Countdown's <I>Bushed!</i>: Best Laid Plans Edition
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Yet another trio from the seemingly endless scandals and screwups that make up the Bush Administration.
First up is the yet another military officer embracing the politicization of the armed services. The DOD and FBI issued a 251 page report that found that Air Force Maj. Gen. Stephen M. Goldfein's acted improperly to help secure a $50 million contract to Strategic Message Solutions (SMS) for a giant video screen for a Thunderbirds exhibition, despite the fact that SMS's bid was almost twice that of its competitor.
Then we have news of a successor to the scandal-ridden Alphonso Jackson as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Stephen Preston, former chief of the Small Business Administration, has been tapped to be the one to help steer HUD through the huge mess left by his predecessor. Preston's background in housing? None, to speak of. Preston came to SBA from the private sector where he worked in the financial services industry, which makes him the logical choice in the Bizarro World of BushCo to help Americans get through the sub-prime lending mess. As Olbermann says, "Henhouse unguarded, chickens slaughters, let’s put the wolf in charge."
And finally comes the news that the DOD's very own think tank, the National Defense University, has issued a highly critical study that says some of the stuff that we in the reality-based community have been saying for a while (hmm....we were right, and all those cheerleaders for staying in Iraq were...what's that word? Oh yeah, WRONG)
The report said that the United States has suffered serious political costs, with its standing in the world seriously diminished. Moreover, operations in Iraq have diverted "manpower, materiel and the attention of decision-makers" from "all other efforts in the war on terror" and severely strained the U.S. armed forces.
"Compounding all of these problems, our efforts there (in Iraq) were designed to enhance U.S. national security, but they have become, at least temporarily, an incubator for terrorism and have emboldened Iran to expand its influence throughout the Middle East," the report continued.
The only problem? The writer of the study, Joseph Collins, who was part of the humanitarian mission post-invasion, wants it both ways. Sure we've screwed up massively and there's considerable doubt of "winning" this combat, we still can't leave:
"Despite impressive progress in security, the outcome of the war is in doubt," said the report. "Strong majorities of both Iraqis and Americans favor some sort of U.S. withdrawal. Intelligence analysts, however, remind us that the only thing worse than an Iraq with an American army may be an Iraq after a rapid withdrawal of that army."
"For many analysts (including this one), Iraq remains a 'must win,' but for many others, despite obvious progress under General David Petraeus and the surge, it now looks like a 'can't win.'"
The vagueness of the concept of what is "winning" notwithstanding, the question must be posed to Bush and his coattail rider, John McCain: What do you do now?
1. Business as unusual for Bush Co.
2. Every Con loves Hud.
3. Pentagon loves yelling at itself.
4. How to fix this stuff.
'Obvious progress'? For whom? Undertakers? War-machine makers? Grieving widows and children? Ugh.excuse while I puke. Then I'll cry.
David Hawes @ 2:
Wall Street
L.A. Confidential @ 3:
Silly Me.
David Hawes @ 4:
Death Stocks make the most money now.
I worked over 20 years in factories in CT and we made millions of bomb parts. Killing people is huge business. My guilt is assuaged by helping my daughter grow up,and knowing it was the best money I could make at that time.
DOD. Americans Oldest, Biggest, and Most Successful Business.
They used to have that on their web site but I don't think they need to advertise it nor care to anymore.
David Hawes @ 6:
Don't feel guilty. You have a conscience thats what counts you can't take the blame for Bush and the Neocons.
David Hawes @ 6:
That said, at that time We (USA) wasn't invading helpless countries sitting on a puddle of oil.
Put big flashing neon arrows pointing to that vagueness, please.
Big red ones, with loud alarm bells and then leave it withstanding.
The 'war' in Iraq has been the biggest swindle in the history of the world.
This 'war' is unwinnable-and The Thugs know that. It was The Plan all along. Unending war is the future.
David Hawes @ 9:
Exactly. We do need a strong defense. I'm not that stupid.
But this Neocon-PNAC grandeur and fantasy of global domination and conquest is another story.
AP - Sat Apr 19, 4:35 PM ET
BAGHDAD - Anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr gave a "final warning" to the government Saturday to halt a U.S.-Iraqi crackdown against his followers or he would declare "open war until liberation."
Oh boy I can just see the home boys licking their chops and hearing Ca-Ching on this announcement.
L.A. Confidential @ 13:
The problem being is I read Sadr has about 2 million people he can ultimately call to action.
L.A. Confidential @ 14:
The strangest problem is Sadr's father was killed by what is presumed to be Saddam's hit men. So he was anti Saddam but the U.S. has been bringing Saddam's guys back into the coalition fold can anyone explain this logic?
L.A. Confidential @ 15:
Logic? You want logic? Wedon need stinkin logic!
Wail .....It's you and Me LA. How's the weather? Wife and kids?
You a sports' fan LA ?
Beuller? Beuller?
David Hawes @ 17:
Spring is about 2 and 1/2 weeks late. Warm today finally. (Yeah). . . Wife is tooling around on some concoction for tomorrow. Kids are who knows probably goofing off at Starbucks or some similar disgusting operation or wasting their time on facebook.
:-)
Waell. At least i know Floriduh,Baltimore and NYC hasn't been destroyed. I'm listening to Yanks vs. Orioles.
David Hawes @ 18:
Sure. My tastes have changed though. Rather then football I'm into precision target archery and zen like things of that nature.
L.A. Confidential @ 20:
Jaysuz! Whew,thanks LA. I got a creepy feelin.
David Hawes @ 21:
Baseballs cool. I used to play as a kid. Was really into it.
L.A. Confidential @ 22:
Cool . that would be a 'be the arrow' type of thing.
David Hawes @ 23:
Domestic torture chamber kind of stuff. LOL.
David Hawes @ 25:
Yeah next best thing to a 45 Automatic to keep home invaders and house robbers at bay is a crossbow. I'm not into guns.
Good to see that family life is the same da woilt ova. All kids and grandkids in New England.
David Hawes @ 28:
Yeah. We're all over the place too. Kind of makes family gatherings quite a project.
No!!! Noguns. I drink too much for firearms. I got a machete and a length of pipe for intruders here at the motel.
David Hawes @ 30:
A Blowgun like the Amazon Head Hunters use might be a nifty deterrent also. Total surprise and shock.
Phooooot. Oops, sorry I had to do that. Better pull that dart out buddy before the poison starts taking affect.
By then the guy would be running down the street screaming and yelling in full panic mode.
Hey I was just kidding bud!
Well. This is the LA and Dave chat callers can chime in at 1-800- get-bush
L.A. Confidential @ 31:
No. I like it! Hmmmm . How to get one...?
David Hawes @ 32:
Thats right call now folks and make a donation and you will receive this exciting CD LA and Dave Live.
David Hawes @ 33:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blowgun
Now. For the frist caller We promise we'll listen. We'lllet you hang yourself and berate you all night long.
David Hawes @ 11:
Alice (formerly Hussein) @ 10:
But, how do you win this? What does victory look like. To the MIC complex the answer is Orwellian perpetual war. To those not invested in the destruction of the current world system and driving the Third World into hunter-gatherer civilization again, what does it look like?
There's no way to win this politically even if a military victory could be defined. As an illegal occupying power, this country is fucked. We went in on the idea that Saddam was ours to remove base on Bush conditioning the country to believe a third world dictator of a ruined nation after 10 years of warfare, sanctions, bombings, and Saddam's on cruelty could somehow topple a nation with an arsenal that remains in the 16,000 range from the Cold War and that feeds 40% of the world, and that is the third-biggest producer of oil and that is the only superpower that is generally recognized as such (China qualifies IMHO, as does India). We went in, and when Iraqis didn't appreciate the result of Saddam's fall, we found ourselves the illegal occupiers of a nation that said occupation's going to produce a blowback to make 1980s Afghanistan look sweet and fluffy by comparison. All that, and Washington cannot win politically, though we may end up killing enough insurgents none would shoot back.
So, how do you win this war in order to leave it?
L.A. Confidential @ 35:
Well,LA I added that to my 'favorites' .Now how bout them Lakers? Huh? They look good!
Ahh We've got a caller! Go ahead Gen'l.
David Hawes @ 38:
Haven't been on top of hoops this year. Lakers have always been a force to contend with. Chili Peppers' bassist Flea, a self-proclaimed Lakers fanatic, writes a blog on the Lakers for NBA.com
David Hawes @ 39:
Think we lost the connection. Hello? Hello?
My question is: how do Democrats define "victory" in Iraq? It's pretty obvious the Republican version is endless low-grade conflict. So, what's the Democratic alternative?
Oh, and I look forward to the football season next year. I hope there's no more dominating teams. That's just boring.
The Plan all along was unwinnable 'war'. Perpetuate 'terror' (citizens repelling an occupation) by using different / interchangable 'enimies'. have I left anything out? Oh yeah,i forgot corrupt 'leaders'.
L.A. Confidential @ 40:
Bah, the Lakers suck. But what do I know? My NFL team's the Saints, as they're pretty much all Louisiana's got.
General_Rennenkampf @ 42:
Uhhhh they still have a job?
David Hawes @ 43:
That's not just criminal, that's treason. I believe in the old-school punishment for treason.
Jesus, Maliki is worse than Diem, and Diem was the dumbest choice for our bastard we ever chose.
General_Rennenkampf @ 42:
Democrats defineing 'victory' ? Are You kidding? Shuffle papers for pat answer.
L.A. Confidential @ 45:
No. A better one would be to make Maliki put up or shut up with regards to his government. If he doesn't measure up, leave anyway. The shit's gonna hit the fan soon anywho, so why bother just standing in the middle of the room while it's flying all over it?
General_Rennenkampf @ 46:
Hang Them Then Shoot Them Then Burn Them
General_Rennenkampf @ 42:
I think we're overdue a Raiders SuperBowl match up. Maybe they can pull Stabler out of retirement, use stikum, and make sure the linebackers are half toothless and have scars on their noses and their eyes bulge out when going for the hit.
L.A. Confidential @ 50:
Naw, the Saints deserve a shot at the SuperBowl. We've never had a Saints vs. anybody matchup. Now that's a game, Saints vs. Raiders...
L.A. Confidential @ 50:
Wail, da Giants beet dem purdy boy Patriots. Dont dat kount?
David Hawes @ 52:
Damn straight it does, the Mannings are a Louisiana family!
General_Rennenkampf @ 51:
The Ain'ts gotta go through Tampa Bay. My team
Hey, David, LA, how bad do you think a McCain victory would be? The best case, worst case, and apocalyptic scenarios, please.
David Hawes @ 54:
Fie on yer team. The Saints could beat them....
if God intervenes. Maybe even He isn't that powerful.The Democrats are assholes. Hillary nor Obama will win. McCain is the Thugs part 3.
David Hawes @ 57:
That's why I asked. What is the best-case, worst-case, and apocalyptic-case scenario of the McPapen presidency? IMHO, the best case is the American Hitler thirty years from now, the worst case ten, the apocalyptic case, four.
General_Rennenkampf @ 55:
I can't answer that. Waking Up In Dantes Inferno?
I personally believe in two scenarios. The Thugs just take over. OR steal the election (again) and Mcmuffburgercain wins. To answer your question, I can't say,because I won't know. I'll spend my last years ina gulag somewhere in southwestern USA
David Hawes @ 60:
No, actually (this is my historical knowledge intervening again) you'd spend your last decade in the gulag. Gulags were work camps. Hitler and Pol Pot killed masses of people, Uncle Joe worked them to death.
I gotta go in a few minutes.
However, before I go, I will say this: it's a damn shame this country is guilty of the crimes we hanged Axis leaders for in the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials.
Well,I'm 55 so a dacade isn't a good bet. Nice Talking Be well.
David Hawes @ 63:
You too.
Later. Break Time.
OKAY! that's 1-800-get-bush . we'retaking your calls .
LA has stepped away for the moment,BUT YOU have your ol' UncleDave takin your calls. That's 1-800-get-bush. Call NOW!
General_Rennenkampf @ 62:
So,callers IS IT a shame? OR A damn shame? YOU decide . we'll be right back . 1-800-get -bush.
article and photo of Iraqi army retaking Basra !
These four guys look like mercs not Iraqis, mismatch of uniform and body armour, very european build and stance masked man at back.
So ferro-are you saying it's all a sham ? tell the listeners.
Waell. we're plum outa time. Tune in next time and your ol' UncleDave will take yur calls. Bye!
General_Rennenkampf @ 61:
work camps !! doing what, everything has been outsourced.
My guess is that when the brown stuff hits the fan, the people caught alive after the streets are cleared will be exported (sold) to China to work in the Chinese work camps.
David Hawes @ 70:
who is out there to care!
I am not sure which way it would go. I keep thinking of all the connections and it's like there is something missing yet.
Since the media is against the truth, and actual reporting. (sometimes you get a bit of truth, just to get you off guard). It makes sense that they could already be taking people (dissenters) and locking them up in camps. *read as the new jails being / have been built* They could have already moved towards containing any fall out. *read as protesters are silenced, and removed to keep from inciting additional people against the government* And because of the media being Rupurt's we wouldn't know anything about it. Except by some *missing person* announcements on the web. Most of those dissenters probably aren't connected to the internet, being even more disenfranchised then sections of middle class higher up. So, stands to reason why *some huge amount % of minorities being locked up on any given charge* (guesstimate) We don't hear about it either.
Next, you have the newspapers barely *BARELY* holding a stance against the government, we aren't total I admit that, and I think when we do meet *total* then it's safe to bet they have been "silenced". We won't hear warnings from them either.
Small sections could conceivably already be a military take over. (read NOLA) We watched on TV while black clad men shot at refugees, I saw that myself, as they were trying to get food, water. That was so de'ja vous that I couldn't connect to it at the time. So removed from everything I had seen prior to that, it's mostly a day that had a profound effect on me. Next to 911 that is. And then other events that keep going back and back in history. Trying to find the "truth" is down right fucking hard. If you try to research say Oklahoma Bombing, there isn't much but panic in the papers. Even prior to that, assassination attempts, JFK, the facts are all misconstrued to make it seem so impossible. Of course we pieced that all together from bits here and bits there. Easy to fill in when you have a reason to. But prior to that, there is even MORE evidence of government cover-up. This slow movement to despotism has been a long time in the making. Waking people up to it is nearly impossible. Only a small precentage of the population will even be aware of it. They have purposely removed the education necessary in school to be able to recognize a true democracy, vs. authoritarian take over. They can not see it by virtue of their ignorance. Nor do they want to see it for fear of having to actually do something about it.
After taking into consideration all that I have managed to glean (not alot as I am not apt in politics) I still can't decide. So I have two theories I am working on atm.
1. It's hard to imagine that those in power currently, would willingly give up their power so easily. So, either numbnuts is their "front man" whom has NO idea that he was put there specifically as a "Scapegoat" or he really is the anti-christ... (I say this as no other way to express my disdain for this man)
So, if he is a scapegoat, then yeah I can see him stepping down, but to McCain, or Hillary, not Obama. However, I add a cavat here, if McCain dies, (before nov.) then it will be Clinton. but only if he does kick the bucket, otherwise it's Mccain.
IF he is the anti-christ as I am wont to believe, then we are in deeper shit then anyone has been able to imagine. He won't step down, and he will declare martial law to do so, claiming the war as the reason, and no one besides him can fix it. In which case he will bomb Iran with a nuke. *shiver* Which is my apocalypse nightmare. Now, how he does this, I haven't the slightest Idea, but I think it will resemble something like Katrina, or 911 in it's magnitude. Possibly worse then either combined. Fear so great that the population exalts him as a savior.
The other theory that I have of him taking over is the dollar collapsing to ZERO. (which has never happened because supposedly it was backed by gold. But since it's not anymore. It is certainly possible now) And he introduces us to a new currency. Amero? (heard rumors but can't verify them) However, This theory has nothing to do with Bush, and everything to do with the Federal Banking system. They control the world when it comes to money. Nothing speaks, screams, or is heard better then Money. Quotes that haunt me in my nightmares. You control a governments money and I care NOT who is president. Prescott Bush.
With those implications, it's little wonder I prefer the first senario. You can eventually catch a crook (ie. bush), you cannot however survive from starvation.
Then we have news of a successor to the scandal-ridden Alphonso Jackson as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Stephen Preston, former chief of the Small Business Administration, has been tapped to be the one to help steer HUD through the huge mess left by his predecessor. Preston’s background in housing? None, to speak of. Preston came to SBA from the private sector where he worked in the financial services industry, which makes him the logical choice in the Bizarro World of BushCo to help Americans get through the sub-prime lending mess. As Olbermann says, “Henhouse unguarded, chickens slaughters, let’s put the wolf in charge.”
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Frankly, I can't understand why this would be a surprise to anyone. It's not as if the Bush administration hasn't appointed people to important posts in the past despite their total lack of experience in the field -- George Deutsch at NASA and Mike Brown AKA "Brownie" at FEMA (both forced out by disgrace!) just to name but two. It seems only too clear that the Bush administration considers loyalty significantly more important than either knowledge or experience. Then again, that shouldn't be any surprise either -- since it seems possible that someone with knowledge and experience in the field could be prompted to challenge or at least question Bush administration directives, questioning and disagreement being two things for which Bush himself has time and time again displayed an utter lack of tolerance.
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