Archive for July, 2008
Compare This
McCain camp compares Obama to Spears, Hilton – AP (7/31/08): John McCain’s presidential campaign has released a withering television ad comparing Barack Obama to Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, suggesting the Democratic contender is little more than a vapid but widely recognized media concoction. Now I happen to be a bit sympathetic to the “media [...]
Depends on the Definition of Better
Bush says economy has strong foundation – Reuters (7/31/08): U.S. President George W. Bush said on Thursday that the latest economic data showed the foundations of the U.S. economy are strong. “Exports are on the rise. Durable good orders are strong. That suggests that businesses are anticipating a better second half of the year. So [...]
Loose Lips
The New York Times has once again opened its big mouth and let out one of our most closely guarded military secrets. The Pentagon now has battalions of invisible troops that can be stationed in sensitive spots around the world without chafing the political sensibilities of host countries: Iraq and the United States are close [...]
Why Lie?
Why does John McCain‘s campaign strategy these days seem to consist almost entirely of propagating falsehoods? For example, there was this item from NBC‘s FirstRead blog yesterday: McCain and his campaign repeated at least two lines of attack against Obama, which when first said in early July, were called “bogus,” “wrong,” “inflated” and “misleading” by [...]
No Accountability Ever
EPA administrator Stephen Johnson was in the news again yesterday. And anybody who is not paid by the Bush administration to lie for a living would have to agree that there is abundant probable cause. Amid intensifying scrutiny of the US environmental protection agency’s (EPA) refusal to act on climate change, four Democratic senators today [...]
Who’s Running John McCain?
There are any number of people out there who are firmly convinced that by the time you become a serious presidential candidate you are already deeply in thrall to dark and shadowy king-makers who firmly control your puppet-strings. They tell you what to do, and you obediently keep on doing it. (That, for example, is [...]
When Will They Ever Learn?
Our mighty military PR machine just doesn’t seem to ever learn. Confronted with an embarrassing incident, their first instinct is still to generously leaven the truth of the matter with lies that make things look less bad. The American military admitted Sunday night that a platoon of soldiers raked a car of innocent Iraqi civilians [...]
The Crap That Passeth All Understanding
Someone please explain this to me, anyone at all. On Friday, McCain spoke to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer about Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s endorsement of a 16-month timetable for withdrawal. McCain’s appraisal: “I think it’s a pretty good timetable.” On the assumption that McCain does not suffer from any form of dementia, senile or otherwise, [...]
Dictionary Definitions
(1) Scoundrel Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary has this entry for the word “scoundrel”: A mean, worthless fellow; a rascal; a villain; a man without honor or virtue. That’s the noun version; the adjective version goes: Low; base; mean; unprincipled. How long before they start adducing John McCain and his presidential-campaign-conduct as the classic examples of [...]
This Isn’t the Budget Deficit You’re Looking For
Record deficit expected in 2009 – USA Today (7/27/08): The White House has increased its estimate for next year’s deficit to nearly $490 billion, a record figure that will saddle the next president with deepening budget problems in his first year in office, a report due out Monday shows. The projected deficit for the fiscal [...]