September 4, 2007

Rethug meets reality

In the form of CNN's Wolf Blitzer, of all people.

Republican Rep. Charles "duhhhhh" BOUSTANY: We’re clearly seeing some major improvements. Clearly in the Anbar Province, we’ve seen significant improvement. Clearly. We were able to walk the streets of Fallujah. Sectarian deaths are down.

BLITZER: Wuh?? Congressman, you say that the number of casualties is going down. Yeah, in Opposite Land. But we took a closer look at the real world -- and the Los Angeles Times did as well -- citing actual numbers, not the ones you just pulled out of your ass. In June, it was 1,227 civilian deaths in Iraq. In July, it went up to 1,753 civilian deaths in Iraq. And in August, the month that just ended, 1,773 civilian deaths in Iraq. Those numbers are going in the wrong direction.

BOUSTANY: Well, I think what I mentioned earlier, Wolf, was the number of attacks. And, clearly, we have to look at all the metrics very carefully.

BLITZER: But statistics -- you can get statistics to say anything. At least, 37% of people can. Why don't you just go one step further and call those "metrics" "Iraqis pining for the fjords"? In terms of dead people, civilians, Iraqi dead people, Iraqi dead civilian people, those numbers are high and they’re getting worse, despite the increased military troop levels of the United States, the so-called surge having been in effect over the past couple of months.

BOUSTANY: Well, Wolf, I want to point out that just two or three months ago, I would have never thought that four members of Congress would be able to walk through the streets of Fallujah. That’s a major...

BLITZER: But you had a lot of security with you, dumbass. You had a lot of U.S. military protection.

BOUSTANY: We had a platoon of Marines.

BLITZER: Yes, well, a platoon of Marines is a lot of Marines to walk through Fallujah. That’s not like walking around a market in Indiana, you idiot...

BOUSTANY: But, Wolf, three months ago, two months ago, not even that could have happened so I think that’s...

BLITZER: I was in Fallujah two years ago, and it was a bad situation then. But some argue that maybe there’s a slight improvement right now, but it’s still very dangerous.

BOUSTANY: I would argue that the improvement is major.

BLITZER: Are you sure you weren't shot in the head? And if you didn’t have a platoon of Marines with you, you couldn’t be walking around by yourself, would you. Jerkoff.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi, Maru
I just want you to know that the posts that are in colored boxes are all cut off on the right hand margin and are basically unreadable. I love your site, but cant read it...arrrrghhhh.

Anonymous said...

Maru - love your 'closed captioning' translation of these dialogues! Sounds like the press is FINALLY becoming SLIGHTLY journalistic and at least asking SOME obvious, skeptical questions when there's blatent bullshit being pushed out.

LucyD -- if you pull the left or right margins of the whole web page outward, it makes the boxed-text legible.... at least it did for me.

Anonymous said...

Thanks, big em
I did pull the window margins as far out as they will go, but still the boxes are cut off. Oh. well. It's frustrating trying to read my fave blog.. =(... waaaaaahhhhhh!
LucyD

maru said...

Rats. I really like the boxes, too. : (