BottleOfBlog

The General Drives A Tank

"America, hear this soldier!"

He drives a tank, and he kicks ass.

God bless, Wes Clarke. He had my vote.

Bush Administration Fires Competent Worker To Hide Own Incompetence

And, oh yeah, you know what happens to you in the Bush administration if you're serious about terrorism? You get fucking fired.

(CBS) A newly disclosed letter confirmed charges by a former FBI interpreter that she was fired at least in part because she blew the whistle on incompetent workers at the bureau.

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In a letter released on Capitol Hill, FBI Director Robert Mueller acknowledged that the a recently concluded internal Justice Department investigation found "a contributing factor" in Edmonds firing was the fact that she had accused the bureau of ineptitude, reports CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart.

Edmonds insisted today, the ineptitude still exists.

"The problems were systemic problems that existed within the FBI's translation units that involve security breaches and also incompetence. These were the problems I reported," she said.

Because the Bush administration is so tough on terrorism! They're so tough they'd rather fire competent workers who identify security breaches than risk having their phoney baloney image of being competent and tough on terror blown.

So what if another 3000 Americans die a horrible death? Who cares? This is a disciplined administration. Keep your mouth shut, or face the consequences.

This administration can be trusted with national security? Puh-lease. This administration can't be trusted at all.

Bush's Other Successful War A Disaster, Too

LONDON (CP) — Afghanistan could "implode" unless NATO does more to help it get on its feet, a group of British MPs said today in a report that also gives a grim assessment on Iraq.

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"There is a real danger if these resources are not provided soon that Afghanistan — a fragile state in one of the most sensitive and volatile regions of the world — could implode, with terrible consequences," says the report.

"We recommend that the government impress upon its NATO allies the need to deliver on their promises to help Afghanistan before it is too late, both for the credibility of the alliance and, more importantly, for the people of Afghanistan."

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"Iraq has become a battle ground for al-Qaida, with appalling consequences for the Iraqi people," the committee said. "However, we also conclude that the coalition's failure to bring law and order to parts of Iraq have created a vacuum into which criminal elements and militias have stepped."

It says "the alternative to a positive outcome in Iraq may be a failed state and regional instability."

But the report offered an equally dark view of the situation in Afghanistan, which it describes as the forgotten conflict.

Yes, it was forgotten. It was forgotten almost as soon as it was started, so we could invade Iraq for no reason at all. No WMDs. No al Qaeda. No nothing.

In fact, Afghanistan, the real battle ground for the War on Terror was forgotten so fast Bush forgot to even request one single penny for Afghanistan in 2002:

The United States Congress has stepped in to find nearly $300m in humanitarian and reconstruction funds for Afghanistan after the Bush administration failed to request any money in the latest budget.

Nothing. Not a cent. In 2002! Barely three months after September 11th. That's how much Bush cared about Afghanistan. He forgot to request any money for it's reconstruction. The home base and breeding ground of al Qaeda.

And, don't forget, again, the Great Diplomat called Afghanistan his model for a new Iraq:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush lauded Afghanistan on Tuesday as a model for Iraq as he tried to paint the U.S. involvement there as a success ahead of the November U.S. election.

Total foreign policy clowns. And they are, aside from the thousands of soldiers who they have sent to their needless deaths and woundings, putting your life in danger. And they do that while patting themselves on the back for being tough and savvy about foreign policy.

Incompetent and full of straight-shootin' Texas baloney.

And these same fucking jokers have the nerve to say they wonder if John Kerry is up to the task of battling terror.

Idiots.

Pakistanis Close The Deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. official on Thursday confirmed that Pakistan has captured a senior al Qaeda member wanted by the United States in connection with the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa.

Well, that was right on schedule, wasn't it?

A third source, an official who works under ISI's director, Lieutenant General Ehsan ul-Haq, informed tnr that the Pakistanis "have been told at every level that apprehension or killing of HVTs before [the] election is [an] absolute must." What's more, this source claims that Bush administration officials have told their Pakistani counterparts they have a date in mind for announcing this achievement: "The last ten days of July deadline has been given repeatedly by visitors to Islamabad and during [ul-Haq's] meetings in Washington." Says McCormack: "I'm aware of no such comment." But according to this ISI official, a White House aide told ul-Haq last spring that "it would be best if the arrest or killing of [any] HVT were announced on twenty-six, twenty-seven, or twenty-eight July"--the first three days of the Democratic National Convention in Boston.

A gift from our good friends, the Pakistanis. You know the ones, the ones who have given a home to senior al Qaeda members for a decade, the ones who are the worst nuclear proliferators in the world, the ones who cut a deal to be somewhat helpful in our war on terror in exchange for a billion dollars of military aid, the ones whose ISI trained and worked closely with and sympathizes with al Qaeda.

The ones who have a more favorable opinion of Osama bin Laden than George Bush.

Those Pakistanis.

You do have to hand it to this administration, though. Even when they're busted being utterly corrupt, they don't care and they don't change their plans because they know our "liberal" media is far too stupid and lazy and incompetent to call them on it.

It's about the only thing this administration does well--manipulate the idiots, or as they like to call themselves, the "pundits". That, and gin up the rubes.

So dance, rubes, dance! People who have utter contempt for you are calling the tune again.

"Liberal" Media Continues To Wonder About Kerry's Vote On Funding The Troops; Gets Howled At

Klein’s recitation is perfect; Kerry’s votes were “contradictory.” But if that’s true, what can we say about President Bush? After all, Bush decided to go to war in Iraq, then threatened to veto the $87 billion bill to funds the troops, helping bring it down to defeat the first time the Senate voted on it. Was that conduct “contradictory” too? This must be the most obvious question on earth, but typists like Klein aren’t going to raise it. Lazy, inept and deeply programmed, Manchurian typists—typists like Klein—only produce Approved Press Corps Scripts. When Kerry votes against one form of the $87 billion bill, that is puzzling, disturbing, “contradictory.” When Bush helps defeat another form of the bill, that is ignored, never mentioned, quite acceptable. Readers, it’s all about typing up Approved Scripts, then heading off to swish cocktail parties where other flunkies tell Joe Klein how brilliant and savvy he is.

Yes, President Bush initiated a war, then worked to defeat the spending bill that would have supported the troops! There was, of course, nothing wrong with that conduct; Bush favored a different form of the bill, and he was working to pass it. But guess what? Kerry also favored certain forms of the bill, and if the Senate had voted with him on his “no” vote, they would have been forced to craft a new bill that might have been more to his liking. There was never a chance—never a chance—that the troops weren’t going to be funded. Klein, of course, understands that full well. But then, Klein also loves his God. Like the rest of his hapless cohort, he bows to the great God of Scripts.

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But of course, it isn’t impossible to explain Kerry’s vote; explaining the vote is blindingly simple. Here we go: There were two different bills to fund the troops, and John Kerry—just like George Bush—supported one bill and opposed the other! How hard is that to explain? But Matthews’ panel raucously laughed as they enjoyed their pleasing script. “What was he trying to say, Mr. Mayor?” Scarborough said to hapless, inept Willie Brown, former San Francisco mayor. Brown was there as a Democrat pol, but he gave a ridiculous, uninformed “explanation,” further misleading MSNBC viewers. And all the panel continued to laugh as Matthews went to a break.

Readers, have you ever seen a panel on ESPN treat a football game with such disrespect? Sports writers take their subject seriously, but your national national “press corps” clowns and laughs as they make a joke of another White House election, the thing they seem to do best.

Yes, it's blindingly simple to explain Kerry's vote. And it makes sense. And, here's the best part--for you Republicans out there--it's actually true!

That's the way our government works, patriots! That's the way the legislative process works.

And, yet, for nearly a year, your liberal media has been wracking its brains trying to figure out just how in the heck can John Kerry reconcile being strong on defense with his vote on funding the troops? It's baffling! A total mystery! There's just no understandable answer out there in the cosmos!

And that's the kind of stupidity we're hearing from people who cover politics for a living.

So, again, for about the millionth time, either these are the stupidest people on God's green earth, or they're a bunch of shameless liars, who don't respect you, who don't respect themselves, and hold our democracy in utter contempt.

Or both.

Why Doesn't Anyone Say It???

Christ, the idiots or, as they like to call themselves, the "pundits", keep asking the same fucking question: "But, what specifically would John Kerry do differently with regard to Iraq?"

And Democrats continue to patiently explain that Kerry would internationalize the disaster, lessen the cost to Americans in lives and dollar bills, blah, blah, blah.

Why don't they just say it?

The answer is: Hey, even if Kerry doesn't do a goddamn thing differently than Bush, he'll do it competently.

He's not a lazy, incompetent, disinterested fool.

Isn't that enough, for crying out loud? Haven't the idiots, or "pundits", been watching even their own stupid shows for the last three horrific years???

Of course, Kerry will do things differently. But, again, even if he doesn't, he can't possibly do things as stupidly as Bush and his insane clown posse.

I mean, if you have Stevie Wonder driving your car down the street and he's hitting lamp posts and houses, and other cars, and you propose that John Kerry take the wheel, do you really need to come up with a specific plan John Kerry has which differs from Stevie Wonders street driving plan?

Even if they have the same damn plan, one guy can carry it out and the other is a nightmare.

You're Liberal Media, Part 98,345,654

I'm watching CNN's coverage of the Democratic convention with Blizter and Woodruff and it's hilarious.

It's like watching Ed Gillespie and a roundtable of RNC operatives pretend to engage in "analysis" of the Kerry campaign. Blizter is, in almost classic FOX News style, posing his questions with the preface, "A lot of people are saying Kerry..." without attributing what's being said to Republicans.

Is Blizter going to show up at the Republican National Convention and pretend to engage in analysis by saying, "A lot of people are saying Bush is too stupid to be president..."

"A lot of people are saying Bush is the most incompetent president in the history of the United States..."

Meanwhile, dumbass Judy, continues to insist that Kerry has a real problem portraying himself as strong on defense when he voted against funding body armor for troops in Iraq! How is he going to reconcile his voting against body armor for the troops in Iraq with being strong on defense!

Amazing.

I mean, either Judy is a retard who knows less about politics than your average six year old, or she's a total fraud and a liar.

First of all, thousands of troops, sent by Bush, into combat well before the vote even came before the Congress had inadequate body armor, ammunition, and armored vehicles. Nothing Kerry could ever, ever have done would have changed that. Bush, not Kerry, sent Americans into combat with inadequate equipment and needlessly caused thousands of Americans to be killed and wounded for no reason other than a lack of planning.

And, then, shamefully, Bush has blamed Kerry for his own irresponsible actions. And rather than point that fact out, these dishonest, stupid frauds are repeating, word for word, the Bush spin on his failure.

But, beyond that, John Kerry never voted against body armor for troops in Iraq. Never. Ever. Ever. John Kerry didn't even vote against providing the full amount Bush asked for for troops in Iraq. Kerry voted against Bush's version of the funding. Kerry voted for an alternate version of the same funding.

And Bush publicly said if the version Kerry voted for was passed he would veto that funding bill.

In other words, according to Judy, Bush would have voted against body armor for troops in Iraq!

This is no fucking secret. This has been known for a year. It's only not known by people who watch FOX News. Which means CNN's "political analysts" are just willfully repeating an RNC spinning point and an incredibly dishonest commercial by the Bush campaign.

Which means CNN is intentionally lying to the American people. How embarrassing. How awful.

Deconstruction Of Iraq Continues Apace

Wednesday's developments in Iraq:

A suicide car bomb exploded on a busy downtown boulevard in Baqouba, northeast of Baghdad. The explosion ripped through a commuter bus during rush hour, wrecking nearby shops and killing at least 68 Iraqis. The blast targeted Iraqis lined up outside a police recruiting station, and most of the victims were civilians or from among the hundreds of men waiting to join the force.

In Suwariyah, southeast of the capital, Iraqi forces backed by U.S. and Ukrainian troops launched a raid hunting for militants who had crossed from the Iranian border. The raid sparked a battle in which 35 guerrillas and seven Iraqi policemen were killed, 10 Iraqi police were wounded and 40 insurgents were captured.

In Anbar province west of Baghdad, insurgents killed two coalition troops and enemy fire forced two U.S. military aircraft to make emergency landings. Insurgents launched near simultaneous attacks on several U.S. bases in Ramadi, wounding 10 soldiers, the military said. A guerrilla was killed, and during the fighting a mortar hit an apartment building, killing an Iraqi woman.

A roadside bomb exploded north of Baghdad, killing one U.S. soldier and wounding three others, the U.S. military said. The death raised the toll of U.S. military personnel killed in Iraq to at least 906 since the war began, according to an Associated Press tally.

A U.S. soldier was killed and three others wounded late Tuesday when a roadside bomb severely damaged their armored Humvee while patrolling the town of Balad-Ruz, about 40 miles northwest of Baghdad, the Army said.

Insurgents fired a rocket that landed near a police station the Rahmaniya neighborhood of Baghdad, killing one Iraqi and wounding four.

In the northern city of Kirkuk, gunmen in a car killed a policeman as he waited for a taxi to get to work.

You know, it's so much like when our own Articles of Confederation didn't work out, it's uncanny. No wonder Bush keeps saying that!

He's a history major, you know. A C fucking history major.

After Twenty Five Years Médécins Sans Frontières Flees Bush's Model For Iraq

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 28 — The international aid agency Médécins Sans Frontières announced today that it was withdrawing from Afghanistan and closing operations after 24 years, in protest of the government's failure to arrest the culprits in the killing of five of its staff members in June.

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Médécins Sans Frontières has been one of the longest serving aid organizations in Afghanistan, sending in doctors and nurses and setting up health clinics in the rural areas during the Soviet occupation. It continued working throughout the heaviest war years of the 1980's and 1990's, often working on both sides of the front lines. It suspended operations for some time when a worker was killed in 1990, but continued working throughout the civil war and the Taliban era.

"We leave Afghanistan with a sense of mourning for the loss of our colleagues, but also with immense sadness for the Afghan people that we leave behind and to whom we are still committed," Ms. Buissonniere said.

Soon after the announcement, a bomb exploded in the town of Ghazni south of Kabul, leaving six dead, including two United Nations election workers.

More of the success in Afghanistan that Bush was talking about back in June:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush lauded Afghanistan on Tuesday as a model for Iraq as he tried to paint the U.S. involvement there as a success ahead of the November U.S. election.

With Afghan President Hamid Karzai at his side, Bush listed strides in children's health care, women's rights and education as signs Afghanistan has been lifted up "from the ashes of two decades of war and oppression."

"Out of, kind of, the desperate straits that the Afghan people found themselves is now a welcoming society beginning to grow," Bush told a joint news conference with Karzai in the White House Rose Garden.

"And the same thing's going to happen in Iraq. These aren't easy tasks," he said.

We, and the world, can hardly wait.

Florida Voting Records Predictably Vanish

MIAMI, July 27 - Almost all the electronic records from the first widespread use of touch-screen voting in Miami-Dade County have been lost, stoking concerns that the machines are unreliable as the presidential election draws near.

The records disappeared after two computer system crashes last year, county elections officials said, leaving no audit trail for the 2002 gubernatorial primary. A citizens group uncovered the loss this month after requesting all audit data from that election.

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The flaws would not have affected vote counts, he said - only the backup data used for audits after an election. And because a new state rule prohibits manual recounts in counties that use touch-screen voting machines except in the event of a natural disaster, there would likely be no use for the data anyway.

State officials have said that they created the rule because under state law, the only reason for a manual recount is to determine "voter intent" in close races when, for example, a voter appears to choose two presidential candidates or none.

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"People can never be sure their vote was recorded the way it was cast, but these are the best records we've got," she said. "And now they're not there."

Is there any possible way to make Jeb Bush obey state and federal law, and the 13th and 14th Amendments and let Americans actually have their votes counted? Is there any possible way to force Jeb Bush to hold an honest election in Florida?

I was going to say, maybe we could send the national guard, like they do in third world countries. Have armed soldiers stationed at polling places.

But then I remembered they're all in Iraq.

Maybe the U.N. can send the blue helmets.