Lessons Not Learned

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Iraq, Republicans, SheehanLeave a Comment

Paul Begala is talking here about the smears of the right wing against Sheehan (although it is hard to tell).  He’s nailed it: It seems to me the American people never really forgave the Democrats for being right about Vietnam. The left was right, of course, about Vietnam.  Even my CNN colleague Bob Novak, who was extraordinarily hawkish on Vietnam, … Read More

Sheehan Bigger Than Schiavo

Ken AshfordAssisited Suicide/Schiavo, Bush & Co., Iraq, SheehanLeave a Comment

From Blogometer (a good daily resource by the way): Each time this week we’ve visited Technorati, the popular blog search engine, the "Top Searches This Hour" feature has placed "Cindy Sheehan" at the very top. At one point this a.m., "Sheehan" was also #5. The Blogometer is trying to remember the last time this happened, but no person or event … Read More

Bush Administration Ignored The State Department About Lack Of Post-War Planning

Ken AshfordBush & Co., IraqLeave a Comment

No doubt because the State Department primarily deals with diplomacy, and the Bushies don’t do no pansy-ass diplomacy. One month before the U.S. invasion of Iraq, three State Department bureau chiefs warned of “serious planning gaps for post-conflict public security and humanitarian assistance” in a secret memorandum prepared for a superior. The State Department officials, who had been discussing the … Read More

Iraq: Worse Than What Is Reported?

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Conservatives like to bitch and moan about how the media never reports the good things in Iraq.  They claim it just proves media bias, but of course, we all know the real reason.  To the extent that there ARE good things to report in Iraq, the media doesn’t report it because it’s too fucking dangerous for them to venture far … Read More

Chickenhawk Wankers

Ken AshfordIraq, RepublicansLeave a Comment

Staff Sgt. Jason Rivera, 26, a Marine recruiter in Pittsburgh, went to the home of a high school student who had expressed interest in joining the Marine Reserve to talk to his parents. It was a large home in a well-to-do suburb north of the city. Two American flags adorned the yard. The prospect’s mom greeted him wearing an American … Read More

1787 or 1861?

Ken AshfordIraq1 Comment

Neo-cons like to imagine that the New Iraq is something akin to our own country’s historic period of 1787, when our constitution was ratified and a new democracy forged.  But I’ve come to believe that the ethnic strife going on over there renders the U.S. Civil War (Iraqi style) a better analogy.  Harold Myerson says the same thing: It looks … Read More

Perspective

Ken AshfordIraqLeave a Comment

Mithras at Fables of the Reconstruction has been crunching the numbers: As of this moment, Iraq Body Count says that between 23,589 and 26,705 Iraqi civilians have died since the United States invaded Iraq.  Let’s average that out, even though their method for counting deaths is extremely conservative and there is, I think, good reason to believe that the actual … Read More

Another Grieving Mom

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Godstuff, Iraq, Right Wing Punditry/IdiocyLeave a Comment

Courtesy of The Green Knight, here’s a picture of another grieving Mom: Green Knight adds: …this man went to his death voluntarily and heroically. He was an adult when he did it. Apparently, according to the modern pro-war right, most of which thinks it’s Christian, his mom shouldn’t have been unhappy about it. Green Knight, with apologies to Cenk Uyger … Read More

Wingnuttia Of The Day

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Iraq, Right Wing Punditry/Idiocy, Sheehan1 Comment

A.W. at Freespeech.com has been on trial lately (he says), so he’s been a little late in playing the Cindy Sheehan smear game.  But what he lacks in punctuality, he make up for in both verbosity and wingnuttery: I’ll lay out my evidence shortly, but here are the pertinent points in my book.  The proper reaction, I think, should be … Read More

A Soldier’s Letter To Cindy Sheehan

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Iraq, SheehanLeave a Comment

From Daily Kos: Fort Hood, Texas12 August 2005 Dear Mrs. Sheehan: I am a Soldier stationed at Fort Hood who is scheduled for deployment to Iraq (soon).  Like you, I do not support the war because I believe it represents a horrible waste of lives and lucre that is bankrupting our nation.  However, I am sworn to obey my orders … Read More

Michelle’s Lame Response

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Iraq, Right Wing Punditry/Idiocy, SheehanLeave a Comment

As I reported yesterday, intellectually dishonest Michelle Malkin reported about Cindy Sheehan’s divorce claiming that "like it or not, it is news", a seeming contradiction of her previous "hands off" policy when it came to the mentioning of Dick Cheney’s lesbian daughter and the New York Times inquiry into John Roberts’ kids. Today, Malkin lamely responded to the obvious hypocrisy: … Read More

The Lower Depths

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Iraq, Right Wing Punditry/Idiocy, SheehanLeave a Comment

Just when you think Michelle Malkin can’t get any lower in her smears of Cindy Sheehan, she does: Like it or not, the dispute between Cindy Sheehan and some of her family members is news. Malkin then goes on to note that divorce proceedings have been filed by her husband against Ms. Sheehan. Others have pointed out what I’m about … Read More

Wingnuttia Of The Day

Ken AshfordIraq, Right Wing Punditry/Idiocy, SheehanLeave a Comment

From a commentor at The Poor Man Cafe: I know this isn’t going to [be] popular on this website, but may I just point something out? A soldier’s #1 job is to stay alive. If you die, you can’t accomplish the mission, and you weaken your team and put your buddies in danger. Obviously Sheehan’s son, I forget his name … Read More

Lowered Expectations

Ken AshfordBush & Co., Iraq, SheehanLeave a Comment

It’s interesting.  At the very moment, when Cindy Sheehan is asking Bush (or trying to ask Bush) why her son died, the Bush Administration is changing its answer: U.S. Lowers Sights On What Can Be Achieved in Iraq Administration Is Shedding ‘Unreality’ That Dominated Invasion, Official Says The Bush administration is significantly lowering expectations of what can be achieved in … Read More