Beautiful.

Charles might wanna add this to his xxxth reason not to vote Republican list:

Republican Senator votes against GM bailout, attends GM plant reopening ceremony

[Link: www.salon.com…]

Just as Tina Fey played Sarah Palin, Julie Louis Dreyfus should play Christine O’Donnell.

I want to see a film about her Wild Years: “The Satanic Picnics”

She looks like a bimbo to me … She may be the GOP’s teachable moment.

re: #5 _RememberTonyC

She looks like a bimbo to me … She may be the GOP’s teachable moment.

GOP and “teachable” are turning into mutually exclusive concepts

re: #6 ralphieboy

At some point, the GOP will find a middle course. In New England where I live, the Repubs are more moderate than in many other regions. We have Snowe and Collins in Maine and Brown in Mass … And maybe Linda McMahon in CT.

re: #7 _RememberTonyC

At some point, the GOP will find a middle course. In New England where I live, the Repubs are more moderate than in many other regions. We have Snowe and Collins in Maine and Brown in Mass … And maybe Linda McMahon in CT.

You mean you have RINO’s up in your neck of the woods. The only thing that matters these days is ideological purity: unrestricted Free Market, restricted abortions.

re: #8 ralphieboy

For a Repub to do well up here, they have to seem RINOish … Because they are asking many Dems for their votes.

re: #9 _remembertonyc

For a Repub to do well up here, they have to seem RINOish … Because they are asking many Dems for their votes.

Asking Dems for votes is ideologically impure. Sort of like Woody Allen’s comment on the advantages of being bisexual: “At least it doubles your chances of getting a date on Saturday night!”

re: #10 ralphieboy

I vote both ways … I just look at results.

re: #7 _RememberTonyC

At some point, the GOP will find a middle course. In New England where I live, the Repubs are more moderate than in many other regions. We have Snowe and Collins in Maine and Brown in Mass … And maybe Linda McMahon in CT.

We have plenty of awesome Republicans that make sense in Oregon!

We also have some crazies, but the kind of Rs that appeal to Portland metro area voters for governor are guys like Chris Dudley, basketball player/philanthropist, not exactly some wild-eyed tea partier flipping her shit about Satan

My wife got me an iPad for my B’day … Just an amazing machine.

re: #12 WindUpBird

Those are the ones that have to step up. Dudley’s a great guy.

re: #3 _RememberTonyC

Just as Tina Fey played Sarah Palin, Julie Louis Dreyfus should play Christine O’Donnell.

Am I the only one who thinks she kinda looked cute with her 90’s-by-way-of-the 80’s bangs and curly hair on Politically Incorrect? Crazy and unelectable, but sorta cute in a christian-pollyanna-versus-the-satanic-volcano sorta way

Nowadays, she just looks like another boring republican :/

re: #15 WindUpBird

Even sarah plain has a nice ass. But you need more than a great ass to get my vote. You gotta be smart first.

re: #14 _remembertonyc

Those are the ones that have to step up. Dudley’s a great guy.

I think the FAR FAR FAR BETTER CANDIDATE was defeated by Dudley, though :( No slight on dudley, but if you’re gonna run Oregon, I want you to be a Mentok-like mega brain, a goddamn genius to tell the rest of the country that we don’t elect fools. it’s why I love our representative in the House, Earl Blumenhauer, because he’s one of the smartests guys in the House, he’s crazy smart about land use planning, about livable cities

Dudley is a great guy, but not really a smart guy, not like Alley! Jocks always win against nerds, though. :(

Allen Alley? Weapons grade brilliant, AND great, AND the right kind of dude to make the Republican brand in Oregon work. The Republican party in Oregon would do well to give this guy all the resources they can

re: #16 _remembertonyc

Even sarah plain has a nice ass. But you need more than a great ass to get my vote. You gotta be smart first.

haha oh I’m not talking about votes! I make art for a living, I notice interesting faces, because I need to to make rent ;-)

re: #17 WindUpBird

Dude … Chris Dudley graduated from Yale! He is more than a jock.

re: #13 _remembertonyc

My wife got me an iPad for my B’day … Just an amazing machine.

The times of computing, they are a changing

it’s coming to be a division between work trucks (PCs) and passenger cars (macs, ipad, iphone)

…and then supercars that weight 2500 pounds and have 600hp (quad-core-quad-GPU gaming machines with SSDs)

re: #18 WindUpBird

Good luck with that. Palin gets so much support because millions of dudes want to bang her.

re: #19 _remembertonyc

Dude … Chris Dudley graduated from Yale! He is more than a jock.

Graduating from a good university is cool, but it does not equal smart by my metric

Bill Gates dropped OUT of college, remember. :D My metric of smart is: people who create successful businesses out of nothing, people who solve incredibly complex problems, people who are fearlessly creative and who can just make something out of nothing and capture imaginations with it, people who have an aptitude for thriving and coming up with innovative ideas no matter what the circumstances. And that’s what Allen Alley is. The ultimate cliche is “outside the box” but it’s sorta true, there are people who are just so outside the normal patterns and who can operate on the normal patterns of society like surgeons

Good university grad and well spoken? Cool! But not really smart. Not like I want ;-)

re: #21 _remembertonyc

Good luck with that. Palin gets so much support because millions of dudes want to bang her.

I know this, America is really just a giant nonsensical beast people have to climb on and ride if they want to succeed in national politics here

re: #19 _remembertonyc

Note that I still like Dudley, I just thought the Rs could have kicked way more ass

I’ll be voting for Kitzhaber, but if Dudley wins, I can’t really complain

re: #22 WindUpBird

Dudley’s not your guy, but he has many positive qualities. He is formidable, except at the free throw line.

re: #24 WindUpBird

For a white dude like Chris, who had no offensive game, to play 16 NBA seasons shows me he was Really smart.

re: #25 _remembertonyc

Dudley’s not your guy, but he has many positive qualities. He is formidable, except at the free throw line.

Yeah totally, I understand that I live in a state where both choices are pretty all right, and that makes me happy :D

I still haven’t really sussed out how I feel about San Adams, he does some things I like, but man, the dude is really into playing games over the bridges here, and I’m getting tired of it :(

re: #26 _remembertonyc

For a white dude like Chris, who had no offensive game, to play 16 NBA seasons shows me he was Really smart.

ahahaha you’ll forgive me if I still want the guy who founded a semiconductor firm over the basketball player :D

(seriously, how does that work, though? How bad was his offensive game? Was he on the bench a lot? I’m so out of the basketball loop)

re: #27 WindUpBird

Portland and Boston seem similar. Bill Walton owned both towns.

re: #28 WindUpBird

Couldn’t jump or shoot. Historically bad at the free throw line. Good defender and rebounder, but strictly a backup.

re: #29 _RememberTonyC

Portland and Boston seem similar. Bill Walton owned both towns.

My friends who escaped Boston to live in Seattle don’t really agree, they report a very different cultural vibe with the Portland hippie/DIY/dirtbag philosophy than they saw in Boston, with its more upscale orthodox fine art scene. Bill Walton is a riot, I gotta dig up that bizarre old SI cover of him where it looked like he had goat teeth

Boston seems like a cool place! I want to visit, but I’ve never really been to the east coast and ever felt at ease, I’m just such a NW kid

re: #31 WindUpBird

Culturally, the towns have different styles, but there is a certain something they share. Portland is more mellow, but both towns rock. Boston has more drunks per capita than anywhere I know.

re: #32 _RememberTonyC

Culturally, the towns have different styles, but there is a certain something they share. Portland is more mellow, but both towns rock. Boston has more drunks per capita than anywhere I know.

Both towns have good music scenes (go go Harmonix!) and love to drink. that’s a truth *_*

Getting late here in CT … G’nite.

re: #34 _RememberTonyC

Getting late here in CT … G’nite.

cheers

we are at the bitter not-yet-end of the longest recession since the great depression. a lot of people are going to lose their careers even if and when things get better, and they’re scared

this is, of course, the best environment possible for an opposition party

and still, the republican party is bitterly divided, and lately it’s been losing ground, not gaining momentum as the election gets closer

the very public and very bitter fight between the tea party and the republican party hardly presents a picture of an organization that is ready or able to solve this country’s problems

if the republican party is so fucked up now, what will happen to it when the worm turns once again and things are not so favorable for it?

re: #19 _remembertonyc

Dude … Chris Dudley graduated from Yale! He is more than a jock.

So he graduated from Yale. So did GWB and John Forbes Kerry.

I realize that the difference is that Dudley is actually intelligent.

re: #21 _remembertonyc

Good luck with that. Palin gets so much support because millions of dudes want to bang her.

That should be offset by the millions of women who are jealous.

I’ll stipulate that Palin and O’Donnell are attractive. Until they speak. Then fugeddaboudit. Crazy/attractive/stupid is fine when you’re in your twenties, maybe later, but there comes a time when a man with any brains finally grows up. Many don’t—but they’re probably right-wingers to begin with.

Gooood morning everyone! And what a wonderful morning it is here in the Alps in France. =)

I’m super duper excited because my web template and web plan was approved yesterday by the boss, so I get to order my own dedicated server in LA to host all my stuff on. And since nobody else here knows anything about the internet, it’s my supercalifragilisticexpialidocious toy!.

Mine!

Muahahaha! My own dedicated server at an AWESOME host. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Totally awesome! =)

Yay!

Dean Martin - when being a Republican meant one was cool…

This house or this house. Is there a $70K difference? The cheaper house is the newer, more complete remodel with more finished square feet in a slightly to moderately worse neighborhood. The more expensive house has all the good retro 50s details and more grass to mow and is closer to higher end shopping.

decisions, decisions. I can make the payment on the cheaper house working at two fast food places if necessary, with a third and fourth to pay for my cable and internet.

re: #44 boredtechindenver

location³

Besides that, the first one has a kitchen with not enough space above oven (the microwave ought not to be there.) But the overall design has more character. Love the larger windows but it looks like big heating bills with all that energy lost through them in winter. The rear fence will require attention sooner rather than later. Take out some of the grass, put in gravel or some raised flower beds (roses, bushes)

The second one appears to have some ceilings that are too low. Plus the front needs some serious re-landscaping (and get rid of that grass!)

I’d go with neither, but if those are truly your only two choices (I bet you have more though) go with the one in which you feel better.

One thing to try is to see if the owner will let you stay part of a night there. Just enough for the sun to go down and you can get a feel for the neighborhood at night. Or, park your car and walk in the neighborhood for a while.

re: #44 boredtechindenver

If I remember correctly, you feel you need to buy in that area because you want to be close to a relative, correct?

Don’t worry about mowing grass - just kill off what you don’t want (personally I’d kill it all off and plant fruit trees.)

Remember, you have to live wherever you buy, perhaps for a long time.

re: #44 boredtechindenver

Oh, and think “maintenance”. The mortgage is just part of the cost of home ownership.

Oh, and one last bit of advice - never trust a real estate agent.

re: #48 freetoken

Oh, and one last bit of advice - never trust a real estate agent.

I got screwed by a mortgage broker.

re: #49 Cannadian Club Akbar

I got screwed by a mortgage broker.

They rank right down there with real estate agents and used car salesmen.

re: #50 freetoken

They rank right down there with real estate agents and used car salesmen.

And cash advance places. And title loan places. A friend of mine woke up one morning to a tow truck taking his truck. He was like WTF. Turned out his wife did a title loan. D’oh!!

Strangely, the house i liked the most that had the best location (lowest priced house in a subdivision off a golf course) had the biggest baddest lawn, that I would not have taken out a bit other than to add a second garage space. I would have gladly died of a heart attack mowing that lawn. But don’t let me die shoveling snow. I hate being wet and cold more than being sweaty and hot.

It felt like home. and was off the market 3 days after I saw it. Probably saved me from dying while shoveling snow.

re: #52 boredtechindenver

I shoveled snow for 20 minutes once. Thought I was a goner. Never again.

re: #52 boredtechindenver

Choice properties always move more quickly. That’s one reason why you want to line up your financing in advance, as much as possible.

I can’t stress strongly enough - you’re going to live where you buy. Your numbered days will go by faster than anticipated, so it’s important not to be saddled with something that makes those days miserable.

re: #52 boredtechindenver

BTW, when I said I wouldn’t buy either I didn’t mean because they wouldn’t be good enough for me. What I meant is that, having learned first hand what it takes to maintain a house, when I look at both I see lots of things that are on a near term schedule to be addresses. Fine if you are the handyman sort who wants to do the work yourself, but I’m not one of those.

So I’m starting to think there’s a conspiracy by garbage-bag manufacturers to get us (over here) to buy their products through the introduction of these ‘eco-bags.’

What my family (and I suspect quite a few) people like to do is reuse plastic shopping bags as liner bags for our garbage bins. The eco-bags were supposedly introduced to prevent the plastic waste altogether, but then we end up running out of liner bags, forcing us to end up buying actual garbage bags which may be twice the size of our regular garbage bins over here.

/well, what am I supposed to do while I’m cleaning my paint roller?

//also good evening

re: #56 laZardo

I reuse plastic shopping bags for all sorts of things, but they are too small (around here anyway) to line anything more than the small waste baskets.

re: #57 freetoken

I reuse plastic shopping bags for all sorts of things, but they are too small (around here anyway) to line anything more than the small waste baskets.

I haven’t quite gotten the mystique behind the eco-bag trend, personally. I suspect it’s mainly for peripheral use to the main bag that people choose to take with them, or for items outside the grocery store.

re: #58 laZardo

Publix grocery stores sells bags to carry your groceries with. Might be canvas. But lots of people use them. Not the biggest. But if you’re one of those people who enjoy going to the store alot, or can’t decide on food past 2 days, I think they’re fine.

German Star Trek commercial:

Sie sind unter uns! (“They are among us”)

Half way back of this semi, on the left, is a police cruiser.
[Link: www.baynews9.com…]

And now, I’m gonna eat dinner and attempt self-therapy.

Cheers! :D

What’s in a name?

re: #44 boredtechindenver

The first house has a Gorn living in it. I’d not buy that one.

re: #61 Cannadian Club Akbar

Half way back of this semi, on the left, is a police cruiser.
[Link: www.baynews9.com…]

This officer has died.

re: #65 Cannadian Club Akbar

Awful. Dangerous days to be a cop in so many different ways.

Saw a police car yesterday in Roanoke (my town), one of those bad ass Chrysler 300 Station Wagons. On the back under “POLICE” was stenciled this “This car was donated by a local drug dealer.”

re: #66 Fat Bastard Vegetarian

Awful. Dangerous days to be a cop in so many different ways.

Saw a police car yesterday in Roanoke (my town), one of those bad ass Chrysler 300 Station Wagons. On the back under “POLICE” was stenciled this “This car was donated by a local drug dealer.”

We had some of those I’ve seen in the past. But now under cover cars are the big thing. Stuff you would never suspect. Dark windows and re and blue lights, inside, front and back, and behind the grill.

Holy crap!!

re: #12 WindUpBird

We have plenty of awesome Republicans that make sense in Oregon!

We also have some crazies, but the kind of Rs that appeal to Portland metro area voters for governor are guys like Chris Dudley, basketball player/philanthropist, not exactly some wild-eyed tea partier flipping her shit about Satan

The question about the “moderate republicans” is whether they will submit to party discipline once in Congress. If they do (as most do) then they are no better then whatever Boehner, et al feel like doing.

A republican breaking ranks is very, very rare. A democrat: not so much.

Morning Lizards

Have a new employee starting today, spinning his laptop up now. Oh what fun

OT: Carter, recently:

“Carter says he’s outdone other ex-presidents in his post-presidential career, The Hill reports. “I feel that my role as a former president is probably superior to that of other presidents,” Carter told NBC.”

It certainly IS an improvement over your actual presidency, sir.

re: #71 Ojoe

“Carter says he’s outdone other ex-presidents in his post-presidential career”

I completely agree, though probably not in the context you meant it sir.

And St. Francis, who’s father always called Assisi… Never got a dinner.

Jimmy Carter, feh.

re: #59 Cannadian Club Akbar

Publix grocery stores sells bags to carry your groceries with. Might be canvas. But lots of people use them. Not the biggest. But if you’re one of those people who enjoy going to the store alot, or can’t decide on food past 2 days, I think they’re fine.

I have 2-3 canvas shopping bags my mother gave me 15-20 years ago. Two of them is just about the right load for a basket of groceries from Trader Joe’s and the 5 block walk back from there to the apartment.

The occasional plastic bag I pick up from other places gets used for lining small wastebaskets, or to double-bag used cat litter. (One thing I miss from having a house and lawn is that the cats did a decent percentage of their business outside. And no, they didn’t beeline for the sandbox of the neighbor’s kids…)

re: #74 Taqyia2Me

“Whaddya say we open a bag of “malaise” potato chips”…

Good morning Lizardia!

Philadelphia traffic appears back to normal. A lot of folk had some issues yesterday due to Obama being in the house. (I-95 and I-676 had stoppages for his motorcade between the airport and Central City.) When I was going south on I-95 about 4:20pm there was standing traffic on the northbound lanes for at least 2-3 miles. (Ouch)

And I use “in the house” since one of the places he visited was in the building I work in. But I cleared out before that since Monday night is when I go play cribbage.

Does this sound like a good thing: large sums of money donated anonymously to influence the midterms?

[Link: www.nytimes.com…]

I get the whole “money is speech” thing. But is there a first amendment right to donate money anonymously?

re: #78 garhighway

Not sure. But, IIRC, union dues aren’t supposed to be used for political donations. I might be wrong.

re: #79 Cannadian Club Akbar

Not sure. But, IIRC, union dues aren’t supposed to be used for political donations. I might be wrong.

THAT’S ALL THEY ARE USED FOR!@!@!@!1!@@!@!!!!

/Buy gold

re: #80 rhino2

THAT’S ALL THEY ARE USED FOR!@!@!@!1!@@!@!!!

/Buy gold

Why bother? PASS CARD CHECK!!!
/

Morning, scaly ones. Funeral and Irish wake today. Save me some troll if there is any.

re: #82 Cato the Elder

Hope you did alright with the viewing last night. It is a difficult and a bit strange part of our general culture.
Everyone says it helps with “closure.”

re: #79 Cannadian Club Akbar

These groups are essentially operating in an unregulated fashion.

In fact, the I.R.S. is unlikely to know that some of these groups exist until well after the election because they are not required to seek the agency’s approval until they file their first tax forms — more than a year after they begin activity.

“These groups are popping up like mushrooms after a rain right now, and many of them will be out of business by late November,” Mr. Owens said. “Technically, they would have until January 2012 at the earliest to file anything with the I.R.S. It’s a farce.”

A report by the Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration this year revealed that the I.R.S. was not even reviewing the required filings of 527 groups, which have increasingly been supplanted by 501(c)(4) organizations.

It is a farce. Crossroads is clearly a political group. In a two-man race, attacking one of the contenders is an innate endorsement of the other.

This is the ‘elite’ we need to be worried about.

re: #82 Cato the Elder

Morning, scaly ones. Funeral and Irish wake today. Save me some troll if there is any.

Saw your post yesterday. I have been to one open casket funeral. Sucked. My best friend. His mom was the greeter.

re: #83 prairiefire

Hope you did alright with the viewing last night. It is a difficult and a bit strange part of our general culture.
Everyone says it helps with “closure.”

Who’s general culture?

re: #85 Cannadian Club Akbar

Saw your post yesterday. I have been to one open casket funeral. Sucked. My best friend. His mom was the greeter.

I personally find them exhausting, but everyone insists on them. The mortuary styled my x FIL’s hair in a comb over style that made him look like Hitler. We were stunned. My x MIL requested a comb and fixed it.

re: #86 Obdicut
Middle American Protestant/Catholics.

I’m sure you’ve all heard by now, but if you haven’t: Twitter is under attack. Don’t go to the Twitter site as there are serious problems with mouseover.

Third party apps are not affected as it’s a javascript exploit in the current Twitter page.

Just a warning. =)

More info at:

[Link: gizmodo.com…]
[Link: mashable.com…]
[Link: thenextweb.com…]

And just about everyone else covering it. =)

re: #87 prairiefire

Is that where it comes from? I’d never really understood it.

Even though both my parents converted to Catholicism, I think from my grandmother and grandfather I got strong Jewish cultural teachings about funerals. I do like the Jewish traditions for death.

I think having some form of ritual is a very good thing, whatever form it takes.

But I couldn’t handle going to my grandfather’s funeral. I walked in the woods at the same time as it was being held, thinking of him.

re: #82 Cato the Elder

Morning, scaly ones. Funeral and Irish wake today. Save me some troll if there is any.

Oh man.
Godspeed to the deceased.
Prayers for comfort for you and the departed’s family and friends.

re: #89 Obdicut

Back in the old days, the body would lay in state in the front parlour for 1-3 days. Gah.
I know Jewish and Islamic families get it over and done with in 24 hours. I like that.
I like to go to the pioneer graveyard in CIrcleville where I have ancestors buried from the the 1840’s.
If I knew them in life, it is harder for me to visit their graves.

re: #91 prairiefire

I really prefer the simple pine box. Let my body return to nature, thank you very much.

Morning lizards!

re: #82 Cato the Elder

Morning, scaly ones. Funeral and Irish wake today. Save me some troll if there is any.

Cato, I’m very sorry about your friend, and your loss of your friend.

I have finally found an easy issue to vote on. All the policy issues are complex, and I am a simple soul. Plus, I am not going to vote based on whether someone condemns or engages in witchcraft (hard to distinguish it from many other religious practices…). If you are against equal marriage rights, I won’t vote for you. Period.

UK Proposes All Paychecks Go to the State First

The UK’s tax collection agency is putting forth a proposal that all employers send employee paychecks to the government, after which the government would deduct what it deems as the appropriate tax and pay the employees by bank transfer.

The proposal by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) stresses the need for employers to provide real-time information to the government so that it can monitor all payments and make a better assessment of whether the correct tax is being paid.

Currently employers withhold tax and pay the government, providing information at the end of the year, a system know as Pay as You Earn (PAYE). There is no option for those employees to refuse withholding and individually file a tax return at the end of the year.

If the real-time information plan works, it further proposes that employers hand over employee salaries to the government first.

Ughh

re: #96 NJDhockeyfan

Quote?

re: #96 NJDhockeyfan

Monumentally stupid idea.

re: #92 JasonA

I really prefer the simple pine box. Let my body return to nature, thank you very much.

Zedushka informed me that he has purchased our cemetery plots.

I’m like all, that’s OK but get me some bling for my birthday.

re: #97 imp_62

Quote?

It’s not actually proposing that. It’s got a document with a lot of different proposals. That’s one of them. The Government as such hasn’t endorsed the idea, and I really doubt it will.

re: #96 NJDhockeyfan

I actually wanted to read one of Jeremy Clarkson’s latest after that.

Then I remembered that they put the Times behind a paywall.

/jezza is my favorite wingnut :D

re: #92 JasonA

I’d like to be cremated and then dispersed to the wind from a Folgers coffee tin.

Then fuck it, everyone goes bowling.

re: #102 laZardo

I’d like to be cremated and then dispersed to the wind from a Folgers coffee tin.

Then fuck it, everyone goes bowling.

Just tell your friends to notice which way the wind is blowing.

re: #89 Obdicut

There is something to be said for the Jewish burial rituals - and how it deals with the grieving process not just in the immediate aftermath of the death, but the process for the entire first year following and thereafter (sitting shiva, kaddish, unveiling, etc.). Then again, the idea of throwing a party to celebrate a person’s life (the Irish wake) does hold some appeal.

How we deal with death is a good way to get insight into how we view life.

re: #82 Cato the Elder

Morning, scaly ones. Funeral and Irish wake today. Save me some troll if there is any.

Sorry to hear about your friend. Funerals are tough. {{{Cato}}}

re: #96 NJDhockeyfan

Ummm… that’s not altogether all that different from the withholding that we have here in the US. Employers in the US are required to withhold income tax, FICA, and other assorted taxes and fees from employee paychecks - and if the taxpayer withheld too much, they get a refund at tax time (but it is an interest free loan to the government in the interim). You, as the employee get your paycheck as you normally do, but it’s minus all the taxes and fees withheld.

re: #106 lawhawk

Ummm… that’s not altogether all that different from the withholding that we have here in the US. Employers in the US are required to withhold income tax, FICA, and other assorted taxes and fees from employee paychecks - and if the taxpayer withheld too much, they get a refund at tax time (but it is an interest free loan to the government in the interim). You, as the employee get your paycheck as you normally do, but it’s minus all the taxes and fees withheld.

What they are proposing in the UK is the employer sends the paychecks to the government, they take their share then send the rest to the employees. I wouldn’t trust the government here. Imagine how long it would take to get paid.

re: #107 NJDhockeyfan

I don’t think the mechanics, let alone the logic of that particular proposal, makes any sense. If the British govt is getting the financial data and withholding/tax information, they know how much money is being expended on salaries and benefits, so that they don’t need the money.

The only reason that they could possibly want to change how they’re doing things is to gain a float (basically getting an interest free loan from the taxpayers) for several days that helps the government’s bottom line on their budget woes.

re: #108 lawhawk

I don’t think the mechanics, let alone the logic of that particular proposal, makes any sense. If the British govt is getting the financial data and withholding/tax information, they know how much money is being expended on salaries and benefits, so that they don’t need the money.

The only reason that they could possibly want to change how they’re doing things is to gain a float (basically getting an interest free loan from the taxpayers) for several days that helps the government’s bottom line on their budget woes.

It’s totally backwards. I doubt it will happen. I think the Brits are smarter than that.

re: #104 lawhawk

AH, any discussion of death rituals MUST include the Irish! (My own roots in the old sod run pretty deep.)

I was once married into an Irish family (2nd generation US) who were in regular contact with their relatives in Ireland. A cousin died, and the letter containing the news also contained a photo.

The photo was of the wake attendees, gathered, smiling for the camera —
with the deceased, in the box, in the center of the photo.

Guess they wanted to make the recipient feel like they were there, I suppose….

re: #110 Slap

AH, any discussion of death rituals MUST include the Irish! (My own roots in the old sod run pretty deep.)

I was once married into an Irish family (2nd generation US) who were in regular contact with their relatives in Ireland. A cousin died, and the letter containing the news also contained a photo.

The photo was of the wake attendees, gathered, smiling for the camera —
with the deceased, in the box, in the center of the photo.

Guess they wanted to make the recipient feel like they were there, I suppose…

Several people have already mentioned that the “open casket” is not displayed at Jewish funerals. At Israeli funerals, there is no casket. The body, wrapped in a shroud, is placed directly into the earth.

RT @SharronAngle 400 followers away from reaching 6,000 - tell your tweeps to follow me, give Harry Reid a Sept2Remember

Angle’s struggling for 6,000 followers on Twitter? Kourtney Kardashian - 1,529,538 followers. Stewart Cink - 1,201,569 followers.

re: #112 cliffster

RT @SharronAngle 400 followers away from reaching 6,000 - tell your tweeps to follow me, give Harry Reid a Sept2Remember

Angle’s struggling for 6,000 followers on Twitter? Kourtney Kardashian - 1,529,538 followers. Stewart Cink - 1,201,569 followers.

I’d certainly rather have Cink in the Senate than Angle.

For that matter, I’d rather have Cink’s caddy in the Senate, and I have no idea who he is or what he believes.

re: #113 garhighway

how about Kourtney? c’mon, spill it now - you want a Kardashian casting the deciding vote over military funding? or federal health care?? ;)

re: #114 cliffster

how about Kourtney? c’mon, spill it now - you want a Kardashian casting the deciding vote over military funding? or federal health care?? ;)

I draw the line at reality TV people.

Call me old-fashioned, but I just do not get how you get famous just for being famous.

re: #115 garhighway

I draw the line at reality TV people.

Call me old-fashioned, but I just do not get how you get famous just for being famous.

How to get famous:
1. Get pregnant at 17*
2. Dance with stars

* getting famous not 100% guaranteed.

re: #114 cliffster

how about Kourtney? c’mon, spill it now - you want a Kardashian casting the deciding vote over military funding? or federal health care?? ;)

I just cannot read that name without thinking Cardassian. Not very flattering to the sisters /

re: #115 garhighway

I wouldn’t have a problem with folks who are famous for being famous (think Paris Hilton, Kardashians, etc.) if they did something worthwhile with their fame and fortune, but most don’t.

And I end up reading about most of ‘em when they get into legal tangles otherwise it’s up to the mrs to tell me who they are and why I should care.

re: #117 rhino2

I just cannot read that name without thinking Cardassian. Not very flattering to the sisters /

I can’t unsee, and I don’t care. :D

OT: There may be a vote in the Senate today on DADT.

A filibuster has been threatened.

Why would someone vote against the repeal of DADT? What good public policy outcome are they seeking to achieve?

[Link: thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com…]

re: #118 lawhawk

I wouldn’t have a problem with folks who are famous for being famous (think Paris Hilton, Kardashians, etc.) if they did something worthwhile with their fame and fortune, but most don’t.

And I end up reading about most of ‘em when they get into legal tangles otherwise it’s up to the mrs to tell me who they are and why I should care.

I bought my mrs a 2 year subscription to US magazine, as a surprise. that got me enough points to enjoy beer and football without a raised eyebrow for a couple of seasons, and as a side effect I kinda know what people are talking about with this stuff.

Ahmadinejad: ‘When a War Starts, It Knows No Limits’

The Ahmadinejad alternate-reality show is now playing in New York, and earlier this morning, David Bradley, the proprietor of The Atlantic, and James Bennet, its editor, spent some time with the great man at a breakfast meeting for journalists. (I’ve been invited to these seances in the past, but the Iranian government refused my request to attend this morning’s gathering.) James asked Ahmadinejad to respond to Fidel Castro’s recent request — passed to him through this blog — to lay off the Holocaust denial, and to respect the history of Jewish suffering. Ahmadinejad ducked the question: “Mr. Fidel Castro is a recognized figure; he can have his views, we do not fight over views.” Ahmadinejad also said that an unnamed Cuban official informed Iran that “Mr. Castro said nothing in the recent interview except to support Iran.” This is not true, of course. Ahmadinejad went to say that he would have to speak to Castro or the Cuban foreign minister to get their views directly.

Then, as is his practice, he questioned the historical truth of the Holocaust. “The question is, why don’t we allow this subject to be examined further… It is incorrect to force only one view on the rest of the world.” He then asked, hilariously, “How come when it comes to the subject of the Holocaust there is so much sensitivity?” He also said that he was not an anti-Semite, but merely opposed to Zionism, which is “based on racist thoughts and ideas.”

According to James, Ahmadinejad provided a glimpse into his thinking when Joe Scarborough asked him if he would consider it an act of war if the U.S. allowed Israeli warplanes to overfly Iraq on their way to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. “Do you think anyone will attack Iran to begin with?” Ahmadinejad asked. “I really don’t think so. The Zionist regime is a very small entity on the map, even to the point that it doesn’t really factor into our equation.” He continued — in a way that clarifies for me his fundamental misunderstanding of just about everything — “The United States has never entered a serious war, and has never been victorious.” And, in what James reports was his most ominous statement, Ahmadinejad said, “The United States doesn’t understand what war looks like. When a war starts, it knows no limits.”

When does this Hitler-wannabe speak at the UN?

re: #120 garhighway

OT: There may be a vote in the Senate today on DADT.

A filibuster has been threatened.

Why would someone vote against the repeal of DADT? What good public policy outcome are they seeking to achieve?

[Link: thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com…]

They want to be re-elected.

That is what they are seeking.

re: #122 NJDhockeyfan

And what are the odds they’ll have that line quoted during the player-death-parts in the next Call of Duty game?

re: #120 garhighway

DADT in the Senate now seems to be linked with both the Zadroga 9/11 first responder bill and a move to grant kids of illegal immigrants a chance at citizenship if they are in the armed services or college. The DADT and illegal immigration provisions have GOPers upset. Some want to wait on the military to come through with recommendations over DADT, and over in the House, the Democrats are holding off on moving ahead with the Zadroga bill because they are worried that the GOP might attach an illegal-immigration provision.

In other words, we’ve got politics as usual over provisions that would otherwise have widespread bipartisan support.

re: #124 laZardo

And what are the odds they’ll have that line quoted during the player-death-parts in the next Call of Duty game?

I suspect that, if Iraq had the capacity to fight back when we invaded - conventional missiles they could launch at our ships in the gulf, an airforce that actually flew to do battle in the skies, armored tank divisions to defend cities, etc - Americans would have a slightly different view on warfare. Bush also would never have considered invading.

re: #116 darthstar

How to get famous:
1. Get pregnant at 17*
2. Dance with stars
3. act like a total ass on national tv
4. have a youtube clip showing you in a compromising position
5. sex tape*

* getting famous not 100% guaranteed.

I’m sure this list could grow quite a bit with a little effort.

re: #125 lawhawk

In other words, we’ve got politics as usual over provisions that would otherwise have widespread bipartisan support.

American are tired of this bullshit. This is why a bunch of incumbents from both parties are getting voted out of Washington in a few weeks.

re: #125 lawhawk

You’ve still got a harmful thingy on your website. Google’s blocking it with a warning.

We’ve already had the military weigh in on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Mike Mullen and the other top US military leaders favor its appeal.

The GOP resistance to its repeal is pure social conservatism. Nothing else.

[Link: www.usatoday.com…]

re: #129 Obdicut

favor its appealrepeal.

PIMF.

re: #129 Obdicut

You’ve still got a harmful thingy on your website. Google’s blocking it with a warning.

We’ve already had the military weigh in on Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Mike Mullen and the other top US military leaders favor its appeal.

The GOP resistance to its repeal is pure social conservatism. Nothing else.

[Link: www.usatoday.com…]

I personally support the repeal, finding the hypocrisy in discharging 10K+ competent soldiers just for being gay compared to keeping Maj. Nidal in almost blinding.

Still, even though the repeal is supported from the upper echelons, I can’t help but wonder what the NCOs think presuming they’re a lot more testosterone-charged than the commissioned officers…

/socon’s advocate

re: #131 laZardo

Some of those NCO’s are gay themselves. And remember that plenty of them are female, as well.

re: #129 Obdicut

Does the google alert say what the item is? I haven’t added any new code to my template in some time. I have addblock plus (using firefox, and nothing unusual comes up).

re: #133 lawhawk

It says the problem is content from rpc.blogrolling.com.

Here’s the diagnostics page.

Looks like some unintentional infection.

re: #132 Obdicut

Well, yeah. I just suspect that unlike Canada, Israel, etc. where gays serve openly, some of their comrades might not take very kindly to these soldiers finally outing themselves while in service.

At least not for the first few months.

re: #134 Obdicut

Whoops. Here

[Link: rpc.blogrolling.com…]

re: #126 darthstar

I suspect that, if Iraq had the capacity to fight back when we invaded - conventional missiles they could launch at our ships in the gulf, an airforce that actually flew to do battle in the skies, armored tank divisions to defend cities, etc - Americans would have a slightly different view on warfare. Bush also would never have considered invading.

Sort of like North Korea having an army and prepared defenses?

re: #136 Obdicut

Thanks. I had someone comment about that earlier in the week, but didn’t understand where the problem was. Now, I see that it’s the blogrolling site that had some issues that now appear to be resolved. Lovely.

re: #135 laZardo

And some soldiers really didn’t like being told they’d have black guys in their unit, either.

I think the military is probably a hell of a lot more concerned right now with the ‘kill squad’— the group of soldiers accused of serial killings in Afghanistan.

Most of my military friends say who’s gay is usually an open secret, anyway.

re: #139 Obdicut

I think the military is probably a hell of a lot more concerned right now with the ‘kill squad’— the group of soldiers accused of serial killings in Afghanistan.

Most of my military friends say who’s gay is usually an open secret, anyway.

For all our sakes, I certainly hope that things turn out okay once DADT’s out of the way.

re: #139 Obdicut

Okay, okay, gays and blacks can serve in the military…but no left handed people, people with ear-lobes, or people who can roll their tongue!
/

re: #140 laZardo

PIMF, should learn to quote OR reply, compared to forum code rules…

re: #141 darthstar

re: #137 oaktree

Sort of like North Korea having an army and prepared defenses?

Yep…and Iraq used to have those things too…we’d just spent 12 years tenderizing them before the 2003 invasion came along.

re: #143 Obdicut

Yep.

re: #144 darthstar

Yep…and Iraq used to have those things too…we’d just spent 12 years tenderizing them before the 2003 invasion came along.

Not to mention the military terrain differences between Iraq and Korea would definitely be a factor as well.

re: #146 oaktree

Not to mention the military terrain differences between Iraq and Korea would definitely be a factor as well.

North Korea doesn’t have (much) oil.

/just puttin that in there. :x

Liberals becoming more disenchanted with Democrats, USA Today/Gallup poll finds

While the political world is fascinated by the growing conservative might that is shaking the Republican establishment, a poll released Monday shows that there is unhappiness brewing at the other end of the political spectrum as liberals are becoming more disenchanted with Democrats, whose control of Congress is being threatened in the midterm elections.

The latest USA Today/Gallup poll shows that fewer than one in five of those surveyed approve of the job Congress is doing, statistically the same as the last few months. Approval of Congress has not been above 20% since May and hasn’t passed 30% since a year ago.

Disapproval of Congress has been a steady backbeat to this year’s midterm elections as the GOP has sought to harness voter disenchantment by portraying Democrats as the party of big government and ineffective big spending. Democrats have countered that government spending on stimulus measures has helped create jobs, albeit too slowly, and prevented a bad situation from getting worse.

Ominously for Democrats, the poll shows they are facing a problem from key elements in their base, those who define themselves as liberal or very liberal. A year ago, an absolute majority of the very liberal and close to half of the liberals approved of Congress, but now a majority disapproves.

How is George Bush going to get blamed for this?

re: #148 NJDhockeyfan

How is George Bush going to get blamed for this?

In this instance a lot of the Democrats in Congress and the Cabinet were around since the Bush Administration, including voting to approve the Iraq invasion.

Guilty by association, in a sense.

re: #149 laZardo

In this instance a lot of the Democrats in Congress and the Cabinet were around since the Bush Administration, including voting to approve the Iraq invasion.

Guilty by association, in a sense.

Yesterday Obama got an earful from a voter…

Town Hall Questioner To Obama: “I’m Exhausted Of Defending You”

“I’m one of your middle class Americans. And quite frankly, I’m exhausted. Exhausted of defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantle of change that I voted for,” a woman told President Obama at a town hall.

“My husband and I have joked for years that we thought we were well beyond the hot dogs and beans era of our lives, but, quite frankly, it’s starting to knock on our door and ring true that that might be where we’re headed again, and, quite frankly, Mr. President, I need you to answer this honestly. Is this my new reality?,” she added.

re: #150 NJDhockeyfan

Yesterday Obama got an earful from a voter…

Town Hall Questioner To Obama: “I’m Exhausted Of Defending You”

Imagine that: a President who allows town hall questioners to interact with him on a frank basis.

re: #151 garhighway

Imagine that: a President who allows town hall questioners to interact with him on a frank basis.

Obama did not answer her question. Imagine that.

re: #152 NJDhockeyfan

Obama did not answer her question. Imagine that.

Here you go:

[Link: www.realclearpolitics.com…]

But that wasn’t good enough. She wanted something “magical”:

“Quite frankly, I thought my question would set the platform for a response that would almost be, oh I don’t know, whimsical, magical, very powerful on the fact that he does believe that he’s made progress,” Velma R. Hart said on CNN this morning.

That is a rather difficult standard to meet, don’t you think?

re: #152 NJDhockeyfan

Obama did not answer her question. Imagine that.

Well, there is that…
(but then again, that’s what politicians do…)

re: #152 NJDhockeyfan

Obama did not answer her question. Imagine that.

Eh? The video at the link seems to show him outlining how his policies have been designed, in part, to give financial help to people in her situation.

So before we get into another goalpost-moving session, why don’t you explain what, in your view, would have constituted an “answer” to her question.

re: #155 iossarian

Eh? The video at the link seems to show him outlining how his policies have been designed, in part, to give financial help to people in her situation.

So before we get into another goalpost-moving session, why don’t you explain what, in your view, would have constituted an “answer” to her question.

Admitting he’s a secret socialist Kenyan alien communist fascist?

///

re: #156 oaktree

Admitting he’s a secret socialist Kenyan alien communist fascist?

///

Something like that.

re: #156 oaktree

Admitting he’s a secret socialist Kenyan alien communist fascist?

///

Don’t forget “anti-colonialist”. (Like THAT’S a bad thing.)

Indonesians are up in arms over the proposal to build a church in Bekasi, which has a Muslim-majority. Rallies continue to be held opposing the construction of the church and warn against the Christianization of Indonesia.

In June, the Bekasi F.P.I. leader told The Jakarta Globe, “All Muslims should unite and be on guard because … the Christians are up to something.” He also suggested that it might be necessary for mosques to establish militias and be prepared to fight a “war” to prevent “Christianization.”

As Al Jazeera explained in a video report last week, the small Christian group said that it had obtained all the necessary signatures from local residents who agreed to allow them to build their church, but then the Islamist vigilantes pressed people to withdraw their approval.

It’s not quite a mirror image to the debate about the Ground Zero mosque, but the parallels shouldn’t be lost on anyone here.

re: #155 iossarian

Eh? The video at the link seems to show him outlining how his policies have been designed, in part, to give financial help to people in her situation.

So before we get into another goalpost-moving session, why don’t you explain what, in your view, would have constituted an “answer” to her question.

Her question:

“My husband and I have joked for years that we thought we were well beyond the hot dogs and beans era of our lives, but, quite frankly, it’s starting to knock on our door and ring true that that might be where we’re headed again, and, quite frankly, Mr. President, I need you to answer this honestly. Is this my new reality?”

Simple question, why did he dodge it? I know, because the answer wasn’t posted on a teleprompter.

Off topic, but some people I’ve talked to are complaining about a piece of poorly executed immigration legislation being put in a Defense Appropriations Bill. Anyone know anything about this?

re: #160 NJDhockeyfan

Her question:

Simple question, why did he dodge it? I know, because the answer wasn’t posted on a teleprompter.

Oh, I see. So an answer would have been: “Yes, you’re screwed, because our economic policy over the past 20 years has been to buy cheap shit from China.” Or alternatively, “No, everything’s going to be great because I have magically rebuilt America’s crumbling infrastructure with my Wand of Awesomeness”.

Maybe he could have landed on an aircraft carrier and yelled “Mission accomplished, bitches!” while scantily-clad women cavorted behind him and dollar bills rained down from above.

It amazes me that people actually want their politicians to bullshit them.

re: #156 oaktree

Admitting he’s a secret socialist Kenyan alien communist fascist?

///

He’s none of those things… he’s just a failure…

See re: #150 NJDhockeyfan

GOP senator booed by UAW members at GM plant ceremony

Tennessee’s two Republican U.S. senators and one GOP congresswoman, all of whom opposed a federal bailout of General Motors, were on hand in Spring Hill, Tenn., on Friday as the automaker announced it would rehire 483 laid-off workers, Jalopnik’s Justin Hyde notes. One of them, Sen. Bob Corker, was heartily booed by the largely United Auto Worker members on hand and a UAW official told them members won’t forget who supported them at election time.

A year after the bailout, General Motors is back in the black, hoping to hatch an initial public offering of stock that will lessen its majority ownership by U.S. taxpayers.

But in Spring Hill, the plan to build Ecotec four-cylinder engines brought all smiles until Sen. Bob Corker, a leader of opposition to GM’s bailout, was introduced, drawing catcalls.

Jalopnik notes Corker’s before after statements:

Then: “This administration has decided they know better than our courts and our free market process how to deal with these companies….This is a major power grab.” - March 30, 2009.

Now: “At the end of the day we all have to feel good about what we did,” said Corker, who did attempt to negotiate the failed 2008 aid package. “I contributed to strengthening the auto industry in this country.”

Housing starts surge 10.5% in August, permits rise

WASHINGTON (AP) — Home construction increased last month and applications for building permits also grew. But the gains were driven mainly by apartment and condominium construction, not the much larger single-family homes sector.

Construction of new homes and apartments rose 10.5% in August from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 598,000, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That’s the highest level since April.

re: #162 iossarian

How about this
“We are doing our best to prevent that. But economic reality is the middle class is at risk of decline. For example we- (fill in whatever policy review you like) “

No bull, just an honest answer. Would have been great

Fox News Poll: Coons Leads O’Donnell By 15 Points In Delaware

The new Fox News poll of the Delaware Senate race shows Democratic nominee Chris Coons continuing to enjoy a double-digit lead against Republican Christine O’Donnell.

The numbers: Coons 54%, O’Donnell 39%. The survey of likely voters has a ±3% margin of error. There is no previous Fox News poll of this race. However, this poll was conducted through a Rasmussen offshoot, Pulse Opinion Research, which performs made-to-order robopolls. The previous Rasmussen poll from last week, taken right after O’Donnell’s upset win in the primary over moderate Congressman Mike Castle, gave Coons a lead of 53%-42%.

This poll also confirms the conventional wisdom that Republican voters threw away a certain pickup of this seat. The poll asks voters to suppose that Castle had been the GOP nominee — and in that match-up he leads Coons by a whopping 48%-33%. In addition, only 33% of respondents said that O’Donnell is qualified to be a Senator, to 60% who say she is not qualified. This compares to a 59%-27% margin for Coons, the county executive of Delaware’s largest county, which contains a majority of the state’s population.

re: #163 Walter L. Newton

He’s none of those things… he’s just a failure…

See re: #150 NJDhockeyfan

I almost looked for “Obama’s achievements since taking office” to post them here, then realised that it wouldn’t have mattered, and saved myself some time.

So - here’s thanks for that.

Generic Ballot Virtually Tied: Democrats 46%, Republicans 45%
Republicans losing strength in September compared with August

PRINCETON, NJ — Gallup’s generic ballot for Congress for the week of Sept. 13-19 shows a 46% Democratic and 45% Republican split in registered voters’ preferences for the midterm congressional elections. It is the second week out of the last three in which the two parties have been virtually tied.

re: #165 Gus 802

There’s a long way to go, but it is a good start.
A lot of people still need jobs.

re: #164 Gus 802

Spring Hill. The former home to Saturn and the different way to build a car at GM. Turns out that GM’s corporate culture doomed Saturn and its innovative approach to selling cars and making cars that people wanted. Now? Saturn no longer exists in the GM stable, and the cars that would have been branded Saturns are rebranded as Buicks (pretty much taking the Opel designed cars and giving them Buick styling and names).

GM doomed itself with tons of bad decisions, but to think that the UAW would stand by and cheer someone who opposed a bailout that gave the UAW control of the company itself is silly, even moreso when you look at Corker’s corker of a flip (now trying to take credit for the GM success - which isn’t much of a success given that old-GMco is still billions in the red and final disposition of those assets is still pending). New GM might be more successful now that the clunkers have been shed, but that’s not a guarantee.

re: #171 lawhawk

I’m not at all sure they did not buy it to kill it. After milking it like a cow. GM never had the will for that kind of change. You can not buy it, you can only stick to it or, as in this case… not. Remember the annual reunion?

re: #166 Rightwingconspirator

How about this
“We are doing our best to prevent that. But economic reality is the middle class is at risk of decline. For example we- (fill in whatever policy review you like) “

No bull, just an honest answer. Would have been great

She was a GOP plant.

re: #162 iossarian

Oh, I see. So an answer would have been: “Yes, you’re screwed, because our economic policy over the past 20 years has been to buy cheap shit from China.” Or alternatively, “No, everything’s going to be great because I have magically rebuilt America’s crumbling infrastructure with my Wand of Awesomeness”.

Maybe he could have landed on an aircraft carrier and yelled “Mission accomplished, bitches!” while scantily-clad women cavorted behind him and dollar bills rained down from above.

It amazes me that people actually want their politicians to bullshit them.

Maybe she’s tired of all the bullshit coming out of Washington. He’s lost her support. Judging by his sliding poll numbers there are many more like her.

re: #165 Gus 802

The 10.5% sounds impressive until you start looking at the bigger picture and longer range trends. Part of the tremendous increase is the fact that the previous month was a huge dropoff from just a couple of months ago. Some of that is seasonally related.

re: #170 Taqyia2Me

There’s a long way to go, but it is a good start.
A lot of people still need jobs.

Indeed it’s just a start. There’s a long way to go until we reach full recovery and hopefully along the way we implement systemic changes to minimize or prevent future downturns.

re: #175 lawhawk

The 10.5% sounds impressive until you start looking at the bigger picture and longer range trends. Part of the tremendous increase is the fact that the previous month was a huge dropoff from just a couple of months ago. Some of that is seasonally related.

True. It’s compared to a record low but at least it went in the right direction.

re: #171 lawhawk

I still miss Pontiac. ;_;

Helen Thomas to headline fundraisers

Former White House correspondent Helen Thomas is stepping back into the public eye.

The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee announced Tuesday it is throwing a gala in honor of Thomas, the second major event she will headline only months after being forced to leave her post for making comments that some found to be anti-Semitic.

Guests to the mid-November event being held at the Marriott Wardman Hotel are invited for a “celebration honoring Helen’s dedicated service to our country as a journalism trailblazer, and her legendary front row coverage of the White House for over sixty years.”

Thomas will also speak to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, which is bestowing its lifetime achievement award on her at a fundraiser in October.

At one time a Washington journalistic institution, Thomas retired in June and gave up her front row seat in the White House briefing room after saying during an interview that Jews should “get the hell out of Palestine” and return to Germany.

re: #174 NJDhockeyfan

Maybe she’s tired of all the bullshit coming out of Washington. He’s lost her support. Judging by his sliding poll numbers there are many more like her.

I’m not arguing with that fact (of her loss of support). I’m stating that it amazes me that people expect “magic wand” answers from politicians. Obama told her about his policies that are designed to provide people like her with financial assistance. What else, exactly, can he say?

BTW, if you had to guess, would you say that this individual woman would be better off under traditionally liberal or conservative social and economic policies?

re: #180 iossarian

I’m not arguing with that fact (of her loss of support). I’m stating that it amazes me that people expect “magic wand” answers from politicians. Obama told her about his policies that are designed to provide people like her with financial assistance. What else, exactly, can he say?

BTW, if you had to guess, would you say that this individual woman would be better off under traditionally liberal or conservative social and economic policies?

I love it… the common out… blame it on the voter. Maybe it’s because Obama kept waving the magic wand of hope and change and was throwing fairy dust in her eyes?

Poor woman. Just a stupid voter. What did she expect?

re: #178 laZardo

I still miss Pontiac. ;_;

And Olsmobile…

re: #180 iossarian

I’m not arguing with that fact (of her loss of support). I’m stating that it amazes me that people expect “magic wand” answers from politicians. Obama told her about his policies that are designed to provide people like her with financial assistance. What else, exactly, can he say?

BTW, if you had to guess, would you say that this individual woman would be better off under traditionally liberal or conservative social and economic policies?

Obviously the traditionally liberal social and economic policies are failing for her. I would guess it’s time for conservative policies.

re: #177 Gus 802

Unemployment isn’t helping matters - the rate at the state level ticked up in 27 states for August. Unemployment and housing appear to be the drivers on sentiment.

re: #153 garhighway

Here you go:

[Link: www.realclearpolitics.com…]

But that wasn’t good enough. She wanted something “magical”:

“Quite frankly, I thought my question would set the platform for a response that would almost be, oh I don’t know, whimsical, magical, very powerful on the fact that he does believe that he’s made progress,” Velma R. Hart said on CNN this morning.

That is a rather difficult standard to meet, don’t you think?

Well, what did she expect? That he would promise to fill her gas tank and pay her mortgage? Oh wait…

re: #181 Walter L. Newton

I love it… the common out… blame it on the voter. Maybe it’s because Obama kept waving the magic wand of hope and change and was throwing fairy dust in her eyes?

Poor woman. Just a stupid voter. What did she expect?

What are you talking about? How is reform of the student loan system a “magic wand of hope and change”? It’s a specific policy that helps low and middle-income families by redirecting funds away from private lenders.

Again, are you saying that this specific woman would be better off under conservative social/economic policy?

BTW, if you had to guess, would you say that this individual woman would be better off under traditionally liberal or conservative social and economic policies?

Define “better off”?
Getting more and more shit and services for FREE?
Or…able to get and KEEP a job that isn’t funded by a Gov
“black hole ” pit?
You know ,evil “Capitalism”?

re: #184 lawhawk

Unemployment isn’t helping matters - the rate at the state level ticked up in 27 states for August. Unemployment and housing appear to be the drivers on sentiment.

Saw that yesterday and it deflated some of my optimism.

re: #183 NJDhockeyfan

Obviously the traditionally liberal social and economic policies are failing for her. I would guess it’s time for conservative policies.

Two years! Which include a massive recession, which, say what you like, was underway before Obama took office.

Tell me how liberal economic policy is failing her, and how conservative economic policy would be better.

re: #187 reloadingisnotahobby

Define “better off”?
Getting more and more shit and services for FREE?

Yes, like healthcare. Name some government services that are “shit”, as opposed to how people spend their disposable income (cable tv etc.).

Or…able to get and KEEP a job that isn’t funded by a Gov
“black hole ” pit?
You know ,evil “Capitalism”?

Not sure what this part means. Germany has a pretty big government sector and their economy (over the long term) is doing OK.

Dinnerjacket is going to speak at the UN today. That should be something. Another rerun of crazed rhetoric.

re: #186 iossarian

What are you talking about? How is reform of the student loan system a “magic wand of hope and change”? It’s a specific policy that helps low and middle-income families by redirecting funds away from private lenders.

Again, are you saying that this specific woman would be better off under conservative social/economic policy?

Read my lip’s… it employment… period. That is the biggest issue facing the public… hand out to unions, special interests and political paybacks do not filter down to the John and Jane Doe like this woman, or like me… I don’t need student loans, I don’t have credit cards to be protected from the big bad credit card companies, I don’t work for GM… but like million and million of Americans at the present moment… I don’t work to my potential, because the work is not there.

That’s all that matters to woman lie this and citizens like me. I saw the magic show, I want my money back.

12 midnight, been up since 7 AM, gonna work on my sleep deficit.

Nighty.

re: #192 Walter L. Newton

I don’t work to my potential, because the work is not there.

That’s all that matters to woman lie this and citizens like me. I saw the magic show, I want my money back.

Why are corporations not hiring at the moment, despite their return to profitability over the past six months?

re: #189 iossarian

The recession began under the Bush Administration (due to the credit and real estate market collapses), but it was ending before the stimulus package took effect in any serious way - at least according to the NBER, which sets the official start/end dates to recessions and business climate changes. That would also suggest that the Bush Administration fiscal/monetary policies had something to do with its end.

re: #195 lawhawk

There’s recession, and according to NBER, there’s still the recovery to deal with.

/k, seriously sleepin. sorry i can’t stay. ):

re: #191 Gus 802

Dinnerjacket is going to speak at the UN today. That should be something. Another rerun of crazed rhetoric.

He already spoke. Here it is from C-Span. 10 minutes long. I haven’t listened to it yet since I’m sill waking up.

[Link: www.cspan.org…]

re: #190 iossarian

re: #190 iossarian
The services aren’t shit!
Sorry….The mind set of being “owed “these service
is fostered by Liberal policies…Why work when you can get by on the dole??

Those that truely NEED it would rather work ,I’m sure!

re: #195 lawhawk

The recession began under the Bush Administration (due to the credit and real estate market collapses), but it was ending before the stimulus package took effect in any serious way - at least according to the NBER, which sets the official start/end dates to recessions and business climate changes. That would also suggest that the Bush Administration fiscal/monetary policies had something to do with its end.

My position on the effect of government policy on short-term economic outcomes is that, absent a truly massive redirection of funds (such as WWII), they have fairly little effect. I think the effect of economic policy is long-term: by providing healthcare, education and other such services, you set up your population to be efficient workers in the future.

I also believe that you need a fairly even distribution of wealth in order to sustain a functioning economy. If the majority of people can’t afford to buy anything, then the minority who own the factories won’t produce anything.

As for the specific point about the end of the recession, wasn’t the TARP enacted under Bush? I wouldn’t exactly describe that as a left-wing policy, but nor was it a “conservative” move.

re: #190 iossarian

Yes, like healthcare. Name some government services that are “shit”, as opposed to how people spend their disposable income (cable tv etc.).

Healthcare…aka ObamaCare© …how is that working out so far?

Insurers ending child-only policies

Several of the nation’s largest health insurance companies will stop issuing certain children’s insurance policies to avoid complying with a new mandate in the Democrats’ health care overhaul.

The insurers will no longer write “child-only” policies — a small, niche market — over concern that the health reform law will make the market unstable and unprofitable.

Beginning Thursday, insurance companies will no longer be allowed to turn down any child who applies for coverage, even if he or she has a pre-existing condition. It’s a benefit of health care reform that President Barack Obama and other Democrats tout frequently.

Hope!
Change!

re: #197 Gus 802

He already spoke. Here it is from C-Span. 10 minutes long. I haven’t listened to it yet since I’m sill waking up.

[Link: www.cspan.org…]

What’s the over/under on him mentioning the 12th Imam?

re: #201 NJDhockeyfan

What’s the over/under on him mentioning the 12th Imam?

Or …Sulfur??
Oh…That was the other guy…..

re: #200 NJDhockeyfan

The whole point about health insurance is that it doesn’t make sense for it to be run for a profit, because companies are then incentivized to screw over the people who actually need it. As I’ve said before, all the people I know (myself included) who have experienced both the US and Western European approaches to healthcare think that the US approach makes no sense at all.

The healthcare bill that got passed was an important first step towards some kind of sane national health policy, but there is a long way to go. I’m hopeful that at some point in the near future people will be able to buy into Medicaid. That would be a great next step.

re: #198 reloadingisnotahobby

re: #190 iossarian
The services aren’t shit!
Sorry…The mind set of being “owed “these service
is fostered by Liberal policies…Why work when you can get by on the dole??

Those that truely NEED it would rather work ,I’m sure!

That is baloney. “The dole” provides barely enough for the basics. Liberal policies do not foster a mind set of being owed something.

re: #204 prairiefire

That is baloney. “The dole” provides barely enough for the basics. Liberal policies do not foster a mind set of being owed something.

Careful there. You are criticizing an entire worldview. Better pack a lunch.

re: #205 garhighway

Careful there. You are criticizing an entire worldview. Better pack a lunch.

You are right! I get that feeling often on LGF. At least it is a forum to hash things out.

re: #99 Alouette

Zedushka informed me that he has purchased our cemetery plots.

I’m like all, that’s OK but get me some bling for my birthday.

Old joke, Jewish foreplay…