I'm sure it's the thought that counts.

Am I the only that is disappointed this lunatic didn't win last night?

Things would be so much easier in November if this raving maniac were to run against Dubya.

Wow, what does THAT signify?????

Sonofabitch puts that DeathRag on his shoulders?

FUCK HIM

I'm glad he's swirling down the toilet faster than a Jordyptian Turd.

I saw this earlier and showed it to my always-votes-democrat father-in-law.

No need to describe his reaction, let's just say that Bush now has one more Jewish vote in Nov.

Maybe one of the Deaniacs told him it
was a Tallith. After all, we all KNOW how
sincere his references to Jesus are.

And this man expects we will trust him with the reins of power?

Dean is running late for his photo op with Yasser.

Dean's an a**hole

*starts to seethe*

So what's his Nom de Guerre?

Abu Yeeeeeaarrrrrrrghhh?

Howard... Deen? Would 'splain his anger, what with the Joos stealing the land of his ancestors.

Seriously, are we sure it's not just a butt-ugly scarf?

Good grief........
it really shows what an unthinking (or unable to think) idiot he is...
but, even more disturblng-

I'll bet he's quite simply trying to be like thousands of likeminded Americans, thinking, "those poor Palestinians" need some support, so
I'll wear their lovely designer scarf on my shoulders to show solidarity.

Solidarity to Arafat's terrorists ! An American pretender to the presidency!

Next thing you know he'll wear it folded into the shape of 'Palestine' just like Arafat.

Both the Clintons kissing Arafat's ass. And now this. Have these people gone stark raving mad? Is Dean just a perfect example of a party that has caught a virus that breads psychosis?

People that wears those 'schmutahs' make me sick.

The fact that he is a US politician makes me even sicker.

Good grief........
it really shows what an unthinking (or unable to think) idiot he is...
but, even more disturblng-

I'll bet he's quite simply trying to be like thousands of likeminded Americans, thinking, "those poor Palestinians" need some support, so
I'll wear their lovely designer scarf on my shoulders to show solidarity.

Solidarity to Arafat's terrorists ! An American pretender to the presidency!

sorry !!!!!!!!!!!

What a sheethead....

Oh the humanity!

/lgf

What's that all about? Who gave it to him?

And #15: It's "shmattah," not "schmutah."

Next thing, his lower lip will start shivering...

I find this all a little sad. Had Dean been the Democratic nominee, we could have counted on an absolute route by Bush. Now that Dean's going down in flames, the Dems might select someone who has the tiniest bit of common sense, which could make the election a little closer than I'd prefer it to be.

Oh well.

Re #20: Its obvious who gave it to him: Jimmy Carter, of course. Is there any doubt?

Don't take this the wrong way, but could that be the thing with Irish pennants on the bottom that Jewish people wear? His kids are Jewish, after all.

I hope the TV news has some of his insane rant Drudge was talking about.

Speaking of Jewish people, I saw a real live one at the Shopping Mall/Ice Rink/Office Tower/Hotel/Food Court complex (I work in the Ka'aba), I mean, I probably see them all the time, but this guy was wearing his kippa. I was thinking I see a lot more hijabs here than I do yamulkes. I mean, I've met AG at the food court once for fajitas, so I know I have seen at least one, but it does make me wonder. I sometimes see hijabi with shopping bags from Sak's and Neimanns, and I wonder, what is the point?

Commies use to wear that a lot, everywhere in the world.
It's a good thing, we know on which side of the war against the islamic conquest of the world these clowns are.

And, btw, this morning he was screaming in pure hitler style, the images should be sent to moveon.

The perfect president: a commie, supporter of the enemies of Freedom, yelling in hitler style...

#2 RightIsRight

Me too.

This has probably been covered already on the Kerry wins Iowa thread, but did you catch Dean's speech last night? Holy sh*t. The boy's got some serious damage control to do.

If he DOES manage to get the Dem nod, I can see the GOP spot: *the Dean falsetto shriek* into ominous voiceover: "Do you Really want his finger on the button?..."

WHAT A P.O.S. !!

I'm hope Harkin and Gore are ashamed of themselves.

#2 Right is Right:

Am I the only that is disappointed this lunatic didn't win last night?

I felt that way for a while, and then I realized that there is a real-enough possibility that the democratic challenger could win the election. The thought of Howard Dean in the White House scares the $hi& out of me, and I do take some comfort in the fact that he got his a$$ handed to him on a corn husk platter last night. This photo only confirms for me why he is so unequivocally ill-suited for the job.

#12 & #17 (!) loeilalice:

If you're right, why not say it twice?

I do hope Edwards does run as Democratic ticket...because quite frankly..

Bush domestic policy has been sucking.....

What happened to fiscal conservatism...how come he only plays to the conservative leanings on religion...I dont care about religion...

Bush please drop the faith based initiative and push fiscal prudency.....

Mind you this coming from someone living in Kerryland who would vote for Bush over Kerry..

But Edwards intrigues me....I need to read more on his foreign policy and I would like to know his choices for a cabinet...

Austin

Last night Dean went beyond jumping the shark -- he hugged the Komodo dragon (and ended his political career).

Words fail me. This is a man with a Jewish wife, who has been backpedalling furiously since he called Hamas soldiers and called for the US to be more evenhanded in the middle-east.

Democrats seal your fate and nominate this clueless, bike path obsessed, angry fool. Mondale was bad, Dukakis was worse and this man will seal the fate of the Democratic party for a long time. Or, nominate Joe Lieberman who as far as I can tell is the only member of the loyal opposition and give our country what it needs, a legitimate opposition party.

While I am a republican, I find that the exchange of ideas works best when there are honest brokers on both sides who compete for ideas, not on who hates the other the most. While I agree with little of the democratic platform, and even less from this crop of democratic presidential candidates, I urge all Democrats to take your party back from the angry left, they are strangling this country.

I have a felling Joe Lieberman and his campaign manager(s) are going to have a field day with this picture!

#20 fred

Thanks for the spell check, I couldn't find it in the dictionary for some reason. ;)

To be fair to Howie, I would assume the Keffeya scarf came off of the woman he's doing a jig with. Maybe she draped it on his shoulders. I doubt he even knows the significance of the Keffeya and how it's become fashionable lefty-wear.

#24 Ed Moran:

I sometimes see hijabi with shopping bags from Sak's and Neimanns, and I wonder, what is the point?

When I see them at my malls, they're always in the shoe department. Looking for the slip on/off type.

Austin from Boston:

I, for one, think Edwards needs a little seasoning before he should even be considering running for President (and I have grave concerns about trial lawyers run amok within his administration).

That being said, I think a more moderate democratic candidate than Dean (Lieberman,Gephardt, Edwards or Kerry) could force President Bush to re-evaluate his penchant for signing off on every spending initiative that crosses his path. That and the immigration issue are where I hope Bush will come to his senses and go back to his fiscally-conservative roots.

WOW!

For those of you hoping for a Bush/Dean battle in November, I might have some good news for you. In the past several (7? 8?) elections, the person to win Iowa isn't the person who gets the nomination.

I can see Kerry (especially if Edwards is his VP) squeaking past GWB. I can't see the Mad Howler doing that.

One of the more reasonable Dems is already out (Gephardt) and every indication is that Lieberman won't do well either. That leaves Edwards as the most centrist of the survivors, but the man is a trial lawyer, ie, he lies for a living to take money from the hard working and give it to the irresponsible. Plus, does anybody really know what he stands for?

You guys seem to love Howard Dean so much, I wonder what you think of Hot Howard

After seein him last night, I think his next costume will be Betty Davis drag, singing "My Heart Belongs To Daddy".

BTW, the light shining on Mr. Dean is somewhat unusual. Moonlight, perhaps? If so, quite appropriate.

And he's wearing it like a talit.

I'm so glad he went down in flames last night. Here's to a repeat in New Hampshire.

You gotta feel for the guy, the Mad Howler. If I woke this morning and saw what I looked like the night before, I'd be depressed. He doesn't even have the effects of alcohol to fall back on.

Another manifestation of Mad How Disease. I'd like to hear his explanation when his Jewish wife and Jewish children see this picture.

Sharona....

I agree he may need some more seasoning...which is why I feel his cabinet choices would greatly demonstrate how his presidency would go.

Kerry is about as seasoned as he is going to be..which is a well done ...overcooked....fried not grilled....steak.

His being a trial lawyer scares me less than Kerry being a wannabe Frog...

IMHO Edwards represents the best legitimate chance to make Bush go back to fiscal conservative roots. The reason being he is only candidate of Dem's who could seriously challenge Bush's base in the south. Thus forcing Bush to reestablish his base.

That being said I could see Dean passing out the kool aid and running as a Green. If Edwards is nominated and splitting the ticket..I think Dean is way too egotistical to go away even if he doesnt get the Democratic nomination...

So those of you who are dissappointed that Dean will not be there for you in Nov, fret not..with his war chest and his ego...oh he'll be there..he'll be there..

Austin

I take it a talit is the Jewish thing with the fringes?

His Nom de Guerre is 'Abu Din', and he has arranged the Keffiyeh to show what 'greater Vermont' will look like once he has killed enough of his enemies.

WTF DEAN!

#34, Dennis

I think you're right. I think that lady started dancing with HoDe and threw the Kafiya over him. I DONT think Dean is so stupid not to know what it is. I think he thought to himself, "WTF, I need her vote."

Could someone please come up with a better (read: funny) name for the keffiyah?!?!

Some time ago people agreed that "[bigoted word]" was a better term for the ladies attire than 'shmatta head'.

But the keffiyah has become laced with symbolism and every commie-ISM-lunatic-antiglobalization freak has one nowadays. Any ideas?

I've been seeing a lot less of those terror scarves since Saddam was captured. Perhaps solidarity with terrorists is falling out of fashion.

#46 Ed Moran:
Tallit (or tallis, depending on whether you go with the Sephardi or Ashkenazi pronounciation) is indeed the Jewish prayer shawl with the four fringes (tzitzit/tzitzis), one at each corner.

#10 Lil Mamzer

Abu Apoplectic

This might be the Dukakis-in-a-tank photo that dooms him with middle america.

Ed Moran: a tallit is a large, almost blanket-like garment worn by Jewish men when they pray. It tends to be mostly white, with a pattern of blue stripes and fringe tassels on the short sides.

Dean is clearly wearing a keffiyah(sp?). The size is much too small for a tallit, and the pattern is distinctive to Arafat's group/tribe/what-have-you.

Well, that would help to explain why Mad How always seems to be on the verge of exploding...

There's a political addage that goes "Don't put on the hat." You'll see a lot of pols
dodging getting photoed in a hat that will come back to haunt them. Dr. Ding should brush up on Poli 101.

And that speech....Sheeesh!

The picture says much. Art and fashion is used to legitimize violence and terror. Dean, by wearing the kaffiyeh, demonstrates where his heart is.

For those who can read German, Henryk Broder (a very good guy) has weighed in on the aesthetic legitimization of violence and Mazel's protest in Stockholm at [Link: www.spiegel.de...]

And he's wearing [the kaffiyah] like a talit.

And he's dancing...probably doing the Houri.

#46

A talit is the Jewish prayer shawl with fringes on the four corners that Jewish men wear when they are praying.

However, what Dean has is nothing like one. Additionally what he is wearing is very much a PLO scarf that individuals wear in solidarity of the so called Palastinians and their terrorists.

I suspect a supporter of Dean's gave it to him and he was too uninformed to know what it was. Posibly put around his neck by the suporter as a way of getting this prop into a Photo. Its for that ignorance that I would not vote for him.

This likely will hurt his chances of getting Jews to vote for him in the future.

Wow, what does THAT signify?????

Signifies he just lost a whole lot of Jewish and Christian votes but picked up any Islamofacist style Muslim still sitting on the fence. Charles, better keep that photo handy. I have a feeling you'll be using it as much as that one of St. Pancake.

Anyone check Dean's financial backers for some blood money from Arafat? Would make some very interesting money tracking I suspect.

Evariste-thanks so much for the tutorial. I see primaries are about the same as leadership conferences in Canada. Am I right in assuming only paid up members of the Democratic parties get to vote? If so then it is even closer to the Canadian system of choosing a leader for the party.

#11 Seriously, are we sure it's not just a butt-ugly scarf?

Compare to the image below:

[Link: seattletimes.nwsource.com...]

I can find 3 distinct similarities:

1. The criss-cross pattern with the ovals at the intersections.
2. The thin-thick-thin border.
3. The wavy lines outside the border.

OT, more French antisemitism:

Jewish schoolbus firebombed in eastern France

I'm with Sharona and Austin.

Dean's tirade last night will be the end of him. How many women will see that clip and think (1) of their a**hole ex-husband; (2) of their a**hole current husband; or (3) thank g*d I'm not married to an a**hole like that! And I don't mean to suggest that men will like it any better. He looked stark-raving insane; I don't know if the Iowa loss alone would have been the end of him, but the Iowa loss plus the rant will surely be it.

On the wouldn't-it-have-been-nice-to-have-this-guy-run-ag ainst-Bush point, I say, as a former idiotarian, that we will be far better off as a nation with a reasonable Democrat, which does not need to be an oxymoron. Nothing would make me happier than having two candidates in November who (1) understand right from wrong; and (2) are willing to stake America's power and prestige on the side of right, and against murderous thugs and their apologists. Two weeks ago, I thought it couldn't happen; I'm thrilled to have been wrong, and will be even more thrilled to see Dean sent packing. So long, doc.

#31

This is a man with a Jewish wife,

Well, he's said all along that the US needs to be more even handed. Maybe this is his way of making up for having a Jewish wife.

Some dhimmi-wit in NY's Jewish Week wrote an article "Dean's Jewish Roots Begin at Home," suggesting that Jews oughta vote for Dean because he has a Jewish wife. Of course, the writer overlooked the obvious corollary -- according to Jewish belief, his kids are Jews. I'm betting he is raising them as Christians (it's the bike paths, stupid). Why would a Jewish newspaper encourage me to vote for someone who encourages Jews to walk away from the Jewish religion?

#49

Could someone please come up with a better (read: funny) name for the keffiyah?!?!

My wife calls them diaper heads.

The ghost of Edward Said is smiling in hell.

THIS JUST IN:

Dean changes his name to Abu Fatah. Vows to bring intifada to New Hapshire.

Two weeks ago, I thought it couldn't happen; I'm thrilled to have been wrong, and will be even more thrilled to see Dean sent packing. So long, doc.

I am a great believer in democracy and the wisdom of the people. I kind of had my doubts when Bush was elected but the American proved me wrong.

As reported by Blogs For Bush which culled a few of the many choice remarks from Blogs For America, Dean's site.

"Personally, if Dean doesn't win I will support a 3rd party candidate. I refuse to vote for Kerry, Edwards, Clark, etc. If that is the best that the Dems can do I they can keep them."

"This is goodbye. Goodbye to the Democratic party. If Dean does not win the domination, I'll say hello to Nader again like I did in 2000.
To hell with people like Kerry and Edwards."

"Man, Bush is gonna kill Kerry. Say goodbye to Democracy - America is now a facist state."

That says it all....DDe..Dea..DDDhimi

Ed Moran,

I like and respect you, and often smile at your ever-changing names, but can I put in a plug for trial lawyers (i.e., plaintiff's personal injury guys like Edwards)? I'm not sure there's much basis for the notion that they lie for a living. They do go to bat for people who desperately need it, and can't afford to pay someone by the hour. And they aren't afraid to face off against powerful foes. I hope that neither you nor anyone close to you is ever badly hurt by someone else's negligence, but if it happens you may well be pleased to know that a guy like Edwards will be there.

Are some PI guys snaky? You betcha. Are there some that pay little attention to their client's needs? Probably. Do some bring meritless suits? Maybe, although probably not as often as you think. Do the good ones make a ton of dough? Yeah, but I fail to see how that's a bad thing. (Disclaimer: I am a lawyer, but plaintiff's personal injury has never been the central part of my practice.)

Is Edwards presidential timber? I dunno. Does he need some more seasoning to deserve to be taken seriously? Maybe, although I'm not sure. But any development that marginalizes the marginal characters --- Dean yesterday, maybe Clark tomorrow --- is almost certainly a good thing. And if what remains is a decent and intelligent trial lawyer, well, things could be a lot worse.

#54, #61,

Many men have tallit with black, rather than blue striping, but this thing doesn't seem to have the long fringes at corners typical of a tallit. It clearly looks like a keffiyeh to me.

If dean knew that he was wearing arafat's bonnet, he approaches evil, or at best, is idiotarian. If he didn't know, then he is an idiot. Either way, a loser. As a registered independent, I've always voted democratic for prez. If Dean is nominated, that ain't gonna happen.

I can't help wonder what his wife and children think about that picture.

win the domination,

LOL!

Ever notice how the lefties always talk about stupid voters are and how we have to let the more intellectual and intelligent (like me) "dominate". Talk about your Freudian slip!

I think the next embarrassing moment for Mr. Dean will be when he his showing off his blog in a TV interview, and clicks on the "YOU are an IDIOT (Hahaha hahahaha...)" link by mistake.

Re: Dean's Jewish wife. I have to wonder how she felt when she saw this. To me, it's the same as putting on an SS uniform and goose-stepping around the dance floor.

Hey, leave aside the Jewish vote -

How do you think middle America will respond to the image of a presidential candidate wearing the cultural symbol of people who delight in killing Americans????

It's a shame actually - I was hoping that this time the election would for once be about issues, instead of yet another bland, poll-driven race to the center. Now look for whoever's nominated, probably Kerry at this point, to downplay foreign policy and focus the campaign on "economic issues" - ie mind-numbing substance-free scaremongering over the deficit & trade.

He's obviously getting ready for the Michigan primaries:

Michigan Dems to draft nation's 1st Arabic ballot

"It's important for the Arab-American community to get out and vote, especially after 9/11," said Fay Baydoun

Indeed

Maybe, having lost the primaries, Dean is trying to get a jump on the campaign for the 2004 Robert Fisk Award?

Yankev #64:

I'm betting he is raising them as Christians (it's the bike paths, stupid). Why would a Jewish newspaper encourage me to vote for someone who encourages Jews to walk away from the Jewish religion?

Actually his kids have been raised Jewish.

Dean is not religious despite his claims to the contrary.

If there are any Jews who still plan on voting for Dean, they most likely wear terror-scarves themselves. Only a Dhimmi Jew or a Jew that hates Israel could possibly think that voting for Dean is a good idea. Sadly to say, he will get more Jewish votes than Bush.

Re: headgear.

So far, I am really liking:

#50 freedomsound: "Terror Scarves" and #70 del: "Arafat's Bonnet".

Those are good.

Mattman, thank you for defending lawyers. (Not a swipe at you, though Ed. I like your LGF personna too) I have an excellent lawyer in family law who takes on all kinds of cases where the people are practically guaranteed losers (battered husbands cut off from their kids for example, who has any beleif in much less sympathy for a battered husband?) and have no way to pay him except maybe $100-$200 a month for life. He still defends them and has saved more than a few butts. He shrugs it off when I compliment him and said he just enjoys seeing government beauracrats and rich thugs get stiffed when they are trying to use their power and influence to crush some small helpless person who doesn't deserve it. He also hates stereotypes of all kinds (including men can't be battered). Without a good lawyer, you can be absolutely creamed in court. The ones who take on the hard cases are the Robin Hoods of the world. I've learned that there are enough of them out there that I don't enjoy lawyer jokes anymore.

this could lead to mixed dancing

Actually his kids have been raised Jewish.

Actually, why would anywhere care and whose business is it, outside of Dean's himself? This is one aspect of American politics I've never understood. Canadian politics have a "hands off the family" policy that I like a lot. I didn't even learn Cretien's wife's name until she threatened to whack an intruder on the head with an Inuit sculpture of a goose that was in their bedroom, maybe two years after he became Prime Minister. You don't vote for the wife or husband or children of the person in power so who cares what they think or do? This whole sexist "First Lady" business always struck me as just plain stupid right along with the huge fuss about the President's dog. This is not the Royal family. The eldest son isn't going to automatically be the next King or anything. (Actually I've never understood royality watching either.)

"Terror Scarves"

I think that should be "terrorists' scarves". Okay the double s thing is a bit of a tongue twister but it is more accurate grammatically.

Yankev #64,

Dean's children are being raised Jewish.

That doesn't change the fact that his wearing this makes him a solid kus amuk.

***

Mattman #69,

The vast majority of trial lawyers are not helping stricken consumers attack rapacious corporations. Instead they are helping rapacious consumers strike corporations. For example, look at the breast implant lawsuits - the science, at best, demonstrated no negative effects at the time relative to those who had no implants. However, because the lawyers were able to pull individual cases and have them testify, it made an impression on a jury that dispassionate statistics showing no effects over control could not make.

Look at asbestos lawsuits. At the time, no one knew that asbestos was problematic; the law generally doesn't allow for indictment of crimes before a law was enacted. Not so for asbestos lawsuits, where the fact that people didn't know that asbestos was harmful didn't stop them from suing asbestos producers. And when they couldn't get enough money out of them, they decided to go up the supply chain to try to get more.

And then there's the biggest issue of all: trial lawyers create medical issues. One of my fiancee's aunts was the only gynecologist in two or three towns in Florida but because malpractice rose so high (thanks to trial lawyers), it was better for her to shut down her practice then to continue it. My fiancee is a doctor and is constantly telling me how they have to alter their best practice medical care because they have to cover themselves for any possibilities that might occur. So not only do you get worse medical care, not only do you not have as many doctors, but, what's more, trial lawyers reduce the amount of money that goes to doctors. And the effects of that are now being noticed, in that the number of folks applying to medical school (and matriculants as well) has been dropping off for five years. In twenty years, when we don't have enough doctors, it will be thanks to the trial lawyers.

"Splody" scarf?

When the campaign is over he can use it as a gameboard for playing backgammon.

I'm sure there are good PI lawyers, but if you've ever seen ads on TV for Jim Adler, The Texas Hammer you'd understand why bad images of attorneys are easy to come by, that and trial lawyers are the numero uno contributors to the DNC, well......

The kaffiyeh is today's brown/black shirt. I'm offended beyond words (not that I was going to vote for the sob.) However, to think he wants to be my President makes me shutter.

#81 Judith -

Well said. Laura Bush seems like a pleasant enough woman, but I honestly don't care what she says or thinks.

In twenty years, when we don't have enough doctors, it will be thanks to the trial lawyers.

Get rid of HMOs and private for profit health insurance that make the USA spend more per capita on health care than any other coutrny in the world and yet 30%+ of your peoplehave no health care. Make healthcare a right not a privilege and run it like we do in Canada. (I'm sure with Yankee know how you can do even better.) Do the same for the insurance industry. Manitoba Public Insurance autoinsurance is run on a cost recovery basis and we have the best and cheapest coverage in Canada. Cost recovery malpractice insurance with laws to prevent gouging is clearly in order. (We have anti-gouging laws here too.) The reason you have this lawyer problem is because you left the legal door open for the crooks to take advantage of it.

Private insurers are mostly crooks. Ambulance chasing lawyers are mostly crooks too. (Okay, I admit I suggested something that involves increasing government. I'll hand back my official LGF decoder ring immediately. I beg clemency on the execution as a troll on the grounds I'm a pinko commie like most Canadians.)

Ariel,

The "vast majority" of trial lawyers are helping rapacious consumers attack innocent corporations? Sez who? I don't mean to get ad hominem here, but I don't think you know whereof you speak. Even granting the correctness of your attacks on the breast implant litigation (where I'm inclined to believe you're correct) and the asbestos litigation (which is more complex than you let on), these are the headline-grabbers, but not the vast majority of what goes on in the world of trial lawyers. Most don't involve "rapacious" anything, but people or companies who are (as people and companies sometimes tend to be) negligent or reckless.

I sympathize with doctors --- I know many fine ones, and I know what the cost of insurance is doing to their practices, and I know how disruptive and costly a spurious lawsuit can be --- but I also know people whose medical treatment has been careless, and with devastating impacts on their lives. It is at least questionable that the work of trial lawyers is what has caused the rise in malpractice premiums. But it is beyond question to me --- as someone who has defended doctors in many malpractice suits --- that the work of trial lawyers serves at least two salutary purposes: It provides redress to people whose readily preventable injuries have left their families in financial ruin; and it serves as an incentive to medical providers (and product manufacturers and a host of others) to live up to what we lawyers call the "standard of care", the level of care and professionalism that decent doctors (and drivers, and manufacturers, and yes, even lawyers) are expected to provide to their patients, customers, and clients.

Judith #89,

Make healthcare a right not a privilege and run it like we do in Canada.

There's a reason why Canadians (who can afford it) come to the US for health care. It has something to do with what happened with SARS in Toronto last year as well, I'm afraid to say.

Unfortunately, as you say, private insurers are not necessarily better. And the problem is that health care, unlike most goods and services, is non-optional most of the time - you can't choose to pay less because you don't want it that much; you either have to have it or you don't. That's why capitalism doesn't solve every health care problem and why there's some regulation needed, particularly of the HMO industry. But I have to disagree with you about socializing health care; it just doesn't work.

Cost recovery malpractice insurance with laws to prevent gouging is clearly in order. (We have anti-gouging laws here too.) The reason you have this lawyer problem is because you left the legal door open for the crooks to take advantage of it.

Here we completely agree. But because something like that is unlikely to pass with a trial lawyer as Pres, it gives a good reason to oppose Edwards.

#78 WriterMom

Hmm, well I don't think I am the first to say "terror scarves." As far as I know, the black & white symbolizes Fatah, which to me is synonymous with terror.

#49 As much as I hate Islamic terrorists, I would never use terminology like "[bigoted word]" and have my justifiable loathing of terrorists and Islamists mistaken for bigotry.

#82 Judith

should be "terrorists' scarves"...more accurate grammatically

Thank goodness you were here!

[Link: www.cnsnews.com...]

Did 'Junk Science' Make John Edwards Rich?
By Marc Morano
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
January 20, 2004

(CNSNews.com) - The superstar trial lawyer accomplishments of John Edwards, which allowed this son of a truck driver to amass a personal fortune, finance his successful U.S. Senate run in 1998 and catapult himself into the 2004 race for president, may have been partially built on "junk science," according to legal and medical experts who spoke with CNSNews.com .
(snip)

There's a reason why Canadians (who can afford it) come to the US for health care. It has something to do with what happened with SARS in Toronto last year as well, I'm afraid to say.

That is another of those great untruths the American HMO industry loves to propagate about Canada. The vast majority of Canadians do not go to the USA for treatment. Even those who do go to the USA for treatment do not go there for all their treatment, mostly only a specific procedure after full diagnosis and treatment options in Canada are explored. The kind who go south for treatment are almost invariably of two sorts 1) those wealthy enough to jump the cue or who are chasing the perception of better care 2) those seeking speciality treaments not available in Canada because we lack the volume to support it or the research capacity to support experimental procedures of questionable benefit. (I freely admit the USA is better than us for #2 and I have no trouble at all with rich people spending their money to go south and thereby freeing up spaces for us regular folks.) Against that narrow instance of superiority of the American system, we have stuff like universal prenatal care and universal childhood immunization compared with a rate of prenatal care and childhood immunization of only 65-70% in the USA and offered at 1/10 the cost.

#92 freedomsound

I don't think describing someone as a '[bigoted word]' makes you a bigot.

Mattman #90,

You weren't ad hominem at all.

and the asbestos litigation (which is more complex than you let on)

How so?

but not the vast majority of what goes on in the world of trial lawyers.

There have been some counter-examples. Like the car company that made the car that was recklessly built and they knew it would endanger more lives, but it was cheaper to pay the lawsuits then to build more of them. (Was it the Yugo? I don't remember.) But that isn't the case any more. With lawsuits costing staggering sums, companies will do all they can to avoid them.

but I also know people whose medical treatment has been careless, and with devastating impacts on their lives.

Of course there have been. Like here in Boston, there was a surgeon who decided to step out in the middle of surgery and walk down to the bank. It made the front page headlines. But that doesn't change the fact that doctors are being unfairly punished by the system as it stands right now. It's too easy for patients to sue doctors; my fiancee tells me that every day her patients threaten to sue her, particularly the deadbeats in the Emergency Room.

It provides redress to people whose readily preventable injuries have left their families in financial ruin; and it serves as an incentive to medical providers (and product manufacturers and a host of others) to live up to what we lawyers call the "standard of care"

I agree that there needs to be some form of redress in order to provide doctor's with incentives for doing a good job. But the degree to which lawsuits can be punitive can have nothing to do with the problems caused by the medical care provided; instead, the lawsuits can take huge sums of money. A cap on the amount of money would help solve this issue. And then many patients sue just because they can - even though they know that they received fine medical care and they were aware of the risks involved, one of the risks occurred, and the patient decides to sue. This plays very well to sympathetic juries.

, the level of care and professionalism that decent doctors (and drivers, and manufacturers, and yes, even lawyers) are expected to provide to their patients, customers, and clients.

Oddly enough, I've never heard of a lawyer being sued for frivolous lawsuits. Perhaps you could point me to the case?

that should be "and we offer the universal prenatal care and universal childhood immunization at 1/10 of the cost of the same thing in the USA."

ON NRO "The Corner"

"[Popular] singer Sha'ban Abd Al-Rahim is making headlines again with his announcement that he has put the final touches on his latest album Mahibish Al Karasi (I Don't Like the Chairs)
"'Kharittat Al Tariq' (Road Map) is the name of the song which gives voice to widespread views in the Egyptian street regarding the September 11th events and the U.S. - Iraq standoff. The song talks about the road map and includes quotes from U.S. President George W. Bush about the plan's implementation. The song goes on to describe how America is the spitting image of Israel and it carries out its desires, making the world into a 'jungle.' Abd Al-Rahim goes on to boldly sing that the USA is the perpetrator of the September 11th attacks.

"'Hey people it was only a tower and I swear by God that they are the ones who pulled it down.' Abd Al-Rahim further sings that they purposely did it to make people think that Arabs and Muslims are terrorists and were behind that disaster. Now the U.S. can do what it pleases to the Arab world since everyone thinks they are to blame....

MEMRI site linked to by KJL at NRO "The Corner"

"The song is written by Abd Al-Rahim's long-time collaborator, songwriter Islam Khalil, an Arabic teacher at a primary school in Al Qanater in the Al-Qalyoubiya governorate. Khalil wrote earlier Abdel Rahim's hits like 'I Hate Israel'

great article on canadian healthcare, and why it's inferior

Woe, Canada (series on the Canadian health insurance and care system)
[Link: www.techcentralstation.com...]

some snippets

Canada is even farther behind in other technology. In 2001, Canada had only two functioning PET (positron emission tomography) scanners for its 31 million people, or one for every 15 million residents versus 250 such machines in the United States, or one for every 1.1 million residents.

The median waiting time in Canada from referral by a general practitioner to treatment was 16.5 weeks in 2002 -- up 77 percent from 1993. For cancer patients, waiting times for medical oncology have increased from 2.5 weeks to 5.5 weeks and for radiation oncology from 6.3 weeks to 10 weeks. In the United States, the waiting time is a week, and that long only because of the need to deal with paperwork.

Apologists for Canada's system say such waits don't affect true emergency needs -- though how delaying certain cancer treatment is anything but life threatening is hard to understand. Yet even in emergency matters, Canada's system often crumbles. In a flu outbreak in 2000, 23 of Toronto's 25 emergency rooms all closed down.

Wow. If it were a real used rag it would still be a safer bet. A contender for the greatest power in the world. Reduced to this.

Judith #94,

Actually, we agree. I was trying to state your #1 - that Canadians come down to the US for medical care if they can afford it.

A cap on the amount of money would help solve this issue.

We got em up here. $2 million is a really big award up here.

Don't get me wrong. Our system isn't perfect and I doubt you could transplant it as it down there, but I do think our system is a whole lot better than yours and you could be applying some of what we do right down there. Anyway gotta get back to work. Been nice chatting folks.

[Link: www.techcentralstation.com...]

Exodus! Movement of the Doctors

snippets

For Canadian doctors, it turns out, are no happier than their U.S. counterparts. In fact, they're unhappier. Three years ago, a survey by the Harvard School of Public Health of over 2000 physicians in Canada, Britain, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States found that Canadians were by far the most pessimistic. More of them felt that their ability to provide quality care had declined and that it would only get worse in the future. The overwhelming majority of Canadian doctors complained about medical and diagnostic equipment shortages, and long waiting times for care. And, like their counterparts in the United States, they feel short-changed in the time they have to spend with their patients.

But the dissatisfaction in Canada goes beyond venting in surveys. Since the 1990's, Canada has experienced an exodus of physicians. Their number one destination? The United States and its much maligned healthcare system. At last estimate, there were over 8,000 Canadian physicians practicing in the United States. The vast majority have let their Canadian licenses lapse, indicating no desire to return.

#95 WriterMom

Really? Try it out on some strangers and see what they think.

[Link: www.techcentralstation.com...]

In 1998, The Toronto Star reported that St. Joseph's Health Centre in London, Ontario, was renting access to its MRI machine to veterinarians for after-hours use on pets even as Canadian human patients waited for waited for diagnoses.

It prompted one 2002 candidate for Ontario premier, Ernie Eves, to ask, "Does it make any sense that your cat can get an MRI at 2:30 in the morning and you can pay $20 to do that but your mother can't? Is your cat more important than your mother?"

Most people would answer, "Of course not." But when you have a single payer system in which those picking up the bill are intent on controlling prices and costs such as Canada's health system, it doesn't matter what most people say. It depends upon what the health bureaucrats who run the system decide.

(snip)

canadians come to the US for medical care on the canadian taxpayers dime, too, because the canadian system can't handle them...

[Link: www.techcentralstation.com...]

"The Best Medicine the 1970s Can Provide"

Still, apologists for the Canadian system say it's better than the United States. "In Canada, queuing is far more acceptable than the notion of rationing American style which leaves consumers with the decision of whether treatment is needed and worth the price of the user fee or other deterrent," wrote Jane Fulton, in her 1993 book Canada's Health Care System: Bordering on the Possible.

Perhaps. But only because in many cases those Canadians who can't afford to wait can cross the border to take advantage of the wonders of America's health care system. Ontario sent nearly 1,800 cancer patients to the United States over 13 months in 1999 and 2000 at a cost of $20,000 each. Thousands of others make the trip on their own to take advantage of modern prescriptions and diagnostic tools.

In light of those facts, it is difficult to understand why American politicians would be so ready to adopt Canada's system, much less try to undermine one of the key and most advanced components of its own system, pharmaceuticals, through such devices as drug reimportation.

As Dr. Robert Lifeso told writer David Gratzer for his book Code Blue, "Canada has some of the best medicine the 1970s can provide."

In the United States, the waiting time is a week, and that long only because of the need to deal with paperwork.

IF you have insurance. (Why do people always leave that gigsntic crive a truck through it whole of an "IF" part out of the argument when they start talking about Canadian waiting times?) 30% of your population doesn't have health insurance. No insurance, no treatment. Yours is a system where the term "preexisting condition" strikes terror to the heart of the average man and a simple excision and biopsy can bankrupt an entire family and land them out on the streets begging. That is a gross injustice.

Ariel,

I'm not familiar with lawyers getting sued for bringing frivolous lawsuits, and didn't mean to suggest otherwise, but lawyers get sued for the same reasons doctors do; they are accused (rightly in some instances and wrongly in others) of having f*cked up their client's affairs; failure to bring a suit before the statute of limitations expired, advising the client to sign off on a contract without the lawyer reading it carefully enough to advise the client properly of its impact; basically, all the f**k-ups to which humans are sometimes prone.

We probably agree on more than we disagree on. Filtering the worthy from the unworthy is the ever-present challenge of the law, one that will probably never be solved. Damage caps? I don't like 'em, because someone whose injuries mean he will never work again, and will need hugely expensive in-home care for the rest of his life, gets screwed. Damage caps for pain and suffering? I'd consider it. Lawyer fee caps? Maybe, but bear in mind that contingent-fee lawyers take risks, and you need a decent-sized reward to encourage someone to take the tough cases. Anyway, time will tell whether Edwards is a snake or not.

HILLARYCARE TROLLS GO HOME

here's some research I did last night... Hillary's secret health care taskforce shillarys are still at it.

Regarding this AP story "Bush's State of Union to Highlight Agenda" (from [Link: www.duluthsuperior.com...]

^^^

Last week, when the Institute of Medicine recommended for the first time that the government provide universal health insurance by 2010, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson called that "not realistic."

^^^

This comment really caught my eye. I websearched and found the Institute of Medicine study Thompson is referring to:

[Link: www.nap.edu...]

VERY interesting.... who funded it? from the Institute of Medicine website:

[Link: www.iom.edu...]

"With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Institute of Medicine is completing a three-year, comprehensive study of Uninsurance and its implications for uninsured individuals, their families, their communities, and the nation."

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation website is at

[Link: www.rwjf.org...]

Hmmm, apparently they are an advocacy group for socialized medicine!

[Link: www.rwjf.org...]

The Institute of Medicine, who took money from the Robert Wood Johnson foundation for this study, are part of the National Academy of Science: [Link: www.nationalacademies.org...]

Why do our tax dollars finance an organization that produces "studies" based on a pre-concieved solution matching the viewpoint of the politically partisan organization that funded it??? How nonbiased and nonpartisan can it claim to be?

I just did some hardcore googling to find out who is behind this racket.

Guess who is behind the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study?

HILLARY CLINTON!!!!!!!!

Honestly, tell me you're surprised.

from [Link: secure.mediaresearch.org...]
^^^^
NBC Takes the Money and Runs...Left

NBC raised a lot of eyebrows by accepting $3.5 million from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for its two-hour, commercial-free June 21 health care special, To Your Health. Five foundation fellows served on Hillary Clinton's secret task force, and when that secrecy became an issue, the foundation spent $500,000 for four town meetings featuring the First Lady.

In 1991, foundation president Dr. Steven Schroeder told The Chronicle of Philanthropy: "We are very conscious that fundamental change [in health] is not going to happen without government...Many of our recent grants have been predicated on the idea that we would get government involved."

On CNBC's Tim Russert May 9, Tom Brokaw said: "I can assure you that I wouldn't be involved with that program in any fashion if it were being directed or if it were being engineered by a special interest group."
(excerpted, read the whole thing, it's good!!!)
^^^

Their CEO and President, Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA
[Link: www.kff.org...] was on Hillary Clintons secret hillarycare taskforce

Al Dean, aka Abu Arggghhhh: He wears the splody scarf and begins imploding for real. Great photo. Keep it handy, in case anyone ever doubts his sincerity. I think he's still going to win the dem's nomination, but it'll be a bloody battle. If he loses the nomination, his followers say they won't vote. Either way, it's 4 more years of Bush. Thank G-d.

gigsntic crive a truck through it whole of an "IF"

*sigh* gigantic drive a truck through it hole of an "IF".

I really promise this is my last post today and my last post on this topic. I do epidemiology of health care as part of my work. I know whereof I speak.

"Red" Judith wrote:

IF you have insurance. (Why do people always leave that gigsntic crive a truck through it whole of an "IF" part out of the argument when they start talking about Canadian waiting times?) 30% of your population doesn't have health insurance. No insurance, no treatment.

Judith, if you read the article you I posted a link to you would have found that Canadians can't find doctors, which is even worse:

[Link: www.techcentralstation.com...]

The plight and flight of Canadian doctors reached its peak in the mid-1990's when the government tightened its healthcare budget and physician reimbursement declined dramatically. And yet, although the Canadian government has tried to reverse the trend by committing more tax dollars to its healthcare system, physician emigration still jumped by 68% in 2001. According to Dr. Hugh Scully, co-chair of a Canadian task force on physician supply, the equivalent of two or three medical school classes are leaving the country each year. It's a not a situation that a country with too few medical students can afford to maintain.

Red Judith - oops, the rest of the quote...

This medical brain drain is not inconsequential. Although 100% of Canadians have healthcare insurance, it does no good for the 18% of them who have trouble finding a doctor. Contrast that with the United States where 15% may be without insurance, but only 6% go without needed care as a result. Our system may have its problems, but access to care isn't one of them. At least not when compared to Canada's.

I am utterly shocked.

Up until now, the only Americans I had ever seen wearing those were the local idiots (I live in the Bay Area) protesting this or that.

Never would I have guessed that a major candidate for the presidency would sport one.

I knew the guy was unhinged, but man...

Most states have programs for poor children re healthcare, and many cities/counties have taxpayer supported public hospitals. I know it is the law (not sure if state or federal) that all people arriving at hospital ER's must be stabilized (including woman in labor), so there really aren't many Americans dropping dead for lack of affordable health care.

Although Canada has given us many evil and foul things (Celine Dion, Bryan Adams) you have to give them credit where credit was due. The late Lorne Greene, star of TV westerns, Battlestar Galactica and the mid 70s Sensurround epic Earthquake! was indeed of Canadian birth.

"Red" Judith,

Before you spout off wondering why I called you red, let me say that it's because you are clearly a communist.

After all, there are other basic requirements besides health care right?

Why not single payer food? That will end starvation! Why should some people be able to dine on Ruths Chris while others eat government cheese! Oh right, that got us massive agricultural subsidies on the taxpayer dollar.

How about single payer housing? Oh right, that got us Cabrini Green.

How about single payer public schools? Oh yeah, we already tried that and the results are atrocious. Never mind.

What you really want is a centrally planned economy, Red Judith.

Ha ha!

Point well taken. Actually, I'm not in the habit of calling anyone I don't know names (not out loud anyway), but I've actually been called much worse than "[bigoted word]" and lived to tell the tale.

Why don't you try telling someone they are wearing "terrorists' scarves"-do you think that would go over better?

That black and white design is marketed as the Arafat scarf.

#117 Ed Moran abu This Space for Rent

Also, Willian Shatner and Shania Twain.

He wears the badge of those who would kill his children just for the fact of their mother's blood.

Mattman #109,

I also suspect that we agree more then we disagree.

Filtering the worthy from the unworthy is the ever-present challenge of the law, one that will probably never be solved.

Agreed. But right now, I think that things are overly tilted toward the trial lawyers. Even if they know they have a 1 in 10 chance of winning a case, the potential payout is so high that they are willing to do it. In other words, the current system encourages frivolous lawsuits.

Damage caps? I don't like 'em, because someone whose injuries mean he will never work again, and will need hugely expensive in-home care for the rest of his life, gets screwed.

I agree that they need to have some situational consideration in their damage caps. There are currently sentencing guidelines for 1st degree murder, 2nd degree, manslaughter, etc. Why shouldn't there be for damage caps?

Damage caps for pain and suffering? I'd consider it.

That makes even more sense, because that's generally where the absurd claims come in. At least in the first case, they are generally based on expected future earnings or some other relevant formula. Pain and suffering is a thumb in the wind.

Lawyer fee caps? Maybe, but bear in mind that contingent-fee lawyers take risks, and you need a decent-sized reward to encourage someone to take the tough cases.

Of course. What I'd argue is that the current system has such large rewards that they completely dwarf the risk. It's better to just take a case, regardless of merit, then to risk the opportunity cost of not getting the big payoff. Perhaps one way to get around this would be for lawyers paid on contingency fee to have to pay the court some amount if their suit does not have merit.

Anyway, time will tell whether Edwards is a snake or not.

Agreed. But I'm inclined to distrust a trial lawyer as a President, I have to say. I think that Edwards would prevent reform of the system, which I believe needs to occur.

You can stop wondering now, Edwards probably *IS* a snake in the grass.

[Link: www.cnsnews.com...]

Did 'Junk Science' Make John Edwards Rich?
By Marc Morano
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
January 20, 2004

(CNSNews.com) - The superstar trial lawyer accomplishments of John Edwards, which allowed this son of a truck driver to amass a personal fortune, finance his successful U.S. Senate run in 1998 and catapult himself into the 2004 race for president, may have been partially built on "junk science," according to legal and medical experts who spoke with CNSNews.com .
(snip)

What an imbecile! The only thing missing from the picture is a suecide bomber belt.

Dhimmi Dean, American idol and tragedy!

Nothing personal, but Shania Twain doesn't impress me much.

AS far as heavy drinkin' Canadian country she-singers, give me Terri Clarke (sp?) anytime.

Health care should be a right, and not a privilege? Be careful what you ask for...

Our rights in the USA (and, really, the rights of everybody as a human being) are properly only rights to action...not rights to rewards from others.

If you have a RIGHT to health care, that means that somebody is OBLIGATED to provide it to you. And what does that obligation do to the rights of those who are to provide you with health care services? Is that really freedom?

And if you think health care is expensive now, wait 'til its "free".

This says it a lot better than I can...
[Link: www.bdt.com...]

Ed Moran #127. At the risk of changing the subject from healthcare to Canadian evils-I would suggest that poutine be added to the list.

And Montreal bagels, which we all know are like cake anyway.

And David Foster.

Is the rag worn by the dumped Dean worse than the invitations, soon after 9/11, to Crown Prince Abdullah and Prince Bandar bin Sultan for cozy visits to the Crawford ranch and subjecting the President to a "stern warning" by Abdullah right after a bunch of Saudis killed almost 3,000 Americans?
Bring back McCain!

observer,

yes. much worse.

This may sound cold, but here goes. Health care should be neither a right nor a privilege, it is a commodity to be either 1) earned or 2) given to you via charity if you lack the ability to work. I have had it both ways, when I was young and poor I never went without need care for myself or my children, and now that I am a self-sufficient working person, I pay my own way. There are, as someone pointed out, Hospitals and also programs such as the Hillman act that will cover people that do not have insurance, and emergency rooms cannot turn you away. Also, has anyone asked the question of how many of those 30% are young, healthy people who are gambling with the fact that they won't need insurance and therefore don't spend the money?

BTW, Dean's YEARGH is being considered by a local radio talk show host as an alarm clock for those of us that are "morning impaired". I think it's a winner.

#69

Well said. I have done PI work both as a law clerk for a reputable plainitff's law firm and for an insurance defense firm. I met slimy critters on either side, but I met many more hard-working and caring lawyers -- also on both sides.

Today I do no litigation of any kind, but I have noticed that plenty of spurious claims seem to originate with lawyers who have a political agenda or who represent agenda-based clients. Think of the tobacco lawsuits and the lawsuits aimed -- by admission of some of the plaintiffs and their lawyers -- at bankrupting the gun industry with legal fees.

The case reports reveal plenty of "creative" -- i.e. spurious -- claims and defenses advanced in business lawsuits as well as in PI cases. Every real estate lawyer is familiar with the notorious Fairway Development case in which Minn. Title Insurance Company avoided the cost of its blunder in missing an easement. How did Minn. Title escapte? Simply because there had been a change in the membership of the partnership that owned the land. Some creative defense lawyer came up with that theory, and the US District Court for Ohio swallowed it.

I seem to recall that Mr. Lincoln was deemed an excellent President, an excellent trial lawyer, and a paragon of integrity. All this says nothing about Mr. Edwards, except that his profession as a trial lawyer is irrelevant.

#77

I'm glad to hear that they are being raised Jewish, though it certainly sheds doubt on the sincerity of Dean's professed beleifs. (Yeah, like there was a chance that anyone who thinks bike paths are more important than eternal salvation is sincere about the latter.) At least it makes me feel better about Mrs. Dean, but unlike Mrs. Clinton in 1992, she's not running.

Do you have a source as to how they are being raised?

Yankev

A friend sent me the photo with the following caption

Democratic presidential hopeful former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean
(news - web sites) accepts a victory shawl from, and the endorsement
of, the Permanent Palestinian Mission to the United Nations during
his caucus night party in West Des Moines, Iowa, Monday, Jan. 19, 2004.
(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

[Link: www.americandigest.org...]
Here's the link

#81

Actually, why would anywhere care and whose business is it, outside of Dean's himself?

Two answers, Judith. First, it becomes my business when a supposed community Jewish paper such as Jewish Week suggests that Jews should vote for Dean because he marreied a Jew. I'm not naive enough to think they did so without Dean's involvement and approval. And I'm continually dismayed at the way certain unelected "leaders" of the US Jewish community, whose main qualification is gelt and who know next to nothing about the Jewish religion, tend to confuse Torah with the platform of the Democratic party. Sorry, B'Nai Brith, but abortion is NOT a Jewish value.

The second point is a religious and not a political issue, and is not suitable for discussion on LGF, but has to do with the consequences to the Jewish people as a whole when a Jew engages in non-Jewish worship.

So I am glad to hear that the kids are indeed being raised as Jews.

Ariel #83

And the effects of that are now being noticed, in that the number of folks applying to medical school (and matriculants as well) has been dropping off for five years. In twenty years, when we don't have enough doctors, it will be thanks to the trial lawyers.

When I defended Doctors for an insurance company, I certainly saw malpractice cases that should never have been brought. But doctors are also notorious for covering up for one another, and for refusing to testify against one another no matter how egregious the defendant's misconduct. Medical negligence -- plain old bone headed mistakes like failing to count sponges, failing to pay attention to patients, cross-infecting patients by failing to observe elementary santiation -- kills more people in the US than gunshot wounds do.

In truth, high malpactice premiums have a lot more to do with the insurance industry and with low interest rates on investment than they do with trial lawyers. And insurance company practices -- low reimbursement rates, using high school graduates to second-guess doctors on what is and is not necessary, and imposing mountains of paperwork -- have a lot more to do with the loss of income to doctors and the lack of new applicants to med school than do lawyers.

Well...either Howard the Duck is tone deaf (which after last night's performance on stage could be) or...he has Pali sympathies and either way it's best you find out now rather than later when he's the only Demo choice.

I can't vote, of course, but I was impressed with Edwards. He's in command of himself and his heart is in the right place and it showed. Of course, I still think that having started the War on Terror it's a good idea to go with the team that already knows the ropes. Edwards can still run again in '08 and I like him better than Hillary. Also, I believe he's pro-Iraq and for fighting the WoT.

But Dean is "outta there"! One wag on CNN said even if he changes his style, "...you can't put in what God left out!"

I thought it was a Tallis at first glance.

#130

Bring back McCain!

Would that be the same McCain whose name is on a law that makes it a felony for American citizens (other than the press and the incumbents) to mention a politician's name on the air within 30 days of an election? No thank you.

The replies here are of course very predicatble...the one suggesting the woman gave him what he wears differs. Note what she is wearing. In fact, Dean had appointed a policy guru not long ago and he clearly stated that Israel was not going to get the short end of anything in a Dean administration...now move on to the next Democrat and pounce on him. That wil take care of Medicare and the deficit and massive unemployment.

Well this is a fine how-do-you-do...

A toe-rag in a head rag. ugghhh

I hope he is at least reamed on Fox for this...

fred,

dean has changed his mind on so many positions, theres no telling who he will sell out next.

maybe you.

fred,

massive unemployment?? it's at 5.7%. 5% is considered the "natural" rate of unemployment by economists for our economy.

Germany has 10% unemployment right now, perhaps you are thinking of them.

France, 9.6%

Canada, 7.4%

Go to hell, fact-checked troll-boy.

I offer "a blasting cap"?

And what's up with the sweat stains?

Ed Moran (#127),

Nothing personal, but Shania Twain doesn't impress me much.

Are you nuts?

SHANIA TWAIN

my god - either the man was in a water fight or he absolutely sweats buckets. all that anger must increase body temperature right along with blood pressure.

also, he'll want to leave the scarf at home when he goes to "mend fences" with and offer submission to France. They won't let him wear it there.

Like I have beeen saying for the last few months; "A Vote for Dean is a vote for Osama". I want all those that thought I was joking to reconsider some of Deans statements in the light of his support of terrorism.

What Judith hasn't explained about Canadian healthcare is that it is bureaucratic. It was established in the 1970's and much of its structure suffers from frozen in amber bureaucratic inertia.
Then there are these other curses of modern day government aka bureaucratic policy: political correctness:
1. promoting people because of their sex, race or ethnic backgrounds and not their competence, qualifications or suitability for the job
2. failing to take responsibility in a crisis leading to the sorts of coverups which created the haemophiliac blood scandal
3. the initial handling of the SARS outbreak and many such etc.s
One would think that a healthcare system would look to members of the medical profession for input as to how it should be run but that is not the case in Canada.
Finally, there is a definite class element evident in the delivery system. If you're middle class and talk the same language as health care professionals, you are at a great advantage. People who are inarticulate and intimidated by those they conceive of as their superiors don't necessarily receive the same treatment as the Judiths of this world.

RNC Research on John Edwards

[Link: www.rnc.org...]

some excerpts

EDWARDS ISN'T JUST BEHOLDEN TO PERSONAL INJURY
TRIAL LAWYERS, HE IS ONE HIMSELF

• More Than 4 Of Every 5 Dollars Raised By Edwards For His Hard Money PAC, New American Optimists, Have Come From Personal Injury Trial Lawyers.

• Nearly Every Penny Donated To Edwards' Soft Money PAC Since Early 2001 Has Come From Personal Injury Trial Lawyers. (Jim VandeHei, "Trial Lawyers Fund Edwards," The Washington Post, September 3, 2002)

• Edwards Consistently Caters To Personal Injury Trial Lawyer Interests By Fighting Tort Reform And Facilitating The Initiation Of Lucrative Lawsuits Against American Companies. (Editorial, "Tort Terrorism," Wall Street Journal, June 20, 2002)

EDWARDS PROFESSES TO BE A SOUTHERN MODERATE, BUT
VOTES LIKE A NORTHEASTERN LIBERAL

• Edwards Voted Against President Bush's Bipartisan Tax Relief Package.

• Edwards Voted Against A Ban On Partial-Birth Abortions.

• From 1999-2002, Edwards Voted With Senator Ted Kennedy 90% Of The Time And Senator Hillary Clinton 89% Of The Time. (CQ Vote Comparison, CQ Online Website, [Link: www.oncongresscq.com,...] 106th and 107th Congresses)

• In An Interview With Robert Novak For The American Spectator, Edwards Even Claimed That He Could Not Recall A Single Conservative Position He Has Taken While In Congress. (John McCaslin, "Dependably Liberal," The Washington Times, October 15, 2002)

Two Years Into Edwards' Senate Term, He Was Scrutinized For Sponsoring Legislation That Made It Easier To File Lawsuits Against HMOs. "Tort reform activists point to tort lawyers cum lawmakers passing legislation that makes it easier to sue . . . Terrance Scanlon, president of the Capitol Research Center, cynically notes that Edwards 'is now sponsoring a bill that would allow for huge lawsuits against health maintenance organizations, directly benefiting trial lawyers.'" (Geoffrey S. Underwood, "In The Tanks: Torts Tanks?" United Press International, June 14, 2001)

Edwards Opposed Caps On Malpractice Awards. Edwards is unpopular among doctors and the medical profession because he supports unlimited awards in medical malpractice suits. (Jill Zuckman, "Medical Bill Debate Pits Doctor vs. Lawyer,"Chicago Tribune, June 24, 2001)

Edwards' Liberal Record On Business/Job Growth:

• Edwards Received A 0% Rating From The Small Business Survival Committee For His Voting Record In 2001. (Small Business Survival Committee Website, [Link: www.sbsc.org,...] accessed December 1, 2002)

• Edwards Received A 17% Rating From The National Federation Of Independent Business For His Voting Record In 2001. (National Federation Of Independent Business, [Link: www.nfib.com,...] accessed December 1, 2002)

Edwards' Liberal Record On Taxes/Fiscal Responsibility:

• Edwards Voted Against President Bush's Bipartisan Tax Relief Package. (H.R. 1836, Roll Call #170: Passed 58-33: R 46-2; D 12-31, May 26, 2001)

• Edwards Voted Against Permanent Repeal Of The Estate Tax. (H.R. 8, Roll Call #151: Failed 54-44: R 45-2; D 9-42, June 12, 2002)

• In 2001, Edwards Voted Against A Capital Gains Tax Rate Reduction. (Amendment To H.R. 1836, Roll Call #115: Failed 47-51: R 40-8; D 7-43, May 21, 2001)

• In 2000, Edwards Voted Against A Bill That Would Have Reduced Taxes On Married Couples. (H.R. 4810, Roll Call #215: Adopted 61-38: R 53-1; D 8-37, July 18, 2000)

• In 2000, Edwards Voted Against A Temporary Suspension Of The Gasoline Tax. (S. 2285, Roll Call #80: Failed 43-56: R 43-12; D 0-44, April 11, 2000)

If only Chris Farley were alive to make fun of that ranting, idiotic speech......

In fact, Dean had appointed a policy guru not long ago and he clearly stated that Israel was not going to get the short end of anything in a Dean administration

Yeah, I beleived Clinton when he said the same thing about a Clinton administration. Then I watched in dismay through 8 years of moral equivalence and coddling of Arafat. At last the US has a president who is not afraid to call a terrorist a terrorist.

As far as the deficit and Medicare -- I'm not crazy about some of the things Pres. Bush is doing on those issues, but if we lose the country to the terrorists, domestic policies become irrelevant, as we won't have the right to vote on them any longer.

As far as I'm concenred, the Democrats elected Bush by giving Clinton and Gore a free pass on 8 years of lies, moral equivalence, coddling of terrorists, and blaming law abiding gun owners for the crimes of maniacs and drug dealers, all the while coddling the criminals who were actually committing the crimes. No thank you.

I voted for every Democratic presidential candidate until 2000, with the exception of Mondale; I did not vote for Mondale because of his whitewashing the anti-semitism of Jesse Jackson. Now every major Democratic candidate is sucking up to the bigger racist Al Sharpton.

If you want me to vote Democratic again, give me a Democrat worth voting for.
Yankev

Ed,

I mean, I probably see them all the time, but this guy was wearing his kippa.

How exotic. Come over to my office and, for a modest hourly rate, you can stare all you want at me wearing one at work.

#31

J,

backpedalling furiously since he called Hamas soldiers and called for the US to be more evenhanded in the middle-east.

The even handed remark was inexcusable; we all know by now what that's a code word for.

IMO he's been getting a bad rap on the 'soldiers' remark. He used that term by way of explaining why, in his opinion, Israel was justified in killing terrorist leaders no matter when and where they were found. Dumb choice of terms, but right result.
Yankev

Re #135:

Democratic presidential hopeful former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean (news - web sites) accepts a victory shawl from, and the endorsement of, the Permanent Palestinian Mission to the United Nations during his caucus night party in West Des Moines, Iowa, Monday, Jan. 19, 2004. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Is this supposed to be an actual news caption? It may well be a satirical caption supplied by the American Digest site.

I would really be surprised if some foreign diplomat purported to endorse a U.S. presidential candidate. (On the other hand, I would not be surprised if Dean were given a keffiyeh by an Arab-American group in Iowa.)

The original photo of Dean wearing this keffiyeh appears on Yahoo! News, but with the original caption quoted by Charles -- no mention of the Palestinian Mission there.

Please Lord, let "Mad Howard" be the Dems Nominee!

Yankev,

Is Sen. Liebermann sucking up to al sharpton? as for sleazeball sharpton, I haven't heard anyone during this campaign ask him about his deceitful part in the Tawana Brawley affair. He's been getting a free ride because he is not taken to be a serious candidate, methinks.

# 81, # 137,

Not that Noam Chomsky is anything like a practicing Jew, but the statistical odds are, for ethnic reasons, HIS wife is probably at least ethnically Jewish. Unless, of course, his wife is some WASP he met in grad school or some demonstration somewhere. Anybody know anything about this?

Howzabout deathkercheif?

#156 Joshua,

Yahoo sometimes changes their captions, without leaving a trace.

Nevertheless, like you, I'm wondering about the authenticity of the caption in the link from #135, ronnie schreiber

I like deathkercheif!
Well, the shawl has a "pre-history" as tribalwear, but then again, swastika had a "pre-history" too.

The keffiyeh is the 21st century's swastika.

And the equivalent of the Klan hood.

#56 Kalb caD-di-nee

'Don't put on the hat'? Someone should have told Wesley Clark in August 1994. Anyone else seen that photo of him grinning broadly, having swapped hats with Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladic?

Aaron's rantblog

equivalent of the Klan hood.

I beg to differ. They have real life Klan hood approximations available in different four colors -- green, black, white, red.

Edwards is a scumbag trial lawyer, who cared only about making himself rich, and not about the little guy. If something is not done in this country about malpractice litigation (and I hope this would include punishing lawyers who take on cases that have no merit), pretty soon we will have no doctors willing to practice. My husband is a doctor, and the current situation depresses him so much that he told me he will be voting Republican because of it (and this is coming from a liberal guy who just a year ago would not think of ever doing something like this). You can blame the insurance industry or incompetent doctors all you want, the real problem is with greedy trial laywers who care only about money. BTW, research shows that the amount of malpractice award depends on on whether a doctor did something wrong, but what the extent of the plaintiff's injuries are (which doesn't always mean it's the doc's fault). The laywers are clearly playing on jury's heartstrings (and most jurors are not even qualified to figure out whether the doctor committed malpractice or not).

Geez who is this fred character?

Just call Howard Dean 'Howard Dean al Tikriti'

While everyone is getting off on how wicked Dean is etc, I jhust got this note from a person who knows about such things:

It's a hand-woven Vermont tallis, or tallith as the Sephardim say. but why burts a bubble and confront reality?

What's a "Vermont" tallis?

"Oh, and this is my VERMONT tallis. It's in mint condition. I can't wait until they issue the Idaho tallis, 'cuz it's got a picture of a potato embroidered on it. I'm gonna collect all 50! Oh, and have you seen my collection of Chia Pet yarmulkes?"

#169 Fred,

It's a hand-woven Vermont tallis, or tallith as the Sephardim say.

Tell me another.

No one who has ever seen a Tallis or a keffiyeh in real life would mistake this for a Tallis.

There's no such thing as a "Vermont tallis" although a tallis certainly could be woven in Vermont. But a Tallis has ritual fringes at the corners, knotted in the prescribed manner -- that's what makes it a Tallis. No sign of any such in this photo.

And the distinctive checkering on the item in this photo is identical to that on the typical Palestinian keffiyeh. And finally, since only Jews make, wear and use Tallesim, it is highly doubtful that the maker would deliberately make the Tallis resemble a distinctively Arab garment that has come to symbolize the struggle to obliterate the Jewish state and her citizens.

Whoever told you this was a Tallis was either pulling your leg or knows nothing about Tallesim. Either way, I wouldn't give your informant much credibility from now on.

Yankev

#158 Del,

Lieberman is certainly not standing up to Sharpton. I have yet to read anything about the Senator challenging Reverend Al about his history of racist and antiSemitic agitation, his incitement to Crown Heights riot that led to the death of Yankel Rosenblum (Rosenbaum? I'm embarrassed to say I forgot which) H"yd, the later riot that led to the death of a security guard at a record store, his endorsement of the Brawley slander and the resulting verdict that adjudicated Reverend Al and dliberate and vicious liar, or even his personal extravagance at the expense of the poor that he fleeces in the best tradition of Father Divine.

Instead, Sen. L treats Al like a legitimate candidate. In my book, that's sucking up. Sen. L. may be the least bad of the Democratic crop, but that's not saying much.
Yankev

I used to think that H. Dean is just stupid, like the rest of those left-swingers. Now I think that he is a fuckin [bigoted word] idiot who made a fool of himself (twice). This Jewish gal is voting Republican.

WriterMom 1/20/2004 10:09AM PST

Ha ha!

Point well taken. Actually, I'm not in the habit of calling anyone I don't know names (not out loud anyway), but I've actually been called much worse than "[bigoted word]" and lived to tell the tale.

Why don't you try telling someone they are wearing "terrorists' scarves"-do you think that would go over better?

Hmm, I wonder if she teaches her kids to throw stones at people and blow up buses and nightclubs...Why don't you go take care of your kids instead of writing this crap.

To return the HillaryCare argument to the topic, here's the truth about Dean's health care policies in Vermont. In short: the % of the population with health insurance actually went down under Dean, while the % with government health coverage skyrocketed. Of course, the state's spending itself into ruin and it's now ridiculously difficult to get insurance that's not from the mismanaged government teat.

Ahh, what a future awaits us. Of course we could also live in Kerry's world and not have new pharmaceuticals developed, well, ever.

#10 Lil Mamzer

Howard's nom de guerre is of course Abu Nikita!

For adam and the other health care debaters ... if you want to see a good portrayal of the Canadian health system in a movie, then you should check out The Barbarian Invasions. It's enlightening and entertaining, and the fact that it was actually made in Quebec shows that not everyone north of the border has had the kind of lobotomy that seems to have so tragically struck "Judith". It'll be on DVD soon.

Has anyone read Clark's 11/7/03 statement on Israel published in "The Forward"?

[Link: www.forward.com...]

"Ever since Rabin shook hands with Yasser Arafat, the world has been waiting for the Palestinian authorities to take a similar step by disarming their own militants. That moment has yet to come...
...until that day, the Israeli government has a duty to defend its people from the constant onslaught of bombers who attack innocent civilians on buses, in restaurants and on their way from prayer. As a retired general, I firmly believe that this is the least that any society expects of its leadership. We should never question Israel's right to self-defense. Indeed, we must continue to provide Israel with the resources - both financial and diplomatic - to aid its search for peace. "

Anyone care to enlighten me with contadictory statements from Clark, to cause me to doubt his commitment to Israel?

I'm serious. If there is a reason I'm supposed to hate this guy, please lay it out.

I am as close to voting for a Repoublican president as I've ever been in my 30 years of voting. I need all the info I can get....

Dave,

How about that you can't count on Weasly to keep his word about much anything?