The Blue State

Success in Anbar had nothing to do with the troop surge

The Bush Administration is latching onto any talking point that will keep Congress from ending the war.  One of their claims is that the troop surge is responsible for the progress in Anbar Province.  But actually, according to the Associated Press, western Iraq began to see the results even before the troop increase was implemented:

In truth, the progress inAnbar was initiated by the Iraqis themselves, a point Gates himselfmade, saying the Sunni tribes decided to fight and retake control fromal-Qaida many months before Bush decided to send an extra 4,000 Marinesto Anbar as part of his troop buildup.

So much for that argument.

Besides, the Republican rhetoric on the surge has been lop-sided ever since February.  Before June, the Administration told Democrats to not judge the surge until all additional troops were in place.  Then in July, only two weeks after all the extra soldiers reached Iraq, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) went on Meet the Press and suddenly proclaimed that Anbar was saved because of the troop escalation.  Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) reminded him that the change in Anbar happened over a longer period of time, before the surge began.

GRAHAM: The surge has been in place for two weeks, and we have done more in Anbar in --

WEBB: We didn't do that in two weeks.

The military stability in Anbar was caused by political stability, not visa versa.  There is political stability because local insurgents are tired of al Qaeda foreigners, and they want to flush them out.  It is not because we sent more US forces there.

If just sending more US forces into a particular area is a precursor to political stability, then how come political stability is still a problem in Baghdad, Diyala and up north?

Hillary as the 'change' candidate? Umm...

The word 'audacity' comes to mind.  No, not The Audacity of Hope.  The audacity of Hillary Clinton to claim that she, and only she, is the candidate that can bring about real change.

On the campaign trail on Sunday, she rolled out a brand new stump speech.  In it, the former First Lady branded herself as the change candidate:

"I've learned you bring change by working in the system establishedby Constitution. You can't pretend the system doesn't exist," shemaintained, seeking to counter arguments by rivals Barrack Obama andJohn Edwards that she has been too cozy with the Washingtonestablishment.

"It's not just about dreams, it's aboutresults. That's what we need to do again _ we need to dream big, andthen get those dreams to be the reality in the lives of Americans."

If it is truly about results, then what exactly has she done at all?  She promised health care reform in 1994, but the drug and insurance companies got to her.  In 2005 and 2006, Hillary became the number two recipient, behind only Rick Santorum, of insurance and pharmaceutical donations.  She certainly is a good talker -- no doubt about that.  Can she deliver on her promises?  That is a whole other story.  And so far, that has not been the case.

Inhofe learns first-hand why Iraq isn't "a miracle"

We are not making progress when four years after the war begins you can't even take off from the Baghdad airport without this happening:

The four lawmakers -- Republican Sens. Mel Martinez (Fla.), Richard C. Shelby (Ala.) and James M. Inhofe (Okla.), along with Democratic Rep. Robert E. "Bud" Cramer (Ala.) -- came under fire Thursday after their C-130  cargo plane lifted off from Baghdad International Airport on its way to Amman, Jordan.

"I remember kind of saying to myself, 'I think we're high enough now to be safe,'" Martinez told the Associated Press. "All of a sudden [there was] a very bright light."

Martinez told the news service that three rocket-propelled grenadeswere fired at the lawmakers' aircraft. After the first rocket, thepilots discharged hot bright flares intended to guide heat-seekingmissiles away from the plane. Two more rockets then were fired at theaircraft, he said. The pilots banked sharply to evade the rockets.

"I actually had just taken off my body armor, and it quickly came backon," he told the AP. "Other than a brief, scary, anxious few moments,everything turned out to be okay."

James Inhofe, one of the four on-board, was the same Senator who in 2006 called the situation in Iraq "nothing short of a miracle."  Actually, it was a miracle their plane made it to Amman, Jordan safely.

(Videos) The interesting world of Larry Craig

As I eluded to earlier this evening, tonight we celebrate the fabulous world of Senator Larry Craig (R-ID).  Earlier this month, Craig plead guilty to engaging in lewd acts inside a men's restroom in Minnesota.

So who is Larry Craig?  You will learn quite a bit by watching the videos below.  Let's watch them in historical order:

1) According to this 1982 ABC News video, Craig allegedly engaged in inappropriate behavior with Congressional pages.

2) Skip ahead to 1999.  Craig called Clinton a "naughty boy" for having an affair with Monica Lewinsky.  Hypocritical?

3) In 2006, Barney Frank and Bill Maher discussed Larry Craig and the hypocrisy about gay Republicans.

4) Now to this year.  Here is Senator Craig endorsing Mitt Romney.  At the end of the video, Craig talks about Romney's strong "family values."

5) And earlier this Tuesday, Craig addressed the media and defended his actions in the bathroom.

Tonight is Larry Craig night

Usually every night we post the top political clips from the day that was.  However, tonight we will devote all the clips to hypocritical Republican lawmaker Larry Craig, who was caught trying to engage in lewd behavior with an undercover male cop in a Minnesota bathroom.

Interestingly enough, back in 1998 Craig was one of the GOP lawmakers leading the effort to impeach Bill Clinton.  In January of 1999, this was what Craig said of Clinton:

"The American people already know that Bill Clinton is a bad boy, anaughty boy. I'm going to speak out for the citizens of my state, whoin the majority think that Bill Clinton is probably even a nasty, bad,naughty boy."

You will see that video and more tonight at midnight eastern.  It's the Republican hypocrisy train wreck in full swing!

A Walk Down Memory Lane with Michael Chertoff

With the news that Michael Chertoff may be Bush's top choice to replaceAlbert Gonazales, I thought it would be appropriate to post this video of his(what I believe to be) incompetence. So sit back and watch the show, then askyourself "is this the guy that deserves or is qualified to be the next AttorneyGeneral  of The United States"? I'm sure if he is chosen, the petitions will start flying again (hopefully).

Tim Russert exposed the lies that came from the administration after Katrina

Christmas in August: Alberto Gonzales Resigns

Well another Bushee has left the building! I'd like to think I helped by signing a few of the many of petitions out there calling for Gonzales's resignation. "I can't recall" exactly how many I did sign, but as they popped up, I signed.

'Embattled Attorney General Resigns'

WACO, Tex., Aug. 27 — Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales,whose tenure has been marred by controversy and accusations of perjurybefore Congress, announced his resignation in Washington today,declaring that he had “lived the American dream” by being able to leadthe Justice Department

Mr. Gonzales, who had rebuffed calls for his resignation for months,submitted it to President Bush by telephone on Friday, a senioradministration official said. There had been rumblings over the weekendthat Mr. Gonzales’s departure was imminent, although the White Housesought to quell the rumors. Readon...

Robert Greenwald's Brave New Filmswas a major player in getting the word out.

'The President Won't Fire Him -- But You Can'

'New Impeach Gonzales Video. Part 2: The Crimes'

'True Majority Action' was also another big player in getting the word out.

I am sure this will be an interesting week of news. I suppose we'll have FNC(Fox) telling us "come on, the guy wanted to spend time with hisfamily", then go into a few rants about some of the fallen Democrats.

Have a Good day All!

Senator Warner: "We Have a Problem, and We Better Solve it" (What a genius)

Today on MTP (Meet The Press),one of Tim Russert's guests was Senator John Warner (R-VA). Warner who recently calledfor a limited troop withdrawal from Iraq,   "I say to thepresident respectfully, 'Pick whatever number you wish.' . . . Say, 5,000 couldbegin to redeploy and be home to their families and loved ones no later thanChristmas of this year. That's the first step."

To me, that sounds like a political move...5000 out of 160,000 which are deployedin Iraq.

He has recommended Bush announce the beginning of a U.S. withdrawal inmid-September, after a report is released from the top U.S. officials in Iraq,and that those troops should be back in the United States by Christmas.

"In my humble judgment, that would get everyone's attention -- theattention that is not being paid at this time," Warner said.

He added: "I really, firmly believe the Iraqi government, under theleadership of Prime Minister [Nuri] al-Maliki, let our troops down."

Maybe it's me, but when I watched Warner's interview this morning, it soundedlike he was agreeing with everyone's point of view, opinion and plan, and notplaying hardball (like a kid in a candy store that wants to have one of each)

What put the icing on the cake for me, making it sound like a political movewas when Russert questioned Warner on what the answer was:

Russert: "What's the answer"

Warner: "The answer is clear, we have a problem and we need to solveit"

After almost 10 minutes of complimenting everyone on the job/s they aredoing, he comes up with "we have a problem"? I think it's time for himto move to Florida.

I could be missing the boat here, but watch and weigh in with your opinion.

 

Senator Warner (R-VA) on MTP

'Jimmy Justice' NYC Video Vigilante

A worthy story for a slow Sunday:

I saw a segment on MSNBC's Countdown about Jimmy Justice, a "regularJoe" Brooklyn resident that was fed up with the double standards of the NYCtraffic agents. I am sure this is not isolated to NYC, and I am sure we have allexperienced this type of behavior and hypocrisy in our towns and citiesUSA.

J.J. (Jimmy Justice) keeps an eye out for the traffic agents breaking lawsand video tapes the crime in progress i.e. parking their official vehicle infrot of a fire hydrant to run in and grab a cup of coffee or lunch. Trafficagents play an important role in society, and ticket individuals that break thelaw. Naturally no one wants a ticket and we tend to get angry when we do getone, but that's life and the law. Actual Police Officers get away withtheir minor crimes, and that's been the way it's been since the beginning oftime and will continue to be that way, but traffic agents are not even close torealizing that status.

Anyone who has experienced dealing with the NYC 'personality-less, I have aticket pad cockiness' of one of these agents know exactly the frustration we experience.

On August 17, 2007 'Live From Studio 1A' Dick Gregory interviewed JimmyJustice in a piece called 'Qand A With Jimmy Justice' with video HERE.

J.J. currently has 11 videos posted on his YouTube account 'JimmyJustice4753'.and you wouldn't believe some of the responses he receives. You would think thelaw breakers would be humble and friendly in order to squelch the controversyand not act like 'holier than thou'  on a video camera.

Here are a couple of examples:

NYC Board of Ed "teaches" its employees to break the law

Traffic Enforcement Agent Blocks Fire Hydrant During A Fire (She responds with "don't you think there's something wrong with filming somebody?" LOL...that's funny)

traffic cop Anderson breaks the law & has a message for NYC (This one is classic, the agent gets "back-up")

**** CAUTION: Adult Content Vulgarity Used. ****

Local NYC Contacts:

• Janette Sadik-Khan, Commissioner of Department of Transportation

• Mayor Bloomberg

• General Feedback and Contact Page

Quick Story: One of our company delivery trucks were double parked early one morning (delivering office supplies and very light traffic) when a traffic agent approached. I was outside smoking a cigarette and before the agent stated writing, I told him the driver is going to get fired if he receives another ticket, I also mentioned the driver had a family and was going through some hard times. The agent wrote him the ticket. The good news is I was lying about the driver getting fired.

The White House Attacks Hillary **VIDEO ADDED**

This post is a follow up to a story in today's 'BlueRadar' regarding the White House's attack on Hillary Clinton:

In response to her campaign ad that was released yesterday, the White House attackedHillary Clinton's claim that Americans are not well-represented by thisadministration.  WH Depouty Press Secretary: "As to the merits of it,I think it's outrageous. This is a president who, first and foremost, has helpedmillions of seniors across the country have access to prescription drugs at amuch lower cost." ("Have access to?"  But at whatcost?)

More Specifically the line:

"As to the merits of it,I think it's outrageous. This is a president who, first and foremost, has helpedmillions of seniors across the country have access to prescription drugs at amuch lower cost."

The audacity of that statement made my skin crawl, so I figuredI would post a reminder about the republicans wonderful victory of Medicare PartD. Steve Kroft of 60 Minutes did a segment on Part D back on April 1, 2007, andit is more than worthy to get it back out there.

The unorthodox roll call onone of the most expensive bills ever placed before the House of Representativesbegan in the middle of the night, long after most people in Washington hadswitched off C-SPAN and gone to sleep.

The only witnesses were congressional staffers, hundreds of lobbyists, andU.S. representatives, like Dan Burton, R-Ind., and Walter Jones, R-N.C.

"The pharmaceutical lobbyists wrote the bill," says Jones."The bill was over 1,000 pages. And it got to the members of the House thatmorning, and we voted for it at about 3 a.m. in the morning," remembersJones.

Why did the vote finally take place at 3 a.m.?

"Well, I think a lot of the shenanigans that were going on that night,they didn't want on national television in primetime," according to Burton.

"I've been in politics for 22 years," says Jones, "and it wasthe ugliest night I have ever seen in 22 years."

The voting which is supposed to remain open for 15 minutes remained open foralmost 3 hours! Read the transcript HERE.

A brief 2 minute video which outlines the story can be viewed HERE.

Here is the complete '60 Minutes' segment 'Under The Influence'

And let's hope Romney isn't elected. Last night on Hannity & ColmesRomney talked about his idea of healthcare.

Well actually, the plan I put forward said no one gotfree insurance. Everybody could pay what they could afford. And so we had asliding scale and still do, based on your income. And the state will help paythe portion of your premium you can't afford for the poor.The good news is it costs us less to help people buy their own private insurancethan it was costing us giving out free care at hospitals. So I do talk aboutthat. And I'll be giving a speech to the Florida Medical Association describingto them our plan in some detail.But I insisted that everyone pays something. I didn't want to have anythingfree. Our legislature overrode that idea and so the people at the very low gotit free. I think that's a mistake. I think everyone should pay something.Read the complete transcript HERE

Great plan Mitt, the poor can pay something for healthcare and eat cardboardboxes.