Politics As Usual

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
If she was so important why are so many details out that you know. Doesn't this potentially compromise her connections and what remains?

The only reason I've heard of her in the first place is because of the crimes committed by someone in the White House. I don't know how important she was and she can't talk about it. Why do you assume she was unimportant?

I don't see this as a partisan issue. I would be equally outraged if the outing was done by a Democrat. Why aren't you pissed off at this?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Shape Shifter
Why aren't you pissed off at this?

I used to read more news, but lately trying to keep up with the blogs Ty posts takes up most of my free time.

[sgtclub]

Moderate Republican senators grumble that some longtime contributors are refusing their usual contribution to the Republican presidential campaign. Their biggest grievance: Bush's endorsement of the anti-gay marriage constitutional amendment.

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/r...20040710.shtml

[sgtclub]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...AGGP7K20I1.DTL

[DA refuses to prosecute prostitution claims]

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
he's repeatedly made the claim that he unilaterally debunked the entire Niger connection and made this clear to the CIA. Despite his warnings, the White House continued with these assertions. The report now makes it clear that he made no such findings and the CIA dismissed his his findings out of hand.

Serious, non-partisan question: what findings has it been found that he did not find, and where does one find these findings. (Put more succinctly, that would be "cite, please" -- but that's usually used as a barb and I don't mean to barb.)

A bit more partisan question: Do you think it's a good thing that the CIA dismissed his findings out of hand (and what findings did they dismiss, if he's been found not to have found any?)

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by sgtclub
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...AGGP7K20I1.DTL

[DA refuses to prosecute prostitution claims]

What's amusing about this is that, while Hallinan chose not to prosecute this stuff because he thought prostitution should be legal (and regulated, and confined to establishments so it's kept off the street) (Hallinan lost track somewhere of the principle that the DA only enforces the law, he doesn't make it), Harris is upset that they arrested women for being prostitutes, instead of exclusively arresting men for being pimps and johns. Apparently the women who were busted, and who had made a couple of grand by 5:30 pm, are "victims" in her view.

Pretty fucking silly. Harris was right to stand up against the police on the death penalty issue, since opposition to the death penalty was central to her platform (and to the platform of anyone else who wants to run for DA in SF). But on this issue she sounds like a third-rate sociology professor stuck in the "old feminism" of victimhood.

[Not Me]

Originally posted by sgtclub
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...AGGP7K20I1.DTL

[DA refuses to prosecute prostitution claims]

Yes, who needs to date when you can just pay a woman for a BJ. It is more honest, right?

Speaking of honesty, CNN is reporting that the swastikas-on-the-belly may have been a false report.

[Atticus Grinch]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
What in it requires either of these propopsitions to be true? Marriage originates in religion, but has secular components.

I don't think marriage originates in religion --- if it did, it wouldn't be nearly so universal. Sure, every once in a while you come across a polygamous society, but consider that MF marriages are the norm all over the world and predate other religious concept milestones, like monotheism --- and may even have predated a belief in an afterlife.

I think MF pairs originate in the simple economics of childrearing --- long-term pair bonds, with a taboo on extramarital sex (and therefore paternity doubt), just presented the best social circumstances in which to raise children (i.e., produce the least likely circumstances for an adult to knock a screeching infant over the head with a rock). Even in the societies that allow them, successful multiple marriages are rarer than successful MF marriages.

All of which is to say, the trend against regulation of personal affairs in the 20th century has a natural modern result in not caring whether a particular pair bond is MF, or MM or FF, but I don't think that religion was necessarily a huge component in the original prehistoric MF pair bonds. I wish we had more reliable information about the prevalence of MM and FF sexual activity in prehistory. Hell, I wish we had more info on FF sexual activity on my block.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
I think this entire mess has revealed - to the detriment of the Nation - that both parties have universally failed to keep tabs on Langley.

Langley works for the President. This business that the CIA led the President astray is too cute by half, since we all know that Wolfowitz (e.g.) has been looking to invade Iraq for years. I suspect that the real reason Bush -- as opposed to others -- decided to invade Iraq is that he is a "black and white" kind of guy, and when he inherited a situation in which we were using low level military force to keep a check on Iraq, he did not want to let things continue in that way. He wanted a solution, and over time only the military option appeared to give a simple, final solution.

I still think this quote, from a discussion of Kennedy & the CIA & the Bay of Pigs, captures what's going on here.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
If she was so important why are so many details out that you know.

If the President really wanted the answer to that, surely he could have it by now, but the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois has been looking into it and perhaps we will have some indictments before too long.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Atticus Grinch
I wish we had more reliable information about the prevalence of MM and FF sexual activity in prehistory. Hell, I wish we had more info on FF sexual activity on my block.

Do you think the Greeks just up and invented gay? Only god works from whole cloth, man must make do with what come before.

Actually australiapithecus shapeshifterous appears to be at the root of homosexuality. The male had a colon that was particularly compliant. Leaky theorizes it was handy for double anal parties. The females were left alone and eventually the strain died.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Do you think the Greeks just up and invented gay? Only god works from whole cloth, man must make do with what come before.

Actually australiapithecus shapeshifterous appears to be at the root of homosexuality. The male had a colon that was particularly compliant. Leaky theorizes it was handy for double anal parties. The females were left alone and eventually the strain died.

I never knew that the Spartans were the first humans. Learn something new every day. Thankie Hankie.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by ltl/fb
I never knew that the Spartans were the first humans. Learn something new every day. Thankie Hankie.

did you catch that I said the chubby girl in that band was cute?

[Watchtower]

Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
What in it requires either of these propopsitions to be true? Marriage originates in religion, but has secular components. By tradition, it has been between a woman and a man.

Are you saying that any state involvement in marriage at all violates the separation of church and state? If so, fine, but that's not a proposition that's been changed by the emergence of gay marriages.

I see in civil marriage only the issues that are relevant to the state, not issues that may relate to the "nature", "culture" or religion. I read nature and culture here as simply stalking horses for missionary-position-church teachings. To legislate a view of civil marriage that is drawn from a particular set of religious teaching steps over the line in my view.

I was wondering who would step up to defend the defense of marriage act here. I'm glad it's you.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by sgtclub
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...AGGP7K20I1.DTL

[DA refuses to prosecute prostitution claims]

Presumably this story is payback for Harris' refusal to seek the death penalty against that cop killer.