Weigel, WaPo, And General Stupidity

Just to be up front about my sentiments regular readers will know that I've long ceased to link the WaPo for anything other than mockery. My anger with that publication goes back quite a ways, Judith Miller damn near tearing it but I kept hoping - and being disappointed until last year I just gave the hell up and I don't even remember the straw that broke the back.

Dave Weigel gave some interesting reporting in the WaPo on "The Right" and I had occasion to read him from time to time thanks to other links (I'd quit on the WaPo before he was hired). I was actually impressed and evidently so was the Right - emails from "journolist" were published and they weren't flattering of some. His private opinions weren't acceptable so he resigned (take "resigned" as you will). The WaPo's ombudsman was concerned about the appearance of lack of objectivity regarding who was being covered (as if that's been a concern where the "left" is concerned, much less factuality).

Now I don't have a clue what Weigel thought he could do within the confines of "journolist", maybe he actually thought private meant private in that collection of people. Personalities being what they are, you'd think he'd have known better. Founder Ezra Klein has now junked it as a result of this crap. I'm not privy to the membership of the list, but I have noticed that cretinism isn't missing in that profession. Noting the cretinism of some on the Right is always a fairly dangerous practice since they hit back just as hard (and dishonestly or disreputably) as they can. Weigel had been covering that mess for awhile and it seems he ought to have been aware of that propensity - especially since what he got into trouble for was pointing at it.

I give a damn about making enemies in that camp, there isn't a thing they can do to me, but both the WaPo and Weigel engaged in stupidity of the really general sort. Weigel for trusting a listserve and the WaPo for not being aware that anybody covering the Right from something other than a cretin point of view was going to note cretinism on the Right. Apparently to the WaPo all view points are equal...

"All The President's Men" my ass.

House Cleaning

The sidebar just got a lot shorter with the removal of useless "apps" and the sad trimming of the blog list. There have been a lot of fatalities over the last year. I don't know if Facebook and Twitter are part of that or if the lack of BushCo to kick around or just weariness is responsible. What is left are active and interesting voices - with the single exception of "Jon Swift" which is kept as an exemplar and a memorial.

Posting here has become sporadic at best and along with that a shrinking readership. I'm not sure which came first -chicken/egg thing - but it sure isn't as much of a driver to write for just a few. I keep vaccilating on whether to get motivated and write a lot of content and see what happens or just let go of this thing, indecision isn't a good quality in production. Well, I continue to vaccilate, so we'll see.

The hell of it is that I added some good tools to my blogging arsenal right before I got ... whatever it is that ails this blog...

Idiotological Slaves

Ideology is a fine thing as long as it doesn't get confused about its place in regards to reality, when it does it becomes idiotology. The US Senate had a bill before it - several times - to, among other things, extend unemployment benefits that are expiring. It seems that there is a little matter of the Federal deficit and the bit about encouraging lay-abouts to go get a job rather than subsidizing their ... laziness.

The rather nasty contrast between wealthy Senators (you know of a blue collar income one?) and the recipients of unemployment checks might clue you into my general regard for these cretins (sure, who are the cretins he speaks of?). I suppose there'd be some kind of justification for the "market approach" if there were jobs out there. Employers are not going begging for employees who are laying around licking their nuts on the taxpayer dime.

The Federal deficit is a result of spending out pacing tax and fee income - it isn't rocket science. It costs money to extend unemployment benefits - the taxes paid for unemployment insurance aren't sufficient to deal with this kind of extended unemployment. There is a little matter that the Confederate Party of Republicanism and Plutocracy won't deal with and that is what happens to those benefits after they're issued. Unemployment checks don't offer a life of luxury and savings, they get spent on directly sustaining products and rents or mortgages. Somebody makes and distributes those products or depends on payments of obligations and those are taxable - they are government income and they are jobs which is something different than unemployment to come without those consumers spending. Adding to the roles of the unemployed and foreclosed properties is not a recipe for recovery.

This is a case of the interests of business and of workers coinciding and the GOP standing pretty much alone as assholes. There is even talk of the GOP gaining seats in November. I just can't talk myself into the proposition that America deserves even more of their asshattery and needs some real suffering as a lesson. I don't care whether it is left or right, idiotology isn't the way to go.

The World Is My Oyster

I'm 14 months old and visiting my Grandma and Grandpa's house. Grandpa is a construction guy and he never seems to do things half-way. Grandma went out and bought a plastic swing with nylon rope hangers about three feet long which Grandpa thought posed a bit of a problem considering the best place to hang my swing. Grandpa got some galvanized chain you could pull a truck with and added another three feet and wound up with something he could swing on - if he'd fit.

***Click on pics for full size***

Grandpa is a pretty interesting guy so I like to keep an eye on him, even if he isn't pushing me. He's got that camera thing going on again.

A minute ago I had my sippy cup with juice in it, I don't have it now because it is great fun to watch it fall and Grandpa pick it up. It's really cool to grab it from his hand when I swing up to him.

The camera thing is pretty nice but cameras don't run all the time and they seem to miss the moment, that little space of time that happens when the camera isn't doing the picture taking. I really like my swing but Grandpa makes Grandma crazy with it. He'll pull me head high and let go while Grandma shrieks, "Not so high!" Grandpa just laughs since I'm wearing a seatbelt and I couldn't even manage to get out of the swing on my own much less fall out. I love to go high, and what that camera missed is the wind blowing my hair up and my mouth open to catch that breeze. Grandpa will pull me way up and let go and then sit down and watch me until the swing slows down. I like it all but the best is going high and fast so I kick my legs until he comes and gets me going again. Sometimes he'll stand and push me and I like that best because I keep going high.

Maybe you're too old to really get this without doing it so I'll try to explain. My Grandpa loves me and tries to keep me happy like today. I've got my sippy cup with good juice in it to drink and I'm swinging high and fast while Grandpa watches me. The wind is in my face and it's a beautiful warm morning. I make faces and Grandpa laughs and so do I. Yep, the world is my oyster. (I'm not sure why that means what it means - and neither is my Grandpa)

Ending Secret Holds?

Freshman Senator Claire McCaskill (MS-D) has made a bid to end secret holds in the US Senate. This practice allows any single Senator to secretly stop business from happening, just one whether in minority or majority. There is something a tad odd:

The thing about the practice, though, is that you won't find it written down anywhere.

"I don't think the word even appears," said Senate Historian Donald Ritchie. "It's obviously a very powerful instrument used by every senator. It gives them a lot of influence over the administration and gives them individual clout."

Since I'm no Parliamentarian I can't make too much of this but that it is abused in secret isn't a real secret. I suppose one question for Senators is whether the body is of any real use to American politics or simply an impediment?

The GOP Tells The Truth ?

You can find out who the The Republican Study Committee is but you won't be terribly surprised to find out that Rep Joe Barton (TX-R)is a member especially in light of this statement made under their banner:

“BP’s reported willingness to go along with the White House’s new fund suggests that the Obama Administration is hard at work exerting its brand of Chicago-style shakedown politics. These actions are emblematic of a politicization of our economy that has been borne out of this Administration’s drive for greater power and control. It is the same mentality that believes an economic crisis or an environmental disaster is the best opportunity to pursue a failed liberal agenda. The American people know much better.”

That would be about 100 Representatives of the GOP persuasion having their say about how BP is a victim before member Barton stepped in the dog-poo. Now Rep Boehner (OH-R) may have spanked Barton and some other GOPers may have yelled about it, but with a membership of around 100 that makes it ... well ... The GOP in the House.

Don't misunderstand me, the Democratic Congress-people are plenty cozy with big business. I have to do business and I like to actually make money at it so I'm not inclined to smash businesses but there is a difference between doing business and buying it. The fact, though, is that the GOP is downright plutocratic in agenda and this what it is about. These idjits actually told the truth about themselves and leadership isn't happy.

Candidate Rand Paul isn't in hot water (or wasn't) with GOP leadership for his beliefs, look under the GOP dog whistles, as much as he is in trouble for stating them. The GOP doesn't talk about illegal immigrants as an exploited working serfdom, they talk about them as low-life invaders carefully avoiding talking about employers - understand that this isn't racism, per se, as much as it classism. The interests of wealth must at all costs be protected from the grubby working masses. These people are running for re-election, think about that and the fact that they will mostly be elected. Go ahead, and then wonder why this country is a mess and these people claim government is bad.

Lying Liars And The Lies They Tell

Joe Barton now:

What Barton Said a Few Hours Later The New York Times reports on Barton's mid-day clarification: "I want the record to be absolutely clear that I believe BP is responsible for this accident, should be held responsible and should in every way possible make good on the consequences that have resulted from this accident. If anything I’ve said this morning was misconstrued from that I want to apologize for that misconstruction."

Joe Barton then:

I'm speaking now totally for myself. I'm not speaking for the Republican Party, I'm not speaking for anybody in the House of Representatives but myself. But I'm ashamed of what happened in the White House yesterday. I think it is a tragedy of the first proportion that a private corporation could be subjected to what I would characterize as a shakedown--in this case, a $20 billion shakedown--with the attorney general of the United States, who is legitimately conducting a criminal investigation, and has every right to do so to protect the interests of the American people, participating in what amounts to a $20 billion slush fund that's unprecedented in our nation's history, that's got no legal standing, and which sets, I think, a terrible precedent for the future ... There is no question that BP is liable for the damages. But we have a due process system where we go through hearings, in some cases court cases, litigation, and determine what those damages are and when those damages should be paid. So I'm only speaking for myself, I'm not speaking for anybody else, but I apologize. I do not want to live in a country where any time a citizen or a corporation does something that is legitimately wrong, he's subjected to some sort of political pressure that is again, in my words, amounts to a shakedown. So I apologize.

Shakedown?

Rep Barton (TX-R) seems to think that an escrow account for BP damages amounts to a shakedown by ... President Obama. He didn't do more than apologize to BP for it, no ideas presented in contrast or such - he's just sorry. Maybe he figures the results from the Exxon Valdez spill are fine - you know two decades of wait. What is it about Texas; something in the water or what? It didn't take Rep Orangeman ... er Rep Boehner (OH-R) to start backing up, but there is the Republican Study Group in the House calling it a "Chicago-style shakedown" and Rep Michelle Bachman (MN-R) naming it a redistribution-of-wealth fund."

Rep Boehner knows political poison when he hears it (sometimes) but these folks wear that (R) and have put themselves on record, however much they try to put it in reverse. It isn't as though people haven't started parsing BP words in statements to fling poo at them and while that's silly it isn't a Congressman. Getting in an uproar because their Chairman, with enough accent to make English something other than his first language, used the phrase "small people" is just piling on. The meaning is clear if not artful and a bit different than saying "peons."

Republicans have made Democrats a gift, running against Barton, et al, or not. In fact, over the young Obama Administration's life they've handed all kinds of ammunition to Democrats and I'll be rather disappointed if they don't drag the whole bunch through their self-generated mud.

Random Observations

TPM finds Sharron Angle being rather ... um ... strange:

If this Congress keeps going the way it is, people are really looking toward those Second Amendment remedies and saying my goodness what can we do to turn this country around? I'll tell you the first thing we need to do is take Harry Reid out.

The juxtaposition of words makes the meaning seem have to do with shooting Harry. Not a good political statement, maybe?

So BP shares have lost half their value, some $9 Billion? Woof. Somebodies can't be happy.

Rep Steve King (R-IA) is the gift that keeps on giving:

"The president has demonstrated that he has a default mechanism in him that breaks down . . . on the side that favors the black person,"

Way to go Steve, that sure will add something substantive to the discussion of ... well:

"looks like Eric Holder said that white people in America are cowards, when it comes to race."

In the light that Holder referenced Americans rather than whites you'd have to suppose that what we're all about here is The Confederate Party of Republicanism. One step a bit too far for CO GOP Rep candidate Cory Gardner who cancelled an appearance with King, though you do have to wonder how this one got them there. Too blatant, not quite dog whistle enough?

It seems to be news that Afghanistan sits on a trillion dollars worth of minerals, even though it was discussed back in 2007. So what does this mean? That the Afghanistan War will pay for itself like Iraq did or that the Taliban has even more reason to fight on or ... what? I no longer know what to think about Afghanistan, what made sense 8 years ago was 8 years ago, now?

Good grief, rightwing Red State is upset with the NRA. It seems they're pissed that the NRA has gotten itself an exception from the political disclosure law being considered in Congress and that they gave a good grade to (D) Strickland versus a horrid one for (R) Kasich in Ohio. It seems Red State is a bit confused about the NRA's mission, the 2nd A, and how conservative it actually behaves outside that - in essence you have to be a major disappointment as a (R) to not be favored over a (D).

The President speaks from the Oval Office ... you can be sure that little said will be left to say what it said - it will be parsed to a fare-thee-well. Nothing will be enough or "correct" enough. All kinds of left and right have united to kick the Administration around rather than the Senate which has let energy legislation stall. The mess at MMS is a BushCo mess, one that this Administration hasn't addressed fully, until maybe now. I've listened to a pretty good speach with some specifics and one that will leave a bunch of talking heads carping. Ah well.

And You Thought The Health Care Bill Fight Was Done?

Anybody who thought the fight over the health care reform bill was going to boil down to specious law suits forgot about things like nominations. Dr Donald Berwick has been nominated to be the head of the agency that runs Medicare and Medicaid. That has prompted the usual suspects to creatively edit statements to get something scary.

McClatchy takes note of one rather egregious one:

Critics have pointed to this Berwick comment about rationing: "The decision is not whether or not we will ration care. The decision is whether we will ration care with our eyes open."

However, they generally leave off the last sentence of the quote: "And right now, we are doing it blindly."

Such ... creativity ... lets hacks like Robert Moffit, a health policy expert at the conservative Heritage Foundation, say things like:

"We've got a problem with the health care system, but it's hard to believe that Americans would put up with an explicit rationing system that's become notorious in Great Britain."

One thing you can generally be sure of with the Confederate Party of Republicanism and their allies is that something like truth is quite optional where ever political gain might be made.

Gibbs Backs Anonymous WH Staffer Stupidity

I'm not real sure whose head was so firmly planted into their butt in the White House, but once Anymice talk and then the Press Secretary essentially affirms the statement it becomes pretty obvious that stupidity is rampant.

Look here, I'm a Democrat and I've been active in the formal machinery of the Democratic Party and I know that the Democratic Party and Organized Labor are two different things. Maybe some people can't wrap their head around this, but Labor's agenda involves the distribution of wealth versus the plutocratic agenda of keeping it all. That by definition is LEFT.

Whatever Labor's reasons were for supporting a challenge to Sen Lincoln (I happen to agree) the simplest piece of this mess is that the goddam money was Labor's not the Democratic Party's or DSCC or any other arm. I frankly believe that the Democratic Party is best served by having a very good relationship with Labor. That is not served by the WH telling Labor that their agenda is a waste, it could have been served by simply stating that, "it is Labor's monney, not ours." There are times to have no damn opinion.

I'd really like to quit having to worry about being shot in the back by people who are supposed to be my friends.

**I've held fire hoping they'd fix this, they're not.

Good Political Reporting Is Available

Given the state of political reporting in this state and generally I want to once again give a reccomendation to one of the finest sources, Ridenbaugh Press run by Randy Stapilus. You can also sign up for a subsrciption to his region specific newsletters that do have a price.

Our sites share blogroll links but that is the extent of our relationship beyond mutual respect. The only interest I have is that better information is available to my readers.

California Prop 14 - Top Two Primary Stupidity

Maybe it figures that an :Austrian would celebrate Prop 14 but you would think citizenship and governorship might clue him in. Prop 14 doesn't require partisan identification and allows for same party general elections.

What isn't generally known is that a State has no control over a Party's primary, what they have control over is what they will finance. The gerrymandering of districts in CA (no they're not alone) means that the outcome in some districts may well be two people from the same party running in the General and it also means small parties are cut out entirely. If the State Parties go along with this crap they deserve to be held up to mockery.

Parties are free to finance their own Primary process and the State is not free to interfere with that process if it follows what is set out as a due process. I may be a Democrat and in favor of Democrats winning, generally speaking, but I do not approve in any manner of the dilution of the voter's will.

What upsets me particularly is that my state, Oregon, has an unfortunate tendency to ape the idiocy that California comes up with.

On-going Criminal Enterprise In Guantanamo

McClatchy reports that a secretly issued Federal Court finding last month finds...well, this Judge ain't happy:

In a 36-page opinion formally released Thursday, U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. called Odaini's continued detention "unlawful" and said he'd "emphatically" grant Odaini's petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

We've had innocent people held for over eight years and people who should be tried held for the same time period on the orders of that criminal enterprise I like to call BushCo. What is shameful is that after that crew was put out the enterprise continues to tick right along. I'd love to lay this at the feet of the GOP, but I can't - they're a major stumbling block but some Democrats (enough) are playing right along with their fear mongering.

So, what is it, is this phrase, "home of the free and the brave," just snark? Evidently.

Read the damn article and ask yourself if this is going to have to go the the Supremes.

Confederate Party of Oily Republicanism

"I think the people responsible in the oil spill--BP and the federal government--should take full responsibility for what's happening there," Boehner said at his weekly press conference this morning.

Yep, the Republican House Minortiy Leader wants the taxpayers to pay for cleaning up BP's oil spill. So the second they realize just how bad their plutocratic shilling looks, there's a walk back:

Late update: Boehner spokesman Michael Steel emails to say "Boehner made a general statement about who is responsible for the spill, and the federal government oversight was clearly lacking, but he has said repeatedly that BP is responsible for the cost of the cleanup."

Funny how words don't mean what they mean when you mean them to mean it until somebody realizes what an asshole actually saying it makes you. People vote for these ... folks.

You wouldn't want to miss the part where this statement followed on the heels of the Chamber of Commerce saying it also.

Know Who You Do Business With, Especially In China

When you buy that cheap product with the "Made In China" label, it would be nice if you knew what it is your money is supporting. McClatchy has a story up about how business is done in Yan'an. Yes, that would be this Yan'an:

In dark red letters chiseled into rock, a sign inside the state museum says, "Yan'an is the holy land of the Chinese Revolution." Outside, a towering statue of Mao Zedong looks over the town, which sits on the Yellow River, beneath the rolling hills of coal country.

Zhu Baoqi started out as a worker and invested in former State industries. As he proceeded he started to need money which is where a government official got involved and corruption finally cost Zhu his life. Corruption generally involves some convoluted circumstances and laying them out would take more space than reasonable when McClatchy has already done that work.

Although Guo and two of his henchmen got the death penalty and Wang got four years in prison, the head of the propaganda department at the court that tried them shrugged off the implications of the case.

"Crimes like murder and robbing and stealing are quite common these days in China. People usually don't pay attention," Li Tiesuo said. "If Zhu wasn't a billionaire, it wouldn't have created this big stir."

I have despised our reliance on China's cheap goods and our subsidization of a corrupt authoritarian dictatorship with our dollars. I also know just how difficult it is to avoid Chinese ownership anymore. Take a look at the ownership of major powertool manufacturers to find out how bad it is getting.

The Descent Of Political Dialogue

There is a lot of talk lately, well a bit more than just recently, about how political dialogue has become so rabidly partisan as to be demeaning. Maybe some history lessons would help just a bit with perspective so I'll toss one up.

Early in our history as a nation two well known names stood on opposite sides in political-economic debate which was rather ... heated. The upshot of this heat was that Aaron Burr shot John Hamilton dead in a duel. Now if Boehner and Pelosi square off at ten paces tell me something about the descent.

Threat From The Right?

June 16th at 7PM ET Chris Matthews will host "Rise Of The New Right." You get to hear a lot these days about "the new right" and how it is flexing its muscles. Oh noes...

Let's just back this runaway train up a bit. The Teabaggers seem to be polling at around 22-27% of the electorate. Does that number sound a bit familiar? It ought to, go back to the nadir of BushCo polling and you'll find that 22% number for their support. If you consider that somewhere around that percentage wanted a bunch of BushCo leaving town in orange jumpsuits and chains ... well hell.

The more pictures and film and ink spilled on the Teabaggers the noisier they got and the higher their profile. It was a given that the Rush and Beck fans would take this crap seriously but it became a theme for MSM and it is ludicrous. More people demonstrated against the Iraq War and ... well it certainly didn't get a year and some's daily coverage. Be under no illusion, had media ignored the 'baggers there'd have been hell to pay with screams about the liberal media bias. OK. It just seems as though some kind of sense of proportion ought to be present.

Go ahead and tell these "journalists" they're just aping Glenn Beck and listen to their denials ... then laugh your ass off.

And The Old White Lady Moans

Maybe you remember that old white lady on TV moaning, "I just want my country back," in regard to President Barack Obama and Democrats. Maybe you just didn't get it:

The "Go on Green" mural, which covers two walls outside Miller Valley Elementary School, was designed to advertise a campaign for environmentally friendly transportation. It features portraits of four children, with a Hispanic boy as the dominant figure.

Uh oh...

The project's leader says he was ordered to lighten the skin tone after complaints about the children's ethnicity. But the school's principal says the request was only to fix shading and had nothing to do with political pressure.

Well certainly not,

City Councilman Steve Blair spearheaded a public campaign on his talk show at Prescott radio station KYCA-AM (1490) to remove the mural.

In a broadcast last month, according to the Daily Courier in Prescott, Blair mistakenly complained that the most prominent child in the painting is African-American, saying: "To depict the biggest picture on the building as a Black person, I would have to ask the question: Why?"

That wouldn't lead to bad behavior or anything would it?

R.E. Wall, director of Prescott's Downtown Mural Project, said he and other artists were subjected to slurs from motorists as they worked on the painting at one of the town's most prominent intersections.

"We consistently, for two months, had people shouting racial slander from their cars," Wall said. "We had children painting with us, and here come these yells of (epithet for Blacks) and (epithet for Hispanics)."

In case you didn't follow the link, this is - big surprise - Prescott, Arizona. You suppose that country that lady was bemoaning was the one with 3/5 vote? Where's that damn whip and manacles?

The Bad Call

The only baseball team I root for is the Detroit Tigers, and that's not saying alot since I almost never watch a ball game and seldom check the standings. Armando Gallaraga retired all 27 batters, well did except Umpire Jim Joyce called the runner safe - quite erroneously - at first where Armando was covering for the first baseman. He would be - hell is - the 21st to accomplish this and the first Tiger ever.

Commissioner Bud Selig refused to intervene though the runner and the umpire both agree that he was out from the video. Baseball is a game of statistics, overturning this one has meaning to other games and players and that counts in a lot ways that don't come off as fair. But dammit, it was a perfect game. Ah well - we'll see.

***After Thought***
Kudos to the players and umps for their behavior - at the time and later, really big ones. See the tape of Gallaraga at the call - yes, really.

Do What GWB?

So now we're all complicit in the actions of BushCo?

"Yeah, we water-boarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed," Bush said of the terrorist who master-minded the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington. He said that event shaped his presidency and convinced him the nation was in a war against terror.

"I'd do it again to save lives."

I won't inflict the rest of the BS on you, go read it if you want and for a real insight into the Reichwing try the comments.

Considering how unhinged the Right is it might be a problem to try these cretins ... but then herd thinning might be ...

Oh, that's right, the Left is disarmed...

Hating On Arizona's Immigration Law

The failure of Arizona's law isn't that it is some expansion of police powers, its failure is that it focuses down onto the backs of the least rather than up at those with the most. Where it succeeds is in promoting heated debate about the issue. The bad aspects of the law are pretty clear - racial profiling and de facto "papers please" for a class of citizens or legally present people.

Lost in the uproar about the bad effects is the ongoing flood of illegal immigrants and what it is doing to our nation economically and socially to have an illegal serf class. I don't care squat about May 5th nor do I give a damn about accents, I do care that this drives racism under cover of a real issue. I do care that the plutocrats skate free while the poor are targeted and it becomes a national theme to do it.

Those here illegally are going to have to either be folded into our legal system or removed and the flow stopped. St Ronnie did the first and in the process encouraged the second. The debate today has not spit to do with stopping the flow, anyone determined will get past whatever "border defense" system the right can think of. It is the determination that must be addressed and seriously addressed. The very fact that something as vital as the Social Security system cannot detect and flag fraudulent usage is inexcusable.

The fact that around 60% of those polled support such a law should be a huge warning flag to the ... (impolite words unwritten) ... Congress that it is well past time. Go ahead and hold your breath over this political football.

Our Buddy, Israel

Generally alliances have something to do with emotional connection but are primarily driven by shared national interests. Maybe somebody would like to point out what those shared interests are in regard to our client Israel over the last 20 years? There's no point in jabbering at me about emotional attachments especially since I see not a single "white horse" in the region and crap about theist democracies ain't gonna fly with me - see Hamas.

Israeli Stupidity And Over-reaction

You could take the Israeli publication Haaretz at its word regarding Israel and the humanitarian flotilla or you could decide anything Israel does is just fine. I am of the opinion that rank stupidity and over-reaction is the best description of Israel's handling of this matter.

The idea that the government of Turkey would be a part of arms smuggling for terrorists is ludicrous. It also isn't realistic to think Turkey had control of every aspect up until now. The fact that Israel found it necessary to kill 10 or more people to board essentially unarmed ships doesn't speak well to their planning or their mind sets. Over the past couple years what has become rather obvious is that to the Israeli government's mind there are no human beings in Gaza, only terrorists and sub-humans.

There certainly is the matter of Israeli and Egyptian offers to land the cargoes and forward them to Gaza. That would begin to make this a matter of political statement by running a naval blockade. It isn't in any responsible party's interest to have missiles and other nasties landing in Gaza, but it also isn't in such a party's interest to have Gaza strangled. There's the difficulty, talking about any responsible parties. Oh I just bet Hamas would turn away missile shipments and that Israel will let Gaza be anything other than a hell hole as long as Hamas holds sway. Certainly no non-AIPAC would call the US a responsible party.

There actually are people in this country that would establish a theocracy here, despite the evidence from the Middle East.