Comments on: ThinkFast: July 9, 2009

By: Foxtrottango2

Foxtrottango2 — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 18:22:58 +0000

An honest politician is one who when he is bought will stay bought. – Simon Cameron, US politician, 1860

Since a politician never believes what he says, he is surprised when others believe him. -Charles de Gaulle, French soldier and Statesman, 1962

The most distinctive characteristic of the successfjul politician is selective cowardice. -Richard Harris, British actor, 1968

A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar. – H.L. Menchen, US Essayist, philologiest and critic 1958

Reminds one of the Republican party, doesn’t it?

By: karadagli61

karadagli61 — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 23:35:49 +0000

Thanks

By: FOIA Gras

FOIA Gras — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 20:03:22 +0000

CIA Director Leon Panetta recently testified to Congress that the agency concealed information and misled lawmakers repeatedly since 2001

How does this reconcile with Panetta’s pushback on Rep. Pelosi over her statements on torture briefings?

By: patriot1776liber

patriot1776liber — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 19:01:18 +0000

The CIA lied to a bunch of self serving politicians who have repeatedly divulged and leaked information for personal and political gain in the past? WOW that is encouraging. At least our premier international intelligence gathering apparatus is learning. Unfortunately the American people seem to be lagging on the learning curve as usual…

By: oldgranny

oldgranny — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:40:18 +0000

Marie @ 48,
Excellent point about not giving the regreedicans too much info. They would just put their own spin on it and use it against Obama.

By: Uncle Ho

Uncle Ho — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:46:59 +0000

Leftside Annie says:
I concur-any Repiggies in my boat would be shark-bait real quick.

By: Leftside Annie

Leftside Annie — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:37:25 +0000

Good morning, all – very impressive comments this morning, especially from missmolly, angels81 and Briseadh!!

Gotta tell ya, MissM – if those Republicans were in MY lifeboat – I’d throw their asses overboard right quick. ;o)

By: stateofthedivision

stateofthedivision — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:23:36 +0000

Although two-thirds of country “lives in large metropolitan areas, home to the nation’s worst traffic jams and some of its oldest roads and bridges,” these cities and their surrounding regions are “getting less than half the money from the biggest pot of transportation stimulus money.

Two points:

1. Infrastructure stimulus money was a relatively small portion of the plan, especially in comparison to China’s simulus plan.

2. The Obama team pushed infrastructure via a separate $10 billion National Infrastructure Bank. Private equity underwriters (PEU’s) have billions in infrastructure funds ready to invest. They want money making projects, one with population densities to generate tolls, fees, etc. The Obama stimulus fits with socialize the losses (rural infrastructure(, privatize the gains (urban infrastructure).

By: Uncle Ho

Uncle Ho — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:15:00 +0000

ralph the wonder locust says:

RLF seems to think “fact” is another word for “Pop-Fart”

I fixed it for you. LOL

By: MapleStreet

MapleStreet — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:53:05 +0000

Seeing the flurry of PANETTA SAID, PANETTA DENIED HE SAID, CIA DENIED, etc.

Is there any question left that we need to get these guys under an official deposition so their words are recorded (both on paper and in a legal sense ?)

By: ralph the wonder locust

ralph the wonder locust — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:17:57 +0000

dbadass, I think our Republican friend who claims to love facts is laboring under some misconception of what exactly a “fact” is.

He seems to think “fact” is another word for “Pop-Tart™”.

By: dbadass

dbadass — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:15:17 +0000

Nancy tortured people?Must be those San Fran values of her’s…

By: Republicans Love Facts

Republicans Love Facts — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:12:51 +0000

So, pelosi calls for a “truth commission” to get to the bottom of the “torture” issue. “Truth Commission” finds proof that pelosi was involved and now she’s blocking the “truth commission” from releasing their findings? Unbelievable!

By: Marie

Marie — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:46:57 +0000

I don’t hold it against Obama when he wants to limit the number of persons available to classified information on sensitive issues. Haven’t we seen enough of repugs who put party over the best interests of the nation?
I realize the seeming inconsistency between what I decried in Buch&CO with what I can accept in Obama, but Bush never gave Dems full information even if their status allowed it, kept them out of meetings they should have attended, and then used it against the Dems. Obama wants to keep the bipartisan briefings but he doesn’t want more than necessary.
He’s bipartisan to the point of being maddening – we shouldn’t knock him when he wants to impose limits even if those limits affect dems as well as repugs.

By: dbadass

dbadass — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:35:12 +0000

The problem seems to arise in defining truth…

By: katy

katy — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:07:55 +0000

at least 2 times now i’ve seen/heard jon stewart/the daily show
“ding” olbermann and even rachel, equating them to fox/limpbone…

pisses me off.

no no no, jon et al… there is a HUGE difference – TRUTH.

jeez… we finally get some truth tellers on the tv and a comedy show tries to knock tham down…

it’s about the TRUTH, jon… the TRUTH.

By: shoeless

shoeless — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:53:47 +0000

“…and developing nations agreed to make ‘meaningful’ if unspecified reductions in emissions.”

OK, since China and India have all of our jobs now, can we stop referring to them as “developing nations”?

By: 5th Estate

5th Estate — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:53:37 +0000

The state of Massachusetts sued the U.S government yesterday over the federal Defense of Marriage Act, a law that defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, arguing that it “interferes with the right of Massachusetts to define and regulate marriage as it sees fit.”

What’s a COPer to do? Decry Massachusetts opposition to DOMA, or applaud STATE’S RIGHTS?

Awkwaaaardd!
(My guess is that they’ll side with DOMA, ‘cos any state that acknowledges gays as equal citizens therefore rescinds its equality with proper God-fearing states–according to them).

By: Briseadh na Faire

Briseadh na Faire — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:53:07 +0000

The more President Obama pushes for bipartisanship, the more the Republican Party pushes back. As noted above, they, in unison, block, delay, decry, and otherwise try to destroy any progressive attempt.

Evangelical christians now make up the base and bulk of the Republican Party, which has driven off true conservatives. People now see the Republican Party as the party of social conservatives. It has the mind-set of a cult.

True conservatives, and the country needs those folks as a counterbalance, are left to become either libertarians or independents.

Evangelical christians, like any cult, will never compromise. They see the world as black and white. If you are one of them, you are good (no matter what you do). If you are not one of them, you are of the devil and therefore bad (no matter what you do).

Obama’s push for bipartisanship is one way to aid the Republican Party complete its purge of thinking people. Anyone who expresses independent thought is not “one of us” to an evangelical christian. We’ve seen that by how those who do are immediately and visciously ostracized. If 70% of Republicans would now support a Palin candadicy, that is a clear indication of how few thinking people still identify themselves as Republicans.

The upside of this is that the Republican Party is contracting. The downside is – well, think Jonestown, on a national level.

By: angels81

angels81 — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 13:52:48 +0000

The mistake some on the left have taken, is they think Obama is one of us, and they expect him to be something he is not. We on the left will have to fight hard to get Obama to become more progressive when it comes to issues like the CIA and intelligence, healthcare, the war ect, ect. His strong suit is he is a middle of the road politician who will always look for consenus, that is why he is only a small step in the right direction to fixing this country.