Sci Fi Novelist Sarah Hoyt on 9/11

Read her blog post!

Tweet of the Day: Buzz Aldrin Remembers 9/11

Today on 9/11 we remember and honor those who so tragically lost their lives. We will never forget. Both 2001 & Benghazi 2012
— Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) September 11, 2013

Quote of the Day: Libya as Exemplar

That's just great:

As world attention focused on the coup in Egypt and the poison gas attack in Syria over the past two months, Libya has plunged unnoticed into its worst political and economic crisis since the defeat of Gaddafi two years ago. Government authority is disintegrating in all parts of the country putting in doubt claims by American, British and French politicians that NATO’s military action in Libya in 2011 was an outstanding example of a successful foreign military intervention which should be repeated in Syria.

"Lawlessness and ruin," as the article describes the place.  Ugh.

The Washington Post Jumps the Shark

You all know that I appreciate beautiful shoes as much as the next girl, but really, Washington Post?  When we have Scandal-a-palooza blowing up all around us on multiple fronts, with ramifications for everything from press freedom to foreign policy, this is what you print?  

I personally don't give a good gorram if this person, as the news story drools, "wears Manolo Blahniks and Christian Louboutins into the Oval Office."   She is not Carrie Bradshaw, and this is not Sex and the City: White House Edition.

I am pleased to note, though, that when I read the story, the very first reader comment on the bottom was this:

6:55 PM EDT
Without a doubt, the stupidest piece I've ever read in the Washington Post.

Stupid with a side of sexism.  All together now to the WaPo: PFFFFFFFTTTTTTT!!!!!

Satire Alert: May Madness Scandal-a-Palooza Brackets

March Madness is (sadly) finished, but a wag at Ricochet has something new for us to play with!  Click to enlarge so you can see all the chicanery, hubris, and moral laxity:

"I am not a crook."

Caveat: This is a joke.  I do NOT support irresponsible talk about actual impeachment efforts, because - let's face it - they're doomed to fail and will only backfire. 

Spinning Scandal-a-Palooza

I stumbled across this hilarious image while news-searching for something else entirely, but it's so pointedly relevant that I simply must post it.  (Seriously, does Obama press secretary Jay Carney even listen to himself?)

Scandal-a-Palooza As Animated Gifs

"How the Obama Administration Is Having the Worst Week Ever."  Sure, but seeing as it's self-inflicted and, especially in the case of the IRS scandal, born of a total abuse of power, I am utterly unsympathetic.  Karma's a b*tch ... and so am I.

UPDATE: Check out this video from Reason.

Scandal-a-Palooza!

It's getting to the point where it's hard to keep track of all these exploding government scandals (wow, the snarky guys at Ace of Spades totally called it today).  There's too much fresh hell going on (need a scorecard?).  Here's your quote of the day, complete with awesome Arrested Development reference:

pissing off the tea party, natsec hawks, the press AND russia in a week's time is a Gob Bluth level of difficulty feat.
— john r stanton (@dcbigjohn) May 14, 2013

Mark Steyn on the Benghazi Debacle

Pretty much what I want to say, only with far more flair. A bon mot: 

"The government dispatched more firepower to arrest Nakoula Basseley Nakoula in Los Angeles than it did to protect its mission in Benghazi."

Watching the Benghazi Hearings

So far, this is pretty much indicative of the behavior of the witnesses versus the behavior of some of the politicians:

Holy @#%, we've got testimony about people being mortarted to death and Maloney's prattling on about "e-mail etiquette."
— jimgeraghty (@jimgeraghty) May 8, 2013

*Headdesk*

Oh, and FYI, here's some live-blogging.

Quote of the Day: Benghazi and the Big Picture

A reminder that Benghazi occurred in the context of major lapses in foreign policy:

We are interested in seeing some political accountability for what increasingly looks like a deliberate attempt to mislead the American people on a matter of national security for the sake of political gain, but we care even more about a serious national discussion about our Middle East strategy.

Benghazi Debacle: Hicks' Testimony

Breaking from Sharyl Attkisson at CBS News:

The deputy of slain U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens has told congressional investigators that a team of Special Forces prepared to fly from Tripoli to Benghazi during the Sept. 11, 2012 attacks was forbidden from doing so by U.S. Special Operations Command South Africa. 

The account from Gregory Hicks is in stark contrast to assertions from the Obama administration, which insisted that nobody was ever told to stand down and that all available resources were utilized. 

Quote of the Day: On the Benghazi Debacle

From Dignified Rant's post:

With tens of thousands of troops in Europe, we really couldn't scrape up a platoon or a company to fly out to Benghazi without preparing them with a week of rehearsals and a PowerPoint briefing about what to expect? 

"What Difference Does It Make?" The Difference Between the Truth and a Lie, Madame Secretary

That Benghazi hearing was disgraceful. 

Recall this and this too. Oh, and this. UPDATE: Cartoonist Michael Ramirez nails it.

2012: A Retrospective of Foreign Policy Follies

Reason picks its top 5 foreign policy flops.  Just 5?

There's No Way To Say "Turducken" And Sound Dignified

Thanksgiving is coming up fast, so my buddies and I have been, in person and online, been happily obsessing about recipes.  The one that's always both fascinated and horrified me is turducken, so let's just say this is pure madness and a thing that spawns madness too. So here are three takes on this monstrosity:

I.   An actual recipe for the Ultimate Turducken.  Overengineer that sucker to oblivion!

II.  OUR LONG NATIONAL NIGHTMARE IS OVER: OH THANK GOD, THE USDA IS HERE WITH A GOVERNMENT-SPONSORED TURDUCKEN PROTOCOL TO END THE NATIONWIDE EPIDEMIC OF PEOPLE GETTING SICK FROM HOMEMADE TURDUCKEN COOKED WITHOUT GOVERNMENT SUPERVISION. WE'RE SAVED!  *throws handfuls of dry stuffing mix like confetti*

III.  The incomparable Iowahawk mashes up Churchill, Petraeus, Benghazi, and turkey into this hilarity:

Murder, wrapped inside a government cover-up, wrapped inside an extramarital affair: Benghazi is the Turducken of scandals.
— David Burge (@iowahawkblog) November 15, 2012

Well, OK, Then

You asked for it.  You literally did.  That sounded pretty much like "Come at me, bro."

Foreign Policy Chickens Coming Home to Roost

As depressing as it is unsurprising:

... the terrorist attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11 should have been a red flag to all who believe this president has invented a successful new model for U.S. leadership. Far from being an aberration, Benghazi was a toxic byproduct of the light footprint approach — and very likely the first in a series of boomerangs.

You don't say!  The entire piece looks at other such "red flags."  Remember, Libya's supposed to be the "success story" of Obama's approach to foreign policy.  Frankly, I'm pessimistic about foreign policy in Obama's second term and getting more pessimistic all the time.

On Benghazi and Petraeus Testifying (Or Not)

I get out of an afternoon seminar, and just as I'm breathing a sigh of relief that the weekend's finally here, this mess blows up, and I'm thinking, Really?  In terms of responding, I'm just going to quote an irate Ace of Spades because  it's everything I want to say:

Why Is Petraeus Not Testifying? 

I don't care if he had an affair or not-- you don't get a pass from answering critical questions on a major debacle simply because you also might have done something else wrong in your personal life. 

What the hell is this crap? Who cares if he had an affair? What does that have to do with Benghazi? 

I don't know he should necessarily resign over this -- apart from the security breach (which seems minor, if the FBI already says it's not expecting charges). 

But I sure the hell know he doesn't get a Get Out of Testifying Free Card. 

Testifying before Congress isn't up to your own discretion, when it's convenient for you.

UPDATE: OK, hilarious quip here.

The New Cover of "Foreign Policy": What We Found in Benghazi

Check out this new report by two journalists with Foreign Policy.