Guerrillero

Iraq Mash-Up

Here’s an audio mash-up of two September 2002 House Armed Services Committee hearings held as Congress considered an Iraq invasion, followed by an audio montage of Invasion Day. Donald Rumsfeld, then the Defense Secretary testifies in one hearing; former NATO commander Wesley Clark and neocon Rumsfeld advisor Richard Perle (a.k.a. The Prince of Darkness) are point-counterpoint witnesses in the other.

Listen: RealPlayer;  mp3 (14Mb)

During the hearings, Missouri Democratic Rep. Ike Skeleton (D-MO) relentlessly pressed Rumsfeld and Perle for details of post-invasion planning. Clark presciently warned of chaos following the Sadaam’s fall. But Rumsfeld and Perle offered only vague answers and rosy scenarios based on false assumptions, not facts.

We now know that the administration shunned comprehensive post-invasion planning. Just as Clark predicted, chaos followed Sadaam’s fall and the stubborn insurgency that we continue to battle today took root. (Perle, who resigned his Pentagon post after allegations of conflict, spends his time these days shifting the blame for the Iraq disaster.)

One particularly telling moment comes when protesters who disrupted Rumsfeld’s testimony are literally laughed out of the hearing room. We’re fives years into the Iraq War, with nearly 4,000 U.S. dead and no end in sight, and no one’s laughing now.

Baghdad G.I. to “Car Talk”: Help!

Or: U.S. Military Gets the Shaft in Iraq

Sgt. Jason Young of the 4th Infantry Division called NPR’s “Car Talk” guys Tom and Ray from Baghdad for advice on how to keep heavily armored Humvees operating in a hostile environment.

Sgt. Young: With the "op tempo" and the roads around here, we frequently go through ball joints, shocks, springs, a-arms, tie-rod ends, and we change them out every 30 to 60 days.

I gather the "op tempo" Sgt. Young refers to is "fast and furious."

Tom and Ray’s advice: Grease the ball joints daily. Keep lots of spare parts on hand. And replace parts before they wear out.

The segment was lighthearted and heartbreaking at the same time, another reminder that, after three and a half years in Iraq, our soldiers are still struggling with inadequate equipment and equipment shortages.Makes you wonder where all the money is going.

All the best to Sgt. Young. Stay safe. As for Tom and Ray, their days on Armed Forces Radio might be numbered.

Bill Bennett: Not Worth a Plug Nickel

Bill Bennett is a former “drug czar,” Education Secretary under Reagan, a right-wing radio host, CNN commentator, and author. His “Book of Virtues” was a bestseller, but revelations of his high-rolling (legal) gambling habit kinda undermined his credibility on the subject of virtues. Currently he’s hawking his book, “America: The Last Best Hope,” the first of a planned two-volume history  of the U.S.

I'll bet the Founders who Bennett writes about would judge his views on issues of shared sacrifice in wartime and press freedom to be hopelessly wrong -- even un-American. Listen to the following clips from Bennett's 5/30/06 radio show and judge for yourself.

Meet Hugh Hewitt

Here’s a clip featuring the right-wing radio host scare-mongering for fun and profit. Note that Hewitt doesn’t actually wish death on his listeners; he just wants them to be really, really, really scared, so scared that they’ll buy the life insurance he’s shilling.

Listen this this mp3 and learn all you need to know about Hugh Hewitt in 30 seconds.

Pro-Life (Insurance)

Congratulations! If you can read this, you’re not dead -- yet.

America Catching a Chill

Grayson Barber, a First Amendment attorney and ACLU board member, recently addressed the Moorestown (NJ) Democratic Club. In a half-hour talk, Barber described in chilling detail how the government’s response to threats of terrorism (USA Patriot Act, NSA’s warrentless domestic wiretapping program, etc.) is undermining the Constitution.

Be afraid of what’s happening because we’re afraid, she warned, but don’t be afraid to stand against the erosion of civil liberties in the U.S.

Read news account (Word doc)

Listen in RealAudio

Download mp3

His Master's Voice?

Authorities now believe they know why the Flush Left gang chose Anytown as site for the notorious Toilet Caper. The idyllic little community, where the famous trademark dog Nipper is mascot, recently was selected by a prestigious national magazine as America’s “Number One” town. The gang took issue with the designation, however. Authorities say the Flush Left gang believes Anytown is “Number Two” – totally.

Meanwhile, Anytown leaders strained to restore calm to a community shocked and repulsed by the Toilet Caper. Here is the mp3 recording  of a phone message from Anytown’s mayor to town residents. (Unfortunately, atmospheric conditions caused some of the mayor’s message to be garbled, but you should get the idea.)

(2005.07.09)

Dissembler-in-Chief

During his May 31, 2005, press conference, President Bush was asked to respond to Amnesty International’s charge that the U.S. detention facility at Guantánamo Bay has become “the gulag of our times.” He labeled the charge “absurd” and claimed AI based the claim on testimony from “people who hate America, people that had been trained in some instances to disassemble – that means not tell the truth.”  Of course, Bush meant to say dissemble, which means to “conceal with intent to deceive.”

Listen to the President Disassembling (mp3, 1:40, 1.6mb)

(2004.12.09)

Bravo

In December 2004, soldiers at a staging area in Kuwait peppered their boss, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, with tough questions during a town-hall style meeting.  They asked about the “stop-loss” orders that hold them beyond their contracted enlistments and amount to a “backdoor draft.” They asked about morale-busting pay problems. And they asked about the scandalous lack of vehicle armor that puts their lives in jeopardy in a war zone. They deserve our gratitude, not only for their service, but also for having the courage to hold Rumsfeld accountable.

Here's RealAudio excerpts (courtsey of the  Pentagon) of the Q&A:

Antiquated Equipment;  Lack of Armor;  Pay Problems and Parity;  Stop-Loss

Red State Blues

Guerrilla Noises presents:

Twinkie and the Devil Dogs performing

Red State Blues

(recorded Election Day, 2004)