Mark in Mexico on Hamdan v. Rumsfeld

By popular demand, I am forced to comment on the Supreme Court's decision in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld. I hated it. That being said, I also am fully aware that I am in no position to argue about it one way or another. My general observations are these:

1. Chief Justice Roberts was not a part of the decision. He was forced to recuse himself since the case before the Supreme Court was an appeal of his ruling as the appellate court judge. Had he participated, at worst the decisions would have been 5-4, and possibly might even have gone 5-4 the other way had he been able to convince one of the ultimate majority over to his way of thinking.

Now, when the Supremes issue a 5-4 ruling that is considered conservative in nature, tens of thousands of liberal-lefties scream

"NARROWLY DIVIDED COURT!!!!"

When, however, the 5-4 decision (which is what this really was) is considered liberal in nature, especially when it goes against the Bush administration, the same horde of liberal-lefties scream,

"BUSH (or fill in blank) BLASTED BY SUPREME COURT!!!!"

That is, not to put too fine a point on it, a load of crap.

2. The experienced and educated (and there are very few) commenters seem to remark on two points: A. The decision seems more important for what it did not say than for what it did say, and: B. Not all of the majority justices joined the rest in all points of the majority's written decision, raising the question of a 4-4 tie in those parts of the decision which further raises the question of whether that part of the majority's decision carries the force of law (Got that? . . . Good, cause I don't). To further shock and awe you, not all of the dissenting justices agreed in all parts of the dissent. If these experienced and educated constitutional lawyers don't know, then how am I or 99.9999% of all the other reporters, pundits, columnists and editorial writers supposed to know? Answer: We're not.

3. Of the vast trove of opinions and punditry and editorials and columns, ad infinitum, ad nauseam swirling around the TV news channels, the print media and the blogosphere, 99.9999% of those columnists, opinion writers, editorialists, pundits and bloggers, on both the left and the right, don't know what the hell they're talking about, including yours truly. Still, they have a right to those opinions.

The problem here is finding someone who actually has at least a vague idea of what really happened in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld and what it all means. So, one must skate around trying to find the not-too-biased, educated-in-law and experienced-in-Constitutional-law "expert(s)" for an educated opinion/guess as to what the heck happened. A kind of a "Who Do You Trust" exercise.

Here are some places that you can go and read what they say. You can check out their resumes so that you may have some idea whether they know of what they speak.

Mark Moller at Cato@Liberty, writing Hamdan v. Rumsfeld: A (Tentative) Guide for the Perplexed


The SCOTUSblog, where different contributors to the blog don't agree with one another.

The Volokh Conspiracy with several contributors, all law professors at UCLA, of whom Professor Orin Kerr is not only a contributor, but also has his own blog.

These do not constitute a plethora of learned opinion because there is no plethora extant. For the remaining 99.9999% of the dummies, such as your truly, I like Professor Bainbridge's observation on one of them.

As for me, the Bull Moose (who disagrees with the court's findings) probably says it best:

That was the response the Moose had to the Supreme Court's Hamdan decision. It was quite remarkable. In America, extraordinary rights are accorded even to our enemies who would use all means necessary to kill us and our families. How many countries in the history of civilization would give these rights to killers who refuse to abide by the rules of war and who don't exactly adhere to international treaties?

(and)

We are once again reminded that our nation has no equal in human history in our commitment to human decency and law. And whether one believes that the Court ruling was right or wrong, we can all concur that American exceptionalism was once again affirmed.

What a country! God Bless America.

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TAGS: Hamdan v. Rumsfeld

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Russian anti-Semite, finds father's grave in Israel

Vladimir Zhirinovsky, virulent Russian nationalist politician and anti-Semite:

"Russia always has an adversary, today these are the United States, NATO, China, and Turkey."

"You are standing in our way to the seaports." (threatening Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania)

"You say that Congress is 'Israeli-occupied territory.' We have the same situation in Russia. So, to survive, we could set aside places on U.S. and Russian territory to deport this small but troublesome tribe." (letter to Pat Buchanan endorsing Buchanan for president in 1996)

"I thought you were really defending the interests of your nation. And you've turned out to be just like Clinton and other corrupt politicians, moved by greed and vanity, not by love for the fatherland. You filled your pants as soon as you got my congratulations. Who are you afraid of? Zionists? (follow-up letter to Buchanan when Buchanan rejected Zhirinovsky's endorsement)

"Condoleezza Rice needs a company of soldiers. She needs to be taken to barracks where she would be satisfied." (responding to Rice's criticisms of Russian foreign policy)

"Where's that bastard?" (after being punched out by diminutive fellow Duma member Andrei Savelyev when a brawl broke out between them in the Russian parliament)

"We can put an end to this perversion, this influence of the Western civilization. (suggesting that all homosexuals be executed)

"Me? No way. That is just a slander. My mother was Russian and so was my father. You people cannot deal with my worldview, so you pry and search my past and my private life. I pose a challenge to everyone: Find documents in your archives and show me." (when asked about his rumored Jewish heritage)

He regards the Russian philosopher Ivan Ilyin as his ideological and spiritual mentor. (Ilyin is famous for his profound observation: "No matter where you go, there you are.")

"The essence of the conflict around the Jewish people is that when their number grows too much in some country, war breaks out there. That happened in Germany where there were too many Jews.

You will always find Jews where war is raging, because they realize that money flows where blood is spilled."

Finally, three years ago, after being presented with irrefutable evidence that his father was Jewish, Zhirinovsky changed his tone.

Oops!

"We waited for permission to organize a protest against the transfer of the Jewish people from Gaza Strip. During this protest I made a lengthy speech about the fate of the Jews, and how they are being tormented.

This people has undergone the gas chambers, expulsions, as well as the institutional anti-Semitism of the Soviet Union, when Jews were not accepted into the universities and official posts and returns to the motherland of its ancestors. So how much can they be tormented?"

Tell me once and for all: where it is possible to live in order not to live through another deportation?

We are talking of the people that wandered in different countries for over two thousand years. And it is the wisest and the most talented of all people in the world.

They (Russian and European politicians) will let this country (Israel) perish, only to make sure that the Muslims keep silent. I am against the escalation in the Middle East, and I stand for peace in Palestine. But the Palestinians can live in Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq; there are enough places. So why is it necessary to throw the Jews out of this narrow strip of land, in order to populate it with the Palestinians?" (answering a reporter's questions at a protest in Moscow against Ariel Sharon's decision to abandon the Gaza Strip)

He also set out on a 3 year search to find his father or his burial place. That search came to an end just a few days ago.

"For my whole life I searched for my father. I didn't know what happened to him. I sent requests to the Red Cross, asking them to locate my father. I tried to look for him in Western Europe and I even contacted people in the United States. But in vain. The only place I didn't try, for some reason, was Israel." (speaking to a reporter in Tel Aviv)

"Inform the Jewish people that if I am elected president or if I am in the government, you in Israel will have no problems, not with Iran's nuclear program and not with the Hamas terrorists. I will know how to deal with them. After all, my father is buried here, in your soil."

"I looked for you all over the world. In Russia, in Poland, in Ukraine, in America. And now I have found you in Israel. I was assisted by diplomats, by journalists and by friends." (caressing his father's headstone in the Holon cemetery outside Tel Aviv)

He lays his hands on the stone and caresses it. Then he uses one hand to pick up a large handful of the sand that cradles the grave and pours it into the sweat-soaked handkerchief and ties its ends slowly. He orders the bodyguard to safeguard the handkerchief.

"I will keep it in my apartment in Moscow until the day I die."

Sources: Indiana University; Wikipedia; Associated Press; Panorama; Global Challenges Research; National Vanguard; Haaretz

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TAGS: Vladimir Zhirinovsky, anti-Semite, Jew, Oops!

Dick Gregory to starve himself to death!

I was just nosing around Memeorandum and saw this which caused my eyes to immediately glaze over:

michaelmoore.com:
Must Read - Troops Home Fast - GSFP and Code Pink...
GSFP and Code Pink are sponsoring a hunger strike for peace which begins July 04, called Troops Home Fast Some of us like Dick Gregory and Diane Wilson will be fasting until the troops come home from Iraq, and some, like me, will be fasting for a specified time.
Discussion: AfterDowningStreet.org and Right Angle Blog

I thought, "Michael Moore, one of the world's most despicable fatasses, is going on a fast? Until the troops come home? Great!" Then I followed the link, quivering in anticipation and saw that this was a message from Cindy Sheehan, not Michael the Hippo. She says that Dick Gregory will be fasting from July 4 until the troops come home from Iraq. Take a look at this latest photo of Dick Gregory and tell me how long you think he can survive? My bet is 9 weeks, max. Hell, he looks already dead to me -- like no one has told him yet.Dick Gregory -- almost dead already.

Now, Cindy says she will fast from July 4 until September 4, only 2 months. I guess she just wants to shave off 20 pounds or so.Cindy Sheehan berates Bush.

Oops! Looks like Mark in Mexico was ahead of the news cycle once again. That's not Cindy Sheehan. This is Cindy. The one on the left.Cindy Sheehan sucks up to Hugo "The Huge" Chavez

As far as Michael Moore is concerned, I'll let a couple of representatives of the United States Marine Corps spell it out for you.
My sentiments, exactly.

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TAGS: Dick Gregory, Cindy Sheehan, Michael Moore, weight loss program

Israel got game!

This is a stunning news bulletin. The Israeli Air Force sent 4 warplanes to buzz the house of Syria's president Bashar Assad -- and he was home at the time! I don't know how many of you have ever been beneath a fighter jet as it flew over at low altitude but I can assure you that you will know that it means business. The noise from the engines is ear-splitting -- painful. The windows vibrate and the doors rattle. And 4 of them just makes it 4 times worse, or 4 times as long, however you want to look at it.

To further heighten Assad's anxiety, he has several residences. This one was a getaway in the Syrian port city of Latakia on the Mediterranean. And the Israelis knew just where he was and just when he would be home.

Question: Doesn't the Syrian military have an air force? Radar? Pilots? What, no jet fuel? No air in the tires? Batteries low? No boo-lits?

What a message! "If we want you dead, you will be dead, dead, dead. That is all."



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TAGS: Israel, chutzpah, Syria, shitzpah

Ann Coulter on John Kerry

No matter what pose he’s in, no matter what he’s wearing, he is always
dorkus erectus.

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TAGS: Ann Coulter, John Kerry, liberals are like my pets

Byron York with Tom Kean

I think it's over. Terrorists read the newspapers. Once the program became known, then obviously the terrorists were not going to use these methods any more.

9/11 Commission co-chairman Tom Kean to Byron York on the New York Times exposure of the SWIFT program to monitor and track terrorists' money moving.

Kean not only met face-to-face with New York Times executivee editor Bill Keller to try to stop the Times' exposure of the top secret program, but also made an 11th hour phone call to the Times in a desperate, last ditch effort to stop the publication. These efforts were referred to by Keller as "half-hearted".

The Times, Bill Keller, Pug (Paunch, Patsy, whatever) and the rest don't care how many of us die so long as George Bush can be embarrassed and Pug (Paunch, Patsy, whatever) can hang onto his job in the face of crashing ad revenues, plunging copy sales and sinking stock value. As they say, read it all.

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TAGS: New York Times, loose lips sink ships

Do you know anyone like this?

I've been sitting on this (heh heh) for a couple of days and I just have to share it with someone. It's a video of two brothers on a golf course. One brother is successful and the other is a wannabe who asks his older brother for some advice. WARNING: Some graphic language and some disgusting advice.

But it is hilarious.

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TAGS: how to succeed in business by being really trying

Treasury Secretary Snow calls Bill Keller a liar

From The Corner:

Mr. Bill Keller, Managing Editor
The New York Times
229 West 43rd Street
New York, NY 10036

Dear Mr. Keller:

The New York Times' decision to disclose the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program, a robust and classified effort to map terrorist networks through the use of financial data, was irresponsible and harmful to the security of Americans and freedom-loving people worldwide. In choosing to expose this program, despite repeated pleas from high-level officials on both sides of the aisle, including myself, the Times undermined a highly successful counter-terrorism program and alerted terrorists to the methods and sources used to track their money trails.

Your charge that our efforts to convince The New York Times not to publish were "half-hearted" is incorrect and offensive. Nothing could be further from the truth. Over the past two months, Treasury has engaged in a vigorous dialogue with the Times - from the reporters writing the story to the D.C. Bureau Chief and all the way up to you. It should also be noted that the co-chairmen of the bipartisan 9-11 Commission, Governor Tom Kean and Congressman Lee Hamilton, met in person or placed calls to the very highest levels of the Times urging the paper not to publish the story. Members of Congress, senior U.S. Government officials and well-respected legal authorities from both sides of the aisle also asked the paper not to publish or supported the legality and validity of the program.

Indeed, I invited you to my office for the explicit purpose of talking you out of publishing this story. And there was nothing "half-hearted" about that effort. I told you about the true value of the program in defeating terrorism and sought to impress upon you the harm that would occur from its disclosure. I stressed that the program is grounded on solid legal footing, had many built-in safeguards, and has been extremely valuable in the war against terror. Additionally, Treasury Under Secretary Stuart Levey met with the reporters and your senior editors to answer countless questions, laying out the legal framework and diligently outlining the multiple safeguards and protections that are in place.

You have defended your decision to compromise this program by asserting that "terror financiers know" our methods for tracking their funds and have already moved to other methods to send money. The fact that your editors believe themselves to be qualified to assess how terrorists are moving money betrays a breathtaking arrogance and a deep misunderstanding of this program and how it works. While terrorists are relying more heavily than before on cumbersome methods to move money, such as cash couriers, we have continued to see them using the formal financial system, which has made this particular program incredibly valuable.

Lastly, justifying this disclosure by citing the "public interest" in knowing information about this program means the paper has given itself free license to expose any covert activity that it happens to learn of - even those that are legally grounded, responsibly administered, independently overseen, and highly effective. Indeed, you have done so here.

What you've seemed to overlook is that it is also a matter of public interest that we use all means available - lawfully and responsibly - to help protect the American people from the deadly threats of terrorists. I am deeply disappointed in the New York Times.

Sincerely,

[signed]

John W. Snow, Secretary

U.S. Department of the Treasury

Well, unlike more plainspoken folk, such as yours truly, Secretary Snow actually said, "incorrect and offensive", adding that the position taken by Keller and his newspaper "betrays a breathtaking arrogance and a deep misunderstanding" . . .

Most of this has to do with Keller's assertion in his letter of yesterday where he claimed that the administration's attempts to stop the newspaper from publishing details of this highly classified program were "half-hearted". Snow's characterization of "half-hearted" is: . . .

repeated pleas from high-level officials on both sides of the aisle, including myself . . .

(and)

. . . vigorous dialogue with the Times - from the reporters writing the story to the D.C. Bureau Chief and all the way up to you.

(and)

. . . co-chairmen of the bipartisan 9-11 Commission, Governor Tom Kean and Congressman Lee Hamilton, met in person or placed calls to the very highest levels of the Times urging the paper not to publish the story.

(and)

Members of Congress, senior U.S. Government officials and well-respected legal authorities from both sides of the aisle also asked the paper not to publish . . .

(and)

Indeed, I invited you to my office for the explicit purpose of talking you out of publishing this story. And there was nothing "half-hearted" about that effort. I told you about the true value of the program in defeating terrorism and sought to impress upon you the harm that would occur from its disclosure. I stressed that the program is grounded on solid legal footing, had many built-in safeguards, and has been extremely valuable in the war against terror.

(and)

Additionally, Treasury Under Secretary Stuart Levey met with the reporters and your senior editors to answer countless questions, laying out the legal framework and diligently outlining the multiple safeguards and protections that are in place.

So, who's lying, here? I know where I place my bet. How about you?


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TAGS: Treasury Secretary John Snow, Bill Keller, New York Times

Tony Snow: the right guy in the right place at the right time

You know, here's the thing about military plans:
You don't disclose them.

Tony Snow, to the White House Press Gaggle, June 26, 2005


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TAGS: Tony Snow, White House Press Corps, morons

New York Times editor Bill Keller's letter

Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, has written a letter to its readers and those who have corresponded with that newspaper about its revealing of the secret SWIFT monitoring program. You may find the letter here.

I have not read the letter in its entirety. I read only four (4) sentences.

Sentence number four in the second paragraph of Bill Keller's letter:

(I could ask, if that's the case, why they are drawing so much attention to the story themselves by yelling about it on the airwaves and the Internet.)

I stopped right there. What a ridiculous, self-serving and hypocritical thing to say. The New York Times strokes itself as "the paper of record" and then blames others for the publicity which the Times itself has generated. And the sentence has not only set the tone for the remainder of his letter but is also the letter's summary. Doesn't one usually leave the summary for last? However, Keller did us a favor, I suppose, by stating the summary so early so that we might put down his missive immediately and go on to other things.

Hugh Hewitt, who read it all, comments on the above:

The very first thing Mr. Keller does is suggest that "conservative bloggers and TV or radio pundits" are behind the uproar. This is not responsive at all to any of the many criticisms of the decision to publish, and the parenthetical aside is absurd --does he really think that the story is more publicized among terrorists because critics react to it? He must believe the terrorists to be very stupid indeed, but in so arguing reveals himself to be ignorant of the very sophisticated internet tacticians among the jihadists.

Don Surber:

Rather than give a reasoned and calm reply, Keller played politics, citing "the angry words of conservative bloggers and TV or radio pundits" and engaging in parenthetical well-so-are-you playground games:

Ace of Spades:

Bill Keller offers up a gassy melange of generalities and bromides to justify his treason.

Here's a question. If the press is indeed the Fourth Estate of government, as they ceaselessly tell us they are, why do they not make themselves available for tough questioning as do all other branches of government? (Well, okay, except the judiciary.)

Wizbang could have saved me even the short time I spent reading only the first four sentences:

Dear Reader:
1) We have no reason to believe the program was illegal in any way.

2) We have every reason to believe it was effective at catching terrorists.

3) We ran the story anyway, screw you.

Bill Keller

Political Musings:

Their (sic) was no compelling interest in the Times’ publication of this story other than to sell papers and stick a finger in the eye of the administration. The story didn’t even attempt to make an argument that there was anything illegal or even questionable in the SWIFT monitoring.

The Times has chosen sides in the war. Sad to say it isn’t ours.

Gaius:

Because, Mr. Kellor, you and your newspaper already shouted the story from the rooftops. What little we add to the cacophony you have produced is minor.

If anything it gets even more sanctimonious and self serving from there. This is elitist lecturing at it's worst. And it explains nothing. Not one bit of useful information as to why Billy and Pinch thought a good, useful, effective and legal program should be exposed and ruined.

Dan Riehl read the whole thing:

Keller is simply spinning the issues to his liking. The core issue is and has always been tipping off terrorists to a program which even the Times is forced to admit works, and is legal.

Barry Ready:

Why are we drawing so much attention to the story? Because he published it after being informed that doing so would threaten our National security. It boils my blood that this idiot tries to shift the blame to others before he even finishes the second paragraph. How stupid does he think we are?

Here's a scoop for you Bill: If you had kept your trap shut, we wouldn't even be having this discussion now! What a moron!

The Squiggler:

Mr. Keller, some of us become very offended when we are patronized, lied to, and generally treated as fools, especially when it is a true fool trying to play God.

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TAGS: Bill Keller, New York Times

Warren Buffett to give away fortune to foundations

Warren Buffett, billionaire director of Berkshire Hathaway, has announced his intention to give away his 42 billion dollar (that's forty two comma naught-naught-naught comma naught-naught-naught comma naught-naught-naught E pluribus unims) to various foundations. Mark in Mexico has respectfully requested that his own foundation be considered for some of this largesse.

The Mark in Mexico Todo4Mio Foundation is pictured on your left. No, your other left, you moron. This foundation's major goal is to be eventually completed.

Buffett will begin giving away his Class B Berkshire stock next year. Class B Berkshire stock is trading at $3,071 per share. Ahem. He will also have to eventually convert some of his Class A stock in order to complete his pledged gifts. Class A Berkshire stock is currently trading at $92,100 per share. Ahem, twice.


Pictured here is the artists conception of the foundation after it is completed, if ever. Mr. Buffett has announced that he will begin transferring 5% of the Class B stock, now valued at $37 billion, next year. Since there are 5 foundations involved and Todo4Mio fully expects to be included, that means that I, or rather, my foundation can expect to receive 5% of 20% of $37 billion next year. That would be, um, point two, times point naught five, times, ummm, naught naught naught, ah, $$$37,000,000$$$ dollars United States coin of the realm.

This should come as great news to all my fellow bloggers which is why I am so happy to share it with you. I will soon be able to visit the website of each and every one of you and leave behind a generous $5 in your tip jar.




After the completion of the foundation's goal, which is its eventual completion, if ever, you all will be welcome to come for a visit. Please remember to bring an outdated Sears Roebuck catalog with you when you drop by.

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TAGS: Warren Buffett, really rich guy

Markos Moulitsas Zuñiga shall endeavor to persevere.

"They can praise us, they can trash us, they can ignore us, and ultimately none of that will matter as long as we keep doing what we've been doing."

Which is, er, losing, I think.


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TAGS: Markos Moulitsas Zuñiga, 0-20, Chief Dan George, The Outlaw Josie Wales

Indict the New York Times? I don't think so.

William Lalor of Citizen Journal writes in The American Thinker: Attorney General Gonzales: Indict the New York Times. I don't think that's the way to go. I fear that a toe-to-toe slugfest between the federal government and various Times and Journals will sway too much public opinion over to the side of the news outlets. Call it a sympathy vote, if you will.

I think that what is happening now all over the country in other news and opinion venues, the blogosphere and, indeed, by Mr. Lalor himself, will do more long term good that a messy constitutional confrontation. The outraged commenters, the letters to the editors of the offending (or should I say, "offensive") outlets, the canceling of newspaper subscriptions, contacting advertisers and boycotting their products and the perhaps tongue-in-cheek responses are most appropriate at this time.

What a glad day it would be if sinking revenues forced Pug (Plug? Paunch? Whatever.) Sulzberger out at the NYT. Would there be applause if there were to be another major shakeup of the editorial staff at the LAT? All of those things can and most assuredly will happen if those newspapers' add revenues and copy sales continue to sink like the Bismarck. But nothing will shake those venerable institutions to their very foundations like another Republican win (or better, survival) in the upcoming mid-terms and then again in 2008.

What needs to happen, IMHO, is a continuation of the pressure that we are bringing to bear on those news outlets. Everyone from Tony Snow to President Bush and everybody in between should be taking to the airwaves to denounce this latest blow to our nation's fight against worldwide terrorism. We should see, indeed, almost daily, one expert or another marching before the microphones to detail as exactly as possible the damage being done to the country's intelligence gathering operations by these unpatriotic disclosures.

Now, another thought is that the government could say that, while the behavior of the news outlets is most reprehensible and damaging, laws have been broken by government employees and the administration could use the courts to force the newspapers to reveal their sources. There are real dangers here, also. If the reporters chose to be jailed rather than reveal their sources, the public's sympathy factor might again weigh in. The government would be taking a daily pounding from many MSM outlets, print and electronic, for every day that the battle went on. Of course, the administration takes a pretty good daily pounding, anyway, so the attitude might be, "What's to lose?"

If the government wants to take action, I think it has to be against the leakers themselves and not directly against the newspapers. Of course, taking action against the leakers will put the newspapers squarely in the crosshairs of federal judges who already have shown that they are not going to buy this press privilege business. I remember, accurately I think, the words of U.S. Attorney Wilfred Brimley in "Absence of Malice" when a smartass lawyer for a newspaper claimed the "right" of press privilege: "You ain't got that right, counseler, 'cause that right don't exist."

It's a tough call for the administration but I think that pursuing the newspapers themselves is just not a prudent thing to do. After a long dry spell Mr. Bush is finally beginning to draw some cards and I don't think it's the right time -- yet -- to bet all his chips. Besides, I don't think he has to.

New York Times Class A stock since June, 2001

That is all.

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TAGS: New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal

Mark in Mexico to supply pirated L.A.Times

Patterico cancels his L.A.Times subscription. Rod Danziger does likewise. Mark in Mexico has leaped into the breach.

I will now be supplying Patterico, Danziger and any others who wish a pirated version of the L.A. Times. Here in Mexico I can visit just about any market or major shopping area and buy pirated versions of just about anything. New York Yankee baseball caps in the distinctive Yankee red and white, University of Michigan sweaters in that institution's famous burgundy and silver, Pittsburgh Steelers' sweatshirts in the awesome green and gold etc. I have now located a source for pirated L.A. Times dailies.

A blogger who insists upon anonimity has already asked, "What will you charge for this service?"
"Five per week," I responded.
"Five dollars?", he queried.
"No, five cents," said I.
"Done."

Here's what your 5 cents (5 Lincoln pennies or 1 buffalo head nickel) will buy!


Roger Simon says that soon the L.A. Times will be giving away the newspaper, anyway. That would put my newly found gold mine out of business. But that's ok. I've already identified another market for pirated goods to replace my L.A. Times racket. Pirated Enron stock certificates. Man, do these things ever look real. The North Korean government forgers must be eating their hearts out over this one.

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TAGS: L.A. Times, Los Angeles Times, LAT, piracy

Jimzawi to the rescue

Jimzawi To The Rescue
Jimzawi to the rescue
Jimzawi to the rescue
Jimzawi to the rescue
Go, Jimzawi
Go, Jimzawi

Jimzawi on a mountain top
30,000 feet to drop
His lady's on her way to old Jericho
A MySpace queen that's rarin' to go
Jimzawi to the rescue
Go, Jimzawi
Go, Jimzawi

Jimzawi met a girl named Kate
She was hot and wanted a date
Jimzawi he's the kind of guy
Never liked to see a Christian girl cry
Jimzawi to the rescue
Go, Jimzawi
Go, Jimzawi

Jimzawi to the rescue
Jimzawi to the rescue
Jimzawi to the rescue
Go, Jimzawi
Go, Jimzawi

(musical interlude and you can go barf, if you like)

Jimzawi wears a rag on his head
Got a message from old Moo-hah-med
Said, "Seventeen years is much too old
Try one at nine, ya gotta be bold!"
Jimzawi to the rescue
Go, Jimzawi
Go, Jimzawi

Jimzawi wanted to marry her
Proving to all that he weren't no cur
Jimzawi couldn't leave the West Bank
He might get squashed by an Israeli tank
Jimzawi to the rescue
Go, Jimzawi
Go, Jimzawi

Go, go, go Jimzawi
Go, go, go Jimzawi
Go, go, go Jimzawi
Go on, Jimzawi
Jimzawi, go
Apologies to Laverne Baker

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TAGS: Abdullah Jimzawi, Katherine Lester

Washington Post says attack North Korea-- Holy Jeezus!

Holy Jeezus, Holy Jeezus. The Washington Post says that we must strike North Korea. Immediately. Like, uh, RIGHT NOW! Not only strike them, but destroy them (well, their rocket -- but we can probably kill a good many of the sneaking, lying little bastards, too). Wow!

Should the United States allow a country openly hostile to it and armed with nuclear weapons to perfect an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of delivering nuclear weapons to U.S. soil? We believe not.

And more:

But intervening before mortal threats to U.S. security can develop is surely a prudent policy.

Therefore, if North Korea persists in its launch preparations, the United States should immediately make clear its intention to strike and destroy the North Korean Taepodong missile before it can be launched.

The WaPo then kind of ruins the effect by delving deeply into military tactics and weaponry about which it no doubt knows a hell of lot less than it would like its readers to imagine. But then, nobody's perfect. This was a bit af a hoot, however:

The Bush administration has unwisely ballyhooed the doctrine of "preemption," which all previous presidents have sustained as an option rather than a dogma.

What that means, in MSM-speak, is that the Bush administration actually did what past administrations had only threatened to do. And that, according to The Washington Post, makes it a dogma rather than an, er, option. I guess that in the minds of the WaPo writers and editors, its an option if it is never used, a dogma if it is ever implemented. Then, the authors of this shockingly chickenhawk article admit that an attack would be "surely a prudent policy."

I'm so confused -- option -- dogma -- prudent -- Typo-dong. Of course, this article is written by two former Clinton administration officials. Maybe they are just trying to set up George Bush so that he can't possibly win reelection in 2008, let alone 2012 and you can fuggedaboutit in 2016.

Any possibility that one of our cruise missiles could "go astray" and kill that Chia Pet-coiffed, drug dealing, counterfeiting, elevator-shod pimp "Great Maximum Glorified Leader", also? Just askin'.

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TAGS: Washington Post, North Korea, Taepodong

Markos Moulitsas Zuñiga (Daily Kos) in good company

Markos Moulitsas Zuñiga, better known as Kos of the Daily Kos, is coming under increasing suspicion of engaging in a pay-for-play deal where, if Democratic political hacks hire his good buddy Jerome Armstrong, the political hack or his candidate gets Kudos from Kos. Moulitsas Zuñiga has now sent out an email to the not-so-super secret Townhouse Group saying,

My request to you guys is that you ignore this for now. It would make my life easier if we can confine the story.

Now, Moulitsas Zuñiga is beginning to take some heat, not only for the scabby business dealings with the Democrats, but also for his email instructions to his loyal adjuncts and sycophants. While it is not the purpose of this post to excuse the actions of Moulitsas Zuñiga and Armstrong Armstrong, I think it important to note that this request for discretion is not unprecedented.

Markos Moulitsas Zuñiga, when confronted with mounting evidence that he may be just as money-grubbing an entrepreneur as, oh, say, Duke Cunningham, responds, "My request to you guys is that you ignore this for now. It would make my life easier if we can confine the story."


Pontius Pilate, after ordering the obviously unjustified crucifixion of a carpenter from Nazareth named Jesus H. Christ, to his Roman centurians and the Sanhedrin, "My request to you guys is that you ignore this for now. It would make my life easier if we can confine the story. We don't want to do anything that hurts the team."


Mohammed, AKA Muhammed, AKA Muhammad, AKA Mahmet, AKA ha-meshuggah, AKA the false prophet, AKA the Ninth Ditch of the Eighth Circle of Hell, AKA The Prophet, to his slobbering sycophants Kosola, Sterling al-NoLegalSkills and Jean-Paul al-Ready, after it became known that he had taken a 9 year-old girl as his wife and dragged her to his bed, "My request to you guys is that you ignore this for now. It would make my life easier if we can confine the story. But, man, am I ever starved of oxygen."


Genghis Khan to his son, Kublai, after relieving 600,000 Afghans of their property and their lives at Herat, "My request to you guys is that you ignore this for now. It would make my life easier if we can confine the story. We'll just call it the liberation of the citizens of Kosgate."


William Clark Quantrill, After leading the attack on Lawrence, Kansas in 1863 and executing 200 men and boys in front of their families because he had earlier had to flee the town after being charged with horse theft and murder, said to his assistants Jesse James and Bill Anderson, "My request to you guys is that you ignore this for now. It would make my life easier if we can confine the story. I don't want this to be the beginning of the end for a house of cards."


Harry F. Sinclair, after ordering 12 private detectives to shadow the members of the federal jury trying him on bribery charges in the Teapot Dome scandal, told them, "My request to you guys is that you ignore this for now. It would make my life easier if we can confine the story. It's only oil. You know, just pump and dump."


Kurt Waldheim, German SA officer, intelligence officer for General Lohr of German Army Group B, recipient of the Silver Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster from the fascist Ushtasi leader Ante Pavelic (AKA Ante Pavelitch, AKA Anton Pavelitch, AKA Pedro Gonner (Pedro??), whose motto was "kill a third, expel a third and convert a third" (meaning Jews and Gypsies -- 200,000 of them)), and who later became the Secretary General of the United Nations, upon publication of his wartime Nazi past, said, "My request to you guys is that you ignore this for now. It would make my life easier if we can confine the story. Besides, who cares about that pack of nut jobs?"


John Ehrlichman, UCLA, when told that the weasel John Dean might spill the beans, said to the plumbers, "My request to you guys is that you ignore this for now. It would make my life easier if we can confine the story. Our efforts, while not illegal, were merely incredibly dishonest and, well, stupid.


H. R. "Bob" Haldeman, also UCLA, responding to Ehrlichman's request for descretion, added, "My request to you guys is that you ignore this for now. It would make my life easier if we can confine the story. We don't want anyone to think that this activity is in any way illegal, unethical, shady or dishonest."


Kobe Bryant to a young hotel clerk, from behind while zipping his pants, "My request to you is that you ignore this for now. It would make my life easier if we can confine the story. Just act like a good little mindless robot.


(clockwise rom top left) Ken Lay (in handcuffs), Jeff Skilling (testifying), David Duncan (testifying) and Andy Fastow (in handcuffs) issued a joint statement before entering the joint, "My request to you guys is that you ignore this for now. It would make my life easier if we can confine the story. Lots of money is involved, over 30M, and their (sic) are 5 different parties involved in the negotiations."

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TAGS: Markos Moulitsas, Markos Moulitsas Zuñiga, Daily Kos, Jerome Armstrong, KosGate

Democrats -- Party of the Cut-N-Run

Courtesy Iowa Presidential Watch

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TAGS: Democrats, cut-n-run, Iraq

Dan Rather kicked out of CBS after 44 years

Bye.

2 soldiers found dead -- self flagellation commences

The two soldiers captured by the Iraqi terrorists have been found dead in Baghdad. The usual self flagellation begins as expected.

Andrew Sullivan reminds us that he doesn't know squat about the Geneva Conventions:

All we can do apart from searching for them is pray for them. But Rude Pundit has some thoughts about what we'll say if we discover that they have been tortured. Money quote:

What will our government do? What could it do? Could it condemn the actions as not abiding by the Geneva Conventions? Could it call the actions "torture"? Could it demand accountability? Could it demand that the soldiers be treated as POWs? Could it simply say, "Well, we don't do that shit ... anymore"?

No it couldn't. Pray for the safe rescue of the soldiers - and for the president who abandoned Geneva.

Shakespeare's Sister blames it all on us, as expected:

The thing is, I'm willing to bet that we're going to be seeing more stories like this as time goes on. As more news comes out about torture and murder, when we hear stories of "Hadji girl" songs and accountability is either weak or completely ignored, brutality will be met with brutality.

Barbarism met with barbarism. Torture and murder met with torture and murder.

An unwinnable war. An "enemy" that will never be wiped out. No end in sight. No plan.

And another family buries their butchered child.

This one comments on two murdered Americans with:

Cheney woke up from his nap long enough to spew more lies

This one is weeping over the reaping, or so she claims:

And this whirlwind that we have sown . . . well the reaping of it continues to be done on the backs of an awful lot of grunts on the ground and innocent civilians who keep getting caught in the crossfire. And we will continue to reap it for generations to come.

Iraq is a mess. And our soldiers deserve better than to be left hanging out there because the President and his Secretary of Defense decided to do a little experiment about war on the cheap, never mind that the policy was fatally flawed to start with because it was built on lies.

This one can't understand why Americans get angry and blame the murderers instead of Karl Rove:

Instead, there's still a large chunk of the populace that thinks of this as our war, and that reacts to every soldier's death primarily with outrage at the killers, and only then, if at all, with exasperation at the American leaders who sent the soldiers into the killers' paths.

This gambler wants to make a bet on beheading:

Want to bet that these brave soldiers were not only tortured, but also beheaded?

Uh, no. But, thanks, anyway.

This one claims not to be "some raving lunatic, an ideologue, or an idiot," then blames Gateway Pundit.

This one blames John Hinderaker.

This one says we've all been "Dicked":

And what are we now hostage to but a thinking and a continuing set of semantics. Here we face a Long War, but not the one Bush tells us about. We are in the midst of throes some may not see.

Our leaders may be making war, but it is not the war they claim. It is bigger than Iraq, than the Middle-East, than Islam, or than terrorism. It is a war against civilization itself, and it is a war against us - all of us.

But that last chicken gets choked by a Confederate Yankee:

Do you actually read what you type? Do the words resonate in your head at all before you hit the "submit" button?

You somehow have your mind so twisted that you actually think that a war against those who use power drills to torture people, who use suicide bombs to kill schoolchildren, is evil.

Do you honestly think that fighting terrorism and Islamic extremists is "a war against civilization itself?" Obviously you must, as you quote it.

I think that says far more about who you are than you know.

I can answer the Yankee's questions. No. No. Yes.

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TAGS: Iraq, Iraq casualties

Father, son and Holy Spirit.

Mother, Child and Womb
Rock, Redeemer, Friend
They just don't have the same ring to them, do they? Sounds so, er, presbyterian to me.

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TAGS: Presbyterian Church, Holy Trinity, devine Trinity

Striking teachers in Oaxaca getting a bit testy

I made my way to downtown Oaxaca yesterday to check out the striking teachers who have once again ensconced themselves in the city. On my way I took some photos of some of the damage that they have done during their various marches. Let me say that it is not possible to lay all of this at the feet of the teachers. As I commented in an earlier post, every fringe group of lunatics that one can name here in Mexico has arrived and is "participating" in the insurrection.

The Communists, The Anarchists, the Socialists, the EZLN (the insurrectionists in Chiapas), and more groups than I can name are here. So, the damage may or may not have been done by the members of the teachers' union but they will get all the blame.



"Ulises murderer that kills children" says this handiwork painted on the outside wall of a very nice home near the Parque Llano. What everyone here calls the Parque Llano is shown on the maps as Parque Benito Juarez. The government has had someone going around town for the past couple of days painting over the name of the governor, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz (URO). They leave the rest of the lettering legible and just paint over the Governor's name. Hilarious. The walls and windows of homes, businesses and churches have been thusly decorated all over the city.



Just across the street is a beautiful colonial church which was also decorated with "URO this" and "URO that". The church had workers out painting over the grafiti. Some sections of the wall that you see are still in the natural stone and had also been painted with lettering that said "Remember the martyrs of Atenco". Atenco was where a group of campesinos who had sold their land to the federal government for the new Mexico City airport changed their minds and attacked construction workers with machetes. When the police arrived they were beaten back by the "macheteros" in much the same way as the teachers defeated the police here in Oaxaca. Several policemen and macheteros died, hence the "martyr" business. The airport project was canceled. Anyway, I asked the fellow there in the red shirt how he planned to clean the grafiti off of the raw stone and he told me he would have to use a wire brush and solvent.



On the main pedestrian-only promenade that runs from Santo Domingo to the zócalo, the marchers from Friday's "mega-marcha" left many signs like this in their wake. Many of the shops, plazas and museums have wooden doors and were undamaged, at least as far as I could see. The ones with glass doors and windows did not fare so well, however.




This is Santo Domingo and is usually packed with tourists and street venders. Not yesterday. The teachers are not this far north. Their blockades begin about 3 blocks further to the south.




This is as far as you can safely walk down the main promenade towards the zócalo. We are about two blocks away from the city center. We had just been blessed with a torrential downpour which is why there are no teachers armed with clubs blocking the promenade. They are all standing over there on the left, trying to dry themselves out. On the right you see another group folding a tarp that they had quickly strung up to get some protection from the rain. Just before I took this photo, a man was walking down the center of the promenade towards me. I was aiming the camera but I put it down to wait for him to pass. After taking this shot, he accosted me. Words were exchanged. I don't know whether he was angry at the idea of photos in general of if he thought I had snapped his picture. He spoke two words of English, the second of which was ". . . you." He repeated this phrase several times. Notice how many pòliceman you see in the photos. Zip. I walked away.

One block further to the west the teachers had regrouped their blockade. I saw them stopping people trying to pass through their lines and checking their bags and parcels. There were 7 men armed with gigantic Neanderthal type clubs. A real bunch of Ally Oopers. Again, no cops. I tried to maneuver for an angle where I could get a shot without them seeing me but it was just too dangerous. If there had been any police in the area I would have tried it.

The government has announced that there will be a march of state and city employees in support of Governor Ruiz. I doubt that takes place. The newspaper reporter tried to get the government spokesman to give him the time and place of the march but he couldn't.

The teachers and almost all of the news media have been barking about there being 40-50,000 teachers now in the city center. I saw very few people, just a thousand or so, if that many. I see the downtown area blocked about 2 blocks to the north and two blocks to the south, 4 blocks to the east and two blocks to the west. The city center itself consists of three blocks, roughly, so that means the teachers only have about 24 blocks under their control. But believe me, this is only because that's all the personnel they have. They have proven that if they wanted more, they would take it.

Many of the shops and boutiques were open for business and that surprised me. Even the ones with shattered windows and doors were open. I did not attempt to pass through the teachers' lines to see what had become of the zócalo. However, the wife of the owner of the Marquis hotel and restaurant which occupies all of the north side of the zócalo has children attending my sons' school. I saw her this morning and she was in tears at the school. She said she did not know how the family was going to recover all that they had lost. After the initial confrontation Wednesday morning, the teachers counterattacked and regained control of the zócalo. They commandeered a city bus and smashed it into her hotel. She said they had broken into the restaurant also. They had carried off all of the televisions and VCR's from the rooms, paintings and carpets, telephones and computers from the rooms, lobby and offices, tables and chairs from the restaurant, kitchen supplies and equipment, just about everything that was not nailed down. Her families business is destroyed. All that is left is a shell and part of that is heavily damaged.

If you visit and read accounts of what is happening here in IndyMedia or the Narco News Bulletin, you will read that all of this is justified. I would like any one of those cowards sitting on their fat asses in the USA to come down here and stand before this lady and tell her how the loss of her family's business is justified. And for any of you who are business owners, check the fine print for disclaimers about "insurrection" or "rebellion" to see if your insurers would pay you if this happened to your business. Down here they won't.

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TAGS: Oaxaca teacher's strike, Governor Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, Oaxaca, Mexico

Cynthia McKinney not indicted

I don't believe this report. I'm going to reserve final judgment until I get confirmation from Jason Liarbold and Mark Ass.

That's rich. Mark Ass says Truthout is going to "stand down" on its "Karl Rove Indicted" fairy tale but continue to "stand behind" drug-addled reporter Jason Liarbold. I'm confused. I'm having trouble pinpointing Truthout's exact position, even with GPS. Where, exactly, is Truthout? "Stand"-ing down or "stand-ing" behind?

The Truth is that Truthout can't "stand" to find itself "stand"-ing alone in "stand"-ing behind a felonious reporter who can't accept that Karl Rove is a "stand"-up guy and is the last man "stand"-ing. Under-"stand"?

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TAGS: Karl Rove, Valerie Plame, Truthout, Jason Leopold, Mark Ash

Bloody day in Oaxaca, Mexico: Update II: Unbelievable!

The teachers agreed to leave the city's center on Thursday night after some stern warnings from the negotiator sent by President Fox. The city and state sent in cleanup crews who worked all night to d clean the debris left over from the street battle the night before.

Today (it's 11:30 PM here), there was a meeting scheduled for 10:15 AM at a northside hotel between the teachers and the state negotiating committee. The state's negotiators arrived and were ready but the teacher's committee didn't show until 11:45. That's because they were busy moving back downtown into the freshly spiffed up zócalo! This time, there are a lot more of them. I would estimate that there are now at least 25,000 - 50,000 striking teacheers camped out in the zócalo. I base that on the expansion of their territory that I can see. They seem to have taken over an additional 4 to 5 blocks in every direction and the entire area, some 60 city blocks, is simply packed with people.

They've been re-provisioned, they've got new awnings, tarps, tents and sleeping bags. Someone is feeding them money. I wonder who. My guess is that the PRD political party and its presidential candidate, Andres Manuel López Obrador, are bankrolling the teachers. The highest paid of these teachers might make $200 per week at the very most so you can easily determine that no individual teacher has much staying power. And the union can't have too much money because the dirt poor teachers are its only source of funds -- supposedly. The only way these people could possibly have enough money to walk off their jobs, travel across the state to the capitol city, camp out for what is now 25 days, lose almost all of their possessions in the street fight of Wednesday morning, and then return with fresh priovisions to continue the massive occupation of the downtown area is if they are getting a lot of money from somewhere.

The reason given by the teachers' union leader, Enrique Rueda Pacheco, for arriving 1 1/2 hours late for the negotiations was that Governor Ruiz was also present. The union refuses to negotiate with him. I guess he eventually left. The union and the government did agree in principle that, when the issues are finally resolved, the teachers will return to their classrooms and make up for the lost time so that the 1 million students who have been out if school for 3 weeks now will be able to complete the school year. In light of the agreement by the teachers to leave the city's center only lasting 24 hours before they broke their promise and returned, I don't hold out much hope that this agreement will be honored either.

The teacher's main demand now is that Governor Ruiz resign. They are also demanding that 5 members of his cabinet resign. They are so angry that it appears their salary demands have taken a back seat to their political demands. Governor Ruiz reiterated today that he would not resign. The teachers' oficials left the meeting today and joined about 100,000 marchers on the northwest side of the city and marched back downtown. The teachers are claiming 200,000 so we can about halve that. The goverment is claiming 50,000 so we can about double that. And we arrive at the nice round number of 100,000.

It would seem that we are right back where we started.

One note about yesterday. Three thousand police fought an eight hour battle in the streets with 10-15,000 teachers armed with rocks, bricks and clubs and only arrested 10! Those 10 were released as a gesture of "buena fé" (good faith). It has now come to light that there was actually a prisoner exchange. The teachers were holding 8 policemen hostage, including the number 2 man in the Policía Ministerial (formerly the Judicial Police), Margarito López.

Meanwhile, 24,000 preschool and primary school students have no classes in the state of Guerrero whils some 600 of their teachers head for Mexico City to march in support of the Oaxaca teachers and demand the resignation of the national teacher's union president, Elba Esther Gordillo. Sra. Gordillo has been nowhere to be found during this entire episode in Oaxaca.

In the state of Chiapas, 1.5 million students were out of school today while their teachers marched through that state capitol's streets (Tuxtla Gutierrez). No word yet on how long they plan to stay out of their classrooms.

I'm not at my computer so no photos today. I'll try to get some uploaded tomorrow.


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TAGS: Oaxaca teacher's strike, Policía Ministerial, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, Enrique Rueda Pacheco

Bloody day in Oaxaca, Mexico: Update

The teachers have pulled out of the zócalo. They made the decision to leave yesterday evening and pulled out throughout the early hours of the night. City workers spent the rest of the night cleaning up the disaster area and are still thusly engaged. I am chafing at the bit to get downtown to review and photograph the aftermath but it is simply too dangerous.

The teachers' union decided to leave after meeting with a federal negotiator sent personally by president Vicente Fox. His words to the teachers, as reported to me, were quite blunt. The government would no longer meet with or negotiate with the teachers so long as they remained in possession of the city of Oaxaca. He told them that, if they stayed, one of two things were guaranteed to happen and maybe both. The teachers could remain in the city center until they rotted or starved and/or until the president declared them to be insurrectionists and sent armed federal troops to dislodge them (armed with real guns that fire bullets -- see previous post about how well the police weren't armed yesterday).

The teachers' union officials discussed this and agreed to give up the city. They began to move out and went east to Boulevard Vasconcelos/Universidad. One of the things you have to get used to here is that names of streets and boulevards change seemingly every 5 blocks so I'm not sure whether it's Vasconcelos or Universidad. In any event, they climbed over the fences and gates of two large government schools, eventually breaking open the gates so they would have someplace to sleep last night. They had lost almost all of their camping gear in the two street battles yesterday and must have spent a very uncomfortable night. It rained a bit throughout the night which surely compounded their misery.

They have now regrouped and are marching towards the downtown again. What happens when they get there, if they get there, remains to be seen. I believe that both sides are anxious to sit down and get something settled here. The teachers because they are in sorry shape. They have little or no food, water, bathroom facilities, tents, sleeping bags or blankets. Almost all was lost in the battles for the control of the city yesterday. And it is beginning to drizzle off and on.

For its part, the government knows that tens of thousands of the teachers' supporters will begin arriving in the city tomorrow and Saturday from the states of Chiapas, Puebla, Tlaxcala, Mexico, Vera Cruz and probably others as well. And those arrivees will be not only angry and spoiling for another confrontation but also confident. That would be the cost of the government's failure to retake the city yesterday. If 10-15,000 teachers could defeat the government's forces yesterday, 100-200,000 will surely not be intimidated. This could still get really nasty.

I'm sending the wife and kids to Puebla for the weekend, providing the highways are open. My children attend a private academy which has been closed for two days due to concerns for the safety of the children and their parents who have to ferry them across the city to the school. It will probably be closed tomorrow also. The boys started hopping up and down to go to Burger King for breakfast. They went, I passed.

I'll post later on current developments as they unfold.

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TAGS: Oaxaca, Mexico, Guelaguetza, PRI, Oaxaca teachers strike, Ulises Ruiz Ortiz