Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

Hmmm....if I were comparing Fabian to one I considered the real deal, it would probably be Gene Pitney. Had the stuff to back up any hype.

Reposted from below, here's my trailspotting for Georgia yesterday

http://theaginghipster.blogspot.com/2008/01/georgia-primary-update-9-days-left.html

I'm out of here gang have a great day!

-Hipster

I see that the true SOB of the South on the Morning Load didn't bother to even take a full 24 hours off from Clinton bashing.

Jamie -- I just emailed Morning Joe and said I was starting to have flashbacks to impeachment, when right wing men spent millions of taxpayer dollars salivating over Bill Clinton's pants.

MoJo: "I'm going to start saying nice things about Bush because so many things are now getting better."

State of The Union speech is tonight. Lies, fantasies, smirks, and thunderous applause from the mindless Repugs. The nation will watch in horror and disgust.

load mouth is certainly a poopaloosa this morning.

yo soy Horsedooty!

It's now Romney vs McCain and the Clintons vs Obama.

Five people fighting for one office.

will I ever learn? POOPAPALOOSA* no more typing until at least one cup of coffee.

yo soy Horsedooty!

MoJo: "I'm going to start saying nice things about Bush because so many things are now getting better."
d
Nash -- Over the weekend I heard a show on NPR with a report from a guy who was covering Iraq in 2003. He said that the announcements coming to the press were non-stop wonderful. But when the administration flacks and military contacts were hanging out long enough to get drunk, the conversation ws almost always off the record and the same:"You have no idea how bad this is."

I think the same about this presidency. We have no idea how bad it has really been. So many decisions have been made and policy enacted under the radar, that it's going to take YEARS, maybe decades, to make it right. If that is indeed possible.

MoJo is broadcasting from the NASCAR Sports Grille in Orlando. This is a America's service-based economy.

Middle-aged white people eating too much, being served by illegals, in a venue dedicated to the worship of a mindless recreational activity that consists of people sitting on their butts and watching grown men drive around in circles, contributing to global warming.

I'll have a four- egg omlette, sausage, bacon, homefries, grits, buttered toast, and a quart of sugar water and food coloring that is supposed to be orange juice.

"So many decisions have been made and policy enacted under the radar, that it's going to take YEARS, maybe decades, to make it right. If that is indeed possible"

Whit is exactly why I don't think the candidate from "Change" is up to the job.

One "Gas Mask Special" for Nash.

Patsi: Bush is the best ally the Democrats have.

He's a demonic Energizer Bunny: he just keeps on going.

I gotta go to work. I'll check back later for the (obligatory) smart-ass Clinton bashing.

MO JO is full of pomposity today. He is beating Chris Marrhews in being rude, hogging all the air times and not being respectful to others.
When are people going to show outrage at Obam advertising in FL!!! On local TV in Tampa they are saying that HRC is breaking pledge, nothing about Obama advertising.

I think Ted can keep his endorsement.

Mika is succumbing to Joe, enough is enough. Quotin William Crystal!! That's an objective opinion. Bill Clinton was on TV Sat because he was giving a speech the media put him on TV.

Craig, MoJo is just down the street... You catching up later?

E of Tampa - The Tampa media needs to get the facts, HRC is not campiaging - she is Fund Raising. Come on, FYI - The ORlando Media did get this correct.

Patsi - and MoJo is correct regarding Bush, The house cleaning of Mid Term.

Wish I could stay and chat all day but off to work for a long week.

So Ted Kennedy has waded in and endorsed Obama.......might be a bridge too far......obama might be in over his head........etc etc.....

Craig: In the last 24 hours I've seen three Huckabee TV ads (here in Maine) saying he wants to "abolish the IRS."

* Have you sen this ad? It's very effective.
* I thought Huckabee was running out of cash. How can he afford this?

An older black woman just called C-Span and said that the media was demonizing Hillary and setting Obama up to get the nomination, at which point they would "kneecap" him just as they'd kneecapped Bill Clinton. She called the media "paid assassins." Ha!

Regarding Ted and Caroline's endorsements.....ironic that it is actually RFK that Obama supporters are comparing him to....and RFK's children are for the most part campaigning for Hillary. Maria Shriver will no doubt come out for Obama because Obama has said he'd consider Arnold for a position in his administration.

Nash.... because it's cheaper in Maine....

HarborW.... I'd like to say thanks for the bowling with cats game.... but now I'm a goddamn addict!... :)

Colleen..... you don't buy clothing...... are you the naked Emperor's wife....
hey... have a great time in Florida..... don't forget your bathing suit...

Craig.... your mother has spunk.... I like that...
and I agree with you that Florida will have meaning for the Democrats...

Jamie.... that's exactly what I thought when I saw Patsi's post.... all the more reason why I want someone who has at least an inkling of how things work in the WH.....

Have you noticed the table behind Mika and Joe? It's probably my suspicious nature, but that table has changed over at least three times and it is a mixed racial groupings every time while the table behind that is not.

Could MSNBC be "salting" the mine after our comments about the lily white group behind them in South Carolina? I'm not familiar with the restaurant so it may be in a college or young area where this is natural. Do any of the Florida residents know?

So when Mika asked Russert if there was a danger that anything said during the campaign could be interpreted as racist, he basically said YES, but the perception is that the Clintons were speaking in code....boiled down he said, "That's our story and we're sticking to it."

What's Huckabee's alternative to the IRS? If you're going to collect taxes from the populace, dont you have to have a dept that actually DOES it?

Nash,

Just saw the Huckabee IRS commercial here in Michigan Too, but on MSNBC. So he's gone nation wide in cable?

That Huckabee IRS ad is running here in Tennessee as well. Where did he get the money for nationwide advertising?

(Having said that, I want to say that I've seen many of Huckabee's ads run on MSNBC where I don't think he paid for the time....he got the ads on by people like MOJO talking about him....so I cant be sure if what I saw was paid for....)

Just saw the Huckabee ad here too in SW NH-

My, my..such tension between Mika and Scarborough this morning...yikes!!

JS just can't handle anyone who disagrees with him...look at him..his face is all flushed!!

Nash- Unless you've been to a Race- please don't knock it. Trust me it is not cheap to go to any Nascar events.

I boycotted the MSNBC morning show after Imus was fired and haven't looked back so I can't comment on MoJo. Thank god I had Direct TV so I get to watch Imus. I guess that RFD TV goes with my Nascar lovin' self. LOL

As for making excuses for Hillary, the only reason she is here is to campaign no matter how she wants to spin it. If the canidates wanted to be here they probably could have made a stink when the National party decided to punish Florida like a misbehaving child. It agrivates me the National Republican party had to punish us too.

Okay, stepping off my soap box now......

Have agreat day all!

I want to know when Craig gets to be on the show again. Do people who disagree with Joe get the boot?

Well, I'm off for a horrible day at Vanderbilt....but I do have a pal there who is an older black guy and pretty active politically. He's an Obama supporter, and we have in the past laughed about me voting gender and him voting race. I'm interested to get his take on everything. Haven't seen him since all this pot stirring.

Patsi,

If still reading, have him stop in. It would make a great conversation.

I usually watch Imus...but I just happened to click on Morning Joe...just in time for the "smackdown"!!

JS tried to intimidate Mika, but I think she really stood her ground with him. Unfortunately, they went to commercial and now they are "playing nice" again. :(

I wonder if they'll count the votes in Florida like they didn't before?

250 children taken hostage in Pakistan. Nice to know the ever expanding war is still going so well.

mornin' all.

jamie, thanks to Li'l Pogo's love of adrenaline, we've visited Universal 3 times in the past 4 years, and have been past the Nascar cafe a time or two although we didn't eat there. The Nascar cafe will have the errant black groups come through it I suppose, but since it does not open until 11:00 normally (I think - I've e-mailed a source in Orlando to confirm their operating hours), and aside from Starbucks and the little bakeries that open around 8:30 no restaurants are open there in the morning untilthe parks open at 9, this whole thing is an MSNBC put up job - probably their employees and fans of MoJo. If you want to see white folks, go to a nascar event - if you want to see black folks, go somewhere else. Oh, there will be a few blacks there who like to watch white rednecks race in circles, but since there is only one black driver that I'm aware of in the two top nascar circuits, there has not been a lot of publicity that generates interest in the drivers in the black community, so not many black fans.

ty, I guess the Huckabees of the world would rely upon the honesty and patriotism of the American people to send in their taxes. LOL Actually, It would likely be a system that automatically deducted the taxes and sent them to the treasury dept.

I almost spit my coffee all over the tv this morning when Joe said he didn't have anything against Bill - gimme a break. Didn't he vote to impeach him? and hasn't he been accusing him of every bad thing a campaign operative could do for the past two months?

Gotta go catch p on a few comments from yesterday - I got kicked off by the machine Saturday night and couldn't get back on.

Scarborough's ego driven vendettas are almost turning me into an Imus fan. At least the Imus ego driven vendettas were not created out of lies, subterfuge, venality, and malice.

Colleen..... ROFL!
(hope you know my post was just a tease)....

JennBe.... I agree..... of course Hillary is campaigning in Florida.... so what.... Obama is too with the ads.... so what.... Florida is going to mean something to the Dems no matter what "they" say....

Patsi.... good luck with your tests....

I guess MoJo decided to gloss over one of the major reasons that Lieberman is in Florida with John "There Will Be More Wars" McCain. Shuster tried to mention it, but was talked over by Joe.

Let's not break a Commandment and speak of the pandering to the Jewish voters in the Sunshine State. Oy Vay!! Cheers!!

Renee

Clinton is not campaigning in Florida. She attended a fund raiser. Unlike Obama, she is not doing anything the DNC said should not be done.

She has not put out one commercial, one mailer, one door to door campaign.

Of course, Scarborough would never say that just as he has not mentioned that RFK's children are endorsing Clinton.

"want to know when Craig gets to be on the show again. Do people who disagree with Joe get the boot? -- Posted by: Patsi"

hey guys, MSNBC has a MoJo thread for such questions: http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/board.aspx?BoardID=877

For the record on this Florida campaign ban -- the DNC's only official move was to strip the state of delegates. The campaign ban was a voluntary agreement among candidates to please early voting states, and it permits fundraising events. The Obama campaign says it got permission from the South Carolina Democratic Party to run national cable ads -- and the cable companies said they could not delete Florida from the buy (Clinton campaign responds that Obama could have run state-specifc ads in the 22 Super Duper Tue states, as they are doing, and avoid this problem).

jamie, correct, exactly. I, for one, find the excuse of the Obamans disingenuous - if they couldn't avoid running their national ads in FL as they claim, and they wanted to comply with the pledge not to campaign there, all they had to do was wait until tomorrow to start running the ads.

BTW, Krugman's column today is well worth reading.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/28/opinion/28krugman.html?hp

In defiance of Republican ideology that taxes are evil, a friend of mine in Minnesota, who is a reference librarian, and an awesome person has a bumper sticker on her car. It says "I gladly pay taxes. America is worth it".

Radical for the anti-tax ideology in the states, but glad to see someone understands that public investment is for the public good.

Thomas

Today I have cast my vote via absentee ballot for Hillary Clinton. No matter what happens I am glad I have had the opportunity to make this historic choice.

Jennbe: Why John Karry is not President.

In 2004, when asked what he thought of NASCAR, he replied with a typical senatorial rhetorical question...

"Who amongs us... does not like NASCAR?"

So George (a man of the poeple) Bush got relected.

(Excuse me. Got close enough in Ohio to steal it...again.)

First, those who don’t want to nominate Hillary Clinton because they don’t want to return to the nastiness of the 1990s — a sizable group, at least in the punditocracy — are deluding themselves. Any Democrat who makes it to the White House can expect the same treatment: an unending procession of wild charges and fake scandals, dutifully given credence by major media organizations that somehow can’t bring themselves to declare the accusations unequivocally false (at least not on Page 1).

---krugman

Thanks for that Pogo.........

And John KERRY didn't get elected, either.

Example of Scarborough/Mika balance. Rezko is hauled off to jail and they say "both" campaigns will be glad to get rid of him.

Let's see: A more than decade long relationship (Obama) is equal to one souvenir photograph at a meet and greet event.

Sheila,

As I know you support Obama, I have a question to ask you, not of Obama but of his supporters.

I have observed numerous times when the MSM will ask someone who they support or who they voted for and if their answer is Obama, the follow-up question is why, and the answerer is always the same, "Cause he represent change". Then the interview is terminated and onto the next person. Here is my question, why doesn't the MSM during these interview ask, "and what is the change you are expecting to see?" I might be a little to critical here, but I am beginning to think that they hear the word change, but don't know what that change is, or if it is even something Obama is even suggesting. It is starting to sound like a off the cuff sound bite for his supported to throw out with no thought or knowledgeable foundation of what Obama's vision of change means. Your thoughts.

I, too, would like to know what change and specifically--how.

from all of them.......

John Kerry had no charisma. He was like "son of Dukakis"... as mechanical and uninspiring as MD was in 1988. There was no pizazz, no personality. He came across as a haughty intellectual and that turns people off. Look at Bush... all he had to do was look as dumb as he is and throw some "good 'ole boy" rhetoric to the starving masses and he becomes "one of the people".

On another note. I was thinking today what a unique group we people are. Most people don't give a shit about politics because they don't think it affects their lives. Sometimes I wish I was like my brother and sister. They don't care. They have their homes and their quiet lives in Northern Minnesota and they are content. I, on the other hand, fret about everything. It's why I gave up helping on campaigns. I just couldn't handle the apathy. If people really took it seriously it would truly be "power to the people". And if the Repugs would stop trying to challenge voters' right to vote and together, with the Dems, require everyone to vote, democracy would prevail. Of course the Repugs fear this because they know when the chips fall, they are in the minority The monied interests will do whatever is necessary to disenfranchise the masses.

jamie: I, too noticed the suspiciously "diverse" collection of people behind MoJo this AM. They had young black men sitting with young white women. Hispanic men with beards and pony tails. All they needed was a guy with red hair and a shamrock on his t-shirt drinking green beer, a couple of ultra-orthodix Jews in prayer shawls, and someone with a "Remember Stonewall" sticker on their wheel chair.

They were plants, rounded up by MoJo's producers. Notice that NONE OF THEM LOOKED AT THE CAMERA?

Real people do that. Recruited background extras do not.

I thought morning load was a christian
if so he is surely going straight to helll for all the lies he has told...jsut this morning. the rezko revisionist history is an outright lie

there is no speculation that obama had to return 40k and based on Senator's Clinton hairstyle in the photo this is a very old picture.

what a bunch of liars

I can't relate to the news shows you guys are talking about because I don't get American television, except for the DVD's I bought of That Girl, Mary Tyler Moore, The Doris Day Show, The Munsters, The Addams Family, Bewitched, The Bionic Woman, Wonder Woman, and I Dream of Jeannie. Who'd guess I was actually into politics? :-)

MoJo had Cheney's daughter on as I was leaving the house.

Did the subject of gay marriage come up in their discussion with her? I'll bet NOT.

Typical Republican trick: Gays/Lesbians etc know who she is, so the Republicans score some points while the morons in the base don't know, so they aren't alienated.

Mary Cheney is a Lesbian Uncle Tom for the right wing. She even was a windbag for union buster and right wing fanatics known as COORS. What a waste of space.

Oh and I must salute the public workers at the U.S. Embassy in Bruxelle. My Passport renewal was to take 45 days and I got it returned to me in less than 30! Contrary to what many think, public workers care and work hard. Bravo!

YOU BETTER GET TO LIVIN'

Ted's endoresement is no big deal but Caroline's is, to any Democrat my age (57) or older.

I was only 12 when JFK died but I watched it on TV and was very moved. Caroline has stayed out of politcis so her reputation is untarnished.

She is the torch-bearer of Camelot (to mix a couple of metaphors).

So, if Obama = JFK
Then, Clinton = Nixon

Or Clinton could be Adlai Stevenson or Estes Kefauver

or any of the other really progressive people in the Democratic party that Kennedy crushed

we are still in the primary

there are no Nixon's in the Democratic party
that is reserived for the goopers

This past Friday's Christian Science Monitor had a column on it's back page entitled, "Signs your presidential campaign is in trouble", by David Letterman....

#9 was.... "you're often described as John Kerry without the charisma"....
(I'd say Fred Thompson got that just about right).....

Jamie.... yeah.... I know Clinton is doing fundraising.... but in my book... that is also campaigning..... once again..... SO WHAT... in my book.... it's also a smart move....

The Cheney daughter that was on MoJo, wasn't Mary, it was Liz, who is heterosexual. Just for clarification. Cheers!!

C'mon, the change is that if Hillary or Obama is elected, there won't be a white guy in the oval office. Sheesh. There, I've injected race and gender into the campaign. So sue me (being a defense lawyer, that doesn't exactly strike fear into my heart).

nash, I just checked a different website the official one for the Nascar Sports Grille - the Nascar sports grille restaurant at Universal does indeed not open until 11 a.m. Everyone there is a plant.

Rezko just arrested!

It doesn't matter which democrat takes over the white house, there will be significant change. Who knows? Maybe America's nearly destroyed reputation worldwide can be repaired.

oh, BTW, nash, you're welcome. I live to serve.

Maybe Senator Clinton just couldn't pass up a good pirate celebration argggggggggg

http://www.gasparillapiratefest.com/

Tom Freedman: "MoJo" is Morning Joe, MSNBC 6:00-9:00 AM news and political TV talk show hosted by former Republican Congressional Rep Joe Scarborough, and two intelligent, but paid-to-act-flaky, assistants.

They read newspaper headlines, flirt with each other, interview guests, and drink WAY too much coffee.

When they have Craig on, he gets five minutes, tops, and Joe interrupts him so often he hardly ever gets to finish a sentence.

TF, we can only hope. The only way our rep could get worse IMHO is to put John (more war, more war, more war, BTW, did someone cal me a hero? thanks) McCain in the WH.

It's pretty sad when the Fox news coverage is more accurate than nbc

because russert has the gotcha picture they got from drudge then nbc has to make themselves the news
they do this all the time ...it would be one thing if what they were saying it true but they are nothing but big fat loads of crap

Howdy friends. Happy Monday.
Just a short drive-by this morning to post this link to an interesting Howie Kurtz piece on Obama's relations with the on-the-ground press corps. Sorry if someone already posted and I missed it. Pretty good stuff here:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/27/AR2008012702160_2.html

... because Craig disagrees with 90% of what Joe says as Joe shills for anything that is not Clinton.

(just fixing your typos, nash)

Thomas,

If you have the technology, you can get free podcast download from MSNBC website

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3096434/

Morning Joe isn't available (it is a three hour show), but you can get two other shows we regularly go on about: Hardball (Chris Matthews), Tucker(far right waste of space that should be thrown out of the gene pool), and Countdown (Keith Olbermann - a favorite of most here).

My bad. I posted the second page of the link. Here's the first page.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/27/AR2008012702160.html

Three shows. More coffee. Can't count

Thomas Freeman you are better off for not getting them

you are all addicts! We need a 12 step program regarding talking heads programs... "Hi my name is Thomas, and I am a THIS WEEK addict"... "I have come to believe that a power greater than me can restore me to sanity"... :-) Personally I recommend http://www.fair.org. Don't miss Amy Goodman's "Democracy Now" which we run at the radio station I used to work at in Washington State.

Five soldiers killed in Mosul breaking news. This is where that massive bombing killing over 30 people and wounding more than 70 took place.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22879791/

sturgeone,

My point exactly. If I was advising Obama I have him cut back on the change rhetoric and come out with more specifics as to what his vision of change consist of and how does he plan to achieve those changes. I think if he keeps walking down this path he is setting himself for a major fall. Although I won't be voting for him, and I think his story about cocaine use as a teenager is a contrived story to get the 18-25 year old vote, I actually like the guy. Although not his fault, his real problem is his lack of experience, and that is something all his well delivered speeches will not be able to over come.

And another interesting piece from Columbia Journalism Review on Clinton and Obama's press relations:

http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/seeing_the_light_in_south_caro.php?page=all

All this coming from today's Romenesko.

Do you guys know how I change my login... I mean I'd rather use my moniker which is EUROTOM as opposed to my formal name.

By the way, I'm STILL thinking about Craig's posting yesterday, even though I didn't agree with it.

Craig is one of the few independent minds in the pundit racket, where the "conventional wisdom of the day" is endlessly repeated.

And he attracts a lovable bunch of screwballs to this blog, almost all of whom seem to be liberals and independents, although Craig is scrupulous about maintaining his nuetrality on all issues.

OK...he has become a bit of a "Clinton-lover" lately. But that's just his contrarian nature, trying to swim against the media's "conventional wisdom" that has cast the Clintons as the Dark Lords of Mordor. (Which they are.)

nash, which they aren't... they rock.

Better Get to Livin"...

aren't you the Dolly fan here, besides me?

no hucksterbee ads in California

Colleen's and WhiskeyJack's exchange last night about textiles got my juices flowing....

most of you know I weave scarves..... but for that 9-day fair I do in August, I've always woven a line of housewares made from rags..... I experimented last year and brought only scarves to the fair.... it was a mistake.... I'm now weaving place mats, table runners, hot pads, and mug rugs again for this year's fair.....

the rags are made from bolts of cotton cloth that I purchase at fabric stores..... up til 5 yrs ago.... I bought only bolts that were made in the USA.... I advertised this fact with a sign in my booth.....

4 yrs ago.... I had to take that sign down..... one day I went to Jo-Ann Fabrics and the only bolts made in the US I could find were 3-4 times the price per yard I could afford and still make a profit...... the bolts at the price I usually paid were all made in China.....
it felt like this happened over night....

I hate purchasing my bolts from China..... but I don't have any choice if I want to continue to weave a line I've made a reputation on without pricing myself out of the market.....

that's my story on textiles.....

Are you really THE Thomas Freedman (NYT Columnist), or just a fan?

If you are THE Tom Freedman, how much did you get when you sold your soul to global capitalism? (A Lexus and an Olive Tree?)

RFK, Jr. article on the Clintons from December

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr/hillary-haters-and-the-ro_b_76573.html

RR,

My sister-in-law use to do that an bought all her rag material from Good Will. No lie she bought 50 mens suits and shredded them into rags for floor mats, etc. She said she did OK, but last year she sold everything, loom included to a weaver in Michigan.

nash were you named for George Romney's creation

Renee, do you sell your line on-line? I would love to see them.
I recently just started playing around making mixed media collages with lots of textiles.
Who new we were all crafty too!

For my other Floridaians who haven't voted yet please vote NO on Prop Tax amendment.

Wow does Jo-Ann Fabrics still exist? I remember relatives going there at Apache Plaza in Minnesota when I was a little kid.

apparently morning load couldn't lie about the rezko arrest so now they are trying to make it all about the Kennedy's...

I thought Obama was all about turning the page not going back to the 60's and talk about a president who could not keep it zipped

apparently morning load couldn't lie about the rezko arrest so now they are trying to make it all about the Kennedy's...

I thought Obama was all about turning the page not going back to the 60's and talk about a president who could not keep it zipped

Renee: The relenless forces of global capitalism have enveloped you, too.

But it's OK to get your raw materials from China. The US labor value-added is what counts. Textiles is one industry we could never have kept in-country: simple technology, unskilled labor-intensive.

Do you sell your stuff from a website? If so, let us know the address. It sounds like you make ideal "birthday gift" items which I usually by on-line.

well if you mean me, I am Thomas FREE MAN.. there is no D in my name and believe me, I am not that important in the larger scheme of things. Strange question though.

I guess there's a reason I failed that typing class in High School!

Nash,

Look back. This Thomas Freeman lives in Belgium

nash, I think you guys are giving Craig a bad rap by mistaking his criticism of biased media coverage as support for a condidate who is prejudiced by it. I just don't see how his disagreeing with unduly favorable media treatment of Obama and unduly unfavorable media attention of Clinton makes him a Clinton lover. He's a media critc by and large, as well as a political pundit, and if the coverage bias was reversed, I would expect that Craig would be calling it biased in favor of Clinton.

jamie
snark detector should always be working when reading Nash :)

JennBe,

"For my other Floridaians who haven't voted yet please vote NO on Prop Tax amendment."

What is the Prop Tax amendment?

Is he talking about the NY Times columnist? I thought he was Friedman like Milton Friedman ...

JennBe
If you do not mind explaing...I am curious as to why you are opposed to the Prop tax amendment. I thought the amendment was a republican backed measure and the reason for the early primary. Isn't Gov Christ the major backer

Thomas

Do you see the little blue link that says "Sign IN" below "Post A Comment"? You can create a Typekey identity as "Eurotom" and then use that for your sign in. After you sign in that way, you can check "Remember personal info?" and from that point when you click on "comment anonymously" it should fill in your details automatically.

If you have problems, do a shout out to Craig. He can probably get it fixed for you.

no sour grapes here

only old vine zinfindel

fry....
weaving rugs is another ball game..... you can use bits of this and that as long as they are the same material..... like all wool or all cotton...

I weave a whole line of matching stuff...... in order to get enough of a color to go through 8 place mats, a table runner, and some mug rugs, I need to buy whole bolts of cloth....

and yes.... I sometimes turn the leftovers into rugs..... but haven't woven any for about 5 yrs now....

I had a customer who said he was inspired by my creations come into my booth last year and was very disappointed to not see my housewares...... he brought along pictures of the 2 rugs he'd woven from his and his wife's old blue jeans.....

it's hard to make money with weaving..... it's so time consuming....

FREE-MAN vs FREED-MAN?

Sorry Tom. I need new reading glasses.

Begium? Capitol of the infamous global chocolate monopoly that ruthlessly oppresses Ghanian peasants. (I heard that on BBC this AM).

Baaah most of our chocolates come from Ivory Coast.

Fry- here is an article today on the Safie Review.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/florida/sfl-flfproptax28sbjan28,0,959274.story

I don't think the article touched on it but there are problems with the amendment that I think could over a period actually increase prop. taxes. My husband is the expert on it so for this one instance I actually take his advice.

BTW, an interesting side to the Prop Amd. is the amount of independant voters that have come out to vote for/against it and are not even eligible to vote in the primaries. Could be interesting in the General Election if they have to put another Property Tax issue on the ballot and the turnout of voters here in Florida.

Hope this helps

BELGIUM (Typo)

I'm a fast (but sloppy) typist and this font is too small for me to edit.

Once again I forgot to use Firefox which has spellcheck.

Curse you, Microsoft Internet Explorer!

I love Brugge

Good morning, Posse,

Just a quick note to relay the latest data from the Intrade Presidential Futures Market in Florida....

Obama has gotten no support in the Florida market since South Carolina....The market is still shaping up to resemble the results in Michigan.

The Florida futures market is breaking in a big way for McCain this morning, after 5 days of exchange trading between McCain and Romney. Given the recent volatility in this market, I would expect to see additional volatility as the day progresses.

I'll probably do a late afternoon update, with a full wrap-up of the markets around 10 CST this evening...

More as events warrant -- Spike

KCG, now I'm going to have to actually read the Amendment! LOL!

test

For those of you (like me) who are having difficulty keeping up with who votes when for which party and who's won what and what does it mean as far as delegates go, here's a handy, dandy delegate tracker link.

http://hosted.ap.org/specials/interactives/campaign_plus/delegate_tracker/index.html

Ted Kennedy sucked up to George Bush and brought us no child left behind...

is this what we can expect from Obama bipartisanship

RR,
it's hard to make money with weaving..... it's so time consuming....

I can attest and sympathize with you on that. I think most weavers sell there product for 2 to 3 times the cost of the material, plus a little extra for time spent weaving. If you tried to sell them for all the hours you have invested in them you would never be able to sell them.

JennBe & Nash....
no.... I don't have a website....
every crafts peerson I know that does says it never generates new customers....
they basically maintain it to keep in contact with old customers....

people want to touch and see craft work in person before buying something...

and JennBe.... just FYI.... calling a professional crafts person "crafty" drives them crazy..... it's a term usually used by and forf hobbyists....
nothing wrong with being a hobbyist..... that's how I started out..... I now weave about 50 hrs a week....

as a matter of fact..... break over.... time to get back to work....

Nash I downloaded a spell check that works with I E and my life has been somewhat more simple but it is not automatic like Firefox. You have to remember to run it. It is called ie spell and can be down loaded from
www.iespell.com .

yo soy Horsedooty!

oh crap... I hit submit too fast....

ThomasF..... yes..... Jo-Ann Fabrics is alive and well.....
there's lots of them here in the northeast.... I live in NH....

RR...Glad you're enjoying (though becoming addicted to) bowling for cats! :-)) Me, too! Which is how a Halloween game comes to still be in my computer in January....

Tonight should be rich...how will GWB spin the disasters of the past year into a happy little SOTU speech, assuring us all that the economy is strong and we're doing far better than we think we are...and NOLA has risen and is now ABOVE sea level...YEA!!! (Best thing JS has said in ages...just heard him mention that tonight's speech will be GWB's FINAL SOTU address. Thank you, God!)

And then...on to FLORIDA...tomorrow....

in fact Kennedy has a mobbed up girlfriend who spied on him

the only difference is the press covered up for him

dang, pogo, i could not have said it better myself. you are my new press secretary: http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/01/florida-scene-setter.html#comment-21362

i have a long history of jumping ugly on my colleagues when they become cheerleaders or a killing mob-- and have been chuckling to myself about the irony of this situation because my disdain for the Obama coverage is exactly where i was on the media's Clinton love fest in 1992.

today's media needs to be reminded often it is not their job to make the news

good job Mr. Crawford

i missed pogo's comment...

right, I see it now... duh, Craig had the link... I still need to figure this out. Pogo makes a VERY important point.

Craig, in the media world, coverage goes to the one with momentum. Although, I respect your opinion, I think you assessment of the Obama coverage is a little over the top.

Cheryl

Have you been anywhere near MSNBC Morning Joe today? It has been non stop combination Clinton Bashing and Obama fan club without even the pretense of any balance.

The Bias is okay, but lying by omission is dishonest. They are supposed to at least make a minimal effort to tell the truth.

Clinton love fest? That's an image I don't need.

Blue dresses, un-inhaled pot, and Big Macs dripping with "special sauce."

LOL Thomas,

I have to interupt. I knew Brit Very Well in the WH and I can tell you, his ego on camera is over the top....EVERYONE teased him incesently about it. Including jokes involving a whole ariplane full of journalists.

BUT. Wonderful human being. The kindest of men and that is why he was teased for his on camera bombastic ways.

Who is the most annoying news reporter on television?

Reporter or commentator.

Commentator: Chris Matthews

Sheila there you are. I posted a question for your reply.

Joe is a Republican, did you ever stop to think that maybe they are doing the overkill on Obama coverage for strategy reasons. For some reason, the Republicans are starry eyed over Obama, Bill Bennett for example.

Nash,

Renee was kind enough to bring both Blue and myself scarves when we were in Vegas. Her work is beautiful and I have four pictures. Let me get them uploaded on line and I'll let you know where to go to have a look.

Here in Puritan New England, Bill's sexual immorality is an issue. He should burn off his excess energy by doing something healthy...like mountain biking.

btw, Craig, my services as press secretary come cheap - my legal services, well, that's a different matter altogether.

kool-aid induced haze? LOL... we don't even have that product here. Nice try. But I have re-read and you are correct. I missed the original post above.

Mea Culpa

Sheila, were you a reporter?

Cocaine cocaine cocaine

"Who is the most annoying news reporter on television?"

There are so many! And they may not all be considered reporters, but...

Bill O'Reilly
Sean Hannity
John Gibson
Keith Olbermann (when he gets going denigrating anyone, and I mean ANYONE, famous who's managed to land in a spot of trouble; otherwise, he's great)
Tucker Carlson
Joe Scarborough
Most of the snarky little female news readers on MSNBC (seem to think we want to hear their opinions when we really want to hear the news)

I could go on, but I'll stop....

nash, LOL. He could do that with Dumya. (Although frankly I have found that cycling doesn't do a thing about THAT excess energy).

I'm sorry Renee, I understand. Just meant it in a friendly way.

KCG, had to think about your question while I was in the shower. I think someone else posted over the weekend that Gov. Crist is not as popular as the love fest for him on MSNBC would have you think. I am a Republican and usually vote that way but I also like to think I use common sense. For example I voted for the class size amendment in Florida because it made sense, limit the amount kids in each classroom and provided the Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten program we now have. The VPK program vote was for more selfish reasons as that it cut my $600 plus a month daycare costs buy close to half.

An aside, just got a personalized robo call from Mitt addressing me by name. I wonder if they will call again for my husband by name.

I don't know why I'm so amused by the politcal calls this election, oh well.

Romney 1-28
"I don't see how you can have a president who doesn't understand how the economy runs"

Well Mitt we have one now.

Just Notice anotherMedia trend:
Newsweek On-line has added another link to the choices:
OBAMA REPUBLICANS

Now they have not at this point populated the content yet. But this is one more attempt to "gush" over OBAMA and position him as the only canidate a Republican should consider voting for.

I am very dismayed about the un-fair and un-balance coverage by our media. Actually it makes me very angry.

Shirley

actually I think inhaling cigarette smoke is a horrid notion. As if we don't inhale enough carbon monoxide as it is. YUCK!

NASH and anyone else interested

Here are four pictures of scarves woven by Renee

http://reneweaver.blogspot.com/

KGC, watch out, you just said "cocaine" 3 times. You're race bating. Everyone knows only blacks buy or sell the product.

Cool Jamie, and I like the owl too! Great talent Renee... I am off now. I need to unwind away from the computer. Watching old episodes of The Doris Day Show. For some reason I seem to love these 60s shows.

POST-DISPATCH SPRINGFIELD BUREAU
01/25/2008

Barack Obama today acknowledged that it was ``boneheaded” for him to get involved in a personal real estate deal with a Chicago political fundraiser (Rezko)who has since been indicted on influence-peddling charges.

Funny- I thought he said he only did 5 hours of work for Rezko????

JennBe
didn't mean to say it was a Crist sponsored measure - I thought it was Republican in general and the real reason for moving up the primary to have a vote on this issue

It is a good thing when people step away from their party platform to consider other consequences. It takes work to be an informed voter.

and
not for Jennbee

But to be fair

haircut haircut haircut

RR...Your scarves are beautiful! Hope to meet you one day and have the opportunity to shop at one of your booths!

rr
your work is beautiful
thanks Jamie for posting the pix.

HW

"Most of the snarky little female news readers on MSNBC (seem to think we want to hear their opinions when we really want to hear the news)"

You wouldn't be talking about the ones that I call the "Lying Sack of Cute" as I put them in the same class as the current lamebrained White House spokeperson.

Something amusing to share

I just ran across this. It was new to me, it may be old to .everyone else. I'm tempted to make it part of my signature.

"Remember, every problem has at least one clear, straightforward, and totally incorrect solution. You’re part of that solution"

Jack

The scarves are gorgeous, love your color combos. Just curious but have you tried selling just a few on Etsy.com?

Thanks, Katherine

h20storm (Shirley is it?) The Obama camp is trying to quietly back away from last week's Rezko denials. If Barack ends up winning the nomination, that shit, along with the unreturned campaign contributions and an anlysis of which "present" votes benefitted Rezko will be all over the news thanks to some Repug 527.

Thomas Freeman, do you really believe your statement? Any one who would make such a general statement has serious intellectual issues---joking or not. Your statement is very offensive to others on this Board.

Thomas,

That is my owl because I set up the site really fast on my Blogger account and it went with the "about me" that I have on my blog.

Renee,

If you would like to send me a bio, I can put up a picture of you with that description.

TF, actually, she's a fan of JJ Cale.

Cheryl what statement? about cocaine? This is my new sign in by the way.

Annoying:

Mica (woman on Morning Joe)

thanks pogo

Thanks Jamie for your help?

LOL, Jamie! "Lying sack of cute"...lololol! Yes, those would be the ones....

Cheryl, I think you may be talking about TF's statement about selling cocaine being only something done by black folks. I don't think TF believes the statement or that it was joking, I think that's sarcasm over claims of injecting race into the campaign by referring to his drug use and Shaheen's earlier comments.

Pogo- I think I like Storm better.....I have never like my own name :)

You are correct about a 527. I can imagine some really nasty stuff coming out the fall....for everyone. Too bad the writer's are on strike, there is very little levity surrounding this campiagn season on TV.

I liked to see them make fun of everyone!!! I feel like laughing :)

hey guys, it's not that trashing one of my employers is a problem or anything, but when you've got so much to say why not go tell it to msnbc their own selves?

here is the link to the MSNBC message board: http://boards.msn.com/MSNBCboards/thread.aspx?threadid=541402

"Morrison, whose acclaimed novels usually concentrate of the lives of black women, said she has admired Clinton for years because of her knowledge and mastery of politics, but then dismissed that experience in favor of Obama's vision.

"In addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other candidates," Morrison wrote. "That something is a creative imagination which coupled with brilliance equals wisdom. It is too bad if we associate it only with gray hair and old age. Or if we call searing vision naivete. Or if we believe cunning is insight. Or if we settle for finessing cures tailored for each ravaged tree in the forest while ignoring the poisonous landscape that feeds and surrounds it.

"Wisdom is a gift; you can't train for it, inherit it, learn it in a class, or earn it in the workplace - that access can foster the acquisition of knowledge, but not wisdom," Morrison wrote."

I have relatives in Florida and it shocks me that their opinion on these words sounds like many Republicans who I have spoken to about the race over the weekend. What I am hearing is the total shock of the claim that creative imagination coupled with brilliance equals the wisdom shown by Obama. I mean really now, brilliance? Creative imagination? Most even in the media were surprised that Obama debated so poorly. Was it brilliant to say the first thing he would do after a terrorist attack here on a major city was to call the fire department? Was it brilliant to say Human Rights trump National Security and ignore Darfur, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Saudi Arabia (no protest when rape victim was threatened with punishment), or the trend in China and Russia. Whose Human Rights was Obama talking about? Americans? Was it creative imagination coupled with brilliance to spin Clinton remarks as racist, circulate a photo op of the Clintons with Rezko, talk about putting our troops past the Kyber Pass in Pakistan (what a bright idea) and support the personal attacks on Patraeous who is now is credited with turning around the violence in Iraq? Say our General had betrayed us? And he failed to vote on the resiltuion taking MoveOn to task while Hillary voted against it while making clear she had never and will never call the General what that ad implied. She did condemn it publically. Did Obama in his infinite wisdom? Imagine Obama working with Patraeous who might become NATO cammander. Does Obama have any comments on the nomination of Patraeous to that position? What lack of brilliance on Obama's part in order to 1. not vote and 2. iuse the opportunity to pander to the anti-war wing while claiming not to pander. Creative imagination or sheer hyprocricy? You decide Democratic voters. Let's see how fair and balanced our vison of reality really is. At least Hillary's thinking here was honest in that Republicans failed to condemn attack ads at Kerry who now endorses Obama, so why attack MoveON?. Go figure that one Obama supporters if you dare.

Family in Florida who have always voted Democrat are sickened by the piling on of the Clintons and the less than brilliant tactics of the Obama campaign in cahoots with Media who today keep slamming the Clintons from the Left and Right. I suspect I know why Obama doesn't want the Florida vote to count.

Ted Kennedy, Kerry and others will be wonderful endorsements come November. Has anyone in the media pointed out that the Left is endorsing Obama while he brilliantly calims to be the uniter and the one most likely to create a bipartisan climate?

Republicans laugh at Morrison's endorsement as further proof of the Democrats eating their own. Creative Imagination? What, is Obama a novelist and we all have failed to buy his secret new book? What might that be? I have read his piece in Foreign Affairs, the transcripts of speeches given to AIPAC and in support of Kerry back in 2004. I have read his spin on what America should do in Pakistan, but I don't see much creative imagination with the exception of characterizing America's threats clearly. The Republicans know this and are quite amused at the Second Coming of Barak. It is pretty creative explaining his upbringing abroad as Obama's special lesson on Foreign Policy. I can only reflect on the violence that troubles the very places Obama visited. And I also note how well respected the CLintons are abraod. Far more respected than the Democrats seem to respect them now.

It was very creative to couch his campaign in the mantle of MLK, JFK and Lincoln without any matching policy details. Hell JFK lowered taxes and escalated Vietnam while not backing down to the Soviets. Teddy had nothing to do with that and is lucky his career survived his drinking and driving record. Most of all, as Republicans note, it was incredible creative imagination that linked Reagan to Obama's message. Yes, over look the strange spin of that while allowing the media stage for Obama's wife to link Hillary's comments to racism. And FOx suffers from bias? LOL

How can common sense Democrats not be troubled by this pomp and blather? While Biden, Kerry and other constantly told media that the HUFFPO, Kos and more radical elements of the left had NOTHING to do with mainstream Democrats, it is clear now, that using media and surrogates, the Left has managed to drive their fairy tale, creating a Camelot that does not exist in policy or honesty. Holywood has been more feeble than media these days in creating fiction which makes you wonder if all those writers had taken up secret jobs in the Obama/Media camp.

In short, Republicans love this turn of events. They find it funny and hope the moonbats can put the final nails in the Clinton's coffin. Florida will send a message that Clinton is not dead. Of course if California, New York and others fall to the Obama derangement craze, then all bets are off. I suspected that the treatment of Lieberman was the beginning of the DEAN wing giving the Left much more say in the Democratic Party. I had hoped that the center would hold. If the Democrats succumb to wishful thinking, purty words over substance, rhetorical hope over realism and bipartisanism, truth over conventional tactics of division and inuendo, then many Democrats will not come out or may even support a McCain or Bloomberg should he run.

Is that a betrayal? Not when Obama threatened that his supporters might not back a Hillary. Creative imagination coupled with brilliance creating wisdom.?...what an overblown and unsupported observation of a campaign that has created the most divisive Democratic primary in years. Oh I forget the evil Clintons did that all by themselves,

DLCers, moderates and Independents have every right to support whatever candidate they think will guard our national security, reach out to the other side, negotiate from a position of strength, not retreat and above all talk honestly about their record and policies. I would rather have an honest candidate who didn't agree with all my views than a candidate that plays it all ways to get elected."

Who said, I would rather be right than President? Obama reflects the idea that "I would rather be vague and disingenous than not be President". How creative, brilliant and wise this turns out to be, only time and America's common sense will decide.

Given our Bush years we might have good reason to worry.

I stopped watching anything NBC when they cancelled Another World, a show I watched for like 20 some years. Bastards! (Totally nothing to do with politics, but ...)

No prob Eurotom - I was a big JJ Cale fan back in the day when JJ released Cocaine - I would sit around with my buddies, all white in that group, who would both sell and do coke). I love Clapton, but no one beats JJ's own rendition. BTW - if you haven't caught The Road to Escondido, you are missing a wonderful collaboration between Eric & JJ. It is every bit as good as Riding with the King was with BB. (Funny how Eric picks icons with repeating initials instead of first names to collaborate with).

we all Chris Matthews "the spitter"

all = call

KGC, watch out, you just said "cocaine" 3 times. You're race bating. Everyone knows only blacks buy or sell the product.

"I was commenting on this statement."

yes, well it was a statement in irony.., apparently unsuccessful... to point out how ridiculous the notion is that only blacks buy or sell the product.

Sorry for the confusion. I should have remembered that written word doesn't convey tone of message very well.

I have happy pants....

I wonder who Jackie would have endorsed if she were alive. I think she would have supported Hillary enthusiastically.

Rezko could be problematic for Obama, but we'll never know the extinct of Rezko's relationship with Billary because no one can see her records. It may be more than just some souvenir photograph too. Those two could teach BushCo a few lessons in secrecy and covering up.

Thanks EuroTom for clarifying the statement. I had an idea you were joking. You are right the written word often times does not convey what one is actually thinking.

I really shudder when I read the word "Billary" ... Hillary Clinton is not her husband and Bill Clinton is not his wife. They are TWO people. It's rather sexist also, no?

I think the Kennedy endorsements keeps people there who might start to peel away after Fla when she trounces him.

The real problems coming up I see are for the unions still hanging in with Edwards. They aren't going to want to be his pawns at the convention. They will want to make their own deals ..on the other hand no one likes to be the first to leave.

TOTALLY OT...

It's snowing like crazy in Gig Harbor...and it's lovely! Any snow at your place, Jamie?

yeah sorry about that Cheryl... I for one am not bothered if Obama used some drugs in his youth. He's a living testament that he didn't let it consume him and he had the strength and character to lift himself up and make an amazing life for himself and his family.

I call baloney on the speculation about any relationship between Rezko and the Clintons what a load of crap

you sucki

Also totally OT, I really miss Washington State. I haven't visited since I moved 9 years ago. It is supremely one of the most beautiful areas of our fine country.

Let's see the records then!

Slum lord Rezko? Posted: Monday, January 21, 2008 8:38 PM by Domenico Montanaro

From NBC/NJ's Aswini Anburajan
For those who don't know, Tony Rezko, was a Chicago figure who financially supported many Democratic campaigns and also a Chicago landlord. He is also facing charges on federal corruption for kickbacks among state employees' pension funds. Obama was linked to Rezko because he contributed $10,000 to his campaign in 2004, and in recent court documents, Obama is listed as an "unnamed politician" receiving money from Rezko. Rezko also provided a deal for Obama to buy land adjacent to his home, which Obama later called "a bone-headed move" on his part. Obama's campaign will be donating funds contributed by Rezko and his associates to charity, a little more than $80,000.

Obama's Rezko ties deeper than land deal

December 23, 2006
BY FRANK MAIN Staff Reporter

HW

Woke up to about half an inch. It is now coming down gangbusters so we are approaching two inches.

Please recall that i said he could be a problem for Obama, but I was referring to HRC's records. i guess we'll just have to take your word.

what records are you talking about....
you are just spouting crap

he is not listed as a contributer and certainly not as fundraiser as he is for obama all thos records are pulic

"obama all thos records are pulic" and they are also public

MA True,

It really is a tail wagging the dog situation that I think is abysmally stupid. If the idea is for the party to attract middle of the road and independents, Senator Kennedy may have just blown it.

Or is it all a devious Republican plan to get a big chunk of the party to sit home since their own right wing may be sitting on their palms. :-)

HRC records from the days of her big experience while first lady.

You're going to hate for this, but what's new.

When I went to this knife and gun show on Saturday, and seeing all the people there it got me thinking of a little country western song, "You Don't Have to Call Me Darlin, Darlin" sung by Waylon Jennings, Charlie Pride, Merle Haggard David Allan Coe, aka "The Possum Eating Cowboys",and I think it would make for a great John "PB" Edwards' farewell song. If you know the tune feel to sing along, and if you have access to a long neck, so much the better. ;-)

It was all that I could do to keep from cryin'
Sometimes it seems so useless to remain
You don't have to call me darlin', darlin'
You never even call me by my name.

You don't have to call me Waylon Jennings
And you don't have to call me Charlie Pride.
You don't have to call me Merle Haggard, anymore.
Even though your on my fightin' side.

CHORUS
And I'll hang around as long as you will let me
And I never minded standin' in the rain.
You don't have to call me darlin', darlin'
You never even call me by my name.

I've heard my name a few times in your phone book
I've seen it on signs where I've Played But the only time I know, I'll hear David Allan Coe
Is when Jesus has his final judgement day.

CHORUS...

Well, a friend of mine named Steve Goodman wrote that song
and he told me it was the perfect country and western song
I wrote him back a letter and told him it was NOT the perfect
country and western song because he hadn't said anything about
Momma, or trains, or trucks, or prison, or gettin' drunk.
Well, he sat down and wrote another verse to the song and he sent
it to me and after reading it, I realized that my friend had written
the perfect country and western song. And I felt obliged to include it
on this album. The last verse goes like this here:

Well, I was drunk the day my Mom got outta prison.
And I went to pick her up in the rain.
But, before I could get to the station in my pickup truck
She got runned over by a damned old train.

CHORUS:

So I'll hang around as long as you will let me
And I never minded standin' in the rain. No,
You don't have to call me darlin', darlin'
You never even call me, I wonder why you don't call me
Why don't you ever call me by my name.

Agreed, Thomas! Washington is an incredibly beautiful state! I moved here from the deep south in January, 1973, and have lived here ever since. Where did you live when you were here?

Alaska is equally beautiful...but wilder, much wilder...Washington state on steroids! I also love Alaska!

And for an ON-TOPIC comment...this MSNBC coverage/love fest for Obama at the expense of Clinton is really over the top. I'll go make that comment to MSNBC after the endorsement, Craig....

keep spinning rezdog do you even know what papers have not been released? I rather doubt your big fat ignorance is hsowing.

Kennedy did not blame Clinton for injecting --he said he bore some of the responsibility for the escalation of the bad tone on the issue,.

of course when facts are irrelevant you just live in a Tucker Carlson world.

Ty,

Someone may have already answered your early morning question regarding Huckabee abolishing the IRS, but he's in favor of a national sales tax to replace the income tax. That way we get "ALL" of our pay, and only get taxed when we spend it. Therefore, all merchants become the tax collectors.

That means we'd still need "revenuers" to smash stills
and make sure Arkansas Moonshiners pay their fair share, we just wouldn't need all those clerical folks.

Hard to say what ALL equals. I assume there'd still be a payroll deduction for Social Security, and obviously state income tax, but Huckabee thinks something on the order of a 23% national sales tax would be palatable if there was no payroll withholding for Federal taxes.

I generally try to avoid the nicknames you guys use, but this scheme earns him the Hucksterbee title that kgc, or someone else here has bestowed upon him.

I fixed the typos and framed this following post of my earlier thread for Republicans who have been trashing the Clintons. Many Republicans are not the SOCONs often attacked by the Far Left. There are many who rise above the level of a Hannity or Morris. I asked some of my fellow blogger who happen to be Republicans to consider this revised post. Perhaps you might send this out to those Republicans with any objectivity left and ask them to consider their tactics:

"Morrison, whose acclaimed novels usually concentrate of the lives of black women, said she has admired Clinton for years because of her knowledge and mastery of politics, but then dismissed that experience in favor of Obama's vision.

"In addition to keen intelligence, integrity and a rare authenticity, you exhibit something that has nothing to do with age, experience, race or gender and something I don't see in other candidates," Morrison wrote. "That something is a creative imagination which coupled with brilliance equals wisdom. It is too bad if we associate it only with gray hair and old age. Or if we call searing vision naivete. Or if we believe cunning is insight. Or if we settle for finessing cures tailored for each ravaged tree in the forest while ignoring the poisonous landscape that feeds and surrounds it.

"Wisdom is a gift; you can't train for it, inherit it, learn it in a class, or earn it in the workplace - that access can foster the acquisition of knowledge, but not wisdom," Morrison wrote."

I have relatives in Florida I talked to recently. It shocks me that their opinion on these words sounds like many Republicans who I have spoken to about the race over the weekend. What I am hearing is the total shock of the claim that creative imagination coupled with brilliance equals the wisdom shown by Obama. I mean really now, brilliance? Creative imagination? Most, even in the media were surprised that Obama debated so poorly. Was it brilliant to say the first thing he would do after a terrorist attack here on a major city was to call the fire department? Was it brilliant to say Human Rights trump National Security and ignore Darfur, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Saudi Arabia (no protest when rape victim was threatened with punishment), or the trend in China and Russia? Whose Human Rights was Obama talking about? Americans? Canadians? Those held at Gitmo? Was it creative imagination coupled with brilliance to spin Clinton remarks as racist, circulate a photo op of the Clintons with Rezko, talk about putting our troops past the Kyber Pass in Pakistan (what a bright idea) and support the personal attacks on Patraeous who now is credited with turning around the violence in Iraq? Say our General had betrayed us? And he failed to vote on the resolution taking MoveOn to task while Hillary voted against it making clear she had never and will never call the General what that ad implied. She did condemn it publically. Did Obama in his infinite wisdom? Imagine Obama working with Patraeous who might become NATO commander. Does Obama have any comments on the nomination of Patraeous to that position (see his chairmanship of the Senate Foreign Relations Sub Committee on Eastern Europe and NATO)? What lack of brilliance on Obama's part in order to 1. not vote on the Republican resolution and 2. still use the opportunity to pander to the anti-war wing while claiming not to pander...LOL Creative imagination or sheer hyprocricy? You decide oh reasonable people. Let's see how fair and balanced our vison of reality really is. At least Hillary's thinking here was honest in that Republicans failed to condemn attack ads at Kerry who now endorses Obama, so why attack MoveON?. Go figure that one Obama supporters if you dare.

My family in Florida who have always voted Democrat are sickened by the piling on of the Clintons and the less than brilliant tactics of the Obama campaign in cahoots with Media who today keep slamming the Clintons from the Left and Right. I suspect I know why Obama doesn't want the Florida vote to count.

Ted Kennedy, Kerry and others will be wonderful endorsements come November. Has anyone in the media pointed out that the Left is endorsing Obama while he brilliantly claims to be the uniter and the one most likely to create a bipartisan climate? Is this what Morrison means by creative and brilliant, or is this wisdom?

Republicans laugh at Morrison's endorsement today as further proof of the Democrats eating their own. Creative Imagination? What, is Obama a novelist and we all have failed to buy his secret new book? What might that be? I have read his piece in Foreign Affairs, the transcripts of speeches given to AIPAC and in support of Kerry back in 2004. I have read his spin on what America should do in Pakistan, but I don't see much creative imagination with the exception of characterizing America's threats clearly. The Republicans know this and are quite amused at the Second Coming of Barak. Let's be honest here, more of the pass given Obama on the Right is to silence the Clintons and set up a weaker foe come November. It is pretty creative explaining his upbringing abroad as his special lesson on Foreign Policy. I can only reflect on the violence that troubles the very places Obama visited. And I also note how well respected the Clintons are abroad. Far more respected than the Democrats seem to respect them now.

It was very creative for Obama to couch his campaign in the mantle of MLK, JFK and Lincoln without any matching policy details. Hell, JFK lowered taxes and escalated Vietnam while not backing down to the Soviets. Teddy had nothing to do with that and is lucky his career survived his drinking and driving record. Most of all, as Republicans note, it was incredibly creative imagination that linked Reagan to Obama's message. Yes, over look the strange spin of that Obama association while allowing the media stage for Obama's wife to link Hillary's comments to racism. And FOX suffers from bias? LOL

How can common sense Democrats not be troubled by this pomp and blather? Sure, I can see why Republicans find it funny, even funnier than their own wonderful primary. While Biden, Kerry and others constantly told media that the HUFFPO, Kos and more radical elements of the left had NOTHING to do with mainstream Democrats, it is clear now, that using media and surrogates, the Left has managed to drive their fairy tale, creating a Camelot that does not exist in policy or honesty. Holywood has been more feeble than media these days in creating fiction which makes you wonder if all those writers had taken up secret jobs in the Obama/Media camp.

In short, Republicans love this turn of events. They find it ironic and hope the moonbats can put the final nails in the Clinton's coffin. Florida will send a message that Clinton is not dead. Of course if California, New York and others fall to the Obama derangement craze, then all bets are off. I suspected that the treatment of Lieberman was the beginning of the DEAN wing giving the Left much more say in the Democratic Party. I had hoped that the center would hold. If the Democrats succumb to wishful thinking, purty words over substance, rhetorical hope over realism and bipartisanism, truth over conventional tactics of division and inuendo, then many Democrats will not come out or may even support a McCain or Bloomberg should he run.

Is that a betrayal? Not when Obama threatened that his supporters might not back a Hillary. AH...what a brilliant uniter. Creative imagination coupled with brilliance creating wisdom.?...what an overblown and unsupported observation of a campaign that has created the most divisive Democratic primary in years. Oh I forget the evil Clintons did that all by themselves. Perhaps in the mind of Jabba the Morris and company.

DLCers, moderates and Independents have every right to support whatever candidate they think will guard our national security, reach out to the other side, negotiate from a position of strength, not retreat and above all talk honestly about their record and policies. I would rather have an honest candidate who didn't agree with all my views than a candidate that plays it all ways to get elected."

Who said, I would rather be right than President? (Yes, I know what Hawk said that)

Obama reflects the idea that "I would rather be vague and disingenous than not be President". How creative, brilliant and wise this turns out to be, only time and America's common sense will decide.

Given our Bush years we might have good reason to worry. And think about this my Republican friends. Obama may very well defeat the Republican nominee regardless of my opinion of Obama using the same tactics and media support he trashes the Clinton's with. While I think Hillary will still pull this out, or that Obama could lose to a McCain, the support Republicans offer Obama now, the silence over the role of media, may very well come back and bite them in November.

Consider that Karma besides the irony you see now in the battle for the center of the Democratic Party

These records have yet to be released, where have you been.
It takes a FIOA lawsuit to get at em.
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1107/6689.html

What we are seeing on MSNBC should not surprise anyone. I have been promoting dailyhowler.com, which details anti-Dem bias in MSM. Why would there be such pro-Obama and anti-Clinton coverage now? It is a scheme by corporate media to nominate the weakest Dem. Nominee Obama would then be annihilated.

cool--people who have blogs :)

very cool--people who actually have their own name, as a topic, on another person's blog :)

;)

EdVB,
from what I have read about Huckabee's tax solution 23% won't be enough to run the government. Plus, his plan really impacts lower income and poor peole because those folks spend more of they paycheck just trying to survive. Richer people have retirement accounts and IRA's and savings accounts that will not be taxed as I understand it. All in all it shows me he and the likes of his crew don't understand taxes. The Hucksterbee is correct.

yo soy Horsedooty!

Maxtrue ,

You have actually given this some serious thought. I am one of the few Rs here, actually I'm a conservative, but the Rs are the closet thing we have to a party. But back to your post, "n short, Republicans love this turn of events."

In a way, yeah we do. I've been on this blog for 2 years and I have never seen so much defaming of Ds by other Ds in my life. Some of you have said some stuff that even I the lonely R, actually a conservative, would never had said. So the stories are true, you Ds really do eat your young.

Headline Wednesday
Kennedy Endorsement fails to bring Obama win
they don't even get Palm Beach winter home to the Kennedy's

I changed Cable and Internet Company's here in Michigan. Now that my tower is finally hard wired, Now I have to figure out how to reconfigure so that I have wireless too. ;0) but least I'm up again.

Thomas, I started out as a photojournalist and then was one of the early women who went Video. Before leaving DC I became a field producer, and then In Wash State is became a Freelance Producer....which completely fried my brain. I just burnt out.

FRY Baby, I'll address the Obama Change factor soon. I was planning on visiting Home Depot after the Kennedy Endorsement.....BIG DAY ;0)

The timing on the Kennedy is endorsement is kind of off. Between the state of the union and the Fla primary they are not the biggest story. I would have thought they might have been better served toward the end fo the week,

I just received this from the DCCC . I'm including the link if anyone else is interested in signing up.
http://www.therealstateoftheunion.org/page/content/joinmc/

"Sign up now to receive our
Lie Detector text messages
during the President's speech.
Think of this as your State of the Union Survival Kit.

After tonight, we will never have to listen to George W. Bush deliver another one of his fact-challenged, language-mangling State of the Union speeches. But we still have to get through this evening -- and the DCCC has a couple of tools to help.

First, a dose of reality -- something that's always in short supply when President Bush steps to the podium. We've been conducting a Real State of the Union video contest. And we can't thank you enough for sending over your responses -- our celebrity panel of judges is reviewing the videos now so that tomorrow we can release our response, by the people for the people to the Real State of the Union.

But wait, there's more. We're also standing by with our real-time Lie Detector. As soon as the words leave his mouth tonight, we're going to fact check the President and send a text message when he overstates his case or misstates the facts in an effort to rewrite the history of his failed policies. While we focus on a better future, we can't let him rewrite history.

Sign up now to receive our Lie Detector text messages during the President's speech.

Tonight is a landmark -- one more giant step out of the Bush/Cheney wilderness. Don't worry, you can get through this. And remember, we're here to help.

Sincerely,
Brandon English
The DCCC Online Team

RFK was the death that really hurt America besides MLK. He had even more portential that JFK,

The lost of MLK put black leadership back for decades producing Jesse and Sharpton years later, which no matter how much you like them, they pale beside MLK who wrote some of the most important political discourse of the modern era. Now there was creative imagination coupled with brilliance equalling wisdom, no matter how flawed he was in his personal life.

It was RFK that played such a critical role in the Cuban Missile Crisis. Check out Avalon at Yale for the amazing papers on what reaaly happened behind closed doors and imagine an Obama guiding the actions BASED ON HIS RHETORIC NOW.. Though I was very young I was terribly sadden, very much aware that something had happened to America's future. Who knows were we would have gone instead of towards Nixon who Obama rhetorical lines up next to Clinton.

Ted was no JFK or RFK and I am glad that Bobby's side remains with Hillary as would have JFK. I can only wonder when media will begin to discuss how much more Liberal Obama's backing is and that this goes to the heart of the pretense he would be the candidate to lead a bipartisan solution to America's political deadlock. It is just another example of perhaps the most hypocritical campaign the Demcrats have succumber to in many decades. Even McGovern was a more honest broker for the Left he did not deny supported him.

"Headline Wednesday
Kennedy Endorsement fails to bring Obama win
they don't even get Palm Beach winter home to the Kennedy's"
KGC, from your lips to God's ears.

fry
you need to pay attention to the goopers if you want to see a party destroying itself

Gordo, I do not think any of the Republicans could annihilate Obama in the general. All of the Republican candidates are weak. They are too far to the right. It will be impossible for any of them to come back to the center in time for the general election.

McCain is just another Bush. In fact he would be worse than Bush. He advocates staying in Iraq for another 100 years. How are we going to pay for his perpetual wars? I do not think a majority of Americans would agree with you. As for as Huckabee, his fair tax would be a disaster. There is no way any politician Republican or Democrat will eliminate the IRS. Willard Rommey, on the other hand is a corporate suit in the mode of Cheney. To the contrary, I think Obama will annihilate any of the Republican candidates.

Clinton has stepped up on FISA where is Obama...

And Senator Reid apparently recognized the work of the firedoglake blog to getting senators to face up to this legislation. They have done everyone a real service.

NEW THREAD

Dooty,

I agree that 23% probably wouldn't be enough. I'd like to say Huckabee's tax proposal is a fairy tale, but I believe that term is now officially a racial slur. I think it's just something he dreamed up (oops, probably can't say that either) so he'd get people talking about his ideas. Similar to Steve Forbes' 10% Flat Tax, we can put it on a bridge to nowhere.

Hi again, I just watched an episode of Doris Day... LOL... Oh and Renee I love Mr. Ed too!!! anyway,

Harborwoman, I loved from Minneapolis to Seattle in 1984, and then to Olympia in 1988 to obtain my bachelor's degree at The Evergreen State College. I was later the radio station.. KAOS Olympia Community Radio's Development Director for 7 years. I became disillusioned by all the anti-Gay shit thrown around during elections by so called "good, conservative christians" that when I got a chance to move to Europe and to The Netherlands, I did. Later I moved to Belgium. "Old" Europe, except for perhaps Italy, doesn't seem to have this anti-Gay psychosis that the USA has.

I now live in a country where Gay marriage is legal... it's not a problem, it is not a moral issue to whip up by the people who say "love the sinner hate the sin". Actually I like the sentiment. That's why I say "love the bigot, hate the bigotry."

I am back to my TV...

Oh and Fry... the meanness and religious fundamentalism of the Repugs really does disgust me. What one calls "conservative" usually means anti-Gay, anti-choice, anti freedom from religion or of religion, anti-diversity, anti-equal rights, anti-equal pay, anti-poor, anti, anti anti.

Thomas

"Kennedy Endorsement fails to bring Obama win"

I would dearly love to see the Florida vote come up:

Clinton - Win
Edwards - Close second
Obama - Less than 15%

Florida will be seated eventually. The handwringing in the Obama camp over sticking to the rules come hell or high water amuses me greatly.

After all, Obama did a press conference in September in Florida (thus breaking the pledge, same as his TV ads do), and assured them at the time that he would "do right by" Florida were he the nominee. It was a tacit promise to seat them. Of course, in September he still thought he had a shot at winning Florida. There's the difference.

This uber-moralizing schtick just keeps getting harder and harder to pull off. We are going to need Florida in the general and in future elections, period. We cannot afford to piss them off. That's the political reality, and I'm sorry if it gives the maiden aunts of the party the vapors. They need to get over it if they want us to win.

Cheryl S.--- The media will annihilate Obama. MSM will turn on him.

Jamie, remember Florida does not count. Hillary made the pledge. Now that she has lost in SC she cannot simply change the rules. No matter if your predictions are right, Florida does not count. A deal is a deal. There goes the Clintons triangulating again.

GORDO, I think the media will annihilate any democratic front-runner... the MSM served "On Bended Knee" during the Reagan years and until it became to obvious to ignore the realities, they were just as enamored with the idiot now in the White House.... I don't know if it's because they don't want to be seen as being "liberal" that the MSM acts that way, but they clearly slant rightward.

Cheryl

Obama broke the rules. Clinton did not. In addition, all of the non stop media attack on the Clintons did not elicit even one peep of protest from him. That tells me he is a coward with abysmal ethics.

I want that turnout in Florida whether the delegates are ever seated or not because I want the voters to smack down a dishonest media tampering with the election.

Hey you guys: NEW THREAD!!!

I agree, the media will turn on him. Just as they often times do. However, I think he can handle it.

FryDaddy,
Ideology is a dead end. We are all Americans and it has been painful to watch the childish derangement of making Bush and Cheney some supreme and unAmerican monsters. Congressional approval ratings are lower than Bush's.

Most Democrats probably turned off 60 minutes last night rather than seeing Piro explain what Saddam was up to. If it contradicts our Democratic articles of faith, we don't want to listen. Republicans have their religion and we have ours.....

Democrats do not want to review our bipartisan NSS for the last 60 years and rather imagine Lord Bushvader perverting the heart of our Consitution. Those Democrats unwilling to vilify the Republicans like Hillary elected tnot o do, produced an enormous hatred against her on the Left which dominates the Liberal BLog World. Younger people have little understanding of the history behind this struggle within the Democratic Party which has steered centrist from FDR through Bill Clinton -who gave one of the most JFK speeches to our military before he bombed Saddam's army back into the stone age making it easy for us to sweep to victory in 2003. And how many Liberals will remember the Liberal attacks on Bush 1 for not going all the way to get Saddam while some Democrats refused to even support the first Gulf war as a war for oil?

Democrat does not mean lying to oneself. I have good friends more Libertarian who lead the charge to trash the vile undertone of Ron Paul. They supported the civility of the Clintons during the Bush years and have attacked their own party for not defending the false claims made against the Clintons today. I applaud that courage and ask my fellow Democrats to understand that some conservative ideas are not insane. Without the Republicans pushing hard, Clinton might not have fashioned the solutions he did. To think that only Liberals have good ideas is as false as Republicans saying there are no decent Liberal ideas. The truth is that Conservative and Liberals have some ideas that are liberal and conservative. This is the noraml sentiment near center. The black and white is a false perception pushed by the Right and Left. It is the divisive perception that Obama's campaign has promoted to win (and Edwards too for that matter.)

I think Obama is using both the Right and Left to out flank Hillary who is the more moderate and centrist candidate. This is the heart of why his campaign is false. The rhetoric he flaots does not match his tactics or record. The backers of Obama, like Ted Kennedy detest the Republicans, so how is their endorsement a sign that Obama's rheotric rings true? NO Bush No Cheney NO Sense is the rant of the Left. Bush and Cheney aren't running Obama. If Democrats are too stupid to understand what is going on then so be it. Republicans who don't point out the truth in an effort to be honest make their chances worse in November because this same hypocritical machine is coming after them, unopposed and determined.

Of course the irony was Obama bringing up Reagan who would be defending Hillary now because at least Reagan had principles. When he grew tired of the NEOCONs he tossed them. When he thought Amnesty was right he pushed it. Maybe much of what Reagan did was bad policy from a Liberal Democratic view and Republican conservative point of view, but he believed it and didn't spin lies to play the voters. He hel d center. When he talked about negotiating with the Soviets he offered them tactical nukes as an alternative. Either end it or we'll kick your Russkie ass. And he did it with a straight face smiling with the Reagan charm. How Obama can associate with this masterly poltic, while Reagan rejected the nuclear freeze anti-war movement AND the NEOCONs, further shows the hypocricy.

Any voter who will just vote the Party line on either side is brain dead. Wouldn't that be like telling the Iraqi leadership we will be their forever no matter what? This time around the Democrats better deserve my vote, or I and many others will consider the Republican alternative, or not vote in protest. For Obama to win this fair, he must renounce the slant of media, end the politics of division and explain his record and policies. In short, he either fights fair or is a hypocrit....and no disingenuos apologies please.

There's no new thread up

Now that we have heard the innaugural speech do we have to bother voting?

RELOAD NEW THREAD

Jamie,

Yes, if you think Hillary is the one that can make this happen, please vote for Hillary. If you think Obama says this now on the trail,in his record and conduct, then vote for Obama.

You see the way forward, the reallway forward to unite this country is to say and act on the sentiments above.

Words are cheap.

The Left doesn't buy the spin above. The Right doesn't either. If you want us to come together as one nation then YOU decide which candidate talks the talk, walks the walk and fights the fair fight towards unity and strength. If you are confortable with Obama's record, campaign and vague rhetoric, then support him. If you think Hillary's conduct, record and policy positions make her the best person to deliver the speech above, the support her.

We are a free country.

Before they died on the same day, -on Independence Day, Jefferson and Adams found friendship, admitted their mistakes and went to the Great Where Ever, united in a Common Cause, A Common Vision that did not reject the esential nature of our experiment: We are are a working fusion between conservative and liberals ideas. That is a great strength and a great weakness.

Now you tell me FROM THE FACTS, which candidate best embodies this essential America idea?

Republicans are not the enemy my friend, nor are Democrats. And the media which is supposed to keep ponting that out have become partisan themselves. What is left is for the people to decide what is fair and balanced. Our decision points the way we will travel.

This is both for those who needs some encouragement for HRC, and those who think Obama has already won:

"Among Democrats who are passionate about a candidate, 53% say they are deeply committed to Hillary Clinton’s candidacy. Twenty-eight percent (28%) are committed to Barack Obama."

It came from Rasmussen's website.

There are strong elements of paranoia and obsession running through these comments, especially in regards to MSNBC and Morning Joe.

Wow, watching Hillary talk about her "victory" in Florida. How pitiful.