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November 20, 2008 04:05 PM UTC

Thursday Open Thread

  • 52 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

“Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.”

–Marcus Aurelius

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52 thoughts on “Thursday Open Thread”

  1. http://www.salon.com/news/feat…

    Nov. 20, 2008 | FORT CARSON, Colo. — Last month, Salon published a story reporting that U.S. Army Pfc. Albert Nelson and Pfc. Roger Suarez were killed by U.S. tank fire in Ramadi, Iraq, in late 2006, in an incident partially captured on video, but that an Army investigation instead blamed their deaths on enemy action. Now Salon has learned that documents relating to the two men were shredded hours after the story was published. Three soldiers at Fort Carson, Colo. – including two who were present in Ramadi during the friendly fire incident, one of them just feet from where Nelson and Suarez died – were ordered to shred two boxes full of documents about Nelson and Suarez. One of the soldiers preserved some of the documents as proof that the shredding occurred and provided them to Salon. All three soldiers, with the assistance of a U.S. senator’s office, have since been relocated for their safety.

    1. …and break big rocks into small rocks. GEN Graham, the post commander, not only has no tolerance for this kind of shit, but he just might make some phone calls to CID to expedite the investigation.

      This is probably a Battalion Commander or XO that didn’t do his job, and was hastily trying to cover his ass. I’m glad the soldier remembered his Army Core values, and I can’t wait for the HEAT rounds to come out.

      1. Friendly fire happens, always has, always will.  It’s time for the military to be ready to just fess up when it does. It’s a hazard of the fog of war and anyone with a little sense understands that. If the problem is that the casualties can’t get medals if it’s not enemy fire then change that rule.  Their sacrifice is the same regardless.

        As it is, after centuries of this kind of crap, the military has no credibility.  Lying for propaganda, ass covering or career protecting purposes has been the traditional default choice pretty much from the beginning of military history, as has using troops up and screwing them as vets.  

        The latest; 17 years of telling Gulf War syndrome sufferers it was all in their heads.

        1. We’ll know we have it when they acknowledge mistakes such as friendly fire, take care of military wounded and vets, and get past don’t ask/don’t tell.

      1. I felt a twinge of sympathy for him. I can’t lie. I did. Then I reminded myself of what he’s doing to the Endangered Species Act today and what do you know? The twinge disappeared.  

        1. It’s so conspicuous, I wonder if might have just sneezed into his hand or pet a shit-covered pig or something.

          But I can’t feel sorry for W.  His monumental ignorance, weakness and prejudices created suffering from which millions of people will never rebound.

  5. I still think someone from the SOS selection committee may emerge.

    A not so long shot thought is Jay Fawcett. Jay spent a lot of time with the Governor during the 2006 campaign. Ritter likes him.  Bu8escher, Romanoff and Rodriguez all have strong ties to the Governor. A Fawcett pick gets the Governor off the hook.  Jay Fawcett seems to be a smart guy who would not have applied unless  he had a decent chance at being appointed.

    1. Knowing the personalities and political games that will play out, I think it’s a tight race between Beuscher & Romanoff followed closely by Rodriguez then Gordon.  With those four in, I don’t see a Governor who needed to form a panel instead of having the nerve to make the appointment himself going to far outside the expected for the new SoS.  

      Buescher seems to be the safest and has some experience beyond being a legislator that I think edges him ahead of Romanoff.  I’m not sold that Romanoff really wants it as much as it seems like a logical step for him and as I’ve said before, I think he can make a much stronger statewide candidate if he gets some experience outside government under his belt.  I was really surprised to see Cary Kennedy backing Buescher after she and Romanoff worked so closely on 59.  

      Rodriguez has some great experience and brings a definite base of support but she is viewed by some as pretty far left which for a Governor who walks the middle might be too much.  I’ve heard the arguments for Gordon because he almost won last time but there is no love lost between Gordon and Ritter.  Gordon has talked often that he wants to institute some pretty significant changes on the election side but I’m not convinced the Governor wants somebody there to be quite that activist.  I also think that whoever lands as SoS will be somebody who has some interest in the commerce side of the office and I don’t get the sense that Gordon is particularly interested on that side.

      It will be interesting to see who makes the panel’s short list.  Will it be all the exected contenders and former elected officials or will they also throw in somebody unexpected to make it look like they actually considred going outside the box?

      1. blame someone else for not picking a friend.

        You may be right about Buescher

        Gov. Bill Ritter, who will make the appointment based on recommendations from a seven-member selection committee, talked to Buescher about the secretary post for “approximately an hour” before Ritter took off for a business trip to Asia this week, Buescher said.

        “The governor inquired about how I plan to go forward, and he said I should look at the secretary of state job,” he said. “He made no commitments beyond saying, ‘Bernie you ought to look at this, this job requires someone with executive experience.'”

        He’s a hell of an election risk though.  Not for the first time, I’m glad I’m not Governor.

        http://www.gjfreepress.com/art…

        I am enjoying this, but all of the guessing makes me worried.  Do we all have too much time on our hands, or are we more like homeless junkies?

          1. you can be forgiven about being totally ignorant of anything that happens on the this side of the mountains, since it doesn’t matter to you.

            Bernie took a struggling FBO and grew it by a factor of 10 to turn it into the dominant aircraft service center here.  Google “Weststar Aviation” ir you’re not too freakin’ lazy.

            Bernie was also sent in to reorganize the Colorado State Fair in 1996 when it was on the verge of bankruptcy.

            Governor Romer then appointed him director of the Office of Health Care Policy and Financing.

            He also served as Chairman of the Board of St. Mary’s hospital, something you would have turned up in your Google search if you only had the motivation.

            The SOS job is first and foremost about running an organization.  Bernie has that experience in spades.

            Feel free to go back to your parochial stupor now.

            1. …even if you’re kind of a random prick for no reason.  Maybe that’s how they roll on the “western slope”?  Lovely place to spend the holidays, it sounds like.  

                1. ..approximately one billion people on this site have stated that, electorally speaking, the western slope mean nothing in CO elections anymore.  I have not been one of them.  Instead, I said I would listen to you go on about the western slope and nod occasionally.  Yet, I am singled out for some sort of west-side vendetta?  Unfair, you bet.

            2. is that he has too damn much experience.  I’m still not confident that he’d win state wide, another loss will probably end his career.

              All of these wonderful talents and knowledge base, there has to be a better (safer, at least for now) position for him.

      2. http://www.fivethirtyeight.com…

        Nate Silver says the recounting so far has been in more pro-Coleman counties, so the rate may increase a bit over the next few days. Certainly it wonВґt be a sizeable victory, if it is one at all, but it could pretty easily be a few hundred votes.

        http://minnesota.publicradio.o…

        Minnesota Public Radio has a fascinating collection of actual challenged ballots, if youВґre curious about that process. Taking the poll was a lot of fun for me, at least.

    2. I hope everybody realizes that isn’ t always going to mean 60 Dems on board every time.  Conversely I hope there won’t be too much angst if we ony get to 59 or even 58.  It’s not as if no R is ever going to vote the Dems way on anything either.  One more time, 60 doesn’t mean filibuster proof.  

        2. having Franken in that seat. He’s like Jared Polis – a mind open to alternatives that are way outside the usual ideas thrown around Washington. I think we might see some very innovative ideas from him.

      2.    Absolutely right.  The Senate Dems will definitely not behave like those mindless Republican House members voting in lock-step with Tom Delay during the ’90s.

  8. couldn’t congress give a big FU to the auto industry but come up w/ some sort of “bailout” package for all the folks that could lose their jobs?

    If the industry does some sort of substantive restructuring (after ch. 11), a fair number of those folks could go back to work.  Some would find other jobs.  Some can retire early.  And, of course, some would just be screwed…  But it seems like it would cost a hell of a lot less than $25B.

    Just a thought…

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