Feith Based Initiative At The Pentgon

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Grover Norquist can pretty much pull the drain plug now; the job of eviscerating the United States Government "down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub" is about complete. The latest breaking news out of the Pentagon is that the US mistakenly shipped ICBM warhead nuclear triggering mechanisms to Taiwan.

The Pentagon announced on Tuesday that it mistakenly shipped non-nuclear components for an intercontinental ballistic missile to Taiwan from a U.S. Air Force base in Wyoming.
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At a Pentagon news conference, Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne said the misshipped items were four nose cone assemblies for ICBMs. He also said they were delivered to Taiwan in March 2005 and had been sent instead of helicopter batteries that had been ordered by Taiwan.
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”It is a component for the fuse in the nosecone for a nuclear system,” Wynne said. ”We are very concerned about it.”

Well, that’s understandable. Because thermonuclear warhead triggers probably look just like helicopter batteries, right? Oy and ugh.

Apparently, the Cheney/Bush Administration planting of "the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the planet" at the Pentagon is paying dividends even after Doug Feith is long gone, because there seems to be some real competence issues over there, and, critically, with regard to our military’s handling of it’s nuclear weapons. As you might recall, it was not long ago that there were some empty quivers and bent spears out of another upper mid-west Air Force Base. In late August, 2007, six live nuclear cruise missiles went missing.

The nuclear weapons were “lost” for 36 hours after taking off on August 29 on a cross-country journey from the remote Minot air force base in North Dakota to Barksdale in Louisiana. Major-General Richard Newton, air force deputy chief of staff, said there was an “unprecedented” series of procedural errors, which revealed “an erosion of adherence to weapons-handling standards”.

There is bound to be a lot of speculation and discussion on the latest incident that is just now being revealed in spite of the fact that it occurred all the way back in 2005. Hopefully, it will also renew the discussion of the Minot/Barksdale incident, which kind of faded from the national conscience (if you want a decent rundown on some of the various theories and weird facts on the Minot/Barksdale event, see here). So how will the Six Sigma management geniuses of the Bush Administration respond to these disturbing examples Read more →

Spitzer Springs A Leak

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As you all undoubtedly know by now, the huge breaking news is about New York Governor Elliot Spitzer’s apparent ties to a prostitution ring. The New York Times reports:

Gov. Eliot Spitzer has informed his most senior administration officials that he had been involved in a prostitution ring, an administration official said this morning.

Mr. Spitzer, who was huddled with his top aides inside his Fifth Avenue apartment early this afternoon, had hours earlier abruptly canceled his scheduled public events for the day. He scheduled an announcement for 2:15 after inquiries from the Times.

Mr. Spitzer, a first-term Democrat who pledged to bring ethics reform and end the often seamy ways of Albany, is married with three children.

Just last week, federal prosecutors arrested four people in connection with an expensive prostitution operation. Administration officials would not say that this was the ring with which the governor had become involved.

But a person with knowledge of the governor’s role said that the person believes the governor is one of the men identified as clients in court papers.

Spitzer has now held a brief press conference where he admitted that he had betrayer the trust of his family and the public and is going to take "some time" to work out his path forward.

It appears that this emanates out of the arrest and charging last Thursday, March 6, 2008, of four people said to be involved in an international prostitution ring. The investigation and charges were announced by the office of Michael J. Garcia, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY).

Federal authorities arrested four people Thursday on charges of running an online prostitution ring that serviced clients in New York, Paris and other cities and took in more than $1 million in profits over four years.

The ring, known as the Emperor’s Club V.I.P., had 50 prostitutes available for appointments in New York, Washington, Miami, London and Paris, according to a complaint unsealed on Thursday in Federal District Court in Manhattan. The appointments, made by telephone or through an online booking service, cost $1,000 to $5,500 an hour and could be paid for with cash, credit card, wire transfers or money orders, the complaint said.
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As part of the investigation, federal agents worked with a woman who claimed to have worked for the Emperor’s Club as a prostitute in 2006, according to court papers. An undercover agent posed as a potential client and arranged appointments by phone and online.

After obtaining authorization to tap the club’s phones, federal agents recorded more than 5,000 calls and text messages and had access to 6,000 e-mail messages, court papers said. Many Read more →

Anyone in LA/Pasdena?

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And have a long lunch hour on Tuesday? I’ll be giving a talk at Claremont-McKenna’s Athenaeum during the lunch hour.

(Un)Covering the Narrative Industry

MARCY WHEELER

TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2008

LUNCH 11:30 a.m., LECTURE 12:00 p.m.

If you’re in the area, leave a comment below. I’m heading to the ocean Tuesday night. I don’t yet know what my schedule will be, but I might have time to meet some folks later that evening. So long as it’s in a place with a view of the ocean. Must see ocean.

House Oversight Committee Liveblog – Rocket’s Red Glare

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Folks, I have been a pitiful guest host the last two days, and for that I apologize. There was a medical issue in my family that arose on Monday and it has turned into a nightmare. This country needs to find it’s way to a single payer universal healthcare process as soon as possible; else otherwise rational citizens are going to exercise that much ballyhooed Second Amendment right to bear arms and they are going to use them on the health insurance industry. That is all I am going to say for now; perhaps I will revisit all of this at a later date, but what I have seen and been exposed to the last day and a half is eye opening. Even to someone that deals with bad systems as a career, it is eye opening when it is actually you and your family in the breech.

A couple of people have inquired about a liveblog on the Clemens hearings. I was initially fairly uninclined to do that here because we usually deal with more important subjects. But I am fed up with FISA and the dereliction of duty of our Congress on that issue. I also have some time on my hands for a while today and think that there are many issues that really are important that are in play in the Clemens mess; so here we go. I will be posting some updates to the main post and will be here ready to engage and answer any question i can, the best I can in the comments. Feel free to rant and to question.

Update On Constitutional/Due Process Concepts At Play Here: Okay, even I am about Clemensed out after today’s hearing, but I want to take just a minute to point out the legal principles I see at play here that I think should be understood and kept in mind.

First off, if the Federal government thinks Roger Clemens was seriously involved in steroid and HGH use and promulgation, investigate and prosecute him. But the government doesn’t give a rat’s ass about that, they are hot after Clemens because he had the audacity to challenge the God/Petraeus like Mitchell report. And make no mistake about it, if you can’t believe the Clemens portion of the Mitchell report, you have to wonder about the Read more →

emptywheel’s Famous Football Trash Talk Thread* – Championship Sunday Edition

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Championship Sunday brings conflicting emotions for me. It brings the very essence, the finest, that pro football has to offer; the two best teams in each conference duking it out for the right to go to the Super Bowl. It also means that, save for the commonly anti-climatic Super Bowl, the football season is over, and that leaves a hole in the sports, and emptywheel, world until next fall. Well, enough of that, we DO have one outstanding day of gridiron glory left, lets get to it.

Frightning Lightning Bolts at Pats – The Bolts are busted up. Tomlinson has a hyperextended knee. Rivers also has a bum knee and Antonio Gates can hardly walk, but will undoubtedly play fine just like last week, with his famous toe. None of these three have practiced this week, but all are expected to play. Shawne "Gastineau" Merriman is a little under the weather, but has practiced and should be ready. For the Pats, Donte Stallworth and guard Steve Neal have minor pains, but have practiced and are good to go. Now if I am Bill Belichick, I am telling the whole team how the female complainant against Randy Moss is on the Charger’s payroll, and a statement has to be made for their oppressed teammate by steamrolling the Bolts and running up the score. The weather forecast is for bitter cold and wind. Not exactly favorable conditions for the beach boys. The Bolts have been playing inspired and excellent football for weeks now, and Norval Turner is off the snide and has actually won a playoff game. Congratulations on the fine season randiego; however, I fear it has come to an end. The Pats win this one easy.

NY Football Giants at The Green Bay Favres – What do you say about this game? It has everything you could ask for as a fan, and more. Young Eli Manning is actually playing like the reliable bulletproof Ecodrive watch he hawks. The Gents running game is strong and deep and the defense tough. Well, except for the secondary that is; where Kevin Dockery, Sam Madison and Aaron Ross are all pretty nicked up, but are available. Good thing they won’t be facing a proven quarterback or anything. For the Pack, everybody is practicing and ready to go, although Woodson, Bubba Franks and Read more →

emptywheel’s Famous Football Trash Talk Thread* – Division Playoff Edition

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We are now down to genuine pro football. No more Cinderellas; the teams that ought to be here are here. No more "best of the rest" discussions, no more silly BCS games without the best teams playing. Three out of the four games are being played outdoors, where football is meant to be played. Hoosiers, I’m talking about you; you got to toughen up, if you can’t plant your butts outside for three hours to watch Peyton and the Colts, you aren’t real fans. Time to get down and dirty.

Pats and Jags – The Asterisk Bowl! The Jags seemed a lot tougher before they wimped out and took down their website asterisk on the Pats. Thats it, they are toast. Belichick was already going to use the asterisk bit, now he and the Pats are going to flat out disrespect the Jags as a bunch of wusses. For the Jags, DT John Henderson has a touchy hammy, but will play and LB Mike Peterson has a bad paw and is doubtful. The Pats don’t even have any injuries to report; uh oh, 16-0 and they are fully healthy. The Jags are a very good team, are well coached, and earned their way here; but they are done now. Buh bye.

Pack and Seagulls – Jonathan Livingston Seahawk is flying in to TitleTown. Prodigal sons Holmgren and Hasselbeck return to that from which they came. A couple of weeks ago, I would have told you Seattle wouldn’t get out of the wildcard matchup. Last week, it was close, but I thought the Skins would eke out a win. Give em credit though, the Seahawks are playing well, and Holmgren is a good coach. I have to admit, I am more than a little worried. However, Brett Favre is loose and ready. Favre is always ready for some football; he is a 38 year old kid on a playground. I think its different this time though, because he has already indicated he is coming back, so he is not worried about it being his last game and he believes in the kids around him, and they believe in him. Ryan Grant looks like a real find at running back and his style is perfect for this kind of field and this time Read more →

emptywheel’s Famous Football Trash Talk Thread – Wildcard Weekend Edition

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At long last, the playoffs are upon us. Well, the playoffs are upon us for the NFL anyway; there are still no playoffs for major college football, so we will once again have to settle for a BCS title game with arguably the wrong participants.

Saturday’s Games
Skins at Seahawks – In the their last 26 games at home, Seattle is 22-4. Qwest field is as loud and disruptive an environment as any out there, if not more so. Hasselbeck and Alexander have been playing very well of late (and hey, Hasselbeck’s brain dead sister in law is returning to The View! It must be a sign!). This one seems pretty cut and dried. So I’ll take the Skins in another upset. Joe Gibbs has an even better playoff pedigree than Mike Holmgren and the Skins are really playing as a dedicated team in the aftermath of the tragic murder of Sean Taylor. And Gibbs has a history of playoff runs with quarterbacks pressed into duty out of the dust bin. Todd Collins fits the mold perfectly and Clinton Portis appears healthy.

Jags at Stillers – I don’t know what to make of this one. EW has been riding with the smart money lately on the Jags and they are solid in all aspects of the game. There is something about Rothlisberger that I am always hesitant to bet against; he is one tough kid and a hell of a leader considering how young he is. The absence of Willie Parker is brutal though; the Jags don’t have to worry about breakaway speed from the running game and Rothlisberger’s ability to run play action is hurt. That is the difference; Jags win.

Sunday’s Games
Giants at Buccos – Will Eli be as reliable as one of those Citizen EcoDrive watches? Can the Bucs keep Jeff Garcia protected from the Giants rush? I have no idea on this one; both teams seem flaky to me.

Titans at Bolts – This would a no brainer if we were not talking about the Chargers and Norv Turner. I firmly believe that history has definite patterns and sage lessons to teach, and the history in this regard for the Bolts and Turner is bleak. Vince Young sure isn’t going to be mistaken for Joe Montana any time soon for the beauty Read more →

Merry Christmas

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Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and every other relevant greeting out there, to one and all. Best wishes to you and your families. Thank you for all your contributions and efforts over the past year; and please thank your families and significant others for allowing the time and effort devoted to our endeavors. It is tough sledding through the mess that has been created; but because of you, progress is being made. A holiday toast to one and all. Cheers!

Emptywheel’s Famous Football Trash Talk Thread – Holiday Edition

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The weekend is upon us, which means it is time for some trashing and burning (Note: not for you folks working for Cheney at his "ceremonial" office, you have trashed and burned quite enough this week). You may ask "why, bmaz, is Cheney’s Vice Presidential Office ceremonial"? Don’t ask such silly questions, everyone knows he mans the President’s office while his feckless sidekick, Boy Dunder, rides his trike and clears brush. Without further adieu, here are some of my takes:

Green Bay at Da Bears – What can I say, when the head cat is away, the rat is gonna play. So the lead game on this week’s thread is not the Pats. Oh, the sacrilege. Its a shame Phred isn’t around to see the Pack in the pole position. Da Bears are having an injury filled downer of a season. But it is late December, Halas and Lombardi, classic Black and Blue Division football. While Soldier Field may not be the frozen tundra of Lambeau, it sure isn’t much warmer if the wind is up. With these two old foes you can throw their records out the window when they get together. Well, perhaps you can throw the records out the window, not me; um, I’ll take the Pack.

Fish at Pats – If I wasn’t worried that mom would take my car keys away, I am not sure I would bother with this one. The Dolphins are a once proud and grand franchise that have really fallen on hard times. I guess it seemed like the right idea to them at the time; but somehow or another you just knew that sooner or later they would regret giving Don Shula the bums rush out of town, even if it was for Jimmy Johnson. Pats ought to be able to rest Brady by the time the two minute warning is given. In the first half that is.

Browns at Bengals and Skins at Vikes – These are my co-choices for best of the rest. Neither one of them seem particularly appealing on the surface; but both have some compelling story lines going. The Browns may be the story of the year when it is all said and done. They have been playing good, smart, conservative ball all year. And winning. At the Read more →