This is how it's done, Condi: India's Home Minister Resigns

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Sunday November 30, 2008 · 6:07 AM PST

2008/11/30 · 06:07

Maybe I'm Living in the Past®. But this from today's NY Times makes me want to scream from the top of rafters:

Shivraj Patil, the home minister of India and responsible for public safety and internal security as one of the most senior members of the government, resigned on Sunday to take responsibility for the failure of the country’s intelligence services and military to prevent the deadly terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Mr. Patil’s resignation is the clearest sign yet that the current government is feeling pressure from the general public in India to make amends for not preventing the attack.

Compare to Condoleeza Rice on the 911 attacks

"I don't think anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center, take another one and slam it into the Pentagon; that they would try to use an airplane as a missile, a hijacked airplane as a missile."

bobinkc

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Tuesday September 18, 2007 · 4:22 AM PDT

2007/09/18 · 04:22

I was shocked, shocked! to read this in today's Boston Globe a scant week after General Patraeus and President Bush declared so much success:

WASHINGTON - Despite his conclusion that Iraqi units can replace US combat troops who will return home by the end of the year, statistics produced by General David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq, indicate that there are now fewer Iraqi units that can operate independently than there were at the beginning of the year.

Question one: Was Patraeus' report to Congress, and the announced troop drawdown, even more theater than anyone realized?

Question two - and I'm sure this occurred to those paying attention to events of last week - why didn't Patraeus get asked about this?

Though the general was on Capitol Hill as part of two days of intense, high-profile hearings on the progress of the war, the readiness of Iraqi troops received scant attention from Petraeus or lawmakers.

There's more...

Poll

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The announced reduction in troops

35 votes Vote Now!

The announced reduction in troops

Will happen on schedule

2 votes

May be slightly scaled back, pending Iraqi troop readiness

0 votes

Won't happen on this president's watch

14 votes

You mean you actually believed there was a timetable for troop reductions?

19 votes

"Clinton Did It Too" Only No, He Didn't

bobinkc

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Monday September 19, 2005 · 5:55 AM PDT

2005/09/19 · 05:55

RE Bush's appointment of Brown, it was just a matter of time before our media would write "all administrations do it."

Long before Michael D. Brown became the poster boy for the overwhelmed and lightly qualified political appointee in Washington, there was Craig Livingstone, a former barroom bouncer who dreamed of bigger things and found them in the Clinton White House.

You knew it would be Clinton, didn't you.

Livingstone parlayed a stint as an advance man for then-Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton in the 1992 presidential campaign into a White House job as head of personnel security. He relished the clout of handling background checks of White House employees, swaggering around the West Wing in dark glasses and attending film premieres with beautiful women.

The bastard's swaggering probably led to countless unnecessary deaths, right? Read More

MSM Headlines: "Hurricane Looters!"

bobinkc

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Tuesday August 30, 2005 · 6:55 PM PDT

2005/08/30 · 18:55

I have no documentation, just what I watched switching between channels in the last few minutes.

CNN: Paula Zahn getting excited over a story of looters in New Orleans. Conducts phone interview with a looting eyewitness.
HANNITY & Colmes: Hannity, interviewing an on-the-scene reporter in Mississippi about the devastation, from left field asks "What about the looting?" The reporter responded he's seen or heard of none, but added, "Certainly there is the opportunity for looting."
MSNBC blonde reporter, "When we return we'll have shocking film of the looting."

No further commentary needed.

Messages from Crawford

bobinkc

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Wednesday August 24, 2005 · 1:14 PM PDT

2005/08/24 · 13:14

[Update] From SisTwo's diary, listen to Brad, live from Crawford until 4 p.m. CT!

In case you're interested in what some Crawford goers are saying about the experience, I'm posting some emails from two friends who are there, been there, or going back there. They've got Crawford Fever. Here's what they're saying:

Aug. 23, 10 p.m. email from Lauren of Lawrence, Kan.:

The short version: I'm in Crawford, Texas. I'm working as the volunteer coordinator at what we're currently calling Camp Casey II, and will be here, um, awhile. Probably at least through the weekend. I will try to return your mails when I get back but seeing's there's over 2000 right now, it may take awhile - try again if it's urgent.

Looks like Lauren's plans changed. An earlier email from August 15 read:

We're gonna head down to Crawford and take some Krispy Kremes and toilet paper to the occupying forces at Camp Casey.

bobinkc

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Wednesday August 03, 2005 · 9:15 PM PDT

2005/08/03 · 21:15

Maybe I'm making too much of this:

Sony pays $1.5m over fake critic
In 2001, ads for films including Hollow Man and A Knight's Tale quoted praise from a reviewer called David Manning, who was exposed as being invented.

Seems Sony didn't want to take the chance of relying on real critics or word of mouth.

(The fake critic) supposedly called Heath Ledger "this year's hottest new star" for his role in A Knight's Tale, said The Animal was "another winner" and Hollow Man was "one hell of a scary ride".

But The Ridgefield Press, a small paper in Connecticut, said David Manning had never worked for them.

Now, how much more closely can that story resemble this one?

Pentagon Rejects Use of Anonymous Quotes
The recent use of quotes from an anonymous Iraqi in two military news releases was an "egregious error," the Pentagon's top spokesman said in a memo aimed at preventing it from happening again.

There's more... Read More

Terrorism Redefined to Fog Bushco Failures - poll

bobinkc

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Wednesday July 06, 2005 · 1:56 PM PDT

2005/07/06 · 13:56

Updated in response to London bombings. Should it not be the goal of U.S. policy to reduce terrorist attacks? And should this attack, which merely punctuates the failure of current U.S. policy to reduce global terrorist acts, not be considered reason enough to consider a new anti-terrorism strategy?

We should call on our elected officials to put forth a new plan. We should stress that they should NOT blame our policy (the Iraq war) for these attacks -- that is a losing political position. Instead they should simply point to abject failures to stop terrorism (see original post, below) and put forth a new plan, including deploying a huge multinational force to Afghanistan to capture bin Laden.

Original Post:

The new U.S. Terrorism Knowledge Database was launched today with updated figures for global terrorist acts in 2004. The 3,192 reported incidents is five times the 651 incidents quietly reported by the U.S. State Dept. in April, 2005.

Here's where the story gets good. Read More

Anatomy of Right-Wing Politics in Missouri...

bobinkc

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday May 31, 2005 · 12:49 PM PDT

2005/05/31 · 12:49

...How the Government Paved the Way for a $53 Million Utility Rate Increase to Cover Losses from Enron-Style Energy Trading Practices

A right-wing agenda cannot flourish without propaganda and the apathy of citizens. Witness Republican Governor Matt "Baby" Blunt and the Republican legislature's first six months in power. Under the guise of "job growth," "fiscal responsibility," and "personal responsibility," they:

Cut 100,000 people from Medicaid

Restricted citizens' court access by capping non-economic damages and enacting harsh venue restrictions

Diluted the workers' compensation law

Enacted a leaky-roof law that protects builders from lawsuits resulting from crappy construction work

But the soon-to-be-approved 14.3% rate hike by Aqula is a textbook example of right-wing hubris. Here's how the series of well-planned events went down: Read More

Notice from my health insurer: 25% premium increase; 74% in last three years

bobinkc

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Saturday September 04, 2004 · 6:10 AM PDT

2004/09/04 · 06:10

I can blame this on Bush and Republicans. After all, we have, for example, a Senate Majority Leader (Bill Frist) whose family fortune is inextricably tied to HCA, the for-profit health care corporation that just this week closed a midtown KC AIDS/HIV clinic, in a bold display of Republican compassionate conservatism.

But the truth is we have a political system that allows health care, prescription drug, and insurance companies to buy candidates and write legislation that benefits a few CEO's and their cronies.

Clinton introduced a universal health care plan in 1994. Republicans turned it into a joke by displaying stacks of papers and deriding the plan as one of "dizzying complexity, strangling bureaucracy, and wanton spending." Clinton, ever mindful of building and cementing his own power base and legacy, never touched the subject again in any meaningful way.

This is an American problem that can be addressed by grassroots activism; by electing progressive, compassionate leaders; and by reframing the issue of affordable health care as a right all citizens in a fair and progressive democracy should enjoy.

* * *

I'm a small business owner with a family of three. The brief history of my health insurance costs is below. I just received my latest increase notice. If I were to maintain my current level of coverage, my insurance would increase by 25% over last year, and a whopping 74% over just three years ago.

Is this all due to "frivolous" lawsuits against skilled and ethical physicians and hospitals? Don't make me laugh. Malpractice lawsuit payouts have remained essentially flat while insurers have raised rates to 1) recoup losses from the 2001 stock market crash and recession and 2) boost profits and rebuild their assets.

I share this with you not to cry in my soup, but to underscore the problem with a real life example. Bush's personal health care accounts won't do dick to resolve the crisis. It's up to us to carry the burden of health care reform.

Hoffman Health Insurance History:

2001
$470/month premium

2002
$500/month premium, a 4.9% increase over 2001
I kept the increase low by doubling my doctor office copay from $15/visit to $30/visit, and tripling deductibles from $500/individual to $1,500/individual

2003
$654/month premium, a 33% increase over 2002
I increased my doctor office copay from $30/visit to $40/visit and annual maximum out-of-pocket to avoid a 40% increase

2004
$818/month premium, a 25% increase over 2003
This is based on the notice I just received. I can reduce the premium by increasing deductibles yet again, dropping prescription drug coverage, and/or dropping office copay coverage entirely.

I have some options, and I'm exploring them. But folks, something's got to be done about this.
Read More

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This is how it's done, Condi: India's Home Minister Resigns

Boston Globe: Iraqi Units Unprepared, Drawdown on Hold?

"Clinton Did It Too" Only No, He Didn't

MSM Headlines: "Hurricane Looters!"

Messages from Crawford

The Bush Influence - or Influenced?

Terrorism Redefined to Fog Bushco Failures - poll

Anatomy of Right-Wing Politics in Missouri...

Notice from my health insurer: 25% premium increase; 74% in last three years