Lobotero’s Info Ink

First of all, I would like to wish all my readers a very merry 4th of July….eat lots…drink beer…and do not forget the watermelon..wink…wink….

Somewhere during the course of the evening, I had my 10,000 hit. I would like to thank all those who have helped me reach this goal and all those very intelligent people that have participated in my Info Ink. WordPress has made the experience of writing a blog very enjoyable and would like to thank them for an excellent site.

Thank you for all the support and hopefully it will continue and grow.

How long will this continue? This is very old news, but yet they just keep firing away at it. Is there any intelligent people left that does know how badly the Iraq situation was handled? If there are, please, just leave them under their rock, we do not need them out and about.

A nearly 700-page study released Sunday by the Army found that “in the euphoria of early 2003,” U.S.-based commanders prematurely believed their goals in Iraq had been reached and did not send enough troops to handle the occupation.

The report said it wasn’t until July 16, 2003, that Franks’ successor, Gen. John Abizaid, said coalition forces were facing a classic guerrilla insurgency.

Even so, the coalition made some progress, only to have its optimism dashed after the insurgency boiled over in April 2004, when Sunni Arab insurgents and Shiite militias launched violent assaults in many parts of Iraq, the report said.

The authors said the Army had considerable experience and training for guerrilla wars but had not been in one like Iraq since 1992 in Somalia. They said former Secretary of State Colin Powell warned Franks “that he thought too few troops were envisioned in the (invasion) plan.”

Some commanders told the authors they asked about plans for making the country stable and got no answers.

The “post-war situation in Iraq was severely out of line with the suppositions made at nearly every level before the war,” the report said.

Its writers said it was clear in January 2005 that the Army would remain in Iraq for some time, the writers concluded. The report covered the period from May 2003 to January 2005.

OKay, we now know that the invasion and occupation were f*cked up! Can we please move on to solving the problem? Restating the obvious, over and over and over, does nothing to stop the killing of Americans in Iraq.

In Iraq for 25, 50 100 years?  With stories like this, then I would say there is a good possibility unless someone has the cajones to end it!

Iraqi security forces are unable to maintain order following operations targeting al-Qaida fighters in the northern city of Mosul, officials said Thursday.

U.S. and Iraqi authorities view Mosul, the provincial capital of Ninawa, as one of the last remaining al-Qaida strongholds in Iraq. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki ordered a military crackdown in the northern city in May.

The gains from these operations, however, have disintegrated as militant groups re-entered the city and gunmen reportedly are roaming the streets in force, the Iraqi daily Azzaman reported.

Ninawa officials said there was an insufficient number of Iraqi troops to maintain security following operations in May.

“Residents are hopeless once again after shortly enjoying the faint light at the end of the tunnel,” officials said on condition of anonymity.

Officials said they are also concerned about the presence of the Kurdish Peshmerga force, which guards their political districts in the largely Arab city.

At least 18 people died and nearly 80 were wounded in a car bomb attack in Mosul Thursday that targeted the offices of Ninawa Provincial Governor Duraid Kashmula.

The media has successfully pushed Iraq to the back burner and not reported on the war as it should be.  There are still Americans dying in this country and for this president so I believe that anything that happens in the country of Iraq is newsworthy.  Our troops deserve better treatment by the media.

First, Michelle Obama made the statement the , “for the first time in her adult life, I am really proud of my country….” To begin with most media outlets and pundits leave out the words “adult” and “really”. Why? Without the words “adult”and “really” in the comment it seems to have a more ominous meaning. She is being misquoted and no one wants to correct the error. Why?

Now how about Mccain. It appears that he is getting a free ride on his comment in the past, “…I did not love America until I was deprived of her company……” Why is this not reported? Or how about a recent phone interview where he said, “……that it is tough at times to love the US……” (I paraphrase here).

Where is the pundit outcry over these statements, you know, something in the neighborhood of those aimed at Michelle Obama? There is none that I have seen or heard. Without equal coverage of this then I would think that McCain is getting a free ride from the media. You know the same thing that some are saying that Obama is getting.

Has the media signed on to the McCain campaign? Maybe not all, but most, that is.

Does anyone remember the Arabic speaking TV station started by the US?  It is called al Hurra.  I believe it was started in 2004 with the purpose of cutting through the BS and the hate of the region and give the listener the truth.

The station has not quite delivered on its promise.  As a matter of fact, it is airing anti-Israeli, anti-American programing; it also does pro-Iranian reports and has even aired a militant that has been calling for the death of an American prisoner.

But all that is not the absurd part, that is that the American taxpayer has paid $500 million for the operation of this TV station.  Now there is money well spent by your government.

Yesterday I was interviewed on Sirius Radio, channel 110, “The Blog Bunker”. I do not have Sirius but now I will get it….the questions were very good on the days news….the show is lively and well done..it was an enjoyable experience and would do it again…..I was a bit apprehensive since it had been a long time since I had been interviewed, but it was well done and an excellent show. I recommend it to all, especially if you have strong opinions.

It was pointed out that my title “Weblog” was a bit archaic, but I told them I was an old fart and guess I was having brain farts when I picked a title. But after thinking it over he was right and I have since changed the title.  From this day on “Lobotero’s weblog” will be known as “Lobotero’s Info Ink”.

I would like to thank the staff of “Blog Bunker” after an enjoyable experience.

Recently, the fist bump between Obama and his wife was made into a major story by FOX News and now they are it5 it again.

Even conservative commentator Michelle Malkin, who was on camera Wednesday afternoon when the line “OUTRAGED LIBERALS: STOP PICKING ON OBAMA’S BABY MAMA” flashed underneath her, has distanced herself from the phrase.

In a posting Wednesday night, Malkin wrote: “I did not write the caption, and I was not aware of it when it ran (the Baltimore studio doesn’t have a monitor). I don’t know if the caption writer was making a lame attempt to be hip, clueless about the original etymology of the phrase, or both.”

Still, Malkin goes off on a tangent on how Michelle Obama, in the past, has referred to her mate as her “baby’s daddy” (the point being, presumably, that the phrase was thus in play). You can read Malkin’s post here; it includes some of the nasty e-mails she received following her Fox appearance.

Perhaps Fox hired a few too many summer interns to handle some of its behind-the-scenes writing chores.

This media frenzy is just plain stupid.  For days, we have been bombarded with visions and explanations over the fist bump Obama and wife exchanged on the stump.  Why?

The affectionate fist bump between Senator Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, before his victory speech last week in St. Paul became an instant source of fascination among commentators in the news media, who for days have tried to decipher the meaning behind this supposedly odd gesture.

But perhaps none went as far afield as E. D. Hill of the Fox News Channel, who, teasing to a segment last Friday on the Obamas’ moment, said: “A fist bump? A pound? A terrorist fist jab? The gesture everyone seems to interpret differently.” Media Matters, a liberal group, called attention to her comments that day and demanded an apology on Monday.

The Fox News segment was part of a fist-bump-related media dorkathon that continues, even a full week after the Obamas’ onstage moment.

Um, people: This is a common gesture, and its use is not limited to Democrats with unusual names. In 2001 it was used by Carleton S. Fiorina, the former Hewlett-Packard chief executive — now advising Senator John McCain — and Michael D. Capellas, then the Compaq chief executive, to salute the completion of their merger. And in 2006, former President George Bush shared a fist bump with Anna Kournikova at a celebrity tennis event — and he was 82 at the time.

Is there nothing else the media can focus on……I don’t know…..like taxes, gas, Iraq, and I am sure there is a wealth of subject that need to be covered, and this one is no where on the list.  A fist bump is the new high five….it is that simple and that innocent….please move on to something important.

An unusual coalition of interest groups from left and right is launching a drive today to head off an American military attack on Iran by pushing America into high-level negotiations with Tehran.

The Campaign for a New American Policy on Iran, which bills itself as “transpartisan,” consists of more than three dozen organizations, most of them left-leaning, such as the American Friends Service Committee, the Institute for Policy Studies, and the Open Society Policy Center, which is backed by George Soros.

However, the campaign also has the backing of a smattering of right-of-center groups, including the American Conservative Defense Alliance, the Libertarian Party, and the American Cause, which is headed by Patrick Buchanan.

The campaign to push for direct talks with Iran’s mullahs is kicking off with a press conference this morning on Capitol Hill expected to feature the Libertarian nominee for president, Robert Barr, as well as several members of Congress, including Reps. Keith Ellison of Minnesota and Barbara Lee of California, both Democrats, and Rep. Ron Paul, who mounted a bid for this year’s Republican presidential nomination. Brandishing red telephones supposed to symbolize a hotline to Tehran, the group will urge supporters to call Congress and press for talks.
One advocate of a tough line toward Tehran, Michael Ledeen of the American Enterprise Institute, disputed the coalition’s suggestion that America has been unwilling to talk with Iran. “We’ve tried everything. There’s no stick we haven’t brandished. There’s no carrot we haven’t dangled,” he said. “They don’t want us. They’re our enemies.”

Some campaign participants could draw unwanted notoriety to the effort. Last year, federal prosecutors named one member of the coalition, the Council on American Islamic Relations, as an unindicted co-conspirator in a criminal case linking the Texas-based Holy Land Foundation and Hamas. Cair denied the claim and asked a judge to strike the co-conspirator list from the public record. Jurors acquitted the defendants on some counts and could not reach a verdict on most, but Cair’s motion was never ruled on.

Apparently not all pundits are agreeing with McCain and the Bush rhetoric.  I wish them success for a peaceful end to these smoldering hostilities.

NO not Clinton or Obama or McCain or Dems or Repubs, what I am talking about is the hatred that “journalist” have for bloggers. Those who consider themselves “journalist” have this burning disdain, yes hatred, for bloggers, especially successful bloggers. IMO, journalist seem to have this idea that the blogger is somehow stealing their thunder. That is a very good possibility! But why is this?

Journalist have this undeniable arrogance that since they went to college that they somehow have this corner on the truth and that few others opinions have little merit, if any at all. But the simple truth is that some bloggers are a bit sharper and more open than some journalists. Especially those peope who have worked at the grassroots level and that these people have a better grasp of the actual reality of a campaign and avoid the entrapments of the corporate media.

There is another problem–the average American reader has an attention span of about 500 words–anything beyond that and their eyes glaze over and they are lost. Most journalist attempt to impress the reader with massive amounts of stats and history and that they, the journalist, have this command of the English language. They use words like misogyny–now you go to a local pub and ask patrons what that word means and they will buy you a drink and change the subject. Absolutely no one will carry about the use of words that have no meaning to them.

Joe Sixpack wants his info condensed down so that the point is easily understood. But no, the journalist will brattle on and on if facts and figures that mean nothing to “real” people. Joe Sixpack does not care what gas cost in 1976–he wants to know what it will cost tomorrow.

Sanctimonious BS is NOT the way to inform the public. To the point and in as few words as possible is the only way the average person will pay attention. The only thing that a 1500 word essay on the economy will collect is bird droppings at the bottom of the cage.

There has always been a simple rule–K.I.S.S.