First Looks category archive

From Sunday’s Washington Post (emphasis added):

Those vested in the system will try to persuade you to ignore this cycle (described in the beginning of the article–ed.), to pass off an obvious pattern as mere anomalies. At the hearings, the owner of a private firm, outside the chain of command, oddly described his company as somehow being “part of our nation’s total force.” Then State Department officials claimed that they had no choice but to outsource security tasks to Blackwater, rather than admit that they had preferred not to make choices that carried political costs. These are the denials of enablers, pushers and addicts.

The blunt truth is that while contractors are carrying out valuable roles, their overall effect has been to undermine the Iraq mission and the wider fight against terrorism. Worst of all, we have outsourced the most important core function of our government: to fight and win the nation’s wars.

I’ve said it before: Hiring mercenaries whose loyalty is to whoever signs their paycheck, rather than to the United States of America, is probably not a good idea.

Words fail me.

And these folks dare to call themselves Americans.

Furrfu.

Via Atrios.

ASZ.

The sad thing is, it’s all too believable about that bunch of clowns.

Frankly, it ain’t that great:

A Florida man who deliberately defied an Orlando ordinance which prohibits feeding the city’s homeless will become the first person to face trial for the offence when he’s hauled before a judge and jury.

According to wftv.com, 22-year-old Eric Montanez was in April this year caught on video camera providing nourishment to a group of the less fortunate in Lake Eola Park in contravention of the ban on “mass feeding in one area”. He was duly cuffed for his trouble.

Neither, for that matter, is Orlando.

Tangier Restaurant, 18th and Lombard, Center City Philadelphia.

The hamburgers won honorable mention at the the Inky, but I like the Fish and Chips.

This is another edition of What Digby Said.

Balloon Juice.

I saw the story, but didn’t take the time to blog about it.

ASZ does it justice.

It’s a Republican tune.

When played on the toes.

Phillybits.

Yeah, I know it’s an oxymoron.

In this post, I linked to a post by Phillybits about an American soldier’s wife who faces deportation because, by God, she got married.

Check out the follow-up, in which Phillybits discusses the reaction he’s gotten from red-blooded American bigots commenters.

Now it’s time for the Maalox.

What Tristero said.

Via Atrios.

I’m not going to try to summarize.

Just go read it.

And think, think seriously, about why some folks, like the Mark Krikorian quoted in the post, are so full of hate.

Of course, Joe Biden, who actually is a fairly decent–and extremely smart–guy, has this problem of engaging his mouth before putting his brain in gear, leading to some of the memorable gaffes in modern American politics.

Hoof-in-mouth disease apparently extends to his staff, also.

Complicated by an inability to diagram a simple sentence.

Recreation here.

ASZ.

Tomorrow, Tangier Restaurant (great fish and chips!), 18th and Lombard, Philly, 6 p. m. till whenever.

I might even make it this time. At least I don’t have to go to the cooling tower place.

Whoop-de-do!

Dick Polman.

Please read the entire post. It has something the Current Federal Administration does not.

Facts.

I realize, of course, that the Blackwater dispute isn’t nearly as important as the portentous struggle over a two-week-old moveon.org newspaper ad; after all, the Blackwater story is merely about the deaths of at least 11 Iraqis and the wounding of 12 more, and we know that, in American politics, those faceless people matter a whole lot less than a few juvenile words aimed at an American military man. But, for the heck of it, consider this chronology:

Eight days ago, armed guards employed by Blackwater (one of the roughly 60 American firms that have profited from the Bush administration’s unprecedented war-fighting privatization program) were involved in a controversial gun battle in Baghdad. The Iraqi government contends that the Blackwater guards, while protecting a U.S. embassy convoy, got spooked by some mortar rounds that had landed nearby, and had then opened fire indiscriminately, killing and wounding the innocent civilians. Three Iraqi ministries have already determined that the Blackwater’s conduct constitutes “a terrorist action against civilians, just like any other terrorist operation.”

(snip)

Early last week, the Maliki government, which says that the Baghdad incident was the seventh violent episode involving Blackwater this year alone, was making noises about kicking the North Carolina-based firm out of Iraq. That threat didn’t last long. By Friday, a Maliki advisor was telling the press, “The reality of the matter is, we can’t do that.” One big reason: Order 17, signed in 2004 by American occupation chief Paul Bremer, who unilaterally decreed that all U.S. private contractors shall be exempt from Iraqi law.

In other words, “free Iraq” (as Bush likes to call it) shall be considered free as long as it doesn’t try to meddle with the Bush war-fighting privatization program. When it does try to meddle, it is deemed to be a hostage to U.S. interests; as Maliki said yesterday, the Blackwater case poses “serious challenges to the sovereignty of Iraq.” Meanwhile, Blackwater went back on the job last Friday, guarding U.S. convoys, after just a few days in the dog house.

Steve at ASZ.

Here’s a copy of my email.

Though there is no doubt that the editors of the Rocky Mountain Collegian could have expressed themselves with more grace, the sentiment they expressed was well within the borders of free speech.

And one shared by a majority of the American people.

Including this American person, whose son currently serves in Afghanistan.

I’ve been out of town all day doing the cooling tower thing, but Brendan has more.