Via Andrew Sullivan, this disturbing graph (which he got off the Free Republic):
Makes me want to vomit. Remember this the next time the lying Democrats claim Bush is gutting spending.
John Cole started Balloon Juice early in 2002. Those who have followed along know that this has been quite the journey.
by John Cole| 9 Comments
This post is in: Republican Stupidity
Via Andrew Sullivan, this disturbing graph (which he got off the Free Republic):
Makes me want to vomit. Remember this the next time the lying Democrats claim Bush is gutting spending.
This post is in: Humorous
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced today that Vermont Gov. Howard Dean would join the agency’s next mission to Mars.
The trip to the Red Planet is part of Gov. Dean’s presidential campaign strategy which aims to maximize the distance between the candidate and the average American voter.
Gov. Dean, already a vocal opponent of the liberation of Iraq and a proponent of homosexual unions, said he still feels too close to the American voter.
“The other Democrat candidates for president are mere clones of George Bush,” said Gov. Dean. “When I’m standing on the surface of Mars, passionately denouncing things most Americans support and advocating things most Americans oppose, people will know I’m the real Democrat in this race.”
This post is in: Humorous
I have had days like this:
Fourteen-year-old female polar bear, named ‘Pelusa’, sticks her claw through the bars of her cage at the Mendoza Zoo, 1100 kilometers (690 miles) northwest of Buenos Aires, July 21, 2003. Normally white, Pelusa turned violet after veterinarians administered a medicine to treat her for a skin condition. Her veterinarians said her coat should turn normal again within a month. REUTERS/Paulo Paez
This post is in: War
Tacitus has a great post about the extent of Ba’athist loyalty and why the 3rd ID is in theatre longer than expected.
Before people start crowing about “how the military didn’t have a plan,” let me nip that nonsense in the bud and point out that this is the sort of unforeseen development for which you simply can not plan. At any rate, go read.
by John Cole| 2 Comments
This post is in: Republican Stupidity
Way to help ‘change the tone:’
Just a few blocks from the future site of Bill Clinton $160 million presidential library, a couple of Clinton haters hope to open a museum devoted to mocking his presidency.
“As long as he’s talking, we’ll have to be here trying to keep him somewhat honest and stop him from rewriting history,” says John LeBoutillier, a former Republican congressman from New York who rode Ronald Reagan (news – web sites)’s coattails to victory in 1980.
LeBoutillier and his partner, Houston businessman Richard Erickson, plan to call it the Counter-Clinton Library. They say the museum here and one planned for Washington will look at such topics as Whitewater, Monica Lewinsky, the last-minute pardons, even damaged White House furniture.
“We already hear he’s going to bring a bunch of egghead economists to his library to say how great the economy was when he was president,” LeBoutillier says. “And we’ll find our own who can say it had nothing to do with him.”
This is an embarassment. What a bunch of jerks.
(via Wunderkinder)
*** Update ***
Apparently, this is old news.
This post is in: Media
The death of Hussein’s sons could be good or bad:
The killing of Saddam Hussein’s two eldest sons in a battle with American soldiers in northern Iraq could be an important victory in a campaign to control, and even end, the guerrilla-style insurgency that has almost daily killed or wounded coalition troops, administration and military officials said here.
The assault that killed Qusay and Uday Hussein could set off an immediate wave of retribution attacks, officials said, but the deaths should also embolden more Iraqis to come forward with crucial information to energize the military’s anti-guerrilla operations.
Thanks. Some Iraqi’s are less ambivalent:
Baghdad’s curfew was broken by the crackle of gunfire as word spread last night that Saddam’s hated sons had been killed.
“It’s a celebration, people have heard about what happened,” a US military spokesman said.
On the streets, many Iraqis were prepared to speak out for the first time about Uday and Qusay. But while some celebrated their deaths, others wished they had been captured alive. Alaa Hamed, regularly beaten with clubs while he worked as a producer for Uday’s television station, said: “I don’t want him dead. I want to torture him first.”
Shopkeeper Abu Muhammed said: “This is very good news. Uday, Qusay, and Saddam are the ones who ruined this country.”
by John Cole| 16 Comments
This post is in: Media
I am against the recall of Gray Davis in California- I think there should be criminal behavior before an elected official should be kicked out of office. Please spare me the will of the people crap- sometimes those governing have to make tough decisions, and I want them relatively free to do so without feeling the immediate emotions of the population. Regardless of my opinions, it is clear the NY Times is against the recall. Otherwise, why else would they be doing Gray Davis’s hatchet work:
Backer of California Recall Feels Heat Directed at Him By CHARLIE LeDUFF
Darrell Issa, the millionaire congressman who is bankrolling the effort to recall Gov. Gray Davis, is facing nagging questions about two arrests for car theft in his youth.
This is front page news from the paper of record? A smear campaign launched by Davis and his lawyers? C’mon.