News Review

ANO, WP, TH

I write reviews once in a while when asked and this is my latest one:

Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace (FOX) 4/01/07

This segment was with Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senator Joe Biden (D-DL). This interview was in regards to the “partisan divide” over the war in Iraq and comments from Matthew Dowd, an individual recently parting ways with President Bush.

Matthew Dowd at one time was the first member of the President’s Inner Circle and has publicly come forward with criticisms of President Bush. The apparent issue is the President's failure at uniting the country.

When asked as to why Matthew Dowd’s comments and press release has become an issue, Senator McConnell stated that the war was indeed a tough, difficult and emotional issue for everyone. Senator Biden was asked the same question and he stated that the President has “squandered real opportunities to unite the country”. Neither one has really answered the question.

Senator Biden agrees with Mr. Dowd and went on to explain, in his demeanor, that the President basically told the country to do it his way no matter the consequence. Senator McConnell was not given the opportunity to refute the statements by Senator Biden which struck me as par.

Senator Biden was asked about the Iraq War funding bill in recent days passed by the House and the Senate but not given to the President before the Spring Break by Congress and if Congress should cut their break short and return to Congress and complete their task. Senator Biden said that they would present a spending bill to the president as soon as they return. I took that as a “no” from Senator Biden. Again, Senator McConnell was not afforded the opportunity to add his position on returning from the Congressional Spring Break to finish the job

The interview went on and on about what the bill stood for and they argued back and forth about if the President would veto the bill if it had restrictions on the timetables and instructions to the military as to how to fight the war on terror. McConnell said that the President would veto the bill and Biden said that the President will not veto the bill. They also argued over who knew the financial needs of the
United States military better…the Congressional Research Service or the United States Military.

From my point of view, this interview was pretty much a waste of my time. I already know what the issues are and I also know that the politicos will continue with the political posturing for political gain no matter the consequences to the American populace well-being. I also know that the Congress has failed the American people for years in that they no longer represent “We The People” and that they only represent “We The Politicians”.

This American is sick and tired of hearing about the “feelings of the vast number of Americans” from politicians because none of them know what “We The People” want any more. We are a nation at war with people that have openly expressed that the end goal is the destruction of America. It would be nice if our politicians paid more attention to that than their ill-fated desires to be the ones in power. Being in power at the wrong end of the sword is rather futile at this point.

DNC and Non-Issues

Libs Drool Over Non-issues
Libs Drool Over Non-issues
ANO

My take of an interview:

Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace (FOX)3/18/07

This segment was with Senator John Kerry (D-MA). This interview was a shortened segment and was perhaps 15 minutes in duration. No other personalities were in this segment.

This interview was in regard to the recent falderal involving a non-issue turned into a political embarrassment…for both sides. The non-issue was the dismissals of eight federal prosecutors by the Justice Department under the George W Bush Administration.

When asked as to why this has become an issue, Senator Kerry stated in so many words that traditionally, the incoming president asks for blanket resignations in one department or another and it was a normal happenstance when President Clinton fired 93 of the 94 attorneys. When pressed for a real answer, Senator Kerry stated in so many words, “this is political”. When pressed to explain what “this is political” means, Senator Kerry stated, “The word ‘political’ does not mean that they belong to the political process. It means they are appointed by the party in power. That’s different.” I beg to differ.

People get fired, dismissed, replaced, redirected and disposed of in many manners all through the year. I don’t know of any company that dismisses people at certain times of the year. The Federal Government is no different. The Senator’s jibe about “that’s different” doesn’t set right.

Having been of voting age since the early 70’s, I have never missed an election except on remote deployments and that only happened twice but never in a Presidential election. I pay attention. My specialty in the service to the many CICs and this nation was reading body language. This gives me an edge that most cannot detect.

Senator Kerry is lying when he refers to “that’s different”. The only thing different about this situation is the President is George W Bush and the current president may have had prosecutors removed from office during a non-traditional time. The political part of this issue is how the opposition party to GWB’s party invented this issue as an issue.

In my assessment, this is not a political issue…it is a personal issue. It is personal for John Kerry because he lost an election to GWB. It is personal to many of the more prominent Democratic Party leaders. I see it in their eyes and their posture and lack of poise when speaking of President Bush in public forums.

From my point of view, this non-issue issue of prosecutors being dismissed is yet another example of detrimental politics and I am embarrassed for members of both political parties. The democrats have embarrassed themselves for making an issue out of a non-issue and the republicans have embarrassed themselves for not having the moral fortitude to stand-to and defend themselves.

Are we looking for truth or a political spectacle?

Morons In DC

WP, TH, ANO

Hour Three: Douglas Feith
Posted by Hugh Hewitt 6:05 PM

OK. I listened to the interview on Fox News Sunday and in a nutshell, here is my take. Please take into consideration that I am a cynic and have grown WAY passed sick and tired of politicians acting like the donkeys they are.

Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace (FOX)
2/14/07

This interview was in regard to the recent controversy about pre-Iraq war intelligence and how it was used.

Mr. Feith was asked point-blank if he was giving the GWB administration the “ammunition they wanted to go to war”. Mr. Feith, if he wasn’t on national TV may have answered more fervently but, in a nutshell, he said, “No”. He said that it was the way the bureaucracy works when you have several people from different offices working together. He stated that at least two people from the Deputy Secretary’s office were working on the project as well. The report was given to Donald Rumsfeld and he directed that the report be given to George Tenet in the CIA for collaboration.

Mr. Wallace then proceeded to tell Mr. Feith that several institutions claimed that his work was faulty and wrong, those being the 911 Commission, the Inspector General of the Pentagon and the Senate Intelligence Committee. Mr. Feith claimed that they made no such allegations because no one really read the report his section wrote or they did not read it carefully enough. He claims that they pick and chose what they wanted to read and then drew incorrect assessments.

Mr. Feith said that no one ever made the claim that there was an “operational relationship” between Saddam Hussein and Al Qa’ida. He did say that there was a “relationship” and that relationship was defined by George Tenet of the CIA.

Mr. Feith also went on and stated that it seems that Steve Hadley and George Tenet obviously got their wires crossed, paraphrase mine. He said that all parties knew of his departments’ thoughts and critical analysis of the CIA and George Tenet’s logic was circular.

In my assessment, this is a perfect example of CYA so prevalent in DC. There are all too many career bureaucrats, each entity thereof sorely afraid to take a stand and take their lumps if wrong or soak in the glory if they are correct in their assessments. Neither the left hand nor the right hand knows what is going on and this leaves ample wiggle-room and many avenues to take for the proverbial finger pointing. Such is life in The Big Worm known as Washington, DC.

From a grunt’s point of view, mainly myself, we always had a good chuckle (sarcastic overtones) when we read “critical analysis” from the intelligence people. Their philosophy seemed to be, “We bet your life on our intelligence”. So much of it was wrong or loosely laid out and we knew why. Perhaps if the people collecting the intelligence data in DC were in the field, they would be more enthusiastic in the trusting of their sources and to be more careful how they place the facts, figures and suppositions into play.

Finger-pointing and not accepting the consequences of one’s own actions is a cowards’ ploy.

News In Review

News Review

News Review

Tuesday, February 13, 2007 1:48 AM

OK. Call me crazy. I watch news shows. And then I write about that which I think I heard. Such is the case here. I watch all the news shows. Some make me laugh my butt off what with all the stupidity they have oozing from every socialistic orifice they have. It is kind of funny to watch them just FREAK out when someone disgress with the host! Good grief! What ever happened to tolerance of differing opinions and equal time and all that PC BS??

This particular one was of interest for the obvious reasons. If it isn’t obvious to you than you really don’t need to be here and perhaps Romper Room would be more your speed.

Let me know what you think. Remember, I am the only one allowed to be rude. This is my site. I will delete your posts if I think you are being rude or if I think you are an idiot. If you don’t like that, too damn bad. Go get your own damn site and be rude all you want.

Oh shut the hell up and sit back down moron.

Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace

1/28/07

This part of Fox News Sunday is an interview with Senator Brownback (R-KS), one of the 2008 Presidential Candidates and Senator Lieberman (I-CT).

This discussion was about the upcoming troop surges in Iraq as outlined in the most recent State of The Union given by President Bush on 1/23/07. Also, part of the discussion was the confirmation of the new U.S. Commander Lt. Gen. David Petraeus and the resolutions brought out by opponents of President Bush’s Iraq war strategy.

Both Senators basically said the same thing in regards to the last election cycle and that is that the American people wanted less partisanship and more productive work to be done. Sen. Lieberman said that the last elections were not about the war in Iraq but change. Sen. Brownback alluded to that but without the conviction that Sen. Lieberman expressed.

Sen. Brownback, when asked about the soon to come troop surges in Iraq, stated that we must win this war in Iraq but we cannot win the war in Iraq if we cannot unite here at home. He said that we must come together here first because we and I paraphrase, “have to get everyone to pull together because with one party fighting the other party we will not win the war”. He said that we have to win yet will support John Warner’s resolution. He didn’t exactly state any specifics and was rather vague but did say that the resolutions would not embolden the enemy because they don’t need anything to embolden them.

Sen. Lieberman, when asked about the soon to come troop surges in Iraq, stated that he was an Independent Democrat and sides with the Democrats on domestic issues but sides with the Republicans on Foreign Policy and the war against Islamic terrorists. Sen. Lieberman said that he supports the President’s latest strategy because it has to be done to force the Iraqi government to pull their own weight. He said that he will not support the resolutions because it could discourage the troops and give hope to the enemy. With the Congress unanimously confirming Lt. Gen. David Petraeus and then passing non-binding resolutions, it supports the troops more or less but condemns the mission. Sen. Lieberman said to maximize the success in Iraq by giving the plan a chance is our only option.

My own take of this is skewed in many areas. My brother was killed in enemy action in 1968 when I was 13 years old. I have served this country from 1976 to 2004. I have served under several CICs. I have been to practically every country that ends in “stan”. I was alive and well in the early 1970s when the war in Vietnam was politicized to the extent of violence in the streets and the then political party in power was happy that they brought about our loss in SE Asia. I hear pundits decrying that this war is just like Vietnam. In one and only one regard, it is. It has become a political quagmire and there isn’t a politician on either side of the aisle that isn’t guilty of being a political hack in one form or another. A political solution is that which will not work.

From fellow fighting men still in Iraq and Afghanistan that I am still in contact with, this strategy will work if the politicians would shut up and let them do their jobs. I predict a U.S. victory in Iraq and with that victory a demise of the political hacks. A victory in Iraq will expose many politicians for what they are…power mongers. It is already succeeding. Al Sadr is in hiding.