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I mean, c'mon. Yeah, it's a given that Tucker Carlson is a tool, but this is just amazing.
04-28-2008 07:37:35PM - Permalink - Comment [0] - Trackback
A lotta people are going to rush to use this story as another way to attack Bush, but they're missing the point. Yeah, he's created an administrative culture that encourages this kinda thing, but he didn't invent it, and it won't go away once he's gone.
During his last address in the Oval Office, Dwight Eisenhower warned the country to beware the creeping influence of the military-industrial complex. But in subsequent years, the only people who seem to have kept that in mind are fringe types like Oliver Stone. We're now seeing the result of that inattention manifest itself in brazen ways, and it should worry us far more than the actions of any single president.
It's great that people are watching Congressional earmarks, but folks, that's petty graft compared to this stuff. When our high-ranking Pentagon officials are retiring from service, parlaying their connections into lobbying jobs for military contractors, and then attempting to influence We The People in furtherance of their career goals, we're talking about money and the fundamental subversion of democracy by our armed forces. The absolute last people from whom we can accept even a whiff of corruption are our military leaders.
What should be done about it? I'm not certain, obviously, but I've got some ideas:
- The immediate and absolute elimination of anything resembling a homeland P.R. department within any branch of the military, with the exception of operations directly related to recruiting.
- An across-the-board ban of any officer becoming a lobbyist or sitting on the board of a military contractor for at least a decade after retirement. If we need to drastically increase pensions and benefits in response, so be it.
- The establishment (or strengthening) of firewalls between the political operatives in a presidential administration and Pentagon officials. It's inevitable that executive political motives will generate military policy, but the Pentagon itself should be a tool, not a partner in crime.
- Oversight, oversight, oversight. The legislative branch seems wholly incapable of doing the job, though, so I'm not sure where to turn.
Behind Analysts, the Pentagon’s Hidden Hand - New York TimesTo the public, these men are members of a familiar fraternity, presented tens of thousands of times on television and radio as “military analysts” whose long service has equipped them to give authoritative and unfettered judgments about the most pressing issues of the post-Sept. 11 world.
Hidden behind that appearance of objectivity, though, is a Pentagon information apparatus that has used those analysts in a campaign to generate favorable news coverage of the administration’s wartime performance, an examination by The New York Times has found.
04-21-2008 03:46:19AM - Permalink - Comment [1] - Trackback
Once again, I allowed myself to get sucked in by the media and political machines. I drew conclusions from surface data and started throwing out opinions without due consideration. In short, I did stuff that I detest in other people.
Yay me.
After watching the videos below, my respect for Jeremiah Wright has increased, and my respect for Obama has decreased. I called one man hateful when I now see no evidence of hatred, and I defended a man from whom I should have expected more.
What the media has done to Wright and his ideas is disgusting. They have turned a man's complicated positions into an idiot-box caricature that bears almost no resemblance to the real thing. I don't care for his tendency to connect his ideas to divine inspiration, but every preacher does that from every pulpit. I guess it's sorta their job, as much as it annoys me.
Meanwhile... Barack. Dude, lemme bend your ear for a sec. You condemned sentiments with which you agree. You and I both know it. I know you did it because your hand was forced, because that's what our country's repulsive political process demands. And I appreciate that in doing so, you tried to introduce your own nuance and thoughtfulness into an issue... most of what you said was really, profoundly important. You decided to pick your battles, and this isn't one you wanted to fight head-on.
But dammit, man. You should have known someone would try this, and you should have been prepared. It shouldn't have been necessary to disassociate yourself from Wright, to craft Clintonian disavowals. You should have had a plan ready to go, something that would take these simple-minded attacks on Wright out at the knees.
You have the heart and brains to be an incredible president, but I'm beginning to wonder if you're too damned naive. I'm cool with hope... but ain't nothing wrong with a dollop of reality here and there.
03-22-2008 02:23:13PM - Permalink - Comment [7] - Trackback
Here's my thinking... Hugh Grant got a hummer from Divine Brown, a woman who was circling the drain and looked like life had beaten her half to death with a decaying carp. And yet Divine ended up having a full fifteen minutes and turning a decent profit from her notoriety.
In contrast, Ashley/Kristen is actually quite pretty, has demonstrated her ability to command way more than $50 for the pleasure of her company, and was the weapon a governor used to commit career suicide. So while I feel bad for her right now, I'm confident she's gonna come out of this with a lotta cash and some legit connections that she can use to pursue her dreams.
(The race between Hef and Maxim to sign her to a photo/interview deal starts... now!)
03-13-2008 06:09:42PM - Permalink - Comment [1] - Trackback
I understand, George, I really do. After years of near-complete incompetence, fetishistic jingoism, placing yourself above the law, and turning the White House into a garbled variation of the mid-'80s Kremlin, you don't wanna just ride out these last few months. You need to cap your run, keep the streak alive! But how to do it?
I know! Veto a bill outlawing torture! 'Cause let's face it, dude... history ain't gonna be kind. There's a danger that you'll come out of it as little more than a laughingstock like your old man. But if you keep up this kinda shit, hey, you just might get a "blight upon the presidency" asterisk next to your name somewhere.
Dare to dream.
Bush vetoes bill banning waterboarding - CNN.com
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Bush said Saturday he vetoed legislation that would ban the CIA from using harsh interrogation methods such as waterboarding to break suspected terrorists because it would end practices that have prevented attacks."The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror," Bush said in his weekly radio address taped for broadcast Saturday. "So today I vetoed it," Bush said. The bill he rejected provides guidelines for intelligence activities for the year and has the interrogation requirement as one provision. It cleared the House in December and the Senate last month.
03-08-2008 08:44:59PM - Permalink - Comment [3] - Trackback