"On Topic" With Doug Krile

Moving Day

2007-02-15T19:49:00.000-06:00

Okay, folks. Time to trim the workload around here. Yours truly is moving on. To a new job in a new industry and I can't keep two blogs rolling. So, if you're finding us via wb42.blogspot.com, delete that bookmark and move on up to the new site or drop in via www.dougkrile.com..

I'm getting out of the media business, and into something completely different. It's an exciting time and I'll tell you more about it as time goes on. We're building something from the ground up, so it's going to be a lot of work. Bottom line - the old wb42 site is history after tonight. I have family matters piled up this weekend, so posts will be sparse. But, move on over to the new site and be ready for some fun!

Just A Little Fun Among Friends

2007-02-13T20:35:00.000-06:00

Those White House News Conferences with Tony Snow.

In Heated Exchanges, Reporters Press Snow To Justify Iran Claims

At today’s White House press briefing, Press Secretary Tony Snow faced intense questioning over administration claims that Iranians have smuggled weapons into Iraq with “the approval of senior Iranian officials.” Yesterday, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace seemed to contradict this claim, saying that he has not seen evidence that the Iranian government “clearly [...]

Tags: White House Press Conference, Tony Snow

Oh, Yeah

2007-02-13T20:33:00.000-06:00

One more thing. Did you hear this story?

Another Republican Corruption Indictment

Federal grand jury indicts Foggo, Wilkes,A federal grand jury on Tuesday issued indictments against Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes and former high-ranking CIA official Kyle “Dusty” Foggo, [...]

Tags: Brent Wilkes, Dusty Foggo

Missing Data And Missing Laptops

2007-02-13T20:32:00.000-06:00

Who knows what evil lurks in the halls of the FBI?

FBI still losing laptops, weapons

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has lost or had stolen 160 laptops in four years, including 10 with sensitive or classified information, and one containing personal information on FBI employees, according to a report released Monday by the Department of Justice inspector general. In addition, 160 weapons [...]

Tags: FBI, Missing Laptops

Political Suicide

2007-02-13T20:12:00.000-06:00

We have, indeed, been talking about this for darn near a full year now. It's beginning to look like the early "conspiracy theories" are close to reality.

Cheney's Top Aid Says War With Iran "Real Possibility in '07"

As the Bush administration ratchets up pressure on Iran, Vice President Cheney's top national security aide has been quoted by the Washington Post - in the 10th paragraph on page A18 - that war with Iran is "a real possibility" this year: "Some senior administration officials still relish the [...]

Tags: War With Iran, Dick Cheney

Philosophical Changes

2007-02-13T19:52:00.000-06:00

Talk about a past that will come to haunt him. Look at Mitt Romney's presidential chances.

GOPer Mitt Romney jumps in the race for the White House, hypocrisy and all

Today, former Massachusetts governor Mitt ‘more conservative today than yesterday‘ Romney, announced his Presidential plans- formally- in his home state of Michigan. In the former Republican governor’s 2,151 word speech, he mentioned the word “Massachusetts” only twice: he doesn’t want to remind conservative southern primary voters where he’s been active in politics for the last [...]

Tags: Mitt Romney

A Blogger Calls It Quits

2007-02-13T19:24:00.000-06:00

Even though her boss stood up for her, she just couldn't stay.

Edwards' Bigoted Blogger Resigns

Just when it mattered least, Amanda Marcotte resigned from the John Edwards campaign: "I was hired by the Edwards campaign for the skills and talents I bring to the table, and my willingness to work hard for what’s right. Unfortunately, [...]

Tags: Amanda Marcotte, John Edwards

Slip Of The Tongue

2007-02-13T17:11:00.000-06:00

This is why I could never be a politician. One slip of the tongue and you get your words crammed right back down your throat. I'm still looking for the law that says politicians must be perfect.

Obama’s ‘waste’ gaffe

In New Hampshire over the weekend, Barack Obama told an audience that “we ended up launching a war that should have never been authorized and should have never been waged, and to which we now have spent $400 billion and have seen over 3,000 lives of the bravest young Americans wasted.” It was a well-received comment [...]

Tags: Barack Obama, Wasted Lives

Let's All Sing

2007-02-12T20:05:00.000-06:00

They won. They won big. But...

Country Radio Refuses To Accept Dixie Chicks: Listeners Are "Outraged"

Country radio still isn't ready to make nice with the Dixie Chicks. With a haul of Grammys Sunday, the Texas trio topped their comeback from their 2003 Bush-bashing comment that turned them from superstars to pariahs -- but Music Row isn't welcoming them back into [...]

Tags: Dixie Chicks

All To Balance The Federal Budget

2007-02-12T19:39:00.000-06:00

Cutting corners where corners should not be cut.

Bush plans more cuts to veterans' health care

The Bush administration plans to cut funding for veterans' health care two years from now - even as badly wounded troops returning from Iraq could overwhelm the system. Bush is using the cuts, critics say, to help fulfill his pledge to balance the budget by 2012. After an increase sought for [...]

Tags: Veterans' Health Care, Balanced Budget

Still Breaking News

2007-02-12T19:19:00.000-06:00

Countdown is talking tonight about how the military is doing a bit of a turnaround on this story. I'll update with more details. But, up until mid-day today, this was the story and the analysis.

Bush administration anonymously presents evidence against Iran

Bush administration officials have been hinting for weeks that they had quite a presentation to show reporters about Iranian meddling in the war in Iraq, and would provide proof just as soon as they could find some. I mean, as soon as they nailed down the details. Yes, that’s it. Yesterday, reporters in Iraq finally received [...]

UPDATE: Here's the problem -

The White House’s Iran claims begin to fall apart

When Pentagon officials presented a 16-slide PowerPoint presentation to reporters Sunday in Baghdad, they did not imagine they would be on the defensive, only hours later. The briefing, reminiscent of many pre-Iraq war briefings, was highly unusual because the officials that conducted it refused to let reporters attach their names to the intel they were presenting. [...]

Tags: Iran, Iraq

Still Breaking News

2007-02-12T19:16:00.000-06:00

Countdown is talking tonight about how the military is doing a bit of a turnaround on this story. I'll update with more details. But, up until mid-day today, this was the story and the analysis.

Bush administration anonymously presents evidence against Iran

Bush administration officials have been hinting for weeks that they had quite a presentation to show reporters about Iranian meddling in the war in Iraq, and would provide proof just as soon as they could find some. I mean, as soon as they nailed down the details. Yes, that’s it. Yesterday, reporters in Iraq finally received [...]

Tags: Iran, Iraq

Ungodly Behavior

2007-02-12T19:05:00.000-06:00

Life in prison would be bad, at best. At worst, this:

What Goes On in Our Prisons

Human Rights Watch has issued a report on male-on-male prison rape in American prisons. As part of their research they solicited mail from prisoners. The following letter is the one they chose to open their report. Hat tip to Chrisopher Hayes. "I've been sentenced for a D.U.I. offense. My 3rd one. When I first came to prison, I had no idea what to expect. Certainly none of this. I'm a tall white male, who unfortunately has a small amount of feminine characteristics. And very shy. These characteristics have got me [...]

Tags: Human Rights Watch, Christopher Hayes, Prison Inmates

Bad News

2007-02-11T20:50:00.000-06:00

Or, at least it would seem that way.

US Sending Third Carrier Strike Group to Persian Gulf

The Iranians have reason to feel paranoid. At least one former White House official contends that some Bush advisers secretly want an excuse to attack Iran. A second Navy carrier group is steaming toward the Persian Gulf, and a third carrier will [...]

Tags: Iran, Navy

Just A Bit of History

2007-02-11T20:02:00.000-06:00

Fascinating stuff, those old political speeches.

FLASHBACK: Here's Hillary's Full Speech On Eve Of War Vote

The other day, Hillary Clinton told the New Hampshire Union Leader that when she voted to give President Bush the authority to go to war, "I said that it was not a vote for pre-emptive war." So we thought it would be a good idea to dig up the speech she gave at the time. She said: "My vote is not, however, a vote [...]

Tags: Hillary Clinton, Iraq War

Negative Picture

2007-02-10T19:49:00.000-06:00

So, how are things in Iraq?

Democracy..not possible in Iraq

The Iraqi political parties that formed the current Iraqi government claim to seek establishing a democratic system in Iraq. The very same political parties don’t practice democracy. The main five political parties that rule the country are: The Supreme Council [...]

Tags: Iraq, Iraq War, Supreme Council

The Big Speech

2007-02-10T19:45:00.000-06:00

Obama's speech today really was quite good. On several levels.

Obama's Speech Accomplishes More Than It Appears

A couple of very quick thoughts on Barack Obama's speech. First, one peculiar aspect of this Dem primary is that there is not one, but two potentially history-making candidates -- he and Hillary Clinton -- meaning that they'll in a sense be vying for the role of most potentially history-making contender. By drawing a direct line from [...]

UPDATE: A bit of response from the Right.

Official Blogs for Bush Commentary on Sen. Obama's Presidential Announcement

1. He hasn't the experience: Certainly the most impertinent Presidential campaign since Wilke in 1940. 2. Should he get elected, his ultra-liberal policy proposals will just be more-of-the-same political gamesmanship when placed into practice. 3. Democrats would be monumentally stupid [...]

Tags: Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton

Before It Makes The Bigtime

2007-02-10T19:40:00.000-06:00

This could be a HUGE story.

Is Harry Reid getting ready to sue AP & John Solomon?

I hate putting this important a story up on a Saturday night, but I'm not gonna be scooped on this baby. Check out this Associated Press story from a few days back that nobody seemed to notice. It looks to me like Harry Reid is getting ready to sue the AP and their former [...]

Tags: Harry Reid, Associated Press

Unbelievable

2007-02-09T19:05:00.000-06:00

I really don't want to get into the Anna Nicole story. But, this is just too much....

Zsa Zsa Gabor's Husband Says He Might Be The Father

The husband of actress Zsa Zsa Gabor said Friday that he had a decade-long affair with Anna Nicole Smith and may be her infant daughter's father. The claim by Prince Frederick von Anhalt comes amid a paternity suit over Smith's 5-month-old daughter, Dannielynn. The birth certificate lists Dannielynn's father as attorney Howard K. Stern, but former Smith boyfriend [...]

Tags: Anna Nicole SMith, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Howard K. Stern

Today's Big Story

2007-02-09T19:02:00.000-06:00

Not Anna Nicole Smith. But the lies that led to the Iraq War. Read on....

Cheney’s Other Liars

First, a heads-up: Christy will be on Air America with Sam Seder about 9:15 a.m. EST. Somewhere in the lead up to the Iraq war, the Bush/Cheney Administration decided they needed two strands of intelligence to convince the American people and the world that a preemptive war on Iraq was justified. The first would be [...]

And, of course,,,,

White House ‘red-faced’ over Rove remark.

Karl Rove was quoted telling a group of conservatives he supports President Bush’s immigration policies because “I don’t want my 17-year-old son to have to pick tomatoes or make beds in Las Vegas.” ABC reports: “The White House does not deny that Rove made the remark but claims it has been taken out of context. [...]

Tags: Dick Cheney, Douglas Feith

Those Prisons

2007-02-09T18:56:00.000-06:00

Yet another account you should read.

Former Iraqi Interrogator Admits Abuse of Iraqi Prisoners: "I Will Never Forgive Myself"

Despite my best efforts, I cannot ignore the mistakes I made at the interrogation facility in Fallujah. I failed to disobey a meritless order, I failed to protect a prisoner in my custody, and I failed to uphold the standards of human decency. Instead, I intimidated, degraded and humiliated a man [...]

Tags: Iraqi Prisoners

Rove On A Roll

2007-02-09T18:39:00.000-06:00

Karl seems to have really stepped in it this time.

Karl Rove is a Racist Elitist Pig

The following anecdote does not come from a left-wing blogger but from National Review Online's The Corner. Karl Rove managed to be such a racist snob that he even offended that crowd. According to a congressman's wife who attended a Republican women's luncheon yesterday, Karl Rove explained the rationale behind the president's amnesty/open-borders proposal this way: "I don't want my 17-year-old son to have to pick tomatoes or make beds in Las Vegas." And I thought Rove just wanted to keep enough of the Hispanic vote to win elections past [...]

Tags: Karl Rove, Nation Review

Room For Condi At The Libby Trial

2007-02-08T21:37:00.000-06:00

With memory lapses like this one, she'd fit right in.

Ex-Rice Aide: Memory Lapse on Iran "Really Quite Curious"

I just got off the phone with Flynt Leverett, a former CIA Mideast analyst and National Security Council staffer during President Bush's first term. Leverett says he finds it "really quite curious" that Secretary Rice is pleading a memory lapse [...]

Tags: Flynt Leverett, National Security Council, Condoleezza Riced, Iran

The Big Story

2007-02-08T20:53:00.000-06:00

That's what this story was. Until Anna Nicole Smith suddenly died. Basic info here -

Hastert Used Military Aircraft To Fly Foley Page Scandal Figure To Washington

The media continues to pound a false Washington Times report accusing House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) of wasting government resources by “demanding permanent access to a large military jet for herself, her staff, other Members and supporters.” In fact, Pelosi’s office has stated repeatedly, from the beginning, that “it is up to the Air Force to [...]

Major update here -

A new statement...

A new statement from the House Sergeant at Arms on the Pelosi-plane-ridiculousness ... "For Immediate Release February 8, 2007 As the Sergeant at Arms, I have the responsibility to ensure the security of the members of the House of Representatives, to include the Speaker of the House. The Speaker requires additional precautions due to her responsibilities as the leader of the House and her [...]

Tags: Nancy Pelosi, Plane Scandal

The New Polls

2007-02-08T20:40:00.000-06:00

Still, the bounce just ain't happening. No matter how hard you look, it's tough to find much of optimism for the Administration.

Morning musings: Bush continues to flail in the quicksand

A new survey shows President Bush’s approval rating is at an all-time low. In fact, the only political leader with a lower approval rating is Ariel Sharon. Let’s think about that for a second. The only world leader with a lower approval rating than Bush is a Jew among Palestinians. The only world leader with a [...]

Tags: Bush's Approval Rating, Ariel Sharon, Harris