Kaloogian Odds And Ends

I know I've been hitting that Kaloogian character pretty hard, but this guy is definitely a gift that keeps on giving.

Check out the latest from the Kaloogian camp:

"I made a mistake in posting the wrong picture, and I accept full responsibility for it.

"However, the anti-war activists who are supporting Democrat Francine Busby are trying to use this clerical mistake as justification for opposing the war. How silly.

"I will not apologize for supporting the missions our troops are serving in Iraq.

"I will not apologize for traveling to Iraq to afford our troops the opportunity to report back home the progress being made that is not being reported by the mainstream news media.

"I will not back down from supporting the mission our troops are serving in Iraq to defeat the terrorist threat. By bringing stability, democracy and freedom to the people who were long terrorized by the brutal dictator, Saddam Hussein, and eliminating safe havens for terrorists, we are ensuring American security at home.

"And, most importantly, I will not allow Francine Busby, her "Blame America First" friends, and the anti-military contingent to undermine America’s support for our military men and women and their mission in Iraq."

Hell, who needs an anti-war movement when you have . . . Kaloogian! He could end the U.S. occupation of Iraq single-handedly if he keeps this up.

The Kaloogian Debacle is starting to filter into the mainstream press. Here's are a couple of choice graphs from the San Francisco Chronicle (via Josh Marshall):

The campaign posted the photo from Kaloogian's July trip to Iraq, a mission dubbed the "Truth Tour" and organized to "tell the American people about the accomplishments (troops) are making in Operation Iraqi Freedom and the fight against terrorism,'' according to the tax-exempt group Move America Forward, a conservative grassroots organization Kaloogian helped found. * * *

The candidate said he hadn't recognized the error because "the military asked us to use our discretion and put things on the Internet that were nondescriptive ... (because) if we posted something that was easily identifiable, it could be a target."

The "Truth" Tour -- it just doesn't get any better than that.

And let me see if I got it all straight, Kaloogian -- you now claim that the military asked you to use your discretion on what you posted because if you "posted something that was easily identifiable, it could be a target." But I thought you posted that picture of Baghdad to demonstrate how peaceful and safe it is over there. What did you say originally? Oh yeah:

We took this photo of downtown Baghdad while we were in Iraq. Iraq (including Baghdad) is much more calm and stable than what many people believe it to be. But, each day the news media finds any violence occurring in the country and screams and shouts about it - in part because many journalists are opposed to the U.S. effort to fight terrorism.

But I guess Kaloogian's story now is that Iraq is so dangerous that the military told him that merely posting pictures of public places in Iraq could help the enemy identify targets. Is that why he originally posted a picture of Istanbul instead -- in order to avoid the wrath of the U.S. military -- or did he really think he was posting an easily identifiable picture of downtown Baghdad, one that the terrorists could use to their advantage? Were you trying to help the evildoers, Kaloogian? It sure looks that way to me.

Kaloogian may be one of only a handful of people to have successfully committed the crime of attempted treason.

Finally, Wikipedia has this (via Josh Marshall again):

Kaloogian (n): A term that describes a false or out-of-context image used in order to advance an agenda.

- That photo shown on O'Reilly's show last night was a Kaloogian!

Named for Howard Kaloogian, a California state assemblyman. While running for Duke Cunningham's vacated congressional seat, Kaloogian used an image of a street corner in the Istanbul suburb of Bakirkoy in order to promote the notion that "downtown Baghdad" was "much more calm and stable than what many people believe it to be," blaming the incorrect perception on the media.

The day after the Kaloogian was uncovered, candidate Kaloogian attempted a mulligan by submitting another photo depicting a calm Bagdhad. Although the newer photo appeared to be a picture of Bagdhad, it lacked the detail necessary to support his claim, in effect representing another Kaloogian.

I'm laughing so hard right now I think I might have a stroke.