Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

Happy Friday all you political investigators and polemic writers,

In reference to Craig's post,
I agree that all candidates flip-flop, but in the case of Senator Obama,
because so little was/is known about him in the eyes of the public,
his contradictions and radical shifts confuse voters. Will the real Barack
Obama please stand up?

Good morning Craig---While flip-flopping has become normal in politics- wasn't this year suppose to be different? I think that it what is so disturbing from both candidates. In Obama's case however the flip-flopping is more glaring in that his whole campaign has been based around a "new kind of politican". It is all very depressing ---

There is absolutely nothing wrong with what Machiavelli states. Let me rephrase his words while leaving nothing substantive out:

"When the reasons for which he made a decision no longer exist, a prudent ruler cannot and must not adhere to a decision that is flawed based on on currently understood facts. It will work to the ruler's advantage if his positions change as the underlying facts change. His subjects will respect the ruler who understands and adjusts to the world around him."

In Mr Obama's case, I submit no valid underlying facts have changed, for example, in his abandonment of public campaign financing for the general election.

Ooohhh the dreaded flip flop! These poor politicians! There is nothing worse for them than to be stuck between a rock and a hard place of their own words and making. Then they struggle so much to wiggle out. My innards clench at the memory of crafting statements for them to provide that "wiggle room" to accommodate a future flip flop. I clench even worse at the memory of writing statements that revise a previously held position and that struggle for consistency that so often falls well short of the mark.

To erase those unpleasant thoughts, here is a facebook group that is all about flip flops -- actually slippaz!

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2216350949

Flip-flops come from the Mary Poppins school of political science. "Promises are like pie crust, they're made to be broken."

This morning Stinky and I were watching MoJo when they played Conan O'Brien's spoof of Rev Jackson's whispered remarks to the poor fellow sitting next to him.

Stinky asked me, "What is Jessie saying?" I explained what he proposed doing to Mr Obama's anatomy. She pondered that for a moment then asked, "Is the other man a doctor?"

There's never a dull moment in the Ohlfahrt household.

Flatus -- once again, you are right-on target with your comments.

Jane -- I'm not depressed about Obama's flipflopping ways because I never believed he was a "different kind of politician. "

He's a pol, a big-ego, people-pleasing, smooth-talking, shape-shifting pol. That's just how they all are. Once this is accepted, it's easier to sort the good ones from the bad ones.

Ha-ha.

Oh, now I think Andrea Mitchell is in line with Phil Gramm. She thinks people think it's bad because the prices of their homes were so inflated & now they're being devalued? Honey, people are losing their homes.

Hey, I just read a headline about a NH woman getting struck by lightning & it exiting via her nose ring. Are you OK, rr ?

Flatus,

Who is that guy sitting next to Jesse Jackson as Jackson rages about
wanting to cut off Obama's manhood?

Definitely Saturday Night Live material.

PM,

I just did a quick google and a name didn't pop-up, a fact that undoubtedly pleases the poor guy to no end. Is SNL live now?

" She pondered that for a moment then asked, "Is the other man a doctor?""

HA! Flatus -- Stinky and Mrs. Pogo are two of my favorite people here, who haven't even actually been here.....

Patsi, if there is a woman in this world deserving a biography, it is Stinky. She's an absolutely wonderful human being.

good morning gang....

blue.... nose ring?..... no.... I'm fine.... but it came out of my belly ring.....

flip flop..... yeah.... well if you just realize that all politicians are like fish out of water...... not only do they flop around...... they stink!

Flatus.... please do not think that the above statement in any way refers to your obviously adorable Stinky...... :0)

Flatus -- it is so cool that you say that about your wife. One of the things I most adored about my father is how much he adored my mother.

If I can find it, I'm gonna get the YouTube of a friend of mine singing a song she wrote, that was the only one peformed live at my daughter's wedding. It is the ultimate tribute to great marriages....

wow.....vincent bugliosi is goin' nuts ova heah......wants to indict the president for murder........

So here's the song Gretchen Peters sang at my daughter's wedding -- going out to all you great couples...there's quite a few on t -- you know who you are!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpSzLwrTd9c

When I think of the opposite of flip flopping, I see someone like Bush, pig-headed and stubborn. So afraid to recognize he is wrong.....will go to great lengths to dig his heels in, even when facts point to a different position.....

8 years of that is enough ....... and 8 years is enough of all others who supported the Bush agenda.

Barack Obama 2008 - rock the house!
(Hillary supporter)

I guess I'd started one post, then it appeared to kick me off...then I did another. But the first triplicated itself. Wish there was a way to delete your own stuff....I'd do it!

Very sorry about that....

Happy Friday everyone!!

...it is an absolutely beautiful day here on the Erie coast, getting a cup of jo and strolling the garden.....

Patsi, I thought maybe she sang it four times...lol.....very nice song btw

"When I think of the opposite of flip flopping, I see someone like Bush, pig-headed and stubborn. So afraid to recognize he is wrong.....will go to great lengths to dig his heels in, even when facts point to a different position....."

Very true, burrito. Bush is pig-headed to the point of lunacy.

I hear the 3 stooges are going on the road again with new characters playing moe, larry, and curley........this time it will be DeLay, Gramm, and Gingrich......and all they gotta do is act naturally..............

"Damn Patsi your sounding like Obama--pushed the wrong button did you, Good morning, are you OK."

Ha -- yep, Nick...must have pushed something wrong. And I can't even blame it on a cat jumping on the keyboard!

Sturge -- DeLay, Gramm and Gingrich....the thought of the three of 'em makes my skin crawl!

mornin' all.

Pats, thanks for the kind words about Mrs. P. She's a peach. LOL at the multiple postings. I thought you just like the song a lot and thought we wouldn't notice it was a dup and listen to it a bunch of times. LOL.

And on the thread topic - sure, they all flip, they all flop. If their position change is based on what they've found out that they thought was wrong or has changed, I say flip away. If not, what Flatus said. And what UB said above is soooo appropos of our dear leader, President Knucklehead.

blue, Andrea should stick to giving her superficial opinions about politics. The uberwealthy, like Andrea, believe that the stock market and Walmart are the economy and have no idea that the economy rests on the banking industry, which is frickin' shaky. The fact that the feds are considering either bailing Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae out or taking them over altogether may be the biggest sign that the economy may be circling the toilet. It would never occur to them that people can't buy as much Chinese crap at Walmart when they are struggling financially just to keep their home instead of their view that those people are just choosing to stuff their money into their mattress.

no worries, patsi, i cleaned up the duplicates. might be on our end, system been a bit herky-jerky since that outage the other day

TECH NOTE: When we are in these weird spells and you get an error message after submitting a comment DON'T hit the Submit button again. Chances are your comment really did publish. Check first before re-submitting. But copy your original comment in case you do need to try again.

The cause, by the way, is usually when 2 or more people simultaneously hit their Submit button to publish a comment. Both get error messages, but both comments usually do get published. And the more times you hit the Submit button, the more times the same comment will publish.

Here's some info on the housing finance problem and an explanation by Paul Miller of what could happen if FM &FM continue to spiral downward.

“If people lose faith in Fannie and Freddie, then the whole system freezes up, and nobody can buy a house, and the entire housing market can crash,” said Paul Miller of the Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group in Arlington, Va. “There’s a fine line between having faith and losing it, and sometimes it’s unclear when it has disappeared. But when investors cross that line, bad things happen very quickly.”

For the complete article -

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/business/11ripple.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp

-- Not all is rosy for Barack Obama's campaign either, though. Obama's stunning shift to the center of the political spectrum, whether on FISA, abortion issues, gun control, the death penalty and even the war in Iraq, has generated some of the worst headlines Obama has seen all primary season, as well as the harshest editorials from an ordinarily fawning media. Too, Obama is unlikely to get his full, and costly, agenda passed should he win the White House, the LA Times' Peter Nicholas writes today. Forget the "new kind of politics," could Obama be tainted with the specter of the dreaded flip-flop? One thing's for sure, Republicans will definitely paint him as a big-spending liberal.

-- The latest blow to Obama's reputation, and one of the most damaging, comes on Iraq, as the Illinois Senator's position is not what it once was. In an interview with the Military Times, Obama said he would "draw down in a deliberate fashion in consultation with the Iraqi government at a pace that is determined in consultation with General Petraeus and the other commanders on the ground. It strikes me that that is something we could begin relatively soon after inauguration. If, on the other hand, you've got a deteriorating situation for some reason, then that's going to have to be taken into account." That's not the same as the one to two brigades a month Obama had planned to pull out during the primaries, and it's got Republicans across the board pointing out the massive flip-flop, as NYT highlights.
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/politics_nation/2008/07/strategy_memo_thriving_on_conf.html

I wonder if this perception is mental aswell

http://www.gallup.com/poll/108769/More-Americans-Say-US-Nation-Haves-HaveNots.aspx

"no worries, patsi, i cleaned up the duplicates. might be on our end, system been a bit herky-jerky since that outage the other day"

Thanks for deleting the duplicates, Craig! I'm surprised it didn't happen the other day when we had a sudden thunderstorm here....a few minutes after the first big boom hit I had two of the cats and the dog land in my lap....knocked over my diet coke -- thankfully, not on the keyboard!

Patsi, thanks for the embarrassingly kind words and the musical link!

Public finance goal was not voluntary compliance
Sounds like the Bush regulatory policy

"You liked Barack because you thought he could get us past the old brain-dead politics, right? "

Actually, dog....I didn't particularly like him because I knew all that talk was BS.

The one thing I find somewhat hopeful is that some of the true believers are trying to hold his feet to the fire even if to a small extent. I'm pretty sure some of that crowd would sign up for torture if he told them it was "okey-dokey."

Now here's some business news that really does interest me. Aside from the obvious - another American company with the prospect of foreign ownership - it involves 5 of my favorite beers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/12/business/worldbusiness/12beer.html?hp

"Last: Obama has to win this election to be able to advocate for and shepherd through any lasting changes to federal campaign financing"

I believe you could have saved a lot of bandwith by just saying this. As long as it is for the cause anything goes.

Jack

Here's a nice leadership quote from a friend's facebook page:

Leaders "don't apologize for the truth."
Leaders "accept risk."
Leaders "think clearly about the role of nuance in the way they are perceived."
Leaders "provide a measure of grace as the antidote to the behavior of people who poison our society with disgrace."
~ Max DePree, Leadership Jazz

Kinda fits with the flip-flopping thread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDKjyHSFUvA

Obama opts out not because he met the goals of public finance but because he claims the sytem is broken

Pogo,

If there was ever the time for a rapid application of Keynesian doctrine, now is that time.

This week's situation:

Nationalize F&F and give their paper 'full faith' status.

Decrease interest rates to the point where the absolute curse of housing market disinflation recedes; we must make, for homeowners, the real possibility that they can survive in their current homes overtake the opposing reality that they are better off 'walking'.

Negotiating Democracy: Brazile, Obama Plot to Keep Hillary off Convention Ballot

http://noquarterusa.net/blog/2008/07/11/negotiating-democracy-brazile-obama-plot-to-keep-hillary-off-convention-ballot/

Tom Petty - Free Falling

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gqT6En2O78

BTW
The song was dedicted to the dow, down 171 points this morning so far

Jack

"Crude Oil Rises to Record on Speculation Israel May Attack Iran"

"Oil jumped as high as $147.27 a barrel in New York after the Jerusalem Post said Israeli war planes practiced over Iraq"

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aoGUJKzSvI9Y&refer=home

As long as it is for the cause anything goes.

Forget the Small-Donor Myth: Big Money Still Rules
Posted Jun 20, 08 12:05 PM CDT in Pundits, Politics

(Newser) – Barack Obama often talks about how much money he’s raised from small donors, even describing it as “a parallel public financing system.” But while Obama has indeed raised record sums from little guys, big donors have kept pace, writes Jay Mandle of the Washington Post, predicting that when the dust settles, their 2008 role will have increased, rather than decreased. Through March, he notes, Obama's small-donor percentage was actually smaller than John Kerry's.
http://www.newser.com/story/30527.html

dog, had Howie Dean not done that in '04, I might buy the argument that things changed re: public financing. I think what really changed was the number of people who responded was bigger than Obama thought it would be - and considering thathe is the first minority candidate with the message he is selling, that's pretty understandable. I do think that you are right about Obama not giving up the advantage he has gained assuming he can contnnue to captialize on it, but from what I've heard recently (and I have admittedly not looked at the latest campaign financing reports) the internet small donor juggernaut is not reproducing itself in the general election effort, and he's turning to the large donors whose influence is supposed to be minimized by both public financing and small donor internet financing. I simply don't idealize the effort like the campaign spin is doing. And spinning the purpose of the small donor financing to be putting small donors on a footing with major donors and bundlers doesn't ring very true in light of the $10K and up campaign fundraising dinners he has had of late - those donors expect something when they pony up that kind of money. And I do have to say that it's hard to credibly argue that you are going to shepherd lasting changes to federal campaign financing (I'd say it's championing public financing) on the one hand when you reject it on the other. Looks cynical to me.

Jack

I'm so glad I spent all my money on fun and didn't put it in the market :)

Gordo -- here's a new problem for you to consider....forget O's birth certificate -- it's McCain's birth that is again taking center stage...

http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/07/11/america/11mccain.php

~I love the Obama commercial they are running in Missouri~
The one where he takes credit for passing welfare reform and reducing welfare roles.

That collar has to be starting to chafe some of those left wing Clinton haters.

Jack

"The song was dedicted to the dow, down 171 points this morning so far"

Jack -- you're probably smart to keep your money in your own properties. The richest man I know -- in the $300 million range -- says he won't buy stock in anything he doesn't control!

The art of changing ones mind is an art, but never change your values to get elected.

Iran-Have Missiles will fire, see the video
http;//www.vjmachiavelli.blogspot.com

Obama Shifts on Welfare Reform
Email
Share July 01, 2008 12:19 AM

ABC News' Teddy Davis and Gregory Wallace Report: Barack Obama aligned himself with welfare reform on Monday, launching a television ad which touts the way the overhaul "slashed the rolls by 80 percent." Obama leaves out, however, that he was against the 1996 federal legislation which precipitated the caseload reduction.

Is this a refinement or a flipflop or a flat out lie?
I'm soooooo confused

Flatus, having taken exactly one Economics course in 1973 (and having been more interested in the stunningly pretty girl that sat in front of me than in the subject of the class) I'll take your word about Keynes. What you've said makes plenty of senes to me. And from a purely personal perspective I hope it happens before about 10 years has elapsed.

And sorry dog, the "spirit of the law if not the letter" is just an excuse. There are a lot of good things he could say about how he's funding the campaign, but rather than do that, we're hearing excuses wrapped in spin.

Has there been any word on whether or not phil gramm would accept a posting to Moldova?

Flip-flopping never bothered me as much as it does some people. I was astounded that John Kerry got punished in '04 for the crime of taking in new information and making changes accordingly. It seems to me what smart people should do! With Bush, the mindset seems to be, "I've made up my mind. I know I'm wrong. Full speed ahead!"

I posted this link early this morning on the previous thread. It's a good article, in case you missed it:

Constitutional Drift

http://www.slate.com/id/2195008/

One of the reasons people have such a low opinion of Congress is the sense that Congress stands for nothing. I agree with Gilbert in DC, public officials should be permitted even encouraged to change their minds as the situation evolves, it's the basic beliefs that I hope remain consistent and the method of implementation subject to change.

Senator Clinton took a lot of heat for refusing to say her vote on the war in Iraq was wrong. She should have been applauded for saying what she leaned since made her realize Bush was liar and a creep.

Given the flap over Jesse Jackson's "black on black" attack....reminded me of the time years back when Dr. Julianne Malveaux said this about Clarence Thomas. She makes old Jesse sound downright kindly:

"The man is on the Court. You know, I hope his wife feeds him lots of eggs and butter and he dies early, like many black men do, of heart disease. Well, that’s how I feel. He is an absolutely reprehensible person."

KC, interesting - if Olson and Tribe agree on anything, it is probably a correct reading of the law.

Oh, and good choice on your investment decision.

Pogo, my first year of Economics was done at Kenyon while it was still a men's college. Is the stunningly pretty girl now Mrs P? :)

"Has there been any word on whether or not phil gramm would accept a posting to Moldova?"

X -- wonder if Obama might use this as an opportunity for "reaching across the aisle" -- he could reach out and snatch Gramm & put him on the first plane to his new post.

Off to the store, and Stinky says she's going to take me out to lunch. Any bets on who ends up paying?

Patsi,

I'm with you .. I had this feeling from the beginning he wasn't anything new .. just a slick talker who capture peoples hopes & dreams w/ BS .... he didn't waste any time before going back on his promises .. and like Bushies, his supporters didn't stop to think before telling everyone who would listen, " Let me explain what he meant" .. the more things change, the more they stay the same ... lol

Pogo,

Hearing about this about a motnh ago on Lou Dobbs, it made me sad. I don't think it should be legal to take over snother business this way .. Bud Lights my favorite beer ..
!:^)
vvi

Patsi -----------------------

"..forget O's birth certificate -- it's McCain's birth that is again taking center stage..."

Obama's COLB and BC questions have not really reached into MSM. The Obama campaign is stonewalling the issue. Their response on the "Smears" site is misleading. At least McCain showed a reporter his birth certificate, and it identified the name of the hospital where he was born. Obama offers no paper documentation - only questionable COLB images on two sites.

http://texasdarlin.wordpress.com/2008/07/10/mccain-showed-his-birth-certificate-an-actual-piece-of-paper/

Flatus, while the description fits Mrs. P just fine, that was 19 years before we met (and Mrs. P would have been in about 9th grade then). OOddly enough, Mrs. P's brother is a Kenyon grad.

"Fannie Mae fell $5.03, or 38 percent, to $8.17 at 9:37 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange trading to the lowest level in more than 17 years"
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aIePshn7LFOM&refer=home

So Bear should I bet the farm? ;-)
looks like FM just blew through your buy signel on it's way down.
I'm not disagreeing with your advice, it certainly looks like a pack mentality. When I bought and sold livestock mumblemumble years ago that is usually time to be a contrarian. I've made a bit of money buying sows ready to pig when everybody was saying the prices are never going up.

Jack

Speaking of Bush and "I'm right and You're wrong", I heard this exactly once on the news yesterday. They were so busy with Phil Graham and Jesse Jackson that this didn't seem important

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/bush-to-g8-goodbye-from-the-worlds-biggest-polluter-863911.html

"Goodbye from the World's Biggest Polluter"

P. S.

"Two fingered salute" in Britian is the equivalent of the one fingered variety in the U.S.

Viv, the only bright side I can see to the whole thing is that maybe (but probably not) Becks, Bass and Stella Artois will be a little cheaper here. As for the American brands, Bud and Mich Ultra suit me just fine if I'm drinking beer instead of wine.

'|-)

Jamie
Looking at the picture of Bush I couldn't help noticing all the decorations on his lapel.

Reminded me of this song

Flag Decal - John Prine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1qE2vJdDw4

Jack

GORDO,

I'm mad about that too ... It's wrong that they won't put her name in .. still think it's because they are afraid that some will change their minds & BO won't be the winner ...
IMHO
viv

dog, we are of one mind on the Clinton welfare reforms. And Bill is right - work does serve the purpose of organizing your life - almost as well as kids' activities. IMO the biggest failure was wholly foreseeable, as in the case of just about every other great idea at the fed level that to be effective has to be implemented at the state and local level, and seldom with any funding to accomplish it. The promise of future revenue to pay back bonds to fund current infrastructure investment doesn't seem to interest most voters when their schools are aging. That may be different in larger metropolitan areas like yours, but those bond issues fail with predictable regularity here.

Actually Gordo's cut and paste link about Donna Brazille and the DNC was interesting. What bothers me is that I don't see any press doing a story on it.

Jack, ABSOLUTELY great John Prine song. I just love Prine. That and Sam Stone may be my favorite Prine war songs, and if I had to listen to only one song for eternity, I would not mind it being "Angel from Montgomery" sung by Prine and Bonnie Raitt.

The trouble with the "workfare" model is that it tends to be designed by men and doesn't face the reality of just how hard it is for a woman to even get to work in the first place.

Transportation
Day Care
Medical Care and school obligations of children

Welfare was originally meant to allow a poor woman to STAY HOME with children just like her middle and upper class counterparts.

Now the idea is for all of them poor, middle, and upper to actually WORK outside the home at something but the support system to make tha possible isn't there.

During WWII the day cares were actually located at the factories and were free so that women could work. There should be day care centers within reasonable distance of work areas and children should be allowed to enroll in the school nearest a parents place of business.

Some bright person is going to start installing day care and school facilities within one block of all commuter rail stops.

The print media isn't picking up on the convention issues yet - and they may not. I've been hearing a bit about it on Sirius left shows - but not as much as I'd expect.

Again, I urge people to research Obama's views, try reading his books. You'll see that he really is moderate in many ways and always has been. This so-called move to the middle was always there. Let's face it, although many of us would like someone really progressive, most elections are won in the middle. Even putting that aside, I think Obama is really more about "common sense". Again, read about his views. Or go back and really listen to what he has said throughout all the debates and stump speeches.
Wish the media would do that instead of harping on his so-called move to the center. It is all there in black and white. It is sad that the media constantly gives McCain a pass and repeats his actual lies without further discussion. Let's hope that we can survive what has happend to our media, let's hope that we can get it back.

Go Obama!

I stand corrected.

It is in the Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121547964529734509.html

Clinton's Convention Role Being Negotiated
BY JUNE KRONHOLZ
Word Count: 988

Donna Brazille usually comes off well on television but I don't think she is very insightful.

Her handling of the Gore 2000 campaign was dismal at best. She continues to argue that she used Bill Clinton effectively in the Gore campaign. She is the only person who was breathing in 2000 who believes that.

good points jamie - be nice to see sensible solutions proposed to make work more accessible to the poor who want it but either can't afford to engage in it for myriad reasons or don't live near enough to where it's available. That will only happen when congress and the WH are in Dem hands.

It was not surprising but sad all the same that states and localities and Feds did not follow through with childcare and transportation assistance that would have really helped those parents entering or returning to the workplace.
=======================

Dog,

I don't know about Ohio, but Kentucky did have a program that helped people .. I had go on welfare for a short while after my divorce in '75 .. they had a program for going back to school, a grant that helped out with college fees .. a voucher for child care & transportation ... it changed during the Reagan years .. he cut back on monies going to the states for Federal program .. I didn't go to school, I went to work instead, but i was lucky .. I had an Aunt who watched Duane & I rode to work with my Mom & Dad ... I was only on it until I got hired full time, but I do know of several people who DID take advantage of all those programs & it did help ....

Here is some additional info on Convention negotiations

http://members4.boardhost.com/JohnShirley/msg/1215563564.html

One of my major "urge to kill" moments with an employer was when I was working with no child support, two children 10 and 11, one dropped off at elementary and one dropped off at middle school before driving 45 minutes to work during which the water pump blew causing me to nurse decrepit vehicle off freeway, miss a day;s work. After arranging an emergency loan, getting car fixed, repeating child dragging and getting to work the next day in order to hear,

"Why didn't you call triple A and charge the water pump?"

It's funny now, but the complete lack of awareness of people who have never known what it is like to live without a safety net never fails to stun me.

Thanks for that link, jamie. heheheheh.

but on a serious note, bad things in the market and the banking industry are spreading out from F&F.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/12/business/12markets.html?hp

The Dow is responding - it's down 218 at this point.

I like Obama in theory, I like that he stands for change, God knows we as a country need it, but I can never find the substance behind the claim for change, like talks a good game but is there a solid game plan or is it just winging it once the gun goes off ? I've read his books, seen him speak in person twice, and i hear change, change, change, but I really don't understand how he plans on getting the change.

The biggest problem with most welfare programs is that they aren't geared to go out of business. Their principle purpose is to provide middle class jobs at government expense for welfare workers.

If they were designed to educate and employ the expense would be much greater up front and would leave only the most hard core impoverished still needing care.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/07/in-defense-of-the-flipflop.html#comment-113650
==============
Jamie,

I know what you mean ..years later, after I married, had my daughter, divorced .. I had that same kind of schedule .. Carrie is 6 years younger than Duane & I don't know how it was with you, but I had trouble some days getting close enough to drop Carrie off .. all the parents would double park on this very small street ... Duane, I could drop off at the corner, but not a 5 year old ... then to go on & get caught in Cinti traffic downtown so was late a few times .. of course, my supervisor just couldn't understand how hard it is to get 2 kids ready in the morning & out the door .. { I think the winters were the worse .. I live on a busy street going down to the City' Garage & when they'd plow the streets, they'd push all this snow against Mom's car, that would turn to ice .. would take me sometimes 20 to 30 minutes to dig us out .. groan ...}

If you haven't read Krugman's column about the Medicare bill mechanations this week, you should. It is heartening.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/opinion/11krugman.html?hp

Nick ..

Exactly!! Even to this day, BO supporter say they don't like Hillary, is because of her Iraq vote ... see it still on blog comments ..

viv

I have covered local politics for various media for several years now. Last city council election, one candidate was asked why his position on a certain school funding decision had changed over the two years since he last ran (and lost). He replied that after studying the issue closely, he had decided his initial stance was wrong and changed his mind. I don't know about anyone else, but that brutal honesty earned him a lot of my respect, and my vote, too. I don't see what the huge problem is. If you get someone who never, ever changes his opinion on anything, no matter what, you get, well, you get George W. Bush, and we see how well that's worked out.

KC

Change is good. If you get enough change you will have a dollar and then you can buy a breakfast burrito at my local McDonalds, if you have a little more change for the tax.

~~~~~~~Change , change change~~~~~~~
:-)

Jack

Got me a little card board sign

~~~Will work for change~~~
:-)

Jack

Nick,

I know & it all makes me sick at how everything has played out this year ... from Bo's arrogance, the MSM drooling over him, trashing Bill & Hillary ever chance they got & then moving the DNC to Chicgo ... sad ...
well, need to get some lunch, sugar is dropping .. hope I can get back on this afternoon, but not sure .. it's getting over case here, we're suppose to get T-storms today & been in pain since 5 this monring .. nothings working today ...

Change you can believe in, Jack?

"a bloated pale Bubba hand"

I suppose to help smear Bill Clinton, describing him as a bloated Bubba is in the O-team's playbook.

But he does bear responsibility for the biggest reform problem.

The problem with welfare reform was easily foreseeable. There was no provision for childcare. With no child care help, the children of those women going to work were left alone or with elderly grandmothers. I remember telling a friend that we could end up with a generation raised in the streets.

Quarters Corey, Quarters.
Canadian ones please.

Jack

"free so that women could work. There should be day care centers within reasonable distance of work areas and children should be allowed to enroll in the school nearest a parents place of business.

Some bright person is going to start installing day care and school facilities within one block of all commuter rail stops."

I should have read the whole thread jamie -- you'd brought up the day care issue already! And yes, yes, yes to your day care facility thoughts!

Brother can you spare a Dime

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F4yT0KAMyo

Jack

Lest we be misled re: the DNC-Chicago move.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0608/11045.html

Yes -- that Chicago move was well publicized. Has it changed?

This thread has reminded me of just how poorly our country has treated children over the years. Too many of the right to life crowd care nothing about them past birth.

Years ago I met a young woman on vacation in the states with her two children. She was Swedish....she said that on the occasion of her divorce, the state provided her with an apartment, day care and a return to college. By the time I met her she had her degree, a good job and enough money to come to the states to visit her sister, my neighbor.

July 11th, 1804...Aaron Burr mortally wounded Alexander Hamilton during a duel in Weehawken, New Jersey.

Jack....

that begging for Canadian quarters reminded me of an article I read this past week in the Christian Science Monitor....

it seems that our falling dollar as compared to the Canadian rising one has greatly compromised the Canadian tourist industry..... the article stated that in a city such as Montreal, the European visits were the same.... but that American visits.... which comprised about 90% of that city's tourism dollar.... have sharply dropped...
the article also mentioned that even higher Canadian gas prices than US gas prices was also part of the cause....

so the cost of your trip to Canada to spend those quarters would probably amount to a wash..... can't win no matter what you do..... ;)

"I thought Bill Clinton was an excellent president"

I know you've said that. And I believe you. But I also believe that -- as was implied early in this election process -- Tom Daschle and others knew exactly what had to happen to get their guy over the finish line. Part of what had to happen was to damage Clinton badly, and that included making snarky remarks. All you have to do is read the "progressive" blogs to see how fully that was implemented. Reagan: transformational. Clinton: a fat Bubba who screwed around.

"can't win no matter what you do..... ;)"

LOL

That is the story of my life, Renee

Jack

Patsi...
I think some of the postings on this blog reflect that some of the early Obama supporters are choosing to ignore the fact that most of the Clinton supporters here have already said they've made the choice to vote for Obama..... sometimes no matter what their states do.... and/or if Obama turns out to be competitive in their states....

while only focusing on the fact that most of the Clinton supporters have retained their right to criticize Obama....

it seems to bug them..... oh well.... I see it as their problem....

Patsi,

re the Swedish vacationer:

The ripuplican counter to overpopulation is to make most people poor, and take away their safety net - like food stamps and medicare. The next step is to salt their environment with firearms (and landmines in foreign countries), and load their food, water, and air with salmonella, lead, mercury, phthalates, and assorted benzene/chlorine mixtures, and let the overpopulation problem solve itself. This is called the Pro-Life Solution.

Sweden has not yet seen the beauty of our noble regustlican methods. ( :>D ]

Here is the link to that McCain ad.
It appears that it is in English and Spanish

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0cNqtUtufo

DNC & their crappy “rules” that they would change if it would help “their” nom.
Roll call!

Well, I live in a red state so it only matters to my conscience…have found no reason to move to BO. I’m also not convinced that as many Hil’ry supporters have moved to him, despite what the media & BO’s people would have us believe. Did you notice how many women over 35 were sitting behind him when he was responding to Phil Gramm-crackerz (no relation to our beloved Katherine GC) yesterday? Feeling used yet???

Gordo – Enjoy your posts, but it’s time for an intervention. It may be time to let the birth certificate issue go.

RR – Piercings are like tiny, little lightning rods.

The Blues Brothers – “Flip, Flop & Fly”

Who knew this blog had a jinx-buy-me-a-coke feature?

How about privatizing Iraq Fiasco II?

Those who want IF II can purchase a subscription and the revenues will pay off all the costs of doing bidness in Iraq since 3/03, including paying a 5% royalty to all Americans for the privilege of fighting a war using our national symbols and brand name.

"WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Federal Communications Commission said Thursday that he would recommend that Comcast, the nation’s largest cable company, be punished for violating agency principles that guarantee customers open access to the Internet.

The potentially precedent-setting move stems from a complaint that Comcast had blocked Internet traffic among users of a certain type of file-sharing software that allowed them to exchange large amounts of data...

Mr. Martin’s order would require Comcast to stop its practice of blocking, provide details to the commission on the extent and manner in which the practice was used and give consumers detailed information on how it planned to manage its network in the future."
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/technology/11fcc.html?_r=3&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

"Flip, Flop, Fly" by The Hot Pecans

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BuyHDKHeqfQ

I used to hate flip-floppers. Now I love them.

hindsight is always 20 20

Flip flops--they make sense when circumstances change to alter the set of facts which informed the original position as Keynes and Machievelli famously pointed out.. They also make sense in a trade off for voters or money as in expediency. They are also okay for walking around in the yard but if you wear them all the time they will harm your feet. Similarly change is an important part of our politicol system. Those who would change things for the better are on the left and those who would change things for the worse are on the right..er ahh your left, no the other side, wait ,er ..never mind. The fact remains that change tends to mishape your pockets. I understand that Fiday the Thirteentnth is on a Sunday this month if this is true then alot of stuff must be false...or true as the case may be. But nothing was funnier than this from Patsi..."To listen to a message from Phil Grahm press here." posted next to a hand Dryer.

"I used to hate flip-floppers. Now I love them."

ROFL, Lard....

Alicia K posted: He's a pol, a big-ego, people-pleasing, smooth-talking, shape-shifting pol. That's just how they all are. Once this is accepted, it's easier to sort the good ones from the bad ones.

and have you also noticed pols have a hard time saying "no"? especially face to face with constituents and even on a personal level with friends and family. must be some kind of strange psycho quirk or mutant gene.

xrep -- I understand that Sarajevo thing -- and told this before you were on the blog. When at a settlement in the Golan Heights, all I remember is explosions in the night. But the photos of my friend and I were smiling and at ease during the day. Both things were true. But my mind still holds the danger element.

I used to hate flip-floppers. Now I love them.

LL

I used to hate flip-flops. Now I love them.

Pogo

Love flip flops?

What about waffles?

xrepub.

lol

quit that, I think I ruined another key board. Good thing I was drinking diet coke or everything would be sticky.

Jack

re my post: pols have a hard time saying "no"

well, DUH! one gets elected by saying "yes, we can" not "no, we can't"... but, in the case of a hard core pol, is it an inborn propensity to say yes, never "no" or is it a calculating mind that speaks an intentional flop which invariably has to flip?

I was against flip-flopping before I was for it.

I have a really nice pair of flip-flops I wear in the shower at the "Y" pool.

¡yo soy Horsedooty!

Patsi,

There is a difference. You don't say that you had to duck and dodge your way to safety at a moment when you were actually smiling and waving. Also, the shooting had stopped nearly a year before.

I really wish the incident hadn't happened, and do not mean to seem blaming. I don't discount the likelihood that the First Lady had very realistic nightmares before or during the trip that she remembered later. However, I don't think John or Jane Doe would sympathize with that explanation.

Well, x -- how about the stories in Obama's book where he later said he made up names.....and if his life story was really questioned....there's some embellishing there as well.

KGC...... waffles..... no thanks..... I prefer French toast....

patd..... as a craftsperson who sometimes sells retail at craft shows, I've taken more than my share of "how to be an effective salesman" type classes.....

the first rule of selling anything...... including yourself.... is never say no to a potential customer..... and see any and every one who walks into your booth as that potential customer.....

a candidate for any office is in the business of selling themselves....

So....Renee never says "No."? LOL!

heheheh. WH loses appeal to DC Circuit over visitor logs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/11/washington/11cnd-visitors.html?hp=&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1215799298-cL8o2Hd/Jheb4Fpjdb5A9A

The fight to find out who shaped our energy policy - or whatever thehell it should be called - isn't over, but unless the district court has a change of heart, it probably will.

Little Pogo loves waffles (but hates waffle fries). As for me, they aren't on my diet.

BiNY,

Was old Joe Gutenberg still alive back then?

I thought it was carved in stone by a Toltec transcriber and recently hidden by repoodlican special ops agents in a secret vault under the hospital pyramid labeled 'Employees Only.' Where is Indiana Jones when we need him?

Bushco's EPA's administrative FYATHYRIO to the court over greenhouse gasses.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-climate-usa-epa.html

If EPA isn't going to do its job and is going to ignore the courts' directives, congress should get into the act and cut off funds for EPA to operate.

I think Indiana Jones is McCain's age.

xrepublican ---------------------------

"mccain only showed a piece of paper. It may not have been the actual birth certificate, a document which is hidden somewhere in Central Panama, a foreign country with a notorious past."
==================================
McCain's Birth Abroad Stirs Legal Debate

"The birth was announced two days later in the English-language Panamanian American newspaper. A senior official of the McCain campaign showed a reporter a copy of the senator's birth certificate issued by Canal Zone health authorities, recording his birth in the Coco Solo "family hospital."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/01/AR2008050103224.html

(There are problems, look at page 2 of the article.)

Kiss of death for Fannie, Freddie?

"The government doesn't expect the entities to fail and no rescue plan is imminent,"

Here are a few other things the Bush administration didn't expect:
1. Terrorists to fly airplanes into buildings.
2. Saddam Hussein to have been telling the truth about not having any weapons of mass destruction.

Read the rest of the list here

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/kiss-death-fannie-freddie-white/story.aspx?guid=%7B81C67604%2DB78A%2D4BC4%2DA9A2%2DA2C58C59B509%7D

Jack

GORDO posted:
"The birth was announced two days later in the English-language Panamanian American newspaper. A senior official of the McCain campaign showed a reporter a copy of the senator's birth certificate issued by Canal Zone health authorities, recording his birth in the Coco Solo "family hospital."

Showed a COPY? What are they trying to hide?
Maybe mccain is secretly a Muslim Panamanian.

"McCain campaign showed a reporter a copy of the senator's birth certificate issued by Canal Zone health authorities, recording his birth in the Coco Solo "family hospital."

Hey Gordo, we know he was born in the Canal Zone, but that's not the USA, which as I understood would not make him a 'natural born citizen' and the issue as per the article linked by Patsi. And the law providing for births in such locales was not passed until after his birth.

"According to even the most technical meaning of “natural born” citizen in the 1780s, John McCain is a natural born citizen of the United States, but George Washington and Thomas Jefferson may not have been (since they were born before 1776), though they would have been generally treated as such at the time."
http://volokh.com/archives/archive_2008_02_24-2008_03_01.shtml#1204265246

How odd is it that we have two candidates running for president who have people questioning their respective births and legal qualifications to be president? Seems awfully damn odd to me.

Chin obviously has a different opinion.

What's that they say about lawyers and opinions?

Good Noon everyone --
Random thoughts on some of today's posts --

I think the Obama team makes a serious mistake if Hillary's name is not put in nomination. It would not only mollify many of her supporters, the whole exercise would provide much more drama and interest than what is certain to be a very dull GOP convention (or not, depending upon how loudly GW Bush is booed).

Candidates saying "No" to prospective supporters. Mc Cain often does so at Town Hall Meetings when asked about certain legislation he does not support. My own observation (I'll admit I may be biased) is that McCain is more willing to state that he has changed his position on certain issues and to say why, while Obama (thus far) is more prone to say that he has not changed his position but perhaps people didn't understand what his position was.

Campaign financing: It has been reported many times in reliable print and online media that approximately 50% of Sen Obama's donations were from bundlers, large donors, state lobbyists, etc.

The problem with welfare is that there are too many people who believe that women purposefully choose to raise their children alone just so they won't have to work. Clinton did his best....vetoing the bill twice before he got the best compromise he could. He understood the larger issue (remember his family background) and I'm certain Obama does as well. If we could work to get more Democratic women in Congress we might finally set up a structure that would truly help people.

Finally...I'd like to compliment Hillary Clinton on being the first prominent politician to predict the housing crisis (of course it was probably Gene Sperling who coached her on the issue), for raising the issue of apprenticeship programs, AND for having a strong enough sense of self to place the blame for Iraq where it really belongs -- in the lap of George W Bush and Richard Cheney.

Pogo: So that means we can declare both candidates ineligible and start over again? Now that would really improve everyone's perception of the state of American politics.
I think anyone interested should take both matters to court. I suspect they'd find both men are natural-born citizens, without question. The "change" in laws that people so frequently cite were clarifications to the code enacted after certain court decisions, usually in cases involving an American citizen male who married a foreign national female. There have been no adjudicated cases involving an American citizen female and a foreign national male parent.

The Band - The Weight

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-xQoNDFwlE

Remember what was discussed here exactly one week ago today? The Declaration of Independence.

So what do you think about the United States Constitution?
==================================
Article Two of the United States Constitution

Clause 5: Qualifications for office

"No person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_Two_of_the_United_States_Constitution
====================================
Where is Obama's proof that he is a natural born Citizen? Images on web sites are not proof.

Nick,

With regards to this post...http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2008/07/in-defense-of-the-flipflop.html#comment-113653

I can't think of one US Senator who apologized for the Iraq war vote, who ended up being labeled a flip flopper.

If Hillary Clinton said the following:

"While the idea itself, on the merits was the way to go, based on the information we were given, it's clear that the administration lied to us about the basis for this war and that they were utterly incompetent in their planning and execution of it.

My vote was a mistake because I should have known that this president was completely incapable to properly manage the war. That not just obvious to me, but to the millions of people who have suffered under the economic policies of the last eight years or the victims of hurricane Katrina."

She would be well on her way to winning in a huge landslide election. She would still appear as a hawk but at the same time, no one could argue with "we were lied to and that dude was an idiot." That would have remove Obama's entire premise to run...

Rez - it's what lawyers say about opinions and a$$holes - everyone has one, no one caares about anyone else's.

maggs, as attractive as taking the issue of the candidates' births to court seems, probably only the FEC or perhaps the Bush Admin has standing to do that. Suggest it to Judicial Watch. If it can be done by anyone else, Larry Clayman is just the guy to try it.

Hey Gordo, here's another FOIA idea - do one to the FEC to get the qualifications files of the 2 candidates.

Pogo,
I thought it was something about; ask __ lawyers and get __ opinions.

"in the lap of George W Bush and Richard Cheney."

kind of odd to see him called Richard Cheney
He'll always be (a) Dick to me.

error: forgot "different opinions"

Maggisd,

What is your evidence that HRC predicted the housing crisis?

Bear, instead, what she said was that she would not have made that decison if she knew then what she learned after the decision was made. Might not be the mea culpa people wanted, but sounds like it's an admission of a mistake to me. She did say all the rest about Bushco during the campaign. I think her mistake was waiting too long to say what she said and not taking the apology demanders on squarely. I believe she lost because her strategists conceded the post SDT caucuses.

Gordo

" Images on web sites are not proof."

Make him order a certified copy for every single citizen of voting age.... WE WANT PROOF!!!!!

Rez, true enough, that is what people say about lawyers and therir opinions. And we deserve every bit of it.

So is it "Ask Different A-hole lawyers questions and get different A-hole opinions? " I want to make sure I have this right when I use it - and I will use it.

i have been hiding under a rock since wes clark was on face the nation, it got too crowded when jessie jackson climed down there!
what is up with these nominee's suporters?
i tune in every day to see who will be thrown under the bus next.
the other day chis matthews asked terry mccauliff if HRC was trying to cause divisiveness by going against BHO and voting against the FISA bill. say what?
is it just me, or has the media gone totally off their corks!

Bear

Clinton and housing. HUffington editorial and Reuters news piece.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/02/19/clinton-obama-right-of_n_87442.html

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2060561020080324

If you choose to include A**holes, that 's fine. That's a different adage than I remember :)

In other words the blank connotes a number Pogo

KGC: I actually thought about that one...but went with Richard anyway.

"Enjoyed seeing ladies from the school's custodial staff there, too. "

ROFL!

Nelson Decker: Did you happen to wonder, as I did, that Matthews failed to mention that Sen Kerry also voted against the FISA bill? And Sen Dodd? And Sen Durbin? Matthews is such a Richard Cheney.

maggisd and patsi

:)))))

Pogo,

Just so you don't think I was trying to be crude

It's: Ask 77 lawyers and get 77 different opinions . .or there abouts

"Maybe mccain is secretly a Muslim Panamanian. "

I'm pretty sure he is, x...plus you know he murdered some gay guy to cover his own sexual proclivity.

Pogo: You and I both know that if this place of birth thing were an issue at all, Judicial Watch would have been all over it. The fact that not a single attorney has come forward to press the issue in the courts strikes me as pretty good evidence that the people who take this seriously do not have an issue.

to the topic of the day, i don't like flip-flops, but i certainly respect a persons right to change their mind. if they can explain why they have changed instead of denying that they did.

Patsi: Hold on a minute here ... I thought that it was Obama who was secretly gay? Isn't McCain the one who's a mental case?

yes maggi, i did. i was yelling as loud as i could, but mccauliff didn't hear me

Jamie,

Forget that,

They should card him everytime he buys porn on the internet

Nelson: I hope a person would always be able to change his/her mind when presented with new evidence or a changing situation.
I am with you...it is the denial that bothers me...the implication that everyone who heard someone say what was actually said either misheard or misunderstood.

and..whats this about not having a role call at the convention?

maggisd,

I presume that this latest wrinkle in the decades long-housing crisis.

Bear, I agree that there was a way for Hillary to address the vote. You way is very nice. My way would have been: "Who knew George Bush was a lunatic effing liar?"

However, I still say it was not a "war vote." It was a vote to give the president the power to act.

Nelson Decker: Doesn't it strike you as unfair that TV hasn't developed two-way audio? They never hear me when I scream either. And I have finally given up e-mailing Matthews.

Maggisd

Don't you remember how close Obama and McCain were for a while when Obama first came to the senate, then they had that little lovers spat. I think they are having a secret affair. So vote for either one your getting both.

Jack

Sorry, everyone, I meant to write, "I presume, you mean this latest...."

It was an inadvertent klutz seizure.

i could have saved your fingers maggi, i e-mailed that bastrd till i was numb early on in this thing.

"the other day chis matthews asked terry mccauliff if HRC was trying to cause divisiveness by going against BHO and voting against the FISA bill. say what?"

You didn't get the memo, Nelson. It was Hillary's duty to give Obama cover and cast her vote against the Constitution as well.

Patsi

I think HRC was handicapped by being associated with the Clinton whitehouse. She expected people in the whitehouse to behave in a rational manner.

Jack

viva la divisiveness

"... I thought that it was Obama who was secretly gay? Isn't McCain the one who's a mental case?"

Dang, maggi -- I can't remember. You can't tell the players without a program.

xrepublican: I misspoke earlier. She represented that she had been predicting an economic downturn / recession for over a year. Her step up to the housing crisis came a little later.
Still, I do continue to think that her grasp of the economic issues was really much superior to the other candidates ... even John Edwards.

Patsi: As to the George Bush was a liar thing. I have this suspicion (based on nothing but my own intuition) that, given her unique position as a former First Lady, she just couldn't bring herself to say it. I wouldn't be surprised to find out one day that the man actually lied straight to her face.

Gotcha Rez, I had heard that one as you explained it. Since I was talking a-hole, I thought that's what you were doing a little more politely. Silly me.

Stange bedfellows, smoke and mirrors, bad law.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/12/washington/11CLEANcnd.html?hp

"I think they are having a secret affair. So vote for either one your getting both."

Jack....I think it's Lieberman who was running around with Obama.

good cartoon about the stock market
http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2008/07/soft-furry-land.html

Jack

Jack: Oh, I remember that spat. It was about ethics reform...Obama had pledged to work with McCain and then chose to go with Sen Reid's version of the bill -- without having first told Sen McCain. And McCain sent Obama a blistering letter. I actually e-mailed McCain and told him I thought his pique was rather over the top. As I recall, McCain accused Obama of being just another politician. hahahahaha
Of course, Obama repaid McCain later on when he gave a speech on the Senate floor decrying McCain's support for his own version of the GI Bill, and mentioned Sen McCain by name when McCain was not present to speak in rebuttal. That was a serious serious breach of Senate protocol, and entirely unnecessary at the time, since the Webb version had already prevailed.

gee whiz....

a couple weeks ago Corey told me that Obama was a secret Republican....

oh noo, patsi! the thought of that hurts my eyes!

Patsi: Obama flirted with both of them -- but he's since called it off.
Maybe he and Joe can reconcile now that they're on the same side of the FISA bill.

Renee: Naw, he's no Republican...he just wants us all to get along.
Now where have I heard that before?

Obama was with Lieberman? We know Obama and McCain had a lovers spat. Now Lieberman is hugging McCain.
I think the french have a fancy word for that kind of a relationship.
But they are getting way too strange for a country boy like me.

Jack

I don't know if it's the giant Mocha Malt I just drank, or this news....but my stomach is churning! The season just gets wackier and wackier. Billy Bob Obama going for the WV vote....

"SI.com has learned that for the first time in history, a major presidential candidate may sponsor a race car in NASCAR's premier series. According to sources, Barack Obama's campaign is in talks to become the primary sponsor of BAM Racing's No. 49 Sprint Cup car for the Pocono race on Aug. 3. Details of the agreement are expected to be worked out over the coming days. "

""Pakistan is doing whatever is possible and Pakistan will do so in our own interests. We want a stable environment in that region," [foreign minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi] told reporters of Pakistani efforts against militants in the border region with Afghanistan."

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-pakistan-usa.html

Well that's all that needs to be said about that problem. Which is of course why OBL is currently rotting in a Pakistanit prison... Say what? He's not? Never mind.

I didn't know about his internet porn, Bear.

I suppose that explains his sudden rush back to DC to cast a pro-Viagra vote in the Senate.

Jack....

I wish I knew how to speak French..... the only words I know are "French toast"...

What I want in a candidate is someone with core principles that do not change. Not core policies, but core principles.
Someone who believes in the separation of church and state, that a woman's right to control her own body is absolute, that the death penalty itself is cruel and unusual punishment, that no one has a Constitutional right to own a firearm that is not a musket, that saving our planet is more important than any other consideration and that we can't do it by cutting down trees to plant corn and sugar cane. And, moreover, I want someone who understands that cold Popeye's for breakfast is better than no breakfast at all. (Well, that's not a principle, it's a practicality).

" ... what is the point of putting up a low-resolution image of an image that could be mocked up by anybody with Microsoft Paint and 10 minutes on their hands? No explanation, no provenance information, no reason to believe in its veracity.

... unless he doesn't have a birth certificate, or has one he feels compelled to hide. But now, after more than three weeks, with the affirmations of his campaign spokesman that the Fight the Smears birth certificate image is "real", he is in an even tighter corner: the real paper birth certificate of the candidate for President had better look a lot like the one on the web site, or he'll have a lot of explaining to do."

http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12959.htm

Patsi....

what I really want to know is..... are they going to sell arugula in the concession stands?

patsi, your pooping me right !?
BHO is going to sponsor a NASCAR race?
I thought he was just being his arogant self when he said his donors were a bottomless source of money.
do all of his small money contributors know how he is spending their money??

Patsi: Did you hear that awful joke that one of the late-night comedians did (may have been Conan) about the Obama-Nascar thing?
The punch line was something like, it'll give the Nascar fans a chance to actually see a black person up close. (Or something like that...I never remember punch lines)

NelsonDecker: Not so sure his donors are a bottomless source of money. McCain announced quite a significant haul for June...the Obama campaign is thus far mum on the subject of June donations.

hey maggi, i thought i saw a candidate just like the one you wish for!.......darn, i can't remember the name......

I have to say that I think the idea of sponsoring a Nascar entry is right up there with the Clinton campaign buying thousands of snow shovels in Iowa as a foolish waste of campaign resources.

now wouldnt that be a shame if the cash dried up. i hear the dnc is really hurting for cash right now. wonder what happened to their donors?

NelsonDecker: I'm pretty certain that Barbara Boxer would agree with me, but last time I looked she wasn't running ... and I do think a requirement for being President is that one's head should be visible above the lectern.

NelsonDecker: Well, I'm a former DNC donor and they don't get another penny from me (not that I ever gave that much), nor another volunteer hour until they announce their plans to re-vamp the delegate allocation system.

maggi, we are in agreement there. they get no more money from me, no more work on their behalf.
in a way, not having a horse (or car) in this race makes it easier to step back and observe.

Patsi, it'll never work. He should have chosen a team that could win, or at least could put up a decent showing. BAM is a poor team without a major sponsor that changed car brands last season, skipped 2 races this season, has qualified for only 5 of the 18 races so far this year and is in 49th place in the points. Besides, Pocono's in PA, and aside from Sandcastle and Kennywood amusement parks, WV rednecks don't care about anything in PA. Better to sponsor the blimp - it will get more coverage.

Interesting article about Democratic fundraising

http://www.observer.com/2008/politics/maybe-obama-needs-big-money-dems-after-all

but..... but....

maggisd.... that would mean *I* could never run for president.....

only 4'11" tall..... or should I say short.....

Nick: Yes...but President Madison's television appearances and large rallies were kept to a bare minimum. And then, too, he had Dolly and her famous little cakes to help him out.

Here's some campaign finance info for Obama and McCain.

http://www.cfinst.org/pr/prRelease.aspx?ReleaseID=195

You all can figure it out.

Renee: You could be one of my cousins. My Mom's family were / are all short ... I am the tallest woman in the family at 5'3" ... my Gram was 4'11", my mother a bare 5' and all my cousins not only under 5' but all wear clothing from the children's section.
My Dad's family, on the other hand, are giants ... my paternal grandmother was 6'1" ... and looked like Catherine Zeta-Jones. I got neither her height nor her looks.

Patsi

What Pogo said.

I mean
It ain't like it is Dale jr, now that could move an election or 2

Jack

maggs, wiping off the monitor. Glad I wasn't drinking milk - I would have spurted it out of my nose. LOL.

Nick: Are you serious? They banned you for that?

I just think it would be such a smart idea to have a real roll call vote at the Convention--I really do. I don't think that just another speech (no matter how good, no matter how well delivered) is going to generate the kind of enthusiasm that a roll call vote would generate. And, I do think it would do a lot for Sen Obama's standing with at least some women voters.

"Jack....I think it's Lieberman who was running around with Obama. "

And if Jesse wasn't clippling cashews, it could have gotten ugly.

Now there is a VP for Obama to think about.

Vote Obama/Dale jr.

Sounds like a winning ticket

Nick: Yes...well, the real problem wasn't the little round screens...it was that sound hadn't yet been invented.

But Jamie Lieberman is hugging McCain now. He is hovering around him like the new wife.

Jack

lol

Jamie: Poor ol' Jesse ...
Well, never mind; I don't care what he said. I will always remember him as the 17 year old standing on the steps of the Greenville Public Library asking to be let in.

Oh and I don't even want to think about what Jesse and Reverend Al are up to.

Jack

well. that's it then, lieberman is a two-timing cheat!
ah, but who didn't know thar!

"maggi, we are in agreement there. they get no more money from me, no more work on their behalf.
in a way, not having a horse (or car) in this race makes it easier to step back and observe."

Nelson/Maggie

The press keeps going on about the PUMAs which I think is a Republican organized movement with no real numbers. OTOH, your stance and mine makes me wonder if the "I'll vote for him, but not one dime and not one minute of my time" is much more real among the Clinton voters. Lose that backbone of the party and you might have a major problem.

Jack: Funny thing about Lieberman and McCain. Really the only thing they see eye to eye on are Defense issues. On every other subject Lieberman remains a solid Democratic vote ... more so than Sen Landrieu, for instance.
I think Lieberman just got his feelings hurt that no one else asked for his endorsement and I suspect he never really thought McCain had a chance to win the nomination. Now he's stuck. Not that I care because I haven't really liked him since his holier-than-thou speech about President Clinton. This from a man who divorced his first wife because she wouldn't convert from Reform to Orthodox when he did.

Jamie

Speaking of cashews. As Jesse was thinking about harvesting them it is obvious he doesn't own them. I wonder who does.
Because all one hit wonders are owned by some one

Jack

jack, it would insure a top 5 finish. LOL

Well, it's that time. Have a good weekend.

maggisd,

muskets are very dangerous, as they are likely to accidently snuff unintended targets. Ben Franklin proposed substituting bows and arrows for muskets, because archery was more accurate and had a faster rate of fire. On the other hand, bows take a lot of practise and two working hands.

Make possession of a firearm dependent upon membership of a duly constituted militia. Those who don't like such a qualification are simply too dam' selfish to support their country in its time of need. I call 'em yellow-bellied chickenslackersissyhawks.
( :>b ] Tell all the 2d Amendment psychos, "If you won't do the time, you have no standing to preach to me about freedom, you pantywaist. "

While I'm on it, why isn't that lying pos, ant scalia, defending American's rights to walk into the SCOTUS building with a gat? I know there are times when babybush would love to.

Jamie: It's difficult to know how many people are really that aware of how terrible the rules are and the machinations of the FL/MI decisions. What, for instance, might have happened if Michigan had been given the early waiver rather than South Carolina?
Nevertheless, I do think a substantial number of "old ladies" who have always been the working backbone of election campaigns have a gut feeling that they have been brushed aside.
Perhaps the young ones will fill the gap, but my experience has been that they seldom have the time and often don't like the tedium of the get out the vote effort.

maggisd....

both Rick and I are from French Canadian heritage...... notorious for being short..... but some how.... Rick's family didn't get the memo....

we have a much cherished wedding photo of my 4'7" mother standing next to his 6'4" brother.....

" i hear the dnc is really hurting for cash right now. wonder what happened to their donors?"

Count me among the ones who've sent their emails and letters back demanding primary system reform.

Maggisd

I've taken to calling people like Lieberman , donuts. they have no center. all their beliefs are out on the edges with lieberman some are on the left , some are on the right and some are just out there. But he doesn't have a center.

Jack

xrepublican: Now that you mention it, I wonder what would be the decision on the subject of businesses, government buildings, etc, denying entrance to persons with guns?
My real wonder is, how can a person who claims to be an originalist totally overlook the fact that the militia clause is the first statement made in the amendment? And yet, he totally discounts it.
It does strongly remind me of Bork writing that the 9th amendment is moribund because it's only been used once. Well, Sarah Weddle tried to use it the first time around in Roe, but the all-male panel of Justices told her to come back to them with the 14th.

" WV rednecks don't care about anything in PA. Better to sponsor the blimp - it will get more coverage."

Aha -- maybe the Penn vote then....but I didn't know anything about the BAM team. .afraid I'm a newbie to car racing...but it sounds like a bizarre plan. Maybe a little Dukasis/tank-ish.

Every body have fun.
I told the wife I'd make some camel hump stew to take over to the fatherinlaws. Strange thing about camel hump, it taste just like chicken.

Later
Jack

Jack: I hate to say this, because when I have said it on previous occasions, I have been accused of being a self-loathing Jew, but I dislike the feeling that I get that Sen Lieberman (and others) are more concerned with doing what's in Israel's best interests rather than ours.

Now, don't get me wrong, I am a passionate supporter of Israel, come all over weepy when I hear the Hatikvah, and actually believe that if the Palestinians really wanted a state of their own they might have said something about it when they were part of Jordan. And, I do not think they have a claim to Jerusalem. That being said, however, I am an American first, last, and always and I bless my g-grandparents that they came here when they fled what was then Russia. I believe that American politicians must always think in terms of our national interests, not those of another country.

"defending American's rights to walk into the SCOTUS building with a gat? I know there are times when babybush would love to."

Maybe you've hit on what really happened when "W" was selected....I can picture Babs Bush involved....

I don't know who the PUMAs are....but I do know that both Puma and cougar have been used in a kind of disparaging way to refer to women of a certain age. Why older women are called cougars is beyond me....but it's interesting when you consider that many experts consider the cat family one of the most efficient killers on the animal world. Don't know if I'd be making too much fun of a pissed off cougar, puma, lion, or tiger.

"Pizza should be thin, with a crispy almost burnt crust!"

Who'd a thunk it.....I'm in complete agreement. But dripping with cheese....

maggisd,

Good points.

The issue of businesses and congregations banning firearms is simply one of a private property right, which btw, scalia denies us in cases of our papers, personal effects, and body fluids.

Here's another. If we have a Constitutional Right to consume booze, and a Constitutional Right to carry firearms, how can so many states rob us of our rights to blast away 'under the influence' ? Isn't police seizure of firearms from drunks an infringement by scalia's occasionally convenient 'originalism'? Clearly taking a state's power to determine its own electors is another one of scalia's deviations from 'originalism.' From now on I'll just refer to him as ant scalia, the original deviant, or simply, the devious scalia.

Patsi: Cougars are more than women of a certain age. They are women of a certain age who date much younger men. Personally, I didn't much care for young men when I was young myself, so I don't know why I'd want to date them now.

how about La Scalia?

" I didn't much care for young men when I was young myself, so I don't know why I'd want to date them now."

Smart woman. Let the cougars train 'em and then walk off with the finished product. : )

" Personally, I didn't much care for young men when I was young myself, so I don't know why I'd want to date them now."

I'm with you, maggi...I married a man my own age....and after the divorce, when I was in my 30s, I liked men in their 50s...and as I got older, still dated me quite a bit older. That sucks now, though because men that much older than me are dead or on life support.

Jamie: Ain't it the truth. My ex (now happily remarried) always tells me that he figures men don't grow up until they are at least 50.

Hank

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1a7g6xDfXU&feature=related

Speaking of NYC, Chicago, food etc...the thing I'd love to taste again before I die is the leberkäse sandwich I had at the Munich train station in 1970....OMG it was delicious.

This is your example of the wonderful things people do to offset some of the cynicism

One of my favorite blogging buddies is Shelly Tucker of
This Eclectic Life http://thiseclecticlife.com/ is a professional story teller who lives in Texas. For many months she organized what turned into a major project to give each of the children at Camp Sanguinity (summer camp for children with Cancer) and afghan made of love. Squares came in from all over the world to be assembled with each square bearing the name and location of the person who crocheted it. For months Shelly lived with incoming packages, half assembled afghans, packed boxes consuming a spare room and all of the queries and confusion.

The Afghans were just delivered. Enjoy the pictures and the children.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thiseclecticlife/sets/72157606042300029/show/

Lonzo and Oscar.......a 3-fer and out.....thank you kindly friends and neighbors and keep that card and letter coming in........

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKtoWK_y1HE&feature=related

Patsi: From time to time I get asked why I no longer date and I always reply, why in the world would I want to date someone who wanted to go out with me? I've got enough to do watching out for myself without having to deal with some geriatric stranger.

Maggs...I'm smelling a G-rated sex story somewhere in there. Just remember, the e-mail address is lardosretreat@gmail.com

Sturge...you still owe me one as well.

And I'm hoping Corey jumps in at some point too.

lo siento......uno mas......check out the difference between that brick-head roy acuff and when hank sings......lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32tcvdd4SCI&feature=related

Well, here's something deeply unpleasant. My daughter was watching BBC Newsnight...called me completely hysterical. They showed the water-boarding thing Christopher Hitchens took part in. I mean, she knew, but seeing it was altogether different.

I'm surprised Hitchens didn't try to make it "whiskey boarding."

Well Craig, this certainly comes to mind:

http://stubbornfacts.us/humor/obama_change_that_keeps_on_changing

And on other threads above, flip flop is distinguished from contradictions or lying. Even Poli-Fact Check nails Obama on the 2nd and they are clearly pro Obama.

Iran is a study in flipping back and forth and back and forth. See Obama in 2004....

Evolution of thinking is different than political pandering to win key votes. And the positions Obama now co-opts are Hillary's after branding her unworthy to be the Democratic nominee with such views. Does that make you all happy Clinton supporters?

In any case, Obama talked about not approving Free Trade Agreement with Columbia and said little about Hugo, his ties to FARC or the dangers to Liberty coming from Leftists in Latin America. He talked about ending the military aid to Mexico and Coluimbia as Uribe was battling harsh words from his neighbors.

Now it seems the US and Columbia listened in on FARC communications. I bet Bentancourt approves such listening as she hails Uribe and the Columbian military. DId Obama even praise the adminsitration and Uribe? Now Hugo is making nice to Columbia. Just imagine what signals Obama would have sent were he the Presidente here. And what flip flopping will we see in his stance towards Latin America? He blasted Hillary on NAFTA and his advisor was caught telling Canada that was all BS. As soon as Hillary was defeated, Obama hailed Free Trade. Flip Flopper or salesman? Happy Hillary supporter?

FISA, Unitary Principle. 2nd, Free Trade, Talking to Ahmadinejad, Iran, Soon to Come -Iraq, Public finanacing, Pakistan, Patraous, Capital Gains tax.....all are great flipper moments. Oh more will come until it will be hard to say who Obama is based on his ficitonalized history or his public record...LOL

And talk about Obama's rhetoric of responsibility and accountability. Doesn't he support the $300 billion Sub Prime bail out with corporate sweet deals? Did Dodd or Conrad get money from those responsible? How does this bill come close to rational? Does Obama have a key advisor who was involved in the sub prime fiasco? With polls not supporting the present bail out, will Obama take responsiblity when Fannie has to be bailed out too. Will this cost more than Iraq? What kind of monatery policy will be subject to Obama Flipperism? The debit just keeps rising and there is another great Flip Flop from Obama.

Bad deficits, hhhmmmm let's make them bigger. That's the ticket. That is the change we can believe in..

Great show Obama, great show.

Lardo.....it shall fly sometime tomorrow without fails

Jamie: I regret to say that the url didn't work for me. But I imagine the afghans are beautiful.

Back in the days before 42d St and Bway became a major distribution center for Big Porn and vector social diseases, when the 2 ladies w/bible and flag emerged from their limo every afternoon at 3 to threaten passersby with hellfire, the Astor drugstore produced desserts that would transport you past purgatory and directly into heaven. Across the alley, the Veg Chef at the Wellington treated aspargus with the utmost respect, while the Sauce Chef prepared a lovely eggy hollandaise (vinegar not lemon) for it to swim in. I'm getting hungry just writing it up. I go now to add yet more girth, and feed my 4' 10" Sweetie - my "Better 1/3." Peace and Love !

Lard: Unless you count the elderly (well, older than I) gentleman who asked me to help him pick out a melon at the grocery store a few weeks ago, I don't have much in the way of sex stories -- G-rated or otherwise.

"I've got enough to do watching out for myself without having to deal with some geriatric stranger."

Ha, maggi -- I have a friend in her 80s who says the old men she's met were looking for a nurse or a purse.

Maggs...you got the melon treatment? That means you must be pretty hot!

"G-rated sex story "

I've got one about Sid King's strip joint in Denver that I'm gonna post soon, Lard.....

Okay Patsi...just send it along to that e-mail address.

What is it about Denver and you? Every time you go there you seem to get "hotter than a pepper sprout."

xrepublican, Rudy cleaned up that cesspool after Democrats failed to do so.

In the West Village every other store is a bistro with every cusine imaginable.

Lardo: I seem to appeal to a certain type of older ethnic man (still able to walk but just barely) who seems to feel it is appropriate to sidle up to one in a grocery store and suck up all one's personal space. As for hot...well, only in the summer.

gosh.....maybe rudy coulda cleaned up iraq too, huh........

Thanks for the Hank links, sturge....re: Acuff....when the Dirt Band was making the Circle album, as the whole crowd was leaving, Earl Scruggs was overheard saying, "That Roy Acuff thinks he invented country music."

sturg: Yeah, Rudy and his pal Bernie.

And for all you who posted about being very short, you'll like this Brenda Lee comment:

"I was always short, and as I've got old I just keep shrinking. One of these days my husband is gonna look for me and all he'll find is a grease spot in the hall."

I have a friend that used to live in Nashville and he still goes out on the road with Earl from time to time as a guitar player. He told me that the big ass house Earl lives in is multi-story but Earl has never been off the ground floor. He has successful gotten Earl to play on two of his CD's.

¡yo soy Horsedooty!

I didnt want to turn it into Hank Night, but I was amazed by all the good hank they have up over there in the U-tubes.........

Patsi: You were there? I still have that original album. An all-time favorite.

somehow, my dad danced with Brenda Lee on an airplane.........one of his favorite stories.......

sturg: Hank is the first country singer I ever remember actually hearing. Although there was a local program on TV when I was a kid, featuring a man who was once Roy Rogers' stand-in (can't remember his name at all) and a singer named Carolina Cotton, who was the best yoddler ever.
A few years ago, a young man performed a one-man show as Hank Williams during the Old Globe winter season. The friend who usually accompanies me is not a fan of musicals of any sort, so she sent her mother instead ... it was a great night and this guy was really good. My test is always Lovesick Blues and he was just fine. (I hope I have the actual name of the song correct...but I'm sure you all know which one I mean).

Mag, I'm not sure what Bernie had to do with clean up time square. I mean, was that a good thing, or was your comment a general vilification?

Now I have plenty of unkind things to say about Rudy and Bernie, but I was just talking about times square. Having lived on the upper east side in the early 90s, much did change for the better and the slide towards NYC becoming a place for only the rich and their servants started long before Rudy. Republican and Democrat alike has done little to retain the MIddle Class. Now Broadway is opening up bike lanes. Bike lanes for the rich.

of course, one of his other favorite stories was in backwoods alabama trapping possums and selling the furs to sears and roebucks........

"Across the alley, the Veg Chef at the Wellington treated aspargus with the utmost respect, while the Sauce Chef prepared a lovely eggy hollandaise (vinegar not lemon) for it to swim in. I'm getting hungry just writing it up. "

Oh man....now I am thinking I need to make a run to the store.

the Austin Lounge Lizards use to do a tribute to Hank called,

"I wanna ride in the car that Hank died in"

nothing much is sacred with them

¡yo soy Horsedooty!

have done that is...LOL

Dinner calls

"He has successful gotten Earl to play on two of his CD's."

Whoa -- that's a sideman!

"Every time you go there you seem to get "hotter than a pepper sprout."

Ha, Lard -- I lived in Denver for ten years...in my 20s and 30s....

Max: My comment on Bernie had to do with the fact that he was assigned to set up the police force in Iraq on Rudy's recommendation and pretty much failed miserably.

My knowledge of NYC is very thin indeed. Have visited it only twice and not since the 80s. They were actually family visits to Long Island...so I've spent a grand total of 3 full days there ... and I really enjoyed it. Did all the touristy things...elevators at the twin towers, observation deck at the Empire State, Natural History Museum, walked down Fifth Ave, used the ladies room at Trump Towers, ate way too much but not very well. And, despite what everyone had always told me ... found people to be both friendly and helpful.

magg.....my dad had a record player which played the underside of a record before it dropped and then played the top side on the turntable, then went to the underside of the next record......early fifties.......first singer I ever paid any real attention to was hank.......and there was plenty of the other guys around.....phil harris, jolson, frank, but hank struck a noive.........it was an album of 78 rpms shortly after jan 53........

Maggi -- No, I wasn't at the session...One of the Dirt Band told me that story. Yes -- what a great album!

Gotta go folks...it's been a good day in here, I think.

here is a sample of the Austin Lounge Lizards insanity for about 3 minutes

http://youtube.com/watch?v=s88xHgTpir0&feature=related

¡yo soy Horsedooty!

"my dad danced with Brenda Lee on an airplane.........one of his favorite stories......."

" one of his other favorite stories was in backwoods alabama trapping possums and selling the furs to sears and roebucks........"

I'm voting for your dad for prez.....

lol.....he'd be a very dark horse......ie.......dead......but he'd appreciate your vote......I know he would........

course......even dead he'd be better than bush

Here's a couple of friends of mine who had a record deal back in the late 80s....JJ White, Janice and Jayne. This is my favorite song they ever did...and speaking of the dead...Janie would love that I'm telling this all these years later. As you can see, the lead singer, Janie, was not fat but not skinny either. She got cancer, and as she got sicker she told her sister Janice: "Don't you dare let 'em pull the plug until I'm a size four."

http://youtube.com/watch?v=-EnGU7IT890

Newsweek Poll just out

THE RACE: The presidential race nationally
THE NUMBERS

Barack Obama, 44 percent

John McCain, 41 percent

___

OF INTEREST:

Obama and McCain are essentially even in the latest poll by Newsweek. The magazine's last survey in June showed Obama with a 15 percentage point lead, though that was one of the few that have shown Obama with such a large edge. By a 21-point margin, most say Obama has been changing his positions on some key issues. The poll was conducted after Obama reversed himself by not accepting public campaign financing and supporting an intelligence surveillance overhaul with elements he had earlier opposed. McCain has a slight edge among independents and a 12-point lead with whites, while Obama is ahead by nearly 50 points among minorities.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/10/politics/p111246D57.DTL&tsp=1

TrueMax,

Brothel owners, the cox family (the blonde nixon's in-laws), and other republicans who ran New York in those days, let the apple rot and morph into that cesspool. coxes, john newton mitchell, buckleys, columbos, d'amnatos, lindseys, and galloses.

When Beame finally got into office the city was already nearly bankrupt. When NY needed financial support for the basic services of law enforcement and trash pick-up, president leslie king aka gerald ford said,

No, you need more crime and fewer trash pickups. Fire your civil servants and hire the free-enterprise mobster-owned trash haulers who give us big campaign contributions. Let 80,000 people sleep in boxes in your streets. Let the Bronx burn down. Let Deluxe Check poison your baby's drinking water with solvents and ink. What do we care, you didn't vote for us, you #>@%/& Liberals, you.

Thanks Rudy, but all the tough stuff wouldn't have been necessary if only your fellow ripuplicans hadn't made such a mess in NY to begin with.

Doots -- Lounge Lizards link was great....

I started playing guitar in 56 after elvis came on sullivan from the waist up........so this big department store opened up herelate fifties, very early sixties......GEX......government employees exchange.......they had a department for everything and the old man was somehow or other on the honorary board or something.......so we had to go at least once a month sometimes more, and I'd be at large in the big store.......they had a music department and I usually ended up there after the book department....i'd discovered bomba the jungle boy and the waltons .....but one day they plugged in a guitar for me to try thru an amp and it was loud......like the everly bros and/or duane eddy......so i beat it for awhile and then when I was thru, because so many people from around the store came to see what the hell was going on they gave me a 33 1/3 record album......I got Hank's gospel album.......so for playing on the guitar for 20-30 minutes I got my second record album......the first I'd saved my pennies and dimes for months to get the $3.98....Hank Williams' Greatest Hits.......
well.....everytime after that I'd go in, get lost, and play the guitar and get a record album....my first gig.......always Hank......after 5 or 6 hanks......I got a duane eddy.......so far so good......then.......I got Chuck Berry's Greatest Hits.......
the gig came to a close......my mother says, "You know all that money for that record goes straight to the NAACP". It didnt help that I pointed out "What money? I got it free....."

A Mario Lanza would have bowled her over.........

but even then.......I knew enough to know that if chuck got any money for that record.......wasnt NONE of it going to the NAACP...........lol

ROFL, sturge!

I didn't even know country music existed until the family moved to Phoenix when I was seven and I turned on the TV and there was this guy. Learned later he was with The Texas Playboys and Spade Cooley (hows that for a trip to the dim dark past)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDDF-vG2Ffo

at the time I heard hank i had no way of knowing that there was a difference between Hank, Mario Lanza, Jolson, or those other guys.....it was all just there.....it just happened to be hank who broke thru....and you look at his songs......it's extremely hard to fathom that all that angst, tribulation and humor came out of a guy who died when he was 29.......

why dont you love me like you used to do?

I feel like I've been cheated out of my rib.......

--Hank

and kaw-liga the wooden indian, fahchrissakes.......what mind came up with THAT.....

and then one day a wealthy customer bought the indian maid......and took her oh, so far away but old kaw-liga stayed......just stood there and never made a sign, because his heart was made of knotty pine.....poor old kaw-liga, he never got a kiss

Barack Obama is turning out to be even weaker candidate than I thought he would be.

Wake up Democrats. We still have time to correct this impending mistake.

OD....if there's a convention fight Im, in my own way, for it.......laizzez les bon temps roulez.......

Since Obama flipped on campaign finance and FISA, I've been wearing my Hillary button.

Fantastic reactions..People are ready to fight for the nomination.

A few more flipflops should do it.

By the way..What do those of you who criticized Sen.McCain's recent foreign travels feel about Saint Baracks pontifical tour of Europe.

Apparently Sen Obama is causing quite a stir in German politics. Merkle is not at all pleased over some prospective rally at the gate.

"lovesidk blues" was not a hank composition.....he quickly learned, like dylan, that he needed to write his own songs........they'd be as godd and better than anything at that time extant....... the body of work he left is reminiscent in its own way of keats.......

Thanks Patsi..There are four people who I don't read or refer to on this blog. It has made participation here much more pleasant.

I don't see why I should interact with people online who
I wouldin't allow in my life under other circumstances.

Bush was definitely in a bad mood at the G8. I got the feeling that other world leaders will be as happy with his departure as the Amrican public.

Everybody like Obama yet?

I dislike O more every day..

yas can like yer van goggins, and yer pollacks, and yer lautrecs and mick-angelos, da vincis, fra angelos, grecos, and the like.....but for my money I'll take Steinlen.

that boy know'd how to paint pitchers........

Everybody like McCain yet?

i wouldnt call it a luxury exactly.........

what would you call it?

Dianne Feinstein
Hillary Clinton
Tom Harkin
Sheila Jackson Lee
Al Gore
John Kerry
John Edwards
Ron Wyden

I would prefer all these people and many more to be the Democratic nominee..

Dog,
I didn't like him in the first place, either. I flip-flopped.

I realized he was the best candidate actually in the running for the POTUS. And as I have learned more, I am favorably impressed.

dog's eye..

I thought from the beginning that he was an empty suit, but..in the back of my mind I had hope he could prove me wrong. If the "new politics" were to be real, that would be wonderful.

Unfortunately, his actions of late have only increased my disillusionment with him.

nice uncle

Did anyone notice the recent tape in which a broad shouldered woman in a white suit introduced Senator McCain? (On the same occasion, Mrs. McCain was attired in green.) Anyway, the woman in white looked exactly like Linda Tripp. Is she Senator McCain's secret weapon?

Oregon Democrat
I agree with you, just wish Hillary would put up a fight for those 175 or more delegates she needs. Looks like most here have resigned to O. Sorry I cannot. Had to turn off the TV when Bush was elected. Now it is O and the tv has been turned off for several weeks now. A grandstanding insincere bigmouth is not my idea of a president. Democracy has had its heels scrapped and they are now raw.

the gop rovians proved that mccain is "unstable" "emotional" and "dangerous" in SC in 2000.......why is he still a topic of debate?

they flip- flopped also sturge- it only took them eights years

I think, by Hillary's actions, it is clear she made what ever deal she could with Obama. I do not think she would commit political suicide by not honoring her words.

ms burrito.......im so sick of "flip-flop" i could shit.........(to use a common colloquial phrase from where I live).....I hate the sound of it, the fact that it brings to mind a brand of footwear which has never in my life adorned my foot.......well, except for that one week in jail when my buddy shot the traveling drummer in the arm in my dad's house.......flip flop, flip flop.....my god where does it end? pointed toe pumps? PFC's ?
maybe people running for office just always change their minds for the chance of gaining a dollar........just because they have no principles does not mean that their principles are easily changed........

lol.....sturge

flip-flop is so 2004, it's like a re-run, a discontinued political attack...on the clearance rack.

what will they think of to re-place this antiquated attack ?

every campaign season there seems to be a hit

we could call them gucci loafers........i guess.........

Belgium is ready for Obama

http://i36.tinypic.com/2555csl.jpg

never forget once in the thrift store in ruidoso they had gucci loafers and mink things.....

high priced re-cycles rags are in !

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/fashion/12CONSIGN.html?scp=1&sq=designer+resale+shops&st=nyt

i just remember thinking......fahcryin' out loud......I cant afford a pair of barely worn, perfectly fitting, $20 gucci loafers..........we bought the baby a sun bonnet........

Jesse has envy issues

the club in ruidoso was so big they had a golf cart to take us from the bar to the stage............

sun bonnet.....ha ha .........from the time we pulled into ruidoso it rained......there a month.........sometime in sept. it rained everyday, all day, for the entire month.....couldnt use the sun bonnet till we got to the paradise motel in cruces......then the bonnet was quite handy...........

I cant reconcile "lamenting" with mr crawford....that's some kind of wacko twist on facts.......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkQDbfF4RqA

For the McCain supporters....no, for everyone..... (it's short)

They have to attach Obama because they can't sell McCain....

I haven't heard anyone talk up McCain.

attach = attack

it's gone from Hillary bashing to Obama bashing - that's what they do......same play book...different target

and I am sure they may convince a few...

and they will recruit a few as well.....

vulnerable, upset.....in poker we call it "tilt"

How many on this blog have been recruited to McCain, Jack?

I would think anyone voting for McCain , would have to support the Republican agenda.

UB

Why?
Even McCain doesn't support a lot of the Republican agenda.

Jack

I see....how did that happen?

Jack,

Really, well maybe you could tell me why anyone would want to vote for him? I haven't heard anyone do that.

then there are Democrats like your senator Brown who is favoring some form of off shore drilling.
That is McCains stand not Obama's
http://www.columbusdispatch.com/live/content/national_world/stories/2008/07/11/todrill.ART_ART_07-11-08_A1_SPANO0L.html?sid=101

Jack

Oh I forget, Maggs wrote a piece, but other than that I haven't heard anything positive about McCain from his supporters.

you support off -shore drilling? is that why you support McCain?

yes, you have.
Maggisd gave a good sumation from an independents view on this blog several times.

Jack

Nick writes "I'm not for McCain as much as against that fraud Obama."

That's the type of comment I see often on-line,but off-line I never hear that. People who are not bloggers seem to see the differences between a republican and democrat, and they know their vote is between two candidates. The more liberal say they will vote Obama, and the older, ad some wealthy say they will vote McCain....

It's like night and day the difference between what I read here and what friends and neighbors say.

I posted that above, Jack 10:33

UB

Why?
Even McCain doesn't support a lot of the Republican agenda.

Jack

Burrito

What makes you think I support McCain?

Jack

Does Sherrod Brown support McCain because he supports off shore drilling?

Jack

Couragous NIck...kudos.

We have over 50 billion barrels of oil under our ground and off our coasts. Much of it is not in particulary sensitive places. We have gas and plenty of coal. We also have the technology to extract it and use it without polluting the environment and releasing carbon. No, this is not THE solution, but with selective nuclear we can easily bridge the gap between now and alternative energy.

Democrats backed a corn subsidy when cellulosic ethanol generated regionally would be far better. Solar and Wind cannot possibly fix things now, nor can drilling immediately lowwer gas prices. We need an across the board solution and export our discoveries to those nations that will continue to burn coal and oil for the next decade or two. You know how many plants China has built and is building? We can carefully extract the world's largest fossil fuel reserves in Canada and lead the world into a vibrant future of prosperity and alternative energy without the ideologically backed notions of the Far Left.

McCain is closer to an energy solution than Obama. And McCain is more correct on national security. Funny how Democrats hailed McCain in 2003 -2004 when he was blasting Bush's post war policies. Then Democrats talked about reforming policy. Now they want to throw out everything in their partisnanpurge thinking they are all that. And like I said long ago, Obama will stunble on Iraq as by the Fall, Iraq will have turned the corner (thanks to McCain and Pataous). Obama will never reject Patraous. Now there is an American hero that MoveOn called Betrayus.

Obama has retracted his support of that BS.

And the insult to Hillary now is Obama using sme of her positions HAVING WON BLLASTING HER FOR THEM. How honest is that?

Yep, winning IS EVERYTHING> Don't forget that when the Republicans jump on Obama's back like alead weight.

VIlification goes no where and Democrats have serious flaws too. BE Independent thinkers and reject ideology. Use your heads.

No buyers? Didn't think so, so Nick, don't knock yourself out. This Jeerclub will go until it hits a wall....

Nick,
If you don't care for my post don't read them. If all you want to on Craig's blog is insult me with your personal attacks, that is your choice.

If I were to look through your posts I would find an ongoing attempt by you to discredit me and insult me. That is your problem not mine.

It is no wonder you do not have a blue key.

Jack,
I thought you said, that you supported McCain?

No , Solidly on the fence, gotta watch the assumtions even if they are not yours.

Jack

sorry....my mistake : )

Nick,
I refuse to engage in your negativity. I will not respond to your posts from this point forward.

peace~

Not much of my attitude towards Sen. Obama has changed other than I really like Michelle more than when this all started. Now I do see him starting to grow into the role as he has had more time to ease up on campaigning and do more studying. He has recorded an interview with Fareed Zakaria for CNN that I believe is on this Sunday. I'm looking forward to that.

I still think Sen. Clinton was better prepared to be President right from the beginning. Sen. Obama may be ready to be President by the time he moves in to the White House. We shall see.

If she wants it, I still want her for VP or in the Cabinet if only as proof of his excellent judgement.

"maybe the dingo ate your baby"

Burrito, you know I appreciate much you have to say, but you vilify the Republicans and blame them for the greatest evil. Such over the top posting doesn't seem objective or balanced. I posted a long response on Iraq and you never disputed the facts.

All those Democrat were scared into to supporting the resolutionon the use of force? There was no logic to remove Saddam before he was very dangerous. Saddam and Iran racing towards nukes?

Now I am not excusing the strategy in Iraq after Saddam was ousted and McCain blasted Bush for his phase four lack of planning. Bad stuff for sure. Reality however is not so black and white. While I oppose attacks on you because you are such a friendly guy, I think you may have missed things in your posts that others might find insulting though you rarely direct anything personal at anyone. Except those evil Republicans.

For that I commend you and suggest Nick just focus on facts.

Broadway is being oppened to bikes now, but unfortunately, most on bikes are the rich. We are becomeing the play ground for the rich and most are Democrats. GO figure,,,,,,,,

Nick

"One thing we all need to constantly remind ourselves is we almost all write in a conversational manner. That is a very sloppy way to communicate in text. Because when we converse we are not only using the words but the tone we use, our facial expressions and gestures all give meaning to our words. All of these are missing in text"

Renee ask yesterday if I could repost this. This seems like a good time.
Maybe UB is needling us by playing the endless question game, maybe she is genuinely curious. With text it is hard to tell.
You often, as do I, post in a frustrated manner that can easily be misread. So maybe give a little slack to recieve some :-)

Jack

NIck, I was only suggesting a focus on facts that show what Obama is really about. That is your point, yes? And there are so many things to point out. Each time we do and the OBOYS fails to respond, that just proves the piont.

Of course, I believe in Free Speech, you are free to say whatever until Craig the overloard gets involved. And he is like that GOd busy elsewhere in the universe. We mortals are free to squabble all we want....LOL

Don't stop keeping your line however. Truth is often unsettling to the believers......

I don't believe the term is "flip-flop" for Obama. I believe he's just "flipping the script on 'em".

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=flip+the+script

Max,
I don't always read your posts when they are really long.....I have told you that before....

Do you need a special pass to ride in the bike lanes?

helmets? or are they required just for some?

If the bike lane is open, why do only rich people ride there? and what is wrong with rich people? or democrats? I'd be on the rode everyday, you know how fast that would be getting around?

Okay, too tired right now and the light is low. Worked fifty hours renovating a space in the city this week and my typos say go to sleep.....

Good night all and happy jeering.

Most people have blogs for long posts....because, as I understood it when I first got here, people said this was more of a conversational forum....but I never really asks for specifics...I notice requests for links, instead of articles...If yu want to find out, you would have to ask someone else...

I am glad to see a defense of flip-flopping, also known as being flexible. "Blessed are the flexible for they shall not get bent out of shape."

I love the city. They could also be students, delivery people, tourists.....maybe I'll take my bike when I drive my daughter to school this fall..

Thanks for the info, Max

Nature brakes that which will not bend.

My flip-flops are "Keen's" which have toe guards that actually help keep your feet warm - good for me since I wear them all winter. You'd be amazed at how much body heat is lost through the big toe, or how much you can retain just by covering it. People stop me everywhere to ask about my "cool shoes."

One of the least useful forms of argument is ridicule.

breaks...loloolo

OD
Hey just catching up,your posts are simply good.I like your honesty and its good you don't pay any attention to some who constantly put down any who are not infected with Obama Love.They are also the ones who claim to be real Dems. but never miss a chance to trash President Clinton the best two term President in are lives!!!!Sounds like they are the real Republicans??Isn't it funny how they can do that but we are to just fall in line and never voice any disagreement with Sen.Obama?I call it Obama Logic.....

Indeed, "the strength of a tree lies in its ability to bend." (Thanks, Hallmark)

Sorry, Maztrue,

john lindsey was your work: empty rhetoric, prettyboy, showboat. A wrongold reagan ahead of his time, 24/7/4 running for president and collecting screaming teenybots worshippers. Pretty john was on the outs with then gov. nelson rockefeller who took it out on the city in order to punish the divine mr. lindsey. No money for NYC! On this policy the buckley's 'conservative' party agreed. Let's all shaft NYC. george steinbrenner is one of yours, too.

Speaking of taking responsibility, I don't see you regustlicans taking any responsibility for the US defeats in Viet Nam, Laos, Cambodia, Lebanon, Somalia, and Iraq X2, for the failure to save New Orleans before Katrina and the failure to save New Orleans during and after Katrina, for keeping us dependent on the international oil fascists, for siding with Nasser in Suez in '56, for arming and training Osama bin Laden, for arming the Ayatollah with weapons to use against us, for kissing No Korea's ass, for the deregulation that led to the collapse of Enron, Worldcom, and Tyco, and the scandals in all the major accounting firms plus Smith Barney X2, Prudential X2, etc, for Silverado S & L, for Lincoln S & L, and the rest of the $4 trillion S & L collapse that ripuplicans said could never happen, for the lack of oversight that led to the present housing finance crisis, and foreclosure epidemic,for the collapse of '29, for ignoring Darfur, for supporting saddam when he gassed the Kurds, for inviting saddam to invade Kuwait, for impeding the rescue of Kosovo and Bosnia, and for your support of hitler, mussolini, & tojo in '34, '36, and '38. You would have supported the nazis in '40, too, if Willkie hadn't outsmarted your leadership and wowwed the delegates. For your charade that Roosevelt got us into WWII, when it was your buddy tojo who attacked us, and your buddy hitler who declared war on us a week later.

Take some responsibility, boy. Your'e like the guy whose fly is down, complaining that folks don't tuck in their shirts.

Max,

We might read your posts if you linked to them elsewhere. Here where it is more conversational they are like speedbumps ... something to go around and keep moving if at all possible.

"My flip-flops are "Keen's" "-Ivy Green

Are you sure you're not talking about your thongs. LOL

j/k Green

In light of Senator Graham's "a mental crisis" remarks, & the failure of IndyMac tonight in California ( IndyMac is the second-largest financial institution in U.S. history to close.)

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSWA000014120080711

The next sound you will hear is the popping of another tire on the "Straight Talk Express"

Well, unfortunately, Dutton, flat tires are the least of it. Notice the most recent polls? The lack of energy and interest? It's because reality has set in.

One thing to consider re Machiavelli's rule(s) is that he wasn't speaking of elected rulers who had to win elections - fear for their lives maybe, troll for votes.

"we are to just fall in line "

Exactly, Tony -- but we aren't all so Jim Jonesian in nature.....

I think McCain is making a big mistake having Carly Fiorina around so much. Now that's a woman to rival
Karen Hughes.

5
The Tao doesn't take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn't take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners.

The Tao is like a bellows:
it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.

Hold on to the center.

Good ole Niccolo sure knew (& observed) his stuff.

Hey, how about that PHIL GRAHAM, eh?

"...referred to the economic slowdown as "a mental recession" and called the United States “a nation of whiners.” .

How about that.? We're ALL mental except him. How nice.

Well, I'm one of those GD whiners! GD it!

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0708/11658.html

That's the thinking of someone who's of the country club set AND who just doesn't want to be BOTHERED with the rest of us. Great guy.

And that JOLLY , fun loving McBush would make him ambassador to Belarus, but he's not sure that the citizens of Minsk would welcome that.

Ha-ha-ha...ho-ho-ho....sooo very funnny.....NOT.

Grrrrr.......

tt

Maxtrue,

Lone voice in wilderness says I read most of your posts. Some of your text is a bit long and on blogs conciseness seems to be the most efficient means
to reach your audience. But, it doesn't damage readers to put in a bit of effort
sometimes to peruse each others more lengthy narratives.

I even try to read posts from those with whom I usually don't agree. I only
avoid the posts from people who seem mean-spirited or bully-ish.

Bethy -- McCain definitely should ditch Gramm. What an old blowhard. By all rights, Obama should be ahead of McCain in the polls by double digits. Yet he's up by only 3 according to the latest Newsweek poll.

Mornin' Patsi,

Your post relates to what I've been thinking. Obama supporters continue
to point out that Obama is far ahead in the polls. Yet, with all things considered,
Obama should be 20 points ahead instead of only 3 to 5 points which is
within the margin of error.

Bob Herbert has a good piece in the Times, shredding McCain's lack of economic understanding, but also harshly criticizing Obama for having no ideas eiher.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/12/opinion/12herbert.html?ref=opinion

Tony Snow died.

comments on the Newsweek Poll from Talkleft

"Personally, I don't think it's due to buyer's remorse or dropping support among liberals. I think it's that his recent changes of position on multiple positions have made people unsure of where he really stands -- and whether his new stands reflect his true beliefs or are caluclated to get votes. It could be a trust issue. [More...]

Obama's reversal on FISA legislation, his support of faith-based initiatives and his decision to opt out of the campaign public-financing system left him open to charges he was a flip-flopper. In the new poll, 53 percent of voters (and 50 percent of former Hillary Clinton supporters) believe that Obama has changed his position on key issues in order to gain political advantage.

I never liked the emphasis his campaign put on reaching out to Independents. And, right now at least, it's not working.

In the new poll, McCain leads Obama among independents 41 percent to 34 percent, with 25 percent favoring neither candidate. In June's NEWSWEEK Poll, Obama bested McCain among independent voters, 48 percent to 36 percent.

It's not Hillary supporters that are causing his lower poll numbers:

Only 17 percent of former Clinton supporters say they will vote for McCain in the general election, and 13 percent of undecided voters are former supporters of the New York senator.

His base is still strong:

But 61 percent of registered voters who support Obama say they support him strongly, compared to just 39 percent who say they strongly support McCain. At a similar point in the 2004 presidential race, only 53 percent of supporters of Democratic nominee John Kerry said they supported him strongly.

He still lags among white voters:

The new poll suggests white voters continue to be a challenge for Obama, with McCain leading the Democrat in that category 48 to 36 percent.

Reuters calls it the summertimes blues. (what happened to the summer landslide?"
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/7/12/0446/92811

In comments Talkleft asks for ways Obama can recover his momentum

http://www.newsweek.com/id/145737

"I never liked the emphasis his campaign put on reaching out to Independents. And, right now at least, it's not working."

There's the money quote. From the beginning, many of the most rabid Obama backers kept touting the indie vote, and saying, sometimes quite openly, the base was no longer very important. WRONG.

Independent voters are just that: independent. So if they get a little disgusted, they feel no "party loyalty" to stick with a certain candidate.

In so many ways, Obama threw the base under the same wheels as his typical white grandmother, his church, Rev Wright and others. His continual use of rhetoric that sneered at baby boomers was a huge mistake.

I'm off now to read those internal links you posted KGC -- thanks.

"Only 17 percent of former Clinton supporters say they will vote for
McCain. . ." posted by Katherine

That's quite a few.

Also, what about all those former Clinton supporters, like those on this blog, who say they won't vote for Obama, either?

Yes, Marcia -- I think there's a large number of people who sincerely dislike both these candidates. We had such a great chance to have a t ough, effective president. This whole selection process has demoralized me. And now, as far as I'm concerned, we'll have a second rate leader no matter what.

I turned the tv over to Fox to listen to the Tony Snow commentary. It makes me sad -- he was never in Hannity territory as far as that crowd goes. It makes me sad that he ended up leaving his gig at the White House because he knew he was dying and felt pressed to make some money so his family would be all right.

Then you think about the amount of money made by huff-puffers like Matthews, O'Riley and Olberman...sick.

http://susiemadrak.com/2008/07/11/13/46/time-to-indict-the-war-profiteers/

heck of job George and Richard!

southern (appalachian) gospel with a highly irreverent twist:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id2pJp9ACg8

Tony Snow has died

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/12/obit.snow/

The Sturgeon Musical Kollege of Knowledge
Where is Ish Kabibble?

KGC

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz3_V5Vx4EQ

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

couldnt find the ish...but found one of his buddies......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kz3_V5Vx4EQ

Jamie

Thanks. Probably haven't thought about Ish Kabbible in years and never knew anything about him.

KGC....lol

zing........

and jamie finds the gold........

going to church now.......church of the father, the sun and the holy smoke.......

Does anyone here see any similarities between between the loss of Hillary as candidate and the 5 states of grief ? Excuse me if this idea has been posted previously.

1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

Struge....lol...I have to laugh at that, I have a friend who always asks..." who is this holy ghost character ?"

I 'll tell her, it's actually "Holy Smoke"......I heard in on the internets.

I had to really dig to find Ish ")

He's in the middle of this song

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocTt6lwD4Go

The five stages of grief are more appropriate for Obama supporters as they rsee their candidate change before their eyes. It will resonate most with the college students.

We are back to the lesser of evils candidates.

Geez it's another beautiful day here, we are having a wonderful summer season...

My college students, and their friends, aren't even following the campaigns right now. I think their interest will kick in when they are back on campus, and there are organized events. It will be fun for them, as this is the first year the will be voting!

(jmo)

Michael Debakey has died

http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/07/12/debakey.obit.ap/index.html

This one feels strange since I once ended a poem with lots of references to musicals and famous people with a reference to him:

Let's put on our silk stockings and Porter,
you ought to pay attention to rhyme and time
that doesn't come again when funny girls were
whirls of life, because we all were kidds
Michael and otherwise. Still Fosse is a soft spot
in the pajama game of fame and all that jazz.
But Gigi, how close we stand on land made shaky
by Middle East and Debakey and
we can't even get the heart
transplanted into tomorrow.

"But back on Planet Earth, most sentient beings know why Obama's gained a flip flop image - because he HAS flip flopped on some key issues. Most notably on FISA Capitulation. We wrote here that not only was the flip flop craven on principles but stupid politics. Maybe Obama will learn now why Congressional Hoyerism has a 9% approval rating and why he should avoid the political tactics of Hoyerism. Because it is the only conceivable path to defeat in November for him."
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/7/12/81326/3396

The more Obama acts like Steny Hoyer, the more the enthusiasm will diminish.

"It will resonate most with the college students."

Does someone have some credible information on how college students, in general, funded their donations? I've heard the comments that it was done on mom and dads credit cards, but nothing more than substantive than that.

Jamie

Nice poem! You clever minx.

99 years wow, and all he accomplished....just think of the thousands, maybe millions that he helped.

"To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived.
This is to have succeeded."

"Been reading some other sites--it appears that many Florida and Michigan Democrats are sending the National Democratic Party 1/2 of a check--how appropriate."

Nick, thanks for that!

Next solicitation I get from those guys, that's exactly what I'm going to do (hopefully, though, I may finally be off their lists).

Flautus

Several times I have seen people raise the question of the college students donations (and if they should be properly attributed to the parents) but have never seen a definitive answer.

The Obama campaign needs college students (and others to be fired up this summer as they have planned a huge voter registration drive. My understanding is it is not doing well because of the "dampening enthusiasm"

Flatus,
I have no idea, I doubt mine will donate any cash, unless it is buy buying promotional items....t-shirt etc. I have very frugal children.

KGC

Thanks. It is much, much longer and has been driving me crazy for about a decade because I can't get the scansion right. Some nice lines but everything falls apart in places on the rhythm (growlf)

No wonder Heinlein said creative writing was okay, but wash your hands afterwards.

I think the Obama campaign needs to also make sure that these students get their absentee ballots, most are away from their registered polling location.

It would be easy for them to miss deadlines, and just blow off voting.

CHICAGO (AP) — Comedian Bernie Mac endured some heckling and a campaign rebuke during a surprise appearance Friday night at a fundraiser for Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Toward the end of a 10-minute standup routine at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Chicago, the 50-year-old star of "The Bernie Mac Show" joked about menopause, sexual infidelity and promiscuity, and used occasional crude language.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/07/11/politics/p211908D22.DTL&tsp=1

By September, only the immediate Obama family will still be on the bus.

"My little nephew came to me and he said, 'Uncle, what's the difference between a hypothetical question and a realistic question?'" Mac said. "I said, I don't know, but I said, 'Go upstairs and ask your mother if she'd make love to the mailman for $50,000.'"

As the joke continued, the punchline evoked an angry response from at least one person in the audience, who said it was offensive to women.

One person takes offense at a comedians joke, and it makes the AP wire?

7/11/08 DoD Announces Change In Status Of Army Soldiers (2 of 2)
Killed were: Sgt. Alex R. Jimenez, 25 at the time of his capture, of Lawrence, Mass. Pfc. Byron J. Fouty, 19 at the time of his capture, of Waterford, Mich.

how about some real news?

About 15 minutes later, Obama tried to smooth things over with a joke of his own.

"We can't afford to be divided by race. We can't afford to be divided by region or by class and we can't afford to be divided by gender, which by the way, that means, Bernie, you've got to clean up your act next time," Obama said. "This is a family affair. By the way, I'm just messing with you, man."

The incident drew response from Obama's campaign, which criticized Mac for his choice of material.

"Sen. Obama told Bernie Mac that he doesn't condone these statements and believes what was said was inappropriate," spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a statement after the event."

This is why it made the ap wire.

U.S. Confirmed Deaths :Reported Deaths: 4118

http://icasualties.org/oif/

The link to this article was next to the Bernie Mac piece, and sorry any far right Christians who might be around, but it is FUNNY. Say goodbye to the irrelevent.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/07/11/notes071108.DTL

I'm sure if someone made racist jokes at a political event it would not be dismissed but a sexist joke
no problem

good for Obama, speaking out....I didn't see that in your first post....

I think we will see Obama speaking up on many issue similar to the "idea behind the joke. "

Comedians always push the limits, that will never end.

"it appears that many Florida and Michigan Democrats are sending the National Democratic Party 1/2 of a check--how appropriate. "

Is this true Nick, or a joke. If it's true....hilarious!

"I think we will see Obama speaking up on many issue similar"

So far not so much...but hope springs eternal

Jamie,
That was funny.....

Burrito -- the states of grief don't mean much to me, Burrito....I got stuck on pissed off early in the campaign. Ha!

Also obviously copied your name twice into the post when once was enough. :)

yes...that is the beauty of hope.....

Is that the old "now we've established that you're a whore, just have to negotiate the price" joke?

"but would be very surprised if independents are staking their future and voting for John McCain "

The polls have been very consistant on this, McCain and Obama evenly split the independent vote.
The recent Pew poll also showed a large undecided amoung independents.

Jack

Not bitter at all. Just reporting what others are talking about.

Sorry I don't live in a rose colored bubble
I prefer reality then sitting around hoping something will happen

lol Patsi...typos happen.....no big deal....

stuck in " pissed off "... I don't think you are alone, at least in the blog world....

Posted by: Patsi | July 12, 2008 9:48 AM

Yes.

"I'm sure if someone made racist jokes at a political event it would not be dismissed but a sexist joke
no problem"

Exactly. Somebody posted a while back: a racist joke will get you fired. A sexist joke will get you laughs.

I love the power of positive thinking....the law of attraction, and so on......but to each his/her, own.

As tell my children, you only get on turn at the game of life..."don't just live the life you have, create the life you want."

It's the life cycle of jokes: Dirty, Racial, SExist

1. First the guys can only tell other guys
2. Then they can tell them to both guys and gals
3. Then they can't tell them to guys and gals at work
4. Then they can only be told to to people who know them
5. Then they can't be told
6. Then they can be told on TV

Dirty has gotten to TV
Racist has gotten to level four on the way to 5
Sexist is at level three

There's a woman I know here in town who posts a lot on political boards....she's VERY left wing, which is why she and I have always got along. But I've been shocked at how completely her personality changed during this campaign. Practically calling anyone who wasn't in Obama's camp devoid of intelligence. AND the old saw: "You people just can't HOPE -- you have no VISION" -- that sort of thing.

One of her biggest issues with the Bush administration has been the wiretapping, and how that power could be used against political opponents.

After the FISA vote she went into a meltdown, and posted a message to people to the effect of, "You can all say 'I told you so' but please don't do it for a few days because I just can't take it.'"

I don't plan on telling her that I told her so, but I do think her reaction may be somewhat typical of constitutionalists.

That's nice of you not to rub her face in it. By her own comment she has already expressed her feelings.

I wonder if, she will vote McCain or not vote...because of this issue?

UB, Patsi,

It won't take many more FISAs for Mr Obama's credibility to take an insurmountable hit with his core supporters.

At some point, activists in his corner may say that it's time to give Mrs Clinton another look. Should that happen, it will make for a most interesting next couple of months.

The Week That Should Have Ended McCain's Presidential Hopes

by MAX BERGMANN

This is the week that should have effectively ended John McCain's efforts to become the next president of the United States. But you wouldn't know it if you watched any of the mainstream media outlets or followed political reporting in the major newspapers.....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/max-bergmann/the-week-that-should-have_b_111983.html

I wonder what votes are schedule for the rest of the summer?

From the 9th of August through the 8th of September they are not in session.

ET - The second you -tube in you link is just amazing.

"wonder if, she will vote McCain or not vote...because of this issue?"

Burrito -- No I can't see her actually voting for McCain. But what I can see happening is no more donations and no volunteering. She was always one of those people the party could count on....a real worker bee.

Mainly, she's just been shattered. It's hard for me to "get" that level of devestation -- because if Hillary had been the candidate and let me down horribly on some policy issue, I'd have been pissed off, and written her a letter.

I've tried to put myself in her position and guess it would have been like if, in 1972, George McGovern had been elected and then said "Damn the torpedos, full speed ahead!"

Yep, I know what you mean.

Maybe she was just venting, and she'll take it better with time, who knows? People and politics....always interesting

Not supporting Obama doesn't make one a bad person.

Patsi, do you have an idea of her age and educational background?

Patsi

My fault my humor was thinking of "Putting it on TV" between one and two and then repeating on Seven. I blew the joke. Sorry bout that.

The same thing happened with "racist" if you remember all the old movies, cartoons, and TV series.

Oh sure, Flatus. I used to have lunch with her frequently. She's probably in her mid-50s now. Was married to a fairly famous actor...divorced, not because she wanted it. A journalist.

She is...hmm...have to think of how to put this. Well, she's certainly not dumb....smart in many ways...but the idol worship didn't really surprise me. Because she really is one of those people who project their own hopes on someone else.

I just read this about Tony Snow and found it interesting:

Snow was an avid musician. He played the trombone, flute, piccolo, accordion, saxophone, and guitar, and belonged to a cover band, Beats Workin', which featured fellow Washington-area professionals. Beats Workin' played publicly with a number of rock bands, including Snow's friends Skunk Baxter (The Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan) and Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.

Jamie -- I think it was Nick who said he didn't catch the putting it on tv joke....I sort of thought something was off kilter, but got the point of it anyway. Ha!

"In a mailed in column railing at Clinton supporters, Michael Kinsley proves how little he understands about politics and the Obama brand:

[O]ther Democrats are upset at Obama's recent moves toward the center. T[his] complaint is childish. Securing your base and then moving to the center is the fundamental move of politics, like the basic steps of the fox-trot.
(Emphasis supplied.) It is as if Kinsley did not watch the campaign. The one thing Obama ran on was CHANGING politics. Now I thought it was ridiculous - I want him to change the governing policies of the United States, not change politics - but I know what he was selling. He can not now blatantly pretend he did not run on "changing politics." Some of the stuff coming out of the national press is so ignorant it defies belief. And Kinsley says he is arguing FOR Obama here. With friends like these . . ."
http://www.talkleft.com/story/2008/7/12/91335/8546

Shouldn't he be railing at McCain. The primary is over why haven't the Obama supporters moved on.

Walt Disney's Dumbo is one of the worst, as I remember.

Michael Kinsley can kiss my butt. For many ignorant columns over the years.

Posted by: Patsi | July 12, 2008 10:57 AM

many in the comments section of that post heartily agee with you about Kinsley

"Walt Disney's Dumbo is one of the worst, as I remember."

I must have missed a post.

"....I sort of thought something was off kilter, but got the point of it anyway. Ha!"

It's Saturday. Wake me when the brain is in gear. :-)

Patsi,
Jamie spoke about old cartoons and the jokes, that by todays standards, would not be appreciated.

Patsi

A lot of the old black and white cartoons featured characters in blackface. Then during WWII the Japanese characatures were viscious.

Heckle and Jeckle were often very racist and speedy Gonzales was of course filled with Mexican stereotypes.

Even though it portrayed him as gentle, kind and wise, "Song of the South" still hasn't been released on DVD because of some of the Black stereotypes associated with Uncle Remus and the Joel Chandler Harris stories.

The sad part about that is the all of Harris stories were reworkings of the tales he heard from former slaves and had a direct link back to the African "trickster" myths in the persona of Bre'r Rabbit,. Many of the AA children's books now on the market are all those legends retold for a modern generation.

So sorry to hear about Tony Snow. My good friend's son was the Snow's neighbor. She said Tony & his family were really wonderful people. Sad for the children to lose him so soon.

NEW THREAD

Don't accuse me of lifting out of context,
I quoted a post from talkleft as it was printed

NEW THREAD

The Governors' Conference is on C-Span now. Some of the participants are simply posturing, but others have a real, strongly expressed message.

Former Governor Sununu has such a message when it comes to education. He expressed that, as state and federal governments have wrested control of education from community based local boards, our educational achievement has dramatically worsened.

They're just getting started. I think I'll leave it on.

As for demographics of Ohio

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/vote2008/state.php?state=OH

This NPR site has information on all the states.
: )