By orders of the commenters.
Congrats to frequent commenter ZMULLS, who won a song-writing award.
by John Cole| 55 Comments
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By orders of the commenters.
Congrats to frequent commenter ZMULLS, who won a song-writing award.
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[…] to frequent commenter ZMULLS, who won a song-writingaward. […]
Dug Jay
Several have stated that they have never seen a race like the current one with Obama and Clinton fighting hard for the win. This excerpt from Wikipedia highlights a remarkably similar battle fought back in 1976 between Ford and Reagan for the Republican nomination:
Just Some Fuckhead
And how did that end, Dug Jay?
Brachiator
Like this (Republican Party Nomination):
Hmmm. Reagan tried some shennagans in an attempt to wrest the nomination from Ford and was slapped down.
There is also this from the 1980 campaign:
(Sigh). Good times…
Krista
Glad to see we’re keeping you in line. ;)
I’ve never understood blogs that don’t allow for comments. It just seems…weird. You’re spouting your opinions, you know that people are reading them, via your page hits, but the people reading them are utterly silent. No feedback. No questions. No agreeing or disagreeing. I guess I just don’t see the point.
Brachiator
And here’s something a little different. This is from Editor and Publisher. I couldn’t get the link to behave, but the story itself is sad and timely.
Calouste
So the Surge is working so well that “Baghdad’s military command has extended a round-the clock curfew in the city for an indefinite period. ” according to the BBC
So after 5 years of Dubya’s occupation, ordinary Iraqis can’t even go on the streets of their capital. And you wonder why they are pissed off?
ThatLeftTurnInABQ
Ford lost.
It is hard to determine how much of that was due to Reagan’s challenge.
Ford was already carrying the stigma of having pardoned Richard Nixon, which counted for far more in the general election than it did in the GOP primaries.
The economy was already in the outhouse, courtesy of debt problems and the OPEC oil embargo.
Also, Ford made a notable gaffe during one of the debates with Carter when he fumbled a question about the Yalta agreement in a way that implied Poland wasn’t located in Eastern Europe. The press flayed him over it, in part because if played into a pre-existing stereotype that Ford was a dimbulb.
1976 was a year when even a mediocre Democrat was probably going to win.
jake
How do we order a cat blog?
The Grand Panjandrum
Thanks to the telecoms and all the patriotism we can afford.
So patriotism is as deep as the taxpayer pockets?
Dennis - SGMM
Think about it:
Out of food and/or water? Too bad.
Sick? Too bad.
Sick child? Too bad.
Go to worship? Too bad.
Need meds to control your diabetes? Too bad.
School? Too bad.
Work? Too bad.
Giving birth? Too bad.
They have, at long last, hit upon a strategy to make every last person in Baghdad hate America. Bravo!
Dennis - SGMM
From the Gorilla’s Guides website so take with however many grains of salt you need to.
Translated from the Sadrist nahraine site:
w vincentz
Iraq. Wow!
It will be over soon.
zmulls
Open Thread?
As a semi-regular commenter, can I mention that I just won First Prize in the Rock/Alt category 2007 Great American Song Contest? Winner were announced yesterday.
My lyric “I’m Not Your Friend”, composed by Kazakhstan (no, really!) composer Eduard Glumov beat out thousands of other entries.
(That’s an OK use of an open thread, I hope *g*)
Dennis - SGMM
Petraeus was supposed to report to Congress in March or early April. Wonder how he’ll spin it this time. My guess is that Bush will state that the surge is working so well that Petraeus can’t get over here to report as scheduled.
myiq2xu
Maybe they should rename it “Operation Market-Garden.”
That was such a success we nearly lost the war.
Brachiator
The ungrateful wretches. Don’t they know that Bush is bringing democracy to them? Now, new and improved, without infrastructure.
Just Some Fuckhead
Think about it:
Out of food and/or water? Too bad.
Sick? Too bad.
Sick child? Too bad.
Go to worship? Too bad.
Need meds to control your diabetes? Too bad.
School? Too bad.
Work? Too bad.
Giving birth? Too bad.
At this point, Saddam Hussein is looking like a god-king from whom all wonderful things flowed. You’d think the right-wing authoritarians that created this mess would realize at this point that only a tyrannical strongman is going to be able to hold that country together, and takes steps to get that dude in power.
scrutinizer
Eh? First time I’ve ever heard that Monty’s not so brilliant plan put us in danger of losing the war. I thought that it just meant that Monty had to STFU for a while. And pretty much spelled the end of large-scale Airborne operations for, like, forever.
w vincentz
Dennis,
Didn’t Cheney set up Maliki’s offensive a couple of weeks ago to preevent Sadr from winning big in Oct?
Looks like Maliki is holed up right now. Many cities have erupted. Oh, and lest I forget to mention, did anyone notice how current events in Iraq are absent from MSM reporting today?
jake
What happens if a government orders a curfew and all of the citizens say “Fuck you?”
We may soon find out.
As an added bonus, here’s the weather forecast. Good luck appealing for calm and cooperation.
myiq2xu
Losing the war was an exaggeration, but it comes from a quote by one of the senior British officers.
The end of the war was a foregone conclusion, because the Soviets would have beaten the Germans eventually even if we had not invaded France.
We didn’t want to let them control all of Europe though, so we attacked from the West.
ACK
That march to war, starting with Cheney’s speech in August of 2002, and continuing all the way to March of 2003 will be forever seared into my memory. It was almost like a sense of dissociation watching the whole thing unfold — the country had gone insane yet very few were seeing it.
And then how can you ever forget stuff like “better to fight them in Baghdad than in Boise” and “freedom is on the march.”
Wilfred
This has to help the old ‘hearts and minds’ effort:
You got that? In order to ‘pursue the truth seeking process’ a c#nt accused of murdering two children goes free. “Pursue the truth seeking process” – Orwell would be proud – America should be, too.
Dennis - SGMM
There’s been some speculation about that. The fact that Bushco is denying any foreknowledge of the attack on Basra pretty much proves that they signed off on it in advance.
Yes, those 100° temps are conducive to staying indoors 24/7. Most Baghdad residents are dependent on generators to furnish their electricity. No fuel for the generator – no electric. They are also reliant on propane for cooking. Running out of propane won’t be such a big deal though because their food will have already spoiled due to the lack of refrigeration.
The US military has ordered up a humanitarian disaster.
scrutinizer
That’s creepy, that is.
Svensker
Yes. Very much an “I Have No Mouth But I Must Scream” kind of feeling. Horrible. And now look where the poor s.o.b.’s in Iraq are.
Dennis - SGMM
Congrats, ZMULLS! And, thanks for giving us something to be pleased about. It’s a refreshing change from being buffeted by outrage.
w vincentz
Looks like Sadr will win, Maliki out. US forces can’t be everywhere all the time. The US forces will be in withdrawl.
Since there is NO way for a US “victory” at this point, Iraq will no longer be a topic for McSame to base his campaign on, other than to explain why we lost. So what’s he going to make the focus of his campaign…his understanding of economics maybe? Sympathy vote for a Viet POW? If he “bomb, bomb, bombs Iran” as well as he did the North Vietnamese, this country is DOOMED!!
Dennis - SGMM
Military people in Iraq admitted that their forces were already too thinly stretched to handle security in the southern part of the country.
See my post on MSR Tampa (If you haven’t already) to understand the possible repercussions of the al-Maliki regime’s attack on the Sadrists in Basra.
Brachiator
Here is a piece of another Editor and Publisher article on looking back at 5 years of the war in Iraq. Again, linking is problematic, so apologies.
Note the bit about how some journalists were almost giddy over the idea of US troops administering a little butt-kicking in Iraq.
What amazes me is the numb acceptance on the part of many Americans that the war must continue, without point or purpose.
ACK
Exactly.
Wilfred
Why does it amaze you?
zmulls
Thanks everyone….and thanks to John for giving me the unasked-for attention on the front of the thread. Makes me blush!
w vincentz
Dennis,
Thanks for the info about MSR Tampa. You’re right.
Today’s events are the biggest fucking news about what’s happening Iraq, and the only story I’ve seen on MSNBC is about the curfew.
Shame on the American “journalists” for keeping the populace ignorant on the unfolding Iraq debacle.
Dennis - SGMM
What amazes me is that I keep hearing various assholes insist that more troops must die in vain so that the ones who were already killed didn’t die in vain.
That same line of shit was going around when I was in Vietnam. More than fifty thousand Americans died, hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese died, and the outcome was the same as if we’d never been there. We could have left at any time, but the “Not died in vain” crowd and the “Peace with honor” crowd kept us in long after it became clear that the Vietnamese were going to write their history their way whether we liked it or not.
zmulls
Oh, and let me make sure I fully credit my collaborator, composer Eduard Glumov who lives in Kazakhstan — isn’t the Internet a wonderful thing?
w vincentz
Congrats Zmulls.
scrutinizer
Well, if we stop the war then we lose, and we don’t lose wars. We declare peace (Viet Nam), we say we won when we actually accomplish none of our stated war aims (War of 1812), or we say we aren’t going to be cowed by terrorists, then quietly redeploy out of the theatre (MNF in Beirut). But we do not lose. Nossir. Cause we are Merkins, and Merkins are winners. And we don’t want to fight those towelheads over here, cause if we leave, they’ll travel over the sea right behind up in those little speedboats they have, then set up an Ayatollah here.
maxbaer (not the original)
Congrats, Zmulls. But, my question, is the song directed toward John “my friends” McCain?
Brachiator
Because, sometimes Americans have a hard-headed common-sense that re-emerges even if they accept teh bullshit for a while.
But something happens when we are attacked. If the US is bombed, we go nuts, because the rule seems to be that no one is ever allowed to violate our territory (even though it is OK for us to bomb the crap out of whomever we choose).
And so the Administration keeps capitalizing on how they will keep us safe, and “how we will carry the war over there so we don’t have to fight them over here.”
And Americans who once found hope in the reminder that “the only thing to fear is fear itself” now embrace fear like it is a security blanket, and continue to allow our leaders to lull us into a fitful sleep with the a false lullabye of “war against terror.”
McCain promises
victorymore of the same. Senator Clinton (shades of Nixon) has a secret plan. Obama appears to be straight-talking, but some voters appear to be more concerned with the worst words of Obama’s former minister than they are with the prospect of more lives — American, Iraqi and others — being thrown away so that we can all … feel safe.t jasper parnell
Define many.
jake
Bravo and congrats zmulls! Is there a way to hear the song?
Brachiator
For starters, all those who voted for McCain.
jake
Duh. Never mind.
Face
It says “smoke”! What kind of weather forecast is that? too weird.
TenguPhule
Preferable to the one that says “It’s all on fire”
t jasper parnell
Well almost true
t jasper parnell
And:
Funny old world aint it? People believe what they want to believe.
t jasper parnell
Not that it matters but the war from the perspective of those fighting it. via The Poor Man
The Other Steve
Same thing happened with Lieberman in CT. The people who wanted out or Iraq now voted for Joe by wide margins.
The Other Steve
This is good stuff. We hardly ever get footage of the war on TV. It was quite different from the BBC when I was in Britain. They were showing footage of battles from that day.
Brachiator
Totally irrelevant to my point. I noted in another thread an NPR story about voters in Altoona, Pa. There were hardcore Republican voters who “hope” that McCain will end US involvement in Iraq despite anything that he says to the contrary. I find this to be delusional, but I do note it.
Unless it includes the perspective of Iraqi fighters, you’re right: it doesn’t matter. After all, it is only THEIR country.
Conservatively Liberal
Rooting around online and found this slideshow of Obama pics. Obama giving the high five to the toddler is cute.
Here is a link to a clip from the stop in Altoona, Pennsylvania. It is great that he is taking the time to hit the smaller towns. I can’t remember ever seeing a candidate cover ground like he has.
Conservatively Liberal
Hillary may be broke: Chicago Sun-Times
It would be interesting if it is true. It would mean that the race is over, and she is only blustering now in a last ditch attempt to raise more cash. If she is in debt as they say she is, IMO she may only want to stay in this to raise enough cash to pay it off instead of getting stuck with the tab. She is in to it for $5 million that her and Bill loaned her campaign. She may want to get that back…lol
Interesting.