ThinkFast: March 26, 2008
Heavy fighting continued for a second day in two of Iraq’s largest cities as Iraqi security forces clashed with militias connected to Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr. In the southern city of Basra, 40 people have been killed and 200 wounded, according to a spokesman for the Iraqi military. In response, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has issued a 72-hour ultimatum for gunmen in Basra to surrender.
“Sixteen months after voters in Michigan voted to kill affirmative action in the public sphere,” opponents of the program “are pushing five more states to ban the practice.” Led by long-time anti-affirmative action activist Ward Connerly, petitions are circulating in Colorado, Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma and Nebraska. Connerly says he has raised “about $1.5 million for the campaigns.”
Air Force lawyer Col. Morris Davis, “who quit as chief prosecutor for the Guantanamo Bay war court five months ago because of what he called political interference has asked to leave the U.S. military.” Morris said that “he submitted retirement papers last week, because of fallout from his criticism of the Guantanamo court and because of family concerns.”
Scientists said yesterday that a chunk of ice seven times the size of Manhattan collapsed off the Wilkins Ice Shelf in western Antarctica. “The event is a result of global warming, said British Antarctic Survey scientist David Vaughan.”
A new analysis by Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. finds that “Wall Street banks, brokerages and hedge funds may report $460 billion in credit losses from the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, or almost four times the amount already disclosed.”
The USA Today writes that the different proposals among the candidates’ health plans boil down to three issues: “Who gets health insurance, how should they get it and who pays.” “McCain’s ideas could continue to leave millions of people without insurance, they say, and could increase the number of employers dropping or limiting health plans.”
Exxon Mobil has “regained the mantle as the world’s biggest company by market value,” overtaking PetroChina Co. Exxon raked in $40.6 billion in profits last year, “the biggest ever for a U.S. company.”
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) wants to scrap the 2005 Real ID Act, the anti-terrorism law that “mandated that states adopt uniform federal standards for driver’s licenses.” “It wasn’t properly considered in the Senate, it creates a national ID card, and it’s a massive unfunded mandate,” he said.
And finally: A new study by the New England Historic Genealogical Society finds that both Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL) have famous relatives. Clinton is distantly related to Angelina Jolie, Madonna, Celine Dion, and Jack Kerouac, whereas Obama has ties to both Bushes, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry Truman and James Madison. McCain is a sixth cousin of First Lady Laura Bush, but is not, as he has claimed in the past, related to the Scottish king Robert the Bruce.
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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Terrorism money is still flowing
Information edited from:
March 26th, 2008 at 8:57 amhttp://www.latimes.com/ news/ nationworld/ nation/ la-na-terror24mar24,0,6479310,print.story
The last paragraph of my post #1 should’ve read…
One African official, asked why his government hadn’t distributed printed copies of U.S. mandated blocking orders said his office was allowed only one printer cartridge a month and didn’t want to waste it.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:01 amSome time ago I criticized this blog site for not discussing some foreign affairs problems. I was told that this site is dedicated to domestic affairs. If that were true, I would have no problem, but the first reference today it to Iraq. I don’t mind the inclusion, but the site seems to have focus problems.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:08 amI believe that is the Wilkes ice shelf. Just FYI.
Cheers,
March 26th, 2008 at 9:10 amcaredmanI
It’s only a matter of time, Kerry Troll, before you’re booted out of here.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:11 amcaredmanI Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 9:06 am
“affirmative action killed”
About damn time!!
Except for white people. How thoroughly racist the right is.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:11 amOh. It is the Wilkins Ice Shelf. Nevermind….
Cheers,
March 26th, 2008 at 9:12 amBearCountry Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 9:13 amMarch 26th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Some time ago I criticized this blog site for not discussing some foreign affairs problems. I was told that this site is dedicated to domestic affairs. If that were true, I would have no problem, but the first reference today it to Iraq. I don’t mind the inclusion, but the site seems to have focus problems.
———————-
TP has all kinds of inconsistencies. However, they have expanded their coverage in several areas, including the environment.
Good morning, snarkers.
BearCounty; if you do not like the threads at TP, you are perfectly free to leave and not come back.
Caredman; go Cheney yourself.
With that out of the way, I want to mention that to have 47 million people in this country without having any health insurance is a moral abomination.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:13 amMorris said that “he submitted retirement papers last week, because of fallout from his criticism of the Guantanamo court and because of family concerns.”
I’m wondering if the family concerns were that he just wanted to keep them amongst the living.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:14 amClinton comparing Wright’s comments to Imus!?!?!
I know, Senator, you’re still dealing with the fallout from the Bosnia misrespresenspeakingmispoking, but Wright’s comments are backed by facts and inflamed by the right, while Imus’ was pure harassment.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:15 amWar planes off Alaska
March 26th, 2008 at 9:15 amI just watched part of the NYT ombudsman ton Washington Journal. He certainly is not really going out on a limb to criticize the NYT. He also seems to be somewhat behind on the news. One caller asked him if there were stories that the newspaper did not cover that it should have. The caller suggested Sibel Edmonds and then was mysteriously disconnected. Hoyt, the ombudsman, did not know who she is, and that there were no stories that should have been covered that weren’t.
I don’t read the NYT because it is too pompous and self-absorbed so I don’t see all of the good work that they do, such as Judy Miller and Michael Cooper’s coverage of Iraq. I would ask, however, how much coverage was given to the Winter Soldier meeting and how was the mccain “misspeaking” on the Shia-Sunni connection with Iran?
March 26th, 2008 at 9:17 am#11: That was my first thought as well.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:17 am#12: She’s desparate.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:17 amIn response, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has issued a 72-hour ultimatum for gunmen in Basra to surrender.
Surrender, or I’ll send my men out to kill you. Oh wait, that’s how this whole fight started. Never mind…
Maliki is starting to sound like Bush.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:18 amMorris said that “he submitted retirement papers last week, because of fallout from his criticism of the Guantanamo court and because of family concerns.”
And once he leaves the military, he will be free to speak his mind. Hopefully he blows the whistle on what’s going on at Guantanamo.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:19 amScientists said yesterday that a chunk of ice seven times the size of Manhattan collapsed off the Wilkins Ice Shelf in western Antarctica. “The event is a result of global warming, said British Antarctic Survey scientist David Vaughan.”
Now this is getting scary. Have we reached the point of no return?
March 26th, 2008 at 9:20 amRegarding the subprime mortgage mess. These banks do have a way out of this mess. Simply freeze the homeowners interest at a rate they can afford to pay. The banks won’t continue to make huge profits, but they won’t be losing their shirts either. I wonder why they haven’t considered that?
March 26th, 2008 at 9:23 amcaredmanI Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 9:06 am
“affirmative action killed”
About damn time!!
I think your priorities are misplaced
Study notes weaker performance among legacies
http://www.cavalierdaily.com/ CVArticle.asp?ID=29856&pid=1569
March 26th, 2008 at 9:23 am“McCain’s ideas could continue to leave millions of people without insurance, they say, and could increase the number of employers dropping or limiting health plans.”
And would continue to be a boon for the for-profit Health insurance companies.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:24 amExxon Mobil has “regained the mantle as the world’s biggest company by market value,” overtaking PetroChina Co. Exxon raked in $40.6 billion in profits last year, “the biggest ever for a U.S. company.”
And they made this money by price-gouging the American people. They should be ashamed of themselves. Hopefully President Obama will do something about this travesty.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:25 amDream on racist
March 26th, 2008 at 9:25 amBilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 9:27 amMarch 26th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Regarding the subprime mortgage mess. These banks do have a way out of this mess. Simply freeze the homeowners interest at a rate they can afford to pay. The banks won’t continue to make huge profits, but they won’t be losing their shirts either. I wonder why they haven’t considered that?
——————–
I believe the Democrats brought forth legislation to allow homeowners to bring their cases before bankruptcy judges and allow them to work out favorable agreements. Freezing rates would be an option. I’m not sure where the legislation stands.
Bilbo Hussein Baggins Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 9:24 am
Convene a meeting of the nations corporate accountants! That’ll solve problems!
(Honestly, what the hell is this man talking about?)
March 26th, 2008 at 9:28 amSen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) wants to scrap the 2005 Real ID Act, the anti-terrorism law that “mandated that states adopt uniform federal standards for driver’s licenses.” “It wasn’t properly considered in the Senate, it creates a national ID card, and it’s a massive unfunded mandate,” he said.
Wow, and from a Republican no less. Good on you Alexander. I have often wondered why the Democrats have sat idly by and allowed this to happen. Real ID was slipped into a Tsunami relief bill at the very last second after it was defeated as a stand-alone bill. This is a bad bill and will cause untold problems. If you think your identity is insecure under our current passport system, wait until we have a national database with all of your personal interest in it. And, think about your government knowing everything there is to know about you. If that doesn’t terrify you, then you are brain dead.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:28 amThis is the next financial crisis in America that will be equal to or exceed the sub-prime corruption scandal if something isn’t done about it soon.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:29 am“Overall, it is nearly impossible to distinguish funds meant for potential terrorism from legitimate transactions, said a senior State Department official.”
This is not true. I have a close friend who is intimately involved in this issue, and who reports that the problem is a lack of desire to actually find out where the money comes from and where it goes.
Friend said tracking money to terror groups is quite doable, but that actually tracking money flows would expose the real extent of tax cheating by wealthy individuals and by major corporations as well as terroist financing.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:32 amLindy McDowell: What’s really the Troubles with Hillary’s peace claims
The comedian Spike Milligan once published an autobiographical work about his Army service in World War II entitled Adolf Hitler: My Part in His Downfall. Spike, it goes without saying, was playing for laughs.
Not so Hillary Clinton, who as part of her current campaign for the Democratic nomination in the US has staked her own claim to fame in the always contentious field of foreign conflict resolution.
The Northern Ireland Troubles: My Part in Sorting Out That Lot.
As Hillary herself put it during a recent interview on CNN: “I helped to bring peace to Northern Ireland.”
Beat that Barack Obama.
Hillary Clinton - Ireland’s Dalai O’Lama.
The role Hillary played in our peace process was, it seems, low-key, so low-key, in fact, that David Trimble, who jointly won the Nobel Prize for, er, helping bring peace to Northern Ireland can’t quite remember it.
snip
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/ columnists/ lindy-mcdowell/ article3509263.ece
This story has been in the Irish print for some time now. An oped piece to follow.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:34 amIgnoranceIsNotBliss Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 9:17 am
#12: She’s desparate.
And despicable. Did you hear her answer for her Bosnia lie?
No, Hillary, you didn’t “make a mistake”, you lied. There’s a really big difference. And you told that lie on more than one occasion.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:35 amAnother thought about the subprime mess. Where did the Federal Reserve get the ability to loan our taxpayer money to these failing financial institutions. I thought that appropriation of our taxpayer dollars was up to Congress.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:40 amHow Hillary saved us when no one else could … honest
snip
Marcella Bombardieri of the Boston Globe has described Clinton “telling and retelling one particularly moving story about bringing together Catholic and Protestant women in Northern Ireland …
“Clinton said she had hosted a meeting of enemies in the conflict. They had never been in the same room before, and ‘no one thought this was going to be a very good idea’.” Sad, benighted people of Belfast. Never in their lives in the same room together. Such hostility that ‘nobody’ thought it advisable even to try to bring them together. Until Hillary Clinton happened along aglow with goodness and, ignoring scepticism all around, insisted on ‘hosting’ an unprecedented coming together.
By her account, this brave initiative where all else had failed succeeded in breaching the centuries-old sectarian barrier to produce an epiphany.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/ news/ opinion/ article3369447.ece
If the foreign press is not very impressed by Clinton’s years of “experience” we need to really think hard about it. This oped appeared in Jan., 2008.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:40 am“So I made a mistake,that happens. It proves I’m human, which you know, for some people, is a revelation.”
We have a new genre for silly speak!
March 26th, 2008 at 9:41 amMove over Bushism, and make way for the Hillism.
Exactly, Fred, and at this rate, coupled with restrictive bankruptcy laws and rapidly increasing medical costs, people needing routine medical care and unable to pay will have lawsuits shoved on them by the Medicorps and forced to have payments alloted from their income, and possibly their social security payments.
But people like caredman1, these jackasses, believe that people needing medical “wunt sumpthin for nuthin’”
(How’s Mom and Pops’ care-free basement, caredman1? I’m guessing you’re still on their insurance.)
March 26th, 2008 at 9:41 amWRT Col Davis’ request for retirement, institutions, such as the American military, which cannot accept / won’t tolerate criticism from its members and leaders are in serious jeopardy. The result will be an increasing loss of confidence and support both within and without. How sad!
March 26th, 2008 at 9:42 amExxon Mobil has “regained the mantle as the world’s biggest company by market value,” overtaking PetroChina Co. Exxon raked in $40.6 billion in profits last year, “the biggest ever for a U.S. company.”
Exxon Mobil has not received one red cent of mine since their tanked Captain Hazelwood rammed the Exxon Valez tanker into Prince William Sound’s Bligh Reef on March 24, 1989, and spilled an estimated 11 million gallons (42 megalitres) of crude oil. This was recorded as one of the largest spills in U.S. history and one of the largest ecological disasters.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:42 am“This was recorded as one of the largest spills in U.S. history and one of the largest ecological disasters.”
And they have not paid the fines levied upon them by the courts.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:45 amThey file appeal after appeal to have the fines reduced or eliminated altogether.
A projected 460 billion in credit losses from the collapse of the subprime mortgage market! Innteresting, just about the same as the cost of the Cheney-Bush adminstration “preemptive” Iraq war!
March 26th, 2008 at 9:46 amI just bought into a new health insurance plan after researching for 6 months this is the best deal for the money that I can find.
For myself 56 years old with one pre-existing condition(asthma) and my wife 51 years old with no pre-existing conditions it costs us 1300 dollars a month for pretty darn good coverage.
prescriptions and doctor visits are cheaper and a hospital visit will be limited to 3000 for my part with a limit of 2mil.
I live in an area where many people make little more than 20 thousand a year. How are they supposed to afford health insurance?
If something is not done there will be many more than 50 million Americans without even catastrophic protection.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:51 amAh, the idiocy and bigotry still continues with OK House Rep Sally Kern
March 26th, 2008 at 9:54 amBearCountry Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 9:17 am
I just watched part of the NYT ombudsman ton Washington Journal. He certainly is not really going out on a limb to criticize the NYT. He also seems to be somewhat behind on the news. One caller asked him if there were stories that the newspaper did not cover that it should have. The caller suggested Sibel Edmonds and then was mysteriously disconnected. Hoyt, the ombudsman, did not know who she is, and that there were no stories that should have been covered that weren’t.
I don’t read the NYT because it is too pompous and self-absorbed so I don’t see all of the good work that they do, such as Judy Miller and Michael Cooper’s coverage of Iraq. I would ask, however, how much coverage was given to the Winter Soldier meeting and how was the mccain “misspeaking” on the Shia-Sunni connection with Iran?
————————–
All the News that’s Fit to Print!*
*Once its been vetted by the White House.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:56 am… whereas Obama has ties to both Bushes …
OH MY GAWD!
THANKS FOR HIGHLIGHTING THAT INFO, TP!!!
NOW I KNOW I CAN’T VOTE FOR BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA!
WHEW!
March 26th, 2008 at 10:00 amExxon Mobil has “regained the mantle as the world’s biggest company by market value,” overtaking PetroChina Co. Exxon raked in $40.6 billion in profits last year, “the biggest ever for a U.S. company.”
________________________________________
How obese does a company have to get before the result is considered obscene by anybody’s standards?
March 26th, 2008 at 10:01 amJohn McBush claims to be related to Robert the Bruce? **snerk**
Related to Macbeth is more like it. Can’t you see Lady Cindy Macbeth dry washing her hands of his bloody take on US foreign policy? Lots of madness & murder in The Scottish Play, IIRC…
March 26th, 2008 at 10:02 amwhat did we miss…
Curious case of the dead scientist and the bomb experiment
A mysterious bomb-making experiment that ended with the accidental death of a government scientist has remained an official secret for more than five years, leaving his family in the dark about what went wrong.
Terry Jupp, a scientist with the Ministry of Defence, was engulfed in flames during a joint Anglo-American counter-terrorism project intended to discover more about al-Qaida’s bomb-making capacities.
There has been no inquest into his death, as the coroner has been waiting for the MoD to disclose information about the incident. An attempt to prosecute the scientist’s manager for manslaughter ended when prosecutors said they were withdrawing the charge, but said the case was too “sensitive” to explain that decision in open court.
snip
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/mar/24/defence
Very interesting article. Wonder what they were really doing?
March 26th, 2008 at 10:08 amre: Hillary Clinton misspoke
I could excuse her if she confused this incident as happening in another place or at another time. I can’t however excuse a claim of being under sniper fire and running for cover across the tarmac with your head down when this never happened at any place or time to Senator Clinton. Sounds like a complete fabrication to me or in other words a bold faced lie. Up until last year I never thought I would describe Clintons tactics as Republinesque but she shows us more and more how desperate she is to win. At the very least, Senator Obama is getting some practice at handling Right Wing tactics and Rovian sneakiness. Sadly it comes from a member of his own party.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:12 ams/b Republicanesque in post # 47
March 26th, 2008 at 10:12 amThe 900 lb. gorilla in the room nobody’s seems to mention:
Lewinsky questioner surprised with Chelsea’s response
Actually Chelsea, it’s everyone’s business since your pop can’t keep his dick in his pants. And yes, I believe it does tarnish whatever reputation you think you have.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:13 amRepublicans’ Report Supports Some of Clemens’s Claims
New York Times - 1 hour ago
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT Republicans on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform issued a 109-page report Tuesday that appeared to support some of Roger Clemens’s testimony at a hearing last month.
New Report Could ‘Undermine’ McNamee Washington Post
Republicans, Democrats again spar over Clemens issue Los Angeles Times
REALLY?!?
you guys really want to SPAR over the clemens issue?
REALLY?
March 26th, 2008 at 10:16 amwatch out, hillary TRUTHtellers…
“hate” is due in anytime to give you “what for”…
March 26th, 2008 at 10:19 amjust you wait’n’see…
Will the Clinton’s be bribing delegates:
…every delegate with very few exceptions is free to make up his or her mind however they choose. - Hillary Clinton (the candidate formerly known just as ‘Hillary’)
March 26th, 2008 at 10:22 amClinton has to take Penn and NC in order to woo the supers, but I don’t think she’s going to take NC.
If she loses Penn and NC, and continues to stick around in the race out of jealousy to insult Obama and make him look weaker to the Republican candidate, she’d be writing herself off the democratic party.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:22 amLook for a lot of hand-wriging and dire predictions for social security/medicare. But don’t look for any repug to suggest that the cap on FICA be lifted to include incomes over $98,000/year. Don’t look for any means test to be proposed for collecting social security after retirement.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:25 amIn fact, corporations are increasingly dumping retirees from the private sector retirement packages into the medicare system.
There is a collective effort to destroy social security/medicare, and all social protection programs for the not-so-rich Americans.
I’m not sure how much Col. Davis will be free to speak his mind as a civilian. How much of Gitmo is classified ? (remember, in the Bush WH, everything is privilidged info.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:26 am“hate” is due in anytime to give you “what for”…
just you wait’n’see…
So true:
Cosby told the Chronicle that Wright cited three reasons for canceling: “the safety of the institution to which he has been invited; the safety of his family, which has been placed in harm’s way; and for his own safety.”
Hate only begets more hate.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:30 amSarkozy Says He Will Ask Brown to Cooperate on Dollar (Update3)
By Francois de Beaupuy
March 26 (Bloomberg) — French President Nicolas Sarkozy met Queen Elizabeth II in London after calling for closer ties with Britain and efforts to keep the European economy and the region’s defense industry competitive.
“Can’t we weigh together on our American friends so that the dollar recovers,” Sarkozy said in an interview with BBC Radio 4 broadcast in London today. “Can’t we put our armament industries together to spend less money and be more efficient?”
[…]
http://www.bloomberg.com/ apps/ news?pid=20601085&sid=ameOWcpaPFPo&refer=europe
whaaa? will that mean we (US) must be nice to the french!!!
March 26th, 2008 at 10:35 amhorrors!
To most republicans this is nothing short of a sucess story. Corps like Exxon are the Americans they are talking about when they say what is good for America.
It is of course the inevitable result of unregulated captialism and although it looks good for the company, it is not good for our country as it points out quite clearly that the free market does not balance itself….it quite quickly becomes a monopoly and gouges its customers for all they are worth……also see medical and pharma for similarities.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:35 amDieNow - not sure what you’re referring to…
March 26th, 2008 at 10:37 ami was referring to a hateful obnoxious commenter here…
katy,
I’m just pointing out that Wright’s inflammatory rhetoric has blown up in his face. He’s now receiving death threats. Sad, but I guess we should all know better in the hasty, nasty World we live in.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:39 amMcWars Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Clinton has to take Penn and NC in order to woo the supers, but I don’t think she’s going to take NC.
__________________________________________
I can’t speak for Pennsylvania, but the polls here in North Carolina show Obama ahead by double digits. This matches my own informal (and unscientific) polling of my Democratic friends, who overwhelmingly support Obama over Hillary.
Of course, John Edwards is still a favorite here in this state and he may have some influence if he chooses to endorse one of the candidates.
It wasn’t too long ago that Democrats had a favorite but basically liked both and would enthusiastically vote for either one in the general election. Now that people have seen some tarnish on both candidates, they are more negatively influenced by the ugly campaign style of Hillary than they are by Obama’s pastor.
Another factor that’s going to affect voting is that we have many military families in this state. They are understandably proud of their loved ones in uniform, but very weary of third, fourth, and fifth deployments.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:45 amwho, i must admit, is spot-on correct, and i always learn from and agree with,
about most any topic here…
but i do have an aversion to obnoxiousness… especially when
on the receiving end - undeserved - of such rudeness…
…
out to the garden today! high 50s!
play fair…
March 26th, 2008 at 10:46 amdie now - that is very sad news indeed… yes, not unexpected…
i knew when it blew up that all the bigots and racists would
come out of the woodwork…
g’day…
March 26th, 2008 at 10:48 amDieNowForPeace Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 10:39 am
katy,
I’m just pointing out that Wright’s inflammatory rhetoric has blown up in his face. He’s now receiving death threats. Sad, but I guess we should all know better in the hasty, nasty World we live in.
________________
30 seconds from a sermon FIVE years ago, taken out of context to boot… is “inflammatory rhetoric”?
You’re trying too hard. If the GOOPer hate machine looked close enough to find those few sentences, they certainly would have found more, and used it, if they could have. This whole nonsense is OVERBLOWN.
What about Hagee? Falwell? That entire crowd of extreme evangelical mobsters who decree death and destruction weekly? Do they receive death threats? They’re certainly more hateful than Wright. And more vocal about it, too.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:51 amAuthorities revealed Tuesday that a man carrying a loaded shotgun was arrested in January near the U.S. Capitol, and explosives left in his truck nearby went undetected for three weeks.
And we are supposed to be confident that the gang in the white house is keeping us safe.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:54 amDieNowForPeace Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 10:39 am
I’m just pointing out that Wright’s inflammatory rhetoric has blown up in his face. He’s now receiving death threats. Sad, but I guess we should all know better in the hasty, nasty World we live in.
I’m not sure if I agree that we should all “know better” than to make inflammatory and provocative statements. Our country is founded on inflammatory and provocative statements. Like this one, for example:
No preacher or poet or politician should have to censor themselves because a few bigots don’t like to have their worldviews upset. Even horrible bigots like Sally Kern should have their voices heard and subjected to public ridicule.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:59 am“McCain’s ideas could continue to leave millions of people without insurance, they say, and could increase the number of employers dropping or limiting health plans.”
_______________________________________
We now have — what? 47 million Americans without health insurance? That’s 47 million Americans who can’t afford to get sick, but probably will because they can’t afford regular doctor visits and other preventative measures. McCain’s ideas pretty much sound like what we’ve got already, because he is leaving the current system pretty well intact. His proposal to give tax credits to help with insurance will only help those who already pay more in income tax than they do insurance premiums — and it will only make a difference if those tax credits are as huge as insurance premiums are. It will do nothing to help those who pay little or no taxes because of low income — and it’s the working poor who need the most help.
Republicans are very good at the “I’ve got mine — to hell with everybody else” mindset, aren’t they?
March 26th, 2008 at 10:59 amThe Republic of Stupidity Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 10:51 am
What about Hagee? Falwell? That entire crowd of extreme evangelical mobsters who decree death and destruction weekly? Do they receive death threats? They’re certainly more hateful than Wright. And more vocal about it, too.
_____________________________________
Ah — IOKIYAR. Or a conservative. Or a white evangelical.
We have double standards regarding racism and bigotry in our society. Anything that even remotely sounds anti-black gets you branded as a racist (if you’re white). Anything that even remotely sounds anti-Jewish gets you branded as anti-semitic (if you’re a gentile). And if you’re black, you will be labeled a racist if you say anything against whites, regardless of context.
The terms “racist” and “anti-semitic” now carry enough weight to ruin reputations and careers. Because of this, we should be careful how they are applied, instead of using the terms as political weapons.
It is still somewhat acceptable (for the moment) to show bigotry against Muslims, anyone from a predominately Muslim country whether Muslim or not, any immigrant from another country (but especially Hispanics) whether here legally or not, atheists, gays, and low income people.
We still have a lot of work to do. Hagee and his ilk are just the tip of the iceberg.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:14 am65 - regarding Rev. Wright - he’s clearly an America-hater; after all, he’s so very different from all those right-wing preachers in that he’s, first of all, black, and secondly, he supports a (gasp!!) Democrat.
That obviously makes him a rabid America-hating racist Satan-worshipper.
As opposed to all those white, right-wing preachers - who are obviously God-fearing American patriots who support Republicans - they’re doing the Lord’s work!!
Duh.
/snark off
March 26th, 2008 at 11:24 amThis is a bit OT, but related to Health Care. Also, it’s just one more reason to really despise WalMart. To sum it up:
- Woman employed at WalMart stocking shelves.
- Woman suffers severe brain damage after traffic accident.
- Woman now in wheelchair and living in nursing home for care.
- 2 years after accident, woman and husband awarded $1mil in lawsuit. After fees paid, $417K placed in trust for woman’s long term care.
- Wal-Mart pays approx$470K for woman’s medical expenses and later sues for $470.
- Court rules WallyWorld can only recoup what’s left in the family’s trust: $417K.
- Unnoticed in fine print of Wal-Mart’s health plan policy it states company has right to recoup medical expenses if an employee collects damages in a lawsuit.
- Wal-Mart reported net sales of $90 bil in the third quarter of 2007
- The Supremes have decided NOT to get involved
Here’s the link http://www.cnn.com/ 2008/ US/ 03/ 25/ walmart.insurance.battle/ index.html?iref=mpstoryview
But it’s also all over the Internet.
Why Wal-Mart, or any company, is allowed to get away with this is abominable and MUST be changed.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:25 amWow. A Clinton told a flagrant lie. I am shocked.
The funniest thing about their lies is the video footage they continue to provide. They are supposed to be so smart - why do they tell these stupid lies about stuff that can be categorically refuted?
Any of you still thinking this Civil War between the Dems is not going to matter in Novemeber?
March 26th, 2008 at 11:43 amOnly a dyed in the wool troll would read this thinkfast thread and then post a statement like that…..
are you trying to show how intelligent you are? How willing to engage in discussions about issues. How able you are to play the devils advocate? No, you are just a petty troll……
March 26th, 2008 at 11:50 amSay, Keltoi - why don’t we discuss all of Johnny McLAME’s lies and flagrant misstatements…?
Are you still thinking this senile pandering whore will be elected in November…?
BTW - have you read Naomi Wolfe’s book yet…?
March 26th, 2008 at 11:53 amWhat is going on in Basra is a foretaste of what that entire country will become if the Dems take the White House in November and actually carry through with their stated policies.
I am sure TP will dilligently chronicle the chaos, violence and genocide that ensues when we leave under President Obama. That way, Hillary can run against him in 2012.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:53 am“The Old Men” (R. Kipling):
http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2008/03/old-men.html
March 26th, 2008 at 11:55 amKeltoi
March 26th, 2008 at 11:53 am
So you support a flagrant liar? That’s very interesting.
How do you feel about this? Or this?
March 26th, 2008 at 11:58 amWhat is going on in Basra is a foretaste of what that entire country will become if the Dems take the White House in November and actually carry through with their stated policies.
Too bad “Mookie” (as wingnuts have been calling him) decided to torch “the surge is working” talking point.
So, violence down = surge is working.
Violence is up = surge must be maintained.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:59 amLike you can even predict whether the sun will rise or not……you are laughable.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:59 amL. Hussein Annie Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Say, Keltoi - why don’t we discuss all of Johnny McLAME’s lies and flagrant misstatements…?
How about we don’t? I love you, Annie, but as Shakespeare said, “he who is dizzy thinks the world goes ’round”. You guys just cannot or will not see what this bloodletting by the Dems is doing. You are so convinced they can’t blow this election. They can. They are doing it before your very eyes.
Are you still thinking this senile pandering whore will be elected in November…?
Yeah. I am thinking that. Unbelievable, but that is what Hillary has decided must happen so that she has at least a shot in 2012 - McCain would be much easier to run against than President Obama.
BTW - have you read Naomi Wolfe’s book yet…?
Yeah, I got it in the mail Monday and I’m on page 30 or so…for reasons I cannot understand I am highlighting and writing notes in the margin. I am doing it for you, I guess.
I am in a rotten mood….I ask in advance for everyone’s forgiveness if my Trollness seems especially unvarnished today. Vicious hangovers and domestic squabbling have that effect on me.
March 26th, 2008 at 12:03 pmkeltoi,
March 26th, 2008 at 12:04 pmtoo bad some of the people who occationally defend you as “not too trollish” could see your performance today.
So…the fact that all this violence is going on in Iraq RIGHT NOW under a REPUBLICAN administration is going to predict what happens when a DEMOCRATIC administration takes over in November…?!?
Huh? Say that again…?
That’s just plain retarded, Keltoi. I thought you were smarter than that.
March 26th, 2008 at 12:06 pmAs for Naomi’s book, Keltoi - don’t read it for ME.
Read it for YOU.
And yes, the infighting between Obama and Hillary is killing me. I hate it, and I’m *very* angry at Bill & Hill for pulling this Republican-style “throw-shit-against-the-wall-and-see-what-sticks” crap - I’ve told them so, for whatever it’s worth.
March 26th, 2008 at 12:09 pmAnnie, he is(keltoi) just projecting his wishful thinking of the destruction of the democratic party. He would like to plant the seeds of doubt…
keltoi is desperate as his party is disintegrating before his eyes. Their method seems to be that if they can make democrats feel worse about their party than republcans feel about the republican party that they might have a chance….just a chance.
I don’t think anyone except keltoi and a handful of other die hards even admit they are conservative anymore. I live in a red state and my wife and I have noticed a dramatic change in what people are saying in public lately. In restaurants, grocery stores, gas stations, etc. many are publicly denouncing the bush administration……it is a new and welcome development.
March 26th, 2008 at 12:14 pmkelt; As L.Annie said, don’t read Naomi’s book for her, or me, or anyone else on TP. Read it for YOURSELF!!!
March 26th, 2008 at 12:50 pmZooey Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 11:58 am
Keltoi
March 26th, 2008 at 11:53 am
So you support a flagrant liar? That’s very interesting.
Not sure what you are getting at, Zoe.
March 26th, 2008 at 12:59 pmmisshusseinmolly Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 10:45 am
As usual, miss(hussein)molly, I feel much smarter by simply reading your posts. Your assessments are brilliant.
(TP, please pay a retention bonus to Miss Molly, no more and no less as your blog fellows!)
March 26th, 2008 at 1:05 pmThe USA Today writes that the different proposals among the candidates’ health plans boil down to three issues: “Who gets health insurance, how should they get it and who pays.” “McCain’s ideas could continue to leave millions of people without insurance, they say, and could increase the number of employers dropping or limiting health plans.”
Frankly, as I see them, they’re all three only yet another patch to the very imperfect patchwork of the private insurance in the USA. CEOs are very fond of micromanagement, because makes it seem that they are doing a profitable job, but said micromanagement or patchwork fabric only increases the amount of money spent in administrative work, and the fact that the healthcare corporations form a cartel to make it virtually impossible to have a decent healthcare for a reasonable cost, and without all that “preexisting condition” artificial loophole.
Public Universal Healthcare (very different of “free healthcare”, or “socialized healthcare”, trolls!) is the only common sense answer.
March 26th, 2008 at 1:10 pmNice point ES, Universal Healthcare is the goal, and each step toward it is a good one.
March 26th, 2008 at 1:20 pmNew Pakistani Leaders Tell Americans There’s ‘a New Sheriff in Town’
Please pray for peace.
March 26th, 2008 at 1:31 pmHas anyone else used the “submit” form on the upper left column here at TP?
When I hit “submit”, I’m redirected to this page everytime:
http://thinkprogress.org/2008/03/12/24/
Wassupwitdat?
March 26th, 2008 at 1:39 pmL. Hussein Annie Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 12:06 pm
So…the fact that all this violence is going on in Iraq RIGHT NOW under a REPUBLICAN administration is going to predict what happens when a DEMOCRATIC administration takes over in November…?!?
Huh? Say that again…?
That’s just plain retarded, Keltoi. I thought you were smarter than that.
Basra is completely under Iraqi control. The Brits have been gone for months. It has nothing to do with Republicans there. If we leave, that is what will happen in Bagdad, Mosul, Ramadi… TP should be cheering this crackdown, it is what will happen countrywide if Obama wins. Some would say it is inevitable that it happen no matter when we leave.
March 26th, 2008 at 1:58 pmKeltoi Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Not sure what you are getting at, Zoe.
I’m asking you if you support Hillary, and if so, read the links I provided. I didn’t think it was that difficult.
March 26th, 2008 at 2:14 pmZooey Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 2:14 pm
Keltoi Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 12:59 pm
Not sure what you are getting at, Zoe.
I’m asking you if you support Hillary, and if so, read the links I provided. I didn’t think it was that difficult.
Oh HELL no! I thought that might be what you were getting at but I suffered total rejection of the thought, leaving me bewildered.
I am in a quandry as to whether I would support McCain or Obama. As a Troll, my instinct is to go with the conservative; I think his policy positions are more in alignment with my own. On the other hand, Obama represents a radical departure from all that has gone before in American history on a variety of levels - a vote for him is almost like voting for a 3rd Party. But it is risky, too. I am in many ways the quintessential undecided independent. I will avidly watch the debates.
But Hillary? No way, no how, no, no, no. Of all the candidates from both parties, she came in dead last on the acceptability index with me. I’d have voted for Bible Thumpin Huckabee or Pocketmaster Kucinich first. She makes my skin crawl.
March 26th, 2008 at 2:37 pmNew Evidence Discredits Global Warming Dogma
On national radio in Australia, Jennifer Marohasy, a biologist and senior fellow of Melbourne-based think tank the Institute of Public Affairs, dropped a bombshell on those who support global warming: While carbon dioxide levels have risen for the last 10 years, the Earth has cooled, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change knows it. Marohasy said,
The head of the ipcc (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) has actually acknowledged it [that the Earth has cooled since 1998]. He talks about the apparent plateau in temperatures so far this century. So he recognizes that in this century, over the past eight years, temperatures have plateaued. … This is not what you’d expect, as I said, because if carbon dioxide is driving temperature then you’d expect that, given carbon dioxide levels have been continuing to increase, temperatures should be going up.
According to Marohasy, the head of the ipcc has suggested natural factors, such as solar activity, are countering global warming. These are the same factors that global warming proponents deride when skeptics suggest that they may be the deciding factors in global warming rather than carbon dioxide. The new discussion is a result of data gathered from nasa’s Aqua satellite launched in 2002:
What all the climate models suggest is that, when you’ve got warming from additional carbon dioxide, this will result in increased water vapor, so you’re going to get a positive feedback. That’s what the models have been indicating. What this great data from the nasa Aqua satellite … (is) actually showing is just the opposite, that with a little bit of warming, weather processes are compensating, so they’re actually limiting the greenhouse effect and you’re getting a negative rather than a positive feedback.
Marohasy thinks the entire global warming paradigm will collapse as a result of this bombshell. But we wouldn’t count on it. Science has worked against the global warming community for years now without result. Here is one example of why: In “Junk Science: The Global Warming Bubble,” Steven Milloy writes about a conference hosted by the Wall Street Journal and largely comprised of global warming advocates.
In the interlude between presentations by the ceos of Dow Chemical and Duke Energy, for example, the audience was shown a slide … of the diverging relationship between atmospheric co² levels and average global temperature since 1998.
That slide should have caused jaws to drop and audience members to ponder why anyone is considering regulating co² emissions in hopes of taming global climate. Instead, it was as if the audience did a collective blink and missed the slide entirely. When I tried to draw attention to the slide during my presentation, it was as if I were speaking in a foreign dialect.
The only conclusion I could come to was that the audience is so steeped in anticipation of climate profiteering that there is no fact that will cause them to reconsider whether or not manmade global warming is a reality.
He also observed a poll at the conference where attendees were asked to select society’s most pressing problem from a list of five including infectious disease, terrorism and global warming. Infectious disease, which kills millions and infects billions every year, received 3 percent of the vote. Global warming won out with a solid 31 percent.
It doesn’t look like the bubble will burst any time soon. To learn more about the depth of the global warming sham, read “A Really Inconvenient Truth.” •
March 26th, 2008 at 3:28 pmMarwick,
‘In the interlude between presentations by the ceos of Dow Chemical and Duke Energy,’
‘nuf said.
March 26th, 2008 at 6:38 pmKeltoi Says:
March 26th, 2008 at 11:53 am
What is going on in Basra is a foretaste of what that entire country will become if the Dems take the White House in November and actually carry through with their stated policies.
I fail to understand your logic. Check this out: its happening now, and that’s after the “surge is working” meme. If the warmongering Repubs can’t stop this, why in hell should we stay for more? Get out. Let them solve their own problems. Hasn’t Bush wanted al Maliki to get in charge? Now he is trying to act like he is in charge. Remember all the “democratically elected” garbage? You can’t have it both ways.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:24 pmMarwick:
March 26th, 2008 at 10:35 pmBrian Fagan said on The DAily Show that global warming will produce great droughts. So where is this CO2 generated water likely to end up? Just asking.
>Basra is completely under Iraqi control.
right.. isnt this a perfect example of the “freedom” we were supposed to be giving iraqis?
> The Brits have been gone for months.
So what exactly is it that you think they should have done differently to keep the choas from breaking out?
> It has nothing to do with Republicans there.
Sorry, you’re wrong there. Dick Cheney, always trying to put lipstick on a pig, cited basra as an example of the british “leaving when their job was done”…. So either Cheney was lying, or his estimation of when “the job was done” was grossly in error. Which do you think it is..
March 27th, 2008 at 1:19 am