Saturday, July 19, 2008
Deep Thought
This election may come down to a debate over the semantic differences between timelines and time horizons.
17 Sides Of Every Issue
Mr. Straight Talk continues his mavericky ways.
- WARREN -- U.S. Sen. John McCain backtracked Friday on a pledge to set national auto emissions standards that would supersede those California and other states want to set.
"I guess at the end of the day, I support the states being able to do that," he said at a town hall meeting at the GM Technical Center.
The statement appears to contradict a statement McCain made to The Detroit News last month, when he said he hoped to set a national standard that would make state standards unnecessary.
We're Number 5!
I live in the 4th most walkable neighborhood in the 5th most walkable city in the country.
Far Left America
I admit I'm surprised that support for gays and lesbians serving in the military openly is so high.
Would The Story Exist Otherwise?
I know it's a little funny that the White House sent the story out, but you almost get the sense that had hey hadn't sent it out, reporters would not have been able to find it on the intertubes themselves.
The White House this afternoon accidentally sent to its extensive distribution list a Reuters story headlined "Iraqi PM backs Obama troop exit plan - magazine."
...
The misfire comes at an odd time for Bush foreign policy, at a time when Obama's campaign alleges the president is moving closer toward Obama's recommendations about international relations -- sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan, discussing a "general time horizon" for U.S. troop withdrawal and launching talks with Iran.
Soaring
More not good economic news.
WASHINGTON — Driven by a sour economy and skittish consumers, U.S. business bankruptcies saw their sharpest quarterly rise in two years, jumping 17 percent in the second quarter of 2008, according to an analysis by McClatchy.
Commercial filings for the first half of 2008 are up 45 percent from last year, as the national climate for commerce continues to deteriorate amid rising energy and food costs, mounting job losses, tighter credit and a reticence among consumers to part with discretionary income.
Putting The City Back In The City
It really can't be overstated how a little thing like parking zoning regulations can determine the future of an urban environment. If parking requirements are too high, you will destroy the urban nature of a city. Hopefully Washington does the right thing and changes their requirements.
Cautiously Optimistic
I think it would be quite a big deal if California's Proposition 8, the one which would ban the newly legal gay marriage, is defeated. Do the right thing Californians.
Check the Kerning!
Maliki endorses Obama's time-table, oops, I mean, "time-horizon":
In an interview with Der Spiegel released on Saturday, Maliki said he wanted U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq as soon as possible.
"U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama talks about 16 months. That, we think, would be the right timeframe for a withdrawal, with the possibility of slight changes."
Friday, July 18, 2008
The Other Austin Conference
The funny thing is that I was utterly unaware of this parallel conservative conference being held AT THE SAME TIME AS NETROOTS NATION until I was informed last night. I'm sure it'll be the awesomest thing ever.
Tom Friedman Flashback
Just came across this for no particular reason.
9/11 has made us stupid. I honor, and weep for, all those murdered on that day. But our reaction to 9/11 — mine included — has knocked America completely out of balance, and it is time to get things right again.
Fence
Here in Austin they've just put up a fence between the hotel and the convention center, making it a bit harder to travel between the two. Normally this would be rather annoying, but it appears that they're building a SUPERTRAIN so all is forgiven.
NetRoots Nation
Observers on the scene praise Dad's performance with Krugman, Rick Perlstein and digby. If, like me, you're not in Austin you can watch videos live at the NRN site. Or you can come into Virtual NRN and gab with people while you watch.
Don't Call It A Timeline
Doesn't really sound like much.
TUCSON, July 18 -- President Bush and Iraq's prime minister have agreed to set a "time horizon" for the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq as security conditions in the war-ravaged nation continue to improve, White House officials said here Friday.
The agreement, reached during a video conference Thursday between Bush and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, marks a dramatic shift for the Bush administration, which for years has condemned any talk of timetables for withdrawal.
This Makes Sense
Well, not, it doesn't.
Millions! Maybe even zillions! I do wonder what those "areas of agreement" could be, aside from "Obama sucks!"
The Wall Street Journal reports that Carly Fiorina, former Hewlett-Packard CEO and senior adviser to Sen. John McCain, met with a group of 25 prominent supporters and fundraisers for Sen. Hillary Clinton at a private home in Westchester County, NY. The group included several so-called "Hillraisers," each of whom have raised in excess of $100,000 for Clinton's failed primary campaign. The meeting was repeatedly sought by the Hillary supporters and is at least the second such meeting between backers of Clinton and the McCain campaign.
An organizer of the meeting, Amy Siskind, said that the pro-Hillary groups represented pledged to help deliver, "hundreds of thousands and maybe millions of votes," to McCain if the groups find areas of agreement between themselves and his campaign.
Millions! Maybe even zillions! I do wonder what those "areas of agreement" could be, aside from "Obama sucks!"
Live Blogging!
I'm here with Amanda, Digby, the Rude Pundit, and Jesse, about to start what has become known as the "fuck panel." Exciting!!
Optimism!
Pretty positive!
Citigroup said Friday morning that it lost $2.5 billion, or 54 cents a share, in the second quarter.
...
But the chief executive, Vikram Pandit, positioned the $2.5 billion loss as progress. Last quarter, the financial conglomerate lost $5.1 billion.
“We cut our second-quarter losses in half compared to the first quarter,” Mr. Pandit said in a statement. “While there is still much to do, we are encouraged by our progress.”
"Comfort Capsules"
You really cannot make this crap up:
Meanwhile, as noted by Hecate in comments:
The Air Force's top leadership sought for three years to spend counterterrorism funds on "comfort capsules" to be installed on military planes that ferry senior officers and civilian leaders around the world, with at least four top generals involved in design details such as the color of the capsules' carpet and leather chairs, according to internal e-mails and budget documents...
In all, for the past three years the service has asked to divert $16.2 million to the effort from what the military calls the GWOT, or global war on terrorism. Congress has twice told the service that it cannot, including an August 2007 letter from Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) to the Pentagon ordering that the money be spent on a "higher priority" need.
Meanwhile, as noted by Hecate in comments:
Shoddy electrical work by private contractors on United States military bases in Iraq is widespread and dangerous, causing more deaths and injuries from fires and shocks than the Pentagon has acknowledged, according to internal Army documents.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Netroots Nation
Rode the fiffy cent elitest bus in from the airport. Lots of people wandering around with laptops and I just saw Richard Clarke so I assume I'm in the right place.
Now I just need to find the secret meeting of the A-list bloggers so we can continue to plot to redistribute all traffic and ad revenues upwards.
Now I just need to find the secret meeting of the A-list bloggers so we can continue to plot to redistribute all traffic and ad revenues upwards.
Send In The Accountants
Wachovia problems.
KANSAS CITY, Missouri (Reuters) - Securities regulators from six U.S. states mounted a surprise inspection of theSt. Louis headquarters of Wachovia Securities on Thursday as part of a probe into the firm's sales and marketing of auction-rate debt, Missouri officials said.
The office of Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan said a team of 10 regulators went into the St. Louis headquarters of the securities firm seeking information about the Wachovia Corp <WB.N> affiliate's sales practices, internal evaluations of the auction-rate securities market and marketing strategies.
The move on the headquarters came after Wachovia Securities failed to comply with information requests from Missouri securities regulators, state officials said.
Disgraces
John McCain:
It's not so disgraceful that he's refusing to take the hard-earned money of those "young workers."
Not actually true, but whatevah.
Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that's a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace, and it's got to be fixed.
It's not so disgraceful that he's refusing to take the hard-earned money of those "young workers."
71-year-old McCain says in Kansas City, Missouri Thursday that he’s receiving Social Security checks, but the system needs to be fixed if future generations are to enjoy the same benefits.
Not actually true, but whatevah.
How'd All That Work Out Then?
Obviously no one in Washington who promoted this diastrous war is ever going to have any kind of accountability moment except the ones that us dirty fucking hippies try to apply. It's important to remember the players because no one else will.
Please, no Evan Bayh.
Please, no Evan Bayh.
What They Left Out
I'm watching the airport CNN and they did an entire report on Al Gore without educating the audience about the fact that he is, in fact, quite fat.
Bad meda.
Bad meda.
MITTENS
That was an expensive vanity project.
WASHINGTON - Mitt Romney, whose prospects of becoming John McCain's running mate appear on the rise, is preparing to formally declare he will not seek donations to repay $45 million in personal loans he made to his failed presidential bid - the biggest ever made by a candidate in a primary campaign.
Thursday Is New Jobless Day
366K new lucky duckies. High, but not super high.
And housing starts are up, but not really.
And housing starts are up, but not really.
U.S. home building projects started in June surprisingly rose 9.1 percent due chiefly to a change in New York City building codes that, if it were ignored, would have seen starts decrease by 4.0 percent, a government report said on Thursday.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Yeah, That'll Work
The McCain campaign's latest tactic is stupid even by the rather low standards they've set for these things.
On a Similar Note
A polling expert at Time corrects a New York Times story about one of its own polls.
He Should Be Up By 150 Points!
Indeed, the weird way the press treats Obama as somehow losing because he's not winning by enough in national polls is quite annoying. Barring a career-destroying scandal, it's hard to come up with a scenario (aside from very popular third party candidate) such that either major party candidate drops much more than a point or 2 below 40% in the general election. In those landslide Republican wins, Carter got 41%, Mondale got 40.6%, and Dukakis got 45.6%.
Helms and AIDS
A friend reminds me that late in life Jesse Helms did become concerned about AIDS in Africa, but he just didn't want anything to do with AIDS in America because of its association with TEH GAY.
Beaten Senseless
The thing about the McCain rape joke is that it isn't just horrible because it's a a joke about a woman liking rape, it's about a woman who is explicitly beaten senseless until she becomes unconscious and raped and she enjoyed the experience.
Rolling In His Grave
Though I certainly understand the objections, there's something kind of poetic about naming and international AIDS funding bill after Jesse Helms. If alive, he would certainly hate it. Even though it isn't intended as such, it's kind of a big "fuck you" to him really, a way to put his name on the kinds of things he fought against over his political career.
FDIC
It's probably time to change the limit on FDIC insured deposits. The limit was set at $100,000 in 1980, which is about $250,000 in today's money. It seems to be that the appropriate policy is to cover a decent pile of money that a middle class family might save for retirement, and $100K doesn't quite cover it.
Inflation
Prices up:
A crucial measure of inflation rose at its fastest rate in 16 years, the government said on Wednesday, just a day after the chairman of the Federal Reserve warned that inflation poses a significant risk to the nation’s economic outlook.
The Consumer Price Index, which measures prices of a batch of common household products, rose 1.1 percent in June, the Labor Department said. That means inflation accelerated at nearly twice the rate in May, when the index grew 0.6 percent.
Wachovia
The important question is, if Wachovia goes down to what what will our arena be renamed? It's gone from Corestates Center to First Union Center to Wachovia Center since 1996.
Hey, peeps
Haloscan is a mess, but you could always visit Cab Drollery, where comments are working and I'm sure Ruth and Diane would be happy to have ya - and they're talking about Afghanistan and Gitmo.
Or Suburban Guerrilla, where filthy-rich tax cheats have been exposed!
Signed,
Not Atrios
Or Suburban Guerrilla, where filthy-rich tax cheats have been exposed!
Signed,
Not Atrios
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
I Get Email
Dear Atrios,
Because of your absurd equation of a satirical cartoon with a joke
about rape with no satirical content at all, and because of your self- righteous, pissy reaction to both the New Yorker cover and Greg
Kamiya's article, I have decided to stop reading your blog forever.
Humor
I suppose Greg Kamiya can think I've lost my sense of humor and my sense of "subtlety and nuance" if I don't find this little joke funny either.
Taking The Pill Away
No matter how many times this is explained to Will Saletan he'll fail to understand, but hopefully we can get the message out to the rest of the population that the "pro-life" movement is adamantly anti-contraception as well.
No More Brit Hume
Well, not as much anyway. Stepping down from his main gig. Now where will a lonely nation turn to get its daily dose of smug stupidity?
Degenerate
I get email:
"Empires Past
The seem unaware that growing the empire will not actually make them feel better about their tiny penises."
Yes, because of course the only reason why one would advocate an "empire" is some sort of repressed sexual failure.
Your constant desire to see everything through the lens of sex makes it clear you are just a stupid degenerate.
Broken Brains
I've never quite been able figure out why the image of the burning twin towers is seen by Republicans as something in their favor. In my universe the timeline goes something like this:
Jan 20, 2001 Bush Inaugurated
Jan 25, 2001 Richard Clarke sends Condi Rice memo, warning about al Qaeda. Rice does nothing.
August 6, 2001 Bush gets memo titled "Bin Laden Determined to strike in US." Bush responds by telling the briefer, "All right. You've covered your ass, now." Then does nothing.
September 11, 2001 Bin Laden strikes in US.
Jan 20, 2001 Bush Inaugurated
Jan 25, 2001 Richard Clarke sends Condi Rice memo, warning about al Qaeda. Rice does nothing.
August 6, 2001 Bush gets memo titled "Bin Laden Determined to strike in US." Bush responds by telling the briefer, "All right. You've covered your ass, now." Then does nothing.
September 11, 2001 Bin Laden strikes in US.
Empires Past
The seem unaware that growing the empire will not actually make them feel better about their tiny penises.
Czar Of All The Afghanistans
John McCain just said he'd appoint an Afghanistan czar who would report directly to the president. Isn't there anyone either in the military or in a civilian position who, you know, sorta has that job already without having to be named a "Czar."
WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
No, not the Dow.
Broder weeps.
Driven down by the weak economy and the unpopular war in Iraq, President George W. Bush's job approval rating has reached a new low for the third month straight.
Bush
Just 28 percent of Americans approve of how the President is handling his job, matching Jimmy Carter's career low.
...
Bush hasn't seen majority approval in 42 months, surpassing Truman's record of 39 months from 1949-52. Indeed Bush's approval rating hasn't exceeded even 40 percent since September 2006.
Broder weeps.
Deep Thoughts From George Bush
"This isn't a bailout. The shareholders will still continue to own the company."
oy
oy
A Really Bad Emperor
Obama:
WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Tuesday a "single-minded" focus on Iraq was distracting the United States from other threats and he renewed his vow to end the war.
"This war diminishes our security, our standing in the world, our military, our economy, and the resources that we need to confront the challenges of the 21st century," Obama said in excerpts of a speech to be delivered later on Tuesday.
Obama's talking about this from a perspective of national security, which is the only way we're allowed to talk about such things, but from the perspective of US as imperial power the "'single-minded' focus on Iraq" has also been an utter disaster. For those who think that one way or another the US should be throwing its weight around everywhere (by invading random countries, by various forms of economic imperialism, or by controlling and using the power of international institutions), Bush has pretty much set that agenda back substantially. That these people have been and continue to be his biggest supporters is a testament to the fact that their egos are more important than their dreams. But that's no surprise either.
Dare To Dream
McCain's ability to be on 15 sides of an issue which really only has 2 sides is quite astounding. I suppose that's what his base in the mainstream media are talking about when they refer to his mavericky straight-talking action.
The actual problem with "flip-flopping" was forgotten at some point during Tim Russert's tenure at Meet the Press, where even just changing your mind in response to new facts became a political sin, but surely McCain's tendency to tell different audiences different thing would qualify as that or as that other sin supposedly loathed by journalists, "pandering."
The actual problem with "flip-flopping" was forgotten at some point during Tim Russert's tenure at Meet the Press, where even just changing your mind in response to new facts became a political sin, but surely McCain's tendency to tell different audiences different thing would qualify as that or as that other sin supposedly loathed by journalists, "pandering."
Meanwhile
Over there.
- BAGHDAD -- Two suicide bombers posing as army recruits struck an Iraqi base just east of Baquba on Tuesday morning, killing at least 35 Iraqi recruits and wounding 63, according to the Iraqi police and medical officials in Diyala Province.
Satirizing
Even the witty, hip, liberal New York Times is unable to actually tell you what the joke was.
- What’s so funny about Barack Obama? Apparently not very much, at least not yet.On Monday, The New Yorker magazine tried dipping its toe into broad satire involving Senator Obama with a cover image depicting the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and his wife, Michelle, as fist-bumping, flag-burning, bin Laden-loving terrorists in the Oval Office. The response from both Democrats and Republicans was explosive.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Got It Right
I certainly don't think that the New Yorker cover is the biggest deal in the world, but the basic reason I find it problematic is that I look at it and I think, "Yes, well, that's what the Right says about the Obamas pretty much daily." It channels what they say, but they forgot to add the funny. Hamas loves Obama, he hates the flag and America, he's a Muslim, Michelle Obama is a black militant, etc. It isn't funny to me because I read this crap every day all day. This crap isn't just on obscure wingnut blogs, it's everywhere. G. Gordon Liddy is thrilled.
If in 2000 they'd ran a cover which expressed in various ways things like "Al Gore claimed he invented the internet," "Al Gore claims he discovered Love Canal," "Al Gore grew up in a fancy DC hotel," "Al Gore is such pandering politician that he's wearing 3 button suits and EARTH TONES" (no I've never understood this one either), it wouldn't have been a parody, it would have been channeling the media zeitgeist. The Obama thing? Not so different.
If in 2000 they'd ran a cover which expressed in various ways things like "Al Gore claimed he invented the internet," "Al Gore claims he discovered Love Canal," "Al Gore grew up in a fancy DC hotel," "Al Gore is such pandering politician that he's wearing 3 button suits and EARTH TONES" (no I've never understood this one either), it wouldn't have been a parody, it would have been channeling the media zeitgeist. The Obama thing? Not so different.
And They All Went To War
It's pretty easy to get to the conclusion that a substantial chunk of our press corps believed that they, too, were fighting A Great And Glorious war. That our "objective" press did so by identifying with the political party in power at the time might inspire some criticism, but only Howie Kurtz is a licensed press critic so we're unlikely to get much of that.
Not Just Subprime
Unpossible.
The foreclosure tsunami is starting to sweep over some of Denver's most exclusive neighborhoods.
Homes priced at $1 million or more in places like Cherry Hills, Cherry Creek Country Club and LoDo are popping up more frequently on foreclosure rolls.
On a recent week, the Douglas County Public Trustee received six new filings for
$1 million-plus homes entering the foreclosure process.
Day 2
It is only day 2 of the Washington Post's 12-part series on Chandra Levy.
Look over there! OJ's riding a shark!
Look over there! OJ's riding a shark!
We're All Agreed Then
Atrios, Big Media Matt, Laura d'Andrea Tyson, Tanta, Krugman, and Sebastian Mallaby all think it's time to turn the GSEs into government agencies.
Make it so.
Make it so.
Doing Their Jobs
Josh is right that the press should tell us about Randy Scheunemann's past, but they won't because to them it's an unremarkable past. Half of Washington was in bed with Chalabi. He was a special guest at the 2004 State of the Union. To the elite beltway press, these were and are very serious people. There was absolutely nothing wrong with teaming up with Chalabi to con the nation into war. It isn't remarked upon because to them it's completely unremarkable.
SUCK ON THAT AMERICA
SUCK ON THAT AMERICA
Scary Times For Banks
As we all know from our repeated viewings of It's A Wonderful Life, perception of potential bank failure can cause a bank to fail if depositors start pulling out their money.
Sucking
What's weird about Sucky Ron Fournier's vision for the Associated Press is that while I'm one who generally doesn't like the stylistic conventions of contemporary mainstream journalism, if there's one place they seem to be pretty appropriate it's in the national wire services.
New Yorker
Since it's the controversy of the day, let me make my views more clear. It obviously was an attempt at satire, but it fails. It represents the basic stuff that you get from the Right about Obama, but it neither mocks nor exaggerates them. It's a sad state of affairs that conservatives are hard to satirize or parody because they're so insane, but that's where we are. The only context is that it's on the cover of the New Yorker and Everybody Knows That They're Good Liberals So It's Satire. But, look, whatever the merits of the New Yorker it's more "elite chattering classes of New York" than "good liberal." Not quite the same thing, even if there's some overlap.
Had the Sadlynaughts created that cover it could've been funny because they have a long history of mocking right wing lunacy, though had they created something like that it would have been much more over the top because the lunatic right is much more over the top about Obama.
The New Yorker cover could have worked if had made more clear who it was satirizing (Fox news, the Republican party, Rush Limbaugh, whatever), or by being clever enough to provide the actual funny. As it is it's just a reflection of the Right's view of Obama, but there's nothing clever or funny about it. The cartoon could run as is on the cover of the National Review, also meaning to be "funny" but with a different target.
All of this doesn't make the New Yorker public enemy #1, just makes them idiots of the week.
...and the Doughy Pantload says:
Had the Sadlynaughts created that cover it could've been funny because they have a long history of mocking right wing lunacy, though had they created something like that it would have been much more over the top because the lunatic right is much more over the top about Obama.
The New Yorker cover could have worked if had made more clear who it was satirizing (Fox news, the Republican party, Rush Limbaugh, whatever), or by being clever enough to provide the actual funny. As it is it's just a reflection of the Right's view of Obama, but there's nothing clever or funny about it. The cartoon could run as is on the cover of the National Review, also meaning to be "funny" but with a different target.
All of this doesn't make the New Yorker public enemy #1, just makes them idiots of the week.
...and the Doughy Pantload says:
What I find interesting about the New Yorker cover is that it's almost exactly the sort of cover you could expect to find on the front of National Review.
And Why?
Often reading these stories what's missing is the answer to the simple question, "And why are they allowed to do this?"
July 14 (Bloomberg) -- At an investor presentation in May, Citigroup Inc. Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit said shrinking the bank's $2.2 trillion balance sheet, the biggest in the U.S., was a cornerstone of his turnaround plan.
Nowhere mentioned in the accompanying 66-page handout were the additional $1.1 trillion of assets that New York-based Citigroup keeps off its books: trusts to sell mortgage-backed securities, financing vehicles to issue short-term debt and collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, to repackage bonds.
...
``If you start adding up all the potential exposures, it's a huge number,'' said Sam Golden, a former ombudsman for the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency who now heads the financial-industry practice for restructuring adviser Alvarez & Marsal in Houston. ``The banks will say that it was disclosed. Investors are saying, `Yeah, but it was cryptic. We really didn't know what you were telling us.'''
Thread
Can someone remind me how many articles Lord Saletan has written decrying the wasteful disaster that is abstinence-only sex miseducation?
Signed,
Not Atrios
Signed,
Not Atrios
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Let Them Fail
I mostly agree with Krugman until the end.
Actually, Fannie and Freddie can be allowed to fail. Their shareholders can eat shit, and they can be reconstituted as a wholesale federal entities. There are zero reasons that I can think of that we should have shareholder owned entities which "probably but not necessarily" are going to get a government bailout every time they need it.
Both short and long term we might think that having such creatures exist to be mortgage backstops is a good idea. I probably agree with that. But there is no reason for them to be publicly traded companies.
Still, isn’t it shocking that taxpayers may end up having to rescue these institutions? Not really. We’re going through a major financial crisis — and such crises almost always end with some kind of taxpayer bailout for the banking system.
And let’s be clear: Fannie and Freddie can’t be allowed to fail. With the collapse of subprime lending, they’re now more central than ever to the housing market, and the economy as a whole.
Actually, Fannie and Freddie can be allowed to fail. Their shareholders can eat shit, and they can be reconstituted as a wholesale federal entities. There are zero reasons that I can think of that we should have shareholder owned entities which "probably but not necessarily" are going to get a government bailout every time they need it.
Both short and long term we might think that having such creatures exist to be mortgage backstops is a good idea. I probably agree with that. But there is no reason for them to be publicly traded companies.
If Needed
Helicopter Ben is going to open up lines of credit with Fannie and Freddie, and Paulson might buy stock in them.
WHEEEEEEEEE
WHEEEEEEEEE
Not Quite Eschacon
But atrios is prominently featured here and there, including what Kevin Drum calls The Fuck Panel.
So Much Lying
I accept that political surrogates have a little license sto spin, but the woman formerly known Cara Carleton Sneed seems to have license to just say anything she wants to about John McCain without really being called on it. Of course, the same privilege is granted to John McCain himself so I guess there's a certain logic to it.
Meanwhile
In that other war.
At least eight US soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan in clashes with Taleban militants.
US Terms
Those restive Iraqis:
The failure of months of negotiations over the more detailed accord -- blamed on both the Iraqi refusal to accept U.S. terms and the complexity of the task -- deals a blow to the Bush administration's plans to leave in place a formal military architecture in Iraq that could last for years.
And what where those "U.S. terms"? Oh, right, it's the Bush Rule Of Law.
The most contentious unresolved issue is the legal immunity of U.S. troops and Defense Department personnel from Iraqi prosecution for any alleged crime. "We're trying to come onto the same page," a second U.S. official close to the negotiations said. "But with U.S. forces in potential combat situations, we have some real bottom lines.
"But even on that question, it's one thing on immunity if in the Iraqi mind it's an agreement for U.S. troops forever," he said. "It's another thing if these immunity arrangements are temporary because U.S. forces are temporary."
No accountability, no responsibility, no rules, no laws.
The Important News
The Washington Post is doing a 12-part serial on... Chandra Levy.
I only hope they manage to work some sharks in there somewhere.
I only hope they manage to work some sharks in there somewhere.
NA GA HA PEN
Not that it's much, anyway, but this stuff will be floated and re-floated until the election, in order to hint that we're about to "declare victory" and suggest Obama is a big spoilsport for wanting to "surrender." It's all so absurd and stupid, which is why our elite media will love it.
- WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is considering the withdrawal of additional combat forces from Iraq beginning in September, according to administration and military officials, raising the prospect of a far more ambitious plan than expected only months ago. ... Although no decision has been made, by the time President George W. Bush leaves office on Jan. 20, at least one and as many as 3 of the 15 combat brigades now in Iraq could be withdrawn or at least scheduled for withdrawal, the officials said.
Sunday Bobbleheads
Document the atrocities.
- This Week With George Stephanopoulos... Guest: Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Republican of California.
Fox News Sunday With Chris Wallace... Guest: T. Boone Pickens, chairman of BP Capital and author of "The Pickens Plan."
Face the Nation With Bob Schieffer... Guests: Sallai Meridor; Israeli ambassador; Senator Carl Levin, Democrat of Michigan; Senator Richard Lugar, Republican of Indiana.
Meet the Press. Topics: Presidential politics... Guest: Carly Fiorina, chairman, RNC Victory 2008; Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, national cochair, Senator Barack Obama's campaign; others.
Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer... Guests: Senator Jon Kyl, Republican of Arizona; Senator Christopher Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut; Governor Mark Sanford, Republican of South Carolina; Governor Janet Napolitano, Democrat of Arizona; economic advisers Nancy Pfotenhauer (McCain) and Jason Furman (Obama); Mowaffak al-Rubaie, Iraqi national security adviser.
The Chris Matthews Show... Guests: Dan Rather, Kelly O'Donnell, Cynthia Tucker, Howard Fineman.
Head, Meet Wall
This is the dumbest thing ever, and since I seem to have instigated it, I suppose I am proud. If that's the right word...
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