Various Ridiculous things.

by Kagro X

• Your August 6th September 5th PDB:

Bin Laden Miers, Bolten determined to strike defy subpoenas in U.S.
Justice held hostage -- Day 42. Where's that full House contempt vote?

• Bush's entourage goes to Australia. With three 747s, 2 C17 Globemaster III air transports (carrying Marine One, a Blackhawk surveillence chopper, and the president's anti-tank grenade-proof limo), and over 700 staffers, including a doctor, nurse, personal chef and four cooks, 50 White House political aides, 150 national security advisers, 200 specialists from other government departments, 250 Secret Service agents. All of which presumably sat on their thumbs at a cost of God only knows what, while the pretzelnit stopped for a few photos in Iraq. But be warned: Dems can't make an issue of it, because they were preemptively attacked when Republicans created the fake controversy over Speaker Pelosi's own plane and travel expenses. Oh well.

• And with this, Cheech Marin finally becomes a documentary film maker.

• The GAO report is out, as emptywheel notes. What will Congressional Dems do with it? This'll be the first road test of how they'll perform after patiently gathering the evidence in the ten bazillion investigations they're currently pursuing. So why is it so quiet out there?

An open thread? Sure. Why not? Your day is only going to get more ridiculous from here.

Comments

[emptypockets]

In fact, Chong (not Cheech) became a documentary film maker, though he is interested only in himself unjust drug prosecutions and not the immigration issue. Reviews for "aka Tommy Chong" are not good, and I'm aware of it only because I sat behind one of the biggest assholes I've ever met (and I live in NYC) on a plane flight several months ago, and found out later he's the director and producer of the Chong doc.

(This guy talked on his cellphone throughout takeoff, screamed at a sweet old lady across the aisle when she asked him to turn off the cellphone while in flight, took the extra trouble to yell at her again on his way off the plane 4 hours later, and was generally a total ass. Didn't want to move a few rows away to let a family sit together. I know his name because he was back on his blackberry as soon as we began the descent, and I was reading over his shoulder -- he was sending a pissy email to Tommy Chong, telling him he doesn't know shit. I googled the "From" address on the email when I got home. So, beware when you're being a total asshole in public on your blackberry -- you are easily identified. Oh, and if you want to be a prima donna, for god's sake, don't fly coach.)

[sojourner]

Kagro X, just a quick correction: The "Justice Held Hostage" should be counted from the beginning of Bush in office...

[P J Evans]

Why does Shrub need that much entourage? Can't he dress himself without help? Can Congress require that they pay at least coach fare for their round-the-world junket? (Off the top of my head, these are questions that really ought to be asked about this trip.) Four cooks????

[ab initio]

We'll be past Day 500 and Justice would still be held hostage. If anyone thinks Pelosi et al will hold anyone accountable please pass me what they are smoking.

[Shez]

"Your day is only going to get more ridiculous from here."

Ask and you shall...

"Air Force probes mistaken transport of nuclear warheads"
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Six nuclear warheads on air-launched cruise missiles were mistakenly carried on a flight from North Dakota to Louisiana last week, prompting a major investigation, the military officials have confirmed.

[..] The crew was unaware that the plane was carrying nuclear weapons, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the extraordinary sensitivity and security surrounding the case.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/05/loose.nukes/index.html

[P J Evans]

Shez @ 12:11

Elsewhere this was brought up, and the comment was that the real thing is a different color from the dummy (practice) version. These guys didn't notice? No one was tracking the location of the real ones? WTF?!
(I have a hard time believing this was accidental. It sounds like someone is trying to disguise a move.)

[bmaz]

I don't know about the movie and it's attendant asswipe you encountered, but Tommy Chong did get a raw deal.

[bmaz]

Louisiana? They must feel they didn't do enough damage to the levees the last time....

[phred]

PJ Evans, why would anyone want to move nuclear warheads??? It's not like we're about to "bomb Iran back to the Stone Age"... Oh, wait a minute...

Yeah, I'm with you, there is no way in the world those warheads were moved by mistake. Looks to me like Cheney's DoD moles are getting the ball rolling on Cheney's next battle front. I wonder what the Joint Chiefs will make of this little maneuver?

[Mary]

That piece on the nuclear warhead transfer is unbelievable.

I guess, though, when you have 150 national security experts all emailing back and forth with Rice about what shoes to include while they are entouraging with Bush, no one is left for the unimportant stuff.

If only the NOLA residents had needed nukes instead of ice post - Katrina, apparently Gov could have come through for them.

[P J Evans]

I loved (for some value of 'loved') this in the story about the 'strayed' nukes:

But officials also said the incident was a major breach of security rules surrounding nuclear weapons. One Air Force official said that he could not recall anything similar happening.

The Air Force announced that all flights of fighters and bombers in the United States will be halted on September 14 to allow for a review of procedures.

Okay, they'll review their procedures ... Friday next week. I wonder how many of these supposedly-to-be-decommissioned warheads will be moved before then. (Why no, I don't trust these guys any farther than I could throw a B52.)

[Kagro X]

They announced the date on which all flights will stop? They're just emboldening... uh... our own warheads. Or something.

[Dismayed]

Kieth Oberman's last Secial Commentary is damn pointed. There's one newsman I respect. Link up at Raw Story for those interested.

[mjh]

I'm with Olbermann - I'm ready to explode if we don't get Congress to act on ending the unlawful war. I can't take it any more. Katie Couric makes me want to puke.

[radiofreewill]

Bye-bye, John Howard!

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=293664

The President of the United States has backed John Howard as a serious contender for the election, adding that "he's kind of like me".

[cboldt]

Sounds like what was "moved" was cruise missiles, with warheads inside instead of being removed first. Point being that in that condition (inside the cruise missile), the color of the warhead isn't evident.

Protocol is to relocate the warheads via ground transport -- so belay the thought that the fact of a move portends trouble. It was the mode of move that is the issue, not the move itself.

The mode of move (flight) is an issue due to concerns of dispersal on crash, and that "flight" is the mode that permits, ummm, "delivery" to an enemy target.