Over 750,000 Names On Terrorist Watch List

Ken AshfordWar on Terrorism/TortureLeave a Comment

Wired reports on a GAO Report (full version, summary) that says the

nation’s centralized watch list has grown to include 755,000 names suspected of having terrorist ties, resulting in nearly 20,000 positive matches of persons against the list in 2006, according to a new report from Congress’s investigative reporting arm. Since the list is now used in nearly all routine police stops and for domestic airline travel, Americans made up the bulk of those matches.

The article notes that "individuals who believe they are on the list erroneously or because of a confusion over their name can apply for help through the DHS Advise system, but it is not set up to allow people to contest the information that got them on the list."

There were only 400,000 names on the list a few years ago.

I’m just spitballin’ here, but it seems to me that as more and more names appear on the list, its utility continues to diminish.  But the GAO report touches on this.

Presidential Candidates Respond To California Fires

Ken AshfordDisasters, Election 200815 Comments

First, the Democrats:

John Edwards has been out front in responding to the fires in Southern California, both on  his website and through One Corps.

Barack Obama offers this statement of support for the fire victims and his website prominently features the following message:

California needs us.

…with a link to California Volunteers.

Hillary Clinton‘s website features a "How to help" link, which leads you to a page with her statement of support as well as a listing of LA Times’ recommended resources including The Salvation Army and the local Society For The Prevention of Cruelty To Animals.

In addition to linking to important resources on his website, Chris Dodd said the following in a speech to the IAFF’s Occupational Health and Hazards Convention:

"As you know, Governor Schwarzenegger has had to ask other states for help because so many of California’s National Guard, who provide critical support to the citizens while you are fighting the fires, were deployed to Iraq. In a Dodd Administration, never again will our houses be on fire because our troops are taking fire in Iraq. Never again will our first responders be left without the support they need because our President failed to do what it took to keep our communities safe. That is why in 2008, nothing will be more important than leadership that can get results that make us stronger and more secure. That’s the first responsibility of an American President."

And Bill Richardson, who was one of those Governors who sent equipment and personnel to California, posted at The Huffington Post and Calitics asking a crucial question: Where is Our National Guard?

Today, we all extend our sympathies and prayers to those devastated by the wildfires in California. Millions of Americans are impacted by this natural disaster.[…]

Now the Republicans:

Rudy Giuliani: Nothing.
John McCain: Nothing [Actually he now has a link to a resources page, you have to really look to find it.]Mitt Romney: Nothing.
Fred Thompson: Nothing.
Mike Huckabee: Nothing. A 30-minute interview with Glenn Beck on his front page, too, Beck is the guy who claimed that some of the people who lost their homes hate America.
Duncan Hunter: It’s his frickin’ district and it’s hard to find anything outside of this news article.
Tom Tancredo: Nothing.
Ron Paul: Nothing. But he’s doing a "Hollywood fundraiser" tonight He announced yesterday that he’s doing a Hollywood fundraiser in which a "portion" of the $2,000 a plate dinner will go to the Red Cross.

UPDATE:  Help!  I’m experiencing a RonPaulolanch!

UPDATE #2:  More GOP ho-humming of the wildfires.  In this case, it’s Dick Cheney.  During a cabinet meeting yesterday, Vice President Cheney fell asleep on camera while President Bush was discussing wildfires in California. A Cheney spokeswoman “laughed it off,” telling CNN that the vice president was “practicing meditation.” CNN’s chyron reported that Cheney was seen “meditating” — rather than sleeping — during the cabinet meeting.

Terry Francona Announces Josh Beckett Will Start Games 1, 4, 7, 2, 6, 3, 5

Ken AshfordRed Sox & Other SportsLeave a Comment

From The Onion:

BOSTON—Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona announced Tuesday that the Colorado Rockies would receive a healthy dose of pitcher Josh Becket during the 2007 World Series, saying that the ALCS MVP would start games one, four, seven, two, six, three, and five, in that order. "I don’t think this should come as a real shock to anyone," Francona told reporters, adding that with this schedule, Beckett should get "more than enough rest" between games one and four, which would allow him to be at maximum strength for games seven, two, and, if necessary, six, three, and the crucial fifth game. "Looking at the pitchers I have at my disposal, this gives us the best chance to win." According to Francona, Beckett should also be ready to pitch in late-inning relief of himself in games four and six, close games seven and three, and pitch on three hours rest if needed

Also from The Onion:

Red Sox Attempt To Break Fabled ‘Curse Of Relief Pitcher Curtis Leskanic’

BOSTON—The Boston Red Sox, who have failed to win a single World Series since the departure of relief pitcher Curtis Leskanic in 2004, are attempting to defy the odds and do the impossible: reverse the curse of the journeyman reliever whose ghost has haunted this team since the mid-2000s.

Pitted against the Colorado Rockies in the 2007 Fall Classic, the team that for two long years seemed like it might be destined to lose forever has a chance to finally put an end to its 36-month-long World Series drought. However, the Red Sox must first overcome the famed Curse of Curtis Leskanic, which caused medium-to-long-suffering fans much anguish and heartache during the period between 2005 and 2006.

Read the whole thing…

TIVO/Liveblogging Game One

Ken AshfordRed Sox & Other Sports1 Comment

Little Shop brush-up went well and we got out of there at a decent enough hour, so with a little help from TIVO, I can watch Game One of the World Series.  Might be the only game I get to see.

Pregame (TIVO):  Blah blah blah blah blah.  OMG.  That’s Yaz?  Well, I guess he’s got to get old too.  Nice way to start the World Series– reminding Red Sox fans of their mortality.  Jeez, he throws like a girl now.

Top of the First Inning (TIVO):  Beckett rules.  First strikeout.  A good omen.

Bing.  A second strikeout.

Bing.  A third.  Couldn’t ask for a better opening inning.

Bottom of the First (TIVO):  And the second pitch sails out of the park off a Pedroia’s bat.  This is a great way to start the series, but I don’t think we can keep this up.

Youklis doubles with no outs.  This has the earmarks of a Colorado catastrophe.

Youk scores on a Manny single.  2-0.  Ugh.  This rain is nasty.

Manny scores.  3-0.  Two outs.

And that’s the inning.  Three strikeouts on the defense; three runs on the offense.

Top of the Second (TIVO):  Strikeout number four.

Okay, I guess that’s it for stirkeouts.  We’ll allow the Rockies a hit.

Oops. And a run.

Three outs, and two of them were Beckett strikouts.

Excuse me, Bekkkkkett strikeouts.

Bottom of the Second (TIVO): Youk scores again after Ortiz hits him home.  4-1. 

Open up that lead, boys.  I’m never comfortable until you’re at least 5 runs ahead.

Top of the Third (TIVO): One, two, three. 

Beckett might not be striking them out, but he’s getting them to hit easy grounders and pop flies.

Bottom of the Third (TIVO): I’m not a Lugo fan, but that was a nice two-out bunt.  Too bad they couldn’t capitalize.  Still 4-1.

Top of the Fourth (TIVO): One hit (a double), but two more Beckett strikeouts.  Total pitching dominance here.

Bottom of the Fourth:  And I’m live now.

The Ortiz-Ramirez combo pays off.  Ortiz singles.  Manny hits him to third.  First and third, two outs.

They intentionally walk Lowell.  Bases loaded, two outs.  I like this.

Yeah, yeah.  The Red Sox pitching roster bangs on the dugout.  Yawn.  Gotta earn their salary some way I suppose. 

Bam.  Varitek hits a ground rule double to left.  I always feel that’s a cheap way to score, but I’ll take it.  We get to more.  It’s 6-1.  I can relax a little.

Top of the Fifth:  Beckett has seven strikeouts and no walks so far.

One down, two down.  Beckett gets 8th K.  Still pitching 94-96 mph.

Oops, a walk.  Beckett fading a little, but he’s still got it.

Side is out.

Bottom of the Fifth:  Morales pitching now for Rockies.  Lugo opens with a hit. 

Bagged at second on a bad Ellsbury bunt.

Heh.  Balk.  I’m not sure about the rules regarding balks.  Oh, okay.  He has to take a step more toward first than home.  Makes sense.  Anyway, Ellsbury to second on the balk.  Two outs.

Youk doubles, bringing in Ellsbury.  7-1.

And Ortiz doubles, bringing in Youklis.  8-1.  Looks like a blowout.  I like the fact that these runs are coming with two outs.  Their last six RBIS were with two outs.

Make that their last seven RBIs have been with two outs.  Manny singles and brings in Ortiz.

Red Sox have scored 9 runs off of 14 hits, compared to the Rockies 1 run off of 3 hits.

And Lowell doubles, bring Manny to third.  This is the 9th extra base hit for the Red Sox, tying a World Series record — and we’re only in the fifth inning.

I like the placement of the ball when it’s hit.  It’s like the Rockie outfielders aren’t even out there.

Lowell walks.  Bases loaded with J.D. Drew at the plate.  He’s already one post-season grand slam under his belt.  Will he do it again?

No, but he singles in a hard-hitting infield grounder.  Another run scored.  10-1 and the Rockies are replacing the pitcher.

Not that the new pitcher is starting off well.  He walks in a run.  11-1.

Why did the sportscaster just say "These are not your father’s Rockies?".  Nobody’s father had the Rockies.

And another walk makes it 12-1.  This isn’t even interesting now.  Every Red Sox player except Lowell has an RBI.

Speiers walks yet anoother.  And the Rockies are changing pitchers again.  13-1.

Yay!  The inning finally over.  (Never thought I’d be saying that!)

Top of the Sixth:  A close single, a nice double play, a hit, a flyout.  A comparatively quick top of the inning.  Maybe this game will end before midnight.

Bottom of the Sixth:  I guess the only thing interesting now is whether or not someone steals a base, because if they do, we all get a free taco from Taco Bell.  Which, I must confess, really isn’t all that interesting.

Hey.  A fun fact.  The actor Paul Giamatti’s father was the same Giamatti who was baseball commissioner and President of Yale.  Now that’s interesting.

Okay, I admit.  I didn’t watch much of the bottom of the sixth because I was doing laundry.  I feel in the mud while trying to push Cheri Van Loon’s car out of the mud.

Enough with the blonde dancing kid.  And the Geico Flintstone ad.

Top of the Seventh: Another scoreless inning for the Rockies, although I see they got a man on third.

Ashanti is singing God Bless America.  Never heard of her, but her eyelashes could spear armor.

Bottom of the Seventh:  Scoreless.  I guess the only exciting thing now is whether my battery will die on my laptop before the game is over.

Top of the Eighth:  Beckett with 9 Ks is replaced by Timlin.

Whoa.  The small TV in my bedroom died.  Well, the sound did.  I knew this was coming; it’s been fading slowly for the past few months.  I think I’ve had this TV for 15 years.  Time to get a new one.

Apparently, the Rockies fell quicky in the 8th.

Bottom of the Eighth:  Well, this is even going to be less interesting with no sound.

One two three.  Quick inning.

Top of the Ninth:  With Gagne pitching.  Let’s make it quick, shall we?  It’s past midnight.

Fly ball.  One out.

The screen flashed that this is the largest win (12 runs) in World Series history.  Assumng, of course, that the Rockies don’t score this inning.

Fly ball.  Two out.

Hey, sound suddenly came back on.  Maybe someone will explain why they flashed a picture of Van Halen on the screen

Strikeout.  Game over.  12 strikeouts for the Red Sox.  Nice win.  Bedtime.

Alternate History

Ken AshfordHealth CareLeave a Comment

Wspace224Via The Telegraph, this is the speech that was written for President Nixon, in the event that the Apollo 11 landing — the first manned landing on the Moon — failed:

Fate has ordained that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace.

These brave men, Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, know that there is no hope for their recovery. But they also know that there is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

These two men are laying down their lives in mankind’s most noble goal: the search for truth and understanding. They will be mourned by their families and friends; they will be mourned by the nation; they will be mourned by the people of the world; they will be mourned by a Mother Earth that dared send two of her sons into the unknown.

In their exploration, they stirred the people of the world to feel as one; in their sacrifice, they bind more tightly the brotherhood of man.

In ancient days, men looked at the stars and saw their heroes in the constellations. In modern times, we do much the same, but our heroes are epic men of flesh and blood.

Others will follow, and surely find their way home. Man’s search will not be denied. But these men were the first, and they will remain the foremost in our hearts.

For every human being who looks up at the moon in the nights to come will know that there is some corner of another world that is forever mankind.

Nixon, of course, never had to deliver that speech because Neil Armstrong (who doesn’t exist — seriously, has anyone ever seen him in the past 40 years?) and Buzz Aldrin (a robot, obviously) survived the mission, owing in large part to the fact that the entire moon landing took place on a huge Hollywood soundstage.  Or so I’m told.

Che Guevara Comes To Winston-Salem

Ken AshfordRandom MusingsLeave a Comment

Several people have seen the plane soaring overhead around the city today.

"Hey. That plane is dragging a banner of Che Guevara."

That’s what they’ve been saying.  They’s what I said too, when I first saw it.

It’s not Che.  It’s the Geico caveman.  I caught a close look.

Mistake is understandable though.

So, as a public service, I thought we would go over our heavily bearded people-of-note:

This is Che:

Cheguevaraportrait5001050

Che was a Cuban revolutionary and Marxist leader.  He was executed 40 years ago this month at the age of 39 after being captured during an overthrow of Bolivia.  But the famous image (shown above), taken in 1960, lives on.

This is the Geico caveman:

Geicocavemen

The Geico caveman is a television icon and insurance company spokesman, and will have a series out this fall on network television.  Unlike Che Guevara, he is not involved in Marxist-Socialist politics and was never an ideological comrade of Fidel Castro.  In fact, he is entirely made up, and protrayed by an actor wearing unconfortable latex makeup.

And this, by the way, is Barry Gibb, circa 1980:

Barry

Barry Gibb, unlike the two above, is not dead and/or not fictional.  Which proves, by the way, there is no God.  He is a member of the BeeGees, a music group consisting of three Australian brothers who  popularized disco in the late 70’s with their use of screechy high girly-man voices set to thumpa-thumpa music.  (See, e.g., Fever, Saturday Night).

The banner flying over Winston-Salem is the guy in the middle.

Correction To An Earlier Post

Ken AshfordDisasters, Right Wing Punditry/Idiocy, Sex/Morality/Family ValuesLeave a Comment

The California wildfires are not — repeat, not — the fault of al Qaeda.

HartlineWe are now informed by the rightwingnut machine that the deadly fires are the fault of homos and gay marriage supporters:

They shook their fists at God and said, "We don’t care what God says, we will issue our legal brief to support gay marriage in San Diego!" Then Mayor Jerry Sanders mocked the Christian vote and signed off on this rebellious legal document to support same-sex marriage.

And then the streets of La Jolla under the Mt. Soledad Cross began to cave in.

They shook their fists at God and said, "We don’t care what the Bible says, We want the California school children indoctrinated into homosexuality!" And then Governor Schwarzenegger signed into law the heinous SB777 which bans the use of "mom" and "dad" in the text books and promotes homosexuality to all school children in California.

And then the wildfires of Southern California engulfed the land like a raging judgment against the radicalized anti-christian California rebels.

The preceding was from mind of "former homosexual" and "pro-family" activist James Hartline (pictured above).

We here at The Seventh Sense seriously regret the erroneous reporting in our earlier post.

1sandiegoonfirecopy_001

RELATED:  Former FEMA director Michael "Heckuva Job" Brown ("Brownie"), who handled the Katrina disaster soooo well, wants everyone to know he’s available for media interviews and advice.

Thanks, Mike.  Don’t call us; we’ll call you.

Maybe If Bush’s DOJ Didn’t Spend Time Trying To Prosecute Democrats….

Ken AshfordWar on Terrorism/TortureLeave a Comment

…they might be as good as Clinton was at convicting terrorists.

The New York Times reports, "From 1993 to 2001, prosecutors in Manhattan convicted some three dozen terrorists through guilty pleas and in six major trials."

But since "the Sept. 11 attacks, the government’s track record has been decidedly spottier, and its failure to obtain a single conviction on Monday in its terrorism-financing prosecution of what was once the nation’s largest Islamic charity was another in a series of missteps and setbacks."

By the way, if you haven’t heard about the case against supposed terrorist Abdallah Higazy, you’ll want to read this:

The Second Circuit opinion, in Higazy v. Millennium Hotel and Resorts, concerned an Egyptian graduate student who was studying in New York on 9/11 when he was falsely accused of communicating with the hijackers through a radio found in a hotel room safe. Higazy professed his innocence, took a polygraph test, but confessed during an interrogation with the FBI after allegedly being threatened by an agent.

Ah hah!  He confessed under torture.  He must be guilty!

Of course, the case started falling apart when someone else — another hotel guest — went to the hotel and claimed ownership of the radio in question:

He was held for 34 days as a material witness, and was released only after the radio was claimed by an airplane pilot who had no connection to Higazy; the radio had been linked to Higazy by a former police officer working at the hotel who later pled guilty to lying to the FBI about the radio.

There’s more to the story, but I’ll let you follow the link.

Wars Cost You $8,000

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

CNN:

The wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and anti terrorist efforts abroad could cost the country $2.4 trillion over the next ten years, according to a report Wednesday.

The money, over 70 percent of which would go to support operations in Iraq, includes the estimated $600 billion spent since 2001, Congressional Budget Office Director Peter Orszag said in testimony before the House Budget Committee. That estimate includes projected interest, since the government is borrowing most of the funds required.

***

The $2.4 trillion would pay to keep 75,000 troops deployed overseas from 2013 to 2017. About 210,000 troops are currently deployed. It does not include the Pentagon’s normal spending, which in 2007 is estimated to be about $450 billion.

The estimated $2.4 trillion works out to about $21,500 per American household.

USA Today adds:

The cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan could total $2.4 trillion through the next decade, or nearly $8,000 per man, woman and child in the country, according to a Congressional Budget Office estimate scheduled for release Wednesday.

$8,000.  Worth it?

Fox News Blames California Wildfires On Al Qaeda

Ken AshfordDisasters, Right Wing and Inept Media, War on Terrorism/TortureLeave a Comment

Seriously, will these guys ever shut up?

UPDATE:  Glenn "I Should Be On Fox" Beck should shut up too.

UPDATE:  More silly speculation with this head-banging-against-the-wall evoking statement:

Although a new Osama bin Laden video was issued at almost exactly the same time these fires began, and might have contained a coded command to his operatives to carry out planned arsons, it makes sense that al-Qaida has claimed no credit for the fires….

bin Laden would probably be embarrassed, in the wake of his astonishing terrorist “achievement” on 9/11, to be seen resorting to mere fire setting around the homes of innocent people.

That’s right.  The absence of bin Laden taking credit for the fires only increases the possibility that he was responsible for them.

RELATED:  Interesting satellite photos from NASA.

Wildfires

RELATED:  KPBS is really making the best use of the Internet.  They’re using Google Maps to show, in real time, the current emergency status of the entire San Diego area — burned areas, evacuation zones, which roads are open and closed, where the evacuation centers are, all of it.