All kinds of internet trouble....

Somehow my wireless internet hookup got completely f***ed. I'm not really too sure what's going on. After messing with it for an hour, I've got to walk away for awhile. I'll try again later.

Back when I'm back.

Political bits

(ThePage) Huckabee issues a statement on the killings in Washington, blaming everyone (and I mean everyone) but himself.

(RollCall) 34 Members of the House report personal assets of $0 or less on their House disclosure forms.

And, (WaPo) No real surprise, but Limbaugh and Beck fans love Sarah Palin more than anyone else.

Afghanistan pre-spin in the NYTimes

If you believe the media conventional wisdom, the Afghanistan "surge" is most likely to meet resistance from folks on the left.

So, imagine my surprise this morning to see the NYTimes top headline emphasizing that the Obama speech will not only call for a troop increase, but will also "envision exit" from Afghanistan.

They're pre-spinning the speech in the most prominent space possible, the most public space likely to be read by the Obama supporter, playing on residual goodwill and asking for more patience.

...and once again the NYTimes prints the "scoop," blindly sourced to "senior administration officials," complicit in the war selling spin....

(I'm pro-surge, but the games get a little old.)

Huckabee plays coy

It's hard to tell whether Mike Huckabee is playing coy or being serious, but he tells Chris Wallace "it's less likely than more likely" that he'll run for President in 2012.

If you read the whole thing, it sounds like he's fishing for a nod from the GOP establishment against Palin.

Later: Of course I could be misreading the whole damn thing. Huckabee might now be seeing his chances evaporate as a guy he pardoned as governor is suspected of killing four police officers.

Thought for the Day

Dear right wing crazies..... Just for a minute, I'll indulge your fantasy that global warming is all some sort of great hoax and massive conspiracy....

But you'll have to answer me the question why? Why would all these thousands of scientists collude in this giant fraud? What's the motive? Some strange leftist fantasy that smokestacks are bad? That's supposed to be enough to get thousands of scientists to throw away their careers without one of them breaking the wall of silence?

Picture of the Day

(Aides brief President Barack Obama aboard Air Force One en route to Tokyo, Japan, Nov. 12, 2009. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza))

Missed Bin Laden at Tora Bora

My guess is that this Senate report saying that the Bush administration missed a chance to capture Bin Laden at Tora Bora is mostly going to be discussed literally.

Although it may be word for word true, don't forget that this is a Senate Democrat run committee document, managed by John Kerry. Example,

"Removing the al-Qaeda leader from the battlefield eight years ago would not have eliminated the worldwide extremist threat," the report says. "But the decisions that opened the door for his escape to Pakistan allowed bin Laden to emerge as a potent symbolic figure who continues to attract a steady flow of money and inspire fanatics worldwide. The failure to finish the job represents a lost opportunity that forever altered the course of the conflict in Afghanistan and the future of international terrorism."

"Failure to finish the job" comes straight from the Kerry 04 campaign talking points.... and it's a damn shame, because the point is valid.

This will certainly generate the headlines they're seeking (to offer Dems' political cover? to undermine Republican critics?) before the Afghan surge politics begin in earnest tomorrow, but the very political nature of the report taints the usefulness of the conclusion.

...because they did let Bin Laden get away.

The worst possible interpretation for Tiger Woods

I usually stay out of this stuff, but TMZ claims that during an argument over an alleged affair with another woman, Woods' wife injured his face, and then chased him out to the car, smashing in the back window as he drove away. They further claim he was on painkillers at the time of the crash.

Seriously.....

Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann are the co-keynotes for the "tea party" convention.

As a serious question, what does it say about that movement, this political moment, and the state of the Republican party that these are their heroes? That absolute certainty in ignorance seems to be a cherished value?

I mean, there are far more capable folks who are "right" on tea party issues, but I don't think there are many who are more "certain," belligerent, and willfully ignorant.

Is it a seeking of reassurance or reinforcement of a party rocked and in the wilderness that all those thinkers must be wrong? Is it looking for validation that "my ideas" are right and mainstream? Is it some weird "reality show" type dynamic?

So, seriously, put on your sociologist's/political scientist's hat, and tell me what's going on. What is the dynamic that's valuing certainty over everything else? What is the dynamic (that Bush tapped into) that says that knowledge is bad?

He really wanted to be King of New York

According to the NYTimes, Michael Bloomberg $102 million to be (closely) reelected as Mayor of New York City (making $264 million to win all three elections. $261 million of which came right out of his own pocket.)

Certainly he has the money to do this, but wow.

For a baseline, the most expensive Senate race in history (Coleman-Franken believe it or not) cost $50+ million between both candidates.

Binge, Purge

In a quiet, but significant move, the Obama administration is flushing all the lobbyists out of all of the governmental advisory boards.

This is a big deal in the second tier political class as many, many, many have made their livings off lobbying money based on their board placements and connections. Plus, it's something of a partisan wash as many of those placement favors granted by the Bush flacks and the Republican Congresses are washed out.

Now, this doesn't remove everybody, but it significantly reshapes the industry and Republican partisan balance of second tier political policy Washington.

"the preservation of its assets....."

Another horrible story of the Catholic hierarchy conspiring to hide child sex abuse, this one out of Ireland, but what really caught my eye was this paragraph.

...the church was concerned only with “the maintenance of secrecy, the avoidance of scandal, the protection of the reputation of the church, and the preservation of its assets,” said the 700-page report...

...because that's what Jesus would have wanted....

Cold Turkey bits

(AP) Dubai World, UAE's part government development company, misses a major debt payment. (Too many man made island resorts, indoor ski slopes, and giant sail boat shaped buildings....)

(AP) The IAEA "censures" Iran over its nuclear program. (Guess that trip to China did yield something, huh?)

(USAToday) In power Dem committees continue to outraise Republicans, collectively sitting on a significant cash on hand advantage. (It's good to be the king...)

(AP) A weird, but interesting story about a Princeton grad Major League pitcher (Pirates) who is interning at the Ag department in the off season because he likes the work.

And, (Chron) Texas Republican leadership loses a major defense contract (BAE - trucks) because they no longer have the influence or Senators with enough clout.

Interesting Thanksgiving dump

I don't know what to make of this, dumped on Thanksgiving, a big WaPo story on how Obama security officials got concessions from China on Iran's nuke program through a variety of vague threats about things that might destabilize China, Iranian oil shipment disruptions, oil price rises, and threats about rapid proliferation.

It's just a weird bit revealing discussions with the Chinese (which is very rarely done because the Chinese don't like to appear pressured.) So this is meant to accomplish something.

Dumped on Thanksgiving, you have to figure the target is foreign. Russia? Iran?

Quote - "Presidential"

Sarah Palin to a Canadian TV comic who went to one of her appearances.

Palin strolled over, looking down on Walsh and her crew to tell them that "Canada needs to dismantle its public health-care system and allow private enterprise to get involved and turn a profit."

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The Obamas are cool

Forget everything else. They're the "coolest" since the Kennedy's.

Also the WaPo story on the State Dinner.

Quote

"They made a porn movie about Sarah Palin, and the same actress, Lisa Ann, played me in the porn version of 30 Rock. Weirdly, of the three of us, Lisa Ann knows the most about foreign policy."

-- Tina Fey, speaking at Ad Council gala

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Quote

Dana Perino, former Bush spokesman,

"We did not have a terrorist attack on our country during President Bush's term"

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