i never could understand the appeal of bill frist..to anybody..it never ceases to amaze me how some of these people get elected in the first place....who the hell is his base...??..poor southerners?? if so why....rich southerners?..if so why..black people..white people...smart people..stupid people...who the hell is voting for people like him....and when they start talking about presidential ambitions with a straight face no less..i sometimes wonder if i am in neverland..i don't get it....
Posted by dennis at September 25, 2005 04:29 AMDennis what's to understand on where Dr. Frist, MD gets his base? We are talking about a man here who, just from looking at ten seconds of videotape, knows he can bring a brain dead woman back to life. Like Jesus. Like Pat Robertson.
Posted by Hank at September 25, 2005 05:50 AMSeptember 23, 2005 -- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (and Dumpers). Under obvious pressure from FEMA, the state of Louisiana contracted with a Texas firm, Kenyon International (a subsidiary of Services Corporation International), to collect and properly arrange for the burial of the bodies of victims of Hurricane Katrina. Kenyon, a firm charged with illegal body dumping and which was tied politically to both George W. Bush and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales when Bush was Governor and Gonzales was his counsel, now stands to receive similar contracts to improperly dump the bodies of victims (we earnestly hope there will not be any) from Hurricane Rita.
From an informed source in St. Tammany Parish and the city of Slidell comes this revelation: A week after Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, small planes from around the country began delivering food, water, and medical supplies to outlying parishes in Louisiana and counties in Mississippi. However, according to the source, St. Tammany Parish made a startling request to one of the pilots: the parish needed well over 5000 body bags. Another reliable source has reported the death count in Slidell was much higher than has been reported.
The controversy over the wild swings in body counts from Katrina are viewed by many on the Gulf Coast as an attempt by the White House to limit the overall death count to a level manageable by spinmeisters like Karl Rove and Karen Hughes. And speaking of spin, ABC ran a disclaimer on the season premier of its series, "Invasion," Wednesday night. The series is about the "snatching" of bodies (not by Republican-connected funeral companies from Texas but by other-worldy elements) after a strong hurricane ravages southern Florida. Its uncertain why the network ran the disclaimer. Was it to clam nerves following Katrina and prior to Rita or an attempt to focus attention away from the "body snatching" aspect of the show.
Dennis,
His base is the same base all republicans enjoy. He is the Walmart shopping, NASCAR loving, pickup truck driving, shotgun toting, confederate flag waving, Bass fishing, misinformed, undereducated, inbread, racist, never been outside of the state a$$hole.
Posted by The Truth at September 25, 2005 06:09 AMStop the presses! Juan Cole has finally come around to the get out of Iraq ASAP camp. As he and Billmon eloquently argue, it's a matter of the survival of our American society and especially, our values. Billmon is so pissed at the vacuous cheering of pornographic images of violence at the online porn site exposed in an article in The Nation that he rightly concludes that large portions of the population are seriously capable of supporting egregious violence against any identified "enemies" and quite capable of countenancing any erosion of American civil rights.
I have been arguing for a long time that the professional soldier "class" that been created, which is increasingly isolated from, and made hostile to, normal society, through the constant exposure to right-wing radio and evangelical "christian"(dominionist) propoganda in the military academies and every day life, is a very real danger to society.
I've never been in the military and can only observe it from an outside perspective, although my brother is a retired Navy Commander and avid fan of Michael "Savage" Weiner. But let's face it. The indoctrination of basic training and military life in general, resembles typical cult practices. They are taught to obey "superior's" orders without hesitation, to depend on each other for sheer survival and dissent is considered verging on treason. How many times have we heard from veterans who go back to war because, " they have to support/protect" their buddies. They are trained to feel apart from society as a whole and yet part of a desperately interdependent group.
I was very disturbed by reports of the performance of the 82nd Airborne and other troops in "relief" efforts in NO. Besides pointing their guns at everyone, with the apparent expectation that armed conflict was always imminent, the one soldier who famously threatened journalists seemed comfortable in the company of a xenophobic, racist "coroner" who described the danger of the "cockroaches" who "will kill you". The Airborne elites have also recently been exposed as participating in prisoner abuse, "we kept it down to breaking arme and legs". The spectacle of Abu Ghraib and the widespread extraordinary renditions does not make me confident in the charcter of our current military.
After 2 or 3 tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, reflexes and attitudes can develop which can lead to a propensity for homicide and an attitude of us versus them. Both Billmon and Juan Cole seem to be arguing this danger.
I would submit that it is no longer possible to argue morality abut whether we have an obligation to stay and "fix" things in Iraq. Juan Cole's post also points out the other problem I've been posting about. As long as the same clueless fucks who started this debacle are still in power, they aren't suddenly going to be capable of learning from their mistakes. Rummy has driven most of the capable General staff, those who actually learned something from Viet Nam, out the door and replaced them with a Clown War College of courtiers and sycophants. They will continue stumbling through a string of new Fallujahs and Tal Afars, outraging the entire world and making the US an object of loathing.
Ultimately, we will be kicked out, but how many will die before that happens? The future of civil society in our country is in dire danger. As a matter of self-preservation, we can't argue that we must take the responsible position when those in control of events have demonstrated complete and utter irresponsibility. WE have no viable options to make things better in Iraq, no matter what our responsibliity and morality suggests. We must instead work to stop the coarsening of our increasingly sub-standard military and get them out of war zones where every day, war crimes are being committed. Our constitutional society will not survive any more of "staying the course".
(Responding to 5:58 AM)
This is precisely why BushCo does not want an independent investigation of the preparation for and aftermath of Katrina.
Looks like Hurricane Rita has fizzled out to becoming a tropical storm, leaving a fraction of the death and destruction of that of Hurricane Katrina in its wake. The press is busy working with the adminstration, though, putting both storms in the same basket to clean up George's image. Forget about the huge mess and over 1,000 dead from Katrina, look what they have done right with Rita. Faux News is blasting away, suggesting that Louisiana would have been preventable if the local officials had been as well organized as the republican officials over in Texas.
I thought Bush, running out to Colorado for a photo op with Chertoff in the disaster center, looked pretty good. I noticed that all of the "suits" around the center had taken off their ties and rolled up the sleeves of their blue and white dress shirts to reflect on the "hard work" junior was doing.
I wouldn't be surprised that Rita, while devestating to many citizens, will certainly be a blessing to at least one citizen and help with his poll numbers.
Posted by Hank at September 25, 2005 06:39 AM"The winds of Katrina has shifted this Country to the left." Tom Friedman
Posted by Judith at September 25, 2005 07:20 AMCookie Monster, I posted the body count article. I agree that the actual count will never be known for various reasons, including the hiding of actual numbers. Even the dead are subject to politics.
DeminNewJ, good post.
Posted by Judith at September 25, 2005 07:25 AMas a matter of fact ..the wheels have stopped...and they have fallen off the bush presidency....al gore come get whats yours..and always has been
Posted by dennis at September 25, 2005 07:49 AMgore/dean..in 2008..it's coming
Posted by dennis at September 25, 2005 07:54 AMCindy Sheehan had some harsh words for Hillary. She wants Hillary to stop playing it safe and come out against the War. Problem for Hillary, you have to have a plan before you come out against it.
Posted by Judith at September 25, 2005 08:23 AMi have been exstremely disappointed in hillary clinton for not speaking out more against the war..especially at this point..it's time.....and judith i disagree..i don't think you need a plan to say we have to do something different..something in the interest of the american people...
Posted by dennis at September 25, 2005 08:48 AMgore/dean..in 2008..it's coming
That would work. I also like the idea of Gore/Clark.
Posted by Jim Faith at September 25, 2005 09:13 AMOpen message to Hillary: Don't Run
The country needs a leader who cares about it's issues more than her own personal ambition. Your time is past - thanks to your inaction on too many important votes.
Remain as New York Senator for as long as they will have you. Stay there - for the good of the country. By doing so, you can recognize that you have already attained a historical status, and your ego has a significant achievment to settle on: first First Lady to win office on her own.
Posted by pessimist at September 25, 2005 10:48 AMThank you pessimist, you've put my thoughts about Hillary into words.
i'm surprised you don't support john edwards more.
Posted by muckdog at September 25, 2005 12:28 PMi like john edwards..i think he was viewed by many to have been to inexperienced last time around and leaving politics i don't believe will help him on that count..but he well be a factor..he is a great campaigner...i believe the nominee will be someone who was against this war of choice..
Posted by dennis at September 25, 2005 12:39 PMAs a former North Carolinian, I've always voted for John Edwards in every primary and general election that I could, twice in '98 and twice again in '04. If givin the chance, I will do it again.
Posted by rlp at September 25, 2005 02:34 PMMore Reflections on a Possible Gore Presidential Run
I'd vote early (and often?) if he was on the ballot!
Hank -- at least from my reading of the locals I know (both friends and family, left and right) w is not getting a bounce from our area, nor for that matter are the senators (Kay and the idiot). As far as local reps go, Ted Poe and Sheila were all over the gas thing early -- DeLay was predictably partisan and useless.
I supported Edwards and still do. I think that the attempts by the Rove machine to paint him into a corner based on his profession didn't work. He and his wife have genuine credibility and he certainly has the "it" factor for those who are attracted to that sort of thing.
Perhaps because he hasn't been a part of a government that is tanking may work in his favor. Also thanks muck for reminding me that just thinking about something is not enough. I'm gonna go check out Edward's web site (I'm sure he has one even now). Also, I'm still interested in the governor trend and offer up Richardson of NM as a possibility.
Lastly, I'll chime in on what pessimist and rlp stated -- please don't run Hills. While I'd love to see a woman in the WH, she's not the one. I have had more than enough of the family thing.
Posted by dorita at September 25, 2005 03:32 PM"Lastly, I'll chime in on what pessimist and rlp stated -- please don't run Hills. While I'd love to see a woman in the WH, she's not the one. I have had more than enough of the family thing."
Dorita, ditto.
Posted by Judith at September 25, 2005 05:34 PMHillary would probably be a good president (Homer would be a staggering improvement over dorkbrain), but she would simpy divide the country again. There is not an ice cube's chance in NOLA that any red stater would stand behind her if she were elected president. The next president has to be someone who all Americans can respect and support, which naturally means they cannot be a politician. Any non-pol nominations?
Posted by tempus at September 25, 2005 07:03 PM