Not exactly seppuku, but…
Japan’s agriculture minister died Monday after hanging himself just hours before he was to face questioning in a political scandal, officials said, dealing a powerful blow to the increasingly beleaguered government ahead of July elections.
Hmm. Such a dramatic response to personal scandal could never become the fashion amongst corrupt Bush administration officials and other top Republicans, as D.C. area Home Depots would quickly run out of rope.
’bout time you woke up, Goldy. Pick up a copy of Chalmer Johnson’s “Blowback”…continue thence through the other two vols. of his trilogy.
He has lots of interesting insights wrt Japan.
A similar “dramatic response” to scandal amongst the GOP criminals now in charge is simply out of the question. They have neither the courage or especially the integrity it would take.
followup @ 1 abv., remember, “it’s all about me” and “it’s not my fault”. These are the guiding principles of the so-called ‘conservatism’ popular in elite GOP circles.
this is a distinguishing attribute of elites throughout history. take it from there……
Japan’s agriculture minister died Monday after hanging himself just hours before he was to face questioning in a political scandal, officials said, dealing a powerful blow to the increasingly beleaguered government ahead of July elections.
I guess there are no Japanese words for ‘I do not recall….’
Question for visitors here: How did Tommy Friedman and Joey Klein get to be such wankers?
Roger Rabbit did not write any of the above 4 posts which, in fact, constitute 100% of this thread. Roger had a tough night.
And this hits the news at the same time Paul Wolfowitz assigns responsibility for his firing….
Too bad some in the Bush regime won’t have the stones to follow this guy’s example.
It appears that Patty Murray lost a vote in Seattle to bad for Seattle and maybe Patty will win her next election with out that vote. Lots of Luck Patty give them Hell.
Money for troops is money for suppliers
Sen. Patty Murray voted yes on the Iraq spending bill. What a disgrace! It is an ethical and moral question that we face and she (and Sen. Maria Cantwell, too) failed us.
To me “Fund our troops” is really, in truth, the description of the funding of the war suppliers: Halliburton and other war services and weapons-producing companies.
I have a friend who says that the Democrats and Republicans are essentially the same. It seems that he is right on target with respect to the basic issue of war or peace.
In my opinion, war is the lowest, most wretched form of human behavior. The “war” in Iraq is none other than an invasion of Iraq by a hostile invader (the U.S.) in order to install a government there to our government’s liking. It is a criminal act, and it provides our government with an efficient method to divert money from desperately needed social programs as well as energy research and climate change research and other needed programs that will help us to advance and flourish.
The way of war is a pathway to slow reduction of our personal freedoms and the rapid increase of government secrecy. It is happening before our very eyes.
It looks as if the Democrats are going to lose me, as I feel increasingly that they are spineless.
Paul Spitalny
Seattle
Folks one of your friends has fallen in battle defending your causes now it’s your turn to aid him. Goldy and Gang bring out your offering plates and collect money in the streets of Seattle for Bagdad McDermott, and Reverent John Barelli can be in charge for paying the debt to Society.
WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim McDermott has had the luxury of winning big and cheaply in recent elections, facing only token opposition But that fortunate history could pose a problem for McDermott if the Seattle Democrat is forced to pay more than $1 million in legal fees and penalties to settle his long-running legal battle with House Minority Leader John Boehner.
Unlike colleagues who have been able to tap into campaign funds for legal costs, McDermott doesn’t have enough cash in his coffers to cover his bills.
The prospect that McDermott soon will be liable for a huge payout became a real possibility earlier this month after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled 5-4 against him. The defeat leaves him with one remaining legal recourse — an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. McDermott and his lawyers have until July to decide, but legal observers say it’s highly unlikely an appeal would be successful.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18 902301/
WOW no love for Bagdad McDermott today, come on where is his support team?
Although it is Realpolitic, the reason Democrats “caved” is that Republicans were poised to use the Iraq timeline thing as a reason for everything that goes wrong this summer with Bush’s LATEST splooge.
“Oh! It’s the Democrat’s fault all this is happening! They refused to support the troops!”
We’ve deprived them of that little scenario. They OWN this Iraq turkey lock, stock, and barrel.Many Democrats can now posture and say they would have stood up to Bush.
But the real political heroes are reid and Pelosi — who took one for the team — so that we can CRUSH the Republican warmongers this fall.
klake: You politically own a huge, stinking dump-truck-full o’ shit — from the disastrous bankruptcy bill to thousands of dead US soldiers who died for nothing more profound than some well-connected right wing Straussian ideologes who concoted this stupid ass war.
“Leave it to the Republicans to find the only Jew in the world who can’t run a bank — but can start a war.” Merv Griffin
Don’t need rope. God could take care of the problem — just Rapture ’em.
@4 Rabbits are nocturnal, and sleep all day. I thought everyone knew that.
I’d rather be us than you, klake. It sucks to be a wingnut these days.
Hell you folks claim to be able to part the seas, have at it.
re 15: You poor, poor victim!
Everything in this country that is good comes from liberal democrats — including winning WW II.
Republican’s only claim to fame is an amiable presidential dunce who did nothing for but ill for the citizens who voted for and trusted him.
@13: Roger was away at his bank cashing his meager gov’t cheese check. I’m personally suprised such a loser would leave his keyboard and hoppity-hop-hop out into the real world. Rodent may find that his leftist delusions are not applicable in real life. Good luck to you Rodent, and I sincerely do hope you obtain professional help.
It would be nice if the Home Depot stores in the Olympia area could run out of rope.
http://www.thenation.com/blogs.....pid=199114
John Boehner’s Crying Game
“In August, 2006, when President Bush was explaining how the 9/11 attacks inspired his “freedom agenda,” Cox News reporter Ken Herman of Cox News, interrupted to ask what Iraq had to do with 9/11. And the president set things straight once and for all.
“The terrorists attacked us and killed 3,000 of our citizens before we started the freedom agenda in the Middle East,” said Bush.
“What did Iraq have to do with it?” asked Herman.
“What did Iraq have to do with what?” responded a confused Bush.
“The attack on the World Trade Center,” explained Herman.
“Nothing,” admitted Bush, who went on to say that “nobody has suggested in this administration that Saddam Hussein ordered the attack.”
For emphasis, Bush repeated, “Nobody’s ever suggested that the attacks of September the 11th were ordered by Iraq.”
Hopefully, this will come as some comfort to Congressman Boehner. Debates about Iraq funding have nothing to do with September 11 or fighting terrorism. They are about whether young American men and women will continue to die in another country’s civil war, and that does not seem to bother Boehner or the Congress.
So there’s no need for tears here, except perhaps for the republic. “
If MTR wants to name himself after an Irish politician, it should be Joe McCarthy.
re 9: What does exposing Newton Faberge Gingrich as a cynical crook have to do with Baghdad?
Don’t you see the irony of complaining that some citizen’s accidental interception of Gingrich planning a felony was some sort of invasion of his privacy?
WHERE DO YOU GET OFF! Why, I oughta!!!!!!!
To da moon, klake. To da moon!
Most of you libruls believe Red Man is somehow a great protector of the environment that evil white man should emulate. That Heap Big lie.
The June 2007 issue of Guitar Player magazine has a shocking article that the Casino Americans in Alaska will completely decimate the Sitka Spruce forests in just six years. Sitka spruce is used for most good acoustic guitars and acoustic pianos. It takes about 150 trees per year to support the entire guitar industry. By comparison, that many trees are turned into two by fours in a single shift in a sawmill.
A few of eeeeevil capitalist guitar companies got together with Greenpeace and started an effort to get Red Man to practice sustainable forestry practices. Red Man no want to do.
Obviously, there’s not enough time left to fuck around with trying to convince Red Man to do right thing. Instead, we need to beat them over the head with laws that mandate what they do before it too late.
You guys are more hip to this kind of stuff than I am. And some of you might even be musicians who care about stuff like this. LiarfuckingCantwell poisoned her relationship with Senator Stevens, so there’s no point in either her or Dimbulb trying to lobby him to introduce federal legislation to protect the Sitka Spruce forests.
Do any of you have any ideas how we can protect these forests before Red Man destroys them?
If you want to read the article in Guitar Player, it’s available at musicwood dot org backslash resources dot htm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18908471/
More evidence that the AWOL draft-dodger Bush doesn’t really support our troops. By extension, that applies to anyone who supports Bush.
Poon – As it turns out McCarthy was 100% correct.
Moobat Quiz: Which Hillary slogan is your fav?
The Bitch is Back
Clintons are Forever
Your National Nightmare is NOT Over
It’s Mourning again in America
Have it Her Way
Reach out and Tax Someone
For That Hard-To-Reach Income
Help Eridicate Capitalism in Our Lifetime
Likeability Isn’t Everything
President Clinton: This Time With Pants
@18, the Roaches aren’t that aware of their offensiveness.
@15 We never said we could part the seas. We only close them on top of you fuckers. Have a nice chariot ride across the Red Sea. :)
@17 Whatsamatter, jealous because you don’t get one?
That happens to be my money, not government money, asshole. It was deducted from my paychecks.
@18 Never happen, Richard. There aren’t enough surviving Republicans in Olympia to use up even 1 rope.
@22 Well, well, Redneck is an environmentalist now. Will wonders never cease. Pay your gambling debt, welsher! Then we’ll talk some more about saving the environment.
@24 About what? Besides his expert opinion that Johnny Walker Red is good whiskey?
Note how Republicans always do their best thinking (relatively speaking) when they’re drunk. E.g., Rush, Senator Joe, etc.
@25 I’d vote for her in a heartbeat if she’d promise to raise your taxes, Redneck. Now pay your gambling debt, you fucking welsher!
@28 Rodent:
Jealous of you? HARDY-HAR-HAR I say like you love to. Paychecks? Thats equally laughable. Those are what we working folks recieve. Hit a nerve there did I Rodent? Good, made my day along with the sun. Big words for a big bunny! Let me take a guess; you were one of those kids that got beat-up a lot in high school right? Poor lil bunny….
Looks like even the left pissed off Cindy Sheehan. The Bitch without a home hangs it up!
http://www.dailykos.com/storyo.....12530/1525
Name one thing McCarthy was right about. Was he right about Bush’s grandfather profiting from Nazi slave labor in WW II?
re22: All races have dumb, abusive, selfish assholes in them.
You know that very personally, don’t you — racist klown.
Do you think Tim Russert ever will ask Bush how he feels about his grandfather profiting from Nazi slave labor in WW II?
Seems like an appropriate question for today.
Jesus loves slave labor.
Just ask any Southern Baptist.
MARK1,GS,MTR: WHY AREN’T YOU REMEMBERING THOSE WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES FOR THIS COUNTRY?
WHY ARE YOU HERE SLINGING CRAP?
WHY DO YOU HATE AMERICA?
We can’t win an immoral war
BILL DISTLER
GUEST COLUMNIST
George W. Bush and Gen. David Petraeus, the new commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, both want U.S. forces to stay in Iraq, but for different reasons.
Bush wants to turn the oil and natural gas resources of Iraq over to his corporate sponsors. Mission Accomplished!
Bill where is the evidence to support that statement did Mike Moore or move on dot org provide you with that information? Now that makes your Mission accomplished you succeed in presenting disinformation.
Petraeus is another story. His entire career has led up to this chance to show that he can win a counterinsurgency war. During the ’80s, Maj. David Petraeus was an adviser to Gen. John Galvin of the U.S. Southern Command. Speaking of “Low Intensity Conflict,” Petraeus told The Wall Street Journal in 1986 that “LIC is a growth industry.”
Low intensity conflict is the U.S. military term for “small wars.” These wars are fought in such places as El Salvador, Angola and Afghanistan. Low intensity conflict planners emphasize the importance of controlling the news (“the information dimension,” according to Gen. Wallace Nutting). That keeps Americans from being too concerned. But the term is misleading. For the people where those “small wars” are fought, it is just as intense as World War II, but in a smaller place.
Bill what is the difference between a small war and a larger war? One is fought on an island call Iwo Jima the other on Okinawa?
Marines of the 5th Division inch their way up a slope on Red Beach No. 1 toward Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima, defended by seven Japanese Battalions. By nightfall, 566 Marines were killed and 1,854 wounded. February 19, 1945.
The ferocious hand to hand fighting on Okinawa resulted in 12,281 Americans and 110,000 Japanese killed by June 21, 1945. The suicidal dedication of the Japanese defenders indicated an invasion of Japan itself would be costly, with estimates of at least 500,000 potential Allied casualties.
Bill how many years we spent into this war and what is the cost in human lives you do the math.
When then-Major Petraeus referred to a growth industry he must have expected future economic opportunities for arms makers, counterinsurgency experts such as himself, and all those who profit from war.
Buddy did you forget the Peace Makers that profit from war to build schools, roads, bridges, hospitals, places of religion, and the drug manufacturing to keep your friends high.
There are some interesting parallels between Petraeus as a general and Gen. William Westmoreland, the commander of U.S. forces in Vietnam. Both seem to be honest military men. Both commanded the 101st Airborne Division (to which I was assigned in Vietnam in 1968). And both men agreed to lead U.S. forces in wars that were started and maintained by lies told by civilian leaders.
Bill you still have not gotten over Viet Nam yet, nor have you seen shrink for help? Now are you calling LBJ a liar and Congress did nothing to prevent this ill adventure or are you now a defeatist? You know President Bush was presented with the same information that President Clinton did before they started their wars. Even Congress views all the information and they were so stupid that they approved the War. Now this sounds like Dumb and Dumber is running this country but they still all vote for War except one real smart chap. Who would that be?
Like most of us, Petraeus suffers from self-delusion. For most of us, self-delusion is a defense against some uncomfortable truth. But for ambitious men such as Petraeus, self-delusion can have severe consequences for other people.
Bill thanks for admitting that you suffer from self-delusion but since Viet Nam folks like using a pen can kill more people than I could with a sword. Joeeph Goebbels never shot a weapon but was responsible for many deaths during WW II and by turning your blind eye in Southeast Asia made Pol Plot a very famous man.
Petraeus appears to be an honest man. But he was given a tempting offer by the president to fulfill his lifelong goal, and he accepted. To do the job, he must convince himself what he is doing is right. It is not. The general is trying to do an honest job in a dishonest situation.
Hey Bill please presents us your definition of what is right and honest? Trying to change a hostile world in Iraq to one that can peacefully change governments with killing thousands of people and putting the victims into the Stockholm syndrome is what I call an honest thing to do in this situation. Abandoning these people in a time of need would be the wrong thing to do in this situation.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have disastrous effects on the people of those countries and on our own country. I’m rooting for Petraeus; not for him to win this war, but to do what is right and to end his career with integrity. He should not try to achieve his life goal of winning a counterinsurgency war when it causes so much suffering for other people. There is no way to truly win an immoral war.
Bill now that shows your true colors and you must be the offspring of the Greek City State Melos. They chose to perish instead of defending themselves, and their defenders the Spartans. Athens sailed in and destroyed their country and disperses their women and children as slaves all over the known world. Today you are still a slave to fear and lack the will to defend your family and Country. Bill you earned the Title of an DEAFEATIST, but what my grandfather would call you is a Coward and a Traitor.
Petraeus does not have to end up like Westmoreland, whose fixation on defeating the “enemy” at tremendous cost to the civilian population led to his nickname, “General Waste More Land.” The real enemies we face are lies and self-delusion. Those are the enemies that Petraeus, like the rest of us, must struggle against.
Bill the real enemies we face today is neither Al Qaida nor some Muslimism Extremist but Defeatist like you. Today you would surrender your liberties and safety for a false belief that they will let you live a life of your own misery.
Bill Distler lives in Bellingham.
Roger Rabbit hawks a helmet program for soldiers.
Don, of The Ron and Don on KIRO talks about “Boots for Troops”.
I simply do not believe that the US Military does not provide helmets and boots for soldiers. I can’t even fucking imagine that.
Does anybody out there have PERSONAL experience in Iraq that can prove this one way or the other. Don’t bullshit me; I have ways of finding out the truth.
re 43: …and apparently you’ve never used any of them.
re 42: Where is your proof that we are fighting for democracy, against WMD’s, to punish al Qaida, Etc.??
Rabbit @ 33: Why?
Why do you think it’s a good idea to penalize The Producers?
Have any of you ever been hired by a poor person?
“They don’t have enough humvees, they don’t have enough (armored) trucks,” Ortiz, who chairs the Readiness Subcommittee at the House Armed Services Committee, told The Chronicle. “It’s getting to the point when they have to share the equipment.”
Instead of the newer, better-protected humvees, for example, the 1st Brigade of the 3rd Infantry Division, based at Fort Stewart, Ga., will use the older version of heavily armored humvees left behind by the 1st Armor Division, said Lt. Col. Doug Crissman, commander of the brigade’s 2-7 infantry battalion. Ortiz said such protracted use increases the wear and tear on the vehicles and makes them more likely to break down. More troubling, the armor on these older humvees is increasingly unable to withstand the blast of the ever-more powerful bombs employed by insurgents, say military experts. In December, roadside bombs caused about 60 percent of all U.S. casualties in Iraq, the Pentagon reported.”
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/.....NUKVT1.DTL
re 46: Why would I want to penalize Mel Brooks,Mark The Redneck McCarthy the sweaty , swarthy alcoholic?
MTR @ 43- …”I have ways of finding out the truth”
Is this guy really insane?
@35
Poor Cindy. It saddens me that she had to suffer so much before she finally came to realize the truth: no one cares that her son died. Not really. They wring their hands and use her loss to gain political points. And yet, I’m also glad that she has come to see the truth because, as Jesus said, the truth can set you free. She can now make her decisions and actions with open eyes, and will no longer be able to be manipulated by unscrupulous politicians. She now sees America as it is, not as she (or us) want it to be.
It has been a hard road for her. I wish her well.
49
MTR is, indeed, insane. The precise diagnosis for his condition is sociopath with paranoia and delusions of grandeur, complicated by alcoholism. As a child, he got all his information from the back of cereal boxes. As an adult, he gets all his information from tracts handed out at white separatist gatherings. Because his mother never loved him and his sister refused his advances, he is a committed misogyinist. Among other things, the twisted turnings of his mind have led him to believe he doesn’t have to pay his debts. Other than being really fucked up, he’s not that bad a guy.
re 42: “Today you are still a slave to fear and lack the will to defend your family and Country. Bill you earned the Title of an DEAFEATIST, but what my grandfather would call you is a Coward and a Traitor.”
Oh,yeah, klake? If your granfather called me that I’d kick his crippled, crotchety old ASS! Got that, sport?
@34 “you were one of those kids that got beat-up a lot in high school right?”
No, I was kicked out of doggy obedience school for scratching.
@35 Isn’t that kind of a disrespectful way to talk about a mother who lost her son to the cause in Iraq? Support the troops, you unpatriotic fuck.
re 51: MTR McCarthy was also Jim West’s aide and protege in his youth, and, although he cherishes the experiences, he is loath to admit it, and the “wildness and craziness” is exhibited in other ways.
Remember, MTR, you can never really erase anything from your hard drive. Best to get rid of it now before child protective services seizes it.
@43 “I simply do not believe that the US Military does not provide helmets and boots for soldiers. I can’t even fucking imagine that.”
I can’t either. It’s unimaginable. Unfortunately, it’s true. GOP = troop hating bastards
Mark the Redneck Environmentalist @46: Who said anything about raising taxes on producers? I didn’t.
@46 (continued) P.S., pay your fucking gambling debt, you freeloading bum!
@50 They hate her because she refused to let them use her son’s death for political gain.
@52 klake is a nazi
@55 Redneck’s too busy protecting the environment from Native Americans to worry about what CPS would find on his hard drive.
I wonder if I mention another sock-puppet (like PudWax) if suddenly we’ll get a plethora of Wax comments.
I’ve noticed that if I mention a sock puppet we haven’t heard from in a while, suddenly, they’re back.
Mr. Cynical???????
re 61: It’s the need for quality acoustic guitars that drives him.
Imagine the dedication if he could figure out how to play one?
Hey Redneck! Doctor Kevorkian gets out of jail today! This is your big chance to do humanity one last favor!
@62 Mrs. Cynical killed him and cut him up in the bathtub with a chain saw because he didn’t buy NOV at 58 like I told him to.
Here’s an interesting little item in today’s news:
“Kristol: President Was ‘Furious’ About Leak to ‘NYT’ on 2008 Iraq Pullout
“By E&P Staff
“Published: May 27, 2007 11:25 AM ET
“Ever since The New York Times on Friday reported that the Bush administration was developing plans for withdrawing 100,000 troops from Iraq next year, the White House has been trying to throw cold water on the idea, while some pundits also question the credibility of such a report.
“Today, on Fox News, William Kristol, editor of The Weekly Standard and a hawk on the war from the start, declared, ‘I think the leak to the New York Times Saturday was a leak by one faction in the administration …. The president apparently was furious about the New York Times article Saturday. One senior White House official went out of his way to call me Saturday and left me a voicemail saying that. So, since they don’t normally do that on Saturdays, I think maybe it’s even true.”
http://tinyurl.com/2xwyxv
Translation: The Republicans will wait until after the election to cut and run; and all the soldiers who die between now and then will sacrifice their lives to boost the GOP candidate’s chances.
No Frist at World Bank
In other news, Bill Frist has withdrawn his name from consideration as a possible replacement for disgraced Paul Wolfowitz. http://tinyurl.com/2jar26
Making Sure Military Ballots Are Counted
Want to make sure soldiers get to vote? Here’s how. (Pssst — Republicans have opposed it for over 60 years.)
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0705/S00471.htm
A Gore-Obama Ticket?
Some folks are talking about it. http://prorev.com/2007/05/gore.....mpaign.htm
Hey Redneck! Doctor Kervorkian says pay your gambling debt!
Cynical = MTR = Puffybutt same person has 14 alias names. Remember when he was outed by Goldy? Represents the number of votes he probably cast too.
@ 71
And they were counted too!!!! Don’t forget you D’s don’t want to disenfranshise anyone!!!!
An Algore/Obama ticket…
Pleeeeaaasssseee do it moonbats. I know you hate me… but pleeeaaaasssse do this.
Two empty skirts on one ticket.
8 more years
8 more years
8 more years
8 more years
8 more years
8 more years
8 more years
8 more years
8 more years
8 more years
8 more years
8 more years
re 73: You are losing.
Going, going, gone.
Harry Poon AKA headlice loocie: I took the weekend off to enjoy the weekend with the family. Why are you posting as poontang? Be a man (if you could be one) and answer my three questions which you continue to ignore:
1) You are not the same headlice who posted on SP?
2) If not you hijacked another’s nick?
3) Are you the same one who wrote those great posts September 2005?
Zzzzzzzzzz zzzzzzzzzzzzz snore snore!
Left Turn – RightEqualStupid – LauraBushKillaGuy – Still Stupid All The Time!
You continue to give idiots a bad name, but that’s becuz you daddy didn’t pack a full load of chromosomes!
20
I’ve long found it odd that he named himself after a failed congressman (R-MN) who couldn’t even win after he scrubbed all references to George Bush from his website.
re 76: There’s nothing more pathetic than a Black Republican. Don’t you have an ounce of self respect?
Headlice Loocie masquerading as harry poon.
Answer my questions!
Bwaaaak Bwaaaak Squaaaak!
Your commentary: ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz snore snore BORING!
Headlice Loocie masquerading as harry poon: First you answer my questions posted over two weeks ago!
MTR you better HOPE Gore doesn’t run. He already beat your guy once and he can do it again. This time, we’ll have so many of you traitors locked up you won’t be able to manage to steal the election.
Dems by 14 points NO MATTER WHO WE FUCKING RUN!
Puffybutt – sorry you had to take the weekend off without your wife but I felt like getting my dick sucked. She’s still ugly, but for a Muslim, she sucks pretty good. She did want to ask me why mine gets hard and yours doesn’t. I explained that all Publicans need Viagra like their fearless leader Limpdick Limbaugh.
Seems that the other Washington is awash in booze – perhaps the Republicans tainted by scandal need do no more than choke on their own vomit, no rope required.
@78
In the time it took you to write that statement you could have had a V8. Oh well…….
I spent 25 years in the Army, 14 of the 25 as a Drill Instructor. We have the best military in the world but unfortunately, we have the worst politicians. For a democracy….this really sucks!!!!!
Screw the politicians and Support the troops!!!!!!
Patty Murray just lost a lot of votes in Pullman. Maria Cantwell might want to watch her back in her next campaign; she voted for the damn “funding bill”, too.