President Obama: "Here at home, we will strengthen our defenses, but we will not succumb to a siege mentality that sacrifices the open society and liberties and values that we cherish as Americans, because great and proud nations don't hunker down and hide behind walls of suspicion and mistrust. That is exactly what our adversaries want, and so long as I am President, we will never hand them that victory. We will define the character of our country, not some band of small men intent on killing innocent men, women and children."
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Obama Press Conference on Strengthening Intelligence and Aviation Security
Bob Barr Defends Obama
When politicians like Bob Barr give a reasoned response and come to the defense of President Obama, you know the GOP has gone off the deep end and straight down the rabbit hole.
Yes — the not-so-bright, would-be terrorist from Nigeria got though international and domestic security mechanisms supposed to have stopped him long before the jerk lit his underwear afire before landing in Detroit. And yes — the incident happened during the administration of President Barack Obama. But the sniping at the president by Republicans, including former Vice President Cheney, and by conservative radio and TV commentators, borders on — if not passing into — asinine.
The criticism has included such childishness as blasting Obama for waiting a few days before making a national speech on the incident. For heaven’s sake, the president was briefed on the incident from the moment it occured; he made statements almost immediately indicating his concern and that he was being regularly briefed; he took time to gather the facts and meet with his national security team; and then he appeared publicly to give a rational, measured, but hard-hitting response. And for this, a former vice president criticizes him.
Partisanship truly has pervasively infected our political system when a reasonable, measured, factual, timely and substantive response by a president to a single security incident — the roots of which clearly indicate long-simmering problems that predated his tenure in office — is publicly blasted as irresponsible. In point of fact, those levelling such counterproductive attacks are the ones engaging in irresponsible behavior.
Tweet of the Day
WALSH: In May 2002 National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice complained that "no one could have imagined" al-Qaida using airplanes as weapons -- when, in fact, the U.S., and the Bush administration, had been warned of such planning many times.
...By contrast, Obama stood up and described the many missed opportunities to identify, detain and question Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab less than two weeks after the near-tragedy, but concluded: "I'm less interested in passing out blame than in learning and correcting mistakes. The buck stops with me."
[...]
Imagine President Bush doing the same thing after 9/11. I know, you can't. I couldn't either. In almost eight years, he never did.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Tsutomu Yamaguchi Dies at 93
This is an amazing story. Tsutomu Yamaguchi died on Monday at the age of 93. He was the only official survivor or both Japanese atomic blasts during WWII.
According to his account, he took the Last Train From Hiroshima to his hometown of Nagasaki the next day to get to his family despite being badly burned, even resorting to using a "raft" of floating dead, bloated bodies to cross a bridgeless river to get to the train.Mr. Yamaguchi, as a 29-year-old engineer for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, was on a business trip in Hiroshima when the United States dropped the first atomic bomb on the morning of Aug. 6, 1945. He was getting off a streetcar when the “Little Boy” device detonated above Hiroshima.
Mr. Yamaguchi said he was less than 2 miles away from ground zero. His eardrums were ruptured and his upper torso was burned by the blast, which destroyed most of the city’s buildings and killed 80,000 people.
Heavily bandaged, he returned to work on August 9th and was explaining what had happened to his fellow workers and instructed them how to survive by diving under desks, when his boss berated him for exaggerating, claiming that no such bomb exists, when...
He and about 30 fellow workers, who heeded his warnings and instructions, survived the second blast which killed another 70,000 in Nagasaki. Luckily, their office was in a section of the building that was blocked by a steel reinforced staircase which cut through the shockwave like the prow of a ship cuts through the ocean waves. When they emerged from their hiding places, the rest of the building along with 300 other workers had disappeared....“suddenly the same white light filled the room,” he said in an interview last March with The Independent newspaper.
“I could have died on either of those days,” Mr. Yamaguchi said in an August interview with the Mainichi Daily News. “Everything that follows is a bonus.”
...Mr. Yamaguchi recovered from his wounds, went to work for the American occupation forces, became a teacher and eventually returned to work at Mitsubishi Heavy. He was in good health for most of his life... In his later years, Mr. Yamaguchi began to speak out about the scourge of atomic weapons. He rarely gave interviews, but he wrote a memoir and was part of a 2006 documentary film about the double-bombing victims. He called for the abolition of nuclear weapons at a showing of the film at the United Nations that year.
Rep. Peter King Knows About National Security
Rep. Peter King (R-Lala-Land) sure knows how to increase our nation's security against terrorism. Just have the President use the word "terrorism" more. Boom! Easy-peasy. Now we're safe.
This is the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee and that's his coup de grace in dealing with terrorism. Say "terrorism" more. BRILLIANT! And the GOP wants to be taken seriously with hackery like this.You are saying someone should be held accountable. Name one other specific recommendation the president could implement right now to fix this," host George Stephanopoulos said to King.
"I think one main thing would be to -- just himself to use the word terrorism more often," said King, the ranking Republican on the Homeland Security Committee.
Perhaps if President Obama rolled up his sleeves, wore a cowboy hat and walked with a swagger (or like he took a dump in his pants) as well, he could usher in world peace.
Dorgan and Ritter and Dodd, Oh My!
Within the last 24 hours we have gotten news of Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan and Colorado Governor Bill Ritter not intending to seek re-election for 2010. And now comes word that Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, whose numbers have been down in the polls and would have had a hard time winning another term, has scheduled a press conference for today in which he is expected to announce his retirement after five terms.
Dodd's seat looks safe as Connecticut AG Richard Blumenthal might step in and run a little earlier than his anticipated run against Joe Lieberman in 2012, but I think you'd have to expect to lose a seat in conservative North Dakota when Dorgan steps down.
Is it really looking that bad for the Democrats in 2010? I personally don't think so. I think the teabaggers' numbers don't match their loudness, despite what certain polls say.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Bachmann's Anti-Census Rhetoric May Bite Her In The Ass
This is a fun little tidbit of information.
Oh, wouldn't that be sweet, sweet justice?The state of Minnesota could be on the verge of losing a House seat after 2010 -- and interestingly enough, it's been a while since we heard Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) talk about refusing to participate in the Census.
...according to current population estimates, Minnesota is right on the cusp of losing one of its eight seats in Congress, and will be in a close competition with Missouri, Texas and California for that district.
...Bachmann's district would likely be the first to go if the state lost a seat. The other seats are all fairly regular-shaped, logical districts built around identifiable regions of the state (Minneapolis, St. Paul, the Iron Range, and so on). Bachmann's district is made of what's left over after such a process, twisting and turning from a small strip of the Wisconsin border and curving deep into the middle of the state. As such, the obvious course of action if the state loses a seat is to split her district up among its neighbors.
And Wingnuts Blow A Gasket in 5... 4... 3...
President Obama Names Transgender Appointee to Commerce Department
Adding... US lifts HIV/Aids immigration banPresident Obama recently named Amanda Simpson to be a Senior Technical Advisor to the Commerce Department.
In a statement, Simpson, a member of the National Center for Transgender Equality's board of directors, said that "as one of the first transgender presidential appointees to the federal government, I hope that I will soon be one of hundreds, and that this appointment opens future opportunities for many others."
The US has lifted a 22-year immigration ban which has stopped anyone with HIV/Aids from entering the country.
President Obama said the ban was not compatible with US plans to be a leader in the fight against the disease.
The new rules come into force on Monday and the US plans to host a bi-annual global HIV/Aids summit for the first time in 2012.
...In October, President Obama said the entry ban had been "rooted in fear rather than fact".
He said: "We lead the world when it comes to helping stem the Aids pandemic - yet we are one of only a dozen countries that still bar people with HIV from entering our own country."
Just A Thought
It seems the MSM is making a big deal out of Blue Dog Democrats switching parties, joining the GOP and the possibility of losing seats in the House. My question is, what the hell difference does it make what party affiliation they avow if they're not going to vote with the Democrats anyway?
Take for example, Rep. Bobby Bright of Alabama's 2nd District. They sure do like him over at Church's Chicken in Andalusia, Alabama because he a "fine Christian man" even though he is a Democrat. But Bright won largely because he ran as a Democrat, the first for that district in 45 years, in a year when an overwhelming African-American vote awarded him the seat by less than a percentage point. President Obama lost the district to McCain in 2008, but Montgomery most likely won the district for Bright. But overall...
So of what use is he to the Democratic Party in the House? I say if Blue Dogs want to defect the party, let them. If they think having a 'D' after your name is toxic in rural, southern conservative counties, just wait til they have a 'T' (for "Teabag") after it. They may keep their job and win their local election, but they'll be reduced to less than insignificance. And it'll only make clearer what Democratic voters need to do in 2010, 2012 and beyond. Not just elect Democrats, but elect better Democrats. Vote for someone who shares your beliefs and not just because they have a 'D' after their name.Mr. Bright has been such a purebred Blue Dog that he is practically red. He has voted with the Republicans on every significant piece of legislation of his term, including the health care overhaul, the budget and the “cap and trade” energy legislation.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Dumbass Quote of the Day
Brit Hume: "The extent to which [Tiger Woods] can recover seems to me depends on his faith. He is said to be a Buddhist. I don't think that faith offers the kind of forgiveness and redemption that is offered by the Christian faith. My message to Tiger would be, 'Tiger, turn to the Christian faith and you can make a total recovery and be a great example to the world.'"
Curtis Allina Dies at 87
Who is Curtis Allina, you may ask? If it wasn't for Mr. Allina, we would never have had Pez™.
NY TIMES: For nearly three decades after World War II, Mr. Allina was the vice president in charge of United States operations at what is now Pez Candy. In 1955, at his urging, what had been an austerely packaged Austrian confection for adults took on vibrant new life as a children’s product.
That year, the first character dispensers, as they are known in the parlance of Peziana, were issued, giving birth to what is today a highly collectible pop-cultural artifact. Instantly recognizable, the dispensers are slim plastic containers, usually anthropomorphic in design, whose heads — modeled after those of TV characters, cartoon figures or historical personages — flip back to disgorge brick-shaped pieces of candy.
Douchebag of the Week: Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney
McInerney: "If you are an 18-28 year old Muslim man, then you should be strip searched. And if we don't do that, there's a very high probability we're gonna lose an airliner."
Words escape me. McInerney goes on to say that this isn't racial profiling. And he right. It's religious profiling. Why don't we just have all Muslims wear a crescent and star patch on their lapels? That way we know who we're dealing with. After all, it worked for the Nazis.
Plus, there's no way we'd accidentally make a Israeli strip search because he looks Middle Eastern, right? Or an Italian. Or a dark skinned, native born African who may happen to be Christian. That wouldn't happen in this scenario, would it?
Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney (Retired... thankfully): Douchebag of the Week.
(H/T Cesca)
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Quote of the Day
Michelle Bachmann is the new It Girl of Teabagging – the combination sex symbol / Great Conservative Leader for people who think Sarah Palin is a bit soft and a little too book-smart.
Guess Who I Met New Year's Eve?
Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd and his family attended the New Year's Eve Broadway matinee performance of Mary Poppins. I met him as he was being given a backstage tour after the show. He was very friendly and down to earth, and his wife Jackie and their daughters were lovely.
I know that for the most part friendliness is normally the way of politicians in order to secure votes, but I don't live in his state and it felt genuine. Imagine my surprise when after I thanked him for posing for the photo with me, he replied, "Thank you for asking."
Must Reads
Gin and Tacos: The Bomber Will Always Get Through
Chez Pazienza: The Year of Living Painfully
Bob Cesca: Republican Hypocrisy on Terrorism Reaches New Levels of Awful
Dan Pfeiffer: The Same Old Washington Blame Game
Eugene Robinson: Dick Cheney's lies about President Obama
Heather Hurlburt: In Fact, We do Have A Counter-Terrorism Strategy -- And Experts Say It's Producing Results
Kimberly Kindy: Ex-Homeland Security chief head said to abuse public trust by touting body scanners
Will Wright: New Year's Wish: Getting My Country Back
BooMan: Why Support The Democrats?
Friday, January 1, 2010
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