Chas Freeman’s Paranoid Statement

Politics • Views: 3,632

If you need any more evidence why Chas Freeman was not fit to hold the office of Director of the National Intelligence Council, have a look at his paranoid, antisemitic statement about his withdrawal: Exiting, Chas Freeman Attacks ‘Israel Lobby’.

Freeman says, “The libels on me and their easily traceable email trails show conclusively that there is a powerful lobby determined to prevent any view other than its own from being aired, still less to factor in American understanding of trends and events in the Middle East. The tactics of the Israel Lobby plumb the depths of dishonor and indecency and include character assassination, selective misquotation, the willful distortion of the record, the fabrication of falsehoods, and an utter disregard for the truth. The aim of this Lobby is control of the policy process through the exercise of a veto over the appointment of people who dispute the wisdom of its views, the substitution of political correctness for analysis, and the exclusion of any and all options for decision by Americans and our government other than those that it favors.”

Wow. This is the man Barack Obama picked for a sensitive job related to foreign policy.

Also see

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309 comments
1 Lincolntf  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:27:36am

It seems that Obama's kook cupboard is never bare. I can hardly wait to see who pulls out next.

2 Golem Akbar  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:27:49am

Jooos did it to me -- D.F.

3 vxbush  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:28:06am

Why do I get the feeling that this guy was great friends with Frank Burns?

/

4 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:28:28am

Chas, you forgot to mention the blood/matzoh thingy.

///

5 MJ  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:28:36am

David Bernstein wrote a great reply to Freeman's latter to Foreign Policy:

The Chutzpah of Chas. Freeman

"...Why, no, it's all the fault of the nefarious "Israel Lobby," which he defined today as "a Lobby intent on enforcing the will and interests of a foreign government."

Ironically, the members of the so-called Israel lobby are Americans, who do not take money or orders from any foreign government (and indeed often disagree among themselves as to whether specific Israeli policies are wise), and who believe that what they are doing is in the best interests of the United States, on moral grounds, practical grounds, or, usually, both. Unlike Freeman and other members of the "Saudi Lobby," they are not paid by a semi-hostile, repressive, dictatorial foreign government to be a de facto propaganda agent, nor would the vast majority of them want to take money from the likes of Saudi Arabia and China. The chutzpah of someone who has been paid by such foreign governments to promote their political and business interests in impugning the integrity and patriotism of those who have not is something to behold....

[Link: volokh.com...]

6 Creeping Eruption  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:29:01am

re: #4 Occasional Reader

Chas, you forgot to mention the blood/matzoh thingy.

///

Tis that time of year . . . . NO SARC

7 Golem Akbar  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:29:37am

re: #2 Golem Akbar

Jooos did it to me -- C.D.F.


[oops]

8 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:29:38am
there is a powerful lobby determined to prevent any view other than its own from being aired, still less to factor in American understanding of trends and events in the Middle East

But enough about the Saudis...

9 Kosh's Shadow  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:29:39am

The problem is, he was only one visible piece of evidence of the rot of anti-Semitism in the 0bama administration. There is much more, and his replacement might even be worse.

10 johnnyreb  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:29:40am

Item #1,354,768 that the MSM missed when covering slobbering over the One during all this nonsense.

11 SasquatchOnSteroids  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:29:47am

That's so bad, Galloway might offer him a job.

12 lawhawk  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:30:15am

As I posted in the dead thread, would Chas approve of China's crackdown on protesters who were silly enough to think that signing up for permits to demonstrate during the Beijing Olympics wouldn't end badly for them given that Chas approvingly wrote about the Tienanmen Square massacre.

13 newsjunkie_ky  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:30:16am

And, his son will punch out your lights.
Apple/tree

14 vxbush  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:31:24am

re: #10 johnnyreb

Item #1,354,768 that the MSM missed when covering slobbering over the One during all this nonsense.

Do you remember when Obama's administration made a big deal about how everyone getting a job in the administration would have to fill out a 50-page questionnaire regarding any skeletons in their closets? And how it would weed out the bad candidates? I get the feeling that the Obamatrons in the administration never actually thought people would lie on that questionnaire.

That, or they expected everyone to lie.

15 rabidsquirrel  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:31:30am

But at least he paid his taxes....right?

/snark

16 taylork  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:31:31am

Will he just go ahead and nominate Bill Ayers already? It's like he putting up equivalent kooks just to gauge our reaction and see how much we'd fight.

17 rumcrook  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:31:47am

he's a shoe shine boy for the saudis.

so he's got a lot of nerve saying anything but his extreme positions and questionable income stream did him in.

18 johnnyreb  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:32:46am

re: #14 vxbush


Either that, or vetting only applies to republicans. That seems to be the case we have here.

19 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:32:54am
This is the man Barack Obama picked for a sensitive job related to foreign policy.

It's difficult to put into words how deeply disturbing that fact is.

20 Honorary Yooper  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:33:04am

Obama's nominating more anti-Semites than one can shake a blood libel at.

21 vxbush  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:33:28am

re: #18 johnnyreb

Either that, or vetting only applies to republicans. That seems to be the case we have here.

AAAAHHHHH! Methinks you have hit upon it.

22 VegasRick  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:34:17am

re: #19 Occasional Reader

It's difficult to put into words how deeply disturbing that fact is.

Yep. Pretty sobering thought.

23 Boxy_brown  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:34:21am
there is a powerful lobby determined to prevent any view other than its own from being aired,

I am thinking less along the lines of Illuminati/bilderburg/Jooooos and more along the lines of people with a modicum of common sense... Rare as it is.

24 Creeping Eruption  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:34:29am

re: #20 Honorary Yooper

Obama's nominating more anti-Semites than one can shake a blood libel at.

Nobody talks about the powerful anti-Israel lobby in Washington . . .

25 BLBfootballs  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:34:30am

Freeman is such an utter crank. Are Chinese dissidents now part of the "Israel lobby" too? Amazing that any President or senior official could consider a guy like this fit to be in charge of intelligence analysis.

26 albusteve  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:34:37am

the BO admin is like a living cartoon strip...everyday a new implausible fantasy...enthralling

27 Honorary Yooper  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:34:45am

re: #18 johnnyreb

Either that, or vetting only applies to republicans. That seems to be the case we have here.

Didn't you know that? Vetting only applies the the Republicans. If you're a Democrat, no vetting is required. In fact, it seems to be an advantage if you were tangled up in the Freddie/Fannie mess, neglected to pay your taxes, or pulled some other bullshit stunt.

28 Peacekeeper  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:34:46am

Good riddance

29 MJ  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:34:54am

This is from the guy who hired Chas Freeman:

U.S., Israel Disagree on Iran Arms Threat

Senate Panel Told Tehran Has Not Made Decision to Pursue Nuclear Weapons

Iran has not produced the highly enriched uranium necessary for a nuclear weapon and has not decided to do so, U.S. intelligence officials told Congress yesterday, an assessment that contrasts with a stark Israeli warning days earlier that Iran has crossed the "technological threshold" in its pursuit of the bomb.

Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair said that Iran has not decided to pursue the production of weapons-grade uranium and the parallel ability to load it onto a ballistic missile.


[Link: www.washingtonpost.com...]

Whatever Blair says at this point is suspect. There is zero reason to trust this guy's judgment after the Freeman affair.
At this point, one has to ask, what are Blair's motivations? Is he impartial or does he too feel, like his friend Chas Freeman, that Jews control foreign policy?

30 taylork  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:34:56am

re: #14 vxbush

Do you remember when Obama's administration made a big deal about how everyone getting a job in the administration would have to fill out a 50-page questionnaire regarding any skeletons in their closets?e.

Has anyone actually seen what this questionnaire asks? I'm guessing half of the questions relates to Michelle's guns and BO's pecs.

31 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:35:14am
and the exclusion of any and all options for decision by Americans and our government other than those that it favors

Note, by the way, the not-so-subtle implication that American Jews who support Israel aren't really Americans.

32 Ojoe  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:35:51am

"If a man is not wise himself he cannot be well advised."

— Niccolo Machiavelli.

Actually, Machiavelli says "prince", not man, but I cannot use that word here.

33 Creeping Eruption  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:35:54am

re: #26 albusteve

the BO admin is like a living cartoon strip...everyday a new implausible fantasy...enthralling

You just need to suspend your disbelief and everything will. In the meantime, if you could just please put on this little arm band . . .

34 opnion  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:35:59am

If he feels that the 'Israel" lobby engaged in character assasination & untruths, he would have more credibility if he pointed out specifics.
My guess is that the criticisms had merit & pointing out the specifics would not help his case.

35 albusteve  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:36:54am

re: #33 Creeping Eruption

You just need to suspend your disbelief and everything will. In the meantime, if you could just please put on this little arm band . . .

I don't like yellow

36 Boxy_brown  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:37:34am

re: #32 Ojoe


"If a man is not wise himself he cannot be well advised."

— Niccolo Machiavelli.

Actually, Machiavelli says "prince", not man, but I cannot use that word here.

The Fresh prince of hot air?

37 Afrocity  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:37:36am

Morning Lizards,

I would like to enlist your help in battling the MSM. ABC reporter Jake Tapper has a blog called political punch. Daily I am battling liberals. It woudl be nice to have other conservatives posting there. Today, as my fellow LGF-ers predicted, the shootings in IL and Alabama have prompted anti-gun freaks. Someone posted this statement on Political Punch:

I HOPE After the Deadly Shooting In AL Yesterday, And The shooting In IL Sunday. President Obama and Congress CHANGE The Gun Laws so Guns dont end up in the Hands of Maniacs And Innocent people Keep Dying! time to CHANGE THE GUN LAWS!

There are also comments being made over the Chase Freeman incident which give us some hope:

I used to support President Barack Obama, but it's clear Barack Obama makes terrible choices when he chooses his administrators. The tax-cheat Geither, the tax-cheat Daschle, the tax-cheat Killefer, the corrupt Richardson, the lobbyist Lynn and Coor, and we just now found out Barack Obama signed two more "waivers" to allow lobbyists into the White House.

In other words blogs are a form of communication and while ABC is part of liberal mainstream media, I think we can show our support for conservative values by posting there occasionally. Now it is only myself and a few other conservatives. Your opinions may cause someone to stop and think.

Here is the link to Political Punch- thank you

Political Punch

38 Lincolntf  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:37:47am

re: #34 opnion

Well, Joan Rivers can be a little harsh...

39 lawhawk  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:37:58am

His blaming the "Israel lobby" itself shows just how unstable and disingenous Freeman is to begin with. Throw in his statements about China and Tibet, and he's the wrong man for the wrong job.

40 VegasRick  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:38:04am

re: #35 albusteve

I don't like yellow

obambi's armbands will be multi - colored, all colors except white.

41 Golem Akbar  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:38:55am

re: #9 Kosh's Shadow

The problem is, he was only one visible piece of evidence of the rot of anti-Semitism in the 0bama administration. There is much more, and his replacement might even be worse.


Here's an example. Or two. Or....

42 razorbacker  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:39:07am

Wow. I'll bet Chas' little boy really wants to punch somebody in the face now.

43 vxbush  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:39:09am

re: #30 taylork

Has anyone actually seen what this questionnaire asks? I'm guessing half of the questions relates to Michelle's guns and BO's pecs.

ABC had a video news article on it in the weeks after the election. It had lots of questions related to legal problems, bad news stories, etc. etc. Basically what are all the possible bad things about you that people can find out. But every question was rather generic: it was up to you to find the info. Contrast that with positions that require secret clearance, when the FBI does the search on you.

Here it is. I had my numbers wrong: it's not 50 pages, but it does have 63 questions.

44 Kosh's Shadow  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:39:17am

re: #29 MJ

Yes, getting rid of Freeman is like getting rid of Himmler but leaving Hitler in place.
(I'm NOT comparing the 0bama administration to the Nazis; I'm saying we got rid of one subordinate anti-Semite but left higher ones in place.)

45 VegasRick  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:39:19am

Is it 2012 yet?

46 Ojoe  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:39:26am

Fringe idiots now are firmly in possession of both major parties.

Time for a new party, this one is a possibility:

Modern Whig party

47 redc1c4  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:39:30am

sounds like this guy was a perfect fit for Ear Leader's administration.......

48 right_wing2  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:39:41am

This loon seems to hate the Joooos almost as much as the DinnerJacket does. I wonder if this'll stop some of the non-self-hating Jews from blindly supporting the Chosen One?

49 tackle  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:39:50am

So how much garbage has been shoved down our throats in the name of urgency? People aren't being vetted, crappy bills are being signed. It reminds me of 24, where Jack says "we're running out of time!" and proceeds to attach electrical wires to someone's nipples.
And now, as I said earlier, Obama is suddently a paragon of restraint and thoughtfulness. In the mean time, he's signing an embarrassing bill in the name of urgency.
We don't deserve this shoddy work. And shoddy is what it is.

50 dhg4  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:40:13am

re: #12 lawhawk

As I posted in the dead thread, would Chas approve of China's crackdown on protesters who were silly enough to think that signing up for permits to demonstrate during the Beijing Olympics wouldn't end badly for them given that Chas approvingly wrote about the Tienanmen Square massacre.

And what's incredible is that Freeman has the chutzpah to say that his comments were taken out of context. Goldfarb nails him on his defense of his Tianenman Square statements. Sure in one paragraph he is stating the way the Chinese government viewed things. But in the very next paragraph he says that he agreed with that approach. Nothing was taken out of context. BTW, follow Charles' link to the Jake Tapper column. Tapper's summation is simple but brilliant.

51 davesax  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:40:36am

Andrew Sullivan is really upset the Freeman's critics spoke out.

He's jumped on the anti-Israel bandwagon these days.

Poor guy.

52 rumcrook  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:40:50am

re: #42 razorbacker

like I said somewhere else,

back at 'em

53 Boxy_brown  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:40:51am

re: #46 Ojoe

Time for a new party

Just a matter of time before Ojoe starts pushing Ron Paul...

54 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:41:10am

re: #37 Afrocity

Good suggestion, I'll check it out.

BTW, we'll turn you into a gun nut yet, Afrocity!

55 yesandno  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:41:12am
there is a powerful lobby determined to prevent any view other than its own from being aired, still less to factor in American understanding of trends and events in the Middle East

Nothing like trends to establish morality....

56 albusteve  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:41:24am

re: #42 razorbacker

Wow. I'll bet Chas' little boy really wants to punch somebody in the face now.

hey!...I'll step up...I watched Raging Bull once

57 rawmuse  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:41:24am

re: #37 Afrocity

I love your sense of duty, but, truly, I gave up trying to convert Dems a while back. I began to feel like Sisyphus.

58 dhg4  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:41:27am

re: #25 BLBfootballs

Freeman is such an utter crank. Are Chinese dissidents now part of the "Israel lobby" too? Amazing that any President or senior official could consider a guy like this fit to be in charge of intelligence analysis.

See Meryl's post for other unlikely Zionists. Like HRW and Matt Welch.

59 Russkilitlover  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:42:09am

Freeman needs to be wrapped snugly in a straight jacket. Sheesh! He's got the Zionist conspiracy bad!

60 Ojoe  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:42:24am

re: #53 Boxy_brown

Naw, Ron Paul was like:

Open the pod bay door, Hal.

I'm sorry Dave, I really can't do that.

Nuts of course.

61 Afrocity  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:42:27am

re: #54 Occasional Reader

Good suggestion, I'll check it out.

BTW, we'll turn you into a gun nut yet, Afrocity!

I can't have one. I live in Chicago.

62 daledog  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:42:28am
Wow. This is the man Barack Obama picked for a sensitive job related to foreign policy.

Why do I get a feeling that B0 never heard of this guy until a month ago? Someone suggested this pick to 0.

63 Fast Eddie  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:42:47am

No surprises here, to anyone who has been paying attention.

And, the Zero is just getting started. Imagine what sort of person the "second-string" appointee is going to be. All all the rest of them.

64 Ayatollah Ghilmeini  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:43:15am

Let's look at the record:

ADL- silent
AIPAC- silent ( I have a friend very, very high up in AIPAC's leadership, he is almost embarrassed for Freeman.)
Council of Presidents of Major Jewish Orgs- Silent
Malcolm Hoenlein, arch defender of Israel and head of said council- silent
United Jewish Charities- nothin'
Hadassah- you should ask?
OU- nu ve didn't say a verd (transliterated from the yiddish)
Young Israel- we were celebrating Purim, who had time for this schmuck?
Jewish Theological Seminary- Didn't our congregants vote for Obama?
Amit Women, we didn't like him but did nothing
B'nai Brith- silent

The following nobodies did have opinions:

J-Street- we were pushing for him!
Tikkun- we were celebrating the Obama 8 year plan and hoping Comrade Freeman would work with us in immantizing the workers' eschaton
NY Times- Chas Freeman's credentials on Israel and freedom were impeccable
Republican Jewish Coalition- this mighty group with tremendous access to the administration and the Democratic controlled congress criticized some of Freeman's comments and questioned his fitness for the post.

Either the entire Zionist conspiracy on him using secret dark magic juju or this fella dinged himself.

65 opnion  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:43:24am

re: #38 Lincolntf

Well, Joan Rivers can be a little harsh...

"Can we talk?"

66 albusteve  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:43:31am

re: #62 daledog

Why do I get a feeling that B0 never heard of this guy until a month ago? Someone suggested this pick to 0.

he has a whole jar full of these ping pong balls you see....

67 taylork  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:43:33am

re: #43 vxbush

So he has one, he just doesn't look at it. I see.

68 right_wing2  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:43:59am

re: #30 taylork

Has anyone actually seen what this questionnaire asks? I'm guessing half of the questions relates to Michelle's guns and BO's pecs.


- Do you promise to kiss Barack's feet?
- Do you support government control over as much of the economy as possible?
- Should the evil, greedy rich pay at least 50% of their income to the government?
- Should we kiss up to terrorists like the DinnerJacket?
- Should we apologize to the world for the evils brought on by Bushitler?
//

69 VegasRick  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:44:24am

re: #63 Fast Eddie

No surprises here, to anyone who has been paying attention.

And, the Zero is just getting started. Imagine what sort of person the "second-string" appointee is going to be. All all the rest of them.

We need the 72' Dolphins and instead we get the 08' Lions.

70 lifeofthemind  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:44:29am

re: #36 Boxy_brown

The Fresh prince of hot air?

That is Allahpundit

71 realwest  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:44:33am

If only his departure, no matter how ungracious and filled with lies, would put an end to the out and out hositlity to Israel in the Obama Administration.
Alas, Freeman didn't get that appoitment without Obama himself approving it.

72 MandyManners  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:45:08am

When's he gonna' whip out the Protocols?

73 Kenneth  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:45:25am

So what's the DOA tally on Obama's "Ready on Day One" administration?

Bill Richardson
Tom Daschell
Chas Freeman
...
(more please)

74 dhg4  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:45:47am

re: #64 Ayatollah Ghilmeini

Let's look at the record:

ADL- silent
AIPAC- silent ( I have a friend very, very high up in AIPAC's leadership, he is almost embarrassed for Freeman.)
Council of Presidents of Major Jewish Orgs- Silent
Malcolm Hoenlein, arch defender of Israel and head of said council- silent
United Jewish Charities- nothin'
Hadassah- you should ask?
OU- nu ve didn't say a verd (transliterated from the yiddish)
Young Israel- we were celebrating Purim, who had time for this schmuck?
Jewish Theological Seminary- Didn't our congregants vote for Obama?
Amit Women, we didn't like him but did nothing
B'nai Brith- silent

The following nobodies did have opinions:

J-Street- we were pushing for him!
Tikkun- we were celebrating the Obama 8 year plan and hoping Comrade Freeman would work with us in immantizing the workers' eschaton
NY Times- Chas Freeman's credentials on Israel and freedom were impeccable
Republican Jewish Coalition- this mighty group with tremendous access to the administration and the Democratic controlled congress criticized some of Freeman's comments and questioned his fitness for the post.

Either the entire Zionist conspiracy on him using secret dark magic juju or this fella dinged himself.

I gave the NY Times credit for its reporting that AIPAC played no role in the Freeman controversy right after it quoted him going on about the nefarious "lobby."

75 daledog  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:46:08am

If the Israeli lobby is as powerful and widespread as Freeman claims, why bother figthing them?

76 MJ  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:46:23am

Jake Tapper, one of the few MSM reporters to actually follow this story, has this to say:

What's perplexing about this that so much of what critics objected to were Freeman's statements, in full context. His record was picked apart like that of any other controversial nominee -- sometimes fairly, sometimes not so -- but only in Freeman's case does the nominee make an allegation that a foreign power was lurking nefariously somehow behind it all.


[Link: blogs.abcnews.com...]

Good for Jake!

77 Boxy_brown  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:46:33am

re: #70 lifeofthemind

That is Allahpundit

Probably, I stole it from somewhere...

78 Kenneth  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:46:59am

re: #64 Ayatollah Ghilmeini

///But that's how the sly Jooos do it, some of them pretend to be your friend while Mosad goes in for the kill. - Chas

79 Honorary Yooper  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:47:01am

re: #61 Afrocity

I can't have one. I live in Chicago.

I saw the reports of those two kids hit by gunfire this morning. Seems like both were gang-related. If Dictator Daley would stop his campaign against guns and, instead, focus on getting rid of the gangs, the city would be much safer.

80 davesax  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:47:12am

Chas Freeman is not anti-Israel or anti-Jewish.

He likes matzoh ball and dines at the Second Avenue Deli once in a while.

I know. I saw him.

81 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:47:21am

re: #50 dhg4

But in the very next paragraph he says that he agreed with that approach.

And as at least one commentator pointed out (I don't recall who), applying Freeman's supposedly neutral "logic" ("no government would permit large protests from taking over important public spaces"), the Kennedy administration should have gunned down the "March on Washington".

82 davesax  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:47:51am

Hey...why didn't the sarcasm tags show up on my post #80?

83 razorbacker  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:47:53am

re: #37 Afrocity

Hit 'em with a contrasting stat. I'll have you know that because I have in my home a picture of my great-grandfather standing in front of a picture of a guy looking at a gun there have been 5 million new crimes deterred or stopped.

*Whut? You prove that it hasn't. I can jerk a statistic out my a** just like a liberal.*

84 realwest  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:47:56am

re: #62 daledog
Yeah, you're right, but Obama DID approve this guy to a very sensitive national intelligence slot - Obama may not have picked him, but I'll wager he knew all about Freeman and - clearly - was ok with his choice.

85 opnion  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:47:57am

re: #49 tackle

I believe that it was Richard Cohen writing for WaPO this morning, commenting on BHO's foreign policy.
He claimed that there is no theme , no Obama Doctrine if you will.
But wait, he says that is a good thing, demonstrating how nuanced Barry is, you know looking for the "Moderate" Taliban & all.
To me it just demonstrates that either Obama is clueless or has a hidden agenda.

86 MJ  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:48:13am

re: #64 Ayatollah Ghilmeini

J-Street- we were pushing for him

Understatement.
M.J. Rosenberg slandered anyone who opposed Freeman.

87 turn  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:48:18am

I knew jack about this guy until I read a few links on Drudge this morning. I came away wondering once again just how deep the Saudis have their fingers into our government and educational system.

88 Honorary Yooper  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:48:49am

re: #80 davesax

Chas Freeman is not anti-Israel or anti-Jewish.

He likes matzoh ball and dines at the Second Avenue Deli once in a while.

I know. I saw him.

Just because he likes a matzoh ball does not necessarily make him not anti-Israel or anti-Jewish.

89 Dustyvet  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:48:52am

Grand Jury Convenes in FBI Terror Case Against Somali-Americans in Minneapolis, Sources Say


Federal authorities are looking to bring terror-related charges against one or more Somali-Americans from the Minneapolis area, and witnesses to the case have been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury, according to a Muslim leader in the area and a woman who said she testified before the grand jury this morning.


[Link: www.foxnews.com...]

90 Kenneth  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:49:01am

The Neighborhood Bully did it!

91 daledog  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:49:31am

re: #80 davesax

Please explain the connection between cuisine and attitudes toward the people who produce the cuisine.

92 davesax  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:49:38am

M.J. Rosenberg is loony.

In the comments on Stephen Walt's blog, he said that so called "neocons" (including Jeffrey Goldberg) employed Stalinism.

He's a nutjob.

93 albusteve  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:49:44am

re: #84 realwest

Yeah, you're right, but Obama DID approve this guy to a very sensitive national intelligence slot - Obama may not have picked him, but I'll wager he knew all about Freeman and - clearly - was ok with his choice.

did BO even make a statement about this withdrawal?

94 Honorary Yooper  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:49:54am

re: #82 davesax

Hey...why didn't the sarcasm tags show up on my post #80?

There were supposed to be /sarc tages? Then merely read my #88 and move on.

95 brent  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:50:00am

I think I saw that dude at McDonald's last week, he was all like "The devil is a liar, and I'm a natural born man... You can't make me eat those fries, there is flouride in 'em, and yes I want a diet coke - get the dog off my head, you crazy witch....".

I'm surprised he didn't make it thru the process, seems sorta sad.

96 LGoPs  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:50:05am

re: #19 Occasional Reader

This is the man Barack Obama picked for a sensitive job related to foreign policy.

It's difficult to put into words how deeply disturbing that fact is.

As much as liberals caterwaul about their patriotism being questioned, in reality it's their judgement that is really at question. They characteristically and quite dependably process the same information we all have and come up with exactly the wrong answer, all the time. Couple this with an instant amnesia making them incapable of learning from past errors and you have the recipe for a disaster. We put ourselves in peril every time we elect liberals to positions of importance.

97 nyc redneck  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:50:09am

what a bitter angry s.o.b,
he is so upset that he has missed the opportunity to gain power and cause
great mischief and trouble.
he is nuts in his rant.
maniacal.
that the chance to inflict his miserable warped agenda
has slipped btw his fingers.

98 Creeping Eruption  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:50:14am

re: #93 albusteve

did BO even make a statement about this withdrawal?

Did the Saudis authorize one?

99 Russkilitlover  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:50:17am

I wonder what the mood is in Israel right now. They've got to be looking at this administration with a degree of trepidation.

100 tackle  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:50:26am

re: #85 opnion

To me it just demonstrates that either Obama is clueless or has a hidden agenda.


I think it's the former, although I do believe there are some unsavory people that have a lot of influence on his decisions.

101 MJ  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:50:28am

re: #86 MJ

Understatement.
M.J. Rosenberg slandered anyone who opposed Freeman.

Rosenberg is the Israel Policy Forum.

102 Dianna  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:50:30am

re: #74 dhg4

I gave the NY Times credit for its reporting that AIPAC played no role in the Freeman controversy right after it quoted him going on about the nefarious "lobby."

I would note that the Wall Street Journal did have an article on Chas Freeman, and the objections to him, about a week ago.

Siobhan Gorman wrote it.

103 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:50:45am

re: #80 davesax

Chas Freeman is not anti-Israel or anti-Jewish.

He likes matzoh ball and dines at the Second Avenue Deli once in a while.

I know. I saw him.

He's also been known to enjoy a Dr. Brown's "Cel-Ray". So, yeah, he's off the hook.

//

104 albusteve  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:50:57am

re: #98 Creeping Eruption

Did the Saudis authorize one?

I'll get back to you on that....
/

105 realwest  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:51:52am

re: #49 tackle
"So how much garbage has been shoved down our throats in the name of urgency?"
You ain't seen nothing yet. Nancy Pelosi would have "no problems if another stimulus bill, in an amount of about $1.3 TRILLION was introduced and would fully supported ( from F&F this morning!).

106 LGoPs  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:52:44am

re: #92 davesax

M.J. Rosenberg is loony.

In the comments on Stephen Walt's blog, he said that so called "neocons" (including Jeffrey Goldberg) employed Stalinism.

He's a nutjob.

Classic Projection. He projects into his opponents precisely what is in his own heart.
The true hiers of Stalin are liberals.

107 MJ  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:52:48am

re: #92 davesax

M.J. Rosenberg is loony.

In the comments on Stephen Walt's blog, he said that so called "neocons" (including Jeffrey Goldberg) employed Stalinism.

He's a nutjob.

I don't disagree. But, his policy recommendations carry great weight with this administration despite being more anti-Israel than that stalwart of Democratic Foreign Policy making--the Brookings Institution.

108 Creeping Eruption  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:52:53am

re: #105 realwest

"So how much garbage has been shoved down our throats in the name of urgency?"
You ain't seen nothing yet. Nancy Pelosi would have "no problems if another stimulus bill, in an amount of about $1.3 TRILLION was introduced and would fully supported ( from F&F this morning!).

Is there a dedicated AF jet tucked in there for her?

109 daledog  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:53:31am

re: #82 davesax

Davesax,
I, too, apologize for jumping the gun on comment #80. I should have known better.

Peace.

110 newsjunkie_ky  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:53:57am

re: #93 albusteve

did BO even make a statement about this withdrawal?


If he did, he used his trusty teleprompter.

111 Boxy_brown  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:54:20am

re: #103 Occasional Reader

He likes matzoh ball and dines at the Second Avenue Deli once in a while.

Man, I miss the 2nd ave deli..... sigh. Worth the angioplasty.

112 jcm  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:54:32am

re: #100 tackle

I think it's the former, although I do believe there are some unsavory people that have a lot of influence on his decisions.

I think it's the later.......
But pray he's just clueless, a clueless person can get a clue, if he has agenda we're screwed.

113 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:55:12am

re: #61 Afrocity

I can't have one. I live in Chicago.

Are you sure? I thought you could have (but not carry) firearms, as long as they are registered. Similar to DC.

114 [deleted]  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:55:24am
115 WriterMom  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:55:39am

The JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!

116 Kenneth  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:55:41am

“Nobody there”


Britain’s most senior civil servant has complained that Downing Street is finding it “unbelievably difficult” to make arrangements with the United States for the crucial G20 summit.

Mr O’Donnell said that No 10 was having trouble even getting in touch with key personnel at the US Treasury department. “There is nobody there,” he told a civil service conference in Gateshead. “You cannot believe how difficult it is.”

...at what point are people going to start wondering to what extent Obama’s “flacks, fixers and goons”, his “smirky smart alecks” emanate from the center of power rather than unfortunately attaching themselves to it?

117 davesax  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:56:01am

No problem.

I'm just practicing my routine.

I really think the only way to process this stuff is through humor.

Otherwise, you'll me miserable.

118 realwest  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:56:06am

re: #29 MJ Hey MJ - just an excellent comment on the connect-the-dots aspects of Obama's "administration"(quotes only used to indicate that the term administer is barely applicable to Obama).

119 rawmuse  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:56:20am

re: #87 turn

I knew jack about this guy until I read a few links on Drudge this morning. I came away wondering once again just how deep the Saudis have their fingers into our government and educational system.

Very deep. As in, they pretty much run State. Ever wonder how these magnificent mosques get built in USA little towns with about 100 muslims? Wonder no more.

120 turn  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:56:31am

re: #105 realwest

Turn's conspiracy theory: The dems know the first stimulus will do squat for the economy because it was simply implemented for a vast expansion of government and a shift toward socialism, they want the second stimulus to really go toward creating jobs in order to prevent the whole house of cards from falling.

121 FrogMarch  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:56:35am

Excitable Andy is upset about this - (Like a good new lefty - he is now properly skeptical of Israel and his heart bleeds for the eternal victim death-cult) he links to this:

U.S., Israel Disagree on Iran Arms Threat

122 WriterMom  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:56:39am

re: #80 davesax

That's good enough for me!

123 davesax  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:56:53am

re: #111 Boxy_brown
Boxy, it's open again.
Different location.

124 Afrocity  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:56:56am

re: #79 Honorary Yooper

Chicago has had lots of problems:
Chicago Tribune
Catholic students told:Pay up or go home

What started as an uneventful first day of a new quarter at Marian Catholic High School soon turned to mass confusion as an unprecedented 300 students with outstanding tuition bills were pulled from classes.

The students—whose parents owed between $750 and $5,000—lined up outside the school office Monday morning as their accounts were sorted out.

By lunchtime, about 100 students were sent home—some confused, some embarrassed and a few angry.

I feel for those kids. That happened to me once. My grandmother was a maid and paid my tuition at a private school. She wanted to keep me out of Chicagp Public School system which was awful at the grade school level. My tuition had lapsed for a month and I was in the 3rd grade spelling bee and could not compete because when I got to school the nun told me to put my coat back on and said i was not to come back until my tuition was paid. I stay out for 2 weeks.

I hear there is a student at Sidwell, the school where the Obama girls attend. Obama's girls never went to public school and never will. He has done little to improve CPS.

125 dhg4  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:57:10am

re: #81 Occasional Reader

And as at least one commentator pointed out (I don't recall who), applying Freeman's supposedly neutral "logic" ("no government would permit large protests from taking over important public spaces"), the Kennedy administration should have gunned down the "March on Washington".

Good point.

I believe that in response to the protest, the Chinese killed about 2000 unarmed protesters in one night.

In response to armed attacks, Israel killed 1300 Palestinians, at least half of whom were combatants in three weeks.

Freeman considers the former insufficiently aggressive and his fans consider the latter excessive.

126 realwest  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:57:21am

re: #80 davesax
Hi davesax - hey, y'all keep on forgetting to use those sarc tags!

127 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:57:46am

re: #113 Occasional Reader

Are you sure? I thought you could have (but not carry) firearms, as long as they are registered. Similar to DC.

After a quick check... seems your city's handgun ban is being challenged post-Heller. But you could purchase a licensed shotgun.

128 MJ  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:58:09am

re: #118 realwest

Hey MJ - just an excellent comment on the connect-the-dots aspects of Obama's "administration"(quotes only used to indicate that the term administer is barely applicable to Obama).

Ah sucks, thanks realwest!

129 [deleted]  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:58:45am
130 Kosh's Shadow  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:59:20am

re: #75 daledog

If the Israeli lobby is as powerful and widespread as Freeman claims, why bother figthing them?

If the Joooish lobby is so powerful, how did 0bama get elected?

131 WriterMom  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 8:59:55am

I wonder why BHO really pulled the plug on this asshole. Do you think it's because the PR just got too hot? His judgement was that this guy was THE GUY. So, do you think that BHO has slightly more advanced skills at sensing a PR disaster? Do you get what I'm asking? Obviously, they are in moral/intellectual sync, so do you think that The Great One has learned anything from this? Or that his people will just blame the JOOOOOS again and keep appointing these sorry, Jew-hating Saudi butt-kissing maniacal conspiracy theorist and communist-murderer-Hamas sympathizers?

132 turn  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:00:21am

re: #119 rawmuse

Very deep. As in, they pretty much run State. Ever wonder how these magnificent mosques get built in USA little towns with about 100 muslims? Wonder no more.

Oh shit, it's worse that I thought. We need more people like Giuliani in government.

133 derbigdog  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:00:29am

re: #80 davesax

Chas Freeman is not anti-Israel or anti-Jewish.

He likes matzoh ball and dines at the Second Avenue Deli once in a while.

I know. I saw him.

I am sure he enjoys a good Mogan David wine as well ;^)

134 opnion  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:00:29am

re: #100 tackle

I think it's the former, although I do believe there are some unsavory people that have a lot of influence on his decisions.

I hope that you're right , But I think the latter.

135 derekrhadley  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:00:30am

Can Dear Leader dip further into Democrat sewers for a DNIC pick? Maybe Jamie Gorelick's name will be appearing on a trial balloon to be released to the atmosphere around 3 a.m. this coming Sunday morning....

136 davesax  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:00:34am

re: #121 FrogMarch

When Andrew Sullivan is not ranting about circumcision, neocons, or "analyzing" the Gaza conflict and fuming that the IDF is not following Catholic doctrine (I have no idea why in the world the IDF would look to the vatican on defense policy), he's saying, "I'm not an anti-Semite cause I visited Yad Vashem."

He's another well-balanced individual. Maybe him and MJ should start another lobby.

137 WriterMom  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:00:40am

re: #130 Kosh's Shadow

Stooooopid Jooooooos Chooooooose BHO.

/hope they are all really happy now!
/hope and change!

138 MJ  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:00:59am

re: #130 Kosh's Shadow

If the Joooish lobby is so powerful, how did 0bama get elected?

Don't you know?

"Michelle Obama Has a Rabbi in Her Family"

[Link: www.forward.com...]

139 jcm  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:01:08am

re: #124 Afrocity

Chicago has had lots of problems:
Chicago Tribune
Catholic students told:Pay up or go home

I feel for those kids. That happened to me once. My grandmother was a maid and paid my tuition at a private school. She wanted to keep me out of Chicagp Public School system which was awful at the grade school level. My tuition had lapsed for a month and I was in the 3rd grade spelling bee and could not compete because when I got to school the nun told me to put my coat back on and said i was not to come back until my tuition was paid. I stay out for 2 weeks.

I hear there is a student at Sidwell, the school where the Obama girls attend. Obama's girls never went to public school and never will. He has done little to improve CPS.

While Obama talks school reform.

(D)s in Congress dumps school vouchers for 1700 poor students.

140 Boxy_brown  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:01:17am

re: #123 davesax

Boxy, it's open again.
Different location.

Yeah, uptown, 33rd. (It didn't feel the same but Ill give it another shot. I am out of the city for a while in New England... Closest we have up here is McDonald's)

141 WriterMom  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:02:08am

re: #97 nyc redneck

He should really be directing his anger at Algore-you know, for enabling the wacko right-wingers and Joooos to take advantage of the Innnernut and stuff.

142 Afrocity  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:02:19am

re: #127 Occasional Reader

After a quick check... seems your city's handgun ban is being challenged post-Heller. But you could purchase a licensed shotgun.

I don't know how to shoot.

143 right_wing2  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:02:43am

re: #105 realwest

"So how much garbage has been shoved down our throats in the name of urgency?"
You ain't seen nothing yet. Nancy Pelosi would have "no problems if another stimulus bill, in an amount of about $1.3 TRILLION was introduced and would fully supported ( from F&F this morning!).

Well it is THEIR money after all. How dare we think we should be allowed to keep the fruits of our own labor?

144 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:02:46am

re: #127 Occasional Reader

After a quick check... seems your city's handgun ban is being challenged post-Heller.

And on that... shockingly dumb statement by Mayor Daley:

Mayor Daley, a proponent of strict gun control laws, wasn't happy about the Supreme Court ruling, calling it "a very frightening decision."

[...]

"It is frightening that America loves guns," the mayor said, "and to me, I think this decision really places those who are rich and those are in power, they'll always feel safe. Those who do not have the power do not feel safe, and that's what they're saying.

Uh, no, Dick, it's the other way around. The "rich and powerful" can always afford bodyguards. It's ordinary people who are left at the mercy of armed criminals when you "ban guns".

145 WriterMom  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:02:53am

Did you ever think you'd hear yourself say-hey Dr. Sanjay Gupta-you have the best, best judgement? LOL.

146 realwest  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:03:54am

re: #116 Kenneth
Huh. That further supports 3 woods contentions out here yesterday or the day before that Obama was fed up with his Treasury secretary - who's been on the job for 7 weeks and prepared for it months in advance. According to 3 wood (who really knows about this shit) Obama gave him one week to come out with a comprehensive plan for the economy or he'd be out of work.
BTW, Geithner has had two choices for Deputy Secretary of the Treasury turned away because of some "personal problems" - I reckon he figures one tax cheat at Treasury is enough - and his third choice turned it down almost immediately because she just didn't want that job.
The Brits (and others) are right to bitch about there being literally NO ONE THERE to take their calls or respond to their messages.

147 Creeping Eruption  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:04:04am

re: #145 WriterMom

Did you ever think you'd hear yourself say-hey Dr. Sanjay Gupta-you have the best, best judgement? LOL.

LOL. Did he give a reason?

148 vxbush  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:04:07am

Oh, and for completeness, please notice the questions on Obama's employment survey related to taxes:

V. Tax Information

(33) Please furnish a copy of each federal and state (and, if applicable, municipal or foreign) tax return, including any amended return, for 2005 and all subsequent years. If filed separately, furnish the same documents for your spouse.

(34) Have you and your spouse filed all required federal, state, local and foreign income tax returns?

(35) Have you or your spouse ever filed a late tax return without a valid extension? If so describe the circumstances and resolution of the matter.

(36) Have you ever paid any tax penalties? If so, describe the circumstances and the resolution of the matter.

(37) Has a tax lien or other collection procedure ever been instituted against you or your spouse by federal, state or local authorities? If so, describe the circumstances and the resolution of the matter.

(38) Have you ever not paid U.S. and/or state income taxes because you were not resident in the United States, or for any other reason?

(39) Have you been or do you have any expectation that you will be the subject of any tax, financial, or other audit or inquiry? If so, please describe.

(40) Have you ever participated in an investment program or partnership which has been audited or investigated by federal, state or local authorities? If so, describe the circumstances and the resolution of the matter.

(41) Please answer each of the questions in this section for your spouse (for the past ten years) and for any business with which you have been affiliated as an officer, director, partner, trustee or significant owner (i.e., any ownership interest of more than 5%).

Right. They didn't have any idea about their tax problems before they were nominated. Sheesh....

149 turn  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:04:14am

re: #131 WriterMom

Jew-hating Saudi butt-kissing maniacal conspiracy theorist and communist-murderer-Hamas sympathizers

Ha, that was a mouthfull there.

150 Afrocity  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:04:28am

re: #145 WriterMom

Did you ever think you'd hear yourself say-hey Dr. Sanjay Gupta-you have the best, best judgement? LOL.

Anyone with an ounce of intelligence will get far, far away from Obama.

151 davesax  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:04:31am

re: #140 Boxy_brown

I bet it isn't.

I haven't even gone.

152 WriterMom  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:04:49am

re: #50 dhg4

"taken out of context" is the laziest liberal/terror apologist argument EVAH.

In what context would the quotes be appropriate?

/crickets.

153 [deleted]  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:05:17am
154 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:05:36am

re: #142 Afrocity

I don't know how to shoot.

That's easily remedied!

[that thundering sound you hear is a herd of male Lizards headed to Chicago to offer you "private lessons"] [wait... do lizards come in "herds"? well, you get the point]

155 Opinionated  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:05:56am

re: #9 Kosh's Shadow

The problem is, he was only one visible piece of evidence of the rot of anti-Semitism in the 0bama administration. There is much more, and his replacement might even be worse.

It's not only the Obama Administration.

It's a cadre of very influential anti Israel forces that includes Scowcroft and Brzezinski and many more like them.

The irony is- and it can be seen in State Dept criticism of Israel- and the training and funding and arming the Arabs ($900M for Hamas recently)- and so much more - from the very day the US recognized Israel- that they are much more powerful to actual effect then the Israel "Lobby" can ever imagine being.

The guy who was to be Freeman's boss, who hired him, and who yesterday minimized Israeli fears about Iran's nuclear ability, Dennis Blair, will remain in his post. Does anyone believe he is less anti Israel then Freeman?

156 WriterMom  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:06:30am

re: #147 Creeping Eruption

I think he figured-hmmm. I can be a good looking, highly paid international doctor on TV, or I can hook up with a smarmy, socialist, sinking White House administration and be blamed for every failing related to health for the next 4 years and beyond. And-hey, I could work with the biggest anti-Western, anti-capitalist, Jew-hating admin since Jimmy Carter. What's not to like?

157 kynna  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:06:40am

Another of Obama's Cadre of Creeps. Does 0 have even one normal associate?

158 WriterMom  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:06:44am

re: #150 Afrocity

zactly

159 Afrocity  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:06:54am

re: #153 buzzsawmonkey

That does not say much for his opponent for the Democratic nomination, currently serving as Secretary of State.

I voted for HRC in the primary. I voted for McCain in the general. I was disappointed in Hillary for supporting Obama and then taking the SOS position. She is doing a lot of this for Chelsea. I still think it is unwise.

160 Carolina Kathy  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:07:31am

For the past several days the news stories have been dancing on the head of a pin with explanations about all the missteps of the new administration - this idiot Freeman is just another giant boo boo.

On the economy - bupkis
On foreign policy - bupkis

The only think Obama has demonstrated that he is truly excellent at is screwing up.

Who is the worst possible appointee for Treasury - a tax cheat.
Who is the worst possible appointee for State - a person even half of America hates.
Who is the worst possible person for national security - someone on the Saudi payroll, with a persecution complex racially motivated.

And the omnibus bill - it's just the Annenberg Challenge writ large. A gazillion dollars will be spent and nobody will know where it went.

And the options on the head of that pin for why this guy is so bad?
-- he's tired
-- he's overwhelmed
-- he's asking everyone's opinion (can't make up his mind)
-- he's surrounded by incompetent staff
-- he's still learning (my personal favorite)
-- he's trying to do too much (LOL)
and now we have a la Freeman
-- he's listening too much to the Israeli lobby

161 Creeping Eruption  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:07:48am

re: #159 Afrocity

She is doing a lot of this for Chelsea.

Where does she come in? I am not up on my Clinton these days.

162 WriterMom  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:08:13am

re: #157 kynna

No. All his friends and advisors are from the creepiest, lowest, socialist/terrorist/terrorist sympathizing circles of American society.

163 Kosh's Shadow  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:08:17am

re: #133 derbigdog

I am sure he enjoys a good Mogan David wine as well ;^)

There is no good Magen David wine, nor Manischewitz.
But there are plenty of good kosher wines, just not these oversweetened ones.

164 vxbush  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:08:22am

re: #159 Afrocity

I voted for HRC in the primary. I voted for McCain in the general. I was disappointed in Hillary for supporting Obama and then taking the SOS position. She is doing a lot of this for Chelsea. I still think it is unwise.

Yes, but read Rich Galen's take of Hillary's handling of SoS.

165 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:08:36am

re: #157 kynna

Another of Obama's Cadre of Creeps. Does 0 have even one normal associate?

According to Democratic/liberal standards, these guys are normal.

166 jaunte  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:08:41am

Freeman has a very high opinion of himself, and the art of diplomacy, which he feels should take precedence over what he sees as the militarism and ineffectual unilateralism which protects his right to speak his mind.
We are better off without his services.

From a 2007 speech:
Remarks to the Pacific Council on International Policy
The American Academy of Diplomacy
October 4, 2007, Los Angeles, California
Ambassador Chas W. Freeman, Jr. (USFS, Ret.)

"Diplomacy is the most difficult of the political arts. It requires empathy, which is especially hard for democracies, given their natural fixation on the views of their own citizen-voters and their concomitant disdain for the views of foreigners, who, after all, can't and don't vote. The diplomatic record of American democracy is decidedly mixed. It combined unilateralism with pacifism and sanctimony in a uniquely American brand of fecklessness in the years before World War II, then surprised the world with its creative brilliance after the war. Since winning the Cold War, we have again surprised the world – by reverting to ineffectual unilateralism, this time compounding it with militarism, swagger, self-righteousness, and complacent ignorance."
[Link: www.mepc.org...]
167 WriterMom  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:08:49am

re: #161 Creeping Eruption

I am not up on my Clinton these days.

[SHUDDER]

That's just a super crazy sentence. GA!

168 [deleted]  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:08:49am
169 yesandno  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:08:58am

You have to assume that the great 0 is either as brilliant as everyone assumes or the emperor has been stripped naked and found very wanting.

The 0 definitely is one of those who has been bred to be a leader...he believes enough in the goals and he is packaged well. Don't think he is naturally a leader...pre Harvard Law school you don't see him "leading" and leaders who are born that way usually appear younger in life.

So his was bred, malleable, trainable, teachable. Personally I think that he is easily manipulated by others with agendas. Someone else wanted this man in that position because it is all part of a grander scheme.

This is a man so out of his league that things are just going to get worse. He thought that being Pres was only about health care, education, and income redistribution. Everything else was photo-ops, expensive beef, plane trips, late to bed, late to rise, and looking down on the rest of the country.

This is not a brilliant guy. Hope he goes and finds clothes soon...

170 derbigdog  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:09:04am

re: #115 WriterMom

The JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH...
I get it!

171 Afrocity  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:09:20am

re: #154 Occasional Reader

That's easily remedied!

[that thundering sound you hear is a herd of male Lizards headed to Chicago to offer you "private lessons"] [wait... do lizards come in "herds"? well, you get the point]

Hey I thought about lessons but did not see the sense of it if I can't have a gun. Frankly they scare me but I am not against anyone else having them. In Chicago it seems like the wrong people have the guns despite the laws.

172 Kosh's Shadow  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:10:05am

re: #146 realwest

Huh. That further supports 3 woods contentions out here yesterday or the day before that Obama was fed up with his Treasury secretary - who's been on the job for 7 weeks and prepared for it months in advance. According to 3 wood (who really knows about this shit) Obama gave him one week to come out with a comprehensive plan for the economy or he'd be out of work.
BTW, Geithner has had two choices for Deputy Secretary of the Treasury turned away because of some "personal problems" - I reckon he figures one tax cheat at Treasury is enough - and his third choice turned it down almost immediately because she just didn't want that job.
The Brits (and others) are right to bitch about there being literally NO ONE THERE to take their calls or respond to their messages.

I'm sure if Ahamaninejad called, B. Hussein would pick it up, even at 3AM.

173 realwest  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:10:20am

re: #120 turn Y'all could be right about that turn. The first "stimulus bill" had so much deferred spending (coincidental to the 2010 and 2012 elections) that the Dems now realize that their pork laden first stimulus bill is gonna come close to knocking off the "golden goose" of America's economy and they are desparate to avoid that.
Long term thinking is NOT something either Pelosi (spit) or Reid (spit) are used to doing.

174 vxbush  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:10:46am

re: #171 Afrocity

Hey I thought about lessons but did not see the sense of it if I can't have a gun. Frankly they scare me but I am not against anyone else having them. In Chicago it seems like the wrong people have the guns despite the laws.

Despite the laws? Because of the laws. The law-abiding people will abide by those laws, even if they don't like them. The criminals don't care.

175 n2stox  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:10:56am

In my faith of mankind, I have to believe that even the obama admin, after hearing/reading this latest statement from Freeman, are thinking to themselves: thank goodness this guy didn't make it.

Every single report I read talked about his ties to China and The Kingdom and how those were real potential conflicts of interest.

Let's see. Saudi Arabia funds madrassas that preach hate. They fund shools in the US that use textbooks showing Jews as pigs and Christians as apes (or is it the other way around?). Oh, it just so happens that every terrorist this side of Neptune has some sort of ties to The Kingdom, and he wonders why him being on a Prince's payroll might make Americans uneasy about him being in a position to affect national security and intelligence?

And, with most Jews being liberal, is he claiming some sort of "Vast Leftwing Jewish Conspiracy?"

How do people like this succeed in life?

176 Douchecanoe and Ryan Too  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:11:12am

re: #171 Afrocity

Hey I thought about lessons but did not see the sense of it if I can't have a gun. Frankly they scare me but I am not against anyone else having them. In Chicago it seems like the wrong people have the guns despite the laws.

In less hostile areas of the country, we have an old saying: "If guns are outlawed, then only outlaws will have guns." Chicago is a perfect example of that old adage.

177 Sunlight  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:11:20am

Charles - Please consider updating this story with this link:

[Link: www.weeklystandard.com...]

Blogs everywhere are writing about the "Israel Lobby", but not covering the China angle thoroughly. The China reaction places in stark relief exactly how Chas Freeman's obsessive rant about the "Israel Lobby" could be seen as mental illness.

178 Dustyvet  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:11:31am

re: #171 Afrocity

Hey I thought about lessons but did not see the sense of it if I can't have a gun. Frankly they scare me but I am not against anyone else having them. In Chicago it seems like the wrong people have the guns despite the laws.

Yup!


508 Chicago School Students Shot In 16 Months


[Link: wcbstv.com...]

179 kansas  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:11:32am

Howie Fineman Questions BO. Camille Paglia too, but this is a link to Howie.

[Link: www.newsweek.com...]

180 razorbacker  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:11:41am

re: #142 Afrocity

I don't know how to shoot.

Hell, Darlin'. Anybody can shoot. Shooting is easy. It's hitting the target that gets a mite problematical once in a while.

181 Creeping Eruption  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:11:47am

re: #167 WriterMom

LOL

182 Kosh's Shadow  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:11:48am

re: #155 Opinionated

It's not only the Obama Administration.

It's a cadre of very influential anti Israel forces that includes Scowcroft and Brzezinski and many more like them.

The irony is- and it can be seen in State Dept criticism of Israel- and the training and funding and arming the Arabs ($900M for Hamas recently)- and so much more - from the very day the US recognized Israel- that they are much more powerful to actual effect then the Israel "Lobby" can ever imagine being.

The guy who was to be Freeman's boss, who hired him, and who yesterday minimized Israeli fears about Iran's nuclear ability, Dennis Blair, will remain in his post. Does anyone believe he is less anti Israel then Freeman?

You just helped make my point. Blair was one I had in mind.
And Blair sees nothing wrong in what Freeman did.

183 WriterMom  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:12:03am

re: #175 n2stox

Three words for you: Barack Hussein Obama.

184 Creeping Eruption  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:12:28am

re: #171 Afrocity

In Chicago it seems like the wrong people have the guns despite the laws.

Hence your need to purchase one legally and learn how to use it.

185 lifeofthemind  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:12:51am

Steve Walt went nuts on this a couple of weeks ago, John Mearsheimer has not been heard from. Let us see if either goes to Washington.

186 WriterMom  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:12:59am

re: #177 Sunlight

Good link.

187 realwest  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:13:32am

re: #121 FrogMarch
Hi Frog - too bad Peter Finn doesn't recognize an orchestrated downplaying of concern over Iran's abilities and intentions when he see's it.
But then again he DOES work for that bastion of intelligent, honest reporting, the WaPo.
/

188 FrogMarch  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:13:39am

re: #136 davesax

When Andrew Sullivan is not ranting about circumcision, neocons, or "analyzing" the Gaza conflict and fuming that the IDF is not following Catholic doctrine (I have no idea why in the world the IDF would look to the vatican on defense policy), he's saying, "I'm not an anti-Semite cause I visited Yad Vashem."

He's another well-balanced individual. Maybe him and MJ should start another lobby.

Thank you.

189 WriterMom  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:13:43am

Seriously-I'm wondering why Obama cut him loose. Just because of the bad PR?

190 WriterMom  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:14:31am

re: #168 buzzsawmonkey

if you notice what we do,
You've quoted out of context.

YUP!

191 Irenike  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:14:44am

Why isn't Obama getting more flack for nominating Freeman? When George Bush floated stinky nominations (Harriet Meyers, for example), everybody was all over it, talking about how it reflected poorly on the president, how it damaged his reputation, etc.

But Freeman is more than a stinky nomination. The guy is a totalitarian-loving dirtbag. So why isn't this reflecting poorly on Obama? Is it only due to the fact that the MSM is still trying to protect the Big O? Or is he really a "teflon" president?

Any theories would be appreciated.

192 mattm  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:15:16am

Also proves how Obama is Unfit for office to pick this wacko to begin with.

193 Pullus Iulius  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:15:34am

The tactics of the Israel Lobby plumb the depths of dishonor and indecency
Wow. Do we need to take a moment here, Chas?

194 Sunlight  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:15:52am

re: #189 WriterMom

Seriously-I'm wondering why Obama cut him loose. Just because of the bad PR?

I'm thinking there could be something that hasn't hit the light yet... does he owe taxes? I saw a blog post last night where his son was defending him. Not surprising, but Ugh. L'dor v'dor.

195 Afrocity  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:16:06am

re: #184 Creeping Eruption

Hence your need to purchase one legally and learn how to use it.

I am thinking about it.

196 outsidephilly  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:16:15am

re: #12 lawhawk

As I posted in the dead thread, would Chas approve of China's crackdown on protesters who were silly enough to think that signing up for permits to demonstrate during the Beijing Olympics wouldn't end badly for them given that Chas approvingly wrote about the Tienanmen Square massacre.


". . . , The regime in China made all sorts of promises — unfettered Internet access, for instance — that it never intended to meet."
". . . , — people like Ji, who will go to prison because he dared believe that the regime would allow protests."

. . . , words fail me

197 reloadingisnotahobby  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:16:19am

re: #171 Afrocity
Goodmorning all!
Afrocity....
Take a road trip to the "country and find a gun shop that offers
lessons!
My wife WAS afraid of guns till she became familir with them.
I've a neighbor 50's lives alone her 12 guage is above the bathroom door ....Perfect location for a single woman!

198 [deleted]  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:16:26am
199 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:17:02am

re: #171 Afrocity

Hey I thought about lessons but did not see the sense of it if I can't have a gun. Frankly they scare me

Like I said, I think you can have one, at least a long gun (shotgun), and probably, soon, a handgun (since the Heller decision probably means your city's handgun ban will be struck down).

As for guns scaring you... I'd suggest finding a friend who owns one and knows what (s)he's doing, and going to the range with him/her some time. You'd be surprised how many people get over their fear very quickly. And I consider having at least a basic knowledge of firearms operation to be a "life skill", that you may (hopefully not) need one day; good to know, even if you never get around to acquiring a firearm.

200 lifeofthemind  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:17:12am

His son Charles Freeman is offering to punch people in the nose.

Step up boy, try it.

201 jcm  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:17:22am

re: #171 Afrocity

Hey I thought about lessons but did not see the sense of it if I can't have a gun. Frankly they scare me but I am not against anyone else having them. In Chicago it seems like the wrong people have the guns despite the laws.

That's exactly the point. "wrong people have the guns despite the laws." The wrong people don't care about the laws period.

The crime rate with legally held weapons is vanishingly small. It's also true that where firearms are easier to get and keep by ordinary citizens the crime rates are lower. When the good people have guns the bad guys know they are more likely to run into some good people with a gun.

There are confirmed each year 750,000 incidents where a gun legally used stops a crime, and another 1.25 million times which it's not reported.

202 vxbush  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:17:28am

re: #191 Irenike

Why isn't Obama getting more flack for nominating Freeman? When George Bush floated stinky nominations (Harriet Meyers, for example), everybody was all over it, talking about how it reflected poorly on the president, how it damaged his reputation, etc.

But Freeman is more than a stinky nomination. The guy is a totalitarian-loving dirtbag. So why isn't this reflecting poorly on Obama? Is it only due to the fact that the MSM is still trying to protect the Big O? Or is he really a "teflon" president?

Any theories would be appreciated.

Because the press love him and think the problem must be Freeman, not Obama.

203 right_wing2  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:17:43am

re: #191 Irenike

It's probably a little bit of both, plus the fact that any critisicm of the Obamessiah will be called 'racist'.

204 Kosh's Shadow  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:17:46am

re: #61 Afrocity

I can't have one. I live in Chicago.

I thought tommy guns were standard for Chicago.
/back in the 1920's, anyway

205 Kosh's Shadow  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:18:29am

re: #200 lifeofthemind

His son Charles Freeman is offering to punch people in the nose.

Step up boy, try it.


Another anti-Semitic stereotype!
/

206 FrogMarch  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:18:48am

re: #139 jcm

While Obama talks school reform.

(D)s in Congress dumps school vouchers for 1700 poor students.

We are seeing a pattern emerge. Obama "the mouth" goes out and sells it. Behind the scenes, his left-wing liars in congress make sure the opposite happens.

The left violently despise vouchers because it takes away their power and gives it to parents. The left must retain their power and keep students stupid and poor.

207 kansas  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:18:52am

I'm hearing President Dipshit bumbling about business. Look out Dow!

208 lifeofthemind  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:19:26am

Hope that this episode frees some people, relatives of mine, from the belief that the White House presence of the Judas Goat Rahm Emmanuel means everything is OK.

209 outsidephilly  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:19:40am

re: #171 Afrocity

Hey I thought about lessons but did not see the sense of it if I can't have a gun. Frankly they scare me but I am not against anyone else having them. In Chicago it seems like the wrong people have the guns despite the laws.


In philly it seems like the wrong people have the guns despite the laws . . . . .

210 EE  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:19:44am

Obama is putting the blame for this selection on Dennis Blair, but Obama did not say a word or do a thing about this appointment until the stink became so great that Chas Freeman was asked to drop out.

If Obama had in mind changing America's policies to be anti-Israel, he would consider that the main obstacle to doing so would be Congress. And how could Congress be persuaded? By a National Intelligence Estimate that is leaked to Congress that blasts Israel and applauds its enemies. Because the NIE is highly regarded and can hardly be questioned, certainly not easily. And yet this position of Director of the National Intelligence Council would provide vast influence over the NIE: deciding what intelligence reports go into it, what are omitted, summarizing all of the body of intelligence, and interpreting it. Putting this paranoid anti-Israel and antisemitic paid puppet of Saudi Arabia in this position would have been a very important step for Obama, in order to push Congress in the anti-Israel direction. This would remove the only significant obstacle to Obama pushing hard for an anti-Israel policy.

211 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:20:05am

re: #204 Kosh's Shadow

I thought tommy guns were standard for Chicago.
/back in the 1920's, anyway

There was a time in this country when one could legally order a full-auto Thompson SMG via the Sears Roebuck catalogue!

212 Dustyvet  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:20:09am

re: #204 Kosh's Shadow

I thought tommy guns were standard for Chicago.
/back in the 1920's, anyway

2/14/29 Sort of took care of that.


/S

213 reloadingisnotahobby  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:20:15am

re: #201 jcm

I posted this the other day....
Here in Central utah a conv....store clerk disarmed an armed robber and shot him between the eye's!
Yes, he DRT!

214 vxbush  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:20:23am

re: #207 kansas

I'm hearing President Dipshit bumbling about business. Look out Dow!

He should learn to keep his trap shut.

215 Kosh's Shadow  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:21:24am

re: #211 Occasional Reader

There was a time in this country when one could legally order a full-auto Thompson SMG via the Sears Roebuck catalogue!

Hmmm. Where did I leave the keys to my time machine?

216 dhg4  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:21:26am

From The Great Vetting Disaster:

Freeman is also praised as a provocateur who could have asked tough questions as the NIC Chairman, but while being a contrarian has its advantages, there is a difference between being a contrarian and being appallingly wrong on issues that could very well influence one’s views as the Chairman of the National Intelligence Council.
217 Afrocity  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:21:26am

re: #199 Occasional Reader

I know they are safe, but it is like flying for me which I also don't like. Everytime I get the courage, something happens. Sully kanding that plane was great, then the next month a plane crashed in NY.

With the guns, I was scared off again by the kid in Boston at the gun show. I have also heard about them backfiring and killing the shooter. I am afraid of any tool, machine etc that has fire involved. I am just that way. Even firecrackers.

218 realwest  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:21:32am

re: #191 Irenike
I dibs "the MSM is still trying to protect the Big O?".

219 derbigdog  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:21:44am

re: #156 WriterMom

I think he figured-hmmm. I can be a good looking, highly paid international doctor on TV, or I can hook up with a smarmy, socialist, sinking White House administration and be blamed for every failing related to health for the next 4 years and beyond. And-hey, I could work with the biggest anti-Western, anti-capitalist, Jew-hating admin since Jimmy Carter. What's not to like?

How did the Democrat Party become a haven for the anti-Semites of America? Even Clinton's adminstration often showed a pro-muslim slant.

220 kansas  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:22:20am

re: #214 vxbush

He should learn to keep his trap shut.

Dow down 40 since Duoh.

221 MJ  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:23:19am

re: #210 EE

Obama is putting the blame for this selection on Dennis Blair, but Obama did not say a word or do a thing about this appointment until the stink became so great that Chas Freeman was asked to drop out.

If Obama had in mind changing America's policies to be anti-Israel, he would consider that the main obstacle to doing so would be Congress. And how could Congress be persuaded? By a National Intelligence Estimate that is leaked to Congress that blasts Israel and applauds its enemies. Because the NIE is highly regarded and can hardly be questioned, certainly not easily. And yet this position of Director of the National Intelligence Council would provide vast influence over the NIE: deciding what intelligence reports go into it, what are omitted, summarizing all of the body of intelligence, and interpreting it. Putting this paranoid anti-Israel and antisemitic paid puppet of Saudi Arabia in this position would have been a very important step for Obama, in order to push Congress in the anti-Israel direction. This would remove the only significant obstacle to Obama pushing hard for an anti-Israel policy.

All true but what we don't know is if Blair is already skewing Intelligence estimates to an already pre-disposed anti-Israel President.

222 jcm  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:23:43am

re: #206 FrogMarch

We are seeing a pattern emerge. Obama "the mouth" goes out and sells it. Behind the scenes, his left-wing liars in congress make sure the opposite happens.

The left violently despise vouchers because it takes away their power and gives it to parents. The left must retain their power and keep students stupid and poor.

My three top budget items personally of my gross.
Taxes 40%, that's all taxes including the hidden state taxes.
Mortgage 20%
Private school 20%
20% for everything else.

Taxes are going up too.

223 lifeofthemind  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:24:05am

re: #210 EE

Obama is putting the blame for this selection on Dennis Blair, but Obama did not say a word or do a thing about this appointment until the stink became so great that Chas Freeman was asked to drop out.

If Obama had in mind changing America's policies to be anti-Israel, he would consider that the main obstacle to doing so would be Congress. And how could Congress be persuaded? By a National Intelligence Estimate that is leaked to Congress that blasts Israel and applauds its enemies. Because the NIE is highly regarded and can hardly be questioned, certainly not easily. And yet this position of Director of the National Intelligence Council would provide vast influence over the NIE: deciding what intelligence reports go into it, what are omitted, summarizing all of the body of intelligence, and interpreting it. Putting this paranoid anti-Israel and antisemitic paid puppet of Saudi Arabia in this position would have been a very important step for Obama, in order to push Congress in the anti-Israel direction. This would remove the only significant obstacle to Obama pushing hard for an anti-Israel policy.

They tested the waters by producing a fraudulent and politicized NIE that gave Iran cover to continue working on the bomb. That pulled the rug out from under McCain's focus on foreign policy and preempted Bush from attacking Iran. Now Iran has the bomb, or parts to screw together, and war is imminent. They falsely attacked Bush Cheney and Blair with charges of politicizing intelligence when the left is actually doing it.

224 realwest  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:24:31am

re: #210 EE
Uh, who picked Dennis Blair?

225 dhg4  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:24:50am

re: #194 Sunlight

I'm thinking there could be something that hasn't hit the light yet... does he owe taxes? I saw a blog post last night where his son was defending him. Not surprising, but Ugh. L'dor v'dor.

My suspicion is that the DCI's IG was going to find that his financial ties to the Saudis and Chinese were significantly greater than advertised.

Remember that the controversy over the appointment occurred out of earshot of most of the electorate. What right-wingers wrote about Freeman couldn't possibly register with the Obama administration. There had to have been the chance of a really major ethical issue emerging that the MSM and thus the administration could no longer pretend that the appointment was not newsworthy.

226 Kenneth  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:25:56am

re: #131 WriterMom

In the world Obama & his core supporters inhabit, Jew hate & anti-Israeli prejudice are a given and it take a while for them to remember not everybody agrees with it.

227 Shr_Nfr  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:26:03am

re: #195 Afrocity

Do it. In the final analysis, its dial 911 and die if you don't. Have a firearm and have a plan. The plan is to retreat to a room with one door, a window, and a phone. If you have somebody that is threatening you, retreat to that room. Dial 911. Do not go out of the room to look for the person threatening you, the chances are better that they will get you, rather than you getting them. When the cops arrive, let them know where you are and that you are armed. Once they have things under control, throw your firearm out the window. You do not want the cops to mistake you for the bad guy. Of course, if the bad guy comes through the door, drop them if you have to.

228 Dustyvet  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:28:14am

re: #223 lifeofthemind

They tested the waters by producing a fraudulent and politicized NIE that gave Iran cover to continue working on the bomb. That pulled the rug out from under McCain's focus on foreign policy and preempted Bush from attacking Iran. Now Iran has the bomb, or parts to screw together, and war is imminent. They falsely attacked Bush Cheney and Blair with charges of politicizing intelligence when the left is actually doing it.

They falsely attacked Bush Cheney and Blair with charges of politicizing intelligence when the left is actually doing it.


“If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bull.”

W. C. Fields


"the floggings will continue until morale improves."


/S

229 Afrocity  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:29:03am

re: #227 Shr_Nfr

Thanks, your comment put me at ease and I will seriously consider purchasing one. I have thought about it for two years now.

230 razorbacker  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:29:15am

The chat about guns reminds me of an exercise in frustration that I once had attempting to get a muzzleloading .50 caliber rifle checked through airport security.

The nice lady at the desk tells me that I have to 'open the action of the weapon and demonstrate that the gun is not loaded'.

The weapon does not have an action, it is a muzzleloader.

'So how do I know that the gun is unloaded?'

"Well, looky here. This is the ramrod. See? Now look how the ramrod is longer than the barrel. See? Now insert the ramrod and see that the ramrod is now sitting on the bottom of the barrel and that there is no room for a powder charge, much less a bullet."

"I ain't touching that thing! Those are dangerous."

"Ma'am, do you by any chance have someone who has clue how a muzzleloading firearm actually works?"

"Don't cause any trouble, Sir, or I'll have you arrested."

231 Kenneth  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:30:08am

re: #224 realwest

Obama picked Blair

232 Pupdawg  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:30:44am

Israel...under Mr. Telepromter's bus!

Great Britain...under Mr. T's bus!

PM of GB...under the front wheel of Mr. T's bus!

U. S. Military...road kill under T's bus!

Defense spending...get under T's bus!

CIA...crawl under T's bus.

Homeland Security...who cares now, so, under T's bus!

All Freedom Fighters formally known as Terrorists...take seat on T's bus!

American taxpayers...under Mr. T's bus!

American non-union workers...under T's bus!

Private sector jobs...under T's bus!

Corporate America...under T's bus!

NYSE...under T's bus!

Fuel costs in America...under T's bus!

U. S. Prosperity...under T's bus!

Tax cuts...under T's bus!

Mortgage Interest Itemized Deduction for those of us who pay our monthly home mortgages...under T's bus!

Charitable Organizations...under Mr. T's bus!

U.S. Banks...under T's bus!

U.S. Energy Independence from foreign oil...under T's bus!

Domestic Oil Exploration...under T's bus!

Reasonable fuel costs for Americans...under T's bus!

Mortgage deadbeats...front seat of bus no token or coins for free ride necessary!

Welfare recipients who pay no taxes...front seat of bus and your 'tax cut rebate' check is already deposited in your food stamp debit account!

Corporate Jets...under T's bus!

Air Pelosi...front seat on T's bus!

Unions...front center seat on T's bus!

Union members with Democrat block vote... shotgun on T's bus!

The NYT, et al MSM...front seat and free external as well as internal advertising space on Mr. T's bus!

The list could go on and on, but the reality of this is making me too sick to continue.

233 Ojoe  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:31:27am

re: #171 Afrocity

Even if you do not ultimately wind up owning a pistol or a rifle, to learn how to handle them will give you a confidence unobtainable by other means.

234 kansas  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:31:36am

re: #224 realwest

Uh, who picked Dennis Blair?

Shut up.///

235 VioletTiger  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:31:41am

re: #210 EE

Obama is putting the blame for this selection on Dennis Blair, but Obama did not say a word or do a thing about this appointment until the stink became so great that Chas Freeman was asked to drop out.
.

Real leaders don't blame others for mistakes like this. They fess up and own them. Then again, The One is not a real leader.

I actually think Obama was convinced that he would get no push back or flack on any of his nominations. He assumed he could get away with anything and people would be either too awestruck or too fearful to call him on it. I am so glad to see there are people out there willing to shout him down.

236 [deleted]  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:33:28am
237 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:33:46am

re: #230 razorbacker

The chat about guns reminds me of an exercise in frustration that I once had attempting to get a muzzleloading .50 caliber rifle checked through airport security.

I assume you mean to CHECK the rifle?!

238 Kosh's Shadow  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:34:14am

re: #234 kansas

Shut up.///

Help, help, I'm being repressed!

239 redmonkey  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:34:21am

Human right watch is now part of Israel lobby?

240 VioletTiger  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:34:57am

re: #229 Afrocity

Thanks, your comment put me at ease and I will seriously consider purchasing one. I have thought about it for two years now.

Afrocity, if I can do it, you can. Just get some lessons and learn safety.

241 Kosh's Shadow  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:37:05am

Meanwhile, Clinton Hints to Arab Teens PA is Already a Sovereign State

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told children in a televised interview on Ali-Soutak, a Palestinian Authority (PA) TV station, that she hopes to "connect up our two countries," clearly referring to the PA and the U.S.


If the PA is a country, it is at war with an ally, and we shouldn't be "connecting up" with it.

242 jcm  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:38:03am

re: #229 Afrocity

Thanks, your comment put me at ease and I will seriously consider purchasing one. I have thought about it for two years now.

I did a quick search and there are a number of ranges with gun rentals in the Chicago area. At least a few will have a basic safety, handling and shooting class.

243 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:39:09am

re: #217 Afrocity

With the guns, I was scared off again by the kid in Boston at the gun show. I have also heard about them backfiring and killing the shooter.

FWIW (because I know that phobias just can't be "reasoned" away, if this is truly a phobia): The kid at the gun show was (IIRC) a small kid firing a fully automatic weapon. Supervision there was bad. But generally... well, do you drive a car? A moment's distraction while driving can cost you your life. In contrast, you have to do something affirmatively stupid to hurt yourself with a firearm.

As for "backfiring and killing the shooter", incidents like that are almost unheard of, and again can be prevented by very basic safety measures (make sure the barrel isn't blocked).

244 outsidephilly  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:39:14am

re: #241 Kosh's Shadow

Meanwhile, Clinton Hints to Arab Teens PA is Already a Sovereign State


If the PA is a country, it is at war with an ally, and we shouldn't be "connecting up" with it.


United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told children in a televised interview
-- why is she telling children this?

245 vxbush  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:41:33am

re: #244 outsidephilly

United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told children in a televised interview
-- why is she telling children this?

Because that's the only group of people who will listen to her?

246 RaiderDan  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:41:53am

"I'm not an anti-Semite," Freeman said. "This is all a lie cooked up by the Zionist-controlled media."

Okaaaay....

247 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:41:56am

re: #227 Shr_Nfr

I agree with everything except

throw your firearm out the window.

That leaves a loaded firearm lying in the street for anyone to pick up. Not good. I'd say... once cops arrive and you're ready to un-barricade, unload the firearm, leave it lying at least a few yards away from you on the floor, breech visibly open, and you should be on the floor too when the cops come in, hands visible, and clearly, calmly stating who you are.

248 outsidephilly  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:43:48am

re: #245 vxbush

Because that's the only group of people who will listen to her?


Yet, I wonder how these children's minds are processing this, ya know? Would I be too extreme if I say HC is using some propaganda tactics here?

249 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:43:50am

re: #236 buzzsawmonkey

"Mr. T?"

I pity the fool who puts his faith in Obama's words.

So far, Obama's picks have not exactly been an "A" Team.

250 Opinionated  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:44:38am

I bet Pat Buchanan's column on this incident- which he lives for- will be an anti Semitic rant worthy of him.

251 Kosh's Shadow  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:45:03am

re: #249 Occasional Reader

So far, Obama's picks have not exactly been an "A" Team.

Unless the A is for Anti-Semite.

252 vxbush  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:45:07am

re: #248 outsidephilly

Yet, I wonder how these children's minds are processing this, ya know? Would I be too extreme if I say HC is using some propaganda tactics here?

Sure, you can say it. But she's still thinking of SoS as being like the First Lady--she's thinking in terms of photo-ops, and platitudes, and empty gestures rather than actually working on talking to people and getting them to change their positions while listening to ours. She is no diplomat.

/stating the obvious

253 razorbacker  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:45:46am

re: #237 Occasional Reader

I assume you mean to CHECK the rifle?!

What I meant was that I wanted to ride seated with the passengers in the passenger compartment. I wanted the rifle to ride packed with the luggage. Rules stated that firearms had to be opened and proven to be unloaded. You don't 'open' a muzzleloader. Hilarity ensued.

Finally a supervisor showed up. He looked at the rifle, looked at the lady, looked at me. Listened to the story. Shook his head ruefully and wrapped some type of sooper-secret tape around the end of the barrel and locked the rifle back into the hard case.

They delivered me to Kentucky, the rifle to Atlanta and the problem was solved. Later the rifle was flown to Kentucky and a nice fellow brought it to me via automobile.

Moral of the story? Save the original box. If you must travel, pack the weapon in the original box, wrap the box, then ship UPS a couple of days ahead.

254 outsidephilly  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:46:43am

re: #252 vxbush

Sure, you can say it. But she's still thinking of SoS as being like the First Lady--she's thinking in terms of photo-ops, and platitudes, and empty gestures rather than actually working on talking to people and getting them to change their positions while listening to ours. She is no diplomat.

/stating the obvious


yep, she is no diplomat, that's for sure!

255 Pupdawg  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:52:57am

re: #236 buzzsawmonkey

"Mr. T?"

I pity the fool who puts his faith in Obama's words.

Mr. T? Mr. 'Telepromter' Obama.

A teleprompter is only as good as the folks feeding the words to the One being prompted. Mr. T, the leader of the greatest nation on the face of the Earth who does not know or say what he knows or says. Others have to do this for him...or, as Quick Draw McGraw once said to Bobbalou, 'I'll do the thinin' around here!' We are ruled by a Q-card-reading, Marxist-leaning, Charlie McCarthy-like president, a well-dressed, slick-tongued, empty suit who recites perpetually from a script written by others. A pretender president who will espouse an opinion, possibly any opinion, when given to him. A nation ruled by an enabler-dependent-friendly, tired man flush with excuses for future use. He absolutely does not know what he knows...a bullshitting professor sleeping in the White House and we are stuck in his class for years...I'll take a Withdrawal, please. Mr. T is so very way, way beyond his pay grade in his current gig that it is not funny. If you don't already, you should feel cheated and sick and scared.

256 Spiritualized  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:55:44am

This is all sounds really familiar!

Where have I heard it before? Oh yeah, now I remember.

While enemy soldiers fight, bleed, and die at the front, the Jews make money from their sacrifice on the stock exchanges and black markets. If a brave man dares to step forward and accuse the Jews of their crimes, he will be mocked and spat on by their press, chased from his job or otherwise impoverished, and be brought into public contempt.

(.....)

It is an old, often-used method of International Jewry to discredit education and knowledge about its corrupting nature and drives, thereby depending on the weaknesses of those people who easily confuse cause with effect. The Jews are also masters at manipulating public opinion, which they dominate through their network of news agencies and press concerns that reaches throughout the world. The pitiful illusion of a free press is one of the methods they use to stupefy the publics of enemy lands. If the enemy press is as free as it pretends to be, let it take an open position, for or against, on the Jewish Question. It will not do that because it cannot and may not do so. The Jews love to mock and criticize everything except themselves, although everyone knows that they are most in need of public criticism. The Creators of the World's Misfortunes by Joseph Goebbels

These morons actually use the exact same tactics, lambasting Israel whilst simultaneously claiming they're not permitted to do so.

257 anat  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 9:57:54am

I have worked out a possible answer to those who come up with the "Israel lobby" thing, aka "universal Jewish power". Opinions would be appreciated.
Here it is: "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm afraid I don't have the power to deliver you from the Jihadis. You'll have to do it yourself".

258 alansfmd  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:00:41am

...and there is no such a thing as a "Saudi Lobby"!

259 wiffersnapper  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:01:32am

Anti-semitism should have ended by 1950 with the creation of Israel. These people aren't screw loose, they're brain loose.

260 azul93gt  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:03:57am

Only blame America first types need apply with B. Hussein's administration.

261 Kenneth  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:04:22am

Former Spook on Freeman:

In our view, Mr. Freeman's positions in support of China (and against Israel) were enough to disqualify him for the NIC job. Lest we forget, the council is supposed to provide policymakers with unvarnished and unbiased information. Given his obvious biases, any National Intelligence Estimate coordinated under Freeman's watch would have been suspect, at best.

But there was another (and equally important) reason to reject Ambassador Freeman as the next council chair: his lack of intelligence experience. As a career diplomat, Mr. Freeman is a long-time consumer of intel information, but he has virtually no expertise in the underlying trade craft.

At at time when the intelligence community is desperate for independent, rigorous analysis and reporting, appointing a biased--and inexperienced--refugee from Foggy Bottom to the NIC post was an invitation to disaster. Freeman's decision to pull his name from consideration (amid withering Congressional criticism) is a blessing in disguise.

Unfortunately, we don't know who President Obama's next nominee will be. It would be hard to do worse than Charles Freeman, but the new administration already has a track record of strange choices for key intelligence posts.

With retired Admiral Dennis Blair now serving as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta running the CIA, Mr. Obama has entrusted two of the most important intel posts to men with a wholesale lack of prior intelligence experience. Obviously, there is no shortage of experienced personnel in both organizations, but crucial decisions often fall on the shoulders of their leaders, influenced by their own intelligence experience and expertise.

Suffice it to say that the President Obama's senior intel advisers are among the least experienced in recent memory.* The Freeman nomination simply continued an appointment pattern that is anything but reassuring, given the threats we face.

Inexperienced hacks seem to be the kind of staff Obama feels most comfortable with.

262 Kenneth  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:05:29am
263 Occasional Reader  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:07:33am

Mark Steyn on the Freeman story:

As far as I can tell, the only papers in America to so much as mention the Freeman story were the Wall Street Journal, Investors' Business Daily, the Washington Times, the New York Post, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Augusta Chronicle, and the Press Enterprise of Riverside, California.

But if you rely for your news on the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Detroit News, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Miami Herald, or the Minneapolis Star-Tribune — just to name a random selection of American dailies currently sliding off the cliff — the end of the story will be the first time you've heard of it.

Paging Cognito.

264 Mike McDaniel  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:08:17am

re: #87 turn

I knew jack about this guy until I read a few links on Drudge this morning. I came away wondering once again just how deep the Saudis have their fingers into our government and educational system.

Very, very deep.

It's a matter of 'soft graft'. People who work in senior positions in the Government, particularly Presidential appointees, are angling for post-Government employment. Uncle Sam pays poorly, but the knowledge you take away from the job can make you quite valuable on the open market.

And everyone knows that the Saudis pay well. Support them, and you can land a job with an organization working for the Saudis - at a suitably high pay scale. Oppose them, and you might wind up eking out your retirement pay by teaching at a community college.

265 Irenike  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:08:51am

Hey Afro City and any other female Lizard who is considering owing a gun:

I am female, and I've owned a gun for about 16 years. I had a concealed-carry license in Pennsylvania. I used to drive alone all the time along the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Twice, I had car trouble, and I had to go into a small town garage. I was the only female among strange males. I always had my .357 magnum with me. It was such a relief, knowing that I could defend myself if I had to. But, thank God, it did not get to that point. I also lived alone in a not-so-great neighborhood in Pittsburgh, where crime was on the rise. I had that gun nearby all the time. I also carried it on campus, especially late at night when I had to go do research at the library.

There are many dramatic stories of women who have used guns to defend themselves. Paxton Quigley has written books about it. So has Massad Ayoob. There are other authors whose names escape me.

Don't worry about the technical aspects of operating a gun. If you get good training, it'll be no problem. If you can drive a car, you can operate a gun.

I have a friend who was abducted by a child molester when she was 12. He used a gun to force her to his apartment. If only she had known how to use a gun, she could have picked it up when he put it down, and ended the attack a lot sooner.

266 azul93gt  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:10:23am

232 Pupdawg
3/11/09 9:30:44 am

Excellent list.

267 Mike McDaniel  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:12:13am

re: #230 razorbacker

The chat about guns reminds me of an exercise in frustration that I once had attempting to get a muzzleloading .50 caliber rifle checked through airport security.

The nice lady at the desk tells me that I have to 'open the action of the weapon and demonstrate that the gun is not loaded'.

The weapon does not have an action, it is a muzzleloader.

'So how do I know that the gun is unloaded?'

"Well, looky here. This is the ramrod. See? Now look how the ramrod is longer than the barrel. See? Now insert the ramrod and see that the ramrod is now sitting on the bottom of the barrel and that there is no room for a powder charge, much less a bullet."

"I ain't touching that thing! Those are dangerous."

"Ma'am, do you by any chance have someone who has clue how a muzzleloading firearm actually works?"

"Don't cause any trouble, Sir, or I'll have you arrested."

Had the same problem myself on one trip to the World Muzzle-Loading Championships. Not a big issue, I just dropped the ramrod down the bore. Or you could just take the lock out of the stock...which I recommend if you are shipping a rifle.

268 Ward Cleaver  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:12:32am

Like I said yesterday,

Moonbats and CAIR blame "Israel Lobby" in 5...4...3...2...1...

Only of course it was Freeman himself.

Score one for the good guys.

269 Kosh's Shadow  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:17:31am

re: #264 Mike McDaniel

Very, very deep.

It's a matter of 'soft graft'. People who work in senior positions in the Government, particularly Presidential appointees, are angling for post-Government employment. Uncle Sam pays poorly, but the knowledge you take away from the job can make you quite valuable on the open market.

And everyone knows that the Saudis pay well. Support them, and you can land a job with an organization working for the Saudis - at a suitably high pay scale. Oppose them, and you might wind up eking out your retirement pay by teaching at a community college.

On the other hand, oppose the Saudis and keep your soul. I'd take the community college position. Of course, that attitude makes me ineligible for a government position, especially in this administration.

270 realwest  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:18:33am

re: #249 Occasional Reader
"A" team - in a good, nay great year they couldn't make the junior varisty.

271 Cognito  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:24:14am

re: #263 Occasional Reader

Mark Steyn on the Freeman story:

Paging Cognito.

Yes, I think Steyn does a fine job.

272 Rexatosis  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:28:38am

Freeman's view of a mid-east policy is "throw the Muslims the Jews and all will be well." It is about as realistic as "let Robespierre have Louis and Marie Antionette's heads and he'll be satisified." The Terror will only expand as it always does.

273 itellu3times  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:28:41am

re: #261 Kenneth

Outstanding post, thanks!

With retired Admiral Dennis Blair now serving as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta running the CIA, Mr. Obama has entrusted two of the most important intel posts to men with a wholesale lack of prior intelligence experience.

Remember, Chas was the nominee of Blair, completely fulfilling the warning in your post. As earlier discussions here on LGF have asked, is Blair fit for his post?

Paneta is a separate issue - different situation, different guy.

274 bolivar  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:31:23am

re: #263 Occasional Reader

Gee funny thing on this one - the papers that covered it are doing relatively well but the ones that didn't are choking on their own red ink.....as it were.

/no sarc here

275 davesax  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:33:06am

Sullivan hits bottom.

If you want to avoid the impression of a secret group pulling strings under the radar, you might want to stop acting like a secret group pulling strings under the radar. And if you want to dispel all kinds of nefarious anti-Semitic slurs, you might not want to have your campaign launched by a man who famously said:

276 Kenneth  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:34:13am

re: #273 itellu3times

The alarming thing is that Obama has people with no intelligence experience in key intelligence posts. Did we learn nothing from 9-11?

277 Amer-I-Can  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:36:16am

re: #268 Ward Cleaver

Like I said yesterday,

Only of course it was Freeman himself.

Score one for the good guys.

Way to call it Ward! I'll have a little Yoo-Hoo with my Moon Pie to celebrate your success!

hehehe

278 bolivar  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:37:15am

re: #276 Kenneth

The alarming thing is that Obama has people with no intelligence experience in key intelligence posts. Did we learn nothing from 9-11?

Some of us did - obviously the dhimmies never will. Much to our chagrin. I am so glad I didn't vote for these morons - will never have to regret that. Now did I do everything I could to prevent it - no didn't do that but, I am only one man.

279 FrogMarch  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:37:25am

re: #222 jcm

My three top budget items personally of my gross.
Taxes 40%, that's all taxes including the hidden state taxes.
Mortgage 20%
Private school 20%
20% for everything else.

Taxes are going up too.

You should be happy! to pay higher taxes. As Biden noted - It's patriotic! It's patriotic to watch the left destroy America.
It's patriotic to pay higher and higher taxes while the government spends trillions and trillions of money we don't have on waste. er I mean "stimulus".

/

280 kansas  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:38:07am

re: #276 Kenneth

The alarming thing is that Obama has people with no intelligence experience in key intelligence posts. Did we learn nothing from 9-11?

Well, we learned that Bush and Cheney planted explosives in the WTC and then waited for some airliners to allegedly crash into them to set them off.//

281 bolivar  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:40:53am

Ward Cleaver I still have this urge to ask you how the Beaver is doing but, I know you would tell me and that would not be a pretty thing. I have to admit, the show was a favorite when I was a little shaver - even was a member of the Jerry Mathers fan club. Boy sure thought I was hot stuff.....then the local station that carried it stopped carrying it - we lived in Northern Michigan and the station carried 2 networks. Don't even remember what took it's place but, I was scarred for life. Still hold a fondness for beaver to this day......is that a bad thing?

282 Joel  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:41:26am

Some people are starting to refer to Obambi as "Little Boots" a take off on the Emperor Caius's (12 AS - 41 AD) famous nickname 'Caligula'.

283 razorbacker  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:42:43am

re: #280 kansas

Well, we learned that Bush and Cheney planted explosives in the WTC and then waited for some airliners to allegedly crash into them to set them off.//

Idjit. BushCheney did not "wait for some airliners to allegedly crash", they piloted the planes into the WTC and parachuted to safety moments before the impact. Booooosh then transmogrified himself to Florida to read a childern's story and Cheney went back to his breakfast of shattered hopes and crushed dreams.

Get it right, why don't ya?

284 Joel  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:43:20am

re: #51 davesax

Andrew Sullivan is really upset the Freeman's critics spoke out.

He's jumped on the anti-Israel bandwagon these days.

Poor guy.

He has been anti Israel for quite some time, pretty much once he developed Bush Derangement Syndrome. He sounds a lot like Pat Buchanan.

285 SixDegrees  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:53:18am

Like I said yesterday - one can hope that rants similar to this one FINALLY came to the attention of the Administration, and Freeman was asked to withdraw as a result. How they could have missed such sentiment is unclear, but this spittle-spraying rant about the International Jewish Conspiracy is way over the top.

286 tradewind  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:53:33am

We may have won this battle, but remember it's still a war with this bunch: many feel that but for Freeman's lack of disclosure re his financial ties, he would still have been confirmed.
Glad the a-hole's gone, though....

287 tradewind  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 10:55:10am

re: #285 SixDegrees

They didn't miss it... Dennis Blair was in charge of the appointment, and chose not to look. After all the time I've seen him spend on CNN, etc, yakking away re foreign policy, at least now we know where he's coming from.

288 SixDegrees  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 11:03:58am

re: #286 tradewind

We may have won this battle, but remember it's still a war with this bunch: many feel that but for Freeman's lack of disclosure re his financial ties, he would still have been confirmed.
Glad the a-hole's gone, though....

This parting shot of his at least opens the door for more careful scrutiny of whoever is next nominated.

I hope the Republicans are organized enough to do some serious background checking, and to get their message out if they find anything disturbing.

289 FrumiousFalafel  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 11:18:43am

You know, if Freeman believed that kind of stuff in his heart of hearts, it's a fair bet that there are at least a few others who do as well. I'm personally suspicious of Dennis Blair who made it a point of slapping back Israel's (and Admiral Mullen's) estimate that "Iran had crossed the Nuclear Weapon line" in front of congress yesterday.

But back to the wider ramifications of the reasonable guess that others in Obama's administration believe not just in an "Israel Lobby" (which, after all exists; it's call AIPAC). But when they believe in parting phrases like this:

The tactics of the Israel Lobby plumb the depths of dishonor and indecency and include character assassination, selective misquotation, the willful distortion of the record, the fabrication of falsehoods, and an utter disregard for the truth

...then, I for one become rather frightened at our own government and its capability for setting Israel up for an attack looking forward (which is almost assuredly this or next year BTW).

Contrary to popular belief, Israel's "red line" isn't "Iran has now stockpiled X amount of nuclear material, let's go team...", it's the future delivery of a highly advanced Russian anti-aircraft system, already sold to the Iranians but just not yet delivered. The Russians have actually been delaying the delivery of this system for almost 5 years now, supposedly in order to extract more and more concessions from the West (to keep delaying the delivery -- something that jives perfectly with the Russian's national character). However, once the inevitable begins and the anti-aircraft system is seen by Israeli ground spies in Iran being set up, then as they say in NASCAR, "Gentlemen start your engines"

And so what's going to happen then when US Iraq Air Control picks up a squadron of Israeli planes making a mad dash at tree-top level, or perhaps at 40,000 feet, across the country (Iraq) towards Iran. Will Obama be woken up (in that famous 3AM call) and will he order the ostensibly "unidentified planes" intercepted and warned down (even though the Israelis will no doubt be broadcasting their identity by that point). And then what, if they don't comply, will Obama order them shot out of the sky?!

For me, as a Jew and a vehement Israel lover, this scenario scares me. Can some of you more Air force military types fill in more details of such an encounter over the Iraqi desert assuming the US has no foreknowledge of said raid? (Perhaps though, that assumption is faulty to begin with).

290 [deleted]  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 12:22:35pm
291 DamnCat  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 12:33:22pm
"The aim of this Lobby is control of the policy process through the exercise of a veto over the appointment of people who dispute the wisdom of its views, the substitution of political correctness for analysis, and the exclusion of any and all options for decision by Americans and our government other than those that it favors.”

Hey Chas - bucking for a raise from the Saudis?

292 CLLRusso  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 12:55:46pm

re: #291 DamnCat

Something tells me that our furious calling campaign had a positive effect on Freeman's decision to call it a day. Obama and the Dems should know that there are millions more people than Jews that consider Israel worthy of our consideration and protection.

It grieves me that since the election some Christian churches have begun to advance their dhimmi socialist liberal agendas into this and that criticism of Israel for finally standing up to Hamas and neglect to condemn the thousands of rockets fired at Israel from Gaza.

Well, they are not getting away with it. This Christian thinks it is time the Christian churches rallied behind Israel for a change. Turning the other cheek may be useful with some but not with Islam, and we'd better face up to that.

293 funky chicken  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 1:11:52pm

Nothing about his ties to, and idiotic statements about, China?

294 pre-Boomer Marine brat  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 1:12:39pm
Wow. This is the man Barack Obama picked for a sensitive job related to foreign policy.

heh
I'd dearly love to know what's in the tape which the LA Times is hiding.

/circumstantial evidence, tenuous as it is, is piling up

295 [deleted]  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 1:22:11pm
296 cartoonboy  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 1:33:02pm

Obama: bus driver in chief.

297 [deleted]  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 1:52:15pm
298 Hanoch  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 5:34:51pm

It is fascinating how pimples like Freeman, Walt, Mearsheimer, and their ilk incessantly complain about how the "Israel Lobby" is bent on silencing dissent with respect to Israeli government policies. The reality is that there is probably no other country in the world that is flagellated more by the press, book authors (such as Walt and Mearsheimer), NGOs, government officials, and the UN. What really drives Freeman et al. crazy isn't the fact that they are "silenced"; it is the fact that a majority of Americans have retained their moral compass and have firmly rejected the thinly-veiled anti-semitism that these creeps peddle.

299 LAobserver  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 5:48:19pm

so, I've searched around on Freeman - question:
what makes him an anti-semite?
I see that he disagrees with U.S. policy towards Israel, but nothing that he has said strikes me as anti-semitic. Am I missing something?

300 Math Guique  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 6:15:36pm

It's very good news that Chas Freeman has withdrawn. It would have
been even better if his father had withdrawn, but we live in an
imperfect world.

301 Hanoch  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 6:27:43pm

re: #299 LAobserver

One can make a reasonable inference that you are dealing with an anti-semite (1) when he demonizes Jews for having the audacity to defend themselves against Arab terrorism (i.e., the so-called "brutal oppression of the Palestinians by an Israeli occupation") and (2) he then blames the wide-spread negative reaction to his nomination on an all-powerful conspiracy that has a total grip on US foreign policy (i.e., in Freeman's view, the Jews), especially when much of the criticism of Freeman had nothing whatsoever to do with his views on Israel.

302 Lynn B.  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 7:04:19pm

re: #299 LAobserver

so, I've searched around on Freeman - question:
what makes him an anti-semite?
I see that he disagrees with U.S. policy towards Israel, but nothing that he has said strikes me as anti-semitic. Am I missing something?

Ooooo. Let me guess. You got registered here to challenge what you consider to be the group-mind-speak at LGF and bring us enlightenment.

Stick around sport. You might learn something.

303 LAobserver  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 7:13:42pm

re: #301 Hanoch

One can make a reasonable inference that you are dealing with an anti-semite (1) when he demonizes Jews for having the audacity to defend themselves against Arab terrorism (i.e., the so-called "brutal oppression of the Palestinians by an Israeli occupation") and (2) he then blames the wide-spread negative reaction to his nomination on an all-powerful conspiracy that has a total grip on US foreign policy (i.e., in Freeman's view, the Jews), especially when much of the criticism of Freeman had nothing whatsoever to do with his views on Israel.

that's reasonable - I wonder though if it is a bit dangerous to draw inference though from such statements - it's sort of like when people label someone a racist because they are opposed to affirmative action. I think it is fair to point out though too that, at least in what I saw, he never said anything about Jews, but about Israel - which are probably separable in that context. Anyway thanks for replying.

304 LAobserver  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 7:14:10pm

re: #302 Lynn B.

Ooooo. Let me guess. You got registered here to challenge what you consider to be the group-mind-speak at LGF and bring us enlightenment.

Stick around sport. You might learn something.

umm...no, but thanks for replying too (although I have to say, if one were here to challenge "group-mind-speak", mocking me rather replying to a reasonable and honest question might make a skeptic think that group-mind-speak is a problem around here).

305 unclassifiable  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 7:16:08pm

Dodged a bullet with this withdrawal.

And the chief numbnutz in charge still has his lackeys trying to to convince everyone that he is still the Lightworker and it's his staff that is screwing it up.

Sure thing O.

306 J.S.  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 7:26:24pm

re: #299 LAobserver

Yes, you're missing "something." Might try here.

307 phillygirl  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 7:27:41pm

Whatever Blair says at this point is suspect. There is zero reason to trust this guy's judgment after the Freeman affair.
At this point, one has to ask, what are Blair's motivations? Is he impartial or does he too feel, like his friend Chas Freeman, that Jews control foreign policy?

I totally agree. Who is Dennis Blair, really, and how did he get his very powerful job? Why would he nominate someone with such public, anti-Israel views. I'm happy Bibi will be in charge to deal with Blair.

308 swamprat  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 7:52:22pm

re: #303 LAobserver
His views on hamas...sound gets better about 30 seconds in..If your stomach can take he references Jimmy Carter as if be was talking about mother Teresa.

309 Hanoch  Wed, Mar 11, 2009 7:54:21pm

re: #303 LAobserver

Let's not be naive. Who do you think Freeman is referring to when he talks about the devastating effect of the "Israel Lobby"? The Quakers? Freeman is playing a variation on the same anti-semitic theme that has been used for centuries across cultures, i.e., the caricature of the all-powerful, corrupting and disloyal Jew.


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Texas County at Center of Border Fight Is Overwhelmed by Migrant Deaths EAGLE PASS, Tex. - The undertaker lighted a cigarette and held it between his latex-gloved fingers as he stood over the bloated body bag lying in the bed of his battered pickup truck. The woman had been fished out ...
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4 weeks ago
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