Just when you thought it was safe…Senator Barack Obama’s (D-IL) former pastor Jeremiah Wright resurfaced. When soundbites emerged last month that forced Obama to give a race relations speech, Rev. Wright was quiet but he gave an interview with Bill Moyers on PBS where he quietly and calmly defended himself. While this gave media outlets another chance to play the controversial clips, if it had ended there, the story would’ve died. Instead, Wright addressed the National Press Club (in an appearance that was arranged by a staunch Hillary Clinton supporter, making one wonder if this was part of a strategy to damage Obama). In his address (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6), he flamboyantly amplified his previous statements. Whereas the Bill Moyers’ interview didn’t hurt Obama, the National Press Club event did but it wasn’t nearly as bad as Wright’s appearance before the NAACP in Detroit (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, transcript). In both clips, he served to solidify the caricature that most people already see him as. Most of all, he further damaged Obama’s credibility.
Wright said, “[Obama] had to distance himself, because he's a politician, from what the media was saying I had said, which was [portrayed as] anti-American.” In another quote, he said, “If Senator Obama did not say what he said, he would never get elected. Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability, based on sound bites, based on polls.” Or in other words, Obama really does agree with me but he’s faking that he doesn’t so he can win an election. That kind of statement isn’t helpful to Obama. Surely Wright knows this.
Which raises the question: Is Wright doing this intentionally to hurt Obama? Is he mad at him because of the race speech given last month where he denounced some of Wright’s statements? Did he finally get tired of being called the crazy uncle of the family? Or maybe by watching America elect a black president, it undermines many of Wright’s negative beliefs about this country? I don’t know that the reason is but it’s certainly not helping Obama and Wright’s no idiot. He knows this is causing damage.
Conservative analyst, Michelle Malkin wondered, “Is he (Wright) working for the Hillary campaign?” Again, since the National Press Club event was put together by a Clinton supporter, it does raise that question. (Note: The Clinton campaign denies any involvement in that event)
Finally, enough was enough and Obama addressed the last few days of Wright’s various appearances. Anyone who’s watched Obama over the last year, could tell that he really seemed pissed off in this conference. “What particularly angered me was his suggestion somehow that my previous denunciation of his remarks were somehow political posturing.”
His words were sharp and pointed and represented a clear condemnation as opposed to last month’s attempt to distance himself from the remarks while at the same time explaining them.
And just more rain for Obama, Al Sharpton accused Obama of “grandstand[ing] in front of white people” in the aftermath of the Sean Bell murder case against the NYPD.
A C-SPAN Only Event
Clinton challenged Obama to a Lincoln-Douglas style debate. Under her rules, she would get to where a top hat and he would have to defend slavery extending into Missouri.
The Lincoln-Douglas debates didn’t have a moderator because Brian Williams hadn’t been born yet. Instead, the two men took turns speaking for blocks of time, the first candidate speaking for an hour, the second for an hour and a half and the first candidate concluded with a thirty minute response. I don’t know if this is really want Clinton has in mind or not but it could be the most boring three hours on television since my cable went out and it took me three hours to notice.
Good News for Hillary
North Carolina Governor Mike Easley (D-NC) has endorsed Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) as the state’s primary approaches. How much help any endorsement really provides is debatable but it certainly doesn’t hurt her to have it. Obama is favored to win in North Carolina, currently possessing a 10 point lead in the state. If Clinton can win there, it will be a notable upset.
Is Hillary Pulling for McCain
Dick Morris wrote a column suggesting that Clinton knows she can’t win and is just trying to drive up Obama’s negatives so he’ll lose in November and give her a chance to run again in 2012. If Obama were to win in November, she wouldn’t be able to run until 2016 when she’d be 69. Again, Dick Morris wrote this, so you have to consider the source on this one. I’m of the belief that she thinks winning a flurry of contests at the end will allow her to make an effective argument to superdelegates that she’s more electable that Obama. While it’s an uphill battle, I don’t think she’s still in this race to simply sabotage the Democratic Party for 2008.
Rove Advises Obama
Former Bush strategist, Karl Rove offered unsolicited advice to Obama in the form of a Newsweek column. It’s tempting to dismiss Rove because he just might be 80% evil but he’s also a brilliant political strategist and his ideas are worth at least considering.
Let Obama Eat His Damn Waffle
The Republican Party has put up this press release to attack Obama on choosing to eat breakfast instead of answering a question about former President Jimmy Carter meeting with Hamas. He asked the reporter who was interrupting him while eating, “Why can’t I just eat my waffle?”
Hey, just leave him alone and let him his eat his waffle. It’s a scientific fact proven each day at Waffle House that the goodness of a waffle decreases proportionally as the time the waffle remains uneaten. For the RNC to pick up on this is absurd. I know, this is what politics has devolved into but does Obama have to be available to answer questions every second of every day?
McCain, Inmates and Great Deals
In Homewood, Alabama, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) reportedly got quite a deal when his campaign set up a fundraiser. He was given an 80% discount off the full price and inmates in the local jail were provided to set up tables and chairs. When a Democratic fundraiser was held last year (and the year before), they were charged the full rates.
Jim Croce v. Alergies
I was catching up on television I had missed being down in Savannah because I’m that combination of obsessive and retarded known as, uh…Obsessive Retarded. So I was watching Conan O’Brien with Tina Fey and a commercial came on for Zyrtec.
The pitchwoman opens the ad saying, “You know that song, ‘Time in a Bottle’? Well, I got time in a bottle…just by changing my allergy medicine from Claritin to Zyrtec. Zyrtec’s a lot faster.”
You hafta wonder whether they’re required to pay Jim Croce’s estate for the reference. I bet they didn’t. I think that song’s been played in a commercial before but I can’t remember the product. But the thing that really struck me about this was how random the reference was. I mean, if it’s faster than Claritin, then fine, say it’s faster but to name check a song from the early 70s…I don’t know.
But it got me to thinking, what other songs could be used this way, you know without playing the song but making a reference to it in the commercial.
“You know that song, Magic Carpet Ride? Well, at Carpets of Dalton, all our carpets are magic and we’re a short ride from Atlanta.”
“You know that song, You Can’t Always Get What You Want? Well, when you try Target, you just might find get what you need.”
“You know that song, With a Little Help From My Friends? Well, with Bulldog Movers, you won’t need any help from your friends.”
“You know that song, Highway to Hell? Well, with a new Lexus, even the drive to Hell will feel heavenly.”
“You know that song, Have You Ever Seen the Rain? Well, after getting Lasik, you’ll be able to see the rain. Each and every drop of it.”
Jesus’ Assassination Threat
A teenager told police that he wanted to die so that he could go to heaven and kill Jesus. God heard about the threats and now St. Peter and St. Paul have been assigned to protect Jesus for a time yet to be determined.
Cruise Returns to the Couch
Tom Cruise is scheduled to appear on Oprah’s show this Friday and the following Monday. The two dates are great because that will allow him to apologize on Monday for whatever strange thing he did on Friday. The first show will be taped at Cruise’s home in Colorado because his couches are already reinforced so that he can jump on them for hours at a time.
A Frosty with Your Roast Beef Sandwich
“Wendy’s, Arby’s parent will merge.” This is like when your dad is about to marry this new strange lady is smells like bacon and onions and you keep saying that you won’t talk so much if he doesn’t marry her because you don’t like bacon and onions. But he says that it’s best for everyone but you know it’s not best for everyone. And no matter how many times you chant ‘bacon and onions,’ ‘bacon and onions,’ ‘bacon and onions,’ it just doesn’t matter. Damn you, Wendy’s. Damn you indeed.
Side note, Dave Thomas’ daughter, Pam Thomas said that her late father “would not be amused” by the takeover. Of course, taking the company public opens up these kinds of sales and that was a decision Thomas had made…even if Pam thought it smelled like bacon and onions.
Cows Say: Eat Mor Peetsa
Truett Cathy, founder and CEO of Chick-fil-a, has opened a pizza restaurant in Fayetteville. I’m not sure how good the pizza would be but I’d be willing to give it a shot if I were ever in the area. When asked if he was going to step down as CEO of Chick-fil-a, he answered, “Why would I? I’m only 87.” And the cows have told him he’s going to live to be at least 149.
He did make one good point though in the article. Hot dogs really are kind of underappreciated, you know, in the way that you might appreciate something but not as much as you should appreciate that something, thereby not appreciating enough.
Barry McGuire Would Be Thrilled
A study shows that humans faced extinction 70,000 years ago, only to be saved when the California Condor added us to the endangered species list until we increased in number enough to then threaten their existence. I don’t know, these kinds of studies are released every now and then and it’s not very clear to me what data they’re looking at and it just leaves me kinda skeptical about the whole thing. Not that it matters but…
Important Headlines
Cindy Sheehan is running against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) if she can collect almost 11,000 signatures by August 8th. The signatures must come from within the district, unlike the money she’s raised, the great bulk of $100,000 apparently coming from outside San Francisco.
The price of rice is increasing and according to this article, it’s possible that several governments could fall, especially if their country’s currency is actually rice.
Shirley Temple broke her arm last week, which is good and bad news for her. Obviously, breaking your arm sucks but I thought she was dead, so breaking her arm proves she’s alive. The 80 year old former child star should think of it that way. By breaking her arm, she proved to me that she’s still alive.
As has been allegedly long rumored, alleged actor Jimmy Fallon will allegedly be replacing Conan O’Brien when Conan allegedly takes over ‘The Tonight Show.’ The alleged Jimmy Fallon is allegedly 5 foot 11. Allegedly.
My Two Attempts to Pee
At the doctor’s office, I had to provide a urine sample and when the nurse gave me the cup, I asked, “Can we also check to make sure I’m not pregnant because I haven’t had my period in, like, forever?” She just stared blankly at me. I went into the bathroom and was given two minutes to pee. The door was unlocked and she would come in after me when those two minutes were up. I just kept staring at my watch, waiting for the door to open. I ended up not going at all. It was awful. I was given a three hour window to go again but a second failed attempt would count as a failed test. I wasn’t allowed to leave the building and had to drink water in a lobby filled with people making annoying noises. There was heavy sigher, lip smacker, business card flicker and loud baby. It was horrible.
I drank over a gallon of water and at one point, my hands started to shake and I felt like I was going to vomit. I was convinced that I was about to die of water poisoning. I was called back again, and ran through the same set of instructions as before. I had two minutes. Unlocked door. Wasn’t allowed to flush. I had to empty out my pockets and everything. I went back in the bathroom and…Again, I stared at my watch, waiting for the door to swing open. And then I started to pee and I was relieved. At the same time, I was embarrassed that it took two attempts. I gave the cup back to the nurse and said, “This pee’s for you,” you know like those old Bud commercials but I didn’t really sell the line and it didn’t get a laugh. Oh well…
What I Watched on Television
I watched Pardon the Interruption today, which didn’t win an Emmy. I wasn’t aware it was up for one but Tony seemed really upset about the whole thing and I feel bad for him. I bet those extended summer breaks and Dan LeBatard’s guest appearances hurt them. I’m taping the Braves’ game right now and will start watching that in just a second.
What I’m Listening to On My Mp3 Player
Arctic Monkeys’ ‘Mardy Bum’ off their first album. This is sometimes my favorite song from ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not’ but other times it’s not. Some people think that their most recent release, ‘My Favorite Worst Nightmare’ is a step back and maybe on some level it is but I was expecting a serious letdown and it while it wasn’t as good as their first effort, it was still pretty solid. They’re working off and on with their third album which is likely to come out in 2009.
Lead singer Alex Turner has been working with Miles Kane of the Rascals and the two released ‘The Age of the Understatement’ under the group name The Last Shadow Puppets. Their sound is more theatrical and overstated. I wasn’t hugely impressed with what I’ve heard from them. As for Kane, he played guitar on ‘505,’ the last song on the Arctic Monkeys’ last album, which is a great track.
Random Thoughts
Radio Free Europe was the victim of a cyberattack this past weekend. Where’s REM when you need them?
I find the new Reese’s ad campaign to be kinda disturbing. I’m looking at Peanut Butter cups in a way that probably isn’t 100% appropriate.
I don't think I'm ever going to drink water again. I tried to never pee again but after drinking over a gallon of water in less than an hour, I actually spent most of the afternoon doing just that.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Israel's Airstrike in Syria
When I was in Savannah, I saw on a press conference on Fox News where the Syrian Ambassador was denying US reports that on September 6, 2007, Israel had bombed a Syrian facility designed with the help of North Korea to produce nuclear weapons. I hadn’t heard this story since it broke after I went on the trip down south and I found it alarming for about four different reasons.
When the ambassador opened up the floor for questions, Fox News cut off coverage and Trace Gallagher restated what had just been said in the most patronizing, sarcastic way possible. I wish I had the video clip for the coverage because it was ridiculously awful. Okay, so Fox News is biased. Everyone knows that but the smarmy editorializing that Gallagher did bordered on parody. If Saturday Night Live had imitated a Fox News anchor saying what Gallagher said in the way that he said it, I would’ve said it was a little over the top but in this case…it would’ve been accurate. This is another reason why I can’t bear to watch Fox News for more than about five minutes at a time.
I flipped to CNN, Headline News, MSNBC and CNBC but most outlets were covering a shark attack and none were covering the press conference or talking about the story. Throughout my trip, I tried to learn more about this story but I never saw any more coverage on any of the all-news channels. I heard a lot more about the shark attack and Headline News, every 15 minutes was covering a swinger’s club in a neighborhood but no mention that Country A claimed that Country B was bombed by Country C while Country B was denying the facts of the bombing. To me, this was a fascinating story.
So as soon as I got home, I started reading everything I could and found that the best coverage was outside of the US since our own media is too busy talking about (insert one of the many examples of frivolous news coverage the media engages in on an hourly basis).
I found a report in The Specator that came out a month after the September airstrike that gives an interesting view of what the reporting was like at the time, although most of the media was looking somewhere else. The details in this report is startling. I vaguely remember the airstrike but I don’t remember that it was supposed to have been a nuclear reactor that was hit. Syria staying mum on it helped mute the story. Which makes you wonder why they didn’t protest loudly at something that is a violation international law.
For months, the US wouldn’t comment on the September strike, refusing even to confirm that it took place. Then on Thursday, the CIA held a series of briefings with Congress where they presented the following video:
After the briefings, the White House released a statement accusing Syria of operating a nuclear reactor for non-peaceful purposes and charging that North Korea assisted Syria in their nuclear program. Previously classified photos and videos were released for public viewing. The photos were apparently obtained by US spies who took a handheld camera into the facility.
Originally, Syria claimed the bombs fell on empty farmland and did no damage but now they are acknowledging that a building was destroyed, though when the International Atomic Energy Agency asked to inspect the site, Syria refused to grant permission. Syrian ambassador to the US, Imad Moustapha has pledged full cooperation with the IAEA while denying Syria has any nuclear program, not one for weapons or energy purposes.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told the newspaper Al-Watan, that September’s airstrike “hit a military site under construction, not a nuclear site as Israel and America claimed… Does it make sense that we would build a nuclear facility in the desert and not protect it with anti-aircraft defenses?” He said, “Why did they raid it, we do not know what data they had, but they know and they see through satellites; they have raided an incomplete site that did not have any personnel or anything. It was empty.”
Assad maintains that there is no reason Syria would need a nuclear weapon because it wouldn’t fit their strategic goals within the region. Syrian officials claim they have nothing to hide from the world community and notes they signed onto the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty. Currently, no Arab nation has nuclear capability.
Moustapha also questioned the legitimacy of the pictures the US government has released, “They were showing me photos from inside a building somewhere in the world.” And even if they were real, he felt there wasn’t any proof that it was a nuclear reactor. “I had to remind them that it is on one hand preposterous. And on the other hand there is something silly about this. Not a single security guard. No barbed wire. It's just photographs of vacant buildings.” He referred to this situation as “Iraq déjà vu.”
Obviously, after the intelligence failures in Iraq, it’s easy to be skeptical of these new charges. That’s part of the reason some believe the US hasn’t pressed too hard on the issue of Iran providing IEDs to Shiite militia groups in Iraq.
A congressional aide speaking on the condition of anonymity said Friday that the “general consensus” in Congress following the briefing was that the presentation was “legitimate.”
Any reports from American intelligence are going to naturally be viewed with a certain amount of skepticism. According to Moustapha, “This administration has a proven record of falsifying and fabricating stories about WMDs (weapons of mass destruction). They have done this before. The difference is, the hope that this time the representatives of the American people and the American people themselves will be more careful in believing any such absurd, preposterous stories as the one we heard (on Thursday).” He predicted that the story will “implode from within” and “will be a major embarrassment to the U.S. administration for a second time -- they lied about Iraqi WMDs and they think they can do it again.”
The Washington Post’s Dan Foomkin also wrote a column pointing out the questionable track record of the Bush administration’s intelligence reports. He suggests that Israel was using their version of the Bush Doctrine of preemption and that the US tacitly approved of the action since, according to a senior intelligence officer within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Israel faced an “existential threat.”
Anthony Cordesman at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said, “Once again, the US intelligence community has created an unnecessary mess by rushing out a half-complete product, and failing to put the information in releases in proper context.”
Which does raise the question: Why remain silent after the strike and why release this information now?
A senior administration official claimed that they withheld this information to keep Syria from retaliating against Israel, leading to a region-wide conflict. Though other experts believe the silence might’ve been to guarantee Syria’s cooperation in the Annapolis peace talks that were being planned at that time.
The explanation of trying to keep Syria engaged in the peace summit makes sense but why release the pictures now? Couldn’t that provoke Syria to retaliate now?
President Assad was asked if Syria would respond and he answered, “Retaliation does not mean a missile for a missile, a bomb for a bomb or a bullet for a bullet…They (Israel) understand what we mean. We do not say that we will retaliate, i.e. we will bomb. You have to ask a different question; had Syria not been harming Israeli policy would Israel have carried out an operation of this sort? The truth is that we have the means to respond, but in our own way. We understand Israel wants to provoke Syria and possibly to drag Syria into war while we do not seek war. We have been clear about this point. We have other means and we do not necessarily have to declare them.”
The second reason the release might have occurred now is because, according to a senior administration official, Bush cleared the release of the information to get North Korea to come clean with their nuclear involvement and encourage other countries to agree to support sanctions against Iran.
This seems somewhat strained to me. The US delegation just met with North Korea earlier in the week and to release this information seems more inflammatory than anything else, which leads to explanation number three.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice opposed releasing the information while Vice President Dick Cheney supported it, according to several rumors, to derail the six party talks (the nations included being the United States, North Korea, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan). One senior official said, “Making public the pictures is likely to inflame the North Koreans. And that’s just what opponents of this whole arrangement want, because they think the North Koreans will stalk off.
Could this release of information really be tied to an intra-administration dispute? A senior official in the State Department told ABC News that the release of this information “just made a difficult job impossible” regarding negotiations with North Korea.
The efforts by chief negotiator Christopher Hill, have been viewed as counter to the Bush strategy of toppling governments like North Korea’s rather than negotiating with them to find common ground. According to several former officials, Bush told aides time and again not agree to anything with North Korea that “makes me look weak.”
Hill’s negotiations also haven’t led to North Korea being more open. Under the previous agreement, they were required to reveal all information regarding potential nuclear proliferation but missed the December 31st deadline.
Which leads to the final possible reason this information was released when it was. There’s a suggestion that the US is revealing this information to get in on the table and move ahead with the six-party talks. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Jon Wolfsthal, “This could actually be an attempt by the Bush administration to throw out the garbage because this is an issue that they don't think can be resolved easily, that they don't think is as important as other issues.”
Sami al-Khiyami, Syria's ambassador to Britain, seems to view it that way as well. “They just want to exert more pressure on North Korea. This is why they are coming up with this story. This is political manipulation ahead of the talks with North Korea to exert more pressure on them.”
Whatever led to this release, the IAEA is angry they weren’t alerted before the strike was carried out. The head of the agency, Mohamed El Baradei released a tersely written statement saying, “Under the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty), the agency has a responsibility to verify any proliferation allegations in a non-nuclear weapon state party to the NPT… light of the above, the director general views the unilateral military action by Israel as undermining the due process of verification that is at the heart of the non-proliferation regime.”
How long has the United States known about this possible reactor?
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the CIA received intelligence on the existence of this reactor in the summer of 2001 after spotting an unexplained building from a spy satellite. The investigation of AQ Khan, who was revealed as a major figure in nuclear proliferation in 2004, provided additional information about a possible Syrian nuclear program.
It wasn’t totally clear that it was a reactor or what the reactor was being used for. “U.S. intelligence had "high confidence" that the structure bombed by the Israelis was a nuclear reactor, "medium confidence" that the North Koreans were involved in building it, and "low confidence" that plutonium from it was for nuclear weapons.”
Alalam, an Iranian news website quotes an unnamed IAEA official who said, “When you look at the pictures, they show only raw construction. It was just the shell of a site, and the walls did not look like the ones needed for a plutonium reactor…[which would] need a lot of piping, there was nothing like that on the pictures.”
President of the Institute for Science and International Security, David Albright complained that the CIA didn’t explain how the plant was fueled, which “raises questions about when the reactor could have operated, despite evidence that it was nearing completion at the time of the attack.” He also noted that the lack of a processing plant “gives little confidence that the reactor was part of an active nuclear weapons program.”
Albright does believe that the facility was a reactor saying that when he analyzed commercial satellite photography of the site, he believed that it was a nuclear reactor but says, “It's not clear-cut it was ready to turn on.” He also thinks it’s too early to rule out possible a peaceful purpose for the reactor. “Civilian uses are possible and cannot be dismissed out of hand. I think the CIA and the White House have not shown that the only possibility for this reactor is that it was to make plutonium for nuclear weapons.”
Siegfried Hecker, the co-director for Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation, believes that the site wasn’t well suited for energy purposes and was likely designed to produce plutonium. “[The site] was the best path to bomb-grade plutonium. That was most likely the primary purpose of this facility.”
According to The New York Times, “two senior intelligence officials acknowledged that the evidence had left them with no more than “low confidence” that Syria was preparing to build a nuclear weapon. They said that there was no sign that Syria had built an operation to convert the spent fuel from the plant into weapons-grade plutonium, but that they had told President Bush last year that they could think of no other explanation for the reactor.”
Israel decided that it could no longer afford to wait and made the call to take the reactor out in a move similar to their action in 1981 when they bombed the nuclear reactor that was being built in Iraq, though the Syrian facility was reportedly less advanced than the one in Osirak, 18 miles south of Baghdad.
Syria has accused the US government of encouraging and participating in the attack. They believe the release of this information is part of a cover-up for US involvement in the strike. “This campaign launched by the US administration is aimed primarily at misguiding the US Congress and international public opinion... in order to justify the Israeli raid on Syria in September last year, which this administration apparently was involved in executing,” an unnamed Syrian government official said.
Senior officials within the US government said that the US military did not have any involvement in the attack and that while the US was notified in advance, they did not issue an approval. One administration official said that the strike occurred “without a green light from us…None was asked for, none was given.” According to Haaretz, the Bush administration, namely Secretary Rice, tried to convince Israel not to launch an airstrike on the possible reactor.
Again, the article in The Specator goes into great detail of the assault itself, which leveled the entire location.
According to Al Jazeera, the site that was destroyed has been rebuilt with a larger building in its place, though it doesn’t say what is there now. The BBC has pictures on their website of the location before the assault, afterwards and another that shows the new building that’s been constructed.
What is North Korea’s role in this situation?
If you can make the leap that this is a nuclear reactor, the connection to North Korea is a slight bit more tenuous. Though it should be noted that while there’s definitely a credibility gap for the Bush administration, previous assessments about North Korea have proven correct.
One undated picture showed the head of the Syrian nuclear commission next to a car with a Syrian license plate standing with the head of North Korea's Yongbyon reactor, the facility that the Syrian reactor supposedly resembled. Yongbyon is a 35 year old nuclear reactor in North Korea, which is no longer active but has yet to be dismantled.
North Korea hasn’t commented on whether they have assisted Syria in a nuclear program, only releasing a statement saying that the April 22-24 meeting with US delegation “was constructive and led to significant progress.” The State Department is refusing to discuss private conversations on the matter, instead saying that Pyongyang can respond publically if they choose. When asked what motivation North Korea would have to work with Syria and a senior intelligence official replied, “Cash.”
As mentioned earlier, there’s been impatience growing with Christopher Hill and the State Department’s negotiation efforts and Congress has threatened to pull funding for the US delegation.
The release of this information didn’t help relations between Congress and the President, which have been strained for a while.
Representative Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, expressed frustration at being kept out of the loop on this issue for so long and said, “I think many people believe that we were used today by the administration because - not because they felt they had to inform Congress because it was their legal obligation to do that, but because they had other agendas in mind… Remember, it is the legal responsibility of the administration to keep Congress fully and currently informed on the issues that the administration is dealing with. I think we have a question as to whether the administration actually moved forward in that direction.”
White House Press Secretary Dana Perino responded to Rep. Hoekstra’s complaint, “Obviously we would be very disappointed that he feels that way...and hope he understands our tremendous respect for members of Congress.” She did note that “in the fall, we briefed 22 members of Congress, consistent with our obligations. He was one of them. There are tensions that exist between the executive branches and the legislative branches on a range of issues in regards to who should know what when.” Basically, she chalked it up to the inherent differences between the branches of government.
The Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) echoed the complaints of Rep. Hoekstra, “The challenge we're having particularly with [the] administration today is that there is a veil of secrecy that gets in the way of our committee feeling comfortable that we're getting the kind of information that we're supposed to have to carry out our oversight responsibilities.”
What’s next for Israel?
Defense Minister Ehud Barak was supposed to come to the US on Sunday, April 27th to meet with Vice President Cheney and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates but the trip was postponed according to Haaretz following the CIA’s recent briefing about the September airstrike. The paper believes the visit was delayed because it might give the appearance of impropriety. The visit hasn’t been rescheduled.
Israel and Syria had been engaged in peace negotiations recently and it’s unclear what effect this information being released will have on those talks. President Assad said that he would be interested in peace talks with Israel but that any talks would have to come after President Bush leaves office. He said that the current administration “does not have the vision or will for the peace process.”
ABC News reported this past week that Israel might be willing to return Golan Heights to Syria as part of a peace agreement. When asked about the report, Israeli officials refused to confirm or deny the story but there have been back channel communications going on between Assad and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Golan Heights was seized as part of the Six Day War in 1967. Syria tried to retake it by force in 1973 but failed and a ceasefire was negotiated the following year. It’s a strategic military area for Israel and has been mentioned as a mandatory starting point for any negotiations between the two countries.
Reportedly, Olmert gave the message to Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who then passed it onto Assad by phone, according to Buthaina Shaaban, a Syrian cabinet minister.
Former Prime Minister and current opposition leader, Benjamin Netanyahu objected, saying, “the Golan Heights must remain in our hands at times of peace as well, otherwise Iran will get there… I find it very surprising that the prime minister is ready to cede all of the Golan Heights before the negotiations have even begun. He is acting recklessly and like an amateur. This is not the way to attain peace.” Though it should be noted that Netanyahu, during his time in office, had signaled he was willing to give back the land as part of negotiations with Syria.
I look forward to seeing how the Bush administration’s decision to release the information will effect Israel’s peace negotiations with Syria, the six-party talks with North Korea and the United States’ attempts to get the world to rally behind additional sanctions for Iran.
Whether or not the American media decides to appropriately cover those consequences will also be interesting. I’m guessing if (insert young Hollywood celebrity here) shows up to a party without underwear, we might be forced to check out foreign coverage for the results of this administration’s actions.
Jimmy Carter: Bigot?
Israel’s UN ambassador apparently doesn’t have warm and fuzzy feelings about former President Jimmy Carter. Carter, according to Ambassador Dan Gillerman, “went to the region with soiled hands and came back with bloody hands after shaking the hand of Khaled Mashaal, the leader of Hamas.”
This statement is a slander against both men’s hygiene habits. Carter, according to Gillerman, doesn’t wash his hands and Mashaal doesn’t wash his and now they both are sharing the germs they didn’t wash off originally.
Gillerman also called Carter “a bigot.” Carter was unavailable to be reached for comment so we’ll never know whether he understands he was called “a bigot” as opposed to a spigot, something I would imagine he’s used to being called.
Important Headlines
Last week, US contracted ships fired warning shots at boats off the Iranian coast in the Persian Gulf. Just another thing to keep an eye on.
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) said she will be the best quarterback for America. Mel Kiper was unable to be reached for comment
There’s a Dutch bill out there that will ban magic mushrooms. Opposition to the bill is led by Mario and Luigi, two Italian plumbers who say such an effort will make it much more difficult to save the princess.
Florida lawmakers consider bill banning ornamental testicles. Uh, I don’t know what to add to that. I…I just don’t.
Law enforcement officials in Congo have arrested 13 who are accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men’s penises. Again, I don’t really know what to add to that.
What I'm Listening to on My Mp3 Player
Bob Dylan's 'Nettie Moore' off his "Modern Times" album. The album isn't as good as his last two, but it has a couple of his best songs ever, I'm thinking of 'Working Man's Blues #2.' Like the album before, 'Love and Theft,' a controversy emerged about the writing of the songs, namely that Dylan stole some of his lyrics from people who wrote lines that were very similar to those that appear in the songs. 'Nettie Moore' was one of those songs off the newest disc, though not as blatant as 'Working Man Blues,' which is actually kind of embarrassing how similar it is to the poet Ovid. Ovid also gets 'borrowed' from on other songs on the CD as well. If I were Ovid, I'd feel honored but he died in 17AD and CDs hadn't been invented yet.
What I Watched on Television Today
I watched the Braves lose to the Mets 6-3. I'll write something about that series and when I do, it'll be posted at http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/djwright.
Random Thoughts
I was sitting on my couch and I thought of Mr. T and I thought I remembered seeing that he was going to be in an upcoming TV show or in a movie but I knew that it might’ve been a dream, so I went to the computer, checked Internet Movie Database. Turns out he has nothing going right now. It’s sad. Mr. T’s receiving more work in my dreams than in real life
Somewhere, right now, someone is listening to 97.1 The River. My guess is an Eagles’ song is playing.
I did three sit-ups and then looked in the mirror this morning and I was happy with what I saw…until I realized I was actually looking at the television and watching The Smurfs.
When the ambassador opened up the floor for questions, Fox News cut off coverage and Trace Gallagher restated what had just been said in the most patronizing, sarcastic way possible. I wish I had the video clip for the coverage because it was ridiculously awful. Okay, so Fox News is biased. Everyone knows that but the smarmy editorializing that Gallagher did bordered on parody. If Saturday Night Live had imitated a Fox News anchor saying what Gallagher said in the way that he said it, I would’ve said it was a little over the top but in this case…it would’ve been accurate. This is another reason why I can’t bear to watch Fox News for more than about five minutes at a time.
I flipped to CNN, Headline News, MSNBC and CNBC but most outlets were covering a shark attack and none were covering the press conference or talking about the story. Throughout my trip, I tried to learn more about this story but I never saw any more coverage on any of the all-news channels. I heard a lot more about the shark attack and Headline News, every 15 minutes was covering a swinger’s club in a neighborhood but no mention that Country A claimed that Country B was bombed by Country C while Country B was denying the facts of the bombing. To me, this was a fascinating story.
So as soon as I got home, I started reading everything I could and found that the best coverage was outside of the US since our own media is too busy talking about (insert one of the many examples of frivolous news coverage the media engages in on an hourly basis).
I found a report in The Specator that came out a month after the September airstrike that gives an interesting view of what the reporting was like at the time, although most of the media was looking somewhere else. The details in this report is startling. I vaguely remember the airstrike but I don’t remember that it was supposed to have been a nuclear reactor that was hit. Syria staying mum on it helped mute the story. Which makes you wonder why they didn’t protest loudly at something that is a violation international law.
For months, the US wouldn’t comment on the September strike, refusing even to confirm that it took place. Then on Thursday, the CIA held a series of briefings with Congress where they presented the following video:
After the briefings, the White House released a statement accusing Syria of operating a nuclear reactor for non-peaceful purposes and charging that North Korea assisted Syria in their nuclear program. Previously classified photos and videos were released for public viewing. The photos were apparently obtained by US spies who took a handheld camera into the facility.
Originally, Syria claimed the bombs fell on empty farmland and did no damage but now they are acknowledging that a building was destroyed, though when the International Atomic Energy Agency asked to inspect the site, Syria refused to grant permission. Syrian ambassador to the US, Imad Moustapha has pledged full cooperation with the IAEA while denying Syria has any nuclear program, not one for weapons or energy purposes.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told the newspaper Al-Watan, that September’s airstrike “hit a military site under construction, not a nuclear site as Israel and America claimed… Does it make sense that we would build a nuclear facility in the desert and not protect it with anti-aircraft defenses?” He said, “Why did they raid it, we do not know what data they had, but they know and they see through satellites; they have raided an incomplete site that did not have any personnel or anything. It was empty.”
Assad maintains that there is no reason Syria would need a nuclear weapon because it wouldn’t fit their strategic goals within the region. Syrian officials claim they have nothing to hide from the world community and notes they signed onto the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty. Currently, no Arab nation has nuclear capability.
Moustapha also questioned the legitimacy of the pictures the US government has released, “They were showing me photos from inside a building somewhere in the world.” And even if they were real, he felt there wasn’t any proof that it was a nuclear reactor. “I had to remind them that it is on one hand preposterous. And on the other hand there is something silly about this. Not a single security guard. No barbed wire. It's just photographs of vacant buildings.” He referred to this situation as “Iraq déjà vu.”
Obviously, after the intelligence failures in Iraq, it’s easy to be skeptical of these new charges. That’s part of the reason some believe the US hasn’t pressed too hard on the issue of Iran providing IEDs to Shiite militia groups in Iraq.
A congressional aide speaking on the condition of anonymity said Friday that the “general consensus” in Congress following the briefing was that the presentation was “legitimate.”
Any reports from American intelligence are going to naturally be viewed with a certain amount of skepticism. According to Moustapha, “This administration has a proven record of falsifying and fabricating stories about WMDs (weapons of mass destruction). They have done this before. The difference is, the hope that this time the representatives of the American people and the American people themselves will be more careful in believing any such absurd, preposterous stories as the one we heard (on Thursday).” He predicted that the story will “implode from within” and “will be a major embarrassment to the U.S. administration for a second time -- they lied about Iraqi WMDs and they think they can do it again.”
The Washington Post’s Dan Foomkin also wrote a column pointing out the questionable track record of the Bush administration’s intelligence reports. He suggests that Israel was using their version of the Bush Doctrine of preemption and that the US tacitly approved of the action since, according to a senior intelligence officer within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Israel faced an “existential threat.”
Anthony Cordesman at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said, “Once again, the US intelligence community has created an unnecessary mess by rushing out a half-complete product, and failing to put the information in releases in proper context.”
Which does raise the question: Why remain silent after the strike and why release this information now?
A senior administration official claimed that they withheld this information to keep Syria from retaliating against Israel, leading to a region-wide conflict. Though other experts believe the silence might’ve been to guarantee Syria’s cooperation in the Annapolis peace talks that were being planned at that time.
The explanation of trying to keep Syria engaged in the peace summit makes sense but why release the pictures now? Couldn’t that provoke Syria to retaliate now?
President Assad was asked if Syria would respond and he answered, “Retaliation does not mean a missile for a missile, a bomb for a bomb or a bullet for a bullet…They (Israel) understand what we mean. We do not say that we will retaliate, i.e. we will bomb. You have to ask a different question; had Syria not been harming Israeli policy would Israel have carried out an operation of this sort? The truth is that we have the means to respond, but in our own way. We understand Israel wants to provoke Syria and possibly to drag Syria into war while we do not seek war. We have been clear about this point. We have other means and we do not necessarily have to declare them.”
The second reason the release might have occurred now is because, according to a senior administration official, Bush cleared the release of the information to get North Korea to come clean with their nuclear involvement and encourage other countries to agree to support sanctions against Iran.
This seems somewhat strained to me. The US delegation just met with North Korea earlier in the week and to release this information seems more inflammatory than anything else, which leads to explanation number three.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice opposed releasing the information while Vice President Dick Cheney supported it, according to several rumors, to derail the six party talks (the nations included being the United States, North Korea, China, Russia, South Korea and Japan). One senior official said, “Making public the pictures is likely to inflame the North Koreans. And that’s just what opponents of this whole arrangement want, because they think the North Koreans will stalk off.
Could this release of information really be tied to an intra-administration dispute? A senior official in the State Department told ABC News that the release of this information “just made a difficult job impossible” regarding negotiations with North Korea.
The efforts by chief negotiator Christopher Hill, have been viewed as counter to the Bush strategy of toppling governments like North Korea’s rather than negotiating with them to find common ground. According to several former officials, Bush told aides time and again not agree to anything with North Korea that “makes me look weak.”
Hill’s negotiations also haven’t led to North Korea being more open. Under the previous agreement, they were required to reveal all information regarding potential nuclear proliferation but missed the December 31st deadline.
Which leads to the final possible reason this information was released when it was. There’s a suggestion that the US is revealing this information to get in on the table and move ahead with the six-party talks. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Jon Wolfsthal, “This could actually be an attempt by the Bush administration to throw out the garbage because this is an issue that they don't think can be resolved easily, that they don't think is as important as other issues.”
Sami al-Khiyami, Syria's ambassador to Britain, seems to view it that way as well. “They just want to exert more pressure on North Korea. This is why they are coming up with this story. This is political manipulation ahead of the talks with North Korea to exert more pressure on them.”
Whatever led to this release, the IAEA is angry they weren’t alerted before the strike was carried out. The head of the agency, Mohamed El Baradei released a tersely written statement saying, “Under the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty), the agency has a responsibility to verify any proliferation allegations in a non-nuclear weapon state party to the NPT… light of the above, the director general views the unilateral military action by Israel as undermining the due process of verification that is at the heart of the non-proliferation regime.”
How long has the United States known about this possible reactor?
According to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the CIA received intelligence on the existence of this reactor in the summer of 2001 after spotting an unexplained building from a spy satellite. The investigation of AQ Khan, who was revealed as a major figure in nuclear proliferation in 2004, provided additional information about a possible Syrian nuclear program.
It wasn’t totally clear that it was a reactor or what the reactor was being used for. “U.S. intelligence had "high confidence" that the structure bombed by the Israelis was a nuclear reactor, "medium confidence" that the North Koreans were involved in building it, and "low confidence" that plutonium from it was for nuclear weapons.”
Alalam, an Iranian news website quotes an unnamed IAEA official who said, “When you look at the pictures, they show only raw construction. It was just the shell of a site, and the walls did not look like the ones needed for a plutonium reactor…[which would] need a lot of piping, there was nothing like that on the pictures.”
President of the Institute for Science and International Security, David Albright complained that the CIA didn’t explain how the plant was fueled, which “raises questions about when the reactor could have operated, despite evidence that it was nearing completion at the time of the attack.” He also noted that the lack of a processing plant “gives little confidence that the reactor was part of an active nuclear weapons program.”
Albright does believe that the facility was a reactor saying that when he analyzed commercial satellite photography of the site, he believed that it was a nuclear reactor but says, “It's not clear-cut it was ready to turn on.” He also thinks it’s too early to rule out possible a peaceful purpose for the reactor. “Civilian uses are possible and cannot be dismissed out of hand. I think the CIA and the White House have not shown that the only possibility for this reactor is that it was to make plutonium for nuclear weapons.”
Siegfried Hecker, the co-director for Stanford University's Center for International Security and Cooperation, believes that the site wasn’t well suited for energy purposes and was likely designed to produce plutonium. “[The site] was the best path to bomb-grade plutonium. That was most likely the primary purpose of this facility.”
According to The New York Times, “two senior intelligence officials acknowledged that the evidence had left them with no more than “low confidence” that Syria was preparing to build a nuclear weapon. They said that there was no sign that Syria had built an operation to convert the spent fuel from the plant into weapons-grade plutonium, but that they had told President Bush last year that they could think of no other explanation for the reactor.”
Israel decided that it could no longer afford to wait and made the call to take the reactor out in a move similar to their action in 1981 when they bombed the nuclear reactor that was being built in Iraq, though the Syrian facility was reportedly less advanced than the one in Osirak, 18 miles south of Baghdad.
Syria has accused the US government of encouraging and participating in the attack. They believe the release of this information is part of a cover-up for US involvement in the strike. “This campaign launched by the US administration is aimed primarily at misguiding the US Congress and international public opinion... in order to justify the Israeli raid on Syria in September last year, which this administration apparently was involved in executing,” an unnamed Syrian government official said.
Senior officials within the US government said that the US military did not have any involvement in the attack and that while the US was notified in advance, they did not issue an approval. One administration official said that the strike occurred “without a green light from us…None was asked for, none was given.” According to Haaretz, the Bush administration, namely Secretary Rice, tried to convince Israel not to launch an airstrike on the possible reactor.
Again, the article in The Specator goes into great detail of the assault itself, which leveled the entire location.
According to Al Jazeera, the site that was destroyed has been rebuilt with a larger building in its place, though it doesn’t say what is there now. The BBC has pictures on their website of the location before the assault, afterwards and another that shows the new building that’s been constructed.
What is North Korea’s role in this situation?
If you can make the leap that this is a nuclear reactor, the connection to North Korea is a slight bit more tenuous. Though it should be noted that while there’s definitely a credibility gap for the Bush administration, previous assessments about North Korea have proven correct.
One undated picture showed the head of the Syrian nuclear commission next to a car with a Syrian license plate standing with the head of North Korea's Yongbyon reactor, the facility that the Syrian reactor supposedly resembled. Yongbyon is a 35 year old nuclear reactor in North Korea, which is no longer active but has yet to be dismantled.
North Korea hasn’t commented on whether they have assisted Syria in a nuclear program, only releasing a statement saying that the April 22-24 meeting with US delegation “was constructive and led to significant progress.” The State Department is refusing to discuss private conversations on the matter, instead saying that Pyongyang can respond publically if they choose. When asked what motivation North Korea would have to work with Syria and a senior intelligence official replied, “Cash.”
As mentioned earlier, there’s been impatience growing with Christopher Hill and the State Department’s negotiation efforts and Congress has threatened to pull funding for the US delegation.
The release of this information didn’t help relations between Congress and the President, which have been strained for a while.
Representative Pete Hoekstra (R-MI), ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, expressed frustration at being kept out of the loop on this issue for so long and said, “I think many people believe that we were used today by the administration because - not because they felt they had to inform Congress because it was their legal obligation to do that, but because they had other agendas in mind… Remember, it is the legal responsibility of the administration to keep Congress fully and currently informed on the issues that the administration is dealing with. I think we have a question as to whether the administration actually moved forward in that direction.”
White House Press Secretary Dana Perino responded to Rep. Hoekstra’s complaint, “Obviously we would be very disappointed that he feels that way...and hope he understands our tremendous respect for members of Congress.” She did note that “in the fall, we briefed 22 members of Congress, consistent with our obligations. He was one of them. There are tensions that exist between the executive branches and the legislative branches on a range of issues in regards to who should know what when.” Basically, she chalked it up to the inherent differences between the branches of government.
The Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Representative Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) echoed the complaints of Rep. Hoekstra, “The challenge we're having particularly with [the] administration today is that there is a veil of secrecy that gets in the way of our committee feeling comfortable that we're getting the kind of information that we're supposed to have to carry out our oversight responsibilities.”
What’s next for Israel?
Defense Minister Ehud Barak was supposed to come to the US on Sunday, April 27th to meet with Vice President Cheney and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates but the trip was postponed according to Haaretz following the CIA’s recent briefing about the September airstrike. The paper believes the visit was delayed because it might give the appearance of impropriety. The visit hasn’t been rescheduled.
Israel and Syria had been engaged in peace negotiations recently and it’s unclear what effect this information being released will have on those talks. President Assad said that he would be interested in peace talks with Israel but that any talks would have to come after President Bush leaves office. He said that the current administration “does not have the vision or will for the peace process.”
ABC News reported this past week that Israel might be willing to return Golan Heights to Syria as part of a peace agreement. When asked about the report, Israeli officials refused to confirm or deny the story but there have been back channel communications going on between Assad and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
Golan Heights was seized as part of the Six Day War in 1967. Syria tried to retake it by force in 1973 but failed and a ceasefire was negotiated the following year. It’s a strategic military area for Israel and has been mentioned as a mandatory starting point for any negotiations between the two countries.
Reportedly, Olmert gave the message to Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who then passed it onto Assad by phone, according to Buthaina Shaaban, a Syrian cabinet minister.
Former Prime Minister and current opposition leader, Benjamin Netanyahu objected, saying, “the Golan Heights must remain in our hands at times of peace as well, otherwise Iran will get there… I find it very surprising that the prime minister is ready to cede all of the Golan Heights before the negotiations have even begun. He is acting recklessly and like an amateur. This is not the way to attain peace.” Though it should be noted that Netanyahu, during his time in office, had signaled he was willing to give back the land as part of negotiations with Syria.
I look forward to seeing how the Bush administration’s decision to release the information will effect Israel’s peace negotiations with Syria, the six-party talks with North Korea and the United States’ attempts to get the world to rally behind additional sanctions for Iran.
Whether or not the American media decides to appropriately cover those consequences will also be interesting. I’m guessing if (insert young Hollywood celebrity here) shows up to a party without underwear, we might be forced to check out foreign coverage for the results of this administration’s actions.
Jimmy Carter: Bigot?
Israel’s UN ambassador apparently doesn’t have warm and fuzzy feelings about former President Jimmy Carter. Carter, according to Ambassador Dan Gillerman, “went to the region with soiled hands and came back with bloody hands after shaking the hand of Khaled Mashaal, the leader of Hamas.”
This statement is a slander against both men’s hygiene habits. Carter, according to Gillerman, doesn’t wash his hands and Mashaal doesn’t wash his and now they both are sharing the germs they didn’t wash off originally.
Gillerman also called Carter “a bigot.” Carter was unavailable to be reached for comment so we’ll never know whether he understands he was called “a bigot” as opposed to a spigot, something I would imagine he’s used to being called.
Important Headlines
Last week, US contracted ships fired warning shots at boats off the Iranian coast in the Persian Gulf. Just another thing to keep an eye on.
Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) said she will be the best quarterback for America. Mel Kiper was unable to be reached for comment
There’s a Dutch bill out there that will ban magic mushrooms. Opposition to the bill is led by Mario and Luigi, two Italian plumbers who say such an effort will make it much more difficult to save the princess.
Florida lawmakers consider bill banning ornamental testicles. Uh, I don’t know what to add to that. I…I just don’t.
Law enforcement officials in Congo have arrested 13 who are accused of using black magic to steal or shrink men’s penises. Again, I don’t really know what to add to that.
What I'm Listening to on My Mp3 Player
Bob Dylan's 'Nettie Moore' off his "Modern Times" album. The album isn't as good as his last two, but it has a couple of his best songs ever, I'm thinking of 'Working Man's Blues #2.' Like the album before, 'Love and Theft,' a controversy emerged about the writing of the songs, namely that Dylan stole some of his lyrics from people who wrote lines that were very similar to those that appear in the songs. 'Nettie Moore' was one of those songs off the newest disc, though not as blatant as 'Working Man Blues,' which is actually kind of embarrassing how similar it is to the poet Ovid. Ovid also gets 'borrowed' from on other songs on the CD as well. If I were Ovid, I'd feel honored but he died in 17AD and CDs hadn't been invented yet.
What I Watched on Television Today
I watched the Braves lose to the Mets 6-3. I'll write something about that series and when I do, it'll be posted at http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/djwright.
Random Thoughts
I was sitting on my couch and I thought of Mr. T and I thought I remembered seeing that he was going to be in an upcoming TV show or in a movie but I knew that it might’ve been a dream, so I went to the computer, checked Internet Movie Database. Turns out he has nothing going right now. It’s sad. Mr. T’s receiving more work in my dreams than in real life
Somewhere, right now, someone is listening to 97.1 The River. My guess is an Eagles’ song is playing.
I did three sit-ups and then looked in the mirror this morning and I was happy with what I saw…until I realized I was actually looking at the television and watching The Smurfs.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The World According to Savannah
So, I'm in Savannah right now in a business center that is hot and smells funny. My brother is upstairs, I guess still asleep or maybe wondering where the hell I am. I just finished having the hotel's 'hot breakfast,' which is better described as lukewarm. Nothing says yummy than a bowl of Fruit Loops while watching two bugs climb the wallpaper that's been secured to the wall with a series of staples.
I'll be heading back to Atlanta tomorrow morning and I can't wait to be back.
Touring SCAD
As previously mentioned, my brother was accepted into Savannah College of Art and Design and we came down here to look at what exactly accepted him. The lasting memory that stays with me from Thursday's visit was when we went to the Fashion Hall, which is no doubt named for a rich donor...Richard Fashion, and there were two labs, each with three tables and students were working behind glassed in windows so we could see them. It was something like visiting a zoo of Fashionistas. 'Observe the creature in their natural habitat. See the slightly fake smile and upturned nose of disgust.'
The tour lasted over two hours, which was a problem because I parked in a meter that only allowed me to put two hours of quarters in the meter so as soon as the bus (excuse me, shuttle), stopped, my brother went in to meet with an advisor and I ran (and I mean actually ran) to the car to see if I had a ticket. Thankfully, I did not. But I was tired from running.
Did my brother find what he was looking for? I don't know. I know that he had a lot of stuff to write about in his journal though. Every time we take a trip somewhere, he spends most of his time writing. Actually, there are two parts of any trip he goes on...the time where he's away from his journal and the time when he's writing about being away from his journal. It's like the journal has asked him, "Why haven't you been with me lately?" and he has to explain in detail why he had left the thing behind. I say that's a pretty demanding little journal.
And Then...Dinner
I was looking through the phone book to find something to eat last night and I saw a restaurant that offered a personal gormet chef. And what would I eat if I could order anything I wanted? I'd tell that chef to "Gormet me some Sloppy Joes."
I'll be heading back to Atlanta tomorrow morning and I can't wait to be back.
Touring SCAD
As previously mentioned, my brother was accepted into Savannah College of Art and Design and we came down here to look at what exactly accepted him. The lasting memory that stays with me from Thursday's visit was when we went to the Fashion Hall, which is no doubt named for a rich donor...Richard Fashion, and there were two labs, each with three tables and students were working behind glassed in windows so we could see them. It was something like visiting a zoo of Fashionistas. 'Observe the creature in their natural habitat. See the slightly fake smile and upturned nose of disgust.'
The tour lasted over two hours, which was a problem because I parked in a meter that only allowed me to put two hours of quarters in the meter so as soon as the bus (excuse me, shuttle), stopped, my brother went in to meet with an advisor and I ran (and I mean actually ran) to the car to see if I had a ticket. Thankfully, I did not. But I was tired from running.
Did my brother find what he was looking for? I don't know. I know that he had a lot of stuff to write about in his journal though. Every time we take a trip somewhere, he spends most of his time writing. Actually, there are two parts of any trip he goes on...the time where he's away from his journal and the time when he's writing about being away from his journal. It's like the journal has asked him, "Why haven't you been with me lately?" and he has to explain in detail why he had left the thing behind. I say that's a pretty demanding little journal.
And Then...Dinner
I was looking through the phone book to find something to eat last night and I saw a restaurant that offered a personal gormet chef. And what would I eat if I could order anything I wanted? I'd tell that chef to "Gormet me some Sloppy Joes."
Finally, I talked my brother into going to a Mexican restaurant. He was hesitant but I told that if I was such a picky eater and I was willing to eat there, how bad could it be? With an argument like that, he had to agree. But the first place we tried was closed down and the second place looked like a converted gas station. We ended up settling on a steak place and my GPS led me into a neighborhood. I thought maybe it was trying to get me to cut through but no, we stopped at the house of Jim and Nancy Powell. I told them we were there for the steak but they acted like I was crazy and said they were going to call the Cops. I said that if the Cops were good people, they were welcome to join the dinner. We could all play charades and it'd be a great time.
We left the Powells behind and went to Western Sizzlin, which I thought had all been closed down along with Sizzler and Quincys. I ordered a steak and when it arrived, it was a cheap piece of meat and looked like it had barely been cook. I like rare steak but this was almost dangerous looking. I ate it anyway and it wasn't 15 minutes later that I started feeling sick. We rushed back to the hotel and I threw up the dinner. I had mixed feeling about vomiting it all back up. On the one hand, it was like a waste of money and I hate throwing up. On the other hand, I felt like I had an eating disorder and that made me feel fashion chic.
My Walker, Texas Ranger Story
I got caught up watching Walker Thursday morning and I learned several things. First no one, and I truly mean no one, can maintain a single facial expression longer than Chuck Norris. Every time he was on screen, it was a bowl of awesomy goodness. The only thing that would've made it better is if he'd said, "I'm loving me some Huckabee." That would've been too much to handle.
The plot of the episode was that he had taken a hit to the head and suffered amnesia. The only way to recover is to take another shot to the head. That's a scientific fact that's been proven time and again on cartoons throughout history.
My favorite scene was when he looked deeply into a mirror and asked, "Who are you?" I actually felt inspired. But it got better. He punched the mirror, shattering it like he was Rick Springfield in 'Jessie's Girl."
I turned the channel after it went to commercial and forgot to change it back. I found Pat Robertson condemning Rev. Jeremiah Wright for being a preacher who says controversial things. That's kinda like the pot calling the kettle black...WAIT! That came out wrong.
‘The Dream Ticket’ Concept Could Be Nightmare
There’s been some talk about Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) sharing the same ticket and while that seemed kind of absurd when Clinton floated that idea a couple months ago but it’s downright ridiculous now. There’s so much animosity between the two candidates that I don’t think either one could live with a dual ticket situation.
The only way it would even be proposed in a way that would make sense is if he’s the President and she’s the Vice President, and there’d always be a perceived power struggle throughout the term(s) they served together. And since Bill Clinton feels the Obama campaign has painted him as a racist, it seems even less likely this is a possibility. I found a good article though that talks about why it’s not going to happen. I mean, there’s a reason the Founding Fathers quickly reversed course on Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 by creating the Twelfth Amendment. Having rivals occupy the Executive Branch is rife with problems.
More Clinton News
Former President Bill Clinton told the Washington Post that if the Democrats used the Republican Primary system, his wife would be winning. The Democrats award delegates on a proportional basis whereas Republicans give out delegates as ‘winner-take-all,’ more similar to the Electoral College.
You know, one of the complaints Obama has raised has been that Hillary Clinton is using Republican style attacks and now the Clinton campaign is saying that if the Democrats would just adopt Republican rules, they’d be winning. I’m not sure if this is the wisest strategy to go with right now.
Some People Don’t Approve of President Bush
As first reported in this space, there are subtle signs that America might be turning against President George W. Bush. I read a good article on the approval ratings and trends with this president that I thought was worth reading. The arc of his presidency is nothing short of remarkable and I felt this article did a good job of looking at that path.
For what it’s worth, and it’s not worth much, but Bush has successfully obtained the worst disapproval ratings in the history of the Gallup Poll, which is impressive. I mean, some aspire to be bad but others take the next step and become the worst.
I like reading these polls though because they have stats like this: 27% view this administration to be a success. What? I’m hesitant to throw around titles like ‘the worst’ but under what qualifications has he been a success?
Mugabe and the Recount
Zimbabwe still hasn’t announced a president following the March 29th election, which the opposition party appeared to have won but following recounts, it’s now looking like Mugabe can claim victory in at least one district, just outside the capital. Oh, what a shocker. Did Jimmy Carter go over there to monitor this election or was he playing pinochle with Khaled Meshaal and other Hamas leaders?
Al-Qaida Upset With Iran
Recently, Iran’s Foreign Minister stood behind President Mahmoud Ahmadinejed’s previous statements questioning the official account of the September 11th attacks. It cast doubt that al-Qaida was really responsible and whether nearly 3,000 people actually died. This should be no surprise from a country that doubts the existence of the Holocaust but one group is offended by Iran’s statements…al-Qaida.
In newly released audiotape, Ayman al-Zawahri, deputy of Osama Bin Laden, condemned Iran’s position. No official word on al-Qaida’s view on those ‘9-11 Truthers.’
Osama v. Obama
Presidential candidate Barack Obama’s last name, if you haven’t noticed is one letter away from Osama. Some individuals (including Obama supporters) and media outlets have accidentally referred to the Senator as Osama and many critics have made references to the terrorist leader intentionally. And now, there’s a church in South Carolina with a sign out in front that reads: “Obama, Osama, hmm, are they brothers?”
Pastor Roger Byrd said the sign isn’t political or racial but “It's simply to cause people to realize and to see what possibly could happen if we were to get someone in there that does not believe in Jesus Christ.” What exactly does ‘in there’ mean but the White House or the office of President and if that’s the case, how’s that not political? Shit like this will continue to happen as long as the IRS doesn’t crack down on churches making political statements by revoking their tax exempt status when they violate the law. For far too long, churches (on both sides of the political aisle) have flirted with making political statements or endorsements of one party or candidate over another, some more egregious than others and it really is something that needs to be stopped. The federal government is essentially paying churches (and some other non-profit groups as well) to propagate political viewpoints in a way that appears to be a violation of the law.
When Pastor Byrd was asked if Obama was a Muslim, he said, “I don't know. See it asks a question: Are they brothers? In other words, is he Muslim ? I don't know. He says he's not. I hope he's not. But I don't know.” After Obama’s situation with Pastor Jeremiah Wright and Trinity United Church of Christ, I kinda thought (mistakenly) that the ‘Obama is a Muslim’ conversation would die down but…
Seamless Transition from Osama/Obama News to Miley Cyrus
There’s urgent news regarding Miley Cyrus of ‘Hannah Montana’ fame, daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus, of ‘Achy Breaky Heart’ fame. She’s signed a deal to write her memoirs for Disney-Hyperion Books. Which begs the question, how many memories can she have to report on having been on this specific planet for 15 years, the first five years likely being rather fuzzy in her memory?”
Hasselhoff v. Alleged Surgery
David Hasselhoff, the most famous person with the last name Hasselhoff to ever appear in both ‘Knight Rider’ and ‘Baywatch’ reportedly went to the hospital to have something removed from above his eye, though his spokesperson declined to say what was removed, other than denying he had been admitted to rehab. Why do things like this always happen to the Hoff? I mean, he chose to eat a hamburger topless while on the floor and the media made a big deal about it. Paris Hilton chose to eat a hamburger while washing a car. The way we choose to eat our hamburgers is no one’s business. When are we all going to learn not to Hassle the Hoff? When? This is the guy who singlehandedly brought down the Berlin Wall. Show some fucking respect!
Is Larry King Still Alive?
The CNN anchor voted most likely to be an Animatronic Disney ride creation just signed on for another two years at CNN, a deal that will keep him on air until he’s 77. Honestly, I thought Larry King was already 86.
A Victory for the Blind
A blind man was able to overpower a home intruder. How dumb does that intruder have to feel? ‘I got taken down by a blind man. This is worse than when I got the shit beat out of me by the 12 year old with Down Syndrome.'
What I Watched on Television Last Night
I watched 'The Office,' 'Scrubs' and '30 Rock.' Because this room is like a sauna and I just want to get out before I die of a severe case of hot, I don't want to take too much time on this. All of the episodes were below average. Dwight's hobbitt comment was funny. I liked Kelso in 'Scrubs' but the other subplots were forgettable. And '30 Rock' works better at 8:30 than at 9:30.
What is Playing on my Mp3 Player
Well, I'm in a room that is trying to kill me to death...which is very deadly from what I read, so I don't have an Mp3 player going right now. But last night, I tried to introduce my brother to Bishop Allen. He wasn't impressed. He seemed a little more interested in Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. Boris Yeltsin is dead. He probably spent too much time in a hotel business center listening to a guy deal with his insurance issue on the phone.
Random Thoughts
I’ve decided that I’m going to become an expert on a subject so that when someone says, “Hey I have a question about (BLANK), I should ask DJ because he knows all about that subject.” And I’ve decided that subject will be Phil Collins. I’m gonna learn everything about Phil Collins so I can be a Phil Collins expert.
Illegal immigrants get all the assistance they want' has become the new 'They can put a man on the moon but…'
I was watching 'The Colbert Report' last night and I realized that I missed Marie's Colbert Stare a lot more than I thought I would.
I guess scientists really do have everything down to a science
How special do I have to be to be able to drive in the emergency lane just because traffic is backed up?
Election Coverage
Before going into the election coverage, I want to share the greatest video in the history of the world.
Wildly Popular 'Iron Man' Trailer To Be Adapted Into Full-Length Film
How awesome is that? Okay, back to our regularly scheduled boredom...
Wildly Popular 'Iron Man' Trailer To Be Adapted Into Full-Length Film
How awesome is that? Okay, back to our regularly scheduled boredom...
Pennsylvania Democratic Primary Coverage
As most people had expected, Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) defeated Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) in the Pennsylvania primary. She won 55% to 45% with almost all the precincts reporting, picking up 14 more than Obama earned, making this a win for Clinton but not really enough to significantly close the gap. We can expect Obama’s campaign to release another super delegate endorsement or two after this to blunt the news of the loss while claiming victory in that he ONLY lost by about 10 percentage points instead of by 25 points.
Obviously, a win is better than a loss, and Clinton couldn’t have afforded to lose this race. That said, there are some alarming numbers in the exit polls (though the accuracy of such polls are questionable).
The average voter who turned out in Pennsylvania was a white woman in her 50s, which is right in Clinton’s wheelhouse. Women accounted for nearly 60% of the electorate and Clinton won the group by 14 points. Voters older than 45 made up 68% of those who cast a ballot and they went solidly for Clinton. Obama continued his strong showing with black voters, winning 89%, though they only made up 14% of the turnout. Among blacks who said race was not a factor in choosing their candidate, 91% voted for Obama.
Philadelphia went largely for Obama while more rural areas went for Clinton. Gun owners, while a distinct minority in this primary, were more likely to support Clinton. Obama had a higher ‘trust-worthiness’ factor than Clinton, though 37% of voters consider both candidates to be trustworthy. Obama did better the more liberal a voter was, though he also did better among registered independents, which seems to be somewhat of a contradiction. Five percent of voters who cast a ballot in the race had been registered Republicans in January and Obama won their vote by eight points over Clinton.
It doesn’t look like the ‘bitter voters’ and ‘elitist’ charges had much, if any, effect on the race. Identical percentages found Clinton and Obama to be ‘in touch’ with voters and 40% found both candidates to be ‘in touch.’ What ‘in touch’ means, well, I don’t know.
Twenty-six percent of voters said they would be dissatisfied if Clinton were the Party’s nominee whereas 35% said they wouldn’t be satisfied if Obama were the nominee. Forty percent said they’d be satisfied with either candidate. If Clinton won the nomination, 7% of Obama supporters said they would vote for McCain, while 6% said they wouldn’t vote. If Obama were the nominee, 14% of Clinton voters would support McCain and 10% claimed they wouldn’t vote at all. I don’t put too much stock in this question but it does show a contentious group of voters and if just half followed through on their threats, it could create a significant enough swing to give McCain a victory over a fractured party.
There are seven more states and two territories left and just over 300 super delegates up for grabs. The next election is May 6 in Indiana and North Carolina and I would expect both states to go to Obama. (There are four delegates riding on Guam on May 3 but to gain an advantage in delegates there, by my math, you’d have to win 64% of the votes which isn’t going to happen, so both candidates will split the delegates evenly at two apiece). The week after Indiana/North Carolina, an election will be held in West Virginia (which I would think would favor Obama) and the week after will feature a contest in Kentucky (which I would also expect Obama to win) and Oregon (which I think Clinton will win). After May 20th, he could be a hundred delegates shy of clinching the nomination. Clinton needs to win at least two of the states that seem to naturally favor Obama.
The Democratic Primary ends with races in Puerto Rico (a narrow victory for Clinton) on June 1st and the final election date is June 3rd with contests in South Dakota and Montana, both narrowly seem to favor Obama, leaving him with about 1,968 delegates to Clinton’s 1,827. The super delegates will then be in a position to crown the nominee by either going along with the popular vote or going out on their own, sorta like Family Feud when the other family tries to steal the bank. Clinton will need to win over 70% of the super delegates if she is unable to win any of the remaining states other than Oregon. The math still looks very bad for Clinton at this point.
Obviously, a win is better than a loss, and Clinton couldn’t have afforded to lose this race. That said, there are some alarming numbers in the exit polls (though the accuracy of such polls are questionable).
The average voter who turned out in Pennsylvania was a white woman in her 50s, which is right in Clinton’s wheelhouse. Women accounted for nearly 60% of the electorate and Clinton won the group by 14 points. Voters older than 45 made up 68% of those who cast a ballot and they went solidly for Clinton. Obama continued his strong showing with black voters, winning 89%, though they only made up 14% of the turnout. Among blacks who said race was not a factor in choosing their candidate, 91% voted for Obama.
Philadelphia went largely for Obama while more rural areas went for Clinton. Gun owners, while a distinct minority in this primary, were more likely to support Clinton. Obama had a higher ‘trust-worthiness’ factor than Clinton, though 37% of voters consider both candidates to be trustworthy. Obama did better the more liberal a voter was, though he also did better among registered independents, which seems to be somewhat of a contradiction. Five percent of voters who cast a ballot in the race had been registered Republicans in January and Obama won their vote by eight points over Clinton.
It doesn’t look like the ‘bitter voters’ and ‘elitist’ charges had much, if any, effect on the race. Identical percentages found Clinton and Obama to be ‘in touch’ with voters and 40% found both candidates to be ‘in touch.’ What ‘in touch’ means, well, I don’t know.
Twenty-six percent of voters said they would be dissatisfied if Clinton were the Party’s nominee whereas 35% said they wouldn’t be satisfied if Obama were the nominee. Forty percent said they’d be satisfied with either candidate. If Clinton won the nomination, 7% of Obama supporters said they would vote for McCain, while 6% said they wouldn’t vote. If Obama were the nominee, 14% of Clinton voters would support McCain and 10% claimed they wouldn’t vote at all. I don’t put too much stock in this question but it does show a contentious group of voters and if just half followed through on their threats, it could create a significant enough swing to give McCain a victory over a fractured party.
There are seven more states and two territories left and just over 300 super delegates up for grabs. The next election is May 6 in Indiana and North Carolina and I would expect both states to go to Obama. (There are four delegates riding on Guam on May 3 but to gain an advantage in delegates there, by my math, you’d have to win 64% of the votes which isn’t going to happen, so both candidates will split the delegates evenly at two apiece). The week after Indiana/North Carolina, an election will be held in West Virginia (which I would think would favor Obama) and the week after will feature a contest in Kentucky (which I would also expect Obama to win) and Oregon (which I think Clinton will win). After May 20th, he could be a hundred delegates shy of clinching the nomination. Clinton needs to win at least two of the states that seem to naturally favor Obama.
The Democratic Primary ends with races in Puerto Rico (a narrow victory for Clinton) on June 1st and the final election date is June 3rd with contests in South Dakota and Montana, both narrowly seem to favor Obama, leaving him with about 1,968 delegates to Clinton’s 1,827. The super delegates will then be in a position to crown the nominee by either going along with the popular vote or going out on their own, sorta like Family Feud when the other family tries to steal the bank. Clinton will need to win over 70% of the super delegates if she is unable to win any of the remaining states other than Oregon. The math still looks very bad for Clinton at this point.
Bill Clinton v. The Race Card....v. Bill Clinton
On Monday, former President Bill Clinton gave an interview with radio station WHYY in which he accused the Obama campaign of plotting and carrying out attempts to “play the race card” against the former president. The incident specifically in question is the statement Clinton made after his wife lost the primary in South Carolina. On January 26, 2008, he said, “Jesse Jackson won South Carolina in '84 and '88. Jackson ran a good campaign. And Obama ran a good campaign here.”
All campaigns play to manage expectations and the campaign for Hillary Clinton had been minimizing the importance of South Carolina going into the primary and continued to minimize it after the loss. I took Bill Clinton’s comment to mean: ‘Because Obama is black, and South Carolina’s Democratic Party primary has a large number of black voters, it’s to be expected that a black candidate would have a built in advantage in that state.’
Some took the statements, understandably when viewed in a greater context of other comments, to be a marginalization of Barack Obama and in so doing, driving a wedge between black and white voters. I understood the comment to further ‘excuse’ his wife’s loss, which is something all campaigns, including Obama’s, do on a regular basis (which is why his campaign announced going into the Tuesday primary that , “Pennsylvania is considered a state tailor-made for Hillary Clinton, and by rights she should win big” and threw out there that she was leading by 25 points at one point, suggesting that anything short of a complete blowout by Clinton would be tantamount to a loss). There aren’t too many losses this primary season where a candidate has stood up and said, ‘Look, I fucked up and, you know, the voters picked the other candidate and I lost.’
The interesting part of the interview with Bill Clinton came at the very end after he said goodbye but before he hung up when he can be heard saying (apparently to someone with him), “I don’t think I should take any shit from anybody on that, do you?” It’s worth a listen, especially since now he’s claiming the interview never happened.
Some took the statements, understandably when viewed in a greater context of other comments, to be a marginalization of Barack Obama and in so doing, driving a wedge between black and white voters. I understood the comment to further ‘excuse’ his wife’s loss, which is something all campaigns, including Obama’s, do on a regular basis (which is why his campaign announced going into the Tuesday primary that , “Pennsylvania is considered a state tailor-made for Hillary Clinton, and by rights she should win big” and threw out there that she was leading by 25 points at one point, suggesting that anything short of a complete blowout by Clinton would be tantamount to a loss). There aren’t too many losses this primary season where a candidate has stood up and said, ‘Look, I fucked up and, you know, the voters picked the other candidate and I lost.’
The interesting part of the interview with Bill Clinton came at the very end after he said goodbye but before he hung up when he can be heard saying (apparently to someone with him), “I don’t think I should take any shit from anybody on that, do you?” It’s worth a listen, especially since now he’s claiming the interview never happened.
New York Times v. Negativity
For those who think Hillary Clinton is starting to sound a little too Republican, with her defense of gun rights, threats to “obliterate” Iran and her use of 9-11 to win votes, the New York Times agrees. Does this article count as an un-endorsement of Clinton?
Make Them All Go Away…Please
Remember when you could watch wrestling or game shows without seeing people running for president? Well those days are gone as Hillary Clinton, John McCain and Barack Obama appeared ‘American Idol,’ ‘WWE Wrestling,’ among other shows not on traditional news outlets. President George W. Bush made an appearance on ‘Deal or No Deal.’ At first, I thought it was kinda funny but no more. I don’t want these people invading shows I don’t watch to begin with.
The New York Times had a good article about the subject that can be found here.
The New York Times had a good article about the subject that can be found here.
Comprehensive Coverage of the Republican Primary
Some might think that the race on Republican side is wrapped up but…well, it is but there are still elections anyway and while John McCain swept the state, winning 73% of the vote and coming in first in every county, Ron Paul finished second. His 16% showing was his best outing in a primary contest, although he has performed better in caucus states, finishing in second twice and collecting at least 16% of the vote five times.
This concludes the comprehensive coverage of the Republican Primary.
Some might think that the race on Republican side is wrapped up but…well, it is but there are still elections anyway and while John McCain swept the state, winning 73% of the vote and coming in first in every county, Ron Paul finished second. His 16% showing was his best outing in a primary contest, although he has performed better in caucus states, finishing in second twice and collecting at least 16% of the vote five times.
This concludes the comprehensive coverage of the Republican Primary.
Global Warming News
Tuesday was Earth Day and former Vice President Al Gore said, “I have to say the situation has not improved since I made the movie (An Inconvenient Truth) in 2006.” I guess the only thing to do is to buy more copies of the DVD and see if that makes global warming go away.
In other news, mutants are still no more accepted in our society than they were in 2006 when X-Men: The Last Stand came out. Sometimes, you just hafta wonder whether movies even make a difference.
Tuesday was Earth Day and former Vice President Al Gore said, “I have to say the situation has not improved since I made the movie (An Inconvenient Truth) in 2006.” I guess the only thing to do is to buy more copies of the DVD and see if that makes global warming go away.
In other news, mutants are still no more accepted in our society than they were in 2006 when X-Men: The Last Stand came out. Sometimes, you just hafta wonder whether movies even make a difference.
It’s Snowing on CNN
Former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow is joining CNN’s self-proclaimed ‘Best Political Team’ as a conservative analyst. Snow used to work with FOX News for years but was a fill-in host on CNN’s Crossfire before that. He also worked as a speechwriter with former President George H.W. Bush.
Former White House Press Secretary Tony Snow is joining CNN’s self-proclaimed ‘Best Political Team’ as a conservative analyst. Snow used to work with FOX News for years but was a fill-in host on CNN’s Crossfire before that. He also worked as a speechwriter with former President George H.W. Bush.
Alien News
There are two articles about strange lights appearing over Phoenix, Arizona and St. Augustine, Florida. Both sets of lights are supposedly UFOs. Then Stephen Hawking announced that alien life, in a primitive form, probably exists but that it’s unlikely to be really advanced intelligent life. I don’t know, judging by my recent trip to the mall, I think the extent of intelligent life on this planet might be a little overstated.
Hawking questioned UFO sightings, saying, “We don't appear to have been visited by aliens. Why would they only appear to cranks and weirdoes?” I don’t know, former President Jimmy Carter was pretty convinced he saw a UFO, when he wasn’t fending off giant killer rabbits.
Hawking questioned UFO sightings, saying, “We don't appear to have been visited by aliens. Why would they only appear to cranks and weirdoes?” I don’t know, former President Jimmy Carter was pretty convinced he saw a UFO, when he wasn’t fending off giant killer rabbits.
Gas Watch
I went to the gas station and the price of gas -- $3.65 for a gallon of unleaded. I also learned that a gallon of milk costs $3.87. So I guess it’s good that cars run on gas, not on milk.
I went to the gas station and the price of gas -- $3.65 for a gallon of unleaded. I also learned that a gallon of milk costs $3.87. So I guess it’s good that cars run on gas, not on milk.
What’s Playing On My Mp3 Player Right Now
‘Small Wonders’ by Dog’s Eye View off their ‘Happy Nowhere’ album. This was the second single off the disc, following the hit ‘Everything Falls Apart.’ On some level, I like this song better but it’s not as radio friendly and it didn’t chart, basically spelling the end of the group. They released a decent second album, ‘Daisy’ and then lead singer Peter Stuart left the band. He released ‘Propeller,’ which I bought in Denver for about $4 at an awesome used CD store. It was actually a really good record but he hasn’t (to my knowledge) released anything else. Dog’s Eye View, however, did release another album but I didn’t listen to it because there’s an ancient saying in Mongolia: “Dog’s Eye View without Peter Stuart isn’t truly Dog’s Eye View.”
What I’m Eating Right Now
I’m not actually eating right now but I’m thinking about it. I might eat or I might not. Mainly I’m just frustrated with my wireless keyboard. But that has nothing to do with eating…or does it?
What I’ll Be Watching Tonight
I’m heading down to Savannah with my brother to visit Savannah College of Art and Design now that he’s been accepted there. So I don’t know if I’ll watch much. I might go to a movie, maybe see ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall.’ The Braves open a series against the Marlins. On Thursday, ‘The Office,’ ‘30 Rock’ and ‘Scrubs’ comes on but I’m not too thrilled with any of them this season.
Sports News
I forgot to include a picture I took of Vince Dooley at the Braves game Sunday. He was either being awarded something or was part of a group awarding something to a pack of dwarves, or maybe they were kids. I don’t know all the details because I kept yelling, “Herschel” at him over and over.
For actual coverage of sports, including John Smoltz notching his 3,000th career strikeout, check out http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/djwright.
Random Thoughts
People who drive stick shifts are 34% happier than those who can only drive an automatic.
Headline: 'Teacher Forces Student to Urinate in Lunchbox.' What? Like you have a better idea?
In 40 years, according to Ted Turner, we'll be cannibals. Some people have a head start on that.
‘Small Wonders’ by Dog’s Eye View off their ‘Happy Nowhere’ album. This was the second single off the disc, following the hit ‘Everything Falls Apart.’ On some level, I like this song better but it’s not as radio friendly and it didn’t chart, basically spelling the end of the group. They released a decent second album, ‘Daisy’ and then lead singer Peter Stuart left the band. He released ‘Propeller,’ which I bought in Denver for about $4 at an awesome used CD store. It was actually a really good record but he hasn’t (to my knowledge) released anything else. Dog’s Eye View, however, did release another album but I didn’t listen to it because there’s an ancient saying in Mongolia: “Dog’s Eye View without Peter Stuart isn’t truly Dog’s Eye View.”
What I’m Eating Right Now
I’m not actually eating right now but I’m thinking about it. I might eat or I might not. Mainly I’m just frustrated with my wireless keyboard. But that has nothing to do with eating…or does it?
What I’ll Be Watching Tonight
I’m heading down to Savannah with my brother to visit Savannah College of Art and Design now that he’s been accepted there. So I don’t know if I’ll watch much. I might go to a movie, maybe see ‘Forgetting Sarah Marshall.’ The Braves open a series against the Marlins. On Thursday, ‘The Office,’ ‘30 Rock’ and ‘Scrubs’ comes on but I’m not too thrilled with any of them this season.
Sports News
I forgot to include a picture I took of Vince Dooley at the Braves game Sunday. He was either being awarded something or was part of a group awarding something to a pack of dwarves, or maybe they were kids. I don’t know all the details because I kept yelling, “Herschel” at him over and over.
For actual coverage of sports, including John Smoltz notching his 3,000th career strikeout, check out http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/djwright.
Random Thoughts
People who drive stick shifts are 34% happier than those who can only drive an automatic.
Headline: 'Teacher Forces Student to Urinate in Lunchbox.' What? Like you have a better idea?
In 40 years, according to Ted Turner, we'll be cannibals. Some people have a head start on that.
What if Ben Affleck was a plumber? You’d be, like, “Hey, my sink or pipes are busted and I need a plumber. I should call Ben Affleck. He’s a plumber, you know.” It’d be awesome.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Another Try?
Hey, you found my corner of the Internet. It’s been almost a year since I’ve written on this page but I still claim it as mine since I went to all the trouble of pissing here back in May. Maybe this go around here will last a little longer than four entries.
SunTrust Seats
This past Sunday, my brother and I sat in the SunTrust seats at Turner Field and I wanted to upload some pictures I took at the game. The seats were incredible and I have the entire boring story on my sports section located at http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/djwright but be forewarned, it’s a tough read. For what it’s worth, that’s where my thoughts on the Braves and other sports stuff will be.
Old Entry Update
Looking over what I last wrote, I’m pleased to provide an update on ‘Once.’ It actually did come to Atlanta, and I completely loved the film. It won an Oscar for Best Song and the soundtrack is really good overall. The two stars of the movie, Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard are coming to Cobb County to perform at the Cobb Energy Centre.
This would be great news but I can’t go there because I don’t visit places that spell ‘center’ that way. As soon as they make the appropriate changes, they can look forward to having me stop by frequently. Or maybe I won’t show up at all. I don’t know.
I Discovered a New City
I just learned there’s a city in Georgia called Scottdale. Not Scottsdale but Scottdale. It’s like they took the DNA of a guy named Scott and another named Dale and mixed them into a test tube, creating a city where they combined the two names. Actually, that’s kinda stupid. I should delete it but I’m accessing the Internet via typewriter.
ABBA News
I just found out that ABBA’s drummer died in Spain about a month ago from a freak accident. News travels slow from Europe because it has to swim across the Atlantic first. I’ll be honest, I didn’t realize ABBA had a drummer.
I’m not really a fan of ABBA, especially after my Senior year in college. A guy in the quad played ABBA really loud in the living area for weeks on end. I would’ve told him to stop but his name was (no joke) Thor, and while I never saw him with one, I just assumed he had a hammer.
More Music News
Josh Joplin will be at Joe's Pub on May 2nd. He wanted me to know so he sent me an email and now I'm passing it on to you. Do with it what you will. After that, he'll start work on his new album, which will be great.
He’s also coming to Atlanta on May 30 and June 1 to play Eddie’s Attic. Last time he went there, I couldn’t go because I was in Boston and he ended up cancelling the concert…I think because he knew I wasn’t going to be there. So I better show up next month but I probably won’t. Or maybe I will. I don’t know.
Entertainment News
I saw a picture of Jodie Sweetin of Full House and she was pregnant and I felt very discombobulated. I don’t know why, partly because I don’t know what discombobulated means yet.
I was flipping through the Comcast channel guide and I saw a movie starring Louis Gossett, Jr. and Robert Ri’chard. That’s right, there was an apostrophe between the I and the C in his name. He was born Robert Richard but at some point in his life, he developed the need to stick random punctuation marks in the middle of his last name. I immediately stopped flipping through the guide and spent the next hour and a half confused and just staring at a coaster on the table. Other than being a complete waste of time, it was sort of productive.
Science News
Not exactly science news but I went to the mall to get my eyes checked so I could get new glasses. I hate doing this because I can’t read the eye chart worth shit and flunking the test sucks so I tried to make a joke about it. I told the doctor, “I have four eyes and none of them can see.” He didn’t laugh.
I saw where scientist created a human cow embryo. I don't see the big deal though, my aunt's been a human cow for years.
I found a story touting an elephant who created a self portrait. I was gonna make fun of it but actually, it's really good. I hope when I grow up and become an elephant, I can draw that well.
Important Fitness Update
The other day, I came very close to lifting a weight. Hold on, I have that backwards. Actually, I was waiting on a lift…but you know either way.
What’s Playing On My Mp3 Player Right Now
“I Believe She’s Lying” by Rhett Miller off “The Believer.” Miller is the lead singer for the Old 97s, who are scheduled to appear on 'The Tonight Show' on Thursday along with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Marilu Henner. You hafta hand it to Jay Leno for having eclectic lineups sometimes.
The song was written by Jon Brion, who did the score for a bunch of great movies like Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and I (Heart) Huckabees. Brion joined the band ‘Til Tuesday on their final album, dated lead singer Aimee Mann and produced a few of her early albums. Mann is currently married to Michael Penn (brother of Sean Penn), who co-scored the movie Hard Eight with Brion.
What I’m Eating Right Now
An oatmeal cream pie. At the grocery store last week, there was a sale on Little Debbie products. If I bought four boxes, I could save 14 cents per box. So I spent $5 and ‘saved’ 56 cents when all I really wanted was a box of Nutty Bars. I think that might’ve been a mistake but I didn’t tell the aforementioned oatmeal cream pie that. I wanted it to be eaten thinking it was wanted.
What I Watched Tonight
The Braves played the Washington Nationals and since it was a home game, it was in HD, which made me almost as happy as having a Coke in a glass bottle that’s been left in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
Random Thoughts
Recently, I watched every Jim Belushi movie I own (four movies). It wasn’t nearly as smart as it sounds.
Jack Handey is a real person. That’s not a made up name.
This week is National Karaoke Week. I’d like to do karaoke one day but I don’t wanna hafta sing.
I bet those people who see Jesus in a taco shell are really good at those hidden picture things in Highlights Magazine.
SunTrust Seats
This past Sunday, my brother and I sat in the SunTrust seats at Turner Field and I wanted to upload some pictures I took at the game. The seats were incredible and I have the entire boring story on my sports section located at http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/djwright but be forewarned, it’s a tough read. For what it’s worth, that’s where my thoughts on the Braves and other sports stuff will be.
Old Entry Update
Looking over what I last wrote, I’m pleased to provide an update on ‘Once.’ It actually did come to Atlanta, and I completely loved the film. It won an Oscar for Best Song and the soundtrack is really good overall. The two stars of the movie, Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard are coming to Cobb County to perform at the Cobb Energy Centre.
This would be great news but I can’t go there because I don’t visit places that spell ‘center’ that way. As soon as they make the appropriate changes, they can look forward to having me stop by frequently. Or maybe I won’t show up at all. I don’t know.
I Discovered a New City
I just learned there’s a city in Georgia called Scottdale. Not Scottsdale but Scottdale. It’s like they took the DNA of a guy named Scott and another named Dale and mixed them into a test tube, creating a city where they combined the two names. Actually, that’s kinda stupid. I should delete it but I’m accessing the Internet via typewriter.
ABBA News
I just found out that ABBA’s drummer died in Spain about a month ago from a freak accident. News travels slow from Europe because it has to swim across the Atlantic first. I’ll be honest, I didn’t realize ABBA had a drummer.
I’m not really a fan of ABBA, especially after my Senior year in college. A guy in the quad played ABBA really loud in the living area for weeks on end. I would’ve told him to stop but his name was (no joke) Thor, and while I never saw him with one, I just assumed he had a hammer.
More Music News
Josh Joplin will be at Joe's Pub on May 2nd. He wanted me to know so he sent me an email and now I'm passing it on to you. Do with it what you will. After that, he'll start work on his new album, which will be great.
He’s also coming to Atlanta on May 30 and June 1 to play Eddie’s Attic. Last time he went there, I couldn’t go because I was in Boston and he ended up cancelling the concert…I think because he knew I wasn’t going to be there. So I better show up next month but I probably won’t. Or maybe I will. I don’t know.
Entertainment News
I saw a picture of Jodie Sweetin of Full House and she was pregnant and I felt very discombobulated. I don’t know why, partly because I don’t know what discombobulated means yet.
I was flipping through the Comcast channel guide and I saw a movie starring Louis Gossett, Jr. and Robert Ri’chard. That’s right, there was an apostrophe between the I and the C in his name. He was born Robert Richard but at some point in his life, he developed the need to stick random punctuation marks in the middle of his last name. I immediately stopped flipping through the guide and spent the next hour and a half confused and just staring at a coaster on the table. Other than being a complete waste of time, it was sort of productive.
Science News
Not exactly science news but I went to the mall to get my eyes checked so I could get new glasses. I hate doing this because I can’t read the eye chart worth shit and flunking the test sucks so I tried to make a joke about it. I told the doctor, “I have four eyes and none of them can see.” He didn’t laugh.
I saw where scientist created a human cow embryo. I don't see the big deal though, my aunt's been a human cow for years.
I found a story touting an elephant who created a self portrait. I was gonna make fun of it but actually, it's really good. I hope when I grow up and become an elephant, I can draw that well.
Important Fitness Update
The other day, I came very close to lifting a weight. Hold on, I have that backwards. Actually, I was waiting on a lift…but you know either way.
What’s Playing On My Mp3 Player Right Now
“I Believe She’s Lying” by Rhett Miller off “The Believer.” Miller is the lead singer for the Old 97s, who are scheduled to appear on 'The Tonight Show' on Thursday along with Arnold Schwarzenegger and Marilu Henner. You hafta hand it to Jay Leno for having eclectic lineups sometimes.
The song was written by Jon Brion, who did the score for a bunch of great movies like Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and I (Heart) Huckabees. Brion joined the band ‘Til Tuesday on their final album, dated lead singer Aimee Mann and produced a few of her early albums. Mann is currently married to Michael Penn (brother of Sean Penn), who co-scored the movie Hard Eight with Brion.
What I’m Eating Right Now
An oatmeal cream pie. At the grocery store last week, there was a sale on Little Debbie products. If I bought four boxes, I could save 14 cents per box. So I spent $5 and ‘saved’ 56 cents when all I really wanted was a box of Nutty Bars. I think that might’ve been a mistake but I didn’t tell the aforementioned oatmeal cream pie that. I wanted it to be eaten thinking it was wanted.
What I Watched Tonight
The Braves played the Washington Nationals and since it was a home game, it was in HD, which made me almost as happy as having a Coke in a glass bottle that’s been left in the freezer for about 20 minutes.
Random Thoughts
Recently, I watched every Jim Belushi movie I own (four movies). It wasn’t nearly as smart as it sounds.
Jack Handey is a real person. That’s not a made up name.
This week is National Karaoke Week. I’d like to do karaoke one day but I don’t wanna hafta sing.
I bet those people who see Jesus in a taco shell are really good at those hidden picture things in Highlights Magazine.
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