Kagan confirmation vote a sign of future troubles
With yesterday’s Senate confirmation, Elena Kagan is now a Supreme Court justice. She has the intellect and experience to do well in that post.
For the moment, though, I’d like to focus on the fact that 37 senators voted against her confirmation, which is perilously close to the 40 votes that would have been required to filibuster her nomination. I think that’s an ominous sign, confirming a sense that American government is coming close to a breakdown.
As an Obama nominee, Kagan is of course going to be different than, say, a Palin or Romney or Gingrich nominee. That’s how the system works. The right to make such nominations is part of the “spoils of war” that come with winning the presidency. Historically, the Senate has respected that reality.
Kagan is also well within the legal mainstream and eminently qualified for the court. In fact, one of the worst things you could say about her is that she has spent her life and career trying to avoid controversies that might prevent confirmation. Some Senate Republicans have tried to make an issue of the fact that she had never served as a judge, but on that too she falls well within the historical norm. Roughly a third of our Supreme Court justices had no prior experience on the bench, including the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who became a conservative legal icon.
So the fact that 37 senators nonetheless voted against an utterly mainstream, determinedly “safe” nominee such as Kagan ought to be taken as a serious warning sign. Most of those votes weren’t against her as a individual, they were a statement of general political opposition and would have been cast against any nominee that Obama was likely to propose.
“We are well on our way to a huge train wreck,” Tom Goldstein, a veteran Supreme Court litigator, told Politico. “I do think this is a corner we won’t be able to turn back [from], or at least there’s no sign the Senate will turn back from, for a long time.” If 60 “yes” votes “is the best anyone is going to have, a Supreme Court confirmation fight could easily turn into thermonuclear war.”
Sen. Lindsay Graham, one of five Republicans to vote for Kagan, is among those worried.
“Things are changing,” he said. “I worry the direction we’re drifting. I don’t question any of my colleagues’ decisions; I would just like to get us back to more traditional ‘advice and consent,’ where the [presidential] election is respected. I worry about where this takes us as a nation with the judiciary.”
In 1986, Antonin Scalia was confirmed by 98-0. Five years ago, John Roberts was confirmed by a vote of 78-22, with 22 Democrats voting for him. In 2006, Samuel Alito was confirmed by just 58-42, with just four Democrats voting for him, indicating that both parties are edging closer to the line. As Graham notes, the trend is ominous, threatening not just future Supreme Court nominees but the overall ability of government to conduct necessary business.
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967 comments Add your comment
RW-(the original)
August 18th, 2010
12:08 am
And first.
Just had to tidy that up before I turned in.
stands for decibels
August 18th, 2010
5:45 am
But Heidi Montag draws a blank.
Name didn’t register for me either. However, the small inset photo on the google news page reminded me of some person I’d seen accompanied by blaring headlines whilst checking out my groceries.
Apparently she is famous for having had a lot of plastic surgery. Her surgeon died. That it’s news? national news? just so meta…
Saul Good
August 18th, 2010
6:22 am
std,
You know where a big part of society’s values and morals are when THIS is not only said by a “person famous only for being famous” and it makes it into the news:
“I am devastated,” the 23-year-old wrote on the micro-blogging site Tuesday. “He was the most amazing person I have ever known. He was an angel and changed my life and the lives of everyone he met. He was the most brilliant talented surgeon who will ever exist. Dr. Frank Ryan changed the world.”
Yeah…he changed her life alright… and being that he was the most “brilliant talented” surgeon who ever lived… I didn’t know that plastic surgeons in Malibu actually “cured” anything other then people’s low self esteem and self worth.
stands for decibels
August 18th, 2010
7:21 am
I didn’t know that plastic surgeons in Malibu actually “cured” anything other then people’s low self esteem and self worth.
hmm. Don’t know about curing the sick, but presumably such physicians, including those based in Malibu, do their share of valuable reconstructive surgery and thus are worthy of our respect for that aspect of their work.
This 23-year-old unscripted-TV star’s assessment shouldn’t really play too large a role in our own take; I’m just a little bemused over Google’s notion of what constitutes (their term) “news for you.”
See, Google asked me a few weeks back, via an easy-to-click interface, what kinds of broad-topic things interest me (can’t remember the actual categories, but I did answer them honestly, since their homepage is something I go to a lot to get some idea of what online news items are of national interest). That this could be the third-most-important “news to me”–well, it’s odd. I’ll just leave it at that.
Saul Good
August 18th, 2010
7:38 am
stand’s I’ll agree on the reconstructive part (since my own brother is a surgeon, I know that many of his own patients end up having to go for reconstructive procedures after he operates on them in his field of expertise) …
but…. when you look here even in Atlanta at many of the magazines that cater to the “real housewives” crowd in North Fulton, East Cobb, etc… It’s a safe bet to say that over 30% of the advertisements in those magazines are by plastic surgeons soliciting new patients for “cosmetic” surgeries… and we have a whole generation of teens growing up who simply have the mindset that gee… I’m not happy with my looks so I’ll just pay to change them. Bad enough when it starts on a woman in her 30’s or 40’s… but (besides implants and nose jobs)… kids under 20 getting things done now are most likely going to have many, many procedures done in their lifetime.
Don't Forget
August 18th, 2010
7:39 am
md
August 17th, 2010
7:45 pm
On banning, personally against it for whatever reason.
Even vile comments serve a purpose and should be left alone. Once the line is drawn, game over.
——————————————————————————————————-
I agree, with the exception of name jacking. That’s just an attempt to silence others through distortion.
Saul Good
August 18th, 2010
7:41 am
Oh and stands…i too get some WAY off topic stuff in my own google news… in fact, since the last time I changed it…it got worse….
stands for decibels
August 18th, 2010
7:47 am
Saul, agreed on the grotesque spread of elective cosmetic surgery. I file this under what seems a peculiarly American tendency to think short-term shiny-bauble in so many nooks and crannies of our lives.
larry
August 18th, 2010
7:48 am
Plastic surgery = Instant Gradification . Unfortunately , it fits in with our society .
Paul
August 18th, 2010
7:49 am
g’morning.
Well, I see another top Democrat would like the Ground Zero mosque and cultural center moved. Seems NY Gov Paterson’s offering state land to the developers.
““I hope that they (sic) type of cultural understanding that they’re trying to promote when they build the center could be practiced right now,” Paterson said.”
Sen Reid, Gov Paterson…. such progressive intolerance!
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/08/17/paterson-king-hope-for-mosque-compromise/
larry
August 18th, 2010
7:53 am
Im sorry, that should read; Elective plastic surgery=Instant Gradification
Paul
August 18th, 2010
7:58 am
And now Spkr Pelosi wants those who oppose the site for the mosque to be investigated, while NY Mayor Bloomberg calls Pelosi’s plan “un-American.”
“http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2010/aug/17/audio-rep-pelosi-calls-investigation-wtc-mosque-op/
I’ve the urge to watch some Keystone Cops DVDs…….
stands for decibels
August 18th, 2010
8:02 am
I agree, with the exception of name jacking. That’s just an attempt to silence others through distortion.
This reminds me of something I’d noticed while over at Kyle’s and Cynthia’s places. While both of them interact sporadically with their respective band of online attention wh0res, neither does anything even remotely approaching what Jay does in terms of steering the conversation away from personal attacks and generally beyond-the-beyond rhetoric.
And while I doubt most of the regulars will admit it — there’s this rugged-individualist tradition in online discussions that rejects any effort to herd the cats — I think it’s that bit of bother Jay takes to keep things reasonable that keeps us coming back.
Paul
August 18th, 2010
8:08 am
morning, sfd
Agreed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk7yqlTMvp8
stands for decibels
August 18th, 2010
8:44 am
mornin’, Paul.
While that commercial you linked @ 8.08 was a wonderful piece of comedic filmmaking (the line “half-wild shorthairs” will forever remind me of a beloved, now-departed companion), does anyone remember the product being sold?
I sure didn’t.
Paul
August 18th, 2010
9:03 am
sfd
I think it was made back in the days when marketing firms, in a stroke of pure genius, convinced clients “it’s not about your name, it’s about the buzz.”
RW-(the original)
August 18th, 2010
10:36 am
Do I really need to fill you all in on Speidi? And for starters that’s Spencer (Pratt) and Heidi Montag. They also appear to be split up at the moment. Need I say more?
Audrina is the real catch in that whole circle though.
Kamchak
August 18th, 2010
12:39 pm
Audrina is the real catch in that whole circle though.
Just as long as she doesn’t open her mouth and say anything.
Give me LG.
Kamchak
August 18th, 2010
12:40 pm
Oops—Give me LC.
RW-(the original)
August 18th, 2010
12:45 pm
LC moved from The Hills to The City. Try to keep up here.
Kamchak
August 18th, 2010
12:49 pm
RW
Well, yeah…sure, but the circle began at Laguna Beach.
RW-(the original)
August 18th, 2010
12:50 pm
Ah, the will the circle be unbroken theorem.
Southern Comfort
August 18th, 2010
1:00 pm
Ahhh, I see Paul the thead killer has risen amongst us!!!
Southern Comfort
August 18th, 2010
1:09 pm
Paul
If you read this, Kathleen Parker summed up my feelings with this article.
This is why plans for the mosque near Ground Zero should be allowed to proceed, if that’s what these Muslims want. We teach tolerance by being tolerant. We can’t insist that our freedom of speech allows us to draw cartoons or produce plays that Muslims find offensive and then demand that they be more sensitive to our feelings.
More to the point, the tolerance we urge the Muslim world to embrace as we exercise our right to free expression, and revel in the glory and the gift of irreverence, is the same we must embrace when Muslims seek to express themselves peacefully.
Paul
August 18th, 2010
1:42 pm
SoCom 1:00
Couldn’t find a smilie for ‘thpbbbtttt!!”
Your 1:09
Decent argument, but not sure how it’d play in the Muslim world.
Heard another decent argument: “if Muslims want to show respect, regret, healing, all that, then they should say to the people of NYC, ‘we understand your feelings. We condemn the attack and those who promote violence and ill will; therefore, as a gesture to you, we will site our mosque further away from Ground Zero.”
Paul
August 18th, 2010
1:43 pm
and as I noted over at Tucker’s (most of those folks don’t want to discuss, just hurl insults, it seems to me)
UPDATE: Mosque Developer Rejects Meeting With NY Gov…”
In spite of the fact many on the Left paint anyone opposed to the siting of the mosque as racist, intolerant, etc, even though most I’ve heard said it was not a religious freedom issue but should be based on respect for the feelings for families –
which argument many on the Left do not accept -
Yet, we’ve heard time and again there is a certain word members of the country’s racial majority should not use, and they are pilloried if they use it, because it is offensive to the feelings of a racial minority (even while the minority acknowledges there is a free speech right to use the word)
And the legacy in one situation is years old, while the legacy of another is…. decades.
These contradictions make me think much of the Left’s attacks on the mosque issue is pure politics.
Southern Comfort
August 18th, 2010
2:08 pm
Paul
Both sides of the argument have been reduced to pure politics. I agree with you on the wod in a sense, however, I don’t think ANYONE should use it. There’s a right to free speech to use it, but you can’t yell fire in a crowded theater and be protected by free speech.
I think the smilie you want is this
Its : razz :
theyeshaveit
August 18th, 2010
2:14 pm
Paul,
This whole mosque two blocks from “sacred” ground has become a political issue just when we didn’t need any more political issues. The mayor of New York approves of the Islamic Center. Many people, including conservatives, approved of the Islamic Center and the commission that gave the developers the go ahead voted 29-1. If NYC approves, why should we be involved unless it is to make this a political issue?
This Islamic Center is merely the right’s chosen symbol of the flavor we hate these days; that and anchor babies.
Paul
August 18th, 2010
2:15 pm
SoCom
You are consistent!
Okay, razz. I was hopin’ for a tongue sticking out, but we can’t have everything, can we?
’bout the word – I’ve a 90-year old father in law. We were out at lunch and he used the word – telling a story about a guy he worked with who he really liked and spoke highly of. I cringed – fortunately we were at a table in an alcove.
You tell him it’s not a word used any more and he looks at you funny. I just hope some hothead doesn’t get physical -
Paul
August 18th, 2010
2:19 pm
eyeshaveit
I’m always suspicious of distractions. I kinda wonder of the Left isn’t grateful for it and sees the Right as playing into their hands… ’cause from what I’ve seen, Democrats sure aren’t running on their record for the November elections!
Anchor babies? At least a discussion of the 14th Amendment and the jurisdiction clause, it’s history and relevant court cases, along with what has not been litigated, is a bit more interesting and factually based.
Well, for some, anyway -
Paul
August 18th, 2010
2:21 pm
eyes
ITS!!! ITS!!!
I don’t believe I typed ‘it’s’
theyeshaveit
August 18th, 2010
2:23 pm
Paul,
Damn. I don’t have a red pen!
Southern Comfort
August 18th, 2010
2:25 pm
When it comes to that word, I kinda have a double standard. For those like your father in law, I’m more inclined to give them a pass. People like that grew up in a different time and different mindset. It was the norm in their day and age, and it’s hard to change after so many years. On the other hand, someone who’s under 60 years old should know and act better. They would have been coming of age right when the Civil Rights Era hit it’s apex. There’s no excuse for having that word in your conversation. That’s how I see it.
Paul
August 18th, 2010
2:46 pm
SoCom
I agree. Times change, meanings change. Young people who will say “hey, it didn’t mean anything bad back then so I can use it’ are either kinda stupid or intellectually dishonest. The swastika used to be a symbol used by many cultures, but that’s not what it’s associated with nowadays.
Paul
August 18th, 2010
2:46 pm
Oh, and I don’t think it’s a double standard at all. I view it as a mature standard, taking into account the factors you listed.
Southern Comfort
August 18th, 2010
2:53 pm
The swastika is still used in Asia. I’ve seen people coming in on flights wearing that symbol on necklaces. If I remember correctly, I think it means good luck or something to that effect.
josef nix
August 18th, 2010
4:06 pm
The “word…” This is just me, but I do think a lot of whooplah that comes around that particular one is the pc police in action. As y’all know this household could paper a wall with the various labels with which our cultural baggage is plastered. For every one of them, there are dozens of unflattering terms. To pick just one to get bent out of shape about is rather silly. Besides, it’s not the word itself but what is behind choice of that word in a particular incidence. The old saying, no offense meant, none taken should hold here and it’s not real hard to know when offense was meant.
I don’t much care for the “we can use it, you can’t” line of thought either. I tied into it here once with a poster who was taking me to task for using the word “f*ggot” to refer to myself…the context warrented it…but she wanted to know how I would feel if I heard someone not gay using it…and then didn’t want to accept the contextual…
So, a recent example? I overheard two straight people talking about something they had witnessed which had made them giggle in a positive manner as they told about a young gay couple who had been being verbally harassed and had taken up the duel. “And, honey, let me tell you, by the time those two f*ggots got through with them there wasn’t even a bone left to pick.”
Insulting? Not at all and indeed quite the opposite. In a formal settting where you weren’t on familiar terms? Probably not.
Bottom line, it’s just a matter of good manners.
Paul
August 18th, 2010
4:17 pm
josef nix
Good manners? Seems to have gone the way of common sense.
Come on over to Tucker’s. It’s party time!
josef nix
August 18th, 2010
4:26 pm
PAUL
Tucker’s? Me? Surely you jest!
Southern Comfort
August 18th, 2010
4:28 pm
josef at C. Tucker’s??
Paul
August 18th, 2010
4:41 pm
josef – SoCom
Both of you!
That place needs some EOIs!
josef nix
August 18th, 2010
4:44 pm
PAUL
You trying to get Sister C shut down, too?
Southern Comfort
August 18th, 2010
4:46 pm
Paul
I saw the thread she put up today. I don’t want any part of that. I know her loons are out in full force.
Paul
August 18th, 2010
4:55 pm
josef nix
Naw. I had someone over there challenge me to it and I said I’d already shut down one. It was up to him to catch up.
SoCom
My first experience was that no one over there addressed any points. It was like a kicked hornet’s nest. Then some regulars showed up and it got pretty good. But none of them stuck around long.
Don't Forget
August 18th, 2010
5:37 pm
I bet Jay’s already dreading coming back, lol.
BADA BING
August 18th, 2010
6:27 pm
While the America haters have a field day espousing how racist and muslim hating the US is, the US military is quietly distributing aid to the Pakistani people. News sources say that the US has given more aid than the rest of the World combined .What a country!
BADA BING
August 18th, 2010
6:28 pm
We ae the nicest racists in the World.
Southern Comfort
August 18th, 2010
6:36 pm
Bada
They’re having to do it quietly because we’re not the most popular people over there. We’re probably not the most popular in a lot of places, but we still come to the rescue every time.
RW-(the original)
August 18th, 2010
6:41 pm
I see the Braves now have an aging first baseman with a bad back to go with their aging first baseman with bad knees. It reminds of a time in my youth that I had a Ford Fairlane and two Ford Falcons. I could usually piece together enough to keep one of them running at any given time.
Southern Comfort
August 18th, 2010
6:46 pm
RW
You must obviously not remember Sid Bream with his bad knees. This is a sign of good luck!!!!
Hillbilly Deluxe
August 18th, 2010
6:47 pm
RW
As a Cub fan, be glad they went for Lee and not Aramis Ramirez. Lee might help out the Braves some in their pennant run; Ramirez is toast. Maybe one of those 3 minor league arms can help the Cubs as they embark on a return to the drawing board…………..yet again.
josef nix
August 18th, 2010
6:55 pm
RW
Tonight. 10 o’clock…
RW-(the original)
August 18th, 2010
6:58 pm
SoCo,
We already had the guy with bad knees.
Hillbilly D,
Lee’s numbers for the season aren’t all that great but in the last month or so he’s been way more productive than Glaus so hopefully it works out. Does somebody keep erasing that drawing board at Wrigley?
RW-(the original)
August 18th, 2010
6:59 pm
josef,
Thanks.
Hillbilly Deluxe
August 18th, 2010
7:27 pm
Does somebody keep erasing that drawing board at Wrigley?
My theory is that it’s an Etch-A-Sketch and somebody keeps dropping it. I’m hoping they promote Ryne Sandberg to be Manager next year. He’s been in their system 3 or 4 years now and has managed a lot of their farmhands. They have some pretty good looking talent at AAA, AA, and Hi-A, so maybe in a couple years they can make it interesting.
theyeshaveit
August 18th, 2010
9:02 pm
Bada,
You are still calling people who disagree with you “America haters”, aye. By the way, I have noted that a number of countries came to New Orlean’s rescue in the aftermath of Katrina.
On a kinder, gentler note, I had a fantastic lunch at Peruvian restaurant last weekend – Lomo Saltado with a bowl of chicken soup (what’s in that green broth?).
theyeshaveit
August 18th, 2010
9:05 pm
Baseball? I hit the snooze button this time of the year. But football and basketball are just around the corner.
Southern Comfort
August 18th, 2010
9:10 pm
eyes
This is the best time of the year. What other time of the year can you flip the channels on the tube and watch cars draft at close to 200mph, see a quartetback get sacked, and see someone strike out on a nasty curveball within minutes of each other?
As the lil demons in Lil Nicky would say, “baseball is the shizznit!!”
theyeshaveit
August 18th, 2010
9:18 pm
SoCo,
Baseball and racing were part of my life when I was growing up (as were four square, dodge ball and bowling), but I just could not keep up much interest in baseball after I started high school. My dad played ball with some famous fellows in his American Legion days, among them Minnie Minosa and Solly Hemus. They went on to play MLB with Cleveland and St, Louis. My uncle used to race and held the land speed record briefly in a car called the Bean Bandit. I think that when I got to high school, it was clear that girls did not go out to watch baseball. I played basketball and ran on the track team. I caught the Southern California-Hawaii Little League game the other day.
Southern Comfort
August 18th, 2010
9:36 pm
eyes
Minnie?!!? Your dad is cool!!! I played baseball, but music took up too much time when I got to high school. I grew up in Alabama where football is it’s own religion, and NASCAR was the only major professional sport (excluding minor league baseball). I was section leader of the drum line, so it didn’t matter what the girls did as they were watching me on Friday nights (our football team wasn’t so hot my senior year).
I was flipping between the little league and the girl’s softball little league this past weekend myself.
do you believe in miracles?
August 18th, 2010
11:43 pm
braves
will
go
all
the
way!
yes.
Paul
August 19th, 2010
7:59 am
miracles 11:43
Where?
Southern Comfort
August 19th, 2010
8:13 am
Paul
I think the final series is the World Series!!! Braves will emerge victorious!!!
*doin’ the tomahawk chop*
Paul
August 19th, 2010
11:51 am
SoCom
“*doin’ the tomahawk chop*”
I keep forgettin’ you’re a Florida State fan!”
Southern Comfort
August 19th, 2010
12:23 pm
Haa haaa!!!
theyeshaveit
August 19th, 2010
2:12 pm
The Blogger in Chief has been gone so long, I am beginning to forget his name.
Don't Forget
August 19th, 2010
3:22 pm
Hmmm, Clemens charged with perjury.
theyeshaveit
August 19th, 2010
5:23 pm
Don’t Forget,
Don”t forget that Jose Canseco is now playing for the Laredo Broncos of the United Baseball League.
Don't Forget
August 19th, 2010
7:00 pm
Republicans Block Bill to Aid Small BusinessBy DAVID M. HERSZENHORN
WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans on Thursday rejected a bill to aid small businesses with expanded loan programs and tax breaks, in a procedural blockade that underscored how fiercely determined the party’s leaders are to deny Democrats any further legislative accomplishments ahead of November’s midterm elections.
The measure, championed by Senator Mary L. Landrieu, Democrat of Louisiana, had the backing of some of the Republican Party’s most reliable business allies, including the United States Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business. Several Republican lawmakers also helped write it.
But Republican leaders filibustered after fighting for days with Democrats over the number of amendments they would be able to offer. A last-ditch offer by Democrats to allow three was refused by the Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.
How twisted is that?
Southern Comfort
August 19th, 2010
7:11 pm
Don’t Forget
Remember, it’s an election year. Every day is like a full moon.
theyeshaveit
August 19th, 2010
9:09 pm
Don’t Forget,
Congress is like an eight-man shell rowing crew. About half of them refuse to pull their oars. So, we are going no where. If after the mid-terms, more than half of those rowers are from the party of “no”, our shell is going to look like a shell of itself.
theyeshaveit
August 19th, 2010
9:42 pm
Well, Doctor Laura has found someone who supports her – yes, it’s Sarah Palin. The ever prescient Palin tweets “Don’t retreat; reload!”
Don't Forget
August 19th, 2010
10:30 pm
theyeshaveit
August 19th, 2010
9:42 pm
Well, Doctor Laura has found someone who supports her – yes, it’s Sarah Palin. The ever prescient Palin tweets “Don’t retreat; reload!”
I guess Sarah forgot that Dr. Laura was appalled that McCain chose her for VP, lol
Don't Forget
August 19th, 2010
10:31 pm
Southern Comfort
August 19th, 2010
7:11 pm
Don’t Forget
Remember, it’s an election year. Every day is like a full moon.
Yup, and the GOP is mooning the whole country by saying they don’t care about the unemployed except to use the issue to campaign on.
Don't Forget
August 19th, 2010
11:00 pm
Dr. Laura,
“Couldn’t the Republican Party find one competent female with adult children to run for Vice President with McCain? I realize his advisors probably didn’t want a “mature” woman, as the Democrats keep harping on his age. But really, what kind of role model is a woman whose fifth child was recently born with a serious issue, Down Syndrome, and then goes back to the job of Governor within days of the birth?” lol
Don't Forget
August 19th, 2010
11:03 pm
Now, here’s what Sarah Palin said about Rahm Emanuel’s use of the word “retarded”
“I would ask the president to show decency in this process by eliminating one member of that inner circle, Mr. Rahm Emanuel, and not allow Rahm’s continued indecent tactics to cloud efforts. Just as we’d be appalled if any public figure of Rahm’s stature ever used the “N-word” or other such inappropriate language”
Hmmmm,
theyeshaveit
August 19th, 2010
11:59 pm
Don’t Forget,
I guess things are only wrong if the other side says them.
Don't Forget
August 20th, 2010
8:04 am
theyeshaveit
August 19th, 2010
11:59 pm
Don’t Forget,
I guess things are only wrong if the other side says them.
In Sarah’s case, and a few others, that’s obviously true.
NJ
August 20th, 2010
3:06 pm
Absolutely. The way Al Qaeda, Bin Laden and other terrorist organization were able to develop, thrive and create there extremist version of the religion was by pointing at American foreign policy in the Middle East. Everyone knew someone who had been tortured or killed because they wanted some sort of democratic reforms in their country and were baffled why the United States was not supporting the people who wanted democracy, but the tyrants who were brutalizing them. By the time that Bin Laden and Al Zawahiri came into the picture, every moderate had been killed, jailed, or escaped into exile. The extremists had no problem pointing the finger at who was shoring up the dictators. The next step was for them to say that America “talks” about equality and religious freedom, but in fact, Muslims in America are treated badly. This is what is believed in the third world, where Muslims are either large minorities or majorities. The recent flap over the mosque is simply absolute evidence over there that in America, this talk about equality and freedom is just that. Talk. Nothing, absolutely nothing would create a defiance against those extremists than to allow that building to be built. “What do you mean, America has abused Muslims for the last 60 years,,,we allow them to build within blocks of a place where Muslim extremists committed a massive act of terrorism”
Actions speak louder, a lot louder, than words. The greatest anti extremists propaganda possible would be to allow that place to be built.
As far as the small business legislation, Republicans have never actually done anything that is good for small businesses. Most small businesses did not benefit from the Bush Tax cuts. Republicans massively cut back on the Small Business Administrations budget. Clinton raised the annual SBA grant budget to 77 billion dollars. That was more than all the budgets for the previous 25 years combined.
The magic of the Clinton years,, the stock market growing from 3000 on the day he took office to 10,400 on the day he left, a 247 percent increase in 8 years was simple. While Republicans reviled his tax increases on the personal income of the rich, they fail to note that he cut capital gains back from 28 percent to 20 percent and he lowered virtually every business tax. This is the way to grow an economy. Taxing personal income that is taken out of a business, while lowering the taxes on business investment was what created the growth during the Clinton years.
Republicans act as if ALL tax cuts are created equal, they are not. Cutting personal income taxes is to invite the wealthiest to take money out of businesses as personal income and then start looking for easier ways to make money, usually by speculative investments. The money they lose, if they lose at all, is windfall anyway. This is what drove the housing market bubble. The Bush tax cuts for the middle class and small businesses expired by 2006. All that was left was the tax cuts for the rich and they did not start businesses with it (which is why we had what was called a “jobless recovery”) but they started investing in financing mortgages, which assured an income for 15 to 30 years. As more and more investors started looking for “paper” investments, less and less money was available for the consumer economy. The paper investment drove up the cost of housing, When things started looking like the investments were overvalued, a lot of these investors started “selling short” The derivatives market started collapsing, so new derivatives were created to “mix” risky mortgages with less risky ones. Then the bubble and collapse.
If the excess capital was not there to begin with, the bubble never would have happened.
This has happened before every recession or depression. It was preceded not merely by a tax cut, but a special kind of tax cut. Dropping the top marginal rates. This preceded every recession, depression or market collapse.
josef nix
August 20th, 2010
3:51 pm
Is this the Friday night crew…lemme know if anybody else is here….
RW-(the original)
August 20th, 2010
3:55 pm
Don’t anybody tell josef we’re here.
RW-(the original)
August 20th, 2010
3:56 pm
josef,
I’m surprised you didn’t check in on Kyle’s latest. He says a white guy with a southern accent can’t beat Obama.
josef nix
August 20th, 2010
3:59 pm
Josef doesn’t know…
But # 1 the year he was born…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5fsqYctXgM
and # 2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpT8Sd9wRlQ
And he was born halfway between Brown v Board of Education and Dien Bien Phu…
josef nix
August 20th, 2010
4:01 pm
and well,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=594WLzzb3JI
and I’ll go over there, RW
RW-(the original)
August 20th, 2010
4:02 pm
OK…let’s nip this one in the bud. Nobody wants to hear songs from our birth years. With a lot of the regulars they probably didn’t have recording devices back then.
Bruno
August 20th, 2010
4:06 pm
My newest hero, Liu Wei:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP-GTwy9jjI&feature=related
md
August 20th, 2010
4:07 pm
Tell normal we “elders” tend to lie about our age and some of us don’t give out that info on a public blog with a world full of wackos. Try picking a decade or two…….
Bruno
August 20th, 2010
4:15 pm
“Nobody wants to hear songs from our birth years.”
My guess is that most folks identify with music that came out 15-25 years after their birth.
AmVet
August 20th, 2010
4:18 pm
Damn customers! Calling me on a Friday afternoon and wanting to give me money! Sheesh. How can I be a good Communist with that action going on?!
Woo Hoo! I’ve shut the operation down for the evening.
Damn, Bruno, Awesome. Inspiring. Very touching. And the crowd went crazy! Along with shedding some tears.
And here is some decidedly lighter-heated Determination for your enjoyment pleasure…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn65e2Xj1hM
AmVet
August 20th, 2010
4:21 pm
hearted, not heated!
Okay, I’ll go down that YOB road for a tad, but it’s gonna get thin pretty quick, I fear…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpxkCu8Ri9c
josef nix
August 20th, 2010
4:27 pm
AmVet
You, too, eh!
Bruno
I have forwarded that one all over since your post the other day,,,that is inspirational no matter who you are…
AmVet
August 20th, 2010
4:29 pm
josef are you inferring that you too are the double nickles?
That is very cool. What is your city of birth? (Mine is Wichita, Ks.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUpTJg2EBpw
Normal
August 20th, 2010
4:42 pm
Hey folks,
Glad you could make it…my song..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcxYwwIL5zQ
Kamchak
August 20th, 2010
4:54 pm
Normal
From earlier next door at Ms. Tucker’s—don’t take it personally if your post didn’t make it through. The only way to post a link is to do the blue words link in text thingie.
josef nix
August 20th, 2010
4:57 pm
AmVet
Nanh, year before you…that was #1 both years…
City? Surely you jest! Rural Mississippi, first home 13 miles from the nearest town and it had a population of 150!
Normal
August 20th, 2010
5:28 pm
If y’all are going to do “Sixteen Tons” I’m doing this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KecIdlEAKhU
Normal
August 20th, 2010
5:32 pm
Kam,
I was doing a copy and paste from the History channel of text, no sites.
What POed me about Ms Tucker is she won’t let any expression of thought backed up with veriable facts, but she will allow some of the most vile people to say the most vile and utterly inane things. Her blog, her choice, but I don’t have to go there. So, I’ll just…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8Tiz6INF7I
Normal
August 20th, 2010
5:33 pm
Y’all too young to remember this one…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MS9fk1u6kA
theyeshaveit
August 20th, 2010
5:34 pm
josef,
Billy Haley and his “Rock Around The Clock” were not exactly my time. Given the choice back then, I would have preferred something by Jiminy Cricket. But I do remember that my aunt Becky (only five years older than I am) loved that song and she’d try to get me dance with her. While Becky was in the middle of blowing a big bubble with her bubble gum and listening to Rock Around The Clock, I deftly popped the bubble over her eyeglasses. Man, was she mad at me. And yes, I was that kind of boy.
josef nix
August 20th, 2010
5:36 pm
norm…well, if you’re going to do that one…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN2Oo3c7W3I