Archive for February, 2007
Proposed, Seconded, Shot Down. Next?
WaPo has a depressing story today about Democratic discord over how to oppose the escalation in Iraq: House Democrats have pulled back from efforts to link additional funding for the war to strict troop-readiness standards after the proposal came under withering fire from Republicans and from their party’s own moderates. That strategy was championed by [...]
Supporting The Troops
Rumsfeldianism lives on. In the time of Bush, you go to war not with the rifles you want, and not just the rifles you have, but also with the rifles you don’t have: Maj. Gen. Harry M. Wyatt III, commander of the Oklahoma National Guard, told the NYT that one-third of his soldiers lacked the [...]
Refereeing Clinton Versus Obama
Yesterday, this almost managed to distract MSNBC and Headline News from the Trial Hearing of the Century, so it must be a huge story. (I think FDL is making a huge mistake by not live-blogging this hearing, by the way.) The presidential campaigns of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton went a few rounds. Probably the [...]
Iraq Rape Case Contd.
This is worse than Kremlinology. (Fortunately, I’m a lot better than Nancy Grace.) The U.S. military has served up another round of cryptic developments. This time we get to see how far up the chain of command the buck has stopped. Gen. Petraeus is calling the shots now, and conducting his own investigation, right down [...]
Peleton and On
Lucas Euser of Team Slipstream/Chipotle. On Sunday and Monday I shot the Amgen Tour of California for SFist. Before this, my cycling knowledge was confined to what I learned from watching American Flyers, but after watching these guys conquer Telegraph Hill, I’m sold. Past that, what other sport has argyle jerseys? Photos from the first [...]
Compassionate Conservatism In The Time Of Bush
(1) Tony Snow‘s performance at yesterday’s White House press briefing was, even by his own standards, utterly unbelievable. I really can’t imagine he enjoys coming to work very much these days. The first question he got about Walter Reed was: The administration’s mantra for a long time has been “support the troops.” What is the [...]
Tony Snow Inspires Me to Verse
This exchange occurred towards the end of Tony Snow’s press conference yesterday: Q One more, please. Can you confirm that Karl Rove received a copy of the Iranian proposal for negotiation sometime in early May, 2003? MR. SNOW: I absolutely cannot. I know nothing about it. Q Are you sure you know nothing about it? [...]
Iraq Rape Case: Puppets And Strings
The Iraq rape case has turned into the strangest “he said, she said†imaginable. The “she†is the accuser, the “he†is Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. And we? With the smoking gun in our hands, we’re sitting there with mouth wide shut, letting the situation escalate into a major political firestorm around us. Here are [...]
The NYT, Taking a Whiz, Down Your Throat: Pt. 1
(1) You don’t know it yet, but you’re witnessing the birth of what will grow into a hallowed 1115 tradition. (I bring it up only so that you can jot down somewhere the exact time you started to read this post, where you were and what you were wearing. Maybe even what you were doing, [...]
Republican Representative Wholeheartedly Supports Withholding War Funds
Please give it up for Republican House Representative Sam Johnson, who has come out sharply against President Bush’s bankrupt Iraq strategy: I wholeheartedly support withholding funds… Although it is a drastic step and ties the President’s hands, I do not feel like we have any other choice. The President has tied our hands, gone against [...]