BottleOfBlog

Joe Paterno Is A Bad Coach; Jay Paterno Is A Bad Son

Joe Paterno once was a great coach. But he isn't anymore. He isn't even an average coach.

He's a bad coach.

The Contempt Of Congress

I've just learned that Rep. Mark Udall (D-CO) will be introducing a resolution in the House of Representatives on Monday condemning Rush Limbaugh for his "phony soldiers" remark.

I know it's fun to do shit like this and to make Republicans either denounce Rush Limbaugh or go on record that they're a bunch of total phony hypocrits. And they certainly deserve it, since the Gee Oh Pee started this repugnant bit of business.

But, really, it would have been better for the country, for the Republic, for the Constitution, and for their party, if each and every Democrat had voted against the previous stupid resolution, saying, "The Peoples' representative government has no business whatsoever condemning the free political speech of the People."

Because they don't.

As individuals, they can bristle and bitch all they want.

As a branch of our government, Congress needs to shut the fuck up about what We, The People, can and can not say.

We're Americans, assholes. If you don't like what we have to say, you can pack it in and move to Burma.

If, on the other hand, you'd like to stay, I'd suggest you brush up on the house rules. Particularly the first one.

You've Led, Now Get Out Of The Way

Seven years ago, in accepting his party's nomination for President, George W. Bush made a promise:

"Little more than a -- little more than a decade ago, the Cold War thawed, and with the leadership of President's Reagan and Bush, that wall came down.

But instead of seizing this moment, the Clinton-Gore administration has squandered it. We have seen a steady erosion of American power and an unsteady exercise of American influence. Our military is low on parts, pay and morale. If called on by the commander-in-chief today, two entire divisions of the Army would have to report, "Not ready for duty, sir."

This administration had its moment, they had their chance, they have not led. We will.

The world needs America's strength and leadership. And America's armed forces need better equipment, better training and better pay.

We will give our military the means to keep the peace, and we will give it one thing more: a commander-in-chief who respects our men and women in uniform and a commander-in-chief who earns their respect.

A generation shaped by Vietnam must remember the lessons of Vietnam: When America uses force in the world, the cause must be just, the goal must be clear, and the victory must be overwhelming."

Seven years later, he delivered:

WASHINGTON - The Army's top officer, General George Casey, told Congress yesterday that his branch of the military has been stretched so thin by the war in Iraq that it can not adequately respond to another conflict - one of the strongest warnings yet from a military leader that repeated deployments to war zones in the Middle East have hamstrung the military's ability to deter future aggression.

In his first appearance as Army chief of staff, Casey told the House Armed Services Committee that the Army is "out of balance" and "the current demand for our forces exceeds the sustainable supply. We are consumed with meeting the demands of the current fight and are unable to provide ready forces as rapidly as necessary for other potential contingencies."

Officials said Casey, who appeared along with Army Secretary Pete Geren, personally requested the public hearing - a highly unusual move that military analysts said underscores his growing concern about the health of the Army, America's primary fighting force…

Representative John M. McHugh, a New York Republican, said Casey's blunt testimony was "just downright frightening."

The strain on the Army has been growing steadily since Bush sent troops into Iraq in 2003 - the longest sustained combat for an all-volunteer American force since the Revolutionary War. The Pentagon and military analysts have documented the signs of the breakdown: serious recruiting problems, an exodus of young officers, and steadily falling readiness rates of nearly every stateside unit…

Several Pentagon insiders have privately remarked that Casey's apparent alarm about the Army heightened when he returned from nearly three years of duty in Iraq. One civilian military adviser said that Casey was taken aback when informed at a recent meeting that some combat units were heading into battle short of key personnel…

Casey and Geren insisted that the units now deployed to the combat zone are highly trained and outfitted with the proper equipment. However, they said the units of most concern are the ones returning from Iraq or those preparing to deploy without all the proper equipment…

Stocks of equipment the Army has positioned around the world are also growing low because of the war, they said…

A major risk for the future, however, is that the Army currently spends nearly all of its time training for counterinsurgency operations - "to the detriment of preparedness" for other types of combat, Casey testified. If troops don't continue to train, their skills "will atrophy over time..."

[Casey] warned that the Pentagon's current system can not sufficiently support the troops or their families. "Army support systems including health, education, and family support systems are straining under the pressures from six years of war," he said.

A perfect score: not a single promise left unbroken.

Appalling

The People's House condemns the People's Right to free political speech.

There will never be a more shameful, cowardly time in the history of our government than the time you and I have just lived through.

These People Really Do Not Know What They Are Doing

NEW YORK (AP) -- Slain al Qaeda in Iraq chief Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was a "diabolically brilliant" war tactician, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said, likening him to Civil War generals Robert E. Lee and Ulysses S. Grant…

"He was diabolically brilliant," Rice said of Zarqawi.

Want to know how brilliant he was? Ready for it?

BAGHDAD, Iraq, May 4 — In the video released last week by the terrorist Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, he is seen firing long bursts from a heavy automatic rifle, his forearms sprouting from beneath black fatigues as he exudes the very picture of a strong jihadist leader.

In out-takes from the same video, Mr. Zarqawi, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq, cuts an altogether different figure:

As the camera rolls, Mr. Zarqawi is flummoxed by how to fire the machine gun until an aide walks over and fiddles with the weapon so it discharges. Another scene shows Mr. Zarqawi hand the weapon off to several other insurgents, who absent-mindedly grab it by its scalding hot barrel.

And after his shooting scene, Mr. Zarqawi walks away from the camera to reveal decidedly non-jihadist footwear: Comfortable white New Balance sneakers…

But with the release of the out-takes today the American military sought to send a very different message: That Mr. Zarqawi is a poseur who can't even fire a basic infantry weapon and walks around in comfortable shoes.

In last week's video, "He is very proud he can operate this machine gun," General Lynch said. It was, "Look at me. I'm a capable leader of a capable organization."

"But what he didn't show you was the clip I showed you," General Lynch said. "Wearing New Balance sneakers with his uniform, surrounded by supposedly competent subordinates who grabbed the hot barrel of a just-fired machine gun."

The general continued: "We have a warrior leader, Zarqawi, who doesn't understand how to operate his weapons system and has to rely on his subordinates to clear a weapons stoppage. It makes you wonder."

A bumbling, incompetent, bullshitting poseur--no wonder Condi thinks he was brilliant! He probably reminded her of her husband...er, I mean her president.

Condi almost makes it too easy--did I say "almost"?

It is wrong to dismiss Zarqawi's killing as a temporary or insignificant victory in the long fight against terrorism, Rice continued.

"When you hear people say ... 'If you kill one of them, they'll just replace him with another leader,' remember that that's like saying, 'If you take out Robert E. Lee or Ulysses S. Grant, well, they'll just replace them with another leader.' " Rice said. "There are people who are better at this than others."

Though, she's right--there are some people who are better at things than others. Like, for instance, every person who's ever worked in the White House is better than every single person who has worked there in the last seven years.

And while I doubt bumbling, incompetent poseur Zarqawi was better at creating mayhem in Iraq than anyone else, if he was, it really begs the question:

Why didn't we take him out before he became the diabolically brilliant leader of al Qaeda in Iraq?

But NBC News has learned that long before the war the Bush administration had several chances to wipe out his terrorist operation and perhaps kill Zarqawi himself — but never pulled the trigger…

In June 2002, U.S. officials say intelligence had revealed that Zarqawi and members of al-Qaida had set up a weapons lab at Kirma, in northern Iraq…

The Pentagon quickly drafted plans to attack the camp with cruise missiles and airstrikes and sent it to the White House, where, according to U.S. government sources, the plan was debated to death in the National Security Council…

The Pentagon drew up a second strike plan, and the White House again killed it…

The Pentagon drew up still another attack plan, and for the third time, the National Security Council killed it…

Military officials insist their case for attacking Zarqawi’s operation was airtight, but the administration feared destroying the terrorist camp in Iraq could undercut its case for war against Saddam.

Oh.

And just for those of you keeping score at home, the National Security Advisor who killed the plan to take out the Robert E. Lee of the Iraqi insurgency was...Condi Rice!

Condi's statement also raises a second question:

Just who in the hell has been saying, "If you kill one of them, they'll just replace him with another leader"?

Oh, that's right! The Bush administration!

For five years.

Q Mr. President, in your speeches now you rarely talk or mention Osama bin Laden. Why is that? Also, can you tell the American people if you have any more information, if you know if he is dead or alive? Final part -- deep in your heart, don't you truly believe that until you find out if he is dead or alive, you won't really eliminate the threat of --

THE PRESIDENT: Deep in my heart I know the man is on the run, if he's alive at all. Who knows if he's hiding in some cave or not; we haven't heard from him in a long time. And the idea of focusing on one person is -- really indicates to me people don't understand the scope of the mission.

Terror is bigger than one person…

So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that much time on him, Kelly, to be honest with you…
Q But don't you believe that the threat that bin Laden posed won't truly be eliminated until he is found either dead or alive?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, as I say, we haven't heard much from him. And I wouldn't necessarily say he's at the center of any command structure. And, again, I don't know where he is. I -- I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him.

Then there was:

Q Scott, you said three-quarters of al Qaeda leadership who's been captured or killed -- I assume you meant known leadership.

MR. McCLELLAN: That's right. Well, and we know that they replace their leaders…

Q Would it make a huge difference if [bin Laden] was found at this point, or killed or captured?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, again, that's why I made the point that it is much broader than any one person…

And who else was saying that if you take out one leader--say, a Robert E. Lee type--it would just be a temporary victory in the long war on terrorism?

Although Zawahiri is a major leader in the al Qaeda terrorist network and his capture or death would boost the war on terrorism, Rice cautioned, it would not mean the end of terrorism.

"We've always said al Qaeda is not just one man, it's a network," she explained.

That's right! Condi Rice.

First she tells us there are no indespensible figures, no Robert E. Lees of al Qaeda(who no one said there were in the first place; we simply said bin Laden killed 2000 Americans and we ought to do something about that) then she lectures us about how wrong and misinformed it is to say there are no single men in al Qaeda who are more important than others.

Is she a piece of work or what? Does she kiss the Preznit with that mouth? Because it's full of bullshit.

But, hey, Condi, if that's true, if there are people who are better at organizing terrorist organizations and carrying out terrorist attacks, then tell me:

Why in the great blue fuck did we invade Iraq instead of expending all of our considerable resources on the "just one man" who actually organized al Qaeda and carried out the 9/11 attacks on America?

Why on Earth did we let the man go?

The Answer Is "No"

The question is: Are Gee Oh Pee members of the House of Representatives the stupidest people on God's green Earth?

GOP Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia has sent a letter to Oversight Committee chair Henry Waxman demanding a probe into the "scandal."

"It is time for The New York Times to answer publicly, on the record, and under oath for its conduct," Davis writes. "You have repeatedly challenged the public statements of administration and private industry officials and sought testimony under oath. It is time for you to give equal treatment to The New York Times."

Okay, just for a minute, try to forget that while Tom Davis has been a Representative, he has not called for a single House hearing into:

1) the deliberate manipulation of intelligence used to take our nation into war;

2) the appalling incompetence with which the reconstruction of Iraq has been handled;

3) the tens of billions of taxpayer dollars which have been awarded to private contractors without competitve bidding for the reconstruction of Iraq, Katrina, and Homeland Security;

4) the nine billion dollars of taxpayer money that just completely vanished in Iraq; or

5) the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that killed over 2000 Americans.

Tom also hasn't called for hearings on a lot of other things, including Gee Oh Pee Congressmen getting bribed on the floor of the House, Gee Oh Pee Congressmen selling defense contracts for hookers and yachts, multiple federal agencies being rendered entirely disfunctional by Gee Oh Pee cronyism and corruption, White House officials outing covert operatives, White House officials lying about outing covert operatives, torture, kidnapping, coup d'etats, deals with terrorists, deals with nations who sponsor terrorists(including al Qaeda!), letting terrorists go free, the Vice President shooting a man in the face and then refusting to be interviewed by police for 24 hours, or all the freaks and perverts and child molesters who make up the Values Voting Caucus of the Gee Oh Pee, and on and on and on.

Never mind that Tom wasn't interested in a lot of that gubment waste and corruption, particularly in gubment contracts because Tom was chairman of the Government Reform Subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy, which was responsible for oversight of billions of dollars of taxpayer money doled out to gubment contractors, over which Tom held about zero hearings.

And never mind that Tom was also the chair of the House Government Reform Committee, whose responsibility was government contracting in support of the war in Iraq--that's the war where nine billion dollars disappeared without a hearing from Tom Davis.

Never mind all that. Let's focus on what's fundamentally wrong with Tom Davis asking the Oversight Committee to hold hearings on what the New York Time's Public Editor called a violation of its own internal policies.

Lets think about it.

Hmmm.

Even assuming the Public Editor is right. Even assuming that the New York Times advertising departement violated its own internal policies, why wouldn't that be a matter for the House Oversight Committee to hold hearings?

Could it be that the New York Times is not part of the Federal fucking government???

And the House Oversight Committee has jurisdiction to oversee the workings of the Federal government.

I know, I know--it seems like in the last six years, certain members of the Times, like Bill Keller, Judith Miller or Elizabeth Bumiller, actually were paid employees of the White House. But they're not. At least, I think they're not.

Maybe we should have some House Oversight hearings to make sure they're not.

But absent those hearings, we have to presume the New York Times is not a branch of the federal gubment. And, as such, the House Oversight Committee has about as much jurisdiction to hold hearings on the Time's internal advertising policies as it does to hold hearings on why my checkbook is out of balance.

It is not the job of the House Oversight Committee to hold hearings as to why private citizens are not adhering to their self imposed rules and regulations. It is the job of the House Oversight Committee to hold hearings to determine whether the Federal government is adhering to the United States Code and the Constitution.

I'm not going to call Tom Davis a corrupt, disingenuous fraud. Because it's entirely possibly that Tom Davis truly doesn't understand the concept of Congressional oversight, since, as a Congressional chair, he never exercised any.

And I'm not going to call him one of the stupidest people on God's green Earth for being a Congressman who doesn't understand the role of Congress.

So, no, the stupidest people on God's green Earth are not Gee Oh Pee members of the People's House.

The stupidest people on God's green Earth are the people who keep voting for douchebags like Tom Davis to represent them in the greatest government in the history of mankind.

Oh, also Joe and Jay Paterno.

Seventy Two United States' Senators Condemn The First Amendment

The GOP-introduced resolution condemning MoveOn just passed by a huge margin, 72-25. Roughly half the Democrats in the Senate supported it.

Regardless of the merits of the MoveOn.org ad, since when is it up to the United States Senate to condemn the free political speech of American citizens???

Each and every Senator, Republican and Democratic, who voted for this piece of shit should resign for having violated their sworn oath of office.

Still The King

Bush told reporters at a White House news conference that MoveOn.org's ad in The New York Times about Gen. David Petraeus was a "sorry deal." The September 10 full-page ad was titled "General Petraeus or General Betray Us?"

"I felt like the ad was an attack, not only on Gen. Petraeus, but on the U.S. military," Bush said. "And I was disappointed that not more leaders in the Democratic Party spoke out strongly against that kind of ad."

Because if there's one thing George can't stand, it's an attack on a soldier's honor and integrity and service.

... Bush surrogates (several later involved in the Kerry swiftboating effort) skillfully turned McCain's service record against him (thereby deflecting questions about Bush's own service record.) They planted stories that the torture McCain suffered as a POW had brought about mental instability, including rumors that he had been programmed as a "Manchurian candidate" who "collaborated with the enemy." No longer could McCain use the fact that he had endured torture as evidence of dedication to serving his country…

In the 2000 South Carolina Presidential primary Bush surrogates circulated stories that McCain's five years as a POW had made him "mentally unstable," gave him a "loose screw," that he "committed treason while a POW" and "came home and forgot us." The stories also called McCain "the fag candidate," called his wife a drug addict, said McCain "chose to sire children without marriage" and had "a black child" (the actual wording of that last smear from the flyers and e-mails that circulated is not printable here).

Bush thought that was so disgusting, he just had to do it again in 2004!

Kerry was a decorated Navy officer in Vietnam who became a prominent antiwar activist upon his return home. A group calling itself "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" has accused Kerry of lying to win combat decorations in Vietnam, including the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart…

Kerry has called on President Bush to denounce the swift boat veterans' ads. Bush has responded by calling for an end to all attack ads by independent groups but has not specifically criticized the anti-Kerry commercials.

Kerry accuses the group -- funded largely by Republican donors from Bush's home state of Texas -- of being a front group for the president's re-election campaign.

Others may come after him. They may be stupid. They may be embarrassingly full of shit.

But no one--not in our lifetime, not ever--will offer so complete a package of stupidity, incompetence, dishonesty, and shameless, disgusting ruthlessness as George W. Bush.

He is, frankly, perfect in every contemptible way.

Mitt Romney Is Now A Genius

Just when I thought Mitt Romeny had all but guaranteed himself a spot on the Gee Oh Pee 2008 ticket by appearing to be the biggest, stupidest bullshitter on God's green Earth, Rudy comes roaring back!

(AP) Presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani on Sunday continued calling on Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to denounce a liberal group's advertisement and apologize for what he calls her disrespectful treatment of a general…

Giuliani, during a pre-race tour of the pits at New Hampshire International Speedway, told reporters that Clinton has shown weakness in not rebuking MoveOn's full-page newspaper ad last week, which criticized Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq.

"What she did was just plain wrong," Giuliani told reporters before the NASCAR-Nextel Cup-Sylvania 300. "It was wrong for her to attack the integrity of a commanding general in a time of war…"

"I know that MoveOn.org contributes hundreds of millions of dollars to Democratic campaigns. But it's the way in which they contribute it, that's really the offensive part. They contribute it, by and large, doing character assassination on Republican politicians and they get away with it," Giuliani said. "But they should not be allowed to get away with it when they try to do character assassination on an American general who is putting his life at risk to protect America…"

Giuliani said he's not dragging the campaign into the gutter, merely defending Petraeus' honor.

"I didn't attack an American general. I am raising a point about an American politician, not about an American general," said Giuliani, who attended his second NASCAR event since joining the presidential race.

America's Sweetheart Rudy Guiliani: Defender of Petraeus's Honor And Longtime NASCAR Race Fan

Good old Rudy! Nothing offends him more than a disgusting smear on the honor and integrity and service of an American soldier who puts his life on the line in a time of war.

And Rudy is quick to denounce anyone who does something so disgusting. Like, in 2004:

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Delegates to the Republican National Convention found a new way to take a jab at Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's Vietnam service record: by sporting adhesive bandages with small purple hearts on them...

Kerry was a decorated Navy officer in Vietnam who became a prominent antiwar activist upon his return home. A group calling itself "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" has accused Kerry of lying to win combat decorations in Vietnam, including the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.

CNN forgot his Silver Star.

Regardless, Rudy was swift in his denunciation of those delegates who attacked not only honor of a highly decorated soldier but belittled the symbol--the Purple Heart--of our nation's gratitude for a soldier's sacrifice. Here's what Rudy told those people!

This is the first Republican convention ever held here in New York City.

I've never seen so many Republicans in New York City. It's great.

I finally feel at home.

Rudy's People Making Him Finally Feel At Home

Let's not forget that the people mocking Kerry's service as well as the Purple Heart, itself, were not some shadowy "527" group, they were the delegates to the Republican National Convention.

And Rudy didn't denounce any of them.

Purple Heart Salad: Home Cookin' To Rudy Guiliani!

Nor did he denounce Michelle Malkin for suggesting on Tee Vee that John Kerry actually shot himself. Nor did he denounce the many Republicans who likewise suggested in print and on Tee Vee that John Kerry cowardly shot a man in the back, or that John Kerry only served so that he could one day run for President.

Nor did Rudy ever call on Bush to denounce the sleazy, well coordinated Gee Oh Pee attacks on Kerry's honor and his service in a time of war. Kerry did. But, of course, Bush refused.

Kerry has called on President Bush to denounce the swift boat veterans' ads. Bush has responded by calling for an end to all attack ads by independent groups but has not specifically criticized the anti-Kerry commercials.

Purple Heart Waffles With A Side Of Treason--That's The Way Rudy Starts His Day!

Nope. Rudy didn't do any of that. In fact, in front of crowd of Gee Oh Pee delegates sporting Purple Heart bandaids, how did Rudy characterize an AWOL Air National Guardsman who refused to denounce disgusting attacks on the integrity and honor of an American soldier who put his life at risk during a time of war?

At the time, we believed that we would be attacked many more times that day and in the days that followed. Without really thinking, based on just emotion, spontaneous, I grabbed the arm of then-Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, and I said to him, "Bernie, thank God George Bush is our president."

I say it again tonight. I say it again tonight:

Thank God that George Bush is our president, and thank God that Dick Cheney, a man with his experience and his knowledge and his strength and his background, is our vice president.

He thanked God that such a man was our President.

He thanked God for Dick Cheney, too.

When I'm wrong, I'm wrong. Rudy Guiliani is much, much stupider and far more full of shit than Mitt Romney.

There's no way he won't be the next Gee Oh Pee candidate for President of the Great United States.

Gonzo Recalls The Horror...The Horror...

WASHINGTON -- Resigning Attorney General Alberto Gonzales left the scandal-scarred Justice Department on Friday, declaring himself hopeful about its mission of ferreting out crime and defending the truth…

"Over the past two and a half years, I have seen tyranny, dishonesty, corruption and depravity of types I never thought possible," Gonzales said in prepared remarks at a Hispanic Heritage Month ceremony at Bolling Air Force Base. "I've seen things I didn't know man was capable of.”

And that's just what he saw going on in the Vice President's office.

You don't even want to know what Crawford was like.