Congressmen say congressmen did nothing wrong

jt

February 27th, 2010
9:20 am

Tar and Feather.

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 27th, 2010
9:23 am

Aahhh, yes, the classic misdirection ploy by a member of the dummycrat stooge media.

Jack Abramoff, Charles Rangel.

Rangel, Abramoff.

Just sayin…..

Don’t want to talk about it, eh, Bookman?

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 27th, 2010
9:25 am

The dummycrats made big hay back in the days of Bush Derangement Syndrome, now that one of their oen does the exact same thing, eh, not so much.

No More Progressives!

February 27th, 2010
9:34 am

Business as usual.

Obama awarded a big no-bid last week to a big campaign donor; botulism research, or so I read.

May not matter, though. Once the seven are identified (maybe here??) hopefully they’ll be gone 11/2/2010.

Paul

February 27th, 2010
9:38 am

Yes, yes and yes.

Also read an AP piece this morning – Rep Rangel’s staff sent him two memos and a letter telling him his two trips were being paid for by corporate sponsors – a violation. Yet… no one can prove Rep Rangel actually read the material, so, golly gee says Spkr Pelosi, he didn’t do anything wrong.

What’s really insulting in all this is how flat-out stupid they must think the electorate is. If they get reelected, well, maybe they’re right.

Road Scholar

February 27th, 2010
9:44 am

Rep. Rangel: Who is in charge of your office and any resulting errors? I thought that the Boss was ALWAYS in charge. Have those emloyees been fired? I don’t think so! Resign as chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee now! The American people will not and should not reward incompetence and finger pointing.

AmVet

February 27th, 2010
9:49 am

Hi Paul.

Just read an article about how Rick Perry has co-opted an ABBA song to “advance” his campaign. Is this guy as big a loser as he seems? And compared to the worst POTUS in history, George of the Bungle – was he an improvement as guv? (I know, I know. Don’t mess with Texas!)

JB, josef and Bruno, thanks for the good thoughts last night. My down time has enabled me to watch a great deal of that scintillating sport – curling!

As for this topic, our federal government – the worst government that dirty money can buy. Just the way the die-hard dems and brain-dead repubs love it…

Soothsayer

February 27th, 2010
9:50 am

I don’t know if any of you got to watch the Jack Cafferty special last night about Broken Government on CNN. It came on at 7:00 pm. It’s nice to actually hear someone say it instead of all the cheerleading. If it is aired again, try to watch it.

No More Progressives!

February 27th, 2010
10:02 am

And compared to the worst POTUS in history, George of the Bungle – was he an improvement as guv? (I know, I know. Don’t mess with Texas!)

Wrong again. THE worst, to date, was Jimmy C. The evolving worst is in office now. GWB is clearly top 5, but not the worst.

Rightwing Troll

February 27th, 2010
10:03 am

10 hours and Obama still isn’t in Chile to help. WHY????? WHERE IS OBAMA? WHY IS HE NOT HELPING THE PEOPLE OF CHILE?????

Rightwing Troll

February 27th, 2010
10:04 am

How many wars did Jimmy start without provacation?

30

February 27th, 2010
10:11 am

I testify that nicotine is not addictive. I declare that hotdogs are not a choking hazard. I swear that Killer Whales do not drown people, (water does).

And guns don’t kill people, (nor bullets), but people behaving like targets in a firing range kill people.

I invoke my fifth amendment rights to say no more about nuthin no how.

Where’s the money?

Paul

February 27th, 2010
10:21 am

AmVet

Good to see you back! You were missed last night.

Pres Bush’s tenure as gov was over before I arrived, but from my own reading and talking to people here, they all seem to say “we know who we sent to Washington, but who was that guy who arrived?!!?”

They cite education reforms (formed basis for his No Child Left Behind Act, I hear), how really bipartisan he was with the legislature, how he even instituted renewable energy programs (Texas now’s the top state for wind power). When his chief of staff protested, I read he told the guy ‘windmills…. do it.”

Yeah, Gov Perry’s an embarrassment. All he does is tout his fake conservative credentials, then lap up all the fed and stim money he can.

The guy’s leading Sen Hutchison in the primary polls, but the numbers don’t look good for him regarding the Democratic challenger, the ex mayor of Houston. In a state as heavily Republican as this, that’s amazing.

Don’t be a stranger, okay?

getalife

February 27th, 2010
10:23 am

The culture of corruption is getting worse.

Need to put term limits on the 12 ballot and let people vote for it.

The FBI should handle ethics complaints.

Make lobbyists contact reps like the people to shut down k street.

Shorten and cap money for electoral reform with winner take all like the gop.

Paul

February 27th, 2010
10:33 am

oh AmVet

Coopting an ABBA song is the one thing I can say that shows he has an ounce of sense. But it’s diminished by the fact he probably thinks they’re some Viking country western group -

DoggoneGA

February 27th, 2010
11:21 am

“I thought that the Boss was ALWAYS in charge. ”

Never been that way in any job I ever had, but though “the boss” is not always “in charge” – the ultimate responsibility for the conduct of the office still falls in the boss’s lap.

Captain America

February 27th, 2010
11:25 am

In other news, former Haliburton subsidiary KBR (the same big GOP contributors that built the substandard barracks in Iraq and are being investigated for fraud by the Feds.) was recently given the contract to built the new dental school at the Medical College of Georgia. I guess no Georgia construction firms could afford the same level of bribes that KBR can.

NowReally

February 27th, 2010
12:11 pm

There is too much focus on re-elections; if not, there would not be a need for a lobbyist to provide a campaign contribution. There should be a two term limit for the House and the Senate; the same should happen at all levels of state government. I know there are limits in some, but this should be the case for every elected position.

It’s a method to protect power and greed.

Soothsayer

February 27th, 2010
12:27 pm

Congressman Linder to retire

Finally! This dumbass is doing something right. After spewing FairTax venon for decades, it’s about time. Hallelujah!

Soothsayer

February 27th, 2010
12:30 pm

Now, after 20 years of huge Republican deficits and Republican recessions, the National Debt has increased from $937 Billion — LESS than $1 Trillion — the day Ronald Reagan took office to ALMOST $10 TRILLION!!! The Debt has increased more than TEN TIMES what it was when Ronald Reagan promised to reduce the National Debt by 1983! We and our children and their children will be paying off the debt added by Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush for the next 100 years and more! For what !?!? Services have been cut across America. Police and Fire Departments haven’t grown nearly as fast as our population. Even the number of troops in the military has been cut while military spending has skyrocketed!

Friends, that grey bar over on the far left represents ALL OF THE BUDGET DEFICITS SINCE 1776. That bar over on the far right is what George W Bush left Obama to deal with.

jt

February 27th, 2010
12:39 pm

Drown it in the bathtub.

Dusty

February 27th, 2010
12:43 pm

Well, not much new here today.

AmVet the Awful is back (happy recovery!) calling George the Bungle again and AGAIN!

Rightwing Troll is STILL talking about wars without provocation. He’s not provoked with terrorists.

Rangel is still a crook but the ethics committee is blind and deaf as long as they can keep a Democrat alive in Congress.

Ethics (?) Committee says goodies from Lobbyists never influence pork-projects in Congress. More B & D.

Curling is mentioned. But…what is curling if not in the beauty salon?

Paul mentions good points of Bush when he was gov of Texas. Bush was good when he was president of all the people, just some did not like the sharing. GWB is right up there with Truman!

Jimmy Carter should have stayed with his submarine or his peanuts. Still should.

But.. the sun is shining in Georgia…no tsunami….no earthquake (X)<—–fingers crossed! Chili hit with an 8 point something earthquake!!! Now that is real rattle and roll! More tragedy and sorrow.

Bud Wiser

February 27th, 2010
12:49 pm

As usual, the morons revert to the Bush Derangement Syndrome, blaming all of Obowo’s troubles, every ailment from the common cold to toe fungus, on Bush.

I guess the really stupid just choose to ignore the massive and unconscionable debt being piled on by the uppity Kenyan, and his brainless congressional cohorts.

Cold Cash Jefferson, tax cheats Geithner and Rangel, ‘no problem’ loan Dodd, just to name a few, leave a putrid stench upon their party, as do many repugs. I frankly think they should all be thrown out, and we start over, with a national ’special election’ to replace the morons. The only problem with that is that the ignorant fools that voted for many of them will vote for them again, just because they are too stupid NOT to.

I truly believe that this culture of corruption has existed for decades, but is only now being brought to the shining light of truth and exposure.

That ignorant sap Obowo, Pelosi, and Reid just plod along as stupid as eer, ignoring the polls, and ignoring the will of the American people.

Their day is coming.

In November.

THIS JUST IN: Sirens are now sounding all over Hawaii over impending tsunami generated from that horredous earthquake in Chile.

No More Progressives!

February 27th, 2010
12:59 pm

Road Scholar

February 27th, 2010
9:44 am
Rep. Rangel: Who is in charge of your office and any resulting errors?

I don’t think anyone is really in charge, RS. A good, card-carrying Democrat abhors taking responsibility for anything. That makes them accountable. It’s always “someone elses fault.”

Dusty

February 27th, 2010
1:10 pm

Soothsayer,

You surely do like to smooth things over. Obama is just an innocent bystander and Bush was the robber baron of the USA budget. Really?

So terrorists attack us and we get a war. Those terrorists are all the fault of Bush. And he ( and CONGRESS) made us all fight back. Yeah! It is costly.

Then Bush gives us the TARP fund to help the economy. That fund is almost repaid.

Then Obama gives us TENT city, the building of trillions into USA debt. He CONTINUES war plans which he vowed to stop among many other things he promised to stop.

But it is all Bush’s fault, not to mention Reagan or any other Republican you can remember.

Go get you another “smoothie” as you are not a soothsayer.. Just a dedicated Democrat.

Hillbilly Deluxe

February 27th, 2010
1:20 pm

“Simply because a member sponsors an earmark for an entity that also happens to be a campaign contributor does not, on these two facts alone, support a claim that a member’s actions are being influenced by campaign contributions,” the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct said in a unanimous statement.

And of course, the moon is made of green cheese, as Neil Armstrong proved when he took “one small step for dairy products”.

And from the “how much is a cow worth?” department. About the same as a politician, evidently.

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/prize-breeding-cow-fetches-11-million-at-auction/19375206?icid=main

Soothsayer

February 27th, 2010
1:21 pm

Ronald Reagan – The Bonzo Years

This is hilarious! A preview of what life might be like under a Sarah Palin presidency.

Gosh, Dusty! I’m all hurt you would say those terrible things about me! Obama’s coming into office has been likened to arriving at an apartment fire with the three top floors burning and trying to put it out. The right desperately needs to “hang it” on Obama. Actually, I’m enjoying cheese omelette and hash browns as I write this.

RW-(the original)

February 27th, 2010
1:33 pm

Does anybody have a link to the Media Matters article where they’re wringing their hands and gnashing their teeth with outrageous outrage over Jay Bookman trying to incite people to decapitate our Congress Critters?

Soothsayer

February 27th, 2010
1:33 pm

10/19/82

During a White House meeting with Arab leaders, President Reagan turns to the Lebanese foreign minister. “You know”, he says, “your nose looks just like Danny Thomas’s.” The Arabs exchange nervous glances.

Bud Wiser

February 27th, 2010
1:59 pm

Recently:

During a White House meeting with Vann Jones and other avowed communist leaders in America, President turns to Jones to say something, but his teleprompter fails at that exact moment, and he is left sputtering “uh…uh..uh…no..no..no..uh uh….”, and a steady stream of spittle drips from the corner of his mouth.

Jones and the other laugh at this hapless idiot, the meeting goes on.

jt

February 27th, 2010
2:01 pm

.I thought only the Republicans where corporate mistresses. We definetly need Mr. Rangel’s influence with our Health Care. Quickly. (although Obama-care doesn’t begin until he is long gone. We pay now though. Rangel would approve. .From some Washington Rag-

“Because these bills present immense potential for corporate welfare, special favors and rent-seeking, Rangel’s apparent tendency to turn policy debates into fundraising drives deserves some study.

In his first two years as Ways and Means chairman, Rangel, who ran virtually unopposed last fall despite a slew of ethical troubles, raised $5.1 million. In comparison, the two Republican Ways and Means chairmen from 1995 to 2007, former Reps. Bill Archer, Texas, and Bill Thomas, of California, raised only $4.2 million, combined, over the entire courses of their chairmanships. Rangel, in other words, raised considerably more in one election than his Republican counterparts did in six cycles.

Studying his campaign finance records helps reveal how Rangel has turned the gavel into a fundraising magic wand: If your business is affected by tax law, and you want to change the tax code, or ward off an undesirable change, you probably need to support Rangel’s campaigns, which, in effect, means paying for his legal defense.

One illustrative episode in Rangel’s orbit is the story of the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act, which Rangel’s committee will probably advance this year. This tale shows how the contribution-to-legislation nexus on Capitol Hill can often be more about lawmakers exploiting businesses rather than businesses softening up lawmakers.

In the first three months of 2009, Rangel raised $279,959, with 59 percent of that coming from political action committees. Only one PAC contributed the maximum $10,000: The National Fire Sprinkler Association, which cut $5,000 checks Jan. 7 and Jan. 9.

A week later, NFSA President John Viniello told his Illinois and Wisconsin chapters that Rangel “will be supportive” of the Fire Sprinkler Incentive Act, according to the NFSA’s newsletter.

Two weeks after that, on Feb. 1,
the NFSA held a fundraiser for Rangel
– a $700-a-head breakfast in New York City, attended by a dozen executives and owners of fire sprinkler companies. “He’s crucial to the bill,” NFSA spokesman Jim Dalton explained to me in discussing the fundraiser.”

http://www.crewsmostcorrupt.org/node/1625

jt

February 27th, 2010
2:11 pm

When I think of the Republican party, I think of McCain(let’s regulate vitamins limit your free speech) and maybe Cantor(big government by uniform is OK), I feel sad and a little nausea when I see grown men wear make-up.

When I think of the Democrats. Charlie Rangel.

The guy who “writes the tax code (and) also oversees the budget” is cheating on his taxes and the woman who claimed she would help “create the most honest, most open, and most ethical Congress in history” is doing nothing about it.

The Democratic leadership is crooked and shameless. They deserve to be punished by the voters for their behavior.

Statism or Liberty. That is the only REAL choice.

Jan Rodricks

February 27th, 2010
2:12 pm

Always fun to read a rightwinger trying to sound outraged by minor Democratic ethical questions, when the previous Republican Congress set the modern standard for self-serving criminality without eliciting a peep from Limbaugh’s slavish followers. Are they so oblivious thet can’t see the hypocrisy? Or do they think they’re fooling the people who haven’t given up thinking?

mike

February 27th, 2010
2:14 pm

Soothsayer –

You seem to be ignorant of the fact that the Democrats have owned Congress since 2006. If Obama is arriving at a “burning building”, you need to get past your usual mindless partisanship and understand that it is not only people who dare not share your narrow minded views who are responsible for the blaze.

Of course, as you are a mindless partisan, all you want to do is believe that everything is the fault of those who don’t share your narrow minded views. Don’t you ever notice what a remarkable coincidence that is?

TnGelding

February 27th, 2010
2:20 pm

Let’s wait and see what the investigations turn up, if anything. Money not only talks, it walks. We definitely need to change our election process, tho.

Welcome Mr. President:

http://www.ajc.com/news/obama-to-visit-georgia-334603.html

TnGelding

February 27th, 2010
2:21 pm

mike

February 27th, 2010
2:14 pm

The buck stops in the Oval Office.

Bud Wiser

February 27th, 2010
2:28 pm

Interesting comment Gelded One, considering with this moron in office, NO buck stops anywhere but outside America (Japan and China, as our 2 chief creditors, come to mind); Obowo just cannot spend them fast enough.

Money flies through the once dignified Oval Office like leaves in a hurricane.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
2:40 pm

Jan–

A left-winger myself, but what do you mean by “minor” ethical lapses?

The rest of y’all–
Really did enjoy last p.m. Thanks!

Chile–
The White House has responded properly and timely. Chile is a first world country with a well-developed infrastructure and is a world leader in seismic preparedness. They’ll let the outside world know what they need.

Dusty

February 27th, 2010
2:55 pm

Soothsayer,

I do apologize for naming you a Dedicated Democrat which you said was a terrible thing to say.! Sorry! I just lost my cool there. But I agree with you. Just terrible!

By the way, do you have a nose that looks like Danny Thomas’s? Now don’t look away nervously. Just look in a mirror.

Please keep us posted on all the exciting 1982 news. We wouldn’t want to miss anything.
————————-

Jan Rodricks

MINOR Democratic Ethical questions? What would you call a major one? Robbing the US Mint?

Rangel has repeatedly displayed a lack of ethics. I gather you find that not worth mentioning. Another dedicated Democrat!!

As to the previous Republican Congress, I imagine they were still getting over the shock of having a president impeached just before them. I gues you never noticed Bill Clinton, didya??

Sure, Republicans sit around all day listening to Limbaugh or somebody. Yeah, that’s it.

I’ll have to listen to Limbaugh sometime. He must be good. But, Scout’s honor, I’ve never heard him. Sounds like I am missing out if he keeps you upset.

Me, I get upset over trillions being added to the USA debt without a thought. Did not even have to listen to Limbaugh to know that is disaster for us and our children. Too bad you haven’t noticed.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
3:03 pm

Dusty–

Oh you really must listen to Limbaugh! Nanci Pelosi’s Siamese twin, joined at the yappin’ maw! Jumpin’ Jack and Jackess…You left out Barney Frank. I feel slighted.

Scout

February 27th, 2010
3:03 pm

TERM LIMITS !

Dusty

February 27th, 2010
3:05 pm

Hi Josef,

Bad news from Chile. What is going on? Those tectonic plates are shaking and a’trembling. Haven’t heard a Richter scale number that high in a long time.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
3:07 pm

SCOUT–
Term limits, h*ll–OWTH!

Dusty

February 27th, 2010
3:11 pm

Now Josef,

I might as well have thumb screws as listen to another Pelosi. Barney Frank?? PLease…I am trying to be nice and ignore his speech impediment which causes me to ignore everything he says. Did I miss anything?

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
3:14 pm

DUSTY

The Cocos, Nazca, South American and Antarctic Plates all converge there and the fold patterns are such that when there’s a movement, it’s a wing-dinger.It also produces the worst tidal waves…so far, it seems this time that the waves so far have been relatively low…but those are the ones that hit South America, they tend to be worse on the western side of the Pacific…I don’t know which plate did the moving….a lot depends on that…that 1960 one down there wrecked havoc…

larry

February 27th, 2010
3:14 pm

The democrats took over on Jan.1, 2007, not 2006. Also, who benefited most from the war in Iraq ? Bush and the Republicans spent 5.6 trillon dollars while they had all three of branches in their pocket. Bush started two wars and passed two massive huge tax cuts and now neocons want to rewrite history and think everything happened since Jan. 20, 2009. Amazing , i guess you neocons think we have short memories. Wrong again.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
3:15 pm

DUSTY–
It ain’t what Barney says, it’s what he does! They threw him out of the Library of Congress because he kept bending over the pages….!

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
3:17 pm

larry

The Bush administration didn’t have all three branches in their pockets. The executive and legislative, yes, but not the judiciary. They tried, but they didn’t make it.

larry

February 27th, 2010
3:18 pm

I guess you Republicans dont want to mention Jack Abramoff and all of the congressmen that were caught up in that . He also probably cost Ralph Reed the Lt. Gov. nomination in 2006.

larry

February 27th, 2010
3:20 pm

Besides, with the recent supreme court ruling, this is probably going to be a non-story in a couple of months.

Scout

February 27th, 2010
3:20 pm

josef:

Incumbunts just have too much of an advantage. Just my opinion. I heard the other day that Rangle hadn’t even been “challenged” for 40 years.

Salt & Light

February 27th, 2010
3:23 pm

“Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.”

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
3:25 pm

Scout–

We elect our Congressmen to “bring home the bacon” and as long as they do, they’re doing what we sent them there for…the ethics of how, be d*mned…OWTH!

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
3:27 pm

Salt and Light…
But just such has been going on for a long, long, time…agreed, it does make you stop and think, but after stopping and thinking, I doubt this is any more a sign of the End Times than we’ve seen before…

Dusty

February 27th, 2010
3:27 pm

JOSEF,

Hmmmm ..so Barney Frank got thrown out of the Library of Congress because he kiept bending over the pages…..whoops…I almost missed the contents there..You’re bad, josef…I’m gonna tell yo momma!.

Tsunamis…the waves don’t sound too bad. I think I saw 6 foot waves at Tybee when we went to the beach. The hurricanes always go to the beach with us. At least, we don’t get as much sunburn. Just windburn and wet.

Jenifer

February 27th, 2010
3:31 pm

Ain’t but one thing going to solve this:

PUBLIC FINANCING OF ELECTIONS!

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
3:32 pm

DUSTY

Laying the jokes aside (which in Barney’s case is hard to do), that scumbag has gotten by with some of the most immoral and unethical acts of just about any public figure and, no, I’m not talking about his personal improprieties and the people of Massachusetts keep putting him back in. And why not? He brings home the bacon.

Dusty

February 27th, 2010
3:35 pm

Salt & Light,

I’m not too worried about the”signs’ you mention suggesting the end of time, But I tell you one thing, if my gas bill goes any higher for my home, it is going to be the end of gas.

Back to firewood and a big black kettle! My ancestors did it. So can I! (I’ll be brave until my feet get cold!)

Dusty

February 27th, 2010
3:40 pm

Josef,

Barney Frank brings home the FATBACK, Bacon is too lean. He is one of many and nobody says a word. They make him chairman of a committee to make decisions! I tell you…it’s those DEDICATED DEMOCRATS. (My Republicans are all honest gentlemen!!!!)

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
3:41 pm

DUSTY

Big black pot you say?

“Double, double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble…”

I’m going have to steer real clear of you, my liver having been pickled in Manischewitz!

Rightwing Troll

February 27th, 2010
3:44 pm

mike deriding someone for being a partisan… that’s rich…

WHY IS OBAMA NOT IN CHILE???? WHY????!????

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
3:46 pm

Rightwing–

Why? Reckon maybe they don’t need him? ‘Sides, Sister Hillary is on her way down Tuesday, that is if this didn’t change her schedule…

Rightwing Troll

February 27th, 2010
3:47 pm

Term limits huh? Wasn’t one of the main tenets of the “contract with America”? Those crazy Republicans abandoned that waste of paper as soon as they got in thier offices in 94… The more things change…

Rightwing Troll

February 27th, 2010
3:48 pm

WHY IS OBAMA NOT HELPING THE PEOPLE OF CHILE????????? WHY??????????

Kamchak

February 27th, 2010
3:51 pm

WHY IS OBAMA NOT IN CHILE???? WHY????!????

I think the bigger question is what is he doing to stop the tsunami heading for Hawaii?

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
3:53 pm

K’chak

I heard he’s on his way to Hawaii…wants to go for a stroll…

Dusty

February 27th, 2010
3:54 pm

Josef,

Beware not the boiling pot……

“My honor is my life; both grow in one’

Take honor from me, and my life is done;

Then, dear my liege, mine honor let me try;

In that I live, and for that will I die”.

And if I die with Manischevitz, the more the merry!!

Kamchak

February 27th, 2010
4:00 pm

I heard he’s on his way to Hawaii…wants to go for a stroll…

He doesn’t have to set foot ashore—all he must do is be aboard ship and say “Quiet! Be still!”

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
4:02 pm

DUSTY

“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.”

Seneca (I think it was)

Dusty

February 27th, 2010
4:02 pm

Obama is going to Hawaii?

He’s supposed to come to Atlanta.

Some people will do anything to get off schedule!!!!

Well, he can come back for Freaknik.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
4:07 pm

K’chak

And then do we get loaves and fishes? Wine from the spigot?

“The mass of men only want bread and circuses.” –Juvenal

Oh, Happy Day! We’re already halfway there with the Greatest Show on Earth in DC!

Kamchak

February 27th, 2010
4:09 pm

And then do we get loaves and fishes?

Gotta have the “special” baskets to pull that one off.

Dusty

February 27th, 2010
4:10 pm

Well, Josef,

Seneca is good and brief but I like King Richard II better…. and who is pretending (asks Goody Two Shoes)?? We’uns is the real thing…’specially us politicians.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
4:11 pm

Freaknik? Now there’s a sure sign of the Apocalypse, at least in my neighborhood. Atlanta ain’t New Orleans…don’t know how to throw a party worth a hoot…last time, the planning had us locked in the neighborhood for three days.

Southern Comfort

February 27th, 2010
4:14 pm

I see the usuals are here tossing the usual tired insults.

What y’all fail to realize is that the ethics committee that matters the most is the one that casts the votes in November. When you continue to be friggin’ robots and vote for someone because of the R or D behind their name and not because of their actions or inactions, you’re the root cause of what you gripe about.

As far as the people bribing, hell, you’re probably paying for that too!! Check your cabinets, pantries, or drawers in your home or office and you probably have purchased products that enabled the lobbyist to do their thing.

Quit b*tching about ethics and use your votes and wallets to take care of business.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
4:14 pm

DUSTY

I wasn’t talking about us! On my honor, ma’am! I was talking bout our Publicans–all of ‘em and not just the R-E ones!

K’chak

Special baskets, eh? I hear Madame de Farge knows where we can get ‘em wholesale…OWTH!!

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
4:22 pm

SoCo

“I see the usuals are here tossing the usual tired insults.”

Ah, say, Suh, Ah take umbrage, On my hon-uh, Ah find Miz Dusty’s insults quite refreshing!

Seriously, though, the point about supporting them through buying their products is well taken. There’s a great deal of truth to money talks and bulls*t walks. That money for corporate kickback ultimately comes from our pockets and it’s time to speak up and put the bs on a leash…

Southern Comfort

February 27th, 2010
4:23 pm

josef

The planners of “Freaknik” would do themselves a great deal of good to talk to the Krewes in NOLA to find out how to throw a “real” party.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
4:30 pm

SoCo

Seriously. Back when we were having the public outcry, New Orleans offered to help in the planning, but the arrogant crews at City Hall took offense…New Orleans just shook its collective head and said, oh, well, we offered…a lot of cities around the world planning and dealing with big scale public merrymaking events send folks to New Orleans…Down home has its problems, no doubt, but on this one they do a d*mned fine job of it…folks there say, only in half jest, that if the krewes had been put in charge during Katrina, it would have turned out a lot different…

Southern Comfort

February 27th, 2010
4:30 pm

josef

I was referring to the Bush nicknames, dummycrat, etc… Dusty doesn’t typically fall into that category. Long ago I started a list of companies I would try to avoid spending a penny on if possible. The list doesn’t grow unless it’s something serious enough that I feel that I can no longer support them in good conscience. Working in retail, I know how important it is for people to purchase products to provide jobs for others, but when a company does something that really ticks me off, I just say a prayer that any job lost by my actions will be supplanted by a company who’s products I continue to use.

Southern Comfort

February 27th, 2010
4:31 pm

Between the krewes and the sanitation dept, they would have had NOLA up and running 2-3 weeks after Katrina tops!!

stands for decibels

February 27th, 2010
4:35 pm

Until and unless the public is willing to support tough campaign finance laws, including perhaps public financing of campaigns, we’re going to see this kind of behavior.

Take the “perhaps” out of that sentence, and bash it into everyone’s brains, and maybe things will change a bit.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
4:38 pm

SoCo

We have our list, too. I won’t go into why here and now, but when we cashed in our Southern Company and Holiday Inn paper and wrote telling them why, we got a splendid set of replies from VIPS. When we called to lodge a complaint and said nothing about the coin of the realm, we weren’t even responded to. We didn’t change their stances, to be sure, but they did grovel and, well, the money went elsewhere and has had equally good returns and we can sleep at night, too.

Pogo

February 27th, 2010
4:43 pm

Your take is my take Jay on this one. These are scum no matter what party.

And Fannie wants more of our billions that we don’t have. And GM’s CEO makes $3000/hr and received a 9 million dollar bonus for last year. Obviously taxpayer money is easy to spend for them. If all of this wasn’t so sad, it would be funny.

Southern Comfort

February 27th, 2010
4:44 pm

I got the letters and stuff from U-Haul when I told them where to hitch their trailers. They even offered me free service. I told the guy that I’d mortgage my home to pay for moving before I’d accept free service from them. It wasn’t quite that pg when I stated it, but he seemed to have gotten the message quite clearly because I didn’t hear from them anymore.

Dusty

February 27th, 2010
4:53 pm

Ah Suh Josef,

I take yo umbrage and give you mah hegemony! Fair ’nuff?

But sounds like SoCo has had a tough day with the bad ones and that has to be tiresome!! So glad he is watching out for us. But, we’d better behave ’cause SoCo has a BIG gun; and he knows how to use it!

Even with all the good times here, I must leave for a while. Enjoyed the afternoon.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
4:53 pm

SoCo–

Heh, heh! The voucher from Holiday Inn (a rather flattering amount, I might add) was copied and the original sent back with a diplomatically phrased missive telling them in which corporate orifice they could stick it…the reply to that one was a classic and I would have sure hated to have been the public relations office employee charged with writing it! I wrote her back and congratulated her on her command of the tools of her trade and sent a copy to her superior suggesting that perhaps the amount of the voucher could be awarded her for service above and beyond the call of duty. The terse reply from them was that “proper acknowledgement” had been taken. I checked back a while later to see if she was still there and she was. So I could sleep well.

Southern Comfort

February 27th, 2010
5:00 pm

josef

That had to be one hell of a response!!

Dusty

Not a bad day, but I’m tired of the same old same here. It seems like a broken record sometimes. You have those that like to talk the talk, but they refuse to do anything to change their environment. I tell my co-workers the same thing. If you don’t like the way things are done, either get into a position to change them or leave and go somewehere else.

Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)

February 27th, 2010
5:21 pm

Well, I was going to get on here but I see Sister Dusty is all over this blog like bad chili on a hot dog. Don’t she have some germs to look at in her microscope or maybe a Whopper to buy at Burger King?

So I’ll just say have a good Saturday night everybody.

RW-(the original)

February 27th, 2010
5:22 pm

I see the usuals are here tossing the usual tired insults.

SoCo,

That why God gave us a scroll device and frankly it’s Jay B’s blog so it’s kind of up to him what level of discourse he’ll allow.

Dusty,

I think the talking heads do a disservice when they talk about a six foot wave. It’s more like a six foot wall of water coming past the point where most of the normal waves would have begun to recede.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
5:25 pm

SoCo
St Elsewhere…

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
5:27 pm

RW

It’s Jay’s blog, for sure, and so long as you don’t poke him in certain sore spots, he’s pretty even tempered…he does seem to get riled over mike, though, I still haven’t figured it out…reckon maybe the girl in the orange shorts like mike’s moves more…?

Jenifer

February 27th, 2010
5:32 pm

Despite Running A Health Industry ‘Trade Association,’ Gingrich Says He Will Not Register As A Lobbyist

Newty Newt’s just continuing his Contract ON America.

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/02/27/newt-gingrich-lobbyist/#comments

Salt & Light

February 27th, 2010
5:39 pm

josef & Dusty:

Regarding …………. ““Then he said to them: “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, famines and pestilences in various places, and fearful events and great signs from heaven.”

One never knows but think this through on the above prophecy. When it was given, people only knew what happened in “their” area. Now we know what happens anywhere else in the world immediately ………….. therefor we know about these things.

When the “fearful events and great signs from heaven” start (some wayward meteors? comets?) we had better wake up.

That’s why I’m ready to go whether it’s an earthquake or a heart attack !

Southern Comfort

February 27th, 2010
5:46 pm

RW

I scroll most of the time, but I don’t expect the first 3-5 posts to go that route. The conversation here usually starts off fine and degrades as it progresses. Very rarely does it start off with a hint of lemon. I respect Jay for allowing people to say what’s on their mind. It kinda bothers me when he bans people, but as stated, it’s his blog.

Southern Comfort

February 27th, 2010
5:46 pm

got’cha josef.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
5:47 pm

Salt and Light…

Like you, I’m ready whenever from whatever and don’t spend a lot of time dwelling on it…Granddaddy always said that this was G-d’s business and not his, his job was to live each and every day as if it were his last and to treat everyone the way he wanted to be treated and take joy in every minute he had here on earth…

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
5:59 pm

As has been commented on by others, a case in point is Wal Mart…we raise one h*lluva stink about the inscrutible orientals subverting our economy, but does that keep us out of the K-mart lot? L-rd forbid! One of the funniest, and saddest, things I ever saw was an anti-Chinese bumper sticker on a car turning to enter the acres of free paved parking at the ever-so-conveniently located Wal Mart which, when built, had replaced a family farm and now open was putting the moms and pops out of business…

Proflavors

February 27th, 2010
6:03 pm

The congress is supposed to represent the electorate. The electorate is supposed to keep track of what their representatives are doing, and then give feedback to the congress, and the newspapers, and the blogs, so as to keep in touch with how everyone is reading the actions of congress.

Then, a select few dozens of the electorate are supposed to form mindlessly violent mobs, and grab ropes, and torches, and shovels and storm the halls of congress, and hang everyone responsible, (after a fair trial of course).

This IS what the founding fathers had in mind, and I for one applaud their vision!!

RW-(the original)

February 27th, 2010
6:05 pm

All this St Elsewhere stuff reminds me of when the DUers and Koz Kidz would come over here to stir up trouble and then go back to those sites to talk behind our backs.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
6:19 pm

RW

It’s not that at all…don’t worry!

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
6:20 pm

RW
See? There I am at the top! Fore!

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 27th, 2010
6:34 pm

No, the government would never, ever unduly influence the housing market, why, of course not-

Feb. 27 (Bloomberg) — Fannie Mae will seek $15.3 billion in U.S. aid, bringing the total owed under a government lifeline to $76.2 billion, after its 10th consecutive quarterly loss.

Fannie Mae, which owns or guarantees about 28 percent of the $11.8 trillion U.S. home-loan market, has been hobbled by a three-year housing slump that wiped 28 percent from home values nationwide and led to record foreclosures.

It’s just our children’s money, who cares?

Southern Comfort

February 27th, 2010
6:35 pm

RW

I wouldn’t talk behind anyone’s back. I’m man enough that if I have something to say, I’ll put it out here.

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 27th, 2010
6:36 pm

Kalifornia Assembly passes resolution for Cuss Free Week

F them.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
6:39 pm

It appears that Hawaii dodged the bullet, but American Somoa and Guam may not have been so lucky…Chile announces that they appreciate the offers, but that they’re managing…

RW-(the original)

February 27th, 2010
6:40 pm

josef SoCo,

I said “reminds me of” and the funny thing is those guys never did realize we could just go to their sites and see what they were writing.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
6:41 pm

Cuss free WEEK? Maybe better to start with 30 minutes and work our way up…

Southern Comfort

February 27th, 2010
6:43 pm

Whiner

They’d be better off placing cuss jars in all places of employment. That could help with their budget deficiencies.

Southern Comfort

February 27th, 2010
6:44 pm

RW

Shows the intelligence of some who we share air with, huh?!!

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

February 27th, 2010
6:47 pm

Nobody invites me to the St Elsewhere reindeer games (sniff, sniff)

TnGelding

February 27th, 2010
6:48 pm

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 27th, 2010
6:34 pm

You’ve got enough money for your children and their children and…

No More Progressives!

February 27th, 2010
6:50 pm

Jenifer

February 27th, 2010
3:31 pm
Ain’t but one thing going to solve this:

PUBLIC FINANCING OF ELECTIONS!

You heard it here first, folks. Jenifer finally had a cogent thought.

josef nix

February 27th, 2010
6:52 pm

Somebody asked Unmentionable why he didn’t cuss…he told them I did enough for both of us!

Southern Comfort

February 27th, 2010
6:53 pm

Well…

I’ll leave everyone to their fun and rabble rousing. It’s back to my regular shift tomorrow. No more of this floating shift stuff for me. I’ll see y’all later on down the road.

TnGelding

February 27th, 2010
7:08 pm

Southern Comfort

February 27th, 2010
6:53 pm

Thanks for your contributions. Good luck and best wishes.

RW-(the original)

February 27th, 2010
7:22 pm

A time line for the AGW hoax

Salt & Light

February 27th, 2010
8:49 pm

josef:

Good works alone is NOT the answer …………….

Luke 18: A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
…… ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother. All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, FOLLOW ME (emphsis added).”

Midori

February 27th, 2010
9:03 pm

may I echo SC’s 6:35 pm, and insert “woman”.

what or who in the world is there to fear here?

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 27th, 2010
9:51 pm

I r o Dim- You know you fear, girlfriend, who are you kidding?

Just sayin…

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 27th, 2010
9:52 pm

fear me, geez. (-:

RW-(the original)

February 27th, 2010
10:46 pm

psst…come on you two. People are trying to sleep in here……

TnGelding

February 28th, 2010
4:31 am

The foxes guarding the henhouses. They’re just 535 frail individuals. They really need to revise their work ethics and work schedule. There is absolutely no reason for all their travel back and forth. Most of what they do is meaningless. Then they’d have more time to spend with their constituents instead of the lobbyists.

TnGelding

February 28th, 2010
4:43 am

Peter, Peter, deficit eater:

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10878

TnGelding

February 28th, 2010
5:01 am

Unhealthy summit:

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/10880

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 28th, 2010
6:31 am

WASHINGTON — The snowballing response made her the de facto coordinator of Coffee Party USA, with goals far loftier than its origin: promoting civility and inclusiveness in political discourse, engaging the government not as an enemy but as the collective will of the people, and pushing leaders to enact the progressive change for which 52.9 percent of the country voted in 2008. -Urinal

Get it? Coffee Party?

Can you say Airhead America?

(Should you happen to own a children’s shelter and some dummycrats come around wanting to “borrow” a 7 figure sum of money, you had best bar the door behind them and……hide the kids.

ew

eeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 28th, 2010
6:32 am

heh, I need more coffee, ew-

WASHINGTON — The snowballing response made her the de facto coordinator of Coffee Party USA, with goals far loftier than its origin: promoting civility and inclusiveness in political discourse, engaging the government not as an enemy but as the collective will of the people, and pushing leaders to enact the progressive change for which 52.9 percent of the country voted in 2008. -Urinal

Get it? Coffee Party?

Can you say Airhead America?

(Should you happen to own a children’s shelter and some dummycrats come around wanting to “borrow” a 7 figure sum of money, you had best bar the door behind them and……hide the kids.)

ew

eeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

Rightwing Troll

February 28th, 2010
6:54 am

WHY IS OBAMA NOT BOMBING THE TSUNAMI????

WHY??? WHY ? WHY???

Rightwing Troll

February 28th, 2010
6:58 am

WHY IS OBAMA NOT HELPING THE PEOPLE OF CHILE???? IT”S BEEN A DAY, OBAMA LIKES CHILE, ESPECIALLY WITH SALTINES AND SHREDDED CHEESE, WHY IS OBAMA NOT HELPING CHILE????

Rightwing Troll

February 28th, 2010
7:15 am

WHY IS OBAMA NOT HAVING A SECOND HELPING OF CHILE???? WHY????

@@

February 28th, 2010
7:48 am

Only thing that’s gonna stop this bribery are jail sentences. If I recall, Republicans have done time. Democrats? Anybody got a list of dems other than Jefferson?

The Brits have started their own Tea Party Movement? Once again Americans light the path to freedom.

Lady Liberty’s “left” foot is flat. It’s her right foot that’s on the move.

jconservative

February 28th, 2010
7:48 am

I Report – The problem is not Republicans or Democrats but the Incumbents the natiuon keeps returning to office.

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 28th, 2010
7:49 am

Signs reportedly held up at a Starbuck’s Party rally-

My kid has a dollar left and he is hiding it under his mattress, come and git it, obozo!

Where wood are kids be without the Teacher’s ewnion?

Raise my taxes!

Free Aborshuns!

Free Tibet!

Burn your General Motors SUV, er, I mean Government Motors, uh, never mind!

al-Gore= Minister of Energy!

Bush did it!

ew

But Wiser

February 28th, 2010
8:02 am

…(Atlanta)must face head-on the rugged task of reducing (pension) plan costs. That will mean making future retiree benefits less sweet. In so doing, the city will follow the private sector, which has been sipping this unsweet tea for decades as companies shifted workers to less-costly retirement plans. Urinal

When you work for the government, you are their slave. Of course this cost cutting plan will be offered only to the peons at first, the entrenched elected officials NEVER will accede to this.

The DC crowd would scream like a cat that just had its tail run over by a car if anyone ever brought this up to them, after all, they are fully vested in their retirement after only 1 term, and paying those pesky Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes is reserved for the “little people”.

Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)

February 28th, 2010
8:29 am

Well, I see this SC guvner’s wife got her divorce. And now she’ll bawl like a big baby over something she wanted in the 1st place. Women–there ain’t no figuring them out.

I don’t see why people are so mad about these Congress people getting all the money they pile up while they’re in office. It’s been going on for decades. A guy that would make a church mouse look rich gets elected to Congress. In about six years he’s a millionaire. Where do people think all the money comes from? The tooth fairy? Like I say, it’s been going on for decades and they all do it. Ever hear of a retired Congress person applying for welfare or being featured in a news story about poor people scrambling to survive?

The only retired politican I ever heard of being down amongst the poor was a guvner from WV named Marland and he wasn’t no Congressman. I recall reading a big news story about how they found him driving a taxi cab in Pittsburgh after he left office. All the rest of the politicans that leave office are rich as Midas.

So go ahead and roar about it all if you want to. It ain’t going to change.

Have a good Sabbath everybody and don’t forget to go to church before you set about screwing everybody for your own gain next week.

No More Progressives!

February 28th, 2010
8:31 am

Scout

February 27th, 2010
3:20 pm
josef:

Incumbunts just have too much of an advantage. Just my opinion. I heard the other day that Rangle hadn’t even been “challenged” for 40 years.

Rangle is a Vet who served in Korea. Other than that, he has been an immovable object in the House since 1970, when he defeated Adam Clayton Powell.

It is doubtful that 1) anything will become of his ethics issues, and 2) a competent challenger will surface anytime before the sun explodes.

Normal

February 28th, 2010
8:40 am

I see President Obama is going to be in Savannah the week. Whiner, you should go down there and cheer him on.

BTW, Happy Sunday Y’all…Just one more wake up ’til Monday

A Sign of the Times

February 28th, 2010
8:44 am

A big, blue Oxendine for Governor sign was removed from the 2nd floor of the state Capitol this morning, after a complaint was made to the Georgia Building Authority.

The Nerve! I’m sure Mr. Oxendine will fix this problem once he is elected.

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 28th, 2010
8:46 am

Kalifornia is a greater risk than Greece, warns JP Morgan chief

Home^^ of the Starbuck’s Party, just sayin….

Kamchak

February 28th, 2010
8:50 am

Well…here he goes again.

Citing what he described as the “the persecution of a great hero who rid their land of Godless communists” as a possible cause, prominent TV evangelist and amateur seismologist Pat Robertson today argued that the 8.8 magnitude of the earthquake that struck Chile early this morning should serve as a warning to the population that “God is even angrier with them than he is with the people of Haiti.”

“If I had to guess, I’d say it must have to do with Chile’s persecution and attempted prosecution of their great former leader, and a personal hero of mine, Augusto Pinochet – who, it should be noted, had never been convicted of a crime when the Lord called him home three years ago.” The popular host of ‘The 700 Club’ and longtime bingo circuit icon also added, “General Pinochet not only assisted the CIA in the overthrow of Chile’s Marxist government, but is widely credited with personally arranging the meetings of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of his countrymen with Jesus.”

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 28th, 2010
8:53 am

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama has signed a one-year extension of several provisions in the nation’s main counterterrorism law, the Patriot Act.

_Authorize court-approved roving wiretaps that permit surveillance on multiple phones.

_Allow court-approved seizure of records and property in anti-terrorism operations.

_Permit surveillance against a so-called lone wolf, a non-U.S. citizen engaged in terrorism who may not be part of a recognized terrorist group.

How’s that hopeandchange working out for you, Code Pinko?

hehehehehehee

stands for decibels

February 28th, 2010
8:56 am

As someone devoutly supportive of religious freedom, I submit yet another reason I am glad that we elected this.

The White House has been known to confer with religious leaders on important political and social issues — for instance, a meeting on torture with several religious denominations in June or Obama’s meeting with Buddhist leader the Dalai Lama just last week. On Friday, however, White House officials met with 60 members of atheist advocacy group the Secular Coalition for America, to discuss problems that they believe are fueled by religion.

The coalition’s press release notes that this is the first time an administration has met with a non-theist community.

It’s a good start.

stands for decibels

February 28th, 2010
8:58 am

“We elected this”? oy. This guy. This President. you know, Uppity Kenyan Muslim. That guy.

stands for decibels

February 28th, 2010
9:01 am

it must have to do with Chile’s persecution and attempted prosecution of their great former leader, and a personal hero of mine, Augusto Pinochet

Scourging and crucifixion are really too good for Pat Robertson, although I’d still gladly pay to see it happen.

What a pig.

Kamchak

February 28th, 2010
9:06 am

What a pig.

I know what you mean, but that’s an insult to every swine on the planet.

stands for decibels

February 28th, 2010
9:09 am

that’s an insult to every swine on the planet.

Sorry, Babe. Sorry Wilbur. You and your fellow swine are much, much better than Pat.

A Sign of the Times

February 28th, 2010
9:17 am

A swine in time saves whine. er.

A Sign of the Times

February 28th, 2010
9:26 am

Republicans don’t do too well in a down economy because their usual backers have lost millions and billions and they just don’t have as much cash laying around that is not already accounted for with such pressing issues and lobbyist payments and executive compensation and other items. So, in these trying times, the Republicans must seek out people such as Smoltz to run for soon-to-be vacated offices — John Linder, aka, Mr. (Anything But A) FairTax, comes to mind — since they can fund their own campaigns. Stick with your day job, Smoltz. After all, anyone that would back Tom Price cannot possibly be good for this state. I suggest South Carolina.

Finn McCool

February 28th, 2010
10:00 am

Equally significant is Barstow’s finding that most Tea Party groups have no affiliation with the G.O.P. despite the party’s ham-handed efforts to co-opt them. The more we learn about the Tea Partiers, the more we can see why. They loathe John McCain and the free-spending, TARP-tainted presidency of George W. Bush. They really do hate all of Washington, and if they hate Obama more than the Republican establishment, it’s only by a hair or two. (Were Obama not earning extra demerits in some circles for his race, it might be a dead heat.) The Tea Partiers want to eliminate most government agencies, starting with the Fed and the I.R.S., and end spending on entitlement programs. They are not to be confused with the Party of No holding forth in Washington — a party that, after all, is now positioning itself as a defender of Medicare spending. What we are talking about here is the Party of No Government at All.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/opinion/28rich.html

TnGelding

February 28th, 2010
10:03 am

@@

February 28th, 2010
7:48 am

Rosty comes to mind. Cost Hillary her health care reform.

http://www.congressionalbadboys.com/Rostenkowski.htm

RW-(the original)

February 28th, 2010
10:04 am

The president has no business doing anything to address concerns over what some group perceives as problems caused by religion.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

Southern Comfort

February 28th, 2010
10:14 am

@@

Trafficant was a Dem, right? And he’s talking about running again as an independent.

getalife

February 28th, 2010
10:17 am

Good morning Bookmaners.

I give you the coffee party:

http://coffeepartyusa.com/

Need candidates to run on a government reform platform.

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 28th, 2010
10:36 am

You might want to check me, gitmo, but it seems that all of the Starbuck’s Party member kandidates are already in office, see obozo, Nasty Pelosi and Hairy Reed.

and pushing leaders to enact the progressive change for which 52.9 percent of the country voted in 2008.

Unless of course, you are looking to ratchet these hellbent socialists even further to the left, just sayin….

Honestly, you shouldn’t expect much more than this from the moonbats, clueless of American history, they don’t even know what Tea symbolizes, it’s like ew, tea is too icky for me, I like a double vanilla latte, uh, duh, why don’t we call ourselves duh latte party, uh, cool.

Morons, they know the Tea Party is kicking their ass, so yeah, the Buttermilk Party should turn things right around.

getalife

February 28th, 2010
10:42 am

Andy,

Two revolutions are better than one.

At least Americans are waking up to smell the coffee.

Finn McCool

February 28th, 2010
10:47 am

From Oklahoma City to Austin.

What is worse: islamic terrorists or right-wing wingnut terrorists?

Rightwing Troll

February 28th, 2010
10:50 am

I’d rather be a coffee bean than a nut sack…

I’m just sayin’

WHEN WILL OBAMA HELP THE METHODIST PREACHERS OF CHILE???? WHEN???

Southern Comfort

February 28th, 2010
10:52 am

“I’d rather be a coffee bean than a nut sack…

I’m just sayin’

I don’t care who you are, that’s funny as hell!!!!

Rightwing Troll

February 28th, 2010
10:52 am

Finn,
That’s easy, the right-wingnut terrorists are worse, as they actually walk amongst us and use our system to achieve thier goals.

Joey

February 28th, 2010
11:00 am

Finn:
Define what you see as the goals of Islamic Terrorist.
The goals of Right-wing Wingnut Terrorist.

Kamchak

February 28th, 2010
11:05 am

Define what you see as the goals of Islamic Terrorist.
The goals of Right-wing Wingnut Terrorist.

Inspire terror.

Another episode of two-word answers to simple questions.

Joey

February 28th, 2010
11:09 am

Inspire terror.
A totally un-inspired non-answer.

Kamchak

February 28th, 2010
11:11 am

Inspire terror.
A totally un-inspired non-answer.

If you want a different answer, ask a different question.

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 28th, 2010
11:15 am

Oh great, so now the Starbuck’s Party members at the Bookman blog are gay bashing, do hit any better than this?

Joey

February 28th, 2010
11:19 am

Unless Kamchak is playing a multiple role here. I never asked you a question.

But I will play a short game with you. A different question.
What is it that convinces you that what you write in any way concludes the discussion?

Finn McCool

February 28th, 2010
11:19 am

Slideshow: The tea party’s military wing:

http://motherjones.com/politics/2010/02/oath-keepers-glenn-beck-tea-party-military

Finn McCool

February 28th, 2010
11:21 am

Joey, I’m not going to spend my Sunday schooling you. That’s what I pay taxes for.

Kamchak

February 28th, 2010
11:22 am

Unless Kamchak is playing a multiple role here. I never asked you a question.

Post in a public forum and you take your chances.

Geez.

Joey

February 28th, 2010
11:33 am

Kamchak:
Very good. A non-response, followed by a challenge, followed by a non-response accompanied by a dismissal. Good talking to you.

And Finn, I expected that you had nothing with which to follow up that joke of a post. Thanks for proving me right.

I love intelligent debate.

Kamchak

February 28th, 2010
11:40 am

I love intelligent debate.

And it all started with your “intelligent” question. Garbage in, garbage out.

Credit where credit is due.

Finn McCool

February 28th, 2010
11:42 am

Joey, You post asking other to give their opinions and then get all upset because they don’t post EXACTLY what you want to see. Get off yer lazy butt, dude.

You want to debate but all you post is a question? Do you even know what a debate is? I offered my opinion, you asked for clarification?

Instead of asking others to comment, why don’t you just post your own opinion? Too lazy? Why don’t you tell us why the right wing nut jobs and tea partiers aren’t a terrorist cell? A cult?

Finn McCool

February 28th, 2010
11:43 am

Joey,
And you want to know why posters treat you like trash?

Really?

30

February 28th, 2010
11:58 am

I love the smell of cyberbullying in the morning.

Southern Comfort

February 28th, 2010
12:08 pm

Cyberbullying and gay bashing on a Sunday morning…

Only at Bookman’s.

Finn McCool

February 28th, 2010
12:13 pm

See, Joey didn’t want debate. He wanted others to spend time documenting their opinion while he sat back and sniped their opinions.

31

February 28th, 2010
12:21 pm

Y-y-yeah! J-j-joey just wanted to s-s-sit back and s-s-snipe opinions!!!

RW-(the original)

February 28th, 2010
12:22 pm

Inspire terror.

Another episode of two-word answers to simple questions.

A completely erroneous simple answer though. People who commit acts of terror almost always have some desired goal in mind whether it be right wing which is almost always a lone wolf, left wing terrorists who are much more likely to be organized groups like ALF/ELF, the nuts that descend on any world financial summit, or Islamist radicals. They all have goals beyond inspiring terror.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
12:32 pm

“From Oklahoma City to Austin. What is worse: islamic terrorists or right-wing wingnut terrorists?”

If you’ll take the time to read the Austin Bomber’s Manifesto, I think you’ll find that his political views were essentially left-wing, right down to his propensity for cheating on his taxes.

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2010/0218102stack1.html

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

February 28th, 2010
12:37 pm

Nobody invites me to the cyber-bully reindeer games. (sniff, sniff)

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
12:39 pm

Joey

The question was:

“Finn:
Define what you see as the goals of Islamic Terrorist.
The goals of Right-wing Wingnut Terrorist.”

K’chak’s was:
“Inspire terror”

That is a succinct and correct answer to the question as posed. How they differ in their methods and in why they are motivated to this end is a matter of debate but as to their goals, this is the goal and nothing more and nothing less.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
12:46 pm

“That is a succinct and correct answer to the question as posed.”

Not so fast, josef–Most people view terror as a means to an end, not an end in itself, since it is almost always associated with individuals who DO have some kind of political agenda. As such, when asking what the goals of a terrorist are, the response “to inspire terror” is essentially a tautology, and ultimately answers nothing (a non-answer as Joey termed it).

Dave R.

February 28th, 2010
12:50 pm

I believe it was another josef (sorry, my friend not you!), who said, “The goal of terrorism is to terrorize” – Josef Stalin.

That is about a succinct as you can get.

RW-(the original)

February 28th, 2010
12:50 pm

That is a succinct and correct answer to the question as posed.

josef,

It’s only a correct answer as to it being Kamchak’s wrong-headed definition

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
12:54 pm

RW

I respectfully disagree (I’m not out to be lobbing grenades of contention just yet!) The goal of a terrorist is to inspire terror. The motivations are as varied as are the terrorists themselves. To start the debate on how and why, it is necessary first to acknowledge the essential goal which is to inspire terror. I am speaking here to what we call in the common parlance, the bottom line. Starting there we can then go off on the modus operandi of the posters which, in my opinion, has a note of nyanh-nyanh between them and, no doubt, is headed for a “my terrorist is better than your terrorist.”

As a means to an end, in that case make clear in the question itself that you are opening a discussion of the means. The end is the same, to inspire terror.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
12:59 pm

““The goal of terrorism is to terrorize” – Josef Stalin.”

Succinct, but meaningless, since it is a tautology: From Wiki: “a repetition of meaning, using different words to say the same thing twice, especially where the additional words fail to provide additional clarity when repeating a meaning”.

In Stalin’s case, like Kamchak, he doesn’t even bother to choose new words, he simply equates the noun (terrorist) to its infinitive form (to terrorize).

The real reason Stalin’s chose the tautology, of course, is to state that he doesn’t believe in or respect the association of terror with political goals. Which is an opinion in and of itself.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
1:04 pm

“(I’m not out to be lobbing grenades of contention just yet!)”

Well I am, so put up your dukes!

“in my opinion, has a note of nyanh-nyanh between them and, no doubt, is headed for a “my terrorist is better than your terrorist.”

Which was the whole point of Finn NotSoCool’s wrong-headed association of the Austin bomber with a right-wing agenda in the first place.

Normal

February 28th, 2010
1:05 pm

Well, you know what really burns my a$$? A flame about waist high…

_____________
No offense to Josef, but if the purpose of a terrorist is to inspire terror, then I had teachers who would qualify…

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
1:08 pm

LOL at Normal.

The only teacher who didn’t like me was my HS Physics teacher, primarily because I had to correct his errors on a regular basis. I sincerely tried not to be a smart-ass about it……

FinnMcCool

February 28th, 2010
1:11 pm

Austin pilot = hates paying taxes and doesn’t like where those tax dollars are going

Tea bagger = hates paying taxes and doesn’t like where those tax dollars are going

I don’t see many people associating tea party with liberals or the left. If you do, please point it out.

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
1:13 pm

BRUNO

En garde! The addition of the -ist suffix is to create a noun’adjective from the infinitive and means no more nor no less than one who. That’s the linguist/teacher’s knee jerking. Used adjectivally, then there is plenty of room for the hair splitting. Used nominally, there is not. Joey’s question as posed asked for the nominal definition.

Now, if we want to go off on the nyanh and discuss it from the perameters of the adjectival…just add the noun “actions” and then terrorist is a modification of the type of action and opens up the how and why.

Whether or not Joey and/or Finn is/are wrong-headed in their association is something I’ll need to go back and look over before I pass opinion/judgment.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
1:14 pm

“I don’t see many people associating tea party with liberals or the left. If you do, please point it out.”

Like I said, if you’ll bother to read’s the man’s Manifesto, his concerns about where his tax dollars are going echo the complaints from the left, not from the right. Until then, keep talking out of your ass.

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
1:14 pm

Normal–

And if you didn’t define and use your words properly, I would have been your terrorist. I’d lob red ink at it and then tell you your Mama the English teacher had to sign it!

Joey

February 28th, 2010
1:16 pm

Kind of interesting what happened while I was gone.

Some of you seem to really believe that the single purpose of terroist attacks is to terrorize. I especially liked the reference to Stalin as evidence of that single purpose. I am mathematician rather than an historian, but I was taught back in the 40s and 50s, when Stalin was still around, that Stalin had other goals and that he accomplished many of those goals using terrorism as a tool. But I was in the Georgia school system so maybe they got it all wrong.

It may be Finn and Kamchak and others of like mind really believe that terror is the sole purpose of terrorism. If so, that is a reflection on them, not me.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
1:21 pm

“En garde! The addition of the -ist suffix is to create a noun’adjective from the infinitive and means no more nor no less than one who. That’s the linguist/teacher’s knee jerking. Used adjectivally, then there is plenty of room for the hair splitting. Used nominally, there is not.”

I agree, but when you look at the stand-alone statement “The goal of a terrorist is to inspire terror”, the word “terrorist” is not being used adjectivally, it is being used nominally, which renders the statement a tautology.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
1:24 pm

“I am mathematician rather than an historian”

Which ultimately is the source of the disagreement here. Like you, Joey, I am attempting to frame the statement strictly in terms of logic, not historical accuracy.

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
1:26 pm

Joey–
I mean this respectfully, so please don’t think I’m just trying to stir up trouble. As a mathematician you know the importance of formulae. This same attention should be paid to the mathematics of grammar.

Now that you have used terrorism, the ism suffix opens up a whole new can of worms with its concept of the philosophy of.

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
1:36 pm

Bruno

Okay, Immanuel, in your presentation of that logic, you might want to remember the selections on grammar as the presentation thereof in your magnum opus! The logic of mathematics must be expressed using the logic of grammar…

History? Logic doesn’t apply here!

Joey

February 28th, 2010
1:47 pm

Josef; With equal respect.
No way will I believe that a group or a person would set out to commit an act of terror (or terrorism) for the single purpose of creating terror. There must be some other objective. There is a goal(s) other than witnessing people being terrorfied.

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
1:49 pm

In all fairness to the mathematicians, my little mathematicians most frequently turn out to be my best writers once they understand that grammar and syntax have their own formulae. They’re not always the most creative, true, but when it comes to getting a point across in clear, concise and proper form, their heads and shoulders above my little humanities scholars who roll off on tangents full of wonderful word plays and advanced vocabulary but with logic absent from the creative juices when it comes to putting it down in a form someone other than they would be able to follow…

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
2:02 pm

Joey,
Again I’m being the English teacher here. You used the word “goals.” And yes, the “goal” of the terrorist is to inspire terror. Here you become more clear by using the word “purpose.” The purpose of that goal opens up the perameters of discussion of the act and, especially, the why aspect.

BTW

I am not trying to be an arcane hair-splitter with this. When we charge someone with being a terrorist it is an indictment of the act per se, which is an act to inspire terror with no judgment on the relative causes which led the individual to the ism. There is no difference between an IRA terrorist and a a radical Islamic terrorist (a Timothy McVeigh or any other). There is a world of difference in the motivations toward an acceptance of the ism.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
2:11 pm

Let me try one last time, josef, in explaining why Kamchak’s statement “To inspire terror” ultimately says nothing in response to Joey’s original set of questions.

We can only identify and label someone as being a “terrorist” (noun) after they have already committed a “terrorist” (adjective) action. This identifying action can only be adjectivally labeled “terrorist” if it, in fact, creates/inspires terror. In logic, this is known as a necessary and sufficient condition. As such, ALL terrorists purposefully inspire terror, and stating so does nothing beyond providing a tautological definition. We can presume that the end result of the action, terror, was intentional, and can thus label it as being the “goal” of the action, disregarding any motivations which supercede the immediate action. Again, however, stating this is simply a tautology, and ultimately answers nothing beyond justifying the original label “terrorist”.

Joey’s original query took the form of parallel questions, the only difference being that the two terror groups named were of obviously different political persuasions. As such, his literary intent was to determine if there were significant differences in their “goals”–the word “goal” pertaining to not only the immediate “goal” of creating terror, but to what the greater “goal” might have been to create the terror in the first place. By providing only a tautological statement which pertained to both groups, Kamchak didn’t address his literary intent.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
2:17 pm

“They’re not always the most creative, true, but when it comes to getting a point across in clear, concise and proper form, their heads and shoulders above my little humanities scholars who roll off on tangents full of wonderful word plays and advanced vocabulary but with logic absent from the creative juices when it comes to putting it down in a form someone other than they would be able to follow…”

^^^^I would say that your 71-word sentence puts you squarely in the second group. josef.

Joey

February 28th, 2010
2:21 pm

Josef;
So your is it your position that in my 11:09 post in response to Kamchak’s “Inspire terror” post: That I should have responded “What purpose do Islamic Terrorist and the Right-wing Wingnut Terrorist serve by inspiring terror?”

Had I done so Finn and Kamchack and others would have answered responsively and we could have had a meaningfull discussion on the purpose of terrorist acts?

O.K. My bad.

TnGelding

February 28th, 2010
2:23 pm

It’s a big world and it has room for all of us. Teach our children to yearn for knowledge and then get out of the way. Our methods often destroy creativity.

TnGelding

February 28th, 2010
2:24 pm

Big Al alive and well:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/opinion/28gore.html

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
2:26 pm

“Had I done so Finn and Kamchack and others would have answered responsively and we could have had a meaningfull discussion on the purpose of terrorist acts?”

Joey, read my 2:11 and rest assured that your literary intent was clear from the beginning. As to your second question, I think the answer is clear as well.

If you’re looking for intelligent liberal debate around here, look for josef, USinUK, Normal, or TnGelding. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out who to avoid.

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
2:27 pm

Bruno

And, let me try one more time–I was not out to pass judgment on the nyanh-nyanh. This is not tautology. This is the logic of grammar. To properly address the matter, we need to go back to the origin of the word, its radix, terror which is the agent noun of the Latin infinitive terrere, an active verb. All I said was that the definition as given by K’chak in response to the question as posed was a succinct definition. Again, if I give you to a=pi r squared asked you define it you said “the mathematical formula for finding the area of a circle,” and then I said what I really meant was how to use it and for what…would that be logical?

Scout

February 28th, 2010
2:28 pm

Headline: “MARJAH, Afghanistan (AP) — More than 2,000 U.S. Marines and about 1,000 Afghan troops who stormed the Taliban town of Marjah as part of a major NATO offensive against a resurgent Taliban will stay several months to ensure insurgents don’t return, Marine commanders said Sunday.”

Sooooooooooooo ………. what if the Taliban just goes and takes over another town or two the size of Marjah? Then what?

Joey

February 28th, 2010
2:34 pm

Bruno;
I did. Thank you.

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
2:35 pm

Joey–
That’s pretty much my contention. And no “my bad” necessary. We all fall heir to just such.

Do I contend that

“Had I done so Finn and Kamchack and others would have answered responsively and we could have had a meaningfull discussion on the purpose of terrorist acts?”

Not in this life and on this blog! When it comes to wiggly-wiggle and two-stepping about what was actually said…we’ve got some master’s of the dark art…

BRUNO–
My favorite Yankee professor used to say I suffered from the “Southern malady of diarrhea of the pen!”

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
2:36 pm

“All I said was that the definition as given by K’chak in response to the question as posed was a succinct definition.”

And I keep agreeing with you. However, the literary structure of Joey’s inquiry–parallel questions with only the politics of the named groups being different–demanded an answer which contrasted their greater motivations for the terror, not a tautological affirmation of what a terrorist is.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
2:40 pm

“When it comes to wiggly-wiggle and two-stepping about what was actually said…we’ve got some master’s of the dark art…”

And just what is the meaning of the word “is”?

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
2:42 pm

BRUNO

I never had sex with that woman!

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
2:46 pm

“I never had sex with that woman!”

Somehow, josef, I would believe you if you said that. Bill Clinton? Not so sure……

Southern Comfort

February 28th, 2010
2:49 pm

I always thought the goal of a terrorist was to instill fear, but I’m a mathematically trained hired gun, so what the hell do I know…

Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)

February 28th, 2010
2:55 pm

I never had sex with that woman!

Well, I never did neither, so don’t go trying to shift the blame on me.

Normal

February 28th, 2010
3:01 pm

What woman are we talkin’ about…I was a sailor, so I might have…

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
3:05 pm

“I always thought the goal of a terrorist was to instill fear, but I’m a mathematically trained hired gun, so what the hell do I know…”

Again, SC, I think that in almost every case, the terrorist act is secondary to a greater political goal. Terror is a tool, not the end goal unto itself. As such, inquiries about the “goal” of terrorism should be interpreted to refer to the larger motivation. The goal “to instill fear” is a given.

“When we charge someone with being a terrorist it is an indictment of the act per se, which is an act to inspire terror with no judgment on the relative causes which led the individual to the ism.”

As such, then I can presume that you vehemently oppose “hate crimes” legislation? Because that is exactly the argument its opponents use (of which I am one).

@@

February 28th, 2010
3:06 pm

I always thought the goal of a terrorist or terrorists was to draw attention to a grievance through acts of intimidation. Thing is, not everyone is so easily intimidated. Therefore, widespread terrorism doesn’t, and can never exist.

How many of YOU were terrified after September 11? I wasn’t terrified…it was shocked, I grieved, I then……?

I was highly pithed!

Dusty

February 28th, 2010
3:06 pm

Lawda mercy! If Joey asks one more question I’m going to fold my tents and go help Chile.

. I compliment those of the large vocabularies .and the verbosity of a snake oil salesman. You are the greatest! I once saw a parrot who could really talk. But he wasn’t as good as those here.

Oh well, I see RedNeck has been here. Poor guy! Haven’t you heard? He forgot to remove the Yard Sale sign while he was gone. His missus sold the trailer for $25. Not a total loss though. He still owns the pink flamingos.

OOps. sorry to interrupt. Carry on!! But hurry! Obama is coming to town Tuesday!! Dedicated Democrats get the day off.

Jenifer

February 28th, 2010
3:07 pm

Sen. Alexander: Using Reconciliation To Pass Health Care Reform Would ‘End The Senate’

When he says ‘protecting the minority’ rights I assume he’s referring to the insurance syndicate.

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/02/28/alexander-end-senate/

@@

February 28th, 2010
3:12 pm

…make that “I” an “and”

IHB

Southern Comfort

February 28th, 2010
3:12 pm

Bruno,

I think you’re about 95% right about the secondary nature of terrorist acts. However, I believe there are exceptions to the rule. I believe there are some who commit acts purely just to do so with no ulterior motives in mind. Those acts would tend to be labeled mischief or something like that, but the acts could be labeled as terroristic in nature.

For example, kids spraypaint a house or street with racist language. The victim may see it as a terroristic act while the kids were just “goofing off”. I think it all falls back on perceptions. Depending on how you look at incidents, almost anything could be labeled as an act of terrorism.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
3:14 pm

Another politically charged area that the use of a tautology comes into play is in trying to prove the validity of Darwinian Evolution–”the survival of the fittest”. Ultimately this phrase is a tautology insofar as “the fittest” are defined as “those who survive”. Therefore, it can’t be used to prove anything other than A=A.

Darwin’s model–random genetic changes which are either supported or not supported by natural conditions–is the only way to subtract “purpose” from the equations. However, when you actually observe nature, adaptations occur intelligently, in a directed way, and not through any random mechanism. Does this prove a beneficent Creator? Not directly, but it does prove that Darwin is wrong.

@@

February 28th, 2010
3:17 pm

Wait a minute….this whole thing started because of something Kamchak posted?

A humongous waste of time.

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
3:18 pm

Bruno–

I have a problem with the concept of “hate crimes.” I have no problem with the concept of “terroristic threats.” Hate crimes is just way too open a category to define in legal terms. Terroristic threat isn’t.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
3:19 pm

What is your take on “hate crimes” then, SC? Should the kids be charged with spray-painting graffiti, or does using racist language constitute a crime in itself? If so, I know a lot of rappers who are gonna be in big trouble….

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
3:21 pm

“A humongous waste of time.”

Hang in there, @@, I’ve got the conversation moving away from grammar to Hate crimes and Darwinian Evolution. Quite a segueway, I might add.

RW-(the original)

February 28th, 2010
3:25 pm

josef,

Others may have touched on this while I was away, but I think you’re confusing “means” and “goal.” The means is to inspire terror, but the goal is what they want to accomplish through that terror.

Jenifer

February 28th, 2010
3:28 pm

Glenn Beck’s Eliminationist Attacks On Progressives: How Long Before Someone Acts On This Violent Rhetoric?

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/glenn-becks-eliminationist-attacks-p

There’s nothing wrong with Glenda Beckster that a little enema can’t cure.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2325/2197303927_d091a7043c.jpg

Dusty

February 28th, 2010
3:31 pm

Now, now Bruno,

Darwin was a scientist who worked to discover the cause or facts that underlie a certain occurance. He reported what he found ,not what he wanted to find or even what he expected to find.. That honesty must be the vital direction of a true scientist.

Religionists seek to find what power is great enough to cause such actions or results to happen.

I think one can seek true facts and causes while still having belief in a Greater Power than that of humanity or random occurances.. There is no conflict there for me. For some, there is a conflict.

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
3:32 pm

SoCo–
You make a good point. Depending on the content of the spraypainted missive, it could be vandalism or terroristic threat. That is the role of the court to decide and, it would be hoped, that the motivation of the parties charged would be of consideration both in the trial and in the sentencing.

DUSTY–
Well, well, well…am I now a snake oil salesman?

Bruno–

Would love to go into Darwin with you, but the Russians are coming and I don’t want to start something I can’t finish.

@@

In reference to 9/11…like you and the overwhelming majority of our fellow Americans, as an act to instill terror in us, it failed.

Southern Comfort

February 28th, 2010
3:35 pm

Kids spraypainting racist words — definitely not a “hate crime”.

If I said I wanted to kill every white person on the planet and went out on a shooting spree — not a hate crime. That’s nothing more than capital murder and a pathway to a needle in the arm. However, if after stating something like that, I go out and break into someone’s house and torture them extensively before killing them, then there’s an argument for a “hate crime”.

I think the totality of the circumstances should dictate whether or not an act is labeled as a “hate crime”. The way laws are written, they do not cover all groups equally. I think it’s far easier to convict a white person of committing a hate crime against a black person versus the other way around.

@@

February 28th, 2010
3:39 pm

Bruno:

I was just taking a playful jab at Kamchak.

Hate crimes. I’ll tell you like I used to tell AmVet…..there’s a fine line that exists between love and hate. Kinda like the one that exists between he and I.

Darwinian Evolution? I’m of the opinion that adaptation occurs out of a need to survive. Not sure what intelligence has to do with. Basic instinct.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
3:39 pm

RW–I can’t speak for the others, but it all came down to the use of the word “goal”. Technically speaking, the immediate goal of a terrorist action is to inspire fear (terror), by definition. As such, it is a valid answer to the question “what is the goal of a terrorist”, although most people would understand the question to refer to the greater goal for the action?

To me, the literary structure of Joey’s inquiry clearly referred to the second meaning of the word “goal”. If I were grading his answer on a History test, he would have received 0 points. On the other hand, josef would have given him full credit. I guess it only proves that grading is subjective.

Sluggo

February 28th, 2010
3:40 pm

So the real culture of corruption was Wahington, not democrat. Makes one wonder how much of the rest of Bookman is pure nonsense too.

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
3:40 pm

RW–
I understand your point, but the end, “goal,” is not the same as the “means” or “motivation.” The goal is to inspire terror, the means is the how of that and the motivation is the why. They fall under a discussion of the -istic and -ism of the concept of terror.

@@

February 28th, 2010
3:46 pm

Oops!….dropped the “it”. …has to do with it.

IRRDHBIBTTIHBMTIACW

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
3:48 pm

“I’m of the opinion that adaptation occurs out of a need to survive. Not sure what intelligence has to do with.”

The question being, how do the genetic changes occur at the cellular level in response to specific environmental pressures? How does “need” translate into specific adaptation (= intelligence)? According to neo-Darwinists, it is all one big happy accident. Genetic changes occur through genetic drift and random mutation, purpose has nothing to do with it. My counterclaim is that the actual evidence suggests purposeful adaptation.

When you take the discussion to the atomic and subatomic level, it gets even stranger. How atoms are able to arrange themselves into larger entities which have meaning on a scale that can’t be recognized at the atomic level is mind-boggling. Scientist today do a lot of hand-waving when presented with this question, referring to “emergent properties” which no one can explain at the level they occur.

Dusty

February 28th, 2010
3:50 pm

Dear Josef,

You are the finest of the fine snake-oil-salesmen only your product is pure and well mixed and a cure for the illiterate. Now that’s not too bad is it?

My attention span boggles when it comes to discussions of terrorism. For me, if you see it, you know it and you’d better move in a hurry..

Gone for a while. Carry on, good saleman!! I hope we do not fiddle while Rome burns.

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
3:50 pm

Oh, how I wish I could stay for this one! My goal is to get off here. My purpose is to be ready for the little Russkaya…

SoCo–
Ooo! You’re an agitator!

RW-(the original)

February 28th, 2010
3:53 pm

josef,

How does your 3:40 ever get to an end goal? Take an abortion clinic bomber. What they want to do is end abortion and the means they use is the bomb which in turn is supposed to terrorize the doctors and or potential patients from coming to the clinics or offering the service. Their goal wasn’t to scare people, their goal was to end abortions and scaring was supposed to the means by which they achieved that goal.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
3:54 pm

“I think one can seek true facts and causes while still having belief in a Greater Power than that of humanity or random occurances.. There is no conflict there for me. For some, there is a conflict.”

I’m coming strictly from a Scientific point of view, Dusty. I equate religion with mythology. Not that there’s anything wrong with mythology, of course, to steal a line from Jerry Seinfeld.

Bug Zapper

February 28th, 2010
3:57 pm

Hey! These pancakes aren’t done.

Kamchak

February 28th, 2010
4:10 pm

If you’re looking for intelligent liberal debate around here, look for josef, USinUK, Normal, or TnGelding. I’ll leave it up to you to figure out who to avoid.

So now we have another poster keeping lists. I thought we were done with that.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
4:11 pm

“Their goal wasn’t to scare people, their goal was to end abortions and scaring was supposed to the means by which they achieved that goal.”

From a legal perspective, it’s the difference between “proximate cause” and “but-for cause”. “Proximate cause” represents damages directly caused by an action, such as damage to the building in the case of an abortion clinic bomber. Under the “but-for cause” argument, any creative claim can be made linking a chain of events from the original act (blowing up an abortion clinic) to any outcome linked to it, such as ongoing emotional distress of the employees. Ultimately, this line of reasoning is used to support hate-crimes legislation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proximate_cause

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
4:14 pm

Oops–That’s “proximate cause vs. “cause in fact”. ^^^^^^^^

Perplexed

February 28th, 2010
4:15 pm

“When you take the discussion to the atomic and subatomic level, it gets even stranger.”

Exactly WHAT exists between an orbiting electron and it’s proton?

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 28th, 2010
4:19 pm

The coffee party, hahahahahaha, hot damn, that’s funny.

If liberals weren’t so freaking funny, I wouldn’t have no use for em, just sayin….

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
4:23 pm

“Exactly WHAT exists between an orbiting electron and it’s proton?”

The ether.

Actually, according to QED (quantum electrodynamics), electrons don’t orbit the nucleus of an atom the way that planets orbit the sun. Their specific location at any given time is given only by a probability.

Perplexed

February 28th, 2010
4:33 pm

Thank you.

But there is still some space there.

There is still space between two or more atoms that are joined.

Maybe anti-matter?

Pogo

February 28th, 2010
4:36 pm

The Obama administration extends the Patriot Act for another year(Yes, “that Patriot Act”. The one that all the progressives hate so bad and which they lambasted Bush about). Where is the outcry from my progressive friends about their loss of their civil liberties? It must be lost in that fog bank of hypocrisy and denial they all live in.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
4:40 pm

“There is still space between two or more atoms that are joined.”

Prior to Maxwell and Einstein, empty space was referred to as the “ether”, because it was believed that light “waves” required a medium of propagation in the same way that sound waves require air or water molecules to propagate themselves. The biggest problem with this theory, in addition to not be able to physically detect any such ether, came about when Einstein formulated his Theory of Special Relativity. A fixed ether would create an absolute frame of reference by which motion could be measured, which was in contrast to his postulate that there is no “absolute frame of reference” or “universal coordinate system”.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
4:44 pm

Here’s an ether link for you, Perplexed, pun intended. Not sure how helpful it will be. Trying to conceptualize reality at the atomic level stretches the brain to its limits.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luminiferous_aether

Perplexed

February 28th, 2010
4:49 pm

Snap.

joan

February 28th, 2010
5:00 pm

With Congress you have the wolves guarding the henhouse. They are all corrupt. About conflict of interest–how about their giving themselves raises, and holding Social Security level. How about their short work weeks, and extended vacations. How about their amazing pensions for very shore tenured jobs. They got a sweet life. All you have to do is get enough money together and you can buy your way into that exclusive club.

Rightwing Troll

February 28th, 2010
5:02 pm

WHY HAS OBAMA NOT EATEN ANY CHILEAN SEA BASS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS??????

Dusty

February 28th, 2010
5:05 pm

Well, Bruno,

I am coming from a scientist’s point of view also. I do not agree that religion is mysticism. It is only mysticism to people that don’t have it. It should in no way influence scientific findings. A real scientist does not let his faith affect the process of finding what is proven true. When I look through a micrscope I report what I see, not what I would like to see.

I also believe in the human spirit which is nurtured in most religions. MOst people around the world of what ever religion cherish their children and try to bring them the best that can be offered. It is an unspoken desire to value the spirit within the children. The human spirit in its finest form, the child. That is religion, not mysticism. It is the finding of a greater love and compassion, not mysticism.

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 28th, 2010
5:07 pm

You’re not supposed to like it. In fact, you’re supposed to dislike being on any form of public assistance so much that you can’t wait to get off. That way the system is temporary, and not something handed down from one generation to another. We made a mistake when we tried to remove the stigma from programs like this, and now we’re compounding that mistake by continually making it easier and more comfortable for people to become a permanent ward of the state.

Duh, just sayin…

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 28th, 2010
5:10 pm

As one wag commented, Obama turned out to be quite an effective community organizer. But the community he organized was a majority of the American people in opposition to his agenda of big-government liberalism.

And for this, we owe you one, obozo, hahaha, “one” big fat….

Rightwing Troll

February 28th, 2010
5:13 pm

Wow!

Yesterday I was told foreign aid = good,

and

domestic aid = socialism.

Now today we’re dancing in the margins trying to justify terrorism if it fits our political or religious goals…

Really?

All Shook Up

February 28th, 2010
5:20 pm

I cannot even imagine what Chile would look like if it had not constructed buildings and infrastructure to any greater standards that in Haiti.

Norton Fisherman

February 28th, 2010
5:21 pm

Our Chilean Sea Bass is a product of Peru so it is readily available.

Benchwarmer

February 28th, 2010
5:23 pm

Once again an excellent column by Jay, the quintessential AJC liberal OpEd board member. We can debate conservative/Rep this and liberal/Dem that until the cows come home. One thing that is not debatable is the debacle of unchecked powers. The Republicans were guilty of it which got them tossed out, and the Democrats are now guilty of it, which will cost them dearly as well, albeit probably not immediately in 2010.

We are witnessing the current crop of Democrats running Washington attempt to ramrod government health care down America’s throats who overwhelmingly reject it. And when a Canadian politician comes to America to escape government health care to have heart surgery, it’s time to step back and realize what WE have, imperfect as it is.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5h0QC7bditrEb3wYz_6_b-gsGGDxA

Now the money shot of the week from liberal land was the news that they are garnering forces to flood the AM talk radio waves in support of government run/managed health care:

“The fate of health reform has been a focus of debate in living rooms and offices, on TV and online — and on talk radio. And since millions of folks turn to talk radio as a trusted source of news and opinions, we need to make sure OFA supporters are calling in with a pro-reform message.”

Well what a shame the liberals couldn’t manage and make a success out of Air America. The market dictates the success, and liberals on talk radio FAILED. So now they are going to attempt to bombard Boortz, Hannity, Rush, and others with some sort of scripted cluster bomb of propaganda – as if that’s going to change the minds of the MAJORITY of Americans who vehemently disagree with PelosiObamaCare. Oh, and I will be nice and not bring up the latest polls about Obama and Democrats in Congress.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
5:51 pm

“I am coming from a scientist’s point of view also. I do not agree that religion is mysticism. It is only mysticism to people that don’t have it. It should in no way influence scientific findings. A real scientist does not let his faith affect the process of finding what is proven true. When I look through a microscope I report what I see, not what I would like to see.”

Here’s my understanding of the relationship between Science and Religion, Dusty:

As part of being human, we seek understanding of the world, and we share such understanding with one another through speech and writing. There is no limit on the topics we ponder, from questions such as “Why is the sky blue?” to “What happens to our soul after we die?”. Some of these questions, such as the color of the sky, can be answered using the Scientific Method, which depends on collecting verifiable data and constructing a model which explains both the current observations and matches up with predicted experimental results. There never can be a “final book” in the world of Science, since theories are tweaked or even discarded outright as new data rolls in.

Due to its repeatability and verifiability, the Scientific Method is often held up the gold standard for acquiring knowledge. At the same time, the SM is limited in its use, since many questions simply lie outside the realm of Science, such as questions as to what happens after death. The bottom line is that many things in life are simply unknowable, and to answer these questions we use mythological/supernatural explanations = Religion. The source of information in the world of Religion frequently comes via Divine revelation, such that works like the Bible are not subject to modification later on.

In my mind, there is a place for both Religion and Science, but not necessarily the same place. I do my best to maintain consistency in my views both religiously and scientifically, but lean toward Science when there is an obvious conflict.

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
6:20 pm

Okay, I’m back. Interesting we have turned to religion and science. Russkaya’s lesson today was the Middle Ages and the role of the clergy in the feudal system.

I stay amused and, yes perplexed, that this conflict still seems to be here, Maimonides now 800 years gone! There is the sphere of the explained and explainable using the scientific method and there is the sphere of the unexplained and, perhaps, unexplainable by the scientific. On that we seem to agree here, but there are approaches to the latter that do not require a descent into medieval mysticism and the cabbalistic. Like Maimonides, I am not opposed to the mystic approach, but it does lend itself to a separation from the earthly concerns and attributes to the spiritual realm far too many things that are better dealt with in the terms of the secular.

Going back to the discussion earlier. The “you know what I meant” is not scientific. It is mystic. It’s great for a cabbala roundtable, but unless we are clear on what the terms are we are using, then their meaning in open to any number of hare-brained “interpretations.”

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
6:28 pm

“Going back to the discussion earlier. The “you know what I meant” is not scientific. It is mystic. It’s great for a cabbala roundtable, but unless we are clear on what the terms are we are using, then their meaning in open to any number of hare-brained “interpretations.”

Agreed, josef, which is why I always do my best to choose terms and phrases which avoid logical forks in the road. Your solution to the earlier quandary was to create separate categories for goals, methods, and motives. There was some overlap in the use of the word “goal” in the original query to include both goal and motive of the action, which allowed Kamchak to technically fulfill the “letter” of the inquiry, while blatantly ignoring the “spirit” of the inquiry.

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
6:36 pm

Bruno

I couldn’t agree more with what you say. The “letter” versus the “spirit” is where I was headed with that, and, I did have an ulterior motive. This was the conundrum Maimonides tried to rationalize and the reason he was taken on by the rabbis the way he was. Wedded unwavering to the “letter,” they were “spiritually” vapid. He held those wedded to the “spirit” in equally low regard as afraid of rationalism.

As Graddaddy said after his first lecture on Ole Moe the Second, “Rambam moved around a lot.”

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
6:38 pm

Oh, Bruno, I didn’t create the terminolgies, or the overlap. The English language created the former. Engrish created the latter….

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
6:41 pm

“Wedded unwavering to the “letter,” they were “spiritually” vapid. He held those wedded to the “spirit” in equally low regard as afraid of rationalism.”

Which, to me, is the intended purpose of the Christ, to deliver that message.

Interestingly enough, there is a famous math theorem called Godel’s Incompleteness Theorem which states the same thing, only in terms of mathematics and symbolic logic. Essentially he proved that no set of rules can be either consistent or complete. As such, we ultimately have to make appeals to the “spirit” of something, given our inability to nail it down via rules.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
6:48 pm

It may be simply the lament of an infidel, but I feel that Islam is in sore need of a second Messiah to get the message out about the spirit of the law vs. the letter of the law.

Since my goal is to convert you to Christianity tonight, josef, would you prefer Baptist or Episcopalian? My motives will remain secret.

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
6:59 pm

Bruno–

@ 6:48

Heh! Heh! No conversion necessary! Once when Mama was trying to get a shtettlite from Up Nawth to understand our social position down here in Dixieland, she said, “well, we’re Episcopalian Jews!”

You mention the need of a “second Messiah.” One of my friends who is a Muslim says that the religion is 1300 years on and it’s time for the Reformation.

As for rules, Maimonides would argue that there are “rules,” it is just that our understanding of those rules is a process of growth and to accept them as “unchangeable” is the antithesis of the raison d’etre of the human being’s gift of the Alm-ghty, curioisity. He was not quite so open-minded on the matters of the Torah, however, yet he made clear that this was applicable only to the Chosen!

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
7:00 pm

From WIki re: Maimokides:

“Maimonides held to a strictly apophatic theology in which only negative statements toward a description of God may be considered correct. Thus, one does not say “God is One”, but rather, “God is not multiple”.

I follow that line of thinking completely, insofar as it acknowledges that human ability is not great enough to say what G*d is, in the same tradition that we can’t say a name for G*d out loud, since G*d can’t be encapsulated by any simple word.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
7:04 pm

^^^^Which is why I remain eternally suspicious of those who claim to speak for G*d, or attempt to use the Bible in some legalistic way to guarantee a pleasant afterlife for themselves. Comes across as being arrogant to me.

@@

February 28th, 2010
7:05 pm

Enter your comments here

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
7:09 pm

Bruno

And I’m out to convert you to Judaism…seriosly, though, one of the reasons I treasure a discussion with you is that we tend to come at things from a similar perspective, though our conclusion may differ in extremis, you still look at things from the rational and draw a distinction between what we know for a fact, science, and how we interpret that, philosophy/theology. We do not “know” what G-d is, but only what H- is not. The same may be applied to science…it is an exploration of what a given is not, not what it is. That’s where I come to “en garde” with the know-it-alls. You’d make a good Jew.

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
7:09 pm

josef–Have to run for a while, but wanted to leave a nice musical selection for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uCgQuj8v2gg&feature=related

josef nix

February 28th, 2010
7:19 pm

Bruno–
Thanks for the music! I try to be. In case I’m not here when you get back, tonight’s (Barney) Miller time and I could use a dose of Dietrich…will have you in mind!

@@

February 28th, 2010
7:34 pm

WASHINGTON — Billionaire investor George Soros, who helped U.S. President Barack Obama raise money for his presidential campaign in 2008, said Sunday he wasn’t happy with Mr. Obama’s handling of the financial crisis.

Mr. Soros said the government should have taken over U.S. banks instead of bailing them out, a move he suggested would have been more popular with Americans

In what he suggested was an encouraging step in the U.S. , Mr. Soros said Mr. Obama appeared to be taking a tougher political stance on issues, especially health care, after the Democrats lost a key Senate seat in January.

Mr. Obama unveiled a $950 billion health-care overhaul plan earlier this month, laying the groundwork for his party to try to push legislation through Congress without Republican support

“I think he got the message in Massachusetts,” Mr. Soros said.

And what exactly, does Mr. Soros think that message was? That the American people wanted this health care monstrosity? Think again, Mr. Soros.

“When I see a bubble, I buy that bubble, because that’s how I make money,” he said.

So the government’s economic policies create the bubbles…then he profits off of them?

Do any of those “from the other side” ever question this man’s motives? Holding China up as a model?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703411304575093782547532088.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_LEFTWhatsNewsCollection

Dave R.

February 28th, 2010
7:57 pm

I want to thank Jenifer for going back to her “one line and a link” posting style.

It allows me to scroll past her nonsense so much faster than I used to have to do when NJ or Chadly posted their nonsense.

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 28th, 2010
8:45 pm

Jenifer probably is Mad Harris, just sayin…..

ew

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

February 28th, 2010
8:58 pm

A 1988 study in the Journal of New England Medicine found that the states with the most stringent rate-setting had mortality rates 6% to 10% higher than those that didn’t.-WSJ

No death panels, eh?

Dusty

February 28th, 2010
9:36 pm

Well, iI guess the discussions of science and religions is over. Good! I do not even try to mix the two into one.

Science is perpetuated by facts and careful observation and strict complianace to standards. Religion requires faith. In my faith as a Christian, we are blessed by deliverance from sin by Christ. By his grace, we are delivered from eternal punishment to eternal life. We study the life of Christ to enrich our own. We do it with thankfulness for his great gift. We reach out to others so that they make share that gift.

I don’t mean to preach. But Josef and Bruno get somewhat beyond me. I just put it like to put it a little more simply..

As to the Bible, some of the greatest literature in the world. Read the Psalms for poetry, Paul’s letters for great letter writing, Joseph’s great biography, Isiah’s predictions, Proverbs for homey advice, Solomon for the exotic, and the sermon on the mount for inspiration. That and much more. You can read what you want. Nobody is going to make you. But you miss a treat and an inspiration from great literature.

OK..no more.. I will keep quiet..It is getting late.

TnGelding

February 28th, 2010
10:44 pm

Bruno

February 28th, 2010
2:26 pm

Thanks, but I understand I don’t belong in that group.

Dusty

February 28th, 2010
9:36 pm

Great comment. Even if there is no afterlife, the Christian life is a rewarding one here on Earth. May we all bask in the glory of God and have compassion for all mankind.

TnGelding

February 28th, 2010
10:46 pm

@@

February 28th, 2010
7:34 pm

Does this mean you’re now an Obama supporter?

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

March 1st, 2010
5:39 am

WASHINGTON — The White House called for a “simple up-or-down” vote on health care legislation Sunday as Speaker Nancy Pelosi appealed to House Democrats to get behind President Barack Obama’s chief domestic priority even it if threatens their political careers. -Urinal

Our little suicide bombers, just sayin…

josef nix

March 1st, 2010
6:47 am

TnGelding–

“Thanks, but I understand I don’t belong in that group.”

I don’t know what the criteria are for belonging, but I’d be honored to be considered your peer.

Y’all play nice and try to stay out of trouble….

Doggone/GA

March 1st, 2010
6:48 am

“Our little suicide bombers”

Ahhhh…been reading redstate.org I see. “Health Care Suicide Bombers: Instead of 72 Virgins, They Get Ambassadorships ” Erick Erickson

Normal

March 1st, 2010
7:15 am

Been out of touch this weekend, but I just read where Linder (R) is calling it quits. He says there is no reason other than he thinks “it’s a good time”. For a man who had no opposition, I find that courious, especially since the odds are that the Repubs are going to win back at least one house. With all of these retirements, both democrat and Republican, I wonder if somebody has pictures…

…and with that, happy Monday, y’all…

Southern Comfort

March 1st, 2010
7:22 am

Normal

We don’t do pictures anymore. In the day of youtube, it’s all video now.

I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm!

March 1st, 2010
7:27 am

The Workshop reports that $2.1 billion in stimulus grants have been given to wind, solar and geothermal companies to make good on Obama’s objective but almost 80% of those went to foreign companies. A bankrupt Australian company nabbed the largest grant so far-$178 million. With that, Babcock & Brown built “a Texas wind farm using turbines made by a Japanese company.” -AmSpec

“Outsourcing” jobs, blah, blah, blah.

Is there anything the liberals whine about other people doing that they won’t do themselves, usually full tilt?

@@

March 1st, 2010
7:32 am

TnG:

Does this mean you’re now an Obama supporter?

No.

Why would I support a man that has no regard for the people who did and did not vote for him?

USinUK

March 1st, 2010
7:34 am

Normal – 7:15 … is he going to “spend more time with his family”???

stands for decibels

March 1st, 2010
7:36 am

Ok, I guess the cyber-bluenose didn’t like a word in the url, so I’ll just copy/paste the quote from this morning’s eschatonblog.com:

It kind of fascinates me that people who have never followed politics, never taken a class in public policy, hell sometimes never even voted, all of a sudden think they know how to run a diverse country of 300 million. Not only do they have all the answers, but anyone who disagrees with them are vermin who need to be eliminated. Since they really have nothing substantial to add to the conversation, I’d like to ignore these people, but the media just won’t let me.

Normal

March 1st, 2010
7:43 am

USinUK,
No, he didn’t mention family, but the following is from Wingfields blog…

“One Republican strategist this morning noted the importance of the timing of Linder’s announcement. The end of March marks the end of the first quarter federal disclosure period for campaign contributions”.

USinUK

March 1st, 2010
7:46 am

oh … and for the Welsh amongst us … happy St. David’s day!

USinUK

March 1st, 2010
7:50 am

Normal – the fact is, the 7th district couldn’t be more Republican (Gwinett, Barrow and Walton) … John deciding not to run really won’t make a difference – his DOG could run in his place and would be elected …

stands for decibels

March 1st, 2010
8:01 am

the fact is, the 7th district couldn’t be more Republican

Well, there’s been a lot of demographic change there, and he probably couldn’t hold the seat forever, but it was certainly safe for the time being.

I think Linder just figured it was a good time to cash in the chips; that said, it’s not like he was actually “working” in the sense that a person typically “works” at a “job.”I thought this passage in a recent AJC news piece was telling:

Asked in a recent interview what he was working on in Congress, Linder shook his head and said nothing.

He quickly shifted to discussing his Fair Tax ideas, saying he was hoping to meet with members of the Tea Party, the fiscally conservative limited-government activist group, about his proposals.

A guy who literally is doing nothing as a congressman, who continues to enjoy support from his constituents. And people wonder why I call the Fair Tax a cult.

Normal

March 1st, 2010
8:05 am

USinUK,
I agree about the 7th, but my question is why a man, who would be sure to win, would quit? Are incumbents fearful of being replaced this coming election? The joker about this election, to me at least, is the more vocal drive to oust incumbants. It doesn’t matter if another member of the same party wins that seat, but what will matter is if that new congressman can read the writing on the wall. I believe that most of us want a more moderate government. One that works together and
gets things done.

New blood, that’s the ticket.

USinUK

March 1st, 2010
8:06 am

Db – “And people wonder why I call the Fair Tax a cult.”

Boortzians … oy.

“Asked in a recent interview what he was working on in Congress, Linder shook his head and said nothing”

now, that’s odd – even if it’s just to say “we’re fighting to make sure that any health care that’s passed isn’t punitive to businesses, blahblahblah, reduce the tax burden, blahblahblah, personal responsibility, blahblahblah” … you know, the usual GOP talking points …

that he didn’t say ANYthing sounds like the man done lost his mojo …

Bruno

March 1st, 2010
8:16 am

Howdy to the morning crew!

I thought Linder stated that he wanted to spend more time with family. I’m happy to take him at his word until someone has evidence to the contrary.

USinUK

March 1st, 2010
8:17 am

Hey Bruno!! what’s shakin’, bacon?

Bruno

March 1st, 2010
8:19 am

If it makes you feel any better, USinUK and sfd, this hard-core conservative thinks the Fair Tax is a terrible idea on many levels. A progressive income tax is about as fair as you can get in my book. Does our system need to be simplified? Sure, but replacing it with a national sales tax with prebates for the poor is just plain stupid in my opinion.

Bruno

March 1st, 2010
8:22 am

“Hey Bruno!! what’s shakin’, bacon?”

Gotta shake things up at work today, not looking forward to the fallout. Seems some of the younger generation can’t grasp the concept that when you’re on the clock, it’s company time, not personal time.

TnGelding

March 1st, 2010
9:16 am

josef nix

March 1st, 2010
6:47 am

Thanks! Now I can lie down and die with dignity, and with joy in my heart.

USinUK

March 1st, 2010
8:06 am

You’d have to fill a lot of teeth to make what he is as a congressman. As I posted earlier, his father-in-law must have died. He was always complaining about having to support him. He’s probably tired of all the travel and really was doing nothing, which he can do nicely on his MS farm with a taxpayer funded pension.

I look for a Democrat to pull an upset and take his seat. Looks like he would have announced sooner tho to give his comrades more tome to think about it.

@@

March 1st, 2010
7:32 am

Well, at least he didn’t do what Soros wanted. Be patient, he’s still learning the ropes. I look for some positive action over the next 2 years, 10 months and 19 days.

TnGelding

March 1st, 2010
9:19 am

Bruno

March 1st, 2010
8:22 am

Ain’t it the truth. They used to come to me and say I’ve got to do this and I’ve got to do that. To which I would reply the only thing you’ve got to do is get your butt back in there and get to work.

Congressmen say congressmen did nothing wrong

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Congressmen say congressmen did nothing wrong

306 comments Add your comment

About Jay Bookman

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Tell us what you think about the site

Subscribe »

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