By now you have all heard about the this administration’s nuclear secrets document dump (if you have not, check memeorandum). Suffice it to say, I agree with Michelle Malkin:
The NYTimes blabbermouths are accusing the Bush administration of being careless with national security data?
Ouch. Stop. Sides. Splitting.
I concur. There is no way in hell I am voting for the NY Times on Tuesday. They just can’t be trusted to keep this administration’s screw-ups secret.
Mike
Love your stuff John. I’ve got hard-headed Republican apologist friends of mine who make me vomit. I try to cure what ails them by sending them your way — to no avail, I’m afraid. I’ll state the obvious: This banter don’t mean shit unless we show up Tuesday and show these whackos the door (don’t abstain… that’s lame). For the love of god, please…
chopper
Since the Democrats don’t stand for anything
that’s a nice talking point you’ve got there. be a shame if something were to happen to it…
Cassidy
What? You don’t support gay marriage?
Cassidy
Likewise, Ted Haggard…will not get my vote this November.
What? You don’t support gay marriage?
chopper
i predict that bombadil will say “Jeebus, I hope that doesn’t mean you’re planning on voting for Malkin?”.
Cassidy
Comments are going screwy.
Randy
It’s too rich, isn’t it, the New York Times and their newfound love of national security. The thing is that by bringing up there were secrets on the site that shouldn’t have been put up there, they’ve signalled to the terrorists to go through that site that much more carefully. If they really cared about national security, instead of just pretending too, they would have kept quiet about the whole thing. What a bunch of phonies.
I’m not saying the NYT hates America or loves terrorists or anything of the sort, so don’t start in with the straw man arguments. I’m saying that they’ve let their hatred of Bush blind them to the realities of the world we live in.
ARROW
You can get information on how to make a nuke on the internet. Shocking!
BlogReeder
It’s a relief to know where to turn. So you’re saying that if it’s reported in the NY Times it’s authentic? If it’s reported on a right-wing blogger site it’s not? What the bigger issue for me is the fact that you think that you’re not biased somehow. I get the impression that even though you didn’t say it, if it were written on a left-wing blogger site it would be authentic too.
BlogReeder
Hey! Cut the guy some slack here. Two posters, following links, reading comments, it can get confusing.
Bombadil
Jeebus, I hope that doesn’t mean you’re planning on voting for Malkin?
chopper
well, that’s just great. i’m sure nobody managed to save any of that information before it was taken down, and there’s no way in hell it will manage to show up in the hands of bad people.
obviously, malkin is right. this massive oversight isn’t the issue here, it’s that the times reported it. we should all talk about that instead.
Pb
What happened? They were doing so well before the 2004 election!
jaime
Republican National Defense = Different PR
jaime
Republican National Choice = Changing your PR
Steve
Of course, the first reaction from people like Malkin is always to point the finger elsewhere. But you have to understand that the usual suspects are going to be even more hysterical than usual on this topic, because it was the right-wing blogosphere that was so hyped up to get these documents released in the first place. “Show us the documents! Let us reveal Saddam’s secrets with the power of the Internet!” Instapundit’s army of Davids was going to vindicate every right-wing claim that was ever made about Saddam and his WMDs.
Instapundit’s posts this morning, as I expected, are priceless:
They’re not all stupid on the Right, but they’re apparently trying their best to act like it today.
I love the cute little parenthetical, as if it’s a minor detail whether Saddam had a nuclear program in 1991 or in 2003. Either way, I guess, HE HAD A NUCLEAR PROGRAM!
This is a separate point, yet equally idiotic. The “documents” consist of thousands and thousands of separate documents generated by any number of different sources. Yes, apparently the atomic bomb plans were authentic. That hardly means that every document discovered anywhere in Iraq is authentic, much less that it means whatever right-wing bloggers claim that it means! For the love of God, the stupidity burns.
jcricket
Yes, remember, to the people that hate moral relativism more than anything, two wrongs definitely make a right.
If the other guys torture us really bad, then our “mild torture” is certainly justified.
If the NY Times was wrong to leak classified information regarding clearly illegal government programs because the government wants this information to stay hidden, then the NY Times is wrong to point out that there’s actual information the government is releasing that harms national security.
This is why the Halperin thing is so frustrating. As Republicans are fond of pointing out, there’s no appeasing Republicans. Oh wait, that’s not what they say? I’m confused.
My brain hurtz. How did you ever find yourself aligned with these people John? They fail remedial logic, like every time they open their mouths, and can’t be bothered with logical consistency for even a single campaign season (or maybe even a single week).
Rick Taylor
Hehehehehehhehee
*wipes brow*
Seriously, this is what disturbs me about so many conservative pundits; They have no integrity. It’s one thing if I don’t see eye to eye with a conservative about what’s important. But when they start abandoning the values they themselves have pushed for when it’s expedient to do so, it floors me. I was so disgusted when conservatives trashed John Kerry’s war record, and wore bandaids to make fun of the wounds he’d received in military service. It would have been disgusting for anyone to do, but these were the people who played so much lip service to supporting our troops, and trashing Democrats for not doing so. Evidently supporting the troops and respecting veterans is only operative when it’s politically expedient to do so. Even though I Idisagred with conservatives, I used to at least respect them for respecting conservative values like military service; not anymore.
Even though I disagreed with conservatives, I used to at least respect them for valuing fiscal responsibility. Only now they don’t. Big deficits don’t matter, all that matters is tax cuts. If you want a fiscal conservative, nine times out of ten you should vote for the Democrat.
Even though I disagreed with conservatives, I used to respect them for valuing dignified adult discourse. Only now prominent conservatives accuse a Parkinson’s sufferer of faking his disease, go on about how the widows of the 9/11 attacks enjoy their husbands death, and I read conservative blogs telling me go right ahead and vote for a pervert like John Webb if you want.
Even though I disagreed with conservatives, I used to at least respect them for being practical in matters of foreign policy, looking out for this countries interests. That was before we alienated the rest of the world and got ourselves into a nation building exercise sacrificing thousands of Americans in Iraq for no good reason I can fathom.
Even though I disagreed with conservatives, I used to at least respect them for limited governement. Now? After 9/11 George Bush should get to whatever he wants to do. And then of course there was the Terry Schaivo mess. Evidently calls for limitted government really were only a tool to hamper the opposition party and to slow the spread of civil rights.
You get the picture.
–Rick Taylor
Nikki
You’re missing the bigger story. The Times story proves that Saddam was 1 year away from making a nuclear bomb in 2002. And if the story doesn’t say that, it, at the very least, proves that Saddam had ties to Al-Qaeda. We know this because that’s the conclusions the righty bloggers who translated those docs came to.
At least that’s what Glenn Reynolds said.
matt
If you think the NY Times compromised national security by being careless with national security data, then I think it’s fair to mock their outrage over someone compromising national security by being careless with national security data. But how in the world does that lessen your outrage when someone else does it?
The answer, of course, is that people like Michelle are dishonest and selective in their outrage. It’s tired and lame and outrageous(!) heh.
Nikki
Oopsie! Steve beat me to it.
matt
More than anything though, it shows how completely unserious these people are about serious issues.
If she wrote a Gilmore Girl’s fan fic blog, things would be different. But if you set yourself up as a serious observer and commenter, then you have to have some kind of standard, and she doesn’t, and neither does most of the right-leaning blogosphere these days. It’s why they’ve become a joke.
I’m in a mood today.
chopper
i know, i love it. the times explicitly states that iraq had a weapons program before the first gulf war in 1991 and righty bloggers start screaming “SEE?! SADDAM *DID* HAVE A NUKE PROGRAM!!!!1!”
it’s priceless. let’s hope the sheer dumbassedness doesn’t rub off too much on the MSM tho.
SeesThroughIt
That is always the issue. Geez, don’t you get it? The problem is never Bush’s screw-ups, falsehoods, and incompetence; the problem is always the reporting of Bush’s screw-ups, falsehoods, and incompetence, for such reporting is treasonous, gives aid and comfort to enemies, yadda yadda yadda.
Bush is allowed to lie about and screw up whatever he wants, but, like a fart in church, these things must never be acknowledged.
RSA
Documentation that I myself have recently discovered online conclusively demonstrates that Japan was plotting to bomb the United States and that Germany was plotting to invade various nations in Europe. I am also keeping an eye on Sparta; stay tuned.
Perry Como
If the NY Times posts a power point slide, the terrorists will win.
I shit you not, this was a Malkin argument a few days ago.
jcricket
Oh we definitely need to keep an eye on Sparta. That documentary I just linked to proves how dangerous they are. If 300 of the bearded Spartans can do that much damage, just imagine what an army of Spartans invading our homeland would do.
I for one favor a Spartan Arrow Defense Shield.
Bender
You’re aware that the Bush Administration, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Frist, NASA, the EPA, and evangelical ministers aren’t on the ballot any more than Kerry and the New York Times are, right? It certainly hasn’t stopped you from twisting your panties every ten minutes during this election cycle about them!
Oh, that’s right. The double standard of the simpleminded snarker. I forgot.
The Other Steve
I was listening to a piece on Iraq this morning on NPR by two journalists who have been there numerous times since before the war.
What was interesting is they blamed much of it on the Iraqi government not doing anything. More interesting, they noted when pressed the government usually blamed the problems on somebody else.
Two peas in a pod.
Bender
Ooops. For the record, I thought Tim wrote this entry. I never would’ve knowingly called John “simpleminded.” The fact that he’s put enough brain cells in stasis to write like Tim is shocking, though.
Steve
Bender has potential, from where I sit.
SeesThroughIt
Well, if he’s named after the Futurama character, he’s already scoring points. But notable newcomer Randy brought “Peloshiites” to the table, so the bar has been set fairly high.
chopper
given that the current election is broadly speaking a referendum on the republican party, of which bush is the head, and a big issue in this election is incumbent representatives’ support of the white house’s policies (especially in iraq), i would have to disagree mostly with you.
kerry and the times are not a representative of the democratic party. bush, his cabinet and their policies are far more representative of the GOP, given that bush’s policies are de facto the policies of the GOP, especially given the GOP’s notorious monolithic support structure.
most incumbent goopers are feeling the sting of public rebuke over their support for and voting for the bush administration’s policies. the dems, however, are not likely to suffer for what kerry said, as he isn’t the head of the party or ultimately the arbiter of the democratic platform.
RSA
Puns relating potential to electricity to chairs are tempting, but I will resist. . . (oops).
chopper
yes, he’s simpleminded, while you can’t even bother to see who you’re responding to. bravo.
Tsulagi
How can you make such a baseless claim. You must prove that every single document is not authentic. You know, like proving Dems weren’t behind keeping Foley in the closet until election time.
You just know every document is legit. Super U.S. patriot Ahmad Chalabi made sure of that when Baghdad fell. From the very own Washington Times, second only to Fox News for truthiness…
Now there’s chain of custody for you.
DougJ
Bender’s pretty good. Possibly the best spoof we’ve had in a while.
Dave
Does anyone really give any serious credence to right-wing punditry anymore? They are completely incapable of introspection. Hell the fact that they still call themselves conservatives shows they don’t have a clue as to what the word means.
Pooh
Seconded.
Redleg
Bender,
You need to get out of your house more often so you can get a whiff of reality. Kerry did not have widespread Democratic support until his nomination in 2004. If you’ll recall, there were a number of Democratic candidates running against Kerry in the primaries. After the election, most Democrats kicked Kerry to the curb. So much for Democrats “walking lock-step” with Kerry.
As for the so-called “liberal media,” where were you this week when they savaged Kerry on all networks? How many networks actually played the portion of Kerry’s speech leading up to his flubbed joke?
Constrast that with the number of networks that permitted the deeply dishonest Swiftboat assholes to lie about Kerry’s war record? How many of them let the likes of Michelle Malkin and other scum state that Kerry’s wounds were self-inflicted?
Face it, your president is failing and your party is failing. Blaming the so-called liberal media isn’t good enough anymore. Time is ticking away for Republicans. The day of reckoning is approaching.
The Other Steve
Is there a right-wing punditry any more?
It seems to me they are all spoofs.
Dave
Maybe that’s it. It’s a big joke and I just missed the punch line.
I might have to write a GreaseMonkey script for Malkin’s site that turns all of her posts into “I like Pie!”
Pb
Or, for that matter, ‘Libertarians’ like Glenn Reynolds (‘Glibertarians’), or ‘Independents’ like Bill O’Reilly (‘Paid Shills’).
tBone
Meh. He hasn’t really broken out of the pack yet IMO. Although the “there’s nothing funnier than a clueless brownshirt!” line showed some potential.
Pb
Aw, he’s just trying to toot his own horn–face it, Bender, you’re not *that* funny.
The Disenfranchised Voter
Mmmmm I’m curious which does Michelle think is worse:
Letting the world know we have secret prisons somewhere is Europe or Letting the world know how to assemble an atom bomb?
Clearly these two are very comparable…
The Disenfranchised Voter
That was suppose to be a Hmmmmmm…
The Disenfranchised Voter
and is*
Damnit I should just stop trying to fix my typos.
The Disenfranchised Voter
lol! IN* Damnit In* not is.
DoubtingThomas
Face it Bender, we’re just not that into you!
Perry Como
Clearly it’s letting the world know how to assemble secret atomic prisons in Europe.
Pb
The real question for Malkin is, why are we outsourcing our prisons to Europe–and in secret–when we could just bring back the internment camps! That would create American jobs, too, instead of exporting them to Europe!
Jomar Reyes
“Don’t worry, the Democrat media will cover for their side as well as they can, with CNN already having openly wished the Kerry scandal would “go away tomorrow” and Matt Lauer having argued passionately on Kerry’s behalf with Andy Card.” – Bender
If you believe half of your media’s biased in favor of the Democrats, Bender, what will you do when George Soros, aided by his uber-liberal friends, buys up the other half to ensure terrorists’ dominance of mainstream American media?
I seriously advise blinding and deafening yourself by watching too many reruns of “The Defense of Marriage” at max volume.
Bender
I think it’s inappropriate to accept that “given,” if you aren’t willing to accept the inconvenience that it’s also a referendum on national Democrats like kerry (sic) and the New York Times (sicker). Last time I checked, there were two parties on a ballot.
Since the Democrats don’t stand for anything, I think that For The War Before I Was Against It and For Leaking National Security Secrets Before We Were Against It make perfect representatives. And there was that little thing about Kerry being the nominee who the Democrats all marched in lock step with in 2004. Monolithic support!
Don’t worry, the Democrat media will cover for their side as well as they can, with CNN already having openly wished the Kerry scandal would “go away tomorrow” and Matt Lauer having argued passionately on Kerry’s behalf with Andy Card. By the time election day rolls around, they’ll have published ballots that have two parties listed: “Bush-fellating Thugocrats” and “Concerned Americans for Improvement.” Fair and balanced!
We’ll see in a few days if, with the most slanted playing field in recent history, the Democrats can eek out a slight win. I can’t believe they lost last time, so it’s clear that they can still snatch this defeat at the death.
Kiss my shiny metal…
Pooh
Reality (along with polling methodology, cluster sampling, laws and the rule of law…I’m keeping a list…) has a well known liberal bias. As do playing fields in general. Do you notice that sweep left always gains more yards than sweep right? Show me a link that says they don’t!
Perry Como
I couldn’t believe when that partisan Leftist Dick Armey got on Hardball and said the Kerry flap was all feigned outrage. It was clear pandering to his terrorist loving Defeatocrat base.
Bender
And several black Democrat officials said that blacks were taken for granted by the Democrats and they should support Steele. So what? We should all agree with them?
HH
Likewise, Ted Haggard and Rush Limbaugh will not get my vote this November.
Pooh
How much does tea cost in China?
Pb
No, moron, we should analyze their claims, and make a determination as to whether or not they’re right about their premise and their conclusion, based on the facts. I did so at the time, and I concluded that they’re definitely mistaken in their conclusion, and possibly in their premise as well, although a lot of that is local politics.
Dave
Yeah and Kerry apologized 2 days ago.
Must…flog…dead…horse.
I guess while the right wing outrage/victim machine can take off in a heartbeat, it takes a few days to wind down.
craigie
Oh dear. And he was doing so well.
Richard 23
Hmmm, I thought it had something to do with binge drinking or surfacing too quickly after a deep water dive. But he is doing a heckuva job when he sticks to short comments.
craigie
Brilliant.
SeesThroughIt
There was an NFL game for the Nintendo 64 in which I always played as the Steelers (obviously) and managed to simplify the offensive playbook to two never-fail plays: sweep left and, if I wanted to pass, the deep post. The sweep left almost never resulted in fewer than 10 yards. Really.
Wickedpinto
By Now You have read, before begging for lefty commetors, that Saddam was ready to reinstate his nuclear program, requireing only open trade so he could get enough material to build a bomb?
Machinery is easy for construction, material is hard. Saddam was just waiting for the removal of the the UN allowed trade isolations.
But hey, MORONS focus on only ONE thing at a time, while the machine is destroying itself.
Pooh
Proof that John has always been a liberal. And we have always been at war with
EastasiaNew Englandjcricket
Fixed:
Of course they excelled on “National” Defense too. Only one play needed their (codename: terrorists win)
The Asshole Formerly Known as GOP4Me
Don’t hurt his feelings. You’ve got to encourage the spooflings to realize their full potential. Spoofing is hard work, and you can’t expect people to shoot off DougJ-quality stuff on their first couple forays.
Bender, you’re doing just fine. Keep it up. Don’t let these critics and detractors keep you down; it turns out that in addition to being moonbat traitors, they have no artistic understanding whatsoever.
tBone
Fixed.
EL
Along those lines, someone hit up Marilyn Musgrave in Colorado with this one :
Musgrave had declared in the past that the most important problem our nation faces was – of course – gay marriage. Surprisingly, she never did answer the question. It was on camera, so maybe the clip is on YouTube.
Newport 9
So, President Bush ordered that extremely sensitive information on nuclear weapons be published – in Arabic – on the World Wide Web.
Y’know, this alone would have been enough to get a Democratic president impeached. I’ll lay odds that most of the American public never even finds out it happened.