Shameless Inversion of Reality, NRO-Style

“Hero or Deserter?” Are those my only choices?
Wingnuts • Views: 31,106

When I saw this one come across my Twitter feed, I knew right away it was today’s winner in our Shameless Right Wing Inversion of Reality Sweepstakes.

The chutzpah. The gall. The sheer in your face hypocrisy. This one has it all.

Jump to bottom

694 comments
1 darthstar  Jun 4, 2014 5:24:17pm

I joked this morning that the media would be blaming Obama…Little did I know how soon that would happen:

2 EPR-radar  Jun 4, 2014 5:24:45pm

So the NRO is running with “deserter” as an established fact.

Not surprising. Full time apologia for GOP/conservative excesses has led to atrophy of the parts of the brains of the NRO pundits that, in normal human beings, are capable of distinguishing reality from fantasy.

3 Kragar  Jun 4, 2014 5:24:59pm

If Obama has simply left him there, the people who hate him could have continued to call Bergdahl a hero while they screamed Obama was doing nothing to bring him home.

OBAMA RUINED IT!
/

4 Kragar  Jun 4, 2014 5:25:32pm

re: #2 EPR-radar

So the NRO is running with “deserter” as an established fact.

Not surprising. Full time apologia for GOP/conservative excesses has led to atrophy of the parts of the brains of the NRO pundits that, in normal human beings, are capable of distinguishing reality from fantasy.

Dont start a witch hunt.
/

5 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 4, 2014 5:25:52pm

Just the latest in the rather predictable string of misconduct, deceptions and heartless propaganda. And it’s not over yet.

6 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 5:26:39pm
7 Charles Johnson  Jun 4, 2014 5:27:50pm

“Hero or Deserter?”

Arg. This kind of moronic reductionist bullshit makes me wanna say arg.

8 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 5:28:03pm

If only the White House had quietly brought him back, this would never have happened! But no, they had to say “honor and distinction,” which we know is a lie!!!

9 Ding-an-sich Wannabe  Jun 4, 2014 5:34:44pm

On the unlikely supposition that they will have understood that they were wrong about A, they will simply blame Obama for being pro-A, thus forcing them to be anti-A.

10 wrenchwench  Jun 4, 2014 5:37:05pm

re: #7 Charles Johnson

“Hero or Deserter?”

Arg. This kind of moronic reductionist bullshit makes me wanna say arg.

It’s like ‘Madonna/whore’. How to think about not-real people.

11 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 4, 2014 5:37:07pm

re: #7 Charles Johnson

Just imagine if the guy had died in captivity and it came out negotiations fell through. It would have been at least as bad, maybe worse, far worse. “Abandoned our hero” from the exact same people who today say “traitor”.

12 KiTA  Jun 4, 2014 5:38:33pm

Obama can’t even rescue a POW without these racist nutcases going after him.

ODS is a terrible thing.

I can’t wait to see President Clinton deal with CDS after this ends. Maybe at the very least the fact that Hillary is white enough for the tea party sects will shut down some of this stupid crap.

13 darthstar  Jun 4, 2014 5:41:50pm
14 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 5:44:16pm

Seriously, I didn’t tune into the Rose Garden event or the Sunday Funnies, so I gotta ask, who in the White House has called him a “hero”? Because so far, I’ve not seen anybody quoted as saying such, just the same shit over and over about “honor and distinction,” as if thanking the man for his service to his country was verboten if deemed a “deserter.”

15 dog philosopher  Jun 4, 2014 5:44:18pm

re: #7 Charles Johnson

“Hero or Deserter?”

Arg. This kind of moronic reductionist bullshit makes me wanna say arg.

it seems that logical fallacies like this are partly to blame for the increased pirate activity we’ve been seeing lately

16 wrenchwench  Jun 4, 2014 5:44:22pm

Later, lizards.

17 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 5:45:35pm

re: #13 darthstar

[Embedded content]

Haha, I showed that to my grandson, and he said he’d tell that guy, “Hey, nice dick extension.”

He says that about the guys who drive those huge trucks around here, too, that obviously aren’t used for anything but transportation. “Hey, buddy, great truck—sorry about your dick.” : )

18 bratwurst  Jun 4, 2014 5:45:39pm

I am embarrassed to admit I used to regard Howard Kurtz as an above average voice in the media…but he has gotten right with the Fox company line since moving over there.

19 Belafon  Jun 4, 2014 5:45:40pm

If I had to choose between being rescued and being liked by the right wing, I would choose to be rescued.

20 SteveMcGazi  Jun 4, 2014 5:46:41pm

re: #13 darthstar

[Embedded content]

I’ve asked that same question repeatedly. These open carry guys have no clue about personal security in spite of their security blankee. I think the guys with the rifle has another magazine in his left back pocket and he’s also got a holster, I guess he feels he needs a sidearm to go with the rifle. Must be a really bad neighborhood.

21 Charles Johnson  Jun 4, 2014 5:47:49pm

re: #13 darthstar

I wonder how many people turn around and walk right out of a business when they see this dumbass shit going on. And then never come back.

22 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 4, 2014 5:49:49pm

re: #20 SteveMcGazi

Plus this

Must be a really bad neighborhood.

If these guys are carrying loaded and a round chambered we know what will happen. What if some wise ass just pushes on that trigger?!

23 Varek Raith  Jun 4, 2014 5:50:02pm

I’ll go with, “I don’t know”.

24 Killgore Trout  Jun 4, 2014 5:50:50pm

re: #21 Charles Johnson

I wonder how many people turn around and walk right out of a business when they see this dumbass shit going on. And then never come back.

I went to grad school in Arizona. I never got comfortable with it but you do get kind of used to seeing it in open carry states.

25 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 5:51:00pm

It’s said the elderly couple who lived there got out safely. But, oh shit.

26 Charles Johnson  Jun 4, 2014 5:51:51pm

I know if I saw a chucklehead with a semi-auto weapon strapped across his back at the Subway I sometimes get lunch at, I’d find somewhere else to get my sammiches.

27 GeneJockey  Jun 4, 2014 5:51:59pm

re: #13 darthstar

[Embedded content]

Or using it to toss him around a bit?

29 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 5:52:48pm

re: #22 Rightwingconspirator

Plus this

If these guys are carrying loaded and a round chambered we know what will happen. What if some wise ass just pushes on that trigger?!

If the safety is engaged on that AR, then nothing happens except that the wise ass gets a well deserved chewing out. Eugene Stoner designed a good safety for the AR system and that rifle’s trigger won’t fire off a round if said safety is engaged.

30 Varek Raith  Jun 4, 2014 5:52:53pm

re: #24 Killgore Trout

I went to grad school in Arizona. I never got comfortable with it but you do get kind of used to seeing it in open carry states.

Same here in Va.

31 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 5:54:18pm

re: #26 Charles Johnson

I know if I saw a chucklehead with a semi-auto weapon strapped across his back at the Subway I sometimes get lunch at, I’d find somewhere else to get my sammiches.

I’d make it clear to management on the way out that I wouldn’t be back and the reason why. And loudly enough so that the open-carry fucker knew he’d just cost this shop my business.

32 klys  Jun 4, 2014 5:54:51pm

33 SteveMcGazi  Jun 4, 2014 5:54:59pm

I would think an open carry wimp should be the first one to push for smart guns. When somebody takes his gun off him and turns it against him he’s gonna wish he had gotten one.

34 Killgore Trout  Jun 4, 2014 5:55:10pm

re: #30 Varek Raith

Same here in Va.

Does VA have open carry? I finished high school inside the beltway then undergad way out in Winchester. I remember seeing lots of gunracks in trucks but can’t ever recall seeing open carry. Maybe I didn’t notice. I was pretty stoned back then

35 CuriousLurker  Jun 4, 2014 5:55:42pm

re: #32 klys

[Embedded image]

I kinda feel like that today…

36 GeneJockey  Jun 4, 2014 5:55:51pm

re: #29 Dark_Falcon

If the safety is engaged on that AR, then nothing happens except that the wise ass gets a well deserved chewing out. Eugene Stoner designed a good safety for the AR system and that rifle’s trigger won’t fire off a round if said safety is engaged.

Because nobody else in the WHOLE WORLD would know where the safety on an AR15 is.

37 Ace-o-aces  Jun 4, 2014 5:56:09pm

re: #13 darthstar

Wouldn’t it just be easier to wear a sign that says:
“Hello, I have a small penis”

38 Varek Raith  Jun 4, 2014 5:56:31pm

re: #34 Killgore Trout

Does VA have open carry? I finished high school inside the beltway then undergad way out in Winchester. I remember seeing lots of gunracks in trucks but can’t ever recall seeing open carry. Maybe I didn’t notice. I was pretty stoned back then

Yep.

39 Ding-an-sich Wannabe  Jun 4, 2014 5:57:46pm

40 Belafon  Jun 4, 2014 5:57:46pm

re: #37 Ace-o-aces

I thought those were the signs.

41 ObserverArt  Jun 4, 2014 5:58:42pm

re: #21 Charles Johnson

I wonder how many people turn around and walk right out of a business when they see this dumbass shit going on. And then never come back.

I bet some of the store owners are seeing that very thing on some of their security cameras. Or, they may be shooting it themselves to show their corporate people to help build some political heat.

And if that does happen, this will but some real hurt on conservative politicians in some of the states. Like this crap in Texas. They are going to have to consider businesses that want to see this go away and the nutjobs with gunz. Stuck right there between the monster they helped create.

Couldn’t happen to a better bunch.

42 Charles Johnson  Jun 4, 2014 5:59:10pm
43 Rev_Arthur_Belling  Jun 4, 2014 6:00:21pm

Not gonna lie. Just watched that video of Bergdahl’s release, and the expression in his eyes was heart-breaking. Fuck all the RWNJ’s who are now saying we should have left him there.

44 klys  Jun 4, 2014 6:01:17pm

45 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 6:01:25pm

re: #43 Rev_Arthur_Belling

Not gonna lie. Just watched that video of Bergdahl’s release, and the expression in his eyes was heart-breaking. Fuck all the RWNJ’s who are now saying we should have left him there.

Obviously it’s all an act. Haven’t you watched Homeland? He’s totally an undercover agent for the Taliban now.

//

46 Mattand  Jun 4, 2014 6:01:42pm

re: #31 Targetpractice

I’d make it clear to management on the way out that I wouldn’t be back and the reason why. And loudly enough so that the open-carry fucker knew he’d just cost this shop my business.

One of these open carry idiots is going to go UT Bell Tower at a fast food place one of these days.

I sort of got into it with the “patriots” who run Open Carry Tx on their initial “Maybe going in heavy to a Chipoltle upsets the norms” press release. They seem to be convinced that once you’re in the open carry fold, you’re immune to mistakes and mental illness.

47 Killgore Trout  Jun 4, 2014 6:02:05pm

Speaking out outrage, here’s Politifiact: Did Bergdahl serve the U.S. ‘with honor and distinction’?

“Rice’s comments were premature and not at all politically wise, as it’s possible and probably even likely that as we learn more about Bergdahl’s disappearance we’re going to find that it was in less than honorable circumstances,” said Lance Janda, a military historian at Cameron University. The words Rice used “have specific meanings within the context of the armed services that no civilian can convincingly spin for political purposes, and she should not have used them given what we know already. There’s a chance he could still be court-martialed for desertion, and if that happens her comments will seem particularly premature and inflammatory.”

“It’s too early to tell, but what has been asserted so far certainly makes Rice’s comment puzzling,” agreed William W. Stueck, a historian at the University of Georgia who specializes in the military. “Why would Rice make such a comment if it could be demonstrated to be wrong?”

48 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 6:02:09pm

re: #36 GeneJockey

Because nobody else in the WHOLE WORLD would know where the safety on an AR15 is.

As a rule, the people who own them do know where they are and how they work, and in open carrying they tend to engage said safeties. This is not universal, most likely, but carrying a semi-auto rifle with the safety off when not out in the country hunting is severely frowned upon in gun owner circles.

49 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 6:02:52pm

re: #42 Charles Johnson

[Embedded content]

50 klys  Jun 4, 2014 6:02:55pm

52 darthstar  Jun 4, 2014 6:03:09pm

re: #27 GeneJockey

Or using it to toss him around a bit?

I’d just like to pull the clip out and say, “Now you’re demonstrating gun safety.”

53 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 4, 2014 6:03:10pm

re: #29 Dark_Falcon

I don’t trust it. I say this as an SRO of long time. Call me overcautious. AD’s happen. Even with that design. Especially in a crowd. Too much exposure. Too vulnerable to mischief.

Nobody ever got wounded in my bay. In some small part my attitude about safe handling is why. Loaded carry = AD’s. Police, troops or these guys. Somebody gets sloppy. Bang.

54 S'latch  Jun 4, 2014 6:03:28pm

If the we send you to fight in a foreign country, and you get yourself captured by enemy forces, it isn’t worth getting you back unless you are a “hero.” That’s our policy, right?

55 Varek Raith  Jun 4, 2014 6:03:29pm

re: #44 klys

That your kitteh?

56 klys  Jun 4, 2014 6:03:30pm

57 klys  Jun 4, 2014 6:04:05pm

re: #55 Varek Raith

That your kitteh?

That is the vampire kitty, yes.

So soft and fluffy.

Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

58 Varek Raith  Jun 4, 2014 6:04:26pm

re: #49 Gus

[Embedded content]

Why yes, I’m quite content with myself about tearing up the living room.

59 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 6:04:35pm

re: #47 Killgore Trout

Speaking out outrage, here’s Politifiact: Did Bergdahl serve the U.S. ‘with honor and distinction’?

Killgore, seriously, fuck Politifact. I’m tired of this MBF shit today.

60 Mattand  Jun 4, 2014 6:04:57pm

re: #48 Dark_Falcon

As a rule, the people who own them do know where they are and how they work, and in open carrying they tend to engage said safeties. This is not universal, most likely, but carrying a semi-auto rifle with the safety off when not out in the country hunting is severely frowned upon in gun owner circles.

I’d like to think carrying that weapon into a family restaurant would be frowned upon as well, but I guess you can’t have a 2nd Amendment without terrorizing parents trying to eat a meal with their kids at their favorite diner.

61 Charles Johnson  Jun 4, 2014 6:05:52pm
62 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 6:06:08pm

It seems this is now the “cats and guns thread” so I found an appropriate image for that theme:

Image: tumblr_n4cpt4anV11r9khx4o1_1280.jpg

63 Belafon  Jun 4, 2014 6:06:17pm

re: #48 Dark_Falcon

Does each AR-15 have its safety in its own unique place? One’s next to the trigger, one on the butt, and one just inside the barrel? That way there’s no way to find out exactly where the safety is? Because if it isn’t randomly placed on the gun, someone could find it pretty easy. Which is what you keep dancing around.

64 klys  Jun 4, 2014 6:06:21pm

re: #61 Charles Johnson

Dammit I am menu planning a healthy menu and this is not helping.

65 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 6:06:30pm
66 Varek Raith  Jun 4, 2014 6:06:43pm

re: #62 Dark_Falcon

It seems this is now the “cats and guns thread” so I found an appropriate image for that theme:

Image: tumblr_n4cpt4anV11r9khx4o1_1280.jpg

Wake me up again and I pull the pin.

67 klys  Jun 4, 2014 6:07:03pm

re: #64 klys

I have a recipe for peanut butter fudge stuffed with cookie dough.

Must. Not. Make.

68 Killgore Trout  Jun 4, 2014 6:07:04pm

Young Conservatives Are Setting Out on a Crusade Against Homophobic Party Language
Bonus: Pic of one youngish guy, presumably consrevative

69 Decatur Deb  Jun 4, 2014 6:07:29pm

re: #7 Charles Johnson

“Hero or Deserter?”

Arg. This kind of moronic reductionist bullshit makes me wanna say arg.

And it’s not 19 September.

70 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 6:07:40pm

re: #61 Charles Johnson

[Embedded content]

Just looking at that made my blood sugar go up 100 points. : )

71 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 6:08:00pm

re: #61 Charles Johnson

[Embedded content]

I can feeel myself becoming diabetic just from looking at that. But it wouldn’t stop me from trying to eat it all anyway.

72 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 6:08:09pm

73 Decatur Deb  Jun 4, 2014 6:09:10pm

re: #54 S’latch

If the we send you to fight in a foreign country, and you get yourself captured by enemy forces, it isn’t worth getting you back unless you are a “hero.” That’s our policy, right?

If you join the volunteer Army with a combat arms MOS and deploy to Where the Loud Things Are, you are hero enough until proven otherwise.

74 klys  Jun 4, 2014 6:09:44pm

re: #73 Decatur Deb

If you join the volunteer Army with a combat arms MOS and deploy to Where the Loud Things Are, you are hero enough until proven otherwise.*

* Takes more proof for some than others.

75 psddluva4evah  Jun 4, 2014 6:09:53pm

re: #28 Killgore Trout

I’m just saying, but why are these soldiers going to reporters instead of waiting to state their case against Bergdahl in military court. It’s unseemly to me. Why are they so hard-pressed to malign the character of this guy before an investigation? The ease with which the few I’ve seen have run to the press speaks of an effort to hang ‘em before he’s even tried.

I think it a crying shame. Call it swift boating or whatever, but it’s just as easy to tell reporters, no comment rather than sure I”ll come on tv

76 ObserverArt  Jun 4, 2014 6:09:53pm

re: #28 Killgore Trout

There has been an outrage
Matthews Trashes White House Suggestion Soldiers ‘Swift Boating’ Bergdahl

I think your previous comments about not watching corporate cable tv talking heads reading scripts from the corporate staff pool nullifies that link.

77 Tars Tarkas  Jun 4, 2014 6:09:57pm

The flip-flop on Bergdahl just keeps proving there isn’t going to be a bottom, it’s just going to get more and more loco for the right. On twitter Matt Binder had an awesome series of retweets of people blaming Obama for abandoning that hero Bergdahl and then calling Bergdahl a traitor.

78 Rev_Arthur_Belling  Jun 4, 2014 6:10:09pm

I also have to say that watching this Bergdahl hate-fest while lurking over the last couple of days has really lowered my faith in humanity. I empathize with the parents and can see how the father dealt with what must have been an awful situation. And I hope Bowe gets the treatment he needs, and that Karma does a routine on the people who have been playing this … game(!) with a soldier’s life.

Ugh.

/minirant

79 Belafon  Jun 4, 2014 6:12:11pm

re: #73 Decatur Deb

If you join the volunteer Army with a combat arms MOS and deploy to Where the Loud Things Are, you are hero enough until proven otherwise a black man is elected president.

80 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 6:12:12pm

re: #63 Belafon

Does each AR-15 have its safety in its own unique place? One’s next to the trigger, one on the butt, and one just inside the barrel? That way there’s no way to find out exactly where the safety is? Because if it isn’t randomly placed on the gun, someone could find it pretty easy. Which is what you keep dancing around.

I’m not “dancing around” it. I do however find it highly unlikely that someone would be so stupid as to deliberately disengage the safety on someone else’s rifle while said other person was carrying said rifle and then pull the rifle’s trigger. Anyone who did such a thing would be guilty of several criminal offenses and would in all probability receive a multi-month ‘vacation’ at the Grey Bar Hilton.

81 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 6:12:28pm

re: #75 psddluva4evah

I’m just saying, but why are these soldiers going to reporters instead of waiting to state their case against Bergdahl in military court. It’s unseemly to me. Why are they so hard-pressed to malign the character of this guy before an investigation? The ease with which the few I’ve seen have run to the press speaks of an effort to hang ‘em before he’s even tried.

I think it a crying shame. Call it swift boating or whatever, but it’s just as easy to tell reporters, no comment rather than sure I”ll come on tv

The common excuse I’ve heard for their rushing to the cameras is along the lines of “They want to set the record straight!,” a lot of blubbering about how awful it is that these guys see him brought home as a “hero,” and (of course) the accusations that other soldiers were killed trying to find him.

82 thedopefishlives  Jun 4, 2014 6:12:29pm

Evening Lizardim.

83 Killgore Trout  Jun 4, 2014 6:12:42pm

re: #75 psddluva4evah

I’m just saying, but why are these soldiers going to reporters instead of waiting to state their case against Bergdahl in military court. It’s unseemly to me. Why are they so hard-pressed to malign the character of this guy before an investigation? The ease with which the few I’ve seen have run to the press speaks of an effort to hang ‘em before he’s even tried.

I think it a crying shame. Call it swift boating or whatever, but it’s just as easy to tell reporters, no comment rather than sure I”ll come on tv

I’m not sure why they waited. There might have been a military gag order on them. Maybe they couldn’t/wouldn’t talk while he was captive but are now able because he’s released. Maybe nobody asked them, Bergdahl’s been captive for years without much interest from the press.

84 Varek Raith  Jun 4, 2014 6:12:49pm
“If you desert or commit treason, you have to be proved to have done so. We can’t just decide because some people come on television and yakety yak, and we’ve got a report of this and a report of that and that’s what happened. As the Army said, as the Pentagon said, you bring them home. You bring them home first, and then you investigate.”

- Shepherd Smith

85 klys  Jun 4, 2014 6:14:05pm

86 thedopefishlives  Jun 4, 2014 6:15:03pm

re: #85 klys

[Embedded image]

“I am KITTEH, lord of this garden. You may leave your offering before me and go.”

87 Belafon  Jun 4, 2014 6:15:13pm

re: #80 Dark_Falcon

And that was darthstars point: Absolutely nothing in that picture would stop a bad guy wanting the gun from doing exactly what you said. And guess what: The gun is available. Reach up, pop the safety, shoot the owner in the leg, take the gun, and go to town restaurant.

88 lawhawk  Jun 4, 2014 6:15:20pm

Someone who has no right to talk about deals for hostages? Ollie North.

The same Ollie North who perpetrated an arms for hostages deal way back in the Reagan Administration.

Who, in the supreme irony of ironies, thinks that cutting a deal with the bad guys, isn’t a good idea.

89 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 6:15:23pm

re: #84 Varek Raith

- Shepherd Smith

Ah, the stopped clock moment for Shepard Smith has arrived.

90 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 6:16:27pm

re: #83 Killgore Trout

I’m not sure why they waited. There might have been a military gag order on them. Maybe they couldn’t/wouldn’t talk while he was captive but are now able because he’s released. Maybe nobody asked them, Bergdahl’s been captive for years without much interest from the press.

How about “none of the above.” Some of them vented their spleens to Rolling Stone back in 2012.

91 ObserverArt  Jun 4, 2014 6:17:25pm

re: #46 Mattand

One of these open carry idiots is going to go UT Bell Tower at a fast food place one of these days.

I sort of got into it with the “patriots” who run Open Carry Tx on their initial “Maybe going in heavy to a Chipoltle upsets the norms” press release. They seem to be convinced that once you’re in the open carry fold, you’re immune to mistakes and mental illness.

Well, it’s already been done at a fast food joint and the toll was as bad. Actually more deaths.

James Huberty (from Ohio) shot dead 21 victims and injured 19. San Ysidro, (San Diego) California, July 1984.

A buddy and I wrote a song for our band back then…”America is out to Lunch (And we don’t when it’ll get back to work)” so, I’ll always remember that,

92 Charles Johnson  Jun 4, 2014 6:19:22pm
93 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 6:19:25pm

Evidently, the crap that is coming out now is from the hard-core RWNJs who obviously don’t care that the Bergdahls are a seriously evangelical Christian family. I read a story from “World News” which is a Christian slanted media company out of Asheville, NC which talked about the family and their relationship w/former the pastor of the local evangelical Presbyterian church where they are members. It, of course, focused mainly on Bowe’s christian upbringing and his search for meaning—he even spent a short time in a Buddhist monastery, according to the story. The story also gave a link to his older sister’s blog (very religious). When she was 17, she married a 24 yr old midshipman (in 2000) who was also home schooled (another article gave his story, citing his Christian upbringing).

Many of the comments on the story were pretty disturbing, though, with the usual accusations.

94 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 4, 2014 6:19:42pm

re: #28 Killgore Trout

There has been an outrage
Matthews Trashes White House Suggestion Soldiers ‘Swift Boating’ Bergdahl

And more outrage…

Ruppersberger Calls Taliban Prisoner Exchange ‘A Dangerous Precedent’

BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The Obama administration continues to take heat following the trade of five Guantanamo Bay prisoners for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl last weekend, and a top Democratic official from Maryland fears the move could have serious consequences.

Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger, the top-ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, calls this a “dangerous precedent that puts all Americans at risk throughout the world.”

Ruppersberger is one of a growing chorus of critics who say five Taliban prisoners is too high a cost.

“Since World War Two we have not negotiated with terrorists or other groups,” Ruppersberger said, according to WJZ’s media partner the Baltimore Sun. “What concerns me is the future. This puts all Americans at risk throughout the world, including our men and women on the front line…for kidnapping.”

95 Mattand  Jun 4, 2014 6:19:58pm

re: #89 Targetpractice

Ah, the stopped clock moment for Shepard Smith has arrived.

More like today’s script from Ailes called for a Shep Smith “loose cannon” moment.

96 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 6:20:14pm

re: #92 Charles Johnson

[Embedded content]

“OBAMA LEFT HIM BEHIND!!!”

97 Decatur Deb  Jun 4, 2014 6:20:34pm

re: #91 ObserverArt

Well, it’s already been done at a fast food joint and the toll was as bad. Actually more deaths.

James Huberty (from Ohio) shot dead 21 victims and injured 19. San Ysidro, (San Diego) California, July 1984.

A buddy and I wrote a song for our band back then…”America is out to Lunch (And we don’t when it’ll get back to work)” so. I’ll always remember that,

Luby’s, Killeen TX: 24 dead, 20 injured.

en.wikipedia.org

So yes, drop a dime on a hinky asshole in a restaurant.

98 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 6:20:43pm

HAIL HYDRA!

Caption:

Allegiance
Fighters of Social Nationalist Assembly (SNA), part of ultra-nationalist Right Sector movement, take an oath of allegiance to the country before heading to Eastern Ukraine as part of the battalion “Azov” during a ceremony in their headquarters in Kiev June 3, 2014. (REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko)

More photos of these fascist assholes can be found here.

99 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 6:21:15pm

As I guessed, my NRO-reading, Allen West quoting, Tea Party supporting friends on FB have all decided that Bergdahl is either a traitor or a deserter. They have all swallowed the party line that “the price was too high” to bring him back, as if whatever the hell he may or may not have done means that he should’ve been left to die in the hands of his captors.

WTF right wingers? Has an entire political ideology decided that POWs only have value if a Republican brings them home and if they fit neatly into a pre-defined narrative?

100 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 6:23:35pm

re: #99 Lidane

As I guessed, my NRO-reading, Allen West quoting, Tea Party supporting friends on FB have all decided that Bergdahl is either a traitor or a deserter. They have all swallowed the party line that “the price was too high” to bring him back, as if whatever the hell he may or may not have done means that he should’ve been left to die in the hands of his captors.

WTF right wingers? Has an entire political ideology decided that POWs only have value if a Republican brings them home and if they fit neatly into a pre-defined narrative?

That’s alright, I’ve got a “blue dog Democrat” (aka a professional concern troll) who swears she would have been okay if we’d just paid a ransom or sent the military in to rescue him. This despite believing he’s a deserter and possible a traitor.

101 CuriousLurker  Jun 4, 2014 6:23:35pm

Speaking of cats & Afghanistan, does anyone remember poor old Marjan, the lion of Kabul who lived 48 long years then died after the fall of the Taliban, just a few weeks after the arrival of professional veterinary care?

He seemed to sort of be a metaphor for the suffering of the entire country.

I truly hope the Afghan people get to once again live in peace, security & prosperity some day soon.

Marjan, the lion of Kabul

Damn, now I gave myself a sad so I’m gonna call it a night. *sigh*

Later, lizards.

102 palomino  Jun 4, 2014 6:24:22pm

re: #59 Targetpractice

Killgore, seriously, fuck Politifact. I’m tired of this MBF shit today.

MBF is pretty much all he’s got. He cuts, pastes, and then cuts and pastes some more. Lots of quantity from him, very little quality. Or thought. Or analysis.

Oh, how the once mediocre have fallen into near worthlessness.

103 Feline Fearless Leader  Jun 4, 2014 6:24:55pm

re: #56 klys

[Embedded image]

They haz dignities too!

104 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 6:25:25pm

re: #97 Decatur Deb

Luby’s, Killeen TX: 24 dead, 20 injured.

en.wikipedia.org

So yes, drop a dime on a hinky asshole in a restaurant.

The Luby’s Massacre is actually what made the passage of Shall Issue Concealed Carry in Texas inevitable. The story told by a woman who watched her father be shot dead after having left her own gun in her car as then required by law assured the CCW law’s passage. Gov. Ann Richards vetoed the law, but the legislature overrode her veto and her having made said veto helped ensure her defeat by George W. Bush.

105 klys  Jun 4, 2014 6:25:29pm

re: #103 Feline Fearless Leader

They haz dignities too!

106 Zamb  Jun 4, 2014 6:25:58pm

re: #100 Targetpractice

I don’t get this send in the military line from people who will also shout about all the soldiers who died because of him. There is no fucking consistency from this crowd and I am seeing way to many dems give cover for their insanity.

107 Charles Johnson  Jun 4, 2014 6:27:12pm
108 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 6:27:27pm

re: #106 Zamb

I don’t get this send in the military line from people who will also shout about all the soldiers who died because of him. There is no fucking consistency from this crowd and I am seeing way to many dems give cover for their insanity.

Cognitive dissonance is a hallmark of the ODS crowd. “Damn Obama for doing this and not that (Even though I would have been just as angry if he’d done that instead)!”

109 TedStriker  Jun 4, 2014 6:27:30pm

re: #99 Lidane

As I guessed, my NRO-reading, Allen West quoting, Tea Party supporting friends on FB have all decided that Bergdahl is either a traitor or a deserter. They have all swallowed the party line that “the price was too high” to bring him back, as if whatever the hell he may or may not have done means that he should’ve been left to die in the hands of his captors.

WTF right wingers? Has an entire political ideology decided that POWs only have value if a Republican brings them home and if they fit neatly into a pre-defined narrative?

Yes, they have.

110 ObserverArt  Jun 4, 2014 6:27:39pm

re: #88 lawhawk

Someone who has no right to talk about deals for hostages? Ollie North.

The same Ollie North who perpetrated an arms for hostages deal way back in the Reagan Administration.

Who, in the supreme irony of ironies, thinks that cutting a deal with the bad guys, isn’t a good idea.

Heard about that yesterday. That man has no honor.

But like all this crap, I guess these people are no longer caring there are a whole hell of a lot of people that do not forget history and peoples actions in it. Pure evil. Fuck Oliver North. He should have been run out of the Army for being a true America-fucker. But hey, he was just following orders. And now he opens his mouth on this. Shut up…SIR!

111 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 6:27:52pm

re: #107 Charles Johnson

[Embedded content]

I thought the contents of that meeting were classified?

112 thedopefishlives  Jun 4, 2014 6:28:32pm

re: #105 klys

[Embedded image]

113 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 6:29:29pm

re: #106 Zamb

I don’t get this send in the military line from people who will also shout about all the soldiers who died because of him. There is no fucking consistency from this crowd and I am seeing way to many dems give cover for their insanity.

The idea is that deploying the military to find him was the right thing to do, but that he in part caused the casualties incurred in that search by his own bad actions having made it necessary.

Analysis Disclaimer: I am explaining what other people are trying to say. I am not stating that I myself hold that viewpoint.

114 TedStriker  Jun 4, 2014 6:29:57pm

re: #110 ObserverArt

Heard about that yesterday. That man has no honor.

But like all this crap, I guess these people are no longer caring there are a whole hell of a lot of people that do not forget history and peoples actions in it. Pure evil. Fuck Oliver North. He should have been run out of the Army for being a true America-fucker. But hey, he was just following orders. And now he opens his mouth on this. Shut up…SIR!

Small point of contention: North is an ex-Marine, not ex-Army.

115 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 6:30:04pm

re: #111 Targetpractice

I thought the contents of that meeting were classified?

That’s what I thought Leahy said earlier.

116 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 6:30:06pm
117 nines09  Jun 4, 2014 6:30:22pm

re: #13 darthstar

[Embedded content]

He could have saved a lot of money by just wearing a T shirt that read; “I am a HUGE Jerkoff!”

118 freetoken  Jun 4, 2014 6:30:24pm

re: #51 Varek Raith

The news article by Steinhardt is here:
nature.com

There’s more to the story here. And Steinhardt has an agenda against the idea of inflation. His claim that:

This time, the teams can be assured that the world will be paying close attention. This time, acceptance will require measurements over a range of frequencies to discriminate from foreground effects, as well as tests to rule out other sources of confusion. And this time, the announcements should be made after submission to journals and vetting by expert referees. If there must be a press conference, hopefully the scientific community and the media will demand that it is accompanied by a complete set of documents, including details of the systematic analysis and sufficient data to enable objective verification.

But… the BICEP2 team did submit their article.

Also by Dr. Cowan:
nature.com

and by the same a few days earlier:
nature.com

The issue of dust was raised by the original team, who had apparently accounted for what they knew of our galaxy’s dust’s noise. On webchats they had discussed this.

Anyway, RawStory, always after the gotcha-event of the hour to keep up its website hit rate, is not equipped to tackle these issues. In this case (as often) they are just republishing a Guardian piece. The problem with the Guardian like the rest of the UK media is that they are in the tabloid mindset and will do their best to make a controversy.

119 Decatur Deb  Jun 4, 2014 6:30:51pm

re: #104 Dark_Falcon

The Luby’s Massacre is actually what made the passage of Shall Issue Concealed Carry in Texas inevitable. The story told by a woman who watched her father be shot dead after having left her own gun in her car as then required by law assured the CCW law’s passage. Gov. Ann Richards vetoed the law, but the legislature overrode her veto and her having made said veto helped ensure her defeat by George W. Bush.

Restaurants make good hunting, like a waterhole on the savannah.

120 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 6:30:55pm

re: #116 Lidane

[Embedded content]

Hey now, they say that this deal came out of nowhere and I believe them!

////

121 Rev_Arthur_Belling  Jun 4, 2014 6:31:08pm

re: #104 Dark_Falcon

The Luby’s Massacre is actually what made the passage of Shall Issue Concealed Carry in Texas inevitable. The story told by a woman who watched her father be shot dead after having left her own gun in her car as then required by law assured the CCW law’s passage. Gov. Ann Richards vetoed the law, but the legislature overrode her veto and her having made said veto helped ensure her defeat by George W. Bush.

Why am I reminded of butterfly wings here?

122 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 6:31:26pm

re: #110 ObserverArt

Heard about that yesterday. That man has no honor.

But like all this crap, I guess these people are no longer caring there are a whole hell of a lot of people that do not forget history and peoples actions in it. Pure evil. Fuck Oliver North. He should have been run out of the Army Marine Corps for being a true America-fucker. But hey, he was just following orders. And now he opens his mouth on this. Shut up…SIR!

Altered for accuracy. North was a USMC Lieutenant Colonel during Iran-Contra.

123 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 6:32:17pm

They’ve invaded Canada, for chrissakes.

Updated
Manhunt underway in Moncton after at least 2 people shot

cbc.ca

124 ObserverArt  Jun 4, 2014 6:33:36pm

re: #114 TedStriker

Small point of contention: North is an ex-Marine, not ex-Army.

You’re right. I should have remembered that. Thanks.

125 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 6:33:59pm

re: #104 Dark_Falcon

What helped defeat Ann Richards was George W. Bush’s name. He was from a recognizable GOP family and his father had been President just a few years before Dubya got elected governor. Ann’s gun veto was a much smaller factor than you think.

126 Decatur Deb  Jun 4, 2014 6:36:23pm

re: #124 ObserverArt

You’re right. I should have remembered that. Thanks.

To help you remember, a quote from the era:

“A Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel is not the fourth branch of government.”

127 Killgore Trout  Jun 4, 2014 6:36:29pm

re: #90 Targetpractice

How about “none of the above.” Some of them vented their spleens to Rolling Stone back in 2012.

Good point. Maybe that would fit into category #3. They were willing and able to talk but few people were interested.

128 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 6:36:55pm

re: #121 Rev_Arthur_Belling

Why am I reminded of butterfly wings here?

Because it fits, Richards’ mistake (in my eyes) having helped George W. bush launch his political career. But its important not to read too much into that one decision by Gov. Richards. Given how heavily 1994 favored Republicans, the odds were stacked against her from the start.

129 William Barnett-Lewis  Jun 4, 2014 6:37:08pm

re: #122 Dark_Falcon

Altered for accuracy. North was a USMC Lieutenant Colonel disgrace to the Marine Corps uniform during Iran-Contra.

Fixed it a wee bit more.

130 Rev_Arthur_Belling  Jun 4, 2014 6:37:13pm

re: #125 Lidane

What helped defeat Ann Richards was George W. Bush’s name. He was from a recognizable GOP family and his father had been President just a few years before Dubya got elected governor. Ann’s gun veto was a much smaller factor than you think.

I lived in Texas at the time, and I still can’t fully understand how GWB won that election. Of course, I also look at Governor Goodhair and thank my lucky stars that I moved out of state. I can’t believe he beat John Sharp either.

131 lawhawk  Jun 4, 2014 6:38:02pm

re: #106 Zamb

I don’t get this send in the military line from people who will also shout about all the soldiers who died because of him. There is no fucking consistency from this crowd and I am seeing way to many dems give cover for their insanity.

Yup, there are those who are claiming that six soldiers already died for Bergdahl in the search after he left the unit, but that number is unconfirmed/disputable. Yet, we’re supposed to believe that the military would carry out another high risk rescue operation that was already deemed not a good idea because of high casualty potential and likelihood that Bergdahl and other US service members would be casualties.

132 Rev_Arthur_Belling  Jun 4, 2014 6:38:34pm

re: #128 Dark_Falcon

Because it fits, Richards’ mistake (in my eyes) having helped George W. bush launch his political career. But its important not to read too much into that one decision by Gov. Richards. Given how heavily 1994 favored Republicans, the odds were stacked against her from the start.

I will concede that it appears in hindsight that Richards was riding against the zeitgeist of the state.

133 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 6:39:32pm

Found this nugget.

134 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 6:39:58pm

re: #130 Rev_Arthur_Belling

I lived in Texas at the time, and I still can’t fully understand how GWB won that election. Of course, I also look at Governor Goodhair and thank my lucky stars that I moved out of state. I can’t believe he beat John Sharp either.

Again, 1994 was a very good year for Republicans. Their base was energized and turned out behind a well executed electoral game plan in part helmed by Newt Gingrich and many independents who showed up were irritated with the Clinton Administration for a number of reasons.

135 Rev_Arthur_Belling  Jun 4, 2014 6:40:54pm

re: #133 Gus

Found this nugget.

But the Dem line is that it’s our obligation to free all our service members.

Funny, I thought that was the military line. smh

136 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 6:41:50pm

re: #135 Rev_Arthur_Belling

Funny, I thought that was the military line. smh

I’m pretty sure there’s an emblem that they use to symbolize MIA/POWs. White text on a black background, I think…

////

137 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 6:42:04pm

re: #130 Rev_Arthur_Belling

I lived in Texas at the time, and I still can’t fully understand how GWB won that election.

Daddy had been POTUS until 1992, and Republicans in this state were in full on Clinton Derangement Syndrome mode in 1994 when GWB got nominated. It was inevitable that he was going to win. He had the name and the party connections and it was a way to stick it to Slick Willy. Or something.

Of course, I also look at Governor Goodhair and thank my lucky stars that I moved out of state. I can’t believe he beat John Sharp either.

I’m just glad that David Dewhurst’s political career has been destroyed. Not only did he lose to Ted Cruz despite being the well-funded establishment candidate but he couldn’t even get the nomination for the job he already had this time around.

It will be interesting to see how the governor’s race turns out. Abbott will be an unmitigated disaster. I hope we dodge that bullet, but I’m not going to hold my breath.

138 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 6:42:19pm

re: #133 Gus

Found this nugget.

[Embedded content]

Filed under “Blind squirrel finds nut.” Or “is a nut” in Greenwald’s case.

139 TedStriker  Jun 4, 2014 6:44:04pm

re: #122 Dark_Falcon

Altered for accuracy. North was a USMC Lieutenant Colonel during Iran-Contra.

Who should have been court-martialed out of the Marines for conduct unbecoming an officer, instead of being allowed to resign his commission and keep his rank and benefits, as Allen West was allowed to do much later.

Shameful then, still shameful now.

140 Rev_Arthur_Belling  Jun 4, 2014 6:44:55pm

re: #137 Lidane

Daddy had been POTUS until 1992, and Republicans in this state were in full on Clinton Derangement Syndrome mode in 1994 when GWB got nominated. It was inevitable that he was going to win. He had the name and the party connections and it was a way to stick it to Slick Willy. Or something.

It’s been a decade, but I didn’t think Ann Richards had done such a horrible job to lose that election. Of course, ratfucker Karl Rove, etc. Clinton Derangement Syndrome, but it was odd in my little neck of the woods that she lost. Really a shame. And John Sharp was head and shoulders better than Perry.

141 Rev_Arthur_Belling  Jun 4, 2014 6:46:14pm

Also, obscure Texas trivia, I love it when James McMurtry mentions Nixon’s quote about Barbara Bush: “That woman knows how to hate.”

142 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 6:46:39pm

This guy really is armed and dangerous. He has already shot 2 Mounties evidently and is still on the loose. 24 yr old Justin Bourque.

143 Stanley Sea  Jun 4, 2014 6:46:52pm

re: #134 Dark_Falcon

Again, 1994 was a very good year for Republicans. Their base was energized and turned out behind a well executed electoral game plan in part helmed by Newt Gingrich and many independents who showed up were irritated with the Clinton Administration for a number of reasons.

Karl Rove was heavily involved.

Why Karl Rove Uses Dirty Tricks: They Work
theatlantic.com

Similarly, when George W. Bush ran for governor of Texas that same year, rumors swirled about the sexual orientation of incumbent Ann Richards. “No one ever traced the character assassination to Rove,” wrote Bush biographer Louis Dubose, “Yet no one doubts that Rove was behind it.”

Also behind McCain’s black baby.

Do not try to whitewash this shit with the tide was turning.

His epitaph should mention Atwater. GOP all the way,

144 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 6:46:53pm

re: #140 Rev_Arthur_Belling

And John Sharp was head and shoulders better than Perry.

The janitors in the state Capitol building are head and shoulders better than Perry. Goodhair’s a prick and I will throw a party the day he leaves office.

145 palomino  Jun 4, 2014 6:47:47pm

re: #134 Dark_Falcon

Again, 1994 was a very good year for Republicans. Their base was energized and turned out behind a well executed electoral game plan in part helmed by Newt Gingrich and many independents who showed up were irritated with the Clinton Administration for a number of reasons.

It’s Texas. Every year in the last two decades has been a good year for Republicans there. The only Dems who now win are those running at the local level (in big cities which have some progressives, and along the heavily Hispanic border). No Dems have won statewide office in over a decade.

Texas overall is still one of the reddest states in the country. Indeed, Texas is what keeps your party afloat. It’s by far the biggest red state; without it, the gop would be totally fucked.

146 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 6:47:49pm

re: #144 Lidane

The janitors in the state Capitol building are head and shoulders better than Perry. Goodhair’s a prick and I will throw a party the day he leaves office.

I find it so cute that he’s trying to butch himself up for another run next year. As if anybody’s fooled.

147 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Jun 4, 2014 6:49:56pm

re: #134 Dark_Falcon

Again, 1994 was a very good year for Republicans. Their base was energized and turned out behind a well executed electoral game plan in part helmed by Newt Gingrich and many independents who showed up were irritated with the Clinton Administration for a number of reasons.

Good year for them getting elected. Bad year for GOP policy, which continued regressing, becoming more Christian supremacist, more Ayn Randian, more hostile to minorities, and more anti-science policies.

148 Rev_Arthur_Belling  Jun 4, 2014 6:50:10pm

re: #145 palomino

It’s Texas. Every year in the last two decades has been a good year for Republicans there. The only Dems who now win are those running at the local level (in big cities which have some progressives, and along the heavily Hispanic border). No Dems have won statewide office in over a decade.

Texas overall is still one of the reddest states in the country. Indeed, Texas is what keeps your party afloat. It’s by far the biggest red state; without it, the gop would be totally fucked.

The oddest thing is that Texas used to be a yellow dog democratic state. I covered an area where the GOP didn’t even have an office, bother to run candidates in the 90s.

149 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 6:50:12pm

re: #145 palomino

Texas overall is still one of the reddest states in the country. Indeed, Texas is what keeps your party afloat. It’s by far the biggest red state; without it, the gop would be totally fucked.

THIS. If the GOP ever lose Texas and it becomes a blue state again, the Republican party is fucked on the national level. Without Texas, the Republicans are a regional white party. They need Texas to have any hope of winning the White House.

150 BongCrodny  Jun 4, 2014 6:50:26pm

re: #141 Rev_Arthur_Belling

Also, obscure Texas trivia, I love it when James McMurtry mentions Nixon’s quote about Barbara Bush: “That woman knows how to hate.”

Are you familiar with his song “Cheney’s Toy,” Rev?

My favorite political song since the heyday of political songs, and candidate for the greatest putdown of 43 *ever*.

151 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 6:51:26pm
152 Feline Fearless Leader  Jun 4, 2014 6:51:56pm

“Unleash the Kraken!”

1981 version of Clash of the Titans going to start shortly on TCM.

153 Rev_Arthur_Belling  Jun 4, 2014 6:52:18pm

re: #150 BongCrodny

Are you familiar with his song “Cheney’s Toy,” Rev?

My favorite political song since the heyday of political songs, and candidate for the greatest putdown of 43 *ever*.

I’m familiar with just about all of James’ output. :)

“Can’t make it here anymore”
Youtube Video

154 Decatur Deb  Jun 4, 2014 6:53:29pm

re: #151 Justanotherhuman

[Embedded content]

All I see is a law-abiding 2nd Amendment demonstrator.

155 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 6:54:21pm

re: #154 Decatur Deb

All I see is a law-abiding 2nd Amendment demonstrator.

I don’t think Canada has a 2nd Amendment…but he sure knows the lingo.

156 ObserverArt  Jun 4, 2014 6:54:28pm

re: #134 Dark_Falcon

Again, 1994 was a very good year for Republicans. Their base was energized and turned out behind a well executed electoral game plan in part helmed by Newt Gingrich and many independents who showed up were irritated with the Clinton Administration for a number of reasons.

And then Clinton shut Newt up and things went well because Newt couldn’t do what he thought he could do with The Contract on America. America had a pretty good period after that tie up. Then Newt was run out of the leadership and hung with an ethics charge. After that the next great Republican Speaker was, what was his name…oh yeah, Bob Livingston. He was elected unanimously by the Party and then run out in a sex scandal, exposed by Larry Flint, before he could even take the gavel.

Yep…good times Dark. Good times. Those are your people, yo! Clinton kept office and Newt couldn’t. And neither could his replacement.

/

157 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 6:54:43pm

re: #151 Justanotherhuman

Wait, are you sure that’s not an Open Carry Texas nut?

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

158 Stanley Sea  Jun 4, 2014 6:55:11pm

Gays and blacks. Oh GOP.

159 Belafon  Jun 4, 2014 6:55:37pm

re: #148 Rev_Arthur_Belling

Texas has always been conservative, whatever that means at that particular moment. What you had in the 80’s/90’s was people still thinking Democrat meant Conservative.

160 RealityBasedSteve  Jun 4, 2014 6:55:39pm

re: #116 Lidane

[Embedded content]

Those lying sacks-o-shit. I’m almost thinking that it’s time to make a trip to “Crazy Jim’s House of Tar N Feathers” and then pick up a rail on my way up to Washington.

RBS

161 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 6:55:47pm

re: #157 Lidane

Wait, are you sure that’s not an Open Carry Texas nut?

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

It’s like a fucking virus, spreading everywhere now, it seems.

162 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 6:55:53pm

re: #147 Fairly Sure I’m Still Obdicut

No, Newt and the Contract With America was a good year for Republicans policy-wise. In policy terms, the presidency of George H.W. Bush had been marked by a good bit of drift, and Gingrich brought policy clarity back for the GOP.

It was in fact in the aftermath of the 1994 midterms that I really became political, though I was still too young to vote in them.

163 Stanley Sea  Jun 4, 2014 6:56:04pm

re: #146 Targetpractice

I find it so cute that he’s trying to butch himself up for another run next year. As if anybody’s fooled.

I’ve missed this.

164 thedopefishlives  Jun 4, 2014 6:56:51pm

OK, I’m just going to come right out and say it: Wisconsin’s new tourism ad, a ripoff of the movie Airplane!, is awful.

165 Stanley Sea  Jun 4, 2014 6:59:04pm

Where’s the return after posting check box? (sob)

166 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 6:59:10pm

It’s getting worse…

167 BongCrodny  Jun 4, 2014 6:59:21pm

re: #153 Rev_Arthur_Belling

I’m familiar with just about all of James’ output. :)

“Can’t make it here anymore”
[Embedded content]

Video

Alas, I’m only familiar with him since Just Us Kids, but it’s something I’ve been meaning to rectify. “Hurricane Party” is magical.

Now that I’m all employed and stuff with a regular income, I’ve got a *ton* of music to catch up with.

168 Belafon  Jun 4, 2014 6:59:28pm

My parents at dinner were talking about what Bergdahl’s dad supposedly said, like some things in Arabic, and about getting Gitmo prisoners released. Does anyone have any information on this?

169 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 7:00:30pm

re: #166 Justanotherhuman

It’s getting worse…

[Embedded content]

That photo reminds of the first Rambo movie, and not in a good way.

170 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 7:01:08pm

re: #169 Dark_Falcon

That photo reminds of the first Rambo movie, and not in a good way.

Funny, that’s just what I was thinking.

171 Rev_Arthur_Belling  Jun 4, 2014 7:01:28pm

re: #167 BongCrodny

Alas, I’m only familiar with him since Just Us Kids, but it’s something I’ve been meaning to rectify. “Hurricane Party” is magical.

Now that I’m all employed and stuff with a regular income, I’ve got a *ton* of music to catch up with.

I might suggest some live albums and to catch a show. Got to shake hands and chat with the man after a show in Nashville a few years ago. Really good songwriter.

(and sympathize with the catching up. I had a 10-year evangelical hole in my music listening)

172 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 7:02:07pm

re: #170 Targetpractice

Funny, that’s just what I was thinking.

GMTA

173 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 7:02:57pm
174 Rev_Arthur_Belling  Jun 4, 2014 7:03:44pm

re: #159 Belafon

Texas has always been conservative, whatever that means at that particular moment. What you had in the 80’s/90’s was people still thinking Democrat meant Conservative.

At one point, Texas was more “live and let live” conservative. It’s changed.

175 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 7:04:45pm

re: #174 Rev_Arthur_Belling

At one point, Texas was more “live and let live” conservative. It’s changed.

Yeah, these days, Texas conservatism = Tea Party herpty derp. The inmates are running the asylum.

176 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Jun 4, 2014 7:05:57pm

re: #162 Dark_Falcon

No, Newt and the Contract With America was a good year for Republicans policy-wise. In policy terms, the presidency of George H.W. Bush had been marked by a good bit of drift, and Gingrich brought policy clarity back for the GOP.

Hah. George H.W. Bush rightly called Reagan’s economics ‘voodoo economics’ and tried to be more centrist. I’m not surprised that’s considered, “drift” now.

Gingrich’s balanced budget plan was a stupid idea then and now. THere is no merit to balanced budget amendments, as the states with them prove.

The Contract with America looks tepid by modern GOP standards in terms of how dumb it is economically, but it’s still real dumb. The main thing it actually ‘achieved’ was cuts to welfare that are still causing problems today.

One of the things it proposed was very similar to GOP thinking these days: A moratorium on all regulations. Does this make a fucking lick of sense? Definitely not, given that there might be something that happened that made it clear a new regulation was needed, or even an old regulation that should be reissued to make it clearer. But boy, it sure is some good gubmint-hatin’ libertarian rhetoric.

It was the big start of the Ayn Rand minarchists who have their hands on the economic wheel of the GOP today. And it was another year of the radical Christian right entrenching their power in the GOP.

177 ObserverArt  Jun 4, 2014 7:06:19pm

Night Lizards…plenty more craziness around the corner of the night. Stay safe here on LGF Island. Don’t let the Fox nuts bite.

178 Kragar  Jun 4, 2014 7:06:19pm

Its sad to see Shap Smith fall into the rage filled witchhunt camp

“If you desert or commit treason, you have to be proved to have done so,” Smith said on his show on Tuesday. “We can’t just decide because some people come on television and yakety yak, and we’ve got a report of this and a report of that and that’s what happened. As the Army said, as the Pentagon said, you bring them home. You bring them home first, and then you investigate.”

The blind hatred here is just staggering.

179 Rev_Arthur_Belling  Jun 4, 2014 7:06:28pm

re: #175 Lidane

Yeah, these days, Texas conservatism = Tea Party herpty derp. The inmates are running the asylum.

Trust me, I don’t even recognize my home state anymore. I blame a mixture of hate, religious fervor and not enough Townes Van Zandt ;)

180 darthstar  Jun 4, 2014 7:06:49pm

re: #37 Ace-o-aces

Wouldn’t it just be easier to wear a sign that says:
“Hello, I have a small penis”

I have one of those…it reads, “Kiss me, I’m Irish”

181 William Barnett-Lewis  Jun 4, 2014 7:07:07pm

re: #169 Dark_Falcon

That photo reminds of the first Rambo movie, and not in a good way.

I still wish the movie had ended the same way as the book…

182 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 7:07:46pm
183 palomino  Jun 4, 2014 7:08:37pm

re: #159 Belafon

Texas has always been conservative, whatever that means at that particular moment. What you had in the 80’s/90’s was people still thinking Democrat meant Conservative.

Texas is a majority-minority state, which would make one think it would lean blue, like the other majority-minority states.

But in Texas, only 12% of the population is black (slightly below the national average), and only 4% of the population is Asian (also below the national average).

The vast majority of Texas’s potential minority voters are Hispanic. But a hugely disproportional percentage of them aren’t eligible to vote yet. They’re either not citizens yet, or they’re under 18. That will of course change in the coming decades, making Hispanics a more potent electoral force.

But the big obstacle is the fact that whites in Texas are nearly as conservative/reactionary as in any other of the reddest states. Republicans get about 80% of the white vote in Texas, putting it on par with the rest of the deep south. More than anything else, this white (primarily suburban/rural) clinging to the old south is why Texas is such a political shithole.

184 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 7:10:17pm

This is some seriously deranged shit.

185 Rev_Arthur_Belling  Jun 4, 2014 7:10:19pm

Really weird Texas political anecdote: my parents were pretty thoroughly GOP but union, voted Obama in 2008, 2012. Blue collar weird.

186 darthstar  Jun 4, 2014 7:13:41pm

re: #168 Belafon

My parents at dinner were talking about what Bergdahl’s dad supposedly said, like some things in Arabic, and about getting Gitmo prisoners released. Does anyone have any information on this?

Sure:
1. It doesn’t matter what his dad said - even if he was saying “God is great” in Arabic to help humanize his family to the Taliban - It’s still irrelevant.
2. The prisoners were due to be released in 2015 as part of the agreement to end the war/occupation in Afghanistan. They’ll spend their last year in Qatar and then go home - on schedule - according to our draw down agreement.
3. The media treats everyone like they’re fucking retarded (not Sarah Palin’s kid mentally challenged, just fucking retarded). They dumb everything down to Hero/Traitor, Patriot/Deserter, Ally/Enemy so that people will pick sides and watch the news to see who agrees with them. They also falsely balance debates - having one person from each side to show 50/50 balance when in reality it could by 70-30 or 90-10 (or, in the case of climate change, 97-3).

Tell your parents you love them, but they are being misinformed if they watch any amount of news. Ask them to step back, think if they were the person in question, what they’d do to survive/get their son back. Or if they were the President, what they’d do to rescue a soldier (regardless of his circumstances). And ask them to apply that filter to every news story they see.

187 goddamnedfrank  Jun 4, 2014 7:13:52pm

re: #162 Dark_Falcon

No, Newt and the Contract With America was a good year for Republicans policy-wise.

It was good year in terms of rhetoric but look at how little they accomplished and how far they’ve fallen. The party started pandering to the absolute worst, most bigoted idiotic fringe and never looked back. Within just a few years they were trying to get a Constitutional Amendment to ban flag burning, had authored DOMA and impeached Clinton. Since then it’s been a slow steady march into the ideological sewer. All your party stands for now is anti-gay bigotry, antipathy towards racial minorities, abject selfism and environmental degradation. It’s pure shit.

188 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 7:14:06pm

re: #179 Rev_Arthur_Belling

Trust me, I don’t even recognize my home state anymore. I blame a mixture of hate, religious fervor and not enough Townes Van Zandt ;)

I’ve lived here all my life. Texas has completely changed in the last 20 years. I don’t even recognize it anymore even though it’s still home.

189 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 4, 2014 7:14:24pm

Wednesday Night Surprise Macro Beauty Break
Wednesday Night Macro-Descanso Gardens

190 Stanley Sea  Jun 4, 2014 7:16:04pm

re: #168 Belafon

My parents at dinner were talking about what Bergdahl’s dad supposedly said, like some things in Arabic, and about getting Gitmo prisoners released. Does anyone have any information on this?

I tried to look it up, got the blaze, O’Reilly and every other bullshit RW site.

Curious Lurker commented on it at the time.

It wasn’t directed at the freaking Taliban.

191 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 7:16:06pm

re: #184 Justanotherhuman

This is some seriously deranged shit.

[Embedded content]

And that writing is what you get when you cross Bryan Fischer with Julian Assange. Or at least that’s how it reads for me. YMMV

192 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 7:16:09pm

193 darthstar  Jun 4, 2014 7:16:51pm
194 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 7:17:16pm

re: #178 Kragar

Its sad to see Shap Smith fall into the rage filled witchhunt camp

[Embedded content]

The blind hatred here is just staggering.

I was told earlier that even Krauthammer told Bill’O that trading 5 of prisoners for 1 of our soldiers was a good thing, if only because it was a part of who we are. That we, like the Israelis, put so much value on the lives of our own that getting them back means making deals that may very well cause trouble down the line. But that’s a sign of the goodness of America.

Haven’t been able to verify this yet, of course, so I make no claims as to its authenticity.

195 darthstar  Jun 4, 2014 7:17:52pm

re: #192 Gus

DVDs? In this digital age?

196 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 7:18:10pm
197 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 7:18:14pm

re: #183 palomino

The vast majority of Texas’s potential minority voters are Hispanic. But a hugely disproportional percentage of them aren’t eligible to vote yet. They’re either not citizens yet, or they’re under 18. That will of course change in the coming decades, making Hispanics a more potent electoral force.

The Texas GOP know this, and they’re reacting accordingly:

198 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 7:21:13pm

re: #196 Justanotherhuman

[Embedded content]

So, when will we see the first “FALSE FLAG!!1 tweets: Tonight or tomorrow morning?

199 Stanley Sea  Jun 4, 2014 7:21:48pm

re: #193 darthstar

I love that Dr., Sitting on a plane in his Obama snuggie.

Every time I see his avi I smile.

200 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 7:23:04pm

War criminals gotta grift:

201 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 7:23:29pm

re: #200 Lidane

War criminals gotta grift:

[Embedded content]

War criminals should be grateful that they’re living the good life and that Obama would do the same thing for a sorry ass like West that he did for Bergdahl if West had been captured during his time in teh armed forces.

202 jaunte  Jun 4, 2014 7:24:56pm

re: #200 Lidane

Allen West Guardian Fund

I’ll kick in, if we can choose his guardian.

203 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 7:27:11pm

Look at the “Favorite” on Justin Bourque’s FB.

facebook.com

204 Kragar  Jun 4, 2014 7:27:40pm
205 Stanley Sea  Jun 4, 2014 7:28:43pm

re: #196 Justanotherhuman

[Embedded content]

Holy shit.

206 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 7:29:22pm

re: #200 Lidane

War criminals gotta grift:

[Embedded content]

Times I really wish the Army hadn’t given this shit weasel the option of retiring quietly.

207 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 7:29:36pm

re: #205 Stanley Sea

Holy shit.

That’s what I said.

208 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 7:29:52pm

Re: GOP reactionarism, I never thought I’d see the day where George Allen didn’t look like a right wingnut job but this was of course before Bob “Downs Syndrome is God’s punishment for women having abortion”, Dick “I write letters of support for Assad” Black, and Ken “I actually think oral sex should be a crime” Cuccinnelli started making themselves a big part of the VA GOP. Really I thought the GOP was bad news when Newt’s little shit fest led to the shutdown in the mid 90’s and the subsequent impeachment hearings over lying about a sexual affair. I never though thought I’d see them actually turn on a POW because they hated the president who organized his rescue. Vile even for already vile shitheads.

209 calochortus  Jun 4, 2014 7:30:16pm

re: #206 Targetpractice

Times I really wish the Army hadn’t given this shit weasel the option of retiring quietly.

You mean they should have made it a condition that he had to be quiet?

edit: ///

210 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 7:32:27pm

re: #209 calochortus

You mean they should have made it a condition that he had to be quiet?

No, I mean they should have busted his ass rightly for war crimes and, at the very least, busted him down to lieutenant along with a forfeiture of all pay and benefits. It seems being allowed to retire without so much as a slap on the wrist has not instilled in him a single shred of humility.

211 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 7:34:10pm

re: #210 Targetpractice

No, I mean they should have busted his ass rightly for war crimes and, at the very least, busted him down to lieutenant along with a forfeiture of all pay and benefits. It seems being allowed to retire without so much as a slap on the wrist has not instilled in him a single shred of humility.

If anything, I think their whole slap on the wrist made the asshole even more arrogant.

212 Minor_L  Jun 4, 2014 7:34:14pm

This might have already been posted, but the NY Times has an interesting piece regarding whether Bergdahl was really responsible for the lives of any other soldiers: nytimes.com

213 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 7:35:53pm

What’s really sad and telling is that the wingnuts were defending the guy accused of firing on the Afghan civilians more than they’ve shown any empathy towards Bergdahl.

214 calochortus  Jun 4, 2014 7:36:42pm

re: #210 Targetpractice

No, I mean they should have busted his ass rightly for war crimes and, at the very least, busted him down to lieutenant along with a forfeiture of all pay and benefits. It seems being allowed to retire without so much as a slap on the wrist has not instilled in him a single shred of humility.

So, I should have used a sarc tag…

215 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 7:36:43pm

re: #211 HappyWarrior

If anything, I think their whole slap on the wrist made the asshole even more arrogant.

Sure did. While the Army was mulling publicly whether to court-martial him or not, the conservative press was blowing sunshine up his ass, boasting about how beating the shit out of a prisoner and threatening to kill him had saved lives (never proven) and no soldiers had died again under his watch (also never proven). He didn’t leave under a cloud of controversy so much as he left convinced he’d done nothing wrong.

216 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 7:37:28pm

re: #214 calochortus

So, I should have used a sarc tag…

Why not, seems like 95% of my comments today are littered with them.

217 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 7:38:26pm

re: #215 Targetpractice

Sure did. While the Army was mulling publicly whether to court-martial him or not, the conservative press was blowing sunshine up his ass, boasting about how beating the shit out of a prisoner and threatening to kill him had saved lives (never proven) and no soldiers had died again under his watch (also never proven). He didn’t leave under a cloud of controversy so much as he left convinced he’d done nothing wrong.

Truly a vile guy. Another face of everything wrong with the modern Republican Party.

218 Justanotherhuman  Jun 4, 2014 7:41:47pm

Well, Chambliss is trying to speak for Feinstein on this bullshit, so I’m hitting the rack.

Later, Lizards…

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., says he’s ‘more convinced than ever’ White House kept Congress in dark on Sgt. Bergdahl; ‘It was like they didn’t trust (Sen.Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.) and me’ - @ChadPergram
see original on twitter.com

219 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 7:42:24pm

re: #218 Justanotherhuman

Well, Chambliss is trying to speak for Feinstein on this bullshit, so I’m hitting the rack.

Later, Lizards…

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., says he’s ‘more convinced than ever’ White House kept Congress in dark on Sgt. Bergdahl; ‘It was like they didn’t trust (Sen.Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.) and me’ - @ChadPergram
see original on twitter.com

Well I wouldn’t trust your chickenhawk ass either Saxby.

220 freetoken  Jun 4, 2014 7:44:24pm

NDGT sez:

“Abe Lincoln would turn in his grave if he knew that his descendants, his political descendants — if I remember correctly, Abe Lincoln was Republican — were cherry-picking scientific results,” Tyson said in a clip from his recent interview with MSNBC host Chris Hayes. “I don’t know what he would say. I’m pretty sure he’d be disappointed.”

Thing is, the tea partying atavists are not Abe’s “political descendants”. Many of the atavists would have been Democrats during that time.

Abe doesn’t have many “political descendants” these days, I think.

221 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 7:45:29pm

Aww OT but sorry to hear about the passing of Don Zimmer. A baseball lifer if there ever was one.

222 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 7:46:31pm

re: #220 freetoken

NDGT sez:

Thing is, the tea partying atavists are not Abe’s “political descendants”. Many of the atavists would have been Democrats during that time.

Abe doesn’t have many “political descendants” these days, I think.

they stopped being his political descendants the second they welcomed Strom Thurmond into the party with open arms.

223 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 4, 2014 7:48:10pm

re: #221 HappyWarrior

Aww OT but sorry to hear about the passing of Don Zimmer. A baseball lifer if there ever was one.

I was just about to post this.

RIP Don!

224 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 7:48:13pm

re: #221 HappyWarrior

Aww OT but sorry to hear about the passing of Don Zimmer. A baseball lifer if there ever was one.

He managed the Cubs for a number of years. Luck wasn’t with him, but he’ll be remembered as being in charge when the Cubs had Sandburg and Dawson.

225 palomino  Jun 4, 2014 7:48:25pm

re: #185 Rev_Arthur_Belling

Really weird Texas political anecdote: my parents were pretty thoroughly GOP but union, voted Obama in 2008, 2012. Blue collar weird.

Similar thing with my folks. Not “real Texans” because they moved there in their 20s. But both lifelong Republicans (except in 1960 when my mom fell in love with JFK). Dad a Dr., mom a nurse. But both voted for Obama in 2008.

I asked them if they ever thought they’d see a black prez in their lives. They both said the same thing: “No, but I didn’t expect to live this long.” They both died recently at 90.

226 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 7:48:50pm

re: #223 NJDhockeyfan

I was just about to post this.

RIP Don!

[Embedded content]

Over 60 years in the sport. Dedication man.

227 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 7:49:22pm

re: #224 Dark_Falcon

He managed the Cubs for a number of years. Luck wasn’t with him, but he’ll be remembered as being in charge when the Cubs had Sandburg and Dawson.

He never was involved with the Orioles but he was someone who really transcended the generations. A real character.

228 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 4, 2014 7:50:10pm

re: #224 Dark_Falcon

He managed the Cubs for a number of years. Luck wasn’t with him, but he’ll be remembered as being in charge when the Cubs had Sandburg and Dawson.

I remember those days. When he stepped out to the field and argued with an umpire his face would turn a deep beet red.

229 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 7:50:58pm

re: #222 HappyWarrior

they stopped being his political descendants the second they welcomed Strom Thurmond into the party with open arms.

And the GOP nuked any Lincoln legacy from orbit after the Southern Strategy, and particularly once the Tea Party took over.

230 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 7:51:49pm

231 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 7:52:06pm
232 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 7:52:28pm

re: #229 Lidane

And the GOP nuked any Lincoln legacy from orbit after the Southern Strategy, and particularly once the Tea Party took over.

Yep. It’s actually sad honestly since this was a party after all founded on anti-slavery principles which separated it from the Whigs and Democrats.

233 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 7:52:38pm

re: #218 Justanotherhuman

Well, Chambliss is trying to speak for Feinstein on this bullshit, so I’m hitting the rack.

Later, Lizards…

Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., says he’s ‘more convinced than ever’ White House kept Congress in dark on Sgt. Bergdahl; ‘It was like they didn’t trust (Sen.Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.) and me’ - @ChadPergram
see original on twitter.com

Does it ever seem like Feinstein has no fucking clue what is going on in Congress? Every time there’s a new “scandal,” she’s shocked that she personally was not kept up to date.

234 freetoken  Jun 4, 2014 7:53:50pm

re: #231 Lidane

In other words, Sterling will gladly take the hundreds of millions of dollars in gains and run.

235 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 7:54:09pm

re: #234 freetoken

In other words, Sterling will gladly take the hundreds of millions of dollars in gains and run.

He’s so repressed in Obama’s America.//

236 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 7:55:20pm

re: #234 freetoken

In other words, Sterling will gladly take the hundreds of millions of dollars in gains and run.

You betcha!

237 freetoken  Jun 4, 2014 7:56:13pm

re: #236 Lidane

You betcha!

You’ve been watching Fargo, eh?

238 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 7:57:14pm

Good show, yah.

239 jaunte  Jun 4, 2014 7:57:26pm
240 Killgore Trout  Jun 4, 2014 7:58:11pm

The Real Reason The U.S. Didn’t Rescue Bowe Bergdahl

The Pentagon rejected the idea of a rescue mission for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl because he was being moved so often by his Taliban captors that U.S. special operators would have had to hit up to a dozen possible hideouts inside Pakistan at once in order to have a chance at rescuing him.

That’s according to U.S. officials, who also say that the Obama administration also did not want to risk the political fallout in Pakistan from another unilateral U.S. raid, like the Navy SEAL raid that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in 2011.

“A rescue mission would have been fraught politically as well as tactically,” according to a senior defense official briefed on the Bergdahl case.

241 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 8:00:28pm

re: #240 Killgore Trout

The Real Reason The U.S. Didn’t Rescue Bowe Bergdahl

In other words, there was the high risk of a lot of black body bags coming home for absolutely no guarantee of success, but virtually guaranteed political fallout.

242 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 4, 2014 8:02:52pm

re: #241 Targetpractice

Pakistan has a lot of complicity with the Taliban to answer for one day.

243 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 8:03:51pm

re: #242 Rightwingconspirator

Pakistan has a lot of complicity with the Taliban to answer for one day.

Preferably when our soldiers are out of the fallout zone.

244 Killgore Trout  Jun 4, 2014 8:04:36pm

re: #242 Rightwingconspirator

Pakistan has a lot of complicity with the Taliban to answer for one day.

I think Afghanistan was a solvable problem but with Pakistan next door it was impossible.

245 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 8:08:49pm
246 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 8:09:16pm

re: #244 Killgore Trout

I think Afghanistan was a solvable problem

Call the Soviets and tell them that.

247 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 8:10:08pm

re: #246 Lidane

Call the Soviets and tell them that.

I’m sure the British will be delighted to hear it too.

248 Floral Giraffe  Jun 4, 2014 8:10:47pm

re: #189 Rightwingconspirator

Matilja Poppy! Woot! And, they’re fragrant!

249 Killgore Trout  Jun 4, 2014 8:10:48pm

re: #246 Lidane

Call the Soviets and tell them that.

Pakistan was a problem for the Soviets too but they had another problem: US.

250 nines09  Jun 4, 2014 8:11:10pm

Remember the “Arm Afghanistan” cry? Well you got your wish.

251 jaunte  Jun 4, 2014 8:13:32pm

re: #247 Targetpractice

A land war in Asia is solvable if you can hold it on an island in the South Atlantic.

252 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Jun 4, 2014 8:14:31pm

re: #244 Killgore Trout

I think Afghanistan was a solvable problem but with Pakistan next door it was impossible.

That means Afghanistan wasn’t solvable.

253 The Ghost of a Flea  Jun 4, 2014 8:15:15pm

re: #242 Rightwingconspirator

Pakistan has a lot of complicity with the Taliban to answer for one day.

The central government is permanently fucked. The military and the intelligence services are basically free actors with their own internal intrigues, and the civilian government has no actual muscle to reign them in. Large sections of the country, and in particular the west and northwest, are untouched by the central government.

The only thing that even approaches uniting the factions is border conflict with India…maybe.

It’s been that way 40+ years. Taliban precursor movements have been agitating in the west of Pakistan since the 70s. Violence against Sufis, Ahmadis, and other apostates has been around just as long; the only thing that’s changed is the ordinance available.

There’s almost no Pakistan to answer.

254 nines09  Jun 4, 2014 8:16:19pm

Goodnight Lizards. Tomorrow is another day.

255 GlutenFreeJesus  Jun 4, 2014 8:16:49pm

re: #33 SteveMcGazi

I would think an open carry wimp should be the first one to push for smart guns. When somebody takes his gun off him and turns it against him he’s gonna wish he had gotten one.

Pssssh. All these open carry fools are super soldier ninja GI Joes. That would never happen. Get real!

(Do I really need sarc tags here?)

256 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 4, 2014 8:16:57pm
257 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 4, 2014 8:18:30pm
258 jaunte  Jun 4, 2014 8:20:54pm

Currently juxtaposed.

259 freetoken  Jun 4, 2014 8:21:27pm

re: #242 Rightwingconspirator

Pakistan has a lot of complicity with the Taliban to answer for one day.

There will be no “answer”.

We humans are violent, territorial animals, which we demonstrate all the time.

I am fortunate to live in a somewhat quiescent little corner of this world. OTOH, this little corner has not been densely populate for very long, the early humans here being quite sparse.

Bactria was the end of the road for Alexander the Great.

I suppose there was a lesson in that for us.

260 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 4, 2014 8:21:30pm
261 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 8:23:10pm

re: #259 freetoken

There will be no “answer”.

We humans are violent, territorial animals, which we demonstrate all the time.

I am fortunate to live in a somewhat quiescent little corner of this world. OTOH, this little corner has not been densely populate for very long, the early humans here being quite sparse.

Bactria was the end of the road for Alexander the Great.

I suppose there was a lesson in that for us.

Many have tried to control Afghanistan. Only the Mongols succeeded in doing so.

262 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 8:23:27pm

re: #251 jaunte

A land war in Asia is solvable if you can hold it on an island in the South Atlantic.

“Cause, you know, playing Risk, you could never hold on to Asia. That Asian-Eastern European area, you could never hold it, could you? Seven extra men at the beginning of every go, but you couldn’t fucking hold it. Australasia, that was the one. Australasia. All the purples. Get everyone on Papua New Guinea and just build up and build up…”

Youtube Video

263 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 4, 2014 8:23:52pm
264 Romantic Heretic  Jun 4, 2014 8:26:24pm

re: #119 Decatur Deb

Restaurants make good hunting, like a waterhole on the savannah.

My vampires agree.

265 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 4, 2014 8:26:35pm

re: #259 freetoken

Oh I think Pakistan will pay dearly for these associations. Not necessarily by our hands. This kind of behavior is self destructive in the long term. Time wounds all heels, as it were.

266 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 4, 2014 8:26:41pm
267 calochortus  Jun 4, 2014 8:27:47pm

re: #265 Rightwingconspirator

Oh I think Pakistan will pay dearly for these associations. Not necessarily by our hands. This kind of behavior is self destructive in the long term. Time wounds all heels, as it were.

I think they’re already pretty well destructed.

268 jonhendry  Jun 4, 2014 8:30:07pm

re: #48 Dark_Falcon

As a rule, the people who own them do know where they are and how they work, and in open carrying they tend to engage said safeties. This is not universal, most likely, but carrying a semi-auto rifle with the safety off when not out in the country hunting is severely frowned upon in gun owner circles.

The owners and everyone who’s been through the US military and been trained on such rifles. Some of whom are, regrettably, not nice people.

The point being, that the safety on an AR isn’t a secret. Lots of people, including “bad guys”, know how to operate one.

269 wheat-dogghazi  Jun 4, 2014 8:30:10pm

re: #258 jaunte

The need for some people to arm themselves to go shopping at Target just baffles me. What could possibly happen at a Target? Some kid with a toy gun jumping out from behind an endcap and yelling bang-bang?

Maybe I’ve lived abroad too long. Insisting on open carry every-fucking-where makes no sense to me.

270 calochortus  Jun 4, 2014 8:32:19pm

re: #269 wheat-dogghazi

The need for some people to arm themselves to go shopping at Target just baffles me. What could possibly happen at a Target? Some kid with a toy gun jumping out from behind an endcap and yelling bang-bang?

Maybe I’ve lived abroad too long. Insisting on open carry every-fucking-where makes no sense to me.

No you’re a rational human being. Therefore carrying a gun to Target is something you recognize as stupid, pointless and dangerous.

271 jonhendry  Jun 4, 2014 8:32:48pm

re: #54 S’latch

If the we send you to fight in a foreign country, and you get yourself captured by enemy forces, it isn’t worth getting you back unless you are a “hero.” That’s our policy, right?

And your family better be acceptable to Fox News and Twitchy.

Next they’ll demand that Fisher House and the VA should start screening veterans and their families before providing services.

272 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 8:33:28pm
273 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 8:33:48pm
274 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 8:33:49pm

re: #269 wheat-dogghazi

The need for some people to arm themselves to go shopping at Target just baffles me. What could possibly happen at a Target? Some kid with a toy gun jumping out from behind an endcap and yelling bang-bang?

Maybe I’ve lived abroad too long. Insisting on open carry every-fucking-where makes no sense to me.

Nah, I’ve only been abroad for six weeks in my life and it’s absurd to me too. Really I get wanting a gun at the home for protection. The whole “I need one visibly on me when I’m shopping” is just stupid and that’s something that it appears even the NRA conceded until the natives became restless.

275 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 8:34:49pm

re: #273 Lidane

[Embedded content]

As I said, it’s choose your own adventure except with infinite more racism and infinite less fun.

276 MomSense  Jun 4, 2014 8:35:22pm

re: #262 Lidane

YES!!

277 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 8:37:08pm
278 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 8:37:23pm

Not a Civil War era headline:

279 calochortus  Jun 4, 2014 8:38:40pm

re: #276 MomSense

I don’t know, I used to do pretty well with Asia. My brother and his friend would concentrate on the Americas and Europe while I scooped up things around the edges. They’d be busy going after each other until I figured I had a big enough army and swoop down. Of course some of that was the “little sister effect”-not being taken seriously.

280 wheat-dogghazi  Jun 4, 2014 8:39:01pm

re: #274 HappyWarrior

Nah, I’ve only been abroad for six weeks in my life and it’s absurd to me too. Really I get wanting a gun at the home for protection. The whole “I need one visibly on me when I’m shopping” is just stupid and that’s something that it appears even the NRA conceded until the natives became restless.

I’ve reported here before that some of my Chinese students tell me their parents don’t want their kids to come to America for study, because it’s too dangerous — every owns a gun and carries them everywhere. I used to be able to dissuade my students of this urban legend, but now I’m finding it harder to be convincing. Anyone paying the least bit of attention to American news would conclude Americans are all gun-toting nutcases, ready to pump lead into anyone who gets in their way.

281 Romantic Heretic  Jun 4, 2014 8:39:13pm

re: #123 Justanotherhuman

They’ve invaded Canada, for chrissakes.

Updated
Manhunt underway in Moncton after at least 2 people shot

cbc.ca

Christ.

We used to have a long gun registry here in Canada. Pretty much everyone, except for Canadian wingnuts (mostly in Alberta which is Canada’s version of Texas) supported it.

As soon as Our Dear Leader got a majority government he got rid of it. The police were pissed. Now they had no idea when answering a call what sort of arms they’d be facing.

Our Dear Leader also got rid of the long form census. I recently realized why. Now the Harper Government can ignore StatsCan because they now any information coming from them is suspect. In other words, an alibi.

282 Mike R  Jun 4, 2014 8:39:35pm

If the Hastings’ article in Rolling Stone is true, the unit was led very poorly. During my time had the pleasure of serving with a piss poor leadership cadre, sorry have had a little or maybe a lot of Rum, it is pirate night on the ranch, got caught up as a Jr NCO, corporal to be exact. Finally pitched a fit about the BS. Challenged the judgement and leadership skills of the lifers. The Platoon commander and Platoon Sargent ended up not being able to re enlist. However while in the tropical paradise of Southeast Asia guess who had to eat a shit sandwich. The point being when everything sucks it is hard to be honest about what is going on around you. Can’t blame his comrades for casting about for someone to blame. Can blame the RWNJs, what slimy pieces of garbage.

So the members of his platoon, company needed someone to blame. He apparently gave them an easy target. Have wanted to say this and so I shall. He maybe a shit bird and an idiot, but he is our idiot and we don’t leave our guys behind shit bird or not. Bringing him home is the right thing. If he deserves punishment then our guys will judge not our adversary, we take care of our own and settle things among ourselves and who in the world would leave a fellow soldier, marine, sailor or airman, okay maybe an airman they always have their hands in their pockets, with the enemy. And piss on the bastards who have no mercy and could abandon a fellow soldier or marine no matter how squirrely they are.

283 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 8:39:48pm

The discipline problems that had plagued Bowe’s unit back home only got worse when immersed in the fog of war. From the start, everything seemed to go wrong. In April, Lt. Fancey was removed from his post for clashing with a superior officer. He was replaced by Sgt. 1st Class Larry Hein, who had never held such a command - a move that left the remote outpost with no officers. According to four soldiers in the battalion, the removal of Fancey was quickly followed by a collapse in unit morale and an almost complete breakdown of authority.

The unruly situation was captured by Sean Smith, a British documentary filmmaker with The Guardian who spent a month embedded with Bowe’s unit. His footage shows a bunch of soldiers who no longer give a shit: breaking even the most basic rules of combat, like wearing baseball caps on patrol instead of helmets. In footage from a raid on a family compound, an old Afghan woman screams at the unit, “Look at these cruel people!” One soldier bitches about what he sees as the cowardice of the Afghan villagers he is supposed to be protecting: “They say like, the Taliban comes down and aggravated­ their town and harasses them… Why don’t you kill those motherfuckers? All of you have AKs. If someone is going into my hometown, I know my town wouldn’t stand for that shit. I’d be like, ‘Fuck you, you’re dead.’” Another soldier laments, “These people just want to be left alone.” A third agrees: “They got dicked with by the Russians for 17 years, and now we’re here.”

During the middle of May, Bowe went out on one of his first major missions. He described it in a detailed e-mail to his family dated May 23rd, 2009. What started as an eight-hour mission, Bowe recounted, ended up taking five days.

Read more: rollingstone.com
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

284 wheat-dogghazi  Jun 4, 2014 8:41:40pm

re: #282 Mike R

Welcome, hatchling, and great comment!

285 palomino  Jun 4, 2014 8:43:34pm

Why does it matter if Bergdahl was taking a shit, or jerking off, or planning to desert? He’s an American soldier who was being held captive. We get them back, as a matter of principle. If he fucked up while there, well that’s why we have military courts. Let them deal with him.

286 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 8:43:51pm

re: #283 Gus

Tis a dead link, Gus. Either Rolling Stone since moved the article or they’re trying to burn the evidence.

287 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 8:45:15pm

re: #286 Targetpractice

Tis a dead link, Gus. Either Rolling Stone since moved the article or they’re trying to burn the evidence.

Fixed.

288 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 8:46:20pm
289 calochortus  Jun 4, 2014 8:47:41pm

re: #288 Lidane

Sure. Wasn’t he in Poland today? Always traveling.
/

290 Kragar  Jun 4, 2014 8:48:23pm
291 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 8:51:41pm

re: #285 palomino

Why does it matter if Bergdahl was taking a shit, or jerking off, or planning to desert? He’s an American soldier who was being held captive. We get them back, as a matter of principle. If he fucked up while there, well that’s why we have military courts. Let them deal with him.

It didn’t matter until Obama had the nerve to get him rescued. The same pundits, twitter warriors, and elected officials who were ragging on Obama for not doing enough to get him out are now saying Bergdahl is a traitor who should be punished or that Obama did too much to get him back. It goes back to the conversation last night about many of them having no real principles just blind hatred.

292 palomino  Jun 4, 2014 8:52:02pm

re: #288 Lidane

[Embedded content]

This dumbass mental health expert also surmised that Bergdahl’s father is a “narcissist because he was once a ballet dancer.” By that logic, anyone in the performing arts, sports, or any other field where adulation can be received is also a narcissist.

293 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 8:52:41pm

re: #287 Gus

Fixed.

Yeah, just Googled it. Shocker, reading through it reads like what I pretty much suspected, his unit was a disciplinary nightmare and he’d finally reached the point of just not giving a fuck. So when he disappeared, instead of worrying about his safety, all his “buddies” could think about was how it was going to look on their records to have had a guy just get up and leave.

294 Dark_Falcon  Jun 4, 2014 8:53:08pm

Relevant for this thread:

Understanding the Open Carry Texas-NRA fiasco (VIDEO)

For those unfamiliar with the Open Carry Texas movement, it’s helpful to know who’s who and what’s what.

There are two Open Carry Texas philosophies or core strategies employed by two different Open Carry Texas organizations. While both organizations lawfully tote long guns during demonstrations as a way to bring awareness to the state law that prohibits the open carry of handguns and to normalize the practice of openly carrying any firearm, they go about it differently.

Put quite simply, Open Carry Texas, the founding group with several chapters throughout the Lone Star State believes in alerting local law enforcement before holding events and making conscious efforts to alleviate public concern by displaying banners and signs with the Open Carry Texas logo during rallies.

Open Carry Tarrant County, which used to fall under the Open Carry Texas umbrella, recently split with Open Carry Texas because its leadership does not believe in alerting authorities before planning demonstrations believing that they’ve done enough activism on this issue in their respective district so that it’s no longer warranted.

Once again, to OCTC:

295 calochortus  Jun 4, 2014 8:53:31pm

re: #292 palomino

This dumbass mental health expert also surmised that Bergdahl’s father is a “narcissist because he was once a ballet dancer.” By that logic, anyone in the performing arts, sports, or any other field where adulation can be received is also a narcissist.

What does that say about the emotional needs of someone on TV diagnosing people they’ve never met?

296 palomino  Jun 4, 2014 8:54:35pm

re: #291 HappyWarrior

It didn’t matter until Obama had the nerve to get him rescued. The same pundits, twitter warriors, and elected officials who were ragging on Obama for not doing enough to get him out are now saying Bergdahl is a traitor who should be punished or that Obama did too much to get him back. It goes back to the conversation last night about many of them having no real principles just blind hatred.

And these same assholes knew of the rumors that Bergdahl had deserted. So it was perfectly OK to rescue a possible deserter, even make a deal for him…until it became useful as a political weapon to say otherwise.

297 calochortus  Jun 4, 2014 8:55:08pm

re: #294 Dark_Falcon

So what is the point of open carry if it is only at “events” about which the officials have been notified? I don’t get that.

298 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 8:57:05pm

re: #292 palomino

This dumbass mental health expert also surmised that Bergdahl’s father is a “narcissist because he was once a ballet dancer.” By that logic, anyone in the performing arts, sports, or any other field where adulation can be received is also a narcissist.

Ah Keith Ablow who would have failed a psychology class for children. Really where the hell do they get this stuff? A narcissist because he was once a ballet dancer? I swear though. The shit that they say on Fox keeps on getting more and more nutty. They’re making the dictators of the world wish they had such an elaborate spin machine of hate.

299 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 8:57:18pm

From the Rolling Stone article, dated 2012, this is how they described the reaction to Bowe being reported missing:

At 9:00 that morning, the acting platoon leader, Sgt. 1st Class Larry Hein, called in over the radio to report a missing soldier. According to sources in the battalion, this was the last thing Hein needed, given all the scrutiny the unit had been under. The men needed a break. Instead, they had to find a member of their platoon. “That was a shitty week for all of them,” says one soldier in the unit.

300 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 8:57:44pm

re: #296 palomino

And these same assholes knew of the rumors that Bergdahl had deserted. So it was perfectly OK to rescue a possible deserter, even make a deal for him…until it became useful as a political weapon to say otherwise.

Precisely. Frigging cowards whose only real ideology is Nobama.

301 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 8:59:16pm

All the open carry people do in Texas is re-enforce the jokes about guys like that doing so to over-compensate for something else. Real manly man needing an open weapon while he’s eating his baby back ribs, lemme tell ya!

302 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 8:59:51pm

It’s June 4th, 2014.
Michael Hastings died on June 18, 2013.
His story on Bowe Bergdahl was published on June 7, 2012.
Bergdahl went missing on June 30, 2009.

O.O

303 Kid A  Jun 4, 2014 9:00:31pm

re: #301 HappyWarrior

All the open carry people do in Texas is re-enforce the jokes about guys like that doing so to over-compensate for something else. Real manly man needing an open weapon while he’s eating his baby back ribs, lemme tell ya!

You forgot drinkin’ the sweet tea.

304 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 9:00:41pm

Better yet, this is what I was talking about earlier:

In the early-morning hours of June 30th, according to soldiers in the unit, Bowe approached his team leader not long after he got off guard duty and asked his superior a simple question: If I were to leave the base, would it cause problems if I took my sensitive equipment?

Yes, his team leader responded - if you took your rifle and night-vision goggles, that would cause problems.

Bowe returned to his barracks, a roughly built bunker of plywood and sandbags. He gathered up water, a knife, his digital camera and his diary. Then he slipped off the outpost.

Yegods.

305 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 9:01:44pm

re: #303 Kid A

You forgot drinkin’ the sweet tea.

Them damn sweet tea thieves outta be shot.

306 dog philosopher  Jun 4, 2014 9:02:01pm

re: #282 Mike R

points for style!

307 HappyWarrior  Jun 4, 2014 9:02:31pm

re: #304 Targetpractice

Better yet, this is what I was talking about earlier:

Yegods.

These guys don’t exactly sound professional if this is all true.

308 palomino  Jun 4, 2014 9:02:46pm

re: #294 Dark_Falcon

I’m not sure you actually read that article. Here are the first two paragraphs:

Chris Cox, the venerable executive director of the lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association, took one on the chin yesterday, openly admitting that his department got it wrong on the Open Carry Texas movement.

“The truth is an alert went out that referred to this type of behavior as weird or somehow not normal, and that was a mistake. It shouldn’t have happened,” Cox told NRA radio host Cam Edwards on Tuesday on a NRA News show.

First, the article kisses the NRA’s ass, then mildly rebukes them for not being extreme enough. In other words, the NRA fucked up, according to this article, by saying that carrying long guns into Starbucks and Chili’s is kinda weird.

Second, guns.com is a porn site. It has more titillating full color, spread legged closeups of firearms than most real porn sites do of women, men, women w/ women, men w/ men, etc. I think you can probably find better sources for reasoned discussion of gun control.

309 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 9:03:59pm

re: #307 HappyWarrior

These guys don’t exactly sound professional if this is all true.

It’s what they told Rolling Stone, as we all know, they’ve absolutely no reason to lie about what happened.

///

310 palomino  Jun 4, 2014 9:04:44pm

I was on both the tennis and bowling teams in HS. (Pretty impressive, huh?) Anyway, I guess that makes me a narcissist.

311 Sophist, D.D., DDS, DFH  Jun 4, 2014 9:05:09pm

re: #304 Targetpractice

In the early-morning hours of June 30th, according to soldiers in the unit, Bowe approached his team leader not long after he got off guard duty and asked his superior a simple question: If I were to leave the base, would it cause problems if I took my sensitive equipment?

Oh, fer fuck’s sake. Really? How do you not ask questions when someone comes up to you and says something like that?

312 Kid A  Jun 4, 2014 9:11:25pm
313 calochortus  Jun 4, 2014 9:18:43pm

Good night lizards. Hasta mañana.

314 OhNoZombies!  Jun 4, 2014 9:27:20pm

re: #304 Targetpractice

Hi, everyone!
Ok.
If I were to decide to leave forever, I don’t think I would care if any of my actions would cause a problem, and I wouldn’t risk bringing attention to myself by asking a superior about what I could and couldn’t take.
It makes no sense for him to approach a superior if he was deserting, IMO.

315 Ding-an-sich Wannabe  Jun 4, 2014 9:27:36pm

re: #200 Lidane

War criminals gotta grift:

[Embedded content]

“I have 14 constitutional conservatives right here in my pocket. Left side, front pocket. Very safe in there.”

316 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 9:29:06pm

re: #314 OhNoZombies!

Hi, everyone!
Ok.
If I were to decide to leave forever, I don’t think I would care if any of my actions would cause a problem, and I wouldn’t risk bringing attention to myself by asking a superior about what I could and couldn’t take.
It makes no sense for him to approach a superior if he was deserting, IMO.

None at all. From the sounds of it, the reason nobody stopped him is nobody gave a fuck. If anything, it sounds like most of them resented him. They saw the Army as a frat party where they got paid to break shit and kill people, and he joined up out of desire to make a difference.

317 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 9:36:13pm

I’ve heard wingnuts suggest that the administration won’t allow him to be court-martialed because they’re afraid he’ll be convicted. I’m becoming convinced the Army won’t court-martial him simply because they don’t want this shit to ever see the light of day. Hell, starting to make sense why they never changed his status or put a hold on his promotions. They probably hoped he’d turn up or be rescued one day, so they could quietly drop the matter and usher his ass back into civilian life.

Because the story of his time in the service is starting to read like all the worse aspects of the Afghan War rolled into one: Lowered recruitment standards, low morale, poor discipline, and a bunch of fuckheads who were fighting “over there” because the Army was strapped for warm bodies to throw at the enemy due to Iraq sucking all the air out of the room.

318 OhNoZombies!  Jun 4, 2014 9:42:28pm

I remember something about being innocent until being proven guilty, and reserving judgement until all the facts were in.

Or maybe I dreamed that…

319 Kragar  Jun 4, 2014 9:57:05pm

re: #318 OhNoZombies!

I remember something about being innocent until being proven guilty, and reserving judgement until all the facts were in.

Or maybe I dreamed that…

Commie pinko

320 Kragar  Jun 4, 2014 10:01:27pm
321 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 10:01:41pm

Climate change is a hoax! Evolution of the devil! And Bowe Bergdahl is a not good Muslim loving Taliban terrorist defector!

//

322 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 10:07:04pm

re: #320 Kragar

[Embedded content]

Ended up as Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds.

323 OhNoZombies!  Jun 4, 2014 10:07:44pm

re: #319 Kragar

Commie pinko

Power to the Proletar—, er wait…

324 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 10:10:22pm



325 Kragar  Jun 4, 2014 10:14:36pm

re: #322 Targetpractice

Ended up as Mike Nelson, Destroyer of Worlds.

I was sure I was going to get Frank

326 Kragar  Jun 4, 2014 10:15:07pm

Project time

327 Floral Giraffe  Jun 4, 2014 10:16:47pm

re: #326 Kragar

My nephew lusts after your figurines! Err, warriors!

328 Targetpractice  Jun 4, 2014 10:18:02pm

re: #325 Kragar

I was sure I was going to get Frank

Push the button, Frank.

329 The Ghost of a Flea  Jun 4, 2014 10:18:15pm

re: #265 Rightwingconspirator

Oh I think Pakistan will pay dearly for these associations. Not necessarily by our hands. This kind of behavior is self destructive in the long term. Time wounds all heels, as it were.

I’m not trying to attack, it’s just…I grew up immersed in Pakistani politics, because Pakistani politics were synonymous with the mortal danger my aunt and her kids were facing in Peshawar. The US backed the muhajadeen via the ISI via the pro-Islamization Zia dictatorship…and all three categorically didn’t give a shit if a little sectarian violence dropped on the Sufis and other apostates as long as the Godless Commies got the brunt. The US was into propping up the fundamentalists in the Pakistani government until the USSR failed (Zia Al Huq)…and before that we totes okay with the military coup leaders who stomped on the secular, liberal parties.

The mess of ISI guys in with Islamist organizations being used against us now…it’s the same fucking guys, jumped up the hierarchical ladder, who’ve created cadres of like-minded conservative underlings. So I’m a little bitter about all this “Pakistan screwed us over” thing. It’s not as flashy and dramatic as the various Dulles brothers shitshows, but we knocked over Pakistan’s ability to be a stable democracy…repeatedly. We enabled a conservative, nepotist oligarchy and regular people like my kin took it in the fucking teeth. And that conservative, nepotist oligarchy double deals with the terrorists because they don’t give a fuck about either poor people with no family connections *or* people that don’t pray exactly like they do.

So yeah, just a wee bit bitter.

330 Kragar  Jun 4, 2014 10:19:08pm

re: #327 Floral Giraffe

My nephew lusts after your figurines! Err, warriors!

Dark Eldar are fun like that.

331 teleskiguy  Jun 4, 2014 10:27:30pm

I have to give Louie C.K. some credit for chutzpah and gall.

IS DONALD RUMSFELD A LIZARD ???

Youtube Video

332 Kragar  Jun 4, 2014 10:29:53pm
333 lostlakehiker  Jun 4, 2014 10:30:10pm

re: #194 Targetpractice

I was told earlier that even Krauthammer told Bill’O that trading 5 of prisoners for 1 of our soldiers was a good thing, if only because it was a part of who we are. That we, like the Israelis, put so much value on the lives of our own that getting them back means making deals that may very well cause trouble down the line. But that’s a sign of the goodness of America.

That’s what Krauthammer said. Or a fair paraphrase of it. I caught that part of the broadcast.

334 blueraven  Jun 4, 2014 10:44:20pm

from rolling stone

our media

Things soon got worse. Ralph Peters, an action-thriller writer who serves as a “strategic analyst” for Fox News, took to the air to condemn Bowe as an “apparent deserter.” The Taliban, he declared, could save the United States on “legal bills” by executing him. Horrified by such comments, Bob and Jani told their military liaison that they didn’t want the Army to mount an operation to rescue Bowe, fearful that he’d be killed - either by accident, or even on purpose, by an aggrieved soldier or the U.S. military itself. There have certainly been soldiers who have joined the drumbeat of hatred against Bowe: A recent Facebook post from one soldier in his unit called for his execution

…
Our politicians

Officially, Bowe remains a soldier in good standing in the United States Army. He has continued to receive promotions over the past three years, based on his time in uniform, and he now holds the rank of sergeant. Unofficially, however, his status within the military is sharply contested. According to officials familiar with the internal debate, there are those in both Congress and the Pentagon who view Bowe as a deserter, and perhaps even a traitor. As with everything in Washington these days, the sharp political discord has complicated efforts to secure his release.

“The Hill is giving State and the White House shit,” says one senior administration source. “The political consequences­ are being used as leverage in the policy debate.” According to White House sources, Marc Grossman, who replaced Richard Holbrooke as special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, was given a direct warning by the president’s opponents in Congress about trading Bowe for five Taliban prisoners during an election year. “They keep telling me it’s going to be Obama’s Willie Horton moment,” Grossman warned the White House. The threat was as ugly as it was clear: The president’s political enemies were prepared to use the release of violent prisoners to paint Obama as a Dukakis-­like appeaser, just as Republicans did to the former Massachusetts governor during the 1988 campaign. In response, a White House official advised Grossman that he should ignore the politics of the swap and concentrate solely on the policy.

“Frankly, we don’t give a shit why he left,” says one White House official. “He’s an American soldier. We want to bring him home.”

Read more: rollingstone.com
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

335 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 10:55:10pm
336 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 10:55:34pm

Jjauthor deleted that Tweet! Hahahaha!

337 blueraven  Jun 4, 2014 11:03:25pm

Fuck off Howie

338 Shiplord Kirel  Jun 4, 2014 11:05:36pm

My nephew, an Iraq veteran, has announced that he will never again vote for any Republican. This is in response to the incredible display of hypocrisy and hatred toward Bowe Bergdahl. Until this, he was pretty much a hardcore wingnut all the way. Maybe others will see the light as well.

339 Shiplord Kirel  Jun 4, 2014 11:09:47pm

Even if Bergdahl left without permission, he was AWOL rather than a deserter. He wasn’t on the loose long enough before he was captured to qualify as a deserter. There were cases of AWOL soldiers and deserters being captured by the enemy in World War II, and I have heard of one in Vietnam. They ceased to be deserters or AWOL at the moment of capture and became POWs.

340 TedStriker  Jun 4, 2014 11:15:58pm

re: #336 Gus

Jjauthor deleted that Tweet! Hahahaha!

The RWNJ answer to all their ills: throw embarrassing shit down the memory hole.

Morons…

341 Shiplord Kirel  Jun 4, 2014 11:23:27pm

During the battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, a large number of French soldiers refused their orders and deserted from the main French position. Since the whole base was surrounded by the Vietminh enemy, the deserters dug their own trenches and bunkers along a creek a couple of hundred yards from the main position. They were able to claim a portion of the airdropped supplies, since these fell randomly over a large area, and they fought when they had to. The main force, dug in under a storm of artillery fire, was hardly likely to go after them. They were taken prisoner with the rest of the force when the base surrendered. As far as I know, the deserters who survived captivity were not singled out or punished after they were released.

342 Gus  Jun 4, 2014 11:24:34pm

John Boehner actually said this once.

George, the idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, you know, when they do what they do, you’ve got more carbon dioxide

O.o

343 Lidane  Jun 4, 2014 11:28:43pm

re: #297 calochortus

So what is the point of open carry if it is only at “events” about which the officials have been notified? I don’t get that.

Telling the authorities first = a SWAT team not getting called because of a bunch of heavily armed yahoos wandering down the street.

These people who insist they don’t have to tell the cops first will be in for a rude awakening when they get arrested for refusing to leave a business that wants them gone.

344 Lidane  Jun 5, 2014 12:23:22am

Ha!

Texas Republicans have been vocal supporters of expanding gun rights in Texas. So groups pushing for laws that would expand the ability to carry firearms openly expected to be welcomed at this week’s state GOP convention in Fort Worth. But the Texas GOP says the guns, themselves, will have to stay out.

Texas GOP chairman Steve Munisteri wants the groups to know they are certainly welcome to attend the Republican convention, but their guns will have to remain outside because alcohol is served at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

345 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 1:11:09am

Would be fun to see the reaction if Obama come in favor of mandatory universal open carry laws…

346 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 2:04:14am

me post without coffee and not nootice..

if Obama were to come out in favor of…

347 Amory Blaine  Jun 5, 2014 2:15:34am

McDaniel rep, others locked in courthouse

An official investigation has been opened into three people who were found locked in the Hinds County Courthouse hours after it was closed by election officials Tuesday after returns had been counted in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

The Hinds County Sheriff’s Department is investigating why three people, including a high-ranking Chris McDaniel campaign official, were found locked in the Hinds County Courthouse in Jackson hours after an election official says the building was closed early Wednesday morning.

Hinds County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Othor Cain said investigators are trying to figure out how Janis Lane, Scott Brewster and Rob Chambers entered the courthouse. They were inside until about 3:45 a.m., Cain said.

348 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 2:51:18am

I am waiting for the following situation to arise: a customer is in a restaurant, an open carrier enters, the customer, feeling threatened and not wishing to cause a scene, leaves without paying and is pursued by the owner.

I have a package of microwave popcorn stashed away for the event that something like this comes up.

349 Dr Lizardo  Jun 5, 2014 2:55:26am

Morning, Lizards. It looks like Justin Bourque, the Moncton shooter, is still on the loose as of this posting.

He’s shot and killed three Mounties and injured two others. The RCMP believes he’s somewhere in the Pinehurst subdivision.

Here’s a liveblog.

cbc.ca

More here: huffingtonpost.ca

350 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 3:00:05am

In Canada, it’s the NRE: National Rifle Eh?-sociation

351 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 3:04:13am

re: #349 Dr Lizardo

Thanks for the update, Dr. : ) I was about to look for news of this.

I hope he’s not holed up in some house, holding hostages.

Did you look on that Anonymous page shown on his FB? Chilling.

352 Dr Lizardo  Jun 5, 2014 3:09:54am

re: #351 Justanotherhuman

Thanks for the update, Dr. : ) I was about to look for news of this.

I hope he’s not holed up in some house, holding hostages.

Did you look on that Anonymous page shown on his FB? Chilling.

Yeah….I saw that.

I hate to say it, but it is possible he’s holed up in a house, hopefully, an empty house, or in a garage or outbuilding or something. He might have even killed himself by this point - that seems to be a common end for a lot of spree shooters once their “mission” is completed, though not always. I’m thinking of the Port Arthur Massacre in Australia, where the gunman was taken alive by the police.

353 Amory Blaine  Jun 5, 2014 3:10:29am

re: #342 Gus

John Boehner actually said this once.

George, the idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, you know, when they do what they do, you’ve got more carbon dioxide

O.o

Yes John, what comes out of a cows ass and your mouth are exactly the same. A rare moment of lucidity from the Speaker.

354 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 3:33:09am

I find it pretty ironic that a member of the US armed forces, who may have had issues with what he was seeing and experiencing in Afghanistan and perhaps, on his own volition, wandered off base and wound up as as a prisoner of the Taliban, is vilified and seen as some kind of traitor by the same people who admire someone who thinks weapons should be allowed and carried in public. Even if that someone winds up killing those who get in his path, esp those who try to stop him, like LE.

Settling issues, anger, and getting revenge with deadly weapons is becoming all too common. And if people really care about life, they’ll run the politicians who encourage it out of office and start thinking for themselves.

I’m just tired of all the ignorance and hate. It’s not how I thought it would be in the world when my time is almost up, and that of others is just starting.

355 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 3:39:55am

re: #354 Justanotherhuman

Settling issues, anger, and getting revenge with deadly weapons is becoming all too common. And if people really care about life, they’ll run the politicians who encourage it out of office and start thinking for themselves.

I’m just tired of all the ignorance and hate. It’s not how I thought it would be in the world when my time is almost up, and that of others is just starting.

We are dealing with an almost adolescent level of rage, spite and frustration.

356 freetoken  Jun 5, 2014 3:40:00am

MP3 Audio

357 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 3:54:19am

That posting on Bourque’s FB I said last night was “seriously deranged shit”?

Not my genre of music since I haven’t been an alienated teen since I was 15 or 16 and certainly not hating so much I wanted to blow myself, others, or the world up.

358 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 3:56:34am

re: #357 Justanotherhuman

That posting on Bourque’s FB I said last night was “seriously deranged shit”?

[Embedded content]

Not my genre of music since I haven’t been an alienated teen since I was 15 or 16 and certainly not hating so much I wanted to blow myself, others, or the world up.

proof that heavy metal music was a contributing cause.

/

359 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 3:56:42am

re: #355 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

We are dealing with an almost adolescent level of rage, spite and frustration.

You nailed it. It is adolescent and it’s being encouraged in various quarters to last even longer than it did in my day. It sells stuff.

360 Amory Blaine  Jun 5, 2014 3:59:51am

Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine is known for right wing weirdness.

Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Covers Jimi Hendrix Version of National Anthem for ‘America’ Film

Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine knows his way around the guitar and isn’t averse to taking on interesting projects outside of his band, so his inclusion in the new Dinesh D’Souza film ‘America’ is a perfect fit. As part of the film’s soundtrack, Mustaine attempts to recreate Jimi Hendrix’s classic rendition of ‘The Star-Spangled Banner.’

361 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 4:02:05am

re: #358 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

proof that heavy metal music was a contributing cause.

/

Well, considering that Mustaine was drunk or high most of the time when he was writing or performing until he became a “born again christian”, I’d say he himself had some real, unresolved issues.

You think this stuff writes itself? Angst sells and so does rage.

362 Dark_Falcon  Jun 5, 2014 4:03:33am

re: #360 Amory Blaine

Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine is known for right wing weirdness.

Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Covers Jimi Hendrix Version of National Anthem for ‘America’ Film

Well, he can play his friend a farewell when D’Souza reports to prison.

363 William Barnett-Lewis  Jun 5, 2014 4:08:59am

re: #360 Amory Blaine

Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine is known for right wing weirdness.

Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Covers Jimi Hendrix Version of National Anthem for ‘America’ Film

I always had a soft spot for “Peace Sells…. But Who’s Buying?” but even that’s got it’s own deep weirdness. Not that his former band mates in Metallica are really that much better in their own way either.

364 William Barnett-Lewis  Jun 5, 2014 4:13:52am

And I’m off to the motel for one more daytime training shift. Next week I’ll start the night shifts. So far so good he said as he passed the 75th floor window O_o

365 ObserverArt  Jun 5, 2014 4:26:34am

re: #355 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

We are dealing with an almost adolescent level of rage, spite and frustration.

You may be giving them too much credit with “almost adolescent” level reference. Snarling terrible two-year olds show better behavior.

American needs a damn good spanking. The rod has been spared and we have a spoiled society.

366 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 4:27:48am

What one deranged individual can do to a town of around 70K.

“Parts of Moncton, New Brunswick are under lockdown at this hour, as police search for a person of interest in a series of deadly shootings there.

“Schools are closed and city buses have been pulled from the roads as police scour the city for Justin Bourque, the 24-year-old Moncton man wanted in connection with shootings that left RCMP officers dead and another three wounded in the northwest of the city.

(snip)

“Motorists elsewhere in the city are warned to expect roadblocks and traffic disruptions Thursday.

“And residents are asked not to post any information about the police operation to social media, in case he is active online.” more

Read more: ctvnews.ca

367 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 4:36:43am

Wonder how many are “high level” ones?

368 Lidane  Jun 5, 2014 4:38:39am
369 Lidane  Jun 5, 2014 4:41:19am

Wheee!

370 Lidane  Jun 5, 2014 4:43:45am
371 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 4:44:50am

re: #368 Lidane

[Embedded content]

Lynch is a “Southie” which no doubt influences his “Democratic” politics.

You should read up on him since he seems just a bit short of having fascist and racist ideals. He likes the working class, for instance, but only if it’s white.

372 Dark_Falcon  Jun 5, 2014 4:50:58am

re: #371 Justanotherhuman

Lynch is a “Southie” which no doubt influences his “Democratic” politics.

You should read up on him since he seems just a bit short of having fascist and racist ideals. He likes the working class, for instance, but only if it’s white.

Do you mean “Southie: American South” or “Southie: Boston”?

373 Patricia Kayden  Jun 5, 2014 4:53:12am

re: #19 Belafon

If I had to choose between being rescued and being liked by the right wing, I would choose to be rescued.

Exactly. I’m glad he’s home and safe. Screw the Rightwingers.

374 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 4:54:06am

re: #373 Patricia Kayden

Exactly. I’m glad he’s home and safe. Screw the Rightwingers.

He just had the misfortune of being rescued by the wrong president.

375 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 4:58:56am

re: #372 Dark_Falcon

Do you mean “Southie: American South” or “Southie: Boston”?

Boston Southie, but the profile is very similar for both, I’m afraid.

Lynch is also a devout Catholic who was also the youngest president of the Ironworkers Union at age 30 and who later attended law school and got his J.D. in 1991 (at age 35). He has some scores to settle.

376 Dark_Falcon  Jun 5, 2014 5:02:16am

re: #375 Justanotherhuman

Boston Southie, but the profile is very similar for both, I’m afraid.

Lynch is also a devout Catholic who was also the youngest president of the Ironworkers Union at age 30 and who later attended law school and got his J.D. in 1991 (at age 35). He has some scores to settle.

So, not just some loser but a capable man with a major chip on his shoulder. That’s the most dangerous type of leader.

BBL

377 The Ghost of a Flea  Jun 5, 2014 5:02:37am

Opinion poll:

This thought-deuce was dropped late last night.

The TLDR is:

It’s the Eddie Izzard “Do you have a flag?” bit treated as Serious Business.

It’s Ayn Rand doing her “the dirty Indians didn’t use it right, so we can take it!” bit, spraying neat vodka and non-small-cell lung cancer tissue as she brays.

Plus nasssstttty liberal NGO conspiracy.

My European neocolonialist liberal conspiracy masters* demand that I answer.

Do I actually engage, or do I just post Sean Connery from Zardoz?

Or Sean Connery from Zardoz, with Ayn Rand’s head pasted in place?

*on the grand conspiracy org chart, four columns down from the Inner Earth Lizardmen, in the administration of the Terrestial Jewish Conspiracy (as opposed to the Space Jews) along with secret Halal butchery conspiracy and the people who make chemtrails.

(That last bit is funny, because actually it’s the Halal butchers that make chemtrails!)

378 steve_davis  Jun 5, 2014 5:10:25am

re: #8 Targetpractice

If only the White House had quietly brought him back, this would never have happened! But no, they had to say “honor and distinction,” which we know is a lie!!!

And then Obama said “held by terrorists,” rather than “terrorist held.” That’s gotta be worth a hearing, surely.

379 wheat-dogghazi  Jun 5, 2014 5:12:13am

re: #377 The Ghost of a Flea

The guy posting it has never commented here, and it’s his first page. I suspect he’s just pimping his own site.

I say Ayn Zardoz Rand, or that quizzical guy with the pipe I’ve seen Gus post.

380 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 5:13:34am

I dunno—if I were a young person and liked handling and shooting guns and wanted to blow things up, wouldn’t I join the military? Or LE, at least? Maybe even “make a difference” and put a human face on crime and war?

Except the military and LE do require some discipline, and with the lot we’re seeing out there complaining about “the state”, that just wouldn’t do. It’s gotta be their way or the highway, I suppose.

OTOH, I don’t expect libertarians and anarchists to think the same way rational people do.

381 ObserverArt  Jun 5, 2014 5:18:29am

Since Zardoz and gunz have been melded into the morning topics…it’s a good time to whip this ‘shop back out on y’all.

Wayne LaZardoz

382 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 5:23:40am

re: #379 wheat-dogghazi

The guy posting it has never commented here, and it’s his first page. I suspect he’s just pimping his own site.

I say Ayn Zardoz Rand, or that quizzical guy with the pipe I’ve seen Gus post.

Might be this guy:

benjamin-wolinski.newsvine.com

383 wheat-dogghazi  Jun 5, 2014 5:25:08am

re: #382 Justanotherhuman

Yes, it is.

384 Lidane  Jun 5, 2014 5:25:19am
385 The Ghost of a Flea  Jun 5, 2014 5:25:58am

re: #381 ObserverArt

The Gun is good!

The Penis is evil! The Penis shoots Seeds, and makes new Life to poison ‘Murica with a plague of Home Invaders, as once it was. But the Gun shoots Freedom and purifies the Earth of the filth of Hypothetical Total-Stranger Rapists That Exist In A Quantum-indeterminate State In All Alleyways.

Go forth, and shill!

Lardoz has spoken.

386 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 5:26:14am

re: #383 wheat-dogghazi

Yes, it is.

So, conservative shill.

“Benjamin Wolinski is a freelance journalist living in Connecticut, where living in the bluest of blue states has radicalized his conservative political leanings. “

387 Lidane  Jun 5, 2014 5:29:48am
388 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 5:30:43am

When the Taliban was invited to meet with Big Oil in Texas.

“Representatives of the Taliban are invited guests to the Texas headquarters of Unocal to negotiate their support for the pipeline. Future President George W. Bush is Governor of Texas at the time. The Taliban appear to agree to a $2 billion pipeline deal, but will do the deal only if the US officially recognizes the Taliban regime. The Taliban meet with US officials. According to the Daily Telegraph, “the US government, which in the past has branded the Taliban’s policies against women and children ‘despicable,’ appears anxious to please the fundamentalists to clinch the lucrative pipeline contract.” A BBC regional correspondent says that “the proposal to build a pipeline across Afghanistan is part of an international scramble to profit from developing the rich energy resources of the Caspian Sea.” [BBC, 12/4/1997; Daily Telegraph, 12/14/1997] It has been claimed that the Taliban meet with Enron officials while in Texas (see 1996-September 11, 2001). Enron, headquartered in Texas, has an large financial interest in the pipeline at the time (see June 24, 1996). The Taliban also visit Thomas Gouttierre, an academic at the University of Nebraska, who is a consultant for Unocal and also has been paid by the CIA for his work in Afghanistan (see 1984-1994 and December 1997). Gouttierre takes them on a visit to Mt. Rushmore. “[Dreyfuss, 2005, pp. 328-329]

historycommons.org

389 wheat-dogghazi  Jun 5, 2014 5:33:58am

re: #386 Justanotherhuman

He’s also posted at Free Republic and a couple of other sites, according to my quick search of the Intertubes. He’s just trying to build readership by posting stuff here and there. Not the best way to spread your name around, IMO.

390 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 5:38:37am

Time magazine joins the political beat down and misinformation campaign.

Taliban commander close to Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s release says deal has made kidnappings of US soldiers more appealing - @TIME
Read more on time.com

The lede: “A Taliban commander close to the negotiations over the release of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told TIME Thursday…”

So, an it’s an “unnamed source” and you publish this swill?

391 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 5:39:20am

re: #389 wheat-dogghazi

He’s also posted at Free Republic and a couple of other sites, according to my quick search of the Intertubes. He’s just trying to build readership by posting stuff here and there. Not the best way to spread your name around, IMO.

He needs to get off other people’s lawns…

392 A Mom Anon  Jun 5, 2014 5:45:22am

re: #390 Justanotherhuman

It’s who they are and what they do.

As much as wingnuts bitch about “liberal billionaires/millionaires” funding our evil plans (moohahahaha), where in the hell is our Rupert Murdoch? OK, maybe not HIM exactly, but you know, a rich liberal who would fund and get funding for an actual network like the size of a CNN or Fox who did actual reporting.

A LONG time ago when I was a member over at Firedoglake (before they lost their damned minds over there), there was a live chat with George Soros. I actually asked that question to him and I got some lame answer about how it really wouldn’t work and there was no demand for it, too costly etc, etc. This from the guy who is supposedly funding liberal minions worldwide to do, well, I don’t know.

393 Jayleia  Jun 5, 2014 5:52:05am

re: #48 Dark_Falcon

These people do not seem to resemble anything I’d call a “responsible” gun owner. Guys walking around with the barrel pointed down so they can bring them up FAST, at a hamburger joint…that, to me, is someone there to use that weapon for its intended purpose.

394 b.d.  Jun 5, 2014 5:55:45am

The war is ending and people are being repatriated, no wonder the wingnuts are in a tizzy.

395 Jay in Oregon  Jun 5, 2014 5:56:08am

re: #29 Dark_Falcon

If the safety is engaged on that AR, then nothing happens except that the wise ass gets a well deserved chewing out. Eugene Stoner designed a good safety for the AR system and that rifle’s trigger won’t fire off a round if said safety is engaged.

It’s a good thing that none of these assholes ever walk around with a round chambered and the safety off, then.

Am I the only one who sees stories of dumbfucks with guns accidentally killing their kids/parents/spouses/girlfriends/random bystanders on a weekly basis?

396 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 5:59:45am

re: #29 Dark_Falcon

If the safety is engaged on that AR, then nothing happens except that the wise ass gets a well deserved chewing out. Eugene Stoner designed a good safety for the AR system and that rifle’s trigger won’t fire off a round if said safety is engaged.

There is no effective safety for the trigger in these guys’ heads…

397 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 6:09:41am

re: #390 Justanotherhuman

Time magazine joins the political beat down and misinformation campaign.

Taliban commander close to Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s release says deal has made kidnappings of US soldiers more appealing - @TIME
Read more on time.com

The lede: “A Taliban commander close to the negotiations over the release of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told TIME Thursday…”

So, an it’s an “unnamed source” and you publish this swill?

I wouldn’t discount this article. It’s pretty troubling…

A Taliban commander close to the negotiations over the release of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told TIME Thursday that the deal made to secure Bergdahl’s release has made it more appealing for fighters to capture American soldiers and other high-value targets.

“It’s better to kidnap one person like Bergdahl than kidnapping hundreds of useless people,” the commander said, speaking by telephone on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. “It has encouraged our people. Now everybody will work hard to capture such an important bird.”

398 ObserverArt  Jun 5, 2014 6:11:00am

re: #390 Justanotherhuman

Time magazine joins the political beat down and misinformation campaign.

Taliban commander close to Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s release says deal has made kidnappings of US soldiers more appealing - @TIME
Read more on time.com

The lede: “A Taliban commander close to the negotiations over the release of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl told TIME Thursday…”

So, an it’s an “unnamed source” and you publish this swill?

You know if I was in the Taliban, I’d too work this for all I could get out of it. If they are terrorists (not just a political/religion/army) as everyone paints them, then what is terror all about? It’s about fear, a state of mind. So, why not say this makes them more prone to wanting to kidnap more soldiers. It creates terror in the ranks and in the people. And it didn’t cost one bomb, or a lot of planning, etc.

Remember back when everyone was saying the terrorists would never win, they would never change peoples ways. All that after 9/11. Now, they seem to have won that battle. Releasing 5 of them and America reacts like those 5 are going to turn around and bring down this country.

I just don’t get all this. Hell, they managed to create such a mess that some crazy people think our own President is part of a terror group…the Muslims.

(Take my adding Muslim as a terror group in context. It is about American thinking…not about actual Muslims and their religion.)

399 Bulworth  Jun 5, 2014 6:12:18am

re:
#390
Justanotherhuman

Thanks, Time. Great work. Maybe you can say something bad about Bergdahl’s beard now, too.

//

400 ObserverArt  Jun 5, 2014 6:15:33am

re: #395 Jay in Oregon

It’s a good thing that none of these assholes ever walk around with a round chambered and the safety off, then.

Am I the only one who sees stories of dumbfucks with guns accidentally killing their kids/parents/spouses/girlfriends/random bystanders on a weekly basis?

No you are not. We’ve had a few here recently in the Columbus Ohio area. The ones that really get me is a little kid finding a gun and then pointing it playfully at a sibling and boom. A dead child, often less than 6 years old, a traumatized brother or sister (the shooter) and a family in shock.

And the gun was there to help protect the family.

401 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Jun 5, 2014 6:15:46am

re: #397 NJDhockeyfan

I wouldn’t discount this article. It’s pretty troubling…

Why on earth do you think that Taliban already didn’t have enormous incentive to capture US soldiers?

And just for the record: You want the US military to alter its long-standing policy to get POWs back through prisoner exchanges? Or are you going to wishy-wash like you normally do and not actually take a position but just get ‘concerned’?

402 Bulworth  Jun 5, 2014 6:17:59am

re:
#378
steve_davis

And then Obama said “held by terrorists,” rather than “terrorist held.” That’s gotta be worth a hearing, surely.

Also, too:
It took Obummer TWo weeks! to call Benghazi attacks Terorrism!!! and then he only said it was at attack by terrorist which isnt the same as terrorist attack!!1

403 ObserverArt  Jun 5, 2014 6:18:28am

re: #396 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

There is no effective safety for the trigger in these guys’ heads…

How long before one of the open carry types is confronted for being an ass on display and then gets pissed off being called out, switches the safety off and takes it out on the gun haters?

It will happen eventually. All of the elements for bad are present.

404 Mike Lamb  Jun 5, 2014 6:18:46am

re: #397 NJDhockeyfan

I wouldn’t discount this article. It’s pretty troubling…

I’m sure this the absolute first time they had ever thought about kidnapping US soldiers…<eye roll>.

405 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 6:18:49am
406 Ian G.  Jun 5, 2014 6:20:11am

re: #221 HappyWarrior

Aww OT but sorry to hear about the passing of Don Zimmer. A baseball lifer if there ever was one.

The guy spent 66 years (!) in baseball. Literally his entire adult life was either playing, coaching, managing, or advising for a baseball team. RIP Zim.

It also makes me wonder how much longer we’ll have any of the 1962 Mets around. That was 52 years ago. You figure the youngest members of that team would have to be in their early 70s at this point.

407 Eventual Carrion  Jun 5, 2014 6:20:33am

re: #13 darthstar

[Embedded content]

All I know is if I were to be on a killing rampage, he would be the first one I would shoot before he even knew what was happening.

408 Bulworth  Jun 5, 2014 6:20:50am

re:
#384
Lidane

Such a timely article from the Moonie Times. I wonder if all the conservatives clamoring for Obama to “do something” for the past few years about getting Bergdahl out were aware of this?

In any event, of course, Obomo was supposed to send in drones to capture Bergdahl and kill all the Talibanese and then they could bring Bergdahl back to face the firing squad composed of Fox news ‘patriots’.

409 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Jun 5, 2014 6:23:12am

re: #404 Mike Lamb

I’m sure this the absolute first time they had ever thought about kidnapping US soldiers…<eye roll>.

Maybe the US military also puts some effort into capturing Taliban. Perhaps. Just a slight chance.

410 Bulworth  Jun 5, 2014 6:24:02am

re:
#384
Lidane

I fondly recall all the times from 2001-2008 that the Moonie Times and other conservative outlets demanded that the president defer to the wishes of Congress in all things, especially executive actions relating to wars and overseas adventures. ///

411 darthstar  Jun 5, 2014 6:25:06am
412 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 6:25:23am

re: #405 NJDhockeyfan

[Embedded content]

Sort of sad, in a way. Everyone is old! Even Loni Anderson is 68 but she’s had a lot of work done.

Loni Anderson 2013

413 lawhawk  Jun 5, 2014 6:25:38am

Greets and saluts from the NYC metro area. Since this week represents the 25th anniversary of the Tienanmen Square crackdown, I offer up this photo and observation:

414 b.d.  Jun 5, 2014 6:26:09am

If there are no soldiers around then they can’t be kidnapped.

Just sayin…….

415 prairiefire  Jun 5, 2014 6:28:01am

re: #413 lawhawk

I remember that tense drama playing out on all the t.v.s, everywhere I went. I wonder if it was on CNN.

416 darthstar  Jun 5, 2014 6:28:16am

re: #407 Eventual Carrion

All I know is if I were to be on a killing rampage, he would be the first one I would shoot before he even knew what was happening.

Well, he’s a walking ammo supply shop.

417 ObserverArt  Jun 5, 2014 6:28:48am

re: #397 NJDhockeyfan

I wouldn’t discount this article. It’s pretty troubling…

Are you terrorized by his statement? It seems to be working. You are making my point in #398.

Hell, you want to scare people…get our media over to Afghanistan and have some bearded guy scream “boo…we are coming after you…Allahu Akbar” in the camera and a bunch of Americans will pee their pants. Fox will have their audience cowering under tables, CNN will have maps of where the attacks will be coming from, NBC will have a concert on the Today show to celebrate life before it is all over.

The bearded guy screaming…he could be anyone. But hey…beard…Afghanistan…boo…Arrrrgh…we’re all gonna die!

Time to get the day rolling. This late in the week I need to temper the outrages. I reach media fatigue easily these days. I wonder why?

418 Bulworth  Jun 5, 2014 6:29:10am

re:
#415
prairiefire

No, they were busy covering the search for flight 370.

419 lawhawk  Jun 5, 2014 6:30:24am

The Canadian authorities are on a manhunt for a guy who killed three Mounties and was seen wearing camo and carrying at least two long guns that appear to be semi-automatics.

Heavily armed RCMP officers patrolled the small city overnight in the search for 24-year-old Justin Bourque, a Moncton man who was wearing military camouflage and carrying two rifles in a picture of him released by police on Twitter. The RCMP released a map of a large portion of the northwest section of the city, including a heavily wooded area, where they wanted people to remain inside with their doors locked.

Late Wednesday, the RCMP in New Brunswick tweeted a photo of the suspect, who they said was armed and dangerous. They urged anyone with information on his whereabouts to call 911.

The two injured officers were being treated for wounds that the RCMP described as non life-threatening.

They warned people to expect roadblocks and traffic disruptions.

Schools and government offices were closed, and the city pulled its buses off the roads.

Constable Damien Theriault broke down in tears at a media briefing as he spoke of the deaths of his three colleagues late Wednesday night.

“We are professionals,” Theriault said. “We will ensure the security of the public. We are going to do that.”

He said police believed the suspect was at large in the Pinehurst subdivision area of the city early on Thursday morning. Police first responded at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, he said.

Danny Leblanc, 42, said he saw the shooter in the distance Wednesday evening, wearing a camouflage outfit and standing in the middle of the street with a gun pointed at police cars.

The construction worker said he believed it was an RCMP officer until he heard a burst of automatic gunfire coming from the man’s gun.

420 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 6:33:09am

WTF Time?

421 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 6:34:11am

re: #420 NJDhockeyfan

WTF Time?

[Embedded content]

See what I mean now?

422 wheat-dogghazi  Jun 5, 2014 6:34:59am

re: #413 lawhawk

Your hashtag needs correcting. It’s Tiananmen, not Tienanmen.

423 darthstar  Jun 5, 2014 6:36:06am

re: #412 Justanotherhuman

Sort of sad, in a way. Everyone is old! Even Loni Anderson is 68 but she’s had a lot of work done.

Loni Anderson 2013

Everyone is alive though. That’s cool.

424 Amory Blaine  Jun 5, 2014 6:37:07am

Country full of assholes just “asking questions”.

425 darthstar  Jun 5, 2014 6:38:20am
426 Bulworth  Jun 5, 2014 6:39:41am

re:
#424
Amory Blaine

Yup.

427 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 6:40:56am

re: #423 darthstar

Everyone is alive though. That’s cool.

Yes, even Hesseman is only a year older than I am. : )

I used to love that show.

428 ObserverArt  Jun 5, 2014 6:41:22am

re: #424 Amory Blaine

Country full of assholes just “asking questions”.

…but not really wanting proper answers.

(had to comment on that one)

429 lawhawk  Jun 5, 2014 6:41:51am

re: #422 wheat-dogghazi

That was what came up when I tweeted with the hashtag. Thanks for the catch…

430 Lancelot Link  Jun 5, 2014 6:42:45am

re: #420 NJDhockeyfan

♫ Time trolls….and you are therrrre.. ♫

431 Bulworth  Jun 5, 2014 6:43:01am

re:
#428
ObserverArt

Because of Fox news and Facebook posts from my cousins We haz all the FACTS and we KNOW what happpened but we stilll have Concerns and Questions!!!

432 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 6:44:26am

This has become a Boston-like ‘stay in your homes’ search.

433 wheat-dogghazi  Jun 5, 2014 6:45:55am

I just finished reading the Rolling Stone piece about Bergdahl, and I have a question for those of you who have served in the military. Several of Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers don’t seem at all shy about about talking shit about him, or the junior officers and sergeants. I had this picture in my mind of soldiers sticking with each other as comrades or brothers. Even if they had problems with each other, they’d keep it among themselves and not tell outsiders. Has loyalty in the Army deteriorated badly, or is the picture in my mind a Hollywood-fed figment?

434 darthstar  Jun 5, 2014 6:46:34am
435 darthstar  Jun 5, 2014 6:49:28am
436 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 6:49:45am

re: #433 wheat-dogghazi

I can only guess that the Band of Brothers ethos is more highly developed than in other professions, but these guys are only human and have their own personal agendas and preferences.

437 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 6:50:42am

re: #435 darthstar

Maureen Dowd Op-Ed on Pot Candy Found to Linger in Internet’s System 36 Hours After Posting

have been smoking pot for best part of 40 years now, cannot say that I have ever really tried eating it to get high.

438 Patricia Kayden  Jun 5, 2014 6:51:51am

re: #412 Justanotherhuman

She looks gorgeous to me. Hope I look half as good when I reach 68 years old.

439 FemNaziBitch  Jun 5, 2014 6:53:40am

The morning LGF survey:

What is sales tax in your part of the world?

mine:

- non-food .075
- food .0175

If I got my zeros correct.

440 FemNaziBitch  Jun 5, 2014 6:54:22am

Gus, can you photoshop a chance to the pic in the post from “hero or deserter” to “solder come home”?

441 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 6:54:41am

re: #437 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

have been smoking pot for best part of 40 years now, cannot say that I have ever really tried eating it to get high.

I had pot brownies in Denver before going to a concert. Chewing on it was like eating chocolate grass but it was a great high. Watching The Who and Jethro Tull was even better.

442 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 6:54:50am

re: #433 wheat-dogghazi

I just finished reading the Rolling Stone piece about Bergdahl, and I have a question for those of you who have served in the military. Several of Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers don’t seem at all shy about about talking shit about him, or the junior officers and sergeants. I had this picture in my mind of soldiers sticking with each other as comrades or brothers. Even if they had problems with each other, they’d keep it among themselves and not tell outsiders. Has loyalty in the Army deteriorated badly, or is the picture in my mind a Hollywood-fed figment?

I think it’s resentment about a lot of things, not the least of which is, even being in the military, being told what to do.

443 Patricia Kayden  Jun 5, 2014 6:54:52am

re: #420 NJDhockeyfan

Perhaps all the media pundits will get lucky if he hangs himself now given all the hatred directed towards him and his parents.. These people are so disgusting. Of course, he was worth it. Even if he deserted, his safe return to his country and family is more than “worth it”.

I hope Bergdahl knows that there are many of us who are very happy that he’s home.

444 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 6:54:53am

re: #439 FemNaziBitch

The morning LGF survey:

What is sales tax in your part of the world?

mine:

- non-food .075
- food .0175

If I got my zeros correct.

VAT is 19% for non-food, 7% for food (and curiously enough, books and pet food)

445 darthstar  Jun 5, 2014 6:54:57am
446 Amory Blaine  Jun 5, 2014 6:55:57am

Eating pot is probably the healthiest way of ingesting it, or at least healthier than smoking.

447 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 6:56:13am
448 Dr Lizardo  Jun 5, 2014 6:56:31am

re: #439 FemNaziBitch

The morning LGF survey:

What is sales tax in your part of the world?

mine:

- non-food .075
- food .0175

If I got my zeros correct.

21% in the Czech Republic, though here it’s VAT.

449 Amory Blaine  Jun 5, 2014 6:56:40am

5.56% (Thanks Miller Park)

450 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 6:56:55am

re: #438 Patricia Kayden

She looks gorgeous to me. Hope I look half as good when I reach 68 years old.

I hope you have the money to make it happen. : )

451 lawhawk  Jun 5, 2014 6:57:25am

re: #439 FemNaziBitch

taxfoundation.org

There’s a whole lot of variation though, as there are county and local tax rates that would push the state rates much higher.

452 Mattand  Jun 5, 2014 7:00:12am

re: #420 NJDhockeyfan

WTF Time?

[Embedded content]

MSNBC has its problems, but one of them isn’t blindly following Fox News’ bullshit talking points.

I just wish these guys would be honest and say “Yeah, we’re trying to eat the scraps that Roger Ailes leaves behind. We want that audience.”

I could actually see Jeff Zucker at CNN doing that.

453 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 7:01:03am
454 Bulworth  Jun 5, 2014 7:01:13am

re:
#443
Patricia Kayden

I hope Bergdahl knows that there are many of us who are very happy that he’s home.

Yeah, this.

455 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 7:03:27am

Off to the dentist. Later, lizards. Maybe we’ll get some good news about something. : )

456 Mattand  Jun 5, 2014 7:04:30am

re: #451 lawhawk

taxfoundation.org

There’s a whole lot of variation though, as there are county and local tax rates that would push the state rates much higher.

Maybe I should move to Salem County, NJ. Need to look up why they get special treatment. Although it’s about as “middle of nowhere” in NJ as you can get.

457 Bubblehead II  Jun 5, 2014 7:04:33am

re: #439 FemNaziBitch

The morning LGF survey:

What is sales tax in your part of the world?

mine:

- non-food .075
- food .0175

If I got my zeros correct.

Idaho. 6% on all goods and services excluding prescription drugs

458 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 7:05:53am

re: #453 NJDhockeyfan

Full uncropped photo of #TankMan protester who stood before column of tanks on June 5 1989

wonder how many years he has left to serve on his sentence…

obstructing traffic is a serious offense, you know.

459 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 7:06:46am

re: #457 Bubblehead II

Idaho. 6% on all goods and services excluding prescription drugs

Germany exempts teaching and tutoring services from VAT.

460 Eventual Carrion  Jun 5, 2014 7:07:09am

re: #325 Kragar

I was sure I was going to get Frank

That is who I got.

461 FemNaziBitch  Jun 5, 2014 7:07:20am

The non-financial conditions in my part of the world.

Station: Chicago Area (Melrose Park), IL
Joseph G. Leija, MD FAAAAI
Station Head(s): Joseph G. Leija, MD FAAAAI
Date of Pollen and Mold Count: 06/05/2014

*********************************
Pollen & Mold Summary
*********************************
Trees: Moderate Concentration
Weeds: Low Concentration
Grass: Moderate Concentration
Mold: Low Concentration

462 FemNaziBitch  Jun 5, 2014 7:07:41am

re: #460 Eventual Carrion

That is who I got.

You can be Frank here, we really prefer it.

463 Bulworth  Jun 5, 2014 7:08:16am

re:
#458
Wendell

Where is this guy today? Was he inprisoned?

464 FemNaziBitch  Jun 5, 2014 7:08:18am

U.S. Payroll to Population Employment Rate Is 44.5% in May

465 Bubblehead II  Jun 5, 2014 7:10:20am

re: #459 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

Germany exempts teaching and tutoring services from VAT.

Property tax covers that.

466 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 7:11:43am

re: #452 Mattand

MSNBC has its problems, but one of them isn’t blindly following Fox News’ bullshit talking points.

I just wish these guys would be honest and say “Yeah, we’re trying to the scraps that Roger Ailes leaves behind. We want that audience.”

I could actually see Jeff Zucker at CNN doing that.

MSNBC…

NBC’s Richard Engel: Taliban Has Been More Forthcoming About Bergdahl Than U.S. Government

NBC’s chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel reports the Taliban is giving the media much more information about the Bergdahl swap than the U.S. government. Engel says the U.S. government is updating journalists with written statements on the health of rescued POW Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

“The Taliban, however, have been very forthcoming with information,” Engel said on the Wednesday broadcast of MSNBC’s Morning Joe.

“We’re kind of dependent on press releases and whatever the White House and others decide to give us,” MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski said. “This is tough to cover and to get the story.”

“We’ve actually been getting more information today from the Taliban than we have from spokespersons here at the hospital in Landstuhl,” Engel said.

467 Eclectic Cyborg  Jun 5, 2014 7:12:41am

My heart goes out to my countrymen in Moncton and I really hope they catch this guy soon, the situation is already tragic enough,

But here’s something interesting. One of the things that struck me reading an article about the shootings on the CTV news right now was the comments. Here’s a sample:

As someone who has relatives in Greater Moncton and spent every summer in this area, it is shocking beyond. The Maritimes is the last place I would ever imagine this happening. It feels like the last place of safety is now gone. Keep safe and my heart goes out to all the families affected. So sad.
…

This is a very shocking event. How could it ever happen? My condolences to the loved ones who have to bear the brunt of these tragedies.
…

We have relatives and friends whose son and daughters, father are spread all over Moncton staying with relatives and other friends while their loved ones are alone and scared. Heed the police/mayors advice, stay home and stay safe. This probably will not end quickly as police have to deal with the loss of their colleagues while trying not to get shot themselves. Please help them by staying inside and out of harms way.
…

If this is repeated txt, sorry my cell dropped me… @Concerned In USA, thank you for caring, our world can be sad place, unfortunately. From what I understand he is using shot gun’s, which are available every where. We have special teams attached to the RCMP with SWAT I’m praying that every possible avenue is being used. Thank you

…

Concerned in the USA: the RCMP are our Federal Police. They certainly have the resources they need to hunt down and deal with this killer, such as a heavily armed Emergency Response Team. The RCMP always get their man, and they will get this man, one way or another. We are all shocked and saddened by this senseless killing, and we will rally around our beloved RCMP to ensure they have everything they need to deal with this tragedy, not only today, but in the weeks and months to come.
….

My sincere condolences go out to the families and friends of the fallen and injured. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all involved. It is a very sad day for the RCMP and all police forces, for the city of Moncton, New Brunswick and for all of Canada. May there be a quick resolution with no further casualties to our brave police forces.

Now what do you notice? No swearing, no blaming it on politicians, no partisan attacks, no “gun rights” nonsense. Just thoughts and prayers for the victims, people hoping for the perpetrator to be caught and actual respect for law enforcement. EVERY COMMENT ON THE PAGE follows this pattern.

Quite the contrast isn’t it?

469 Killgore Trout  Jun 5, 2014 7:13:52am

re: #397 NJDhockeyfan

I wouldn’t discount this article. It’s pretty troubling…

I don’t doubt they feel like their efforts paid off but we’re withdrawing soon so they’ll have fewer opportunities. French and Italian aid workers and journalists are still more appealing targets since they’re more likely to pay cash ransoms. An American soldier is a home run but it’s bad strategy to swing for the fences every time.

470 Decatur Deb  Jun 5, 2014 7:14:13am

re: #433 wheat-dogghazi

I just finished reading the Rolling Stone piece about Bergdahl, and I have a question for those of you who have served in the military. Several of Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers don’t seem at all shy about about talking shit about him, or the junior officers and sergeants. I had this picture in my mind of soldiers sticking with each other as comrades or brothers. Even if they had problems with each other, they’d keep it among themselves and not tell outsiders. Has loyalty in the Army deteriorated badly, or is the picture in my mind a Hollywood-fed figment?

Mostly Hollywood, though there is a great range of difference in units depending on mission, makeup, experience and (above all) leadership. This type of unit (deployed airborne) might have been ‘tighter’ than most.

471 Decatur Deb  Jun 5, 2014 7:15:49am

re: #457 Bubblehead II

Idaho. 6% on all goods and services excluding prescription drugs

Alabama: Same as Idaho, but there are some complex ‘exemptions’.

472 Mattand  Jun 5, 2014 7:15:57am

re: #466 NJDhockeyfan

MSNBC…

NBC’s Richard Engel: Taliban Has Been More Forthcoming About Bergdahl Than U.S. Government

Oh, well. At least it makes the Balance Fairy clan here happy.

473 iossarian  Jun 5, 2014 7:16:27am

re: #469 Killgore Trout

I don’t doubt they feel like their efforts paid off but we’re withdrawing soon so they’ll have fewer opportunities. French and Italian aid workers and journalists are still more appealing targets since they’re more likely to pay cash ransoms. An American soldier is a home run but it’s bad strategy to swing for the fences every time.

You should totally take that powerpoint deck to the Taliban. I hear there’s a lack of blue-sky thinking at the C-suite level in that organization - there’s bound to be some consulting action available.

474 iossarian  Jun 5, 2014 7:16:50am

re: #472 Mattand

Oh, well. At least it makes the Balance Fairy clan here happy.

The Tabliban reports, you decide!

475 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jun 5, 2014 7:18:21am
476 wheat-dogghazi  Jun 5, 2014 7:19:02am

re: #439 FemNaziBitch

The morning LGF survey:

What is sales tax in your part of the world?

mine:

- non-food .075
- food .0175

If I got my zeros correct.

China has no sales tax, but there is a VAT of 17%, with a slightly lower rate for books and some other items. It’s one of the reasons why it’s so expensive to buy books printed abroad.

477 Mattand  Jun 5, 2014 7:23:41am

re: #474 iossarian

The Tabliban reports, you decide!

What’s really sad about this whole thing is that a tiny percentage of Americans have decided “We hate the fact we have a black President so much, we’ll take it out on an American POW.”

And the American media is being led around like a bull with a ring through its nose.

Everyone who votes Republican, especially if they claim they vote that way to support the troops, needs to have this drilled into their skulls.

478 Dr. Matt  Jun 5, 2014 7:25:37am
re: #466 NJDhockeyfan

NBC’s Richard Engel: Taliban Has Been More Forthcoming About Bergdahl Than U.S. Government

You lose when you use the Taliban as your standard bearer.

479 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 7:25:44am

re: #477 Mattand

“We hate the fact we have a black President so much, we’ll take it out on an American POW anything even vaguely associated with him.”

480 Eclectic Cyborg  Jun 5, 2014 7:25:46am

On another note, I came across this on a far right FB page yesterday (someone on my friends list liked it)

That didn’t take long, did it?

481 makeitstop  Jun 5, 2014 7:25:48am

re: #387 Lidane

[Embedded content]

KT himself could not have better summoned the MBF.

Maybe I’ll just go back to bed. This fucking story is draining my will to do anything at this point.

482 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 7:27:01am
483 Killgore Trout  Jun 5, 2014 7:27:46am

re: #482 NJDhockeyfan

[Embedded content]

Fuck.

484 Backwoods_Sleuth  Jun 5, 2014 7:28:22am

re: #480 Eclectic Cyborg

On another note, I came across this on a far right FB page yesterday (someone on my friends list liked it)

That didn’t take long, did it?

485 Ian G.  Jun 5, 2014 7:28:26am

re: #458 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

Full uncropped photo of #TankMan protester who stood before column of tanks on June 5 1989

wonder how many years he has left to serve on his sentence…

obstructing traffic is a serious offense, you know.

Assuming he didn’t take a bullet to the head in prison….

486 Eclectic Cyborg  Jun 5, 2014 7:28:54am

re: #482 NJDhockeyfan

[Embedded content]

What will it take to stop these monsters?

487 Killgore Trout  Jun 5, 2014 7:29:36am

Boko Haram blamed in mass slaughter across 3 villages

Boko Haram militants dressed as soldiers slaughtered at least 200 civilians in three villages in northeastern Nigeria and the military failed to intervene even though it was warned that an attack was imminent, witnesses said on Thursday.

A community leader who witnessed the killings on Monday said residents of the Gwoza local government district in Borno state had pleaded for the military to send soldiers to protect the area after they heard that militants were about to attack, but help didn’t arrive. The killings occurred in Danjara, Agapalwa, and Antagara.

488 Killgore Trout  Jun 5, 2014 7:30:35am
The militants arrived in Toyota Hilux pickup trucks - commonly used by the military - and told the civilians they were soldiers “and we are here to protect you all,” the same tactic used by the group when they kidnapped more than 300 girls from a school in the town of Chibok on April 15.

After people gathered in the center on the orders of the militants, “they begin to shout `Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar’ on top of their voices, then they begin to fire at the people continuously for a very long time until all that gathered were all dead,” said the witness who didn’t want to be named for fear for his safety.

489 Dr. Matt  Jun 5, 2014 7:30:45am
re: #477 Mattand
And the American media is being led around like a bull with a ring through it’s nose.

This reminds me of the countless Fox-generated non-stories that the librul media so willingly and gleefully promoted….up to the point where they were debunked. See: ACORN, Benghazi, Birth certificates, etc., etc.,

The media is leading the way in trashing this family name even before the kid has come home and an investigation initiated. Pathetic. I am embarrassed that these assholes call themselves “American”.

490 makeitstop  Jun 5, 2014 7:31:32am

re: #423 darthstar

Everyone is alive though. That’s cool.

Except the ‘Big Guy,’ Gordon Jump.

491 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 7:32:11am

NSFW…

492 Bulworth  Jun 5, 2014 7:32:38am

re:
#453
NJDhockeyfan

Pretty amazing to see that long line of tanks

493 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 7:32:44am
494 Dr. Matt  Jun 5, 2014 7:33:13am

re: #482 NJDhockeyfan

BREAKING: Boko Haram militants dressed as soldiers slaughter at least 200 people in northeastern Nigeria, witnesses tell AP
— PzFeed Top News (@PzFeed) June 5, 2014

Set an egg-timer for the time it will take for conservatives to blame the First Lady.

495 Eclectic Cyborg  Jun 5, 2014 7:34:56am

re: #491 NJDhockeyfan

May want to slap an NSFW on that! Not that it’s sexual per se, but anyone walking by my desk who saw that would start asking questions.

496 wheat-dogghazi  Jun 5, 2014 7:36:03am

re: #485 Ian G.

Assuming he didn’t take a bullet to the head in prison….

Some sources give his name as Wang Weilin, a 19-year-old student at the time. He is supposedly now living in Taiwan.

497 GeneJockey  Jun 5, 2014 7:36:38am

re: #493 NJDhockeyfan

[Embedded content]

This pic has kind of a ‘Caesar’s Funeral’ aspect to it.

498 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 7:37:20am

re: #495 Eclectic Cyborg

May want to slap an NSFW on that! Not that it’s sexual per se, but anyone walking by my desk who saw that would start asking questions.

Done

499 Eclectic Cyborg  Jun 5, 2014 7:38:02am

re: #497 GeneJockey

This pic has kind of a ‘Caesar’s Funeral’ aspect to it.

I had the same thought.

500 FemNaziBitch  Jun 5, 2014 7:38:45am

I’m a rebel

501 Dr. Matt  Jun 5, 2014 7:43:13am

re: #500 FemNaziBitch

I’m a rebel

Ditto. And who the HELL would remember their locker combination?!?

502 FemNaziBitch  Jun 5, 2014 7:43:35am

Shipping Container Homes?

503 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 7:43:43am

re: #500 FemNaziBitch

I’m a rebel

I got theater geek. I think the only character on stage I could play would be Billy Bibbit since my stutter would be the character’s.

504 Eclectic Cyborg  Jun 5, 2014 7:44:03am

re: #501 Dr. Matt

Ditto. And who the HELL would remember their locker combination?!?

I actually remember a few combinations from locks I used to own, but nothing from that far back.

505 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 7:44:40am

re: #501 Dr. Matt

Ditto. And who the HELL would remember their locker combination?!?

A fairly recent grad perhaps or someone who has a weird ability to remember the strangest things. I still remembered mine for the first couple years after graduation. In fact, I have an idea of it right now.

506 iossarian  Jun 5, 2014 7:44:40am

re: #500 FemNaziBitch

I’m a rebel

One of the worst aspects of school IMO is the fascination with fitting people into neatly-defined categories.

It applies to all parts of life I suppose, but it’s particularly virulent in middle and high school. I also think it’s somewhat cultural in that my anecdotal observation is that it’s less of a thing in Europe.

507 FemNaziBitch  Jun 5, 2014 7:46:18am

MILITARY JET CRASHES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA NEIGHBORHOOD

508 FemNaziBitch  Jun 5, 2014 7:47:30am

re: #501 Dr. Matt

Ditto. And who the HELL would remember their locker combination?!?

I remember my phone number from when I was 5, but would never remember a locker combination.

509 wheat-dogghazi  Jun 5, 2014 7:50:29am

re: #508 FemNaziBitch

I remember one, because of the pattern 18-36-18. It was a padlock I think I had in high school.

510 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 7:50:40am

re: #508 FemNaziBitch

I remember my phone number from when I was 5, but would never remember a locker combination.

I so rarely used my locker that remembering the combination was always a hassle in high school. By the time I was a freshman, I had a car anyway, so I just stopped using one altogether.

511 Eventual Carrion  Jun 5, 2014 7:50:56am

re: #342 Gus

John Boehner actually said this once.

George, the idea that carbon dioxide is a carcinogen that is harmful to our environment is almost comical. Every time we exhale, we exhale carbon dioxide. Every cow in the world, you know, when they do what they do, you’ve got more carbon dioxide

O.o

Like I told a wing nut years ago when he said that we breath it out and plants use it so it couldn’t be bad. I told him to put a plastic bag tightly over his head for an hour and then we will talk.

512 Dr. Matt  Jun 5, 2014 7:51:55am

I use this lock for my gym locker. I don’t have to remember numbers….just patterns.

513 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 7:53:36am

Boko Haram again….bastards…

514 Stanley Sea  Jun 5, 2014 7:54:08am

New Stonekettle

stonekettle.com

515 Decatur Deb  Jun 5, 2014 7:55:45am

re: #508 FemNaziBitch

I remember my phone number from when I was 5, but would never remember a locker combination.

Didn’t have a phone number until I was 24, didn’t have a lock on my lockers through gradeschool and highschool. Still remember my Army serial number from 1965, but so does everybody from then.

516 Feline Fearless Leader  Jun 5, 2014 7:56:05am

re: #502 FemNaziBitch

Shipping Container Homes?

Using them as the basis for low-cost housing has been bouncing around for a while. A local design school here in Philly had a window front display of some scale model variants done by their students.

517 FemNaziBitch  Jun 5, 2014 7:56:09am

re: #512 Dr. Matt

I use this lock for my gym locker. I don’t have to remember numbers….just patterns.

[Embedded image]

which is how I remembered by locker combination in HS, the pattern —to lines past seventeen, then 3 lines past whatever then back again to …

518 FemNaziBitch  Jun 5, 2014 7:56:46am

re: #516 Feline Fearless Leader

Using them as the basis for low-cost housing has been bouncing around for a while. A local design school here in Philly had a window front display of some scale model variants done by their students.

I think they look perfect. I’d want some kind of noise dampener for a roof tho. rain storms etc can get loud.

519 Feline Fearless Leader  Jun 5, 2014 7:58:20am

re: #518 FemNaziBitch

I think they look perfect. I’d want some kind of noise dampener for a roof tho. rain storms etc can get loud.

That, and insulation are the primary issues I think.

520 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 7:58:59am

I think what helped with my locker combo was I had two numbers close together 35 and 31. I do remember the first time we got lockers in middle school that it was a problem at first for me figuring out how to use it.

521 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 7:59:39am

Speaking of lockers though. Can anyone tell me about how hostel lockers are? Size, safety, etc.

522 Decatur Deb  Jun 5, 2014 8:00:52am

re: #516 Feline Fearless Leader

Using them as the basis for low-cost housing has been bouncing around for a while. A local design school here in Philly had a window front display of some scale model variants done by their students.

IIRC, the Montreal Olympic Village had an upscale version of that, where housing units could be stacked in attractive patterns. Some architecture student in the 60’s designed a high-rise mobile home structure that allowed 12X60s to be slid into an infrastructure frame.

523 Decatur Deb  Jun 5, 2014 8:01:37am

re: #521 HappyWarrior

Speaking of lockers though. Can anyone tell me about how hostel lockers are? Size, safety, etc.

So you haven’t seen the movies, then?

524 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 8:03:33am
525 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 8:04:11am

re: #523 Decatur Deb

So you haven’t seen the movies, then?

I have actually and I’ve actually been to Slovakia before too albeit passing through via passing through to Budapest.

526 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 8:04:40am

re: #514 Stanley Sea

New Stonekettle

stonekettle.com

Once again, a damned good post.

527 GeneJockey  Jun 5, 2014 8:05:30am

re: #500 FemNaziBitch

I’m a rebel

I got “The Jock”, which is funny, because until I was a Junior in High School I was as close to a nered as you could get in that school. I was a shrimpy little kid who got picked on, who read Tolkien and learned how to write in runes, I had long hair when it was a bully-able offense, and I got good grades.

Then I hit my growth spurt. I went from being the second-shortest guy in the class in 8th grade to being 5’10” by the end of 10th grade. I decided to use my newly acquired size to go out for football, though I was never any good at it. They still saw me as a nerd - the coaches used to call me ‘George Plimpton’, figuring I was just doing this so I’d have something to write about.

But I was a BIG nerd, and no longer subject to bullying.

528 Dr Lizardo  Jun 5, 2014 8:06:57am

re: #513 NJDhockeyfan

Boko Haram has randomly opened fire on people gathering to listen to them preach, killing 45.

I’m pretty sure that’s not the best way to go about winning people over to one’s cause.

They’re insane. There’s no other way to put it. Either that, or Thulsa Doom is in charge.

529 Killgore Trout  Jun 5, 2014 8:09:21am

There is brewing outrage this morning over some HUD employee saying something stupid on twitter about the Bergdahl situation. He really should shut up, he’s not helping and it’s not his job to be commenting on this stuff.
twitter.com

530 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 8:10:03am

re: #528 Dr Lizardo

Boko Haram has randomly opened fire on people gathering to listen to them preach, killing 45.

[Embedded image]

I’m pretty sure that’s not the best way to go about winning people over to one’s cause.

They’re insane. There’s no other way to put it. Either that, or Thulsa Doom is in charge.

I cant seem to find anything showing what their purpose is in all the murders they’ve been doing. They seem to enjoy it.

531 Killgore Trout  Jun 5, 2014 8:10:16am

re: #528 Dr Lizardo

Boko Haram has randomly opened fire on people gathering to listen to them preach, killing 45.

[Embedded image]

I’m pretty sure that’s not the best way to go about winning people over to one’s cause.

They’re insane. There’s no other way to put it. Either that, or Thulsa Doom is in charge.

“Saint Kalashnikov sayeth……”

532 FemNaziBitch  Jun 5, 2014 8:10:27am

re: #527 GeneJockey

I got “The Jock”, which is funny, because until I was a Junior in High School I was as close to a nered as you could get in that school. I was a shrimpy little kid who got picked on, who read Tolkien and learned how to write in runes, I had long hair when it was a bully-able offense, and I got good grades.

Then I hit my growth spurt. I went from being the second-shortest guy in the class in 8th grade to being 5’10” by the end of 10th grade. I decided to use my newly acquired size to go out for football, though I was never any good at it. They still saw me as a nerd - the coaches used to call me ‘George Plimpton’, figuring I was just doing this so I’d have something to write about.

But I was a BIG nerd, and no longer subject to bullying.

Most of these quizzes are BS, but they are good conversation starters.

I was at a author talk yesterday in which the author presented this book. He was a good speaker and an interseting guy. Did you know the Chicago Booth School of Business has a Psyc Lab in the Museum of Science and Industry —how cool is that?

Anyway, the gist of what I learned is that our social interactions are a very important component of our overall health and wellbeing —which I guess translates in to better business … .

Thus, BS Quizzes have their purpose.

533 iossarian  Jun 5, 2014 8:10:56am

re: #529 Killgore Trout

There is brewing outrage this morning over some HUD employee saying something stupid on twitter about the Bergdahl situation. He really should shut up, he’s not helping and it’s not his job to be commenting on this stuff.
twitter.com

What is the purpose of your bringing this to our attention?

534 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Jun 5, 2014 8:11:08am

re: #529 Killgore Trout

Your use of ‘outrage’ has gotten ever more recondite. You seem to be saying that criticizing this guy for what he said is silly, and yet you’re going ahead and joining in the outrage. Why not, if you feel the story is overhyped, just leave it and not join in with those you’re criticizing?

535 FemNaziBitch  Jun 5, 2014 8:11:15am

re: #530 NJDhockeyfan

I cant seem to find anything showing what their purpose is in all the murders they’ve been doing. They seem to enjoy it.

IIRC, they are made-up Taliban rejects.

536 FemNaziBitch  Jun 5, 2014 8:12:03am

re: #533 iossarian

What is the purpose of your bringing this to our attention?

I think outrage is part of the addiction of Power and Control. Somehow feeds the reward system in the brain …

537 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 8:12:14am

re: #535 FemNaziBitch

IIRC, they are made-up Taliban rejects.

AQ rejects sounds more likely since AQ is more international than the Taliban is.

538 Killgore Trout  Jun 5, 2014 8:12:37am

re: #533 iossarian

What is the purpose of your bringing this to our attention?

It’s an example of how not to help the situation.

539 GeneJockey  Jun 5, 2014 8:13:08am

re: #533 iossarian

What is the purpose of your bringing this to our attention?

I suspect he felt that there was some undisturbed shit, and he needed to rectify that.

540 GeneJockey  Jun 5, 2014 8:13:26am

re: #538 Killgore Trout

It’s an example of how not to help the situation.

Your concern is noted.

541 iossarian  Jun 5, 2014 8:13:30am

re: #536 FemNaziBitch

I think outrage is part of the addiction of Power and Control. Somehow feeds the reward system in the brain …

I’d like to hear KT explain it, though. He’s always crapping on about how much better off we’d be if we didn’t pay attention to outrage, and yet here he is bringing up an example of such, which I would not even have been aware of otherwise.

542 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 8:14:02am

re: #538 Killgore Trout

It’s an example of how not to help the situation.

Shit the whole page we’re on here is an example of that and it’s by a magazine that is going to have much more people read it than who will read Brandon Friedman’s Twitter and be influenced by it.

543 iossarian  Jun 5, 2014 8:14:05am

re: #538 Killgore Trout

It’s an example of how not to help the situation.

So, basically, you felt it was worth amplifying the noise in order to bring to our attention that the noise shouldn’t be amplified?

544 Feline Fearless Leader  Jun 5, 2014 8:14:24am

re: #526 Targetpractice

It’s full of that mysterious “nuance” stuff, isn’t it?
//

545 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 8:14:26am

re: #535 FemNaziBitch

IIRC, they are made-up Taliban rejects.

They seem to be getting lots of help from the outside. What a fucking mess…

546 Killgore Trout  Jun 5, 2014 8:14:50am

re: #538 Killgore Trout

It’s an example of how not to help the situation.

If you’re going to claim that we should refrain from speculation about Bergdahl it’s unhelpful to claim that his fellow servicemen might be psychopaths.

547 GeneJockey  Jun 5, 2014 8:15:42am

re: #546 Killgore Trout

If you’re going to claim that we should refrain from speculation about Bergdahl it’s unhelpful to claim that his fellow servicemen might be psychopaths.

Which he didn’t do.

548 Aunty Entity Dragon  Jun 5, 2014 8:16:05am

re: #104 Dark_Falcon

The Luby’s Massacre is actually what made the passage of Shall Issue Concealed Carry in Texas inevitable. The story told by a woman who watched her father be shot dead after having left her own gun in her car as then required by law assured the CCW law’s passage. Gov. Ann Richards vetoed the law, but the legislature overrode her veto and her having made said veto helped ensure her defeat by George W. Bush.

I remember that. The Luby’s case was one of the relatively few where a victim/bystander might have made a difference with a firearm. However, the rwnj’s decided that the exception was actually the rule.

549 iossarian  Jun 5, 2014 8:17:29am

re: #546 Killgore Trout

If you’re going to claim that we should refrain from speculation about Bergdahl it’s unhelpful to claim that his fellow servicemen might be psychopaths.

Is this really the worst example you could find from the other side?

550 Feline Fearless Leader  Jun 5, 2014 8:17:29am

Today’s lunch is Troutrage Almondine with a side order of potato.

551 Dr Lizardo  Jun 5, 2014 8:18:33am

re: #535 FemNaziBitch

IIRC, they are made-up Taliban rejects.

Boko Haram originated as an offshoot of the Yan Tatsine Riots of the late 1970s in Nigeria. The preacher who inspired those riots was Mohammed Marwa, a radical who went so far as to deny the prophethood of Mohammed (saas) himself; he portrayed himself as the true prophet of Islam.

The riots came to an end by the mid-to-late 1980s, but some of his followers laid the foundations for what was to become the Boko Haram movement.

Ideologically, there’s not a lot of difference - both are extreme, radical interpretations of Islam that wholly reject science and anything else deemed “Western”.

552 Romantic Heretic  Jun 5, 2014 8:19:27am

re: #395 Jay in Oregon

It’s a good thing that none of these assholes ever walk around with a round chambered and the safety off, then.

Am I the only one who sees stories of dumbfucks with guns accidentally killing their kids/parents/spouses/girlfriends/random bystanders on a weekly basis?

There’s a man who deserves a ‘Gibbs slap.’

553 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 8:19:42am

re: #551 Dr Lizardo

Boko Haram originated as an offshoot of the Yan Tatsine Riots of the late 1970s in Nigeria. The preacher who inspired those riots was Mohammed Marwa, a radical who went so far as to deny the prophethood of Mohammed (saas) himself; he portrayed himself as the true prophet of Islam.

The riots came to an end by the mid-to-late 1980s, but some of his followers laid the foundations for what was to become the Boko Haram movement.

Ideologically, there’s not a lot of difference - both are extreme, radical interpretations of Islam that wholly reject science and anything else deemed “Western”.

Shit that’s some pretty radical stuff like a Christian type denying Christ’s divinity and claiming he alone as the messiah and messager of God.

554 Aqua Obama  Jun 5, 2014 8:21:00am

Modi’s government is off to a cracking start

India state minister on rape: ‘Sometimes it’s right, sometimes it’s wrong’

555 FemNaziBitch  Jun 5, 2014 8:21:44am

bbl

556 Dr. Matt  Jun 5, 2014 8:22:37am

re: #395 Jay in Oregon

It’s a good thing that none of these assholes ever walk around with a round chambered and the safety off, then.

Why the HELL wasn’t he charged/cited?!?!?

557 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 8:22:42am

re: #554 Aqua Obama

Modi’s government is off to a cracking start

India state minister on rape: ‘Sometimes it’s right, sometimes it’s wrong’

Agh. Fucking agh.

558 Dr Lizardo  Jun 5, 2014 8:23:02am

re: #553 HappyWarrior

Shit that’s some pretty radical stuff like a Christian type denying Christ’s divinity and claiming he alone as the messiah and messager of God.

That’s an excellent analogy. It’s similar to Jim Jones and People’s Temple; wherein Jones used his church to reject the Bible and denounce Christianity.

We all know how that ended.

The main difference is that Boko Haram directs their violence outwards to anyone it deems ‘insufficiently pure’.

559 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 8:23:21am

Really how hard is it to say simply “Rape is wrong, no matter what.”

560 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Jun 5, 2014 8:23:55am

re: #538 Killgore Trout

It’s an example of how not to help the situation.

You mean, you spreading it around and joining in the outrage that you’re criticizing is an example of how not to help?

This actually makes a lot more sense. Killgore, in general, is just posting as an example of how not to help.

561 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 8:24:04am

re: #558 Dr Lizardo

That’s an excellent analogy. It’s similar to Jim Jones and People’s Temple; wherein Jones used his church to reject the Bible and denounce Christianity.

We all know how that ended.

The main difference is that Boko Haram directs their violence outwards to anyone it deems ‘insufficiently pure’.

I actually wasn’t that familiar with Jones’ message having read little about the Jonestown cult outside their drink of choice.

562 Dr Lizardo  Jun 5, 2014 8:25:55am

re: #554 Aqua Obama

Modi’s government is off to a cracking start

India state minister on rape: ‘Sometimes it’s right, sometimes it’s wrong’

♬ Sometimes you feel like a nut rape, sometimes you don’t. ♬♩

*headdesk*

563 Decatur Deb  Jun 5, 2014 8:26:02am

re: #556 Dr. Matt

Why the HELL wasn’t he charged/cited?!?!?

Because his stupid actions are only criminal if someone else has the poor taste to stand in the path of his bullet.

564 The Ghost of a Flea  Jun 5, 2014 8:26:07am


Outrage and bacon
Outrage sausage and bacon
Egg and outrage
Egg, bacon and outrage
Egg, bacon, sausage and outrage
Outrage, bacon, sausage and outrage
Outrage, egg, Spam, outrage , bacon and outrage
Outrage, outrage, outrage, egg and outrage
Outrage, outrage, outrage, outrage, outrage, outrage, baked beans, outrage, outrage, outrage and outrage
Lobster Thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce, garnished with truffle pâté, brandy and a fried egg on top, and outrage.

565 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 8:26:33am

Swear to God, I’m gonna start engaging in some primal screaming soon. Between the LIVs to the left of me and the concern trolls to the right, I’m about at my wits end. I can’t believe that the return of a POW, even if he’s as much of a fuck-up as alleged, is being argued as “not worth” releasing five prisoners we would eventually have had to release anyway. “No man left behind,” my ass.

566 Dr. Matt  Jun 5, 2014 8:27:19am
567 brennant  Jun 5, 2014 8:27:48am

“No man left behind”

568 piratedan  Jun 5, 2014 8:28:11am

re: #473 iossarian

well hey, I can see why the Taliban would be forthcoming, why not use the enemy’s own media against them. I’m sure that more than a few folks over there have seen our intrepid fourth estate warriors in action and wouldn’t be beyond using them to further their agenda. Just witness anything our current CIC does and watch the spin machine take place.

569 Dr Lizardo  Jun 5, 2014 8:28:44am

re: #561 HappyWarrior

I actually wasn’t that familiar with Jones’ message having read little about the Jonestown cult outside their drink of choice.

Jones was actually preaching revolutionary Marxism; that’s pretty well-documented, a lot of it in his own words from his sermons.

People’s Temple…..wow. The sad thing is, if you look back Jones’ earlier career, he did a lot of good with regard to integration of African-Americans in church congregations. It’s tragic - Jones, like far too many twisted and evil people, could well have been a force for good. They chose the darker path instead.

570 Dr. Matt  Jun 5, 2014 8:28:51am

re: #567 brennant

“No man left behind……

….unless the Black POTUS is involved.”

571 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 8:28:57am

re: #568 piratedan

well hey, I can see why the Taliban would be forthcoming, why not use the enemy’s own media against them. I’m sure that more than a few folks over there have seen our intrepid fourth estate warriors in action and wouldn’t be beyond using them to further their agenda. Just witness anything our current CIC does and watch the spin machine take place.

Modern day useful idiots.

572 lawhawk  Jun 5, 2014 8:29:13am

re: #528 Dr Lizardo

It’s the riddle of the full metal jacket.

573 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 5, 2014 8:29:57am

re: #395 Jay in Oregon

It’s a good thing that none of these assholes ever walk around with a round chambered and the safety off, then.

Am I the only one who sees stories of dumbfucks with guns accidentally killing their kids/parents/spouses/girlfriends/random bystanders on a weekly basis?

Can’t believe I overlooked this post. YIKES.

574 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 8:30:11am

re: #569 Dr Lizardo

Jones was actually preaching revolutionary Marxism; that’s pretty well-documented, a lot of it in his own words from his sermons.

People’s Temple…..wow. The sad thing is, if you look back Jones’ earlier career, he did a lot of good with regard to integration of African-Americans in church congregations. It’s tragic - Jones, like far too many twisted and evil people, could well have been a force for good. They chose the darker path instead.

That’s the tragedy of history. So many capable of doing good instead doing not so good.

575 brennant  Jun 5, 2014 8:30:25am

re: #572 lawhawk

It’s the riddle of the full metal jacket.

The lamenting of the women?

576 blueraven  Jun 5, 2014 8:30:45am

re: #529 Killgore Trout

There is brewing outrage this morning over some HUD employee saying something stupid on twitter about the Bergdahl situation. He really should shut up, he’s not helping and it’s not his job to be commenting on this stuff.
twitter.com

This is rich coming from you KT. You have posted all the outrage about Bergdahl, and now you say this one has no right to speak.

Yes, it is provocative. He is speculating…which is stupid and that is the point.

577 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Jun 5, 2014 8:31:11am

re: #547 GeneJockey

Which he didn’t do.

Actually he did. He’s obviously not using it in a technical sense, he’s saying “What if the platoon had people in it like we’ve seen in other units, like the “Kill Team”. One of the members of his platoon is now a raving islamophobe; whether they were that way in Afghanistan isn’t known.

It is difficult to keep good mental health when you have shitty leadership and you’re out in the middle of nowhere. We saw this in Vietnam. Speculating that there might have been problems with control and violence in a military unit is not wild, febrile speculation. Neither, really, is the idea that he was abandoning his post. Lots of people do. Both have a chance of being right. Both are also pointless, which is what that guy on twitter was saying.

They are also immaterial to the question of whether we should get a captured POW back.

578 Romantic Heretic  Jun 5, 2014 8:32:12am

re: #439 FemNaziBitch

The morning LGF survey:

What is sales tax in your part of the world?

mine:

- non-food .075
- food .0175

If I got my zeros correct.

On non-food items 13%.

It can be really complex though. Some junk food is taxable and some isn’t. Some normally taxable items aren’t.

Back when I was a computer programmer and working on an order entry system figuring tax was…interesting.

Some customers were Federal Sales Tax exempt. Some were Provincial Sales Tax exempt. Some items were FST exempt. Some are PST exempt. So you can see all the permutations that I had to make the computer go through to get the right tax amount.

These days we have a Harmonized Sales Tax. The FST and PST were combined together and the Federal government collects it. The province’s share is then doled out by the Feds.

My understanding is that the Feds are, um, pushing the limits of the agreement in their favour.

579 Dr. Matt  Jun 5, 2014 8:35:58am

re: #577 Fairly Sure I’m Still Obdicut

It is difficult to keep good mental health when you have shitty leadership and you’re out in the middle of nowhere lower the standards for enlistment.

Alternative wording.

580 The Ghost of a Flea  Jun 5, 2014 8:36:04am

re: #528 Dr Lizardo

Thulsa Doom actually isn’t a bad guess. The guy who’s their purported spiritual leader is just…far gone. Scary

It’s interesting that there’s really not a clear picture of why they do what they do. Al Qaeda and the Taliban are comparatively open about their theory of action.

581 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 8:36:30am

The thing that gets me Bergdahl deserting or not is how two faced many right wing officials have been on this. They’ve been telling Obama he needs to do all possible to get Bergdahl freed. And here he does it, so what do they? Give the President props or even welcome Sgt. Bergdahl home? Oh hell no, they want investigations into the freeing, they’ve called Sgt. Bergdahl a deserter and a traitor, and have their lackeys in FNC attacking his father for growing a beard during his son’s time in activity even though the Republicans had no problem inviting the quite bearded but very openly homophobic and bigoted Phil Robertson to one of their leadership events. This was something that the right/Republicans wanted right up until President Obama got this guy rescued and then they turn not merely on the President for doing what they wanted but Bergdahl himself.

582 Eventual Carrion  Jun 5, 2014 8:37:23am

re: #424 Amory Blaine

Country full of assholes just “asking questions”.

Like I commented in an earlier post. There are no stupid questions, but there are a lot of inquisitive idiots.

583 Dr. Matt  Jun 5, 2014 8:39:15am

re: #424 Amory Blaine

Country full of assholes just “asking questions”.

Just like this bullshit: Media Firestorm Erupts After Matt Drudge Alleges That Patio Chair Is A Walker

584 Shiplord Kirel  Jun 5, 2014 8:40:09am

The Republican Party has been AWOL from reality for a long time. Now we find that they have deserted entirely, and some have gone over to the enemy.

585 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 8:40:45am

re: #583 Dr. Matt

Just like this bullshit: Media Firestorm Erupts After Matt Drudge Alleges That Patio Chair Is A Walker

Speaking of people who feed off fake outrages, Drudge is the commander in chief of that army.

586 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 8:42:18am

re: #585 HappyWarrior

Speaking of people who feed off fake outrages, Drudge is the commander in chief of that army.

His journalistic reputation cannot be damaged, all that matters is how many hits his site generates.

587 Shiplord Kirel  Jun 5, 2014 8:42:53am

Maybe, like Robert E. Lee, the Republicans feel that their primary loyalty is to their home states rather than to the nation as a whole; those being the states of rage, confusion, and ignorance.

588 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 8:43:21am

re: #586 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)

His journalistic reputation cannot be damaged, all that matters is how many hits his site generates.

I know. I am just saying Drudge feeds off of fake outrages.

589 De Kolta Chair  Jun 5, 2014 8:43:34am

re: #39 Ding-an-sich Wannabe

GODZILLA: Hey, I can see my luxury condo in Astoria from here!

590 Dr Lizardo  Jun 5, 2014 8:45:51am

re: #580 The Ghost of a Flea

Thulsa Doom actually isn’t a bad guess. The guy who’s their purported spiritual leader is just…far gone. Scary

It’s interesting that there’s really not a clear picture of why they do what they do. Al Qaeda and the Taliban are comparatively open about their theory of action.

With Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, it’s pretty easy to figure out what their game plan is - their motives, their objectives and their desired results; granted, their ideas are utopian BS, but it can be comprehended.

I have no idea what Boko Haram is up to. They just seem to get off on indiscriminate killing, using religion as a convenient rationalization for their actions. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. Opening fire on a crowd that’s gathered to hear you preach really isn’t much of a membership drive, at least in my book.

591 Stanley Sea  Jun 5, 2014 8:47:37am

The strange case of the McDaniel staffer locked in the county courthouse

The Hinds County, Mississippi Sheriff’s Department is investigating why three people, including a staffer for Republican senate candidate Chris McDaniel ended up locked in the county courthouse on election night, according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger. Given how close the contest between McDaniel and Sen. Thad Cochran ended up on Tuesday night — the two are separated by less than 1,500 votes — the situation certainly raises eyebrows.

592 Romantic Heretic  Jun 5, 2014 8:48:52am

re: #590 Dr Lizardo

With Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, it’s pretty easy to figure out what their game plan is - their motives, their objectives and their desired results; granted, they’re ideas are utopian BS, but it can be comprehended.

I have no idea what Boko Haram is up to. They just seem to get off on indiscriminate killing, using religion as a convenient rationalization for their actions. There’s no rhyme or reason to it. Opening fire on a crowd that’s gathered to hear you preach really isn’t much of a membership drive, at least in my book.

They’re just an extreme example of a phenomena I’ve observed far too often.

To whit: many people adopt a belief system not to provide guidelines to be better people, but to provide excuses for their behaviour. See: Teahadis and the Constitution.

593 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 8:49:45am
594 wrenchwench  Jun 5, 2014 8:51:12am

re: #564 The Ghost of a Flea

Lobster Thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce, garnished with truffle pâté, brandy and a fried egg on top, and outrage.

That’s not got much outrage in it.

595 The Ghost of a Flea  Jun 5, 2014 8:53:46am

Is there a way to discreetly message Charles about something?

596 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 5, 2014 8:54:40am

re: #595 The Ghost of a Flea

Email

597 ObserverArt  Jun 5, 2014 8:56:52am

re: #568 piratedan

well hey, I can see why the Taliban would be forthcoming, why not use the enemy’s own media against them. I’m sure that more than a few folks over there have seen our intrepid fourth estate warriors in action and wouldn’t be beyond using them to further their agenda. Just witness anything our current CIC does and watch the spin machine take place.

Thank you. I made a similar point in #398 and #417. I thought I was out there on an island with that thinking. It’s good to see I am not.

You know, I am finding it nice not having any news on whatsoever so far today. I just may go the whole day watching sports and movies, listening to tunes and the like.

I’ll just check here from time to time. I can get outrages here too, but they get tempered too.

598 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 5, 2014 8:57:58am

re: #591 Stanley Sea

The strange case of the McDaniel staffer locked in the county courthouse

Fishy like a salmon farm.

599 wrenchwench  Jun 5, 2014 8:58:34am

re: #595 The Ghost of a Flea

Is there a way to discreetly message Charles about something?

Contact form in the pull down menu near the top of the left column.

600 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 5, 2014 9:01:37am

re: #439 FemNaziBitch

The morning LGF survey:

What is sales tax in your part of the world?

mine:

- non-food .075
- food .0175

If I got my zeros correct.

The California (CA) state sales tax rate is currently 6.5%. However, California adds a mandatory local rate of 1% that increases the total state sales and use tax base to 7.5%. Depending on local municipalities, the total tax rate can be as high at 10.0%.

State and local taxes can reach 9.25% in many cities. Food and prescription drugs are exempt from sales tax.

601 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 9:01:48am

Has anyone seen this note that was supposedly left by Bergdahl, saying he was going to desert to join the Taliban. Has anybody in the press been able to print more than simply assertions that it exists?

602 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 9:04:23am
603 GeneJockey  Jun 5, 2014 9:05:24am

re: #577 Fairly Sure I’m Still Obdicut

Actually he did. He’s obviously not using it in a technical sense, he’s saying “What if the platoon had people in it like we’ve seen in other units, like the “Kill Team”. One of the members of his platoon is now a raving islamophobe; whether they were that way in Afghanistan isn’t known.

It is difficult to keep good mental health when you have shitty leadership and you’re out in the middle of nowhere. We saw this in Vietnam. Speculating that there might have been problems with control and violence in a military unit is not wild, febrile speculation. Neither, really, is the idea that he was abandoning his post. Lots of people do. Both have a chance of being right. Both are also pointless, which is what that guy on twitter was saying.

They are also immaterial to the question of whether we should get a captured POW back.

Stating a hypothetical is not making a claim.

604 Stanley Sea  Jun 5, 2014 9:05:46am

re: #598 Rightwingconspirator

Fishy like a salmon farm.

Teabaggers doing what they gotta do.

605 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 5, 2014 9:06:26am

re: #601 Targetpractice

If it exists it’s in military hands, would have been grabbed after he went missing. Those guys don’t often leak evidence. I have not even seen anyones name that says they saw it. The invisible anonymous accuser.

606 Bulworth  Jun 5, 2014 9:07:35am

Some wingnut derper on Twitter with a don’t tread on my snake/flag avi saying it wasn’t the Taliban that held Bergdahl. Won’t say who it was that was holding him though.

Good stuff.

607 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 9:08:49am

re: #606 Bulworth

Some wingnut derper on Twitter with a don’t tread on my snake/flag avi saying it wasn’t the Taliban that held Bergdahl. Won’t say who it was that was holding him though.

Good stuff.

I guess we know Alex Jones’ story on this then.

608 Decatur Deb  Jun 5, 2014 9:09:05am

re: #600 Rightwingconspirator

The California (CA) state sales tax rate is currently 6.5%. However, California adds a mandatory local rate of 1% that increases the total state sales and use tax base to 7.5%. Depending on local municipalities, the total tax rate can be as high at 10.0%.

State and local taxes can reach 9.25% in many cities. Food and prescription drugs are exempt from sales tax.

When I answered ‘6%’ for Alabama, I was not counting the local taxes, which easily make the tax on a loaf of bread 9-11% here.

609 The Ghost of a Flea  Jun 5, 2014 9:10:00am

Crap on a pita.

Charles,

Apologies if you just got multiple, redundant emails from me. My antivirus got all snarky about the contact form, since I hadn’t used it before.

Then again, maybe you got zero.

610 Eclectic Cyborg  Jun 5, 2014 9:10:07am

re: #564 The Ghost of a Flea


Outrage and bacon
Outrage sausage and bacon
Egg and outrage
Egg, bacon and outrage
Egg, bacon, sausage and outrage
Outrage, bacon, sausage and outrage
Outrage, egg, Spam, outrage , bacon and outrage
Outrage, outrage, outrage, egg and outrage
Outrage, outrage, outrage, outrage, outrage, outrage, baked beans, outrage, outrage, outrage and outrage
Lobster Thermidor aux crevettes with a Mornay sauce, garnished with truffle pâté, brandy and a fried egg on top, and outrage.

Needs more Freedom Fries.

611 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 9:10:29am

In Pittsburgh, Leon Panetta questions prisoner swap with Taliban

A former top adviser to President Obama on Wednesday questioned the release of dangerous terrorists in exchange for an imprisoned American soldier as anger spread among lawmakers in Washington over the secret deal to free Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl.

“I don’t fault the administration for wanting to get him back. I do question whether the conditions are in place to make sure these terrorists don’t go back into battle,” former CIA director and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta told a gas industry gathering in Pittsburgh.

Panetta, who was in the Cabinet for four of the five years Bergdahl spent in Taliban custody, said he opposed a swap for the terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, when he was Defense secretary.

“I said, ‘Wait, I have an obligation under the law,’” Panetta said during a lunchtime address at the Hart Energy Developing Unconventionals DUG East conference at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown. “If I send prisoners from Guantanamo, they have to guarantee they don’t go back to the battlefield. I had serious concerns.”

He said talks fell apart because the Taliban “asked for five top guys.” He did not say when during his 2011-13 tenure in the Pentagon that discussions took place.

“I just assumed it was never going to happen,” Panetta said.

612 Eclectic Cyborg  Jun 5, 2014 9:13:40am

Do they really think American intelligence are complete idiots? We released those guys and obviously we’re going to be keeping a close eye on them. There was a monitoring/surveillance plan in place before those guys ever knew they were being let go.

The notion this just randomly happened one day is ridiculous.

613 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 5, 2014 9:14:55am

It won’t be of course but this should be the last word on the matter-

McChrystal on Bergdahl: ‘We don’t leave Americans behind. That’s unequivocal’

Retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal on Wednesday urged Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s critics not to “judge” him until all the facts are in and sharply defended the extensive and risky search efforts that claimed the lives of some of his fellow soldiers.
“We did a huge number of operations to try to stop the Taliban from being able to move him across the border into Pakistan,” McChrystal told Yahoo News in an exclusive interview. “And we made a great effort and put a lot of people at risk in doing that, but that’s what you should do. That’s what soldiers do for each other.”

614 Bulworth  Jun 5, 2014 9:15:55am

re:
#607
HappyWarrior

Apparently because the Taliban beheads everyone. So I guess he was being by Obama ACORN thugs from Chicago.

615 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 9:16:01am

What exactly did Panetta think was going to happen to these five when the war in Afghanistan ended? Did he seriously think that they’d just stay there until they died? That future presidents were just gonna keep these guys locked up until the end of time?

616 gwangung  Jun 5, 2014 9:16:05am

re: #611 NJDhockeyfan

In Pittsburgh, Leon Panetta questions prisoner swap with Taliban

Isn’t this a rather irrelevant concern if we are withdrawing from Afghanistan and have to release these people ANYWAY?

617 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 9:16:37am

re: #614 Bulworth

re:
#607
HappyWarrior

Apparently because the Taliban beheads everyone. So I guess he was being by Obama ACORN thugs from Chicago.

Was Bill Ayers there? Joseph Farah and I want to know!

618 Eclectic Cyborg  Jun 5, 2014 9:17:00am

The man full of crap
said everyone attack and it turned
into a Bergdahl Blitz

And the blogger in the corner,
said we won’t even warn them,
and it turned into a Bergdahl Blitz

619 wrenchwench  Jun 5, 2014 9:19:12am

re: #609 The Ghost of a Flea

Crap on a pita.

Charles,

Apologies if you just got multiple, redundant emails from me. My antivirus got all snarky about the contact form, since I hadn’t used it before.

Then again, maybe you got zero.

Now if you want to you can report your comment to him with the exclamation point icon to make sure he sees it.

620 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Jun 5, 2014 9:19:27am

re: #603 GeneJockey

Stating a hypothetical is not making a claim.

Stating a hypothetical is making a claim that something might be true. He says it’s a possibility that his unit had severe problems, and it is.

It’s also a moot point, which is his point. It’s a moot point as to whether we should get him back. It is also something that it’s not useful to speculate about, which is also his point.

621 Eventual Carrion  Jun 5, 2014 9:19:31am

re: #500 FemNaziBitch

I’m a rebel

Ha, they pegged me. I got The Stoner

622 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 9:19:38am

These are good points. I can see Panetta’s point if we weren’t drawing down from Afghanistan but OTOH it’s been pointed out that the Israelis have made much more larger swaps for their guys in the past. Panetta certainly can speak with some authority on this issue since he was involved as defense secretary but I disagree with him. I doubt the Obama administration wanted to keep these Taliban leaders in captivity but they really needed to get Sgt. Bergdahl released too. This is something that I think it’s silly to play Armchair Commander in Chief on ultimately.

623 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 9:20:55am

I really think that’s a serious discussion this nation needs to have, are we prepared to keep the men still locked up at Gitmo there for generations to come? We’re not talking very old men who could drop dead any day, we’re talking men who are middle-aged or just past that, who could have 20 or more years to their lives. Are we willing to accept the stain on this nation’s heritage by holding them men until the very last one dies in his cell?

624 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 9:22:12am

My girls’ 12th birthday is tomorrow. One of my daughters has decided she wants to be an engineer. She’s a big fan of Homer Hickam (proud daddy here) so we are taking them to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL to see rockets.

625 The Ghost of a Flea  Jun 5, 2014 9:22:24am

re: #619 wrenchwench

Now if you want to you can report your comment to him with the exclamation point icon to make sure he sees it.

Is it weird that I was sitting and thinking about whether that would be polite?

I think I ODed on etiquette-bound cultures as a kid. Like being a Brahmin samurai in a Oscar Wilde comedy of manners.

626 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 9:22:34am

re: #623 Targetpractice

I really think that’s a serious discussion this nation needs to have, are we prepared to keep the men still locked up at Gitmo there for generations to come? We’re not talking very old men who could drop dead any day, we’re talking men who are middle-aged or just past that, who could have 20 or more years to their lives. Are we willing to accept the stain on this nation’s heritage by holding them men until the very last one dies in his cell?

It’s a good question. The way I figure it is we charged Axis war criminals with crimes. I see no reason why we can’t do the same to these guys if we feel they’ve committed crimes.

627 Decatur Deb  Jun 5, 2014 9:22:53am

re: #622 HappyWarrior

These are good points. I can see Panetta’s point if we weren’t drawing down from Afghanistan but OTOH it’s been pointed out that the Israelis have made much more larger swaps for their guys in the past. Panetta certainly can speak with some authority on this issue since he was involved as defense secretary but I disagree with him. I doubt the Obama administration wanted to keep these Taliban leaders in captivity but they really needed to get Sgt. Bergdahl released too. This is something that I think it’s silly to play Armchair Commander in Chief on ultimately.

Army doctrine on POWs emphasizes that the enemy seeks to break them by creating a sense of isolation and abandonment. These bastards are doing the work of some future enemy.

628 Bulworth  Jun 5, 2014 9:23:59am

Panetta seems to be the media’s go-to-guy when they need a critical comment on the administration. Maybe his leaving the administration wasn’t alltogether voluntary? Hey, just asking questions here!

629 wrenchwench  Jun 5, 2014 9:24:37am

re: #625 The Ghost of a Flea

Is it weird that I was sitting and thinking about whether that would be polite?

I think I ODed on etiquette-bound cultures as a kid. Like being a Brahmin samurai in a Oscar Wilder comedy of manners.

Must be tough to integrate that with the internet.

630 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 5, 2014 9:24:45am

re: #616 gwangung

Not if we were going to release them to the Kabul govt.

re: #623 Targetpractice

Dunno but maybe the thinking was to turn them over to the govt. for prosecution. Or as POW’s to be hold there. ? ?

631 gwangung  Jun 5, 2014 9:25:15am

re: #623 Targetpractice

I really think that’s a serious discussion this nation needs to have, are we prepared to keep the men still locked up at Gitmo there for generations to come? We’re not talking very old men who could drop dead any day, we’re talking men who are middle-aged or just past that, who could have 20 or more years to their lives. Are we willing to accept the stain on this nation’s heritage by holding them men until the very last one dies in his cell?

For large swaths of the country, the answer is “YES! HELL, YES!”

Sigh.

632 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 9:26:32am

re: #631 gwangung

For large swaths of the country, the answer is “YES! HELL, YES!”

Sigh.

The same people who think waterboarding is great when we do it but think Al Queda and the Taliban are monsters for torturing our guys which to strongly clarify I agree with but not the waterboarding that these people celebrate. The whole “Horray if we do it, they’re evil subhumans when they do it” mindset is one that has long repulsed me.

633 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 9:27:08am

re: #631 gwangung

For large swaths of the country, the answer is “YES! HELL, YES!”

Sigh.

Then the terrorists won. They made us not only change who we are, but they’ve forced us to live in fear of them. Fear that if we ever release these men, then we’re in danger. Fear has turned us from an honorable nation that respects the rules of war into one that is willing to engage in inhumane acts to protects what it perceives as “freedom.”

634 Eventual Carrion  Jun 5, 2014 9:28:30am

re: #553 HappyWarrior

Shit that’s some pretty radical stuff like a Christian type denying Christ’s divinity and claiming he alone as the messiah and messager of God.

Like Rev. Moon, and the ‘conservatives’ just love him. Go figure.

635 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 9:29:39am

re: #634 Eventual Carrion

Like Rev. Moon, and the ‘conservatives’ just love him. Go figure.

Yep all the right wing wacko parents I knew growing up in the DC suburbs got the Times because the Post was a “commie rag.”

636 Bulworth  Jun 5, 2014 9:29:43am

Then: Why doesn’t the president lead?

Now: Why doesn’t the president follow congress?

637 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 9:30:17am

re: #634 Eventual Carrion

Like Rev. Moon, and the ‘conservatives’ just love him. Go figure.

They are willing to ignore a lot of their views as long as they are hating on the same people…

638 The Ghost of a Flea  Jun 5, 2014 9:30:55am

re: #629 wrenchwench

Must be tough to integrate that with the internet.

I’m humorously exaggerating, but there’s a grain of truth.

The internet is comparatively liberating, since I don’t have to talk, and I can go all compound/complex with the qualifiers and the justifications.

639 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 9:31:08am

re: #636 Bulworth

Then: Why doesn’t the president lead?

Now: Why doesn’t the president follow congress?

Choose your own wingnut adventure.

640 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 9:32:04am

re: #636 Bulworth

Then: Why doesn’t the president lead?

Now: Why doesn’t the president follow congress?

Then: A strong president is decisive!

Now: Who said the president alone could make this decision?

641 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 9:32:50am

Then: Don’t question the courage of our troops.

Now: Bowe Bergdahl is a deserter who should be shot.

642 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 9:33:34am

Then: We honor the troops!

Now: HANG THIS TRAITOR!

643 Dr Lizardo  Jun 5, 2014 9:34:38am

re: #634 Eventual Carrion

Like Rev. Moon, and the ‘conservatives’ just love him. Go figure.

Rev. Moon had slipped my mind. Yeah, another self-proclaimed would-be ‘Messiah’, something the wingnuts conveniently ignore because they agree with a good many of his political views.

644 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 5, 2014 9:36:06am

How powerful is this ethic? It’s in our military DNA.

“It’s more important than a paycheck or a medal,” said Gen. James N. Mattis, who from 2010 to 2013 led the military’s Central Command, which oversees operations in Afghanistan. General Mattis said a horseshoe from the Bergdahl family home in Idaho hung outside his command’s operations center.

The following from the Ranger Creed is quoted to hammer home how wrong the critics are.

…Surrender is not a ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy..

645 The Ghost of a Flea  Jun 5, 2014 9:36:10am

re: #639 HappyWarrior

Choose your own wingnut adventure.

If you want to impeach Obama, turn to page 46.

Or 32.

Or 97.

Or 75.

646 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 9:36:20am

Then: Bring Bowe home, Mr. President at all costs.

Now: He did too much, we should have an investigation over this and maybe even impeach the President over this!

647 Eventual Carrion  Jun 5, 2014 9:36:49am

re: #591 Stanley Sea

The strange case of the McDaniel staffer locked in the county courthouse

Hope they showed proper ID before changing any votes.

648 lawhawk  Jun 5, 2014 9:37:14am

re: #600 Rightwingconspirator

Then, there are rental car sales tax and fees, which can come close to equaling the of the cost of the rental, including surcharges and other costs.

For instance, renting a car at Phoenix Sky Harbor for a week:

Base rate: $141.71
Taxes and fees $95.58
Total car rental estimate: $237.29

How do places like this get away with it? Tourists don’t live there, so cities figure that they can get ‘em coming and going and reduce the burden on those living there.

Here’s the tax breakdown for that rental:

Taxes and Fees
CONCESSION FEE
$15.86
CITY SALES TAX
$8.02
VEHICLE LICENSE FEE
$10.03
AZ SALES TAX
$12.64
CUSTOMER FACILITY CHARGE
$42.00
ENERGY SURCHARGE
$1.03
SURCHARGE
$6.00
Taxes and fees total
$95.58

649 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 9:37:21am

By the way, the reason I asked about the alleged note earlier is because Chambliss today said he’s read the classified report on Bergdahl’s disappearance and he saw neither the alleged note nor any mention of it in the report. And that the statements in the file from the guys in his unit do not match the accusatory tone that has been reported in the press.

650 makeitstop  Jun 5, 2014 9:37:32am

re: #529 Killgore Trout

There is brewing outrage this morning over some HUD employee saying something stupid on twitter about the Bergdahl situation. He really should shut up, he’s not helping and it’s not his job to be commenting on this stuff.
twitter.com

Anyone getting outraged about those tweets is a fucking idiot.

651 Eventual Carrion  Jun 5, 2014 9:37:34am

re: #592 Romantic Heretic

They’re just an extreme example of a phenomena I’ve observed far too often.

To whit: many people adopt a belief system not to provide guidelines to be better people, but to provide excuses for their behaviour. See: Teahadis and the Constitution.

The lord uses the good ones, and the bad ones use the lord.

652 The Ghost of a Flea  Jun 5, 2014 9:38:19am

re: #646 HappyWarrior

Then: Bring Bowe home, Mr. President at all costs.

Now: He did too much, we should have an investigation over this and maybe even impeach the President over this!

I have a theory about how this happened, but first we need to check and see if Leonard Nemoy has a goatee and is evil.

653 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 9:38:41am

re: #649 Targetpractice

By the way, the reason I asked about the alleged note earlier is because Chambliss today said he’s read the classified report on Bergdahl’s disappearance and he saw neither the alleged note nor any mention of it in the report. And that the statements in the file from the guys in his unit do not match the accusatory tone that has been reported in the press.

So what you’re saying is that Chambliss is on the cover up because he’s a RINO who is only retiring because he’s afraid of Erick Erickson beating him in a primary.

654 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 9:40:31am

Would I be wrong for secretly hoping even though I know it wouldn’t happen that Obama will tell off his right wing critics in his farewell address in a couple years. I won’t lie. I would love to hear Obama call Boehner and McConnell out for the spineless weasels they are for putting the interests of their party’s extremist wing and donors above the country’s.

655 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 9:40:44am

re: #653 HappyWarrior

So what you’re saying is that Chambliss is on the cover up because he’s a RINO who is only retiring because he’s afraid of Erick Erickson beating him in a primary.

According to Allahpundit, the only viable explanation is that the note was kept out of the report and the guys in Bergdahl’s units pressured into keeping their accusations to themselves by the White House, so that when the day came that he was rescued, there would be no evidence that he’s a deserter.

656 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 9:41:24am

re: #654 HappyWarrior

Would I be wrong for secretly hoping even though I know it wouldn’t happen that Obama will tell off his right wing critics in his farewell address in a couple years. I won’t lie. I would love to hear Obama call Boehner and McConnell out for the spineless weasels they are for putting the interests of their party’s extremist wing and donors above the country’s.

My hope is, on the way out the door, he looks to the cameras and says “Oh yeah, I really was born in Kenya.”

657 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 9:42:48am

re: #656 Targetpractice

My hope is, on the way out the door, he looks to the cameras and says “Oh yeah, I really was born in Kenya.”

Heh. Really though on a more serious note, I really am interested in reading his memoirs because I’m sure he’s got some choice words for these assholes.

658 NJDhockeyfan  Jun 5, 2014 9:44:14am
659 The Ghost of a Flea  Jun 5, 2014 9:45:47am

re: #656 Targetpractice

My hope is, on the way out the door, he looks to the cameras and says “Oh yeah, I really was born in Kenya.”

I was born in Kenya…

in 2043…

to Malcolm X and Bayard Rustin…

Sorry, I meant to say, the planet Kenya…

Which black people bought with their reparation money….

660 Rightwingconspirator  Jun 5, 2014 9:46:55am

re: #648 lawhawk

Unconfirmed but the highest tax of all surely is our “penalty assessment” that is added on a jaywalking or speeding ticket.

180% OUCH

661 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 9:47:53am
662 Stanley Sea  Jun 5, 2014 9:48:54am

re: #658 NJDhockeyfan

[Embedded content]

He’s here in Coronado. Heard him on NPR this morning.

663 The Ghost of a Flea  Jun 5, 2014 9:49:00am

re: #659 The Ghost of a Flea

The best thing about going home will be getting to see my other wife…

…and my husband…

…who couldn’t time travel because they’re white.

Because that’s how physics rolls.

664 Bulworth  Jun 5, 2014 9:50:00am

re:
#661
Targetpractice

So what YOU LIE Y Obomo listen to Taliban???!??!

665 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 9:51:24am

I’m curious to see the evidence behind that latest revelation, but if true, then I’m not sure how Republicans are going to spin this to their advantage. Do they really want to go on record as saying they’d have preferred to gamble with the man’s life just to have 30 days to bitch to the press?

666 Feline Fearless Leader  Jun 5, 2014 9:53:57am

re: #645 The Ghost of a Flea

If you want to impeach Obama, turn to page 46.

Or 32.

Or 97.

Or 75.

Do actual attempts to impeach in this adventure book all refer to a single page where the adventurer gets clocked with a clue-by-four with “political reality” written on it?

667 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 9:54:01am

I think this is your eternal grasp at straws moment for the Republicans. I guess their internals on taking back the Senate aren’t as good as they thought they would be at this point or they really do think that this is a winning issue.

668 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 9:56:17am

Heartbleed Redux: Another Gaping Wound In Web Encryption Uncovered

wired.com

“On Thursday, the OpenSSL Foundation published an advisory warning to users to update their SSL yet again, this time to fix a previously unknown but more than decade-old bug in the software that allows any network eavesdropper to strip away its encryption. The non-profit foundation, whose encryption is used by the majority of the Web’s SSL servers, issued a patch and advised sites that use its software to upgrade immediately.

“The new attack, found by Japanese researcher Masashi Kikuchi, takes advantage of a portion of OpenSSL’s “handshake” for establishing encrypted connections known as ChangeCipherSpec, allowing the attacker to force the PC and server performing the handshake to use weak keys that allows a “man-in-the-middle” snoop to decrypt and read the traffic.

“This vulnerability allows malicious intermediate nodes to intercept encrypted data and decrypt them while forcing SSL clients to use weak keys which are exposed to the malicious nodes,” reads an FAQ published by Kikuchi’s employer, the software firm Lepidum. Ashkan Soltani, a privacy researcher who has been involved in analyzing the Snowden NSA leaks for the NSA and closely tracked SSL’s woes, offers this translation: “Basically, as you and I are establishing a secure connection, an attacker injects a command that fools us to thinking we’re using a ‘private’ password whereas we’re actually using a public one.” More

669 Feline Fearless Leader  Jun 5, 2014 9:56:24am

re: #667 HappyWarrior

I think this is your eternal grasp at straws moment for the Republicans. I guess their internals on taking back the Senate aren’t as good as they thought they would be at this point or they really do think that this is a winning issue.

All anti-Obama issues are winning issues. Until they aren’t.

670 blueraven  Jun 5, 2014 9:56:33am

re: #665 Targetpractice

I’m curious to see the evidence behind that latest revelation, but if true, then I’m not sure how Republicans are going to spin this to their advantage. Do they really want to go on record as saying they’d have preferred to gamble with the man’s life just to have 30 days to bitch to the press?

Well, in theory they wouldn’t be talking to the press during the 30 days.
But in reality, Congress leaks like a sieve and the deal would have gone south

671 The Ghost of a Flea  Jun 5, 2014 9:58:01am

re: #666 Feline Fearless Leader

Do actual attempts to impeach in this adventure book all refer to a single page where the adventurer gets clocked with a clue-by-four with “political reality” written on it?

A surprising number of adventure path choices conclude with Bryan Fischer gently cupping the reader’s balls.

672 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 9:58:24am

re: #670 blueraven

Well, in theory they wouldn’t be talking to the press during the 30 days.
But in reality, Congress leaks like a sieve and the deal would have gone south

Case in point, the story behind the AP tweet is that three congressional officials are relaying what the White House told them. That it was the threat, more than the concerns already cited over Bergdahl’s health, that pushed the swap forward. And that it was the threat that Hagel was referred to when he said Sunday that Bergdahl’s safety had been in question.

673 Feline Fearless Leader  Jun 5, 2014 9:59:04am

re: #670 blueraven

Well, in theory they wouldn’t be talking to the press during the 30 days.
But in reality, Congress leaks like a sieve and the deal would have gone south

And in a Machiavellian political climate Bergdahl’s political value to a certain side is only positive while he is a prisoner, or becomes a corpse while a prisoner.

674 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 9:59:08am

re: #671 The Ghost of a Flea

A surprising number of adventure path choices conclude with Bryan Fischer gently cupping the reader’s balls.

BAD TOUCH! VERY BAD TOUCH!

675 kirkspencer  Jun 5, 2014 10:00:48am

re: #670 blueraven

Well, in theory they wouldn’t be talking to the press during the 30 days.
But in reality, Congress leaks like a sieve and the deal would have gone south

You forgot “again”.

The rules were followed two years ago. The deal fell through, in part because of actions of congress in the 30 day discussion window.

676 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 10:01:03am

Make no question had Bergdahl been killed because of the admin telling Congress or otherwise killed in captivity. The same people who are demanding Obama be impeached for his safe release would be demanding that POTUS do the same for his death. Hell some of the more crazy ones would probably suggest putting him on trial for murder I bet.

677 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 10:02:11am

re: #675 kirkspencer

You forgot “again”.

The rules were followed two years ago. The deal fell through, in part because of actions of congress in the 30 day discussion window.

That’s one bit I hadn’t heard before. Negotiations fell apart before because of something Congress did?

678 HappyWarrior  Jun 5, 2014 10:02:17am

If Obama had a sane Congress to deal with, I might understand the complaints but this Congress is filled with not merely people who have a switch to oppose everything Obama believes in and stands for but for people who want him actively to fail and if that means getting a GI killed, so be it.

679 Killgore Trout  Jun 5, 2014 10:02:59am

re: #576 blueraven

This is rich coming from you KT. You have posted all the outrage about Bergdahl, and now you say this one has no right to speak.

Yes, it is provocative. He is speculating…which is stupid and that is the point.

Yes, it’s stupid. HUD officials really shouldn’t be speculating about this. Public statements should be left to the White House, Pentagon and Dept o’ State.

680 blueraven  Jun 5, 2014 10:04:59am

re: #675 kirkspencer

You forgot “again”.

The rules were followed two years ago. The deal fell through, in part because of actions of congress in the 30 day discussion window.

True, but the Taliban themselves actually scuttled the deal in the end.

681 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 10:06:17am

Ex-Coworker Says Suspected Cop-Killer ‘Wanted To Go Out With A Bang’

Read more: businessinsider.com

682 blueraven  Jun 5, 2014 10:07:27am

re: #679 Killgore Trout

Yes, it’s stupid. HUD officials really shouldn’t be speculating about this. Public statements should be left to the White House, Pentagon and Dept o’ State.

Looks like a private account to me…not an official public statement.

683 gwangung  Jun 5, 2014 10:08:07am

re: #679 Killgore Trout

Yes, it’s stupid. HUD officials really shouldn’t be speculating about this. Public statements should be left to the White House, Pentagon and Dept o’ State.

HUD Officials? Or people who happen to be HUD Officials? Where is this person in the bureacracy?

684 TedStriker  Jun 5, 2014 10:08:29am

re: #423 darthstar

Everyone is alive though. That’s cool.

Well, except for Gordon Jump…

685 klys  Jun 5, 2014 10:10:35am

re: #682 blueraven

Looks like a private account to me…not an official public statement.

I don’t know, tweets like this totally scream “OFFICIAL ACCOUNT” to me.

/////

686 Targetpractice  Jun 5, 2014 10:11:10am

If anyone believes that Republicans would have kept quiet for 30 days about this swap, knowing they’d get reamed by their base for sitting on that info and allowing it to go through, then they’re an idiot. It would have leaked, the deal would likely have fell through, and in the best case scenario Bergdahl would have been kept alive a little longer as a bargaining chip.

687 Fairly Sure I'm Still Obdicut  Jun 5, 2014 10:11:32am

re: #685 klys

Gee, maybe he has some sort of right to speak about veterans stuff.

Prior to that, Brandon served as an infantry platoon leader and executive officer in the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division, completing combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq between 2001 and 2004.

688 Mattand  Jun 5, 2014 10:11:53am

re: #543 iossarian

So, basically, you felt it was worth amplifying the noise in order to bring to our attention that the noise shouldn’t be amplified?

This is why going through life as a “Both sides are just as bad” proponent is a bad idea.

689 blueraven  Jun 5, 2014 10:12:22am

re: #685 klys

I don’t know, tweets like this totally scream “OFFICIAL ACCOUNT” to me.

[Embedded content]

/////

outrageous!

690 kirkspencer  Jun 5, 2014 10:13:50am

re: #677 Targetpractice

That’s one bit I hadn’t heard before. Negotiations fell apart before because of something Congress did?

Not only, but in part. Congress kicked some back seat driver recommendations into the discussion pile. They hadn’t voted yea or nay on them other than what came out of committee, but it appeared they were going to toss in all sorts of extra stuff. The Taliban preempted by saying “never mind”.

691 blueraven  Jun 5, 2014 10:15:53am

re: #690 kirkspencer

Not only, but in part. Congress kicked some back seat driver recommendations into the discussion pile. They hadn’t voted yea or nay on them other than what came out of committee, but it appeared they were going to toss in all sorts of extra stuff. The Taliban preempted by saying “never mind”.

They also threatened to use it as a “Willie Horton” moment in an election year.

692 ObserverArt  Jun 5, 2014 10:26:59am

Can someone help me remember back a few years ago? I am trying to weigh the whole response to this Bergdahl story and the entire nation’s reaction (media, military, congress, citizens, etc.) to the days it became very clear to the same the whole Iraq war was a complete FUBAR?

Where were the Congressional hearings? Where was the press holding the President’s feet to the fire? Where was the kvetching by the citizens taking to the net to pound on every aspect?

Did I miss all that? I get the feeling you could add up the entire amount of furor over Bush’s misdeeds from the years 2003 until he left office and not equal this blowout over Bergdahl.

And that is not even weighing all the deaths of soldiers, contract workers, what it did to steel the people in the Middle East countries attitudes about America, the costs, etc., etc. and comparing it all to any fall out over this story.

I think that is one of the things that has knocked me back…the whole lack of perspective on it all. I guess I am getting outraged by the outrage.

693 Justanotherhuman  Jun 5, 2014 10:29:49am

Moved.

694 Wendell Zurkowitz (slave to the waffle light)  Jun 5, 2014 10:41:23am

re: #691 blueraven

They also threatened to use it as a “Willie Horton” moment in an election year.

That sums it up: to any normal person, the Willie Horton incident represents a major step in the downhill slide of the GOP in to a racist, hate-fueled party.

But to these people it represents a major political triumph…


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