Thursday Open Thread
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Good Morning Good Dem's we are making progress...let us resolve to fight on!
Good morning, again. I have been thinking about the Craig plea. In NY it is legal to revoke your plea and reopen your case if you can convince the Judge by motion that there were circumstances that warrant it. (i.e., you didn't have legal counsel). I wonder if Craig will try this if legal in his state. Although, it could open a bigger can of worms, if you know what I mean.
Lovely weather here; a bit muggy and some good ol thunder boomers coming this afternoon.
Good morning Marsh, JohnE and Cyn and anyone else I missed....John Boy....
Posted by Cyn_NY on August 30, 2007 at 07:54 AM
Now, that was funny!
The right-wing extremist liar that is taking rash's this week was complaining about the double standard. "Democrats get away with everything." "Ted Kennedy wasn't prosecuted for his sexual transgressions".
These morons keep dredging up the past. I only care about getting hypocrite pseudo-religious perverts and criminals out of office, no matter what party.
Mornin' John Boy. It's good to see you are keeping the home fires burning.
Morning gregg and JohnBoy again.
How's your addition going these days?
Is anyone taking bets that it will hit the fan next week when Congress gets back? bush has been on a non-stop campaign and photo-op tour the last few weeks and I resent paying for it.
King bush the first should do something now that is long overdue. He needs to put his spawn over his knee and paddle his butt.
Cheers and Jeers: Thursday
by Bill in Portland Maine
Thu Aug 30, 2007 at 04:41:27 AM PDT
From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE...
Oh! More things I know:
It's not okay for a president to be an adulterer, but it's okay for an adulterer to be president.
Bush's Plan B for Iraq is to keep doing Plan A but more victoriously.
To soften the final version of the September surge report, the White House will dot every 'i' with a little heart.
WASHINGTON - The Iraqi government has failed to meet the vast majority of political and military goals laid out by lawmakers to assess President Bush's Iraq war strategy, congressional auditors have determined.
The Associated Press has learned the Government Accountability Office, or GAO, will report that at least 13 of the 18 benchmarks to measure the surge of U.S. troops to Iraq are unfulfilled ahead of a Sept. 15 deadline. That's when Bush is to give a detailed accounting of the situation eight months after he announced the policy, according to three officials familiar with the matter.
...also said the administration is preparing a case to play down the findings.
but the pres said everything was going so well when he spoke to the american legion the other day
Morning all,
watched various TV roundtables last night, and word is all in agreement, Craig will be gonzo in another week or two! Had to give up all his seats, etc. Has no more influence. ONLY reason Repubs are demanding it, is there is a Republican Governor in the state who will undoubtedly name another Republican in his place and hope for some damage control. I sure hope Blue from Idaho keeps up the pressure provided by this scum bag for the next elections.
Dan Abramas did a segment last night, showing how many Dems vs Republicans were involved in Sex Scandals in last 10 years.
THE REPUBLICANS BEAT OUT THE DEMS TWO TO ONE !
So Save it, Republican trolls, who might want to throw out some Dems names! Barney Franks for instance, had a ROOMMATE who held parties, Barney did not know about them.
(ps, irritated Dem is no other than our fat little Harpo. I will take a bet on that. So ignore the funny little fool)
The right-wing extremist liar that is taking rash's this week was complaining about the double standard. "Democrats get away with everything." "Ted Kennedy wasn't prosecuted for his sexual transgressions".
****
Hey JE,
Here is the response - was their sexual transgression's a crime? Cheating on your spouse, gay sex isn't a crime. Soliciting / having sex in a public area is a crime.
ps, irritated Dem is no other than our fat little Harpo. I will take a bet on that. So ignore the funny little fool)
****
PamB, it's either harpy or sally. Definitely one of the troll boz.
Posted by Cyn_NY on August 30, 2007 at 08:10 AM
Hanging in here Cyn,,,doing the best I can with what I have to work with,...my mind isn't what it used to be, too many chemicals sent through it...still trying to get readjusted to getting these three grand kids up and on the buses, three different scheduels this year...went out side, patchy fog this AM, surprisingly cool so far....John Boy....
Pam, congrats on chairing one of your County committees! That's quite a feat in such a short time.
but the pres said everything was going so well when he spoke to the american legion the other day
Posted by jimmyc451 on August 30, 2007 at 08:16 AM
***
jimmyc, I think we all surmised that he would do nothing with benchmarks. Basically, Chimpy is jawing them to death.
Now comes the big battle. Chimpy wants 80 billion more outside of the budget process. You know this isn't for Iraq per se. He is ramping up for an attack on Iran!
Hi Cyn,
It is Town here, not county, but I am still thinking about it.
My CA daughter is moving back East, and I will be needing time to fly out for packing party and Yard sale, etc. I do not want to take on a job right before the elections that I cannot give 150% to.
I am trying to determine how much time this job would require, so I do not short change them.
Posted by Cyn_NY on August 30, 2007 at 08:10 AM
I second that motion! Congrats Pam!
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007 at 08:14 AM
Morning rj,
Funny. The hearts over the 'i's will really make the families of the one million dead Iraqis happy.
I agree, soliciting in public is a crime. I wonder if craig will go into rehab like all the rest. The pattern seems to be resign then rehab.
Trinkets and treasure: China tames the US
One hundred and fifty years ago, the West subjugated China by addicting it to opium. Today, it is the West, especially the United States, that has become addicted, to an equally or even more addictive substance, cheap consumer products and the profits they accrue. With trinkets and treasure, the communists are selling capitalists the rope with which they will hang themselves.
"We can do this, but you have to keep in mind Republicans care more about catching Democrats than catching terrorists," said Rep. Rahm Emanuel (Ill.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. "They have spent years taking Roosevelt's notion that we have nothing to fear but fear itself and given us nothing but fear."
****
Well Rahmbo that's true. But, conservative Dems (Blue / Bush dogs) act like they fear the GOP's fear and smear tactics. So if the Blue Dogs really are fiscal conservatives let them prove it with Bush's request for an additional 80 billion outside of the budget process. Let them show they are as tough on supporting civil liberties as they are on fighting terrorism.
I agree, soliciting in public is a crime. I wonder if craig will go into rehab like all the rest. The pattern seems to be resign then rehab.
Posted by Johnedwrd on August 30, 2007 at 08:28 AM
****
JE, probably!
Yeah, hearts over the I's will really make the troops that lost limbs happy. That Bush is quite a "compassionate guy" ... phoohey.
Impeach Chimpy
Impeach Shooter
John Boy, you are truly amazing and an inspiration to me. I don't know how you do it. You are a real role model to those grandkids.
Pam, is this the daughter with the grandkids? If so, that's wonderful news. But I hope you will have the time for the committee because you would be very good at it. After the experience you gained with Ned's campaign, you have a lot to offer.
I understand the CA Democratic Party is all over this. Keep your CA friends pushing for this.
This is NOT what the original purpose of the Electoral college was meant to do.
"Now, along comes the Republicans greatest attempted power grab yet. They are asking California voters next June to change the way the state’s electoral votes are allocated – from a winner-take-all system to a congressional-district-by-congressional-district system.
Democrats have been carrying California in recent elections. Even if they were to carry the state in 2008, Republicans would get about 20 electoral votes under these new rules.
On the surface this sounds reasonable – award electoral votes to whichever party carries a particular congressional district. It might be reasonable if it didn’t constitute unilateral disarmament by the Democratic Party.
You see, Republicans aren’t proposing to give up some of their electoral votes in big states that they traditionally carry, such as Texas, Florida and Indiana.
They want to continue the winner-take-all system in their states but have Democrats share electoral votes in a big Democratic state. How stupid do they think we are?
With trinkets and treasure, the communists are selling capitalists the rope with which they will hang themselves.
****
Cyn_NY,
How true! The capitalists even sought them out and moved their factories there.
The American people have been deluded into thinking globalism is a good thing because it "brings down prices". But look at what you lose:
Start with the jobs
Loss of quality control and regulation
Insecure personal data, identity fraud, etc...
Then you got to ask, is it really all that much cheaper than when we made it here? OR is this just another way to generate more corporate profits? I tend to think the latter is true.
More bad news for the Republicans who had their fingers crossed that Johnson would never return, say nothing about re-running!
Johnson says he will run for reelection
Sen. Tim Johnson told ABC News he plans to run for reelection next year after suffering a massive brain hemorrhage last December that has kept him out of the Senate all year.
The South Dakota Democrat told ABC News correspondent Bob Woodruff, "I expect to run and to win," in an interview broadcast hours after his triumphant return to South Dakota Tuesday.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/thecrypt/0807/Johnson_says_he_will_run_for_reelection.html
"These morons keep dredging up the past. I only care about getting hypocrite pseudo-religious perverts and criminals out of office, no matter what party."
Im not saying the Dems are with more family values or anything and have less scandal or anything :) :) :)
but may I respectfully ask, if they don't go back and I mean WAY back and pull the few Dem flubs up, dust them off, put them front and center...what else do they have? Problem is, we are so desensitized because they already "drove it home" then, no one cares anymore. besides, the Dems cannot hold a candle to the "RICH quality" of "Club Pub Flubs". I now believe it is more of a lifestyle and a their own unique blend of "conservative Christian family values". You know, the ole' hypocritical double standard solid Christian family values they believe this country was founded upon?
YEEEEHAWWWWW, GO PUBS!!!! What up for next week? Can we get a preview??? PLEASE?
Liars, Cheaters, Thieves and HYPOCRITES. The NEW Pub Mantra. Just gives ya the warm fuzzies all over, eh?
"These morons keep dredging up the past. I only care about getting hypocrite pseudo-religious perverts and criminals out of office, no matter what party."
Im not saying the Dems are with more family values or anything and have less scandal or anything :) :) :)
but may I respectfully ask, if they don't go back and I mean WAY back and pull the few Dem flubs up, dust them off, put them front and center...what else do they have? Problem is, we are so desensitized because they already "drove it home" then, no one cares anymore. besides, the Dems cannot hold a candle to the "RICH quality" of "Club Pub Flubs". With the huge numbers of "The coming out" pack of Pub politicians, I now believe it is more of a lifestyle and a their unique blend of "conservative Christian family values". You know, the ole' hypocritical double standard solid Christian family values they believe this country was founded upon?
YEEEEHAWWWWW, GO PUBS!!!! What up for next week? Can we get a preview??? PLEASE?
Thanks Cyn...but the grand kids would not agree with you that I am a good role model,...to them I'm an old scrooge who won't let them do a lot of the things they think they should be allowed to do...but they will appreciate it later in their lives...maybe by the tine they are 35 or so....heheeee....John Boy..
rj, I completely agree. And, with all the recalls on Chinese goods that are not only sub-standard, but contaminated, as well, they are damaging our health.
A while ago, I heard an interview with a book writer on NPR radio who had tried to live for one year without purchasing anything made in China for her family. It was virtually impossible.
Off to hang clothes on the line and get going on some work. Have a great day!
Liars, Cheaters, Thieves and HYPOCRITES. The NEW Pub Mantra. Just gives ya the warm fuzzies all over, eh?
Posted by compostrose on August 30, 2007 at 08:41 AM
*****
Yep, that's the Repugs for you. I have no doubt you can dredge up some Dems with "moral values issues" when defined as narrowly as the Repugs define it. But, isn't it funny how Repugs have way more issues and their issues actually cross the line into the illegal!
Everytime a Pug Ugly talks about "family values" start thinking that they are hiding something!
MoveOn targets pro-surge Democrat
Rep. Brian Baird’s (D-Wash.) recent conversion on the Iraq war is beginning to affect more than the national dialogue. On Wednesday, liberal group MoveOn.org announced an ad campaign against the congressman in his own district.
Baird recently returned from a trip to Iraq and reversed his position on a withdrawal timetable, citing military progress in the four-year-old war.
MoveOn is calling the move a “flip-flop” and says it goes against the views of his constituents.
The ad does not make specific reference to Baird’s conversion. Instead, it features a soldier who served in Iraq talking about the amount of resistance troops encountered and at the end asks viewers to tell Baird to bring the troops home.
The soldier in the ad served in Iraq in 2003 and 2004 and describes a scene from that time, long before the current troop increase that Baird has cited as the reason for military progress.
http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/moveon-targets-pro-surge-democrat-2007-08-29.html
Well bush is forging ahead with his united states of mexico and canada. It's all about money and to hell with security.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Teamsters Union said Wednesday it will ask a federal appeals court to block the Bush administration's plan to allow Mexican trucks to carry cargo anywhere in the United States.
The union said it has been told by officials in the Transportation Department's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration that the first Mexican trucks will be coming across the border on Saturday.
The Bush administration said last week it would start the cross-border program once the Transportation Department's inspector general certifies safety and inspection plans.
Supporters of the plan say letting more Mexican trucks on U.S. highways will save American consumers hundreds of millions of dollars.
Teamsters will ask court to block letting Mexican trucks into US
Good morning, all.
To soften the final version of the September surge report, the White House will dot every 'i' with a little heart.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/8/30/74127/7589
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007 at 08:14 AM
rj,
I wonder if it ever occurrred to those in the Beltway that the reason why the Iraqi government hasn't met 13 or the 18 conditions for our troops to stay is because they don't want us to stay?
I've never understood why the Republians would think anyone would want their country to be occupied or want their infrastructure and security to be similar to that of an aftermath of a hurricane like Katrina.
I suppose it's the same craven attitude that Babs Bush so eloquently stated: "They seem to be doing fine for themselves."
For Sunny and other Floridians.
"The DNC said again Tuesday that the rules are to be followed, and despite threats of legal action, a 1981 Supreme Court ruling made clear it is the parties, not the states, that have the power here.
“We continue to hope that Florida will do the right thing and come up with a plan that’s in compliance with the rules the DNC and its members from Florida voted for,” DNC spokeswoman Stacie Paxton said in an e-mail. “Florida has the right to determine its primary date. However, the Supreme Court determined more than 25 years ago that the Democratic Party has the legal right to establish the rules by which they select and seat delegates to the National Convention.”
http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/florida-delegation-attempts-stare-down-on-dnc-2007-08-28.html
CONTACT THE FL DEM PARTY. TELL THEM TO GO BY THE RULES THEY JUST VOTED FOR A YEAR AGO. WHAT MAKES THEM THINK THEY SHOULD BE FIRST?
With his mexican deal, bush is trying to destroy the Teamster's union.
bush is doing all this while Congress is in recess. Shouldn't Congress have a say in the matter?
Sure it may save money but we will never see it. It will go into the Walmart pocket and the six wall brother's foreign bank accounts.
here are those compassionate, caring Republicans again! They probably think that Cancer patients should just take personal responsibililty for their disease, like they do everything else !!
First-tier Republicans skip cancer forum
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The biggest names in the GOP presidential primary — Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) — skipped the first-ever forum on cancer sponsored by Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Foundation.
Two Republican candidates who appeared, Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, promised to rejuvenate a “war on cancer” as president, but disagreed over the need for a federal ban on smoking in public places.
First-tier Republicans skip cancer forum
By Jim Snyder
August 28, 2007
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The biggest names in the GOP presidential primary — Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) — skipped the first-ever forum on cancer sponsored by Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Foundation.
Two Republican candidates who appeared, Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, promised to rejuvenate a “war on cancer” as president, but disagreed over the need for a federal ban on smoking in public places.
First-tier Republicans skip cancer forum
By Jim Snyder
August 28, 2007
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — The biggest names in the GOP presidential primary — Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) — skipped the first-ever forum on cancer sponsored by Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong Foundation.
Two Republican candidates who appeared, Sen. Sam Brownback (Kan.) and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, promised to rejuvenate a “war on cancer” as president, but disagreed over the need for a federal ban on smoking in public places.
http://thehill.com/campaign-2008/first-tier-republicans-skip-cancer-forum-2007-08-28.html
I still think it is a good idea to impeach Cheney and there by short circuit Bush's brain.....Bush is becoming more and more isolated. If we tie The Evil One up in impeachment proceeding, then Bushrat will be all alone except for Barney who I understand is trying to cut a deal and cop a plea....
Posted by compostrose on August 30, 2007 at 08:44 AM
compostrose,
It's not about sex. It's about acting creepy. This guy was coming on to strangers in the full view of others who would rather he keep it private among consenting adults.
I don't care what he or anybody else does as long as no one is being exploited.
Speaking of which....yesterday Tucker Carlson asked the "innocent" typical kind of GOP pundit question, "What's wrong with a financal institution offering a loan product to people that has a big interest rate that balloons? They don't have to buy it."
It's call usury, bozo. Throughout history people have considered this barbaric and banned it. Jesus throw these sort of moneylenders out of the temple. If the Republicans want to act like Neanderathals, they should join Bin Lauden in those caves in Pakistan.
I'm sick of highly-educated people acting like they don't know the difference between civilized behavior and getting whatever they want at the expense of others.
Rep. Brian Baird’s (D-Wash.) recent conversion on the Iraq war is beginning to affect more than the national dialogue. On Wednesday, liberal group MoveOn.org announced an ad campaign against the congressman in his own district.
****
What's with this dude? If he's in a liberal leaning district, he's toast in an upcoming primary.
Why should the Pubs care? They and their families have great health care for themselves and the money.
Frankly, I would be SURPRISED if they DID get on board with this. My expectations re: the pubs are below ground zero. always was, is and change is not in the forecast.
ooops, sorry for messy post above. Not sure what happened. My system hiccuped, I guess.
I suppose it's the same craven attitude that Babs Bush so eloquently stated: "They seem to be doing fine for themselves."
Posted by SandyH on August 30, 2007 at 08:50 AM
****
Hi Sandy, it's partly that. The Repugs have a tendency to look down at other people in the world.
I think it's mainly that they just don't care. They have their own agenda which is to stay in Iraq indefinitely and get the rights to drill Iraqi oil plus use it as a launching pad for a war against Iran.
I tend to agree with you that the Iraqi people don't care about what they perceive (quite correctly) are our own self-serving benchmarks.
We need a redeployment plan not benchmarks.
"It's not about sex. It's about acting creepy. This guy was coming on to strangers in the full view of others who would rather he keep it private among consenting adults.
I don't care what he or anybody else does as long as no one is being exploited."
I'm sorry if i wasn't clear...i agree completely. Its not what, its how and that its in complete dishonest opposition of their "spoken word" that their constituents trusted.
their lifestyle i referred to is the consistency of their hypocritical behavior.
they hold "we the people" to a higher standard and hold themselves above the law.
Posted by Johnedwrd on August 30, 2007 at 08:59 AM
John,
I think Bush just wants a "safe" way to transport drugs throughout the country for rich GOP politicians after he leaves office with all those "executive privilege" perks.
Posted by compostrose on August 30, 2007 at 09:19 AM
I got what you're saying. Just wanted to add my two cents.
Supporters of the plan say letting more Mexican trucks on U.S. highways will save American consumers hundreds of millions of dollars.
Teamsters will ask court to block letting Mexican trucks into US
Posted by Johnedwrd on August 30, 2007 at 08:50 AM
Those Mexican truckers better avid Houston. The Houston police have a very tough truck inspection team that patrols, stops and tows unsafe trucks....It will be a shame to see it happen, but more Mexican trucks on the road means more Americans killed by reckless drivers in unsafe trucks...
Posted by goodfoe on August 30, 2007 at 09:27 AM
That's not the only issue, John Boy.
These drivers do not belong in this country doing anything for any length of time without a visa. Congress is the only one who has authority to decide if they can.
Bush is running ramshot over the Constitutional. He's done it time and time again with signing statements. Since the Democrats regained power in the House its become the only way for the GOP to continue their pursuit of greed and corruption at the expense of American workers.
Now that the hiring of illegal workers has become a hot potato for incompent Congressional Republicans, Bush is easing their pain by circumenting the whole process and writing his own treaties and implementing them.
He really needs to be impeached.
Allowing those Mexican trucks to drive all over the U.S. is a slick way of replacing union teamsters with much lower paid Mexican drivers. Just another way to export American jobs and bust unions and punish working Americans and further destroy the middle class: all of which are Bushrat objectives. I don't understand why Bush hates America...
but more Mexican trucks on the road means more Americans killed by reckless drivers in unsafe trucks...
Posted by goodfoe on August 30, 2007
good to see we, as americans, are the greatest drivers in the world. all other countries drivers are reckless.
"I got what you're saying. Just wanted to add my two cents.
Posted by SandyH on August 30, 2007 at 09:27 AM"
ok, fair enough. I'm new here and did not want to be mis-understood :)
Under Bushrat's "free trade" policies (which in no way are fair trade policies) the only way the United States will become "competitive" in the "global" economy is when ALL working peoples wages in the United States are driven down to the lowest wages anywhere on the globe....for example $2 per day in China. The objective is to destroy the middle class and drive us into such a wide spread poverty that we become nothing more than economic slaves. Kinda like Mexico is now, vast numbers of very poor people and a very small number of very, very rich who run and govern everything....Sad to say, but we are ketting them so it!
good to see we, as americans, are the greatest drivers in the world. all other countries drivers are reckless.
Posted by jimmyc451 on August 30, 2007 at 09:55 AM
lol
Gotta run. later.
omg...the Today show is interviewing Tom DeLay and the first question asked was if the GOP as a party is in trouble or do they have only two bad apples.
When did DeLay become the litmus test of upstanding behavior?
I'm sorry for harping on this issue, but, here AGAIN in the news..........
Dear Lord, please help us help stop this attack on the sick and elderly.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_6754056
the following story is morally corrupt. its like the feds going into a regular pharmacy and confiscating all the meds so you could no longer fill your prescription.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_6753410
they will go back to the dangerous black market and increase crime, be exposed to dangers no one, let alone an aged sick person should have to endure. this is happening everyday all across America.
the DEA MUST be defunded for raids in states that have medical cannabis laws in place as long as they are in compliance with their state laws..... this must be made and "emergency" when the lawmakers return to DC. HR2087, introduced in 2005, (hinchey-rorhabacher ammendment) would have accomplished that.
this is simple cruelty not even to mention A TOTAL WASTE OF MONIES WE DONT HAVE.
we need your help to put pressure on the law makers. this issue is not about drug use/abuse, its not about getting stoned...this is a serious health care issue and is urgent as long as otherwise innocent people are persecuted for choosing the most safe herbal alternative.
I'm not sure I totally understand the process but if Craig steps down doesn't the Gov. of Idaho appoint a replacement?
I think that DC Republicans are concerned if he stays in office he runs the risk of losing the seat in the next election to the Democrat.
Posted by jimmyc451 on August 30, 2007 at 09:55 AM
I don't know who you are "sport" but I live down here and I deal with Mexican drivers. My wife has been rear ended twice by uninsured Mexican drivers while she was at a stop light. Fortunately she was not seriously injured. I have been run off the road by Mexican divers and had two of them try to spoil my Sunday morning by trying to carjack me. Your sarcasm was not appreciated!
they will go back to the dangerous black market and increase crime, be exposed to dangers no one, let alone an aged sick person should have to endure. this is happening everyday all across America.
Posted by compostrose on August 30, 2007
i wonder if the legalization of med marijuana has actually reduced street sales? my guess, no.
When did DeLay become the litmus test of upstanding behavior?
Posted by Kristen on August 30, 2007 at 10:13 AM
That's how bad things have gotten in this country?
Posted by jimmyc451 on August 30, 2007 at 09:55 AM
I don't know who you are "sport" but I live down here and I deal with Mexican drivers. My wife has been rear ended twice by uninsured Mexican drivers while she was at a stop light. Fortunately she was not seriously injured. I have been run off the road by Mexican divers and had two of them try to spoil my Sunday morning by trying to carjack me. Your sarcasm was not appreciated!
Posted by goodfoe on August 30, 2007
first off i am not your "sport", second off there are thousands of motor vehicle accidents a day in the US, are they all also the result of illegals, next is the issue of crime. crime is commited by all people, we call them criminals. and very last, it is awesome how you could tell that a person who ran you off the road was "illegal". i am mexican, how can you be sure it wasn't me. i was also rear ended last month by a wreckless caucasian woman in her mid 50's, though i am not sure if she was here legally since i asked for no birth certificate or other proof of citizenship. i only assume she was cause she was white.
There are a lot of fine Mexican people who live in this area, work every day, pay their taxes and just want the same thing I do, a better life for my children and grand children. There are also a lot of Mexican drivers on our roads who neither speak or read English which makes it difficult for them to drive here safely. Do you think all those Mexican truck drivers they are going to let drive in this country are going to be fluent in English? Wake up!...I hope you remember this conversation when some Mexican, diving an 18 wheeler next to you decides he has missed his exit ramp and changes three lanes at once and runs YOU into the guard rail!
Good Morning, ALL!
The problems with those Mexican trucks are They don't have the inspection standards we do so the trucks may be rolling death traps, there is no limit to how long they are allowed to be on the road, (they can drive for as long as they stay awake, and when they cross the border THEN the clock starts ticking), there will be no cargo manifests, so nobody will know what is crammed into the trailer--goods or humans, there are no weight limits so they will be tearing up our roads and bridges, the Licensing of the drivers is virtually non-existent and they probably can't even read the road signs, etc...
"i wonder if the legalization of med marijuana has actually reduced street sales? my guess, no."
please, re-think this. if patients are able to A) go to the dispensaries, carded for proof they are indeed qualified for medical cannabis and B) the growers are taking it to the dispensaries for the qualified patients to obtain, then...yes, as far as cannabis is concerned, that portion of the BM is reduced. the other issue is if patients are allowed their own gardens and can indeed grow their own medicines, you have even more BM reduction.
if cannabis were taxed and regulated for adult use, it will further reduce crime.
the point, however...do you agree that your ailing parents, grandparents and friends should be arrested, incarcerated for using this herbal alternative for medical reasons?
this policy epitomizes the hypocrisy of this administration.
I support the use of medical marijauana, but as an adult child of parents who dealt through marijuana addiction and the aftermath I don't support full legalization of the drug. It is not harmless.
the last time i was run off the road was by a man in a BMW talking on a cell phone. there are good drivers and there are bad drivers, they are not of one race, religion, or gender. to make blanket statements about any group is racism. i drove while stationed in Japan, yet was not fluent in japanese, and they even drive on the wrong side of the road. did that make me a bad driver? should there be road test for international drivers, yes. should police issue tickets for unsafe vehicles BEFORE they enter into the US, yes, but to make statements like, "if you want your car car-jacked and your wife ranoff the road, keep letting mexicans drive here" (paraphrased of course) is wrong.
I think that DC Republicans are concerned if he stays in office he runs the risk of losing the seat in the next election to the Democrat. Posted by Kristen on August 30, 2007 at 10:17 AM
This is EXACTLY why the Repubs are criticizing Craig, but did not Vitter. A Republican Gov will name the replacement.
btw, after watching some nephews and neighbors use pot for years, and having it kill ambition, motivation, etc, I am not for legalization of it for a leisure drug. I am sure that it can be used in pill forms or other forms for medicinal purposes.
Too many 40-50 year olds now, go around with that "What! Me Worry?" attitude.
Kristen, it is my very humble opinion that your experience is the exception and not the norm. please see this graph.
http://www.mamas.org/Images/HazardPotential.pdf
http://www.mamas.org/Images/HazardsMortality.pdf
i agree with you basically about medical use only until i look at the damage alcohol and prescription drug abuse etc is causing. if you do a side by side comparison to cannabis..im edging towards a system of regulation as more and more studies prove cannabis is very effective in helping people get off other addictions.
Cannabis was, is and remains the LEAST toxic substance out there.
What I started off talking about is this trade unification pact that Bush has agreed to with Canada and Mexico with out the consent of Congress that will allow these Mexican trucks on our highways. If you think those trucks coming from Mexico, are going to have to pass the same safety inspections that American trucks and American truck drivers do, then you are in lala land..it's not going to happen and the result will be a vast increase in the number of unsafe trucks and dangerous drivers on the roads...
Pam, the Today show ran the results of a recent poll that showed that 51% of American's favor Democrats over Republicans (27%).
I think the Democratic Party needs to expunge those that take away civil liberties in telling US what we are allowed to wear in public. The idea that politicians can again control things like hair length is disgusting that it must have a conservative religious look when Jesus had long hair. That laws that require ball caps to be worn a certain way, or that we must wear underwear the boxer or bloomer kind is taking US back to the Victorian Age where one only had the Missionary position of doing things. If we do not stop wearing will be wearing veils and only dresses down to the sidewalks. It is time for the Party to Incorporate the Constitution.
Can you image a law that bans cleavage and the intentional showing of legs. Women show legs so men get attracted and then they will be banned in police women stings.
Take the religion out of clothing or make us all wear Burkas and beards. Christians would declare we have the right to wear what we want.
Get rid of the banners and abusers of Free Expression. Must be organize the Constitutional Party for civil rights, civil liberties, and Free Expression.
Public official should be mandated to show their Party affiliation, especially in city web pages.
compostrose, I don't need to see a graph to change my mind, I lived it and to some extent I still do. My cousin who was a heavy pot user in his teens was diagnosised pschyzophrenic as an adult and recently committed suicide. Recent studies show a significant risk increase on the chances of psychosis with prolonged marijuana use.
I believe there are some illnesses where the pharmaceutical drugs are far worse than the disease and marijuana provides an alternavite for people struggling to maintain a level of wellness, but I would not support legalized recreational use.
Can you imagine traveling across America needing a Dress Code book for each city. Maybe the Pentecostal look should be nationwide. I think Fox News needs to have a conservative look, skirts below the knees and blouses that show no cleavage.
Come on Politician get busy with real problems!
So, now because I don't want unsafe Mexican trucks coming into this country with unqualified Mexican drivers at the wheel, you are calling me a racist?. Cheap shot from some one who can not justify the position he has taken! You better look into the mirror on that racist thing. I'm not a racist, I am an American who wants what is best for ALL Americans, And unsafe Mexican trucks on our roads ain't it! I believe that you are a veteran, so let me thank you for your service to our country.......
Take a closer look at Healthy Wisconsin
Tuesday, August 28, 2007 10:57 AM CDT
The unremarked point about Healthy Wisconsin — the legislative Democrats’ plan for universal health insurance — is that it reflects how little we have accomplished and how hard the Legislature must work.
More than a decade ago, former President Bill Clinton assembled a task force to develop a national health insurance program. Inaction
triumphed in the ensuing ideological wars, aided by a set of advertisements featuring Harry and Louise, an older couple who repeatedly said they just didn’t understand.
That ad campaign, funded at a reported $17 million by the Health Insurance Association of America and playing on people’s fears, was generally credited with sinking the Clinton proposal and with it any
hope of repairing the mess that is the U.S. health care system.
What have we achieved in the subsequent years? Nothing. The mujahideen of free market capitalism have nothing to show for their continued
insistence that the markets will fix everything. They haven’t. Health care costs have continued to climb until governments and businesses alike are groaning beneath the weight, to say nothing of the millions of poor people with no coverage. Nor has the nation’s pre-eminent rate of health care spending translated into good health for its people.
Now we come to Healthy Wisconsin, which would be funded by a payroll tax and would provide basic health insurance coverage to every Wisconsin resident.
http://www.journaltimes.com/articles/2007/08/29/opinion/doc46d44593c1ae0047869260.txt
So, now because I don't want unsafe Mexican trucks coming into this country with unqualified Mexican drivers at the wheel, you are calling me a racist?. Cheap shot from some one who can not justify the position he has taken! Posted by goodfoe on August 30, 2007
i believe i did post my position, there should be an international license requirement and trucks should be checked at the border before they enter the country. that is my position, i don't believe it to be vague, though i could clarify any points you are unsure of. the requirement during inspection would also be for insurance.
here are those compassionate, caring Republicans again! They probably think that Cancer patients should just take personal responsibililty for their disease, like they do everything else !!
****
pamB, the GOP sucks. The good news is that people are catching on to them.
"compostrose, I don't need to see a graph to change my mind, I lived it and to some extent I still do. My cousin who was a heavy pot user in his teens was diagnosised pschyzophrenic as an adult and recently committed suicide. Recent studies show a significant risk increase on the chances of psychosis with prolonged marijuana use."
your position is respected. however, those studies are based on a very old report, yes they have done some more recent studies, the thing they dont tell you is how or if cannabis affects psychosis. they simply do not know. the rise in schizophrenia has not been in sync with the rise in cannabis use and has been consistent with the rise in population. they believe folks suffering schizophrenia seek relief from cannabis to ease their symptoms. but at the end of the day, the report is worded to scare people and the truth is they cannot confirm the claims.
i am somewhat of a fence sitter on adult recreational use, to a degree. the waste of tax monies spent on cannabis prohibition is a real grind in my craw... but...i am absolutely convinced and support medical use. my 82 year old father had testicular cancer. he was in total disbelief at how well it worked to help him cope with his disease, he suffered so. he ashamedly apologized for being so against it, but he, as did i, bought into the gov't propaganda in the early days of the 60's and 70's.
thank you for your honesty. i'm sorry your families personal experience with cannabis was bad.
I don't understand why Bush hates America...
Posted by goodfoe on August 30, 2007 at 09:50 AM
****
goodfoe,
Yes, why does the GOP hate american workers? Why do they hate the troops? Why does the GOP hate America?
The Mexican trucks need to pass an inspection at our border, is there any provision being made for this? They should be inspected and the drivers too.
More Failure In Iraq
by DemFromCT
Thu Aug 30, 2007 at 05:59:33 AM PDT
Yet another report documenting benchmark failures. From the WaPo:
Iraq has failed to meet all but three of 18 congressionally mandated benchmarks for political and military progress, according to a draft of a Government Accountability Office report. The document questions whether some aspects of a more positive assessment by the White House last month adequately reflected the range of views the GAO found within the administration.
The strikingly negative GAO draft, which will be delivered to Congress in final form on Tuesday, comes as the White House prepares to deliver its own new benchmark report in the second week of September, along with congressional testimony from Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker. They are expected to describe significant security improvements and offer at least some promise for political reconciliation in Iraq.
This joins the NIE (Report Offers Grim View of Iraqi Leaders) as official analysis of progress in Iraq, before the WH-written "Petraeus Report" is issued (and kudos for the WaPo for calling it what it is).
Pam, the Today show ran the results of a recent poll that showed that 51% of American's favor Democrats over Republicans (27%).
Posted by Kristen on August 30, 2007 at 10:50 AM
****
Kristen, these polls are crazy. I wonder if the disapproval people express for Congress is more a function of GOP filibustering than anything else. I don't see how that works in their favor. They are being cast as obstructionists. Isn't that what they used against Dems back in 2002?
I think Fox News needs to have a conservative look, skirts below the knees and blouses that show no cleavage.
Come on Politician get busy with real problems!
Posted by dlesterpoet on August 30, 2007 at 11:01 AM
*****
dlester, fox noise's rating would really go down the tubes if they did that!
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007 at 11:11 AM
Thank you for that post rj...As you know, I have health insurance, but because of the deductibls and co-pays I can't afford to use it. Out of desperation, I asked my wife to call United Health Care this morning to see if I could get some tests done. She was told that on the cat scans, bone scans, MRI's, there is a$750 deductible plus a 20% co pay. That would mean that my out of pocket would be somewhere around $1950 if only one co-pay is applied to all the tests. If the co-pay applies to each individual test, then, the sky's the limit!...I think it costs about $300 per month for me to be covered under my wife's group insurance. With these kinds of charges, the ins. co has a good deal going, I'll never be able to afford it. You are more knowledgeable on this than I am, but it seems to me that we pay much more for health care and receive much less than say in a country like the Netherlands.....
Kristen, these polls are crazy. I wonder if the disapproval people express for Congress is more a function of GOP filibustering than anything else. I don't see how that works in their favor.
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007
Yes, yet the president gets out there and points out congress is doing nothing. congress needs to keep working on bills that aid every american, bully them through if they have to, heck they had 12 yrs to see how its done, and make the pres veto them. bring them back and let the repubs vote against veto override. as it is now, too many important issues are just dying on the vine and it is easy to say "hey its there fault in congress."
dlester, fox noise's rating would really go down the tubes if they did that!
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007 at 11:28 AM
rj,
Fox's ratings are going down the toilet anyways. My husband made the mistake of stopping on it the other day while playing 'remote clicker'.
I could not believe the Slant they still give, plus the absolute moonbats like O'Reilly, Hannity, on their with their idiotic dribble.
You are more knowledgeable on this than I am, but it seems to me that we pay much more for health care and receive much less than say in a country like the Netherlands.....
Posted by goodfoe on August 30, 2007 at 11:31 AM
****
goodfoe, it's an outrage how little we get for our money. What's truly sad is that the results aren't that good either. Overall, we are ranked 41th in the world but pay more money per capita than any other country.
Your example is a good case in point. The conservatives want us to believe that this can all be solved if we just made your health care even more expensive - 3000 dollar deductibles for instance are typical in these HSA linked high deductible plans. Yet, if your doctor says these tests are necessary, how does paying more help?
We do have good technology and well-trained medical people. But, what good is it when it's unaffordable? That's why we have such bad results. I think people opt for the lowest cost solution or none at all instead of the right solution.
Fox News is condoning a Conservative look nationwide then what does legs and cleavage have to do with the news. Let preachers choose what women wear.
Everybody thinks it is okay to regulate clothing until they are the ones being affected.
Have you seen how the women dress on Fox News, it is not Professional to the news but a showcase of Hollywood fashion. I think they need a religious consrvative look like the men and there business suits.
Fox News talking about have wrong it is to look up women's dresses and then flash their legs on stage. They want a law that if TV viewers see anything they get ticketed for obscene behavior. I think Fox Newa should ban any views below the neck so we do not have FCC indecency.
goodfoe,
Yes, why does the GOP hate american workers? Why do they hate the troops? Why does the GOP hate America?
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007 at 11:16 AM
I don't know rj. This country has been very good to those people. Why they want to destroy it is a good question. I believe that it is because of short term greed combined with hatred for the working class of Americans. They are either Communist rulers in their thinking or Nazis, I don't know which....
Fox's ratings are going down the toilet anyways. My husband made the mistake of stopping on it the other day while playing 'remote clicker'.
****
pamB, they have taken a big hit. The other networks have taken hits as well. When are they going to get the message that people are sick of these right wing moonbats such as Hannity, Beck, Carlson, etc... Put some progressives on and their ratings will come back up.
You chose the winning script in our Roadblock Republican Radio Contest. Now, it's up to you to air it.
That's the bottom line: this entire campaign is run by you. The ads were written by you, the final script was chosen by you, and now you choose where we air it.
So go here to make a contribution and turn up the heat on the Roadblock Republicans.
Normally, an organization puts out a contribution page to fund the airing of a spot and then chooses where to spend the money. But since this is your project from start to finish, we set it up so you can choose where your dollars are spent. If you want to target a specific state, give to the fund for that state. If you want to target them all, just give to the general fund. You make the call.
-- John Kerry
"Ted Kennedy wasn't prosecuted for his sexual transgressions".
But ummm, yes he was. He copped a plea just like Craig did. And he didn't come out and say "But I wasn't guilty of anything" afterward....Well, he probably did, but at least he's not GAY. (j/k)
make the pres veto them. bring them back and let the repubs vote against veto override.
****
Jimmy agreed. I said that right after the victories in 2006. We don't have the votes for 2/3 that is needed to override the Chimp. So, expect along of deadlock. But still, it's better to pass legislation that reflects progressive values and make the GOP act as obstructionists. That way it's easy in 2008 to point out all Chimpy's vetoes and the filibusters that the GOP in the Senate pulled.
Posted by PamB on August 30, 2007 at 09:02 AM
I hear Obama wasn't there either. Was he busy body surfing at the beach? I'm not gay (not that there's anything WRONG with that) but he looks mighty cute in dem swim trunks. :)
That way it's easy in 2008 to point out all Chimpy's vetoes and the filibusters that the GOP in the Senate pulled.
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007
and when we win big in 2008, which i believe we will, we get this stuff signed. i believe, like carl rove did with the repubs, that we can keep the congress and the whitehouse indefinately. unlike rove though, we can do it through actual uniting of americans toward the good of america, and not the division of america as they tried.
GregL, Obama said a few weeks ago that he has decided to opt out of ALL of these special interest forums for the time being and instead concentrate his efforts on "retail politics", meaning getting out and meeting the voters face to face, rather than sitting down and answering questions from 2 or 3 people for several hours.
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007 at 11:11 AM
I believe that a certain "B" grade actor was the spokesman for those commercials....This is one of the things that bothers me about Hillary. It has been reported else where that Hillary has accepted very large contributions from the Health Care Association of America along with large contributions from insurance companies, medical associations, big Pharma, and some of the largest HMO's. The reason for these contributions was that these donors felt she was going to "Run the Table" and "wanted a place at the table"......I have long been an admirer of both Bill and Hillary and am very mindful of the work she did when she was First Lady on health care....if she gets the nomination, I will support her in the General Election and may yet support her in the Primary here in Texas. Never the less, these large donations and the closeness with the Washington lobbyists is troubling to me. I wish she would post her campaign finance donation records (who she has accepted money from) on the internet and clear all this up...I am mindful that these claims about who she has accepted money from could be some of Rove's Republican dirty ticks, leaked to the press to discredit her.
Kennedy has sacrificed much, served well
Republicans phoned C-SPAN's Washington Journal during the Samuel Alito confirmation process with two recurring themes. They were repulsed by Sen. Edward Kennedy questioning the ethics of Judge Alito. And they claimed Democrats such as Kennedy, critical of the invasion of Iraq, are cowards and hate their country.
Kennedy has never escaped his legacy earned in the dark, rushing waters of Chappequidick. Those old enough to remember, can never forget the ghost of Mary Joe Koppechne. Rumors persist about Kennedy's drinking and past sexual transgressions.
Our current president overcame his addiction to a drunken, party-boy lifestyle in his early 40s. Conversely, the ghosts of Kennedy's past have contributed to his personal failings. Two of his brothers, President John Kennedy and presidential candidate Robert Kennedy, were assassinated serving their country. His brother Joe, a bomber pilot, was killed during World War II, serving his country. Both his sister and his nephew - the son of a former president- were killed in airplane crashes.
Sen. Kennedy, possessing unimaginable wealth and power, is a champion of those least able to defend themselves - the poor, women, and minorities. His support of civil rights makes one wonder if Martin Luther King Jr. touched his soul and rides on his shoulders.
Sen. Kennedy's halo is shrouded with the ghosts of his destiny. He has long served our country, and his Democratic family has sacrificed much. History, not those ignorant of history, will ultimately judge the enormity of his life of public service and private tragedy.
Nancy Masten, Heron
a good article about Mr Kennedy.
Sen. Kennedy's halo is shrouded with the ghosts of his destiny. He has long served our country, and his Democratic family has sacrificed much. History, not those ignorant of history, will ultimately judge the enormity of his life of public service and private tragedy.
Nancy Masten, Heron
a good article about Mr Kennedy.
Posted by jimmyc451 on August 30, 2007 at 12:17 PM
Excellent post. Thats one that I can agree with every thing in it!
jimmyc, don't forget Ted Kennedy still wears a brace due to his broken back suffered in a 1964 plane crash. Does anybody know where GHW Bush was in 64? (Plane crashes seem to be a popular way for Pugs to eliminate the opposition, or whistle blowers). J/K, but it DOES seem to happen A LOT.
B..B...But YOU were comparing Democrats to Communists. Have you yet found any sites that compares you to a sphincter? I thought you got banned twice yesterday. Oh, well. It shouldn't be long.
Posted by Kristen on August 30, 2007 at 10:56 AM
Heavy use of alcohol causes many types of damage to the body. Should we reinstate Prohibition becuase of this? There has to come a time when we stop writing laws to protect people from their own worst impulses and start educating them on how to recognize and avoid those impulses in the first place. Common sense ain't so common, and it CAN be learned, contrary to popular opinion.
Btw, found out my own answer on the NAFTA thing from Wikipedia:
Under United States law it is classed as a congressional-executive agreement rather than a treaty, reflecting a peculiar sense of the term "treaty" in United States constitutional law that is not followed by international law or the laws of other nations.
Guess that would be why it didn't need a two-thirds majority in the Senate, eh? Pretty f**king sneaky of those Republicans and DINOs (including everyone's f**king hero Clinton).
In case you're wondering, as a "treaty", NAFTA would not exist, as it only received 61 votes in the Senate, 6 below the two thirds majority needed to ratify treaties.
and there goes the door, slamming on civil discourse.
Have a great day everyone!
and to just be clear GregL, I was not referring to your post on prohibition, the time was just what it was.
and when we win big in 2008, which i believe we will, we get this stuff signed.
****
Jimmy, that's another good reason to do it. This way we have the bills worked out and perhaps all they need to do is update the specifics a bit to make them current.
Ummm....Is NAFTA a treaty?
Posted by GregL on August 30, 2007 at 12:22 PM
****
Trade agreement. Needs to be constantly renewed.
Good afternoon fellow Democrats.
Good morning to all the other time zones.
GregL, Obama said a few weeks ago that he has decided to opt out of ALL of these special interest forums for the time being and instead concentrate his efforts on "retail politics", meaning getting out and meeting the voters face to face, rather than sitting down and answering questions from 2 or 3 people for several hours.
Posted by DPD on August 30, 2007 at 12:12 PM
Well, I like my reason better. :)
Posted by GregL on August 30, 2007 at 12:22 PM I don't know much about NAFTA other than the fact I don't like it. It was approved by Congress, where this "United States of North America" was a secret Bush signing that Congress has not Approved. Nafta was supposed to create jobs, help to raise the standard of living in Mexico and thereby create more markets for U.S. products. At least that is my understanding. I'm under the impression it has not functioned for the purpose intended......
In case you're wondering, as a "treaty", NAFTA would not exist, as it only received 61 votes in the Senate, 6 below the two thirds majority needed to ratify treaties.
Posted by GregL on August 30, 2007 at 12:35 PM
****
GregL, it's definitely an agreement. President's have used so-called "fast track" authority to renew it in the past. So, the Pres can choose to get rid of it, re-negotiate it OR if "fast track" authority is not granted it falls upon Congress.
Many people think the practice of "fast tracking" is an unreasonable surrender of constitutional oversight and should be abolished. New agreements can be "fast tracked" and then approved by Congress ... that was done with DR-CAFTA for instance.
BEIJING (Reuters) - Mattel has only itself to blame for a huge toy recall that has stoked global alarm about Chinese-made goods, state media said on Thursday, charging that a slew of foreign safety scares had exposed a protectionist agenda.
Mattel Inc, the world's largest toymaker, recalled over 18 million Chinese-made toys this month because of risks from small magnets that can injure children if swallowed, just two weeks after it recalled 1.5 million toys due to fears over lead paint.
Coming in the wake of warnings over Chinese-made toothpaste, pet food, tires, eels and seafood, and lethal chemicals that had found their way into medicine, the toy recall has magnified calls in Washington for much tougher scrutiny of such imports.
The overseas edition of the People's Daily, the ruling Communist Party's official paper, continued Beijing's recent counter-offensive, putting the spotlight on multinationals that have used China as a production base.
"If it comes down to blame, then it all lies with the U.S. side," the paper said of the Mattel magnet recall, noting that the problem was a design defect. "The Chinese manufacturer only produced according to those specifications."
Well, the Chinese, I see, have hired GOP spin doctors. Only someone that crazy could have the audacity to try to blame the U.S. for their incompetence.
On a serious note, it is time to get tough with the Chinese. It seems as if it is nearly every week that some Chinese manufacturer has some of their products recalled due to violations of health and safety regulations. And since the GOP has been writing those regulations for the past six years, how much more stuff has gotten through that shouldn't have? After all, we all know that the GOP values money above all else.
Our friends in China need to remember that it is U.S. dollars that have brought them to the cusp of economic prosperity. We've given them at least three million of our manufacturing jobs much to the chagrin of myself and many of my fellow Democrats. The Chinese need to get their manufacturing sector under control or its time we pull the economic plug and return them to the 19th century. It's up to you people of China. Our patience is wearing quite thin.
James Hoffa (Teamsters President) will be on the Ed Schultz Show in a few minutes talking about that Mexican Truckers plan.
I don't know much about NAFTA other than the fact I don't like it. It was approved by Congress, where this "United States of North America" was a secret Bush signing that Congress has not Approved.
****
goodfoe, it needs to be approved. Bush does not even have "fast track" authority anymore. He is clearly trying to slam dunk this in by claiming he started the process while he had "fast track".
Posted by DPD on August 30, 2007 at 12:31 PM
Who is "B.B."???
The Chinese need to get their manufacturing sector under control or its time we pull the economic plug and return them to the 19th century. It's up to you people of China. Our patience is wearing quite thin.
Posted by BobVADemHawk-Biden-Obama2008 on August 30, 2007 at 12:54 PM
****
Hey Bob, there will lots and lots of resistance to doing anything drastic from our corporations who either moved their factories or outsourced to China. I have no problem with tariffing Chinese merchandise 30% if they don't improve their quality process - this doesn't make their products better but would encourage production to go elsewhere and then they may act.
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007 at 12:59 PM
Thanks for the clarification on that....
So is the Hsu story more sinister because Norman Hsu, the controversial donor, is Chinese-American, born in Hong Kong?
None of Clinton's Democratic rivals have suggested that, and none of the papers covering it have even hinted at it.
But the Republican National Committee has been pushing this angle pretty hard, and apparently attempting to revive the — never proven — allegations of a Chinese "spy ring" buying its way into the 1996 Clinton campaign.
As far as I can tell, the only link here is that Hsu is Chinese-American.
Yesterday, the research department sent out a document (after the jump) detailing the Hsu controversy and then flashing back to Clinton fundraising "history." The first seven items in that review referred to scandals around Asian donors, including this Washington Post quote: "Republicans On The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Contend That China Sought To Influence The American Political System With Large Infusions Of Cash."
http://www.politico.com/blogs/bensmith/0807/RNC_Pushing_the_China_angle.html
Ah yes, the politics of desperation. The GOP wants us to believe that Sen. Clinton (D-NY) is the Manchurian Candidate. They've already tried that Sen. Obama (D-IL) is a Muslim fundamentalist. What's next? Former Sen. Edwards (D-NC) is a Stalin communist? Gov. Richardson (D-NM) is a member of the Mexican spy service? Perhaps they'll say that Rep. Kucinich (D-OH[?]) is nothing more than a 3D holographic image projected by the evil DNC supercomputer?
Really, I would expect better out of the loyal opposition. Y'all can't be that desperate, can you?
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007 at 01:03 PM
Indeed. I think the Chinese forget that the economic boom they've been experiencing for the past decade, or so, is a direct result of our investment. And to hell with the corporate interests. They're just as bad as the GOP. They're in it for the money only and to hell with everything else.
China has threatened to dump Dollars on the open market and call in their loans if the US institutes tariffs. Wal-Mart screwed the entire Country and the entire economy just to line the pockets of the Walton kids who were BORN millionaires.
Way to go, Pugs! Heck of a job!
Posted by DPD on August 30, 2007 at 01:14 PM
China would be quite foolish to dump its debt causing our dollar to fall or crash. That would mean all the loans we have with China would devalue on the exact same level as the devaluation of the dollar. Furthermore, their economic prosperity would be halted dead in its tracks.
If China stops buying our debt (meaning funding the Chimp's deficits) all of these "spend like crazy and borrow the money" Pugs would freak. The Little Prince could kiss his Wars for Glory and Oil goodbye.
Good afternoon, all.
Is this the biggest load of BS or what? The White House wants us to tell them what they should do about letting so many unsafe products into our homes from China?
How about doing the job they were elected to do? Obeying laws on the books? Or just admitting they are a bunch of nitwits incapable of carrying out their duties?
U.S. gives consumers day to sound off on bad imports
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration will conduct a meeting this fall to hear Americans' advice on how to stem a wave of unsafe imports from China and other countries, officials said on Thursday.
The all-day meeting on October 1 at the Agriculture Department in Washington is designed to gather suggestions about how the government and companies can better ensure the safety of imported food and other products...
news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070830/us_nm/usa_imports_dc
Idiots. We are surrounded by a bunch of incompetent GOP idiots.
Who is "B.B."???
Posted by goodfoe on August 30, 2007 at 01:00 PM
DPD was flabbergasted that a guy who got banned twice (that we know of) has no self respect and comes right back where he is not wanted.
She was on the Board when Sam Walton was running what was THEN a MUCH different Company that took care of its employees and emphasized "MADE IN USA" goods. A far cry from what his kids are doing now.
Posted by PamB on August 30, 2007 at 01:36 PM
Hi Pam, I got that, what I did not understand is what "B.B." stood for....you know my mind will sink to the gutter at the least provocation. All I could think "B.B." stood for is "Busted Balls!"...hehehehe
and to just be clear GregL, I was not referring to your post on prohibition, the time was just what it was.
Posted by Kristen on August 30, 2007 at 12:38 PM
I hope not...I thought I was pretty civil...cept for the NAFTA part...I just get irked occassionally by the whole "Clinton was just so GREAT!" thing. Course I guess it really wasn't his fault, he did inherit NAFTA from SFB the Elder. I'll probably be back in the Clinton fan club later, but they really both seem so friggin fake sometimes. Of course, so do they all, from time to time. :sigh: I hate politics.
Posted by PamB on August 30, 2007 at 01:36 PM
OK Pam I'll bite, the suspense is killing me, is "B.B." the guy that used to post under the screen name "infantile" ????
A recent Gallup survey discovered that 77% of Americans say that outsourcing is bad for the U.S. economy. Beware: Your Customers Oppose Outsourcing (subscription required) is the provocative title of the article published online in the Gallup Management Journal where the survey results are presented.
The question posed to 39,000 households was:
There has been some discussion recently about “outsourcing,” which is when American businesses hire workers in other parts of the world in order to save money. Which comes closer to your view . . . Outsourcing is bad for the American economy because it sends good jobs overseas, or, outsourcing is good for the American economy because it keeps the cost of goods and services down?
There's hope. Success is fleeting apparently. :):)
Creative destruction, introduced in 1942 by the economist Joseph Schumpeter, describes the process of transformation that accompanies radical innovation. In Schumpeter's vision of capitalism, innovative entry by entrepreneurs was the force that sustained long-term economic growth, even as it destroyed the value of established companies that enjoyed some degree of monopoly power.
Wal-Mart is a recent example of a company that has achieved a strong position in many markets, through its use of new inventory-management, marketing, and personnel-management techniques, using its resulting lower prices to eliminate the profitability of older or smaller companies. Just as older behemoths perceived to be juggernauts by their contemporaries (e.g., Montgomery Ward, Kmart, Sears) were eventually undone by nimbler and more innovative competitors, Wal-Mart faces the same threat.
Posted by SandyH on August 30, 2007 at 01:33 PM
I think that what they should do is either taste the food first or lick the toys first before they allow a product to be distributed in the US.
Like in Gladiator when Spartacus (Russell Crowe) mate tasted his food before he ate it.
Betcha won't get a republican appointee to put their hand up for that one.
Has this ever happened with past conflicts where there is a unified recommendation??
The Pentagon said Wednesday that it won’t make a single, unified recommendation to President Bush during next month’s strategy assessment, but instead will allow top commanders to make individual presentations.
White said it suggests that the military commanders want to be able to distance themselves from Iraq strategy by making it clear that whatever course is followed is the president’s decision, not what commanders agreed on.
compostrose, I don't need to see a graph to change my mind, I lived it and to some extent I still do. My cousin who was a heavy pot user in his teens was diagnosised pschyzophrenic as an adult and recently committed suicide. Recent studies show a significant risk increase on the chances of psychosis with prolonged marijuana use.
I believe there are some illnesses where the pharmaceutical drugs are far worse than the disease and marijuana provides an alternavite for people struggling to maintain a level of wellness, but I would not support legalized recreational use.
Posted by Kristen on August
I'm sorry about your cousin. The studies you refer to also find that only those who are genetically predisposed to be schizophrenic become schizophrenic from marijuana use. In other words, it's not the pot that caused the schizophrenia it's the genetics of the person. The marijuana just triggers the genetics that are already there.
Schizophrenia rates have remained stable for over 30 years: if the marijuana was responsible for schizophrenia, there would have been a corresponding rise in rates of schizophrenia in the population as rates of marijuana usage have risen. That hasn't happened.
There has never been a causal link between marijuana or cancer in any study.
Dear John,
I've been completely open about what I believe we need to do to end the war in Iraq.
I've repeatedly called for a complete withdrawal of all U.S. troops from Iraq. There's no confusion or ambiguity or waffling in my position: just bring ALL of the troops home. No excuses. No delays. No troops left behind.
At last week's debate in Iowa I asked the other Democrats on that stage, several of whom return to Congress next week hopefully to begin debating the war again, how many troops would you leave behind?
How have the other major candidates responded to this simple question? Silence. We know they're all on record as being against the war. But we still don't know for sure how many troops they would leave in Iraq and for how long.
I think it is time to get some straight answers. Join me in calling for the Democratic debate to include a direct question of all the candidates: How many troops would you leave behind? How long would you leave them in Iraq?
The inside-the-beltway conventional thinking says a complete withdrawal is "irresponsible." Of course, this is the same thinking that concluded it was responsible to invade Iraq to hunt WMDs in the fist place, that continuing to fund the war is the way to end it, and that the so-called "surge" is a success.
I think it is irresponsible to continue with half-measures and incremental steps when what we need is a clean break. No drawn-out, Vietnam-style withdrawal. No stalling. The responsible path now is to get all of our troops out as quickly as possible. After the damage Bush has wrought, we can't be afraid of big changes based on solid logic and grounded experience.
I've met and successfully negotiated with leaders from the region (including Saddam Hussein himself) -- and my concrete experience tells me only a complete withdrawal will break the deadlock and allow us to move forward, toward real change. As long as our troops are there, the Iraqis will delay reconciliation. It is time to get our troops out of harm's way in a civil war, and it is time to get our lingering presence in Iraq out of the way of the diplomatic process.
And I believe we must withdraw our troops as quickly as possible. After the first Gulf War, we redeployed nearly a half a million troops in a few months. In this war, our military leaders have successfully rotated as many as 240,000 troops in and out of Iraq in as few as three months. I believe we can remove approximately 162,000 troops now quickly and safely. Now, it is just a matter of having a real debate, and then having the political will to call for real solutions.
If we elect a President who thinks that troops should stay in Iraq for years, they will stay there for years. Now is the time to get the answers we need. It is time to demand more than sound bites, uncertainty, and non-answers to important questions. It is time to demand real answers based on real experience and a commitment to real, and realistic, change.
You know where I stand -- and what I would do as President.
Senator Clinton? Senator Obama? Senator Edwards? How about you?
Will you bring all the troops home? If not, how many would you leave behind? For how long?
Let's get the question of residual troops on the table at the Democratic candidates' debate next Sunday, September 9th at the University of Miami. Let's get the answers the voters and the public deserve.
Sign my petition to Univision, the debate sponsors, asking them to clearly ask the question, and to demand clear answers.
This is not a theoretical question -- it's a concrete one, and it deserves a concrete answer. Our men and women in uniform are not an abstraction. They are our family, our friends, our neighbors. It is time for answers we can count on.
Sincerely,
Governor Bill Richardson
Contribution Button
The Democratic slogan for the 2006 election was "Had enough?" Great slogan--short, sweet, and to the point.
I think that, for 2008, the Democratic slogan needs to be "Get real."
Let's get real about the issues facing this country. For once, let's start dealing in reality rather than fantasy.
The Republicans are living in denial. They're in denial about Iraq. They're in denial about global warming. They're in denial about Katrina. They're in denial about health care in this country. They're in denial about the issues surrounding abortion. They're in denial about the state of our military. And they're in denial about homosexuality.
Larry Craig is only the latest example of this Republican denial. As difficult as it may be for him personally, he needs to get real about his own sexuality and, indeed, about all homosexuals. He's been living, preaching, and legislating a lie.
To paraphrase a quote I heard once on the radio: It's 2007. We're all adults. Let's get with the program.
China has threatened to dump Dollars on the open market and call in their loans if the US institutes tariffs.
****
dpd, interesting game of "chicken". Of course, it isn't as easy to "dump" treasury bonds as some may think (despite what may have been shown in the movie Rollover). Remember that to sell a bond requires a buyer. Eventually, the buyers dry up. So, could the Chinese cause some temporary havoc - yes. They would hurt themselves as well in the process.
Mexican Trucks on our roads? Wow. The Meth trade will really get booming.
If China stops buying our debt (meaning funding the Chimp's deficits) all of these "spend like crazy and borrow the money" Pugs would freak.
****
dpd, if they did that interest rates would skyrocket to attract new buyers. Yes, they would freak because the days of easy credit would be over.
Idiots. We are surrounded by a bunch of incompetent GOP idiots.
Posted by SandyH on August 30, 2007 at 01:33 PM
****
Sandy, no doubt Bush will surround himself with a hand-picked audience that won't ask tough questions.
It's obvious what needs to occur. If the Chinese won't live up to safety standards either their products can't come in here OR a tariff must be issued. We may need a tariff just to afford extra staff to inspect the stuff they are sending us.
Gawd the GOP are a bunch of whimps. Let the Chinese sell our treasury bonds. It will create a momentary disruption and then they will run out of buyers. You can NOT simply ask for your money early. Bonds don't work that way.
Katrina: Two years later
Well, did anyone expect any more from a government that went the extra mile to feed farm animals the following winter after Katrina by flying in food and yet they couldn't move an ethnic group of residents from a stadium or convention to saftey, food and water.
And now FEMA wants monies back that they gave to help evacuees from the Gulf coast and Hurricane victims in Florida from the 2004 storms.
If one is still suffering the effects of Katrina and many, many are, then how are these folks supposed to pay FEMA back any money?
Peace \/
Juan Cole: New September "product": war with Iran
by Scientician
Thu Aug 30, 2007 at 08:30:31 AM PDT
This morning Juan Cole's blog, Informed Comment alerted me to this story from the group blog he shares with Dr. Barnett R. Rubin, another respectable foreign affairs academic:
Barnett Rubin relays a message from a well-connected friend in Washington on the Cheney Administration's plans to roll out a military confrontation with Iran in September.
* Scientician's diary :: ::
*
Dr. Rubin Cross-posted this story last night on DailyKos, but it fell off the list with little attention. It's worth a second shot.
This year, on August 28, President Bush spoke to another veterans' group, the American Legion. He called Iran "the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism," whose "active pursuit of technology that could lead to nuclear weapons threatens to put a region already known for instability and violence under the shadow of a nuclear holocaust." He concluded:
Iran's actions threaten the security of nations everywhere. And that is why the United States is rallying friends and allies around the world to isolate the regime, to impose economic sanctions. We will confront this danger before it is too late.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/8/30/111448/373
****
It's time to do some impeaching. Bush and Cheney have no clearance to start a war with Iran. If they do, they must be impeached.
If one is still suffering the effects of Katrina and many, many are, then how are these folks supposed to pay FEMA back any money?
Peace \/
Posted by J on August 30, 2007 at 03:31 PM
****
Hi J, haven't seen you on the blog in awhile. The response to Katrina is disgraceful and continues to be disgraceful. How is the money that was allocated used to help the people of New Orleans return home? Are the levees any better now than two years ago?
This is an EXCELLENT history of how VoteVets got started, and what the purpose is. To get the truth out about this Iraqi invasion and lies.
"But in a little more than a year since he launched VoteVets. org, Soltz has helped transform the war debate in Washington by channeling the raw anger and frustration of many Iraq vets into a political campaign both sophisticated and visceral. Soltz, 30, and his band of mostly twenty- and thirtysomething veterans have shaken the GOP's claim to be the pro-military party. They accuse Republicans of recklessly sending troops to war without the right equipment and failing to care for thousands of wounded and traumatized vets.
During the 2006 election, VoteVets' stark attack ads featuring disillusioned veterans helped unseat Republicans in five states, including Sen. George Allen of Virginia and Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, whose defeats gave Democrats an unexpected Senate majority
With a database of more than 40,000 supporters and donors, Soltz is planning to take on GOP presidential candidates next year, targeting their claim that they would be better guardians of national security. "You want to take your enemy's strength and make it his weakness," said Soltz, who likes to quote aphorisms of the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu.
"Jon Soltz seems to be exactly what progressives need," said Paul Begala, an influential Democratic strategist who worked on Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr.'s successful 2006 campaign against Santorum. "He has a pair of fists, and he knows how to use them."
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/083007F.shtml
PS If you have never visited their website, nor donated a couple bucks to them, take a look:
This Bush administration is disgraceful. They can't take care of children's health care. They can't do anything about Katrina. Somehow they can find billions and billions for the Iraq quagmire and now the word from Juan Cole is that they are hawking for a war with Iran this fall! When are we going to hold them accountable. Cut off all the war money for Bush-Cheney!
Freethought of the Day
FOR ALL YOU REDSOX FANS!!!
August 30, 2007
There are 2 entries for this date: Ted Williams and Mary Godwin Shelley.
Ted Williams
On this date in 1918, baseball's Hitter of the Century, Ted Williams, was born in San Diego. The street evangelism of his mother, who worked for the Salvation Army and was known as "Salvation May," embarrassed Ted as he was growing up. He was dubbed "The Kid" when he started with the Red Sox as a 20-year-old rookie in 1939. His record-breaking career was interrupted twice by service in World War II and the Korean War, during which he safely crash-landed a burning plane in 1953. He was a decorated fighter pilot who received the Medal of Freedom in 1991. "The Splendid Splinter" won American League's Most Valuable Player Award in 1946 and 1949. Williams' career accomplishments include a .406 season in 1941, two Triple Crowns, two MVPs, six American League batting championships, 521 home runs, a lifetime average of .344, and 17 All-Star Game selections. Williams ended his career at age 42 by hitting a home run at Fenway Park. Williams had the record for career on-base percentage (.483). He was the last major league baseball player to hit .400. After enduring a series of strokes, congestive heart failure and 9-hour heart surgery in 2001, Williams died at age 83. After the laudatory sports tributes came news stories in which two of his children disclosed Williams' nonreligious views, also revealing that their father had signed a pact with them to be frozen after death and kept in "biostasis." D. 2002.
"Jon Soltz seems to be exactly what progressives need," said Paul Begala, an influential Democratic strategist who worked on Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr.'s successful 2006 campaign against Santorum. "He has a pair of fists, and he knows how to use them."
****
Generally I am not too fond of Begala but on this point I agree. I wonder how votevets feel about the hawking for another war with Iran.
It's time to put mad dog Cheney in his place. Impeach Cheney - support HRES 333.
FORGOT THIS PART OF: Posted by GOTV on August 30, 2007 at 03:38 PM
“Our father was not a religious man. The faith that many people place in god, we place in science and other human endeavors. ”
-- Children of baseball legend Ted Williams, Reuters, July 25, 2002
Tauscher hits Baird
by kos
Thu Aug 30, 2007 at 08:59:19 AM PDT
Ellen Tauscher, just back from Iraq, essentially calls Baird naive and easily manipulated:
Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA), who recently returned from Iraq as well, said his experience led him to believe the escalation should be sustained until next year. Asked to address Baird’s comments, Tauscher suggested he had become a victim of the “green zone fog”:
I will tell you that when you get in the Green Zone, there is a physiological phenomenon I think called Green Zone fog. … It’s death by powerpoint. … It’s always that their argument is winning.
She added later, “It’s very, very easy to be influenced, from their point of view, that things are better.” She said they will “shape” facts to show gains being made. Meanwhile, the reality in Iraq is that there is a lot of sectarianism in the government, particularly at the Ministry of Interior. “The MOI is basically this sleeper cell organization of Shiite death squads,” she said.
Don't you sense a "night and day" difference with Rep. Ellen Tauscher? She's apparently decided that being a Lieberdem isn't all that it's cracked up to be.
As for Baird, if there are any credible, hungry Democrats in that district looking for a promotion, now might not be a bad time to consider their options.
****
Wow! I'll have to say nice things about Ellen Tauscher for now on.
This is an excellent history on how the Neo-Republicans came to power. Do not be put off on the use of the word 'neoliberals', they do not mean Democrats. they are referring to the forces in the Republican Party that used money and framing to totally make the Dems insignificant.
"The first great advantage the neoliberals possessed was an unceasing fountain of money. US oligarchs and their foundations - Coors, Olin, Scaife, Pew and others - have poured hundreds of millions into setting up thinktanks, founding business schools and transforming university economics departments into bastions of almost totalitarian neoliberal thinking. The Heritage Foundation, the Hoover Institute, the American Enterprise Institute and many others in the US, the Institute of Economic Affairs, the Centre for Policy Studies and the Adam Smith Institute in the UK, were all established to promote this project. Their purpose was to develop the ideas and the language which would mask the real intent of the programme - the restoration of the power of the elite - and package it as a proposal for the betterment of humankind.
If these opportunities were insufficient, the neoliberals and their backers would use bribery or force. In the US, the Democrats were neutered by new laws on campaign finance. To compete successfully for funding with the Republicans, they would have to give big business what it wanted. The first neoliberal programme of all was implemented in Chile following Pinochet's coup, with the backing of the US government and economists taught by Milton Friedman, one of the founding members of the Mont Pelerin Society. Drumming up support for the project was easy: if you disagreed, you got shot. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank used their power over developing nations to demand the same policies.
But the most powerful promoter of this programme was the media. Most of it is owned by multimillionaires who use it to project the ideas that support their interests. Those ideas which threaten their interests are either ignored or ridiculed. It is through the newspapers and TV channels that the socially destructive notions of a small group of extremists have come to look like common sense. The corporations' tame thinkers sell the project by reframing our political language (for an account of how this happens, see George Lakoff's book, Don't Think of an Elephant!). Nowadays I hear even my progressive friends using terms like wealth creators, tax relief, big government, consumer democracy, red tape, compensation culture, job seekers and benefit cheats. These terms, all invented or promoted by neoliberals, have become so commonplace that they now seem almost neutral.
Freethought of the Day
August 30, 2007
Mary Godwin Shelley
On this date in 1797, Mary Godwin (later Shelley) was born in London to Mary Wollstonecraft and William Godwin. Her mother, the famed champion of reason and author of the seminal feminist treatise, A Vindication of the Rights of Women, died ten days after her birth. Her father, a well-known atheist and radical, had attracted the admiration of atheist and poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. Percy, also an admirer of Mary Wollstonecraft's writings, met Mary in 1814. At 16, Mary ran away with the romantic poet, who was unhappily married to another young woman and the father of two children. They fled to the continent. His first wife's suicide made it possible for the couple to marry in 1816. Their first two children died and their only surviving son, Percy, was born upon their return to England. At age 19, while living in Switzerland, Mary wrote the classic, philosophical horror story, Frankenstein, published in 1818, as a contest between herself, Percy and Lord Byron to write a "ghost story." The book was immediately successful, and has inspired more than 50 film adaptations. After her husband tragically drowned in 1822 in Italy, Mary returned to England, where she courted respectability on behalf of their surviving son. Mary worked as a professional writer, penning short stories, travel books, essays and several other novels, including The Last Man (1826), about the gradual demise of the human race during a plague. D. 1851.
The Heritage Foundation, the Hoover Institute, the American Enterprise Institute and many others in the US, the Institute of Economic Affairs, the Centre for Policy Studies and the Adam Smith Institute in the UK, were all established to promote this project.
*****
PamB,
The worst of the worst! Only Republicans would be so arrogant as to be proud of Hoover! Damn.
Yes, the use of the word neoliberal is meant to intentionally confuse people. I think the real genesis is that some of the early neocons were actually liberal at one time - Leo Strauss for example. The neocons took the wrong lessons from history. Liberalism didn't fail; the powers that be would not allow it to succeed because they feared it would transform America from a plutocracy to a truly egalitarian nation.
Good afternoon, everyone. I'm doing my end of the day reading and wanted to share a couple of items.
Election official proposes ending primary system
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Bush administration Thursday rejected a bleak draft survey by a government auditor on political and military advances in Iraq, saying it set criteria for judging progress far too high.
wasn't this the list of requirements THEY set and said the surge would take care of? did the iraqi gov even take it serious?
The first neoliberal programme of all was implemented in Chile following Pinochet's coup, with the backing of the US government and economists taught by Milton Friedman, one of the founding members of the Mont Pelerin Society. Drumming up support for the project was easy: if you disagreed, you got shot. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank used their power over developing nations to demand the same policies.
*****
PamB,
yes, yes, yes! Absolutely true. The original economic hit man first step in neoliberal globalism was a "reform" of international money.
That is why Nixon took the nation off the gold standard. They use the IMF and World Bank as weapons to control and exploit the 3rd world.
Milton Friedman is one of worst intellectual slimes in history.
Senator Feinstein Co-Sponsors Bill To Reform The Presidential Primary Process by Creating A Rotating Regional Primary System
Senator Feinstein Calls for Abolishing the Electoral College And Establishing Direct Popular Election of the President
You can NOT simply ask for your money early. Bonds don't work that way.
***RJ,
Yeah you can. You can cash out most notes, bills, bonds at any time. And almost always without penalty. China has every right to pull out, and request their money, which is about 10-11% of the total debt this nation has racked up.
There are those whose teeth are swords, whose teeth are knives, to devour the poor from off the earth, the needy from among mortals.
- Proverbs 30:14-14
Quote of the Day:
You cannot judge the value of an action based on whether or not it brings success. You have to judge the value of an action in relation to the action itself.... I think we may fail in our
attempt to do things, yet we may succeed in the correct action when the action is authentically nonviolent, based on understanding, based on love.
--Thich Nhat Hanh
Yeah you can. You can cash out most notes, bills, bonds at any time. And almost always without penalty.
****
Not without a buyer! What you are doing is trading your bond on the open market.
Let me make a guess:
lefty_winger = harpy or sally
You boz just won't stop your nonsense.
What part of the world is New Orleans to Bush that he addresses them as almost immigrants.
Ted's spiritual restoration team: get a job
by Pam Spaulding · 8/30/2007 03:23:00 PM ET
Discuss this post here: Comments (42) · digg it · reddit · FARK · · Link
OMFG, how humilating.
Ted Haggard's Daddy Dobson-approved Spiritual De-Gaying Oversight Squad has released a statement in light of the disgraced pastor, former male escort client and meth purchaser's outrageous fundraising plea to the faithful to support the lifestyle to which he had been accustomed while heading up New Life Church. (Ted promised the suckers his followers that they would be "rewarded in heaven" for supporting him.)
Ted had planned to move into a Phoenix halfway house, the Dream Center, where he would "minister to men" there while working toward his degree in counseling, but alas, that invitation was just withdrawn.
The restoration team -- godly, clean men who inserted themselves into the life of the fallen pastor, were not pleased. (Rocky Mountain News):
"Mr. Haggard's solicitation for personal support was inappropriate," his church supervisors said in the statement. The statement came one day after the four-member team of ministers responsible for overseeing the spiritual restoration of Haggard met with him in Phoenix.
http://www.americablog.com/2007/08/teds-spiritual-restoration-team-get-job.html
****
Now this sort of stuff is just plain bizarre. Good luck Ted Haggart.
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Bush administration Thursday rejected a bleak draft survey by a government auditor on political and military advances in Iraq, saying it set criteria for judging progress far too high.
The White House and State Department hit back after leaks emerged of a report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), saying Iraq had failed to meet all but three of 18 benchmarks laid down by Congress
But the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi accused Bush of "stubbornly" refusing to accept things were going badly in Iraq.
"He insists that our soldiers sacrifice even more, and taxpayers spend billions more dollars for an Iraqi government incapable or unwilling to institute reforms required by the president himself," Pelosi said.
The GAO is required by the law assess Iraq's progress in meeting benchmarks on political reconciliation, constitutional reform, building of security forces, challenging sectarian militia and sharing oil revenues.
The GAO report concludes that efforts by the Iraqi government to meet key legislation and reconstruction efforts are stalled, the Washington Post said.
Attacks on civilians have not ebbed and the Iraqi security forces have grown no more competent, the draft said, adding that US agencies were divided on whether violence had been reduced by the surge.
The Government Accountability Office, formerly known as the General Accounting Office, is the non-partisan auditing branch of the US Congress that oversees the performance and accountability of the US government.
Its findings are in stark contrast to an upbeat interim assessment issued by the White House in July, which found positive developments in eight of 18 categories.
The White House and Republican allies in Congress have been making a case that the surge strategy has been successful in dampening violence in Iraq, and making strides in the fight against extremists.
They have been pushing back against the idea that Iraqis must meet benchmarks, saying the grades do not reflect progress in the country, where 3,729 US soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians have now died.
But Democratic critics have countered that the surge was designed specifically to give the Iraqi government space to achieve political reconciliation, and as that has not happened, it has ultimately failed.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070830/pl_afp/uscongressiraqunrest
This Must Be Goofy News Day from the White House.
Bush aides hit back at bleak Iraq report
by Stephen Collinson
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The Bush administration Thursday rejected a bleak draft survey by a government auditor on political and military advances in Iraq, saying it set criteria for judging progress far too high...
news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070830/pl_afp/uscongressiraqunrest
"It's hard. It's so hard." the Presdident so often laments about anything he is charged to do and to which he fails so miserably.
Tell that to all the students, parents, and school officials that have to jump through hoops for Bush's No Child Left Behind standards.
Tell it to our troops who have been re-deployed to Iraq time after time.
Tell that to those trying to struggle to pay their bills because "the best economy of all time" somehow doesn't reach the people who toil the hardest.
So the White House wants to lower the standards again when it comes to their job performance? How much farther can they lower the bar? They agreed to the benchmarks...hell, Bush suggested them.
Unbelievable.
What part of the world is New Orleans to Bush that he addresses them as almost immigrants.
Posted by dlesterpoet on August 30, 2007 at 04:22 PM
****
dlester, Bush is a moron. He'll say anything that denigrates people just to deflect attention from his failure.
But the Democratic speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi accused Bush of "stubbornly" refusing to accept things were going badly in Iraq.
"He insists that our soldiers sacrifice even more, and taxpayers spend billions more dollars for an Iraqi government incapable or unwilling to institute reforms required by the president himself," Pelosi said.
****
PamB, Nancy Pelosi better be careful here. Bush is scamming us. He doesn't need more money for Iraq; he is trying to drum up money for a war against Iran.
U.S. Treasury statistics indicate that, at the end of 2006, foreigners held 44% of federal debt held by the public.[22] About 66% of that 44% was held by the central banks of other countries, in particular the central banks of Japan and China. In total, lenders from Japan and China held 47% of the foreign-owned debt.[23] Some argue this exposes the United States to potential financial or political risk that either banks will stop buying Treasury securities or start selling them heavily. In fact, the debt held by Japan reached a maximum in August of 2004 and has fallen nearly 3% since then.
US politicians have been calling for trade sanctions with China or pushing for a revaluation of the Yuan.[20] Recently Mr. Xia Bin (a cabinet member of China's Communist Party) described using the possible sale of US Bonds as a bargaining chip against a yuan revaluation. Described as China's "nuclear option" in the state media, such action could trigger a dollar crash at a time when the US currency is already breaking down through historic support levels. It would also cause a spike in US bond yields, hammering the US housing market and perhaps tipping the economy into recession. It is estimated that China holds over $900bn in a mix of US bonds
But Democratic critics have countered that the surge was designed specifically to give the Iraqi government space to achieve political reconciliation, and as that has not happened, it has ultimately failed.
****
The surge IS a FAILURE.
Now this sort of stuff is just plain bizarre. Good luck Ted Haggart.
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007 at 04:23 PM
It's become normal in BushWorld.
What right does the DOD have to demand with Bush Executive Privilege the congressional audit rewrite its report to suit them. Was this not like the creative intelligence the White House fed Congress, the report Congress failed to do its homework on.
The "We the people" need to find out which politician support our patriot fathers Constitution, and those that support the Bush/Nixon Executive Privilege of Totalitarian rule. Can we please have a list on those politicians who support Bush's Republic of Corporate government control. Thompson is one that supports Watergate plumbers.
Tell that to those trying to struggle to pay their bills because "the best economy of all time" somehow doesn't reach the people who toil the hardest.
****
sandy, the "best economy" of our time has failed to produce real wage growth in 5 consecutive years!
Now this is a hoot:
Thursday Morning Open Thread
by Joe Sudbay (DC) · 8/30/2007 07:28:00 AM ET
Discuss this post here: Comments (114) · digg it · reddit · FARK · · Link
Tom DeLay. Yes, Tom DeLay. That's who the Today Show had on this morning to discuss GOP values. Matt Lauer actually fought back against DeLay's insistence that the media is biased.
What a way to start the day...
http://www.americablog.com/2007/08/thursday-morning-open-thread_30.html
****
Indeed that's a bad bad way to start a day ... with the bug man Delay.
There's always a buyer.
Posted by lefty_winger on August 30, 2007 at 04:31 PM
****
clearly you know nothing about money ... but more likely you are just pulling my chain (harpy or sally, I presume).
****
for the benefit of others on the blog that may be confused by this, let me make it specific. Let's say you hold a non-callable 10 year government treasury bond:
1) You can NOT simply write the treasury department and say to them - Uncle Sam, I want my money back.
2) You will get your principle back in 10 years ... gawd help all if you don't!
3) You can sell your bond at market value assuming there is a buyer for it. Your brokerage may want to buy it and then use the interest or even put it in a mutual fund portfolio. But, there must be a buyer!
So, if we are going to postulate a dooms day scenario where China starts selling billions of dollars in bonds, they must find buyers for that billions of bonds somewhere, somehow. In all likelihood, the buyers would dry up. They would drive the price real low. Eventually, buyers would just be afraid and/or cash strapped to purchase these bonds. In short, China can create havoc but only at the cost of hurting themselves in the process.
It is estimated that China holds over $900bn in a mix of US bonds
Posted by Michigan_Dave on August 30, 2007 at 04:29 PM
Boy, they were suckers. At least that's how Bush thinks of them.
Push is going to come to shove on this excessive debt to the Communist Chinese...probably long after Bush is tucked away safely in Paraquay with his army of 300+ Secret Service agents and every Blackwater mercenary Poppy can buy.
Our next President is going to have to be really creative with how we handle China and this debt. The Chinese invented criminal gangs and shakedown techniques.
I'm not really looking forward to someone breaking my legs because the GOP went to the world's oldest loan sharks to fund tax cuts for the rich.
You know these big shot GOP-PERS, for all their blustering about the free market, I find they are don't really understand how it works. I suppose when you have alot of money you can count on someone else to manage it and probably do a decent job because there is a nice fee for their services.
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007 at 04:25 PM
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Yes, never has a President failed at this level of incompetency. Never has a President cost our country trillions in a Mission Accomplished gone miserably wrong. Never had family values and religion been abuse so much.
In Iraq, which I did not support but the Armed Services won but Bush blunders lost in political White House moves like Abu Graith, and the termination of the whole damn army sending them to chose sides. That like in Vietnam we had to come back and rewin with our troops.
In New Orleans the government is using Ethnic and Class Cleansing. The U.S. Government forcing residents to migrate then dumping them just like in Bosnia, except it is on social status of poverty like in the Middle East where pockets of refugees are forced to survive in squalid conditions.
Posted by goodfoe on August 30, 2007 at 03:02 PM
JohnBoy,
Thanks for posting that letter from Bill Richardson. I am convinced that he would make an excellent president. He has done a great job as governor of New Mexico.
Before Bill was elected we had a repuke who always wore a cowboy hat. He was a loser and nothing changed in New Mexico.
Bill has brought many jobs including many Hollywood movie makers to New Mexico. I think I read where a major studio has built two movie studios in Albuquerque. We have many new manufacturing companies. One is going to build a plant at the Belen Airport and build airplanes.
Bill has set standards and goals for renewable energy and has put his money where his mouth is. We are forging ahead with many major windpower projects.
Bill even wrested a rebate for every New Mexican out of the oil companies doing business in NM when prices started going out of sight.
We have a rail commute system right now between Belen and Bernallio, about 50 miles. It will soon be extended to the capital in Santa Fe and in the future south to Las Cruces and possibly El Paso.
We have a major space company building a space port south of Las Cruces. They will offer private space flight among other things.
I think they plan to build a NASA space facility as well.
Bill is fantastic with foreign affairs. He arranged the recent deal with North Korea by personally going over there and negotiating with their leader. Of course bush took credit for it. Bill also went to Africa and arranged a truce between some warring factions in Darfur or Sudan?
He was Bill Clinton's Energy Secretary.
I can't begin to name all the good things that Bill Richardson has done for New Mexico and the United States.
I would welcome him as President but would hate to lose him as my Governor.
Are the levees any better now than two years ago?
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007 at 03:35 PM
I come on in spills and spats. Read the August/2007 issue of National Geographic and you'll quickly come to the conclusion that the Corps of Engineers is just as much an administrative nightmare as FEMA. They are absolutely too politicized and totally incompetent to protect the Big Easy.
And to add insult to injury, they are tone deaf to any suggestions, ideas, theories, advice, etc. from any other contributing party.
Every project they have initiated with the levees has been a failure.
I'm not really looking forward to someone breaking my legs because the GOP went to the world's oldest loan sharks to fund tax cuts for the rich.
Posted by SandyH on August 30, 2007 at 04:43 PM
****
Sandy, I have to disagree with those who think the Chinese can blackmail us by selling our bonds. It doesn't exactly work that way. I do agree that they can hurt us by NOT buying more bonds. Then, our treasury auctions will be weak and we'll be forced to raise interest rates. That's money that goes right out the window from the US taxpayer.
It's really the interest on the bonds that we should all be concerned about irrespective of who holds them. That limits what we can do with our tax dollars because the interest must be paid (as does the principal when the bond comes due).
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007 at 04:34 PM
Afternoon rj,
Why do they interview these pseudo-christian criminals. The media has a long way to go to gain my confidence. It definitely needs fixing.
We may need to take it out of the hands of the corporate scum of the earth.
In New Orleans the government is using Ethnic and Class Cleansing. The U.S. Government forcing residents to migrate then dumping them just like in Bosnia, except it is on social status of poverty like in the Middle East where pockets of refugees are forced to survive in squalid conditions.
Posted by dlesterpoet on August 30, 2007 at 04:49 PM
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dlester, I agree with you. We all seen the signs that was going to happen. So, the GOP says that they don't want to rebuild New Orleans because the levees are weak. Yet, they didn't have any problems with selling off land that is exposed to a breach for luxury condos! A double standard indeed. There is little doubt that the Bushites seen this as an opportunity to drive poor people off of the land. The neoliberals protect private property only when it belongs to the wealthy.
In New Orleans the government is using Ethnic and Class Cleansing. The U.S. Government forcing residents to migrate then dumping them just like in Bosnia, except it is on social status of poverty like in the Middle East where pockets of refugees are forced to survive in squalid conditions.
Posted by dlesterpoet on August 30, 2007 at 04:49 PM
Exactly! The Bush administration figured it worked on a global level, why not bring it home and put it to use.
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007 at 04:34 PM
I guess Matt Lauer couldn't get Larry Craig or Tom Foley for an interview so he settled for the next best thing?
We may need to take it out of the hands of the corporate scum of the earth.
Posted by Johnedwrd on August 30, 2007 at 04:57 PM
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JE, the media are money whores. They will do whatever they think makes it bucks. That's why reporting is so abysmal these days. They spend next to nothing on staff to do investigative reporting. Frank Rich has coined a great name for it. He calls it "infotainment". News that is meant to entertain not inform.
I guess Matt Lauer couldn't get Larry Craig or Tom Foley for an interview so he settled for the next best thing?
Posted by SandyH on August 30, 2007 at 05:01 PM
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LOL. That would be quite a show. How about this for a lineup:
Craig, Foley and Ted Haggart
The Federal government knew that other than the tourist areas of New Orleans, the city was basically on a Third World level. Katrina laid bare the secret while Bush & Co. proceeded to fling the residents like seeds across the country to neutralize the situation.
Posted by J on August 30, 2007 at 04:54 PM
The Corps of Engineers used to be a respected leader in major flood control projects including dams and levees in California. I don't know if bush cut their budget too much, or appointed cronies to run the Corps, or the Pentagon has appointed morons to run it.
I worked for the Corps for about 5 years in California and they were well respected in the Central Valley where they took charge of all levees and many flood control dams in the Sierras.
My experience with the Corps was as a scheduling engineer on a huge warehouse that ray-gun funded near Stockton. I didn't think much of their expertise dealing with the construction of buildings. I worked for a couple of losers who were civilians. The military folks were very capable and dedicated to good quality work.
The warehouse roof leaked like a sieve from day one and has since been abandoned. I have no respect for their civilian construction managers. Some of them are prima donnas.
I can see why the New Orleans levees are being set up for failure again. I understand they bought pumps from some bush crony company and the company makes lousy pumps that fail regularly. Also, they should have designed the levees for a Category 5 hurricane.
Katrina laid bare the secret while Bush & Co. proceeded to fling the residents like seeds across the country to neutralize the situation.
Posted by J on August 30, 2007 at 05:07 PM
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J, I agree. Similar to how they are depopulating Iraq? These neoliberals don't think people matter; they think the wealth of the elite is`all that counts.
Attn: HillWill, Marc, rj, and all you other CompuGeeks out there, C&L needs your help!
MYSQL Expertise Needed for C&L
(I can barely turn this thing on.)
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007 at 04:58 PM
rj,
I understand that the Chinese would not sell off the bonds and cause a massive meltdown in the world's economy. It is in their best interests to keep us afloat.
But they have already said they are going to diversify and invest in other places in the future and that they are going to use these bonds as collateral on some of those investments...to hedge any potential losses in the future.
So they are thinking about loses. Nobody takes loses cheerfully. Perhaps the current crop of Communists think of this as the cost of re-building their society and are willing to let it ride.
And perhaps when they are stronger economically and militarily (and have us over a bigger barrel than they do now), they will decide that their ideology is more important than any business considerations?
We need to set our house in order and buy back those bonds as soon as possible before they are held over our heads by people who have other agendas over than making money.
Posted by rjsnj on August 30, 2007 at 04:58 PM
rj,
I understand that the Chinese would not sell off the bonds and cause a massive meltdown in the world's economy. It is in their best interests to keep us afloat.
But they have already said they are going to diversify and invest in other places in the future and that they are going to use these bonds as collateral on some of those investments...to hedge any potential losses in the future.
So they are thinking about loses. Nobody takes loses cheerfully. Perhaps the current crop of Communists think of this as the cost of re-building their society and are willing to let it ride.
And perhaps when they are stronger economically and militarily (and have us over a bigger barrel than they do now), they will decide that their ideology is more important than any business considerations?
We need to set our house in order and buy back those bonds as soon as possible before they are held over our heads by people who have other agendas over than making money.
What a News day! I'm glad to be home and catching up! I was perusing some famous old quotes and came across a few goodies. Remember these anyone?
Winston Churchill (1874-1965):
The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes. (that explains a lot)
He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.
An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.
Franklin D. Roosevelt:
When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
(sure sounds like W)
Will Rogers:
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
and my favorite (this goes out to all the candidates) as I fly out again to dinner!!
If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
Pahahha! 4real
l8tr Peace!!
back tonight I hope
So Cheesy Thompson's "Big Announcement" that he had sent out press releases for all day is.............
He's going to announce next week on his new web site!
I like marijuana. I think it's agood thing. I don't smoke it any more because if I got busted my life would be ruined, but if it got legalized I'd give up scotch and switch to weed in a heartbeat.
now that is what i call being blunt bluntster. and here is something else that is quite blunt:
Remove Bush over war lies
Jimmy Breslin
August 26, 2007
There had been the sound of many feet on a Brooklyn street at the first funeral, of firefighter Joseph Graffa-gnino, and at the second funeral, of firefighter Robert Beddia, a fire engine sounded in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue. In my office about an hour later, slips of paper came silently out of a machine, the slips coming from the Department of Defense and carrying the names and ages of the 14 soldiers who were killed in Iraq when their helicopter crashed. Four were under 21 and nine 25 or under. Of course the first thought was how the city at this time could handle such calamity if the 14 dead were New York firefighters or police officers. This gives a good view of the catastrophe that happens in Iraq, day after day.
But as the soldiers die at a time of national Alzheimer's, there was virtually no reaction to the 14.
When anybody you elect tries to end the war, Bush blocks all intentions with a veto or threats of a veto that prevent it. And his Supreme Court is ready to validate whatever he does, this court with its five Catholic justices, and a chief who falls on his face a couple of times that we know of.
Our politicians despair that there can be no way to override Bush and save our young and everybody of any age in Iraq.
Of course there is. By all the energy and dignified disgust of a nation that needs it to keep any semblance of greatness, there is an extraordinary need for an impeachment of this president and his vice president.
You start an impeachment with an investigator who starts to develop a case. That's what got Nixon out. He had the most expensive, elaborate defense in the world, and when they were pressed his assistants folded and Nixon quit. I wonder whether Bush and his people can do any better when pressed.
I have here in front of me a large number of pages that I keep for their significance. They are from a United States Senate hearing and are titled, "In Re Impeachment of President William Jefferson Clinton."
He was only the 42nd person in our nation to make the commitment to "faithfully execute" the Office of the President and to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution."
He was being impeached over lying about girls.
Bush the President is our 43rd. He lied to the nation to get us into a war in Iraq that is without end. Every young person who has died leaves drops of blood on Bush's hands and those of everyone around him. He lied to the nation and daily he tries every greasy way to undermine the Constitution he is sworn to uphold. Thus making his oath false.
Clinton's charges seem frivolous. But Bush appears to have committed high crimes and misdemeanors and must be thrown out of office in the disgrace that he is.
Bush, reminiscing the other day over something that further scatters the mind, compared the end of Vietnam with the Iraq war that thrills him so much because it makes him a wartime commander.
I don't know why Vietnam is on his mind. He skipped the thing to have his teeth fixed in Texas. Showing such utter confusion causes questions of how much evil he carries in his mind and how much of stimulants.
He raises the end of Vietnam. If you want to know what that was like, Bernie Edelman, who went from Flatbush to Chu Lai, yesterday opened the book, "Dear America," that he compiled with the New York Vietnam Veterans. The pages consist of letters written by veterans of Vietnam.
One is by Air Force Lt. Richard Van de Geer, a helicopter pilot assigned to assist in the evacuation of Saigon in 1975. This letter is on 15 May 1975, the day he was killed.
"The aircraft that landed on the Midway - landed about 50 feet away from mine - and the man who got out of the aircraft had been quoted approximately a week earlier as saying that any South Vietnamese who had left the country was a coward and that everybody should stay in South Vietnam and fight to the bitter end. This very same man was the first man to arrive on the USS Midway and to my knowledge the first to be recovered by the 7th Fleet. The man was Gen. Nguyen Cao Ky, vice president of the Republic of South Vietnam. Now I really don't have any personal feelings about the war here. I really don't care one way or the other in regard to who is right and who is wrong because that is a waste of time, a waste of thinking. But I did find myself feeling that I wish he had been shot down."
Officially, Lt. Van de Geer was the last man to die in the Vietnam War. His name is listed as last on the memorial in Washington. If Bush wonders from his dentist's chair about the end of Vietnam, Van de Geer gives you a fair idea.
Posted by DPD on August 30, 2007 at 05:26 PM
The Minneapolis police must be really pissed to release this tape. I personally don't see the point. He pleaded guilty. I guess they figured the GOP would try to smear the officer and department.
Wolf Blizer seems to be getting a real high off of this one...not because of the content of the tape, but because he thinks he's offering his viewers a hot new hight-tech service like U Tube.
You're on TV, Wolf. People are not impressed with audio tapes. That's radio.
Sandy, I, too, did not see much sense of playing 10 minutes or more of tape you could barely understand, .
But everyone agrees, Craig's name is changed to TOAST.
Posted by Christopher_blunt_proud_member_of_the_VLWC on August 30, 2007 at 05:47 PM
Did Larry Craig so gross you out that you've decided to take up another kind of recreational activity?
Not that I am defending Craig but by touching feet in a bathroom your are signaling for sex. This is news to me. Surely there is more to this than touching feet, if so I will go into the widest stall and keep my feet together. I guess walking in public you better not step on any bodies feet, or you will be arrested for lewd acts. Damn its hard to live in a Bush World.
Pam,
Goodness, Tucker is playing it, too. They sure aren't the Nixon tapes...his criminal coverup conversation positively shines in comparison.
Maybe Rove told the MSM to play them to try to trivalize the whole situation? As if one could?
This has to be one of the seediest things that has ever surfaced in modern politics.
Bill and Monica's documented frolics now seem more like two young kids in the back of a car compared to these repressed old men and their pathetic attempts to find intimacy in the House cloak room and public bathrooms.
I've really heard enough about Craig, Vitter, and Foley for a lifetime. Let them crawl back into their personal lives and never walk the halls of the Capitol ever again.
Let's move on to the so-called Petraeus report and all those unmet benchmarks...and why we should give Bush another $50 billion to flush down the toilet.
Tucker Carlson, little girl that he is, had to go get somebody to beat up someone who supposedly made an advance towards him! Bad enough the guy was blind, Carlson had to bring back a crew to hurt the guy.
"During a discussion Tuesday night on MSNBC Live with Dan Abrams about Sen. Larry Craig's (R-ID) arrest for "lewd conduct" and eventual guilty plea, Tucker Carlson described to fellow MSNBC hosts Dan Abrams and Joe Scarborough his assault on a man who he said "bothered" him in a Washington, D.C., public restroom.
Carlson said, "Having sex in a public men's room is outrageous. It's also really common. I've been bothered in men's rooms." Carlson continued, "I've been bothered in Georgetown Park," in Washington, D.C., "when I was in high school." When Abrams asked how Carlson responded to being "bothered," as Abrams and Scarborough laughed, Carlson asserted, "I went back with someone I knew and grabbed the guy by the -- you know, and grabbed him, and ... hit him against the stall with his head, actually." The laughter continued.
Carlson's comments, coupled with laughter from Abrams and Scarborough, suggested to viewers that physical violence is an appropriate response to an unwelcome overture. This is dangerous and wrong.
MSNBC has yet to acknowledge Carlson's comments or address why Abrams and Scarborough laughed while Carlson recounted his actions. Instead, MSNBC has treated Carlson's comments as a laughing matter, re-airing the portion in which Carlson claimed to have been "bothered," but omitting the portion in which he seemed to boast of physical assault.
Organizations such as the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) have called on Carlson to apologize for his grossly inappropriate remarks. Carlson has issued a statement completely revising his account of the alleged incident, but he has yet to apologize or to condemn acts of violence against gays and lesbians. And Carlson's revised account does nothing to mitigate the damage of his on-air comments. Meanwhile, MSNBC has remained silent about the incident.
This past spring, during the controversy surrounding Don Imus' racist and sexist comments, Steve Capus, president of NBC News, acknowledged "that there have been any number of other comments that have been enormously hurtful to far too many people. And my feeling is that ... there should not be a place for that on MSNBC." He also stated: "This is about trust. It's about reputation. It's about doing what's right," later adding, "I hope we don't squander this remarkable opportunity that we have to continue this dialogue that has taken place, to continue the dialogue about what is appropriate conduct and speech, to continue the dialogue about what is happening in America. I think we have, as broadcasters, a responsibility to address those matters."
He's right: This is about "trust" and "doing what's right." It's time for MSNBC to repudiate Carlson's comments or risk being seen as endorsing them.
Please contact MSNBC, Dan Abrams, and Joe Scarborough today and ask that they publicly address Carlson's comments. It's time for them to show they don't find humor in or condone the violence Carlson described.
Contact information can be found on the upper-right side of this email or by clicking here.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200708300006
Thank you for your continued support.
Posted by Johnedwrd on August 30, 2007 at 05:10 PM
John, the canal levees are only being rebuilt where they failed back to cat 3 standards. Where the canal levees did NOT fail during Katrina, they are being left as they were. During Katrina, the canal levees did not fail because water went over them, it breached the earth under the concrete walls. And since those canal levee walls that did not fail during Katrina have been left exactly the way they were, the whole system of canal levee walls is suspect as are the levee walls on the lake side. The cost to properly repair all the levees is astronomical. But the Bush administration has known all this and has not been honest about it. The net, net of this situation is that New Orleans is another disaster waiting to happen. The repairs being done on New Orleans are like putting a band aid on a man who is bleeding to death from multiple gun shot wounds...The Bush administration is just hoping another storm does not come before they are out of office. After that, if New Orleans is destroyed by another hurricane, they will attempt to blame it on the new Democratic administration. "We Fixed it, it is your problem and fault now!" What a bunch of liars and frauds!
Posted by gregg on August 30, 2007 at 05:50 PM
Gregg, thanks for this post...it is really fine writing by Jimmy Breslin...I have saved it for future reference....
Posted by Johnedwrd on August 30, 2007 at 04:53 PM
Bill Richardson has shown his abilities as Gov. of New Mexico. If he is not president or vice-president in the next Democratic administration, I hope he is considered for Secretary of State, he has shown great negotiating skills in dealing with foreign leaders and would be an asset to any administration.
NFL preseason football, local TV...have a nice evening all....later......
But they have already said they are going to diversify and invest in other places in the future and that they are going to use these bonds as collateral on some of those investments...to hedge any potential losses in the future.
So they are thinking about loses. Nobody takes loses cheerfully. Perhaps the current crop of Communists think of this as the cost of re-building their society and are willing to let it ride.
And perhaps when they are stronger economically and militarily (and have us over a bigger barrel than they do now), they will decide that their ideology is more important than any business considerations?
We need to set our house in order and buy back those bonds as soon as possible before they are held over our heads by people who have other agendas over than making money.
Posted by SandyH on August 30, 2007 at 05:32 PM
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Sandy,
They already are buy into European debt. That means that at some point in the future, our biggest buyer of debt will cut back. It will get more difficult to float debt. I see that as a good thing.
They already have a more fundamentally sound economy than we do. They are rapidly building up a military. So, it will be a stalemate with them eventually.
Well the government can buy bonds back but only if they were sold as callable issues. Otherwise, we just have to pay the interest until they are due.
What we need to do is decrease the amount of debt we float by 1) cutting the bloated military budget, 2) taking in more revenues - repeal the Bush tax cuts for the upper brackets.
Boycott Florida's primary? Once again the leadership of my party has spit in my face when I'm needed most. Do you people have brains? Or are you destined to lose elections due to being idiots? You've just caused my vote not to count again with this forced boycott. You know what I'm going to do? If you don't undo the boycott and my primary vote is cast aside because some other state is "jealous", I'll be dropping my membership in the Democratic party. Whoever did this should have their head handed to them on a platter. No wonder Democrats here are so frustrated with the party. I'm so mad I'm considering to never vote Democrat again. You people need your heads examined. I'm not alone by the way and I'll be taking as many Dems with me as I can if you don't come to your senses and undo this. You think again how four "jealous" states can tell another how and when to vote in this country or that our votes won;t count and our delegates will be taken away? I'm no longer valid in your eye's anyway. I've worked in the last four presidential races and to be thanked by my party leaders like this shows me how much that meant to them. I'm mad as hell and I won't take this sitting down.
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