Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

Thank you, Craig!

I rarely post, but I read the thread and I agree that lately there has been a lot of personal attacks. It's annoying and offensive. Hopefully, this will change.

Thanks, P-Nhut, it concerns me a lot that many lurkers avoid commenting. To you and others, please don't let the rough dialogue dissuade you. There's room here for everyone! Be strong, suit up a thick skin and join the fray.

and to the regulars who see new folks come in, please be welcoming and gentle. this is an open thread, after all.

Nice message, Craig, I didn't read whatever the mess was, but thanks for exercising your prerogative. Respect for you is the reason I keep hanging around here.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195297

EdVB, don't bother. it's already ancient history and i am always glad for your intelligent input

Ok, Craig, I will suit and up and will post my comments.

Hopefully, today's thread will be like last year's "Summer of Love" weekend.

well, P-Nhut, we are an Island of Misfits here and things do not go all that smoothly, but darn it somehow i think we manage to be a genuine communtiy of souls worthy of redemption

Craig, I read your column and the thread because of the intelligent debate and varied political opinion. While I am a firm believer in the First Amendment free speech, I do not like it when it is used for personal attacks that border on hate speech.

Hear, hear, Craig! Thanks for saying it so succinctly and fairly. I hope it will help keep the conversations as interesting as so many have been.

I also hope no one leaves because there is a good mix of intelligent and funny and educated people here who are filled with good will.

We now have three - 3 - days forecast with possible showers next weekend. Just saw that the Sacramento
area is now severe drought.

Steve Martin is the host of a new SNL tonight so I'm gonna give it a shot. If it fails, I'll have to read ...oh,darn!

Goodnight to all. Time to catch some Zzzzzs!

Hey Craig, if you are still awake, this was a good post. Like many others, I want to stick around because there are awesome people here. Sometimes we all cross a line that we shouldn't (god knows I do and often ashamed because of it). Anyway, I hope this blog will continue to educate, communicate and even, at times, agitate. We have to allow people to hold their own opinions of course. I've felt at times that I was expected to take sides. But when I respect everyone involved I can't, and I suspect it is so for the rest of us.

Craig, I couldn't figure out which kid was you in the Little League pic, but was it front row far left? :-)

This little love fest in the first 23 posts of this thread don't fool me.
It's just a question of time...tick tock...oh...that person was driven away, too. (9-11 Survivor, Sort Of's daughter)

I have essentially been shoved into lurker-status because after the inauguration (really the election) I backed off the day-night-long rss feeds of politics. Now this Daschle thing has me interested to the max again.
When the insults are flying around I just go read Slate or interact with other people on a blog where I don't really fit in (the bloggers are mostly journalists from small town as well as big city dailies) but they tolerate me because I like them, I guess.
Last night's little hate-party was sickening. I was hoping the host would attempt to clear the air, and he has, for now, anyway---and after all, yesterday's gone and tomorrow is over there, so all we have is now. Tick Tock.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sports. I was good enough to play on a baseball team after high school days that travelled the US South in the late 1960s.
My memories , decades later, always focus on the perceptions I took from those days regarding racism. Our two teams that travelled together on a bus were about 80 per cent African American, and the things I saw, the attitudes I saw displayed, and the effects on our players, both Black and white, were astounding, never to be forgotten.
Four African American teammates escorted me, on foot, to the church in Birmingham, 5 years after the 1963 bombing that killed four girls. I was moved...it was heart-wrenching. Then we walked back to our old hotel.
Sports provided that window, totally different than the window to America I saw when I was a soldier in the Vietnam Army of Richard Nixon.
Today is SuperBowlDay, but I don't care who wins, either.
However, I watched the inauguration from 0530 hours-on, and a great thrill for me was seeing my old hero, the ancient warrior, Congressman John Lewis, sitting in great seats, embracing the President-elect, just before the swearing-in of 44.

andrew sullivan:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/us_elections/article5626673.ece

one more: World's first lesbian P.M.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article5627522.ece

Wow. Now talk about drama. This is better than the time we all thought Bobby Ewing was dead, but it turned out he was just taking a long time in the shower. Or something like that.

ROFL, Lard -- email me about Facebook...

balecox at aol dot com

Lardo you got this all wrong. Pammy was having a dream and the dream took a whole season. When she woke up, she heard the shower running and there was Bobby, looking as fine as ever... Pammy says "oh Bobby, I've just had the most horrible dream. You were dead,... " blah blah blah. A whole bunch of new characters that season had to be fired because they were all dreamed up by Pammy... LOL Any change in existing character storylines went back to the previous season. I think even Donna Reed was gone and Barbara Bel Geddes returned.

Well said, Craig! I am having a similar problem. Living in Orlando, (we chatted briefly once about Beefy King, several years ago) I began writing about the Caylee Anthony case back in November on my WordPress blog. I have tried to take a far less sensational approach and offer more of a human interest perspective. Quite obviously, this topic is very hot and comments have gotten quite heated, especially when they personally go after each other. Because of this, I fired a few shots across the bow to simmer things down, to stop going off topic. No one was singled out. Subsequently, it has calmed things down a bit, but unfortunately, I lost some of the commenters in the aftermath and that was never my intent.

Your post today really made me sit up. I should have taken the same route as you.

Thanks for your words of wisdom.

Dave Knechel

Situation normal

Cbob

Looks like it's your turn to be the bad boy.

Take a break if you need too

Jack

Dave -- If you think Caylee Anthony causes hot discussion, try looking back to the Elian Gonzalez days. Whew!

Bank of England memo to female employees:

http://tinyurl.com/boc4kt

Political correctness runs amok:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/7860869.stm

As the worm turns. My friends think I am crazy to spend time reading a political blog but I tell them it is not much different than watching sports or watching a good soap opera. If they just knew the teams or the plot they could also get hooked on it.

It is also like a family here. Most families have a little dysfunction and anytime you spend a lot of time with your family, mean things are bound to come out. It is usually the people who have been here the longest who are mean to each other.

I have written some things and then I duck behind my couch thinking I am gonna get it but I don't because I am not family yet. I just get ignored which is actually worse than getting fussed at.

Peace,
Carol

Excellent article from the Philadelphia Inquirer on race relations (the divide is more cultural than color)

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/currents/20090201_Concerns_today_are_not_legal__they_re_cultural.html

whoa.... anybody who actually believes that's a sincere apology above.... well.... I've got a bridge, a piece of land (not in a swamp... I promise!), and really great used car to sell to you....

CBob... Rick and I bought a generator yesterday.... it's a Generac 8000 watts with electric start..... it's portable and uses regular gasoline.....
we considered getting one that runs on propane...... but we already get firewood, wood pellets, and always have plenty of gas around for chain saws and a log splitter.... just didn't want to deal with one more type of fuel....

the generator and plug cost us $1,400.... the permanent switch (put in by an electrician) cost us $1,200..... so that's $2,600 total....

Corey.... I was wondering where you went.... it's great to see you back, buddy..... I was without internet and tv for 3 weeks.... read a lot... and enjoyed it very much....

yup.... it's Super Bowl day.... and the Celtics play this afternoon.... think I'll be a couch potato today....

Carol....
don't sell yourself so short there, girl..... of course you're part of this family....
I enjoy your posts very much....

I remember remarking to CBob a couple years ago how strange it was to write a long and passionate post and not get any comments..... then I'd write some little innocuous thing and set this whole place on fire..... it's the nature of the beast...

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195325

Patsi, No wonder I'm malajusted. My childhood version of Humpty Dumpty was "all the kings horses and all the kings men had eggnog".

Some people can't manage to disagree without being disagreeable. That's to be expected in life.

But our pet troll take it to another level -- where he is unable even to agree without being agreeable. That's truly weird.

Sturge -- Stick around. It's only Chinatown, Jake.

ET -- on the Dallas thing. Your post on the details brought back funny memories. You know, thinking back, you have to honor the creators of that show for the sheer balls of writing off an entire season as a dream. It really stands the test of time.

Oh, I can just imagine the turmoil during the Elian Gonzalez days, Patsi.

Were they as dumb as this one?

A commenter stated that the prosecution has absolutely no evidence to convict Casey of murder and that she is not guilty of the crime. (OK, everyone is entitled to an opinion.) She insulted commenters for writing from the opposite perspective by calling them stupid. (OK, again, nothing to set off whistles and bells quite yet.) It was when she called Roy Kronk a pedophile that I questioned her logic and grace. (No Nancy pun intended.) How dare you, I said. You say Casey Anthony is innocent and the state has no evidence against her, yet there she sits in jail, charged with first-degree murder. What evidence do you have against Roy Kronk? You have slandered the man. Prove he's a pedophile.

I never heard back from her, but that's the type I don't want back, anyway.

Someone just brought up stimulus money going to the honey bee folks. I suppose if you aren't up against the problems with bees you might not understand how this item affects agriculture nationwide.

Is it me or do at least half of the people on this blog know more about what is going on in the world than the majority of supposed news commentators?

Hi Dexter. It's good to see your pixels again. Dive in. The water's fine most of the time. If the lobsters change colors, get away from the fire.

Jamie,

The news said it was a honey bee insurance program. Is it an accident policy or healthcare? Are they going to get universal health insurance before we do?

"My childhood version of Humpty Dumpty was "all the kings horses and all the kings men had eggnog".

There's yer trouble, as the Dixie Chicks sing....ha....

It may be sacrilege in here, but I think Obama should dump Daschle. He just represents everything that is deeply wrong with government by both Republicans and Democrats. Move from holding public office to being ensconced in lobbying office with all of the monied perqs that go with it.

Just the fact that he probably had an accountant do his taxes does not get him off the hook for being the type who feels "entitled" to special treatment simply because he exists in a certain strata of society.

The people of this country are hurting. It would help to have appointees trying to cure the mess who had at least a passing acquaintance with how those people live.

Carol -- even if I don't answer your posts, I always read them and think of you in the Bayou -- God's country!

ct

It has to do with research to prevent hive collapse and "insure" their continued existence. It is a massive problem that could literally destroy large parts of our food supply and all the jobs that go with it.

"I never heard back from her, but that's the type I don't want back, anyway."

Don't blame you, Dave. She sounds like a wack job. But nothing equalled the Elian mess for name-calling. If you wanted the kid to go back to his father you were a pinko commie scumbag who hated America and wanted Castro to butcher the little boy and hang his remains at the Havana city limits sign. Unbelievable.

I watched the Federer vs. Nadal match. Federer lost and he broke down in tears at the trophy presentation. Nadal is his kryptonite. Nadal was sensitive to Federer's feelings. It's weird how you can feel happy for one person and sad for someone else at the same time. Life is much easier when you have a bad guy to root against, not when both guys are the good guy. BTW, How about Citigroup offering the NY Mets $400 million dollars for the naming rights to their new ballpark after getting money from the government?

Jamie, I'm with you on Daschle.

Craig,

The political pendulum in this country swung from the far right to the far left. We are not in a gentle period of the pendulum gently swinging back and forth say toward the middle. Before the election I stated many times, I did not see America going in such a hard shift from one of Conservative to Liberal. I expected a more Moderate candidate to be elected. Obama has signaled he will govern as a Centrist. The problem is what is Obama's definition of Centrist? We are experiencing a hard shift from the right to the left -the boat is rocking. I believe that is where a lot of the disagreements come from, PASSIONS FLARING. There is a kind of social shock going on for a lot of people. Obama has stated we need to be unified, then he needs to recognize what his actions in office is producing among those who didn't vote for him. There is always a Backlash - some are stronger then others. Reagan's Terms in office is a good example of this Social Phenomena. People can disagree without being disagreeable:)

Thanks you guys for including me in the fly.

I agree Jamie. Daschle should go. He breaks two of Obama's rules, being a lobbiest and a tax cheat. If Obama keeps breaking his own rules he is going to lose cred.

I also like the idea of Howard Dean for the position. I wouldn't usually agree that having a Dr. in that role would be good but Dean seems to be very progressive. It is sad that he just doesn't seem to get the respect he deserves since the news media made him look like a fool.

Corey

I think it is time to nationalize them. Fire them and get some one in there who understands responsible stewardship.

What a bunch Maroons

BTW welcome back and I hope you get to make a lot of VW parts.

Jack

Jamie...this revelation might just be enough to finish Daschle off:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/us/politics/01daschle.html?_r=1&hp

Oh, what the heck, somebody's got to pick up the slack around here....

On this date in:

1861 Texas voted to secede from the Union.

1893 Inventor Thomas A. Edison completed work on the world's first motion picture studio in West Orange, N.J.

1896 Puccini's opera "La Boheme" premiered in Turin, Italy.

1920 The Royal Canadian Mounted Police was established.

1946 Norwegian statesman Trygve Lie was chosen to be the first secretary-general of the United Nations.

1968 During the Vietnam War, Saigon's police chief, Nguyen Ngoc Loan, executed a Viet Cong officer with a pistol shot to the head.

1979 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini received a tumultuous welcome in Tehran as he ended nearly 15 years of exile.

1979 Newspaper heiress Patty Hearst, whose prison sentence for bank robbery had been commuted by President Jimmy Carter, left a federal prison near San Francisco.

1982 "Late Night with David Letterman" premiered on NBC.

1999 Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky gave a deposition that was videotaped for senators weighing impeachment charges against President Bill Clinton.

2003 the space shuttle Columbia broke up during re-entry, killing all seven crew members.

2004 Singer Janet Jackson's breast was briefly exposed during a duet with Justin Timberlake during the Super Bowl halftime show. Timberlake later referred to the incident as a "wardrobe malfunction."

2006 French and German newspapers republished caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in what they called a defense of freedom of expression, sparking fresh anger from Muslims.

2008 Remote-controlled explosives strapped to two women killed nearly 100 people in Baghdad.

Just read in the local paper that there are many refineries, Houston to New Orleans and elsewhere around the country, getting ready to go on strike. I guess we should expect gas prices to go up.

Lardo,

Just the idea of someone sort of overlooking more than $100,000 in taxes and when notified sort of pulls it out of petty cash to handle just gripes me no end. I suppose it is a kind of jealousy, but my son just got a two month water bill for $900 that made him aware that there is a leak in a pipe somewhere.

Finding it, repairing it and paying for the overwhelming bill is going to set him back about four thousand. Now he has a decent job, but that kind of money isn't exactly laying around in the bank jtwiddling its thumbs waiting for something to do. I would hat to think what it would do to someone who just got laid off from a job.

Is it too much to expect that those in positions of power at least have a passing acquaintance with the real world or fake it and behave as if they do?

coup de grace?

Thanks for that Lardo ... you gave me a fast blog post

Sturge...he must have meant coup de ass.

Jamie...that photo that you use for your blog nameplate is awesome. Is that the LOC main reading room? I can't tell.

OSH

Thanks,,,,,, later, have to get some exercise in today.

I also dont recall any call for civility when he hoped that Patsi would be run over by a bus.......

Lard.....what you mistook for "inner peace" in a post a while back was merely the result of a decision to totally ignore Bnyc......to which I adhered until the flaming on friday night.....of which i found myself in the thick.......

I disagree with champ.......when he's "picked on" it's a result of his past here...... his past postings which have been an unending string of filth and nasty insults.

so there's, as craig suggested, wit and intelligence interspersed with the ugliness......

fooie......no excuse......

Sturge...at any rate, I hope you're sticking around.

That said, if I ever decide to bail out of here I'm definitely going to plagiarize you: "I shall arise and go now."

That's pure poetry. It's almost like Abe Lincoln himself decided to stand up out of that marble chair and walk across the Potomac and up the hill to General Lee's house for a reprieve.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195366

I agree. A turd can't be redeemed by kernels of corn.

William Butler Yeats, 1865-1939

I will arise and go now,
And go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there,
Of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean rows will I have there,
A hive for the honey bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there,
For peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning
To where the cricket sings;
There midnight's all a glimmer,
And noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet's wings.

I will arise and go now,
For always night and day
I hear lake water lapping
With low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway
Or on the pavements gray,
I hear it in the deep heart's core.

Looks like Steele is taking his new job seriously ,,,he is on Fox news Sunday and ripping into the Stimulus package,,,,,he is going to be trouble for the Dems,,,He is likable and a very fluent speaker IMO.

Lardo

British Museum Library - If that doesn't make you lust in your heart, you aren't a reader. Of course my idea of a home library is in Quincy, MA.

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/adams-national-historic-site-1.jpg

CC,

I appreciate the sentiments of your post. That said, here's the rub. If someone says they heard a flatul hum, then in our minds' eyes we all read the phrase to be, he farted.

If someone with an exceptional vocabulary uses his or her intelligence to create an image of hate in someone's mind, is it not proper for the recipient to respond, "I understood you to say I farted in church. If that's not so, please tell me. Otherwise you must know how offensive I found your remark."

In other words, if someone is creating inflammatory images, I think it's entirely proper for the recipient to polietly take umbrage. If that doesn't work, then I should think it's up to you to impose your thoughtful moderation.

I Will Arise And Go Now... by Ogden Nash

In far Tibet
There live a lama,
He got no poppa,
Got no momma,

He got no wife,
He got no chillun,
Got no use
For penicillun,

He got no soap,
He got no opera,
He don't know Irium
From copra,

He got no songs,
He got no banter,
He don't know Hope,
He don't know Cantor,

He got no teeth,
He got no gums,
Don't eat no Spam,
Don't need no Tums.

He love to nick him
When he shave;
He also got
No hair to save.

Got no distinction,
No clear head,
Don't call for Calvert;
Drink milk instead.

He use no lotions
For allurance,
He got no car
And no insurance,

No Alsop warnings,
No Pearson rumor
For this self-centered
Nonconsumer.

Indeed, the
Ignorant Have-Not
Don't even know
What he don't got.

If you will mind
The box-tops, comma,
I think I'll go
And join that lama.
---------------------------------------

I've yet to decide...............

I have neither the authority nor the motivation to absolve anyone for past transgressions, sturge, but they are in the past after all...

And say what you will about him (and I'd probably agree), but at least he's not duplicitous. The other guy's vigilante routine is laughable at best.

It's a blog; don't take it too seriously.

A. "How dare you let loose a flatal hum before my wife."

B. "Oh......I didn't know it was her turn......"

Sturgeon,

I love innisfree. It is Yeats at his most lyrical. Now when he gets sharp and satirical with social commentary in the Crazy Jane poems, he displays his remarkable genius

Crazy Jane On God

That lover of a night
Came when he would,
Went in the dawning light
Whether I would or no;
Men come, men go;
All things remain in God.

Banners choke the sky;
Men-at-arms tread;
Armoured horses neigh
In the narrow pass:
All things remain in God.

Before their eyes a house
That from childhood stood
Uninhabited, ruinous,
Suddenly lit up
From door to top:
All things remain in God.

I had wild Jack for a lover;
Though like a road
That men pass over
My body makes no moan
But sings on:
All things remain in God.

it's not just a blog......it's a home for old muppets

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgUbgR76Kzo

and now I HAVE to arise and go.......money hangs in the balance.................and that's no laughing matter.........he said, as he let loose a horse-laugh........

For those not familiar with the Crazy Jane poems, here is an interesting blog article on the 25 poems that make up the commentary on society in the guise of a supposedly insane and immoral older woman. The Bishop doesn't come off too well. :-)

http://www.lorenwebster.net/In_a_Dark_Time/2002/02/19/yeats-heart-and-soul/

Sturg, I can just hear Groucho saying something like that. Do look like him? :)

BTW, I have a Jacobean stool that I would like to have replicated X3. Is that something you could handle, or do I need take it too a specialist in stools?

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195373

Sturgeon

A one L lama is a priest
A two L lama is a beast
A three L lama is a fire

Don't smoke weed kids, or someday you might be an Olympic champion!

Flate......I'd have to take a look at it......if you can find a picture online post the link and I'll look at it tonight.....

Im mostly cabinetry, but furniture and seatage is a hobby...........

oh, and flate.....on the "flatal hum" joke, the voice I hear as B. is not that of Groucho, but that of Curley Howard......

"Of course my idea of a home library is in Quincy, MA."

Jamie -- Didn't you post a whole group of fabulous libraries one time? I remember being fascinated by them.

I knew it had to be poetry.

Lard......i changed it to "shall" because of the rules of "shall and will".

Understand, Sturg. When I get the gumption, I'll take a picture of it and post it. The example I have is literally on its last legs. Lots of family history involved with the four that I and my sibs used at different points of our youth and now have divided one each. They provide wonderful opportunity seating and double as foot stools and a place to stack magazines, etc. Attractive and totally functional.

Do the legs flare out or are they vertical, Flat?

Re: Phelps

I hope it was good shit, because after all the endorsements he'll lose, it may turn out to be the most expensive bag ever.

repair is easy and should not be attempted with hammer and nails.... lest you were considering that option......creating a new one depends upon the stool and the intricacies involved.......though never impossible.....

Michael Phelps should know that we live in a cell phone camera tabloid age....everybody's potentially selling to the Enquirer....

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195399

I wont,I'd surely be dead..HA

"If Obama is not "a natural born citizen" or has renounced such citizenship, he is simply not eligible for "the Office of President" (Article II, Section 1, Clause 4). That being so, he cannot be "elected" by the voters. So, if Obama dares to take the Presidential "Oath or Affirmation" of office on January 20, 2009, knowing that he is not "a natural born Citizen," he will commit the crime of perjury or false swearing (see Article II, Section 1, Clause 7). For, being ineligible for "the Office of President, he cannot "faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States," or even execute it at all, to any degree. Thus, his very act of taking the "Oath or Affirmation" will be a violation thereof!"

http://drorly.blogspot.com/2009/02/jean-kulig-tucker-founder-www.html

Okay, this NYT Sunday mag piece on the economy by David Leonhardt makes me feel a little bit better about the possibilities of an Obama stimulus package. But he just needs to put his own imprint on it so that it looks like more than a bunch of House Dems running around with their heads cut off.

Story is long, but a good read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/01/magazine/01Economy-t.html?ref=magazine&pagewanted=print

Say it with me, Gordo:

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference"

gonna be a long 4 or hopefully 8 years for Gordo and his whacked out friends.

Let's see what happens before we start calling for a 2nd term.

CBob

If you pass by. I may have lost your header, but I kept my little coo. He has now acquired his own title overhead and a poem to keep people from asking if he is a (heaven forbid) a goat, ox or yak

http://jdurward.blogspot.com/

Dooty

Gordo has his hobbie to keep him entertained.

It is the rest of us who may have a long 4 years. Unless Obama pulls a miricle out of his posterior.

I fear we maybe in for a line of solutions that don't work very well. Congress is still stuck in the past.

Jack

Don't forget we are fast approaching "the day the music died."

Down loadable posters and first had accounts:

http://data.desmoinesregister.com/holly/index.php

"In Dr. Orly's, "Keyes v Bowen" case, there are 4 attorneys representing Obama, 4 representing California Secretary of State Bowen, and one representing the Electors.

1. Obama is spending a fortune. His California attorneys are from a Beverly Hills firm (unless it's just a front) and in Washington, DC, Robert Bauer, named as one of the "100 Most Influential Attorneys," has been around the block time and again. Dr. Orly estimates that Obama's attorneys are charging $600 an hour.

2. The States are spending a fortune. They are wasting our taxpayer's dollars to defend the indefensible."

http://www.theobamafile.com/ObamaLatest.htm

Cartoon as commentary - A Brief American History

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_DmtdGP6kzMQ/SX9-JufHiXI/AAAAAAAAJCU/KhHEqzXnwG8/s1600-h/CuffLinks.bmp

Any bike riders out there?

Since I should be getting a slight break from politics in the coming months, I am planning on riding RAGBRAI. It will be a hilly and entertaining ride this year and I think I even have indoor places to stay in most overnight towns. You can read more about it here:

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090129/NEWS04/90128048

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195410

Your crowd is wasting public money accusing the totally rediculous. Sorry you hate black people so much but peddle your ugliness elsewhere.

To answer your question form the other day, Jack:

The shop is now fully operational and very warm, and yes, I almost did burn it down.

I'm creating an account just to say that I have higher expectations from this thread. I usually enjoy the banter that goes on here because it is relevant to a political topic and I seek to be more mature about my political opinion. Yes, I'm looking for mentorship, perhaps in all of the wrong places, but I ask that the banter is on subject.

Don't put words in Gordo's mouth; he doesn't 'hate' black people.

My kids ignore me too.

Aamy,

Welcome and please join in. There are days when everything is political and intense and there are days when it is just so much chatter. Almost always, politics are mixed in with music, literary contributions, movies and sports. Every once in a while it disolves into a puddle of ugly goo until everyone manages to pull back from the ledge after threatening to jump.

One good way to get what you want is to follow the links or just ask questions. A good inquiry will usually get things going in a direction you might like.

I'll be your mentor, Aamy. What do you want to know?

Don't trust him Aamy ... he oftimes speaketh with forked tongue.

Reported in the local paper:

"Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a former member of the House, said he would accept the stimulus money but would have voted against the bill if he were still in Congress."

I wonder how many other Repub Gov. feel the same way.

Gordo you are nothing but a sour echo of the abysmal utterances of equally ugly others.

Did I miss something last night? Oh dear children. Please play nice.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195342

I agree. Dump Daschle -- he worked for too many health insurance companies to have universal health care cred.

What to do? Is there a Doctor in the House? Oh wait! Yes there is...Dr. Dean! Calling Dr. Howard Dean.....

Stay on subject?

What a strange idea ;-)

One of the things I like about this blog is how it goes off topic at the drop of a hat. the flame fests are just the price of the freewheeling discussions around here.

Jack

Posted by: Jamie Author Profile Page | February 1, 2009 12:08 PM

Ad Hominem attack! Ad Hominem attack! Awooga! Awooga!

This place usually makes me smile. Public discourse is awesome!!! Of course I am heavily medicated due to a current cold......Those cold medicines are awesome too..:-)

"he oftimes speaketh with forked tongue."

An that is a problem?

Champ would be a great mentor. Far better than you or I. We take this posting shit too serious.

Jack

Champ, the legs are vertical, moderately turned, plain stringers towards the bottom of the legs, and everything nicely pinned together.

The one I have is a replica of the one my mom's family brought to New England in the 1630s. The three replicas were made during the depression. One of my sibs has the original.

Some of the Jacobean things seem overpowering to me--these are more minimalist. Perhaps that's the source of their attraction.

PUMA

http://texasdarlin.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/constitution-puma.jpg

Karen

There is no rule for posting while impaired.
There are days where I suspect we would have no comments if that were the rule.

Jack

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195427

poke poke poke poke

Thanks Jamie. I'll try to keep up.
Champ...no questions. I'm usually just a listener.

Can we talk about Daschle or Steele? How crazy is it that Daschle is a tax evader? Who knows the inside scoop on Steele?

Haven't read last night's battle, and likely won't. But...thank you, Craig, for trying to return some order to this little gathering. If order returns, I'd be inclined to show up more often.

Patsi, I posted a link to magnificent libraries from all over the world some time ago. If that's what you're talking about, I believe I can still find it and repost it. Just let me know if you'd like me to try to find it.

I appreciate Obama's anger at those who have taken taxpayer bailout monies, then spread them around to their circle of friends as bonuses. I would appreciate his anger a great deal more if he informed them that they now had a bill to the treasury for the exact amount that went out in bonuses. Their excuse that money is fungible is thin and weak. If they had money for bonuses after taking bailout funds, then they clearly received that exact amount (at least!) in excess of what they needed to bail them out.

The faux anger of some of our politicians is as thin and weak as the excuses of the thieves. Methinks they're a bit too complicit.

And I, too, would like to see Daschle excluded from the Obama administration...for all the reasons Jamie gave.

Sturg, just saw your 11:10 regarding repairs. I understand exactly. What has been going through my mind is passing them on to my (growing) family; something tangible going all the way back to our arrival in this great place.

harborwoman...I'm with you

I try to dislike Steele. But, unfortunately, he's a guy who seems to have real fun at what he's doing while not taking himself too seriously. So, I can't help liking him.

There is quite a bit of commentary about Daschle above, you might just search on the name to read the posts that mention him. General consensus, probably should be given the heave ho for violating two Obama principles and not likely to bring about any real universal healthcare that would help the economy.

Steele. Been around a long time. Excellent speaker. Far too moderate for a large segment of his party despite being strongly pro life. Interesting that he has something in common with Jerry Brown of California in that both studied for the priesthood and left it for the much more worldly life of politics.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_S._Steele

current reaction from the Republican party is mixed.

http://www.politico.com/arena/

" I posted a link to magnificent libraries from all over the world some time ago. If that's what you're talking about"

Ah -- thanks Harbor -- I knew someone posted it. Don't worry about finding ti again for me, though. I spent a LOOONG time looking it over, and think it may even be saved on some sub-section of my favorites. It was truly inspirational!

So what does Rush think of Steele? Isn't Rush loose some free print/air? Steele seems like and attention monger.

I've got to head to a Super Bowl party...but I just want to throw out the most intriguing thing I've read all day:

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/opinion/madoff_exposure_7.pdf

I'm an American living in Germany. I'm very sensitive to living in a modern post-war culture. It is difficult not to think that Madoff scheme wasn't an intentional blow to the Jewish community, enabled by a very right-wing government.

Hi Aamy: Welcome. My advice -- stick with Jamie as your tourguide through the treacherous landscape of the Trailmix.

KGC -- Found your earlier post on replacing Daschle with Dean in last night's swamp. I completely agree. Jamie -- you also gave great reasons to dump Daschle.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/01/obamas-frankenstimulus.html#comment-195162

OMG -- I think I did hear George Will say on This Week this morning that Democrats don't care about tax increases because they don't pay taxes. Good idea to follow tweets of wrong-wing GOPs for early heads-up on their daily talking points.

Another good reason to tweet -- staying in touch while in the field. Not so much for continuously pointless status updates of 140 characters or less.

I want to invent a Facebook Ap that will randomly generate status updates 2-3 times per day. Constantly thinking up witty or insightful status updates to keep up with John Edgell is exhausting!

Welcome Aamy and other new folks. If our latest little soap opera served to nudge some lurkers into the open, it was well worth it.

Hope CBob hasn't gone underground again. Global warming just hit DC. It's 56 degrees!

Diva

I'm trying to decide who to add as a right wing source for my twitter. Any suggestions?

Interesting Mother Jones article about Kenneth Blackwell and the Steele election

http://www.motherjones.com/mojoblog/archives/2009/01/12089_blackwell_acolyte_distraught_steele.html

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195373

Sturge,

Nash notwithstanding, the times they are a changin' even in far away Tibet. Mon frère journeyed there last October. His favorite photo from the trip is of a Tibetan mother and child posing with a Cliff bar he had given them to reciprocate their hospitality in providing him with yak butter to fuel his travel (all on foot at 17,000 feet).

so it's time for me add something personal to twitter, but all i'm doing is watching the ice melt. that good enough, Lard?

Democrats are safe with Michael Steele at helm of the RNC. He only won Lt Gov of MD because of the horrible campaign run by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend for Gov. He was out after four years. He lost every other office he's run for he lost. He even lost the black vote in Baltimore and Prince Georges County.

After the Ehrlich/Steele team left Annapolis, Maryland is bluer than ever, with DEMs picking up seats once held by GOPs.

Craig

What did you pour over the ice?

Jamie --

Follow - Eric Cantor, John Boehner, Mike Spence, Dave Camp. If you can stand it.

Greetings from the desert:

Geez, my wife is hooked on Days of Our Lives and I'm hooked on Trail Mix and the original site, CrawfordsList or CList. Decided many months ago, I couldn't get a word in edgewise, and like Renee, probably wouldn't get any responses either. So, now I just read your post, smile at some, cringe at others, and learn from Craig what it's like to be a three ring circus master. Yeah, I think there are just about three different rings around here and where things get dramatized is when someone from one of the rings gets confused and crosses over to another ring with their shots across the bow. Ah, fun and games at the ol' CList!

Go Cardinals!

*

Craig,
It is 40 degrees here and we have lost 6 inches of snow since Friday! It will be in the 20s tomorrow but back to the 40s by the end of the week. I am going on a bike ride (the BRR Ride) next Saturday so the melting of the snow is a good thing.

does the e in eprof stand for economics:? What do you think of the stimulus package? How about Geithner? Daschle? I am listening.

I work in Heath Informatics and I do not believe Daschle will get any of us where we need to go. Unfortunately, favors are owed so we will probably get stuck with him. I only hope he will be on a short leash. That is something I don't think Dr. Dean would put up with. The administration wouldn't be able to control him but might be able to control Daschle.

How many years bad luck if the glass in The Crystal Cathedral cracks? Those fun loving Christians in the mega churches are at it again

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20090131/REL.Televangelist.Woes/

"What did you pour over the ice? Posted by: Jamie"

just a heapin helping of global warming, jamie

Lard might go biking with ya zoey, he once crossed the whole country

Zoey,

With this business of trying to improve medical records included in the stimulus package, will that pose any problems with making it easier to compromise privacy? If it is all on a computer somewhere I can just see someone being able to hack into it.

Oh and eprof, your commentary helps to keep the lions, tigers, bears, and clowns in line. Keep talking.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195461

Jamie -- Op research is grimy work -- but someone's gotta do it!

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195459

Well my Dos Equis and lime are chilling for later ... no ice involved.

Getting medical records online, broadband for rural folkes, does anyone think that the government just wants to be able to better keep track of us? Paranoid? Yeah.

The e in eProf2 stands for electronic professor as I taught political science online prior to retiring five years ago. I'm somewhat disappointed in the Obama vetting process that will allow two Cabinet members to serve who knowingly or unknowling screwed up on their taxes. The Treasury secretary, especially, shouldn't be someone who doesn't know about his own taxes. Unless we want to be another Italy, where the national pasttime is avoiding taxes big time and virtually everyone is one step ahead of the revenue department. Having Cabinet members who don't know their own taxes just sends the wrong message: politics is about symbolism.

Thanks, Jamie and thanks, too, for being a Cardinals fan. Now, I'm off to a Super Bowl family party in time to see the cow head come out of the fire pit along with the other meats prepared in the Mexican tradition of leaving the meat to cook overnight in burnt out embers. One of the pleasures of living in the borderland.

I'll be watching tomorrow's soap opera so don't disappoint. I may have to join my wife in watching Days of Our Lives. LOL!!

ct

The way I look at it, if some government type has nothing better to do than stare at my gall bladder, the conspiracy world is too boring to exist.

A lot of health care records are already online
http://www.ihealthrecord.org/

It started out as part of this:
Introducing the HCNN!

The Health Care Notification Network (HCNN) delivers urgent patient safety alerts — medication and device recalls, warnings and label changes — to healthcare providers online, replacing the current paper-based alerts sent to physicians and other healthcare providers via U.S. mail. The HCNN improves patient safety and protects the interests of consumers and healthcare providers by delivering these alerts online in a manner that is faster, more efficient and more reliable than the current paper-based systems.

The HCNN fulfills new FDA guidance for electronic communication of patient safety notifications and is supported by medical liability carriers, U.S. medical societies, national patient advocacy groups, health plans and many other national healthcare organizations that are dedicated to improving patient safety.
http://www.medem.com/

a partnership between the AMA and various other interested and effected parties.

I've got my new scanner/printer working now. I added a few old photos on Facebook. Some from my NYC trip and a few other old photos. The Album photo cover is classic pic of me with a TV/Movie celebrity. I put 2 pics on my blog as well.

Oh and CT

You can't be blackmailed if you ask the person trying to do it to you where you can get extra 8 x 10 glossies for your friends and relatives.

I am also taking my paranoid self to a SB party. Only going for the food since the only team I follow is the Saints and they stunk this year.

effected parties. oops affected

Jamie,

We had a gynecologist here who took digital pics of all his female patients. He had several computers full. Not exactly sure what he did with the pics. The women had to go in and identify their pics. I saw that particular Doc years ago but I don't think I could identify my twat so I passed.

So far he is out on bail but I sure dread when I have to see him in my establishment.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195474

Just post old newspaper articles on the cash register. I doubt he would come in often.

Dump Daschle

It gets worse:

Thomas A. Daschle waited nearly a month after being nominated to be secretary of health and human services before informing Barack Obama that he had not paid years of back taxes for the use of a car and driver provided by a wealthy New York investor.

What say the White House?

"The president believes nobody's perfect but that nobody's hiding anything," [White House press secretary Robert] Gibbs said.

Wrong answer.

And worse yet:

Mr. Daschle told committee staff that he had grown used to having a car and driver as Senate majority leader and didn't think to report the perquisite on his taxes, according to staff members.

That's some sense of entitlement, huh?
http://sporkinthedrawer.typepad.com/blog/2009/02/dump-daschle.html

It was a beautiful day for cycling in Orlando today. A nice, crisp day in the low 60s. Just got home.

Champ...we need to formally adopt your AOOGA! AOOGA! ad hominem alarm for general comment management purposes. I laughed out load when I read that one.

Craig...yes, watching ice melt is a PERFECTLY good Twitter update. It sets a mood, puts your followers right there with you. That's the whole point. You're really getting the hang of this now.

Loud.

Matt Tiabbi on Daschle reposted in Glenn Greenwald's blog

unday Feb. 1, 2009 08:23 EST
The Daschles: feeding at the Beltway trough

"I know several reporters who are either officially or unofficially on "Whore Factor" duty, watching the rapidly kaleidoscoping transition picture and keeping track of the number of known whores and ghouls who for some reason have been invited to befoul the atmosphere of the next administration......

Obviously there has been some dire news on that front already. When Obama picked Tom Daschle to be the HHS Secretary, I nearly shit my pants. In Washington there are whores and there are whores, and then there is Tom Daschle. Tom Daschle would suck off a corpse for a cheeseburger

"But in picking Daschle — who as an adviser to the K Street law firm Alston and Bird has spent the last four years burning up the sheets with the nation's fattest insurance and pharmaceutical interests — Obama is essentially announcing that he has no intention of seriously reforming the health care industry. . . .

Regarding Daschle, remember, we're talking about a guy who not only was a consultant for one of the top health-care law firms in the country, but a board member of the Mayo Clinic (a major recipient of NIH grants) and the husband of one of America's biggest defense lobbyists — wife Linda Hall lobbies for Lockheed-Martin and Boeing. Does anyone really think that this person is going to come up with a health care proposal that in any way cuts into the profits of the major health care companies?"
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/

You get to know a lot about people by what they think is acceptable behavior. Makes you wonder why they were so hard on Blago. It also explains why Blago continued his behavior when he must have known he was under scrutiny.

ct

If you have some time read the entire Greenwald post on Daschle. Although you will probably feel the need to take a shower after.

KGC,

This stuff is happening way too early in this administration. We have barely even consumated the relationship and we are already being cheated on.

ct

Yes I can imagine the Daschles sitting around thinking "suckers."

Man the horn, Lard.

By the bye, I by-passed an ample opportunity between 12:54 and 1:38 AM to be poster #3 on this thread, so speechless was I that Craig made civil discourse a feature presentation. I saw him leading up to it at the tail-end of the previous thread, but I thought that would be the end of it. That said, I'm grateful for the opportunity for civil-not-coarse discourse, and will do my part to let it begin with me and keep coming back. Thank you, Craig, for the forum.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195479

thanks Lard, my twitter muse, was waiting for you to get back from your bike ride to post. here ya go:

http://twitter.com/craig_crawford

"The women had to go in and identify their pics. I saw that particular Doc years ago but I don't think I could identify my twat so I passed. "

ROFLMAO! That's one of the funniest things I've read in years! Thanks, Carol!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just stopped by to say Hello, and, to wish my Hometown Team GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!! GO STEELERS

Ivy...

I think Craig's blog post today will still be taught in college classrooms decades, if not centuries from now. It will be recognized as a pioneering attempt to define and impose some sort of social contract on the crazy world of human interaction in cyberspace.

Even the title -- "Toward A More Civil Discourse" -- sounds like something straight out of Locke or Rousseau. Those kids are going to be hating Craig in the future -- he'll be homework.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195474

ct,

That's a good story, but only because you could successfully separate your "self" from what would otherwise be demeaning and humiliating, not to mention abusive and criminal. Took me back though to an occasion during a follow-up to an in-office procedure, as my gyn marvelled at the perfection of his work while stating it was a shame that one one else got to see it. I could easily have been insulted, but I decided it would serve me better to see the humor in it.

Being originally from Cleveland, Lampe, the only time I ever root for the Steelers is when they're playing the Ravens.

Art Modell has a special place waiting for him.

Rez

That is exactly why the major owners like to have Prado on their babies. They know he will take care of them and there was some worry that the type of stumble he had might have twisted an ankle. He knew it instantly and didn't push him. Nicanor will be back. They've brought him out too late for the Derby so there is no hurry.

There is no guarantee that even with that bloodline that he will be spectacular, but it was his first outing in a full field of horses, better safe than sorry.

I was born and raised in Pa: Hell I bleed BLACK AND GOLD!!!!!!!!!!

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195493

ha, nice try Lard, but don't think it's "immortality" lasted much beyond 9 o'clock this morning

anyway, i'd rather be remembered as the inventor of the Stingray -- habanero peppers distilled in vodka under the Florida sun, with grapefruit juice in a tall glass

and besides, i appear to have run off CBob, which would make today's post a miserable failure, so i hope he hasn't gone dark again

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195500

Why do you bother with him?
He didn't learn anything from the recent post on civil discourse. He went to personal insults and attacks

Hah Craig! Well, the college kids will love you for the Stingray. So it'll all balance out.

And don't worry about our CBob. He's a tough guy, and is probably out there kicking ass and spitting roofing nails on some other blog. He'll be back. He's a tough cookie.

Why...I heard that CBob once punched a hole in a cow just to see who was coming up the road.

I heard that he once used a live rattle snake as a condom!

CBob's family crest is a picture of a barracuda eating Neil Armstrong.

I once saw CBob scissor-kick Angela Lansbury.

We once had a bachelor party for CBob. He ate the entire cake before we could tell him there was a stripper in it.

He killed Wolfman Jack with a trident

Yessir. One tough hombre, that CBob.

To read more ripped off quotes from the old SNL "Bill Brasky gag, click here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Brasky

Lard, you make C-Bob sound like Chuck Norris. C-bob doesn't read TrailMix...he just stares at it until it gives him the information he wants.

Corey...you may have mentioned it and I missed it. Who are you rooting for tonight?

Lardo

If he is doing all that, I want him here sharing the events.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB8_THAyd5o

Got to my SB party and lo and behold they have a computer.

C-Bob, come back,

who will help us save the environment?
who will give us our thought for the day?

Jamie..
That Pecos BIll cartoon is priceless.

Does anyone know if Dick Cheney is out of his wheelchair yet? For some reason that thought just went whipping through my brain.

Corey,

This morning you made reference to Citigroup and the naming rights to the Mets' new stadium. I don't know if there's a current news item on that issue, but that naming rights thing was a done-deal long before anyone knew the banks would need a bailout.

I think they were calling it Citi Field before they broke ground two years ago.

The world continues to rapidly age around me without my permission ... Lisa Marie Presley turned 41 today

"Does anyone know if Dick Cheney is out of his wheelchair yet?"

Not until his disability is approved.

He didn't need a wheel chair, it was just an act so he didn't have to stand when Obama took the oath (Take 1). Evil genius gives no standing O.

Funny people.......and cute take on 'evil genius'.

"C-Bob, come back,"

I agree but why the hell should he? He's been smacked for losing his temper once, after countless insults and name calling at others. That's the way it goes here. You need to know the rules. (You have to be carefully taught...some names are hate speech -- others are a big yuk, yuk...)

At last night’s black-tie dinner at Washington’s Alfalfa Club, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) couldn’t resist cracking a joke about torture. Politico’s Mike Allen reports:

More from Senator Lieberman: ‘We had hoped Vice President Cheney would be here tonight. I hope it’s not his back injury that’s keeping him away. Apparently, he hurt it moving some things out of his office. Personally, I had no idea that waterboards were so heavy.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195520

Did he get to make a Workers' Comp claim for an on-the-job injury? We could be paying for him forever.

Go Cards!

White House Breaks Transparency Promise

http://blog.sunlightfoundation.com/2009/01/29/white-house-breaks-transparency-promise/

Mentally, at least, Mr. Cheney will always be in a wheelchair, because his ideas cannot stand in a true democracy.

"You might want to bolt your door and bar the windows Carol!"

ROFL. And never forget this definition of the word "ingratiating" -- "To calculate in an effort to win favor."

Also filed under: phony.

Just wanted to show Craig what you would say,,,,didn't expect anything else from you

" And I would welcome a bit of contrition from both sides in today's thread. Indeed, apologies to each other for their language would be appreciated, even if you reserve the right to maintain your sentiments. " Craig Crawford

Dear Trail Mixers,
I want to apologies for any and all slights I have handed out over the past 10 months or so. I realize that we all have good days and bad days, and sometimes I have jumped to conclusions that are incorrect.

In any case, this is me un-clenching my fist so to speak....and hoping for a better tomorrow for all - no matter what we believe or what has happened in the past.

peace~
UB

UB

Believe it or not, I do think of you from time to time,,,,,when I was just lurking ( 14 months ago) you and all the others got along great,,,maybe the Primaries got the best of all of us,,,and I know that I said some harsh words,,,so I will apologize for them now,,,thanks

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195534

you get points in blog heaven for trying, solar

4 months ago,,,??that should be

not sure how many months ago.....either

time flies.....as they say .......when you are having fun. :)

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195536

thanks much for that, unlikely. good to see ya

Jeez, is this the Super Bowl or a parade through Tehran?

Craig, you as well :)

.....they have tossed the coin and the fire is roaring....Go Cardinals.....!!

Okay, while we are at it....I will once again explain how I feel about "apologies."

I think apologies are overrated. Actually they are just an excuse. My father raised me to "say what you mean, and mean what you say."

Therefore, if I insult you, I meant to do it.

Taking it another step. My grandmother always repeated that old saw, "A lady never insults someone unintentionally."

Point being: I almost never insult someone unintentionally. So don't expect many apologies from me. Unless I didn't mean to insult. Then I will hastily apologize.

Stop and think about that concept. If you insult someone, own it.

Right you are, Patsi. That's why they make nukes.

Yes indeed, KGC -- here's to Pat Tillman.

well for those who think i've been off the mark today, consider that the refs blew their first major call in the super bowl

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195555

so noted

truebeliever.....it's just like the Godfather.....

" Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in."

true, UB and nanny -- you've got the spirit. lovely branches!

See what happens when you meddle in the affairs of us mere mortals, Craig? It's a no-win situation for you. Sure everyone is filled with the spirit of the Lord now, but one eloquent blog post isn't going to change human nature. You host an open forum, and don't have a moderator, so people will say things from time to time. That's the price of free speech. You've made a much bigger deal of it than it was.

Jack
Budweiser commercial is the best do far,,,If it ain't bud it ain't beer!!

fine, champ, but like i say, even the super bowl refs got one wrong

"On more than one occasion I've attempted to take the higher road"

Gee, don't strain yourself. Shouldn't the goal of civil discourse be that "taking the lower road" is the exception, not the rule? Sounds like you're admitting it's your default position.

Speaking for myself (well, typing), a little humility and a dash of self-deprecating humor go a long way.

Back to the game.

This has not worked out well. Though I have had no expectation that it would.

The most noxious person that participates on this blog remains and one of the most interesting and enlightening may have left again.

The psychological bully has been repeatedly enabled by many of the participants and host of this blog in the name of free speech and open dialog. It is never the fault of the bully, he is always the victim partially because of his politics and status as a sexual minority. The truth is that he cannot and will not restrain his worst instincts demonstrating a level of immaturity that is not worthy of any response.

CBob I salute you. You spoke the truth (except for the 3 feet tall part)

Personally I think this works for those who want it to.

I quit regular posts a long tome ago because of the negativity of small group of people. I still check in and read posts of the more interesting.

The fact that so few post on this blog is indicative of the problem throughout the blog world.

The interesting links posted will keep me checking in once in awhile.

...and maybe listen a little instead of just talking all the time.

cpl of posts

a final thought before i check out to mourn the horryfying spectacle of Bob Dylan selling out for a Pepsi commercial -- About 10 percent or less of those who visit this blog every day actually post comments, altho many of the lurkers click open the comments page. So that means you guys have an audience out there -- maybe that could be an incentive to keep your clothes on and behave.

Craig,

Did you know that Bob Dylan and Dick Cheney were born only three or four months apart?

I think that's a great fun fact.

H D

Ok I will let go,,,and only to the extent that you are in defending him,,,,but things unresolved, stay unresolved,,,Gordo and I do talk alike ,,,every one can see that. Nothing but SP now thanks

Good God. Bruce Springsteen is actually playing "10th Avenue Freezeout" in front of a worldwide audience.

And to think that his fans, back when they were young, used to mock the likes of Glen Miller and Count Basie. Yet they cheer now.

SP=SB---super bowl

Oh my God. Now he's playing "Born To Run." Wasn't that a breakout Newsweek cover story back in, what, 1974?

I think it's time for the Boss to take a buyout.

I imagine all the commercials will be on You Tube tomorrow .. Must see Dylan committing sacrilege

Jamie...don't you remember the weird lingerie commercials Dylan did a few years back? Working for Diet Pepsi is social activism compared to that.

"How many times I have been called a jew or gay by "convience"? "

Wrong word. I said "professional."

Nothing Dylan does surprises me. He is so totally his own person that I always assume he is exactly where he wants to be that nothing anyone else thinks is even a consideration. All we can do is play the things we like and be glad he came along.

Jamie, you are absolutely right about that. We all should be proud that we lived at the same time as Dylan. He truly is the poet from Heaven (even though he had to do a couple ads to pay the bills)

Now...back to the game.

Lardo

"CBob does sometimes overdo the "been there done that"

Just as I enjoy your stories and humor, I love CBob's stories, his beautiful leatherwork, and all the past associations. It's the same with Patsi who knows the country music world. For all of you, it's not bragging when you have actually done something.

Jamie..
Me too.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195585

Lard,

I'm just thankful he didn't sing that insipid supermarket song I heard on the radio last week.

Kid Leo on WMMS Cleveland played Born to Run as his signature sign-off song on Friday nights at 5:00 PM, every weekend for what seems forever......it was the alarm that it was the weekend- thus time to party!

One small thing that Cleveland got right.

Iraq is at this moment over 563 Billion dollars ... all of it never declared or accounted for totally off budget and done on money from countries that don't like us very much ... a massive totally unnecessary expenditure that may very well have taken down the global economy for a lot of years to come.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195601

The same excuse that applies to you. He lost his temper and said things that shouldn't have been said. You either let it stay in the past or you keep bearing a grudge. Take your pick.

"Champ by the end of today I may actually end up liking you?"

Where's the fun in that?

Ivy Green. I love you.

Now...back to the game (again)

That's me. Everyone's favorite fortune cookie.

Bob Dylan has never made a secret of the fact that he wished to be a commercial success........

his not making a pepsi commercial today would have made no more sense to him than not playing electric in Newport........

as much sense as randy newman not selling IT'S A JUNGLE OUT THERE to "MONK" or Quincy Jones not selling the theme to "Sandford and Son"......or Henry Mancini not selling the themes to "Mr Lucky", "The Days of Wine and Roses" or "Peter Gunn" or Dylan selling the soundtrack of "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid"

etc etc etc........

not selling, that is

No Obama supporters?
What are you Bry Bry You are here 24/7
Plenty of people who post voted for Obama

Pardon me for engaging with the insane it's a mistake

Where in the world was there any contempt expressed about the Lilly Ledbetter bill? Sometimes I think you see offense where none ever happened or was intended. On top of that you take disagreement with a position you hold as a personal attack on you and come out howling.

On top of that you lump those who genuinely supported Hillary but switched and supported Obama when he became the nominee with that small group that supported HIllary but then moved over to McCain out of some sort of protest against the party.

The initial Obama supporters are not some mindless blobs who think and feel exactly the same about everything and neither are the people who supported Hillary. Treating us as if we were some borg like conglomerate that you get to insult with hag and PUMA and any other name you pull out of the hat and then get all "who me?" offended when someone objects to your treatment of them.

At your best you are intelligent, with an incisive wit. Unfortunately, at your worst you are completely intolerable.

That Disney cartoon "Phineas and Ferb" has some great lines in it. The villian in the cartoon proclaims himself to be really evil. But, he regrets that any time he does something people automatically think he's doing something evil. His line was "Just because I'm evil doesn't mean that everything I do is evil." As for Dylan, remember the outrage when Michael Jackson allowed Nike to use The Beatles song "Revolution" for one of their commercials?I noticed that U2's new song was used in a NFL ad tonight as well.

I think Craig is just asking us to "respect" others. I don't believe the word "Like" was used. There's a difference.

wooo hooo.....Cardinals are still alive and kickin'

anybody watching that thing called the super bowl?

Searches "GoDaddy.Com". LOL!

For someone who...wasn't that into it, this game has turned out to pretty exciting even though it is difficult keeping up with both games at the same time.

We Alabama women are proud of Lilly Ledbetter. Our state has more progressive thinkers and doers than we get credit for. I have a new Scottie puppy arriving in two weeks and her name will be Lilly.

Ignore him. This is what he wants people have spent all day talking about him again.

AOOGA! AOOGA!

(Thanks again for that, Champ)

Sock--u r right not going to talk about him any more thanks

This entire thread is just plain absurd.

Please, everyone, click this link and save your lives!. Jean-Paul Sartre had us all figured out way before any of us were born. Big difference is that we have more characters.

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

If things eventually calm down around here, I propose a game in which we match assorted Trailmixers to various personalities or personality traits in the play. And after that, maybe we can build a treehouse...and put on a show!!!

Game over.

Both toes didn't touch...thank goodness I didn't bet on the game.

You would think, if they can photo finish a horse race they could have better camera angles on an end zone.

hey Rez - how ya doing?

I supported Obama.....after he won the primary, and if I was paying closer attention I may have supported him earlier.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195644

Truly something to be proud of, lord knows you have worked at it long enough,

No Exit is the source of perhaps Sartre's most famous quotation, "Hell is other people." (In French, "l'enfer, c'est les autres").

Six Time Winning Super Bowl CHAMPS, The PITTSBURGH STEELERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Keep the treehouse on the ground, LL. We don't wanna have any accidents. LOL! I'm off to work now. God Bless each and everyone one of us. That includes Hillary supporters, Obama supporters, Cardinals fans, Steelers fans etc...Night!

Nice to see you are concetrating on the "civil discourse" theme of today's thread.

You can do better if you want...it's your choice.

Congratulations Lamp

Tony

U R right you do not defend, I should have said ,,sometimes excuse,,,,but that is it for me,,,going to put it all behind me now,,,I had Pizza a beer for the Super bowl,,,had a choice to go see some friends at a bar/grill but chose not too ---too many rookies out --like they are for New years Eve,,,,and cause some major head aches,,,my wife went to a baby shower,,,so I was left alone,,,and watched the game

I am originally from Chicago and I once heard that based in law if it snows and a property owner shovels his sidewalk and a passerby or anyone for that matter should slip and hurt themselves they can sue the owner and in a court of law they would win.

In other words the owner would be liable for the injuries incurred by the injured person because they shoveled their sidewalk.

However, if the owner does not shovel and someone should slip and fall and hurt themselves they would lose in court and the owner could not be held liable since the weather was an Act of God.

Or the owner would not be liable for any injuries incurred by the person who fell.

So based on the above if true than I can only think that God is punishing Kentucky and McConnell for his blocking the economic plan of President Obama and the Democratic Party.

So because of McConnell all the citizens of Kentucky are being punished by God for the Sins of McConnell.

As are all those states hit with the latest storm since we know that according to the Republican Fascist Nazi Party there is no global warming and under the Law Weather is an Act of God.

So I guess as the Religious Wing Nuts would say God is punishing all the citizens of those Southern States that the Republican Senators and Congress People representing them because they are nothing but evil sinners intent on totally destroying America.

Hey anon-p,

How have you been, good to see you. My take is that we are punishing ourselves.......for eaxmple: if we can't get along on a blog with all the freedom of speech we enjoy, there is no hope for the rest of the world.

I had friend who traveled the world, she saw it all, she is an elderly lady now....she always said that , "American's didn't get it"....I am beginning to understand what she meant.

We have to investigate the Republican Party since they said that they were assured that a Republican would fill Gregg's seat if he took the position.

Sounds like they bought and paid for a Senate Replacement seat. Same thing they accused Obama of doing with his Senate Seat how else could they be assured that a Democratic Governor would appoint a Republican Replacement?

Pay for Play on the Republican side.

Sorry you felt that way AP. I like you a great deal and wish you would post more often. You fear more extreme things happening that most but you are never dull or offensive to anyone.

Why do I feel like I'm back in the Bush years?

Dan Rooney, owner of The Pittsburgh Steelers, thanked Obama for his support of the team.

Posted by: anon-paranoid Author Profile Page | February 1, 2009 10:48 PM

Excellent point.
How 's the kitty?

Well, as wacky as this thread has been, hasn't it been great super bowl counter-programming? better than today's Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet. altho i agree with Lard, a performance of No Exit would have been tough competition.

Now that we've all gotten a lot of stuff off our chests (and i'll leave this thread live until 6am in case there's more), how about we put the past behind us and start anew tomorrow? At least start arguing about new stuff, instead of reenacting the old battles, lest we become like those kooky Civil War buffs pretending to kill each other on the weekends.

I'm going to watch The Simpsons movie now (but won't share that on Twitter, must save a few gems for my beloved Trailmixers).

Nite all.

Because it's become all about finger pointing.

Anon Paranoid

In Chicago I lived as a child at Flournoy,,and Independence blvd,,,,Garfield park was my favorite place in the world,,,and yes that was the law ( don't know any more ) it was better not to shovel the snow off the sidewalks,,,was always kinda weird to me. :) later

Jamie...

Too much of what I posted has come true. We are headed into the worst Depression since the Great Depression of 29 and sadly there's not much President Obama can do to stop it.

He can however ease the pain we are about to feel with his economic plan that is being obstructed by the Republicans.

Until and only until we take the loses we pushed out into the Global Economy we can not begin to start a recovery. And this is so sad since many people will lose everything they have saved for their retirement years if they have not already.

And until we pursue criminal charges against those responsible for War Crimes we can not begin to clean the bloodstains off our Constitution.

We as a Nation have fallen from the Grace of God by our own actions and only we can save ourselves from further destruction.

If we ignore all that has occurred under Bush\Cheney then we are just like all those countries we condemn for those same actions and policies and are no better then them.

Sol,

I attend a lot of meetings and I hear a lot of stories. Yours is authentic, I feel, and right up there with the "best," no, make that the "worst," of them. I have little to offer except the suggestion to seek out others within the recovery community and share your story with them. They will safeguard your feelings and your anonymity. As to "religiosity" which is what I hear you describing, it is a perversion of religion and antithetical to true spirituality. An expression I hear in the rooms from time to time is, "Religion is for those who are afraid of hell; spirituality is for those who've been there."

"We as a Nation have fallen from the Grace of God by our own actions and only we can save ourselves from further destruction."

? Grace of God?

nanny
Welcome back! I think your swell and I look forward to reading your thoughts and opinions...

KGC...

All the kitties are doing good. I have a new one that I have been feeding for some time now.

She is all black and has the prettiest green eyes ever. I call her Lady Greeneyes after the song Greeneyed Lady.

I got her into my carrier and had the rescue people from whom I got Jasmine take her into the vet for spaying. They also had her chipped and all her shots including rabies.

I've had her in the house now for a little over a week and just told my landlord about her. The wife took it good and said okay, but no more since she makes three now.

She is still a little leary and even though she comes out and I can pet her she is still so to speak gun shy.

Baby hisses at her if she gets too close and Jasmine seems to get along alright with her. Even a little chasing with no violence so maybe we will have playmates which is good since it will give them both exercise and help keep them healthy.

One day I really need to get some pictures and post them. One day soon I hope.

Thanks for asking.

I will never shovel my sidewalks.........if I ever have any!!!

Solar...

Hamlin and Monore. Right across the street from Garfield Park.

"start anew tomorrow"

Sounds like a great plan.....thanks for opening the door. I think most welcome it...and that's a good thing. There's just no time left for living in the past.....at least not for me.

Makes me think of Rev Wright's words

The wife took it good...

Should have read the landlords wife took it good, I'm no longer married for many a year now.

Patsi

I feel that was my doing,,,,I sometimes wish that I could express my self better in writing form (no problems verbally),,,I said that very poorly,,and Im sorry for the grief that it has caused you.

Ivy ---thanks...like I said I have worked thru it all,,,there are a lot of reasons that I have to not like religion,,that is only one of them,,,,,,and I truly believe that you don't need it in order to feel , understand, and wonder about spirituality,,,it is all around us,,,and we can't see it cos of absurd Myths,,,,,,There are a lot of stories that are not heard from,,,,,but they mostly originate in other countries,,,that is where religion is mostly harmful,,and Men use it to gain and keep all of the power that they can...

In Mexico and some other countries it was common to have a lot of children to work the farms,,,and that is what happened to my family,,,the women are very religious and very guilt ridden if not obedient to the letter of the law ,,,(bible). I was brought here at the age of five,,,,it took a while for us all to get over all of the expierences that we have gone thru,,,,,Our families nices and nephews ,,,,many are the best that one can hope for,,and they are all friends,,,we stuck together (brothers and sisters) and made it all work,,,,,,but most are either born again,,,a decon,,,and some very paranoid catholics (one was exorcised),,,,if you dig deep into religion this is not uncommon,,,it steels families away from each other,,,

Well since the other posters are back now I will try to limit my post for the next few day's,,and let them get reacquainted thanks,,

EEK....

Since I'm a scroller and kamakazi poster here, I didn't read the detailed sniping on the previous thread. Just went back and got filled in.

C-Bob, I was laughing at your last prior post not the previous, prior posts. You seemed out of character last night now that I read the whole thing.

If I want real life rancor, all I have to do is turn around from the monitor.

tt

I’m a scroller.
I’m a torcher.
I’m a kamikaze poster
I do my bombin’ on the run
WoooWooooo

"To the readers here, my apology..."

Gratefully, gleefully accepted!

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/02/toward-a-more-civil-discourse.html#comment-195712

What a relief, CBob. Thanks for such a positive bookend to what I guess became one of our wildest -- and now i can say, constructive -- group therapy threads of all time.