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Former Intelligence officer (and current VIP member) Larry Johnson visits a retirement community

Johnson:  “You realize that most of you are going to die soon, right? And that you’ll likely be quite alone and stewing in your own days-old waste when you kick?  Sorry, but the time has come to speak out. The soul of the nation is at stake—AND I FOR ONE WILL NO LONGER BITE MY TONGUE JUST TO SPARE YOU A BIT OF INCONVENIENT TRUTHINESS!”*

27 Replies to “Former Intelligence officer (and current VIP member) Larry Johnson visits a retirement community”

  1. Robb Allen says:

    Not. going. to. click. Sorry, that’s one domain I don’t want in my DNS cache.

    Now, where’s the shelled dancer?

  2. Pablo says:

    It’s just not a Larry Johnson thread without his turn as the Anti-Nostradamus:

    Judging from news reports and the portrayal of villains in our popular entertainment, Americans are bedeviled by fantasies about terrorism. They seem to believe that terrorism is the greatest threat to the United States and that it is becoming more widespread and lethal. They are likely to think that the United States is the most popular target of terrorists. And they almost certainly have the impression that extremist Islamic groups cause most terrorism.

    “None of these beliefs are based in fact. … While terrorism is not vanquished, in a world where thousands of nuclear warheads are still aimed across the continents, terrorism is not the biggest security challenge confronting the United States, and it should not be portrayed that way.

    –Larry C. Johnson, “The Declining Terrorist Threat,” New York Times, July 10, 2001. Johnson, a former CIA officer, was deputy director of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Counterterrorism from 1989 to 1993.

    And people listen to him why?

  3. TODD says:

    This guy definately has his head in the sand. And this guy was in intelligence work. My god….Oh and as posted above, DANCE DILLO DANCE…

  4. This guy definately has his head in the sand.

    That’s not sand he’s stuck his head into.

  5. It does strike me, though, that his op-ed must be part of the reason he’s considered creditable in some circles. After all, they believe it wasn’t international terrorists that attacked us on 9/11; in “liberal reality” he’s correct.

  6. Pablo says:

    Ah yes, Rove did it, not the terrorists. After he made his mother kill herself, then he attacked America.

    Now I understand the emotionalism.

  7. Bic says:

    That’s, suprisingly, one of the most level-headed DU threads I’ve ever read.  Of course that’s a very low bar to get over. 

    Amongst the normal “KKKarl is evil so everything goes” and the “only Republicans use personal attacks, we, the enlightened left are so much better than that” that appear in every DU/DKos/D* attack thread, there were actually a handful of people** who were genuinely offended by the comment and the gloating.  They were generally shouted down but still, it does show some glimmer of hope for the survival of the moderate left.

    **(What they were doing at DU in the first place I’ll never know.)

  8. eakawie says:

    A slow moving thug, and just another big man who never lived up to his potential or earned his massive NBA paycheck.

    Although I’m not sure I’d call him “a disgrace to the game of basketball and to the NBA” like Walton did.

  9. A fine scotch says:

    “Do I look like a cat to you boy? Am I jumpin’ around all nimbly bimbly from tree to tree? Am I drinking milk from a saucer? DO YOU SEE ME EATING MICE?”

  10. Major John says:

    Yeah, I don’t care how funny those “Granmama” ads were.

  11. A fine scotch says:

    Then why you laughing, Mister….Larry Johnson?

  12. A fine scotch says:

    Sorry, Major John.  That was a follow up to my previous post.  Not directed at you.

  13. Badger says:

    Just this morning, I read a piece on the Viking Berserker warriors.  And now Jeff sends me over to DU.  Coincindence?  Irony?  Something else?  Hmmm….

  14. Major John says:

    I didn’t think it was.  We seem to have crossed while I was replying to eakawie.

  15. DrSteve says:

    Predicting the deaths of the institutionalized elderly might raise his percentage, but I think it’s probably only to the 3rd or 4th decimal place.  I mean, we are weighting his score by body count, right?  Do we count the predictions geezer-by-geezer, or did he make the call for the whole Home at once?

    TW:  I hear France is hot this time of year, maybe he should visit the facilities over there.

  16. The Other Jim In KC says:

    Well, maybe he didn’t live up to his potential as a big man in the NBA, but he sure can pile up yards for the Chiefs in KC, baby! I think all the hits from the linebackers have made him a bit daft, is all!

    TW: Common, as another Jim in KC?

  17. Ric Locke says:

    The amazing thing is how much of a piece it is with the whole “Fitzmas” notion. The next act, so to speak.

    It’s nine o’clock on Fitzmas morning, and the living room floor is four inches deep in newspaper clippings, torn envelopes marked “SECRET!” in red magic marker, and the screwed-up remnants of first drafts with the word “imminent” heavily crossed out. In the only clear area, little Larry, beet-red from head to toe, is writhing, pounding the carpet with knees, toes, head, and chubby little fists, and wailing:

    It’s not fair! Waaaaaaah! There was supposed to be a pony! It was on the list an’ everything! There’s no pony! Waaaaaaaaaaaaah! It’s not fa-a-a-a-a-air!

    –Isn’t it cute.

    –Um, well, er, no, er, not as such, not really, but–

    –Don’t be hateful to your child. You have to respect his feelings.

    –[aggrieved] I was just about to say that.

    Waaaaaaaaah! There was a pony on the list! It was in big red letters an’ had stars and arrows by it! And the <BLINK> tag! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! It was the most important thing! It’s not fa-a-a-a-a-ir!

    –Well, I think it’s cute. And intelligent. Innovative.

    –And adult, too. I mean, I didn’t know Spongebob was equipped for that, if you get me.

    –[heavy sigh] They grow up so fast.

    –Yes, dear, but we’ll always have the memories.

    It’s not fair! I hate Fitzmas! I hate Santa Fitz! Santa Fitz is a damn lie! Santa Fitz is a f*ing ’publican! Waaaaaaaaaaaah! It’s not fa-a-a-a-a-a-ir!

    –[dubiously] Is it, um, OK for him to get all red like that? I mean, blood pressure spikes at that age can’t be healthy, y’know.

    –It’s healthy for him to express his feelings. But I wish he wouldn’t use such language. I don’t like the R-word.

    –He, um, hears it all the time.

    –This neighborhood was so nice when we moved in, but it’s deteriorating.

    It’s not fair! I’m s’posed to have a pony, and I’m just gonna make one. [Starts bashing crumpled paper and bits of torn envelope into a rough quadruped-shape]

    –Oh, good, he’s reached the constructive stage.

    –Yes. Isn’t he cute like that? [frowns] I still think we could‘ve, I mean there are ways

    –No, dear. The president of the condo association was, um, rude, y’know? There are rules.

    –[heavily] Fascists.

    I’m just gonna have the bestest damned pony in all the world! [continues the construction project, using shards of broken CD for teeth] The mean ol’ ‘publicans won’t keep me from having a pony, no matter what!

    –[trying to lighten it up] Well, if he keeps spreading that around a pony is bound to appear somewhere, eh?

    –Don’t make jokes when your child is in emotional distress!

    –Sorry, dear, of course you’re right… I’m going to the kitchen for coffee. Would you like some?

    –No, thank you, but could you bring me a Thorazine? I feel that mood coming on, and I’d like to nip it in the bud.

    [The construct collapses, leaving a round ball sticking up, with a rolled-up NYT front page representing a tail] Waaaaaaaaaaaaah! It’s not fa-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-ir…

  18. Some other highlights of the July 2001 Larry Johnson piece in the NYT:

    The greatest risk is clear: if you are drilling for oil in Colombia—or in nations like Ecuador, Nigeria or Indonesia—you should take appropriate precautions; otherwise Americans have little to fear.

    Although high-profile incidents have fostered the perception that terrorism is becoming more lethal, the numbers say otherwise, and early signs suggest that the decade beginning in 2000 will continue the downward trend. A major reason for the decline is the current reluctance of countries like Iraq, Syria and Libya, which once eagerly backed terrorist groups, to provide safe havens, funding and training.

    I am not soft on terrorism; I believe strongly in remaining prepared to confront it. However, when the threat of terrorism is used to justify everything from building a missile defense to violating constitutional rights (as in the case of some Arab-Americans imprisoned without charge), it is time to take a deep breath and reflect on why we are so fearful.

    Part of the blame can be assigned to 24-hour broadcast news operations too eager to find a dramatic story line in the events of the day and to pundits who repeat myths while ignoring clear empirical data. Politicians of both parties are also guilty. They warn constituents of dire threats and then appropriate money for redundant military installations and new government investigators and agents.

    Just to quote a few points of his.

  19. BumperStickerist says:

    True Fact:

    If the same percentage of people who served in the Intelligence Community supported Larry the way that the Swift Vets supported John O’Neill, VIPS would have 38,420 members, instead of … well, many, many fewer.



    ‘True Facts’ is a registered trademark of Rightwing Noise Machine and its subsidiary, Unsubstantiated Rumors.  Any resemblance to truth is purely coincindental.

  20. topsecretk9 says:

    –Larry C. Johnson, “The Declining Terrorist Threat,” New York Times, July 10, 2001. Johnson, a former CIA officer, was deputy director of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Counterterrorism from 1989 to 1993.

    And people listen to him why?

    A New Tidbit on the Plame Affair

    by

    Larry C. Johnson

    Had lunch today with a person who has a direct tie to one of the folks facing indictment in the Plame affair. There are 22 files that Fitzgerald is looking at for potential indictment . These include Stephen Hadley, Karl Rove, Lewis Libby, Dick Cheney, and Mary Matalin (there are others of course). Hadley has told friends he expects to be indicted. No wonder folks are nervous at the White House.

    Posted by Larry Johnson on Tuesday, 18 October 2005 at 15:48 | Permalink

    Now ask it again, people listen to him why?

  21. MarkD says:

    The greatest risk is clear: if you are drilling for oil in Colombia—or in nations like Ecuador, Nigeria or Indonesia—you should take appropriate precautions; otherwise Americans have little to fear.

    Not to mention vacationing in Bali or Southern Thailand or Kashmir, or going to work in the Pentagon or the WTC, or riding an airplane or a subway… Nothing to see here children, move along.  Larry Johnson is on watch and you are safe.

    In one sense, the guy is correct.  I’m far more likely to die from some medical condition than I am to be killed in a car which is more likely than being killed by a terrorist.  But I see the doctor for a checkup from time to time, buckle my seat belt, and support death to the jihadis.

  22. Nuke 'm Hill says:

    They can’t even get their fucking story straight!  On the one hand, Richard Clarke (and his cronies) have been crying “they ignored my deeply important and rooted in wisdom warnings about the al Qaeda threat”, trying to pin 9/11 on Bushie’s indifference.  And here, we have LJ screaming, just before 9/11, that terrorism really wasn’t much of a threat at all, and the Bush Administration was trumping up a threat to stomp on our civil liberties.

    Aggghhhh!  Do they really think we’re that stupid?  Fuck.  This just pisses me off to no end.

  23. PMain says:

    And people listen to him why?

    Pablo

    Becuase he represents the real Party of Compassion silly.

  24. Pablo says:

    Well he says he does. He says he’s a Republican.

    I’m not buying it. smile

    tw: wrong It sure is.

  25. McGehee says:

    Larry Johnson: The Oracle of Doophi.

  26. George S. "Butch" Patton (Mrs.) says:

    AND I FOR ONE WILL NO LONGER BITE MY TONGUE JUST TO SPARE YOU A BIT OF INCONVENIENT TRUTHINESS!”

    Well, actually we were hoping you would just bite your tongue so we could all watch you choke to death on your own blood, but we can wait.

    Oh, sorry, is that eliminationist speech? Isn’t this Tim Blair’s site?

  27. MayBee says:

    Jeff’s Larry is just too even tempered, I’m afraid.

    Go to http://www.seixon.com.  Or to Larry’s own blog.

    You would soon see Larry could never make it through the retirement home without calling granny a “moron” or accusing some old guy of a sexual love for George W Bush.

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