1 | Lidane Jun 3, 2014 4:43:26pm |
A hack has a stopped clock moment:
Krauthammer: Obama Didn't Have to Go to Congress on Bergdahl http://t.co/J0lSEz3ipM (VIDEO)— Mediaite (@Mediaite) June 3, 2014
2 | Charles Johnson Jun 3, 2014 4:44:31pm |
“Two Children Teasing a Cat” is among the earliest Italian genre paintings. http://t.co/HOen4kgmW0 pic.twitter.com/M3grMOXNT6— metmuseum (@metmuseum) June 3, 2014
3 | Lidane Jun 3, 2014 4:46:14pm |
@markos @esd2000 pic.twitter.com/2ae3IhAB1S— rosierifka (@rosierifka) June 3, 2014
4 | Charles Johnson Jun 3, 2014 4:46:34pm |
re: #1 Lidane
He’s right, of course. What Obama did was perfectly within his authority as head of the executive branch - nothing illegal about it.
The right is going to raise holy hell to try to make people think it was illegal, though. I’m a little shocked Krauthammer isn’t just parroting that himself, as he usually does.
5 | Charles Johnson Jun 3, 2014 4:53:03pm |
If anyone has ideas for Snopes-like questions for a FAQ that’s being put together about the Edward Snowden affair, please post them here and I’ll forward the good ones on.
6 | ObserverArt Jun 3, 2014 5:00:45pm |
re: #4 Charles Johnson
He’s right, of course. What Obama did was perfectly within his authority as head of the executive branch - nothing illegal about it.
The right is going to raise holy hell to try to make people think it was illegal, though. I’m a little shocked Krauthammer isn’t just parroting that himself, as he usually does.
The right. He’s getting crap from some dem/liberals too. Senator Diane Feinstein is having a sad about not being informed, and the president not following the 30 day notice.
White House apologizes to Senate intel chief for prisoner swap secret
-cut-
She said the chairmen and ranking Republicans of the “connected committees” spent a lot of time in 2011 reviewing the possibility of a prisoner swap and came out firmly opposed to releasing senior militants from the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay.
“There were very strong views and they were virtually unanimous against the trade,” she said.
“I certainly want to know more about whether this man was a deserter,” she said of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was released to American special
forces in return for the freedom of five senior Taliban commanders.
Administration officials have said in public that they did not have time to inform Congress of the prisoner swap because Bergdahl’s life was in
danger and they did not know how long the Taliban would be willing to wait to finalize the deal.The National Defense Authorization Act required the administration to alert Congress of the pending release of prisoners from Guantanamo at
least 30 days in advance.“The notification to us is important and I think that it would have been a much better thing to do because you do try to work together,” Feinstein
said.Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Tuesday he was notified by the administration of the prisoner swap immediately before it
happened.
Strange in a way though. Reid was informed. And if McCain knew enough to say it in a February interview you’d think Feinstein would have known.
Maybe she doesn’t get Christmas cards from Obama…you think?
7 | b.d. Jun 3, 2014 5:04:00pm |
re: #5 Charles Johnson
If anyone has ideas for Snopes-like questions for a FAQ that’s being put together about the Edward Snowden affair, please post them here and I’ll forward the good ones on.
Sounds like a fun, informative project.
8 | Charles Johnson Jun 3, 2014 5:06:30pm |
Looks to me like the Obama administration knew exactly what was going to happen after Bergdahl was freed, and tried to get it done as quickly as possible by letting as few people know in advance as they could.
Easier to ask forgiveness than permission. And if this is how the right wing crackpots act when a soldier is freed, imagine what they would have done if they had advance warning of the plan.
9 | Feline Fearless Leader Jun 3, 2014 5:07:48pm |
re: #5 Charles Johnson
If anyone has ideas for Snopes-like questions for a FAQ that’s being put together about the Edward Snowden affair, please post them here and I’ll forward the good ones on.
Given the self-contradicting and self-serving statements by Greenwald, Snowden, & company is there really anything that can be considered factual as a timeline beyond Snowden fleeing to Hong Kong and then onward to Russia? And the fact that he apparently took a bunch of classified documents with him that Greenwald and others have doled out and attempted to exploit to further their own agenda?
10 | jaunte Jun 3, 2014 5:08:39pm |
Well here we go:
A piece at The Hill, ominously titled “Prisoner swap: Did Hillary know?” reports that “Republicans are raising questions about whether Hillary Clinton knew about the White House plan to release senior Taliban commanders in exchange for the last U.S. prisoner of war.” What did she know? What we know, at least, is that Obama and Clinton had lunch last week. Was that where secret overlord Hillary Clinton gave Obama her permission to use his presidential powers?
“If Mrs. Clinton remains politically active, people will want to know what her advice was on the subject,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.), a senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee.
12 | b.d. Jun 3, 2014 5:10:32pm |
re: #8 Charles Johnson
The Great Chuck Todd says that:
NBC News Chief White House Correspondent Chuck Todd told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Tuesday that the White House has been surprised by the concerned reaction to the release of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. He said that the White House expected criticism of the decision to release five Taliban in exchange for Bergdahl, but they also expected “euphoria” over the release of the last American soldier held captive in Afghanistan.
Of course, I’d say the same thing.
13 | b.d. Jun 3, 2014 5:12:41pm |
How are we supposed to tell the difference between a BENGHAZI twitter ribbon and the upcoming BERGDAHL twitter ribbon?
15 | Charles Johnson Jun 3, 2014 5:13:38pm |
re: #12 b.d.
@20committee And Chuck Todd is, well, an idiot. Not to put too fine a point on it.— Charles Johnson (@Green_Footballs) June 3, 2014
16 | TedStriker Jun 3, 2014 5:14:20pm |
re: #8 Charles Johnson
Looks to me like the Obama administration knew exactly what was going to happen after Bergdahl was freed, and tried to get it done as quickly as possible by letting as few people know in advance as they could.
Easier to ask forgiveness than permission. And if this is how the right wing crackpots act when a soldier is freed, imagine what they would have done if they had advance warning of it.
We all know exactly what would have happened: the second that word of an imminent swap would have made its way to any TPGOPer on Capitol Hill, it would have been leaked to the press, this swap would have likely been scuttled, and Bergdahl would have continued to languish in captivity (likely until he died).
17 | jaunte Jun 3, 2014 5:15:09pm |
Angry conservatives can’t get to Obama, hate-call Bergdahl’s hometown instead.
Jane Drussel, the President of the Hailey Chamber of Commerce, has been fielding dozens of angry calls.
…….
She said the staffers at the Chamber of Commerce, and at a store she runs, don’t know how to deal with the vitriol.
“(We’re) really surprised at the people who are calling — they are hate calls, they’re not just people voicing an opinion,” she said. “The girls just don’t even… we’re all just absolutely in shock, we don’t know how to respond to that to tell you quite truthfully.”
nbcnews.com
18 | blueraven Jun 3, 2014 5:16:50pm |
re: #4 Charles Johnson
He’s right, of course. What Obama did was perfectly within his authority as head of the executive branch - nothing illegal about it.
The right is going to raise holy hell to try to make people think it was illegal, though. I’m a little shocked Krauthammer isn’t just parroting that himself, as he usually does.
Yeah, I was watching that earlier.
And BTW…
Somebody please explain to me under what twisted logic is Kirsten Powers a Democrat; a liberal or even a moderately conservative one?
Unbelievably, she was arguing with Charles Krauthammer on Fox about this. She took the opposite position and said Obama should have to get permission from Congress.
She also referred to Bergdahl as a deserter.
She is against a woman’s right to choose.
She thinks Obama is lying about Benghazi.
She rails about Obamacare.
She recently converted from atheism to evangelical christian…fine, to each his own. Fox bills her as The Democrat on every panel (fair and balanced!). I can see no evidence for that moniker.
19 | Kid A Jun 3, 2014 5:16:53pm |
You want to talk about terrorists, @foxnews? Let's start here… #inners #Bergdahl #WeAreNotStupidGOP pic.twitter.com/Yq0gMDVdK4
— RB Blair (@TuxcedoCat) June 4, 2014
20 | nines09 Jun 3, 2014 5:18:13pm |
An American serviceman is returned home after 5 years as a POW and this is the shit that passes for discourse? Take down the black POW MIA flags in the USA. You are not forgotten!?? They mean nothing now.
21 | Charles Johnson Jun 3, 2014 5:20:15pm |
22 | Kid A Jun 3, 2014 5:22:25pm |
The stupid never ends.
Bristol posted an answer to supporters of Obama's terrorist negotiations to free the Taliban's Dastardly Dream… http://t.co/hjEHz4FE1C
— Sarah Palin (@SarahPalinUSA) June 3, 2014
24 | klys Jun 3, 2014 5:24:36pm |
re: #18 blueraven
Yeah, I was watching that earlier.
And BTW…
Somebody please explain to me under what twisted logic is Kirsten Powers a Democrat; a liberal or even a moderately conservative one?
Unbelievably, she was arguing with Charles Krauthammer on Fox about this. She took the opposite position and said Obama should have to get permission from Congress.
She also referred to Bergdahl as a deserter.
She is against a woman’s right to choose.
She thinks Obama is lying about Benghazi.
She rails about Obamacare.She recently converted from atheism to evangelical christian…fine, to each his own. Fox bills her as The Democrat on every panel (fair and balanced!). I can see no evidence for that moniker.
Just remember, it’s ok. No actual Republicans watch Fox.
////
25 | b.d. Jun 3, 2014 5:24:50pm |
re: #22 Kid A
The stupid never ends.
[Embedded content]
Dastardly?
Who the hell has used that word this century?
26 | Zamb Jun 3, 2014 5:26:27pm |
re: #22 Kid A
Oh good because this discussion was really lacking intelligent well thought out arguments by adults knowledgeable in the subject at hand.
27 | jaunte Jun 3, 2014 5:26:55pm |
28 | blueraven Jun 3, 2014 5:26:59pm |
re: #23 Charles Johnson
She’s Fox’s liberal fox.
She does meet the Fox requirements I guess. She is young and blonde.
29 | Charles Johnson Jun 3, 2014 5:26:59pm |
I’ve never considered Kirsten Powers to be a liberal at all. She’s a Fox News caricature of a liberal.
30 | ObserverArt Jun 3, 2014 5:28:05pm |
31 | Stanley Sea Jun 3, 2014 5:29:57pm |
re: #22 Kid A
The stupid never ends.
[Embedded content]
BRISTOL?
So, Bristol gets paid and her ghostwriter gets paid. Never ever gonna read that dreck.
32 | blueraven Jun 3, 2014 5:30:03pm |
re: #29 Charles Johnson
I’ve never considered Kirsten Powers to be a liberal at all. She’s a Fox News caricature of a liberal.
Along with Pat Caddell and Doug Schoen.
33 | makeitstop Jun 3, 2014 5:31:36pm |
re: #32 blueraven
Along with Pat Caddell and Doug Schoen.
Is Bob Beckel still on Fox? Him, too.
They must pay an awful lot of money for liberals to hang out with those knuckle-dragging freaks.
34 | dog philosopher Jun 3, 2014 5:32:36pm |
re: #29 Charles Johnson
I’ve never considered Kirsten Powers to be a liberal at all. She’s a Fox News caricature of a liberal.
does she “believe government should solve all problems”, think “government should redistribute income to insure equality of outcomes”, and “worship castro”?
35 | Rightwingconspirator Jun 3, 2014 5:33:34pm |
36 | CuriousLurker Jun 3, 2014 5:33:50pm |
re: #15 Charles Johnson
[Embedded content]
After 5 years of watching these asshats crap on every single thing he does, I can’t imagine the WH thinking there’d be euphoria over any action by President Obama, at least not from the right.
No matter what he does, he’s still a black man with a foreign sounding name, and a Democrat to boot.
He cannot win. It’s like when Mullah Nasruddin said, “I cannot tell the truth”—it wasn’t because he was a liar incapable of or unwilling to tell the truth, it was because the truth literally could not be articulated (it could only be indirectly referenced through the symbolism & metaphor of storytelling).
38 | Rightwingconspirator Jun 3, 2014 5:37:05pm |
39 | b.d. Jun 3, 2014 5:38:01pm |
Have the Palinistas finally given up on trying to get Sarah to run for president yet?
40 | Kid A Jun 3, 2014 5:38:25pm |
Jonah is quite possibly the worst of the wingnut donkeyfucks, and that is saying something.
Let's take this Bergdahl fustercluck to 11! Obama should name Bergdahl to replace Shinseki.
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) June 3, 2014
41 | Rightwingconspirator Jun 3, 2014 5:40:18pm |
re: #36 CuriousLurker
Aha.
The Will Rogers or Mark Twain of his day? Cool to see that.
42 | Kid A Jun 3, 2014 5:40:55pm |
@lblocker1234 You mean like how Reagan shrugged off the 240 dead in Beirut by attacking Grenada?
— Eric Christian Smith (@ericphototx) June 4, 2014
43 | A Mom Anon Jun 3, 2014 5:41:35pm |
re: #36 CuriousLurker
(edit: I misread this, I thought the WH had said this, it turns out it was that fool Chuck Todd- my bad)
I kinda almost wonder if that “euphoria” remark was snark. This whole thing is making me sick. There’s a deep and ugly underlying sickness in this country, I don’t know what the anecdotes are to that ugliness. I do know this though:
Happy, well adjusted people don’t send tweets to the father of a newly released soldier telling him that his son deserved to die. They don’t wish death or destruction or bad things upon people they don’t agree with politically and they certainly don’t work to actively intimidate and threaten others just because they can. Bullies are not normal and happy people. I also know that hate can spread like a virus. But maybe that means love can too.
44 | blueraven Jun 3, 2014 5:42:21pm |
re: #36 CuriousLurker
After 5 years of watching these asshats crap on every single thing he does, I can’t imagine the WH thinking there’d be euphoria over any action by President Obama, at least not from the right.
No matter what he does, he’s still a black man with a foreign sounding name, and a Democrat to boot.
He cannot win. It’s like when Mullah Nasruddin said, “I cannot tell the truth”—it wasn’t because he was a liar incapable of or unwilling to tell the truth, it was because the truth literally could not be articulated (it could only be indirectly referenced through the symbolism & metaphor of storytelling).
“On Sunday, I think they thought there would be some euphoria around this,” Todd agreed. “That there would be a rally around the flag. That didn’t happen.”
So this is now gospel because Chuck Todd “thought, they thought”
Got it.
45 | piratedan Jun 3, 2014 5:43:08pm |
well the day that Chuck Todd achieves accuracy in reporting in regards to adequately gauging anything going on at the White House will be the first time. That guy couldn’t find his ass with both hands and a tutorial.
46 | CuriousLurker Jun 3, 2014 5:43:46pm |
re: #35 Rightwingconspirator
Awshit.
Gen. Dempsey: Army may still pursue desertion charge for Bowe Bergdahl
Goddammit it was a clickbait headline and I fell for it. I’m, not pissed at you, pissed at the LA Times. There’s nothing new here, no smoking gun.
The Army may consider pursuing an investigation of possible charges of desertion or other violations by Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was freed Saturday after nearly five years in Taliban custody, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday. […]
“Like any American, he is innocent until proven guilty. Our Army’s leaders will not look away from misconduct if it occurred.”
So they MIGHT pursue an INVESTIGATION of POSSIBLE charges of desertion or OTHER violations. I hate the effing MSM. I don’t trust them for shit anymore.
47 | Belafon Jun 3, 2014 5:44:30pm |
re: #16 TedStriker
We know exactly what would happen because they did it before: Republicans Block Release of US Soldier Held by Taliban
48 | Kid A Jun 3, 2014 5:45:18pm |
@lblocker1234 Yes, he can. Even your patron saint Krauthammer said so.
— Eric Christian Smith (@ericphototx) June 4, 2014
49 | CuriousLurker Jun 3, 2014 5:46:07pm |
50 | Rightwingconspirator Jun 3, 2014 5:46:44pm |
re: #46 CuriousLurker
My awshit was about this crap coming from a general. Do they at the Pentagon not teach executive rank officers how to STFU?
51 | CuriousLurker Jun 3, 2014 5:47:23pm |
re: #41 Rightwingconspirator
Aha.
The Will Rogers or Mark Twain of his day? Cool to see that.
Yeah, sorry—sometimes I forget that not everyone knows who Nasruddin is. ;)
53 | Stanley Sea Jun 3, 2014 5:48:25pm |
re: #40 Kid A
Jonah is quite possibly the worst of the wingnut donkeyfucks, and that is saying something.
[Embedded content]
They see an opportunity actually. All the craziest RWNJ’s are fighting to be the most dispicable. Somehow money flows after that.
54 | Rightwingconspirator Jun 3, 2014 5:48:38pm |
re: #51 CuriousLurker
Yeah, sorry—sometimes I forget that not everyone knows who Nasruddin is. ;)
That’s fine, one of the best things about this blog is the occasional trip to educate myself and keep up.
55 | CuriousLurker Jun 3, 2014 5:48:46pm |
re: #50 Rightwingconspirator
My awshit was about this crap coming from a general. Do they at the Pentagon not teach executive rank officers how to STFU?
That too, but I blame the headline more. Gen. Dempsey didn’t say what the headline said.
56 | A Mom Anon Jun 3, 2014 5:48:49pm |
re: #49 CuriousLurker
Yep. He’s like a gossip reporter. Of course that applies to most of the assholes on the teevee who claim to be informing us.
57 | TedStriker Jun 3, 2014 5:51:21pm |
re: #47 Belafon
We know exactly what would happen because they did it before: Republicans Block Release of US Soldier Held by Taliban
Twice in the past four years, IIRC.
58 | SteveMcGazi Jun 3, 2014 5:53:12pm |
Out of curiosity, does anybody know what kind of experience Bergdahl had in Afghanistan before the Taliban picked him up?
59 | wrenchwench Jun 3, 2014 5:53:49pm |
re: #47 Belafon
We know exactly what would happen because they did it before: Republicans Block Release of US Soldier Held by Taliban
From your link:
Mitt Romney, goaded by his top foreign policy adviser John Bolton, has steadfastly opposed talks with the Taliban while remaining vague about his support for the 2014 drawdown.
And now an adviser to Bolton is goading Bergdahl’s former platoon mates to speak up against him. Is this personal for Grenell?
60 | Varek Raith Jun 3, 2014 5:55:02pm |
61 | wrenchwench Jun 3, 2014 5:56:09pm |
re: #59 wrenchwench
From your link:
And now an adviser to Bolton is goading Bergdahl’s former platoon mates to speak up against him. Is this personal for Grenell?
Or for Bolton, or Romney? It seems there must be a deeper motivation for this irrationality.
Oh, wait.
Black president.
62 | Skip Intro Jun 3, 2014 5:57:31pm |
re: #31 Stanley Sea
BRISTOL?
So, Bristol gets paid and her ghostwriter gets paid. Never ever gonna read that dreck.
The only Palin who actually applied herself and got a job is Willow. Not surprising, you never hear anything from her, unlike Mom and mom’s clone Bristol.
63 | A Mom Anon Jun 3, 2014 6:00:03pm |
re: #59 wrenchwench
WTF is that shit anyway? I have lots of questions about this. How did a freaking PR guy find these guys and get them on TV so fast? Or has this been in the works for awhile? Has this ever happened before? And what about the guy who is raising money off this (or someone is raising money on his behalf)? Something is really fucked up about this whole thing. If someone wants to investigate some shit, that would be a good place to start. This whole thing stinks.
64 | Rightwingconspirator Jun 3, 2014 6:01:44pm |
re: #5 Charles Johnson
If anyone has ideas for Snopes-like questions for a FAQ that’s being put together about the Edward Snowden affair, please post them here and I’ll forward the good ones on.
Why did Snowden not steal documentary proof of his contentions?
65 | Killgore Trout Jun 3, 2014 6:02:05pm |
re: #58 SteveMcGazi
Out of curiosity, does anybody know what kind of experience Bergdahl had in Afghanistan before the Taliban picked him up?
You can look for reports of the emails he sent to his father. Don’t know if they’ve been verified but he was unhappy with the way soldiers treated locals, and had issues with the way the war was conducted. I think there was also hints that he thought he could solve the problem somehow. It might explain the reports that he sought out the Taliban. Maybe he had some sort of ill conceived peace plan.
66 | Skip Intro Jun 3, 2014 6:04:05pm |
re: #55 CuriousLurker
That too, but I blame the headline more. Gen. Dempsey didn’t say what the headline said.
No surprise that they might charge him with something if an investigation turns up evidence that warrants it. You can’t do that while he’s still a POW, so the RWNJs should be happy. This is the way it’s supposed to work.
As for the LA Times, it’s almost as though they’ve been bought out by Murdoch.
67 | Decatur Deb Jun 3, 2014 6:09:20pm |
re: #60 Varek Raith
Alaskan researchers issue rare red alert as Paflof Volcano begins erupting
Bobby Jindal maintains his state of befuddlement.
68 | TedStriker Jun 3, 2014 6:11:59pm |
re: #59 wrenchwench
From your link:
And now an adviser to Bolton is goading Bergdahl’s former platoon mates to speak up against him. Is this personal for Grenell?
I think it’s all about the money and a possible return to the TPGOP fold, after getting canned by the Romney campaign.
There’s just one little problem with this strategy for Grennell: he’s still gay.
69 | CuriousLurker Jun 3, 2014 6:13:11pm |
re: #66 Skip Intro
No surprise that they might charge him with something if an investigation turns up evidence that warrants it. You can’t do that while he’s still a POW, so the RWNJs should be happy. This is the way it’s supposed to work.
As for the LA Times, it’s almost as though they’ve been bought out by Murdoch.
Yeah, I have no problem with him being investigated and charged, if there was any wrongdoing. I just resent clickbait headlines that strip out the subtlety of what was actually said becuase it totally changes the meaning.
70 | CuriousLurker Jun 3, 2014 6:20:39pm |
re: #54 Rightwingconspirator
That’s fine, one of the best things about this blog is the occasional trip to educate myself and keep up.
Here’s a PDF with a much better, more in-depth explanation of Nasruddin than the one you’ll find at Wikipedia or wherever. It delves into the Sufi teaching aspect of his stories, if that interests you.
71 | funky chicken Jun 4, 2014 11:11:49am |
re: #50 Rightwingconspirator
My awshit was about this crap coming from a general. Do they at the Pentagon not teach executive rank officers how to STFU?
There’s nothing wrong with what he said. He didn’t reveal anything new or secret, and the fact that they are going to investigate the kid for desertion doesn’t mean that the brass believes he should have been left to die over there. I see no hint of criticism of the administration’s decision in this statement.