ThinkFast: June 13, 2008
“The number of U.S. homeowners swept up in the housing crisis rose further last month, with foreclosure filings up nearly 50 percent compared with a year earlier,” reports the foreclosure listing company RealtyTrac Inc. “One in every 483 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing in May, the highest number since RealtyTrac started the report in 2005 and the second-straight monthly record.”
Attorney General Michael Mukasey today said that he is “disappointed” by the Supreme Court’s ruling on habeas corpus. Although the decision is expected to “unleash a torrent of court filings from detainees seeking their freedom,” Mukasey said that they won’t “concern military commission trials, which will continue to proceed.”
The Washington Post writes that after yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling, the Bush administration’s strategy for detainees is now in “disarray.” It “almost certainly [leaves] to Bush’s successor and the next Congress the dilemma of what to do with the Guantanamo Bay detainees.”
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is saying that “talks with the United States on a longterm security agreement have reached a ‘dead end’” because the U.S. proposals “do not take into consideration Iraq’s sovereignty.”
On the trail today: Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) will be in Columbus, Ohio for “an invitation-only meeting with seniors” as part of his “Change That Works for You” tour. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) is hosting a town hall meeting at Burlington County College in Pemberton, NJ, where he is “expected to field questions from voters on the economy, energy prices and the war in Iraq.”
A new survey by the American Bar Association finds that almost half of U.S. mortgage borrowers now “worry about being able to make the payments and keep their homes.” Seventy-three percent also said that they “changed their purchasing habits because of the economy,” including by “buying less, paying for more purchases in full,” and using credit cards less frequently.
A new Quinnipiac poll finds that “New York State voters support 53 - 40 percent Gov. David Paterson’s order to state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside New York.”
The House yesterday “approved extended jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed” by a veto-proof margin of 274-137. On Wednesday, conservatives had blocked the bill, which would “much-needed relief to 3.8 million unemployed workers to assist them with rapidly rising gas and food costs.”
Exxon Mobil is getting out of the gas pump business and plans to sell the 2,220 service stations it owns in the United States. The Dallas Morning News reports, “With rising gasoline prices and stiff competition from hypermart and grocery store stations, service-station profit margins are dismal, nearly nonexistent.”
And finally: For Father’s Day, Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) publicly thanks his children for sticking with him after his airport sex bust. In a message posted on his Senate site, Craig writes that “nothing affected me as emotionally as my children’s love and loyalty during the dark days of last August.” He’s especially thankful for their “correcting the record” against “unspeakable accusations” against him.
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
strong>‘Special Weapons’ Have a Fallout on Babies
Babies born in Fallujah are showing illnesses and deformities on a scale never seen before, doctors and residents say. The new cases, and the number of deaths among children, have risen after “special weaponry” was used in the two massive bombing campaigns in Fallujah in 2004. After denying it at first, the Pentagon admitted in November 2005 that white phosphorous, a restricted incendiary weapon, was used a year earlier in Fallujah.
In addition, depleted uranium (DU) munitions, which contain low-level radioactive waste, were used heavily in Fallujah. The Pentagon admits to having used 1,200 tonnes of DU in Iraq thus far. Many doctors believe DU to be the cause of a severe increase in the incidence of cancer in Iraq.
Ali Sarhan, a 50-year-old teacher who lived through the two U.S. sieges of 2004 told IPS. “I saw bodies that turned into bones and coal right after they were exposed to bombs that we learned later to be phosphorus. “I had two children who had brain damage from birth,” 28-year-old Hayfa’ Shukur told IPS. “My husband has been detained by the Americans since November 2004 and so I had to take the children around by myself to hospitals and private clinics. They died. I spent all our savings and borrowed a considerable amount of money.” Shukur said doctors told her that it was use of the restricted weapons that caused her children’s brain damage and subsequent deaths, “but none of them had the courage to give me a written report.”
“Many babies were born with major congenital malformations,” a paediatric doctor, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IPS. “These infants include many with heart defects, cleft lip or palate, Down’s syndrome, and limb defects.” The doctor added, “I can say all kinds of problems related to toxic pollution took place in Fallujah after the November 2004 massacre.” “Maternal exposure to toxins and radioactive material can lead to miscarriage and frequent abortions, still birth, and congenital malformation,” the doctor told IPS.
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/06/12/9567/
Iraqi’s do not have enough Specialists, proper medicines and they are using outdated equipment. The government knows this and has not helped them combat the problems they are facing, which is in direct violation of the Geneva Convention Protocol. What the US Government has allowed to happen to innocent civilians is inhumane. I learned something very alarming last night while doing some research. Here it is: The use of War Crimes tribunals in relation to the Geneva Conventions, the United States stands out as the “Untouchable.” U.S. forces and policy-makers have been involved in a number of high-profile incidents over the years, which is one reason the U.S. has opted out of the International Criminal Court initiative. The US committed war crimes in Vietnam also not just Iraq. (http://www.darfurpeace.org/reports.php?ID=398)
The best known violations came during the Vietnam War, such as the high-profile My Lai Massacre, and countless proven and alleged incidents involving the destruction of civilian villages, mass defoliation with Agent Orange, the execution of prisoners (civilian and military) and the use of napalm and poison gas. These are all violations of the Geneva Convention, there are other crimes we have committed that technically should have gone to the International Criminal Court. The US never ratified certain Protocols of the Convention. The only way Bush & Cheney will ever stand trial is if it is done in our own country.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:02 amNancy Pelosi: Criminal
According to constitutional scholar Bruce Fein, Nancy Pelosi “has threatened the removal of Michigan Rep. John Conyers from his chairmanship of the House judiciary committee if an impeachment inquiry were even opened”.
Why would Pelosi “take impeachment off the table” and threaten Conyers so he wouldn’t initiate impeachment proceedings?
Well, Pelosi was secretly tipped off about warrantless spying on Americans and torture many, many years ago, and yet did nothing to stop those unlawful programs.
Moreover, Pelosi hid from the 9/11 Commission and the American people the fact that the interrogations of 9/11 suspects were videotaped, and that the alleged “confessions” of those held at Gitmo were wholly unreliable. She could have stopped the whole farce cold — but chose to go along with it.
No wonder Pelosi wants to make sure that impeachment is off the table and no real investigations into White House crimes are launched. She is herself a criminal and co-conspirator, and is very interested in keeping the lid on the truth.
Moreover, Pelosi appears to be taking orders from a foreign nation, a nation which wants Bush, Cheney and the other boys who are launching wars against its enemies to stay in office.
http://www.opednews.com/ maxwrite/ diarypage.php?did=7709
**As I read through each of the links of this diary entry, I realized all of the stories were from last year. Now it’s June 2008 and nothing has changed. And now, the reason for not moving forward on impeachment has shifted to “We don’t have time.” Well, you have had plenty of time to move forward on this but have deliberately stalled the process in what looks like a huge effort to protect yourself from facing the consequences of complicity in what will turn out to be the biggest constitutional crisis in US history. Rather than being remembered as the person that stood up to these criminals even though the consequences would be serious, you will be remembered as the person who had the authority AND the responsibility to start in motion the wheels of justice but chose to put yourself over every citizen demanding to know the truth about what has happened to our country over the last 7 ½ years.
As a parent and a teacher I have taught the kids that standing up for the truth might be uncomfortable and still carry consequences but lying and hiding your involvement in breaking the rules would make the consequences even stiffer. I have always encouraged the kids to tell the truth and take responsibility for their actions. Whether I agree with the actions or not, we impeached a president recently for perjury which is the law of the land. I really don’t like comparing crimes as one being a little worse than another but in the long run I really don’t want to be remembered this way.
I am throwing down the gauntlet to everyone who believes as I do –TELL OUR representatives start impeachment proceedings now and don’t look back. Tell them to take responsibility for their own involvement and actions without making excuses and demand what more that half the population is demanding –INVESTIGATE AND IMPEACH.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:04 amMukasey said that they won’t “concern military commission trials, which will continue to proceed.”
Er, umm. Diane? Herr Schumer? Would you please begin the impeachment of this assclown who doesn’t recognize a Supreme Court ruling?
June 13th, 2008 at 9:05 amUnearthed: News of the Week the Mainstream Media Forgot to Report By: Robert Kennedy JR.
CO2 Emissions Set to Double by 2050 Unless Governments Act
The International Energy Agency released a report this week predicting that carbon dioxide emissions could double by 2050 unless governments around the world engage in a “global energy technology revolution” to curb global warming emissions. The IEA called for a massive investment of up to $45 trillion - equal to 1.1 percent of average annual global gross domestic product - to spark research and development efforts in order to halve emissions by 2050. The report called on the Group of Eight and emerging countries such as China and India to quickly agree on a plan to meet the emissions target.
Federal Court Upholds EPA’s Refusal to Protect Americans from Toxic Chemical Plant Emissions
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a 2006 EPA determination that current emission controls on synthetic organic chemical manufacturing plants are adequate to protect the public, despite deficiencies in the standards identified in prior court rulings. Last year, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Louisiana Environmental Action Network challenged the EPA’s decision not to require any reductions in toxic air pollution from the synthetic chemical plants, which are among the nation’s leading sources of toxic cancer-causing pollution. Studies suggest that 100 out of 1 million people living near these facilities could develop cancer during their lifetimes. The Circuit Court called the agency’s actions a “rather unusual bit of rulemaking,” but sided with the Bush administration anyway.
NRDC noted that the EPA’s legal maneuvering to avoid updating the regulations was “not compelled by law, but rather the result of a policy choice by the Bush administration to side with the interests of the chemical industry and other big polluters.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ robert-f-kennedy-jr-and-brendan-demelle/ unearthed-news-of-the-wee_b_106800.html
The EPA is going to need a serious overhaul after Bush is gone. He has managed to set back the EPA standards by 40 years. Bush’s legacy is that he gutted the EPA from protecting all of us from harmful chemicals being released in rivers and the air. His legacy will cost us more than just money; the cost will be in human lives that are lost due to cancer and many other diseases that these toxic chemicals cause.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:06 am“The number of U.S. homeowners swept up in the housing crisis rose further last month, with foreclosure filings up nearly 50 percent compared with a year earlier,” reports the foreclosure listing company RealtyTrac Inc. “One in every 483 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing in May, the highest number since RealtyTrac started the report in 2005 and the second-straight monthly record.”
Cue at least one f’ing troll saying, ‘Hey, one out of 483 ain’t bad!’
June 13th, 2008 at 9:07 amThen flag them. With bug spray.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is saying that “talks with the United States on a longterm security agreement have reached a ‘dead end’” because the U.S. proposals “do not take into consideration Iraq’s sovereignty.”
This is news?
Just becuase Dictator Bush finally learned the word sovereign during his presidency, and liked to use it a lot there after doesn’t mean he actually respects it. Dictators use a lot of people-oriented words to calm the masses into submission, but they don’t actually mean any of it. It’s why they are Dictators.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:09 amI thought I would inject some humor for this Friday:
NRCC report: Ward took $725,000
Former National Republican Campaign Committee (NRCC) Treasurer Chris Ward apparently acted alone in shifting $725,000 from the committee to his own accounts over a six-year period, according to a report released Thursday. “For years, Chris Ward submitted bogus financial audits to banks and concocted a scheme to direct NRCC funds to his personal accounts for his own selfish purposes,” said NRCC Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.).
http://thehill.com/ leading-the-news/ nrcc-report-ward-took–725000-2008-06-12.html
This story reminds me of a video that is on Crooks and Liars, it is a satire of why people are voting Republican. It is very funny if you get a chance to watch it. Some of the highlights are: I’m voting Republican because I want my daughter to be in a class of 30 children so she can fight for attention. I’m voting Republican because I don’t like shopping at small neighborhood stores, I like buying cheap plastic crap from China. I’m voting Republican because the EPA is outdated; if you want clean water, buy it in a bottle. By voting Republican you are getting exactly what you deserve. Truer words could not be spoken.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:09 amSen. John McCain (R-AZ) is hosting a town hall meeting at Burlington County College in Pemberton, NJ, where he is “expected to field questions from voters on the economy, energy prices and the war in Iraq.”
He is snubbing the Southern Baptist Convention for this.
I’m convinced that McCain doesn’t talk about religion because he secretly is not religious. Most religious people like to talk about their religion.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:11 am>“talks with the United States on a longterm security >agreement have reached a ‘dead end’
whoops. gosh, does it just suuuck when the iraqis dont do what we want them to with their “freedumb”?
>Mukasey said that they won’t “concern military commission >trials, which will continue to proceed.”
continue to proceed? didnt they all fire their lawyers, plead guilty and ask to be executed? im reasonably sure that pretty much brings thier propaganda/trials to a screeching end.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:12 amis there much precedent for trials for people who plead guilty and ask to be executed? massaui, as i recall, pleaded guilty but didnt demand to be executed.
sorry bush-bags, you guys arent going to have this propaganda to distract us from the reality of everything falling apart around mcbush..
Honestly admitt it you Leftists like this economic crisis. Bush has botched everything that it helps you politically. Bush is the best friend the Left has ever had.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:13 amCome on be honest, you guys love reading all this bad news since it guarantees a victory in November.
Read that in the paper this morning Freedom Rebel. Mr. Ward was the treasurer for 83 republican committees. I’m going to be following this story.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:15 am> Why is Bush creating foreclosures?
deregulation of the subprime mortgage market, amongst other things. i know you live in a magic bubble world where the president has no effect on the economy, but the rest of us live in the reality based community, troll.
Wow. You really have gone through the trouble of registering name after name on this site merely for the purpose of harassing us. Your life must truly be empty and meaningless.
May I suggest something more productive, like World of Warcraft, or maasterbating? If you take a shower, girls might not actually recoil from your prescense..
June 13th, 2008 at 9:15 amEx-Capital One employee files whistleblower lawsuit
A former underwriter who says she was forced to resign after blowing the whistle on fraud at Capital One Financial Corp’s subprime mortgage unit filed a $51 million lawsuit against her former employer on Thursday. According to the suit filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Rachel Steinmetz said she was forced into an “involuntary resignation” by her superiors in retaliation for refusing “to approve fraudulent, unlawful and bad loans” and reporting the activities to her superiors and authorities.
Capital One did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Steinmetz had worked as a senior underwriter at GreenPoint Mortgage before its December 2006 acquisition by Capital One, according to the lawsuit. She claims she was forced by superiors to approve loans that contained fraudulent information and that her bosses waited until she was out of the office to approve loans that she had denied. In June 2006, she said she was forced to resign after her employers made her work environment intolerable.
http://www.reuters.com/ article/ bondsNews/ idUSN1248153820080612
What’s in your wallet? Hopefully not a Capital One Card.
Probe Reveals Hundreds of Expired Products at CVS, Rite Aid
A statewide sweep by New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo found that more than half of CVS stores and 43 percent of Rite Aid stores were selling expired drugs, milk, eggs and baby formula. In some cases, over-the-counter medication was being sold two years after the expiration date, according to Eric Corngold, the head of the economic justice unit in Cuomo’s office.
Cuomo says he intends to sue both chains for patterns of violating federal, state and local law that do not permit the sale of expired products and plans to seek injunctive relief. Since March, prompted by complaints from consumers, dozens of undercover investigators visited close to 1,000 stores and detected an “egregious pattern at CVS and Rite Aid” of selling expired products, said Corngold.
http://abcnews.go.com/ Blotter/ story?id=5055982&page=1
I started boycotting CVS years ago. They ran out 6 family owned businesses that had been around for generations, they all had a pharmacy department also. We have Drug Marts that are an Ohio Owned Company; if at all possible I never shop at a big chain.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:16 amFreedom Rebel Says: ‘Special Weapons’ Have a Fallout on Babies
The neocons want al the responsibility that comes with authority, but refuuse to accept any of the accountability. This is appalling.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:17 am>Mr. Victor Says:
>Vulture,
you two get a room. your “pocket p#ssy” break or are you guys alone again for the weekend?
June 13th, 2008 at 9:17 amSomeone go out on a date with that f*(in’ guy.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:18 amA new Quinnipiac poll finds that “New York State voters support 53 - 40 percent Gov. David Paterson’s order to state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside New York.”
Conservatives in our state legislature who want to fight this should re-read their constitution:
Article. IV.
Section. 1.
Full Faith and Credit shall be given in each State to the public Acts, Records, and judicial Proceedings of every other State. And the Congress may by general Laws prescribe the Manner in which such Acts, Records and Proceedings shall be proved, and the Effect thereof.
There’s nothing they can do about it. This is why if you are legally married in New York, you can still retain all the legal benefits of being married when you travel to another state. (It’s also why you don’t need to get a driver’s license for each state in which you drive.) If they can prove that two people of the same gender getting married actually causes any real harm to society (real harm, not imagined horrors), then they might have a leg to stand on. But they can’t, because it isn’t true.
No matter how much conservatives hate gay people, they will always be among us. Get used to it. And get over your irrational, baseless fears about gay people.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:18 am>Honestly admitt it you Leftists
> like this economic crisis.
In an “i told you so” kinda way, yes I do. We simply realize that you reap what you sew. Your heroes idiotic policies have come home to roost, so dont expect us to cry because the things we’ve been warning about for years are coming to pass.
You might as well say “your happy when i start smelling after i poooped in my pants”…its pretty much just the inevitable result of your buffoonery and absolute idiocy.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:21 amI am reading ‘Shadows of Long Forgotten Ancestors” by Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan. In the book is this quote:
I think the human race needs to begin to recognize the problems that are coming out of our over-population of this planet.
Studies have shown that unless we begin to take reproductive responsibility, that by the year 2050, we will need two Earths to meet our needs for resources and waste management. Since that’s unlikely to happen, the result is going to be MORE wars (and not just traditional ones, but wars over water and jobs).
We need to start talking about this subject, and promoting the responsibility of parents. Being fruitful and multiplying is no longer a positive thing.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:21 am“A new Quinnipiac poll finds that “New York State voters support 53 - 40 percent Gov. David Paterson’s order to state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside New York.””
New York makes the first step towards equal rights for ALL American citizens! The next step towards equal rights will be to support domestic partnerships and then gay marriage.
Too bad that the religious right cannot come up with a real reason on why gay marriages will be bad for the US. They’ve come up with a bunch of reasons that hold no water when held up to the light of day, but not one single, solitary argument that they’ve put forward stand up to honest criticism.
PS - Any bets on how long before Daryll makes an appearance and uses his “pick & choose” attitude towards the Bible in lamenting that equal rights are progressing in the US?
June 13th, 2008 at 9:21 amAnd the beat goes on
F uck you, Nancy. I’ll give anything to see you lose to the anti-war mom — a sweet, intelligent, accountable and true American patriot. Cindy Sheehan would make a TRUE American representative.
Go f uck yourself, Nancy.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:23 amVictorPee, shut up. Go back to your magic little world where the policies the president pursues and promotes have no effect on the economy. Care to discuss how Bush has de-regulated the oil markets and causes rampant speculation?
June 13th, 2008 at 9:23 amAnd didn’t TP already have a ThinkFast thread for June 12, 2008?
June 13th, 2008 at 9:25 am“One in every 483 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing in May, the highest number since RealtyTrac started the report in 2005 and the second-straight monthly record.”
Oh goodie. We get to conduct the Kangaroo trials after all. I can’t wait. Trials based solely on confessions gained through torture. What a glorious day for the USA that will be when we come up with our first conviction based on torture evidence.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:25 am#12 hellinabucket Says:
Read that in the paper this morning Freedom Rebel. Mr. Ward was the treasurer for 83 republican committees. I’m going to be following this story.
Good Morning Hellinabucket;) They think it might be a million, WOW and no one noticed. How could you not notice that much money be siphoned out of accounts??? I heard they are not finished investigating to find out how bad the damage could total.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:25 amThe Conservatives are right! Why give money to the unemployed? Tell them to go out and get a job! Maybe we should just provide airfare to India or China for them?
June 13th, 2008 at 9:26 amThe Vulture Says
June 13th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Honestly admitt it you Leftists like this economic crisis. Bush has botched everything that it helps you politically. Bush is the best friend the Left has ever had.
Come on be honest, you guys love reading all this bad news since it guarantees a victory in November.
_________________________________________________
Perhaps if we were talking about the Super Bowl or some other sporting contest, we might rejoice in a poor record on the part of the opposing team if it increased our chances of winning. But that’s only because most of us aren’t personally affected when a quarterback has a bad year.
To suggest that we celebrate a bad economy would be to suggest that Democrats danced in the streets when the stock market crashed in 1929. After all, Republicans had the White House ever since Harding was elected in 1920, and a disaster of this magnitude meant that a Democrat had a good chance in 1932, right? Well, even though FDR did win in 1932, nobody cheered the Great Depression. It made life hell for a lot of people — from both parties.
Today we are again looking at a poor economy, skyrocketing debt, a plummeting dollar, an exhausted military, China gradually owning more and more of us, and the world hating us to the point where we are ripe for another 9/11-type attack. Only the sickest among us would be happy about any of this.
Yes, the Republicans have messed things up bad enough that the Democrats have a good shot at victory in November. But that’s like winning a house that’s falling apart. The clean-up and rebuilding will be long, hard, and expensive. To say that we “love” anything about our current situation is so far off the mark I have no words for it.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:26 amMr. Victor Says:
June 13th, 2008 at 9:21 am
You are not fooling anyone, Trajan.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:26 amChocolate Jesus,
June 13th, 2008 at 9:26 amAt least your honest and admitt you’re enjoying all this. Bush I believe is a secret Leftist. He ruined things on purpose to allow the Left to take over.
It “almost certainly [leaves] to Bush’s successor and the next Congress the dilemma of what to do with the Guantanamo Bay detainees.”
I have a novel idea. If we have evidence against them we should try them for their crimes. If we have no evidence against them we should let them go with a very big apology. Not that that will do any good. They are all potential terrorists at this point. I know I would want to kill the people who had held me indefinitely without charges while subjecting me to periodic torture.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:27 am#20:
why does my post say “awaiting moderation”??
June 13th, 2008 at 9:27 amEverything the Bush administration touches is now in “disarray.” It “almost certainly [leaves] to Bush’s successor and the next Congress the dilemma of what to do.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:28 amBefore Plame there was Susan Lindauer
Before Plame, a woman who revealed the administration’s lies on Iraq paid a horrible price for coming forward. In an effort to diminish her testimony, Susan Lindauer was labelled insane, isolated, and forcibly medicated during her detention.
Lindauer is a former reporter and Congressional aide, so she can’t so easily be dismissed. Espionage charges were filed against her in 2004, then later dropped. Rather than release her, now-Attorney General Mukasey, Lindauer’s presiding judge at the time, ordered her to undergo extensive psychological observation and treatment against her will.
Read the full post:
http://www.opednews.com/ articles/ Before-Plame-there-was-Sus-by-JohnPeebles-080612-980.html
**This is a long entry but well worth the read. I haven’t had time to check out some of the links but it looks pretty serious.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:29 amIraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is saying that “talks with the United States on a longterm security agreement have reached a ‘dead end’” because the U.S. proposals “do not take into consideration Iraq’s sovereignty.”
Well, duh. Does that mean we don’t own Iraq? If we don’t own them, why have we been spending those billions of dollars each month? I guess the Iraqi’s have decided that they will take their chances with Obama, hoping he will treat them fairly. They are right, he will.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:29 am#11 - “The Vulture Says:
———————————————————-
“Come on be honest, . . . ”
June 13th, 2008 at 9:13 am
Interesting that The Vulture seems to forget that it’s the Republican and neo-conservative party that is responsible for all the bad news that he laments.
Nobody on this site enjoys reading about the massive failures of the Bush Administration.
To ignore this bad news would only be doing a “Republican” and trying to ignore facts: single-party Republican control is what caused most of the problems we are currently facing.
Give it time. People will forget that it was the Republicans who brought us the highest debt in history, failed fiscal policies, wars of occupation, congressional gridlock, and the first successful terrorist attack on American land that caused the deaths of thousands. For some reason, the American public seems to forget facts of his nature over time.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:29 amThe Vulture Says: Come on be honest, you guys love reading all this bad news since it guarantees a victory in November.
I’ve learned that people who make such allegations actually feel that way themeselves.
We’d win in November with a good economy because we have the better candidate.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:30 am“Attorney General Michael Mukasey today said that he is “disappointed” by the Supreme Court’s ruling on habeas corpus”
Thanks a lot dems for helping install this partisan rat. Thanks schemer for nominating him and thanks feinstein for helping him get the job. You two might as well be republicans.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:30 am>At least your honest and admitt you’re enjoying all this.
I am. I’m anxiously looking forward to 10$ a gallon gas. Most of us americans are so incredibly materialisic, shortsighted, and self centered that we don’t give a D#mn about anything unless it effects us, personally. If pain at the pump is what it takes to wake people up and start caring about what goes on outside the narrow confines of their TV, so be it.
I feel bad for the poor people, but frankly, collective punishment works. Hopefully this will motivate everyone to try harder to get some decent people in office.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:31 amAs far as w and his admin are concerned Iraqi sovereignty is a talking point, not a reality. The requirement that US military and mercenaries should not be accountable to the Iraqi government shows exactly what bush thinks of Iraqi sovereignty.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:31 am#16 unbelievable Says:
Freedom Rebel Says: ‘Special Weapons’ Have a Fallout on Babies
The neocons want al the responsibility that comes with authority, but refuuse to accept any of the accountability. This is appalling.
Good Morning unbelievable! That is true. They need to get many Specialized doctors over there to help with all the cleft palates and other deformities that we can actually help with. These children are suffering because they used chemical weapons, now they need to provide the proper medicines also. They Iraqi doctors just don’t have enough because their budget is only $22 a person there. This is breaking my heart…
June 13th, 2008 at 9:31 amSeventy-three percent also said that they “changed their purchasing habits because of the economy,” including by “buying less, paying for more purchases in full,” and using credit cards less frequently.
Well, if something good comes out of this economic downturn, hopefully it will be that people will learn to spend within their means. Many people are losing their homes because they borrowed on their equity to buy things they couldn’t afford. They learned a very hard lesson, hopefully one they will remember in the future and possibly pass on to their children.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:32 am#32 - The Vulture Says:
———————————————————
“Bush I believe is a secret Leftist. He ruined things on purpose to allow the Left to take over.”
June 13th, 2008 at 9:26 am
Just when you think that the regressives can be reasonable, they make egregious statements of this nature to prove how self-blind they are to the truth.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:32 amWayne A. Schneider Says
June 13th, 2008 at 9:25 am
And didn’t TP already have a ThinkFast thread for June 12, 2008?
_______________________________________
Maybe they can’t bring themselves to accept that today is Friday the 13th…
June 13th, 2008 at 9:32 amIraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is saying that “talks with the United States on a longterm security agreement have reached a ‘dead end’” because the U.S. proposals “do not take into consideration Iraq’s sovereignty.”
____________________________________________
Well, that’s because the official U.S. position appears to be “We own you — we stole you fair and square.”
June 13th, 2008 at 9:34 amThe Vulture Says: Come on be honest, you guys love reading all this bad news since it guarantees a victory in November.
What an outrageous staement. I cannot believe anyone would take enjoyment in all of bad economic news, inroads into our Constitutional rights (ie wiretapping), the Continued Deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, etc. — just to have a political victory in Nov.
It was this Crime Cabal with it’s PNACian roots that from day 1 was going to take over this country with it’s Continued Breaking of Federal Laws, International Laws (Geneva Convention). This was all planned. The Bush Crime Family has been tearing this country apart for decades.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:35 amKay Says:
#20:
why does my post say “awaiting moderation”??
I would guess you used one of the magic words. Anything to do with @n@lysis or @nalysts kicks in the autoprofanityfilter.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:36 amFreedom Rebel Says: They Iraqi doctors just don’t have enough because their budget is only $22 a person there. This is breaking my heart…
Considering the billions in the banks that the Iraqi government has stashed, the billions of our tax dollars goig over there, and the “zillions” in oil they are sitting upon, that is utterly shameful.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:37 amThe Vulture Says:
Mr. Victor Says:
How creative, a tag team of trolls. Let’s ignore them and let them talk to each other.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:38 am>why does my post say “awaiting moderation”??
you used a “dirty word”* (*expanded TP edition)
June 13th, 2008 at 9:40 amNone of you Leftists think Bush is really one of you? He’s botched thing on purpose to help you guiys. Theink about this, The Left has launched non stop attacks on him for 7 years. He never fights back and just takes it.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:40 amDon’t any of you find that weird?
None of you Leftists think Bush is really one of you? He’s botched thing on purpose to help you guiys. Theink about this, The Left has launched non stop attacks on him for 7 years. He never fights back and just takes it.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:40 amDon’t any of you find that weird?
I’m sorry for the double post.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:41 am>Let’s ignore them and let them talk to each other.
Great idea. Anyone have any predictions about how much of a clusterf$ck this iraq soverignty thing is going to become over the coming months? I mean, this odd politicial parylsis they are in has to change somehow..
June 13th, 2008 at 9:42 am#55:
what dirty word did I utter?
(9/11?)
June 13th, 2008 at 9:43 amDNC Moves It
Washington Post - 6 hours ago
Moving quickly to take control of the Democratic Party, Sen. Barack Obama will shift much of the infrastructure of the Democratic National Committee from its Capitol Hill headquarters to his campaign offices in downtown Chicago, DNC officials said …
Late Words: From DC to the Windy City New York Times
DNC moving operations to Chicago CNN Political Ticker
Atlantic Online - Politico - Hot Air - Washington Post
woohoo! i can hear it already: “chicago style politics”!!!
good pizza too!
June 13th, 2008 at 9:45 amFlag the two trolls I really don’t need to read any creative writing this morning.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:45 amtony and lido
Bush helping the lefties. That is the most absurd, most stupid thing I have heard.
GWB is the latest installment in the Bush Crime Family. Decades of taking this country down.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:45 amKay, look at my post at #50
June 13th, 2008 at 9:45 am>what dirty word did I utter?
dunno. since your post didnt show, i cant tell ya. i just know certain words set off the moderation thing.
anyone have any predictions about when the iraqis are going to straight up ask us to leave? maybe after the october elections perphaps?
June 13th, 2008 at 9:45 amMr. Victor Says: Well once Obama wins Gas will be cheap, jobs will pay good and We all will have healthcare. We only have to wait a few more months. Then everything will be good under Obama. He is for Progress.
Gas is never going to be cheap again. Bush ensured that. Plus, we are running low on the stuff while other countries are wanting more of it - the deamand for a limited resource also adds to that.
Obama is going to start a Manhattan Project for alternative fuels. This will bring new jobs. Eventually it will also bring cheaper fuel. But, it’s going to take time. It won’t happen immediately. It’ll take a long time to clean up the big mess he will be inhereting from Heir Bush.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:45 amWhat did we miss?
NEW REPORT FINDS HIGHEST-EVER LEVELS OF THC
IN U.S. MARIJUANA
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/news/press08/061208.html
John Walters, Director of National Drug Control Policy and President Bush’s “Drug Czar” expressed serious concerns regarding this trend, “Baby boomer parents who still think marijuana is a harmless substance need to look at the facts.
Another chance to spread the fear that more potency will lead even more people to other drugs. That’s bullcrap. The more potent the pot, the less chance there is for me to get off the sofa. Where’s my cheese puffs?
June 13th, 2008 at 9:45 amSo what’s the consensus? Are these a matching pair of sockpuppets on each hand of a single troll?
Did Mr. Pee get a second computer?
Jeez, either this troll is so desperate for attention that he doesn’t care how obvious his schtick is, or else he’s just really, really limited in imagination.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:48 am>Evans has a record of inflammatory statements such as saying >that women were better off in Iraq under Saddam Hussein
uhhm. they were. you think saddam hussien killed women randomly in the street for wearing shorts or not wearing burquas? i know your ilk would like to make prewar iraq to be one giant rape room, but it wasnt. can you name one or more middle eastern countries that gave women more legal rights than prewar iraq did? i think turkey would be about the only one.. if you know more than one, name it
June 13th, 2008 at 9:48 am“Creative” being used loosely, I presume.
my best to Lido.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:50 am> NEW REPORT FINDS
> HIGHEST-EVER LEVELS OF THC
> IN U.S. MARIJUANA
yay.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:50 amVulture and Mr. Victor are the Mr.P/Joker tandem.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:50 amIt’s really not too hard to spot.
The continuous usage of “Leftist” and the capitalization on Progress is a start.
The bumbled, jumbled, nonsensical posts don’t help them, either.
Re: my post (#20)
The “libral” press isn’t picking up on this. Sen. Johnson (R)
June 13th, 2008 at 9:51 amneeds to be heard, NOW! (damnit)
In the latest NBC/WSJ poll, Obama leads McCain by six points (47%-41%) among registered voters.
While polls can’t accurately gauge an election five months out — after all, so much can still happen — it’s worth putting Obama’s lead into this perspective: Bush never trailed Kerry in the 2004 NBC/WSJ polls that measured registered voters’ preference for Bush, Kerry, and Nader. And Bush’s lead was never bigger than four points.
Bush won that presidential election by three percentage points, 51%-48%.
Here were the NBC/WSJ trial heats from March 2004 (when Kerry pretty much locked up the nomination) to late October 2004:
March (Mar.6-8): Bush 46%, Kerry 43%, Nader 5%
May (May 1-3): Bush 46%, Kerry 42%, Nader 5%
June (June 25-28): Bush 45%, Kerry 44%, Nader 4%
July (July 19-21): Bush 47%, Kerry 45%, Nader 2%
August (Aug.23-25): Bush 47%, Kerry 45%, Nader 3%
September (Sept.17-19): Bush 48%, Kerry 45%, Nader 2%
Mid October (Oct.16-18): Bush 48%, Kerry 46%, Nader 2%
Late October (Oct.29-31): Bush 48%, Kerry 47%, Nader 1%
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/ archive/ 2008/ 06/ 12/ 1135634.aspx
June 13th, 2008 at 9:51 amralph the wonder llama Says:
So what’s the consensus? Are these a matching pair of sockpuppets on each hand of a single troll?
I say they are a single troll. The writing style is very similar. I’m betting if the moderators check it out, they will find they both come from the same ISP.
I still say they would make their job much easier if they banned trolls by ISP rather than by their user name. It’s too easy to set up a new user name and password.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:52 amralph the wonder llama Says:
Jeez, either this troll is so desperate for attention that he doesn’t care how obvious his schtick is, or else he’s just really, really limited in imagination.
Either?
June 13th, 2008 at 9:53 amMy gawd,
June 13th, 2008 at 9:54 amWhen I was in college (84 thru 89), I thought at that time, the THC was at it’s highest (pun). I can’t even imagine what catatonic, zombie state I’d be in now if I continued “inhaling” Mary Jane.
Of course, the incoherent posts of our ever name changing trolls, Mr.Victor and Vulture, may just be proof enough that marijuana IS harmful to the brain cells!
#ralph the wonder llama Says:
Did Mr. Pee get a second computer?
You don’t need a second computer. Just sign up with two different e-mail addresses then open two browser windows. Easy to flip back and forth.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:54 amChocolate Jesus Says: uhhm. they were. you think saddam hussien killed women randomly in the street for wearing shorts or not wearing burquas? i know your ilk would like to make prewar iraq to be one giant rape room, but it wasnt.
When I lived in California, I had friend who were from Iraq. Two of them, both woman, had a Master’s degree in Architecture from the university in Baghdad. The reason they left Iraq was called “The Gulf War.
That troll has no idea what he is talking about.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:55 amObama The Preferred Candidate Around The World: Poll
WASHINGTON — People around the globe widely expect the next American president to improve the country’s policies toward the rest of the world, especially if Barack Obama is elected, yet they retain a persistently poor image of the U.S., according to a poll released Thursday.
The survey of two dozen countries, conducted this spring by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center, also found a growing despondency over the international economy, with majorities in 18 nations calling domestic economic conditions poor. In more bad news for the U.S., people shared a widespread sense the American economy was hurting their countries, including large majorities in U.S. allies Britain, Germany, Australia, Turkey, France and Japan.
Even six in 10 Americans agreed the U.S. economy was having a negative impact abroad.
Views of the U.S. improved or stayed the same as last year in 18 nations, the first positive signs the poll has found for the U.S. image worldwide this decade. Even so, many improvements were modest and the U.S. remains less popular in most countries than it was before it invaded Iraq in 2003, with majorities in only eight expressing favorable opinions.
Substantial numbers in most countries said they are closely following the U.S. presidential election, including 83 percent in Japan _ about the same proportion who said so in the U.S. Of those following the campaign, optimism that the new president will reshape American foreign policy for the better is substantial, with the largest segment of people in 14 countries _ including the U.S. _ saying so.
Andrew Kohut, president of Pew, said many seem to be hoping the U.S. role in the world will improve with the departure of President Bush, who remains profoundly unpopular almost everywhere.
“People think the U.S. wants to run the world,” said Kohut. “It’s not more complicated than that.”
Countries most hopeful the new president will improve U.S. policies include France, Spain and Germany, where public opposition to Bush’s policies in Iraq and elsewhere has been strong. Strong optimism also came from countries where pique with U.S. policies has been less pronounced, including India, Nigeria, Tanzania and South Africa.
Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon have the strongest expectations the next president will worsen U.S. policies, consistent with the skepticism expressed on many issues in the survey by Muslim countries. Japan, Turkey, Russia, South Korea and Mexico had large numbers saying the election would change little.
Among those tracking the American election, greater numbers in 20 countries expressed more confidence in Obama, the likely Democratic nominee, than John McCain, the Republican candidate, to handle world affairs properly. The two contenders were tied in the U.S., Jordan and Pakistan. Obama’s edge was largest in Western Europe, Australia, Japan, Tanzania and Indonesia, where he lived for a time as a child.
The U.S. was the only country where most expressed confidence in McCain. Besides the countries where he and Obama were tied, McCain’s smallest gaps against his rival were in India and China, where neither man engenders much confidence.
The U.S. is seen as the world’s leading economic power by 22 countries in the survey. Yet in 11 countries, more think China will replace the U.S. as the world’s dominant superpower or has already done so than predict that will never happen.
At the same time, China’s favorable ratings have edged downward since last year, with widespread worry over its military power, pollution and human rights record. The survey was taken during China’s crackdown on unrest in Tibet, but before last month’s earthquake in China.
The poll also found:
_Sixty percent or more had favorable views of the U.S. in South Korea, Poland, India, Tanzania, Nigeria and South Africa. One in five or fewer had positive impressions in Egypt, Argentina, Jordan, Pakistan and Turkey.
_Nine in 10 in South Korea and Lebanon say their economies are in bad shape, while eight in 10 Chinese, seven in 10 Australians and six in 10 Indians say theirs are strong.
_Hillary Rodham Clinton, who lost the Democratic nomination to Obama, generally was rated higher than McCain overseas but lower than Obama.
_There is growing pessimism that a stable democratic government will take hold in Iraq, with majorities only in Nigeria, India and Tanzania predicting success.
_Only in the U.S., Britain and Australia do most want U.S. and NATO forces to say in Afghanistan.
_Iran is viewed mostly negatively. Even the eight countries in the survey with large Muslim populations have mixed views. In six of those eight, Muslims oppose Iran getting nuclear weapons.
The polling was conducted from March 17-April 21, mostly in April, interviewing adults face to face in 17 countries and by telephone in the remaining seven. Local languages were used.
The number interviewed in each country ranged from 700 in Australia to 3,212 in China. All samples were national except for China, Pakistan, India and Brazil, where the samples were mostly urban. The margins of sampling error were plus or minus 3 percentage points or 4 points in every country but China and India, where it was 2 points.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ 2008/ 06/ 13/ obama-the-preferred-candi_n_106887.html
June 13th, 2008 at 9:58 amI wasn’t aware that Lamar Alexander was in a position to launch a Manhattan Project type of initiative.
Also, pandering to farmers by promoting ethanol and biodiesel isn’t really what we had in mind.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:58 amHI TWAJIE!!!!!
June 13th, 2008 at 10:00 amBush is exactly what he appears to be: an utter moron, the perfect useful idiot to serve as facade for the Cheney looters.
(This cretin doesn’t realize that if his ludicrous proposal were true, not only is Cheney a “secret leftist” but the whole neocon cousin-marrying, snake-handling Fourth Reich crowd have been used like toilet tissue in a whorehouse.)
June 13th, 2008 at 10:01 amleft_hack Says: Too late U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn has already started the process but I’m sure Obama will try and take the credit. Obama has done nothing because he been off work for about a year.
There’s a diffeence between a Senator proposing an idea that’s been around for a while and a President actually doing something about it.
I bet Obama works harder than you. The fact that you’re here proves that.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:02 amUh, politics works in the way of good news/bad news. Citizens are responsible for evaluating the standing of their country in numerous ways, considering various indicators, and making informed decisions at the polls.
So when conservative leadership sends important indicators tumbling downward, they attempt to mask their failings by accusing their challengers of “getting off” on expecting, you know, some form of accountability.
Obama will work through this campaign, taking nothing for granted. We will recognize his efforts by casting our ballots. Then, he will become 44th President of the United States.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:04 amHey, Trajan75, or The Vulture, or Mr. Victor:
You are so FU(KING obvious that it’s painful. Your “good cop/bad cop” or “Fake liberal/Fake conservative concern troll” games are pretty funny though. Do keep it up.
Folks, these monikers belong to the same person. He normally goes by the name Trajan75. He is a violent, aggressive, obnoxious, obtuse, and just all around useless human being who believes it is fine to drop white phosporous on Iraqi children because in his words “Less future Jihadis!”
Oh yeah, he’s also linked to scientology, which further undermines what credibility he never had to begin with. Pay him no mind.
Oh Twajie, you will never learn.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:05 amCreative” being used loosely, I presume.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:08 amYeah, I shoulld have said have assed attempt at to be more precise.
Lido says thanks.
left hack,
You try to claim that Obama is behind somehow because “last month”, Lamar Alexander gave a speech calling for a kind of “Manhattan Project”. Perhaps you should read a speech given by Sen Obama more than two years ago, in which he mentioned many of the same things Alexander said last month.
Read the speech here.
Nice try.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:09 amunbelievable Says:
…
Obama is going to start a Manhattan Project for alternative fuels.
i really really REALLY hope that he doesn’t use that name, but i have heard it bandied about…
i think a much more appropriate title would be “APOLO Project“… a much more UPlifting connotation, doncha think?
… considering it was the manhatten project that brought so much pain and suffering, and still does…
Apollo Alliance
June 13th, 2008 at 10:10 amThree Million New Jobs. Freedom from Foreign Oil
Many babies were born with major congenital malformations
These children will grow up knowing where the WMDs really are.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:13 amR-2, you forgot to include this little nugget of goodness:
But here’s where it gets kind of interesting: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is creaming the National Republican Congressional Committee. The DCCC has raised $92.9 million to the NRCC’s $69.2 million. And those Democrats have $45.3 million in the bank, compared with $6.7 million for the Republican congressional campaign committee.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:15 amrogerse Says:…The RNC has outraised the DNC so far in this 2007-08 cycle: $143.3 million to $77.6 million.
So?
The RNC and DNC aren’t the only sources of revenue. Keep ignoring the truth, and it will bite you.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:16 amThe Vulture Says:
Honestly admitt it you Leftists like this economic crisis. Bush has botched everything that it helps you politically. Bush is the best friend the Left has ever had.
Come on be honest, you guys love reading all this bad news since it guarantees a victory in November.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:13 am
________
You seem to have us confused with Republicans.
We view politics as a means to accomplish some lasting change, not as a game of winning and losing.
We actually want to improve the quality of life for people in our country and on our planet, and know that the only way this is going to happen is to have a progressive in the White House.
So, in short, Bush is not the best friend we’ve ever had. We will never forgive him and his cronies for the destruction they have unleashed upon this country.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:20 amMr. Victor Says:
I will leave if I’m not wanted.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:18 am
______
Really? Good. You’re not wanted.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:21 amI guess 69 is yesterday’s news, since Larry Craig took off to work.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:21 amNot. Fooling. Anyone, Twajie.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:21 amNobody has answered my question.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:21 amWhy would Bush allow the Left to beat up on him for 7 years?
This means that he’s a Leftist disguised as a Conservative. His goal was to ruin things to allow a Leftist takeover.
If you think this is absurd, ask yourself, Why Bush never fought back against the Left?
… at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Alexander proposed launching a five-year new Manhattan Project …
well, given that oak ridge is home to a NUCLEAR energy plant, sounds like alexander may want to get nukes into the picture… too bad…
http://www.ornl.gov/
June 13th, 2008 at 10:22 amhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Ridge,_Tennessee
ALSO. Not. Fooling. Anyone.
Twajie.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:23 amkaty Says:
i think a much more appropriate title would be “APOLO Project“… a much more UPlifting connotation, doncha think?
… considering it was the manhatten project that brought so much pain and suffering, and still does…
June 13th, 2008 at 10:10 am
_____
Of course, the Apollo project was just a front in the Cold War against the Soviets - a war that brought even more pain and suffering to millions of people around the world.
Perhaps its time for a new name altogether.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:23 amMr Victor = Mr Pee
TP is asleep at the switch, yet again. Just ignore the troll. It won’t necessarily go away, since middle school is out for the summer, but there will be fewer comments if it has nothing to “respond to.”
June 13th, 2008 at 10:25 amWhile I believe that “positive reinforcement” in the classroom is effective, I think that giving 5th graders money is setting a very bad precident. It’s teaching materialism. There are other ways to reward students for hard-work that do not involve money. I use extra credit, and that works very well in motivating students to work harder than they might have with no ‘reward’, without teaching students that money is the ultimate goal.
Schools Experiment by Paying Kids
(WASHINGTON) — Schools, under pressure to boost student achievement, are offering incentives — field trips and cash, for example — to motivate students.
Studies into the effects of school-based rewards programs are limited. But research by an independent think tank at Stanford University indicated they can raise scores. A separate study examining schools in Ohio that paid kids for passing state tests also showed score gains after the incentive program was enacted.
In New York, about 5,500 students can earn money for getting good test scores. The program is open to fourth-graders, who can earn up to $250 a year, and seventh-graders, who can end the year with $500 in the bank.
“We’ll soon give out over $1 million to fourth- and seventh-graders this year,” said Roland Fryer, a Harvard University economist leading the experiment. He said he is happy with the results so far.
Queen Makkada, president of the parents’ association at a school participating in the program, said the fourth- and seventh-graders seem to be working harder. She dismissed those who say these kind of approaches amounts to bribery.
Some question the long-term impact of rewards programs.
Edward Deci, a psychology professor at the University of Rochester in New York and an expert on motivation, said rewards can persuade kids to work harder to boost tests scores. But he said that effect probably would be short-lived.
“Will their motivation to be doing their school work or learning be positively impacted by that once the rewards stop? I think the answer to that is pretty clearly no,” Deci said.
He also said there is evidence that once a reward is taken away, people become even less motivated than they were before the experiment began. He said that is true regardless of the reward’s value.
He said schools must make learning interesting, so children want to participate and do well.
Fryer said more research is needed looking specifically at the effect of incentives in poor urban schools.
http://www.time.com/ time/ nation/ article/ 0,8599,1814295,00.html
June 13th, 2008 at 10:26 amhussein toasterhead,
We actually want to improve the quality of life for people in our country and on our planet, and know that the only way this is going to happen is to have a progressive in the White House.
Yeah right. You Democrats want power just like the Republicans. You Leftists want to impose this New Order on America and alter the country. That is the aim of the Left. They want power. Bush has helped you guys. He never fights back. Don’t you find that weird?
June 13th, 2008 at 10:26 amGood Morning Mr Victor
June 13th, 2008 at 10:26 amtoasterhead - well, if you put it THAT way… and i guess you are correct… but i prefer to think of it THIS way:
June 13th, 2008 at 10:27 amThe Apollo program was a human spaceflight program undertaken by NASA during the years 1961 – 1975 with the goal of conducting manned moon landing missions. President John F. Kennedy announced this goal in 1961, and it was accomplished on July 20, 1969 by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during the Apollo 11 mission. Five other Apollo missions also landed astronauts on the Moon, the last one in 1972. These six Apollo spaceflights are the only times humans have landed on another celestial body. The Apollo program, specifically the lunar landings, are often cited as the greatest achievement in human history.
[…]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Apollo
What do you know the little white guy afraid of the black guy. What up?
June 13th, 2008 at 10:27 am“Bush has helped you guys. He never fights back. Don’t you find that weird?”
Your right, he has his attack dogs (Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, etc) doing it for him. Why should the President dirty his hands?
June 13th, 2008 at 10:28 amNo you’re not, twajie. You’re a lame troll sockpuppet seeking to discredit the progressive movememnt by presenting an ostensible adherent who looks stupid.
Only problem is, you’re not clever enough to do it convincingly, nor even to hide your characteristic voice. Begone.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:28 amThe Vulture Says:
Why would Bush allow the Left to beat up on him for 7 years?
This means that he’s a Leftist disguised as a Conservative.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:21 am
_______
Let me see if I understand your theory.
George W. Bush — a man who invaded a soverign country for no reason, sanctioned and encouraged torture, sold off as many government functions as possible to the private sector, absolutely botched natural disaster recovery, and helped corporate cronies to reap windfall profits in the oil and defense sectors — is actually a Leftist disguised as a corrupt Conservative?
That’s one hell of a disguise.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:28 amand, i’ve no doubt OBAMA will put his own brand to it…
but “manhatten” conjures up a negative picture…
i’ve no doubt that many who DO bring it up, have nuclear in mind… and i think i’ve heard that obama has been in favor also… hopefully that will change… soon.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:30 amThe Vulture Says: Nobody has answered my question.
Why would Bush allow the Left to beat up on him for 7 years?
This means that he’s a Leftist disguised as a Conservative. His goal was to ruin things to allow a Leftist takeover.
If you think this is absurd, ask yourself, Why Bush never fought back against the Left?
He didn’t ALLOW us to beat him up. He just happened to be incompetent and the consequence of that is what it now is.
Your “logic” is illogical. You allow for only two possibilities, ignoring the many shades of grey in bewteen. If it isn’t one, then it must be the other? Nonsense. There are other possibilities (one which I have already mentioned).
He does fight back. Again, it’s just incompetently done, so it’s weak and futile.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:30 amAttorney General Michael Mukasey today said that he is “disappointed” by the Supreme Court’s ruling on habeas corpus.
Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but I was under the impression the AG was charged with enforcing the laws and prosecuting those who break them, not with spewing right-wing talking points about how feels about them.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:31 amI gotta head out to work. You guys can handle the sockpuppets?
June 13th, 2008 at 10:32 amYou’re thinking of the old America. The one that had a Constitution. And a government that respected its people.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:33 amhussein toasterhead,
George W. Bush — a man who invaded a soverign country for no reason, sanctioned and encouraged torture, sold off as many government functions as possible to the private sector, absolutely botched natural disaster recovery, and helped corporate cronies to reap windfall profits in the oil and defense sectors — is actually a Leftist disguised as a corrupt Conservative?
Yes. He did all this on purpose to help the Left. He has power and never used it to crush the Left, the way Clinton used his powers to beat the Right. He just allowed the Press to beat up on him with no consequences. That’s very suspicious, don’t you think?
June 13th, 2008 at 10:33 amHussein Toasterhead, I’ll heartily second that.
Buh-bye, you’re NOT wanted.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:33 amSure thing raplh. I quick tag and it’ll be just like a regular old Fuji and Tanaka type deal
June 13th, 2008 at 10:34 amkaty Says:
toasterhead - well, if you put it THAT way… and i guess you are correct… but i prefer to think of it THIS way:
The Apollo program, specifically the lunar landings, are often cited as the greatest achievement in human history.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:27 am
_____
I prefer to think of it that way too, but I’m a cynic at heart. Part of me can’t help but wonder how much greater this achievement would’ve been had we not abandoned the last four missions. :/
June 13th, 2008 at 10:34 amThe Vulture Says: Yeah right. You Democrats want power just like the Republicans. You Leftists want to impose this New Order on America and alter the country. That is the aim of the Left. They want power. Bush has helped you guys. He never fights back. Don’t you find that weird?
Like Thomas Jefferson. Obama didn’t want to be President. He just happened to have been needed, and chose to put his country ahead of his wants.
Jefferson was an excellent President. Obama will also be an excellent President - even if you’ll refuse to acknowldege it.
Again - Bush does fight back. He just loses.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:34 amExxon Mobil is getting out of the gas pump business and plans to sell the 2,220 service stations it owns in the United States. The Dallas Morning News reports, “With rising gasoline prices and stiff competition from hypermart and grocery store stations, service-station profit margins are dismal, nearly nonexistent.”
At $4-$4.50/gal, I’m thinking one would hafta be brain-dead to fail to make adequate profits in the sale of gasoline at any level.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:35 amHe does fight back. Again, it’s just incompetently done, so it’s weak and futile.
No he doesn’t. Clinton used to call media people out. He used the IRS to audit Conservatrive groups. He used his power. Bush hasn’t. He just smiles while people smear him. He’s nice to the media when they beat him up. He’s a sucker.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:36 amFor Father’s Day, Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID) publicly thanks his children for sticking with him after his airport sex bust.
Dear Daddy:
June 13th, 2008 at 10:37 amWe’re so happy you’re not really a co**sucker.
Love,
your kids
Mr. Victor is silly
June 13th, 2008 at 10:40 amThe Vulture Says:
Yes. He did all this on purpose to help the Left. He has power and never used it to crush the Left, the way Clinton used his powers to beat the Right. He just allowed the Press to beat up on him with no consequences. That’s very suspicious, don’t you think?
June 13th, 2008 at 10:33 am
_______
What “consequences” are you suggesting the President should have in retaliation for the press “beating up on him,” Jay? Fines? Imprisonment? Being disappeared by Colombian death squads? Placement on the secret “No Fly” list? The public execution of Helen Thomas? What would you and your fascist Latin King friends do to a press corps that said mean things about you, Rodan?
June 13th, 2008 at 10:40 am(completely ignoring the out of school trolls)
Another casualty of this illegal occupation
Imagine the billions that could help the 1/3rd of Michigan children living in poverty.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:41 amHey Vulture, I guess it’s just a happy coincidence that Bush’s oil buddies and corporate cronies have crammed their portfolios with taxpayer money for the last 7 1/2 years. Did you ever consider that this is Bush and Cheney’s motive and not the advancement of the progressive agenda? You don’t think that their lust for power and desire to help their AIPAC/PNAC buddies may have distracted them from what