Open Thread
By bluegal Sunday May 18, 2008 10:30pm
Every problem ever faced by anyone, in my humble opinion, was addressed by the late Douglas Adams in his Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. For instance, the words "don't panic" in large friendly letters has helped me survive many a small child's birthday party.
Open thread below.
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We The People-First!
McCain’s ‘Compelling Logic’ For Not Talking to Our Enemies
http://satiricalpolitical.com/?p=1844
Just on Letterman, "shes found a way to raise money in kentucky, shes sold the stud rights to Bill"
LMAO
New Labour in the UK showing their true colours, and its not very socialist liberal progressive,
if anything Gordon Brown and his cadre are goose stepping fast into the ranks of Mussolini.
RESPECT the uniform or else !
YouTube refuses Lieberman request
http://www.fcw.com/online/news/152587-1.html
Which is the book thats going to show me, answers to questions I don't even know.
Gas..$4 a gal..Chicago
Yes We Can
MountainMan23 @ 5:
Thanks for that post. Yea YouTube.
Just change a few names & this could be a comment about current politics.
fiddlerbird @ 9:
So why didn't the link I included no show up?
Douglas Adams and Bill Hicks...two geniuses gone far too soon. We could use the likes of them both now!!!
Obama defends his wife's honor. Bush and Ted Stevens want to rape
Alaska's forest.
fiddlerbird @ 9:
I don't know. 42?
fiddlerbird @ 10:
I meant that for this question...
42?
MountainMan23 @ 5:
Lieberman actually still believes he is relavent. I can't wait until November when the repugnantcants lose all power in the house and senate and he loses all of his committee positions.
MountainMan23 @ 5:
Why does Joe Lieberman hate free speech?
Ooh ooh more speech directives from Zion...
Palestinians Mark 60th Anniversary of Nakba
On Friday, scores of Palestinians and Arab Americans gathered at the United Nations to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, what Palestinians call the Nakba, or catastrophe...
Israel Urges UN to Stop Using the Word “Nakba”
The Arab News reports Israel is calling on the United Nations to stop using the word “Nakba” after a comment by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Israel’s deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Carmon, told Israeli Radio, “Nakba is a tool of Arab propaganda used to undermine the legitimacy of the establishment of the State of Israel, and it must not be part of the lexicon of the UN.”
Nakba, Nakba, Nakba, Nakba, Nakba, Nakba, Nakba, Nakba, Nakba, Nakba, Nakba, Nakba, Nakba, Nakba, Nakba, Nakba, Nakba, Nakba.
There. I said it. Nakba.
MountainMan23 @ 5:
The VP elect practicing while Chimpy is off sorting out his immigration visa.
Or is it a case of the puppeteer being visible while the puppet is away.
Iran is storing 25-30 million bbls of oil in tankers cause there is no market for heavy crude:
HOUSTON, May 14 -- Energy prices rebounded May 13 amid speculation that Iran might cut its crude production by 400,000-1 million b/d beginning in June.
Iranian Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari, however, denied such a move. Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, Iran's departing governor to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, told Dow Jones Newswires his country is storing 25 million bbl of heavy crude in 10-12 tankers in the Persian Gulf because it could find no buyers for that supply.
Olivier Jakob at Petromatrix, Zug, Switzerland, noted, "Iran has not reduced production even in times of OPEC quota reduction and with the [United Nations] sanctions [stemming from the dispute over Iran's nuclear program] it would make little sense for them to lose the little market share they have been able to preserve." Jakob said, "It is true, however, that they have about 25-30 million bbl of unsold oil sitting afloat on tankers, and talking the market up is good salesmanship to push the potential buyers to finally come to the table."
Deteriorata (Fluke of the Universe)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=faU-SK0pHCI
1Watt @ 18:
I keep maintaining the fact, (THERE IS NOT A SHORTAGE OF OIL.) It's the multi billionaire speculators that are driving up the price of a barrel of oil. These people are unamerican and do not care about our economy or the economies and starving people all over the world.
Trying to make sense out of the world via the MainStreamMedia is always risky business.
I've always thought Adams' advice about 'under no circumstances should anyone who actually wants the job (of president) be given it.'
But, minus the extra arm and head, Bush is a perfect Beeblebrox. A complete incompetent to hold the office while others actually run things.
http://www.meridianstar.com/features/local_story_139004343.html
"See? It's not a tax cut for the rich, only poor people make less than $65k!! HOORAY FOR REPUBLICANS!!"
/me bangs head on desk
Grrrr.....formatting
ferrofluid @ 4:
My problems with so called new Labour notwithstanding, I’m not sure I see much of Mussolini in that article. The title worried me, but it was betrayed by the text, which explained that the government would criminalize discrimination against soldiers in uniform, not mere insults.
Heavy recruitment aimed at younger people is worrisome, but I can’t say I disagree with anti-discrimination laws for veterans.
[I magic binned the first one for you-Sitemonitor]
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius Vetoes Photo ID Voter Requirement
Don't panic?
Right.
Oil, the thing that we have based our entire industrialized civilization upon, is apparently SO plentiful, that we have to have a major WAR every fifteen years or so in order to secure what's left... and gas is going to be seven dollars a FREAKING GALLON by the end of the year...
Don't panic... spoken like a person who makes more than a hundred thousand dollars a year.
The problem is, the people who write these blogs apparently don't live in trailer parks.
Sometimes I think that you're no better than our elitist politicians.
Sorry to come down on you so hard, but the truth is the PROPER time to panic was at least TWENTY YEARS AGO!
Don't panic... what a joke.
Karen @ 25:
Right on. I was turned away from my precinct in WA state for want of picture ID. Never mind I've been registered in the same precinct since 1982.
Ethiopia is screwed again.
miss_kitty Nakba @ 27:
Everyone needs to register early and make sure everything is in order. Just go ahead and assume that they're going to try to cage your vote. Take it as a given and go ahead and plan for it ahead of time.
Did anyone see Senator Webb on Letterman.
I think you can add Letterman to the group of people who you know who they are standing with..I'd say he's an Obama guy from what I've seen. He talks to them all, like John Stewart, but from things he said, particularly in the interview with Webb, it sounds like he's for Obama.
I could have done with less Kevin Spacey and a full half hour of Jim Webb. Good interview. Guys got cajones.
miss kitty@16
Well done ... now you've said it (or at least written it). Are you now done? No one here really cares ...
Listening to Bush's NBC interview I cant help but laugh that this man is Pres.
I mean, all the killing of innocent people the world over, it is funny as hell.
This guy would lose in a 5th grade spelling bee, easy.
Space Coyote @ 29:
And I'm grabbing up my wallet and Passport next time.
I meant to add IGNORING the killing of innocent people. My bad.
James @ 26:
Ok. Let's all panic! Starting now! Go! Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!
Anything fixed yet?
You know, the elitist fat cats who dare to write C&L from their non-mobile homes try to include a little levity in the open thread prompts. And come to think of it, if anyone could make policy by panic sound oddly sensible, it would have been Douglas Adams. :)
Bob Roberts @ 31:
That's your opinion. Thanks for sharing. I guess otto's kick your arse on another you've decided to come after me. Go pick a fight elsewhere, BR.
Nakba.
Bob Roberts @ 31:
Hey, I happen to think that if Miss Kitty wants to go off on a rant, she's got my full approval.
miss_kitty Nakba @ 16:
Now dare whisper that the Holocaust is a myth (Which, of course, it isn't a myth. Millions of innocent people were killed then) and watch the Israeli propaganda machine descend on your house like it's a DEA raid.
You see, it's OK if Israel does it. Same as Bush's logic, it's OK if we torture, but if someone else does it he whines, "SHAME ON YOU"!
Israel has yet to acknowledge the catastrophe that was and still is the Nakba, either formally or informally.
The hypocrisy is nauseating.
At least Australia apologized to the aborigines. U.S. school textbooks acknowledge the genocide of the Indians (Native Americans) and the enslavement of African Americans.
Israel's media, schools, books, newspapers, government, parliament, etc.. are pretending like the Palestinians are foreign parasites who get off on killing Jews and are nothing but barbaric animals.
Disclaimer: If anyone finds some depictions or words in my post to be too strong or offensive, perhaps it's time you familiarized yourself with the facts. Bush's speech last week comparing Iran's leader to Hitler, pales in comparison to the kind of venom Israel lobs at the Palestinians, especially domestically. Israel sure knows how to avoid airing its "dirty laundry" in public.
Beg pardon, miss kitty? otto and I disagreed. We get to do that.
I am very amused that you sign on to other's posts just to disagree with me....
Bob Roberts @ 39:
I can understand if what miss kitty said offended you. (Emotions are very high on both sides of the Israeli / Palestinian conflict.) But she ranted her opinion, and rather than counter it, you publicly declared that nobody cared. Why not counter with arguments?
Bob Roberts @ 39:
Why do you repeat your name and then make a plural of it?
Karen @ 35:
I disagree. Some fucking panic in this country would at least show the elites that the cows are starting to evolve consciousness. Sorry, can I say evolve in this country? Anyway, we are way too far down the rabbit hole for panic to have any effect. The panic should have happened in 2000 when you lost your democracy, again when the patriot act was passed and you lost your constitution, again when we initiated an illegal and unprovoked imperialist war, again in 2004.... awww fuck it. The list is too long and like I said, it won't make any difference now.
Actually, the politics and policies of panic are what we have seen from the Bush administration ever since Sept. 11. They have been falling over themselves (sometimes literally) to shift blame and appear to be doing something - as opposed to actually doing something. It is their standard response to any event.
My grandfather was born in Jaffa, Palestine in 1909 @ 38:
My point exactly. What if Germany said to the UN "Quit saying Holocaust"? This is one more step in the Zionist plan to squash the history of Palestine and Palestinian people.
One of the most moving, common sensical pieces I ever read as regards the founding of Israel can be found here
Too bad for the Palestinians, no one paid heed.
Ron@41
Name comes from a movie of the same name. Rent it. You may like the politics involved.
What a phony piece of shit chimpy is. he went to his buddies, the Saudis, and asked for more oil. they turned him down. now chimpy is lost. chimpy and the Saudis are in the same greedy boat.
I don't believe that the Saudis said no. I believe he went over their to keep the price high so he and his gang can make more money.
Go Obama!
Go USA!
Bob Roberts @ 31:
A lot of people care, actually. Let's turn the tables here for a second. Let's pretend that I said to you, Bob Roberts, that no one gives a fuck about the Holocaust. How would you feel? I don't think people's suffering should be made light of, regardless of the color of their skin, their ethnicity, their religious affiliation or what have you.
But, you're clearly not a healthy person. Your brain works in mysterious ways.
You see, just because you're an over zealous racist Zionist doesn't mean there are no human beings left on this blog. Not everyone is an ideologue. Some people actually have this thing called a conscience and a sense of fairness, including Jews and Christians alike.
You should look into it.
Bill @ 43:
Exactly. Panic is the way in which we responded to 9/11.
Whereas FDR said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself," Bush said, "Be afraid, be very afraid. Just keep going shopping while you panic."
Miss Kitty @ 44 -
How bout Turkey and Armenia? Afterall, Turkey's our ally, and therefore they'd never do anything like that.
JustSickOfIt @ 42:
Yes, a sudden and overwhelming collective knee jerk would really teach those guys at the top a lesson, namely, don't be afraid to use your weapons on your own people.
You want to voice anger? Great! You want to stage economy-crippling protests? Awesome! You want to coordinate a powerful movement to bring down this government? Fantastic!
You want to panic as you're doing it? Good luck.
I find it highly odd that people are defending "panic." It is something to avoid, almost by definition, in order to survive crises.
Space Coyote @ 49:
No shit. The world and its history is filled with stories of man's inhumanity to man. We follow some limbic brain process that commands we look for differences in out brethren instead of commonality. Tutsis and Hutus, Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, English and Irish, everyone against the Jews, Us against the Middle East...the list is nearly endless.
1Watt@18
I typed my previous post without reading your fine post.
this is chimpy's plan, make us pay while he threatens Iran with so-called cause of action because Iran might build a nuke.
Meanwhile at the homefront, Israel can have all the nukes it wants without the US approval. Also, Israel doesn't have to account for them to the rest of the world.
they're allowed to play by their own rotten rules.
miss_kitty Nakba @ 51:
At the risk of sounding like a *gasp* conspiracy theorist...
Isn't this the type of thing known as "divide and conquer"?
Ron, repugs act as if their party is relevant.
I can't believe mccain is the nominee the talking heads didn't want to become their repug president. Either the repugs talking heads aren't getting to their audience or they have run their course as being reliable.
My grandfather was born in Jaffa, Palestine in 1909 @ 38:
When we do it, it's to make the world a better place and 'spread democracy', but when the evil-doers do it, it's just cause they are evil and hate our freedom. The insurgents in Iraqistan aren't fighting to defend their homeland and families against an invading army, they're trying to overthrow the US govt and force the entire world to pray to Mecca 5 times a day. It probably doesn't make sense to you because you aren't wearing your made-in-China flag pin.
my grandfather ... etc. @47
You can tell all that from my 20 word post? Cool.
Methinks thou art projecting your own racist views onto others. I think the issues between Israelis and Palestinians are far more complex than can be solved by calling those with whom you disagree "Zionists".
Certainly the issues are far more complex than can be addressed by writing "Nakba" 19 times in a comment.
Incidentally, I'm neither Jewish nor a Zionist. Assume much?
Too bad, really. I was impressed by your first post (@38).
I have my towel. Everything is going to be okay.
I dig what you are saying miss kitty.
The Palestinians are allow a of mourning.
Thomas @ 57:
Good job! Now sit down and enjoy some Vogon Poetry.
http://www.slate.com/id/2081042/
tHeIKnowAHusseinGaMeOfLiFe @ 54:
Actually, I don't think they want to win this POTUS election. They want to blame the democrats for the problems of the world in 2012 or 2016 so they have another shot at screwing it up again. Let's not let the children forget
Space Coyote @ 53:
No. In my opinion, it's man's unwillingness to rise above his nature by using the advanced brain that has developed over the lizard brain-the flight or fight thing-and recognise one simple fact. We are all the same. No one is better than anyone else. We're all family, we're all related and we all come from the same place. We all deserve an equal shot at everything.
I flush gallons of water down the loo while someone else is dying of thirst. Someone else pushes away an over filled plate of food (or over eats) while another starves. A lady in Beverly Hills has her face tightened, her lips puffed up and her titties enlarged, while a woman in Ethiopia need to have a bladder fistula closed.
I know life isn't meant fair, but hells bells. No one is even trying. I'll continue to flush gallons, people will continue to die of thirst, some fat person will continue to overeat, never know true hunger and say "I'm starving" between snacks, while others know nothing but hunger and starvation.
We need to, as the most fortunate, help out the less fortunate. We do some, but obviously, it's not enough. And we don't, because we only see differences.
An interesting thing about panic is that it is an evolutionary survival trait. It is the survival trait of last resort since it only kicks in when the mind fails to find a suitable response to a life threatening situation. Panic often leads to counter intuitive behavior (and hidden reservoirs of physical strength) that occasionally allow survival. In most cases not. See Karen and Bill @48. The best strategy is always to exhaust the possibilities offered by intelligence. I'm not ready to panic about anything yet.
> This guy would lose in a 5th grade spelling bee, easy.
I've always considered this Bush administration as the answer to the "What If Dan Quayle were President?" question.
Stan "Bitter Hussein" Rosenthal @ 63:
So, we can thank the Potato for delaying the inevitable and the internet for us being able to expose it.
If I might make one observation about the discussion on Israel and Nabka: the ethical propriety of Zionism may be debatable but the usual practice of adding the term racist is rather foolish seeing that all the protagonists in that lamentable conflict are semitic. You couldn't tell their Mitochondrial DNA apart no way no how. Nope let's chalk this one up to the usual suspect, Religion.
Ron @ 64:
Uh Ron, please. That's 'Potatoe.'
Peter G @ 65:
Well, the original ones. But now it's loads of Europeans and Russians, who aren't Semitic at all.
miss_kitty Nakba @ 66:
You fixed it for him first. If there's one thing we've learned from the Republicans it is never to hire a Ivy League graduate who didn't attend on a full academic scholarship. These second and third generation legacy graduates are killing us.
miss_kitty Nakba @ 66:
No, I used spell check. I love your comments. Damn, you're so much more knowledgeable than I, except for spelling of potatoe?????
Ron @ 69:
Maybe we should ask a third grader.
Ron @ 69:
Check your Quayle history Ron and his career ending spelling bee. It is to die for.
The youtube Grampa McCain video has been viewed nearly three quarters of a million times in a little over day. Amazing.
If you haven't seen it yet, you must.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEtZlR3zp4c
Peter G @ 71:
SO, the second graders beat him too?
My grandfather was born in Jaffa, Palestine in 1909 @ 47:
You see, just because you're an over zealous racist Zionist doesn't mean there are no human beings left on this blog. Not everyone is an ideologue. Some people actually have this thing called a conscience and a sense of fairness, including Jews and Christians alike.
You should look into it.
It brings a spring to my step when someone disagrees with something, and immediately, they have to be labeled. Absolutely hilarious. Disagree with a far-left remark? Capitalist WRONG-Wing Bush Loving Scumbag. Feign ignorance to an anti-jewish sentement? Over zealous racist Zionist. It's like everyone who says something has an agenda. Makes me chuckle.
Check this
Better still try this Ron: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imHK5-JhxXg
Ron @ 60:
That's a stretch. Ain't no way people are going to forget about repug assholes. They have screwed up too many lives. They won't be in power for a very very long time. Maybe in the year 5021.
miss_kitty Nakba @ 75:
I mean Ron. We say 'potato,' Quayle says 'pototoe' (You know the tune...)
miss_kitty Nakba @ 78:
I'm surprised no one set this to music. If only Bush had said something this stupid before his first presidential election. Oh wait he did.
tHeIKnowAHusseinGaMeOfLiFe @ 77:
You have to remember, they lie cheat and I think, will even kill to achieve their goals.
Firefox users: Get the 'Don't Panic' Firefox add-on. It'll save your life, it really will.
and
VOTE BEEBLEBROX!!!
Ron @ 80:
How long peoples memories last is problematical. I remember when Clinton was fondly called the first black president because of his attitude and style and sympathy to the black population. Now not so much. Still I wouldn't put it past the Republicans to sabotage the next President (almost certainly a Democrat if we all play our cards right) by handing him the biggest bag of crap possible. They could for example, extend the war to Iran or take steps to worsen the economy in the hopes of recapturing the Presidency in four years. Their exit strategy for Iraq has always been to blame the Democrats.
Actually, both spellings are correct from my understanding (you say potato, I say tomato) ... :-) . From my recollection vice-President Quayle's mistake was that he told the kid that the kid's spelling was wrong (when it was 100% correct.)
McCain spoof.
Ron @ 80:
They do. But those days are numbered.
We can have a dirty USA.
Stan! I think that is you!
Hi! :)
Alice, that was a nice vid.
mccain can't tell the truth if his life depended on it.
Like KO said why is KY voting for a losing candidate? Are they more backward than some in WVA?
I remember when Nixon resigned and the press declared the Republican Party dead.
Next thing you know the Republicans are in charge of the White House, The Senate, The House, the Courts, the school boards and media.
Me@85
We can't have a dirty USA.
tHeIKnowAHusseinGaMeOfLiFe @ 88:
I don't know, perhaps you could give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they are voting for the person they believe would be a better president. That works for me.
Fifteen minutes of...
Well, i wouldn't call it fame.
I am all for voting for the Candidate of your choice. I am all for fighting for what you believe in. Let the voters vote and have their say.
After that we need to have the votes counted properly.
It would also be nice to have them covered prior to the voting properly.
People are taking offense because the Democrats are having a contentious primary process while the Republicans have completed the process and come up with, well John McCain.
I think the Democrats are going to kick his butt come what may.
In the spirit of party unity i will go back to my original name.
Hey xoites!
Hi Stan. :)
Where have you been? I haven't seen you for a while.
500 youths detained in Iraq; 10 in Afghanistan
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gI8tkcdPaMgJO4JfdgqKXi63NWqwD90OL8Q00
So much for drawing down the troops.
New Iraq deployments could maintain U.S. force level
http://www.reuters.com/article/gc05/idUSN1938547720080519
The surge is working so well that we have to keep on doing it.
Forever.
US attack on Baghdad media hotel no accident: rights group
BAGHDAD (AFP) - A media rights group has called for a full probe into the 2003 shelling of a Baghdad hotel by US troops which killed two foreign journalists, claiming that new evidence showed the incident was not an accident
ADVERTISEMENT
The International Federation of Journalists said the United States should "tell the whole truth" about the incident at the Palestine Hotel on April 8, 2003, just a day before Baghdad fell to US invading forces.
The IFJ said a former US army sergeant had reported seeing secret US documents that listed the hotel as a possible target, in a statement which it said "exposed as a cover-up" contained in the US allegation that the shelling was an accident.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080519/wl_mideast_afp/iraqunrestmedia_0805...
Someone should check and see if George Bush is trying to get in the Guiness Book of World Records under Most Crimes Commited by One Person category.
Former Japanese-American internees finally get their academic accolades.
Johnny doesn't know much about economics, but he has the audacity to call Obama inexperienced while Joe watches.
I've been in one of my "hermit" modes (not quite a trogyldite(sp?) mode ... ), xoites. I was doing more preaching to the anything but the choir crowd ... it's good to be home. :-)
Rove said Clinton is a better match against McCain than Obama.
Rove is a McCain advisor. I wonder how accurate these numbers are? I think somebody is betting on his dog in the fight. It seems Rove wants Clinton to win really. Can you say dis-information project?
http://a.abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/McCainClintonObama051608.pdf
"Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so." Douglas Adams
"One of the many major problems with governing people is that of whom you get to do it; or rather of who manages to get people to let them do it to them: It is a well known fact, that those people who most want to rule people are, ipso facto, those least suited to do it. Anyone who is capable of getting themselves into a position of power should on no account be allowed to do the job. Another problem with governing people is people."
Make sure your kids buckle up @ night.
No Child Left Behind is doing the opposite.
xoites defends Constitution @ 100:
HAHAHAHAHA.
Tequila @ 107:
CLICK-IT OR TICKET, a.k.a. the summer fundraising drive...
If all they did was check for seatbelt use at the nationwide roadblocks ("your papers, please..."), I might be less cynical. They have the tow trucks on standby right there at the roadblock, how convenient! Anyone who says I'm too paranoid has obviously never been arrested on a warrant that didn't exist (they call it 'computer error'). Better yet, wait till it's happened to you more than once.
Bush, Cheney traitors and war criminals.
Impeach, Indict, Convict, Try for War Crimes.
The BBC version as well as the BBC's version of Marvin the clinically depressed robot were both FAR superior to that lame movie version that came out a few years back.
Hannity doesn't not what Neo-conservative means
Bush had to ask his dad in 2006
Ian @ 111:
My personal favorite are the radio drama's.
chris [not the troll] @ 109:
I don't think you're paranoid. Local business owners started a class action suit against the mayor and police last year over the "random inspections" they were doing in the middle of down town. They rented a mobile inspection truck, parked it down town and then stopped every single person who passed. They'd jack up your car, find all kinds of violations and leave your car there until you paid their fines.
Basically black mail. Didn't matter if you had a legitimate, up to date inspection sticker on your car. If you complained they threatened to arrest the person who inspected your car.
The lawsuit forced them to stop.
Now they've got the cops stopping people for charity drives. In the middle of a busy street, no where near an intersection. They create a traffic problem so they can collect money for charities. Utter crap.
Peter G @ 82:
I agree. I expect that was their contingency plan all along. It's probably their contingency for everything. It certainly seems to be. No matter how limp and pathetic the attempt they're always trying to use "it's the dems fault" as their response to any criticism. My response is "Fine. You're both fired. Now get out."
As for the memory of the population, don't count on it.
It's only been 60 years since WWII, there are still living victims from the holocaust and yet we've got people who have no problem standing up and saying it never happened.
Not to mention that the grandson of a war profiteering, american nazi is currently the president.
I don't think it will take long for the reslugs to lie their way back into power. People WANT to be lied too and the bigger the lie, the more they seem to like it.
If gas weren't 4$ a gallon now do you think the general population would give a rats ass about what shrub co. is doing in the middle east?
seananomie @ 81:
I don't know. I like what the left head says... but that skull on the right seems to have a screw loose.
John McCain's Lobbyists (the list)
Posted May 19, 2008 | 04:39 PM (EST)
Listening to the McCain campaign talk about lobbyists over the last few days I was reminded of that scene from Casablanca between Rick and Captain Renault. Renault expresses faux outrage over gambling.
Captain Renault: I'm shocked, shocked to find that gambling is going on in here!
[a croupier hands Renault a pile of money]
Croupier: Your winnings, sir.
Captain Renault: [sotto voce] Oh, thank you very much.
[aloud]
Captain Renault: Everybody out at once!
The McCain campaign's response to their recent McLobbyist scandals is just as fake.
To date, John McCain has 118 lobbyists either working or raising money for him. So far, he's fired only three of them:
Eric Robert Burgeson
Douglas B. Davenport
Thomas Loeffler
This is hardly even a slap on the wrist.
The remaining 115 lobbyists make millions working for special interests in Washington. They represent all kinds of industries like health insurance companies, Big Pharma, defense contractors, and Telecom. They represent foreign regimes like Saudi Arabia, Nigeria and Burma. And they hold positions at the highest levels of the McCain campaign.
John McCain says he represents the American people, but the men and women Senator McCain has chosen to run his campaign have worked for years for special interests.
Here is the full list of the lobbyists working or raising money for John McCain:
Robert Aiken
Grant Aldonas
Philmore B. Anderson
Rebecca "Becky" Anderson
Stanton Anderson
Susan Auther Andres
Robert Asher
William J. Bailey III
William Ball III
David Beightol
Rhonda A. Bentz
Wayne Berman
Steve Betts
Charlie Black
Judy Black
Kirk Blalock
Carlos Bonilla
Christine Burgeson
Kerry Cammack
Kirsten Ardleigh Chadwick
Rob Chamberlin
Susan Charlton
John Clerici
Josephine "Jo" Cooper
James Courter
Bryan Cunningham
Alfonse D'Amato
Ashley Davis
Kurt Davis
Rick Davis
Mimi Dawson
John Diamond
Frank Donatelli
Melissa "Missy" Edwards
Kevin Fay
Christian Ferry
Chris Fidler
Thomas Jr. Fiorentino
Sally Furman
Samuel K. Geduldig
Ben Ginsberg
David Girard-di Carlo
Michael Glassner
Juleanna R. Glover Weiss
Phil Gramm
John Green
Janet M. Grissom
Wes Gullett
Kristen Gullott
Kent Hance
Robert Harding
Vicki Hart
Robert van Laer Hartwell
John D. Heubusch
Deborah Hohlt
Richard Hohlt
Gaylord T. Jr. Hughey
Peter Huntsman
Aleix Jarvis
Greg Jenner
Christine Jones
Nancy Johnson
Mary Kate Johnson
Ned Johnson
Charles N. Kahn III
Mike Kennedy
William Kilberg
Steve Kuykendall
William "Bill" Lesher
Jack Lichtenstein
Gail MacKinnon
Peter Madigan
Mary Mann
Paul Martino
Mary McAuliffe
John McGovern
Mike McKay
Timothy McKone
Alison H. McSlarrow
Kyle E. McSlarrow
Michael E. Meece
David A Metzner
Susan Molinari
John Munger
Ken Nahigian
Susan Nelson
Jack Oliver
Steve Perry
Nancy Mitchell Pfotenhauer
Steve Phillips
Elise Pickering
James L. Pitts
Timothy Powers
Anthony Principi
Michael Racy
Sloan W. Rappoport
James Rill
Steve Roman
Matt Salmon
Joseph Samora
Randy Scheunemann
Katie Stahl
Milly Stanges
Aquiles Suarez
Fife Symington
Jeri Thompson
Dirk W. Van Dongen
David Vennett
Raymond T. Jr. Wagner
Jeffrey Weiss
Richard "Dick" Wiley
Tony Williams
James Woolsey
Joseph Wright
Fred Zeidman
You can take a look at the people they worked for and the positions they hold within the McCain campaign over at http://www.McCainSource.com
Does John McCain actually expect us to believe that of the 115 lobbyists left, none of them will come back to the White House looking for favors if he gets elected?
xoites defends Constitution @ 100:
amazingly, the media blew off the killing of their own, even after the accounts of soldiers that they aimed and fired to "send a message".
Daily Reading pt 1....
Ice Core Data Reveals GHG Emissions at Highest Level in 800,000 Years - http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/05/ice-cores-emissions.php
Deniers 'skeptics'/Extinctionists....special kind of stupid.
Obama Expected to Hit Milestone in Tuesday’s Votes: "Barack Obama is poised to have a majority of pledged delegates after balloting in Kentucky and Oregon, but the situation is delicate as he tries to unify his party."
- http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/us/politics/20obama.html?_r=1&th&emc=t...
Obama 08
I Knew JFK, Says Gore Vidal, and Believe Me Obama’s the Better Leader: by Melvyn Bragg - http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/05/18/9041/
'Barack Obama's momentum continues unabated. Monday he received the support of five more super-delegates, with the campaign saying he is now 109 delegates from securing the nomination.'
- http://tpmelectioncentral.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/05/todays_superdele...
Q&A with Don Siegelman: 'I think this will make Watergate look like child's play' - http://www.annistonstar.com/showcase/2008/as-open-0518-mricks-8e18a0747.htm
It's all part of the same case. It started when Karl Rove's bag man, I call him, Jack Abramoff, started putting Indian casino money into Alabama to defeat me in 1998.
Shortly after I endorsed Al Gore in 1999, Karl Rove's client, the attorney general of Alabama (Bill Pryor) started an investigation.
It's much bigger than me because it's not just my case. This was not an isolated incident. This was a pernicious, political plan that was set in motion by Karl Rove to further his espoused dream of establishing a permanent Republican majority in this country, and what he left out was by any means necessary.
How bad is it for the GOP....Republicans To Campaign As Democrats - http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=5852
Embarrassed by three special election defeats over the last two months, all in supposedly deep red districts, Republicans apparently plan to campaign as Democrats this year.
This passage could have come out of virtually any Democratic campaign from 1992-2004, and reverses a long standing trend where Democrats have felt the need to campaign like Republicans over the past two decades.
It is another sign of realignment, as Republican narratives collapse and they are forced to campaign as Democrats in order to have any chance. Campaigning against "liberal elites" along with more recognizable conservative rhetoric just doesn't work for Republicans anymore.
Good news for democracy: 'The number of Republicans leaving Congress will cost the GOP millions of dollars in party-building funds for the fall congressional elections, campaign-finance records show.'
- http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-05-18-PAC_N.htm
Arianna Huffington, Hillary Clinton's Defeat: A Historic Triumph - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/hillary-clintons-defeat...
I see Hillary returning to the Senate with a newfound sense of purpose -- and power. With the presidency no longer in her sights -- at least for now -- she could become a commanding progressive force in the Senate.
Even though Rocky didn't win, he was ultimately seen as a triumphant figure. And that's how Hillary will be seen too. Once the disappointment fades and the cuts and bruises heal, the lasting impression will be one of glory, accomplishment, and profound impact.
Hers will have been a game-changing defeat.
Daily Reading pt 2...
The Fall of Conservatism: Have the Republicans run out of ideas? (Did they ever have any?) - http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/05/26/080526fa_fact_packer
Audacity in motion: When you fish in your own private, artificial lake on your 10-acre estate in Sedona, you're not a regular guy, John McBush. - http://www.americablog.com/2008/05/when-you-fish-in-your-private.html
Gambling with the futures - http://socialistworker.org/2008/05/19/gambling-with-futures
There are many causes of the global food crisis - the rising price of oil, profiteering on the part of the heavily subsidized agribusiness sector, increased use of corn in ethanol production, the damaging effects of free trade on small farmers and changing consumption patterns, and speculators driving up the prices of all commodities,
including wheat, corn, soy, etc., because of intense trading on what are known as futures markets. Writer Petrino DiLeo provides a primer on the financial markets in "futures"--and how speculation on futures is contributing to the global food crisis, answering basic questions such as: WHAT ARE futures? HOW ARE the prices determined?
WHAT'S WRONG with this picture? HOW IS this affecting food prices? WHAT'S THE outcome of all of this?
Congress $3.5 Million 'Bake Sale' For Boy Scouts Supports Bigotry vs. Atheists & Gays - http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/5/19/141159/259
Here's what Congress's new authorization of a $3.5 million dollar commemorative coin sale for the Boy Scouts will support: "...in the exercise of their constitutional right to bring the values of Scouting to youth members, the Boy Scouts of America will not employ atheists, agnostics, known or avowed homosexuals, or others as professional Scouters or in other capacities in which such employment would tend to interfere with the mission of reinforcing the values of the Scout Oath and the Scout Law in young people."
A private organization can have whatever beliefs and religious requirements it chooses to. That's their constitutional right. But Congress can absolutely not financially aid the Boy Scouts in the promotion of their beliefs and enforcement of their religious requirements by legislating a fundraiser for them!
Thanks to drdarkeny: It should come as no surprise that Lord Baden-Powell, the founder of the Boy Scouts, was a Fascist sympathizer - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Baden-Powell#Personal_life
Michael Moore discusses general plot of next film - http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2008/05/cannes-08-...
Another article - http://www.variety.com/vstory/VR1117985980.html?categoryId=38&cs=1&query...
The tentative title for Michael Moore’s next documentary is “While America Slept.” It’s not a movie about Ambien.
Warren Buffett endorses Obama for president: "I will be very happy if he is elected president." - http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080519/ts_alt_afp/germanyusinvestpoliticsb...
McCain targeted for opposing vets college aid bill - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080520/ap_on_el_pr/mccain_veterans;_ylt=Aov...
"I have great respect for John McCain's service to this country and I know he loves it dearly and honors those who serve," Obama said. "But he is one of the few senators of either party who oppose this bill because he thinks it's too generous. I couldn't disagree more."
Words to be used in the bush Legacy statements.
Inept
Obdurate
Cowboyish (sic)
Swaggering
Stumbling
Ungrammatical
Pejorative
Adamant
Care to add any?
Clinton: Karl Rove analysis supports me as strongest candidate
David Edwards and Mike Sheehan
Published: Monday May 19, 2008
At a campaign stop in Prestonburg, Kentucky, Sen. Hillary Clinton said that an election analysis by a firm led by Karl Rove supports the argument that she is a stronger Democratic candidate than Sen. Barack Obama.
Said Clinton, "There've been a lot of analysis [sic] about which of us is stronger to win against Sen. McCain, and I believe I am the stronger candidate. And just today I found some curious support for that position when one of the TV networks released an analysis done by -- of all people -- Karl Rove saying that I was the stronger candidate. Somebody got a hold of his analysis and there it is."
Clinton also claimed that she now has won more votes "to be nominated" than anyone in either party has ever garnered in a White House run.
♠Bangkok-Bob♠ @ 119:
dumb
stupid
drunk
drugged
misanthrope
dullard
buffoon
warmonger
idiot
groper
*thinks to self: this is too easy*
Hillary needs 98% of the remaining super delegates to win the nomination. ±Bill.
... and don't forget to pack a towel.
I'm late to the party with this one but I just found it.
http://www.geekologie.com/2008/05/rc_helicockter_interrupts_russ.php
Basically someone took the flying bits from a remote controlled helicopter, cleverly installed them into a penis shaped housing and then attacked Kasparov with it at a press conference.
Weird and funny. Well, funny to the observer.
MargeA @124. Thanks - that gave me a big laugh. It looks like that guy is wearing it on his, er, head.
I would love to see that happen ata Dick Cheney speech. :)
xoites defends Constitution @ 126:
LOL!!!
The possibility for dick jokes would multiply by a factor of ten!!
>> Every problem ever faced by anyone, in my humble opinion, was addressed by the late Douglas Adams
You can see the big disconnect between C&L and the concerns of average people in that remark.
Same disconnect comes through in their defense of illegal immigrants which have just been devastating to the working poor.
CoIntelPro@120:
Clinton: Karl Rove analysis supports me as strongest candidate
David Edwards and Mike Sheehan
Published: Monday May 19, 2008
At a campaign stop in Prestonburg, Kentucky, Sen. Hillary Clinton said that an election analysis by a firm led by Karl Rove supports the argument that she is a stronger Democratic candidate than Sen. Barack Obama.
Said Clinton, “There’ve been a lot of analysis [sic] about which of us is stronger to win against Sen. McCain, and I believe I am the stronger candidate. And just today I found some curious support for that position when one of the TV networks released an analysis done by — of all people — Karl Rove saying that I was the stronger candidate. Somebody got a hold of his analysis and there it is.”
Clinton also claimed that she now has won more votes “to be nominated” than anyone in either party has ever garnered in a White House run.
- - - - -
Speech by HR Clinton, (R-NY) -- 5/19/08
- - - - -
Another word to add to Busholini's "legacy" = FAILURE!
bob @ 128:
Illegal immigrants are working poor.
I do like how you can turn the positive trait of caring about immigrants into a negative "You just want to hurt the working poor". Never mind that the shrub co. crime family has spent 7 years turning the "working poor" into chum. He's actually hiding his deep personal commitment to them. Or is that to getting rid of them?
Dr. Acula @ 130:
shrub is the poster child for abortion. They used to call him the 'anti-christ' until they realized that was insulting to the prince of darkness.
>> llegal immigrants are working poor.
I do like how you can turn the positive trait of caring about immigrants into a negative “You just want to hurt the working poor”. Never mind that the shrub co. crime family has spent 7 years turning the “working poor” into chum. He’s actually hiding his deep personal commitment to them. Or is that to getting rid of them?
_______________________
See what i mean.
Poor working AMERICANS (see the difference Einstein) are the ones who suffer when illegals drive down wages.
But lip service is the only expression of concern given to them.
There is a lot of talk about elitism these days but no better example of it than the kind you just witnessed.
For decades hard core leftys like myself undestood just how bad scabs were for the american worker. Even Ceaser Chavez held protests against the use illegal immigrant labor.
But now we are enlightened to the fact that scabs are actually a good thing.
bob @ 133:
I'm glad you are enlightened about scabs. At least that's something you can be proud of. Congrats.
>> I’m glad you are enlightened about scabs. At least that’s something you can be proud of. Congrats
_______________________
Impressive non response.
You wouldn't have a problem addressing the concerns of poor working americans if you were a little more in touch with them i suppose.
The way you just brush them off is quite revealing.
I'll stick with Ceaser Chavez.
He knew what he was talking about cause he actually walked the walk on the picket lines like myself (I tried to unionize some of the poorest full time working women in the NYC area)
Barack McCain On Iran
bob @ 137:
I may be nonresponsive but at least I don't claim psychic abilities. You know all about me? wow. Amazing. Truly you are an inspiration oh great knower of all things and fighter for the poor working AMERICAN poor... you know, the only ones who count.
bob @ 135:
USA! USA! USA! GOOOOOOOoooo TEAM!! My team is better than your team; my skin color is better than your skin color; we are civilized and refined but those people are primitive savages therefore we must convert the ones we can and kill the rest, for their own good...
It starts out innocently enough with waving a flag, but where does it end?
US President George W Bush apologises over the shooting of a Koran by a US soldier, the White House confirms.
Appeaser, Bastard! Wait untill McPoopstain hears about this!
Hey last poster, what do you make out about Japan paying the victim compensation, just doesn't add up does it.
Ahmadinejad DID NOT threaten to “wipe Israel off the map.” and Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said, “We have no problem with the world. We are not a threat whatsoever to the world, and the world knows it. We will never start a war. We have no intention of going to war with any state.” Please see this video and pass it on.
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