August 2010 archive

Only one chance at Keith and Rachel because we need our Joe Arpaio fix.  Sharks, just tonight and tomorrow to jump them.  The highlight is without a doubt Phineas & Ferb’s Summer Belongs to You at 8 pm.  Think Around The World in 80 Days in a day.

In an hour.

Competing on the Toon front are Ben 10 and Generator Rex premiers.  Clone Wars is doing the Blue Shadow Virus set.

• AMC– Charlie Wilson’s War.  First off, not a ‘classic’.  Second, we’re still fighting it, and we’re losing.
• ESPN– ESPYs (again?)
• FX– Jarhead
• TNT– Men in Black x 2
• Oxygen– Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous x 2
• Nick– Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging
• SciFi– Eureka (last week’s and the exciting conclusion of this week’s crossover Warehouse 13 episode), Haven (premier)
• Turner Classic– Intermezzo: A Love Story, Casablanca (Ingrid)

Later-

Dave has Sandra Bullock (Miss Congeniality) and Drew Brees.  NO ALTON!  What the heck am I going to eat?  New Children’s Hospital at midnight.  The Doctor Is Sin (Am I a bad person?).  Look Around You– Health.  Disney has repeats of tonight’s premier and other recent Phineas & Ferbs.

• AMC– The Invasion (just horrible)
• FX– The One
• Turner Classic– Notorious (Ingrid again)
• USA– The Contract

I could be working with my brother right now. He’s got a dry-wall business in Compton. Does the inside of office buildings; you know, the metal studs. I could be his partner, said he’d give me that brand new Dodge Ram Charger. You know, the 318 Magnum? The beast? All indoor work, too, lots of AC. I could sleep with my wife every night, fuck her, maybe; take my kids to school every morning. And I’d run his crews, too, probably increase productivity 40 to 50%. Make $100K a year. Do you know why I don’t? Because I love this job.

I thank God for every fucking day he gives me in the corps, oorah.

Yahoo TV Listings

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 BP plugs runaway oil well in Gulf of Mexico

by Matt Davis, AFP

Thu Aug 5, 5:53 pm ET

“Punting the Pundits” is an Open Thread. It is a selection of editorials and opinions from around the news medium and the internet blogs. The intent is to provide a forum for your reactions and opinions, not just to the opinions presented, but to what ever you find important.

Op-Ed Contributor at the NYT, Kenzaburo Oe:

THE Futenma Marine Corps Air Station on Okinawa, one of the largest United States military bases in East Asia, is in the center of a crowded city. The American and Japanese governments acknowledge the dangers of this situation, and they agreed nearly 15 years ago that the base should be moved; however, no move has yet been made.

In 2009 a new prime minister, Yukio Hatoyama, tantalized Okinawans with the prospect of moving the despised base off the island, but he was recently forced to resign, in part because of his failure to keep that promise. Mr. Hatoyama’s successor, Naoto Kan, has made it clear that he intends to respect the United States-Japan security treaty – a position that, while not directly related to the issue of dialing down the United States military presence in Japan, may indicate which way the wind is blowing.

It was recently reported here that a government panel is about to submit a policy paper to Prime Minister Kan, suggesting that regarding Japan’s “three nonnuclear principles” – prohibiting the production, possession and introduction of nuclear weapons – it was not wise to “limit the helping hand of the United States,” and recommending that we allow the transport of nuclear arms through our territory to improve the so-called nuclear umbrella.

Kenzaburo Oe, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1994, is the author, most recently, of “The Changeling.” This article was translated by Deborah Boehm from the Japanese.

On this day there have been many significant events. Certainly, one of the most memorable is that this is the anniversary of dropping of the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. It is also the anniversary of President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act.

Recent significant history that has been over looked by my usual sources is this: The August 6, 2001 Presidential Daily Briefing better known as the August 6th PDB. It was handed to President George W. Bush, who was on one of his many vacations to his home in Crawford, TX, by Harriet Miers, who was the President’s WH Council, and promptly ignored. Whether Bush ignored the warning that Osama bin Laden was planning to attack the US because he was told to let it happen or, the darker theory, that the government made it happen will never be known, at least not in the lifetime of those reading this. Whatever Bush’s motive was, it set off a series of events in this country that has affected us all and divided us like no other incident since the Civil War. The US has now been in Afghanistan for almost 9 years and Iraq for over seven and, despite the Democrats holding the White House and the majority in both houses of Congress, there is no end in site to those two wars. Despite campaign promises to restore the rule of law and the Constitution, the Obama administration has continued the most heinous of the Bush policies that are violations of not just US law but International Law, ratified treaties and agreements. A sad anniversary, indeed.

The Republican Racists now want to repeal the 14th Amendment to the Constitution that grants citizenship to those born on U.S. soil Why? Because they come here to “drop babies”. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wants to hold hearings so the “experts” can be heard. “Experts”? He means racists. The Democrats might not be the best choice for voters but the Republicans have more than jumped the shark, they are swimming with them.

And then there is Keith and listen carefully to Jonathan Turley.

Echo… echo… echo… Pinch hitting for Pedro Borbon… Manny Mota… Mota… Mota…

You may remember my brother the activist.  I keep trying to get him to post, but he’s shy and busy.  He sent me this yesterday and I thought I’d share it with you.

I need to add that he’s a great admirer of James Carville’s political savvy (though not his policies) and one story he likes to tell is how during the height of Monica-gate Carville was on one of the Talking Head shows and made a point about how important it is to stay on message.  Carville then proceeded to demonstrate his gift by working the phrase “Cigarette Lawyer Ken Starr” 27 times into the next 30 seconds.- ek

The date – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 – August 6, 2001 needs to be as well known to Joe and Jane American as September 11, 2001.

Presidential Daily Briefing of August 6, 2001 PDB

Declassified and Approved for Release, 10 April 2004

Presidential Daily Briefing: August 6, 2001 – Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.

Clandestine, foreign government, and media reports indicate Bin Ladin since 1997 has wanted to conduct foreign terrorist attacks on the U.S. Bin Ladin implied in U.S. television interviews in 1997 and 1998 that his followers would follow the example of World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef and “bring the fighting to America.”

Presidential Daily Briefing: August 6, 2001 – Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.

After U.S. missile strikes on his base in Afghanistan in 1998, Bin Ladin told followers he wanted to retaliate in Washington, according to a [deleted] service.

Presidential Daily Briefing: August 6, 2001 – Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.

An Egyptian Islamic Jihad (EIJ) operative told an [deleted] service at the same that Bin Ladin was planning to exploit the operative’s access to the U.S. to mount a terrorist strike.

Presidential Daily Briefing: August 6, 2001 – Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.

FBI information since that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York.

Presidential Daily Briefing: August 6, 2001 – Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S.

The FBI is conducting approximately 70 full field investigations throughout the U.S. that it considers Bin Ladin-related. CIA and the FBI are investigating a call to our Embassy in the UAE in May saying that a group of Bin Ladin supporters was in the U.S. planning attacks with explosives.

So Vice President Dick, tell me again how the REPUBLICANS WILL KEEP US SAFE?

So Senator McSame, tell me again how invading and occupying IRAQ has helped the U.S. hunt down BIN LADEN?

I’m printing my own bumper stickers filled with images from 9-11 and this text-

“I don’t think anybody could have predicted that these people would take an airplane and slam it into the World Trade Center”- Condoleezza Rice, National Security Advisor

“All right. You’ve covered your ass now.”- George W. Bush

Keith and Rachel.  Get them while there are repeats.  Last night for the Boys this week.  Jon at least is in repeats Monday.

• AMC– Pulp Fiction
• Comedy– Futurama, That Darn Katz! (premier)
• ABC Family– 16 Candles, Freaky Friday
• Food– Good Eats, Alton does Oranges and Ice Cream (not together)
• FX– Superbad x 2
• History– The Universe, Sex and Mars (needs Women)
• Lifetime– Project Runway (last week’s Premier and new)
• TBS– Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
• Turner Classic– Sergeant Rutledge, Once Upon a Time in the West
• Toon– Repeats of Monday’s premiers
• USA– Burn Notice (premier)

Once Upon a Time in the West is perhaps the darkest of the ‘classic’ Westerns and by ‘classic’ I mean Henry Fonda who didn’t always play a hero and has exactly one degree of separation from Marion Morrison.

The freaky thing about Freaky Friday is that it isn’t Jodie Foster’s original, or even Shelly Long’s pathetic remake, but Lindsay Lohan’s trainwreck of a threepeat.  Sometimes I wonder about Jamie Lee Curtis’ choice of material.

Superbad looks like it lives up to its title.  Some people are Will Ferrell fans, I don’t understand why.

Later-

Dave has Mark Wahlberg, Cory Kahaney, and VV Brown.  Jon has Akbar Ahmed, Stephen Savion Glover.  Alton is doing slaw (actually a pretty funny episode).  Showdown at Cremation Creek II (I told you to DVR it).

I’m happy to find Comedy Central again.  The cable company moved it and didn’t notify me except on the TV Guide Channel crawl THAT NEVER WORKS!  I almost called them all cranky like I did ABOUT THE STUPID TV GUIDE CHANNEL!, but I’ve been remiss in providing a permanent prominent link to Yahoo TV Listings.

They moved Spike too.  I hardly noticed it.

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 Hope for Gulf as BP plugs well, most of the oil gone

by Matt Davis, AFP

Wed Aug 4, 8:01 pm ET

Gareth Porter is an historian and investigative journalist and US foreign and military policy analyst. He writes regularly for Inter Press Service on US policy towards Iraq and Iran. Porter is author of four books, the latest of which is Perils of Dominance: Imbalance of Power and the Road to War in Vietnam.

Porter talks with Real News Network’s Paul Jay with a dissection of Obama’s Iraq ‘withdrawal’ smoke and mirrors kabuki.