ThinkFast: July 24, 2008
ThinkFast: July 24, 2008
Conservatives are losing the new-media war, the Politico notes. As the 2008 campaign progresses, “it’s becoming increasingly clear that the absence of any websites on the right devoted to reporting — as opposed to just commenting on the news — is proving politically costly to Republicans.”
Iraq’s Ambassador to the U.S. warns that al-Qaeda’s foreign fighters “are increasingly going to Afghanistan to fight.” Ambassador Samir Sumaida’ie said “al-Qaeda is finding it now increasingly difficult to operate in Iraq, beginning with the rebellion of the largely Sunni tribes in Anbar Province.”
“The McCain campaign has a new web ad out placing Barack Obama, for the second time, side-by-side with a foreign dictator,” the Huffington Post reports. “This time, it’s Fidel Castro.”
“About 2 million Americans get a raise Thursday as the federal minimum wage rises 70 cents. … The increase, from $5.85 to $6.55 per hour, is the second of three annual increases required by a 2007 law.” Higher gas and food prices, however, “are swallowing it up.”
On the trail today: Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is in Berlin where he is meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and delivering an address at the “Victory Column” in Tiergarten park. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) will participate in a town hall meeting on cancer alongside Lance Armstrong at the LIVESTRONG Summit in Columbus, Ohio.
Pentagon auditors “were pressured by supervisors to skew their reports on major defense contractors to make them look more favorable instead of exposing wrongdoing and charges of overbilling,” a new Government Accountability Office report found. Supervisors at the auditing agency “attempted to intimidate auditors, prevented them from speaking with GAO investigators and created a ‘generally abusive work environment,’ the report said.”
The House approved a “far-reaching government assistance” measure yesterday that allows the Treasury Department to protect mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from collapse and provides “an aggressive plan to help hundreds of thousands of troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure by refinancing their mortgages with more affordable government-insured loans.”
FEMA “asked a federal judge yesterday for immunity from lawsuits over potentially dangerous fumes in government-issued trailers that have housed tens of thousands of Gulf Coast hurricane victims.” A government lawyer argued that “FEMA’s decisions in responding to a disaster, including its use of travel trailers after Katrina, are legally protected from ‘judicial second-guessing.’”
Seven Western states — Oregon, Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Washington — are “joining four Canadian provinces to propose a plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions through use of a ‘cap and trade’ system.” The draft plan, which was revealed yesterday by Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s office, focuses on “utilities and industries that are major sources of greenhouse gases.”
And finally: Some Senators are still proud to associate themselves with President Bush. In “an examination of the wall decorations of all 100 Senate offices,” Politico recently found that “more than a quarter” of the public waiting rooms, 27 in total, feature a picture of Bush. In all, 22 Republicans, four Democrats and one independent display their fondness for Bush on their walls.
What did we miss? Let us know in the comments section.
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The new reefer madness: arresting people in pain
The police raid on Martin Martinez, a Seattle man who uses marijuana to dull the chronic pain from a motorcycle accident, made the page-one headline last Thursday: “Was Pot Raid Justified?” Martinez’s lawyer, Douglas Hiatt, insists vehemently that it was not.
In Seattle, the topic of medical marijuana and the law leads quickly to Hiatt. Originally a public defender, Hiatt is now exclusively a medical-marijuana lawyer. It is not a lucrative practice. His clients are often broke, and typically they are merely trying to be left alone. Hiatt says he has been paid in salmon, and once in an organic pig. His clients are in their 40s, 50s and 60s. Typically, they are on disability. Many have cancer, AIDS, multiple sclerosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease or Crohn’s disease.
AIDS patients are using marijuana to control nausea, so they don’t vomit up the 40-odd pills they have to take every day. In 2000, when a judge forbade writer and AIDS patient Peter McWilliams from using marijuana, he threw up his “AIDS cocktail,” choked on his vomit and died.
The word “cocktail,” makes Hiatt bristle. “It’s not a damned cocktail. This is chemotherapy for life.” McWilliams had been ordered to use Marinol, a drug with one of marijuana’s active ingredients. Hiatt says he has a client right now ordered by a judge to use Marinol. “It makes my client really stoned, and he doesn’t want that,” Hiatt says. “It’s expensive. It costs $10 to $20 a pill. Why use it when you can grow a house plant?”
Hiatt’s typical client is one, like Martinez, with chronic pain. Says Hiatt, “Their doctor puts them on OxyContin, morphine, one of the opiates. Their brain is in a fog because of the opiates. They’re constipated. They’re miserable. They say, ‘I lost my life.’ Then they try marijuana. It allows them to cut their opiate dose in half. Some of them eliminate it. They feel better. Their mind is clearer. They’re not constipated anymore.”
Hiatt estimates there are 25,000 medical-marijuana patients in Washington. The state law says they can have a 60-day supply, but since 1998 it has been up to local officials to say what that is. The Department of Health will have a public hearing in Tumwater Aug. 25 on a new rule to allow patients 24 ounces of dried plant and six mature plants. And that’s not enough, Hiatt insists. “Every single medical marijuana patient I have is over these numbers,” he says.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2008066765_rams23.html?referrer=digg
We have got to fix the laws regarding this issue. There is no reason a person should have to suffer with a life threatening disease or pain, when medical marijuana will help them lead a better quality of life. They need to legalize pot, the government could tax it just like everything else. The side benefit, we would have less crowding in our prisons for these non-violent offenders. Kudos to Hiatt for putting people first, we don’t hear enough about caring people like this who are trying hard to make a difference.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:01 am“The McCain campaign has a new web ad out placing Barack Obama, for the second time, side-by-side with a foreign dictator,”
How childish. Perhaps Obama can come out with an ad placing McIIIrd side by side with Elmer Fudd, complete with shotgun and silly hunter cap.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:05 am12 more years to clean groundwater at Myrtle
It will take another 12 years to clean cancer-causing pesticides and other contaminates from groundwater at the old Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, environmental officials and the military said.
It will cost about $723,000 to clean contamination from a shop where pesticides were stored for 15 years at the base, which closed in 1993, the military said. The Sun News of Myrtle Beach reported the contamination has also moved to four acres of private land next to the base. The project would involve cleaning up cancer-causing pesticides and solvents including trichloroethylene and vinyl chloride.
Some residents were not pleased with the plan announced Tuesday. An alternate proposal would clean the contamination in about half the time, but it would cost about $400,000 more. “If this is about human health, why not do it in seven years instead of waiting longer?” said Cheyenne Rheingold, who lives near the base.
But the longer cleanup has few risks because the groundwater is not used for drinking, and people are not exposed to the contamination, said Dick Souza, who is overseeing the cleanup. “You have to balance how fast you do it with how you spend the taxpayers’ money,” he said. Since the base closed, the military has spent $53 million cleaning 258 contaminated sites.
http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2008/07/ap_myrtlebeach_072308/
Why should government officials care that it will take 12 years, it’s not in their backyard. Since when has the administration cared “how they spend the taxpayers’ money?” I don’t remember being asked if my tax dollars could fund an illegal war. What was I thinking, war is more important than cleaning up cancer-causing contamination that they created. Besides it is in a poor section of town, like the Katrina victims, those people should stop asking for government handouts. Sarcasm off.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:05 amA government lawyer argued that “FEMA’s decisions in responding to a disaster, including its use of travel trailers after Katrina, are legally protected from ‘judicial second-guessing.’”
Yeah, we wouldn’t want anyone sickened by FEMA’s incomptence in monitoring their trailer construction contractors to be compensated for formaldehyde poisoning, would we.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:07 amObama with Fidel? If this is McCain’s high class, issue oriented advertising, we’re in trouble folks. This lowers the bar for trash ads sponsored by Freedhem’s Watch. Hey McCain, get some class!
July 24th, 2008 at 9:07 amEllison Condemns Court Ruling Obstructing a Woman’s Fundamental Right to Choose Calls Forced Language “Orwellian”
Congressman Keith Ellison (D-MN) denounced the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals recent decision to lift a preliminary injunction against requiring physicians to recite a script to patients before performing an abortion procedure in South Dakota.
“This Court’s ruling is outrageous in its demand that doctors recite an “Orwellian” script designed to intimidate and humiliate women exercising their reproductive rights. This obtuse ruling is an indication of this Court’s ignorance of, and insensitivity to, both the fundamental right to an abortion, as well as the process whereby a woman arrives at such a personal decision,” Ellison stated.
According to the Court’s decision, doctors are now required to tell a woman seeking an abortion that the procedure “will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique living human being.” Doctors must further state that the woman has “an existing relationship” with the fetus that is protected by the United States Constitution and that “her existing constitutional rights with regards to that relationship will be terminated.” Doctors must go on to state that “abortion increases the risk of suicide ideation and suicide.” The message must be delivered no earlier than two hours before the procedure, and the woman must state in writing that she understands the statement.
Another South Dakota law that already took effect July 1, 2008 requires doctors to ask a woman seeking an abortion if she wishes to see a sonogram of the fetus. The South Dakota ruling is seen as a test case for the ultimate overturning of the landmark Roe v Wade 1973 Supreme Court decision that legalized a woman’s right to choose.
http://www.commondreams.org/
To make matters even worse the “the morning after pill”, an emergency contraception, many South Dakota pharmacies refuse to stock it, or have pharmacists who refuse to sell it. Also, the anti-choice advocates have put another Abortion Ban on the ballot that South Dakotans will again vote on this issue. This new 2008 version has “exceptions” for the health of the pregnant woman, and for rape and incest survivors. The sick & twisted part, the way the law is written would require rape victims to re-live their trauma and endure bureaucratic red tape in order to get an abortion. Whatever happened to empathizing with the victim? That concept must require too much intellect and sympathy for the anti-choice morons in South Dakota.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:08 am“The McCain campaign has a new web ad out placing Barack Obama, for the second time, side-by-side with a foreign dictator,” the Huffington Post reports. “This time, it’s Fidel Castro.”
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No doubt to shore up the Cuban vote in Florida — a battleground state. They have a major hatred on for Castro and are easily baited.
As far as the rest of us? Castro’s regime isn’t a threat to us particularly, and its days are numbered. It’s not even going to hit the radar on the issues list.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:10 am“FEMA’s decisions in responding to a disaster, including its use of travel trailers after Katrina, are legally protected from ‘judicial second-guessing.’”
Are the good people of New Orleans protected from ‘Administrative second guessing’? Bush sat at McCain’s birthday party in San Diego while New Orleans drowned. Mike Brown was more worried about what clothes he was wearing than any coordinated emergency response. The Bush Cabal is still responsible for lack of planning, lack of coordination and lack of a long term response to this disaster.
People are still dying from this storm. Kids inhaling formaldehyde will have life long debilitating effects.
The Bush Cabal:
9/11: Nobody home
Katrina: Nobody home
Iraq Invasion: Lied to the public
Osama Bin Laden: Bin Forgotten
July 24th, 2008 at 9:14 amIsn’t Raul now in charge? How about a photo shop of Che Guevera embracing Michelle Obama, wearing the signature black beret? Jackasses.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:17 amFEMA “asked a federal judge yesterday for immunity from lawsuits over potentially dangerous fumes in government-issued trailers that have housed tens of thousands of Gulf Coast hurricane victims.”
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And FEMA will probably get the immunity they request. Just because that’s par for the course for this administration.
It’s one thing to provide housing for the homeless and displaced in an emergency without knowing about the toxicity of that housing. It’s quite another to continue to allow people to live there after being made aware of the hazard — even recognizing the hazard to be so great that they wouldn’t even allow one of their own staff to enter one of the units to turn off a light.
The government’s role in this is shameful. And why is the vendor who provided these trailers not being held accountable? These are my tax dollars, and I don’t consider this money well spent.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:20 amInflation will be in the headlines soon. It’ll be too obvious to ignore. Deficit spending, investment house bailouts (present and future), the declining dollar (for which there is a lag effect) and higher transportation costs affecting delivery prices will be reflected even in the core inflation figures which ignore such trivial items as food and electricity prices. This will all be blamed on the increase in minimum wage. You might want to practice this phrase for future argument with MSM propaganda victims – “coinciding” does not mean “causing.”
July 24th, 2008 at 9:22 amNO MORE DUMB!
July 24th, 2008 at 9:23 amVote Democratic.
McChimp is getting desperate.
While the entire World watches Obama being welcomed around the globe, McStupid spits out more bullshit, trying his best to get some media coverage. Trouble is, the only news he makes is how stupid he is. Pairing Obama with Castro is a new level of swiftboating. ‘00 & ‘04 found Republics trying to distort history. Now, they’re obviously just making shit up.
Desperate men, desperate times.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:23 am“[Marinol's] expensive. It costs $10 to $20 a pill. Why use it when you can grow a house plant?”
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Silly rabbit — how can Big Pharma make their big bucks on house plants? We just CAN’T have people taking their pharmaceutical needs into their own hands — it would hurt profits.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:24 amAnyone who is so weak intellectually that they would be persuaded by the kind of campaign McCain is running, is too stupid to understand Obama’s positions, much less support them.
These are die-hard McCain supporters. They aren’t smart enough to be anything but.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:27 amIn all, 22 Republicans, four Democrats and one independent display their fondness for Bush on their walls.
(and from the linked article) — With a grand total of four pictures, Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd — a fierce critic of the administration on the campaign trail — sports more photos of the president than any other Democratic senator.
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No doubt Dodd uses these pictures as dartboards. But who are the other three Democrats?
July 24th, 2008 at 9:29 amWhite phospherous in Iraq; formaldehyde back here at home.
Just something for neocons to pass onto your children.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:29 amWhat’s this I hear about AG Mukasey proposing a formal (yet vague and open-ended) declaration of war on terrorism, thereby granting Bush freedom to do whatever he chooses, to whomever he chooses and answer to no one. If we did not have a chicken-sh!t congress, I would say that the notion is too ridiculous to be true, but … anyone know about this?
BTW, Dodd, Biden, Clinton and Obama did not vote at Mukasey’s hearing – they all said the opposed him, but were not there to vote.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:31 amCaption Contest:
Applaud me like I never took impeachment off the table!
July 24th, 2008 at 9:33 amhttp://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2008/July/08-opa-633.html
I think I just found the answer to my own question.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:34 amOne more thought on the FEMA debacle: “judicial second-guessing” is sorta like saying it’s OK to ignore all the laws these jackass Congresses have passed, that no laws exist except what Chimpy decrees in signing statements or in private meetings with his handlers and the spank-monkeys.
Hoo Boy
July 24th, 2008 at 9:36 am#10 misshusseinmolly Says:
And FEMA will probably get the immunity they request. Just because that’s par for the course for this administration.
It’s one thing to provide housing for the homeless and displaced in an emergency without knowing about the toxicity of that housing. It’s quite another to continue to allow people to live there after being made aware of the hazard — even recognizing the hazard to be so great that they wouldn’t even allow one of their own staff to enter one of the units to turn off a light.
The government’s role in this is shameful. And why is the vendor who provided these trailers not being held accountable? These are my tax dollars, and I don’t consider this money well spent.
Good Morning misshusseinmolly :) This is why the vendors are not being held accountable. This is from: Interim Staff A nalysis Formaldehyde and FEMA Trailers July 2008.
ln the absence of government standards, blaming trailer manufacturersf or doing what was expected of them would be misplaced and ineffective. In the 109th Congress,
The Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina reported the failure of government, at all levels, to prepare and respond to a disaster that devastated people and property. The formaldehyde issuè may demonstrate a continued government failure in some respects.
This comes from an interim report. Interesting read: http://republicans.oversight.house.gov/ Media/ PDFs/ Reports/ 20080709FEMATrailerStaffA nalysis.pdf
Republican spin- No One should be held accountable!!!
July 24th, 2008 at 9:38 am“The McCain campaign has a new web ad out placing Barack Obama [...] side-by-side with [...] Fidel Castro.”
Is this their latest plan to paint Obama as inexperienced? To get people motivated to vote for the old dude?
Cool.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:38 amMarie Says: What’s this I hear about AG Mukasey proposing a formal (yet vague and open-ended) declaration of war on terrorism…
Marie, I’m not aware of any power an Attorney General would have to formally declare War. Of course, doing things that aren’t within your powers has become a Bush/Cheney trademark.
How soon will Mukasey go after Corporations?
July 24th, 2008 at 9:39 am/snark
Seven Western states — Oregon, Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Washington — are “joining four Canadian provinces to propose a plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions through use of a ‘cap and trade’ system.”
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Hmmm…one of these states is McCain’s own Arizona. Has he made a comment on this yet? McCain supports cap and trade systems, but he has been curiously quiet on this subject — probably so as not to offend the climate change deniers whose votes he so desperately needs.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:39 ammisshusseinmolly, I had to put spaces between a nalysis so I wouldn’t get moderated again. When you click the link lose the space after the A. Sorry it was the only way I could post the link.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:40 amCaption:
“This is how much disdain I have for the Constitution and The Bill of Rights”
July 24th, 2008 at 9:41 amCaption:
So yeah, we passed the new FISA law, I walk back my office, and what do you know… there’s Dick Cheney looking like this.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:43 amFreedom Rebel Says
July 24th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Good Morning misshusseinmolly :) This is why the vendors are not being held accountable. This is from: Interim Staff A nalysis Formaldehyde and FEMA Trailers July 2008.
ln the absence of government standards, blaming trailer manufacturersf or doing what was expected of them would be misplaced and ineffective.
__________________________________________________________
Ah yes — if the trailer manufacturer delivered a product that completely met the request-for-bid specs, then it’s the government’s fault for not specifying “no formaldehyde fumes in the finished product”.
Is it just me, or has the world gone crazy?
July 24th, 2008 at 9:44 amI say, Impeach Pelosi.
But first, Bush & Cheney.
BTW, Do you think the Lame Stream Press will carry Kucinich’s
Impeachment Event today?
ah– all bets are off.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:45 amI’m impressed. No trolls today. Either they are all sleeping off some all-night circle jerk elsewhere or TP has done a great job of purging them.
The air really feels cleaner in here!
July 24th, 2008 at 9:48 am“The McCain campaign has a new web ad out placing Barack Obama, for the second time, side-by-side with a foreign dictator,” the Huffington Post reports. “This time, it’s Fidel Castro.”
well obama compared
mcsame to bush.
*
that got them mad.
#
good luck.
*
July 24th, 2008 at 9:49 amCaption Contest:
“Forgive me America, for I know not what I do.”
July 24th, 2008 at 9:49 amZimzone,
July 24th, 2008 at 9:51 amMukasey is proposing that Congress be pressured into declaring an unending, war on global terrorism, against an unidentified enemy. The remarks came at the Repugnican think tank, AEI.
I would scoff at him and laugh at his proposal, but I don’t trut this congress.
The McCain campaign has a new web ad out placing Barack Obama, for the second time, side-by-side with a foreign dictator,” the Huffington Post reports. “This time, it’s Fidel Castro.
Obama needs to put out an ad featuring McCain with a domestic dictator — George W. Bush.
Too easy.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:52 amThe press will cover today’s impeachment hearing, Kay, in the form of Mornin’ Joe having a hearty laugh in front of the camera.
Complicit traitors.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:53 am@ 33 “Forgive me America, for I know not what I do.”
Very, very good.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:53 amSeven Western states — Oregon, Arizona, California, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Washington — are “joining four Canadian provinces to propose a plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions through use of a ‘cap and trade’ system.” The draft plan, which was revealed yesterday by Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s office, focuses on “utilities and industries that are major sources of greenhouse gases.”
Hmmmmm, which one is missing…?
Idaho — naturally.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:54 ammisshusseinmolly Says:
Freedom Rebel Says
July 24th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Good Morning misshusseinmolly :) This is why the vendors are not being held accountable. This is from: Interim Staff A nalysis Formaldehyde and FEMA Trailers July 2008.
ln the absence of government standards, blaming trailer manufacturersf or doing what was expected of them would be misplaced and ineffective.
__________________________________________________________
Ah yes — if the trailer manufacturer delivered a product that completely met the request-for-bid specs, then it’s the government’s fault for not specifying “no formaldehyde fumes in the finished product”.
Is it just me, or has the world gone crazy?
Under “Republican Rule” this country has been in a tailspin. No it’s not just you, I was hoping I would never in my lifetime see anything this tragic.
Have a good day :)
July 24th, 2008 at 9:55 amThe Service Employees International Union accounced an ad campagin against the selling out of America:
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/america-sale/story.aspx?guid=%7B8EB24B37-DB93-4016-95C1-042398A0DDD0%7D&dist=hppr
While I agree with the campaign, SEIU itself is a sell out to its own health care employees. Union President Andy Stern said “employer sponsored health insurance is dead and not coming back”. That leaves the government or employee to pick up the tab. The boys in Washingto are too busy saving ill banks to do anything substantive health care wise. Republicans and Conservative Democrats collaborate alongside Pete Peterson to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
So much selling out, so little true information. The Carlyle Group and the SEIU have much in common.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:55 amConservatives are losing the new-media war, the Politico notes. As the 2008 campaign progresses, “it’s becoming increasingly clear that the absence of any websites on the right devoted to reporting — as opposed to just commenting on the news — is proving politically costly to Republicans.”
Kudos to my fellow liberals who have been a part of this mighty internet engine of education, facts and honesty.
It’s amazing what we can do when we do it together.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:58 ammisshusseinmolly Says:
I’m impressed. No trolls today. Either they are all sleeping off some all-night circle jerk elsewhere or TP has done a great job of purging them.
The air really feels cleaner in here!
July 24th, 2008 at 9:48 am
I hate to break it to one of the top brains of TP, but you JINXED it, missmolly! ;)
Good morning to everyone!
July 24th, 2008 at 9:58 amSome Senators are still proud to associate themselves with President Bush. In “an examination of the wall decorations of all 100 Senate offices,” Politico recently found that “more than a quarter” of the public waiting rooms, 27 in total, feature a picture of Bush. In all, 22 Republicans, four Democrats and one independent display their fondness for Bush on their walls.
It’s always that 25-29%, isn’t it?
July 24th, 2008 at 9:59 amAmbassador Samir Sumaida’ie said “al-Qaeda is finding it now increasingly difficult to operate in Iraq, beginning with the rebellion of the largely Sunni tribes in Anbar Province.”
The Iraqi’s have decided it’s time to take charge of their country once again and they are kicking AQ out of their country. We all knew that is what they would do when they didn’t need them any longer. So, since AQ’s on the run, and the surge has worked (according to the Bushies), I guess that means that we can bring our boys home now.
I kind of feel sorry for the warmongers. They are running out of reasons to continue occupying Iraq. Especially since Iraq has told us to leave.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:00 amThe House approved a “far-reaching government assistance” measure yesterday that allows the Treasury Department to protect mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from collapse and provides “an aggressive plan to help hundreds of thousands of troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure by refinancing their mortgages with more affordable government-insured loans.”
Where’s the Republican outrage?
Where are all the Conservatives to bash government handouts?
Where are the talking heads at FOX Noise to condemn and criticize this move?
Hypocrites.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:01 amstateofthedivision Says:
As a retired union member I can vouch for the fact that unions in America are unions in name only. They exist only for the benifit of the companies. They are hiring halls and nothing more.
Fat cat union leaders are living well while selling thier constituants out. What do you call a union with a no-strike clause? Not a union, that’s for sure.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:02 amZooey Says:
The McCain campaign has a new web ad out placing Barack Obama, for the second time, side-by-side with a foreign dictator,” the Huffington Post reports. “This time, it’s Fidel Castro.
Obama needs to put out an ad featuring McCain with a domestic dictator — George W. Bush.
Too easy.
Good Morning Zooey :) They should print up a few t-shirts also. I’m betting they would be a hit.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:04 amSupervisors at the auditing agency “attempted to intimidate auditors, prevented them from speaking with GAO investigators and created a ‘generally abusive work environment,’ the report said.”
It’s sad to think about what those billions of dollars these contractors have bilked our government for would have done to help the people in this country.
I’m hoping this is something that Obama will address. Do an honest audit of every contractor and make them pay back the money they bilked. And if the fraud was significant, send people to jail.
I suppose this is another story that won’t get any play in the MSM.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:04 amRUCerious Says: How childish. Perhaps Obama can come out with an ad placing McIIIrd side by side with Elmer Fudd, complete with shotgun and silly hunter cap.
Fear-mongering is all he has.
I saw a study of 20th century Presidential elections that showed how, in every case, the taller of the two candidates got the job. Something to do with the psychology of height equalling the appearance of leadership (I’m guessing ‘the biggest animal wins’ instinct).
All we have to do is put Mcain next to Obama, who is a good foot taller. That should convince a good 75% of the undecideds. Letting them speak should convince the rest… :)
July 24th, 2008 at 10:05 am….and provides “an aggressive plan to help hundreds of thousands of troubled borrowers avoid foreclosure by refinancing their mortgages with more affordable government-insured loans.”
It’s about time. I just feel sorry for the thousands of Americans who lost their homes while Congress diddled.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:05 amRepublicans, four Democrats and one independent display their fondness for Bush on their walls.
Lie_ _ _ _ _ _.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:06 amhttp://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/12008.html
This was a interesting article from the politico. I believe that Obama will be elected in November and Democrats with an increased majority in the Congress.
The Huffingtonpost seems to be transitioning to more of an objective news outlet.
I wonder if ThinkProgress will make a similar move. If they don’t, I’m curious what the content will be – if Democrats are holding all the reigns.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:06 amGood morning, Freb.
I’d buy a trunkload of those t-shirts and give them away to my fellow students. :)
July 24th, 2008 at 10:06 am“Raising the prospect that Guantánamo Bay inmates might be unleashed onto the streets of American cities, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Wednesday there is an “urgent” need for Congress to enact a new law governing how federal courts handle legal challenges from detainees at the U.S. prison camp in Cuba.
But Mukasey’s plea for quick passage of a significant new counterterrorism measure essentially fell on deaf ears—at least from the Democrats who control Congress. “Zero,” snapped one key lawmaker, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, when asked the likelihood that Congress will rush to pass the kind of law Mukasey and the Bush administration are seeking. “We don’t have to pass anything,” said Nadler, who chairs the House subcommittee that has primary jurisdiction over the issue, in a brief hallway interview with NEWSWEEK. “Let the courts deal with it.”
Maybe the dems are actually finding their pants? One commenter even suggested letting them all go loose..in Crawford Texas, works for me!
July 24th, 2008 at 10:07 amFrom Newsweek..
A government lawyer argued that “FEMA’s decisions in responding to a disaster, including its use of travel trailers after Katrina, are legally protected from ‘judicial second-guessing.’”
BS. There’s proof that FEMA knew about the problems with these trailers and let them go out anyway. That’s criminal and people should be held responsible.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:07 amFreedom Rebel Says: Ellison Condemns Court Ruling Obstructing a Woman’s Fundamental Right to Choose Calls Forced Language “Orwellian”
I remember the people of South Dakota voting to keep abortion legal.
These wingnuts will stop at nothing to force women to have unwanted babies, which in 18+ years, the wingnuts will want to have lethally injected for some minor injustice. Pro-life? I think NOT.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:08 amMcWars Says
July 24th, 2008 at 9:58 am
you JINXED it, missmolly! ;)
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OMG — what have I done? :-(
My apologies to all. But at least we can enjoy it until Twajie and GG show up in whatever disguise they don for the day.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:10 amZimzone Says: Now, they’re obviously just making shit up.
Lincoln would be spinning in his grave, if that were possible :)
I think the Conservatives have always just made shit up. I can’t think of a single one I’ve ever known who did make up “facts” because they wished them to be true. Maybe not all the time, but often enough to perpetuate the fantasyland ideology they needed to stay sane.
As a former Con, once I started accpeting reality and thinking for myself, it was pretty much inevitable that I ended up a Liberal. I think the same would apply to most Cons. The hardest part is getting them to accept that they were wrong…
July 24th, 2008 at 10:13 amunbelievable Says
July 24th, 2008 at 10:08 am
These wingnuts will stop at nothing to force women to have unwanted babies, which in 18+ years, the wingnuts will want to have lethally injected for some minor injustice. Pro-life? I think NOT.
_______________________________________________________
The movers and shakers of South Dakota are using Ceausescu’s Romania as an ideal to model their society after? Bizarre.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:14 amSen. Barack Obama (D-IL) is in Berlin where he is meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and delivering an address at the “Victory Column” in Tiergarten park.
Obama arrives in Germany
Barack Obama arrived in Germany Thursday morning to much fanfare, as local television stations aired live coverage and fans gathered in the streets for a glimpse at the U.S. Democratic presidential candidate who will be delivering a much anticipated speech here later today.
McCain camp will be in a lather over this very enthusiastic greeting Obama received. Let the spin begin..
July 24th, 2008 at 10:16 amGotta love Mark Pryor’s excuse for having a Bush photo on the wall — it’s really a picture of Pryor sitting with Bono and Bush just “slipped into the frame”. Sounds like a good use for Photoshop to me.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:19 amFred Says: As a retired union member I can vouch for the fact that unions in America are unions in name only. They exist only for the benifit of the companies. They are hiring halls and nothing more.
You can’t judge all unions by your particular experience.
Unions are the reason that we have many of the worker’s rights that we do today.
Sure, some have their issues, but unfortunately, unions are still necessary for the little people to be able to fight Corporate American greed.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:19 amunbelievable Says:
Freedom Rebel Says: Ellison Condemns Court Ruling Obstructing a Woman’s Fundamental Right to Choose Calls Forced Language “Orwellian”
I remember the people of South Dakota voting to keep abortion legal.
These wingnuts will stop at nothing to force women to have unwanted babies, which in 18+ years, the wingnuts will want to have lethally injected for some minor injustice. Pro-life? I think NOT.
Good Morning unbelievable :) Another issue there is that this makes the second time in two years they have to vote on a Abortion Ban. This is absolutely ubsurd.
I agree with you. It is also causing women already to have to cross state lines to get the “morning after pill” because so many drug stores refuse to carry it. I just can’t believe these people are this backward in thinking.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:22 amunbelieveable. This is a pretty broad brush. Do you seriously believe that progressives have a monopoly on the truth?
July 24th, 2008 at 10:26 ammisshusseinmolly Says: The movers and shakers of South Dakota are using Ceausescu’s Romania as an ideal to model their society after? Bizarre.
I wish those who had such deep-seated problems with our Constitutional liberties really would all move to Texas, or Alabama or West Virginia, which could then cede from the union and get to run themselves like the theocratic dictatorship they all long for, and leave the rest of us to our unalienable rights…
July 24th, 2008 at 10:27 amunbelievable Says:
I’m sorry if I wasn’t clear. I am a firm believer in Unions to protect workers and I don’t consider it to be unfortunate unless you consider the present state of unions in the US.
Other countries have unions that work cooperativly and sucessfully with companies for everyones best interest.
A war was declared on unions in the US during the raygun administration and it has been largly won.
I am a student of labor in America. Who that is a union member knows who Samual Gompers was….Joe Hill…Big Bill Haywood. People who sacrificed all, including life for a better life for working Americans.
Unions in America have advisarial relationships with companies…..it’s the good guys against the bad guys. The bad guys in America are powerful and determined.
Unions are in bad shape right now but that does not mean that I think we should not have them. I am just not proud of what they are doing these days.
How can union members openly be republicans….I know it’s America but still it seems so “against their own best interest” and it should be just wrong for a working class person to be a republican, shouldn’t it?
July 24th, 2008 at 10:29 amFreedom Rebel Says: I agree with you. It is also causing women already to have to cross state lines to get the “morning after pill” because so many drug stores refuse to carry it. I just can’t believe these people are this backward in thinking.
Good morning.
I live in Georgia, I can believe it… :)
Seriously, I don’t understand these people either. It’s in the best interest of everyone if we give women the right to govern our own bodies. Often it seems that they are willing to spite themselves in order to oppress others who aren’t just like them. Sick.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:32 ambackup Says:
I wonder if ThinkProgress will make a similar move. If they don’t, I’m curious what the content will be – if Democrats are holding all the reigns.
Democrats aren’t much into reigns; that’s Republican thinking.
When the Democrats hold the REINS, ThinkProgress and the commenters here will be on them like a cheap suit, like white on rice, like flies on sh!t — to walk the walk.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:33 amHere is my response to an email I just got from Nancy Pelosi looking for money:
Ms. Pelosi:
July 24th, 2008 at 10:33 amYou are a disgrace to our country and the Democratic Party. I wouldn’t contribute a nickel to anything with your name on it. Telecom immunity? Impeachment? Continually funding the Iraq occupation? You have failed us at every turn and you should be impeached for violating your oath of office. Obviously, you think the bush regime’s trashing of the constitution and gutting of the Bill of Rights is just fine. Your spineless acquiescence to the commission of domestic crimes and war crimes makes you as culpable as the republicans. You should be very ashamed. I really wish you would just go away.
Ok Captain, how about you show us an example of a republican telling the truth….
July 24th, 2008 at 10:34 amAccording to the Court’s decision, doctors are now required to tell a woman seeking an abortion that the procedure “will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique living human being.”
Until birth, that “unique living human” being is NOT separate. Separation occurs when the cord is cut.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:35 ambackup Says: unbelieveable. This is a pretty broad brush. Do you seriously believe that progressives have a monopoly on the truth?
It’s only limited to the Conservatives I personally know. That’s not very broad at all.
Show me where I used the word ‘truth’. I didn’t. “Truth” is relative. Facts, however, tend to have a liberal bias. It’s why you find so many freethinkers who are liberals…
July 24th, 2008 at 10:35 amunbelievable Says:
Fred Says: As a retired union member I can vouch for the fact that unions in America are unions in name only. They exist only for the benifit of the companies. They are hiring halls and nothing more.
You can’t judge all unions by your particular experience.
This is absolutely correct. There are a good many unions, particularly in the public sector, that work very hard for their members and are certainly not “hiring halls.” And recently we saw demonstrations of the conscience of unions in the west coast dockworkers action.
Slagging on unions just plays into the hands of the “conservatives.”
July 24th, 2008 at 10:37 amgummitch. I hope you’re right. But, let me ask you this:
TP is very good at pointing out conservative bigotry and racism. Especially among conservative christians.
Have they done a thread about Rev. Jesse Jackson, the leader of a progressive (Rainbow/Push) organization using the ‘N’ word when referring to Barack Obama?
July 24th, 2008 at 10:37 amPoint taken. Bitterness over my own situation and lack of coffee do not justify it.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:41 amFred Says: How can union members openly be republicans….I know it’s America but still it seems so “against their own best interest” and it should be just wrong for a working class person to be a republican, shouldn’t it?
Thanks for clarifying. I agree with you.
As someone who has been on both sides of the fence (granted I was a ‘right of center’ Conservative who was pro-choice and Catholic), I cannot tell you why I believed what I did as a Republican. So, my guess is that these people are Republicans because their parents were, and they have always been, and don’t know how to let go even if they have adopted a liberal lifestyle.
Some probably are there to seek the power they could not get in their jobs. They are probably what ruined the system. The whole “good vs. bad” nonsense is a typical absolutist idea that most conservatives follow.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:41 ambackup Says:
Have they done a thread about Rev. Jesse Jackson, the leader of a progressive (Rainbow/Push) organization using the ‘N’ word when referring to Barack Obama?
Didn’t we already go around about this with goon_golly or someone?
Where do you live, backup, that it’s remarkable for a black man to call another one a nigg@@? Seriously. Especially someone of Jackson’s generation? If I’d heard Obama use the word, then I’d be amazed, but not Jesse Jackson. It’s not a speech habit that I personally care for, but I’m not in a position to criticize one individual for doing it. Nor are you.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:42 amRepublican spin- No One should be held accountable!!!
July 24th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Except women who get pregnant.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:43 amExit Stage Left Says:
Here is my response to an email I just got from Nancy Pelosi looking for money:
Ms. Pelosi:
You are a disgrace to our country and the Democratic Party. I wouldn’t contribute a nickel to anything with your name on it. Telecom immunity? Impeachment? Continually funding the Iraq occupation? You have failed us at every turn and you should be impeached for violating your oath of office. Obviously, you think the bush regime’s trashing of the constitution and gutting of the Bill of Rights is just fine. Your spineless acquiescence to the commission of domestic crimes and war crimes makes you as culpable as the republicans. You should be very ashamed. I really wish you would just go away.
Good Morning Exit Stage Left :) Great Job!!! Thank you for letting her know the error of her ways. I second the motion, I want her to go away also, far, far away.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:44 amhttp://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/general_current_events/president_bush/22_believe_bush_knew_about_9_11_attacks_in_advance
unbelieveable. I know a lot of conservatives and a lot of liberals. Many of both groups are very intelligent, but increasingly, less reasonable. I do concede that I find liberals generally more free thinkers (mostly on religious and social issues).
But, the desire to conjure facts, is probably more universal than you think.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:45 ambackup Says:
Have they done a thread about Rev. Jesse Jackson, the leader of a progressive (Rainbow/Push) organization using the ‘N’ word when referring to Barack Obama?
you have fox
for that.
*
real news,
fair and balanced.
#
they report
you decide.
%
July 24th, 2008 at 10:45 amConservatives are losing the new-media war, the Politico notes. As the 2008 campaign progresses, “it’s becoming increasingly clear that the absence of any websites on the right devoted to reporting — as opposed to just commenting on the news — is proving politically costly to Republicans.”
That’s an interesting observation coming from the Politico which is pretty much the only right wing web site that reports on the news. I’m surprised they didn’t pat themselves on the back. But, if they did that they would have to admit that they are the web version of Fox news and they want to keep up the illusion that they are balanced in their reporting.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:45 amunbelievable Says:
Fred Says: How can union members openly be republicans….I know it’s America but still it seems so “against their own best interest” and it should be just wrong for a working class person to be a republican, shouldn’t it?
Thanks for clarifying. I agree with you.
It’s always been wedge issues that succeeded with union members and the working class. When times were relatively good, they were much more inclined to vote against their own economic interests because they found other issues appealing. Being in a union is no barrier to being a racist, for example. Republicans, especially starting with Nixon, excelled in frightening working people about the “others”, whether they were Black people or furriners or commies.
Republicans and “conservatives” thrive in an atmosphere of fear. An atmosfear?
July 24th, 2008 at 10:46 amOnly someone like you would think that they should. How is this relevant to anything?
Besides there will still be several republicans left to kick around……thier foolishness doesn’t stop just because their numbers dwindle.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:48 amgummitch. If Hagee used the ‘n’ word, do you think it would warrant a thread here at TP?
You want to highlight conservative racism, but brush progressive racism under the rug.
And expecting less from black people than you do from whites, is not progressive.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:49 amBriseadh na Faire Says:
Republican spin- No One should be held accountable!!!
July 24th, 2008 at 9:38 am
Except women who get pregnant.
Good morning Briseadh na Faire :) Nice to see you.
Unfortunately, that is how they think. You are so right. It’s that barefoot and in the kitchen mentality rearing it’s ugly head again. I wouldn’t be surprised if phyllis schlafly wasn’t leading the charge.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:51 amFreedom Rebel Says:
McCain camp will be in a lather over this very enthusiastic greeting Obama received.
Meanwhile, McNimrod will be in Bumfcuk holding yet another town hall meeting with a half-filled room.
Good morning Freb. I hope all is well today :)
July 24th, 2008 at 10:51 amjoe, are you comparing TP to Fox?
July 24th, 2008 at 10:52 ambackup Says: But, the desire to conjure facts, is probably more universal than you think.
I’m not sure what your Rassmussen Report has to do with anything, as when the evidence is inconclusive and people who are given a poll with limited responses have to compromise, you don’t get any real sense of anything.
There was evidence (a silly little report called “Osama bin Laden Determined to Attack within the US” that came out during Bush’s tenure, for example) that reasonable people can reasonably consider enough evidence to think he knew.
While all people probably self-decceive to some capacity, my point was, and remains, that the Conservatives I know, and have known, make a habit out of it, and will not retract when reasonable contrary evidence is presented to them.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:54 ambackup Says:
gummitch. If Hagee used the ‘n’ word, do you think it would warrant a thread here at TP?
You want to highlight conservative racism, but brush progressive racism under the rug.
And expecting less from black people than you do from whites, is not progressive.
I don’t need lectures from you about how to be progressive, backup. Far from it. And your failure to distinguish between a cultural phenomenon and racism pretty well illustrates that.
I don’t “expect” anything less from black people, but I have the self-awareness to know that the use of the word is completely different in the black community and is an issue best resolved within that community. It’s clear to me that you haven’t had any experience with black people, or any awareness of their history in this country or you would already know that.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:54 amHow come you are the only one that read that meaning into Joe’s post……you are getting worse captain and if you don’t improve soon I am going to start flagging you for sh!it like this.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:55 amMukasey (from Marie’s link above):
This is a blanket declaration of war against anyone the Commander-in-Chief, the deciderer, chooses. Because “associated organizations” are whomever the “Commander-in-Chief” says they are. There once was a time when combating ununiformed groups who use violence was a function of law enforcement. No more. Now we can invade countries at will, bringing untold devastation, death, disease, destruction and hardship on totally innocent civilian populations on the say-so of the Commander-in-Chief alone.
July 24th, 2008 at 10:58 ambackup Says:
you have fox
for that.
joe, are you comparing TP to Fox?
are you?
*
why?
*
do you post your
concerns about
being fair and balance
on their web site?
or is only here?
*
&
look in the mirror
and ask yourself,
“am i being fair and balanced?
why am i always spamming on tp?
am i jealous of tp’s power and influence?
what can i do to deflect it?”
*
ask yourself,
“what is it that i really want?”
&
good luck.
>
July 24th, 2008 at 11:00 amExit Stage Left Says:
Freedom Rebel Says:
McCain camp will be in a lather over this very enthusiastic greeting Obama received.
Meanwhile, McNimrod will be in Bumfcuk holding yet another town hall meeting with a half-filled room.
Good morning Freb. I hope all is well today :)
Don’t forget by “Invitation Only” can’t let just anyone in. There might be one of those dreaded hecklers in the audience that has a sign with McCain=Bush again. Those librarians are just too liberal for him.
I needed a good laugh, thank you. Doing great today. Hope you are having a good day also :)
July 24th, 2008 at 11:00 amgummitch Says: Republicans and “conservatives” thrive in an atmosphere of fear. An atmosfear?
My father was pretty rightwing and a blatant racist. He was a HUGE supporter of the General Motors union where he worked. I think the union gave him a sense of power that he did not feel he had in other areas of his career. I also think, as you mentioned, he didn’t see blacks and Hispancis as ‘whole people’, so therefore denying them rights was simple.
I don’t know how these people live in constant fear. I couldn’t do it.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:01 amFred.
Here’s Jackson’s background:
He’s a progressive. A democrat. Works for civil rights. And heads a progressive organization. He’s also taken on this cause:
But, he himself uses the ‘N’ word and it’s not relevant?
The situation is hypocritical and is a step backwards in race relations.
And, progressives are silent on the issue.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:03 amFred Says:
backup Says:
joe, are you comparing TP to Fox?
How come you are the only one that read that meaning into Joe’s post……you are getting worse captain and if you don’t improve soon I am going to start flagging you for sh!it like this.
good catch.
he puts words
into other people’s
mouths too.
*
fair and balanced.
#
July 24th, 2008 at 11:03 ambackup Says:
And, progressives are silent on the issue.
you aren’t.
you’ve commented on it
twice (so far, more to come
i’m sure) and progressives have
responded.
*
fox has much more power and influence
than tp. have you ever complained to them
about their lack of objectivity?
*
can you show us some of your complaints
to them?
*
thank you.
#
July 24th, 2008 at 11:09 ambackup Says: And, progressives are silent on the issue.
Let’s see, we have a liited amount of time for news, and you want us to worry about name calling that is acceptable within the black community?
I’d rather focus on real issues, such as the economy, the Iraq Debacle, renewable energy, education reform, socialized health care, and other “stciks and stine” matters that HURT people.
A white saying this is DIFFERENT. Come on. You’re just scraping the bottom of the battle for stuff now. Sheesh!
July 24th, 2008 at 11:10 amSorry for the typos…
July 24th, 2008 at 11:11 amYou are the hypocrit. If you’re really interested in correcting racism in America, look somewhere else, you can’t project your right wing charactoristics onto us.
I’m much more concerned with thing that have happened that affect millions of lives…..
the % of blacks in prison
unemployment figures for blacks
infant and adult mortality for minorities
ect.
Take you rightious indignation somewhere else.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:11 amgummitch. If I’ve failed to distinguish between a cultural phenomenon and racism, apparently, I share the view with Jackson himself:
I see it as a problem, Jackson sees it as a problem. But, you are unwilling to consider it. Why?
July 24th, 2008 at 11:13 ambackup,
your third post
on the same subject.
*
more to come.
:)
(you’re getting redundant.)
^
July 24th, 2008 at 11:19 amTP has gone to great lengths on posting conservative bigotry and racism stories. I’ve agreed on many and chimed in. But, the silence on similar stories that happen on the left, diminishes the credibility of the argument in the long term.
If Rush Limbaugh or McCain or any white guy in the future uses the ‘N’ word and black people or progressives get upset; people can just say: Jackson said it, where was your outrage then?
You are sacrificing credibility on the issue if you aren’t willing to denounce it universally.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:20 ambackup,
why?
#
July 24th, 2008 at 11:20 amConservatives are losing the new-media war,
Dang Ma, I cain’t figger out how ta use this here cumputer thang. I wuld just dump mah blog in tha bed o’ mah pickup, but its up on blocks. An ah dont know whar they put them internet tubes in this gol dern thang.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:23 ambackup Says:
You are sacrificing credibility on the issue if you aren’t willing to denounce it universally.
why?
+
your fourth post on the same
subject here at this
progressive site.
*
i’m sure you are having
equal success at exposing
the hypocrisy of the many
right wing web sites you
comment on, yes?
+
July 24th, 2008 at 11:26 amYou are sacrificing credibility on the issue if you aren’t willing to denounce it universally.
How precious. The troll who only appeared here, after the “permanent republican majority” lay in ruin, (along with conservative credibility), Deigns to lecture us on sacrificing credibility.
I’m sure the irony is lost on him, however.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:30 amjoe. conservatives need their hypocrisy exposed, but not progressives?
If no one ever challenged your views, would they ever progress?
July 24th, 2008 at 11:32 ambarfly. Maybe republicans failed because they refused to listen.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:35 amI’ve got to go. I have a date with Noam Chomsky.
See ya.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:37 amRUCerious Says:
Isn’t Raul now in charge? How about a photo shop of Che Guevera embracing Michelle Obama, wearing the signature black beret? Jackasses.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:17 am Recommend (4) | Report Abuse
I’ve seen a B&W picture of Obama sitting in his bureau under a great painting of Marx (not Julius) in a rightie site…
July 24th, 2008 at 11:41 ambackup Says:
gummitch. If I’ve failed to distinguish between a cultural phenomenon and racism, apparently, I share the view with Jackson himself:
Jackson also joined black leaders in a call for the elimination of the “N-word” throughout the entertainment industry.
I see it as a problem, Jackson sees it as a problem. But, you are unwilling to consider it. Why?
When Jesse Jackson, or any other member of the black community, issues you an invitation to join their conversation on the subject, let me know. You persist in thinking that the issue of a white person calling someone a ni$$er is the same as a black person using the word, otherwise you would stop blathering about “racism”.
It is not my responsibility, or right, to tell black people not to use such a loaded word. There are arguments on both sides of the issue within that community and the conversation is theirs, not yours. I personally agree with the public Jackson, but apparently he was less than sincere. In my workplace, the word is not allowed regardless of who is using it, and that’s a policy I support. But I am certainly not in a position to publicly criticize a black man for using it; I’ll leave that to other black men and women.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:41 ambackup Says:
joe. conservatives need their hypocrisy exposed, but not progressives?
If no one ever challenged your views, would they ever progress?
if you’re not up to task
of challenging conservative
hypocrisy then why are you here?
(i know, because you’re a “concern” troll and
it’s your job. silly question, sorry.)
*
oh, backup
(or should i write “captain mantastic”?)
you and your faux didacticism.
why don’t you go to school instead
of trying to take others there?
don’t be such an elitist.
&
keep an open mind.
learn, do.
start with the man in the mirror
and perhaps when you have
truly changed
others will too.
*
good luck.
+
July 24th, 2008 at 11:42 ambackup Says:
barfly. Maybe republicans failed because they refused to listen.
They failed because Americans got fed up with the over-the-top rhetoric, and the corruption.
July 24th, 2008 at 11:50 ambackup Says:
I’ve got to go. I have a date with Noam Chomsky.
See ya.
when he fails
he retreats.
+
congrats fred,
gummitch,
barfly, et al.
another troll
bites the dust…
:)
July 24th, 2008 at 11:52 amTurkey bombs Kurdish targets in northern Iraq
Thu Jul 24, 2:54 AM ET
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080724/ap_on_re_as/turkey_kurds
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s military says warplanes have bombed 13 Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq.
A statement posted on the military’s Web site says warplanes attacked rebel “facilities” in the Zab region near the border late Wednesday. There was no immediate information on casualties.
Nice peace and freedom has got the USA in Iraq.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:00 pmI’m a little late to add to the comments on unions. Leadership should be challenged when it takes positions against its citizens/members, like SEIU’s comment that employer sponsored health insurance is “dead and not coming back.”
As for West Coast dockworkers, the government-industrial monstrosity (GIM) has an answer for that, Mexican ports and highways. I live in West Texas where they’re building the Ports to Plains corridor and a huge road through Marfa, La Entrada del Pacifico. Since we don’t want people coming from Mexico, why the huge roads? They’re for goods.
The GIM, Eisenhower’s military-industrial complex on steroids, wants to break the back of those West Coast unions. Apparently SEIU’s Andy Stern doesn’t want a similar fate and has acquiesced health insurance to the greedy GIM.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:29 pmbarfly Says:
——————————————————————————–
backup Says:
barfly. Maybe republicans failed because they refused to listen.
They failed because Americans got fed up with the over-the-top rhetoric, and the corruption.
Yes, governing only to enrich yourself and your cronys, while telling your dumbass base that government can’t work, is a poor way to govern.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:30 pmSo, you idiot (backup), just what exactly would you like us to do…?
Tar and feather Jesse Jackson?
Lynch him, maybe?
Shun him?
Deport him?
What??
WTF is wrong with you, you moron?
He has already been castigated by the ‘librul media’ for this gaffe, and I daresay that not a single one of us here approves of his use of the word. Why don’t you get that?
Or is it that you’re just here trying to bullsh*t us all and pretend that you’re not just another stupid effing troll??
July 24th, 2008 at 12:35 pmThis will be my last point on unions. A number of businesses (that have them) don’t want them to go away, but to change dramatically. They need some group to take over traditional corporate benefits. In the recent UAW talks, guess who ended up with the retired employee health plan? The company shifted responsibility to the union via a VEBA.
SEIU Chief Andy Stern is excited about the possibility of becoming relevant in today’s world as a huge purchaser of health insurance for its members. Why else would he capitulate? The leader of a health care employee union should be the last to fall.
Unions want to manage the billions in health insurance premiums, now paid by employees. This us back around to SEIU’s current political theater. While they oppose private equity, they’ll soon be doing a big case of imitation, looking for maximum returns on their investments/reserves.
Money makes the world go ’round. At least that’s the foundation for much of its dysfunctional acts.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:49 pmI know it is not possible but if bush/cheney/ muckdog/palosi all were impeached who would be next in line.?…Not enough coffee and info this morning..Anyone?..Blessings
July 24th, 2008 at 1:08 pmJessie Jackson’s choice of language was inappropriate, but an entire thread on the subject would be ridiculous and not in accord with the current style of TP threads.
July 24th, 2008 at 1:18 pmBut several posters have itterated a negative thought form in the issue: that it is an “issue for the black community”. Is this not a manner of thinking that perpetuates a concept of “difference between blacks and whites” beyond superficial physical traits? (rhetoricl question).This manner of thought says that, “there is ‘us’ (non-black community)and there is ‘them’ (black community). Why put a group into their own “community” based on skin color? (also rhetorical). As long as we continue to differntiate a group of people as different BECAUSE of skin color, even to just say that “dark skinned people have their own ‘community’ (or sub-culture)”, is to segregate them based on race. That many such people aid in this by claiming to be a part of this sub-culture concept themselves does not make it all better. It is a mentality that perpetuates division along racial lines. I am not saying that it is intentional on the part of most people to use this as a division, but if you think about it I believe that you will realize that it does do just that.
Just sayin’.
And dropping the whole issue now.
puddin head Says:
Your mentality is what is being used as an excuse to do away with affirmative action.
July 24th, 2008 at 1:52 pmFred says: Your mentality is what is being used as an excuse to do away with affirmative action.
Actually, it is possible that my argument is used in that way, though I have never seen that. Affirmative Action is still necessary, as is de-segregation of schools. You misread me. The concept that all people of a certain race are part of a sub-culture based solely on race is perpetuating the myth of differences … BASED on race. To continue to support the thinking that “all people of dark skin are part of “the black culture”" is to, unintentionally, support segregation (mentally) based on race. My comment does NOT (emphatically NOT) in any way counter the continued NECESSITY of Affirmative Action. Please try to not interject too much beyond what is actually said. Much appreciated. Thanks. Can we be done with this topic?
July 24th, 2008 at 2:11 pmI’d give FEMA a partial pass on sovereign immunity. They had to get the trailers fast. (I note that the average price of $ 20 k seems a little high for such a big bulk purchase).
However, their footdragging and attempts to outright refuse to let the facts face the light of day sound more to me like intentional malfeasance. As such, any legal protection for them starts crumbling.
July 24th, 2008 at 6:21 pm