ThinkFast: April 19, 2006
ThinkFast: April 19, 2006
An EPA press release this week declared: “The Bush Administration has an unparalleled financial, international and domestic commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.” Meanwhile, British climate scientists have released figures showing the United States “emitted more greenhouse gases in 2004 than at any time in history, confirming its status as the world’s biggest polluter.”
Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) has proposed an amendment to the Higher Education Act that would allow private Christian colleges to legally reject students merely because of their sexual orientation.
“Despite more than four years of legislation, executive orders and presidential directives,†a Government Accountability Office report finds that the Bush administration has “yet to comprehensively improve sharing of counterterrorism information.”
A new consumer report finds that in California, “corporate markups and profiteering are responsible for spring [gas] price spikes, not rising crude costs or the national switchover to higher-cost ethanol, as the oil industry claims.”
35%: President Bush’s approval rating, which “slipped for the third consecutive month and remains near the lowest mark of his presidency, according to a new Harris Interactive poll.”
Intel on the internets. “The new Open Source Center (OSC) at CIA headquarters recently stepped up data collection and analysis based on bloggers worldwide.†OSC Director Douglas Naquin: “A lot of blogs now have become very big on the Internet, and we’re getting a lot of rich information on blogs that are telling us a lot… people [are] putting information on there that doesn’t exist anywhere else.â€
Though U.S.-funded power and sanitation plants sit unfinished or unutilized, there’s “one U.S. construction effort in Iraq that’s right on schedule“: the $592 million U.S. embassy, which will be the size of about 80 football fields.
In 2005, the median executive compensation package among the nation’s 100 largest companies soared 25% to $17.9 million, dwarfing the 3.1% average gain by typical U.S. workers.
“The brand-name drug industry is aggressively working to keep blockbuster drugs widely used by the elderly from being sold in cheaper generic versions when their patents expire.†The roadblocks could cost seniors and the Medicare system $23 billion in potential savings. Meanwhile, Pfizer beat forecasts and earned over $4 billion in profits last quarter.
Why immigration reform isn’t enough: “Acknowledging immigration’s impact on low-skilled workers is not a call to close U.S. borders. … Rather, it is recognition that, as with aspects of trade, we need to offset the harm that tends to concentrate on those who are already most vulnerable to economic change.”
And finally: 欢迎访问星巴克ä¸å›½ç½‘ç«™ (Or, if you prefer, “Welcome to Starbucks.”): “If I were not serving in this office, I would certainly prefer to go into one of the coffee shops run by Starbucks,” said Chinese President Hu Jintao yesterday during his visit in Seattle.
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) has proposed an amendment to the Higher Education Act that would allow private Christian colleges to legally reject students merely because of their sexual orientation.
Jesus must be spinning in his grave…
April 19th, 2006 at 9:08 amHow on earth can approval of Monkeyboy remain in the 30s?? I guess this shows the power of bullshit from sources like Faux “News”, Rush, and other purveyors of hate in the conservative-biased media. Not sure about you but I’d certainly like to find out who these 35 percent are and make sure they are incapable of reproducing.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:08 am“Rep. Chris Cannon (R-UT) has proposed an amendment to the Higher Education Act that would allow private Christian colleges to legally reject students merely because of their sexual orientation.”
If their private can’t they already do that?
Also, if the pharmacies had to switch to generics earlier, they would lose a large portion of their R&D budget.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:13 amIf their private can’t they already do that?
Comment by squegeeboo — April 19, 2006 @ 9:13 am
Can your job do that? Same difference.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:15 am#1 Jesus must be spinning in his grave…
Jebus dosn’t have a corporeal body, he ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand side of his father, our lord god.
So no spinning for him, which is good, I hear he gets motion sickness easily.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:16 amEven CNN continues to cover for Lieboy. I listened to their little top of the hour rundown of the news on the radio this a.m. where they tried to convince listeners that everything is hunky-dory. “The stock market rose 200 points yesterday…Bush is meeting with some dude from China…Everything is fine here in ‘murka, go back to watching reality teevee and enjoy your lite beer.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:18 amC’mon! Jesus was all about discrimination, blaming the poor, ignoring the sick, enriching the wealthy, bombing the crap out of people with oil under their feet, etc. Ain’t you read the New Testament?
April 19th, 2006 at 9:20 amJebus dosn’t have a corporeal body, he ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand side of his father, our lord god.
I don’t subscribe to that theory. I think he was a philosopher at a time when people were desperate for The Saviour of Old Testament prophecy, and they turned a sage man into an idol – despite his refusal that he was any more the son of god than anyone else. Those words of his have been denounced by organized religion because it threatens their existence.
So no spinning for him, which is good, I hear he gets motion sickness easily.
Comment by squegeeboo — April 19, 2006 @ 9:16 am
Yeah? That in the Bible somewhere? :)
April 19th, 2006 at 9:20 amAin’t you read the New Testament?
Comment by Preznit Pinhead — April 19, 2006 @ 9:20 am
Yeah, but I guess my English must not be as good as yours :)
April 19th, 2006 at 9:24 am#8 “I don’t subscribe to that theory. ”
And that’s why your gonna be burning in hell, don’t worry though, I’ll save you a good seat.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:24 amUtah…hmmmm…that’s the state that allows polygamy..(they look the other way). Want to comment on the sean hate-a-tee.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:25 amCURLEW – The polls remain “high” for Bush because they are blue state polls. They also poll only registered republican voters.
Just about all of the polls have made every effort they can think of to get the numbers higher, but with negative results.
I talked with a lady who works for one of the major polling firms who told me confidentially that they advertised that 1035 people had been polled when in fact they had thrown out about 140 responses because the Bush number would have been much lower than the 37 percent they ended up giving him.
I would love to see someone sue Fox for their polling results and for an explanation of how they reach their final number. I can assure you that it would be very, very revealing.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:29 amAnd that’s why your gonna be burning in hell, don’t worry though, I’ll save you a good seat.
Comment by squegeeboo — April 19, 2006 @ 9:24 am
Gee, thanks :)
Though, with the character of the people who are running around declaring that they are going to Heaven, I think that place will be the real Hell. Can yo imagine eternity with Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Dick-tator Cheney, G.W., Hitler, and Mighty Aphrodite? That’s real Hell.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:31 amOops, excuse me, should read RED STATE POLLS.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:32 amhow the hell can the oil companies still be making record profits and it appears no one is doing jack shit about it!?!? the economic effect of $5/gal will devastate the middle class, if we survive the next act of war by this administration. what happened to the oil excutives testimony in congress? apparently barry bonds steriod use is more stunning than the monster profits going to exxon, etc. it’s so frustrating to feel like we can do nothing! any one got any bright ideas?
April 19th, 2006 at 9:32 amOops, excuse me, should read RED STATE POLLS.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:33 am#15 hotfroggy+
They may be making record profits, but their profit margin is largely unchanged.
If you want to see prices go down, you need to get your congress peoples to support alternative fuel development, and drilling for more oil in places like ANWR and along the gulf. However, except for speculation pricing those wouldnt have any effect for at least a year, due to the time frame it would take to actually begin accessing those energy sources.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:37 amBREAKING NEWS!
Scottie McClellan has turned in his resignation and is stepping down. Guess he just ran out of lies to tell in order to defend ever bigger lies.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:39 amany one got any bright ideas?
Comment by hotfroggy+ — April 19, 2006 @ 9:32 am
As a prelude to pitchforks and torches storming Capital Hill? Anti-incumbent in November for starters. Fire the guys we hired to represent us for not representing us, and hope for quality Independents with no ties to either corrupt party. Repeat again in 2008.
I just don’t trust the emotional public to carry this out. Kinda like Jefferson, Paine and Franklin.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:41 amGood morning Unbelievable – you’ll know for sure you’re in hell when regardless of the web address you enter it directs you to Lisa’s blog:)
April 19th, 2006 at 9:42 amdrilling for more oil in places like ANWR and along the gulf.
Comment by squegeeboo — April 19, 2006 @ 9:37 am
No! No! No! Not an option. Even if it were, it’s about 3 months of oil. Not worth the devistation to the reserve or the life that inhabits it. Ethanol is a preferable option.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:44 amGood morning Unbelievable – you’ll know for sure you’re in hell when regardless of the web address you enter it directs you to Lisa’s blog:)
Comment by Quadrajet — April 19, 2006 @ 9:42 am
Good morning Quadrajet!
Oh. My. God. I’d hoped that that nut was just a bad dream! What a serious fruitcake! Yes, ANY time around that freak would be Hell. :) Let’s hope she doesn’t come back.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:47 amAlso, if the pharmacies had to switch to generics earlier, they would lose a large portion of their R&D budget.
Comment by squegeeboo
Who cares. If they cant figure out how to make it worth their time they should move into the hamburger business. Then the people will have no choice but to setup nonprofits or government programs to make the medicines.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:49 am#23
Gerald, the US leads in pharmacutical development because of the profit that can be had in it. With out that profit their would be a much slower pace of development, which would mean more deaths/suffering that could have been averted.
If it’s a nonprofit, how does it absorb the loss from lawsuits? And for the gov’t part, I’m not a huge fan of gov’t in general, so anything not in their hands tends to make me happy.
April 19th, 2006 at 9:58 amGood Morning Unbelievable and all, I agree with you on post 19 and 21……Did any one else see Rummy all over the news coverage yesterday.? Notice the Dem’s were absent as usual.?…..
I to wonder about the phoney polls. How many here have ever been called on a poll.?….One more thing on the oil issue, besides conserving and alternative fuel no one has mentioned how many oil well’s we have here that are capped, just waiting with the oil as a savings account as it were…..Haven’t see a word written on that in years. We buy it cheap, they say from foreign companies, Exxon/Mobil still has not paid for the Valdeze mess only for attorneys to stop the courts and country collecting for the clean up…. Iraq was going to support their rebuilding with oil, Iraq war was only going to be a few months long. With so many lies about everything how can we survive and prosper………By,By Scotty, and were gonna miss ya to…..Not…….LOL…Blessings
April 19th, 2006 at 10:03 amHi Sharon, How are you? I agree with you as well. Too bad we can get the politicians on board with our way of thinking, huh? :)
April 19th, 2006 at 10:06 amHi Sharon, How are you? I agree with you as well. Too bad we can’t get the politicians on board with our way of thinking, huh? :)
April 19th, 2006 at 10:06 amHas anyone else noticed the threads being more civil then normal over the past few days?
April 19th, 2006 at 10:08 amthanks squegeeboo! i usually won’t bother posting to a site where someone is on a rant! how can we progress if we are debating instead of working at real dialog? glad snotty is going! bush/rove will probably just replace him with someone slicker and more polished. so when do we get to replace the white press core with actual reporters, who ask real questions?!
April 19th, 2006 at 10:19 am#3 – Yes, private universities (that do NOT receive government funding) can legally discriminate against anyone for just about any reason. Of course, gays are the only minority that are still “fashionable” to discriminate against.
#28 – Yes, they have been relatively civil lately. I can only attribute this to lower than average “trolling”, or the that most people are sick (AND tired) of being rude to the point of incivility.
April 19th, 2006 at 10:21 am#15…unfortunately…
drugs = bad
unethical profits = good
its capatilism baby
April 19th, 2006 at 10:23 amHow to start a war with Iran
April 19th, 2006 at 10:28 amI want to post here I have definite proof that Iran has nuclear weapons, as of 8:33am today.
or
CIA mines ‘rich’ content from blogs
Back at ya, Unbelievable. doing well, still above ground, signing patitions and putting more anti Bush bumper stickers on the old pick up. This is day 2 of no rain since forever, it seems. Gonna play in the dirt and hug some new little trees today….How about you.?…….Blessings
April 19th, 2006 at 10:32 amHere’s my take on the ongoing civil war in Iraq. If we cant tell who is shooting at whom, its time to get out.
April 19th, 2006 at 10:56 amSomeone has to pay for those business executives’ gigantic, secure, riskless compensation packages that are worth 1000 lifetimes.
WWJD
April 19th, 2006 at 11:10 amThere are somegood books out on religion for those who have open minds and and want to understand how those that use religion are more about gaining power/money than Christianity. “American Gospel” by Jon Meacham; “American Theorcracy” by Kevin Phillips; “What Jesus Meant” by Garry Wills.
Interesting read on Zinni, one of those 6 retired generals critizing Rummy.
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=49796
Then
“Zinni told Congress in 2000, “Iraq remains the most significant near-term threat to U.S. interests in the Arabian Gulf region.”
The general told lawmakers that Iraq “probably is continuing clandestine nuclear research, [and] retains stocks of chemical and biological munitions.” ”
Now
April 19th, 2006 at 11:11 am“What bothered me … [was that] I was hearing a depiction of the intelligence that didn’t fit what I knew. There was no solid proof, that I ever saw, that Saddam had WMD.”
#36 – I do understand what you’re talking about. The seeming “flip-flop” of the past comments of the criticizing retired generals will be big news to pro-administration talking heads.
I just wish that the MSM would talk about the plethora of flip-flops concerning Pres. Bush and his administration.
Question for you: why do you believe the retired generals are publicly criticizing Sec. Rumsfeld?
April 19th, 2006 at 11:31 am#37
I’m sure most are doing it out of actual concern for the troops and to highlight the percieved F ups of the administration.
But I’m also think thatt 1 or 2 are doing it for publicity, perhaps for a book deal or some such thing.
April 19th, 2006 at 11:43 am#38 – Despite our differences in politics, we do see eye-to-eye on a number of things!
I just might get my ‘liberal’ membership revoked for that statement! ;-)
April 19th, 2006 at 12:07 pm#39 No fair, thats my line to use.
I’m actually a conservative libertarian, but it seems to spur the conversations better when I claim to be a hardcore neocon. And I might actually vote that way in novemeber as opposed to my normal party vote with how fed up I am with the repub establishment.
April 19th, 2006 at 12:21 pmIt’s funny that all these people like (Squeegee) can proclaim who’s going to hell or heaven. For all we know, God may have a real problem with people who make these assumptions.
April 19th, 2006 at 12:24 pm#40 for clarification, vote libertarian, as opposed to republican, not the other way around, I just reread it, and it dosnt seem clear.
#41 Your going to hell for claiming that I can’t know whos going to hell or not. Trust me, I’m down with the JC. We play cards every other thursday.
April 19th, 2006 at 12:32 pmI’ve been to a Starbucks in China. When I was visiting Shanghai, I visited the lone Starbucks they had on the city’s West Bank. Ordered an orange juice. $2 American, if I recall. Just like any other damn Starbucks.
First time I ever bought anything from a Starbucks, and likely the last…
http://www.starbucksunion.org/
April 19th, 2006 at 2:10 pm#42 – LOL!!!!
By the way, I was talking with Hey-suse (Jesus with a New Mexican accent) last night and he doesn’t recall your card games. Are you sure you’ve got the right one?
Then I was talking with God, and She’s pissed that Her son didn’t remember you. Who can forget a character like you!
Oh well. I’ll keep an eye out for you when we get blown to kindom-come when Iran hits us with all those nukes they’ve been building over the last week or so. ;-)
April 19th, 2006 at 2:29 pm(By the bye, I’ve been enjoying the recent repartee!)
#44
You’ve got to mix politics with humor, otherwise you get all serious and grouchy like ryan neat.
I was also talking with Hey-suse, but hes just the floor cleaner at my job, apparently being the son of god dosn’t count for much these days.
April 19th, 2006 at 3:01 pmReverend Doomsday
According to Tim LaHaye, the Apocalypse is now It might seem unlikely that the commander in chief would take his marching orders directly from on high — unless you understand the views of the Rev. Timothy LaHaye, one of the most influential leaders of the Christian right, and a man who played a quiet but pivotal role in putting George W. Bush in the White House. If you know LaHaye at all, it’s for his series of best-selling apocalyptic novels. You’ve seen the Left Behind novels everywhere: aboard airplanes, at the beach, in massive displays at Wal-Mart. In the nine years since the publication of the first novel, the series has sold 60 million copies. Next to the authors of the Bible itself, who didn’t get royalties, LaHaye is Christianity’s biggest publishing success ever.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/5939999/reverend_doomsday?rnd=1145452206906&has-player=true&version=6.0.8.1024
April 19th, 2006 at 3:38 pmThough, with the character of the people who are running around declaring that they are going to Heaven, I think that place will be the real Hell. Can yo imagine eternity with Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Dick-tator Cheney, G.W., Hitler, and Mighty Aphrodite? That’s real Hell.
Comment by unbelievable
Don’t worry about you’re going to be left on your behind with the likes of Ryan the Angry Transvestite and probably me if I don’t change my ways.
It saddens me to say that this is something I don’t think you’ll have to worry about.
April 19th, 2006 at 4:41 pmIt saddens me to say that this is something I don’t think you’ll have to worry about.
Comment by I-RIGHT-I — April 19, 2006 @ 4:41 pm
Sweetpea, if you could get past the fear adhering you to all of that archaic rhetoric, you’d know that there is no Hell, no judgment and probably no after life. All signs indicate that this is all there is, or there’s something else just like this. If there’s a god, we do not understand him. He will not abandon his children for being the human beings that they are anymore than any decent parent ever would. It’s just not logical. You don’t intentionally hurt those that yo love. You forgive them, and that is just what we mere mortals do. Imagine yuor capacity for love and forgiveness if you were eternal?
I’m a relatively good person. Sure I like to verbally accost stupid women, but I don’t consider that up there with murder, child abuse or physical assault with a deadly weapon.
You’re a good person, even if you refuse to accept that and I’m the only one you know who sees it. : )
I know it’s hard. We’ve been culturally indoctrinated to believe the tennents of our religions, and questioning it is taboo. But, I am more certain now than I ever was before. I always questioned religious beliefs. Always. Now, I am certain that people like us would not go to Hell for anything we’ve done. I think there has to be malicious intention for something to be evil. You have to be someone who willingly hurts others to be evil. That applies to very, very few people.
Look, I appreciate where you’re coming from. More than I expresss. And I think it’s sweet that you worry about me. Very sweet. It’s probably why I over look all the dirty old man commentary you make, actually. But, I’m just not afraid. I don’t think I have anything to be afraid of. And neither do you. I know we disagree on that. I wish we didn’t. But, if you want to prove to me that there is a God, then it can only come from love and compassion. i don’t do fear and I don’t do exclusion. Sorry.
April 19th, 2006 at 5:04 pmGene Sperling’s article “Let’s do immigration right” deserves a post of its own with significant quotations. It is possibly the most rational article on the subject that I have read.
I found his argument missed one significant piece of cause and effect reasoning. In almost every instance where Sperling uses the terms ‘increased immigration’ or ‘illegal immigration’ he could substitute the terms ‘decline of organized labor’ or ‘non-union workforce.’
This is a link that has not yet been recognized, at least not in my regular reading on the issue. Immigration is not bad, a point which Sterling and every progressive firmly believes, ‘undocumented workers’ are, and not just because of their impact on taxes and services, but because of the difficulty ‘undocumented workers’ face when they try to mobilize or unionize.
Raising the minimum wage is certainly a way to benefit low-wage, low-skill workers. If the 10-12 million ‘undocumented workers’ in this country were free to mobilize or, call me crazy, had the vote, then maybe the minimum wage could be turned into a livable wage.
April 19th, 2006 at 5:31 pm3 & 30: Of course this would also mean that the students of these universities would not be elgible for any federal financial aid programs, including student loans, unless the laws are changed to allow this kind of overt discrimination. Since 75 % of the students recieve some form of aid (usually in the form of federally backed loans) the odds are that all of these schools are benefiting from some federal program in place.
April 19th, 2006 at 5:38 pmAddition:
GM pays for viagra
Okay, we have all heard the reports that we pay an extra $1500 to $2000 for GM cars. In a car town, you hear about the perks and the triple pay on holidays, and we’ve seen them in the doctors waiting room bragging about how much they didn’t have to pay for any part of healthcare, while our parents, who worked very hard all their lives, were paying for it all, having tried to buy supplement insurance but failing because they had one of the six listed pre-existing conditions. I’ve felt conflicted about buying GM cars, paying for someone elses healthcare, while we were struggling without it ourselves. Compassion can only go so far, and you have to do what you have to do to survive yourself.
This was the straw that broke the camels back though:
GM is the largest purchaser of Viagra so says the news. We pay more for a GM cars not for an organ transpant or a life saving procedure, but so someone can get his *ick up. Well, it certainly seems like they have given it to us. It is the principle here. Shame on them!
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