Craig Crawford's Trail Mix

is it a Woo Hoo

Craig.... You forgot to add your leadership as a former President and also on a champion baseball team...

Craig-

If employment picture doesn't improve soon most people won't care if it's you or Sotomayor in that seat. If you stop by the local diner here most people are discussing jobs, credit cards, mortgages, and food prices. Supreme Court nominee would be a subject of interest when everything else is going well.

I agree, ubns -- the economy is all anyone I know talks about. MOst couldn't care less about this -- except for some latina women who are not amused by Sessions et al.

Latina women -- redundant...sorry 'bout that. I started to type latinas and other women...

Bill Clinton on same sex marriage:

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090720/tracey?rel=emailNation

Meanwhile behind the curtain they are fixing us up a dandy dish which will be forced upon us as soon as Miss Sotomayor leaves the stage.

KT -- if you're around...we were speaking of Tennessee politicians...I wonder what happened to the days of the great Estes Kefauver....

bear's comment on affirmative action/reverse discrimination last thread topic is worthy of repost.

"White people in this country can't tolerate the losses they may have suffered since the 70's to make up for the practices of their "ancestors" yet they often don't recognize that the gains they made were achieved because they discriminated for 300 years."
Posted by: Bear | July 14, 2009 11:06 PM

patsi.......the "character" factor seems to have trickled down to the likes of little puerile lindsay graham and little love-lorn teen-ager mark sanford.................

as KO pointed out, it's a bit ludicrous for Graham to question the temperament of Sotomayor and call her a bully after he's so publically and for so long displayed his man-crush on that temperamental would-be bully John McCain

Craig
I got you beat

I'm scotch , irish with a bit of bourbon thrown in.

Jack

patd.....for instance those huge SC gardens patsi and i referred to..........big and beautiful, but made entirely by slave labor............

patd.....above of mine in reference to bear's post:
http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-243928

Sturge...have you read Mrs. Whaley's Charleston Garden?

http://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Whaley-Her-Charleston-Garden/dp/0684843870/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpi_1

Living in NY all her life yet she never met any of us she would want to officially spend her life with.

How many single white guys have sit on the bench?

pats......i'm familiar with it and with her and her garden, but havent read it......i've not much interest in gardens.......
I will be looking into Woodrow's Trumpet, though......

Patd

I thought Bears comment was rather cliched and out dated.
Also, it was very much like Max's use of the term Muslim.
As I pointed out yesterday a great deal of racial politics these days is to keep a devide between poor white and blacks by stirring up hatred between the 2 groups. Bears overly sweeping comment helps advance that cause.
Also there is little truth in such a sweeping statement.

Jack

Jack

Sturge -- I have an extra copy of Woodrow's Trumpet that I'll send you if you email me your address. balecox at aol.com

Maureen Dowd delivers today.

"White man's last stand"

"Despite the best efforts of Republicans to root out any sign that Sonia Sotomayor has emotions that color her views on the law, the Bronx Bomber kept a robotic mask in place."

"Like the president who picked her, Sotomayor has been a model of professorial rationality.

Besides, its delicious watching Republicans go after Democrats for being to emotional and irrational given the GOP shame spiral."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/opinion/15dowd.html?_r=1

Craig... ROFL! I think you've finally lost your mind.... and I LOVE it!

The economy up here in the northeast hasn't taken as big a hit as some other places in this country. I am amazed at how high housing prices have remained.

Jack.... I agree with your statement about bear's statement. Time to start getting past this type of thing. I'm the first person on both sides of my family to be born here. My ancestors in Canada had a hard enough time with the English and didn't do anything to blacks. But how could you know any of that by looking at me.... I look like any other white person.
I viva la difference and celebrate it.

patsi.......I shall, and mucho thankos.........how about an autygraphed Garth book while youre at it?......will sans souci send the funds required for that package, if you have those on hand.............

must now make like a shepherd and get the flock outa here.....

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-243924

Good morning all
Dex
So sorry about your dog!

Patsi
Thanks for the link re Bill Clinton Supporting gay marriage...I'm so glad,i love President Clinton.I think most Democrats including the President would support gay marriage if it wasn't for there fear of losing some votes...Its a sad reality but most times politics rule...I think the same can be said for a lot of Republicans on the issue of gay marriage too...

Ya know if "white " was such a monlith, The Bush family would invite me over to supper more often.

Jack

best resume video I have seen in some time, Craig. Good job.

Jack...
neither are blacks.... and Obama is a good example of it....
he's not the son of slaves....

and to see another good example.... watch a major league baseball game...

Renee

Ran across an example of that yesterday.
A local NPR program was discussing the plight of ethnic news papers. The local "black" paper said they were having to deal with the migration of blacks to the suburbs by creating special sections just for them. I noticed this 20 years ago when I was doing lawn care. I had several black suburban customers. I expect the trend has only accelerated.

Jack

Meanwhile, time for me to get out of here.
My Puerto Rican painter wants to get an early start.

Jack

Or I should say

My Pueto Rican painter wonders why I can't get my lazy white ass up earlier so he can beat the heat. I don't think he would accept chatting with you all as an acceptable excuse.
lol

Jack

mornin'

Well this VTM is not one that our filters are allowing, but between you and Andrea Mitchell, there should be enough empathy with Sotomayor and her ankle to float the proverbial battleship.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-243925

buford, maybe you should check out some other countries with different forms of government. Apparently representative democracy just isn't your cup of tea.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-243930

Jack, throw in a little coka cola and you're a long island iced tea.

Latina women -- redundant...sorry 'bout that. I started to type latinas and other women...

Posted by: Patsi | July 15, 2009 6:48 AM

Good catch, Patsi. I also think I am hearing these educated and experienced repug Senators still calling her "latino" when reminding her of her "wise latina" comment. It is latinA. I find it ignorant and annoying. Again, we are really overpaying for these guys!

Blondie - you find something the repugs on the committee are doing ignorant and annoying? How in the world can you pick one thiing out from all the others? ;-)

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-243960

Jack --

All will be forgiven if you keep him plied with Gatorade all day. I know from whence I speak.

I picked that one pogo because it is the most obvious, but the old, white man smell keeps coming through with every breath they take.

When it comes to trying to pick out ignorant and annoying things being done by the repugs, I just don't know where I would start - but the "wise Latina" bullshit is as good a place as any. One might also point out to the nitwits -including Hatch, the one who has in the past at least seemed like the voice of reason on the dark side of the committee - that Sotomayhor didn't say anything about judging with empathy - at least nothing I can find - Obama did. Of course it's very easy tfor a rich white guy to confuse a Latin woman with a black man I suppose. Idiots.

It took these guys a lot of years to get used to black men, but I think there is hope with Sanford's love of a "latina" hottie.

Craig,

Your failure to end the video with any bravado regarding a formerly limping Scotch-Irishman's ability to make better judgements/rulings than __________ , leads me to deduce that you're holding out hope that you may someday be sitting for Senate confirmation.

Good luck on that one. We'd support you of course, but all your character witnesses here are characters.

OMG...same shit today at the hearings...I am being kind, but all I can think of is Dylan Thomas...

http://www.bigeye.com/donotgo.htm

These guys are dying...they are no longer the face of America and they are fighting this all they way. Rage, rage repugs...your light is dying.

There they go again, Repubs harping on the Latina comment. It's becoming more than clear that their repeated projection of racist intent onto others is because it's the sum total of their own experience - or at least what they think is the total of what their constituents can relate to.

newpogo, Nah,I just don't like watching the way we are headed .

I haven't looked back at last night's comments, but if this wasn't posted, it should have been.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/15/opinion/15dowd.html?_r=1

I rode the daming Bush horse with Maureen, but did not ride the damning Clinton hore with her. This is a good one for her. My favorite paragraph?

"A wise Latina woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not know that a gaggle of white Republican men afraid of extinction are out to trip her up."

Thanks for asking.

What Senator is this...? He's "struggling to understand..." That's the crux of the problem. How long may one struggle to understand something before one is deemed intellectually incompetent?

Buford, of course I was kidding, but it's your lawmakers who are doing the forcing - as you elected them to do - and they have done their service to the masters who fill their campaign coffers. Accordingly, we are getting nothing bu half measures while Wall Streeters get their measure and our other half. But the way we were heading for the past several years hasn't taken us toward any place most of us (I think) would judge as a positive place to be. Continuing down that road doesn't seem to be wise. I think moving toward expanded access to healthcare is a good direction to go, and I'm witholding judgment on the moves to shore up the economy (notwithstanding my comment above) - the effects of those efforts will take some time to manifest themselves as good or bad.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-243973

Senator Cornyn...continues to struggle without success...

It is obvious, the repugs are going to continue to use Sotomayor as their pinata today...I am sick of it. I look forward to her confirmation and will bypass this hearing crap.

Have a great day! I wish I had Sotomayor's patience!

Ivy, that would be John Cornyn (his picture is beside Grassley's next to "idiot" in Wiki). ;-)

Whisky,

I could agree that the statement I made was simplistic but I don't think it's cliched.

The common refrain that is heard in "reverse discrimination" arguments is that "I didn't own slaves, I didn't use racism to deny or inhibit anyone. While that may be specifically true, people did benefit from a system that was set up to create significant challenges to keep minorities from succeeding.

It's not difficult to see instances where people were in total panic and anger when any attempts were made to not even level the playing field, but just tilt it less sharply against them.

We need to remember that during World War II, Nazi POW's could get served in restaurants in the south that would refuse to serve black Soldiers. Think about that, Southerners who were still fighting the Civil War in their minds, would grant more to NAZIS, perpetrators of the Holocaust, than they would to blacks, wearing the uniform of their Army, who were fighting to provide the freedom they were so richly attempting to deny others.

No matter what, you can't escape that fact.

You are so right, BW -- this Cornyn questioning is absolutely disgusting. He's not going to be happy until she says she hates being female and hopes to overturn Roe. I don't know HOW she's keeping her cool. My head would be spinning at this point. I would NOT be able to stop myself from telling him he was a stupid sh&t.

well, I will be going into my studio in a few minutes and thought I'd put on CNN to watch the hearings .... but then I checked in here first..... glad I did...

Diane Rehm's first hour is about the dairy industry crisis.... think I'll listen to that..... at least I know as a crisis it's real...

Ivy, Patsi, take heart- Cornyn's time is almost up.

Bear....
my agreement with Jack is not to suggest that we should forget anything...
and I do believe in affirmative action.... I choose to get beyond all this name calling... I choose to see people as individuals.... I choose to celebrate all heritages....

my parents tell me all the time about how the English referred to them as "the dirty little Frenchmen".... my father calls them the "f**cing Limeys".... I choose not to participate in continual victimhood....

What the heck? They all cut into Senator Cardin for commercials...not inflammatory enough? I was enjoying listening to his "accent" which never sounded like an accent to me until I moved to the South.

(^_~)

On Bear's statement and the responses to it, I think everybody is a little bit right, but not the total picture.

At one time even those minorities with great educations and superior talents faced unbelievable discrimination. Law tried and for the most part succeeded in wiping out those barriers to the point that those of people of all races and genders who are possessed of unique achievements can go anywhere, do anything, and achieve great things.

While all of that was going on, a huge number of people were left behind. Those minorities whose ancestors had not been able to keep it together to get a good education and pass along those ideals were left in the dust of poverty with no mentors and little hope. Those Whites whose labor intensive jobs have been steadily wiped out and whose family tradition did not include or could not afford an advanced education were left in poverty again with little hope.

Where before we had White with or without education on one side able to earn a living and support a family versus minorities trapped in a single location with few opportunities to access the wider society and the positions equal to their abilities.

Now the division is between the haves and have nots. The concentration for full "equality" now has to be shifted to the focus of financial access to the system. Poor Whites and Poor Minorities are now on the same side. For historical reasons they have been disadvantaged by those in power and often have poverty stretching back generations. It's time they figured out which side their bread was buttered and joined forces to make the law take that history into consideration when applying "Affirmative Action"

I want this witch hunt OVER.

Craig,

I see that you used "cinematic" license this time since you broke your left while in the current video it is the right that is the injured extremity.

I am starting to become concerned for the Republican senators. They are obviously in some sort of fugue state since they keep repeating the same questions while not understanding any answer given them. Obviously they need medical or psychiatric assistance.

Jamie...

There is nothing left to fix the Repugs unless you consider a few standing trial at Nuremberg.

Now Coburn is going from trying to get Judge Sotomayor to answer hypothetical abortion questions to 2nd Amendment Rights.

Of course with the Medical Technologies we have today maybe they can repair the Brain Deficiencies of the Repugs.

Bear, You are 100% right!!!

I still hear: Why aren't the blacks further along in education?, why are there so many of them in need of government help?........why this and that. When I tell them that if I could get 300 years or free labor, from thousands and millions of people, then all of my children and their decedents will become doctors and, other professional people.

I tell them that we can trace education of the American people to the direct ownership of slaves. When young people tell me that they had nothing to do with it....I just remind them that they reap the rewards of it( slavery) everyday of their lives without even thinking about it. It is just there; just a fact of every day life.

Most of them don't even realize what they take for granted, and are ignorant of the many, many advantages that they have had, and still do.

This is what the Satamayor hearings are all about to me. All of the old white guys are just trying to preserve the Old system of keep the future generations (their own kind) in power. Clarence Thomas just some one that they can point too and say that there is a black in the S. C. he sold out imo.

Which reminds me of getting back to putting my last long post project together. This will show how the media, and the politicians came together to label people that did not look like t hem: animals, red heathens, brown skin godless animals. etc. etc.

As long as we think that there are illegals from Mexico, we can never forget that they are illegals in the lands (44%) that were taken from them. The black, and, Hispanics, (other minorities also) will take a long, long, time before they can own large corporations that make all the rules.

We should never forget these things, never. The melting mot did not start with us or the British: I started with the Dutch; before there was any Americans, or Brits, the Netherlands were just trading post that the Dutch had organized; there were about 20 different languages spoken at that time.

One little more piece of info.....the Dutch also created, made up Wall Street at that time, around the 1600's or so. I forget the exact dates. But all in all we should never let people forget how we got here, just like (and they should ) the Jewish people keep the Holocaust in the minds of the modern young.

A-P even the greatest medical care system in the world (or so I'm told, evidence to the contrary nothwithstanding) has its limits. IOW - NFW.

"by

Helen Thomas and
Craig Crawford"

now that's hip...........

I once had a colleague who spoke thus: "I don't answer hypothetical questions. Give me a question on a real situation." What I wouldn't give to hear that said presently.

In self defense, I'm going to dislike that senator.........

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-243987

Patsi --

Me too...

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

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-243998

Arthur Miller...

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

I'm sitting here beating my head against the wall. I hate purposeful, pretended ignorance just to portray a political stance.

Heaven help us if any of these Republicans actually "believe" the garbage that is flowing from their mouths. If they do believe it, then they should be voted out of office immediately for total incompetence.

jamie ... special election?

NH man charged 23 quadrillion dollars for smokes

Bank of America tells WMUR-TV only the card issuer, Visa, could answer questions. Visa, in turn, referred questions to the bank.

http://www.seattlepi.com/national/1120ap_us_odd_quadrillion_dollar_debit.html?source=mypi

Pogo,

I just scanned a few of the last few day's (the post), and if Ivy wants to buy lunch then lets let her! But I do think that she should be questioned: Sat in front of us asked what makes her think that she can join an all male (2 of us) club?

Did she not see the sign in front that said "males only"? who does she think she is Sotomayor? .......I know what you are going to say; women should be allowed in our lunch club, these are modern times. Ok but they will have to buy the first lunch,,,,,,,,,,,and im real, real hungry.........oh and they have to flirt a little with us, and if there is a male waiter she should ignore him. Will make up some more rules as we go along. Im watching the Hearings are learning how to do all of these things.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-244000

Jamie --

I don't believe they believe it. They are playing to their home crowds, and will be enthusiastically re-elected for their efforts.

solar:

http://progressivemajoritywisconsin.org/images/blog_images/Image/he-man-woman-haters.jpg

I don't choose to see any of this healthy discussion as right or wrong....
I choose to see it simply as one's point of view....

Craig.... I will wait until the book actually comes out and then order it from my local independent bookstore.... independent bookstores need all the help they can get nowadays....

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-244003

Hey Solar --

My "lunch" is usually a protein bar...not sure that would suffice for you hungry fellows.

Senator Leahy called lunch at 12:30 (EDT) yesterday but they were all on tv during the whole break, so I'm not sure they even had time to eat.

(^_~)

media should rerun over and over clips from sessions' failed confirmation hearings when the then sitting senators accused him of racist statements and then ask him about it in context of his questions of sotomayor. they're missing an opportunity for good theatre.

jack, bear, solar et al on the repost and repost comments:
why are we limiting this discussion to 300 years? think it's been longer than that for women of any color. how many female faces do you see on that senate panel? on the scotus? yes, they are there but not exactly in numbers equivalent to their percentage of the population.
also, 300 years doesn't begin to include what happened to native americans.

"Craig.... I will wait until the book actually comes out and then order it from my local independent bookstore.... independent bookstores need all the help they can get nowadays...."

bravo renee. me too.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-244004

Ivy,

And that is exactly what is wrong. if they actually believe the extremes of what they are saying and are incapable of understanding the answers to their questions, then they are simply too dimwitted to hold office.

If they don't believe it but are grandstanding for the home crowd, then they are too dishonest to hold office.

That goes for the Democrats who do the same as well.

Well, given my druthers, I druther look across the table at a pretty face (read female here) than a badly shaven guy dribbling sauce onto his shirt - even if lunch IS only a protein bar. Luckily for me, more often than not I have the good fortune though of looking over some really good salad or Sopa Azteca at Mrs. P, who does indeed have one of those pretty faces I prefer. Now if I had to vote, I'd vote that Ivy is welcome to join the He Man Women Haters Lunch Club - which would of course result in a tie.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-244010

Jamie,the practical effect of which is of course the same.

Sturg,

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-244005

Your hired, thanks for the picture, price is not object. But don't think for a moment that-that alone can get you into the "Club" you must be willing to put your foot in mouth-many-many times like I do....when I tease all of these muchachas, hahaha

And Ivy....Pogo. early Lunch!!

ps, Ivey that nice, all you eat is a little crunch bar...cheapy lunch :-)

New Pogo, what we Jews remember is that tens of thousands of Jews were turned away by the FDR administration during and just before the war. Of course, those who could produce a bomb had little problem. Jews didn't flock here illegally acriss the border nor demand that they be provided free health insurance. Once here, it took decades of hard work to rise into positions of power. Perhaps you might to put that forward as the model for others.

While the ousted leader of Honduras declares that insurrection is legal in Honduras, he and Chavez are quite silent about the "people's" rights in Iran. THe only thing keeping the adminsitration from caving into the Bolivian Group is HIllary Clinton.

Tony, I mention gays in the military in the comment thread of this interesting post by Totten below. I often link Trail to Jihad Watch by Robert Spencer because they producee a decent news thread on events involving Islamic radicalism and our poor response to it. If you think I buy all Spencer is selling you would be wrong. Spencer takes a shot at center/left Totten. I defend Totten.

http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/2009/07/we-are-not-at-w.php

Independent means just that, independence of thought and truth is not a characteristic of an ideology or Party, just like science or patriotism are not.

P.S. will cehck my mail later.......thanks again for the nice comment.

Last: http://www.rr.com/home/home/article/rr/9000/8347011/Clinton_aims_to_retake_foreign_policy_center_stage

As I have said so often these last few months, Obama's foreign policy is a mess. As the mess is certain to get uglier, Obama has given Hillary the green light to move forward. This was the second reason why she is SECSTATE. Whether she can move us in a better direction remains to be seen. Pushing her forward might give Obama a bit more time before crunch time. The adminsitration cannot hide certain truth from the American public much longer no matter how bad the Press.

http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=6178

http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=6180

The last link shows our serious military collaboration with Netanyahu despite Obama's refusal to allow export of missile defense systems requested to Israel.

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-244011

Are we having lunch yet?

Jamie and Ivy,

It seems to me that the best indicator of how someone will act in the future is how they have acted in the past. Judge Sotomayor has 17 years experience as a judge. In those 17 years there are maybe two or three cases in which even the Republicans take substantive issue. She is a solid, mainstream jurist and is unimpeachable on those grounds. And, given the political makeup of the Senate, she is almost certain to be confirmed.

But all these Senators now have the thing they like best -- a national television platform. They're using the platform to play to their constituents, so that they can raise money for their next election.

Someone yesterday raised the question of whether we would be better off (or if it would be a better hearing) if cameras were barred. I never thought that would be a good idea. Now I'm not so sure.

typos....my bad. I love my consistency with the word administration......

Pogo,

By the way: Our first female Lunch club member was Chloe, remember? She just hasn't paid her dues-due yet. But the interest is mounting up, so she will owe me (us) quite a few Sopa Aztecas. T

The picture that Sturge is doing for the front of the club house.......is from the spanky and our gang. that read " He-Man......women haters club" Sturg was either....trying to join the club, or start something and get us in trouble. IMO

Solar, curses, foiled again.

You are right, and with chloe already a member (though questionably in good standing) why are we having this discussion at all?

CJ

Those cameras are showing these Senators behaving badly as much as it is showing them fundraising from the home crowd and extremes.

They are sacrificing the respect of the majority of people and their personal honor in order to be bribed by those seeking their services and willingness to kowtow to the guys with the gold.

Keep the cameras and bright lights on their activities.

Viewing this crowd you can see how far they have come from:

"we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor"

Not much of that left.

Before we leave the ankle thread, I enjoyed Craig's video. I'm an empathetic, if not sympathetic, member of the Broken Ankle Club due to a figure-8 wire that remains in my left ankle that repaired a fracture I ignored for ten months following a fall into a rabbit hole (such a martyr I am, I had "no time" to be sick). My procedure was the Brostrom-Gould procedure performed by Dr. Gould whose surgeon-father developed the procedure, I'm told.

http://www.medivisuals.com/121503brostrom-gouldrightanklereconstructionsurgery-10511903xg.aspx

Speaking of "lame," no one got my lame joke yesterday that Craig threatened us with "No Thread." (^_~)

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/smiling-gopers-ought-to-be-fro.html#comment-243853

Pat,

Yep, Women have not been appreciated thru out- our history, not only the 300 hundred years that I mentioned, but for all times. They were equals as hominids that hunted for the food to survive right along with the males......all was pretty equal I would say.

Their down fall imo, was when farming began, and the bible that the men wrote to keep them from being equals; it was down hill from there.

"Interesting side note: The White House scheduled a Rose Garden appearance for President Obama to discuss health care at the same time Clinton will begin her speech." [from patsi's link above]

so we've got obama in the rose garden while clinton's making tough and while senators are grilling sotomayor. sorta like a 3 ring circus watching the man twirling plates, the tiger taming the tamers and the pretty lady on the flying trapeze... oh yeah biden, the guy being shot from the gun.

Jamie, maybe you underestimate what the majority feels about government owning car makers, controlling what compaines pay employees, who can have guns, whether illegals get universal health care, what the NSA can do to provide rational security, if terrorists enjoy Consitutional rights, if affirmative action requires no tests, etc. etc. etc. That is what the Republicans are playing to and Democrats should not underestimate the margin of their majority.

And while the Republicans sometimes look foolish, how many Americans really believe everything Sotomayor is telling them? How could a "rhetorical flourish" repeated several times over the years, be such a misunderstood slip? If the Democrats were in GOP shoes they might even be a bit more crass and parade witnesses who spoke of pubic hair on coke cans. We might want to keep this in a bit of perspective.

I didn't hear any Republicans ask Sotomayor why she claimed to have so little money having escaped poverty long ago. I don't see the GOP crossing so many lines, but the effect of their show will have to wait for poll numbers.........

Interesting Patd. It highlights rumors of some tension between the administration and Hillary. I point out that New Republic ( a left leaning paper) and their editor (who voted for Obama) have unleashed a harsh attack on Oabma's policy towards Israel. Go look and read it yourself. (Totten has a post about it today). If what they say is true, the anger from people who voted for Obama will increase.

The irony of course, is that Obama got HIllary out of the Senate and away from her healthcare leadership. Gee, I can't guess why. Now HE spins healthcare under attack by some HIllary supporters as Hillary launches her new thrust on foreign policy.

And where are the brilliant pundits we have to look deeper into this? If you add media Patd, we have a four ring circus going on at the moment and that doesn't even include Biden.....

Ivy...
I saw that NO THREAD and almost posted for Craig to correct it... and then I thought... "what the hell... what a wonderful freudian slip"....

Jamie.... politicians..... grandstanding.... say it ain't so....

hey I'd like to join the He-man Woman Haters Club in honor of Darla.... maybe we can get Dex to let us borrow his Jack Russell and paint a circle around one eye....

KT -- if you're around...we were speaking of Tennessee politicians...I wonder what happened to the days of the great Estes Kefauver....

Posted by: Patsi | July 15, 2009 7:24 AM

Hey, how'd you figure out HE was born and raised in my hometown, too? LOL!

Oh, the stiffness and self-righteousness are still around, as are the illicit affairs, the not-so-secret drinking--Funny thing, although the local two-yr. college does have a scholarship program named for the good Senator, we don't talk about him much anymore. In local memory he's been replaced by our homegrown serial killer, the demise of moonshine and the rise of meth as illegal activities, the bad economy, the weather, the bad economy--you get the picture. Maybe if one of his runs for president had been successful it would be a little different. Maybe even if he'd gotten elected VPOTUS when Adlai Stevenson ran in 1956, it would be different.

Uh--does it show that, unlike the boy named Sue, the good Senator wasn't exactly popular among my older relatives?(^_~) (if Ivy doesn't mind me borrowing the wink)

PS Patsi--bad joke. They're both easy to Google.:D

Another smoldering fire HIllary is supposed to put out:

http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/2009/07/a-smoldering-di.php

I watched a program on PBS late Sunday night about gang members in L.A. It was a real eye opener. They talked about the way of life for gang members in L.A. The various present and past gang members talked about their lives. There is a harsh reality for all of them. One guy said that he decided to quit the gang life and go straight. He wanted to get a real job. The problem is that he had been arrested a few times and he had a felony on his record. He said, that he could not get a job with a felony on his record, so he lied on his job application, However, once they found out he lied, he was fired. Their life is basically a choice of either being killed or going to jail. No hope for improvement. One other guy said he quit the gang because his young son said to him, "I know how you get your money. Dirty men give you money and you give them a bag of white powder." Once he realized that his son knew he was dealing drugs, he quit because he didn't want his son to grow up doing th same thing.

NEW THREAD.. http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/senate-can-demand-more-answers.html

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-244025

Max,

I have my concerns about many of those things, but I also feel that government has a right to redress wrongs when individuals and/or corporations ignore what is right for the whole of society not just a privileged few.

A family owned business that cares for its workers as a means to produce the best product to sell for a reasonable amount of profit is one thing.

It is another thing to have a massive corporation that sways government to permit importation of workers from foreign lands in order to undercut the wages of their equally qualified American employees or who outsource production to countries that allow for slave labor at minimal starvation wages and poor environmental limits.

I believe that people in exchange for their willingness and ability to labor and pay taxes should have total access to a FREE education all the way through college or trade school so that they may work to the full ability of their talents.

They should have a health care system either free through taxes or affordable through wages that contributes to their being as healthy as possible.

They need an economic system that either protects their jobs or invests in new jobs should those old ones become obsolete at wages that allow for a roof over their heads and food on the table.

They deserve an environment and food supply both at home and work that doesn't injure them or kill.

When greed and special privilege interfere with or prevent the goals above, then it is the business of government to step in and rectify the situation.

If people/businesses don't like the encroachment on their "freedoms" (?), then they should damn well consider the well being of their fellow citizens rather than their own treasure chests.

There's another "No Thread" up...heehee

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/sotomayors-broken-ankle-empath.html#comment-244028

KT --

The wink is free for all...

(^_~)

NEW THREAD

Speaking of "lame," no one got my lame joke yesterday that Craig threatened us with "No Thread." (^_~)

http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/trailmix/2009/07/smiling-gopers-ought-to-be-fro.html#comment-243853

Posted by: ivygreen.myopenid.com | July 15, 2009 11:53 AM

Did too. Good one. Got me thinking of all sorts of "end of the trail" songs but couldn't find links to any of them. (^_~)

HAHAHA!!!! Craig, you are right...you are qualified and should be on the short list of contenders if this doesn't work out for the judge!!
Wondering...write in candidates for Supreme Court Judge?????
Take care, Syl