ThinkFast: October 31, 2008
ThinkFast: October 31, 2008
“The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment.” Some of the new rules, which are “among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era,” would ease controls on emissions of pollutants, relax drinking-water standards and lift restrictions on mountaintop coal mining.
The federal Bureau of Land Management “is reviving plans to sell oil and gas leases in pristine wilderness areas in eastern Utah that have long been protected from development.” “The proposed sale, which includes famous areas in the Nine Mile Canyon region, would take place Dec. 19, a month before President Bush leaves office.”
According to Justice Department and FAA records, “Attorney General Michael Mukasey has taken personal trips on government jets almost every weekend since he took office less than a year ago at a cost to taxpayers of more than $155,800.” Mukasey was out of Washington on personal trips “for almost half or more of February, May, July and September” and traveled home 45 times from Nov. 2007 to Sept. 2008.
“The next U.S. president will govern in an era of increasing international instability, including a heightened risk of terrorist attacks in the near future, long-term prospects of regional conflicts and diminished U.S. dominance across the globe,” Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said yesterday.
Four days to go: John McCain will be campaigning in Ohio today, including a Columbus rally with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA). Sarah Palin will be holding rallies in York and Latrobe, PA. Barack Obama will be at rallies in Des Moines, IA, and Highland, IN. Joe Biden and his wife will be campaigning in Newark, DE before heading to Ohio.
Former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, who has endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), said on Thursday that the Gov. Sarah Palin(R-AK) could only amount to an “adequate” commander in chief. “[O]f course not,” he said when asked whether Palin is prepared to take over in a crisis.
A study by the independent Tax Policy Center found that “those who make less than $250,000 a year would not see their taxes raised under Senator Barack Obama’s plans. Further, Mr. Obama would generally cut taxes more than Senator John McCain would for households with incomes less than $100,000 a year.” Families making the median income of roughly $50,000 would save nearly $300 more under Obama’s plan than under McCain’s.
Seventy-nine percent of the more than 2,500 immigrants interrogated in a 2004 operation to disrupt potential terrorist attacks were from Muslim-majority countries. The program, conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, questioned thousands but ultimately charged only one in five, mostly on immigration charges.
From July to September this year, Americans reduced their spending by “largest amount in 28 years.” Consumers reduced spending on “cars, furniture, household appliances, clothes and almost everything else,” while businesses reduced spending on “equipment and software” by 5.5 percent.
“At least 7.5 million Americans owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth,” according to a report released today by real estate research firm First American CoreLogic. Another 2.1 million people “stand right on the brink,” with their homes “worth less than 5 percent more than the mortgages they’re paying on them.”
And finally: Wait — is that Hillary Clinton on Family Feud? Oh, no, it’s Teresa Barnwell “who has traveled throughout the world as a Hillary Clinton look-alike for more than 15 years.” She and other “faux stars” will be appearing on the game show from Nov. 3-7.
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Bush is pushing through the last chance corporate welfare before responsibly government takes over.
Man, I hate that guy.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:06 am“The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment.” Some of the new rules, which are “among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era,” would ease controls on emissions of pollutants, relax drinking-water standards and lift restrictions on mountaintop coal mining.”
Goddamn George Bu$h. May he and his handlers suffer eternal agony rotting in hell.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:08 amPredatory governance sees the citizen as prey. The corporate shogunate is the falconer removing the hood from its pet government when occasion warrants.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:10 amFrom July to September this year, Americans reduced their spending by “largest amount in 28 years.”
Gee. I wonder why? I can’t for the life of me see why that would be?
meanwhile: Exxon reports largest profits of any company… ummm… EVER. (Despite reports that people were driving less…. wow…. I mean, utterly flabbergasted… W O W)
October 31st, 2008 at 9:12 amOne more year of Bush II and we’d all be voting communist.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:12 amThe federal Bureau of Land Management “is reviving plans to sell oil and gas leases in pristine wilderness areas in eastern Utah that have long been protected from development.”
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Has anyone come up yet with an adequate explanation as to why oil companies can’t seem to drill on the leases they already have, and why they really, really, really, need leases in pristine wilderness areas and offshore? It’s time we instituted some “use it or lose it” policies. When Exxon is raking in profits by the billions, my sympathy level for the “it’s not profitable enough to drill on our current leases” line is plummeting rapidly.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:13 amDuly filed under “Duh.”
And Mac forgot the cessation of cheap energy, the rise in CO2 forcing, onerous debt, and the collapse of stable financial markets which makes up about 35% of U.S. GDP.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:14 amSome of the new rules, which are “among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era,” would ease controls on emissions of pollutants, relax drinking-water standards and lift restrictions on mountaintop coal mining.
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Let’s see — The Rapture is coming and we haven’t used up all the earth yet…is that the reason?
October 31st, 2008 at 9:15 amThe scurry at the White House sounds like they are not confident that they will steal the election a third time in a row, and so they are trying to get in every last bit of corporate welfare that they can manage (I mean, 8 years of deregulation and a 700 billion dollar bailout just are not enough).
October 31st, 2008 at 9:15 amFormer Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, who has endorsed Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), said on Thursday that the Gov. Sarah Palin(R-AK) could only amount to an “adequate” commander in chief. “[O]f course not,” he said when asked whether Palin is prepared to take over in a crisis.
I think you’re being way too diplomatic there, Ambassador.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:16 amHousing has at least a twenty percent fall ahead to catch up to historical norms as represented by a thirty year moving average. And that’s ignoring the fact that prices after a bubble collapse usually fall below the norm.
Attempts by government to stem this movement are just additions of more cards to the base. It’s still a house of cards.
I feel sorry for President Obama, but if anyone can ameliorate the pain with intelligent action, it is he.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:21 amLet’s see — The Rapture is coming and we haven’t used up all the earth yet…is that the reason?
Nah, it’s to circumvent any and all future lawsuits against the most egregious polluters, most notably the petro-chemical industry.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:21 amAt least 7.5 million Americans owe more on their mortgages
Why must the system support the corporate “right” to bleed every dime out of the consummer, and not support the consummer at all?
Why are the mortgage holder SO STUPID as to not see that it would be in their best interest (read “bottom line”) to reduce people’s mortgage payments? They would extent the length of the loan (which extends the interest they get paid). And it is far more profitable to continue to receive some measure of payment than to have to foreclose and sell at a loss (espescially in this housing market). How does greed blind people even to the point of acting against their own greed? This is dumbfounding.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:21 amSeventy-nine percent of the more than 2,500 immigrants interrogated in a 2004 operation to disrupt potential terrorist attacks were from Muslim-majority countries. The program, conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, questioned thousands but ultimately charged only one in five, mostly on immigration charges.
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Let’s see if I have my math right. 79% of 2,500 immigrants would be 1,975 that came from Muslim-majority countries. Of those, 1 in 5, or 395 were charged with something.
How many were charged with something other than an immigration issue? And what happened to those charged? Were charges dropped? Did they go to trial? Were they deported? Or are they being held without habeus corpus somewhere, languishing?
October 31st, 2008 at 9:21 amI haven’t seen anything that shows that the dems are working hard to watch out for the problems at the early voting machines. Statements of “the dem lawyers are working behind the scenes to check out the possible corrections,” are not comforting to the voters who are worried about bush III.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:22 am“The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers
SPEAK UP CONGRESS. Don’t let the laundry list of a President Obama get any longer.
I’m f ucking sick of this, I wish this airhead of a privileged hick would simply drop dead! Same goes for Dick the Government Rapist.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:23 amHow are the banks able to hold on to the “bail out” funds to pay bonuses and buy other banks? The money was supposed to get the wheels of commerce greased, but it looks like more of the same robbery of the weak to pay off the big money people.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:24 amCageyCretin Says
October 31st, 2008 at 9:15 am
The scurry at the White House sounds like they are not confident that they will steal the election a third time in a row…
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Let’s face it, stealing this election is going to be a much, much tougher job. In 2000 and in 2004, only one state had to be stolen to turn the election.
This year, the Republicans would have to steal a MINIMUM of 4 states — Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. And this is assuming they win Missouri and Indiana legitimately (as well as all the other states where they hold an edge in the polls).
October 31st, 2008 at 9:29 amWell, Congress should have done what I suggested beginning in or before 2006.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:31 amFurther, Mr. Obama would generally cut taxes more than Senator John McCain would for households with incomes less than $100,000 a year.” Families making the median income of roughly $50,000 would save nearly $300 more under Obama’s plan than under McCain’s.
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Why do Republicans hate tax cuts?
October 31st, 2008 at 9:31 ammisshusseinmolly Says:
Why do Republicans hate tax cuts?
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They don’t, misshusseinmolly… they just hate tax cuts that help somebody else.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:34 amfound this link this morning and thought it to be very curious.
has anyone ever sat back and really thought about where these nutjobs are trying to steer the country (and hence, the world)?
October 31st, 2008 at 9:36 amOT, Sorry my work schedule prevents me from commenting very often but I read them all every day.
Chalk up six votes for Obama/Biden yesterday in NV (had a bit of a family outing). Equally encouraging…minus 2 for Mcain. My friend and his wife will NEVER vote for a Dem, and he and his wife can’t stand Mcain so they’re sitting this one out!
While in line, I ran into 15-20 people who were first time voters and ALL voting for Obama. At least there is a bit of encouraging news out here.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:38 amMcWars Says:
SPEAK UP CONGRESS. Don’t let the laundry list of a President Obama get any longer.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:23 am
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Well, that’s the problem, isn’t it? What can Congress do about this, other than begin trying to micro-legislate federal regulaitons that traditionally have fallen under the jurisdiction of the executive agencies?
However, there is something WE can do about it. If these regulations are proposed and enacted according to the law, they must be published in the Federal Register and opened up to public comment and scrutiny. We can voice our objections to any proposed rules that will weaken consumer and environmental protections.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:38 amMcWars Says:
“The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers…”
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They seem intent on farking up every last single thing they can as they crawl back under their rocks. And you just wait for the moaning and the p*ssing and the soiling of the Depends once they’re finally sent packing.
These miserable, enormously destructive SOBs will file every possible lawsuit under the sun, screaming this or that Just Isn’t Fair. They will everything and anything they can to tie the next Admin & Congress in knots so they get as little done as possible, all whilst screaming bloody murder at the top of their lungs.
Long John BOOOOOOOner will undoubtedly cry, again…
And don’t forget the paper shredders running late into the night all over DC, and the hundreds, nay thousands, of hard drives being beaten to smithereens w/ hammers as we speak.
I’m gonna HATE the GOOPers the rest of my life after this…
October 31st, 2008 at 9:41 amI have a question. If one makes it to the polls at the opening time (6:00 AM), in general would that enable me to avoid the long lines and be in and out? I live in a town of roughly 125,000 with 25 voting precincts.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:42 amdur chimpfurher is just trying to flip-off the public one more time with a few giant figurative fingers.
On the bright side, maybe this does indicate that the criminal cabal behind this administration no longer intends to make him “the decider” for life.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:44 amMcWars Says:
I have a question. If one makes it to the polls at the opening time (6:00 AM), in general would that enable me to avoid the long lines and be in and out? I live in a town of roughly 125,000 with 25 voting precincts.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:42 am
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In theory, yes. However, it all depends on how many other residents of your town also had the idea of getting to the polls at 6:00 AM in order to avoid the long lines.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:44 amTH — However, there is something WE can do about it. If these regulations are proposed and enacted according to the law, they must be published in the Federal Register and opened up to public comment and scrutiny. We can voice our objections to any proposed rules that will weaken consumer and environmental protections.
Thanks for passing this along, H. Toasterhead. You know your government. And since Obama knows his government, too, this will provide him a direct reminder (he’s going to need a lot of reminders in order to know where to start and maintain the pace in dealing with the havoc left to him) so this doesn’t get swept under the rug.
I will bookmark this.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:49 amIt is amazing (and disappointing) when our rallying cry becmes “make it impossible to steal 2008″ instead of “let’s lock up criminal cabal that stole 2000 & 2004″
Especially since the dems ran on a “change” platform and took the house and senate in a historic election.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:50 amMcWars Says
October 31st, 2008 at 9:42 am
I have a question. If one makes it to the polls at the opening time (6:00 AM), in general would that enable me to avoid the long lines and be in and out? I live in a town of roughly 125,000 with 25 voting precincts.
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If your polling place is expected to be crowded, getting there at the opening bell is probably your best bet. If you can’t manage that, generally avoiding the pre-work, lunch-time, and after work times works best (in other words, go between 9:00 and 11:00 am or between 2:00 and 4:00 pm).
Does your state have early voting? If so, your polling place may be less crowded on Election Day itself than you might think. Many people are voting early where possible “to avoid the long lines” on Election Day. And this, of course, makes the Election Day lines shorter.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:50 amAnd isn’t it Exxon who has advertising of late describing how it is now able to explore and extract oil from the recesses and shale that heretofore had been inextricable? Well, then, use this new technology on all the old “abandoned” fields that had stopped shedding the easy oil for them to profit from, and after they spend a few billion extracting that, THEN we will talk about where to drill more.
FCUKING SCUMBAG MUDDFUGGAS.
BUSH NEEDS TO DIE!
October 31st, 2008 at 9:51 amhey TP – why did you change it to “More »”, after the campaign update? it used to be something like “continue…” and the comments were there at the end… i click convenience…
i really liked it that way… very curious…
October 31st, 2008 at 9:53 am“… weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers …”
“… reviving plans to sell oil and gas leases in pristine wilderness areas …”
CAN OUR CONGRESS DO NOTHING ABOUT THIS???!!!!!!!!!
October 31st, 2008 at 9:55 amMission: Accomplished!
This perfidy is perfectly consistent with the whole trajectory of the Bushevik regime: Their mission since their illicit installation has been to deliver to the CorpoRat fux as much as possible of the Public Commons, and to cripple the capacity of the people to prohibit it by undoing any and every instrument or institution of popular sovereignty that might assist the People to resist this wholesale thievery.
Lame ducks, my ass. They need their legs plumb cut off ‘em.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:58 amThanks Toasterhead and missmolly!
miss molly, here in Virginia you have to give an approved reason for voting early or absentee. I live within short walking distance of my voting booth, so I didn’t bother applying. I’m thinking about getting down to the library (my voting spot) up to an hour before the polls open.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:01 amI voted yesterday at one of the 7 early-voting centers in Albuquerque. There were 4 electronic tabulators, and each had already registered more than 1500 ballots. A polling official told me that this was one of the least busy centers, and that already nearly 80,000 voters had done their civic duty, statewide…I am going to be a poll judge election day…
October 31st, 2008 at 10:02 amIt would also depend on how many of those 125,000 were registered voters and whether or not early voting has been going on prior to election day. In my experience, if I waited until Election Day to vote, if I got there when the polls opened, I’ve never had to wait. But that was then…and this is now. If you can vote early, I would do so.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:04 amMcWars Says:
I have a question. If one makes it to the polls at the opening time (6:00 AM), in general would that enable me to avoid the long lines and be in and out? I live in a town of roughly 125,000 with 25 voting precincts.
October 31st, 2008 at 9:42 am
Vote early if you can. Normally getting up at 6 am to vote wouldn’t be a problem, but hopefully voter turnout will be huge. :-)
October 31st, 2008 at 10:06 amMcWars – just read your comment that in VA you have to have an “approved” reason to vote early. That sucks.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:07 amkaty Says:
CAN OUR CONGRESS DO NOTHING ABOUT THIS???!!!!!!!!!
October 31st, 2008 at 9:55 am
You can do something about it.
For example, there’s a proposed rule for regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act whose comment period ends on November 28. The EPA is asking us for our input on exactly how they should go about regulating emissions from motor vehicles, buildings, and other sources. Stephen Johnson is trying to say, in a very long and technical rant, that the science on the greenhouse effect is incomplete and they shouldn’t have to regulate any of it cause it’d be too much effort.
We’re invited to post our opinions on the matter. Let’s do so.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:10 amCouple Things!
2 arrested for hanging Obama effigy on Ky. campusA University of Kentucky student and another man were arrested Thursday, accused of hanging a life-sized likeness of Barack Obama from a tree on the campus
Homeowners Pull Down Palin Effigy in W Hollywood; No arrests
An effigy of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been taken down from a West Hollywood home, after the homeowner discussed the situation with the city’s mayor.
You think there is a double standard in America?
Liberal writer for blog stabs lesbian ex 200 times
October 31st, 2008 at 10:10 amA Huffington Post writer stabbed her former lover more than 200 times with a screwdriver and then tried to conceal the slaying
I hope that, sooner rather than later, states begin to follow Oregon’s lead with mail-only voting. No long lines, no standing in the snow to vote (or rain, really), and a high percentage of voters turning out. I voted about 10 ten days ago.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:10 amAIG used billions from Fed but hasn’t said for what
The American International Group is rapidly running through $123 billion in emergency lending provided by the Federal Reserve, raising questions about how a company claiming to be solvent in September could have developed such a big hole by October. Some a*n*a*l*ysts say at least part of the shortfall must have been there all along, hidden by irregular accounting.
“You don’t just suddenly lose $120 billion overnight,” said Donn Vickrey of Gradient A*n*a*l*ytics, an independent securities research firm in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Vickrey says he believes AIG must have already accumulated tens of billions of dollars worth of losses by mid-September, when it came close to collapse and received an $85 billion emergency line of credit by the Fed. That loan was later supplemented by a $38 billion lending facility.
But losses on that scale do not show up in the company’s financial filings. Instead, AIG replenished its capital by issuing $20 billion in stock and debt in May and reassured investors that it had an ample cushion. It also said that it was making its accounting more precise.
Vickery and other a*n*a*l*ysts are examining the company’s disclosures for clues that the cushion was threadbare and that company officials knew they had major losses months before the bailout.
Tantalizing support for this argument comes from what appears to have been a behind-the-scenes clash at the company over how to value some of its derivatives contracts. An accountant brought in by the company because of an earlier scandal was pushed to the sidelines on this issue, and the company’s outside auditor, PricewaterhouseCoopers, warned of a material weakness months before the government bailout.
The internal auditor resigned and is now in seclusion, according to a former colleague. His account, from a prepared text, was read by Representative Henry Waxman, Democrat of California and chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, in a hearing this month.
These accounting questions are of interest not only because U.S. taxpayers are footing the bill at AIG but also because the post-mortems may point to a fundamental flaw in the Fed bailout: the money is buoying an insurer — and its trading partners — whose cash needs could easily exceed the existing government backstop if the housing sector continues to deteriorate.
Edward Liddy, the insurance executive brought in by the government to restructure AIG, has already said that although he does not want to seek more money from the Fed, he may have to do so.
Fear that the losses are bigger and that more surprises are in store is one of the factors beneath the turmoil in the credit markets, market participants say.
“When investors don’t have full and honest information, they tend to sell everything, both the good and bad assets,” said Janet Tavakoli, president of Tavakoli Structured Finance, a consulting firm in Chicago. “It’s really bad for the markets. Things don’t heal until you take care of that.”
AIG has declined to provide a detailed account of how it has used the Fed’s money. The company said it could not provide more information ahead of its quarterly report, expected next week, the first under new management. The Fed releases a weekly figure, most recently showing that $90 billion of the $123 billion available has been drawn down.
AIG has outlined only broad categories: some is being used to shore up its securities-lending program, some to make good on its guaranteed investment contracts, some to pay for day-to-day operations and — of perhaps greatest interest to watchdogs — tens of billions of dollars to post collateral with other financial institutions, as required by AIG’s many derivatives contracts.
No information has been supplied yet about who these counterparties are, how much collateral they have received or what additional tripwires may require even more collateral if the housing market continues to slide.
Tavakoli said she thought that instead of pouring in more and more money, the Fed should bring AIG together with all its derivatives counterparties and put a moratorium on the collateral calls. “We did that with ACA,” she said, referring to ACA Capital Holdings, a bond insurance company that filed for bankruptcy in 2007.
Of the two big Fed loans, the smaller one, the $38 billion supplementary lending facility, was extended solely to prevent further losses in the securities-lending business. So far, $18 billion has been drawn down for that purpose.
For securities lending, an institution with a long time horizon makes extra money by lending out securities to shorter-term borrowers. The borrowers are often hedge funds setting up short trades, betting a stock’s price will fall. They typically give AIG cash or cashlike instruments in return. Then, while AIG waits for the borrowers to bring back the securities, it invests the money.
Sorry for the long entry, but there is more at the International Herald Tribune.
**Damnit, TP – this took me quite a while to format (injured) and your stupid blocking software forced me to redo it. I guess this current administration’s penchant for secrecy extends to bailout and Fed loans. They are very happy to take OUR money without providing any accountability. They will spend the money the way they want to and to hell with any details. They already know if any of them get subpoenaed by Congress they won’t show up. It’s a great job if you can get it! And then there are the golden parachutes
October 31st, 2008 at 10:12 amMcWars Says:
miss molly, here in Virginia you have to give an approved reason for voting early or absentee. I live within short walking distance of my voting booth, so I didn’t bother applying. I’m thinking about getting down to the library (my voting spot) up to an hour before the polls open.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:01 am
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Do you commute to work outside of your county? If so, that’s an approved reason for voting absentee.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:12 amBam_Bam Says:
Couple Things!
Same old troll posting irrelevant links.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:14 amIf you ever wondered about so-called “Christians” who spend their hours accumulating material wealth, it turns out that they secretly worship the same entity that got Moses so ticked off.
Be sure to click through for all the photos and the video.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:16 am“The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment.” Some of the new rules, which are “among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era,” would ease controls on emissions of pollutants, relax drinking-water standards and lift restrictions on mountaintop coal mining.
Don’t these idiots realize that if they keep de-regulating everything that protects consumers, that one of these days there won’t be any consumers left for them to squeeze every last penny we have out of us?
October 31st, 2008 at 10:17 amBam_Bam Says:
2 arrested for hanging Obama effigy on Ky. campus
Homeowners Pull Down Palin Effigy in W Hollywood;
You think there is a double standard in America?
October 31st, 2008 at 10:10 am
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You’re so right. There is a total double standard in this country. I mean, why is it that the KKK lynched all those black people, but never ONCE lynched a hockey mom? How fair is THAT?
October 31st, 2008 at 10:18 amYou think there is a double standard in America?
Very likely there is, one for the wealthy and connected, and one for the rest of us…but i fail to see how the ’stories’ you linked suggest it…
in your case it seems less like a double standard than half a brain.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:19 amWe’re invited to post our opinions on the matter. Let’s do so.
I got a better idea: Let’s wrap up Mr. Johnson in a nice, cose-fitting coat of tar and feathers, strap him to a rail-road tie, and float him a couple miles down the Potomac…
October 31st, 2008 at 10:21 amBam_Bam Says:
How in hell do you look yourself in the mirror every morning knowing you’re a bigot?
October 31st, 2008 at 10:21 am
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Good question. Perhaps you’d like to share some tips from your own experience.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:22 amBam_Bam Says:
What a small minded statement. How can you make such a generalized statement with only pictorial evidence? How in hell do you look yourself in the mirror every morning knowing you’re a bigot?
Hey, I’m not the one worshiping the golden calf. Sorry you don’t see the irony.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:22 amhussein toasterhead Says:
You’re so right. There is a total double standard in this country. I mean, why is it that the KKK lynched all those black people, but never ONCE lynched a hockey mom? How fair is THAT?
So by sighting past injustices you can justify such behavior? Man you libs are a bunch of hypocrites.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:22 amWhat a small minded statement.
only ’small-minded’ to a practicing half-wit, which you’ve already proven yourself to be…
October 31st, 2008 at 10:22 amThe White House can change all the rules and regulations they want. When Obama is elected he will simply change them all back.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:24 amhussein toasterhead Says:
Good question. Perhaps you’d like to share some tips from your own experience.
I’m not the one justifying the lynching of a political figure simply because somebody else did it.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:26 amWhat are suggesting with the endless links to lame images?
October 31st, 2008 at 10:26 amBam_Bam Says:
October 31st, 2008 at 10:21 am
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
I would think a piss-soaked warty troll such as yourself would have some idea of the 10 Commandments.
Not that you’d ever live by them, of course…
October 31st, 2008 at 10:26 amMark701 Says:
The White House can change all the rules and regulations they want. When Obama is elected he will simply change them all back.
Read the article. Unlike the Clinton administration, the Bushies planned this well in advance and it will be extremely difficult to reverse the regulations, at least in a timely manner. The incoming Bush minions reversed a few hundred regulations because the Clinton administration had waited too long to institute them.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:28 amRe: Commenting on proposed rule changes by the Chimp Abomination. Several of you are correct about voicing your feelings on proposed rule changes that would further skewer the earth. However before you get too carried away there is one little thing you need to remember, and I say this as a recent retiree from 31 years with a federal “regulatory” agency that implements the Endangered Species Act. The thing is this – if and when you send in comments send them with scientific facts attached or associated. Provide some information that is not already included in the rule making document. Simply writing in and blowing off steam about how disgusting mountaintop mining is (for instance) will only help you relieve some angst. In the rule making process unless you have something tangible to add – something that the rule makers forgot to include or overlooked on purpose, you are, as we used to say in North Dakota, “pouring water down a badger hole.”
I’m not saying don’t get involved. I’m just saying get involved with irrefutable data or find yourself wasting your time.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:28 amBam_Bam Says:
So by sighting past injustices you can justify such behavior? Man you libs are a bunch of hypocrites.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:22 am
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Past injustices are the basis of present-day racial relations. These past injustices are the reasons why hanging an effigy of a black man from a tree is a hate crime, whereas hanging an effigy of a white woman is not. If it’s hypocrisy to understand this distinction, than I’m proud to be a hypocrite.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:28 amBam_Bam Says:
I’m not the one justifying the lynching of a political figure simply because somebody else did it.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:26 am
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Yes you are. You posted about the lynching of the Obama effigy, therefore you support it.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:29 amBam-Bam. quess you didn’t read the entire article in your first link. No charges were filed in the other FOUR cases; three of which were effigies of Obama that were hung. Looks like you have your own double standard when it comes to telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
It was the second time in about a month such an effigy was found on a college campus. George Fox University, a small Christian college in Oregon, recently punished four students who confessed to hanging a likeness of Obama from a tree.
Meanwhile, a Redondo Beach, Calif., woman removed a Halloween effigy of Barack Obama that was hanging from her balcony with a butcher knife in its neck. She took it down Thursday after neighbors complained.
In West Hollywood, Calif., a man removed an effigy of GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin from his yard Wednesday after several weeks of complaints.
And in Clarksville, Ind., a man had hanged an inflatable doll made to look like Obama from a tree. He took it down Wednesday, and authorities said it didn’t appear to violate any state laws.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:29 amI would like to take this time to officially thank Ashley Todd for the Halloween costume! I wasn’t sure if enough people would get it, but EVERYONE who has seen it has been cracking up.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:31 ammisshusseinmolly Says:
Has anyone come up yet with an adequate explanation as to why oil companies can’t seem to drill on the leases they already have, and why they really, really, really, need leases in pristine wilderness areas and offshore?
misshusseinmolly, Oil companies own leases on a lot of land that they have already evaluated as being oil or gas free. These leases remain on their books but they will not be drilling looking for nothing. Essentially, the new leases are on property that hasn’t had seismic work done so they don’t know if there is oil there yet.
I’m not defending them, the areas were protected for a reason and that reason has not changed nor has the situation got to the last resort stage yet. I just wanted to point out that having a lease for resources does not mean there is resources there.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:31 am#63 – Curlew – thank you for the suggestion.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:33 amZooey Says:
“You shall have no other gods before me.”
I would think a piss-soaked warty troll such as yourself would have some idea of the 10 Commandments.
Not that you’d ever live by them, of course…
State’s Computer Checks On ‘Joe’ More Extensive Than First Acknowledged
A state agency has revealed that its checks of computer systems for potential information on “Joe the Plumber” were more extensive than it first acknowledged.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:34 amZooey Says:
What does the Liberal playbook say when one of the loons get called out for making a bigoted statement? Insult, Insult, Insult, and Destroy every shred of credibility.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:34 amhussein toasterhead Says:
Past injustices are the basis of present-day racial relations. These past injustices are the reasons why hanging an effigy of a black man from a tree is a hate crime, whereas hanging an effigy of a white woman is not. If it’s hypocrisy to understand this distinction, than I’m proud to be a hypocrite.
There you go!! Don’t you feel better now that you got that off your chest? Baby steps!
October 31st, 2008 at 10:38 amCurlew Says:
The thing is this – if and when you send in comments send them with scientific facts attached or associated. Provide some information that is not already included in the rule making document. Simply writing in and blowing off steam about how disgusting mountaintop mining is (for instance) will only help you relieve some angst.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:28 am
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This is a very good point – thank you. It’s true – these rules are very detailed and technical, and there’s quite a lot I don’t know about, say, cooling systems and discharge procedures for hydrazine storage tanks.
In your experience, how much of a role do public comments play in issuing of final regulations?
October 31st, 2008 at 10:39 amBam_Bam Says:
There you go!! Don’t you feel better now that you got that off your chest? Baby steps!
October 31st, 2008 at 10:38 am
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Yup!
Say, how come you don’t update thinkprogresswatch anymore, Trajan? Ran out of stuff to whine about?
October 31st, 2008 at 10:40 amRe: Commandments–Not that you’d ever live by them, of course…
October 31st, 2008 at 10:26 am
There are only 4 that matter: Don’t kill, steal, lie, or envy. All the rest are pertinent to maintaining theocratic orthodoxy.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:41 amAnd even the one ostensibly prohibiting lying really only forbids “bearing false witness against a neighbor,” not “lying, per se.
The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment.” Some of the new rules, which are “among the most controversial deregulatory steps of the Bush era,” would ease controls on emissions of pollutants, relax drinking-water standards and lift restrictions on mountaintop coal mining.
At the eleventh hour, fifty seventh minute, BushitCo hard at work giving it all they’ve got to enrich their corporate crony/masters.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:43 amHere’s hoping an Obama victory on Tuesday will result in the repeal of these regulatory shivs the first week of February, 2009.
Four days to go:
October 31st, 2008 at 10:43 amPaper ballots please.
Bam_Bam Says:
What does the Liberal playbook say when one of the loons get called out for making a bigoted statement?
October 31st, 2008 at 10:34 am
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The only one here making bigoted statements here is you, and we’re calling you out on it.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:44 am“The next U.S. president will govern in an era of increasing international instability, including a heightened risk of terrorist attacks in the near future, long-term prospects of regional conflicts and diminished U.S. dominance across the globe,” Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell said yesterday.
The BushitCo legacy will keep stinging this nation for decades, if not generations.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:45 amBam_Bam Says:
October 31st, 2008 at 10:34 am
The troll handboook apparently requires whining and sniveling, picking crusty underpants out of your ass crack, and going at least two knuckles deep in the nose for breakfast.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:52 amNew moves toward deregulation by Cheney-Bush point up, once again, how crass and corrupt they are and ALWAYS have been.
October 31st, 2008 at 10:59 amThe White House can change all the rules and regulations they want. When Obama is elected he will simply change them all back.
Read the article. Unlike the Clinton administration, the Bushies planned this well in advance and it will be extremely difficult to reverse the regulations, at least in a timely manner. The incoming Bush minions reversed a few hundred regulations because the Clinton administration had waited too long to institute them.
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October 31st, 2008 at 11:01 amI’m an environmental regulator and trust me when I say, changing them back is not as difficult as it seems. There was no will at the EPA, with the exception of the head of the EPA who Bush appointed, to make the changes Bush and Cheney wanted. Some of the time it took was a reflection of this fact. The vast majority of EPA would be wildly in favor of reinstituting the older regulations and would move quickly to see it done.
Good morning, (almost) everyone!
I’m disgusted by the usual crap and corruption from the Botchies.
I also wanted to let you know that all my friends and I are heavily involved in this election: canvassing for Obama, lawyers working for his campaign, etc. — and as for me, I’m a precinct Inspector here in southern California and I’ll be working all day Nov. 4th to make sure that in at least one precinct (mine), things will go smoothly.
Take heart – our long national nightmare is almost over.
~A
October 31st, 2008 at 11:11 amLeftside Annie Says
October 31st, 2008 at 11:11 am
I also wanted to let you know that all my friends and I are heavily involved in this election: canvassing for Obama, lawyers working for his campaign, etc. — and as for me, I’m a precinct Inspector here in southern California and I’ll be working all day Nov. 4th to make sure that in at least one precinct (mine), things will go smoothly.
___________________________________________________________
Bless you and everyone like you who are working your butts off to get our country restored to greatness. And thank you from the bottom of my heart.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:20 amLeftside Annie Says:
I’m a precinct Inspector here in southern California and I’ll be working all day Nov. 4th to make sure that in at least one precinct (mine), things will go smoothly.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:11 am
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Sweet – thank you for doing this. I’ll be working as an election officer here in Virginia as well, doing whatever I can to keep this election free and fair.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:25 amHere’s an oldie that I re-tooled just for our troll.
It’s taken from “Let the Sun Shine In” as sung by Pebbles and Bam Bam from the olf Flintstones cartoon:
The Economy is tanking
And just in case you didn’t know
It’s thanks to the Republicans
And I’ve learned to hate them so
They’ll cause us all more trouble
If you vote them into power,
They’ll do nothing for you ever
But their grapes will soon be sour
So vote Obama in
Elect him with a grin
McCain and Palin lose
But Americans will win
So vote Obama in
Elect him with a grin
Open up the polls and vote Obama in
When Palin bats her eyes
Republicans wear a grin
But oh, they start a-running
When George comes walking in
I know they’ll be unhappy
When next Tuesday rolls around
We’ll vote them out of office
And start cleaning up that town
If you don’t get out and vote
You’ve got no one else to blame
The last thing we all need
Is four years of the McSame
Even if the lines are long
And they tell you he won’t win
Tell ‘em to go Cheney themselves
And vote Obama in
So vote Obama in
October 31st, 2008 at 11:25 amElect him with a grin
McCain and Palin lose
But Americans will win
So vote Obama in
Elect him with a grin
Open up the polls and vote Obama in.
olf s/b old
October 31st, 2008 at 11:26 amBush recently made an appointment to rush the big oil agenda in his final months:
To this end, he appointed Cheney henchman, F. Chase Hutto, III to Acting Assistant Secretary of Energy (International Affairs and Domestic Policy). Hutto has a long track record of supporting big oil.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:28 amWhat happen to Bam Bam? Did he split for Cancun again?
October 31st, 2008 at 11:29 amBush ushered in another era of Buyer Beware. Between corporate leadership not having a clue on quality and Bush’s decimating consumer protections, the store is a much more dangerous place.
That includes your pharmacy as well as the grocery section.
October 31st, 2008 at 11:30 amMike McConnell’s report card on the Bush administration:
“era of increasing international instability, including a heightened risk of terrorist attacks, long-term prospects of regional conflicts and diminished U.S. dominance across the globe”
Heckuva job, Bushie! F
October 31st, 2008 at 11:32 amThank you, MissMolly and HT – coming from you, well, it means a lot. :oD
~A
October 31st, 2008 at 11:51 amBB, enjoy Wednesday morning!
October 31st, 2008 at 12:02 pm“The White House is working to enact a wide array of federal regulations, many of which would weaken government rules aimed at protecting consumers and the environment.”
We need to pass a law or amend the constitution or something to say that the only thing a President can do after an election is to sign or veto bills. The way it is right now there’s too much room for an exiting President to do spiteful things like Bush is doing.
Everything he does between the election and Obama taking office can be undone by Obama. But, it’s just making his job all that harder, which I am sure is the intention of the Republican party.
October 31st, 2008 at 1:20 pmmisshusseinmolly Says:
Bless you and everyone like you who are working your butts off to get our country restored to greatness. And thank you from the bottom of my heart.
That’s one thing I will miss about living in Oregon where we vote by mail. We miss the excitement of voting day. On the other hand, we are also working our butts of calling people to remind them to vote, picking up people with no transportation to take them to the library to drop off their ballots, etc.
I do prefer the way we vote and I hope that Obama pushes a policy whereby the entire nation votes by mail. I really don’t understand why more states haven’t already gone to voting by mail. All states have absentee ballots, well those are vote by mail! Why not let all citizens do it that way? I am sure that the Republicans will object because voting by mail will stop their voter disenfranchisement shenanigans. But they can hardly complain because Republicans LOVE absentee voting. So, they really would not have a leg to stand on objecting to vote by mail.
October 31st, 2008 at 1:29 pmBam_Bam Says:
2 arrested for hanging Obama effigy on Ky. campusA University of Kentucky student and another man were arrested Thursday, accused of hanging a life-sized likeness of Barack Obama from a tree on the campus
Homeowners Pull Down Palin Effigy in W Hollywood; No arrests
An effigy of Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has been taken down from a West Hollywood home, after the homeowner discussed the situation with the city’s mayor.
You think there is a double standard in America?
Bam, you really do need to take a critical thinking course at your local junior college. There is a big difference between the two cases. The first (Obama) was done on University Property, thereby the University had the right to punish the miscreants. The second (Palin) was on private property. What a homeowner does on his private property is his business even if it is reprehensible.
BTW, did you catch Keith Olberman chastising the homeowner who hung the Palin effigy? No…I thought not.
October 31st, 2008 at 1:43 pmBam_Bam Says:
So by sighting past injustices you can justify such behavior? Man you libs are a bunch of hypocrites.
This said with a straight face by a hypocrite right winger. I guess he has forgotten that the right has justified everything Bush has done wrong by saying “Clinton did it too”.
This one is hopeless.
October 31st, 2008 at 1:46 pmBam_Bam Says:
So by sighting past injustices you can justify such behavior? Man you libs are a bunch of hypocrites.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Actually we are not you are just REALLY stupid. The arrests were for burglary and theft. NOT for hanging an effigy. How in the WORLD would someone be arrested for theft and burglary for hanging an effigy THEY OWN in THEIR OWN YARD? You really are a moron arent you. Notice the liberal LA politician said it was offensive and talked the guy into taking it DOWN? When you have a story about someone STEALING something to hang an effigy and not being held accountable get back to us until THEN you idiot save us your constant stream of abject stupidity
October 31st, 2008 at 7:03 pm