The Chris Moeller Archives

An anniversary this week in Afghanistan

The Bush/Obama War on Afghanistan rages on now after eight full years. President Obama has ruled out a paring-down of forces in the region, and was meeting this afternoon with advisers on whether to orchestrate a major "surge" (re: "escalation") of violence instead-- an increase of up to 40,000 additional troops. Leading the charge on Capitol Hill for the escalation is Senator John McCain, who was roundly rejected by the American people in his bid for president in 2008. His foreign policy agenda is about to be adopted part and parcel anyway.

Meanwhile, national security advisor James Jones said of Afghanistan recently, "The Al Quada presence is very diminished. The maximum estimate is less than 100 operating in the country, no bases, no ability to launch attacks on either us or our allies."

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Fired by whom? David Letterman doesn't work for CBS. He works for Worldwide Pants. CBS doesn't have the authority to fire the host for unpopular actions. He's not Tommy Smothers. The network doesn't produce the Late Show, and here's how you can tell that from watching: It doesn't suck. If it did, the Late Show would be focus-group-approved crap with beholden hosts like the Tonight Show or the Jay Leno Show. Incidently, CBS head Les Moonves dated a subordinate himself, and then married her-- network news reporter Julie Chen. Life happens, it seems, even when you're on the job.

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A woman has been appointed to the Supreme Court, the Philadelphia Phillies are defending World Series champions, and now Terry Branstad is considering a run to become Iowa's governor. 2009 is the second coming of 1981. If Yes splits up again, I'm gonna be pissed.

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Who killed the 2009 New York Mets? It's all here in a timeline whodunnit from Vanity Fair. The cold case investigation involves Bernie Madoff, a relief pitcher whose last name is "Putz," the reputed Sports Illustrated cover jinx, paranoid and vindictive team executives, a woman who got her arm caught in a stadium toilet, Bababooey, and sadly, even for Mets haters, the federal treasury.

posted by CM @ 1:27 PM