A little over a year ago, then eighteen month old Amir Jennings went missing in South Carolina. While there was a great deal of local coverage, the story of his disappearance never hit the national media hot button like Caylee Anthony's did. There are a number of theories as to why that was and still is. Most of them have to do with race and gender. Apparently the national media decided the public just isn't as interested in missing cute young black boys as they are in missing cute young white girls.
This blog posted about his disappearance and his mother's subsequent trial back in September. Since then the breaking news is that there is no breaking news. In fact the entire gruesome mystery has dropped completely out of sight, much like the Oklahoma City death of Alina Fitzpatrick has. Only family and friends remain concerned, heart sick, and desperately pressing for answers.
The last time anyone saw Amir Jennings it was the 23rd of November, 2011. A time line furnished by WBTV in Charlotte, N.C. reports that in early December of that year family members began to confront Amir's mother, Zinah about his location and safety. Dear old mom took it on the lam and on December 18th her mother, Amir's grandmother, reported both of them missing to police. On Christmas Eve of 2011 Zinah Jennings was involved in a car wreck and picked up by the cops. At first she denied she even had a child, then she said he was with friends in Georgia. Just to cover all her bases she then told authorities he was actually with friends in North Carolina. Finally, in a spasm of intense maternal concern, she told police that her son had disappeared and it was up to them to find him. The only thing the police did find was a blanket in the trunk of her car with blood on it. It eventually turned out to belong to Amir.
Cadaver dogs were called in, but an extensive search of an eight mile radius around the Jennings home turned up nothing, despite one relative recalling seeing Zinah with a shovel in the back yard after her child had dropped off the face of the planet. A $10,000 reward for information yielded none. By the end of January of this year Zinah Jennings was charged with "unlawful conduct toward a child." Her lawyer claimed she was mentally ill and "lacked sufficient insight, or capacity to make responsible decisions." Another relative claimed she displayed symptoms of schizophrenia. Whatever the case, when the trial was over she got ten years of hard time. To this day she refuses to say where her son is. Her mother has speculated that she might have given him away, or sold him. Tragically, those are the most optimistic scenarios available.
A quick glance at Google shows about nineteen pages of posts and stories about Amir before they peter out and morph into other things. Almost all of the stories come from the Columbia, South Carolina media. There are a few other articles from other nearby outlets, but in truth the big boys, CNN, FOX, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, and NBC have very little, if anything, to say about the disappearance or his mother's trial. It would seem little Amir is just another lost soul in a world too chock full of lost souls. The outrage and scrutiny that followed Caylee Anthony's case simply did not exist.
The suspicion here is that it didn't have to be that way. That if some producer, or reporter at any of the national news organizations would have pushed hard for extensive coverage of Amir's disappearance the public would have been all over it.
You hear about FOX being the red network and MSNBC being the blue network and such and such. That is all fine. When it comes to politics any more I just assume I'm getting a biased review of what is happening. What is truly bothersome is that the national media decides what we will know and how much we will know about it. Amir Jennings' disappearance had nothing to do with politics, it is just that some wankers in three or four editorial board rooms decided he wasn't important enough to warrant our attention.
If you want to find the true threat to an informed public, you don't have to rage about slanted politics, or government censorship. All you have to do is think of Amir Jennings. If a dangerously few people in this country don't believe we need to know about something, no matter what it is, then we won't. The lives and deaths of human beings will fall through the cracks That is the power of the press in the early 21st century. It isn't a comforting thought, but few of us will dwell on it. The rest of us won't because we haven't been told to do so by some news anchor. Stories which focus on minority kids obviously don't sell advertising time. The brutal truth is if some cretin who has a mind focused on nothing more than the bottom line decides Amir Jennings' story can't sell ads, then screw the kid--let's talk about something else.
Such is the attitude and soul of what we can call the new journalism.
sic vita est
11-30-12
Friday, November 30, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Deja Vu for Egyptians Everywhere
That didn't take long did it? Mohammed Morsi, the first democratically elected leader of Egypt in its roughly 5,200 year history took office in June of this year. This month he has begun acting suspiciously like his predecessor, the deposed and imprisoned Hosni Mubarak. Morsi, who has been a member of the Muslim Brotherhood since 1977, moved quickly after his election to solidify his position with the Egyptian army by replacing a number of high ranking officers with people he could trust. By last week he must have decided he was in solid enough with them that he could begin the hallowed process of becoming "president for life." He issued edicts which in effect told the nation's judicial system that they couldn't rescind, or challenge anything he said or did until a new constitution was approved by a parliament his party controls. Think Dick Nixon's most intense wet dream coming true.
This really isn't something new in Egypt. In fact it is a tradition of sorts dating back to the Pharaohs. Before Morsi there was Mubarak who is currently, if he's still alive, doing life in prison for his part in the killing of protesters prior to his ouster. Before Mubarak there was Sadat. He was assassinated after an eleven year reign by fundamentalist army officers. Prior to Sadat there was Gamal Abdel Nasser, a former Colonel in the army who, with Muhammad Naguib, led the overthrow of King Farouk I in 1952. Naguib actually served as Egypt's first president for a while, before Nasser grabbed power and chucked him into indefinite house arrest. Farouk himself was more concerned with high end European shopping sprees and dining on raw oysters than he was with running the place, so no one was sorry to see him go off into exile. Then there were the British. They actually controlled the country from 1879 through the second word war, although they let Farouk and others of the Alawiyya Dynasty act like they were the head of state. It was sort of like the Romans did with Herod back in the day.
The problem Morsi has is that until Mubarak's last stand none of the other guys who were in charge had to worry about the people of Egypt. No, their main concern was the support of the Egyptian military. As long as the guys in the tanks were in your pocket it didn't matter what the average Joe in the market thought of you. That appears to have changed and changed dramatically. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets when they'd finally had their fill of Mubarak. He responded brutally and was eventually run out on a rail. Yesterday a report by the AP says close to 200,000 people filled Tahrir Square in Cairo and they were not happy campers. The focus of their anger was their new president and his sudden drift toward another autocracy.
The AP story, written by Maggie Michael and Sarah El Deeb, says the protests weren't confined to just Cairo. That in fact some Morsi opponents mounted attacks on several offices of the Muslim Brotherhood across the country, setting fire to at least one. The report also states that at least 100 people were injured in what amounted to a massive gang fight between protesters and Brotherhood members in the city of Mahalla el-Kobra.
So it would seem Morsi is at a crossroads. He can back off his Tsar like proclamations and lose face with his base. He can strike some sort of compromise with the judiciary that will mollify the masses, although what that could be remains unseen. Or, he can go all Mubarak by calling out the troops and turning them loose on the crowds.
Morsi has a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Southern California and was a professor before entering the frenzied world of Egyptian politics. He also spent seven months in the slammer because Mubarak didn't like his attitude and what he was saying. Presumably he understands that a show of deadly force would only push Egypt to the brink of complete anarchy. Of course you never know what wildly elegant dreams are swirling in his head right now. Obviously he believes he has all the answers and everyone else in the country can't do anything but foul them up.
It certainly appears he badly underestimated the Egyptian populace's desire for real democracy. The people in the streets don't want just a name change at the top, they want a fundamental change in the way the system works. They thought they had it when they dumped Mubarak and elected Morsi. Now he is starting to look like every other guy they've had to deal with. The difference, at this point anyway, is that it seems they aren't going to put up with that sort of political buggery any longer.
Perhaps a call to Hugo Chavez over in Venezuela is in order. He probably has some helpful tips on how to pull this sort of thing off and I'm sure he'd be open to helping out a rookie. After all solidarity must be maintained among those in charge.
Democracy is a pesky thing, especially when you're the only one who knows what is right and good. God only knows what sort of cracked ideas the Hoi Polloi might have when it comes to The Grand Plan.
The AP says more demonstrations are in the works for Friday. Look for this to get ugly in the extreme. Right now the only real question is the size of the body count.
11-27-12
This really isn't something new in Egypt. In fact it is a tradition of sorts dating back to the Pharaohs. Before Morsi there was Mubarak who is currently, if he's still alive, doing life in prison for his part in the killing of protesters prior to his ouster. Before Mubarak there was Sadat. He was assassinated after an eleven year reign by fundamentalist army officers. Prior to Sadat there was Gamal Abdel Nasser, a former Colonel in the army who, with Muhammad Naguib, led the overthrow of King Farouk I in 1952. Naguib actually served as Egypt's first president for a while, before Nasser grabbed power and chucked him into indefinite house arrest. Farouk himself was more concerned with high end European shopping sprees and dining on raw oysters than he was with running the place, so no one was sorry to see him go off into exile. Then there were the British. They actually controlled the country from 1879 through the second word war, although they let Farouk and others of the Alawiyya Dynasty act like they were the head of state. It was sort of like the Romans did with Herod back in the day.
The problem Morsi has is that until Mubarak's last stand none of the other guys who were in charge had to worry about the people of Egypt. No, their main concern was the support of the Egyptian military. As long as the guys in the tanks were in your pocket it didn't matter what the average Joe in the market thought of you. That appears to have changed and changed dramatically. Hundreds of thousands took to the streets when they'd finally had their fill of Mubarak. He responded brutally and was eventually run out on a rail. Yesterday a report by the AP says close to 200,000 people filled Tahrir Square in Cairo and they were not happy campers. The focus of their anger was their new president and his sudden drift toward another autocracy.
The AP story, written by Maggie Michael and Sarah El Deeb, says the protests weren't confined to just Cairo. That in fact some Morsi opponents mounted attacks on several offices of the Muslim Brotherhood across the country, setting fire to at least one. The report also states that at least 100 people were injured in what amounted to a massive gang fight between protesters and Brotherhood members in the city of Mahalla el-Kobra.
So it would seem Morsi is at a crossroads. He can back off his Tsar like proclamations and lose face with his base. He can strike some sort of compromise with the judiciary that will mollify the masses, although what that could be remains unseen. Or, he can go all Mubarak by calling out the troops and turning them loose on the crowds.
Morsi has a Ph.D. in engineering from the University of Southern California and was a professor before entering the frenzied world of Egyptian politics. He also spent seven months in the slammer because Mubarak didn't like his attitude and what he was saying. Presumably he understands that a show of deadly force would only push Egypt to the brink of complete anarchy. Of course you never know what wildly elegant dreams are swirling in his head right now. Obviously he believes he has all the answers and everyone else in the country can't do anything but foul them up.
It certainly appears he badly underestimated the Egyptian populace's desire for real democracy. The people in the streets don't want just a name change at the top, they want a fundamental change in the way the system works. They thought they had it when they dumped Mubarak and elected Morsi. Now he is starting to look like every other guy they've had to deal with. The difference, at this point anyway, is that it seems they aren't going to put up with that sort of political buggery any longer.
Perhaps a call to Hugo Chavez over in Venezuela is in order. He probably has some helpful tips on how to pull this sort of thing off and I'm sure he'd be open to helping out a rookie. After all solidarity must be maintained among those in charge.
Democracy is a pesky thing, especially when you're the only one who knows what is right and good. God only knows what sort of cracked ideas the Hoi Polloi might have when it comes to The Grand Plan.
The AP says more demonstrations are in the works for Friday. Look for this to get ugly in the extreme. Right now the only real question is the size of the body count.
11-27-12
Monday, November 26, 2012
The Great Texas Secession
It appears the hyper-conservatives in Texas have decided that since they can't run the United States of America the way they want to they'll just leave. Well, not leave as in move to Belize, or Ecuador, but secede from the U.S. I'm sure that sounds like a great idea to someone, but hasn't it been tried before?
It certainly has. In fact one hundred and fifty one years ago when Texas and other parts of the south couldn't get their way they all jumped ship. It ignited what is known around here as the Civil War. By the time it was over, depending on which figures you go with, between 620,000 and 750,000 Americans were dead. That was back when the population of the nation was 31 million. If the same proportion of people were to die of combat and disease right now there would be 6.2 million fewer of us.
Of course the neo secessionists insist their withdrawal from the states united would be a peaceful one. A big bunch of them even signed a petition saying so. It has been forwarded to the white house for further review with 116,000 signatures. Boy that sounds like a lot doesn't it? A quick glance at the 2011 U.S. census bureau's estimate of the Texas population reveals that the state has 25,674,681 residents. Now I'm not a big math whiz, but simple subtraction tells me that leaves 25,558,681 people who haven't signed up for the trip. In addition some guy in Austin has started his own movement. His petition calls for Austin to secede from Texas if Texas secedes from the Union. He has 8,000 signatures.
I'm not sure how serious these clowns are. It is obvious though that what we have here is a gaggle of frustrated loons who still can't believe the republican party didn't win the presidency a few weeks ago. Barak Obama is the rusty nail they can't get out of their foot. He is the itch they can't scratch.
The conservative site Examiner.com admits that for every dollar Texans send to the IRS the state gets ninety-four cents of it back. Then again I suppose they wouldn't need it if they never sent it in the first place. Of course they might miss the $4 billion in federal research and development funds they get every year. I'm thinking they would probably miss the four naval air stations, the seven air force and twelve army bases and all the ensuing money they bring in. I didn't even try to look up how much federal money is spent on highways, lakes, dams and other infra structure. Then there is that social security money that would suddenly go missing as well as medicare, the border patrol, the postal service, NASA, and God knows what else. Galveston, I wouldn't count on a whole lot of help after the next big hurricane blows through.
Is this nonsense really going anywhere? Obviously it isn't. It is just a bunch of redneck hooligans venting and trying to draw attention to themselves. I suppose we should simply be grateful they're not burning crosses on the town green, although that could be coming. You never really know what will happen when the trailer park trash gets cooked on meth and runs amok.
Actually if you think about it long enough there is this terrible urge to agree with them. Let them secede and fend for themselves. At least it will reduce the number of republicans in the house and will raise the national IQ by a couple of dozen points.
In fact I should start a petition of my own, a nationwide one. It will say something along the lines of, "We the People of the United States of America want Texas kicked out of the Union. They're nothing but a bunch of arrogant assholes anyway and we'd be better off without them." Indeed. It is worth pondering.
E Pluribus without out 'em.
All in favor say aye.
11-26-12
It certainly has. In fact one hundred and fifty one years ago when Texas and other parts of the south couldn't get their way they all jumped ship. It ignited what is known around here as the Civil War. By the time it was over, depending on which figures you go with, between 620,000 and 750,000 Americans were dead. That was back when the population of the nation was 31 million. If the same proportion of people were to die of combat and disease right now there would be 6.2 million fewer of us.
Of course the neo secessionists insist their withdrawal from the states united would be a peaceful one. A big bunch of them even signed a petition saying so. It has been forwarded to the white house for further review with 116,000 signatures. Boy that sounds like a lot doesn't it? A quick glance at the 2011 U.S. census bureau's estimate of the Texas population reveals that the state has 25,674,681 residents. Now I'm not a big math whiz, but simple subtraction tells me that leaves 25,558,681 people who haven't signed up for the trip. In addition some guy in Austin has started his own movement. His petition calls for Austin to secede from Texas if Texas secedes from the Union. He has 8,000 signatures.
I'm not sure how serious these clowns are. It is obvious though that what we have here is a gaggle of frustrated loons who still can't believe the republican party didn't win the presidency a few weeks ago. Barak Obama is the rusty nail they can't get out of their foot. He is the itch they can't scratch.
The conservative site Examiner.com admits that for every dollar Texans send to the IRS the state gets ninety-four cents of it back. Then again I suppose they wouldn't need it if they never sent it in the first place. Of course they might miss the $4 billion in federal research and development funds they get every year. I'm thinking they would probably miss the four naval air stations, the seven air force and twelve army bases and all the ensuing money they bring in. I didn't even try to look up how much federal money is spent on highways, lakes, dams and other infra structure. Then there is that social security money that would suddenly go missing as well as medicare, the border patrol, the postal service, NASA, and God knows what else. Galveston, I wouldn't count on a whole lot of help after the next big hurricane blows through.
Is this nonsense really going anywhere? Obviously it isn't. It is just a bunch of redneck hooligans venting and trying to draw attention to themselves. I suppose we should simply be grateful they're not burning crosses on the town green, although that could be coming. You never really know what will happen when the trailer park trash gets cooked on meth and runs amok.
Actually if you think about it long enough there is this terrible urge to agree with them. Let them secede and fend for themselves. At least it will reduce the number of republicans in the house and will raise the national IQ by a couple of dozen points.
In fact I should start a petition of my own, a nationwide one. It will say something along the lines of, "We the People of the United States of America want Texas kicked out of the Union. They're nothing but a bunch of arrogant assholes anyway and we'd be better off without them." Indeed. It is worth pondering.
E Pluribus without out 'em.
All in favor say aye.
11-26-12
Friday, November 23, 2012
Thanksgiving Day
So yesterday, here in the United States, it was Thanksgiving Day. The origins of the holiday are a bit murky, but it is generally agreed that it began with small band of European immigrants who were barely scratching out an existence on the rocky shores of Massachusetts in the 17th century. These, "colonists" threw a harvest feast and it was attended by a number of Native Americans who provided much, if not most, of the food. This was during a brief period of time during which Native Americans actually thought the Europeans were a small and stupid lot and were to be pitied rather than feared and hated. It didn't take long for them to figure out the reality of the situation.
During the American Civil War Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, declared the fourth Thursday of November to be a national day of thanks giving. Many of the Federal forces exercised a cease fire on the day and it was recognized by at least some of the confederate armies squared off against them. Of course by then the rebels were, thanks to massive casualties, dramatically shrinking in number so any day that would stop the bleeding, even for a few hours, probably seemed like a good idea to their commanders.
As with all things the day evolved and by the 20th and 21st centuries it became the day that kicked off the frenzied Christmas shopping season. A great feast would be enjoyed with the family, football would be watched, then all hell would break loose in department stores nation wide for the next month.
It was certainly that sort of day around here yesterday for us. Before it was over three kids, one fiance, and two grandparents were in attendance. We gorged ourselves on roasted fowl, corn, a casserole of seasoned bread crumbs, celery, onion, herbs, and chicken broth known either as dressing, or stuffing; brown and serve rolls, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, apple pie and whipped cream. A moderate amount of wine and beer was consumed. After it was done everyone went home with full bellies and slept soundly. Well at least I did.
Of course things aren't nearly as cushy as our crowded apartment was yesterday for vast numbers of people on this blue ball we call earth. The World Bank estimates in Asia, Africa, and parts of Latin America 500 million people live in "absolute poverty." That 15 million children die every year of hunger. That one third of the world is under fed and and another third is starving.
UNICEF estimates that 1.3 billion human beings live on less than $1 U.S. per day and that 3 billion exist on less than $2 per day. They also believe around 24,000 people die of hunger, or hunger related diseases every day. That is pretty simple math. I usually take about two hours to write and edit a post. That means while I'm typing and correcting what I've written, 2,000 will have perished from the face of the planet because they didn't have enough to eat.
Well, as Judge Smails said in the movie "Caddy Shack," "The world needs ditch diggers too." Besides those are places far, far away from the north side of Oklahoma City and people none of us know.
Unfortunately that isn't entirely true. The Oklahoma Food Bank web site says this state ranks 7th in the number of people per capita who are hungry. That 13% of Oklahoma's population is "food insecure." It also says that of the elderly clients it serves, 32% report they have to choose between medicines, or medical care and food. The Families Feed Families web site says 54% of children enrolled in Oklahoma public schools qualify for reduced cost or free lunches. Other sources say the figure is 59%. In the Oklahoma City school district alone 83.5% of the students qualify for free or reduced cost lunches. It is estimated that 13% of the elderly here are at, or below the poverty rate.
Yes, for some of us, as Dickens said, "it is the best of times," but for billions of others of our species "it is the worst of times."
I have several friends, close ones, who criticize me for being too negative, for always pointing out what is wrong rather than what is right with this nation and world. They are probably correct. I mean I could have spent all this time talking about what a perfect Norman Rockwell scene it was at our's and tens of thousands of other places yesterday. However, given the numbers, it is really too easy to remind some of us that everything isn't so peachy either locally, or abroad. I'd like for it to be hard. I want it to be hard, but the despair is too wide spread and deep to utterly ignore it. It won't just go away if we don't think about it. It won't stop from happening unless we do something about it.
Do I have that answer? Nope. I'm not even close to having one.
It is a small planet though. The devil isn't that far away from any of our doorsteps. That is something all of us might keep in mind. Most of us have worked hard to achieve what we have and enjoy, but thousands of millions never even got a chance to succeed. They were, in essence, shot down on take off. It is tough to concentrate on learning anything when your stomach is shrinking to the size of a prune and the flies swarm all over your baby brother.
In the end John Donne said it the best. He wrote, "No man is an Island of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away to sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
Think about it while you enjoy your leftover turkey and all the fixin's. If for just a second, think about it.
11-23-12
During the American Civil War Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president, declared the fourth Thursday of November to be a national day of thanks giving. Many of the Federal forces exercised a cease fire on the day and it was recognized by at least some of the confederate armies squared off against them. Of course by then the rebels were, thanks to massive casualties, dramatically shrinking in number so any day that would stop the bleeding, even for a few hours, probably seemed like a good idea to their commanders.
As with all things the day evolved and by the 20th and 21st centuries it became the day that kicked off the frenzied Christmas shopping season. A great feast would be enjoyed with the family, football would be watched, then all hell would break loose in department stores nation wide for the next month.
It was certainly that sort of day around here yesterday for us. Before it was over three kids, one fiance, and two grandparents were in attendance. We gorged ourselves on roasted fowl, corn, a casserole of seasoned bread crumbs, celery, onion, herbs, and chicken broth known either as dressing, or stuffing; brown and serve rolls, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, apple pie and whipped cream. A moderate amount of wine and beer was consumed. After it was done everyone went home with full bellies and slept soundly. Well at least I did.
Of course things aren't nearly as cushy as our crowded apartment was yesterday for vast numbers of people on this blue ball we call earth. The World Bank estimates in Asia, Africa, and parts of Latin America 500 million people live in "absolute poverty." That 15 million children die every year of hunger. That one third of the world is under fed and and another third is starving.
UNICEF estimates that 1.3 billion human beings live on less than $1 U.S. per day and that 3 billion exist on less than $2 per day. They also believe around 24,000 people die of hunger, or hunger related diseases every day. That is pretty simple math. I usually take about two hours to write and edit a post. That means while I'm typing and correcting what I've written, 2,000 will have perished from the face of the planet because they didn't have enough to eat.
Well, as Judge Smails said in the movie "Caddy Shack," "The world needs ditch diggers too." Besides those are places far, far away from the north side of Oklahoma City and people none of us know.
Unfortunately that isn't entirely true. The Oklahoma Food Bank web site says this state ranks 7th in the number of people per capita who are hungry. That 13% of Oklahoma's population is "food insecure." It also says that of the elderly clients it serves, 32% report they have to choose between medicines, or medical care and food. The Families Feed Families web site says 54% of children enrolled in Oklahoma public schools qualify for reduced cost or free lunches. Other sources say the figure is 59%. In the Oklahoma City school district alone 83.5% of the students qualify for free or reduced cost lunches. It is estimated that 13% of the elderly here are at, or below the poverty rate.
Yes, for some of us, as Dickens said, "it is the best of times," but for billions of others of our species "it is the worst of times."
I have several friends, close ones, who criticize me for being too negative, for always pointing out what is wrong rather than what is right with this nation and world. They are probably correct. I mean I could have spent all this time talking about what a perfect Norman Rockwell scene it was at our's and tens of thousands of other places yesterday. However, given the numbers, it is really too easy to remind some of us that everything isn't so peachy either locally, or abroad. I'd like for it to be hard. I want it to be hard, but the despair is too wide spread and deep to utterly ignore it. It won't just go away if we don't think about it. It won't stop from happening unless we do something about it.
Do I have that answer? Nope. I'm not even close to having one.
It is a small planet though. The devil isn't that far away from any of our doorsteps. That is something all of us might keep in mind. Most of us have worked hard to achieve what we have and enjoy, but thousands of millions never even got a chance to succeed. They were, in essence, shot down on take off. It is tough to concentrate on learning anything when your stomach is shrinking to the size of a prune and the flies swarm all over your baby brother.
In the end John Donne said it the best. He wrote, "No man is an Island of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away to sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee."
Think about it while you enjoy your leftover turkey and all the fixin's. If for just a second, think about it.
11-23-12
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Infidelity, Lawyers, PR Firms, Political Posturing, a Dismembered Body and Another Lunatic
It didn't take long. Three of the four principals in the scandal that ended David Petraeus' tenure as the head of the CIA have hired pros to watch their backs.
NBC News has posted a story by Reuters that says Petraeus has hired D.C. lawyer Robert Barnett of the firm, Williams and Connolly LLP. Barnett is a high profile guy who is reported to have negotiated book deals for both Barak Obama and Sarah Palin. It was not mentioned whether he has any divorce trial experience which, in all probability, will come in handy for the retired general in the very near future.
Paula Broadwell, the general's biographer who had the affair with him, has taken on the Glover Park Group to represent her. It is a PR firm, and who doesn't need a little good PR, especially when you end up taking down a war hero and the head of the CIA. Glover Park Group lists, among others, former Clinton press secretary Dee Dee Myers as a consultant. Broadwell is reported to have recently returned home to Charlotte, NC for the first time since all this hit the fan. She is married to Scott Broadwell, who wikipedia says is a Interventional Radiologist. They have two sons together. One has to think that the dinner table conversation on Thursday will be a bit strained, not to mention awkward. Lord only knows how the question, "So, did you enjoy the stuffing?" will be delivered and interpreted.
Jill Kelley, the woman who Broadwell is accused of harassing through emails and who enjoyed a little risque cyber chat with General John Allen, is reported to have hired D.C. trial lawyer Abbe Lowell. Reuters notes that Lowell has represented such luminaries and moral stalwarts as former senator John Edwards and former GOP lobbyist, Jack Abramoff. Wikipedia says he also served as minority house counsel to the democrats during the impeachment of Billy Jeff Clinton. All that makes him one heavy hitter. The Reuters story also says that Kelley has hired Judy Smith who they report is a "well known crisis PR manager." Given reports of the Kelley family's finances and debts it is easy to assume both parties wanted cash up front for their services.
I suppose we should have expected all this. Everybody hires a lawyer now days. Everyone wants some spin meister to clean up the detritus left behind in the wake of lust and stupidity. After all, image and litigation are everything and can turn any situation completely around with a quick, soulful, look at the camera. Watch for book deals and extensive TV appearances for all involved. The media is going to want a piece of this action and they have deep pockets. After all, if you're going to behave like some run amok Roman noble you might as well have someone figure out a way for you to make a buck at it. This is America you know, we aren't all communists for God's sake.
Meanwhile here in Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has announced that the state will not expand the medicare health program, thereby leaving an estimated 150,000 state citizens uninsured. In a story in the Oklahoma City paper, "The Oklahoman" Megan Rolland reports that Fallin claims the health care program is "unaffordable" and in any event will be "stymied by strict federal guidelines." Those strict guidelines probably have to do with things like contraception, preventive care and pre existing conditions. What Fallin is doing is playing to her political base, which here is an especially vitriolic branch of the Tea Party. She knows the Feds will now do what she refuses, but she can look at her somewhat wildeyed constituents and say she didn't play along with Obamacare. The story quotes state house minority leader, Scott Inman as saying, "Instead of allowing Oklahomans to establish and create an Oklahoma health care exchange, she (Fallin) and republicans have simply extended the invitation to the Obama administration to come to our state and do it for us."
Well you have to do what you have to do, especially when you're up for re election in two years and many, if not most, of the people you need to vote for you think Barak Obama is a Muslim socialist who wants to cede the sovereignty of the United States to the U.N.
Finally, in Oklahoma City, in what is becoming an annual autumn ritual, police discovered the dismembered body of a woman. Pieces of Janet Kay Hume, age 77 were found in different parts of her home last Wednesday. Her son is accused of shooting her and storing at least some of her body in a freezer. In a story in today's "The Oklahoman" written by Andrew Knittle and Nolan Clay, a relative of Gerald David Hume is quoted as saying he is "a known schizophrenic who hears voices and requires treatment." According to the report police removed from the home a serrated kitchen knife, a reciprocating saw, a Whirlpool freezer, a pair of blood stained safety glasses, a trash bag with blood stained and cut up women's clothing and, inevitably, rifles, handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
So there you have it. Infidelity, lawyers, PR firms, political posturing, a dismembered body, and another deadly lunatic. I'll say this, if we're anything we are predictable.
sic vita est
11-20-12
NBC News has posted a story by Reuters that says Petraeus has hired D.C. lawyer Robert Barnett of the firm, Williams and Connolly LLP. Barnett is a high profile guy who is reported to have negotiated book deals for both Barak Obama and Sarah Palin. It was not mentioned whether he has any divorce trial experience which, in all probability, will come in handy for the retired general in the very near future.
Paula Broadwell, the general's biographer who had the affair with him, has taken on the Glover Park Group to represent her. It is a PR firm, and who doesn't need a little good PR, especially when you end up taking down a war hero and the head of the CIA. Glover Park Group lists, among others, former Clinton press secretary Dee Dee Myers as a consultant. Broadwell is reported to have recently returned home to Charlotte, NC for the first time since all this hit the fan. She is married to Scott Broadwell, who wikipedia says is a Interventional Radiologist. They have two sons together. One has to think that the dinner table conversation on Thursday will be a bit strained, not to mention awkward. Lord only knows how the question, "So, did you enjoy the stuffing?" will be delivered and interpreted.
Jill Kelley, the woman who Broadwell is accused of harassing through emails and who enjoyed a little risque cyber chat with General John Allen, is reported to have hired D.C. trial lawyer Abbe Lowell. Reuters notes that Lowell has represented such luminaries and moral stalwarts as former senator John Edwards and former GOP lobbyist, Jack Abramoff. Wikipedia says he also served as minority house counsel to the democrats during the impeachment of Billy Jeff Clinton. All that makes him one heavy hitter. The Reuters story also says that Kelley has hired Judy Smith who they report is a "well known crisis PR manager." Given reports of the Kelley family's finances and debts it is easy to assume both parties wanted cash up front for their services.
I suppose we should have expected all this. Everybody hires a lawyer now days. Everyone wants some spin meister to clean up the detritus left behind in the wake of lust and stupidity. After all, image and litigation are everything and can turn any situation completely around with a quick, soulful, look at the camera. Watch for book deals and extensive TV appearances for all involved. The media is going to want a piece of this action and they have deep pockets. After all, if you're going to behave like some run amok Roman noble you might as well have someone figure out a way for you to make a buck at it. This is America you know, we aren't all communists for God's sake.
Meanwhile here in Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has announced that the state will not expand the medicare health program, thereby leaving an estimated 150,000 state citizens uninsured. In a story in the Oklahoma City paper, "The Oklahoman" Megan Rolland reports that Fallin claims the health care program is "unaffordable" and in any event will be "stymied by strict federal guidelines." Those strict guidelines probably have to do with things like contraception, preventive care and pre existing conditions. What Fallin is doing is playing to her political base, which here is an especially vitriolic branch of the Tea Party. She knows the Feds will now do what she refuses, but she can look at her somewhat wildeyed constituents and say she didn't play along with Obamacare. The story quotes state house minority leader, Scott Inman as saying, "Instead of allowing Oklahomans to establish and create an Oklahoma health care exchange, she (Fallin) and republicans have simply extended the invitation to the Obama administration to come to our state and do it for us."
Well you have to do what you have to do, especially when you're up for re election in two years and many, if not most, of the people you need to vote for you think Barak Obama is a Muslim socialist who wants to cede the sovereignty of the United States to the U.N.
Finally, in Oklahoma City, in what is becoming an annual autumn ritual, police discovered the dismembered body of a woman. Pieces of Janet Kay Hume, age 77 were found in different parts of her home last Wednesday. Her son is accused of shooting her and storing at least some of her body in a freezer. In a story in today's "The Oklahoman" written by Andrew Knittle and Nolan Clay, a relative of Gerald David Hume is quoted as saying he is "a known schizophrenic who hears voices and requires treatment." According to the report police removed from the home a serrated kitchen knife, a reciprocating saw, a Whirlpool freezer, a pair of blood stained safety glasses, a trash bag with blood stained and cut up women's clothing and, inevitably, rifles, handguns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.
So there you have it. Infidelity, lawyers, PR firms, political posturing, a dismembered body, and another deadly lunatic. I'll say this, if we're anything we are predictable.
sic vita est
11-20-12
Friday, November 16, 2012
Exuses, Excuses, and More Excuses
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day:
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Dylan Thomas
Yes, from every nook and cranny of the republican party the anger has blazed since election night. Mighty Mitt struck out and blame is being placed everywhere and on everyone.
The former candidate explained it this way to his money people. Obama's big policy gifts won him the election, "the old playbook of using targeted initiatives to specific interest groups, especially the African-American community, the Hispanic community, and young people." In other words the president bought the election. It had nothing at all to do with the Romney campaign's cynical and racist suggestion that Obama had purposely removed work for welfare requirements so black people could sit on their ass and wait for their checks. Or his party's own record of claiming that just about every Latino in the country is illegal and should be forcibly removed from the premises. Or the suggestion that if young people want to go to college they should borrow the money from their parents. It certainly couldn't have been that ad about Chrysler moving jobs to China which was a blatant lie. And it could not have had anything to do with Mr. Romney changing positions on issues with about the same frequency as the rest of us change clothes. Indeed, the 47% turned out to be more than 50%. It wasn't my fault.
Paul Ryan explained the disaster this way. "I think the surprise was some of the turnout, especially in urban areas which gave President Obama the big margin to win the race." Well when you do everything in your power to make it impossible for some people to vote, it tends to piss them off and make them want to vote even more than they would have under normal circumstances. Americans are weird that way. Tell them they can't vote and they'll show up in record numbers. And when they do, they'll vote against the yahoos who tried to keep them away from the polls.
GOP guru Karl Rove has been babbling insanely ever since FOX declared Ohio would go to Obama. He is talking faster than an auctioneer on speed and as near as anyone can tell has blamed everyone and everything, including a democratic plot to suppress the vote. Well you have to say something when you've blown hundreds of millions of other peoples dollars and don't have squat to show for it. My $150 donation to the Obama campaign not only helped put my man back in the oval office, but scored me two free bumper stickers. Tell me who got more bang for their bucks, me, or the Koch brothers.
Then there are the Tea Party people who blame the GOP establishment for forcing Romney down their throats. They moan that if only a true conservative had run the election would have been theirs. Yessiree Bob everything will be fine if we just move further to the right. That will certainly sway the 39% or so of the white people who voted for Obama. One can only pray that in four years that is exactly what the republicans do.
And speaking of Tea Party guys, there is Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association. He went on the radio and had this to say about why Obama won the Hispanic vote so convincingly. "Recently most immigrants come from the third world where people don't possess the Protestant work ethic and expect government to take care of them." Obviously the man hasn't checked out the ethnic make up of most contract construction crews, or even taken a peek into the kitchens of just about every restaurant in the United States. He also failed to explain why, if third world governments are so busily taking care of "them," all these folks decided to move here. I mean if it is all that cushy in say Honduras, why make the trip at all?
Of course it gets weirder, because the Tea Party is inherently weird in an ugly fashion. There is a web site that claims Obama was re-elected because of massive voter fraud.The authors contend Romney actually won by a landslide, but the tabulation software was rigged thanks to a company owned by George Soros. The site is circulating petitions for a recount. That would be a recount everywhere.
In October Georgia GOP state senators sat in on a four hour briefing which explained how Obama was using the "Delphi" mind control technique to get Americans to accept his plan for a UN run communist dictatorship. Obviously to get to that point he had to win re-election. Who knows what sort of subliminal hocus pocus was used to program untold millions of Obama voters. Luckily white males, or at least most white males were apparently immune to the nefarious goings on because they refused to vote for him. Finally there is a guy named Alex Jones. He suggests that Obama used the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Project, or HAARP to create and then guide hurricane Sandy into the east coast thereby ensuring his re-election. HAARP actually exists. It is based in Alaska and scientists there do experiments in the ionosphere testing technologies that apply to missile detection and radio transmissions. Hurricane creation and guidance is not on the agenda, at least not the public one.
So there we have it. Obama bought the election and despite every shred of evidence to the contrary, Rove is convinced republican votes are being supressed. The tea party whacks are howling their republican candidate wasn't conservative enough and claiming Hispanics are genetic socialists. Then, when it comes to the real fringe, Mitt actually won, but George Soros caused us to miscount the ballots, and finally, mind control came into play.
Yes, everything has been explained perfectly. The idea that a majority of voters simply didn't buy into the bullshit ideas of republicans had nothing to do with it. The reality is you can't win with just white folks anymore. And the notion that you can spend a year insulting every person of color, including Latinos, then not see them flock in droves to the other side is, pardon the irony, completely alien.
Actually I prefer Rush Limbaugh's analysis of the situation. He went on the air and predicted the republican establishment would blame him and him alone for the debacle. That's my Rush. The man and his ego never rests.
Thank God for weekends and football. Sometimes this simply becomes a bit much.
Warp speed, Mr. Sulu, warp speed.
11-16-12
Old age should burn and rave at close of day:
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Dylan Thomas
Yes, from every nook and cranny of the republican party the anger has blazed since election night. Mighty Mitt struck out and blame is being placed everywhere and on everyone.
The former candidate explained it this way to his money people. Obama's big policy gifts won him the election, "the old playbook of using targeted initiatives to specific interest groups, especially the African-American community, the Hispanic community, and young people." In other words the president bought the election. It had nothing at all to do with the Romney campaign's cynical and racist suggestion that Obama had purposely removed work for welfare requirements so black people could sit on their ass and wait for their checks. Or his party's own record of claiming that just about every Latino in the country is illegal and should be forcibly removed from the premises. Or the suggestion that if young people want to go to college they should borrow the money from their parents. It certainly couldn't have been that ad about Chrysler moving jobs to China which was a blatant lie. And it could not have had anything to do with Mr. Romney changing positions on issues with about the same frequency as the rest of us change clothes. Indeed, the 47% turned out to be more than 50%. It wasn't my fault.
Paul Ryan explained the disaster this way. "I think the surprise was some of the turnout, especially in urban areas which gave President Obama the big margin to win the race." Well when you do everything in your power to make it impossible for some people to vote, it tends to piss them off and make them want to vote even more than they would have under normal circumstances. Americans are weird that way. Tell them they can't vote and they'll show up in record numbers. And when they do, they'll vote against the yahoos who tried to keep them away from the polls.
GOP guru Karl Rove has been babbling insanely ever since FOX declared Ohio would go to Obama. He is talking faster than an auctioneer on speed and as near as anyone can tell has blamed everyone and everything, including a democratic plot to suppress the vote. Well you have to say something when you've blown hundreds of millions of other peoples dollars and don't have squat to show for it. My $150 donation to the Obama campaign not only helped put my man back in the oval office, but scored me two free bumper stickers. Tell me who got more bang for their bucks, me, or the Koch brothers.
Then there are the Tea Party people who blame the GOP establishment for forcing Romney down their throats. They moan that if only a true conservative had run the election would have been theirs. Yessiree Bob everything will be fine if we just move further to the right. That will certainly sway the 39% or so of the white people who voted for Obama. One can only pray that in four years that is exactly what the republicans do.
And speaking of Tea Party guys, there is Bryan Fischer of the American Family Association. He went on the radio and had this to say about why Obama won the Hispanic vote so convincingly. "Recently most immigrants come from the third world where people don't possess the Protestant work ethic and expect government to take care of them." Obviously the man hasn't checked out the ethnic make up of most contract construction crews, or even taken a peek into the kitchens of just about every restaurant in the United States. He also failed to explain why, if third world governments are so busily taking care of "them," all these folks decided to move here. I mean if it is all that cushy in say Honduras, why make the trip at all?
Of course it gets weirder, because the Tea Party is inherently weird in an ugly fashion. There is a web site that claims Obama was re-elected because of massive voter fraud.The authors contend Romney actually won by a landslide, but the tabulation software was rigged thanks to a company owned by George Soros. The site is circulating petitions for a recount. That would be a recount everywhere.
In October Georgia GOP state senators sat in on a four hour briefing which explained how Obama was using the "Delphi" mind control technique to get Americans to accept his plan for a UN run communist dictatorship. Obviously to get to that point he had to win re-election. Who knows what sort of subliminal hocus pocus was used to program untold millions of Obama voters. Luckily white males, or at least most white males were apparently immune to the nefarious goings on because they refused to vote for him. Finally there is a guy named Alex Jones. He suggests that Obama used the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Project, or HAARP to create and then guide hurricane Sandy into the east coast thereby ensuring his re-election. HAARP actually exists. It is based in Alaska and scientists there do experiments in the ionosphere testing technologies that apply to missile detection and radio transmissions. Hurricane creation and guidance is not on the agenda, at least not the public one.
So there we have it. Obama bought the election and despite every shred of evidence to the contrary, Rove is convinced republican votes are being supressed. The tea party whacks are howling their republican candidate wasn't conservative enough and claiming Hispanics are genetic socialists. Then, when it comes to the real fringe, Mitt actually won, but George Soros caused us to miscount the ballots, and finally, mind control came into play.
Yes, everything has been explained perfectly. The idea that a majority of voters simply didn't buy into the bullshit ideas of republicans had nothing to do with it. The reality is you can't win with just white folks anymore. And the notion that you can spend a year insulting every person of color, including Latinos, then not see them flock in droves to the other side is, pardon the irony, completely alien.
Actually I prefer Rush Limbaugh's analysis of the situation. He went on the air and predicted the republican establishment would blame him and him alone for the debacle. That's my Rush. The man and his ego never rests.
Thank God for weekends and football. Sometimes this simply becomes a bit much.
Warp speed, Mr. Sulu, warp speed.
11-16-12
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Curiouser and Curiouser: The Kelleys, John Allen, David Petraeus, and Paula Broadwell
Then things became, as Alice said in another context, "curiouser and curiouser." In a USA Today story written by Donna Leinwand Leger and Tom Vanden Brook, Jill and Scott Kelley, key figures in the downfall of David Petraeus and a growing scandal involving General John Allen, appeared to everyone to be charming and fabulously well to do. However, according to their report the Kelleys are far from fabulous and not all that well to do.
The Kelleys were popular co hosts of elegant parties where they hob nobbed with senior U.S. military officers and foreign representatives of coalition forces involved in the war in Afghanistan. In fact, Jill Kelley was named an honorary consul of the South Korean government.
The authors point out that behind the swank facade things were a bit dicier for the couple and Jill Kelley's twin sister, Natalie Khawam. The report details a trail of law suits and debt. Apparently the Kelleys have been sued at least nine times over money owed to a variety of sources. They note Regions Bank sued in 2010 for $1.8 million and again for another $453,000. In addition Bank of America has gone after them for $25,000 in credit card debt as has an outfit known as FIA Credit Card Services. Also, in 2011 Central Bank sued for $2.2 million over money owed for a downtown Tampa office building, which a judge finally ordered sold.
Jill's sister Natalie moved in with them after her marriage hit the rocks and has called the police at least five different times regarding a stalker who might be connected with her divorce proceedings. It was a breakup so ugly in nature that Mrs. Kelley solicited Petraeus and Allen to send letters vouching for her sister's character to the presiding judge in a custody dispute. Both men did so, despite on record statements by the judge that pointed out things like, (Natalie) has "severe personal deficits in the areas of honesty and integrity" and (she displays) " a stunning willingness to say anything, even under oath, to advance her own interests." This all had to do with restrictions the court placed on her visitation rights to her four year old son.
Kelley and General Allen reportedly have exchanged over 20,000 messages and emails and one official has stated that a "small number of them contained language that could be considered inappropriate, or even suggestive." Other wags have said in fact those messages and emails amounted to what is called cyber sex. For those unfamiliar with the term, as a comedian once said, "cyber sex is just like phone sex, only sadder."
In the meantime a small amount of the content of Paula Broadwell's emails have been leaked. The emails came from several different anonymous accounts and said things like, "What kind of person are you?" and warned her husband, "Do you know what your wife is up to?"
Broadwell apparently didn't stop there. She allegedly sent an email to Allen under the name, "kellypatrol" that said, "Beware of Jill Kelley, she's the kind of person who could ruin you." Allen is reported to have initially thought the email was a joke sent by Kelley herself and forwarded it to her regular account. Imagine his surprise when Kelley told him she knew nothing about it.
Paula Broadwell might be many things, but shy isn't one of them. She showed up at an Office of Strategic Services Society awards dinner in a nearly backless gown and chatted with Petraeus after she had admitted to the FBI that she had an affair with him. This was only two weeks before he called it quits as head of the CIA.
Can someone say, movie of the week? This whole thing reeks of southern decadence and manly men run amok. Viagra? We don' need no stinkin' Viagra.
Obviously more unseemly details will emerge as will Broadwell's motives for cranking out the threatening emails. God only knows what she was thinking. Was she simply jealous of Kelley's relationships with various members of the Central Command including Allen? Or, was she genuinely concerned that Kelley was some sort of ruthless whore who was trying to get guys like Petraeus and Allen to bail her and her family out of civil and financial trouble, thereby possibly compromising their careers? If the latter was the case she certainly screwed the pooch, because now everyone is going down the tubes.
Petraeus is finished and all reason says his marriage of thirty-eight years probably is also. Allen is now under the dark cloud of scandal and his nomination to head the U.S. European Command and NATO are on hold and most likely headed into the crapper. Jill Kelley and her family are holed up in their Tampa home, trapped there by a battalion of hungry and aggressive members of the media. She has reportedly called the police on more than one occasion asking for protection because of her, "diplomatic status."
Yes, lust, vanity and finally delusion are rife in this ugly affair. No doubt the Limbaughs and Hannitys of the world are feverishly working to somehow link it all to Barak Obama. Why not? As Francis Bacon said long ago, "Slander boldly, something always sticks." Besides they haven't anything better to do at the moment and it beats the hell out of trying to explain why their guy got whacked in the election.
sic vita est
11-15-12
The Kelleys were popular co hosts of elegant parties where they hob nobbed with senior U.S. military officers and foreign representatives of coalition forces involved in the war in Afghanistan. In fact, Jill Kelley was named an honorary consul of the South Korean government.
The authors point out that behind the swank facade things were a bit dicier for the couple and Jill Kelley's twin sister, Natalie Khawam. The report details a trail of law suits and debt. Apparently the Kelleys have been sued at least nine times over money owed to a variety of sources. They note Regions Bank sued in 2010 for $1.8 million and again for another $453,000. In addition Bank of America has gone after them for $25,000 in credit card debt as has an outfit known as FIA Credit Card Services. Also, in 2011 Central Bank sued for $2.2 million over money owed for a downtown Tampa office building, which a judge finally ordered sold.
Jill's sister Natalie moved in with them after her marriage hit the rocks and has called the police at least five different times regarding a stalker who might be connected with her divorce proceedings. It was a breakup so ugly in nature that Mrs. Kelley solicited Petraeus and Allen to send letters vouching for her sister's character to the presiding judge in a custody dispute. Both men did so, despite on record statements by the judge that pointed out things like, (Natalie) has "severe personal deficits in the areas of honesty and integrity" and (she displays) " a stunning willingness to say anything, even under oath, to advance her own interests." This all had to do with restrictions the court placed on her visitation rights to her four year old son.
Kelley and General Allen reportedly have exchanged over 20,000 messages and emails and one official has stated that a "small number of them contained language that could be considered inappropriate, or even suggestive." Other wags have said in fact those messages and emails amounted to what is called cyber sex. For those unfamiliar with the term, as a comedian once said, "cyber sex is just like phone sex, only sadder."
In the meantime a small amount of the content of Paula Broadwell's emails have been leaked. The emails came from several different anonymous accounts and said things like, "What kind of person are you?" and warned her husband, "Do you know what your wife is up to?"
Broadwell apparently didn't stop there. She allegedly sent an email to Allen under the name, "kellypatrol" that said, "Beware of Jill Kelley, she's the kind of person who could ruin you." Allen is reported to have initially thought the email was a joke sent by Kelley herself and forwarded it to her regular account. Imagine his surprise when Kelley told him she knew nothing about it.
Paula Broadwell might be many things, but shy isn't one of them. She showed up at an Office of Strategic Services Society awards dinner in a nearly backless gown and chatted with Petraeus after she had admitted to the FBI that she had an affair with him. This was only two weeks before he called it quits as head of the CIA.
Can someone say, movie of the week? This whole thing reeks of southern decadence and manly men run amok. Viagra? We don' need no stinkin' Viagra.
Obviously more unseemly details will emerge as will Broadwell's motives for cranking out the threatening emails. God only knows what she was thinking. Was she simply jealous of Kelley's relationships with various members of the Central Command including Allen? Or, was she genuinely concerned that Kelley was some sort of ruthless whore who was trying to get guys like Petraeus and Allen to bail her and her family out of civil and financial trouble, thereby possibly compromising their careers? If the latter was the case she certainly screwed the pooch, because now everyone is going down the tubes.
Petraeus is finished and all reason says his marriage of thirty-eight years probably is also. Allen is now under the dark cloud of scandal and his nomination to head the U.S. European Command and NATO are on hold and most likely headed into the crapper. Jill Kelley and her family are holed up in their Tampa home, trapped there by a battalion of hungry and aggressive members of the media. She has reportedly called the police on more than one occasion asking for protection because of her, "diplomatic status."
Yes, lust, vanity and finally delusion are rife in this ugly affair. No doubt the Limbaughs and Hannitys of the world are feverishly working to somehow link it all to Barak Obama. Why not? As Francis Bacon said long ago, "Slander boldly, something always sticks." Besides they haven't anything better to do at the moment and it beats the hell out of trying to explain why their guy got whacked in the election.
sic vita est
11-15-12
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)