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Pat Robertson on Iraq

Last week, televangelist Pat Robertson went off on George W. Bush for selling us a “bill of goods” to justify the invasion of Iraq. When asked on his show if there was a solution to the current rise of violence in Iraq, he responded:

Right now, what we did — and it was a great mistake to go in there. … And so to sell the American people on weapons of mass destruction, he had WMD and was getting [concentrated uranium] yellowcake out of Africa and all of that, it was a lot of nonsense. We were sold a bill of goods, we should never have gone into that country!

As bad as Saddam Hussein was, he held those warring factions in check, and he contained those radical Islamists. Fix it, no? It’s too late to fix it. It’s unfixable. Those simmering animosities have been there for centuries. They will continue to play out until such times that the Lord brings out of Babylon some evil Antichrist or something.

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Who wants to cut federal spending?

Once again, the Air Force has recommended retiring the A-10 (“Warthog”) support airplane, which would save us taxpayers $4 billion. That’s quite a chunk of change, and given that everyone keeps talking about how we need to cut spending and reduce the deficit, you would think it would be a slam dunk to kill an airplane that even the Air Force doesn’t want.

But you would be wrong.

On Thursday, the House approved an amendment to the 2015 defense appropriations bill, which prevents the elimination of the A-10. The bill was sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans and passed 300-114. Ironically, even the House appropriations committee voted to eliminate the A-10, which has a relatively aged design. I guess Congress can’t figure out how to put their money where their mouth is.

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Late Night Political Humor

“House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost Virginia’s Republican primary to a Tea Party candidate. And get this. It was revealed that Cantor’s campaign actually spent more money at steakhouses than his opponent spent on his entire campaign. Or as one of my guests tonight put it, ‘So? What’s wrong with that?’ Hey, I’m talking about Chris Rock, not Chris Christie.” – Jimmy Fallon

“Since House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost to an anti-immigration candidate, many Republicans are feeling pressure to take a harder stance on immigration. In fact, the Republicans are so paranoid, today Chris Christie sent back his chimichanga.” – Conan O’Brien

“Today is the start of the World Cup in Brazil. I know you guys know that. I’m telling Brazil. ‘Hurry up. Finish the stadium!'” – Seth Meyers

“Today was the start of the World Cup. It’s that special time of the year when Americans in bars shrug, ‘Well, I guess we’re watching this now.'” – Jimmy Fallon

“The World Cup starts today, which means you’re all about to find out which of your friends lived in Europe for a year.” – Seth Meyers

“Hey, America’s in the World Cup. Did you even know that? Experts say they have less than a 1 percent chance of winning the World Cup, and even their coach said winning is not realistic — all of which sounds like one hell of a pre-game pep talk.” – Conan O’Brien

“The U.S. is scheduled to play Germany soon at the World Cup. President Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel already have a bet going. The loser keeps Hasselhoff.” – Craig Ferguson

“The Russians will probably do well at the World Cup. Today Vladimir Putin gave the Russian team a motivational speech. He said, ‘Remember, if you can’t beat ’em – invade ’em.'” – Craig Ferguson

“George H.W. Bush turned 90 today and he celebrated by jumping out of a plane. Isn’t that cool? So if you include Obama there were two presidents in freefall today.” – Conan O’Brien

“Father’s Day is just a few days away. And in a new interview President Obama said that he is a fun dad who teeters on the edge of embarrassing his kids. Because nothing says you’re a fun dad like SAYING you’re a fun dad.” – Jimmy Fallon

“According to a new study, the number of car crashes linked to marijuana has risen. Fortunately, when the cars crashed they were all going eight miles per hour.” – Conan O’Brien

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WMD

Jeff Danziger
© Jeff Danziger

Saddam Hussain was our friend before he became our enemy. The Reagan administration even supplied him with weapons and lied about it. And they looked the other way when Hussain used chemical weapons – the same weapons we would later use as an excuse to invade Iraq.

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Late Night Political Humor

“A Tea Party candidate won Virginia’s Republican primary, mostly on his anti-immigration stance. His first plan is to change the state’s slogan from ‘Virginia is for lovers’ to ‘Virginia is for lovers who habla ingles.'” – Conan O’Brien

“House Majority Leader Eric Cantor was defeated in the primary election. He spent $5 million on his primary campaign. Ladies and gentlemen, what is wrong with this country when you can no longer buy an election?” – David Letterman

“While trying to get re-elected, Eric Cantor spent $168,000 on steakhouses. Governor of New Jersey Chris Christie said, ‘That’s all?'” – David Letterman

“Oh no! Congress’s current golden age of cooperation and productiveness is over.” – Jon Stewart (on pundit predictions that the defeat of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor will make it impossible for Republicans to cooperate with Democrats)

“The campaign manager who helped unseat House Majority Leader Eric Cantor last night is a 23-year-old man who interviewed for a job at Panera Bread last month. Said Cantor, ‘Is that position still available?'” – Seth Meyers

“For the second day in a row, President Obama made an unscheduled trip out of the White House, this time for a burger at a nearby restaurant. Obama wants to be OUT of the White House more than Hillary wants to be IN it. Well, almost.” – Jimmy Fallon

“Hillary Clinton said she may not run for president because she loves having time to hang out with her friends. Thankfully, most of her friends live in Iowa, New Hampshire, Ohio, Florida, and the great state of Pennsylvania.” – Seth Meyers

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People who live in glass houses, throwing stones

It takes a special kind of chutzpah for Dick Cheney to publish an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal, saying things like this:

Rarely has a U.S. president been so wrong about so much at the expense of so many. Too many times to count, Mr. Obama has told us he is “ending” the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan — as though wishing made it so. His rhetoric has now come crashing into reality.

Yup, this is Dick Cheney, who famously espoused so much neo-con bullshit:

  • “And he [Saddam Hussein] is actively pursuing nuclear weapons at this time.” (March, 2002)
  • “I think it will go relatively quickly. Weeks rather than months.” (March, 2003)
  • “My belief is we will, in fact, be greeted as liberators.” (March, 2003)
  • “I think they’re in the last throes, if you will, of the insurgency.” (July, 2005)

The editorial even claims:

Mr. Obama had only to negotiate an agreement to leave behind some residual American forces, training and intelligence capabilities to help secure the peace. Instead, he abandoned Iraq and we are watching American defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.

Except that Cheney seems to forget that it was George W. Bush who signed the agreement mandating the removal of all American forces from Iraq by the end of 2011.

Dick, STFU.

UPDATE: Senate majority leader Harry Reid responds “Being on the wrong side of Dick Cheney is being on the right side of history.”

UPDATE 2: Cheney lied us into war, and he personally profited from that war by giving no-bid contracts to Halliburton. He also had his hands in illegal torture. There were no terrorists in Iraq before we invaded. I completely agree with Thom Hartmann’s opinion, “Dick Cheney should be rotting in a prison cell at The Hague, not writing editorials for the Wall Street Journal.” Yes, Obama did do something wrong. In my opinion, it was in not bringing the greedy lying perpetrators of the Iraq war to justice.

Yi0508K

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Late Night Political Humor

“President Obama went for a walk and went to a Starbucks. If this guy can afford coffee at Starbucks, the economy must be improving.” – David Letterman

“President Obama surprised tourists by walking to a Starbucks near the White House. Even more surprising, he traded five Taliban members for a grande soy latte.” – Seth Meyers

“The president was sitting there having his coffee with his laptop open, arranging another deal for Taliban prisoners.” – David Letterman

“President Obama had a cup of his favorite coffee – the Kenyan Socialist.” – David Letterman

“President Obama’s daughter Sasha turned 13 years old today. That means that now he has two teenage girls. But thanks to Congress, he’s used to people ignoring him.” – Jimmy Fallon

“In her new memoir, Hillary Clinton said the Obama campaign wanted her to attack Sarah Plain. So did her husband Bill, but only because he loves a good cat fight.” – Conan O’Brien

“Lawmakers in Jamaica are now considering a bill that would legalize marijuana. Let me repeat myself: Lawmakers in Jamaica are considering a bill to legalize marijuana. In related news, lawmakers in Italy are considering a bill to legalize spaghetti, and lawmakers in Ireland are considering a bill to legalize whiskey.” – Jimmy Fallon

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The Party of No, No, and Hell No!

Tom Tomorrow
© Tom Tomorrow

Yes, a Republican candidate for the Indiana state legislature really did say that, although he quickly backtracked after he hit the national news with his stupidity.

However, and almost unbelievably, Glenn Beck said the following on his radio show today:

From the beginning, most people on the left were against going into Iraq. I wasn’t. … Liberals, you were right. We shouldn’t have.

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Late Night Political Humor

“Hillary Clinton said she wants to travel this year, and won’t make any announcements about her plans to run for president until 2015. When asked where she’ll travel, she said, ‘New Hampshire, Iowa, and maybe spend a few months in Florida.'” – Jimmy Fallon

“In an interview with Diane Sawyer, Hillary Clinton said she would make her decision on running for president ‘by the end of the year.’ Specifically, the year 1998.” – Seth Meyers

“This week Hillary Clinton launches the tour for her new book. When he heard, Bill Clinton said, ‘I’m so proud of her, and what day exactly is she leaving?'” – Conan O’Brien

“In an interview she said that she and her husband were dead broke when they left the White House. Hillary said things were so bad, the two of them needed to share a bedroom.” – Conan O’Brien

“Hillary Clinton has a new book out on her experiences as secretary of state. Instead of a book jacket, her book is wearing a pantsuit.” –Conan O’Brien

“President Obama faced some criticism for chewing gum during a D-Day ceremony. He said, ‘Sorry, but if I don’t get my Nicorette, there’s going to be another war on this beach.'” – Jimmy Fallon

“On Friday the CIA launched its official Twitter account. Which means that you could receive this terrifying email: ‘The CIA is now following you.'” – Seth Meyers

“Vladimir Putin’s personal envoy said that allowing Finland to join NATO could lead to World War III. Yes, if there’s one country that’s definitely going to start World War III, it’s Finland.” – Seth Meyers

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Both Sides of the Same Coin

Jim Morin
© Jim Morin

I’ve almost given up on predicting how the conflict between the “establishment GOP” and the Tea Party will play out, but a few things are clear. In particular, both sides seem to be hell bent on shooting themselves in the foot. It seems obvious that Eric Cantor’s worst enemy was himself, not some tea party candidate. By trying to be everything to everyone, Cantor was nobody to no one, and by seriously overreacting to an opponent who posed almost no threat to him, he gave him credibility.

Between that and the tea party’s quest to eliminate in the primary anyone actually, you know, generally electable, maybe the Republican party will completely blow their overwhelming statistical advantage of taking over the Senate this November.

But whatever happens, this will not end well. Too bad for us.

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Late Night Political Humor

“Something happened this week that in the past was always completely not controversial, we brought home a prisoner of war. Bowe Bergdahl is his name, from the Afghanistan war. Of course if you saw Fox News, you saw what really happened: Obama surrendered to the Taliban.” – Bill Maher

“It was a tough week for conservatives because, you know, on the one hand they love the military and soldiers, but they hate Obama. So at first, FOX News was like, ‘We don’t want to weigh in until all the facts were distorted.'” –Bill Maher

“I’m kidding, of course. They weighed in right away. And the conclusion they came to is if there is one inviolate, eternal, etched-in-stone rule, which is that we never leave an American solider behind in war, unless Obama does it and then of course it’s a stupid, horrible thing to do.” – Bill Maher

“Exactly right. Good presidents, people like George Bush, he sends people to war. They don’t bring them home and rescue them. This is America, we rescue insurance companies and banks.” – Bill Maher

“We don’t trade terrorists for hostages. We trade arms for hostages. But there are of course aspects of this story that are actually controversial. Like this guy may very well have been a deserter, which is not good. You just can’t pick up and leave in the middle of your job. You’re part of a military unit, not the governor of Alaska.” – Bill Maher

“Sarah Palin, she was all over this story, attacking this Bowe Bergdahl guy because, you know, she found out through reports, we don’t really know this, that he has trouble now speaking English. Talk about the pot calling the kettle black.” – Bill Maher

“Of course he has trouble speaking English. You know, he was five years around nobody else who speaks English. Sarah, what’s your excuse?” – Bill Maher

“I mean, come on, cut this guy some slack. When you spend five years in captivity it can make a man do some crazy things, like when McCain picked you!” – Bill Maher

“Look, whatever happened over there in Afghanistan, we’re not going to find out or really know for a while. He will spend weeks, they say, recovering and then months until he can get an appointment at the VA.” – Bill Maher

“The other controversial aspect of this, and it is controversial, is that Obama did kind of did do it illegally. You are supposed to give Congress 30 days notice, but the administration says their excuse for that is that Bergdahl’s life was in immediate danger. And that’s just because the Taliban were driving a GM truck.” – Bill Maher

“Guns aren’t just a tool of last resort. They’re awesome. That’s why people stroke them. And name them, and take pictures with them. You guys aren’t just firearm enthusiasts — you’re ammosexuals. And before you try and deny you have some sort of unnatural romantic relationship with your gun, consider this. You’re taking it out to dinner! Because it completes you. Get a room.” – Bill Maher

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Obamacare and the Free Market

The number of health insurance companies joining the healthcare exchanges is increasing. A number of companies who didn’t participate in the exchanges during the first enrollment period last year have changed their minds. This is partly because the first year’s enrollment in the exchanges exceeded expectations.

In New Hampshire, the number of Obamacare insurers is rising from one to five, from 13 to 18 in Michigan, and from six to ten in Illinois.

But the great news is that prices for health insurance on the exchanges is lower than for companies not on the exchanges. So with more companies joining the exchanges, we can expect price competition to continue and even increase.

So, the ACA has increased the number of people with health insurance, and has lowered costs.

The GOP has vowed to use the healthcare law against the Democrats in the upcoming midterm elections. When asked for comment, Republicans responded “Benghazi!”.

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Late Night Political Humor

“President Obama says that the United States never leaves soldiers behind. But that’s because we never leave.” – David Letterman

“This Bergdahl guy was in a Taliban prison for five years, and he’s now recovering in a hospital in Germany. The reason he is in Germany is because he couldn’t get into a VA hospital until 2020.” – David Letterman

“When asked about criticism from Hillary Clinton, Russia’s President Putin said he doesn’t like to argue with women. Putin is either being a misogynist, or else ladies he’s the perfect catch.” – Conan O’Brien

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Bergdahl in Opposite Land

J.J. McCullough
© J.J. McCullough

Hero or Traitor? Does it matter?

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Eye of the Beholder

Brian McFadden
© Brian McFadden

I’m having lots of trouble paying any attention to this story. It seems like it is just so much noise. Even worse, it is the same noise we have heard over and over (and over) again. OMG, Obama did something, and the Republicans are attacking him over it. Maybe if everyone ignores it, then it will go away.

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