Wake the f*** up?

Uh huh. Funny how real events like the Al Qaeda attack in Benghazi didn't figure in Samuel L. Jackson's offensive video that has "little Susie," a ten-year-old girl, imploring voters to "Wake the f*** up!"



Someone or something else is always to blame . . . for everything. Now we're told the administration's analysis of the "spontaneous protest" over a YouTube video is "evolving." Which means they now concede to the facts. It was a planned and well-executed terrorist attack on our U.S. embassy by Al Qaeda, which used rocket propelled grenades to kill Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others, and then followed with a second attack on a U.S. safe house in Benghazi just hours later. Oh, and it just happened to fall on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

According to an article in today's New York Times:

"After first describing the attack as a spontaneous demonstration run amok, administration officials now describe it as a terrorist act with possible involvement by Al Qaeda. The changing accounts prompted the spokesman for the nation’s top intelligence official, James R. Clapper Jr., to issue a statement on Friday acknowledging that American intelligence agencies “revised our initial assessment to reflect new information indicating that it was a deliberate and organized terrorist attack carried out by extremists.

"The unusual statement was not solicited by the White House, according to Shawn Turner, the spokesman for Mr. Clapper, the director of national intelligence, but it seemed calculated to relieve some of the pressure on the White House for the contradictory accounts given in the two and a half weeks since the attack.”

Breaking Bad

Emily Flake ~ The New Yorker

Goodnight Moon

Much has been written this week about the strategic and military use of predator drones in the Middle East. There's no debating their bloodless effectiveness, at least when counting American lives.

However, there is a lot of debate about the impact President Obama's stepped up reliance on drone attacks has on collateral deaths, the legality and morality of their use, their benefits on winning over the "Arab street," and how it all comports with his 2008 campaign and 2009 Cairo speech rhetoric and promise to "restore" America's standing in the world.

Remember the plans to try Bush and Cheney for war crimes, dismantle the Patriot Act and close GITMO? Wouldn't a reasonable analysis conclude that current administration policy has much more to do with the recent events in the Middle East than a crude YouTube video?

Some relevant excerpts from today's reporting:

First, The Wall Street Journal.

"Legal experts say U.S. law gives the government broad latitude to pursue al Qaeda and its affiliates wherever they may be. A joint resolution of Congress after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks authorized the president to use force against the planners of the attacks and those who harbor them. Then-President George W. Bush that month signed a classified order known as a "finding" authorizing covert action against al Qaeda.

"Government consent provides the firmest legal footing, legal experts say. The U.S. has that in Yemen, whose government assists with U.S. strikes against an al Qaeda affiliate. In Somalia, the nominal government, which controls little territory, has welcomed U.S. military strikes against militants.

"In an April speech, White House counterterrorism adviser John Brennan said the administration has concluded there is nothing in international law barring the U.S. from using lethal force against a threat to the U.S., despite the absence of a declared war, provided the country involved consents or is unable or unwilling to take action against the threat."

Next, The New York Times.

"A new study found that because of the many unintended civilian casualties, U.S. drone attacks against terrorist targets in Pakistan have been an effective recruiting tool for extremists, but have not been effective in killing terrorist leaders. For the U.S., is the damage the attacks in Pakistan and Yemen have caused Al Qaeda worth the cost?"
Read the Discussion »

 Last, The Atlantic.

"I find Obama likable when I see him on TV. He is a caring husband and father, a thoughtful speaker, and possessed of an inspirational biography. On stage, as he smiles into the camera, using words to evoke some of the best sentiments within us, it's hard to believe certain facts about him:    

1. Obama established one of the most reckless precedents imaginable: that any president can secretly order and oversee the extrajudicial killing of American citizens. Obama's kill list transgresses against the Constitution as egregiously as anything George W. Bush ever did. It is as radical an invocation of executive power as anything Dick Cheney championed. The fact that the Democrats rebelled against those men before enthusiastically supporting Obama is hackery every bit as blatant and shameful as anything any talk radio host has done.  
2. Obama terrorizes innocent Pakistanis on an almost daily basis. The drone war he is waging in North Waziristan isn't "precise" or "surgical" as he would have Americans believe. It kills hundreds of innocents, including children. And for thousands of more innocents who live in the targeted communities, the drone war makes their lives into a nightmare worthy of dystopian novels. People are always afraid. Women cower in their homes. Children are kept out of school. The stress they endure gives them psychiatric disorders. Men are driven crazy by an inability to sleep as drones buzz overhead 24 hours a day, a deadly strike possible at any moment. At worst, this policy creates more terrorists than it kills; at best, America is ruining the lives of thousands of innocent people and killing hundreds of innocents for a small increase in safety from terrorists. It is a cowardly, immoral, and illegal policy, deliberately cloaked in opportunistic secrecy. And Democrats who believe that it is the most moral of all responsible policy alternatives are as misinformed and blinded by partisanship as any conservative ideologue.
3. Contrary to his own previously stated understanding of what the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution demand, President Obama committed U.S. forces to war in Libya without Congressional approval, despite the lack of anything like an imminent threat to national security."

Teachable Moment?

Pandora's Box ~ Menemsha

On August 30, a woman described as a "New York socialite" was arrested for shoplifting while waiting in line for the ferry home. She was questioned about stealing a $420 cashmere sweater from Pandora's Box in Menemsha. At first she said she bought the sweater online, then quickly changed her story and said she bought it at a store in Woodstock, New York. As the questioning continued, including a reading of her Miranda rights, she confessed to stealing the sweater. According to the police, "She stated that she really liked the sweater and was concerned that her husband would be upset if she kept spending money."

A search of her car then revealed she had also stolen an embroidered shirt and a necklace from The Green Room in Vineyard Haven.

 "After questioning," the officer wrote in his report, "Mrs. X admitted to stealing the shirt. She stated that she had asked the Green Room manager to sell a paddle board for 50 percent off. When refused, she felt that taking the shirt was payback for them not giving her the discount for the paddle board."

She was taken to the police station and released that evening on $300 bail. She was arraigned two weeks later in Edgartown District Court on September 14, where she consented to a plea agreement later that day.

According the Vineyard Times:

"The court continued the case without a finding for one year. If Ms. X is not arrested again, the charges will be dismissed. The court ordered her to make full restitution for the items stolen, and to stay away from the two Martha's Vineyard stores where police charged her with stealing merchandise. The court placed her on probation for one year, and ordered her to get at least 20 hours of psychological counseling during the year she is on probation."

Her attorney said, "Now that the case will be dismissed, my client looks forward to putting this regrettable chapter behind her."

A Google search reveals that Mrs. X is co-founder and managing director of an investment company. She and her husband recently sold their Sutton Place townhouse in New York City for $10 million, lower than the asking price of $19 million, but far higher than its original $1.6 million purchase price.

3 Riverview Terrace, New York City

The week after her arrest, and before her arraignment, her personal publicist issued a press release on PRNewswire which began as follows:

"X is proud to announce that she is currently celebrating the 20^th year of her career in the finance industry."

The rest of the press release extolled her many accomplishments, including an 'intense passion for her philanthropic work."

One must wonder what she's learned over those 20 years . . . and from her arrest. The Edgartown judge's call for 20 hours of psychological counseling is kind and generous. Perhaps 100 hours of community service would lead to a more teachable moment?

2015 Update: On a recent visit to Pandora's Box I asked the clerk at the register if she felt this woman had been adequately punished. Her answer was priceless. "Oh yes," she said, "the police said she shit herself when they questioned her in line at the ferry."

You Didn't Build That

Morning Walk along Lambert's Cove

Another great painting of Makonikey Head and Split Rock by Vineyard artist Ken Vincent.

Morning Walk, 2012 ~ Kenneth Vincent

NHL Lockout

Gary Bettman, NHL Commissioner

Here we go again.

Offical NHL statement, er, propaganda:

"Despite the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the National Hockey League has been, and remains, committed to negotiating around the clock to reach a new CBA that is fair to the Players and to the 30 NHL teams.

Thanks to the conditions fostered by seven seasons under the previous CBA, competitive balance has created arguably the most meaningful regular season in pro sports; a different team has won the Stanley Cup every year; fans and sponsors have agreed the game is at its best, and the League has generated remarkable growth and momentum. While our last CBA negotiation resulted in a seismic change in the League's economic system, and produced corresponding on-ice benefits, our current negotiation is focused on a fairer and more sustainable division of revenues with the Players -- as well as other necessary adjustments consistent with the objectives of the economic system we developed jointly with the NHL Players' Association seven years ago. Those adjustments are attainable through sensible, focused negotiation -- not through rhetoric.

This is a time of year for all attention to be focused on the ice, not on a meeting room. The League, the Clubs and the Players all have a stake in resolving our bargaining issues appropriately and getting the puck dropped as soon as possible. We owe it to each other, to the game and, most of all, to the fans."

iPhone 5 - Bigger, Lighter & Faster?

Jimmy Kimmel has some fun with iPhone fanboys and girls. Great example of the power of positive brand associations.



And, here's an effective photo showing some of the real improvements.

More Split Rock Hijinks

9/11 Remembered

It's a sunny and crisp September day, a Tuesday.

As it was 11 years ago today.

"The September 11 Digital Archive uses electronic media to collect, preserve, and present the history of September 11, 2001 and its aftermath. The Archive contains more than 150,000 digital items, a tally that includes more than 40,000 emails and other electronic communications, more than 40,000 first-hand stories, and more than 15,000 digital images. In September 2003, the Library of Congress accepted the Archive into its collections, an event that both ensured the Archive's long-term preservation and marked the library's first major digital acquisition."

The New Yorker Caption Contest

Serving up some red meat for readers of The New Yorker, this week's caption contest - entries due September 9 - should be a doozy.

Paul Noth ~ The New Yorker

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton is on the other side of the world in China during the Democratic National Convention. Bill, on the other hand, will be center stage on Tuesday night, in Biden's slot. Maybe Obama will dump "the smile with a body behind it" after all? Either way, there's little affection between these Presidents according to this New Yorker article, Let's Be Friends:

"Tim Russert told me that, according to his sources, Bill Clinton, in an effort to secure an endorsement for Hillary from Ted Kennedy, said to Kennedy, 'A few years ago, this guy would have been carrying our bags.' "

September  18 postscript:
Here are the three caption finalists, vote here:

	"They keep watch on the offshore accounts." Submitted by Michael Vorenberg, Barrington, R.I.
	"They used to face left." Submitted by Jeffrey Hutchins, Black Mountain, N.C.
	"Fortunately, they only cover one per cent of the island." Submitted by Tod Goldberg, Indio, Calif.