Dana Milbank
Jeffrey Kuhner
"The next 10 or 15 years in this country are going to be a halcyon era for state and local political corruption. It is going to be one of the great times to be a corrupt politician." - David Simon
The NY Times has a good report on the Israeli response to President Obama's Cairo speech: "Using 6,000 words that were selected carefully and polished by the president himself the night before, Barack Obama turned the complex reality of the Middle East into a simple truth: A give-and-take deal that has no losers.
Officials in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Riyadh, and Washington are well aware of the fact that this proposal is the only one that may bring an end to the longtime conflict. All the rest is transient, nuances of terminology and struggles of ego and honor." Unfortunately, the Israeli-Palestinian problem is dragged down by a violent past, an emotional present, and politicians who will have to be dragged towards the future if a solution is to be resolved. It's not rocket science and there is no win/win feel good answer...
Officials in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Riyadh, and Washington are well aware of the fact that this proposal is the only one that may bring an end to the longtime conflict. All the rest is transient, nuances of terminology and struggles of ego and honor." Unfortunately, the Israeli-Palestinian problem is dragged down by a violent past, an emotional present, and politicians who will have to be dragged towards the future if a solution is to be resolved. It's not rocket science and there is no win/win feel good answer...
Just as relations with Cuba were beginning to thaw, comes the story of a couple who worked for the State Department for over 30 years, and were charged with spying for Cuba. In their early 70's, they could face 35 years in prison. Hellofva retirement, I understand there has been a freeze on employees wishing to retire... From the Washington Times: "Mr. Myers first traveled to Cuba in December 1978 for "unofficial personal travel for academic purposes."
Writing about his trip to Cuba in a 1978 diary entry, Mr. Myers criticized what he considered "American imperialism" and praised then-Cuban President Fidel Castro, calling him "one of the great political leaders of our time," crediting him with helping "the Cubans to save their own souls."
"I can see nothing of value that has been lost by the revolution," Mr. Myers wrote, according to diary excerpts included in an FBI affidavit detailing the allegations against the couple. "The revolution has released enormous potential and liberated the Cuban spirit."
Six months after that trip, according to court documents, the Myerses met with a Cuban and agreed to become spies. The FBI said the operative told Mr. Myers to pursue a job at the State Department or the CIA." They are being accused of handing over 200 documents to their Cuban handlers. Fidel has responded, saying the charges are ridiculous, that he would have remembered signing the checks...
Now I may never get those imported Cuban cigars in at my local shop. I was hoping that they would bring the overall price of cigars down to a reasonable level, paying $15-30 is just too much for a piece of wrapped tobacco... Damn you, Arnold!
The Washington Times also is reporting on an al-Qaeda threat to smuggle biological weapons into the US from Mexico: "Four pounds of anthrax -- in a suitcase this big -- carried by a fighter through tunnels from Mexico into the U.S. are guaranteed to kill 330,000 Americans within a single hour if it is properly spread in population centers there," the recruiter said. "What a horrifying idea; 9/11 will be small change in comparison. Am I right? There is no need for airplanes, conspiracies, timings and so on. One person, with the courage to carry 4 pounds of anthrax, will go to the White House lawn, and will spread this 'confetti' all over them, and then we'll do these cries of joy. It will turn into a real celebration."
In the video, obtained and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute, al-Nafisi also suggests that al Qaeda might want to collaborate with members of native U.S. white supremacist militias who hate the federal government." Now, the Department of Homeland Security, the one department with a Nazi-sounding name, is not saying that al-Qaeda has this capacity - yet. It's being used as a recruiting tool to give young Muslims a chance to get out and blow themselves up in other parts of the world...
I always liked the pop star Shakira, her voice had a gritty realism that other divas lacked. The NY Times Magazine has a lengthy story on her philanthropy, which she began at age 18, after her first big hit:"Celebrity philanthropy, rock ’n’ roll philanthropy, is no longer a novelty, but what Shakira and ALAS were trying was indeed new. They were looking to use the power of pop to help the populations not of distant impoverished lands but of the Ibero-American world from which they come. They have a policy focus — early-childhood nutrition, education and medical care — that is on a scale beyond the reach of private charity. It requires the steady effort of the state. It cannot be addressed by rich countries’ check-writing. So the trick is to take pop celebrity, marry it to big business and permanently alter the way Latin American governments help care for the youn: ng and the poor. What the golden-haired young woman staring at her laptop was trying to do was a tall order, given the fragility of celebrity influence, the dubious track record of Latin American governments in providing social services and the lengthening shadow of a global recession that was straitening everyone’s budget. But she is not someone whom it would be reasonable to underestimate." You don't see any American divas with this degree of sophistication and empathy, which is too bad because it is good for their souls. If a Miley Cyrus or Jessica Simpson tried charitable work on this scale, they would be jeered at like a Supreme Court nominee...
"Tuesday, NBC's news special, 'Inside the Obama White House,' was watched by 9 million people. Historians say it was the most revealing look behind the scenes at the White House since Bill Clinton set up a secret webcam." --Conan O'Brien
"Yesterday president Barack Obama met the king of Saudi Arabia, who kissed Obama twice. Obama says he hasn't gotten this kind of treatment since he met Keith Olbermann." --Conan O'Brien
"North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Il, is in the process of deciding who is going to be his successor and the most likely person is his youngest son, Kim Jong-Un. Yeah. Kim Jong-Un says he's excited but realizes he's got some awfully big women's sunglasses to fill. They're like the windshield from a Toyota." --Conan O'Brien
"Rush Limbaugh is in the news. Last week, Rush Limbaugh said that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was a racist. But this week, Rush says he may support her. Yeah. Limbaugh says that he can't support Sotomayor until he's 100% sure she's a racist." --Conan O'Brien
"Today is the 20-year anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protest. Yeah, yeah. Or, as the Chinese government refers to it, 'Nothing Happened Day.'' --Conan O'Brien
"Rush Limbaugh, you know Rush Limbaugh? The new face of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh. He says now, listen to this, he says now that he might support Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Yes, depending on how much OxyContin he can get his hands on." --David Letterman
"How about that Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Il? Oh my gosh, what's the deal on that guy. He's a little squirrelly, right? Am I right? And he's going to step down. He's no longer going to be running North Korea. He's turning power over to his son, Kim Jong W-Il. But that was a big disappointment to his other son, Jeb Il." --David Letterman
"Have you noticed all of the dictators are stepping down? Castro stepping down. Kim Jong-Il. Dick Cheney. They're all taking a break." --David Letterman
"I think Dick Cheney is getting a little wacky, because earlier today, he came out in favor of same-sex waterboarding. Dick, are you all right? Are you okay, Dick?" --David Letterman
"President Obama is in Germany right now, but he was in the Middle East before that. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia met with Obama and gave him a large, shiny medallion on a thick, gold chain. Obama said, 'Thank you, but I think you have me confused with Flavor Flav.'" --Jimmy Fallon
"The U.S. government accidentally released a confidential list of exact locations of nuclear sites around the country. Authorities have no idea who was responsible -- it was Biden. Okay. It was Joe Biden." --Jimmy Fallon
"A new survey ranks the United States as the 83rd most peaceful nation in the world. Not good. Not good. We were in fifth place until the season premiere of 'Jon & Kate Plus 8.'" --Jimmy Fallon
"Finally, the New York Daily News is reporting that some members of the New York Mets may be suffering from swine flu, which is scary because usually, the Mets don't start choking 'til September." --Jimmy Fallon
"This week, American President Barack Obama ... embarked on a diplomatic mission to the Middle East to fulfill a promise made two years ago, that if he were elected president, he would deliver a major address in a Muslim capital. Of course, most people forget he also promised if he were not elected, he would run naked through a Chuck E. Cheese." --Jon Stewart
"This speech is a delicate proposition. The president must balance respect for a region that too often has felt lectured to by American presidents interested only in their resources, while also remembering he has an audience in his home country, mistrustful of the violence and violent anti-American rhetoric that the region also produces, all while trying not to freak out the 20-25% of Americans who believe Obama was born in Kenya, raised in a madrassa and is actually reporting back to his home office. Let's see how he opens [on screen: Obama saying 'Salaam Aleikum']. Noooooo! ... Alright. That's fine. ... A lot of politicians like to open with local flavor. ... What's the follow up? [on screen: video of Obama's speech, during which he praises different aspects of Islam. He also says that it was through 'innovations of Muslim communities that developed algebra']. Oh, yay, Muslim countries, thank you so much for algebra. Oh, so great. Islam invented algebra and mono and braces" --Jon Stewart, on Obama's address to Muslims
The Washington Times also is reporting on an al-Qaeda threat to smuggle biological weapons into the US from Mexico: "Four pounds of anthrax -- in a suitcase this big -- carried by a fighter through tunnels from Mexico into the U.S. are guaranteed to kill 330,000 Americans within a single hour if it is properly spread in population centers there," the recruiter said. "What a horrifying idea; 9/11 will be small change in comparison. Am I right? There is no need for airplanes, conspiracies, timings and so on. One person, with the courage to carry 4 pounds of anthrax, will go to the White House lawn, and will spread this 'confetti' all over them, and then we'll do these cries of joy. It will turn into a real celebration."
In the video, obtained and translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute, al-Nafisi also suggests that al Qaeda might want to collaborate with members of native U.S. white supremacist militias who hate the federal government." Now, the Department of Homeland Security, the one department with a Nazi-sounding name, is not saying that al-Qaeda has this capacity - yet. It's being used as a recruiting tool to give young Muslims a chance to get out and blow themselves up in other parts of the world...
I always liked the pop star Shakira, her voice had a gritty realism that other divas lacked. The NY Times Magazine has a lengthy story on her philanthropy, which she began at age 18, after her first big hit:"Celebrity philanthropy, rock ’n’ roll philanthropy, is no longer a novelty, but what Shakira and ALAS were trying was indeed new. They were looking to use the power of pop to help the populations not of distant impoverished lands but of the Ibero-American world from which they come. They have a policy focus — early-childhood nutrition, education and medical care — that is on a scale beyond the reach of private charity. It requires the steady effort of the state. It cannot be addressed by rich countries’ check-writing. So the trick is to take pop celebrity, marry it to big business and permanently alter the way Latin American governments help care for the youn: ng and the poor. What the golden-haired young woman staring at her laptop was trying to do was a tall order, given the fragility of celebrity influence, the dubious track record of Latin American governments in providing social services and the lengthening shadow of a global recession that was straitening everyone’s budget. But she is not someone whom it would be reasonable to underestimate." You don't see any American divas with this degree of sophistication and empathy, which is too bad because it is good for their souls. If a Miley Cyrus or Jessica Simpson tried charitable work on this scale, they would be jeered at like a Supreme Court nominee...
Where would we be without a month going by and not writing about Sarah Palin? The media thinks this, and so we have a strained stretch towards sensationalism by Ben Smith of Politico, who writes about Sarah Palin recently introducing Michael Reagan, who has shamelessly made a career on being a son of Ronald Reagan, in Anchorage: "... she hasn't lost her ability to deliver a raw, base-riling stemwinder, and her introduction of Michael Reagan in Anchorage the other night is worth a listen (.mp3) and is currently making the rounds on the right.
She opens the introduction praising Reagan's son, a talk radio guy, for his willingness "to screw the political correctness that some would expect him to try to adhere to."
She blasts "self-proclaimed intellectuals, and the smug lobbyists who dominate Washington, and the liberal media."
And she suggests Obama is trying to impose big government as a tool of control. "We need to be aware of the creation of a fearful population, and fearful lawmakers, being led to believe that big government is the answer, to bail out the private sector, because then government gets to get in there and control it," she says. "And mark my words, this is going to be next, I fear, bail out next debt-ridden states. Then government gets to get in there and control the people." And she's getting as much practice in by controlling the family of Levi Johnson, so she'll be ready for exercising the big time control on the federal level...
She opens the introduction praising Reagan's son, a talk radio guy, for his willingness "to screw the political correctness that some would expect him to try to adhere to."
She blasts "self-proclaimed intellectuals, and the smug lobbyists who dominate Washington, and the liberal media."
And she suggests Obama is trying to impose big government as a tool of control. "We need to be aware of the creation of a fearful population, and fearful lawmakers, being led to believe that big government is the answer, to bail out the private sector, because then government gets to get in there and control it," she says. "And mark my words, this is going to be next, I fear, bail out next debt-ridden states. Then government gets to get in there and control the people." And she's getting as much practice in by controlling the family of Levi Johnson, so she'll be ready for exercising the big time control on the federal level...
late night jokes:
"Tuesday, NBC's news special, 'Inside the Obama White House,' was watched by 9 million people. Historians say it was the most revealing look behind the scenes at the White House since Bill Clinton set up a secret webcam." --Conan O'Brien
"Yesterday president Barack Obama met the king of Saudi Arabia, who kissed Obama twice. Obama says he hasn't gotten this kind of treatment since he met Keith Olbermann." --Conan O'Brien
"North Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Il, is in the process of deciding who is going to be his successor and the most likely person is his youngest son, Kim Jong-Un. Yeah. Kim Jong-Un says he's excited but realizes he's got some awfully big women's sunglasses to fill. They're like the windshield from a Toyota." --Conan O'Brien
"Rush Limbaugh is in the news. Last week, Rush Limbaugh said that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor was a racist. But this week, Rush says he may support her. Yeah. Limbaugh says that he can't support Sotomayor until he's 100% sure she's a racist." --Conan O'Brien
"Today is the 20-year anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protest. Yeah, yeah. Or, as the Chinese government refers to it, 'Nothing Happened Day.'' --Conan O'Brien
"Rush Limbaugh, you know Rush Limbaugh? The new face of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh. He says now, listen to this, he says now that he might support Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. Yes, depending on how much OxyContin he can get his hands on." --David Letterman
"How about that Korean dictator, Kim Jong-Il? Oh my gosh, what's the deal on that guy. He's a little squirrelly, right? Am I right? And he's going to step down. He's no longer going to be running North Korea. He's turning power over to his son, Kim Jong W-Il. But that was a big disappointment to his other son, Jeb Il." --David Letterman
"Have you noticed all of the dictators are stepping down? Castro stepping down. Kim Jong-Il. Dick Cheney. They're all taking a break." --David Letterman
"I think Dick Cheney is getting a little wacky, because earlier today, he came out in favor of same-sex waterboarding. Dick, are you all right? Are you okay, Dick?" --David Letterman
"President Obama is in Germany right now, but he was in the Middle East before that. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia met with Obama and gave him a large, shiny medallion on a thick, gold chain. Obama said, 'Thank you, but I think you have me confused with Flavor Flav.'" --Jimmy Fallon
"The U.S. government accidentally released a confidential list of exact locations of nuclear sites around the country. Authorities have no idea who was responsible -- it was Biden. Okay. It was Joe Biden." --Jimmy Fallon
"A new survey ranks the United States as the 83rd most peaceful nation in the world. Not good. Not good. We were in fifth place until the season premiere of 'Jon & Kate Plus 8.'" --Jimmy Fallon
"Finally, the New York Daily News is reporting that some members of the New York Mets may be suffering from swine flu, which is scary because usually, the Mets don't start choking 'til September." --Jimmy Fallon
"This week, American President Barack Obama ... embarked on a diplomatic mission to the Middle East to fulfill a promise made two years ago, that if he were elected president, he would deliver a major address in a Muslim capital. Of course, most people forget he also promised if he were not elected, he would run naked through a Chuck E. Cheese." --Jon Stewart
"This speech is a delicate proposition. The president must balance respect for a region that too often has felt lectured to by American presidents interested only in their resources, while also remembering he has an audience in his home country, mistrustful of the violence and violent anti-American rhetoric that the region also produces, all while trying not to freak out the 20-25% of Americans who believe Obama was born in Kenya, raised in a madrassa and is actually reporting back to his home office. Let's see how he opens [on screen: Obama saying 'Salaam Aleikum']. Noooooo! ... Alright. That's fine. ... A lot of politicians like to open with local flavor. ... What's the follow up? [on screen: video of Obama's speech, during which he praises different aspects of Islam. He also says that it was through 'innovations of Muslim communities that developed algebra']. Oh, yay, Muslim countries, thank you so much for algebra. Oh, so great. Islam invented algebra and mono and braces" --Jon Stewart, on Obama's address to Muslims
"Nation, summertime is here. Time for skimpy clothes and lots of bare flesh, which naturally makes me think of one thing: abstinence-only sex education. But folks, our sex-free sex-ed is under attack. In the president's 2010 budget, he eliminates funding for it. Apparently, Obama will only give you money if you screw people [on screen: the logos from Bank of America, GM and AIG, among others]. Folks, this is dangerous. The National Abstinence Education Association said it best: 'If federal funding for abstinence education were to go away, the breadth of the approach will be hindered.' And abstinence-only education is known for its breadth. It covers the gamut from 'don't have sex' to 'have sex don't.'" Stephen Colbert
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