The United States is a uniquely exceptional country in the world and always has been. Take the former Soviet Union as an example of how superior the US. is. The Soviets were silly enough to allow communist authoritarians to rule over them. The U.S., on the other hand, is a much more advanced society in which only corporate oligarchs can be our authoritarian rulers. The U.S. is a Christian nation and the former Soviets were only godless atheists bound for hell.

The Soviets were foolish enough to invade Afghanistan in 1979 where they experienced a nine year quagmire of futility, and then left in 1989, not able to complete their mission of defeating the cave-dwelling Mujahideen. It is widely held that the Soviets foolish adventure in Afghanistan led directly to their disintegration as a superpower.

The United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and are still experiencing a quagmire of futility 8 years later in what has been declared an attempt to defeat a medieval-Islamic group called the Taliban.

See? We're superior to the former Soviet Union. We're smarter. We don't make the same mistakes the godless atheists did.

The issue before the new American President is what to do now as we start our 9th year of quagmire. Having appeared 13 times so far this year on the Villager Sunday teevee morning shows, President John McCain, unelected but entitled to make our military decisions because….well…just because…..had this to say yesterday to Obama as 31 congressional members met with the elected President Obama to exchange ideas on our Afghan quagmire…..

Mr. McCain told the president that “time is not on our side.” He added, “This should not be a leisurely process,” according to several people in the room.

A few minutes later, Mr. Obama replied, “John, I can assure you this won’t be leisurely,” according to several attendees. “No one feels more urgency to get this right than I do.”
..[..]..
After the meeting, Mr. McCain warned against any middle ground. “Half measures is what I worry about,” he said. Citing the Bush administration’s experience in Iraq, he added that half measures “lead to failure over time and an erosion of American public support.”

Anyone remember the unelected President McCain chiding the genuinely-unelected President Bush about "half-measures" or "leisurely" approaches to Afghanistan when the genuinely-unelected President Bush was defrauding America into a new war of choice? Anyone?

More President McCain after the meeting….

McCain warns: "There's been this argument that the threat now is not Al Qaeda … The fact is, we all know that if the Taliban come back, Al Qaeda will come back. And they will come back in Afghanistan and they will come back in Pakistan."

The unelected President McCain's speciality is military strategy and foreign policy….and when it comes to those specialities, McCain is really, really smart. As Digby points out from this report….

The Taliban now has a permanent presence in 80% of Afghanistan, up from 72% in November 2008, according to a new map released today by the International Council on Security and Development (ICOS). According to ICOS, another 17% of Afghanistan is seeing ‘substantial’ Taliban activity. Taken together, these figures show that the Taliban has a significant presence in virtually all of Afghanistan.

President McCain: "if the Taliban comes back"…..umm, Maverick, they're back. And what of al-Qaeda whom Johnny Mac said emphatically, "will come back", if, you know, the Taliban comes back?

Petraeus, May 10, 2009….

The head of U.S. Central Command said Sunday that Al Qaeda is no longer operating in Afghanistan, with its senior leadership having moved to the western region of Pakistan.

McChrystal, Sept.9, 2009….

"I do not see indications of a large al-Qaida presence in Afghanistan now," McChrystal told reporters at the Dutch Defense Ministry, where he met military officials.

NSA Chief, James Jones, Oct 6, 2009….

He said that according to the maximum estimate, al-Qaida has fewer than 100 fighters operating in Afghanistan without any bases or ability to launch attacks on the West.

Whatever the Villager Choir and the Just Say No GOP Chorus have been, and will be, singing near term about al-Qaeda coming back if the Taliban comes back……it simply is not so.

There may be legitimate reasons to continue to strike at the skeletal remains of al-Qaeda inside Afghanistan…..but the "return of the Taliban" is not one of them.

We need to remove as many troops from Afghanistan as soon as we can, even if the Afghanis choose to support the already-returned Taliban. Our mission was to destroy the al-Qaeda network. We've made great progress towards fulfilling that mission.

We won't do any of that, of course, because we, unlike the former Soviets, are uniquely exceptional. Even when we make tragic mistakes, we don't. So, expect the same hew and cry from the neo-conservatives and the same braying from the military-industrial complex supporters in Congress…..and a continuation of a no-end-in-sight quagmire in Afghanistan accompanied with loud cheerleading about how we're "going to win."

Updated below

Humans will lie about almost anything…..check that….Humans will lie about anything. I'm not sure whether the human habit of lying can be attributed to evolution or not. Perhaps we have been programmed over 15,000 years or so to deceive other humans for self-preservation purposes.

Whatever the reason…..dishonesty, lying, deception….have always been human traits.

In the 90's, the last time we had a Democratic president, rich conservatives took it upon themselves to orchestrate a mass media lying and smearing campaign against Bill Clinton. Clinton, according to those widely circulated lies, was a drug runner, a murderer, a real estate scammer and a serial rapist. None of those lies were true but they were continually repeated by the liars and then, by those who believed, or wanted to believe the lies.

One year after Justice Scalia appointed George W. Bush president, the lies and deceptions by Dick Cheney and his band of PNAC warmongering crusaders led to the senseless murders of 4400 U.S. soldiers in Iraq. Corporate media, with very few exceptions, helped Cheney spread those lies. The lies were spread from the "liberal" NY Times' Judith Miller directly to the late Tim Russert's Meet the Press on "liberal" NBC……the network that Mary Matalin, Cheney's political advisor, said was the best for getting Cheney's "message" out.

Cheney's lies and deceptions worked. Iraq posed no threat to the U.S., wasn't involved with 9-11, and had no ties to Islamic extremists. Iraq had been decimated from a decade of U.S flyover bombings and painful sanctions. Yet, the corporate media's wholesale spreading of Cheney's lies coupled with America's still fresh emotions of vengeance from 9-11, led this country into what is still considered a disaster today inside Iraq.

Believing in lies often leads to dire consequences. Such is Iraq.

Now with Cheney gone, except for appearances on corporate-whore teevee, incoherent sore-loser Tea Partiers, like the arrival of the Holy Ghost in the book of Acts, have had the deceptive-working power of Dick Cheney wash over them like flames of fire. Tea Partiers, or 9-12'ers if you prefer, though not as polished a group as their Dark Master, have been as successful as The Dick was in deceiving the overall public.

I wonder how many needless deaths will happen this time.

The Twelvers lie about virtually everything. They lie about an already partially socialized America becoming "socialist." They lie about Obama's desire to kill the elderly. They lie about Democratic health care legislation covering undocumenteds. They lie about Obamacare mandating tax dollars to be used for abortion. They lie about Obama's citizenship. They deceptively compare Obama with Hitler, Castro, Mao, and Stalin. They falsely assert that they "want their country back", when their country hasn't gone anywhere.

They even lie about how many Twelvers showed up in D.C. last Saturday.

Tea Partiers, now imbued with the Evil Lying Spirit of Richard Cheney, carry on their Dark Father's tradition of lying in order to get what they want. Cheney wanted to attack and occupy Iraq. Twelvers want health care reform killed and the presidency of Barack Obama, like Clinton in the 90's, marginalized.

In both cases, corporate-whore main media was johnny-on-the-spot in helping to spread the lies. In 2002, in excess of 100,000 anti-Iraq war protestors gathered in D.C. The Washington Post, you know, that "liberal" rag, covered that rather large protest this way….

The Washington Post put the story not on the front page, but in the Metro section with, as the paper's ombudsman later lamented, "a couple of ho-hum photographs that captured the protest's fringe elements."

The Post, representing the lies and deceptions of Dick Cheney over Iraq in 2002, couldn't possibly take 100,000+ protesters seriously…..their paper repeatedly had argued for attacking a country which did not threaten America.

However, if the protest is smaller and based on incoherent deceptions and lies, like the TeaBaggers in D.C. this past weekend…..then the "liberal" Washington Post strategically places those lies and deceptions on their front page….with pictures….

Tens of thousands of conservative protesters, many complaining that the nation is racing toward socialism, massed outside the U.S. Capitol on Saturday, angrily denouncing President Obama's health-care plan and other initiatives as threats to the Constitution.

100,000+ protesting the lies of Dick Cheney which resulted in 4400 U.S. soldier caskets and no definable benefit to America…..Metro section coverage. 60,000 protesters lying about any and everything Obama…..front page news.

I no longer believe that America is in a "battle for it's soul." I think that battle is over and the forces of light and truth have lost. The liars and deceivers have won out. Cheney lied and he got what he wanted….a U.S. quagmire in Iraq with thousands of dead Americans. The Twelvers lie and deceive and the whore media, just like with Iraq, assist them in getting what they want…..a watered down, feckless, piece of drug and insurance industry-friendly legislation which will only make our problem with high costs and availability even worse.

Update: Here is the picture used by my blog friend King in his post yesterday….

The picture is from the 1997 Promise Keepers rally…..not from last Saturday's TeaBagger gathering.

Humans will lie and deceive about anything.

Blog Correction: Keith Olbermann had an update on something I blogged about over the weekend. Apparently, the NY Times Saturday article stating that Fox and NBC had reached some self-censorship deal between Bill O'Reilly and Keith Olbermann is not true. If you're interested in this story…watch this short video from last night…

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Now on to today's topic….Bonehead Thugs-N-Disharmony….

Remember back in the fall of 2000 when the Republican machine staged what was later called the "Brooks Brothers Riot", helping to stop the recount of Florida ballots? GOP political operatives were promised swanky resort time if they came to Florida to disrupt the recount…..and it worked. It was the Republican version of American democracy….if you can't win at the ballot box, disrupt the process until you get the outcome you desire.

It's deja-vu all over again.

Whether it's disrupting the democratic process of recounting ballots in Florida or whether it's disrupting town hall discussions about health care reform in America…..the GOP's tactics are the same…..fake some grassroots movement and make it appear like hoards of voters are outraged….raise hell….then point to the hell-raising as evidence of some majority populist movement, in this case, against reforming health care.

It's all part of the anti-democratic GOP playbook……

"People should be asked to meet in the parking lot a half hour before the scheduled start."

"Everyone should be asked to use one of the questions or a similar one that boxes in the Rep. The team should also be advised to spread out inside the hall but should try to get seats in the front half."

"The objective is to put the Rep on the defensive with your questions and follow-up."

"You need to rock the boat early in the Rep's presentation. Watch for an opportunity to yell out….If he blames Bush for something or offers other excuses—-call him on it, yell back and have someone else follow up with a shout out…..The purpose is to make him uneasy early on and set the tone for the hall as clearly informal, and free-wheeling. It will also embolden others…."

"The balance of the group should applaud when the question is asked, further putting the Rep on the defensive. If the Rep tries a particularly odious diversion (dripping with irony, much?), someone from the group should yell out to answer the question."

Stopping a recount or stopping health care reform….it's all the same…

MacGuffie's memo was posted to the Tea Party Patriots' list serve, which is hundreds of members large, and includes representatives from not just small protest groups, but also major anti-health reform organizations such as Conservatives for Patients Rights, and Patients First, Patients United Now (an affiliate of Americans for Prosperity), and, yes, Freedom Works.

With such broad and powerful memberships, the group is able to co-ordinate protests and counter protests at events hosted by members of Congress and pro-reform groups. And that's just what they've been doing, and plan to do much more over the August congressional recess, during which many believe the fate of health care reform will be decided.

This thuggish band of GOP Jihadists, working off their weapons of mass disruption playbook, and determined to kill health care reform for the sake of a handful of very, very rich health insurers……have launched their summer offensive against the American people…..in Philadelphia, Austin, Long Island, and a host of other locations where congressional representatives were attempting to hold town meetings to explain health care reform.

Remember, 70% of Americans not only want health care reformed in America, they want a public option to private health insurance in that reform. Those seeking to bully and disrupt town hall meetings have been organized (knowingly or not) by corporate health care lobbyists to stop the public option or kill all health care reform,….just like the "Tea Partiers" were organized by America's richest to pre-empt the Democrat's plan to end the Bush tax cuts on the wealthiest Americans.

Those who work directly for the fat cats (like Dick Armey) are leveraging the bitter, and often racist, feelings of anti-Obama voters. Those who believe Obama is not a U.S. citizen, those who believe Obama is a secret Muslim, those who believe Obama is a socialist-marxist…..those who simply detest the fact that America has elected it's first black president…..are having their sore-loserness and bitter hatred exploited in order to kill significant health care reform.

Unwittingly or not, those following the GOP's how-to-bully, intimidate-and-disrupt playbook, are being used as props to advance the agenda of the country's most powerful.

And these people are the ones who swear they represent "real America."

Short blog this Monday. I've been meaning to say something about what I have found to be extremely "sore-thumbish" since Obama's inauguration.

Does anyone find it odd that beginning with Barack Obama's inauguration on January 20th, corporate media has spent a tremendous amount of time plumbing the depths of some imagined Republican Party comeback?

Let's just set aside for a moment the overwhelming ratio of conservative guests to progressive guests on corporate teevee "news" programs. That's just standard operating procedure. From the Republican Party teevee network, FOX, to hapless CNN, down through the alleged-to-be-liberal network NBC-MSNBC…..daily questions and Very Serious analysis addressing some fantasy comeback by the minority party has been a part of every program.

It's odd because I'm sure I don't remember corporate media blathering on and on, after the Supreme Court appointed George W. Bush president in 2000, about how Democrats could come back in 2004 and who would lead them back, etc., etc.

But because Republicans, according to corporate media, are, by definition, America's Serious Leaders, and not Democrats, even with a mandate from voters…..if Democrats would happen to, you know, by accident, gain the majority in Congress and the presidency…..then the most important question for Serious Experts in Knee Pad Media Land goes something like this…..

Question from David Gregory on yesterday's Press the Meat…

"David Brooks, how does this Republican Party of the future chart a new course. If you look back historically from Nixon to Reagan to George W. Bush. In each case, it was not only a kind of an indictment of the past, but also the charting of a new course for the future of the Republican Party."

We are 6 months into Democrat, Barack Obama's presidency. Al Franken, the Democrats 60th vote in the Senate, has yet to be given his rightful seat. But the most asked question by the Experts is….How can Republicans quickly come back to lead the country? I've heard this topic being discussed every day by those who call themselves objective journalists.

Why?

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On a lighter note. The picture above is from this past Friday night at Akron's Lock 3. It was a great turnout on a great night,…..and did I mention that the Corona was cold. The Eric Clapton tribute band, Slowhand, did not disappoint this Reverend. Akron should be very proud of Lock 3.

This Friday night's Lock 3 band is Satisfaction, a Rolling Stones tribute band. We've seen them twice before and they are freaking phenomenal…..and you know me….I mostly hate everything. Iffin' you have a mind to, and like the Stones, bring your lawn chairs and have a good time. No cover charge, food is available and beer and wine coolers are $4.

Krugman, today…..

….it turns out that the tea parties don’t represent a spontaneous outpouring of public sentiment. They’re AstroTurf (fake grass roots) events, manufactured by the usual suspects. In particular, a key role is being played by FreedomWorks, an organization run by Richard Armey, the former House majority leader, and supported by the usual group of right-wing billionaires. And the parties are, of course, being promoted heavily by Fox News.

But that’s nothing new, and AstroTurf has worked well for Republicans in the past. The most notable example was the “spontaneous” riot back in 2000 — actually orchestrated by G.O.P. strategists — that shut down the presidential vote recount in Florida’s Miami-Dade County.

Remember those great election-2000 days?…..Remember the so-called grassroots Republican riot in Florida, stopping the recount? Wikipedia offers a short refresher…..

The Brooks Brothers riot was a demonstration by Republican congressional staffers at a meeting of election canvassers in Miami, Florida on November 19, 2000, organized for the purpose of bringing about the cancellation of a hand recount in which 10,750 ballots remain uncounted in the recount of the 2000 United States presidential election. The name refers to a traditional brand of suits associated with conservative business attire like that of the protesters.[1] The crowd was reported to have been directed by Congressman John E. Sweeney,[2] a Republican from New York.

How extensive was the Republican Party's orchestration of the "grassroots" protest?…..

In Florida, the Bush campaign quietly organized "rent-a-rioters" and flew them to Florida from all over the country. While disingenuously portraying the protests as "spontaneous grass-roots efforts," the Bush campaign sent special squads of GOP Congressional staffers who, in several instances, led violent attacks on Democratic observers, smashed windows, and tried to force their way into vote-counting rooms. This was not civil disobedience intended to show disagreement, but a concerted attack designed to threaten and intimidate.

Under the direction of House Republican Whip Tom DeLay (of Texas, mind you), staff members of GOP Congressmen were quietly approached with offers of all-expenses-paid trips to Florida, "all paid for by the Bush campaign." In addition to staying in swanky beach-side hotels, part of their reward would be an exclusive Thanksgiving Day party in Ft. Lauderdale. Source

It wasn't a grassroots protest then, either….

Indeed, all on-the-scene reports coming out now indicate that the Miami protest was carried out by rent-a-rioters flown in by the Republican Party. GOP spokespeople have said that at least 750 Republican activists have been sent into South Florida from around the country to oppose the recount, with the party picking up the tab for a number of them.

When George W. Bush took the presidency back in 2000, Karl Rove boasted that they would be "creating reality now." Only perception mattered, according to Rove, truth be damned. Rovian dogma is still the exclusive playbook for Republicans.

Wednesday's faux-Tea Parties, just like the Brooks Brothers Riot of 2000, are not grassroots protests at all, but GOP orchestrated creations of reality.

And just like CNN, back in 2000, breathlessly and with mind-numbing repetitiveness about "breaking news"…..played along with the idea that the Brooks Brothers Riot was, you know, spontaneous…….so too now, with the Astroturfing Tea Parties. It's quite a "grassroots" protest when Fox is actively promoting and participating in the Parties on Wednesday.

Someone forwarded me this viral e-mail and asked if I would respond.
It is my pleasure…..

Professor Joseph Olson of Hemline University, School of Law, St. Paul , Minnesota , points out some interesting facts, concerning the Presidential election:

Number of States won by: Democrats: 19 Republicans: 29

Square miles of land won by: Democrats: 580,000 Republicans: 2,427,000

Population of counties won by: Democrats: 127 million Republicans: 143 million

Murder rate per 100,000 residents in counties won by: Democrats: 13.2 Republicans: 2.1

Professor Olson adds: "In aggregate, the map of the territory Republican won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country. Democrat territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare…"

Olson believes the United States is now somewhere between the "complacency and apathy" phase of Professor Tyler's definition of democracy, with some forty percent of the nation's population already having reached the "governmental dependency" phase.

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders called illegals and they vote, then we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years. If you are in favor of this, then by all means, delete this message.

If you are not, then pass this along to help everyone realize just how much is at stake, knowing that apathy is the greatest danger to our freedom.

Number 1) The statistics in the viral e-mail, some of them incorrect, are from the Bush-Gore election of 2000. Nowhere in the e-mail is the reader told that. The e-mail is designed to mislead the reader.

Number 2) The population and square miles numbers are correct, but once again, the numbers are from the 2000 election results. The number of states in the e-mail is incorrect….Bush won 30 states, Gore 20.

Number 3) Wickedness is deceptive, subtle, insidious. Though the statistics are from the year 2000, never mentioned in the e-mail…..the murder rates per 100,000 population are totally incorrect, and for a reason, I'm sure. The e-mail says:…13.2 murders per 100,000 residents in counties won by Democrats, ….2.1 murders per 100,000 residents in counties won by Republicans. The actual numbers are 6.5 for Democratic counties, 4.1 for Republican counties.

That's quite a divergence from the facts. The intent of the deception is clear. The reader is misled to believe Democratic voters are criminals by a 6-1 ratio over Republican voters. Simply made up.

Number 4) One of the intents of the e-mail is to bash Democrats as lazy wannabe socialists who live off of welfare and don't pay taxes (besides being murderers). The "Professor" in the e-mail is quoted saying this…

"In aggregate, the map of the territory Republican won was mostly the land owned by the taxpaying citizens of the country. Democrat territory mostly encompassed those citizens living in government-owned tenements and living off various forms of government welfare…"

There is no truth, at all, in those statements. Here are the facts from an Ohio State study…..

In the 2000 U.S. presidential election, George W. Bush won most of the states that are net beneficiaries of federal spending programs, while Gore won most of the states that are net contributors to federal spending. Link

Just to be clear…."net beneficiaries" means Bush states received more taxes from the federal government than they contributed…."net contributors" means Gore states contributed more tax money to the federal government than they received.

The "Professor" lied…or simply made stuff up.

This e-mail, like many, many others, is part of the ongoing culture war in America, led primarily by evangelical Christians fearful of change. Notice that this most recent version includes undocumented Latino immigrant bashing and scare tactics. May I remind my evangelical Christian friends that Jesus didn't seek to lie, mislead and misinform as he spread his message. The Christian Saviour didn't lie, mislead, and misinform in a spirit of division and hatred, either.

Finally, in summary….the viral e-mail passed to me is over eight years old and has no relationship, whatsoever, to our most recent presidential election, even though nowhere on the e-mail is that made clear. Accurate facts are mixed with falsified numbers for the sole purpose of misleading readers into believing that Democratic voters are lazy, welfare-check cashing murderers intent on destroying the fabric of America.

"We are not Blue States and Red States….we are the United States of America." President Barack Obama.

Reference link.