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Tuesday, November 05, 2002
Self Made Pundit
has his predictions up.
It looks like it is going to be a slow day in the blogosphere (can't we call it something else...blogiverse, blogylvania, bloganapolis, blogistan, Blog Mawr, San Diblogo...?) for everyone. I'll be back tomorrow with stuff I'm saving up. The election is just too much of a distraction.
On observation though. After reading a bunch on the web today, it's become pretty obvious that, if you hear a Republican complaining about "voter fraud", it's because they can't grasp the concept that minorities are actually allowed to vote. Imagine that...
posted by tbogg at 1:27 PM
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Prediction time addendum...
I'm such a tool. I missed one other important Senate race today: Colorado.
I'm going to have to go with Strickland, only because Allard is a bigger tool than me, not to mention a lackluster candidate who severely damaged himself by appearing on Meet the Press with Strickland.
So, lets make that a +2 pick-up for the Democrats. I'll still stand by my other comments...
(Thanks to an alert reader who pointed out my omission)
posted by tbogg at 8:09 AM
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Monday, November 04, 2002
Prediction time...for what it's worth
Well, everyone else is doing it, and based on some of the ones that I've seen, I don't think I can do any worse (see Michael Barone's in TPM). My choices are based almost entirely on internet "chatter", as the spooks at the CIA like to call it. Valuable resources include The Daily Kos, Eschaton, Table Talk, and even Free Republic where there is sometimes a pony to be found under all the horseshit. Since I live in the Democratic state of California, and we still have a free press here, I've aso picked up a few things here along the way..
I also want to take time to compliment the Daily Kos for all the work he has done tracking all the races. Absolutely terrific work.
I haven't expended the energy looking into the House races because I expect that the Republicans will hold onto their majority, and also due to the fact that I consider the House to be the Minor Leagues when it comes to our political system. The Senate is The Show, where thought and prudence are at play, Jesse Helms and Don Nickles notwithstanding. So...my picks:
Arkansas -- Pryor +1
Minnesota -- Mondale
South Carolina -- Graham
Missouri -- Talent -1
South Dakota -- Johnson
Georgia -- Cleland
New Hampshire -- Shaheen +1
Tennessee -- Alexander
Iowa -- Harkin
New Jersey -- Lautenberg
Texas --Cornyn
Louisiana -- Landrieu runoff in December
North Carolina -- Dole
That is a pickup of one Democratic seat. Johnson in SD is the only one that I'm not completely sold on.
It's stupid to make far-reaching predictions, like predicting in April what a baseball team will be doing in the playoffs, and then three weeks later their star pitcher blows out his elbow, but here are some other things I think:
1) I think that no matter who wins control, Lincoln Chafee will jump parties within a year. He is so marginalized within his own party, there's no reason for him not to.
2) If Bush gets stuck for the rest of his term with a Democratic Senate, I think that McCain will become a major thorn in Bush's side. Revenge being served cold.
3) Rehnquist or O'Connor will retire in the next two years for fear that Bush may lose in 2004 and not be able to name their replacement, and John Edwards will try and make his mark in the Supreme Court candidate hearings.
4) Post-war, and there is going to be a war, Cheney will resign for health reasons, but really to get out before the energy papers are turned over and Halliburton starts becoming an issue again. There is no way he is going to run in 2004, and it's in Bush's best interest to have an "incumbent" VP to run with. Who will take his place? They want Condi Rice, but I think that the big money that backs the Republicans will balk. Too much of a gamble. Everyone may think I'm cracked, but I think it will be Rob Portman of Ohio. Don't ask me why, but his name pops up in weird places that remind me of when I first heard of Clinton.
5) I think there will be a challenge to Gephardt's leadership in the house. Nancy Pelosi has balls that Gephardt can only dream of.
6) The campaign for 2004 starts on Wednesday. Campaigning for the Democratic 2004 ticket will be between Gephardt, Lieberman, Gore, Kerry, and Edwards. It will be ugly, but I'm picking Kerry with Edwards as his running mate. Kerry has the money and Edwards gives him an edge in breaking the Republican stranglehold on the south.
I could be wrong. I'm most likely wrong, and I bet you are all wishing I had a comments section so you could kibitz about it. But I don't so you can't, and, hell, in two years I may not even be doing this blog anymore because either John Ashcroft will have me locked up, or I will be too busy playing Doom III.
Life is like that in America.
Remember to vote...and stay tuned to Eschaton tonight (11/5) for updates on the election (even though it's Buffy night). Me? I going to vote, go to dinner with my wife and daughter, and then go look at a new laptop my wife is going to let me buy which will allow me to spend more time with them, basking in their loving glow.
Life is like that at our house.
posted by tbogg at 9:07 PM
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Harry Potter and the Filthy Rich Woman Who Lives In a Country with Really Bad Food
JK Rowling is, like, really rich.
posted by tbogg at 7:43 PM
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Great moments in public relations
You've really got to hand it to the boneheads at Pepsi
SALEM, Ore. — West Salem High School cheerleader Andrea Boyes didn't mean to land in hot water with soft-drink giant Pepsi.
The 15-year-old just wanted to raise money for her new squad, which can't afford to travel to national competitions or hire an assistant coach. So Boyes hit upon what she thought was a bright idea: to sell bottled water bearing a label with her school logo at school events. She got a $750 donation for startup costs, designed a label, had 6,000 printed, found a supplier and ordered 15 cases.
Then Pepsi, which has an exclusive 10-year, $5 million contract with the district, got wind of the deal. The contract allows only Pepsi products, including its Aquafina brand water, to be sold on school grounds. The district also has exclusive contracts with food-service, furniture, athletic-equipment and computer dealers. "It was really disappointing," said Boyes, who had hoped to net 55 cents in profit for every $1 bottle sold. "I guess now we'll just have more car washes."
Combine Pepsi's stepping in on her fund raiser with the district pimping out the kids to a softdrink company, and this is so wrong on so many levels.
posted by tbogg at 7:36 PM
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An informed opinion...
from Dahlia Lithwick.
Last week, Mickey Kaus asked for my thoughts on the possibility of these midterm elections turning into "Florida times 50," with dozens of Mini-Me, Bush v. Gore-style lawsuits blooming nationwide, as disparities in vote-counting, chad-reading, and absentee-balloting lead to contested results in various state elections—some of which will inevitably wind up in the courts. More specifically, Mickey wonders how the Supreme Court can avoid being drawn into these battles, especially if there are equal-protection allegations as "compelling" (imagine!) as those leading to the court's halting the Florida recount in 2000.
Lithwick makes this, I believe, self evident point:
The U.S. Supreme Court won't take these cases because they lost too much political capital over Bush v. Gore, and they aren't willing to look that bad again.
Equally important:
The reason Bush v. Gore doesn't create a precedent for the court to jump into midterm election battles is that Bush v. Gore deliberately and reflexively didn't create a precedent for anything. Remember the court's brazen limitation of its holding: "Our consideration is limited to the present circumstances, for the problem of equal protection in election processes generally presents many complexities."
Even the staunchest defenders of the majority decision in Bush v. Gore defend it only on the grounds that the presidential election needed to be resolved quickly and definitively, not because they believe its holding was consistent with the court's federalism, equal protection, or voting jurisprudence. So who could expect the court to apply this reasoning to any future cases? Even the majority knew they were just making it up!
Thank you, Dahlia for reminding everyone what happened.
posted by tbogg at 7:01 PM
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More than slightly unbalanced
Looking forward to election night coverage? Look who is joining Chris Matthews over at MSNBC.
And we’ll go to America’s foremost political reporter Howard Fineman, Democratic insider Donna Brazile, GOP communications expert Peggy Noonan, and bomb-throwing pollster Pat Cadell for his unique and unpredictable analysis. If you like your Election Night coverage smart, edgy, and spicy, you won’t want to miss us for a second. MSNBC on Nov. 5: Exciting. Fast-paced. And all night long
Okay, Donna Brazile will represent the Democrats. Since we know that Howard Fineman is a notorious Bush-fellater as well as the reigning MWO Whore of the Year, well, we know where he stands or kneels as the case may be. Pat Cadell "bomb-throwing"? I'm not sure I ever heard what Cadell "throws" refered to as bombs. They used to identify Cadell as a "pollster" but that was so long ago, it like referring to Paul McCartney as a Beatle. It's so far in the past, and the work since then has been so crappy, that it's hard to believe it's the same person. During the 2000 coverage Cadell was so disconnected from what was happening, you started to wonder if some mumbling moron just walked off the street and just took a chair.
Then there is "GOP communication expert" Peggy Noonan. Apparently Pegs will be communicating with Paul Wellstone, Tip O'Neill, and Strom Thurmond (yeah, he's not dead yet, but the night is young...). Actually it was during the 2000 coverage that I developed my fascination with La Noonan. Between the hair-tossing and incipient hysterical vibrato in her voice, I always get the feeling I'm about to see a Ronee Blakely-in- Nashville-like meltdown. Noonan is my preferred 'reality TV'.
Missing from this years MSNBC coverage is Mike Barnicle and Doris Kearns Goodwin who are busy co-authoring the Pierre Menard version of Don Quixote.
Other than that, it should be smart, edgy, and spicy.
posted by tbogg at 6:51 PM
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Madame La Noonan has returned from the land of the recently departed...
...and her crystal ball is a bit foggy.
That was some debate, the best so far of the political year. Each man was up to the battle. Each revealed what he thinks, how he operates, where he stands.
Norm Coleman won. But Fritz Mondale showed there's life in the old boy yet.
I wouldn't have bet that Mr. Coleman would emerge the victor. The narrative of a grand old man taking up the standard of a fallen local hero and waging forth valiantly in spite of age seemed to me the kind of thing most politicians wouldn't be able to knock down or change.
But Mr. Coleman read the psychological landscape astutely. He knew he had to be both respectful and firm. He understood that Mr. Mondale's prime aim in the debate was to demonstrate that he still has it--he may be from another time but he's feisty and all there and ready to stand firm for Minnesota in Washington. Mr. Coleman seems to have known that Mr. Mondale would attempt to show strength by adopting a piercing and pugilistic style. Mr. Mondale did. Mr. Coleman came back with earnestness and a calm desire to find "common ground." It was the kind of calm and earnest demeanor you use when you're talking to the cranky old guy in the diner who likes to patronize young people.
Considering Peggy's father fixation on the Ronsicle (speaking of whom, I expected Ron to have sauntered off this mortal coil before the election if only Karl Rove could just get near him with a pillow, thereby igniting a media Reagasm, and a spectacular Noonan breakdown on camera. I guess scrappy little Nancy guards the Kings Chambers better than we thought she could.) you would think that Noonan would have been humping Mondale's leg while moaning "Momma loves her elder-statesmen..." , after the debate. But no, she decided to swoon and pitch woo at the young virile Norm:
Mr. Mondale adopted the language of us vs. them. He used the language not of the Democratic Party of his era but of the Democratic Party of today. He name-called. Mr. Coleman is "right wing," he runs with "the right-to-life crowd," he is "an arbitrary right-to-lifer."
Mr. Coleman didn't insult Mr. Mondale in turn, but he came back strong, challenging Mr. Mondale's characterization of his stand. He had lost two children early in their lives, and there is "nothing arbitrary" about his support for life. But he called too for "common ground," especially in the area of parental consent for minors' abortions.
Mr. Coleman seemed moderate and sober. Mr. Mondale seemed sarcastic. He literally began to point his finger at Mr. Coleman as he made his points. Mr. Coleman didn't take the bait, and sat with his hands clasped on the table. Mr. Coleman used Mr. Mondale's aggression against him, suggesting it was a problem: "We have to change the tone."
Based upon Peggy's words it would seem that Mondale, who is leading in the polls, did just what she said he needed to do. To quote from above:
Mr. Mondale's prime aim in the debate was to demonstrate that he still has it--he may be from another time but he's feisty and all there and ready to stand firm for Minnesota in Washington. Mr. Coleman seems to have known that Mr. Mondale would attempt to show strength by adopting a piercing and pugilistic style. Mr. Mondale did
That being the case, it looks like Coleman tried to play rope-a-dope with Mondale, but that style of fighting only succeeds if you come out fighting by the end and land a knockout punch. Coleman failed to do that. Instead he played punching bag to Mondale's thrusts, responding with Bush-like platitudes repeated over and over. His miscalculation was that the public would accept yet another callow empty-suit like Bush, when evidence has shown that one is more than enough.
Peggy ends with:
I think Mr. Coleman won the election this morning. I think he solidified his rising numbers, and picked up some undecided voters. And I think that considering what has happened in Minnesota the past few weeks that is one amazing story
I think Coleman tried to paint himself as a moderate who disagreed with Bush on certain topics, while dismissing the fact that the people of Minnesota remember that he was handpicked by Bush. He's Bush's boy and Wellstone was pulling away based on that. I don't think this one debate changed that perception.
I guess we'll see.
posted by tbogg at 1:31 PM
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Least suprising headline of the day....
From Drudge:
Long Lines, Confusion at Miami polls
Election officials call it ''convenience voting,'' but it didn't seem all that convenient Friday. Thousands of voters hoping to avoid long lines on Election Day found themselves enmeshed in long lines four days before Election Day.
Many advance voting sites were jammed Friday as early birds confronted lengthy, complex ballots and relatively few machines at six locations in Broward County and 14 in Miami-Dade County.
Was it a harbinger of things to come in South Florida? Probably.
Broward Elections Supervisor Miriam Oliphant was so worried about overcrowded polling places on Election Day that she asked Gov. Jeb Bush to officially lengthen voting hours. Request denied.
''I didn't think I'd have to wait an hour,'' said Mark Sanchez, 34, of West Kendall, one of 40 people in a line that snaked through the children's section of the West Kendall Regional Library. ``But I'm sure it will be worse Nov. 5.''
An hour? He was lucky he wasn't at the Broward County satellite courthouse in Hollywood. There, an hour carried you only halfway to the touch-screen machines, if you decided to stay.
''You gotta be kidding me,'' Rick Dunn, 49, said as he gazed at a line twisting around courthouse corners. ``No way. I'm out.''
His words were repeated nearly verbatim in North Miami, where Rita Cecilio reversed course after learning she'd have to wait 45 minutes to vote at the library.
' 'It's frustrating,'' she said. 'I walked in and said, `No way.' Once I saw the line, I said 'I'm outta here.' ''
I'm not from Florida..have never been to Florida...will never go to Florida, so will someone please explain to me why it looks like Jeb! is going to win tomorrow? To call Florida a banana republic is to demean banana republics. How do we vote them off the country?
posted by tbogg at 12:53 PM
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Gotta getta Gund
Win or lose, when Christmas comes around this year, and we all should be making toy donations for underprivileged kids, make sure that some of those toys are Gund Stuffed Animals. Why? Because a friend of the Democrats is a friend of mine:
Louise L. Gund.
In the final days of above-the-board soft money, Democrats and Republicans alike are desperately searching for people like Louise L. Gund.
A reclusive philanthropist living in California's East Bay region, Gund has gone from being a generous donor to Congressional Democrats to one of the single most important contributors in the final weeks of the campaign, particularly to Senate Democrats.
In just the first 16 days of October, Gund - an heiress to the Cleveland family that made its fortune in teddy bears, beer, coffee and banking - cut $550,000 worth of checks to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. In little more than two weeks she gave more than twice as much money to Democrats than she had donated to candidates and party committees in the 2000, 1998 and 1996 election cycles combined, records show
If Jeanne Shaheen wins, and she very well may, Louise Gund, will have had a big hand in it:
In New Hampshire, sources said, Gund told the Senate campaign of Gov. Jean Shaheen (D) that she would give $350,000 to the DSCC, money that would be essentially earmarked to the Granite State. But to get Gund's money Shaheen's camp would have to meet her "challenge" - raising a quick $350,000 for the DSCCthemselves.
On Oct. 8, records show, Gund gave $100,000 to the DSCC, around the time she issued her challenge. In about five or six days the Shaheen people raised their $350,000 for the party committee, and on Oct. 15 Gund gave the DSCCanother $250,000.
Within a week, a quick $700,000 was infused into the Boston media market through Gund's work.
posted by tbogg at 9:35 AM
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Sunday, November 03, 2002
Cut, paste, and E-mail this to everyone you know...
Why you must vote on Tuesday
Thanks to Two Tears in a Bucket, who got it from Eschaton who got it from...)
posted by tbogg at 10:50 PM
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Put your money in my cold, clammy, dead hands...
Dick Cheney has been on the road a lot lately keeping those subpoenas at bay and selling influence by the pound. Avoiding the sexual advances of Lynne is just a bonus...
Vice President Cheney likes to tell donors that the Republicans' battle to reclaim the Senate is personal for him, since "my only job as vice president is to preside over the Senate."
Hardly, but it is one reason Cheney took on a grueling 10-month campaign schedule that raised more than $40 million for GOP candidates and party organizations. Cheney all but disappeared from public sight after the terrorist attacks, but the high-stakes election brought him out of his secure, undisclosed location for constant trips around the country, even as he remained largely invisible in Washington.
snip
Like Bush's travel, Cheney's is subsidized by taxpayers because the government pays for the costs of flights, security and communications wherever he goes, even when the Republican Party picks up some of the costs of the events and receptions. Cheney has traveled so frenetically this year that the White House said in a July letter to Congress that he had exceeded his travel budget and was transferring $100,000 from other accounts so he could keep up his itinerary. The letter cited "unanticipated travel by the vice president," which has included visits to military bases. Aides said the transfer of funds was required because of his trips to secure locations, not his political travel.
If this was Clinton/Gore, Dan Burton would be on this like Noelle Bush on a dime-bag. Then there is this:
Many swing voters said they found Cheney a reassuring teammate for George W. Bush, and fans at the vice president's rallies still praise him with terms like competence, dignity and experience. "I don't want to insult President Bush, but -- you know!" said Spencer Harrison, 17, who was among the Young Republicans at the North Carolina event.
After two years, even the War on Terrorism hasn't convinced 17-year old Young Republicans that President Gameboy has grown into the job. Looks like Karl Rove still has his work cut out for him.
posted by tbogg at 10:39 PM
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Sorry, Mam. Your kitty is going to have to stay in that tree until he dies...
MACOMB TOWNSHIP - Fire Department Capt. David Koss may be suffering from acrophobia, which is fear of heights, or another psychological condition that prevents him from climbing ladders.
Township officials want to determine the diagnosis and have ordered the 20-year veteran to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
...maybe they should start by asking one more question during the hiring process.
posted by tbogg at 9:58 PM
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If you like pina coladas and making shivs in metal shop....
How many times have you said to yourself, "Why can't I meet a nice attractive bi-sexual woman, who is behind bars, and settle down in five to seven years with time off for good behavior"?" Oh, if I had a dollar......
Here's your chance.
Me? I'm saving myself for Winona Ryder...
posted by tbogg at 9:54 PM
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My name is Chuck and I'm a Vanilla-holic. Hi Chuck...
What ever happened to the good old days of asking people to buy you beer. Cheap highs in Pa.
posted by tbogg at 9:46 PM
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I fought the bras and the bras won
A bunch of guys talk about boobs and try to to sound rational and sensitive and stuff.
posted by tbogg at 9:41 PM
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Me and God are watching Georgie grow,,,,
As noted last week, in the Note, Karen Hughes is writing a book about her experiences with President Almost Potty Trained:
Also, "Viking Penguin has made the winning but undisclosed seven-figure bid in the auction for George Bush confidant Karen Hughes's White House memoirs. The book, an account of Hughes's 'unique relationship with the president' and her life as a working mother and wife, is tentatively titled '10 Minutes from Normal.'"
We asked for book titles for Karen, because we love that fact that she brought androgyny out of the walk-in closet and into the White House. Keeping in mind that she wrote, Bush's fact-challenged 'autobiography" A Charge To Keep, we thought we could be of some assisitance. Here you go Karen, feel free to go all Doris Kearns Goodwin on us:
A Candidate to Prop Up
Ten Shoe Sizes from Female
Bringing Up Baby
President On Only Fives SCOTUS Votes A Day
What I Saw At the Pretzel-choking Party
The One-Minute Enabler
The Idiot: Year 2000 Edition
Adventures in Babysitting - Travels with Georgie
President for A Day: September 11, 2001
On The Island Of Dr. Karl Rove, A Monkey President Makes Perfect Sense
D.I.Y. Media Whoring
Stupid White Men…and The Women Who Cover for Them
George Bush and the Secret Cabal of SCOTUS
If I Believe It--It's Not a Lie
Soft Bigotry, Low Expectations: What To Expect From Bush
Pretzels, My Ass!
Escape From The Monkey House
I Quit To Spend More Time With My Son...Now Which Kid Is He?
Slouching Towards Buchenwald
Not So Great Expectations
I Got Him Elected. He’s Your Problem Now
Travels With The Chimperor
No. Nebraska is Not Pink Like On the Map. We’ll Be There Soon.
George Bush and The Pretzel of Doom
…and our winner:
Empire Falls: The Bush Years
posted by tbogg at 9:35 PM
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The Hucakabee Hillbillies
It's hard to believe that the same state that had Bill Clinton as Governor could end up with the Huckabee's...
Some choice bits:
It began with The New York Times quoting Republican legislators in Arkansas saying Janet Huckabee has damaged her husband politically.
The article described her as "the ball and chain around Mr. Huckabee’s campaign."
snip
In the Times article, state Senate Republican Leader John Brown of Siloam Springs and state Rep. Randy Minton, R- Ward, said voters don’t approve of Janet Huckabee’s running for secretary of state. Minton said it cost the governor as much as 5 percentage points. "I do think people look at having a married couple holding two of the highest elected offices in the state, and there is a negative connotation to that," Brown told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette when asked about the Times piece. "Mike Huckabee has to have the crossover and the independent vote. That’s where I think both of them have been hurt."
Janet Huckabee said in the Times article that her critics have bothered her. "If it wasn’t for the grace of God, I’d have shot a few people already," she said. "Jesus wasn’t liked either. And Jesus was mistreated and called names."
Of her Democratic opponent, Land Commissioner Charlie Daniels, Janet Huckabee said, "He says his problem with alcohol was 12 years ago, and I know that’s not true. He could hardly stand up at the governor’s gala last Christmas."
During a recent televised debate, Janet Huckabee brought up Daniels’ driving-while-intoxicated convictions in 1983 and 1990. Daniels said the media covered them at the time. He added that he has apologized and has changed, and he doesn’t drink and drive anymore. "I’m not going to address Mrs. Huckabee’s continued personal attacks on me," Daniels told the Democrat-Gazette when asked about the Times article. "What I will continue to do is run a positive campaign."
Joe Quinn, spokesman for the governor’s campaign, called the story an "odd journalistic approach" because the governor’s campaign wasn’t contacted for comment. Quinn wouldn’t address whether Janet Huckabee has hurt her husband’s campaign. "We feel real good about where we are five days before the election," Quinn said. Various polls show the governor leading by from 1 to 10 points. After quotes from the Times article were read to her, Janet Huckabee didn’t retract her quotes printed in that newspaper. She said she wasn’t dragging down her husband’s race. Of Daniels, she added, "There is a problem. I’m not sure that’s the leadership we want."
Finally. Someone who makes Ann Coulter look sane...
posted by tbogg at 8:40 PM
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News from the front...
The Daily Kos which, this election season is as important as air to me, has the latest Zogby's up.
posted by tbogg at 6:36 PM
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Saturday, November 02, 2002
When music critics go bad....
A plot to kidnap Victoria Beckham, the popstar wife of England’s soccer captain David Beckham, has been foiled after the arrest of five people, police sources said on Saturday.
Where were these guys when she was making Spiceworld?
posted by tbogg at 4:48 PM
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Friday, November 01, 2002
The Harvey Pitt Pile-on
The Self Made Pundit joins in the "Why does Harvey Pitt still have a job" chorus...
posted by tbogg at 12:38 PM
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Man runs out of Snickers...Exercises Second Amendment rights
Knock Knock...
Who's there?
Holy.
Holy who?
Holy shit! He's got a gun!
posted by tbogg at 12:34 PM
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Why there are no Mormons in the Soprano family...
Provo police are investigating charges that a part-time BYU student tried to kill his pregnant wife last year by poisoning her food and putting acid in her medication because she objected to his use of pornography.
Turner told police he put rat poison in a batch of cookies on July 14, 2001, according to a report filed with the court by Provo Detective Aaron Mullins and Officer N.G. Kogianes. Mullins said Turner told investigators that he made a second attempt to kill his wife two weeks later by adding what he believed were poisonous mushrooms from the family's back yard to a spaghetti dinner.
Turner stated that he tried again two weeks later, Mullins said, replacing medication his wife was taking to prevent blood clots during the pregnancy with hydrochloric acid later found to be fish tank cleaner.
One...two...three times not a dead lady.....
posted by tbogg at 12:25 PM
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Harvey sets the ball on the tee...Krugman knocks it out of the park
Paul Krugman.
Yet it's no accident that Mr. Pitt picked the wrong man. Mr. Webster was chosen over better candidates precisely because accounting industry lobbyists — a group that clearly still includes Mr. Pitt — believed he would be ineffectual.
Let's call it the Pitt Principle. The famous Peter Principle said that managers fail because they rise to their level of incompetence. The Pitt Principle tells us that sometimes incompetence is exactly what the people in charge want.
With the beating that Pitt is taking today, I bet you could stick a lump of coal in his butt right now and have a diamond by noon Sunday...
(NY Times again. Time to use that shiny new registration...)
posted by tbogg at 11:34 AM
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That damn Howell Raines...!
Looks like the New York Times isn't particularly happy with President Sits Down to Pee today:
It gets worse, as do most things that Harvey Pitt, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, involves himself with these days.
Then there is this:
Washington is rightly focused on terrorism and Iraq, but a superpower should be able to simultaneously address global threats and tend to its neighborhood.
...and this:
President Bush has put forth a plan for speeding up confirmation of his judicial nominees that misstates the problem and proposes to solve it by placing the burden on Congress and the judiciary. The administration should turn its attention to the real roadblock — its own overly ideological, and often slow-moving, method of selecting nominees
Looks like a NY TImes trifecta.
(Registration is required...just go ahead and register... geez, it's not like they're going to send you emails about the difference between a 5-inch hammer and a 7-inch hammer...those come from the Washington Times...)
posted by tbogg at 11:28 AM
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William Shatner's bra looks a little more used than Celine Dion's...
Canada, which apparently is a real live country to the north of us, had a bra auction.
Oddly, I would rather know the person who bought Shatner's bra more than I would the one who bought Celine's.
posted by tbogg at 9:48 AM
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Look for night and morning showers with my political career going down the toilet
If you see Mike Rucker at a campaign rally, you may want to think twice about shaking his hand.
posted by tbogg at 9:37 AM
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Thursday, October 31, 2002
Sybil! The Musical starring Peggy Noonan.
Peggy Noonan who admitted last week that she only met Paul Wellstone once, assumes she can speak for him.
My friends, I miss you and send you love.
That memorial rally was . . . something. I watched it from where I am, in the place beyond. It's wonderful here. You'll be amazed at what I think is one of the best parts. Two words: No politics. I love it. Who knew?
But we have to talk. I know what you were trying to do the other night, or what you sort of meant to do. But it was bad.
Peggy, who wrote the laughable The Case Against Hillary Clinton which contained a lengthy "dream sequence" with Hillary addressing the Hollywood moguls about 'responsibility', loves to leap into other people's lives and live them for them while having them speak in her voice of her concerns. I'm sure she gets a vicarious thrill out of being the Pope or Hillary Clinton or, now, Paul Wellstone, but it would lend a bit ( a very small bit) of verisimilitude if she actually knew some of these people instead of indulging herself in that Blanche DuBois writing style of hers where she has "always depended on the lifestyles of strangers".
Next week... Peggy channels Jam Master Jay because she once saw him on Saturday Night Live. Peace out, yo.
posted by tbogg at 9:36 PM
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Wow
Great piece of work by James Capozzola at Rittenhouse on the Harvey Pitt situation. This lays it out better than any other writing I've seen on the situation.
posted by tbogg at 9:18 PM
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...and starring Michael Kelly as Foghorn Leghorn.
I've put off addressing Michael Kelly's latest Return of the 'Chicken Hawks' because, quite frankly, he makes me tired. Discussing a Kelly column is like housebreaking a puppy: you begin to wonder if he will ever learn. But since I couldn't let his latest pass unremarked...here goes.
He starts out on the somewhat on the right foot:
The general trump-it-all insult that the antiwar crowd aims at the pro-war crowd these days is a neat little portmanteau term that manages to impute, at once, cowardice, ignorance, selfishness, bloodlust (as long as the blood spills from others' veins) and hypocrisy: "chicken hawk."
The generally accepted definition of the term, which dates at least to 1988, describes "chicken hawks" as public persons, generally male, who advocate war but who declined a significant opportunity to serve in uniform during wartime.
But then, like a hound that picks up the wrong scent, he goes astray.
So it is with "chicken hawk." Its power lies in the simplicity that comes with being completely wrong. The central implication here is that only men who have professionally endured war have the moral standing and the experiential authority to advocate war. That is, in this country at least, a radical and ahistorical view. The Founders, who knew quite well the dangers of a military class supreme, were clear in their conviction that the judgment of professional warmakers must be subordinated to the command of ignorant amateurs -- civilian leaders who were in turn subordinated to the command of civilian voters. Such has given us the leadership in war of such notable "chicken hawks" as Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Further, the inescapable logic of "chicken hawk"-calling is that only military men have standing to pronounce in any way on war -- to advocate it or to advocate against it. The decision not to go to war involves exactly the same issues of experiential and moral authority as does the decision to go to war. If a past of soldiering is required for one, it is required for the other. Chicken doves have no more standing than "chicken hawks." We must leave all the decisions to the generals and the veterans
Bzzzztttt! Wrong.
Kelly states what a chickenhawk is, and then runs away from it towards an irrelevant strawman argument regarding civilians vs military pumping up and then running a war. As he himself said, chickenhawks are "... public persons, generally male, who advocate war but who declined a significant opportunity to serve in uniform during wartime." Examples of this are: Dick Cheney who used every deferment he could get his hands on (even when flunking out of school), including marrying Lynne (desperate times call for desperate measures) to avoid the war because he had "other priorities". George W. Bush who had his Congressman dad get him into the National Guard where he checked a box on his papers indicating that he was not willing to go overseas...of course he then deserted, which kind of made the issue moot. We'll leave out the others who missed out on Viet Nam due to rashs, psoriasis, bad knees, and anal cysts, but you can check them out here.
Donald Rumsfeld is not a chickenhawk. Although his service was during peacetime, it still counts. My objection to Rummy is that...he lies. Wolfowitz and Perle count as chickenhawks precisely because they hid out in academia when they could have been fighting for that Pax Americana they've got such a hard-on for. But the Mary Kate and Ashley of American Military Might see themselves as "big picture" kind of guys as opposed to "cannon fodder" kind of guys.
These are what are meant by "chickenhawks". Apparently four paragraphs in, Kelly forgot what he was talking about, or he just reverted back to being Kelly the Obtuse again.
Later Kelly flatters himself as an "honorary chickenhawk" because:
I am myself not technically a "chicken hawk," as I was, thank God, a few years too young to serve during the Vietnam War and too old and too untrained to be of any military use during the next significant war, the Persian Gulf War of 1991. But I suppose I fit the spirit if not the letter of the slur. I am certainly now a hawk, and during the Vietnam years I was certainly a dove. What changed me was in fact experience of war -- but not as a soldier.
I covered the Gulf War as a reporter, and it was this experience, later compounded by what I saw reporting in Bosnia, that convinced me of the moral imperative, sometimes, for war.
In liberated Kuwait City, one vast crime scene, I toured the morgue one day and inspected torture and murder victims left behind by the departing Iraqis.
Well put on the bush jacket and call me Ernie Pyle. Kelly has seen "war". He's a hardened war correspondent who's smoked too many cigarettes, drank too much whiskey, and seen too much death... not to mention the hotels where you can barely plug in your laptop because war is hell, don't you know.
The Gulf War...Bosnia...two of the Pentagon's most orchestrated "wins" when it came to the media. After the debacle of Viet Nam where the Pentagon blamed it's shortcomings on the 'media', among others, the General's got smarter. No more reporters in the field until after the story was practically typed up for them. Film clips for CNN. Daily content-free press briefings. This is what Kelly saw. He was the meat inspector that saw the sausage...but not what went into it, and that was just fine with him, now show me to the open bar.
When you get down to it, Kelly is just soft and easy to manipulate, a stenographer for the government, who wants us to think that he's Neil Sheehan, when he's really Professor Harold Hill selling snake-oil and verbs to the little boys and girls who want to have a war for the other kids to play in.
What fun! Praise the lord and pass the ammunition, Mikey.
posted by tbogg at 8:48 PM
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Dave? I'm sorry I can't let you log off right now....
When computers come alive.
posted by tbogg at 7:45 PM
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Why does my taco taste like cheap perfume and cigarette butts?
Tonya Sauce.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Tonya Hot Sauce features an unflattering caricature of disgraced figure skater Tonya Harding outside a dumpy trailer, cigarette in mouth, ice skates in one hand and a hubcap in the other.
"Not for the weak-kneed," reads the label. "Guaranteed to assault your taste buds. It's a lead-pipe cinch you'll love it."
John Farmer and his PDX Hot Lix company brought out the product a couple of years ago and says it's all in fun.
"I just read the papers and think up ideas for a product," the airline employee said. "Tonya just keeps on giving."
Harding doesn't think it's very funny and neither does her lawyer. Made in Oregon stores pulled the product from the shelves after getting a legal letter advising them not sell the sauce.
Here's the best part:
Harding's San Diego attorney William Markham said the spoof defames Harding and unfairly conjures up memories of what he says are disturbing and misunderstood events that foiled her dreams of an Olympic championship.
The letter threatens a lawsuit for misappropriating Harding's image.
"Tonya has been punished more than enough for what she did or didn't do," Markham said.
"(The label) portrays her as cigarette-smoking, bubble-gum-chewing trailer trash and that's not who Tonya Harding is," he said. "She is a world-class athlete who trained for years on end, and in a horrible episode lost all that."
Looks like Tonya has found not only a good lawyer but a soulmate...
posted by tbogg at 7:41 PM
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Apparently the economy is worse than I thought...
It's been a really interesting evening. After dinner I settled down at the computer to look for things to post on the blog. I was just finishing an article on Harvey Pitt and his failure to let the other members of the SEC board know about recent appointee William Webster's membership on an audit committee that faces fraud charges. With this in mind, and the idea that investor confidence would surely be shaken, I was surprised to hear a knock at the door. Upon opening the door I found two oddly dressed children standing on the porch with open bags and expectant looks on their faces. Needless to say, it immediately occurred to me that they were going door-to-door begging for food. I thought to myself, has the economy collapsed this much? Is this what we have come to? When I asked them if they were hungry, they glanced at each other with quizzical looks that I took to mean "duh...of course we’re hungry”. Thinking that they looked like they could use a hot meal, I asked if they would like to come in and have, maybe a grilled-cheese sandwich. At this point they nervously glanced toward the street and I saw what I assumed to be their parents standing on the sidewalk with anxious smiles looking toward us. How incredibly sad! These people had been reduced to taking their children out on a cold October night to beg for food!
Have we become a third world country? Is this what the Bush administration has brought upon us?
Noting the awkwardness of feeding only the children and not the parents I decided the best course of action was to give them canned goods because who knew when they would get a chance to eat this evening and I couldn’t count on them still having refrigeration, much less a home to return to. After dropping several cans of corn and a can of asparagus into the young girls bag, I decided to give the boy a special treat hoping that he would understand the type of world he would have to make his way in. I dropped into his bag a slightly dog-eared copy of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations. Although I felt a copy of Atlas Shrugged would be more informative for the young lad, I didn't have an extra copy to spare at the time.
Apparently the children were shocked at my generosity for they were speechless. I told them “Good night” and yelled, “Good luck” to their waiting parents and started to close the door. As they walked back toward their parents I heard the boy say an amazing thing. He looked in his bag at the precious book I had given him and muttered to his sister one simple word: “Asswipe”.
Now my heart was truly broken for I realized that these people were so poor that they couldn’t even afford toilet paper and the book would soon become a poor substitute. Poor Adam Smith…he never meant for his words to be treated in such a way, but these are the times we live in….
posted by tbogg at 7:31 PM
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Washed-up pop tart marries second-tier boy band member...and gets midget stripper...hilarious hijinks follow
Ahhh. America. Where fame is as fleeting as a George Bush deep thought...
Jessica Simpson gets married to 98 Degrees singer Nick Lachey and, well, to quote from the article:
she enjoyed a bachelorette party in Austin, Texas, that was apparently pretty wild, thanks to a male midget stripper who calls himself "Napoleon."
The knee-high Napoleon, who also stars in adult movies like "Freak Show" and "Perverted Stories 3: Tropical Perversions" claims that he didn't "officially" touch Simpson during his routine but admits he did brush up against her at one point
...at which point I got all squicked out and quit cutting and pasting.
For those who don't know who Jessica Simpson and 98 Degree's Nick Lachey are...don't worry. You probably don't remember the guys in Color Me Badd either unless, of course, one of them may have bagged your groceries last weekend...
(This is a 'badd" sign...the Official Color Me Badd website is suprisingly unavailable, which is even worse if you're still waiting on your Color Me Badd Dreamdate with either the "pouty" one, the "baby-faced" one, the "edgy" one, or the "black" one.)
posted by tbogg at 1:13 PM
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Will that be First Class, Business Class, Coach, or Hooligan....?
British Airways is to issue soccer-style yellow cards to irate passengers on the ground, it has been announced.
The airline is the first in the world to operate the scheme after a successful pilot scheme for air rage.
A British Airways spokeswoman said: "The scheme is something we have done in the air when a passenger's behaviour is becoming threatening or abusive.
"We are now extending the scheme to the ground to protect our check-in and airport staff."
The cards will be given to any passenger who is disruptive or abusive.
posted by tbogg at 12:57 PM
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That's just Jesse in his sheet again, reliving the good ole days...
N.C. Capitol to be inspected for ghosts
RALEIGH, N.C. — They haven't quite called in the ghost-busters, but the state has given the OK for a paranormal screening of the old state Capitol.
Staffers at the Capitol say they have heard floorboards creak with invisible footsteps, keys jangle and doors squeak open and shut
If nothing else, maybe the ghostbusters can raise Bob Dole's dick from dead....
posted by tbogg at 12:54 PM
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Mfinley
I like his take on Wellstone entropy
I believe there is enough Wellstone memorial outrage to keep the rightwing busy until late next Tuesday night when they can start their ritual complaining of "voter fraud" involving dead people, 'mesicans', and any other person whose skin pigmentation is a darker shade of pale....
posted by tbogg at 12:44 PM
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If it happened last year, can we still call it a 'youthful indiscretion'?
MWO nails the easily shocked Republicans...
GOP, RIGHT-WING MEDIA
HONOR BOOING,
BOOERS OF SENATOR
Rush Limbaugh Cheers Man Who Led The Jeers
Blame Object Of Booing For Arrogance, Disdain
Standing Up For Good Manners And Family Values
Some of the people in the huge arena, packed with 20,000 mourners, were angry when they caught a glimpse of the Senator.
Disgust overcame them. They booed lustily, some of them shouting, "We don't want you here," and some shouting epithets.
And for the next few days, the GOP and right-wing pundits had a field day -- supporting the booers, saying that they spoke the truth, and that the Senator deserved all that was dished out and more.
Rush Limbaugh led the right-wing boo fest by having the man who led the booing on his program as Dittohead Hero Of The Day.
Newsmax, Matt Drudge Neal Boortz, Kathleen Parker, and GOP radio talk show hosts nationwide cheered on the booers, and attacked the Senator they booed.
What's wrong with this picture? Well nothing -- because the Senator being booed wasn't Trent Lott -- it was Hillary Clinton, about a year ago, at Madison Square Garden. at a huge concert honoring the heroic policemen and firefighters who gave their lives on September 11, 2001.
It seems that some of those in the audience thought that this upbeat yet solemn occasion should -- gasp! -- be an occasion for politics.
Hear! hear! said Rush and his clones, who booed right along with them.
So you see, folks, it's not the boos that matter to these right-wing thugs. It's who's getting booed. If it's Trent Lott being booed, it's a travesty. If it's Hillary Clinton being booed, it's an act of patriotism.
These people have no shame, no principles, no morals. They just want power. And will say anything, do anything to get it.
We can expect an apology from Rush the same day the National Thoroughbred Association names him Jockey of the Year.
posted by tbogg at 11:03 AM
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Contrast and compare:
According to Republicans, this guy is too old to run for office.
But they have no problem with is guy serving.
or this guy.
Oh great. Now my blog has that "old man smell"......
posted by tbogg at 10:28 AM
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Gene's you don't want to get into.....
This is from a few days ago, but it has a few lovely nuggets in it:
There is, as well, a family resemblance between these two brothers, as there is with the father, but in some ways they could not be more different. If President Bush is jaunty and happy, Jeb Bush is apt to be guarded and coiled.
Here in Vero Beach, Governor Bush was in the midst of a conversation when an elderly voter tugged impatiently at his sleeve, demanding a moment of his time. It was hardly an uncommon encounter for this state, but the governor reacted with a flash of irritation.
"I'll be out in a second," he said. "Do you know what a second is?" Mr. Bush proceeded to offer a definition ("A second is——") though he caught himself and stopped.
...and this:
Analysts say that over all, Mr. Bush clearly benefits from the presence of this brother in the White House. Yet no less a person than Barbara Bush offered a reminder the other day of both ways the Bush name cuts in this state.
"Before I leave, do vote," she said, exhorting elderly voters to turn out. "We're the most disgraceful state." She paused, her face frozen, as she realized what she had said. "Not state! Country! We do not vote."
Jeb Bush put his hand in his head and slumped in his chair.
Thin-skinned and stupid. It's the Bush family motto.
posted by tbogg at 10:10 AM
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Maybe Harvey Pitt will reopen the investigation....bawahahahahahaha...no really....bwahahahahaha
Board was told of risks before Bush stock sale
One week before George W. Bush's now-famous sale of stock in Harken Energy Corp. in 1990, Harken was warned by its lawyers that Bush and other members of the troubled oil company's board faced possible insider trading risks if they unloaded their shares.
The warning from Harken's lawyers came in a legal memorandum whose existence has been little noted until now, despite the many years of scrutiny of the Bush transaction. The memo was not received by the Securities and Exchange Commission until the day after the agency decided not to bring insider-trading charges against Bush, documents show.
The memo, a copy of which was obtained by the Globe, does not say directly whether Bush would face legal problems if he sold his stock. But it does lay out the potential for insider-trading violations by Bush and other members of the Harken board, and its existence raises questions about how thoroughly the SEC investigated Bush's unloading of $848,000 of his Harken stake to a buyer whose name has not been made public.
The SEC cleared Bush after looking into whether he had insider knowledge of an upcoming quarterly loss at Harken. But the SEC investigation apparently never examined a key issue raised in the memo: whether Bush's insider knowledge of a plan to rescue the company from financial collapse by spinning off two troubled units was a factor in his decision to sell.
posted by tbogg at 9:12 AM
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Mi nombre es Jeb! My que la hija es una puta de la crack...
Gov. Jeb Bush Campaigns in Spanish
Cómo usted dice "bloated corrupt political hack"?
"bloated el corte político corrupto"
Gracias!
(I think I broke dictionary.com on that one...)
posted by tbogg at 8:19 AM
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I think I lied. Maybe I should have myself investigated...
Harvey Pitt is a real piece of work. It seems that he failed to mention to the rest of the SEC board that William Webster is involved in a little lawsuit.
NEW YORK, Oct. 31 — Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt asked Thursday for an internal investigation of William Webster’s selection to head an accounting oversight board after the disclosure that Pitt himself withheld information that Webster headed an auditing committee for a company facing fraud charges
Of course, it would never occur to Pitt to just admit that he misled the other board members that he withheld information. No, he needs to have an "investigation" of himself. How many more lies before President Cowardly Lyin' tosses Pitt overboard?
Heh heh heh. Yeah. Right....
posted by tbogg at 8:12 AM
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Wednesday, October 30, 2002
"Can I get a hand getting the bigscreen out of the rumpus room?"
Man leaves treehouse after 12 years
San Bruno Mountain's last treehouse resident has packed his bags and moved on.
Besh Serdahely, the self-appointed guardian of the San Mateo County mountain's lupines, owls and mission blue butterflies, asked rangers Tuesday to help him dismantle his home of 12 years from its carefully crafted niche in a huge coastal oak
snip
Apart from their home, which was already built when they moved into Owl Canyon almost 12 years ago, the pair acted as unofficial caretakers, removing invasive plant species and keeping trails clear. They were charming, educational hosts to school groups who would stop by to visit with them during field trips to the park.
Mr. Serdahely said he was looking forward to his new carrer following Phish around the country and selling acid-soaked toothpicks.
Oh-oh.
posted by tbogg at 11:18 PM
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Can you use them to pay tuition at Bob Jones U?
Jesus dollars turning up at Maine colleges.
WATERVILLE — Counterfeit bills with quotes from the Bible and other pro-Christian literature are being stuffed in books at public libraries throughout Maine
Every year for the past five years, the Waterville Public Library, Colby College library and Bates College library have spent hours removing counterfeit bills with varying slogans and pictures
posted by tbogg at 11:08 PM
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Somebody throw Candy Crowley another hoagie, we need some damage control here...
Looks like Ari Fleischer won't be returning Eleanor Clift's calls for for...eternity.
He said he would change the tone in Washington and dispel the dark cloud of partisanship that clung to the Capitol. Democratic leader Tom Daschle says Bush has indeed changed the tone, but not for the better. Tom Mann, a congressional scholar at the Brookings Institution, says that relations between the White House and Congress are “the most poisonous in 30 years,” which takes us back to the days of Richard Nixon and Watergate.
snip
But it’s not true that Bush is a man of his word. He has shimmied and shifted in lots of areas, including Iraq, manipulating language the way Clinton did and exaggerating in the same way that he once pilloried Gore for doing. Bush says “regime change” doesn’t have to mean deposing Saddam Hussein—that the regime would be changed if Saddam disarmed. This is rhetoric worthy of Clinton, and it doesn’t mean that Bush has altered fundamentally his commitment to displace Saddam through military force.
Even though there is no credible evidence linking the Iraqi president to the 9-11 attacks, Bush persists in suggesting on the campaign trail that Saddam might use Al Qaeda as his “forward army.” Polls show that two thirds of Americans believe Saddam was behind 9-11, a useful myth irresponsibly fed by Bush. The president said in a speech last month that Saddam is experimenting with unmanned drones capable of reaching the United States with weapons of mass destruction. When confronted with the geographical improbability of such a feat, a White House spokesman countered that the drones could be launched from ships. Unless Iraq has an aircraft carrier we don’t know about, that scenario is equally implausible
and then, to put Bush out of his misery:
There is hardly an issue where Bush hasn’t pulled a fast one. The rules he announced with great fanfare this week to make it easier to move generic drugs onto the market were passed by the Senate in July. Bush opposed them then; now with polls showing voters think he hasn’t done enough on domestic issues, he’s flipped.
How does he get away with such crass duplicity? The media doesn’t want to disturb the story line. Gore was the prevaricator; Bush was intellectually challenged. So when Bush fiddles with the facts, the media doesn’t see malevolence. They see a man who’s not articulate, who doesn’t speak with lawyerly precision. And they can’t believe how believable he is.
Alright. Who woke the media up? Not you Fineman, you just keep on sleeping....
posted by tbogg at 11:01 PM
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Your honor, my client would simply be lost without Subway Monkey Hour
Things you never expect to hear in the same sentence...
George Bush....genius grant
Michael Jackson....NRA President
Bud Selig...GQ Man of the Year
Tom Greene..... Intellectual property
Yup. Tom and Drew are finally kaput, but there is the little matter of what belongs to whom. Guess who gets The Splooze, Gee Gee Gaudette, and Garry the Superhero?
posted by tbogg at 10:46 PM
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Welcome to politics...we hope you enjoyed your stay...now, there's the door, you freak...
Soon to be unemployed Jesse Ventura is very upset.
Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, upset by what he felt was a partisan tone of a memorial service to honor the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, said he will try to appoint an independent instead of a Democrat to temporarily fill Wellstone's seat.
Ventura had said he favored a replacement from Wellstone's party, but that was before he walked out of Tuesday night's memorial service
"I wanted to hear the sons. But Rick Kahn's, I found his so offensive to me as an Independent, or to anyone who is not necessarily going to vote for Senator Wellstone who still respects him and came to pay their respects," Ventura said. "It drove the first lady to tears."
"I will try to find an independent," Ventura said Wednesday on a talk radio show, though he did not say who he might name.
Ventura later backed off his statements somewhat, saying: "I haven't ruled anything out." Among the options, he said, is to appoint "a regular citizen" with no connection to politics
So, Governor Publicity Stunt is going to go to the trouble to appoint someone for a whole two weeks to show what a rebel he is...oooooooo. Of course in about three weeks, the people of Minnesota will forget that he ever held office until they see this on TV:
I took Navy Seal training
I took wrestling lessons.
I took the Governorship in Minnesota.
Now I take Viagra.....
posted by tbogg at 9:34 PM
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From the lost files of Dian Fossey...
Haz-mat suit in place, I ventured into the freeperzone to see how they are dealing with Wellstone's memorial service. Shhhhhh. Let's listen in:
Agreed. There was demonic, genuinely rabid sickness flowing thru that arena.
That Tommy T and Trent L went was good. That when their faces were showed on the jumbo-tron and they were massively BOOED by the audience was CRUEL. VILE. And I am SO GLAD to know that Trent had the dignity to leave. Imagine going to a MEMORIAL SERVICE, to honor and respect a fellow colleague, and being BOOED while there......HORRENDOUS! HORRENDOUS!!!!!!!!!
This was a pathetic gathering was formed by legions from hell. I doubt most knew what was to occur there, in fact, I suspect most thought it was going to be a loving, respectful memorial service where they could all share their memories and respect. Alas-the joke was on them. And they were swept up into a McAuliffe-klintonian mission to gain advantage from a good man's death.
The queen and king of immoral, disgusting vice reigned supreme, the newly annointed would be next senator beamed from ear to ear, the speakers distorted and drove the crowds to near hysterics with their political banter, the money bag man for the klinton's flying monkeys grinned with vile sneers, jess jackson, glistened in the spot light, hovering like a demon with power on his mind, and the crowd leaped and shouted and swooned as a demonic legion shaking the gates of hell....because all of this was being done on the tragic event of one man's death.
One might almost think these sick people were GLAD that Paul was killed in that horrific crash.
Was his wife mentioned, the pilots, the staffers?
Were others mocked and jeered at, or only Trent Lott and Tommy Thompson?
This disgraceful event was the culmination of the klintonian drive to usurp and take over the late great dem party. Their ilk reveled in the sick display, the orgasmic quality of their cheering and rock star like basking seemed to come straight from hell, imho.
the klintons want to destroy our culture and our rule of law-it seems fitting that their appearances are taking on the quality of a staged, choreographed venue of mass cultish-like hysteria. They must have felt supreme to finally be in a place where people were not booing them....ie a major league baseball game in NY or a FReeping out on the streets.
These people are not sad Wellstone passed away. Not by a long shot.
In fact- I did not see mourning or grief or love or respect at this event....I saw meaness, I saw GLOATING and LOTS OF IT!
I need to know....when Wellstone was living, and the race was being fought for the vote, was the vote considered close at the time?
There was something going on in that arena....my guess is....everyone with a hint of decency felt the shadow of hell.
280 posted on 10/30/2002 8:27 AM PST by Republic
Oh well. Better ranting on Free Republic than perched on the roof, thinning out the neighborhood with a high powered rifle...
posted by tbogg at 4:00 PM
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One toke over the line sweet Jesus...
Medical pot growers in California are harshing fundamentalist ass-clowns John Ashcroft and Asa Hutchinson's mellow:
It is now a familiar scene from San Francisco to San Diego, from the Central Valley to the inner cities – federal agents raiding marijuana gardens and shutting down organizations that dispense the drug.
One after another, under the threat of arrest or imprisonment, cannabis club operators across the state have closed their doors or stopped providing their wares to sick or dying patients.
Barely a handful of dispensaries remain, and they are afraid.
Federal officials stepped up their crackdown on pot collaboratives after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that there is no medical necessity for growing marijuana for patients.
Since that decision, the federal government has raided eight California cannabis clubs, including the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Cooperative, once a major dispenser of medical marijuana in the southern part of the state.
Drug agents say they are enforcing the federal law that prohibits the possession or distribution of dangerous narcotics
snip
In the meantime, patients who say they rely on marijuana to ease the effects of AIDS treatment, chemotherapy or other sicknesses are scrambling for alternatives to the increasingly rare cannabis clubs.
They take their chances cultivating small gardens or buying marijuana from strangers.
"I try to keep a low profile," said one AIDS patient from Ocean Beach who grows his own marijuana rather than risk dealing with a cannabis club. "I don't want to be next on their list."
Rod Johnson, 62, is a terminal cancer patient from Chula Vista. His source for marijuana dried up when agents uprooted McWilliams' garden last month. Now he relies on friends to supply him with what he says is the only medicine that keeps up his appetite – and spirits.
"I wasn't born and raised being a cannabis enthusiast – that was taboo. But I know how cannabis has affected my situation," Johnson said. "It makes it more difficult when Steve is not my care provider.
"It's available," but you're not dealing "with people you can trust."
Glaucoma patient Evan Keliher of Rancho Bernardo smokes pot every day. He used to grow plants in a cooperative garden run by McWilliams, but shied away from that after being hassled by police.
"I buy it on the street," said Keliher, 71. "You just have to know who to see and where."
Would it be irresponsible to wish colon cancer on Ashcroft & Hutchinson? It would be irresponsible not----- oh my, that's a bad thought, and we mustn't have those.....
posted by tbogg at 12:44 PM
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No more peeing on walls, dancing in the streets, and flashing your boobs....
The French Quarter is getting a makeover.
NEW ORLEANS -- Child tap dancers, street mimes, panhandlers and con men -- they have become fixtures in New Orleans' rollicking French Quarter. But now they are getting the bum's rush.
New Orleans is cracking down on street performers and minor crime in its most famous neighborhood, pleasing many of the roughly 4,000 people who live there.
They say the French Quarter's reputation as a playground of sin has gotten out of hand, overshadowing its fine restaurants and 19th-century architecture.
"Upscale and downscale co-exist here, and that's fine. That's the basic character of New Orleans," said Louis Sahuc, a gallery owner and French Quarter resident. "But sleaze and dirt and litter and hustling is not part of New Orleans. We're very permissive in a lot of ways, but permissiveness does not extend to outright abuse by people who want to rip you off."
This comes just in time as the New Orleans Tourist Bureau rolls out their newest ad campaign:
The French Quarter! Just like Salt Lake City..but without the color and glitz!
posted by tbogg at 12:18 PM
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Wise men still seek him.....but Darrell, you only get one week
The Men Who Like To Hang Out With Boys (no...not the priests...) seem to have a problem with Darrell Lambert.
PORT ORCHARD, Wash. (AP) - Eagle Scout Darrell Lambert has earned 37 merit badges, worked more than 1,000 hours of community service and helps lead a Boy Scout troop in his hometown.
But the 19-year-old has another distinction that may lead to his removal from the Boy Scouts: He's an atheist.
Last week, Lambert was given roughly a week by the Boy Scouts' regional executive to declare belief in a supreme being and comply with Boy Scout policy, or quit the Scouts. The official and Lambert were to talk again this week regarding Lambert's answer, although a definite date hadn't been set by Tuesday.
"We've asked him to search his heart, to confer with family members, to give this great thought," Brad Farmer, the Scout executive of the Chief Seattle Council of the Boy Scouts, told The Sun of Bremerton. "If he says he's an avowed atheist, he does not meet the standards of membership."
Bummer. That Hypocrisy badge was sooooooo within reach. But there's hope:
On membership applications, Boy Scouts and adult leaders must say they recognize some higher power, not necessarily religious. "Mother Nature would be acceptable," Farmer said.
What if Darrell accepted Brad Farmer as a higher power, without mentioning that he's a kerchief-wearing, stick-rubbing, tent-pitching, got-a-little-amount-of-power-in-my-repressed-pathetic-life-and-I'm-gonna-use-it, dickhead?
I think we could all live with that.
posted by tbogg at 12:08 PM
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Grasping for Gay-baiting straws.....
Sullivan. Again.
MORE DEMOCRATIC GAY-BAITING: This time in Hawaii. Somehow, I'm not surprised any more.
First the link takes you to blogger Cornfield Commentary, which then takes you to The Hawaii Reporter for this:
Yesterday, Hawaii Reporter talked to a handful of people outside the Republican Party who had direct knowledge of a new secret whispering campaign against Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Linda Lingle. Apparently a woman claiming to be the former lover of Lingle is calling targeted Republicans as a part of a smear campaign against Lingle. Lingle says she is not gay and in fact has been married twice.
Lingle supporters says smear mongers are hoping to distract voters from the real issues like the fact that the state has hit rock bottom in almost every category -– education, business, social problems, importation of drugs, domestic violence, theft -- because of poor political leadership.
Democrats tried this same smear in 1998 against Lingle when she ran for governor against incumbent Benjamin Cayetano and against some of their own candidates in years prior who weren't the "chosen" party candidates, including a Democrat candidate for mayor and a Democrat candidate for governor. Lingle addresses this rumor on her Web site, http://www.LindaLingle.com, and has discussed it openly at forums.
Since the Hawaii Reporter won't clue us into who is doing this whispering
Hawaii Reporter talked to a handful of people outside the Republican Party who had direct knowledge of a new secret whispering campaign against Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Linda Lingle.
...we have to ask: Who or what is the Hawaii Reporter? (A) Some major island daily? (b)An incisive non-partisan look at Hawaii politics, or (C) an on-line shill for Hawaii's minor party?
Lets look at some of their other headlines and leads:
Honolulu Advertiser Endorsement No Surprise
Editors, Reporters Will Still Embrace Democrat Ideals, Politics Over Lingle
By Malia Zimmerman, 10/30/2002 1:47:36 AM
Many people were surprised that the Honolulu Advertiser, the unofficial propaganda piece for the state Democrat party, yesterday announced its endorsement of Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Linda Lingle over Democrat Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono.
Remember to Vote - No Excuses
By Union News Network, 10/30/2002 1:46:05 AM
Remember to vote. ... People are risking their lives overseas so that all of us can pull the curtain behind us. There is no excuse for not voting. The debate between candidates is the healthy sign of democracy, but only if you vote.
Mazie and Matt are nice people that, unfortunately represent less confidence you have in government and less earning power in your wallet. This town needs to be "kick started" so that we can recover financially; have better schools, more police patroling the streets ... but mainly we need to restore faith in our government leaders.
We like Linda |
