Equal Pay

Wait, did I just hear an Obama ad complaining that McCain doesn't support equal pay for women?

Something along the lines of this?:



I ask because I was under the distinct impression that he pays his female staffers less than his male staffers.

Fun Timewaster

Z-Rox

Tricky. I'm up to level 46.

Team Obama Goes for the Religious Vote

OBAMA * BIDEN

Because You've Been Very Bad...

Incidentally, for those of you who think I'm only pretending Obama and Biden are planning outrageous pandering to, say, gun groups, doubt no longer.

On a totally unrelated note, I've apparently been grossly misinformed about certain aspects of Catholicism.

Previous

I Got Nothing

So here's Obama screaming at an old woman.

Tragedy at Azizabad

I haven't seen any of my usual daily reads covering this, so I guess I will.

On August 22, 2008, U.S. forces acted on intelligence about militants in Azizabad, Afghanistan (as far as I can tell, it's a village about 100 miles south of Herat, the largest city in Western Afghanistan). They went in and cleared the place out, killing (according to the UN and the Afghan government) 90 people. The UN also claims that the 90 dead were civilians, not insurgents. Today, Robert Gates expressed his personal regret for the deaths.

So what happened? "But villagers say their homes were targeted because of false information provided by a rival tribesman named Nader Tawakil." In fact, the villagers were working with Brits and Americans, and a rival decided to use unwitting Americans to settle a personal score.



The number of casualties was (at least initially, I don't know if it still is) disputed by the Americans, but as Joshua at Registan pointed out, "At this point, it doesn’t even matter how many died. Simply, the U.S. looks bad." Which is true, because the Taliban is fighting a propoganda war, and this is great propaganda for them.

I'll have more to say about Azizabad and Afghanistan in general, but it will take some time to put a post together.

Recently Overheard at Obama Headquarters

LATER...

OBAMA * BIDEN

See? We totally into hunting and stuff, too, you inbred, cow-molesting hicks!

Previous

Comment of the Day (Two Days Ago)

So the Tenth Circuit just rejected a lawsuit against the City of Las Cruces, New Mexico, because it has stylized crosses on its city seal.

At Volokh Conspiracy, commenter Dilan Esper notes "The nearby towns of La Estrella de David, La Pentagrama, and El Monstruo del Espagueti del Vuelo cheered the decision."

The Gloves Come Off

OBAMA * BIDEN
How's That for Change You Can Believe In?

Kim Jong Il: Hopefully Dying

In the hopes the Kim Jong Il's recent (possible) stroke will be fatal -- or at least permanently debilitating -- I give you the Ronery song:



At the link, columnist Peter Goodspeed frets (without any sarcasm, as far as I can tell) that Fatboy Slim's death might "destabilize" North Korea, and that his death could trigger a crisis.

Keep in mind that in 1995, 2.5 million North Koreans starved to death. How on earth could anything --- anything at all -- possibly be worse than what they have right now?

D.C. Dems Fear Obama's Suckitude Could Hurt the Down-Ticket

Freakin' sweet. Palin-mania has Dems so rattled that not only do they fear they will lose the White House, but maybe some seats in Congress, as well.

"A Democratic fundraiser for Congressional candidates said some planned to
distance themselves from Mr Obama and not attack Mr McCain."

Awesome.

“If people are voting for McCain it could help Republicans all the way down the
ticket, even in a year when the Democrats should be sweeping all before us,”
said the fundraiser, a former Hillary Clinton supporter."

Okay, now that I've got that out of my system, two points. First, Dems think they ought to be sweeping up every election cycle. For some reason, they appear genuinely surprised when the American electorate (once again) rejects their half-baked socialism and enthusiastic defeatism. Why this year should be any different is beyond me. Second, the fact that this is a former Hillary supporter undermines credibility here. The Hillary camp resents Obama. Of course they aren't concerned about undermining him.

With that in mind, the whole article is pretty weak. We have an unnamed "fundraiser" (not an official of any sort), and later a "senior Democrat lobbyist" noting the very obvious point that Dems who won in heavily Republican districts last time around due to Republican incompetence and corruption will have a hard time keeping their seats. Duh. So overall there's not much here. Still, I must say I love stories about Dem panic.

Pakistan Timeline

August 1, 2007: "Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama said on Wednesday the United States must be willing to strike al Qaeda targets inside Pakistan, adopting a tough tone after a chief rival accused him of naivete in foreign policy.
...
"Obama said if elected in November 2008 he would be willing to attack inside Pakistan with or without approval from the Pakistani government, a move that would likely cause anxiety in the already troubled region.
"'If we have actionable intelligence about high-value terrorist targets and President Musharraf won't act, we will,' Obama said."

September 10, 2008: Pakistan says no more U.S. troops will be allowed on Pakistani soil. Turns out, Bush (allegedly) authorized special forces to enter Pakistani territory without prior approval from Islamabad.

September 11, 2008: SobekPundit waits to hear Obama tell us how reckless Bush's unilateral incursions were.

Back?

So, am I back?

Ace of Spades said the other day that blogging is fun again, ever since Palin was picked for Veep. We'll see.

Quotes like this one give me real reason to hope: “I’m so depressed. It’s happening again. It’s a nightmare.”

An Exclusive Interview With George Obama

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, I'm Keith Olbermann. As some of you know, I got into a bit of trouble for grotesque partisanship during the DNC this year, even though any rational person will acknowledge that I was perfectly neutral throughout, and only a brain-dead Rethuglican would claim otherwise.

Anyway, the chill wind of oppression now keeps me from saying whatever pops into my head while I'm on the air, I've decided to branch out to the internet. I found this little blog that, as far as I can tell, no one is using, so I figure it's as good a place as any to enlighten you, the masses.

We have a special treat tonight. For the first time ever on this blog, I have an exclusive interview with George Obama. I've warned him in advance that I plan on being just as tough and critical with him as with all of my guests, and that he won't get any special treatment just because his famous half-brother has such dreamy eyes. Live from Kenya, welcome, George.


George: Please Mr. Olbermann, I am so hungry...

Keith: I'm sorry to hear that, but you should have planned ahead. I just had a sandwich. It was pretty good. The bread was a little dry, so I threw an empty bottle of Black Swan Shiraz at the server girl.

George: I have had no bread for two days, sir. If only you could ...

Keith: Listen, we're not really here to talk about your problems. My first question is, tell me how awesome Barack Obama is.

George: Sir, I keep telling you, I don't know him. I only met him once, and he would not speak with me.

Keith: Not answering the question, huh? I see how you are.

George: I am sorry. I do not know what to say.

Keith: I'll admit sometimes I have trouble describing how amazing he is, so I'll let this one slide. Tell me, once Barack is elected President, how many months do you think it will take before he makes everything perfect for everyone?

George: Again, I am sorry. All I know is I live on less than one dollar a day. I cannot afford food, and you promised me that if ...

Keith: Because I'm thinking it will take less than two months or so. That's my bet.

George: Mr Olbermann, sir, I do not think that just because a man is elected President ...

Keith: So, what, you think it will take longer than two months? Have you no shame, saying such a thing on national televis... uh, I mean this blog, which has literally tens of readers (thus, effectively doubling my audience)?

George: I just don't think ...

Keith: Of course you don't think. I bet you're secretly a Republican. Tell us honestly, you're planning on voting for McCain, aren't you? AREN'T YOU!!!

George: Sir, I am not a citizen of your country. I cannot vote in ...

Keith: If you were a Democrat, that wouldn't stop you. But now I see exactly what's happened here. You make me sick, sir. You fill me with more disgust than pasta primavera where the moron cook lets the carrots get too wilted.

George: I beg of you, do not speak to me of food. I am so hungry ...

Keith: I see I'm out of time, so I'm leaving to go have some arrogant sex with a soon-to-be-disappointed fan. I can't believe I sullied myself by speaking with you.

George: Sir, you promised that if I appeared on your show, you would give me food! Please, I ...

...

*Sigh* Well, he's still nicer to me than Barack.