Pat Oliphant for February 16, 2011

“You go to war with the leaders you have” or you don’t let them take you to war. How about extreme cage fighting for the war-mongers and the rest of us can watch–or get on with life.

Can’t wait for the Obama spin machine “biography” that is in the mill as we speak.

In order to bury it it will have to be screwed into the ground.

The only true fact will be the beginning: “I was born….” which hasn’t been proven, BTW, and the rest will be spun out of whole cloth.

Good ol’ Ronald Dumsfeld.

It’ll be a best seller just like War’s. “I can has Choices”.

Tell me something Bill, what do you want to be when you grow up?

“Oh yeah? Oh YEAH! Well…well…well…well, Obama’s biography is gonna be nothing but lies. So nyah, nyah, nyah, so THERE!”

Why make fun of the “known unknowns” speech? That was about the most insightful explanation anyone could have given about the intelligence world I have ever heard. If you didn’t hear it, then shut up about it.

“‘I was born….’ which hasn’t been proven, BTW, and the rest will be spun out of whole cloth.”

No rational person actually believes he was born in Africa. That whole BS has been completely debunked as fraud way beyond a reasonable doubt. Anyone who still clings to that belief is willfully ignorant.

This cartoon nicely mirrors a recent interview I heard with Rummy. During an interview, when questioned about discrepancies between his book and the public record, he scoffed and started talking about how the press at large is writing the “first draft” of history, as if he fully expects it to change as the result of his book.

Well, I guess history is written by the journalists we have, not the journalists we want…

Jase, you use hyperbole. “BS”, “completely”, “fraud”, “ignorant”….you protest too much.

Obama has not even proven who his parents are. He has only given us a story in a book that was ghost-written for him. It’s a long and painful discussion to engage in, but all the Obama defenders have to do is stop attacking the “birthers” and demand that their leader “shut them up”. He refuses to do so because he can’t. THAT is completely established.

Personally, I believe Barack was born in Hawaii, but that Barack Sr. is not his daddy. Just speculation, like everyone else’s opinion. None of us know.

a. war is run by the rich, for the rich to profit; fought by the poor, and the faster the bodies of the poor are chewed through, the better for the welfare-drained economy. b. war makes elitists richer. ever heard of a poor General? c. war is the fastest way for mililtary elite to advance and “fatten” their career resume’. Games/drills don’t make carreer points towards your admiral’s stars. d. Accusing someone else of war boosts Patriotism, AKA conning the public into thinking your Government is the Good Guy, let’s kill everyone else. Remember the Flag Fad after 9/11? Shrub 1 or 2 wouldn’t have been able to carry off Iraq without the monster wave of army signups after that….

What always bothered me about Rumsfield was his sheer incompetence. Yes, he is fundamentally dishonest (and also a crybaby), but talk about people being promoted past their level of competence!

Dwight D. Eisenhower quote: “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” That says it all. The political power the Bush administration gained by conducting a pre-emptive and unnecessary war was huge. They failed to protect us on 9-11 and then politicized the hell out of it. Many, like Guilliani went on to make huge profits based on not doing much at all and in spite of the stupidity of locating the command center inside the twin towers after it was hit the first time.

Habanero is smoking some interesting stuff. Actually, unlike his predecessor, Obama can write, and write well. And, unlike his predecessor’s grandfather, none of Obama’s ancestors tried to overthrow the US government.

The Repubs have milked the evangelical vote with empty promises about ending abortions but to actually do something would be counter productive for them. Why would they intentionally lose that huge voting block of all those suckers who vote solely on that one issue. I, personally, would like to see abortions rare, safe and legal. The right is fond of “wedge” issues, like if extended mags for auto weapons are banned then all guns will eventually be banned or if maryjane is decriminilized then we’ll all suddenly turn into heroin addicts. But if the right gets a foot in the door then a women will lose all rights to what happens to her own body. Right now they’re trying to redefine rape! What next? So if a women is raped she must bring the baby to term, even if it’s her brother’s or fathers baby? Also, If she’s not conscious then it’s rape. They want to allow hospitals to turn away a women who requires an emergency abortion to save her life.

Rummy has to take a backseat to W this week. W did not attend hisown FATHER’s reception of the HIGHEST award a civilian can receive (from a Democratic president, yet.). He claimed he and Laura had a “previous commitment”.

(For the uninitated much of W’s behavior in office can be explained by his jealousy of his father.)

I like the known-unknowns spoof on the Boondocks cartoon.

Earl Babbie, I’m somewhat fond of the idea of putting all the warmongers on a leaky ship in the middle of the ocean. No cell phones, no internet either.

The vulcan’s fuhrer speaks with forked tongue, again, and again. The known of unkowns speaks to those who don’t really want to know. Ignorance is, well, tea.

“Obama has not even proven who his parents are.”

You seem to be one of the willfully ignorant. It is therefore useless to debate the subject with you.

Had a dream it was war And they couldn’t tell me what it was for But it was something they could lie about Something we could die about, you know

I was kinda wondering what the “unborn citizens” are citizens of – since we’re still debating where Obama was born. Wouldn’t we need to know where we were all conceived to know if we were citizens of the US – if we are going to take into account all that time spent in utero? And wouldn’t we have to all add 9 months to our ages, if we take that into account as well? Just wondering.

Unborn “citizens” are citizens of their mom’s body – that’s where they “live” and they only live if she lives long enough to actually bring them into the world.