I'MMA LET YOU FINISH
I miss Neal Pollack
maybe we can have a why bush was AWOL day where all the bloggers come up with their own stories for W's missing duty in Neal's honor.
just a thought
ARF Boobies!
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wÒÓ†, ya gotta set up your own blog!
Thanks for the chuckle!
Billmon points out some problems with Calhoun's account as well that shouldn;t be missed.
Be interesting to see if this is the end of the story so far as media interest is concerned. Will they just take this guy's word for it, or put the 15 minutes it would take into debunking the 11th hour savior?
This account is clearly not true. Who would beleive that Bush would sit on a couch and READ REPORTS? Sleep on a couch to recover from a hangover, that I'd believe.
Pfffttt!!!
This is the best story that Karl Rove could buy?
Fark the documents - the journalists should be asking why Bush can't just come out and say where he was during those years.
Very good take on it from Ricky, very apt post title too, excellent, thanks for keeping up with this, looks like the Vichy media is gonna do their best to bury the story over the weekend, first they attacked our people, then they dissed us, now they are trying to ignore it and call it silly.
Read the NYT lead story again, it is very distressing, I did not see the claim she made on WWR but what I did see was at the end she closed with the slam by that Barrett feller, excuse me, why was that do you think, she closes with a slam against us.
We got it, that is political, in fact that is highly political, how you end the story is a huge political issue, ending it with a slam against us is a political choice.
Well, thanks very much, this just tells us this is a story they want to diss or dismiss and they are still dialling as hard as they can to diss or dismiss us.
.....
Minnie, I see your point, but I think they're going to drag it out some more. I really think they are that stupid.
And I think reporters see a chink in the armor now. The Plame case was harder to push to the public, it involved complicated concepts like "intelligence" and big words like "covert operative."
This is sweet and simple. Shirk. Lie. Did he or didn't he? People might not understand it but the sense is that something bad went on.
Then again, maybe this is caffeine-inspired optimism talking here. I just think they've handled this one very, very badly.
A.
come on-- let's not get too carried away or obsessed with this story. This really is ancient history and is getting boring.
I'd love to see some embarrassing stuff come out about Bush on this-- but the fact is, it's possible there's no real dirt here.
I think it would be better to focus on the lies leading up to the war, frankly-- as well as the other problems with this admin., IMO.
The Plame case won't become big again until indictments are handed down. If, as expected, there are some big fish amongst them (I'm pretty certain Scooter Libby will be one of the them), the sharkpack will swarm around it.
I also had big issues with this, it does not add up, it does not compute that Bush came in meekly, weekend after weekend and read manuals, what is that all about, did the Texas ANG spend 100s of 1000s of dollars in a champagne unit to train a well-connected feller to fly and then park him reading manuals, does that sound OK, and how come nobody else saw him, where was this dude before, how come both the other officers involved couldn’t remember seeing Bush, this looks very skeazy.
From Ricky’s pageCourse, that still doesn't explain why, when Bush left Alabama in November of '72 and returned to Houston, his superior officers in the Texas Air National Guard were unable in March of '73 to evaluate Lieutenant Bush because, according to them, Bush had not been observed for the past year as he was in Alabama. In other words, even though he had been in Texas for five months, his superior officers hadn't seen him and were under the impression that he was still in Alabama.
I mean, why would Bush, who was so conscientious about reporting for guard duty in Alabama, suddenly become so lax when he returned to his home post in Houston? I guess he was just plumb tuckered out from all the guard duty he pulled in Alabama. All those eight hour days can take a toll on a guy, and, back then, Bush liked to "sleep in" until about noon, if you know what I mean.
The more we hear, the more far-fetched the explanations and the more convoluted their response.
Plus they are seemingly selling the story line that the records have been released, well, they have not released everything and the questions are still coming.
.....
OT but this is straaaange....
Up here in Wisconsin we are getting polled with numerous calls. The last call I got was from MSNBC with the usual litany of Bush vs. *** questions. Of course I said I'll be supporting the Demo candidate of my choice.
It was the last question that really threw me for a loop:
"Are you a fan of NASCAR?"
WTF! I asked what does that have to do with anything political?! I also told her I was offended by the politicization of that "sport" by the Media AND Bush himself.
She said she was getting the same response by most people and also didn't understand why that question was being asked in this survey.
This country is getting bizarrrrrre...
NASCAR dads are the hot new voting demographic that the media loves to talk about.
Personally, i find NASCAR boring, and via counterspin central-- it turns out almost all NASCAR drivers are repubs. Yet another reason to dislike the sport.
Athenae, I agree, it is a story that does resonate, there is the huge failure to come clean issue, then there is the failure to fulfil obligations, then there is the special treatment issue, so this will continue.
I also think the CIA issue will once again re-surface, because it is huge, it is seen as symptomatic of the people to try to diss, damage or dismiss people who have perfectly relevant issues and the feeling that they don’t mind playing fast and loose with people’s safety to go ahead and do it.
But that may come slower and more ploddingly as they bind down who was involved and what their claims are and it could be long drawn out process.
Several parallel issues could be picking up steam together as we go into Fall.
.....
Unfortunately Ricky missed the essential point, namely, "The dates Calhoun said he saw Bush at the air base do not correspond with the dates on payroll records released by the White House." (from AJC).
Billmon covered Calhoun pretty thouroughly on Friday, including details about the dueling timelines:
Calhoun estimated that he saw Bush sign in at the 187th Tactical Reconnaissance Group eight to 10 times for about eight hours each from May to October 1972
vs.
Bush was not paid for any service during a five-month period in 1972, from May through September, according to the records released with Bush's approval Tuesday. He was paid for two days in October and four days in November.
That seems to leave only two possibilities. Either Calhoun lied or the records were faked.
being on the puter means no pollster and no mechanical calls begging for votes. i really hate those.
Alex: this story is important because Bush got a cushy setup and then screwed it up and doesn't want to own up to it.
Flashforward to 2002: Bush gets a cushy setup then screws it up (9/11, economy, environment) and fails to learn the lessons of the Vietnam war, which to put it simply: People don't want you invading their country and telling them what to do. It will be costly. Goes on and on. Now Bush once again is not owning up to irresponsiblibly taking our nation to war for essentially nothing.
The US military took 10 years to rebuild after Vietnam. After we get out of Iraq, how many will volunteer for an military where there is a busted trust in the ability of the leadership to use it wisely and not for political or stupid reasons.
Kerry served in Vietnam and took the politcally unpopular stand against the war. He voted for the war resolution, though.
"Either Calhoun lied or the records were faked."
Calhoun lied.
Calhoun was cribbing off a reporter who got the dates wrong. His bad dates directly correspond to hers.
Is he now an idiot for not marking Chimpy present? He filed erroneous duty reports if he really wants his story to be believed. Every time Dear Leader showed up, Calhoun and his staff accidentally forgot to mark it in the duty roster.
He must be smoking something really good.
Unfortunately Ricky missed the essential point, namely, "The dates Calhoun said he saw Bush at the air base do not correspond with the dates on payroll records released by the White House." (from AJC).
Billmon covered Calhoun pretty thouroughly on Friday, including details about the dueling timelines:
Calhoun estimated that he saw Bush sign in at the 187th Tactical Reconnaissance Group eight to 10 times for about eight hours each from May to October 1972
vs.
Bush was not paid for any service during a five-month period in 1972, from May through September, according to the records released with Bush's approval Tuesday. He was paid for two days in October and four days in November.
That seems to leave only two possibilities. Either Calhoun lied or the records were faked.
Beth | Email | Homepage | 02.14.04 - 1:09 pm | #
Good catch, Beth, this is such a complicated story, we all have to count on each other to pick up on different aspects of it, plus let’s recall the kind of info blitz and irrelevant stuff they are putting out, it is exactly designed to keep the situation confused so that people don’t get a clear line narrative out of it.
The clear line narrative still seems to be Bush was AWOL from his Alabama Guard duties and did not fulfil his obligations, so far nothing they have supposedly released, redactions and all, has put that issue to rest.
Bush is the one claiming to be Dah Wah Pwesident, Bush is the one mobilizing our guards and reserves, cancelling retirements and opt-outs and Bush is the one who has to be accountable.
And right now what we are seeing from Bush and this White House is the same ducking and diving and passing the buck that they have been doing all along, this is exactly symptomatic of the lack of creds of Bush, ducking out of responsibility and failing to fulfill obligations, which is a strong contrast to those who stayed the course, stood by their band of brothers and served their country with honor, faith and dignity, thank you, preserving our safety and upholding American values here and overseas, the choices will be very clear, the true American hero vs. Empty Flight Suit.
.....
It's weird. This story get attention while more serious crimes are ignored by the press.
funeralgate:
http://www.hereinreality.com/
fun...funeralgate.htm
harken:
http://www.buzzflash.com/
perspec...ush_Harken.html
and the rest:
http://quinnell.us/politics/
2000...ushscandal.html
On the plus side, at least there appears to be a small scratch in the teflon now...
What I don't get, is that the WH calculation runs
"When we look at how things are, the damage we are taking now over this issue is, come November, going to be less than the damage we'd take if we released the records."
???
That's baffling. I mean, this is a great distraction from Plame, Iraq, the Budget and so on, those issues are getting less attention than they otherwise would, but still....
I really don't get what's going on, I really don't.
Mr. Silly, nice reminder from the Memory Hole. Thanks.
polychrome, temporary distraction. They are all queued up for media exposure after this. There is so much the media ignored, this will be continuous for next 6 months.
The media has got its balls back, probably because Bush screwed up the longterm economy so much.
Then again, maybe this is caffeine-inspired optimism talking here. I just think they've handled this one very, very badly.
Athenae, your comment echoes a criticism Marlin Fitzwater had:
LAWRENCE, Kan. - A former reporter who served as press secretary to two presidents said the Bush administration is paying the price for its handling of intelligence about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq (news - web sites).
Marlin Fitzwater, who worked for Presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, said Friday that the current president should have been more careful with how he used information about Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s weapons program.
Actually-- I recant what I said above after reading Billmon just now. It looks like there is some major dirt still.
However, I just don't want us getting labelled as kooks because we are paying so much attention to this story. It does look at though the media will still pry into this story more.
pie, Marlin was politely saying, "What a dumbass, he should not have lied about going to war!"
"Get him, Jim!"
Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom
I want to find out how he broke his fingers. Maybe he was going "mano a mano" with Poppy and Poppy showed him some WWII fighting skills.
This story is relevant because he shirked service but had no problem with lying to start a war and send other peoples' kids to get killed and maimed.
Direct connection. I can't wait to hear Bush's stump speech.
I really don't get what's going on, I really don't.
I think we are realizing that Rove isn't the Machiavellian Mastermind our parnoia has propped him up to be.
We are also seeing the Media Giants are not too thrilled with the new FCC fines. The WH is biting the hand thats fed them. I would keep your eyes on CBS - after doing what they were told regarding the Reagan mini-series and the MoveOn ad their reaction to the new FCC fines should be quite interesting.
CBS pulled Bush Admin Medicare ad. Good call, Gatchaman.
Speaking of NASCAR, did anyone catch this twisted AP article? It presents NASCAR as one of the few places Christians can breath free in this country.
[The driver] praised retired NASCAR chairman Bill France for resisting any attempts to eliminate religion from the race track.
For instance, it's hard to imagine NASCAR levying a $5,000 fine on a competitor for wearing a cap with a cross during interviews, which happened with NFL quarterback Jon Kitna in December (the fine was rescinded last week by the league).
While Kitna was indeed fined $5,000, it was for violating a rule that only NFL apparel can be worn for interviews immediately following games. It doesn't surprise me that the far right would try to turn this into a story about Christianity under attack, but it worries me that the AP would buy into that.
Agreed we've got bigger fish to fry, but still, WTF was he still doing in AL in Jan. 73? Blount lost the senatorial election in Nov. 72. Did aWol go back to alabama for their world-class dental care? And he read flight manuals even after he knew he wouldn't fly any more? Well, we know what a big reader he was.
and by "reader" i mean "drunk."
OT, but has this: [Stephen Burke, who will probably be running Disney (including ABC and ABC news) if the Comcast takeover goes through, is a Bush "Ranger"] been covered here at all? I scrolled back and couldn't find anything in the archives, but the log for earlier this week is missing (8th-11th) (hmm, missing logs? maybe not so OT after all) I thought I remembered a topic earlier this week on the attack on the Mouse, but didn't check out the comments or story
The story is relevant because veterans care about this shit, particularly the ones who were getting shot at. Vietnam vets I know are okay with the war-time Guard, most of them didn't want to be in country either. But all vets hate goldbrickers and malingerers - and Bush by dodging duty and skipping medical exams was both.
If Bush loses the veteran vote he is toast. And between this and the cutbacks in VA medical benefits a lot of guys are getting pretty pissed.
The old 'why are you guys paying so much attention to this trivial thing" is the exact analogue of the guy sitting in his car after being clocked doing 85 in a 55 mph zone, saying to the police, "I mean, don't you have real criminals to catch?"
For the record, we're paying attention to all of it.
However, I just don't want us getting labelled as kooks because we are paying so much attention to this story.
as long as the wingers keep screeching about Hanoi Jane and the Kenis™, we'll look like the voice of reason.
and this is only the appetizer.
NASCAR, NASCAR, NASCAR...
Calhoun and Bush together Sunday at Daytona…how interesting.
At Daytona, all will be revealed.
Expect photo ops of the war buddies together, messing each other's hair, reveling in memories of reading safety books and eating sandwiches.
With no chance that Bush can act, let alone handle an interview, this should be a hilariously awkward scene.
But Rove will have his photo.
.
Has this story about the Kenis™ gotten any traction in the mainstream media? I honestly haven't seen anything about it on TV, NPR or any newspaper. Is it just a talk radio story for now?
Re: NASCAR dads. I didn't know beer-swilling, semi-literates who beat their wives are intrinsically more patriotic than other Americans.
I just don't want us getting labelled as kooks because we are paying so much attention to this story.
I agree Alex. If this thing devolves into long-winded speculation and opinion, the 'this is all just a liberal smear' meme is going to resonate beyond Freeperville. Remember, they're the party of inuendo and dirty tricks; we're the party of facts and legitimate inquiry. Let's keep that straight.
OT: OMG, you gotta check out this hate mail CalPundit is getting from the winger contingent!
tEH_L0LZ0RZ!!!!1!!
"I think we are realizing that Rove isn't the Machiavellian Mastermind our parnoia has propped him up to be."
Never thought he was, but this seems just so obvious...if there was no there there, and even if there was it was 30 years ago, different time, different attitude etc etc. So why do things this way?
"polychrome, temporary distraction. They are all queued up for media exposure after this. There is so much the media ignored, this will be continuous for next 6 months.
The media has got its balls back, probably because Bush screwed up the longterm economy so much."
Yeah, I can almost buy this, the calculation of not wanting to make it a habit to directly answer hard questions, otherwise people might start expecting it. But the alternative, at the moment, isn't looking so hot.
Why did the president lie and tell Tim Russert that "all the records were released in 2000", which clearly they weren't or they wouldn't be dribbling out of the White House now, then lie again and say that he would release everything there is, which clearly he isn't or it wouldn't be dribbling out of the White House after being carefully combed by WH staff?
That's the thing to keep hammering on: why did he lie about it having all been released, and why did he lie and promise to release all of it, then fail to release it, unless there's something there that doesn't fit with what he's been telling us?
So far I've seen NBC and CNN point out that Calhoun's statements are directly at odds with the documents the White House released.
CNN and CBS (probably others by now) have also noted out that the document deluge last night doesn't fill in the May-September 1972 gap.
Why did Georgie mis his physical? Why didn't he make any effort to take it later?
Oh, and about the NASCAR thing: of course the drivers are all Republicans. Can you imagine a liberal not being bored silly by driving around the same circle (oval) over and over and over and over again?
NASCAR is a perfect metaphor for the average Republican's thought pattern: no veering from the established path, and like the "logic" of Republican thought, it's circular and ultimately leads nowhere.
I don't know whether it's a big story or not. And, compared to the war, Plame, and the rest of it, it's nothing.
I just enjoy watching the White House explain themselves. These guys are at their worst when they're trying to get their stories straight.
Gasoline on a fire.
I watched CNN for about 10 minutes last night, had to turn off the tube when I started to wretch, they just report it as 'confirmation' that Bushler served in Alabama. They fail to mention that the Reichhouse told the guy the wrong dates and they don't jive with what der Furher said.
Bush failed to take a physical and most assuredly has failed on all his mentals. How would he do on an esoteric? Nevermind...
***
I think we are realizing that Rove isn't the Machiavellian Mastermind our parnoia has propped him up to be.
I always thought that rigging bids for highway construction contracts and fixing school board elections was about Rove's speed. He's just enough of a "genius" for that.
xymphora has an interesting post about the community service angle that Helen T brought up yesterday, including this:
Rove is on his game here. By holding back the military records he has made the military records the issue, and has has managed to divert the media from the real issue, which is the community service. If those legal files ever get out, showing that Bush was convicted of a serious drug offence, his political career will be finished. The real reason that Bush went AWOL was that he couldn't afford to take a drug test. The real reason he couldn't afford to take a drug test was that it would have been a condition of his sentencing that he remain clean. If word of the failed drug test had filtered back to the court, he would have gone to jail.
I'ts pretty obvious to me that all these "eye witnesses" are reaching for their 15 minutes of fame.
NASCAR is bullshit. Real race car drivers drive in F1 or World Rally. Any asshole can turn left.
pie, when Marlin and John Dean think you're screwed, that's some quality screwage.
Where is Poppy these days? I can only imagine those phone calls:
"But, Dad, Saddam was your Christmas present! Don't you like it?"
"It's not that I don't appreciate the thought, son. I'm just worried you spent more than you could afford."
A.
NASCAR is bullshit. Real race car drivers drive in F1 or World Rally. Any asshole can turn left.
Ding ding ding! I wish more Americans knew about World Rally or the various Saloon circuits in Europe and Asia. They're so much more exciting that soft-left, soft-left, soft-left, soft-left for three hours.
World Rally is the coolest. That kind of racing takes real skill and physical strength. The driver actually needs a navigator to get around the course. I love it when the cars (which are real cars, not completely fake "stock cars") catch huge air off of jumps. It seems so real, a test of driving in all conditions..they drive on snow, through rain, through mud, on tarmac, dirt and cobblestone, around mountains and on the side of cliffs. How awesome is that? World Rally takes so much more talent and nerve that driving an oval.
"It's not that I don't appreciate the thought, son. I'm just worried you spent more than you could afford."
Athenae, somehow I pictured George I saying something a little, um stronger. 
"It's not that I don't appreciate the thought, son. I'm just worried you spent more than you could afford."
Athenae, somehow I pictured George I saying something a little, um stronger.
Actually, knowing Poppy, the real quote is something like this, "The appreciation thing, you've got it. Sentiments on target. Spending issue, different story. Wasn't prudent. Budgetarily ill-advised."
Still, Athenae got the essence of the message just right.
pie, this is beyond the White House's control now. Unravelling and snowballing (like in "Clerks") and "payback's a bitch" are the driving forces.
Rove is no longer in control. The frog march will be a parade.
Unfortunately, physics is not required when you go for a History degree at Yale or whatever BA Rove has. The pendulum always swings back.
The wheel of fortune always turns.
All these dumbass biblethumpers failed to learn the lessons:
Ecclesiastes 6
1 I have seen another evil under the sun, and it weighs heavily on men: 2 God gives a man wealth, possessions and honor, so that he lacks nothing his heart desires, but God does not enable him to enjoy them, and a stranger enjoys them instead. This is meaningless, a grievous evil.
3 A man may have a hundred children and live many years; yet no matter how long he lives, if he cannot enjoy his prosperity and does not receive proper burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. 4 It comes without meaning, it departs in darkness, and in darkness its name is shrouded.
Better what the eye sees
than the roving of the appetite.
This too is meaningless,
a chasing after the wind.
7 Extortion turns a wise man into a fool,
and a bribe corrupts the heart.
8 The end of a matter is better than its beginning,
and patience is better than pride.
9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit,
for anger resides in the lap of fools.
Bible quotes from an atheist.
of Ecleisiastes.
Why do I think John B. Calhoun will be getting one of those no bid contracts the GOP is known to throw around when their buddies (Calhoun is one now) call up their markers.
Mrs Calhoun obviously has her price also.
Very well said, Cheney...
I think we just have to keep hammering away or drip, drip, dripping away...This national guard story is not all that important by itself, but rather because it sets the tone...like you rough up a surface before you glue it to something else - so that it will stick better. We are going to make what is bigger and more important stick to this guy and his whole stinky bunch. At the end they will look like a bunch of wadded up s---, ready to be flushed away.....
Beth, George I was smart(?)enough to leave well enough alone in Iraq. I wonder if he regards georgie's war as just another screw-up in a long history of screw-ups. He was used, man.
Josh Marshall has noticed the discrepancy too, it's up on TPM. Calhoun's going to vanish as a Pubbie talking point very shortly.
I've
been following the AWOL story for several years now and thought it was
pretty cut and dried: pampered Dubya got bored and just quit coming.
But revelations over the past week or so has had me reassessing and
coming to a far different conclusion. I think venerable White House
icon Helen Thomas has it figured out. Her extraordinary exchange (excerpted on TPM)
with Scott McClellen on friday offers up the best clue yet as to what
the real story is. The one scenario I see where all of the pieces fit
is what Helen hammered McClellen about: did Dubya have to take time
away from the guard to do community service? Several things suggest
that is exactly what happened.
Salon has two articles up from 1999 that lend some credence to this surmise. I've posted excerpts of them on my humble blog.
Salon states in one of the articles that "the Texas governor had
admitted to working
at Houston's Project P.U.L.L. in 1972." 1972 is, of course, the year
where the records of Dubya's TANG attendance is not jiving with his
claims, or those of his defenders. Another clue is in the document
suspending Dubya from flight duty, which also rescinds the flight
status of one of his close friends serving in the ANG. Were they busted
together?
My best guess is that Dubya was busted for possession of cocaine, and
that daddy Bush came to the rescue. Bush père likely found a
friendly judge to defer adjudication and punish Dubya with an extended
term of community service at P.U.L.L. He may have later sent him off to
Alabama to get him away from the crowd he had been running with in
Houston. The questions that remain are whether or not the Texas ANG was
aware of his bust. Suddenly taking him off of flight status suggest
that they were. And were they complicit in covering up for their errant
guardsman.
There is still a lot to ferret out in this story and I don't think the
press is going to stop now until they get to the bottom of it. I
suspect it is going to be a devastating scandal when they finally do.
Think about what would have happened to someone not so well connected
had they been busted for cocaine in 1972 Texas. It would have been a
felony. They would have been dishonorably discharged from the service,
and would have lost all rights to serve in public office, vote, or own
a firearm. No wonder the White house is so determined to stonewall this
and why they are trying so hard to demonize and denigrate anyone
pursuing the story.
So which car are Calhoun and Bush going to root for in Sunday's NASCAR race? The one plastered with an ad for Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of Jesus Christ"? Or the one with the ad for Butt Paste.
OK, I've posted this elsewhere, but maybe this is the best place for it --
Bush at Daytona has "jumpsuit" written all over it. (And the sponsor patches would be fantastic!)
USA out of Iraq.
Surrender now. Kerry Knows how.
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