Hits & Runs

CIA fires contractors guarding secret prisons

WASHINGTON (AP) — CIA Director Leon Panetta has told Congress the spy agency has taken no new prisoners since he became director in February.

He also says the CIA has terminated contracts with private companies that provided security at secret overseas CIA prisons.

Well that's good ne ... wait, what!? Private contractors were doing the guarding!?

Marine acquitted of murder in Iraq slaying

A military jury on Thursday acquitted a Marine sergeant on charges of murdering an unarmed detainee during battle in Fallujah, Iraq. The jury also acquitted Sgt. Ryan Weemer of dereliction of duty in the November 2004 death.
[...]
In closing arguments Wednesday, a defense attorney said the 26-year-old Weemer acted in self-defense.
[...]
"I grabbed a gun and took him to the back of the house," Weemer, 26, said on the tape. "I shot him twice in the chest."

Weemer said he argued with his squad leader, former Sgt. Jose Luis Nazario, before complying with the order to kill the man, who was taken prisoner when Marines stormed a house on the first day of the assault on Fallujah.

"I definitely wasn't the type to disobey an order," he said.

So he was acting in self defe ... wait, what!? He admitted to murdering his unarmed prisoner and was acquitted!? And where have I heard the 'just following orders line before?

General Ray Odierno: we may miss Iraq deadline to halt al-Qaeda terror

The activities of al-Qaeda in two of Iraq’s most troubled cities could keep US combat troops engaged beyond the June 30 deadline for their withdrawal, the top US commander in the country has warned.
[...]
General Odierno, 54, said that he was also concerned about the risk of renewed conflict between Arabs and Kurds in northern Iraq, where tensions are rising over the ownership of territory. He also cited the “very dangerous” threat posed by Iranian-funded militants, who appear to be styling themselves on Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Well if it's al-Qaeda, the Kurds and Iranian funder mili ... wait, what!? This is just SSDD, Obama should fire this guy and find someone who understands the chain of command. The Iraqis want us out, America wants us out and Gen. Odierno needs to fade away.

Obama won’t receive ASU honorary degree

ASU will not award President Barack Obama an honorary degree when he speaks at the commencement ceremony on May 13.

University spokeswoman Sharon Keeler said Tuesday that the University awards honorary degrees to recognize individuals for their work and accomplishments spanning their lifetime.

“Because President Obama’s body of work is yet to come, it’s inappropriate to recognize him at this time,” Keeler said.

Well then, I guess that's OK, I mean it's not like Obama ha ... wait, what!? He's President of the United States! He's the 1st Black President of the US!

Wow, ASU must have some pretty high standards ... NOT!

But maybe I'm being too harsh, so let's look at some previous ASU Honorary Degree recipients:
Barry Goldwater 1961 (In 1961 AuH2O was at the time a 1 1/2 term Senator)
Hugh Downs 1974 (Hugh freakin Downs!?)
Kim Campbell 2005 (1st woman Prime Minister of Canada)
Blake Edwards 2005 (He's a good film director, but give me a break!)

I understand that honorary degrees are worth as much as the paper they're printed on, but jeez louise, WTF is wrong with AZ!



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

Stuck On The TV With You

Soon, oh soon the light

No particular reason, just lovely music.



The sun will lead us, our reason to be here.

And empty clothes that drape and fall on empty chairs

Last night a young life was lost senselessly when Los Angeles Angel rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart, along with two others in the car he was inside, were struck and killed by a drunk driver. As often seems to be the case, the drunk driver was a repeat offender driving on a suspended license.
This isn't a sports blog, but I know Pam is also a big Angels fan, so I just wanted to put up a mention of Nick's needless passing as a reminder of how precious, and sometimes fleeting, life is.
As Nick's teammate, Torii Hunter, noted, "A lot of these guys in here have never lost anybody in their family that's close to them. I hate that this happened, but this is part of life. This is the real deal. That's why you've got to kiss your kids, kiss your family every day when you get up in the morning and before you leave for work."
Just hours before he had pitched six scoreless innings. In a prepared statement, Nick's parents said "He lived his dream."
A small but steady stream of somber fans came to the stadium Thursday to add flowers to a makeshift memorial on the pitcher's mound on the brick "infield" outside the stadium entrance.
A poster among the bouquets read, "No. 34, You are one more Angel in heaven." Scribbled on a baseball was, "Now you play for another Angels team."

Houses of the Holy & The Lizard King

Obama administration 'anti-religious,' Gingrich says

Newt Gingrich said Tuesday the Obama administration is "intensely secular" and "anti-religious," the former House Speaker's second hard-hitting criticism of the new administration this week.

In an interview with FOX News, Gingrich said he strongly disagreed with Obama's choice of Harry Knox — an outspoken activist for gay rights — to the White House advisory council on faith-based initiatives.

"I think their goal is to have a very secular America in which government dominates everything," he said. "Why wouldn't you put an anti-religious, left-wing zealot on a faith-based group? It's a perfect pattern for this administration."

Since 2005, Knox has served as the director of the Human Rights Campaign, a national organization that advocates on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. He is also a former Methodist pastor.

Oh, where to start?

How about here, The i of Newt had to pay a $300,000 fine for ethics violations while he was in Congress.

Or here: He's been married 3 times, d-i-v-o-r-c-e-d his first wife when she was recovering from cancer surgery, and admitted he was cheating on his second wife with his 3rd. Which he was forced to admit while he was leading the charge to impeach Clinton.
Family values indeed.

Politically, his OWN PARTY kicked him out because his contract on America was nuthin' but FAIL!

OK, enough history, just because the messenger is a lying hypocrite doesn't mean that I won't also discuss the factual inaccuracies in his statements.

IRT to Newt's faux outrage, (2012 posturing anyone?), the former pastor that Newt is complaining about is only one of 25 people on the White House advisory council on faith-based initiatives. Golly, I guess no LBGT people are religious!

And the whole 'anti-religious' meme? Jesus, save me from your followers!
Newt used to be a Baptist, which means he was washed in the blood of the lamb, this year he became a Catholic, which means he drinks the blood of Christ and eats Christ's body. (I'd call for an 'amen', but I'm still getting over going ewwww!)

The wrongwingers just can't decide on whether President Obama is a Muslim, a Jew (1st Seder in the WH, doncha know), a radical Christian, a communist, or just anti-religion .... 'cause none of the poo they fling is sticking.

Maybe Darwin was wrong, the Republicans these days seem to be descending to apes.

Welcome to the sideshow Newt, you're in good company with Palin, Sanford & Jindal.

Ohh, and someone please pass the popcorn, this circus is gonna be good. Especially when the elephant parade comes into the ring.



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

Body of Law

Bill Lets Moms-To-Be Kill To Save Baby
Measure Would Authorize Deadly Force If Unborn Child's Life At Risk

OKLAHOMA CITY -- A bill in the Oklahoma Legislature would allow pregnant women to use deadly force in order to save the lives of their babies.

The bill stems from a Michigan case where a woman who was carrying quadruplets stabbed and killed her boyfriend after he hit her in the stomach. The woman lost the babies and was convicted of manslaughter.

Sounds like, no pun intended, a miscarriage of justice. But to me the article just seemed a bit odd, and why would Oklahoma care about a case in Michigan?

The OK lawmakers make a new law about something that happened in Michigan in 1999 while "Oklahoma has also had a law covering the murder of unborn babies since 2005"? So I decided to do a bit of research.

And surprisingly, it turns out not to be true! The Michigan court and the appellate court both found that:

Months before trial, defendant moved for permission to present testimony and to argue that she killed Pena in defense of her unborn children. The trial court concluded that one could assert the defense of others theory if claiming that deadly force had to be used to protect a fetus or embryo.

The court signed an order stating that “Defendant’s Motion to Allow Defense of Defendant’s Unborn Child as a Theory of Defense is hereby granted.”

And the appellate found that

We conclude that in this state, the defense should also extend to the protection of a fetus, viable or nonviable, from an assault against the mother, and we base this conclusion primarily onthe fetal protection act adopted by the Legislature in 1998. See MCL 750.90a et seq.

But lets take a closer look at the Oklahoman's law:

The group Americans United for Life came to state lawmakers and asked for the bill that Thompson co-authored. It's called the Use of Force For the Protection of the Unborn Act.

"You have the right to use lethal force, if needed, to protect your unborn baby," he said.

Oklahoma already has a law allowing a person to use force to protect himself or another person from someone else. The new bill includes an unborn child as "another" person.
[...]
"It is good to see legislators educating themselves on this issue," [YWCA's Josh Beasley] said. "Domestic violence is the second-leading cause of death among (pregnant) women nationwide, so it's good they are taking the issue seriously and wanting to do something about it."

But that's a lie. "CDC homicide data indicate that from 1995 through 1999, homicide was the second leading cause of death for women aged 15 to 24, after accidents." And more from the same GAO report:

There is no current national estimate of the prevalence of violence against pregnant women. Estimates that are currently available cannot be generalized or projected to all pregnant women. CDC’s PRAMS develops statewide estimates of the prevalence of violence for women whose pregnancies resulted in live births; 1998 estimates for 15 participating states ranged from 2.4 percent to 6.6 percent. Research on whether women are at increased risk for violence during pregnancy is inconclusive.

However, CDC reported that study findings suggest that, for most abused women, physical violence does not seem to be initiated or to increase during pregnancy.

This is obviously a backdoor approach to declare a fetus a child and overturn a woman's right to choose.



Cross posted at VidiotSpeak

Vot's Der Freakwency, Limbaugh?

In the church of the poisoned mind

Barney Frank has long been a favorite whipping boy of the Radical Right. Although not telegenic and prone to brusqueness, he still is a smart guy, with facts, details, and policies that are very progressive.

He spoke at Harvard Kennedy School forum Monday night, and was ambushed by a right-wing Fox plant student who asked a dishonest question. Here's the exchange:



Student's name is reportedly Joel Pollak. We're pretty sure it's the Joel Pollak who writes this pro-Israel anti-everyone else blog:

Speaking of violence, it’s worth recalling what Israel did in Gaza in response to sporadic Hamas rockets. It killed upward of 1,300 people, many of them women and children; caused damage estimated at $1.9 billion; and destroyed thousands of Gaza homes. It continues a radicalizing blockade on 1.5 million people squeezed into a narrow strip of land.

At this vast human, material and moral price, Israel achieved almost nothing beyond damage to its image throughout the world. Israel has the right to hit back when attacked, but any response should be proportional and governed by sober political calculation. The Gaza war was a travesty; I have never previously felt so shamed by Israel’s actions.

"Sporadic" rockets? Try thousands of rockets and mortars over a sustained 7-year period. 1,300 people? Women and children? Estimated by whom? Blockade? I have never previously felt so shamed by America's "newspaper of record," not since Bob Herbert's bogus claims of racism and phallic imagery in last year's American presidential campaign. Cohen's swallowed the propaganda and regurgitates it for all to see.

Ok then. And last year he posted this at the NextRight:

Compare JohnMcCain.com to TeamSarah.org. On JohnMcCain, you can find a lot of great information and get ads and e-mails but you can't design too much of your own content or connect to other users. In contrast, TeamSarah operates like Facebook. You can create your own page and find friends and all of that. No wonder it has tens of thousands of members already.

The danger of using a networking approach is that you get just about anybody on your site. So Obama has antisemites and 9/11 Troofers and all sorts of offensive people on his presidential campaign page. If the media cared to vet him at all, this would be a huge scandal. But with good editing (and Obama has cared as much about editing as he has about credit card fraud) you can keep the crazies out.

And this re: Mr. Pollak:

Another Harvard student promptly defenestrated two of Pollak's claims, in a letter to the Post. "Mr. Pollak claimed that the maps in 'Al-Kitaab' do not include Israel. There are three maps in the book: On Page 13, Israel is represented without the West Bank and Gaza. On Page 389, two historical maps (from the Ottoman era to World War I) predate Israel's existence."

And more about Mr. Pollak, who seems to be earning a reputation as a movement conservative beacon:

Other interesting reactions to Joel Pollak's zany oped in the Washington Post are surfacing. Many refute his characterization of a standard Arabic textbook, Al-Kitaab, as propagandistic. Far from being based on facts, his piece exposed the currency of anti-Arab bias. Even esteemed outlets like the Post drop the evidentiary standards for gobbly-gook such as Pollak's.

Pollak, a research assistant for prolific torture advocate Alan Dershowitz, was recently called a "precocious neo-con" by Phillip Weiss. The journalist dismissed Pollak's analysis as "condescending" out-dated Orientalism.

The Atlantic's Matthew Yglesias hit back at Pollak with a sharp, satirical riff applauding his courage to "speak truth to weakness and stand up for the view that as narrow a range of opinions as possible should be expressed in America." [The comments section of his blog are quite illuminating as well -- one commenter used the book at the US Military's Defense Language Institute.]

Seriously, just do the obvious Google search and you have plenty of material to document the earnest yet narrow view of reality that Pollak endorses. For him to take on Barney Frank with an empty quiver of knowledge shows, once again, the vapidity of the Right.

Dude, I hope your 15 minutes were totally awesome. Because now you're going to have to find a gig at the New Republic. Or Pajamas Media. And I hope you don't think you're entitled to unemployment, because that's only for Lefties. Democrats. Liberals. Remember, your side opposes benefit extension? Better not be asking the government to help.

Bastard.

I am Mr. Ed

I was initially skeptical, thought perhaps it was FAIL, but I'm growing to like Ed Schultz on MSNBC:



Ed Schultz FTW.

'Cause I can play this here guitar, Pt. 27

Once I discovered electric guitar, I would watch anyone play, anytime. My family was very much into the pop music of the times, and sadly that didn't include a lot of guitar. Except for 2 TV shows: Town Hall Party, and Lawrence Welk. The '50s and early '60s may have been Golden Ages of Rock, but not according to media of the time.

We'll talk more about Town Hall Party later, but this is about Lawrence Welk and his guitarists: Buddy Merrill & Neil LeVang. While working within the confines of Welk's limited musical palette, they played some bad-ass guitar.

Here's Buddy:



Here's Neil:



Here are both of them together shredding the Green Hornet theme:



And here they both are playing a duet of the previous "San Antonio Rose":