Five coordinated attacks in Baghdad today killed at least 127 people, wounding hundreds more. The attacks included multiple suicide car bombers, including one on a police patrol.

The surge worked!

Feh.

This is depressing, but everyone should read it whether you agree or not just to get a perspective from a disappointed modest progressive:
http://blogcritics.org/politics/article/the-system-is-a-downer/

Gregory: The surge worked!

Well, it was just a rental agreement anyway.

* John Kerry keeps shining a light on the Bush administration's costly Tora Bora mistake.

As if to say, "If only I had been elected president in 2004... we could've been blaming Bush for this blunder for the last 4 years."

DON'T LINK TO POLITICO.

Thank you.

DON'T LINK TO POLITICO.

Thanking you in advance.

And now it looks like the talk-show host's close relationship with one purveyor of gold coins has gotten him in a bit of trouble with his employer Fox News."

In trouble with Fox News?! Jesus, what did he do, sodomize Rupert Murdoch with a solid gold sex toy?

Imagine that , generalissimo bush absorbs light .

Tora Bora - Bush is the worst commander in chief in US history.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/10/02/60minutes/main4494937.shtml

* I'll never understand why the L.A. Times undermines its reputation by paying/publishing Andrew Malcolm. Every day offers more examples of his unprofessional work. Isn't it time for him to just make it official and jump to Fox News?

why don't you understand ??? this is the SAME paper that fired Robert Scheer and brought on board the Fat Doughy Pantload in his place ( and that fat ass just received a ONE MILLION DOLLAR advance for another pos book ).

the tribune corporation sucks and hopefully will go out of business soon.

"Costly Tora Bora mistake" -- ???

That was no mistake, that was premeditated and calculated.
Just as they were unwilling to launch an attack against the Ansar al Islam camps in Northern Iraq, the last thing they wanted was to stop bin Laden in his tracks. Then it would have been that much harder to get the international community to go along with their assault on Iraq.

Seriously ... the UK hearing being conducted now is munching away at this with some appetite, but it's not in any way news.
Even WAPO carried the Ansar al Islam story.
http://mediamatters.org/research/200410270007

it is bad enough that you link to the washington post.

but i have to second the previous commentor - DO NOT LINK TO politico.

Thank you.

In the last entries in the following thread, a poster named trex misstated my remarks, described a variation in belief that didn't address my main thesis, and called me names:

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2009_12/021317.php

As the current thread is an open one, I wanted to note the exchange, which may be of interest to you. I'm disappointed by how the old thread ended, but am unable to open a new comment there.

Someone call a waaahhhmbulance for 'Dissenter.'

Politics ain't bean bag, pal, and neither is Political Animal. I just looked at that thread and you got schooled by a regular commenter, now you come back begging for more and whining about being called names. You appear to be as stupid as you are ignorant. Dumbass. There. Now I have called you names, too, so you can go back to JihadiWatch and tell them how mean we are, you fucking tool.

"I'll never understand why the L.A. Times undermines its reputation by paying/publishing Andrew Malcolm."

What reputation? They print Jonah Goldberg for godsake.

You mean Operation Evil Airlift was a mistake and not a merely a way for Pakistan to get it's "assets" out of the country with the blessing of Cheney and Rummy?

Hey, Dissenter - What Realist said......

the childishness is a problem, now characteristic of the culture and (i think) more prevalent on the political left. it's a problem because a danger seen by one of us might be a danger that the other doesn't see.

that's why a conversation should be about a subject, and why unfettered speech is so important.

am hoping that you and others consider robert spencer and hugh fitzgerald, who have stuff to say that, if you can stop arguing before understanding, might inform you.

"McChrystal sees value in targeting Osama bin Laden."

That alone tells me what a LIAR McCrystal continues to be...how willing he is to spread propaganda and spread fear.

OSAMA BIN LADEN IS DEAD..HAS BEEN FOR YRS.

McCrystal knows this...just like he knew Tillman was killed by friendly fire...and lied about it to his mother anyway. Can't trust this guy one iota. He's trying to bring him back to life just to fear monger and motivate our invasion.

"An independent audit shows no criminal misconduct within ACORN"

BLASPHEME !

While y'all are being snarky, I'm manning the C-SPAN TeeVee channel.

It's nifty to watch the senators AFTER happy hour.

Of course, sometimes it's hard to tell the difference. (Now on the floor, Sen. Chuck Grassley. . .)

Medicare buy-in in 2010?

According to that link, the eligible participants are likely to be limited to higher-risk consumers who would otherwise have a hard (or expensive) time buying insurance. Maybe not the best way to lower overall Medicare costs or provide competition to the insurance industry...

No Medicare buy-in.

Single payer.

John Kerry keeps shining a light on the Bush administration's costly Tora Bora mistake.

On CNN with Larry King on Dec. 15, 2001, a viewer called in to say the U.S. should "smoke [bin Laden] out" of the Tora Bora caves. Mr. Kerry responded: "For the moment what we are doing, I think, is having its impact and it is the best way to protect our troops and sort of minimalize the proximity, if you will. I think we have been doing this pretty effectively and we should continue to do it that way."

So Kerry, which is it?

I really like what Jonathan Alter said today on the "Ed Show"--Ed was trashing the whole health thing and seems to feel it's so useless we should toss it all out..so furious at Obama for not mentioning the Public Option when he spoke to Congress on Sunday..

I'm angry too, but glad to be brought back to earth..

Alter was much more realistic and insisted there are some very good protections in there and we can't stop history and reminded this is 'sausage making' and let's get real and get it passed..he referred for example at how furious folks were with Roosevelt originally because Social Security wasn't inclusive enough..

I agree with Alter.."We should not try to stop history" he insisted to the populist angry Ed even though we are sorely disappointed at no Single Payer and likely no Public Option..

This is so historical..we just can't kill it off..

I'm angry too and this is a travesty from what progressives wanted originally.

At least it looks like NO Stupak or Ben Nelson..uh, hopefully..

Dissenter: projection is a characteristic of the right. So, childishness is a characteristic of the right, since that is what you are projecting. I cannot take seriously anything I hear from the right because it so seldom reflects critical thinking and factual arguments. You may call those on the left whatever you feel is true of them, but in most cases it is a projection of what you believe. As another said elsewhere on this blog: the problem is not with Islam or Arabs; it is with fundamentalism. Fundamentalism is a function of authoritarianism, and authoritarianism is a function of a lack of self-awareness and self-esteem. People who have self-esteem are not intimidated by bullies and are willing to challenge false statements and characterizations.

You may have stumbled upon this site by mistake and will find that your comments will be met with, at best, dissent and at worst derision. You have the choice to continue with your dissent, or locate a less discerning blog.

Peace,
st john

Johnathan Alter is right...good point and I'm glad it has been pointed out. If we don't get our foot in the door on health care now it may never happen. Ed Schultz has really been hysterical lately. I learned a long time ago that you don't always get exactly what you want but if you're persistent eventually you do.

Open Thread

Dems agree to drop gov't-run insurance option

So it appears the dems who were somewhat secretly carrying water for the insurance industry finally showed their colors. Lie to me again Senator how single payer is such a horrible thing?

Uh, also, Bobby Jindal...go Colts. Though I went to school with Drew Brees, so if the Saints go all the way undefeated, I'd be fine with that.

Both Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Senator Roland W. Burris (D-IL) are on the record stating they will not vote for the bill if the Public Option is dropped, and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) may join them.

Good luck getting to 60 votes without a Public Option.

Beware of any Gomer who puts a T at the end of his name.

Five-star lefty loon alert

Benen: Domestic support for the new U.S. policy in Afghanistan seems to be growing.

Next imagine if Biden had been stupid enough to take Huffington's advice and quit his vice presidency in protest of Obama's then current Afghanistan policy. Where would we be now? All fired up and ready to go to pass Cap-and-Trade? Jesus, we'd be ashes not fit for the worm box.

Now to come full loon...

Step back a month or so and try to imagine if in your wildest dreams you ever thought Huffington would be running stories about Tiger Wood's cock size.

Had enough yet?
Me too. I won't be linking to her site again.
She's a real five-star loon.
The left can do better than Huffington. She's trailer trash.

"I'll never understand why the L.A. Times undermines its reputation by paying/publishing Andrew Malcolm."

I don't know why they publish a man angling for a job as Todd Palin's press secretary either.

And the misleading, cheerleading headlines on the LA Times website about Malcolm's drivel are even worse. The headlines also have a tendency to stay up longer than most blog features.

Good luck getting to 60 votes without a Public Option.

Good luck getting to 60 with one.

The public option's been an empty shibboleth for a good four months now, and anyone for whom it is still a do-or-die is every bit as engaged in empty gestural politics as Bart Stupak.

"* McChrystal sees value in targeting Osama bin Laden."

Thats what this is about. 30.000 more troops? We'd need to send 300,000 to really straighten that place out. The extra troops are a police mission. They're there to lock the country down. It's no secret we're in behind the scenes wheeling-dealing with Pakistan. The real action will be a secretive beefed up covert operation to pull Mr. Bin Laden out of whatever shithole he's in..parade him around like King Kong on Broadway, and Mission Accomplished. We're out save a permanent base to keep an eye on the Pakistani nukes.

Bush let Bin Laden slip away and mired us down in this useless conflict. There is no resolution. the only way Obama can pull out is to nab the big guy.

"With concerted effort how long would it take to capture Bin Laden?"

?It could take us three years Mr. President."

"You have three years. The clock starts now."

Davis,

"Good luck getting to 60 with one."

Time for the reconciliation process.

"The public option's been an empty shibboleth for a good four months now, and anyone for whom it is still a do-or-die is every bit as engaged in empty gestural politics as Bart Stupak."

Then tell me what provides the competition and cost control without the Public Option.

A public option open to 2% of the people seeking insurance isn't going to provide cost control or competition measurable without a micrometer. At that size it is what it was meant to be -- a sop to liberals, that would, so long as the correct magic words were uttered, compel their acquiescence.

that's why a conversation should be about a subject, and why unfettered speech is so important.
Posted by: Dissenter

There's not much racist white trash such as yourself can teach us ... so I'm at a loss as to why your drivel should be treated with respect.

Do top politicans speak drivel on purpose?

From above - Kerry:
""For the moment what we are doing, I think, is having its impact and it is the best way to protect our troops and sort of minimalize the proximity, if you will."

The whole health care circus has never been about providing health care to the poor or containing costs or any of the other crap that real progressives bought into -- it's always and only been about getting the two things that well-off middle and upper class folks want: portability (no denial for prior conditions) and banning rescissions. Other than that, it's a huge give-away to the insurance industry.

Not drivel, Gonads. A considered truth.

Islamic teachings about the value of other cultures do not show great variations. People in Europe have begun to figure out how destructive were the "progressive" leaders who invited Muslims to immigrate.

Posters who use the irrelevant word "racism" to avoid thinking about the threat are doing none of us a service.

[Everyone here is well aware of Robert Spencer and his little jingoistic temper tantrum. If you want to continue to post here, stop blogwhoring for him, or your comments will be deleted. --Moderator]

There should be a Mechanism put in place that Senators can be Recalled by the people in the states they are supposed to represent.... It is very disappointing to see the Power the Insurance Companies have on many senators in the Senate. There is not much we can do at this time but take what we can and cut our losses and not fail to remember Who those Senators were/are who care more for the Insurance Companies than the people they represent, and Vote them out come their turn to run again. There must be retribution for their failure to do what is right for the people. However, I do believe Sen Reid had the power to do a Reconciliation and I am disappointed that he did not have the Courage to take that road! They had a chance to do something Nobel, right and meaningful and because of a Few bad apples, the dream cannot be materialized. If we let them, the GOP and the Conserva-Dems will not only destroy the United States (guns and outsourcing jobs), they will destroy the world (climate change and love of wars). These enemies of the people are not Noble in otherwords -- they are not trustworthy, they are not lovers of humanity and they are the slaves of their cheating, deception and greed!

[Blackbird/Commenter on Alternet] "I live left the US about 7 years ago and live in Scandinavia. I have to say that socialized medicine is fantastic. Everyone gets treated, including nasty foreigners like myself. I love that I don't have to worry about it. The doctor is free, the hospital is free. Medicine is very cheap. My kids get free dental until they're 18. But even having to pay for dental is still pretty cheap. It's just great to not have to worry. It's too bad that americans are so easily frightened by words like socialism, because in reality, the whole idea is that everyone, regardless of their social or financial status, should have access to decent healthcare. I'm sure glad to live in a country which puts the welfare of its residents above the profits of industry. Socialized medicine works."

http://www.alternet.org/

European kingly marriages were public affairs . This was to confirm whose penis went where . Much to many young girls sooprise sooprise , they were introduced to adult behavior this way .
The luckier girls , Lived ? Or died ?
Any way mr dissenter your dead wrong (dull too) analyses of Islam could be improved by knowing the least little anything about it , really !
Aside from mr Trex's pretty spot on whirlwind tour of the non monolithic nature of the myriad local earth bound hierarchal Islamist variation , you could easily find the fundamentals of becoming a Muslim and just how seductively peaceful they are .

Davis,

"A public option open to 2% of the people seeking insurance.."

Only initially.

Have you read the legislation ?