Friday, July 25, 2008
Obama's People Spin
So, Obama was supposed to go to a US military hospital and visit wounded troops.
He then canceled because "it would look like a campaign stop, and would be inappropriate".
Well, that's not entirely the truth:
A U.S. military official tells NBC News they were making preparations for Sen. Barack Obama to visit wounded troops at the Landstuhl Medical Center at Ramstein, Germany on Friday, but "for some reason the visit was called off."
One military official who was working on the Obama visit said because political candidates are prohibited from using military installations as campaign backdrops, Obama's representatives were told, "he could only bring two or three of his Senate staff member, no campaign officials or workers." In addition,
"Obama could not bring any media. Only military photographers would be permitted to record Obama's visit."
The official said "We didn't know why" the request to visit the wounded troops was withdrawn. "He (Obama) was more than welcome. We were all ready for him."
So, anyone care to spin this any particular way?
Travis
Thursday, July 24, 2008
9/11 Conspiracy Theorists Denied
Osama bin Laden's driver witnessed the al-Qaeda leader being briefed on the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and overheard him express satisfaction that the death toll had exceeded expectations, an FBI interrogator testified Wednesday.
Salim Ahmed Hamdan, now held at the U.S. military prison here, had said under questioning six years ago that bin Laden was "happy about the results" of the terrorist strikes because he had expected "only" 1,000 to 1,500 people to die, former FBI agent Ali Soufan told jurors at Hamdan's military trial.
And, Hamdan inadvertently admits guilt:
Soufan said on cross-examination that the information Hamdan heard about terrorist attacks usually came after they occurred, not before. "He never told me he had previous knowledge except . . . when bin Laden tells him that there is an operation coming," Soufan said.
So, he testifies that Bin Laden admits to involvement in the 9/11 attacks, which blows conspiracy theorists' ideas out of the water that our government was involved. AND, he admits that Bin Laden told him that an "operation is coming".
He knew already that Bin Laden had attacked civilian targets with the embassy bombings as well as the USS Cole attack.
So, therefore, he's guilty as hell in my book, and not this "poor guy who's only a driver" bullshit he's trying to peddle.
Travis
9/11 Conspiracy Theorists Denied
Osama bin Laden's driver witnessed the al-Qaeda leader being briefed on the day of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and overheard him express satisfaction that the death toll had exceeded expectations, an FBI interrogator testified Wednesday.
Salim Ahmed Hamdan, now held at the U.S. military prison here, had said under questioning six years ago that bin Laden was "happy about the results" of the terrorist strikes because he had expected "only" 1,000 to 1,500 people to die, former FBI agent Ali Soufan told jurors at Hamdan's military trial.
And, Hamdan inadvertently admits guilt:
Soufan said on cross-examination that the information Hamdan heard about terrorist attacks usually came after they occurred, not before. "He never told me he had previous knowledge except . . . when bin Laden tells him that there is an operation coming," Soufan said.
So, he testifies that Bin Laden admits to involvement in the 9/11 attacks, which blows conspiracy theorists' ideas out of the water that our government was involved. AND, he admits that Bin Laden told him that an "operation is coming".
He knew already that Bin Laden had attacked civilian targets with the embassy bombings as well as the USS Cole attack.
So, therefore, he's guilty as hell in my book, and not this "poor guy who's only a driver" bullshit he's trying to peddle.
Travis
Bucket Of Salt
Now, you need to take this with a huge bucket of salt, but there's eye witnesses who claim that John Edwards not only has a mistress, but also a love child.
At 9:45 p.m. (PST) Monday, Edwards appeared at the hotel, and was dropped off at a side entrance. NATIONAL ENQUIRER reporter Alan Butterfield witnessed the ex-senator get out of a BMW driven by a male companion and stroll into the hotel.
Said Butterfield: "Edwards was not carrying anything. He walked in alone. He was wearing a blue dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He was looking around nervously before he entered the hotel.
"Once inside, he interestingly bypassed the lobby and ducked down a side stairs to go to the bottom floor to catch the elevator up - rather than taking the elevator in the main lobby. He went out of his way not to be seen."
Meanwhile, Rielle had reserved rooms 246 and 252 under the name of the friend who had accompanied her from Santa Barbara, Bob McGovern. Rielle was in one room and McGovern was in another with her baby. This allowed her and Edwards to spend time alone, a source revealed.
Edwards went out of the hotel briefly with Rielle, they were observed by the NATIONAL ENQUIRER and then went back to her room, where he stayed until attempting to sneak out of the hotel unseen at 2:40 a.m. (PST). But when he emerged alone from an elevator into the hotel basement he was greeted by several reporters from the NATIONAL ENQUIRER.
Senior NATIONAL ENQUIRER Reporter Alexander Hitchen asked Edwards why he was visiting Rielle and whether he was ready to confirm that he was the father of her baby.
Shocked to see a reporter, and without saying anything, Edwards ran up the stairs leading from the hotel basement to the lobby. But, spotting a photographer, he doubled back into the basement. As he emerged from the stairwell, reporter Butterfield questioned him about his hookup with Rielle.
Edwards did not answer and then ran into a nearby restroom. He stayed inside for about 15 minutes, refusing to answer questions from the NATIONAL ENQUIRER about what he was doing in the hotel. A group of hotel security men eventually escorted him from the men's room, while preventing the NATIONAL ENQUIRER reporters from following him out of the hotel.
Said reporter Hitchen: "After we confronted him about seeing Rielle, Edwards looked like a deer caught in headlights!
"He was clearly surprised that we had caught him at this very late hour inside the hotel.
"Some guests up at this late hour watched the spectacle in amusement from a staircase nearby."
Meanwhile, Rielle's friend McGovern also refused to answer any questions from the NATIONAL ENQUIRER or offer any explanation for her meeting with Edwards.
The Edwards "love child" scandal drew international press attention after the NATIONAL ENQUIRER published a blockbuster investigation about the politician in our Dec. 31, 2007 print edition.
Now, normally I wouldn't report on this as it's from the National Enquirer, a magazine my grandmother enjoys.
However, there's numerous news outlets reporting on this as well.
http://www.slate.com/id/2195869/
http://www.businessweek.com/innovate/FineOnMedia/archives/2008/07/the_national_en.html
Oh this would be sweet if true.
Travis
Guess What You're Paying For?
The House on Wednesday voted 272-152 to pass sweeping legislation that will offer up to $300 billion in assistance to troubled homeowners and throw government support behind mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The nearly 700-page measure will now go back to the Senate, where final passage is expected. It's not clear when the vote will occur because of a Republican filibuster threat.
That's $1,000 for every man, woman, and child in America. That will "assist troubled homeowners" who bought what they couldn't afford. The same people like Patricia Guerrero who bought a beautiful home for almost nothing. Who then went on to refinance and take out additional loans of $450k, then, when she got into trouble, took out an interest only loan that had a $2,500 a month payment.
You and I are going to pay for her idiocy.
She should move out, get an apartment, and rebuild like everyone else did. Instead, moron politicians and whiners passed this when we can't afford it.
Watch the video in the news story about Patricia, and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about.
How is this fair to you and me? How is it fair for us to pay for people who were clearly irresponsible? This is why Congress and the President have such low approval ratings: Dumb things like this.
Travis
Al-Jazeera Throws Birthday Party For Child Killer
Interviewer: Brother Samir, we would like to celebrate your birthday with you. You deserve even more than this. I think that 11,000 prisoners – if they can see this program now – are celebrating your birthday with you. Happy birthday, brother Samir.
Samir Al-Quntar: If you are asking whether I killed Israelis – I did, Allah be praised.
Interviewer: Including children?
Samir Al-Quntar: No. I am proud of this, and Allah willing, I will get the chance to kill more Israelis. As for the children, that's another story. A girl was killed during the operation, in the crossfire. In all the operations that involved capturing Israeli hostages, the hostages were killed by the bullets of the Israeli forces. In the operation of Dalal Al-Maghrabi, the [Israelis] fired like crazy on the bus, and killed a large number of Jewish hostages. In the Ma'alot operation, hostages were taken at a high school. [The Israelis] used anti-tank missiles to storm the school, killing many. The same thing happened in my operation. When we fired at them, in response to their fire, they began shooting in our direction like crazy. They are the ones who killed the hostages.
In the crossfire? Her head was crushed by the butt of a rifle, and Al-Jazeera, a supposed news organization, is buying into this bullshit. That makes them accomplices in my book.
He killed a 4 year old child, and Israel took it upon themselves to release him for the bodies of dead soldiers. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think it was a bad move.
Of course, if Israel hunts them all down and kills them, then maybe I'll have been corrected. :)
Travis
China Can't Win The Olympics Fairly
A German television report on the availability of gene doping in China has stunned anti-doping experts shortly before the Beijing Olympics.
The report, filmed with a concealed camera, shows the doctor with his face blurred speaking in Chinese and offering the treatment in return for $24,000, according to a translation provided by the ARD television.
So, how many other athletes have chosen to go this route? Anyone want to place any bets on how many of them are Chinese?
Travis
Charles Rangle Admits Ethics Violation
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-N.Y.) acknowledged yesterday that he hoped his personal entreaties to foundations and corporations would bring in donations to an academic center that bears his name.
Then tries to deflect it:
"Was my hope that these meetings would result in making financial donations to this important project with such an important public purpose? Of course," Rangel wrote to Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (D-Ohio), chairman of the ethics panel.
The congressman asked the committee to investigate him and wrote, "[I]f I inadvertently violated House rules, I am prepared to trust the committee's judgment and accept its findings."
"Inadvertently"? Bullshit. This guy is using every single loophole he can find to make his life better. He's rented 4! apartments around the New York area at a significant discount, leases a $700 a month car at YOUR expense, and is blatantly breaking house rules and trying to cover it up as "inadvertently"?
That's a bullshit lie and everyone knows it.
Travis
Why Is The Press Not All Over This??
Couric: …if that comes to pass, "you cannot take out the final complement of combat troops. You need them in the theater," you would say?
Obama: I will always listen to the commanders on the ground. And I will make an assessment based on the facts at that time. As I've said before … I am not interested in a false choice between either perfect inflexibility in which the next 16 months or the next two years I ignore anything that's happening in Iraq. Or, alternatively, that I just have an open-ended, indefinite occupation of Iraq in which we're not putting any pressure on the Iraqis to stand up and … take this burden on. What I'm gonna do is to set a vision of where we need to go, a clear and specific timeframe within which we're gonna pull our combat forces out.
First off, no you don't. Commanders on the ground have already said that your "16 month" timetable wouldn't work and would quote "be a disaster".
Couric: Before the surge, as you know, Senator, there were 80 to 100 U.S. casualties a month, the country was rife with sectarian violence, and you raised a lot of eyebrows on this trip saying even knowing what you know now, you still would not have supported the surge. People may be scratching their heads and saying, "Why?"
Obama: Well … because … what I was referring to, and I've consistently referred to, is the need for a strategy that actually concludes our involvement in Iraq and moves Iraqis to take responsibility for the country.
Couric: But didn't the surge …
Obama: And …
Couric: …help do that?
Obama: Let me finish, Katie. What happens is that if we continue to put $10 billion to $12 billion a month into Iraq, if we are willing to send as many troops as we can muster continually into Iraq? There's no doubt that that's gonna have an impact. But it doesn't meet our long-term strategic goal, which is to make the American people safer over the long term. If that means that we're detracting from our efforts in Afghanistan, where conditions are deteriorating, if it means that we are distracted from going after Osama bin Laden who is still sending out audio tapes and is operating training camps where we know terrorists' actions are being plotted.
If we have shifted away from the central front of terrorism as a consequence of enormous and continuing investments in Iraq, then that's a poor strategic choice. And ultimately, what we've got to do is - we have to recognize that Iraq is just one of our … security problems. It's not the only one.
We've got big problems in Afghanistan. We've got a significant threat in Iran. We've got to deal with Pakistan and the fact that there are safe havens there. Those are all the factors and all the issues that I've gotta take into account when I'm president of the United States.
Couric: All that may be true. But do you not give the surge any credit for reducing violence in Iraq?
Obama: No, no … of course I have. There is no doubt that the extraordinary work of our U.S. forces has contributed to a lessening of the violence, just as making sure that the Sadr militia stood down or the fact that the Sunni tribes decided to flip and work with us instead of with al-Qaeda - something that we hadn't anticipated happening.
Wrong. You were caught off guard by the success of the surge in troop numbers and you're trying everything you can to undermine the credit where it rightfully belongs.
Secondly, take a look at Obama stammer and stutter his way through this entire interview. You can plainly see that he's having problems confronting cold, hard, facts.
But of course, this doesn't prevent Democrats from playing "gotcha" politics that they previously denounced with McCain:
Aides to the Arizona senator dismiss the missteps as meaningless, noting that their man is far more accessible to journalists than Obama. "When you engage with reporters from 8:30 a.m. till 8 at night, you're bound to make a gaffe," says McCain communications director Jill Hazelbaker. "People are yearning for the kind of president who takes tough questions, and that's who John McCain is."
Still think Obama's got what it takes? If so, you aren't paying attention.
Travis
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
I'm Becoming Disillusioned
That's why I'm saddened to find myself seeing poorer and poorer quality reporting coming from CNN.
Here's a perfect example:
CNN's been promoting this whole "Black in America" series for a while now, and to tell you the truth, it's done nothing but turn me off.
I think the only real reason why they are doing it is because of the Presidential election.
I've even seen a few episodes of these "news" stories, and I've got to tell you, I'm not impressed.
People that they've been interviewing have no special problems that any other American of a different color face. It comes across like some folks I knew back in the 90's who'd blame everyone else for their problems but themselves. "It's because I'm a BLACK man that X is happening to me".
Yeah....that's it.
Look, certainly racism exists, but it exists across the entire spectrum of color of people's skin. I can go to certain parts of the country and get looked upon with disdain because I am white.
I blame no one for my problems, but myself. Do you know why?
Because I'm the only one that can fix them.
Sure, I COULD blame others, but what have I accomplished? What good does it do me to blame black people, Jewish people, Hispanic folks, or any other group of people for my ills when they clearly don't have anything to do with them?
It's all in an attempt to bring to the surface, racial tensions for ratings.
That's not news, it's CNN.
We as a nation have become the most powerful in the history of the world for a reason. We worked together. We encouraged others to come here and build a life for themselves and their families. We did it regardless of race, religion, creed, or financial status. We can and will do more.
Which is why Obama is wrong.
It's not "Yes we can". It's "Yes, YOU can.".
"Change" begins and ends at home. Start with yourself, work on making your life and the lives of your family better. Once that's fine, then worry about your neighbor. Get involved in your community, tutor a child, volunteer at a school, help out your elderly neighbor get around.
Make your immediate life better, and the rest will fall into place.
Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com
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