YESTERDAY CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O CAME OUT AGAINST THE BOY SCOUT POLICY TO REFUSE TO ALLOW GAY CHILDREN TO BE BOY SCOUTS.
SPEAKING TO THESE REPORTERS THIS MORNING, WHITE HOUSE PLUS-SIZE SPOKESMODEL JAY CARNEY DECLARED, "THIS IS MORE BRAVE LEADERSHIP FROM OUR CELEBRITY IN CHIEF. YET AGAIN, HE HAS STAKED OUT GROUND NO ONE ELSE WOULD DARE TO STEP ON. HE BRAVELY GOES WHERE NO ONE HAS GONE BEFORE. HE'S LIKE SPOCK AND THE WHOLE F**KING ENTERPRISE!"
WHEN THESE REPORTERS POINTED OUT THAT THIS WAS ALREADY MITT ROMNEY'S STANCE, CARNEY ADMITTED THAT WAS "POSSIBLE BUT DID HE ANNOUNCE WITH AS MUCH FLAIR AS BARRY O? BARRY O WORE HIS GLITTER PANTIES AND MADE SWEEPING HAND GESTURES! OUR CELEBRITY IN CHIEF IS QUITE THE SHOWMAN."
WHEN THESE REPORTERS PRESSED AND POINTED OUT THAT MITT ROMNEY ANNOUNCED THIS SAME STANCE IN 1994 AND BARRY O ONLY DID YESTERDAY, CARNEY'S EYES GLAZED AND HE SIGHED, "IMAGINE WHAT A GREAT PRESIDENT BARRY O IS GOING TO BE 18 YEARS FROM NOW. GIVE HIM 18 YEARS AND BARRY O CAN FIGURE OUT WHERE HE STANDS ON ANYTHING!"
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
The administration didn't want a welcome home parade
for the veterans in December of later this year. Some reasons were
valid. The country is supposed to be watching the spending and the
money Congress had originally allocated for a national parade had
actually been spent years ago. Some reasons made no sense at all. The
administration claimed that since some Iraq War veterans were in
Afghanistan currently, it wouldn't be right to have a parade for Iraq
War veterans. When the US finally leaves Afghanistan, what will the
excuse be? There will always be -- barring a major shift in foreign
policy -- US troops stationed on something other than American soil. The administration also felt the need to pressure NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg not to hold a parade.
What
happened instead is that parades have taken place in local
communities. St. Louis is where it kicked off. Craig Schneider and Tom
Appelbaum got together and organized a parade for the veterans. It was
a huge success that spawned many other parades. In July, many people
were disappointed, some were outraged. I was outraged (see "The violence and the whores" and "Iraq snapshot") and so was Trina ("Thanks Tom Appelbaum").
Across the country people worked very hard, inspired by the work in St.
Louis to do something to acknowledge the veterans. This was
individuals working together. And there were plans for future parades
later in the year. But the parades worked because they were about the
veterans.
Tom Appelbaum decided to whore the
parade in July (see Trina and my pieces). He turned the St. Louis
parade into an advertisement for Barack Obama. The ridiculous
commercial credited Barack with the parade. Barack didn't donate an
hour of organizing or a dime from his bank account. Nor did he attend
the parade. The parade was about the veterans and Tom Applebaum didn't
(my opinion) have enough respect for the veterans to refuse to whore for
the Obama campagin. The parade had nothing to do with Democrats or
Republicans or any label other than "veteran."
Craig
Schneider co-organized the parade. He did not take part in the Obama
campaign commercial. He has penned a column for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch entitled "People, not politics." It is an intelligent and deeply felt column. Please use the link to read the entire column. Here is an excerpt.
The
news was personally upsetting for two reasons. First because its
message is in clear contradiction of the apolitical nature of the
501(c)3 organization that grew from the January event, upon which the
two volunteers sat. The organization has asked for their resignation.
But
the bigger concern about the ad stems from how upside down it seemed to
turn the very nature of the movement that began in St. Louis and has
since spread to more than 20 cities. All around the country this year, a
loose and unpaid coalition of volunteers from all sectors has come
together in the universal understanding summarized by the motto of this
grass-roots movement: Those who did and still serve are people. They
aren't politics.
Since the beginning of the
post-9/11 age of combat, one of our greatest failures as a society has
been the emotional distance we've allowed ourselves to keep between our
wars and the people we send to fight them. We've placed the enormous
burden of 10 years of multi-front warfare onto less than 2 percent of
our population, forcing men and women to leave home and go risk death
not once, but two or three or four times. Or more. While our sons and
daughters have died, taken bullets and bombs for us and returned from
multiple trips to hell with wounds both inside and out, the other 98
percent of us back here have bickered over "the troops" as if they were
some abstract thing.
They are not. They are people. They are us.
Again,
it is a very important column. Craig Schneider works to put veterans
first. In the Congress, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee is an
example where party label is not an issue of great importance and
Democrats and Republicans who might not work together on any other issue
find a way to come together over what's in the best interests of
veterans. Though all members of the Committee reach out to one another
(including Senator Bernie Sanders who is neither a Democrat or a
Republican), the largest credit for that has to go to Chair Patty Murray
and Ranking Member Richard Burr who set such a strong example and such
high standards. Without that example and that desire to work together,
this week's victory would not have taken place. As Kat noted last night in "Camp Lejeune (justice finally)," the victims of Camp Lejeune finally got recognized with President Barack Obama signing into law
the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families
Act of 2012. This is an issue that Senator Burr has worked years on.
Chair Murray said it would get a floor vote and it did. She said it
would be signed this summer and it was.
The Senate is in recess allowing its members to return home. That doesn't mean work stops. Senator Murray's office notes:
FOR PLANNING PURPOSES
Wednesday, August 8th, 2012
CONTACT: Murray Press Office
(202) 224-2834
TOMORROW: VETERANS: Murray in Seattle to Discuss New Veterans Jobs Bill with Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Senator
Murray will outline Veterans Jobs Corps bill, legislation that helps
veterans overcome barriers they face when finding employment
(Washington,
D.C.) -- Tomorrow, Thursday, August 9th, 2012, U.S. Senator Patty
Murray, Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, joins
Secretary of Veteran Affairs Eric Shinseki at the Port of Seattle for a
press conference on veterans jobs. Senator Murray will highlight a bill
she is sponsoring in the Senate, the Veterans Jobs Corps bill. Senator
Murray's bill is modeled of successful job training programs across the
country and in states like Washington. The Veterans Jobs Corps bill
would build on the gains already made with Senator Murray's VOW to Hire
Heroes Act, and serves as a $1 billion investment in veterans and their
capacity to strengthen America.
Over the
next five years, the Veterans Jobs Corps would: increase training and
hiring opportunities for all veterans; help restore and protect
national, state, and tribal forests, parks, coastal areas, wildlife
refuges, and cemeteries. It will also help hire qualified veterans as
police, firefighters, and first responders at a time when 85 percent of
law enforcement agencies were forced to reduce their budget in the past
year. Senator Murray will point out that this bill contains bipartisan
ideas, is fully paid for with bipartisan spending offsets, and should
not be controversial at a time when veterans continue to struggle.
The
Port of Seattle was recently recognized with The Freedom Award, the
Department of Defense's highest recognition given to employers for
exceptional support of our Guard and Reserve members.
WHO: U.S. Senator Patty Murray
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki
Tay Yoshitani, Port of Seattle CEO
Veterans currently employed by the Port of Seattle
WHAT: Senator Murray and Secretary Shinseki discuss new veterans jobs legislation
WHEN: TOMORROW: Thursday, August 9th, 2012
10:00 AM PT
WHERE: Port of Seattle Marine Maintenance Facility
25 S. Horton Street
Seattle, WA 98134
###
Kathryn Robertson
Specialty Media Coordinator
Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray
448 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington D.C. 20510
202-224-2834
Tomorrow the high for the day in Baghdad is supposed to be 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit). And as if Iraq didn't have enough hot air of late, two government spokespeople try to add to it. Mohammad al-Qaisi (al-Shorfa) reports that Ministry of the Interior spokespersons Hikmat Mahmoud al-Masari and Adel Dahham see al Qaeda in Iraq 'imploding' and they know -- in their heart of hearts, they really, really know -- this is happening due to events like last month when they discovered the bodies of two leaders in one house -- both were dead!
The
events of today have already slapped them across the face. But, since
thinking caps appear to be in short supply at the Ministry of the
Interior, let's provide them the walk through that they're too dumb to
see.
Whether it's a mafia movie or a vampire
movie, when the 'bad guys' start turning up dead, that generally means
that something even more violent and destructive has decided to move in
and take over. So rejoicing over those two dead leaders? The Ministry
of the Interior would be better off grasping something more powerful
than those two leaders is now what they will be up against.
July 22nd,
the Islamic State of Iraq released an audio recording announcing a new
campaign of violence entitled Breaking The Walls which would include
prison breaks and killing "judges and investigators and their guards."
The last weeks have demonstrated that ISI is serious about pursuing
those goals. Their determination is also clear with an attack on a
government prosecutor this morning.
KUNA reports unknown assailants invaded a Baiji home (Salahuddin Province) and killed 8 members of one family. Kitabat adds that a government prosecutor lived in the house and that one of the sons was also an attorney. In addition, they note that the attack took place at five in the morning and that there was some effort to burn the corpses after. Alsumaria quotes a police source stating that the assailants stormed the home, firing automatic weapons as they did, killing the government prosecutor, his father, his sisters and brothers and a family member that hasn't been identified so far. Xinhua identifies the prosecutor as Adnan Khayrallah and they note, "The attackers shot dead Adana, his father, three women, two children along with a guest, the source said without giving further details." The Hong Kong Standard spells the name of the prosecutor as "Khayrallah Shati" and says he and his wife, their five sons and an unidentified 8th relative were killed.
KUNA reports unknown assailants invaded a Baiji home (Salahuddin Province) and killed 8 members of one family. Kitabat adds that a government prosecutor lived in the house and that one of the sons was also an attorney. In addition, they note that the attack took place at five in the morning and that there was some effort to burn the corpses after. Alsumaria quotes a police source stating that the assailants stormed the home, firing automatic weapons as they did, killing the government prosecutor, his father, his sisters and brothers and a family member that hasn't been identified so far. Xinhua identifies the prosecutor as Adnan Khayrallah and they note, "The attackers shot dead Adana, his father, three women, two children along with a guest, the source said without giving further details." The Hong Kong Standard spells the name of the prosecutor as "Khayrallah Shati" and says he and his wife, their five sons and an unidentified 8th relative were killed.
In addition, a Suwayrah car bombing left many dead and many injured, BBC News notes. Prashant Rao (AFP) explains that "a vehilce packed with explosives ripped through a group of Shiite worshippers during a commemoration ceremony." AFP counts 13 dead and thirty injured. Also Alsumaria reports a senior officer in the Ministry of Defense was shot dead by unknown assailants in Baghdad and that robbers stole 53 million dinars from a Kirkuk banking center (ASE Banking). (53 million dinars is about 46,000 in US dollars.)
Recommended: "Iraq snapshot"
Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "The Taxer"
"Iraq's sex tape rumors"
"Where's the US Ambassador to Iraq"
"Mars and more"
"The bad economy"
"4 men, 4 women (and idiot of NPR)"
"curiosity and mars"
"Marvin Hamlisch"
"Camp Lejeune (justice finally)"
"Grab bag"
"Creepy"
"Heartbreakers"
"One damn liar"
"THIS JUST IN! BARRY O ACCOMPLISHES SO LITTLE!"
"No real dent"
