My head hurts bad, and I hate my nose. Since BooMan is packing (or so he claims), I am morally bound to post something, right?!
Achoo … and screw you!
(Hey, Alan Alda’s on Hardball talking about his run for the presidency on West Wing.)
Anyway. My nose requires too much attention and tissue to allow me the time to post something thoughtful. But, I can’t forget another part of Amy Goodman’s interview of Seymour Hersh this morning. It was about Jack Murtha. I like that guy. This section didn’t fit with the story earlier today about the special forces in Syria and secret camps. But it’s very important. I’ve boldfaced a couple sections I think important.
SEYMOUR HERSH: Murtha is one of those oldies, in his 70s now. He’s somebody … like me, I always try to get to. I can talk to some of his aides. He’s on the Defense — he’s one of the leading players on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. He’s a very conservative military guy, who controls the budget, not only the budget we know about, but the black budget, the covert budget. He’s one of those people trusted. Jerry Lewis in the Congress is another one, a House member. In the Senate, it would be Senator Inouye of Hawaii and Senator Ted Stevens, both in their 80s, of Alaska. They run the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. These are the guys that the generals talk to. And Murtha is one, in particular. He’s known for his closeness to the four-stars. They come and they bleed on him.
And so, for Murtha to suddenly say it’s over, as he did three weeks ago or two weeks ago, as I wrote in this article, it drove the White House crazy. They were beyond mad, as somebody said to me, because they know that the generals are talking to him. So here you have a case where we don’t have — you know, the generals are terrified pretty much, as they always are. That’s just the nature of the game. But they don’t speak truth to power. They’re not telling the American people exactly what’s going on, and they’re clearly not telling the White House, because the White House doesn’t want to hear.
So Murtha’s message is a message, really, from a — you can consider it a message from a lot of generals on active duty today. This is what they think, at least a significant percentage of them, I assure you. This is, I’m not over-dramatizing this. It’s a shot across the bow. They don’t think it’s doable. You can’t tell that to this President. He doesn’t want to hear it. But you can say it to Murtha, you can say it to Inouye, you can say it to Stevens. … continued below — and it’s important, so read it, dammit!:
AMY GOODMAN: It’s interesting what you write, the examples of what Murtha said, the most devastating comments that he reported. “The number of attacks in Iraq has increased from a hundred and fifty a week to more than seven hundred a week in the past year. He said that an estimated fifty thousand American soldiers will suffer ‘from what I call battle fatigue’ in the war, and he said that the Americans were seen as ‘the common enemy’ in Iraq. He also took issue with one of the White House’s claims — that foreign fighters are playing a major role in the insurgency.”
In fact, he says, “American soldiers ‘haven’t captured any in this latest activity’ — the continuing battle in western Anbar province, near the border with Syria. ‘So this idea that they’re coming in from outside, we still think there’s only seven per cent,’” Murtha said.
SEYMOUR HERSH: And most of those, you know, the Sunnis and Baathists have no love for jihadists. I mean, Saddam was always on war against jihadists, just as Asad was, the father of the son back in Syria. There’s no love among the secular Baathists for any fundamentalism. And so what happens is it’s very cynical. What’s happened now is the insurgency welcomes — if you want to come and be a car bomber, come on in and kill yourself. They couldn’t care less. But it’s not as if there’s any shared responsibility there.
This is a war run by the Baathists and the Sunnis and many Iraqi citizens, who initially had no reason to dislike us, but because of the way we’ve behaved in the war and the way we’ve conducted the war with these house-to-house searches and the search-and-destroy missions and the bombing. You know, bombs don’t — they never always go where they’re aimed, even though they’re more accurate than ever, they’re still –even the Pentagon statistics indicate 10-15% of bombs don’t go where they’re aimed, even with laser guidance.
So, Murtha, yes, I was interested in the press coverage, because they did deal with what he said about Cheney and his caustic comment. But in the speech was this — I thought the statistic that was devastating was the 50,000 statistic, of combat fatigue or whatever syndrome they call it now, more sophisticated than that word now. But my friends inside the V.A. tell me that as of late June or early July, there had been about, oh, 900-950,000 American soldiers, men and women that have gone to war since March or April of ’03, by July of ’05, two years and three or four months later, over 104,000 had come into the V.A. looking for help. Once they returned, rotated home, come back to V.A. hospitals, a staggering statistic.
You know, you can’t — we talk about torture. And one of the things to remember about mistreating people is, you know — this isn’t cynical, but I really do mean it — you know, the people that do the mistreatment end up being as much victims as the people they mistreat. They come home with a lot of lot of bad baggage. …
I’m quite convinced that Murtha is a conduit for the generals who won’t criticize the war publically – look what’s happened to anyone in the Bush Administration who’s spoken out?
Sy Hersh said the generals are scared to speak out. I think he said that on Hardball this afternoon.
Murtha’s statement was a Big shot across the bows of the wingnuts. That’s why the wild attack on him in the House that Friday night. And why the other old conservative Dems stood up with him even when they had differences of detail with Murtha.
The Old Hawks, and the Old Doves like George Miller, knew what Murtha’s statement really was–the stake driven into the coffins of the wingnuts. Murtha and Inoye and the other old Dem Defense Hawks now see the Iraq game is up, and that they were lied to. Many of them weren’t all that much for the war to start with, but they believed their Commander-in-Chief. They don’t now.
I really doubt that they believed in a clear bumbler like Georgie Pie. They believe in military industrial pork. It’s their job to dole out our tax money to pet companies and corporations. That’s their job, that’s their avocation, that’s what they believe they are supposed to do.
And that business is a subsidiary of larger business. And larger business…big, BIG business…has decided that this war is BAD for business. So they told the generals and the hawks that it is now OK to go after BushCo.
It’s a hostile takeover, “democracy” style. And it is happening right in front of your nose.
So the targeted business…which does not WANT to be put out of power, because THEY are still making some big money off of this effort…say “OK. Let’s make a deal. We’ll stand pat in public while floating rumors of troop pullouts… What? NO? OK, I mean, errr…we WILL pull out but we have to save face while doing it so we’ll float rumors of retraining support staff and massive air support for the Iragheads…I mean, Iraqis and …aw GEE, fellas!!1 Give us some more time, won’t ya!!!???” Meanwhile funneling billions like crazy as fast as is (in)humanly possible to Swiss and Caribbean banks and God only knows where else… which billions are just CHUMP change to the REAL money.
And the beat goes on.
Condos rising in New Orleans.
Disney making serious incursions into the Redneck Riviera.
“Jazz at Lincoln Center” in a Time Warner theme mall.
Blackwater in Iraq.
Halliburton EVERYfuckingwhere.
And the beat goes on.
The BAD beat.
Wake the fuck up.
AG
Noses! Intelligent Design, my ass.
Be well.
Noses are one of the most intelligently designed of all the intelligently designed parts of the human body. For instance, the nose protects against incoming viruses, while the mouth doesn’t. And the nose can smell, while the mouth can only taste. And the nose is also the anchor between the eyes that gives our eyes focus allowing us to see in 3D. Really, without the nose, everything would be black and white.
How terribly interesting.
I wish you’d write a series of articles about our body parts and how to appreciate them! With your writing talent and your knowledge, that’d be a real treasure for us to read.
I’ve been working on a paean to the ankle, but I can’t work out all the proper metaphors. It’s like… it’s like, well,….
I believe, I believe. Just not today when my own prominent representative of the type is driving me nuts. Bless Susan. Bless me.
I’v always thought it somewhat profound that of ther five main acknwledged senses, the sense of smell is the one that most strongly evokes memory.
Seymour Hersh: “You know, bombs don’t — they never always go where they’re aimed, even though they’re more accurate than ever, they’re still –even the Pentagon statistics indicate 10-15% of bombs don’t go where they’re aimed, even with laser guidance. “
This is the same guy who said, “People talk in terms, to me, the Air Force planners, of the exquisite nature of air bombing.”
<insert snarky comment of your choice.>
The people who do the transcripts for Democracy Now! are volunteers … well, they do as good a job as the transcriptionists for CNN …. but they often get little things off ….
and one thing that’s very hard to do when you’re typing a transcript is to capture the intonation.
I think when Sy Hersh talked about the “exquisite nature,” i think he was quoting some general he’d talked to.
In fact, I changed the typing in the line here:
It was typed:
Well that doesn’t make sense unless he’s saying he’s just like Jack Murtha.
I think what Hersh was saying was that he always tries to contact Murtha or at least to talk to his staff. So, without rewording it, I changed the inflection a bit:
Sorry to hear you are all snotty Susan. Lots of fluids and bedrest with Keith Olberman for you1
bedrest with Keith Olbermann
Woahhhhhhhh … okay! I like your prescriptions! I’m coming back to you, Dr. Alohaleezy!
OK, change the subject of the post to “the people who told Seymour.”
Now all I am going to comment on this is, the war is over! It is just a matter of time now as to when they come home. I just hope it isn’t too long becoming a reality. This is why it is so very important to win in 06! We have a lot of work ahead of us to get done and do it safely for the troops. We just really can not leave over night. It will take a little time to gather our belongings and leave. I hope they do not leave anyone behind. I would fear seriously for them, if they stayed. I think we would be sending in a delagation to retrieve their bodies if we did. We really wantn to do this the right way for everyone in concern.
Susan, what you have been thru lately is why your resistance is down. Please do me a favor and get some vit. C in you and keep it there for a long while…:o) Stay warm and just know, boy howdy, I do understand how you are feeling. Lots of hugs and best wishes coming your way….
Thank you, Brenda. Hugs and love.
Now that we’ve chatted on the phone, when I read your posts, I hear your voice. It’s nice.
:o)…me 2…….
and thanks for your devotion to duty.
I always use Sudafed for the runny nose – can’t stand that, I must have drugs.
Now off to bed with you.
I have what’s probably a sinus infection so I feel your pain. Finally get to the doctor tomorrow.
Good insights on Murtha.
I’m glad you’re going to the doc.
Ask him — or perhaps someone here knows — what’s the latest theory on humidifiers? They do help loosen up the sinuses, but one internist told me about 15 years ago that the latest research showed that the pollution from the humidifiers was worse than the benefits.
Thanks for the reminder. My old humidifier broke down a while back and I’d been asking myself if it would be worth the while to replace the thing.
Go to your local Chinese medical herbalist for sinus infection herbs. Best stuff on the market. Your local acupuncturist might have just what you need in their office.
Yup.
Or even better.
Just stay awake to your own condition.
FIRST sign of infection…we all have one…usually a little twinge in the throat area.
1-Gargle with cayenne pepper and warm water. Just enough to be more than a little uncomfortable. (It goes away in five minutes.)
2-Then gargle with salt water…about sea water strength. Also warm.
3- The about ten minutes later…two capsules of high quality golden seal, two of echinacea. Add astralagus if you wish.
4- Plus some kind of gentle laxative. Clean yourself OUT. Louis Armstrong preferred Swiss Kriss. (“Leave it all behind ya.” Satchmo’s recipe for good health.) Bulk laxatives like Metamucil are good too. Get RID of the shit.
5-Back off of the food trough for a minute. Won’t hurt you. Off of red meat and dairy at the very LEAST.
Repeat until cured. Every 8 hours or so. I have gone from 2 or 3 or 4 serious colds/flus per year to none. Zero. Zilch. For 15+ years.
Works like a MOTHERFUCKER!!!
Check it out.
PFUCK PFIZER!!!
AG
Susan, feel better soon! (I coughing my head off right now. The joys of winter in the east.)
First off, Susan get some “Emer’gen-C.” It’s a dietary suppliment chock-full of every vitamin and mineral you need to head off that cold/sinus reaction. The last time I felt like I was getting a cold, I drank one packet mixed with a glass of water for two days and the symptoms were gone. Gone. It was a friggin’ miracle!
Second, I knew immediately who Murtha was speaking for. Old Dem hawks like Murtha and Sam Nunn never speak for themselves; they represent the Brass in every thing they do. I didn’t need Hersh to emphasize that for me.
Think about the catch phrase “military/industrial complex” and notice which power center comes first. Cheney/Rumsfeld thought they could change it to “industrial/military” and they were wrong. The machine that drives the industry are the boots on the ground not the billion dollar contractors. They can hire all the Blackwater mercenaries they can afford but they don’t equal the cannon fodder the military can provide.
When the Generals decide they can’t afford a venture, it’s over. All the money in the world doesn’t change that. You can’t pay people enough to give their lives for a lost cause. Imagine, if you will, paying every US soldier the $60K+ the Blackwater guys earn. China is not going to subsidize that expense no matter how much shit Americans buy at Walmart.
I take one packet daily in Te Java ice tea. It adds a very slight lemon flavor and a tiny bit of sweetening. Several years ago on a Friday at lunch, I was planning to go to a Xmas party, but I was starting to feel lousey. Someone gave me a packet of Emer’gen-C and by 2:00 p.m. I felt great. I swear by the stuff!
I second Boran’s recommendation. I love that stuff!
Er, I mean, SBJ’s recommendation…I’m tired.
I appreciate you’re mentioning my sig, but I think you mean “sjct”. Would I be correct in assuming you already figured this out and this is the reason for your “I’m officially brain dead” comment?
Note; I’ve checked the spelling of “sjct” 4 times before posting just to make sure I don’t succumb to the same brain-flux phenomenon that got you.
Emergen-C also has the side effect of slowly wearing the enamel off your teeth. Better buy some cheap 1000 mg tabs of vit C and taking 1 or 2 of them daily.
Emergen-C is a fizzy marketing tool to get you to spend money. Tabs of C work just fine, and you get more for your money.
For me, the central point revealed in Sy Hersh’s piece is this;
Bush is out of touch with reality and determined to stay that way.
As I’ve said before, I believe there’s no way this pathetically dysfunctional lunatic will agree to withdraw troops from the Middle East under any circumstances.
tonight, Hersh definitely felt that Bush was no crazier than ever, just stubborn as ever and feeling that he will be judged by history, and won’t listen to anyone.
Sam Seder of course just thought batshit loopy, and it was hard for me to disagree with that … I think the point Hersh was making was that Bush is the same, if a bit more isolated, and isn’t likely to give up his “vision”.
I listened in too, and I thought that Hersch was not about to comment freely about anything, he’s got a very tough and precarious position as a journalist. He’s not a talking head. He’s not going to say something that could be construed as flippant or biased.
My sense with Hersh is that he certainly understands that Bush is divorced from reality and that his vaunted “stubbornness” is really a symptom of deeper clinically-defined emotional disorders.
The entire reason an imbecile like Bush was chosen to be Prez in the first place was because he was pathologically clueless and hence easily manipulable by cleverer psychopathic minds.
I’m sure Hersh knows this, but knowing such a thing is different from proving it, and as a sign of someone choosing to be responsible in his position as a prominent journalist I think Hersh understands it would be irresponsible to make such charges directly. Instead he writes in a way that leads people to these conclusions on their own. I respect Hersh for this thoughtful and measured restraint. And I hope he’ll be there when Bush finally does have his emotional crackup so he can report the full story in detail.
I respect and agree with both comments. Hersh certainly chooses his words carefully, and the people who talk to him certainly know it too. I have heard Hersh (maybe on The Daily Show?) discuss the meetings with his sources; reminded me of Deep Throat and Woodward stories of meetings in parking garages. It would be hard to see a bigger contrast in journalism today than between Hersh and Woodward — at least amongst those CONSIDERED to be journalists.
I believe he was trying to steer Seder away from thinking that any change in drinking habits or such rumors were not really as apparent as Bush being just the same as he has always been, stubborn and incurious. Very much the perfect candidate in the PNAC-like coup.
Whiskey! Whiskey! Whiskey in large doses!
It won’t do a damn thing for the cold but – Hey! – you won’t care!
On what the Generals think. I’m having dinner with an Undersecretary of Defense Sunday. And I am going to ask him whether we will have an army left in two years if we don’t get out.
I’d be interested in learning if this undersecretary was able to observe or participate in any fact-based analysis, (that is, analysis of raw data that had been vetted as to sourcing and credibility), in the process of developing strategies and tactics for the prosecution of the Iraq war.
the executive branch out of the loop.