Clipmarks | Surge Clips

Liberate Sarah (lol)

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:17:51 GMT

clipped by: sahara
clipper's remarks: Step Two involves Jeremiah Wright.

[T]he fact is the only Democrats to win the presidency in the past 40 years -- Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton -- distanced themselves from liberal orthodoxy. Obama is, by contrast, a garden-variety liberal. He also has radical associates in his past.

The most famous of these is the Rev. Jeremiah Wright....

Brilliant. In the midst of a Wall Street crisis, and with McCain getting hammered for ignoring the middle class, Kristol wants McCain to talk about the former pastorat Obama's former church. Yeah, that will win voters over.

If Democrats are very lucky, McCain will take Kristol's advice.

Clip Source: www.washingtonmonthly.com

September 29, 2008

KRISTOL HAS A PLAN....

Bill Kristol believes his long-time friend, John McCain, is having some trouble, but he devotes his New York Times column today to explaining that McCain still "has a chance" to "surge to victory."

In fact, Kristol has a two-pronged approach to helping the Republican ticket get on track.

Step One involves Sarah Palin.

McCain needs to liberate his running mate from the former Bush aides brought in to handle her --

I'm told McCain recently expressed unhappiness with his staff's handling of Palin

They're supposed to liberate Palin to go on the offensive as a combative conservative in the vice-presidential debate on Thursday

the notion of "liberating" Palin to begin a series of relentless attacks seems misguided. As Joe Klein noted, "I'd wonder about the shelf-life of Palin's efficacy as an attack dog, especially now that the American people have come to see her as the incredible -- as in not credible -- vice presidential choice that she is."

Tags: lol

The Surge has Worked

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 10:37:18 GMT

clipped by: abailart

Clip Source: edstrong.blog-city.com

Clip Source: www.informationclearinghouse.info

It seems to be the only thing that supporters of the war have to point to, and so they point, and they point, and they point. Allow me to point out that while there has been a reduction in violence in Iraq -- now down to a level that virtually any other society in the world would find horrible and intolerable, including Iraqi society before the US invasion and occupation -- we must keep in mind that thanks to this lovely little war more than half the population of Iraq is either dead, crippled, traumatized, confined in overflowing American and Iraqi prisons, internally displaced, or in foreign exile.

The people of that unhappy land have lost everything -- their homes, their schools, their neighborhoods, their mosques, their jobs, their careers, their professionals, their health care, their legal system, their women's rights, their religious tolerance, their security, their past, their present, their future, their lives. But they do have their surge.

Tags: iraq

Economic chaos creates surge in homelessness

Mon, 06 Oct 2008 11:36:54 GMT

clipped by: rmowery

Clip Source: www.cnn.com

Economic chaos creates surge in homelessness

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (AP) -- The number of homeless families in Massachusetts has surged -- a spike that has overwhelmed the state's shelter capacity and forced it to again place homeless families in motels.

Driving the increase is the sour economy, rising energy costs, escalating unemployment and shortage of affordable housing. For the first time, the state is tracking how many families are winding up homeless due to foreclosures.

"You're seeing a perfect storm," said Robyn Frost, executive director of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless.

The upswing is also putting pressure on a landmark initiative by Gov. Deval Patrick to virtually end homelessness in Massachusetts in the next five years.

In just the past 12 months, the number of homeless families living in Massachusetts motels has skyrocketed from 17 in September 2007 to 550 in September 2008. That's on top of another 1,800 or so families in shelters.

Tags: homeless, shelters, massachusetts, families, economy

Biden - Experience does not equal judgment

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 23:59:19 GMT

clipped by: georgecf

Clip Source: www.newsweek.com

On experience, I'm all for it. But judgment is at least as important. Biden has 35 years in the Senate, yet his record on national-security issues during that span has been atrocious. He might be able to name Germany's chancellor, but he was wrong in his fierce opposition to Ronald Reagan in the 1980s and to the surge in 2007. Even Democrats don't see Biden as president. He got 0.9 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucuses. Forced out of the 1988 White House race for plagiarizing, he is that blend of longevity and long-windedness that Washington accepts as statesmanship.

Tags: biden

When is a holocaust not a holocaust?

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:53:05 GMT

clipped by: katsteevns
clipper's remarks: (cont.)Thus, the number of people available for being killers or victims is markedly reduced. Moreover, extensive ethnic cleansing has taken place in the country (another good indication of progress, n'est-ce pas?). Sunnis and Shiites are now living more in their own special enclaves than before, none of those stinking mixed communities with their unholy mixed marriages, so violence of the sectarian type has also gone down; and the powerful movement of Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr has had a cease-fire in effect for many months, unconnected to the surge. On top of all this, US soldiers, in the face of numerous "improvised explosive devices" on the roads, have been venturing out a lot less (for fear of things like ... well, dying), so the violence against our noble lads is also down. Remember that insurgent attacks on American forces is how the Iraqi violence all began in the first place.

Clip Source: www.informationclearinghouse.info

When is a Holocaust Not a Holocaust?

By William Blum

When is a holocaust not a holocaust?

When the perpetrators call it a victory.

04/10/08 "ICH" - -- Although the "surge" has failed as policy, it appears to be succeeding as propaganda. It seems to be the only thing that supporters of the war have to point to, and so they point, and they point, and they point. Allow me to point out that while there has been a reduction in violence in Iraq -- now down to a level that virtually any other society in the world would find horrible and intolerable, including Iraqi society before the US invasion and occupation -- we must keep in mind that thanks to this lovely little war more than half the population of Iraq is either dead, crippled, traumatized, confined in overflowing American and Iraqi prisons, internally displaced, or in foreign exile.

Surge is working?

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 13:13:29 GMT

clipped by: lifecyce1898
clipper's remarks: Only if the goal is to bankrupt the USA?

Clip Source: www.antiwar.com

36 Ways the US Is Losing the War on Terror

Three years and half a trillion dollars later America is losing the war on terrorism. The 9/11 Commission has warned that more and worse acts of terrorism are to be expected. Bin Laden's planning always assumed that we, in reacting to him, would help him carry out his objectives. Well, we did. In his dreams he could not have imagined the damage done to America. So how are we losing the war?

1) Of course, turning most of the world against us is bin Laden's greatest achievement.

4) America's government is slowly being bankrupted – President Bush's cave-in on domestic spending to gain support for foreign wars follows his father's footsteps.

6) America's power is declining in Asia because of its preoccupation with the Muslim world

Facts and figures were flying around in the debate between US vice-presidential candidates Joe Biden

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 21:56:30 GMT

clipped by: Nerfzilla

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Biden and Palin debate

Facts and figures were flying around in the debate between US vice-presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin.

The BBC News website took a look to see which claims were accurate.

THE US COMMANDER IN AFGHANISTAN

Claim: Joe Biden said that the US "commanding general in Afghanistan said the surge principle in Iraq will not work in Afghanistan". Sarah Palin responded by saying that "McClellan did not say definitively the surge principles would not work in Afghanistan".

Fact: On 2 October, the Washington Post quoted the head of the Nato-led coalition in Afghanistan, Gen David McKiernan, as saying: "The word I don't use for Afghanistan is 'surge'."

Verdict: Mrs Palin not only got the name of the US commander in Afghanistan wrong, but it would seem she also distorted his position.

Cataloguing Biden's Whoppers

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 12:26:27 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: ..... president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; he falsely claimed Gov. Sarah Palin supported a windfall profits tax on oil companies; he said he's always been for clean coal in spite of his record of voting against it in the Senate.

Biden said we have to drill for more of our own oil, easily leading viewers to conclude he and Obama are in favor of more domestic drilling, but as the American Thinker blog's Rick Moran noted in a list of "Biden's Big Lies," "Biden has opposed offshore drilling and even compared offshore drilling to 'raping' the Outer Continental Shelf."

Gov. Palin called Biden on his claim that Gen. David McKiernan in Afghanistan said that the surge could not be applied in Afghanistan; in fact, McKiernan has said that some aspects of Gen. David Petraeus' Iraq strategy could be part of our war efforts in Afghanistan.

Clip Source: www.investors.com

Carter nor Bill Clinton, whose twists and turns before a grand jury led to his impeachment, ever stared into the camera and spouted such a string of outright fabrications as if they were gospel truths the way Barack Obama's running mate did last week.

Thankfully, the blogosphere has been having a field day cataloguing Joe's whoppers. First, as InstaPundit's Michael Totten instantly noted after the debate, Biden — the great, seasoned foreign policy expert who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee — falsely claimed France and the U.S. "kicked Hezbollah out of Lebanon."

There was also Biden's accusation that John McCain is soft on regulation, when in fact he tried to beef up regulations on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — an explanation for why he got so little campaign money from Fannie and Freddie over the years — under $22,000 — as opposed to the more than $126,000 Obama received in his short time in the Senate.

Sen. Biden falsely claimed that Obama didn't pledge to meet with Iran's

Tags: biden's gaffes, hexbollah/lebanon, mccain on regulation fm/fm, met ahmadinejad, clean coal, domestic drilling, troop funding, mckiernan afghanistan

Facts in Biden/Palin debate (2)

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:50:26 GMT

clipped by: Yassin_M

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

BIDEN'S SUPPORT FOR MCCAIN'S IRAQ POSITION

Claim: Sarah Palin said that Joe Biden "had supported John McCain's military strategies [in Iraq] pretty adamantly until this race".

Fact: Jonathan Weisman of the Washington Post characterises Mr Biden as "an outspoken opponent of... troop increases in Iraq as soon as Bush announced them after the 2006 elections". As Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, he led the most heated hearings before the troops were actually deployed.

Verdict: Mrs Palin's claim is untrue. Mr Biden opposed the surge - of which Mr McCain was a prominent proponent - long before the beginning of the presidential campaign, and maintained this position throughout the race.

Facts in Biden/Palin debate (1)

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:47:30 GMT

clipped by: Yassin_M

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

THE US COMMANDER IN AFGHANISTAN

Fact: On 2 October, the Washington Post quoted the head of the Nato-led coalition in Afghanistan, Gen David McKiernan, as saying: "The word I don't use for Afghanistan is 'surge'."

Verdict: Mrs Palin not only got the name of the US commander in Afghanistan wrong, but it would seem she also distorted his position.

fact check on the debate

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:21:38 GMT

clipped by: prin1

Clip Source: www.factcheck.org

The candidates were not 100 percent accurate. To say the least.

Biden and Palin debated, and both mangled some facts.

Palin mistakenly claimed that troop levels in Iraq had returned to “pre-surge” levels. Levels are gradually coming down but current plans would have levels higher than pre-surge numbers through early next year, at least.

Biden incorrectly said “John McCain voted the exact same way” as Obama on a controversial troop funding bill. The two were actually on opposite sides.

Palin repeated a false claim that Obama once voted in favor of higher taxes on “families” making as little as $42,000 a year. He did not. The budget bill in question called for an increase only on singles making that amount, but a family of four would not have been affected unless they made at least $90,000 a year.

Palin Gets Afghanistan Commander's Name, Strategy Wrong

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:23:55 GMT

clipped by: arifsali

Clip Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

Sarah Palin gets wrong both the commanding general in Afghanistan's name and position.

The commanding general in Afghanistan didn't merely state that Surge tactics won't work! He also said that tribal involvement in the COIN strategy wouldn't work either! Absolutely right on infrastructure in Afghanistan though! Know what they really need in Afghanistan to enhance security? ROADS.

Palin thinks our commander in Afghanistan is someone named "McClellan." It is, I believe, McKiernan. And Palin is DEAD WRONG. He absolutely said that tribal involvement in Afghanistan COIN strategy would not work.

Tags: politics, united states, afghanistan

Bush Favors Bankers Over Soldiers

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:05:12 GMT

clipped by: Geshizar

Clip Source: www.truthdig.com

It was a weird week to be in the United States. On Tuesday, secretary of the treasury Henry Paulson told us that “this is all about the American taxpayer – that’s all we care about.” But when I flipped the page on my morning paper, I came across the latest gloomy statistic which Americans should care more about. “As of Wednesday evening, 4,162 U.S. service members and 11 Defence Department civilians had been identified as having died in the Iraq war.” By grotesque mischance, $700bn – the cost of George Bush’s Wall Street rescue cash – is about the same figure as the same President has squandered on his preposterous war in Iraq, the war we have now apparently “won” thanks to the “surge” – for which, read “escalation” – in Baghdad. The fact that the fall in casualties coincides with the near-completion of the Shia ethnic cleansing of Sunni Muslims is not part of the story.

Tags: duh w, war, debt, death, greed the american way

Will the military run out of victims!

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 01:10:17 GMT

clipped by: JackieDel

Clip Source: www.globalresearch.ca

“The Salvadoran Option”: More then half of the population of Iraq is dead, crippled or traumatized,

Although the "surge" has failed as policy, it appears to be succeeding as propaganda. It seems to be the only thing that supporters of the war have to point to, and so they point, and they point, and they point. Allow me to point out that while there has been a reduction in violence in Iraq -- now down to a level that virtually any other society in the world would find horrible and intolerable, including Iraqi society before the US invasion and occupation -- we must keep in mind that thanks to this lovely little war more than half the population of Iraq is either dead, crippled, traumatized, confined in overflowing American and Iraqi prisons, internally displaced, or in foreign exile.

Thus, the number of people available for being killers or victims is markedly reduced.

Winning the War.

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 19:12:46 GMT

clipped by: oscarrob

Clip Source: aplagueonbothyourhouses.typepad.com

John McCain believes the Vietnam War was winnable. Now he argues that an Obama administration would accept defeat in Iraq, with grave costs to American honor and national security. Is McCain’s quest for victory a reflection of an antiquated pre-Vietnam mind-set? Or of a commitment to principles we abandon at our peril? Is there any war McCain thinks can’t be won?

The Wars of John McCain.

If the surge is working as he says and the Iraqis are capable of policing their own country, what is left to win? He keeps saying that Obama would accept defeat. How is it accepting defeat if you leave after achieving your goals? I thought the goal was to make the country safe for democracy. Apparently it is or soon will be (if the surge has worked as McCain says and the Iraqis can take care of themselves). What other win is there?

Tags: war, iraq, politics, mccain, obama