Politics Plus

I trust you already know that, for the first time since Vietnam, a General officer has been killed in a war zone.  From all accounts Major General Harold J Greene was an excellent, dedicated commander.  I ask that you join me in condolences, thoughts ands prayers for his family, his friends, his troops and all who loved him.

For the first time since Vietnam, a United States Army general was killed in an overseas conflict on Tuesday when an Afghan soldier opened fire on senior American officers at a military training academy.

The slain officer, Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene, was the highest-ranking member of the NATO-led coalition killed in the Afghanistan war, and his death punctuated the problems vexing the Americans as they try to wind down the 13-year-old conflict, contending with a political crisis that has threatened to splinter the Afghan government and leave it unable to fend off the Taliban.

The general was among a group of senior American and Afghan officers making a routine visit to Afghanistan’s premier military academy on the outskirts of Kabul when an Afghan soldier sprayed the officers with bullets from the window of a nearby building, hitting at least 15 before he was killed.

Though American officials said General Greene was not believed to have been specifically targeted, his violent death at the hands of an Afghan soldier, not an insurgent, was a reminder of the dangers faced by even the highest-ranking, and best protected, officers in Afghanistan… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <NY Times>

No doubt he shall be mourned my many.

I’m sad to report that only minutes after hearing of this I also heard Republicans using the occasion to fault Obama and call for a continuation of the US occupation of Afghanistan.  Thy are saying this proves that we have not yet defeated Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.  How absurd!

There is no evidence at all of any association between the attacker and Al Qaeda.  He attacked us because we are foreign and occupying his country.  The Afghan people have a history of driving out foreign occupiers for thousands of years.  There is one way to stop the attacks.  Leave their country.  In the 19th and early e0th centuries, the British learned that lesson the hard way.  In the 20th century, so did the Russians.  In the 21st century, we are learning it, but not quickly enough.  If leaving Afghanistan were a bad idea, Republicans would not oppose it.

I’ve certainly had no shortage of writing about one Republicans that the Republican Reichsministry of Propaganda, Faux Noise, has praised and interviewed completely, Cliven Bundy.  He has found his way back into the news in an indirect sort of way.  According to a study of law enforcement professionals, Sovereign citizens are the greatest terrorist threat Americans face.

In a new study conducted by researchers tasked with  studying of the root causes and consequences of terrorism in the U.S. and abroad, the sovereign citizen movement was perceived to be the gravest terrorist threat, rivaling Islamist extremists and militia/patriot groups.

According to National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism —better known as START— sovereign citizens were the top concern of law enforcement, even as a belief that some domestic groups including the KKK, Christian Identity, and neo-Nazis represent less of an actual terrorist threat when compared to a previous study.

The report, complied  by START researchers David Carter, Steven Chermak, Jeremy Carter and Jack Drew,  is drawn from surveys with  more than 364 officers representing 175 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies. Those surveys  asked respondents to to gauge their perception on the threat of terrorism, the nature of information-sharing, and their belief as to whether their agencies are prepared to deal with terrorist attacks… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Raw Story>

Ed Schultz covered this story in two segments. In the first he discussed the upshot and blowback of Republican hero, Cliven Bundy, including how a Bundy follower, Jared Miller, murdered three people.

In the second Ed interviews SPLC expert Ryan Lenz and Nevada journalist John Ralston.

US Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) called these people patriots, so any attempt to deny the connection between them and the Republican Party is a lie.

I have been saying for years that Al Dubya is a greater threat to America than Al Qaeda ever was.  I was right.

Most of you know that I did some volunteer work for Jeff Merkley six years ago when he defeated Goose-step Gordon Smith, the so-called moderate Republican, who often cast progressive votes in the Senate, but only when it made no difference, whatsoever.  Jeff has gone on to become a reliably progressive Senator.  Now Jeff is opposed by Monica Wehby, who claims to be moderate.  Here is the proof that she is no such thing.

Monica Wehby, an Oregon pediatric neurosurgeon, has become one of this cycle’s conservative stars on the strength of her résumé and strong victory over four opponents in the May GOP Senate primary –  and because of her gender. In a column, George Will wrote that given the primacy of health care in the nation’s economy, the Senate could use more physicians and that “another doctor may be coming, straight from the operating room to her first elected office.”  Mitt Romney endorsed her. Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell said women would love her. And Sens. Kelly Ayotte, John McCain and Susan Collins have all donated to her campaign.  Her match-up against the Democratic incumbent Sen. Jeff Merkley helps the GOP broaden their Senate map and their chances of taking the upper chamber in November. Now Wehby, whose catchy slogan is “Keep your doctor, change your Senator,” is about to get the biggest boost of her campaign, with the Koch-affiliated group Freedom Partners set to pour millions into a television ad blitz, according to the Oregonian. The influx of cash comes as Wehby is still introducing herself to voters in her match-up against Merkley, who, according to The Washington Post Election Lab, has a 99 percent of winning. Merkley also has the edge in fundraising, with about $6.7 million raised to Wehby’s $2 million, an uneven playing field that the outside money will help to level. Wehby’s campaign team, which is not allowed to coordinate with any outside groups, said they are still regrouping after a tough primary, with plans to continue to introduce Wehby to voters around Oregon throughout August.  Their internal polls show Wehby down by only two, while other public polls show Wehby lagging by double digits. “We don’t have any control over who or what comes into the race, but the willingness of outside groups to take a look means that Oregon is back on the map,” said Dean Petrone, communications director for Wehby’s campaign. “Outside groups like them wouldn’t be putting money in this early if they didn’t think there was a real opportunity in the fall.” Merkley’s campaign is trying to turn the Koch-linked investment into a liability, following a strategy already seen in several races, particularly in North Carolina, where Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan has faced a barrage of ads from Koch-affiliated groups. In advance of Wednesday, when the television ads are set to begin, the Merkley campaign put out a Web ad of their own, framing Wehby as a tool of the Koch brothers and big money interests. A call and e-mail to Freedom Partners was not returned… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Washington Post>

Oregon voters need to be informed that Wehbe sucking in all those Koch dollars guarantees that she’ll be sucking up to Koch policies.  Jeff does that well.

In addition, I don’t think this woman is mentally fit.  This article is 2 1/2 months old:

Until recently, Oregon Republican Senate hopeful Monica Wehby was known mostly as a rare chance for the GOP hopeful to be competitive in a blue state, and a candidate with a campaign ad quickly dubbed one of the best of the year. But on the eve of the state’s primary Tuesday, Wehby’s Republican and Democratic opponents are seizing on another way to define her – as an unstable stalker.

On Monday, The Oregonian published a 2007 police report about an altercation between Wehby and her soon-to-be-ex-husband Jim Grant, in which he accused her of “ongoing harassment.” The couple has accused each other of acting violently, with Grant admitting to it: ”Jim said over the last year Monica has pulled his hair, slapped him and thrown items at him. Jim said he had been violent with her in the past approximately three years or so ago.”

This follows revelations that in April 2013, Wehby’s ex-boyfriend, Andrew Miller, called the police to complain that she was “stalking” him and had repeatedly entered his home uninvited. Politico reported on the incident Friday, on the morning of the primary debate. On the same day, The Oregonian published audio of the call… 

Inserted from <MSNBC>

Here’s the audio from that call.

Because I am not Republican, integrity demands that I add that Miller has since stated that he regrets making that police report and that he supports her candidacy.  But I won’t pass it off as a mistake, because her stalking and harassment are recurring patterns of behavior.

Oregonians, convince everyone you know that their votes are important and to vote for Jeff Merkley.  For my previous articles involving Wehby click here and here.

Every week, Republicans join a competition to see who can say the most outlandish things, and in the process, every week they push the envelope on just how demented InsaniTEA can become.  I trust that you will believe it, when I tell you that last week was no exception.

Ann Coulter wonders why we can’t deal with our border the way Netanyahu deals with Hamas.

The headline kind of says it all. Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu is Ann Coulter’s kind of president. He bombs civilians and seems pretty unconcerned about killing hundreds of Palestinian kids. Or, even if he is concerned, at least he still does it. She segued to a discussion of Netanyahu’s iron fist in a discussion on Fox News’ Hannity about tunnels found at the U.S./Mexican border. Tunnels, hey, that reminds Ann of the tunnels in Gaza used by Hamas.

“More than a hundred tunnels have been found on our border,” Coulter told Hannity. “To smuggle in weapons, guns, they’re invading, they’re murdering, they’re raping. The head of the DEA said about a year ago that he thinks the surge of homicides in Chicago is a Mexican drug cartel.”

Then she added: “I just wish we would talk about our border the way we talk about Israel’s border.”

Now she was on a roll.

“We need a Netanyahu here. Can you imagine all these — yes, sometimes Palestinian kids get killed, ” she said as she began to laugh. Then she laughed and laughed, and then her head started spinning around and she vomited green fluid…

Inserted from <AlterNet>

You can always count on the Coultergeist for thoroughly demented hatred.  If Butcher Ben (R-IS) is unavailable, perhaps she can unleash Vladimir Putin (R-RU), aka GOP Pootie, on the refugee children.  Sadly this is just one of five demented Republican moments from last week alone.  Click through for the other four.