5/07/2011

The Killing Of Osama/ Link to Bob Woodward"s Account in Washington Post

Bob Woodward's account of the killing of Osama bin Laden provides mostly what's already been reported, however it does provide some interesting and at times even humourus antidotes such as this:
When bin Laden’s corpse was laid out, one of the Navy SEALs was asked to stretch out next to it to compare heights. The SEAL was 6 feet tall. The body was several inches taller.
After the information was relayed to Obama, he turned to his advisers and said: “We donated a $60 million helicopter to this operation. Could we not afford to buy a tape measure?”
Woodward's article does lay it all out for you, making it easier to understand in a linear, story type way.  In my opinion it's certainly worth reading.  I've provided a link to the article here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/death-of-osama-bin-laden-phone-call-pointed-us-to-compound--and-to-the-pacer/2011/05/06/AFnSVaCG_print.html
 


Intelligence Gathered at Osama Compound May Lead To Al Queda's 2nd in Command

http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/ayman-al-zawahri-binladen.jpg


CBS News is reporting an anonymous source as claiming "positive intelligence" found at the scene may yield the whereabouts of AlQueda's #2 man Ali Zawahiri.

CBS:
The intelligence source said that there are “numerous” leads giving them locations but cautioned that they are fluid as al Qaeda leaders may be on the run, changing their locations. [...]
Analysts are working around the clock scrutinizing the documents and 2.7 terabytes of computer data, knowing that the information may be perishable.
This would be especially important since Al Queda leaders have stated they will seek revenge over the killing of OBL and continue terrorists attacks against the United States.  Ali Zawahiri is Osama's chief deputy and most likely his successor.  After the killing of Osama bin Laden,  locating Ali Zawahiri would be the next logical objective in the war against terrorism.

It's amazing what a competent administration can do.

5/06/2011

The Kind of Credit President Bush Deserves

I am so sick of people on the right telling Americans how much credit President George W. Bush deserves for finally capturing and killing the mastermind of 9/11, Osama bin Laden.  In my opinion, just the mention of his name, in the same sentence as the mention of Osama's death, is way more credit than he's entitled to  Barely six months after the attack, Bush told the American people, during a press conference, he wasn't concerned where Osama was hiding anymore.  However, the fact that the attacks of September 11th 2001 occurred in the first place is even worse. Yes, President Bush had been in office only 8 months when they occurred,  yet he had been warned only one month prior.  If a Democratic President, let's say President Obama, had been in office 8 months prior to the greatest attack on American soil and he had been warned with a briefing entitled "Osama bin Laden determined to attack within the United States"yet they still occurred,  he'd have been arrested and impeached immediately. Let's watch and remind ourselves just how President Bush reacted when told America was under attack on 9/11/2001, before we decide what kind of credit he deserves for the killing of Osama bin Laden, 9 years later under a different, Democratic President.

Follow up/Short but Sweet/ Satirical Site Owned by Koch Impersonator

When Republican Jane Corwin decided to run in the special election for New York's 26th congressional district, she wisely opened up a nice little site for her campaign at JaneCorwin.com.  You guessed it: She forgot to buy up JaneCorwin.org.  So guess what Walker trickster owns it? Right again, Koch brother impersonator extraordinaire Ian Murphy.  What luck.  It should make for an interesting special election.

Follow Up: I doubt Ian Murphy- aka Walker's- trickster had much to do with Corwin's astonishing failer.  But it was still a lot of fun to watch!   At least fun for us Democrats.  For TeabagggersRepublicans; NOT SO MUCH.
Of Course, We Dems can't wait for you to keep plowing away at your attempts to destroy Medicare for all baby boomers and beyond and then try to convince us those Premium Plans Coupons aren't a third of  what medical will be costing by the time we're eligible.  They are just trying to save a system that 's worked for over 45 years.  IN reality many of us may be forced into living in rat invested shacks eating cat food.  BTW,  Paul Ryan you are the hero of all Democrats.  Thank you for finally putting in writing what most Republicans have wanted since the very beginnings of Medicare.  Who cares who gets hurt?  It won't be them or their families.

Video You've Got To See//Woman Confronts Dirty Trickster




Via Young Philly Politics:

In this 88 second video a young woman overhears a man answering questions concerning  two seperate sign in sheets at a Corbett Marcellus Shale Advisory hearing last week.  Of  course, the man doesn't admit this is why the protesters questions were never raised, so she confronts him about the trick.  She appears calm and reasonable while the trickster ends up looking like the proverbial kid caught stealing from the cookie jar. 

5/05/2011

Navel Special Forces Trainer States Torture Didn't Help Find Osama

If all the information you get comes from "The Fox News Show" you'd probably think President Obama was able to find Osama bin Laden only through torturing prisoners like they do in really bad third world countries.  Fortunately, some people still watch the "real" news channels and know in the United States we don't behave like the animals who attacked us.  Those of us watching the real news also know torture doesn't work so why would we even suggest it.  And some of us even care that torture (this includes waterboarding) is illegal.  Furthermore, experts in the field of interrogation know it's not just about getting information; it's about getting reliable information.  This expert on msnbc explains how torture doesn't work and why we don't use it:

When a Republican tells you President Obama is being arrogant remind them of this:

NY Daily News- Bush not joining Obama at Ground Zero over petty asshattery

NY Daily News- Bush not joining Obama at Ground Zero over petty asshattery

5/04/2011

Video/ Colin Powell's Closest Assistant, Outraged by Rumsfeld's Comments Concerning Waterboarding

Tonight on MSNBC's The Ed Show, it looked like Colonel Lawrence Wilkerson, the former top aid to Colin Powell, was going to jump right out of the screen and start choking anything associated with Donald Rumsfeld.  Earlier today, Rumsfeld had stated on "The Fox News Show" that waterboarding had produced an "enormous amount of information".  Listen to Wilkerson's reaction after being asked about Rumsfeld's remarks by Ed Schultz:



WILKERSON: Well my former boss Colin Powell recently said that Donald Rumsfeld was delusional and deceptive and he could prove both points. My former boss is right. And on this issue Donald Rumsfeld is more delusional than deceptive, probably than any other.
First of all his last statement about hordes of intelligence is preposterous. It didn't produce hoards of intelligence. In fact, I never saw any raw intelligence pass my desk that came from such things that was actionable, that really led to any circumstance at all that produced a result that was positive.
Secondly, Donald Rumsfeld only has as knowledge what his bureaucracy gave him. He wasn't there. He wasn't at the site. Multiple tiers of bureaucracy gave him the information that he had. And he made damned sure that that bureaucracy was sycophants, yes men, yes women. He made sure that the people working for him told him what he wanted to hear.
So one has to expect that Donald Rumsfeld heard what he just said and that was that actionable intelligence was produced by these procedures. It is preposterous.
And let me say one last thing. As Christopher Hitchens said after he was actually waterboarded, this is torture, changing his view. Let me waterboard Donald Rumsfeld and then we'll see if he says it's torture or not.
Ed then asks him why Rumsfeld would be doing this.
WILKERSON: He's got to. He's got to cover his rear end. I mean there are cases in foreign countries right now being worked by lawyers there. one in Switzerland actually kept President George Bush from visiting Switzerland that will under international auspices against Cheney, Rumsfeld, Feith, Addington et al. They don't dare resort to anything other than defending their positions because ultimately even within their lifetime they may be subject to litigation.
I will predict that as I've said many times before, they will not travel except perhaps to Israel and Saudi Arabia. Those will be the only two countries Cheney, Rumsfeld and others will travel to.
 Wilkerson's anger over Rumsfeld's statements reminds us why the Bush team should not be given an ounce of credit for bringing this sad story to a fitting end for so many who had been directly or indirectly victimized by bin Laden's actions over the years.  When Leon Panetta's gave his abysmally ambiguous answer to a question posed to him by NBC's Brian Williams over the use of "enhanced interrogation" (torture) techniques and their effectiveness in providing useful intelligence.  It should have been more than obvious, given their history, the right would take whatever advantage it could of it.  Panetta should have given an unequivocal denial to the right"s assertion that their "enhanced" techniques helped in any way.  Conservatives will take any scrap of garbage they can in order to rewrite the embarrassing, disgusting and, according to many people around the world, even illegal history of the Bush Administration that they once so openly promoted.  These torture techniques haven't even been used in years. And exactly what good would information gained 7 or 8 years ago be in aiding the Obama administration now?  Rumsfeld's assertion that waterboarding produced a great deal of useful information doesn't make any sense or bin Laden would have been captured or killed in 2002 through 2004 since that's the time period in which it was being used.  Bush , Cheney, Rove, Rumsfeld, et.al.are trying to cover their assess while also taking credit for something they couldn't accomplish in 8 whole years!  Thank you Colonel Wilkerson for all your service and for reminding us that guys like Rumsfeld are nothing but cowards and liars who's words should never be trusted.  And thank you President Obama for doing what the Bush administration didn't have the courage nor the wisdom to accomplish in the whole 8 years they were pretending to care so much about security.

Quickie: Wisconsin Dems win assembly seat held by GOP for 16 years

Check out this post for a quick update on the state of political affairs in a post Scott Walker budget deal Wisconsin!
Quickie: Wisconsin Dems win assembly seat held by GOP for 16 years

5/03/2011

Midnight Snack-Schoolhouse Rock!

I can still remember the preamble to the Constitution because of Schoolhouse Rock. Instead of cutting spending on public television maybe we should spend more money putting on updated Schoolhouse Rock videos (I've seen plenty of adults who would benefit). Maybe House Majority Leader Eric Cantor could learn about how bills become laws!

Enjoy this visit to the 1970's!

Video: Bush Said He Didn't Care About Finding bin Laden; President Obama Did!

When you hear Republicans or those on the right try to credit President Obama for "continuing the policies of President Bush" and allowing Osama bin Laden to finally be brought to justice, watch this clip to remind yourself how determined to find bin Laden our former President actually was.

Did Somebody Order a Mission Accomplished?

5/01/2011

U.S. FORCES KILL OSAMA BIN LADEN!!!

The world has been out to get Osama Bin Laden for over 10years now.  Now It's being reported Osama Bin Laden has been killed by American forces in the mountains of Pakistan.  I wonder how the right will try to spin this against President Obama! Check out the live feed from the White House here:



Congressman Allen West Proves Once Again Why He's More Suited For The Iranian Government

For the second day in a row, Congressman Allen West proved why he's not only unfit for duty in the U.S. military, he once served in, before retiring under less than flattering circumstances (see my previous blog for more on this), but he's also unfit for serving his country as an elected official of the people. Didn't teabaggers just love to yell "you work for us' at Democratic Representative's town hall meetings on health care reform? I'm sure it was on the instruction sheet ""  Americans for Prosperity" sent out to all it's bussed in "grassroots" tea partiers  So why does West only allow prepared questions submitted beforehand on index cards.  And why, as in my earlier post as well as Nicole Sandford herself on video illustrated, was she handcuffed and hauled to jail where she was maced for no apparent reason.  Well once more protesters were arrested just for having the audacity to question Florida's freshman nutjob (who at one time claimed he had a higher security clearance than the President of the United States).  According to an article in Think Progress:
Allen West, the Tea-Party backed GOP candidate for Congress in Florida's 22nd district, is a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. He apparently believes this entitles him to a security clearance higher than any clearance held by President Obama. He told an audience in Pompano, FL last week that: "I still retain a secret security clearance. And I tell you, if you look at the application for a security clearance, I have a clearance that even the president of the United States cannot obtain because of my background." 
Of course, his outlandish claims are ridiculous.  He ran on a pledge to protect senior citizens and was elected by a angry and scared electorate.  Now, West has admitted he hates Medicare, Social Security and any other government entitlement  Allen West is crazier than Michelle Bachmann, and scarier than Sharon Angle.  I wonder how many of those who voted for Allen West actually knew what they were getting.  And I hope they've learned their lesson before he does any long lasting damage besides what he's already inflicted , not only on the integrity of the House of Representatives itself, but on all our elected officials. Elected officials have these town hall meeting for the purpose of addressing  the concerns of their constituents.  They should respect their constituents concerns not be hauled off to jail for daring to question them.  NOT IN AMERICA.  Congressman West seemed to think "town hall" things are held for the  benefit of the Congressman and for the purpose of telling voters what to think. Sorry Cong. West; town halls are for the people telling you what THEY THINK.  Calls to his staffers confirm this belief along with an authoritarian attitude that his beliefs are never wrong and we should all just get with the program or shut up.