assault in Iraq. 12 people were killed in the assault including two Reuters journalists -- Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh. One of the people speaking on the topic is Iraq War veteran Josh Stieber. Paul Jay (Real News Network) has a multi-part interview with Stieber and we'll note this from the second part of the interview.
Paul Jay: We are talking to Josh Stieber. He was a member of the army company in Baghdad that day that everyone has now seen. This is the video where Apache helicopters attacks a group of Iraqis on the ground. Josh was a member of that company. Not there that day. But now we're talking about how Josh came from joining the army to, a couple of years later, applying for conscientious objector status. Thanks again for joining us, Josh.
Josh Stieber: Sure. Thanks for having me.
Paul Jay: So let's just pick up the story where we left off. So you've more or less finished boot camp, what comes next?
Josh Stieber: A couple of more months training with the company I eventually deployed with.
Paul Jay: And in terms of this arc of how you get from joining to conscientious objector status. What took place before you go to Iraq? Is there another kind of moment there for you?
Josh Stieber: I guess another big moment in training that really started making me ask questions -- and a good excuse not to ask too many -- but what initially disturbed me was our leaders would take us to us into a room one at a time, take the new soldiers, and they would ask us a series of questions leading up to this big question that if somebody were to pull a weapon in a marketplace full of completely unarmed civilians and there was only one person with a weapon, would you return fire towards that person? And not only did you have to say "yes" but in this exercise if you even hesitated in your answer then you got yelled out for not being a good soldier and not being prepared to do what it took to keep your fellow soldiers safe?
Paul Jay: So when they asked you, what did you say? Did you hesitate?
Josh Stieber: I hesistated. And after a second or two, they really ripped into me.
Paul Jay: Saying what?
Josh Stieber: Again, I needed to be prepared to fire whenever I was told and I had to keep it -- always be aware of these threats and any hesitation could potentially mean the lives of the other soldiers.
Paul Jay: So the idea of killing women and children is an actual part of the training that you have to internalize that this is acceptable under the right circumstances?
Josh Stieber: Yeah, it's not specifically said that we're going to go out today and kill women and children but if it should happen in the process of doing what we're supposed to --
Paul Jay: But when you put that with what you told us in the first segment of the interview that one of the marching chants was killing women and spewing bullets on children, it seems to be something they know you're going to get into -- these situations with civilians -- and so part of the training is accepting the killing of civilians as part of your job.
Josh Stieber: Yeah, again, it's all very psychological. And I even take that beyond just military training and say there's aspects of our society -- going back and looking at my history class, when I learned about the atomic bombings or bombings in other wars that either intentionally targeted civilians or there were a lot of civilian casualties in the process. Just that same mindset: "This was unfortunate, we don't intentionally do this most of the time but if it should so happen that it happens as we're accomplishing our greater goals, then so be it.
We'll try to note more from the multi-part interview. The plan was to pair the above with something a friend wanted to noted. Can't note the latter. Radio program. Not in the mood for uninformed hosts. Don't talk about past war coverage by broadcast networks if you don't know what you're talking about. I don't care if says a kernal of truth somewhere in that nonsense. He's uneducated and he doesn't know what he's talking about. During Vietnam, you had reporters who were not embedded. The moron seems to believe that the only way reporters have ever covered a war is by being embedded. I'm not noting his program. We'll instead move over to US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: I was just in Iraq last week to visit the troops, in preparation for Memorial Day, to see them and they're so great. There's nothing that's happening there that-that would justify continuation of the policy. In order to bring stability to the region, more security to the American people and restore our reputation, we must redeploy those troops out of Iraq safely, honorably, responsibly and soon. We've lost -- what is it, 4075 -- something like that now. Every one of them precious to us. Tens of thousands wounded, many of them permanently. And I was just at the hospital -- and I'll go to the VA hospital again after I leave here. The loss of repuation in the world. The cost in dollars to our -- taking us into debt, into recession, into a-a -- where the relationship between the war and the economy are becoming more apparent. And if you didn't care about -- well I'm sure you care about all of that -- but if you're just thinking militarily, the undermining of our capability to protect the American people, undermining our military strength is staggering. We don't have one combat ready unit in the United States to go to protect our interests where ever they are threatened or those of our friends. So it has to end. And soon. We just passed another bill. The House keeps passing with deadlines or to accomodate the Senate's sometimes goals We just sent them another one. They sent it back without-without the redeployment language. We'll send something back to them. But it is essential and it will happen. And it will happen, in my view, with a Democratic president and that will begin in a matter of months and that is the optimism that I --
San Francisco Chronicle: Why not put withdrawal dates in this bill to the Senate and stand up to them and just say, "It's got to be this way, we're not going to give in"?
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: Well they -- See there is a bipartisan majority for that in the Senate -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- but there aren't sixty votes. So nothing would ever get to the president's desk. And there just isn't a -- That just won't happen.
Not much happened, Nance. Not much at all. The above -- Nancy claiming a withdrawal of all US troops will take place "soon" -- took place in May of 2008, when Nancy sat down with the San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board and reporters. " And it will happen, in my view, with a Democratic president . . ." You got that Democratic president, Nancy, so why is it your remarks are now two years old and yet US troops remain in Iraq? Why is that? And did I miss something? Between now and then did the US economy recover and begin thriving? I don't believe it did. But somehow the fact that the economy is even worse than it was during your interview doesn't demand that the Iraq War end if only for economic reasons?
Wall St. Journal editorial board member and columnist Kimberley A. Strassel notes:
Barack Obama allowed the left to believe he was one of them. Some of his campaign promises certainly fed its hopes: He'd close Guantanamo, pass union "card check," renegotiate Nafta, leave Iraq. Adding to the left's exuberance was the party's filibuster-proof Senate majority.
But Guantanamo is still open, card check is still dead, Nafta is still functioning, and troops remain in Iraq.
Yesterday's snapshot noted Martin Chulov (Guardian) reporting, "The White House is likely to delay the withdrawal of the first large phase of combat troops from Iraq for at least a month after escalating bloodshed and political instability in the country." Today on Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman explained, "The Guardian newspaper reports the White House is likely to delay the withdrawal of the first large phase of combat troops from Iraq for at least a month after escalating bloodshed and political instability in the country. The US commander, General Ray Odierno, had originally expected to give the order within sixty days of the general election held in Iraq on March 7. In a message to Congress yesterday, President Obama said the situation in Iraq continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States." David Martin (CBS News) notes the talk of the pace of the drawdown and provides this walk through, "There are currently 94,000 U.S. troops in Iraq, meaning Odierno will have to send 44,000 home over the next three and a half months to meet the deadline. Right now, it is still possible to move that many troops - but just barely. Any further delay in the drawdown will cause him to miss the deadline." Peter Kenyon reports on the drawdown for NPR's Morning Edition here.
Iraqi journalist Sardasht Osman was kidnapped from his college campus and murdered. His corpse was discovered last Thursday. Demonstrations have been held to protest the murder and Mihemed Eli Zalla (Hawler Tribune) reports that protests were staged yesterday as well in Sulaimania with demonstrators chanting, "We all are other Sardashts. We are not afraid of dath. Dr. Kamal Kirkuki, who killed Sardasht!" Kamal Kirkuki is the Speaker of the Krudistan Parliament. Yahya Barzani (AP) adds, "There have been nearly a dozen demonstrations over the past week in Iraq's Kurdish autonomous region calling for his killers to be brought to justice." Ranj Alaaldin (Guardian) notes, "Osman, writing anonymously but later revealing his identity, had been critical of the authorities and the patronage and corruption that plague Kurdistan. He pushed the boundaries of freedom in the region by publishing a number of inflammatory articles, insulting senior officials of the ruling Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic party (KDP); and crossed the red line of local taboo by writing of his desire to marry President Massoud Barzani's daughter: a no-go area for any sane Kurd." AFP reports protests continued today and quotes Hawlati editor Kamal Rauf stating, "We are continuing to demonstrate to demand an inquiry to discover the murderers."
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Wednesday, May 12, 2010
THIS JUST IN! WOULD BE FLAME OUTS KAGAN AS STRAIGHTY!
BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
GADFLY AND APPARENTLY SEX SYMBOL ELANA KAGAN IS GETTING ALL HOT AND HEAVY COVERAGE IN THE PRESS. [KAGAN PICTURED BELOW WITH SEPARATED AT BIRTH NATHAN LANE.]
THE PLUS-SIZE GAL WITH THE PETITE-SIZE CONCERN FOR THE CONSTITUTION IS ALL THE TALK OF D.C. NOW THAT HER FORMER "ROOMMATE" AND "FRIEND" SARAH WALZER'S DISHING ABOUT EVERYTHING.
WALZER TOLD POLITICO THAT SHE KNEW ELANA, DESPITE RUMORS AND APPEARANCES, WAS NOT A LESBIAN.
WALZER SAID "LESBIAN" LIKE IT WAS A FOREIGN WORD.
NOT CONTENT TO SIMPLY REPEAT ASSERTIONS WITHOUT QUESTIONING, THESE REPORTERS DEMANDED THE DIRT.
HOW DOES SARAH WALZER KNOW?
"OKAY," WALZER SAID AFTER CONSULTATION WITH THE WHITE HOUSE, "I ONCE OFFERED TO CLEAN HER CARPET WITH MY TEETH. SHE LOOKED AT ME AND SAID, 'SARAH, WHAT? WE'VE GOT A VACUUM CLEANER.' I ONCE TOLD HER I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY LIKED TACOS. SHE SAID MEXICAN FOOD DIDN'T DO ANYTHING FOR HER. I TOOK HER TO HOME DEPOT AND SHE ASKED IF SHE COULD WALK ACROSS THE MALL TO THE GAP. SHE'S NOT GAY! SHE'S SO TOTALLY NOT GAY! TRUST ME!"
WE WOULD HAVE PRESSED HARDER BUT RAHM EMANUEL SHOWED UP WAVING A SMALL FISH IN THE AIR WHICH WALZER, TRAINED SEAL THAT SHE IS, IMMEDIATELY POUNCED ON IT.
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
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GADFLY AND APPARENTLY SEX SYMBOL ELANA KAGAN IS GETTING ALL HOT AND HEAVY COVERAGE IN THE PRESS. [KAGAN PICTURED BELOW WITH SEPARATED AT BIRTH NATHAN LANE.]
THE PLUS-SIZE GAL WITH THE PETITE-SIZE CONCERN FOR THE CONSTITUTION IS ALL THE TALK OF D.C. NOW THAT HER FORMER "ROOMMATE" AND "FRIEND" SARAH WALZER'S DISHING ABOUT EVERYTHING.
WALZER TOLD POLITICO THAT SHE KNEW ELANA, DESPITE RUMORS AND APPEARANCES, WAS NOT A LESBIAN.
WALZER SAID "LESBIAN" LIKE IT WAS A FOREIGN WORD.
NOT CONTENT TO SIMPLY REPEAT ASSERTIONS WITHOUT QUESTIONING, THESE REPORTERS DEMANDED THE DIRT.
HOW DOES SARAH WALZER KNOW?
"OKAY," WALZER SAID AFTER CONSULTATION WITH THE WHITE HOUSE, "I ONCE OFFERED TO CLEAN HER CARPET WITH MY TEETH. SHE LOOKED AT ME AND SAID, 'SARAH, WHAT? WE'VE GOT A VACUUM CLEANER.' I ONCE TOLD HER I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY LIKED TACOS. SHE SAID MEXICAN FOOD DIDN'T DO ANYTHING FOR HER. I TOOK HER TO HOME DEPOT AND SHE ASKED IF SHE COULD WALK ACROSS THE MALL TO THE GAP. SHE'S NOT GAY! SHE'S SO TOTALLY NOT GAY! TRUST ME!"
WE WOULD HAVE PRESSED HARDER BUT RAHM EMANUEL SHOWED UP WAVING A SMALL FISH IN THE AIR WHICH WALZER, TRAINED SEAL THAT SHE IS, IMMEDIATELY POUNCED ON IT.
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
We'll open with a segment from today's Andrea Mitchell Reports (MSNBC):
Senator John Kerry [in a clip]: We're more dependent upon foreign oil today than we were before 9-11 we make America more energy independnet we strengthen our national security.
Andrea Mitchell: Senator John Kerry on Morning Joe today. He and Joe Lieberman now at this hour unveiling their new energy reform bill to combat climate change. But energy independence is also a matter of national security. Retired US Army General Paul Eaton a senior adviser at the National Security Network pushing for climate change, pushing for this legislation. Thanks so much, general, for joining us. Tell us why it is such an important issue for national security for anyone who doesn't-doesn't get it?
Gen Paul Eaton: Andrea, thanks for having me on. When you take a look at the defense budget we're pushing north of a three-quarter trillion dollars and a significant amount of that goes towards protecting our lines of communication, protecting our oil based sources, and we're spending uh-uh our -- our children's future here just to sustain our logistics. And it's -- it is a military issue, it is a budgetary issue and it's a -- it's a future economic issue for the United States.
Andrea Mitchell: But of course this is a terrible climate -- no pun intended -- to be doing this, presenting this bill now. You've lost the support of the one Republican co-sponsor, Senator Lindsay Graham, over side issues, but lost the support over all of the months. At the same time, the oil spill. How do you say to Americans, "This is the time for an energy bill which includes offshore drilling" -- when, in fact, we have no answers from BP after all these weeks as to how to even begin this fix?
Gen Paul Eaton: Well the real argument is because of energy dependence on oil because we're really reliant upon a 19th century fuel source, we are going after more and more dangerous locations and more and more problematic countries to sustain our -- our billion dollar a day habit. And when we spend a hundred million dollars a day and send it to Iran, a primary potential enemy, that is a national security issue. It's a military issue. So we've got to sell that too America. And what happened in the Gulf and this horrific oil spill that's going on, we developed the technology to get after it and as we do so, as our needs grow and we're pushing wellheads down 5000 feet under the water, we're on the edge of our technological capacity to get it and we're beyond, apparently, our technological capacity to -- to right a wrong when disaster strikes. So we're we're going into dangerous regions.
Andrea Mitchell: What about the carbon tax piece of this -- you've got the economy just coming out of a recession and especially in areas of the country where people are so resistant to the carbon tax, how do you sell this very tough political piece to the American people?
Gen Paul Eaton: It's frequently difficult to sell the idea of spendingg money to save greater money in the future. Spending a little bit of money today -- most of which will come back to the consumer in price supports for energy bills that are going to go up and eventually 100% will come back to energy consumers. But it drives us to reliable energy, to sustainable energy to -- to non-oil energy options. It's a job provider. It will ultimately reduce the requirements imposed upon the military as I mentioned earlier to sustain the lines of communication we've got to do.
Andrea Mitchell: General Paul Eaton, thank you so much. We appreciate it. The case for national security on climate change.
We do not support building nuclear plants in this community and we avoid various groups because of it (and various 'activism'). Our noting the above is not an endorsement or a slap about the above. Our focus is on what Eaton's saying. (If you're curious about the legislation, you can click here for an overview page John Kerry's office has prepared that will provide you with -- PDF format warning -- endorsements -- corporations love it!, the bill itself, and various other options.) Eaton was a war cheerleader (and serving at the time, in training aspect). He's 'anti-war' in that if-you're-stupid-you-believe-it kind of way. Meaning, only those with comprehension issues think he's against the Iraq War. He loves the illegal war, he'd go down on it if he could. But what he didn't like was some of the ways Bully Boy Bush conducted it after it started. He's debating tactics and not condemning the illegal war. He's a War Hawk. He's a War Monger. That's reality. Reality can also be found in his statements. The US government sees energy and access to it as a "national security" issue.
Of course they do. Wars are fought -- especially among empires -- over goods. Over access to and control of resources. That's a historical truth. But any who have dared suggested that the Iraq War was in any way, shape or form about oil have been ridiculed. Andrea Mitchell's husband is Alan Greenspan. Promoting his book, The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World, the former chair of the Federal Reserve (1987 through the start of 2006) appeared on Democracy Now! (link has text, video and audio) in September of 2007:
Amy Goodman: Alan Greenspan, let's talk about the war in Iraq. You said what for many in your circles is the unspeakable, that the war in Iraq was for oil. Can you explain?
Alan Greenspan: Yes. The point I was making was that if there were no oil under the sands of Iraq, Saddam Hussein would have never been able to accumulate the resources which enabled him to threaten his neighbors, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia. And having watched him for thirty years, I was very fearful that he, if he ever achieved -- and I thought he might very well be able to buy one -- an atomic device, he would have essentially endeavored and perhaps succeeded in controlling the flow of oil through the Straits of Hormuz, which is the channel through which eighteen or ninetten million barrels a day of the world eight-five million barrel crude oil production flows. Had he decided to shut down,s ay, seven million barrels a day, which eh could have done if he controlled, he could have essentially also shut down a significant part of economic activity throughout the world. The size of the threat that he posed, as I saw it emerging, I thought was scary. And so, getting him out of office or getting him out of the control position he was in, I thought, was essential. And whether that be done by one means or another was not as important, but it's clear to me that were there not the oil resources in Iraq, the whole picture of how that part of the Middle East developed would have been different.
In his 2007 book, Greenspan wrote, "Whatever their publicized angst over Saddam Hussein's 'weapons of mass destruction,' American and British authorities were also concerned about violence in an area that harbors a resource indispensable for the functioning of the world economy. I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil."
Note that not one damn thing when the White House flipped. Not one damn thing. And all the little pieces of trash who used the peace movement as a get-out-the-vote organization, you know the Obama Drama Queens who whored it big time for Barry and then fell silent even though all the conditions for the illegal war -- like the Iraq War itself -- still exist. You know who I'm talking about, the faux activists, who did their little I-Can-Blog-No-More pieces, usually while insulting efforts at peace because they don't want anyone to call out there War Hawk (file it under ' I found the peace movement not very peaceful' -- as so many Liars and Whores did -- usuallyshowing up later to blog again but, you understand, they're focusing on the personal and not the political). Nothing changed. Eaton is a War Hawk. Eaton gets to say on Andrea Mitchell's program what Mitchell's husband wrote and (briefly) discussed.
In England, the Iraq War never stopped mattering. Danny Schechter writes the ridiculous paragraph below:
My muse, the news, seems to be in hyper-drive these days, with "breaking news" dominating all news. As I write, word has to the Dissector come that Gordon Brown has lost the election after the election as the Lib Dems, Britain's third party, opted to make a deal with the Conservatives, i. e., Tories, pre-empting all future maneuvers. David Cameron will be Prime Minister. Personally I credit Tony Blair, poodle-in-chief, for so trashing/betraying Labor's legacy that it lost its mission and millions of supporters. Brown finished what he started, hardly helped by a devastating economic collapse.
It is ridiculous. He obviously doesn't know enough about the situation to comment. Where is Iraq in that 'analysis.' No where. But then, hey, Danny didn't cover the Iraq Inquiry did he? Apparently unaware of how Gordo went over with Brits over that. Rebecca knew the mood the first time she looked at the raw data. Want to know reality about the elections in England, read Rebecca's "thank you and goodbye" and "gordo killed the labour streak" -- she may write more, she's got a lot more she can tell. Whether she will or not is her business but she did a lot of work for Labour including spending four to six weeks in England. The election was lost (as we pointed out here) if Brown didn't step down. He never did. He was too tied to Iraq, he was too tied to too many things. He was supposed to provide some fresh air and he never did. All he did -- and there are lessons for the US here -- is degrade the Labour brand. He destroyed it. People have expectations because they are led to believe certain things. You might fool the voters once but they'll come back and show you who really is in charge -- a thought that should frighten Democratic politicians in the US.
Danny says Gordon lost the "election after the election" which is apparently an attempt at "word cute." It's not cute. They elected their Parliament members. The minute the votes were counted Gordon Brown was over. He even went through the motions of announcing his withdrawal (saying it would be effective in September). It was already over and no one -- Labour, Tory or Liberal Democrat -- was going to let that ass save face. Though Danny never covered them, there were huge protests when Gordon Brown and Tony Blair testified in London to the Iraq Inquiry earlier this year. Gordon could have broken with Blair publicly in his testimony -- as he was advised to do. He didn't. He sealed his own fate. Again, there are lessons for Democrats if they care to pay attention.
The Iraq War didn't go away just because the coverage did. It didn't vanish just because a lot of people who used to note it every day or made a film or two on it or wrote a book about it decided more money could be made and attention garnered elsewhere. Amy Goodman is many things but she at least knows how to give lip service to the idea that the Iraq War has lasting effects in the political system and in the media system. England saw the effects of the Iraq War. The US will be seeing it soon. It will play out very much as the effects of Vietnam did. "A Human Rights President will save us! Will wash all our sins away! Yea!" And by 1980, the liar class and their human rights president had ensured Republican domination. History does repeat mainly because so many fools refuse to learn lessons from it.
(If the ones who ran away from Iraq to make money and get attention on something else especially piss you off, take comfort in the fact that they're idiots at commerce. In fact, they should be using the Iraq War to sell their new products. They only have one song and when a recording artist only is capable of one hit, you repackage and remix that thing over and over. Their efforts to beat a hasty retreat are a bit like Donna Summer's efforts to disown her Queen of Disco label -- a career killing move.)
Nothing's changed. That was obvious today sitting through one House Armed Services Committee hearing and two Subcommittee hearings. Take the Strategic Forces Subcommittee which met to markup the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscaly Year 2011. US House Rep James Langevin is the Chair of the Subcommittee.
Subcommittee Chair James R. Langevin: The mark before the subcomittee this morning includes: $15 billion for the Department of Energy's Atomic Energy Defense Activities, not including defense nuclear nonproliferation programs, $10.3 billion for ballistic missile defense programs -- $361.6 million above the President's request, and approximately $9.7 billion for unclassified national security space programs. These three important initiatives will enhance our national security. First, reflecting the President's request to provide a strong and unprecedented investment in our nuclear deterrent, the mark includes a significant increase for the activites of the National Nuclear Security Administration to sustain a safe, secure and reliable arsenal without nuclear testing. Second, the mark includes a significant increase above the President's request for ballistic missile defense systems that counter the most pressing and likely threats to the United States, our deployed troops and our allies and friends. Third, the mark provides for important military space programs that are in critical phases of development or sustainment, including the Operation Responsive Space program and Military Satellite Communications.
And on and on he went. Endlessly bragging about how they were handing over more (tax payer) money than the White House was asking for. In the midst of the Great Recession. When Barack says "everything" is on the table. Everything but military spending. There, they don't even scale back. Instead they rush forward to strut and proclaim they gave more than asked for. And no one rushes forward to obejct to the militarization of space -- something we all found so offensive under Bully Boy Bush. Now Dems and Republicans can -- and on the Subcommittee did -- agree.
Subcommittee Ranking Member Michael Turner: The mark makes sound adjuments in the areas of national security space and intelligence. The mark continues to provide funding for important space aquisition programs in the areas of: satellite communications, GPS, missile warning, space situational awareness, launch and Operationally Responsive Space. The mark recommends a signficant reduction to the NPOESS [National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System] program. Given the recent decision to restructure the program, authorizing full funding of the legacy NPOESS program by DoD seemed premautre absent a clear way ahead.
That was the last one. The first one was the full committee. Chair Ike Skelton made statements that appeared 'new' or 'novel' only if you were just emerging from the womb or coma. Skelton on the surge: "I endorsed this strategy then and I do so now. As I have said many times, while this new strategy cannot guarantee success in Afghanistan, it is the most likely to end with an Afghanistan that can prevent the return of the Taliban and their al Qaeda allies. Six months into the new policy, it is appropriate for Congress to consider how things are going." It all echoes Iraq. But it's supposed to seem fresh and news, as if the Afghanistan War didn't, in fact, start before the Iraq War. "Things may get harder before they get better," testified DoD's Michele Flournoy with a straight face apparently thinking she'd made a novel statement.
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THIS JUST IN! PLAYED AGAIN!
BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O IS POWDERING HIS CANDY ASS AND GETTING READY TO DO SOME MAJOR SMOOCHERING TO HAMID KARZAI.
PICTURED BELOW JUST LAST MONTH, BARRY O INTENDS TO BE PLAYED BY PUPPETS ON THE WORLD STAGE YET AGAIN.
A MINOR LITTLE NOTHING KARZI EXPECTS BARRY O TO ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET AND TURN OVER THE STORE ON THE BRIEF VISIT.
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Turning to the US, where 2009 saw the US army won convictions against 327 soldiers for going AWOL. Chie Saito (Austin's News 8 -- link has text and video) reports on Jacob Wade who went AWOL while back in the US on two weeks leave from his Iraq deployment.
Chie Saito: [. . .] he says the psychological effects from what he saw and experienced --
Jacob Wade: Riding through town we got attacked.
Chie Saito: -- in his first six months there --
Jacob Wade: I had a grenade go off like five feet behind me.
Chie Saito: -- made it impossible for him to go back.
Jacob Wade: I saw a lot of people die, saw a kid get shot.
Chie Saito: Images and memories which he says still haunt him today.
Jacob Wade: I wake up talking to myself about Iraq. Dreams about killing myself all alone.
Jade Ortego (Killeen Daily Herald) adds, "His psychiatrist, Dr. William Cross of Manilus, N.Y., who has agreed to testify on Wade's behalf at his sanity board, diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder. Wade also suffered physical injuries to his legs as a result of his service, and walks with a limp. Wade was scared to report and be redeployed, but was also afraid of the harassment and hazing from fellow soldiers that he heard comes with an admission of mental health issues due to service." Tod Ensign (Citizen Soldier) is representing Jacob Wade. Yesterday Iraq Veterans Against the War posted an update on Eric Jasinski who also suffers from PTSD and also self-checked out to get treatment for PTSD. The military responded by court-martialing him. He has served one month at Bell County Jail and been released from the jail. Their update includes a video by Stand with Honor filmed after the court-martial.
Eric Jasinski's mother Laura Barrett: He stood up. He knew -- he knew he was going to have to go to jail. He knew that would happen. But he also knew he had to have help. And he wants to make sure that the word -- the word gets out there. That's what I'm so proud of him for, that he wants to make sure that the word gets out that so many other young men and women need help psychological help. They're coming back damaged from what they make them do, make them participate in. Eric's going to stand up. He will inspire and help so many other people.
James Branum is Eric's attorney. PTSD is rarely taken seriously. The Congress continues to fund studies that find . . . further studies are needed. The system itself works against those suffering with it. Lyda Longa (Daytona Beach News Journal) reports 29-year-old Iraq War veteran Joshua James Gerard was shot at his home Sunday by Deputy Vidal Mejias when the sheriff's office responded to a 9-11 call placed by his wife. Gerard is said to suffer from PTSD. It is not known at this point whether or not he had sought help for his PTSD. Afghanistan War veteran Jennifer Crane did seek help once she returned home and found her life spiraling out of control. She shared her story with Lynn Harris and Marie Clare:
I completed two weeks of rehab, and then went to a three-month VA program for people with post-traumatic stress disorder. But after only one month there, the doctors, unbelievably, asked me to leave. They said the treatment wasn't really helping me -- although I disagreed -- and that as one of only two women in the group, I was distracting the male patients, who apparently found me attractive. I begged them, literally on my hands and knees, to let me stay; I knew I wasn't ready to go back into society. I knew what would happen if I tried. Incredibly, they said no. I left the VA Medical Center and went straight to my drug dealer's house. I told him I needed something strong to get rid of my pain. That day, I started smoking crack. I hit bottom so fast, it was amazing. I went from being happy with my progress to having no hope at all. I used all day, every day. I tried to hold down jobs -- bartender, waitress, receptionist -- but I was so strung out that I couldn't get out of bed to go to work. When I was at work, I was high. I got fired from every job. At one point, I just quit trying. I couldn't afford rent, I couldn't go to my mom's house unless I was clean, and I couldn't stop fighting with my boyfriend long enough to stay with him. That's how I wound up living in my car. For several months, in exchange for drugs, I ran errands for my dealer and cleaned his home. He also asked me to be a "dancer" -- in other words, dance privately for his friends and customers. Clinging to my last shred of dignity, I said no. But not long after, I had sex with him for drugs. I felt so disgusted afterward, I took out a lighter and burned the clothes I'd worn that night. Then, in August 2006, as I was driving away from my dealer's house, seven police cars suddenly surrounded me. I was handcuffed and arrested for possession of the crack cocaine I had with me. But when I wouldn't give them the name of my dealer (which would be suicide), they eventually gave up and let me go. The very next day, my old friends held a reunion on the anniversary of Steve's death. When I showed up, everyone stared. I was emaciated, with my eyes darting around and contusions all over my face from picking my skin, out of anxiety. When I spotted one of my oldest and dearest friends, Jason, he gently whispered, "What's wrong?" With his Timberlands, tattoos, and crew cut, he made me smile, and his simple question moved me. I told him, "I have to change my life, and I don't know how to do it." Jason sat up with me all night. I didn't get high. I cried and I shook, and he held me, saying, "I'm not letting you leave." That night -- those words -- changed everything. I finally felt ready to let someone help me. I began to imagine getting clean.
Jennifer Crane is now a spokesperson for the non-profit Give an Hour which provides "free medical health service to US military personnel and families affected by the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan." Alison St. John (KPBS -- link has text and audio) speaks with Iraq War veteran Sage Bird who has Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD which made returning to civilian life rough and, as she sought to self-medicate, she developed a drug addiction and ended up in jail where she "caught the attention of the jail authorities who saw her efforts, and that her violent behavior was connected to the traumas she experienced in Iraq. They gave her a second chance. She was given a lawyer who won her a reprieve, to spend six months at Veterans Village, working on healing herself." Last Friday on The World (PRI -- link has text and audio), Marco Werman spoke with journalist Joshua Kors about Sgt Chuck Luther who was forced to sign a statement claiming his injuries were a pre-existing personality disorder so the military could avoid paying for his care.
Joshua Kors: Well they're not accusations. This was two years of combing through the medical records kept by his doctor, confirmation from his commander who was there to watch his treatment, and from others who came to visit him while he was in confinement. Sgt. Luther had been wounded by mortar fire while serving in Iraq. Slammed his head against the concrete and ended up with severe traumatic brain injury. The headaches resulting from that blow to the head caused blindness, his vision to shut off in one eye. He said the other eye felt like someone was stabbing him in the eye with a knife. He went to the aid station to get care for that, but they told him that his blindness was caused by a personality disorder. He thought that was ridiculous, how could a problem with his personality cause blindness? But Marco, this is part of a larger story. For the last three years I've been reporting on wounded soldiers, pressed into signing these papers saying they have a personality disorder. [. . .] Sgt. Luther was put in a closet and held there for over a month under enforced sleep deprivation with the lights on all night, blasting heavy metal music at him all through the night, but when he tried to escape the closet they pinned him down, injected him with sleeping medication and dragged him back to the closet. Finally, at the end of a month, he was willing to sign anything and he did. He went ahead, signed papers saying that he had a pre-existing personality disorder. They flew him back to Fort Hood, and that's when they let him know the repercussions of that discharge. No disability pay for the rest of your life, no long term medical care, and here's a bill for $1,500.00. [. . .] Since 2001, 22,600 soldiers have been booted out of the military with personality disorder. Taking those wounded soldiers and sliding them out the side door with that mental illness is saving the military 12.5 billion dollars in disability and medical care. And that is why, then Senator Barack Obama was so up in arms about this issue. Along with Republican Senator Kid Bond, he put forward a bill to halt personality disorder discharges. That made him both a hero and a disappointment to so many veterans. A hero because he was addressing this critical issue; a disappointment because during his Presidential run, and now from the White House, he hasn't spoken at all about personality disorder. The result was that the issue sort of withered on the vine.
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"Senile Patrick Leahy"
"THIS JUST IN! NUTTY LEAHY!"
CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O IS POWDERING HIS CANDY ASS AND GETTING READY TO DO SOME MAJOR SMOOCHERING TO HAMID KARZAI.
PICTURED BELOW JUST LAST MONTH, BARRY O INTENDS TO BE PLAYED BY PUPPETS ON THE WORLD STAGE YET AGAIN.
A MINOR LITTLE NOTHING KARZI EXPECTS BARRY O TO ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET AND TURN OVER THE STORE ON THE BRIEF VISIT.
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Turning to the US, where 2009 saw the US army won convictions against 327 soldiers for going AWOL. Chie Saito (Austin's News 8 -- link has text and video) reports on Jacob Wade who went AWOL while back in the US on two weeks leave from his Iraq deployment.
Chie Saito: [. . .] he says the psychological effects from what he saw and experienced --
Jacob Wade: Riding through town we got attacked.
Chie Saito: -- in his first six months there --
Jacob Wade: I had a grenade go off like five feet behind me.
Chie Saito: -- made it impossible for him to go back.
Jacob Wade: I saw a lot of people die, saw a kid get shot.
Chie Saito: Images and memories which he says still haunt him today.
Jacob Wade: I wake up talking to myself about Iraq. Dreams about killing myself all alone.
Jade Ortego (Killeen Daily Herald) adds, "His psychiatrist, Dr. William Cross of Manilus, N.Y., who has agreed to testify on Wade's behalf at his sanity board, diagnosed him with post-traumatic stress disorder. Wade also suffered physical injuries to his legs as a result of his service, and walks with a limp. Wade was scared to report and be redeployed, but was also afraid of the harassment and hazing from fellow soldiers that he heard comes with an admission of mental health issues due to service." Tod Ensign (Citizen Soldier) is representing Jacob Wade. Yesterday Iraq Veterans Against the War posted an update on Eric Jasinski who also suffers from PTSD and also self-checked out to get treatment for PTSD. The military responded by court-martialing him. He has served one month at Bell County Jail and been released from the jail. Their update includes a video by Stand with Honor filmed after the court-martial.
Eric Jasinski's mother Laura Barrett: He stood up. He knew -- he knew he was going to have to go to jail. He knew that would happen. But he also knew he had to have help. And he wants to make sure that the word -- the word gets out there. That's what I'm so proud of him for, that he wants to make sure that the word gets out that so many other young men and women need help psychological help. They're coming back damaged from what they make them do, make them participate in. Eric's going to stand up. He will inspire and help so many other people.
James Branum is Eric's attorney. PTSD is rarely taken seriously. The Congress continues to fund studies that find . . . further studies are needed. The system itself works against those suffering with it. Lyda Longa (Daytona Beach News Journal) reports 29-year-old Iraq War veteran Joshua James Gerard was shot at his home Sunday by Deputy Vidal Mejias when the sheriff's office responded to a 9-11 call placed by his wife. Gerard is said to suffer from PTSD. It is not known at this point whether or not he had sought help for his PTSD. Afghanistan War veteran Jennifer Crane did seek help once she returned home and found her life spiraling out of control. She shared her story with Lynn Harris and Marie Clare:
I completed two weeks of rehab, and then went to a three-month VA program for people with post-traumatic stress disorder. But after only one month there, the doctors, unbelievably, asked me to leave. They said the treatment wasn't really helping me -- although I disagreed -- and that as one of only two women in the group, I was distracting the male patients, who apparently found me attractive. I begged them, literally on my hands and knees, to let me stay; I knew I wasn't ready to go back into society. I knew what would happen if I tried. Incredibly, they said no. I left the VA Medical Center and went straight to my drug dealer's house. I told him I needed something strong to get rid of my pain. That day, I started smoking crack. I hit bottom so fast, it was amazing. I went from being happy with my progress to having no hope at all. I used all day, every day. I tried to hold down jobs -- bartender, waitress, receptionist -- but I was so strung out that I couldn't get out of bed to go to work. When I was at work, I was high. I got fired from every job. At one point, I just quit trying. I couldn't afford rent, I couldn't go to my mom's house unless I was clean, and I couldn't stop fighting with my boyfriend long enough to stay with him. That's how I wound up living in my car. For several months, in exchange for drugs, I ran errands for my dealer and cleaned his home. He also asked me to be a "dancer" -- in other words, dance privately for his friends and customers. Clinging to my last shred of dignity, I said no. But not long after, I had sex with him for drugs. I felt so disgusted afterward, I took out a lighter and burned the clothes I'd worn that night. Then, in August 2006, as I was driving away from my dealer's house, seven police cars suddenly surrounded me. I was handcuffed and arrested for possession of the crack cocaine I had with me. But when I wouldn't give them the name of my dealer (which would be suicide), they eventually gave up and let me go. The very next day, my old friends held a reunion on the anniversary of Steve's death. When I showed up, everyone stared. I was emaciated, with my eyes darting around and contusions all over my face from picking my skin, out of anxiety. When I spotted one of my oldest and dearest friends, Jason, he gently whispered, "What's wrong?" With his Timberlands, tattoos, and crew cut, he made me smile, and his simple question moved me. I told him, "I have to change my life, and I don't know how to do it." Jason sat up with me all night. I didn't get high. I cried and I shook, and he held me, saying, "I'm not letting you leave." That night -- those words -- changed everything. I finally felt ready to let someone help me. I began to imagine getting clean.
Jennifer Crane is now a spokesperson for the non-profit Give an Hour which provides "free medical health service to US military personnel and families affected by the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan." Alison St. John (KPBS -- link has text and audio) speaks with Iraq War veteran Sage Bird who has Traumatic Brain Injury and PTSD which made returning to civilian life rough and, as she sought to self-medicate, she developed a drug addiction and ended up in jail where she "caught the attention of the jail authorities who saw her efforts, and that her violent behavior was connected to the traumas she experienced in Iraq. They gave her a second chance. She was given a lawyer who won her a reprieve, to spend six months at Veterans Village, working on healing herself." Last Friday on The World (PRI -- link has text and audio), Marco Werman spoke with journalist Joshua Kors about Sgt Chuck Luther who was forced to sign a statement claiming his injuries were a pre-existing personality disorder so the military could avoid paying for his care.
Joshua Kors: Well they're not accusations. This was two years of combing through the medical records kept by his doctor, confirmation from his commander who was there to watch his treatment, and from others who came to visit him while he was in confinement. Sgt. Luther had been wounded by mortar fire while serving in Iraq. Slammed his head against the concrete and ended up with severe traumatic brain injury. The headaches resulting from that blow to the head caused blindness, his vision to shut off in one eye. He said the other eye felt like someone was stabbing him in the eye with a knife. He went to the aid station to get care for that, but they told him that his blindness was caused by a personality disorder. He thought that was ridiculous, how could a problem with his personality cause blindness? But Marco, this is part of a larger story. For the last three years I've been reporting on wounded soldiers, pressed into signing these papers saying they have a personality disorder. [. . .] Sgt. Luther was put in a closet and held there for over a month under enforced sleep deprivation with the lights on all night, blasting heavy metal music at him all through the night, but when he tried to escape the closet they pinned him down, injected him with sleeping medication and dragged him back to the closet. Finally, at the end of a month, he was willing to sign anything and he did. He went ahead, signed papers saying that he had a pre-existing personality disorder. They flew him back to Fort Hood, and that's when they let him know the repercussions of that discharge. No disability pay for the rest of your life, no long term medical care, and here's a bill for $1,500.00. [. . .] Since 2001, 22,600 soldiers have been booted out of the military with personality disorder. Taking those wounded soldiers and sliding them out the side door with that mental illness is saving the military 12.5 billion dollars in disability and medical care. And that is why, then Senator Barack Obama was so up in arms about this issue. Along with Republican Senator Kid Bond, he put forward a bill to halt personality disorder discharges. That made him both a hero and a disappointment to so many veterans. A hero because he was addressing this critical issue; a disappointment because during his Presidential run, and now from the White House, he hasn't spoken at all about personality disorder. The result was that the issue sort of withered on the vine.
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Tuesday, May 11, 2010
THIS JUST IN! NUTTY LEAHY!
BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O HAS NOMINATED CLOSET CASE AND CONSERVATIVE ELANA KAGAN TO THE SUPREME COURT TICKLING SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY WHO INSISTS THAT SHE "WILL BRING TO THE SUPREME COURT A DIVERSITY OF EXPERIENCE MISSING SINCE JUSTICE O'CONNOR RETIRED IN 2006." JUSTICE SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR IS NOW THE STANDARD FOR DEMOCRATS?
THE WOMAN WHO AWARDED THE PRESIDENCY TO GEORGE W. BUSH IS NOW THE MEASURE? THE REPUBLICAN LAW MAKER -- BEFORE SHE WENT TO THE COURT -- NOMINATED BY RONALD REAGAN IS NOW THE MEASURE?
FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY?
THE 70-YEAR-OLD SENATOR (WHO CAVED ON OPPOSING ILLEGAL WIRE TAPPING OF AMERICAN CITIZENS AND, IN FACT, ON EVERY STAND HE EVER HALF-TOOK IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE) TOLD NBC NIGHTLY NEWS YESTERDAY, "I WORRY WHEN YOU'RE IN A JUDICIAL MONASTARY." THESE REPORTERS WORRY ABOUT ELECTED OFFICIALS WHO USE TERMS LIKE "JUDICIAL MONASTRY."
APPARENTLY STILL ATTEMPTING TO FIND A WORKING AND VALID TALKING POINT, LEAHY BEGAN COMPARING HER TO MOSES AND SAYING REPUBLICANS WOULD OBJECT TO MOSES.
INDEED THEY WOULD. NON-AMERICANS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BECOME SUPREME COURT JUDGES, LEAHY. THAT'S BEFORE WE GET INTO RELIGIOUS OBJECTIONS INCLUDING THOSE FROM SOME JEWS WHO WOULD DISPUTE THAT THIS MAN CLAIMING TO BE MOSES WAS IN FACT MOSES SINCE HIS DEATH IS CLEARLY DOCUMENTED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
LEAHY'S BRAIN, LIKE HIS STANDS, HAS GONE EXTREMELY SOFT.
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
"The irony is that al-Maliki himself spent two decades in Syria plotting the downfall of Saddam's regime but Syria had repeatedly refused to extradite him to Iraq despite a wave of bombing campaigns carried out by the Dawa Party in the 80s killing many Iraqi civilians," Jasam al-Azawi observed on the latest Inside Iraq (Al Jazeera). Jasam al-Azawi spoke with Thabet Salem (Syrian journalist) and Saad al-Muttalibi (advisor to Iraq's Ministry of National Dialogue).
Jasam al-Azawi: Saad al-Muttalibi, what is the evidence that Syria is really plotting to re-impose the Ba'athists back on Iraq? What is the evidence?
Saad al-Muttalibi: First of all I would like to make an objection on the introduction when you said that the Dawa Party was responsible for killing Iraqi civilians. That is unfounded, untrue and historically incorrect. Secondly, nobody's accusing the Syrian government. Actually, we have the highest regards for President Bashar al-Assad who proved to be a brother to the Iraqi nation and proved to be an ally for Iraq. So we have no issues with the Syrian government or the Syrian authorities. Actually, as I said, we hold them with the highest respect and regards. We do have -- This is a very complex picture where there is multiple international agendas interacting and crossing over each other within the wider Middle Eastern conflict. So it is very hard to separate one issue from another but if we manage to slightly pull out the Iraqi conflict -- if we can call it that -- from the Syrian point of view, we find that President Bashar al-Assad was very helpful and very gracious in calling for a reconciliation in Iraq and calling for a continuous dialogue, with his care and attention, that Iraq should include all its citizens or representatives of its citizens within the government. Now we no objection to that at all. As long as these political representatives work on a political agenda and not using violence. As you know, violence and terrorism is a destructive method and not a constructive one so it is important to differentiate between our help and support and cooperation with the Syrian government and from some quarters that back a-a-a-a violence organization that is causing Iraq a great deal of blood and casualities.
Jasam al-Azawi: Well before I go to Thabet Salem, let me go back to the first thing that you objected to and this is not the bone of contention of this program, the evidence for the Dawa Party engaging in bombing campaigns has been amply established not only in Iraq but also in Kuwait. If you remember the very reason for the start of the Iraq-Iran War was an attempt by a member of the Dawa Party to kill Tariq Aziz -- at that time the Foreign Minister and that was simply because they were linked to Iran. But that is not our subject for the time being, Saad al-Muttalibi. Perhaps we can have another episode one day about the terrorist activities of the Dawa Party. We'll go to it later on.
Saad al-Muttalibi: These are all allege -- these are all alleged.
Jasam al-Azawi: From your perspective it's alleged. From other point of view, it's clarified and documented. But then again, you're an advisor to the Prime Minister, you have to say that. Otherwise, perhaps, you might even lose your position. Thabet Salem, we listen to Saad al-Muttalibi articulating -- at length, if I may so -- basically we did not hear any point of evidence that Syria is plotting. He claimed that Syria is plotting to impose the Ba'ath back on Iraq again.
Thabet Salem: Well actually I can't obeject to what Mr. Muttalibi said from Baghdad. Actually, I didn't really understand if this is a view point, why you are here and is there any difference in views regarding this accusation. But we don't have to forget, regardless of what Mr. Muttalibi says, that the Iraqi prime minister -- this time we don't have to forget that the Iraqi prime minister accused Syria, more than once at least, of being terrorist and that it has carried out criminal acts inside Iraq which resulted in the deaths of many Iraqis. I think that until now that this is the basic argument of Mr. Malaiki -- but this hides really something else. The other thing is that he's not happy that there are Iraqis who are opposed to his regime and the American occupation of Iraq in Syria. This it the vital thing, I think, this is the essence, the very essence, of the issue. Just to make it clear, until now the Iraqi accusations have reached no result and they have failed in presenting any document or any evidence or clue even that Syria has really contributed or helped any criminal element in doing these acts in Iraq. This is first. Second, I just want to make it clear that Syria cannot say "no" to any Arab political refugee who comes to Damascus. This is one of the rules --
Jasam al-Azawi: We shall come to that point, later on, Thabet. Let's give Saad al-Muttalibi another chance to see whether he can come up with the evidence that Syria is plotting to reimpose the Ba'athists on Iraq again.
In the United States, the woman once called "the female Paul Robeson" has died. She long surpassed that moniker and stood in no one's shadow. Singer, actress and activist Lena Horne passed away at the age of 92 (Washington Post multi-media link). At wowOwow, photographer Harry Benson remembers her. Margena A. Christian (Ebony) reflects on Lena's life and meaning (and link is text and video). NPR's Mark Memmott notes Lena's passing and compiles multiple audio of NPR's past coverage of her. Avoid Crapapedia. I'm borrowing liberally from a piece we did at Third in April 2009 (word-for-word with some editing out and a tiny bit of wrap around to make the below flow).
Crapapedia can't get her family correct. (Two relatives of Lena Horne's maternal grandfather would pass for White, one an actress, the other a singer.) They can't get the pressure on her correct either. (Early on, while trying to establish herself in the New York theater, she was advised to pass for Latino by agent Harold Gumm and producer George White -- Horne refused).
Most significantly, they leave out Horne's signing with MGM. Horne didn't want to make movies and was quite happy in New York City. So happy she was turning down an offer from the Trocadero in Los Angeles when the NAACP's Walter White explained to her that not only could this lead to a break in films for Horne, it could lead to a huge advanced for African-Americans. She took the town when she opened at the Trocadero. After MGM offered a contract, Horne went to speak with Walter White. They discussed the roles African-Americans were relegated to -- servants and native caricatures. It was for this reason that Horne refused to play demeaning roles and had that written into her contract. In her autobiography, Lena, Horne explained of the roles offered to African-Americans at the time, "They were mainly extras and it was not difficult to strip down to a loincloth and run around Tarzan's jungle or put on a bandanna and play one of the slaves in Gone with the Wind."
Crapapedia leaves out that and they also tell you that Lena Horne never starred in a film while under contract to MGM. Apparently they missed Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather (the first was for MGM, the second was made by Fox with MGM loaning Horne out for the film).
She refused to do an MGM-backed Broadway play because it was flat-out racist. As a result, MGM started screwing her over by refusing to let her do night club work. Joan Crawford advised her to get a bigger agency and she went with MCA. They did the bare minimum. That's in terms of getting 'permission' for her to work in nightclubs and in terms of 'representing' her. They were more than happy to take her money. But MCA was a highly racist agency and Lena would find, in town after town, that while a White star or White personality far less famous than her, raising far less money than she did, would be greeted immediately by MCA, receive congratulatory telegrams on opening night, MCA would mosey on over to see her when they damn well felt like it, maybe three, maybe five days after she opened. The telegram would arrive on the second or third night. They were racists, they were damn racists. Even for the time. They were also cowards. And of course Jules Stein ran MCA.Lena Horne's Civil Rights work including raising the profile of African-Americans in film and in clubs, ending segregation in New York City clubs as well as clubs outside of NYC. It includes joining James Baldwin, Harry Belafonte, Jerome Smith, Rip Torn, Dr. Kenneth Clark, Lorraine Hansberry and Dr. Brewton Berry for a meeting with then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to discuss the segregation and violence in Birmingham (the violence included police sicking dogs on the marchers and fire fighters turning the hoses on the marchers on May 3rd, which followed the April arrest of MLK and other assaults on peaceful protests). Her activism found her traveling to Jackson, Mississippi to speak and sing at an NAACP rally -- which is where she met Medgar Evers for the first time. Horne was booked on NBC's Today Show June 13, 1963 to talk about the Civil Rights movement and learned, shortly after arriving at the studio, that Medgar Evers had been assassinated the night before. Horne would manage to compose herself and go on live TV to discuss Evers life and legacy. She participated in the August 28, 1963 March on Washington. She would do a Carnegie Hall benefit for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. At that performance she would debut two new songs. "Silent Spring" was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg about the September 15, 1963 Birmingham 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham in which four young girls -- Carol Denise McNair, Cynthia Diane Wesley, Carole Rosamond Robertson and Addie Mae Collins -- were murdered. The second song was "Now!" which is a Civil Rights anthem and was a hit song. Like "Kumbaya" its role in the Civil Rights movement seems to be forgotten by many today. Adolph Green and Betty Comden wrote the lyrics and Lena sang it full out, brimming with passion. That wasn't unique to this one song but, as Lena knew, it wasn't a song some expected from her. Especially those who didn't grasp that she always took the big steps that pulled everyone along with her.
If those historical gentlemen came back today --
Jefferson, Washington and Lincoln --
And Walter Cronkite put them on channel 2
To find out what they were thinking,
I'm sure they'd say,
"Thanks for quoting us so much
but we don't want to take a bow,
enough with the quoting put those words into action
and we mean action
Now!"
Now is the moment,
Now is the moment,
Come on,
We've put it off long enough.
Now!
No more waiting,
No hesitating,
Now!
Now!
Come on
Let's get some of that stuff!
It's there for you and me.
For every he and she.
Just want to do what's right
Constitutionally.
I went and took a look
In my old history book.
It's there in black and white
For all to see.
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Everyone should love his brother,
People all should love each other,
Just don't take it lieteral, mister
No one wants to grab your sister
Now is the time!
Now is the time!
Now is the moment,
Now is the moment,
Come on,
We put it off long enough.
Now no more waiting,
No hesistating
Now!
Now!
Come on,
Lets get some of that stuff.
It's there for you and me
For every he and she
Just want to do what's right
Constitutionally.
I went and took a look
In my old history book.
It's there in black and whiteFor all to see.
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
The message of this song's not subtle.
No discussion.
No rebuttal.
We want more
Than just a promise.
Say goodbye
To Uncle Thomas.
Call me naive,
Still I believe
We're created free and equal now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Everyone should love his brother.
People all should love each other.
Since they say we all got rhythm
Come on, let's share rhythm with them.
Now is the time!
Now is the time!
The time is now!
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Highlights
"THIS JUST IN! ROCK & MAMIE IN D.C.!"
"I see "lavender"!"
CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O HAS NOMINATED CLOSET CASE AND CONSERVATIVE ELANA KAGAN TO THE SUPREME COURT TICKLING SENATOR PATRICK LEAHY WHO INSISTS THAT SHE "WILL BRING TO THE SUPREME COURT A DIVERSITY OF EXPERIENCE MISSING SINCE JUSTICE O'CONNOR RETIRED IN 2006." JUSTICE SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR IS NOW THE STANDARD FOR DEMOCRATS?
THE WOMAN WHO AWARDED THE PRESIDENCY TO GEORGE W. BUSH IS NOW THE MEASURE? THE REPUBLICAN LAW MAKER -- BEFORE SHE WENT TO THE COURT -- NOMINATED BY RONALD REAGAN IS NOW THE MEASURE?
FOR THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY?
THE 70-YEAR-OLD SENATOR (WHO CAVED ON OPPOSING ILLEGAL WIRE TAPPING OF AMERICAN CITIZENS AND, IN FACT, ON EVERY STAND HE EVER HALF-TOOK IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE) TOLD NBC NIGHTLY NEWS YESTERDAY, "I WORRY WHEN YOU'RE IN A JUDICIAL MONASTARY." THESE REPORTERS WORRY ABOUT ELECTED OFFICIALS WHO USE TERMS LIKE "JUDICIAL MONASTRY."
APPARENTLY STILL ATTEMPTING TO FIND A WORKING AND VALID TALKING POINT, LEAHY BEGAN COMPARING HER TO MOSES AND SAYING REPUBLICANS WOULD OBJECT TO MOSES.
INDEED THEY WOULD. NON-AMERICANS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO BECOME SUPREME COURT JUDGES, LEAHY. THAT'S BEFORE WE GET INTO RELIGIOUS OBJECTIONS INCLUDING THOSE FROM SOME JEWS WHO WOULD DISPUTE THAT THIS MAN CLAIMING TO BE MOSES WAS IN FACT MOSES SINCE HIS DEATH IS CLEARLY DOCUMENTED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT.
LEAHY'S BRAIN, LIKE HIS STANDS, HAS GONE EXTREMELY SOFT.
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
"The irony is that al-Maliki himself spent two decades in Syria plotting the downfall of Saddam's regime but Syria had repeatedly refused to extradite him to Iraq despite a wave of bombing campaigns carried out by the Dawa Party in the 80s killing many Iraqi civilians," Jasam al-Azawi observed on the latest Inside Iraq (Al Jazeera). Jasam al-Azawi spoke with Thabet Salem (Syrian journalist) and Saad al-Muttalibi (advisor to Iraq's Ministry of National Dialogue).
Jasam al-Azawi: Saad al-Muttalibi, what is the evidence that Syria is really plotting to re-impose the Ba'athists back on Iraq? What is the evidence?
Saad al-Muttalibi: First of all I would like to make an objection on the introduction when you said that the Dawa Party was responsible for killing Iraqi civilians. That is unfounded, untrue and historically incorrect. Secondly, nobody's accusing the Syrian government. Actually, we have the highest regards for President Bashar al-Assad who proved to be a brother to the Iraqi nation and proved to be an ally for Iraq. So we have no issues with the Syrian government or the Syrian authorities. Actually, as I said, we hold them with the highest respect and regards. We do have -- This is a very complex picture where there is multiple international agendas interacting and crossing over each other within the wider Middle Eastern conflict. So it is very hard to separate one issue from another but if we manage to slightly pull out the Iraqi conflict -- if we can call it that -- from the Syrian point of view, we find that President Bashar al-Assad was very helpful and very gracious in calling for a reconciliation in Iraq and calling for a continuous dialogue, with his care and attention, that Iraq should include all its citizens or representatives of its citizens within the government. Now we no objection to that at all. As long as these political representatives work on a political agenda and not using violence. As you know, violence and terrorism is a destructive method and not a constructive one so it is important to differentiate between our help and support and cooperation with the Syrian government and from some quarters that back a-a-a-a violence organization that is causing Iraq a great deal of blood and casualities.
Jasam al-Azawi: Well before I go to Thabet Salem, let me go back to the first thing that you objected to and this is not the bone of contention of this program, the evidence for the Dawa Party engaging in bombing campaigns has been amply established not only in Iraq but also in Kuwait. If you remember the very reason for the start of the Iraq-Iran War was an attempt by a member of the Dawa Party to kill Tariq Aziz -- at that time the Foreign Minister and that was simply because they were linked to Iran. But that is not our subject for the time being, Saad al-Muttalibi. Perhaps we can have another episode one day about the terrorist activities of the Dawa Party. We'll go to it later on.
Saad al-Muttalibi: These are all allege -- these are all alleged.
Jasam al-Azawi: From your perspective it's alleged. From other point of view, it's clarified and documented. But then again, you're an advisor to the Prime Minister, you have to say that. Otherwise, perhaps, you might even lose your position. Thabet Salem, we listen to Saad al-Muttalibi articulating -- at length, if I may so -- basically we did not hear any point of evidence that Syria is plotting. He claimed that Syria is plotting to impose the Ba'ath back on Iraq again.
Thabet Salem: Well actually I can't obeject to what Mr. Muttalibi said from Baghdad. Actually, I didn't really understand if this is a view point, why you are here and is there any difference in views regarding this accusation. But we don't have to forget, regardless of what Mr. Muttalibi says, that the Iraqi prime minister -- this time we don't have to forget that the Iraqi prime minister accused Syria, more than once at least, of being terrorist and that it has carried out criminal acts inside Iraq which resulted in the deaths of many Iraqis. I think that until now that this is the basic argument of Mr. Malaiki -- but this hides really something else. The other thing is that he's not happy that there are Iraqis who are opposed to his regime and the American occupation of Iraq in Syria. This it the vital thing, I think, this is the essence, the very essence, of the issue. Just to make it clear, until now the Iraqi accusations have reached no result and they have failed in presenting any document or any evidence or clue even that Syria has really contributed or helped any criminal element in doing these acts in Iraq. This is first. Second, I just want to make it clear that Syria cannot say "no" to any Arab political refugee who comes to Damascus. This is one of the rules --
Jasam al-Azawi: We shall come to that point, later on, Thabet. Let's give Saad al-Muttalibi another chance to see whether he can come up with the evidence that Syria is plotting to reimpose the Ba'athists on Iraq again.
In the United States, the woman once called "the female Paul Robeson" has died. She long surpassed that moniker and stood in no one's shadow. Singer, actress and activist Lena Horne passed away at the age of 92 (Washington Post multi-media link). At wowOwow, photographer Harry Benson remembers her. Margena A. Christian (Ebony) reflects on Lena's life and meaning (and link is text and video). NPR's Mark Memmott notes Lena's passing and compiles multiple audio of NPR's past coverage of her. Avoid Crapapedia. I'm borrowing liberally from a piece we did at Third in April 2009 (word-for-word with some editing out and a tiny bit of wrap around to make the below flow).
Crapapedia can't get her family correct. (Two relatives of Lena Horne's maternal grandfather would pass for White, one an actress, the other a singer.) They can't get the pressure on her correct either. (Early on, while trying to establish herself in the New York theater, she was advised to pass for Latino by agent Harold Gumm and producer George White -- Horne refused).
Most significantly, they leave out Horne's signing with MGM. Horne didn't want to make movies and was quite happy in New York City. So happy she was turning down an offer from the Trocadero in Los Angeles when the NAACP's Walter White explained to her that not only could this lead to a break in films for Horne, it could lead to a huge advanced for African-Americans. She took the town when she opened at the Trocadero. After MGM offered a contract, Horne went to speak with Walter White. They discussed the roles African-Americans were relegated to -- servants and native caricatures. It was for this reason that Horne refused to play demeaning roles and had that written into her contract. In her autobiography, Lena, Horne explained of the roles offered to African-Americans at the time, "They were mainly extras and it was not difficult to strip down to a loincloth and run around Tarzan's jungle or put on a bandanna and play one of the slaves in Gone with the Wind."
Crapapedia leaves out that and they also tell you that Lena Horne never starred in a film while under contract to MGM. Apparently they missed Cabin in the Sky and Stormy Weather (the first was for MGM, the second was made by Fox with MGM loaning Horne out for the film).
She refused to do an MGM-backed Broadway play because it was flat-out racist. As a result, MGM started screwing her over by refusing to let her do night club work. Joan Crawford advised her to get a bigger agency and she went with MCA. They did the bare minimum. That's in terms of getting 'permission' for her to work in nightclubs and in terms of 'representing' her. They were more than happy to take her money. But MCA was a highly racist agency and Lena would find, in town after town, that while a White star or White personality far less famous than her, raising far less money than she did, would be greeted immediately by MCA, receive congratulatory telegrams on opening night, MCA would mosey on over to see her when they damn well felt like it, maybe three, maybe five days after she opened. The telegram would arrive on the second or third night. They were racists, they were damn racists. Even for the time. They were also cowards. And of course Jules Stein ran MCA.Lena Horne's Civil Rights work including raising the profile of African-Americans in film and in clubs, ending segregation in New York City clubs as well as clubs outside of NYC. It includes joining James Baldwin, Harry Belafonte, Jerome Smith, Rip Torn, Dr. Kenneth Clark, Lorraine Hansberry and Dr. Brewton Berry for a meeting with then Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy to discuss the segregation and violence in Birmingham (the violence included police sicking dogs on the marchers and fire fighters turning the hoses on the marchers on May 3rd, which followed the April arrest of MLK and other assaults on peaceful protests). Her activism found her traveling to Jackson, Mississippi to speak and sing at an NAACP rally -- which is where she met Medgar Evers for the first time. Horne was booked on NBC's Today Show June 13, 1963 to talk about the Civil Rights movement and learned, shortly after arriving at the studio, that Medgar Evers had been assassinated the night before. Horne would manage to compose herself and go on live TV to discuss Evers life and legacy. She participated in the August 28, 1963 March on Washington. She would do a Carnegie Hall benefit for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. At that performance she would debut two new songs. "Silent Spring" was written by Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg about the September 15, 1963 Birmingham 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham in which four young girls -- Carol Denise McNair, Cynthia Diane Wesley, Carole Rosamond Robertson and Addie Mae Collins -- were murdered. The second song was "Now!" which is a Civil Rights anthem and was a hit song. Like "Kumbaya" its role in the Civil Rights movement seems to be forgotten by many today. Adolph Green and Betty Comden wrote the lyrics and Lena sang it full out, brimming with passion. That wasn't unique to this one song but, as Lena knew, it wasn't a song some expected from her. Especially those who didn't grasp that she always took the big steps that pulled everyone along with her.
If those historical gentlemen came back today --
Jefferson, Washington and Lincoln --
And Walter Cronkite put them on channel 2
To find out what they were thinking,
I'm sure they'd say,
"Thanks for quoting us so much
but we don't want to take a bow,
enough with the quoting put those words into action
and we mean action
Now!"
Now is the moment,
Now is the moment,
Come on,
We've put it off long enough.
Now!
No more waiting,
No hesitating,
Now!
Now!
Come on
Let's get some of that stuff!
It's there for you and me.
For every he and she.
Just want to do what's right
Constitutionally.
I went and took a look
In my old history book.
It's there in black and white
For all to see.
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Everyone should love his brother,
People all should love each other,
Just don't take it lieteral, mister
No one wants to grab your sister
Now is the time!
Now is the time!
Now is the moment,
Now is the moment,
Come on,
We put it off long enough.
Now no more waiting,
No hesistating
Now!
Now!
Come on,
Lets get some of that stuff.
It's there for you and me
For every he and she
Just want to do what's right
Constitutionally.
I went and took a look
In my old history book.
It's there in black and whiteFor all to see.
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
The message of this song's not subtle.
No discussion.
No rebuttal.
We want more
Than just a promise.
Say goodbye
To Uncle Thomas.
Call me naive,
Still I believe
We're created free and equal now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Now!
Everyone should love his brother.
People all should love each other.
Since they say we all got rhythm
Come on, let's share rhythm with them.
Now is the time!
Now is the time!
The time is now!
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