Saturday, December 29, 2007

C'Mon...Get Serious!

One interesting factoid about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan has been the reluctance of the military to focus on “body counts,” reflecting one of the lessons our military learned in Vietnam. CENTCOM does report enemy KIAs, as anyone who subscribes to CENTCOM press releases knows full well. But there have been no Vietnam-style weekly or monthly summaries of the numbers of al Qaeda, Taliban, and/or other enemy combatants who’ve bought that lil farm outside of Baghdad, Diyala, or Kandahar. As a matter of fact, it’s somewhat difficult to find the total numbers of terrorists presented with virgin chits by our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines. Unless you’re reading Terrorist Death Watch. From TDW’s “About This Site” section:

This is the Terrorist Death Watch. It will always show the total to date since January 1, 2006, and have the current month’s activity. Prior months may be found in the links in the sidebar.

For data and analysis of American losses in Iraq, please visit this page.

The site will be updated as additional information is found, including past months’ totals. The military has not been consistant (sic) with its press releases, resulting in small numbers in several months such as June 2006. No press releases were issued by MNF between June 15 and June 30, 2006. The editor of this site would suggest that dead terrorists are still dead even if they have not been counted in a press release.

While there may no strategic value in publicizing body counts, I submit the information is still “good to know.” Terrorist Death Watch provides a public service by keeping running totals of dead terrorists. I like the concept.

Oh. The reason I’m posting this? The US armed forces killed the 20,000th enemy combatant in Iraq on or about December 27th.

So…I read on memeorandum this morning that the NYT is hiring Bill Kristol as a regular columnist in 2008. And the Left-O-Sphere goes nuts. Randomly-selected examples of said nuttiness:

6 dadams Says:
looks like a massive subscription cancellation is needed here.
if they want to be a reichwing pundit pulp rag, then it’s time to show them what it costs.
i am canceling my subscription now.

28 jfr Says:
Can’t we flood the NYT with emails to cancel subscriptions if he is hired?

42 Stuart Shiffman Says:
I have e-mailed the times that my subscription will be canceled should he be hired. I will follow through on this promise.

48 Maddy Says:

Russ Mason UK @ 45:
Huffington Post has banned comments for this story, looks like it’s getting nasty.

It can’t get nasty enough, that walking twit, filled to the brim with shit is not qualified for anything without his daddy’s money, and I would venture to say that I could write a better column for the NYT than he could ever hope to, I am smart, intelligent, and filled with the wisdom of 66 years, but the dagger falls because I have no money or influence, just one of thousands who could do a better job than this incompetent chickenshit hawk sans balls.

collapse tecpatl
As per Chomsky, I try to read a wide variety of media, both progressive and conservative, but I simply will not be able to read the NYT after this recent hire. This man is pure evil. He and his Straussian buddies are killing this country.
| posted 08:22 pm on 12/28/2007

collapse Meah
I too cancelled the L.A.Times because of Lucy's little smarmy boy. Kristol with the NYTimes. So much for them in my book. Another one bites the dust. Pathetic. Go ahead, hire him. Those such as Kristol will be the undoing of the news business in this country. People are sick of the neocon puke machine. And people are sick of Kristol.
The internet and Olbermann for the truth.
| posted 08:27 pm on 12/28/2007

MarkC December 29th, 2007 at 7:36 am 23
Well, that’s like giving Idi Amin’s justice minister a social work job.
I don’t mind, as long as he is described thusly:

William Kristol is the the child of prominent Straussian Irving Kristol. Irving was a founding member of the empirically seditious Neo-Conservative Movement and fellow at the Bush-fellating American Enterprise Institute. WIlliam himself co-founded the Project for the New American Century, a group that laid the groundwork for the war crimes of George W. Bush and Richard Cheney, atrocities for which William served as the most prominent apologist and media cheerleader. His hollow laugh and shit-eating grin have long served to distract viewers from the copious amounts of blood dripping from his hands and seeping from his very pores. He is writing this opinion column because the very rich are increasingly afraid that they have overplayed their hand, and are worried that without elaborate misdirection, the downtrodden majority might begin to realize that their children’s futures have been sold to pay for William Kristol’s diamond tie pins.

Kinda makes ya feel sorry for the NYT, don’t it? First the conservatives cancel their subscriptions over the NYT’s outing and publicizing numerous classified government programs and tactics being used against our enemies. And then the Left gets their knickers in a twist and say they’ll cancel their subscriptions over the hiring of a columnist? Aside from the Left having their priorities completely and totally screwed-up, one just has to ask: Whatever happened to dialog and debate? Oops. Sorry, lost my head there for a moment. There is no debate when it comes to true-blue Lefties…they’re right correct, and you better believe it.

And as for the NYT? See also: “petard, hoisted by one’s own.”

Betcha thought I was never, ever gonna be serious again. C’mon…you did, didn’t you, Gentle Reader? Well, I fooled ya. My mojo returned sometime this morning, albeit in greatly diminished form. I’m still “not right,” but as noted elsewhere and earlier…t’is the season. Some of us get jolly, some of us go the Humbug route. I opt for humbug. And as also noted: this, too, shall pass.

And besides that…the entire freakin’ collection of inter-tubes is off for the holidays. Hadn’t you noticed?

Today’s Pic: Apropos of exactly nothing…YrHmblScrb striking a pose while wearing a gag gift at his retirement party (from EDS, not the USAF). Being as how I'm the type of person who’s never been all that shy about his political leanings, my coworkers thought I’d appreciate this tee shirt. Well, I did. Sorta. Keep in mind…this was 1999. And I never did hide my affection for Perot, who was my first post-USAF boss. In the same sense that the Chief of Staff was my last USAF boss...

And to compensate for the foregoing offense to your eyes... here's another pic from the same event, with two co-workers who are…ummm …much easier on the eyes. (Along with some other guy (Ethan), who is arguably better looking than I.) I miss these guys.

October 1, 1999.

11 comments:

  1. Love it...the NY "Slimes" hires a token neo-con and the loser left goes nuts....maybe if we are lucky all will drink the Kool-Aid and end their miseralble lives, once and for all.

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  2. Interesting that we count the dead enemy. Does that help our warriors or does it give them a false sense of comfort? Oh, and how can anyone be sure that the dead Iraqi was really a terrorist? Bombs and bullets are not that selective.
    Bill Kristol: Poor old NYT. Damned if they do, damned if they don't.
    I visit web sites and newspapers I do not agree with (even despise some of them) to see what they have to say. Daddy taught me to keep my friends close and my enemies even closer.
    "One cavil: "Mojo"? A superstitious article in your knapsack?
    And you're right. The gals are, um, better to gaze upon. Not that your not a fine figure of a man, but my taste runs to ladies.
    >)^..~(<

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  3. Woo-hoo, Buck's getting testy again! This is way better than a pulse check or a breath on the mirror. Your almost back up off the canvas!

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  4. I like it when you are serious. I hate it when I am serious - you do it so much better.

    Looks like a fun party, but Perot! I was a teacher during the TCAT episode. Perot pissed me off. 'scuse the language - now you will get all sorts of "piss" hitters on your sitemeter.

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  5. Maybe Krystal is a counter to Fox News. I don't know but think Perot would have made a difference in the direction this country is headed.

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  6. Catmoves sez: Interesting that we count the dead enemy. Does that help our warriors or does it give them a false sense of comfort? Oh, and how can anyone be sure that the dead Iraqi was really a terrorist? Bombs and bullets are not that selective.

    Yeah, Cat, it is interesting that we're counting dead terrorists. Bodies are one way to judge progress, I suppose. OTOH, I'm kinda-sorta in favor of Tamerlane's way of dealing with insurgents. A skull pyramid outside the Gates of Fallujah would certainly send a message to the insurgents. Alas, we're too civilized these days... ;-)

    I agree with your Daddy, btw. I read a number of Lefty sites on a daily basis. BEFORE I take my shower...

    re: My mojo...I was thinking along these lines.

    Lin sez: Your almost back up off the canvas!

    "Almost" is the operative word... ;-)

    Lou said: I was a teacher during the TCAT episode. Perot pissed me off.

    I googled TCAT and came up empty, Lou. What was TCAT, and why were you pissed? Perot was a different sort of guy...but he had great (and strong...believe me) values and lived them. He expected the same sort of conduct out of his employees, as well. The bottom line (IMHO): Perot was too principled to be a politician. Abe could be right...Perot would have changed this country... but I'm not entirely sure it would have been for the better.

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  7. Damn...bar shots! My kind of posting...thanks!

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  8. Perot decided that the teachers in Texas were illiterate and made them take an Grammar test along with a written essay - with the threat of losing your job or teaching certificate. Teachers were up in arms. Texas teachers, at that time, had lifetime teaching certificates. Millions of dollars were spent on the test which proved nothing - total waste of time and money and made lots of people mad. My mother resigned over it - she was a cosmopology teacher in a vocational school. But I remember my superintendent standing before the teachers in Mission, TX, saying, "We are not going to fire anyone over this test. Why you would just about have to fornicate on the post office steps before we fired you..." He was a great boss!

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  9. Lou said: Perot decided that the teachers in Texas were illiterate and made them take an Grammar test along with a written essay...

    Once again, out of curiosity, how could Perot make teachers, or any other public employee do anything? He wasn't ever in government, as far as I know, anyway. I understand that he made a lot of speeches in the way-back on the subject of education and more than likely funded a few PACs and political candidates who bought into or otherwise supported his education crusade. So, yes, he was a "prime mover." But wouldn't you be better off being pissed at the politicos who mandated the testing?

    We may be on opposite sides of the fence here, Lou. I think recurring teacher certification is a good idea. And I don't like the NEA... an organization that seems to be more dedicated to teacher preservation than education. Just sayin'.

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  10. Whether teachers should have lifetime certificates or not is debatable, but at the time (1984) Texas teachers held lifetime certificates. Thousands of teachers met the requirements to become teachers - they continue to meet requirements of inservice training on education and in their specialized teaching fields. There were already programs within the education system to monitor teachers and their ability to teach. Then some yahoo (Perot) says teachers are illiterate and need to take a literacy test - it did not go over well. Perot was the instigator of this requirement. I found this (http://www.famoustexans.com/rossperot.htm): In 1983, Governor Mark White asked for Perot’s assistance to improve the quality of public education in the state. His proposed reforms resulted in major legislative changes in Texas public schools. Meanwhile, Perot continued to established himself as someone who could bankroll Oliver North's off-the-shelf adventures. These involved more rescue attempts, many of which failed. They included the 1985 attempt that resulted in the murder of William Buckley, chief of the CIA station in Lebanon. Perot's money often ended up in the hands of foreign terrorists and drug dealers with nothing gained in return.


    I also found this article that mentioned his assistance to Governor White here http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,159704,00.html

    This article was not very flattering to Perot. There were things I liked about him - things he did well, but I did not think he would make a good President.

    I wish I could make the links work on this comment - good thing I don't have to have a certificate to blog, because I am not that computer literate.

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  11. Lou: My apologies. I just realized right this minute I hadn't replied to your update. Thanks for the links, they explain all the questions I had. And the links are none too "Perot-friendly," LOL! Like any controversial figure, Perot has legions of detractors as well as fans. I'm somewhere in the middle. Believe me, EDS was a wonderful place to work when he was in charge. The corporate culture went into a slow downhill slide once he left. So did EDS stock, for that matter.

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Just be polite... that's all I ask.