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John Cole started Balloon Juice early in 2002. Those who have followed along know that this has been quite the journey.
Justice Served
Via TalkLeft, this excellent news:
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer sentenced convicted marijuana grower Ed Rosenthal to one day in federal prison with credit for time served, essentially setting him free.
Rosenthal was convicted in January of three marijuana cultivation and conspiracy charges. He faced more than 80 years in federal prison and $2.5 million in fines. The Federal Probation Department had recommended that Rosenthal be sentenced to two 21-month sentences to be served concurrently.
With so many lousy things going on, and so many people lying, swindling and generally being nuisances, it is nice to have something to smile about every now and then. This is one of them. Go have a long, happy life, Ed.
Finished
I can not take it anymore. I am sick and tired of news about the Clintons saturating the airwaves. I don’t when Hillary found out about her husband getting blowjobs from and sticking cigars in the bovine Monica Lewinsky. I just don’t give a shit. All I know is that any woman with any self-respect would have divorced Bill Clinton 20 years ago. Hillary has shown she is a high class hooker, a prostitute whose price is power, and she has stayed in this loveless facade of a marriage for her most recent payoff- a Senate seat.
There will be no more talk about Hillary’s book at this website- unless she is caught in a blatant lie. Everything about the woman is a fraud- I just don’t want to talk about it anymore.
And I really wish the news channels would stop talking about it, too. Aren’t there enough IMPORTANT things going on?
In Case you Missed It
The Guardian has retracted the Wolfowitz story and issued a correction. Unhinged liberals can return to the usual rhetoric about Republicans starving poor people and children:
Paul Wolfowitz
A report which was posted on our website on June 4 under the heading “Wolfowitz: Iraq war was about oil” misconstrued remarks made by the US deputy defence secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, making it appear that he had said that oil was the main reason for going to war in Iraq. He did not say that. He said, according to the department of defence website, “The … difference between North Korea and Iraq is that we had virtually no economic options with Iraq because the country floats on a sea of oil. In the case of North Korea, the country is teetering on the edge of economic collapse and that I believe is a major point of leverage whereas the military picture with North Korea is very different from that with Iraq.” The sense was clearly that the US had no economic options by means of which to achieve its objectives, not that the economic value of the oil motivated the war. The report appeared only on the website and has now been removed.
Martha, Martha
Steve Gilliard at the Daily Kos has compiled the complete list of reasons you should hate Martha Stewart and should not be upset she was indicted. I have to admit, I am feeling a mild bit of glee about her indictment because she is such an obnoxious shrew, but even though I hate the woman, I think there is much worse going on in the Wall Street boardrooms than this matter. Cripes- they just let a bunch of brokerage houses that screwed us for hundreds of billons off with measly fines.
Remember this:
Citigroup Global Markets is the corrupt Saloman Smith Barney. They just changed their name to hide the perfidy. Don’t forget.
Frustrating Fringe
Go read this.
Now go read prominent liberal sites be willfully obtuse, lying despite everything that is known. And these are the guys that bitch about a Wurlitzer. These guys will do or say anything to get elected.
The Daily Kos gets the award for being the most willingly deceitful, because even after being pointed out that Wolfowitz never said what he said, Kos issues a terse: “Sorry, I’m not seeing it.” Hilarious.
Whatever blows your trumpet, Kos.
Again, kudos to Calpundit, who is the only one to frame the real question correctly:
The only question is: did the Guardian deliberately slant this, or was it a case of a really incompetent translation? And who screwed up the translation, Die Welt or the Guardian?
Emma, Steve Soto, and Billmon seem to get it right to. Well done. As did Matt Stoller.
*** Update ***
One more time, why Kos deserves my respect and yours, even though he and I rarely see eye to eye (and as noted this is not one of his most gracious corrections):
Boy. Somedays I am on. Somedays I’m not. Let me just admit that today wasn’t my day. The Riley piece was an incoherent, disjointed mess. The Wolfowitz piece was not as explosive as the Guardian would have us believe.
Thanks for being honest to us and yourself, Kos- this is why you have such a loyal following.
*** Update ***
Even though Hesiod remains obstinate and obtuse and insists the Wolfowitz quote was all about oil, the UK Guardian has now issued a correction as well as a retraction:
Paul Wolfowitz
A report which was posted on our website on June 4 under the heading “Wolfowitz: Iraq war was about oil” misconstrued remarks made by the US deputy defence secretary, Paul Wolfowitz, making it appear that he had said that oil was the main reason for going to war in Iraq. He did not say that. He said, “The most important difference between North Korea and Iraq is that economically we just had no choice in Iraq. The country swims on a sea of oil.” The sense was that the US had no economic options by means of which to achieve its objectives, not that the economic value of the oil motivated the war. The report appeared only on the website and has now been removed.
Leave the Man Alone
This is just stupid beyond words:
Whether it is a breakfast of cereal at his 3STH (Third Street town house) near the Capitol, his clothing for the day or the sports telecast he watches before pronouncing himself ready for sleep at his MLTH (Miami Lakes town house), Mr. Graham jots it down. And he has done so religiously since his first race for governor, in 1977, when he wanted to make sure he got the name of every possible supporter of his underdog campaign.
Now, as he seeks the nation’s highest office, the questions must be posed: Are American voters ready for a president who could all but moonlight as a stenographer? Is his habit a disqualifying eccentricity?
They have actually bullied Graham so much that he has had to release parts of his PRIVATE diary so they don’t think he is a nutcase. His private diary. Idiots.