Politics: Where we struggle to kneel in the muck.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Replaced_Texan
I mean, what other reason would the former judge and Senator for Kentucky say that he was "frightened to death of Bush" in an editorial unless he'd lost his marbles.

He's got some good lines in there.

• I hope you all have noticed the Bush administration's style in the campaign so far. All negative, trashing Sen. John Kerry, Sen. John Edwards and Democrats in general. Not once have they said what they have done right, what they have done wrong or what they have not done at all.
  
  Lyndon Johnson said America could have guns and butter at the same time. This administration says you can have guns, butter and no taxes at the same time. God help us if we are not smart enough to know that is wrong, and we live by it to our peril. We in this nation have a serious problem. Its almost worse than terrorism: We are broke. Our government is borrowing a billion dollars a day. They are now borrowing from the government pension program, for apparently they have gotten as much out of the Social Security Trust as it can take. Our House and Senate announce weekly grants for every kind of favorite local programs to save legislative seats, and it's all borrowed money.
  
  * * * *
  
  I am not enamored with John Kerry, but I am frightened to death of George Bush. I fear a secret government. I abhor a government that refuses to supply the Congress with requested information. I am against a government that refuses to tell the country with whom the leaders of our country sat down and determined our energy policy, and to prove how much they want to keep that secret, they took it all the way to the Supreme Court.
  
  Those of you who are fiscal conservatives and abhor our staggering debt, tell your conservative friends, "Vote for Kerry," because without Bush to control the Congress, the first thing lawmakers will demand Kerry do is balance the budget.
  
  The wonderful thing about this country is its gift of citizenship, then it's freedom to register as one sees fit. For me, as a Republican, I feel that when my party gives me a dangerous leader who flouts the truth, takes the country into an undeclared war and then adds a war on terrorism to it without debate by the Congress, we have a duty to rid ourselves of those who are taking our country on a perilous ride in the wrong direction.
  
  If we are indeed the party of Lincoln (I paraphrase his words), a president who deems to have the right to declare war at will without the consent of the Congress is a president who far exceeds his power under our Constitution.
  
  I will take John Kerry for four years to put our country on the right path.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by sgtclub
But both of these things were going on during the Clinton administration as well (though, perhaps not a your local radio station). At the same time, by all studies, network TV is now racier/contains more sexual references and uses more "bad" words than ever before. Growing up, you never heard words on network TV like "bitch," "ass," etc.

Look, you will be hard pressed to find a person more against censorship then I am, but the premise was that it is the result the rise of the social conservatives, and I'm just not buying that.

Explain a 99-1 vote in the Senate. 99-1?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by taxwonk
I look around and I don't see any other political force that could have brought it about.

Why did Teddy Kennedy vote for the decency bill? There's something really weird going on, but it's not just Bush.

[Hank Chinaski]

this is a t-shirt now for sale. I changed a "Free Mumia" bumpersticker on some GGG-clone's Jag to this a few years ago. Do I have a claim, or does the fact that I created the work as part of a crime cancel out my rights under some "unclean hands" theory?

[Replaced_Texan]

A few weeks ago, the liberal blogoverse was atwitter about the fact that Marshall Wittman, former staffer to John McCain, quit his job and joined the Democratic Leadership Council. Wittman likes to think of himself as bringing back the tradition of Roosevelt.

Anyhow, Marshall is blogging again (for some reason in the third person...Giblets does it better) at http://www.bullmooseblog.com, and he started with some suggestions for the Kerry administration:

• Subsequent to the 2002 campaign, the Bushies have further divided the country with their hubris, arrogance, incompetence and mendacity and Rovian scorched earth political campaign.
  
  But, enough of the high road!
  
  The Moose believes that the first challenge of a Kerry Presidency is to bring the country together. That will be no easy task. It remains to be seen whether his administration will be more willing to break with its ideological base than a Bush team that has been slavishly loyal to its corporate paymasters. The lefties will wail and the righties will grumble. But, in order to govern in a closely divided country, President Kerry must cut the Gordian knot.
  
  Always seeking the positive, the Moose offers President-elect Kerry (granted that title has not yet been achieved) some suggestions.
  
  1. Construct a cabinet of national unity. Name Republicans to positions of prominence (and that does not mean HUD or Transportation).
  
  2. Focus on legislative issues that have bi-partisan support and span the ideological divide such as drug importation, patient’s bill of rights and restraining congressional spending. The President should announce the formation of a Commission to End Corporate Welfare As We Know It (CECWAWKI).
  
  3. Advance a bold reform agenda. Create bi-partisan working groups to offer the Administration ideas to reform the military, entitlements, the tax code and the health care system. Restrain federal spending by declaring war on appropriations earmarks and reform the budget process. Promote efforts at the state level for non-partisan redistricting and open primaries to de-polarize the political process. These ideas must be truly bi-partisan and the Administration’s charge is to think outside the box to reform these programs.
  
  4. Challenge Americans, particularly young Americans, to “enlist in causes greater than their self-interest.” Make clear to the American people that JFK’s challenge to the America in the cold war “Ask not…” is applicable in the war against terror. Perhaps, also create a national security trust fund that will come from rolling back tax cuts for the very wealth. Expand Americorps, the Peace Corps and the short-term military enlistment option.
  
  The Moose believes that we have a war to win against terrorist enemies that seek to destroy us. National unity is job number one. And for the new President, uniting the country should come before petty partisanship.

et atribute Greg's Opinion

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Club, since you keep worrying about how Kerry has disrespected our allies, here's something from the British perspective:

• There's been a lot of generally sensible guffawing at Kerry's promise to win over the French and Russians in the war on terror. But there's been less attention paid to how Bush has dealt with the U.S.'s most critical ally, Britain. The answer is: terribly. Every time I talk to pro-war British friends, they point out how they feel unconsulted, abused, and generally dissed by this administration. They remember Rumsfeld's spectacularly stupid remark before the war that the Brits were dispensable; and Bush's own radioactive personality in Europe means that any British leader who wants to support him must also consider political suicide. Look at what is happening now. A simple redeployment of a few hundred British troops to relieve American troops in Baghdad while they prepare to tackle Falluja has led to parliamentary uproar. (Let's just leave aside the question of why we have so few troops that the Brits are needed to keep what's left of order in the capital city.) The lesson is clear: Bush has made any future military alliance with even the Brits a near-impossibility. The British people won't allow it. The Tories are now anti-Bush; almost the entire Labour party is anti-Bush; the Liberal Democrats are pathologically anti-Bush. And this is the success story of Bush's diplomacy! Again, the worst thing about this is that it undermines our ability to wage this war in future. When you lose the Brits and half your own country in a vital war, you deserve to be fired as president. I'm sorry, but it's time the pro-war camp began to deal with this.

Andrew Sullivan

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski


this is a t-shirt now for sale. I changed a "Free Mumia" bumpersticker on some GGG-clone's Jag to this a few years ago. Do I have a claim, or does the fact that I created the work as part of a crime cancel out my rights under some "unclean hands" theory?

No baiting the trolls. Take that shit to the IP Board.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Explain a 99-1 vote in the Senate. 99-1?

Well, Hank, that is when 99 Senators vote in favor of a bill or other measure before the Senate and one Senator votes against it. When there is a 99-1 vote, the measure being voted on passes.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
Why did Teddy Kennedy vote for the decency bill? There's something really weird going on, but it's not just Bush.

He probably did so because he wanted it to pass. Or because it was going to pass anyways and he didn't want to be on record against it. Or maybe he was drunk, just didn't care, or hit the wrong button.

[Replaced_Texan]

After stunning reversal, Yankees take AL pennant

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy
Well, Hank, that is when 99 Senators vote in favor of a bill or other measure before the Senate and one Senator votes against it. When there is a 99-1 vote, the measure being voted on passes.

38. Beauty Is As Beauty Does


Gilligan suggests a beauty contest to decide which of the three women will become "Ms. Castaway." Mr. Howell attempts to sabotage the other contestants by spreading glue on the stage before Mary Ann's big dance scene, and by shooting spit-wads at Ginger while she performs. The Professor then distorts the music when it is Mrs. Howell's turn. Then, when all the competitions are complete, the final decision rests with the judge.....Gilligan!


b: 23-Sep-1965 w: Joanna Lee d: Jack Arnold


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
38. Beauty Is As Beauty Does


Gilligan suggests a beauty contest to decide which of the three women will become "Ms. Castaway." Mr. Howell attempts to sabotage the other contestants by spreading glue on the stage before Mary Ann's big dance scene, and by shooting spit-wads at Ginger while she performs. The Professor then distorts the music when it is Mrs. Howell's turn. Then, when all the competitions are complete, the final decision rests with the judge.....Gilligan!


b: 23-Sep-1965 w: Joanna Lee d: Jack Arnold


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You're proposing a Lawtalkers Beauty Contest?

Sure, I'm willing to be the judge.

[LessinSF]

Castro breaks arm and knee:

[Shape Shifter]

Originally posted by LessinSF
Castro breaks arm and knee:

I don't think this is a good idea. That dude's speeches last like 5 hours. Seems like an invitation to waste bandwidth to me.

[Hank Chinaski]

"I personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot, razed fields in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of Ohio."