Evidently he never heard of the Venceremos Brigade.

Almost as good as John McCain not knowing what he thinks about condoms.

He's become a pretzel of politically expedient to his audience of the demiyear opinions and values and words. Foot in mouth in disease is something that he massively deserves.

Thanks for the information. They have a really cute photoshopped pic of Mitt in full Fidel garb, including cigar. Link

More importantly, that was a landmark speech by a popular and charismatic president articulating US foreign policy. This is Mit Romney doing what he does best.

Jim: Mitt, if you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Mitt: I can travel anywhere, except Cuba. And I WILL travel to New Zealand, and walk the Lord of the Rings trail to Mordor. And then I will hike Mt. Doom. So, you know, just- leave me alone.

Jim: Okay, just trying to get some advice on my trip.

Mitt: Oh please, you're not taking any trip.

(Jim looks at Mitt, then the camera, then back to Mitt)

Jim: You know, I majored in public speaking in college.

Mitt: You did?

Jim: Mm-hmm. And the first thing that they teach you is that you've gotta be true to yourself. And you are all about authority.

Mitt: Yes, I am.

Jim: The great speakers throughout history were not joke tellers, they were people of passion. So, if you wanna do well today, you gotta do what they did.

Mitt: Which is?

Jim: You gotta wave your arms, and you've gotta pound your fists. Many times. (Jim pounds his desk) So as to emphasize your point.

CUT TO INDiVIDUAL SHOT OF JIM

Jim: Okay, I didn't actually major in public speaking. But I did download speeches from some of history's famous dictators. Like this one. (holds up a sheet) Originally given by Fidel Castro.

CUT BACK TO THE OFFICE

(Jim walks up to Mitt)

Jim: Okay, look, I know you're giving this speech on your own. But I wrote up a few talking points for you to look at. Hope you don't mind.

Mitt: I'll glance at it.

"Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of the party"

might have worked better.

Can I just say: ew.

And I'm devastated that the jelly donut thing is an urban legend. I don't know how I'll find the strength to carry on.

!! indeed! What's next, calling an Abraham a Panzer?

"We just do not have enough rifles to equip all of our soldiers. So in certain circumstances we allow soldiers to have an AK-47. They have to demonstrate some proficiency with the weapon ... demonstrate an ability to use it," said Lt. Col. Mark Young, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 67th Armor Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.

And an Abrams is a panzer. If the crew are German-speaking.

(The Panzerlied is reported to have been popular amongst American tank crews. While the tune is used for a French Foreign Legion song.)

Of course, there's always Lili Marleen. though the original well-known version wasn't by Marlene Dietrich.

What's a "speach" ?

And what Boston Globe "artical"? Someone mentioned a Herald article, I think... the Herald may or may not be more centrist than the Manchester Union Leader, but that's saying that the garbage disposal doesn't stink as badly as the charnel pit. And whatever is "Coonfirmation Bias at is absolute finest" supposed to denote/refer to? [At least "finest" and "its" have the appropriate spellings...]

Regarding Romney and the lawn caretakers, I didn't find out about that from the Glob.... it got widely reported in this area for a brief amount of time, under the implicit heading of "hypocrisy." The fact that Romney was out of state something like 2/3rd of the entire year in 2006 despite collecting a salary for holding the title "Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts" while doing MAYBE as much work for governing the state, as the Repugnicrap politicians with the 65 days that Congress spent in session in 2006.... mostly Romney was out in pre-campaign-bid politicking, casting aspersions of the state he officially was still governor of.
Pondscum has more socially redeeming value....

Bishop

Priest

Sexton

Abbot

While the M7 Priest was awkward in British service because it used different ammunition to the normal 25-pounder. the American 105mm also had a different sighting system. The British sighting systems in WW2 were very different to those used by other armies.

Still not something you'd want to use to Cubans. And in this case, I'd also want to avoid using it in trying to get those of Mexican descent to vote for me.

That remark was just wishful thinking. The neocons really want Franco back in the worst way, and I mean that in all possible readings. Now there, they think, was a man who knew how to treat Commies.

There was a British cruiser tank called the Crusader in the Western Desert; Keith Douglas commanded one. (Read his book "Alamein to Zem Zem"; Douglas was the only poet of the Second World War to match Sassoon, Graves and Owen in the First, and the book is a posthumously-edited collection of his diaries and letters home.)

#30: Savonarola is correct. Now, how do you pronounce it?

It may be that the US Army was calling the M4 medium tank a Sherman by 1944. So we stuck a decent gun in the turret and called it a Firefly.

Although the CinC does have a habit of sacrificing other people's children on the alter of National Security.

You all should read his actual speach, not just the Boston Globe artical writ...um, spun about it. Confirmation Bias at its absolute finest.

Prompted by your remarks, I went looking.

The Romney campaign once had a page called but it has been removed from the site. So news accounts are the only current way to learn about Romney's remarks on the Web.

Fortunately, a copy of the yanked news release containing the speech still exists in Google's cache (but for how long?) You might want to contact Kevin Madden at 857-288-6390 to inquire why the press release has disappeared. He seems to be the person responsible for it. He also seems to have left ellipses in it, even in the cached copy, so it's presumably not a full version of the Governor's remarks.

they want Savonarola, I think [spelling]

Yes, I think that's spelled right. I'm not sure just how crazy these crazies we've got really are. If they ever get really black-shirt crazy, they'll want a more modern figure than Savonarola. Some one like Goebels, for instance. And they'll be happy as long as the trains to the camps run on time. (Sorry, bad valve on the bitterness tank caused spillage there)

Come to think of it, if by some ungodly circumstance we end up with a Republican in the Oval Office come 2009, we MIGHT end up trying to conquer Libya. We'd prob'ly do nearly as well as the Italians.

Romney campaign goes Godwin's Law...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17718509/

My willing suspension of belief takes a hit, even though this allegedly really is Real Life.... bad fantasy novels have to be saner, they have to be....

I want to be a fly on the wall for that.

With our military in the condition it is now, we wouldn't do as well as the Italians. Imagine how well we'll do after another 22 months of The War to Make Bush Feel Like a He-Man.

Problem is, that might actually work in Romney's favor.

That remark was just wishful thinking. The neocons really want Franco back in the worst way, and I mean that in all possible readings.

Franco never held the title of "president," though, and his Spain wasn't a republic. If Reagan had really wanted to hark back to the days, he would have toasted el jefe de estado.

As one Spanish journalist wrote at the time: 'There are three possibilities: (1) his mind took a detour to 1931; (2) he knows something we don't; or (3) he hasn't the least bloody idea how this country is run.'

See, I knew, knew that if I opened my mouth I'd make some stupid faux pas. Yet, I did it anyway.

Though seeing all the fascinating trivia that poured forth, I can't say I'm entirely regretful...

I think we should just call all chief executives "El Cola"* and be done with it. It indicates the appropriately analogous part of the anatomy so much better than "head" of state.

* I don't speak Spanish, and for a long time I thought that "El Caudillo" meant "The Little Tail" because of the Latin "cauda". I really should have known that Franco could never be that humorous about himself.

No, his sense of humor wasn't nearly as good as Caligula's.

http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/movable_type/

Another Reason to Vote Against Mitt Romney

Isaac Chotiner:
The Plank: BEYOND OUR BORDERS: Mitt Romney and his wife were on 'Larry King Live' last week, and the former governor discussed his Mormon mission overseas:
"Oh, it is a fabulous experience. Look, I was sort of having fun going to college and not worrying about the future. And then I went to a different country and saw how different life could be if we didn't have the values and the kinds of opportunities that exist in America."
It is indeed tragic that so much of the world doesn't have the same freedoms and conveniences that America does. Whole continents are filled with the scourges of disease and poverty. I'm just glad that Romney got a small taste of how so much of humanity actually lives.
Anyhow, where exactly was he?
"I was in France. Bordeaux, Paris, all over France. A great learning experience to live overseas."
March 20, 2007 at 02:55

Not to mention the vicars.