And the Band Played On
But in Qatar, there are no elections now, just a bunch of leaders of armed “freedom fighters” vying to rule post-Assad Syria. The administration is hoping to appoint men loyal to it. But the jihadis have learned a thing or two from Chicago. The operative question in the leadership conference — “Who sent you? We don’t want anybody who Obama sent”:
“Some are calling this the Robert Ford plan or an American plan,” said Radwan Ziadeh, an SNC member who is the executive director of the Syrian Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Washington. Ford is the U.S. ambassador to Syria who has been meeting with some opposition figures on the sidelines of the conference.
Ziadeh added: “This is just promises from the Americans that no one is believing. They don’t need Seif to come with a plan. This is unrealistic.”
…
For Mr. Obama, this is the day to do something to stop the killing inside Syria,” he said. “Because if the situation continues in this way, there will be extremism, fundamentalism and no stability in the area.”
What? No belief in the administration? Maybe they should send the New Black Panthers to “monitor” proceedings in Syria. It is doubtful they will last very long in a region where “nonviolence” doesn’t work too good. Perhaps Putin can help the administration out. He seems to know how things work:
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday said he was confident Syria would abide by its promises not to mount chemical weapons attacks on opposition fighters, RIA Novosti reported.
“I rule out the use by [Syrian President Bashar Assad's] regime of chemical weapons,” Lavrov said to reporters. “We have received appropriate assurances.”
Everyone but the Republican Party assumes the administration is a hollow shell. And they are treating it as a business opportunity to provide security, diplomacy, and services that Washington can no longer provide. They are moving into the vacuum they know exists while the GOP flees from ghost stories they have told.
The Ukraine may soon fall into the orbit of Russia again. Korea will supply weapons to Southeast Asia. Japan will turn to … well who knows … after they reject the doubletalk from Hillary. One wonders what will happen when Obamacare, stimuli, auto industry bailouts, windmills, and trillion-dollar student loans fail. What opportunities will there be?
“State-owned newspapers attacked the opposition; public workers such as teachers and nurses were required to attend rallies; events for the opposition were blocked and obstructed; state television “displayed a clear bias in favor of the ruling party.”
I thought the Post was describing our rigged election, not Ukraine’s.
America, “leading from behind” follows Ukraine.
Everybody needs conventional submarines. My guess is that the Israelis may steal a couple.
“And the band played on…”
Or, as George W. Bush quite artfully put it, “This sucker’s going down.”
Good summary, wretchard.
I think things are likely to come fast and hard.
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/11/09/companies-announce-layoffs-in-the-wake-of-obama-re-election/
The bell has rung, American business is going Galt. The regime will resort to seizures. The next step is gunfire.
World events will transpire, the cretins in the White House will hide.
Petraeus is resigning immediately under some pretext, at least unlike William Casey he isn’t faking a heart attack.
Iran/Israel continues to loom on the horizon, certainly including an oil spike to ludicrous levels in the best of cases, and I won’t even try for the worst of cases.
Have to expect American embassies around the world to be attacked like crazy, while Hillary praises the victims, the little people who did so well getting killed like that.
It is surreal, and may soon make a few machine gun enfilades look like child’s play.
” … state television “displayed a clear bias in favor of the ruling party.” Fortunately, there are other media channels and unrestricted Internet access in Ukraine, but their reach is limited.”
Don’t you love it?!! ”Their reach is limited.”
Of all the broadcast media in the US there is only one TV media that doesn’t toe the party line: Fox. There are probably radio media, pretty much all local talk programs as far as I know.
Of the print newspaper media, one media I can think of is the Washington Times that isn’t in the tank, a few others, but—as the man said—”their reach is limited”.
And that’s the problem, why we’re perhaps like Ukraine: off all the news media there’s perhaps a media here and a media there that’s not going along with Obama and his crowd and the message hardly penetrates; it just keeps going ’round and ’round amongst folks like us.
I hesitate to add (not wanting to hijack the thread) Petraeus just resigned, due to an alleged extra-marital indiscretion.
Can we question the timing?
Does anyone know anything about US Treasury Bond auctions? As my limited understanding goes, that is essentially where we get the money for all that “free stuff” that 60 million of my esteemed countrymen voted for. And that Tim Geithners nightmare vision is that auction day arrives, and no one shows up. I believe that has never happened before. So… you are an institutional/national bank investor, looking at shares in USA-Co, judging assets…. *ahem* DEBTS… company leadership and vision…. attitudes toward profitability and returns…. viability, talents, and ethics of the workforce….
Waddya think? Rock solid investment for your tens of billions? Can’t lose? Those Yanks got it goin’ AHN!!
So when are these auctions held? What if…. nobody shows up? Or the promised returns have to be so jacked up to hyperinflate the debt (in which case, we can’t pay it anyway, so…. we’re back to nobody shows up). What happens then? Do all the Western dominoes start to fall? Like, next month?
Anyone out there know more about this than I, who can chime in on the scenario?
Fox just reported that Gen. Petraeus WILL NOT be testifying Nov. 15 re Benghazi.
I’ve been wondering about drone intercept. As W points out, Iran figures it’s in their interest to provoke the Great Satan. A probing attack? Secondly, report is leaked from administration a week later. Leaked to provide an excuse for attack, or leaked to remind American public that Iran does not have our best interests at heart, just prior to a new “outreach” from Big 0? Personally, I’m leaning towards someone in DoD, or elsewhere in admin (CIA?), attempting to curtail 0′s freedom of action, not expand it.
Well, I guess Petraeus lasted longer than Porter Goss, 19th Director of Central Intelligence, in office September 24, 2004 – April 21, 2005.
Goss, a former CIA officer, saw himself as a CIA reformer. Guess that didn’t work. I wonder what the CIA had on him.
If Obama ever crosses the CIA, we’ll probably finally find out a lot about the president’s history . . . personal and otherwise.
Ah, and who can forget the egregious double standard for Wolfowitz at the World Bank?
“The Post writes disapprovingly of democracy in that country without a single note of irony.”
A stance that ought to meet with the approval of several BC commentators.
Now that Obama is safely reelected and the neocon advisors to Romney are humiliated, watch for Israel and Russia get more publically cozy. You heard it here and at Spengler’s blog first. I’m talking a major arms order by Moscow from Jerusalem that will have all the old Cold Warriors just shaking their heads at the cognitive dissonance of it. Wasn’t Moscow supposed to be the eternal enemy of the West and allied with Israel’s adversaries? How did things get so fuzzy that Russian radar technicians at Gabala might be turning a blind eye to Israeli overflights of Azerbaijan? That wasn’t supposed to happen but it could already be happening in an Obama 2nd term bizarro world.
On Petraeus, I believe including highly titillating details in his resignation letter was a smokescreen to forestall speculation for true resignation reasons. If it was really an affair, he’d be off to spend more time with his family or to become a lobbyist. He is also sending a signal to those who know truth, he considers Obama radioactive and will do anything to distance himself from coming doom.
The Chicago magic tricks have only began, David H. Petraeus infidelity (if true) is just the show, now he won’t sweat the truth of Benghazi in front of Congress, Hildabeast too is free, Eric Holder, he too has his get out of Jail free card, they all will all go down a rabbit hole(s), impossible in Washington to ever discover which one(s)! Yes, the RINO’s are falling over themselves to fall lock step in stride with the Demoncrat’s, Really did we not in the back of our minds believe it too good to really happen, Romney was just another in a long line of RINO’s, Don’t get me wrong, Romney was a Honest man, probably was one of the most Honest, Faithful and true men, probably being so is what really secured his defeat.
The system is broke, broke long before 0bama got elected, it’s just now the absolute enemy of our founding fathers has figured it out, they have stacked the deck, there is no more returning, not via the system!
The Petraeus resignation is interesting. My gut tells me (hopefully) the Benghazi affair angered him greatly and he wants to talk about it without being under the administration’s thumb. With any luck, this could be the briefest 2nd term in US history. Of course we end up with Biden but he is too stupid to be any real threat- noone is going to leave that imbecile alone with launch codes. He will wind up with an old Dell laptop that only plays Missile Strike to keep him busy while the adults deal with the real world.
The Petraeus thing is very strange. The first thought that flashed through my mind was “honeytrap”. However Patraeus is no idiot. I can not believe he would do something so stupid as to fall for a honeytrap. However the alternative theory that he could not stay zipped seems equally improbable. Maybe this was not sexual and something more devious was going on?
Well now…CEO in waiting of #2 US defense contractor (or is it #1?), resigning due to an “affair” (also made administration mad):
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2012/11/09/lockheed-martin-exec-who-followed-admin-lead-on-warn-act-resigns-due-to-affair/
There may be now be an urgent need to constitute a national political council separate and distinct from the Republican Party to provide a temporary but high visibility nucleus under which those who cross the lines can shelter. But if there were a National Council to Save Democracy to provide a modicum of support, then the GOP might be tempted to strike an alliance. Without that kind of organizational nucleus, the defectors are vulnerable alone.
Do you mean something like, oh, how do I describe this, a TEA party? Which, by the way, the Republican Party tried to strangle in its crib and is still trying to kill off.
KRB
@10. Aardvark
“If Obama ever crosses the CIA, we’ll probably finally find out a lot about the president’s history . . . personal and otherwise.”
Isn’t that exactly what Obama did regarding Benghazi? Or did the CIA *want* him to blame the spies for giving false info that it was about the video, so that with this cover the CIA could move their assets in time?
David Petraeus already has his next job lined up-President of Princeton University. He is due to take the job in January
Princeton will not care about his mea culpa about an affair
The timing of this mea culpa is very weird-who was the honey pot?
More importantly- which foreign spy agencies knew about it?
However the alternative theory that he could not stay zipped seems equally improbable. Maybe this was not sexual and something more devious was going on?
Not improbably at all. Many men in high positions have had affairs, even when they were otherwise admirable. The question is always one of who has the goods and the guts to threaten to spill them.
Harry Reid’s nuclear option, the UN Small Arms treaty, Petraeus, Lockheed Martin… it all has the smell of a Night of the Long Knives, or perhaps even a Putsch.
There is much more to Benghazi than we know now. I believe at least two 4 star level leaders were canned during the following few days, men that were most likely friends of Petraeus. I hope he becomes the MOAWB (Mother Of All Whistle Blowers). I think he owes the nation the truth in order to honor the Seals who died there, fellow warriors, and maybe he thinks so also. I thought I heard the affair happened years ago which probably means this is just an excuse to bail.
“Who should constitute this council?”
The only person I can think of that has the requisite stature, wisdom and independence is Newt Gingrich. Newt’s biggest problem has always been that honesty, integrity and transparency are perceived as dangerous negatives in the political environment.
Andrew X @ 7, re Treasury bond auctions: “What if…. nobody shows up?”
According to some of those who are knowledgeable about these things, it has largely been that way for months already. When no real buyer (you, or the Chinese) shows up, the Fed prints some more money and buys the bond. This is why some people fear hyper-inflation.
A different question for the experts — what is to stop the House of Representatives compelling private citizen Petraeus from appearing before a committee and answering questions about Benghazi & beyond? The Senate won’t, of course; it is controlled by a bunch of corrupt Democrats. But surely the House could act independently?
Obama and his handlers/followers had been saying this, but WE are the last ones to realize it.
“Accept The New Normal” !!!
Re: Petraeus
Reminds me of “Disengage! Disengage! Disengage!”, don’t know why.
When the article talked about the Robert Ford Plan, my first thought was Jesse James’ cousin who killed him, you know ,”the dirty little coward/ who shot poor Mr. Howard”. I thought it was referring to Obama shooting us in the back.
Good luck with Obama working with the GOP led House. His first speech was rehashed class envy. This sucker is going to go all hard left and push us into irreconcilable division in our country.
Classified information must stay classified until declassified; Petraeus is no more free to talk now than when he was CIA. While it is true that many powerful men have affairs, in Petraeus’ case it does seem improbable, and in any case the timing is outrageous. Anyone know anything about this Mike Morell?
Petraeus rose very quickly – as recently as 2004,5 he was a successful combat colonel in Iraq. And now departs even faster – my guess – no honeypot – he simply had an indiscretion in his past – who knows? – perhaps quite inconsequential and years ago — and he used that to get out of Dodge with a very low profile
he has, I think, a Masters in InterNtl Relations from Princeton – we’d love to have him back in the Garden State
Per Ace:
“The woman with whom Gen. David Petraeus was having an affair is Paula Broadwell, the author of a recent hagiographic book about him, All In: The Education of General David Petraeus.
Petraeus resigned as CIA director on Friday, citing the affair.”
Ace’s take on an interview that Broadwell [Freudianly appropriate name, if ever there was one] had on the Daily Show on January 25, for what it’s worth: “You know, if you watch that interview, she does actually sound like she’s having sex with him. It’s a very ‘we did this, we did that’ sort of thing. She sounds like she’s talking about her boyfriend.”
Link to Broadwell’s interview at the link: http://minx.cc/?post=334821
k @ 24: what is to stop the House of Representatives compelling private citizen Petraeus from appearing before a committee and answering questions about Benghazi & beyond?
“compel”, how, send their sergeant of arms to arrest a civilian?
IOW, he would just refuse, the legislative branch has no direct coercive powers, they depend on the administrative for that, and you know they won’t, nor will the senate convict.
anyhow as others have said he would still not be free to break security seals on anything, even if he wanted to.
–
Things seem to be ripping open at an incredible rate. Let’s see if we can get to Monday.
No Benghazi skeptic will be able to accept the circumstances and timing of Petraeus’ resignation.
Broadwell Daily Show video
General McCrystal’s downfall is mentioned, listen for it.
If it’s true that Petraeus preempted someone threatening to reveal an affair, we may yet expect to see him give some damning testimony before congress provided that he doesn’t die in an accident beforehand.
A “National Council” is an interesting idea. A Rebuilding Council-in-waiting.
The crisis is almost upon us. Sometime late next year or early 2014 the debt overhang will be enough to make the Fed’s job very difficult, even if they’re printing like mad. Especially if they’re printing like mad.
The question right now is what replaces the system, after the system fails? That is the project to which we must now turn our attention.
I found this over at Instapundit:
http://effyouitsmyblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/time-to-realize-what-you-voted-for.html
I’m digging for old Cold War maps showing where the down wind fall out areas are for my location.
Josh @ 30 re Petraeus testifying before the House: “… he would still not be free to break security seals on anything, even if he wanted to”
Fair point. But the House has oversight responsibilities over the CIA; presumably the House could have a committee sit in a Closed Door session to question Petraeus. Seems that if there was a will, a way could be found for him to testify.
On the “National Council” idea, anyone can grab a URL and set himself up as a National Council — and be quite properly ignored. The question is, who would have the credibility & respect to pull it off?
One candidate would be an association of State Governors. They are going to have to live shortly in a world where FedGov cannot send them any money. The States have a big interest in getting ahead of the curve on a failing FedGov.
We are a very large minority. We have just learned that it will take longer than four years to educate the opposition and at a higher cost than first appreciated.
Petraeus said that the CIA did not order a “stand down” on Benghazi, It was clear then that it had to be someone higher than the CIA. Though all flag officers are to some degree politicians, it seems there were things this particular flag officer could not abide.
I assume he was subsequently blackmailed into resignation, but by disclosing the nature of the blackmail threat he’s destroyed their potential Sword of Damocles. I hope he is subpoenaed to testify despite the fact he no longer leads the CIA. I hope he lays it all out. Does he really have anything else to lose? I doubt they can’t get at his military pension and if they demote him it won’t take in popular opinion and embarrass them even more.
I doubt the majority cares about an ambassador and a couple broken-down SEALs, but we will have added another straw to the populace’s consciousness and some day something will offend them a bit closer to what THEY value and THEY will suddenly remember.
I hope Petraeus stands tall about not ordering a stand down.
Kinuachdrach (#36) said “live shortly in a world where FedGov cannot send them any money” Why do think that? FedGov been out of money for a long time…. Just watch, Illinois, Mexifornia, New York, all the in “billion” dollar debt Blue State/Voting Block will get a check every soon from Uncle 0bama, Money has never been an issue for Uncle 0bama,unless it was for Military personal or the equipment to keep them alive.
(Responding to toadold at 35) Wretchard, this might be a good time to suggest a few strategies for surviving the coming apocalypse.
6. sirius
I’m a bit more skeptical. I see Petraeus needing an exit strategy where he can testify in congress without being the CIA director. That scheme would take a “bargain” with the lady in question (who would have to be trusted) and Petraeus’ wife, who knows there was no affair. Other subterfuge may apply.
Was there an affair or wasn’t there? What would the president do if Petraeus came to him with an affair story? Well, he’d have to have a very high profile response including the fact that HE KNEW of it thru the FBI, and that he was taking steps to act AHEAD of the scandal. All making him sound like he, AS PRESIDENT, was acting AHEAD of the scandal.
He and all his agencies are so screwed up and Gen Petraeus is such a smart cookie, well, “IT COULD HAPPEN!!” – Judy Tenuda.
God will not be mocked!
i sense that the CIA notion that they did not advise against a stand down may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back – a straw that was first leveled by the good General.
The General shall not be mocked!! HAHAHAHA!!!!
40. Sgian Dubh
I honestly don’t know what to make of it right now. Perhaps Petraeus was being blackmailed (or at least the attempt was being made?) and he wanted to get out from under it. At any rate, one thing seems clear: He wanted to be out from under the President’s thumb.
Yes, Petraeus is a smart cookie. Maybe he realized the sex angle is one that the supine mainstream media just couldn’t resist. Now finally, perhaps, Benghazi will get the coverage it has always deserved.
First, about the drone intercept.
Geraldo Rivera spoke authoritatively on that subject today, from the lofty position of someone who is neither a pilot nor an engineer. He said the drone was an easy target for “fighter jets” and obviously that the Iranians were sending a warning message. But in fact intercepting a very slow moving aircraft (90 kts) at high altitude with a jet designed for low altitude ground attack is not that easy a thing. I once nearly hit a weather balloon while flying a Cessna 150. By the time I got turned around and went back looking for it, I could not even find it – in clear weather at 3000 ft altitude a mile or so off Palos Verdes. Aside from that, I really doubt those Iranians get much stick time. Most interesting to me is that the Iranians are flying Frogfoot jets. Now where did they get those? They are made in the country of Georgia, and Iraq had some and may well been among the jets that defected to Iran during Desert Storm – but I doubt those would still be flying without some significant outside help..
As for Petrauas and his resignations relationship to Benghazi, this fits well in an interesting idea. Reportedly, some in the special ops community are saying that they have concluded that the Benghazi attack was part of an October Surprise. A mob enraged by the video was supposed to kidnap the Ambassador and then a thrilling episode would be played out when a team personally authorized by Commander Zero would snatch him out of the hands of the villains , possibly just after he was tied to a railroad track.
But the former Seals of the CIA contingent were not in on the little play, and despite being told to stand down, ran to the sound of the guns and proceeded to wipe out the supporting cast. Enraged, one of the co-stars brought in his heavy weapons platoon and blew the place away.
No wonder DC seemed operationally paralyzed for hours and investgationally inept for months – this all was not in the script. It was more like the end of Blazing Saddles when the Western spills over into the Busby Berekely number on an adjacent soundstage
How does the General play into this. Well, not only would he have refused to go along with the charade, but he was seen as something of a potential rival by the Obama Admin. They may well have set up a honey trap – or at least created the evidence of one – to keep him in line. Recall that one of the GOP’s brightest stars, Hermann Cain, was suddenly and mysteriously accused of multiple sexual indiscretions quite early in the primary process.
This may all sound like something from a Tom Clancy novel, but I can recall one day in the Pentagon we managed to put 2 and 2 together and get 22 based on a what seemed to be a reasonable analysis of what turned out to be a series of coincidences. That left us saying “This sounds like a Tom Clancy Novel!”
The real world may not be that much like Tom Clancy, but the screwups can be.
It was reported that the FBI was conducting an investigation of possible blackmail against Petraeus and discovered the affair.
Brought back thoughts the J.Edgar Hoover days.
Obamacare, stimuli, auto industry bailouts, windmills, and trillion-dollar student loans
Petraeus would be a great ally if not a willing blogger.
CharlesWhite @ 38: “money has never been an issue for Uncle 0bama”
True, so far. But the world is changing. This gets back to Andrew X @ 7. Soetero has gone past tax & spend, past borrow & spend, and is now on print & spend. Can’t go on indefinitely, won’t go on indefinitely.
Remember the other huge US deficit — the trade deficit. Having cleaned up the environment by closing down a lot of industries, the US now trades pieces of paper for everything from French airplanes & German cars to Chilean grapes & Australian beef. When the global producers decide they want something more reliable in exchange than Soetero’s paper, the shelves at Walmart will be empty. And Obumble’s staff will still be out there making sure no US factory starts up to fill them.
The day of reckoning approaches. No man knows the day or hour. But it is coming. And when it does, checks from FedGov to the States will be among the first to bounce.
21. JMH
Harry Reid’s nuclear option, the UN Small Arms treaty, Petraeus, Lockheed Martin… it all has the smell of a Night of the Long Knives, or perhaps even a Putsch.
Of course. But whom is the stabor and sho is the stabee?
I would not want someone of Petraeus’ background on the “outside” when TSHTF.
More reason for him, after he reports to Princeton, to …check six.
Don’t get “Brightbarted!”
Why shouldn’t the Iranians defend their airspace?
Ol’ Harry may have to scrap the 19 trillion increase and go for a full 25 trillion before Jan 2013 just to pay off enough “enquiring minds” to quit digging on Benghazi. Takes a lot of scratch to keep the fools in the “enemedia” off of a sex scandal.
Speaking of Petraus
One of these men orchestrated victory in the most all-encompassing war of all time (so far, of course, so far)
The other was beaten by a bunch of goat-herders.
You’d never guess which is which by the medals
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/GEN_David_H_Petraeus_-_Uniform_Class_A.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/EisenhowerChiefofStaffPortrait.jpg
@47
That was international airspace, I believe.
Only a jackleg or a poseur would not know the meaning of “international airspace.”
Has something to do with international law and basic acceptance of those norms. You can shoot down a violator of a country’s own airspace – you can’t shoot down someone in “everybody’s airspace”.
If Obama wasn’t the President, somebody in the administration would be looking for a “payback” as a “teaching moment.”
All races voted for BHO in the same numbers as Mexicans when screened to be in the same income range.
The Unmitigated Disaster Known As Project ORCA
What is Project Orca? Well, this is what they told us:
Project ORCA is a massive undertaking – the Republican Party’s newest, unprecedented and most technologically advanced plan to win the 2012 presidential election.
Pretty much everything in that sentence is false. The “massive undertaking” is true, however. It would take a lot of planning, training and coordination to be done successfully (oh, we’ll get to that in a second). This wasn’t really the GOP’s effort, it was Team Romney’s. And perhaps “unprecedented” would fit if we’re discussing failure.
The entire purpose of this project was to digitize the decades-old practice of strike lists. The old way was to sit with your paper and mark off people that have voted and every hour or so, someone from the campaign would come get your list and take it back to local headquarters. Then, they’d begin contacting people that hadn’t voted yet and encourage them to head to the polls. It’s worked for years.
From the very start there were warning signs. After signing up, you were invited to take part in nightly conference calls. The calls were more of the slick marketing speech type than helpful training sessions. There was a lot of “rah-rahs” and lofty talk about how this would change the ballgame.
Working primarily as a web developer, I had some serious questions. Things like “Has this been stress tested?”, “Is there redundancy in place?” and “What steps have been taken to combat a coordinated DDOS attack or the like?”, among others. These types of questions were brushed aside (truth be told, they never took one of my questions). They assured us that the system had been relentlessly tested and would be a tremendous success…
(3 million less voted for Mitt than McCain)
—
VDH tells of how most of the streetlights in his hometown don’t function because the copper wiring has been hijacked.
All Bronze plaques have been stripped, also.
And a White Guy running for office in Sanger, CA got multiple death threats and people’s windshields were smashed if they bore his stickers.
My little hometown used to play football w/Sanger.
Since Fracking has been outlawed, it will remain a Mexican Ghetto.
Deserter Rat’s Dreamworld of us Americanizing Mexicans.
—
Prager argues that those boys on the beaches are one reason it is immoral to Despair.
…not an easy task sometimes.
47. Bill Jones
“Why shouldn’t the Iranians defend their airspace?”
Perhaps they should.
Perhaps they also should stone women to death and hang 18 yr old gay lovers.
Perhaps young women should be shot to shreds for protesting against the “Government”
…perhaps.
Perhaps Bloomberg should outlaw food donations to starving folks:
In one of NYC’s darkest hours, with resources stretched thin in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is showing his priorities with a ban on food donations to homeless shelters. No, not because of food contamination, but because the city can’t properly assess salt, fat and fiber in donated food and thereby ensure starving people are getting the optimal levels of nutrition…
Bloomberg outlaws food donations
…Perhaps
—
addendum to VDH above:
He also describes the opulent lifestyles and “liberal” politics where he works in Palo Alto, just a few dozen miles to the West.
Perhaps the general thinks that ‘an affair’, will pale in comparisen to what he knows is coming.
The painting – “The Raft of the Medusa” by Géricault,depicts the events following the running aground of the French frigate Méduse off the African coast in 1816. The excellent book; ‘Wreck of the Medusa’,by Alexander McKee, tells the story of an incompetant captain appointed for political reasons taking a wellfound ship and, ignoring the warnings of experienced sailors, driving it hard aground on a well known sandbank fifty miles from the West African coast at the height of a spring tide.
Its an excellent read and a good primer for what we are probably going to see unfold in the next few years.
Incompetance in economics is relatively bloodless, in foreign affairs it can get very nasty very fast.
Perhaps the general is cutting his losses and backing out of an unfolding ambush.
49. Bill Jones
Eisenhower’s awards – United States
Army Distinguished Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters
Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit
Mexican Border Service Medal
World War I Victory Medal
American Defense Service Medal with foreign service clasp
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver and four bronze service stars
World War II Victory Medal
Army of Occupation Medal with “Germany” clasp
National Defense Service Medal with one star (2 awards)
International awards
Argentinian Great Cross of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin
Brazilian Grand Cross Order of Military Merit
Brazilian Grand Cross Order of Aeronautical Merit
Brazilian National Order of the Southern Cross
Brazil Campaign Medal
Brazilian War Medal
British Order of the Bath
British Order of Merit
British African Star with “1″ and “8″ numerical devices
Belgian Order of Leopold
Belgian Croix de Guerre
Chilean Chief Commander of the Order of Merit
Chinese Grand Cordon of the Order of Cloud and Banner (Yun Hui)
Czechoslovakian Order of the White Lion of the First Degree[21]
Czechoslovakian War Cross 1939-1945
Danish Order of the Elephant
Ecuadorian Star of Abdon Calderon
Egyptian Grand Cordon of the Order of Ismail (Nishan al-Ismail)
Ethiopian Order of Solomon[22]
French Médaille Militaire
French Legion of Honor
French Croix de Guerre[disambiguation needed]
French Order of the Liberation
French Liberation Medal
Greek Order of George I with Swords
Guatemalan Cross of Military Merit
Haitian Great Cross of the Order of Honor and Merit
Italian Grand Cross of the Italian Military Order
Japanese Grand Cordon of the Supreme Order of the Chrysanthemum[23]
Luxembourg War Cross
Luxembourg Order of Merit
Mexican Order of Military Merit
Mexican Aztec Eagle
Mexican Medal of Civic Merit
Moroccan Order of Ouissam Alaouite
Netherlands Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Lion
Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav
Panama Grand Cross of the Order of Vasco Núñez de Balboa
Panama Grand Master of the Order of Manuel Amador Guerrero
Russian Order of Victory
Russian Order of Suvorov
Polish Virtuti Militari
Polish Cross of Grunwald
Polish Order of Polonia Restituta[24] Chevalier
Thailand Most Illustrious Order of the Royal House of Chakri
Tunisian Grand Cordon of the Order of Glory (Nishan Iftikar)
Not sure if there is room for all of those on one shoulder.
If you might recall, Bill, 1950 was a very different time than today. When I served, I had 7 rows of medal/ribbons and I was proud of each and every one of them even though only the top 3 rows really had any “deep” significance.
However, there is a huge difference between my Commendation Medals and those displayed with a Combat V. I was proud of mine and I was even prouder of those of my brothers who flew, not just missions in a hostile fire zone, but those who engaged the enemy in air combat above Vietnam or in the rivers of Vietnam. I knew the difference and I gave that respect to those whose medals that dwarfed mine. Would civilians know the difference? No. But we did amongst our brothers and sisters and that is what counted.
Secondly, my father’s generation – the Greatest Generation – was much more humble than my own and it seems to have been the order of the day back then to regard yourself only as having served – to have only done one’s job.
That humble acknowledgement i regard as superior to my generation’s display of our awards, but there is a difference. In World War II, a hugely larger number of American served as a call to the emergence of tyranny.
Today of course, only “volunteers” serve, their numbers are much smaller, and their awards, in fact, greatly dwarf the incredible lack of service of their non-serving countrymen. Shamed by the lack of reverence to that service, the hoi polloi often find themselves belittling the service of their betters.
There are many ways to serve your country, of course, Wretchard supplying the most obvious, honorable and courageous of ways outside of military service.
If you served, Bill, you have my apology for my remarks perhaps insinuating that you did not. If so, you have the right to dismiss the service of others, your only obvious error having lost the possession of your soul in not regarding others’ service as worthy.
Things looks bad enough that right now I’m rooting for the Maya.
THE DARKNESS BEFORE THE DARK
Soft twilight drifts slowly obscuring our minds
Beclouding perceptions and vision
Deceiving us with an illusion that blinds
Our power to see with precision
We walk toward the sun setting low in the West
Not knowing the pathway is ending
Believing in those who say they know what’s best
And that is more taxing and spending
And getting elected with fraudulent votes
And watching the world go to Hades
While culture wars rage and the president dotes
On his Marxist advisory ladies
The twilight is gone and the dark night arrives
And with it the wolves and the terror
As through all the villages men with long knives
Erase all whose thinking’s in error
And midst all of this comes a flash in the night
A thousandfold suns in the distance
As darkness returns with the absence of light
It seems there will be no resistance
The country that once was the hope of the world
Was now in the hands of our betters
Who ordered our flags to be tight cased and furled
And responded to blows with sharp letters
And now at the end of our walk in the dark
Near the end of our noble endeavor
We sit on a bench in the once lovely park
Well knowing it’s all gone forever
55. Sgian Dubh
Appreciate your take on the differences from generation to generation of service. Gen. Petraeus from what I can gather is a soldier in any school.
But it does look odd for him to wear more medals than Audie Murphy, who in the pictures I’ve seen has three rows on his chest.
The most fascinating numbers I’ve seen are these;
3 1/2 million Americans served in RVN
Roughly half are still alive [ a lot of WW2 and Korean vets served in country}
Fifteen million Americans ‘Claim” to have served in Viet-Nam, it seems ‘They think themselves cursed they were not’ there.
Thats what I call poetic justice.
Some things are getting better:
LA has outlawed porn film making.
…unless the porn stars wear condoms.
—
57. walter adams:
Heard a guy at Longs Drugs talking about his scars he got from being shot down in a helicopter in Columbia.
…said his grandad got shot down in WWII.
That is how his wife rationalizes her fear of flying!
—
My beloved departed wife’s Dentist, Howard Shimokawa, lost a leg being shot down in ‘Nam.
I got to know him when our sons were Scouts.
Valerie Jarrett did promise payback for people that were less than wholehearted in support of AliBama and his band of thieves. Maybe Petraeus’ situation was what she meant.
Bill Jones…
That’s a PAINTING of Ike.
For obvious reasons, all of his ‘salad’ was omitted because it would’ve ruined the theme of the composition.
If you look at actual photos of Ike in his class A uniform — it’s loaded with salad.
———
Just bring your A game…
So far, you’re graded F.
60. blert…
Our Buddy, Bill Jones, was just excercising Artistic License.
Another take on General Petraeus.
Perhaps he did have the affair and the FBI did know about it but only told the Adminsitration. So when if first came up on the 13 of September, perhaps the President reminded the good General that it was known and that forced the CIA to conclude the Benghazi attack was a result of “a video.” Notwithstanding that the CIA station chief reported the attack was a result of terrorism.
Next the General refused to play along and later indicated a “truth” when he indicated that the CIA told no one to “Back off” over Benghazi. That was a shot across the bow to the Obama administration and perhaps let them believe that their “bought” CIA director was more honorable than their threats to coerce him. At that point they decided their gambit was no longer working and it became time to discredit the CIA Director. They then asked for his resignation before next week’s testimony.
Being clueless, the administration may have outrun their coverage and simply bungled another one.
Bill Jones,
Maybe you prefer someone like this.
http://www.ets.ru/e/pk000003.htm
#54 Walter Adams – re Gericault – The Medusa – Lord, I remember that painting and others by Gericault – a very “different” artist. We studied him in my French class – 1972/1973 – there was a museum exhibit in L.A. of his works. His background is fascinating – without researching, as I recall he had an affair with his stepmother – his buddies would bring him bodies and/or body parts so he could study the human body…. The Medusa is a very powerful painting.
Doug @ 58: “LA has outlawed porn film making.
…unless the porn stars wear condoms.”
Even the ladies? I’ll never understand California!
Four & out.
I find it curious that the FBI investigates the head of the CIA via a separate investigation in which his lady friend is the subject of the investigation – and the two agencies are such good friends… (ok, sarcasm on/off). But this has nothing to do with Benghazi. Petraeus is a strategist. The Obama administration moved him from CENTCOM to Afghanistan to the CIA and yet, he is the one who pushed the video and protest theory; and yet, he is the one who said no one in the CIA told anyone to stand down… He was scheduled to testify next week on Benghazi. AT least two other generals have been removed from command, and one whose AOR was Libya has resigned/taken early retirement as well. This has wheels within wheels within wheels.
The Republican Party should be replaced by a new Conservative Party. How about calling it the Conservative Party? The Petraeus resignation is odd. The roof will cave in on the Obama Administration so maybe Petraeus is just checking out early.
The debris from the Election is just starting to pile up. Russia is looking to increase its power. Client states of the U.S. are looking for new business partners. We’re in transition from one system state to another.
There’s not much point in fretting over yesterday gone. The point now is to survive the transition to the new (unknown) international system state. After the transition the point will be how to survive and compete in whatever new international system arrives.
Not much fun though, is it?
I hope that Wretchard will be able to explain the Petraeus business to us. Guys who play around outside of their marriages are not rare, and they don’t start doing it all of a sudden at the age of 60. If they do it at 60 they did at 50, and 40, and so on. The explanation is just as lame as it could possibly be.
The story about Petraeus seems to involve him sending some gmail messages, which is probably a firing offense if all he did is send himself a message “hello world”, you do NOT want the head of the CIA touching public networks, pretty much at all. If after that his account was hacked by his girlfriend – I just can’t imagine, did he use “password” as his password?
Even the facts of this matter should probably remain classified, which suggests vaguely that even more severe issues *may* be remaining classified.
Perhaps a national ad hoc council separate from the GOP should be formed to serve as a nucleus to focus opinion and articulate ideas, should more extraordinary events follow.
This is all whores’ chance to cash in on fear; don’t let a good crisis go to waste. The ‘rigged’ election story is obvious by now (although not untrue) in addition to the unending Middle East drama. It’s all a sad show, pointless and not too entertaining. Expect the President resigns soon, and that will be that. Then we can move on to important things like invaders from Mars.
America’s oldest Pacific allies are demonstrating a disturbing lack of confidence in the administration.
They should be disturbed. As American leaders have openly stated: Asians are the new Arabs.
“Pivot” means that the U.S. intends to divide them similarly — by arming all sides, shaming their culture, corrupting their leaders, and waging perpetual war for not accepting Popes, Bono, or Lady Gaga as their moral nucleus. Any sane person would lack confidence in allies who said that.
I’m just a little gobsmacked at how little Obama seems to think he needs to hide. He’s got a LOT of brass.
Just out of curiosity, what sort of odds do people here give the possibility of a hot civil war breaking out by the end of Obama’s term, particularly if congress doesn’t try to impeach? I’m not a fighter, but I know some (in a virtual way) who are and who are itching for leadership and a reason. And Obama seems oblivious to the anger he’s generating. This all strikes me as very tinderboxish.
To 66 Knight
Me think it’s call matryoshka doll (wheels within wheels within wheels.
)
And what was he doing in Egypt just before the election…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/31/cia-head-david-petraeus_n_2051419.html
SF
Given today’s news, I definitely know one thing: guys like Mike Rogers at House Intelligence and Darrell Issa at Oversight will now hoist the black flag and put “El Deguello” at the top of their iPod rotation list. They will be relentless and there will be no quarter.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsSBC02irr4&feature=related
Maybe I’m just growing old and my brain is rotting. I used to laugh at conspiracy theories. But damn–just imagine a supremely organized cabal that can go and dig up the dirt on anyone, and then hold it for the purposes of blackmail. Justice Roberts cast the deciding vote to uphold ObamaCare, but many legal scholars were perplexed by what seemed to be a last minute turn. How convenient.
Now we have the Petraeus incident, which seems to have such perfect and convenient timing as well.
And the HildaBeast will be stepping down as well?
Mr Bond, they have a saying in Chicago: ‘Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, the third time it’s enemy action.’”
The first thing that came to mind was Blomberg. Maybe a cigar is just a cigar in this case. The other possibility is that Obama is consolidating power; that the reasons given for Petraeus’ removal are a cover story, as “video” was a cover story.
But the public is as trusting of the media as a battered woman is of her deadbeat lover. No sooner do they discover one lie than they believe the next one. What is the truth? We must guess it in the next few days. But by that time it will be replaced by yet another lie.
Something terrible is happening in Washington, something truly terrible.
He is powerful, ambitious, intelligent and in charge. She is beautiful, intelligent, funny and physically strong and graceful. They are half way around the world, in close daily contact, a very trying environment. They challenge each other and each revels in the capabilities of the other.
women assigned to ships do get pregnant, though at a slightly lesser rate than those on shore duty
We’re not actually surprised are we?
officially, Petraeus resigned because he had a extra-marital affair. A couple of years ago we learnt that he had a prostate cancer, then again how could he manage such a affair? Prostate cancer are known for unpowering men !
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2012/11/09/david-petraeus-cia-resign-nbc/1695271/
stephen b #17
in the meanwhile,
Boeing Announces Big Layoffs in Defense Division
http://www.cnbc.com/id/49729998/?fb_action_ids=10200110677228684&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_ref=s%3DshowShareBarUI%3Ap%3Dfacebook-like&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582
Austerity is pointing, Did Merkel advise Obama?
Brilliant! You make me long to blog again. Where is Major Mike?
63. Aristide:
John Kerry (who served in Vietnam) would have collapsed in exhaustion trying to throw that load over the fence.
65. Kinuachdrach:
Judd Apatow, in an interview w/Adam Carolla (Following Carolla’s Ad Read for Trojan Condoms) said that back when he pretended to be a stand up Comedian, one of his jokes was that when he was in High School, the Trojan in his back pocket stayed there so long that it was melted and pressed into a Vaginal Diaphragm.
Almost anything’s possible in Hollyweird.
—
Judd’s upcoming film stars his wife, and includes his two daughters.
Says it is somewhat autobiographical.
Adam thinks his wife’s performance is Oscar material.
Judd Apatow’s This Is 40 Debuts Endearing New Trailer
26. trangbang68
When the article talked about the Robert Ford Plan, my first thought was Jesse James’ cousin who killed him, you know ,”the dirty little coward/ who shot poor Mr. Howard”. I thought it was referring to Obama shooting us in the back.
That was the same Robert Ford that came to my mind too, and for the same reason.
re: Judd Apatow’s This Is 40 Debuts Endearing New Trailer – Also featuring Albert Brooks, my all-time favorite actor!
—
…but what goes on in the trailer is almost all beyond my understanding.
Think I’ll just watch “Lost in America” again for the fourth time.
@#42 RWE
Wiki says Iran got 7 Su-25s from Saddam but probably never flew them. They recently bought 6 more and are assumed to also have now brought the 7 old ones up to working order.
For what it’s worth, I’ve been hearing rumors of Gen P’s affairs for at least the last 2-3 years. One of which was that he was having an affair with one of his aids when he was ISAF commander in Afghanistan. Just rumors, but still…
At the Elephant Bar, Bob, a regular commenter her long ago, wrote:
Bob – Sat Nov 10, 12:24:00 AM EST…
“Estates worth more than $1 million will be taxed at 55 percent.
Lars Larsen, in a discussion about gay and open marriage, had an answer for this one today.
If your wife dies, there is no tax.
So,then you simply marry your daughter, and when you die, there would be no tax!!“
Marie Claude @ 77.
Yes removal of the prostate or just a reaming of the prostate can render a man incapable of an erection. Quite often they get a penal implant and go overboard in trying it out after their long “dry” spell. Don’t ask me how I know.
Still the timing and the woman’s reported attempts to access classified information really adds to the stink.
many here have illustrated some excellent hypothesis about what really happened and what might be coming.
one thing I think everyone here can agree, there are no coincidences at levels that high, and I dont think roberts flipping on obama care was a coincidence either….
some one should compile the complete list of amazing coincidences in barry’s charmed political life.
one thing for sure the coincidences leading into and out the other side of this election are now coming fast and furious….
of course I look at these coincidences the same as I look at the orchestrated coincidences in a grand con being perpetrated by a grifter.
Beria, Heydrich and Hoover were all famed (infamous?) for having exhaustive files of ‘dirt’ on the powers that be. Sexual indiscretions were their common specialty. Such indiscretions didn’t even have to concern the ‘principal’; it’d be enough if the player fell for a gal with a ‘charming’ past.
I find it hard to believe that such considerations are beyond the norms of Chicago on the Potomac.
IF Mrs. Broadwell IS a honeypot — then the FSB / SVR has broken new ground. Usually, they work with native talent — and someone younger, and tighter, still.
Comrade Soetoro may be purging the generals, Hugo Chavez style. I’d say that his Gonnabee personality has had him absolutely raving at his underlings WRT the Benghazi fiasco.
He certainly cannot blame himself.
You can take Clinton’s discharge to the bank. Don’t be surprised if Susan Rice is nominated in her stead.
Speaking of Generals starting with the letter “P”
Notice General Petroleum Avenue, in Kettleman City, CA
Where my uncle Mac once lived in a tent while working for Standard Oil.
…where the EPA will no doubt outlaw Fracking in those “played out” oilfields.
I expected things to start breaking apart after the election, but I had no idea it would come this fast. It’s a testament to the sheer evil of the MSM that they managed to hold the filthy floodwaters back until right after the election, then let it go as a gigantic middle finger to us.
Since the GOP seems determined to hurl themselves off the cliff to irrelevance at record speed post-election, your idea of a council seems very wise. Power voids (and just as important, credibility voids) of all kinds are going to be bubbling up very quickly now. Like I mentioned in the last few threads, if we’re not ready for action when the C-P point comes, game over (as Wretchard said regarding the bucket). We can yap all we want, but it won’t do much good unless we get some significant resources to back us up. We need people who are experienced in organizing and have access to funding and networks of influence to be the nuclei. I only know of one person at BC who fits this bill based on his previous work that has been in the public eye. I pray that he is thinking along the same lines and will consider expending some energy in this area. It would also be wonderful to see many independent cells pop up, working in loose coordination towards this council. 21st Century Committees of Correspondence.
Doug @ 52
Redstate now says ORCA was worse than inept – it was a con with phony data and exorbitant billing for little work. The consultants, and his staff took Romney to the cleaners, which laid the groundwork for the loss.
http://www.redstate.com/2012/11/09/campaign-sources-the-romney-campaign-was-a-consultant-con-job/
PS, My earlier post in the last thread instead of saying McCain got seven million more white votes should have said there were seven million more votes for McCain thought primarily to be Republican.
“America’s oldest Pacific allies are demonstrating a disturbing lack of confidence in the administration.” –Richard
I don’t I blame them. Pinoys are not brown enough for 0bama. They are expendable now that they have voted.
“Iran acted on the premise …they can open fire on US drones” [in international airspace]. Why not? 0bama doesn’t have the backbone to stand up to them.
Btw Richard, you should try to give us anti-NYT people a heads-up when linking to the infamous NYT. The NYT does not deserve any additional traffic from the people they just stabbed in the back. I hope their dwindling subscriber base gets wise and stops their subscriptions!
“CIA Director David H. Petraeus has resigned… [Sirius asks] Can we question the timing?”
Yes, you can! It’s another of 0bama’s Friday night hatchet jobs and it is certainly a cover-up. I expect more of the same in the future. There is nothing stopping 0bama from further retaliation (and coverups). He as control of the Oval Office, Senate and the Media. What’s to stop him?
I don’t get it. With our new cultural evolution, what is wrong with playing around behind your wife?
“Something terrible is happening in Washington, something truly terrible.”
Yes, I keep thinking back to that new TV series, Last Resort, with a very popular president launching attacks on both friend and foe. Generals resign in disgust, or in disgrace, and baffled lower ranking people try to survive, all while a hideous but unknown conspiracy unfolds somewhere in the background. Where could Hollywood get the inspiration for such a remarkable and disturbed vision of a near-future America?
To #71, Agorophobic Plumber: I read last night that a bunch of people in Louisiana have filed a “Petition of Secession” from the United States (a LEGAL moved provided for in the CONSTITION) that with 25,000 signatures HAS to be addressed by the fedgov.
To #73, MarkJ: Don’t know anything about Mike Rogers but Issa has already been compromised and made irrelevant (or else something REAL would have come out of his F&F investigation). DON’T EXPECT ANY HELP FROM THE CAVALRY, they’re already cowering in the fort.
To #75, W: You’re right, ‘Something terrible is happening in Washington, something truely terrible’. AND ITS’ NAME IS b.”INSANE” obama.
RE: General P,
Apparently the FBI was aware long before the election; but his resignation comes only after the election.
Of course the FBI will not be held accountable for withholding the info for political reasons.
The problem with buying votes is “how do you know they voted for the right guys?”.
1. Have them refuse to speak Engish and provide an interpretter who goes into the booth and fills out the ballot for them. Problem: hi cost.
2. Give the voters Obamaphones. Have the phones paid for by some government program. Then tell voters that unless they vote for Obama and some others, they lose the phone. Give them sample ballots cause they got leaky memories.
Then tell them to take a picture of the ballot with the Obamaphone. They take the Obamaphone to the party official who verifies the picture and lets them keep the phone until the election. Or they transmit the picture of the filled in ballot straight from the voting booth. Cost to party = free.
Those hoping Petraeus might now shed light on Benghazi might be sorely disappointed. The Senate Intelligence Committee is saying that he won’t be testifying next week. He was scheduled to testify, but in light of his resignation this has been cancelled.
Attempting to answer the earlier question, “What happens if the Treasury held an auction and nobody showed up?” This is not possible for the United States. The Treasury has an arrangement with preferred brokers who _must_ buy. Also, these brokers can always sell it. That’s guaranteed, too, because the Federal Reserve will take it off their hands. And, the Federal Reserve simply expands its balance sheet to buy up any amount that doesn’t move. So, the short answer is, “It’s rigged. If the government can’t sell it, no worries. The governemnt will, in effect, buy it.”
It gets better. Once the debt gets on the books of the Fed and the brokers, it’s counted as an asset (an interest generating pool from which you can lend at 10-1 leverage thanks to fractional reserve banking). It’s akin to alchemy. Converting public debt into private assets.
You are in the wrong business. Bill Clinton himself remarked wondrously, “In my next life, I want to come back as a bond trader.”
Ain’t it grand?
This should be published on the editorial pages of every newspaper. Unfortunately, it’s an accurate assessment of where we are and, more importantly, where we are going.
Spent the last week working on the upcoming ECOWAS/EU war in Mali that’s about to start. Another Arab spring victory…
By the time forces arrive AQIM will hide in the mountains, which would be fine as long as they remain contained there.
The French are leading the effort for military force in another one of their failed colonies. The US recommends elections, like it’s a magic tonic cure all. Plenty of work over here for former military guys like me.
The center doesn’t seem to be holding.
“Troubles my sight: a waste of desert sand;”
100. Old Crow
If I understood you correctly I’d like to see regular posts from you as to what’s going on there; whatever you can pass on.
Youtube – Paula Broadwell on the Rockstar General.
Yo blert at 60: You ain’t got no game. Produce one picture of Ike where he is salad-chested anywhere near condition Petreaus. Ike was a supremely understated guy — even the “Ike” jacket is testimony to that.
Of course the administration is letting the rest of the world go to hell. That’s one of the differences between the Democrats and Republicans. The former can be counted on to turn inward to perfect their socialist utopia. The latter realize that the rest of the world can have a profound effect on US trade and influence, and try to lead-turn events.
When did the FBI learn about the General’s indiscretions? How did they learn about it? When did they notify the White House?
It wouldn’t surprise me if a special Oppo Research unit within the administration or the DNC ratted out the General to the FBI.
The Clinton Admininstration was notorious for holding hundreds of FBI files on Admin foes and friends.
u @ 92: http://www.redstate.com/2012/11/09/campaign-sources-the-romney-campaign-was-a-consultant-con-job/
Sigh.
This tends to confirm the worst of what I suspected (knew) about Romney, that he was never the business maven he pretended to be, he was the big name with the nice hair in the corner office, an empty suit, a hail fellow well met, a rainmaker, perhaps not a total dunce but not actually capable of much at all.
It does seem to correlate with the sad results, the Republican spokesdroids from Karl Rove to Dick Morris, getting their numbers from the campaign (if they were not themselves employed), especially once the conventions were over and the numbers already not looking good, assured us the turnout of blacks and youth would be down this year, and in the event apparently dropped a small but critical segment of their own base, and certainly did not manage to turn the heads of the mass public, DID NOT EVEN TRY.
It reeks of white shoe gin-soaked gentleman’s C country club RINOs. Plus or minus the gin, given the Mormon aspect.
I was all ready to tolerate a bunch of these jerks as the country’s administration given the current alternative, but I was never very happy about it or sanguine about the likely results, came very nearly to electing a bankster instead of Pol Pot.
Nor am I sad that Petraeus is now gone, and with any luck now will be unfit for any further public office, he was another poseur on his best of days, though he did manage at least a thesis and some actual competent command, if nothing better, passed his Peter Principle (!) point of incompetence at the colonel level, I think, and maybe the less said about his peter, the better.
I find it hard to believe that Petraeus is vulnerable to Chicago-style brass-knuckle thuggery. He led the COIN effort in Afghanistan, so he knows too many snake-eaters.
W: “There may be now be an urgent need to constitute a national political council separate and distinct from the Republican Party.”
Bingo! I’ve long believed that, if we failed this election and the RNC continues to act like country club jackasses, the Tea Party should form the nucleus of a third party. The current process no longer works (hasn’t for a long while, IMO). Start it initially as a splinter group within the GOP, but be prepared to split off. Set up funding separate from the normal Republican channels (money talks, bullsh*t walks). Like the internet, simply wire around the problem.
Oh — and after the inauguration, when Congress is seated, find someone else other than Boehner.
SpeakEasy @ 15: “Of course we end up with Biden but he is too stupid to be any real threat.”
Biden has the virtue of not being a dyed-in-the-wool Alinskyite.
Just a few names I’d want to drop in the bucket. They’re obvious movers & shakers in my world, anyway.
Richard Fernandez
Leo Linbeck III
… others from CPA
… and ASG
I hope these suggestions aren’t irritating. Like I said, they’re the top names that come to my mind.
As for rising (or risen) political stars, I can name a few of my own choices:
Bobby Jindal
Rand/Ron Paul
Marco Rubio
Hermann Cain
Or maybe I’m misunderstanding the question. Either way, were I going into battle I’d want to be on the same side as these names.
109: For all of Biden’s enormous catalog of faults, I believe he truly loves and cherishes America and would genuinely try to do the right thing if he became President.
The problems inherent in starting a new political party are overwhelming. To begin with , how many people now living have ever done it?
If you start a new party you need a lot of politicians, where do you get them?
Wouldn’t it be easier to subvert an existing party?
The democrats did that. Of course it took them what, a couple of decades?
The last really viable political party started was the Republican party in the 1850′s.
Anyone have the dope on that?
wretchard said:
The figurative D6 Cats have dug the trench, the rotting corpses have been laid in and covered with lime – Benghazi, Fast & Furious, NBPP Philly voter fraud/intimidation, etc. – and the Kapos are just waiting to throw the rest in that trench and cover them. Really, it is just a shower.
Start digging here:
Mark Rudd – For Weather Underground Member
Yeah, the band played on……
I’d let Paula Broadwell eat crackers in my bed.
112. walter adams – Yes, in Canada we know how to form new political parties at the Provincial and Federal levels. In Canada new political parties come and go with the Political seasons. See below how the formation of a new conservative party eventually led to a majority government under our current Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.
Largely from Wikipedia:
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party. Soon after its formation it moved to the right and became a populist conservative (largely socially conservative) party. Initially, the Reform Party was motivated by the need for democratic reforms and by profound Western Canadian discontent with the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney. Led by its founder Preston Manning, the Reform Party rapidly gained momentum in western Canada and sought to expand its base in the east. Manning, son of longtime Alberta Premier Ernest Manning, gained support partly from the same political constituency as his father’s old party, the Social Credit Party of Alberta.
Demand for unity by the right encouraged Manning to promote a new movement, the “United Alternative”, to create a small-”c” conservative alternative to the Liberals. Manning blamed “conservative” vote splitting for keeping the Liberals in power. Manning’s efforts created a strong debate in the Reform party, and he would even write a letter to the effect that he didn’t want to lead Reform anymore, but would only lead the new party. Manning won a leadership review with over 75% support quelling his opposition. In 2000,following the second of the two United Alternative conventions, the party voted to dissolve in favour of a new party: the “Canadian Conservative Reform Alliance”, a declaration of policy and a new constitution. The new party’s platform was a mixture of the PC and Reform platforms. However, it was largely seen as merely a renamed and enlarged Reform Party. Former Reform members dominated the new party, and the Reform caucus in the Commons essentially became the Alliance caucus (with a few exceptions).
In April 2002, Stephen Harper was elected to leadership of the Canadian Alliance
Once Harper assumed the leadership, most of the rebellious MPs rejoined the Alliance party. Then Harper successfully reunited the right under the banner of the Conservative Party of Canada.
This new party first took power as a minority government in the 2006 federal election as a minority government, a position it maintained after the 2008 election, before winning its first majority government in 2011. The current party leader is Stephen Harper, who has been the Prime Minister of Canada since 2006.
stevesmith @67:
I fully expect the current regime to bungle relations with the rest of the world so badly that someone pops a “Can of Artificial Sunshine” over DC, NYC or other major cities. Why? Perceived paybacks probably.
MarkJ @ 73:
No they will not. And curtail their gravy train? Not a chance. No one in DC has any honor left.
wretchard @75:
He is just making sure ‘The Colonels’ cannot stage anything. History repeats and the terrible if’s……..
I’m on record here in earlier postings that Petraeus was being setup by Obama all along, starting with his posting to Afghanstan as Obama deliberately lead us to defeat there. His posting to CIA was a mystery but I can see it as a political posturing move with the real power being a nominal underling to the Director.
He’s an honorable man and a capable one too. Hence, he remains a threat to the Obama crowd.
As to an affair, there was Eisenhower and Lee whats-her-name in WWII. Big deal.
Two more names come to mind. Probably a bit more controversial — some conservatives may disagree — but I have my reasons and their views on geopolitics will only improve the conversation.
Thomas P. M. Barnett
Admiral William J. “Fox” Fallon
This article in Esquire led to a falling-out between Fallon — then the man in charge of CentCom — and the Bush Administration. But read the article and make up your own mind. When I read it, I think of the main characters of Orson Scott Card’s novel Empire, a futuristic sci-fi novel about a brief American civil war, the questionable aftermath, and some brave, brilliant soldiers trying to do right.
Heck, with that in mind:
Orson Scott Card
Lawrence Person
117- They are all colluding: Obama, Petraeus, Roberts and Rove… Everyone in the news is a liar.
Only question is whether Romney himself knows the deal, or does the poor guy think that he lost?
our military academies stress Honor, Duty, and Service – they are bound by the Honor code; the doors do not even have locks…
being decisive / making decisions and being responsible for same is pounded into their heads
if there is one thing that has become painfully obvious about the entire odiferous Benghazi affair – it is that our Non-commander in chief cannot make a decision in real time…
after being put ostensibly in charge of a pulled-punch “surge” effort in Afghanistan; watching the hard fought victory in Iraq frittered away, then pulled to make room so the political Panetta could take over,Benghazi must have been the straw that broke the good-soldier’s back…
with the the pressure of Benghazi hearings bearing down on them, and Petreaus unwilling to carry the administration’s water for them, I’m sure the discussions became more pointed…
and when the gloves came off, and they had their long awaited knock-down, drag-out frank discussion, who knows what Petreaus thought he had (evidence of islamists in the ranks, over cozy google / big brother relations, mega foreign campaign contributions, evidence of other voter fraud, etc.), and when Obummer pulled his out of the hat, Petreaus must’ve been overcome with the stench and decided to let the chips fall where they will…
“nothing to do with Benghazi…”
at least he had the sense to employ a little doublespeak when dealing with big brother…
56. Walt
I know I’ve said this before, but that was one of your best.
The title is absolutely chilling. As it should be.
Google did their yearly Veterans Day insult: playing Taps over the Right’s grave.
The lowercase “g” has its usual hanging stub now erected Chris Matthews-style and forming the word “Good” for a double insult (that’s three altogether).
Thank God they are banned in dear China… Thank God for that.
A lot of the goings-on in Washington are unseen by us and will likely remain that way. We can only speculate. But one thing seems painfully obvious to me: to the extent that people who reject statism have supported Republicans, they have been disappointed. I figured as soon as the Tea Party threw in its lot with the GOP that it would become merely the Discontented arm of the status quo, working in the hope of change to elect those who will resist change. It became way too easy then for the MSM to paint them as kooks led by robber barons. IMHO we don’t need another think tank or another Fox News. What’s needed is ways to communicate to those members of the public who only listen to those media outlets that reflect their biases. What that is, I don’t know.
But I do know that as long as both sides accept the premise that materialistic concerns are supreme things will continue in this direction, because the one side organizes and votes in will-to-power fashion while the other side lacks an objective basis for moral critique of anything from lies to election fraud to abuses of power. Perhaps it is instructive that yesterday was the feast of St. Martin of Tours:
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=50