Jurassic Park v Jurassic Pork

I posted this over at Left of Centrist and my kids think it's the funniest thing they've ever seen. So, I thought I would share it with the "kids" over here.

Bait-and-Switch in Iraq

I found this piece at DavidCorn.com. Thought you might find it interesting, I know I did.

By David Corn

The other day I bumped into a retired general I know. He's a friend of General David Petraeus, the top commander in Iraq. I asked about a recent McClatchy Newspaper story by Nancy Youssef that reported that the training of Iraqi troops is no longer a priority for US forces in Iraq.

The April 19 piece began:

Military planners have abandoned the idea that standing up Iraqi troops will enable American soldiers to start coming home soon and now believe that U.S. troops will have to defeat the insurgents and secure control of troubled provinces.

Training Iraqi troops, which had been the cornerstone of the Bush administration's Iraq policy since 2005, has dropped in priority, officials in Baghdad and Washington said....

[E]vidence has been building for months that training Iraqi troops is no longer the focus of U.S. policy. Pentagon officials said they know of no new training resources that have been included in U.S. plans to dispatch 28,000 additional troops to Iraq.

On January 10, when Bush announced his so-called surge in Iraq, he told the American people:

In keeping with the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group, we will increase the embedding of American advisers in Iraqi Army units, and partner a coalition brigade with every Iraqi Army division. We will help the Iraqis build a larger and better-equipped army, and we will accelerate the training of Iraqi forces, which remains the essential U.S. security mission in Iraq.

So Bush promised Americans an accelerated training program, and that has not happened. This change in policy has not been officially announced. Moreover, it seems to undermine the reasoning behind the surge. The escalation, as Bush explained it, is supposed to create space and time during which better-trained Iraqi troops can take over the key security tasks within Iraq. That would permit the United States to withdraw its troops. The goal of the surge was to facilitate this transition. But if the United States is surging without boosting training (which has so far been a failure), it is assuming responsibility for quelling the sectarian violence without preparing the Iraqi military to take control. This is nothing but a recipe for open-ended involvement. Bush has pulled a bait-and-switch.

This retired general told me the McClatchy story was accurate. He called it another indication that the military mission has been lost and that the United States was stuck in the midst of a situation akin to a civil war. What ought to be done? I ask. He lowered his voice: we have to start bringing the troops home. Have you said that publicly? I inquired. Not yet, he replied. He's not ready to do so. It's hard to totally break with the war, he explained, noting he felt some loyalty to Petraeus. He recalled that recently he had been asked by members of Congress if the United States should begin withdrawing troops and he punted. But, he said, he's getting closer to telling the world how he really feels. "I don't know how long I can go without saying it," he remarked.

Republicans these days accuse Democrats of supporting surrender. But reality can intrude upon politics and even friendships. Just ask this former general. My hunch is that he won't stay silent for long. Meanwhile, Bush has yet to answer for a fundamental shift in Iraq policy--and for having misled the public about the goal of his escalation.

The Super Duper Friends

200th person released by DNA testing

The 200th person has been released by DNA testing, as reported in the HeraldNet and elsewhere.

I don't know about you, but I was shocked when I heard that number! How can at least 200 innocent people wind up being convicted beyond a reasonable doubt!!!??? How's that saying go? Better to let 10 guilty go free than to send 1 innocent person to jail?

Thank God for DNA testing, or those innocent people would still be serving time, or worse yet, gotten the death penalty!!! I realize our Justice system isn't perfect, but I just don't understand how this can happen. I wonder how many of those people wrongly accused were sent to prison by a Judge vs. a Jury.

Just some fodder for thought.

Freerunning

Will someone explain to me why Freerunning is not yet an Olympic sport. The guys who do this are amazing. I would love to see a competition over the same course.

Super Moves - Free Running - More free videos are here

Only in his dreams. . .

Councilman Pape Channels Dwight Schrute in Harrison Square Speech

Cross-posted at Left of Centrist:

I don't know how many of you watch The Office on NBC but I find the show incredibly hilarious. In one episode a salesman named Dwight Schrute had to give a speech in front of a convention of salesmen but he had a fear of public speaking. So his co-worker Jim Halpert, who is constantly playing practical jokes on Dwight, decides to help him out by giving him some notes for his speech as well as tips on what to do while speaking to keep the audience's attention.

What Dwight doesn't realize is that the notes Jim gave him are adaptations from a Mussolini speech that Jim downloaded off the internet. Jim also tells Dwight that while he's speaking he needs to constantly pound his fist on the podium and wave his arms so as to emphasize his points.

Now at yesterday's monthly Democratic Party meeting Tim Pape gave a fist-pounding speech on the need to support Harrison Square. I immediately thought of Dwight's speech which you can watch here. I'm sure everyone that was there will get a kick out of this comparison.

"No development is worth anything unless it can pay for itself" (thump, thump - fist pounding on podium)

"Some people will tell you Harrison Square is a bad word. They'll conjur up images of Midtown Crossing and failed promises."

"This is our duty to change their perception."

"I say Harrison Square supporters of Fort Wayne - Unite!"

"We must never acquiesce. For it is together, TOGETHER we prevail!"

"We must never cede control of downtown for it is TOGETHER WE PREVAIL!" (thump, thump, thump, thump)

Ok, Ok, so that wasn't exactly what he said but for those of you that were there you HAVE to watch the video. Everyone else, well you'll have to use your imagination but just watch the video and I'm sure it won't be too difficult.

As I've previously blogged, I think councilman Pape is one of the better councilmen we have and I admire his passion on Harrison Square and other issues. I just thought his speech was eerily similar to Dwight Schrute's and thus I found it quite humorous...

The End

Why we need to do everything in our power to stop the Bush madness:


The End - Click here for funny video clips

Just a quick show of hands...

How many of our fine readers/contributors feel that the Federal Government has grown far beyond the scope of its Constitutional boundaries?

Furthermore, how many of you all think that the Federal Government has officially reached a level of size and activity that reasonable oversight is simply beyond the ability of the Country (read: citizens), and most certainly beyond the point where internal (read: self-policing) oversight is sufficient and/or wise?

Just curious...I've been thinking a lot about it lately. I'm not coming up with anything profound, but it does bother me rather badly at times.

Imus is just the tip of the iceberg

The recently fired Don Imus - from MSNBC, but not yet CBS radio - isn't the first, nor will he be the last, example of latent racism in this country. You see and hear it on a daily basis.

Be it the quiet, "have you heard this one", joke about a racial stereotype or the blatant hate mongers who might post stereotypical cartoon figures on the net. It is all around us. Slavery was abolished over 140 years ago, yet there are still people - on both sides of the equation - who can't get over it.

Rush Limbaugh thinks it's funny to refer to Barack Obama or Halle Berry as "Halfrican Americans." Glenn Beck actually said to America's first Muslim congressman, Keith Ellison, "sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies." Where is the outrage over these comments? Doesn't the right wing care about racism?

Back in 1976, Stevie Wonder released the song, "I Wish". The very first line of the song was, "Looking back on when I was a little nappy headed boy." Innocent at the time, "nappy headed" today - especially when used in the context of Don Imus' comment, can be easily seen as derogatory. I mention Wonder's song because even black musicians today may be going too far in their use of stereotypical slurs and words. "Ho'", "Bitch", "Nigger", etc. are words no one would want to be called, and using them in mainstream rap or songs only serves to desensitize a portion of the population to their real intent.

Some people may point to comedian Richard Pryor and his use of the word "Nigger". The difference is that Pryor came along at a time when both white and black comics were looking at the racial divides in this country and Pryor didn't flinch in his examination of racism. Pryor was one of the only people - black or white - who used the word in a way that I did not find uncomfortable, in the same way that I accepted it when he would say "Cracker" or "Honky". We are at a point now when there should be more understanding and less examination. Using certain words today may seem cool in some circles, but I find it disrespectful and contemptible rather than cute or even shocking.

I've noticed that several members of the Right are coming to Imus' defense. Why is this? Is there a bit of unwritten racism on the part of the Right?

It's obvious that the right wing media mouthpieces aid in proliferating racial stereotypes. Last year, Michael Savage showed his contempt for blacks when he was railing against reaffirming the voting rights act: "I don't really know what they mean by reaffirming the Voting Rights Act. Do they mean they're going to put a chad in every crack house? What are they going to do - spend 10 billion dollars to make sure they have voting machines in crack houses?"

That's right, Mr. Savage, black = crack-head. You really are an idiot, aren't you?

Less than a week ago, syndicated columnist, Dick Morris was responding to a Fox Noise Channel poll, that showed Republicans were frightened at the prospect of Hillary Clinton being elected president, when he said, "You have to ask yourself, the first black man is running for president and nobody's afraid of him, because everybody's afraid of Hillary." Where is the outrage?

As someone who supports the Senator from Illinois in his quest for the White House, I certainly do not look at Barack Obama as possibly the first black president - although this could end up being a true statement - I look at Barack Obama as someone who has integrity and good ideas. Just read "The Audacity of Hope" and you'll know what I mean.

I was happy to hear Rev. Jesse Jackson calling on black artists to cease from using derogatory words in their music. This is a step in the right direction. Now what we need is someone from the right to step forward and denounce the bigots of the airways.

Racism must stop. One good way would be to call out each person you hear making a racist comment. Let them know that you won't take it from anyone, not even your friends. It may be a small step, but if enough people do it, it could be a giant leap toward a brighter tomorrow.

What are you looking at?

What are you looking at? Looking for a new post? How about becoming a contributor yourself and add your thoughts here? To become a member, contact Robert Rouse or Stan Matuska.

Obama in New Hampshire

New ipod commercial parody

nice! that hand gernades gonna come in handy...

Government must deal with greenhouse gases

In 2001, President Bush said "Our country, the United States is the world's largest emitter of manmade greenhouse gases."

In 2005, the Senate rejected a measure calling for mandatory limits on emissions linked to global warming.

In 2007, the US Supreme court said the government must deal with greenhouse gases.

The US Supreme Court ruled on april 2nd 2007, that the Environmental Protection Agency must consider greenhouse gases as pollutants, in a blow to the White House.

It's about time there is an acknowledgement of global warming by the government. Whether or not global warming can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt remains yet to be seen; but we should at least be considering the greenhouse pollutants as a problem that affects the entire planet earth. I would rather be right, and have a future for generations to come, then to be wrong and have no chance of survival for generations that would have come.

Star Trek Meets Monty Python

HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY!!!!!!!