The Afghanistan Mess

It's just constant: Clarissa Ward describes gunshots fired in Taliban- controlled streets

The Taliban has opened fire in the streets of Kabul to disperse crowds as chaos ensues in the streets of Afghanistan. CNN's Clarissa Ward...

I worry about Clarissa Ward because she is everything the Taliban is against.  I hope her hijab is made out of Kevlar.

Let this sink in.  The new ruler of Afghanistan was in prison until Trump let him out in 2018. - Tea Pain

The World Is A Safer Place Without Republicans

• Utah's Spencer Cox and 8 other US governors want to open their states to resettle Afghan refugees
• Costa Rica joined the EU, US and 17 other countries in issuing a joint statement saying they are “deeply worried about Afghan women and girls.”
• 3 top Senate Democrats vow to investigate "flawed" U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan
• US coronavirus deaths soar past 1,000 in a single day
• Alabama has more intensive care patients than ICU beds, official says

Wow. If only CNN doubled down on Dubya entering Afghanistan as they are on Biden leaving Afghanistan, we wouldn't be in this clustermuck.

My My My. The Afghan President Fled With $169 Million, Probably In U.S. Dollars.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has been "welcomed" to the United Arab Emirates on "humanitarian grounds," the UAE government confirmed Wednesday. On Sunday, Ghani fled Kabul without announcement or known destination, as the Taliban laid siege to Afghanistan's capital, writes CNBC. ​​"The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International

Welcoming refugees is one of the things that makes America great. - Preet Bharara

And just like that, all the infectious disease experts on Twitter became military strategists. - Sundae Gurl tweet

Republican Shenanigans

• Toxic fumes from chemical leak spurs face mask advisory—and skeptics
• 33 Republican House members sign letter urging Biden to let evictions continue, calling moratorium a 'pandemic payout'
• Trump has a tantrum over 'stupid man' Mitch McConnell: 'I should have taken him out'
• Private Eye Interrupts California Debate to Serve GOP Recall Candidate With $ 100K Court Order
• Florida senator seeks probe of Ben & Jerry's halting sales in Israeli settlements
• After Texas parent rips mask off teacher’s face, school official warns: ‘Do not fight mask wars in our schools’
• Georgia board takes step toward possible takeover of Atlanta-area elections
• U.S. Justice Department says Missouri state gun law is unconstitutional
• ICU Doc Shows What ‘Anxious and Scared’ Gov. Greg Abbott Did After COVID-19 News

Greg Abbott To Work Remotely From Reality. - Andy Borowitz

TX GOV: don’t worry about me, I got three vaccine doses and the best taxpayer-funded healthcare available

MOMS: but what are you doing to protect our chil-

TX GOV: I said I’m fine. - Jake Maccoby

Maggie Haberman Gives Me The Creeps
New York Times Washington correspondent and CNN analyst Maggie Haberman disgustingly retweeted a Trump attack ad that features footage of Afghan people falling to their deaths, and falsely claimed President Joe Biden invited comparisons of the Afghanistan with the fall of Saigon.

I find it implausible that 300,000 Afghan soldiers  spontaneously and individually quit. I find it more plausible that they received such orders from their leaders who cut a deal with the Taliban. I look forward to reading more reporting to confirm/refute this hypothesis. - Michael McFaul

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Rock The Voter News

• Biden's average approval rating drops below 50% for first time
• Biden administration unveils plan for vaccine boosters starting in September
• Ilhan Omar responds to 'hateful rhetoric' by Fox News hosts about refugees: 'Not surprising'
• Chicago group asks Supreme Court to block Obama library construction

I Can't Watch Jeffrey Toobin On CNN Unless I Can See His Hands

CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin is facing backlash on social media over a column urging Attorney General Merrick Garland not to seek criminal prosecution of former President Donald Trump. 

Toobin — who got fired from the New Yorker last year for masturbating on a Zoom call, but who was reinstated by CNN after a brief leave of absence — argued that while Trump’s conduct in office was “disgraceful and wrong,” there also is a lack of sufficient evidence for the attorney general to pursue any criminal charges against the former president.

Can someone explain to me how Jeffrey Toobin got his job back but Colin Kaepernick didn’t? - Tristan Snell

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Trump was such a nightmare that some people got nostalgic for George W. Bush. Just a reminder: the two Bushes were horrible. George HW Bush used the racist Willie Horton ads to get elected, and W. launched two ruinous wars. These guys weren’t John and John Quincy Adams. - Andy Borowitz

Business/Tech News

• New home construction falls 7 percent in July
• Disney World loosening outdoor mask requirements
• Facebook to share data on most 'widely viewed' content
• T-Mobile says data breach affects more than 40 million people
• Leaked internal memo shows Fox News is requiring all employees to enter vaccine status into central database

Defense Contractors Fear Afghan Collapse Could Have Chilling Effect On Stupid Wars. - Andy Borowitz

The Texas GOP Wants Constituents To Breath Toxic Fumes. You Read That Right.
A Texas state representative complained about a mask advisory from his county pollution unit, which issued its response after a rail yard incident that released toxic fumes. 

George W. Bush Spends Sleepless Night Wondering If He To Blame For Long-Term Collapse Of Texas Rangers. - The Onion

Shamsia Hassani is a female street artist in Afghanistan, at least for the time being.

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Odd News

• Fossilized egg from prehistoric giant turtle reveals baby inside
• New 'Hobbit' creature, other discoveries show early mammals evolved quickly after dinosaur extinction
• Injecting Drugs Without Needles: High-Speed Camera Captures a Water Jet’s Splashy Impact As It Pierces a Droplet
• 19-year-old pilot attempts to circle globe for world record
• Giant rubber duck's presence in Maine harbor a mystery

Time To Deflate Photo

This is not food but a flower, a White Hoya. I learn something new on the Internet every day.

Peace.

Taliban takeover: Uganda to take in 2,000 Afghan refugees

Taliban takeover: Uganda to take in 2,000 Afghan refugees

Uganda is to take in 2,000 refugees who have fled Afghanistan after Taliban militants took power on Sunday.

The deal was agreed following a request from the US government, Refugee Minister Esther Anyakun told the BBC.

Afghanistan is a reminder of what a better world it would be if George W. Bush had discovered his love of painting in the 90s. - Andy Borowitz

The World Is A Safer Place Without Republicans

• WATCH: Trump Gushed About Handing Afghanistan Over to the Taliban, Who Would Then 'Kill Terrorists'
• Bush expresses 'deep sadness' over Afghanistan
• Biden officials: Trump left bare cupboard on Afghanistan
• Afghan women to have rights within Islamic law, Taliban says
• Court hearing devolves into a 'mess' as 'Helmet boy' Capitol rioter rejects plea deal and proclaims himself 'general counsel'

The war in Afghanistan lasted 7252 days. On day 7253 the media decided it was time to be critical of it. - Abraxas tweet

49% of the Senate Wants To Expedite Relocation For Afghan Women
Letter from 46 senators (43 Democrats and 3 Republicans) calling on the Biden administration to "create a humanitarian parole category" for Afghan women leaders, activists, judges and other public figures to quickly and efficiently relocate to the U.S.

Liz Cheney Asks Whose Dumb Idea It Was To Invade Afghanistan. - Andy Borowitz

Drum Roll: Texas Governor Has COVID.

It was announced Tuesday afternoon that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has contracted the novel coronavirus despite being vaccinated.

Republican Shenanigans

• Sen. Cotton Accuses Biden of Setting Afghanistan Up for Taliban Rule: 'Pulled the Rug Out From Underneath the Afghan Army'
• Kayleigh McEnany Mocks Nicolle Wallace Praising 'Biden Doctrine': 'Leave 10,000 Americans' Stranded and 'Surrender?'
• Adam Kinzinger Takes a Hatchet to Biden’s ‘Terrible’ Speech: He Focused on Stopping the ‘Political Bleeding’ From This ‘Disaster’
• Election officials exhausted as they continue to receive a flood of Trump-inspired threats
• School board member says 'mad king' DeSantis has caused 'panic' and 'chaos' in district
• Arizona Republican Doug Ducey has issued an executive order trying to ban vaccine mandates in the state.
• ‘Sad stunt’: GOP senator flops after calling on Biden’s cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment
• Judge questions Fox News bid to shake Smartmatic's $2.7 billion election lawsuit

Why should we fight an insurgence in Afghanistan,

when we have our own on Capitol Hill. - Stephen Colbert

Marjorie Taylor Greene Has A New Bag of Word Salad
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) argued on Tuesday that it is unfair to imprison people who took part in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol since prisoners in Afghanistan were released when the Taliban took over the country.

You cannot be against General Lee & be for General Washington...there literally is no difference between the two men.  - John Dowd, Trump's head lawyer

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Rock The Voter News

• Axios-Ipsos poll: Most Americans support mask and vaccination mandates
• Biden administration expected to recommend COVID-19 booster shots for Pfizer, Moderna vaccines
• 92 percent of LGBTQ+ adults in US have had at least one vaccine shot
• Pete Buttigieg announces he and husband, Chasten, are now parents
• Food stamp aid to increase by more than 25% over pre-pandemic levels
• 'No conspiracy theories, no excuses': Alabama physician tells patients to get vaccinated or find a new doctor
• Obama: Haiti Earthquake Relief.  How You Can Help

Staying Away From Toxic People Is A Good Thing

Americans are creating their own COVID-19 vaccine mandates.

According to new data from The Harris Poll, at least 30% of Millennials or Gen Zers in the U.S. say they have cut ties with a friend, family member or acquaintance because they wouldn’t get the COVID-19 vaccine.

"TONIGHT!

Joe Biden's a monster for abandoning the people of Afghanistan -

AND.....

No way are we gonna let those filthy Afghan refugees come over here and replace us!

That's TONIGHT - on TUCKER!" - John Fugelsang

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Business/Tech News

• Online financial companies' processes facilitated fraud in PPP loans, Texas university study finds
• Spirit Airlines lost $50M due to canceled flights
• Biden administration says solar power could jump from 3% to 40% of US power by 2035
• Walmart earnings top estimates, fueled by strong grocery sales and back-to-school spending

Breaking: Taliban to announce the construction of a Trump Tower as part of the deal to regain control of Afghanistan. - BlackKnight10K tweet

I Wonder If There Was Traffic From The U.S. Capitol's Server

NBC News reporter Scott MacFarlane reported Tuesday that a website maintained by a former Capitol intern about the underground tunnels beneath the U.S. Capitol exploded with web traffic the day prior to the attack on the building.

How is it possible that anyone thinks it's a good idea to arrest a person for not having a home? - Scott Hechinger

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Odd News

• Space collision: Chinese satellite got whacked by hunk of Russian rocket in March
• Alligator spotted swimming in Massachusetts river
• 10-foot python surprises shoppers on supermarket shelf
• Scientists tweak daddy long legs genes to make daddy short legs
• Diver finds swimmer's lost prosthetic leg in British lake

Time To Deflate Photo

Sharbat Gula will always be the face of an Afghani refugee. This iconic photo was taken by Steve McCurry for National Geographic magazine in 1984. Those eyes.

Peace.

US reaches deal with Taliban on evacuations: report

US reaches deal with Taliban on evacuations: report

The U.S. has reached a deal with the Taliban to ensure that evacuations from Kabul's airport can take place without interference from the group, according to a report by The Associated Press.

The deal was reached in talks in Doha, Qatar, between senior Taliban officials and Gen. Frank McKenzie.

Your reminder that Donald Trump wanted to invite the Taliban over to Camp David for a terrorist sleepover on 9/11 and when John Bolton said that was the stupidest f*cking bullsh*t he'd ever heard in his life, Trump fired Bolton. - Jeff Tiedrich

The World Is A Safer Place Without Republicans

• Afghans Fall From US Military Planes After Desperately Clinging to Aircrafts Taking Off
• Afghan President Ghani Flees Country as Taliban Enter Kabul: ‘It’s Over’
• US sending 1,000 more troops to Kabul as chaos reigns at airport
• Pentagon to provide two more US bases to house Afghans
• CNN's Clarissa Ward Dons Hijab to Interview Taliban in Shocking Report From Streets of Kabul: 'It's Utterly Bizarre'
• Mitch McConnell Blasts Biden's 'Botched' Afghanistan Withdrawal: 'Everyone Saw This Coming Except the President'
• CNN's Poppy Harlow Hits the Biden Administration Over Afghanistan: How Could They Be 'So, So Far Off?'
• CNN's John Berman Lists Everything the White House Got Wrong About Troop Withdrawal from Afghanistan
• CBS NatSec Correspondent: It Looks Like 'The Taliban Will Be Back in Power on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11'
• Cheney: Biden ignored military commanders' advice on Afghanistan
• China ready for 'friendly' relations with Afghanistan after Taliban takes control
• Taliban political delegation travels to Moscow

Republican political strategy has two basic parts: 1.) f*cking things up, and 2.) blaming Democrats for not fixing them. - Middle Age Riot

 

U.S. Troops Shot and Killed Two Afghans At Kabul Airport

U.S. troops have fatally shot two armed men at Kabul's airport, while images of Afghan civilians frantically trying to leave the country now under Taliban rule have dominated news coverage.

A Pentagon spokesman confirmed the two shootings Monday, but said it was not clear if the two men killed were affiliated with the Taliban. 

My Take On Afghanistan

The most powerful military in the world could not plan a swift and safe removal of personnel from Afghanistan. 

I'm so old I remember when JFK took responsibility for the Bay of Pigs loss, although it was due to bad intel from the CIA.

I find it hard to believe that Biden did not take the advice of the military on exiting Afghanistan. The military had 20 years to end the chaos there. 20 years. Maybe it is time for the military to rethink how they conduct/end wars by packing up and leaving. Apparently, Saigon's downfall didn't register with them.

Biden will own this, too. Sadly, again due to bad intel.

My heart breaks for the Afghanis who were helping the US and were left behind to fend for themselves. That is betrayal.

George W. Bush's half-hearted Afghan war was soon overshadowed by lying us into a raging Iraq war. I wonder what George Bush is painting right now for his art therapy. Pretty butterflies?

I'm glad we are leaving that god-forsaken country. It was a mistake to try and nation build from the start.

In the true-to-life-movie Charlie Wilson's War, one of the characters said after the Afghan mujahedeen (armed by Wilson & the CIA) defeated the Soviets -- "the American support always leaves."

The irony of it all, is that George W. Bush repeatedly said he was against nation building. I guess he was, since no nation was ever built.

Godspeed, Afghanistan. Deep apologies from this one American.

AllHatNoCattle Flashback to 2004

When does Fox put Ron DeSantis on for his Afghanistan take? - Schooley

And The Beat Goes On In Uzbekistan...

An Afghan military plane was downed by Uzbekistan's air defense system on Sunday over an attempt to illegally enter the country's air space, Uzbek authorities said Monday. The downing took place in southeastern Uzbekistan, in the Surkhandarya region on the border with Afghanistan. A plane crash was first reported by local media.

Republican Shenanigans

• Pompeo on Afghanistan Falling: Biden Admin ‘Abandoned the Global Stage in Favor of Climate Change’ and Critical Race Theory
• RNC removes page from website touting Trump peace deal with Taliban: report
• Dallas school district maintains mask mandate despite state Supreme Court ruling
• 'Trump Republican' county commissioner hospitalized with severe COVID after railing against masks and other safety measures
• DeSantis faces backlash over his leadership style
• This MyPillow Guy Meltdown Would Be Funny If It Weren’t So Dangerous
• Republican lawmakers: Give jobless pay to workers who reject COVID-19 vaccine requirements
• Former Pro Surfer and RVCA Founder Conan Hayes is at the Heart of Stop-the-Steal Mania

Congressperson who had no problem with extreme conservatives attempting a violent takeover of the USA laments the extreme conservatives violently taking over Afghanistan. - John Fugelsang

 

Republicans Are Getting Crazier, If That's Possible

Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed the Biden administration was handing over weapons to the Taliban, and bizarrely suggested this should bolster Americans’ Second Amendment rights.

In a conspiracy theory-laden interview with Donald Trump’s former strategist Steve Bannon, Ms Greene laid out her thoughts on the security nightmare unfolding in Afghanistan.

So the people who want to make laws based on their religious beliefs are supposedly upset about another group that wants to makes laws based on their religious views? - Eric Garcia

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Rock The Voter News

• Pelosi floats procedural move on infrastructure bill
• California voters split on recall election: poll
• Early indicators suggest Democrats' House majority is in jeopardy

Republicans Clarify Support For Democracy In Afghanistan Does Not Apply To Georgia, Florida or Texas - Andy Borowitz

Young Children Are Transmitting COVID-19

Young children may be more likely to transmit the virus that causes COVID-19 within households compared with older children, a new study has found.

Specifically, children 3 or younger were more likely to spread the virus to household members compared with those aged 14 to 17.

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Business/Tech News

• American Petroleum Institute sues Biden over oil and gas leasing pause
• Florida appealing vaccine mandate 'beyond bizarre; It's shameful': Norwegian Cruise CEO
• Tesla being investigated over series of crashes
• Fired Merrill Lynch Advisor Sentenced to 3.5 Years Over $3 Million Fraud

If there is red tape preventing Afghan refugees from coming to America, a good thing to do would be to set that red tape on fire. - Seth Mandel

Will There Be A Taliban Cartel?
The Taliban once again control Afghanistan, which means they also control the world’s premier source of opium...Opium poppy cultivation increased by 37 percent from 2019 to 2020, and totaled 6,300 tons. In fact, despite the U.S. spending more than $8 billion to eradicate poppy production, it only increased during the American occupation: Today Afghanistan cultivates twice the acreage of opium poppy as it did before 2001. If the new Taliban government is a “pariah” per U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, it will have no incentive to transition away from narcotics in the hope of attracting aid or investment. 

I wonder how many Republicans will support the U.S. accepting thousands of Afghan refugees. - Jon Cooper

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Odd News

• Russia claims America and other countries 'rigged' Tokyo Olympics
• NASA Denies Russian Rumor That US Astronaut Drilled Hole In ISS To Come Home Early
• Rotting ‘raccoon house’ abandoned by former Kansas City Chiefs star sells for $278K
• Rare Honus Wagner baseball card sells for record $6.6 million
• Father, son cross English Channel on eFoil boards

Time To Deflate Photo

Balanced Rock in the Garden Of The Gods in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It stands about 35 feet tall.
It looks like a head to me.

Peace.