Tag Archives: war

OMG, I Agree With Michele Bachmann!


Posted by Omnipotent Poobah
Who's That Behind Those Foster Grants?

TWO BOMB HANGOVER - He's not going to go easily, but should we be the ones to try to make him?

In the midst of the crapstorm that has become life in these United States, I sometimes feel as if I’ve slipped into a parallel dimension populated exclusively by tea partiers, Glen Beck clones, Sarah Palin stand up comedians, and our reigning dizzy queen Michele Bachmann. That’s why when I agreed with one of her statements, I headed straight for the antipsychotics.

Please God, don’t let me die a “dittohead”!

The Maybe I’ll Certainly Run for President in 2012 Unless I Change My Mind Before Deciding to Redecide Again candidate laid into The Messiah™ for leading his uncoalesced coalition into Libya. Not surprisingly she’s against it, though I’m confident she would’ve been for it if Obama had decided against intervention. But this this time? I agree with her.

Doin’ the Tripoli Tango
Obama made a mistake in entering the fray. Michele and I agree there seems to be little compelling strategic US interest involved. As for the humanitarianism angle, there are places that DO involve strategic US interests AND plenty of poor wretches being ground under the jackboots of a dozen Col. Loony Toons and DickTaters. We aren’t feeling particularly humanitarian there, so WTF? The US simply cannot be the world’s cop. There’s an infinite supply of bad people and you can’t wipe them all out without weakening yourself. Even Bush the Lesser understood that, though he sometimes didn’t act that way.

I think Michele’s a little weak on the whole “al Qaeda” is afoot angle and by referring to the fiasco in the making as the “Obama Doctrine” she’s ignoring the fact that one decision does not a full doctrine make. These decisions should and are based on the conditions at the moment, whether they’re good or bad.

Oy VeyNow, we’re  seeing the ghosts of neo-conservatism on Obama. He’s apparently signed a “secret order” authorizing covert support for the Libyan rebels. We’re slow learners about this whole, “let’s have a big freedom party and call all the poor kids over for punch, cookies, and purple thumb votes” thing. See Exhibits A (Iraq), B (Afghanistan), C-Z (dozens of other places where we’ve intervened to no great or lasting effect).

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Going to War: Let Every Pie Hole Sing


Posted by Omnipotent Poobah

If there’s one thing Barak Obama and George Bush have in common, it’s the uncanny ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Today’s Exhibit A: Libya.

In a single clumsy flail, Super O has gone both too fast and too slow. Talked too much and too little. Been the soul of diplomatic discretion and a bumbling, unrepentant war monger. He wants the US to lead his new Coalition of the Inept and drop out of it by dinner time. And, he wants Kadafhi dead so he can invite him over for a BBQ on the South Lawn.

The list, as every pissed off American with a pie hole says, is endless.

To be fair, where the hell were the asscakes railing against him now when Moses George wandered off into the desert in search of the Burning Bush, only to turn into a burning Bush instead? And that advise and consent thing? Who the hell are you kidding? There hasn’t been a declared war since WWII. Hell, Bush couldn’t even figure out what to call his before settling on the zesty, “War of Error” moniker.

The list of hypocrisy, as every pissed off American with a pie hole says, is endless.

The Secret Kenyan Goes George Bushy
Still, the secret Kenyan clearly hasn’t thought this through. If he knows the endgame, he’s gone all George Bushy in his inability to explain it. By not having a clear set of goals, a way to know you’re done, and how to pack up and get the hell out of Tripoli, you can start reading the ever-growing list of poor plans having come back to bite us: Korea, Vietnam, Iraq I, Iraq II, and Afghanistan to name a few.

Then, there is the war fighting on the domestic front. Republicans just hope he fails at everything. Liberals want the US to run out and save the world every time some tin pot dictator gets rambunctious. And cost? Phht, we haven’t paid off the last two bloody walkabouts yet and the lobby for cutting funding for them is slim and none. Libya is our next supplemental budget item.

To successfully manage policy, one has to start before the events do. Instead of propping up the Mubaraks and Kadafhis of the world, how about we pick and choose our strong men better? In business terms any overstuffed CEO could understand, the cost benefit ratio of removing one asshat and replacing him with another is no way to maximize our investments and incentify the world to peace.

1, 2, 3, 4, What’re We Fightin’ For?
We also need some vague idea of what we’re fighting for before we go. If it’s to defend defenseless civilians, how about the dozens of other places where people try to beat nonsense into each others’ heads with radar-guided sticks. Do we go to the wall for oppressed Norwegians or downtrodden Guineans?

Going to war, a police action, or a no-fly zone is messy business. Rarely are the situations clear. Something will come back to haunt your decision. Going to war is as much, or more, about the future than the present, so it behooves us to think about what we’re going to do before the time comes to do it.

The biggest single thing that pisses off the rest of the world is that every 4 years the US changes foreign policy from unilaterally nuking our perceived enemies until they glow to crawling on bended knee to every insane, Third World megalomaniac to ask forgiveness for not having given him an extra $2 billion and change as a tax for their often specious support.

And the rest of the world has a point. So, lets gear up, keep our heads low, and try to get this thing finished before it turns out a bigger muddle than the two we already have.

As a nation, want can’t take much more fighting someone else’s battles for freedom before we end up having to refight our own here at home.

Viva la common sense!

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The Hell With Atheists After the Foxholes


Posted by Omnipotent Poobah

Many people say, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” As a practical matter this obviously isn’t the case, but the Army’s new Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program (CSFP) implies it should.

No Atheists in Foxholes

NO TIME FOR (ATHEIST) SERGEANTS - Atheists are in foxholes, a lesson to remember.

The mandatory program measures soldier fitness in a variety of dimensions to help them cope with the rigors of combat. It’s spiritual dimension has a wealth of information for believers. However, it  implies that only believers need or can be helped in this dimension. In short, non-theists need not apply.

There’s nothing wrong with measuring and grading this dimension. It is critical to overcoming battlefield trauma. Whatever gets you through the terrors of war is great. But grading and providing solely religious-based feedback can demoralize non-believers and deprive them of helpful information in much the same way DADT chose to simply ignore the presence of gays. Non-theists are similarly marginalized.

Clean Toilets or Go to Chruch?
And, this ignoring of other than religious – more often than not non-Christian points of view – is larger than this program.

As a young airman in basic training during the 1970s everyone was offered two choices each Sunday – attend church or stay in the barracks and clean toilets.

Hmm…clean toilets or escape the tedium of 24×7 training for an hour singing and laughing with friends? Which shall I choose?

To the Air Force’s credit, the services were non-denominational and mentioned God only once or twice per service. There were two prayers, both of which were generic enough to interpret in any way, including as a non-theist statement. Services were comprised of signing vaguely religious, up tempo, and “modern” songs. To escape cleaning toilets with a toothbrush most atheists saw it as a good trade.

Nods to religion for the rest of my Air Force career were limited to my dog tags – which you could label as atheist, any religion, or not applicable. I entered “Granitellism” a faux belief that race car driver Andy Granitelli was God because he could pick up a screwdriver covered in oil. It didn’t cause an eyebrow to flutter.

It seems there has been a steady movement backward since those days.

In addition to CSFP, the Air Force Academy has suffered a long-standing bias against all but Christians and despite several Pentagon attempts to change, it continues. Individual unit commanders sometimes cross the same line and chaplains – which in my day did more social work than God’s work – have upped the ante.

Service members sometimes refuse to attend nondenominational services conducted by Islamic chaplains or vice versa. The Navy has squabbled over building mosques on large bases. National cemeteries banned atheist and multi-theist symbols on graves until recently because they “offended” the religious.

Unreasonable Demands?
Generally speaking, non-thesists haven’t made unreasonable demands for accommodation just as gays haven’t. When services build chapels and mosques there isn’t a clamor for an atheist house for contemplation. Asking for a symbol on a veteran’s grave is hardly a big thing. But, the CSFP goes a step beyond.

By refusing to include non-theists in CSFP the Army denies help to those service members, even though they remained atheists while in the foxholes…arm to arm with straight, gay, and minority soldiers.

The military is all about releasing some individuality to serve a greater purpose, a non-religious purpose. The Army used to call this, “An Army of One”. It degrades the contributions of non-believers because they didn’t give up an individual right guaranteed by the Constitution, and at least nominally by military training.

It’s simply wrong for the military to tout individual rights during training while denying those rights when the bullets fly.

After all, bullets don’t have an opinion about God.

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Where Were These Guys When the War Started?


Posted by Omnipotent Poobah
The Amateur Videographer

WHERE WERE THEY WHEN THE WAR STARTED? - American politicos apparently don't remember where they were when the war in Afghanistan started. All of the complainers now forget they did nothing to keep us out of this mess from the beginning. The only person who remembers where he was then is Osama Bin Laden - holed up in a Pakistani cave since the beginning.

It’s common to ask people where they were when John F. Kennedy was shot. Apparently, some political leaders should be asked, “Where where you when the Afghan war started?”

After 9 years of death, destruction, and national treasure pissed away, politicians like Dick Lugar (R-Dumbassholia), Carl Levin (D-WTFistan), John Kerry (D-Flapjackistan), and Newt Gingrich (D, R, ?-Mars) are of the opinion that the war in Afghanistan “is not going to end well“.

Really now. No kidding? Where the f*ck were you guys when the thing started? It was apparent then, and it’s equally apparent now, that it won’t end well and you did as little to stop, or even question it, as your average tree stump.

Clues for the Clueless
What was your clue? Was it when we started with assurances of the evils of nation-building and then got to work building a nation? How about when you told us it was going to be a cake walk over a bunch of 4th century illiterate goatherds? Was it when George the Incompetent “brought ‘em on” and then decided finding Bin Laden wasn’t so important after all? How about when Osama Bin Lunkhead taunted you from a cave – a cave, BTW, that wasn’t even in Af-frickin-ghanistan!?

You’re now delivering the absolutely shocking news that the mission is ill-defined and poorly carried out? No sh*t you bunch of Nostradumbasses!

Bush’s mission definition was… “to win”. However, it might have worked better had he told us what winning looked like, how to do it, or how to pay for it. Was it the “non-nation building strategy”, followed by the “surge strategy”, followed by the “drawdown strategy”, followed by the “let’s just become the de facto Afghan government because that goatskin cap-wearing lunatic Karzai couldn’t govern his way of a wet falafel bag strategy”?

Newt, you come in for special scorn. In December, before the rest of the tarnish rubbed of The Messiah’s™ crown, you were on board. Back then, the Carebear-in-Chief had political courage. “If you are a liberal Democrat who won the nomination with the support of the anti-war left, this had to be one of the most difficult decisions he’ll ever make,” you said.

Now, not so much. Who are you, the evil doppelganger for John “I Never Met a Position I Couldn’t Change” McThusela? Perhaps you’re the, “I was for it until I was against it” version of John Kerry? Oh, and word for the unwise, video, audio, and even good old-fashioned newspapers capture crap like that with the sole purpose of throwing it back in your face when you’re for something before you were against it.

Here’s a towel to wipe it off your pork-chop stuffed face.

And finally, Mr. President, where the hell have YOU been?

You’ve followed your predecessor’s slug track for two years now. A predecessor whose policies you described as “failed”. What made them “failed” when he tried them, but “politically courageous” when you carry them out? We still don’t have a clear mission other than, “We gotta go forward because going back is too hard and quiting might hurt someone’s bipartisan feelings. It’s just not my style to rock the boat.”

Plus, we still don’t know what “victory” looks like. However, I’m guessing most Americans don’t see indefinitely investing $10 billion a year on the army of a country with a $14 billion annual GDP that can’t protect themselves, much less the populace,  as “a win”. Most Americans would be happy with far cheaper extended unemployment benefits instead.

Obama: No Profile in Courage
The only “political courage” you’ve shown on this issue was to fire that 4-star Numbskull McChrystal for being too stupid to keep his yap shut in front of a reporter. Personally, if I’d been him I would’ve cut out the middle man and just come to the White House to call you a bumbling eunuch to your face.

Gentlemen (and all the rest of the political cowards who didn’t lift a finger to prevent this mess), you can prefer not to remember where you were back in the day. I don’t blame you, I’d want to hide out in The Big Dick’s™ secret undisclosed location to dodge the glare of what incredible asshats you’ve been too.

But you can’t. Just ask The Big Dick™.  His support and conviction on the rightness of the war has been as unwavering as his now-missing pulse. Do the honorable thing. Take responsibility for your actions, just like Dick. He’s learned to own his colossal incompetence, you should take ownership of yours too.

That’s what the rest of us call “political courage”.

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Whatever Happened to That Truth Commision Thing?


Posted by Omnipotent Poobah

Update Rep. Nadler: Investigate Torture or Face Road to Tyranny

Pulling the Mask Aside

PULLING THE MASK ASIDE - Even an ersatz Judge Judy like Fox's Andrew Napolitano thinks Bush the Lesser should have been indicted for his misdeeds. Clearly, that idea has gone by the wayside by a combination of political cowardice and extending the same Bush policies into the Obama era.

Remember those heady days when the reign of Bush the Lesser ended and the reign of The Messiah™ began? Hope was the watchword and people – with the possible exception of the Tea Bagger types who hate anything to do with hope, competence, or functioning brain cells – were infused with the “Yes we can” spirit?

Well, that didn’t work out quite as planned and neither did many of the other watchwords of the time – “investigation”, “subpoena”, and “truth commission”.

Remember how Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, Patrick Leahy, called for investigations and threatened subpoenas for The Big Dick™ and Chimpy the Lame? Remember how he was so full of righteous indignation and how he pledged to get at the truth of how America ended up in two wars – originally scheduled as cake walks of several months – that still drone on 10 years later? The people would get answers about just what the hell torture was and exactly how we would or wouldn’t use it. There would be no stone unturned and punishment would fall where it may, based on sworn testimony and not the height of the throne on which crapulent asses sat.

The Gang Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight Escapes
That didn’t work out so well either. It turned out that badly-needed investigations, or even dishwater thin substitutes like a “truth commission”, never came. The Gang Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight escaped town before the tar was heated and the feathers plucked, right through a door the O-Man opened politely before them.

The Messiah™ made the first mistake of his fledgling Presidency by saying, “let bygones, be bygones”. Holding people accountable was just too rude and might offend the delicate sensibilities of the opposition. His hope was a new era of bipartisanship in which the world would be transformed into a civilized place full of harmony and love.

And we see how that worked out too.

The public got no answers. The Big Dick™ is indulging his heart attack fetish and the Chimp wiped his dirty hands on Bubba Bill’s back. Obama got neither bipartisanship nor support from any corner and we the people got a huge frickin’ bill for a war we can’t win nor withdraw from.

Not surprisingly, many people are still raw about the issue, even those who blindly supported the previous skeevy residents of 1600 Pennsylvania. Fox’s alleged legal expert “Judge” Andrew Napolitano has even turned on them. And when Fox turns on a Republican, it’s news – though Fox might not carry it for violating their “fair and balanced” policy.

Constitutional Paper

MORNING CONSTITUTIONAL PAPER - Both the Bush and Obama administrations have shown disdain for the Constitution.

In an interview with Ralph Nader, Napolitano said, “So what President Bush did with the suspension of habeas corpus, with the whole concept of Guantanamo Bay, with the whole idea that he could avoid and evade federal laws, treaties, federal judges, and the Constitution was blatantly unconstitutional and is some cases criminal.”

But what should have been done good judge?

“They [Bush and Cheney] should have been indicted. They absolutely should have been indicted for torturing, for spying, for arresting without warrant,” said Napolitano.

Even an Ersatz Judge Judy Gets It
And there you have it. Even an ersatz Judge Judy gets it. Even he understands that not holding someone accountable for the damage done in this country’s name is an insidious disease that weakens the fabric of America.

His comments speak volumes about the Bush administration, and by extension, the Obama one too. Many of the Bush administration’s most onerous assaults on the law and the Constitution are still in place or in legal limbo where Obama won’t touch them with a 10-ft. pole. Both administrations banked on the public getting restless and wandering away to watch So You Think You Can Do Brain Surgery.

And we did just that.

It’s an amazing thing that Tea Baggers and Republicans can carp about Obama being a lefty and single-handedly destroying the nation while ignoring the fact that on most large issues – particularly those associated with security – nothing of substance has changed. He’s still feeling his way through the minefield by disturbing as little as possible, instead of bringing in the demolition experts and having them clear the road ahead.

It’s a hell of a way to honor justice or the Constitution.

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