Reason Morning Links: Top Taliban Official Captured, Bayh-Bayh, Flight Cancelations Up

• U.S., Pakistani forces capture Taliban military chief.
• Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) retires, giving GOP more hope to make gains in the Senate.
• Airlines responding to new tarmac waiting rules by canceling flights.
• Clinton prosecutor Ken Starr named new president of Baylor University.
• White House to return to campaign mode, limit Obama's access to the media.

Comments

[Johnny Longtorso]

Q&A: Professor Phil Jones (the infamous BBC interview)

Now IPCC hurricane data is questioned

[Plague Dog]

You knew it was coming; Hitler responds to the meltdown of the "climate change."

[MNG]

Piltdown Man! Piltdown Man! Piltdown Man! Piltdown Man!

[Piltdown Man]

MNG! MNG! MNG! MNG! MNG!

[Chicogo S. Zombie]

+1

[Rich]

Well done!

Good laughter to make it through the morning.

[Johnny Longtorso]

New poll: Now, signs of real vulnerability for California's Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer

[Almanian]

Where are the morning links?!

I just thought I'd get that out of the way before someone else asked.

[The Gobbler]

What I wanna see is last weeks Top 5. I'm really pulling hard for Suderman.

[Ska]

Don't hurt your wrist.

[The Gobbler]

I just knew someone would take it that way.

[T]

It's inevitable with this crowd.

[Almanian]

...and I think these "captured Taliban military chiefs" are really one guy who we keep capturing over and over, like some perch at a catch-and-release fish farm.

One guy - catch and release, catch and release....

Seems to have about as much effect as catching perch.

[Rich]

Airlines responding to new tarmac waiting rules by canceling flights.

Cool. Maybe something similar can happen with congressional legislation.

[Almanian]

I think these "captured Taliban military chiefs" are really one guy who we keep capturing over and over, like some perch at a catch-and-release fish farm.

One guy - catch and release, catch and release....

Seems to have about as much effect as catching perch.

[Enjoy Every Sandwich]

That's close to what I was thinking: my impression is that AQ and the Taliban have an infinite number of "top lieutenants" that they can live without.

This is another glorious victory in the War on Terra that will be forgotten in a few weeks, and nothing will have changed.

[mccleary]

Eighty Percent Of Al-Qaeda No. 2s Now Dead

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/44900

[Gabe]

No they really do capture people and kill/torture them...it is the guys who are cutting in on drug trade profits by embezzling some of "corporates" heroin or selling through the wrong distribution channels.

[Bart S.]

Even funnier was this headline underneath --

# Pubic Hair 20,000 Tons Of Pubic Hair Trimmed In Preparation For Valentine's Day

Oh, and once again, sorry about yesterday, Gabe. I bet you look nothin' like my grandpa.

[Gabe]

no prob...I've been called far worse things on here.

[Aresen]

According to my stats, 57% of the Taliban killed to date have been "Top Taliban Commanders."

Sounds like they have more management than the motor vehicle licensing office.

[Rich]

And Gibbs has finally resorted to Twitter.

Sound bites of sound bites.

He ought to just cite the emoticon of the day.

[Almanian]

>:{

[Rich]

😎

[JW]

8===D

[OO=======D]

Hey now!

[Almanian]

"White House to...limit Obama's access to the media."

Please let it be so. I literally cannot stand to hear his voice any more. The sibilant S's in particular just grate on my last nerve.

"Only" ~3 more years....fuck.

[bitch away]

Almanian, + 4.

[bitch away]

Almanian, + 4 more years.

[Sarah Palin]

You betcha I can promise you that!

[P Brooks]

That such a prominent and still relatively young figure as Bayh would retire, rather than battle to keep his seat, illustrates both the deepening fears among Democrats about the shape of the election cycle and the frustration among moderates that the party has veered too far left.

Of course, these people do not even entertain the notion that twelve years in the Senate is enough.

[Mike M.]

I agree with Charles Lane of the Washington Post: Bayh just raised a giant middle finger right in the face of Obama and Harry Reid. He would almost certainly have gotten reelected easily.

It's a loss for comity though, as Bayh is one of the few decent guys left in the sorry-ass national democratic party.

[Fluffy]

Actually, Bayh is pretty much like Hillary used to be, in my opinion: he combines the WORST of the left and the right in one shitty package.

He manages to maintain his "moderate" label by adopting selected positions from the "Militarist" and "Theocrat" sections of the conservative menu.

[Nick]

And, sadly, that's an electoral winner in Indiana.

[John]

Yes vote on TARP
Yes vote on the stimulus
Yes vote on Obamacare

What is so moderate about that? Is not wanting to surrender to Al Quada now the only qualification to be a "moderate"?

[zoltan]

Yeah, not meddling with other countries = surrendering to Al Qaeda, excellent logic as usual, John. Keep spending those billions killing browns!

[John]

It is kind of pathetic that 12 years is associated with the word "only". That said, I am not so sure that he would have won re-election so easily. There is a whole class of Congress Creatures like Webb and Bayh who ran as "moderate Democrats" only to vote for both the stimulus, TARP and Obamacare when it mattered. Ultimately, Bayh and Webb and others like them liked the taste of Reid's cock more than they cared about actually living up to their promises. Good riddance. I hope we never again hear from that idiot son.

[Pope Jimbo]

The Perfect Storm

The TSA picks on the disabled kid of a cop.

[Fluffy]

You know what the funniest part of that story is?

That the TSA spokesman says that what SHOULD have been done is that the kid should have been taken to isolation and swabbed for explosives.

That's the TSA's idea of an APOLOGY.

"We're sorry we made you take your leg braces off; we really should have stripped and cavity-searched you instead, and removed your tooth fillings!"

[Nick]

One of the comments:

I have to play the devil's advocate here. Granted, the way TSA went about this was obviously ridiculous. But in today's crazy world, why should a 4-year old be overlooked by security? Teddy bears, statues of Mary, the elderly and young children are often used to smuggle naughty things to and fro, and smart criminals know this. Nothing would shock me these days, and frankly I'd rather humbly comply with an overdilligent, moronic TSA staff than cry because they didn't screen someone. Remember, terrorists aren't the only things they are looking for!

Oh noes! Someone might be smokin' the pot!

[zoltan]

I will kneel to my masters with pleasure!

[Mad Elf]

As much as I feel sorry for the kid, I can't help but feel a little schadenfreude that this cop got a little taste of what he and his fellow bullies do to innocent people on a regular basis.

[Yet another dave]

Yea but what are the chances he takes his frustration out on the first poor dumbfuck who crosses his path while on duty... maybe he'll get lucky and it will be a tsa employee but I doubt it...

[sage]

It'll probably be a dog.

*bows head*

Poor thing.

[TrickyVic]

Yeah.

"I'm just looking for things to be done right," he said. "And I just want to make sure this isn't done to anyone else. Just abide by your standard operating procedures."

A cop getting offended becuase someone else is making it up on the spot. Go figure. At least the TSA didn't blame it on the victim.

[Comrade Zero]

I love how they said they should have just swabbed him for explosives traces instead. That's better somehow...

[Crackers Boy]

"Airlines responding to new tarmac waiting rules by canceling flights."

Wow. Who could have predicted THAT?

CB

[JW]

Airlines responding to new tarmac waiting rules by canceling flights.

Gosh, I wonder who owns those tarmacs and the system that controls access to them.....hmmm.....?

[?]

White House to return to campaign mode, limit Obama's access to the media.

That's an accidentally illuminating link.

Obama already avoids press conferences, because they make him look like a bitchy idiot. So now he won't do any, again, some more? "White House to continue same shit anew?"

There's nothing absent that's coming back in this "return." The story can't find anything to back up the spin, but it still kind of pretends it does, because it has to, because that's The Story, no matter what.

It's impossible to cover the White House without constantly calling them out as full of it, but calling them out isn't allowed, so everyday D.C. beat stories just don't cohere, often in the weird passive-aggressive way this one doesn't.

Good times?

[John]

Jimmy Carter has a similar strategy. It was called "The Rose Garden Strategy". Basically he refused to travel anywhere or talk to the media. He just hung out in the Whitehouse and tried to look "Presidential". Obama really is trying to be Carter II. Meanwhile, I guess Gibbs and Emmanuel can be the face of the Whitehouse. Yeah, that will work.

[kinnath]

So, who reprises the role of Ron Reagan in this remake of the 1980 election?

STEVE SMITH.

[Sarah Palin]

Second time as farce, baby!

[Draco]

U.S., Pakistani forces capture Taliban military chief

We need to get Steve Chapman over to Pakistan, pronto, to make sure the terrorist they just captured gets his Miranda rights read to him. What a tool Chapman is. It's libertarians like Chapman (yeah, I'm still steaming over his Palin article from last week) who make me want to disassociate myself from this movement and political philosophy forever. The best name for the Chapman types might be "suicide pact liberals".

Yeah, we've got government. One of its only legitimate roles is defense. To me, that means preempting, deterring, or destroying external enemies -- whichever has the greatest return on the effort. If that's "big government" to you, Chapman, then you are a fool. When it comes to protecting the nation and its citizens, my wife and daughters (and most Americans) will take a Sarah Palin (or John McCain) over you, any day.

[Nick]

Yes, defense is a legitimate role of government, but so are the protection of rights. What's the harm in Mirandizing the underwear bomber? It's not like they don't have any evidence the guy tried to blow up an airplane.

And, yes, Chapman is a tool.

[Fluffy]

To me, that means preempting, deterring, or destroying external enemies -- whichever has the greatest return on the effort.

If he was caught in the field, I agree with you.

For someone caught in a hotel room somewhere, I don't.

And by the way, Sarah Palin is a worthless cunt and anyone who admires her even a little is a fool. Sarah Palin owns the bailouts and TARP, and any attempt by her to deny it now and claim to be a spokesgirl for the Tea Party movement makes her a lying cunt. So go fuck yourself.

[John]

He was caught in the field and we just gave him to the Pakistanis. That is the thing. With all of the talk of rights and civilian trials, we are just either killing these people outright (Obama is doing many more targeted killings than Bush did) or just letting the Afghans or the Pakistanis (who have no such worries) have them. Not sure if that is a good or a bad thing. But that is the consequence nonetheless.

[Maverick]

Baradar was captured in Karachi, Pakistan, according to the linked article. Were the US intelligence agents supposed to take him from their Pakistani counterparts? The US's desires are irrelevant in this case: the Pakistanis caught this guy in Pakistan. The Pakistanis can interrogate/prosecute this guy by their own standards, which will probably be cruel.

[John]

Yeah, but I am sure the Pakistanis would have given him to us. They gave us KSM after all. They really doubt they want the political headache of dealing with this guy either. But since, as you point out, he was captured in their country, we don't have to take him.

[Maverick]

Baradar was captured in 2001, but the Pakistanis intervened and had him released. Although the article only mentions Baradar's Taliban involvement in Afghanistan, I suspect that Baradar planned and probably carried out some the Taliban's recent bombings and attacks in Pakistan. KSM did not do such things . . . at least against Pakistan. The Pakistanis have a personal "beef" with Baradar, but did not with KSM. But who knows? The Pakistanis could very well hand Baradar over to the US. It makes since from a logistical (and as you wrote, a political) stand point--the US can relocate him to a more secure holding facility (i.e. one that no Taliban terrorist could ever hope to reach or breach).

[man in crowd]

he US can relocate him to a more secure holding facility

A coffin?

[Draco]

Fluffy,

Why the hate?

Just FYI, some kind of financial/banking bailout was necessary, and responsible politicians knew they had to do it, as distasteful as it was. So, if your only knock on Palin (and I'm sure it's not) is that she "owns" (funny way to describe her participation in that event) bank bailouts and TARP, then that's a knock that will be shared by anyone knowledgeable enough about our monetary and banking system (or sensible enough to be instructed by experts at the Fed in times of trouble) to have taken the necessary action.

Also, glad to see you agree with me about enemies caught in the field. I think you are guilty of some muddy thinking about the "hotel room" scenario (why can't that be "the field"), but I'm glad we have some common ground here.

[T]

some kind of financial/banking bailout was necessary, and responsible politicians knew they had to do it, as distasteful as it was.

Okay, you have a kid. Your kid goes out and wrecks the car by being a teenage dumbass. Do you then say "Gosh, junior, that sucks, but you've got to be able to get around. Here's another car. Do better this time"? Or do you say "Walk or take the bus"?

Similarly, when you've completely failed at every fiduciary responsibility you had to both customers and shareholder, the solution is to say "Gosh, that sucks. Here's 700 billion dollars. Don't do it again"? No. The solution is to say "Bankruptcy court is that way. Hope you saved enough money for the filing fee."

[Michael Ejercito]

Okay, you have a kid. Your kid goes out and wrecks the car by being a teenage dumbass. Do you then say "Gosh, junior, that sucks, but you've got to be able to get around. Here's another car. Do better this time"? Or do you say "Walk or take the bus"?

It would depend on the level of carelessness.

[Rabbit Scribe]

Just FYI, some kind of financial/banking bailout was necessary>/i>

[Citation Needed]

[robc]

He cant because it wasnt necessary.

[Draco]

I refer all of you honorable gentlemen to previous posts of mine in Hit & Run forum on the subject of money and banking -- I'm not going to repeat myself here (you can search the site). For now, I'll simply state that bailing out the banks isn't the same thing as bailing out manufacturers (which I opposed). Some of you guys have to grow up and realize that on the odd occasion some person or persons might know more about a technical topic than you do. I believe that's the case here.

[prolefeed]

Some of you guys have to grow up and realize that on the odd occasion some person or persons who used to work for a large banking firm might know more about a technical topic how to shovel taxpayer's money to said bank, in an act of blatant conflict of interest, than you do. I believe that's the case here.

Fixed.

[Gabe]

I had to go back and look at who wrote this dumb post so I good skip their posts in the future. The tea party is over...I'm staring the coffee party..."Drink a big pot of coffee so you can wake the fuck up!"

[Fluffy]

You know, if you're going to respond reasonably to my tirades you're going to ruin the whole H&R experience for me.

[zoltan]

Just FYI, some kind of financial/banking bailout was necessary, and responsible politicians knew they had to do it, as distasteful as it was.

ERRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT.

[R C Dean]

If he was caught in the field, I agree with you.

For someone caught in a hotel room somewhere, I don't.

For terrorists, everywhere is "the field", so I'm not sure what sense it makes to draw this distinction, Fluffy. Its not like you can say he was "off duty" because he was in a hotel room in Karachi - hell that's probably where he did his terrorist business.

[Fluffy]

Sure you can.

If someone's "business" is committing non-battlefield offenses against you, that person is what is known as a "criminal".

You could just as easily define every last common thief or murderer as being "at war" with the United States, and do away with the entire criminal justice system. "These people make their war in the alleys of our cities, instead of on battlefields, blah blah blah blah blah."

Well, when he decided to make his war in a hotel room instead of on a battlefield, he made himself a criminal and not a soldier.

You do realize that in most circumstances, it's WORSE to be regarded as a criminal than as a soldier, right? Because we can hang criminals merely for belonging to Al-Qaeda if we want, but we don't hang POW's?

[R C Dean]

If someone's "business" is committing non-battlefield offenses against you, that person is what is known as a "criminal".

Perhaps a "war criminal", if those non-battlefield offenses are committing acts of extreme violence against civilians or otherwise violating the laws of war.

I am very reluctant to treat someone better because they violate the Geneva Conventions, Fluffy. Giving them the full panoply of civilian criminal-trial rights is treating them a hell of a lot better than if they were treated as an illegal combatant/war criminal.

You do realize that in most circumstances, it's WORSE to be regarded as a criminal than as a soldier, right?

I'm not so sure, but its beside the point, because these guys aren't soldiers, either. No uniform, no chain of command, etc. etc.

My approach would be to try them as war criminals in military commissions, and shoot them if convicted.

[TrickyVic]

""For terrorists, everywhere is "the field", so I'm not sure what sense it makes to draw this distinction, Fluffy.""

Would that include your house?

I have a hard time believing that if the Marines kicked down your door searching for a terrorist, you would accept the everywhere is a battlefield arguement.

[man in crowd]

In the last election she was the only Republican or Communist candidate that supported jury nullification. I find that pretty important. All the other stupid shit is a given for a Republican or Democrat. And she was very pro gun. Is there any pro-liberty equivalent from McCain, Obama, or Biden? No, there isn't. The three of them sucked dick every which way.

[Gabe]

Jury Nullification is great and all, but how dedicated to this is she? Did she talk about it in Nashville...no, it was just a easy thing to say yes to when someone asked her the question, when it comes down to helping get neo-cons elected like Rick Perry over patriots like Medina, she shows her true colors

[TrickyVic]

She's probably for it as long as it wasn't used to nullify what she signed into law.

[TrickyVic]

""To me, that means preempting, deterring, or destroying external enemies -- whichever has the greatest return on the effort. If that's "big government" to you, Chapman, then you are a fool."""

War expands governemt and restricts individual rights more than anything else. Look at history, man's worst behavior was done in the name of fighting the enemy of the state.

[Comrade Zero]

"Why of course the people don't want war. Why should some poor slob on
a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best he can get out of
it is to come back to his farm in one piece? Naturally the common people
don't want war neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in
Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the
country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to
drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist
dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no
voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders.
That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked,
and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the
country to danger. It works the same in any country."

Hermann Goering

[Tammy Sweall]

Do you think the US will ever start minding its own business.

Jess
http://www.privacy-tools.de.tc

[Maverick]

Anon the Private has spoken and so shall I think about the US minding its own business.

[What?]

He said, "Blessed are the cheese makers"

[man in crowd]

What's so special about them?

[P Brooks]

Gibbs has finally resorted to Twitter.

Will it be called "Gibbering"?

[The Gobbler]

Makes sense.

[Maverick]

Only if the "G" is soft, like in "gibberish."

[Maverick]

Also, you could pronounce "gibberish" with a hard "G," like Gibbs.

[P Brooks]

This happened to Bob Thomas, a 53-year-old officer in Camden's emergency crime suppression team, who was flying to Orlando in March with his wife, Leona, and their son, Ryan.

Guess how much empathy I have for this guy.

[Nick]

What about his 4-year old kid? Besides having a cop for a father he can barely walk.

Doesn't emergency crime suppression team sound an awful lot like SWAT?

[Slut Bunwalla]

Now, you never know. He could be one of the good cops.

Probably not, but you just never know.

[John]

Anyone else catch this article off of Aldaily this weekend about the little fuckers at Columbia in 1968 destroying 10 years worth of notes and work because the professor they belonged to dared to question them?

http://chronicle.com/article/T.....ums/64115/

There are a lot of people from that era that still need to be shot.

[Mike M.]

Agreed. And this reminds me of another big story: that Amy Bishop character down in Huntsville who killed her brother, was probably mailing out pipe bombs years ago a-la the Unabomber, and finally completely snapped the other day after not getting tenure was a Harvard educated, far left wing radical socialist Obamaniac.

[John]

Another middle-class sociopath with over indulgent parents. My God what the hell was wrong with her parents? When your daughter whacks your son, you do something about it. You don't just get her off and let her out into the world to harm more people.

[The Man]

Do you have their home addresses and details of their movements...or do we go in cold and just start shooting any pinko bastards we see? I guess what I'm asking is, is this a mission or a rampage?

[zoltan]

Those little shitheads. But here's a sentence from the article "Ranum said over the telephone this summer from Villefranche-de-Panat, the hilltop village in south-central France where he and his wife, Patricia, have restored a 16th-century house."

Sounds like the man is doing well for himself these days, so that's a good thing.

[P Brooks]

Just FYI, some kind of financial/banking bailout was necessary, and responsible politicians knew they had to do it, as distasteful as it was.

Uh-huh.

[zoltan]

I gave that a Family Feud buzzer sound.

[The Gobbler]

Ch?vez Resignation Urged by Former Comrades:

Like many other stories coming out of Venezuela, this one should have been big news in the American media, but wasn't. In early February, several former Hugo Ch?vez loyalists published a letter urging the Venezuelan president to resign from office. The letter denounced Ch?vez's governing style as "autocratic" and "totalitarian." It accused him of being "intolerant, petty, hateful and resentful." It pointed out his failure to adequately address Venezuela's serious domestic problems (crime, corruption, energy shortages, etc.). And it suggested that Venezuelan institutions, including the military, have been "distorted by the incursion of outside elements." This was a polite way of saying that Ch?vez is seeking to "Cubanize" his government with the help of senior Communist officials sent from Havana.

http://en.mercopress.com/2010/.....esignation

[Aresen]

Was that one of the stories followed two days later by a story "Chavez Arrests Former Comrades"?

[Nick]

I say we trade them our socialists for any Venezuelans that want to be free market capitalists. Straight up.

[EscapedWestOfTheBigMuddy]

I think we might have to give them a two for one deal or we'll have some left over...

[Barry O.]

limit Obama's access to the media.

Unless this has to do with only allowing him to watch TV one hour a day and putting the family computer in the living room to monitor what websites he goes to, I think you mean "limit the media's access to Obama".

[Rahm Emmanuel]

Get off the internetz, Obama!

[J_L_B]

"You're not going to get penalized for tarmac delays if you don't fly the flight," said Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor John Hansman, an aviation expert.

With experts like these who needs common sense.

[prolefeed]

With experts like these who needs common sense.

Ummm, that's actually a sensible and common sense statement of the unintended, but entirely foreseeable, consequence of handing out draconion penalties for flight delays.

[J_L_B]

That was a Captain Obvious statement. We CAN debate whether spending hours in the terminal is preferable to spending hours on a cramped airplane, and whether the flight cancellations resulting from this policy are desirable. But it's obvious that cancelled flights avoid fines for tarmac delays because there is obviously no plane full of passengers waiting on the tarmac.