Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

The new video feature is great! Pack a camcorder before you leave for Iowa and give us a peak behind the scenes.

Just one more log…

Good morning all.

Catch you later on, back to work.

God Bless.

I am firmly convinced that David Broder is either the least informed "journalist" around or that he just flat lies.

Here's what he says about the Des Moines Register debates: " The next day, the same editor who had managed the Republican debate put six Democrats through their paces with equally undramatic results. But for inexplicable reasons, Dennis Kucinich was excluded. His followers protested, apparently unwilling to accept that Keyes was an adequate alternative in the category of implausible eccentrics."

That decision was explained over and over, ferChrissakes. If you didn't have a working office (as of July I believe) in Iowa, you were not considered serious about the state. Unfortunately Kucinich didn't and Keyes did. But Broder must have missed the memo.

great fireside chat...next time wil you read us the funny papers.

Merry Christmas...don't catch the flu or whatever else Rudee caught there.

it's a good thing no one watches morning joe
otherwise people would be writing in and suggesting he be hospitalized for his own good

Craig,
When you're in Iowa, will it be "just one more hog?"

Maybe Craig could read the TV listings for us! LOL! That video made me want some hot chocolate!

Quick, everyone. Clap if you believe...

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article3077705.ece

Since when are collapsing poll numbers cause for hospitilization?

Good to finally see that fireplace in action. Craig, you were very FDRish (FDR-y?). Have a wonderful Xmas with your family...and when you get to Iowa, check out the sweet potato covered in carmel sauce at TX Roadhouse.

Gosh, it's almost '08. When does the campaigning for '12 begin?

ooooohhhh..... nice fireplace, Craig.....
have a nice trip...... at least there's no ice in Florida...... :)

Dex..... 15 years..... wow..... good job.....

Patsi.... that sucks about your friend.... he most definitely is a hero.....
and I don't carry a purse either...... guess that says what both of us think about make-up..... can't think of any other reason why women would be married to the damn things......

David Broder needs to be put out to pasture.....

FDRious.....?

Patsi

Here is some Broder bashing I think you will enjoy

http://firedoglake.com/2007/12/20/matlock/#comments

Renee: "that sucks about your friend.... he most definitely is a hero.....
and I don't carry a purse either...... guess that says what both of us think about make-up..... "

I didn't know Jerry personally, just vaguely through music business people. But he definitely was a hero.

9/11,
Your comment last thread that Chris Dodd should replace Harry Reid is spot on. And it can't happen soon enough.

Jane Hamsher links to this study of Mike Huckabee's unusual to inexplicable weight history with a weight loss rate credited to diet and exercise which exceeds every norm for the percentage of body fat which can be lost in such a period --

But which totally matches the body fat loss for the same period due to gastric bypass surgery.

There are many more similarities in Huckabee's subsequent health to gastric bypass aftermath.

There's a lot more. Huckabee is a famously thinskinned man who will lie, destroy records, bend rules and laws and use his faith to justify a lot.

But a lie like this one would be just the thing people who like him for his faith wouldn't use his faith to justify as it would be a simple truth to tell rather than a bs myth for a lifelong obese man to peddle and profit off of.

http://plutarch01.wordpress.com/2007/12/11/new-121007-300pm/

It would certainly make a mockery of his diet book.

Fearless Leader and his beloved fireplace ... Have a wonderful holiday Craig with lots of hugs all around to the family.

The NYT this morning picked up the story of Obama's "present" votes citing nearly "130" times he voted "present" rather than "nay" or "yea" in the Illinois State Senate.

Eventually they report Obama's response that this was among over 4000 votes. They also analyze this and see that 50 of those were part of an overall Democratic strategy.

The article is, in its content, balanced. It does put the Illinois "present" option into a local political context: I learned how it is used and what it means to the voting public.

The fourth paragraph gets to the heart of the story: it is there because the Clinton campaign is working hard just now to make this part of their "talker, not doer" campaign.

The fifth paragraph has the Obama campaign's response to that.

After that comes reporting.

What do I think? Sounds like statehouse politics with a different voting option.

Who wins the argument?

No one because state politics are obscure enough in their own backyard.

The Clinton campaign looks strident but their lasting Doubting Points campaign makes a scuff mark.

The Obama campaign is reasonable and clear but this issue is typical of their (and his) lack of political clarity and a love of justifying bromides.

Hmmmn...

Craig- is the Edwards 08 sign lurking behind you the Crawfordslist's answer to the floating cross?

The Democratic Congress told us they were voted into office last November because the American public wanted them to end the war. Well if that is the case then why are they still giving Bush everything he wants? I think the D's suffer from a case of BB Balls.

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071219/D8TKQ7LO0.html

well at least in the area of gastric by pass --the Huck supports the use of pubic money

Huckabee also backed a health assessment for the 110,000 members of the state employee health plan, which provides coverage for stop-smoking programs, nutritional counseling, dietary assistance, even gastric bypass surgery. People who cut their health risks can earn $20 an adult a month off the cost of their family health plan

fry
you suffer from too much limpballs

Why is the MSM giving Obama a pass?

"She's just held to a different standard in every respect," says Mark Halperin, Time's editor at large. "The press rooted for Obama to go negative, and when he did he was applauded. When she does it, it's treated as this huge violation of propriety." While Clinton's mistakes deserve full coverage, Halperin says, "the press's flaws -- wild swings, accentuating the negative -- are magnified 50 times when it comes to her. It's not a level playing field."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/18/AR2007121802184_pf.html

kgc,

The issue of Presidential health is a big one.

In the last century there were a few large scale examples of it starting with Wilson's strokes.

People speak often of how the press absolutely helped FDR ease over the appearance of his polio.

There was Kennedy's concealed issue of Addington's disease.

But with Huckabee it would be not just a lie about a medical procedure. This heroic tale was how he launched his identity campaign with the public.

By the way... Huck has regained 12 pounds since then. And, yeah, campaigns are notoriously bad for a candidate's waistline unless they were, say, George W. Bush who ran and biked and jogged for the highest office in the land.

However, that sort of rebound effect is not promising for any of the gastric bypass procedures which are used. The health effects of regaining weight after a bypass are significant.

Eventually Huck will be pushed hard to make his health records public.

As I wrote, his history of angry record destroying will get damn interesting then.

Bob Novak today continues the GOP attacks on him. The storyline? Arrogant Huckabee believes that Southern Baptist leadership HAS to support him. The shocker? They all don't.

The reveal... Mike was a force for LIBERALISM in the Southern Baptist Convention!!!

beady eye is really packing on the pounds
he is getting into newt size

The Christmas season seems to always brings out the best in some of us.

http://www.myfoxwghp.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=5257845&version=10&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8TKLC3G1&show_article=1

9/11

He is a creepy guy. If he lied about this, it will just be another one of those "I just don't get it" moments for me.

It's aways the cover up.

What could be contained in those 2,600 pages. I thought the D's were all about letting the pure light of sunshine show through?

http://www.nysun.com/article/68332

"in fact, the National Archives does the first set of processing. … At least some of those materials were closed by our archivists."

I guess no one has aasked to see 41's papers

A better alternative to ethanol is hydrogen as reported in this months Popular Mechanics magazine. BMW has a working model of such a car that can run on both regular gasoline and hydrogen using the conventional reciprocating gasoline engine, and would require only minor retooling.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/bw-wh/2007/dec/19/121907332.html

kgc,

Fred and Rudy have both been truly transparent about their cancer histories as was John Kerry.

Rudy's protocol and treatment schedules were regularly reported in the NYC media. He set a very good public example for how to be a cancer patient at the same time he was setting a horrible one for a husband, father and public figure with Judy, the shag funds, etc.

Fred has one of those smoldering lymphomas: his status is the standard "watch and wait". However, more is known now about the nature of incurable lymphomas and leukemias now than was even at the time of Thompson's treatment.

I still am surprised that while Thompson has a non-Hodgkin's related lymphoma, he was treated with radiation (for a lump under his jaw -- and possibly an elective choice) and chemo: no mention of Rituxan which is the remarkable first line treatment for NHL and many other conditions.

By the way... Rituxan exists for a political reason and nearly didn't exist for a political reason.

The political reason was that NHL became known as a major symptom of fullblown AIDS. Doctor Krim and other AIDS treatment pioneers pushed Congress to support the development of Rituxan... a groundbreaking single monoclodal antibody which a San Francisco based biotech company had been struggling to perfect for years.

The money that was provided to bring it to fruition has had a remarkable dividend.

Rituxan remains the most successful path to new treatment for cancers and auto-immune conditions. It is not chemo but a genetically engineered formula which blocks a protein that cancer (and other conditions) need to reproduce.

While there has not been an equal success yet, Rituxan is very helpful with many blood based cancers... AND with a slew of auto-immune conditions from rheumatoid arthritis to lupus to MS and beyond.

The opposition to AIDS research came from the Reagan Administration -- particularly from 1983-1986. When the money came through, it took 18 years for Rituxan to be successfully developed and approved for use.

The past seven years have been exceptionally difficult for medical research even beyond all stem cell issues.

My concerns about Huckabee are pretty endless but I am deeply wary of his relationship to science. I tend to think he has a cafeteria style approach to medicine -- what works for him -- particularly proactive things which don't involve research and treatment -- would be the ceiling and the rest denied or given over to prayer.

Which reminds me -- he first made himself notable in the debates by being the only candidate to raise his hand when asked if he didn't believe in evolution.

It's hard to really engage with science -- particularly genetic research which is central to the present and the future -- if you don't concede anything to Darwin.

fry,

Really? All a hydrogen engine is supposed to leave behind as its byproduct is a stream of water.

That engine has been a real scientific prospect for years. The most honest, intelligent financial leader I know -- who yelled about the subprime market over five years ago -- has been focused on that as an investment.

It would be WONDERFUL to see something so viable get out of the box it was sharing unfairly with cold fusion technology.

"Which reminds me -- he first made himself notable in the debates by being the only candidate to raise his hand when asked if he didn't believe in evolution"

hey Brownback and Tancredo also deserve to be recognized for raising their hands

Huckabee's hand went straight up.

Brownback's hand followed. Then he wrote a semi-clever, semi-equivocating piece in which "microevolution" (new! improved!") is accepted as a vague subcategory of intelligent design. (Quick survey -- what'll be Brownback's next denomination???)

Tancredo looked confused then sort of raised his hand... then semi-recanted the next day.

Huckabee never qualified his opinion. He presents himself as a genial literalist.

why doesn't shrub's head explode

W. is spanking congress for wasteful spending. What took him so long? He never vetoed a spending bill until the dems won control.

Because he's trying to stay -- to use his own self-damning phrase -- relevant?

Mr. Crawford, are you going to be anywhere near Iowa City during Caucus time? If so, I and several of your Iowa readers would love to come and say Hi!

Speaking of weight loss, I may have discovered the perfect Democratic weight loss program. Schedule all Bush press conferences daily before meal times.

Immediate reduction to two meals a day thanks to nausea prior to a usual hour for dining. Breakfast has certainly been shot down for me for today.

Where do the candidates stand on the Iowa Pork Forest?

Jamie,

But then we feel so empty and binge on hope and promise and rage and blog postings...

I have listened to the Sweeney soundtrack twice: the richness of his reorchestration entrances but it is a souvenir rather than a record. Depp is as truly moving and brilliant as he is supposed to be as is Cohen -- the rest need the movie to have their arm complete again.

The editing of the songs which actually are sung in the film is good and with the exceptions noted above the singing's nominal.

The Harold Prince presence in the score is totally absent -- no industrial whistle when a throat is cut.

I'm disturbed by a child playing Toby because it wipes out the strange allure Mrs. Lovett has for him: "Not While I'm Around" sounds too much like the "Gentle Shepherd" base Sondheim was messing with in the original. And will the child's hair turn white? How will audiences feel about such a young boy killing Sweeney?

Bonham Carter is supposed to be unusually good on screen in her characterization. Again, that will be visual.

The absence of the Ballad of Sweeney Todd more than tugs at me. When Depp sings that vanishes: but it leaves such a gaping hole in the score otherwise. Its Dies Irae based theme remains... but there is a funny business of having the rest of it bobble among the waves of sound as it gets drowned out then resurfaces... only to vanish again.

And there is no indication in how the CD ends about how this Sweeney greets his own death.

This is Burton's film. People talk about how this is his first musical and that is just crap: he produced one of the best musicals of our time in The Nightmare Before Christmas and a good one in The Corpse Bride. I bet the movie's great. But I also bet I won't listen to the soundtrack terribly often -- I'll return to the original, the Philharmonic version and the John Doyle reimagining of it.

Morning peeps,
Craig I got the feeling yesterday that members of your profession have a feeling Edwards is going to win Iowa, it seemed to me that many of the reports yesterday were making sure to say that Edwards could win Iowa. Also Obama recent attacks on Edwards, is giving me the feeling that something is up and things are quickly shifting in Iowa towards Edwards, you getting the same feeling?

Marc Ambinder in the Atlantic Online says it's real and organic, not press manufactured. He offers proof, too.

http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/12/a_real_edwards_surge.php

KGC,
"Where do the candidates stand on the Iowa Pork Forest?"

Whoa! Great question! Answers would certainly interesting.

I'm meeting (today or tomorrow) with a hedge fund owner and philanthropist. When we spoke yesterday about Edwards and Fortress, I got an earful about hypocrisy.

That's what disturbs me. A campaign based on a war against corporate wealth and ownership by a man who was described "a most useful and agreeable tool for not only one hedge fund but all American hedge funds as they seek to become global powers" is a total phony.

Hedge funds are about as economically sound as sub prime mortgages.

Not good.

911 it is good to see you and I hope all is well.
Fry
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hey everyone knows the Edwards surge is only due to Clinton's attacks on Obama and that this is the secret strategy of the Clinton campaign (snark alert Brian)

Know Your Dems!

On December 11th (a day that will live in heresy?), the United States Congress by a margin of 372-9 House Resolution 847 which states:

"That the House of Representatives --

(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;

(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;

(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;

(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;

(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and

(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world."

And other religions? What 'bout them apples, Squeaker Peloser?

And then there's the small matter of the U.S. Constitution which doesn't even qualify as a THEME PARK ride in the House's understanding.

Any word 'bout this from our candy-dates? Clinton, Obama, Edwards in particular.

Dodd stood up for the Constitution this week in a big way.

purple,

Thanks. I'm in my second round of treatment for the year: good old weird brutal Nipent still works. Rituxan, too, as a cell fabric softener instead of an eradicator.

How are you?

KC Clinton better be careful in what she's wishing for. Snark alert this BABE!

Brian
I predicted months ago Edwards would win

It's not rocket science. If you listen to the msmedia you have no idea what is going on. or like you --you have a set picture and no amount of facts will change your mind.

kgc,

Edwards in the caucuses is no surprise.

Professor Harold Hill did really great in Io-way, too, with his Trouble In River City rage against you-name-it campaign.

I'll give you that KC, yes you have been predicting Edwards in Iowa, however I beginning to think his win will be bigger than anticipated. And yes I am a dreamer so to speak, but I do take into account the facts. Frankly I didn't expect Hillary to melt down so quickly.

I have less of a problem with the hedge fund issue although Fortress has a bunch of scuzzy clients not just predatory lenders. But I think that just helps him with independents.

kgc,

How? Former Youth Wants To Know.

brian
there was no meltdown....that's what I mean about a refusal to face facts. She is a head in NH and ahead in Iowa where is the meltdown.

the ony meltdown was tweety predicting the biden surge and the Ghoul's presidency.

9/11

Isn't it the American way to make a lot of money and caveat emptor.

If there is any reason to like Romney, isn't it his business success? Same thing imo

Do you feel the same way about subprime mortgages?

9/11...Thinking about your 10:47 post...I assume few hedge fund owners would favor an Edwards presidency, given his current stand against big business interests as they stack up against the needs of the majority of the populace. So doesn't it follow that the hedge fund types would have nothing good to say about Edwards?

Romney's company's profits are all dumped offshore.

Nothing is contributed to the American tax base.

Hedge funds contribute NOTHING to the tax base at all.

Harborwoman,

Edwards so far has received AT LEAST over $300K in contributions from hedge funds -- only a third of that came from Fortress.

No candidate on either side has received more. (Dodd has done well with them because of how many of those relocated to CT.)

Melt downs don't happen over night. Third place in Iowa is going to hurt her, plus between now and Jan 3 I think her surogates are going to get far more negative with Obama than they have been up to date. Also as the Edwards surge grows she's going to be forced to go negative against him.

subprime mortgages
I don't have a problem with the concept. I have a problem with predatory lenders I have a problem with bait and switch mortgage brokers with sweetheart deals with banks.

I have do have a problem with George Bush making home ownership a front on the war on terror and then leaving the implementation to the predators.

The gooperShrub reguatory theory is benign neglect
and that is not consumer friendly.

Is there a place I can see documentation of that?

Yeah Brian you have been predicting a meltdown for weeks and yet she is still number one.

She doesn't have to go negative against Edwards Obama is going that for her.

The hedge fund issue is no issue at all. First of all it's an issue most voters don't understand, second no one doubts Edwards commitment to his ideology, one of his greatest selling points in fact is that he actually believes in something.

Edwards believes in things he frequently ends up having to apologize for....

Also, $300K is a fairly small amount of money, in the grand scheme of political campaigns...but are those direct contributions from hedge funds themselves, or contributions from some people who work for hedge funds?

I stopped paying attention to Edwards after his debate with Cheney turned into the most embarassing debacle for any Democrat in a national forum.

The great attorney -- famous for his fearless, ruthless crosses of plaintiffs on the stand -- failed in every aspect of his presentation. Cheney brushed him off like the preening lightweight he turned out to be when confronted by almost anyone. And then Edwards achieved the impossible -- he made Cheney a sympathetic figure when he made daughter Mary's sexuality an issue.

What has he had to apologize for, kgc?

Direct contributions from hedge funds, harborwoman. There is no figure available on personal contribution from hedge fund principals and employees.

And given campaign contribution restrictions for companies... that is a lot of money.

Edwards has served as a foreign lobbyist for the American hedge fund industry. That says enough to me about his populism -- it's pure poop.

She'll go negative towards Edwards after Iowa, make my words. She only wants him to do well in Iowa. After Edwards wins big in Iowa you're going to see a lot independents in NH swing to Edwards and he'll snapping at her heals!

Agreed that the performance vs. Cheney wasn't gold, but that was 4 years ago...and doesn't allow for growth and change. I guess I don't write people off that quickly.

He apologized for not knowing about the subprime mortgage of his hedge fund and for not knowing people were evicted.

Hedge funds totally supported and aggrandized the subprime market -- Nationwide was funded in great part by the hedge fund divisions of Wall Street houses.

Hedge funds manipulate and dispose of billions of dollars in a way that is free of all regulation and monitoring.

Investments anyone can make are sucked into their black hole on daily bases -- hell, one of them bought up all of NYC's unpaid parking tickets and charges a fortune to keep those charged out of court.

The subprime market explosion was sustained by the hedge funds. They "paid" for some of it and bounced back rather quickly because their profits are so huge and out of reach of scrutiny.

If everyone here finds that wonderful, please raise your hands.

Thanks, kgc...I remember that...but don't see it as a problem. I apologize for my mistakes, also, and I don't always know when I'm making them that they ARE mistakes. In fairness, I'll be watching Edwards, just as I will every other candidate, for the signs of hypocrisy you and 9/11feel you see. I think he's real.

NPR : Edwards' Ties to Mortgage Company ScrutinizedJohn Edwards has spent part of his campaign day in Iowa apologizing for his investment in two subprime lending companies. The Wall Street Journal reported ...
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12881916

hw
don't mind me, I'm just annoying Brian

I knew about it, kgc. So did everyone I knew since 2002 -- including people far removed from the financial markets.

That is a load of poopulist crap.

John Edwards never learned the basic lesson of life.

Apologies are ugly and self-serving acts of dishonesty when you make a public habit of them.

He blamed his Iraq vote on his advisers.

Who is he blaming this disaster on?

He is a typical goo goo -- because he believes himsefl to be so GOOOOOOOOD (Elizabeth, too), they get extra bonus points.

So HE gets a mansion. (He didn't have the liquidity to build such a thing before he got his hedge fund millions -- which go far beyond what he has reported as all hedge fund earnings are permitted to go.) Others lose their homes, their apartments, etc.

And he rages against.... Maytag over a hundred jobs lost? His conscience must be the loneliest guy in town.

This is the Edwards version of Hillary's amazing instant cattle futures round-up. Only a lot more profitable.

9/11...The structure of hedge funds, as you describe them, sounds like a particularly Republican construct to me...big business at its finest...not that I'm naive enough to not see that big business also owns many Democrats. But neither Edwards nor any other candidate or politician can be held responsible for what thousands are involved in. He can be held accountable for trying to reign it in, if he's elected.

And who is the only other poopulist in Ioway?

Ol' Nip And Huck hisself.

Well personally I blame the Republicans for being stupid and refusing to put the good of the country ahead of party loyalty.

Harborwoman,

So why is George Soros the king of them if it is such a Republican device?

Edwards knew exactly what they were about. That's why he was chosen as their foreign representative -- so he could present the whole picture and how foreign governments can benefit from them. Remember, he spoke to leaders and their financial people.

If he didn't know this, he is as dumb as Huck.

He wasn't selling 'em GIrl Scout Cookies -- he was selling them a path to greed and more wealth for the already wealthy.

It may be poop to him, but happily 9/11's opinion is worth nothing more than the time he took to type it out. I'll still with the opinions of the good folk of Iowa.
http://johnedwards.com/watch/doug-bishop/

Agreed, kgc...I just think they're 'stupid' in ways that ALWAYS seem to line their own pockets.

Well of the pile even with all the financial hooey, I like Edwards the best. To me nothing is more important then valuing American labor and trying to understand what must be done to make a competitive American labor market.

I think Edwards is committed to that.

KC that's the smartest thing you've ever said, I love you!

Gee whiz.

I was reporting what a major hedge fund owner told me.

Silly me!

Viva Brian! The brain that coke built!

Brian
you are such a slut

I forced myself to watch Bush today and came away with two conclusions: first, the press corps is even more hamstrung by this madman as is the Congress, and second, that Bush is, indeed, insane.

9/11...Why do you believe one example (Soros) changes anything I said?

And yes of course you have the inside tract on everything, and you know everyone, and everything that spouts from your often open mouth is the gospel truth.

Is there anyone you don't know? Is there anything you don't have the inside scoop on? I sit eager for your next bloviated post so you can set me straight. You're an absurd characture of a wannabe if there every was one.

KC this comes as surprise to you?

...and, kgc...I knew you were tweaking Brian...but I still wanted answers to my questions. I really appreciate that you ALWAYS back up your statements and opinions with hard evidence.

tweaking moi?

Oui! Tweaking toi!

I consider myself tweaked!

Brian in NYC...
Well Brian I had finished installing everything, all the updates and than the HP4180 Printer. I printed out a test page with no problems than went and installed the Sierra AirCard 595U with no problems. Disconnected the lan lead and connected through the AirCard with no problems.

Shutdown and on reboot got the same IRQL Error message like before. It appears that the printer and aircard may be trying to use the same memory addres. Before I shut down I checked for conflicts and there were none.

Also I noticed that the printer is installed to a USB virtual port instead of a regular printer port address. I'm now in the process of reformatting and doing another install of win2000.

This time I'm gonna load everything except the printer and if no problems give it to our other tech to install the printer. If it goes back to a BSOD on a reboot he may have to call either HP or Sprint for help as everything will have to be reinstalled again.

At this time I'm quite frustrated with this and have been unable to find any resolution for the cause of this problem except as I stated above thinking its a hardware problem between the AirCard and the HP Printer.

I'm going to lunch and will check back later. If you have any ideas I sure could use them right now.

Thanks for all your help and I'll see what happens after lunch in case you have any other ideas.

God Bless.

Anon...Not a techie, so I have no suggestions...but just wanted to say 'I feel your pain!' What a miserable mess !

Why are you reinstalling windows. Why not just uninstall the air card software. Or trying booting without the air card in the machine and sliding it in after the machine has booted. Also go into the bios settings and disable boot from USB device, that might be the root of your problem.

I wonder how Faux Noise will react to an Edwards/Obama ticket.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6Yp-MeXSysE

latest arg poll hot off www.pollster.com

Among 600 likely Democratic caucus goers in Iowa, Sen Hillary Clinton runs at 29%, Sen. Barack Obama at 25%, and former Sen. John Edwards at 18% in a statewide caucus; Sen. Joe Biden trails at 8%, Gov. Bill Richardson at 7%. Among 600 likely Republican caucus goers, former Gov. Mike Huckabee leads Sen. John McCain (28% to 20%) in a statewide caucus; former Gov. Mitt Romney trails at 17%, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani at 14%, former Sen. Fred Thompson at 5%.
Among 600 likely Democratic primary voters in New Hampshire, Clinton leads Obama (38% to 24%) in a statewide primary; Edwards trails at 15%, Richardson at 5%. Among 600 likely Republican primary voters, McCain and Romney (tied at 26%) lead Giuliani (16%); Huckabee trails at 11%

KC that poll is pretty out of step with the other polls.

Is it? Yesterday on Countdown Alison Stewart did a good job of making fun of all the different poll results.

I've seen at least one other with similar results

Brian...

Even with the AirCard and Printer unplugged it will not boot to a login screen. Goes to the IRQL BSOD. Will not boot into any advanced option. Just the BSOD which gives a timestamp file of ntoskrnl.exe.

God Bless

why are you using Windows2000? Do you have a copy of XP?

No, we only have a copy of win2000 for this computer.

God Bless.

ap, why don't you email me bgarens at gmail.

Brian...
I get back to you after work. I'll let you know what happens when I finish and are other tech who specializes on printers installs the HP sometime early, I hope, tomorrow.

God Bless.

Re: Edwards and Hedge funds

Just skimming through various entries today and wish I had time to read them all.

We shouldn't hate or love John Edwards based on which clients he represented. The important thing is that he appears to have been very good at what he did. A brief comparison of resumés will show that this already gives him a leg up on the current resident of the White House. Unfortunately, "W" is not his opponent.

Edwards represented hedge funds for the same reason Willie Sutton said he robbed banks. "That's where the money (is)was." The difference between the two is that Edwards was hired and earned money for himself and his firm. Sutton was more like a silent partner.

Well back from all my morning running around. It's nice to see you have been entertaining yourselves.

Hedge funds have been a disaster as the "bundling" involved in all the various instruments has made it possible for foreign nationals to actually raid the U.S. Treasury. Add to that the fact that anyone with a mortgage often has almost no way of knowing who is holding the paper on their home. This has lead to a lot of anguish simply because if you get into trouble with your mortgage, there is no one local to negotiate.

You cannot destroy the production base of a country without eventually causing a major crash simply because you have destroyed the middle class leaving a "have" and "have not" division.

If we luck out, the current "service industry" base will eventually morph into a newer "green industries" base so that we are back into some form of production again. Without tarriffs as a defense, it only makes sense for our current industries to migrate.

Of course the sheer size of world population could bring the whole thing crashing around our ears, but that is a whole other problem.

9/11 Thanks for the run down on Sweeney. I am looking forward to the movie even though the previews I've seen do indicate a loss in the strength of the music, but I think Depp will be an excellent Sweeney from an acting view.

Feel free to drop by my blog and bloviate to your heart's content. I've always found intelligence, talent and experience rather interesting.

Another worthless fact to be called my even more worthless opinion.

Who owns America's enormous debt?

Oh, yes. Debt -- even our national debt -- is an international financial instrument.

For a long time a private company owned a great deal of governmental debt, particularly among the financial paper tigers of Asia.

That company began to collapse ten years ago. If you remember how the world financial market dropped 500 points then... that was the unspoken, underlying cause.

In time piece after piece was bought by the People's Republic of China. Then all of it was. Then China began buying up greater and greater percentages of our T-Bills and other treasury instruments.

Now China has used the subprime market collapse via brokerage hedge funds to starting gaining greater and greater stakes in American That includes the giants Morgan Stanley and Citibank.

The same has happened with the largest bank in Europe (and by its own claim the world), Paribas BNP. It is not releasing too much information about who is supporting its REPORTED 20 billion dollar losses.

But someone outside of France is. And China has been involved in French debt buyouts for a decade.

Foolish people like me observe that America's own wealth dissipates through hedge funds... whether through the destruction of personal investments like homes and bank accounts... or the ruin of banks.... or, as stated above, the loss of American control of what had been American capital and the American financial system... and through the failure to pay taxes on not only a hedge fund's corporate earnings but the stakes paid out by it.

Also... for the record... Barclay Bank is the first foreign bank to sue an American hedge fund owner for the $400 million it lost through what should be regarded as the mere first level of the collapse of the subprime market.

According to a banker friend of mine who told me that was coming... that will not be the last.

I will repeat....

All Americans are suffering for this... whether their homes are at risk or not. This is affecting food costs insanely in the areas first hit the hardest by the subprime collapse... and less wildly but still insistently in others.

Again... no taxes were paid on the profits that were made.

Romney makes a point of saying that while his company's profits went offshore, his own did not.

Whoopdedoo.

And Edwards?

To claim ignorance is, as lawyers like both the Edwardses are, is no excuse.

This all was a major financial truth.

A person -- former US Senator and Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate -- is not sent by a 30 billion dollar plus hedge fund to represent itself and its industry to the head of Germany and other nations without knowing what the score is.

He apologized.

Same deal with me as with his blame-my-staff deal with Iraq -- apology not accepted.

Edwards is running on blame this and blame that. In about ten minutes he'll make the first thing we do is hang all the lawyers speech.

He hasn't the personal credibility -- or professional responsibility -- to be trusted with much.

But he sure does know how to push a jury's buttons.

George Deficit Bush.

The Democrats should have pursued the idea of the war tax, they could have reframed the issue of what is patriotic --being willing to pay the price of liberty.

harborwoman,

Soros essentially created hedge funds. And few people worldwide as as socially and politically committed to both progressivism AND anti-Republicanism as is he.

The hedge fund owners I know are generally all philanthropists and internationalists like he is. And most are in their donations at least moderately liberal.

Hell, Bill Clinton's BFF is Ron Burkle who owns Yocaipa. (Because of Burkle's mounting hedge fund issues, Clinton reportedly has reluctantly severed all his lucrative associations with Yocaipa and Burkle.)

All have funds worth over $10 billion. Several own ones that are worth considerably more.

In the presidential race, hedge fund donations to Democrats top those to Republicans.

Why?

Just ask Chuck Schumer and Rahm Emmanual... their stalwart supporters in, respectively, the Senate and the House. Hedge fund monies -- from corporate and private contribution -- are a big deal to each one's respective Democratic Senate and House campaign committees.

In fact, each has recognized the importance hedge funds have played in funding the 2006 Democratic victories.

harborwoman,
"Oui! Tweaking toi!"

"I love it when you speak French."

-- Gomez Addams

dnd...

Thank you! :)) Je parle un peu francais...or something like that!

Michelle, ma belle.
Sont les mots qui vont très bien ensemble,
Très bien ensemble.

What does that do for you dnd? :)

Show off! At least my smile was bigger, Brian.

yeah I'm a master or copy & paste!

9/11...

I'm not ignoring your long and thoroughly considered post. My ex is due shortly, and I have to make lunch and shower before he arrives (to see our son, not me, thank God...but I'd still rather not stink....). Will get back to you later....

Brian,
"What does that do for you dnd? :)"

No offense, but I prefer it from harborwoman. And now she's in the shower!

I do not pretend to understand the intricacies of hedge funds and all of the imaginative lending schemes. It is not surprising to me to think that these smart guys have also hedged their risks on which political party is in power. This fact alone feeds my fatalistic view that short of a total economic collapse, nothing meaningful will ever be done to bring us fiscal sanity.

Soup lines have a way of focusing your attention.

So, as the Quad City Times reports, Edwards' hedge fund of choice (for employment, investment and campaign donations) Fortress is staked in Whirlpool which closed the Maytag plant.

The story was pushed to them by Richardson's camp. But Obama's campaign is hollering "Plague! Unclean!" as well towards Edwards.

“John Edwards was paid nearly half a million dollars by the same hedge fund at the time the Maytag plant was shuttered, and he had $16 million of his own fortune invested there,” Becker said in a statement. “Can John Edwards be a champion for jobs in Newton, Iowa, when he works for and invests in a hedge fund that helped eliminate those same jobs? If anything, Edwards probably owes those families an explanation.”

"Dan Leistikow, spokesman for Edwards’ Iowa campaign, said Edwards had no role in the stock purchases, most of which happened after he stopped working for Fortress and make up less than one-tenth of 1 percent of Whirlpool. And he pointed to Edwards’ support of Maytag employees who lost their jobs."

So he is too busy fighting for (fill in the blank) to bother knowing what the people with whom he -- a dedicated POPULIST CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT -- invested his fortune and who he represented abroad might be doing with his fortune?

Yeah.

I want such a guy running the American government about the same as I want Bush running it.

Both have the same lack of awareness and responsibility for either their own direct actions or actions taken on their behalf by their official proxies.

I doubt there will be yet another famous Edwards apology UNLESS the part of his following which responds avidly to his bs populism starts going elsewhere.

Well, maybe there'll be a blame announcement. (He hearts teh blame of teh others... just like George does.)

Doubts stuff like this instils may very well affect how many votes Edwards will get from the Biden/Dodd/Kucinich supporters who votes get discounted when they reach less than 15% of the total.

mad,

The alarming rate of food price inflation in those areas most affected by the subprime failure truly scares me.

harborwoman,

Your posts motivate me in good ways.

There's a lot more of greater value and insight than what I write here (there, anywhere) about all of this all over the net.

Better to read those and form your own thoughts than to feel you (or anyone) should respond directly to my stuff.

I liked Craig's description of Iowa as the screening committee. Even though it's a small number of people I feel like they have made an educated choice not based solely on paid advertising.

Romney is a big fat liar
Romney fields questions on King
Campaign says claim not literal
December 20, 2007

BY TODD SPANGLER

FREE PRESS WASHINGTON STAFF

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has said he watched his father, the late Michigan Gov. George Romney, in a 1960s civil rights march in Michigan with Martin Luther King Jr.

On Wednesday, Romney's campaign said his recollections of watching his father, an ardent civil rights supporter, march with King were meant to be figurative.

Sounds as if Giuliani is through. They've let it go too long without a statement of some sort and now the press availability is with the Mrs.

Jamie,

According to the NYT as of 12:30 PM Central Time Rudy was still in that St. Looey hospital.

As for Romney... he just strapped his father's reputation to the top of his station wagon along with his poor, suffering dog.

Gee I wish I could exercise with "figurative" marches.

I liked it too KC, Iowa, the ultimate focus group.

"...tied to the top of his station wagon..." :)

I wonder if he will pull over to the side of the road and weep when he finds out.

Obama thinks being attacked for voting present is unfair. No one is allowed to say anything bad about Barry.

Every time he gets attacked he screams unfair.
Meanwhile every time msgop tries to make trouble for Clinton they run the COCAINE story. Big help tweety with friends like you.;;;

Okay.

John McCain has hired Bob Bennett: he is going to legal war with the NYT over an article which has yet to be punished, let alone written.

All the Times reporters have been doing is asking questions.

Just not yet to McCain. Bennett will now answer their questions for him.

The issue is McCain's "improper" relationship with one particular lobbyist.

The lobbyist -- a woman -- has lawyered up as well.

Of course, the story appeared on Drudge's Wholesome News first.

Drudge who published the alleged Times allegations will not be sued or dealt with by Bennett.

McCain, once beloved of fawning media gerbalists is treating a legitimate newspaper investigation of his history as IDENTICAL to the Bush slur campaign in South Carolina of 2008.

Except McCain never mentions Bush's name in that context.

So here is a newspaper investigation being threatened by a candidate with legal action prior to it even being completed.

McCain today said that he has "never done any favors for anybody -- lobbyist or special-interest group"

Well... somebody around here mentioned Gary Hart's challenge to the press

This is as big a challenge with 24 years of McCain in elected office to survey.

This is all... nuts.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/20/AR2007122001356.html?hpid%3Dmoreheadlines&sub=AR

http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003687696

mad,

Only time Romney has shown reported emotion was when he was asked what IF his sons had gone to Iraq...

He replied as though one or all had done just that and made the ultimate sacrifice.

The man has an unexpected imagination. Albeit a disturbingly unhealthy one.

I forget to add that this is kind of an extra nutty/crunchy statement by McCain given his history in the Savings and Loan scandal.

With that I fully agree KC, I was appalled that Obama didn't show up for Lieberman/Kyle

From Americablog:

Political Wire got an advance look at a new Strategic Vision poll in Iowa that also shows the Democratic presidential race in a statistical tie. Sen. Barack Obama leads with 30%, followed by John Edwards and Sen. Hillary Clinton tied at 27%.

For Republicans, Mike Huckabee leads with 31%, followed by Mitt Romney at 25%, Fred Thompson at 16%, Sen. John McCain at 8%, Rudy Giuliani at 6%.

The survey's margin of error is 4.5% and will be formally released tomorrow.

9/11,

Call me naive, but I'm saying "Good for John McCain." Whatever the investigation is, the reporters will always have a "truth defense" available to them. By hiring Bennett, McCain can only hope to keep the investigation from spilling half-truths, or rumors that could undermine his campaign. Sounds like he learned a few things the last time he went down this path.

I think Freud invaded your keyboard, but I like the idea of an article that "has yet to be punished."

EdVB,

LUCIEN Freud has! We went to see his MOMA show yesterday.

So do you feel that Duhya should sue the Times (which already went "off with our subhead!" yesterday as per Perino) anytime he feels something he doesn't like was about to published?

I'm sure bloggers will be next on the campaign trail of tears.

McCain has a history with that S&L scandal -- his statement denying any improprieties already throws itself fully into doubt and at least a half mile into ridicule.

9/11 did you know Freud?

Yes.

He's right here now. Oh... that's funny. He called you "Brian in ADD".

Wonder why....

9/11....
if I remember correctly..... New York state is going to be part of the upcoming Super Duper Tuesday, Feb 5th.....

have you decided yet whom you will vote for?

It is.

As of now I'm going to vote for Biden.

Though I may vote for Dodd if his challenge to Reid continues: it deserves support.

Somebody somewhere is going to tell me that my vote for either of them won't matter.

That vote will matter to me.

The November vote will probably be done while wearing the traditional clothespin on my shnozz.

Somebody somewhere is going to tell me that my vote for either of them won't matter.

That vote will matter to me.

good for you.....
I'm voting for Richardson in the NH primary ..... I know he won't win..... but I don't care..... I'm voting for the person I want to see become president....

as you said..... my vote will matter to me.....

Rudy just was released from that hospital.

He has scheduled a 9 AM presser in NYC for tomorrow morning. He is expected to list his flu symptoms as follows: "fever, exhaustion, muscle pain, nausea, sore throat, my really dopey Christmas ad..."

Renee,

Good for you. And good for Richardson.

In the last election, I didn't vote for any candidate for governor. I did vote for Andrew Cuomo because I felt he deserved a second chance based on changes in his thinking and his political behavior. I had voted for Thomas Suozzi against Spittzer in the Democratic primary and would never vote for Spitzer because of a strong sense of the damage he would cause again and again.

That turned out to be true and not because I'm particularly insightful or prescient --

Just because he is Eliot Spitzer.

Renee, Sweetie,
"I'm voting for Richardson in the NH primary ..... I know he won't win..... but I don't care..... I'm voting for the person I want to see become president....

as you said..... my vote will matter to me....."

Don't be so sure Richardson won't win, especially if everybody votes for the person they want to see president. Either way, I applaud you voting your heart. And head ;-)

FoxNews National Poll:

"Rudy has 20%, Huckabee 19%, and McCain 19%. Behind them are Mitt Romney at 11% and Fred Thompson with 10%. A month ago, Rudy had a healthy lead with 33%, with McCain his closest competitor at 17%. Huckabee, meanwhile, has shot up 11 points.

"On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton has actually widened her national lead even as she's started to struggle in the key primary states. Hillary has 49%, Barack Obama 20%, and John Edwards 10%. A month ago it was Hillary 44%, Obama 23%, and Edwards 12%."

Ed Schultz speaks for a lot in the party. He was right on target today.

9/11...

In the time I've been away from my computer, you've been asked...and subsequently answered...some of the things I was curious about...such as who's your candidate of choice? Before I say more, let me commend you on an excellent choice. Biden's my #2 choice...Edwards remains my #1.

Before I can respond intelligently to your assertion that Soros virtually created hedge funds, or that Edwards is far deeper into them than he would like anyone to realize, I'll have to do some research of my own. And that's basically what I would have told you earlier.

You seem to have a great deal of information. However, I don't let others dictate my opinions, so all I can promise is that I will do sufficient research (Googling!) of my own to satisfy my need to know. At that point, I'll make a decision as to whether or not my support of Edwards is a mistake.

The degree of your vitriol toward Edwards certainly gets my attention. But he is not and cannot be single-handedly responsible for the wholesale selling of our country to China...or anyone else with enough cash to dictate some terms. I can be counted among those who think the US is in very deep trouble...trouble of its own (read its politicans') doing. We, as a nation, have been sold out. As Jamie pointed out earlier, almost nothing is made here any more...and, subsequent to that, our lunch is being eaten by those nations where stuff IS made. The ascendancy of their standard of living is coming at a price that is turning out to be a major surprise (and not a pleasant one!) to most Americans...who have virtually no understanding of global finance. My own understanding of global finance is limited at best, and I know next to nothing about hedge funds, but I guess I'm about to learn....

Schultz has 3.25 million listeners a week... equal to the Bill O'Radio audience.

He's bigger than Tweety in everything but ego.

harborwoman,

My issue with Edwards is his willful blindness to his own hypocrisy and his use of the sort of rage which really demands a greater degree of integrity to support than he has.

Also... he represents himself as a great fighter and someone who can take on the GOP.

Plus there is the issue of Edwards abominable failure in his 2004 presidential debate.

Edwards couldn't beat Cheney on a single point... sitting down at a table. Cheney, who is no speaker or appealing public figure, flustered him, outacted him, successfully dismissed him before the first half hour was over and -- unbelievably -- came off as the more sympathetic figure.

Why would I want that man on a podium against even Romney?

This guy has done nothing to earn

harborwoman,

"This guy has done nothing to earn political trust. And if, as he said on Tuesday , he wanted to "learn" about financial markets... he sure entered one HELL of a work-study program at Fortress who paid him half a million dollars to go explain their appeal and usefulness (financial and political) to Merkel in Germany.

"Couldn't he have asked Bob Kerrey if he could audit a class or two at the New School instead?"

My favorable opinion of Edwards has to do with his willingness to acknowledge something almost none of the other candidates will even mention...the degree to which our political system fails to work for the good of the general populace. Obama mentions it...now...now that Edwards has gotten some attention for it...but the others are either mum, or sound as though they believe they can convince big business to have a heart. They can't. On that, I truly agree with Edwards.

I think Joe Biden is a marvelous man, and a damn good senator. But...I worry that he's such a part of our corrupted system that he will never work to rearrange the chairs...let alone give the good of the people a greater voice than those clamoring for the good of big business.

There is no hedge fund issue, it's a shabby trick of people who don't like Edwards. It's the type thing thrown up by the same crowd who like to mention Obama's middle name. It has no bearing on what type of president he will make.